Days had passed since the Kaiba Land incident, and now it was time for the annual school field trip. The students and teacher chaperones were now in Domino City for the occasion, only a quick ferry ride away from the island. As Alexis walked near the port alongside Jaden, Syrus, Hassleberry, and Bastion, she couldn't help noticing how isolated they were from the rest of the student body. The ranks of the Society of Light had grown to a drastic number, leaving very few students who were not affiliated with it in some way. Aside from their group right now, Atticus, Aster, Jasmine, and Mindy were the only ones Alexis could recall off the top of her head that weren't brainwashed.
"I'm telling you guys, this is gonna be the sweetest field trip we've ever had thanks to the location I picked! It's where it all began. Where Yugi, Kaiba, and the others fought some of their toughest battles as legendary duelists! Domino Pier, Kaiba Corp., Kame Game Shop, you name it! We'll be seeing it all!" Jaden babbled on excitedly.
"And all anything we could have seen anytime on a regular weekend or vacation just by taking the ferry from the island…" Syrus said in a deflated tone.
"But it is a completely different experience seeing it all as students from Duel Academy on a class trip! Don't you see, Sy!? We're studying this from a duelist's perspective!" Jaden insisted, undaunted by Syrus' logic.
"Since when do you like studying, Jaden?" Alexis asked in a slightly teasing tone.
"Indeed. I would have been happy to give you a full history on the dueling career of Yugi Muto and the other famous duelists of those days." Bastion pointed out.
"Yeah, that's a good id- Huh? Wait a minute. Bastion, you're here, too?" Syrus asked in surprise. It was as if he had only just noticed that Bastion was accompanying them.
"I'VE BEEN HERE THE WHOLE TIME!" Bastion yelled in exasperation.
"Hey, let's simmer down there, soldiers! Save that kind of energy for any duels we might pick up around here instead!" Hassleberry cut in before things could escalate any further.
"Yeah, what he said. Because with those kinds of reactions, you're more likely to scare off any duelists." Aster's voice came from not far off from the group.
"Aster!" Alexis greeted her boyfriend happily as he walked up to them from the trailer of sorts that he was using to travel around here apparently. She hadn't known for sure that Aster would even be going on the field trip with them since he had been sort of vague about it when she had asked him. And she hadn't seen him on the ferry either since he had used his yacht to get to the port. Clearly, he had either had a last-minute change of plans, or had just been hoping to surprise her. Whatever the reason, she was glad to see him. Ever since their date at Kaiba Land, their relationship had been strained. While the talk their talk had cleared up their miscommunication issues, things were still a bit subdued between them. And intimacy had not been happening for them either since the Harrington incident. Alexis couldn't push the event out of her mind. Aster seemed to have sense this, and he hadn't made any attempts to pursue their physical relationship since then. Alexis knew that things couldn't go on between them like this. So, she was hoping that maybe this outing would help them somehow.
"Hey, guys. Enjoying the sights so far?" Aster asked casually. He walked over to the group until he was standing next to Alexis, then proceeded to give her hand a reassuring squeeze.
"Aww, no fair! Don't tell me you two are going to ditch us to go out on a date!?" Syrus whined.
"Maybe. Unless you'd prefer that we stick around with everyone instead?" Aster asked as he turned to Alexis for confirmation. As much as he would rather go off alone with his girlfriend, Aster was trying to be more sensitive to her friends, especially since she had pointed out his tactlessness more than once now during their more recent arguments.
"I don't know… I guess it depends where you guys are headed. Jaden?" Alexis checked.
"I wanted to go to the game shop. You know, the one that's run by Solomon Muto. I'm kinda hoping that Yugi might be there." Jaden admitted.
"In that case, I think I'll pass. I'm not really interested in doing anything duel related right now…" Alexis decided.
"Eh!? You're passing up a chance to meet the King of Games himself?" Jaden asked incredulously.
"Um, Jay? How do you know he'll even be home?" Syrus asked awkwardly.
"Yeah, I'm sure he's used to avoiding all the attention he still gets from his fans whenever he can. I can relate to that sometimes, after all." Aster agreed.
"Well, but it's still a landmark… But I guess I can't convince you two right now." Jaden said reluctantly.
"Sorry, guys. Maybe tomorrow." Alexis said apologetically.
"No worries! Guess we'll all see each other later then!" Jaden said cheerfully.
As they parted ways, Alexis could make out Hassleberry's words behind her and Aster. "I told you guys, once there's a boyfriend in the picture, you can kiss all the hangout time with girls goodbye pretty much forever. He'll always be the front-line soldier." He said.
Noticing Alexis' visible discomfort at Hassleberry's words, Aster placed his hand gently on her shoulder. "I'm sorry for just showing up like that without any warning. I hope you didn't agree to leave them just to please me." He said apologetically.
Alexis smiled and shook her head at Aster's words. "No, it's fine. I really don't feel like doing anything duel-related right now. But more than that, I really am glad you came, Aster. You haven't been saying anything about it, so I figured that you didn't plan on going on this field trip. I mean, you already are busy enough as a pro duelist." She said.
"It's not that. I didn't say anything because I was trying to keep as quiet as I could about going. After all, Sartorius and his little band of followers are all in tow for this, too. And the less it looks like anybody knows where I'm at, the better. Although I'm not sure how much that matters with what he can usually predict…" Aster explained seriously.
"I see. I didn't even think of all that. I guess I've had my mind on other things lately… Still, of all the places we could have gone to for a field trip, I don't know why Jaden picked Domino City when we can literally go here anytime just from the ferry." Alexis complained.
"Quite true. However, I have the feeling that it is important for us to be here this time. I don't know how, but I think there's a clue somewhere about everything lately with the Society of Light that's waiting to be found." Aster said.
"That's what your senses are telling you right now?" Alexis asked. She knew that while Aster couldn't predict the future like Sartorius, he still had a sharp sense of precognition at times, usually in duels.
"Yup. I just hope it's actually helpful this time…" Aster said.
"I still wish we could have gone somewhere else, though. The class trip is only once in our second year, after all." Alexis lamented.
Aster smiled softly at Alexis' wistfulness. He laced his fingers gently together with hers in a gesture of affection before answering her. "Don't worry; I'll make it up to you eventually. I go all over the world for my duels. So, once you're on a break, you can come with me on tour. That way, we'll get to see lots of things together!" He promised.
"Well, when you put it like that, how can I be upset about this field trip? That sounds wonderful, Aster. I'd love to go with you…" Alexis said softly as she returned his smile.
Suddenly, the sound of footsteps jogging behind them broke Aster and Alexis out of their peaceful moment. They both turned around to see Bastion standing before them.
"Good, I finally caught up with you!" Bastion said.
"And how might we help you?" Aster asked curiously, his eyebrows raised slightly in irritation.
"Bastion, what's wrong? Why'd you run all the way here?" Alexis asked in genuine concern.
"You had said that Sartorius isn't your manager anymore, didn't you?" Bastion asked Aster directly.
"That's right. I fired him not long after I found out that he is behind all this Society of Light business." Aster confirmed. He chose his words carefully, not willing to reveal what else Sartorius had told him that day during their argument over the phone. As much as he knew he should tell her the truth, Aster was still too afraid of what Alexis' reaction might be if she knew about the potential danger they were in based on Sartorius' prediction.
"So, you know nothing about why he's been gathering strong duelists for the Society?" Bastion persisted.
"No, not really. Not that it should matter to you seeing as you're not one of them anyway." Aster answered carelessly.
"What do you mean by that!? I'm the best duelist in Ra Yellow! He has every reason to want me in the Society!" Bastion protested.
"And yet he hasn't asked you, has he?" Aster asked smugly.
"Knock it off, Aster! Bastion's right about this. It is weird." Alexis said defensively, visibly irritated by her boyfriend's rudeness.
"Alexis, thank you. But this still doesn't explain anything, unfortunately. I've been winning duels a lot lately, even against a lot of the Obelisks. But none of the Society members have challenged me or tried to get me on their side. Yet they're always on Jaden and the others' cases. I just…don't understand why they aren't interested in me, too!" Bastion said frustratedly.
"Do you want to be in the Society of Light?" Aster questioned exasperatedly.
"No! Of course, I don't!" Bastion exclaimed.
"Then I don't see what your problem is." Aster retorted coolly.
Bastion looked like he wanted to argue with Aster but ended up lapsing into frustrated silence.
"I don't think it's because they think you're a bad duelist, Bastion. They're probably just pretending to ignore you out of spite because they know how good you are already. But if I were you, I wouldn't worry about it. They're not worth it." Alexis advised.
"Yeah, maybe. At least, I hope you're right… Anyways, sorry to bother you two. I guess I'll be going now." Bastion said glumly despite Alexis' reassurance.
Once Bastion was out of sight, Alexis turned to Aster. "You know, you didn't have to be such a jerk to him. That was pretty rude of you." She said pointedly.
Aster shrugged off Alexis' accusation. "It's for his own good. He is too fixated on how much attention he can get instead of focusing on growing further as a duelist. That never ends up helping anyone in the long run. Take it from someone who knows it, fame is overrated." He explained.
"Alright, I agree that you have a point there. If anything, he should be glad that the Society of Light isn't bothering him. But I still think that you could have been a little politer about it." Alexis said.
"What can I say? I've never been one to sugarcoat things." Aster said wryly.
Alexis simply sighed and shook her slightly at Aster's words. Sometimes, there was just no convincing him about some things.
Xxx
"So, have I sold you on the bay side of Domino as the place to be when it comes to finding the most relaxing places to dine?" Aster asked Alexis about an hour later as they walked out of the small diner on the other side of the port. The water was much calmer, almost like a lake. And there were small houses scattered in-between the establishments.
"I'll say! I don't think the people in there even cared that you were in there!" Alexis said somewhat amusedly.
"Yeah, probably too old to be into the dueling scene." Aster joked.
As they stopped to stand and look out at the water together for a moment, Aster saw something that made him blink to check whether he was seeing things or not. Up in the sky near the main area of Domino loomed two giant-like creatures. He couldn't make out their shapes completely since they appeared a bit fuzzy in his vision. But if Aster had to guess, he'd say that they almost looked like duel monsters of some sort.
"What are those doing here?" Aster asked perplexedly.
"What are you talking about?" Alexis asked in concern.
"You mean you can't see them!? They're right there! See!?" Aster insisted, jabbing his finger towards the direction where the figures were.
Alexis frowned in confusion. "No, I can't see anything. Aster, are you sure you're okay? You're starting to scare me." She answered.
Aster sighed in resignation. "Yeah, I guess you couldn't see them. To tell you the truth, I've been seeing stuff like this ever since I lost to Jaden. But it's hard to always tell since it's always so blurry whenever I do. Like I'm looking through prescription eyeglasses that I don't need." He confessed.
Alexis looked thoughtful. "You know, Jaden has always said that he can see Duel Monster spirits. And after that one time we got stuck in that weird dimension with the gravekeepers' tribe, I actually started to see some truth in how all of that can exist. Maybe you're starting to experience that, too. Like some weird after-effect from the duel." She said.
"Yeah, right. And then horses will fly. I think I'm just tired." Aster scoffed.
"That makes two of us. I think we should be heading back. I don't want to get in trouble for not getting back to the hotel before curfew." Alexis said.
"Okay, I'll walk you back then." Aster agreed.
"Alright. But do you mind if I run back inside to use the restroom before we go? It's still a little way of a walk from here." Alexis asked.
"Sure, I'll wait here." Aster said.
"Thanks. Be right back." Alexis said gratefully.
Xxx
Alexis sighed wearily to herself as she exited the stall in the diner restroom. The day had been relatively calm so far, but she still could have done without any reminders of their current predicament with the Society of Light. And it still felt like she and Aster were avoiding the issues in their relationship despite how much time they were still spending together. She desperately wanted things to go back to normal between them. But it seemed like every time it looked like he wanted to try getting closer again, she just ended up pushing herself away.
As Alexis looked back into the bathroom mirror, she got a shock. Standing behind her in the reflection was a person, a guy to be exact. He was dressed in casual-looking street attire consisting of jeans and a t-shirt with a jean jacket. That along with his hair style and build made Alexis think that he sort of looked like Joey Wheeler, except with purple hair. But what frightened her was the expression that he wore. His face was twisted into a triumphant grin at the sight of her, and Alexis didn't like it one bit. She only knew that it was not a good thing that this man had come after her into the women's bathroom of all places.
"Found you." The man announced smugly.
Before she could stop it, panic overtook Alexis. She felt like she was back near the fraternity houses with Harrington again. All she could see was him staring her down while he pinned her wrists against the brick wall. Her knees started to shake uncontrollably.
"NO! Stay away from me! Don't touch me! I-I-can't-" Alexis shouted in fear. Her breath came out in ragged gasps as she struggled to focus.
The man frowned in annoyance at Alexis' outburst. "Geez, you're so noisy. Come on, we're outta here already." He said simply. Before Alexis could protest further, he grabbed her by the arm and they both vanished in a flash of lightning-like energy.
Xxx
When Alexis came to after the sudden teleportation, she realized that they weren't in the diner restroom anymore. All around them was a vast, dark space filled with electronic-looking patterns stretched around.
Before Alexis could wonder anything more about the odd surroundings, the purple-haired man gazed towards the front of the room and spoke. "Lady Sarina, I've brought the bait for Aster Phoenix to you as you commanded."