Disclaimer: I don't own GX.
Author's Note: I'm sorry that this chapter ended up coming out so late again. I was hoping to have it done earlier this month, but things got in the way. But, hey, it's Christmas, so I wanted to get this one out today.
So, here's the chapter!
It was the morning after Aster had dueled Dimitri. Atticus, Jesse and I had all gone to check on Aster. Chazz had business to take care of, but asked us to tell Aster how sorry he was.
Aster was staying in a hotel, and it wasn't that hard to get the desk clerk to give us his room number.
Once we got there, I knocked on the door. Sartorius answered.
"Oh, thank goodness." Sartorius said, then looked back. "It's just Jaden and the others."
"Let them in." Aster said.
Sartorius opened the door and the three of us entered. Aster was sitting by a window, peeking out the closed blinds.
"What are you doing here, Sartorius?" I asked.
"Bodyguard duty." Sartorius said. "Even if that mostly means answering the door."
"What about you guys?" Aster asked. "What brings you three here?"
"We wanted to check in on you, buddy." Jesse said. "See how you're doing."
"I'm just fine." Aster said, in a completely sincere tone.
"Do you mind if I ask you something?" Atticus asked.
"You mean besides that?" Aster asked back.
"What were those cards Dimitri found?" Atticus asked.
"You guys don't believe that talk of Aster cheating, do you?" Sartorius asked.
"Course not." Jesse said. "I've got a duel with Joey Wheeler coming up. I can tell everyone the truth during the pre-match interviews."
"Don't bother." Aster said. "It's not worth going against Dimi."
Aster rolled his eyes at that last part.
"Yeah, why'd you duel that scrub anyway?" I asked.
"Blackmail." Aster said.
"Dimitri's manager is a television producer." Sartorius explained. "He was threatening to close down an orphanage Aster's been helping if Aster didn't duel Dimitri."
"Well, shoot! Don't he sound like the wolf that slipped into the henhouse!" Jesse southern'd.
"Why Aster though?" I asked. "I mean, if he's going after other Hero Duelists, I'm here too."
"The Princeton's have been sponsoring Dimitri." Aster said. "One of my sponsors is their main rival. Put two and two together."
"So, that's why Chazz asked us to apologize to you for him." I said.
"You really think he's sorry for this?" Atticus asked. "What if he was being his sarcastic self?"
"Look, it doesn't matter." Aster said. "What's done is done. There's no going back now."
"You could always sue." Atticus said. "This actress I worked with has a great lawyer. She sued for a botched nose job and-"
"People would call it a frivolous lawsuit." Aster said.
"Anyway, you didn't answer my question." Atticus said. "What was with those cards?"
"If you really must know…" Aster sighed.
Aster pulled out a few cards and handed them to us. Like the cards we saw after the duel last night, they were average cards, Muka Muka, Kaiser Seahorse, things like that. But the cards had paper taped to the top, saying things like "Destiny Hero Decider" and "Destiny Hero Dreamer".
"What are…" Jesse and I asked in unison. Great, we even trail off at the same time.
"My idea for new Destiny Heroes." Aster said. "I've been wanting to pick up from where my father left off, and design new Destiny Heroes. I've even been thinking about sponsoring one of the children at that orphanage, and giving them the Heroes I designed."
"That's great!" I said.
"Look at Aster!" Jesse said. "Younger than us, but already planning for the future!"
Aster gave us a half-sincere smile.
"Well, I'll have more time to do that, now that I'm quitting from the Pro League." Aster said.
"What?!" I shouted.
"With all the drama Dimitri's caused around me, it'd be better for those I know if I step out now." Aster explained. "I don't want this to hurt you or Sartorius."
"Aster, I've already told you, it doesn't matter what they say." Sartorius said. "You stood by Sarina and me when the world shunned us, and we'll do the same for you."
Aster just looked at Sartorius for a second, obviously grateful, then stood up.
"Still, I've made my father's killer pay." Aster said. "Now I've got other things to take care of."
And with that, Aster walked out of the room.
Sartorius sighed and turned to me, "You don't plan to quit, do you?"
"Nope!" I said, cheerfully. "You've still got me as a cash cow."
Hey, that got a laugh out of Sartorius at least!
Before we left, we ran into Aster in the lobby and he waved me over to talk to him. I let Jesse and Atticus know to go on ahead of me, then went to talk to Aster.
"Okay, tell me the truth, Aster." I said. "You actually plan to come back as Taco Duelista, the Masked Duelist extraordinaire, don't'cha?"
"I told you, dude, I'm out of Pro's, effective immediately." Aster said. "I just wanted to give you these."
Aster held out his Phoenix Enforcer cards to me.
"Why are-?" I started.
"You have every other Elemental Hero card, don't you?" Aster asked. "I meant to give them to you after I retrieved Plasma anyway. But I just wouldn't have been able to let myself live it down if I lost to the cards I gave you."
"Thanks, I think." I said. "Seriously though, Aster, it'd be a shame for a great Duelist like you to step down."
"We'll see how things turn out down the road." Aster said with a shrug. "But we can't stay kids for too long, Jaden."
Was that his way of calling me childish?
"Anyway, thanks for stopping by." Aster said. "Tell Jesse and Atticus I appreciated them checking on me too."
"Sure thing." I said with a nod.
I held out my hand for a high five. Aster just grabbed it and shook it. Fine, be no fun.
Once I got back home, Atticus was busy teaching Jesse more combos, so I chillaxed until Chazz got back.
"How's Aster?" Chazz asked.
"He's doing fine." I said. "He told us the Princeton's were scouting his last opponent though."
Chazz sighed.
After grabbing a soda, Chazz sat down on the couch and started chugging it. I grabbed a soda for myself and sat in a chair. And then, the talk. ...No, not that one!
"Yeah, my brothers have been looking into him for awhile now." Chazz explained. "I've told you about their world domination plan, right?"
Short version, Chazz's brothers, Slade and Jagger, had this idea that if they could be the best in Politics, Economics and Duel Monsters, they could control the world.
"How'd they even come up with that plan?" I asked.
"Who's the most powerful man in the world, Slacker?" Chazz asked.
I thought for a few seconds, before Chazz got annoyed.
"Seto Kaiba!" Chazz said.
"Oh! I thought you meant physically powerful." I admitted with a sheepish chuckle.
"Kaiba is one of the richest men in the world, might as well own Domino City, and he's the second greatest Duelist out there, just behind Yugi Muto." Chazz explained. "If one guy can do all that, three brothers splitting the responsibilities should be more successful."
I think I get it now. So, what does that have to do with all this?
"My brothers put some stock into me as a Duelist, but after my little betrayal during the School Duel back at Duel Academy, they've decided not to put all their eggs in one basket." Chazz said.
"But what does that have to do with Aster and Dimitri?" I asked.
"They needed a backup, if I ever went rogue again." Chazz said. "Dimitri was working his way up in the Professional Leagues, and now he's one of the most popular Duelists of our generation."
"But he's far from the best." I said.
"Which is why he has to eliminate the competition." Chazz said. "Like making Aster out to be a cheater."
"And you're okay with that?!" I asked.
"Not in the least." Chazz said. "But it's the way things work. How else do you think my brothers climbed their way to the top?"
"Can't you talk them out of it or something?" I asked.
Chazz just laughed.
"Slacker, how about you come to work with me tomorrow?" Chazz said. "You can see how things work."
"You have a 'Take Your Jaden to Work Day'?" I asked, chuckling.
"No, but to improve the company image, we have a new 'Idiot Outreach' program." Chazz said.
So, the next day, Chazz wakes me up at 5:30 AM, forces me to wear a suit and tie, "to look more professional", and makes me wear a black wig that covered my one eye, before dragging me to his office.
"Are you sure I have to wear this?" I asked, as I narrowly avoided crashing into another plant.
"My brothers may not remember your face, but they have it on file." Chazz said. "If they recognize you as the guy who beat me during the School Duel, there could be trouble."
"Trouble?" I asked.
"Does the phrase 'You'll never work in this life again' mean anything to you?" Chazz asked.
"I thought it was 'this town'." I said.
"Not the way my brothers do business." Chazz said.
"Let them try." I said. "I don't care what they do to me."
Before Chazz could say anything else, his cellphone began ringing.
"The Chazz here." Chazz said, as he answered the phone.
A nasally voice responded back, "Chaaaaaaaazzzz… Chaaaaaaaazzzz…"
"How do you keep getting my number?!" Chazz asked, obviously freaking out.
In case you're worried, don't be. This was an ongoing prank Atticus and I had been pulling.
"Chaaaaaaazzzz…" Atticus said again. "Who's the friend you have with you?"
Chazz's eyes widened.
"How do you know that?!" Chazz asked.
"Doesn't matter. You're still my faaaaaavorite." Atticus said.
At this point, Chazz chucked his phone across the room, ran over to the windows and closed the blinds.
Now, Chazz is a good friend of mine, Atticus too, and it was so HARD not to laugh!
The intercom on Chazz's desk lit up.
"Mr. Charles, your brothers are waiting for you." Chazz's secretary said.
"Tell them I'll be there in a minute." Chazz said into the intercom. "Oh, and any news from those shareholders?"
"They still won't budge." The secretary said.
"Then see if you can set up another meeting with that guy from the other day." Chazz said.
"Yes, sir." The secretary said.
Shareholders, huh? Chazz sure was getting into this whole businessman role.
Once we got to the meeting, Chazz's brothers quickly glared at me.
"What's he doing here?!" The eldest, Slade, asked, pointing at me.
Aw, man, spotted already!
"You know this meeting is just supposed to be between the three of us, Chazz!" The second eldest, Jagger, yelled. "Who's this no-name?"
Whew, safe…
"Calm down." Chazz said, waving a hand dismissively. "This is Salazar. He's a little pet project of mine. I just want to show him the ropes, give him an idea of how to run a company, and then…"
Chazz whispered something to his brothers that, I would later find out, was to the effect of "When we go to buy out his company, he'll be grateful to me, and we'll get it for a steal" or something.
So I was allowed in, under the condition I didn't talk in detail about what I saw there. Thankfully, the contract I signed is null and void now! So, let's spill some secrets!
It started out really boring. There was a budget issue, Chazz would need to fire two janitors. I didn't like it, but Chazz's glare told me that I needed to keep my mouth shut.
Still, as far as I could tell, things like that were normal for companies, nothing crazy. Until…
"Now, about our plans for Duel Monsters." Chazz said.
That caught my attention.
"Dimitri did great the other night!" Jagger said. "He was an excellent find."
"Now if only Lorenzo was doing as good." Slade said. "I suggest we get in contact with that Missy girl's agent and see if we can get them into a relationship."
"But what if they're not interested in each other?" I asked.
I expected some angry glares, but Chazz's brothers laughed. Chazz gave a half-hearted chuckle too.
"What's it matter if they're interested or not?" Jagger asked.
"If we tell our talents they'll date someone, they'll do it." Slade said.
"See, Salazar, it's like this." Chazz said. "Missy is really big right now. She's so big, she doesn't even need a last name. If Lorenzo dates her, he'll get exposure from tabloids. In turn, we can grease some palms and get Missy access to top grade equipment. It's a win-win."
"After that, we could have her split up with Lorenzo and get together with Dimi." Slade said.
"A love triangle, I like it." Jagger said. "You know how sheep eat that up! Remember that movie Jean-Claude Magnum did?"
He was, of course, referring to box office success turned punchline "Lights, Camera, Love!" Y'know, the one about an actor who falls for a barista, who's marrying a buffoon? That one!
"Isn't that considered an awful movie?" I asked.
"Only after people kept talking about it." Chazz said.
"Here's your first lesson, Salazar." Slade said. "Whatever's big? You work that into everything you talk about."
"When that movie's time in the spotlight died, we turned to that Orlando idiot." Jagger said.
Orlando was a Professional Duelist/Stage Actor who got his 15 minutes of infamy for some reason or another.
"It doesn't matter what it is, you talk about it, the public eats it up." Slade said.
"Anyway, about Dimitri." Chazz said. "What happened with his manager?"
"We figured it would be too dangerous to have him connected to us." Slade said. "So, Dimitri's dumping him as a manager and bad-mouthing him as we speak."
"That TV producer?!" I asked.
"He's bad for business." Slade said.
Look, don't get me wrong, I hated the guy for helping to ruin Aster, but to discard him not because you disagree with the whole "threaten to shut down an orphanage" part, but because he's "bad for business"?!
"Chazz, where did you find this guy?" Jagger asked.
"His father's a former partner of the Schroeder's." Chazz rattled off like it was nothing.
At this point, before Chazz's brothers could ask anymore questions, this tall guy with dark green hair burst into the room, with bodyguards trying to hold him back.
"You can't do this to him!" The tall guy yelled. "He's innocent!"
I thought I recognized him, when Chazz leaned over.
"He was in our class at Duel Academy." Chazz whispered. "Brier something."
Brier… Wait, THAT Brier? The Duel Giant Brier?! Wow, what five years and a couple growth spurts could do for a guy!
"You can't punish Beauregard because of me!" Brier yelled.
"You knew the consequences when you didn't throw your duel." Jagger said.
Brier was hauled out of there, kicking and screaming. After we were all sure Brier was gone, Chazz stood up.
"I think I should send Salazar home." Chazz said. "Too much drama for one day isn't good for a guy."
"Unless you engineered it." Slade said with a laugh. "Besides, it's time we talked about the project."
"Project?" I asked.
"Don't worry, Salazar." Chazz said. "That's on a need to know basis."
Chazz quickly shoved me out of the room.
After we left, Chazz called a car around for me, and while we waited, he gave me the full story.
"That guy, Brier, is friends with some game developer named Beauregard." Thanks, Chazz, but I knew that already. "Beauregard had been working with Duke Devlin, the developer of Dungeon Dice Monsters, to create a game called 'Don't Disturb the Giant'. My brothers would fund the game if Brier took a dive in a duel against one of their prospects. And if he didn't, they'd…"
"Make sure Beauregard never worked in this life again?" I asked.
"Yeah." Chazz said. "They asked around and found some dirt on the kid. Something about attacking students back at Duel Academy."
I never said anything, Syrus was in another world, and a quick call to Chumley eliminated him as the blabbermouth. I still have no idea how they found out.
The car pulled up, I got inside, and after giving directions to the driver, Chazz poked his head in the window.
"I didn't expect you to see all that, Jaden." Chazz said. "But, that's what the Pro Dueling world really looks like. It's awful, but it's the world we're in now."
"It's fine." I said with a sigh. "Besides, what dirt do they have on me? That I saved the world three times?"
Chazz and I both chuckled at that.
"Although, I do wanna know one more thing." I said.
"What?" Chazz asked.
"How'd you come up with the name Salazar?" I asked.
Chazz just rolled his eyes and said, "Slacker."
Hey, I just asked a question!
Let me tell you, I was glad to get back home. That corporate stuff was killing my mood. But now I could sit back and unwind with a game of Spherium.
So, naturally, that's when my phone went off.
And it was Alexis.
Well, guess I couldn't put off talking to her anymore.
"Hello?" I said, answering the call.
"Jaden, hey!" Alexis said. "It's Alexis!"
It had been five years since I last heard her voice, and in an instance, I was more relaxed than I would have been playing Spherium. All those worries about us talking were gone.
"Lex!" I said. "What's up?"
"You never messaged me back, so I thought I'd surprise you with a call." Alexis said. "How'd that duel go?"
"Duel?" I asked.
"Against that Maitre'D guy." Alexis said.
"Oh, right!" I said. "I beat him, no problem!"
"I knew it!" Alexis said, with that cute chuckle.
"Sorry for not getting back to you." I said. "Been a crazy couple days."
"I know." Alexis said. "How's Aster doing?"
"He seems alright." I said. "He said he's got other things to take care of for now anyway."
"That's a relief." Alexis said.
"So, how've you been?" I asked.
"I guess I'm good." Alexis said. "It might only be a single class, but teaching at Duel Academy has been rewarding. Well, when the students listen."
"Got a class full of little me's?" I asked.
"If only." Alexis said. "I was helping Mr. Sartyr teach a class about Tag Duels and the importance of teamwork, and a couple of the students just didn't get it. One threw this big fit, wondering why he failed due to lacking cooperative skills."
"So, a class of little Chazz's." I said.
Alexis burst out laughing. Ah, that warmed my heart.
"Thanks, Jaden." Alexis said. "I needed that."
There was a small, but noticeable, moment of silence before I found the courage to say, "It's nice to hear your voice again."
"It's nice to hear you too." Alexis said. "One of these days, you'll have to find time to swing by Duel Academy again."
"I don't know…" I said slyly. "Crowler always said he'd be glad when I was gone so he wouldn't have to see me again."
"Someone's a little coy today." Alexis said through chuckles.
"Meh, Chazz took me to see the business side of dueling." I said. "It bummed me out a little. But talking to you cheered me up. Thanks for that."
"Anytime." Alexis said. "Anyway, it'd be great if you would come back sometime. You could be a guest speaker or something. I'm sure my students would love hearing from a Pro Duelist."
"Think I'd be mobbed for autographs?" I asked.
"Probably not, but bring a pen just in case." Alexis said.
Ahhhh… This was nice. Just talking to Alexis, not worrying about anything. I'd forgotten how much fun it was to talk to her, how caring she was, how cute that laugh was.
Yeah, I was still in love with her.
So, of course, my mind has to mess that up!
Just as I was finally letting myself fall for Lex again, that image of Brier flashed in my head, along with him begging for Beauregard to be spared the Princeton's wrath.
Then there was the orphanage Aster was donating to, and how Dimitri targeted him for being a Hero Duelist as well.
I could practically see it. I face off against Dimitri, the Princeton's tell me to throw the match, and if I refuse, they'd make sure to pressure any school that would hire Alexis, putting her future as a teacher in danger.
And it wasn't just Alexis. Jesse, Atticus, Hassleberry, Bastion, Blair… Anyone and everyone I knew would be in danger.
One of my teachers, Stein, once told me something about how hedgehogs hurt each other trying to huddle up for warmth. I dismissed that at the time, since he was trying to tell me how the people I knew would harm me.
He was wrong about that part. I wasn't worried about being hurt. But Stein got the last laugh, I guess, because he was right, just for the other reason.
I refused to let the people I loved be harmed because of me!
"Hey, Lex, sorry to cut this short, but I gotta make another call." I said.
"My lunch break is almost over anyway." Alexis said. "But if you're free, I'll see if I can call you after classes let out."
"Sure." I said. "Talk to you soon."
After Alexis hung up, I quickly gave Sartorius a call.
"Jaden?" Sartorius asked.
"Hey, Sartorius." I said. "Sorry to bring this up so abruptly, but I've thought about things, and I figured my manager should be the first to know."
Then I said the five worst words I ever could.
"I've decided to quit dueling."
Author's Note: Jaden's at his lowest point! Merry Christmas to all!
Jokes aside, since this chapter sees the return of Alexis, and this was supposed to be a Fiancee Shipping fanfic, I thought it would be a nice gift to the fans.
I'm hoping to get another chapter out on New Year's Eve, but I do have a side project I gotta work on first.
If I do get that chapter out in time though, here's a hint about what it'll be. The original Breaking the Hold series had a chapter release on December 31st 2007. (My gosh, has it really been that long?) The next chapter has something to do with that one. Which is why I'm saving it for then.
