I don't own Yu-Gi-Oh! GX. This story takes places after the episode "Chazz-anova" and ends with "Darkness Within."

Chapter One- A Curious Find

It was a beautiful sunny day at Duel Academy and Alexis was taking advantage of the warm Saturday afternoon by lying on a towel on the beach in her bathing suit. She had put an umbrella up to provide some shade before putting on some sunglasses and leaning back, her arms resting under her head. She closed her eyes and listened to the sounds of her schoolmates and the ocean waves. Everything is so peaceful, she thought, feeling herself grow sleepy in the tranquil setting.

An excited scream snapped her wide awake. She quickly sat up and looked around. "What the heck was that for?" she asked herself. She continued to look around until she spied a cluster of girls near the water's edge. A couple of them were pointing at the ocean and Alexis followed their fingers to see someone surfing. She huffed and laid back down. It was just her brother. Hmph, the big ladies' man. He's got more admirers than Zane.

She heard Atticus whoop with joy and guessed that he had gotten back to shore. She opened her eyes to see her brother heading her way with a gaggle of giggling girls behind him. He was winking at them, flashing winning smiles, and chatting them up. Alexis wondered if he felt anything for any of them and decided to ask him once they were alone.

"Hey, sis," Atticus greeted as he signed some papers to the last two girls that followed him. They took off giggling and Atticus sat beside Alexis, grinning and began maintaining his surfboard.

"Atticus, I know the girls love you, but…do you feel anything for them?"

"I love all of them. Why would you even ask that?"

"I'm asking because I'm curious if you really love any of them. I mean, you act like you're a rock star or something."

"A rock star. Hmm, maybe a pop star, actually."

"I'm serious, Atti. I don't want people thinking you're just leading girls on. Playing with their hearts as it is."

"Lexi, I'm just enjoying my popularity with girls. I'm not leading them on."

"Do you love any of them?"

Atticus thought for a moment. "Probably not," he admitted. Atticus knew, deep down, that Alexis had a point of him being a ladies' man, but he couldn't help that he was attractive to them. "Lexi, I can't help that they like me."

"Well, the way you're acting annoys me."

"Don't you have any guys you're interested in?"

"Just one. Jaden. Thing is, he's kind of oblivious to romance and lives just to duel. I understand that, as I love dueling like he does."

"Oh. It's just that I've noticed that you attract the attentions of a lot of guys."

"I noticed that too, but I don't flirt with any of them."

"Flirt!? You think I'm flirting!?"

"No, of course not." Truthfully, Alexis did, but she didn't want to hurt Atticus' feeling any more than she already had.

"Lexi, believe me, I'm not. If I was a pretty girl like you, I would be attracting just as many guys as I do with girls."

"All right, Atti. I believe you. I'm sorry for being upset."

"I'm sorry too for getting you upset also. I'm going to head back to our room, shower, and relax."

"Okay. See you later."

Atticus stood and walked away with his board tucked under an arm. He glanced back at Alexis who way lying on her back and it seemed like she was dozing. His mind drifted back to their conversation. Maybe I really have been acting like a ladies' man. I've been in the Shadow Realm for months all alone. I like being around people and all the attention I get from the girls is flattering. I suppose I could turn down the charm a bit.

A glimmer at the edge of the sand flashed briefly, vanished as the tide rolled in, and then reappeared. Curious, Atticus went over and saw a kind of necklace in the sand. He pried it out and found it was a unisex necklace. It was a sturdy gold chain with a charm in the shape of the yin yang symbol with a jewel in the center the color of the sky…or was it a pink color? He held it up. The jewel seemed to be alternating between blue and pink. How curious, he thought. He put it on as he had no pockets on his wetsuit and headed for campus, failing to notice that the jewel settled on a soft pink color.

Alexis had settled back on her towel, looking as if she was asleep, but her eyes were open behind her sunglasses. She felt bad about arguing with her brother and felt that she hadn't made herself clear on the source of her annoyance. Atticus needs to focus on his classes and his dueling, not being a ladies' man. I get that the girls love his charms, athletic skills, and his looks, but he needs to be subtle about it, not flaunt it. Take Zane, for example. He's aware that he's attractive and that the girls like him, but he doesn't show off and chat girls up. He remains focused on his dueling.

I'm the same way. I know that there are guys who think I'm cute, but I don't flaunt it. I'm not really into dating or romance right now. I want to improve my skills as a duelist and graduate to become a pro duelist which is what Zane plans to do when he graduates this year. I just don't get why Atticus can't be more like Zane and me. She sighed as her eyes slid shut and she fell in a light doze.

Atticus sighed as the water ran over his hair and body before grabbing the shampoo and lathering up his hair. He wondered briefly what to do after his shower and decided he would examine his deck to see if it needed an upgrade. Maybe I can put spells and traps that have to do with stage performance; like a pop star. I rather like that idea. Hey, maybe I can get Alexis interested in that, too. We could do a duo act; singing sibling pop stars who duel. Yeah, I love that idea!

Atticus was soon rubbing himself dry and pulling on a uniform. He reached for the necklace and held it up, noticing that the jewel was entirely pink. Hmm, maybe the blue was just the reflection of the sky. Oh, well, it's still cool. He put it on and pull his jacket on over it before leaving the bathroom, crossing to his deck, and sat down. He pulled out all his cards and set to work while wondering if he would be allowed to stay with Alexis next year or move to the boys' dorm at that time.

An hour later, Alexis walked in to see Atticus hard at work, cards spread across the desk top. He looked up briefly to nod at Alexis before returning to his cards. Alexis gathered up a uniform and undergarments before heading for the bathroom to shower. She emerged later to see her brother putting cards away and a deck sitting on the desk.

"Finished updating, huh?" she asked.

"All done. I think it looks good."

"I feel the same way about my deck. I added some Ritual monsters to it."

"Yeah? Sounds interesting. I'd love to see that in action."

"Careful, Atti. I might end up dueling you with it," she teased.

Atticus laughed. "I wouldn't mind that. We haven't dueled each other since we were kids."

"That's true. Hey, let's go to dinner and maybe we can talk combos, tactics, and strategies afterwards."

"Sound like a good evening plan to me." Atticus followed Alexis out of the room, his pendent emitting a soft glow.