Chapter 3

Aster's P.o.V.

As Aster walked into Sartorius's fortune telling room, Sartorius said, "A wise choice…"

"Yeah, you were right. I have to beat that Jaden kid. It's the only way. My entire career is on the line here!" Aster replied.

"Glad you agree. But dueling Jaden wasn't my idea."

"Huh?" Aster asked.

"This rivalry was determined by the hands of fate."

"That may be true, but we both already know fate's chosen me to be the best."

Hoshi's P.o.V.

"Well Jaden, when Aster gets here, you'd better be ready…or you'll be crushed," I told the duelist.

"Chill Hoshi! It's like you doubt me…" Jaden pouted.

"I don't; it's just that we don't know his real deck," I protested. "I'm outta here. Sy, Bastion, make sure he at least finishes his homework. I've gotta make a call…"

"O-Okay…" Sy stuttered, confused.

"Alright, don't worry about a thing!" Bastion exclaimed.

"Thanks." I walked out the door to the Main Hall. Taking out my black and turquoise phone, I dialed a number. "Hey Joey. Are you busy? No, it's not that important, but… No… I get it… Yeah, see ya when I get back to Domino…" I hung up and sighed. "How disappointing…" Then, a guy ran past me with a bag that looked stuffed.

"What's your rush, tough guy?" someone laughed. I immediately stood up from where I was sitting on one of the stone markers. "Now that you stole those cards, don't you want to use them?"

"What'd ya want?" the guy asked. I looked closer and I saw that it looked like something you'd see on a Duel Monster's card. With a red cape and a skull for a head, I wouldn't want to run into him in a dark alley.

"I'm just looking for a friendly duel…" he laughed again.

'I recognize that voice!' I thought.

"You don't know who I am?" the voice asked. "I'm Aster Phoenix!"

Soon Afterwards

A large explosion shook the ground and the terrifying looking Duel Monster stared down at the man.

"I've got a little saying. It goes; You can't hide from destiny!" Aster smirked.

I looked down at the thief. "Aster, this is pointless! You can't really want to inflict this much damage to him!" I exclaimed.

Aster just walked away. "You want free cards? Take 'em! They won't be much use to you… In prison!" he yelled back at the man.

"Halt! Who goes there?" someone shouted. There were at least five people there who were staring at the scene in front of them.

"Aster Phoenix!" another exclaimed.

"Jaden? Is that you?" I asked, squinting to see who was there. Two Ra Yellows… Bastion and Syrus; A Slifer… Jaden; From what I could see, Dr. Crowler and Bonaparte.

"Hoshi? What are you doing?" Bastion asked.

"Don't ask me; ask Phoenix!" I glared angrily at the superstar.

"Hey, who's that?" Syrus asked.

"Some punk that thought crime paid off. Turns out he was wrong…" Aster replied smugly.

"Woah, it looks like you knocked him out cold!" Sy marveled at the sight.

Bastion, on the other hand, was disgusted. "What've you done to him?"

"Jaden! How've you been, bro?" Aster asked.

"Hey, Bastion asked you a question!" Syrus shouted.

"Yeah, now fess up!" Jaden agreed.

"Hey, save it for the duel."

My phone suddenly rung and I looked at it to see that Joey was calling back. "Hey… Yeah, still here… Not at all… Only if you're insane… Joey, if you send her, I will personally come back and knock you unconscious, and I'm quite capable of doing that… Hang on…" I put my hand over the receiver and excused myself from the rest of the gang, who, other than Alexis, looked at me like I was crazy. "Yeah, I'm here."

"Good, so, ya think you can make it back for a pro duel?" Joey asked.

"Anytime. As long as I can come back afterwards," I replied.

"O'course ya can!" he exclaimed.

"Joey, how long are you going to take?" someone yelled from the back.

"Hi Mai!" I shouted. "Joey, I'll see you later! Bye!"

The Next Day

I was literally dragged to the arena by Alexis and Bastion. I really didn't want to see Jaden get his butt handed to him.

"Lex, no! Don't you dare make me watch Jaden's embarrassing defeat!" I protested, trying to yank my hand away from her grasp. Alexis kept dragging me to the arena, Bastion right behind.

At the arena, we all took our seats in the stands. Jaden walked up to the dueling center and Lex whispered, "They're about to start."

"I. Don't. Care. Lex," I hissed through gritted teeth

"Your back-up troops are right here, sarge!"

'Why am I thinking that Aster's gonna win? No, no, no! I can't think like that now! Just keep cheering for Jaden!'

Jaden smiled down at his deck and spoke to it for a little. "Bastion? Why's Jay speaking to his cards?"

"He's a follower of Yugi Muto."

"Oh."

"We love Aster, yes we do! We love Aster, how 'bout you?" Alexis's friends, Mindy and Jasmine, were cheering for Aster and then freaking out about him just waving at them.

"HEY GIRLIES! YOU WANNA WATCH THE STUPID DUEL OR NOT!?" I yelled. Alexis stared at me in amazement, as did everyone else. Mindy… Well… she just stuck her tongue out at me. "IMMATURE MUCH?" I shouted.

"Woah, calm down, Shi." Lex pulled on my jacket to calm me down.

"Sure… "

"Well, that was pathetic," Lex conceded.

"They're supposed to be with us!" Syrus whined.

"I'm gonna have a word with those two." Lex got up and started walking towards the pair. All the boys blocked her path.

"Oh no ya don't!" Hassleberry exclaimed.

"Huh?"

Syrus explained, "We're not falling for that. You just want to sit near Aster." Everyone else nodded. Alexis cleared her throat and sat back down, a blush visible on her face.

"Wow… and you call them pathetic," I muttered.

The two duelists slid their decks into their disks and got ready to duel. However, Jay started to speak with… nothing.

Aster's P.o.V.

Easily starting off with a defensive move, Jaden Yuki started with a power move. His FlameWingman.

Throughout the duel I stopped to see a blonde girl speaking with Hoshi Rhodes, who I assumed was Alexis.

Hoshi's P.o.V.

"Oh! I get it! Aster's trying to knock out Jaden's unique strategy of power and effects with the same monster effects in different forms! Plus the fact that Phoenix Enforcer can't be destroyed helps."

The duel continued for several rounds of Hero versus Hero. With appearances from Tempest, Shining Phoenix Enforcer, and Shining FlareWingman.

'This bites. This is just like the duel that I was beaten by Aster.'

"When it leaves the field, I can unleash a new kind of hero from my deck. They're known as the Destiny Heroes!" Aster shouted.

"Huh? What?" I snapped out of my trance.

"Destiny Heroes?" Jaden asked, astonished.

"What Heroes?" Chazz asked.

"Destiny, son. They already said it twice."

"Riddle me this, guys. Who's the duelist who's a happy-go-lucky guy, a real good duelist, and is about to get his but handed to him?" I spat sarcastically. 'Of course. The more things change, the more they stay the same. Stupid. Jaden thought that he actually stands a chance against Phoenix? Don't make me laugh.'

"I'd rather not answer that, and what are they? The Destiny Heroes, I mean." Syrus looked at Bastion.

He just looked appalled. "Don't look at me!"

"Then look at me." Everyone turned to me. "The Destiny Heroes are a type of hero that is unique to Aster Phoenix's deck. They're one-of-a-kind, created by Aster's father before… " I swallowed, "… before he died."

The Destiny Heroes Deck was unbelievable. Weak monsters, mostly, but with wicked special effects. For too long the match dragged on, too long that we spectators had to endure the drama.

"OH SOMEBODY JUST WIN!" I yelled.

Soon, my wish came true. Aster won, defeating Jaden and smirking as if it were nothing.

"Jaden lost!" Chazz, Bastion, and Alexis exclaimed.

Jaden tipped over and all of his cards were ejected out of his Duel Disk.

"His cards!' Sy and Hassleberry yelled.

"Jaden!" I rushed down to see if he was alive, forget awake! As everyone else came rushing down the stands, I glared at the little hub where Aster was watching everything.

'Okay, Phoenix. You mess with me, I ignore you. But you mess with my friends, you get hurt.'