Hey everyone! Glad you liked the last chapter. Here's a new one. Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own YuGiOh GX or Jess, she still belongs to ladydream-chan.
Claimer: This entire story is mine. The plot especially. The random OCs also belongs to me. Any and all copiers WILL BE reported to the administrators, so don't take anything.
xXx
Narrative POV
Aster drove down the streets back toward Yugi's house, both hands on the wheel with eyes focused on nothing but pavement. In the passenger seat, Akiza moaned lightly in pain, twisting away from him while resting her head on the cool glass. Draped around her was Aster's coat. He even put the suppressant device back in her hair before leaving; anything to keep his mind from wandering back to Sartorius.
'Why did he say that to me?' he wondered, remembering how Sartorius said that he would always treasure the memories he had of Aster.
Even as he pointed a gun straight at him, ready to pull the trigger without a hint of hesitation.
Aster's hands tightened around the wheel, turning his knuckles white. He wasn't ready to back and face the onslaught of questions he knew would be asked, seeing as Akiza wasn't in any fit shape to.
"Where are we?" she whispered, rotating her head to look at Aster.
He was startled slightly at the sound of her voice. "Um, we're almost back." He looked at her, seeing the exhaustion in her eyes. Fighting Sartorius, though physically wasn't really that much, must have been very mentally taxing…more than he originally thought. "Should we call to let them know to open the gate for us?"
She shrugged and closed her eyes, relaxing against the door. "Sure, do whatever you want, Phoenix."
He looked at her confused, ready to ask why she called him by his last name, but noticed that she had already drifted back to sleep. 'Weird.' He shook his head and fumbled around for his cell phone, noting that it was more difficult than it should have been. Just when he thought he had it, it slipped from his fingers. Eventually it fell to the floor below his feet. Groaning, he pulled off to the shoulder of the road, put the car in park, and grabbed his phone.
Only then did he notice that his hands were shaking.
He took an unsteady breath and pressed his forehead against the steering wheel, fighting to remain calm. He didn't understand why he was so shaken by the events that just transpired. Maybe he was just overreacting. Or maybe it was because he just witnessed the murder of his oldest friend.
And he didn't really care that he was dead.
Part of him knew he would miss Sartorius, in his own way, but right now was not the time to act like this. He had to get back to the mansion before Jaden and Yusei started freaking out. That's the last thing anyone needed right now.
Finally feeling in control, Aster sat up and placed the car in drive, dialing a familiar number with one hand. Akiza mumbled something in her sleep and sighed herself back to sleep. He sighed and pressed the phone to his ear, hearing it ring only halfway before the other person answered.
"Aster!"
"Hey, Jaden. Yeah, it's me."
"I'm hoping everything turned out…ended in our favor."
Aster appreciated the way Jaden didn't say "turned out well", as if he knew Aster would feel something for the loss of Sartorius. "Yes, Akiza killed Sartorius."
"Good, glad to hear it. How is she?"
"Tired, extremely so. She's zonked out right now in the passenger seat."
"Am not," she mumbled, reaching out to push his shoulder, hitting the seat instead. Her arm fell again and she muttered something, falling back asleep.
Jaden laughed, hearing her. "As long as she's okay. I am curious though, how did she kill him?"
"Um, well, I sort of didn't understand it myself."
"Well, great, I'm screwed then if you didn't understand it."
Aster laughed; glad that Jaden was the one he called. Sometimes he wondered if Jaden said things like that without thinking. "She can explain it once we get back, if she feels up to it."
"I'm up to it," she muttered again.
Aster rolled his eyes. "Quit being stubborn and go back to sleep," he said, poking her arm.
"You're not the boss of me," she snapped, though it didn't sound very threatening in her exhausted voice.
Jaden laughed again. "We'll let Yusei deal with her when you guys get back. By the way, when is that exactly?"
"That's why I originally called. We'll be rounding the corner to Yugi's mansion in approximately five seconds."
"Geez! You're sneaking up on us! All right, I'll tell Yugi to go punch in the code to let you in. Yusei and I will meet you guys in three." He hung up before Aster could say anything else.
"Hm, very interesting," Aster said, turning off his phone and setting it in the cup holder. He rounded the corner to Yugi's house and saw the gate swinging open.
"They left the door open," Akiza mumbled, eyes barely open.
Aster chuckled. "You're too tired; go to sleep."
She shot him a weak glare, but resigned back against the window with a sigh.
Aster turned into the grounds, hearing the gate shut behind him. The front door opened and Jaden and Yusei walked out, hurrying over to the car just as Aster killed the engine. He got out of the car slowly, trying not to put much weight on his hurt leg.
"Hey, you okay?" Jaden asked, seeing him using the car to help keep weight off his leg.
Aster smiled at him. "Mostly, yeah. Sartorius just knocked the gun out of my hand and it went off, grazing my leg. That's all." He held his leg out, showing the nice burn on his calf.
Jaden's eyes narrowed and darkened. He walked over to Aster, taking his arm and pulling it over his shoulder. "Don't complain, I know it hurts like a bitch."
Aster bit his tongue to keep from talking, hearing the order ringing in Jaden's voice. He may not think he's a good leader, but he's the best Aster's ever seen.
"She's wiped," Yusei said, walking over to them with Akiza in his arms. Her head was resting against his shoulder, face paler than Aster remembers. His coat is still draped around her.
"Looks like it," Jaden said as they headed to the house. Atem stood in the doorway, holding the door open.
"Yugi, get the med kit," he yelled, not looking away from the people approaching.
Joey jumped in the doorway, looking at Aster.
"One down?"
Aster nodded. "One down."
"And only eight to go," Jaden said.
xXx
Jaden's POV
"Think of it this way, at least now you got a scar that you can show the ladies and go 'I got shot.' Trust me, the fawn every time," Joey said, winking at Aster. He was then smacked by Tristan and Marik.
"There's always a silver lining to getting shot I suppose," I agreed, looking out the window, seeing the sun falling over the horizon as night was beginning to set.
"Hey, how many times have you been shot, Jaden?" Crow asked suddenly.
I looked at him, confused, before frowning and looking back out the window. "Too many times."
"Why do you want to know?" Jim asked, looking at Crow with a raised eyebrow.
Crow just shrugged. "I was curious."
Jack rolled his eyes. "You're such an idiot, Crow."
"Don't start you two," Yusei said, intervening before they could start fighting again. I noticed that it was something they liked to do a lot. While Aster and Akiza were off fighting Sartorius, they were always fighting. But something tells me that when it comes down to fights, they have each other's backs.
"So, now what?" Julie asked.
I sighed and turned to look at her. She was sitting between Jesse and Alexis, Maria asleep in her arms. "I don't know," I said.
"I think we have some time to plan, now that Sartorius is dead," Yusei said.
I nodded. "I agree, but we don't have a lot."
"I could try and pull some strings with a few old buddies of mine, see if I can dig more information up on these new Skulls," Nathan offered.
Jesse looked at him startled. "What kind of strings?"
He just smiled and stood up, cell phone already being pulled out of his pocket. "Good strings, but the kind that's best if I don't say aloud." He walked out of the room, dialing a number.
"Weird," Tristan said.
Julie shrugged. "Nah, not really. My dad was after all the one who started the Crib gang. It goes without saying that he has some deep connections in the underground community."
"Say what!?" Joey said, jumping up. "Your dad started the Crib gang? The same Crib gang that used to be your arch enemy in Ochi City?"
"The one and the same. And before you ask why, I lost my memory at a young age. I didn't even know who my parents were until last year." She shrugged again, bouncing Maria once and standing up. "I'm going to lay her down."
Jesse nodded and squeezed her hand, allowing her to walk away. He rested his elbow on his knee and rubbed his forehead. "Damn it," he muttered, standing up.
"We'll get them, Jesse," I said, knowing why he was standing.
He looked at me, hands balling into fists at his side. He nodded curtly at me before walking out of the room. I sighed and looked back out the window.
"I'm really confused," Syrus said.
"Jesse is just worried about Julie and Maria. Giese is back so he's got him on his mind, as well as the other Skulls. Not to mention that Julie is going to hunt Camula down and kill her." I sighed and pinched the bridge of my nose. "I need some air." I walked out of the house, raising my hand briefly to keep Alexis where she was. She made a face, one that showed she didn't like me leaving alone, but stayed where she was.
I jumped down the steps and walked back behind Yugi's house, toward his backyard; it was elaborately landscaped. I walked over to the Weeping Willow that hung over a koi fish pond. Rocks were set up around the rim of the pond, so I stood there, hands in my pocket as I stared at the fish, watching them swim around in a circle.
I smirked humorlessly to myself. "What goes around comes around, great." I blew out my breath and placed my hand on my forehead, fingers threading through my hair.
Suddenly, there was a cigarette box in front of my face, one out being offered to me. I looked o my left to see that it was Yusei, who already had one between his lips. "Take one," he said.
I frowned; half tempted to push it away, but decided against it. Instead I sighed and took the offered cigarette. "Thanks."
He held up a lighter, igniting the flame for me. "It's no good unless you lit it, Jaden."
"Good point." I placed the tip in the flame, watching as it slowly began to burn.
Yusei covered his own with his hand while he lit the end, flicking the lighter shut as he shoved it back into his pocket. He shoved one hand into his pocket, using his other one to pull his cigarette out of his mouth, blowing the smoke out as he sighed. "You okay?"
I shrugged and blew out the smoke, sighing. Smoking wasn't that hard for me. Sadly, I used to do it all the time before I went to Duel Academy. I haven't had one in years. "Mostly, I suppose. I'm just worried about everyone else."
"Always the gallant one," he mused, a small smirk on his lips.
I nudged him with my elbow, taking a drag on my cigarette. "It's not that."
"I know. I'm just trying to get you to talk." He smiled at me, his cigarette resting between his index and middle finger, hanging at his side.
I shrugged and looked back at the koi fish, which were still swimming in a circle. "There really isn't a lot to talk about."
"Bullshit," Atem said. Yusei and I both turned, seeing him walking over to us. "It's time for an intervention, Jaden."
I frowned and looked between him and Yusei, who was smiling like he knew something I didn't. Suddenly, I felt outnumbered and at a disadvantage. "Intervention?"
"You asked us for our help, which we were more than glad to do, but you're still trying to handle everything by yourself," Yusei said, pulling back out his cigarettes. He offered one to Atem, who took it without a word. Yusei handed him his lighter.
"What's wrong with that? This is, after all, my fight," I said.
"Have you always been this damn stubborn or is this a new thing?" Atem asked, lighting his cigarette. He took a breath of it and looked at me, blowing the smoke out at an angle so it didn't get in my face. He had an eyebrow raised at me.
"I don't know what you mean." I looked away from him, stubbornly placing my own cigarette in my mouth and shoving both hands in my pockets.
"There you go again, crawling into your shell," Yusei said, pointing at me with his cigarette hanging out of the corner of his mouth.
I glared at him.
"Jaden, we're here to help you. You can't take this whole thing on by yourself. No one can handle that kind of stress," Atem said.
"I can," I muttered, lips pressed together.
"Bullshit," he and Yusei said at the same time.
I threw my hands up in the air. "What the hell do you want me to do then? Risk your guys' lives too!?"
"Yes," they said again, looking at me seriously.
I blinked and looked between the two of them, shocked. "Seriously?"
Atem chuckled and took a drag of his cigarette while Yusei just chuckled. "Jaden, if we didn't want you to risk our lives, we would have shown you the door the second you came to ask for help. Everyone here knows the risks that come with this, and they don't give a damn," Yusei said.
Atem nodded, flicking the ash off of the end of his cigarette. "Exactly. Everyone is getting annoyed that you're trying to figure everything out by yourself." He looked at me pointedly. "You and the rest of your Bloods."
"We don't like risking other people's lives by dragging them into our fight," I explained, pulling the cigarette out from between my lips, shaking the ash off the end.
Yusei pointed at me. "See? There you go again with this 'your fight' shit. Jaden, the second we agreed to help you fight these Skulls, it became our fight. All of us, as in the Bloods, the Pyramids, and the Signers." He rolled his own cigarette between his thumb and index finger, ash falling off the end.
"He's right, Jaden. You Bloods are trying to figure everything out yourselves when in fact you are the ones who has already suffered the biggest lose," Atem said, placing his cigarette back between his lips. "You've already lost three of your members and another nearly three times. No offence, but you guys are acting really dumb."
I frowned, annoyed that everything they were saying was sinking in. "You guys don't deserve to be killed for our mistake."
Yusei threw his hands up in the air. "What mistake!?"
I jumped a little at his outburst.
"Jaden, you guys didn't make any mistakes. If anyone made any, it would be us," Atem said, pointing at himself, indicating that he was talking about himself and the Pyramids.
"Don't forget us; we may not have been an organized gang at the time, but me and my fellow Signers were pretty much one," Yusei said.
Atem nodded. "Right and the two of us stood by and watched the news, knowing that the Skulls were killing innocent people and we weren't going to do a damn thing." He looked at me. "But you and the Bloods did, not to mention the Cribs. You guys got rid of them, even if it was only for a short amount of time."
"No, you're wrong, Atem," Yusei said. "The Skulls will never reach the level they were before because of what the Bloods and Cribs did."
I shook my head and pulled my cigarette out of my mouth, looking at the red tip. "Quit painting us as heroes."
"You guys are heroes though. You took on the monster Skulls and won, Jaden, all on your own." Yusei clapped me on the shoulder. "This time though you're going to have to share the spotlight."
I looked at him. "You guys are serious? You really are willing to risk your lives over this?"
"Of course," Atem said. He smiled at me. "Jaden, you're not alone this time. You've got us." He indicated between himself and Yusei. "And we'll make sure this time no one survives."
Yusei nodded. "The Skulls are toast."
For the first time in a week, I felt myself actually relax. "I don't know what to say that won't sound like total cheese."
Yusei chuckled and pulled his cigarette out of his mouth, dropping it on the ground and grinding it with the heel of his boot. "Then don't. We know what you mean." He held out his hand, arm up, waiting for me to grab it. "The Signers are in this completely, Jaden. We're behind you and your Bloods one-hundred percent."
"And don't you dare forget the infamous Pyramids," Atem said, dropping his own cigarette on the ground, mimicking Yusei as he put it out. He held his hand, just like Yusei. "My Pyramids and I are with you Bloods no matter what happens."
I smiled and dropped my own cigarette, crushing it with the front of my shoe. "All right," I said, looking up at the two of them. "From here on out, the Bloods, the Pyramids, and the Signers are working together as one."
They smiled and nodded. I smiled in return and took Yusei's hand. Atem covered our hands with his and we just looked at each other. For the first time in a long time, I actually felt like things would turn out better than they began.
Behind me, the koi fish separated and began swimming around, no longer in a circle. I took that as a good sign.
xXx
I really like this chapter! I love the triple-leader pow-wow!
Please, please, PLEASE review!
-x-Anime-Queen-2011-x-
-o-Mel-o-
