After Jaden had fled from the infirmary, he ran all the way back to where him and Anastasia fought and sat along the cliffs edge with his feet dangling off the ledge as he stared off into the endless ocean horizon. Behind him, Haou appeared in a spirit form that only Jaden could see and sat next to him on the cliffs ledge.
There was a long pause while the two sat together and enjoyed the silence before Haou spoke up. "I can tell something is eating at you." He said as he glanced over at Jaden who had a solemn expression on his face. Jaden took in a deep breath as he hung his head low. "I've been meaning to ask… But who is Sepheria to you? I had a dream about her. I'm assuming she's someone from your past."
Haou looked at him curiously but leaned back with his body resting on his arms. "She's no one important to me anymore. But if you really want to know, I admit. I too was once in love with a human woman. But that was a long time ago." Jaden looked up at him shocked after hearing this new revelation. "If you're bringing this up because you want to ask me advice about your human consort than I have nothing to say that you'd want to hear. Unless you want to be honest with you?"
Jaden's gaze softened as he looked at his other half. "I want your genuine opinion. What do you think I should do? You're the one who has thousands of years of experience with stuff like this. So tell me. I care about her deeply, but I don't want to keep hurting her. She deserves better than that." Haou stood up and faced Jaden with his face as stoic as ever, but his voice had a hint of genuine empathy for his better half. "Let me ask you this Jaden. How long do you think we vampires live for? We are not immortal by any means. We grow old just like anyone else. But compared to a human, we are able to live five of their lifetimes before we begin to whither. How do you think it would make Alexis feel when she's old and gray and you're still in the prime of your health? One day, you are going to have to watch her die. Is that what you want?"
Jaden gritted his teeth and cupped his face in his hands. That thought had never actually crossed his mind. "Of course I don't want that! But I love her-" "Stop right there." Said Haou as he interjected. "That's your problem. You want to stop hurting her? Then you need to stop hurting yourself first. She is a human woman, let that sink into your brain. She will never be able to understand the struggles and persecution we face every day just for existing. Speaking from experience, humans are the real devils. They will not give it a second thought if they were to get an opportunity that benefitted their survival." Haou said as he began to reminisce about his first love. "And sometimes, even the people we love the most end up betraying us. Sepheria was my everything… But even she began to see me as a monster. Do yourself a favor and distance yourself from her before it's too late."
With that last sentiment, Haou faded away back into the deepest part of Jaden's mind leaving him alone to ponder the advice his darker half gave him. Jaden looked at his hand that, even though it looked clean, he could never wash away the smell of blood that forever stained his skin. Maybe Haou was right. He was never going to go back to being human. His old life was gone. He had already shed enough blood that he no longer had the right to call himself a that. He was a vampire and Alexis was a prey. It was foolish of him to think that it was ever going to work out. No matter how strong his feelings were for her, there was always going to be a chance that he would lose control and he would lose her forever.
"Somehow I knew I would find you here." Said Aster who walked out from the trees and joined Jaden as he sat by the cliff. "What's up with you? I don't think I've ever seen you this gloomy before." Jaden did his best to pick himself up and forced on his signature grin. "Everything is fine! You know me, I just love a good melodramatic moment. But enough of that, were you able to retrieve the letter?" Aster sighed as he scratched his cheek. "Yes and no. The letter was intercepted but not by me. You wouldn't happen to know a vampire girl with a serious obsession over you, would you?"
Jaden's breath got stuck in his throat when he realized who his rival was talking about. "Her name is Anastasia. She must have overheard me relaying the message about the letter to you. And before you ask, me and her aren't exactly friends. She came to the island yesterday saying she needed to take me back home with her and she's been following me ever since. I hope she didn't cause too much trouble." Said Jaden sympathetically.
"Trouble?! She made a whole damn mess! She killed three guards and the courier, then left me to deal with the aftermath! Luckily, we were able to make up an excuse so that no one got suspicious about my involvement. I know I don't really have a choice in helping you out but be more careful with who you choose as your allies, because I can't promise that I am going to get along with them." Aster said with a note of irritation in his voice. Jaden didn't really know what to say and nervously chuckled in response. "I didn't choose her. But she is strong and reliable, so I'm not going to complain if she decides to aid us. But as long as she vows to be loyal to me, there will be no more killing if I have anything to say about it." Said Jaden with a fake smile, but Aster could see the true undying sadness behind it.
Over the past couple of weeks, the two of them had gotten pretty close. He noticed that Jaden had a bad habit of putting on a brave face to save everyone else's feelings and constantly hid his own feelings away. Aster could relate to that a little. When they first met, Aster was hell bent on killing him because he only saw him as the king of all vampires, the things he despised the most. But now, every time he looked at Jaden, all he saw was a genuine down to earth guy who cared about everyone no matter what species they were. He respected everyone equally and Aster found that admirable about him.
Aster then stood up and lightly smacked Jaden on the back of the head causing him to turn around. "If you keep pretending to smile like that I'm going to beat your ass again. Now come on, let's go see the others. I'm sure your new stalker would love to share that letter with you." Said Aster as he extended his hand for Jaden to take. Jaden grabbed his hand and stood up with the help of his new ally and the two soon went back to the school to meet up with everyone.
Class had already ended and the gang was waiting patiently for them on the rooftop after receiving a message from Jaden on their PDAs to meet up. "Sorry we're late. Didn't mean to keep you guys waiting so long!" Said Jaden as he ran up to his friends and sat down with them to update their situation. "I left class earlier because I got a message from one of my bats saying an important letter was going to be sent to the mainland. I asked Aster to go and get it for me. But Anastasia beat him to it so now we just have to wait for her to show up and -MM!" Jaden couldn't finish his sentence as Anastasia came seemingly out of nowhere falling from the sky and landed right on top of him and hugged him tightly.
"Mission accomplished, my lord!" Said Anastasia as she sat up off of him and took the letter out of her blazer pocket which was still stained with blood. Jaden took it from her and looked at the letter, sweat dropping as he cleared his throat. "Uh, thank you Ana." Anastasia stared up at him with hearts in her eyes waiting to be praised. "Did I do a good job?" Jaden sighed but smiled anyways and affectionally rubbed the top of her head making her blush. "Yes. You did a good job. Thank you."
Aster hastily grabbed the envelope from him and ripped it open to read what was inside. "You're taking way too long!" His eyes began to scan the page as he focused on every word. But a shadow casted over his face as he made it to the last word. "What the hell is this?..." He said with anger dripping off of his tongue like a venomous snake. Jaden took the letter back from him and read it, confused by what it all meant.
The letter read as followed. "The subject is growing steadily with positive results. We have administered the latest supplement into the subject's body and the state of her body seems to be improving. If we can obtain a sample of the Supreme King's blood, that would further our research. Her power level output continues to increase as well as her regenerative abilities. Arista might actually be the apostle we've been looking for. I will send you another update next week after the results of our next testing."
Jaden read the letter but tilted his head to the side in confusion. "Arista? Who's that?" Jaden looked at Aster who didn't respond but his eyes were glowing red with anger as he glared at the sky. "Aster? Do you know who that is?" "That's my sister's name… But that can't be right. She died! I watched her die! It can't be a coincidence that there's another girl with her name involved with Sartorius. If it was some other girl then why would he hide this from me?!" Jaden walked over to him to try and get him to calm him down. But as soon as Jaden laid a hand on him, Aster instinctively turned around and struck him sending Jaden flying and knocking him into a wall making him lose his breath.
After watching Aster strike Jaden, Anastasia ran in front of him and quickly dropped her friendly persona and became unhinged again with her hair unfurling behind her. "Do you have a death wish?! Because I would be happy to oblige!" A section of her hair turned into a blade which she aimed right at Aster, but Jaden stood up while grabbing his ribs and stopped her from attacking. "Don't. I'm fine." Jaden then walked up to Aster who was still lost in his anger and pulled him into a hug shocking the young champion who started to finally calm down.
"I'm sorry… I didn't mean to do that." Jaden frowned as he let go of his friend and placed both hands on each of Aster's shoulders. "Is it possible that your sister might have survived?" Aster glared at him and even though his face was twisted in anger, tears began to fall from his eyes. "I know she's dead! Because I'm the one that killed her!" He said as he fell to his knees and began sobbing.
"Remember when we were in Domino City, and you asked me why I joined the Society Of Light? It's because when Sartorius found me, I was freshly turned and I ended up murdering my own sister. I begged him to kill me but he promised me that if I helped him, he would help me get my revenge and help me get stronger. Our parents were murdered by a noble and they thought it would be a fun to turn me and watch as I massacred the only family member I had left. When I came back to my senses, I saw her cold lifeless body lying underneath me."
Everyone around them was speechless. They never knew Aster had such a dark past looming over him. It explained a lot about why Aster was the way he was. It explained why he had such a deep hatred for all vampires. They all thought to themselves, if that happened to them they probably would have ended up on the same path as him.
Jaden knelt down to his level and patted the top of his head. "Well if you're positive it's your sister they're talking about in that letter… Then as your friends, we are going to do everything we can to find out the truth. You hear me Aster? If Sartorius really has your sister, we are going to save her! I promise!" Jaden smiled at him with a grin that reached from ear to ear, and when Aster looked at him, it brought peace to his aching heart.
"Why do you care so much? After everything I've done to you... Why do you want to be my friend?" Jaden placed a finger on his chin as he sat down christcross apple sauce style with a smile still placed on his lips. "Well the same could be said for me. We've both have hurt each other in the past yet you're still here helping us out. Why are you doing that when you don't have to? That's because I know that deep down, you want to be friends with us too! So let's make it official! Welcome to team Yuki!" He said with his hand stretched out for a handshake.
Aster chuckled to himself as he wiped his eyes and took Jaden's offer, shaking his hand back. "Thanks for having me." The two stood up while laughing and Anastasia after watching them make amends lowered her guard and smiled. "My king has such a kind heart, doesn't he?" Syrus nodded his head in approval. "It's one of Jaden's superpowers. It might not be magical like his vampire abilities, but his real strength is being able to bring people together. Pretty cool power, huh?" Said Syrus with a look of admiration on his face as he watched his best friend finally quell the rivalry between him and Aster. Anastasia nodded in response. "It certainly is."
Back at the white dormitories in the basement, Maynard was finally able to come out of his alpha wolf form, as he leaned tired and sweaty against the wall of his cell. However, it appeared that he was now stuck in his semi wolf form with his ears and tail in full display on his body. "So this is as far as I can go, huh? I can't retain my human form anymore." He said between belated breaths.
As soon as he slid down the wall to rest, the cell to his door opened and Mya ran in with Malin following behind her as she happily jumped onto her oldest brother's chest and hugged him happily with tears of joy in the corners of her eyes. But Maynard didn't respond the way she wanted when he stood up and pulled away from her and glared at her. His emotions had become so dull that he wasn't being receptive to the affections of his siblings who he used to care so much for. Instead, all he felt inside of him was anger, hatred and had an increased obsession of making Jaden suffer more.
"Don't lay your filthy hands on me, you pathetic omega. Until you learn to become stronger, I no longer recognize you as my sister. Do I make myself clear? There is no room for weakness in our pack." He masked his fatigue as he walked towards the door to leave the cell and head back to his room until he heard Malin whisper something underneath his breath, making him stop in his tracks to turn towards his little brother. "Speak up if you have something to say." The two brothers glared at each other with sparks flying between them. "I SAID, we stopped seeing you as our brother a long time ago. You're not him, you're just some asshole who took his place. I don't even know who are anymore."
Without warning, Maynard sucker punched him in the face which sent him skipping across the ground like a pebble as he crashed into Mya who tried to soften the blow but ended up getting hurt herself. "If that's how you really feel then I don't need you guys. You're only holding me back anyways. Get lost." Maynard said as he spit on the ground in front of them and made his leave. Mya began to whimper and even though she was known to be very silent and never spoke a word, she couldn't stop herself from crying as her wails of sorrow echoed within the empty room.
Malin hugged her tightly and shoved her face into his chest and allowed her to cry as much as she wanted. He was starting to get really sick of this treatment that they received. His little sister meant everything to him. He wasn't going to allow his older brother to get away with making her cry like this. Not ever again. This needed to end now.
Maynard found his way back to his room, but when he opened the door, he did not expect to see his master sitting on his bed as if anticipating his arrival. He knelt down on one knee and bowed his head as Sartorius approached him. "I apologize for all the trouble I've caused you Master Sartorius. I was sloppy, it won't happen again." He said with his head still hung, but Sartorius placed a finger under his chin and pulled his head up so that he would look at him in the eyes. Sartorius had a warm smile, although it was manipulative, but it made Maynard happy to see as his tail began to wag uncontrollably.
"No need for all of that. I am just happy to see that you are alright. I know this is soon for me to ask since you are still recovering, but I require your services once more. Your loyalty to me and for the cause shows no bounds. And the cards have shown me a possible future that will help in bringing upon the Supreme King's descent into madness. Rather than targeting Jaden, I want you to focus on his friends. Starting with his friend Chazz Princeton. He has a similar power to Jaden Yuki with the ability to see duel spirits. I want you to recruit him to our side. I would love to see the look on his face when one of his trusted friends turns traitor, wouldn't you? My loyal dog?"
Maynard stood up and bowed with his tail still happily wagging, ecstatic that he had received such a wonderful compliment from his master. "Of course, Master Sartorius! I live to serve you! You wish is my command." Maynard then walked over to his wardrobe and pulled out a freshly clean white blazer that he put on himself and left the dorms in search of his next target. He remembered the first day he came to this school and that Chazz guy had the nerve to call him out and challenge him to a duel. It was about time he called it in.
Chazz was wondering around aimlessly, desperately trying to find Anastasia who he had lost track of earlier in the day. "Miss Ana! Where are you?! We need to discuss your schedule this weekend! You have a conference with one of the modeling agencies!" He yelled allowed still looking for her. After not being able to find her anywhere on the campus, he decided to search the woods, half expecting her to have wandered somewhere curiously trying to learn the layout of the island. He had already tried messaging her through the PDA, but she had yet to respond. Was she trying to avoid him or something?
"Another girl run away scared from you, Princeton? Just like that Alexis girl who disgustingly flings herself at that vermin." Said Maynard who was leaning against a tree with a cocky smirk on his face. Chazz turned around becoming extremely annoyed at the werewolf's words. Chazz couldn't help but chuckle and burst out into a full-blown laughter when he saw Maynard's ears and tail. "What are you supposed to be?! Some kind of furry?! I knew you were a freak, but I didn't realize you were this much of a freak!"
Maynard glared at him and without another word, put on his duel disk and attached it to his arm and turned it on. "Remember when you challenged me to a duel? Well, it's about time we settle the score. If you lose, you must join the Society Of Light. If you win, which you won't, I promise to leave you and your friends alone. Sound like a deal?"
Chazz was taken aback by the sudden challenge but he confidently grinned as he attached his own duel disk and turned it on. "It's been a long time since anyone's challenged me to a duel! But I'm tough! I'm Jaden's number one rival after all! So don't go thinking you'll beat me so easily!" The two took their positions and synchronized their duel disks. "LET'S DUEL!"