A Friend In Need

"I just don't understand!" Bastion sighed heavily, lowering his head into his hands as he sat at his desk, contemplating all that had been happening throughout the school year. "I'm one of the top duelists in my year! A cornerstone of the Ra dorm!" he sighed again, more than a little frustrated with his current lot. Nearly the entire student body had succumbed to the Society of Light, tracked down and brainwashed by those who fell before them, amassing a following of only the finest duelists in the school. The Society was evil, the last thing Bastion wanted was to be turned into a mindless goon like the rest, but still a part of him couldn't help but wonder…

"If they're targeting the best duelists...why haven't they come after me…?"

Bastion knew better than that. He did, he knew he did. But at the same time he felt like he was losing himself. Like everything and everyone around was moving on without him, and that he was being left to the wayside. He could already feel himself growing further and further apart from his friends, though none of them would admit it. It had been that way for a long time, but now he just seemed to be lost. Now even the insane cult sounded better than being adrift alone any longer.

"I bet they wouldn't even miss me…"

Sighing to himself Bastion hated that he even entertained the thought. It was silly to put such awful thoughts in his head, especially knowing that he was most likely wrong despite the overwhelming feeling that he wasn't. He knew that if something happened to him at least someone would care. Still, it didn't make him feel any better. Honestly he wondered if he would ever feel better about it. Sitting there wallowing in his thoughts Bastion felt like the walls were about to begin closing in on him at any moment. He just felt so overwhelmed by his emotions and self doubts. Holding his head in his hands for a moment, trying to block out his negative thoughts Bastion took a deep breath, collecting himself before shaking off his slowly rising anxiety levels.

"I'd better get some fresh air…" He said quietly to himself, turning his gaze to the window, though with the curtains drawn he couldn't exactly see anything. Still, he felt comforted already by the prospect of the outside world.

"Yes. Yes, that should do me good."

The weather outside seemed to want to correspond with Bastion's feelings. The sky was gray and dull, and everything was still and quiet, almost as if time itself had stopped. It was a strange feeling, but for once in his life Bastion could care less about class. In fact he was actually glad that they didn't have any that day. Honestly for once the last thing he wanted to do was focus. All he wanted was to make it all go away, but unfortunately he knew that that wasn't exactly possible. He knew that all too well.

"Of course the others don't understand." Bastion thought, stopping in the middle of the path, sighing heavily as he thought back to his friends. "Suffice it to say they're more self assured than I am. They don't care what everyone else thinks of them or their skills." chuckling quietly to himself as he immediately realized that he was only partially correct in that line of thinking. He knew better than to think otherwise. Syrus had struggled with that problem since long before day one. And for the most part he still was. Bastion knew he wasn't completely alone in his self deprecating thoughts, but he still hurt, and he still felt alone. He almost always felt alone in one way or another. Always felt like if he wasn't perfect all the time or wasn't the best at everything, the world itself would abandon him.

"It's a truly curious thing.." He chuckled quietly to himself, shaking his head as he turned his gaze to the grey sky above him. Taking it in for a moment he could see the beauty in the monochromity of the clouds above him. Something he never took the time to appreciate before. It was a strange thing, trying to see something in almost nothing, he'd never even made an attempt before. But in that moment it seemed like the only thing in the world he could do.

"Hey, Bastion!"

Turning to the sound of the cheerful voice in the near distance Bastion could see Jaden waving from down the path, Syrus and Hassleberry in tow as always. A melancholy smile found its way across Bastion's face as he waved back, not wanting them to know that he wasn't exactly happy to see them just then. He loved his friends, but something about their cheerful dispositions wasn't helping him feel any better. In fact, it was making things worse for him. But Bastion couldn't let them know that, he didn't want to hurt their feelings.

"Afternoon." Bastion politely greeted, pushing his sadness and self loathing down for now, not wanting to show it to them.

"How's it going, Bastion?" Syrus asked, stepping out from behind Jaden as was his typical spot.

"Yeah," Jaden interjected, eager to speak with the dejected brit "we know things have been pretty rough for you this year. You alright?"

"I'm quite alright, thank you." Bastion lied, not wanting the others to fuss over him, even though a part of him wanted nothing more than to receive the attention they would give him if he let them know the truth of his wavering heart. "Though I do appreciate the sentiment."

"Have you heard anything about the Society lately?" Hassleberry asked, the harmless question only meant to serve as a segway for the subject of the conversation, but Bastion felt his body tense at the mention of the group, immediately thinking back to all that had been on his mind in the recent weeks. "Seems like they've been pretty quiet lately. Wonder why that is?"

"Who knows." Jaden shrugged, thinking about it for only a moment before dismissing the subject almost completely. "They're probably working on brainwashing more students. Seems like that's all they ever do."

"Yes, that's true." Bastion added, not wanting to remain silent for too long lest they realize that he was distressed. Though at the same time, Bastion figured they might somehow be able to find out anyway. Sometimes his friends weren't the brightest bulbs in the bunch, but what he never failed to recognize was how intuitive they were about other people's emotions. Still, he wanted to keep his distress from them as long as he could. He didn't want to cause them any distress themselves, especially with them shouldering the pain of having both Chazz and Alexis taken from them by Sartorius. Bastion had to admit, he missed them too, but Jaden was taking it harder than any of them. The last thing Bastion wanted to do was worry him more, but still just as much as he didn't want the others to know how he felt, he couldn't deny that he wouldn't mind the others showing a little concern for his well being as well.

"It wouldn't surprise me."

The four friends turned to the familiar voice, not surprised when they saw Aster approaching from the sidelines apparently having been listening in the whole time. The boy certainly had a habit of just kind of showing up when it was convenient for him to join in on the shenanigans. Most of the time meaning that by participating there was something in it for him. IF anything was certain about Aster, it was that he was really only out for his own agenda, at least in the J-Squad's experience with him, which to be fair hadn't been too terribly much, but still they figured it was probably safe to say that was at least a partially true statement if anything.

"Like you said, it looks like that is their main objective." Aster continued, crossing his arms as he looked over the four students, less than impressed by them, which of course was common knowledge to them by then as he had made that evident on more than one occasion. "They've already got their hands on the best duelists in the school. Looks like it's only a matter of time before you guys will have too much Society to handle."

"The best…" Bastion thought solomely, unable to stop himself from letting his worries and anxieties surface within him. If the Society wanted the best, then why weren't they coming after him? "Am I...not good enough..?"

"Now you see here, Aster. There ain't nothin' that we can't handle!" Hassleberry countered, brandishing his duel disk along with his gloriously well defined muscles. The youngest among them was more than confident that they could defeat any enemy, through dueling or otherwise. Though he wasn't exactly wrong, considering Jaden's considerable track record from the previous year, it was clear that no matter what came their way, the J-Squad would be able to come out on top. But of course, what Hassleberry didn't consider was the problem brewing right under their noses.

"Bastion…?" Syrus asked, his large and adorable gray eyes turning to the brit, starting to pick up Bastion's distressed energy. The smallest and cutest among the group had had his fair share of experience on the distressed side of the spectrum, and as such, he knew better than anyone when one of his friends wasn't emotionally well. If anything, it was almost like he had a sixth sense about that kind of thing. But either way, he could tell something was wrong, and he was going to figure out what it was and what he could do to help his ailing friend. "Are you okay…? So seem kinda out of it?"

"Me?" Bastion questioned, quickly realizing that the little one had begun to catch on to his little personal problem. "I-I'm fine. Just a little distracted today is all."

"But you never get distracted, Bastion?" Jaden observed, jumping in on the completely new conversation. Jaden wasn't exactly the best at reading people, but thankfully for him Syrus had already done that for him, so he really didn't have to worry about actually thinking, which of course was never a strong suit of his to begin with.

"You sure you're alright, son?" Hassleberry added, raising an eyebrow at his elder and fellow Ra. He didn't really know Bastion that well, at least in comparison to the others, but he still wanted to make sure he was okay. If they were gonna save Chazz and Alexis any time soon they were gonna need the whole team to be at their best. Besides, he really did just care about him like everyone else. "You know, you shouldn't keep your feelings to yourself. It's not healthy."

"Well, well, look at you, acting all intelligent." Aster mocked, never really having the young dino duelist pegged as anything more than a bruteish muscle head.

"I'll have you know, there's a bit more to me than meets the eye, Aster." Hassleberry countered, crossing his arms as he narrowed his eyes at the cocky young pro, definitely not appreciating Aster's very degrading comment.

"I guess." Aster shrugged, not exactly concerned about Hassleberry's relatively low opinion of him considering the fact that the feeling was mutual. "After all, if there wasn't Sartorius would never have bothered to go after you in the first place."

"He what?" Bastion gasped, unaware that such an event had taken place. "He went after you!? Why!?"

"I dunno." Hassleberry shrugged, furrowing his brow as he thought back to the previous incident, trying to recall the finer details. "Somethin' about some "great strength" I guess I have that he wanted." Chuckling to himself Hassleberry grinned as he recounted the event, more than happy with what the outcome had been. "But even though he beat me, his dumb light was no match for my dino DNA!"

"Yeah, you were great." Syrus praised, a rare occurrence between the two, but not one left by the wayside when one was deserving of it.

"But...why you…?" Bastion asked again, unable to hide his great distress any longer as it continued to grow inside of him. Still, his tone lowered to a whisper as he lowered his head, his gaze following down to the ground beneath him. "And not me…?"

"Bastion..?" Jaden questioned, a look of worry coming across his normally smiling face, replacing his typically chipper and cheeky expression. "You're really not okay. Aren't you?"

Bastion sighed, a deep and heavy sigh as he realized the futility of trying to hide his feelings any longer. Of course, he knew from the start it was more or less pointless to even try, but still he made what he thought was a decently solid attempt all things considered. Still he couldn't help but be frustrated with his failed attempt nonetheless.

"Well, I suppose there's no point in denying it any longer." He said, the remains of his previous sigh slipping through the end of his sentence as he looked back to his friends, a rather displeased look on his face as to be expected. "I just don't understand it. I'm one of the top duelists in the school. I have the highest grades in the entire student body and my record is impeccable! So why? If they're targeting the best, then why hasn't the Society come after me!?"

The others stood there stunned by what Bastion had said. They knew he had been a bit more down and out since the Society started ravaging the student body and taking them as their own, but of course like anyone would, they thought that it was because their friends had been taken away. Losing both Chazz and Alexis had certainly taken its toll on the titular group, but it hadn't occurred to them that Bastion was distressed because he was being ignored by the horrible evil taking over the school.

"Are you serious, son?" Hassleberry questioned, honestly having a hard time processing the idea that anyone would want to be the target of a complete psychopath and his at this point full on cult, but then again he didn't exactly know Bastion as well as the others did, but even then he doubted they would understand how he felt either.

"But...I would think not being the target of a supervillain would make you happy, not sad?" Jaden observed, raising an eyebrow in confusion at his dear british chum. Jaden wasn't the brightest light bulb in the lamp or anything, but what he could do was tell when his friends were feeling down, and he would do whatever he could to help.

"Well I suppose it should, shouldn't it?" Bastion sighed, recognizing the ridiculousness of his stance, but still he couldn't help but feel the way he did. Of course, he didn't expect them to understand. If anything he would be surprised if they did even in the slightest. Which he knew wasn't completely out of the question, but it still seemed to him to be highly unlikely taking into consideration everything he knew about the trio, and even the additadly very little he knew about Aster. He of all people certainly wouldn't understand. To be honest, Bastion was a little more than surprised that he was still hanging around at all. Had that he didn't have anything better to do? Regardless he shook his head at his friends, already dismissing what any of them might have been thinking about saying. "But if any of you were in my shoes, well then, perhaps you'd feel the same. Being ignored and disregarded by everyone, being led to believe that even with your great achievements and countless accolades that you still aren't good enough for anyone! Oh and of course, hardly having anyone remember you exist in the first place, oh now that's just wonderful!"

"Whoa." Jaden said, the surprised exclamation slipping out as he and the others honestly just stared at Bastion, completely dumbfounded by seeing the normally always calm and collected brit lose his composure like that, practically yelling by the time he had finished. Clearly his issue was more deep set than any of them had realized.

"Easy there, soldier." Hassleberry soothed, slowly reaching his hand out to place on his elder's shoulder before Bastion quickly swatted him away, turning his head away from the group, ashamed he had lost his temper the way he had, but all things considered Bastion hoped they would understand. Maybe then they wouldn't think less of him.

"Do you really feel that way, Bastion..?" Syrus asked timidly, not wanting to upset their friend any more than he already was. Syrus of all people definitely understood where Bastion was coming from, after all even now he had a whole slew of emotional problems to deal with and had even more before he had come to Duel Academy and met Jaden and the others, but still he worried about how Bastion would be and clearly had been affected by these seemingly accumulating issues.

"Well if I didn't, I suppose that would make me a liar, well wouldn't it?" Bastion sighed, still coming down from his outburst, a slight hint of annoyance coming off of his deep and heavy sigh. He didn't want to be short with them, he knew it wouldn't help anyone in this situation but at the same time he couldn't help but behave in such an unbecoming fashion. "Syrus, you of all people should understand at least to some extent. Being Zane's younger brother and all."

"W-Well yeah.." Syrus answered, turning his eyes away from Bastion for a moment, shying away from Bastion's insinuation. Of course he was completely correct, but Syrus really didn't want to think about his brother right now, it was hard enough just watching him duel the way he was now and just thinking about him only made Syrus feel worse about it, and besides thinking about how bad things had been for him the previous year. He really didn't have too many fond memories from that time concerning his brother. "But I...really don't think that's the same problem.."

"I think he's saying that you should be able to understand how inadequate he feels." Aster assisted, not at all sugarcoating the harsh claim. Of course nobody expected that from Aster, in fact the cold and crass remark was exactly what they expected. It was almost reminiscent of Chazz in a way, which of course only depressed the trio even more being reminded of their long since brainwashed friend.

"Well I wouldn't have phrased it quite like that, but I suppose." Bastion corrected, recognizing how rude Aster had been just then.

"And so, you think being targeted by the Society will make you feel more...adequate..?" Jaden questioned, making a strong effort to piece together what was happening around him, since on matters of the heart regardless of if they were romantic matters or not, he was a bit slow on the uptake. "But why?" he smiled, quickly taking Bastion's hands in his own before the brit could slap him away like he had done to Hassleberry before. "You said it yourself. You're one of the best duelists in the school! You're amazing!"

Bastion was taken aback by Jaden's overly happy assertion, his own eyes widening as he looked at Jaden, the brunette's own brown eyes wide and sparkling with joy as he tried to cheer up and reassure his friend. He'd never had anyone say anything like that to him before, he was an odd sensation to be sure, but not one he would say he particularly disliked. It was nice having someone compliment him like that.

"Yeah, Jaden's right." Syrus agreed, offering his friend a gentle smile which transformed him from extremely cute, to the cutest thing in the entire goddamn world. "I know we don't say it enough...but you're one of the best duelists we've ever known. And not just that, you're a great friend too."

"W-Well I…" Bastion blushed, not expecting them to say such kind things to him like that. Of course, he didn't expect them of all people to be as rude to him as the rest of the school seemed to be, though also he was certain that Jaden himself didn't have a single mean bone in his body. Syrus and Hassleberry fought all the time, so clearly that had it in them, and Aster was no ray of sunshine. But Jaden had never given the impression that it was even possible for him to be unkind. To be honest, he rather liked that aspect of his friend. Especially right now when he needed it.

"Let me tell you, Bastion." Hassleberry interjected, taking a step forward towards the older Ra duelist, a gentle smile on his own face as well. "I know we don't know each other very well, but you should trust what Jaden and Syrus said. If there's anything I know, it's that they don't lie." His smile transitioning from gentle to slightly cheeky, a slight chuckle escaped from his lips as he clapped his strong hand down on Bastion's firm shoulder. "And neither do I. You've got somethin' real special about you, Bastion. You are worth it. Okay? You matter, and if people can't see that, it's them that have something wrong with them. Not you."

"W-Well I.." Bastion began, a slight pink hue decorating his face as he looked at his dear friends, hardly able to believe how nice they were being. "I...I truly appreciate that, Hassleberry.."

"You see, Bastion?" Jaden asked, smiling gently at his dear friend, giving Bastion's hand a squeeze as his typical cheeky grin overtook his face like it usually did every other day. But still his sentiment was unchanged. "You don't need some stupid cult to tell you you're great. All you need is us. I know we're not always super great at it, but we're here for you, Bastion. We always will be."

"I.." Bastion began, his slowly breaking heart beginning to piece itself back together, his friend's kind words touched him in a way he hadn't quite expected. He glanced over the group, the soft, loving smiles on his friend's faces sending a warm and fuzzy feeling throughout his body. Aster on the other hand, was silent. He knew it wasn't his place to speak on the matter, but he also hadn't wanted to be rude and just leave, so he remained along the sidelines, his arms crossed and his gaze averted as he waited patiently for the cheese fest to come to an end. Even though he had never really interacted with Aster before, his presence still offered a slight comfort to Bastion along with the rest of his friends. It was a strange sort of feeling, being comforted by someone he didn't know, but still Bastion appreciated it all the same. "Thank you..all of you.."

"We're here for you, Bastion." Jaden reassured, keeping Bastion's now trembling hands held securely in his own as an extra show of comfort to his emotionally struggling friend. "And I know we don't say it enough...but we love you. We care about you, and nothing will ever change that."

"Thank you, Jaden." Bastion said, a soft and gentle smile coming across his face, the sadness in his eyes slowly beginning to dissipate as he looked upon his dear friends. "I greatly appreciate all of you as well."

"If you guys are done being sappy," Aster interrupted, tired of standing by and listening to them be all lovey dovey with each other. He had more important things to do, and unfortunately for him he knew he more or less needed them to assist "don't we have an evil, brainwashing cult to get rid of?"

"Oh!" Jaden gasped, his eyes widening almost as if he had completely forgotten about the task at hand. Of course, no one was really surprised by that, Jaden forgot a lot of things after all. "Yeah, that's true. And we're gonna need your help, Bastion." Jaden smiled again, grinning at the brit, hoping he was feeling up to joining them. "Think you're up to it?"

"I'll do my best." Bastion nodded, his own smile never fading as his dark gray eyes locked with Jaden's own brown ones, truth be told feeling much better than he had in a long time, though he knew his doubts hadn't fully faded away. That would take time, but they were already definitely feeling easier to deal with.

"And that's enough for us." Syrus chimed in, glad they were able to assuage Bastion's hurt and self doubt even just a little. "It's all we can ask of you."

"Here, here!" Hassleberry interjected, chuckling to himself he smiled brightly, sensing the significantly lightened tone and aura about the group. And it certainly made him feel better knowing that Bastion was feeling better too.

"Alright, enough of the touchy feely stuff." Aster commanded, not at all in the mood to listen to them love each other. He'd have gone on his own by now, but he knew he would be needing them at some point anyway, since it seemed their paths were continually fated to cross. So he figured it would be best not to waste any time opposing each other. Though, had Aster had his way he would be handling all of it on his own. But he knew better than that, despite what his pride would have others believe. "If you wanna stop Sartorius and save your friends we don't have all the time in the world."

"Right." Jaden agreed, offering a slight nod before turning back to Bastion, hoping that everything really was going to be okay for him now.

"We'll be doing this for you too, now."

"Good." Aster nodded back, glad things were finally going to be getting underway like he wanted. Of course he did feel for Bastion, it's not that he didn't want to be given the encouragement and attention he so desperately needed, he knew how hard it was to not feel like he was living up to everyone's expectations, including his own, but he also really just didn't want to be involved with all the mushy friendship stuff anymore. He was really never any good at it anyway, at least he thought so. "We really don't have much time anymore from what I understand. Soon things will be getting pretty ugly around here."
"Well then," Bastion said, standing firm and tall, a feeling of new invigoration coming over him, something he hadn't felt in a very long time "We'd best get to work." Bastion smiled as the group made their way back to the Academy, though his thoughts still ran rampant, not entirely rid of his doubts and newly found self loathing. He sighed quietly to himself, closing his eyes for a moment he thought back to what Jaden and the others had said. He knew they had meant it, they wouldn't have said those things if they didn't, it just wasn't in them to be so cruel. But still he wondered if he could be what they needed him to be. If he could possibly be enough for them. Dismissing the thought immediately Bastion shook his head, unwilling to let his doubts and fears control him any longer.

"You'll see." He thought to himself, slightly clenching his fist as he walked alongside his dear friends, for the first time in a long time, no longer feeling so alone. "I'll become stronger. I won't be controlled by my self doubt any longer." Smiling gently once again Bastion turned his eyes to the sky, feeling his spirits begin to lift, the sun broke through the thick, gray clouds. If he didn't know any better, Bastion could've sworn it was like a sign. A sign that in time, everything was finally going to be okay, and he wouldn't have to feel the way he had anymore. But until that time came, he knew it was still going to be a very long and hard road for him to walk. But Bastion took comfort in knowing that he would never have to walk that road alone. His friends were with him now, just like they always had been. And they always would be.

"Thank You."