Dr. Crowler looked between Samantha, who was staring down her opponent, and Arliss, who looked half out of it, and sighed. "Well then, now that everyone is here, I suppose we can…"

"Snork!" Everyone looked at Nessa, who rubbed her nose on her sleeve and continued to sleep, snoring soundly. Arliss snickered at what a cute and innocent picture his dark evil queen made.

"…continue the duels." Dr. Crowler finished.

All 12 duelists nodded, activating their duel disks and drawing their first hand. Arliss held out his arm, motioning for Samantha to go first.

"You are too kind." She said, examining the cards she had drawn. "But enough pleasantries. Lets get to the part where I beat you."

"Oh, I can't wait to see this." Arliss said with grim smile. "Been a long time since someone tried to beat me."

Samantha grinned. For her, this had nothing to do with vengeance or anger. This wasn't like when Chazz 'needed' to beat Jaden, or Vanessa's grudge match against her former idol. For her, this was a chance to see exactly how she stacked up against one of the best the school had. It was a benchmark, and she was going to measure herself right here and now.

She held up her card. "I'll start by summoning Harpie Lady 1, in attack mode!" On Samantha's side of the field, the red headed winged beast flew down, hovering 13 feet above the dueling field.

"Wait a minute…" Syrus asked. "What is a Harpie Lady 1? I thought there was only one kind of Harpie Lady."

Bastion shook his head. "Actually Syrus, originally there was only one Harpie Lady, most famously used by the legendary Mai Valentine. However, recently there was produced four new Harpie Ladies: Harpie Lady 1, 2 and 3, as well as Cyber Harpie."

"So you mean that Samantha has up to…uh…add 3…carry the five…"

"12?"

"Yes! 12 harpies?"

"No." Bastion said with a sigh. "I2 Corporations officially made it that all these harpies count as an original harpie. As a result, a harpie duelist must pick and chose 3 of the 5 different harpie types for their deck." He watched as one of the girls that had been with Samantha…Mindy, he realized…was attacked.

"So, Samantha only has 3 harpies in her deck? That seems kind a dangerous."

"If can be…" Bastion said. "But that's why each of the new harpies has a special effect. Cyber Harpie has an attack of 1800, while #1…"

Samantha smiled at Arliss. "And now, allow me to show you my Harpie Lady 1's special effect: When she is out on the field, she is able to boost all wind type monsters attack up by 300, including herself. That means my Harpie Lady 1 raises her own attack to 1600!" The bird woman let out a scream and rose in the air, the wind lifting her up 3 feet to a high of 16 feet. "And I'll end my turn."

Arliss nodded, looking over his hand. "A powerin' up monster…now that's a deck I can get behind." Arliss held up a card. "Now then, I think I'll be just settin' this monster, and end my turn."

"That's all?" Syrus said. "I thought for sure that Arliss would be attacking that Harpie Lady."

"Don't assume anything Syrus. Arliss Lockehart might be a tad brazen, but his deck is anything but. A ninja deck revolves around stealth and avoidance, only attacking when it is absolutely necessary. It might appear as if he is playing chicken, but he is more likely watching to see what she is capable of; holding out till he finds a kink in Samantha's armor. And when he does, you can be assured that he will take advantage."

Samantha had come to the same conclusion. 'He obviously being cautious. He can't risk attacking me hard and fast, not knowing what I have planned. Very smart Mr. Lockehart, very smart.' She drew her next card. "But will it be enough?" She question quietly. "I think it's time we took this game to the next level." She asked louder, before she placed a spell card on her duel disk, and those in the audience grabbed onto their seats as a hard burst of wind shot through the arena, whipping paper and litter into the air. "And when I say level, I mean in the building sense. You see, I activated my field card Rising Air Current. This card brings a warm blast of air directly into the playing field, sending my Harpie up into the sky, allowing her to deliver more stunning aerial attacks…attacks that are 500 atk points stronger!" The Harpie Lady 1 rose up 5 more feet, looking down at Arliss and his one lone defense monster. "Now then, allow me to show you how we duel in Greece! Harpie Lady 1, attack Mr. Lockehart with Updraft Dive!"

The harpie nodded and collapsed her wings, going into a spinning dive. At the last moment, she opened her wings up once more, talons sinking into Arliss' defense monster and lifting it up, the monster shattering the harpie rose. However, both Samantha and her monster looked on in confusion as a ninja bo, with a long hooking sickle, remained on the field.

"What is that?" Syrus asked in confusion.

"A weapon…a ninja weapon if I'm not mistaken." Bastion said. "I think you are about to see the greatest strength of a ninja deck: The surprise effect!" He stated, watching as the sickle bo fell to the ground, slicing the Raising Air Current card. The Harpie Lady 1 let out a screech and plummeted, just catching herself and rising back to 16 feet off the ground.

Arliss smirked. "You see, that is why you should look before you leap. If you had, maybe you would have seen my Armed Ninja." The southern duelist grinned. "My Armed Ninja, he didn't much care for your little field card, so he got rid of it. I hope you don't mind."

"not at all." Samantha said, though her tone said to the world that she did mind falling into that trap. "I'll set this card, and end my turn."

Arliss nodded, drawing his next card. He thought for a moment, glancing at the Harpie, before he held up two cards. "Ok Sammy, you showed me how the Greeks dueled. Now, I believe it be only fair to show you how we duel in Texas. First, I am gonna up summon my White Ninja, in attack mode…

"Think again!" Samantha said, holding out her hand. "Allow me to reveal my trap: Trap Hole. This card allows me to destroy one monster on your side of the field with 1000 attack points or more the instant it's summoned!" The white ninja leaped onto the field, only to disappear through the dark hole that formed beneath him.

"Well, I guess I'll just have to show why turnaround is fair play. I will activate the spell card Fissure!" The ground trembled as Arliss placed the card onto his duel disk, ripping apart. "Now then, this is really a battle of wills: Can a wind monster avoid a card that destroys it by openin' a hole in the ground? Let's watch, shall we?" The harpie lady 1 let out a scream as the winds that had been holding her aloft began to rise and fall, affected by the new canyon below her. She began to tumble about, desperate to stay aloft, but to no avail. With a final death cry, the winged monster crashed to the ground, shattering. "Earth 1, Harpie 0."

"Ugh." Nessa groaned, stretching. She blinked, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. "A'lis?" She mumbled. "What's going on? What was with the screaming?"

Arliss chuckled as his girl unwound herself from her catnap, fingers wiggling about as she worked the kinks out of even the smallest muscles. She was truly a beautiful sight, and part of him wished he could forfeit the duel and go lay beside her, enjoying her warm body against his. And normally, he might think about doing that, if this was a normal duel. But Samantha…she was matching him move for move. He was definitely enjoying this match too much…Nessa, sadly, could wait till he finished this match. Business Joy before Nessa Pleasure.

"It's nothin' Nessa. You can go back to sleep."

Nessa shook her head. "No…I am all sleeped out." She scratched her head, licking her lips. "I am going to get a snack, you want anything?"

"I wouldn't say no to one of those chocolate chip cookies, with the ice cream inside." Arliss took out his wallet. "Miss Ciro, you want anything? I'll buy."

"Uh…" Samantha said, scratching her head. "Seriously?"

Arliss suggested. "I'm a gentlemen first, duelist second. It would be rather rude not to offer you a bite."

"Well…" Samantha said, startled that the man that had trained Alexis' apparent tormentor was offering her yummy frozen treats. "I guess, if they have a chocolate drum stick…" she was interrupted by an explosion, Chumley flying from where he had stood and sliding right next to Samantha.

"Uh…Could I get an ice cream sandwich?" Chumley asked sheepishly.

Arliss shrugged. "Might as well…any of you other guys want something?" He pulled out a notebook and a pen, taking orders.

"Mr. Lockehart!" Dr. Crowler screamed. "You can not interrupt a duel to have a snack break! And you certainly can't interrupt 6 duels to have one either! It is unheard of, it is unfounded…"

"Cherry Popsicle?" Arliss asked.

"…it can be allowed this time, I guess." Dr. Crowler said, going back to his designated spot. The southern duelist nodded and handed Nessa the list, along with 2 $20 bills.

"That should cover it Nessa. Get you and me somethin' special while you are there…you pick."

Nessa nodded, stuffing the money into the waistband of her pants. "I'll be right back guys!"

"Man, lucky duelists." Syrus said.

"Lucky currency." Syrus and Bastion turned to see Hayden McGregor sit down next to them. Hayden was another Ra Yellow, an average duelist who Bastion had beaten earlier that day. The young man was from Scotland, with thick brown red hair, greenish blue eyes, and a winning smile. He was around Bastion's height, though he was a bit thinner then Bastion.

He was also obsessed with women.

"Quite." Bastion said. "Though I must say, Arliss is being quite smart here. This is a cunning move."

"Yea, the Fissure card got rid of that Harpie."

"I wasn't talking about that Syrus; I was talking about him buying ice cream for all the duelists down there."

Syrus frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Isn't it obvious lad?" Hayden said. "After what happened to that girl, Alexis, they are in danger of being hated by this entire school. So, they have to do something to prove that they are really not that bad of people."

"Hence the ice cream run." Bastion said. "And look, it is already working. The duelists down there think both of them are friendly, and the audience thinks they have big hearts. A perfect strategy."

&&&

"Ok Alexis, here we are." Jaden lowered himself to Alexis' bed, the young woman plopping down beside him. "See, everything is perfectly fine. No one is going to hurt you."

Alexis just stared ahead, eyes hardly blinking, focused on nothing at all. Jaden sighed, and realizing that Alexis was in no shape to talk, placed his hands on her shoulders and pushed, laying her down on the bed. He walked over to the end of the bed, and lifting one leg, then another, removed her boots. He had decided not to touch her blazer, though he doubted it was comfortable to sleep in.

'Just what I need, Alexis to snap out this mood only to beat me for undressing her.' Jaden thought as he pulled a quilt off a seeder chest and draped it along Alexis' body. The queen of Obelisk Blue continued just to stare at the ceiling, giving no sign that she even knew Jaden was there.

"Ok Alexis, I'm going to get going then. I want to see if I can get back in time to catch Arliss." Jaden moved towards the door, and without thinking, flicked the light switch, casting darkness into the room.

&&&

"Alexis!"

"Atticus, I'll save you!"

"Help me….Alexis…"

"You can't save him…you're too quick! You were always too weak! If you'd been stronger, he'd have been ok!"

&&&

"NOOO!"

Jaden turned to see Alexis thrashing violently, her arms sending her lamp and alarm clock crashing into a wall. Jaden was at her side in an instant, having clicked the light back on in his desperate run. Alexis continued to scream bloody murder, eyes bolted open as she looked around rapidly, searching for something, something that only existed in her mind.

"Alexis, it's ok!" Jaden shouted in desperation, grabbing a hold of her arms and pinning her to the bed.

"LET GO, LET GO, LET GO, LET GO!" She chanted till her voice was hoarse. Jaden struggled to keep her down, to prevent Alexis from hurting herself physically as she dealt with her mental injuries. "NO, STAY AWAY FROM ME! NESSA… NESSA…. ARLISS!'"

"ALEXIS!" Jaden shouted, grabbing her head and forcing it to stay still, her frightened eyes peering into his own. "It's just me…Jaden…it's ok Alexis, there is no one here. No one."

"J-Jaden?" She hiccupped. Jaden nodded and Alexis bolted up, latching onto him. The young woman, the girl who had been some strong and confident in their duel against each other just a week ago, was now holding him like a teddy bear, sobbing against hard into his chest.

"It's ok…I'm going to get to the bottom of this…I'm going to find out what happened to you."

&&&

"Well, that was very tasty." Arliss said, polishing off the last of his cookie ice cream sandwich. Samantha was still working on the cone of her ice cream drumstick, while most of the other duelists still had half of their treats to go. Most of the crowd had decided to go make a break for the snack bars and restrooms themselves, so the arena was mostly empty. "Thank you Nessa."

Nessa looked up from her sundae in a cup and grinned, licking chocolate sauce from her lips. "You're very welcome."

"Yea, thanks you two!" Chumley said as he devoured the rest of his dessert. "You two are totally 'lisious." The other duelists nodded in agreement, giving thanks to the two dark duelists.

"Yes, I must say I am thankful as well Mr. Lockehart, Miss Fo…I mean Miss Lockehart. While this might not be standard, I think we could all use a pick-me-up after poor Alexis' breakdown." Dr. Crowler licked his Popsicle and slide the whole thing into his mouth several times.

&&&

Be glad I didn't get him a creamsicle.

"That is disgustin', Nessa. Disgustin' yet hilarious."

Yea, it's still funny. I nearly did a Snoopy Dance when he said he wanted a cherry Popsicle.

"I bet you did."

&&&

"Well Samantha, I think it's be began this here duel." Arliss said, allowing his accent to slip into his common slightly stereotypical Georgian accent. "And I believe it is now your turn."

Samantha nodded, refocusing herself on the duel. She had been throw off by the snack break, and now she had to remind herself that she wanted to beat Arliss, not eat a snack with him. "For this turn…" She drew her next card and nodded. "I will summon Harpie's Brother, in attack mode." On her side of the field, the red winged birdman appeared, his spiked black hair not even moving an inch as he fell t the ground, landing on just his toes, before launching himself back into the air, hovering 18 feet above the field. "And next, I will activate a second Rising Air Current, sending my Bro up another 5 feet. But he won't be staying their for long. Harpie's Brother, attack Arliss directly: Updraft Dive!" Like the Harpie Lady before him, the Harpie's bro went into a spiraling dive, only to pull up just in time, his long tri-blade slicing right into Arliss' stomach. The young man let out a grunt, clutching his gut. (Arliss: 1700)

"What did I miss?" Syrus asked, returning to his seat with three ice cream treats on sticks. Each one was chocolate, in the shape of a Kuriboh. He passed one to Bastion, another to Hayden, keeping one for himself.

"Samantha was just able to summon a stronger winged beast and take out over half of Arliss' life points."

"Whoa. I can't believe I missed that!"

Hayden grinned. "Aye, but you did manage to wrangle a good…whatever this is." He took a bite out of his treat.

&&&

"Hey Alexis…you ok?" Jaden asked softly, stroking her back. Alexis shook her head, hiccupping slightly as she rubbed her nose on Jaden's blazer, her hands tangled in the fabric. "You want to talk about it?"

"I can't" She whispered. "I just can't Jaden."

The young slifer frowned as the once proud queen of obelisk blue trembled in his arms. "Did Nessa and Arliss really do this to you."

"…yes."

"what did they do?" Alexis let out another whimper. "Alexis…please let me know."

Alexis looked at Jaden and nodded weakly. "They…when she played that Nightmare cage…all my worst fears came true. I was alone. My deck couldn't help me…Atticus…" She began to cry again.

"Alexis, it wasn't real. It was all some trick they were playing on you. A bunch of smoke and mirrors."

Alexis frowned. "Then why didn't you see it Jaden?" She asked this almost desperately. "Why didn't anyone else see?"

&&&

"Hey Arliss! You are planning to actually…duel, right?" Nessa asked. The southern duelist shot her a look, and she held up her hands, a grin on her face. "Hey, I'm just saying! Maybe it's true what they say: 'no sex before a match.'"

Arliss rolled his eyes. "You want to see some dueling, I will give you some duelin'. First, I play the spell card The Shallow Grave. With this card, we each can select one monster form our graveyard and set it on or side of the field." Each player selected one of their previous destroyed monsters, and set it on the field. "And now, I will flip summon the card I just set: White Ninja!" The card exploded, from it leapt the white clothed ninja, who instantly threw one of his shuriken at the Harpie Lady Samantha had set on the field, causing it to shatter and return right back to the graveyard. "Next, I will play The Warrior Returning Alive, to bring back my Armed Ninja, who I will set on the field." The card flashed next to his monster. "And now, I will activate Heavy Storm, to destroy your second Rising Air Current!" The Harpie's Brother let out a startled cry as the blast from Arliss' spell card sent him tumbling, barely able to get himself back into position at 18 feet above the arena. "And finally, I will end my turn by setting this card on the field, ending my turn."

Syrus shook his head. "Did anyone else follow that?"

Bastion nodded. "Barely. Arliss has dropped his hand down to one card to allow himself to bring two monsters out, destroy that field card, and set one more card. Still, he wasn't able to get rid of that Harpie's Brother, which should be his highest concern. I think he became sloppy trying to get back into this duel, and has made a serious miscalculation."

Nessa, however, had different thoughts. 'That is a cunning move Arliss. You are forcing Samantha to choose her fate. On one hand, she can go for the easy kill and get rid of your White Ninja, scoring 300 lp damage to you. But then she has to worry about your downface card, and an armed ninja ready to take out any spell she may play.

'On the other hand, if she goes for the Armed Ninja, you could have a trap ready for that one. Or you could be bluffing, and want her to leave your White Ninja alone so you can hopefully power it up next turn.' Nessa smiled. 'I wonder what you have planned for her.'

Samantha also realized that Arliss had something planned. 'He either is going to nail me now when I attack the White Ninja, or later if I attack the Armed Ninja. Hmmm…I'd rather risk the later then the now.'

"Harpie's Brother, attack the Armed Ninja: Crimson Trinity Blade!" The Harpie's Bro let out a grunt and rocketed at the downface monster, shattering it with ease, leaving Arliss with one less monster.

The shadow duelist drew his next card and calmly shifted his white ninja to defense, ending his turn without any fanfare.

Samantha, however, now realized that she might have made a mistake. 'If Mr. Lockehart wanted me to attack the White Ninja, why shift it to defense now? That isn't giving me anything, and it would be better to wait for my attack until I have two monsters on the field.' She drew and grimace. No monsters, which meant she needed to play Arliss' game once more. 'To attack or not to attack, that is the question. Mr. Lockehart has me set up perfectly, and is placing this all on me. A tricky and smart move. If he losses he can just say I did better. But if I loss, it's all on me, and I mentally blame myself. He's playing well beyond me in the mind games…here is hoping I can play well beyond him in the real game.'

"Ok Mr. Lockehart, I think it's time we said goodbye to your White Ninja. I tried to give him a break last turn to leave on his own…but he has overstayed his welcome, and I am afraid my bro must kick him out."

Arliss snickered. "And I thought you Greeks were suppose to be great hosts."

Samantha smirked. "Oh, I am. I am doing you a favor, by getting rid of your weak monster so you have room for a better one. Harpie's Brother, attack with Trinity Blade!" The bro nodded, letting out a war cry as he dove down, blade shining as he brought it down on the white ninja, slicing the monster in two with ease. "And some much for that ninja."

"Why isn't Arliss doing anything?" Syrus asked. "I thought he was suppose to be real good, but he hasn't done anything."

"I am not for sure, Syrus. I had assumed that Arliss had some kind of plan for that trap on the field, one that would help him defeat that Harpie's Brother. But allowing Samantha to attack without any repercussions…I simply can't understand what is going through his mind."

"I can tell you lad." Hayden said. "Nothin', that's what. That Arliss just had a good romp with the dark haired girl, and now his brains have turned to mush. Yours would to if you were involved with a pretty girl."

Bastion frowned. "That is absurd. I would never allow a woman to interfere with myself and my deck. Simply inconceivable."

"Say what you will Bastion, but I tell you, the boy is sufferin' because he just got down shagging his little woman." Hayden leaned back in his chair and leered at Arliss. "he doesn't stand a chance."

"I have to agree with Hayden." Syrus said. "Though I don't know what shag or romp mean. But if Arliss is going to continue playing the way he has, I don't think he has a prayer against Samantha."

&&&

I can hear them, you know.

From my spot down here, I can hear as those three run my Arliss down, insult him and dare to think that this pathetic little duelist could ever beat my king. They sit up there ad pass judgment…it is like an ant daring to pass judgment upon a god. It is against all things in nature. They should be on their knees right now, begging Arliss to forgive them for what they said, forever doubting his skill. But they are allowed to continue, to bad talk him and question…question his every move! They think they are worthy to question the great Arliss Lockehart?

Maybe you think I'm crazy. Maybe you wonder how I can remain so calm and sure about a man that hasn't been able to attack yet. A man who's opponent still has all her lifepoints, a strong monster, and an opening come next turn, should nothing change. Maybe you want to know why I am not questioning Arliss too. Are you wondering that? Why I haven't begun to yell at him, insult him for behaving like all the other pathetic duelists we mock?

I'll tell you why I haven't done any of that, why I have yet to give up on him.

In the short time that I have been awake, I have had many of my preconceived notions about life shattered. Things like morals and values I have quickly learned are merely rules set up by the winners of previous conflicts. Nothing more, nothing less. They are easily changed, and easily destroyed.

I have learned that those I would once to have thought as great allies are now bottom of the barrel. They are unworthy of me, of what I have become. To consort with their type is below me.

I have learned many things in my short rebirth. I have learned that those things I believed in before are now not important. No, there are new things, more important things that I believe in.

I believe in myself.

I believe in my deck.

I believe in the Rare Hunters.

But most of all…

I believe in Arliss.

Next Time: Arliss hasn't even made an attack, and Samantha's mounting a comeback. Can a duelist win when they are too busy buying frozen treats to actually attack? Or is even Arliss not smart enough to get out of this mess? Meanwhile, Jaden and Alexis are dealing with their own problems…has Nessa damaged Alexis' mind beyond repair? Find out next time in The Choices we make Part 3: To Win

Author's note: Two things. First, the voice casting. I have done a little changing, but I think I have some characters nailed down:

The voice cast of G/X: HUNTERS

Arliss Lockehart/Arlen Lockehart- Josh Holloway

Vanessa Fox/Nessa Lockehart- Evangeline Lily

Samantha Ciro- Jennifer Garner

Hayden McGregor- Ewan McGregor

The second author's note is something I want to do, from time to time. As I have said to some of you, Hunters has been an evolving story. It looks almost nothing like it's first envisionment, and I thought it would be fun to look at some characters and learn how they became the people we know today.

Today we will be exploring the evolution of Arliss Lockehart:

-In the beginning, G/X Hunters started it's life as the fan fiction Yu-Gi-Oh Generations: The Next Hunt. In it, the children of Yugi and friends dealt with a new group of rare hunters out to finish what Marik started. In this story, their leader, a scarred millionaire playboy, discovered the last of Marik's rare hunters and a diary from the old man.

One of the new rare hunters was a mysterious ninja duelist named Arjuna, who did battle with my original character Owen Roads. Arjuna would, at the end of the novel, kill his own leader and join the children in throwing down the rare hunters.

-When I decided to do a GX fic, I thought about doing one that focused on the Obelisk Blues. One of them was Arjuna, who I moved from Generations: The Next Hunt to the GX fic. In this story, Arjuna was a deadly duelist that ended up teaming with some Obelisk Blue girls to help uncover the mystery of the shadow riders.

-The final transformation was G/X Hunters. Arjuna was given a new name of Arliss, after a tv show I had heard of called Arli$$. He had no last name, though the name Lance Rockehart did appear in my original notes for a millionaire playboy that would come to the island. The playboy would become Arlen, and Rockehart (named for the fact that Lance was a Sphinx duelist) would become Lockehart. Arliss would gain his southern attitude after my watching of LOST over and over and wanting to give the main character some flair.

And that is it. From misled ninja to southern king of the rare hunters: Arliss, we hardly knew thee.

Next time we do an evolution, we will look at how Nessa went from Spellcaster rare hunter who was scorn by Yugi Moto in High school to the dark Nightmare queen of the rare hunters.