"Thanks for the help, Bastion." Candace said sarcastically as she drew. "I'm glad you sent your monster to protect me…oh wait, you didn't!"

"Don't be childish, Candace. It was the only option."

"Sacrificing me was your only option?"

Bastion shook his head. "Candace, we don't have time to worry about each other. We must focus on ourselves first, and try and win that way. Otherwise, neither of us will win." He looked at her field, his eyes cold. "Perhaps next time you will better protect your lifepoints. I can not support you this match."

"Could we go?" Arliss asked. "I would like to get this here duel done by 5 am!"

Candace growled and drew her card. "I will summon Cannon Soldier, and have it attack your Mystic Swordsman!" The instant Candace's purple robot appeared on the field, it was already targeting the small swordsman with its back mounted blaster. "Fire at will!"

The blast shot from the machine's cannon, zooming straight in on the Mystic Swordsman…until the attack was absorbed by Arliss' Magic Cylinders card. "Too bad my name isn't Will." He chuckled. "Nessa, who deserves the hit…the girl, or the ass?"

"The ass, most definitely."

The king nodded. "Thanks luv. Magic Cylinders, fire at Bastion!" Bastion let out a cry of pain as the redirected attack hit him straight in the chest, sending him falling into a puddle that had formed during the rainstorm. As he stood up, looking at the filthy black water that was now dripping from his jacket, he could hear Arliss and Nessa laughing at him. (Bastion-2600)

"Perhaps next time you will better protect your lifepoints. Candace can not support you this match" Nessa chuckled.

"Clever boy." Alexander said.

"What do you mean?" Alexis asked.

Alexander glanced between Candace and Bastion. "By switching who they attack, Nessa and Arliss are forcing the two Misawas to bicker amongst each other, wasting time that could be used thinking and taking their attention away from the duel." He shook his head. "If those two don't get their act together…"

"For my next move…" Nessa said. "I'll start by summoning one of my nightmarish demons to the field: Slate Warrior, Arise!" On Nessa's side of the field, the strange, almost clownish demon appeared, flexing its arms. "Mmm…aren't you a pretty thing. You're going to make your mama so proud, aren't you." She turned back to bastion and Candace. "But don't worry, he won't be alone. For you see, I have the perfect partner for him: By activating Premature burial, I can resurrect my Opticlops back to the field. Rise forth, my demon!" The roof began to buckle and twist, before it ripped apart and the monstrous Cyclops appeared, bellowing into the storming sky. "Welcome back sweetheart. Now, allow my two monsters to greet both of you properly. Boys…" Nessa cried out, "say hello!"

The Slate Warrior nodded, Bouncing onto the Cannon Soldier and tearing it to pieces, while the Opticlops lumbers towards Bastion's downface monster, grabbing it and ripping the holo card apart. The monster's joy at doing this was short lived, as a stray lightning bolt struck it directly upon the head, sending it to the ground shaking.

"That is what happens when you attack the Electric Lizard." Bastion said simply. "It can call upon lightning to stun your monster for one turn. (Nessa-1500, Candace- 2600)

"Shocking." Nessa said drolly.

Bastion rolled his eyes. "Yes, quite funny." He drew and smiled. "First, I will summon Batteryman AA, in attack mode!" As the sky cracked from thunder, there was a flash of light from Bastion's side of the field, leaving…nothing.

"Uh…where is it?" Jaden asked.

"Yea, I don't see it!" Syrus exclaimed.

"Maybe it's so big it's behind us?" Samantha offered, pulling a wet strand of hair from her forehead and tucking it behind her ear. They all turned, expecting a giant monster, yet finding nothing at all. "Uh…Mr. Misawa?"

"It's right here!" Bastion exclaimed, pointing to something near his foot. Everyone looked down to see a tiny battery with arms, legs and a head. "See, there is my Batteryman."

Nessa and Arliss blinked…before bursting into laughter.

"Oh god!" Nessa screamed, falling to the group and rolling back and forth. "We need to be careful Arliss…or we might step on it!"

Arliss nodded, barely able to breath. "Or maybe he'll just throw it at us! You know those things can hurt!"

"It's not funny!" bastion shouted, angered. "My Batteryman is a powerful creature that should be…Candace, are you laughing!"

"N-no." Candace stuttered, trying to hold her giggles in.

"Well…good." He turned back to the hunters, not see the rest of the gang fall to the ground and clutch their sides, desperate to remain silent. "I will admit that my Batteryman isn't much to look at. But, the power of the Batteryman isn't their size, it's their numbers!" Bastion took a card from his hand and tossed it onto his duel disk, the machine sparking slightly from the rain that continued to pour down upon them. I activate the continuous spell card Battery Pack. By paying 700 life points, I can summon all the Batteryman AA from my deck or graveyard directly onto the field!" As Bastion's lp decreased to 1900, a small pack of batteries appear in the air. His first Batteryman leapt up, ripping it open and producing two more Batterymen AA. These two landed on the first's shoulders, so they formed a tiny tower.

A tiny tower of power.

"When all 3 batterymen are in attack mode, each one gains 3000 attack points, giving my 9000 attack points to send towards the two of you!"

"Totally cool!" Jaden shouted. "Bastion was able to use three little monsters to create three really powerful monsters. I so want to duel him right now! Hey Arliss, hurry up and loss so I can challenge Bastion!"

"Jay…" Syrus whispered. "Why don't we not insult the nice evil people, huh? I'd rather not be kidnapped."

"watch carefully Candace, as I show you how you take out an opponent in one grand stroke! Batterymen, attack the Opticlops, the Slate Warrior and Nessa directly!"

"This is it!" Chancellor Shepard exclaimed. "If this attack goes through, Nessa will be out of the game, and Arliss will be left with almost 1000 life points!" He cupped his hands over his mouth, trying to shout over the roaring winds that threatened to swallow up his voice. "Come on Bastion, if you can take her out, you two can focus on Arliss!" Shepard couldn't hide his hope. If Bastion and Candace could defeat the Rare Hunters, and insure they left the island, then everything that had happened would not be in vain. The contract could be forgotten, Candace would be safe, and the school free of two dangerous threats.

Nessa could only watch as the three batterymen headed right at her, pulsing energy rolling off of them. She knew that the instant all three connected with their monsters, she would be done. But even in this case, Nessa was not scared. No, she knew Arliss would save her, and it didn't even matter that she could read his mind, feel the waves of calmly thoughts he was sending her. Nessa knew that Arliss would never let her down, so she stood tall and waited.

"This is the end of you Nessa." Bastion said simply. One by one, Nessa's monsters shattered, Bastion smirked, waiting for the final strike to come at Arliss' Mystic…but it never came.

Instead, there were now 2 2000 attack powered Batterymen AA, and once face down defense monster.

"You over estimate yourself." Arliss said as he looked at his now activated Book of the Moon. "Thanks to this, your batterymen go down to 2, saving Nessa's lp and my monster." (Nessa-1200)

"Now then…" Arliss said, drawing his next card. Despite having played for near 20 minutes now, the rain had held strong, never once stopping. He smiled, glad that Arlen's spell had worked. He had wanted the rain not just because it added a darker feel to the duel, a rawer more primal touch, but also because the water and wind would chill the other duelists to the bone, make them shiver and shake. While he and the rest of his hunters were protected by a shadow spell that held the cold at bay, the others didn't. And that left them vulnerable. "Let's see what move I can make."

"I hope it's a good one!" Nessa called out. "I don't want to deal with those stupid batteries anymore." She rubbed her stomach. "They may be small, but damn they smart!"

"I will handle…" Arliss paused, chuckling slightly. "Sorry…I just got it…you said the lizard was shocking because it can shock you!" He began to laugh again, and Nessa sighed, flicking some rain from her fingers, only for more to be added on seconds later. "Ok, ok…" Arliss' face grew serious. "enough with the jokes. First, it seems to me that you are running a light/thunder deck…am I right Bastion."

"Right you are. What better way to deal with evil then with light itself." He asked. "The weapon of the gods, lightning, will strike the wicked down."

"Gee Bastion…weapon of the gods…what a corny title." Jaden muttered.

"That is very clever Bastion…very clever." Arliss said as he set a card. "But the funny thing is…" Arliss smirked. "From my side of the field…me and Nessa are the heroes, and you are the wicked one that needs to be struck down."

"Why would I need to be struck down?" Bastion challenged.

"For being a snob." Nessa said.

"For your attitude against women."

"For your lack of honor."

"For your unfaithfulness to your own family."

"need we go on?" Nessa asked.

Bastion frowned. "You are grasping at straws. I have done nothing as bad as you two."

"You're right, Bastion." Arliss said calmly. "You haven't. Me and Nessa will admit it…we are thieves, we have beaten people…we have killed people…many, many people."

"K-killed?" Syrus stammered.

"More then once?" Samantha asked fearfully.

Nessa nodded. "Arliss has ordered the deaths of atleast 40 men, and that was before I came along. In the short time since I was reborn, we have killed at least 20 people, and ordered the deaths of 2." She looked up at the group. "That sickens you, doesn't it? That we murder?" She looked at the group, shaking her head. "It does, doesn't it? You are still stuck in a world where there are rules of right and wrong, of just and unjust. It forces you to see acts that are justified as unjust and those of the unjust as justified." Above them, the rain continued to pour.

"Did you know that heroes and villains are rather alike?" Nessa said, continuing her lecture. "Their core actions, the basic motions they go through…they are almost mirror of each other. Both are forged from powerful emotions. Both dream of grand things. Both justify their actions. And both are loved and feared.

"Even as things become more advanced, there remains an undercurrent of similarity. Take justifying actions. Why are you dueling us Bastion? Why are you breaking the rules of the school?"

"To beat you." Bastion said. "To stop you from ruining this place with your foul hearts and ill deeds."

Arliss nodded. "Funny…me and Nessa are duelin' for the same damn reason." He turned to the group behind Bastion. "Me and my queen, we have seen the darkest spots on this island. We have watched as students, who are suppose to mentor their peers and set good examples, act worse then the first years. We have seen Obelisks and Ras turn into bigots, all because of the color of their jacket. Tell me Zane, when is the last time you had dinner with your brother?" Zane just stared at him. "Oh, that's right…you haven't. Is it because you are busy? Or do you feel you are too good for Syrus. Do You feel that just because you are currently a better duelist, that you have earned the right to disown him?" Arliss shook his head. "Better duelist…you are far from that, you blue haired lump of stupid. All you are is an overrated duelist with shiny monsters that were GIVEN to you. You didn't earn your power, you were given it, and now you believe you have been given the right to tell Syrus how to duel, when you yourself never learned. Syrus could be Kaiser if he was given the breaks you were! But, I bet you justify your actions, rather nicely, huh?"

Zane remained quiet, not letting on that Arliss had hit painfully close to home. He was ashamed of Syrus; the Kaiser of the Academy had a Slifer brother. And there was a tiny part of him that questioned if, had his parents not spent all their time on him and maybe thrown little Syrus a bone, his little brother might be a better duelist.

Nessa smirked, opening her link to her fiancée as she used the Shadow Choker to probe their minds. It was an interesting to watch her man work, and not for the first time, she wondered if Arliss' Shadow Star had a third power: Allowing his words to cut into a person perfectly. The items seemed to enhance the powers they naturally had: Nessa could better control her mind reading and dream manipulation, and Arliss could hide himself and attack with ease…with words or with his weapons.

Shaking herself from her thoughts, Nessa locked in on Chancellor Shepard, sending Arliss everything she learned.

"And you, the great and kind Chancellor Shepard!" Arliss called out, the winds playing with his hair as he began to pace. IT truly was a dramatic sight: The rain drenching him, lightning flashing every once and a while, thunder filling the silent moments, the winds hissing all around them. "The grand master of this place. Tell me Shepard, are you a hero? Are you a good guy?" Before Shepard could answer, Arliss just continued. "How many Obelisks have you let off with warnings for breaking school rules, huh?" The chancellor paled, realizing what Arliss was getting at. "How many hurt other duelists here…forced them to even quit the academy…and were then let off with a slap on the wrist. Can't punish the Obelisks…how would that look? The best and brightest are nothing more then thugs?" He shook his head sadly, deciding to really ham it up. "I have murdered the wicked…you have condemned the innocent…who is the villain Shepard? Who I say?"

'Take it down a notch.' Nessa hissed in his head.

'can a man have a little fun?' Arliss thought back, before moving on to

'Not when we are trying to torture them…ok, it's fun to torture them, but you are hamming it up waaaayyy too much.'

'Fine.' Arliss responded back, before staring at the group. "And let's not forget Miss Alexis. The young woman that justifies blackmail as 'wanting to meet Jaden Yuki in a duel!' Tell me Alexis…how is what I am doing right here, right now, any different then what you did to Syrus?"

Alexis stammered slightly, ducking her head to avoid the curious stares of those around her.

"That's what I thought. And then we move onto Bastion, the king of justifying. Justifies the beating of women and children, justifies blaming others…justifies his justifying! And I'm the villain…"

Nessa chuckled. "It's ok baby, you're my hero." She turned back to the group and smirked. "But do you know what the real difference between heroes and villains is? The villain understands that his time is brief. He knows he is only here for a moment, and then will be replaced, will fall, will die. The hero stupidly believes that they can last forever…they think they are invincible. A villain doesn't. I villain knows the end will come and so they feel no need to worry about what others think. We have evolved beyond the needs of good and evil…we are above such things." Nessa smiled softly, her eyes almost closed. "We have become more powerful then you could ever imagine. We are gods among insects."

"Ego, much?" Candace muttered.

Arliss shrugged. "enough of these talks…I believe it is time we got back to the duel." H looked over his hand. "You told me that you were using the light deck because it allowed you to call upon the wrath of god to smite the wicked. Let's test that theory." Arliss held up a card, lightning dancing around him. "I activate the spell card Lightning Vortex!" Arliss cried out. On Bastion's side of the field, a massive portal appeared under two of his batterymen, swirling about. Above the duelists, the clouds grew even darker as lightning ripped from them, breaking apart the tarred roof and shattering the batterymen in and instant. "It seems the gods answer to any that call them, be they good or evil." Arliss said simply.

"That proves nothing." Bastion called out. "All that is talk!"

"Then allow my monsters to do the talking for me! Mystic Swordsman Lv 2, attack the downface Batteryman!" The swordsman swung his blade, the shot so fast it was shattering the card before any effect or stats could be gathered. "I will set one card facedown, and end my turn, which will allow my Mystic Swordsman to evolve into level 4!" The Mystic Swordsman glowed, channeling the energy of the dead Batteryman into its body and forcing itself to grow up, becoming its teen form. The swordsman swung his double sided blade, pony tail swaying behind him. "And with that, I end my turn. Your move, Candace."

Candace nodded, drawing her next card. A soft smile played across her face as she examined her cards. "Arliss, I think it's time I took matters into my own hands. I believe I have relied on Bastion quite enough." She placed her first card onto her duel disk, followed by a second. "I will summon my Mechanicalchaser, and upgrade it with this, the 7 Complete card." As the hunter droid appeared on the field, the 7 Complete Chip was inserted into its back, causing it to let out a screech and rear up, weapons extending. "More then enough to take out your Mystic Swordsman. Mech Chaser, hunt down and eliminate the Mystic Swordsman."

"Roger Roger." The machine called out, its eye scanning the area until it found the warrior. Letting out a cry, it threw one of its spears at the teen swordsman, but Arliss managed to activate his Negate Attack card, saving himself for one turn.

Nessa drew her next card. "I will set one monster and one card, and pass to our glorious hero." She waved a hand at Bastion mockingly.

Bastion nodded, not in the mood to bicker with the two Rare Hunters. Instead, he drew his next card, preparing his next strategy. "First, I will play the spell card pot of greed, to draw two cards." He took two cards from his deck and smiled. "Perfect. Do you wonder, Arliss, why I dumped nearly half of my deck into the graveyard during my second turn?"

"Not really. I was too busy staring at Alexis' chest. But please, do tell."

"It is simple mathematics, really. Every deck is made up of 40 cards minimum. And in that deck, there are certain cards that I need in order to perform my strategies. As such, in order to gain those cards, I must rid myself of others. By dumping all my level four monsters and several spell/trap cards, I can insure that every few draws I will receive a new Batteryman or one of their spell cards."

"Bastion's planned ahead." Zane said softly. "He knew that he couldn't win if he merely relied upon luck. So, he used his Reasoning cards to get rid of dead weight and leave him only with what he needed."

"Yea, but will he be able to stop Mr. and Mrs. Lockehart before he decks out?" Samantha asked. "While eliminating those cards does speed up his deck, it also gives him less time to act."

"Huh?" Syrus asked, confused.

"She means that by gettin' rid of half his deck, Bastion must do things quicker then normal." James Stilton said, pulling on his damp shirt. "He doesn't have the time to play this here duel slow and set up combos. He must pull them all off much more quickly like."

"It could make his hasty, make him push to hard to fast." Alexander added. "And speed can cause errors. For Bastion, everything is about thinking things out. He needs the time to set up his combos, then unleash them with deadly precision. If he can't do that, he is crippled."

"So…it's a bad thing?" Syrus asked.

"Not necessarily Syrus." Alexis said. "It all depends upon Bastion and how strong his moves are. If he can't keep it together, then he's doomed. But, if he can, Arliss and Nessa are in for a fight."

"I think Bastion can handle it." Jaden said with a grin. "I mean, come on, this is Bastion…the guy that took down Chazz without breaking a sweat. This will be a piece of cake."

Arliss shook his head. "How quickly they forget that there are 4…not 3…that are dueling, huh Candace?"

Candace didn't say a word.

"Now then…" Bastion said. "I will set one card facedown, and summon Batteryman C, in attack mode." On Bastion's side of the field, a small chubby battery- if batteries could be chubby -man appeared on the field, the little blue battery sending pinkish red sparks into the air.

"That's it?" Samantha asked.

"That's far from it." Bastion answered, before turning back to his monster. I will once more use the effect of Battery Pack, decreasing my lp by 700 to summon 2 more batterymen c to my side of the field." As Bastion's lifepoints dropped, another plastic pack appeared, depositing 2 more of the C batteries in attack mode. The three of them formed a triangle, arms stretched out as energy glowed around their cute little round heads. (Bastion-1200)

Arliss drew and nodded to himself. "First, I will use a move our dear Bastion here used just a moment ago. I will use Pot of Greed to draw two new cards…" Arliss drew and smiled, pleased with his selection. The wind around them seemed to grow stronger with every second that went by. "I will now summon Strike Ninja to the field, in attack mode!" The black cloaked ninja seemed to form around Arliss, before leaping away, standing on guard in front of its master. "Now, I think it's time I took out those cute little batteries…don't you Bastion? Strike Ninja, attack the first Batteryman with Silent Slash attack!"

The ninja nodded, racing forward and pulling out two daggers, raising them in the air as he prepared his strike.

Bastion smirked.

"You have fallen right into my trap." Bastion said simply. "Reveal trap card: Lightning Harness!" On Bastion's side of the field, a large metal pole appeared in front of the batterymen, a wire running from each monster into the rod. "This card is one of the most powerful traps in my deck. When you attack, it turns your attack into a electrical assault, which is neutralized by my trap card." Sure enough, The Strike Ninja's slash sizzled, before being collected into the rod. "Next, I will show you why I sent so many cards into my graveyard. By removal from play cards that equal your monster's level, I can distribute your monster's attack power into one of the batteryman. And, by removing 12 cards, I can give each Batteryman an attack boost. Watch carefully as I give them their charge!"

Just as Bastion had said, the group watched as the Strike Ninja's energy was drawn into each of the batterymen, making them shiver as the power was forced into their bodies. The lightning rod faded as the three little batteries' attack grew to 1700 each.

"And now, with my trap's final effect, I will end your battle phase instantly."

Arliss hardly reacted to the new development. Instead, he set one card on his side of the field, then motioned for Candace to go.

"That Arliss is a cool customer." James said.

"This is the first time I've seen the fool not backtalk someone." Milo said. "More times then not, he ends up saying something stupid and I send him to detention. I'm surprised he can manage to shut his trap for this long."

"You don't like Arliss?" James asked.

"I don't like either of them. Nessa is a tramp, Arliss an idiot. If they were gone I doubt I would mind it much. That would make my job so much easier to do. No more worrying about them…just focus on other tasks" He glanced at James. "Can you guess who I'm rooting for to win?"

Candace, meanwhile, had drawn her next card. "Now, I think it's time I finally did some real damage to you, Arliss. First, there is my Mech Chaser, with his 7 Complete Upgrade. But if you thought that was all…" She chuckled, looking down at the batterymen as she activated a card. "Wait till you see what kind of power jump I can give it with this. I use Creature Swap to trade my Mech Chaser with Bastion first Batteryman C."

The group watched as the two monsters flashed, before they switched sides, The Batteryman C was now with Candace, while the Mech Chaser, which was shaking hard

"What does she mean?" Jaden asked.

"The Batteryman c card increases all of Bastion's machine type monsters' attack by 500 when all of them are in attack mode." Shepard said quietly. "With two of them on Bastion's side of the field, Candace's Mechanical Chaser rises from it's current 2550 attack points to 3550 attack points."

"3550…that's…that's…wow!" Syrus exclaimed.

"A very unselfish move." Zane said. "Candace has put herself on the line for the good of the team. Let's see what Bastion does with it."

Next Time on GX: Hunters: Candace's sacrifice has left her with a weak defender, while Bastion now sports a monster that can easily take down anything Arliss and Nessa throw at them. But with the duel reaching its end, will the Misawas be able to pull it together to win? Or have they all forgotten that when it comes to Arliss, he always has one final ace up his sleeve? The fate of the academy and the rare hunters will be decided, and everything is going to change once more.

Lightning at Midnight Part 4