Sunday Night

"I want ya to come meet my parents t'morrow."

Hayden looked up at Cassandra, his brow creased in confusion. The two of them were currently holed-up in his room, hiding between the bed and the wall in case anyone came to check on the "prisoner". Hayden was resting his head on Cassandra's stomach, bottles of finger nail polish littered around them as he set about his task of coloring each nail a nice shade of gold. It was to match the newest accessory to Cassandra's wardrobe: Her Shadow Items.

After her argument with her father, which was little more then her smacking him and then storming out, she had sat in her room and trembled with fear. She knew what had happened in the past, when she had spoken out against her uncle. As Arliss had once told her, the slap still burned her cheek, even now after her transformation. And her uncle was a pussycat, when compared to her da. Her mother told her stories about the time before, when Nessa had been the weak willed Slifer.

&&&

"'e did wot!" Cassandra exclaimed, watching as her mother picked up one of the semi automatics Arliss had brought with him and took aim at a target. Arliss had demanded that his girls know the ins and outs of combat, and that included weapons training. Neither asked why, they knew that Arliss feared the day 'the people of this stupid little island' would finally wise up and march on them like the mobs in those old Frankenstein movies. And he didn't want them to only rely on their magic…he wanted them extra safe. So out came the guns.

"He dislocated his own shoulder." Nessa said calmly, taking aim at her favorite target: A picture of Alexis Rhodes. A pull of the trigger, and the beautiful face to the Obelisk Queen was reduced to nothing. "Have to admit, I was shocked he did it. But Arliss…he's not a nice man."

Cassandra nodded. "'e sounds violent."

"He can be, if he feels threatened. Pray to God if you ever cross him, because not even the Devil could stop your father."-

&&&

And so Cassandra had waited for her father to appear, to seek his vengeance against her for daring to strike her King.

Was it any wonder she leapt 6 feet in the air when Nessa entered the room?

&&&

"Well…that was different." Nessa said with a smirk as she entered the room. It was hard not to giggle in delight; fear was pouring out of the room, and her dark magic feed upon it ,making her almost drunk from the rapturous emotions she was getting. Arliss had told her that each person fed off something different: He himself feed off of wisdom, his brother violence.

But Nessa reminded herself that this was her daughter, and she had no right to feel joy from her terror.

"Do you honestly think he would dare hit you?" Nessa asked bluntly. Cassandra's own silence was answer enough. "Pathetic."

"'uh?" Cassandra managed to squeak out.

Nessa's eyes flashed in anger, but managed to reel in her emotions. 'You are a shadow mage, queen of the rare hunters, not some child. So don't go acting like one!' Taking a deep breath, she began, trying to keep her voice level. "Do you not remember what your dad told you, about his father?" Nessa refused to call that sick monster Cassandra's grandfather. If it were up to her, Arliss' father would be called 'That Dead Guy in Plot 3', but Arliss didn't let her. A calm reminder that Arliss still hadn't worked out all his problems from his past. "His father beat him every damn day…tore him apart. If Arlen hadn't have gotten him out of there, he would have died. We both know it. So why Cassandra…would you ever believe that your dad could ever hurt you? That he could ever convince himself to raise a hand against you?"

Cassandra was trembling as she remembered the scars her father had shown her that day, only a week…less then a week!…before. How could she ever imagine that he could be like his father…that was worse then the slap she gave him.

"Infact…he understands that it's his fault." Nessa said simply. "He realizes he spoke to brashly, and he is sorry…infact, he has a present for you, but wants me to give it to you."

The unspoken words hit Cassandra head on: He was afraid she was still mad, and didn't want to upset her more.

"Wot…wot is it?"

Nessa smiled softly, opening the package to reveal two shiny bracelets, much like the ones Wonder Woman wore in the comics. They were gold, half of the shadow eye symbol on each one. Unhinged, each one was surprisingly light, Cassandra nearly throwing one into the air when she reached to pick it up. Holding them in her hands, the young woman could feel the power radiating from gold, almost hear the bracelets begging her to put them on.

"They are the Shadow Bracers." They both turned, looking for the source of the voice, only for a flash of light to reveal Arliss leaning in the doorway o Cassandra's room, eating an apple. His fingers were upon the Shadow Star, stroking it slightly "And they are yours."

"mine…" Cassandra whispered, running her fingers along the surface, then looking back at her father. "Wot…wot do they do?"

Arliss smirked. "They tap into your power, make it stronger. Your mother's dream powers, my stealth…it all depends on your strengths. So, tell me, what do you think they do?"

Cassandra thought it over for a moment, playing with her gifts, weighing them carefully. "They…they will let me understand things…machines…better." Her brow creased with thought as she continued to focus on the items, communing with the magic that swirled around them. "I'll understand 'ow it works, 'ow it should be put together, what's wrong. All the knowledge…instantly."

Arliss merely smirked. "Think that's enough to put them on?"

Cassandra didn't need to be told twice, already setting one down so she could position the other over her wrist. But before she could even move it, the shadow item leapt from her hand, falling perfectly into place upon her wrist and locked together, the seam and hinges disappearing to leave one solid bracer. Picking up the other one, it took only a moment for the second to be situated, the bracers flashing.

"Thank you da." She whispered, looking over the beautiful pieces, the sign of her place in this family. Arliss merely smiled and gave her a one armed hug.

&&&

"So, wot ya say 'ayden? Will you come have lunch with us t'morrow?" Cassandra asked, running her fingers through his hair. She loved the light brownish red curls that covered his scalp, always taking the time to run a hand through the beautiful locks whenever she could.

Hayden continued to work on the other hand, running the little brush he held over her nails. "I don't know Cassie…you sure we can risk it?"

"Why not?" Cassandra asked. "Not like there will be anyone around, wot with that wanker of a former cousin of mine duelin' Jaden Yuki."

"That duel is tomorrow?" Hayden question. "Well then…think I'd rather risk skippin' out of the room then being forced to hear about that shit."

Cassandra grinned, before grabbing a hold of his hair and yanking his head towards hers, delivering a soul-searing kiss.

&&&

"Hey Alexis!" Jaden called out, waving his arm as he came running towards his friend. "Wait up, I need to ask you something."

Alexis smiled, slowing her step to allow Jaden the chance to catch up to her. Once he did, the two of them entered an easy pace, heading towards the academy. The sky was bright, the birds were singing, and everything seemed to have a strange, floaty quality. Including Alexis. Ever since her and Zane had begun discussing ways to deal with the Rare Hunter problem, things had begun to seem a bit better. It was nice to know that they were at least doing something. It made her spirit soar.

Or maybe it was because she was walking with Jaden.

"So, what did you want to ask me, Jaden?"

Jaden shifted. "I was wondering if you would be willing to have a quick duel with me…want to make sure I am in tip top shape when I face Bastion."

Alexis smiled. 'A warm day, nature all around, and a chance to duel Jaden?' She nodded her head. "Ok, I'm in."

"Great." Jaden looked around, and both realized that at some point during their walk, they had gotten off the path and ended up in a clearing. "I guess this is as good a place as any…so let's duel."

"Ok." Alexis said, raising her arm and activating her duel disk. She was glad she had brought it, though she really didn't remember ever picking it up in the first place. Shrugging it off, she drew her cards. "You go first Jaden."

"Alright…we'll play by Country Rules." Alexis frowned, not quite understanding what that meant. "Don't worry, I'll teach you as we go along. First, I get to go first." Jaden drew his cards and nodded. "I'll end my turn."

The Obelisk duelist nodded, drawing her next card, only to scream as she looked down at her cards. Only, they weren't her cards, really. No, instead these were all photos of Jaden and her , in various stages of undress, doing things that would make some hookers blush. Stuttering, she couldn't tear her eyes away from the images.

"Jaden…I…I don't what's going on, but this isn't my deck." She managed to squeak, never looking up.

"that's ok!" Jaden called out. "You can use it…but before you go, I almost forgot the final rule."

"And what's the final…SWEET MOTHER OF GOD!" Alexis screamed as she finally looked up.

Jaden was standing there, naked.

"H-h-h-h-h-h-…" She stammered, taking him in. She didn't know how he did it, but Jaden managed to hide a body that would make the Greek Gods jealous under those loose fitting clothing.

"Come on Alexis, if you want to duel, you have to be dressed correctly."

"J-Jaden…" She stammered, trying to force her eyes from not drifting down past the 'equator', "I don't know…AAAAAAAA!" She screamed, looking down to find that her own clothes had faded away, leaving her just as bare as Jaden. She tried to use her duel disk and cards to cover up, but no matter what she did, nothing worked.

"What's wrong Alexis?" A voice called out. Alexis turned to see Zane and Bastion sitting in a tree, watching them. "Never seen Jaden naked before?"

"I must say, I would assume you'd be happy."

"Yea Alexis…" Jaden said, walking towards her, his voice lowering an octave. "Come on…let's get your 'game' on…"

&&&

"AAAAAAAA!"

Alexis bolted up from bed, panting. The sheets were twisted around her form, her pajamas plastered to her body from the sweat. Looking around rapidly, she quickly realized that she was infact alone, back in her dorm room, in the middle of the night. Bracing her arm along her chest, she took in several deep breaths, trying to calm herself down.

Finally feeling like she could get up without breaking into a sweat, the young woman lifted herself from her bed and made her way to her desk, wanting to make sure that the nightmare was truly over. Grabbing her deck, she sighed with relief to see her Cyber Sporty monsters all staring back at her.

"Thank god…it was all a dream…"

"Oh yea, it was just a dream." Alexis whipped her head around, looking for the source of the voice. "But that doesn't mean you didn't like it!"

The Obelisk Duelist paled, looking around nervously. "W-who's there?" She called out. "Who's in here?"

"I'm right here!" The voice called up to her. "With the rest of gang." Alexis looked down to see Cyber Tutu Looking up at her, a naughty grin on the dancer's face. "Don't lie…we both know that you want to get all grindy with Jaden Yuki!"

Alexis blushed. "I do not want to get 'grindy'…why am I arguing with you? You're just a card!"

"At least she's honest, unlike you!" Cyber Gymnast said. "If you were honest with yourself, you'd be deflowering that Slifer right now, not having conversations with pieces of paper!"

"Alexis loves Jaden!" All the cards began to sing. "Alexis loves Jaden! Alexis loves Jaden! Alexis loves Jaden!" Alexis stumbled back, falling smack on her butt, as the cyber monsters pulled themselves from their cards, the little cartoon characters dancing around her. "Alexis loves Jaden! Alexis loves Jaden! Alexis loves Jaden! Alexis loves Jaden!"

"Hey Alexis!" Alexis turned to see Bastion and Zane sitting in the tree that stood outside her window. "I think your hallucinating again."

Bastion nodded. "Not a good sign!"

&&&

"AAAAAA!"

&&&

Arliss frowned, looking up from the book he was reading. "Did you hear that? Sounded like someone screaming."

Nessa blinked, coming out of the trance she was in, the light from her Shadow Choker fading. "Ooo…that's a new record for distance!"

&&&

Monday

"I'm not sure about this Cass." Hayden whispered as the two of them walked through the forest. "I mean, seriously, Arliss doesn't strike me as the type of guy that would be willing to let his daughter's boyfriend just walk up and shake hands."

"Would you relax?" Cassandra said with a chuckle. "I promise my da won't say a thing."

"I just can't help but worry…"

&&&

"That's I'll end up punching him in the face!"

Nessa glanced over at her fiancé as he hurried to finish the rest of brunch, cooking up the last few eggs and adding a das of cooked ham, cheese and pepper to the mix. He moved back to where he had been cutting fruit, looking around desperately for the knife that Nessa could see was sticking out of his apron. Getting frustrated, Arliss ripped the Shadow Star from his neck and made quick work of the oranges, before showing a bowl of strawberries and watermelon balls towards the nightmare queen. The self-proclaimed ninja king leapt back to his eggs, pulling them from the stovetop and placing them nearly in a serving dish, before beginning a new search for marshmallow fluff.

"You will not punch him in the face." Nessa said. "You are going to be a good little boy and make nice with your daughter's boyfriend. We will chat, we will eat this yummy food you made…" She stole a muffin and took a big bite. "…and we will insult…"

&&&

"Bastion!" Cassandra ranted as the two continued on their trek. "Can you believe the wankers picked 'im to face Jaden! My da's so much better then 'im…you're better then bloody Bastion!"

"Thanks lass." Hayden grumbled. "Nice to know I can be used as a scale to see how horrible someone is."

"You know I don't mean it like that!" Cassandra said, giving him a playful shove. Of course, with her enhanced form, that little shove sent him stumbling into a bush. "Now, stop being a baby and tell me…"

&&&

"…how does cream cheese and marshmallow fluff make a good fruit dip?"

Arliss rolled his eyes as he turned on the mixer and watched the two white semi-solids churn together seamlessly. Nessa could play mother, lover, queen, mystic, and mage…but she could never play cook. She was a disaster in the kitchen, and Arliss had long resigned himself to being head chef of the family. Not that he minded. Cooking had always been one of the few things that Arliss could do that had nothing to do with the rare hunters, with plans of world conquest or corrupted innocent souls. It was just a chance to do something creative and fun.

"It just does." He said as he stopped the mixer and began to scoop out to dip. "The fluff makes it sweet, while the cheese gives it the right texture."

"Well, I think it's strange." Nessa said simply, trying to steal another muffin, only to receive a smack from a spatula for her trouble.

"Some of us paint, others cook." Arliss said with a slight scowl. "Now stop messing around…"

&&&

"…and knock on the door!"

Hayden shuffled back and forth, really wishing he had just stayed in his room. "Listen Cass…not quite sure this is the right well idea and…"

&&&

"…all." Arliss muttered. "I have to remember not to punch him in the…."

&&&

"….face your fears and open that damn…"

&&&

"Door! There's someone at the door!" Nessa called out, hurrying to open it.

"I don't think I…"

&&

"…can…"

&&&

"…do…"

&&&

"…this!"

Arliss and Hayden stared at each other, their mutual words echoing through the house as the two men in Cassandra's life looked upon one another, not quite sure what to do. Arliss ran his hand along the back of his head, while Hayden fidgeted.

"Welcome…to our home." Arliss said sheepishly.

"So, you live in the abandoned dorm…though not so abandoned anymore?" He chuckled weakly, the laughter dying instantly on his lips.

"Yea…" Arliss said awkwardly. Nessa elbowed him and he moved aside. "come on in."

&&&

While the Rare Hunters tried to have a less then awkward brunch, Alexander Milo was making his way to Chancellor Shepard's office. He had received word that he, along with all the rest of the people who knew of the return of the rare hunters, were to report there to hear some new plan that Zane Truesdale had come up with. Already, Alexander hated it.

In his short tenure at the academy, Alexander Milo had quickly come to loathe the Kaiser of the Academy. A cold, arrogant, egotistical bastard, Zane had, from the moment he entered the classroom, shown that he cared little for Prof. Milo. His first day teaching the Obelisks, Alexander had asked for people to list all the different places a card could be found. After he had corrected a student for forgetting The Removed From Play Area, Alexander had been attacked by Zane, who claimed that the RFP section was not a true place in the game.

They said you could here Alexander's yelling from across the island.

Alexander had not endeared himself to the Kaiser either. During the end of the fight, Alexander had told him how he had dueled against Pro Duelists, and was famous in many circles. One of Zane's lackies had told Alex that Zane was undefeated, to which Alexander said:

"Anyone can be undefeated if they dueled with the damn Cyber Dragons. Having cheap cards with even cheaper effects does not make you a great duelist. A great duelist could use the worst cards and win. Zane isn't a great duelist, he is a duelist that bought his victories and title."

His words had not only started the war between him and Zane, but also split the academy down the middle. Half of the students, mostly those in the Obelisk Male dorm and the top students in the Ra Dorm, had sided with Zane, and had lobbied to have Alexander Milo fired or put on probation. However, the almost Slifer dorm and the newer students in the Ra dorm had united under Alexander, calling him a champion for the lower students and rallying against the 'Tyrant Zane'.

It was little surprise to Alexander that the Obelisk Girl's Dorm had, almost fully, thrown their alliance to him. His wife had gained strong influence there with her skills as a duelist, having almost defeated the head Obelisks Arliss Lockehart. Only Alexis, along with a few of her friends, remained on Zane's side.

'And then there is Arliss.' He thought. 'We all know how he feels about me…or how he should feel.' Alexander smiled wickedly.

This thoughts of the rare hunter and Zane were put aside when he heard a seemingly familiar voice coming from the down the hall. Of course, the voice itself made no sense, nor did what it was saying. The voice was Samantha's, though it sounded just a bit too…high, or squeaky.

But more surprising was the fact that his wife was begging people to duel her, while others called her a freak. A snarl on his lips, Alexander rushed across the hall and turned a corner, only to stop dead, his jaw hanging.

There stood a young woman, dressed in a white and blue Obelisk Girl's uniform. Her blonde hair hung low down her back, and her duel disk was ready for whoever was ready to challenge her. There was only one problem.

The woman was not a woman. She was a he.

"DHMITRI!" Alexander roared, storming over and grabbing the cross dressing duelist by the collar of his jacket and dragging him away from a couple Ras he was pestering. Shirt struggled to escape his, teetering on the high heels he wore.

"What's wrong, Mr. Milo?" Shirt asked in his mimic of Samantha's voice. Alexander glared at him, tossing him to the ground. "Just trying to…"

"Shut up." Alexander snapped. "Listen, I thought it was cute when you dressed up as Jaden. I didn't even mind when you stole Yugi Moto's deck. But this…" He shook his head. "What is wrong with you Shirt? You are a good duelist, you've shown that! You can use any deck almost as well as their creator! Why are you bothering with these disguises and not working on your own deck."

"What do you mean, my own deck?" He/she asked. "I run a harpie…"

"No you don't!" Alex shouted. He ran his fingers through his hair, disgusted. "Shirt, you have a talent for being able to assemble decks…but you waste so much time trying to copy people when you could be making your own deck!"

"You don't think I've tried?" he shouted in anger. "I've…I've tried so many times…but they all loss. They are all so bad, Prof. Milo…I just…just can't get them to work. So, I thought…"

"You thought it would be better to use a deck that you know works then investing your time in a deck that you don't?" Alexander asked softly, his voice more compassionate.

"Yea." Shirt whispered, pulling the blonde wig from his head. "I'm just…I'm tired of people making fun of me."

Alexander nodded, staring down at the defeated duelist. "Go back to your dorm and change." Shirt looked at him crestfallen, but Alex cutoff any comment. "I need to attend a meeting…go to the Obelisk dorm and tell the sentry that I sent you. He'll let you into the waiting room. When I get back, you and me are going to have a long talk about what deck idea we can come up with for you to use."

Shirt blinked, confused by the sudden showing of kindness. "Y-you're going to help me make a deck…my own deck?"

"Don't make me change my mind, kid." Professor Milo said. "Now, go on and get some normal clothing on. And for God's sake…burn that damn skirt." Alexander turned and headed back towards Shepard's office, leaving a confused…and hopeful…Shirt in his wake.

&&&

Deep under the academy, the duelist known as Belowski sat on the little island that was his home, sunning himself in the artificial light that mimicked warm summer rays. As the water that surrounded the island lapped at his feet, the duelist sighed, stretching out and looking at the VR clouds.

"I tell you, more people should live like this. There would be way less wars and stuff if people just learned to chill out." Closing his eyes, he allowed the light to dance along his skin. "This is paradise."

"Is it now?"

BELOWSKI looked up and gave a doopy grin as a new person slowly floated towards him on one of the rafts that could ferry people from the entrance of the hidden dome to the island. Waving the other man over, BELOWSKI leaned back and watching him with a dazed eye.

"Yea man…come to soak up some rays?"

The man shook his head. "Not quite." He said, his southern accent coming out strong as he looked about him. "So tell me, what do you think about stayin' here? Gets awfully lonely, I would think."

"Nah man, not lonely at all!" Belowski said. "I got Mokey Mokey to keep me company." He held up the monster card, and the other man smirked.

"That you do…tell me boy…have you every thought about leavin' this place?"

Belowski shrugged. "Don't know…to much to think about to think about that."

"And what about the Rare Hunters…ever thought about them?"

"Nah man…don't think much about them."

The man nodded, slipping on a rubber glove, then a second one over it. "You don't have an opinion about anything, do you? If I asked you to join the rare hunters, you could spend years thinking about it before giving me the answer, huh?"

"Yea man…ya have to think things through."

"Well…" The man said simply. "That's too bad." Before Belowski could say another word, he felt a burning pain coming from his throat. Reaching down, his felt horror break through the fog that ever hung in his mind as he pulled his hand away, revealing sticky red blood. With one final gurgle, blood gushing from his slashed throat, the Mokey Mokey duelist collapsed.

James Stilton looked down at the boy before kicking him into the water, watching the clear blue liquid turn red.

"Too bad…I don't have time to worry about you."

Next Time on GX Hunters: The awkward brunch between the Rare Hunters and Hayden gets even more awkward when someone else drops in unexpected, leading Hayden to become even deeper involved with the Rare Hunters and Arliss with the Shadow Riders. Meanwhile, Zane reveals his plan to take down Arliss, which will lead to a confrontation with him and Alexander. And just when things couldn't get any worse, two new duelists make their way to the academy that threaten everyone.

Thunder at Dawn Part 4: It's not the signal of the end…it signals the beginning.

Some might be wondering why this chapter took two weeks. Simply put, I didn't feel that I needed to post it if all I was going to get was one review. Sometimes I think readers forget that there are people behind these stories, and they like to know how people react to their story.

So, think of this as the new rule: If I don't get what I feel to be enough reviews, I will consider that all of your permission to take a week long vacation from the fiic. Now, I am not demanding 100reviews. The normal 4 was enough, and I didn't get that from the other 100 people that read this story. So, I think a few reviews aren't much to ask.

That being said, this time did give me a chance to develop a new character (or two) that will be appearing next chapter.