"These are really good eggs, Ar…Mr. Lockehart." Hayden said, taking a big mouthful of said eggs. He paused, noticing everyone look at him, his cheeks puffed out from the food. "Uh…ery gud…" He managed to say through the eggs, before swallowing them sheepishly.

"…Thank you Hayden." Arliss said as he sipped some juice. The brunch had been awkward at best. After milling around the living room for a few minutes, not really sure what to say, the group had made their way into the kitchen for an unease meal. Nessa and Cassandra were having a fine time, but both men were trying desperately not to embarrass themselves…or bring the wrath of the ladies upon them. "And you can call me Arliss, you know. I'm not that much older then ya."

"Yea…aren't you and I both 15?" He asked, not wanting to b direct but still curious.

"Only on his birth certificate." Nessa said simply, drinking her coffee. "I can tell you, he is no mere 15 year old."

Hayden looked at them, confused as to what she exactly meant. Somehow, even he understood that her comment wasn't merely about sexual ability. He knew that there was something going on here, something that wasn't natural. And whatever was going on, it stemmed from Arliss, lead into Nessa, and then both of those streamed directly into Cassandra.

Hayden knew what the others had said happened that night during the end of the duel: That Candace had sided with the rare hunters, and using black magic, had been able to transform her into Cassandra. While Hayden was willing to admit that Candace and Cassandra looked rather different, he, like many of the others, had merely assumed that it was all a work of different makeup and wardrobe that had made her different. Sure, there was still the question of how Cassandra's….mother….had grown almost 6 inches in a day…but still…

"Can you tell me what is up with you three?" Hayden's eyes went wide as his mouth, not for the first time, decided to say words he knew he should have just kept quiet.

Arliss and Nessa shared a look, while Cassandra just stared at her boyfriend in surprise. 'Yes, my boyfriend…' She thought to herself, '…and he deserves to know the whole truth.'

"Care to be a bit more specific?" Nessa asked simply, while Arliss tried not to choke on a piece of toast, not believing that Nessa was actually entertaining answering the question.

Hayden shrugged. "There are quite a few rumors going around about you three."

"Like?" Nessa asked, avoiding the look Arliss gave her.

"That you guys are actual real Rare Hunters. That you have shadow items. That you can use dark magic to turn women into evil-but-sexy super duelists. That you want to take over the world…need I go on?"

"Not really" Arliss said, trying to steer the conversation away from his master plans. The last thing he needed was forHayden to go blabbing to the academy. Because if that happened, he would kill him, and then Cassandra would never speak to him again, and Nessa would be pissed.

"So?" Hayden asked.

Nessa stabbed a piece of fruit with her fork, taking a bite of the melon. "So what?"

"So…are any of them true?"

"Yea." Cassandra said as she helped herself to some more harsh browns.

Hayden nodded. "Which ones?"

"My it's a beautiful day out…."

"Pardon?" Nessa interrupted her lover, leaning in closer to Hayden.

"Which ones are true?"

"Not quite for sure what youa re getting at…"

"So let's ignore it and finish this meal…" Arliss hissed, glaring at Nessa.

Cassandra laid a gently hand on Hayden's leg. "All 'f 'em are true, 'ayden."

Arliss sighed. "Or we can keep talking about it."

"What?"

"We are the real Rare Hunters." Nessa said, pulling a small book from Arliss' duster pocket. The king tried to snatch it away, but Nessa calmly continued to talk. "gift from former King of Hunters, Marik himself. This is what separates us from the fakes that run around his those ugly little robes claiming to be rare hunters." A frown corssed her face. "Damn fools, running around disgracing our good name…remind me to have all of them killed, Arliss."

"I'll be a bit busy killin' someone else." Arliss ground out, snatching the book away and stuffing it in his jacket.

"What?" Nessa asked innocently.

"You know 'what'." He snapped.

Hayden leaned in to Cassandra. "This is a joke, right?"

"Nope." She said simply, before Arliss could response. The King gave him daughter a look then went back to eating, albeit with a little less enjoyment. "You really 'ave to get use to the idea that the world ain't divided into black and white. There ain't no good and evil no more: Just diff'ent points of view."

Hayden frowned, having an idea where Cassandra was going with this. He himself had long learned that there were no true villains in the world. No, what people considered villains were really just those that did not conform to the rules of the ruling culture. Those I charge said what was right and wrong, based on what they did, and made everything else evil. And, if the ones in charge decided to break the law, well then it was justified…or even made to be the new law. He himself was considered evil by many for the way he talked around women. But in his mind, he was a good guy, and it was the people like Bastion that were evil. It all depended on points of view and who was in control.

That was what had happened with Cassandra. Because Bastion had an in with Jaden Yuki, the sudden golden child of the academy, he was considered one of the good guys. And anything he did was considered to be necessary…even if it meant selling his own cousin down the river. Arliss and Nessa had been there to pick up the pieces, so they got the label stuck to them too. They weren't monsters at all. Just people on a different side of the story. Totally.

Though, at the moment, his point of view screamed he was in sitting next to rogue demons as he listened to Cassandra ramble on about taking over the world.

'Great, I'm dating a Mini Napoleon.' He thought humorously.

"None of this leaves the table."

Hayden looked up to find Arliss staring at him. Oh, if looks good kill, Hayden would be waving hi to St. Peter already.

"Uh…sure thing." Hayden stammered. "Doubt anyone would believe me lad."

Arliss merely continued to look at him. "You'd be surprised."

"Da…" Cassandra said with a growl. "Don't threaten my boyfriend."

"I'm not…and now he's your boyfriend?" Arliss asked, surprised.

"Er…" Hayden began.

"Yes." Cassandra said. "He is my boyfriend." She grabbed Hayden's hand and squeezed it. "We love each other, and we are going toget married and have lots of sex and babies. Not necessarily in that order."

Nessa grinned, the group able to almost see the anime hearts-in-her-eyes. "oooo! When is the wedding Cassandra?"

"WEDDING!" Hayden and Arliss both shouted.

"We could have it here…we would need to scare up so bridesmaids…"

"WHAT WEDDING!" The two men shouted again.

Cassandra smirked, deciding to play along in the 'Torture Da and Hayden' Game. "And then the honeymoon…the party…."

"ARLISS!"

"Thank God, a crisis." Arliss muttered as he stood up, making his way out of the kitchen, followed quickly by Hayden. The last thing the young man wanted to do was stay in the same room as his girlfriend and her scheming mother. Of course, after a moment the two women followed after them both.

In the restored living room stood Professor Banner, looking quite shaken as he glanced around nervously. When Arliss finally appeared, the duel academy teacher seemed to calm down, relieved that the rare hunter would not be popping up from some dark corner ready to do him in.

"Arliss…my master wishes too…." Banner froze as Hayden McGregor entered the room, followed by Cassandra and Nessa. "Hayden?"

"Prof. Banner?" Hayden asked, confused.

"For the love of…" Arliss grumbled. "Why not just show the boy the secret plans we got cookin'!" He turned to Hayden. "We're Rare Hunters. Banner here is some sort of shadow mage, workin' with other mages, apparently. Me and him have a bit of an alliance goin' on." The King of the Hunters then turned to Banner. "And my darlin' girls here decided that since Hayden is shackin' up with my little princess, he should know all about us. So now we have another person in on this mess." He sighed. "Don't blame me, alright?"

Banner shifted uneasily. "Can he be trusted?"

"He in question is standing right here, lads." Hayden said, waving his hands.

"He better." Arliss snarled. "Or he won't have the bits to be shackin' up with even himself. Now spill it Banner…what is this and the master?"

"Kagemura, the leader of the shadow riders, wishes to speak to the king of the rare hunters, today." Banner said.

"Why does he want to speak to Arliss?" Nessa asked.

Banner frowned. "He has learned of his presence and asked me to inform you that he has an offer in mind." Banner licked his lips, not for the first time regretting his getting caught by Arliss. Yes, the rare hunter had kept his word and never interfered with Banner. The alchemy duelist could do as he wished in his lab, just as Arliss did as he wished in the dorm. And he had also given Banner every bit of information he could gain that would help them in their mutual goal of protecting Jaden Yuki.

And yet, Banner once more worried about Arliss' true intentions. 'He wants to protect Jaden Yuki, but to what end? Is it because he knows that Jaden is the only one with the power to defeat Kagemara? Or, does he simply believe in the old saying, that it is better to keep your friends close and enemies closer.' His almost always squinted eyes glanced at Cassandra. 'Or does he wish for something more sinister." Remembering how the sweet Vanessa and kind Candace had once been, and now seeing their dark and wicked doppelgangers, Banner couldn't help but shiver at the thought of what Arliss could do with Jaden's soul. Or any soul on this island for that matter. 'Is this what Faust felt?' He wondered. 'I have known that I have commited sins to undo my discovering of the Sacred Beasts…but, this time…have I sold my soul to the devil? And will it be the academy that must pay?'

"We all can't be agoin'." Arliss said. "You need to be at that big match today, as well as cover for us for the next few days while we take this merry trip…"

"Yes." Banner said. "There is a boat waiting. One of my fellow Shadow Riders is waiting for you to arrive. She will take you to Kagemara."

"Then get on your way." Arliss said. "I'll deal with your boss, Banner." The King turned to Hayden. "Thank your girlfriend, Mr. McGregor. Thanks to her, you are comin' with us. I ain't lettin' you out of my sight."

"Thanks, Cassie." Hayden muttered.

&&&

"Well, let's get talking." Alexander said as he breezed through the office, heading directly for the couch and laying down upon in. He gave a sly look to Samantha, who merely shook her head and resumed her quiet conversation with Alexis. Chancellor Shepard was at his desk, Zane leaning against a wall and staring Alexander down. Prof. Milo didn't pay any attention, instead focused on who was still missing from their little party.

"Where are the rest of the kids…and where is Stilton?"

"The kids…as you so put it…" Shepard said, "Will be informed later of our decision. With their duel coming up, it is better if they focus on other things at the moment. Stilton is just late, as usual."

"That man must be leading a double life or something." Alexis said.

"Or something." Samantha muttered.

Alex rolled his eyes. "Then let's get this meeting going. I want to get out of here and relax for the rest of the day."

"Not interested in the duel this afternoon?" Alexis asked.

Alex shrugged. "I'm here to teach, not to be a cheerleader." In truth, the whole Candace and Bastion thing still weighed down on Alexander. He blamed Bastion for the entire mess, and wasn't about to go watch the pompous ass duel. Bastion, just another mini Zane. This entire place was making Alexander Milo sick, and he could not wait until this mission was over and he could go back to his normal life.

"Sorry I'm late." James Stilton said as he entered the room, throwing some paper towel in the garbage bin near the door. "Spilt sauce all over my pants, students wanted to talk to me…this job is murder." He said, his voice taking on a strange, amused tone at the very end.

"Well, now that we are all here…" Chancellor Shepard said, "Zane here says that he has an idea of how we can deal with the rare hunter problem."

"Kill them all and let God sort it out?" Alexander offered.

"Please." James snorted. "We saw how well your little attack went last time…do miss you with your bruised jaw…could talk less."

"Ha bloody ha." Alex muttered. "At least I tried to fight."

"Enough." Zane said simply. "We didn't come here so you two could go at it. We are here to deal with a serious problem: The Rare Hunters."

"No Shit, Sherlock." Alex said. He was feeling immature today.

"Get on with it Truesdale." Stilton echoed.

Zane merely stared both teachers down before he continued. "The biggest question we must ask ourselves is 'what are they planning to do?'. What is Arliss' endgame, his goal to shoot for. Until we know that, we really can't do anything.

"We really can't do anything then, can we Mr. Truesdale?" Samantha questioned. "There is no way to truly find out what his plans are, and without knowing his plans, we can't stop him. It's simple logic, and unfortunately, it is apparently against us." She paused. "But I assume you already have a plan?"

Zane nodded. "What does one do when they wish to learn the plans of their enemy?"

"Ask them real nicely?" Alexander snarked.

"A spy." James said. "You actually want to send a spy?" He gave a bitter laugh. "That is the stupidest thing you could say."

"I'm going to spy on them." Zane said.

"I stand corrected." James replied.

Alex began to laugh, clutching his sides as tears rolled down his cheeks. "You…a spy…yes, and let's have Dr. Crowler teach weight lifting!" He burst into more fits of laughter, barely able to breath.

"I fail to see what is so funny." Zane said coldly.

"Yes Professor Milo, please tell us what you are laughing." Shepard said.

"Why am I laughing? Because that is the stupidest idea I ever heard." Alex shook his head. "You are Zane Truesdale, Kaiser of the Academy. Why would you join the Rare Hunters? You are a third year student, useless for Arliss, as he apparently only wants fellow first years. And let me not even get into the fact that you are so arrogant and full of yourself that you will never take one of his orders." Alexander shook his head, chuckling. "Maybe if you had tits, then he would be interested. But you, no way will Lockehart fall for it."

Alexis looked up at him, her brow creased in thought. "What did you say?"

"I said he was arrogant. It's a nice way of calling him an ass."

"No, after that."

"That he is full of himself…"

Alexis sighed. "No, Professor Milo. The part about Zane not being a woman. Maybe that is the key…think about it, Arliss has only shown interest in women so far: He was my friend, he made Nessa his queen, Cassandra his daughter…"

"Kinda hard to make a man a queen." Samantha said.

James snickered. "You obviously haven't been to San Francisco."

"The point is…" Alexis said. "Maybe both of you are right. When a male lion starts a new pride, he surrounds himself with females that serve as the main hunters of the group. The same could be true with Arliss: He is the alpha male, he has his alpha female, and he is now gathering women to serve as his hunters…his own harem. We do need a spy…" She looked at Milo. "But it has to be a woman."

"Well, that leaves us in a pickle." James said. "There is no way they'll let you into their group, unless it's to kill you. ANd you're the only one that can do it."

"Not exactly."

Alexander turned to look at Samantha, a look of resolve planted firmly on her face. His eyes widen as he realized what she was planning, and he began shaking his head back and forth, as if that alone would stop the madness.

"It's the only way A…Professor Milo." Samantha said. "Mr. Truesdale is right, we can't just keep letting the Rare Hunters run free."

"Then let someone else do it! Or find some other plan!" Alex shouted. "But for you to go in there…"

"We don't have time for another plan." Zane said simply.

Alexis nodded. "And we can't risk bringing someone else into the fold. It has to be one of us."

"The hell it does!"

"I agree with Milo." James said. "As painful as that is. We can't just go sending innocents into a wolf's den. What is to stop Arliss from doing to Samantha what he did to Nessa or Cassandra? Can you live with yourselves if you allow that to happen?" He shook his head. "We need to handle this differently…maybe if we wait long enough,they will move on…"

"No." Chancellor Shepard said softly. "No Prof. Stilton. I waited once, and now we have lost Candace. I can not stand by and risk the lives of other duelists as we try and find a solve-all solution. We must act now."

"And risk the life of another duelist!" Alex shouted.

"There is a difference between action and stupidity, Chancellor." James said.

"Enough!" Everyone turned to look at the soft spoken Greek Duelist. "In the end this is my choice. And if I can save the lives of others, then I simply must do it." She gave Alex a sad smile. "Please…I could not live if I didn't try and help."

"It's settled then." Zane said. "Tomorrow we will begin getting Samantha ready for her mission. Until then, we must act normal, not let anyone in on the fact that we are going after Arliss."

"Zane is correct. Please, go enjoy the duel this afternoon. We will worry about the rest of this tomorrow."

Alexander stormed out of the office, slamming the door open as he made his way out into the hall, muttering under his breath. "Stupid…dim witted…egotistical….arrrgh!" He screamed punching his fist right through one of the walls, watching as drywall crumbled around his arm.

"You should learn to calm down." Zane said from behind him. "You allow your rage to cloud your thoughts. That…and your unnatural attraction to Samantha. Yes, I've noticed…you can't think you can get away with being with a student, can you? You are going to slip up…"

Zane didn't get to finish, as he found Alexander's hand around his throat, cutting off his comments and leaving the Kaiser gasping. Alex slammed him into a wall, fury written all over the professor's face.

"Listen you arrogant piece of shit." Alex hissed. "I have no qualms with strangling you, just to watch you die. So listen good: My relationship with Samantha Ciro is off limits. You say another word, and I will make your life hell."

Zane pulled the fingers from his windpipe, taking in a gasping breath. "You'll…be fired…for this!"

Alex smirked. "Will I? Maybe…but only if someone talks…and I doubt you're going to be talking, Zane. No, I don't plan to kill you…I just know you won't say a damn word. Because…well…" He leaned in close,whispering. "I know what really happened that day…the day Atticus Rhodes disappeared."

&&&Last Year&&&

"Atticus…I got this note for you."

Atticus Rhodes looked over at his friend, the young man handing him a folded note. "Thanks…where did you find it?"

"It was stuck on your gym locker." Zane saidwitha shrug. "Figured that you might want it."

Atticus nodded, reading the note over. "It says that I should head over to the Elite Dorm, that there is this big duel going on. And…oh man! It'salready started." Atticus grabbed his duel disk and hurried to get everything together. "Man, I can't believe I almosted missed this…thanks Zane, if you hadn't found this note…"

"Don't worry about it." Zane said. "You just get going."

"You want to come with."

"I have work I need to do…see you later Atticus."

&&&Present Day&&&

Zane closed his eyes as the memories of his friend, and the last time he had seen him, flashed through his mind.

"Yes…if only you hadn't handed him the note…if only you hadn't been such a terrible friend and gone with him to the Elite Dorm…maybe Atticus would still be here. I wonder what Alexis would think…that you have been keeping this from her. She asked you, I bet, about what happened that day. And being the coward you are, you didn't say a word. That note could have helped her, but you can never let anyone know it was YOU that led to Atticus' disappearance." Zane grimaced, his own secret shame spoken by Alexander. "We know how she behaves…could she ever forgive you for doing this?" Alex tossed Zane aside. "So no, Zane, I don't think you'll say a damn word."

Not even checking to see if the Kaiser of the Academy would agree, Alexander stormed off to his room to think. In his wake, he left Zane Truesdale, the greatest duelist at the academy, all alone with only his thoughts of his role in the disappearance of his friend to keep him company.

&&&In Italy&&&

A dark form moved silently along the water, cutting through the waves just outside of Venice. Quiet as can be, the small boat made its way towards it's target, its pilot wanting to complete this mission and move on to better things.

Driving the boat, the Shadow Rider known only as Nightshroud pulled alongside a seaplane that bobbed in the water just off the Italian coast, silently stepped away from the steering wheel. With care, Nightshroud opened the door of the Holst, slipping into the plane and making his way towards the cabin.

His master had told him to seek out the Holst, find its pilot and deliver a message. While Nightshroud was annoyed he was performing such grunt work, he dared not question his master's order.

Stepping towards the cabin door, Nightshroud reached for the knob, looking down at the thin shaft of light that bleed from under the door. With a smirk, he threw the door open…and found nothing.

"Giri intorno.." A cool Italian voice said from behind him.

Nightshroud turned around to find himself staring at the barrel of a Browning High Power 9mm semi-automatic handgun. His eyes moved along the polished weapon to the hand that was holding it. The hand had a strange circular device around it's wrist, with a small hole cut right into it and a LCD screen on top for viewing. Continuing his gaze, Nightshroud took in his assailant's outfit, something quite different then what he would expect. The man wore a cream colored suit, perfectly cleaned and tailored, made of some of the finest clothe one could probably get. Under the suit jacket was a blood red dress shirt, no tie in sight. A red silk hankie was tucked in the jacket's pocket, just peaking out. The man wore fine Italian leather loafers, shined to the point that they rivaled mirrors. On his left hand, a small, compact duel disk was clamped to his arm.

The man that held him at gunpoint was handsome, well defined and flawless. Lightly tanned skin, a neat and trim circle-style beard, deep dark eyes, slicked back black hair, and as lightly playful smile. With his height at 6 feet, he was the embodiment of the old cliché, 'Tall dark and handsome.'

"Chi sono voi?" The man asked, his voice hard though his eyes held a slight amusement.

"Parlate inglese?" Nightshroud asked, remembering what his master had told him.

"Sì." The man said. "But that does not tell me who you are, does it Signor?"

"My name is Nightshroud."

"Well, Signor Nightshroud, why have you come here in the middle of the night and boarded my aereo?"

Nightshroud glared at the man through his mask, wanting nothing more then to reach over and snap the Italian's neck. But he knew better, especially with a gun pointed right at his face.

"My master has sent me to find Marco Giovanni."

"I am him." Marco said, still keeping the gun trained on the Shadow Rider. "But, Signor, if you know that name then you must also my profession. So tell me, Signor Nightshroud, why would your padrone…"

"Kagemara."

"Padrone Kagemara wish to hire a duel assassin?"

Nightshroud smirked. "Have you ever heard of the Duelist Academy?"

"Sì, It is a scuola."

"My master is about to begin an undertaking there…one which he would like you to be a part of."

"In what form?" Marco asked, putting the gun away inside his jacket.

Nightshroud shrugged. "That is for you to learn when you meet with him."

Marco smirked. "So, this is why you have snuck onto my aereo. So be it." He made his way to the cockpit. "Come Signor Nightshroud, you give me the coordinates, no?"

Next Time of GX HUNTERS: Zane and the rest of the group begin their work prepping Samantha for her undercover work, while James and Alexander begin working on their own plans. Meanwhile, Arliss and his family, with Hayden in tow, arrive at Kagemara's base of operation, where the two leaders discuss their plans for the academy. But how does the mysterious duel assassin Marco Giovanni fit into the plans? And will the school be ready for a new invasion?

So it begins.

Riders of the Storm: Part 1

Author's Note: Originally, I intended for this chapter and the next one to be together, but due to the positive reviews of the awkward moments between Arliss and Hayden, I decided to make a big longer scene for them.

Also, some people are asking about the way I write duels. The first thing people need to understand is that every duel I write isn't scripted. I take a premade deck with either real cards or proxies, and then duel myself. This makes the duel more raw and more real, eliminating things like lucky draws and unlikely events. Sadly, it also means the duels are not as complex as they could be. Personally, I prefer the real life style, but I will be trying to add more scripted combos into feature duels. And, considering how most duels go in GX…I think mine aren't half bad!

Please remember to review. I love hearing what you like and what you didn't like (though I prefer to have the like and not like together. Makes the bitter medicine go down easier). I do take some suggestions to heart.

Oh, and before anyone asks, we will be seeing a lot of Marco during this tail end of the story. I have 19 more chapters to go for this season, give or take. So expect Marco to play a large part in this final section.