"I'm gonna enjoy smackin' your smile off your face." Arliss snapped, drawing his cards. "I'll set one monster and one more card on the field, and end my turn."

Alexander chuckled as he took his next card. "Want me to attack you, Arliss? What do you have hiding under there? Your Ninjitsu Art of Decoy maybe? Want me to just ram into your monster and set up your own big attack? No thanks. I'll set one monster and end my own turn."

"Actually…" Arliss said. "I wanted you to not attack. That way, I could summon this: Mystic Swordsman Lv 2." On the rare hunter's side of the field, the small swordsman appeared, holding his glowing blade tight. "Thanks to his effect, your little defense monster…well, he ain't stayin' on the field much longer."

As he spoke, the little swordsman leapt into the air, lashing out and striking Alexander's downface D.D. Scout Plane, destroying it instantly and sending it to graveyard. As it returned to Arliss' side of the field, the swordsman began to glow, it's second effect activating and evolving it to its Lv4 form.

"Arliss is certainly off to a good start." Bastion said. "He has managed to get out one of his more powerful monsters, as well as two face downs."

"Don't count Prof. Milo out yet." Alexis warned. "You remember, he's rumored to be as good as Guy Roads…Roads tried to even draft him into his dueling team"

Bastion pondered that fact. Guy Roads was famous for being one of the best Pro Duelists in the world. Infact, he could have been champ, if not for the league's decision to ban his prize card: The Chaos Emperor Dragon. The league claimed it was to make things fairer, but Guy charged that it was all set up to hurt him and him alone. After that, he had left the league and started his own underground dueling team, The Renegades. The group had received instant fame for their all-star roster: Guy Roads, Mai Valentine, Keith Howard and Mako Tsunami, to name four.

If Alexander Milo was good enough that he had been offered a spot with the Renegades, then this would certainly add up to be an interesting duel.

Prof. Milo held up a card, placing it on his duel disk. "First, I will set this monster on the field. Next, I will activate this spell card: Dimensional Fissure."

Syrus looked around, eyes wide as the arena began to quake. "What's going on?!?"

"I don't know Sy…" Jaden said, eyes glued on Alexander. "But I think it has something to do with that spell card."

Behind Alexander, a small hole appeared out of thin air, lightning lashing out of it as its edges began to constrict and expand. The duel professor did not give it a moment's thought, instead motioning for Arliss to make his move.

"What is dat thing?" Cassandra asked, watching as some of the energy being unleashed by the fissure struck one of the hologram sensors and caused it to short circuit. "Bloody 'ell!"

"Whatever it is, it's powerful lass." Hayden said.

Arliss, however, was not concerned with small holes and some lightning. Instead, he was more concerned with beating down Alexander fast and hard. "Doesn't matter what that spell does, it won't save your defense monster from my Mystic Swordsman….attack!"

The warrior nodded, leaping into action and lashing out at the defense monster. Like some strange repeat of the last turn, a D.D. Scout Plane appeared, only to receive a slash along it's shell. But before it could shatter, the rift behind Alexander torn open, the arena rumbling harder as the energy lashed out.

The Mystic Swordsman let out a grunt, shoving his sword into the ground as the fissure began to suck everything in its path up. Alexander and Arliss fell to the ground, gripping it in a desperate hope to keep in place. The injured scout plane let out a trill as it was sucked into the dimensional fissure, the rip snapping shut.

"What the hell…" Nessa asked, looking over at the now tiny hole. "Someone please explain to me what that was all about!"

Alexander chuckled, overhearing the Queen of Rare Hunter's comment. "My Dimensional Fissure removes all monsters from play, rather then send them to the graveyard. A handy little spell card…especially when it is combined with my Scout Plane."

"What do you mean by that?"

Turning to address Nessa, Alexander pointed to the rift…and everyone watched as it opened slightly and allowed the Scout Plane to return to the field.

"My Scout Plane doesn't like to stay in the different dimension for too long. So, when it's sent there, it automatically repairs itself and goes about completing its job here in our dimension."

"Clever." Arliss grumbled. "A regenerating shield."

"Quite." Alex said, drawing his card. "Yes…this will work nicely. I summon my D.D. Survivor to the field, in attack mode." As the card was laid on his duel disk, a portal opened, and a cloaked warrior dropped to the field. His face was mostly hidden, only a tuff of blonde hair or a peak of his blue eyes could be seen. "Now then…Survivor, attack the defense monster on Arliss' side of the field."

The warrior nodded, a sword appearing from under his cloak. Rushing into the air, he landed right on top of Arliss' monster, shattering the Crimson Ninja. With back flip he returned to Alexander's side of the field, ready for action.

"Not much of a loss there…and it just means I have another space to play this here monster: Ninja Grandmaster Sasuke!" Arliss held out his hand, the white ninja flipping over his head and landing in front of him. "Sasuke, attack the Scout Plane! Mystic, attack that damn Survivor…let's see him survive this!"

The two warriors nodded, rushing into battle. The ninja leapt onto the mech, slashing into its circuits. The Mystic Swordsman rushed the Survivor, slicing into his cloak and causing the warrior to groan. Both of Arliss' monsters fell back instantly as the fissure ripped open and sucked Alexander's monster into it.

"Bring out your Scout Plane again…I'll just keep…" Arliss' comment tapered off as the Scout Plane returned…as did the D.D. Survivor.

"Didn't you know…my Survivor has the exact same effect." Prof. Milo asked, cocking his head to the side. "Noooo? Oops, I thought you knew."

"He's playing rather smartly." Bastion commented. "He is using his monsters to their fullest potential, and keeping Arliss on his toes."

"Yea. Whenever one of those warriors tries to attack Professor Milo, he's able to bring his own monsters back shiny and new."

Bastion nodded. "It is a brilliant defensive technique…but he will need to do more then that if he wants to win the duel."

Milo turned to his Survivor. "I'll play this Soul Absorption Card on the field, and then attack your Ninja Grandmaster Sasuke!"

"What is he doing? They'll both be destroyed!" Souta cried out.

"Look again." Dhmitri commented. "With the Fissure card, Prof. Milo's monster will return. And he'll eliminate another one of Arliss' ninjas."

As Dhmitri has said, it appeared that the Survivor was going to sacrifice himself in order to take out the Grandmaster. But when the two collided, and the Grandmaster's dagger drove into his chest, the Survivor found he had not stabbed Sasuke…but a bag of corn.

"My Ninjitsu Art of Decoy will save my monster…too bad, all that for nothing."

Alexander clicked his tongue, watching his monster fly by…and let out a laugh as the Survivor released some sort of energy right into him. The professor fell to one knee, a wicked grin on his face. "I wouldn't say that." (Alexander- 4500)

"The Soul Absorption Card…" Nessa muttered. "Damn it…now he gets LP whenever Arliss attacks one of his monsters! He can't even break through the wall properly!" As she spoke, Alex's Survivor popped back onto the field, fully healed.

"But Da still has a chance…right?"

Nessa nodded. "No doubt. If anyone can find a way through that damn defense, it will by your father."

"Question is lass…" Hayden said, crossing his arms. "Can he in time?" Nessa glared at him. "I ain't one of your kids, Nessa. I might be a Rare Hunter, but I won't be blind to the facts."

Arliss drew his next card, nodding to himself. "This should work pretty well…I'll summon my Strike Ninja to the field!" A dark shadow formed around the Rare Hunter, the wraith stepping away and forming the Strike Ninja. The dark warrior stood next to the white ninja and the swordsman, his daggers ready. "My ninjas…attack his monsters directly!"

The two warriors nodded, leaping into battle. The Strike Ninja slashed the Scout Plane in half, while Sasuke plunged his dagger into Survivor's chest. The two monsters let out groans as Alex's fissure opened up one more, sucking them in. And just like the last time, they left Alexander a present in the form of part of their energy. The professor laughed as the power built within his body. (Alex- 5500)

"Enjoy your power boost while you can! Mystic Swordsman, ATTACK!" The sword-wielding warrior nodded, performing a spinning slice attack that cut right into Alex and caused him to clutch at his chest in pain. "Take that, bitch." (Alex-3600)

Alex wiped his mouth on the sleeve of his jacket. "Is that the best comeback you have? Really…I expected more from you, Arliss." His two monsters had returned back to the field, and as he had been doing since the beginning of the game, he shifted his monster to defense mode.

Setting up one card on the field, the dueling Professor sent his D.D. Survivor right into Arliss' Strike Ninja. The dark ninja didn't even have time to defend himself before the sword ripped through his uniform, shattering him into pieces.

"Take that….bitch." Alex taunted. (Arliss-3900)

Arliss Lockehart was fuming. No, strike that. He was in full-blown pissed off mode. "
You ugly son of a bitch…"

"HEY!" Alex shouted. "I'm not ugly! I'm ruggedly handsome."

"Is that so? Let's ask Samantha what she thinks. Sam?"

Samantha didn't say a word.

"I'll take that as a yes." Arliss said with a laugh.

"Please…" Alex said with a scowl. "At least I don't need to brainwash women in order to convince them to do me." The professor curled his tongue against the back of his teeth, giving a nod at Nessa.

"What did you say?" Arliss snarled.

Alexander smirked. "Which part did you miss? Where I insinuated that you are bad in bed, or the part where the only way you'd get Nessa to screw you is by brainwashing her?" Arliss glared at him, pulling off his Shadows Star and readying it. "Do it…you try it and you automatically loss. And I say this, at this moment, you hurt me, and I command you are banished forever from this academy, never to return, and leave all your gear and supplies where they lie!"

"Arliss!" Nessa called out. "Just wait…there will be plenty time for our revenge when he losses."

"And your just jealous that Samantha is hotter then your woman."

"…kill him Arliss!" Nessa screamed, quickly being restrained by Hayden and Cassandra.

"Lass, I'd prefer not being banished, I thank ya." Hayden cried, struggling to hold the queen still.

Arliss glared at the professor, holding up a spell card. "I'll deal with your tongue in a moment, boy. I activate the spell card The Warrior Returning Alive, which will bring one monster back to my hand. And the monster I chose was my Strike Ninja!" Once more, the black mist coated Arliss' body, forming into the Strike Ninja. "And now, I think it's time I took care of your monsters, one more time! Strike Ninja, Ninja Grandmaster Sasuke, attack!"

"Don't you ever get tired of doing the same thing?" Milo laughed, the energy from his monsters entered him. "They say the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and thinking something else will happen." (Alexander- 4600)

"You ever hear, if it ain't broke, don't go a'fixin' it?" The King of the Rare Hunters said, looking towards his Mystic Swordsman. "Mystic…attack Alex directly!"

The Mystic Swordsman nodded, lunging forward with his sword right at Alex's throat. But the professor stood tall…smiling as a trap card flipped up and sucked up the blade right before it struck him.

"What…" Alex pointed at Arliss. The Rare Hunter turned, only to receive his own swordsman's attack. "AAAAAA!"

"ARLISS!"

"DA!"

The crowd cheered as Arliss fell to the ground, clutching his throat in agony as his lifepoints dropped. Gasping, he slowly rose to his feet, glaring at the professor who coldly watched him. (Arliss-2000)

"Arliss!" Nessa cried out

Arliss looked towards fiancé, gritting his teeth. "I'm fine darlin'…I'm fine." He turned back to Alex, eyes burning black. "Think it's time I stopped playing so nicely, though."

"Oh, is that your excuse?" Prof. Milo asked.

"…I will set one card, and end my turn."

"Now you're not speaking to me? I'm hurt." Alex held up a card. "I'll first shift my Scout Plane once more to defense, then I will set one card on the field. Now, I will attack your Ninja Grandmaster Sasuke!"

Arliss chuckled as the Survivor launched at his white ninja, blade glistening in the light. But right as he plunged the blade, a cylinder appeared, capturing the sword…and firing it right back at Alex. The professor cried out as his own monster's blade pierced his stomach. "You ain't the only one that can redirect an attack." The crowd cheered once more, though there were a few that weren't smiling. (Alex- 2800)

"Jeez…Arliss and Professor Milo are dueling really tight." Jaden muttered, watching the two duelists as they went at it. "They're hardly giving up any ground!"

"Yea…" Syrus said. "I've never seen anyone duel this hard before…let alone two people!"

"It's because they both know what is at stake." Atticus replied. He remembered well from his time as a Shadow Rider the stories he had heard about the Rare Hunters. "If Arliss wins, the academy is doomed. They will have free rule to do as they want, and none of us can stand in their way.

"But if Prof. Milo wins, the Rare Hunters are at his mercy. He can banish them from the island, leave them with nothing. Everything they own, everything they worked for…gone. Alexander could even demand Arliss release all the other hunters from his spell. This is a duel where the winner wins big…and the loser losses everything."

Alex had ended his turn, and Arliss had drawn his next card. "Mmm…I think it's time I took out that there fissure, once and for all. Me…" Arliss shrugged. "I like closing off our borders."

"Boo!" Hector jeer. "Very malo! Very very malo!"

Johnny stroked his boyfriend's hand. "oh, come on, he didn't mean that."

"Yea." Dhmitri said. "He meant the dimensional border…besides, aren't you from Columbus, Ohio?"

"Er…" Hector stammered. "Well…it was the very Hispanic part!"

"Sure it was." Souta muttered. "Sure…"

"I'll activate this card!" Arliss called out. "HEAVY STORM!" As he spoke a blast of wind struck the field, destroying the decoy robe Sasuke had been wearing, as well shattering the Soul Absorption Spell, The Dimensional Fissure, and Alexander's downface Dimension Wall.

"The wall is destroyed!" Cassandra exclaimed. "Da just left that bloody professor's field wide open!"

"He sure did Cass." Hayden said. "Now let's see if your da can use that move to his advantage."

"Told you he wasn't out of it!" Nessa bragged.

"Now Strike Ninja, destroy the Scout Plane." For the final time, the black uniformed ninja struck out, shattering the scout. "Now my Mystic Swordsman, take out the Survivor!" The warrior nodded, lashing out with his double-bladed weapon, cleaving the D.D. warrior in two. "Finally, let's see you dodge this: Sasuke, attack Alexander directly!"

The white ninja launched himself into the air, throwing his two daggers right at Alex. The professor let out a cry as the blades sliced right into his chest, sending him stumbling back in pain. (Alex-1000)

"So much for the all powerful Alexander Milo." Nessa laughed, clapping in glee as he fiancé ended his turn. "I think everyone is seeing who the true champion is, and his name is Arliss Lockehart!"

"Don't be so sure yet, lass." Hayden warned. "There is still a lot of duelin' left in this game, and Arliss hasn't beaten Milo just yet."

"Don't be such a downer, 'ayden!" Cassandra complained. "Da has everything in the bag." Hayden remained silent…he wasn't convinced. Arliss Lockehart may have been a good duelist. 'Hell, he's one of the best duelists I've seen.' Hayden thought to himself. 'And if it's true what they say, then he has stared down Marik Ishtar and not blinked. But that doesn't matter at the moment. He's dueling Alexander Milo…a dueling professor…someone who went to school to learn the ins and outs of the game. And he has already shown that he knows how to play it well. If Arliss doesn't keep his guard up…we are all doomed.'

Alexander looked over his hand carefully. "Alright Arliss…let's see if you know how to handle this. I will now send this monster card to the graveyard in order to activate this spell…the all-powerful…the unbeatable…LIGHTNING VORTEX!"

Slamming the card onto his duel disk, Alexander Milo watched as the vortex's symbol appeared under Arliss. The Rare Hunter looked down in horror, only to hear the crack of lightning. Looking up, he watched as the sky opened up, sending the deadly bolts down upon his ninjas and swordsman. All three called out in a panic, trying there hardest to avoid the undeniable fate that awaited them.

Alexander looked out at the three smoking craters that now sat on Arliss' side of the field. The craters that replaced Arliss' former warriors.

"Well…they didn't last long, did they?" Alex asked, holding out another card. "Oh well…that is the fate of weak monsters." Placing the card on his duel disk, Milo watched as on his side of the field, a tear appeared in the middle of the air, slicing open to reveal a sword…and then the hand that held it. From the tear appeared a dimensional drifter. The first visitor from the different dimension.

"It's…" Alexis whispered.

"…Neo…" Bastion said.

"…the magic swordsman." Atticus finished. "I didn't know any more existed."

Next Time on G/X: Hunters- Alexander reveals his favorite card, the old school Neo the Magic Swordsman. But when the monster meets with the new school Ninjas, who will come out on top? Alexander has one final trick, does Arliss have what it takes to break the professor?

Endgame Part 3

Things are about to change

Author's Note- The Renegades will appear next season.