"Where is he!?!"

Darkness surrounded him. Bundled up tightly behind some blankets, not even gathering the nerve to look out the slits of the closet. He didn't dare move, his breath shallow as he stared out into the black that surrounded him fully.

"I don't know…" A woman said angrily. "I ain't the damn boy's keeper! He's your son!"

"Its your job to know where the little bastard is!" The man screamed. The boy cringed as he heard his father smack his mother hard, the woman screaming in pain. "Why doesn't any one do what they're suppose to!?!"

"AAAA!"

The little boy bit his lip, body shaking as he heard his father kick his mother over and over again.

"You don't back talk me, you &ing bitch!"

"Dad, stop it! You're killin' her!"

"You talking back to me?" SMACK! "I'll teach you to talk back to me!"

The little boy began to sob softly as his brother cried out in agony, his mother's whimpers echoing in the boy's ears. His brother's body fell to the ground with a thud as his father moved away.

"When I get back, I am going to deal with that little moron…"

"I'm going to kill you."

Everything seemed to freeze, growing quiet as the little boy's brother rose up.

"What did you say?"

"I'm going to kill you." The brother said, his voice dark and sinister.

The father laughed. "I would love to see you try." A door slammed shut, leaving the house silent.

"Come on out Arnold." The little boy remained still, until his brother finally opened the door and carried the 8 year old out of the closet. "Don't look." His brother commanded. "Don't look…"

But he did look, letting out a sob as he saw their mother lying on the ground, clutching her swollen tummy. Blood was leaking from her stomach where their father's steel tipped boots had crashed into the vulnerable flesh, and their mother was whimpering in agony.

"no…" Arnold sobbed. "Mama…Alex, the baby…the baby…"

"Don't look." His brother said said, dragging his brother's head to his shoulder and hugging him tight. "Don't look little brother…" Alexander Milo's voice grew dark again. "We're going to kill him Arnold…for Tasha. We're going to kill him for Tasha."

&&&

"ARLISS!"

Arliss Lockehart's eyes snapped open, his breathing erratic. Above him, he could see Jaden Yuki's face in jumbo vision and upside-down. Glaring at him, the King of the Rare Hunters shifted to his side.

"Leave me alone and let me sleep."

"You were screaming."

"I do that when I am dreaming about banging my fiancé. Scream even more when I actually do her."

"Ew."

Arliss raised an eyebrow. "Now that explains a lot…you and Syrus Brokeback Mountain Buddies?"

"Huh?"

"Nevermind. Why the hell are you in my room? Shouldn't you be snuggling up to Alexis?"

Jaden frowned. "No thanks. Too creepy."

"What, Jaden doesn't have a thing for preggos?" Jaden looked at him, confused. "Been spendin' too much time with Cassandra. Now then, what do you want?"

"Shouldn't we begin hunting for this diary, so we can get back home?"

Arliss nodded, rubbing his neck. He'd only gotten in 2 hours of sleep, which was average for him but still felt like too little after the day he had had. Sitting up, he cracked his neck as he swung his legs over the side of the bed. "Let's get going then."

"Where are you going?"

Arliss and Jaden's heads snapped towards the door, staring as Alexis entered the room. She was wearing a black teddy, barely hidden by the silk robe that hung from her shoulders. Her tummy was sticking out proudly, and occasionally she would run a finger over the taunt skin.

"Uh…out." Jaden said. "I'm allowed to do that…because I'm the Master here, and all the knights need to listen to me. So, go back to bed while me and Arliss…go out."

"Ok." Alexis said rather chipper. "Just one more thing…" Her eyes glowed back and the door slammed shut behind her. "Who are you and what have you done with my Jaden?"

Arliss raised an eyebrow. "Now this will be interesting."

&&&

"Dude, throwing that &er into the portal!"

Arlen was gripping a lamppost as Jay and Bob tugged on him, trying their best to remove him. The Rare Hunter did not trust the new vortex that had opened up, and would have preferred to wait and do some spells to determine if he wanted to go through it. But unfortunately, he found himself now dealing with two stoners that seemed to think he was the best thing to offer the hole in space.

"No!" Arlen screamed as Silent Bob ripped him free and tossed him towards the portal. "I'll get you for this Shueller Bub!"

&&&

"AAAAAAAA!!!!"

Arlen groaned, rubbing his head. "Son of a bitch!" He rose to his knees, looking around at his new surroundings. He was caged in by tall futuristic buildings, air ships floating overhead and the sounds of life all around him. The Rare Hunter frowned, slowly rising to his feet. "Where the hell…"

"Freeze!"

Arlen slowly turned his head, taking in the battalion of Clone Troopers that now had their guns pointed right at him. His eyes continued to wander their ranks, until he came upon the leader. The man that had been heading off to kill the younglings right when Arlen appeared from the sky.

"Manakin Skywacker, I presume?" Arlen asked, standing up. "Or, should I call you Mastervader?"

Anakin glared at him. "Do you know who I am?"

"Yea." Arlen said with a sneer. "The asshole that ruined the whole Saga. Seriously, C-3PO looks more life-like then you."

"Blast him!" The Clone Troopers yelled.

Rolling his eyes, Arlen held up his hand, catching the blasts and sending them back, leveling several rows of Clone Troopers. Raising his hand up, he called out his Shadow Saber. The weapon flew to his palm, igniting as he brought it up into a lightsaber grip.

"Let's hurry up, I want to go over to Padme's and show her how a real man pleases a woman." He smirked. "Let's dance, you whiny bitch."

&&&

"How did you know?"

Alexis looked up at Jaden from her place on the bed, a smile crossing her features. "I could feel it. My Jaden…he…he has the aura. You don't have it." She glanced over at Arliss. "You have a different one though…"

"So, Dark Jaden did teach some of you people somethin'." Arliss said.

"Don't call him that." Alexis said.

"What, Dark Jaden?" Alexis glared at him. "Try it little girl…I will have you knocked out in an instant."

"Would people stop fighting so we can figure out what to do?" Jaden asked with a groan.

Arliss and Alexis looked over at the Slifer duelist before turning back to each other. "Is your Jaden this impatient?" Arliss asked.

"No…not really…" Alexis said softly. "But he does have a point…why don't you start from the beginning…like who you two are?"

Arliss nodded. "My name is Arliss Lockehart, and this, in fact, Jaden Yuki. Only, this Jaden is not from your world…and neither am I. We are travelers from another dimension, dropped here by accident by a malfunctioning spell."

"I am guessing in your world…things are different?"

"Quite." Arliss said, deciding to lay out the whole story. "In our world, it was not Jaden Yuki that discovered the Diary of Marik, but me. I used the magic within to transform myself into shadow mage, and spent 6 years training. Afterwards, I came to this academy, where I began to recruit rare hunters to join my cause."

"And your cause would be?" Alexis asked.

"Murder, mayhem and destruction to name a few."

"A game plan I can get behind." Jaden gave Alexis a look. "What? I'm evil."

"Three cheers to that, darlin'." Arliss said. "Jaden, why don't you tell her a little about your life."

Jaden looked up, still a bit startled by this Alexis' attitude towards Arliss. She had calmly endorsed all sorts of crimes without batting an eyelash, and that truly disturbed Jaden.

'What did that dream version of Arliss say?' Jaden thought, remembering the vision he had received during Syrus' duel with Vera Amarillo. 'I could be the villain…could this have been the warning? Could I be like this too, if I allowed myself to let go? Could I become the new Arliss?'

"Boy!" Arliss snarled, snapping his fingers. "Wake up!"

Alexis' eyes grew wide at the way Arliss behaved around Jaden. The King of Rare Hunters didn't miss the look, and filed that under 'Things to ask in a little bit'.

Finally snapping out of his thoughts, Jaden began to tell Alexis all about his life. The shadow mage version of Jaden's friend listened on in interest as he described his life in detail, from the moment he got the E-Heroes, to his coming to the Academy, to his relationships with the gang.

"And you and your Alexis?" She asked.

"Just friends." Jaden said.

Arliss rolled his eyes. "And I'm Scarlet O'Hara." Jaden frowned, confused. "Does your Jaden act so stupid?"

Alexis shifted uneasily. "Jaden is perfect." She said quickly.

"ooookay." Arliss said slowly. "Why…why don't you run by us the differences in your world, darlin'?"

Alexis nodded. "My Jaden…he found he Diary of Marik around the same time you did. He used it to become strong in shadow magic, but he didn't train as hard as you did. Instead, he used it to overwhelm his opponents and become a terror on the dueling field. Dr. Crowler heard about him and brought him into the Academy, but after a month, Jaden was demoted to Slifer for talking back." Alexis paused, thinking. "It was that time that I began to fall for him…the old me, that is. He asked me out, we went on a date…and then he used his powers to remake me into this new, better form."

"He did it without consent?" Arliss asked.

"Of course…"

"So he raped you." Arliss snarled.

"Of course not…"

"He raped you…" His fist tightened. 'I am going to kill that son of a…'

Alexis shook her head. "It was for the best! He taught me how to use my magic…he convinced me it was better to move to his dorm. When my friends began asking questions, he killed them so they wouldn't bother me!" She grinned at them. "He takes care of me."

"I've heard this story before." Arliss said quietly, his rage building.

"Go on." Jaden said quickly.

"Well, after we moved in, he began recruiting the other knights, and they staged a coup one night…about 4 months ago. Blew up the Ra Yellow dorm, killed most of the duelists. Got rid of the Slifers too, because he felt they were weak. Even killed off Chancellor Shepard, so we could control the academy."

Arliss nodded. "Violent little bugger then."

"Alexis…what about your family…your brother?"

"My brother?" Alexis asked, confused.

"Atticus."

"I don't have a brother." Alexis said, not understanding. "And parents…"

"Where do you think you came from?" Arliss asked.

"I…I don't know. Jaden told me…"

"Did he do this?" Arliss roared in frustration. "Did he tamper with your head!?!"

Alexis looked down at her shoes. "It was for the best…I remember being sad…and then I wasn't…"

Arliss closed his eyes tight. Jaden looked at him, voicing the fact neither would say. "He killed them…and then erased your memories?"

"I don't know…" She said. "It doesn't matter though!" She added quickly. "Jaden made it better…"

"Does he hit you?" Arliss asked. Alexis' eyes grew wide, and Arliss gritted his teeth. "Let me see your stomach."

"I…I…"

"Let me see it." Arliss commanded, standing up. His mind was raising, his fears telling him not to confirm what his heart knew.

"No…"

"Alexis." Jaden said softly, realizing with growing horror what Arliss was getting at. As a child of a poor family…he'd had his run in with abuse. "Do it."

Alexis was unable to deny Jaden…even if this one wasn't hers. Doing as they commanded, she stuck out her stomach, letting Arliss feel. The young woman whimpered as Arliss ran his fingers along her ribs. Jaden got over the bashfulness he felt at having an almost nude Alexis in the room and pulled back the silk robe…revealing a nasty black bruise.

"2 broken ribs." Arliss said, his voice trembling. "Did he kick you?" Alexis squeezed her eyes shut. "Did he…"

"I…I couldn't please him right…I didn't…in bed…I have to, it's my duty…I have to please him…"

"Because if you don't, he is allowed to beat you?" Arliss asked.

"I deserved it!" Alexis screamed, pulling her robe back around her. "I deserved it for being bad." She looked over at Arliss and Jaden. "Tomorrow we'll get the diary so you two can go back to your dimension. You can't be here when Jaden returns." Before either man could stop her, Alexis ran from the room.

Jaden and Arliss exchanged a look.

"We're not leaving." Arliss said softly, unable to hide the emotion in his voice. "We need to save her." He closed his eyes. 'I didn't save you Tasha…but I can save both of them.'

Jaden nodded his head, the smile wiped off his face and a grim look in his place. His anger at his Dark Half boiled his blood, and he was pleased Arliss had broached what he was ready to say. "Took the words right out of my mouth…but how?" He added.

"Leave that too me." Arliss said coldly. "Leave that too me."

&&&

"Oh, by the gods…"

Arlen smirked as he pulled on his shirt. He could feel the portal getting ready to open once more, and was glad he had been given the time to live out this little fantasy. 'Besides,' He thought, 'Mayday did let me put her on our cheatin' list'. Glancing over at the bed, he watched as Padme lay there, sated.

"Never…like that…"

"Figured." Arlen said. "Annie always seemed to be a wham, bam, thank you man type to me." He grabbed his sword and moved towards the window, watching the vortex as it grew larger.

Padme gasped for air. "How…how can I go back to…Annie…"

"Oh, don't worry, you can't." Arlen said, wiping some blood from his Shadow Saber. "I'd try that Captain of yours…one sec." Arlen pulled out a detonator, pressing down the button and watching as the newly made Imperial Palace exploded. Grinning as he felt the tremors of the dark side flow from Palpatine's death, the Rare Hunter turned to the Senator. "Once you go black, after all…"

Leaving the suggestion hang, Arlen leapt into the vortex.

&&&

"I'm not seeing anything…J'onn, are you sure the disturbance was here?"

"I am sure." The Martian said. "Just keep looking. Once we have someone available, we will send you backup."

"Thanks." Clicking off her comlink, the woman moved through the jungle, keeping her eyes peeled for anything out of the ordinary.

'Like the giant portal above me!' She thought, leaping out of the way as a blast of energy fired from it. The warrioress crouched, ready to attack, when a man emerged from the rip in space.

"By Hera…" Wonder Woman said. "Are you from New Genesis…a New God?"

Arlen Lockehart grinned. "Not quite…"

&&&

(The Next Day)

"You need what?" Syrus asked.

"The Diary of Marik." Alexis said. "Master Jaden and Master Arliss need it to perform the protection spell.

Syrus grumbled something about Jaden being too lazy to grab it himself, stalking out of the room. Alexis nodded to Jaden and Arliss, then went off to gather the supplies they said they needed for the spell.

"Are you sure about this?" Jaden asked.

"It will mask her from all magic. Then, all we have to do is transport her away. I'll set a bomb up, and as soon as Jaden arrives, boom!" Arliss grinned. "Goodbye Mr. Asshole."

Jaden nodded. "And she will be safe?"

"Pissed, but safe. I am sending her to Marik Ishtar…as much as I hate the man for letting Moto disband the first hunters, he should have the wisdom to protect her from your Dark Self if he survives to explosion. They'll de-brainwash her…"

"Will this work?" Alexis asked, holding up a bowl.

"Of course love…" Arliss said.

"Here's the book, Master Jaden." Syrus said with a barely concealed sneer. "I will leave you to your…"

"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE?!?!!"

Arliss, Jaden, Syrus and Alexis all turned to find a new man standing in the main room. His long, brown hair was pulled back in a ponytail. His eyes were hard and menacing, his face cold. He wore a black Slifer blazer with red trim, and a dark duel disk hung on his arm. He looked at all of them in anger, body trembling as shadow realm magic began to pour off his body like waves. Arliss shoved Alexis behind him.

"Evil Jaden, I presume?" Arliss asked, before leaping at him, his own black magic activating.