The Sparkman let out a cry as he flashed, his armor shifting. When the lightshow died down, there stood a new Sparkman. Arms and legs wee covered in blood red tights, the upper body armor white. His hands crackling with energy, the Shadow Hero glared at Jaden.

"You're move."

Jaden looked over at his dark counterpart. "What…what have you done to him?"

"Just a little improvement!" Dark Jaden said. "Just like me, my Sparkman is now filled with the power of darkness, transformed into a stronger, better form."

"He's a monster." Jaden whispered.

Arliss frowned. "Hey, no need to insult the other monsters." The Rare Hunter glared at Dark Jaden. "He's far worse then that."

"I think it's cute that the supposed bad guy is really a bleeding heart." Syrus sneered.

"I'll show you what a bad guy can do boys." Arliss stated, drawing a card. "I'll summon my Ka to the field, Strike Ninja!" A dark aura formed around Arliss, pulling away and taking the form of the Strike Ninja. The black assassin twirled his daggers, looking right at the Shadow Hero. "And now, I will attack your Shadow Hero with Shift Assassin Strike!"

The Strike Ninja nodded, leaping into the air and firing off one of his daggers. The Sparkman on Dark Jaden's field looked on in surprise, the dagger piercing him. But while he did grunt, he did not fall.

"Allow me to reveal my Shadow District's second effect: By discarding one card, I can save my Sparkman. My monster is safe, and I only loss 100 lifepoints." (Dark Jaden-3900)

"And you've left yourself open to attack!" Syrus called out. "Cyber Hound…"

"Not so fast!" Arliss shouted, holding up a card. "I don't believe I said I was done with my turn. I am going to activate a spell card."

"Fine!" Syrus shouted. "Doesn't matter. Cyber Hound, attack! Cyber Stomp!"

The hell hound let out a bellow as it rushed the Strike Ninja, rearing up to strike him. But just as it was ready to lower the proverbial hammer…

…the ninja and the samurai were gone.

"What?!?" Syrus exclaimed.

Arliss looked up, his eyes glowing black as he focused on bringing his brand new card to life. Without Hayden's hacking of Kaibacorp in this world, the Rare Hunter King would need to rely upon his shadow magic to bring his new cards to life.

"You should have listened to my spell card's effect. Then you would know that I played Ninjitsu Art of Stealth. It makes it that you have a 1 in 3 shot of hitting my monster…let's see how lucky you are!" Syrus glared, now able to see the dark blurs running around the hound. "Attack!" Syrus commanded, the beast growled, eyes trying to lock on to the rapidly moving targets. "Nope." Arliss said as the beast slammed down. "Want to try again with the Cyber Dragon?"

Syrus snarled. "Nah…I'll just target your little friend Jaden. Cyber Dragon…"

"Attack the Samurai."

Syrus looked over at his master, startled. "Jaden…"

Dark Jaden glared at him. "My white half…I deal with him myself. You handle the interloper."

Arliss grinned. "Whipped."

Syrus' eyes grew big. "I'll show you whipped! Cyber Dragon, attack Mataza!"

Arliss stood by, watching as the hound tried again to attack. "Oooh. I'm sorry. But don't worry none boy, I'll let you spin the big wheel next turn."

Barely constraining his rage, Syrus ended his turn, nodding towards Jaden. The Slifer duelist drew his next card, and looked over his hand.

"Alright, it's time to show you how we duel in my neck of the woods! First, I will summon Elemental Hero Clayman to the field. Next, I am going to activate Polymerization, to fuse my Clayman and my Sparkman together. So come on out, Elemental Hero Thunder Giant!" Lightning rained down upon the field, in its wake revealing the Thunder Giant. The E-hero sparked with electricity as it turned towards the Shadow Knights. "And now, I will activate my Thunder Giant's special ability. By discarding one card from my hand, I am able to destroy one monster on the field. And I select the Shadow Hero Sparkman! Thunder surge!"

Dark Jaden looked on, face void of emotion, as his own Sparkman was struck down by his counterpart's E-Hero.

"And now, I will attack…er…the other me….directly." Jaden managed to say. "Thunder Giant, attack."

"Syrus, defend me." Dark Jaden commanded.

"Cyber Dragon, defend!"

As the Thunder Giant let loose his voltic thunder attack, Arliss stroked his chin, intrigued. 'So, you need to protect your Cyber Hound…why else not use him to eliminate the Thunder Giant? Let's see what combo you be tryin' to set up, boy.' (Syrus- 3700)

Dark Jaden looked over at the Thunder Giant and scoffed. "That pathetic thing is the best you could come up with? Weak. Now allow me to show you how one should duel: I will set one card upon the field, and then summon Elemental Hero Avian. But don't worry…he won't be on the field for long!" The power of the Shadow District activated, the Avian transforming into his Shadow Hero counterpart. His coloring now shifted to a dark purple, his wings black. "What do you think?"

"It's disgusting." Arliss said with a sneer. "Not bad." He admitted. "But enough of that. First, I am gonna equip my Strike Ninja with this card: The Smoke Bomb." The Ninja held out his hand, grabbing the small metal balls that appeared before him. "And now, I will attack your Shadow Hero Avian with my Mataza the Zapper!" As the samurai leapt at the dark hero, Arliss allowed a smile to form on his lips. "Now, you are allowed to use your Shadow District's effect to prevent your Avian from being destroyed, but my Mataza can attack twice. And that will remove the last card in your hand, making you vulnerable to my Strike Ninja and his attack!"

Mataza raced towards Dark Jaden's monster, slashing it right in the stomach. The winged hero grunted, the Shadow District's special effect activating and protecting it from being destroyed. But more shocking was the fact that when Mataza went to attack again, his attack was blocked by a barrier.

"What?!?"

"Allow me to present the effect of all my Shadow Heroes. Unlike the Elemental Heroes, the Shadow Heroes have a special effect that protects them. You see, Shadow District protects all monsters. But when a Shadow Hero is the one being attacked, when I discard that card, the battle phase is ended instantly. Meaning…" Dark Jaden's smile grew. "Your ninjas are locked out of this part of town. The police do that, you know. Keep the good people out while the scum take over."

"Save me the metaphors boy, and let's move to your little puppet. Your move, Mr. Syrus."

&&&

Alexis looked around the clearing, her eyes flickering with wicked joy at the destruction that lay about her. The newcomer had cut through Chazz' ranks, his sword a blur as it clove limbs from flesh and tore bone from muscles like they were sticks stuck in mud. The dark mage's power had rolled off his body in waves, causing Chazz' men to become ill. But for Alexis, she was drunk off the dark power this one gave off. It was like Arliss' and Jaden's…but different. Arliss' was smooth, slippery. Jaden's was like a hammer, full of force.

But this Arlen…his power was raw, ancient. A current of time ran through it, and caused her to tremble and heat to bubble in her belly as she watch him kill her enemies.

Currently, Arlen had Chazz and his men restrained with shadow magic, taunting them as he circled. Alexis watched on as his powerful creature, slinked about, selecting his next victim.

Alexis could taste the fear coming off men, and she breathed it in. For too long, she had been sheltered by Jaden and the Knights. Even before her pregnancy, she had been treated like a china doll, Jaden's trophy. Not allowed to revel in the destruction she so wanted to cause. What little violence she had gotten in had been monitored by Jaden. Oh, she played the scared little girl card when she needed to, like around that other Jaden. But let no one assume that she wasn't just as evil as any other Knight.

'Or more so.' She thought, slipping a knife from her waist band and slashing the throat of one duelist. Arlen looked over, a slight grin forming. "Been waiting 6 months to do that. Idiot wouldn't stop looking at my tits."

"Kinda hard not to, darlin'. Like tryin' to avoid lookin' at the sun." Arlen turned around to see one duelist staring at Alexis' ass. "Hey pervert!" He slammed his sword into the man's gut, flaying him. "Show some respect for the girl."

Alexis bowed to Arlen. "I have always relied on the kindness of strangers."

"Who do you think you are?!?" Chazz shouted. "I am the Chazz! And the Chazz demand you let the Chazz go at once! You have no right to hold the Chazz like this! You will pay for hurting the Chazz' men!"

Arlen looked over at Dark Alexis. "God, he's more annoying then my Chazz. He always like this?"

"Pretty much. He's made that Jaden never selected him to be a Shadow Knight."

"Jaden?" Arlen laughed. "Jaden is the big bad in charge in this world?" The Guardian of the Hunters doubled over in laughter. "Darlin'…" He finally managed to say, "You have got to tell me that story. But first…what should we do with this good ol' boy here?"

Alexis thought for a moment, before knocking Chazz down and grabbing a leg. "Make a wish?"

The Guardian nodded, sneering as he grabbing Chazz' other leg. "One…two…three…"

CRACK!

&&&

"You hear that?" Jaden asked. "Sounds like a baby seal is being tortured.

Dark Jaden, and Arliss shared a look. "Heroes." They both said, rolling their eyes.

Syrus was near his breaking point. Once again, Arliss Lockehart had dared to insult him, to mock him. And never once had his 'master' defended him. 'Looks like it's up to me to show this ass what I can truly do!' Drawing, Syrus looked over his hand. "I will summon Cyber Steed to the field."

On Sy's side of the field, a neighing could be heard, before a large mechanical winged stallion appeared, sending up gusts of wind with every beat of its wings. Plated in the same metal as the Cyber Hound, it lowered to the ground, stomping its hoof a few times. (1000/1000)

"Cyber Steed has an interesting effect. It gains tokens, according to the number of monsters on my opponent's side of the field. Each time you would attack me, I can remove a token and end the battle phase instantly. Meaning that both of my monsters are safe at the moment. But yours…yours aren't. Cyber Hound!"

The mech Cerberus snarled, leaping right as Mataza and the Strike Ninja began to run, using the Ninjitsu Art of Stealth. However, luck was finally on Syrus' side, as the mech beast was able to pin down the samurai. Struggling till the end, Mataza cried out as the beast sank its fangs into him. (Arliss- 2900)

Jaden nodded, drawing his next card. Syrus and his dark half had managed to create a shield around their lifepoints. And as he thought about it, so had Arliss in a way. Which left his lifepoints the only one unguarded. He would have to do something now to either build up his own defenses…or break the others'.

"I'm gonna to lay down two face downs. Next, I'll activate Thunder Giant's effect…"

"I don't think so." Dark Jaden stated, flipping his trap. The card showed the Shadow Version of Burstinitrix, coloring changed to black and orange, shoving her fist D.D. Warrior Lady's chest and ripping out her heart. "This is my Shadow Break trap. When an effect would be used against my Shadow Heroes, that effect is instantly negated." Jaden could only watch as Avian lunged at the Thunder Giant, shoving his hand into its chest and ripping out an orb of energy. Thunder Giant staggered back, letting out a bellow.

Jaden narrowed his eyes. "Let's see you avoid this though! Thunder Giant, attack!"

Dark Jaden shrugged as he discarded another card from his hand, preventing his monster's destruction. (Dark Jaden-2500)

"Is that it for you?" Dark Jaden asked. At Jaden's nod, he drew his next card. "Perfect. Now, you have shown me how fuse your Elemental Heroes. I think it's time I returned the favor. I activate Miracle Fusion!"

"But wait!" Jaden exclaimed. "Miracle Fusion only works on Elemental Heroes. You are using Shadow Heroes!"

"Ah, but the special effect of my Shadow Heroes, besides their boosting of my Shadow District, is the ability to, at my choosing, be counted as their goody goody white halves, even in the graveyard. So now, I will fuse my Shadow Hero Avian with the Shadow Hero Clayman that I discarded during your last turn to summon my Shadow Hero Mirror Wing!"

&&&

"I can't believe Jaden is the huge evil in this world." Arlen muttered, him and Alexis walking through the forest. "And he took over the academy?"

"Yea."

"And he knocked you up."

Alexis glared at Arlen. "Watch how you talk about the father of my son."

The Guardian grinned. "Father of your child? Not love of your life?" Alexis sputtered. "Don't deny it, darlin'…you don't love him, do you?"

"He created me! He gave me this life…my power…"

"My father made me and gave me my ability to kill…and I personally hate his guts. So sing me a different tune."

Alexis lowered her head. "I don't like how he treats me, alright? I'm stronger then everyone thinks…but they treat me like a child."

Arlen nodded. "Then their idiots." Alexis looked at him. "Watching you rip Chazz' balls off and stuffin' them down his throat, I could tell that you are a strong warrior. And a talented Shadow Mage, if my aura reading is right."

The young woman grinned. "Why thank you. You know…you and your brother have been so kind to me…"

"It's in our nature." A pause. "We're still evil, we just have this thing about women and violence."

"What do you mean?"

Arlen continued to walk along the path. "When we were younger, our mother was pregnant with our little sister. One day, Arliss screwed up a con, and I hid him in the closet. Dad came home drunk, wanted to beat him, and got in a fight with mom. He…he hit her so bad she had a miscarriage."

"Oh God." Alexis whispered.

"Arliss has always blamed himself for the death of our sister…I think that's part of the reason why he stood up for you."

Before Alexis could let that thought settle in her mind, they entered a clearing, and Alexis stared at the strange ship in front of them. Arlen walked over and opened the hatch, revealing…Goofy and Donald Duck, tied up in the back.

"Thank ya boys. One day, I will repay ya. Unless I can't find you or a forget. So long." He typed in a key, and the gummy ship went into autopilot, racing into the sky. "Come on…let's go find my brother.

"And what's the other part? You said he saved me in part for me being pregnant. What is the other reason?"

"Your name."

The Shadow Knight frowned. "Huh?"

"Our sister…mom was gonna name her Alexis."

&&&

The swirling vortex formed on Dark Jaden's side of the field, pulling Avian and Clayman into its gapping maw. The two Shadow Heroes began to twist and bend around one another, limbs crashing together and bodies bonding together as the magic did its work. With a final bang, the spell completed its task, and a new hero stood on the field.

The hero looked much like Avian, only this one wore black armor and Clayman's helmet. Flexing its shoulders, 2 pairs of wings burst from it's back and expanded. The wings were long, a 15 foot span between the tips of each. The feathers were made of a polished silver, so shiny that they bounced light back at Jaden and Arliss, blinding the two. (Atk: 1000, Def: 2400)

"A lot work for a weak little thing." Arliss taunted.

"Wait till you see it effect, and we will find out if you are still standing by that comment."

"So, it has an effect?" Arliss asked, raising an eyebrow. Dark Jaden cursed to himself, realizing he had just slipped up and gave his opponent valuable info. "Interestin'. I gonna summon Proto Ninja to the field."

Arliss' eyes went black as a puddle of water appeared on his side of the field, trembling and shifting upwards. Slowly, it took on the form or a humanoid figure, deep dark eyes staring out over the field. (Atk: 500, Def: 500)

"Now then, I think I will activate this card: Ante In." The spell card flashed, revealing the image of a poker table, all players throwing a chip in. "This card is a simple one. You see, we are each required to send one card in our hand to the graveyard. And if you can't, then you have all the cards on your side of the field destroyed. My Ante In card counts as my ante…boys?"

Syrus calmly slipped his Cyber Phoenix into the graveyard, the cost not bothering him in the slightest. Jaden added his Elemental Hero Avian to the graveyard. But it was the Master of the Shadow Knights that was truly quaking with rage.

He knew Arliss had played this card for one reason, and one reason only: To negate the abilities of his Shadow District. If he discarded the only card in his hand, then his field spell became useless. But, if he didn't, all his cards would be destroyed.

With a snarl, Dark Jaden shoved his spell card into the graveyard.

"Good job…now it's time to play some Texas Style No-Limit Duel Monsters. Proto Ninja, let's find out just how strong that Mirror Wing is. Attack it the Shadow Hero!"

"What are you doing!?!" Jaden shouted. "Proto Ninja is weaker then Mirror Wing!"

"is it?" Arliss questioned, never letting his eyes leave Jaden's counterpart. "Are you willin' to risk that my monster doesn't have an effect? One that will let him beat yours? You willin' to not active your effect, take that risk?" Arliss grinned, nodding his head. "You goin' all in, or playin' it safe, boy?"

Dark Jaden gritted his teeth, watching as the liquid ninja raced towards his Shadow Hero. His mind raced, trying to figure out the best strategy. If he used his Mirror Wing's effect, his monster would be safe for sure. But, if he didn't, and it turned out the Proto Ninja had some sort of special effect designed to protect it…or worse, destroy his monster, then everything he had been setting up would be gone.

"We have contact in three…two…one…"

"Mirror Wing, activate Mirror Shield!" Dark Jaden shouted at the last moment. His Shadow Hero reacted instantly, lowering his wings so that they covered his front completely, leaving him completely protected. The liquid ninja lashed out, striking his own mirror image. "My Mirror Wing's special ability allows him to increase his attack by your monster's attack. So, not only will your monster be destroyed, by you will take 1000 points of damage!"

Arliss wanted as his Proto Ninja was blown apart, his own lp dropping down. But the Rare Hunter only chuckled, watching as the puddle of goo began to twist and grow once more. (Arliss-1900)

"Did I forget to mention exactly what my Ninja's effect was? Silly me…he allows me to select one ninja from my deck and summon it to the field. So, I will some the Flash Ninja!"

On Arliss' side of the field, the liquid remains of his ninja fully formed into a ninja in a dark red uniform, black wrist and ankle bands along with knee and shoulder pads lining his limbs, each with a small decorative flame upon them. In his hands was a longbow, a quiver of arrows slung on his back. (Attack: 1200, Def: 700)

"This ninja's effect is a nice one. For every monster that is on the field during the current battle phase, he gets one attack phase." He pointed at the Cyber Steed. "And your little horsey there has three chances at life, right?" His smile grew bigger. "Flash Ninja, show Syrus why you gots your name!"

The Ninja nodded, pulling out three arrows and notching them. As he did so, the heads of each burst into flames, the archer zeroed in on his target, letting the shafts fly. The Cyber Steed let out a painful neigh as the weapons struck, knocking it down.

"Now Strike Ninja, finish the job!" The black clothed ninja nodded, launching into the air and landing upon the back of the steed. The robo Pegasus roared in pain as the Strike Ninja slashed its side open, revealing its circuits. Letting out a death cry, the cyber beast shattered, leaving Syrus fuming. (Syrus-2400)

The Shadow Knight drew his next card. "I will summon Cyber Kraken to the field!"

As he spoke, the moat beside the duelists began to churn violently, water hissing and bubbling up. A geyser of water shot straight up into the air, revealing the Cyber Kraken. A monstrous beast, it was made up of thrashing tentacles, say for the gaping maw lined with rows upon rows of super sharp teeth. Letting out a roar, the creature remained in the water, tentacles reaching out for the duelists. (2600/0)

"My Cyber Kraken is one of my mightiest monsters. It can drag any creature to the depths, and nothing stops it once it latches onto its prey."

"Enough talk, boy. Let's see your monster grab my ninjas!"

Syrus grit his teeth. "Tremble before the terror that is my Kraken!" The beast's tentacles shot out, the Flash Ninja trying to escape via the effect of the Ninjitsu Art of Stealth. But try as he might, the fire ninja could not escape the Kraken. "Let no joyful voice be heard! Let no man look up at the sky with hope. And let this day be cursed by we who ready to wake…the Kraken!" The Flash Ninja let out a cry of pain as it was dragged into the Cyber Kraken's mouth, devoured whole. Arliss screamed, feeling his monster's pain as it was torn to shreds. "So…you are using shadow magic." Syrus said. "Tat will make this so much more fun!"

Arliss ground his teeth together. "You knew…that's why you attacked my Flash Ninja…you know I am fully creating it." Syrus nodded, chuckling. "Check your duel disk, I ain't suffered from any lp drops."

"The Cyber Kraken can only destroy, he can not inflict personal damage. A nasty beast, caring only for flesh and not for the win. But do not worry…" The Shadow Knight laughed. "My Cyber Hound will work just as well! Cyber Hound, attack the Strike Ninja!"

Again, the Strike Ninja began to ran, but luck was on Syrus' side. The Cyber Hound leapt at the Ninja, flattening him to the ground. Snarling, all three heads reared back…and bit into smoke.

"Forget my Smoke Bomb equip?" Arliss asked, looking over at his perfectly safe ninja. "This equip allows me to discard one card, turning it into a smoke bomb which negates the attack against my ninja." HE shrugged. "Why rely on one shield when two will work just as fine."

Jaden whistled. "Wow…now that was a sweet move, Arliss."

"Thank ya, boy. Thank ya kindly." He turned back to Syrus. "That all for ya?"

Syrus snarled, ending his turn, his two cyber beasts looking down at the Strike Ninja, who stared back calmly.

Jaden drew his next card. "I can't attack the Mirror Wing, because my attack will just be bounced back. And I can't attack either of the Cyber Monsters, because I'll destroy my own Thunder Giant. So, I will just end my turn."

Dark Jaden scoffed. "Admit you are a coward and be done with it."

"Said the man hiding behind the big fairy over there." Arliss snarked.

Dark Jaden glared at the Rare Hunter, drawing his next card. "I have no need to do anything. This card will protect my Mirror Wing, should you find a way to negate his reflecting effect." The Shadow Knight laughed. "Try what you want, there is no way you can get past my almighty Shadow Hero!"

Arliss frowned, looking over his hand. "Boy, I say that you talk way too much." He held up a card. "Because you are about to learn just how dangerous I can. Let's start by removin' that pesky field card, shall we?"

Dark Jaden's eyes grew wide. "No!"

"No stoppin' me now. I activate the field spell Elemental Field-Battle Cell 6!"

As he slammed the card down onto the duel disk, Arliss' body erupted in black flames burning away the Shadow District. In its place, the duelists found themselves in a forest clearing, a few rocks and boulders littering the area. Around the border of the clearing, 6 totem poles sat, each one featuring one of the 6 elements in duel monsters.

"My field spell makes it that if there is any effect that involve attributes in its requirements, that requirement is negated and I can activate the effect instantly. That means monsters like my Strike Ninja, that requires 2 dark monster to be tributed in order for me to use its effect, can simply gloss over the requirement and just get on to the effect."

Dark Jaden had to nod his head to that. "So not only have you taken my advantage, you've built a final wall around your Strike Ninja."

"Exactly." Arliss said, setting another facedown on the field. "And now, I will end my turn."

Syrus' eye twitched. Every time it seemed he would have the Rare Hunter on the ropes, Arliss would put up another wall. The King of Hunters was proving to be a skilled duelist, and Syrus would have to turn his attention to the weaker of the two…Jaden Yuki.

"Enough of these game…it is time to draw you out Arliss. If you won't attack me, then I will force you too…by making you chose between your monster or your partner! Cyber Kraken, attack the Thunder Giant!"

Cyber monster bellowed, tentacles reaching out to grab the light hero. The Thunder Giant bellowed as he struggled to free himself from the hold, pounding on the slippery arms of the aquatic creature.