Nessa looked over her hand, then back up at Aster. The young man was smiling rather smugly at her, looking over his own cards carefully. The Queen closed her eyes, her choker flashing as she reached out into Aster's mind…

BOOM!

Nessa nearly stumbled back. Her mind had come up against a mental wall, blocking her off from observing the fears of the duelist. Shaking her head violently, Nessa more gently began to probe the wall, searching for any cracks.

"You won't find any." Aster said with a smirk. Nessa looked at him, surprised. "My agent has insured that your powers wouldn't work on me."

Frowning, the Queen realized that Aster Phoenix a) knew about her powers, b) had figured out how to bypass them, c) was forcing her to duel honorably. And Nessa and Honorable were unmixy things.

"I'll set this monster in defense, and end my turn." She said with a grumble.

Aster laughed, drawing a card. "Don't worry about it, I promise to make the duel quick!" He held up a card. "I'll set one monster on the field as well and end my turn."

Nodding, the young woman drew yet another card from her deck, considering her options carefully. She knew well enough that Aster Phoenix was a skilled duelist. Infact, he was suppose to be rumored to be the next up-and-coming Yugi Moto. Of course, that meant little to Nessa other then that she would have to come out hard and swinging.

"I'll set another monster in defense, and activate Nightmare's Steelcage!" Aster looked up as the great metal dome fell from the heavens, trapping him and his monster inside its structure. The spell would keep both from attacking for two turns.

Phoenix shook his head. "Jeez, really want to make sure I don't hurt you, huh?"

Nessa shrugged. "Maybe I'm just cautious."

"Not the word I would use." Aster taunted, ending his turn without doing anything. Drawing her own card, Nessa couldn't help but do the same. Shaking his head, Aster held up a card. "I'll summon my Sparkman to the field, in attack mode." The monster appeared on the field, different from the Sparkman Nessa was use to. Sure, this one had the gold armor, but its underclothing was black, giving the E-Hero a much darker look. "I'll also set this card on the field, and end my turn." Aster watched as Nessa's Nightmare Cage began to turn to dust. "And it looks like your little spell is gone now."

"Good." Nessa said with a laugh, much to Aster's confusion. "I was getting annoyed waiting for it to go away." She pressed two buttons on her duel disk, before flipping her monsters face up. "I will first flip summon Slate Warrior." With a strange cry, the bendy-legged fiend appeared on the field, glowing brightly. "Because I let him sit in defense, I was able to boost his attack to 2400!" Nessa pressed another button, revealing a strange purple shape. But before Aster could even question what it was, the mound split in half, revealing jagged teeth, 2 yellow eyes, and a long tongue that grabbed the Sparkman and dragged it to Nessa's side of the field. "My Jowls of Dark Demise allow me to take your Sparkman as my own for one whole turn." She grinned. "And better still…because it is your Sparkman, he is able to find a way past your defenses…and right at your lifepoints."

Lifting the Sparkman into the air, the Jowls directed the captured Hero right at his master, forcing it to lift up its arms and begin charging its weapons. Aster grunted as the attack was fired off, striking him hard and kicking up the leaves all around him.

"And now, I will have my powered up Slate Warrior attack your defense monster!" Nessa commanded, sending her demon right at the downface card. The Slate Warrior lashed out, slicing the Clayman Aster had set in two. "And finally, my Jowls will attack by themselves!" Whipping its tongue, the Jowls threw the Sparkman into Aster, causing him to fall to the ground. (Aster- 2200)

Rising to his feet, Aster brushed off his coat before turning to the Rare Hunter. "You think that attack is going to stop me?" Aster placed a card in his graveyard. "I will activate Magical Mallet, allowing me to return these three cards to my deck, then draw three new cards." Doing so, Aster nodded to himself. "Now, I will summon my Elemental Hero Avian to the field, as well as set one card on the field." Joining the Sparkman was the darker Avian, the winged hero standing tall along with his light brother. "Next, I activate the trap card Elemental Recharge!"

Around Aster's side of the field, several energy collectors appeared, aimed directly as the two E-Heroes. A small generator has also come to sit next to Phoenix, his lifepoints' total on its display. Slowly, aster gathered energy from his heroes, and added it to his own lifepoints. (Aster-4200)

Nessa raised an eyebrow. "Neat trick."

"Thanks…here's a better one: Sparkman, attack the Jowls of Dark Demise Directly!"

The hero nodded, raising its hand and unleashing a bolt of energy right at the purple demon. As it shattered the creature to pieces, the Sparkman's attack continued on, right at Nessa.

"Say goodbye to your lifepoints."

"I don't think so." Nessa said. "Kuriboh, defend your mistress!" With a squeal, the Kuriboh from Nessa's hand appeared, blocking the attack before going to the graveyard. All that was left was a cloud of fur, floating down to the ground. "Well…that didn't work exactly how I imagine you wanted it to."

Aster, not saying a word, ended his turn.

&&&

Satorious watched on as the last few millimeters of metal were cut through, the sound of the diamond saw squealing as it tore one side of the box apart echoing all about the warehouse. As this was happening, two more men were finishing with their part of the work: drilling holes through the cut out section and attaching hooks. One more was inspecting the cube carefully, looking over some of the runes carved into it.

'Soon…soon this demon will be unleashed. A demon of light, bound to fulfill my every wish…nothing will be able to stop me once this creature is under my control! The Light shall wipe out the darkness…'

The saw stopped spinning, and workers stepped back, turning to their master.

"We are ready."

"Wait!" One of the men screamed. He had been looking over the cube, when he had come across some writing on it that had caused his blood to run cold. "YOU MUST NOT OPEN THE BOX!"

"Open it!" Satorious commanded with glee. The hooks were connected by chains to a forklift and with a might tug, the large piece of metal was ripped away from the great cube, letting them all peer inside.

What they saw was what they had not expected.

"Two of them?" Satorious hissed.

Inside the cube, chained to the inner walls, hung two skeletons, face to face. Their flesh long peeled away, the two bony figures hung within the cube, skulls tipped forward and legs just barely touching the ground. Around their wrists were metal restraints, fused to the wall of the cube.

"My lord…" One man said.

"There should only be one! The book speaks of only one demon! And why are they skeletons?!" Satorious screamed.

"You've doomed us all." The first man whispered, backing away from the cube. "God in Heaven, you've doomed us all!" Turning on his heels, the man began to run, leaving Satorious and his society with the cube.

&&&

"Not so talkative now, are you Mr. Phoenix? Are you only cocky when you are winning? Or maybe it's because I force fed you some crow?" The Queen of Hunters chuckled. "Mmm…I think it is time I took this game up a notch more. I will activate my spell cards Nightmare-Becoming!"

Aster watched as the strange spell flipped up. The image on it was of a blonde haired girl, a line drawn down her face. The right half of her face was normal, if a bit scared looking. But the left was twisted, with a golden eye, deformed brow, and fangs.

"Never heard of this card?" Nessa asked. "That's ok, it's a special one. You see, my deck is all about fear. And while my monsters may be the creatures that dwell in your darkest dreams, my spells reflect the common themes found in dreams. My Nightmare Steel Cage represents being trapped in a confined space. This spell represents the fear of becoming what you hate the most…or, should I say, your Sparkman becoming what you hate the most."

The Sparkman in question was grabbing his head in agony, bellowing out as dark magic swirled around him. Shaking violently, the hero's gloves tore apart as it's fingers turned to claws. The mask it wore seemed to shift, becoming more like the horse skull that Nessa's Shadow Slayer wore. Finally, the monster stood up and walked over to Nessa's said, flexing its arms as it summoned dark energy.

"Your Sparkman is now considered a Shadow monster, as well as a fiend. And, of course, it is under my complete control." Nessa smiled. "Sparkman, Slate Warrior…your mistress needs you to deal with that pesky Avian…" She waved her hand. "So get too it!"

Aster grunted as the Sparkman tackled his Avian, the Slate Warrior dive bombing him and slamming him to the ground. He cried out as Sparkman finished his own assault of the Avian by firing a parting shot of dark energy at him. (Aster-1200)

"Awww…did the big bad duelist go boom?" Nessa laughed. "At least Jaden Yuki has some skill. You…you're pathetic."

"You'd think so, wouldn't you?" Aster said, wiping his mouth. "Of course, you've been to busy attacking my monsters to deal with my trap card. Activate: A Touch of Destiny!"

&&&

Satorious was livid, ignoring the fool. He could deal with him later… "You brought me the wrong cube!" The leader of the White Association glared at them, his wicked magic flaring. "You foolish…"

"My lord!" Another man screamed. "They are standing!"

Satorious glared at him. "What are you…"

"The skeletons are standing on their own!" The man cried out.

Frowning, Satorious turned his head, and instantly saw what the man was getting at. While at first it appeared that skeletons were hanging, they were much to tall for that to be so. No…they were standing, under their own power.

That's when one of the skulls turned slightly.

"I ain't happy, I'm feeling glad, I got sunshine, in a bag. I'm useless, but not for long.
The future is coming on."

The men all froze as the light, effeminate voice drifted from the metal cube. Watching in growing horror, the first skeleton slowly lifted its skull, turning it towards them.

"I ain't happy, I'm feeling glad," It sang, "I got sunshine, in a bag. I'm useless, but not for long. The future is coming on…"

As the skeleton sang, the second one began to shift, tugging at its restraints. The metal began to squeal as it tugged harder.

"It's coming on…It's coming on…It's coming on…"

With a final scream, the metal torn away, and the second skeleton leapt from the cube, landing in the center of the semi-circle the White Association members had formed."Yeah... Ha Ha!" The skeleton laughed, throwing back its head. "Finally, someone let me out of my cage! Now, time for me is nothing cos I'm counting no age." It began to walk towards them, dark and white energy slowly swirling around in its chest. "Now I couldn't be there, now you shouldn't be scared; I'm good at repairs and I'm under each snare."

As the skeleton sang, it stalked towards Satorious, who backed away slowly. "Stop! I command you to stop!" He roared, summoning his own magic.

The skeleton continued to walk forward.

"Intangible, bet you didn't think so I command you to! Panoramic view, look I'll make it all manageable!"

Holding out its arms, the skeleton paused as several members of the white association were lifted in the air, spinning around him. They cried out in terror as the skeleton walked towards their leader.

"Pick and choose, sit and lose, all you different crews; chicks and dudes, who you think is really kickin' tunes? Picture you gettin' down in a picture tube. Like you lit the fuse." It turned to watch Satorious gauging his reaction. "You think it's fictional?" The male skeleton asked. "Mystical? Maybe. Spiritual. Hearable. What appears in you is a clearer view cos you're too crazy." The skeleton waved an arm towards himself. "Lifeless. To know the definition for what life is: Priceless. For you because I put you on the hype shit,
you like it?" Satorious' eyes shifted towards one of his now floating servants, the man that had warned him about the skeletons standing. The male skeleton nodded, letting the others drop as he grabbed the frighten man by the neck. "Gunsmokin' righteous with one token, psychic among those, possess you with one go!"

And with that, the skeleton plunged its fingers into the man's chest, laughing as the man screamed in agony. Satorious watched on, even he shaken, as the man's face began to quiver.

"I ain't happy," The first skeleton sang, "I'm feeling glad, I got sunshine, in a bag. I'm useless, but not for long. The future is coming on."

The man the skeleton had grabbed screamed, and Satorious watched on as the man's skin seemed to grow loose.

"I ain't happy, I'm feeling glad, I got sunshine, in a bag."

The group watched as, from the chest wound, first the man's blood, then his muscles, then all sorts of organs twisted around the skeleton's arm, sliding around the creature and taking place on his body. The poor man's voice gave out as he was slowly sucked dry, his skin crumpling like a balloon losing its air. His eyes bulged slightly before, with a hideous "swiuck!" they were sucked into his sockets, down his throat, and out the wound. The same was done with the man's tongue, gasping him to gasp. The fluids continued to flow over onto the skeleton, who blinked as his new eyes were forced into his head, shaking them as they turned pure white. The skeleton threw back its head and laughed in delight as it absorbed its victim. Mercifully, with a tug, the victim's brain was tore from his skull, ending his suffering.

" I'm useless, but not for long. The future is coming on…"

With a final tremor, the man's skin was torn from him, revealing a clean skeleton.

Standing there, the skeleton looked down as the final touches were put in place. Where just a moment ago had stood bone, there was now a man, 6 foot 6, with golden skin and the most handsome face any of them had seen. His body was lean yet muscular, tanned by some unnatural light. His hair was snow white, short and slightly spiked. Muscles flexed as he stood to his full height, wiggling his fingers and flicking droplets of blood of them. The skeleton, now a man, stood naked before them, pure white eyes glowing as he took them all in, and sadistic smile spreading across his face as he waved his hand over his legs and summoned a pair of loose white cotton pants and a open black short sleeved shirt to cover his form.

"It's coming on…It's coming on…It's coming on…" The remaining skeleton sang as she too freed herself from her restraints. She marched over, kicking the victim's skeleton, grinding its skull to dust before rushing towards Satorious' men.

The new man began to sing.

"The essence the basics, without it you make it. Allow me to make this, child, like in nature." He smirked, resuming his walk towards Satorious. "Rhythm, you have it or you don't, that's a fallacy."

Satorious found his voice at last. "What do you think you are? I am your master…I command you to stop!"

"I'm in them: Every sprouting tree, every child apiece, every cloud you see."

There was a scream as the female skeleton leapt onto another White Society member, plunging her bony fingers into his back and ripping out his spine. She cackled before she began to drain him like the male had.

"You see with your eyes, I see destruction and demise, corruption in disguise. From this #$in' enterprise. Now I'm sucking to your lies. Through (us), though not his muscles but the percussion he provides."

The man held out his hands, most of Satorious' men screaming as they were lifted in the air and thrown into cube. The skeleton turned man continued to sing as he stuffed them in tight.

"With me as a guide. But y'all can see me now cos you don't see with your eye, you perceive with your mind; that's the inner. So I'm gonna stick around with (us) and be a mentor. Bust a few rhymes so mother $(, remember where the thought is. I brought all this, so you can survive when law is lawless!"

With a flick of his finger, the metal door that had been cut flung back into place. The man summoned a blast of fire, sealing the cube up. And as the White Society men screamed and pounded on the cube, the man walked up to it, picked it up, and hurled it into the ocean, watching as it sunk.

"Feelings, sensations that you thought were dead." He sang as Satorious turned. The Leader of the White was smart enough to realize things had not gone as planned, and he could not escape these two…whatever they were. "No squealing, remember…"

Satorious smashed into a hard body, looking up to find the skeleton turned man grinning. He leaned in close, whispering.

"That it's all in your head"

There was a scream, and Satorious turned to watch the second victim be reduced to a skeleton. And the former skeleton stood up, now fully former. She, like her companion, was stunning, and it almost hurt to look at her. She had white hair, same as the man, and white eyes as well. Her skin was just as tanned as the man, but not as developed with muscle. Instead, she had lushish hips and large firm breasts. Her lips were pouty and firm, her face sculpted just as beautifully as her companion. Waving her hand, she summoned a pair of black pants and a white v neck shirt, which plunged almost to her bellybutton.

"I ain't happy, I'm feeling glad, I got sunshine, in a bag. I'm useless, but not for long. The future is coming on."

The two began to walk towards the Leader of the White, both singing.

"I ain't happy, I'm feeling glad, I got sunshine, in a bag. I'm useless, but not for long. The future is coming on. It's coming on, it's coming on, it's coming on, it's coming on. My future is coming on, It's coming on, It's coming on, It's coming on, It's coming on. My future is coming on, It's coming on, It's coming on, It's coming on, It's coming on My future…"

&&&

The trap card flipped up, revealing a strange dark hero, dressed in a dark cloak and with a white bald head, holding out his hand as stones dropped from it.

"This trap card is a nasty one. You see, I get to select from my deck 4 cards: 2 for each monster you have out on the field." Aster popped his deck from the duel disk and examined it. "It allows me to totally change the game…and set you up for one final strike down."

"Bring it on." Nessa taunted.

"Fine. First, I play O-Oversoul, to return my Avian to the field." The spell flashed, as the wind hero burst from the ground and landed on the field. "Next, I will activate Polymerization, fusing my Avian and my Burstinatrix into the Elemental Hero Phoenix Enforcer!" On Aster's side of the field, the two monsters began to blend together, forming the strange black and red elemental hero. "But that's not all. I'll play this card, a second Polymerization, to fuse my Phoenix Enforcer with the second Sparkman I just drew, to summon the Shining Phoenix Enforcer!"

The two monsters merged into one, forming the green hero, covered in silver armor. Balling his hand up in a fist, the elemental hero called upon the energy of all 5 heroes in the graveyard, powering himself up to 4000 attack points.

"Shining Phoenix Enforcer, attack that demonic Sparkman!" Aster commanded. The hero nodded, leaping into the air and letting loose a powerful blast. Nessa's skullified Sparkman cried out in pain as it was hit, shattering into pieces under the intense pressure of the attack. As it was destroyed, it's energy pooled into the enforcer. (Nessa-1800).

Nessa grunted in pain, her skin still tingling from the blast. "Is that…all you got?"

"Not quite. I activate one final card: Phoenix Fire!" The spell card flipped up, revealing the Phoenix Enforcer ignited in golden flames. "It allows me to sacrifice my Enforcer to do direct damage to your life point equal to half of his attack points." Aster smirked. "Incase you were confused, that is 2000 to your 1800."

"no…" Nessa hissed.

"PHOENIX FIRE!" Aster cried out, his monster exploding.

Nessa screamed as the blast struck her full on, her powers somehow blocked. She cried out in agony as the fires burnt her skin, leaving her smoldering against a tree. (Nessa- 0000)

"And now…" Aster said, his Enforcer still on the field. "I think its time you learned why you can never escapes your destiny…"

&&&

Arliss looked up in an instant from his book, his eyes black. "Nessa!"

Running to his brother's side, Arlen watched on as Arliss twitched, shaking violently. "Arliss…"

"Nessa…she's hurt…Powers…blocked…mind…blocked…AAAAAAAAAA!" Arliss grabbed his head, the backlash he felt as he assaulted the mental wall nearly taking him out.

"Mayday!" Arlen bellowed. His wife ran to his side, kneeling next to her two oldest friends and stroking her brother-in-law's hair. "Stay with him."

"Where are you going?" Mayday asked.

"Da!" Cassandra screamed, rushing to her father's side.

Arlen turned to Dhmitri and Hayden. "Watch Lexie."

"Arlen!" Lexie shouted in confusion. "what's wrong?"

Arlen scowled. "The queen is in danger…damn it, she shouldn't have left, not with the Doc on the island."

"You think Doc K did this?" Lexie asked. In her world, she too had suffered run ins with the MIB agent…he was the one man that made her Jaden shiver.

"No…something else did this. Nessa's being tortured…"

"NESSA!" Arliss roared, his aura flaring up. "NESSA!"

Hayden dodged a blast. "What the hell…"

"Their bound…mentally mated. He is trying to save her, but he is only hurting himself…" Arlen leapt up to the second floor, rushing to his room.

"We need to stop him!" Mayday shouted. "We need to…"

PUNCH!

Arliss' head snapped back, the King out cold. Hayden rubbed his fist, face twisted in agony. "I think I broke a few bones."

Mayday shook her head. "Crude…but it will work. He can't hurt himself if he's out cold."

Arlen leapt back to the main floor, dressed in his duster, guns stuck in it. "Mayday, stay here with my brother. Dhmitri, guard Lexie. Cassandra, do what you can for Hayden's hand." The Guardian marched towards the underground passage, where Arliss' motorcycle was waiting. "I'm going after Nessa."

&&&

Satorious gulped as the two were now within grabbing distance. They cocked their heads, looking at him.

"I think he's scared." The female said.

"I think you're right." The male said. "Why is that, Sola?"

"I believe it is because he thought we were something else…perhaps a demon he could control, Anarchy."

Anarchy nodded. "Ah, that makes sense. The memories I stole from that pitiful mortal told me as much."

"Then why did you ask?" Sola questioned.

"To scare him shitless, of course." Anarchy replied.

"What…what are you?" Satorious whispered. Never before had he felt this scared, but his magic, his power…it wasn't able to help him. These two…things…were immune to it.

"Us?" Sola asked. "Did the little mortal really ask us what we are?" Anarchy nodded. "We are a bit crazy. We are a bit murderous. We are a bit insane…"

"Insane and crazy are the same thing, ducky."

"oh." Sola said. "But we are completely insane."

"Of course. Being trapped in that box for six thousand years will do that to a person."

"except we were already crazy, and we are gods." Sola reminded him.

"Of course." Anarchy said with a laugh. "I always forget that." He turned back to Satorious, looking at him with frustration. "Are you still here? Run, little mortal, run while we are distracted, and then we will come to kill you some different day." Anarchy shook his head as Satorious trembled, but managed to take off, heading straight for his plane. "Mortals…damn, are they stupid."

Sola nodded. "Of course they are."

&&&

Nessa let out a groan. Her body had been beaten down, her arms broke legs limp. Eyes were nearly swollen shut, and it hurt to breath. Aster's spirit ally had given her quite a beat down, and the Queen had been unable to counter his attacks. Her shadow choker felt heavy around her neck, as did everything else. Her duster was caked with her own blood, as she could feel the cuts on her face reopen every few minutes.

"You and your Hunters think they can just go around doing what they want." Aster said in disgust. "You think you can attack innocent people…" He held out his hand. "I think its time someone taught you a lesson…"

The Enforcer leapt up, fist raised for another attack…

…only to slam down to the Earth, clutching its gut, a deep gash not running through it.

"Get away from her you filth."

Aster looked over at the newcomer and frowned.

"And who are you?"

"The name is Arlen Lockehart." The Guardian raised his sword, eyes glowing back as his aura began to swirl about him. Suddenly, his outfit changed, turning into blue and black armor. Arlen smirked slightly as he took a step forward. "And you just messed with the wrong girl."

&&&

Solaris looked around the city, taking in the buildings and attractions with interest. Anarchy glanced up at the KaibaCorp building. "Seems like the morals have done well for themselves. Almost nicer then the Heavens."

"Almost." Sola said. "So…what should we do first?"

"What do you mean?"

"We are free…we are now able to do what we want. You think we should level this city to the ground, summon some monsters to kill the populous, or maybe just cause general mischief."

"All good time for that." Anarchy said. "But I think there are better things for us to do."

"Like what?" Sola asked.

Anarchy thought. "While we can make some minor mischief…with us stealing those mortal's bodies, we are right now off the Heavens' radar…radar…" He said, snapping his fingers. "How I love all this new…slang?…yes, slang…I picked up from that mortal! Anyway, the gods have no idea we are back. Which means I have a plan."

"Oh?" Sola said as the two began to walk towards a bus stop. "And that would be…"

"I say we find a base, get our generals back…Sweet, Puck, Loki, Coyote…the whole family…"

"…including your Horsemen?"

"Especially my Horsemen. I can't have an apocalypse with my Horsemen!" Anarchy laughed. "We get them all together, gather our strength, and then…we storm the gates of heaven."

Sola grinned. "We are going to take down the gods?"

"Of course. For what they did to us…I know, I know, world domination is usually our game, but I think that's too small. Yes, dear Sola…I say we take the Heavens! Rip down the golden castles and throw them to the fires of hell! And in their place, dear Sola, we build our kingdom!"

Sola nuzzled his shoulder. "When you talk all evil it gets me so hot! If you weren't my brother I'd be jumping your bones right now."

Anarchy smirked. "Remind me to find you a doctor so we can examine these incest urges you have." Standing next to a businesswoman near the bus stop, Anarchy looked about. "I figure it will take us 2 years before we are ready. I'm not making the same mistakes like last time."

"2 more years before we take over all reality…by the gods, I might boink you yet."

"We can do the next best thing."

"Oh?"

"We can kill people."

The businesswoman looked at them in shock, and Sola smiled. "He doesn't mean you."

"ERK!"

The woman fell to the ground, her beating heart still in Anarchy's hand. He raised it to his mouth and bit into it like it was an apple.

"Or maybe he does." Sola said to the corpse before biting into the heart. "mmm…cherry."

Next Time on G/X Hunters- The White Society struck first, and now it's Arlen's turn. Confronted with Aster, Arlen will show him just how strong he is…but is Arlen enough to take on a duelist aided by Satorious?

Meanwhile, Doc K pays a visit to the lake, and part of his agenda is revealed.

But while all this happens, the gods Anarchy and Sola play, searching for their 4 horsemen. And their first stop will lead them to a duelist from Yugi Moto's past.

Evil is about to wage war on evil…and Humanity will be caught in the crossfire.

Episode 55- Vendetta