"What do you mean, you're going?"
Arlen looked back at his wife for only a moment, then returned to packing the large backpack. Mayday hovered around him, watching as he packed water, survival gear, and rations. Testing the weight, Arlen nodded to himself and set about gathering other provisions.
"Did you hear what I asked you?" Mayday asked, grabbing his arm and stilling him. For any other person, save his brother, they would have found themselves looking into darkened eyes, filled with contempt. But Mayday…Mayday never saw anything but love in Arlen Lockehart's eyes…even when they fought as they were now.
"I heard you." He said softly. "Just not sure how happy you will be to hear about it." Slipping from her grasp, Arlen heaved the bag up and made his way out of the kitchen and made his way towards their bedroom.
"Arlen!" Mayday called out, hurrying after him. "Arlen…"
"SQUEAK!"
Looking down, Arlen managed to chuckle as the Harpie's Pet Baby Dragon toddled towards him, letting out little yelp. A remnant from Arliss and his failed attempt to cross into the world of the duel monster, Mayday had been smitten with the baby dragon the instant Arlen brought him home. Any thought of returning the baby had disappeared, and now the two guardians had their own little dragon to raise.
"Come on Norman." Arlen said, swinging his arm down and gathering the baby up. The dragon let out a purr, long neck nuzzling Arlen's shoulder. "Daddy needs to pack his bag."
"Daddy first has to tell mommy why he is packing." Mayday said from the doorway, arms crossed. "So…spill it Arlen."
"I'm going on a hike…"
"You always need that much stuff on a hike?"
"…it's a long hike." Arlen said.
"Sure." Mayday replied. "Spin me another, Alex."
"Sammy…"
Mayday shook her head. "There are no secrets between us…remember telling me that back in Greece? You promised the last secret between us would be you being a shadow mage and me hating my father. And you remember why I hate my father, don't you?"
Arlen sighed, lowering his head. "Because he kept secrets from you."
"Exactly." Mayday said. "So, tell me what exactly is going on here." Pausing from his packing, Arlen sat Norman down on the bed and turned back to the love of his life. "This is about Aster, isn't it?"
Arlen nodded after a moment. "3 KAs…3. Fully formed. Independent thought. Able to return themselves." He shook his head, pulling a shirt away from Norman, who had been happily eating it. Looking at it, Arlen sighed and tossed it back to the baby dragon. "We've rested on the easy stuff far too long."
"We were experimenting with the Shadow Weapons." Mayday argued, holding out her Shadow Whip. "Channeling dark energy, discovering our own powers…"
"And we still got lazy. Arliss and I didn't bother to try the portal again…only you, me and Arliss can fuse with our KAs. The others use the shadow magic like it's a sledgehammer, when you should treat it like a doctor's scalpel." The guardian shook his head. "We have wasted time, and now we are paying for it."
"That still doesn't explain where you are going." Mayday said. "Nessa is still bedridden…Arliss will not leave her side, and has ceded power of the Hunters to you. You can't abandon us!"
"He ceded it to both of us, Sammy." Arlen said. "And we must do what we can to make the Hunters stronger…so that when the King and Queen return, they are able to gain their revenge."
Mayday closed her eyes, shoulders slumped. "Where are you going?"
Arlen heaved the backpack onto his shoulders. "You know of the legend of the wraith?"
Mayday Lockehart nodded. "Students say that there is a ghost on one of the volcano's peeks, a creature bred of fear. It takes the shape of your darkest nightmare."
"I am going to face it." Arlen said, grabbing his Shadow Saber. "And I am going to kill it."
"How?" Mayday asked, picking up Norman. "How do you defeat fear?"
"I do not know…but I can only hope that it will force my powers to the next level." He glanced at his blade. "I will not need this…I take only what I already have." He hooked the weapon to his side anyway.
Mayday paused, face screwed up in confusion. "Wait a minute…you are doing the Yoda thing from Empire Strikes Back!"
Arlen shrugged as he made his way out. "Whatever works."
"God damn it, this is no time to take the advice of little green jedi!" Mayday cried out in frustration.
"Maybe." Arlen said. "But what if Aster isn't the only one with these powers…what if there are darker things headed our way." The Guardian shook his head. "I'd rather be safe then sorry."
Biting her lip, Mayday watched as her lover, her husband, her savior, pulled the backpack up onto his shoulders, adjusting the straps carefully. He walked over, Norman in her hands and kissed Arlen deeply, his hands tangling in her hair.
"Be careful Alexander."
"I will Samantha." He whispered. "You and Lexie are the sole leaders now…guard the pack well."
"come back, Alex…come back soon."
"I will." He smiled, and then, he was gone.
&&&
New York, New York"Here I am…in your hand…waiting for my time! Wondering when…you will send…me onto the field."
"What the hell is this?"
Sola sipped some of her champagne, eyes never leaving the stage. "It is what the mortals call a 'Broadway Musical'." She ran her hand down her thigh to smooth out her dress. She'd summoned for herself a beautiful white strapless dress, embroidered with diamonds.
Anarchy, dressed in a fine black tux, shook his head. "I know that, sis. What I want to know is why we are here." The music grew louder, and he snapped his fingers, forming a soundproof bubble around him and his fellow deity. "I thought you said we were going to find Dumas."
"And we have."
The dark chaos god frowned. "Well, where is she? Is she in the audience? Because if she is, I say we just warp her out of her convince her to join us."
"And both saw how well that went with Parshath." Sola muttered.
"It's not my fault our horsemen of famine is an actor!"
"Or that he believes in scientology."
"Or that."
"Or that he is completely crazy."
Anarchy shook his head. "Ok, ok…so Dreadscythe, or 'Rafael' as he wants to be called, maybe preferred teaching kids to sail. And Parshath, or 'Tom Cruise' as he's known now, is completely nuts…"
"Why did he think we were brainwashed aliens that were giving him bad emotions?"
"Do I look like a speak crazy?" Sola shot him a look. "Don't answer that. The point is, why are we here?"
"Because Dumas is here. Our little Horsemen of Disease was reincarnated as Tea Garner."
"And this Tea girl…a mean little vixen that loves to seduce men and poison them? A real evil succubus witch?" Anarchy asked, remembering his Horseman…or horsewoman as it were, fondly.
"Nope. She would be the one in the blonde wig dressed as the Dark Magician Girl."
Anarchy's face fell.
"THAT'S IT!" he roared, the bubble shuddering. "Enough of this shit! We are finding brand new Horsemen! People that we can corrupt without hearing them sing or talk about there being no…what did he call them?"
"Chemical imbalances."
"Yea, that." The chaos god muttered. "We're leaving."
Sola shook her head. "I'm staying. It think its funny that the biggest slut in the history of time was reincarnated as a goody goody Broadway Actress." Sola summoned a file from thin air. "Oh, and she is remaining a virgin till her wedding night…how nice."
Anarchy held his head in his hands. "New Horsemen…definitely new Horsemen."
&&&
"Would you stop laughing?" Cassie said, watching Lexie break down into a fit of giggles. "Aunt Mayday, she's bloomin' nuts, that's what she is."
"Cassandra, its not nice to tease the crazy." Mayday said, watching a Lexie struggled to stop her giggle fit. She failed, bursting into laughter again, nearly falling out of her seat.
"Can we pretend we don't know her?" Dhmitri asked.
Hayden nodded. "I already pretend to not know any of you."
"I'm sorry…" Lexie whimpered, tears in her eyes from all the laughter. "But…he's so small!"
Cassandra rolled her eyes. "Yes, Syrus is a small'un."
"And he's so cute and innocent!" Lexie giggled.
Dhmitri frowned. "If you go for short and doopy, maybe. Me, I go for tall, dark and larged breasted…like Missy over there." Dhmitri gave them a lewd grin. "She could be a tick on my neck any day."
"Huh?" Hayden asked.
"…tick, your leech, tick!" Dhmitri exclaimed.
"Enough." Mayday ordered. "We aren't here to ogle duelists." She paused, thinking something over. "She was a pretty good duelist, wasn't she?"
"Doubt people were much lookin' at her cards, lass." Hayden replied.
"She almost won the duel…" Mayday said to herself, watching as Missy stormed away from Syrus and his celebrating. "Syrus got lucky…she has some potential…"
"He's so cute!" Lexie giggled. "I just want to grab him and rip his head off." Dhmitri, Hayden and Cassandra stared at her in confusion. "In my world, Syrus was a jack-ass who liked to hit me…this one, I would love to take my frustration out on." She rubbed her tummy as her baby rolled over. "Yea, you want to kick him two, dontcha sweetie?"
"Lexie…come on." Mayday said, standing up.
"Are we going to kill Syrus?" She asked with a grin.
"Nope…something much more fun. But I need a Lockehart to do this, so you're my woman. Cassandra, you're in charge till I get back…no killing, no shadow magic unless you need to, don't act like idiots."
"Think she's talkin' about us, lad?" Hayden whispered to Dhmitri.
Lexie and Mayday hurried up the stairs, darting out of the main arena. They had a meeting with a certain duelist, and they didn't want her to leave before they could talk to her.
Meanwhile, the remaining Rare Hunters were watching the dueling arena was reset for the final match of the afternoon. The crowd was abuzz, the hype around this battle already getting everyone in attendance excited.
A new tradition the academy had set up last year had one student, chosen at random, face off against one of the professors, again, chosen at random. This year, Doctor Kevin Allen had been selected to face the student, and everyone was waiting to see the legend duel. Doc K was known for his ability to change the momentum of a duel with a single card, destroying perfect strategies with a mere thought. His deck, filled with dangerous vampires, had gained a reputation of a streak killer: Somehow, he always found a way to knock out even the best of duelists.
So far, Doc K had refused to even talk dueling with his students, instead taking over Prof. Stilton's Defense Against the Dark Duelist Class. Needless to say, everyone was itching to watch him take on an opponent live and right in front of them.
Now, the good doctor stood on one side of the arena, waiting for his opponent to arrive. He adjusted his shirt, making sure it was in place, then turned to his duel disk. His was an advanced one, compact and hi-tech.
Looking similar to the original duel disk created by Seto Kaiba, this one was black and purple. Dr. Allen pressed a button on the device, and it began to unwind, the curve straightening out and snapping into place. Finally, after a few moments, the device was smaller, with a long metal tail on one end. The 'tail' unfolded, flattening into the main playing space.
The arena speakers crackled, before a loud, high pitch voice began speaking.
"Hewwo? Hewwo…can you 'ear meeee?"
"Lacey!"
"Hyper is a singer!" The little girl giggled over the intercom.
"That's nice, now give the microphone to mommy…"
"Hyper wants to pway!"
"You can play later…why don't you have a tea party with Dr. Crowler?"
"Yea! Let's have a tea party ugly man!"
Dr. Crowler, who had apparently just entered the control booth, began to sputter in protest as Hyper Malloren sang about her tea party. The crowd laughed at his misery, as Viola tried to get things under control.
"Quiet…quiet please…" She paused. "Quiet…"
"SHUT UP!" Cassandra roared, her cry echoing through the arena. The students went silent, all eyes on her. "You're on, teach!"
Hayden lowered his head. "I'm not with her, by the way."
Viola looked down from the control booth, a little unnerved by the sudden silence, but deciding to take it in stride. "Ladies and Gentlemen, due to the needs of the challenger, I will announcing his moves to you. Now then, the opponent to Dr. Allen…third year Obelisk Blue duelist, and the current number one Obelisk Male: Brutus Vulca."
From one of the entryways, the Obelisk duelist emerged. Brutus was gigantic, putting all other duelists to shame. Standing 6 foot 5, he was nearly as wide as he was tall, from shoulder to shoulder he was 4 feet wide. His body rippled with muscles, and his modified Obelisk jacket could easy work as a blanket on a bed. He moved with a steady gait, silent as he made his way to his side of the arena. On his arm his duel disk seemed like a child's toy compared to the rest of him.
But while he was intimidating, his face was another story. Yes, it was hard and solid, eyes looking beady in contrast to the massive head, black hair hanging all other, jaw square and set. But there was something…a softness that appeared at times, that told of another story. That there was a mind behind the muscle, and it held secrets few would ever learn.
"I don't get it." Hayden said. "Why does the lad need an announcer?"
Cassandra looked on, eyes wide. "Maybe because he's such a big one, one bloody word would shatter all our eardrums?" She shook her head. "Lord help us, that bugger is a big boy."
"That he is." Dhmitri said. "but that isn't the reason Prof. Malloren is announcing his moves."
"Then wot is?" Cass asked.
"Brutus doesn't speak…he's a mute."
Hayden raised an eyebrow. "Now that is something you don't see every day."
"Yes…Brutus is a skilled duelist, very intelligent, despite what he looks like, and as quiet as can be…they call him the Silent Duelist."
"Original name." Cass muttered.
"I think we are in for one hell of a duel."
&&&
Arlen set the pack down, wiping his brow. It was hot, hotter then it should have been in September. It didn't help that he was standing on a volcano, but even then, the heat was too intense, too unnatural.
The guardian looked around, throwing off his coat, leaving him only in a blue t-shirt. Setting his sword off to the side, he made his way towards the caves.
'My spidey-sense is tingling' he thought to himself, already feeling the dark energy swirl around him. 'Something is here…'
He barely had time to consider what was happened before he was struck from behind, the dark magic sending him to the ground. The Rare Hunter groaned, getting to his feet, only to be hit again.
"You should not have come here, mortal." An all to familiar voice said.
Arlen turned, watching as a shadow shape appeared, twisting and turning. Clouds had began to roll in overhead, blocking out the sun as the dark wraith began to reach out to Arlen's mind.
"You have power…but that will not be enough to stop me. Nothing can stop me, for all fear me." The wraith paused, taking on the form of a brown haired older man, roughly 20 years Arlen's senior. The man had Arlen's nose and mouth, but his eyes were beadier, more seedy. "You should know better then to mess with me, boy."
"Taking on the form of my father?" Arlen asked with a grin. "Good…I always wanted to kill the old man. Too bad for you, I know how this game is played. I attack you, and you only gain strength. I don't attack you, and you are harmless." He closed his eyes, focusing his thoughts on anything but his fears…and felt the wrath retreat. "Too eas…."
BOOM!
Arlen went flying into the side of the volcano, crying out in pain as he fell down onto the rocks. In front of him, the wraith-as-his-father laughed.
"Fool…I have evolved beyond the need for fear…I no longer need fear to live…I merely desire it!" He lashed out, hitting Arlen again. "And for sadly, you are the main course for tonight."
Arlen nodded, wiping his mouth. He held out his hand, calling his Shadow Saber to him. The instant it touched his hand it ignited, and the aura covered his body, turning into the blue armor of Neo the Magical Swordsman.
"Never liked 'The Empire Strikes Back' anyway!" He roared, leaping at the wraith.
The battle was on.
&&&
Aster rubbed his face with one hand, the other holding his cellphone to his ear. He had finally begun to recover from his duel against Nessa Lockehart…and his battle with Arlen Lockehart.
"You think now is the time to strike Jaden Yuki."
"Yes." Satorious said. "He has usurped you for far to long. If we ever hope to remove him from your spotlight, you must strike at him now…and you must do so with your Destiny Heroes."
Aster nodded, running a finger along the card case that held his deck. The deck that contains cards designed by his father…some of the last cards designed by his father. He had worked for years to reclaim each of them…and now, he was so close.
Satorious had told him that Jaden Yuki's use of the Elemental Heroes, Aster's old decktype, was an affront to the memory of his father. Jaden…had to be eliminated.
"I will take him down as soon as I can." Aster said finally.
"Not quite." Satorious said. "Another matter has come to my attention. Do you know of Zane Trusdale?"
"He is the newest guy in the pro leagues…they say he's never lost an official duel."
"Yes…" Satorious said. "I have looked into the cards…Zane is weak, a perfect target for you."
Aster frowned. "I don't understand."
"Zane Trusdale is a thorn in our side. He supports Jaden Yuki. His strength lends strength to Yuki and his friends. He must be dealt with." Satorious paused. "But he has a weakness…he lacks faith. Trusdale is strong, but has never faced a true challenge…never been truly beaten. If you strike down upon him, he would break. He may look like a diamond…but he will break with glass." A pause. "yes…yes…you must go face Zane. As long as he stands, you can never defeat Yuki."
"But what of the Rare Hunters? They are still on the island…and they are a threat to us. They are criminals…shouldn't they be punished before I deal with Zane and Jaden?"
"Do not worry." Satorious said. "I am currently seeing to that matter, and in a few weeks, will be ready to strike out against them."
"How will you do that?"
"I have secured for us two duelists that have faced and beaten the Rare Hunters. With their aid…we will be able to destroy them all, cleanse their darkness from the Earth. The cards have foreseen it." Satorious chuckled. "Now, do not worry yourself about such things. Prepare for your duel."
"I will. Goodbye."
&&&
Satorious clicked off the phone. 'fool…your services are required a bit longer then I expected. But soon enough I will have gathered the forces needed to take over that academy…and then the world.'
Turning, he watched as two figured walked towards him, taking their seats at the café table he had secured for the meeting. The woman looked over the menu happily, ignoring everything around him. The man was focused on Satorious, simply ordering a coffee and a pastry.
"You must have some powerful friends, Mr. Satorious, if you can convince the Clan to send us."
"That I do." The head of the White Association said.
"Tell me, Mr. Satorious, who is it you wish Vera and I to kill?" Marco Giovanni asked, taking a sip of his coffee.
Next Time on G/X Hunters: the duel between Doc K and Brutus begins, with each looking for a fast victory. But when both players are able to bring monsters back onto the field each turn, the battle will come down to a matter of being the first to get in a true punch.
Meanwhile, with Arliss, Nessa and Arlen gone, it is up to Lexie and Mayday meet with Missy. And Missy is looking towards a change of dorms.
On the mountain, Arlen faces off with the wraith. But when the tide changes, will the appearance of another Duel Spirit be enough to save the guardian.
Satorious begins to move his pieces into place. But when Marco discovers who was able to get Satorious a audience with him and Vera, will the assassin still work for him?
And little does anyone realize that Anarchy and Sola are plotting on their own. The gods are crafting a new plan, one that will threaten the Academy, the Hunters, and the White Association.
Anarchy and Sola are after their first new Horsemen.
Episode 57: Membership Drive Part 2