Author's Note: Yes…I have returned. This chapter remained unfinished for a year or so, and I finally got around to finishing it, m writer's block gone for the moment.

A question though, readers…another author did this when she got writer's block, and I would be willing to do it too: Post a chapter that gave a rough outline of the ending, that way, if I can never finish the story, atleast everyone knows what happens.

If you would be interested in this, let me know via review.

But I do plan to atleast finish this arc, the long await Musical!

^&^&^&^

Arlen roared, violently smashing his fist through the wood of the boat. The rest of the Hunters coward as spliters flew through the air, wondering how much punishment the craft could take.

They'd never seen Arlen like this. Yes, he had always been the more violent of the Lockeharts, the most prone to murder. Arliss got off on it, sure, and Lexie didn't bat an eye. But Arlen…Arlen had always seemed to hum with death, doing it in such a way that made others ill.

But now…now his very aura screamed destruction.

Mayday watched on, her own body ready for battle. She wondered if perhaps this was a result of her transformation into one of Anarchy's Horsemen, if that was why she felt the need to bring bloodshed.

"Who did this?" Arlen snarled, eyes flashing red and canine teeth elongating. Already, they could see the green scales beginning to appear on his arm as he flickered between his Hunter and Horsemen forms. "Anarchy…Sartorious…who dared take my brother from me!" He let out a savage roar as he looked to the sky. "My enemies think they can take him from me? He is my brother, my son, my king…and I will take him back even if I must slaughter all in the world!"

Mayday stepped forward. "Arlen…" He whipped around, face twisted in fury. "You must think of the hunters…with Arliss and Nessa gone, you are king…we must do what we can to protect the hunters."

Arlen nodded, his rage unquenched but tempered. "Cassandra, Hayden." The two stepped forward. "I name you two the temporary Guardians, charged with my and Mayday's duties while we act in the King and Queen's place. Dhimitri, my boy, you will now serve them."

The copycat duelist nodded. "Yes father."

"Lexie has been targeted…the rest of us are in danger. Hayden, get the Slifers and Lexie to the dorm and into the panic rooms. Cassandra, go to caves and prepare any escape we may need."

"What are you planning, Arlen?" Missy asked.

Arlen stared out at the duel academy. "War, Missy." He said coldly. "I'm preparing for war."

^&^&^&^

The music demon, Sweet, grinned as he looked over the world. "Mmm…what a show we have brewing, my lord." He held out his hand, summoning viewing orbs for Anarchy to see. "We have three warring factions: The White Society, Jaden Yuki and his allies and the Rare Hunters. Not counting us, obviously. Within that, we have your former Horsemen, Neo, seeking revenge for the loss of his brother. Oh yes, there will be blood. And for the romantics, we have the demi-god Marco and the Rare Hunter Lexie circling each other. Throw in Crowler the clown and a horde of slifers…and we have a grand show in the making."

Anarchy, sitting alone on his throne, waved his hand. "Do what must be done."

Sweet nodded, already the light strums of a guitar filling the air as he began the introduction to the musical. "There is much sadness in this world. An academy is torn apart by two warring factions. Lovers are separated, families divided, loyalties lost and gained. But…my lord, they will all soon learn…when all looks down…just sing.

Sing, sing a song

Sing out loud

Sing out strong

Sing of good things not bad

Sing of happy not sad.

Sing, sing a song

Make it simple to last

Your whole life long

Don't worry that it's not

Good enough for anyone

Else to hear

Just sing, sing a song.

Sing, sing a song

Let the world sing along

Sing of love there could be

Sing for you and for me.

Sing, sing a song

Make it simple to last

Your whole life long

Don't worry that it's not

Good enough for anyone

Else to hear

Just sing, sing….sing a song."

^&^&^&^

Nessa groaned, dragging herself from the water, the sea salt burning her eyes. She rubbed them harm, only to grimace and whimper in pain. It took several minutes for her vision to clear, allowing her to focus on other important things; namely taking full stock of her surroundings.

She was on an island, it appeared, most likely the Duel Academy…the sand looked familiar enough. It was dark…no clue what time it was…but it appeared to be around 3 am. Her hand went to her pocket, heart skipping a beat until she located her deck box.

"Thank God." She whispered, her voice light and slightly squeky. "Ok…what the heck is going on…how did I end up here?" She racked her mind for memories, and came up short.

"ooooow." A small voice whimpered.

Nessa turned, eyes widening at the sight before her: A tall, sandy-brown haired man lay near her. His face was turned from her, arms and legs akimbo. He was wearing a purple duster…

"Arliss?" She whispered, crawling towards him. "Arliss."

"ow." He whispered, sucking in shallow breaths.

"Arliss!" She called out, hurrying towards him. She grabbed his shoulder and rolled him over, trying to see if he was injured. "You hurt?"

Arliss' eyes snapped open.

He panicked.

"NO!" He screamed, scrambling away. "Go away!" His head darted about wildly as he saw he wasn't where he had expected. His gasps grew quicker as his body trembled. "Alex? Alex?" He clamored. "ALEX?!?" He screamed.

"Arliss?" Nessa whispered, frightened, reaching out to him. "What's wrong?"

"Stay away from me!" He screamed. "You can't touch me! That's a no-no!" He shook his head violently. "ALEX! ALEX!"

Nessa gulped, startled by this strange reaction. "Arliss…calm down…"

Arliss paused, for the first time hearing her. "How…how do you know that name?"

"What name?" Nessa asked.

"My…my special name." He whispered. "The safe name…only Alex calls me that." He said.

"Because that's the only name I know you by." Nessa said.

"You…know me?" Arliss asked.

Nessa frowned. "Arliss…don't you know me?" She looked about ready to cry. "It's me…Vanessa."

Arliss licked his lips. "…sorry." He said simply. "Do…do you know Alex?"

"Who's Alex?" Nessa asked.

"My brother. He took me to Domino…we were going to stay there during the Battle City…"

"Battle…" Nessa frowned. "Arliss…there hasn't been a Battle City in years."

Arliss frowned, curling back, frightened once more that he hadn't seen his brother. "Go away…and don't call me Arliss! Alex! Alex!"

Nessa shook her head. "I'm your friend…Ar…" She paused. "What should I call you?"

Arliss held his chin up, repeating the words his brother had long taught him. "My name is Arnold James Milo."

"Ok…Arnold…" Nessa said. "My name is Vanessa Fox." She paused. "You and I are friends…we met here at the Duelist Academy…we're students here."

Arliss laughed. "You're silly." He said, forgetting his tears.

"Why am I silly?" Nessa asked.

"I'm too young to be in school with you!"

Nessa trembled slightly, not sure she wanted to hear the answer to her next question. "Arliss…how old are you?"

Arliss held up ten fingers.

^&^&^&^

"Where is he?"

Alexis turned, her eyes narrowed as she marched towards Arlen, her white clad fists clenched tight.

"You have some nerve appearing before me. You are a stain on this school…"

Arlen's hand shot out like a viper, clasping around her throat.

"Allow me to make this clear, foolish girl…I am in no mood to exchange threats and long speeches. I want information, and the fact that you serve a purpose is the only reason I do not kill you…" He smirked, "like I did your friends."

"My…" Alexis gasped out, eyes turning to see several White Society members, their stomachs slashed open and guts hanging out, hung from the trees like perverse Christmas decorations.

Mayday emerged from the shadows. "My husband is in a bit of a rage, Alexis…I would speak if I were you, and quickly."

"I will never…betray Lord Sartorious." She ground out.

Arlen shook his head. "I care not of that, my dear. I want you to only answer one question: Were you the one that took my brother?"

Alexis frowned. "Why would your brother be of any concern of mine? He is dark slime upon the white…"

Arlen tightened his grip. "I know…I know. Thanks for the compliment." He nodded to Mayday. "Get the lumber."

Mayday frowned, doing as asked. "Arlen…we do this…there is no going back." He continued to glare at Alexis. "The White Society and us…we were fighting, yes…but this will truly become a war if you do this."

Arlen lowered his head. "War…is all I know now…it is all I have left." He turned to his wife. "Tie her up."

^&^&^&^

"We gonna find Alex?" Arliss asked.

Nessa nodded, leading them deeper into the jungle. "I said I would do everything I could to find him, ok?" She was scared out of her mind, and the fact that the man she had hoped she could rely on thought he was 10 years old wasn't helping. It had taken her an hour to get him to follow her, and every little bird call or russling tree caused him to break down into frights. It would have been funny, seeing the normally powerful Arliss Lockehart, the man she remembers coldly dislocating his shoulder just to save her from some mean girls, reduced to a whimpering mass, had they not been stranded on what she still hoped was the Academy, lost in the jungle.

He recoiled slightly. "Sorry." He whispered.

Nessa sighed. "No…I…shouldn't be mad." She smiled at him. "I just…want to get there as soon as I can." She paused, watching him hurry towards her. "You know, I'm not use to you walking so slowly."

Arliss frowned. "Slowly…I'm nearly running!"

She shook her head. "You have long legs, Arliss, use them."

"Long legs…no, Alex has long legs…he's real tall. They just look long because you're really short." He blushed. "Oops…sorry."

Nessa paused, debating if she should be offended, she decided not to let it bother her. For all she knew, this Alex was 7 feet tall, built like Shaq, and Arliss had always been short.

Or maybe she was going crazy.

They pushed on, through the brush and the leaves, finally bursting out of the forest. Nessa let out a squeal of delight as she spotted the Slifer Red Dorm. "Come on!" She said grabbing his hand. "Maybe my friend Jaden can help us!"

"Help us how?" Arliss asked, confused as to what exactly had happened. One minute he was in an alley, watching some weird guy in a purple robe fall down, the next he was on a beach, some strange woman that would have been a good girlfriend for Alex if she wasn't so short was dragging him to some strange building.

"Okay…as near as I can tell, you've lost your memories." Nessa said. She knocked on the door, but no one answered. Shrugging, she entered, looking about the empty mess hall. "I'm your friend Vanessa…" She paused, noticing that Arliss was no longer listening. "Arnold…what…"

Arliss was staring at a mirror, transfixed. He poked and prodded himself, examining his body carefully.

"That's…me?" He whispered weakly, running a hand along his check. He took in everything, his mind reeling as he was forced to accept what he had been blocking the moment he'd awoken on the beach. He ran his hands along his face, marveling at the lean cheeks and obvious lack of baby-fat. Eyes darting to his arms, he flexed, letting out an eep when his muscles danced. His hair was long, his body was toned…and he was tall. "Vanessa…how…" he whispered, only to notice Vanessa frozen just as he had been. "Vanessa."

"My God." She whispered in shock. She hadn't realized, much like Arliss, what she looked like now, and the same paralyzing awe and terror gripped her. She touched her long, silky black hair, ran her fingers along her gorgous, stunning face…and her eyes tripled in size…

"I have breasts." She whispered, cupping her mounds and hefting them slightly.

Arliss averted his gaze. "Eeewwwwwww…"

Nessa put a hand on her hip. "When you were yourself, you didn't seem to think girls were that bad."

Arliss shook his head. "Nope…their icky."

"So I'm icky now?"

Arliss thought that over. "Good icky?"

The door to the mess hall opened, Jaden, Syrus and Hassleberry entering. "Man, can you believe that duel against Sartorious' sister…" Jaden froze, stiffening slightly. "Arliss." He said coldly.

Nessa grinned. "Jaden! Thank God…we really need your help!"

Hassleberry frowned. "What help do you two need…corrupting more duelists and terrorizing more innocent Slifers…" He took a step forward. "I should…"

Arliss whimpered, eyes wide with fear. Yes, he had put on a brave face on the streets, but he'd always known Alex would be there. But now…

The three Slifers paused, utterly confused, as Arliss began to shrink back, Nessa whispering soothing words to him.

"What…what's going on?" Jaden asked.

Nessa turned to her friends. "Jaden…I don't know…but we need your help….please…everything is so strange…things are different…I'm different…we need you and Syrus and Chummly…"

"Chummly…but he's…" Syrus began.

Jaden took a step forward. "Vanessa…" He could tell, just looking into her eyes, that this was the girl he had first met at the academy, and not the dark queen that had terrorized the students for so long.

Somehow…Vanessa Fox had returned to the light.

And she'd brought Arliss Lockehart with her.

^&^&^&^

"I do not know what sort of dark, hidous games you are planning for me, but I will never break. The darkness can never beat the cold, pure light. I will stand a pilar, a martyr to my cause and to the great Lord Sartious…"

Arlen shook his head. "Stupid girl…Allow me to grant your wish."

He knelt down, grasping her shirt, not noticing as music began to play around him.

"When you were young and your heart was an open book
You used to say live and let live

"you know you did, you know you did you know you did" Mayday sang

"But in this ever changing world in which we live in
Makes you give in and cry"

Arlen leaned forward.

"Say live and let die"

Mayday nodded.

"Live and let die
Live and let die
Live and let die"

The music picked up as Arlen ripped off Alexis' clothing, his finger nails biting into her skin as he torn away her white blazer and undergarments, leaving her naked against the suddenly cold.

The music suddnely took on a happy tone as Arlen wagged his finger in her face.

"What does it matter to ya
When you got a job to do?
You gotta do it well
You gotta give the other fellow hell!"

The music picked up as Arlen dashed away for a moment, Mayday glaring at Alexis who was still trying to remain strong. The White Duelist paled a bit when Arlen returned with several large spikes and a sledge hammer.

"You used to say live and let live"

"you know you did, you know you did you know you did" Mayday sang as she held Alexis' wrist steady, Arlen placing a spike over Alexis' palm.

"But in this ever changing world in which we live in
Makes you give in and cry"

Arlen leaned in close.

"Say live and let die"

He swung the hammer.

Alexis' screamed echoed across the island.

Live and let die
Live and let die
Live and let die