Note: Sorry it took so long to get the chapter out, but hey, good writing takes time, my dears. XD;


Instead of peaceably arriving in Juno by way of a floor portal, the unfortunate eight found themselves falling out of the sky and all landing with a harsh thump on what should have been soft green grass. Instead it felt crackly and sparse and dead. As they regained their bearings, a loud clap of thunder could be heard overhead and a rough wind blew at them, chilling those who were dressed inappropriately for stormy weather.

Marik was the first to look up and rise. "What . . . what happened here?" he gasped, his lavender eyes wide with alarm and disbelief. They were standing on the palace grounds, he realized now, but they were not the pristine, beautiful, well-kept grounds of the past. Everything looked devastated now, to Marik's stunned shock and alarm. It's like my dream! he cried inwardly. My nightmare. . . . And where was Kade? And Sapphire? The palace looked so deserted! A cold feeling took hold of his heart and squeezed it.

"Crikey, what is this place?" Valon exclaimed, staring at the desolation around them. "And how could we fix any of this?" He crossed his arms. "It's not exactly the kinda decor I was expectin'." Well, none of this was what he had been expecting, for that matter. When the day had began, he had never thought that he, Raphael, and Alister would be summoned to a strange land along with the Kaibas and the Ishtars. He had assumed that it would be a normal day, filled with arguing with Alister, Raphael breaking it up, and he himself deciding to ride his motorcycle around while his anger cooled off.

Mokuba frowned, looking up at the sky. "Well, I know none of this looks like much, but maybe that rain will help. I don't really wanna get caught in it, though." He went over to Seto, who was already standing and looking highly annoyed, and suggested that they go investigate the palace. The devastation disturbed the child greatly, especially when he thought back to his conversation with Marik and how upset the Egyptian had been over his dreams and at not being able to return to Kade. Were there even any people around here at all? Where was Kade? Where was anyone?

That was when a figure came running out of the palace, her long blue hair flowing behind her and the hem of the simple yet elegant white gown nearly trailing on the ground. She lifted the skirts quickly, just enough so that she wouldn't stumble, and made her way over to the group. "Hurry!" she cried, the panic obvious now in her voice. "This is not an ordinary storm. Anything the lightning touches will die!" She stopped, clenching a fist by her heart as she watched everyone getting up and reaching for their luggage. They were all here. . . . This was good. Shadi had made good on his promise to bring them all. And Marik truly was still alive, as she had seen in a vision! It seemed remarkable.

"Sapphire," Ishizu said softly, knowing that questions would have to wait until they got to the safety of the palace. The threat of death was certainly making everyone move faster than they normally might have. And Marik swallowed hard, praying that they would all make it inside. He couldn't forget when poor Rishid had been struck by lightning before, when he hadn't deserved it in the least. . . . Ishizu gently laid a hand on his shoulder before speaking once more.

"Let us not waste time," the Egyptian woman directed, clutching the crystal that Shadi had given to her just before he had vanished once again. She picked up her bag and swiftly followed her brothers. The Kaibas and the bikers immediately came as well. And as all of them made it to the shelter of the palace, the rain began to fall.

Sapphire led them to the throne room, which still looked the same as Marik remembered. He couldn't forget the day when he had first seen that room and had discovered that an amnesiac Rishid was the king. . . . It had all been so surreal and strange. . . . And this return visit, so far, seemed surreal too . . . all the more, perhaps. Their footsteps echoed loudly across the marble walls and the chandelier overhead cast their shadows on the floor, the tiles of which still reflected scenes from around Juno—though this time the scenes were all of destruction and misery. Mokuba glanced at them briefly with curiosity and then had to swiftly look away.

Now Sapphire turned to face her guests, both sadness and relief obvious in her deep eyes. "I am so glad you have all come," she said softly. "And Kade will be so overjoyed to see his dear friend. He has missed you so greatly, Marik, though he never failed to believe that you would return." She tried to smile, but it was forced and very sad. Marik noticed that she wasn't wearing Geates' Talisman, as he had thought for certain she would be.

"How is Kade?" the boy asked softly.

"Physically well," Sapphire responded after a slight hesitation. Ever since the disasters had started to happen, her son had started insisting that Marik was about to come back. Of course, Sapphire hadn't believed him—certain that Marik was dead. But then she had experienced her vision and knew that Kade had been right.

Marik nodded slowly. "I've missed him too," he replied quietly. "Very much so. . . ."

"But what'd you need us for!" Valon interrupted impatiently. Raphael frowned at him. Valon never failed to be impulsive, it seemed.

Sapphire touched their shoulders, then went to Alister and the Kaibas. "It was because of a vision I experienced that I have called all of you to Juno," she announced. "That was when the crystals were delivered to me. I sent one to each family unit and prayed that you would each be willing to come here, even though none of you truly have a stake in the events of this land—yet." Yes, each of the three groups was a family. None of the former Doom bikers were related, but they were brothers just as much as Marik and Rishid were. Sapphire knew and understood this.

"'Yet'?" Ishizu asked, noticing the term instantly.

Sapphire nodded firmly. "I shall explain from the beginning," she said, again surveying the eight who were standing before her. They were so young. . . . The oldest was twenty-five; the youngest was ten. She had initially balked at the idea of appealing to the Kaibas for help, thinking that surely it would not be the right thing to have a child come here to this nearly razed land, but she hadn't been able to ignore the feeling of reassurance she had received upon praying about what she should do. And so she had sent a crystal to the Kaibas as well.

Now she walked to the large picture window and gazed out at the harsh rains. "Everything was calm for a short while after you and your siblings left, Marik. I sent aid to the ravaged villages and we were working together to rebuild our land and our lives. The Red Zealot was gone and Fafnir was dead, so I hoped—quite foolishly—that our problems would be over for a season. But then I found that the Talisman was increasingly beginning to act strange." Here she paused and explained, for the Kaibas' and the bikers' benefits, what the Talisman was. "It would hesitate when I gave it the command to do something, and it got to the point where it refused entirely to assist us and instead would attempt to electrocute anyone in the vicinity." The last straw had been when Kade had almost been hurt. Then Sapphire had taken the Talisman off from around her neck and placed it in her private quarters. It had remained there, untouched, for only a short while.

Marik's eyes narrowed in confusion. "What was wrong with it?" he asked. He couldn't forget how the individual pendants would spark and almost harm whoever was trying to touch them, but it seemed odd for the complete Talisman to behave in such manners. It was supposed to be more well-behaved when it was all together, the boy had thought.

Sapphire shook her head. "I don't know," she said now. "No one can make sense of the Talisman's actions." She turned back from the window to face the others. "A while ago it vanished from my room and hasn't been seen since. That was when the devastation began."

Seto listened to everything boredly, wondering if the subject would change from hocus-pocus to something logical. He wasn't pleased with being here, and even less pleased that Mokuba was here. And he hadn't heard anything so far that proved that this land had any bearing on their own dwelling. He was more than ready to go home. The longer they stayed, the greater the chance was that they would wind up in some unsavory catastrophe that could result in Mokuba being hurt. His impatience was building.

"So . . . something stole this thing?" Valon blinked. It all wasn't that hard for him or the other two bikers to comprehend—that the stone seemed to have a mind of its own. That reminded him all too well of the Orichalcos stone. Actually, when he thought about it, he wondered if the two stones could be "related" somehow. It seemed too much of a coincidence. Maybe the stones were the connection between this dimension and their own.

Raphael was having similar thoughts, and in addition, he was starting to glean what might be the truth behind the destruction in Juno. He looked back to Sapphire for her answer.

"It is possible," the young ruler replied slowly, "but I believe that it left on its own by teleportation, as unbelievable as that may sound. In any case, however, it is most assuredly the Talisman that is responsible for the destruction of this land, whether someone is wielding it or not." She looked down sadly, not understanding why this was happening to the country she struggled to protect. She didn't know what to do to save it or the people. She only knew that her vision had instructed her to bring these eight people here, so there must be a good reason for that. Perhaps with their help, Juno could still be saved.

Mokuba's eyes went wide. It all sounded so strange! He shuddered at the thought of inanimate objects acting on their own, though he could see that Seto wasn't impressed and that most of the rest didn't seem surprised. It made him feel as if he was taking part in a grand fantasy epic such as The Lord of the Rings.

"What is it we should do?" Alister spoke for the first time. His gray eyes betrayed none of his true emotions at the moment, but he had the distinct feeling that all of them very well could be getting in over their heads, especially young Mokuba and the impatient Valon. He wasn't sure that he appreciated being pulled from his own world out of the blue and brought here with his close friends and five others to rescue this nearly doomed land. And Sapphire still hadn't explained why they, especially, had been chosen or even what these odd crystals were supposed to do. Obviously they hadn't been necessary to bring them to Juno, as Shadi had been the one to bring them all here. Perhaps they were for protection or for summoning something (or someone) here in Juno.

Sapphire sighed. "We must find the Talisman, of course, and then we should search for Colchis as well." She clasped her hands, again wondering what had become of the man who had once served in the palace and who had been Fafnir's brother. If he got hold of the runaway Talisman, no good would come of it. He could even be the one controlling the destruction—though Sapphire feared it was the Talisman itself. It seemed to her that, in light of the jewelry's recent behavior, that was the most likely explanation.

At that moment came a happy cry and the sound of running footsteps. "Mr. Marik! Mr. Marik!" Kade tore into the throne room happily, awakened from his nap—his arms outstretched as he dove into Marik's embrace. He couldn't forget the last time he had seen the teenager. Marik had been laying so still and cold and they had said that he had perished. But Kade had refused to believe it. Marik wouldn't break a promise. And indeed he hadn't! Here he was, back again! Kade wrapped his arms around Marik's neck, beaming joyously. "I knew you'd come back," the child whispered.

Marik smiled too, holding Kade close. He was so immensely relieved that the boy was safe so far! His vision had made him greatly concerned that Kade might be suffering. But he seemed to be well, as Sapphire had said. "I was worried about you," the teenager said softly. "I never forgot about you, my friend, nor the promise I had made."

Kade looked up at him now, his expressive blue eyes shining. "You were laying so awfully still, Mr. Marik," he remembered sadly. "And . . . and you wouldn't get up." He clutched a handful of Marik's lavender hood as he shuddered, hating to recall that moment. "They . . . they all said you died. . . ." Then he hugged the older boy again. "But I knew you wouldn't not come back, when you said you would! You wouldn't break a promise."

Marik felt a tug at his heart. "No," he said softly, "of course not. Not if I could at all help it. . . ." Some promises, he knew, couldn't always be kept—through no fault of the person making the vow. At times he had felt guilty for even telling Kade that he would come back, since things had ended the way they had that first time in Juno. I shouldn't make promises that I don't know I can keep, he berated himself silently. What if I hadn't been able to survive? But then again, he knew that even if he had died, he would have still returned in spirit form to watch over his loved ones. Still, though, that wouldn't have been the same.

"Well," Sapphire said kindly after a moment of silence as Marik and Kade continued their reunion, "for now I will show all of you to your rooms. I certainly do not expect for any one of you to march right out and try to solve our problems. First you must rest from the journey—and fill your stomachs. We shall discuss more over the feast." She looked at each one of her new allies, pondering over each. Here was strong, noble Marik, perceptive Ishizu, loyal Rishid. . . . Sapphire had actually not been able to know Marik during the Ishtars' first visit to Juno. But later she had come to know him, through Kade's idolizing memories—and from Ishizu and Rishid before they had departed that first time. She had learned of Marik's courage and valiance and of how he had promised to reunite Kade with her somehow. He had protected Kade as best as he'd been able, even from the threat of the Red Zealot. Sapphire would forever be grateful.

And here were the newcomers as well—stoic Seto and cheerful Mokuba, then quiet Alister, curious Valon, and practical Raphael. . . . Sapphire could see their honest, stouthearted gazes and their righteous hearts. She hated the fact that she had been forced to uproot them all from their home, but she knew her vision hadn't lied. If they would be willing to help, then they were the ones who could save Juno—and hence, their own dimension as well.

Thinking of something suddenly, she spoke again. "Of course, if any of you wish to be returned home, you shall be. No one will be kept against his will." Her voice was sad as she said this. She knew these were good people, but naturally, why would they feel that they had any stake in what was going on? There was still so much to explain about the situation in Juno and how it would eventually affect their own dimension, but they knew nothing of this yet. It must all be so very confusing and strange to them, Sapphire decided.

Valon shrugged. "Well, I dunno 'bout goin' home, but food sounds good." He smirked impishly. Alister and Raphael were quite acquainted with their friend's appetite. And his table manners would sometimes leave something to be desired. After all, he had been raised on the streets, and there, table manners weren't necessary. Idly they wondered what kind of show Valon might make in front of the queen at the dinner table.

Sapphire chuckled softly. "You will have plenty of time to determine what course of action you wish to take," she said, "and as for the food, it will be ready in an hour or so. It is a feast of celebration for your arrival."

Seto snorted. "I don't need time to think," he spoke up. "We have no stake in this. I don't want Mokuba involved in this war." And naturally he was justified in his concerns. Alister, also, was indignant that Mokuba had been summoned. He had seen too well what happened when children were thrown into the events of war. No matter what the reason for sending Mokuba here, neither Seto or Alister felt it had been the right thing.

Mokuba disagreed, however. "But Seto!" he cried. "I want to help. Kade has to be here all the time. Is that fair to him? There's already lots of kids here in the war. We need to help them. I know you care about the kids, Seto." He grabbed at Seto's sleeve pleadingly. "And I'd be able to help, for once. . . ." Instead of never being able to do much or being left behind completely. . . .

"This isn't a game, Mokuba!" Seto retorted. "This is serious. I'm certain Alister—and your friend—would both agree with me that this isn't a good place for you." He raised ice cold eyes to meet Sapphire's gaze. "What was the meaning of this, bringing us here?"

Sapphire sighed sadly. "Your concerns are just," she responded solemnly, "and I wish I could give you the answer that you deserve. But the truth is that I do not know why you and your brother were required. I only know that I saw the both of you in my vision and that when I prayed and meditated about it, I knew that it was the right thing to send for you both." She clasped her hands, facing Seto firmly with unfailing eyes. She had been expecting some of them to balk at what she was asking, and naturally Seto wouldn't want his young brother here when there were so many life-and-death situations going on. But she could only give him this honest answer. Other than that, she didn't know why they needed to be here.

Seto was not impressed with her answer. "I don't care what kind of hocus-pocus you've got here," he growled. "I don't want Mokuba in this land."

"It does seem strange," Raphael spoke in his low voice, "that you'd be told to send a child here." His blonde eyebrows narrowed darkly.

"This isn't a place for a child," Alister came in again, indignation obvious in his gray eyes. "Especially not one who doesn't even live here and who isn't familiar with what goes on from day to day." He couldn't believe this! What right did some strange woman have, to bring Mokuba here? She should only send for adults to do adults' work. A warzone was no place for Mokuba, who had never seen the horrors that could come about in wars. He deserved to be able to remain a child for as long as he could. Alister's innocence and childhood had been taken from him during the war he had seen. He didn't want to see that happen to Mokuba, and though Seto wasn't one of his favorite persons, Alister knew that the businessman wouldn't want to see it happen either.

"You are very much right," Sapphire told them quietly, "but if the problem in Juno isn't resolved and this kingdom collapses, your dimension will not be far behind. Then young Mokuba will see a war anyway, and one much more devastating."

Marik frowned, trying to take in everything they were being told. It all sounded so ominous and worrisome! He was still holding Kade, who didn't seem to understand or pay much attention to Sapphire's words. Kade had heard them all many times before, and of course, he didn't really understand. He was only four, after all. He was just overjoyed that Marik was back. "Why exactly is it that our world would also be affected?" the Egyptian boy asked quietly.

Sapphire shook her head. "Even I am not entirely certain," she said, "but I have seen it in vision, and it is a legend handed down from generations long past that this dimension is sister to another one, one that is most likely yours. Their fates are undeniably entwined, and if one falls, the other will begin to crumble as well. Our worlds support each other, even though many of the inhabitants—especially from yours—do not even believe that other planes exist."

Valon frowned, crossing his arms. "So you're sayin' that if your world goes byebye, it could start Armageddon or whatever it's called?" That sure sounds pleasant. Looks like we probably have no choice but to hang around.

"That is highly possible," Sapphire replied, looking into his blue eyes with her own.

"Crikey," the Australian muttered. Then, raising his voice again, he stated, "I don't get why you think the eight of us could do any good. Don't you have any kind of armies here or somethin'?"

"Nope," Kade said now, looking over at him. "They all kinda went away." He shrugged, not sure of why that was, and hugged Marik around the neck. Whatever the reason was, it was grownup stuff. It wasn't for him to worry about.

Sapphire sighed, glancing out the window again. "The armies left some time ago," she stated. "They all defected to the enemy." That had taken place during the first time the Ishtars had been there. The only army Sapphire had been able to recruit since then were the fallen Adelpha's rebels—but they had mysteriously disappeared. The eerie events in Juno were many, much to Sapphire's displeasure and sadness. She didn't think Adelpha's rebels would have also become traitors, but in this land it was hard to know who could be trusted.

"Oh, well, that's just lovely," Valon groaned.

"What enemy was this?" Raphael asked suddenly. He had been carefully pondering over what they were being told, and it seemed to him as though Sapphire had not named a specific enemy of the kingdom, save this Colchis person.

Sapphire sighed. "It is something that happened when Rishid was the king," she replied quietly, turning to lead everyone down a long corridor as she continued to speak. Carefully she explained more of what had gone on then, concluding with, "The soldiers that could be taken prisoner were tried for their crimes. However, most of them were either killed in the final conflict or else managed to escape." Then she told about the rebel army and how they subsequently vanished.

Ishizu, who had been mostly silent throughout all of this—allowing the newcomers to ask questions—now spoke. "I promise you, we will do whatever is in our power to save Juno," she said firmly, her cerulean eyes displaying her determination. She had come to love the land when she had been here before, though there had been little time to enjoy its beauties during the disasters that had been going on. But she greatly admired Sapphire and her courage.

Sapphire tried to smile, but it was still sad. "Thank you," she said softly. She knew that even if the others wished to go, the Ishtars would stay. However, she prayed that the Kaibas and the bikers would agree to remain as well, though she was again having doubts about whether it had been the right thing to send for Seto and Mokuba.


In the end, each one of the three groups was shown to a large room in the east wing. Seto, of course, was not satisfied with the answers he'd been given as to why he and Mokuba were there and was not willing at all to remain. Mokuba sighed, not surprised, and went to look out their window at the sparse and crackling land. He knew that it wasn't likely that Seto would ever approve of them being here, but the child didn't see how they could possibly go. If it was important for them to stay, then how could they not?

He gazed up at the sky as the rain continued to fall. Not even the sky looks peaceful, he observed, noticing how it seemed to grow darker each passing minute. And I know my brother isn't. But then . . . I guess he's right about it being dangerous. . . . Alister was pretty upset too. I guess it's understandable. But I want to help! I've been worrying about what Marik would do when he came back here . . . and if he'd ever come home when he did. . . . He bit his lip worriedly. But I don't want anything to happen to Seto, either! What if Seto gets hurt because we're here? Guilt filled Mokuba's heart. It was so hard, to know what the right thing to do was!

And then he had to consider what Sapphire had said. If Juno fell, then the world that Mokuba and the others lived in would start collapsing as well, most likely as Juno's enemies tried to conquer the other dimensions. Therefore, Mokuba knew, they really didn't have much choice. They had to remain here and try to correct the problems. It was also true, he realized, that if they didn't, he would wind up seeing a war anyway—perhaps one that was much worse. But Seto didn't see things that way. Mokuba was sure that his brother probably didn't believe anything Sapphire had said. And he sighed sadly to himself.


"So . . . what do you fellas think about this?"

Valon stretched out on his bed, placing his arms behind his head and gazing up at the ceiling. The room was quite nice, filled with rich furniture and the softest mattresses and comforters in the land. Or anywhere else, Valon thought to himself dryly as he started to relax into the feathery bed. I could get used to this.

"I don't like it," Alister said flatly, crossing his arms. They had been plunged right in the middle of a civil war, and Mokuba was along for whatever would happen. There was no reason for that. If Sapphire had to send for a small group of people, she wouldn't have had to have included a child amongst them. That could never result in something good. Children don't belong in situations like this. Though . . . no one really does.

He glared out the window coldly, remembering how he had told Seto that he wanted to recreate a world without wars. That would never happen in his lifetime, he was certain. Human beings would always find something to fight about. And I was going about everything in the wrong way. . . . I became just as bad as the man I loathed! He gripped his arms tightly, feeling a burst of self-hatred rising up again. I hated. . . . I hated the Kaiba empire with a passion. . . . But why didn't I realize that I would hurt Mokuba if I managed to take Kaiba's soul with the Orichalcos? He looked out the window darkly. He knew there was only one explanation for that—he hadn't been himself. He hadn't been thinking clearly and he had let his rage consume him. He shut his gray eyes tightly in disgust. Oh, he hated himself at these times.

Raphael glanced over at him, seeing that he was going into another of his Moods, and then sighed sadly to himself. Alister was the one out of the three who dwelled the most on his past and who was often depressed. He had been that way since they had all met at Doom, though of course he had been so much more depressed and angry then. Now he just seemed weary much of the time—weary of the world, weary of war, and weary of himself. But he couldn't escape from himself.

"Raph? Hey, I'm talkin' to you!"

The blonde man started, only now realizing that Valon had been trying to get his attention for the last while. "What is it?" he asked, looking curiously at the brunette Australian.

"I was askin' what you thought about it," Valon replied, sitting up and crossing his arms. "It's all kinda weird, don't you think? I mean . . . why would she send for us, of all people!" His voice grew softer. "Look at us. . . . We've been misguided a lot and we've all just been struggling to survive the best way we each knew how. We're not really warriors . . . or heroes, or whatever you wanna call it." He snorted. "Heck, I'm the farthest thing from it, probably."

Raphael smiled slightly, coming over closer to him. "Don't put yourself down so much," he said. Valon was rough around the edges, but he was a good, honest person and he cared immensely about his friends. Raphael could see more nobility in him than Valon could see in himself.

"As for what I think. . . ." Here the blue-eyed man paused thoughtfully, narrowing his eyes. It was a delicate question—and a delicate situation—and his feelings were quite mixed. "I don't appreciate being taken abruptly from our home without much warning, as I'm certain you and Alister don't, either. And I don't appreciate being thrown into a civil war in which we have no immediate stake. But the irony of it all, Valon, is that it seems that our world—our treacherous, cruel world—will be in danger of destruction if Juno isn't protected. And the three of us were sent to help save it—we who tried to rebuild the world in the past . . . but who would have only destroyed it then."

Valon frowned darkly, pondering on this. Raphael was the most philosophical of the three of them, and the one who thought things out the most. He had been most devoted to Dartz's cause, believing strongly that it was the right thing. Valon and Alister had possessed their own separate goals, though in the end they had both believed Dartz to an extent. It was ironic, Valon realized, that they had been brought here now—and the Australian wondered if, in some way, this was considered a way for them to make up for their misguided actions in the past. "Yeah," he spoke aloud then, "it is kinda weird, now that you mention it. . . ."

Alister was only partially listening to them. He was looking out the window now, noticing a group of people trooping through the rain and not seeming to mind. They were rough characters in appearance, with torn and tattered clothes and bearing various weapons of war. The redhead recognized a mace and several spiked clubs. And he frowned darkly. Somehow, he had the feeling that these people did not have good intentions. He watched them until they disappeared over a nearby hill.