This second and final chapter is dedicated to both Alister's Girlfriend and jadedvalley.

Raphael felt like there was something amiss that morning when he and Alister walked into the Great Hall.

It had only been two days since that horrible fiasco with the Fourth of July fireworks 'display.' Alister had entered into his room and rarely came out of it because of his hair; when he did, his head was securely covered and he skulked around in the corridors, avoiding everyone else as if they carried the plague. Raphael had walked into the bathroom yesterday to find Alister observing the re-growth of his hair (which, thanks to one firework, had burned half of the left side off). Thankfully, Raphael would have the full volume of his eyebrow back in a week or two; Alister, meanwhile, had to wait a month until his hair grew back in.

Valon was still sleeping outside, though they had caved a bit and allowed him to go inside for meals, bathroom, and to pitch a tent in the courtyard. But beyond that, the Australian was pretty much exiled from the temple until they felt he had learned a lesson. Not only had he done something illegal by setting off his firecrackers, but he had also tried to launch them all inside a building.

He sighed, shaking his head as Alister's bedroom door opened and the other male slipped into the hallway, wearing a black hoodie with the hood drawn up to hide his hair. A few moments later, they were joined by Mai, who looked irritatingly amused at both of the men's predicaments. Dartz had called them all for a briefing of their next mission (which was supposed to happen on Saturday, but a certain brunette's activities disrupted that schedule).

As the trio entered the Great Hall, Valon looked up over at them and waved cheerily at them. A benefit of sleeping outside had Valon being the first one in instead of being late. "'ey, fellas! 'ello, Mai!"

Raphael dipped his head curtly. "Good morning, Valon."

The facial expression fell on the brunette's face. "Are you blokes still mad a' me?"

Alister glared, his gray eyes flashing. "I have no idea why I wouldn't be mad at you. You set my hair on fire and you expect me to greet you with open arms and the song of friendship?"

Valon scowled. "I warned you to leave when I was settin' 'em up to begin with. You were the one who thought it'd be interestin' to watch. And I didn' 'old a torch t' your 'ead and set fire to your 'air, a firecracker did that."

Mai put a consoling arm around Valon's shoulders "I liked the fireworks, Valon."

"Really?" asked Valon, perking up immediately.

"Yes, I think you did a marvelous job—especially to Raphael's poor eyebrow," she said in a mock-mournful tone, and then she burst into laughter.

"Maybe we out to set you up an appointment for the receiving end of a fireball," retorted Alister flatly. "We think it would do a marvelous job for you—especially for your hair."

Mai flipped her blonde hair arrogantly, but said nothing.

Needless to say, the mood was less than cheerful when Dartz entered the room.

"Nice to see you all here," he said calmly. "Our next target is located in South America, a drug lord by the name of Messina…"

As Dartz continued talking, Raphael noticed that Alister began looking around the room with a small frown. His gaze went back to Dartz, but shortly afterward his attention was diverted when Alister elbowed Raphael in his right side. "Are there supposed to be this many candles in here?" he asked in a whisper.

Raphael blinked as he looked around at his surroundings. He knew that there were usually twenty or so candles in the Great Hall, but that number seemed to have multiplied; there had to be about fifty more candles than normal. Where on earth had they gotten so many candles?

Valon must have over heard their conversation, because he gave a curious glance around them. In the next moment, he drew in a sharp breath. "Master Dartz, may I use the restroom?" he asked, and Raphael was surprised to hear a nervous tone in Valon's voice.

"You should have done that before the meeting," replied Dartz calmly, continuing on his deliverance of the background information on Messina.

Valon went pale and gulped, looking wildly at the candles as if he hoped to make them disappear with his eyes. Raphael could not help but notice the strange behavior of his younger friend, and he could tell that he did not like where this was heading. "Valon, what's wrong?" he asked in an undertone, making sure Dartz wasn't looking at them.

Valon gulped. "Raph, 'member the fireworks?" he asked softly.

"Hard to forget them. Why?" asked Alister in a low voice. He had heard 'fireworks' and his attention had been instantly caught. Mai shot them an irritated look, still angry about Alister's earlier comment about the fireball, and she huffed. But she paid no attention to their conversation.

Valon squirmed guiltily. "Well…I kinda bought more of 'em last May. I only set off 'bout 'alf of 'em on Saturday."

"And what does that half to do with anything?" asked Alister, but Raphael had a vague suspicion he knew what the teenager was about to tell them and he felt a certain dread in the pit of his stomach. He prayed fervently that he was sadly mistaken.

"I had to pass through customs with 'em, y'know, and I knew you blokes wouldn' let me keep 'em if you found them…so…I…I…"

"You what?" asked Alister breathlessly, his eyes widening in alarm. He had caught onto Raphael's suspicion and they both looked at each other before looking at Valon with identical looks of terror. "Please tell me that you didn't do what I think you did," said both of them in unison.

Valon nodded miserably.

"You are dismissed until further notice," said Dartz abruptly, signaling the end of the meeting.

"Uh, Master Dartz? Could you, uh, you know, go over tha' again?" asked Valon anxiously. "I was kinda preoccupied."

The other two bikers knew what Valon was trying to do. Usually after every meeting, their master would light the candles and meditate, chanting in his strange language while he knelt. This time, however, they knew what would happen if the Atlantean followed his routine.

"You can ask Alister or Raphael for the details you missed," the mint haired man replied, and he turned away from them. All three bikers exchanged anguished glances.

"Master Dartz, I wasn't paying attention either," said Alister quickly.

"Then ask Raphael, unless he also was not paying attention," replied Dartz as he turned back to face them, mild irritation showing through his calm demeanor.

"No need to panic, boys," said Mai, not looking up at them. She was filing her nails (an annoying habit she had; she did her manicure during the meetings). "I was paying attention to the going-on's this time."

"Excellent job, Mai," said Dartz with a smile.

"Master Dartz, where did you get so many candles?" asked Raphael, grasping for straws.

"Gurimo found them in one of the drawers of his bureau," said Dartz. "Now that the matter is settled, you are all dismissed."

"But—!"

"You are dismissed."

All three bikers exchanged anguished glances before practically running for the exit. Valon had a hopeful expression on his face. "Maybe we can make it if 'e doesn'—!"

At that moment though, events unraveled beyond their control.

Dartz clapped his hands and the electric lights went out, the candles all simultaneously lighting up. At that same moment, a loud crackling, hissing noise filled the hall as nearly fifty candles abruptly started spewing sparks. Dartz stared in disbelief at the sparkling pinpoints of light; Mai looked up, a surprised expression on her face, though a look of comprehension replaced it as she realized what was about to happen.

At least this time the DOOM soldiers had enough time to throw themselves to the floor.

"I never reckoned tha' these little 'crackers could cause such a 'eap of trouble," said Valon with a sigh, cupping his chin in his hand. He was sitting cross-legged on the ground, his clothes covered in scorch marks.

"Anything that explodes is a heap of trouble," replied Alister flatly, his eyes closed as he leaned against the pillar. His hood was still up, though his clothes were burned in some places. "Though I certainly didn't mind it when the fireworks set Mai's hair on fire. From what I heard, both her eyebrows and half of her hair got singed off. That'll teach her about keeping her hair so long."

"Oi, now, c'mon. I don'' find tha' funny in the slightest," snapped Valon angrily.

"She was long overdue for a haircut," replied Raphael, speaking for the first time in ten minutes. He had managed to avoid losing his other eyebrow, but he also bore the scorch marks of the firecrackers. He sighed as he looked at his younger companions. "And while I thought it was hilarious to see Mai shrieking like a banshee, it wasn't so amusing that Master Dartz's pants caught fire."

"Well, I think I've learned a lesson about all this. I am not settin' off a firecracker f'r a while," declared Valon loudly.

"I don't think I will ever look at one again," Alister supplied.

"I'm not thinking about one for a very long time," concluded Raphael.

All three of them nodded resolutely, but they fell into a glum silence. Valon at length sighed heavily and looked up at the sky. There was an oncoming storm about to hit them, and they would get drenched unless they had shelter.

Valon looked up at the locked gate of the temple and shook his head before looking up at his friends. "'ow long d'you reckon it's gonna be b'fore they let us back in?"