Jupiter's Magic: Thanks yous for the reviews! :D

Alister: Yea. Now I wont have to hear her whine

Jupiter's Magic: *hits with a pillow*

Alister: STOP WITH THE PILLOWS!

Raphael: Please review


Same day: 9 p.m.

"Hey. How is he?" Alister asked, coming in through the back door followed by Lola; it turned out that Lola had left her house key at the biker's house and they had gotten a call that Raphael, Valon, and Skye were at home. No one had been at home to let Lola in, so she had hitched a ride on Alister's motorcycle to come back over.

Skye looked relieved. "We got back a couple minutes ago. Valon has a minor fracture in his arm and a mild concussion, but he's okay; Ember's mom says that as long as he takes it easy the cast can come off in a couple weeks."

"Where is he now?"

"On the sofa; the doctor had to drug him to get the cast on and he's sleeping it off."

Lola looked upset. "Was it because he was in that much pain?"

Alister snorted. "No. Valon hates doctors—they probably drugged him so they could get the cast on without him screaming about how they're going to harvest his organs later or some similar nonsense."

"Has anyone seen Jasper?" asked Skye anxiously. "I was going to take him on a walk but I couldn't find him."

At that precise moment the basement door was kicked open and Ember strolled into the room. She was wearing a purple dress and had on an orange wig; in addition to the pink stockings, she was wearing a green scarf. Jasper was attired in a Scooby Doo costume, collar and all.

"How does she walk in these shoes?" complained Ember irritably, kicking the heeled shoes off.

"Ember? What are you doing in our basement and why are you dressed like that?" asked Raphael with noticeable surprise.

"Can't you tell? I'm Daphne and this is Scooby."

Ignoring the odd stares she was getting (and the evil one from Jasper) Ember moved past them into the living room. She eyed the couch where Valon was dozing before turning to face the rest of the now gathered people. "I went to the scene of the crime and found compelling evidence that someone was intending for this to happen," she announced, pulling a plastic baggie from her purse.

Alister frowned. "Can I see that?" he asked, and Ember tossed him the bag. The redhead caught it and examined it through the bag, gray eyes widening in shock.

Skye leaned over and stared at the bag. "Plants?" she asked incredulously.

"Not just any kind, Skye," said Lola, eyes narrowing darkly. "Those are nettles. You touch them and they sting you; those grow all around the stable."

"Those were sewed to the underside of the saddle Valon was using," continued Ember. "When pressure was applied to the saddle, it would cause the horse pain and make it want to do anything to get rid of what's hurting it. Valon didn't cause anything to happen until he put his full weight on the saddle."

A grim look settled on Raphael's face. "No wonder the horse was acting so skittish when Valon got on it," he said. "Judging by what you just said, Ember, someone was fully intending for an accident to happen."

"I thought so too. That's why I took the nettles and the thread attaching it to the saddle down to my lab in your basement and—"

"Wait a minute, Raggedy Ann. You built a lab in our basement?" asked Alister.

Ember beamed at him proudly. "Yup."

"That explains the weird noises and explosions I keep hearing," Alister muttered, sitting in the other recliner. "I owe Valon an apology."

"Continuing on," said Ember. "After I ran the appropriate test I found epithelial tissue on the thread and I ran it through a DNA database—and don't look at me like that, my uncle's in law enforcement. I found a match for the tissue. Our culprit is a Caden Gerstein."

Skye's eyes widened when Ember said the dreaded name and she instantly moved closer to Raphael.

Lola swore. "Of course that jerk would do something like this!" she snarled. "He just can't let things go, can he?"

"Oh God. He meant for me to use that saddle," Skye said faintly, looking sick. Raphael put a reassuring hand on her shoulder."If the spare saddle hadn't been broken I would have used that one."

"Huh. Guess 'm good f'r somethin' then," Valon said groggily, sitting up on the sofa and rubbing his eyes.

Ember grinned. "Hey, pranking buddy! You live!"

"Looks like it," replied Valon, waking up more as he looked at Skye. "R'mind me t' kill tha' psycho ex o' yours when I see him next."

"Don't worry, Skye. Let Caden try to hurt you again—he'll find that he's sorely mistaken if he thinks he can get away with this," said Raphael grimly, and Alister nodded in agreement.

"And don't forget that I can kick some serious booty," said Lola with a tight smile. "Just let him try again—we're ready for him."


5 days later

Things had settled down once again at the house; although initially fearing repercussions from Caden, they had finally decided that he had given up on them and had settled back down into their daily routine.

Valon was floating outside on a pool floatie, trying to convince Jasper to get in the pool with him; although he couldn't technically swim because of his cast he was allowed in as long as he kept his cast out of the water.

Alister and Raphael were lounging on the lounge chairs nearby, reading and enjoying the sunshine (well, Raphael was—the redhead had refused to go in the sunshine at all). Skye and Lola were out shopping and Ember was sleeping upside down in the chimney.

(Why she liked hanging out in the chimney was a complete mystery, but Valon hardly cared. He liked her anyways)

Raphael had gone inside to get himself a glass of water when there someone knocked on the door. The noise caught Ember's attention and she rolled out of the chimney to investigate. When she opened the door she found a tall and irritated brunette man standing on the front porch. He did not wait for an invitation, instead shoving past her and into the house.

"Oy, Batman!" snapped Ember indignantly. "Who do you think you are?"

"Is my cousin home?" the brunette drawled, looking incredibly bored.

"And who's your cousin?" Ember growled.

"Skyler. We need to see her."

"She's not here now."

"Then we'll wait for her to get back. Are any of the other biker punks around?" he asked. Behind him a blond teenager and a short spiky haired teen boy filed into the house behind him.

"We're here, Kaiba," said Raphael coolly. He'd heard the commotion from the kitchen and had come out to see what was going on. He dipped his head to the shorter boy. "Yugi."

"Hi, Raphael," said Yugi with a sheepish smile. "Sorry we barged in unannounced."

Valon came in from the back door, soaking wet. "Sorry, Raph, but I fell off the floatie and—you!"

This last bit was addressed to the blond teenager that had come in with Kaiba and Yugi, and the teenager glared back at him with narrowed brown eyes. "Yeah, me. Got a problem?"

"Wheeler, the 'eck are you doin' in our 'ouse?" retorted Valon indignantly. Alister came in behind the Australian at that point; the moment his gray eyes landed on Kaiba they narrowed and he bristled.

"Oh cute. The kitty's getting his scary face on," said Kaiba sardonically.

"Joy. Kaiba, why are you showing your ugly mug around here? I think you broke a few mirrors when you came in."

All hell was about to break loose between the two volatile parties (Kaiba and Jounouchi being one party, Alister and Valon the other; Yugi and Raphael exchanged knowing glances and prepared to begin refereeing) when the front door opened and Lola and Skye appeared.

Skye stared at the assembled guests in surprise. "What are you guys doing here?" she asked, dropping her shopping bags on the floor.

Yugi turned to her, since he was the only one besides Raphael who noticed her. "I'm trying to get to that, but then your friends saw my friends, and…well…"

"Currently they're playing the 'I'm better than you' game," Raphael finished with visible annoyance.

Skye raised one eyebrow. "Let me fix that. Lola?"

"Yeah?"

"Window breaker?"

"Window breaker."

Raphael and Yugi exchanged confused looks. "What's window breaker?" asked the shorter teenager at last.

Skye and Lola did not hesitate—instead, both of them took a breath before letting out identical high-pitched screams. All of them winced in pain and whirled around to face the two girls.

"Skyler, how lovely that you showed up," said Kaiba sarcastically. "Next time try to refrain from making me deaf."

"What are you all doing here?" asked Lola, putting a hand on her hip.

"We're getting to that," said Joey, casting another glare at Valon. "What happened to your arm?"

"Not your business, chum," said Valon coolly, moving his blue-casted arm subtly behind his back.

The front door was wide open since no one had closed it, and this allowed two more teenagers to come in; one was a brunette-haired girl with blue eyes, and the other was a boy with his brown hair styled into a point on his head.

"Yugi, wait a minute. You didn't say we were getting help from the biker punks!" said the boy with visible surprise.

"We need their help, Tristan."

"Need our help with what, exactly? I haven't heard a reason for any of you to be here," said Raphael firmly, looking to Yugi for an explanation.

There was a visible shift in Yugi's demeanor and posture, signaling to those who knew him that the Pharaoh had taken over. "I know that you just got done with these sort of things months ago, but the world is in danger once again."

"Whoa, whoa whoa." Lola said, "World in danger? Huh? Skye, do I need to call the police?"

"No, Lola, you don't need to do that. You guys might as well make yourselves at home; you're not going anywhere until we get an explanation."

"The Orichalcos has risen again," Yugi's alter-ego said without preamble.

All four bikers stiffened. "It what?"

"But we beat it already…it can' be back, can it?" said Valon, looking thunderstruck.

"How do you know it's back?" demanded Raphael sharply, eyes narrowed. "Have you seen conclusive proof?"

"Yes. People's souls are being taken once again and we've seen the same signs that were present when we last encountered each other," said the Pharaoh gravely.

"It can' get much worse, can it?" asked Valon unhappily.

"What aren't you telling us?" asked Alister sharply when he noticed that not one of Yugi's friends would make eye contact with them.

Raphael let out a bitter laugh, startling Skye. She had never heard that sound come out of his mouth before, and it made her uneasy. "Haven't you figured it out, Alister? Who besides us knows how to work the Orichalcos?"

Valon's eyes widened and he looked ill. "Dartz? Dartz is doin' this?"

"We cannot prove it," said the Pharaoh quietly. "But if not you, then who else is there?"

"Orichalcos…wait, does this have to do with that 'taking over the world' bit you guys told me about a few months back?" said Ember in realization, breaking the uncomfortable silence that had fallen.

"I'm afraid so," said Alister unhappily.

"I know it is presumptuous of us to do this to you, but because you have had more experience with the Orichalcos we believe you could help us now," said the Pharaoh, looking at all four bikers. He noticed the conflicted expressions on their faces and a briefly sympathetic look entered his eyes. "I would not ask you if there was any other way."

The four former Doma warriors exchanged glances with each other. "Well, at least this time I'll actually get t' 'elp defeat it this time," said Valon at last.

"I'm in too," said Alister grimly.

"I don't think I have a choice in the matter," concluded Raphael quietly.

"Hey! If you four are doing it, then count me and Ember in. You're going to need all the help you can get," Lola said, shooting them a confident grin.

"We're not friends, just so we're clear," said Kaiba coldly. Alister scoffed but said nothing.

"Well, you guys can stay here for the night," Skye said, gesturing around her. "We have guest rooms on this floor, as well as in the basement; for your safety, do not sleep in the room at the end of the hall on the right hand side of the basement. That's Ember's lab, and I can't guarantee safety to anyone who goes in there."


Skye hadn't said anything since Yugi and his friends had settled down for the night and had waited until sometime after dinner before dismissing herself and staying in her room; when everyone had gone to bed Raphael went to go check on her and found that she had taken up a position in the windowsill and had not moved since.

"I wondered if this is where I'd find you," commented Raphael with a small smile, coming into the room. "What's bugging you?" he asked, against the wall closest to Skye.

"I'm fine," she lied, sounding unconvincing.

"Nice try, Skye. Spill."

She sighed and then looked up at Raphael with worry in her hazel eyes. "It's the whole Orichalcos thing. I'm not so sure I want to go anywhere near it."

"How do you think Valon and Alister feel, let alone me? None of us want to deal with this any more than you do."

"When Dartz recruited me, he did something to me..." she faltered, looking miserable.

"If it makes you feel any better, Dartz did some things to me that I wished he hadn't when he was trying to recruit me," said Raphael hollowly. "Digging up my family's graves wasn't something I really wanted to do."

Skye stared up at him in horror—she had not known that at all. She got up and instantly hugged him, saying nothing; a few seconds later Raphael's arms moved around her and enfolded her protectively.

"Like Valon said, we'll take him down," said Raphael, his voice resolute.

"What if Dartz is behind all this and he tries to control us again? I'm not ready for that," she said, her voice muffled against Raphael's chest.

A long pause. "We'll have an advantage this time, Skye," said Raphael quietly. "We know what to expect from him if it is Dartz we're dealing with."

She took her head off his chest and looked up at him, a shadow of a smile on her face. "Besides, I'm not letting a guy who looked like he was wearing mascara get the better of me again."