Jupiter's Magic: Thanks yous for the reviews! :D
Lola: Jupiter's_Magic does not own Yugioh, the Orichalcos, or the card game. She does own me, Ember, Skye, Declan, and dare I say his name, Caden *shudders*
Ember: Please Review!
"Okay, so what's the plan?"
"You've asked that now several times, mutt. We don't know our plan yet, so until we do shut up. Otherwise I'll muzzle you," Kaiba replied, folding his arms.
"Kaiba, I'm not a dog and don't you dare—"
"If Dartz is behind this, then that means he has the whole army that he had last time," Alister said, cutting off the beginnings of the argument. "Have any of you seen signs of that?"
"No," said Yugi, shaking his head. "So far, the most we've actually seen of the Orichalcos is on the news and the soulless bodies we've found."
"Tha's good, right?" asked Valon, looking at Yugi hopefully.
"Not really," said Raphael, looking pessimistic. "It just means he's choosing not to show us what's up his sleeve until he's ready."
Joey frowned. "I figured as much. He did that last time, too—we didn't know how powerful he was until we actually fought him."
"What do you mean 'we'?" asked Kaiba boredly. "You got beaten long before we faced off against Dartz."
"I saw you in that creepy soul-holding place later. That was enough of a demonstration for me," said Joey with a scowl. Kaiba said nothing, though his jaw tightened and his eyes darkened.
"How do we find this guy?" asked Lola. "I say we figure out where he is and then kick his butt," she continued, slamming a fist into her open palm.
"I have a few explosive devices that would work wonders for him," said Ember evilly, holding up a shoebox covered in warning labels.
"That's the thing about Dartz," said Raphael heavily. "He won't show up until he wants to."
That was about the time the doorbell rang.
Skye, who had just come downstairs after getting a shower, was closest to the door. "I got it!" she said, going into the front hallway and unlocking the door.
No one thought anything of it until Skye screamed.
The three remaining bikers were the first ones out into the front hallway, followed by Ember and Lola; Yugi shifted into the Pharaoh and moved swiftly to catch up to them.
Skye had backed away entirely from the door and was actually sitting on one of the steps, her hazel eyes wide in panic—her legs had given out.
"Skye, what—?" began Alister, but then his eyes went to the front door and he stiffened.
Valon and Raphael had seen it too, and the pair of them mimed Alister for a moment before bristling. Ember and Lola weren't entirely certain who the aquamarine-haired man standing on their front porch was, but they both got the distinct impression that he was not entirely a friend.
The Pharaoh's face went blank when he saw what the commotion was about. "Dartz."
The man said nothing, remaining where he stood on the porch and watching them impassively. "I assume I have the right place, since you four are here," he said at last, gold eyes moving over each of their faces. "Odd, though. I never heard a scream like that when you were in Doma, Miss Kaiba."
"What do you want?" snarled three voices together.
Dartz looked over to where Raphael, Alister, and Valon were giving him identical glares. One of his eyebrows rose. "I was hoping for a warmer welcome."
"Well you can forget it, you loony!" snapped Valon, looking as if he wanted to either attack Dartz or run in the opposite direction.
"I take it you aren't happy to see me? You should be."
"Give us one good reason as to why we should be welcoming you with open arms," Raphael said coldly, blue eyes lit with fire.
Dartz studied them all for a moment. "My presence here would indicate that I am not the one responsible for the Orichalcos' rising once again."
"Either that, or you're trying to trick us again," Alister remarked bitterly. "You certainly know how to do that much."
Dartz's eyes flashed with a nameless emotion. "I wouldn't touch the Orichalcos now for all the treasure in the world," he said, and there was something of visible pain etched into his features.
"Why should we believe you?" asked Joey (he and the others had made it out into the hall now to see what was going on).
"I'm not asking you to. If you cannot trust me then I will not ask you to," said Dartz in reply. "All I'm here for is to get help in battling the Orichalcos. If I cannot get that much then I will deal with it myself."
Ember pushed past the small group and bounded up to Dartz, studying him intently with brown eyes and tilting her head at him. She said nothing for a long moment and then her countenance brightened. "No worries, guys. We can trust him."
"I'm not so inclined to, Raggedy Ann," retorted Alister, looking distinctly unhappy.
"Dartz raised a fair point," said the Pharaoh from behind them. "He would not be here now if he was responsible for the recent events. Besides, we'll need all the help we can get—he knows how to manipulate it."
"I wouldn't put it that way," said Dartz quietly. "A more accurate description would be it knows how to manipulate me."
Skye had said nothing during this entire encounter, but at that she finally collected herself and rose to her feet shakily, making eye contact with Raphael before announcing, "I trust him."
Alister and Valon both shot Skye identical looks of surprise, but when they saw that Raphael had done nothing they reluctantly backed down, allowing Dartz into their home.
"So if you aren't the guy responsible, who is?" asked Joey then, looking around him for an explanation.
Tristan and Tea (the girl who had come with them last night) exchanged glances. "Was there anyone else who knew how to use the Orichalcos?"
"Gurimo, but I doubt he is behind this now," said Dartz heavily. "The Orichalcos inflicted deep psychological harm on him when it took his soul. Coupled with his already unstable personality, this merely served to destroy his sanity."
"You know this how?" asked Tristan suspiciously.
"He's currently housed in a mental institution, with all the intelligence of a rock," retorted Dartz, showing the first sign of irritation since arriving. "He was the first person I checked, since I knew none of you would be moronic enough to revive it."
Alister snorted, rolling his eyes. "Why doesn't that surprise me?" he muttered.
"But then if it's not you, and it's not this Gurimo guy, then who does that leave?" asked Lola, looking around for answers.
Ember's brow furrowed, and then her features cleared and she said excitedly, "Wait a minute I have something!"
The hyperactive girl bounded out of the room and disappeared in the basement; they all heard the sound of clattering objects and muffled screams, and Tea looked to the bikers uncertainly. "Is she okay?"
Valon laughed. "No worries, love. Ember's quite fine; she c'n 'andle 'erself," he said, although the next scream had him glance nervously at the closed basement door.
At length, Ember came back from the basement and held out another plastic baggie. "When Valon got hurt and I was looking around the stable I found this business card!" she said in a rush, holding it out to Dartz. "It's got the same symbol you've got on that necklace of yours so I thought maybe you would know what it was."
Dartz examined the small slip of paper and his eyes narrowed, showing Yugi the plastic bag with the business card. "We used the Seal of Orichalcos as the logo for Paradius," he said, frowning. "But I don't see any names on it."
"I fingerprinted that. Same guy responsible for the nettle trick had his fingerprints all over that," said Ember matter-of-factly.
Skye paled. "Caden's using the Orichalcos."
"You know 'im?" asked Joey, catching wind of the tension that fell when Skye said his name.
"Try having a psycho ex and multiply it by twenty," muttered Alister.
Kaiba glanced at his cousin and rolled his eyes. "The things you get into when you're left to your own devices," he sighed, leaning against the wall. "And anyway, I thought I shipped him off to Shanghai."
Skye stared in surprise.
Kaiba shrugged. "Your mom called. I delivered. I guess he got back, though," he said dismissively. "At least we know who we're dealing with. This should be a snap," he continued. "That little dweeb couldn't think his way out of a paper bag."
Joey had been examining the card through the bag when his eyes widened. "Hey, guys? I think there's something on the back of the card."
Ember frowned, taking the bag back. "The creep must have written it in a certain kind of ink that shows up in an airtight…Oh crud."
"What?" asked Skye, coming over to see.
Raphael took it from Ember and Alister peered over the man's broad shoulder; Valon and Skye gathered around to see what it was.
The Dark Lord will come for his bride, and together they shall reign over the Great Beast as the world descends into chaos.
"What is this guy, a Harry Potter geek?" asked Alister irritably, though his expression softened at the ill one on Skye's face.
"Don't you worry, kiddo! I don't know much 'bout this Caden guy, but let him try to get you!" said Joey with a grin, patting Skye on the shoulder (though he hastily retracted his hand when Raphael stared pointedly at it).
"Is everyone ready to go?" asked Yugi later that afternoon, looking at the small group assembled in front of the stairs.
"Pretty much, Yug," said Joey with a thumbs up.
"I'm ready!" Ember chirped as she rolled out from the chimney once again.
Tristan stared. "Seriously, guys, is that safe?"
"Wait. Where's Skye?"
"I saw her go last night; chances are she's talking to her brother and sorting things out," responded Kaiba boredly.
"You didn't think to stop her when she's got her crazy ex looking for her?" Lola thundered, marching up to Kaiba and glaring up at him.
"Trust me—nothing's scarier than Declan when he's angry. She's probably on her way back now."
The front door opened at this point and Skye slipped into the hall. "Sorry, guys. I had to go talk to Declan for a bit," she explained, looking embarrassed.
Declan came in after her, eyeing the group strangely before shifting the little girl he was carrying on his hip. "Skye has to look out for our younger sister today, but because she's going out…golfing—" (they noticed that Declan did not seem to buy this excuse) "—I'll be staying here and looking out for her."
"She doesn't like me very much," said Skye quietly when Declan walked past them. "Our oldest brother died from cancer and she really looked up to him. I don't know why she doesn't like me, but Mom insisted I watch her today and Declan could do a better job than I could."
Tea frowned. "I just realized something, though. If your brother and sister stay here, what's going to stop the bad guys from getting them?"
"I can stay here," said Tristan with a shrug. "I would like to see the action, but I have a nephew I look after all the time so I can help your brother with your sister."
"Tea, can you stay here too?" asked Yugi.
"I guess so," she said reluctantly.
Raphael looked to Valon and his gaze went to the cast on the boy's arm. "Valon, I prefer that you stay here as well."
"What? Why?" Valon asked, looking indignant.
"No offense, but you aren't much help to us when you have a cast on your arm, Valon," Alister commented.
Ember blinked. "I'll stay here too. Valon'll get into my explosives otherwise," she said. "You guys go without us; we'll hold down the fort."
"Then it settled. We leave now," the Pharaoh said, taking over Yugi's body. "If there are no more interruptions then we should go."
Raphael waited until the group had moved outside before looking to Skye, noticing she had hung back.
"You've been awfully quiet since you got back," he remarked, holding his hand out to her.
Skye didn't take it, but she did briefly hug him. "We can't tell Seto that we're seeing for each other just yet. You heard what he did to Caden."
Raphael stared, and then he started laughing. "All right, fair enough," he said with some amusement.
Ha! You thought it was Dartz! Sike! Review
