Mkay. This chapter has been edited! I hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-Gi-Oh!


"We're 'ome!" Valon yelled, bursting through the door and followed closely by Alister.

"Nimrod, there's no need to yell," he said agitatedly. "Skye?" he called as he looked around.

"Oh. You're back." I said, poking my head out of the kitchen. "How was the wedding?"

"IT WAS AWESOME!" Valon exclaimed, pumping his fist in the air and accidentally breaking a nearby vase.

"Valon!" Alister snapped, annoyed. "That wasn't necessary."

"It's alright," I said, smiling."Why don't you two go unpack?"

The two nodded, and Valon bolted up the stairs. Shaking his head, Alister followed after him.

"I can't believe he married her!" I said in disbelief once they had disappeared upstairs.

How do you know that? my magician asked, appearing next to me.

"Because—what are you wearing?" I exclaimed. My magician was currently clad in the Dark Magician Girl's outfit, skirt and all. "Do I want to—?"

We had a poll as to—

"If it's the same poll as last time, I don't wanna know," I said, smiling in spite of myself.

Anyways, how do you know that? my magician asked, appearing next to me.

"It's a feeling I have in my gut," I replied softly.

I say that he didn't marry her, he replied matter-of-factly.

"Really, smartass?" I growled.

"Skye! Who are you talking to?"

I flinched when I heard Alister holler down the stairs. Crap. "Um. I'm talking to Declan," I called back, glaring at my magician, who was hunched over and laughing. "Shut up!" I whispered to him fiercely.

"You're weird," Alister shouted back. "If you see Valon, tell him not to bother me."

"Whatever," I replied. I looked back at my magician with a sigh. "That was close,"

It will be your birthday in two weeks, right?

"Yes. So?"

Shouldn't they remember that?

"They don't know much about me." I said. "Back at Doma, they never celebrated my birthday. However, before the Pharaoh and his friends defeated the Orichalcos, Raphael took me out to dinner once to celebrate it. Other than that, though, there wasn't anything else."

See? He remembered.

"True, but the other two haven't remembered for the past three years."

They'll remember...I know they will.


With Alister. . .

"Are you insane?" he nearly shouted into the phone. "Her birthday is in two weeks and you haven't gotten her anything?"

"She's hard to shop for," the voice on the other line said defensively.

"We went over this at Christmas. Get. Her. Jewelry."

"Alister, I need her."

"Do you now? For your sexual fantasies?"

There was silence and the voice spoke up again. "Not the point. The point is—"

"Just get her something. You know her better than Valon or I do. I mean, you took her out for dinner back in Doma."

"True..."

"Why are you trying so hard? She'll like anything you give her, especially if it's something shiny. She's fond of those things."

"I can't just do that, Alister."

"Why not?" the red biker asked, getting fed up with the blond on the other end of the phone.

"Alister, she most likely hates me for just taking off like that and getting married. I want to get her something special to make up for it, because…"

"Because?" Alister prompted.

"…I love her," Raphael's voice said quietly.

"I KNEW IT!" Alister exclaimed. "I won the bet!"

"Bet?"

Alister froze. "Not important. If you love her, Raphael, then get her something special that shows that."

"Thanks, Alister. I'll call you tomorrow. Please, behave with Valon."

"I'll try, but I'm not making any promises."


Skye's POV

"If you love her, Raphael, then get her something special that shows that," I heard Alister say into the phone.

"He did marry her, after all," I whispered to myself. I fought back the tears that desperately wanted to fall from my eyes. I quickly but quietly walked to my room; once the door was locked, I slid to the floor and let the tears fall down my face.

You shouldn't give up so easily, Skyler, my magician chided sternly. There's always hope.

"What hope?" I said, bringing my face up. "He married her."

You don't know that—

"He doesn't love me, dude. If he did, he wouldn't have gotten married!"

My magician was silent, and I knew then that he was hiding something. "What aren't you telling me?"

Nothing, he replied with a fake smile.

"Spill."

Sighing, he voiced what he had currently been thinking. Raphael was forced to marry that girl. His grandfather threatened him somehow, Skye.

"That's bull-crap," I retorted angrily, getting up.

Whatever you say, responded my magician wearily, returning to my deck.

Was he really forced to marry her? I asked myself, once he had vanished from view.

To clear my head I went and turned on my I-pod to get my mind off of this; however, since everything seems to be against me, lyrics to Another Now by Kate Alexa filled the room.

I don't know what inspired me to do this, but I went to my desk and grabbed my sketchbook. Flipping through the pages, I couldn't help but smirked when I opened to the first page, I let out a chuckle at the image that was staring right in front of me. It was the day when I first met all three of them –eh, four if you count Gurimo.

Flashback

"You wanted to see us, Master Dartz?" Gurimo asked, walking into the temple with the other bikers already there.

"Yes. Where's that Valentine girl?"

"Obsessing with Wheeler again," Alister grumbled. "Good luck getting her here."

"Fine. We will simply have to do without her," sighed Dartz. "I called you here so that you could meet our newest member, who is joining us as of today."

"Great. Another one?" Gurimo complained. "We already have a girly girl, and an annoying Australian brat—"

"Oy! Who ya calling a brat, you git?"

"Not to complain too much to you, Master, but I already have to keep an eye on what is essentially a zoo. What more do we need?"

"Someone to put you in your place, old man," a female voice said coolly, walking in. The girl had mid-length brown hair and hazel eyes; her outfit consisted of a green plaid mini skirt and a black tank top with neon green trim. Several gold and silver bands decorated her upper arms and she was wearing several rings on her fingers.

Valon burst out laughing. "Finally! Someone to put ol' Germy in his place!" he announced, shooting a friendly grin to the newcomer. Raphael raised an eyebrow at her but declined to comment.

"It's Gurimo you annoying little—"

"Gurimo. Enough." Dartz ordered, and the man instantly silenced his insult. "I want you all to meet Miss. Skyler Whitlock."

"Pleasure to meet you three," I said, giving them a mock curtsy.

"Excuse me, what about me?" growled Gurimo, indignant that she had ignored him. "It's not polite to be rude to an elder."

"I'm not being rude. You're just insignificant," I said smirking.

If he wasn't pissed before, Gurimo was pissed; he had steam coming out of his ears, literally. "Why you little-"

"Did you guys hear something?" I asked innocently. "I swear it sounded just like a little germ talking, but I don't see anything—but then again, you can't exactly see a germ, can you?" I finished, and even Alister looked vaguely amused by now.

Gurimo's eyes narrowed and his face flushed in outrage. "You little—"

"Enough!" Dartz spat. "I appreciate the entertainment you both are offering, but for now Gurimo you will need to withdraw and focus on your next assignment; I will deal with our recruit."

Grumbling, the monocled man stormed from the room, leaving behind a loudly laughing Valon and an amused Alister.

"Alister, Valon. You're free to go as well," their leader said, waving a dismissive hand.

"I like tha' little lady," Valon said to Alister as they disappeared out the door. "She's got some spunk t' 'er."

Dartz waited until both of the other bikers vanished before redirecting his attention to Raphael and Skyler; I had been studying the older man with interest, while the blonde had been dutifully ignoring me and focused entirely on Dartz.

"Raphael, please show Miss Skyler around. I would have Alister or Gurimo do so, but I do not believe either of them would be thorough in the matter," he said calmly, turning his back on them both.

Raphael dipped his head in acquiescence before grabbing my arm and leading me out of the hall. "Let's go," he said gruffly.

"Don't touch me!" I exclaimed, getting out of his grasp (which, I noted in surprise, had not been that difficult to do—his grip had been firm but not to the point it would leave bruises behind). "I don't need to be dragged around by you. I can walk by myself," I continued.

"I can see that," he said wryly, gesturing down the expansive passageway. "Ladies first."

Skyler huffed but started down the hallway, leaving him behind in his own thoughts.

End Flashback

I couldn't help but let out a little laugh. I turned the page over and laughed. It was a picture of Alister, with mouse traps all over his body. That was one April Fools day that Valon nor Alister forgot.

It hasn't been the same without him here. The house is quieter than usual; Valon won't get into trouble without Raphael around, because Alister actually will punch him if he gets out of hand. The quiet is really starting to get on my nerves.

A small, sad smile made its way across my features then. Raphael hadn't been paying attention to me to start out with, but I realized sometime later that he must have been keeping an eye on me after all. when my birthday came around he took me out to dinner for the occasion.

Flashback

There was a knock on my door that startled me out of my thoughts; I had been surfing the internet all day, bored out of my mind. Dartz wouldn't let any of us leave the temple unless we were on an assignment—and it didn't help that said temple was on an island in the middle of the ocean.

"It's open," I called, going back to my laptop. I heard the door open and figured it was Valon, but when I looked back up I noticed that it was Raphael. "You're looking snazzy today," I said with a smirk when I realized that he was not in his normal attire, instead in a casual polo and slacks.

"Cute," he said dryly. "But I didn't come over here for a compliment."

"Then what brings you to my humble abode?" I asked, rolling off my stomach and sitting up fully on the mattress.

"I wanted to take you out to dinner," he stated calmly.

I stared back at him in surprise, his words having completely caught me off guard. "Um. That's sweet, but…why exactly do you want to do that?"

"It's your birthday, for one. And for another, you've worked hard since you've arrived and Master Dartz gave me permission to take you to the mainland; Gurimo has to go over there anyway, so we could tag along for the ride."

I was silent for a few minutes before I smiled. Anything was better than being cooped up in this room. "Alright. Give me a minute."

End Flashback

That was the best night I ever had in Doma—hell, that was the best night I've ever had period. And I mean it. After then, I totally regretted treating him the way I did; sarcastically and cruelly.

For instance, he was sent to capture the Pharoah's soul and instead, captured the soul of the Pharaoh's host.

Flashback

"How can that be?" he questioned. "I was sure I was dueling the Pharaoh."

"Ah. I see the screw-up fairy has visited us again, and for once, Valon didn't summon it" I said, walking into the room, arms crossed and a smirk across my face.

Valon started to laugh, until he got what I meant. "'ey!"

Alister couldn't help the smirk that appeared on his face.

"Miss. Whitlock. Since Raphael couldn't do the task, would you like to capture the soul of the Pharaoh?" Dartz asked.

"It's a thankless job, but I've got a lot of Karma to burn off, so no." I replied, walking out of the room.

End Flashback

That was a really funny experience. He did hate me for a while after that, but eventually, he forgave me.

I could feel this pain in my chest, getting stronger. It's hard; I don't - no, - I can't leave him behind, but I have no choice. If he married…that, I should move on. But why is it so hard?

Since that night, he and I got closer and closer to each other; we started having conversations when we weren't on assignment and I even started following him around. (This was after I started to open up to him a bit more). Even before the whole Orichalcos thing happened, even before we were dating…I relied on him. A lot.

Tears started blurring my vision and began falling down my face once again. I'm alone now, aren't I?

He isn't here anymore. He's gone and married to that…that…complete and damnable bimbo. I felt more tears roll down my face. Raphael is never going to come back— and for the first time since Doma, I honestly feel alone.

The song ended and I couldn't help it; I started to cry in earnest, burying my head in the nearest pillow and letting out the sobs that had been shaking my entire body.


Normal POV

Alister paused as he passed by Skyler's bedroom, catching the sounds of music and muffled sobs through her door. He set the laundry hamper down and eyed the door hesitantly, wondering if he should go in and see what was wrong.

He shook his head. He couldn't do anything to make her feel better—he knew exactly what Skyler was crying about and there was very little he could do for her.

It didn't stop his eye from softening in pity as he picked the hamper back up and continued on his way down the stairs. Whatever you've got planned, Raphael, do it quickly. You're hurting her.


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