Hey everyone! I'm back! :D Life's been busy for me. This chapter contains another OC (my friend made him). His name is Zakhi Ishtar, pronounced "Zahk-hee", but goes by the name of Zak. To get a visual of what he looks like, he looks exactly like Gravekeeper's Descendant except with white hair and purple eyes. Reason why Zakhi is in this story is because he's Ember's love interest (plus, I wanted Valon to be with Serenity). Also, I would appreciate it if you guys took a look at my poll on my profile. Please!

Anywho, without further ado, here's the disclaimer

Ember: Jupiter does not own Yu-Gi-Oh.


It was the morning after the alarm clock fiasco and most of the household was still asleep when Skyler returned from her walk with Jasper. Humming softly, she unclipped the leash from his collar and watched as he disappeared up the stairs.

She turned around when she heard the sound of footsteps coming from behind her. "Good morning Raphael," she said, looking up at him.

He smiled, suddenly picking her up and spinning her around. This earned him a sound that was a cross between a squeal and a giggle. "Happy anniversary," he said, putting her down as he kissed her.

"Happy anniversary to you too, Raphael," she replied, kissing him back. "I made you coffee," she added, walking into the kitchen with Raphael following behind her.

"Thanks," he said, pouring himself a cup.

Skye smiled and went over to the stove, where a bowl of pancake batter was sitting patiently for her; she had made it just before her walk with Jasper, confident that Alister would be sleeping in and would not sabotage the mix.

Speaking of the redhead she remembered the prank from the night before and giggled. "That was a great prank last night."

Raphael grimaced. "Valon needs to learn when it's okay to pull a prank."

"Hey now, don't go assigning credit where it isn't due. It took me forever to figure out how to get back at Alister," she said affectionately, pouring a bit of the batter into the frying pan.

The man blinked. "That was you?"

"I owe Valon an apology, then," said the voice belonging to a certain redhead as he came into the room.

Skye jumped and the hand gripping the handle of the frying pan jerked, sending the half-made pancake flying through the air and onto Alister's shirt; it stuck there for a long moment before it slowly started peeling away.

The three of them stared at it for a long moment. "Really?" Alister asked at last, raising his eyebrows at the girl.

"Sorry, but you had it coming. You are the one who snuck up on me—"

"That's not important. You pulled that prank?"

"Yeah. Payback,"

"Lame effort, if you ask me."

"I wasn't," retorted Skye as she resumed making breakfast.

Noticing that Alister was completely dressed and had his helmet under his arm, Raphael asked, "Where are you going?"

"Just for a ride on my motorcycle. I'm seeing if I can convince Lola to come with me."

"Lola hates riding motorcycles," Skye called as he left the room. "They move too fast, according to her."

"I'll sway her to my way of thinking. No worries."

Skye and Raphael exchanged exasperated glances.


About an hour later everyone in the house was up and about, doing their own things. Valon was in his room with Misha and Jasper, Lola was with Alister returning from their adventure on his motorcycle, Raphael was in the office working on some nameless project, and Skye was finishing getting ready to go run some errands.

"Hey, I'm going out," she said, poking her head into Raphael's office.

"Where to?" he asked, getting up from his chair and walking with the girl to the garage door.

"Seto wants a word with me about something," Skye replied airily as she put her helmet over her head. "I don't know what, as he was being his usual talkative self—and I mean that with every sarcastic fiber of my body."

"Be careful," he cautioned as she slowly started wheeling the bike to the curb, following after her.

"I'll be fine," she said, lowering the shield on her helmet. She revved up the bike started down the street, just barely missing the red-haired biker as he pulled into the driveway.

"I dropped Lola off about a block from here—she said she wanted to walk back but I came back to drop my motorcycle off. That wasn't Skye who just left, was it?" asked Alister as he pulled off his helmet.

"It was."

Alister looked alarmed. "I forgot to warn her," he said, paling a bit.

"Warn her about what?" Raphael asked suspiciously, looking at the younger biker.

"I stuck something on the side of her bike—"

A loud explosion caught their hearing and they exchanged alarmed looks before Raphael took off, heading to where Skye's downed motorcycle was at the end of the street.

Skye had been thrown from her bike and was face down on a neighbor's lawn; even as he reached her, though, she was shakily sitting up and pulling off her helmet.

"Skyler! Skyler, are you all right?" Raphael asked urgently, getting down beside her and checking her over to make certain she was all right.

Skye stared at her motorcycle, then looked to Raphael. "This has Alister's name written all over it," she said irritably, glaring at him. "He's paying for it if there's any damage to my motorcycle."

Raphael let out a sigh of relief when she said that; if she could say that she was perfectly fine, albeit shaken by the crash. He put an arm around her waist and gently hoisted her to her feet.

"Are you hurt?" he asked, concerned.

"No. I'm fine," she replied, walking back over to her motorcycle and inspecting it. "I was wearing my helmet and my elbow and kneepads. I'll be fine," she continued, going to her tiptoes to kiss Raphael's cheek. "Thank you for checking on me, though."

Raphael had not really wanted her to ride her bike after the accident that had just happened, but Skye insisted that she had to go—she was already going to be late to whatever meeting Kaiba was holding. After making certain there was no more devices attached to her motorcycle she revved the engine and left the neighborhood.

This left a somewhat mollified but still very much annoyed Raphael in her wake—Alister had some explaining to do.


A black limo pulled up in front of KaibaCorp. The man who stepped out of it was tall, his tan body athletically built. His hair was white and his eyes were a dark shade of purple, with black kohl lining their edges.

"I'll walk back to the hotel. I'll meet you there," he said curtly. The driver dipped his head once before driving away, out of sight of the tall building.

At that same moment, Skye rolled up on her motorcycle. Taking off her helmet and shaking her hair free of the helmet, her eyes landed the young man who had stepped out of the limo.

"Malik?" she asked in surprise, walking towards the main entrance and approaching him.

She had met him once, just after Battle City had ended; he had been in Domino for a day when a flight he had been on was delayed and she had been in the airport. They had fallen to chatting and that had been how she had learned he was the runner up in the Battle City tournament. It had been a couple years since she had seen him, though, and she couldn't remember if that had been what he looked like.

The man ignored her as he walked into the lobby, turning around only when he realized that he was being followed by the girl. "You're mistaken, Miss. I am not Malik. My cousin is back in Egypt."

Skye glared at the man. "Man, you sound so much like Seto," she mumbled.

"Except that I'm better. I'm here to meet with Seto Kaiba on a personal matter," he stated, sending a cold glare right back at her.

"Hate to break it to you, hun, but he won't see anyone. You need an appointment if he doesn't know you're coming," she said, crossing her arms over her chest.

A smile quirked the corner of his mouth. "Perhaps. We shall see," he replied mysteriously, and before she could say anything further the elevator door opened and he stepped inside. The doors closed before she could enter the elevator as well.

"Arrogant son of a Sphinx," she muttered, going over to the other elevator and boarding it. She hit the button for the floor Seto worked on.

She was still muttering darkly about the stranger when she pulled open the office door, striding inside. Her cousin had been working on something at his computer but at the sound of his door opening his head lifted up.

"About time you showed up," he said flatly, gesturing to a seat in front of his desk.

Skye noticed the same man from before lounging in a chair next to her and stared. "What is he doing here?"

"I'm here to collect the new model of the duel disk you're testing, as well as the tester's fee for doing so," the man replied boredly.

He glanced at the CEO. "I'm sorry if I was slightly late. I had last minute things to settle with Malik before my departure. "

He dug in his pocket before drawing out a small pile of Duel Monster cards. "He wanted to give these to the little Kaiba, seeing how as he never properly apologized for kidnapping your younger brother."

Seto took them with a curt nod and set them to the side of his desk. "You'll find what you are looking for outside with my receptionist. Skye, this is for you," he continued, handing her an envelope.

She growled but took it, opening it and pulling out the piece of paper inside. "Does he have to be in here while I'm reading it?" she asked, looking pointedly at him.

The man arched an eyebrow. "The little lady seems to lack manners," he remarked.

Seto gave no outward sign of annoyance, but Skye recognized the annoyed light that entered his eyes. "It would do you well to speak kindly to my cousin, Ishtar. Skyler, this is Zakhi Ishtar—he's testing out a newer model of a Duel Disk I'm working on. Exercise what manners you have, the both of you, or I'll kick you out of my office."

"Pleasure to meet you," she said, rolling her eyes as she glanced at the paper in her hands. Seconds later, she bristled and swiveled a furious glare at the man behind the desk. "No."

"No, what?"

"I refuse. I saw what happened in the last tournament you held and there is no way I'm participating in it. No way, no how."

"I never said you had to," replied Seto boredly, clearly expecting this response. "However, you'll find that your biker friends have also been sent invitations—I know for a fact that Alister certainly will participate, as will Valon once he learns that Joey Wheeler and Mai Valentine are also involved."

She continued to glare at him. "This is blackmail, Kaiba," she ground out, earning her an interested look from Zakhi. She rose to her feet and stormed out of the room. As an afterthought she poked her head around the corner of the door. "Expect revenge."

"If by 'revenge' you mean sabotaging my alarm clock, I'm not worried in the slightest," Seto replied flatly.

She glowered at him some more before vanishing from view.

Zakhi raised his eyebrows at her before looking to Seto. "Your cousin has a lot of spirit," he said as he also got to his feet. "I will see you both at the tournament."

Skye was waiting for the elevators when Zakhi finished collecting an envelope and a medium sized box and strode toward her. He started eyeing the closed doors contemplatively before he shrugged. "I guess I am taking the stairs."

The elevator doors opened at that moment and Skye grabbed his arm. "Nice try, pal," she said, dragging him inside. "You aren't pulling your elusive stranger act on me."

Zakhi let out the first honest laugh she'd heard from him. "I would think that you meeting my cousin would stop me from doing such an act. Am I mistaken that you do not know Malik?"

Skyler was about to reply when the elevator stopped on the second floor.

"Why did it stop here?" Zakhi asked as the doors slowly started to open, frowning as he stepped out.

"I have no idea," she replied, following after the man.

A loud explosion shook one of the rooms near them and they both jumped, stumbling away from the now smoking doorway. The door opened up seconds later, revealing a short but very familiar girl who was slightly smoking.

"That… is a tiny girl," Zakhi muttered, eyeballing her.

Skye pinched the bridge of her nose. "Does Seto know you've got a lab here, Ember?"

Ember ignored Skye, glaring at Zakhi with a slightly murderous look. "I'm not tiny, I'm fun sized. And no, Skye, your cousin does not know I set up shop in an old broom cupboard. Who's this guy?" she asked, jerking her thumb at the taller man.

"Ember, this is Zakhi Ishtar. Zakhi, this is Ember Calstone," Skye introduced.

"Who are you to throw my name around like that?" Zakhi asked, agitated.

"I'm just trying to be polite," Skye hissed.

"No matter," he said dismissively, heading for the stairs and waving over his shoulder at them. "I suspect that I will see you ladies later."

Skye scowled at his retreating figure. "Bastard," she muttered. Her countenance brightened as she looked over at Ember. "Are you coming over for dinner tonight?"

"You bet!" Ember said brightly as they walked toward the elevators. "What are you having?"

"I don't know. It's Alister's turn to cook and Raphael and I are going out tonight, so it could be anything."

"I see," Ember said thoughtfully. "Well, have fun on your date!"

When Skye reached the lobby it was to find that Zakhi was just walking out the door. She caught up to him and asked, "Do you need a ride?"

"I appreciate it, but the offer is unnecessary. I can walk, it is healthier," he chuckled. "I'll just take some back alleys. I will see you in the tournament."

Skye said nothing, watching him leave with narrowed eyes before mounting her bike and driving off.


At the house. . .

Raphael had taken Jasper on a fairly long walk, and when he returned it was to find Alister and Lola chatting on the couch. The blond unclipped the dog from his leash and folded his arms across his chest.

"What the hell were you thinking, Alister?" he barked, causing the redhead to jump. "Sabotaging Skye's bike? Really? Are you trying to kill her?"

"You did what?" Lola shrieked, smacking Alister upside the head.

"I did not do it on purpose!" he said angrily. "Valon handed it to me and told me it was some sort of stabilizing thing that Skye had on her bike."

"No, but you know better than to trust Valon with anything like that," Raphael said flatly. "Prank war ends now, before anything worse happens."

"Tell that to your girlfriend," growled Alister.

The garage door leading into the house slammed closed and they all looked over in its direction; the sound of shoes being chucked echoed through the hall. Skyler entered the room shortly afterward, fist clenched at her side and mumbling incoherently under her breath.

"Hey, how did it go with Kaiba?" Raphael asked, walking up to her and kissing her forehead.

"Alister, your hatred of Kaiba is justified. Thinking he can just tell me what to do and sign me up for things without my consent…blackmailing son of a Sphinx."

"What are you talking about, chica?" Lola asked.

"Kaiba is holding another tournament and wants me to play a certain role in it. "

"A tournament?" Valon asked, coming up from the basement. "Sweet! I'm so in!"

"He said he's sent invitations," she grumbled. "And also, he's working with some pain in the rear man on it. He's like Seto's Egyptian counterpart—I want to throttle him."

"He's an ass, in other words." Alister shrugged. "Joy. I can deal with it."

Raphael looked at Skye, sensing that there was more to this than what she was saying. He decided to wait until later to ask what was bothering her.


Alister stepped into Valon's bedroom and instantly decided that the boy needed a personal maid—about half this room looked as if it would need a nuclear waste removal team to visit. "Valon?"

"Whatever it is, I didn' do it!" the Australian stated immediately, looking up from the comic book he'd been reading.

"Didn't do what?" the red head asked, cocking his head to his side and arching an eyebrow.

"Nothin'. Wha's up?" Valon asked with a far too bright smile.

The redhead thought he should ask about whatever it was that prompted a reaction like that out of Valon but then thought better of it—chances were he didn't want to know, anyways. His eyes darted over to where Misha was sitting and then stared.

"Seriously?" he questioned, looking at him and then back to Misha.

"Yeah, why not? Wha' did you come in 'ere for, then?"

Sighing, the redhead sat Indian style on the floor in front of him. "Look, it's Raphael's and Skye's anniversary today—"

"Not to mention New Years Eve!" Valon exclaimed.

"Yes, I know. I overheard you talking to Ember on the phone. You were planning a prank, weren't you?"

"Wha' if we were?" Valon questioned.

"Look, it's their eleven month anniversary, almost their one year. I think Raphael wants to do something special tonight. Can you please not pull anything?"

"Don't worry, Alister. Ember and I won't do anything. When we were talking, we were actually planning a firework show for tonight! What are you going to do to get back at Skye? You're going to put her bra in the fridge?"

Alister rolled his eyes and started walking out of the room. "Didn't you hear Raphael? No more pranks for me—although once a couple weeks have passed and it's safe to pull a prank I'll go ahead and do that. Oh, and Valon?"

"Yeah?"

"As amusing as that is, please don't dress Misha up as a Duel Monster anymore," the redhead stated as Misha swatted at the Dark Magician hat that she currently wore. "We don't need to give Skyler any crazy ideas—"

He got interrupted by a bark coming from behind him and saw Jasper; currently, he had a pair of blue dragon wings on his back and was wearing a Blue-Eyes White Dragon helmet.

Valon smiled sheepishly. "Heh heh…oops."


It was later in the evening as Zakhi stepped out of the shower, a towel wrapped around his waist and his toothbrush in his mouth; he'd gotten back to the hotel about an hour ago and, after contacting his cousin, he decided to take a much needed shower.

He opened the bathroom door and came into his bedroom, only to find a familiar girl sitting on the bed; his deck was in her hand and she was examining the cards curiously. "What the hell are you…how did you get in here?" he questioned. His voice was muffled by the mouthful of toothpaste and toothbrush.

"Air vent," she said airily, flipping to another card in his deck. "So you have a Grave-Keeper's theme for your deck?"

Zakhi scowled as he walked over to her and grabbed his deck out of her hands. "I'm impressed that you managed to get in here from the air vent, but shouldn't you be at dinner with Skyler?"

"Eh, they're used to me showing up at random times," she replied dismissively. She grinned up at him. "And besides, you're interesting."

He scoffed. "Everyone usually finds me to be."

He frowned, studying the smaller girl. "Why do I get the feeling that you've got some ulterior motive for being here?"

Ember grinned again. This one was one that Skye and the bikers all called her "planning mischief" smile. "I'm totally making you my new victim," she declared, getting off the bed and skipping to the door. "Bye!"

She opened the door and exited, closing it behind her. Zakhi stared at the door before he let out an amused chuckle. "Interesting, indeed."

Five minutes later, Ember poked her head through a vent in the ceiling, startling him (and inwardly relieved he'd put on pants before she'd returned). "By the way, you're gorgeous without a shirt on," she said before vanishing once more.


Skyler and Raphael returned from their anniversary date just in time to see Valon and Ember setting up some sort of contraption in the front lawn, fireworks strapped to it. Several lawn chairs had been set up next up to it.

"What on earth…do I need to be worried?" asked Raphael, eyeing them warily. "Better yet, should I have a bucket of water?"

"Nope! We've got it under control!" Ember declared brightly.

Raphael and Skye exchanged exasperated glances. Raphael decided to sit down, gently pulling Skye onto his lap; when he felt something pawing at pant leg he looked down. "Misha?" he questioned with a laugh, picking up the cat. She'd been dressed as Guardian Eatos.

Skyler rubbed the back of her head. "Surprise," she said, smiling.

It was at this moment that Jasper came into view and everyone's eyes swiveled to the dog. "Whose idea was it to dress Jasper as the Blue Eyes White Dragon?" Skye asked, looking at the group.

Valon flinched and looked uncomfortably back at her.

"Because I think the Red-Eyes Black Dragon would be a better fit for him. He'd look pretty cool with black dragon wings, don't ya think?"

"I told you this would give Skye ideas," Alister muttered under his breath. "First the pets…I'm telling you, next she's going to dress me as Guardian Elma."

"You know I would," Skye said, startling the red head (he flinched in response). "Thanks for the idea, Alister."

Alister glared at her and then looked at Raphael.

"Hey, you suggested it," he started putting his hands up in defense.


There you go! Please review!