The Return of Caspian

The Spiffy Spoofer does not own Gravitation or any Disney movies, so don't try to sue me…besides, you'd only end up with a handful of Fruit Loops and maybe a donut or two. I'm pretty sure that's the cap of my net worth.

Before we begin, I'd like to point out that this is a sequel to Aladdin with a Sprig of Gravitation, and may not make any sense if you haven't read it.

Yuki was slowly going insane. He kept trying to tell himself that he'd chosen this life, signed himself away to this duty, but it wasn't working. Not even close.

He'd been sitting in the throne room for three hours, listening to the complaints and quarrels of townspeople and the bickering of the few remaining council members. He stifled a yawn and sighed heavily. Sure, he loved Shuichi, but this was pushing it.

Ever since the engagement, he'd been expected to play the part. He'd been roped into these weekly audiences, and he hated every second of it. He despised getting dressed up and having to, yet again, be something that he wasn't. He loathed being put on display for the world to see, forced to sit in a throne next to Shuichi in the newly remodeled throne room. Now that Shuichi was technically the ruler of the city, he was in charge of all the cosmetic responsibilities. One of his father's old advisors was running things behind the scenes, but everyone had decided that it was in the city's best interest to have a royal figurehead still in place. He'd fled the city when Mika had taken over, and the remaining council had persuaded him to come back after she'd gone crazy. He was a little panicky, but he was someone that the people recognized, and he was better than Shuichi flying solo.

Yuki sighed again and scanned the exits. He'd been daydreaming of his brilliant escape all morning, but he knew that he would never get away with it. Shuichi was sitting directly next to him, and would definitely take him out if he made a move to leave him there alone. He didn't like the audiences either, as he had to behave himself for hours on end and concentrate, but he didn't have a choice. Sometimes a story would tickle his fancy and he'd make some ridiculous ruling, but it was usually the council and his advisor making the calls while Shuichi tried not to fall asleep or get distracted by something shiny. He was definitely losing the fight against his distraction today, and after being reprimanded for jumping out of his seat and causing a scene, he had resorted to twitching.

He stretched and hid another yawn, not wanting to seem disinterested. He knew full well that the council hated him, and he didn't want to give them any more reason to chase him out. Shuichi was under enough pressure as it was, and he was reluctant to cause more problems for him. He tried to focus on the merchant that was standing in front of them, but his vision was fuzzy. He was exhausted from the night before, and he wasn't entirely sure how he was still awake. He could barely keep his eyes open, and all he wanted to do was take a nap. Playing the part of a royal fiancé was slowly killing him by day, and rooming with Shuichi was horrible for his sleeping habits, but wonderful for his other habits.

When the conversation in the middle of the throne room stopped, he snapped to attention and almost fell out of his chair. The merchant was leaving, his qualm settled. Yuki watched him leave and then shifted his eyes over to the council. They were up and moving, signaling a break. Yuki stood up slowly, knowing full well that this might be his only chance to sleep that day. Shuichi might disembowel him later for this abandonment, but he was pretty sure that he could take his lover in a fight, maybe. He looked down at Shuichi, ready with a quick lie, but the younger man was focused on one of the people across the room that was wearing a belt made of silver coins. Yuki closed his eyes, said a quick prayer, and set off for the door at a quick pace.

"Ummm…where are you going?" the advisor called across the room, clearly nervous. "The audiences are only half over, please stay…"

"Just need to stretch my legs, Sakano." Yuki answered, a tight smile in place. He turned his back on the advisor and half walked, half ran, out of the room. He breathed a sigh of relief and headed for the stairs, planning on hiding out in his old quarters.

"I suppose…but…" Sakano said shakily, unsure of how to control Yuki. He'd been around Shuichi for years, and he pretty much knew his patterns and how to deal with him, but the new guy was completely foreign to him. He adjusted his glasses and looked around, but Yuki had already cleared the room.

"Sir? You can't go this way…" a guard near the stairs stammered, not wanting to make Yuki angry. He'd been there for years, and he'd seen what the street rat turned prince had done to the old royal vizier, who he dearly missed.

"We have orders to detain you. You need to return to the throne room." The guard's partner snapped, taking his duty seriously. After their captain had found out that they'd helped Tohma so often, he'd almost filleted them. They were lucky to be out on foot patrol, let alone still in the palace.

"I'm not going anywhere, I just need to get some air." Yuki said quickly, his eyes darting around the entrance hall. If he had to, he'd return to the streets and crash at his house, but he really didn't want it to come to that. Ryuichi was out there, somewhere, and he didn't want to run into him in his current condition.

"Sorry, sir, we have to follow our orders. We'll escort you back inside now, so that you're not…tempted." The second guard said, signaling to his partner to grab Yuki.

"Hey! Hands off!" Yuki snapped, swatting the guards away. The council had put up blockades to keep him where they wanted him before, but this was getting out of hand. "Don't touch me!"

Yuki shook the guards off and bolted for the main doors, ready to return to the streets if he had to. Once he got out there, they'd never find him, he was sure of that.

"Sir! Please stop that!" one of the guards shouted, hoping to deter Yuki.

"Not going to work, let's go get him…"

"Damn…we're really not getting paid enough for this job."

Yuki sprinted out of the palace and was about to clear the first staircase when one of his pursuers caught him in a flying tackle.

"Dammit! Get the hell off!" Yuki snarled, kicking out at the guards. "Knock it off! I'm not going back in there!"

"Yes you are!"

"Over my dead body!" Yuki replied, biting the hand that was trying to throttle him into submission.

"OUCH!" the bitten guard squalled, rolling away from Yuki and holding his hurt hand. "Don't tempt me!"

"Sad…" the more mature guard said, shaking his head and pulling out his sword. "Please don't make me use this."

"You wouldn't dare…" Yuki hissed, standing up.

"I would, actually. Just doing my job." the guard replied, sighing. "Go back inside, I don't want to say it again."

"Damn…" Yuki muttered, pushing past the armed guard and stepping over the blubbering one that was still nursing his wounded hand. He could have kept running, but he didn't want an entire patrol out looking for him, and he didn't want to explain to the council why he'd been forced to take both of their lackeys out of commission. One was fine, but two was pushing it.

He stomped back into the palace and entered the throne room with moderate cursing, trying to force a fake smile back into place. He looked around the room and saw the line of commoners waiting to have their time in the spotlight, and all thoughts of faking his way through the remaining audiences vanished. He glared daggers at the council and flopped into his seat next to Shuichi. He was beyond tired at this point, and controlling his face and his temper both was too much for anyone to hope for. Across the room, Sakano sighed with relief and sank into his chair, looking like he was ready to pass out. Yuki had done this several times before, and he was always relieved when someone succeeded in wrangling him back into the throne room.

"Where'd you go?" Shuichi whispered, slightly suspicious of Yuki's barely noticed absence and still bouncing in his seat. The man with the silver belt had vacated the premises, but there were still a lot of potentially shiny people waiting to take center stage.

"Needed some air."

"I think you need more than that, Yuki." Shuichi said seriously, nodding his head and widening his eyes. Now that he was actually staring at his lover, he was looking slightly unhinged. "You don't look so good."

"Leave it." Yuki said out of the side of his mouth, staring at his feet in a vain attempt to put a stop to his death glare.

"Leave what?" Shuichi asked, almost flipping his chair over when a bird flew across the window behind him and cast a shadow. "COOL! I wish I could fly!"

Most of the room turned and looked at Shuichi, slightly startled.

"Shuichi…calm your ass down." Yuki ordered through gritted teeth, debating the intelligence of whacking him in the head in front of everyone. He didn't feel like he could manage Shuichi right now. He sighed and blinked his eyes, trying to keep them open.

The Prince was twitching next to him, vibrating with energy. Yuki was half afraid that he'd start climbing the pillars, attempting to reach the windows and fly away, after the bird; he'd done it before, three days ago. He reached over and put an arm around his lover, holding him down in his seat.

"Huh?" Shuichi asked, surprised. He'd been focused on the bird, and Yuki's touch had jarred him out of his flying fantasies. He'd almost forgotten that he was supposed to be acting responsible.

"You're twitching." Yuki replied quietly, keeping his arm in place and glancing around the room. The low level of chatter had resumed, and Yuki was sure that the proceedings would start up again soon. Most of the council members had returned. He hid another yawn in his sleeve and deep some deep breathing exercises. He was torn between wanting to sleep and wanting to punch something, and neither was acceptable right now.

"You're yawning." Shuichi responded matter-of-factly, trying to shrug off Yuki's arm. He didn't appreciate Yuki treating him like a child now that he'd remembered that he was supposed to the new Sultan, and he was feeling slightly uppity.

"Your fault." Yuki sniped, flicking Shuichi in the ear.

"Your fault." Shuichi mimicked, completely missing the point, too wrapped up in his half-baked power trip.

"You've got to be kidding me…" Yuki moaned to no one in particular, leaning his head back against his throne. He sighed and looked forward, ready for the day to be over. He couldn't keep his eyes open much longer, and what he was managing to see wasn't doing much for motivational purposes. He wanted to disembowel half of the people in the room.

An hour later, he was beyond help. If someone even looked at him cross-eyed, it was over. He'd been imagining the gruesome deaths of everyone in the room, including his fidgeting fiancé, and the images were only getting worse as the day wore on. Every time someone stepped up to address the council and Shuichi, he pictured their head exploding, or them getting dismembered piece by piece. It wasn't doing much for his anger issues, but it was the only thing keeping his eye from twitching out of his skull.

"It'll start with your leg…" Yuki whispered, a devilish smile in place.

"Yuki?" Shuichi asked, poking him in the side. "You alright?"

"Never…better…" Yuki answered, cocking his head to the side and giggling.

"What's so funny?" Shuichi said, copying Yuki's actions and failing to find the source of his lover's amusement.

Before Yuki could drudge up an answer from his fractured mind, the doors to the throne room banged open and Tatsuha waltzed in, whistling to himself. When he realized that the room was chock full of people, he froze mid-step.

"Oops…" Tatsuha said quietly, backing out of the room. Before he could get completely out, Ryuichi slammed into his back and sent him flying back into the throne room.

"SHUICHI!" Ryuichi squealed, bounding away from Tatsuha and throwing himself into Shuichi's lap, toppling the throne over. Yuki snapped out of his murderous stupor and jumped up, not sure what to do with himself in his sleep-deprived state. He cleared his throat and calmly backed up, sliding in behind a pillar when he thought no one was paying any attention.

"Great…" one of the council members muttered, shaking their head. Every time that Ryuichi was around, it was impossible to make Shuichi focus. "This is over now, no point in it."

"Hey! I still have things to say!" a woman yelled from her spot in the dwindling line. Most of the people had left the moment Ryuichi had flounced in. They knew him from the streets, and they were eager to maintain a safe distance.

"Me too! This isn't fair!"

"I'm sorry everyone, we'll reconvene sometime next week…" Sakano said, shrugging and tugging at his clothes. He hated conflict, and some of the townspeople looked like they wanted to strangle him. The council had left, leaving him alone to handle the stragglers. "You'll have to leave now. Guards?"

A few of the remaining complainers shouted some obscenities at Sakano and took steps towards him, but they were herded out of the room before they could do any real damage.

"Shuichi…you can't keep doing this." Sakano said, walking over to the tipped over throne and nudging Ryuichi with his foot. The former thief was still hugging Shuichi, and had him pinned to the floor. "There's a lot expected of you now."

"Sorry, Sakano." Shuichi wheezed, splayed flat on the floor. Yuki saw his chance to escape, and was halfway to the door when Ryuichi spotted him.

"YUKI! YOU NEED A HUG TOO!" Ryuichi screeched, launching off of Shuichi and streaking to Yuki.

"Ryuichi, no…" Yuki said, putting his hands up and walking backwards. "Don't…NO, DAMMIT!"

Ryuichi smashed into Yuki a second later, knocking the wind out of his friend. They crashed to the floor and Ryuichi got his hug. Yuki lay there, stunned, not sure that he could get up even if Ryuichi would let him.

"I missed you!"

"You saw me this morning." Yuki replied tartly, starting to regain feeling in his limbs.

"I know!"

"Ryuichi…" Yuki muttered, sighing and staring at his friend.

"I saw him on my way back in…he followed me home." Tatsuha offered as an explanation, shrugging his shoulders. Ryuichi was a force to be reckoned with, and so far, the only one capable of controlling him was a mythical genie that no one had heard from for eight months. "I have some news, though."

"News?" Sakano asked, abandoning his attempts to right Shuichi, and letting the younger man fall back to the floor.

"Yep!" Ryuichi answered for Tatsuha, getting off of Yuki, who was now flailing to escape. He walked over to where Shuichi was still splayed on the floor and gave him a quick hoist, pulling him to his feet.

"Thanks…" Shuichi said weakly, still recovering from the Ryuichi assault. "I thought you were supposed to stay in the city today…"

"I was!" Ryuichi answered enthusiastically, remembering his exploits of the day. Ever since Shuichi had been expected to sit for the audiences and other matters of state, the council had made sure that he wasn't in the palace to distract their precious little Prince. "First I went over to the theatre area, and then I went and visited the baker…"

"News?" Sakano repeated, gesturing off to the side with a tilt of his head. Ryuichi was in story mode, and there would be no shutting him up until he was done sharing his adventures.

"You found them?" Yuki asked, abandoning Shuichi to Ryuichi and joining the other men off to the side.

"Yes, we did." Tatsuha said, clearing his throat and shaking his head at Ryuichi.

"Where at?" Sakano posed, his tone serious. They'd been searching for the infamous duo for too long, and it was a relief to know that they were closing in.

"They've holed up in a cave a few miles from the city. It's a common thieves hide out, and they've made themselves right at home from what I understand." Tatsuha explained, lowering his voice. He wasn't sure if Tohma and his crazed accomplice had any allies left in the palace, and he wasn't going to take the chance of anyone overhearing his report.

"If you know that much, why don't you have them?" Sakano asked, raising his eyebrows and starting to look panicky. "We need them locked up."

"They're…wily." Tatsuha answered, unsure of his word choice. He hated to describe Tohma as dangerous, but now that he had real powers, it was harder to discredit him. An eruption of giggles from Shuichi and Ryuichi interrupted him momentarily and he cleared his throat before continuing. "I can't approach him directly, he had firepower now. Plus the bird."

"It's a bird." Sakano said, wondering about Tatsuha's abilities, who in turn glared at him. Caspian hadn't really done anything too serious while he'd been in the palace, and he wasn't sure why everyone wanted to tread so carefully around the conure.

"A crazy one. That damn pigeon tried to kill me too many times to count." Yuki snapped, narrowing his eyes. Raucous laughter issued from the twins, and Yuki could feel his eye starting to twitch. "Don't underestimate him, I made that mistake."

"At least he didn't succeed?" Sakano offered, cornered by glares from both Tatsuha and Yuki. He hated being the new guy.

"Barely." Yuki spat, rolling up a sleeve and showing Sakano some of the more vicious scars from Caspian's disastrous conveyor belt attack. "How are you going to get to them then?"

"I'm not sure, that's the problem. Like I said, I can't approach them directly, they know me. And I can't infiltrate the cave, all of the other criminals in there know me on sight. I can't blend in." Tatsuha said, slightly exasperated, and raising his voice to be heard over Shuichi and Ryuichi. He'd been hunting them since the day they'd fled, and he was getting tired of being outsmarted by a man who considered feathers a necessary part of every outfit and a bird with a donut addiction.

"Then send in someone that can blend." Yuki replied, crossing his arms and staring at his fiancé and friend.

"I can't trust anyone." Tatsuha answered, almost shouting over the noise of the other two.

"Ladies! Shut the hell up!" Yuki yelled, finally snapping. "Grow up!"

"Yes, sir!" Shuichi and Ryuichi answered in unison, saluting Yuki.

"Damn…" Yuki muttered, putting a hand over his twitching eye and turning his back on his idiot lover.

"I don't know who to send in. I can't do it, and none of my men are good enough." Tatsuha continued, lowering his voice back down to normal conversational levels.

"What about hiring someone? Just to make sure he's in there. Then we can surround the cave?" Sakano suggested, fiddling with his glasses.

"I want to use someone I know, and Tohma will be able to fight us off, he has powers. We have to catch him off guard, or get him flustered enough that he can't focus long enough to cast." Tatsuha responded, mainly to Yuki. He was about to write Sakano off, and the more suggestions that he turned down, the more the poor man looked like he wanted to go hide in a coat closet.

"Get him flustered?" Yuki asked, putting a hand to his chin thoughtfully. "Send in Ryuichi. And Kuma."

"Are you kidding? He'd freak out!" Tatsuha sputtered, trying not to envision the carnage.

"Exactly. He'll blend right in, he's a thief after all. Tohma will fall for that bait, hell, he'll probably chase him out of the cave and then you can ambush him. At least it'll ruffle him, and then you'll know that he's in there." Yuki said, staring Tatsuha down.

"But…"

"It'll work, trust me. Send in Ryuichi."

"He can't go in there alone, what if he gets distracted?"

"I'll go with him." Yuki said, the words out of his mouth before he knew what he was saying. He hated going on missions with Ryuichi, but at least this would get him out of the palace without a contingent of royal guards following his every move to ensure his safety, and good behavior.

"Are you crazy? You're one of the crown Princes! I can't send you into the middle of the desert those two!" Tatsuha half-shrieked. "The council would kill me!"

"Then we don't tell the council." Yuki returned, refusing to back down now that he'd discovered a way out. "You know you can't stop me, I do what I want."

"Not anymore you don't." Tatsuha sniped, feeling uneasy.

"Sounds good, Kuma and I like field trips!" Ryuichi chirped suddenly, hugging Tatsuha from behind.

"AHH!" Tatsuha screamed, unaware that Ryuichi had left his conversation with Shuichi.

"Heh." Yuki smirked, giving Tatsuha a half-smile. "Looks like it's settled then. Ryuichi, we leave tonight."

"Yay! Road trip with Yuki! Road trip with Yuki!" Ryuichi sang, spinning in circles.

"Fine…" Tatsuha muttered, knowing full well that he couldn't stop Ryuichi once he got excited about something.

"Thank Allah…" Yuki whispered, soaking in his freedom. He turned to face the door, and saw the only possible flaw in his newly hatched scheme. Shuichi was leaning against the doorway, arms crossed and brow furrowed, clearly very in the loop and not happy about it. "Crap."

Well kids, here it is! I promised that I'd write the sequel, Caspian would have killed me if I hadn't. I hope you all enjoyed it. I had quite a bit of fun writing it, and have the start of the next chapter already written. I'll see you in two weeks.

Love,

Amaya