Chapter9

Skwisgaar felt absolutely horrible. Not only had he brought Toki out of his abusive home only to have to send him back again, but he also was so irresponsible... again... that Toki had ended up getting attacked by the yard wolves. He tried to act like he didn't care, but he did. Toki deserved better than his parents, but he also deserved better than Skwisgaar. No six year old child should be left alone long enough to wander out into the yard and play with wolves without anyone noticing. Skwisgaar was supposed to be in charge of watching him, but he had been lazy. He assumed Toki would listen to him and stay indoors, but why should he have expected him to? He was a curious child, and curious children don't often do exactly as they're told.

Skwisgaar sighed as he walked down the halls of Mordhaus. He knew he would have to send Toki back soon, but for now he wanted to make Toki's last day here a pleasant one. Since Skwisgaar planned on going back in time and preventing the time machine from ever being made, as soon as he did so, Toki would have never been here, so it wasn't like he would remember having had a pleasant day at Mordhaus. Nevertheless, Skwisgaar felt he deserved to have some fun... even if technically he will have never had said fun...

"Hey, Tokis," Skwisgaar quietly greeted Toki as he walked into the rhythm guitarist's bedroom. It was about ten o'clock in the morning, a time Skwisgaar would usually never be awake without being forced to be, but Tokiwas wide awake, sitting on his bed and looking up at Skwisgaar as he entered the room.

"Hellos," Toki smiled back, not seeming to blame Skwisgaarfor allowing him to be clawed and bitten by the wolf outside.

"Ams you feels okays with all dat wolfs scratchings and bitings?" Skwisgaar asked, looking at the bandage wrapped around Toki's thin arm and the band aides stuck on his other arm and face.

Toki nodded, "is okays," he told him, "I has worse things befores," he paused for a moment as though he wished he hadn't said his last comment, "whats you doings today?" he asked, "you goings to makes me learn the guitars?"

Skwisgaar shook his head, "no. If you don'ts wants to learns it, I won'ts makes you."

Toki smiled, "reallies? Whats we do todays insteads then? I'm not allows to go outsides anymores. I didn'ts knows the wol-eves weres mean..."

"We can do anythings you wants," Skwisgaar offered, wanting Toki to enjoy his last day at Mordhaus. He wondered if he should explain to Toki that he was going to send him back or if he should just let him spend his last day here carefree. Since he was going to go back in time and prevent the machine from ever being built, Toki would never know the difference whether Skwisgaar told him what was going on or not, because technically, the past few days would have never happened.

"Is there am a place wheres we can plays outsides?" Toki asked, "wheres am no yard wol-eves?"

"Ja," Skwisgaar said. He narrowed his eyes, "dat's alls you wants to do? Is plays outsides? Outs of everythings in the worlds? I haves lots of monies... you can do anythings in de worlds."

"I wants to plays outsides," Toki told him, "I never gets to plays outsides. Dere ams only snows at Norways, and I always has to do workings. I don'ts ever gets to plays outsides. Dats what I wants to do."

Skwisgaar frowned. He really didn't want to send Toki back to Norway. Every moment that he was with the younger version of his band mate reminded him of that. He was not beyond repair at the moment. He could still live a happy life and grow into a happy adult. If Skwisgaar sent him back, he would get present-day Toki back, and he liked present-day Toki. They were good friends, even if he didn't like to admit it, but what he didn't like about present-day Toki was that he had lived a horrible life, and that was irreversible. In order to have the Toki he knew back, he would have to ensure that Toki lived his childhood how he had originally. Or he could save Toki from his own parents, but in doing so would lose a good friend. Child-Toki would grow to be a different person than the rhythm guitarist of Dethklok. He knew what Ofdensen thought he should do, but he wondered what Toki would want. He wished he could ask him in his adult form.

"I can takes you to a playgrounds," Skwisgaar suggested, "I tells some Klokateers to stands guards arounds it and not lets anyone else in."

"Why can'ts anyones else plays with us?" Toki asked.

"Because I ams famous, Tokis, and yous are toos. If someone sees yous with me, dey mights figures outs whos you reallies ares. It am just too dangerous to has everyones in de worlds ables to be so close to us," Skwisgaar tried to explain.

Judging by Toki's confused expression, Skwisgaar guessed that Toki still didn't completely understand what he had been trying to say. Nevertheless, he didn't ask any more questions.

"Okays den... I wills am goes to tells klokateers where dey needs to drives us to and all those things whats am necessaries. I guess you cans plays with legos or somethings until I comes backs. It won'ts be veries a longs time," Skwisgaar told Toki. Toki nodded as Skwisgaar exited the room.

Toki sat silently on his bed after Skwisgaar left. He didn't really feel like building anything out of legos at the moment. He supposed he could just sit and wait for Skwisgaar to come back. The guitarist said he wouldn't be away for very long, so surely waiting for him to return wouldn't be so bad. Toki began to hum a song while swinging his feet up and down.

Before long, out of the corner of his eye, he saw someone approach his door. He looked up, hoping it was Skwisgaarand that it was time to go outside. Unfortunately, it was a rather different and less preferable member of the band, Murderface.

"Hey there, little guy," Murderface greeted, his tone not sounding very genuine at all, "Whatcha up to?"

Toki tilted his head in confusion, unsure why Murderface was even talking to him. The bassist didn't really seem to like him very much, "I ams just waits for Skwisgaars," Toki answered, "we ams goings to go plays outsides. He says he has to finds kloks-a-teers for to makes sures no ones plays at the playsgrounds with us or somethings. I don't see whys we can'ts lets other kids plays too though..."

Murderface nodded, "well, he probably doeschn't want people getting suspischiousch. If the media schaw Schkwisgaar with schome little kid who looksch scho much like Toki, (because you are Toki) what would they think? All schorts of rumours would get schtarted, schtuff like that Toki hasch a kid or something. It'd be a complete disaschter. Plus, people are crazy. Regular jackoffs are alwaysch fucking everything up."

"Why don'ts he just tells dem abouts de times machines? Dey woulds understands, rights?" Toki asked, "I can'ts stay hides froms de medias forevers..."

"Well, you won't have to schtay hidden forever," Murderface informed him, "Schkwisgaar isch schending you back schoon. I think after today. That'sch what he told Ofdenschen anyway."

Toki frowned, "Reallies?"

"Yeah," Murderface assured him, "he schaid schomething about you being too much work or schomething. He isch too lazy to watch you, and you are alwaysch running around everywhere doing thingsch you schouldn't be, scho he'sch gonna schend you back."

Toki looked very worried, "but I wills be more carefuls! I didn'ts know I wasn'ts alloweds outsides... I don'ts wants to goes back!"

"That doeschn't really matter," Murderface said, "you being here is schrewing everything elsche up too. The real Toki doesn't exischt anymore. Dethklok is gonna be all fucked up if the real Toki isn't a member."

"But I ams the reals Toki!" Toki pleaded, "I learns to plays de guitars! I wills do whatevers you guys wants, and won'ts ever do anythings bads evers agains! I don'ts wants to goes back! Don'tsmakes me! I wants to stay livings here withouts works to do and with legs-ohs!" Toki began to sob, "and... banana pops-stickles..." he managed to add to his list of reasons why he deisred to stay.

"Schhhhh! Be quiet! I don't think I wasch schupposed to tell you any of thisch... Don't tell Schkwisgaar that I told you, okay?" Murderface requested, "he'll be really mad at you if he knows you know. He might even schend you back even earlier... Scho promische you won't tell him I told you."

Toki nodded, his eyes big and his lips bent into a frown, "Okays. I promises."

"Well, I gotta go... scho, schorry about you having to go back and all that... There'sch really nothing we can do though. Tough luck," Murderface stood up and walked out into the hallway, calling back before he left, "Schee ya later... or maybe I won't..."

Toki stared at the wall. He was deep in thought. He didn't really understand why Skwisgaar would send him back. So what if he wasn't a member of the band? They seemed fine without him... Why did they need two guitarists anyway? He shook his head. This was all his fault for playing with the yard wolves. Maybe his parents were right. Maybe he should have just stuck to chores and not done anything risky at all. Now when he was sent back, not only would he no longer get to live at Mordhaus, but his parents were going to be really angry with him for leaving in the first place.

"Hey Tokis," he heard Skwisgaar's voice, "you ams readies to goes?"

Toki forced himself to smile, "ja," he answered, standing up from the bed and following Skwisgaar through the halls of Mordhaus and into a huge garage. They got into a very fancy looking automobile and sat patiently as they were driven to their destination, a very fun looking playground. Toki's smile wasn't forced anymore. Though he knew he would be very unhappy later, seeing such a magnificent play area was enough to make him temporarily forget the horrors that awaited him. Right now the playground was the only thing on his mind.

xxxxxx

Sorry for taking so incredibly long to update. Good news though, the next chapter, chapter 10 is already almost ready to publish, and I'm planning on only having this story go for 2 more chapters after this... I've planned out chapter 11 in my head, so it shouldn't take forever to write... Assuming my computer will work, I should have this finished relatively soon... I hope someone is still reading it...