Joey Wheeler head chief of Smash Mouth was gone forevermore and Rod Guy was feeling just a little glum about it. The mournful mindslave cries from everyone in that enclosed Zombie Vs Mindslave arena could be heard from miles away. Almost everyone in the room, anyways, Bakura pointed a finger at Governor Smash Mouth's body and laughed instead. Around the country people watching from their televisions at home began to make their way to stand outside of the courtroom holding up candles and swaying along to the hit tune All Star. Back in Brooklyn his family held one another close while they sobbed. Marik stroked his rod in silence.
A hero had been lost that night. Everybody looked up to and adored the Leader of Smash Mouth. And now he was gone, lost forever and never coming back. Marik knew what he had to do and stepped outside the arena to the crowd of people crying. He held out his arms very very high and the crying stopped, everyone looking at the welder of the rod expectantly. "Joey Wheeler, head of Smash Mouth is dead," Rod guy announced, a tear sliding down his face. "And there is nothing we can do now but pray for heaven's new angel. Anubis smiles upon us" he said. The news crew was still crying but he focused the camera on Marik's powerful speech so that Joey's family in Brooklyn saw. Joey's dad whispered "Thank you Rod Man" as he held his family together, grieving over the loss.
Marik looked to the sky and he saw a brand new star up there, and he smiled knowing that it was Joey watching from the heavens above. He walked somberly back inside, head bowed low, to remove Red Eyes from the corpse. If he hadn't been half-eaten and looking a little like one of Bakura's unfinished Taco's with his meat spilled out everywhere, Joey would have looked like he was just asleep. "Rest in peace, my dearest mindslave. May King Tut watch over your soul as you pass on into the afterlife." He bent over to pick up the card still in Joey's duel disk and saw blood splattered on it. It looked like the Red Eyes Black Dragon was crying tears of blood.
"You know how it goes." Marik said quietly to his little mindslave Bakura who was not paying attention and eating a Subway sandwhich. "We need to let Rex Raptor know of Joey's demise." He exclaimed suddenly, waving his rod in realization. "That little man will be devastated." Bakura put a hand on his hip. "I don't care." he said and rolled his eyes so much there in that dueling arena. Marik narrowed and his rod felt things. "Now listen here Mindslave. If it had been you who had been the sacrifice I would have lost all hope, in fact I'd probably fucking kill myself when I had heard the news. But it would have only been fair because you are my mindslave rose, my most valuable mindslave."
Bakura widened and his food stuffed mouth opened wide, speechless at his garderners confession. He was completely convinced. Oh, that Rod guy. "Ok fine let's go." he said and started walking away stepping over Joey's slowly decaying corpse. "Yes, let us! Kick it Joe-" Marik said but stopped himself. He looked down solemnly. He had to remember.
Marik knew where to find that Rex Raptor and he vroomed on his motorcycle with Bakura by his side, he ran over many innocent civilians present for the candelight vigil. They wouldn't be missed nearly as much as Joey had. Faster and faster that Roddy Man went until he breaked at Rex Raptor's car condo. He had run at least 3 red lights to get there so quickly but he did not care. Rod was a mindslave on the edge and would not be stopped by something as trivial as the law. The Rod owner got off his bike and put a hand on Bakura's shoulder. "Stay here, mindslave. It's best if Rex hears this from a friend." Bakura agreed to do so because he hated Rex Raptor and didn't really care about all this whiney baby stuff anyways. Marik made his way to the door and knocked and it slowly creaked open. The Dino guy was there in his pajamas looking very sleepy but happily greeted Roddy regardless. When he saw the expression on Mr. Rod's face however his smile was cut short, much like Joey's life. He was so young. Rex Raptor knew that something was wrong. Marik let himself into the car condo that Rex lived in and plopped himself right down there on the couch. "It would be best if you would sit with me, Rex. This must come as a bit of a shock." Marik said with a serious rod man face.
"What's going on Marik?" Dino man asked slowly. Marik sighed and shook his head. "I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but...Joey Wheeler is dead." Rex Raptor's eyes shot open and he was frozen in place, helpless as a feeling of dread began filling his stomach and then spread throughout his body until he was completely numb and devoid of feeling. "What...?" he asked, unable to believe his little ears. Marik made a soft rod noise. "He was torn apart by Zombie Judge Peggy, horrible and bloody, his flesh was everywhere you really should have seen it." Marik said and continued when Rex just sat there. "I...I thought I should give you this. It was...all that we could retrieve from his mangled corpse." he mumbled and pulled out the bloody Red Eyes Black Dragon.
Rex took the card into his little fingers, but he couldn't feel it there, nothing felt real. "This...isn't funny, Marik," Tears began filling Rex's eyes and dripped off his face and onto the card he had given Joey, mixing in with the still fresh blood. He shuddered when he was hit with the realization that was most likely Joey's, and tried picturing the body it came from. He couldn't conjure up an image of anything other than the smiling happy face that Rex loved so dearly. Joey would never smile like that again. "It isn't a joke, Rex. This is real, but you aren't alone. I'm here to support you through your loss during this time of tragedy." Marik reached out a hand to give a comforting touch to Rex but he was slapped away. "Don't...DON'T TOUCH ME!" Rex screamed and Rod looked to the ground bitterly. Rex was taking it the worst of all. "Don't push me away. This isn't hurting just you, okay!? Everyone is affected, just let us into your heart to help you." Rod Bod said but was given nothing but silence from Rex Raptor in return. "I can take you to him..." Marik offered and Rex nodded.
"Come, Rex." Marik said and stood up, leading the boy to his motorcycle. Bakura was waiting, leaning against it. "What took you idiots so long?" he asked uncaringly but Marik ignored him and called for a Taxi. The taxi came and took him and Rex away and left Bakura stranded at his house and he screamed. "That man you saw was my Mindslave, Bakura. It is best that he does not come along with us, he did not know Joey like you and I did." Marik explained to Rex, who remained uncharacteristically silent. Although he saw Marik's lips move, he could not hear anything, he could not feel anything. The only thing he heard was the sound of his heart pounding unevenly against his chest. This could not be happening, he told himself. Everything would be fine. He turned his head from Marik and stared at the back of the Taxi driver's head, eyes glazed over. Soon the Taxi made its arrival at the location of Joey's corpse. "We are here, Rex. Join me." Marik said and stepped out, leading Rex Raptor to the scene of the crime.
The carolers drew back as they saw the man approaching with his mindslave. Rex's heart pounded in his ears as he pulled the door open to reveal a room as empty as he felt on the inside. His eyes wandered over the mess, unsure of what to think of the scene. Everything was in ruin, there was cake splattered on the floor and a squished corpse underneath a boopity beepity machine but when Rex finally saw what he had come to see his heart stopped. "NO! PLEASE, GOD, NO! THIS CAN'T BE HAPPENING!" Rex screamed and his voice echoed off the walls of the room. He rushed over to Joey and collapsed by his body, burying his face in his chest. "WAKE UP! SOMEONE, ANYONE, CALL AN AMBULENCE!" Marik stepped beside him and kneeled down but Rex whipped around and put his armed out protectively shielding the body. "YOU'VE DONE ENOUGH, ROD GUY! DON'T HURT HIM ANYMORE!" Marik narrowed. "It...it wasn't my fault!" But Rex knew better than that. "CUT THE FUCKING BULLSHIT! STOP ACTING LIKE YOU GAVE A SINGLE FUCK ABOUT JOEY! YOU DIDN'T KNOW HIM!" Roddy gasped, he could not believe what he was hearing.
"How dare you accuse me of something like that, Rex! He was my most treasured Mindslave-" Marik began. "HE WAS MY FRIEND!" Rex screamed, unleashing the raw emotion that was tearing him apart slowly from the inside and letting it all show. "YOU DIDN'T EVEN KNOW HIM, YOU COULD NEVER HAVE KNOWN HIM LIKE I DID!" the small man was positively livid, his scream was loud and powerful but he had never felt so weak and helpless. A myriad of painful expressions had washed over his face, and his body quivered in a horrible mixture of rage and heart break.
Marik reached for his rod, considering doing ungodly things to Rex who was simply testing his patience. However he remained still and let him have his moment. "JOEY, OPEN YOUR EYES!" Rex screamed, directing his attention back to the mangled mess of what used to be his friend. "I HAVE YOUR BLACK EYES RED DRAGON RIGHT HERE! IT'S YOURS, YOU DESERVE IT! PLEASE...COME BACK!" His throat was raw from the abuse of his vocal chords but he just couldn't stop. He didn't know what else to do.
"I NEVER EVEN...GOT TO SAY GOODBYE..." Rex cried. In that moment, everything around Rex and Joey faded into the murky shadows and it was just the two of them. A light from above glowed and floated down, illuminating its path where it went. "W-what...what is this?" Rex wiped the tears from his eyes and felt a familiar presence around him. The ball of light stretched out and engulfed the blackness in its light. Rex squinted his eyes shut because it hurt him to look at something so pure, and when he opened them he saw Joey.
"Hi, Rex." Joey said, and hugged Rex tight. For the first time since his passing something felt real, he was really there. "YOU...YOU WERE...MY...ONLY FRIEND..." Rex sobbed but Joey shushed him. "Please, don't cry. Badda bing." Joey said but Rex couldn't stop the water works they were getting everywhere on the floor of Joey's spirit room.
"BUT...YOU'RE GONE...AND HE KILLED YOU," Rex's hoarse cries would not stop no matter how hard he tried to silence them. "Some things are just meant to be, Rex. I'm at peace now. Please, I only have so much time I can spend with you, I don't want to see you cry." The wise Brooklyn man said. He looked deep into Rex's eyes. Obstructed by the uncombed bangs that hung loosely, they hid enough to conceal parts of the bright purple color, but not enough to hide the emotion that swam through them and flashed back at Joey. Briny tears continued to cascade ingloriously down his cheeks, which were now flushed red. "I DON'T WANT YOU TO GO, I WANT YOU TO STAY WITH ME." Rex told him, gazing at him with a look in his eyes that could only be described as love. Joey smiled. "I will always be with you, Rex. No matter where you go, I'll always be with you. You don't have to be alone anymore." he said and lifted a hand to cup Rex's face, wiping his tears away with this thumb.
"And then I saw your face," Joey crooned, curling his hands in Rex's untidy brown locks. "Now I'm a believer." Rex lost himself in the rough callouses of Joey's skin, the captivating sound of his voice, but most of all in his smile. His eyes focused in on it, immortalizing that crooked grin in his memory. Joey leaned in and kissed him for the first and last time, and then he was gone. Love was only true in fairy tales, after all, and for Rex there would be no happy endings.
