Out of the frying pan

Chapter 10:

As tired as they all were, Marik still dragged Malik and Jim along with him. He made no mention of where they were going, only that he was going to get all the infected fat people in the country to come down to I.H.O.S.

They walked down twelve blocks to the local radio station and went through the front door. Malik was desperately trying to get his yami to answer him but all Marik said to him and Jim was, "Come here!"

He pushed Jim and Malik in a dark corner of the busy lobby, "Okay, this is what we're doing-"

"Finally!" Malik rolled his eyes, "It'd be nice if you actually clued me in once in a while before taking me to some cheap radio station with… tacky wallpaper."

"…I'm ignoring you, Malik." He continued, "Anyway, Jim, I need you to create a distraction here in the lobby. That way, me and Malik can go upstairs."

Jim tilted his head to the side, "C-can I go with you instead? Can't Malik stay and start a distraction?"

"Ah, no way!" Malik stuck his tongue out, "That's the hikari's job! To go with his yami! You stay here and… distract people. You're good at that."

"Aww…"

"No, Malik's right, Jim. I need him with me for this." Malik grinned and Marik pointed to the middle of the room, "Jim, I need you to make a big distraction. One that'll hold people's attention until Malik and I are done. It shouldn't take more than fifteen minutes if we're lucky. Can you do that?"

"Sure can!" Jim nodded and smiled, "I'll be the best distracter you ever did see!"

"Well, that's nice, Jim…" Malik fake-yawned and led his yami towards the elevator, "You'd better get started, Jim. We're going now."

"Uh, right!" Jim ran to the middle of the floor and raised his arms, "C-could I have everybody's attention, please?"

Everyone in the room stopped what they were doing and looked directly at the dirty hobo in the center of the room.

Jim cleared his throat and looked over at Marik and Malik who hadn't left yet, "Lights, please!"

Marik got the message and turned down the lights on the switch he was standing by. When the light was where Jim wanted them, he spoke again, "Ladies and gentlemen, this song goes out to all the hobos in the house…"

All the people shook their heads as if they couldn't believe this was real. Jim continued this time, in song; "I know of a place… in a box far away… a place I called home, from then to this day. It was not very much, but it was all that I had… and now that I'm gone… I miss it so bad! Rain, sleet, snow… I endured nature's wrath… and last week, I swear, I took my first bath!…" he went on and on, and surprisingly… held everyone's attention.

Marik and Malik had already gotten off the elevator and were now on the fifth floor of the building. Marik had told his hikari that they were looking for an empty broadcasting room so they could put a message with their rods on the air.

Finally, they found an empty room. The DJ that had previously been in there, rushed down stairs to here the singing hobo. Apparently, word travels fast in a radio station.

Marik sat down in one of the chairs and Malik sat in the chair across from him, "So, what are we doing?"

"I told you. I'm gonna get this to go on the air so we can do our own little radio commercial with the millennium rods."

"And… uh, why are we making a commercial?"

Marik groaned, "Because, when the infected fat people hear the message and the rod takes control of their mind, they'll do exactly what we tell them to do."

"Oh, I see…" Malik thought for a minute, "Wait, you actually know how to use one of these?"

"Well, duh. I saw it done before." He flicked a switch on the desk and put his finger on another, "Come on, Malik. You're going to be doing this… and take out your rod."

"Wha...? Me?! Marik, why do I have to do this?"

"Cause, I'm the one who's pushing the button!"

"Ugh… fine. Tell me when."

"…" he flipped the 'on-air' switch, "Go."

Malik held up his millennium rod up to the speaker in front of his chair and said, "Fat people of Domino, listen to me! You are to come to the International House Of Sandwiches, first thing in the morning. You are to become apart of Marik's obese army! So, be ready!"

Marik turned the switch off and sat up, "Hey, that was really good Malik. You actually sounded menacing."

"I have my moments."

"Uh, speaking of moments… we better be getting back down there! I promised Jim it wouldn't take long. He must be dying out there… I mean, really, how long can the Hobo Theme song be?"

"Right, let's go."

Marik and Malik left the room and used the elevator to get back to the first floor again. When the door opened, they found the room much like before. With Jim in the center singing his heart out, and a audience of people starring but somewhat listening.

"…Boxes and bridges are where I stand. Visit me often… in hobo land! Hobo land! Somewhere I am free…" he finished and the crowd went wild with laughter and applause. "Thank you, thank you!" Jim bowed.

"This is too weird." Malik whispered to Marik as they casually walked over to Jim.

"Oh, hey guys." He said, "Back so soon? I'm going to take requests next. Anything you guys want to hear?"

"Uh, time for us to go Jim." Marik said.

"Aw, really? But they like me!"

Malik and Marik grabbed his hands and began to drag him out of the building, "Come on, Jim."

Some of the people in the lobby protested, but eventually they got out and went back to I.H.O.S. When they got into the kitchen, Jim asked what exactly they did on the radio.

Marik answered his question by turning on the radio. In less than two minutes, the commercial played and Malik bragged about his beautiful voice to Jim.

"Well," Jim retorted, "I don't see a big crowd marveling at your singing skills! That's because they're all clapping for me!"

"You little cockroach! Are you implying that I cannot sing?!"

"I haven't heard anything from you but yelling."

"That shows how much you know! Thanks to my voice, we're going to have lot's of fat people on our doorstep in the morning!" he turned to his yami, "Isn't that right, Marik?!"

"Uh, well…"

Jim shook his head, "No, Marik thinks my voice is better!"

"That little ditty you croaked out… it was cute. But mine is better!"

"No, mine!"

"No, mine!"

Marik was starting to get a headache, "You guys, cut it out!"

"He started it!" they both shouted.

"Ugh…" he stood in the middle of them both, "You two really ought to be preparing for tomorrow."

"…By doing what?" Jim asked.

"Moving tables out of the way. We have to make sure our chubby army is… comfortable."

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At McDonalds, Curt and his employees were starting to close. But as Curt was getting ready to lock his office, one of his workers ran to him. "Sir!"

"What is it, Taylor? I'm getting ready to leave."

"Sir, you should turn on the radio. That guy from I.H.O.S is on there!"

Without stopping to think, Curt sprinted to the desk and turned the dial to FM. He flipped around for the right channel and listened when he found it.

"Fat people of Domino, listen to me! You are to come to the International House Of Sandwiches, first thing in the morning. You are to become apart of Marik's obese army! So, be ready!"

Curt gasped and turned around, "Taylor! Do you know what this means?!"

"Uh… not really, sir. No."

"Neither do I. But it can't be good."