Chapter 4: Hatred and Misery. .
The door of the Muto's chateau opened from the outside and the instant that it did, Ryou, Yugi and Malik all zipped in, still buzzing around room with their coloured trails streaming behind them. As they continued to laugh, giggle, chuckle and otherwise enjoy themselves, Solomon walked in as he shut the door after himself. .
"Okay, guys. . " Began Solomon, he was looking very tired as the energy-pumped boys zipped around his head, his eyes were slanted a little and he spoke in a grave but not unloving voice, "Boys, it's almost time for your bedtime. . Okay? Boys?" He raised his right hand, calmly trying to control his adrenaline-filled sons. .
"Come on, Professor, you're it!" Ryou laughed as Solomon smiling a bit a they looked at his direction, changing altitude and longitude continuously, "Gotta catch us!"
Solomon smiled for about 2 seconds before he deflated a bit, lowering his head, "Yes, I suppose I do, don't I?" He muttered quietly. .While the boys kept zipping everywhere, covering every square centimetre of the main room without damaging anything, he walked up the side stairs and along the first floor indoor balcony. . .
"Eep!" Yugi yelped out playfully as Solomon, out of nowhere, caught the wayward boy out of his flight path, Solomon smirked as he held his son. .
"Gotcha you little rascal!" He said smirking, he leaned toward the ceiling-height fireplace, keeping an eye on the other two and just as Malik zoom past, he snatched him too as Malik laughed.
"Help! I got caught!" Malik said cheerily as Solomon brought him to his chest while Ryou floated in front of them, "Ryou, watch out!" Malik laughed as Ryou giggled. .
"You're the sole survivor!" Yugi slowly and dramatically said while he was smiling as the others followed his gaze, Ryou zoomed back down to the ground floor. .
"No way, Professor!" Ryou laughed as he bounced from the couch's left armrest to the right armrest, looking back up at Solomon at the couch's end, "You can't catch me!"
"Oh yes, I can." Began Solomon with mild seriousness and his eyes narrowed again, "Because the game's over and it's your bedtime. " He added sternly as Ryou glanced down a little, disappointment was in his eyes, "Now come up here so we can catch you." He added in a final tone as Ryou looked up dejectedly, Ryou slowly floated up Solomon's level, air whooshing out quietly as he did so. .
Now level with his two brothers, they stared at him intently, Solomon smiling knowingly, before they leant forward, laughing as they pulled Ryou into Solomon's arms. He had his mouth open happily as he watched them titter with cheerful innocence, not yet aware of what they had truly done out in the town today.
Solomon began to carry his sons to their room as they changed form, "Well now, three little boys had a very busy day today, didn't they?" He asked.
"Yeah it was really fun! We met lots of kids!" Yugi said happily.
"And we leaned things." Ryou said cheerful with his eyes closed happily.
"And we played tag!" Malik added with a smile on his face.
"Mm-mm, Well I'm glad you had so much fun because tomorrow will be a busy day. . So let's get your PJ's on and into bed. . There's something we should talk about. . " Solomon said sadly as he opened their bedroom door and went in before he closed the door behind him. .
Ryou, Malik and Yugi were in their PJ's on and were tucked in their bunk beds, Solomon pulled a chair a she sat on it and looked at his boys with a smile on his face.
"Okay, everybody in?" He asked as Ryou, Malik, and Yugi were all tucked in their beds as they smiled at their father.
"Yep! What's up Daddy-o?" Malik asked with a smile on his face.
"Well, it's super powers. . I'm not sure how to say this but. . I don't think you should use them in public anymore. ." Solomon said as it confused the boys as they looked at their father.
"Why?" questioned all three boys together. They were far too young (technically only two days old, but in all other senses they were ten) to yet understand by themselves why that was a good idea.
"Well," continued Solomon smiling a little so as to not offend them with his next statement, "your powers are very special and unique." They smiled up at that statement, obviously happy. Although not so to the boys he was clearly struggling with finding a way to express what he wished to express in such a way that they would understand. "And although we have a lot of fun doing unique things around the house," Then he gestured behind him, in the direction of the city,"out in Townsville, people don't understand just how special you girls are yet." He pointed at the boys, making them smile even more, although his next statement wiped the smiles from their faces. "And unfortunately people often get scared or angry when they don't understand something special or unique." He rested his hand on his knee, his other one propped behind them as a sign of affection.
"That's silly." Ryou said as Solomon chuckled and nodded toward Ryou.
"Well, I think so too. . But nonetheless, take it easy with the powers tomorrow. Just give Domino City a little time to understand your specialness, okay?" Solomon said as Ryou and Yugi smiled while Malik smirked.
"Okay!' Ryou and Yugi said happily as they snuggled close to their pillows.
"Yeah, yeah." Malik said as he yawned as he to snuggled close to his pillow.
"But people here are nice. Things will be fine." Ryou said happily before all three of them yawned as they fell asleep as Solomon smiled before he quietly left his sons room but he had a bad feeling in his gut. .
Unfortunately Ryou was wrong. .
FREAKY WEIRDO BOYS BROKE EVERYTHING
These were the words that headed the front-line of that evening's edition of the Domino City Tribune (Wednesday, July 3rd, 2012). Accompanying the body of text following that title was a black-and-white picture of the three boys at the height of the Tag game earlier today. The stack of papers that had just been dropped outside a newsagent showed this title with such ferocity that it was a wonder there was no one in the area noticing it at all.
Mere seconds had passed, however, before a pair of green-skinned hands protruding from two brown overcoat sleeves reached out of the night and plucked up one of the papers. The hands raised themselves up below a pair of pink eyes radiating from the blackness of a box propped up beside the newsagent.
"Hmm. . " said a voice curiously from the depths of the box. This was shortly followed by a long, evil-sounding laugh that successfully penetrated the surrounding block, although it didn't reach the driver of the Domino City Tribune van as it drove away. The laugh from whoever was reading the paper continued to echo across the street, making the pair of eyes that belonged to the voice's owner seem even more sinister in the semi-darkness. And whoever was laughing had, strangely, found great joy in the front headline of that paper. They had found happiness at the news of three little boys involuntarily laying half the city to waste.
Why, however, remained a mystery.
Ryou, Yugi and Malik got off Solomon's car with smiles on their faces as they were nearing the school building but stopped to hear Solomon, "So I'll be waiting here to pick you up when school gets out, okay."
"Okay, but don't worry Professor, things are gonna be fine." Ryou said with a smile as they waved Solomon bye before they walked up to the school's and walked in before stopped with shock at seeing the classroom. . .
But it opened onto a wreak. The destruction was dominated by the hole caused by Yugi being pushed yesterday into the classroom, along with the hole he had created upon bursting through the ceiling afterwards. The trail in the room was filled with water coming from the burst water fountain nearby. All around the hole were various construction workers, making lots of noise with their drills, hammers and saws. All eyes were fixed upon the boys entrance, however. Miss Gardner seemed surprised, but all of the other 20 kids had cold, unsuppressed anger in their eyes.
"OH BOYS! WE DIDN'T KNOW IF YOU'D BE JOINING US TODAY! TAKE YOUR SEATS!" Miss Gardner said, over the noise of the workers, holding papers in her hands,loudly to them as the door slammed closed Ryou, Yugi and Malik who flinched. .
Ryou, Yugi and Malik all frowned sadly as they went to take their seats in the middle as the other kids glared at them before they pushed their desk away from the boys as they looked up sadly as Miss Gardner began the class.. .
"I'M SORRY TO SAY THAT THERE WON'T BE ANY RECESS FOR A WHILE, DUE TO ALL THE RECONSTRUCTION!" Miss Gardner yelled through the loud construction as the kids looked up toward the destruction of their classroom. .
"SECOND I'M ARRAID WE WON'T HAVE ANY LIGHTS OR WATER FOR A WHILE! AND A BROKEN REFRIGERATOR MEANS THAT SURPISE REWARDS IS OUT!" Miss Gardner yelled again as the kids covered their ears through the loud noise as they looked up toward the broken lights before they look toward the broken water fountain as the plumber was trying to stop the water from flowing. . The kids then look toward their busted refrigerator where Miss Gardener held pop or snacks for when they made good grades..
"SO LET'S TRY TO IGNORE ALL THE WORKMEN AND NOSIE AND SUCH AND GET RIGHT TO WORK, SHALL WE?!" Miss Gardner yelled at all the noise before turn to look at Ryou, Yugi and Malik.
"BOYS, CAN YOU RECITE THE ALPHABET FOR US?" She yelled as the boy were sitting quiet dejected in the midst of all this. Yugi was looking down, he was quiet depressed at the table while Ryou was trying to look somewhere away from the chaos but he wasn't happy. Malik was smiling weakly to hid his sadness and culpability as they looked around to see the other kids were glaring daggers at the boys. .
"BOYS? ABC'S?" Miss Gardner said/yelled as the boys sighed sadly as they lowered their heads in sadness. .
Just as the noise briefly subsided slightly, the boys started reciting the alphabet, wearing sad expressions and closed eyes. Every letter was a great effort. "A. . B. . C. . D. . Eee!" The boys yelled in pain as a plank hits them in the head, as they accentuate the vowel. They rubbed their heads as they looked up to see several construction workers were fixing the hole in the roof. .
"HEY! Gol-dang it! You done darn broke my board! Flang dangling consarnders!" An angry worker snapped at them as the boys lowered their head in despair.
"F. . " They continue to recite the alphabet with a sad tone in their voice. .
Solomon was at home, he was cleaning the boys room, with a smile as he grabbed the two days clothing of the boys, he was about to start the washer when his watch beeped.
"Ooh! Almost time to pick up the boys. . Better hurry." He said to himself with a smile on his face, as he walked out his house and locked his door, he is confronted by a large mob of people lead by Mayor Hawkins and the local authorities. .
"That's him boys! He's in cahoots with the evil pickle killers! cucumbers crushers, vinegar varlets, dill-destroyers! Why it's just not even kosher!' Hawkins said angrily to Solomon as she pointed to him while Miss Valentine sighed before she gently pushed Hawkins back.
"Let it go, Mayor, Let it go." She said before she walked a few inches away from Solomon with a unreadable face on.
She then holds a wanted poster with drawings of Solomon with Ryou, Yugi and Malik as below the picture was the reason they were wanted for. . Solomon's eyes widen when he saw they were wanted for mass destruction. .
"Are these your boys?" She asked as she pointed to the picture while Solomon silently gulped.
"Why yes, but they were just playing! They are really very good little boys! And I really need to pick them up from school!" Solomon hinted as he tried to move before stopped when two large burly cops made him halt.
Miss Valentine merely smiled, "I understand sir , but we really would like you to come downtown with us so we can ask you a few question." She said with no room to argue as the two cops began to manhandle Solomon and walked through the mad mob and into the back of a squad cop car.
"You guy. . My kids! I really ought to pick them up! I can't just leave them . . alone!" Solomon pleaded as the cops got in the car and began to drive away from the Muto's household. . .
It was the end of the school day as Ryou, Yugi and Malik watched as all the kids either got on the bus or were being picked up by their lovely parents. They stood in the front lawn of Domino Elementary School, they waited patiently, not even lifting an arm, for Solomon to pick them up like he promised. It wasn't long till they were indeed alone. Not a single person was present as the school's flag blew against the wind behind them, light shadows cast against the pole, the boys and the school's sign. . Other then a bicycle bell several blocks away, nothing else was heard in the area. . Not a sound. .
By the mid-afternoon, the shadows had increased their length, the sky had become a duller grey as the boys were still in their same poses on the front lawn of their school. . When the evening came, the shadows had doubled in length as the sky was a dark, murky grey was behind them. . Still the boys didn't move a muscle.
Finally Night reared it's creepy and mysterious head, the shadows barely was distinguishable from the navy darkness of the sky. .The three boys were still exactly the same, expect their that their expressions were now sad looking. Ryou was in the middle of his brothers with his arms in front of him, Yugi was on the left side of Ryou with his hands on his sides while Malik arms were folded in front of his chest. .
Every second of silence was louder then any train horn as they continue to keep an eye on the deserted road in front of them, they were hoping that Solomon would arrived any minute now. . Malik sighed as he lowered his head and closed his eyes while his brows were crunched up in an angry fashion.
"He's not coming." He said finally, ending the silence around them, Ryou and Yugi looked at him as both blinked, they knew that he been waiting and wanting to say that since school ended at noon.
"He hates us! He totally hates us!" He added with an angrily tone in his voice, Yugi lips wiggled before he let out a few tears and started to cry in sadness, starting Ryou as he tried to disagree with Malik and try to console Yugi.
"No, he probably just got held up or the car broke down or maybe he just forgot or. . " He stopped talking when he saw Malik was glaring at him before he rolled his eyes at Ryou who finally admitted defeat, "Maybe he hates us. ." He said sadly as Yugi, who stopped crying, and him looked down in sadness both realizing that Solomon wasn't coming. . They have only been alive for 3 days, they truly had no idea how the world could so cruel be, that you couldn't always count on someone to solve your problems or be there for you . .That it was really was a cold dog eat dog world out there. .
Ryou sighed, "Come on, let's try and find our way home. ." He said as Yugi and Malik changed forms as they both floated up into the air, Ryou, however did not do the same, as he watched them before he hanged his head down. .
"We're not supposed to use our powers. ." He reminded them quietly and slowly, yet meaningfully, Yugi and Malik both floated back down to the level of the ground while they changed form, their own head hung in the similar fashion as their brother. . They all sighed sadly, 'This is the worst day ever. .' All three of them thought sadly. .
"Come on guys." Ryou said sadly as he held out his two hands to Yugi and Malik as they took one each. .The three of them walked down the street, the path as slow as a tortoise, their heads still hung. The houses they passed remained silent, as did the dark navy landscape that was the city. They had no idea where they were going at all, yet they kept walking, hoping that they could still could on their home to provide comfort, not knowing it was deserted. However, that was the least of their problems. Although they'd had a hint with their classmates, that had yet to discover exactly what the city thought of them.
The darkness of the night overwhelmed the area as they left Domino Elementary behind, in hopes of finding their way home. .
Ryou, Yugi and Malik were near a Electronics store, they stopped to watch the Televisions' that were there as they were each talking about the latest destruction and crimes to the city. . . What they heard caused them to be shocked. .
"Because. . " An Anchorman was presenting the front headlines for CTN News, the time currently 8:01pm. He had his hands folded in front of him, a stern look on his face. 'Three super-powered little boys. ."
The broadcast abruptly changed. .
"Should the manufacturing of super-powered children be illegal?" the question had being proposed by the I.P. Host on a talk show called Incorrect Politics. Surrounding him in several chairs were people from a variety of walks of life.
The broadcast changed again. .
"A great travesty has befallen our beloved city. ." said the Mayor shortly, at her own office's desk with a stern look of her own plastered on her cheeks.
The broadcast changed yet again. .
"I was reaching down between my legs to ease the seat back," said the tall, thin guy from before, gesturing with his words beside his shorter, fatter friend. A local Anchor of 5KTTVL was interviewing them on the street, right next to where their black van had crashed into a store. More people had picket signs against the boys in the background. "When this atomic punk buzzed in, with no fair warning!"
"The devastation," continued CTN News's Anchorman gravely, "Devastating."
"Well of course it should be illegal," said an old lady with a gray beehive hairdo back on the talk show.
"Used to be a time," said Mayor Hawkins outraged, finger and arm outstretched for effect, "when you could buy an honest pickle!"
"And then they were causing an eruption and lighting up the skies," said the blond-haired young adult, speaking into the Local Anchor's microphone.
"Estimated dollars in damages," said the Anchorman, pressing on, "a whopping twenty-five million."
"I'm offended just looking at them!" commented an 80's punk rocker on the talk show, wearing a black jacket and sporting a green spiked Mohawk.
The Mayor was holding up two pictures of chalk outlines of pickles and the pickle cart, as though they were victims of murder. "The kind," she said, "that you can only find, at a pickle kart!"
"Now," said the blond guy, pointing to his friend that was sobbing into his hands, "Jamie's crying."
"Well," said the Local Anchor, speaking back into his microphone on the Domino's City streets, "it seems that. ."
The Anchorman continued on, his words conveniently fitting into the previous person's sentence. "The hatred is running rampant for. . "
"Those mutant. ." said a festively-dressed Jamaican woman resembling well known psychic Ms. Cleo, on the talk show.
"Pickle-cob killing. ."' ranted the Mayor, right up against the camera lens now.
"Freaks," finished the Local Anchor. The two music-obsessed guys were hugging each other beside him, the crowd ranting behind them. "Back to you, Linda."
"They are little freaks, aren't they?" said a vapid blonde female reporter to a square-jawed white-haired reporter sitting beside her. "With more on this subject as. . " Linda's voice carried on as all of these scenes were visible on numerous televisions or sale display in the front of the electronics store. . .
Ryou, Yugi and Malik watched as the rabble coming from all of them was heard at the same time. . The faces of the boys were full of utter remorse, sadness and guilt. . They all had open mouths gasping silently, with their arms hanging beside them as they stared at the newscasts and interviews. They didn't say a word as they took it all in, only now realizing just what the town thought about them. From Yugi to Ryou, to Malik, all they could take in was that all these people hated them to no end, when they just meant to have fun. They didn't think Ryou, Yugi and Malik were good little boys. They called them freaks instead.
The slowly lowered their heads with their eyes closed before they walked away slowly, the chatter from the television still playing behind them. Their shadows followed them as they left the area around the hardware store. They just didn't know what to do.
All of a sudden, all the televisions cut to a Newsflash logo, a beeping theme tune playing behind it. "We interrupt this program for an important newsflash," said a female voice over. The Newsflash logos faded to a picture of Solomon against a police photo background, with a convict number displayed in front of him. His hair was ruffled and untidy, and he seemed worried. "Arrested today in connection with the "Tag" incident was the mad scientist responsible for creating the destructive boys, Professor Solomon Muto."The picture then cut to Solomon at the back of a grimy and dirty jail cell as the bars slammed shut. He jogged up to them, mere inches from the camera. "Upon incarceration, the "Professor" had this statement to make."
"Please, just let me go," Solomon begged. His eyes were extremely baggy and his voice sounded very weak too. 'My boy, they need me. They don't know I'm in jail.!" he plead as it the scene went black. .
Ryou, Yugi and Malik were walking past a building that had foot marking on the side of it as if someone had run across it as Ryou looked down sadly as he remembered that this was his doing. . The boys felt even more dejectedly than before. .
The Scene went black, "What if they tried to go home themselves?"
Still not using their powers one bit, the boys walked up and down the twisted up tarmac created by Yugi's impact from yesterday. Malik was ahead of Ryou and Yugi a few feet, but they were all walking without any real will.
"They can't find their way if they don't fly."
The boys walked alongside the zigzagging streak ahead of a large pothole, their reflections easily reflected in the damaged glass buildings on either side. The boys had just passed the huge glass ball, which still rested in the street's middle, it's path leading from behind it. The boys kept on walking, looking as dejected as they had yet.
The scene went black, "Please they're only little boys! Who are probably cold. ."
Malik shivered from the wind that blew the cold icy chill, his hoodie didn't protect his arms. .
". scared. ."
Yugi gasped when he heard a sound like something was following them as he quickly ran and held Ryou's hand in fear. .
". .Maybe even. . Lost!"
And indeed they were lost. In a situation where they didn't know what to do, only being half a week old, they were lost just as much in their minds as they were in the dark parts of the town. The City hated them to no reason now, and for a good reason, at least from their point of view. Not for Solomon, though, or the boys.
But perhaps not... for a certain primate.
Malik finally walked into the parking lot of a shopping mall, his head down. They had been wandering here and there, to and fro, not even getting one bit closer to home. And the sky looked greyer then ever.
They finally stopped near a stop light as Malik sighed angrily, "Well it's official! I have no idea where we are!" He said angrily as he crossed his arms in front of his chest as he glared ahead of him. Ryou sighed sadly as he walked up beside his brother. .
"Well, I can't say it's been the best day. ." He said sadly as Yugi walked up to his brothers with his eyes closed and a sadden look on his face.
"But, it probably couldn't get much worse. ." He said sadly suddenly a flash of lightning occurred suddenly, signaling a thunderstorm. Just as the thunder resonated, rain came pouring down hard. Malik moaned loudly in frustration, while Yugi sobbed without tears. Ryou glanced between the two quickly, searching for a solution.
"Hey, it's okay! Uhh, maybe there's a box we can get in around back, come on!" He said trying to make his brothers happy as he walked behind what looks like a convenience store which was the groceries Super-mart, they walked to an ally and saw a lot of boxes. .
"See!" Ryou said happily as he pointed toward the end of the alley, "There's a whole bunch boxes." He added as his brother followed him. .
Just when things were looking up as Ryou ran toward the boxes, a small teen suddenly springs up and scared Ryou on his back as he screamed. Another teen jumped for the dumpster as it scared Ryou and Malik who screamed as a big fat boy jumped from the boxes scaring poor Ryou again.
Ryou quickly got up and ran toward his brothers as they circled around Yugi and screamed in terror before they got quiet when they saw a semi's door slowly opened as it revealed Ushio as he springs forward, looking much more imposing and threatening. .
He smirked at the pipsqueaks, "Aww, what's the matter? Did somebody get washed?" He said before he and gang began to crackle maliciously.
The boys looked terrified as they look to their right but before they made their escape, a teen jumped in front of them with a scary look on his face as Ryou, Yugi and Malik screamed in terror while they held each other as he advanced them. .
CLANK!
When a BANG sound resonated as teen stopped dead, before he keeled over onto the ground, out cold. How this had happened was answered instantly. A trashcan lid flew through the air, knocking off a brick wall before hurtling down towards Dartz, A flash of white light and he was down too, just as the lid rebounded off of a wires container, up towards Big Ricky's head. He didn't have time to dodge before it clubbed him unconscious too. The can lid hit the brick wall again before spiraling down towards Ushio His shocked look didn't vanish until he too was on the ground. Finally, it ricocheted off the lorry Ushio had leapt out of straight towards Tom. The lid sailed over his head and bounced off the wall through him, clubbing him down with another white flash.
Now it was heading towards the boys They shrunk back, but it thankfully bounced off the ground near them. They looked up thankfully as it soared overhead. The lid's acceleration was promptly stopped when a green hand reached out of a trench coat and grabbed it.
A figure on top of a nearby, low-raised roof lowered the lid back down. Rain lashed down as the boys took him in. Apart from the trench coat, he had a paper bag over his head and a torn scarf billowing around his neck. Goblin-like ears protruded from either side of his shadowed face. And then, lightning struck, briefly illuminating his curved eyes and what parts of his face weren't hidden by the bag of scarf. It was a very deep, multilayered face, in more ways than one, as would soon be revealed.
The boys stood there stunned, surrounded by the unconscious Ushio Gang members. After a few tense moments of after-anticipation, they opened their mouths. "Wow, thanks-"
The figure leapt off of the low roof, away from the boys. "Hey, wait!" cried Ryou as he ran away from them, around a nearby corner. "Come back!" His shadow had only just vanished when the boys ran after him, their feet splashing in the rain all around them. The mysterious figure swept down the alley, mild panic on his partly concealed face, until he vanished from view into the shadows of a sideways box, surrounded by many others.
The boys slowly trudged their way down the wet path leading to the figure's box, looking around for him. Their hair dripped by their side, the rain pit-patting everywhere. Ryou looked up, down, left and right, while Malik and Yugi looked everywhere too. Ryou finally slowed down and looked into the shadows of the box, swinging his arms as he approached closer, squinting into the darkness of the box.
"Hey guys, over here!" He called to Malik and Yugi. All three of them jogged a little closer to the box. "Hi, what's your name? I'm Ryou He patted his chest lightly.
"Malik." added Malik, nodding his head in conformation, folding his arms in his own distinctive way.
"And I'm. . ." said Yugi with mild tension, throwing his arms wide. "Yugi!"
"Go away, please," moaned the figure from the depths of the large box. He was crouched back so far that nothing of him could be seen. The boys looked confused, holding their heads very still. "Do not look at me."
"But we just wanted to thank you for saving us from those gang members back there" said Ryou in a would-be happy tone, trying to smile. Whoever the figure in the box was, they saw no reason to be afraid of him.
'Yeah," added in Malik, "that was amazing with the trash can lid." He gestured around, mimicking its actions in taking out the Ushio Gang, "It was all swish, bang, crash, bam, boom!"
"Yeah, you rock!" supplied Yugi gesturing his arms as Malik folded his own upper limbs.
"No, please," said the figure from the box's back. The rain continued to fall, the boys leaning in to his every word. "I dare not listen." As he spoke his deep, Japanese-sounding voice (never minding that the boys had no idea what a Japanese accent sounded like), a pair of wide, pink eyes suddenly opened, fully visible to the boys. His black pupils showed heavy trauma from within, whatever it was. "For I have been lashed by harsh tongues for too long!" His pupils widened, then closed, finally opening again, now looking down at where his feet might be. "Alas, my little ones, I do not rock." His pupils retreated to the centre of his eyes, as they curved, showing anger, at himself no less. "For I, Rex am..." He hesitated briefly, mentally searching for the right word.
"A monster." Lightning flashed and thunder boomed, illuminating his face. With his scarf lower now, the boys were able to briefly see a mouth surrounded by black body hair, and the deepest of angry sorrows before darkness shielded him from the girls' field of vision once again.
"You're not a monster," said Ryou dismissing the notion without hesitation. "Monsters are evil." Whatever the reason, they felt angrier at almost anybody else right then, even Solomon as he had failed to collect them. While this one, who named himself Rex, he was different to them.
"Yeah," agreed Malik, "and anybody who'd save us like you did is so not evil." He folded his arms yet again, having looked to the sky as she had spoken.
"You're no monster, mister," said Yugi calmly, his own hands behind his back. "You're just really dirty."
"Please," moaned Rex's voice from the box. Rain dripped off of the flap that stuck out, falling down in front of the girls as they listened patiently. His voice, previously full of moderate angst, was now in full angst-mode, although it was personal, true angst then drew the boys in completely. "You're just trying to make me feel better. But my pain is not for you to understand."
The boys stared back, tiny puddles of water congregating at their feet. "Besides, how could you?" continued Rex without hesitation, no visible part of his body required to convey the necessary emotion; his voice was doing the job just fine. "For you are pure, and innocent, and most certainly loved." The boys exchanged side glances, silently thinking about what Rex had just said. They looked back as he continued. "How could you what it is to be cast out into a world that only offers misery?" A short silence resonated, the boys blinking a few times in somewhat slow succession, though not nearly as slow as the current crawling speed of Rex's voice.
Deep down, they knew exactly what it was like to be tormented by others, left all alone in the cold, dark world. They could relate completely. "How could you know what it's like for people to fear and despise you for the very things that make you special?" The boys looked down, staring into their distorted reflections on the watery ground at their feet. Minus the continuous drops of rain, they could see exactly how they felt in their own faces.
"Because you don't fit in," said Rex sounding a little pissed off now. The rain was still falling around his box. "Because you are... a FREAK!" Rex stepped out of his box, whipping the paper bag off of his head. Lightning flashed again, just as a bright, gross, repulsive pink brain stretching out of his skull came into view. He was a mutated chimpanzee, with the ability to speak, his skin green and his fur pitch black. He stood very still, watching the boys for reaction.
They stared back at him sadly. They hadn't ran or even flinched when he had revealed himself. They had just stood there, with sad looks on their faces, not intimidated.
"Because," said Ryou, the three boys changed form and rose into the air, small whoosh sounds accompanying their take off. Rex recoiled in surprise, watching with slight shock as they rose further away from his head. Droplets of water fell past the boys as they rose higher and farther. "We're freaks too."
"What amazing powers!" Rex jerked his thumb upwards in approval, finding their abilities quite impressive. His pink brain wobbled as rain hit it, drop after drop.
"No, they're terrible!" cried back Ryou anger spread on his face.
"I bet everyone hates them," said Rex quietly, lowering his hand back down.
"Yeah!" said Malik sourly, crossing his eyes in confirmation.
"And they hate you too," said Rex in realization, pointing up at the boys.
"Yes," sniffled Yugi with great effort, rather upset. Rex turned back away from the boys tears welling up in his eyes. It was the saddest look seen on his face before... or since, for a very long time.
"I am in the same boat," he said in a slow moan. Just as the tears fell from his eyes, rain hitting him all over at the same time, he pointed up to his protruding brain, almost touching it with his sharp simian fingers. "This brain is full of brilliant ideas." He sniffled slightly, and not just due to the coldness of the night either. "But will anybody listen? No." He slumped forwards a bit, his voice's hope level dropping even lower. The boys were still nearby, paying close attention. They drifted a little closer, although he was unaware of this, his back still to them. "Nothing in this grey matters.." He started to trudge his way back towards his box, slopping his feet through the congregated water on the paved ground.
"So what's the point?" He trotted over the box flap and back into the crowded depths, free from the rain, but not from his many problems. He was only in there two seconds, however, before the boys floated back down in front of it, stopping on the bottom flap. They touched ground level again as they had returned back down.
"Oh Rex," said Yugi sweetly, "don't be sad." He and Malik leaned around his right side, while Ryou poked around his left. He faced away from them, his outline visible. "Our dad says that sometimes people get angry when they don't understand something special or unique." Rex opened his eyes, having heard Yugi. .
"And if you just give people time," added in Ryou going along the same lines as Yugi, "they'll start to understand your specialness."
"Yeah," agreed Malik, raising an arm for effect. "You just gotta believe in yourself." At these words, just as the rain outside finally ceased falling, Rex's eyes blinked. But when they opened again, they were accompanied by a grin. Coupled with his eyes, it looked almost... sinister.
Without warning, he leaned back out of his box, startling the boys. "You mean," he began, speaking much faster now than before, "if I take my time to construct my most ingenious plan, the Help-The-Town-And-Make-It-A-Better-Place machine, then people will come to understand my specialness?"
He waited there, hesitating, his fingers clenched against each other. The boys remained rather nonplussed, Ryou and Yugi subtly glancing at Malik, "Uhhhh..." hesitated Malik slowly, befuddled.
"Okay!" exclaimed Rex stretching his arms and eyes wide. "I'll do it!" He narrowed his eyes to slits once again, looking determined. "But I'll need your help."