Her Sweetness: Hello, all. Thank you for your kind reviews. This is my last weekend of the school year. Know what that means, right? After I take my vacation next weekend, you can count on much faster updates! And I can expect faster reviews. Ha ha.

That said, it's time to rock.

Rascals R Wee

Chapter 12:

The sun was starting to set. It had been almost a whole day since each of the chibi yamis had crept out of their houses and away form their overbearing hikaris. The plane ride had taken up a lot of time and the fact that they had had a horrible pedophile on their tails had made the ride seem twice as long. Maybe if they hadn't been so tiny, the day would not have taken so much out of them but, as it was, they were very tired.

"Ugh… guys… can we stwop somewhere an' west for da night? It's gonna be gettin' dark in a wittle bit," Yami said, once walking in front of the two but now lagging behind. He struggled to keep up, his hair drooping.

The streetlights were starting to blink and then shine brightly.

Marik looked back in annoyance. "Wisten, Phawoah, maybe you spoiled woyalty types cant handle a bit uh fatigue but me an' Kura are wough! So stwick it out er we'll weave ya behind!" Marik had looked mean and full of energy when he spoke harshly to Yami but as he turned around, a tiredness filled his lavender eyes.

"A-Awent you tired, Kura?" Yami asked desperately.

"Nup."

Marik was glad that Bakura was putting up a brave front as well but when he looked at his companion, Bakura seemed to be just fine as he walked along, even with a bounce in his step. As Yami moaned and groaned behind them, Marik whispered, "Y… Ya weally not tired, Kura?"

"'Course not. I'mma creature uh darkness! I love bein' out at night!" He cheered.

"Well, I am too! It's just dat… dat…"

"Dat what?"

"…" Marik couldn't think of anything to say so he shut up.

There was five more minutes of silence during which the chibis shuffled along and normal people walked passed them, some curious about the young boys and others too tired from their long day to care about anything other than home. The sun was dipping low over the horizon and the sky was steeped in orange and pink sorbet, the lampposts little points of light up and down the sidewalks.

Bakura continued to bop along to the right of Marik and Yami still lagged. All of a sudden, Bakura's tummy began to growl. He stopped and Yami ran into him but Bakura didn't seem to notice. He was too enthralled with something he'd seen on the sidewalk.

"Golly, Kura, what da heck didya stwop for?" Yami whined.

Bakura bent down and pulled on a tootsie pop that was stuck to the cement. He yanked it free and lifted it to his mouth.

"Hey!" Yami gasped, smacking Bakura's hand, "Ya cwant eat dat! It's been on da gwound!"

"Let em eat it," Marik said morosely. "If he doesn't die fwom it, den we know it s'okay for us ta eat fwom."

Yami pouted.

Bakura took a chomp out of it and chewed thoughtfully.

"Well…?" Yami and Marik asked, leaning towards the tootsie pop. They hadn't thought about it until just now but they were, in fact, hungry.

"Hey," Bakura said happily, "this ting's got crunchy bits!"

"Cwunchy…" Yami thought.

Marik shook his head. "I'm not eatin' dat. Enjoy, you two."

"No tanks," Yami muttered when Bakura offered him some of the pop.

So they continued to walk and, finally, the scenery of the city began to fade and by the time the moon rose they came to a harbor. Ships were docked and some sailed past each other in the water and off, way off, in the distance, there was the form of land.

Yami perked up as they came to the top of the road and a smile lit up his face. "Dere it is! I bet dats New Zeawand way off dere!"

"Finawy," Bakura said with a mouth full of crunchy lolly.

"Muahahahahaha!" Marik cackled. "Here is where my pwan comes inta action."

"Was it yer pwan all awong ta have us sail ta New Zeawand?" Yami asked.

"Dats wight."

"Um… but, Mawik, we're too smaw ta—"

"Grrr. Grrrkkk. Zakkk."

Both Yami and Marik looked up from their conversation to Bakura who was gnawing on his crunching treat quite intensely, making horrid noises while doing so. Marik and Yami stared. Bakura looked up and blushed and then returned to his duty.

"So… anyway…" Yami coughed. "I was sayin dat we're too smaw ta take a boat ta New Zeawand. It'd be a disasta an we'd prolly dwown an die."

Marik raised an eyebrow. "Yer morbid, dats what you are, Yami. But I aweady took yer death-obsession inta considewation an so we're gonna wide in a boat our size."

Yami blinked and looked around. "But… but dere is none!"

"Dat's what you tink."

They made their way down the street and onto the pier where the boats were docked. The chibis craned their tiny necks up at the ships and looked down the line. All of them were too big for toddlers to operate.

"See? Dere too big," Yami said and folded his arms.

Marik smacked him. "Idiot! Dun doubt me." He began to walk down the dock with his companions in tow and stopped at the end, just some bare planks, a bucket of chum and a few empty fish barrels. Marik walked on a plank and looked a wooden barrel that was about as tall as he was. He patted the side meaningfully and turned to Yami and Bakura.

"Dis baby'll do jus fwine. Hewp me wid it, Kura." Marik got behind the barrel.

"Wighty-o." Bakura threw his clean tootsie pop stick into the ocean and joined Marik at the barrel's side. They gave it a hard shove and it toppled over and fell into the water, face up.

Marik hopped in with two planks in hand and the water beside the barrel made a minute wave. Bakura hopped in next. They spread out a bit and made room for Yami.

When Yami did nothing but stare with his large amethyst eyes, Marik frowned. "Wat? Not good enough for da almighty Phawaoh?"

"I… It's not dat…"

"Den hop in!"

"I cwant…"

"Why?"

"Well, who knows how wong its been dere an it smells wike fish… pwus, we might get wun ova by bigga boats if we trabel in dat!"

Marik's eyes darkened. "Wisten. I'm tired an hungwy an I'm sick uh hearin' yer mouth! If you don't wanna get in, I'm weavin' you!"

"But—"

Yami's reply was cut short as Bakura whacked him over the head with the plank he held and Yami fell unconsciously into the makeshift boat. "All aboard!" Bakura shouted and Marik grinned at him. Both he and Bakura put their planks over the sides and used their tiny arms to paddle off into the night.

The space shuttle that had launch from Domino's NASA center was now out of the Earth's atmosphere and was gaining speed as it went at a tilt upwards.

"We're in deep trouble, guys."

"Why do you say that, Yugi?"

"Because we don't know how to pilot a shuttle! We're going to crash and burn!" Yugi cried, hands on his cheeks.

Ryou patted Yugi on the back, obviously over the exchange he and Yugi had about underwear earlier. "Don't worry. I'm not sure but I think these crafts have their destination already programmed into their navigation system. Which, um, reminds me… Malik, I thought of this while we were running from that horrid guard. Just how do we know this particular shuttle is heading for Jupiter?"

"…"

"…"

Malik was silent, as was Yugi.

All three hikaris looked at each other.

Suddenly, Yugi screamed and jumped on top of Malik, clawing and shrieking. "I TOLD YOU! THIS IDEA OF YOURS WAS DOOMED FROM THE START! WE'RE PROBABLY HEADING FOR PLUTO!"

"Help, help!" Malik screeched. "Yugi's gone rabid!"

Ryou jumped in, tugging on Yugi's legs. "Come on now, Yugi! This isn't helping the situation!"

With some more yanking on Ryou's part, Yugi popped off of Malik and sat on the floor, sulking. "This is just peachy," he grumbled, looking at the taller hikaris. "We have no idea where we're going…"

Ryou nodded softly. "And with the limited food supply probably on here, we're sure to die miserably and painfully of starvation."

Both Malik and Yugi looked at him with their lips pursed.

"Yeah, way to make us feel better," Malik said.

Ryou blushed. "I-I'm sorry…"

Some time passed.

Yugi sighed sadly after the silence between the three of them. "Listen, you guys… since you're the ones I'm going to die with, I'd like to confess some things… I-I'm not the innocent little hikari everyone makes me out to be…"

Malik shrugged as he eyed Ryou. "Who is," he said unenthusiastically. "So what is it you want to confess?"

Yugi looked at their understanding expressions and then back to the shiny, metal floor. "Well… remember that panty-raid our neighborhood went through a few weeks ago?"

"I'll say," Malik cried, waving his hands about. "All my good thongs gone with some loony pervert!"

"Ahem. That loony pervert was me."

Malik blinked.

"But why, Yugi? Why do it?" Ryou asked.

"I didn't do it on purpose! I was sleep walking! Yami knows. But, see, when I woke up the next morning, I just… liked them so much, I…"

"Didn't want to give them back?" Malik raised an eyebrow.

"Right…"

"Humph."

"I'm sorry!"

Ryou coughed twice, putting all the attention on him momentarily. "While we're making confessions here, I'd like to come clean as well, Malik… When we were at the beauty salon that one time and everyone was talking about how you had gotten airbrushed when you did those pictures for PlayGirl, that really was me who told… not Yugi."

Yugi gaped.

Malik was steaming. "What? Ryou! I gave Yugi the silent treatment for a week for that!"

"I'm so sorry!" Ryou wailed and fell backwards, hitting the control panel of the shuttle. He fell on a large red button labeled 'Emergency Landing' and as soon as he did, the lights in the room flashed red and a loud beeping sound came over them all. They screamed and flailed as the shuttle turned downwards and began to come back through the Earth's atmosphere. The hikaris had no idea what was going on and they were all soon in tears.

The shuttle continued it's descent at an alarming rate into the abyss.

The waters between Australia and New Zealand were calm this night except for the little barrel floating along in the middle. The barrel, however, floated much slower than it had started off. The two chibis who were rowing the thing were quite tuckered out now.

Bakura huffed. "W-Why're we doin all da work? Yami an his dumb butt should be wup here wowin'!"

"I know dat but he's still KOed!"

Bakura sighed, regretting knocking the tiny Pharaoh out. They rowed in silence for a little while more and the moon cast it's likeness on the dark waters that the barrel waded through. Bakura looked over the side, starring at his chibified face in the moving water. Then, in the darkness, he felt something bump his plank and a large shadow moved underneath their barrel.

"M-Mawik…" Bakura stuttered and backed up, dropping his plank into the water.

"Wat? … Kura! Ya dwopped it!"

"Dere's sometin' down dere!"

Marik pursed his lips at the small thief. "We're in da ocean, dere's prolly a dousand tings down dere! Get yer paddle!"

"No way, dere's weally sometin down dere!"

Marik and Bakura glared at each other. Yami, who had been asleep on the floor between their feet, was not stirring because of the two yamis who had been yelling at each other. He lifted his head sleepily and got to his feet, being greeted by the sight of water surrounding their little barrel on all sides.

Yami's eyes were wide. "W-Wat happened! Gwuys, we shouldn't have taken dis ting out on da sea! We'll get eated by a sea monster!"

Bakura gasped.

Marik slapped his forehead. "Here we go…"

"Was wong, Kura?" Yami asked.

Bakura looked even paler than he usually did. "D-Dere's a sea monster below us…"

"Eek!" Yami shrieked.

"Stwop it!" Bakura covered his mouth and shook the little Pharaoh violently. "Stwop dat yellin', ya want him ta come up here and eat us?"

Yami shook his head, eyes wide and fearful.

Marik, meanwhile, had walked the very short distance cross the barrel's floor and reached over the side, trying to reach Bakura's paddle. "Stwupid babies," he grumbled, "always goin' on bout stupid stuff… sea monster my ass… dey worse den Malik… grr… WHY CAN'T I WEACH IT?" he yelled wildly, tipping almost over the edge in order to get the piece of wood.

"No, Mawik!" Yami and Bakura shouted jointly and tried to pull him back into their boat. "Don't!"

"Wet go uh me!" Marik flailed around in their arms and, seeing as how the chibis weren't as strong as they once were, Marik slipped out of their grasp like a little fish and plopped into the water.

Yami gasped and looked over the side, calling Marik's name.

Bakura shook his head. "He's a gona."

Suddenly, there was a little splash that scared a yelp out of Bakura and Yami but it was just Marik's blonde head popping out of the water. He was holding onto the plank in order to stay afloat and his piercing lavender eyes were narrowed at his companions.

"See wat yer idiocy did?"

"Well, if ya didn't fwail—"

"Get me back in da boat!"

"But the monst—"

"Dere is no monster!"

There was an abrupt rock of the barrel. It jumped in the water a little and there was a loud bonking sound. Marik moved a little and shrieked. He yelled, "Someting touched mah leg!"

Both Yami and Bakura looked at each other and all of a sudden, a huge wave broke in the stillness of the water and the little barrel were rocketing the left as a dark figure rose from the wave, drops and sheets of water raining down on the chibis. Marik struggled to hang on to the plank and went swirling the other way from the barrel. A fifty foot tentacle was looming above them.

Bakura pointed to it, screaming, "I fwucking knew it!"

Marik was heard somewhere in the distance, shouting back, "So wat!"

TBC…
Her Sweetness: Review, please!