Her Sweetness: This story is getting so freaking weird, I swear. But, you know, can you really expect anything other than that from me? Slight warning, this chapter is super choppy, we go back and forth like crazy, sorry about that but it's necessary.
Rascals R Wee
Chapter 17:
Grandpa came stampeding out of the trailer after he had managed to pop his hip back into place. As he hit the grass, he looked around but, to his dismay, did not see Yami or any other chibis for that matter. Little Fruitcake had stopped licking himself and looked up at Grandpa, tilting his little furry head.
'You look terrible. Was it that bad in there? Glad I didn't go in.'
"Fruity, listen, have you seen Yami? He and the others just ran out this way!" Grandpa panted, still looking around sweat glistening on his head and his eyes wild.
'Yami? He's here?'
"Sure is, Fruity. Just saw him. But that darn Bakura kicked me in the ol' hip! Little trouble-maker…"
'Well, maybe, if you didn't scare the living crap out of the kids, they wouldn't resort to violence and run away from you. There's a lesson to be learned from all this and let me tell you something else—Hey! Where are you going?' Little Fruitcake watched as Grandpa ran away and behind another trailer supposedly to go find the boys.
John just happened to come up at that moment and walked into his trailer. Little Fruitcake watched him go in and then, when the door shut there was a five second pause before the man shouted, "HOLY HELL!"
The kitten frowned and trotted off in a different direction.
The three boys took cover in the shadow of a trailer on the opposite side of the grounds from John's. Panting out of exhaustion and fear, they leant back on the metal paneling and Yami slid down to the grass. Marik peaked over the side and looked around. He didn't see Yugi's grandpa.
"I tink we're in da clear," he said, turning back to his companions. "At weast for now."
"Who knew he'd follow us all da way ta New Zeawand?" Yami asked, exasperated.
"Yeah, an' jus for you, too. Doesn't make sense ta me… but, hey, some people have bad taste."
"Mawik!" Yami said sharply.
"Oh hush. You know I'm kiddin'."
"Weally…?"
"Nope! Now, wet's find dat Wizard," the blonde said, looking across the grounds.
As Yami quietly considered committing suicide, Bakura poked Marik in the back. He said, "Ya tink dat's such a good idea? I mean, wat wid dat gwandpa wunnin' awound. Might not be so safe."
"Yeah but if he's here now, he'll be here in da mournin'. An' it's safer ta do dis kinda stuff unda cover uh night, wight?"
"… Yami, wat chu tink?" Bakura tilted his head back to look at the ex-pharaoh.
Yami was busy trying to slit his wrists with a blade of grass.
Marik and Bakura blinked.
"See wat you did ta him?" Bakura accused.
"Oh, wat? I was jokin'!"
"Weally?"
"Nope."
Bakura rolled his eyes. "Jus say sowwy so we can get on wid our mission. C'mon, it cwant hurt."
"Tell dat to mah kidneys."
Marik protested as Bakura pushed him over to Yami. Marik stared at his fellow chibi for a while and then yawned. Bakura cleared his throat loudly.
Sighing, Marik said, "Wisten, Yami, I'm sowwy if I hurt yer feewings. Now stop bein' emo."
Yami perked up at hearing this. "Ya mean it?"
Bakura glanced at Marik.
The blonde leered and said in a sickly-sweet voice, "Sssssssssssssure."
"Gweat!" Yami hopped up, dropping his blade of grass. "Den wet's go!"
Inside the hut that Yugi had been placed in, away from his companions, he felt that all was lost. It was bare inside with the exceptions of a fur rug and a few bobbles up against the walls and Yugi wished that they had pushed him in with Malik and Ryou, wherever the two of them were. It wasn't as if the three of them could actually take out the entire tribe and make their way out of there.
Yugi hated to admit it, even to himself, but he and his friends were more or less along the lines of weenies and certainly not the fighting type.
"It would have been better if we were the ones who were changed," he mused, sitting down in the far corner of the hut. "Our yamis could do this no problem. They wouldn't have even let it get this far, they would have changed us back right away if they could… I'm so sorry I let this happen…"
And, all of a sudden, Yugi felt the emotion of what was happening to be so overwhelming that he released his feelings in song.
"All by myself… don't wanna be… all by myself… anymore…"
Back at the trailer grounds, as the chibis were getting their plans together, Yami had a sudden outburst.
"Wat is love! Baby, don't hurt me, don't hurt me no more!"
Bakura and Marik exchanged glances.
Inside Ryou's hut, however, there was no mournful singing going on. He was a far cry from giving in to death and torture. He was crouched down by the flap of the hut through which people entered and exited. Outside, he knew, stood two of the tribe's strong men guarding him until it was time for the sacrifice.
He poked his head out and looked up. The guards didn't seem to notice him and so, with a sharp stick that he'd taken from inside the hut, he held it like a pool stick and then punched it foreword and straight through the webbing on one of the guard's ankles.
"W—" Ryou cut him off from screaming by kicking him in the wounded ankle, knocking him down and dragging inside.
The other guard blinked at the sudden disappearance of his partner and made the sad mistake of kneeling down looking under the flap. His face was grabbed and he, too, disappeared.
Off in the corner of the covering was one of the lamp posts set around the grounds so people could make their way during the night. Under that particular lamp sat a depressed Orlando Bloom. He sulked and looked at the grass silently until Ian walked up behind him.
"What's wrong, Orly?" the man asked, placing a strong hand on his shoulder.
"My wig," he dry-sobbed, "it's no where in my trailer or on the set or in the costumes trailer! I might be fired over this!"
"They can't do that. You're already in the first two movies."
That didn't seem to make him feel better and he sulked some more.
Ian sighed and patted his hair. "It's okay, you'll find it soon," he said and began to walk towards his trailer. The lamp posts across the grounds were starting to dim, signaling to everyone to get back to their respective places and take some rest.
When Ian reached his trailer, he closed and locked the door behind him and went over to his bed, reaching under his pillow and pulling out a blonde wig.
He walked back to his mirror and began to place it on his head. "I really should give the poor boy his wig back… I know! I'll sneak it in his trailer before dawn and no one will be the wiser." He pulled the trunk out from under the desk and opened it, rolling on his leather boots and then talking off his Gandalf-cloak to put on the black corset.
Sparing himself a longing look in the mirror, he sighed, "But I'm gonna miss you, baby."
Malik was sitting calmly in his hut, silently cursing his other half for being the reason he was about to be sacrificed to tribal gods. He was completely surprised when the flap to the hut was flipped open and in came Ryou, naked and bloody. His normally chocolaty eyes were narrowed and darting around the room.
"R-Ryou—" Malik began but was silenced when Ryou zipped over to him with his hand over the blonde's mouth.
"Shh," he insisted. "We're getting out of here."
Blinking slowly, Malik nodded.
"Ugh. I just can't find those little whippersnappers anywhere… Maybe they're in one of the trailers or something."
Grandpa was still wandering around in the near dark, trying to find the boys. At this point the was back by the heap on which he dumped the mess from the toilets. He had to hold his nose walking over there and had almost decided to go back to the main area when he heard a rustling in the bushes.
"Um. Hello? Anyone there?"
More rustling.
"Fruity..? That you?"
A hand darted out from the underbrush, grabbed the old man by the wrist and pulled him in, a muffled scream following.
When Malik and Ryou had managed to make it to Yugi's hut without being noticed in the darkness and shadow of the trees, they slithered through the flap and walked in on something most unexpected. Yugi was in the middle of the hut, standing with his arm outreached to an audience only he could see.
"Just like me… they long to be… close to you…"
Malik raised a finger. "Um… Y-Yugi—?"
"Waaaaahhhhhh! Close to you! Waaaahhhhhhh! Close to yo—ACK!"
"Cut that out, we have things to do!" Ryou said after sparing Yugi a small smack in the mouth.
Yugi rubbed his mouth sorely at first as he pouted on the ground. He looked up a second later, his already large eyes rounding at the sight before him. He pointed to Ryou and said simply, "Naked."
"Yeah," Malik looked at him, "I was going to ask but I didn't want to be the only one curious. Why are you naked?"
"To prey on their fear… move like an animal to feel the kill," Ryou said, a mysterious glint in his eye.
Yugi and Malik exchanged glances.
"Anyone besides me think Ryou needs a time out?" Malik asked.
Yugi raised his hand.
Ryou shook his head and inched near the flap again. "On your feet, Yugi," he said, peeking out into the night. "I can't take them all out, hopefully we can sneak into the woods and they won't come after us. Ready?"
"Ready as we'll ever be."
"That's what I like to hear! Let's go."
So Ryou got down on all fours—giving Malik and Yugi a disturbing view—and crawled out of the hut, signaling to the other hikaris to follow suit. They did and soon the boys were out in the nighttime air, the soft grass under their knees and hands. The tribe was still by the pig pit, building another fire higher and higher, seemingly to be for their would-be sacrifices. Nobody seemed to be noticing the missing guards whose blood Ryou wore.
The three of the made it out of the main circle of huts and were heading quickly for the woods beyond the clearing. They thought they would make it but as they closed in on the underbrush, Ryou was stopped by a large leg being planted in front of him. He and the others looked up to see three more guards and the chief standing in their way.
"Crap," they said simultaneously.
One of the guards walked over and picked Yugi up by the back of his neck and the young teen wailed, "I don't wanna be a mating ritual sacrifice!"
Malik and Ryou began to bawl as well but before they were taken, the chief took Yugi from the other man's grasp and said something to them in their native tongue. The three men looked at each other and walked away, seemingly puzzled. The chief set Yugi back on the ground and pushed the boy towards the woods.
"Go on," he said, "hurry."
When the boys just starred at him, he groaned and shoved them foreword.
"W-Wait," Yugi called. "What changed your mind?"
"Does it really matter?" Malik questioned.
The chief shook his head. "Believe it or not… Love."
Everyone's eyes widened.
"It was there in your eyes when you spoke of those boys. I thought you three looked like perfect sacrifices but what kind of monster would I be to stand in the way of love?"
The hikaris exchanged glances.
"Now, go!" He shoved Yugi into Malik and Ryou. "Find them, get them back! And when you do, you love them and you never let go!"
And with that, the chief turned and ran back to his tribe. The boys blinked and backed away slowly.
"This place isn't normal," Yugi muttered.
TBC…
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