Alverna: Chapter 3.

Yugi: Where's 'A Christmas Carol'?

Alverna: I don't know if I'm actually going to be able to do it.

Joey: Why?

Alverna: Too much shit going on in my life.

Ryou: Ouch. Alverna doesn't own Yu-gi-oh or the Nutcracker.

Alverna: Enjoy.

Chapter 3

Yugi, Ryou, and Malik stared at the thing that could only be described as an abomination to the game of Duel Monsters.

"Well, well, well." one of the seven heads of the 'Bone Mouse' said as he looked over the boys.

"It talks!" Ryou yelped.

"Yes we do." another head said. "We are known as the Mouse King."

"You got a name?" Yugi asked, not really wanting to say 'Mouse King' time out of mind.

"Of course." 'Mouse King' replied smoothly. "My new lovers deserve to know."

"Lovers!" Malik practically screamed in anger.

"Yes young ones." a new head said. "My lovers deserve to know my name is Nezumi."

"Japanese for mouse." Malik rolled his eyes. "How original."

"You have fire." Nezumi said as he licked his lips. "I like that."

At that moment, Yugi's stomach decided to rebel against him. Grabbing the wastepaper basket next to him, he emptied his stomach of anything he had at the party earlier that afternoon.

"Food poisoning?" Nezumi guessed, not realizing that Yugi had puked because of the revolting sight in front of him. A seven headed 'Bone Mouse'.

"I think he lost it because of the ugly sight in front of him." Malik said exsasperatly.

"What did you just say!" Nezumi shrieked.

"Oh," Malik sighed, "deaf as well. Something else to add to my 'What many things that I don't like rats' list."

"Malik." Ryou whimpered as Nezumi shook in rage.

"You'll pay for that!" Nezumi shouted. "You and your friends! Whether you're my future lovers or not, you need to be taught some manners."

Yugi leapt to his feet, his nutcracker in his arms. Ryou and Malik did the same. They weren't sure what Nezumi was going to do, but the idea of getting trampled by 100 or so 'Giant Rats' didn't seem appealing.

With a screech, the 'Giant Rats' all launched themselves at the three boys. They tired to escape the room, but were quickly overwhelmed by the sheer numbers of rodents.

'Someone,' Yugi thought as he blacked out, 'help us, please.'

"Excellent." Nezumi hissed with delight as the three boys fell unconscious.

But when the three nutcrackers that were in their arms suddenly sprang to life and drew their weapons, Nezumi hissed again. Only this time, it was in anger.

"Who are you?" Nezumi demanded.

"Our names matter not." the one dressed like a pharaoh replied with a glare.

"Translation," the red robed one snickered, "you're not worthy enough to know."

"I am worthy!" Nezumi shrieked. "I am King."

"Of rats." the last one, the guard, pointed out. "Come on, the Thief over there had a better company to command than you do."

"Well done, Keeper." Pharaoh rolled his eyes.

"What?" Keeper stared blankly at Pharaoh. "What did I do?"

"Rile him up, that's what." Thief barked has the army of rodents prepared to attack.

"You're point?" Keeper asked.

"We're a tad bit out numbered in case you haven't noticed." Pharaoh snapped.

"Oh." Keeper looked down sheepishly. "My bad."

"No kidding." Thief hissed, making the 'Giant Rats' stop their actions and chitter.

"Well I'll be…" Pharaoh muttered. "Didn't you communicate with hisses and clicks with your other company?"

"Yeah." Thief replied before smirking. This was going to be fun.

With a few more hisses, the 'Giant Rats' all turned on each other and began to destroy their companions.

"That works." Keeper commented.

"So does this." Nezumi hissed, making the nutcrackers turn to him.

Nezumi twisted as his body cracked and changed. Now, instead of being one body and seven heads, he had three bodies. Two of the bodies had two heads, and the final had three.

"Okay," Thief looked mildly put out at the display. "That's nasty."

"Silence!" Nezumi screeched, and each separate body lunged for a different nutcracker, teeth bared to bite and tear.

Yugi stirred from his slumber at the sound of screeching. He opened his eyes in time to see Ryou's nutcracker, the one that was dressed like a thief, hiss at the 'Giant Rats', making them turn on one another.

"That works." the one dressed like a tomb guard commented.

"So does this." Nezumi hissed.

Nezumi twisted as his body cracked and changed. Now, instead of being one body and seven heads, he had three bodies. Two had two heads, and the final had three. Ryou and Malik had woken in time to see the change, and were currently wondering how they were able to keep stomachs from upchucking.

"Okay," the thief dressed doll looked mildly put out at the display, the Hikaris feeling the same way. "That's nasty."

"Silence!" Nezumi screeched, and each separate body lunged for a different nutcracker, teeth bared to bite and tear.

Yugi felt his eyes widen as Nezumi lunged for his nutcracker.

"Leave Atemu alone!" Yugi shouted, and threw the nearest object he could grab, which happened to be his slipper, at the three headed mouse.

Ryou threw a 'Vylon Cube' wooden puzzle that was completed, courtesy of Yugi, at one of the two headed bodies, and Malik threw the pocket knife he never left home without at the other one.

The hits gave the desired results. Every single one of the Nezumi bodies shrieked and crumbled upon impact. Yugi wasn't surprised since 'Bone Mouse' had only 400 attack points and 300 defense points, and his 'Bite Shoe' shaped slippers could be considered to have 500 attack points and 300 defense points.

Ryou sighed as the 'Vylon Cube' wooden puzzle, considered to have with 800 attack and defense points, smacked the two-headed 'Bone Mouse' and killed it.

Malik nodded solemnly as his pocket knife's blade struck the final Nezumi body in the heart, killing it instantly.

"Why?" Nezumi of three heads asked as he felt his life leaving him.

"You were going to hurt him." Yugi replied with a glare. "He's mine. I've already had to bandage him up once,"

"And did a good job." Pharaoh added as he moved his arm back and forth.

"… and I'm not to keen on him having marks that I can't get rid of."

"But," Nezumi gasped, "you're supposed to love me."

"I already gave my heart away." Yugi said softly. "It can never be claimed by another."

"No." Nezumi breathed out as the last of his life fled his body, leaving him dead.

"Now what?" Malik asked, making his fellow Hikaris and the nutcrackers turn to him. "What? The room is filled with tons of dead 'Giant Rats' and three dead mutated 'Bone Mouse'. Excuse me for wondering if I'm going to get killed tomorrow morning when Yugi's grandpa sees this mess."

"He's got a point." Ryou admitted.

"So clean up then." Thief sighed.

"I'm not touching carrion!" Malik yelped.

"Carrion?" Keeper raised his eyebrows, or would have if he had any.

"Guys." Yugi whined. "Can we please just clean up?"

"Works for me." Pharaoh nodded.

Half an hour later, along with cleaning gloves and cleaning chemicals the living room was clean. The dead bodies were outside in the trash bin.

"Why did your grandfather wake during all that?" Ryou asked as they spread their sleeping bags back out.

"Once he's out," Yugi shook his head, "he sleeps like a rock."

"Question." Keeper spoke up, making the Hikaris turn to him. "Why aren't you freaking out at talking and moving nutcrackers, live duel monsters, and a creepy seven headed mouse that wanted to make you its lover?"

"We've never had normal lives." Malik answered.

"At least," Yugi counted in his head, "starting about three years ago we've been cursed with non-normality."

"Amen to that." Ryou sighed as he tucked himself back in.

"What happened?" Pharaoh asked as he put himself into Yugi's arms.

So, an hour and a half later, the story of their non-normality had been told.

"Any reason you three aren't freaking out?" Malik asked as he set his tomb keeper nutcracker on the coffee table.

"We're talking nutcrackers." Thief rolled his wooden eyes. "Why do you think?"

"Fair point." Ryou admitted as the placed the tomb robber next to the tomb keeper.

"Why are you putting us up here?" Thief whined.

"Nature calls." Ryou replied shortly as he turned and walked down the hall.

"Oh."

"Getting impatient are we?" Keeper smirked at his tableside companion.

"Shut up!" Thief shouted and lunged for his wooden companion.

"Hey!" Malik shouted as he grabbed the two and separated them. "No fighting in the house."

"But-" Keeper pouted.

"No!" Yugi and Pharaoh interrupted firmly.

"Yeesh." Thief sighed. "Cant' a guy catch a break around here?"

"You're a nutcracker." Ryou responded as he came back into the room from his leak break. "Why do you think?"

"Ouch." Keeper winced. He had to eat his own words in the past before, and it wasn't a fun thing to do.

"Yugi." Pharaoh glanced up at his owner. "When Nezumi tried to tear us to pieces earlier, you threw your slipper at him and told him to leave me alone. More specifically, 'Leave Atemu alone!' Why did you call me the nameless pharaoh's name?"

"It's the name that I decided to give you." Yugi muttered with a blush. "You're both Pharaohs, so I figured, why not?"

"Do we have names?" Thief demanded.

"You're Bakura." Ryou answered as he took the tomb robber off the coffee table.

"And you're Marik." Malik added as he did the same.

"You named us after your other halves?" Keeper Marik raised and his wooden eyebrows.

"Sue me." Malik shot back.

Alverna: End chapter 3. And a side note, Chapter 2 is offically dedicated to my first and only reviewer for chapter 1, Marilynjayfreak.

Malik: Please review to make the Hikaris happy!