Part 2(Danae)

            “Oh shit,” Ahmir stared down at the two girls lying in an unconscious heap at his feet.

            “Somehow, I don’t think that was supposed to happen,” Abdul glared at his dumbfounded friend, feeling the pressure rising behind his temples.  Why did he always get stuck with this idiot?

            “I’m sorry! I panicked….” Ahmir met his friend’s gaze, bottom lip quivering pathetically.  “ I was scared.”

            Abdul couldn’t decide whether he had a greater urge to strangle him or laugh in his face.  “Yeah, two young girls.  Really scary.”

            “You never know in this day and age.”

            “Just shut up and help me move them back to camp, baka.”

            “ I hope they aren’t mad.”

            “ I hope they aren’t armed.”

                                    ********

Duo stood, shivering, a look of determination set on his face despite the purple hue creeping onto his lips.  “I’ll s-s-show them.  Call me d-d-dirty, h-huh?”

His voice held an edge to it- one which probably would have been more convincing had he not been standing there naked with his teeth chattering.

Cursing, he wrung the remaining water from his hair, his expert fingers twisting the unruly mass into a neat braid almost reflexively.  Silently berating himself for being too cheap to pay for a nice, warm bath at the local inn and instead choosing the free—and incredibly icy—stream, he moved anxiously towards his awaiting clothes.

“They’ll be sorr—,” his voice faltered as the hand reaching for his pants met nothing except thin air.

Puzzled, he surveyed the surrounding area, “ I could have sworn I left them right here….”

A steadily growing stream of profanity poured from Duo’s mouth as minutes of unfruitful searching piled on top of one another.  “Dammit, dammit, dam—shit!”

His search became more frantic, until finally after nearly half an hour of scouring the terrain in vain, he realized that he had been left out to dry… literally.

He stood staring blankly at the spot where he was sure he had left—no, where his clothes HAD been, fighting the twin urges to sob or slam his head into a nearby tree.  An icy wind swept along the shore, sending a series of shivers through him. 

<<Just great,>> he thought, cursing his cheapness even more.  At least at an Inn he’d be able to find –something- to wear.

Duo felt another shiver wrack his body and silently cursed Mother Nature for dropping the temperature from the pleasant spring ones to something mildly above sub-arctic.  

<< You weren’t naked and wet earlier,>> his inner voice stubbornly reminded him.

“Oh, who asked you?” he headed for the nearby bank, determined to get to town before night fell and the inevitable further drop in temperature.

<<Of course, the cover of darkness would be handy in such a situation… wait, I can’t go into town like –this- no matter how dark it is.  I’d never hear the end of it from Jen and Danae.>>

Hurriedly grabbing some of the leafiest branches within reach, he somehow managed to make a rough loincloth of-sorts.

Sighing, he began to reluctantly climb the bank and head back for civilization.  He instantly regretted his choice of apparel as the twigs began to dig into his skin and he discovered that they also emitted some sort of sap, which was producing a rash along his thighs. 

“So much for my bath… by the time this is done I’m gonna look worse than before.  Minus the mealworms, of course.  Yep, Danae and Jen will definitely get a good laugh over--,” he stopped in mid-climb, realization dawning on his face.  “Of course!  Those two took my clothes… just the type of dirty thing they would do too. Well, at least that Danae would do… I’m not really sure about Jen,” he thought this over carefully in his mind. “What the hell am I saying?  Of course she would!  Those two are too alike for –my- good.”

Quickening his pace, he climbed with added determination, practically catapulting himself to the top of the slope.  “Just wait till I get my hands on them.  I’ll teach them not to mess with Duo Maxwell!” He assumed his best fighting stance, as if to challenge the very earth itself to dispute his claim…

… before being overcome by the overwhelming urge to scratch the unsightly rash that was spreading quite rapidly across his legs.

“Dammit!” he gritted his teeth, itching with all his might, “Those two are –really- gonna get it now!”

And with that he set off for the tree where he had last left the girls, hoping that they hadn’t had the good sense to return to town yet so he could kill them in private.

“Or at least injure them severely…” he finished aloud, a wicked grin spreading across his face.

“Uh… Master Quatre?” Abdul nervously approached the young boy where he rested against a tree, teacup in hand.  Ahmir followed even more reluctantly behind. 

<<Oh, sure… he screws everything up and then wants me to explain it all.  Typical.>>

“ Yes, Abdul?” the boy glanced at the two men, smiling sweetly. 

Abdul felt beads of sweat trace a path from his temple to his jaw line.  This one was going to be hard to explain.  They left to get directions and came back with two unconscious girls… not a good way to make new friends in a foreign land, or to please Quatre either, for that matter. 

<< I just hope he doesn’t give me that puppy dog look… or start to cry.>>  Abdul sighed inwardly at the thought.

“Is something the matter, Abdul?” A look of worry crossed Quatre’s face.

“Uh,” Abdul took a deep breath, “Well, it seems that we ran into some… er… troub—“

“ They don’t sell tea in town.”

Abdul grimaced as he turned to see the satisfied grin plastered across Ahmir’s face.  << Just what in the hell does he think he’s doing now?>>

“Oh, so you did find a town?  Well, that certainly is good news,” Quatre beamed at them.  The day was definitely beginning to look up, “And it must be closer than we thought.  You guys were hardly gone at all!”

Ahmir, shifted nervously from foot to foot, trying to maintain his forced smile.  “Well, that’s because we had some girls to show us.”

Abdul shot the other man an evil glare.  Nothing like complicating a stupid lie with an even worse one.

“Oh, really?  Well, the people here certainly are friendly!  I can’t wait to meet them….”

Abdul felt the blood freezing in his veins as he willed the other man to just -once- keep his big mouth shut, <<Please don’t say it…please don’t say it, please….>>

“Well, they came back to camp with us.”

Groaning, Abdul desperately prayed that the ground would open up and swallow him before his partner got them into it any deeper.  He now had to explain before Quatre saw the said girls lying unconscious under a nearby tree.  Things were getting more complicated by the minute. 

“That’s wonderful!  Maybe they’ll even be willing to help me.” Quatre’s eyes were hardly visible he was grinning so broadly.

There would definitely be some tears involved if he told him now…

“Sure, they’re right this way.  They’re really nice, too.  I’m sure they’ll jump at the chance to help you, Master.”

<<God, that idiot Ahmir is staring to believe his own lies.  I’d better stop this before it gets worse… if possible.>>  Sighing, Abdul closed his eyes and began blurting out the entire story.

“I apologize for the mistake, master.”  Abdul hesitantly raised his eyes, knowing it best to face the boy’s reactions.

…only to find that he was staring at the empty space where moments before Ahmir and the young master had been.  Stunned, he stood staring at the spot where Quatre had been moments before.

Things definitely just got worse.

This was the –last- time he ever worked with that baka.

 “… and then I’m going to take that damn bow of hers and shove it and all those arrows up both of their as—itai!”  Duo’s plans for possible revenge were cut short as he stumbled over a rock and managed to land face first in a mud puddle.

“No, no, no, no, NO!!! It just isn’t FAIR!!!”  Pulling himself to his feet, he glanced down at his muddy limbs.  Tears welled up in his eyes as he felt the mud beginning to seep through his hair and down to his scalp.

“Why me?  What in the hell did I do to deserve—,” Duo’s self pity session was interrupted by a commotion in the distance.  “Oh, great!  A guy can’t even feel sorry for himself anymore!” he scowled at the noise, crossing his arms against his chest protectively.

Damn people interrupting his tantrum… er… healthy expression of anger, anyway.  Couldn’t they just leave him alone—

“Shit… that’s in the direction where Danae and Jen were!”  His own worries instantly forgotten, Duo ran at full speed towards the noise.

“Uh, really master, I can explain everything!”

Abdul ran up to where Quatre was currently staring in horror at the two unconscious girls.  Ahmir stood next to him, shifting his gaze nervously between the two unconscious forms and his master, who was growing paler by the second.

“Master, are you all right?  Please forgive Ahmir’s mistake,” he glared pointedly at the other man.  “We should have told you the truth of the situation from the beginning.”

“You… you… you….” Tears brimmed in his large blue eyes, threatening to spill over.

<<Ano… he’s definitely going to cry.>>

“They must have been attacked by a troll!  I hear they’re rampant in these parts, Master!”

Even Quatre turned, despite his still apparent shock, to give the man a disbelieving look.

“Ahmir… shut up!  Not one more word.  Got it?” Abdul could feel the last of his restraint dissolving.  This was just too much.

“But… what about the troll?”

With a cry, Abdul elbowed Ahmir in the head.  “Trolls are mythical creatures!!!  Now stop trying to help!!!”

Ahmir, however, was too busy passing out to hear much of what Abdul said.

Smiling to himself in satisfaction, Abdul stood gloating over the form of his bumbling teammate.  A small gasp from Quatre brought broke his reverie.  “Master?  I….”

“You… you…,” the tears started to trickle slowly down his ashen cheeks as he glanced desperately between the now three unconscious figures lying around him.  “You… you… KILLED THEM!”

That was it… the water works had begun.

“You killed them!  How could you do it?  And then… Ahmir!  This is horrible!”

Abdul placed a hand on his shoulder, attempting to quiet the now-hysterical boy.  “Master, it’s not how it looks.”

“Don’t touch me!” Quatre drew back in fear.  He began backing away, his eyes now widening in terror.

Abdul slowly moved forward, attempting to get the story out above the boy’s frantic sobs.

“Get away from me!  MURDERER!!”

“Damn them… they’re going to owe me big time for this.  I’m definitely making Danae give me a larger share of the profits… Hell, I may just force her to make me a partner!  I deserve after going after all of this…” and so Duo continued his monologue as he ran toward the commotion. 

“But, I’m telling you, they’re not dead,” Abdul was beginning to wonder why he bothered with this job anymore.  Sure, the master was a nice kid and all… but the pay was lousy and things like this always seemed to happen.  He wondered idly if Friar Tuck ever had to put up with this type of situation.

“Stay away from me, Abdul, I mean it!  Don’t come one step closer or I’ll call for the others!”  Quatre was beyond the point of comprehending any of what the older man was saying, and continued to back away.  Intent on watching Abdul’s actions, he failed to notice that he was about to step on the two girls until it was too late.

With a cry, Quatre flew backwards, landing somewhat awkwardly on top of the two girls.  His head hit the base of the tree with an audible crack, causing stars to dance before his eyes.  Fighting the overwhelming compulsion to pass out, he lay sprawled on top of them, unable to move.

“Master, are you alright?”

“Uhn…,” was all Quatre could manage as he struggled to catch his breath.

Abdul lifted the boy, helping him into a half sitting position.  “You didn’t hurt yourself, did you?”

Quatre stared at him, unable to process the words over the ringing in his ears.  <<Wasn’t I avoiding Abdul for some reason?>> he thought vaguely as he struggled to put his thoughts back in order.  He must have hit his head or something…

Just then the ground began to lurch beneath him, sending waves of nausea through his body.  “Oi, Abdul, is the ground moving underneath you too?”

Abdul looked worriedly at the boy.  It had sounded like he hit his head rather hard.  And now he thought the ground was moving underneath him…

Abdul stared at Quatre as the still stunned boy began to move up and down before his eyes.  <<The ground really is moving,>> he wondered to himself.  That is, until he thought to look at the ground and discovered that it wasn’t the ground moving so much as the two girls whom Quatre was still sitting on waking up.

“I think I’m going to throw up….”

Abdul moved Quatre off of the two girls, sitting him on the ground near by, taking care to move as quickly as possible without jostling the boy too much.  <<That’s all I need is for him to puke on them.  Talk about adding insult to injury.>>

“Oh… I feel like I just got run over by an Ox Cart,” one of the girls groaned, struggling to sit up.  Grimacing, she gingerly touched the lump forming between her two pigtails on the back of her head.

The other girl also tried to sit up but about half way there seemed to change her mind and laid down on the grass instead.  “Ugh… Dani, you should not have let me have that twelfth glass of whiskey.  I think it was that one that got me…”

“You had whiskey?  Then what did you do, Jen, club me over the head with the empty bottle?  I feel like shit….”

“Well, if you let me have twelve glasses you deserved it.”

Abdul couldn’t keep from staring at them, wondering briefly if he could somehow fool them into thinking that it had been an incident with drinking and not Ahmir bashing their heads together.  Glancing at his now drooling partner he decided that would probably not be the best of ideas.  Besides, if they were that angry he could always tell them Ahmir had been alone at the time…

“Who are you?”

“And better yet, where are you?”

“Don’t you mean where are we?”

“That too.”

Abdul blushed as the two girls turned their attention and questions towards him, plotting the best possible way to explain this situation while avoiding physical harm to his own person.

“Well, did you hear us or not, tight-boy?  Answer us already!  We haven’t got all day,” the girl called Jen was glaring at him, her eyes gleaming with an unspoken threat.  Abdul was beginning to suspect that they were starting to remember.

“And while you’re at it you can tell us why you seem to be the only one around here who hasn’t recently been unconscious or who’s not currently,” the other girl assumed a look similar to her companions as they waited for his answer.

“Well, ladies, this is all a big mistake.  It’s funny, really,” sweat began to pour down Abdul’s face and he let a nervous laugh escape.  “You see, it all started when the master here sent Ahmir and I to find the nearest town and we happened upon you two.”

“Who’s Ahmir?  Are you getting any of this, Jen?”

“I’m still trying to figure out how in the world that kid could have grown men calling him ‘Master’.”

The two girls’ faces screwed up in disgust as they considered the possibilities.

“Not that kind of master!” Abdul managed to turn a shade darker than crimson as he thought of the possible implications.  “Two young ladies such as yourselves shouldn’t be talking about things like that anyway.”

“Better than doing them.”  Jen grinned mischievously as the man darkened to an almost purple.

“Besides, you’re the one who needs to do some explaining.  Before we make you.”

Abdul couldn’t see any visible weapons in either of these girls’ possessions.  Yet, somehow he knew that attacking them a second time- even if the first had been accidental- would not be as simple… or inherently wise.  “Well, it seems my partner Ahmir got a little… overzealous when he saw you and… uh….”

“Let Danae and Jen go now, you bastard! YAAAAAAAAA!!!!!”

Abdul, the two girls and Quatre, still clinging to consciousness, all turned their heads as a figure leapt from the bushes. 

Of course it was just Duo, covered in mud and still wearing his rapidly falling apart leaf underwear.

“It must be that troll that Ahmir was talking about,” Quatre stared at the other boy in wonder, his thoughts still hazy from his earlier bump on the head.

“I am not a troll,” Duo said, glaring at the other boy.  “But I am your worst nightmare if you so much as touch Jen or Danae!” he spat out the last statement, assuming a fighting stance that might have been menacing without his current appearance.

“Duo?  What in the hell are you doing?” Dani stifled a giggle as she surveyed his current state.

“Saving you two, of course.  Geez, isn’t it obvious?  Now, don’t fear a thing, ladies.  I’ll have you safe and sound in no time,” he grinned at them, glad he had taken the time to wash behind his ears.   << Well… at least until I fell in the puddle.>>

“Calm down, young man.  No one’s going to hurt your friends.  This has all just been a big misunderstanding,” Abdul wondered exactly what type of crowd the two girls ran with to have some muddy almost-naked boy coming to their aid.

“Misunderstanding, huh?  Don’t try to pull that on me, cause it won’t work!  I know karate after all.”  Duo waved his hands menacingly for added emphasis.  Something very like fear filled the older man’s eyes as he stared at him, causing Duo to begin moving his entire body in what he was sure was a menacing fashion.  “Had enough yet?  Maybe if you leave quietly right now I’ll let you live….” 

“Uh… Duo…..”

Duo smirked, satisfied in his effect upon the man, who’s… what was it?  Fear?  Or almost… disgust.  Duo shrugged off the idea.  Definitely fear.  The guy’s fear was growing every second.  Pretty soon he’d be crying like a baby and all because of—

“Your ass is showing.”  Jen’s voice broke his train of thought.

“Huh?” Glancing down he saw that sometime during his movements the last of the leaves had fallen off. 

“My ass is showing,” he wondered aloud, turning to stare at the two girls. 

“Yeah, uh…that’s not the only thing.”  Dani quickly averted her gaze, opting to stare at the nearby forest instead.

Duo just continued to stare at them blankly, unable to move in his own embarrassment.

“Here,” Jen quickly threw him her cloak, trying to avoid looking at him until he had covered himself.

“Why don’t we get back to camp before anymore lunatics come barging in on us?”

Duo, Jen and Dani nodded in unison at Abdul’s suggestion, none of them having enough energy left after being knocked out, seeing Duo naked… or in Duo’s case –being- naked to really protest too much.

Abdul helped Quatre to his feet and, half-dragging, half-carrying him, led the way back to camp.

“Hey Jen?”

“Yeah, Dani?”

“You know earlier when I said we should make our own adventures?  Well, I definitely did not mean this kind.”

“Yep,” Jen turned and grinned at the other girl.  “Although some of mine –did- involve Duo naked.”

The two girls squealed with delight as Duo blushed so deeply it seemed his hair would catch on fire, “I… I….”

Part3|Back to Fics