Judgment of the World
Written By: Lady Lunar Phoenix
Beta By: Me.
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Carly's eyes got huge behind her glasses, and she backed up a step and shrank down upon herself. She looked between the two in concern as she wondered where the 'billion' remark came from, "What's 'one billion yen'?"
Aki held out her phone for Carly to see, and in the small window she could see a pricing guide that showed the very set of figurines she now had. Each piece was over a billion yen just on the 'base' Dark Magician and Blue Eyes White Dragon, with eight pieces in the whole set there was 'no' way to purchase the set could go for anything less than 15 billion as a full set. As the upgraded versions of each monster tripled that cost and that wasn't talking about the Duelists themselves.
"Well, that's expensive," Carly noted casually before shrugging. "But I don't pay that much for those, here... let me get the bill."
Aki and Jack exchanged glances as Carly left them in the room and went into her small drawer that she kept the bills both paid and unpaid. She pulled out the receipt for the Dark Magician and read through the bill before nodding and returning to the pair. Carly held it up for them to inspect, noting the pairs' expression and confusion over the sheet.
"Well... It.." Jack began, though in truth he didn't really know much about bills or such. It took him awhile before he could find anything he felt was important.
Aki on the other hand, swiftly found the important parts of the receipt and was made all the more perplexed. Despite the fact that this for all intents and purposes 'was' a sheet acknowledging Carly's purchase. That the amount had been paid in full and even the almost mandatory 'thank you', it was billed at an incredibly low price. She was almost willing to say that it was billed at the price when the set was originally released almost 20 years ago.
And that seemed a bit impossible, but the paperwork looked legit, at least to Aki's barely experienced eyes. But it bothered her immensely that something that was incredibly expensive was being sold at such a price to Carly. Unless... was it a forgery? Was Carly paying for a fake version? "Carly, how do you tell if this is an authentic figurine?"
"Oh, there's paperwork that goes with the figurine, and also there's a number imprinted on the bottom of the feet of the figurine. Its part of the original casting and can't be faked, well I suppose if you managed to get your hands on the original casting molds..." Carly explained, as the paper was handed back to her.
"Wait, so each figurine has its own mold, so it can have its own unique number in the line?" Jack asked, looking for elaboration as Carly went to return the paper.
"Yep!" She called out in answer as she disappeared from sight, letting Jack look down at Aki.
"I never followed the figurines... maybe its legitimate? At any rate this piece is the last," Aki noted trying to assuage her concern over the notion someone was taking advantage of Carly.
"But there's supposed to be a higher tier," Jack recalled, "see if you can find the God Collection?"
Aki blinked in surprise, and did as instructed, typing away on her phone while Carly returned to her table and cheerfully resumed her fixation on the Dark Magician. And while there were many things that the search triggered, from various religions around the world at the top of the list. There was nothing about the Egyptian God Monsters that Yugi once used in duels save images, few and far between of Obelisk, there were only artist renditions of the actual other two Gods themselves.
And if there wasn't something as much as a picture, what were the odds of an actual Figurine collection?
All the while the Witch sat on the tool box gazing at the pictures of the Dark Magician and gave a soft sigh. "Sexy Magician, I've heard stories about him."
"Oh? What type of stories?" Aki asked, not recalling yet that the voice was a Witch and not a person.
"What?" Jack asked confused and saving Carly from breaking her concentration as she worked on mixing paints.
"Uh, my Witch says she recalls stories about the Dark Magician," Aki explained feeling stupidly embarrassed by the flub. Though she was grateful that she didn't flub up enough to refer to him as 'Sexy Magician'. Jack blinked down at her and shrugged, as his fondness was for dragons, a story about a Magician wasn't half as interesting.
"Yeah, he was an Egyptian that became the Dark Magician, and he's the closest to the God of my world," the Witch explained, while a familiar series of lights began to bloom from Carly's hip.
"So true, all the Dark Magicians carry on his hotness!" Swee sighed happily as she rose up a cheerful shade of blue.
"I kinda wish there was a Palladium version of him," Chee commented as she straightened her glasses. Fawning at the Figurine that Carly already painted that rested inside the display case.
"Yeah, always sad that the form doesn't exist, since his armor wasn't near glued to his body... could have a peek!" En commented with a wicked little grin on her lips.
"Wait... The Dark Magician used to be a human?" Aki interrupted as the room started to fill with the cooing of numerous excited fairies, essentially gossiping about a guy.
The spirits looked a bit startled before turning to look back at Aki and the rest of the humans in the room. Even if they couldn't hear the spirits talk about the Dark Magician, they 'did' hear what Aki just said.
"Yeah, after the last time you summoned us we went and found one to talk to," Ann commented as she hovered near the dark pigments that Carly was mixing. "We learned a few things about the world."
"Yeah, like how God created it for the first Duel Spirits! That he didn't want them to be alone sleeping in darkness so he made our world!" Hikari pointed out with an expressive wave of her wand.
"Our God is awesome, he cares about us!" Hu sighed romantically as she drifted closer to the floor.
Aki found her lips twitched into a smile as she watched the Fairies glow with their excitement it was like watching fireflies she supposed. But she relayed what they told her to Jack and Carly, earning soft sounds of interest from Jack.
"So their world is pretty old? Huh, explains where the Signer Dragons came from," Jack mused aloud.
The group of spirits nodded at Jack while Carly was treating her mixing like a chem lab. But as the spirits settled around the room, Carly finally reached the color she wanted. She got up without a word to her guests and retrieved a white folded towel from the kitchen. Then she went and retrieved a desk lamp with a swivel head placing it on the table. With that she closed the tool box and put it under the table for her feet to rest on. The lamp was plugged in, put into position and with that she flicked it on then settled herself back into her chair.
Unwrapping the towel like she expected her first born in the folds. Which proved to be the cast iron figurine of the Dark Magician, waiting for its coats of paint. She checked the towel and pleased at not finding any stains on its white surface, Carly felt confident that she had washed off everything and could now add the paint. Selecting, what Jack would have referred to as an eyelash brush, she dipped it into the paint and began working on the tiny eyes of the figure.
Leaving her guests scared to take a deep breath as they watched her start working. Each light dab of paint, her subtle movements were incredible to watch. For someone who always seemed to be in motion akin to her Fairies, just this depth of stillness was impressive. One would have thought she would be bothered by the intense focus now bestowed upon her, from both humans and spirits. Yet Carly worked as though she was completely alone, her focus and delicate movements were incredible.
She finally sat back after what felt like hours with a pleased clap of the hands, "there, now to let that dry and I can start working on the next part!"
"Huh? What did you finish?" Aki asked in confusion as she leaned to and fro in search for what painstaking work Carly just finished.
"Oh, I finished the face," Carly answered breezily. "Its not a good idea to do everything all at once because his head is three different colors and that's 'before' I work on the armor."
Aki blinked and moved in with the other spirits to take a peek at what Carly had just spent such intensity working on. Especially after she checked her phone and found it took about twenty minutes. But there was no denying Carly's talent when Aki knelt next to the table and got a look at the figurine. The hair was untouched, but the face was a light shade of blue with the faintest of black markings around the eyes. Even the eyes were detailed in white with the barest of pricks of deep blue.
Aki backed up before taking a breath from some faint, unfounded, fear that if she did so near the paint job she would ruin something. Getting to her feet she exchanged places with Jack so he could see the level of detail that Carly had pulled off. While allowing Aki to get air into her lungs, and realize how tense her muscles were. She didn't do anything save sit and watch and her muscles ached as though 'she' did all that work.
For Jack, the detail work was incredible, as a painter himself he could only be blown away how such a tiny, single haired brush could be used to such degree. And her fundamental logic in layering paint onto an item was impeccable. It was one thing to see the other sets, since most faces weren't as problematic to reach as the Dark Magician. Most either had completely covered faces or completely exposed faces. So dealing with the layers of armored protection that shielded the Dark Magician was a difficult proposition.
When the pair retreated back to their seats, they chatted idly with Carly until the paint was dry enough for her to begin the next part, which was the blond hair.
"I wish this was being done over the weekend, I have to go home," Aki pouted as her phone vibrated in her hand as a reminder. Grateful that she had put it on vibrate so it wouldn't bother Carly if it went off mid paint session. Though thankfully they were breaking for the hair at that moment, as she stood up. "I have school in the morning," she explained as Carly looked up at her curious.
The realization made Carly smack herself in the forehead and she nodded in understanding. "Sorry, I guess I got so excited I forgot how time consuming this can be."
But Aki shook her head with a smile, "I'll come back tomorrow to see the completed piece then?"
"Actually given the time, if I don't finish the whole piece tonight, then I'll finish it tomorrow. At the most I'll just have to do the detail edge work on the armor and the staff." Carly listed as she looked over the figurine.
"I'll go check on Rua, then go home, you both have a good night!" Aki spoke as her Witch roused up from her seat and joined Aki at the door.
"Might be for the best that I go as well, don't need reporters showing up here," Jack noted as he looked at the time and sighed. Aki was gone and he remembered the waitress from earlier, making him uncomfortable at making Carly's life problematic with his presence.
"Oh!" Carly left the door where she had seen Aki out, and went to Jack's side. "Well before you go!" She lifted herself up to her toes and closed her eyes waiting for a good night kiss clearly. It could have been a neon sign blinking over her head in fact.
For which Jack rolled his eyes at her childishness, which unbeknownst to him, was getting him the ire of her Fairies. But he bowed his towering frame and gave her a kiss on the lips causing her to wrap her arms around his neck and held on tight.
"Oooh things are heating up!"
"Hope the new paint doesn't melt off from all this.."
"Hu, some nice cool breeze please?"
"Girls you're terrible."
But it 'was' a good way to say 'Good Night' for the pair, even if it was being treated like a spectator sport by a host of Duel Spirits!
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Though it didn't stop Carly from continuing on her figurine, well into the night. It just bothered her so much to leave it unfinished, going to bed felt impossible. Her mind kept whispering 'just one more brush stroke' and pulling her back to her seat. Each brush stroke coated the figurine leaving it in its dark steely gray, just a few shades away from wondering why one even bothered painting.
Then was the periods of sitting back and waiting for it to dry enough that she could paint the next layer. There was just something relaxing about painting a figurine, the complete control over the paint, the color choices. No bosses harping over her, just her, a set of paints, a figurine and a brush, an utterly peaceful way to spend the day, or spend a night.
The scent of paints hanging in the air, the way the light glinted off fresh paint, and with this one piece that collection would be complete. Next would be the God Collection and she couldn't wait to see what 'that' one involved. But for now her world and its focus was the Dark Magician before her, the unique one that had such a limited release only one card had these colors!
Only two remaining colors were left, the light gray edge work for the armor and the deep blue of the orb mounted at the top of his staff. Once she was done, she would take out the others in the collection and take the group photo. After all she promised to take pictures of each piece and email it to Mr. Yugi! And this was 'his' Signature monster in the game, so of course he would save it for last!
Just the thought that she received these messages from Mr. Yugi after he hadn't been heard from for so long was exciting. "I hope my paint job does the pieces justice. I'd hate to think that I've made something that disappointed Mr. Yugi." She commented into the air, since Aki wasn't around to let her know if her Fortune Fairies were awake and active as well.
One Figurine of Yugi, his original Lavender and Purple Dark Magician, Palladium Oracle Mahaad, Sorcerer of the Dark Arts, and this Dark Magician. Then there was Kaiba, with his Blue Eyes White Dragon, Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon and Blue Eyes Shinning Dragon. The Figures all stood tall and commanding of their space. Their duel monsters all positioned like protective, powerful entities that looked down upon any who would challenge their duelist.
It was formidable and just having the collection was daunting as nothing else, especially now that she had seen how much this whole collection was worth. Once she was finished with this piece, she would let it dry and then snap a few photos. With that she could send it to Mr. Yugi, where ever he was, maybe she would get another 'well job' gift like her belt. The duelist belt having come shortly after she had sent in the Palladium Figurine.
Completing the edge work proved to be the most difficult and time consuming, the balance of paint to make sure a bulge didn't happen was intense. She didn't need bubbles, or thick splotches of paint on such delicate edges. By the time she was finished with the first coat it was already approaching midnight. Which was just the 'first' coat, the second coat pushed it to 2am when she could finally relax before putting on the next coat. Since the edge work required an extra coat to give the 'raised' feeling of the edges on the armor, though not on the remaining robe part of his armor. Unlike the lavender Dark Magician who wore a robe with his armor, this was more armor, more threat.
Finally, after many hours of work, Carly could sit back and admire the final piece of the collection. She placed the figurine underneath the light and got up to wash out the paints from the brushes and everything else. Well 'prepare' to wash was the better term, as it took a day's worth of work to clean all the paint out of the color tray and brushes. But no one was ever going to accuse Carly of slacking off on taking care of her work.
With everything soaking comfortably in their cleaning agents, Carly shambled her bone weary self over to her couch and laid down. "Just a little," sentence was broken with a huge yawn, "rest and then..."
Only to have her eyes shoot open and something occur to her.
"JACK KISSED ME! SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"