The Magicians' Realm Chapter 58: Punking, a yu-gi-oh fanfic

Chapter 58, everybody! In which adults refuse to act their age….Thank you, everyone, for the concern about The Frost King—I must apologize for the delay, which came from a combination of inspiration elsewhere/crucial chapter/boiling hot weather that provided a lot of inspiration for The Magicians' Realm and none for The Frost King. However, with any luck, I'll have the much anticipated next chapter up tomorrow, so stay tuned. :)

The movie this week is the 2016 remake of Pete's Dragon, which was a lot better than I had initially hoped—very few slow bits, the dragon and its animation was entirely enjoyable and believable, and the whole thing made sense, which I honestly wasn't expecting. :O

Angiembabe, thanks for the review! Agreed, and agreed—he's kind of like our President in that regards: major figurehead, but when one actually examines what he's allowed to do, one will find that it's not really all that much. This is true—and maybe that's her problem….And yes, that is Yami's plan. :D We'll be getting an update for that tomorrow, even if it kills me (but I hope it doesn't).

Fromtheashtrees, thanks for the review! Something's better than nothing! This is true—no, no, it's inspiration problems on my end; Yami doesn't want to come visiting in 95+ degree weather (I've been having to bribe him back with Trans-Siberian Orchestra music). Precisely! Well that's good—progress! :D

FicReader, thanks for the review! Yes, I don't understand it. Punkie Night, as I figure it, actually takes place on October 1st, but Yami Skellington definitely lives for this month. :D We might have a reference to spooky titles in this chapter—and yes, definitely. :D I think you may have guessed that correctly….

References:

Original characters, + setting © Kineil D. Wicks (myself, not the girl in the story)

Teana met Yami on the front steps of her apartment, where he was waiting with a shawl that had a spiderweb pattern on it.

"Just a little something I whipped up," he said nonchalantly, holding it up for her. "You need something fitting for the occasion."

"I wore gray and orange—what else do you want?" she asked, pulling the shawl on.

"Well, you do want something appropriate—otherwise, you might make yourself fair game."

Yami, she noticed, had a luminous skeleton pattern on his suit—ironic, she felt. "See, this is why I stay in," she told him. "I don't like getting punked."

"But it's fun," he pointed out. "It's like Topsy-Turvy Day—it's a time to cut loose and goof off a little. Besides, the rule is nothing mean-spirited or permanent. It's just an opportunity to spook each other and goof off—and besides, no one will mess with you with me standing next to you."

"And what makes you so sure?"

He held up his hands in an obvious watch this gesture, turned to face a gaggle of kids heading their way—and then jumped in front of them, cape going everywhere as his arms flew up, hands claws facing backwards as he roared at the kids. They scattered, laughing.

"See?" he asked, turning back to her. "Now you try."

"I'll pass," she said. "I wouldn't want to steal your thunder."

"Ouch. Come on—the real fun's over here, I can hear it."

So could she, and she wasn't too surprised to see Kineil, Hephaestus and Vulcan tearing up and running around with the kids when they rounded the corner.

"I thought this was a kid's holiday," she pointed out.

"Yes, well, we're kids at heart," Yami said.

"That explains so much."

"'Here comes a lighter to light you to bed!'" Vulcan quoted, chasing after a couple of kids in ghost sheets. "'And here comes a chopper to chop off your head!'"

"You better run kiddies!" Hephaestus crowed, wearing an ugly green sackcloth over his clothes, messy blonde hair everywhere without his fedora. "Before the boogieman gets you!"

"Run them this way!" Kineil called, dressed in a suit that shimmered when she moved, her hair dusted with a shimmering gray. "Sam Hain could use a few for his factory!"

"Can I go home now?" Teana asked.

"At least give me an hour," Yami begged. "There needs to be a proper balance between hours spent here and the day that's me-free."

"Right, right," she sighed, as Yami jumped in front of a few witches and a mummy and flared his cape dramatically.

"Right into the grasp of the Skeleton King!" he mock snarled. The kids eeked accordingly.

And then the kids were focused on her.

"What are you supposed to be?" one asked.

"I'm just me," Teana said.

"That's not scary," a mummy pointed out.

"Yeah," a witch said. "You're supposed to be scary—how is that scary?"

Teana smiled, leaned down so she was on their level, and spoke as blandly as possible.

"Because I know who you are, and I saw what you did," she told them. "And I'm telling your parents."

The kids gasped and fled.

"Wow," Hephaestus opined. "You're really good at this."

"Yeah," Kineil added. "Usually it's only Max who can get away with going as themselves."

"Oh great, he's in on this," Teana observed drily.

"Well, Max can come off as a bit…unfriendly," Yami began. "But when you actually get to know him—"

And then with a poof, the man in question popped up beside Yami, making shushing motions.

"Now, now, don't give away the big secret," Maxwell chided.

"It's a secret?" Yami asked.

"That explains so much," Kineil said.

"Is how you popped in from nowhere a secret too?" Teana had to ask.

"It is," Maxwell said, smoothing his lapels—Teana noted that the only change to his outfit was that his suit shoulders were pointier. "We can't have it getting around how I get around, otherwise there will be death," he snarled, smoothly switching gears and turning slowly to snarl at a gaggle of kids who had had the obvious intention of punking him. Teana was surprised they didn't leave little dust clouds as they fled—or their shoes.

"Don't wonder why no one is fond of you," Teana pointed out.

"I don't wonder—I know," Maxwell replied, back to conversational, the switch so smooth it was frightening. "It's part of my master plan to train for when I'm old and can sit on my porch and yell at kids to get off my lawn."

"You can do that now," Kineil pointed out.

"I could….But I don't have a lawn."

"I could loan you some of mine."

"You don't have a lawn," Yami pointed out.

"I have your lawn."

"Yes, but it's my lawn."

"Not any more—I'm re-appropriating some of it."

"But it's my lawn."

"Tough."

"Did you just steal some of my lawn?"

"Yes I did—what are you going to do about it?"

"Are they for real?" Teana asked Hephaestus and Vulcan, who had come over to watch.

"What this?" Hephaestus asked. "Yeah, sure."

"All the time," Vulcan agreed.

"It's like quality entertainment without the commercials."

"Yeah….'And now a word from our sponsor: Blue Coal! America's number one anthracite!'"

"So how much would you pay me for some of his lawn?" Kineil was asking Maxwell.

"I don't know if I want his lawn," Maxwell said. "It might have his cooties on it."

"This is true."

"I know when I'm being mocked," Yami interposed, looking back and forth between the two like he was watching a tennis match.

"That was more than I would have given you," Maxwell said.

"This is also true," Kineil agreed, before pointing dramatically. "Now come! We fly!"

And with that, she ran off.

"I get tired just watching her," Maxwell muttered, before clicking his heels together—

And falling through his own shadow.

Teana stared at the point he disappeared into for a few gob-smacked moments.

"What was that?" she asked finally, pointing.

"That was Maxwell's shadow-travel," Yami explained, looking where she indicated. "It's how he gets around so fast and pops in right behind you without your noticing."

"I hate it when he does that," Hephaestus declared.

"Only because you screamed like a little girl when he did it to you," Vulcan said.

"I did not!"

"Did too!"

"Did not!"

"Should you be stopping this?" Teana asked Yami, indicating where the two boys were now fighting.

"Nah," Yami said, hands on his hips. "They'll be fine. Shall we go?"

"Go home?"

"Ah, no. There will be a party thing in the Administrative Square—we should be there. There's dancing."

"Hmm…."

"Or I could take you down to the river where the Gypsians and Hippies are partying—"

"Let's go," Teana declared, grabbing his arm and heading for the Administrative Square.