The Magicians' Realm Chapter 61: Special Delivery, a yu-gi-oh fanfic

Chapter 61, everybody, and happy Labor Day! Which for me at least was spent avoiding labor….Which, according to the United States Department of Labor, is a national tribute to the labor movement in the USA….So I guess I'm celebrating it properly?...

By the by, weather does cycle on a regular basis—so global warming is actually a load of bunk, for anyone who was worried about it.

Movies this week are Kubo and the Two Strings and the Back to the Future trilogy:

Mom said something today about maybe a Back to the Future Part IV, which, in retrospect, might not be such a good idea—the three movies work very well together, and if there's anything Jurassic World and the new Ghostbusters movie tells us, it's that late-entry sequels just don't seem to fly as well. :\

Kubo and the Two Strings is a gorgeous movie, although the plot may be easy to guess for some—this noisy kid next to us in the theater guessed one major plot point well before it occurred. Saying that, it's still great to see stop-motion in action, and it's cool to see how they put the giant skeleton together in the credits; Mom wondered why they were making it so big (it was easily taller than the crafters) until I mentioned the relative size next to the other characters, whom they'd also have to articulate. Fun stuff. :)

Angiembabe, thanks for the review! Darn that technology! Perhaps it was. D: Yes indeed! And good question….

FicReader, thanks for the review! Ah, thank you—this is true; my first convention was spent with my parents trying to convince them, if not that my love for fiction is normal, that I'd have company in the asylum. ;) Yes, I got a lot of little goodies from there—mostly pins and tiny figurines. :D Ahaha, glad you liked it! I remember that movie with fondness too—early 2000s were the best as far as fiction was concerned….It is! Call Ghostbusters….

Fromtheashtrees, thanks for the review! Yes….Thanks—and yes; we're already planning a trip for next year. :D I was wondering when that would be—have fun on your trip! :D

References:

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

Fortunately or unfortunately, depending upon how one wanted to spin it, Teana found herself at the Lackadaisy Revue. With shoes on—Mordecai had stopped Viktor on the way and slipped them on her feet, saying he was tired of carrying them.

And considering she was facing backwards at the time, she felt she must make a real sight to Horatio when he opened the door.

"Kindly inform Mrs. May that her eight-o-clock is here," Mordecai said.

"Oh boy," Horatio muttered, before apparently ducking in and allowing Mordecai and Viktor to do the same. At least she wasn't bumped on the door frame.

There was a mirror by the door that angled into the main room of the building, so she could see Horatio talking to Mitzi, who turned to see them coming up to her. She was flying blind again by the time they left the hall, however.

"Special delivery," Mordecai said as Viktor semi-gently dumped her into a chair.

Teana quickly took the opportunity to sock him in the chest—which was very much like hitting a rock. "That was not appreciated!"

"On both sides," Viktor muttered, rubbing his knees. "Was like carrying sack of potatoes for miles."

"Hey!"

Viktor waved her off, prompting her to turn to face the rest of the group in a huff. At least Mitzi had her face buried in her hands.

"Mordecai, honey," Mitzi said finally, taking her hands off her face and patting him on his hands. "When I ask you to pick someone up for an appointment, that does not mean kidnap them."

"I missed Masterpiece Theatre for this," Mordecai said, miffed.

"That doesn't come on until nine."

"This was still a waste of my time."

And with that, he turned on his heel and left.

Mitzi buried her face in her hands again. "Oh, I should have waited until Rocky came back."

"I'm not sure I would have preferred Rocky," Teana said.

"He wouldn't have slung you over his shoulder like some oaf," Mitzi said, progressing to rubbing her temples. "He would have tried to recite poetry until you relented, but he wouldn't have treated you like a sack of potatoes."

"I'm not appreciating the references I'm getting here."

Mitzi waved off the complaints, indicating the room in doing so. "Well, the idea was for you to be here before the crowd so you could see the floor and we could discuss things like civilized folk. Obviously, somewhere along the line that fell apart."

"And now the whole town will talk."

"Only if the band's drunken act isn't sufficiently noteworthy."

"I'm not feeling mollified."

"Understandable. At least have some dinner on the house."

"Does it have to be this house? And does your husband know his employers manhandle people?"

"Yes, and yes—that's part of the hiring process." Mitzi waved a waiter over and took a menu from him, handing it over to Teana. "Well, my plan of pitching the job to you has fallen through, I feel—and unlike Yami, I know when to back off and give a person breathing room."

Teana arched an eyebrow. "Is that still on the betting board?"

"Top-ticket item."

Teana shoved the menu aside. "You know, I liked my life a lot better before I ran into a crazy Magician and was introduced to his friends."

"I'm sure it was quieter," Mitzi agreed. "But getting to know you has revealed some interesting surprises. Mordecai was a little surprised to learn that you and he had been passing each other by for years—he thinks that means he somehow wasn't as perceptive as he should have been."

"I do not!" Mordecai called over.

"It just goes to show that sometimes we don't pay attention to what's in front of us," Mitzi said, shrugging.

"Uh huh," Teana said. "Can I go now?"

"See, that's what we in the business like to call missing the point."

"And what is the point, pray tell?"

Mitzi made a face that—if Teana didn't know better—looked very much like a pout.

"My point is," Mitzi stressed. "What are you doing wasting your talent by busing tables and checking coats?"

"Why is it anyone else's business?"

Mitzi put her chin on her folded hands. "Do you know how Atlas and I met?"

Teana was thrown by the sudden change of topic. "Uh, no…."

"I was singing with the band—Zib and the others—in this little dive by the Great River. Atlas hears me, gives me these," she said, fingering her pearls. "And says that talent like ours ought to be presented in something much better than some smelly dive." She looked up from her pearls to stare Teana straight in the eye. "Talent like yours ought to be presented in something much better than some smelly dive."

"Not everyone wants recognition," Teana pointed out.

"Then those people live an unfulfilled life. It's better to reach for the stars and fail than keep grubbing along hoping for a peaceful life."

"And it's your job to tell me to get a better job?"

"You're absolutely right," Mitzi said, smiling. "It's not my place to tell you how to live your life. It's no one's place to tell you how to live your life—except, of course, the One who gave you your life and talent, and I think I recall reading how He doesn't appreciate wasted talent."

Teana bit the inside of her cheek.

"I can't argue with that," she said finally.

"So we're in accord, finally."

"No we're not—I just can't argue with that."

"Will you take the job?"

"If I say no you'll just argue the point until I say yes—it's not like I have a choice."

"There's always a choice, honey—you could pull up stakes now and move. Find a place where no one has ever heard of Yami Skellington. Incidentally, if you do find such a place, let us know—it's one of the older items on the board."

Teana stared at her.

"Yami is one of those well-travelled people," Mitzi clarified.

"I don't like going into anything where I'm coerced into it," Teana said.

"But you'll work for two separate people who have made Yami lose his temper twice—which, by the by, is something, considering how level-headed he usually is. You've got him chasing his own tailcoats, and we his friends have no wish for that to end—it's too entertaining."

"Some friends."

"It makes me wonder what caliber his enemies must be," Mitzi said airily—and yet it still made Teana a little queasy to think about it.

Mitzi reached over and patted her hand.

"Give me one night," she insisted. "If after one night you're not satisfied, then I'll drop the whole thing and we can pretend this never happened."

"Can I get that in writing?" Teana asked.

"Regrettably, no—smooth operations require that the bare minimum be kept in writing. But a handshake works well enough for the men, so how about that?"

Teana sighed, looking at Mitzi's hand.

"I guess," she said finally, shaking Mitzi's hand. "Just not tonight."

"Understandable," Mitzi said. "Fortunately, Atlas and Rocky come back tomorrow—perhaps you'll find Rocky's presence more tolerable."

"One can only hope."

"Indeed. Now order some dinner—I have to do something to make up for this evening, and gossip over food seem the best way to do that."

Teana managed not to roll her eyes at that.

*/*\*

Yami's next course of action was to find the rest of his friends.

As it turned out, that didn't take very long—they were standing in front of an announcement board, muttering angrily amongst themselves.

"Let me guess," Yami said. "More fun exploding stuff has been banned."

"Pretty close," Kels said.

"Look at this. Look at this!" Jonouchi declared angrily, jabbing his finger against a large notice on the board. "They cancelled Punkie Night!"

"What?" Yami asked, maneuvering to better see the board—yes indeed, there it was, in large print: Punkie Night cancelled….

"'Due to inclement weather!'" Jonouchi practically howled. "What kind of lame excuse is that!?"

"It has been awfully warm for September," Yami mused.

"Chaos Weather," Kels said automatically.

"Yeah, but that happens," Honda pointed out. "Weather cycles all the time; it's…what is it…El Nino or something like that."

"That's not our fault!" Jonouchi insisted. "Why are we being punished!?"

"Woah," Bakura noised, coming up behind them. "What did I miss?"

"They cancelled Punkie Night and Jo's pitching a fit," Kels said.

"They cancelled Punkie Night?"

"'Due to inclement weather.' Hence the fit being pitched."

"Fortunately, I have a nice distraction to mollify the fit-pitcher," Yami declared calmly. "I'm going to Skellington Manor tomorrow—who wants to come?"

That succeeded in generating a very strong silence amongst his friends as they stared in bafflement at him.

"You want to do what?" Jonouchi asked.

"Did I stutter?"

"No," Kels said, exchanging glances with Bakura. "But—why?"

"As it turns out, there's some interesting things afoot up there."

"How so?"

Yami showed them the photo, tried to stay straight-faced as they crowded around it. "I found this in our attic," he explained. "I want to go to Skellington Manor and see if there's any explanations, clues, or anything to say if we're really…."

"Related?" Honda asked, incredulously.

"You had a photo of Yami Skellington in your attic?" Bakura asked, equally floored.

"Maybe, and yes," Yami said patiently.

Kels looked from the photo, to Yami, then back to the photo. "Well, if the hair's any indication, I'd say yeah, you are."

"I want to see," Jonouchi said, leaning over her.

"You can't take my word for it?"

"Well, yeah," Jonouchi said, taking the photo away from her. "But there's no photos of this guy—his window was even taken out of the Hall, and nobody does that!"

"No photos, no documentation, nothing but what the Administrators have said," Yami said quietly. "And yet there sat a photo in our attic. Why?"

"Maybe your dad ordered it all taken down," Honda posed. When Yami shot him an incredulous look: "Think about it—he's Head Mage. Now think of how people would have treated you and Yuki and your mom if they knew."

Yami had to concede that point, although it did make him wonder. Why would his father run the risk of such a marriage? But then again, it wasn't like it was a unique thing—his elder brother did marry a Hippies' daughter after knowing her for one day.

Or maybe he didn't know.

That was a little scary—why would his mother hide that sort of information?

Well, reflecting on it, maybe because of precisely what Honda said—Yami Skellington had never had children, but his sisters had passed on the familial blood. There was definitely a risk of magic of his level rising up in the family tree—

Yami's mouth twitched.

Well, that explained it. That explained it all. The odd looks, having his hair kept short, how magic just came to him with ease—it was the Skellington blood in him. That could be a very bad thing.

Which was why it was so important that he learn more—the idea that his grief was the fault of the Boogie-Mage…that he was related to the Boogie-Mage…and that he could turn out like the Boogie-Mage….

He needed to know.

"Meet me by the Stone Stairs tomorrow," Yami declared. "I'm going to Skellington Manor tomorrow, no ifs ands or buts."

And with that, he took the photo back, turned on his heels, and left.

"We're all going to die," he heard Kels declare behind him.

"Think positive," Honda said.

"We're all going to die quickly," Jonouchi posed.

It took all of Yami's self-control not to put his face in his hands right then and there.