The Magicians' Realm Chapter 65: Lighting Up, a yu-gi-oh fanfic

Chapter 65, everyone! Yes, it's alive! Still—combination crazy month/having to make sure the whole arc was planned out and properly spaced/inspiration elsewhere….Moving on, Happy Halloween, so have a chapter to go with it! :D

Kineil quotes a movie, but I don't remember which one….I think The Pacifier, but I'm not certain….Someone spot me on that, will you?

Plenty of spooky movies this October—and a few horror ones. Special mention goes to The Shining, which is, without a doubt, a TERRIBLE movie. Watched it on and off with my Mom, and the best part is literally the part everyone knows, where Jack Nicholson stuck his head through the door and snarled "Here's Johnny!" Good rule of thumb is probably to not watch any Stephen King films directed by Stephen King—of all of the Stephen King films, the only one I ever liked was Shawshank Redemption, which was not directed by him. Yes, Shawshank Redemption is a Stephen King film (it's based on the novella Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption). I know. It boggled my mind too.

Angiembabe, thanks for the review! No, it was not. Although we did get a lot of shells when we went back for a couple of days, but the whole two-week vacation was pretty much shot, as we spent most of the time indoors due to the rainstorms being shoved ahead of the hurricane. The highlight of the whole vacation was a cormorant swallowing a whole crab (his neck looked like it was in a cartoon) and a Facebook post that had Matthew McConaughey playing the hurricane. Yes, finally! Which is probably what caused that storm….Yes, me too….

Fromtheashtrees, thanks for the review! Yes, me too….Yep, we are—although summer is still hanging on tooth and nail (shorts yesterday, wow!). Shame on you—get to those!

FicReader, thanks for the review! Yes, me too. Well, to be honest, the only thing I was worried about as far as spotty Internet goes was getting my schoolwork sent in—everything else was minor inconveniencing (although I do need my electricity—me writing out longhand is not a good thing). Eh, I'm not all that big myself—the thing you have to remember is to not do what they tell you when your ammo runs out. In theory, you're supposed to put your hands up and yell "I'm out!" In reality, you do that and end up with a perfect outline of you against whatever you're standing against. Nerves was the worst part, though—worst I got was a few bruises, a mouthful of paint (yes, I was pelted), and a couple of lacerations on the side of my face where high-speed paint made it through the safety mask. Good times….Yes, it had to be done! And…wait…Dr. Who time-travels…and the Montgaus have a neighbor named David….Yes, finally!

References:

Casper © 1995 Brad Silberling (the house in general is honestly based off of Whipstaff Manor)

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

When their eyes finally adjusted, they saw that the foyer they were standing in led to a sizable mudroom, through which they could see part of another room. They began to advance, looking everywhere for signs of traps. Yami glanced down to see a welcome mat. He heard Kels laugh and looked forward. At the entrance to the mudroom, lined up with the welcome mat, was another mat that read wipe your feet.

"It's nice to know this guy had a sense of humor," Kels announced.

"Or maybe he just had a hard time remembering things," Anzu observed, looking at a small table. It had little steps with hooks, and a sign at the top that read keys please.

Kels looked around the mudroom. "What a house," she observed. "My living room could fit in this room. Isn't this supposed to be the foyer?"

"This'd make a heck of an extended family," Jonouchi observed. "Look how much room he had for coats and boots. Honestly!" he tilted his head back to his friends and gave a lopsided grin. "No wonder they offed him—he was too filthy rich."

"You're just jealous," Honda observed.

Yami nudged Yuki, standing in the way; Yuki leapt about a foot in the air with a high-pitched squeak. He spun around, saw Yami arch an eyebrow, and lowered his head, blushing furiously.

"Don't get ahead of yourself, Yuki," Kels said, her voice muffled with laughter. "After all, it's not like he's a ghost."

The mudroom suddenly fell silent.

"Skellington isn't a ghost, is he?" Kels asked finally, looking at Yami.

"It's doubtful," Yami told them. "His bones were banished, remember? He's currently in another dimension, tied to his bones by way of eternal corporeal punishment."

They absorbed this information, then everyone crossed themselves.

"Anyway, I wouldn't worry about ghosts," Jonouchi said quickly. "It's Spooks I'd be worried about."

"Spooks don't exist, dunce," Honda scolded.

"They do too!" Jonouchi snapped back. "They steal your socks—but only the left ones. What's up with that?"

Yami couldn't help but glance at Bakura, who looked up whistling. The whistle turned into a long low note. "Nice," he commented.

Yami followed his gaze. The ceiling had been painstakingly painted with a starry night sky.

"That's not from here," Bakura observed. "Those constellations are from farther north."

"Who would paint all that on their ceiling?" Honda asked.

"Just because you're practical, Honda, doesn't mean everyone else is."

"Yes, everyone knows how flamboyant and bizarre Magicians are," Kels pointed out. "No offense," she added, glancing at Yami.

"None taken," Yami noised, looking back down. "Come on—there's more to this place than just the mudroom."

Someone cursed in pain, having bumped into something in the gloomy interior.

"Or…maybe we ought to see about getting some lights first," Yami said.

*\*/*

Teana was sitting on her apartment building's stoop, luggage nearby and waiting, cradling her pot of honking daffodils as she waited for Yami's promised transport. She wondered what that entailed—probably messy-haired Magicians on brooms or something like that.

She looked up sharply at the cacophonous sound of an automotive nightmare rattling down the street, saw a convertible round a corner and show itself to be the source of the noise. To her growing alarm, it was heading straight for the curb in front of the building—and worse, she recognized the people inside it.

"Hi there!" Hephaestus greeted upon the car rattling to a stop.

"Oh good," Teana said as he turned it off. "I was hoping for ostentatious transportation."

"You too?" Vulcan asked, hopping out of the car along with Hephaestus.

Teana made a pensive noise as she stood. "I see Yami saw fit to preserve his life."

"Actually, the little Teana in his head told him to go to work," Kineil said from her perch in the backseat. "You could actually see it in his eyes—otherwise, he'd have been in here eating his knees."

"He does seem too tall for this sort of transport."

"The good news is, more room for your luggage," Hephaestus said, pulling his goggles down. "Where's the rest of it?"

"This is it," Teana said, gesturing.

Hephaestus and Vulcan stared, making her slightly uncomfortable; she had really been much too busy working to accumulate much, and she didn't really need that much, and she couldn't really afford that much…but still….

"One trunk and three hatboxes?" Vulcan asked finally.

Teana shrugged, deciding for audacity. "And your point?" she asked.

Vulcan and Hephaestus exchanged glances, then shrugged.

"All right," Hephaestus said, picking up the hatboxes.

"Just so you know, when Yami sees this, he's going to work on spoiling you to no end," Vulcan said, picking up the steamer trunk and following Hephaestus to the trunk of the car.

"I don't need spoiling," Teana said flatly.

"Of course you don't," Kineil said, opening the back door of the car so Teana could climb in. "But Yami's going to do it anyway, because that's how he rolls. Now hop in this nightmare so we can get going."

"He needs better things to do," Teana declared as she sat down.

"Nah," Hephaestus said, checking to make sure her skirt was in before shutting the door. Vulcan shut the trunk and headed for his passenger seat. "Besides, he's been busy making sure his month's clear," Hephaestus continued, climbing into the driver's seat. "He's been in a tizzy ever since he got your letter." He pulled his goggles back on, then paused, giving his statement some thought. "Bit annoying, to be honest…."

"Should I be concerned about riding in this thing?" Teana asked as he turned the engine over.

"My dear Miss Gardenier," Kineil hollered over the engine noise; Teana noted she was clinging to the sidebar as tightly as she could. "There was a reason I said this thing was a Nightmare."

*/*\*

After glancing into several dark, musty rooms and noting the lighting setup, it was generally agreed that they needed to find the generator next. Considering Skellington had been friends with the infamous mechanical Magicians Hephaestus and Vulcan, it stood to reason that he had such a power source independent of the town's power.

Jonouchi and Honda took charge there, directing everyone to search for the entrance to the basement.

"Why the basement?" Miho squeaked, still cowed by the place. Understandable.

"Because that's where people keep machines like that," Jonouchi explained simply.

They opened several doors, seeking steps downward. The rooms were dark and murky and stale-smelling—the mansion had obviously not been disturbed in a long, long while. Yami had a spark of magic light cradled in his hand, leading one group, while Anzu had a flashlight, leading the other.

"Eek!"

"What!" Yami yelped, spinning around—several of the others did too. Miho fell to the ground in a faint—Honda caught her.

Anzu, meanwhile, was looking rather sheepish as she beat at her chest, probably to restart her heart. "Sorry," she muttered. "The furniture in this room was covered—I saw white sheets and…well…it was stupid."

Yami shrugged—there wasn't any other appropriate reaction. Poking around in a musty old mansion in the dark felt very much like invading a private tomb: slow, dangerous, and potentially deadly.

"Woah!" Jonouchi yelped suddenly, sounding like he had lost his footing and causing another round of alarm. "Hey! I need a light over here!"

Yami crossed over, being closer and with fewer people between him and Jonouchi, held his light high so it shone above Jonouchi's shoulder—

And down a flight of wooden stairs, descending into cobwebbed darkness.

"Great," Yami said. "We found stairs that probably lead to the basement."

"Probably?" Jonouchi echoed.

"I don't exactly have a floor plan of this place."

Kels ducked under Jonouchi's arm, still braced against the doorframe. "So!" she said. "Who wants to go down the long creepy flight of stairs first?"

Long silence.

Yami and Kels both looked at Jonouchi.

"Gee, why don't I go?" Jonouchi asked, sounding more than irritated.

"Would you?" Kels asked, voice dripping with mock-sweetness.

Anzu handed Jonouchi her flashlight. "You might need this."

"Woo," Jonouchi muttered unenthusiastically, accepting the flashlight. "You all hear a scream, that'll be me."

"That's the spirit, Jo," Kels said as he took the first few steps down.

And then dashed back up. "I just remembered—I left the stove on at home. I ought to go home—be with the stove."

"Jonouchi…."

Yami put a hand on his chest to arrest forward momentum before going down the steps himself. "Come on, let's get this over with."

*\*/*

Upon arrival at Skellington Manor, it took all of Teana's control to not immediately mimic Kineil upon coming to a halt.

Said Magician flung herself out of the car, screaming "LAND!" before dropping to her hands and knees and kissing the paving stones.

"Aw, come on, it wasn't that bad!" Hephaestus scolded, pulling his goggles back down—he looked like a reverse raccoon from the road dust that had coated him. "We didn't even hit anybody that time!"

Teana—who shakily allowed herself to be helped out of the car by Vulcan—looked up sharply at that statement. "What?"

"We may have nearly run over an Administrator. Once," Vulcan added quickly.

"You people are a menace to the roads," Teana declared.

"That's what I hear," a familiar voice said.

They glanced about, then up as a black bird swooped over, spun around mid-air—

And then coalesced into Yami Skellington, dropping gracefully to the ground before striking a pose. "Ta-da!" he announced, sounding pleased with himself.

"Showoff," Hephaestus muttered.

"It's not as noisy and saves money on gas," Yami countered, crossing over to Teana, briefly looking down so he didn't step on Kineil. "Ah…for the record, I wanted to send Skul over with the Bentley," he said to Teana.

"That would have been calmer," Teana said. "I think my whole life flashed before my eyes."

"Really? How was it?"

"Very boring. And in review, I still question getting into relations with you."

"Harsh," Kineil said, sitting up. "But understandable."

"I'm sure," Yami said, before looking to Hephaestus. "By the by, did I tell you that the Administrators are wanting to pass a law banning gas-powered vehicles on the roads?"

Hephaestus waved that concern off. "We'd find a way around it."

"I'm sure. Anyway!" Yami chipperly focused back on Teana. "I delegated everything so I could help you get settled—we can pick out your room—"

"You can't have mine," Kineil said, standing and dusting her knees off.

"—while the boys get the rest of your stuff."

"It's all in the trunk," Vulcan said, popping the trunk open.

"Really?"

Teana couldn't help but give an apologetic expression as Yami watched Vulcan empty the trunk—a process that didn't take very long.

"That can't be everything," Yami said, looking at her.

"It is," Teana said. "I believe in a Spartan lifestyle."

"Warlike mannerisms to boot," Kineil said. "By the by, here it comes."

"Here what comes?" Yami asked.

"You deciding to spoil her to no end."

"Apparently I've become very transparent," Yami muttered.

"No spoiling me," Teana said, pointing. "I'm very happy with what I have, thank you very much."

"Of course," Yami said, offering an elbow to escort her. "But I plan on spoiling you anyway," he added as they went up the walkway. "First thing's first: we'll get you an account set up with Ghastly—he'll be pleased as punch to see you and probably make you a new outfit every month."

"Why?"

"Because he loves making clothes for women—he says it's more freeing, since they like color more. And then jewelry, because Mitzi informs me that having jewelry to match the clothes is very important—"

Teana looked behind them to see Kineil trailing after them, holding in a laugh. Vulcan was behind her with the hatboxes, with Hephaestus bringing up the rear with the trunk.

Teana rolled her eyes and jabbed him in the side with her elbow.

"I don't need nor want any of that," she informed him. "A room is fine."

"I am getting ahead of myself," Yami mused. "All right, first thing to do is help you pick out a room."

"Y'don't mind, I'll just drop this off in the foyer," Hephaestus called. "I gotta get the Nightmare put up—it looks like rain."

They looked up to see that yes indeed, gray clouds were scuttling in.

"It was supposed to be sunny," Yami muttered.

"Then it's a good thing your roof doesn't leak," Teana said.

Yami looked down at her and smiled. "Yes indeed." He waved a hand and his front door swung open. "Well then, won't you come in out of the rain?"

She winced as a raindrop hit her on top of the head. "I'd love to."