The Magicians' Realm Chapter 70: Summoning Skellington, a yu-gi-oh fanfic

Chapter 70, everybody! And a landmark one in more ways than one….Sorry about not posting last week—combination busy/wanting to make sure this chapter worked. And…in order to make it work, it had to not have the usual back-and-forth switch that the other chapters had—it interrupted the flow too much. So, presenting one of the few chapters in this story that makes use of FanFiction's usual spacers.

This is also one of those chapters whose content I wrote early on, so it required a few more Band-Aids than usual; hopefully it doesn't show. ^^;

Movie this week is Moana, which is actually really good—and the songs are really good at getting stuck in my head and staying there (and yes, that is Nigel from Rio in there). And the chicken Heihei—that is how my chickens act. No exaggeration.

Angiembabe, thanks for the review! Yes, it's about time…and nah, he's insufferable enough without giving him that—why, just imagine: if she did tell him that, he'd be so happy he'd shoot past the moon, and then we'd be without him! Which would mean that this would be the chapter where, a thousand years later, he finally touched back down on earth….Not trusting Maxwell is probably the smart thing to do, honestly….He's trying! It's just that making the leap from bored son to bored son summoning a dangerous dead Magician isn't exactly what Greg is expecting….Through a rend in space and time….

FuffyIdiotIsI, thanks for the review! Ah…you had me wondering….True—what was that Sherlock Holmes said? If you eliminate the impossible, then whatever remains, however improbable, is the truth? Hmm….I agree, I'm fairly certain these guys aren't that dense (saying that, they're about to make a bonehead move). And your observations about Administrator Carter are right on the money (and I must laugh at your nickname for the Administrators :D).

FicReader, thanks for the review! All right! :D I know—and then December isn't any less frantic. And these guys aren't even through October yet! D: Hmm…and yet your theory may be right on the money here….Maybe….

Fromtheashtrees, thanks for the review! Of course! That's the mark of a good plan in fiction—the number of ways it can go horribly wrong. At least you're paying attention at work. ;) Yes, it really felt like they were trying to tell two different stories that had nothing to do with each other (great if you're doing a season-long story arc in a TV show, dicey if you're doing it in a FanFiction like a certain daft writer is right now [ah, reflexive insulting], but in a movie where everything needs to be wrapped up in two hours? Eh…). Go outside—being outside builds character. Heh—Mom was just complaining about being cold, and I told her Australia was warm right now. She wanted to go until I reminded her about the spiders. :P Melbourne actually sounds like Colorado, actually….

References:

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

Oh wow, that actually pretty short for this….

It was the middle of the night when dry scratching woke Yuki up.

"Scrump, quit it," Yuki muttered into his pillow. No dice—the scratching quit for a minute before resuming. Ugh. He'd have to find the little doll and tell him about doing…whatever it was he was doing at whatever time of night this was.

Except when he sat up, it was to find that it was not Scrump who was responsible for the noise.

"What are you doing?" Yuki asked, looking at the symbols Yami was writing in chalk on the floor.

"Either go back to sleep or get out," Yami replied, not looking up.

"If you make me leave I'll tell Dad."

Yami sighed. "Don't tell Dad; as a matter of fact, don't tell anyone. I'm planning on bringing back Yami Skellington's skull."

"Okay." Yuki laid back down to sleep, hugging Owley to his chest, almost asleep again when the implication of what was said hit him. "Wait, what?" he squawked, sitting bolt upright.

"Not so loud!" Yami hissed. "You absolutely promise not to tell Dad?"

"Of course I won't tell. Now why are you doing this?"

Yami brought his hand up to examine the chalk he was rolling between his fingers. "There's a few questions I have that I can't find in any book, and I obviously can't get the answer from someone else, so I'm bringing Skellington's head back to reanimate it and get some answers."

Yuki shifted his weight nervously, wincing at the squeak of his bedsprings. "Are you sure that's such a good idea?"

"What could a skull do?"

Plenty, Yuki thought. Skulls that could talk could mutter curses that did unspeakable things. After all those years in Limbo, Skellington probably would be willing to lash out at anyone that summoned him. Unless….

"What if you brought back the whole skeleton?" Yuki suggested.

"Excuse me?" Yami looked at Yuki, a look on his face suggesting that he seriously thought that Yuki had lost his marbles.

"Well, if you brought back the whole skeleton, you could offer to bury Skellington properly once he told you what you wanted to know. I bet he'd be more helpful that way."

Yami considered it. "You know what? You're right. Why didn't I think of that?" he asked rhetorically before reaching down and wiping out a symbol, then replacing it with a different one. That done, he flexed his hand a few times before standing up and cracking his knuckles. "Right a wrong while we're at it."

"Can I watch?"

"Sure," Yami said, obviously brimming with confidence. "What's the worst that could happen?"

Yami Skellington felt he was slowly going insane.

It had been many, many years since his bones had been banished, and they weren't good years. His friends and associates—and quite a few other people who had been banished there as well—were handling things in their own way, but he knew it wouldn't last much longer. Kineil, Spite, and Malice—to name a few—were getting into fights almost every day, and Heller wasn't the only one they had had to lock away for safety's sake.

So when he felt the tug of a summoning, he was intrigued, to say the least.

He examined the magic imprint of the spell, expecting one of the Administrators to be bringing him back, probably to make an example of him. He didn't recognize the imprint, but his interest had been piqued. He let himself go through the summoning.

Because, after all, wouldn't they be surprised?

Yuki was holding his breath, and he was certain Yami was too. There was a swirl of dark smoke within the circle as the symbols glowed—it was working—

Suddenly, there was a flash and the smoke solidified into a portal—one too big for a simple skull. A figure sprang from the smoke and landed in the circle dramatically, feet together, standing erect, one hand on his chest, the other outstretched, cape flowing behind him and slowly settling down as the light faded.

Standing there was the very-much animated and not-at-all-dead-looking Yami Skellington. Certainly didn't look like he had been burnt to a crisp and then banished to an alternate dimension. Gaunt and bloodless, maybe, but other than that, he looked like his picture.

And he was moving on his own.

"Yami?" Yuki asked nervously.

"Yes?" Yami hissed through gritted teeth.

"Is he supposed to look like that?"

"No."

"Is he supposed to be moving?"

"No."

"Yami?"

"Yes?"

"Are we in trouble?"

"Yes."

Skellington, meanwhile, had been glancing around, as though he was expecting someone else—or someplace else, if his expression upon taking in their bedroom was any indication. Yami put his hand on Yuki's chest and started to shove him back slowly, angling for the door.

The movement attracted Skellington's attention; his head jerked back as a stunned expression appeared on his face, to be shortly replaced by a broad grin. Yuki shuddered a bit; Skellington's grin seemed to stretch to behind his eyes, almost, not stopping where a grin was supposed to.

"Well isn't this something!" Skellington said excitedly, his deep voice frightening Yuki to no end. "And here I was expecting—well, you don't need to concern yourself with that. But a dimension summoning at your age! How old are you?"

Yuki was about to open his mouth when Yami stopped him.

"Um, no offense," Yami said, choosing his words carefully. "But aren't you supposed to be…well, dead?"

"I am indeed!" Skellington said, tilting his head and holding a finger up. "And I have been for quite some time. But you know the old-wives' tale? That if your bones are banished, your soul can't rest? I'm here to tell you that that is true."

"Oh," Yami said, tone saying he was quickly regretting his summons. They glanced down at the circle.

Skellington did too, and then swept his hand down and away. The circle dissipated into chalk dust in the wind.

"I must say, I am extremely impressed with you!" Skellington continued conversationally, taking a few steps forward. Yuki realized that they probably had zip-defense against him. "You probably have a strong bloodline."

"A—" Yuki began, but Yami clapped his hand over Yuki's mouth.

"Be impressed all you want," Yami told him. "I actually summoned you here because I have some questions, and as far as I know, you're the only one with the capability to answer them. So, you can answer them, and when we're done we'll…um…we were going to bury you, actually…."

"Well that was nice of you."

"Of course, if you don't behave…." Yami trailed off there, making it sound significant, even though Yuki and Yami both knew there wasn't anything they could do against Skellington. Skellington probably knew this, even.

The dead man in question tilted his head, as though regarding Yami in a new light. Then, quick as a wink, before they could even react, Skellington snapped his hand out and plucked Horus—still in hat form—right off of Yami's head, revealing a haircut almost identical to Skellington's.

"Well well well," Skellington said, after examining Yami again. "That does explain a lot. You must be related to my sister—you have her sharp tongue." He placed Horus back on Yami's head. "I'll answer any question you'd like, but I have a few other things I'd like to check up on first."

With that, he was out of the room, brushing by Yuki and leaving the sound of rustling leaves and the musty scent of an attic behind.

Yuki took a moment to whine at the contact before Yami shook him slightly, snapping him back to the present—oh, right, dangerous dead guy on the loose in their house!

Yami and Yuki took off after him, spotted his spiky hair disappearing down the stairwell, hustled down the steps after him as fast as they could without sending up any warning creaks. How did he even move that quietly? Was he a ghost? That wasn't it—ghosts didn't have substance. Did they?

They reached the foot of the stairs just as Skellington opened the back door, a brief creak the only clue that he was even there. Well, that answered that question—ghosts didn't use doors.

"Stop!" Yami hissed, skidding to a halt at the foot of the steps.

Skellington spotted him, grinned a little as he gave him a little salute.

"Nice try," he told Yami. "But you don't know how to put power into your words yet. Don't worry—with your talent, I'm sure you could do it in short order. For now, ta!"

And then he was gone.

Yami rushed out of the house and into the empty, moon-washed yard. Yuki came out a few moments later, scanning the area in case Skellington decided to lurk next to the door, spotted instead Yami turning in a circle, trying to ascertain where Skellington had gone.

"Can you find him?" Yuki asked.

Yami had his hands out, but he was shaking his head. "He's hidden his magic—I can't trace him."

"Yami?" Yuki asked, in a small voice.

"Yes?"

"Are we in trouble?"

Yami sagged, and Yuki recognized the expression—it was the sort Yuki knew he got when he knew things were about to go south.

"Yes," Yami admitted finally, shaking his head.

Yuki swallowed hard, tried to peer into the darkness of the woods….

There was a dead man on the loose.

And it was their fault.

This was so not good.