The Magicians' Realm Chapter 79: Tracking Down, a yu-gi-oh fanfic

Chapter 79, everybody! In which Greg dusts, Yami gets kicked out of his own house again, and Maxwell is his usual irritating self and quotes Bill Cosby to boot. So a normal Monday.

Movie this week is Titanic—still can't watch the whole thing without crying, but I'm sure that's normal. Like Pearl Harbor, it's a movie set within a real event that focuses on a handful of people, which is actually a good way to portray it—otherwise, it's as the one quote goes, that it's only a movie about a ship sinking. In addition, Titanic is one of the movies that I prefer to watch to give myself some writing juice on The Magicians' Realm, so good things.

Angiembabe, thanks for the review! Thank you! And I must acknowledge the wisdom of your statement, as I didn't drive again until that Sunday and had to take a minute to remember what I was supposed to do. Maybe….And most likely.

FicReader, thanks for the review! Yes….Yes, Yami S. still has some of his loveable traits, which is a good thing. Haha, summer is actually a busier time for me, because the college I attend has a rolling enrollment (meaning no summer break) and I have a ton of outdoor work to do. Tomatoes, peppers, beans, and squash, among a few other assorted vegetables. Nice!

Fromtheashtrees, thanks for the review! Isn't it, though?...Thanks a second time—and you make the second person to tell me that (and are also right about that :|). Don't worry about it—life comes first. I think I had to practice driving for a minimum of 90 days, but don't quote me. And yes it is—learning how to drive practically tanked all of my energy from March until July. D:

FluffyIdiotIsI, thanks for the review! Yes! Success! This is very true, but at least I have plenty of other half-finished stories to focus on (although a good chunk of my writing energies for the past couple of days have been dedicated to this story, so win). Most likely—and of course! Who would ever think to look for him there? Well, considering Max lives in his own office…maybe. And that right there—that does sound like something Max would do. That could work. Possibly, although I think we've still got a ways to go before things get to that. To answer your question: three books total, with some fresh characters showing up but still with a focus on some of the same ones. Which reminds me, I need to prioritize work on Book II as soon as this one is written out….

References:

Malice © 2009 Chris Wooding

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

Greg was firmly of the opinion that this was going on the books as one of the more aggravating days.

The Administrators were paying lip service to their fallen comrade, but had quickly moved on to more 'pressing' matters, like what an inconvenience his death had been. Out of sight had literally been out of mind.

Greg, meanwhile, couldn't shake the quiet supposition that perhaps Mesthil's death hadn't been natural.

Unfortunately, there was no way to pursue that line of thought—the body was already gone, and any evidence was cleaned up. If he had been Hotchner, it would have been a forcibly closed case.

Greg, fortunately, was not his brother, and employed a sensory spell to see if any errant Magicians had made an attempt on the man's life.

Well…Mesthil was there, so that was no surprise…as was Maxwell. Huh.

And…a third party. One whose magical signature he didn't recognize.

Interest piqued, Greg moved on to gather the magic belonging to the strange signature together, collecting the scant invisible traces left by a Magician simply by moving around, until he had a visible cloud of nebulous dust. Poke the concentrated mass…still didn't feel…too familiar.

But it did feel familiar, in some strange way—he had encountered magic like this before, if not in person, then a relative of said Magician. Hmm….

"Woah," Ravel noised, coming up behind him and looking over his shoulder. "Now that's a dust bunny."

"No kidding," Greg said, looking at him. "And what happened to keeping everyone out of the building?"

"Administrator Sumbinix is giving a press conference as we speak—everyone will soon be fast asleep or so bored that they find somewhere else to be. What is that, by the way?"

"There was a third party here last night," Greg said, holding the magic dust ball up. "And every Magician leaves a magic trail behind them, especially when emotion makes them expend more. One of the ways I keep track of my kids."

Ravel whistled appreciatively. "So we know who did it—holy cats, Mesthil could have been murdered."

"This is true. And no we don't—I don't recognize the trail."

Ravel held his hand near the dust ball. "It doesn't feel familiar to me either. So it wasn't an inside job…pity, I had bet that Maxwell did it. I had literally bet money."

"If Maxwell wasn't an accessory or an accomplice, he was definitely a witness," Greg said, looking up and down the hall. "Of course, that means we have to find Maxwell…."

"Good luck."

"I know," Greg said, freeing up a hand to rub his face. "I've already had his system explained to me. But there's got to be a way to trace this, and find out what happened—you head for the library. I've got to keep this safe somewhere."

"You got it," Ravel said, saluting smartly before dashing off, short cape flapping in his wake.

As Greg headed for his office, he reflected that he might have just bitten off more than he could chew.

*/*\*

Teana woke up the next day and managed to make coffee and feed Lil' Stevie without incident.

And then Yami came in.

"Oh good, you're up and dressed," he said, tugging the coffee over and pouring himself a mug.

"I don't make it a habit to be asleep and naked," Teana countered, taking a sip of her coffee.

"Fair enough. But this means that we can go off and maybe get breakfast, because I'm sure Kineil hid the food, and where did you find the sugar?"

"I asked Mitzi last night if I could borrow a cup."

"Why do people say that?" Yami asked, shrugging. "It's not like you're going to be giving it back—it's like asking if you can borrow a hanky. No one wants it back after it's been used."

"There was a conversation yesterday, about you not broaching topics until noon. Pretend we just had that conversation again."

"Right. So! After breakfast we can go and visit Ghastly—"

"Don't you have work?"

"Now don't you try to pull this on me again—one nine-to-five haul was enough. I do that again, I'll drop dead from aggravation. My gray hair will get a buddy, and I'd rather it be lonely."

Okay, ignore the bad feeling from drop dead, rub her forehead against the headache threatening to show up….

"You!" Kineil said, coming in. "Why are you here?"

"We should probably talk about you kicking me out of my own house," Yami said.

"Right. There, we talked about it. Good chat. Now out and let me eat in peace."

"I'll have you know we're leaving because we want to," Yami said, offering a hand to Teana.

"Can't I finish my coffee first?" Teana asked.

"You can take it with you. Now come on, before Kineil decides to physically kick us out."

"Which I plan to," Kineil said, pulling a jug of milk out of the icebox. "And just so you know, I plan to be helping Jake with his little dragon and then visiting Dr. Heller later, so you can go and be mushy in here then."

"Unless Hephaestus and Vulcan decide to kick us out," Teana muttered, draining her cup and standing.

"Actually, they'd probably just watch. With popcorn and sodas."

"All the more reason to not be here," Yami said, offering Teana his arm. Teana considered this briefly before accepting and hustling out with him before Kineil could commence with the shooing.

"So where are we eating breakfast?" she felt compelled to ask.

"Someplace with a nice homey feel that makes the best fried green tomatoes you've ever eaten," Yami said, steering her down the driveway.

"For breakfast?"

"For dessert too, once you've had them. Now come on—we don't want to be late."

*\*/*

Yuki hovered around the edges of the dispersing crowd, ears plugged to keep Administrator Sumbinix's soporific voice from affecting him as he edged around and to the doors, managing to squeeze in without being noticed.

Now for the little matter of finding his dad and warning him without giving away the teeny tiny fact that it was his and Yami's fault that Skellington was loose. And he had to do this right—Yami was trusting him with this—

"Hey!"

Yuki jumped, spun to face a page bearing down on him with a glare.

"What are you doing here?" the page demanded. "This isn't the time or place for little kids to be around!"

Yuki huffed at that description—he wasn't a little kid!—opened his mouth to counter—

"Say, pal, what's all this?"

The page yelped and took off, with Yuki sincerely tempted to bolt with him. But he could smell the cigar smoke, knew he was right behind him….

Yuki turned to see Administrator Carter grinning down at him.

"Not that that wasn't fun, but the louse has a point," Administrator Carter said, waving his cigar around. "Why are you here when you could be elsewhere?"

Yuki was pretty sure he had seen something at the Majestic that would have provided a very good answer, but he had forgotten since then. "I…need to see Dad."

"Are you sure? You should really say these things like you're sure."

Yuki tried to ignore the way Administrator Carter was grinning, like he knew he was wasting Yuki's time and enjoying every minute of it. "I do—it's important."

"Oh really? Do tell."

Hedge…Administrator Carter was an adult, true…but then again, Administrator Carter was…Administrator Carter.

"I…can't. It's something Dad has to hear," Yuki tried, already shuffling away.

Yuki most certainly did not like the way Administrator Carter's eyebrow snaked up at that.

"Sorry, pal, but you'll be having a hard time getting a hold of him, what with the murder and all," Administrator Carter said, sounding conversational but with a dangerous undercurrent to it.

Yuki started. "Do what? H—I didn't—"

"Of course you didn't!" Administrator Carter said, tapping some ash off of his cigar and looking mighty pleased with himself. "That's not for the public ear to hear. Although you should be grateful—gets everyone's mind off of your buddy Bakura rotting in the dungeon."

"I—Bakura's in jail?"

"Oh wait, did I say that? Well, I'm sure you won't do anything. Cell's completely impervious to unlocking spells. Such a pity, too—ah well, it's not like you know anyone who can pick locks. Except for Bakura, of course."

And with that, Administrator Carter was gone through his own shadow. Not cool.

But….

Yuki fidgeted. It was entirely possible that Administrator Carter was trying to get him into trouble—he had done the same to Yami, Yami had said.

But if he were telling the truth….Then that meant Bakura was in trouble.

And Yuki did know someone else who could pick locks.