The Magicians' Realm Chapter 82: Plans That Don't Add Up, a yu-gi-oh fanfic

Chapter 82, everyone! In which I need to get writing again to work on the buffer….Sorry for the delay, but I had a CITI certificate that needed doing and that took precedence. In other news, it's done. :D

Movie this week (which is also the topic of interest in my new Don't Starve fic) is the Tim Burton film Beetlejuice: I love the fact that years of watching HGTV has us now liking Delia's remodel of the house instead of the original look (and the fact that we actually understand what it is Delia and Otho discuss when they pick the house apart).

Angiembabe, thanks for the review! I…don't know, I'm going to have to look….And yet they have the occassional green potato chip that can be eaten without penalty, strangely enough. Not yet….I agree. And I do too—go Yami!

Fromtheashtrees, thanks for the review! Yes, the most dangerous phrase….Darn that Fanfiction. Haha, my Mom has no chill when I drive, so we haven't gotten to that point yet. I think that must be a dad-thing, because my Dad is the same way. Me too….

FluffyIdiotIsI, thanks for the review! You would think….Hahaha, now I'm picturing Yami coming out of a coffin like Johnny Depp did in Dark Shadows. :D Agreed—I'm listening to the Animaniacs theme right now, and that's about the level of chill I imagine him with (voted most likely to go randomly skipping down the street by a jury of his peers). Of course! And seriously, Yami, why can't you make that connection? Have them both do it—better yet, have Kineil do it. Yes….

References:

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

Yami and Skulduggery made it a point to tell Teana beforehand that Ghastly was simply born ugly.

"That's not very nice," she felt obliged to point out as they rode to Bespoke Tailors in the Bentley—and she felt obliged to acknowledge that yes, the Bentley was an excellent ride, especially when compared to the Nightmare. Skulduggery was still glowing from that declaration.

"Well, in cases such as this, bluntness is key," Skulduggery said, shrugging. "Ghastly's mother was cursed while she was pregnant with him, and it manifested in scars that won't go away. Once you get over the initial shock, you hardly notice them."

"Cursed scars. Should we be concerned?"

"They're not contagious."

"I don't know," Yami said. "My sister Helen has a couple of scars that match ones our Mom has, and she never had anything happen to her to cause them."

"Yes, but as far as I know, Teana and Ghastly are not related. We're talking about person-to-person communicable scars, not hereditary ones."

"And suddenly I'm wishing that I stayed with Idgy," Teana said.

"No you don't—she's teaching Jack about algebra. Or trying to. In about an hour, they'll both lose patience with the subject, throw the book down, and run out hunting for bees."

"That doesn't seem very conductive."

"We'll get around to it eventually. Like the next time one of us actually uses algebra in everyday life."

"Is that the one with all the x's and y's?" Yami asked.

"Yes," Skulduggery said, making a turn and cruising at reduced speed. "Let's see…x over y times z over q equals a major headache…or something along those lines."

"I actually liked algebra," Teana felt obliged to point out.

"Really? Marvelous. You can tutor Jack for us. What are your rates?"

"Do what?"

"I believe you just volunteered for algebra services," Skulduggery said, pulling over.

"I don't—why don't you ask Jack's teachers?"

"Because we both already know we can't do a thing with algebra and we're smart enough to outsource. I already know Idgy will love this idea."

Teana looked at Yami, who smiled at her before sliding out and holding the door for her.

"Hold it," she said, wanting to focus on Skulduggery for the moment. "Is Jack homeschooled?"

"Of course; it's not uncommon," Skulduggery said, pulling the key out of the ignition and leaning back to look at her. "We keep up with the educational requirements—which I have direct access to, working at the Administration Building—and we just run until we can't, at which point we outsource. Which is where you come in, apparently."

"But I'm not qualified—what about Miss Weaver? Isn't she making that school?"

"Yes, how is that going, by the way?" Skulduggery projected, looking out the open door.

"It's going," Yami said, leaning to look back in. "Are we not getting out of the car? Can I come back in?"

"No. And you: you know algebra, right? You know how it works?"

"Yes," Teana said. "But—"

"No buts," Skulduggery said airily, checking the wing mirror before opening his door. "Congratulations, you're hired."

Teana's response was to thunk her head against the headrest of the seat in front of her. "Oi."

"Not the car, please."

*\*/*

Anzu was busy working at the desk when she heard someone call her name in a stage whisper. She looked up to see Yami and Yuki running towards her.

"Oh, you're back," she said. "Got your feathers all straightened out?"

"Anzu! I—do what?" Yami asked.

"Your feathers. From earlier."

"I don't follow."

"Feathers?" Yuki asked, similarly confused.

"Wow," Anzu noised. "Did that Administrator Librarian hit your head or something?"

"Now I really don't follow—we have a problem," Yami said.

"I'll say."

"It's worse than whatever you've got, trust me," Yami said, glancing around to ensure they weren't being eavesdropped on; Yuki started checking the nearby aisles. "I'm working on fixing it, but I thought I ought to let you know—I may have made an extremely boneheaded move last night."

Anzu blinked. "What did you do?"

Yami grimaced. "I…may have brought back Yami Skellington. All of him."

Anzu blinked. Once. Twice.

"I'm putting that on my list of reasons to panic," she declared finally.

"Fair enough."

"I—wait, is he innocent?" she asked. "Did you ask him anything? What happened?"

"What happened. Well, he got away, for starters. And apparently killed an Administrator on top of things."

"I heard that one died—I didn't hear he was killed."

"For obvious reasons, that's not the sort of thing that's allowed to get out and about immediately after the occurrence."

"For what reason?"

"Mass panic?"

"A parade in the guy's honor?"

"I don't think the Administrators are liked that much."

"I mean for the killer."

"Oh. Um, back to pertinent issues—Yami Skellington. I may have inadvertently put us all into danger. Of the life-threatening sort."

"I thought—it looked like he was innocent. At least, I never saw anything that made him look guilty."

"Right now it doesn't matter if he was or not—we have one Administrator dead, and I don't want any more added to the list."

She gave it some thought before nodding. "Right. So what do we do?"

"I don't know yet," Yami admitted, looking like it pained him to admit as much. "I mean, we have a plan to trip up whatever Skellington's planning, but…." Here he gave a mirthless laugh. "It's a disaster."

She really truly wanted to ask him what he thought would happen, summoning Skellington back from limbo, but she sensed that now wasn't the time for that question. "So what's the plan?" she opted to ask instead.

He seemed cheered by the fact that she had picked that question instead of the obvious, turned to wave at his brother. "Yuki! Get over here!"

"Yuki is part of the plan?" Anzu asked blankly as he ran over.

"Yes—I can't go to the Administration Building, long story, so I need you and Yuki to go to the Administration Library and look for anything that could open up a big portal. If anyone asks, Yuki needs to look it up for a school project and asked you for help. Meantime, I'm going to be trying to find Skellington. Any questions?"

"What are you going to do if you find him?" Anzu asked.

Yami's expression told her he didn't have a plan after that.

"Right," she said, getting up. "I need to tell Miss Binder I'm having to go to the Administration Building. And you: come up with a plan before you find him," she scolded, kissing him on the nose.

And then she and Yuki were off.