Previously on TLA: Musume, uncovering the theory that fragments of overlapping timelines could manifest as submerged memories, confronted Crow for signs that he could remember her past. Although denying any knowledge of it, Crow instinctively responded with her childhood nickname.
After constant nagging (and the completion of normally impossible physical feats as trial), Leo finally persuaded Phantom to teach him magic only for an errant sigil to bind Jaden, Luna, and Yubel to the walls when he ignored her warnings against experimentation. While attempting to arrange an apology party in recompense, he then inadvertently convinced his family that Yliaster had kidnapped him from the penthouse.
Meanwhile, Crow's research to save Robert Pearson proceeds slowly.
Awkward moments are usually accompanied by an uncomfortable silence. Luckily, the oppressive silence of the library swallowed it whole as the cornered pair stared uneasily at each other.
Japan was a leading country in intellect but not height. Few natives had to duck through doorways and only one of them wore a hat that poofy. "Jack." Switching out his ridiculous flowing coat for a cheap denim jacket only accentuated how ill-fitting regular clothing was. Even throwing on that gaudy necklace and ridiculous glasses barely managed to switch him from an internationally renowned lanky idiot to a freakishly tall stranger.
Criminal marks on both cheeks were difficult to hide without a face mask and that bushy mess of red hair was concealed beneath the thickest beanie his brother owned. "Crow." Without the gentle breeze of the library air conditioning, he would have been a damp and sticky mess after the first five minutes. Sadly, it was the easiest way to cover the stamp on his forehead and conceal the last hint of his identity. Just a shame that it didn't cover his whole face.
"You look like the world's dumbest hipster."
"And you look like the world's worst ninja."
Ritual greeting insults aside, they regarded one another awkwardly. "Didn't expect to see you here." Crow tried not to feel like he was being ambushed by the encounter but the odds of the pair stumbling into the same part of the same library in a city the size of New Domino were as long a shot as Martha being the next King of Games. Or would that be Queen?
"Wanted to do some reading." Yet he was still subtly eyeing over the shelves without a book in hand.
"On?" This story was getting weaker and weaker.
The blonde paused beside an empty slot and turned to begin scouring the table. "What constitutes a 'living being'. I was pointed towards a book on religious theories regarding reincarnation."
Huh. That could spin one of any half-dozen ways. "I thought you were with Carly these days." Jack's boundaries were clearly established – he told people what he would be doing and where or he didn't tell them and went anyway. Dragging the news that he was hanging out with Carly had been Akiza's work over nearly a week.
"She's working on a story." Helping himself from the pile on the table, he tucked a book under one arm. "... Any luck with Pearson?" It was obviously unsurmountable research but there was enough stubbornness in Crow to get him to the third-best Duellist in the world – finding a way to rescue a damned soul was a far easier task.
"Great." He muttered sarcastically. "I've read as much as I can and the best advice I've got is to pray to one of about three hundred gods, summon a demon, or steal a time machine." Jack quietly took this all in. All of them knew the hard way that prayer was about as useful as a firework at fighting a volcano, and Musume was typically angry enough to outstrip the demon inside her. The time machine idea was the most likely to work, assuming they were suddenly in the business of screwing up the past instead of protecting it.
And that was the extent Jack could contribute to that conversation. Time for a new one. "Are you going to Leo's movie thing tonight?" Even beneath the masking layers, he could tell that Crow's expression was slowly sliding to the same one they'd both had after an Izinski phone call. It was crazy, they were polite ladies simply asking for a nice night together with family and new friends in the nicest tone possible. How the fuck could they make it sound like refusal would be more painful than swallowing a cactus?
"I'm trying to rescue Pearson from the Netherworld, not join him." As delicately refined as Akiza had forged herself, Musume remained the chunky mess of spiky anger her mother had been at her age... give or take a small coma. "I'll be hiding here and doing something useful."
A regular buzzing snatched Jack's attention away from the more ethereal conversation. Meeting Crow's eyes again, he waited another low tone before resorting to manners. "Going to get that?" Crow's handset made another dance across the table as the faraway caller waited impatiently.
Reaching out, his brother denied the call without even flipping the screen to see who it was. "Wrong number." It was clearly not the first time he'd been called that morning and his tone indicated the attempts weren't welcome.
Jack mulled this over. "Your new friends?" Working with Yliaster was a sickening bondage that Crow's family would tolerate as long as it remained on the fine line between not hurting them and helping Pearson. To date, they hadn't done more than make a few vague overtures but everyone knew how the game was played – start with a few small requests, build trust, gradually start to give less and demand more until Crow was nothing more than their newest pawn.
If possible, that masked scowl deepened a fraction more. "No." The intermittent world champion evaluated the shifting dynamic and didn't like what he saw. Crow was typically the plucky underdog to his snarling hound, not the growling bear about to rip heads off. Another resounding buzz dragged his attention to the table. Picking up the phone, Crow crammed it in a pocket and went right back to his book without so much as looking to his brother. That was the final straw.
Stepping around the table, Jack carefully laid his book on the atop Crow's own. "You need a break." He said calmly. "How much difference can one evening make?"
"Depends." Snatching back his research material, Crow slammed it back down on the top. "How much difference do you think it would make if the wrong book walks out of here when I'm off watching a stupid movie?" Billions of people sought god every day. Millions actually went looking. From the stories that he was reading, maybe an average of one a decade came close. He was looking for a grain of sand in a desert with a blindfold on.
"Do you really think that someone is going to take away the only book that can help you if you take one night off?" From Crow's expression, he wasn't going to take that risk until every single book in the aisle was read and any useful detail was scripted down in his notebook. Letting out a sigh of surrender, Jack dragged his book free. "Fine. Play it that way." Adjusting his ridiculous hat one last time, Jack strode off into the labyrinth of knowledge.
With the distraction gone, Crow could fully focus on his reading. Few stories involved talking directly to gods (that was, getting a straightforward reply in return) but Hinduism had a surprising amount of celestial conversations. Take Prahlada and his father. Daddy Hiranyakashipu had claimed to be the only god around and challenged anyone to prove otherwise. When that meant drawing a sword on his own son, Vishnu appeared as a half-man, half-lion creature and killed Hiranyakashipu.
Musing over how useful such a story could be, Crow dutifully noted it down anyway. Give Jack a bit of an ego boost and he might be enough to taunt Vishnu into showing up – and a slight mauling could really help sort out the height difference between them.
"Excuse me." Urgh, if this was another religious fanatic looking to convert, they might be meeting their choice of god faster than they thought.
"Yes?" Oh. Green jumper from the desk at the front desk. "Was there something you needed?"
"We're closing early today." Religious texts were on the third floor. A fall from that height probably wouldn't kill him but it would get Crow permanently banned from the library.
"Why this time? Another unexpected event?" Last time this had happened, there had been a vanishing stranger on the other side of the table and Crow couldn't help but feel there had been someone pulling strings on the other side of the curtain. Maybe someone was reaching down from the other side of reality?
"No." Mr Green hadn't seen through the multiple layers that disguised Crow and sounded as bemused as any worker in his situation. "Jack Atlas just offered to do a week of reading sessions for underprivileged kids if we closed early today."
"He what?" Charity came as naturally to Jack as deep-sea diving. He had to be doing this to get back at Crow for refusing to come quietly.
"Yeah." A bald spot on the back of his head received a thorough scratching. "And he's going to sponsor a donation scheme for the next six months. Weird guy."
"You don't know the half of it." Crow muttered darkly as he slammed his books shut.
Joining the hordes of library patrons (all thirty of them) leaving the building, he was even more irritated to find a lone skulker near the bushes outside. If it hadn't been the early afternoon, people would have been calling about the pervert lurking outside. "Bet you think you're pretty clever right now." A few people glanced their way but most continued to grumble and head off elsewhere. "What's stopping me from going to another library and keep going there?"
"Besides a bank account to buy every kid in the city a new set of books?" And he would do it. Jack's recklessness was barely matched by accumulated wealth. "Maybe because the best leads you've got being that new kid of yours and her freaky sidekick friend and you know it." He gave his brother an evaluating glare. "Gee, I wonder where you could strike up a friendly conversation." Crow glowered right back. Neither of them would ever admit the other was right but the taller idiot had a valid point: dusty books would get him started on the path to rescuing Pearson – he'd need practical experience to make real progress. "Come on," Jack jerked his head in the direction of a taxi stand. "I already got a bottle of sake back home we can take."
Falling into step beside his brother, he unconsciously continued to grit his teeth. "I'm going to need a lot more than a bottle of sake to get along with that walking nightmare." Which could be either the new daughter or the aforementioned accomplice.
His brother nodded understandingly. Crow's luck with women was about the same as his luck in Duelling his brothers. "That's why I bought vodka."
Accidentally convincing his family that he had been taken hostage from his own home had landed Leo in the sort of trouble that made people long for cars with flashing lights to come rescue them. Luna had managed to contact everyone in the two minutes between hearing he was missing and being reminded for the billionth time that her brother was an idiot, Phantom had deemed it necessary that he understand exactly the level of headache she had gone through, and Musume had hugged him so tightly that his back clicked if he bent down to touch his toes. Even Jaden had given him a few sideways glances to indicate that maybe the second King of Games didn't have hope for him surviving long enough to become the fourth. Arranging a party for his family was Leo's way of apologising for the various
"Y'know, I've always loved movie night," Jack admitted in a rare moment of candour as he entered the lift. "Crap films, too much junk food – the whole ordeal."
"Remember those old movies Martha salvaged from that film store near the B.A.D. Areas?" Hitting the button for the penthouse, the pair stood in companionable silence as they drifted back to an older era. After a minute, Crow gave a bitter groan. "Jack?" As visitors to the twins' place, the brothers were tasked with bringing unhealthy nourishment to go with the entertainment.
"Yeah?" With an insulated bag slung over one shoulder, Jack had enough drinks to keep the group sated for at least two films.
"Did you mean to pack Yusei's cat?" What should have been a pudgy sack of treats had rustled enough that Crow had expected to see a rat scurrying around.
Peeking into the mess, the blonde frowned slightly. Yawing out the top of the bag, Hoshi seemed unaffected by the change in situation. "No." He admitted. "She must have snuck in while I was getting changed." Cats were famously curious creatures and he didn't see much harm in their little stowaway. Crawling over the lip of the bag, Hoshi tumbled onto the padded carpet and looked around cautiously. "She can hang out with Jaden's cat for the evening and we'll take her back in the morning." Some people recognised people by their pets but Jack was one of those who saw pets as domesticated tools and didn't bother to remember their names.
Grabbing her by the fluffy underbelly, Crow tucked the tiny cat under one arm as the lift doors opened onto the penthouse corridor. "You want to get the bell?" Gesturing that both hands were full, he stepped aside in the pettiest power manipulation in their eternal war. Battlefield tactics were not Jack's forte but psychological warfare had filled every day of their lives and he wasn't about to back down now. With the smugest innocent expression in the world, he pulled out his phone and returned Crow's helpless shrug back from whence it came. "I hate you."
"Shhh!" Hissed the impeccable smug blonde. "I'm on the phone."
Wrenching the door open, an already despairing face continued to fall at the sight of the two guests. "There is a bell." Sliding off her shoes, Luna struggled to believe (as everyone did) that Yusei's brothers were really like this as she slid her phone away again.
"But then I might have to deal with your brother." That scowl deepened until they were caught in a perfectly balanced match. "Is the other one still like that?" With his deliberate obtusity, the balance tipped in favour of Luna and Jack finally relented with a sigh. "I bought snacks, just show me where to drop them." Gracefully accepting victory, the indomitable young woman stepped back to let them both in.
"Phantom claimed the title of 'Food and Beverage Manager' for herself." Waving cheerfully from the kitchen area, nobody could figure out why the one person who didn't eat had insisted on being in charge of nutrition. "And the others," While Phantom was naturally weird and supernaturally disadvantaged, the rest of Luna's cohabitants could be sharing the same brain cell. "I'm glad you're here." Oh. It was that bad.
No good deed went unpunished and Crow chose that moment to snag both bags for himself as he headed over to the glorified quartermaster. "Hey." He said uneasily. Despite their forced attempt at reconciliation, he struggled to not view her as an intruder who took the paranormal aspect of their lives too relaxedly to be trusted. "Brought the cat along by accident. Hope that's" Slipping from his grasp, Hoshi scampered up the ironed overalls and settled into her shoulder perch with a contented sigh. "Okay." Crow finished resignedly.
Hello, little one. Giving her head a tiny rub with one finger, Phantom was instantly relaxed by the furry companion and her poise loosened noticeably.
Purrfect timing. (Crow instantly hated himself for that pun.) "Got a moment?" Bowing respectfully, the creep turned to face him more fully. "I think I've found a god who might be able to help rescue Pearson. They're Aztec, close enough to Inca that it might work." Gods apparently kept political channels open with their neighbours. That had been an upsetting afternoon – religions meddling with politics went all the way to the top. All the way.
A gloved hand rolled for him to continue. "Life-death-rebirth deity, all-round catchy guy. Sounds like exactly what I'm looking for." There was even a flicker of surprise in the rolling blue circles. "His name is Xu.. Xe..." He surreptitiously checked the smudged note on his hand. "Xipe Tmphh!" A glove had slapped across his face as the unyielding armour dragged him behind the kitchen island.
Wind battered against the windows in a sudden howling as clouds dragged through the sunlight to plunge the whole city into darkness. Crow felt a chill seep into his bones which had nothing to do with the freezing armour currently grappling him into silence. After a couple of moments, the strange effects devolved back into normalcy.
Speak not of the Flayed Lord! That same title had appeared in numerous references Crow had read. Despite the gruesome sacrifices involved, it had seemed like the best bet. Unwrapping herself from about him, Phantom helped Crow back to his feet. It would... likely have worked. She begrudgingly admitted. But the Flayed Lord favours human sacrifices. Could you have lived with yourself afterwards?
"If you know so much, why don't you just tell me who to call to get Pearson out?!" Whatever had just happened, he didn't want a repeat. A Signer (former or not) saying the wrong word in these matters could cause more serious problems than a gust of wind and some clouds. A crazy rando with more flair for the dramatic than Jack on tour was the sort of expendable knowledge source he needed.
'He who wishes to fight must first count the cost.' Sun Tzu. A guilty tremble darted through one eye. ... I... know of a... way that could rescue Pearson by daybreak, if you so wish. All it would cost is several magical artifacts, a few expensive spices, and the last heartbeats of a true innocent.
Fury at the withholding boiled away inside Crow until he felt the empty despair of reality again. Was there anything he wouldn't give to save Pearson? No. Was there anything he wouldn't take? Yes, always yes. "Got any more inspirational wisdom that can make me feel better?" A gentle hand gripped him by the shoulder.
'You have to believe in yourself.' He looked down at the hand and then glared back at the serene darkness.
"That's it?" An endless sea of quotes and that was the best she could come up with? "Which hippie guru came up with that leap of genius?" Better lines had come out from a discount fortune cookie.
Sun Tzu. If she hadn't been incapable of lying, he wouldn't have believed her.
Sighing bitterly, Crow looked at his smiling family rearranging the furniture in the living room. Leo and Jaden were stumbling around with chairs while Luna waited patiently for the inevitable re-adjustments to actually make them out of the way. "How definitive do those 'last' beats have to be?" He mused in the hypothetical which was a single concrete answer away from an actual plan. "Say, if we stopped someone's heart for a few minutes,"
Leo is not a suitable candidate. That gentle grip tightened so fast that even Yusei's protective instincts couldn't have kept apace. Did you ever think what horror it is to know all that surrounds you? Insanity swirled in that gaze and begged him for the sweet release of a final rest. I have heard... things. Phone calls... Noises... We had to buy two extra packs of butter!
Crow considered the nature of such situations and weighed it against the risk of leaving his family unprotected. "Ew." At least Phantom was obsessive enough to remain on guard. He would have started looking towards the ledge after two nights.
Shuffling back the couch an inch, Jaden straightened the rug as he watched the unfolding drama. "Your family are weird." Leo looked around to see Phantom shaking Crow by the lapels in a move that was oddly traumatic for the both of them. Crow started screaming for help, Musume threw the sword, it hit Jack in the back of the head, he tripped and knocked them all into a messy pile of screaming hate and loathing. Nothing Leo hadn't seen before.
Behind every great man stands a group of at least five people who got him there. Behind this pair of idiots were three women in various states of multi-corporeal being who were exchanging looks. "No, you're right." Musume eventually conceded. "They're both idiots."
"You just threw a sword!" Had it not been for the sheath to protect his (mostly empty) skull, they would have otherwise been starting the search for a suitable vessel to house Jack's freshly disembodied soul.
"I left the wrapper on!" Of course, she might know the word 'sheath' and be too lazy to use it or might really not know. There was no telling with her.
"New house rule!" Luna overrode the brewing argument with response times forged from practice. "Nobody is allowed to throw swords unless we're being attacked." Her tone brokered no space for discussion and even less for further antics. "Akiza called and said she'll be along a bit later than planned. Din." Any further words would have been wasted air: Din [violent verb] [violent noun] summarised about ten stories since last Thursday. "Any ideas to pass the time until she gets here?"
"We could watch a couple of films first?" Lazy with ideas, Jack opted for the easy route. "Akiza can join when she gets here."
"Not a chance," Detangling the mess of limbs, Crow winced as he felt a new bruise forming on his ribs. At the first sign of danger, Phantom had tucked Hoshi to her chest and tented both hands over the cat. "I know you, you'll eat half the food by yourself."
"It's not me who" As the pair dissolved into squabbling, the rest of the group reconvened for less ridiculous ideas.
"We could do a small Duel Monsters tournament?" Less ridiculous except for Leo. There was no way they had time to do more than a couple of games.
After a brief consultation with her executive manager, Phantom presented an option: We could play Charades. Everyone looked at each other in suspicion. Her three main characteristics were; weird, autistic, spookynatural.
"How do you play it?" Whatever violence Musume could dream up was outmatched by the absurdity of the game. One unanimous vote later and it was banned from all future events as well.
Predictably, the real decision came down to Luna, Musume, and a symbolic vote for Jaden. "Phantom could do some cooking and we have an early dinner." Theirs was a match made in paradise: one was a perfectionist with a helping fetish, one could eat an elephant if it was properly seasoned. "We'll set some aside for Akiza when she gets in or whip her something fresh up."
Jaden did some quick numbers. Two brothers, two twins (as was customary), two oddballs, and himself. Yubel might count but she probably didn't want to join the games beyond being a voice is wisdom on his shoulder. Seven people didn't a fair tournament make. "Why don't we play a card game?" They were all Duellists, cards were their natural medium. "If you've got a couple decks of playing cards, we can easily fit everyone in a game of poker." Using one would keep the odds low enough for a trained monkey to count. Two or three would keep the game interesting without it becoming boring.
"There should be some in the kitchen." No matter what era she was in, Musume knew the odds-and-ends drawer in the penthouse always held the right equipment for a game of Snap.
"We have some decorative pebbles in the cabinet by the patio." Unlike her brother, Luna had a flair for interior design. Partly because of her artistic talents, partly because she knew how to make wherever she was a home. Pictures, the odd house plant, splashes of colour needed to make the human mind feel at ease. "We could do five white to each black. And I'll bet even the King of Games can't beat the six of us at the same time." She smiled tauntingly at the game maker.
"Oh?" Grinning right back, Jaden was already feeling his fighting spirit rousing. "Certain enough to bet your share of snacks?"
"Enough to bet Leo's." She laughed along with him.
University students across the world knew the struggle to balance work and life. While Mr and Mrs Izinski had ensured that their daughter had enough in a savings account to get her through an entire degree, they made it clear that anything beyond essentials would have to be from her own effort. So, to make up for the odd night out with her friends, Akiza did the usual odd-jobs every student did: she tutored the younger students, she did deliveries, did a few jobs that the teachers shouldn't have let the students do. But, while the majority of students wanted to work as little as possible Akiza had learned the value of burning herself out for a few days every other month to earn a partying allowance.
At least, until she had started working for Din. Triple overtime and a flexible working schedule meant that the two extra hours she had worked translated to either an extra day of pay or a new day off. Honestly though? Her brain was starting to fall apart with all the extra thinking he was putting her through.
Akiza felt bad for that thought as she stepped out of the elevator. Their work was groundbreaking and aiming to save Yusei's brain from actually falling apart. No matter how much he would joke that it wasn't, the extra hours working with Din were worth it. "Sorry, I'm late." Tugging off her shoes, she tried to put the stress behind her. "Work with Din took a twist." Nearly as weird as the one meeting her gaze.
The entire group was seated on the floor around the coffee table, warily regarding each other over piles of gambling chips and spent cards. Like back in America, before the Trinidad Tournament got started, everyone seemed to have randomised their outfits and the result grated against all sanity. Attention was currently on Phantom as she leaned on one leg to examine the cards on display.
What do you think? Holding up her hand of cards to the tiny conscience perched on one shoulder, she leaned backwards again to survey the small pile of pebbles masquerading as poker chips.
"Maow." Job done, Hoshi shuffled down to resume her nap.
We call. She spread out her strong defence and hoped their luck would hold out. You are bluffing.
"Ha!" Leo smashed a palm into the mound to pin his winning formula down. "Read 'em and weep!" A collective groan went up as he obliterated any chance of opposition.
"How the fuck do you keep winning?" Holes were already present in the back of Musume's shirt from where the wings had burst through previously. That was at least as annoying as Leo's constant impossible wins. "You've got to be the luckiest bastard I've ever met."
"Hey, Leo's got nearly as much skill as me." Jack was the unexpected saviour of the hour.
"Really? You must be pretty good then!" Pure innocence saved Jaden's life that day. Nobody had fully explained Jack's position since he arrived but Leo was extremely vocal about ranking second globally.
"Can someone shuffle so we can go again?" Pained grunts accompanied the wings slowly receding back in. "I'm not going out in last place."
At least you have all your limbs. Phantom absently picked at a floppy sleeve. I would call that a win.
"Do you want this back?" Leo raised a detached leg in confusion. "We already know it won't fit me."
"You can swap it with Jaden if it makes you comfortable." Reaching behind his back, Jack scratched at the unreachable point between his shoulders with the sheathed Tender Hands. "Hey, Akiza. How's your day?"
"What's going on?" Maybe that gas leak had done some damage after all. Crow was wearing Jack's coat, Jack was using Musume's sword as a back-scratcher, Phantom was missing two limbs and wearing Crow's headband. Luna was swaddled in Jaden's jacket as he stared at the vantablack arm curled around her gambling chips while Leo had a similarly themed leg propped against his knee as he shuffled the playing cards for a new hand.
"We're trying to play poker but we don't quite remember all the rules." Crow pointedly adjusted his borrowed coat. "It's working out okay though."
"Musume?" A slender grip wrapped around the handle of the mythical sword.
"For the last time, you can't stab him." Wrinkles on her forehead belied the confusion as to how she had ended up with a dumpy cat from a winning hand. Jaden hadn't even wagered Pharaoh, he had just slunk over and fallen asleep on a pile of her chips.
"Some of the bets... may have gotten out of hand." Jaden carefully adjusted the piece of armour in his stash. Phantom was odd but not more than any of his friends. Having her detach limbs to gamble in a card game was a twist he hadn't been expecting.
"In my defence," Musume placed a hand of honesty against her chest. "It's all Crow's fault. He started it by betting his headband."
Surely you... have some... responsibility. Shuffling around on her one remaining leg, Phantom inclined her head respectfully to Akiza.
"What did she do?" Ignoring the heartfelt claims of innocence, Akiza knew the answer was probably horrifying and likely disturbing.
We were playing in pairs but... 'someone' betrayed their partner to win a big hand. That inflection was nowhere near good enough to disguise her meaning as Musume leant over to retrieve the Tender Hands from Jack in exchange for a handful of pebbles.
"I don't see how that got it to this point." From the seating, she figured Crow with Jack, the twins together, Jaden with the invisible Yubel and Musume with Phantom. Stable enough pairs to get along for a simple game with no real stakes.
Are you familiar with the phrase 'an arm and a leg'? A chilly look went to one side. As in 'it would take an arm and a leg to match that bet'?
"Hey, I said it was a bad plan." Prodding the armour a couple of times with the sword, she returned it back to Jack with a disappointed grimace. "He's seen enough weird shit to not be intimidated that easily." And, when he hadn't backed down, she had heartlessly stabbed her partner in the back. Metaphorically at first but literally afterwards.
"Anyway," Luna took over before they could all get caught up in the growing squabble. "Then Musume lost on the next hand, Phantom switched to partner with Hoshi and everyone started adding stuff to the pile. It got out of hand after that." A lonely hand reached up to fuss the slumbering cat as the dragon girl muttered defensively that she was being framed.
"Who's in the lead?" Trying to therapise even one of half the group was too much work to fit into the rest of the evening. Trying to deal with the tangled mess of betrayals, double-crosses and makeshift alliances was too much to fit into the rest of the year.
"Errr." Luna checked a slip of paper beside her sizeable amount of multicoloured chips. "Me by chips, Jaden by hands won, and Leo by tabs with the promise of a country of his choice." It was disturbing that Akiza couldn't figure out who had made that bet. Phantom and Musume were the obvious choices but Jack and Crow had a bad mix of poor impulse control and constant overreach. However, there was one fact that Akiza was going to enjoy dwelling on for the next few days.
"Then the global ranked third, fourth, eighth and someone who once rigged a Shadow Duel didn't even make the top three in a game of seven people?" She sucked air in through her teeth. "That's got to sting."
Once the argument had finally died down, it looked like bloodshed might be avoided. Then Leo asked the one question that nobody had ever taught him not to say. Mostly because the answer had usually been him. "Who came last?"
Once that argument had run its course, Crow had a swollen lip, Jack was cradling an aching rib and Musume was struggling to keep spectral limbs under control. "Then we can all agree," Breathing too heavily might have produced flames. While she would relish being able to do so under most circumstances, setting fire to the house her mother was in would probably put a damper on their relationship. "It was a draw?"
"Soun's goo'." Puppet voices and pained groans indicated agreement from the pair.
I have a more definitive answer. Five eyes (Crow having to use one side with his head tilted back) glared malevolently at the figure on the table. What? I have autism and an arithmetic problem. What did you... expect would happen?
"We literally just agreed to call it a draw." A sheet of paper in front of Phantom had enough numbers scribbled on it to indicate she could back up her claim. Against her better intentions, Musume found herself trying to figure them out.
"Yeah. A draw. Completely equal." Standing off to one side actually made it more difficult for Jack to figure out the writing.
"Aldough," Crow mumbled. "Ib you already dib the work..." He trailed off with what they were all thinking.
"It would be rude not to acknowledge her effort." Zen Jack was both the best and worst version of Jack.
"What's the fucking answer?" Patience had eroded by the time the conversation rounded back to Musume.
Last place was definitively me. One hand held up the wandering equations as proof. And then Hoshi, due to her late joining.
"We can live with that." It was surprisingly agreeable as a solution. None of them had come too close to last place. Except... "What's the bit you're not telling us?" That particular uncomfortable silence (amongst the many she had) meant Phantom was trying to figure out how to break bad news.
… A Bell curve analysis indicates that Hoshi stood a fairly good chance of winning if the game had lasted longer. Giving a small cry for attention, the innocent bundle of fur had been final say on Phantom's hands since the brutal (yet tactical) betrayal which had resulted in two lost limbs. Either through random chance or feline intuition, she had rapidly garnered a reasonable pile of chips.
"The fuck's a Bell curve?" Jack couldn't imagine any realm of mathematics could produce evidence of a cat beating him.
"The fuck's a cat going to win at poker?" Musume couldn't imagine any way a cat could even learn poker in the first place.
Crow wisely said nothing. He knew asking a question would probably result in an answer and the next question after his own would be 'who was after Hoshi?'. Not being last or second-last was good enough. Better not rock the boat further on that.
On the table, the sleepy cat opened her mouth in a wide yawn and calmly went back to her nap as the argument began anew.
After events settled down for a third time, the more rational half of the group had already divvied up the snacks and started watching the amusement. "If you're finished," Akiza covered her mouth as she munched through a celery stick. "Can you get the furniture ready? It's getting late enough already." Several of her predecessors had taken liberties with the flexible working schedule. Come in an hour late, maybe fourteen months and counting. She believed in sticking to her start time and maximising Din's availability.
"On it." Giving a mock salute, Crow gestured for Musume to help him with the couch and table. Jack's ribs (and laziness) disqualified him from manual labour and Humpty Dumpty still needed putting back together.
Leo, a hand? Catching the limb, she stared at him in proud disbelief. Damn, she was proud of him right then. I meant putting it back on.
"Oh." Stumbling over, he assisted her with peeling the overalls off her empty shoulder as she palmed the wall for balance. A tendril of rolling midnight blue shifted inside until the fingers returned to movement. "Cooool!" Rolling those eyes, she motioned for the lower half of her leg next. Passing it over, Leo scuffed his own heel against the carpet. "I'm sorry I didn't listen to you." A careful pause waited to be filled with greater context. "About the Boo Ting hexagram." Wǔ Xíng pentagram. But Phantom didn't correct him as she latched her leg back into place. "It was a mistake." That finally got a reaction as glacial eyes fixed on a point two inches behind Leo's eyes.
A 'mistake' nearly ripped Jaden apart on a fundamental level and irrecoverably corrupted history. Each word echoed coldly past his ears. Your sister, forced outside the boundaries of normal space. Would she have perished? Most likely. Would she have suffered? Almost certainly.
"I'm sorry." Leo muttered miserably. Those judgemental orbs were burning in exactly how much harm he'd risked for the sake of his impatient curiosity.
Eventually, Phantom broke the silence with a sigh like waves lapping at the shingle. We can begin again. She begrudgingly conceded. As long as you agree not to... experiment without detailing your plans in advance.
"Of course!" Leo responded with the enthusiasm that had landed him in trouble in the first place.
And it will be strictly theoretical until I believe I can trust you to exercise restraint. Glaring up at him, she tried to maintain a semblance of authority.
"Absolutely!" He gabbled. "Like physics, the fun stuff always starts in the theoretical." Every academic in the SRC felt a shiver down their spine, Din instinctively cursed for no reason he could think of (which wasn't too unusual for him), and Yusei sneezed ninety years before Leo even managed to utter the disturbingly accurate words.
Leo really wasn't taking this as seriously as he should be. Do not take pleasure in fixing that. And you will have to gain permission from Luna, Jaden, and Yubel.
"Yeaaawwww." Anyone with a streak of sadism could easily get addicted to being around Leo when he processed an unpleasant thought. "Can't I ask Musume instead?" Did it technically count as maturity that he recognised the plight he had put the other three under that Leo would sooner approach the epitome of anger? Perhaps – it could also be suicide.
We have already had a... discussion. She shivered unpleasantly. Truthfully, Musume had spent plenty of time berating her for even putting the idea of magic in Leo's head in the first place. Now that he had concrete proof it worked, there was no putting the genie back in the bottle and it would be better to have literally anyone (except Musume, who was 'too busy') guide him instead of random experiments at all hours.
"I'm starting to think the real mistake was wanting to learn magic in the first place." He muttered sullenly. Trying to get on his sister's good side after a mistake this big was going to take a lot of grovelling. At least Jaden would probably take the edge of Yubel's fury.
A gentle hand patted his shoulder comfortingly. Everyone who has sought to use magic has made mistakes. She said sympathetically. Masters of the dark arts, meddling children... all have made a mistake which taught them to slow and prepare better.
"Really?" At least that meant he wasn't completely without hope after all.
Ever heard of the town of Kilmanin? Sounded Irish. Leo's grasp of geography was marginally better than his grasp of astrophysics but the name wasn't ringing any bells. An entire town, erased. Consider it a lesson to never deal with fae. Even Yusei's legal case would be a paltry feat by comparison. The winged beings were masters of loopholes and trickery.
Realisation hit Leo about five seconds after it was useful, as always. "You said everyone makes a mistake learning magic." He stressed slightly. "What mistake did you make?" Surely it couldn't be worse than nearly tearing Jaden apart and throwing his sister outside their world. But Phantom simply fell silent as she stared out the window. Whatever she was looking at was far away from the penthouse, further than Leo could have followed.
I suggest you spend your time thinking of what you will say to Luna, Jaden, Yubel. It was the first time he had seen a flaw in her otherwise precision grammar – no 'and' at the end.
As always happened during movie nights, there was significant division over what they would be watching. Even the largest group of intellectuals ever assembled had spent sixteen days trying to create the ideal formula to determine what to watch instead of simply picking one at random. (It would have been eleven had a certain twisted little dwarf not kept pushing for further refinement (or by suggesting romantic comedies).) In the end, the scientific result delayed four projects, two conferences, and was completely unusable. Now that same inevitable argument was playing out across the room. Jack, Crow, Musume, and Akiza around the kitchen island, Jaden and Luna planning out how best to reorganise the furniture again.
"You so much as look at anything sci-fi," Musume grabbed a particularly sharp piece of mango and gestured in the direction of Akiza. "I swear, I will set Jack loose on the city." There was familial ties and there was unconditional adoration of her mother. Neither mattered in regards to movie night.
"Do you think I want to watch science fiction after the day I've had with Din?" For a man with limitless curiosity and boundless intellect, her twisted boss was notoriously reckless when it came to the rules. His outrage with the time it took the kettle to boil had caused the creation of a new type of multi-spectrum laser amplification. While the coffee came faster than ever, Akiza was started to lessen her consumption to cope with the trauma of her working lunch. "Anything else."
"Historical bio-pics are always a calming watch." Zen Jack reared his head again now that the stress of poker had faded. "There's this fascinating story of a reformed orphan turned champion,"
"Science-fiction." Akiza interrupted. "And biographicals." Yusei already had three unauthorised films based on his life that fit both categories. Nameless scientists under his employ were known to project them throughout the SRC at frequent intervals. An amusing percentage of those who bragged about it found themselves assigned to Din.
Beside the blonde, an idea was starting to form. "Jaden!" Grasping his new best friend/sucker about the shoulders, Crow dragged him over in a powerful grab. "You're the guest, what do you think we should watch?"
"Well, I think Jack," It was odd. Crow's arm seemed to drop the instant before his brother's name was actually used. "Has some good points."
"Well, you're a few decades out of your depth. No reason to feel bad about getting it wrong." No reason to hold the bumbling Neanderthal responsible for the shortcomings of his era. No matter how much Crow wanted to correct them.
"Ignore them." A gentle hand took him by the elbow and tugged Jaden away from the ongoing argument. "Can you help me move the couch back?" Both Luna and Jaden helping move the couch left little room for anybody to think about films while her brother helped put Humpty Dumpty back together. Except for... Turning to the woman trying in vain to smooth a trouser leg enough to reinsert the leg itself, Luna was equally curious and frightened to hear what suggestion would come. "Leo? Any recommendation?"
"Godzilla?" Dramatic groaning sounded on all sides.
"Meh, I don't really like this reboot." Leo was the only one who could enjoy mindless action and plots with more holes than content. Even Jack was starting to feel like they were getting to be too much. "What's the point of being impressed by a big lizard if they made it in a lab themselves? They knew what they were getting in for." Make unstoppable killing machine, get amazed when it can't be stopped, despair that if only they had known in advance. The plot was thinner Phantom's shadow.
"Yeah, but that cast? I mean," Crow waggled his eyebrows in the undecipherable man code for 'pretty woman'. "Good people." He caught the looks coming from across the room. "What?"
"You're disgusting." Akiza turned her nose up as Luna quietly turned her back. "I'm telling Martha." It appeared that forehead wiggles weren't as secure communication as he had previously thought.
"I'm telling Sherry." There was an unnerving air when she didn't draw her sword. At least it was easier to figure out how to deal with a sword instead of her bland expression. "No reason to ruin Martha's image of her little boy."
"Look, we can ruin Crow's life later." Not a sentence that Jack had ever expected to say. "I haven't seen the new ones. Any good?"
"Nah, the old ones aren't worth it." As far as Musume was concerned, the latest blockbusters were antiques. Bad antiques. "Leo has a point for once: the plot is shit and the action is rubbish."
"Aww, I was hoping to see a future film." That put an unpleasant stop in the conversation.
"Any film that isn't fantasy is going to do that history thing, isn't it?" The idea of a film night was turning sour quicker than Jack's expression. He hated fantasy films.
"Great going." Musume's glowing eyes rolled so wildly that they nearly ended up in the back of her skull. Considering her diminishing limits, that could actually be possible. "Ey, Tinpot, you're up." At this point, even Phantom couldn't give a worse answer.
Godzilla. That sinisterly unvanquished grin reinforced the speed she had just ducked at.
"Really?" Few people could sound so enraged at a straightforward response to the question that plagued every film night but Musume managed it. As always. "No stutter, no lengthy pauses?" Having the answer roll straight out was strangely irritating. While everyone else was arguing over details, she had simply picked out the latest bland choice from the cinema.
19-54 version. Musume's second shoe managed to smack her on the rebound before she even finished processing the suggestion.
"What?" Wrinkles furrowed Leo's forehead. So many questions did that, that his forehead was nearly twenty years older than the rest of him. "Godzilla isn't that old."
"Moot point." While Musume disagreed out of habit, Crow disagreed out of principle. It was one of those endearing family traits that gets passed down. "No sci-fi, doctor's orders." Shifting the burden of responsibility to the exasperated medic burying her face in both hands... wait, that didn't sound right.
"I'll take anything if we can get on with it." Haggling for temporal origin points for each viewer hadn't been included in the lengthy presentation Din had given. Any more debate over material and she was liable to burst a blood vessel.
"Over my dead body!" Films from twenty years ago were old. Films from the last century were ancient enough to send Jack into a slumber. "Twenty-first century or nothing."
Indomitable will clashed against an unyielding might as their gazes locked across the room. Striding out to impose upon Jack's space, Phantom hoped more than anything at that moment that he hadn't noticed her trouser leg was still rolled halfway up a shin. I propose Ro-Sham-Bo. Settling a fist into her palm, she offered a wide stance. Do you dare take my challenge?
"I'm not going to back down on this." Sweeping his coat out, Jack settled into an opposing form. "In case you didn't know, I nearly always win these things. Haven't lost more than ten times in all my life." Not what she had been expecting. A flicker of fear ran through his opponent. "Scared? I'll still let you back down if you want."
No. Risk was inherent in all aspects of life. At least this wasn't as high-stakes as the last time she had played the game. Ready? Nobody would care if she lost but Jack's reputation would never recover if he was beaten by a nobody.
"Ro! Sham!" Fists beat palms after every word. "Bo!" The rest of the group examined the final result. It wasn't what any of them had expected.
"Would you please" A glowing hand was gripping the sword. Startled rage had a way of triggering the beasts inside her. "Put me down?"
"You can't deny it's an impressive move." Holding out a hand, Crow waited for Akiza to slap it. He was left waiting.
"I'm fairly sure it's illegal." A curled fist was no match for the enraged figure being held aloft under the arms. Jack had been certain he would be facing off against 'scissors' but it appeared Phantom had opted for the unorthodox 'enraged personification of conflicting divinities wielding a mythical sword' strategy.
And yet, I would not like to be in your current position. Realisation of what she had done was starting to dawn. Or my own.
"I suggest putting her down and running." Once again, Crow held out a palm. After a stern glare from his sister, Leo gripped his wrists to resist the growing temptation.
Do you promise not to get mad? That long silence expressed how mad Musume was and how explosive she was going to be when movement was returned to her. Okay. New plan. Pivoting on the spot, she gently lowered her cargo in front of Crow. That smirk dissolved in the presence of that furious expression. And then, because she valued his insight into the female psyche, Phantom turned and sprinted out through the patio door.
Luckily, Crow's understanding of the female psyche was as limited as his stature and Musume was kind enough to allow Phantom's return as soon as she stole enough junk food to sate her anger. At least she liked the camping backpack it all came in. The film, less so. "This movie. Is. Awful." Giant rubber suit, plastic sets, increased frame rates. Everything could have been done on a tiny budget and in the penthouse. Modern standards wouldn't even equate it to a student film. "How the fuck did you manage to watch these?" Whispering to the voice on her shoulder, she desperately hoped her conscience had a good answer.
Are you kidding? Seats were limited and she had ended up folded beside the sofa in a sitting position. Most people would only hold the posture for a minute or two before muscles gave out. Most people still had muscles to worry about, the poor saps. These films are fantastic! All people, no computers. Look, there was a real person in that suit. On the screen, the titular monster was screaming in strings meant to represent electrical wires.
"Aren't you meant to be a computer geek? How can you like this sort of crap?" Another clumsily executed show of force cracked through the tiny pylons and let the monster continue to rampage across the countryside. "I can't believe anyone would pay money to see it."
There is no need. It is in the public domain. One of the best movies no money can buy. Glancing over one shoulder, Musume wasn't able to identify anything but rapt attention coming from beside the couch. There were few reasons why people wouldn't spend money watching newer films (such as ones that had colour involved). Probably the easiest one to understand was not having that money in the first place.
"I suppose it's not that bad." Leaning over for the bowl of popcorn balanced in Phantom's lap, she glowered as it was briefly tugged out of reach. A longer swipe failed to garner the loot. "Hey, gimme some popcorn." A dark hand covered the bowl. "Gimmie." Pity for poverty was one situation, being denied food was another.
I can break every bone in your hand. Even without the ability to eat, Phantom was prepared to use lethal force to defend her snacks. She was taking an unusual pleasure from simply rolling the pieces between her fingers until they crumbled into dust.
"I can stab you." Growing up with a constantly circling scavenger looking for every opportunity to steal her snacks had taught Musume to always be on her guard and how to spot the perfect moment to poach more for herself. Friends, family, allies. All fell away until only enemies existed in snack wars.
Are you going to stab me either way?
"No." There was an awkward pause as Phantom turned with the handle embedded in one side of her head. "Maybe? ...Can I have some popcorn?"
You have had two bags already. But she still held out the bowl. Honestly, I can see where you get it from.
"What are you talking about?" Sounds of a scuffle and colliding furniture came from the far end of the couch as the man who taught her everything about the art of stealing without being caught was physically arrested by his brother. Both tumbled to the floor as they continued to pound one another.
"Guys!" Raising her voice slightly, Akiza was more disturbed they were ruining the movie than fighting again. For all her research into the detrimental effects of Yusei's condition, she had the disturbing idea that his brothers lacked the brains to actually get harmed.
Do not worry. Reappearing without having been noticed leaving, Phantom had taken duplicitous advantage of the squabble. I have their snacks. Hey! Dragging the new bowls out of reach, she glowered up at her seating companion. What did we just finish talking about? Sensing an easy mark, Jaden plucked a bowl for himself while Musume took advantage of the distraction to snatch the other. Against better judgment, Phantom found herself laughing as the rubber creature continued rampaging across a styrofoam landscape.
Box offices and fan fiction have one main attribute in common: both enjoy seeing the reviews flooding in.