\u201cSoooo, \u201d I slowly began, looking around. \u201cWhat happens now?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yorick looked out at the collapsed crypt and scratched at his skull. Anj glanced back and forth between the suddenly-aged structures. Archie prodded thoughtfully at the tunnel, and Jeff picked up some of the dirt, cautiously sniffing at it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Headcrow sat up, hugging his legs to his chest & peering out from under his knees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cCan anyone think of anything we can do to find this new arrival?\u201d He asked. \u201cSeems like whoever they are, they\u2019re long gone.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIs that normal?\u201d Anj asked. \u201cI can tell the thing where stuff gets old isn\u2019t normal, but what about digging your own way out?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cNot in these parts, no.\u201d Yorick replied. \u201cMaybe in some other places, but \u2026 Not here.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He and Headcrow stared off in a direction roughly opposite the Mansion, giving the impression of thousand yard stares despite neither of them having eyes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know about anyone else,\u201d Said Archie, pointing towards the Mansion. \u201cBut if we don\u2019t have a plan, and we don\u2019t know where they went, and we don\u2019t have anything better to do, I could do with a nice meal and a few dozen drinks.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2014<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We were halfway back to the Mansion when Jeff\u2019s curiosity got the better of him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhich movie were were thinking of when you tried the umbrella thing?\u201d He asked. \u201cYou said it worked in the movie, but I can\u2019t think of which one.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI don\u2019t remember a scene like that in Coco.\u201d Archie mused.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhat\u2019s a Coco?\u201d Anj asked. \u201cI meant the old one, with the musical bits and the terrible accents. And the bit where they all grab hands and fly out of a window? It\u2019s an animated sequence, I think?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yorick and Headcrow watched politely as Jeff, Archie, and I looked thoughtful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe one with the terrible accents?\u201d Ventured Jeff. \u201cIs there a bunch of kids who need a nanny?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAye, that\u2019s the one! She flys down on an umbrella.\u201d Anj gave a thumbs-up. \u201cI figured that since I\u2019m a skeleton version of her, it should still work.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cA. Skeleton. Mary. Poppins.\u201d Archie slowly said, then slumped. \u201cAnd the animated flying bit? Was there a tiny fairy?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Anj nodded enthusiastically.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cYou\u2019ve seen it then!\u201d She said brightly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Archie somehow had a thousand-yard stare going on in all eight eyes, and Jeff\u2019s thoughtful look slowly shifted into one of incredulity. I stayed quiet, though I thought I had an idea of what was going on; I wanted to see who would explode first.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yorick leaned over my shoulder and whispered in my ear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhat\u2019s going on?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI\u2019m pretty sure that Anj has combined two movies.\u201d I explained. \u201cNeither of which are related to how she now looks.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cSo what are you waiting for?\u201d Headcrow muttered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis might be a bad thing, but I want to see whether Jeff or Archie snaps first.\u201d I replied. \u201cAnd then I want to ask how it worked at all.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2014\u2013<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yorick and Headcrow and I followed the trio through the hedge maze.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHow do you know Mary Poppins if you\u2019ve never seen the movie?\u201d Jeff demanded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWell, there\u2019s that parody bit in The Simpsons, and I\u2019ve seen the odd clip in memes making fun of the accents.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThat kind of explains confusing it with Peter Pan.\u201d Archie acknowledged. \u201cBecause of the animation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cBut why Mary Poppins in the first place?\u201d Jeff continued.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Anj gestured at her long dress, and popped open her parasol.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cLooks about right to me.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She waved a skeletal hand around, showing off the decorations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cNot clear on the painted flowers though; What\u2019re those about?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2014\u2013<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Yorick and Headcrow and I had dropped back a bit as we crossed the lawn, mostly to get some distance from the bickering up ahead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cAll of us?\u201d I asked Yorick, quietly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He gave me a confused look and did his impossible eyebrow-raise thing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI was thinking about what you said.\u201d I continued. \u201cAnd you said the answer to the question of \u2018who died and made her the boss\u2019 was \u2018all of us\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I must have been getting used to facial expressions on people without standard faces, because his wince didn\u2019t strike me as odd.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI probably shouldn\u2019t have said that.\u201d He replied. \u201cIt \u2026 It normally gets talked about a bit later.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cNo.\u201d Headcrow agreed, raising a hand and prodding Yorick in the back of the skull. \u201cYou shouldn\u2019t have.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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