Disclaimer: I do not own Magic: The Gathering or any other copyrighted product mentioned in this fanfic.
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Where is Eva's body?
Gone.
What did you do?
Nothing!
A body doesn't just disappeared on its own. You're hiding something.
No, I'm not! Now come on! We've got to find Numa!
No. You're worn out and in no state to do battle. The last thing you need is to go chasing after a Planeswalker. You should head back to Erik's apartment and rest. I promise you, we will make Numa pay.
I…I guess you're right.
"I'm going back to my friend's place," Arrathir told Charles.
"Yeah, you should rest," said Charles "Look, I'm sorry about your girl, mate. Listen, if you ever need anything," he pulled out a pad and a pencil "Here's my number." He scribbled down a phone number and ripped of the piece of paper, handing it to Arrathir.
"Thanks," said Arrathir. They headed back upstairs and Charles headed back to his table. Arrathir left the convention, still in shock from what had happened.
I wasn't even able to say "good-bye" or tell her how I felt about her. Now she'll never know.
Eva may be gone, but her spirit resides in her cards.
Arrathir pulled out Eva's deck and flicked through the cards, smiling sadly as each one brought back memories.
Jackal Pup. Her signature card. It was one of the first creatures she summoned against me. What else? Ah, yes, Sulfuric Vortex. Her double-edge sword. I still remember using it against her in the PTQ.
If I remember correctly, you were so intimidated by her that I had to take over to prevent you from loosing!
Yeah. Chikuro, why am I remembering all this? Eva's gone now. Dwelling on the past won't bring her back.
Just because she has passed on doesn't mean you have to forget her. She'll always have a place in your heart.
I know, but I can't believe she's gone! And I couldn't do a thing!
Arrathir collapsed on a bench and buried his head in his hands, sobbing uncontrollably.
If only I'd gone with her to that stupid D&D thing, I could have saved her. If we hadn't met, none of this would have happened.
At least she died peacefully. Had you not met her, she would have been killed by the Slivers at the PTQ. You spared her a painful and violent death.
Arrathir suddenly felt a hand on his shoulder. Looking up, he saw a girl with long black hair looking anxiously at him.
"I'm fine," he said in English before realizing his mistake.
"Well, why are you crying?" asked the girl, also in English.
Arrathir grappled for an excuse. "My friend," he stammered, "She's gone."
"Oh, I'm so sorry," said the girl "I know how you feel. My boyfriend dumped me a month ago and I was devastated. I bet you're thinking it's all your fault. It's not. Sometimes people just aren't meant for each other."
"Thanks," said Arrathir, mopping up his tears "Your English is very good."
"Thanks," said the girl, blushing "You're from the United States, aren't you? I can tell by your accent."
"Close," said Arrathir "I'm from Canada."
"Oh! I have family there," said the girl "They live in Winnipeg."
"Have you ever been there?"
"Once," she said, "It's a beautiful country."
"Yeah, well I have to go," said Arrathir, getting up.
"Hey! You forgot this!" said the girl. Arrathir turned to see she was holding Eva's deck. It must have slipped out of his pocket.
"Oh, thanks," he said, taking the cards back.
"You play Magic: The Gathering?" said the girl, seeing the logo on the back of the cards "Are you good?"
"I'm pretty good."
That's a bit of an understatement.
"I started playing a few weeks ago," said the girl "But I'm not very good. Hey, maybe you could teach me!"
"Not right now," said Arrathir "I'm not in the mood." He turned and walked away.
That wasn't very nice.
Look, Magic is the last thing on my mind right now, OK?
That girl, she had a strange aura around her. She may be a summoner.
Arrathir hesitated and turned, walking back to the bench where the girl was still sitting.
"Um, sorry I was so rude," he said, "What I meant is that I'm really tried right now, but how about tomorrow? Where should we meet?"
"How about Yoyogi Park?" said the girl "It's near the Harajuku Station in Shibuya."
"Great, so at noon?"
"That would be great!" said the girl "Oh, I haven't even introduced myself! I'm Umizaka Aki." (A/N: Aki is giving her name in the conventional Japanese form: family name then given name)
"Arrathir Quinn," said Arrathir "So, I'll see you tomorrow then."
"Ja ne, Arrathir-kun (See you, Arrathir)," said Aki.
Arrathir took off running towards the subway that would take them back to Erik's hotel. After jumping into the car just as the doors closed behind him, Arrathir retreated to his Soul Corridor where Chikuro was waiting.
Why are you suddenly so eager? I thought you said Magic was the last thing on your mind?
Because I just realized something. If this girl is a summoner, she might be a Keeper. If she's a Keeper and we awaken her, the power of the Keepers will increase, right?
Yes. So?
That's how I'm supposed to save Eva! If I can get Erik to accept the Keeper of White Mana, I can ask him to revive Eva using Breath of Life or something. Since he's not a necromancer, she'll come back to life as her old self.
You mean her bitchy, beating the shit out of you old self?
Err, something like that, yes.
Wait, what did you mean by "This is how I have to save Eva?"
I'm going to be up front with you, Chikuro: I have been hiding something from you, but I can't tell you if I want to save Eva. It's the only way. You'll find out, I promise.
Fine. You'd better go back now. You're going to miss your stop.
Arrathir regained control of his body just as the doors started closing at his stop. He just managed to jump onto the platform before the subway took off.
Meanwhile, Erik Morlock was sitting in his hotel room, enjoying a cup of tea. As he sipped away, he eyed the headlines of the newspapers in front of him. He was, in what he considered, a good mood. The Sliver attacks had in no way affected his company's stocks. Of course, there had been the various settlements for the families of the deceased personnel. Erik knew money could never replace the lost lives, but it was the least he could do for the grieving relatives. Everything seemed to be going his way.
(A/N: Underlined text represents Erik's thoughts)
No crazy bitch attacking me, and Arrathir is out for the day. At least he won't be pestering me with any more of his spiritual nonsense.
You should really do something about that attitude of yours.
Who said that?
Me, idiot.
You're speaking…inside my head? I've gone mental.
The only reason I'm doing this is because you're too stubborn to let me out.
Who are you?
I save your life two days ago and you don't know who I am? You really are a dunce.
You're the "Keeper."
You know, in my days you would have been beheaded for addressing me in such a disrespectful tone.
What do you want?
Oh, so you're finally acknowledging my presence?
This doesn't change a thing! I still refuse to share my body with you!
Do you have any idea how wrong that sounded?
I am not a Planeswalker and I will not allow you to control me!
But he will.
Who?
Your so-called "friend," Arrathir.
What? What are you talking about?
He never told you the truth about the War of the Keepers, did he?
No. Why?
The Keeper of Black Mana was the one who started it. He tried to seize control of the Multiverse and now, he's back for another attempt.
That makes no sense! Why did he protect me from the Slivers then?
To take over the Multiverse would require more power than he could ever have on his own. When a Planeswalker kills another, they can absorb their spiritual energy, thereby gaining their power. That's why he claims to be awakening the Keepers. He plans to awaken them and then defeat them to take their power. He'll come after you soon so never trust him, nor his host!
I can understand for the Keeper, but Arrathir? The guy gets beaten up by a girl!
He has chosen the path of evil. He is a ghell, a swamp summoner. Nothing good has ever come of a ghell. They are the scum of the Multiverse; a plague to justice and freedom. If you were to awaken me, I could crush that scum like a bug under my foot!
Well, I understand if you don't like black decks, but don't you think you're being a bit extreme?
Had you seen the horrors I have, perpetrated by their evil, you would not hesitate to help me!
I think you're being paranoid.
Fine! See what I care! But when the Keeper of Black Mana comes after you to tear out your soul, don't come crying to me!
With that, the spirit shut off his mind-link and Erik was left feeling very confused.
When Arrathir entered the apartment, he found Erik watching 2001: A Space Odyssey. It was the scene where Dave was pleading with HAL to open the pod bay doors, HAL giving his cold response, "I'm sorry, Dave. I'm afraid I can't do that." Arrathir grabbed the remote and turned the TV off.
"D'you mind?" said Erik.
"We need to talk," said Arrathir.
"Fine," said Erik "What is it?"
"You need to accept the Keeper of White Mana and awaken him."
Erik rolled his eyes. "Not this again. As I've said before, it's my life and I make my own choices. I don't care about your whole 'destiny' bullshit. I am who I choose to be, not what someone tells me I should be, got it?"
"Listen," said Arrathir "You have no idea how important it is that you awaken the Keeper of White Mana."
See! What did I tell you? He wants you to awaken me so he can kill you!
"Oh, please," said Erik, sarcastically "Tell me this 'important' reason for which I should accept to share my body with an ancient spirit."
"Eva's dead," said Arrathir, bluntly "I need you to awaken the Keeper so he can revive her."
"What? How?" asked Erik.
"We had a run-in with another Planeswalker, a goblin summoner named Numa."
"Why do all these freaks keep coming after you?"
"From what I could gather, Numa said someone was trying to stop the Awakening," said Arrathir "But I met the Keeper of Blue Mana and a girl who I think could be the Keeper of Red Mana."
Two Keepers. If he awakens and kills both of them, his power will become too great for me to match.
"All right, that's it!" said Erik "Out!"
"What?"
"Ever since you've shown up, it's been nothing but trouble! The Slivers were bad enough and now you say there's another psycho after you? I'm not putting my life on the line again! You're leaving! Get out yourself killed without me getting involved!"
"You can't just kick me out," protested Arrathir.
"Watch me," said Erik, picking up the phone.
Four minutes and two seconds later, Arrathir was 'escorted' from the hotel by two burly security guards. Picking himself off the ground where he was unceremoniously dumped after being dragged out of the hotel kicking and screaming, he gathered his deck that had spilled out of his pocket.
What an asshole!
Well, maybe if you'd let me summon something to protect us…
Chikuro, I can't flaunt my powers at any occasion. Summoning isn't exactly common in my world.
So now what? We've got no place to stay, a Planeswalker who wants us dead, and very little money to help us survive in a large city.
I guess this is what they call 'rock bottom,' eh?
Placing his deck in his trenchcoat pocket, Arrathir's hand encountered a piece of paper. Pulling it out, he saw it was the phone number Erik had given him.
What the hell…
Finding a public telephone, Arrathir inserted the appropriate fare and dialed the number.
"Moshi moshi?" (A form of "hello" used when answering the phone)
"Ah, Wainscot-san onegaishimasu? (Can I speak to Mr. Wainscot?)" said Arrathir, a little unsure of his pronunciation.
"Hai (Yes)," said Charles.
"It's Arrathir."
"Oh, hey! How is it going, mate?"
"Not so good," said Arrathir "Erik kicked me out of his apartment because he was afraid Numa would come after me again. Can I crash at your place?"
"Sure," said Charles "Let me give you the directions."
To be continued…
Author's note: Phew, finally done! Sorry for keeping you all waiting so long, but my parents blew a fuse when they found out how behind in my correspondence schoolwork I was. My sentence: No computer, TV, or writing until I finished my lesson for the week. Needless to say, coupled with my summer job, I haven't had much time for writing. Anyways, review as always. Oh yes, before I forget. If you're looking for a great Magic story, read Theo236's story, Into the 'Pit' of Magic. It's a really good story that I feel doesn't get the attention it deserves, mainly because it has an 'M' rating and therefore doesn't show up by default.
Igor: Props for being the only one to catch the "Monty Python" reference.
Professor Curly: I got your e-mail and will consider your idea, which, I have to admit, is pretty cool.
Khell: Hmm, well, not quite sure what kind of demon the KOGM will be.
Grayangle: WOW! That's exactly what I had planned. You are psychic!
Colossus Crusher: Do you want me to burnout? I was barely able to do seven days, so I think a month would definitely kill me. Plus, I feel my chapters have a batter quality if I take my time without having to worry about a deadline.
ACS Dude: As you see, I used your idea for absorbing the souls of enemies. Yes, I did kill of Eva, but she played her part and it's time for a new character to take over.
YM: I continually read other people's fanfics to inspire me and I don't think I'll be doing another one update a week for a while. The only reason I got through the last one was because I was sneaky and arranged it so it would happen in a tournament, meaning I only had duels to write, which are fairly easy.
Vamp: First-time reviewer, eh? Nice to have you aboard! Killing Eva was a drastic plot twist that throws a complete curveball at my readers. I love doing that.
Storm: Well, he could if Erik accepted the Keeper.
Technomagus: For some stupid reason, Fanfiction won't let you put in URLs, so that explains why it didn't show up.