Disclaimer: I do not own Magic: The Gathering
When Arrathir awoke the next day, it was raining buckets outside. Peering through the rain-streaked window, you could barely make out the houses on the other side of the street. Arrathir rolled over, trying to get back to sleep, and promptly fell off the couch, crashing unceremoniously to the floor. Muttering curses under his breath and rubbing his bruised elbow, Arrathir disentangled himself from his blanket.
"Arrathir, are you OK?" asked Charles, whom the noise had alerted.
"Yeah, just fell off the couch," said Arrathir.
"Ouch," said Charles "So, what time's your date?"
"It's not a date," said Arrathir "And I don't think I'll be going, considering the weather."
"Don't worry," said Charles "It'll probably clear up by noon."
"Yeah, um, d'you think I could take a quick shower," said Arrathir "I'm still covered in blood and stuff from the duel with Numa. I didn't have time to clean up yesterday because of, well, everything."
"Sure," said Charles "Second door on the left."
Like the rest of the apartment, the bathroom was tiny, barely bigger than a large closet.
I knew living space in Tokyo was scarce, but this is ridiculous!
"Arrathir?" said Charles, knocking at the door "I've got some spare clothes for you outside."
"Yeah, thanks," said Arrathir, opening the door and grabbing the clothes Charles handed him. Upon closing the door, he screamed as a sharp pain shot through his rear. Turning, he saw he'd closed the door on his tail. He quickly opened the door and withdrew his new appendage.
Got to remember I have that now.
After careful deliberation, he decided his old clothes were too torn and bloodstained to be of any use, so he threw them into the trash. After a quick shower, he dressed himself in the clothes Charles had given him. Clearing the fog from his glasses, he took a look at himself in the mirror. He was now clothed in a brown shirt with "B4K4" emblazoned across the chest in white letters and a pair of khaki pants. As he transferred the contents of his old pants to the pockets of his new ones, he noticed something was missing.
Where's my commonplace book?
Say what?
You know, that little black book I write stuff in.
You mean like hentai sites you run across?
And you call me perverted?
This coming from a guy who's wearing a shirt that says "fool" on it.
…damn.
Chikuro: 1 Arrathir: 0
Next time, Gadget. Anyways, I think I might have left it at Erik's.
You want to go back there?
Something tells me Erik will want to see us. If, as you say, the Keeper of White Mana was an Aven demon, the awakening of Chiburuu should have interesting effects on Erik.
That would be worth a look.
"Hey, Charles," said Arrathir as he left the bathroom "I left something at Erik's hotel, so I'm going to go back there. Wanna come?"
"Sure," said Charles "May as well meet the Keeper of White Mana."
As Arrathir picked up his trench coat from the floor where he'd tossed it the night before, he couldn't help but notice the poor state it was in. Torn and bloodstained, it looked very similar to the state his overcoat had been upon his return from Domino a year ago. However, it was still wearable. He put it on, winding his tail around his waist to keep it out of sight.
I'll have to get a new coat when I can afford it. I should at least get it washed.
After a quick breakfast of miso soup and tsukemono (Japanese pickles), they left Charles' apartment, each wielding an umbrella as they struck out into the slashing rain. Arrathir had to stop to buy a new rail card from a vending machine, his previous one having expired when he'd traveled to Charles' apartment last night.
Tokyo is so cool! You can buy practically anything from a vending machine!
They entered the subway station and were immediately swept away by the tide of morning commuters. Arrathir lost sight of Charles several times as they traveled to Erik's hotel, but was able to find him, thanks to his newly improved sense of smell.
When they reached Erik's hotel, they had barely entered the lobby when a security guard stopped them.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Quinn," he said "But Mr. Morlock had instructed us not to let in enter the hotel, so I'm afraid you're going to have to leave."
Just then, the guard's walkie-talkie beeped.
"Hai?" said the guard, grabbing his microphone.
"This is Erik Morlock," said a crackly voice "If Quinn shows up, send him up to me."
"Yes, sir," said the guard "He has a friend with him, should we let him in?"
"I don't care!" said Erik, sounding exasperated "Just send him up!"
The guard ushered Arrathir and Charles into the elevator, which took them up to the penthouse. When the doors opened, Arrathir was yanked out by an extremely peeved Erik.
"Look what you've done to me!" he shouted, shaking Arrathir.
Arrathir nearly cracked a rib as he tried desperately not to laugh. Chikuro however was freely rolling around in his Soul Room, laughing uproariously. Arrathir, who felt he couldn't last very long without laughing, tried to switch places with his other self so he could have a good laugh in his Soul Room and let Chikuro take the winter of Erik's discontent. However, Chikuro remained firmly locked in his Soul Room.
Come on! Switch with me so I can laugh without him biting my head off!
No dice! Oh, I haven't laughed like this in a long time! The look on his face is priceless
"Don't just stand there!' said Erik "What have you got to say for yourself?"
Arrathir opened his mouth, but the look on intense fury on Erik's face was too much and he exploded into laughter, collapsing to the ground as tears of mirth streamed from his eyes.
Erik looked exasperatedly at the laughing man in front of him and then turned, noticing Charles for the first time.
"Who are you?" he asked.
"Charles Wainscot," he said, extending his hand.
Erik looked at the proffered hand with disgust, as if it might contaminate him.
"Well, that's a warm welcome," said Chiburuu, taking over.
The Keeper of Blue Mana! I should have known he would ally with that scum! I need to speak to him! Tell him the danger he is in! Let me take over!
No! If I do, how do I know you'll give control back to me? Plus, that would mean I would be accepting you, which I'll never do!
"You still haven't gotten your host to accept you?" said Chiburuu, knowing the Keeper of White Mana could hear him "I thought by now you would have managed to. Rather pathetic."
How DARES he!
"Do you know who I am?" asked Erik, menacingly.
"I know who you are," said Chiburuu "A spoiled brat who's too stubborn to accept facts that are right under your nose. You are what you are. Nothing, not even your stubbornness, can change that. It is pointless to resist. The Keeper of White Mana will awaken."
"So, you're on of Quinn's insane friends?" said Erik "Well, he already talked me to death about this whole 'destiny' bullshit and I don't believe you any more than I believed him. Nobody is going to tell me how to live my life!"
"You know, Erik-chan," said Charles, taking over "From what Arrathir has told me, you're just afraid of your destiny and feel more comfortable ignoring it rather than facing it like a man. You coward. I have accepted my fate. If I am to help make the Multiverse a better place, then I gladly choose to. You're just a selfish prick who thinks of no one but himself." (A/N: The '-chan' honorific is used between lovers, young girls, when talking to young children, and on guys you wanna piss off)
"You're both crazy," said Erik "Leave me out of your madness! Quinn!" he shouted at Arrathir "How do I get rid of this?" He gestured to his beak.
"Well," said Arrathir, fighting to maintain his composure "My guess is that, since you've been keeping your Keeper locked up in his Soul Room, all his mana his bottled up, and this is accelerating the development of your demonic traits. The only thing to do would be to accept the Keeper. This should slow it down."
"How did I know you would say something like that?" said Erik, rolling his eyes "Get out, before I call security."
The two Keepers left, leaving a seething Erik.
You know, they did have a point.
Shut up, you.
If you continued to reject me, the consequences could be serious.
Don't you threaten me.
Don't say I didn't warn you.
In the elevator, both men were having a discussion with their respective Keepers.
How much longer until Erik cracks and accepts his fate?
I'm actually surprised he lasted so long. The Keeper of White Mana can be very persuasive.
Charles was having a similar discussion with Chiburuu.
;Why doesn't he just take over Erik's body by force?;
;That would be the spiritual equivalent of rape. By forcefully taking over Erik's body, the Keeper would shatter what little trust his host has in him and would not be able to maintain his spiritual link with his host. He would have to force any future changes and would essentially be enslaving Erik. I hope Erik comes to his senses before this happens, because if the Keeper is kept locked up too long, it will;
; But I thought White was the color of good. Would he really do something so evil?;
;He wouldn't see it as evil, just doing what is necessary to ensure the success of The Awakening;
"Arrathir," said Charles, breaking off his mind-link with Chiburuu "What was it you left at Erik's?"
"Oh, just my notebook," said Arrathir, pulling said notebook out of his pocket "But it turns out I had it in my coat pocket the whole time."
The doors of the elevator opened, and they walked out of the hotel. The rain had subsided and they walked through the busy streets of Tokyo towards the park where Arrathir had agreed to meet Aki.
"Well," said Charles "Now that his demonic side is coming out, he will eventually have to accept the fact he is the Keeper of White Mana."
"I don't know," said Arrathir "After the Slivers I thought he would realize it, but it's like he's forcing himself not to believe."
"As I said, he's afraid of who he is. He's afraid of facing the responsibility of being a Keeper of Mana, so he thinks if he ignores it, it will go away."
"Exactly like Kaiba," said Arrathir.
"Who?"
"Before Chikuro awoke," said Arrathir "I stumbled upon an alternate universe where Magic: The Gathering did not exist. Instead, they played this similar game called Duel Monsters. I met this kid called Yugi who was the reincarnation of a pharaoh who saved the world a long time ago. The spirit was trapped in an artifact called the Millennium Puzzle and when Yugi solved it, the spirit entered his body. Anyways, Yugi's rival was the CEO of a big gaming corporation. His name was Seto Kaiba and he too was the reincarnation of a priest from ancient Egypt. Kaiba was almost exactly like Erik: rich, snobby, and he completely refused to accept that he was the priest's reincarnation."
"Yeah, that sounds like Erik all right," said Charles "Then what happened?"
"I met this mage called Khell, he was the one who trained me in mana summoning, and I battled this other Egyptian spirit who was trying to steal the Millennium Puzzle to destroy the world. I died and met a Planeswalker named Lu Chao who told me all about the Keepers and awoke Chikuro. I was revived and kicked the spirit's ass. In fact, it was Lu Chao who charged me with finding the Keepers of Mana."
"So, this girl you're meeting," said Charles "You think she's a Keeper?"
"Chikuro says she could be a summoner, but I guess we'll find out soon enough."
To be continued…
Author's Note: All right! My Spanish course is over! I got an 87 on my final oral exam! Now I'll have a lot more time to write! K, time for another rant. This chapter's topic: Reviewers.
Reviewers come in many shapes and styles. In this rant, I will attempt to classify them into their respective families.
By far, the most annoying type of reviewer is the Flamer.
Flamer review example: OMG! THIS SUX! U SUX! NEVER WRITE AGAIN, N00B!
As you can see, the Flamer lives only to hurt. Usually, they are losers who get their kicks out of insulting people's fics. The Flamer will usually read part or none of the fic and pass judgment based on the summary or the first few paragraphs.
How to deal with them: Ignore them. Flamers are an unfortunate part of writing fanfiction because you are exposing your work to a lot of people and there are bound to be assholes that will take pot shots at your work. The fortunate thing is the Flamer will usually review once and that will be it. If you keep getting repeated flames from the same person, consider reporting them. Unfortunately, the Flamer will often choose to post anonymous reviews to avoid being tracked down. Turning off the anonymous review option is a way to avoid the Flamer.
Next, the most helpful reviewer, the Critic.
Critic review example: Well, this story is pretty good, but maybe you're rushing it a bit. Take a bit more time to describe the action as it happens and this story will be great.
The Critic is the type of reviewer who'll benefit your story the most. Let's face it: We're all human. We all make mistakes and since we think highly of our work, we may not see the problems in our story. The Critic helps point out these problems, giving us a chance to improve on our work.
How to deal with them: Don't be hurt if the Critic tells you your story needs a lot of work. Take their advice and try to work it in as best you can. It can only help. If it hadn't been for Critics, Magic: The Gathering vs. Yu-Gi-Oh! wouldn't have been nearly as good as it turned out.
Finally, the reviewer we all want, the Glomper.
Glomper review example: I LOVE THIS! U ROX! UPDATE PLZ!
The Glomper is a reviewer who is obviously completely into your story. The Glomper is a huge ego-booster.
How to deal with them: Smile and acknowledge the Glomper's praise, but be careful. Glompers are likely to be rabid fangirls/boys who are desperate for you to update your story. Don't let all the praise go to your head or the quality of your work might suffer as you churn out shoddy chapters to satisfy the Glompers, which could cause them to turn into Flamers.
OK, rant over.
Igor: To keep a bit of mystery around the Keepers, I prefer not to reveal the names of the non-awakened Keepers. There is a naming pattern and I will reveal it once they all awaken. Also, Quinn is Arrathir's last name.
Demonslayer: Um, thanks for the two identical reviews. Did your mouse button get stuck or something?
ACS Dude: All I can say is NOBODY will see Charles' demon form coming. It's gonna be a total surprise to everyone.
Blitz: Glad my story has inspired your deck building.
Technomagus: Yes, Arrathir made some mistakes, but keep in mind he hasn't got the m4d skillz of Chikuro, so he's bound to rush and make a few mistakes. You're close on the naming pattern though.
YM: Arrathir's kind of a self-insertion. He's based a lot on my personality and appearance (black clothes, trench coat). I think my original pen name was Link101, a harbinger to the days when I'd started on Fanfiction and was writing mainly Zelda fics. And I will go back to the Sliver duel, except everybody's gonna be dressed in black leather, sunglasses, and have Akimbo MP5's. Oh, and they'll be in the lobby of a government building this time.
"FREEZE!" yelles Anima.
Arrathir and Eva look at each other and dart behind the marble columns on either side of the lobby, firing away with their MP5's.
Utter geek-dom,
Kei: Actually, I read HBP in one night.
Megamickel: Yep, oxymorons are tons of fun.
Khell: Don't worry. Numa's not going to be the last Planeswalker to try and stop The Awakening.
Song: Yeah, go ahead with your idea. I await the first chapter with impatience.
Grayangle: Here we have the perfect example of a Glomper review. Not that I'm complaining. Glomper HUGE EGO BOOST!
John: What "I Love Lucy" quote?
Demonlordalpha: Sorry, but I'm not going to add creatures to Arrathir's deck just because you think they are cool.
So, until next time, see ya!