Disclaimer: I do not own Magic: The Gathering

"I suppose that now, since you're going to help me with the Awakening, I've got to train you in mana summoning," said Arrathir.

"Chiburuu said he'd train me," said Charles "But it would be good to have help from someone who's been summoning recently."

"Well, if Aki's a summoner, I'll have to train her anyways," said Arrathir "Speaking of which, here's the park."

Built on the location of Japan's first successful flight, Yoyogi Park is one of the largest parks in Tokyo. It is a popular hangout, especially on weekends when people gather there to have fun.

Arrathir checked his watch: it was a quarter past noon.

Damn, I'm late. I hope she forgives m-OOF!

Arrathir was thrown to the ground as Aki enthusiastically glomped him.

A glomp is best described as somewhere between a flying tackle and a very tight hug. The glomper will latch onto the glompee, hugging them very tight, much like a young child would latch onto an adult's leg. The meaning is always affectionate, never sexual, no matter how tight the hug. The name would seem to originate from the gulp of anxiety uttered by the glompee upon being glomped. The term is believed to have originated in the popular manga, Ranma ½ as a way of describing how the female character, Shampoo, would latch onto the male protagonist. Glomping is often performed at anime conventions or virtually performed in Internet chartrooms.

"Arrathir-kun!" squealed Aki.

"Can't…breathe…" gasped Arrathir.

"Oh! Gomen nasai!" said Aki, releasing him "I was so excited."

"It's OK," said Arrathir "Oh, Aki, meet Charles. Charles, Aki."

"Nice to meet you," said Aki with a small bow.

"Likewise," said Charles.

"Anyways," said Arrathir "Shall we find a table?"

The three of them walked to a section of the park where a great number of tables and chairs had been set out. Most were occupied by people reading, having lunch, or playing games. Chess and Go were very popular, but Arrathir saw a few other games he didn't recognize. They finally found a free table under the shade of a large tree.

"All right," said Arrathir, sitting down "Let's have a quick duel so I can assess your deck and game play."

"Fine," said Aki, drawing her hand.

"You go first," said Arrathir. He'd gotten quite a good hand: Hypnox, Zombify, Reanimate, Swamp, Swamp, Swamp, and Putrid Imp.

Everything I need for my four-turn kill, but let's see what her deck can do.

She seems very affectionate for someone you've just met. I think she may be infatuated with you.

That would explain a lot.

"I play a Mountain," said Aki "And play Pyrite Spellbomb. I end my turn."

"One Swamp," said Arrathir "And I summon Putrid Imp, discarding one card to give him flying until end of turn. Go."

"I play a second Mountain and cast Desperate Ritual, adding three red mana to my mana pool," said Aki "I use it to play Ronin Houndmaster (2/2, Haste, Bushido 1) and attack with it."

"Block with Putrid Imp," said Arrathir.

Looks like a red burn/haste deck. Not too hard to deal with.

"End turn."

"I play Reanimate," said Arrathir "To return my Hypnox (8/8, Flying) to play! However, I loose life equal to its mana cost. End turn."

AKI: 20
ARRATHIR: 12

"I sacrifice my Pyrite Spellbomb to draw a card," said Aki. Her face lit up when she saw the card she'd drawn. "Next, I play the Mountain I just drew and play another Pyrite Spellbomb. Your turn."

"I play a Swamp and end my turn," said Arrathir.

I'll go easy on her for now.

"One Mountain," said Aki "And I attack with Ronin Houndmaster."

What is she doing?

"I block with Hypnox," said Arrathir.

"The I'll sacrifice my Pyrite Spellbomb to deal two damage to your Hypnox," said Aki "And the my Houndmaster deals it three damage because you blocked it. Finally, Main Phase Two, I'll play Yamabushi's Flame on your Hypnox, dealing it three more damage, killing it and removing it from the game."

She says she's a beginner? That was pretty good!

And she just took out our strongest monster too! I guess we underestimated her.

"End turn."

If I had let it through, I would have taken seven damage. Either way, I was screwed. Now then, let's give her a little taste of what this deck can do!

"Swamp," said Arrathir "The I'll play Vampiric Tutor to search my deck for a card and put it on top, but it costs me two life."

AKI: 20
ARRATHIR: 10

"Then I'll summon another Putrid Imp (1/1) and end my turn."

"I summon Oxidda Golem (3/2, Haste, Affinity for Mountains)," said Aki "And I attack."

"Block with Putrid Imp," said Arrathir.

I have to be careful! Her haste creatures could be trouble.

"I play a Swamp and cast Night's Whisper, drawing two cards and loosing two life."

Just what I needed!

"I play Cabal Therapy on myself and discard Havoc Demon. Finally, I'll play Exhume. We both return a creature from our graveyards to play. I'll return Havoc Demon."

AKI: 20
ARRATHIR: 8

"I return Ronin Houndmaster," said Aki.

"End turn."

"I play a Mountain," said Aki "And I attack with everything."

She knows she can't block my Havoc Demon so she's trying to do as much damage to me as possible.

"I block your Golem with Havoc Demon," said Arrathir.

AKI: 20
ARRATHIR: 6

"End turn."

Another Night's Whisper. Not much use. Well, may as well attack. I can always sack Havoc Demon to clear the field if need be.

"I attack with Havoc Demon," said Arrathir "And end my turn."

AKI: 15
ARRATHIR: 6

"I play Loxodon Warhammer," said Aki.

This could be a problem.

Relax. She doesn't have the mana to equip it this turn.

"And I play Magnetic Theft to attach it to my Oxidda Golem (6/2)," finished Aki.

"Then I'll Flashback my Cabal Therapy, sacking my Havoc Demon to do so. Fireball?" Eva's only card in hand was Echoing Ruin.

Not going to be much use against this deck.

Aki scooped up her creatures and put them into her graveyard. "End turn," she said.

"I play Zombify to return Havoc Demon to play," said Arrathir "End turn."

If she gets a creature for two mana or les, we are screwed.

"I play a Mountain and end my turn," said Aki.

"I summon Putrid Imp (1/1) and hit you with Havoc Demon," said Arrathir "End turn."

AKI: 10
ARRATHIR: 6

"I summon Vulshok Bezerker (3/2, Haste)," said Aki "And I attack."

"Block with Putrid Imp."

"End turn."

"I play Cabal Therapy," said Arrathir "Echoing Decay." Aki discarded her last card. "And I attack with Havoc Demon."

AKI: 5
ARRATHIR: 6

"I equip Vulshok Bezerker (6/2) with Loxodon Warhammer," said Aki "And I attack."

"Flashback Cabal Therapy, sacking Havoc Demon," said Arrathir "Shock." Aki's only card in hand was Brothers Yamazaki.

She left me no choice. I had to sack Havoc Demon to survive. If I blocked, she gained six life. Well, the only problem left is that Loxodon Warhammer. Most of her cards seem to be from the Kamigawa expansion, so if she gets a Spark Elemental or something cheap, I could loose. Let's see, next card: Consume Spirit. This can work."

"I play Reanimate," said Arrathir "Returning your Vulshok Bezerker (3/2, Haste) to play under my control. Next, I play a Swamp and Consume Spirit you for two. Finally, I attack with Vulshock Bezerker for the win."

AKI: 0
ARRATHIR: 4

"You say you're a beginner?" said Arrathir "You're pretty good!"

"Thank-you, Arrathir-kun," said Aki, blushing.

"How about you play Charles next? That way, we can both give you a deck evaluation."

"Sure," said Aki. Charles took out his deck and switched places with Arrathir.

What do you think, Chikuro? Is she a summoner?

Her abilities are noteworthy and her gameplay is above average. I'd say there's a good chance she is a summoner.

A good chance? You mean you're not sure?

Some living beings have naturally high mana levels, but that does not mean they have the ability to summon.

We'll find out then! We can train her in mana summoning and see if she is one.

So you still plan to find out if this girl is the Keeper of Red Mana?

Yes. Then if we awaken her, the Keeper of White Mana's power will be increased and he can revive Eva!

First of all, that would require Erik to accept his Keeper, which probably won't happen any time soon, and second, how can he revive Eva if we don't even know where her body is?

I know where she is, trust me.

Are you just using this girl for your own purpose?

Well, I'm not using her. We'd be awakening the Keeper of Red Mana anyways.

And what will you do if your plan works and Eva is brought back to life? This girl seems to genuinely like you. Don't you think she will be crushed when she finds out you just pretended to be interested in her?

She won't care! She'll be a Keeper of Mana! I still need to figure out how to tell her about mana summoning.

You mean before Numa shows up again?

Something like that, yeah.

Meanwhile, the duel between Aki and Charles was still going on. Aki had gotten an early lead, thanks to a Spark Elemental on turn one and following it up with a Lava Spike and a Glacial Ray.

"End turn," said Aki.

AKI: 20
CHARLES: 12

"I summon Cloud of Faeries (1/1, Flying)," said Charles "When summoned from my hand, this creature allows me to untap two lands. Next, I'll play an Island and end my turn."

"I play Vulshock Sorcerer (1/1, Haste)," said Aki "And I tap it to deal one damage to your Cloud of Faeries."

"In response," said Charles "I play Snap, returning your creature to your hand and untapping two lands."

"End turn," said Aki.

"Before the end of your turn," said Charles "I play Accumulated Knowledge, drawing a card. Then on my turn, I'll play an Island and attack with Could of Faeries."

AKI: 19
CHARLES: 12

"End turn."

"I play Pyrite Spellbomb," said Aki.

"Counterspell it," said Charles.

"The I'll play Desperate Ritual and use the mana to cast Barbed Lightning on you. End turn."

AKI: 19
CHARLES: 9

"I play Mishra's Factory," said Charles. He now had five mana at his disposal. "I play Intuition, searching my library for three cards. You choose one from me to keep and I discard the rest." He pulled out three Accumulated Knowledge and discarded two.

Exactly what he used on us.

"Next, I play Accumulated Knowledge, drawing a card plus another card for each Accumulated Knowledge card in all graveyard, so three more. End turn."

"I summon Brothers Yamazaki (2/1, Bushido 1)," said Aki "End turn."

"I play another Mishra's Factory," said Charles "Next, I summon Man-'o-War (2/2), retuning your Bothers Yamazaki to your hand. Then, I'll pay one mana to turn one of my factories into a 2/2 Assembly-Worker creature and attack with Cloud of Faeries and my Worker."

AKI: 16
CHARLES: 9

"End turn."

"I summon Vulshock Sorcerer (1/1, Haste)," said Aki.

"Boomerang it," said Charles.

"End turn."

"I play an Island and summon Palinchron (4/5, Flying). Like Cloud of Faeries, it lets me untap lands when summoned from my hand, except I can untap up to seven lands. Now I'll turn one of my Factories into a Worker and tap my other Factory, giving my Worker +1+1. I attack with Cloud of Faeries, Man-'o-War, and my Worker."

AKI: 10
CHARLES: 9

"End turn."

Aki drew her next card and sighed. "I give up," she said "There's nothing I can do."

AKI: Forfeit
CHARLES: 9

"Well, thanks for the game," said Charles.

"I'm horrible," said Aki.

"Don't worry," said Arrathir "You just need practice, that's all. You almost beat me in that last game."

"Only because I'd gotten the perfect starting hand," said Aki "Otherwise, my deck is no good."

"Here, let me have a look at it," said Arrathir "Maybe I can improve it."

While Arrathir looked over the deck, Charles consulted Chiburuu on the question that was burning in his mind.

;Well, Chiburuu? Is she a summoner?;

;Sorry, Charles. This girl is not;

To be continued…

Author's Note: Gasp! Aki not a summoner? How will Arrathir react? What will their next move be? On another note, to everyone who commented about Chikuro's mention of hentai sites, it was meant as a joke, hence Arrathir's retort. Anyways, time for another rant. This one's a subject I've been seeing for a long time: Mary Sues.

A Mary Sue is basically a self-insertion of the author in a work of fiction. You've all seen them: the new girl in town with a mysterious past whom all the guys instantly fall in love with. They come in many different shapes so I thought I'd try to catalogue them.

A Mary Sue is usually identifiable by their name. Their name might be an anagram of the author's real name, an exotic name, or a name taken from another work of fiction. The Mary Sue usually has unusually colored eyes and the author will often spend a paragraph or so describing in detail their appearance.

One of the most common plot devices used to introduce the Mary Sue is putting them as the new kid in tow, or as I have dubbed it, the FES (Foreign Exchange Student) Complex. From here, the Sue will meet the canonical characters, maybe get into a fight to prove how tough she is, and fall in love with one of the main canonical male characters.

The problem with Mary Sues is they are very flat characters since they bring very little to the story.

Now, there's been a question bugging me for a while now: Is Arrathir a Mary Sue (or Marty Stu as male Sues are called). At first glance, he would appear to be. He has mysterious powers, an unusual name, no family, and always seems to win. In the beginning (That is in MTGvsYGO), I admit Arrathir was a big-time Stu. He always had a ready retort and never seemed to mess up. He wins against Yugi and Kaiba with ease and it isn't until around chapter 11 or so that his perfection starts to fade. Now, Arrathir is a much more human character. Punch him, he bleeds. I'm still working with the character, and I believe this will help me avoid writing more Mary Sues in the future.

YM: Um, It's Chiburuu, not Chiburro. However, "burro" does mean "donkey" in Spanish.

Vamp: Cephalid is a good guess, but not it.

Chris: No, I'm not putting Phage in. Stop requesting this kind of stuff! I'm not putting certain cards in Arrathir's deck just because you like them, OK? It's MY story and I decide what happens. Not happy? Then fuck off and die!

Mike: Yep, Magic ownz!

MTDL: But Myr are artifact creatures. That just doesn't go with blue. I'm declaring a new reviewer category for you: The Appreciator. You use humor in your reviews to try and convey how you like the story without going Glomper.

Igor:

1. Good to see another Snicket fan.
2. It was meant as Chikuro's idea of a joke.
3. Heh, wait until Erik's wings show up. Oops! SPOILER WARNING!
4. True. True.
5. Ditto.
6. Charles is very logical and collected.
7. Yep.
8. Yep.
9. They just want Erik to accept the $#!ing Keeper!
10. Yep.
11. Yep.
12. What you said.
13. Or, you might call it a Deus Ex Machina.
14. I'd say more of The Appreciator. Still laugh every time I read your Gollum review.
15. Gah! You'll find out!
16. All your base are belong to us.
17. The area of the square on the hypotenuse of a right triangle is equal to the sum of the areas of the squares on the other two sides.
18. Can't sleep…clown will eat me.
19. Feck! Arse! Drink! Girls!
20. Hey, Pippin. Wanna blow the horn of Gondor?
21. Well, I'm off to plot world domination. Soon I will rule the world with an iron fist. You! Obey the fist!

Khell: GET YOUR ASS ON ROAD OF LEGENDS AND POST!

Anti-flamer: Wow, I did not know that. Now my knowledge is further extended.

ACS: MWHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAAHHAHA…cough…hack…

Colonel and Iris: Chiburuu's demon form will come out soon enough, or maybe he's using his illusions to hide it.

Prof. Curly: Guess what? You helped! Doesn't that feel good? Pat yourself of the back for me, eh?

Technomagus: Yes. Khell will return…he will return.

Megamickel: YOU DARE INSULT HBP? Nah, just kidding.

Blitz: Meh, he can just delegate his work to his corporate slaves…I mean his subordinates.

Grayangle: Charles is just taking this all in stride.

Hasn't this been one of the most random question answering thingies ever? Until next time! Oh, the next chapter might not be until mid-September since my family is moving to Chile on the 8th. If not, see y'all soon!