Disclaimer: I do not own Magic: The Gathering, only the characters in this story.

CHAPTER 32-Halo

"I've got it!" yelled Eva as her hand burst into flames "I can tap mana!"

"And meanwhile, me, the Keeper of Black Mana still can't!" joked Arrathir.

Eva and Arrathir had spent the better part of the last few hours trying to tap mana. Given their current location, it was crucial they be able to defend themselves. Yavimaya, having survived the Phyrexian invasion, was heavily defended against outsiders. Arrathir and Eva both expected a few more attacks from the forest.

Now that Eva had finally managed to tap mana, their situation seemed a bit less precarious. Arrathir was still having trouble. He could locate the swamps, but for some reason he was unable to tap their power. His irritation was only increased by Eva's success.

You'd think by now I would be a pro at this!

When Arrathir had first started mana summoning over a year ago it was always a long and draining process. However, as time went on, it became almost second nature to him, like breathing. This was mostly due to Chikuro, without whom Arrathir's summoning skills would never have increased at such an exponential rate. However, he was still a novice and still slow at tapping mana.

Now that we're in Dominaria, how will Magic duel be played out? I mean, we're not going to be using our cards, right?

Of course not, but don't be too hasty to get into a mana duel. You've been in one before so you know what it's like. It's a lot harder to summon a creature without its card.

Yeah, why is that?

The card is the physical avatar of the creature, which makes summoning it much easier since you know what the creature looks like. If you tried summoning a creature you'd never seen before, it would be impossible.

"Well, not that I can tap mana, I guess you can go looking for firewood," said Eva.

"Why?"

"So we can start a fire, duh," said Eva "Fire scares away wild animals so there's less of a chance we'll get attacked again."

"Conversely," said Arrathir "A fire would make us easy to spot through the light and smoke, therefore making us more susceptible to attacks."

"Quinn, just get the dammed firewood already."

"Fine. Whatever," said Arrathir, getting up.

She's got you whipped.

Shut up.

The day's events added to Arrathir's frustration over his incapability to tap mana had put him on the edge. He tramped off into the wood, grumbling to himself. As he wandered further away, he realized he was starving. The last thing he'd eaten that day was the breakfast at Charles' house.

Was that really this morning? Seems like it was ages ago. Well, I guess I'd better find something for supper or Eva'll be sure to ask me.

If you find her so annoying, why did you save her?

Uh, Chikuro, I love her?

Good, so make her your mate already! Her g'ni (mana type) is well attuned with yours. Black and red are allies in Magic and I believe it to be the same in real life as well.

I just don't know if she feels the same about me. I mean, what if I told her how I felt about her and then she says she just likes me as a friend?

For fuck's sake, Arrathir! Do you think she would really have gone through all she did if she wasn't even remotely interested in you? Tell her how you feel! I know it's a big step, but look at the possible outcomes: she feels the same about you; you kiss, grope, and carry on from there. If she doesn't, at least she knows how you feel about her and maybe she develops feelings for you. It's win-win.

You know what? You're right! I'm not beating around the bush any longer! I'ma go right up to her and tell her exactly how I feel about her and how much she means to me!

You go, lover-boy!

Arrathir turned and marched determinedly back to the camp.

"Where's the firewood?" asked Eva when Arrathir had returned.

"I…forgot," admitted Arrathir, loosing some of his resolve.

"Are you crazy, Quinn?" shouted Eva "It's getting dark! If we don't get a fire going soon we're screwed!"

Plucking up his deflated courage, Arrathir started "Eva, I came back because I had to tell you."

"What?"

"Eva, I…" Arrathir paused. The evening breeze had brought a strange scent to his nose. Sniffing, Arrathir concentrated on the scent. It was vaguely human, but there was another, more overpowering scent mixed in with it. Arrathir had never encountered it before, but whatever it was, it was approaching.

"Something's coming," said Arrathir.

"What is it?"

"I don't know," said Arrathir "Never smelled it before."

Suddenly, they found themselves surrounded by a group of humanoids. They were dressed in forest-green cloaks and most of them wore quivers full of arrows on their backs. Their hair was very long, almost to mid-back. They had fair faces and the breeze shifted their hair to reveal pointed ears.

Elves!

One of the elves, no doubt the leader, stepped forwards and spoke in a strange tongue.

Chikuro, do you have any idea what he said?

Not a clue. I never really bothered learning Elvish. Look, whatever you do, don't reveal who you really are. I don't think they would treat a ghell kindly.

Arrathir quickly relayed this information to Eva. Meanwhile, the elf seemed to be getting impatient. He repeated what he'd said, but Arrathir didn't understand any more than the first time.

"I'm sorry," said Arrathir "We don't understand."

The elf snapped his fingers and two elves split from the group to stand on either side of Eva and Arrathir. The elf leader spoke again, this time to the other elves, and they started off into the woods. The two elves nudged Eva and Arrathir to indicate they should follow.

"Where are they taking us?" whispered Eva as Arrathir helped her on his back.

"Don't know. Probably to their leader. We are intruders in their forest after all."

"Let's hope somebody in this place speaks English," said Eva as the elves led them deeper into the forest towards an unknown destination.

"So can you see anything?" yelled Erik.

"It's dusk, idiot. I can't see a thing!" shouted Charles. He was currently out on a limb, literally. The two of them had decided it would be a good idea to scale a tree to get a look at their surroundings. After loosing a best out of three game of rock, paper, scissors to determine who would climb, Charles had managed to reach the top of the tree. It was a thrill to be standing on a swaying branch, several dozens of feet above the ground and looking down on the sea of green treetops.

"I'm coming down," said Charles as he begun his descent.

"Don't fall and break your neck or something," said Erik "I wouldn't have to drag your sorry ass around."

"Just hope if I do fall I don't fall on your head," said Charles "You wouldn't want it to deflate, would you?"

The destruction of Charles's card had widened the already large rift between the two summoners as well as increasing the animosity they held towards each other. Through a silent accord, they were on a last-name basis and incessantly insulted each other. The only thing stopping Charles from ditching Erik and striking out on his own was the fact Erik could summon. Yes, Erik Morlock, the only Keeper to have refused his spirit so far had successfully cast a Humble spell on an attacking Canopy Spider a while back.

Erik still insisted he'd purposefully cast the spell and that it had not been a fluke brought about by him being in danger. He took incessant pleasure taunting Charles by rubbing in the fact he could summon and Charles couldn't.

;Little prick! Like he could beat me in a mana duel!;

;Technically, Cannon, you haven't ever really summoned. We'll have to work on that;

Charles rolled his eyes. The spirit had recently taken to calling him by his gaming nickname. Chiburuu had stumbled upon it while browsing Charles' mind. When not in control, the spirit often did this to pass time. At first, Charles hadn't enjoyed having his mind read like a book until the Keeper taught him how to block out what he didn't want viewed, an ability Charles humorously called, "The mental V-Chip."

"What took you so long?" asked Erik when Charles had reached the ground.

"Can it, Morlock," snapped Charles.

"How about you both shut up and explain what you are doing in my forest?" said a voice.

Charles and Erik jumped in alarm as a man seemingly appeared out of nowhere right beside them. He was dressed in a dark green tunic and worn leather pants. On his back was strapped a sword.

;How did he sneak up on us?;

;Canon, this is incredible! He is capable of mana stealth!;

;What?;

;He can mask his mana radiations! I've heard of this but never seen it. It's an incredible rare ability that involves blending one's mana with your surroundings. It's like camouflage. He must be a very powerful summoner;

;Well, so far our track record concerning meeting up with summoners hasn't been so great;

;He could be the Keeper of Green Mana;

"How did you come to be in Yavimaya?" asked the man "Not idly does the forest allow strangers in its midst, especially not ones with summoning abilities."

;Don't tell him the whole truth. Just say you were Planeswalked into the forest;

"We mean no harm," said Charles "Our presence in Yavimaya is an unfortunate accident from us being Planeswalked into the forest."

"No ordinary Planeswalker could get past Vavimaya's defenses!" said the man "You must be Phyrexian spies!"

"We're not spies," said Erik "Hell, you don't even know who you're talking to! We're the Kee-MPPHF!" Erik was cut off as Charles slapped a hand over his mouth.

"Look," said Charles "We're just two summoners who were accidentally Planeswalked here."

"Even so," said the man "I cannot allow you to roam freely in the forest. Be thankful it was me who found you and not the elves. You know the Llanowar penalty for trespassing, right? One bone broken for each twin snapped underfoot. However, since you are summoners, let me see what you can do. I challenge you to a duel.

"I'll duel you!" said Charles, releasing Erik " What is your name?"

"I am Halo," said the man.

"Charles Wainscot. I assume you'll take the first turn?"

"Yes," said Halo. Charles felt a rush of mana and Halo's hand burst into green flames. The mana flowed from the palm of his hand and formed into an elf that stood at attention in front its master. Charles recognized the creature as Llanowar Elves, a 1/1 creature that could tap to add one green mana to its controller's mana pool. "It's your move," said Halo.

;Canon, I think I'd better take over;

;No. I have to learn to do this. Now, how do I summon?;

;Fine. This isn't going to be easy but I'll try to guide you. Summoning takes a lot of mental energy. What you have to do it visualize the creature as if it were alive;

;Got it;

;In mana duels, you have unlimited mana, but you are limited as to how much you can tap into. For example, you can't summon Palinchron on turn one;

;Wait, so if I have no hand, I can cast any spell in our deck?;

;Yes, but once you cast a spell, you won't be able to cast it again for a while. This represents the odds of you drawing another copy of the card. As well, you can only cast the spell the number of times you have it in your deck;

;So my deck is my spell book?;

;Yes. Now try summoning;

Charles closed his eyes and focused, visualizing the creature he wanted to summon. His left hand burst into blue flames, the mana shaping into a Cloud of Faeries (1/1, Flying).

;Charles! You did it! You summoned a creature!;

As Charles opened his eyes, a quick vision of a desolate rock in the middle of an ocean flashed through his mind.

;What was that:

;Cloud of Faeries' effect. The islands you used to summon became available for tapping;

"Your turn," said Charles.

"Heh, your pitiful Faeries won't stand a chance against the power of the forest. Watch!" With a wave of his hand, the elf's eyes glowed bright red and it drew a scimitar.

;Why didn't you counter his spell?;

;I was about to;

;You have to be faster than that! The stack works a lot faster here. You only have a second to react. If the spell resolves before you cast you counter spell, you can't counter it;

"What's the matter?" taunted Halo "Can't even counter a simple spell? How unfortunate for you." The elf charged at Charles, scimitar held high. As it was about to strike him, Charles crossed his hands over his face to protect himself. Suddenly, the Cloud of Faeries was in front of him and took the blow, exploding into blue mana. The elf sheathed its weapon and returned to its master.

;He obviously cast some spell to strengthen his creature. Fortunately your creature took the attack. Now come on! Summon something else!;

Charles started mentally going over his deck. He knew he couldn't cast anything big since he didn't have much mana. He'd have to stick with simple spells.

;And I have just the one;

Thrusting his hand out, Charles focused on his spell, feeling the mana flow through him. It was a strange feeling, like water running over his body. He could also feel the surrounding mana. Halo's elf radiated with green mana, fresh and full of life. The whole experience was a bit disorienting for Charles. Emotions, scents, and textures blended together to form the mana.

;Canon! Your focus is slipping!;

Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, Charles re-focused his attention towards the elf. As he cast his Boomerang spell, he was amazed by the effect. It was as if the elf were being summoned, but in reverse. The creature started glowing brightly and reverted to its raw mana form. The mana flowed back into Halo's body.

"End turn," said Charles.

;How did I do?;

;Good. Now we just need to work on countering spells;

"It seems you have some skill after all," said Halo "So I'll return my elf and end my turn."

"Time to bring out one of my favorites!" said Charles. His mana formed into a blue jellyfish. "Man-o'-War! His special ability activates when he is summoned: I return one creature in play to its owner's hand, so say good-bye to your elf!" The jellyfish extended its filaments to ensnare the Llanowar Elves, but vines suddenly appeared out of nowhere, pinning the jellyfish to the ground.

"What?"

"Stifle," said Halo "Counters a triggered ability."

"But that's a blue spell!" said Charles.

"Yes, but I tapped into the power of Yavimaya's Coast to produce blue mana," said Halo, wincing in pain as the off-color mana slashed away one of his lifepoints.

HALO: 19
CHARLES: 20

"End turn."

;At least Man-o'-War is out;

"Come forth now, my Striped Bears (2/2)!" said Halo as a pair of bears appeared. They were brown with horizontal white stripes running from their necks to mid-back. One of them stood on its hind legs and growled at Charles. "Make your move."

;Chiburuu? How do I play Mishra's Factory or Faeries Conclave?;

;Hmm, nonbasic lands you have to summon as if they were creatures then tap;

"All right," said Charles "I call upon my Faerie Conclave!" A small pond appeared before him "This mana source can provide me with blue mana and can be turned into a 2/1 creature with flying. I end my turn."

"Not even going to summon?" asked Halo "Fine. It will be your undoing. I'll start by casting a very useful spell against blue mages." Halo glowed briefly. "This spell is called Insist and makes it so the next creature I summon cannot be countered! Now with your spells locked away, I can summon this!" A green elemental appeared on Halo's field "Forgotten Ancient (0/3)! His power grows for every spell cast and he can transfer his power to other creatures at the beginning of my turn. Your move."

To be continued…

Author's note: Hey everyone! A special early update in honor of my 19th birthday! I can now legally drink in Canada. In your face, America! You have to wait until 21! Who is this Halo? What will happen to the captives? See you all on Thursday for another update!

BB: Don't worry. Erik will get pwned eventually.

CC: Got the decklist.

YM: OK, you're really starting to creep me out, dude. I mean, sodomy and incest? I do not give you or anyone else permission to use my characters in a hentai fic. Also, I won't be killing Erik.

ROwned: Just like in the VG Cats comic.

SS: HEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEER'S JOHNNY! Glad you like Crappic. God knows I need the readers.

Tech: Oh come ON! Those were TINY errors! Erik would have had to discard on his turn anyways. Charles would have seen the morph when Erik put it in his graveyard. Just because I didn't write it doesn't mean it didn't happen. Finally, Charles was tapped out when Erik brought Akroma back. I DO make a point of keeping track of how much mana they have and what is tapped. However, no gameplay errors! I will triumph!

Mega: Sorry, but as a Canadian it is part of my national identity to bash Bush. Feel free to make fun of Paul Martin, even us Canadians do. You can't tell me what to write. If I feel like putting in comments about politics, it is my right. Not happy? Then take a hike! Also, I don't hate every American president. I liked Clinton. At least he kept his nose out of other countries' business (and put it in other places). Feel free to make a long stupid-ass review, but that won't stop me from bashing whomever I feel like!

Towelie: Thanks for the great review! Yeah, I guess The Awakening is more of a novel than a story now. And I'm just getting started! If it took them 30 chapters to get to Dominaria, then they'll be staying there for a bit. Also, I prefer pencil to quills. Less messy.

Prof: I'll give it a thought.

Gray: Well, thanks!

Omega: YES! Another reader who returns to playing Magic!

Igor Yep. You and I have created one Hell of a dislikeable character. I'm guessing Charles and Erik are going to be kind of like Joey and Kaiba, always at each other's throats. Erik didn't have much of a role in the past ten chapters so now he'll become more involved in the story. Yum! A carrot! Eh. What's up, Doc?