Disclaimer: I don't own Magic: The Gathering, only my OCs.

CHAPTER 6-Form of the Dragon

"Is it still following us?" asked Arrathir.

"Shut up and run!" said Eva as the dragon flew overhead, screeching.

The two Keepers had been chased out of the valley and back into the rocky crags of the cordillera. They'd been forced into a narrow canyon that ran southwards. Fortunately, the mouth of the canyon was too narrow for the dragon to enter, so it merely circled around, occasionally spewing a jet of fire down at the Keepers.

"We need to get back to the valley," said Eva "The trees'll provide better cover."

"Look out!" yelled Arrathir as the dragon perched itself over the mouth of the canyon and stuck its snout into the opening, the great teeth gnashing ahead of the Keepers.

"Back! Back!" said Arrathir, turning around. As they tried to flee in the opposite direction, the dragon's tail came crashing down in front of them, blocking their path.

"Just great!" yelled Eva "Big teeth on one side; huge-ass tail on the other! How could this get any worse?"

Eva's question was answered as the dragon stuck a forelimb down and began slashing around the enclosed space with its sharp claws. The Keepers were forced into a crazy dance as they dodged the blows.

"Never say that!" yelled Arrathir, jumping over a blow "You jinxed it!"

"Know what?" said Eva I've changed my mind: Terror the fucker!"

"Thought you'd never ask!" said Arrathir, charging his mana. As the dragon slashed at him again, he latched onto the wrist, running up the arm and onto the dragon's neck. "Say hello to my little friend!" he yelled, slamming the spell into the creature's head as the dragon raised its neck to find its missing prey. Eva took this opportunity to take off down the canyon. Leaping off the dragon's back, Arrathir landed in the canyon. As he landed, he felt a sharp pain in his leg and heard a bone snap. He screamed out in pain as he collapsed to the ground.

Fuck! My leg!

Hearing Arrathir's scream, Eva turned. Seeing her mate-to-be in pain, she doubled-timed it back to him as the dragon writhed in pain above them.

"What happened?" she asked, kneeling beside Arrathir, who was clutching his knee and grimacing in pain.

"Pretty sure I broke my leg," he grunted "Wasn't fully healed from last night."

Eva felt a stab of guilt. It was her fault, after all that he'd gotten injured. She groaned inwardly. She really needed to get a grip on her emotions and stop flying off the handle like that at Arrathir.

"Get on!" she told Arrathir, turning her back to him. Arrathir managed to clamber onto Eva's back, latching his arms around her waist.

"Why isn't it dying?" asked Arrathir, pointing to the dragon, who was still writhing in pain.

"Arrathir," said Eva "I don't think that's a normal Shivan Dragon. Looks more like a Vampiric Dragon!"

"Eh?"

"Red/Black creature," said Eva "5/5 flier for…"

"Don't need to know the specs!" said Arrathir "I get the damn point: Terror doesn't work."

With a roar, the dragon snakes its head back into the canyon, its open mouth pointing at the Keepers. At the back of its throat, Arrathir could see a small blue flame. He immediately understood.

"Eva…" he said. Looking back, the red Keeper comprehended the situation immediately. She took off running as the dragon spewed a giant fireball down the canyon after the Keepers.

Eva bounded through the canyon, feeling the heat of the fireball at her back. Arrathir's added weight slowed her down a bit, but she still managed to keep them ahead of the dragon's attack. Arrathir whined and moaned as every bump sent jolts of pain through his broken leg. As he turned to check on the progress of the pursuing fireball, he saw it had gained a lot of ground.

"Step on it, Eva!" he shouted, "I opted for cremation, but I'd like that to wait until I've died!"

Eva only grunted in response, but she put on a burst of speed. Ahead, she could see the canyon opening up into a wasteland of rocks and dirt. As they neared the end of the canyon, the Keepers could feel the heat intensifying, as the fireball got closer. Arrathir could feel the hair on the back of his neck singeing from the heat.

As they reached the end of the canyon, Eva leapt into the air as the fireball roared under them. The fireball died out with a small pop as it lost speed. Eva touched down safely as the dragon came flying low over the ground. It buzzed the two Keepers, circling around for another pass.

"We need something to kill it!" said Arrathir.

"If I had time," said Eva "I could get a Fireball ready, but I don't think we have time for that."

"Great!" said Arrathir "So we need an Instant for very little mana. What, other than Terror, can we use?"

"Rend Flesh?" suggested Eva.

"I don't know that spell!" said Arrathir.

"Ask Chikuro."

"No good," said Arrathir "He said we won't need him, so I'm on my own!"

"Got it!" said Eva, as the dragon swept by again, this time spewing a tongue of flames at the Keepers "Terminate!"

"That's a black/red spell!" said Arrathir.

"Then we'll just have to cast it together!" said Eva "Hurry," she said, grabbing Arrathir's left hand with hers "Now focus! Feel your mana blending with mine."

Arrathir closed his eyes and reached out with his mind. He could feel his mana bumping against Eva's, occasionally mixing. He focused on the point where the two mana types clashed, trying to harness the power in order to cast the spell. He sensed the chaotic nature of Eva's red mana, as well as the desire to kill of his own black mana. He tried combining these two emotions in order to achieve the spell. Terminate combined the destructive power of red with that of black in order to destroy any creature.

"Here it comes again!" yelled Eva "Ready?"

"When you are!" said Arrathir.

As the dragon flew at them, its jaws wide open in preparation for another fireball, the two Keepers raised their joint hands to the sky. The ground began shaking violently and cracks began appearing as the earth split itself apart, creating large crevices. A jet of magma erupted from one of the crevices; the geyser of molten rock spraying over the dragon.

The creature roared in pain as the magma burned away at its wings, leaving large holes in the thin membrane. Another jet sprayed over its back, burning through the creature's hide and leaving great red spots on its body. By now, the dragon was in too much pain to fly. It collapsed to the ground, roaring in fury and pain as more magma splashed over it. The smell of burning flesh filled the air and the Keepers could hear the skin sizzling.

With a final roar, the dragon let its head fall to the ground, the great golden eyes closing as death took its hold on the creature.

"Is it dead?" asked Eva.

"Its mana is gone," said Arrathir, after a quick check.

"It's a shame," said Eva, walking up to the dragon's corpse and putting her hand on its flank "Such a beautiful creature…" she paused. "Arrathir, this dragon is female," she added.

"Eh?"

"Her mammary glands are swollen," added Eva, speaking more to herself than to Arrathir.

"Eh?"

"She's got whelps!" said Eva, exasperated "Don't you get it? She was just trying to defend her younglings!"

"Oh," said Arrathir, not quite sure how to react.

"What do you mean 'Oh'?" yelled Eva "Because of us, now the whelps don't have a mother!"

"It's not like we had a choice!" said Arrathir "It was her or us!"

"OK, OK," said Eva, closing her eyes and taking a deep breath to calm herself "Let's just go back to the cave and see how many whelps there are."

"Go back in there?" asked Arrathir "Are you mad?"

"I will be if you don't come along quietly," said Eva, her eyes blazing.

"Mark my words," he grumbled, falling into step beside Eva as they began the trek back to the valley "One day, whipped men all around the world will rise up against their aggressors."

"Mush!" said Eva, snapping an imaginary whip.

They soon reached the cave where they'd first encountered the dragon and entered. The ground sloped downwards towards the back of the cavern. Soon, the light from the mouth of the cave wasn't enough for the Keepers to see, even with their superior sight, so Eva lit a handful of mana to help guide them.

They walked in silence for a few minutes, hearing nothing but the scrape of their shoes against the rocky ground. The cave narrowed and turned into a small rock tunnel. Following the tunnel, they emerged into a small grotto. In the center of the grotto was a nest. It was made of what looked like dried mud. Small bones and broken eggshell fragments littered the ground around the nest. As the approached, they heard a chirp coming from the roost.

A tiny clawed hand appeared over the edge of the roost, followed by a small snout. The dragon whelp pulled itself from the nest, flopping down to the ground with a squeak. It began stumbling its way across the ground. The Keepers could see it was limping and one of its wings was crooked. Before the whelp had made a few feet, two more whelps, bigger than the first, came out of the nest and began pecking at their sibling. The whelp tried to get away, but the two other whelps managed to pin it to the ground. The runt squealed in pain as the began nipping at its body.

"They're trying to eat it!" whispered Eva "We've got to help it!"

"Eva, it's only nature," said Arrathir "Survival of the fittest. If the whelp can't defend itself against its siblings, how can it hope to survive against other enemies?"

"I can't just let it be killed!" said Eva. She stepped forwards, casting two Shocks at the attacking whelps. The two dragons chirped in alarm and backed away from the other whelp. Eva bent down and scooped up the injured whelp. She could feel its heart beating rapidly and its breath came in ragged gasps.

"Shh," she said, cradling it in her arms "You're safe now. Everything is going to be OK."

The whelp chirped in confusion, looking up at the red Keeper. Its beady eyes scrutinized her, assessing if she was a threat. The whelp was very fearful of the creature holding him. After all, it had nearly been torn to pieces by its own siblings. However, the Keeper's words seemed to have a calming effect on the whelp and it did not struggle in her arms.

"Come on," she told Arrathir "Let's get out of here."

"Wait, Eva," said Arrathir "What are you planning to do with that dragon?"

"It doesn't have a mother anymore," said Eva "So I'm going to fill in the position."

"You can't just keep some whelp!" said Arrathir "This is a dragon, Eva! How are you going to raise it?"

"I'll manage," said Eva "Plus, it's not like I'm gonna keep it forever. I just want to raise it until it's old enough to take care of itself."

"Looks like your maternal instincts are kicking in," joked Arrathir "Are your mammary glands swelling up yet?"

"If you don't shut up," smirked Eva "Something of yours is going to be swollen."

"You know," said Arrathir as they left the cave "Those whelps didn't look very old. They probably couldn't be left alone for very long."

"So why did their mother chase us for so long?" asked Eva. Just then, the sun was blotted out as an adult Vampiric Dragon landed in front of the Keepers. The dragon snorted at the intruders and leaned over to sniff the whelp Eva was carrying. The dragon gave a roar as he recognized the whelp's scent as his own.

"…And that's would be Junior's father," said Arrathir.

The Vampiric Dragon sorted in anger at Eva and charged at her, its mouth wide open. Both Keepers were rooted to the spot. The sight of the dragon charging them down left them paralyzed. The whelp, however, wasn't intimidated by its father. It managed to wriggle free from Eva's grasp, flopping to the ground. Picking itself up, it stood its ground against the charging dragon.

The father stopped its charge, confused by the whelp's stand. The whelp bared its teeth at its father, challenging it to come closer. Bending its head down to the whelp's eye level, the Vampiric Dragon stared unblinkingly into its youngling's eyes. The whelp withstood its father's gaze, refusing to move. It clearly expressed it refusal to allow its father to harm Eva.

The elder dragon snorted at its whelp's insolence and growled at it threateningly. The whelp trembled before its father, but stayed put. With a disdainful snort, the Vampiric Dragon turned away from the whelp and entered the cave.

"Did we just…" asked Arrathir.

"Get saved by the whelp? Yep," said Eva, picking up the whelp "Way to go, little buddy!" she told the dragon, nuzzling its snout. The whelp gave a small chirp and playfully snaked out its tongue to lick Eva's nose. "If I'm gonna keep you, you're gonna need a name."

"Well, is it a male or female dragon?" asked Arrathir.

(How can I tell, Chiruu?)

(Well, it doesn't seem to have any male genitals so female is a good guess)

"OK!" said Eva "I'm gonna call you 'Fire'."

"How original," remarked Arrathir sarcastically. Eva shot him one of her famous death glares and he shut up.

"We should probably head back now," said Eva "Fire's gotta be hungry."

"Why don't you just breast-feed it?" said Arrathir before running away as fast as he could. Eva took a few seconds to grasp what he'd said, but when she did, she tore off after him, uttering threats to his masculinity.

"Do you know where Chihowaido is?" asked Khell.

"Yes," said Lu Chao "He's hiding out on a small island off the coast of Keld."

"Well," said Khell "We could travel there, find Chihowaido, defeat him in a duel and then Charles could put his life essence in stasis while we figure out what to do about Erik."

"Contain the spirit of the Keeper of White Mana?" said Chiburuu "Such a thing has never been done."

"Could it be?" asked Khell.

"In theory, yes," said Chiburuu.

"Sounds good," said Charles "As soon as the lovebirds get back, we should leave."

"Lovebirds?" asked Lu Chao "Are you referring to the Keepers of Black and Red Mana?"

"Yeah," said Charles "They're off on a 'honeymoon'," he added, even including the air quotes.

"So the two are a couple?" asked Lu Chao "Let us hope this relationship does not cloud their judgment. We will all face important decisions in the future; choices that could determine the fate of the Multiverse."

Just then, a black blur shot past them, followed by a cursing red blur. The two blurs circled around the Keepers and Lu Chao.

"They're at it again," sighed Charles "What'd he do this time?"

The blurs finally collided in a large explosion of dust. When the dust cleared, Eva was straddling Arrathir, throttling him.

"…AND THEN I'LL SHOVE YOUR EYES UP YOUR ASS SO YOU CAN WATCH ME KICK THE CRAP OUT OF YOU!" yelled Eva. She suddenly realized where they were and immediately shut up, jumping off Arrathir, her face all flushed.

"So…how was your little escapade?" asked Charles, trying to break the uncomfortable silence.

"Oh, great!" said Eva "Even made a new friend!" She pointed to Fire, who was currently resting on her shoulders.

"A dragon whelp!" said Khell in amazement "How did you find it?"

"Long story," said Eva.

"What's its name?" asked Khell.

"Fire," said Eva "And it's a 'she.'"

"Fire?" asked Charles "That's not very original," he added, ignoring Arrathir's frantic warning gestures "Dragons are majestic creature. How about something a bit more poetic like, Hosaki?"

"Hosaki?" repeated Eva "Does it mean anything?"

"In Japanese it means 'flames' or 'the forefront of a fire,'" said Charles.

"I like it," said Eva. Plucking the whelp from her shoulders, she held her at arm's length. "From now on, your name'll be Hosaki!" Hosaki chirped in approval of her new name.

"I am pleased to meet you again, Keeper of Black Mana," said Lu Chao to Arrathir "And may I say it is an honor to finally meet the Keeper of Red Mana," he added, bowing to Eva.

"Lu Chao," said Arrathir "It's great to see you again. Listen, we've got a big problem with Chihowaido."

"I've already discussed the matter with the Keepers of Blue and Green," said Lu Chao "I know the white Keeper's location and am prepared to transport you to it."

"So if you're ready, oshidorifuufu (lovebirds)," said Charles "We'll be on our way."

After gathering the last of their belongings, the four Keepers stood before Lu Chao.

"Will you be accompanying us?" asked Arrathir.

"Sadly, I must decline," said Lu Chao "I have other pressing matters I must attend to. It was a pleasure meeting you again, Keepers of Mana. I bid you good luck against the Keeper of White Mana. Good-bye."

With a firm stance, Lu Chao Planeswalked the four Keepers out of Shiv.

To be continued…

Author's Note: So Eva gets a new pet and the Keepers are off to find Chihowaido.

On another note, I'm psyched about the release of the DS Lite. I've wanted to get a DS for some time now, but I figured it'd be better to wait for the improved version before getting one. I must say, the DS Lite promises to be good. Better battery conservation, smaller frame, lighter, and when you close it, the two halves seal so stuff can't get in between a scratch the screens. One game I'd really like to see for the DS is Super Smash Bros. With the Wi-Fi capabilities, it would be an amazing game. Maple Story is also coming out for the DS and I will definitely be getting that.

Until next time…