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

CHAPTER 7-Jia

Jia gripped her short bow tightly in her left hand as she scanned the woods. It was late afternoon and the sun was descending in the sky, tainting the sky a reddish-orange. A light breeze ran through the woods, causing the scout to shiver. She was lightly dressed, only clad in leather armour. After all, scouts, especially female ones, weren't expected to do much fighting; their mission was merely to warn the Hunters of any threat to their homeland.

She glanced over to her two compatriots; each clad is a fashion similar to hers. The three of them were on patrol since morning and the day had passed by very slowly and uneventfully. Jia was anxious to get back to the village and rest. Her stomach rumbled at the thought of dinner. Scouts were expected to go long periods without eating and after a long day of trekking, Jia was famished.

"Jia," said one of her companions, appearing beside her in that particular sudden, stealthy way the women of the tribe had "The sun is setting. We should head back."

Jia nodded and slung her bow over her back, glad to be done with the day's work. As the three women made their way back to the village, a loud snap echoed through the woods. In a common, wordless decision, the three scouts headed in the direction of the sound. They arrived at a clearing in which four humanoids lay in a heap. The three scouts split up, each one taking cover behind a tree and observed the newcomers. Two of them had ears and tails: one a fox's, the other a rat's. Jia stared intensely at the two: who were they?

Suddenly, the yellow stone she wore around her neck began glowing a dull yellow and heating up. She gasped and looked over at the other two scouts; their stones were glowing as well. She gritted her teeth in anger. The intruders were summoners! The three scouts melted back into the woods and ran back towards the village to warn the Hunters.

"Where'd Lu Chao get his Planeswalker training?" grumbled Arrathir, extracting himself from under the pile of bodies. They'd been unceremoniously dumped in the middle of a forest. Unfortunately, they'd all appeared in mid-air, one on top of each other. As a result, they'd crashed to the ground in a heap, Arrathir ending up on the bottom.

"Where are we?" asked Charles as he got up.

"I have no idea," said Eva "But Hosaki's hungry," she added as the whelp nuzzled her neck and made little growling sounds.

"Here," said Khell, digging through his pack and giving Eva a strip of dried meat "I know dragons prefer fresh meat, but this'll have to do for now."

"Thanks," said Eva, tearing piece of meat and offering it to her dragon. The whelp eagerly gobbled up the meat and nuzzled Eva's neck, asking for more.

"Right," said Khell as Eva kept feeding her whelp "I'm going to scout the area. If Chihowaido is hiding out here, there are bound to be traps or some kind of defence."

Breaking off from the group, Khell walked off into the forest. As he advanced, he felt slightly uneasy. He couldn't put his finger on it, but there was something wrong with these woods. The further he went into the forest, the more the feeling intensified, to the point of making him feel nauseated.

Deciding to find out what was the problem, Khell closed his eyes and prepared to take the pulse of the forest. This was an ability he'd stumbled upon by accident. By joining his mana to the mana of the forest, he essentially became a part of the forest and could 'listen' to the trees. Since trees were the lungs of the forest, he could judge the forest's state by the voices of the trees. Normally, a healthy forest would have trees that made a whisper-like noise as they spoke to each other in hushed voices.

As he felt his mana merging with the surrounding green mana, he was aware of a particular buzzing in his ears. This confused him slightly since he'd never experienced this before. Suddenly, a piercing scream blasted through his mind, stunning him. He swayed before falling over, twitching. A second scream caused him to cry out in pain. He had to sever the connection; something was seriously wrong here. He attempted to reintegrate his own body, but the pain made concentrating impossible. The only thing he could do was lie there, moaning as pain racked his body.

Meanwhile, Eva had finished feeding Hosaki and the whelp was contently snoozing on her surrogate mother's shoulder. The three Keepers were seated on the ground, waiting for Khell to return.

"I don't know," said Charles "I've got a bad feeling about this. Something is wrong with the mana around here; it's a lot lower than it should be, especially for a forest. The weird thing is, I can detect all the blue mana around us, yet the further I move inland, the weaker the mana gets."

"I know what you mean," said Arrathir "I feel kind of uncomfortable."

"So do I," said Eva.

"Well, there's not much we can do about it," said Charles "If Chihowaido really is here, we have to find him. He's the thorn in the side of the Awakening."

"Assuming we do defeat him," said Chiburuu "He won't be the same. Erik might end up being more of a burden than help. His aversion to magic will surely be increased from Chihowaido's betrayal."

"Still," said Arrathir "We can't just leave him. I mean, he's a dick and all, but nobody deserves what happened to him."

Charles and Eva rolled their eyes in synch. As Arrathir was about to continue, he was cut off by a scream from the woods.

"That's Khell!" said Arrathir. The three Keepers jumped up and dashed off in the scream's direction. Upon entering the woods, they found Khell collapsed on the ground, writhing in pain.

"Khell!" yelled Arrathir, shaking the green Keeper "What's going on?"

"Something's wrong with his mana!" said Charles "It keeps phasing in and out!"

"Snap out of it, Khell!" said Arrathir.

"Don't touch him!" said Charles "With his mana as unstable as it is we don't know what could happen!"

"We have to take the risk!" said Arrathir "Come on!" he added, grabbing the green Keeper and shaking him more violently. Khell's screams stopped and he blinked confusedly. "Khell!" said Arrathir "What happened?"

"The trees…screaming…" mumbled Khell, exhausted "Mana…drain…"

"Get him out of here!" said Charles "Something is draining his mana!" Charles picked Khell up and hurried out of the area.

"Come on, Eva," said Arrathir, taking off after Charles. A muffled scream made him stop and turn. He stared in horror at Eva, whose body was entrapped in a tangle of thorny vines that had sprung out of nowhere. Hosaki had apparently managed to avoid capture and stood in front of Eva, growling at the vines. "Eva!" yelled Arrathir, running back to her. He slashed at the vines with his claws, but the thick plants seemed unaffected by his blows. Eva whined in pain as the vines constricted around her body, digging the thorns deeper into her skin.

They're going to squeeze her to death!

Arrathir ignited his mana, hoping to burn away the vines, but the flames disappeared as soon as they appeared. Arrathir tried again, but with no success. Calling upon his mana to summon a creature, he found himself coming up blank. Something was blocking his mana.

Chikuro! Help me!

I can't, Arrathir. There is something absorbing our mana nearby.

She's going to die!

That is a strong probability.

"NO!" yelled Arrathir, attacking the vines again with vigour. He clawed away at the plants, ignoring the pain as the thorns sliced his hands. Suddenly a vine sprung up and wrapped around his arm, the thorns ripping into his skin. With a roar, he managed to tear himself free before other vines could spring up to capture him.

Eva stared at him pleadingly, her pain showing through her eyes. Arrathir couldn't believe this was happening. Here he was, one of the most powerful beings in the Multiverse, and he couldn't do anything against a stupid plant!

There's got to be something! What if I let the demon out?

It wouldn't help. Without mana, there's not much you can do.

I need something sharper! If only I had a sword, or an axe, or a scythe…scythe…sickle! My Kusari-gama!

Arrathir closed his eyes and prepared to attempt summoning the weapon. He didn't know if he'd have enough mana. Already, he was beginning to feel tired as the surrounding woods absorbed his mana.

Please…if there was ever a time I needed strength, this is it. Eva is the most important person alive to me. I would sacrifice my life for her. Give me the power to save her.

Placing his palms one on top of the other, Arrathir focused all his energy on his will to save Eva. Feeling what little was left of his mana coursing through his palms, Arrathir tried to picture the kusari-gama in his mind, crafting it from the raw mana. Drawing his hands apart horizontally, he could feel the staff forming in mid-air. As the mana solidified and materialized the handle of the sickle, Arrathir opened his eyes and grabbed it in his right hand. At both ends of the handle, the mana was still present. The mana at the top expanded, flattened out, and arced out to form the sickle. At the other end, the mana stretched in a long strand with a large blob at the end. The strand divided into links, forming the chain, and the blob solidified into the weight. Arrathir was now left holding the kusari-gama.

You have finally managed to summon it: Kiminokatsu.

Eh?

The weapon you are holding. Kiminokatsu. Roughly translated it means "Terrifying Night."

Well, let's see what it can do!

Hurry. With your current mana levels, you won't be able to keep it summoned for more than a few minutes.

With a wild cry, Arrathir charged forwards, scythe held high. He slashed at a vine that tried to grab his arm, the weapon slicing through the plant like a hot knife through butter. The severed end flopped to the ground, oozing a thick white sap with the other end flailed wildly about. After a few more cuts, he was finally able to get near Eva.

The red Keeper was unconscious, her breath coming in shallow gasps. Arrathir could feel the mana in her body was extremely low. In desperation, he began hacking away at the vines ensnaring her body. His progress was slow since he took care not to cut Eva while freeing her. He also had to deal with the vines trying to ensnare him as well.

As Eva's body came loose, she fell forwards into Arrathir's arms. Not wasting a moment, he threw her over his shoulders and took off away from the vines. He didn't get far though. A wall of vines blocked his path back to the other Keepers. Cursing under his breath, he looked about for an exit, but all around him, the vines were returning, binding together to form an impenetrable network that surrounded the two Keepers of Mana.

Aw, man! I hate this kind of situation! Heh, look at me, being all cocky when really I'm exhausted.

Arrathir's arms felt as heavy as lead and his legs were stiff from fatigue. In a supreme effort, he raised his kusari-gama and charged the nearest wall of vegetation, hoping to break through. Even as he slashed away, he could see it was hopeless. The growing vegetation almost immediately repaired what little damage he did to the vines. Each slash cost him another Herculean effort, and what little was left of his energy was quickly being sapped away.

Finally, he was no longer able to maintain the kusari-gama in existence and the weapon exploded into mana. Arrathir collapsed to the ground and managed to drag him and Eva to the centre of their prison where he'd left Hosaki. As the vines advanced upon them, Arrathir felt all hope leave him. This was it: he was going to die. With no mana there was nothing he could do.

"I'm sorry, Eva," he mumbled, hugging the Red Keeper's inert body as Hosaki snuggled up to Eva, her eyes wide with fear. "I let you down…again. Before we die, I wanted to know…will you still take me as your mate?" Arrathir closed his eyes and awaited the end so he could join Eva in the afterlife.

"A touching speech, but it's not over yet."

Arrathir opened his eyes and gaped in surprise when he saw Charles standing in front of him.

"Charles? Wha…?"

"Come on," said Charles "Didn't think I'd actually leave you, did you?"

;Or Eva for that matter;

"Hang on," said Charles, grabbing Arrathir and Eva's wrists. Hosaki curled up on Eva's chest, anxious not to be left behind. The air around the three Keepers glowed blue and with a rush of wind, they vanished as the vines overran the terrain on which they stood.

They landed by Khell with a bump. The green Keeper smiled weakly at them, glad to see them safe and sound. Having recovered from the unpleasant sensation of having his mana disassembled, transported over a distance at a dizzying speed, and then reassembled, all this within a fraction of a second, Arrathir checked on Eva. He was relieved to discover her mana was no longer dropping. Satisfied, the black Keeper lay back in the grass, worn out.

"What the Hell was that?" Charles asked Khell, seeing as he was the only Keeper capable of speech at the moment.

"I have never seen such a thing," said Khell "It was as if a powerful source was absorbing all the mana in the area, like a…what do you call those dead stars that suck in matter?"

"Black holes?"

"Yes," said Khell "A black hole of mana. This would explain why I felt an absence of mana in the area."

"What about those vines that attacked Eva and Arrathir?" said Charles.

"I have no explanation to that," said Khell "There are many strange things about this place. No wonder Chihowaido chose to hide here. The mana black hole is a formidable defence against summoners."

"True," said Charles "I'm knackered. Imagine if we got attacked now…"

No sooner had the words left his mouth than a group of warriors burst from the forest. They were clad in simple leather trousers and metal helmets that covered their entire faces, leaving only a few slots for vision. Each wielded akimbo scimitars with a yellow stone set in the guard. They were horribly disfigured, with large scars running all over their bodies. However, they seemed unaffected by these wounds that would have crippled even the most hardened barbarians.

They advanced upon the Keepers nervously, but at the same time with hatred in their eyes. There was no mistaking their intentions, but in their current state, the Keepers could do nothing. As the warriors neared the Keepers, a wall of flames suddenly sprung up, blocking their path.

"Did you do that?" asked Charles in astonishment.

"I've never cast Wall of Fire," said Khell "The only one of us here who could have possibly cast that is…"

"Eva," said Charles, turning to look at the unconscious Keeper. Sure enough, he could see a faint red glow around her hand, a telltale sign of summoning.

"Incredible," said Khell "Even in her state of weakness, her survival instincts allowed her to subconsciously summon."

"That wall won't last forever," said Charles "We should get some creatures summoned. Can you manage anything?"

"No," said Khell "I can't even turn into my Wurm form. The transformation requires a huge mental effort. Could you teleport us all out of here?"

"Just porting Eva and Arrathir took everything out of me," said Charles "Any more and I could kill myself from over-exhaustion."

"Looks like we don't have a choice!" said Khell as the flames died down. The warriors were still there, looking alarmed. However, once the flaming obstacle was removed, they charged at the Keepers once more.

Taking a deep breath, Charles burrowed deep inside himself, trying to tap into the vast power of the Keeper of Blue Mana. After all, he held the limitless power of a God; the power to achieve anything he desired. At this moment, what Charles desired was to get all of the Keepers to safety, but was that the most reasonable choice? A nagging doubt was filling him. He knew that with his current mana he could successfully Teleport on person. However, if he attempted to port all four Keepers, there was a good chance he could end up killing them all. Wouldn't it be better to have a certainty of saving at least one Keeper rather than risking killing them all?

;Wait, what am I thinking? These are my friends! I can't just leave them! However, if I fail, that's it; the Awakening will have failed as well. The Keepers were supposed to return to restore the Multiverse. Not much we can do if we're dead. To Hell with it! I've got to take risks. Believe in yourself, Charles;

Focusing on the mana of the four Keepers in the area, Charles gathered every bit of mana available, even taking mana from his own body to help power the spell. Unfortunately, since he had no idea of their surroundings, he couldn't pinpoint their destination, which brought up a whole new problem: how could he make sure they didn't appear in the middle of a tree or over a precipice?

;I can't do this! I can't shoulder this responsibility. Teleporting without a destination in mind is a million-to-one shot!;

Suddenly, a vision flashed through Charles' mind: a waterfall crashing into a pool of water at the base of a cliff topped with lush, green ferns. The pool turned into a slow-flowing river that undulated through the woodland, disappearing into the trees from sight. The vision barely lasted a second, but somehow, all though he'd never seen the place before, Charles knew it existed.

Closing his eyes, he visualized the scene, picturing it as if he were standing there by the river. Once the image was fixed in his mind, he released the spell, fearing the worst. He felt prickles all over his body as his mana disassembled and knew that he had just sealed the fate of the Multiverse. He mentally held his breath, seeing as he no longer had lungs, and awaited the outcome.

With a blue flash, the four Keepers vanished just as the warriors came within attacking range. They reappeared a split-second later with another flash, crashing to the ground. With the last of his strength, Charles looked up to see they were by the waterfall. He smiled inwardly.

;I…did…it;

This was his last coherent thought before he passed out from sheer exhaustion.

To be continued…

Author's Note: (witty comment about the chapter) (bunch of stupid cliff-hanger related questions we all know will be answered the in next chapter) (rant about an issue) (obscure pop-culture quote)

Until next time…