"Hello? Is anyone down here?" The words echoed off the walls of the Tower Reversed. As Hotaru expected, there was no response. Once again, she stood in the Hall of the Tower; there, in the center of the room, was the table where the Council once sat. It was the same as when they had left; the chairs still sat at the great table, and her chair still stood at the head of one of the sides of the U. Not a bit of dust had gathered; not a chair was out of place. The carpets seemed freshly cleaned, almost as if something had prepared it for her arrival, though there was nobody there. Something was different about the Tower. Hotaru knew that; she could feel it in the pit of her soul. The Tower had provided a place where nothing could, or would, change. It had provided a place of protection. It was the Tower Reversed. Now, it no longer did. It no longer had an air of peace, of sanctuary. Now, that peace had been broken. Arcana had killed Arcana here. Moving over to her chair, the Magician pulled it out and settled into it. It comforted her, surrounded her, and accepted her. Here, she didn't have to be Hotaru, the devoted friend and student or the Magician, one of the mysterious and powerful Arcana. Here, she could simply be. She couldn't do that now, however; she had a purpose. Pushing her sense of comfort away, she sat up and leaned over the table. Her cards were right there, where they always were; shuffling them a few times, she began to clear her mind. /Concentrate,/ she thought. /Concentrate on the cards. Find your calm center, the same as with your magic. And .../ She opened her eyes and stared at Fortune's chair. In a calm, quiet, voice, she spoke. "Miyuki, if you're there, help me. We need your guidance. What should we do? How can we protect ourselves? We-- I need your help. I only hope you can hear me ... " Her voice trailed off for a moment. Relief washed over her- it seemed almost as if something had responded. Smiling briefly, she turned her attention back to her cards. Focusing her thoughts, the Magician took a deep breath, and turned over the first of the cards ... ~~~ Arcana Started By: Scott Schimmel Chapter Thirty-Seven: Fate and Memories Written by Eric Trendell, a.k.a. Anthon. ~~~ First card: the page of Cups ... covered immediately by the High Priestess - the primary factor, and its opposition. Then, the Ace of Blades - an unconscious influence - a deeper meaning - a root cause ... ~~~ "So, tell me - exactly how do we 'sense' the presence of others?" Arisa's voice was genuinely interested; a good thing too, for even Sumire was slightly impatient by now. "Well, I suppose you might say that we sense their power, or its effects upon the world ..." Sumire responded. "Hmm," Arisa pondered, seemingly lost in thought. "So, you might say that you feel vibrations in the world." Warming to the topic, Sumire continued speaking. "It's similar to how a spider knows that a fly is in it's web; the fly, hitting the web, causes the entire thing to vibrate as it moves, and the spider senses these vibrations and can tell where it is." Arisa blinked; then began to laugh. "So, you're saying that "spider sense" is the right term?" Sumire blinked; this wasn't something she considered. "Well ... basically, I suppose." Frowning momentarily, she felt a twinge. She stopped and concentrated; once again, she sensed it. A tingle, faint and barely flickering, in the direction they were walking. "Arisa.." she began, only to be interrupted. "Yeah, I feel it too. Let's go - I think it's time to meet whichever Arcana is here with us." Grabbing Sumire's arm, she began to run. The Ace followed, certain that they were doing the right thing. She only hoped that Arisa could control her Knight's instincts. Otherwise, they might end up in a fight they couldn't win. There was something strange about the tingle; as they approached, Sumire felt it. It wasn't simply one other Arcana- it was two. Two Arcana - and one was badly hurt. Sumire speeded up slightly. If there had to be a fight ... at least they were the two Arcana most capable of winning it. ~~~ Position 4, representing the Past -- or perhaps, representing Hope -- , was the Knight of Pentacles. ~~~ *** "Atsuko?" She blinked, then looked back at Chris. "Yes?" "This has been really fun. I'm glad I met you." He reached out, and squeezed her arm. Strangely, she didn't seem to mind that. It felt good, she thought. They walked together in comfortable silence. It almost seemed a shame when they reached his house. "Well, goodnight. Thanks for a wonderful evening." She looked up at Chris expectantly, and he looked back down at her. Deep blue eyes met hers - she thought she might get lost in them . . . "Um, I ... " Chris struggled for words for a moment, then spit it out. "I was wondering if you'd like to come in for a while?" The Knight blushed slightly, then, "I'd love to." Smiling again, she squeezed his hand ... the squeeze turned into an embrace, and she took a deep breath as her lips approached his ... *** The ringing of the alarm brought Atsuko from her slumber. /Damnit... And I was just about to kiss him, too. / Growling slightly, she began to get up and prepare for the day. "Who knows?" she muttered to herself as she poured herself a glass of water. "Maybe this dream has a fragment of truth . . ." After all, she was planning to meet him at the Arcade again today. ~~~ In Position 5, The Queen of Pentacles - representing conscious influence; or possibly, it represents an alternate future. ~~~ The Queen was upset. Upset, in fact, is a bit of an understatement. She was angry, frustrated, and unhappy ... all of these approximate what she was feeling. Perhaps the most accurate of all ways to describe her emotions is "Royally pissed." The Queen screamed in rage. Calming herself, she called for her Knight. It took far too long for her Knight to arrive, she thought. After all, her Knight served her. It was time for all her minions to begin understanding who their liege was! "Yes?" "Several days ago, I asked you to do a task. Is it done?" "Not yet." Despite being questioned by her queen, Atsuko did not flinch. She did not show any fear. "And why is that?" Maki's face showed no emotions other than anger; her mouth was a thin line, lips pressed firmly together. Nobody disobeyed her. /Nobody,/ she thought. /Not my Knight, not the Hierophant, not dear Uncle Will, and not my Page. Not even Ish-- the Fool,/ she corrected firmly. Nobody disobeyed her and lived. The Knight of Pentacles looked back at her Queen, face set firmly. "It wouldn't have been smart to kill him in public, and he was with Hanako the few times he wasn't. Would you like me to kill him while he ... baby-sits your page?" Maki thought for a moment, then spoke again. "Very well. I won't kill you- this time. The Magician and my Uncle must die. Eliminate my Uncle first, then kill the Magician. But most importantly, kill my Uncle. He disobeyed me. He refused my orders. He stole my page from me. Make certain that dear Uncle Forester dies first... and dies slowly." "I will," Atsuko replied, and left. The door closed behind her, leaving the Queen of Pentacles alone with her anger. ~~~ /No!/ her mind screamed, as Atsuko waited outside the Arcade. /No, no, no! It couldn't be, he wasn't the same Forrester as Maki's uncle./ It was impossible for that to be true. After all, what were the chances of her accidentally meeting a relative of her target? Nothing, or next to it! A gentle voice jolted her out of her thoughts, breaking her concentration. "Atsuko?" She looked back up at Chris, and smiled. Together, they walked into the arcade. There would be time for death later. There would be time to kill Will Forester - who couldn't be related to Chris - later. They had all the time in the world. The old man over at the fighting game smiled, and waited for them. Maybe, Chris would be able to explain it to her. Why somebody had to refuse to act. Maybe someone else would learn the value of Temperance. He smiled at the thought. ~~~ Position 6. An approaching factor, a quality to embrace, an unresolved influence ... The Future. Hotaru took another breath, then drew the card. The Page of Pentacles. Hanako. She had loved Hanako, almost as much as she would a sister. They all did - she had been a special part of their little family. And yet, Hanako left. None of them knew where she was, yet they had all cared for her. Perhaps nobody had cared for her more that Miyuki. And now Miyuki was dead, and Hanako had been forbidden from the one place she could still speak to her... Looking back, it didn't seem like such a bright idea. /If I could do that again, would I advocate the same thing? Would I still say it was too dangerous for Hanako to come here?/ she wondered. Now, she'd never know. Steeling herself against the sense of foreboding that she felt, Hotaru continued her reading. Position 7: You as you are, You as you could be, You as you present yourself. She drew the Magician. A brief smile crossed her face- that was appropriate. Position 8: Another's Point of View, Another's Expectations- How others see you. The Devil, who represents bondage, ignorance, and hopelessness ... Hotaru frowned, as she mulled over the card. Who could this refer to? Who saw this in her? Did this card belong to Hanako? To Miyuki, for becoming their link with the Tower? Or. . . did it refer to herself? Forcing herself to continue, she pulled the next card. Position 9: Hopes and Fears... The Overlooked Factor. Frowning, Hotaru looked at her deck again. Her card-The card was blank! That seemed impossible ... and yet, it had happened. Strange ... almost paradoxical. Shaking her head, Hotaru discarded the blank card, and tried again, concentrating on it. Hopes and Fears .... Hopes ... and Fears ... Pulling the next card, and laying it into position 9, Hotaru stared into the face of the Fool. But Ishido was dead! She had seen the paper with her own eyes- she knew he was dead. And yet, he might have survived. After all, he did survive a fireball to the chest. Hopes and Fears, indeed. One last card ... One last card. The sense of foreboding was greater than ever now. She couldn't draw the card. Yet she had to. Focusing her thoughts, she summoned her will. As if she was controlling the winds ... as if she was moving the waters ... as if she was cracking the earth ... as if she was summoning Fire. She reached out, and flipped the last card. She didn't react for a few seconds; she just sat there, and stared at the card. Finally, she dropped it into place - pushing her chair away, she curled up into its comfort; slowly, gratefully, she sank into its acceptance. For, on the table staring back at her, lay the skeletal figure of Death. Yeah! Another chapter done! Even better, people in the Queue! =) I don't quite know why I signed up for another chapter of Arcana so soon; perhaps because the queue was empty after my last one. Not the case any more! Mwa ha ha ha ha!! =) I'm not going to say how bad this chapter was; I believe the chapter does it perfectly well on it's own. 1. Again, I didn't do anything of substance. Tried to give a little more into Hotaru looking for help, and into a few more characters. Didn't feel it was right for me to make a decision about the eventual fate of the Page of Cups, either. =) 2. Yes, I've expanded upon Atsuko's personal feelings. Hope I haven't destroyed her too badly ... just thought she might want to have some conflict, else her decision one way or the other doesn't have any meaning. (Besides, I kinda like her, and didn't like the idea of anyone being completely evil. Well, except the High Priestess. =) Finally, thank you. =) I thoroughly enjoy writing for Improfanfic, and I'd like to thank Illyria, for the extension; I'd like to thank Erin Ellis, for the comments on my last one - I tried to use them to improve this one, honest I did! Finally, thanks to Mechalink for the preread. I'm grateful to you, and thanks for all the help. I appreciate it. =) Well, that's about all. And I still wish I could have made it longer. =) -Anthon, a.k.a. Eric Trendell. "I've got my horse, my sword, and my good friends. What else could I need?" "