"News service says one thing, website says another." The subject of this article belongs to an installment of the MCU that has conflicting statements regarding its canon status. It is possible that its story may not be canonical to the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

The Search for the Keeper's Skull was an attempt by Ana and Daimon Helstrom fraud to find the Keeper's skull in order to contain a demon who they believed to be their father. It developed into a search for Chris Yen when the Helstrom siblings discovered that he had murdered a man and taken the skull from Ana's auction house.

Background[]

A Keeper Demon was used to contain a demon named Basar, until Basar's mother, Kthara, orchestrated his escape. Basar possessed Keith Spivey and killed the other two people who freed him. This occurred in a cemetery in Colma where Caretaker worked, although he was unaware of Basar and the Keeper's presence. He asked Ana Helstrom to help him investigate, and she found the Keeper's skull, taking it back to her auction house to investigate. While investigating it, she made herself bleed and put her blood on the forehead of the skull, temporarily activating it. Caretaker later discovered that two people who were killed were patients at Saint Teresa Center for Mental Health,^[3] so Helstrom went to Portland to investigate, leaving the skull at the auction house.

Helstrom's coworker Chris Yen discovered the skull, and it began influencing him, as he allowed it to bite down on his arm. The auction house was visited by Cameron Tate, whose brother Helstrom had killed, stating that he did not believe the media's story that his brother had killed himself. Under the influence of the Keeper's Skull, Yen brutally murdered Tate,^[4] leaving his body behind and taking the skull to Portland.^[5]

Meanwhile, Helstrom visited Kthara at Saint Teresa's and demanded to know who she had released, and Kthara implied that it was her father.^[4] Although Helstrom's brother, Daimon, did not believe Kthara, they decided to investigate Zoe Richards, a woman who claimed to have survived an attack from their father. Unbeknownst to them, the investigation was influenced by a deal made between Magoth and Richards, along with her sister, Aubree Richards, to trap Ana, who had been involved in the attack, for revenge. Basar, who Magoth was working for, killed Aubree, and Ana came to believe that Basar was her father. Daimon believed her,^[6] so the two of them met with Caretaker, Gabriella Rosetti, and Louise Hastings to determine their course of action. Caretaker explained that a Keeper Demon was the only way to contain a demon as powerful as the Helstroms' father, and that the skull of the Keeper that Ana had left at her auction house would suffice. Ana and Daimon left together to retrieve the skull.

After a productive conversation with Kthara, Hastings tried to bring her back to her room, when she sensed that Yen had brought the Keeper's Skull to Saint Teresa's directly underneath her bedroom. Hastings forced Kthara into her room, despite the constant screaming in agony. Meanwhile, Yen continued to remain under the influence of the skull, nearly eating a spider corpse and later drinking, all the while continuing to allow it to bite down on his arm.^[5]

Search[]

Covering Up a Murder[]

Upon arriving at the auction house, Ana and Daimon Helstrom discussed Ana's work as an auctioneer, although Ana remained unaware that Daimon had been told that she also kills people. Ana realized that Chris Yen was absent and that the alarm was not on, and became worried. She rushed into the vault and discovered Cameron Tate's corpse, surrounded in a pool of blood, and that the Keeper's Skull was missing.

Daimon and Ana watched the security camera footage of Yen brutally killing Tate, and Daimon got upset when Ana attempted to justify it. They agreed to cover up the murder, all the while arguing about the nature of Ana's hobby. During the cleanup, Yen's boyfriend visited the auction house, determined to find Yen, who had been missing several days. Ana came up with a lie about sending him overseas and forgetting to tell Jackson, who believed her and left.

Ana briefly reflected on the time spent with her father when he abducted her as a child, and explained to Daimon that she only killed people who caused pain similar to her father. She talked about how she grew up believing that their mother hated her, and the two resolved their differences.

Once Tate's body was cleaned, Daimon used his demonic abilities to destroy the corpse, and the two flew back in to Portland International Airport. Daimon offered to let Ana stay at his house rather than her hotel, but Ana insisted on her hotel. However, her room was not available, so she decided to stay with Daimon, helping him exorcise Magoth, who had attacked him.^[5]

Meanwhile, Kthara continued to get tortured by the Keeper's Skull, which Yen kept beneath Saint Teresa Center for Mental Health. She began scratching at the floor and dented it, eventually falling unconscious.^[7]

Search for Chris Yen[]

The next day, Daimon Helstrom returned to work and had a brief conversation with Bryce, and asked Gabriella Rosetti to help him. He then received a call from Saint Teresa Center for Mental Health, asking him to come. He was told that Louise Hastings had found her unconscious, scratching at the floor and having entered a coma. He sensed a presence and asked Ana Helstrom to come, so she left a one-night stand to rush to the hospital. Daimon told her what had happened, and Ana sensed the same presence, identifying it as the Keeper's Skull, allowing them to realize that Chris Yen and the skull were present.

Hastings, Daimon, and Ana checked the security footage while Caretaker looked throughout the building, neither of them finding him. Daimon needed to know why Yen brought it to Saint Teresa's, so Ana explained that the skull was probably influencing him. Caretaker told Daimon that since his father marked Victoria Helstrom for possession, the skull would be attracted to her as well as him. Caretaker went on to say that being in proximity to the skull could put Victoria in danger, and Hastings realized that Yen had the skull underground, hence Kthara's digging. Ana, Daimon, and Caretaker went underground to look for Yen, after sibling banter and Daimon trying to stop Caretaker.

The trio made their way through the sewers, and Daimon suggested destroying the skull once they found it. However, Ana mentioned that it was their only weapon against their father, and Caretaker agreed. Daimon suggested that Caretaker only agreed because keeping the skull in tact would benefit him the most, while Ana found Yen's bag. Caretaker and Daimon saw that Yen had been eating mice for sustenance, and Ana sensed somebody moving further into the sewers, so she followed without saying anything. Daimon turned around and saw her gone, worrying him and Caretaker, who started looking for her.

The two bonded over their shared experience of Ana's independence, and Daimon insisted that he would take care of his mother as long as necessary, prompting Caretaker to suggest another method of helping her, keeping her comfortable. He insisted that destroying the skull would not help Victoria, and was a bad idea. Daimon, frustrated, refused Caretaker's help since he was familiar with the Blood's attempts at destroying the Helstrom family.

Meanwhile, Ana Helstrom found Yen, seeing that his behavior had become almost feral. She approached him, attempting to convince him to give her the skull back. Yen, however, did not want to give it back, believing himself to be her errand boy and not wanting to return to that normal. Daimon found them, and Ana told him to let her handle it. She apologized for lying to Yen and explained that her father had returned, and that the skull was the only weapon they had against him, offering to take him out in exchange. Yen explained that he felt needed by the skull more than Ana, and Ana insisted that she needed both him and the skull, and that she would hurt Yen in order to get it.

Yen again refused to hand the skull to Ana, so Daimon insisted on being more violent, prompting Ana to push him against the wall. Daimon did the same to her, and the two argued, wanting to protect their loved ones. Daimon finally let out that he was the reason their mother was committed to the psych ward as Caretaker caught up with them. Ana nearly killed herself, Daimon, and Caretaker by causing pipes to fall from the ceiling, but Caretaker pushed them out of the way in time. Ana then noticed that Yen had run off during the argument.

Daimon, Ana, and Caretaker realized that Yen had climbed a ladder into the hospital, while he followed a group of nurses toward Victoria Helstrom's seizing body. He unveiled the skull, when Daimon knocked him out and began destroying it while Ana checked on him. As Victoria began to flatline, she suddenly sat up straight and demanded that Daimon stop destroying the skull, as she had realized that it was containing Kthara. The skull was given to her so that she could remain in control of her body.^[7]

Aftermath[]

Fully in control of her body as long as she had the Keeper's Skull, Victoria Helstrom was able to reunite with Daimon and Ana Helstrom. Chris Yen was put in a hospital room until he could get over his obsession with the skull.^[7] However, this did not last long as Basar killed all of the Blood members present at the Blood Hotel and freed the patients, leading an attack against Saint Teresa Center for Mental Health. This attack resulted in Ana using the skull against Basar, destroying his host body and sacrificing Victoria to be possessed by Kthara.^[2]

References[]