Wizards of the coast owns Magic The Gathering and all its characters and trademarks and stuff. I'll humbly own the characters of my own creation.
Chapter 4 : Into the light
P.S. Sorry for late update. Too much college work lately. As usual, please R & R.
He was being followed.
At first, Daniele wasn't sure, and had happily discarded his paranoia over the other day's incident, having been left alone for close to a week. By Jessica's kindness, Daniele had been given the guest room of her house. Seeing that the next tournament in the Big Apple was just a fortnight away, and Daniele was free anyhow, he gladly accepted the invitation.
Daniele suspected Jessica's true intentions. Still faintly disturbed by the encounter with the bluish freak, Jessica had reluctantly gone for a girl's night out with her friends, whilst Daniele enjoyed the mall alone.
At last. No more constant reminders about watching your back, or shying away from suspicious figures, or blending in with the crowd to avoid detection. No more teases of Jessica being an overprotective girlfriend. That title didn't mingle well with Daniele's fast increasing fame in the Magic tournament scene. His latest threshold deck, attributable to the latest Odyssey block, had sent many players in shell shock as he wiped the board with the carcass of their dead creatures. Them overgrown squirrels were a force to behold.
Now, Daniele would rather hear acquaintances whistling cheekily, and mocking wedding songs then the muffled footsteps of the stalker. Daniele had managed to catch a glimpse of the revered blue-skinned Metathran. Agnate had somehow acquired a long trench coat, causing him to blend in with the crowd easily. A lady, in her mid-forties, wearing a face of irritancy, scoured high and low for her missing children. Acting like a clumsy ogre, a word describing her size well enough, she accidentally bumped into Agnate, and beheld the horror of Agnate's extraordinary complexion. She threatened to scream in sheer fright, but her opened mouth stayed gapping, soundless. Agnate irritably waved his palm in an arc, faint blue energy encompassing his hand as he modified the memory of the woman.
In fact, he completely erased all memory. Agnate continued on his hunt, while the bewildered woman questioned passer-bys to her whereabouts and identity.
That incident gave Daniele enough time to summon the aid of a security guard. While Daniele hid behind a pillar to witness the ensuing scene, the brave fellow walked right up to Agnate. A young aspiring guard, armed with intimidating moustache and a stern stare. Daniele had placed high hopes on the muscular figure. Perhaps he would be able to overpower the Metathran.
Of course, if Jessica was there, she'd say, in her matter-of-fact voice, "Metathrans are elite soldiers. The guard won't stand a chance." Unfortunately, Jessica wasn't present, and Daniele wasn't exactly alert to such painful details of the Magic world.
The guard went to his practiced routine, and demanded Agnate's cooperation in answering a few questions. Twitching his moustache, the guard stopped short at "First question..." when he spied upon Agnate's visage, hidden beneath the hood accompanying the coat. Immediately, he backed away and retrieved his walkie-talkie. He shouted into it, his voice serrated due to fear, but all he received in return was static. In shock and awe, the guard noticed Agnate's hand, which now held a spear of some otherworldly origin, radiating with azure power.
In a booming voice, as though amplified by a microphone, Agnate called for Daniele.
"Enough games child. Do not force my hand."
Daniele felt a cold sweat trickle down his forehead. His eyes darted quickly from left to right, looking for an alternative route out of the mall. Agnate cocked his head back. A satisfying crunch brought a smile to his face. The guard stood petrified, feet frozen to the ground, demeanor lost in the sea of uncertainty.
"Fine then. You leave me no choice." Agnate called forth the reserves of blue mana and accumulated them in his unarmed hand. The mana amassed onto Agnate's clenched fist, forming a spherical aura around it. The guard could only admire the astonishing, along with a few from the crowd, curious at this street magician's illusion. Daniele refused to budge, though his brain screamed for a retreat.
Just then, the windowed top of the mall burst in a deafening sound, sending the crowd into chaos, all running to take cover from the shower of glass. Incidentally, a large slab of the glass pane headed straight for Agnate. The Metathran dived for cover, escaping only by utilizing the mana to slow the descend of the pane.
Daniele was unharmed in all this. All the shards seem to have evaded Daniele. Confused by the commotion, the crowd gradually braved themselves to peeked at the night sky, and watched as the dark sheet gave birth to a blinding star. It grew bigger and bigger, or rather closer and closer, and was heading towards Agnate. Like a meteor from the heavens, the entity plummeted with inhumane speed. Agnate encompassed himself with blue mana and braced himself for contact, all with a good reason. Upon touchdown, an explosion erupted. The force literally blew the crowd away. Daniele dropped to the floor, as the shockwave blew the pillar he sought refuge from into pieces, showering debris onto his back.
Even as the explosion subsided, the radiant light resulting from the explosion continued to span, like a spreading plague, until it washed the mall with a pallid blanket of luminosity. And suddenly, the light faded away, leaving behind nothing but turmoil and mayhem in its wake.
Jessica eagerly exited her transportation, driven by the ever-careful Tiara, and bade farewell to her friends. Georgina, the tomboy of the group, teased Jessica just before the car drove off in an undulation of laughter. Jessica could only sigh at her remark.
'Say 'hi' to Mr. Jessica for me.' The cheek of Georgina repeated in Jessica's head. If only they understood the reason for Jessica's action.
Then again, even Jessica sometimes questioned her motives, and doubted her sincerity. Was she really that worried that Agnate might capture Daniele? For all they knew, she and Daniele had just stumbled upon a set from the next Magic the Gathering movie. Of course, Daniele's little spell didn't help support her musing.
Suddenly, she felt a tingle emanating from the direction of the mall, and a sense of urgency took over. She barged into her home, surprising the resident cat and her parents. Their questions of concern were drowned out by Jessica's own thoughts, as she stormed into Daniele's room.
It was empty. A note on the table, written in neat font and letters, was Daniele explaining his trip to the mall.
Agnate removed his aching body from the floor. Trembling, he stood back up on his feet and surveyed the scene. The mall was in a mess. Debris lay everywhere, dust clouds polluted the air, and bodies of unfortunate souls littered the complex. None received fatal wounds, and Agnate wasn't about to stay behind and help. He had other pressing matters to attend to.
For instance, Daniele's disappearance. Agnate studied the last location of the boy, running his mana-induced fingers with a detection spell.
It was confirmed, she had succeeded in planeshift. And she had taken the boy with her. Agnate punched his fist to a nearby display case in fury, before realizing the encroaching S.W.A.T team. Agnate had heard of these well-trained elites of the Earth realm's security force and licked his half-putrid lips satisfyingly, ignoring the unpleasant aftertaste. It would be a worthy challenge.
Daniele awoke to the sound of chirping birds. The moss-covered earth was soft and cool, and Daniele contemplated lying there for a tad longer. 'Maybe mom will let me stay home today.' thought Daniele happily. It was then, that he realized he wasn't on his bed. Sitting up in a hurry, Daniele nervously noted his surroundings. Tall trees towered around him, their thick canopy shielding most of the sunlight. The stream ran quietly in its trail, occasionally producing hints of fishes living within.
A grizzly suddenly crashed out of a thicket and swatted at the river. Daniele stared puzzlingly at the creature as it threw a second paw at the stream. A third attempt yielded a fidgeting fish, which the grizzly struggled to catch hold.
Then, it lifted its nose to the air and its eyes focused upon Daniele, sending a shiver down his spine. The beast lumbered over to Daniele, who, remembering those boy scout lessons, fell right down on his back and played dead.
It was his mistake, as he missed an amazing transformation.
"Welcome to Dominaria."
Daniele sat back up in astonishment, and could only stare at the robed figure sitting in front of him, cross-legged. The grizzly had vanished into thin air.
"We have been expecting you."