Chandra and Gideon held their ground, throwing fire and trying to chain the Terra Stomper while Jace, Nissa and Kate tried to help the others out of the Sheep Meadow.

Colonel Edwards shouted at his men to halt.

"Keep going!" yelled Beckett, much to the colonel's annoyance.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" he stormed. "These are my men, they take orders from me – not some cop with a few 'magic' tricks up her sleeve!"

Nissa raised her hand and Edwards stopped in his tracks. He didn't want any of her magic turned on him.

"Do you wish them to die?" she asked. "They need to leave now!"

"Of course I don't want my men to die!" he retorted. "But their job is to protect and to fight if need be. You can't tell me the five of you can take care of that thing by yourselves."

"Never mind that we 'took care' of twenty wolves," Kate muttered.

Edwards just glared at her.

Nissa looked at Jace, who addressed the colonel, "We have a better chance than a hundred more like these men. If you care about them at all, you will let them retreat."

"And see if you can evacuate the whole of the park," put in Beckett with a less snarky tone. "The fewer people around, the fewer people it can kill."

Edwards gave in. The three were adamant, and the other two were at least holding the monster off for the moment. "All right," he sighed. "I'll station some snipers in the trees as well."

Kate nodded. It was a reasonable compromise.

"Arm them with bazookas," she returned.

He nodded and moved off.

Nissa watched the colonel join the withdrawal, yelling into his radio as he ran, then turned to the hulking beast as it broke free from Gideon's chain and charged.

It was barreling at an unnatural speed toward the group of thaumaturges. They scrambled to get out of its way, needing time to figure out what to do. Time, however, was something they didn't have.

"Can't you freeze time again?" yelled Beckett.

"I can't! It's gone!" Jace shouted back.

But Nissa still had a card up her sleeve. She couldn't cast Jace's time spell, but she could use her strengths to help bring the Stomper down. Her hands shot forward, and the pavement between the beast and retreating officers gave way, and a tree grew from the space at such a frenetic pace that it was already over ten feet wide and twice that tall before the beast, unable to turn, plowed into the base, stunning it. With the beast in a daze, the planeswalkers were able to stop and take a second to breathe.

"This won't last long," Nissa told Kate. "Gather as much mana as you can."

Kate nodded and closed her eyes, feeling the power of the city and the ocean flowing into her.

Jace began shouting incomprehensible words of power, causing the air around the beast to shimmer, and finally cease to exist.

Despite the lack of oxygen to the animal, it wasn't enough. The Stomper had recovered enough from the blow to its head to rush the group again.

With a swipe of its claws, the creature tore a gash in Jace's leg, clear down to the bone.

Jace's scream galvanized the others and two attacked the monster. Chandra created an inferno and laughed at the light show, her red goggles looking ridiculous to Kate. Using chains twisting around its legs, Kate was able to cast the same spell as Gideon had earlier to try and keep it in place. Gideon and Nissa turned their magic on Jace, trying to staunch the bleeding and heal the wound.

Then there was an explosion right in front of the beast. Edwards' snipers were in position, and they had taken Kate's suggestion of the rocket propelled anti-tank weapon to heart.

Injured, the animal began backing away to the trees. Jace began chanting a spell and with a flash of light the Terra Stomper was returned to the Æther. He then passed out. It soon became almost as quiet as it was before, the sounds of the city once again becoming audible.

It was over…for now.

XXXXXX

.

"I thought you guys said you were magic," an officer from the Central Park precinct mentioned.

Nissa glanced up from her ministrations.

"We use magic, yes."

"So how come he got hurt?" the man nodded toward the still unconscious Jace, who was lying on the interrogation room table while the two healers used their magic, the deep gash slowly and painfully becoming smaller.

She glared, but he didn't back down.

"Doesn't seem like it's particularly powerful magic if you get hurt. That's all I'm saying."

Nissa couldn't believe her ears. The zombie dog. The undead wolves, The Terra Stomper for the Fourteen Gods of Theros' sake! What was it going to take before the people on this plane believed in what was right in front of them?

But the officer kept going.

"I mean, it was the bazooka, our 'non-magic' weapon that turned it around. Kept your guy from getting hurt worse."

Nissa narrowed her eyes. "The wise accept help wherever it is given. Whether from crude weapons such as yours, or magical such as mine."

She turned back to Jace, effectively dismissing the officer, though he didn't leave. So she continued.

"Magic protects us from many things, but not everything. Even the best spellcasters can be injured." She indicated the planeswalker on the table. "Would that it were not so. Now go."

Still the fool stood there.

"You can't tell me to…" he trailed off when he noticed Nissa's fingertips turning a dark green, almost black. "Are you going to try to hurt me with your magic?" he barked. "I could arrest you for threatening a police officer-"

"But you won't," a voice came from behind him. It was Kate, followed by Captain Bonham.

"She just tried to use…"

"Did she?" asked Bonham. "I can tell she's annoyed, but I didn't see her raise her hands to you in any sort of threat, magical or otherwise. You're dismissed Morton. And stay away from the other magic people, or you're dismissed for the day."

Morton opened his mouth and shut it a couple of times before mumbling "Yes, Sir," and stalking off.

Kate and Bonham looked at the man on the table.

"Will he be all right?" asked Kate.

"Terra Stompers aren't poisonous," explained Nissa, "but wounds from their claws have a tendency to fester. Thankfully he will make a quick and full recovery."

"So in the meantime, what do we do now?" asked Kate.

"We regroup," replied Gideon, looking up from the gash in Jace's leg. "Which is what I'm certain Garruk is doing."

"Chandra went upstate to gather more red mana," Kate told Nissa. "I don't know when she'll be back. Does the height of the mountain have anything to do with how much mana is formed? I mean – The Adirondacks are no Himalayas."

"I'm not sure, you would have to ask Chandra. But mana is produced over time. I'm sure there will be plenty on the mountain she chooses to gather from. You wouldn't have noticed, because how would you know, but there is a lot of mana on your world. Much of it is old, but of course still useful. I have never been to a plane so full of all the colors of mana. And it's not because this plane itself creates more than other planes, but because it's never been used. It actually makes your world more dangerous."

"More dangerous?" queried Bonham. "How?"

Kate broke in.

"Because it's almost unlimited power." She stood and began pacing around the room. "Think about it. If I were unscrupulous, I could take over the world using magic. I could destroy my enemies, reward my friends – and then destroy my friends when they get uppity as a way of keeping others in line. I could also see a planeswalker using this world as a 'home base' if you will, coming here to collect mana and leaving again to do his thing elsewhere."

"Is seizing the world something you think this Garruk will do?" asked Bonham.

"No," a weak voice came from the table. Jace was awake.

Nissa helped Jace to a sitting position, checking his wound and mumbling more healing words as her hand passed over the leg.

"You don't think Garruk wants to take over?" asked Kate.

Jace shook his head.

"He wants to break a curse."

That got everyone's attention.

Jace went on.

"Garruk was a planeswalker who used green mana." Bonham's eyes turned to Nissa. Her primary color was green, he'd overheard her discussing it with Kate earlier. No one else noticed his concern and Jace continued. "He was cursed by another planeswalker called Liliana Vess using an ancient artifact called the Chain Veil. The full story doesn't matter right now, but Garruk is after her specifically. The problem is he doesn't know where to find her, and I don't think he even remembers her name. I don't believe he really wants to hurt or kill others, but he's so bent on revenge that he'll stop at nothing to get it. But he won't take over the plane. If he doesn't find Liliana here, he'll move on."

"How do we get him to move on?" asked Bonham, then he shook his head. "God, that sounds horrible. 'Go destroy some other world and leave mine alone,' but… Oh, hell, maybe that is what I'm saying."

He sat in one of the chairs at the interrogation table and put his head in his hands.

Kate took over the conversation. She had to be the intermediary between the magic and non-magic peoples, even though it felt like she had more questions than answers.

"I think it's a reasonable question, Sir. Jace, if we can defeat Garruk, will he leave voluntarily?"

Jace shook his head, wincing at the movement. The excruciating pain in his leg was making him hurt all over. Gideon's aid was helping, though.

"Reasonable and answerable are two different things, Kate. He may leave, either deciding it's not worth fighting such a formidable foe, or deciding that Liliana isn't here since he hasn't found her."

"Or…?" Bonham spoke.

"Or – it's a big plane. He could move on to other cities, or even disappear into a swamp to recover, if we damage him enough. If that happens, there's no telling when or where he may appear again."

Kate swallowed hard.

"Do we need to kill him?" she asked.

Jace was silent for a moment. "He didn't ask to be this way, he was cursed. I'd rather find a way to break the curse and bring him back to the way he was."

Nissa scoffed.

"Even if you were to heal him to his former self, that doesn't undo the damage he's done."

"Killing him doesn't undo it either," retorted Jace. "But I will concede that may be the best way to get him off this plane, and prevent him from doing more."

"So what do we do now?" Bonham's question hung in the air, no one wanting to speak up, mainly because no one had ideas. Finally, Jace spoke.

"Well, this has happened before. If I remember correctly, Liliana actually put a different curse on Garruk, one that turned him into a werewolf, and that- Oh."

"What? What is it?"

"We can't break the curse, but I know of another planeswalker who can."

Kate jumped in. "Then what's the problem?"

"To get this guy to help is what you would call, "making a deal with the devil." The planeswalker's name is Ob Nixilis, and he is a demon."

XXXXXX

How long have I been searching? I tried without success to recall when the planeswalker cursed me. Too long. This place, though. It is so full of mana. I can do whatever I want. I might just be able to find that person, or get their attention through the destruction I cause. A sudden burst of anger surged through me. Why me? Why? If I ever find the one who did this… I drew all the mana I could find, the power swirled through my body, wanting to take form, almost beckoning me to release my anger. They will pay… No… THEY WILL ALL PAY!

XXXXXX

"Detective Beckett, a word?"

Kate looked up from her discussion with the other planeswalkers at the captain gesturing for her to join him.

She nodded, murmured a few words to Jace, and left his side. She entered Captain Bonham's office and he closed the door.

"What can I do for you, Captain?" He got straight to the point.

"Do you trust Nissa?" Kate was nonplussed.

"Sir? I – " she trailed off.

"It's just that I... It's just that Jace mentioned that this Garruk used green magic, and I heard Nissa mentioning her use of it to you. So I need to know, Detective." Kate was silent. The question surprised her, though maybe it shouldn't have. Bonham did have a point – to an extent.

"Captain, I think I understand where you're coming from with this question, but I'm not sure I can answer it to your satisfaction. This is all very new to me, and I'm still learning."

"Fair enough." Bonham sat at his desk, motioning for Beckett to do the same.

"Thank you, Sir." She sat and twisted her fingers.

"Go on."

"Mana is magic power, for want of a better term. Different spells require different colors of mana. There really isn't a 'villain' color, per se, though black might be the closest to that – but even black has its uses. It's also not a 'family' thing – Nissa and Garruk aren't related – I don't think they're even from the same world. Green is nature and growth, and that's not bad." The captain pulled a file on the desk closer to him and opened it.

"I requested this from Captain Gates," he told Kate. "It's your current case."

"Yes, Sir." Kate sat up straighter. He placed a photo in front of her, and she lifted it.

"Ah, yes. I see where you're going." The photo was of a taxicab, covered completely with vines. Bonham placed another on the desk, this one of a man with similar vines covering his legs up to his knees.

"Green is nature and growth," he repeated Kate's words. "I'm not sure I'd call this good – would you, Detective?" Kate handed the photos back to the captain and he returned them to the file and closed it.

"Anything good can be corrupted, Sir. A gun isn't good or bad, the user determines that. Same thing here." Bonham nodded, conceding the idea.

She leaned forward and continued speaking.

"And at this point – to answer your original question – I don't know for sure how trustworthy Nissa is. I've known her less than a week." She paused, choosing her words carefully. "I'm not sure how trustworthy any of them are, but I'm choosing to trust Jace and Gideon. I haven't known them much longer than Nissa, but they saved my life when Garruk attacked me directly. They brought Nissa and Chandra here to fix the damage done to the park where the attack happened, and the only reason they haven't done any repairs is because of what just went down in Central Park. I guess what I'm saying is; they have faith in her, and I have faith in them. Nissa has given me no reason not to trust her, she's been helpful in teaching me spells and how to use the mana I've gathered." Captain Bonham nodded, not completely mollified, but he knew she'd given him all the information she had.

"Keep me posted if anything changes? Don't go looking for it, but if you see something…"

"Yes, Sir."

He stood and walked to the door, opening it for her.

"Thank you, Detective. You didn't quite ease all my fears, but – it's hard not having a grasp on everything when you're used to being in charge."

Kate chuckled darkly as she moved to leave the office.

"We're definitely on the same page with that, Sir."

XXXXXX

I looked at the city that sprawled before me. I hate them. If I want them dead, I'll bring them here. I wonder what will bring them here faster? I juggled two sinister ideas in my mind. HA! I know. Big cities take a long time to destroy, unless, of course, you have a very big monster. With the anger rising in my chest, I placed my hand on the ground. The forlorn cries of the dead combine to make its laugh, they say. I say its laugh will become so much bigger soon. The city will pay for hiding the Planeswalker that cursed me. They will pay in blood. Channeling mana into the spell, the very ground began to take shape, the earth rising up to destroy those who would oppose me. A colossal elemental made from the earth and animated by the souls of countless dead, the Lord of Extinction had awoken. Come, little planeswalkers. Die.

A little longer, but did you like it? Please comment below!

Cliffhangers are like a writers candy, once you start you can't stop, so please excuse our obsession with them :p

Hey, check out Netsrik1 - that person is a great writer, and a really patient dude, so props for being really patient with me, I've been really busy. (I know that's sote of abused excuse, but for me school comes first. Sorry.)