Magic: the Gathering
Chronicles, Volume 12
By Louis Kemner 2008
The cold, mountain air washed over Viktor's face like a freezer's as he and the others appeared in the Sokenzan mountain range, with the forbidding Tendo peaks looming in the near distance. A light snow was falling, the tiny white flakes dancing in the air until they reached the rocky, snowy ground populated by sparse lichens and weeds. He shivered.
"What's the big deal, dragging me to a cold place like this?" Gerbie complained loudly, emerging from Kelly's jacket pocket. His small, furry body shivered from the cold. "I'm serious, this cold doesn't agree with a perfectly crafted body like mine. Why can't we go back to warm and sunny Lorwyn where we can nap the days away? Huh? I like that plan!"
"We can't go back to Lorwyn, it got turned into ShadowMoor," Kelly told the animal. "And Elena has completely Enslaved the whole plane. It's totally unsafe to go there now. Every living thing would be an enemy to us."
"Ah, that's a bunch of troll cra —" Gerbie started to whine, until Jace pushed him back into Kelly's pocket and held the opening closed.
"I've had enough of the little one," he said without a hint of humor. "He distracts us."
"Do you think I'm a distraction, you hard-nosed scholar boy?" Gerbie roared back inside the pocket, his voice amusingly muffled. "Let me out and say that again! Come on!"
"We don't have time," Jace said, turning away. The group followed him through the mountain, making haste even though lone Sokenzan Bruisers and wild animals gave chilling cries. It wasn't long before a tremendous, red, serpentine form erupted into being from behind a small cliff: Ryusei the Falling Star, in his majesty and splendor, overwhelmed the senses of his beholders.
"This is it!" Devin cried over the noise of one of Ryusei's roars as the dragon twisted and fired a burst of red fire at the ground below. The dragon slipped lower and swung a massive clawed paw, only to growl his anger when he was dealt an unseen blow.
"Quickly, get us down," Jace told Viktor urgently, who complied and cast Fighting Drake, and the Drake, with effort, carried the five down a hundred feet to a relatively snowless plain of rocky soil and hardy grass. Dismounting the Drake, everyone saw that Ryusei was locked in combat with two more men in strange clothes — two more of Elena's Hunters.
"Look!" Makoto exclaimed unnecessarily, pointing at the twosome. The two Hunters stopped their fighting and turned to regard the newcomers.
"See, Delta? Dragging this out aroused too much attention," one of them told the other. The speaker was a man with golden hair, clad in green robes with white trim, except for the trim along the front, which was yellow. He had a princely and handsome face. A thumb-sized emerald gleamed on his forehead, exactly like the ones Gamma and Beta sported.
"Big deal, Epsilon," Delta told the other in a surprisingly casual tone. Delta wore rough armor of iron and wood, and sported a rough but not harsh face, and hair colored like a wild cat's, with brown, black, and white mixed together. He was bulky, tall, and seemed like he could crumble a rock in one hand. He, like the other Hunters, had a forehead emerald.
"It is them: two Hunters of the Defiled One," Jace told the kids quietly. "Abandon stealth, children; only through hard combat can we defeat them and claim the Key Creature from them."
"We're ready," Devin told him. "Especially me. That's my creature, after all. Bought Ryusei myself in a store on one rainy weekend with my hard-earned allowance —"
"No yammering," Jace said.
"Well, it seems we have conflict," Epsilon announced, taking a few steps toward the invaders. His left hand rested on the handle of a sword sheathed at his gold armored belt, not drawing the blade. "You're the children Lady Elena has told us about, right? The ones gifted with Planeswalker power and determined to take us down? Though I see only four; I suppose Beta was successful in slaying one of the girls, then. That was his report; three boys, two girls, one girl dead."
"You're wrong, bastard," Kelly snapped back with ferocity. "That son of a bitch, 'Beta' tried to kill me but didn't have the power. My sister is the one absent for her own reasons, but not of fear. It'll take more than you to kill us!"
"What bravado! I like it," Delta commented.
"Can it," Epsilon told him. Then, to the kids: "I see, then. You must be stronger than we thought to survive Beta's full power, then. But barely, though. You should know he isn't even the strongest of us all, great as he is. Alpha is the one who presides over the rest, and though he is away right now, Delta and I should handle you all. And, of course, Lady Elena's prowess looms over all five of us. Or four, since Gamma was killed in ShadowMoor."
Viktor felt a cold pit in his stomach; his mind flashed back to the horrifying and relentless ability the red-black Hunter, Beta, had unleashed, and this man implied that this Alpha was even stronger? He suddenly realized that their names, the Greek letters, showed the order of their strength, with first letter going first and the others following. So, then, Alpha was the strongest, Beta the second, Delta the third, Epsilon fourth, and Gamma fifth.
He could hardly grasp that the menacing and deadly Gamma with his gold pike and freezing power was the weakest of the five. And here were the 3rd and 4th strongest Hunters, and Ashley's protective magic was absent. How would they handle this, even with Jace's superior intellect?
"That is quite enough chatter," Jace cut in. "We are here to secure this Key Creature from your tainted hands. If you don't stand aside, you will be met with death."
"Yeah, right," Delta called out, cracking his large knuckles. "This dragon is ours, period. Do you really want to fight over it?" Without even getting an answer, he shot forth in a red-green blur, tearing apart the ground beneath his feet.
"Watch out!" Devin cried, and everyone tumbled away to avoid the attack. A long, messy rut in the ground kept record of Delta's headlong charge, and the massive man now produced two items from his animal fur pockets.
"You handle this one," Jace told Kelly and Devin, implying Delta. "The other two and I will target the other."
"Got it," Kelly confirmed, preparing her black spells for combating the red-green Hunter before herself and Devin. Delta sighed.
"What, I only fight two of you? I wanted the whole package!" he complained. "Makes me just wanna trample you in one go and catch some sleep while Epsilon takes care of the rest. Will you all help me out with that?"
"Stuff it," Devin retorted, preparing his own red and green spells for combat.
Delta shrugged. "Let's just see how this goes." On his fists went a pair of brass knuckles unlike any other Devin or Kelly had seen. The contraptions were like wood and iron gloves with the fingers missing. The main body was rough and sturdy wood, with dark gray iron as the border and support. The knuckles themselves had strange sockets in them; neither Kelly nor Devin could guess what they were for.
"Let's rumble," Delta grinned, and pounced. His meaty left fist thudded into the rocky, snowy ground, producing a crater several feet wide. Quick on the uptake, Devin and Kelly avoided his attack and now Vicious Hunger and Savage Twister bore down on the Hunter. Delta raised his arms to shield himself and crouched, allowing both attacks to collide. When the dust cleared, there stood Delta, with only small scratches and bruises as a result of the attack.
"What, that's all?" he said in what seemed like genuine disappointment. "I want a good brawl from you. Come on!" With speed unfitting his size, a kick was aimed right for Kelly's head. The kick would have taken off her head; instead, Carrion Wall appeared out of nowhere, and the rotted, armored skeletons had seized Delta's foot and ankle and held them in place.
"Huh? I'm stuck!" Delta cried in frustration. "How can puny skeletons hold me back? Wait…" For Delta took in the countless wisps of black mana in a rising swirl around Kelly, and a red one around Devin. "You've got mana auras?"
"Sure do," Devin grinned, and one Shock later, he had Delta howling in pain.
"Stupid kids! That hurt!" Delta whined. With a deep grunt, he jerked his trapped leg and broke the Carrion Wall's hold, freeing himself. He used that leg to slam his heel on the ground with such force that Kelly was sent sprawling. Even Devin's summoned Blood-Tree Bloodscale was knocked away by a shuddering punch. With a cry of Victory, Delta pounced on Devin for a winning blow —
"Enough, dirty bastard," a rough voice growled, and a new figure appeared out of nowhere, grabbing Delta's thick arm with both of his own. "You die today for what you have done."
"Wha —?" Devin started in surprise, and witnessed Sarkhan Vol, the Jund Planeswalker, holding Delta back from his offensive. His long, tattered hair rose slightly in the icy mountain wind, and his fierce face bore a look of determination and hatred. His clothes, or rather armor, were leather animal hide, with claw-like spikes on his shoulder pads. His armor parted at his torso, revealing muscles of iron.
"Hey! Sarkhan!" Devin found himself exclaiming.
"You both are two of the five children we gifted, aren't you?" Sarkhan asked of Devin and Kelly.
"We are," Kelly confirmed.
"And you are —?" Delta demanded of Sarkhan.
"Someone who is about to kill you!" Sarkhan roared, stunning both Devin and Kelly by throwing Delta over his shoulder and slamming him painfully onto the rocky ground. "For what you have done!"
"Argh, this is good and bad," Delta groaned, getting up. "I like these odds now, but does it have to be you? Do I have to hear your whining throughout this fight?"
Seriously confused, Devin simply looked on as Sarkhan rallied his allies. "Children," he told them with a hard glint in his wild eyes. "Get up and prepare to slaughter him. Either he dies today or we do. Are you ready for this?"
"You must practice blue magic, by the looks of you," Epsilon commented as he watched Jace, Viktor, and Makoto approach. He paced back and forth slightly even as Ryusei hissed and shifted uncomfortably overhead. "What of the children, though?"
"We are under no obligation to reveal anything," Jace told him. "Other than the fact that we are here to destroy you and your companion to claim this Key Creature."
"That was clear from the start," Epsilon said, now raising his arms to ear level. "And I expected that. Let's see how it goes."
"Prepare!" Jace shouted, just as a dozen assorted, giant plants flashed and roared into existence in the air around Epsilon. The plants were varied; there were some that were balls of roots and vines with single, large colorful flowers; some that were masses of dark green, thorny vines; and yet others that were too chaotic and wicked looking to describe fully.
"Behold the right arm of nature," Epsilon announced. "Her greenery." And with that, every plant shot forth in attack. Jace, Viktor, and Makoto wasted no time in avoiding the onslaught, and when they stood, Viktor's green aura and Makoto's white one were up and strong. The largest plant, however, had pinned down Jace, its thick vines trapping his right arm.
"Assist me!" he cried. Viktor complied by summoning Elvish Warrior, who hacked several vines off and freed Jace.
"Not too bad," Epsilon commented, gathering his plants together. "Both children have mana auras? I don't know who taught them, but it won't help. I will win this battle and Ryusei will belong to Lady Elena. Just watch." Again, the plants surged in attack, faster this time. In addition, three plants with cherry red flowers belched clouds of acidic green spores, and the wind carried the clouds toward the defenders, blinding them. Elvish Warrior was able to block the worst blows on Viktor's part and Nagao, Bound by Honor did the same for Makoto, though the screening was annoyingly effective. Viktor could not see anything except himself and the vague shadow of Elvish Warrior doing its best to defend him.
"Again, you demonstrate ability," Epsilon said as the spore cloud finally cleared, revealing the wounded defenders. "Now let's see you avoid this." The largest plant, the one that had harmed Jace initially, stirred and fired hundreds of fist-sized seeds, each one razor sharp and shooting toward the kids and Jace. They went in a wide arc, impossible to dodge. Viktor prepared for a quick Vine Trellis when, to his surprise, the seeds as one turned halfway and peppered the mother plant all over, cutting it in hundreds of places. The plant squealed in protest, its feelers flailing like arms. Epsilon scowled and took a few steps forward. "What trickery is this?!" he demanded.
"Simple," Jace told him. "Look."
Viktor felt surprise and elation at seeing Jace's attack-warping homunculus hugging the stem of the mother plant's largest flower, its blue eyes aglow as it worked its magic.
"That homunculus can redirect an opponent's attacks back at them," Jace said. "That plant is only going to hurt itself from now on."
"And just when did you put that foul thing there?" Epsilon demanded.
"During the spore cloud-assisted attack," Jace said. "The screen blocked your vision of the events as well as ours, and that's when the homunculus took hold. It would be impossible to find the mother plant normally, so I attached a beacon to the plant. When the mother plant attacked my arm initially, I had the beacon in my hand and attached it to the plant. Then, the homunculus was drawn to the beacon during the spore attack. Plus, I knew right away that the spore attack would happen. I recognized those plants with the red flowers as spore emitters."
"Good going, Jace!" Makoto cheered. "We can get him!"
"I agree," Jace said. "I have crippled him; finish it."
Eager to comply, Makoto sent Nagao forward, assisted by Viktor's Fighting Drake. The two pumped creatures fought evenly with Epsilon's plants, though they slowly gained the upper hand with the mother plant's forced inactivity. They closed in on Epsilon for the kill —
And ten more plants appeared out of nowhere, hacking apart the attacking creatures and gaining the advantage due to their unexpected arrival.
"Did you think that was all I had?" Epsilon called out as the new plants successfully protected their master. "Don't presume I'm so limited."
"He was holding back on purpose," Viktor noted to Makoto. "Caught us by surprise."
"We have to find another way, I guess," Makoto said back. "I wonder how many he has?"
"There is one way around this," Jace told them. He seemed taken aback by the move but not unsettled. "I know this tactic; surprise summoning. There is no way to know how many times he will be able to do this, since I don't know the extent of his collection. This battle will be very difficult so long has he uses surprise summons. However, I can think of a way to draw all of them out at once. Prepare certain spells, both of you."
Sarkhan Vol's fierce passion and apparent anger motivated Devin and Kelly to fight hard to defeat their foe. Devin did have one thing he wanted to know, however.
"What's going on, Sarkhan? What did Delta do?" he asked of the Jund Planeswalker.
"Maybe I'll just show you what he's talking about," Delta said, reaching into his pockets again. "Better to show than tell. It's more interesting that way."
Delta produced eight pointy, white objects and secured them into the sockets on his knuckles, each over six inches long. Admiring their look, Delta gave a grin and charged once again, sending his fists into the ground near Sarkhan and Devin. This time, one of the sharp objects grazed Devin's leg, producing a wound several inches long that burned fiercely. Sarkhan quickly got back on his feet, his body tensed to move again.
"And what are those?" Devin cried, clutching his wound with his eyes fixed on Delta's newest accessories.
Sarkhan began to answer him, but Delta interrupted him. "Dragon teeth," the Hunter said proudly. "I went to the Jund Plane before coming here, found a medium-sized dragon predator, and killed it with my own hands. I tore out its teeth and here's one set of them. It's a real mark of a good fighter, isn't it? You slay a powerful enemy and use him to fight even better."
Devin's eyes widened in realization of the implications. He knew that Sarkhan Vol was passionate about dragons, revering them as the best creatures alive. And here was someone who killed one for sport and tore out its teeth for use as weapons!
"Okay, then," Devin said in deadly quiet. "In that case… Volcanic Dragon!" The red, scaly beast came into existence, fueled by Devin's red mana aura. The beast roared and dived toward Delta with its jaws wide open and its claws outstretched for the kill. Kelly's Hunted Horror joined the fray, with its multiple mouths and twisted body parts hungry for flesh. As expected, two green Centaurs appeared, charging in to slay the Hunted Horror, and that was where Sarkhan Vol helped out.
Sarkhan pointed his staff, and two circular waves of mana flew toward the Centaurs, and they stopped attacking the Horror and pursued Delta instead: Devin recognized this creature-taking ability. The combined Volcanic Dragon, Hunted Horror, and two Centaurs assaulted Delta at once. Delta had little trouble knocking out the two Centaurs, yet the Dragon and Horror had more success. The Horror had one arm torn off, and it retaliated with its mouths biting into Delta's flesh. The Dragon whipped Delta with its sharp tail and raked him with its claws.
"Destroy him!" Sarkhan roared, casting a second spell. Now, the Horror and Dragon were pumped by Sarkhan's +1/+1 ability, vamping up their attack force.
"All right, this is enough," Delta rumbled, then his red and green mana aura blazed to life; just the aura was enough to send the Horror and Dragon reeling and stunned. Delta flexed his massive muscles and socked Hunted Horror right in the chest, and his fist buried itself halfway into its flesh. In a flash, Delta closed in on the dragon, grabbing its tail, pulling it closer, and landing a kick on its lower abdomen. Even a combined Consume Spirit and Fireball only discouraged further attack; Kelly's mana was somewhat replenished by the Consume Spirit. Delta rolled his shoulders and bent his fingers.
"Better do better, everyone," he told the three, inspecting the wounds he had received. "Impressive you forced me to use my full mana aura like this; I guess you improved since Beta and Gamma fought you. But will it be enough to best Epsilon and me? Only one way to find that out. I'm looking forward to a good nap when this is through."
"I hardly think Battle-Mad Ronin will be enough to get him," Makoto told Jace quietly when the other had informed him of the plan. "It's only a 1/1 Bushido 2."
"Its nature is all I want," Jace told him. "Get out another creature to bolster his fighting." Then, to Viktor: "Get out defensive creatures, just in case."
"So, finished chatting?" Epsilon called over. "I will not wait all day for this. Attack, my plants!"
Upon his command, all of Epsilon's plant servants, minus the mother plant, surged forth with a variety of pollens, poison perfumes, and vines reaching for the defenders. Makoto had Battle-Mad Ronin and Iizuka the Ruthless, along with Mothrider Samurai. Upon Jace's command, Iizuka sacrificed Mothrider Samurai, granting Battle-Mad Ronin double strike.
"It will take more than that to best Mother Nature," Epsilon declared. The brunt of the plant assault was stalled by a highly mana-infused and enlarged Vine Trellis, buying Jace enough time to multiply Battle-Mad Ronin into ten.
"Now!" Jace ordered. The ten Battle-Mad Ronins pounced into action, directly taking on the plants. Viktor noticed right away that their power was limited; they were only a little stronger than a non-infused Ronin. As it was, each Ronin clone was not very powerful, which could probably be attributed to the mana spread evenly between them. At least Iizuka allowed them to attack very rapidly, other wise they would be overwhelmed by the plants' superior numbers. The Ronins only fought evenly with the plants at best, never getting close to Epsilon himself.
"And now I make this serious," Jace announced, clapping his hands together. Viktor saw nothing particularly interesting, until one of the Ronins swung his sword down and the blade hit the ground with titanic force, creating a huge gash in the ground and throwing everyone off their feet.
"What in —? How did that happen?" Epsilon spat in shock. A second Ronin did much the same, gashing a plant in half so rigorously that the Ronin blazed forth and hacked two more plants to pieces. Not even one second later, a third Ronin punted a large plant far away with its bare foot, and a fourth proceeded to grab a plant and throw it into another, destroying both. Further, Jace now took part of the battle, firing beams of fizzling blue mana; whenever this mana hit the plants, the plants would be stunned, making them even easier targets for the pumped Ronin clones.
"Damn you!" Epsilon cursed, and then summoned close to a hundred additional plants.
"That must be his full repertoire," Jace commented to Viktor and Makoto. "No way he can afford to hold any back. Expect no more surprise summons."
Viktor was about to ask how the Ronin clones got so powerful when he figured it out: Jace was pooling all ten clones' mana power into a single one, making it powerful. Then, very quickly, that pooled power would be given to another, and another; the clones took rapid turns having the power of all ten put together. This was apparent when Viktor saw that no two clones struck powerful blows at the same time. They simply appeared to all be powerful, and fast, too, with Iizuka on the field. This prompted Epsilon to summon all his plants and lose his advantage of surprise summons. That, along with the stun man Jace was using, made this battle a sure win.
"All right!" Makoto exclaimed. "Now we've got him. He can't possibly survive this."
"No. You won't," Epsilon announced firmly, taking several steps forward. Makoto jumped.
"Well, forget I said that," he muttered. Epsilon closed his eyes for a second, and then each of his plants briefly had a dull green flash. The next time Jace fired his stun beams, the mana simply bounced off of the plants, not affecting them at all. Worse, Viktor watched as Epsilon took hold of his sword handle with his left hand and draw the blade. The sword had a circular gold and silver hilt, and a curving blade of medium to long length. It was pearly and almost looked like stone, but was the thickness of a metal sword and seemed just as sharp.
Viktor had this suspicion confirmed when Epsilon leaped into air and hacked a Ronin in half, then turned and clashed blades with a second. The Ronin obviously had the pooled mana in it, for it resisted Epsilon's struggles. However, Epsilon was clearly a sword expert; he deftly ducked around the Ronin, and shot away, leaving another split Ronin in his wake. The rest of the Ronins were deftly defeated, leaving Epsilon alone with his plants.
"Nice move, Planeswalker," he said. "I see what you did. You pooled the clones' mana into one of them and rapidly traded it among them, creating the illusion that they all had the boost when in fact, that was not so. Pretty effective move; you have my compliments. Now, however, I will take an active part in this battle and redouble my efforts." He looked over at the mother plant, with Jace's homunculus still attached. Epsilon strode over to the plant, tore off the homunculus, and punted it hundreds of feet away, watching it fly in a low arc and crash to the ground. Despite the situation, Viktor did his best not to laugh.
With that, all the plants attacked again, this time with Epsilon in their midst. Llanowar Behemoth and Takeno, Samurai General both moved forward to meet the attack. This time, after difficult fighting on both sides' part, almost half the plants suddenly moved away from the battle and took root in a particularly rich section of soil. It was more difficult to combat the plants with the plants' shroud and the absence of Jace's stun mana. After less than a minute, the plants uprooted themselves and returned to battle, much more powerful than before. Just as the refreshed plants were about to tip the scales steeply in Epsilon's favor, the other half of the plants did the same: they left the battle and took root.
"Looks like his plants have to heal and recover strength in shifts," Makoto noted. He and Viktor needed all their spells just to keep up with the plants and Epsilon himself, who made things difficult with his sword mastery. Then, when the first half went to the soil patch to recover and take root, Jace took a mighty blow from a kick by Epsilon, and was sent tumbling back over a dozen feet.
"Well, even the mighty Planeswalker can't stand!" Epsilon gloated. "You are next, children!"
The rooted plants rose once again to rejoin their master and allow the other half to take root; once the tired half took root, however, the active half spasmed with blue mana and fell limp to the ground as one.
"What the —?" Epsilon sputtered, then cried out as several of Makoto's and Viktor's creatures dealt blows to the shocked Hunter, making him stagger. "How? My plants! Their shroud —"
"— is not perfect by any means," Jace said, getting up. He held his hand to his abdomen and had a limp; apparently, Epsilon's kick had been powerful. "Your strength is your weakness, Hunter. It is impossible for me to directly stun your plants, so as soon as I tumbled to the ground, I touched the ground with my hands and sent my stun mana into it. The mana flowed to the nutrients and water your plants are absorbing over there, and I activated it as soon as the time was right. Even those plants over there are absorbing the same mana-saturated water and nutrients."
"Damn it!" Epsilon cried, now flaring his green and white mana aura into existence and flourishing his sword with expert ability. Before anything else could happen, however, thundering footsteps sounded and everyone froze.
"It seems that little Jace's big brain is giving my darlings trouble again," a wickedly sweet voice commented: the towering and horrific Reaper King lumbered out of nowhere, with Elena herself standing on top of its pumpkin-like head and looking down at the assembled combatants.
"It's her! She's back!" Makoto cried in surprise.
"Yes, I am, child," Elena called back. "It does seem that you all have improved since our last meet. Just look at those mana auras! My Hunters can't seem to do anything without you all stepping in the way. I suppose this will have to be handled the hard way. Epsilon! Delta! If you will."
At the same time, Epsilon and Delta jumped far away from their foes and confronted Ryusei, and their hands began shining their colors. Wasting no time, both Hunters pressed their glowing hands to Ryusei's red, scaly hide and began to seep him in their magic.
"Now this creature will belong to me," Elena told everyone else. "I'll just have them subdue it and bring it back to ShadowMoor where I may absorb it in peace!"
"No!" Viktor yelled, and Simic Sky Swallower surged into being, along with a Sengir Vampire and a Fireball. All those spells and creatures were helpless, however. Elena jumped down from the Reaper King's head, sprouting ragged black demon wings on her back and swooping in to intercept the kids' spells. Her left arm expanded into a massive tentacle ending in a mouth and bit Sengir Vampire in half with one bite. Her other arm fired a surge of lightning, slowing the Simic Sky Swallower and making it rumble in protest. The Fireball was easily deflected by a blue and white shield.
"Don't let them get the creature!" Sarkhan roared. "We don't have much time! Here goes…!" with that, five medium sized red dragons appeared into the air; Viktor recognized this as his dragon token summoning. Devin wasted no time in mounting one of the dragons, and all five of them flapped at maximum speed toward the battlefield around Ryusei. Makoto boarded a dragon himself in attempt to stop Devin, yet fell behind.
"Wait! It's too dangerous!" Makoto called after him, but Devin had made up his mind. Dodging Elena's distance attacks, Devin navigated his temporary dragon mount to the much larger Ryusei's head and produced his blank Ryusei, the Falling Star card. He promptly pressed it to the dragon's head and began to absorb it, just as Viktor had done to Isperia the Inscrutable in ShadowMoor. Epsilon and Delta made their shock and anger clear, yet they were too late; all of Ryusei was sucked back into the card, leaving a massive empty space where the dragon had been.
"In your face!" Devin roared at Elena, waving Ryusei's now full card at her where she hovered. "I got it! No Key Creature for you!"
"Curse you, vile child!" Elena said hoarsely, her innocent tones melting away. She transformed her left arm into a giant's, picked up a boulder, and heaved it at Devin on his dragon token. Devin's mount rolled just in time to dodge the projectile, allowing it to whoosh past. Makoto, however, was slower; the boulder rammed right into his dragon, killing it and causing it to spiral to the ground.
"Ah ha!" Elena cried triumphantly, zooming after him. She pulled back her giant arm in preparation to strike, with Makoto helpless to block the incoming punch. The huge fist shot forth —
And a swath of glowing gold and white energy was there to stop the attack cold, leaving the arm stuck.
"Don't you dare touch him," a girl's voice said in deadly quiet. Both Makoto and Elena looked on in surprise to see Ashley standing between them, her legs parted in a bracing stance and the Holy Day card in her raised hand and a white and blue mana aura around her. The card prevented all combat damage dealt for that time. The force of the blocked attack was fierce; it made Ashley's and Makoto's hair and clothes ripple and wave in it, yet Ashley stood steadfast like a holy guardian.
"What —? Another joins us?" Elena commented, able to pull her giant arm back, turning it to normal again.
"Now you pay for everything you've done!" Ashley declared. Sky Hussar and Cerulean Sphinx appeared and blazed toward their impressed foe; Elena was quick to move, allowing both attackers to slam into the ground where she had stood. Azorius First Wing was quick to follow up, attacking Elena with uncharacteristic savagery; the griffin succeeded in scoring a shallow cut on Elena's left shoulder. Elena was quick to even the situation by destroying the First Wing and Sky Hussar, though she appeared shaken by Ashley's furious and unexpected attack.
"You children are so hard to predict," Elena growled, losing her sweet countenance and replacing it with a searing anger and malice. Her arm was a giant's, a dragon's clawed legs, and an insect's tough carapace torso to fight Ashley's creatures. "You take the Key Creature I found first, have mana auras, and show up out of nowhere! It is time I take the initiative myself."
Despite her bulky and assembled body, Elena was quick to push past Ashley's defensive spells and stun Makoto with a blow to his head. Even a Plumes of Peace was helpless to stop her; Elena moved back, carrying Makoto in her giant's arm and with Delta and Epsilon rushing to her side. Not giving up, Ashley charged through a shock wave of defensive mana Delta released, confronted Elena, and out of desperation, slapped the other across the face.
"You…" Elena hissed, and then punched Ashley's stomach with her normal arm, sending her tumbling away limply.
"Sister!" Kelly cried, rushing forth to help her. Viktor and Devin were quick to keep Kelly from getting too close to Elena and her Hunters' attack range, yet could still listen to what Elena told them.
"Savor this victory while you can, children!" Elena told them. Energy whipped a windy storm around her, acting as a barrier. "The last two Key Creatures will belong to me, and the Multiverse will be mine alone! Not even the best training will stop my conquest, and this one will help me."
She hefted the unconscious Makoto in her giant arm. "I can Enslave him too, and he will help me find his Key Creature. If you dare to resist me too much, his life will be taken. Be warned." With that, Elena, Delta, Epsilon, and Makoto vanished in a blinding green flash, the unnatural winds dying down.
Viktor, Devin, Kelly, Ashley, Jace, and Sarkhan stared in astonishment at the new development and Makoto's absence. Though they had claimed a second of the four loose Key Creatures, they hardly felt elated about the victory. One of them was now in their foe's grasp, and the power arrayed against them had been made even clearer. Epsilon and Delta had proved powerful enemies, and there were still Alpha and Beta out there, all with the same mission.
"Damn… it…" Viktor cursed, on his knees and hitting the ground. "She got away, and the others too! Now Makoto's hers! We can't even protect ourselves!"
"Viktor, easy," Kelly consoled, kneeling by him. "Come on. We got Ryusei just fine, and the two Hunters weren't that bad. Ashley's back, too. We're not that helpless, you know…"
"But what we do isn't enough!" Viktor exclaimed, giving her a pained look. "Even if we get all the Key Creatures, Elena isn't any weaker because of it. She just won't get any stronger, and her Enslavement is still going and we don't know how to slow or stop it!"
"Really," Kelly told him, helping him up. "You know by now that Elena can mess with your emotions and hurt you. That's one of the things we have to fight and be strong against. Her tricks haven't gotten us yet. Even in Ravnica, when Devin was warped into joining the Orzhov against us, or in Lorwyn, where the Key Creatures were cursed, we can overcome. We're already halfway done recovering our creatures."
Viktor let her words comfort him and push away his doubts. He had forgotten about the mental tampering that was one of their adversary's many capabilities. Kelly was right; there was no reason to feel despair. They had already defeated one Hunter, Gamma, and were at least an even match with the next two. Plus, he doubted that Georgi's training was fully complete; there was certain to be more to learn from him and the other Planeswalkers. Reassured, he joined the others; Sarkhan went his own way, promising to eventually have Delta's head for killing a dragon, and Jace took the kids back to Bant, their safehold.