Magic: the Gathering
Chronicles, Volume 31
Even Epsilon's plant warriors knew that they were in great peril. There were over two dozen of them out and about right now, but they all drifted backwards from the It That Betrays, hovering in the air like plant-spaceships. Viktor knew that he, Makoto, and Epsilon were in even greater danger, because their Simic Sky Swallower mount was plowed right up against the towering Eldrazi's chest, right in its strike range. Gotta get out of here! Viktor thought frantically.
"Ah hahaha! You look a little scared over there, children, Epsilon!" Sigma shouted giddily from where he stood, near the injured Spawnsire of Ulamog. "It's about time I play my trump card to see you dead! Enjoy the afterlife!"
"Not just yet, freak!" Viktor growled back, addressing both Sigma and It That Betrays. The 11/11 Eldrazi had the trademark green diamond tattoo on its bony forehead, proving its Enslavement and its allegiance to Sigma and Elena. Viktor quickly mentally ordered the Simic Sky Swallower to back up, not wanting to fight It That Betrays on its own terms. The gigantic Leviathan rumbled in agreement and scooted backwards in the air and out of arm's reach of It That Betrays. Epsilon's two dozen plant warriors glided through the air to form a floating defensive perimeter around Viktor, Makoto, and Epsilon.
"Get them!" Sigma shouted, and It That Betrays set into motion, much faster than Viktor was expecting. The Eldrazi had no real legs, instead using three of its five humanoid arms to walk around, and at a quick shuffle at that. The huge beast clamored forward and closed the distance between it and the Sky Swallower, and raised its other two arms to bash the Simic beast apart. Makoto's Yamabushi's Flame card flared out its red magic, and a searing bolt of fire shot out to scorch one of It That Betrays' hands, making the Eldrazi hiss in anger and hold that hand back. However, the Eldrazi swung its other hand, and only Viktor's quickly-cast Vine Trellis stood between him and the beast's hand.
However, It That Betrays was an Eldrazi, and it lived up to that reputation right away. The Vine Trellis was large, but It That Betrays' hand didn't even need to touch it to destroy it: as soon as the Eldrazi's hand got close, the Vine Trellis was blasted into millions of flakes of ash, vaporized by the power of the Annihilator ability. There was nothing left to stop the Eldrazi's hand, or so Viktor thought. At their master's desperate command, two of Epsilon's plant warriors got in the way of It That Betrays' hand, taking the blow in Viktor's place. Both plant warriors were crushed by It That Betrays' power strike, and the Eldrazi pulled back its hand to launch another two-hand attack.
"Quick! On the offensive!" Viktor demanded, and his companions were quick to agree. Makoto's Mothrider Samurai was cast into existence, along with a Silverstorm Samurai. Viktor's Assault Zeppelid, a 3/3 blue-green flying trampler, acted as a mount for the Silverstorm Samurai to ride upon, increasing the combat potency of both creatures. Viktor also cast one of his new creatures to join the fray: Khalni Hydra. It cost a lot of Viktor's green mana to cast, but he wanted to take advantage of its power sooner than later. As it was, the massive 8/8 green Hydra quickly morphed into existence, throwing back its eight heads to make an eight-fold bellow of primal rage and hunger.
"Good. Now let It That Betrays feel your might!" Viktor muttered in encouragement, and then sent his creatures against the waiting It That Betrays, along with Makoto's creatures and all of Epsilon's plants.
"Not so fast! Little Clock Slug!" Sigma shouted from down on the ground, waving his magical right hand to cast the detrimental clock face. Viktor quickly cast his Cancel in response, but the red-blue Hunter had another surprise waiting.
"Cancel the Cancel!" Sigma cried in glee, and Viktor saw that five soda can-sized glass vials had appeared on Sigma's arm attachment, each containing a globe of crackling blue-red mana. He clenched his left fist, and one of the vials emptied out its blue mana and transferred it to Sigma's hand, allowing him to clench that hand into a fist to cast the Cancel on Viktor's own Cancel. The end effect was that the Little Clock Slug went into effect after all, and with its deafening CLANK-TOCK! CLANK-TOCK!, the clock face allowed the Assault Zeppelid and Silverstorm Samurai to pass right through, slowing down to almost a crawl.
It That Betrays was quick on the upkeep. It punched Khalni Hydra in the gut to drive it back with its right hand, and then swung its left hand at the Assault Zeppelid and Silverstorm Samurai. Viktor expected both creatures to be Annihilated, but he was in for a surprise.
"Whoa! Its eyes glowed!" Makoto cried, pointing up at It That Betrays' face. Viktor looked up, and indeed, the Eldrazi's pit-like eyes had started glowing bright white, the light lasting for only a few seconds. It That Betrays' hand swung close to the Silverstorm Samurai/ Assault Zeppelid team, but the two creatures did not blast apart into ashes. Instead, the Zeppelid turned around to face Viktor, and he saw that the Zeppelid's and Silverstorm Samurai's eyes were all glowing bright white, with wisps of white mana trailing upwards from the eyes like smoke from a fire.
"I think… that's bad," Makoto said weakly in fear, and his fears were confirmed. It That Betrays was living up to its name, and now the two creatures were turned against their masters. They rocketed after Viktor for the attack, and he was forced to order his Khalni Hydra to destroy them. The Hydra obeyed, lashing out with its many heads. Multiple jaws tore apart the Assault Zeppelid and Silver Storm Samurai, destroying them. The horrors of Sigma's Eldrazi pet were not over, however, and It That Betrays attacked the Hydra again, tearing off two of its heads, necks and all. Epsilon's plant warriors got in close to retaliate, and they lashed out with their thorny vines and acidic pollen. These attacks scored shallow wounds on It That Betrays' body, until the Eldrazi fought back. Its eyes glowed again and it swept its hands.
Epsilon brought his ivory sword to the ready position. "Damn it He turns my minions against me!" he cursed. Four of the plant warriors turned and zoomed after Epsilon, spreading their vine-arms wide to tear the renegade Hunter apart. As soon as the plants got close, Epsilon leaped high into the air to greet them, spinning rapidly in place to make a wide arc of attack. His Freezing Attack Level 1 froze one of the plants, giving him the room needed to slice another one in half. The other two mobbed him with vines swinging everywhere, and Epsilon had to dodge the assault and get clear to counter-attack. One of the vines gripped his arm, so he used it to tug the plant warrior close and kick its body, blasting it apart. Epsilon proceeded to hack apart the third plant, and then the fourth one as soon as it was released from Freezing Attack Level 1.
The rest of the plant warriors continued to bash at It That Betrays, lashing out with their thorns and pollen. None of their attacks hit hard enough to take the beast down, however, and It That Betrays Annihilated two more plant warriors, then converted four more to its side and sent them after Viktor. Khalni Hydra staggered back into the battle, snapping out with its six remaining heads. Its bites tore off pieces of It That Betrays' flesh, wounding it.
"Get them! Now!" Sigma ordered his pet and It That Betrays lurched forward, pushing aside the remaining plant warriors to head-butt Khalni Hydra out of the way. The Eldrazi had a clear line of sight to the Simic Sky Swallower, and Viktor was distracted with the four converted plant warriors, fighting them off with a Fighting Drake. It That Betrays lumbered forward to destroy the Simic Sky Swallower, raising both combat arms to take it apart.
"Move!" Viktor gritted out to his Simic mount, still distracted with the converted plant warriors. The Simic Sky Swallower once again obeyed its master, backing up and starting to rise in the air, trying to get out of It That Betrays' reach. The Simic beast was faster than the Eldrazi and was in the clear, until Sigma cast a Little Clock Rocket to speed up his pet.
It That Betrays passed through the ghostly clock face, suddenly accelerating to blinding speed despite its mammoth size. The 11/11 Eldrazi instantly confronted the Simic Sky Swallower, gripping the Simic beast with both hands, prepared to Annihilate simply by holding on. The Simic Sky Swallower couldn't shake off It That Betrays' iron grip, and was helpless as it stared down the Eldrazi. Even with the four converted plant warriors now destroyed, Viktor knew that he had only one chance to save his Sky Swallower before it was killed. He raised a new card into the air and shouted the name of its subject to help him concentrate as he cast it.
"Ulamog's Crusher!"
*o*o*o*o*
"I really think we underestimated Rho's power," Devin commented grimly as he watched the traitorous Xathrid Demon charge in for the kill, obeying its new master Rho. "Just with some spores, she…"
"Focus!" Kelly barked in a panic, grabbing Devin's collar and yanking him out of Xathrid Demon's reach. The Demon reached its prey and swung its huge clawed hand to gore the three kids, but Ashley's Wall of Denial flashed into being and stopped the attack cold. The Xathrid Demon growled and frowned in frustration as its claws struggled against the ethereal Wall of Denial, with yellow and blue sparks of mana flying from the point of impact of claw against wall. The Demon redoubled its effort and started to push through the Wall, but the Wall had given Devin enough time to prepare a counter-attack.
"Yah! Bug attack!" Devin cried as the Xathrid Demon burst through the Wall of Denial. The Demon tried to claw him, but a massive, armor-plated beetle burst into existence to stand between the Demon and its caster. Devin's Violent Outburst gave the Giant Ambush Beetle the kickstart it needed to bash at the Xathrid Demon, though its insect claws dealt minimal damage against the 7/7 Demon. However, Devin grinned in delight as Violent Outburst's Cascade ability triggered, and he was able to cast Shock without even needing to touch the card. The Shock's lightning bolt crackled in Xathrid Demon's eyes, burning the flesh and blinding the Demon.
The Xathrid Demon howled in pain and clutched its face, giving Giant Ambush Beetle the chance it needed to land a real blow. Kelly's Vicious Hunger drove the Beetle to an even greater combat frenzy, and the bug was able to gore the Xathrid Demon and tear out its innards, slaying the beast.
Devin panted from the excitement and effort of casting a mana-pumped Giant Ambush Beetle and boosting it with all those spells. He wiped his brow with his only hand, turning to face Ashley and Kelly. "That wasn't too hard, was it?" he asked the sisters.
"Apparently not, dear child," a sweet voice said behind Devin, and he nearly jumped out of his skin as Rho appeared right behind him, closing the distance between her and him in a blink. Kelly realized that Rho had used a fastwalk, moving to Devin in an ultra-rapid blue-green blur, not even needing her wings. Devin wheeled around but was too late to defend himself. Rho turned her right arm into a giant mantis arm again and swung it to cut Devin in half, until Ashley leaped to intervene and cast her Curse of Chains card on Rho's arm. Thick, white chains glowing with blue mana clanked into existence and shackled Rho's oversized mantis arm to the ground, stopping her attack and trapping the Hunter in place.
"Now!" Ashley cried, and she summoned her Sigiled Paladin to attack the trapped Hunter, along with a Grixis Slavedriver that Kelly cast and a Scythe Tiger that Devin cast. Ashley was about to dissipate her Into the Roil spell to release Baneslayer Angel and Volcanic Dragon, but her attention was diverted by Rho's newest ploy. Rho raised her other arm and morphed it into a mantis arm, sweeping it wide to knock back the three attacking creatures. Rho's attack lacked the power to do much damage, but it bought her enough time to sweep the arm again and release a cloud of bright green spores just as the creatures attacked again.
"Wait! Stop!" Ashley cried, but once again Rho's magic was taking place. The three creatures hit the cloud of green spores and howled in pain, staggering back as their skin started to sizzle away into vapors of mana. Devin heard a loud, sickening hiss from the creatures, and could easily guess what Rho just did.
"Acid spores?" Kelly gritted, watching what was happening. "How many such moves does she have? Sleep pollen, betrayal spores, now acid spores…"
"And the Land of Dreams," Devin added grimly, remembering his phantasmal battle in his own mind. Ashley cast a Holy Day to keep the creatures from taking any more damage, but Rho went back on the offensive. She broke free of the Curse of Chains with a mighty effort and swooped in to finish off the kids, sweeping a cloud of dark purple pollen as she went. The purple pollen scattered everywhere from Rho's height, and the three kids were too slow to escape it.
"Whoa. Everything… spinning and lurching…" Devin muttered woozily, swaying in place like a drunkard on a sea-tossed ship. He tried to focus, but as he inhaled the purple pollen, his vision grew fuzzy and the world seemed to be throwing him off-balance as it swayed. He saw Kelly and Ashley try to run from Rho's dive-bomb attack, but they staggered clumsily and both fell to the ground, helpless as Rho closed in to behead them both with her mantis arms.
"Raaaaaah! Die, foul children!" Rho screamed, until an unexpected attack crashed into her, knocking her out of the way and tumbling to the ground. She whipped her head up and saw Volcanic Dragon and Baneslayer Angel hovering over Kelly and Ashley like guardians, and the Into the Roil spell was dissipating in the background.
"The creatures escaped the protective roils all by themselves?" Rho muttered angrily, and then realized that the acid-damaged Grixis Slavedriver, Scythe Tiger, and Sigiled Paladin were attacking her from behind. Rho bared her teeth and swooped out of the way, retreating back into the cloud of purple pollen for protection. The three creatures pursued her but became clumsy and disoriented as they breathed in the pollen, and Rho smiled. Even they must fall prey! she thought.
Kelly tried to focus through her dizziness, her brain feeling like a frazzled mass of confused sensory input. Where was up? What was down? Which limb was where? Then, she felt a lump of cards in her pocket, and hoped that there was something in there to help her, anything at all. She clumsily tried to reach into her pocket, but her fingers felt thick and stiff, unable to grasp her deck.
"Too late! You die!" Rho cried, releasing another cloud of acid spores as she swooped in for the kill to increase her offensive power. She was immune to her own pollen and spores, but nothing the kids could do would protect them. Or was that so?
"Turn to Mists!" Ashley cried, holding up the said card. "W-wait! That's not what I… um…" However, her spell wound up having the best effect for the situation: rather than removing her, Kelly, and Devin from the field, the Turn to Mists converted all of Rho's sleep pollen and acid spores into fine water droplets in the air, utterly harmless. Rho cried out in wordless rage as her adversaries shut down her most powerful attack, and then she realized that the kids had regained their bearings. Both Volcanic Dragon and Baneslayer Angel lunged for the kill, along with the other three creatures from before. Rho prepared herself for the onslaught, and all five creatures piled on top of her in a single massive attack, creating an earth-shattering collision of mana and bodies.
"Whoa… did we get her?" Kelly asked with hesitation, staggering to her feet and shielding her eyes from the smoke of the detonation. "Keep your guards up, guys. We can't be sure what – oh, no!"
There was a crater left over from the collision, but all five creatures were gone. More importantly, Rho was gone too, but Kelly's mana aura hinted at the Hunter's continued existence. She's still here somewhere! Where?
"Devin? Is that you?" Ashley asked, seeing a third form emerge from the smoke, and the person resolved into Devin grinning widely.
"Heya," he greeted. "Looks like Rho has another trick for us."
"Huh?" Kelly asked, confused. Then, her heart skipped a beat as Devin emerged from the smoke again: a second Devin, grinning just like the first! Both Devins stood side by side, a few feet apart, in the exact same posture.
"What the hell is this?" Kelly exclaimed before she could help herself. "Devin?"
Both Devins did a one-arm shrug. "One of us is him…" one said.
"..And the other is not!" the other laughed.
Damn it. Looks like Rho can shapeshift, too, and she is controlling the real Devin with her control spores! Kelly thought, trying to dispel the shocked panic in her mind. There's no telling which of them is real until they launch an attack and probably overwhelm Ashley and I! What do I do? I better think of something fast.