Magic: the Gathering

Chronicles, Volume 33

Viktor was quite alarmed. As he hurried down the sunlit halls of Castle Haraven on Bant, the sounds of argument and protest filled the hallway and encouraged him to hurry.

After defeating Sigma and Rho, he and his friends had been encouraged to warp back to Bant and rest for a few hours before storming Elena's temporary base of operations on Jund. Jace's extensive spy network had revealed Elena, the Hunter Alpha, and a sleepy Nicol Bolas all camping out on the edge of Jund, near the incomplete Maelstrom. In fact, outside of the castle's windows, Viktor could see the tip of Bant colliding with Grixis, producing a black-and-white mini-Maelstrom. He and the others had rested for several hours here in the castle, and now Viktor was assembling his friends to get back to Dominaria to join the Planeswalkers and Epsilon's Azorius army for the final battle.

"I'm telling you to stop that!" Ashley's voice insisted wildly from her room down the hall, chilling Viktor to the bone. "You really shouldn't… come on!"

What's happening to my friend? Viktor thought in horror, all kinds of grisly scenarios playing out in his head. Everyone was quartered separately here in the Castle, and a tired card-wielding kid would make a good target for one of Elena's minions. Don't tell me there's new Hunters!

Ashley's voice piped up again: "Just cooperate with me, okay? We don't have to do this the hard way… please?"

Kelly, Makoto, and Devin were all waiting at the front gate of Castle Haraven, waiting while Viktor went to go retrieve Ashley, and now Viktor hoped that he wasn't too late. At last, he reached the closed wooden door of Ashley's room, and he swung it open as fast as he could. "Ashley!" he cried.

Then, Viktor turned and saw Ashley sitting on her bed, with what looked like Gerbie on her lap. She looked up at Viktor. "Oh, hi!" she greeted him happily. "Sorry if I've been taking too long. Did I delay anyone? Gerbie's not very cooperative…"

"But what's going…" Viktor started, feeling the adrenaline sinking away. His mana aura was fully recharged, and he felt capable of casting both Simic Sky Swallower and Ulamog's Crusher at moment's notice. With the risks of casting Thorn elemental, those two creatures were his main warriors right now. But here, there was no need for powerful Simic Leviathans or Eldrazi. As it turned out, Ashley had gotten her hands on a bunch of tailor's cloth and lace, and had dressed Gerbie up.

"Gerbil… clothing?" Viktor commented faintly, feeling that the scene was super-anti-climatic, although at least everyone was safe.

"Clothing? This straightjacket ain't any kind of proper clothing I've ever seen!" the Simic gerbil argued loudly, and Viktor had to suppress a laugh. Gerbie's face was outlined with white lace, and the rest of his body was covered in soft cloth and careful tailoring, like a multi-colored gerbil dress suit. Viktor had heard of people putting clothing on their cats or dogs, but Gerbie was another matter!

Ashley held up Gerbie in both hands, pressing him against her bosom. "Look! Isn't he so cute?" she glowed.

"Graaaaah! Release me, beast!" Gerbie cried, squirming in Ashley's grip. His voice had an appropriate rodent squeaky quality to it. "Stop it! I am a dignified product of…"

"Oh, hush," Ashley told him, now snuggling him against her cheek. "You know you like this."

"Even worse, people are seeing me in my moment of shame!" Gerbie protested, aware of Viktor's amused stare. "I am ruined!"

Viktor laughed, making sure that it didn't sound mocking. "Relax, Gerbie," he told the Simic pet. "Ashley's just showing how much she likes her pet."

"B-b-but…" Gerbie stuttered, stopping his squirming. He rested limply in Ashley's hands. "Is that for real?"

"I just wanted to have some fun. I had this idea a while ago," Ashley explained to Gerbie, setting him down on her lap. "But only just now did I find where all the tailoring materials are in this Castle."

"And put it all on me while I was asleep!" Gerbie added accusingly. "We both went to sleep and I bet you woke up right after that to do this to me!"

Ashley shook her head. "We slept for hours. I've only been up for the past half hour. Come on, Gerbie, this just shows that I like you! We slept together soundly, too. You sure like the pillow on the bed."

"Well, yeah…" Gerbie hesitated, then Ashley took the gerbil clothing off of him. Liberated, Gerbie pounced up onto Ashley and clung to her shirt, then climbed onto her shoulder, nibbling gently at her earlobe. "Okay, now I like you again, Ashley. You're the only master I'll accept. Though no more clothing?"

"Promise," Ashley giggled from the ticklish feeling of Gerbie's nibbling. "I love you too, Gerbie."

"Ugh. Spare me, man," Ike complained in his teenager-like drawl, poking out of Viktor's own pocket and yawning. "Are you seeing this, Vik? So uncool."

"Yes, yes," Viktor said hastily, pushing Ike back into his pocket. "Just chill. Now we're going after Elena for real. This is our last stand."

"Yeah. Let's get some real action," Ike agreed enthusiastically from within the pocket, then fell asleep. Viktor and Ashley both departed the room with their gerbils and headed down the hallway towards the front gates of Castle Haraven. Ashley spoke up, but looked away rather shyly.

"I heard that your battle was a really close one," Ashley mumbled. "Kelly was really worried, you know."

"Well, I'm sorry if I worried her. But I came back okay, didn't I?" Viktor smiled. "Kelly told me how you and her and Devin defeated Rho. Really impressive, and that was without Epsilon's help."

Ashley nodded, going a light shade of red. "She hoped that you'd be impressed. Sometimes she wonders whether you pay that much attention to her or not."

Viktor's stomach lurched. "Wh-what do you mean by that?"

Ashley made nervous laugh. "She's my sister, you know, and I can read her as well as she can read me. And I know that you and her are a little different from the rest of us."

"In what way?" Viktor asked, even though he knew what Ashley was on to. "We're all just friends who play a card game. Been that way for months, right?"

"It was just us four for a while, until you moved here from Bulgaria," Ashley smiled. "But not long after you arrived, Kelly seemed to act a little differently. And through this whole experience in the Multiverse, we've all been drawn together by danger, but you and Kelly especially."

"Naw, it's not like that," Viktor dismissed the idea with a grin, but he conceded. "Y-yeah. Kelly's been by my side through all of this, like all you guys, but her... I, um..." Viktor fumbled with his words, feeling lost. Usually, he felt in-control and courageous, in the face of deadly Hunters like the fire-slinging Beta or the time-warping Sigma, but when he talked about his feelings about Kelly to others, he was smaller than ever. But that didn't mean he was upset. He just needed...

"She really likes you know, Viktor," Ashley smiled knowingly, and he jumped. Viktor was very glad that the hallway was empty, and that King Teramont's men were elsewhere. "She's always telling me how much you make her feel strong, how happy and comfortable she is when you're around. Now, isn't that why you visited us in our apartment a while back? Remember that?"

"Oh, yeah," Viktor recalled, his stomach lurching as he remembered how he and Kelly had spent their time while Ashley and Gerbie were in the next room. They had almost...

"Do you like her, Viktor?" Ashley asked bashfully, being embarrassed on her sister's behalf. "I know that you and Kelly almost kissed when you visited us. I only feigned ignorance."

"You got me there," Viktor winced with a grin. "Yes, I really like her." He widened it into a smile. "American girls are very nice, you and Kelly especially. And you share a geeky hobby with me! Even better."

"You know it," Ashley playfully punched his arm. "You haven't seemed to talk to Kelly much recently, though. Been busy?"

"Against that swarm of Hunters? Indeed," Viktor agreed. "I've been meaning to have a moment with Kelly, but all of us have been too wrapped up in saving the Multiverse and all. But I promise you, when this whole battle is over and we can all go back home, Kelly and I are going to spend some time. Together, I mean. I can show her that I really care."

Ashley started to respond, but both she and Viktor nearly jumped out of their skin when both Ike and Gerbie made loud cat-call whistles. "Someone got the hook-up!" Gerbie said with glee, and Ike added, "Du-ude! You're gonna get some action, huh?"

"Shut up, you furry creeps!" Viktor roared, and Ashley had to hide her giggling fit behind her hand. He calmed down. "S-sorry if I worded that wrong! I meant, Kelly and I can spend time together as more than friends. Maybe I can ask her out."

"Take her to the Ghost Quarter! Women love it there!" Gerbie shouted in his squeaky gerbil voice, and both Ashley and Viktor firmly denied that option.

"Man, you should totally take her to a restaurant," Ike piped up.

Viktor shook his head. "Too ordinary."

"Maybe the Scars of Mirrodin pre-release?" a very familiar voice added, and Viktor realized that it was Kelly's voice. She had come after him and Ashley to see what the hold-up was.

"H-how much of that did you hear?" Viktor cried, suddenly wishing he could cast Path to Exile on himself at this moment.

Kelly shrugged with a broadening smile. "Around the point of 'someone got the hook-up'. Was that Gerbie?"

Argh, why did she have to hear that? Viktor groaned in his head, but he hid his anguish. "Yeah, that was Gerbie. Look, I apologize if we've kept everyone waiting. The Planeswalkers are all waiting for us on Dominaria right now, aren't they?"

Kelly nodded, leading Viktor and Ashley down the corridor. "They're waiting for us, indeed." she looked over her shoulder. "And Viktor?"

He gulped. "Yes?"

Kelly winked. "I also heard that you'd like to spend some more time, huh? I'll look forward to that. I haven't had much chance here in the Multiverse to be with you alone, but when we're back on Earth for good, I think we can do some catching up."

Viktor nodded, feeling elated. "Absolutely."

*o*o*o*o*

"It has begun," Alpha informed Elena, after examining his pool of scry-water. He stood to his full height on this precipice of Jund, and saw the black-white Maelstrom raging behind Elena "The children are moving to Dominaria to join the Planeswalker ranks, and Epsilon and his army are present as well. This is our final stand, My Lady."

"And that means things are about to get fun," Elena smiled mischievously. Nicol Bolas' loud, dry snores rumbled in the background as the dying Elder Dragon slept, curled up like a gigantic scaly cat. "I will assemble all the Enslaved forces I can spare, including whichever Eldrazi are available... it's too bad that my Reaper King was killed on Kamigawa! It is a shame that I lack the power to Enslave Ulamog, Kozilek, and Emrakul themselves, but they are too powerful for now. Perhaps when I have achieved victory and have all the time in the world, they too will learn to call me master."

"I eagerly await that day," Alpha agreed coldly. He extended his open palm, showing Elena a pair of forehead emeralds there: those of the fallen Rho and Sigma. "What do you intend with these?"

Elena folded Alpha's fingers over the emeralds. "Wait first," she ordered him gently. "If the need strikes, then absorb them. I cannot say what will happen if you absorb two emeralds, Alpha. Maybe even your death? I will trust you to do the right thing. You're my most powerful creation. I know you won't disappoint me."

"I will certainly not," Alpha confirmed, stashing the emeralds in his pockets. "I presume that we have countermeasures in place against the power of the combined Key Creatures? Wielded correctly, those five creatures combined will spell our certain doom."

Elena laughed. "Do not worry," she told her prime Hunter. "I have a plan to break the morale of those children and their card-born creatures. Or else, I can slay them and the Planeswalkers before the Key Creatures are wielded properly against me with various methods I have thought up. I am ashamed that you Hunters failed to assemble the Key Creatures before me, but you, Alpha, will atone for your lesser siblings' shortcomings. Now, prepare. They are coming."

Alpha nodded and turned his back to Elena and the Maelstrom, sitting cross-legged on the rock and dirt ground to meditate. "Of course, My Lady."