Magic: the Gathering
Chronicles, Volume 37
A/N: Just six chapters left to go! Reviews will help me get through this home stretch :)
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Viktor hadn't expected Alpha to act frightened or impressed by the Simic Sky Swallower, or even give it much acknowledgment. However, he knew that the blue-black Hunter would have to at least take it seriously, but that meant that Alpha would probably start using more of his powers.
I just bet that he's got all kinds of powers he hasn't shown us yet, Viktor thought nervously, watching Alpha hover in the air before the Sky Swallower's snout in preparation to attack. Like his Ascendant State. Delta and Beta had them, so –
Alpha did a fastwalk through the air, rushing to the kids' position on the Sky Swallower's back in a blue-black blur that caught everyone off-guard. Devin was able to react pretty fast, though, and he used his Firebreathing card in a rather novel way.
"Raaaah! Fear me!" Devin shouted, pressing the card to the corner of his mouth and flowing his red-green mana from the card to his jaws. He breathed in and then breathed out while facing Alpha. Viktor was as startled as everyone else when a searing surge of fire rushed from Devin's mouth, threatening to cook Alpha alive. The blue-black Hunter swept his arm in a rush of mana that held the fire at bay, but the Hunter looked surprised.
"Using the cards on your own body? I have not seen that before," Alpha commented, before he flared up his mana-leech aura even further, threatening to drain everyone's mana away. Sarkhan fired a series of mini-fireballs at Alpha, capturing his attention. Devin gave up on his fire, but he was still giddy.
"That was so fun! Why didn't I try it earlier?" he gloated.
"That was so dumb," Kelly tried to admonish him, but she had a wide grin on her face as she activated her Drag Down card to capture Alpha. Viktor commanded his Sky Swallower to lurch and buckle, throwing everyone off their feet. Kelly caught on right away; her swamp tendrils kept her allies on their feet, but Alpha was sent sprawling on the beast's back, and the swamp tendrils pinned him there. Ashley focused on healing Venser, using her Holy Day to tend to the injured Planeswalker. Meanwhile, Sarkhan summoned a trio of flaming dragons that assaulted the trapped Alpha with their claws and fire, aided by Devin's Branching Bolt.
Alpha's mana-drain aura staved off the worst of the attack, but Kelly's Drag Down swamp lessened the effectiveness of the aura, forcing Alpha to devote all of his energy to his aura. The three dragons were finally disintegrated from the aura and had their mana added to Alpha's own, but they had bought enough time for a more extreme attack to take place.
"Now!" Viktor shouted, after he had relayed a plan to Kelly. Alpha broke out of the swamp's grip and prepared to attack again.
"That trick won't work on me again!" the blue-black Hunter cried, but Viktor's Cancel halted the Hunter's planned teleport. The Sky Swallower buckled like an angry horse, again throwing everyone off its back. Makoto's Mothrider Samurai, boosted by Viktor's Giant Growth, was able to take everyone onto its back while Alpha was still unsupported in the air. The Sky Swallower, at Viktor's mental command, charged forth and bashed Alpha with its bared fangs, slamming him to the ground in a huge crash.
"Finish him!" Viktor cried, and everyone took their cue. Sarkhan summoned a particularly large dragon to ride on, and he charged at Alpha as such. The Sky Swallower bore down on Alpha at full speed as though launched out of a cannon, its huge wurm-like body moving at impressive speed for its size. Viktor got a bad feeling, however, when brilliant green lights flared from Alpha.
"Wait! Stay back!" he warned, and the Sky Swallower caught itself in the air, rumbling and hissing as it squirmed to get into a comfortable position while it hovered above Alpha. Sarkhan swooped past Alpha, not wanting to get too close to the Hunter who was performing a strange new move. Makoto guided his Mothrider Samurai to get his party closer to see what was going on, but not too close.
"Look," Alpha said, holding out his palm. Two brightly glowing thumb-sized green emeralds lay there – where had Alpha gotten them? Wait...
"Hey. Are those Rho and Sigma's?" Devin wondered, frowning as he looked at the emeralds. "How'd Alpha... oh no! When we defeated Rho and Sigma..."
Viktor nodded grimly. "The emeralds were taken back by Enslaved creatures, and now we know why. Backup power!"
Epsilon joined the Mothrider Samurai, sitting atop one of his hovering plant-warriors. "Just like when I absorbed Gamma's emerald on Shadowmoor. If Alpha gains all that power..."
"He's been tough so far, and was only toying with us," Kelly gritted, clenching her fist. "We have to stop him! We shouldn't have delayed!"
"Yeah. Get him before he can absorb the emeralds!" Viktor shouted frantically. The Sky Swallower resumed its charge and Sarkhan swooped back for a second pass, and the Mothrider Samurai charged to let its riders use their offensive magic. Branching Bolt, Yamabushi's Flame, and Consume Spirit all flew from the giant moth's back, but these spells were fizzled by a sudden vortex of red, green, and blue mana that surged around Alpha. The Simic Sky Swallower crashed against the vortex, rumbling its frustration as it reeled back from the sudden resistance.
In the vortex, Alpha clenched the emeralds tightly in his palm, extracting every bit of Rho and Sigma's powers from the gems to his own body. The reaction was explosive, especially since two emeralds were being absorbed at once. As the new power surged through Alpha's body, he let a cruel smile curl his lips. Now, Lady Elena, I will show you am your most worthy child!
As soon as the vortex faded, Alpha was left standing there, looking no different than before. His opponents crept closer, but hesitated to attack – and for good reason. Even the headstrong Epsilon hung back, raising his ivory sword in a defensive position with several of his plant warriors acting as bodyguards. Aware that Elena was patiently watching, Alpha got to work.
Without uttering a word, Alpha raised his hand and clenched it, and at once a giant, ghostly clock face flared into existence at his feet with a loud CLANK-TOCK! CLANK-TOCK! The hands of the clock ran forwards but at high speed, revving Alpha up. Then, Alpha extended his arms and expanded them into those of a giant praying mantis, each arm over fifteen feet long. Alpha spun in place, slowly at first, then faster and faster until his huge arms made him like the blades of a helicopter, sped up by the Little Clock Rocket.
"Now that's... just not right," Devin said faintly, watching the spinning mantis-helicopter-Alpha rush at him like an approaching lawnmower.
"Watch out already!" Ashley flared, desperately getting her Safe Passage card out at the last second. A shining wall of soft white mana redirected Alpha's spinning body, his mantis arms struggling to get through the protective magic. In seconds, though, he was able to pour more mana into his effort and break through the safe wall, his fast-moving arms blasting apart and churning the ground. Viktor cried out as he was flung away from the sheer force, tumbling to the ground and getting bruises. This reminded him of Pathrazer of Ulamog, but Alpha was no simple Eldrazi.
The Hunter leaped forward, still spinning like crazy. Various offensive spells were flung at him from cards and Sarkhan's staff, but the spells were deflected by the spinning motions of Alpha's giant arms.
"Useless," he taunted, pouncing for another attack. His momentum seemed unstoppable, because vast amounts of magical power were compressed into Alpha's body. But there had to be a way! Beta had gone down as soon as Viktor had figured out the trick to defeating the black-red Hunter – hammer him with too many attacks at once, and Beta lost his coherence for a short time. Would a similar strategy work on Alpha, too? Something had to be done.
"Planeswalkers! Help us!" Viktor shouted at the nearby battle, hoping to recruit assistance to defeat Alpha and then Elena. Alpha didn't give Viktor the chance, and fastwalked right before Viktor and swung his huge mantis arms through the air, intending to take Viktor's head off. A huge Vine Trellis burst into existence to block the attack, and Alpha's mantis arms got caught in the Trellis' thick tangle of wooden vines, roots, and leaves.
"Yah! No one picks on my friend!" Devin roared, sending a souped-up Fireball at the trapped Alpha.
Alpha didn't have a witty response to give, but he escaped all the same – in a bright blue flash, he vanished from the scene and let the Fireball roast the empty ground, and then in another flash Alpha was right behind Viktor, at the kid's blind spot.
"Whoa! Damn it!" Viktor cursed, barely casting a Cancel to nullify Alpha's attack somewhat. The card's alternate effect blunted the momentum of Alpha's swing, and Viktor flared up his green-blue mana aura like armor, but Alpha's attack was still grimly powerful. Viktor was swept off his feet from the blow and sent tumbling away, aggravating his chest where he had been stabbed earlier.
"Children! We are here to help!" a new voice shouted, and Viktor looked up to see a trio of Planeswalkers approaching from the battle – a Vedalken in shocking red robes, a Leonin with black fur and gold armor, and strangely enough, a goblin with a staff. A goblin Planeswalker? Viktor almost laughed to himself, but he had to be grateful for any help that came his way. The Vedalken swerved his arms in a fancy move and fired a thick beam of burning gold mana at Alpha, but the blue-black Hunter flared up his mana-leech aura again, fizzling out the attack as soon as it got close.
That's the same gold mana that Tohru uses, Viktor thought as he scrambled over to join his friends and Sarkhan. I've never seen anything like that on the cards. I might ask about it later. Meanwhile, Ashley had a hug to give.
"I thought Alpha was going to take off your head!" she cried, throwing herself onto Viktor as soon as he got near. "Just like that!"
"Well, uh... so did I," Viktor laughed nervously.
"Yes! Unnecessary hugs are the best kind!" Gerbie cheered from Ashley's pocket. "Don't some people call it 'glomping'?"
"Sh-shut up! I'm really on edge here," Ashley defended herself, backing away from Viktor. "But it looks like we have some help."
Alpha was fighting the three new Planeswalkers at once, and enjoyed an advantage over them. His teleports, leeching aura, mantis arms, and Little Clock Rocket made him too tough for three Planeswalkers to handle alone.
"Here," Ashley offered, casting her Into the Roil. At once, a huge typhoon roared up, a raging cyclone of water and wind that flung the four combatants over to the waiting kids.
Devin sent forth his Predator Dragon and Kelly sent up her Sengir Vampire, but both knew that Alpha could destroy such foes easily. As soon as Alpha tried, however, Viktor's Cancel and the Vedalken's magic blunted Alpha's own attacks, and Alpha was knocked out of the air by both creatures. He tumbled through the air and then teleported, right on top of the Predator Dragon. The scaly beast squirmed in the air and tried to bite Alpha in half, until the blue-black Hunter swept his arm and created a cloud of bright red spores.
The Predator Dragon snapped at Alpha, until it inhaled the red spores and its eyes widened at the mind-altering effect those spores had. The Dragon wheeled around and gored Kelly's Sengir Vampire, betraying its friend on the spot.
"Damn it! Rho's mind-control spores!" Kelly stamped her foot, furious that she and her friends had fallen for that trick again. She fumbled with her new cards and cast a few new spells – a Vicious Hunger restored the vitality of her Sengir Vampire by feeding off of the Predator Dragon, and then her Seal of Doom came into play. Glowing arcane symbols surrounded the Predator Dragon in mid-air, confusing the beast. It only had time to breathe a single blast of fire at the three airborne Planeswalkers until the seals dispersed life-taking black magic, dissolving the doomed dragon on the spot.
"Not bad at all," Alpha praised as he landed lightly on the ground. For the second time, however, the Simic Sky Swallower charged at Alpha, intending to pound him into the ground. Again, Alpha had a quick response by teleporting out of the way, but the three Planeswalkers all hit him with burning magic while Alpha's teleport power was recharging. Viktor noticed, for the first time, that Alpha's mana-leech aura was also lowered while his teleport recharged. If that aura were still up, that Planeswalker attack would never have landed. But now there was a weakness to exploit!
The three Planeswalkers landed on the ground, flinging more spells at Alpha. The blue-black Hunter used a Little Clock Slug to stall the first wave of spells, and then he teleported out of the way of a charging Boggart Ram-Gang that Devin had cast. The goblin battering ram whooshed through empty air, but Alpha was open. Epsilon's Freezing Attack Level 2 trapped him in place, allowing Kelly's Consume Spirit jabbed at Alpha's thigh, and then Sarkhan's fire bolts washed over Alpha's body, roasting him all over.
"Enough of that!" Alpha demanded, and he teleported out of sight again. He re-appeared right among the kids, startling all of them. He swept his huge mantis arms and caught everyone by surprise, knocking them all away. Viktor tumbled to the ground yet again, but not before he had cast a quick Ice Cage on Alpha. That blue enchantment would freeze Alpha for at least a few seconds, buying his friends some time. Ashley took that chance and cast another Into the Roil, blasting apart Alpha's Ice Cage and sending the Hunter flying through the air from the raging storm.
"Excellent!" the Leonin cried. "Strike down the abomination!"
Viktor didn't waste any time; his Simic Sky Swallower was still in commission, and the huge 6/6 flier rumbled in hunger as it got off the ground and lurched forward in the sky at its master's command. The Sky Swallower suddenly shot forward, opening its enormous maw with the intention of swallowing Alpha whole. Viktor suddenly realized that that was a bad thing.
"No! Bad Sky Swallower! He'll just tear you up from the inside!" Viktor shouted at his huge Simic beast, but it was too late to change the Sky Swallower's simple-minded plan. The three Planeswalkers applied their own power to get out of the Sky Swallower's way, and Devin's Shock and Makoto's Yamabushi's Flame distracted Alpha long enough to keep him in the Sky Swallower's path.
"Guys! Stop the Sky Swallower, I don't want it to swallow Alpha!" Viktor cried at his friends, almost hysterical. His friends jolted, not expecting this. Kelly tried to cast her Nausea on the Sky Swallower to change its mind about eating Alpha but she was only a second too slow. The Sky Swallower's cavernous, toothy maw moved into position and snapped closed, trapping Alpha in its mouth. With a satisfied rumble, the Sky Swallower gulped down Alpha, its throat actually bulging a little as the Hunter was sent down into its gut.
"Crap... there he went," Devin said with awe, taking a few steps forward to look at the Sky Swallower. The only other sounds were those of the surrounding battle, but the action wasn't over yet. The Sky Swallower hovered in the air, pleased with itself.
"Not so fast, children!" Elena called over triumphantly from where she stood, and her words proved to be only too true. The Sky Swallower's eyes widened as a disturbance in its gut started up,and then the Simic beast groaned as its gut started to swell like a balloon.
"Back up!" Viktor urged his party, and everyone backed away from the grim spectacle taking place. The Sky Swallower's tough, scaly body expanded until it exploded from the internal pressure, and the two halves of the beast fell sloppily to the ground in a shower of bloody scraps of flesh. Hovering in the air was Alpha, but not as Viktor recognized him.
"Surprised? You should have expected this," Alpha said sternly, pointing at Viktor with a clawed finger. His blue-black mana aura was bigger than ever and glowed brightly, making him impossible to miss. Viktor could tell that Alpha had awakened his Ascendant State, and now the blue-black Hunter had become a vampire spirit, an embodiment of blue and black mana in one entity. Alpha's whole body was partly see-through, a corporeal form that still had substance. Alpha's face was pointed and predator-ish, with thin black eyebrows, dark eyes, pointed ears, and deathly gray skin. His clothing seemed rather Oriental, with hakama-like pants and a jacket that looked like a haori. His shirt was long-sleeved and his sleeves covered his hands, making it harder to guess what he'd do next. Finally, Alpha's long black hair was pulled back in a slick ponytail, tied at the end.
"Ha ha ha! Asian vampire with elf ears! Ha ha!" Gerbie laughed as he poked out of Ashley's pocket, comically summarizing Alpha's appearance. Viktor had thought the same thing, but certainly hadn't voiced it.
"Do I amuse you?" Alpha boomed from far away, and in a flash, he was right in front of Ashley, and she started to make a scream of terror until Alpha's deathly hand clapped over mouth, hushing her. He seized the vulnerable Gerbie and held the Simic pet to eye level, scaring the furry friend out of his wits.
"Agh! No! I didn't mean it! I meant, you look really cool!" Gerbie fumbled with his words,, squirming in Alpha's grip. "I, um... please don't kill me! I'm too young to die!"
"Bothersome thing," Alpha dismissed Gerbie, and was about to throw the gerbil away until Viktor found himself right in front of Alpha, his green-blue mana aura flared to its greatest extent. The mana aura seemed to melt the air from its sheer intensity, resulting from Viktor's determination not to see any of his companions die. Gerbie was a Simic pet, but he was a part of the gang! Viktor swore that this was as close as Alpha would get to Gerbie, Ashley, or anyone else.
"Well. The leader of the children confronts me," Alpha commented, his large fangs showing as he spoke. He lightly tossed Gerbie away, and Ashley caught him. "What will you do?"
"This," Viktor growled, and he cast a Trusty Machete and sank the survival blade into the Ascendant Alpha's gut.