Magic: the Gathering

Chronicles, Volume 39

The clock radio blared on its music, startling Viktor Dimitrov awake. He snapped his eyes open in irritation and he reached over in his bed to slam his open hand down on the button to shut the darn thing off. Blinking in the bright morning light pouring in from his bedroom window, Viktor sat up straight and stretched, enjoying the feeling. Shaking his head to clear it, Viktor slipped out of his bed and got his robe on over his sleepwear. He looked out the window at his neighbor's front lawn, watching the old man mowing the grass with his new lawnmower. The machine made a distant but constant hum as it operated.

Viktor looked over at his desk. There were a few textbooks, notebooks, and many random loose leaf papers on the wooden surface, but there were a large number of trading cards there, too. On the back of the cards were written the words "Magic: the Gathering." It was Viktor's favorite trading card game to play, and he had a number of friends in town who liked to play it, too. Sixty of the cards were arranged into a deck, with assorted blue and green cards in it. Viktor's favorite Magic card was on top: a Thorn Elemental, 7th Edition version.

Ha ha. Wouldn't it be funny if the Elemental in it came to life somehow? Viktor thought with amusement as he picked the card up, examining the picture's fearsome subject. It'd scare everyone in town! I might daydream that if I get too bored at college today.

Then Viktor remembered what day it was today: Thursday! His heart leaped into his throat as he realized what that meant. Yikes! My English paper is due today! Viktor thought as he set down his Thorn Elemental card and frantically searched his backpack and desk for the cluster of papers stapled together. Luckily, he found the paper, which had been stashed in the top drawer of his desk, right on top of a notebook. Viktor breathed a sigh of relief and put his paper into his backpack, then got dressed and went down the stairs to get to breakfast.

"Good morning, Viktor," his mother greeted him in Bulgarian, their mother tongue, as he entered the kitchen.

"Morning, mom," Viktor responded in kind, settling onto a chair at the table. "Didn't we agree to practice more English at home?"

"I'm... still working on that," his mom answered with slight embarrassment and a laugh. "You kids learn much faster than adults."

"Watch it. I'm 20, remember?" Viktor grinned, digging into his breakfast. "Come on, just try it."

"I am not as poor at talking English as you think it is," Viktor's mom told him in slowly in English, then smiled and returned to Bulgarian. "Well? How was that?"

Viktor fought to keep his face straight. "Keep trying, mom. You're doing better all the time." Well, I ought to cut her some slack. It's only been a year since we moved here to the United States from Bulgaria. Grandfather Georgi still lives there. He ought to visit sometime.

*o*o*o*o*

"So, who will read the next passage?" Professor Smith asked the English class. In the third row, Viktor raised his hand.

"I'll do it, sir," he said.

"All right, then, Viktor, fire away," the professor said. The man was fairly laid-back for a college professor; some of the older ones disapproved of him, but he didn't mind that. He was just over thirty, only a decade older than his sophomore English Studies students. Viktor was one of his favorites: though Viktor was Bulgarian, and came to the United States from Bulgaria with his mom to study, Viktor was the favorite. In fact, Professor Smith owned a game console at his home, and shared a few games with some of his students. He wasn't delinquent, though; games didn't get in the way of English.

Viktor read the passage out loud, about Lenin's Bolshevik revolution in Russia in 1917. The wording was set up to make it difficult to decipher the meaning of the words, but for a student with English as a second language, Viktor did impressively. When the bell rang for classes ending, Viktor gathered his items and put them in his red backpack, and started to head out the door.

"Just a second, Viktor," the professor said to him. Viktor stopped, and the teacher said, "I hear that you play a card game with friends of yours. What can you tell me about it?"

"It's called 'Magic: the Gathering'," Viktor said, hefting his backpack to a more comfortable position. "You play spells and creatures, trying to take your opponent's life total from 20 to 0. Why do you ask?"

"I might be interested in picking it up," Professor Smith grinned. "I'm stuck in Final Fantasy XII; my quests are too difficult and leveling up is way too slow at this point. Maybe I could find a starting deck, and you and Devin could tutor me. Sound good?"

"Yeah, that's great," Viktor grinned. "We've been wanting new players for a while. Okay, this weekend, we're going to the game store."

"I will see you there," the professor said, then left to talk to other students.

I know it. I just know I did something wrong in that paper, Viktor couldn't help criticizing himself in his head as he left the English class. The teacher mentioned all kinds of things I didn't have in my paper. Well, maybe next time.

"Oi, Viktor! Over here," Viktor's friend Devin called over in the crowded hallway, and Viktor steered toward his blond freshman friend. "Any plans today?"

"Um... not that I know of, no," Viktor shook his head. "My history teacher might want to start playing Magic this weekend, but I don't have any plans for today."

"Well, in that case you can join me at Makoto's house today," Devin offered. "Kelly and Ashley will be there, too. Interested?"

Viktor was eager to go anywhere Kelly was. "Sure thing. I'll be there."

*o*o*o*o*

As the days went by, Viktor enjoyed his ordinary college life in the United States, and chilling with his friends outside of class. He particularly liked being around Kelly, a high school senior who captivated him. Six days after going to Makoto's house, Viktor had visited the sisters Kelly and Ashley at their apartment, since it had been so long since we went there.

"Now, take these leftovers home to your family, okay?" Ashley asked Viktor late in the evening of his visit. She packaged the leftovers of her homemade dinner into a container for Viktor and handed it to him. "I'm sure they'll like it as much as you did!"

Viktor accepted the container with a small laugh. "Don't worry, they will." Well, Ashley's dishes are kind of weird, but they don't taste bad. He made his way to the door, getting his shoes on. "Thanks for having me over, girls. It's been a while." Viktor could hear the TV going in Ashley's dad's room.

"Anytime, Viktor," Kelly smiled as she hugged him good-bye. "If you don't mind my asking, you seem happiest when you're here with just us. Any reason for that?"

"Oh, come on. I like all my friends equally," Viktor teased her, but he knew that she could see the sparks. Kelly's such a nice girl. "Good night."

"Nighty-night!" Ashley hugged him good-bye, and Viktor exited the room and took the elevator to the apartment's ground floor. He exited the building and walked across the dark parking lot, breathing in the cool evening air.

His stomach churned. Why do I keep getting this feeling? This sensation like something's missing, like I'm forgetting something important. I get it off and on, and I had it the whole time I was at Ashley and Kelly's apartment.

Viktor tried to relax. Maybe I'm just stressing out about college. There's a lot to keep track of when it comes to that. Whatever.

*o*o*o*o*

A few days later, Viktor still had that feeling that something was wrong, but he could not place what exactly it was coming from. From day to day, he started seeing strange new people in his town, folks he hadn't seen before. While waiting at the bus stop to go to college, he had seen a regal-looking man with long blond locks walking by, clad in a dark green and gold suit. He looks like a fan of the Green Bay Packers, Viktor winced, aware that his home state wasn't very close to Wisconsin. The man drew a few funny looks but he ignored them, although he did shoot Viktor a quick glance before walking on by. Viktor got onto the bus feeling quite disturbed. Why do I feel like I should recognize him?

Then, after that day at college, Viktor had swung by the card shop to see what was new, and in there he found a bulky man and a sinister-looking woman having a conversation, where the man was railing on about nature conservation. The man had a thick neck and a scraggly beard, and the woman's long hair was black except for white highlights. Is this any place to talk about that? Viktor wondered, until the man and woman left the card shop in a hurry.

"Come on, kid. You shouldn't stare, all right?" the card shop owner asked. Viktor did a double take as he realized that it wasn't the usual card shop owner. This was a new guy, and his shoulder-length gray hair, vivid orange eyes, and black leather clothing made him look like a metal fan rather than a hobby store owner.

"Wh... who are you?" Viktor asked nervously, approaching the man. He averted his eyes to the cards under the glass.

"Who am I? I'm the new employee," the man answered with a toothy grin. "And who are you?"

"A regular customer. Viktor Dimitrov," he introduced himself, scanning the Zendikar cards. "I'm looking for a card for my friend. Here it is..." he found a Sorin Markov card, a Zendikar mythic rare Planeswalker. Then he realized that the new employee looked exactly like Sorin. And that the man and woman had looked kind of like Garruk and Liliana.

Viktor stumbled back. "What... what the hell is going on?"

"What's going on? Nothing is," the new employee shrugged widely. "What's going on with you? Are you sure you should be here? Maybe you have an appointment elsewhere."

"Y... yeah. I'll be seeing you, new guy," Viktor said with rising panic, then turned and bolted from the card shop. As he ran for the bus stop, he shot past a man with a blue coat, the hood settled on his head. Past that man was a woman who wore goggles on her forehead, and her vivid red hair flowed back over her head.

"What is going on here?" Viktor tried to calm himself down. "Now a Jace and Chandra look-alike... maybe there's a convention going on and I didn't know about? Yeah, that's it... haha..."

The feeling that Viktor didn't belong here intensified, a dreadful feeling that clutched at his stomach like a boa constrictor. Was this all a dream? Was he losing his mind for some reason?

*o*o*o*o*

All the strange things that were happening came to a head a few days later on the weekend. Viktor had had the day to himself, and in the late evening he was walking back home by himself. In the evening twilight, the front lights of a convenience store shone brightly, nearly blinding him. Shielding his eyes, Viktor went inside to find a few things to munch on during the walk back home. He pushed open the glass front doors of the store with his items in hand, but nearly dropped them in surprise when he heard sudden shouting to his left.

"Will you quit following me! I'll call the cops if you don't!" a familiar voice demanded, and Viktor wheeled around to see a person being chased to the back lot of the convenience store by several others, everyone making a mad scramble. Viktor held himself back, heart hammering. Is someone getting mugged? Or attacked? What should I...

"Get outta here!" the victim shouted, and Viktor realized that it belonged to Devin. Dropping his purchases, Viktor hurriedly dialed 911 on his cell phone, informing the police where this event was taking place. As soon as he snapped the phone closed, however, a sudden blow from, behind made him drop the phone.

"You weren't calling the police just now, were ya, kiddo?" a gruff but excited voice said from behind Viktor. The attacker's blow had driven Viktor to the pavement, and he scrambled over to see his attacker, a towering and bulky man with wild hair like animal pelt.

"I-I wasn't -" Viktor sputtered, but the attacker wouldn't listen. The big man seized Viktor by the collar and dragged him over to the other attackers and Devin, against the back wall of the convenience store. There were four other attackers, plus Devin. Viktor realized that Kelly, Ashley, and Makoto were here too, their backs to the wall.

"What do you people want?" Makoto shouted at them.

"We found you wandering around on our turf. Very disrespectful of you," one of the other thugs glowered, his blue and black hoodie hiding his face in the gloom.

"What? Are you some gang? Give me a break," Kelly bit back, until another one of the attackers slapped her.

"You kids had better learn your lesson! You're wandering around trying to interfere with our work, but that ends now!" the thug roared. His jacket was black with red highlights, and his black hair was slicked back. The thugs started to pummel the five kids.

What? This doesn't make sense! What are they doing to us? Viktor winced as he tried to shield himself from the attacks. This is like a bad dream, unless... this is a bad dream. I –

Viktor was sore and frightened from the attacks, but the thugs' next few blows never landed on him. With a heaving grunt, Viktor pushed back, and green and blue energy flared up like magic all around him, taking everyone by surprise.

"What? He shouldn't be able to do that!" one of the thugs, with a white and blue polo and long blond hair, growled. "Kick his ass!"

"Why are you even attacking us?" Viktor growled back.

"Because... because we have to! It's our obligation from our mistress!" the fifth thug stuttered. He wore a green and white striped polo, and now Viktor was starting to see te pattern. Blue and white... red and black... green and white, a gang of five...

"You all are in the way. We have to get rid of you!" the big thug declared, cracking his knuckles. Viktor noted that the shirt under his brown jacket was red and green striped. And hair like an animal pelt, Delta... what? Why did I think Delta? The thug in the lead, with the black and white, Alpha... who?

The leader in the blue and black spat on the pavement. "Forget the talk. Get them!"

"You don't even belong here," Viktor retorted, jabbing an accusing finger at the thug. His mind started to ache as strange memories and past sensations started flooding through his consciousness. He remembered a big black portal... a gigantic medieval city filled with magical beings and feuding guilds... an idyllic countryside inhabited with treefolk and giants... an alternate version of feudal Japan, with spirit beings and rat ninjas and human samurai... what was all that?

"Something's wrong, boss!" the red and green thug cried out as the earth started to shudder and the air started to shimmer and distort. It was as though the world was crumbling apart, and it was because of Viktor's own doubt.

"This world... isn't real. I was forced here, along with my friends..." Viktor muttered tensely, falling to his knees and clutching at his head. His friends rushed to his side, but they could not stop him. He knew that this was Earth, and that he lived here... but not here, on this exact Earth! A dam broke in his mind and the shuddering intensified. The pavement cracked and crumbled, the air seemed to tear at the seams, and reality started to twist inwards, trapping the ten people in a vortex of magic. That's it! My friends and I were warped to the Multiverse when our cards activated some kind of Portal! These thugs... they're Earth versions of the Hunters! Let me see...

"What are your names?" Viktor shouted at the thugs over the calamity.

"H-huh?" the one in the blue and white sputtered.

"Tell me!" Viktor roared back.

"I-I am Aaron," the blue-black one said uncertainly. "What the hell is it to you?"

"I'm Bert," the red-black one said.

"David," the red-green one said.

"Ethan." That was the green-white.

"And I'm George," the blue-white one said. "Why?"

As Viktor's doubt was completed, the vortex started pulling everyone inside like a black hole. A, B, D, E, G... Alpha, Beta, Delta, Epsilon, Gamma! Even their shirt colors match! They're the Hunters! Viktor's eyes widened. Oh! We were fighting on Jund to defeat Alpha and Elena, and Alpha did some reality warp on us to take us away from the battle! My doubt is breaking his hold on reality, though, and I bet Alpha was worn out when he did the reality warp on us. I think...

By now, Viktor was too distorted to think any further, but there was no need. The ten people fell through what seemed like an infinite darkness, and then light and sound flooded Viktor's senses when he tumbled onto the dry, rocky ground of Jund. He groaned and tried to get his bearings back, then shakily staggered up to his feet. The black-white Maelstrom was right there, as was the vampire-spirit Alpha, Elena, and the slumbering Nicol Bolas. The Enslaved army and Planeswalker coalition were still waging war, though it wasn't clear who was winning. Viktor wheeled around and saw his friends there with him, shakily getting to their feet.

Then Viktor blinked his eyes and realized that Alpha was being attacked by Epsilon lunging at him with a sword attack. Viktor could only watch as Alpha and Epsilon struck each other simultaneously, Epsilon sinking his blade into Alpha's gut and Alpha digging his claws into Epsilon's chest. Both Hunters winced and drew back, bleeding onto the ground.

"You're weakening, Alpha!" Elena shouted over, annoyed. "And the children have returned! See? They broke through your warp!"

"What! That cannot be," Alpha hissed, holding a hand to his wound as he turned. He saw Viktor, Ashley, Devin, Kelly, and Makoto right there, and his eyes bugged out. "Impossible!"

"Better believe it," Viktor told him, drawing his stack of cards out of his pocket. "We're back, and we're not happy. Prepare yourself."

"Oh, I will," Alpha glowered, taking a few steps toward Viktor. He didn't notice that Elena took a few steps forward, too.