Magic: the Gathering
Chronicles, Volume 41
The Planeswalkers, or at least the ones who had survived the battle thus far, were all exhausted from their efforts against the Enslaved horde and from pouring their strength into the Mana Detonator, but they still found the energy to raise their heads and witness their strongest peer take the fight to Elena one-on-one. Nicol Bolas now literally held their fate in his huge scaly hands, and this devious, cruel, and powerful dragon was all that stood between Elena and complete domination over the Multiverse. In fact...
Wait, Viktor snorted in amusement and shook his head. Here I am using dramatic words to describe what's going on. I've done all I can, leading my group to destroy the Hunters and gathering the Key Creatures. Now, I let Bolas take over. He continued to watch Bolas charge at the huge, demonic Elena. But then again, look at what's going on! I can't help but get worked up. Get her for me, Bolas!
"Grrreeeaaaaaaagghh!" Nicol Bolas roared, raising his left arm like a shield as he collided with Elena, the two gigantic beings grappling with each other like Sumo wrestlers. Rainbow-colored blasts of mana sparked from their points of collision, each creature being a huge tank of mana and strength. Bolas lowered his head and pressed himself forward, his clawed feet digging into Jund's soil to push his bulk forth. He growled and bared his teeth, refusing to yield. Elena likewise stood staunchly, resisting Bolas with every shred of her formidable, Maelstrom-enhanced strength. However, a look of fear crossed her demonic face as Bolas' right arm inched closer to her gut, the Mana Detonator spitting sparks in his palm.
"You... won't touch me... with that!" Elena gritted, then slammed aside Bolas' left arm and grabbed his right wrist, bashing into Bolas and sending the scaly dragon tumbling to the ground, his right hand falling away from its target. Elena planted a foot on Nicol Bolas' chest, trying to crush him while he was still down.
"Bolas!" Ashley cried in concern for the Elder Dragon, but Bolas wasn't done just yet. With a hiss, he grabbed Elena's ankle and threw her over himself and sent her crashing onto the ground next to him, giving him a chance to scramble back to his clawed feet. He extended his hand with the Mana Detonator and lurched forth, a little wobbly. "Stand still, pest!" he thundered, but Elena pushed off the ground and clamored to her feet, her left hand flashing forward. Bolas was faster, and he spun around, his long tail whipping her hand aside and leaving her open. He lunged to slam the Mana Detonator onto Elena's body, and was defied yet again when her other hand flashed forth and her claws tore into Bolas' scaly skin.
Bright red blood gushed from Nicol Bolas' wound, alarming Viktor and the Planeswalkers who watched. The Elder Dragon clenched his jaw against crying out, stumbling against the wound as Elena's claws tried to dig deeper into his flesh.
"Give up, lizard! You can't possibly destroy me!" Elena shouted in glee.
"I... am... an Elder Dragon!" Bolas grated back, twisting away and swatting her arm away, blood dribbling down his heaving chest. "And you are an abomination!"
"Now that's not very nice," Elena taunted him, then charged at her wounded foe again. Nicol Bolas knocked aside one of Elena's arms and head-butted her, his twin horns scraping against her shoulder and tearing into her skin and flesh. Elena shook her head against the pain and sprouted a number of thorny tentacles from her chest, using her boundless bodily transformation to aid her. Bolas saw the tentacles coming and tumbled out of the way, allowing the tentacles to gouge into the ground instead. Conjuring dark purple and red mana onto his left paw, Bolas slashed at the taut tentacles, slicing several of them right in half. Elena howled and extended her right hand, growing a wide mouth onto her palm. The mouth opened wide and exhaled, spewing a cloud of red spores at Bolas.
"You're as disgusting as you are ingenious with your body, Defiled One," Bolas admitted, but he wasn't done yet. He slashed a paw through the air and flung a cloud of dark blue mana wisps, bursting the spores before they could reach him. Then, while keeping his right arm raised, Bolas opened his mouth and fired a thin red beam of mana at Elena, striking her near the heart, the beam boring into her body.
Elena staggered back, grimacing against the hot beam drilling into her chest. Plumbing the depths of her body-shifting, she hardened her chest's skin into brown plated scales, defying Bolas' red beam. The beam scorched against the plates and generated smoke, but didn't seem to make any progress. Growling in impatience, Bolas lunged at her again, but Elena raised a hand and smacked his head aside, making him lose his balance.
"Damn it. This is going to take forever!" Devin cursed, clenching his fists as he watched the two titans struggle against each other.
"I've never seen a battle this huge, this intense," Kelly said, ignoring him as she stared in awe at the fighters. "This is on a whole different level than anything we've done before."
"Yeah, no kidding," Viktor added, gaping. Makoto was equally impressed, but Devin was getting antsy.
"Perish!" Nicol Bolas demanded, infusing his left claws with black mana and gouging against Elena's plated chest. Her armor started to chip under his heavy blows, yet he was playing into her hands. Another thorny tentacle shot out from a destroyed plate and burrowed into Bolas' chest, gouging into his flesh. Grinning widely, Elena sent a bolt of multi-colored mana through the tentacle, coursing through Bolas' body and ravaging it from the inside, smoke coming from his scales. In agonized defiance, Bolas tore at Elena again with his left hand's claws, aggravating her wounds. Bolas was losing his strength, however, and his arms sagged, especially his right one, the one that bore the dense Mana Detonator. It fell to Bolas' side, far away from its target.
"D... die, creature!" Bolas growled in Elena's face, stubborn as ever.
"You die, lizard!" Elena spat back, and neither exhausted titan yielded to the other, but Elena had the advantage as long as Nicol Bolas couldn't hit her with the Mana Detonator. Finally, Devin had had enough.
"Hey. What are you doing?" Makoto yelped in surprise as Devin raised a card and cast his Volcanic Dragon, the beast's scales glowing with volcanic heat. Devin climbed onto the Dragon's back, looking down at his friends with a somber expression.
"Nicol Bolas might lose at this rate if something doesn't happen! I'm going up there to help set off that Mana Detonator no matter what."
Viktor's stomach clenched. "What? No! Get down from there, Devin! This isn't..."
"Earth is lost unless Elena is stopped, and we're nearly out of time," Devin shouted back over the din of Bolas and Elena grappling with each other. "I want to be useful here! I'm giving Bolas the helping hand he needs, right now."
"You're crazy! By yourself?" Viktor argued, gesturing.
"I've got wings, Viktor. Bolas needs the help, and I don't want anyone taking a risk in this battle."
Viktor shook his head, making up his mind. "No, Devin. You won't do this, all right?"
Devin looked shocked and confused. "But... how else can we get this done? I'm willing to take this risk and help out Nicol Bolas."
Viktor grinned up at his good friend, raising a card to eye level. "Come on, Devin. You think I'm not willing to take this risk? You think none of us are?"
"H-huh? Viktor..."
With a flash of bright blue mana, Viktor cast his Oakenform on the Volcanic Dragon, reinforcing the scaly beast with wooden armor. "If you're going, so am I. I've led us this far, right? My grandfather, Georgi, or Bardon if you will, helped make us into a fighting team capable of saving the Multiverse and our own world. Don't you think I deserve a shot, too?"
Devin was moved to tears, almost comical. He wiped his eyes on his sleeves. "O-of course, Viktor." He returned Viktor's wide grin. "Room for more, old pal. Ready to do some world saving?"
"I am," Viktor nodded firmly, and the Volcanic Dragon knelt to allow Viktor to climb on. Before he got on board the dragon, Viktor turned and extended his hand to Ashley. "You too, Ash."
"M-m-me?" Ashley yelped, flicking her eyes at the titanic struggle between Nicol Bolas and Elena.
"We need your protective magic, Ashley," Viktor told her gently, looking into her eyes. "You have a heart of gold, you know, and selfless resolve. But now, I need you to muster the battle courage I know you have, and help Devin and I take down Elena for good. Will you join me?"
Ashley's lip trembled, then she nodded, tossing her blonde hair. "Yeah. I will, Viktor! Make room on that dragon for me."
Viktor looked over at Kelly, who was watching her younger sister volunteer to risk her life to save Earth and the Multiverse. Kelly locked gazes with Viktor. "Vik, you'd better know what you're doing," she told him sternly. "Makoto and I will stay here, but... you bring back my sister in good health, okay? I'll never forgive you if anything were to happen to her. Or... to any of you."
Viktor managed a smile. "Don't sweat it, Kelly. We'll be back before you know it, okay?"
"Yeah," Kelly agreed, returning his smile. "And by the way, Viktor?"
"Huh?"
"That little speech to Ashley... you know how to say the corniest things."
At her words, Viktor winced, but it was no big deal. "One last thing, Kelly."
"What is it?"
"Earlier, before we left Bant, I told you I wanted us to spend some time together back on Earth when this is all over. Well... I'm keeping my word on that. I won't die here and let you down, understand?"
Epsilon, who was standing nearby, only scratched his head, not understanding. Kelly, meanwhile, blushed and tried to resist a smile. "I know, Viktor, and I'm looking forward to it. Enough silly stuff and get going, okay?"
Viktor jolted, suddenly aware of how much he was stalling. "R-right. Epsilon, Makoto, Kelly, I'm off."
Makoto nodded tersely, silently hoping for Viktor's success. He and the others watched Viktor help Ashley onto the back of Devin's Volcanic Dragon, and then the Dragon soar higher into the sky to Elena and Bolas.
Viktor resisted the urge to shout to Nicol Bolas as he drew closer to the Planeswalker dragon, but instead let Devin guide his Volcanic Dragon to Bolas' right hand where the Mana Detonator was. He had to squint as he got close to the bright, intense orb of mana in Nicol Bolas' clawed hand, the winds from the sphere buffeting him.
"Children! What is this?" Bolas demanded feebly, looking down at Devin's Volcanic Dragon by his right hand with the three kids on its back. The Elder Dragon and Elena were both injured and exhausted, but neither could finish their fight and unless Elena was destroyed now, her Enslaved horde could destroy all of Earth.
"Getting this Detonator onto Elena no matter what," Devin told Bolas, focusing the last of his red and green mana onto his skin to pick up the Mana Detonator. "We're going to help you finish this, Bolas. Cover us, would you?"
"Very well," Nicol Bolas agreed, and Devin gingerly took hold of the Detonator and held it to his side, making sure it was secure. Viktor accepted it from him, using both hands to keep a tight grip on the super-charged orb of Planeswalker mana.
"Okay. I'm going over to Elena! Cover me!" Devin called up to Nicol Bolas.
"You already said that, ape! But I will protect you," Bolas growled, and he pushed against Elena again to keep her occupied as Devin's dragon swooped over to her.
"What do the children think they is doing?" Elena laughed. "Nothing can hurt me! Least of all your little friends, Bolas!"
She bashed herself against Bolas, her claws digging into him and her face pushed close to his. Nicol Bolas welled up his remaining energy and released a burst of blue, black, and red mana that sent Elena stumbling back, stunned. Devin guided his Volcanic Dragon over Elena's head, then had the dragon settle onto her demonic head and disembarked, Viktor and Ashley right behind him. Viktor and the others knelt on Elena's scalp, carefully lowering the Mana Detonator toward her skin. He focused his blue and green mana, using it to anchor himself onto Elena's skin.
"Get off of me, whelps!" Elena cried, but before she could do anything Nicol Bolas dug his claws into her side, sending pale blue lightning into her, stunning her body.
"Hold still, now," Bolas huffed from exhaustion, staring Elena in the eye as Devin and Ashley helped Viktor secure the Mana Detonator. Devin pressed his hands onto the Detonator with his green and red mana, as did Ashley with her blue and white. The Detonator was firmly latched onto Elena's skin and started to change colors as it began the detonation sequence.
"No! Nooooooooooo!" Elena howled, trying to resist the weakened Bolas to free herself from her doom. Bolas hung on tight, refusing to yield while the Detonator drew closer to going off. He was weakening, though, and Elena's struggles started to grow more violent and powerful. Viktor felt himself starting to grow faint from the energy required to stay on Elena's skin, but the Mana Detonator would fall off and be useless otherwise. Instead, he focused on the mana orb before him, watching it change colors as it drew close to going off. However, Devin and Ashley were growing tired too, and Viktor knew that he and the others, and even the Mana Detonator, would be thrown off of Elena's head by her thrashing if he didn't do something fast.
"Vine Trellis!" Viktor commanded, casting what he figured would be his last card spell in the Multiverse. At once, a rush of thick leafy vines sprouted from his card, enveloping the Mana Detonator just before Elena's newest twitch broke it off. Quick to imitate him, Devin cast his Entangling Vines to reinforce Viktor's Vine Trellis, and Ashley's Curse of Chains finished the job.
"Now! W-we've got to get out of here!" Viktor stuttered from exhaustion as he rose to his feet, wobbling in place. Gah! I'm too tired from the battle and from doing all this to keep going! He gulped, hoping he didn't faint. Fortunately, Devin and Ashley were willing to help, boosting him onto the Volcanic Dragon's back and then joining him. Viktor looked over at the Mana Detonator, and it glowed brightly even through all the magical binds holding it down. By its intensity and pulsations, Viktor guessed that he had only seconds to flee.
"Come on! Let's go!" Viktor urged Devin, and he didn't need telling twice. Devin shouted a command to his Volcanic Dragon, and the obedient beast pushed off Elena's head and pumped its wings has hard as it could, taking to the skies. Viktor heard the final pulse of the Mana Detonator, and then the air started to heat up...
A bright flash was the first sign that Kelly, Makoto, and Epsilon saw that the Mana Detonator went off, a flash that blinded everyone on Jund. Then, the very air seemed to shatter as a sphere of molten, five-colored mana expanded from Elena's head, washing over everything within reach. Nicol Bolas released his paralyzing grip on Elena and pumped his wings with the last of his strength, rushing backwards as fast as he could. Luckily for him, he got clear of the worst of the detonation, and the shock wave from the explosion helped propel him further away. He tumbled across Jund's rocky soil, coming to a halt near the other Planswalkers.
Unluckily for Elena, she had no escape. The Mana Detonator was successfully set off right on her head, and the expanding cloud of seething destructive mana vaporized her instantly, not even giving her a chance to cry out as she was obliterated beyond physical substance. The cloud of mana expanded a little more, then lost its potency and collapsed, forming a huge cloud of multi-colored haze that hung in the air like an aurora. Through the mist, there was nothing left to indicate that there had ever been an Elena – or Devin's dragon. Only Nicol Bolas was left visible, lying on the ground near the Planeswalkers.
"Oh no... did they... did they not make it in time?" Kelly whispered, falling to her knees as she gaped at the misty fog that refused to yield any sign of her friends. She reached out with her magic power, trying to detect Viktor's or Devin's or Ashley's mana auras, but she felt nothing. Her lip trembled as the death of her sister started to weigh in on her mind. Epsilon stood silently as Makoto knelt by Kelly, trying to comfort his friend. "Kelly, it's okay, they're bound to just be hidden by the mist..."
"I-I can't detect them at all. I saw th-their dragon, and it didn't get far away enough from the b-blast radius!" Kelly wailed as tears started to fall down her cheeks. "N-no, they... Ashley..."
Makoto turned back to stare up at the huge cloud of multi-colored mana, then blinked when he thought he saw something red flash through it. Was that my imagination, or...? His heart leaped when he saw the object burst out of the mana cloud. It is! They made it! "Kelly! Look!"
Devin's Volcanic Dragon emerged from the cloud of mana left over from the Mana Detonator, the beast's scales not even singed from the terrific supernatural explosion that had taken place. Each of its three riders looked ragged and tired, but otherwise unhurt. In Ashley's hand, she still gripped the card that she had just used: Turn to Mists.
"They're okay! They're okay, Makoto!" Kelly exclaimed, strength returning to her brain and limbs as she leaped back up to her feet, exuberant. She shook Makoto's shoulder, hysterical. "They made it alive, Makoto! Look!"
"I know! I saw them first and then told you to look!" Makoto sputtered indignantly, but he couldn't help a wide smile that his three friends had survived the final battle against Elena, the Defiled One. The Volcanic Dragon circled around the sky like a vulture, then angled down to the ground and settled by its riders' friends, allowing its riders to disembark.
"Ashley! Viktor! Everyone!" Kelly cried, embracing her sister in a tight hug.
"Pretty great stuff, wasn't it?" Devin boasted with a wide grin, waving hello. To Viktor, me muttered, "She didn't say my name."
"But by 'everyone', that includes you, man," Viktor muttered back, then took his turn for a Kelly hug. "See, Kelly? I made it back okay."
"But how did you all make it?" Kelly asked in wonder, her gaze darting among the three survivors. The Volcanic Dragon yawned widely, then settled down to slumber.
For an answer, Ashley held up her Turn to Mists card. "Give me some credit, sis! I just turned the dragon and us three into mist! Easy! Though I needed a mana boost from Viktor and Devin to manage it."
"Nothin' to it," Viktor nodded, then settled down to sit cross-legged to avoid falling over from exhaustion. "It's done. Elena's gone."
"Indeed she is. Her evil aura is impossible to mistake, or to hide," Nicol Bolas added, lurching over to the kids, his fierce eyes dancing in their sockets. "She is absolutely gone, at last. The foul human who thought she had a right to rule all of existence... has been obliterated."
"Okay, we get it, we get it," Devin cried, but Gerbie squirmed out of Ashley's pocket and leaped through the air, hanging onto Nicol Bolas' scaly nose.
"Hey hey hey, big guy! You were pretty good back there, too! I was watching, you know, that was some prime-time entertainment," the little Simic gerbil squeaked, fearless against Bolas. "Do it again!"
"Elena is gone, and so will you be if you don't get off, pest!" Bolas thundered, and Gerbie chirped and leaped off him and landed on Ashley's head.
"Holy moley, fine," Gerbie said defensively, giving Bolas a reproachful look with his beady rodent eyes. "I was just saying..."
Now Ike emerged, poking out of Viktor's pocket. "Duuuuuuuude. He's never going to change, man," the little gerbil commented, until Viktor pushed him back into the pocket. "Well, neither have you, little friend."
"Hey! Look!" Kelly exclaimed, pointing at the sky. Everyone turned to see what she was making a big fuss about: Elena's purple portals to Earth, the gateways her Enslaved creatures had taken to reach the planet. Through the portals, everyone could see the Enslaved creatures halt their rampage and start to squirm, crying out and struggling as though they were all choking. As Viktor watched, the creatures started to crumble to ashes, falling apart and scattering their ashes everywhere. Every creature on Earth succumbed, even their ashes vaporizing into nothingness. After that, the portals themselves started to waver and crackle, losing their cohesion and collapsing. Each one fell onto itself, shutting off the view of the creature-liberated Earth one by one. When the last portal vanished, there was truly nothing left of Elena's attempt to conquer the Multiverse and destroy Earth.
"It looks like destroying Elena really did solve all our problems," said a new voice, and Elspeth Tirel joined the group, having walked over from the Planeswalker circle. Viktor looked up at the armor-clad Planeswalker lady knight, and also saw that the other Planeswalkers had risen and were approaching the kids as a group.
Elspeth stopped before Viktor, her hood down and her expression tired and stern. Viktor staggered to his feet to meet her eye to eye, but felt nervous until Elspeth broke into a wide smile.
"We have won, child! Rejoice, for we are saved! Actually..." Elspeth walked forward and clapped her hands on Viktor's shoulders, giving them a tight squeeze. "No. No children could accomplish what you did today. You all are fine men and women, due the greatest respect us Planeswalkers can offer."
His anger rumbling like a thunderhead, Nicol Bolas snaked his huge horned head close to the scene, his orange eyes flaring his indignation. "Did your senses fail you, Elspeth? Did you not witness what I have done?" Bolas waved a scaly paw. "These children would have been turned to vapor if not for my efforts."
"He's the same as ever," Elspeth muttered, then waved a hand in return. "Yes, Bolas, you are due as much credit as can be given. Your return to strength proved instrumental in bringing about the Defiled One's downfall."
"That is a little better," Bolas humphed, backing away. He twitched his voluminous wings. "Now, I am tired, and have much to think about. I will go to my private sanctuary for some time. This is farewell, children."
With that, the Elder Dragon Planeswalker vanished in a flash of blue and purple mana, leaving a huge void where he had stood. Viktor found himself already missing Nicol Bolas, even though that dragon was self-centered, thankless, and brutal beyond compare. At least he had helped defeat Elena, though Viktor figured that Bolas would get around to his own schemes sooner or later while the Multiverse was still rebuilding from the war against Elena's Enslaved horde. Well, that's just how it goes, I guess. The Multiverse is set back on track with Elena gone, and there's bound to be new battles to fight, new rivalries, new everything. I wonder if the Phyrexians will restart their invasion of Mirrodin, and if the armies of each shard of Alara will wage war like in the cards?
"You seem thoughtful," Elspeth observed, her eyes on Viktor. He jumped, shaking his head. "It's nothing. I'm just glad we all made it out alive. At the very end there, I wondered if Devin and Ashley and I would escape the Mana Detonator in time."
"Dummy, of course I would make sure we got out of there safely," Ashley winked with a smile. Viktor returned the smile. "Sorry. Just the fatigue talking."
The other Planeswalkers arrived by now, ranging from the battle-weary Ajani Goldmane to the excited-looking Sorin Markov all the way to a passive-looking Karn. Chandra, for one, wasn't about to settle down just yet.
"Hey! Where'd Sarkhan Vol go? He ain't the type to get his butt kicked from a little battle like the one we fought!" the flaming Planeswalker demanded, looking around with a hand shading her eyes.
"Little battle?" Nissa muttered, annoyed.
"Well? Where'd he go? He wasn't there when we all made the Mana Detonator! I wanna know where he went!" Chandra persisted, irritating everyone here even though most of them also wondered about Sarkhan's absence. Viktor hurried to explain it to her. "One of Elena's minions, Alpha, warped Sarkhan through time and space back to his home Plane at the moment of his birth."
There was mingled awe, indignation, and relief from the Planeswalkers. "I never liked that boy, to be honest," an elderly Mirran Planeswalker mumbled, clad in platinum armor from head to foot, and his nearest peer agreed. Chandra did a double-take. "He's a baby again? What?"
"We don't need to stand around yakking about, you know," Garruk shouldered his way past the other Planeswalkers to address Viktor and the others. He looked impatient, his face visible due to his helmet being destroyed in the battle. "Someone ought to go get Sarkhan back, and the rest of us can get back to Bant, out stronghold. King Teramont will want to know about this."
"I'll do it," Elspeth volunteered, tapping the hilt of her sheathed sword. "Go on without me, everyone. I'll join you at Castle Haraven with Sarkhan."
"Then let's go. I'm simply famished after fighting so hard," Sorin said with a hungry gleam in his eyes, flashing his vampire fangs. Viktor dreaded to know exactly how Sorin would sate that hunger, but all the same, he and his friends allowed themselves to be taken with the Planeswalkers to Bant. Their Key Creature cards were deplete of power, so Tohru used one of his magic innovations to extend the group Planeswalk to the five kids and Epsilon, and the crowd was warped away from war-torn Jund to the kingdoms of Bant.
*o*o*o*o*
"I said I don't want to eat that! It looks gross!" Ashley complained yet again as Devin tried to offer her a strange platter of unidentifiable food at the celebration banquet in Castle Haraven. Every human-sized Planeswalker was here along with Viktor and his friends and Epsilon, chowing down in the castle's enormous dining hall. Live bands, magical light shows, endless great food, and the sweet taste of victory ran strong in the hall, making it a night to remember.
Devin couldn't stop grinning as he set down the plate. "Oh, fine. I think this stuff is meant for Viashino to eat anyway, not humans."
"What? Viashino? Who would eat their food?" Makoto wondered, squinting suspiciously at the twisted, charred animal flesh on the platter. As an answer, a Viashino Planeswalker down the table hissed at the kids, annoyed that the kids were making fun of Viashino cuisine. The lizard-man was clad in his battle-armor even at the dinner table, but no one made a fuss about it. Meanwhile, Devin had something else to offer Ashley.
"Well, you'll like this plate, then," he said, reaching out with both if his arms. The medical Planeswalkers had at last found a way to restore his missing arm to its original state, and he was fully enjoying having it back. Devin picked up a small platter and set it in front of Ashley. "Here you go!" On the platter was Gerbie, lying down on a bed of vegetables and with a cherry propping open his mouth like a miniature stuffed pig.
"Gerbie! No!" Ashley shrieked, clapping her hands over her mouth in horror at the fate of her gerbil pet. Then, Gerbie got up, chewing the cherry and swallowing it. "Chill out, Ash. I was only pretending! Pretty good, huh?"
"You scared me!" Ashley trembled, picking up her pet and holding him close. "That's not funny."
Gerbie peered up at her with a gleam in his eyes. "Oh come on, you thought it was."
"Well... yes," Ashley couldn't help a smile. "Little Gerbie lying down with a cherry. Did it taste good?"
"Not as good as the Proto-Plasmid-Nutrient-Converter cherries in the Simic vats, but it was pretty tasty," Gerbie said, smacking his lips. "How are you holding up, Ash?"
"Whew. I haven't eaten this much in a long time," she admitted, propping her elbow on the table and leaning on her hand, her eyelids drooping. "I'm tired."
"Yeah. Nighty-night," Gerbie said simply, then settled down on the wooden table's surface and fell right asleep.
Near the end of the banquet, King Teramont stood up, bringing silence to the hall. He straightened his robes, then spoke. "Everyone, for some time you have risked your lives and given it your all to resist the spread of Elena the Defiled One, and I ceaselessly provided you my castle and my army as a sanctuary during your selfless struggles. I daresay that this is a victory for all of us."
Everyone spoke their agreement, and when Teramont had silence he continued, "Each one of you is a hero, valiant Planeswalkers, but this victory could not have been achieved without the heroics of five young adults from a Plane they call Earth. People of Earth, will you stand?"
He sure uses flowery language, Viktor thought with a wry grin, but he and his friends stood up and were acknowledged by thunderous clapping and cheering. They stood back down, Viktor trying not to feel embarrassed.
"And, one other being is here today who should be noted," Teramont added. "A being whom we thought a roach to be destroyed, but proved to have a just heart and lent us invaluable assistance. I speak of none other than Epsilon, the Hunter who saw the light of reason and abandoned his foul master to join our ranks. His Azorius army proved essential to helping defeat Elena's mindless hordes, and for this contribution, we owe him our thanks. Give your salutations to Epsilon, good men and women."
Epsilon blinked and looked abashed as everyone turned to him and filled the hall with applause for their former enemy. Several of his plant warriors stood behind him, and to everyone's amusement, the plant warriors each took a bow to the applause.
"I didn't even know they could do that," Makoto commented.
"The Multiverse will never run out of mysteries for us, I bet," Viktor shrugged. "Even though we're leaving soon."
"We are? Man. This place was so much fun," Devin sighed, drumming his fingers on the table. "Even though we nearly died a bunch of times. But it was still fun!"
"As long as you enjoyed it," Kelly winked.
*o*o*o*o*
"Are you ready, Viktor? This is it, after all."
"Yes, grandfather. I've said goodbye to everyone I wanted to," Viktor said with slight exasperation in his private quarters that evening, his friends in tow. Gerbie and Ike were present, too, ready to take a one-way trip to Earth. As proven by earlier returns to Earth, both Gerbie and Ike could live comfortably there, unlike any other living things from the Multiverse. Gerbie had explained, rather belatedly, that every Simic Gerbil Pet had a self-contained mana-generating layer of cells under their skin, allowing them to survive anywhere as long as they ate food and drank water, which Earth certainly had. Plus, Ike had added one more rather interesting fact about the Simic Gerbil Pets: they lived for a hundred years.
"So, we're really not going to see this place again, are we?" Devin commented sadly, looking around the room. He peered outside the window at Bant's evening landscape, dotted with Rhox monk monasteries, training fields for knights, neatly-tended gardens, and tombs for famous knights and kings of the past. A pair of Aven warriors drifted across the darkening sky, their wings flapping regularly.
"Don't think of it that way, Devin," Georgi reprimanded him with a wave of the finger. He had his middle-aged Bardon appearance right now, but he would change back to the elderly Georgi Dimitrov back on Earth. "Better to think of this as a time to remember all the fantastic and wonderful things you saw and did in this realm, aside from the strenuous battles against Elena's minions. From Ravnica's urban spires to Kamigawa's beautiful temples to Lorwyn's idyllic countryside to Zendikar's exotic wilderness, you saw many things no one on Earth will ever know."
Devin looked moved. "Y-yeah, that's right." He pushed his hands into his pockets, grinning widely. "You're right, Georgi. I was one lucky dude to see all that great stuff. Thanks for bringing us along."
"And giving us a chance to save not only our home planet, but this wonderful realm, too," Kelly added. "At first, I resented being dragged into a magical war, but it was a learning experience, and we pulled through okay. I'm closer to all of my friends than I've ever been."
She spread her arms, resting them on the shoulders of her four friends. "I love you guys."
"Same here, baby!" Gerbie chirped, giving everyone a good laugh. The group broke up and Georgi produced his Pallida Mors card, one of the Elder Dragons and Nicol Bolas' ancient peer. With this card, he could warp himself and the five kids (and two gerbils) back to Earth on a one-way warp, back to the lives they had always known. Before they started, however, there was a knock on the wooden door.
"Who is it?" Viktor asked, approaching the wooden door and swinging it open. Both Elspeth and Epsilon entered the room, with Elspeth carrying a dark-haired infant in her arms in light blue blankets.
"Good evening," Elspeth greeted warmly, as she and Epsilon closed the door behind them. "I wanted to give one more farewell to you all, a personal one." She bowed her head. "By the grace of all the heavens, I give unto you all my deepest gratitude for all you have done for me, and for the Multiverse as a whole. The Planeswalkers will honor your names for all time, and never forget your heroic deeds no matter how much time shall come to pass."
She raised her head again, her eyes bright. Devin scratched the back of his head, and Makoto looked bashful. "Th-thanks for that, Elspeth," Makoto thanked her. He pointed. "By the way, who's baby is that?"
"You must have forgotten about this, but I do not blame you. You have been through a lot recently," Elspeth smiled, raising the baby a little higher. The young one looked at all the kids with curious eyes, then inexplicably, raised a hand in greeting. Viktor waved back, getting the feeling that this was no ordinary baby.
"This is no child of mine," Elspeth explained. "In my arms, I carry my peer, Sarkhan Vol. Remember that he was warped through reality by Alpha's strange powers? At least, that is what you told me. I was not present to witness it."
Memory flooded back to Viktor's mind, with Sarkhan getting enveloped by Alpha's wicked blue and black magic and taken though time and space to somewhere he couldn't fight Elena. "Oh yeah. That is him, isn't it?"
"What are you going to do with him?" Ashley asked.
"He was a man of wild savagery," Elspeth admitted. "Now, I will raise him here on Bant as a child of the warrior caste, to be a man of honor, discipline, and courage. His inner fire will not be extinguished, just... channeled to something more productive."
"They should make a new card for a Bant-Sarkhan," Devin grinned, his gaze growing distant as he tried to visualize such a thing. "Um, he'd be called Sarkhan the Knight... converted mana cost two and a green and white...his first ability should cost -1 loyalty counters and be..."
Elspeth looked rather confused, and Kelly quickly elbowed Devin in the side to shut him up. "Best of luck with that, Elspeth," she smiled.
"I will," she nodded, backing up. Epsilon stepped forth, clad in his usual gold and green armor and furs, the same clothing he had worn since the beginning of the war against Elena. His ivory sword was sheathed at his belt, and his eyes were intent. He stood before Viktor and extended his hand.
"Viktor, hero from Earth... I thank you, and your friends, for all you have done for me," he said seriously. "I was condemned to the will of the Defiled One until I saw the light, and was given a chance to shine and fight for justice because of your grace and trust. For that, I am eternally grateful, and find myself in a debt I can never repay."
Viktor accepted Epsilon's hand and shook it, then his face broke into a smile, unable to help a laugh. Epsilon looked taken aback. "What is it?"
"You don't have to be too serious about it, Epsilon," Viktor shook the Hunter's hand more vigorously. It occurred to him that Epsilon was the last of his kind, but was not alone anymore. He had a whole Multiverse friendly to him. "Relax, why don't you? This is a time to be happy."
"It... indeed it is! Thank you again," Epsilon beamed, sharing Viktor's laugh. "I will make Bant my new home, a place of justice and light. I think I'll like it here."
"You most certainly will," Elspeth encouraged him. With that, the Planeswalker and Hunter exited the room, already in discussion about life on Bant. Viktor closed the door again, turning to face his grandfather. "Such nice people we've come to know."
"Another thing to remember fondly, I say," Georgi beamed, holding up his Pallida Mors card. "Now...?"
Viktor nodded and joined his friends in standing in a circle around Georgi, as scarlet, emerald green, and bright white light flared from the card. The light expanded around the group, and with a flash of light, they vanished, leaving the castle room empty behind them.
*o*o*o*o*
A/N: Just one more chapter to go!