Trials of a Planeswalker Ch. 01: Rising

Her eyes fell on Blayne and she screamed loudly. She rushed at him with both blood lust and fear in her eyes. He leapt up, knocking his chair back. Magic flared in his fists and he met this strange woman head on. He wrapped his hand in powerful telekinetic magic and grabbed her sword with his bare palm. His other rushed towards her stomach with a fist covered in flame.

She jerked back and bright purple glowed from her dark eyes. A loud, ear-piercing scream fill the room and a specter blacker than night surged up between them, wrapping itself protectively around the woman. Blayne shook his head and held up his fists, lightning crackling around them.

"Look, don't do this. I don't know who you are, but this is not the place for a fight." Blayne called to her as she took a fighting stance with her sword raised.

"Where am I? Where did those bastards send me? I demand answers!" The woman yelled.

"You're on Earth! In my sister's home in New York. If you just calm down, we can sit down and talk." Blayne said, slowly lowering his fists.

"Alright. But any tricks and I flay you both." The woman said, warily lowering her own weapon.

"I'm Blayne. What's your name?" Blayne asked.

"I'm Varia. Where on Innistrad is 'Earth'?" She asked warily.

"Innistrad? Varia, I don't think you're on Innistrad anymore. Come sit down." Blayne said, picking his chair back up and pulling out a chair for her, "Would you like something to eat?"

"No. What do you mean I'm not on Innistrad? Where have you taken me?" Varia asked suspiciously as she stood next to the chair Blayne had pulled out.

"Take a seat and we can talk. I don't want to fight you and my sister doesn't know any magic. She's an innocent bystander, I don't want her harmed." Blayne said, "Listen, I think you're a Planeswalker."

"A what?" Varia crossed her arms and reluctantly took a seat.

"A wizard capable of moving between worlds. Tell me, what do you remember last?" Blayne asked her.

"I was defending an outpost against a Vampire attack. I may use black mana, but that doesn't mean I side with those blood suckers. They were overrunning us and I was fighting... one of them lunged me and... I was stabbed." Varia said, looking down at her side.

She put a finger against a slit in her armor. Her eyes widened as a shock of pain stabbed through the adrenaline. She gasped and put a hand against it, gripping the table for support. Her sword clattered to the floor.

"Blayne! She's hurt!" Robin cried.

"Call an ambulance. Hurry!" Blayne exclaimed.

"Wh... what... what's going on?" Varia stuttered, her face paling as the pain overtook her.

"Stay still. I need to get this leather off you. I can't have the ambulance taking away a woman in leather armor." Blayne said, reaching for the buckles under her arm.

Black magic surged around her fist and she grabbed Blayne's throat.

"You're with them! You're trying to kill me!" She cried, purple light flaring from her eyes.

Blayne grabbed her hand and he felt an unnatural cold start to pour over him.

"Blayne!" Robin cried in fear, rushing over, "No! Let him go! Let him go!"

She grabbed a pan off the stove and swung it at Varia. It hit her head with a loud clang and she stopped. Her hand slackened and her eyes drooped. She slumped to the side and fell on the floor.

"Th... thanks sis." Blayne sighed, "Come on, call the ambulance."

"What. Blayne, she tried to kill you!" Robin cried.

"Sis! I know what it's like to be on a strange world all alone. She's scared. She's injured! I'm not going to just leave her. Call the ambulance." Blayne exclaimed, "Please, Robin, trust me."

"Alright." Robin nodded and she set down the frying pan to pick up the phone.

Blayne worked quickly, undoing the buckles on her leather armor. He undid it and pulled it gently off her. Blood soaked her side from where she had been stabbed. The clothing she was wearing underneath was actually one single piece. It looked like a full-length black dress that had been trimmed around the hips and cut up to the knee. He examined the cut and was terrified to see how much blood was bubbling from it. He summoned a small amount of red mana and pressed his fingers to it. Her skin burned and the flesh soldered together, a terrible smell permeating the room. The blood stopped and he sighed. It wasn't a good fix, but it would keep her from bleeding out.

"They're on their way. They said to keep her as immobile as possible, in case if she had internal injuries." Robin said.

"What did you tell them?" Blayne asked, glancing up at her.

"Mugging." Robin said.

"Alright, we can work with that. I'm going to take her downstairs. You clean this up." Blayne said, lifting Varia's lithe body in his arms.

"But they said..." Robin started.

"Robin, people don't get mugged in an apartment. She needs to at least be down in the lobby so she might've gotten mugged outside and stumbled in, where I found her and treated her wound with a lighter or something." Blayne said, hurrying out the door.

*******

Blayne sat outside the emergency room at New York General. Luckily enough the security cameras had been destroyed and eye witnesses had claimed him to be a gray-haired old wizard, so nobody paid him any mind. There had also been comments that it had been a mad bombing terrorist in crazy clothes. Blayne at least had the sense to ditch his Izzet Clothing and borrow some of Robin's boyfriend's clothes that he had left at her house, just jeans and a shirt.

"Are you family of the woman in surgery?" A doctor asked him.

"What? Yes! Yes, I am." Blayne jerked up, rubbing the sleep from his eyes.

"Alright. Well she had internal lacerations, severe bleeding and a minor concussion. She's going to be okay now, but she has to remain here at the hospital for a time." The doctor said, "I will show you to her room."

"Thank you doctor." Blayne yawned as he stood up.

"So I heard she was mugged. I hear that entirely too often in here. It's really a tragedy how many people have to turn to crime to survive." The doctor said, "So she'll need to remain in bed for a day or more because of the internal injury. Whatever she as stabbed with had cut her clean through. It was very close to her spine. She will be weak, but she should make a full recovery."

"That's good news. I'm glad to hear that." Blayne sighed, stuffing his hands in his pockets.

"Here you go. She'll be out of post-op in just a few minutes." The doctor pointed him to a room down the hall.

Blayne nodded and headed down into the room. He took a seat and sighed. His sister had cleaned the apartment and she was feeling good enough to go back to work after seeing Blayne again. Varia had been in surgery for three hours now and it was getting to be later in the afternoon. Admittedly Blayne and Robin had woken up late though.

A nurse pushed Varia's bed into the room and flitted about for a bit, making sure everything was in order. Once she was gone Blayne tugged himself over next to her bed and looked down at her. She didn't look any older than Blayne and she seemed so fragile while she slept. Her hair was loose about her shoulders and her face looked soft without those silver glasses. They were folded and set on the table on the other side of the room.

The bright hospital gown was an abstract difference to how she first appeared, dark clothing and leather. If he didn't know any better, he would guess she was just a normal college girl.

"Ohhh..." She moaned as her head turned.

He watched as those dark eyes opened and slowly took in the room around her. She was slow to recognizing her surroundings and it took her a moment to glance over at Blayne.

"Hello there. Not a good thing to start fighting someone when you're hyped up on adrenaline and you're slowly bleeding out." Blayne said, "But you're alright now. The doctors here fixed you up fine."

"Ugh... what the hell did you do to me?" Varia groaned, rubbing her face.

"Me? I didn't do anything, you were trying to kill me. But you had already been stabbed and you weren't doing good." Blayne said with a chuckle, "Look, I'm not your enemy. I want to be your friend."

"Injuries don't stop me. My magic is powered by the dead and the dying. The closer I become to death the more powerful I become." Varia said, "So a stab wound wouldn't have stopped me."

"My sister did hit you in the head with a frying pan." Blayne pointed out.

"A frying pan." She said flatly.

"Hey, you were trying to kill me." Blayne sighed, "Can you just leave your anger aside? Let's talk for a little while."

"Fine. Let's talk." Varia groaned, covering her face.

*******

CHAPTER 11 - TALKING

"So tell me where I am." Varia said, looking around, "This building. What is it? Where are my clothes? I swear if you looked at me naked, I will flay your skin!"

"I didn't. The doctors who worked on you changed you into this for cleanliness. Your old clothes were torn and bloody. Your leather armor and boots are still at my sister's house, along with your sword." Blayne said, "Leather armor isn't exactly common in my world and I thought it best for you to not be wearing it."

"Are you trying to make me look weak? Come on, let's go get my stuff." Varia said, pushing the blankets off and sitting up.

She groaned in pain and grabbed her side.

"Stay down. You just got out of surgery. You have to stay here for a few days." Blayne said, getting up to grab her shoulders.

"Get off me. We're leaving." Varia said, pushing his arms back.

"No! You've been hurt! Just lay down and get better." Blayne said, pushing back.

"Blayne! I swear I'm going to... to..." She looked at her hands expectedly, "Where's my magic? Why can't I feel any mana? There... there is so little mana in this area."

"Actually there's very little in this entire world. I've started to feel it in the last day. I wasted a lot of mana when I first returned and I haven't been able to recharge much. The little bout of fighting with you took the most of what I had left." Blayne sighed as Varia sat complacent on the side of the bed.

"Ohh... ow, ow, ow." Varia moaned in pain, putting her hand on her side.

Blood started to seep through her hospital gown.

"Nurse! Help!" Blayne called towards the doorway.

"No, it's fine. I'll be fine." Varia groaned, holding her side as she laid back.

A nurse hurried in.

"What's going on?" She asked as she rushed to Varia's side.

"N... nothing!" She said with clenched teeth.

"You're bleeding, let me see." The nurse said, moving Varia's hand, "I'm going to have to lift up your gown."

"Get out Blayne!" Varia called as the nurse lifted her gown.

Blayne sighed and stepped out of the room as the nurse closed the curtain around the bed. She pulled up Varia's gown and looked at her side.

"You've ripped your stitches out. You're moving too much. We're going to have to clean this and re-stitch it." The nurse said, "Hold this to the wound and stay still."

She pressed a handful of gauze to it and stepped out of the curtain.

"She's ripped her stitches out. I'll have to re-stitch it. Whatever happened, she's moving too much for where that wound is." The nurse told Blayne.

She returned to the room with a medical cart. She stepped back into the curtain with a needle, thread and a syringe.

"Lay still." The nurse said, putting a hand on Varia's bare stomach.

"Ow!" Varia squeaked as the syringe pierced her side.

"This will numb the pain." The nurse informed her, "I'm going to have to suture it further out because of how you've hurt yourself. So this will be uncomfortable."

"It's fine. Just do it." Varia grumbled.

She squirmed and groaned as the nurse continued to stitch down her side, repairing the half-torn sutures. When she was done, she cleaned and sterilized before pulling her gown back down and laying her back in the bed.

"We'll bring you a new gown later." The nurse said, opening the curtain again.

"See? Told you not to move." Blayne said as he walked back in with his hands in his pockets.

"What kind of spells do you know?" Varia hissed at him.

"Nothing really. All the magic I do is kinda just from up here." Blayne said as he tapped his forehead.

"No, damn it, I want you to heal this. Can you?" Varia whispered, "I have no magic right now so I can't."

"No, I can't either. I'm running low myself and I want to keep some reserves so I can still Planeswalk." Blayne sighed, "But as soon as you're feeling well enough to Planeswalk, we can go back to Ravnica or somewhere to get our magic back."

"Then lets go. I'm fine." Varia said, starting to sit up.

"You're a moron. You just tried to do this and you hurt yourself already." Blayne groaned, pushing her shoulder back, "One day. Give it one day here in order to get your side at least somewhat healed. I need to go to my sister's and talk with her anyway."

"Alright, alright. Damn it, fine." Varia groaned, crossing her arms in annoyance.

"Will you be fine for a little while alone?" Blayne asked.

"I'm a grown woman!" Varia huffed, glaring at him.

"On a strange world with technology far beyond yours." Blayne pointed out.

"How do you know that?" Varia challenged.

"Because you showed up with a sword. I'll be back in a little while." Blayne said, waving as he left.

"Jerk." Varia mumbled, crossing her arms.

*******

"You're leaving? What?! Why?" Robin whined as he recollected his Izzet clothing.

Blayne had gone home to Robin's after she was asleep. She woke up to find him packing.

"Because Varia doesn't belong in this world and... well... since I've come back I realized how little I belong here." Blayne said.

"Are you crazy?! You're my brother! Of course you belong here!" Robin cried, latching onto his arm tightly.

"Robin, you know I love you dearly. But I'm a wizard. I'm a Planeswalker. After what I've seen, I can't just sit in your living room, eat bacon and look at my cute sister." Blayne said, ruffling Robin's hair with his other hand.

"But... but... but... but..." Robin stammered, tears filling her eyes.

"Hey, sis, buck up." Blayne smiled, cupping her chin, "I'll not be gone forever. I'm going to come back on a regular basis."

"Like every weekend? Every other day? Stay the nights here?" Robin asked eagerly, wrapping her arms around his chest.

Blayne sighed, hanging his head.

"Every other week?" Robin started to sink, "Every... third... week?"

"Robin, please. I'm going on an interdimensional trip across worlds. I can't keep a schedule." Blayne said.

"Wait! Wait, wait, wait. Don't go anywhere!" Robin said, letting go of him, "Blayne, promise me you won't leave!"

"I'm not going to disappear just because you look away." Blayne smiled playfully.

"You better not!" Robin snapped, pointing at him.

She turned and dashed to her bedroom quickly. Blayne chuckled and continued stuffing his clothes into the backpack his sister gave him. He pulled it on his shoulder and turned to look out the window.

"Noooo!" Robin cried and leapt on him from behind, wrapping her arms around his waist, "You said you wouldn't go!"

"You are rediculous. I'm not going anywhere. I was looking out the window. Goof." Blayne chuckled, turning around.

She eagerly held up a small olive drab wrist watch.

"Dad's watch?" Blayne asked as he looked at it.

It was a military issue watch from when his father had fought in the tail end of the Vietnam war. He had gotten in at the age of fifteen in 1965. He had met their mother a few years later as a nurse and had Blayne and Varia in 1980, as they were fraternal twins. The watch itself was one of the few keepsakes that their father had kept over the years along with some of his military gear.

"It's May of 2004 here and our birthday is two months away, on the twenty-fifth. You have to be back for our birthday. Wind it once every day and keep it with you at all times. It's set for the time here in New York." Robin said, pushing it into his hands, "You have to swear Blayne! I want you back here for our birthday in July! You have to promise!"

She grabbed his shoulders as she yelled.

"Yes, alright, I will keep this watch and I will look at it every hour." Blayne said, "And I swear I will be back in July for our birthday."

He put the watch on his left wrist and gave it an experimental wind. It was already wound and set to the proper time. He could hear it ticking softly when he held it to his ear.

"Good, I'll have a big party planned." Robin said, "I love you brother."

She wrapped her arms tightly around him and kissed him on the cheek.

"I love you too Robin." Blayne hugged her back.

They slowly let go of each other and Blayne stepped back.

"You come back safe Blayne." Robin said, "Be careful out there. For me."

"I'll be perfectly fine sis. I'm an all powerful Planeswalker magician!" Blayne smiled widely, holding his arms up.

"I swear, if you hurt a hair on your head, I'll smack you!" Robin cried, tears welling in her eyes, "You come back!"

Blayne put his arms around Robin again as she started to cry softly.

"Hey, hey. I won't die. I swear." Blayne whispered, stroking her hair.

"You better... better not you bastard!" Robin yelled and sobbed, "I don't want to be... all alone again..."

He held her close as she slowly stopped crying.

"Sis, I'll be back for our birthday." Blayne promised, letting go of her, "Alright?"

"Alright!" Robin nodded, wiping her eyes.

*******

"So are we getting out of here yet?! They fed me this weird crap on a plate and stuck a needle in my arm a couple more times. I'm tired of being here Blayne." Varia growled as Blayne got to the hospital about an hour after his goodbyes with his sister.

"Yes, we are. As soon as we're on another plane, one with a good source of white mana, I'm fairly sure I can heal you up for the most part. I'm not very good at it yet, but you're pretty well fixed up already." Blayne said, closing the curtain around the bed.

"What's that for?" Varia asked.

"This is your first voluntary Planeswalk, it's a bit trying even when you're alone. Trust me, I know. It was a bitch for me." Blayne said, sitting down in the chair next to the bed.

"Okay, so tell me how I'm supposed to do this. Do I just try and use my magic to do it or what?" Varia asked eagerly, "And where are my clothes?"

"I've got them all in my bag here. We'll change when we're away from this world." Blayne said, "Now it's not like a spell at all. It's more of a mentality thing. You have to focus yourself on leaving this world behind. It's odd... kind of like... well... throwing yourself at the ground and missing."

"Like what?" Varia said flatly.

"Forget it. Just... do you remember what you felt before you came here? When you were in that fight?" Blayne asked.

"I do... It was like a rushing feeling. I was hurtling headlong towards something and suddenly... I was just there in your home." Varia said.

"Sit still and close your eyes. Focus yourself on that feeling. Think about leaving this world behind and try to will yourself into the AEther." Blayne explained.

"Alright." Varia nodded.

She closed her eyes and put her hands in her lap.

Blayne raised his chin, closing his eyes and doing the same. He felt his consciousness ebbing at the edge of the AEthers. This is how it felt to him now. As if it were always right there. He couldn't move too quickly or it would hurt. It still took him a matter of minutes, if not a half an hour, to get his mind in the perfect position to Planeswalk. Those little glass orbs of Jace's were a miracle. They contained just enough of the AEther to inch his mind over that little bit and let him Planeswalk nearly instantly.

There was a soft thump from the bed and the heart monitors went flat. Blayne felt a small twinge of surprise trickle into his mind when he realized she had just Planeswalked already. He let himself slide out of the world and he heard the sounds of Earth disappear behind him. He snapped his eyes open.