DISCLAIMERI do not own anything from The Slayers!, Slayers Next, Slayers Try, Slayers the Motion Picture, Slayers Return, Slayers Great, Slayers Gorgeous, Slayers Premium, Slayers the Book of Spells, Slayers EVOLUTION, Slayers EVOLUTION-R or Lost Universe. Bakki/Hyeonsook, Dolomova, Gnomesta, Salamanda, Spritea, Sylfesta, Nacreous, and Night Terror are my original characters. The Wind Dragon King, the Earth Dragon King, Dynast Grauscherra, Deep Sea Dolphin, and Xellas Metallium are not my original characters in concept, but they are more or less original to my physical design and characteristics since they never made full appearances in the original storylines. Maryland and Maryland are mine. All spells introduced by Bakki/Hyeonsook in this story were my own compositions. Luo Glaon is not an original character, but his talisman is an original idea. Kymaziphied & Verhevenphied are names I came up with since the original story never introduced the names of the two ruling gods aside from Ceiphied and Vorphied. "Myacraligdo" & "Necruwigdo" were also my original ideas for the full names of Death Fog and Chaotic Blue. All chants for spells originally from the saga that are used in this fanfiction are the translated versions found in the subtitles on DVD for the entire saga. Finally, the concept of how The Slayers! Saga ends and how Lost Universe begins in this two part fanfiction is my original idea. Ask permission before you use an idea off this fiction for your own.

AUTHOR'S NOTEI know that this chapter is really boring and rather pointless, so please bear with me. Slayers! never had an exciting opening that made sense with the rest of the series/movie/OVA, so I kept to that idea. It'll get better in the coming chapters—I promise.


PART 1

Chapter 1: ARRIVAL! A new member shows up!

~ ON A HILLSIDE ON THE OUTSKIRTS OF SEYRUUN CITY ~

"Ah, I'm so full," Lina Inverse said, rubbing her stomach.

Dinner had been a fiasco. Lina and Gourry had decided against better judgment to come visit Seyruun to see how their friends Amelia and Zelgadis were doing. Naturally, the two had gone overboard in their trek for dinner and ate without mercy. By the time they were done, it was closing time for the restaurant and the owner had to put up a sign that the place would be closed on the following day due to lack of groceries.

Right now, the two were lying down on a hillside to watch the stars.

"Aren't they just so beautiful, Lina?" Gourry asked.

Lina grinned. "Yeah, they really are. I wonder why I rarely notice them even though they are right there in front of us every night."

Gourry frowned. "I thought they were up above us in the sky."

"GAH!" Lina scratched her head in frustration. "I didn't mean that they were literally in front of us, jellyfish-for-brains!" she screamed.

"But you just said—"

"Forget what I just said, Gourry," Lina sighed, just rubbing her head. "Nothing ever makes sense for you."

"Hmm, okay!" Gourry chipped. "I guess that is true, eh? Hahaha!"

"Gourry, why do you always have to—?"

Before Lina could finish what it was that Gourry did, a blinding flash of light burst in the southern skies.

"Eh? What was that?" Lina shouted.

As the two of them watched, the light shrank but did not lose its brilliance. It shot out at incredible speed towards them.

"WAH!" Lina and Gourry screamed before a flash of ivory came their way. Lina had a momentary glimpse of a hooded figure grabbing her and Gourry before the light reached them. In the next moment, the upper part of the hill that she and Gourry had been on vaporized as the light passed overhead. The heat wave hit Lina, sending her spiraling through the air. A second later, an explosion filled her ears as the passing mass struck the ground almost a mile away.

Lina collected herself up. She could see the woods on fire in the distance.

"What was that?" Gourry cried out.

"I'm not sure," a man responded from behind the two of them, "but it may be an attack."

"Zelgadis!" Lina shouted.

"Well, whatever it is, we better go check it out!" Gourry declared.

Zelgadis nodded. "Let's go!"


~ A MILE AWAY, INSIDE A CRASHED VESSEL ~

(Underlined Font indicates that the characters are speaking English. All other dialogue is supposed to be in Japanese.)

"Fire under control, captain."

"Roger that. What is the condition of life support and navigation?"

"Life support is sustaining, but navigation is offline, captain. The main generators have shut down; batteries are at 35% capacity."

"What are the conditions of the engines?"

"Operational capabilities yet unknown."

"Weapons?"

A pause followed this question. "Magazines are stable. All guns, torpedo bays, missile bays, and mine banks were emptied into the magazines prior to the crash."

The pilot let out a heavy sigh. "That's some good news, I guess," he whispered. "What are the sensor readings for the atmosphere of this world?"

There was another pause. "Life signs visible throughout the planet, captain. Atmosphere is 27% oxygen and 64% nitrogen. Conditions are very favorable for you outside. I also detect H2O in both the atmosphere and various bodies."

"What is the condition of the outer hatches?"

"Main, starboard, port, and ventral hatches were all damaged by the impact, captain. Bow dorsal hatches, starboard hatches, and all ventral hatches are buried under earth or rubble."

"Blow out the main hatches," the pilot ordered. He could distinctly hear the sound of minor explosives going off towards the aft end of the ship. The pressure in the ship changed moments later to match that of the planet's atmosphere. "Maryland, I'm going to go see if I can find something to help you out. Can you begin repairs?"

A hologram of a very androgynous figure appeared before the pilot. "Aye, aye, sir!" it said cheerfully.

The pilot made his way to the aft end of the ship. An elevator quickly took him down a level. He stepped forward onto a floating platform. It drifted past several broken sets of machinery before coming to a halt in front of a pair of doors. With a hiss, the doors opened in a semi-spiral fashion. A spot of moonlight drifted through the doors, lighting the way enough for the pilot to step forward to. Just before he made foothold with the soil outside, the pilot's clothes completely changed in a burst of blue light.


~ OUTSIDE ~

"Keep your head down!" Lina hissed.

Gourry had stuck his head out too far. Both Lina and Zelgadis grabbed Gourry by the hair and yanked him down. They had just noticed what appeared to be the doors of the strange structure blow out towards them. From inside spewed out what had to be fog, near as Lina could tell. Hardly a moment later, she saw a slender figure emerge out into the open. She squinted her eyes when his clothes emitted out a bright light. When the light died, she caught a second glimpse of the person.

From where Lina was hiding, it was hard to tell whether it was a man or a woman. The person had very long, straight hair reaching well past their waistline. The bangs were long enough to cover one eye completely and the other partially. Just a moment before, the person had been wearing black and blue tights made of a material that she did not recognize. Now, though, he or she was wearing long white and blue robes that were smoothly billowing in the wind. There was a sword strapped on their right side and a second sword on their back pointing to the right. In the left hand was a wooden staff with an assortment of jewels spiraling the upper half and adorning the very top. There were more jewels on his wrists and bare ankles. Lastly, there were several silver chains around his neck.

"Who do you think that is?" Gourry asked.

"You don't think he's a Mazuko, do you?" Zelgadis whispered just as the figure turned its head in their direction.

Before Lina could respond, the figure disappeared from sight and reappeared directly before them. Lina screamed and jumped backwards in surprise.

"Oh, I'm so sorry!" the he/she said in a rather effeminate voice, "I didn't mean to scare you!"

Zelgadis grit his teeth. "If you can phase shift, you must be a Mazuko!" He drew his sword.

The stranger, who did appear to have a somewhat masculine jaw-line now that they all caught a closer glance, cocked their head slightly. "What in blazes is a Mazuko?"

"How do you not know what a Mazuko is?" Gourry growled, drawing his sword as well.

The moonlight was just bright enough to form a glint in the stranger's hidden eyes.

"I'll answer that question for you, buddy, if you answer a question for me," Lina declared.

The stranger leaned his staff between his arms. "Okay, shoot."

Lina did not recognize the terminology. "Are you a man or a woman?"

The figure's silhouette wobbled at the question. "I suppose I should blame the lack of light," it sighed. "I'm a man."

Lina felt Zelgadis shift uneasily next to her. She smirked, thinking about Miwan in Femile, figuring that Zelgadis was probably blushing right now in embarrassment.

"For your information, a Mazuko is a demon that feeds on negative thoughts and energies," Lina shouted towards the now-declared guy.

"A demon?" he choked, sounding outraged. "I am no demon! I'm a demigod!"

Lina thought that statement through. "I suppose that could explain why you phase-shifted. Are you a dragon?"

The strange man calmed down. "No, not in this form. I can change into one, but this body of mine is human-born."

Lina frowned. "That doesn't make any sense."

He shrugged. "I didn't expect it to. I am not of this world and I have no idea where I am."

"Not of this world?" Zelgadis asked, regaining himself. "Are you from the world of Darkstar?"

"Now that's a funny name," the out-world man. "I have no idea who that is. No, I'm from a world called Earth."

"Where is that at?" Gourry asked.

"In respect to this world, I have no idea how to reach it," the man replied. "I got veered off course on my ship while I was asleep so I am completely lost."

"Ship?" Lina wondered aloud. "That's a ship?"

The man turned to look at his vessel before answering, "Yes."

"But where are its sails?" Lina demanded. "It's anchors? The rigging!"

"Ah… You all must be behind in technology."

Lina glared. "So what if we are technologically slow? Even the outer kingdoms here have machines that we don't know anything about. Our magic, though, can still kick your ass!"

"Magic?" the man chirped happily. "Oh, yes! That'll help me lot out here." With that, he waved his staff towards his ship. The entire structure began to move off the ground and float gently in midair. The ground beneath shifted to form jacks and other small platforms to support the structure of the ship. It landed a moment later.

"Thank the heavens that magic works well in this world," the stranger said.

"That was pretty neat, actually," Lina stated. "I didn't feel any type of energy coming out from you. What type of magic was that?"

"That, my dear lady, would be the magic of simply land sculpting controlled by the Laws of Attraction," he answered. "And forgive me for being late in introductions, but my name is Hyeonsook."

"W-w-what?" Lina slurred out. "Pronounce it again."

"Hyu-n sook," he tried.

"Hun suk?"

"Hyeonsook."

"Hun soup?"

"Hyeonsook!"

"Do you have a nickname?"

"Hya-Hya."

"PFFFFFT!" Lina choked. "What the hell type of a nickname is that?"

Hyeonsook blushed. "My husband gave it to me almost 6,000 years ago."

Lina's choking turned into coughing. "Husband? I thought you were a guy!"

Hyeonsook looked straight into her eyes. "Same-sex marriage is allowed where I come from, especially way back when we first met one another."

"Eh, I see… We don't have that around here," Lina drawled out, scratching her hair. "In fact, gay guys and cross-dressers and stuff like that are very uncommon in our world. They're not looked upon too brightly."

"I see…" Hyeonsook sighed. "Our world was like that for a while, but no longer. Your statement now just makes me want to go home faster."

"Hehe, don't get me wrong, we have no problem with you being that way," Lina said, holding her hands out defensively. "You just might get a few weird looks from people if you start talking about having a male lover, let alone an actual husband."

"I'll keep that in mind."

"So…is there maybe another nickname that we can call you by?" Gourry asked, his expressions the same as always.

"Well…all my nicknames are from my husband through the ages that we spent together," Hyeonsook answered. "I suppose, though, if I were to choose one that would be easy for you all to pronounce, that would be 'Bakki'."

"Bakki?" Lina tried.

"Yeah, you got it right," Hyeonsook answered. "And you are?"

"Lina. Lina Inverse. This is Gourry, my bodyguard, and our friend Zelgadis."

"Nice to meet you all."

"Can we check out your ship?" Lina asked.

"It's damaged inside, I don't know how safe it is right now."

"Eh, danger doesn't bother me any," Lina returned proudly. "I can handle anything."

Hyeonsook smiled sweetly. "If that's the case, come on in!"


~ BACK INSIDE THE SHIP ~

"Captain!"

Lina watched as a second very-androgynous figure nearly tackled down Bakki. They had traveled on a floating thingy that took them to another floating thingy that lifted them up a level. Now they were in some strange room with several seats and broken glass.

"Is this your husband?"

"Huh?" Bakki exclaimed. "No! No, no! This is a hologram."

"A hologram?" Gourry questioned.

Lina waved her hand fiercely in front of Gourry's face. "Uh, hahaha, ignore this one, would you? You could explain something to him a thousand times and he'll never get it, the stupid jellyfish-for-brains that he is!" She laughed nervously. "I, however, am interested to know what a halagram is."

"A hologram," Bakki corrected, "is simply a light projection in the form of something specific like a human being. Normally, you can't touch them and they can't touch you, but we've developed a type that can have somewhat of a body mass using ions and ionic bonding of matter. This particular hologram is the projection of this ship's computer. Think of a computer as its manmade brain."

"A ship with a manmade brain," Lina stated. "Sounds interesting."

"Captain," the hologram shouted to catch Bakki's attention.

"This one's name is 'Maryland', just so you know, which is also the ship's name," Bakki added.

"I've run the ship's logs and all feeds through to get an idea on where we are," Maryland chortled.

"Good!" Bakki said excitedly. "Very good! So where are we?"

"Uh…" Maryland hesitated. "You should check it out for yourself."

It activated one of the few monitors that were still intact. On the screen was what Lina recognized to be chaos itself.

"Lord of Nightmares!" Lina shouted.

Maryland looked confused. "That's the supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way galaxy," it stated. "What is the Lord of Nightmares?"

"The Lord of Nightmares," Lina began, "is the great mother of this world and its connected worlds." She turned her gaze onto Maryland. "What's a black hole?"

"A black hole is usually formed when a star completely collapses onto itself when it dies, causing a void that sucks in everything, including light. No one yet knows where a supermassive black hole comes from, but we do know that they form the centers of most galaxies."

"What is a galaxy?" Zelgadis asked.

"A galaxy is a collection of stars and other heavenly bodies orbiting a center mass," Bakki replied. The monitor projected an image of the Milky Way galaxy. "This is the galaxy that I am from. All those bright dots are stars. I am from somewhere over here," he said, pointing at one of the arms of the Milky Way." That is literally billions upon billions upon billions of miles away."

"And you traveled all that distance to get here?" Lina gasped.

"I was going on a solo trip of my own to explore a bit," Bakki responded. "My husband and I recently quelled off some conflicts happening on our world and we decided to take a little break. This ship can travel distances of that nature in just a few weeks, so I thought I'd give myself about a year break to see what all was out there while he stayed at home since he wasn't interested in going on such a trip."

"Along the way, while the captain was asleep, we ran into problems," Maryland continued. The monitor showed what appeared to a cloud of rocks coming their way. "We ran into this asteroid field as we approached the center of the galaxy. I tried to avoid them all, but one of them ended up hitting us to our starboard side—our right side," Maryland added when it saw the confused looks on Gourry's face. "The ship's navigation system was damaged and I couldn't repair it in time before we were sucked in by the supermassive black hole."

The monitor showed the ship being sucked into the void. "Luckily, a supermassive black hole, despite its size, is not nearly as powerful as a regular black hole," Maryland trailed on. "A regular black hole would have completely crushed us, but this one didn't. Next thing I knew…" The monitor showed another image that Lina recognized.

"That's the staff of our worlds," Lina gasped. Now Bakki and Maryland looked confused. "Our world was built by the Lord of Nightmares, the mother of all of our Gods and Mazuko. She built four worlds on top of one another on a staff keeping them in place. This is the Red World, the place of the god Ceiphied and the Mazuko Lord Ruby-Eyed Shabranigdo, a Mazuko being a type of monster. The other worlds are the Black World of Darkstar Dugradigdo and Vorphied, the White World of Death Fog Myacraligdo and Kymaziphied*, and the Blue world of Chaotic Blue Necruwigdo and Verhevenphied**. Ours is the one on the very top."

"Interesting…" Bakki purred. "Four miniature universes held together by a pole sharing…what looks like an astral plane filling the spaces between them."

"Yes, that is the astral plane," Zelgadis confirmed. "Several of our spells use power that comes from the astral plane. There are also many beings that travel that plane and have their bodies directly linked to it."

"Like many of the Mazuko," Lina added.

Bakki rubbed his chin slightly. "That's really not much different from our world, except that our world has been drained of a lot of magic and other powers over the ages. Me, my husband, and many of our friends are trying to restore the world to its original state."

The monitor, from the ship's point of view, showed how Bakki had entered the Red World through a void-like opening into it. Sparks flew across the screen as the ship entered Lina's world and triggered an explosion upon hitting the atmosphere. The explosion's size was unknown, but it appeared to be big enough to chuck the ship sideways a long distance. The ship had all of three seconds to right itself up before it crash-landed into the outskirts of Seyruun City, the White Magic Capitol of the world.

"So you're here all alone?" Lina asked.

"Yes, just me and Maryland here," Bakki replied. The hologram smiled and waved.

"I'm guessing that you'll need to do major repairs in order to leave," Lina stated. Bakki nodded. "Then we'll help you, but for a price."

Bakki had figured help wouldn't come for free. "I suppose I have no choice, considering that I'll have to rely on you locals for help."

"But how are we going to help when we have no idea how to fix any of this stuff?" Gourry interjected.

"Hmm," Bakki thought. "Is there a material in this world that absorbs energy?"

Lina shrugged. "Orihalcon is a magic-absorbing metal that we use. That might help."

"That should do," Bakki said. "If I can create a power-generator using orihalcon, then you all can help me plenty—first by helping me get a hold of this metal."

"Captain, we will also need new parts to replace to places weakened by the impacts," Maryland added.

"What type of metals does your world have that are strong and good for withstanding strong impacts?" Bakki asked.

Lina and Zelgadis both pulled out their swords. "My sword is made from one of the strongest alloys in this world," Zelgadis stated.

"Mine is also one of the strongest, but it's probably a lot lighter than his," Lina followed-up.

Maryland took both swords in its hands and started to analyze them. "The larger sword is a metal similar to steel and the smaller sword is comparable to a titanium alloy of our own."

Bakki nodded. "It may not be Kilsby-Roberts steel, but if it's strong enough that we can try to get more of such material and repair the ship. How is the interior repairs progressing, Maryland?"

"All decks were damaged, captain," Maryland answered. "Both bridges and engineering are on priority. The repair-bots are salvaging all broken parts to be remolded as their intended uses, but it will take at least a week for the ship to be operational with an impulse drive."

"What about the anti-gravity drive?" Bakki asked.

"The cores were damaged and will take at least 10 days to fully repair."

"Then continue as you are progressing, but make sure to conserve energy where you can," Bakki ordered. "Shut off all operational compartment doors in case it starts raining since we are most likely to spring several leaks right now. Which of the two metals do you think we'll need first?"

"For now, we will need orihalcon first to make a temporary power-generator," Maryland responded. "After that, we'll need the steel for the frames that lost structural integrity first and foremost. The titanium alloy can come last for the hulls."

"With the impulse drive online, would it be safe to move this ship to another location for a full-out repair?"

"Yes captain, the ship has enough structural integrity to survive a low-velocity flight at a low altitude," Maryland responded.

"Then focus on the repairs as you have been doing," Bakki commanded. "Carry on."

"Aye, aye!"

"Lina, is there someone I can talk to in order to get some sponsorship for my repairs?" Bakki asked.

"Uh, yeah, there is someone around here," Lina answered, losing her stance when she thought of the one person who would have enough money to do such a thing.


~ NORTHSIDE OF SEYRUUN CITY ~

"DIGGER BOLT!" Several blasts of lightning shot out of Lina's hands and landed on her target.

"BRAM BLAZER!" Zelgadis yelled, sending out waves of blue towards the same target.

"Nice work, guys!" Gourry shouted. He was next to a kiln with several others, melting down various ores to hammer down into frames.

The work had been going on for eight days now. The ship had indeed regained its flight capabilities and thus relocated itself to the northern side of Seyruun City, which was the part of town that had all the blacksmiths and other trade workers necessary for the job at hand. Philionel had been more than eager to help a "helpless soul of justice" with the task of going back to his loved ones. Since Bakki was a demigod, that automatically made him a champion of justice fighting for good against evil in the eyes of the Seyruun royalty. Philionel charged no fees to Bakki for the sponsorship, but Bakki had insisted that he help around the kingdom while he was available.

As a result, Bakki was going around the temples and shrines of Seyruun to bless holy objects and raise barriers throughout the city against all Mazuko and other evil forces. Sensing the sudden power in Seyruun, many Mazuko had already attacked the city to see if they could penetrate the new defenses, but none had been successful thus far. Even attacks through the astral plane failed to permeate the shields. Bakki's barriers were simply too powerful for any of the attackers to even harm.

Philionel praised Bakki even more highly after witnessing how strongly the barriers held. A grand feast had been held in the demigod's honor, during which time Lina and Gourry helped themselves to nearly everything available on the royal table. Bakki had been hesitant to receive such praise, but blushed happily as he gave a toast to the well-being of the world he was visiting. Philionel gave a toast in return as gratitude for Bakki's services.

"RAZA KLOUVA!" Balls of light shot towards the orihalcon generator. The next moment, the generator kicked on with a slow whirling sound.

"Victory!" Amelia shouted, holding up her victory sign. She had been the one to cast the last spell.

"Nice one, Amelia!" Bakki shouted happily. They had met on the night of Bakki's arrival shortly before the man had been introduced to Philionel. Like her father, she too had declared Bakki a hero of justice and a champion for good. Bakki hadn't thought much on those thoughts at the time, but after meeting Phil he seemed very uncomfortable with the Seyruun family. It took him days to adjust to their stupidity.

"Now that it's working, each of you cast off one more spell onto it so that it works at full capacity," Bakki ordered.

"FLARE LANCE!"

"BRAM GUSH!"

"BLAST ASH!"

The spells struck the generator with no visible effects, but the generator started to noticeably vibrate due to the rotating machinery inside.

"Yes!" Bakki cheered. "Now we can really begin the big repairs. Maryland!"

"Yes, captain?" Maryland said as she appeared next to Bakki.

"Once we complete the repairs on the ship's hulls and frame, how much longer will it be before we can ready for our trip home?" Bakki asked.

Maryland made visible calculations out of numbers floating around her head. "Even with the power of this temporary generator, captain, it would take at least three years to build enough power to stabilize and reactivate the core of our fusion reactor, captain."

"That long?" Bakki shouted, looking completely bummed.

"I'm afraid so, captain."

Bakki scratched his head lightly. "Lina, Zelgadis, Amelia! Could you guys fire your most powerful spells at the generator to see if that might increase the power?"

"We'll give it a try!" Lina shouted. "Zel, Amelia! You guys go first."

Zelgadis and Amelia nodded before chanting in unison: "Source of all souls that dwell in eternal and infinite. Everlasting flame of blue, let the power hidden in my soul be called forth from the Infinite! RA-TILT!" Twin jets of blue light shot straight for the generator and made contact. The generator shook tremendously, but managed just barely to stay in place with its form intact.

Lina followed behind them a moment later. She gathered together her four magic-amplifying talismans. "Lord of the Darkness of the Four Worlds, on ty bonds I do swear! Grant me all the power that you possess!" The talismans glowed a bright red as they fed energy into Lina. "Darkness beyond twilight, crimson beyond blood that flows—buried in the flow of time! In thy great name, I pledge myself to darkness! Let all the fools who stand before us be destroyed by the power you and I possess! DRAGON SLAVE!"

A cacophony of sound came from the impact of the spell onto the generator. Bakki phased next to it to give it more physical stability as it absorbed the spell. Within seconds, the spell was gone. The generator glowed a golden color.

"Recalculating, captain!" Maryland shouted. "It'll now take less than eight months to charge up fully!"

"That's better," Bakki said, smiling toothily. "I could use that time to explore around for a while and get to know this place. Hey Maryland, if we shoot a few more spells into the generator, do you think we might be able to fly around this continent while still charging the reactor?"

"That would depend on the power of the spells, captain," Maryland responded.

"Lina?" Bakki chipped.

Lina was panting. "Give me a minute," she said, holding up a finger. "That last one drained me up quite a bit."

"You probably should do something weaker than a Dragon Slave," Zelgadis suggested.

"Yeah, but I'm not about to do something pathetically weak," Lina shot back. She gathered her hands to her chest. "Lord of the Darkness of the Four Worlds, on thy bonds I do swear! Grant me all the power that you possess!" She moved her hands out in front of her. "Source of all power, crimson fire burning bright! Gather together in my hand and become an inferno! BURST FLARE!" A ball of light appeared at the generator and burst into a blue and white flame. The generator again shook as it absorbed the spell.

"How about one more for good measure?" The voice that spoke was Christopher ul Brozzo Seyruun.

"Uncle!" Amelia shouted.

Christopher turned to look at Amelia. "How about it, Amelia? You all have charged it full of black magic, so how about some white magic to balance it out?"

"But we don't have any white magic spells that are as powerful as those black magic spells," Amelia retorted. "We only have healing spells and protection spells."

"That's why you would use this," Christopher said, pulling out a talisman.

"That's!" Amelia screamed.

"Eh?" Lina grunted. "Is that something special?"

"It's the talisman of Luo Glaon!" Amelia replied.

"Luo Glaon?" Lina gasped.

"Is that someone special?" Gourry asked, getting a smack on the head as a result.

"Luo Glaon is one of the five great sages of our age!" Lina scolded. "He devoted his entire life to white magic, probably far more than Rezo did!" She turned to Christopher. "I did not know that the Seyruun family had his talisman."

Christopher nodded. "He gave it to our ancestors to protect and use for the sake of good. We regard it as one of our greatest treasures and have only used it for blessings and protection. It can be used in other ways, however." He handed the talisman to Amelia. "With it, you can cast the most powerful spell in all of white magic. Normally, you would have to be a Knight of Ceiphied in order to perform the spell, but any white mage can use the talisman to cast—"

"Ceiphied Flare!" Lina finished. Christopher nodded.

"Ceiphied Flare?" Zelgadis repeated. "I've never even seen it before!"

"My sister is a Knight of Ceiphied," Lina said. "She told me about its destructive powers, but that it only affected someone that used black magic or a Mazuko. It is unknown how it would react to someone that casts shaman spells."

"Meaning that you and I need to be out of the way," Zelgadis finished.

Amelia looked up nervously at her uncle. "But uncle, I don't know if I can cast it. I've never done it before."

Christopher smiled. "Amelia, you were trained by the greatest mages in Seyruun. You have learned to use it should you ever need to protect the city from a high-ranking Mazuko. You could cast the spell right now for practice."

Amelia glanced at the generator with shaky eyes. "I'll try…" She firmed her hands and took several steps toward the machinery.

"Gourry, you might want to back away as well," Lina said.

"Eh, why?" Gourry questioned.

"You're not a mage, but using the Sword of Light might have left some dark energy on you," Lina answered. "If that spell really does target black magic, you might be affected by it, too. It's best that you keep your distance."

"I don't understand, but I'll back up if you say so."

Amelia closed her eyes to concentrate on her energy. The talisman began to glow a soft white as a breeze picked up around her. She opened her eyes. "Divine breath of the Holy Dragon, Holy Father of the light, grant unto your loyal knight the power of the blessed Dragon King! CEIPHIED FLARE!" A white-hot light shot from her open palms onto the generator. White flames sprang to life around the light in a helical shape and struck the generator with incredible force. The machinery seemed to nearly melt from the heat and was pushed back several feet before Bakki blocked its foreseen path. It cleared up after a few seconds.

Amelia shook from the force of the spell and her hands gave up some light smoke. Everyone stood there with their mouths ajar.

"That was amazing!" Lina shouted.

"Its power was right up there with the Dragon Slave," Zelgadis commented. "In fact, it may have been more powerful."

"It is," Christopher said. Everyone turned to look at him. "Being that Shabranigdo's power is divided into seven pieces while Ceiphied is divided into only four pieces, the Ceiphied Flare gathers up more energy than the Dragon Slave. Very few people know how to cast it, however, so its legends are very dim compared to the Dragon Slave."

"More powerful than the Dragon Slave," Lina whispered. "So my sister really is stronger than me."

"But you have your talismans," Bakki said. "I'm sure it boosts up your spells powers whenever you'd like and can make your attacks more powerful than hers, not that you might ever have to do that."

"That's right!" Lina said. "Plus, I can cast the Ragna Blade (and the Giga Slave)! She could never beat—" Right there, Lina lost her composure. Thoughts of fighting her sister filled her head and she faulted down to the ground shaking madly.

"Ms. Lina!" Amelia shouted. "It's okay, your sister is not here," she said soothingly to Lina.

"In any case, the ship is almost fully charged," Bakki giggled. "We could ride around in this thing for a while and I could explore this place a bit."

"After the main repairs are finished, captain," Maryland reminded. She was twitching at the word 'thing.'

Bakki dropped his head. "Yes, after they are finished."

"How long will that be?" Lina asked.

Maryland made a 'beep' sound from her head. "At this rate, it'll be three more days before the frame is repaired. The hull may take up to seven days depending on the pace after we finish the frame."

"Roger that," Bakki said. "Carry on, Maryland."

"Aye!" the hologram sang as it disappeared.

"I suppose that you can just enjoy yourself in the meantime," Lina chuckled, slapping Bakki on the back.

"I suppose…" Bakki said, rubbing his back. "In the meantime, can we go somewhere to eat? I'm dying here."

"No problem!" Lina grabbed his hand and pulled him behind her. Zelgadis and Amelia followed behind.

"Ah, hey!" Gourry yelled hoarsely, dropping the red-hot metal he was working on and letting it catch the grass beneath on fire.

"FIRE!" one of the workers screamed.

"Wait for me!"


* Kymaziphied: based off "kymazito" – Greek for "wave."

** Verhevenphied: based off "verhevenheid" – Dutch for "serenity."