Author's Notes: I honestly had no intention of writing a Magical Fusion Sequel. But while finishing up the story, my Beta Reader, Koochikoo, started talking to me about an element in my story that I had not put a lot of thought in, but she apparently had. And her ideas were great! I honored her suggestion with a little teaser at the end of MF, (ie the marks on Xellos, Amelia, and Zel's fingers,) but was just going to leave it at that.
But the idea she gave me soon grew and developed till I simply couldn't ignore it. I knew I had to write it out as a story. So this is the fruit of her concept after being planted in some over-fertilized parts of my brain.
As usual, I don't own Slayers, including Xellos, Amelia, Zelgadis, Lina, Gourry, Filia, and a few mentioned characters. I own the rest of the characters (Llygad, the Ginnalkos, ect.)
Collision Course
"Come out, come out, Llygad-san," Xellos called, casually flying through the air. He was on the edge of the Desert of Destruction, searching the sandy dunes for his prey. "I know you're here. You can't hide forever."
He was currently on a minor assignment for his master, the Dark Lord Beastmaster Zelas, but it could wait. He had stumbled upon an unexpected find, and he figured it was worth a small amount of his valuable time to capture her. After all, one of his many duties was to catch the occasional rogue Mazoku. And he'd been hunting this one for several centuries.
He stopped briefly, gazing around despite his eyes being consistently closed. He had a mischievous grin on his face, like he was playing the child's game of Hide and Seek. This was no game, however. His intentions were much more sinister.
"Shall I read you your rights, Llygad-san?" He waved a finger in the air, still twisting around as he searched. His lavender hair, cut in a page-boy style, whipped around him in the windy desert, along with his long, black cloak. He wore a loose-fitting tan shirt tied with an equally tan sash and black, loose-fitting pants. He had a leather satchel slung over his neck and shoulder, and he held a mage staff in his right hand; a crooked dark-wood staff with a large red jewel sitting between the split in the branches.
"Llygad-san!" His voice had a soft, sing-song quality to it, playful and roguish. "I'm here to place you under arrest for treason against the Mazoku race. You actually have no rights, but if you come quietly I promise to make your death a quick and painless one."
He stopped turning, his eyes shooting open suddenly. He sneered triumphantly as he spun around in mid-air, blasting a nearby dune with a dark spell. "GOTCHA!"
A cloud of sand billowed high into the air, but the figure fleeing from it did not escape the priest's notice. "Oh, still running, Llygad-san? Why not come play?"
He charged in the direction of the fleeing form. She was extremely fast, but Xellos was not worried about catching her. Speed meant little to him when he could travel through the Astral Plane at will.
Anyone who saw the woman Xellos was chasing would know instantly what she was, even though no two Mazoku looked alike. She had no legs, but instead a long, serpentine body from the waist down. Her tail ended in a wicked-looking pinecone-shaped mace. Her skin was bluish-white, lined with black markings, and was rubbery and shiny like that of a dolphin or shark. Her two unnaturally long arms ended in hands with equally long fingers, each tipped with needle-like claws.
You'd also think she had no eyes at all, till you took a closer look at her medusa-style 'hair.' Each of the dozen or so stalks ended in a single, large red eye. These eyes darted in every direction as she continued to flee.
"You know you can't get away." She could hear Xellos taunting her, his mocking smile coming through clearly in his voice. "I'm going to catch you!"
He instantly appeared in front of her, and she screamed, trying desperately to stop her acceleration. She failed, and hit Xellos' shield with a loud smack that sent her reeling backwards.
"You may as well give up, Llygad-san." He vanished again, and her eye stalks danced around desperately trying to find him. "Although, I must admit, chasing you is a lot of fun."
She screamed in rage and her eyestalks began to glow with a reddish light. Bright magical energy began shooting from every eye in every direction around her. She spun frantically, shooting the air, the ground, the dunes, anything she could see, letting clouds of sand billow all around her.
Xellos merely grinned as he watched her from the Astral Plane. Normally she could have followed him there, but he had used his magic to keep her trapped in the Physical Plane. She was much easier to catch and control that way.
She could hear the musical tone of teleportation just behind her, but she was too slow to react. In one swift motion, Xellos had gathered all of her eyestalks into one hand, and had his staff to her throat.
"Well that was a lot of fun, Llygad-san," he whispered into her "ear." "But my masters are eager to see you tried for your crimes. You've caused us a great deal of trouble for a long time."
Xellos squeezed her eyestalks, evoking a painful scream from the Mazoku as one of them ripped loose. "Not sure how you have kept yourself hidden for so long, but I'm afraid it doesn't look good for y…"
Xellos stopped, and Llygad could feel his body start to tremble. To her surprise, he suddenly released her "hair," giving her head free movement again. She shoved his staff aside easily as she rushed out of his reach.
Normally she would have fled and not looked back, but curiosity forced her to stop to see what had happened. There she found Xellos, curled up, his hands to his head as though in agony.
"What…what is this?" Xellos gasped. He sank to the ground, unable to keep himself suspended.
Llygad didn't answer him. She could only gape in wonder at this sudden turn of events. She certainly hadn't done anything to him. So what could possibly take down the most powerful…?
Then one of her eyestalks caught a glimpse of it. Despite the white gloves Xellos wore, her Mazoku eyes saw that his right hand carried a mark on his ring finger. A black mark, weaved with gold and white.
She suddenly began to laugh, speaking in a distorted voice, "Xellos you fool." She snickered at him. "That mark! You performed Fusion, didn't you? You fool!"
With Xellos weakened, his spell trapping her in the physical plane was lifted. She vanished from sight, her mocking laughter echoing behind her. Xellos, helpless and confused, was powerless to stop her.
The eyestalk he had ripped from Llygad had dropped to the ground next to him in the desert sand. Xellos crumbled to the ground, curling himself up into a ball while still holding his head. It was as though he were being smothered in the most horrible sensation imaginable, from his head to his gut.
And he simply didn't know why or how.
Amelia patted her white mare on the head, stroking her nose lovingly. The horse affectionately pushed into her hand, and Amelia wrapped her arms around the mare's neck in a hug.
She'd had this horse for years, her own White Justice. Her father gave her the mare four years ago, just before her trip to Xoana. And now, she was going to give her away.
"You sure you want to do this, Amelia?" Zelgadis watched the princess curiously, leaning against a tree nearby.
The family they had run into merely watched, not saying a word. The three of them, a salt-and-pepper haired, middle-aged man, his dark-haired teenage son, and his elderly mother, were traveling back from Seyruun. It didn't take a genius to realize when you watched them that the elderly woman could barely walk on her own.
They had come to Seyruun, the White Magic Capital, to have her treated for her illness, only to find that her condition was incurable. They were now traveling home again to the Elmekian city of Minca, where the elderly woman wished to live her remaining years and be buried.
"It's a long journey, Zelgadis-san," Amelia answered him. "It would not be just to allow an old, sick woman to walk all that way on her own."
With her head held high, Amelia took the reigns of White Justice and brought her over to the family. The two men helped their elderly mother/grandmother onto the horse while Amelia held the mare steady.
"Thank you so much, Your Highness." The woman spoke in a kind, shaky voice.
The older man turned to Amelia. "I will be coming back this way in a year's time on merchant business. I promise I will return your mare to you."
"Don't worry too much about it," Amelia said, smiling. She was going to miss her horse dearly, but the joy she felt in doing a good and just deed trumped all.
Amelia watched as the family walked away, her beloved horse trotting casually along, unburdened by the weight of the small woman on her back.
Zelgadis walked over to stand next to the princess, who was still watching the family leave, a small tear forming in her eye. She glanced over at her traveling companion and smiled at him.
He wore the same outfit he'd been wearing for years, a tan outfit that covered almost every inch of his body, if he so chose. This included finger-less gloves, a hooded cloak, and a cloth mask. He was not wearing the hood or mask right now, letting his face show.
Zelgadis had once been a normal human, but he wasn't anymore, thanks to the famous but malevolent sage Rezo. Because of Zelgadis' desire for greater strength, he was transformed into a chimera, a combination of a human, rock golem, and brau demon. The transformation had given him the strength he desired, but had also given him a very inhuman appearance.
Zelgadis' stone-skin was a grayish blue, covered periodically with smooth black pebbles. The most notable were the ones lining his chin, jaw, and both eyes. His ears were long and pointed like an elf's, and his "hair" was made up silver wires instead of actual hair.
The chimera looked back at the princess. "I guess you are going to be traveling on foot from here on." The family had now disappeared into the dense surrounding forest, despite the well-worn trail.
"That's okay." Amelia's smile grew wider. "I got rather tired of riding while you walked. I prefer not to be looking down at you all the time."
"Yes, because heaven knows you'll have plenty of opportunity to look down at me in Seyruun, Your Highness." Zelgadis grinned.
Amelia glowered at him. "What? I will not!" She stopped glowering briefly when she noticed the smile on Zelgadis' face, and instead she became annoyed. "Oh you! When did you become such a tease?"
Amelia blushed sweetly and turned away, smiling, which made her look all the more adorable. She certainly had the beauty of a princess, with large, blue eyes and shoulder length ebony hair. When Zelgadis had first met Amelia five years ago, she was rather short. But she had grown over the years till she was only an inch or two shorter than he. Zelgadis still wasn't used to her being able to look at him directly without having to look up.
Having grown out of her old white traveling outfit, she now wore a navy blue shirt and leggings covered by a pure white tunic. She had a thick belt that further accentuated her small waist and full, womanly figure. She also wore a diamond-shaped cape and white boots to match the tunic.
She had a new, more recent feature, too. She lifted up her left hand, gazing at the black, gold, and white mark that had appeared on her ring finger after the Magical Fusion ceremony. The mark was black, red, and white when she first got it, but the red had faded from orange to gold over time.
She had tried not to worry too much about the mark, as it seemed completely harmless. Her first thought was that it came from the Magical Fusion rings burning her finger, although a Recovery spell had done nothing to it. Not only that, but Zelgadis had a similar mark, on his right hand, and he hadn't even worn a ring during the ceremony.
Amelia blushed again. The fact that they both shared the same mark almost made them look like they were wearing wedding bands, and Amelia couldn't help but smile at the thought.
She continued to stare at her hand as she addressed her companion. "I guess we'll never be able to forget about our adventures in Nullin, will we?"
He frowned as he looked at her. "Personally, I'll take the scars over the alternative. It's certainly better than dying."
"Zelgadis-san?" She looked up at the chimera curiously. "Do you think Xellos got this scar too? We all performed the ceremony together."
Zelgadis shook his head. "I doubt it. Mazoku don't have physical bodies like ours, so I'm pretty sure they don't get scars."
"Yea, that's probably true." She shook the thoughts away, putting her hand down at her side and out of sight. "Well anyway, we should keep going. We're half-way home, and I just can't wait to see Daddy again."
She grabbed hold of Zelgadis' hand, dragging him along behind her. He went along willingly, finding he wanted to get to Seyruun almost as much as she did. He'd been living in Nuulin for over a year now, and it would be nice to finally have a new place to call home.
On top of a cliff face overlooking a man-made ravine, Xellos gazed down at the couple heading into it. They were mere specs on the ground from his vantage point, but he knew who they were. Seems the two of them were making very good time, and would probably arrive in Seyruun in just another week or two.
Their sudden rush was not too much of a concern. He had already planted the seeds of rumor in Seyruun, and the other couple coming from the other side of the ravine would be running into them any time now.
He need only wait patiently before making his next move. It was just as well. He needed to make a few preparations first. Wouldn't do to have one of his embarrassing "attacks" while speaking to them.
The mountains of Cemoria created a semi-border between the nations of Elmekia and Seyruun. The mountains were treacherous and inaccessible, with the exception of a long, man-made pass that had been created by the combined magical efforts of both kingdoms. This ravine created a single trail through the mountains, several miles long and wide enough to allow 10 carriages to travel side by side and still have room to maneuver. It made it possible to go straight from one country to another without having to go around the mountain range.
At this time, however, there were only two travelers, on foot, inside the ravine. They had just come from Seyruun and were just about to enter the Elmekian side of the mountain range. A tall, blonde warrior and a petite, red-headed sorceress.
"Geez, you'd think Amelia would have had the decency to be home when we traveled all this way just to meet her!" Lina Inverse grumbled to her companion.
The sorceress was very slim, and not all that tall, with a mane of long, fiery red hair that came down to her backside. It was obvious she was a sorceress from the complexity of her outfit. Her tunic and pants were mostly red, save for a strap of yellowish cloth covering her small chest. She wore a long, billowing, gold-trimmed cloak held by two large black shoulder-guards. She had red jewels attached to her shoulder-guards, wrists, neck, and waist.
Her companion, Gourry Gabriev, smiled sheepishly as he looked down at Lina with bright blue eyes. "Well, Phil did say she had important business in that town of what-cha-ma-call-it. Can we really expect Amelia to wait up for us when she doesn't even know we're coming?"
Gourry towered over Lina, who barely came up to his chin. He was a muscular man with a mane of blonde hair that was even longer than Lina's. He wore a blue shirt and matching pants, with black plates of armor covering his shoulders, chest, and hips. He had black boots and black, fingerless gloves to match his armor, and what appeared to be a simple sword strapped to his back.
"Of course we can, Gourry," Lina glared at her traveling companion. "And she's going to be real sorry when she realizes she missed her chance to say hi to me again."
"Yea, so, um, Lina?" Gourry asked. It's the way he always started a question when he was about to ask something he'd been told before, and Lina braced herself. "Why are we going this way again?"
"Ugh! Gourry you were there when we talked to the guy at the inn, don'tcha remember?"
The warrior shook his head, and Lina groaned. "Gourry, rumors abound in Seyruun that there was a merchant train full of people and treasure that went missing in this ravine. We're going this way to lay claim to the treasu…I mean rescue the merchants!"
"Oh, right." He smiled, satisfied with the answer.
"I wouldn't be going this way otherwise, Gourry. I wanted to head to the Coastal States to secure a ship to the outerworld. This ravine is in the exact opposite direction of where we wanted to go. Only country in this direction is Elmikia.
"Besides that," she continued, "this ravine is supposed to make travel easier, but it also makes it easier to be ambushed."
Lina gazed up at the steep cliff faces all around them, keeping her eyes peeled for attack. "Of course, what really irritates me is that I haven't seen a single sign of a wagon anywhere. I'm convinced at this point that that whole rumor was just that, a stupid rumor."
The sorceress growled, making a punching action with her fists. "I out to go back to that damn innkeeper and give him hell for wasting our time like thi…"
"Hey, Lina! Look over there."
The sorceress looked in the direction that Gourry was pointing, her face lighting up. "What? Do you see them? Do you see the merchants?"
There were no wagons in that direction. There were, however two figures coming into sight, almost running towards them.
"Oh man, I knew this ravine would be troub…" Lina stopped as the two figures came rapidly closer, and could swear they looked very familiar. "Wait. Is that…?"
The approaching couple didn't seem to have noticed Lina and Gourry yet, as one was very intent on speaking to her companion excitedly and rapidly. Her voice was very familiar one.
"Once we get to Seyruun, I'm going to give Daddy the biggest Pacifist Hug you ever did see. Then we go around town, enjoy some soft-serve ice-cream, go to the park and enjoy the…the…"
Amelia was looking at Zelgadis, and noticed his expression change to surprise as he looked forward. She stopped as well, looking in the same direction. As soon as the couple came close enough to recognize the traveling sorceress and warrior, they both stopped, not believing their eyes. Lina and Gourry, who had already stopped, looked back with equal surprise, staring at them.
A brief wind picked up, blowing a tumbleweed past both of the shocked couples. It seemed like an eternity before Amelia finally broke the stand-off.
"Lina-san!" The princess came running forward and practically tackled Lina in a hug. "Lina-san! It's so good to see you!"
"Amelia, what a surprise." Lina took an involuntary step back from the force of Amelia's hug, but she sheepishly returned it.
Zelgadis came up behind Amelia, smiling at the sorceress. "Well we didn't expect to run into the two of you here. Were you just in Seyruun?"
"Yep," Gourry said cheerfully. "We were hoping to run into Amelia, but she wasn't there." He grinned big at the couple. "Hi Amelia! Hi Zel!"
"Hi Gourry-san." Amelia smiled back as she broke the hug with Lina. "Wow, you two haven't changed at all."
Lina smirked. "Yea, well, can't improve on perfection, can you? I certainly can't say the same for you, Amelia."
Amelia looked mildy surprised. "What do you mean?"
"When the hell did you get taller than me?" Lina fumed as she stood next to the princess, noticing she now had to look up slightly to look at her. Amelia just blushed, rubbing the back of her head nervously.
Gourry spoke up this time. "So just where were you guys going?"
"Zelgadis and I were just heading home to Seyruun," Amelia answered, moving to stand next to the chimera again.
"Oh?" Lina spoke up. "Finished your business in Nuulin?"
Zelgadis smirked at her. "I take it Prince Philionel told you."
"Yea, we visited Seyruun looking for Amelia, and were told she headed off to the Anti-Magic City for some undertaking."
Zelgadis noted the label she used. "Have you heard of it before?"
"Only a little," Lina folded her arms thinking back. "All I know is that it's a small town with a barrier that prevents spell casting. Supposedly it's even powerful enough to prevent demons and Mazoku from entering. I've just never actually been there before." She shrugged. "Any city referred to as 'anti-magic' didn't sound all that appealing to me. Being so close to the Desert of Destruction didn't help either."
"That's all true," Zelgadis smiled. Lina always seemed so well informed when it came to just about anything magical, dangerous, or valuable. "They use white and black magic Fusion to create the barrier, but it goes down every 100 years, so they have to renew it."
"Magical Fusion, really?" Lina's eyes went wide with excitement. "Damn, if I'd known that I would have gone to visit."
"Don't bother." Amelia spoke up, her voice cold and angry. "That place is awful. If I ever go back there, it will be too soon."
It was not the reaction Lina was expecting from the normally cheerful princess. "Huh? What's wrong with it, Amelia?"
Zelgadis answered. "Amelia was called there to be the White Mage for the Fusion. While there we discovered that the shield is now being corrupted by the Mazoku for their own ends." His eyes narrowed. "And by 'Mazoku' I mean specifically Xellos."
"Xellos?" Now Lina was really intrigued. She'd traveled with the Mazoku many times, and things always got interesting when Xellos became involved.
Amelia spoke up again, clenching her fists to her sides. "Xellos-san tortured and tried to have us killed just to get that shield up! He was so cruel and evil and I swear if I ever see him again…"
She clenched her fists tighter till her knuckles turned white. She didn't realizing how angry she was until she felt a familiar hand touch hers. She glanced down, and saw Zelgadis' hand resting on her fist, squeezing it reassuringly. Her anger was released in one fell swoop, and Amelia took his hand in hers.
The gesture did not escape Lina's notice. "Well, well," she chuckled. "Looks like at least something good came out of Nullin."
Amelia blushed, but smiled sweetly. "I guess you could say that."
Zelgadis blushed slightly, but cringed in response.
"What about you, Lina-san?" Amelia turned back to the sorceress, her eyes gleaming. "Did you and Gourry-san finally get together, too?"
Lina's face turned beet red, her eyes wide. "Wha…What do you mean?" Gourry stared at Lina with gentle eyes but said nothing.
"You know what I mean," Amelia smiled. "Did you two finally declare your love for each other or what?"
Lina glared at the princess, still blushing. "What? Of course not, we just travel together, that's all!"
Amelia saw Gourry sigh and look away, a reaction that wasn't lost on Lina. The red-headed sorceress looked over at her companion confused. "What? Was it something I said?"
Amelia rolled her eyes. "You two have been together for almost six years. You guys are hopeless, I swear."
"Oh good, you are all here. This makes my job so much easier."
Lina and Gourry looked up in surprise. Standing behind Zelgadis and Amelia was the familiar smiling priest.
Zelgadis growled, "You!"
"Hello everyone. It's good to see you again."
Lina smirked. "And here comes trouble. Hello, Xellos."
Xellos smiled charmingly at Lina, despite the angry glares he got from Zelgadis and Amelia. His eyes remained closed, as he usually only opened them when he was starting to get serious.
Amelia backed away from Xellos as he approached. Zelgadis placed himself between the princess and the Mazoku, staring him down with palpable hatred.
"I can't believe you would dare show your face around us after what you did."
"Oh, come on, are you still mad about that?" Xellos waved his hand dismissively. "It was almost a month ago, I'd think you would have forgotten by now."
"I tend to remember when someone tries to kill me!"
"Well, it doesn't matter really, Zelgadis-san. I'll get to my business with you and Amelia-san in just a moment. For now," he turned his attention to the sorceress, "my business is with Lina-san."
Everyone turned to Lina, who merely bowed her head with a grin, "Hmm! Some things never change. Alright Xellos, what do you want?"
He clapped his hands together in front of him eagerly. "Yes, well, what I want will require a bit of explanation, I'm afraid. Did Zelgadis-san and Amelia-san tell you about Nullin?"
"Yeah, kinda." She stole a brief glance at the pair before continuing. To say the two of them were not thrilled to see Xellos was an understatement. "They told me that you were there to corrupt the Magical Fusion ceremony."
"Indeed that's true." He was very casual as he spoke of it. "We discovered 100 years ago that when you unbalance the power of white and black magic, the shield will actually destroy the weaker magic. My goal was to use my demonic magic with a human white mage to create a shield that destroys white magic."
"And don't forget," Zelgadis interrupted, his voice icy cold. "It also kills white mages, including the one performing the ceremony with you. You killed the white mage 100 years ago when you did it, and you even performed it with Amelia knowing what it might do to her."
"Well, yes, there is that too…"
Lina frowned. She continued to gaze at the Mazoku curiously, even though she turned her question to the chimera. "So if what you say is true, Zelgadis, why did Amelia live?"
It was Xellos that answered. "Because our sweet little princess shrine maiden can use Holy magic now. She equaled my demonic magic with it. I was highly impressed I must say."
"What?" Lina looked over at Amelia in shock.
The princess just glanced back nervously. "No, no, I can't use Holy Magic. Xellos-san is just saying I did."
"I also added my shaman magic to the shield," Zelgadis interjected. "I'm pretty sure that's the real reason."
"Goodness," Xellos sighed. "Don't you guys trust me at all?"
"No," Zelgadis and Amelia spoke simultaneously.
"Ah…"
"Anyway!" Lina interrupted. "That's all well and good, but what does the shield of Nullin have to do with me?"
Xellos turned back to Lina and smiled wide again. "Since Zelgadis-san and Amelia-san messed up our little experiment, Beastmaster-sama has given me a new task to perform."
"And that is?" she pressed.
"She wants me to ask you, Lina-san, to destroy Nullin's shield."
Chapter 2: No Sorcerers Allowed
It's called the Anti-Magic city for a reason, Lina!
More Author's Notes: A picture of Llygad in her Mazoku form can be found on my main profile page, listed with the rest of my Magical Fusion art. Yes, you will be seeing her again.