Author's Notes: Grumble. Grumble. I get angry when I'm concentrating on finishing a fic. Even if it's moving along nice and dandy, sometimes I just need a few hours away to get my bearings back. I hate coming up with titles for things! I hate having any kind of "due date" (I told myself I would finish this before my Christmas break was over) and I hate battle scenes! I love dialogue and the characters though. Ah heck. I love writing fanfiction.

Fighting the Fight of Life

Another unlucky monster found himself at the end of Filia's Flame Breath, and Xellos sent another blast of energy to dissolve a few more of the pesky creatures, but before either had time to take a breath, more were on them. Xellos had to admit to himself that he was beginning to get tired, not the good kind of tired either. He glanced over at Filia; she was panting and her mace was beginning to get awfully close to the ground. How much time did Milgazia need to gather everyone and get them out of there?

Xellos sprinted forward, caught Filia, and swiftly his body lifted from the ground over the heads of many monsters. He still had enough energy to annoy Dynast's stupid lackeys by running away. The golden dragon in his arms was struggling. What was she trying to do? Knock them both out of the air?

"Let me down Xellos!" she hollered.

"It would be wise for you to save your energy for fighting Filia," Xellos told her. "I don't plan on getting to far."

She stopped and looked up at him with large blue eyes. "What do you mean? Are we going to lose?"

The trickster smile down at her cheerfully. "Oh no Filia, you've got me all wrong. Every war has its difficult moments, but I've lived through them all, so don't worry. I'm sure we'll be fine."

"What about the others?"

"Them? Oh. They're expendable of course."

Xellos continued smiling even though Filia's mace had left a rather large mark across his face. He had been kidding. She didn't have to take it so seriously.

The monsters in the valley lunged at the trickster who laughed as he dodged and swerved around them. He had sure gotten their attention. More concentrated energy shot from the ruby of his staff, and more monsters fell. Finally he stopped and let Filia down. They had come to the edge of the valley, and the mountains standing in front of them were blocking their flight. There were still thousands of monsters in the valley. The bowl was about to overflow.

Filia's Chaotic Disintegrate spell took care of a few of their unruly foes, but it didn't hold them off for long. Xellos adopted a rhythm in his attacking which rarely shifted; attack, pause to wait while they regrouped, and then attack again.

"Everything is going according to plan," Xellos happily announced to Filia who had slumped to the ground beside him. Opening one eye, the trickster regarded his worn-out companion. "Miss Filia? Oh dear, don't tell me you're tired already."

He was tiring out too, but despite this, he was still able to keep up his cheery disposition, and his attacks. There was no way he was going to lose to a bunch of lesser monsters. Then she appeared. Sherra; general of the Dark Lord residing in the North, laughed as she pointed her sword down at him. She was floating much too high for the blade to touch him, but the threat was clear enough.

After taking another swipe at the nearby monsters with his staff, he nudged Filia with the toe of his shoe.

"There's been a change of plan Filia," he said. "I need you to go find Milgazia and warn him that Dynast's General is here. Can you do that? Tell him to get himself and his people far away from the valley."

"What about you…? Filia murmured, forcing herself back to her feet. Seeing Sherra hovering above them suddenly left the sleepy golden dragon wide awake. "You're not going to fight all by yourself are you?"

"I'm touched you're worried about me," he replied in all seriousness. "But this isn't a fight you'd be able to survive. It's been their plan all along to wear us out with these lesser subordinates of theirs."

"So you think you know our plan Xellos?" Sherra questioned, an ugly smirk spreading across her face. "I bet you don't know anything."

Despite her confidence, Xellos managed to keep his composure. The monsters surrounding them had suddenly stopped attacking. Sherra had probably signalled them to halt, but Xellos hadn't seen this. Filia was standing beside him, glaring up at this new foe as though she really believed that she could beat Sherra, that he could beat Dynast's general.

"Alright then, enlighten me," Xellos remarked moving his arms up as he shrugged. "What don't I know?"

"Your Lord Beast Master is going to die," Sherra gleefully announced.

Frowning, Xellos glowered at the powerful general hanging in the sky. Was she lying? His lord hadn't mentioned anything along these lines to him. That must be it. She was lying in order to catch him off guard.

"Forgive me if I don't believe you," the trickster replied.

"Where do you think Lord Dynast is?" she asked, revelling in her knowledge.

"If you want to play Sherra, I'm ready."

Ignoring his latest comment, Dynast's general continued, "He's on Wolfpack Island, and with the aid of Lord Deep Sea Dolphin, he's going to kill the Greater Beast! Actually, I wouldn't be surprised if she was already dead!"

That was it. Xellos lost it. He charged into the sky and swung his staff at Sherra who caught the attack with her sword. She ran the blade a little down the wood before forcing him back with a strong shove.

"She tried to save you by sending you someplace else. Can you believe it? She actually thought she could defend herself alone against both Lord Dynast and Deep Sea Dolphin!"

"You're starting to get rather irritating," Xellos spat as he readied his staff to face off against her.

"Xellos!" Filia called from below. The remaining monsters were closing around her greedily. When the trickster realized this, he vanished, reappearing at her side.

"Didn't I tell you to leave?"

"It's not like I didn't try," Filia retorted. She bit her lip when Xellos' expression hardened. What Sherra said really had gotten to him.

"Xellos…? Are you ok?"

"We won't have much time. I'll keep the monsters here distracted, that shouldn't be to difficult eh? And you concentrate on getting yourself out of here," he replied, ignoring her question. "Help Milgazia get the others far away." Xellos managed a half-hearted smile. "Ok?"

"You're planning on losing!" she accused. "You can't!"

Xellos raised his staff in front of him, and Sherra urged the monsters below her to attack. He deflected many of their blows, but some were beginning to get through. "If you don't want to die right here, hurry up and get yourself out!"

The ex-priestess didn't have much choice. She clasped her hands together, closed her eyes, and concentrated on teleporting herself to Milgazia's location. Before she was taken away, her eyes opened and she saw Xellos struggling with the horde of monsters he was trying to fend off. Without a second thought, she reached out and caught him by the cape and pulled him into the teleportation circle.

Filia hadn't been expecting the extra momentum she got by pulling Xellos after her, so when they reappeared in the clearing where the dragons had sought refuge, Filia fell forward and hit the dirt. The trickster caught himself before he could follow her example, and looked around to regain his bearings.

"Very good Filia, you actually brought us to the right place," he said with a hint of mockery. He hadn't anticipated getting dragged along with her, but he had, so now his plans had to change. Sherra probably though of him as a coward; he wanted to go straight back there and wipe that smile off her face…

The ex-priestess picked herself up off the ground and brushed herself off before turning to Xellos.

"You could at least thank me."

"For what? Please remind me."

"Ooo! You're so annoying! I don't even know why I bothered to help you in the first place!"

"You help me? I knew what I was doing unlike a certain little tag-along of mine!"

"Tag-along!? You're the one who decided to stick his nose into our business!"

"Ha ha, please, don't make me laugh. This is just as much my business as it is yours!"

"How!? You suddenly showing up hasn't made our lives any easier!"

"Well that's your problem isn't it, not mine! You should just go back to your little house in the countryside and leave war to the grownups!"

"You're just angry because you were going to lose and you know it!"

"So you think you know my true power!? Would you like me to give you a demonstration right here!?"

The dragons in the clearing gasped and shrank away from the angry Beast Master, and that shut Filia up fairly fast. Xellos' had revealed his angry amethyst eyes, and the ex-priestess was speechless. She had never been on the receiving end of such anger. She couldn't breath; she couldn't swallow.

Milgazia stepped in the way of the trickster's horrible glare, and Filia sank to the ground.

"Please don't be rash Beast Master… we've all done what you asked," the elder said calmly, trying to hide his anxiety.

Dragons really were too easy to scare, and Xellos had been counting on it. True he had been fairly ticked-off at Filia, but he had been trying to start a fight with her, and it worked; he had been completely revived by their negative emotions, and he had vented a lot of his frustration. All in all, he felt much better.

Stretching, Xellos' eyes once again vanished behind a mask of cheerfulness. "That was quite refreshing," he admitted ruefully scratching the back of head. "It seemed I had lost more energy than I was expecting, but now I've got it all back."

"You mean, that was an act?" Milgazia questioned flatly, and the trickster felt relief sweep over the elder along with the other dragons, say one. Filia didn't move.

He decided to write it off for now having remembered what he had wanted to tell Milgazia.

"Sorry Milgazia, but Sherra appeared to complicate things, so I'm going to have to ask you to take everyone away from the valley," he smiled. "But don't worry, I'm sure things will work out."

"What are you planning...?" Milgazia asked, and Xellos detected a hint of uncertainty in the elder's voice. Xellos understood. It was going to be difficult to move that many dragons away from the valley without being detected, even if they did move by ground.

"Oh you know me," the trickster began grinning. "A few fiery explosions, lots of death, and maybe an ice cream cone once everything has been taken care of."

Milgazia nodded solemnly. "I hate to say this… but our fate depends on your success."

She'd known about this all along. Their attack hadn't been a surprise. In the darkness cigarette smoke gently floated into the air of the Greater Beast Master's main hall. She was sitting on her throne, waiting for their next move. Half of her island was gone and most of her minions had been destroyed. Still, she wasn't planning on dying just yet.

Silently, she eased herself up and took a few confident steps forward, so that she was standing in the middle of the hall. Whatever was left of her island was floating over Deep Sea Dolphin's underwater fortress. Smirking, she knew she was going to give Deep Sea a surprise, but not quite yet.

Both of her enemies were somewhere on the island. How long had she been waiting for this day? They had declared war on her months ago, but it had been a false war then, as they waited for her to let her guard down. They were fools. Dynast was a fool. Did he really think the Greater Beast could be taken by surprise? Oh she had been ready alright. Her followers had put up an excellent fight, and even though most of them had been destroyed, she knew that her enemies were probably starting to get tired and irritated by all the walls of defence she had placed in preparation. In fact, the whole island was one giant trap. The other Dark Lords couldn't leave to regain their energy, and Zelas hadn't even lifted a finger against them yet.

How did they expect to win a war in her territory? It was amazing how stupid they thought she was. Her sending Xellos away was only another part of her plan to lull the other Dark Lords into a false sense of superiority, to lure them onto Wolfpack Island.

"I bet you think you're pretty funny Beast Master…" Dynast said, appearing in her doorway. He seemed haggard and thoroughly angered by her resistance. His silver armour glinted through the shattered glass of her falling empire. This was going to get a whole lot more interesting.

Zelas turned to him, a look of self-satisfaction plain on her face. Her smirk remained as she gazed past him at the other figure behind him. It wasn't Deep Sea Dolphin.

"So you did bring Norst," she noted. "Let me guess, Deep Sea Dolphin sent you and your little follower through all my traps. It was a smart move on her part, but not for you."

Norst moved to defend his lord, but he was too late. Zelas shot forward, and a few wolves that had been hiding in the shadows sprang from the darkness. She got a hit in before Dynast was able to jump back out of her way. Clutching his arm, he summoned his energy and fired it at the Greater Beast. She easily dodged this attack, but some of her servants weren't so lucky. A few of them yowled before dissipating, and the remaining wolves whined and inched away from this threat. Norst came at her, but she knocked him away as her body began shifting into her beast form. Speedily, she leapt at him. Her claws caught Dynast's priest through the neck, and her energy shot out tearing into him.

Dynast's priest didn't have time to summon a spell to his aid; he slumped against the wall, too stunned and weakened to move. All he could do watch as his lord, gleaming in his silver armour, face against their enemy.

The Dark Lord of the North caught Zelas with his sword as she sprang on him, snapping and clawing, she managed to knock his helmet off before falling back. Her followers gathered around her, snarling and bristling. Sharp teeth gleamed, monster eyes flashed, and as their lord launched herself at him once again, and her wolves swarmed him. Dynast swung his sword and used his power to blow many of Zelas' followers away, but some clung on, and the Greater Beast Master's jaws bit into his throat as her claws tore into his armour. Hoping to shake her off, Dynast dragged himself and Zelas into the astral plane.

She let go, and they clashed. Dynast's injuries were enough to hinder him, and the Greater Beast Master struck the fatal blow. His body began to break apart, and he glared up at her as he sank to his knees.

"Damn you… Zelas…" he spat

The dragons began to clear out, though Milgazia lingered behind, and then there was Filia who stubbornly hadn't moved at all. Xellos strode over to her, and bent down to look into her eyes. She turned away from him, and he sighed. He couldn't detect any anger or sadness or even fear. She was just…. Numb.

"You should really go with others Filia," the trickster told her. "You aren't going to be of much help to anyone if you stay here."

"Don't tell me what to do monster," she murmured at him.

"Do you want me to apologise?"

"Filia," Milgazia called, and the ex-priestess stood up and went to his side. "We'll leave the rest to you Beast Master."

Xellos watched Filia as she turned away. She bore the same blank expression as Milgazia, and the trickster began to wonder if she was feeling ok. Maybe he underestimated her ability to recover from the scare he gave her. She was just another dragon after all. Just another golden dragon…

He used the astral plane to return to the valley, and found a few monsters lingering around a few dragon bodies. A groan signalled to the beast master that one of them was still alive. Dynast's minions realized this too, and they closed in, only to get sliced to pieces by Xellos who attacked them from the astral plane.

Confused, the dragon slowly forced himself to stand. His golden scales shone with blood, and he ground his teeth as something inside him cracked.

"You're on your last limb aren't you?" Xellos mused, and the dragon's golden orbs searched around fearfully for the source of the voice.

"Who's there?"

"I don't think you're going to survive this war."

"Well it's not like I was planning on living through this. I will die defending this valley."

"Ah. A hero then. Do you have enough life in you to gather the injured?"

"Why?"

"Because, they'll all die if they stay lying down. They might as well fight while they can, don't you think?"

Xellos left the dragon to continue his search for Sherra. His eyes swept over the quieting valley. She was still here. He knew she was. Then he saw her, sword at her side, waiting. He grinned as he quickly, moved in for the assault. Attacking from the astral plane was his specialty after all.

Sherra shrieked when Xellos pierced through her abdomen. She grabbed her sword and jabbed it behind her, just as the trickster returned to the astral plane.

More Notes: Did you know I originally meant for this fic to be only one chapter long? Yeah, but then I looked it over and I realized that the chapter I had been writing was extremely long, so I made myself break it into pieces. That's why all three/four chapters were put up at the same time.