Disclaimer: I don't own Slayers nor Final Fantasy VII so suing me is futile. Nah!(pulls down bottom eyelid while sticking his tongue out)
Xelloss: Sighs "Now let's all take a moment of silence to thank both God and L-sama above for that."
Taroguru raises an eyebrow: "You're not sassing me again, are you demon boy?
Xelloss(frantically): "No, T-sama, I was just joking! You know me heh heh heh"
Lina: coughsbullcoughsshitcough
Xelloss: "Lina-san, please!....wait, what are you doing in the author's corner?
Lina: "Taroguru convinced me to act as his second muse to A) 'discipline' you if you should misbehave and, B) to act as his commentary for the story.
Xelloss: "....He bribed you with the promise of food and money, didn't he?"
Lina: "Of course not!....he promised me a share of his author powers."
Xelloss:OO; "oh. Good. God!"turns toward Taroguru "are you insane?!"
Taroguru: shrugs "partially."
Lina and Xelloss both sweatdrop
Taroguru: "ANYWAY, turns to the audience here is chapter four of "Final Fantasy Slayers!" Enjoy!
Sent By the Heavens Above
Italics represents thoughts, Quotations("") represents speech
"I'd be asking you the same thing, Bastard," Cloud replied in response to the 'puppet' comment. "I would have thought you would be coming after me, not trying to kill innocent people. But then again, That's just typical of you, isn't it?
"Hmph. And why would I be concerned about an insignificant insect such as yourself when I have more important matters to attend to? Speaking of which", Sephiroth turned to Gourry and Lina who were both in a battle stance. "We still have some unfinished business, Miss Inverse."
Lina simply glared in response. In her mind, she was trying to think of a strategy. As much as I hate to admit it, I only really have two choices, though neither one is particularly appealing. I've exhausted most of my energy trying to sustain the Dragon Slave. I could probably still pull off a few more spells, but nothing that would cause sufficient damage to Sephiroth. Well, it's either sink or swim. Lina looked at Gourry out of the corner of her eye, signaling for him to get ready. Gourry caught Lina's glancing and realized that she had a plan. He gave a short nod then refocused his attention on Sephiroth.
Cloud was oblivious to the exchange between the sorceress and swordsman; all his attention was directed at the man in front of him. Cloud reached behind his back, grasping the hilt of his Buster sword and said coldly, "We're going to finish this once and for all, Sephiroth."
"Sorry to interrupt you boys, but you'll have to settle this another time, Mega Brand!" Soon, the ground beneath Sephiroth's feet began to rise then suddenly exploded. Sephiroth growled and raised his arm to shield his face from the flying dirt and sediment. Now's our chance! "Come on, Gourry, move it!" Lina cried. She directed her attention towards Cloud. "Look, you need to come with us! I don't know what your connection with Sephiroth is, but it's obvious you're here to help so let's go!"
Cloud seemed reluctant at first, but he nodded his head and ran along side with Lina and Gourry. Lina cast a Ray Wing then gestured to Cloud and Gourry to grab hold of her hands. The two blonde swordsmen promptly did so and reached for the sorceress' hands. And with that, the three flew off into the air and were soon out of sight.
Sephiroth removed his arm from his face once the dust settled. He looked around the field trying to catch a glimpse of his adversaries, but could find no one. They had escaped him! Sephiroth tilted his head and let loose a roar that would shatter the heavens; a scream filled frustration, anger, but most of all, Rage. A dark aura enveloped his body and crackled with black electricity dancing around him. It grew bigger as bolts of electricity, being generated by the dark, magical aura, shot out and ripped across the landscape. The earth shook and trembled before Sephiroth's fury as everything within a 4-mile radius was being destroyed. Nearby forests were being set ablaze and the ground being torn apart by the force of the lightning bolts. Soon, the scream began to die on Sephiroth's lips; the dark aura began to dissipate. The silver- haired swordsman looked around at the destruction he had caused and smirked; now this world would know to fear his power.
"Are you done?"
Sephiroth whirled around at the sound of the voice, only to come face-to- face with the Trickster Priest himself, his usual grin on his face. "Now, now. I understand that you're upset but you were forewarned; Lina Inverse is not one to be underestimated nor to be taken lightly. You were too confident."
Sephiroth snorted. "Do not presume to lecture me, demon. I was fully aware of the challenge that this Lina Inverse would be, but that is not the source of my anger. No, what infuriates me is that damned puppet Strife is here! I was initially gauging the girl's strength, trying to understand how she fought in battles. I had no intention in killing her now because that would have been a premature on my part. But now that Strife's here, this makes my mission all the more troublesome."
Xelloss opened one slitted eye, his playful grin becoming a smirk. "Hmm, or is it possible that you're merely making excuses for your failure—"Xelloss had no time to finish that statement as Sephiroth yanked him out of mid-air and proceeded to strangle Xelloss with one hand. With green eyes glowing brightly, Sephiroth spoke darkly, "Understand this, Mazoku. Do not EVER question my actions again lest you truly desire oblivion."
Xelloss, with both eyes open, replied icily, "And do not think that for one instant I will not kill you where you stand should you presume to threaten me again, human.
The two merely stared each other down, neither one relenting in the least. Finally, Sephiroth released the general priest. "I will kill Lina Inverse without fail, but I will do it in my own fashion. You nor your mistress are my superiors, so do not dare regard me as some lacky again or your master will have to create another subordinate; do we understand each other?"
When Xelloss said nothing, Sephiroth dematerialized out of sight. Xelloss glared at the spot where he disappeared, the ruby mounted on his staff was glowing a bright violet. "We will see, my friend, we shall certainly see."
Elsewhere
The town of Eshmar was a relatively calm, peaceful environment. Its markets filled with fresh vegetation; children happily playing along the streets, neighbors who were relatively good-natured, and everyday was done in a routine. There was never anything that would disrupt the peaceful tranquility...that is until today.
Suddenly, a strong wind began to blow and at that moment, appearing out of the sky, were what appeared to be three mysterious figures. They landed softly on their feet, ignoring the awed looks on the townspeople's faces. The petite young red-haired girl,who was among the three, gestured for the two blonde-haired swordsmen to follow her into the local inn.
"Ahhh, after a fight like that I'd say the three of us deserve a hard earned meal, eh guys?"Lina said as she took her seat. Cloud raised an eyebrow. "Err excuse me, Miss Inverse, but shouldn't we be discussing what went on back there?" Lina merely waved it off. "Yeah, Yeah, we'll get to that but right now I'm STARVING! First, I miss out on breakfast because of those stupid bandits, then I'm suddenly being attacked by some white-haired lunatic who wants to kill me; If I don't eat something soon, I'll go crazy!"
Gourry, who was next to Lina, whispered to Cloud, "It'd be a good idea if you guys wait till after breakfast. Lina can get really grumpy if she's missed a meal."
Cloud blinked. "Grumpy as in—"
"Fireballing you for starters, or if you steal her food or if you call her flat chested, a Dragon Slave" Gourry said casually.
WHAM!
Lina stood over a disheveled Gourry, her fist still poised from where she hit him. "Who asked you, Jellyfish-for-brains!?"
Cloud simply sweatdropped at the couple. Man, Aeris wasn't kidding. This Lina is definitely one feisty, tenacious girl.
After breakfast (or, from Cloud's perspective, what appeared to be an all- out war of food deprivation) the three decided to get right down to business.
"Okay, Lina began, so tell us who exactly is this Sephiroth, and for that matter; who are you and why did you help us back there?
Cloud grinned. "You're certainly direct, aren't you?" Cloud sobered, a solumn look on his face. "Well, to answer your first question Sephiroth is a powerful being who comes from my world. I guess you already figured out that we're not exactly residents around here.
"Yeah, I gathered that much from my battle with Sephiroth. He said that he'd become "God of not one world but two!" That, and those strange spells he was using against me. But what I need to know is what does that have to do with me."
Cloud shrugged. "I wish I could say but I only have a faint clue myself as to why Sephiroth and the Mazoku want you dead. Aeris didn't tell me enough to find out what exactly their objective is."
"Um, excuse me but who is this Aeris?" Gourry asked.
"Oh, she was the one who sent me here. Maybe I should start from the beginning—"
flashback
...Cloud...
Who..is calling me?
Silly, it's me. Don't tell me you forgotten about me already.
Aeris?
Yes, Cloud it's me. Listen, I don't have much time to explain but this is really important. While you were unconscious there were two strange beings that were here. Beings who possess incredible power. They are called the Mazoku. The Lifestream has explained to me that they are a race of creatures that thrive on the very essence of negativity. They came to our world because they need Sephiroth.
What?! But why?
They need him to eliminate a sorceress named Lina Inverse who resides in their world. She is said to be brave,loyal, courageous, powerful, somewhat tenacious and ill-tempered girl but has a pure heart and soul. She defeated a piece of a demon lord by the name of Ruby Eye Shabranigdu whose powers rival that of Bahamut; our dragon god.
A being as powerful as Bahamut? But, that can't be true. The only other Summon beings with more power than Bahamut are the Knights of the Round.
Things operate differently in their world, Cloud. while the Gods of their world are in constant war with the Mazoku, ours live in neutrality. Because of Materia, anyone can call upon a God such as Alexander or the chaos knight Odin. We live in the fourth plane of existence where the demon lord of our world is called Death Fog. Our materias also draw their elemental powers from the gods except for Ultima, which is the most powerful spell next to Meteor and Holy.
But you say the gods and demons live in neutrality in our world; what do you mean?
I can't explain that at the moment, right now you have to go! I'm going to use the power of Holy to transport you and the others to Lina's world. Once you're there, I want you to seek out Miss Lina and warn her of what the situation is before Sephiroth comes after her. I can't accurately pinpoint where you will end up, and you may even be separated from the others once you get there. I'm sorry, Cloud.
Don't worry about it, Aeris. I'm sure we'll manage but, how will we know who this Lina Inverse looks like?
Heehee, no need to worry about that. Almost everyone in the world whose heard of her will give you a description of what she looks like. But if you need to know in advance, she's short with red eyes and hair; wears a black cloak with two black shoulder guards attached and a black bandana wrapped around her head; she also wears three magical talismans on her wrists and neck. You shouldn't have much difficulty finding her.
Alright, I understand. I'll try to get to her before Sephiroth does.
Good luck Cloud.
end flashback
(A/N sorry if my explanation of how the Final Fantasy and Slayers Universes are connected was lame. I'll probably revise this and make it better once I finish the story)
"---And when I finally arrived in your world, I was alone. Conveniently enough, Aeris was able transport me near the forest the two of you were in. It didn't take me long to find you since I could sense powerful magic being used. I found you guys fighting Sephiroth in an open field and, well, you already know the rest."
"Well, we appreciate the help," Lina said. "but what about your friends?"
Cloud sighed, "I wish I knew but I have no idea. Aeris warned me before hand that we all might not wind up in the same location. I just hope they're okay."
Lina slapped Cloud hard on the back, causing him to yelp and stumble forward. "Don't worry too much about them, okay? I'm sure we'll be able to find them in no time.
"So Lina," Gourry asked. "what are we going to do now?"
"Well, I think the smart thing to do is to find Zel as soon as possible. I have a feeling that we're not the only targets.
Cloud raised an eyebrow. "who's Zel"
"He's a friend of ours who we usually travel with. I remember something Sephiroth had said that made me think that he was not solely after me. I believe that whatever the Darklords are planning, it involves all of us."
Meanwhile, in the outskirts of Seyruun
A white-hooded individual walked along the road that led to Seyruun. He wore what appeared to be a mask on his face, which hid his more 'unique' features. Well, the strange hooded character thought to himself. I did promise her I would visit. Zelgadis couldn't help but smile at the thought of seeing the boisterous young princess. It had nearly been no more than half a year since he last saw her. With no new leads to his cure, He decided to research Seyruun's library in the hopes that there was a spell that would return him to his original form. Well, that was part of the reason anyway. He would never admit even to himself that it was because he missed his young traveling companion greatly.
"Excuse me, but would you happen to be Zelgadis Greywers?"
Zelgadis whirled around at the voice to come to face a white-haired man wearing dark clothing. Zelgadis narrowed his eyes, his hand rest on the hilt of his sword. "And if I am?"
Sephiroth smirked. "Come, now. It is only appropriate that one should be properly acquainted with their angel of death."
Taroguru: "sorry for making this chapter so short, ppl. But I'm being overloaded with ideas for chapters 5, 6, and 7 and I simply need to get them organized before I continue. I promise that I will make it up to you by my next update."
Lina: You DO realize that said people are probably PO'ed at you for holding them in suspense.
Taroguru: "I know, I know. Which is why I'm going release the aforementioned chapters in my next update."
Lina: "I just hope your next update doesn't take as long as the last one
Taroguru grins wryly. "Don't worry, it won't. Anyway, see that button down there? It's telling you to review REVIEW NOW! Muhahahahahahahahaha!
Lina:thinks Great. If it's not annoying mazoku priests, it's crazy authors sighs Why me?