Scarlet cried out in frustration as Sherra drove her further and further from the main action. Every time Scarlet tried to run back to the group, Sherra would unleash another volley of energy and it was all Scarlet could do to defend herself. Scarlet knew she had to get Sherra on the defensive, she had to do something. But her thoughts were so consumed with her sister that she couldn't formulate a plan of attack. All she could do was defend.

Think! She told herself, If you use the…

But once again her eyes darted to where she had last seen the group. They were specks in the distance now, only noticeable by the occasional explosion. Her stomach twisted as she wondered what was happening. The hair of the back of Scarlet's neck rose, and she rushed to throw a shield in front of her.

Too late. Scarlet screamed as the spell caught her legs and she crumbled to the ground. She just managed to get another shield up as another volley came at her. Dust rose, choking her lungs, and her heart raced. Through the dust she saw Sherra's silhouette coming closer to her.

Scarlet couldn't move. Her legs were broken. For a heart stopping moment she realized that this was it when suddenly Sherra stopped walking and looked behind her. Then she dodged to the left as Lina appeared from nowhere, bringing the Ragna Blade down where Sherra had been.

"Nice try." Sherra said as Lina pulled the sword back and assumed a fighting stance. "You're supposed to be dead, you know."

"Do you really think I'd stay dead if I knew your kind was resurrecting Shabranigdo?" Lina asked with a grin.

"Or perhaps Xellos isn't as competent as he thinks he is." Sherra said, "You know, this actually makes me very happy. Lord Shabranigdo will be glad to hear it, too. He was very disappointed when he'd learned he'd lost the opportunity to face you on the battlefield again."

"ZELAS BRID!" Scarlet yelled as she drove the lasso of energy towards Sherra, who yelped as it hit her. Lina's eyes flashed, and she wasted no time in hurling her sword over her head and bringing it down on Sherra. Sherra cried out and then abruptly vanished.

Lina swore as she collapsed to the ground, "I think she got away. I was so certain we'd nabbed her that time!"

Zelena came up from behind Lina, "I'd better dole out the healing spells. It looks like there's a fight in the distance."

Lina looked at Scarlet, "Shabranigdo?"

Scarlet brushed the tears from her eyes and shook her head, "I don't want to say."

"Huh?" Lina said as Zelena walked over to Scarlet, "First thing, at the risk of sounding heartless, you'd better heal me first, Zelena. The faster I can get to the group the faster I can take Shabranigdo down. Scarlet can wait."

"Oh." Zelena said as she walked back to Lina while Scarlet burst into a sob.

Lina looked at Scarlet steadily as Zelena started her healing spell, "Fill me in. I need as much information as possible."

Scarlet took a deep breath, "You have a sister."

"Huh?" Lina said.

"Goodness, I'm such a mess right now." Scarlet shook her head, "You can't kill Shabranigdo. They resurrected him from my sister. There has to be a way to turn her back!"

Lina briefly looked at the ground, "It's not possible, Scarlet. Your sister died the moment Shabranigdo was reborn."

"There has to be a way. Think, Lina, if that were Luna…"

"Then I would have to think of what Luna would want me to do. And that wouldn't be letting her destroy the world." Lina said, and then her mouth turned into a bittersweet smile, "If you don't believe me, ask Violet yourself when you rejoin us. As for me, I'm going to do what I have to do to protect the world."

Lina stood up and dusted herself off, "Thanks, Zelena. You can heal Scarlet now. I'll likely see you on the battlefield soon."

"Lina!" Scarlet cried futilely as Lina raced to the group.

Zelgadis and Amelia got up, slightly dazed by the change in events. The Elmekian's arrival had bought them some more precious time, and they had to think of a way to make it count. Unfortunately, Shabranigdo seemed to grab the reigns first, "Take the rest of them down, but leave the three most powerful to me!"

An oppressive sense of bloodlust rose through the air, thick enough to taste as the monsters descended upon the human. And though they were armed with swords, they were of no use against astral beings. Soon the field was covered in the blood of Gunther's men.

"This isn't a battle," Zelgadis said as his stomach turned, "This is a slaughter."

"May be if we get the magic users here we might be able to use the combined power of several spells to hit Shabranigdo at once to defeat him." Amelia said.

"But how do we get them all over here?" he asked, "Most of them have got their hands full with fighting the monsters."

"Are you going to fight, or are you going to talk?" Shabranigdo bellowed, and Amelia and Zelgadis turned to face him, readying their hands for a fight.

"ASTRAL VINE!" Zelgadis yelled, drawing his sword. Gourry, Zelgadis and Amelia charged Shabranigdo. "RA TILT!" Zelgadis yelled, directing the power through his sword, combining it with the Astral Vine and he stabbed Shabranigdo. The Dark Lord screamed, the scream intensifying as Amelia hit him with a Ra Tilt. Gourry was next, his Blast Sword landing on Shabranigdo's shoulder, nicking it a bit as white dust sprayed forth from the wound.

"What?" Shabranigdo bellowed.

Gourry, Zelgadis and Amelia exchanged hope filled glances. They had nicked him. The stress of their combined attacks had nicked Shabranigdo! They prepared themselves to hit him again when Shabranigdo, realizing that these mere humans might actually have a chance against them, held nothing back as he threw energy beams every which way at them. They were numerous and many, leaving the group little else to do but dodge and scatter, occasionally being nicked or knocked to the ground by the sheer power of the energy thrown at them. Shabranigdo laughed as one by one they collapsed to the ground, overcome and exhausted by his great power. They had fought extremely well for mere humans. A pity there weren't more like them, this was rather fun.

"Lord Shabranigdo!" Sherra cried as she suddenly appeared in front of him, looking a little worse for the wear. Her face looked strange, as though it had been cleaved. Seeing a monster injured was always such a surreal experience. Wounds that would have finished a human they could continue to function with.

Gourry, Amelia and Zelgadis carefully got up, marveling at this new reprieve as Shabranigdo looked at Sherra with annoyance. "What is it?"

"Lina Inverse is alive, and she is headed this way." Sherra grinned, "Xellos failed in his mission."

"How?" Xellos asked as his eyes opened in surprise, "She was quite dead when I left her."

"How long until she gets here?" Shabranigdo asked as Gourry felt himself go shaky with relief as Amelia clutched Zelgadis' hand.

"Mere minutes."

Gourry looked at Zelgadis and Amelia, "Now."

"RA TILT!" Zelgadis and Amelia both cried as Gourry raced towards Shabranigdo and slashed at him with the Blast Sword again.

Shabranigdo groaned, and then seemed to explode with a powerful, three hundred and sixty-degree energy blast. Gourry brought his sword in front of him to cut the spell, and fortunately Zelgadis and Amelia fell in behind him, the heat from the spell burning. When it dissipated, Shabranigdo was still standing, formidable as ever.

"Dammit, we could throw Ra Tilts at him all day and it wouldn't matter." Zelgadis said.

"All we need to do is keep him on the ropes. Lina will be here soon." Gourry said, his voice filled with hope.

Shabranigdo suddenly sounded a strange, horrible cry. Fear seized the group, but it dissipated as the monsters stopped fighting to look at him. "Sherra has informed me that Lina Inverse lives!"

"Explain this then!" Sherra said, pointing out her wound, "Unless you think a ghost can cast the Ragna Blade."

"Enough." Shabranigdo said, "I want to fight her again, and I want everyone to be at full strength. This will be a temporary ceasefire."

And then the field was devoid of monsters as they fell back to the astral plain. "What the…" Gunther said as he stared incredulously at where the army had been. "But they were winning."

"Monsters are prideful creatures." Amelia explained.

"And let's not look this gift horse in the mouth." Zelgadis said.

"Help me with the wounded." Amelia said.

Lina felt a wave of relief wash through her as she could discern her friends from a distance, and then she felt slightly sick as she realized they were walking among rows of the wounded. Or dead. Where had this army come from? And more importantly, where had Shabranigdo gone?

She started to run faster, and she noticed the moment that Gourry turned and looked in her direction. Swiftly he started running to her, closing the distance between them even faster. Finally they reached each other, grabbing the other into a firm embrace.

"Lina!" he exclaimed, "You're alright! Xellos told me he killed you. And I felt it, I was so certain…"

She stroked his hair, "Shh."

"But he had your stuff." He said.

"I just did that to throw him off." Lina said casually as she pulled back to look at him. "You forgive me, don't you?"

He shook his head, "But I felt it, I felt it when you died."

Lina sighed and looked at the ground, "I guess I can't fool you then. Okay, fine, he killed me, but Zelgadis' sister was there, and she worked fast and got my heart started again. And here I am."

He looked at her for a few moments with an inscrutable expression on his face, then he moved his forehead to touch hers briefly, "I'm just glad you're okay." He brushed his lips against hers, and then pulled her closer for a deeper kiss that was all to brief, "Just stay that way, okay? I love you, you know."

Lina squeezed his hands, "Back at you."

"Miss Lina!" Amelia said, running to Lina's side and enveloping her in an embrace, "You're all right!"

"Amelia!" Lina said, relief washing through her as she saw Zelgadis behind Amelia, "Zel…You're all right." She said as she hugged Amelia back. She'd been just as worried about them as they had been about her. Lina would have never forgiven herself if something had happened to them because she had abandoned them, but they were all here, and they were all fine. Amelia pulled away. "I'm all right, Amelia." Lina said, and then she grinned at Zelgadis, "Thanks to your sister."

"Zelena?" he asked.

"Yeah, I ended up in Trespin." Lina said casually, "And don't worry about her, she's healing Scarlet. They'll be here soon."

"So everyone's okay," Amelia said with a smile, and then she stood up and ran to Zelgadis and threw her arms around him. Gourry and Lina turned, jaws wide open as they watched Zelgadis return the embrace and stoop down to kiss her.

"When did those two get together?" Lina asked.

Gourry smiled as he wrapped his arm around her, "You know, I was so worried about you, that I have no idea!"

"Okay, reunion's over, we need to figure out a strategy." Lina said all brisk like.

"You're right." Gourry said, "But first…"

His voice trailed off as he pulled out her earring from his pocket and put it back on her ear. He ran his hands through her hair and smiled at her. "Thought you should have this back."

"Thanks." She said. "Now, what's this about Shabranigdo being resurrected from Scarlet's sister?"

Minutes after Lina arrived, Zelena came to the field with a dejected looking Scarlet. "Brother!" Zelena called as she found Zelgadis sitting with Amelia as they worked together to heal the wounded.

Zelgadis smiled a little as he went up to hug his sister, "I'm surprised to see you again."

"I hope it's a pleasant surprise."

"Where's Shabranigdo?" Scarlet asked.

"We're in the midst of a ceasefire." Lina said, "I don't think it will last much longer, though.

"Zelena." Gourry said as he walked up to the swordswoman, speaking quietly enough that he thought that Lina wouldn't hear. "Thank you for saving her."

Zelena smiled, patting Gourry on the shoulder as Lina blushed. "It was the right thing to do." She said. Gourry stood beside Lina, watching her contentedly. They weren't out of this yet, but the prospects of survival suddenly seemed greater. Besides, this way he at least got to see her again.

"So, what's the plan for defeating Shabranigdo." Zelgadis asked, and then he cast a spell to activate the Jewel of Rajah, and Amelia followed up with a White Magic spell.

Lina frowned. The only spell that she really had a chance of using to defeat Shabranigdo with was the Giga Slave, but if she fired that spell she could destroy the whole world if she miscast it. However, if Shabranigdo defeated her, he would destroy the whole world. She hated this, she absolutely hated damned if you do, damned if you don't scenarios. There had to be another way…

But it was more than the usual damned if you do, damned if you don't. From what she'd learned from the group, she wasn't just facing Shabrangdo, but pretty much the entire monster race. If she used the Giga Slave, she could only stop one monster. What if the other monsters decided not to let their leader's death go unavenged?

Lina watched as the magical energy from the Jewel of Rajah healed a wounded soldier who certainly would have perished without the intervention and wondered if they were just delaying the inevitable.

"Perhaps we don't have to kill him." Scarlet said, "Perhaps the Jewel of Rajah…"

"Not even the Jewel of Rajah can bring people back from the dead." Lina said, marveling at the depths of Scarlet's denial.

Scarlet bowed her head and did not even seem to register as Gunther put a hand on her shoulder. "You must think I'm being rather silly." Scarlet said.

"I think you're grieving."

Scarlet sighed, "You're right, loathe though I am to admit it. Perhaps I ought to sit this one out."

Lina looked at her contemplatively, "No. I think you need to stay in the game."

"Miss Lina?" Amelia said, "That's cruel."

But Zelgadis was looking at Lina thoughtfully, "No, I think I know where she's going with this. But even then, it's going to be one hell of a battle."

"Well, that's never stopped us from winning before." Lina said.

"It seems as though if we hit him enough with many types of high level magic spells he seems to weaken." Zelgadis said.

"The problem is keeping him from using the full extent of his power this time." Lina said, "Gunther, how many of the magic users survived?"

"Ten. Five are proficient in Black Magic, four in Shamanist Magic, and one in White Magic." Gunther said.

Lina nodded, "I see. I want those proficient in Black Magic to hold a shield barrier against Shabranigdo, then, as they can't exactly use a Dragon Slave against him. I want those proficient in Shamanist Magic throwing a combined Ra Tilt at him, and I want the one proficient in White Magic to cast recovery spells as needed. We need everyone at full strength if we are to defeat Shabranigdo."

"I'm not sure that the other monsters will let them attack him. He's only interested in fighting you, Gourry and Zelgadis." Gunther pointed out.

"I know." Lina acknowledged, "However, we need to target the most powerful first and throw everything we have at him. Gunther, you and your troops hold the other monster's at bay. I know it will be difficult fighting them as you have no magical capabilities of your own, but do your best to dodge them. Have the magic users amplify your swords with some magic spells. It won't be much use, but it's better that nothing. Zelena, you help him. Zel, I want you to cast a Ra Tilt through your sword again. Amelia, you cover him so that Zel has a chance to get close to him, and then hit him with a Ra Tilt of your own. Gourry, hit him with your sword where Zel and Amelia's spells seem to be taking the most effect. When all of you have hit him with all that you've got I want everyone to cast a shadow snap at Shabranigdo, pinning him in place. I'm not sure if it will prevent him from slipping to the astral plane, but it's worth a shot. When that happens, I'll use my Ragna Blade. While I'm doing that, I want everyone hitting him with the strongest spell they've got! Amelia, Zel, after I've cast the Ragna Blade use the jewel to heal me. If this doesn't work, I'm going to need my strength back to cast that spell." Lina said.

"The Giga Slave?" Amelia asked, her voice a whisper.

Lina nodded, and the circle got quiet. After a few moments, Gunther got up to prepare his troops. Zelena went with him, and shortly thereafter ten sorcerers and sorceresses came to the group. Lina got them in the defense parameter she'd chosen, and once that was finished, there was nothing more for her to do but sit and wait.

She hated waiting.

Then she caught sight of Scarlet, who was sitting on the ground in shock. She sighed and placed a hand on her shoulder, "It might seem cruel of me now, but once we survive this, you'll understand."

Before Scarlet could respond, a familiar figure appeared before her. "Xellos." Lina sneered.

"Well, well, Miss Lina, I had to see it to believe it!" he said. "Tell me, how did you come back from the dead?"

"It helps to have a good healer handy."

"Ah," Xellos said as other monsters started popping in from the astral plane around them, "Then let the record stand that I did kill you, you just didn't stay dead. Which means I did complete my job. My orders included nothing about ensuring that you stayed deceased."

Lina's eyebrow twitched, "You're worried about your reputation at a time like this!"

"For a monster, our reputation is everything."

Lina glared at him, and then her eyes widened as she looked at what was hanging on his neck. The Philosopher's Stone. Lina knew that she had to get the stone from him, or he would simply wait until her time of the month came again to resurrect another portion of Shabranigdo. Her hand went to her short sword, charging it with magical power, "SHADOW SNAP!" she yelled, throwing the sword at Xellos's shadow, pinning him to the ground.

"Huh?" he asked, his eyes widening in surprise. Quicker than he could follow, Lina reached and grabbed the stone from his neck and pocketed it. She hadn't been killing bandits for the past seven years without picking up a few of their tricks, after all. Xellos looked at her, his eyes narrowing, "Do you really think that you will survive this one, Lina?" he asked.

Lina shrugged, "I don't know," she said, congregating a spell in her hand and grabbing the stone, "But either way, I'm not going to risk it. FIREBALL!" she said, effectively destroying the stone. The light from her Fireball caused Xellos's shadow to disappear momentarily, releasing him from the Shadow Snap. Lina snatched up her sword and sheathed it, "Now," she said, her voice low, "Is your boss ready to bring it on?"

Xellos grinned as Shabranigdo appeared from behind him, "Oh yes. It's time to finish this!"