SailorStar9: After uploading Chapter 8, I present Chapter 9 of this fic. For everyone who put this fic on your favorited and followed lists and/or story alerts, thank you, but remember everyone, a lot of authors (myself included) sustain on readers' reviews.

Disclaimers: I own nothing, except for the plot bunny. Heck, even the pairings aren't mine.

Chapter 9: Ready for Exile! Isn't Two People's Love Eternal?

"Why does he have that thing?" Zelgadis frowned, seeing the Ragudo Mezegis in Grabos' hand.

"We might not know the circumstances, but we shouldn't underestimate him." Amelia warned.

"Hurry up and give me those vessels, or else..." Grabos threatened.

"What do you mean 'or else'?" Lina sighed. "First of all, that 'blade' isn't exactly that threatening. Besides, we've got the armies of Alto and Baritone after us. Since you're waving that dangerous thing around, they'll never let you have the vessels. Everyone, here's the real crook who's after your magical vessels." she shouted to the kingdoms' armies.

At sea...

"King Alto, this is all your doing!" Queen Baritone screeched. "You tempted my darling Marco into stealing our vessel. Damn your daughter."

"What did you say?" King Alto was insulted. "You dare place the blame of this plot on us? The one who manipulated my daughter's pure heart was that miserable brat of yours."

"I'm not going to take that." Queen Baritone fumed. "Prepare for bombardment."

"Prepare our bombardment as well." King Alto ordered. "Your target, of course, are the Baritone forces."

On the island...

"They're so wrapped up in their fight they won't listen." Xellos peered at the warring parties.

"You don't have to sound so nonchalant about it." Aria deathpanned.

"Can't you two say something to them?" Lina turned to the two kids. "The King and Queen are your parents, right? Stop it!" she panicked when Marco and Sera prepared to smash the magical vessels. "What are you trying to do?" she glared, the two kids brought the vessels crashing on her head when she dived to save the vases.

"Everyone's fighting over these, right?" Marco muttered. "My mom and Sera's father and everyone just fight over each other's vessel. So it'd be better if they didn't exist."

"And why are you crying?" Aria turned to the weeping Filia.

"Did you hear that, everyone?" Filia addressed the two kingdoms' armies. "What a gallant and beautiful heart he has."

"Would you guys all just shut up?" Jiras let loose a bomb on the ground. "I hate it when talks turn complicated."

"If you're just going to break them, why not just give them to me?" Grabos chuckled. Raising the Ragudo Mezegis, he brought it down.

Marco and Sera held up the magical vessels, the magical resonance emitting from both vats draining Ragudo Mezegis of its energy. The absorbed energy then expelled outwards, pushing Grabos' group backward.

"What just happened?" Lina demanded. "Why did you guys do?"

"I didn't do anything..." Marco was shocked.

"It was the power of love." Sera declared. "The pure love Marco and I share made a miracle happen."

"How rare..." Xellos teleported in and gave both vessels a closer look. "Artifacts from the Shinma War: the war which was fought in the forgotten ancient times. The Shinma War in which Shabranigdu and Ceifeed. Someone apparently made these magical vessels at that time. Through some unknown means, a great deal of magical power has been sealed in them."

"In other word, the power of Gods and Mazoku." Aria concluded.

"Indeed," Xellos nodded. "Dark and Godly power."

"Godly power means holy magic, right?" Amelia frowned. "At the very least, a shrine maiden of Seyruun can't call upon holy magic. That art has been lost 1000 years ago. Now, the shrine maidens and priests of Seyruun are just shells of what they used to be. That's why someone like Aria-san and Filia-san who can use holy magic is so much more powerful than me."

"This get even more interesting." Lina grinned.

"And with these two vessels, you apparently generate power when the holy magic and the black magic are fused together." Xellos added.

"Magical fusion?" Lina gushed.

"You must be joking." Filia snapped. "You can't fuse black magic with our holy magic. I get ill thinking about it."

"This is no time to be close-minded about it." Lina cut off the Golden Dragon's protests ."We may not know exactly what this magic is, but we do know it affects their weapon."

"It can neutralize other powers." Xellos supplied.

"Here they come." Gourry warned.

"If you'll excuse me." Xellos made himself scarce.

"Don't underestimate me!" Grabos roared, renewing his attack as Filia shielded the two kids from the energy wave.

The powerful surge of power from the Ragudo Mezegis split the island apart and casting both children adrift.

"My blade threatening enough for you?" Grabos sneered. "I'll make your heads a present to Valgarv-sama. Don't try anything funny. I won't show you any mercy. Jiras, hurry up and get those vessels away from those two kids."

"On it." Jiras saluted and summoned his lizardman troop.

"Aqua Fairy: Flight Mode!" Aria wasted no time in summoning her flight armor to go after the two kids. "Zel, Amelia, Filia, with me!"

"Got it!" Zelgadis nodded and he and Amelia followed Aria using 'Ray Wing' with Filia closely behind.

With Marco and Sera...

"There they are." Filia spotted the two unconscious children. "Thank goodness." she breathed in relief when Sera awoke up. "They're both all right."

"Marco, thank goodness you're okay." Sera hugged the boy. "If you'd died, I couldn't go on living. Because you're everything to me."

"Shut up..." Marco sighed. "I've had enough of this. First of all, it's all your fault, Sera, that all this trouble started."

"Didn't you agree with me before?" Sera was confused.

"No, I didn't." Marco protested. "I said it couldn't be helped."

"What are you saying now?" Sera wept. "That now you..."

"You made her cry." Aria cast an accusing look at Marco.

"Get down!" Zelgadis barked, pulling the group behind a cluster of rocks.

"Surprised?" Jiras chuckled, his shot having missed its target. "This is my special gun. You can't escape now. Now hand those things over."

"That 'gun' is just another cheap weapon." Zelgadis snorted.

"But they have so many of them." Filia pointed out.

"It may be cheap, but I wouldn't want to take the lumps they'd give me." Zelgadis agreed.

"Fire..." Amelia jumped out to attack, only to be struck back by Jiras' shot. "That hurt." she wailed.

"It does really give you lumps." Zelgadis gawked.

"Not the time to be impressed." Aria dope-slapped the chimera.

"What do we do?" Amelia asked, Aria spraying a thing healing mist over her injury. "Try a big spell?"

"No reason to for cannon fodder like these guys." Zelgadis assured and stepped out. "Let's have a little fun with them."

"Get them." Jiras ordered his lizardman subordinates who instantly fired their rifles as Zelgadis.

When he was close enough, Zelgadis leapt onto the rock ledge and took down the lizardman in a fist fight, claiming their pistols for himself. "Guns," the chimera grinned, firing off his rounds and disarming the rest of the lizardmen. "Are used like that."

"I know, I honestly forgot he was a marksman before he was a swordsman." Aria remarked.

With Jiras systemically disarmed, said fox beastman tossed his bombs at Zelgadis' feet. "What now?" he took the opening to release his smoke bombs. "Can't see, can you? Give me those magic vessels." he leapt at the group behind the rocks.

"Ex-quip: Dragonite Armor!" Aria had already summoned her multi-shot armor. "Pentagram Sword!" her five sword slashes took out Jiras and his remaining lizardmen.

"At last they've come." Zelgadis rejoined the group, both Alto and Baritone armies continued bombarding Jiras' men.

"They finally understand Marco and Sera's feelings." Amelia gushed.

"You were saying?" Aria gave the optimistic white mage a flat look.

"Come on, we're on their side." Filia wailed when an explosion knocked Zelgadis and Amelia back to the ground.

"What is that?" Zelgadis gaped when a powerful explosion erupted from Lina's side.

Xellos moved in and raised a shield to block out the resulting shockwave. "It would seem that in this situation, all we can do is to activate the magical vessels again." he suggested. "Magic power seems to be the key here."

"If we have to fuse magical power here, can't a Mazoku like Xellos and a dragon like Aria or Filia do it?" Zelgadis inquired.

"There's no way I can do that!" Filia instantly objected. "Even if I could, I wouldn't do with with Xellos. I couldn't do it as a priestess of the Dragon race and as a living being, either. You piece of filth."

"Isn't that a coincidence?" Xellos twitched. "I was just thinking myself that I'd never do that with a selfish dragon."

"Save the argument for later." Aria cut in curtly. "Xellos, let's just wrap this up."

"As my lady commands." Xellos bowed and the two magic users activated the two magical artifacts, just as Lina powered up a 'Dragon Slave'.

The outsurge of fusion magic covered the sky in streaks of black and shutting down the out-of-control Ragudo Mezegis.

After the fight, with the underwater bridge connecting Alto and Baritone raised...

"'When the two vessels are brought together, a new road will be opened.' it says." Filia read the writings on the stone plaque in the middle of the bridge.

"In other words, when the power long ago sealed into the vessels was released." Zelgadis concluded.

"But why was it sealed like that?" Amelia wondered.

"It goes on." Filia wiped away the dust at the bottom of the plaque. "'Baritones are big stupid-heads. Altos are dopes'. That's the reason this bridge was sealed away."

"It's s really long-running kid's fight?" Lina exclaimed. "Give me a break. At least we found those magic vessels."

"About that..." Aria trailed and produced the shattered vats. "The magic backlash was a little too much for them to handle..."

"They're broken!" Lina screamed.

"Anyway Lina, did you grab that guy's weapon?" Zelgadis cut in.

"I forgot!" Lina wailed. "Anyway, we at least got a hint on how to fight their weapon. Let's start looking for the next weapon."

SailorStar9: Now that's done, read and review.