Sairagg
Xina looked up at the slowly growing moon and felt heartened for some
reason. Dark or light, she could always find the moon, come to think of it,
so could Xalan. Even when the moon was new they could see where it was, or
rather see where it certain stars that should have been there. She had never
thought it was difficult to do, or that her constant awareness of the moon
was anything unusual until recently.
"I suppose I'm just trying to get my mind off those dreams," she thought
to herself.
~You should work on your power,~ the voice came to her through the staff.
~There's not much time.~
"Hi, Dad," Xina whispered. "Deciding to talk to me when I'm awake?"
~Xina-chan, this isn't as easy as it seems,~ her father's voice chided.
~We both know something major is coming, and you'll need every trick you can
think of.~
"What about Xalan?" Xina asked. "Or the rest of us. Though getting
Xalan to try and learn anything is like telling Mom she's wrong about
something."
~Yes, you both seem to have inherited a little of that stubborn streak,~
Xellos commented. ~But you need to be stronger to survive."
"So what do you suggest?" Xina asked, she waited a moment. "Dad? Oh
great, he's gone again."
"Who's gone?" Xina turned to see her brother stepping out of the shadows.
She couldn't tell if he had been walking in the shadows or if he was just
that good at walking unseen.
"Our father," she said without a beat. "He wants us to train, get
stronger."
"One of these times, I hope to speak to him," Xalan said, moderately
suspicious.
~I think that's going to happen soon actually,~ Xina thought to herself.
She glanced at him nervously. ~I hope not.~
"What does he look like?" Xalan asked, still a little suspicious of these
spirits Xina had a habit of talking to.
"Well he's sort of..." she paused, and then decided to try something new.
Xalan blinked as the shadows and moonlight before him coalesced into a
cloaked humanoid form of silver and darkness. "I can't put color in it, but
its like that. Amethyst can do a better image."
"I've seen it," Xalan said simply as the silver-shadow moved about at
Xina's mental directions. His purple haired sister shot him a look as she
dissipated the shadow. "I was just curious as to what you've seen."
"It IS our father I talk to," Xina insisted. "And why don't you ever try
to do anything like that?"
"I don't really need to," Xalan shrugged.
"Oh yeah, Zangulus almost beat you when he was human, right?" she asked.
"An older human even. Sounds like you could use some practice too."
"And what could you do with that illusion?" Xalan asked. Xina smirked
and another silver-shadow formed, wielding a sword of darkness and silver.
The near-featureless figure sliced through a small tree which toppled to the
ground as the shadow dissipated again.
"Is that enough?" she asked cheerfully. "And I know you can do this
one." Xalan watched as a circular region of shadow appeared around a branch,
as he watched he felt the familiar action of a the shadow opening to admit
something inside. The branch toppled to the ground, sliced cleanly off,
seperated by the dimensional pocket. "I couldn't complete with Luna-obasan,
or...Zelgadis, but I think I could handle myself with someone like Amethyst
or Jol, maybe."
"The maybe is the problem," Xalan pointed out, he refused to admit that
he was thinking of trying some of those tricks himself. Xina had just fairly
well proved she might be able to protect herself better than he could. "And
you still can't fight well."
"Is Val awake yet?" Xina asked, ignoring her brother's commentary. "Are
we going?"
"You know Zangulus wants that staff," Xalan said.
"Yeah, and he'll get it upside his head if I have anything to say about
it," Xina snapped. "You can't make me stay behind, don't even try."
"You've been jumpy the last three days," Xalan noted. "Every since we
started hunting down Zangulus. What's wrong?" Xina stared at him for moment
before breaking into a smile and leaning forward.
"Now why would you think something's wrong," she asked him. "I'm just a
little nervous, that's all."
"Then you can stay..."
"Nope," she wagged her finger at him. "I have to be there, you have to
be there." ~Or maybe we're just going to end up there whether we want it or
not.~
"And why is that?" Xalan asked levely, his eyes narrowed.
"That...is a secret," Xina said before leaping back into one of her own
shadows, which Xalan saw shift back towards the camp. He followed her,
stepping from shadow to shadow, leaving almost no traces.
Arriving at the camp he found her sitting next to the sleeping dragon.
She seemed a little wistful and protective herself now, as if she thought
something was going to attack them right then. He scowled at her, and Xina
produced her normal mature response and stuck out her tongue in response.
"Oh what are you two fighting about now?" Amethyst asked. Sherra rolled
her eyes and wondered why she had fallen for the jerk in the first place.
"Probably the normal," Jolrael said, shrugging. "He wants her to stay
behind, and she wants to go."
"How much further is it to Sairag?" Sherra asked, seemingly bored. Her
tail was twitching nervously behind her, however. Duofolger sat behind her,
very close, but she didn't notice. As far as she was concerned, it was
normal for the former sword to sit so close to her. The mazoku could feel
her anger and hopelessness as she began to think that she had stepped in
front of that spell for nothing.
~Maybe you won't make the same mistake again.~ He thought to himself.
"Not much further, we just need to wait for Val to recover from the ocean
trip," Amethyst said cheerily, with a brief glance in Xalan's direction. She
was going to have to talk to Xalan again. Xina could take care of herself
for the most part now, but he seemed to be refusing to see that.
~Then everything is going to start.~ Xina thought to herself.
Before the sun rose to its xenith the next day the seven of them stood at
the edge of the huge lake that was left behind by the Giga slave.
"There's NOTHING out there!" Xina gasped as they approached. The
kage-kitsune shivered as she looked out over the vast, dead lake. The
complete lack of life even surpassed the sensation of gray nothingness of
that spirit world her father and Amelia were in. That place wasn't like her
home, but it had a nature of its own, and everything belonged.
"Nothing alive, just minerals," Xalan added, shifting the grip on his
staff, and making sure the claws of light were tight on his hand.
"I never felt sick here before," Sherra muttered backing up into
Duofolger and instinctively flexing her hand for a sword that wasn't there.
Xina looked to the former mazoku a moment and grabbed the sword she had
carried almost without use the entire time. The kage-kitsune tossed it to
her.
"You might as well have some way to be useful," she muttered as Sherra
looked at her surprised. "Its not magical though, so don't think it'll be of
much use."
"I can keep an eye on her," Duofolger said. "I have a few hundred years
experience at baby sitting."
"There is something out there," Jolrael turned toward them, frowning, but
a little relieved. "Tinu and my sister, on that little island over there.
Your sense of smell isn't too reliable if the air isn't moving."
"Where's Zangu..." The blast came down in the middle of them, knocking
scattering them all. The slayers took there feet and stared at the
dark-haired being the center of them all.
"I'm right here," Zangulus smirked. "And you're welcome to the brats if
you can get past me first." The slayers stared, blinking for about two
seconds before everybody but Duofolger, Xalan and Jolrael burst into
laughter, pointing at their enemy. Zangulus fumed. "YES!! THOSE ARE DAISIES
PAINTED ALL OVER ME!!! DIE!!!"
Zangulus charged forward, a blade of darkness seemingly just appearing in
his hand. The slayers came back to their senses and prepared for battle.
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