The Showdown Begins
"This is worse than Sairaag," Xalan spat as they worked their way deeper into the wasted island. They paused in front of a river bed running full with some sort of golden...substance. Looking closer they couldn't even tell if it was matter or energy, it just seemed to be...there.
The discomforting river bed was easily bypassed, but streams and creeks of the strange substance appeared with disturbing frequency as they proceeded towards the shattered mountain from which drifted Martina's frenzied voice.
"This stuff isn't what I think it is, is it?" Xina asked.
"It...appears to be the the substance of the Sea of Chaos," Amethyst said swallowing nervously.
"That's what I thought," Xina said. They paused at the edge of the crater that sat where, twenty years ago, stood the stronghold of Xelas Metallium. The golden rivers ate through the edges of the crater and Xina and Amethyst peaked through one of the carved river beds and saw Martina and Zangulus in the center of the crater standing in front of a golden pool.
"The world is....bleeding." Xalan remarked in mild disgust at that reality. "We should move now."
"Before they see us," Amethyst agreed, drawing her sword.
"And what are we waiting for!" Xina snapped, rushing up and leaping over the edge of the crater.
"Right, in the name of Justice we must put down these fiends!!!" Amethyst shouted joining her friend in the charge.
"Don't just rush...damn it! Nevermind," Xalan grumbled as he followed behind the two girls, quickly passing ahead of them. Though the great bulk of Val's dragon form quickly overshadowed them all as they charged the pair of mazoku.
"Ah, the mortals have arrived," Martina declared, pausing her incantation to laugh. "Deal with them, my love."
"My pleasure," Zangulus smirked as he launched forward, crackling with dark power, floating over the streams of gold. He paused for a moment as a swarm of black and silver objects seemed to grow out of nothing and charge forward obscuring the smaller attackers. "Interesting trick."
A blade of black energy formed at Zangulus's commands and sliced through the swarm of bird-like constructs. The flocked swarmed over him, but their incessant pecking was little more than annoyance as Zangulus fought his way through to the mortals beyond.
"ASTRAL VINE!" A blade of glowing red steel flashed through the constructs at the mazoku behind the birds, and Zangulus only barely rose his own mazoku formed blade to block. Then he teleported into the air as a tremendous claw ripped through where he had been standing.
"Get the woman!" Xalan shouted as he leapt from the ground at the floating mazoku, light blades extended forward. Zangulus dodged the kage-kitsune's first leaping attack,
and a wave flame and power rose up at a gesture from him, between the dragon and his mistress.
"Xalan-san! RAYWING!!" Amethyst lifted off the ground and snatched the Metallium before he could land in the inferno. "You should be more careful about where you jump."
"The fire wasn't there when I jumped," Xalan protested dryly.
"Getting to her is harder than it sounds!" Val roared backwinging away from another attack and turning to release a blast of laser breath at the mazoku.
"Good try," Zangulus smirked as he blinked away from the blast appearing next to the flying chimera and her passenger.
"OH, BLOODY!! DROP!!" Everybody stopped and starred at Amethyst for a moment. "Don't ANYONE tell my father about that!!"
"Whatever," Zangulus said. The mazoku pulled out a scroll and started scanning it. "Where were we?"
"Amethyst just cursed and yelled 'drop'," a female voice called out from somewhere. No one bothered to note that Xina seemed to have vanished.
"Oh, thanks," Zangulus. Then the mazoku looked about for a little while "What are we doing?"
"Breaking the fourth wall," Val said. "It sometimes happens about this point in a Slayers battle."
"Can we get back to the action please?" Martina demanded, tapping her foot irritably.
"Right, Oh my! Drop!" Amethyst shouted.
"That's not what you said before," Xina shouted from where ever she was.
"Can we just get on with this?!" Amethyst said exasperated. "Before the author picks on me anymore?" Everybody shrugged and then Zangulus slashed out at the flying pair with his blade of black energy. Amethyst cut her Raywing and Xalan dropped to the ground narrowly avoiding the attack.
"You have no chance, mort..omph!!" Zangulus turned to face the dragon that had rammed him from behind and smiled. "I guess I should pay more attention to the lizard."
"Watch who, you're calling a lizard!" Val roared gripping the mazoku in his claw and trying to crush him. Zangulus almost casually held out his hands to stop the claw from closing in on him and met the dragon's glare with a relaxed smile.
~Fools,~ Martina thought as she continued breaking the seal to her lord and master, the monster Zomalgustar, who would devour all. ~Let them play with my general, even when they lay him low they will be too late to stop me.~
The pool of gold in front of her started to bubble upward as Martina's high pitched laughing approached a crescendo. She noticed out of the corner of her eye, that bitch Lina's son charging towards her, while her general was playing with the dragon above. The chimera was gathering power for an attack of some kind, as well. Her hand was upraised with her fingers extending downward, as if she were drawing power from the ground.
~ZANGULUS!! You moron!! You left them alone to long!~ Martina shouted telepathically. The male mazoku turned away from the dragon and looked down to see events happening.
"Sorry, lizard, don't have time to play," the demon smirked before blinking out, letting Val's claws, he had been using both now, clapped shut. The mazoku appeared in front of the onrushing kage-kitsune and summoned his black blade again. "Where do you think you're going?"
"ELMEKIA COMET!!" Amethyst shouted, slamming her hand downwards in an arc, Martina, paused in her incantation again to see a streak of energy rip from above her into her general. Then the chimera improvised another spell. "ELMEKIA VINE!!" The chimera blurred and slashed out with the speed born of her mazoku blood, quicker than even the two true mazoku could register.
Xalan paused only a moment to watch Amethyst's charge slowly lose its momentum as the mazoku tried to recover the initiative. The chimera princess's blade shone a blue white as she slashed and parried in a dance that only appeared frenzied. The constant flow of conflicting battle strategies flowed through Xalan's subconscious by virtue of hie empathic talents, and he knew Amethyst was outmatched in both skill in power. He glanced up and saw the dragon descending again and nodded. Amethyst had help, and stopping Martina was more important.
~That idiot,~ Martina growled. Behind her the golden pool grew brighter and started rapidly bubbling. ~I'll have to help him if I want to finish this.~ Martina turned to face her attackers, not noticing the silvery black bird that settled on the ground behind her. Not noticing Xina rising out of the shadow until something jerked on the staff she had finally retrieved.
"Excuse me," Xina smirked. "But I believe that is mine!"
"You little tramp!" Martina growled, turning to blast away the impudent mortal. Then the pool exploded and all was gold for a brief second. As the light cleared away Martina saw neither of Lina's brats, nor the staff, and the pool formed of the Sea of Chaos had vanished as well. All that remained was a great crater within the crater of the shattered mountain. Then there was the tell tale sign of a dimensional gate closing.
The dragon and her general had been in the air when the explosion had occured, and now, were laying stunned across the field of battle. Martina turned to face the only other standing individual, the ivory-skinned chimera wielding a blade still glowing with spiritual power.
"They're gone," Amethyst said quietly, then looked down at the ground and clenched her fists. The chimera held in her tears and then snapped her head up. "I know who you are! You killed my grandfather, you cursed Lina-sama, you're trying to destroy the world, and you TOOK XALAN-SAN!!" Martina smirked at the wave of rage and anger that wafted from the chimera, and then gasped as the chimera was suddenly in front of her and swinging a sword.
Xalan suddenly found himself in a strange world standing next to his sister. At first it seemed to be gray as far as they eye could see, and then he saw that same golden substance from before. There was almost a sea here, and he sensed that it should not be here.
"No, it should be inside me," a voice said. Xalan whirled to see a blonde woman leaning against a rock and clutching her side as the golden substance seemed to flow out. "That little rogue is trying to finish what her old master started, this will take me centuries to heal."
"Who are you?" Xalan asked. Xina crossed in front of him.
"L-Sama," she gasped.
"What?" Xalan snapped, in shock.
"Of course," the woman smirked.
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