The Challenge
An interlude of "Hope and Love......Death and Rebirth

By David Goldsmith

Disclaimer: I do not own Slayers in any way, form, or fashion. I am simply using characters created by some other brilliant mind to write a work of fiction that I hope readers everywhere will enjoy. Leave a review if you like the story, leave on if you don't like it, but feedback is always welcome! (Except from a microphone!) Another matter for the readers to vote on is the continuation of this series. This means that if enough people e-mail me and tell me that they want me to write about Katherine and her brother Ryo growing up on the road, then you have to e-mail me at: alex_001@hotmail.com and tell me so! Hope you enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it!

-Previously on "Hope and Love......Death and Rebirth":

Little did they know, some higher power was watching this whole scene unfold and it WASN'T L-sama. The being smirked as it thought of bringing in a few new 'recruits'. It eventually grew bored with the show since the two humans it was observing weren't putting off any negative emotions; in fact they were on the opposite end of the spectrum which was quite frankly making it sick. It turned back towards its main servant and grinned wolfishly. 

"It is almost time my faithful subject, soon they will be on our side and the power to topple L-sama herself will be in my grasp!" SHE explained. 

"Yes master Zelas." Xellos replied grimly as his eyes began to glow a sickly shade of red, indicating his master's complete control over his body. Something big was on the rise; the only question that remained was if Lina and Zel were ready for what was most definitely coming their way.



What happens next to our favorite newlyweds?

Read on and you will surely find out!



They had roughly ten years of peace. Ten years of traveling, kicking bandit ass, stealing lots of treasure, and many passionate nights together. As everyone knows, times such as these are never meant to last forever. The time had come for Lina and Zelgadiss Greywords to prove what they were really made of.



"Where should we go next Zel?" Lina asked after fire-balling yet another stray bandit that had tried to sneak up behind her.

"I don't know Lina, maybe we should just get to the next town before any more bandits emerge from the woodwork and try to slow us up again." Zel suggested.

Lina latched onto his arm and set herself into motion. "Okay honey! Let's get going! We haven't stayed at an inn in a couple of days!" Lina replied in a rather seductive manner. "I prefer we sleep on a soft bed rather than on that rocky ground again!" She smirked.

Zel grinned deviously, yet in a way that sent a shiver of excitement running down his wife's spine. "As I recall, that so called 'rocky ground' was the river bed. Not to mention the fact that we only got two hours of sleep in that little hot tub you made out of that pool we found." He answered. Lina's cheeks lightly flushed.

"Well, I didn't hear any objections from YOU...." Lina trailed off. Zel merely grinned. It was always fun to get into arguments because neither of them knew for certain who was going to win any of their arguments. It had been this way since they had left Saillune on their honeymoon just under a decade ago.

"If you insist darling..." He trailed off, looking ahead of him. "There should be a town about three miles west of here if memory serves, and I hear it's got some really nice foo......oood!" Zel finished as Lina literally dragged him by his cape towards the town in question.

Zel pushed his hands into the ground and performed a neat flip in the air and hit the ground running after his wife, grinning all the while. He had been forced to perfect such a maneuver with his wife consistently dragging him in seven different directions. He never put up any argument and just kept running as Lina looked back and smiled as brightly as she always did.


That night they bunked at an inn in the town of Ganak and as always, Lina cleaned out the pantry with little effort. "You were right Zel! These guys really know how to cook!" She said between mouthfuls. The astonished waiter nearly fainted when she looked in his direction with a childish look in her eyes.

"BRING ME SOME MORE!!" She shouted as the waiter fell over and knocked himself out. Zel couldn't help but chuckle at the scene, at which Lina smiled at her husband, treasuring his simple laugh that was so rare even though they were married and shared a bed every night. After dinner, the two made their way to the main desk at the inn.

"Two rooms I presume?" The innkeeper asked.

"Gods NO! Unless it's a custom here for a married couple to sleep in different rooms!" Lina quickly explained.

Zel smiled at his wife's quick and somewhat abrupt defense of the fact she was married to him.

"Oh, my mistake. Sorry, I didn't mean anything by it." The innkeeper hastily replied.

"We understand." Zel replied gently.

Lina had jumped for joy when she first realized ten years ago that she no longer had to keep paying for two rooms as she had in the past and that saved her money. Although it was a pleasant realization, the real reason why she only needed one room never escaped her ever-attentive mind. She and Zel had soaked together in the hot tubs after they were certain everyone else in the inn was asleep for incredibly obvious reasons.

They returned to their room only three hours after they had left to take their bath. They felt it was a modest amount of time compared to their record of ten hours that they had set on the first night at an inn during their honeymoon.

Lina finished undressing and climbed into bed alongside a shirtless Zel and curled up, never thinking that their peaceful times were about to be brought to an incredibly abrupt halt.



Hundreds of miles to the east, in a kingdom ruled by a foreign king and a native queen, a great evil began to lay siege to the city. Within the night, fields were set aflame, houses leveled, villages destroyed, and people killed. And overseeing it all was a single figure with purple hair and a staff who watched everything unfold with hideous red eyes, smirking evilly.

"Soon we will have the power to dispose of the remaining dark lords and then the world will belong to the Beastmaster." The figure spoke to no one in particular. The figure turned and walked back the way he had come, passing a burning sign that had three simple words on it; 'Welcome to Saillune'.......



One month later.........

"I still think that we should have gone to Saillune first Zel, they at least have ice cream for crying out loud!" Lina shouted at her husband, who merely looked ahead. This annoyed her to no end and she simply yielded the argument to her husband.

Zel was still not good with crowds and he preferred to stay as far away from them for as long as possible. "I simply don't think we should go barging in unannounced, at least Amelia would take the time to read a letter sent from Sylphiel and Gourry." He pointed out.

Lina made a pouting face and stuck out her tongue at him, knowing he was right. Zel let a charming smile grace his lips and Lina latched on to his arm once again, not caring to fight at the moment.

They received the shock of their lives when they were about to enter Sairaag.

All that was left of the front gate was a burning husk of timbers. In the distance, they could hear explosions and metal blades clanging against each other. Without even glancing at each other, Zel took to the rooftops and Lina headed directly towards the sounds of the battle. They both arrived at about the same time, and were shocked again for the second time that day.

Zangulus and Gourry were standing back to back with Sylphiel backing them up with protection spells. It was clear that all of them had been lax in their training, for none of them fought like they had years ago. Lina looked directly at Zel without having to search.

"Sometimes the bond that L-sama gave us during our wedding is incredibly handy to have." Lina thought to herself.

Zel made a few hand motions to tell her that he could count thirty remaining monsters on the ground that were hammering away at the trio of fighters.


Gourry's Sword of Light was doing its job well, but Gourry was still tiring out and would fall if they didn't interfere soon.



Lina prepared a gigantic fireball as Zel drew his sword and quietly cast Astral Vine. Lina and Zel glanced one more time at each other and with a simple narrowing of the eyes, both of them leapt into battle and cut loose.


"Gourry, it looks like this is how we end up biting the big one...." Zangulus stated. Gourry was focused on the fight, but had time to answer his friend's question.

"I hope your wife and the children got out okay." He answered before he prepared to leap after another monster and come one step closer to either defeat or victory.

Sylphiel said nothing, but the look of absolute determination that was on her face spoke volumes. "I hope our children and Martina got out in one piece." She thought quietly. Suddenly, she sensed a great power building somewhere on the other side of the small courtyard, two in fact. She only had enough time to shout a warning to the two men before all hell literally broke loose.

"GET DOWN!!!" She screamed in earnest.

Both men immediately hit the dirt, expecting Sylphiel to use the Dragon Slave, but what they saw next totally blew their minds. A sight neither of them had seen for over a decade......Lina and Zelgadiss had returned.


"FIREBALL!" Lina shouted as she let the first of many take out about eight monsters before she charged up a Mono Bolt and fried two others.

Zel came from the rooftops swinging and literally beheading and slicing the monsters in two with his newly improved sword. The metal was far stronger and the spell had been altered to also kill monsters, much like the sword of light.

In mere minutes, they had decimated the thirty or so monsters that had remained. They both quickly ran over to Gourry, Zangulus, and Sylphiel.

"It can't be...." Zangulus and Sylphiel said in unison.

"You better believe it, cause I only know one flat-chested sorceress in red who hangs around with blue-skinned chimera in a white cloak!" Gourry nearly shouted with joy.

"Yeah Gourry, keep talking like that and you'll end up getting the beating I've reserved just for you for the past ten years!" Lina boldly shouted.

"I can't believe it's really you Lina! I thought we were in real trouble there for a while..." Sylphiel replied.

Zangulus merely looked at Zel with wonder, he had seen him fight before and never had he shown this much power. "Oh well, guess since we gave up our training for families that they would naturally get stronger while we took it easy." He thought to himself.

After numerous hugs and a little quick catching up, Lina spoke up. "What's going on around here? Me and Zel only came here today and we find the whole town in ruins and neck deep in monsters! Who the hell is behind all of this?" She asked.

"You mean you really don't know?" Zangulus asked, eyes wide.

"Know what?" Zel inquired. "I don't like the sound of this. From his expression, he's under the impression that we should know about this." Zel thought to himself.

"The Beastmaster has been sending out scouts and soldiers to issue an edict to the two of you. You're to join her or perish." He explained.

"Yeah, and all nine hells just froze over!" Lina shot back.

The group was silent for a moment before a thought leapt into Zel's mind.

"Saillune.....was it...." He trailed off.

Gourry nodded his head solemnly to answer his unspoken question.

"That was the first place they looked. They torched the whole kingdom, they barely left enough for them to start over with. They'll recover, but it'll take time." He explained.

Zel was in shock at the news. "...my sister..." He thought.

Gourry's face lit up immediately after that. "Sorry, I almost forgot to mention that Amelia and Sanjuro both made it out alive!" He explained.

Zel breathed out an inward sigh of relief. "Where are they now?" He asked

"They're on a scouting mission and should be back in a few days, but before we go any further, how is it that both of you know nothing about all of this? It's been nearly a month since Saillune was sacked. Nearly every continent knows about its defeat." Zangulus inquired.

Zel and Lina both looked at each other and nodded before beginning their tale. "We were out on the rim of known territory on a mapping expedition, a good couple thousand miles from here." Lina began. "It was Zel's idea to take the job from a prince that had a kingdom that bordered on the rim. He figured that Lina Inverse and whoever traveled with her would be bold enough to take the job and map out what was beyond the known world. We only started coming back to Sairaag about three weeks ago. And the only reason we made such good time was because we could fly over mountains and cut corners no regular person could. With my power and Zel's endurance, we literally made a bee line for Sairaag. We haven't had a decent rest in a couple of weeks and I for one am definitely in need of a nap." Lina finished.

Gourry, Zangulus, and Sylphiel all looked at their old friends in moderate shock.

Zangulus was the first to recover. "You mean that you were dog tired when you fought those monsters?" He asked shakily.

"Yeah, although they were hardly a challenge worthy of our time. Me and Zel faced better opponents on the rim than we ever did traveling around this part of the world. She answered.

"She's telling the truth, where else do you think we got the ability to enhance our attacks and spells? My sword was recast in a stronger metal and I managed to upgrade the Astral Vine spell to affect monsters as well as the sword of light does. All in all, I say we came back with some pretty nifty tricks." Zel concluded.

Gourry, lost as usual, spoke first. "Just the same, it's good to have the two of you back with us. We can go and get Martina and the kids now and hunker down to wait for Amelia and Sanjuro to return." He said as he turned and started walking towards the eastern part of the city. Sylphiel recovered a moment later and dashed after her husband, eager to see her children again. Zangulus repositioned his hat and followed Zel and Lina as Gourry led the way through the demolished city of Sairaag.

An hour of walking later put the group in front of a small shed. Gourry opened the door as Zangulus kept a careful watch for any eavesdroppers.

Zel put a hand on his shoulder, signaling him that nothing was there. Zangulus took the chimera's word for it, seeing as how Zel could literally hear a sewing pin drop from a mile away if he wanted to. Gourry called out the sword of light and let the glow lead them down a hidden passageway. Zel and Lina merely followed, constantly alert for any change in their surroundings.

The group eventually came upon an underground section of Rezo's old laboratory.

"This is it." Gourry said as he extinguished his sword and put it back in its sheath at his side. They were in a rather large room that had a lot of caved in wreckage all around them. Gourry immediately put his hands up to his mouth in a move to amplify his voice.

"Olli Olli Oxen free!" He shouted.

Lina and Zel were amused at the simple password that their friend had devised.

"Well at least it's something he'll never forget." Lina thought aloud.

Suddenly, Martina appeared from behind an obliterated pillar holding an infant and carrying a toddler in a special backpack. A two year old child came running out from behind Martina's legs.

"DADDY!" The boy shouted as he latched on to Gourry's leg. Gourry only knelt down and picked up his son, rubbing his hands through his son's hair affectionately.

Martina slowly walked up to Sylphiel and handed her the infant in her arms. "Come to mommy!" Sylphiel cooed sweetly, making the small girl in her arms giggle and chortle.

Martina finally walked over to her husband and took off her backpack and handed her son over to her husband, more than glad to get the heavy tike off of her for a few minutes. It was then that she noticed that Lina and Zel were with the others. Her first reaction was to gasp and back away.

"I don't.....I don't believe it!" She started. "I heard that you two were dead!" She nearly shouted.

Lina smiled. "Just goes to show you that you can't always believe what you hear." She replied. "So let me guess, that's your son and the other two belong to Sylphiel and Gourry?" She asked. Martina nodded slowly, showing Lina that she had indeed matured enough to appear civil since the last time they had met.

Zangulus was rocking his son in his arms and humming a light tune while Sylphiel and Gourry were talking to their oldest son and trying to make their little girl laugh again.

Lina's uncertainty suddenly bit her.....big time. "All of them have kids now..." She thought to herself. She saw Zelgadiss looking at the small children with a look that was completely new to him, almost like he was longing to be in their shoes, raising a child of his own.

Lina had explained to him countless times before they had married that she would probably not be able to bear any children at all, and Zel had still accepted their marriage despite the warning. Now it looked as though he was having second thoughts, and the uncertainty of it was ripping her apart.

Zel suddenly felt a ripple in the link between himself and Lina. She was troubled, that much he knew. He could probably guess that she thought he wanted children. While he knew that he might want to raise one someday, he still wasn't ready for that yet. So he did the only thing that came to mind. He went over and told Lina what was on his mind.

"You know, I think that raising kids.......is a wonderful thing." He started.

Lina's face fell, knowing that she had little chance to deliver what Zel had just said he wanted.

"Yet I know that I'm not yet ready to raise a child. So I will wait until L-sama deems me worthy of raising one." He explained, looking Lina in the eye the whole time.

Lina felt her mind whirling, knowing that Zel still loved her. He had settled her doubts in his own little way, letting her know that he had waited this long just to be with her, and that he was in no hurry to take the next step in their lives. Lina couldn't help but hug the man she loved, burying her face in his chest, her eyes watering for only a moment.

"Thank you for understanding...." She said. Zel only nodded and held her tighter.

A thought suddenly occurred to Lina and she walked over to Gourry. "Hey Gourry, your kids don't look that old. I thought you said that you were going to start a family as soon as possible?" She asked questionably.

Gourry looked at her kind of funny, but he quickly passed it off and went to tapping his knee with his fingers.

"Well, I did say that, but you see, Sylphiel couldn't have kids before a few years ago because of her use of black magic during our travels. She cast the Dragon Slave enough so that it nullified any chances we had of having any children. The effects of her black magic usage have just now worn off and so we're starting our family now. It was a pretty good thing we didn't have kids those first few years, we barely had much money at all while getting started and everything else. It was a godsend that what happened did, otherwise we might have ended up broke and wandering the countryside like you!" He blurted without thinking.

Had Lina not been in shock at the fact that Gourry had actually just explained something to her, then she would have knocked him clear to the moon, but as previously stated she wasn't able to.

"Wow, since when did Gourry get smart?" She thought aloud.

"Gourry-dear has been listening very well to the teachers we got for him. He's changed a lot over the past ten years, he actually knows enough to run the house when I take long trips into the countryside to heal someone who's ill and can't make it into town." Sylphiel explained.

"Man, right when we leave, things get interesting. Right Lina?" Zel asked from across the campfire he had managed to get going next to a fallen slab of stone.

The group gathered around the fire and listened to stories of what Lina and Zel had encountered on the rim among other things while they eagerly awaited the return of Amelia and Sanjuro.


Two days later.....

"Gee whiz, after two weeks of searching, we didn't find any other clues or hints as to what's going on around here." Amelia complained.

"Don't lose heart sweetie, I'm sure things will be much better when we get back to Sairaag. Just think, something is bound to happen that'll turn the tables back in our favor." Sanjuro heartily replied.

"Thanks dear, it just seems that...." Amelia trailed off as she felt something tug on her tunic, or someone....

"Mommy, how long until we get back to Uncle Gourry's house?" Her daughter asked.

"We're making good time, so I guess we should be there in a couple of hours." She answered with a smile of pure joy. She looked at her small daughter and could see the eyes of her father, but the mere thought of her father brought tears to her eyes.

Her father had sacrificed his life against that hoard of monsters to insure that his granddaughter was safe and sound. He had died so that they could escape and get to Sairaag in order to bring back Gourry and hopefully Zangulus as well.

That idea had quickly gone south and they were forced to take refuge in Sairaag under the great holy tree Flagoon for nearly a week before Sylphiel had found them. Amelia could clearly recall the past month of pure hellish torment and almost regretted bringing her daughter into this world.

"If only Miss Lina were here, she'd show them a thing or two!" She growled. Sanjuro smiled, but his eyes were sad.

"I wish they were here too Amelia, because we sure could use some help right about now and those two seem to be the only ones who could ever stand up to monsters and live to tell about it." He continued. "Hey, I can see Flagoon, we must be closer than we thought." Sanjuro thought aloud.

Amelia looked ahead to the city of Sairaag. She saw fresh columns of smoke rising into the air and suddenly took off running.

"Another battle!" She shouted as her husband easily picked up their daughter and ran with her on his back in order to catch his rather speedy wife.

Sanjuro thought out a quick prayer that Gourry and Zangulus had survived. They were literally the only ones from Amelia's past that had survived. Them and Sylphiel anyway. No one had seen or heard about Lina Inverse and Zelgadiss for the past nine or ten years. He added another prayer for their safe return, wherever they may have been at the time.

He eventually caught up and kept pace with his wife until they reached the city limits a few hours later.

It was absolutely nerve-racking to search through piles of rubble to find the entrance to their temporary home, Rezo's old Lab, but they eventually found it. Amelia knew that if they were alive, they would be below, hiding, if they had escaped uninjured. They eventually reached the main chamber that served as their living quarters and so much more. She looked around and found the group by a small fire.

She dashed over and quickly counted heads.

"6...7...8..." She thought to herself. Something snapped. "EIGHT?!" She thought wildly as she eyed a peculiar bundle that was smaller than the men and Sylphiel, but far larger than the children.

She leaped over the fire and was about to draw her dagger when a tuft of red hair fell out from underneath the blanket. Amelia froze.

Of course, it could have been that she found herself at sword-point as well. She glanced down the blade until she saw the arm. A blue hand covered with an ivory glove and an ivory sleeve that extended into the darkness. She was close enough to see for herself that the red tuft of hair belonged to her old sensei, Lina Inverse. She didn't even have to look towards the owner of the sword, her tears simply wouldn't stop at the realization of it all.

"M...Mr. Zelgadiss?" She asked hesitantly. The sword immediately quivered and withdrew and the chimera came into the light, shoving his hood and mask away from his face.

"Amelia..." He whispered, afraid that she wasn't real. They met in a mutual hug that was typical of a brother and sister reunion. "I thought I had lost you again little sister..." He thought aloud.

"You weren't the only one big brother....." She replied.

Sanjuro came into the light carrying their daughter in his arms. "Zel, it's nice to see that you're alright." He managed to get out.

Zel looked at him in a very serious manner. "That you for taking care of my little sister while I was gone. I assume that is my niece?" He asked with a wide grin on his face. Sanjuro only nodded and let Zel examine her in the flickering firelight.

"You did a good job raising her." He added slowly.

"Thank you." Amelia and Sanjuro replied together.

"I suppose we should wait until daybreak before we get any louder. Now you two go on and get some rest, I'll keep watch the rest of the night." He said, almost ordering them to lie down for a while to get their strength back. They eagerly complied and everyone slept with a wary chimera watching over them throughout the night.


Lina woke up the next morning to the sound of chattering voices. One she recognized right away as her lover's, the other was incredibly familiar. Only she remembered it being a lighter tone and was usually ranting on about justice and truth among other things. She slowly opened her eyes to see that her ears had not deceived her.

"Good morning everyone..." She managed to grumble, shaking the remnants of sleep from her tired face. She really needed to crash for another two days or so to get back her full strength, but she would manage for now.

"Miss Lina! Nice to see you woke up in time for breakfast!" Amelia happily cheered.

Lina looked and saw Zel sitting across the fire, talking with a girl that looked eerily similar to Phil. Not literally, but she had the same eyes that had been present when she was given to Zel at their wedding all those years ago.

"And who might that be?" Lina asked, sleep becoming nothing more than a fond memory as her mind cleared.

"That is my daughter and your niece!" Amelia explained happily.

Lina's face suddenly hit the floor.

"YOU HAD A KID TOO?!?" She nearly shouted. Lina was beginning to think that she might never get one of her own.

She quickly suppressed the thought though, seeing as how Zel was willing to wait and she would be more than willing to FIND a way to bear his child after this whole conflict was resolved. "And if I can't find a way, then I'll damn well MAKE a spell that will allow me to do so!" Lina thought triumphantly to herself.

Amelia quickly motioned for her daughter to come over to meet her long-lost aunt. Zel came over as well and sat next to Lina, smiling a little at her before he turned back to Amelia.

"This is Kethry Gracia Saillune." Amelia began. "And this Kethry, is your famous aunt, Lina Inverse Greywords!" She finished.

The small girl walked calmly up to Lina and gave her a hug. "Mommy told me all about you Aunt Lina! You sure are prettier than everyone says!" The little girl giggled as she went back to sit in her mother's lap.

Lina looked at the small child fondly and smiled one of her rarest, most genuine smiles in greeting to her new family member. Zel was breaking into a grin of his own while Amelia's jaw had detached and was hanging freely!

"It's nice to meet you Kethry, you're a very pretty girl for your age." Lina commented.

Kethry blushed, clearly not used to such attention from strangers. "That's what Uncle Zel says too..." She trailed off.

Something suddenly clicked in Lina's mind. "Gracia....wasn't that your sister's name?" Lina asked gently.

Amelia nodded, but her eyes were sad once again. "My sister returned about a week before the monster raid on the kingdom. We found out that she knew you pretty well Lina..." She trailed off.

"I think I would have remembered meeting another princess, but what was the name she went by? I could have sworn I would have recognized her..." She trailed off.

Amelia giggled before she continued. "She was called......Naga, the White Serpent!" She happily announced.

Lina's face met the floor for the second time within five minutes. "You mean to tell me that....that......banshee.....is your sister!??" Lina groaned painfully.

Amelia's head hung low once more. "She WAS my sister..." She trailed off.

Lina felt her heart clench up. She had never really liked Naga as much as Zel or the others, but she was still a friend that had bailed Lina out of a jam on more than one occasion.

One could call it a partnership if nothing else, but she held a measure of respect for the way Naga had always carried herself. Her confidence was second only to Lina's and that was what got them through so many of the early battles. Lina had been jealous to no end over her physical attributes, but she still respected Naga as one of her first friends.

It made her heart skip a few beats to think that the lively woman was no longer around. As crazy as it would sound to anyone who had known her, Lina was going to miss her friend.

Amelia saw the pain in Lina's eyes and draped an arm over her sensei's shoulder.

"She died alongside my father giving Sanjuro, Kethry, and myself the chance to get away and get help. When we got back, both she and my father were found dead near the castle. My father was leaning against a wall, holding my sister to his chest like he did with me when I was only a little girl..." Amelia's eyes were tearing up again and she quickly wiped them away.

"At least Naga made her peace before she died." Lina thought aloud. She felt Zel pull her into his arms and move his hand through her hair in the most soothing of manners.

Amelia eventually cheered up and went to talk with the others and brought Lina and Zel some breakfast. Everyone had a lot to be thankful for. Lina and Zel were back, they had survived another attack, and things were starting to look up.

It was Gourry who brought up the question nobody was eager to think about.

"What do we do now?" He asked. Everyone suddenly found the floor incredibly interesting to look at.

Zel was the first to answer.

"It seems we need to assemble our old crew and as of now we are only missing one other member if you don't count that double-crossing mazuko bas..." He caught himself just as the children were starting to get wide-eyed.

Lina caught his gaze and beamed. "You mean Filia?" She asked with a cheerful smile. Zel only nodded.

"We can't stay here forever. They are bound to find us sooner or later, so I suggest we go and see if Filia is up for another round with the mazuko. I hope she and Val haven't been involved yet." Zel finished.

Lina nodded. "Do you guys have any objections?" She turned to the rest of the group. No one gave any argument.

"It's settled then, we move out tomorrow morning and head for Filia's cottage. Right now we need to see what we can scrounge up from what's left of Rezo's lab that can be of any advantage to us." She finished as she fastened her cape and took off into the ruins with Zel, Amelia, Gourry, and Zangulus on her heels.

"Watch the children you two, and if there's trouble then get into the ruins and hide." Gourry said before he vanished into the darkness. Sylphiel and Martina simply nodded and went about tidying up the room and tending the children until the others returned.


Lina and the others had found a few items in the ruins, but nothing that was going to dramatically tip the scales in their favor. The items would only assist in their survival, consisting of a few uniquely enchanted blades and some old supply dumps that had been sealed up for emergencies.

They returned to camp early to find the women and children enjoying themselves in the flickering firelight. They packed up what they had and went to bed early knowing they would need their strength for the long journey ahead.

Lina and Zel could have made the trip in two days if they cut loose and flew through the countryside. With the others slowing them up, it would take nearly ten days. A lot of time to get attacked by anything that deemed them a target worthy of the risk. Not that the group couldn't handle whatever came their way, but they could never know what might find them.

Zel was already up and had his pack on his shoulders when the others were only stirring. "Rise and shine everyone, we have a long day ahead of us." He stated as everyone was roused out of sleep by the light spell he ignited in the otherwise nearly dark room.

When everyone was saddled up and ready to move, they made their way to the surface with Zel in the lead. Zel had both ears peeled as he opened the secret entrance in the floor of the shed. When they realized that they were in no immediate danger, they hit the open road and headed to the west, in search of Filia and Val.

They encountered no bandits on the first day since they were so close to Sairaag and no criminal would come within a day's journey of the decimated city. They camped alongside a river that night, with Zangulus taking watch so Zel could regain some of his strength again. Nothing happened that night and the next day found them on the road again at daybreak.



Nine Days Later.....


The group had met with only a few groups of bandits, which were easily dispatched with minimal difficulty by the fighters of the group. Lina and Zel were almost back up to one hundred percent and hardly tired from carrying most of the load that was otherwise known as their survival gear. They eventually reached the clearing that Gourry had described and found the home untouched.

"What a relief...." Lina let out a held breath, knowing that Filia was probably doing just fine.

The group silently agreed and carefully approached the house. They soon found out why the house was particularly untouched.

A giant golden dragon suddenly descended from the sky and landed right in front of them with the full intention of utilizing deadly force, but froze when she saw the two people leading the group.

"Lina......Zelgadiss...." She stammered in her dragon voice.

"Yeah, that's us Filia, we're back." Lina replied loud enough to be heard, yet soft enough to be felt.

Zel quickly brought out a spare sheet and handed it to Lina who approached Filia. The pair went behind the house and Filia shrunk back into her human form. They came back around a minute later.

"I'm sorry, but lately every monster in the world seems to be appearing at our doorstep, not to mention looters and bandits. I moved Val up into the caves on the mountain and have been making trips to the house for supplies. I put protection spells over most of the house and everything inside so I wouldn't lose too much." She replied.

"I kept hearing the monsters calling out for you Lina. They also wanted Zelgadiss, but you weren't anywhere to be found. Everyone started to think that you were dead, but I have to know, where have you been for the past ten years?" She asked.

Lina relayed the same story to Filia and after another hour, everyone was finally on the same page.

"Is your cave able to conceal all of us?" Zel asked.

Filia shook her head. "Only for a little while at best, they'll find us eventually. When monsters are involved, running and protection spells only buy you time. They catch you eventually."
She explained.

Zangulus spoke up next. "Regardless of that, we should try to hide for a few more days until Lina and Zel are fully rested. Then we need to find out how to resolve this situation rather quickly, otherwise this world is going to be torn apart until there's nothing left." He explained.

Martina looked rather gloomy, but the way she clutched her son indicated that she agreed. She was definitely calmer now, being a mother made her do a complete turn-around in character. She valued her son more than she had ever valued her own god or her pride.

The rest of the group chatted on without her input and then she finally noticed her husband was standing next to her. "Zangulus, do you think they could really win this thing?" she asked, since she was now almost useless on the battlefield.

Zangulus glanced at her softly and replied. "I think that if anyone has a decent chance, it's those two. Just look at them, they seem to be much stronger in all aspects since they returned. Being on the rim must have had something to do with that fact, but they are definitely this world's best hope to beat this." He answered.

Similar thoughts were crossing the minds of everyone in the group as they watched Lina and Zel interact. There was definitely something different about the two of them, from the way they moved to the way they fought. Everyone had seen them together in times against the Hellmaster and Dark Star, times that they had seemed to know EXACTLY what the other was thinking.

Now it seemed to have grown and become something no one had ever seen before. Zel was by far more confident about himself and Lina was calmer than ever before. The group hardly recognized the two people before them now, but in their hearts they knew that these two people were the same friends that they had known for the better parts of their traveling years.

"I think we should head out before anything else happens." Lina stated as Filia nodded and went behind the house to transform again.

Within the hour, Filia had transported everyone to the cave Val had been hiding in. The cave was very near the peak, a plus since wild animals rarely came up to such an altitude. The group settled in for a few days of rest and to ponder how to best resolve the situation.

The next day, Lina announced that she was going for a walk and left the group, followed unknowingly by Zel.

"Where is she headed?" Zel thought as he saw her wander to the other side of the mountain and come upon a somewhat familiar set of boulders. Instantly, it snapped into place and he revealed himself.

Lina could feel his presence since she had left camp, knowing that he would follow her. She sat down in the exact same place she had eleven years before, where she had pondered what the world would be like if she were to end her life. She felt Zel take a seat beside her and look out towards the horizon.

"I remember this place quite vividly." He said in a gentle tone.

"I thought it would be appropriate to pay this place another visit. After all, it brought us together." She replied.

"Promise me that you won't get killed in this." Zel suddenly blurted out.

Lina knew how much Zel needed her because she needed him just as much. "I don't know if I can make a sure fire promise my love, but I swear by the ring on my finger, the blood in my veins, and the power in my soul that I will do my best to never leave you." She replied.

"I love you Lina." He answered.

"And I love you Zel." She let the words flow off her tongue with joy and an indescribable feeling of contentment. She said it with such sincerity that it was never to be questioned in Zel's mind ever again.

They spent the next few hours simply sitting there in each other's embrace, treasuring the companionship that they now had and would never willingly let go of.

A figure watched them from the sky and grinned evilly.

"I finally found you two...." He began. "Now there isn't anywhere for you to run to, and soon we will crush the world in the palm of our hands." He finished coldly before he vanished.

The figure decided to wait until dawn to draw attention to himself since he personally didn't want to fight them at night where they could slip away again if they played their cards just right.

"Patience is a good thing to have. I have waited fifteen years for this day, another twelve hours won't make a difference." Another figure, female in nature, sinisterly smiled in the debts of her labyrinth, eagerly awaiting the time when she would crush the remaining dark lords and claim the world for herself.


"They'll never know what hit them...." Both voices chuckled darkly.

Another entity silently watched the exchange and nearly burst out laughing. Those two had no idea....



The group woke up in the cave and for the first time since their return, Lina and Zel felt fully rested.

"I feel like a million gold coins!" Lina nearly shouted. Zel smirked and got up to start brewing the coffee, a habit his wife had picked up from him no less.

As soon as everyone was up, breakfast was made, and everyone settled in for what would hopefully be another uneventful day.

Their hopes were quickly squashed by a voice that no one had heard for at least ten years.

"How is everyone today?" The voice of the trickster priest rang out.

The group all shot dark looks at him instantly, forgetting that children were present.

Filia was the first to react. "What are you doing here Namagomi?" She asked with a look of utter disgust written across her face.

"Still as feisty as ever Filia, you haven't changed a bit! And what if I wanted to stop by and pay a visit to my dearest friends just to say...." He trailed off.

"Cut the crap Xellos, and tell us what you want. You don't disappear for ten years and then suddenly reappear just to say 'hi'! So cut your so called formalities and get to why you're here!" Lina yelled.

Xellos suddenly turned cold. "Very well then Lina, you want to know why I'm here, so I'll tell you. I have come to take you to my master so that you can join us." He explained.

If Lina was shocked, she never showed it. She just kept eating and never even looked at him. Xellos's vein popped out on his head at the blatant disrespect she was showing him. The rest of the group watched as Lina finally stopped eating and turned her attention to Xellos.

"You know my answer Xellos. No, I won't become one of you. I won't turn into some sick twisted ghost that thrives on the pain of others. Go find someone else gullible enough to fall for your act. You've wasted your time with me." She explained.

Xellos shook his head. "You don't get it Lina..." He began walking towards her and was about to his hand on her shoulder when he suddenly found that a fist was connecting with his jaw.

A stone fist.

Xellos was thrown back a good twenty feet. He slowly sat up and rubbed his jaw absently. "That was a good one Zelly-kun, but if I had wanted a kiss, I would have asked for one." He replied darkly.

Zel merely stared back before a grin broke out on his face. "You call that little love tap a 'good' punch? You must be getting soft Xellos..." He trailed off.

Xellos was fuming red at the insult, a first at the hands of Zel. The Mazuko general rushed him so fast that he was certain the chimera would never see it coming. He laid a left hook across Zel's face that would have leveled a mountain, instead the chimera took only a single step back in recoil.

Xellos was certain the chimera hadn't been expecting him to give him a decent punch, so he smirked mercilessly. That is until Zel opened his eyes and all Xellos saw was annoyance without the slightest trace of pain.

"Is that all?" Zel asked plainly, his voice confirming he wasn't in any pain.

Xellos, for once, was caught off guard. Zelgadiss only sounded like he was slightly startled at the impact of such a punch, yet he should have nearly dislocated the chimera's jaw. He suddenly got a weird feeling in the pit of his stomach that he had just made a big mistake.

Lina spoke next. "Listen Xellos, if Zelas wants to talk, then far be it from us to deny her invitation. Only you tell her that we will only come to her island if she pulls all of her minions back and leaves this world alone. Then we will gladly make our way to her island under our own power and have a nice chat with her to clear some things up. Give her that message and let us know if she agrees, otherwise, we're not going anywhere." Lina boldly declared.

Xellos had lost the ability to fume with such words coming from Lina's mouth. He suddenly heard his master's voice within his own mind.

"Xellos, get back here right now. We have much to discuss." She spoke with a somewhat strained voice.

Xellos turned back to the small group. "I will deliver your message, but this is only the beginning Lina. That much I can assure you!" He nearly shouted as he disappeared and left the group in peace.

Lina and Zel went back to breakfast while the rest of the group came out of the cave where they had sought refuge ever since Zel had punched Xellos. Everything slowly crept back to normal as everyone waited for Xellos to return with word from his master.


Xellos reappeared right at sunset.

"My master accepts your terms. She has recalled all of her minions and will leave this world alone so long as you leave at dawn and allow me to travel with you." He explained.

"Tell her that she has a deal then, we'll head out at dawn." Lina confirmed. Xellos disappeared again.



Gourry, Amelia, and Sylphiel came up to her and sat down.

"What's up guys?" Lina asked, wondering what they wanted to tell her that took all of them present to say it.

"We're coming with you Lina, all of us." Gourry started.

"NO, you aren't! This fight is mine and Zel's to win and I won't have all of you caught up in it!" She replied

"Unless you've forgotten Miss Lina, we ARE caught up in it! They have destroyed our cities and our lives, and I for one am not going to sit around and let a chance like this go by! Besides, you need someone to watch your back against someone like Xellos." Amelia firmly put her proverbial foot down, surprising even Lina with her bold statement.

She debated the matter internally before Zel placed a hand on her shoulder from behind and she looked up into his eyes. Instantly, she understood.

"You guys realize that by coming with us, you doom your kids to the early stages of insanity courtesy of Xellos?" She grinned.

The group smiled back and shook their heads. Zangulus and Martina came up with the children and announced their intention to come as well. Lina and Zel could only smile in return, thankful to have such good friends care so much for them after so long a separation.

As promised, the group was packed up and moving at dawn. They had a two week journey ahead of them to the port city of Avernus, then another four days on a boat to Zela's island, and then finally the confrontation itself. It was a little staggering to say the least. Yet Zel and Lina never faltered.

"Let's move out troops!" Lina shouted as she started walking in the general direction of Avernus.

The group and Xellos followed without thinking twice.


Two Weeks Later....

"Finally, we made it to Avernus!" Amelia shouted with joy, as did Kethry.

"There will be a boat waiting for us in the morning at pier six." Xellos supplied before disappearing once more.

The group settled down for the evening and found a decent restaurant. When they finally sat down, Filia and Amelia asked the question that had been on the edge of their tongues for two whole weeks.

"Mr. Zelgadiss, what exactly are you planning to do once we get to Zela's island?" Amelia asked nervously.

"Well, we'll confront her...." Zel began.

"..And tell her to kindly leave us the HELL ALONE!" Lina shouted.

Zel winced and smiled at the same time. "Something like that.....yes..." He trailed off.

"You're going to tell a dark lord to 'leave you the HELL alone'?" Filia repeated, almost aghast at how Lina could possibly even consider such an option.

"That would almost be a full blown declaration of war!" Zangulus nearly shouted.

"You're both right, but it'll be a war we can fight without endangering anyone other than our small group. I have a feeling that Zelas has no intention of letting us off of the island alive unless we give ourselves to her. I personally don't want to become a monster, so if push comes to shove, we won't have to worry about causing any more damage." Lina explained.

Everyone at the table saw the reason in it, even Gourry. No one put up any further argument. Lina and Zel had decided to take this fight to Zelas and end it then and there. There was no use in involving the rest of the world in their small blood feud with the mazuko. Even though the group retired early, very few of them got any sleep.

The group met as planned at pier six the next morning and boarded the ghost ship that was going to take them to see Zelas. Xellos was there to show them around the ship and then he simply stood on the command deck.

"It's going to be a long four days....." Everyone silently thought, even Xellos.



Four Days Later.....

The ship had just finished docking and it was time to gather their things and depart. Lina and Zel looked out onto the desolate island and held hands, finding strength in each other to be ready for what was coming.

"Home sweet home..." Xellos stated as he walked down the gangplank.

Everyone else was, to say the least, less enthusiastic. They spent the next day walking towards the center of the island where Zelas was waiting. Nothing was said, no words could have done anything justice then. Everyone merely walked forward and found the large temple at the center get closer and closer until they were directly upon it.

"This is it Zel..." Lina said.

"It's time to settle this..." He replied, determination written plainly across his face.

Lina found strength in Zel's voice and reinforced her own will, despite the fact that she simply wanted to tremble a little to relieve the stress that was building throughout her body. The group entered the temple and after a bit of walking found themselves face to face with one of the lords of darkness.

Zelas, the Beastmaster. She was as intimidating as Xellos always made her out to be. She was laying on a luxurious sofa, sipping wine when the group entered. She swirled the blood red liquid in the crystal glass as the group neared her position.

When they were finally only ten feet away or so, Lina spoke up.

"Okay, you dragged us out here, now tell me again what it is that you ultimately want from us?" Lina asked in a manner that could almost have been considered condescending.

"I merely want you to join my ranks dear Lina. And with you at my side, then there would ultimately be nothing to stop me from eliminating the other dark lords and claiming what's left of the world for myself." She replied.

Lina was appalled that Zelas wanted to use her like some tool, against L-sama herself! She didn't even get the chance to fume.

A swift chill swept through the air as Zelas bolted off of the sofa and softly cursed as she spotted a figure in a gray cloak on the other side of the room.

"Well, if it isn't the lord of nightmares. What brings you to MY island?" She asked with clear disdain in her voice.

"You know exactly why I am here dear Xelas. I am here to make certain that your plan doesn't easily succeed. I cannot interfere on the mortal plane, just as you can't. Yet there is nothing that says we cannot each choose a champion and let them duel it out in our stead." She replied in a voice that flowed as smoothly as honey and was just as mysterious as it was intoxicating to the mind.

"What are you saying?" Zelas asked again.

"I cannot in good conscience allow you to kill myself or the other dark lords, so I therefore place before you a challenge. Choose your best warrior and I will choose one as well. They will battle until one can no longer move or defend themselves. If you should win, I would allow you to pursue your present course of action, seeing as how I did everything in my power to stop you." L-sama replied.

Lina suddenly stepped forward. "If that is how things go, tell me this, who would each of you choose?" She asked.

"I would choose Xellos of course." Zelas replied.

"I would choose you Lina, for you have always been my champion among the mortals." L-sama answered.

Lina grinned sinisterly, scaring the daylights out of Zelas and drawing a mild grin from L-sama. Zel also caught on and realized what she was up to.

"Let's raise the stakes a little, shall we?" Lina inquired.

"I'm listening." Zelas replied.

"If I win the duel, then you have to free Xellos from all of his bonds to the Mazuko race and you can never claim him again. On the other hand, if I lose, then you would get TWO new recruits...." She trailed off.


"If Lina loses, then she and I both would willingly submit to your control. The only catch to the whole deal on us losing is that we would remain together." Zel finished.

Zelas's smile suddenly grew from ear to ear. L-sama merely shrugged the comment off.

Zelas turned the deal over and over inside her head, weighing the possible losses and gains. She finally looked L-sama in the eye.

"You have a deal." She replied.

"Very well then, the battle will begin tomorrow shortly after dawn. It will be held in front of the temple." L-sama decreed. Then she turned to Lina's group.

"You must be tired from your journey, please follow me and I will provide with a place to spend the night." She spoke gently.

The group turned and followed her out of the temple.

"I can't believe the opportunity that just threw itself into my lap!" Zelas nearly screamed. "Xellos!" She beckoned.

"Yes master?" He answered.

"You will fight Lina tomorrow morning and if you win, they will give themselves to us freely. Their only concession is that they remain together, but since they'll both be my servants I'm willing to let that part of the deal slide. After all, with both of them on my side, one won't feel obligated to take it easy on the pathetic mortal realm. This is too perfect!" She shouted.

"I will defeat them master." Xellos replied. "They have never been stronger than me. No matter how hard they train or however many new tricks they might learn, they will never best me." Xellos finished.

"You have the remainder of the evening off Xellos. Get some rest, I want you in peak condition for your battle tomorrow." Zelas ordered.

"Understood master, I shall retire immediately." He replied and vanished.

Zelas merely smiled and returned to her wine sipping, only now she wore one the biggest smirks ever to cross her face.


The group was walking away from the temple when Lina finally got up the nerve to actually speak to the lord of nightmares.

"Why didn't you react when I raised the stakes? I could have sworn you would be angry with me." She started softly.

The blonde woman turned to face the red-haired sorceress. Her grey cloak hid all but the tresses of her hair and her rosy lips. "Because I was hoping you would do exactly that Lina. I've been trying to find a way to get Xellos away from Zelas so he can start living his life again before it was so rudely taken away long ago. You merely accomplished what Zelas would otherwise have thought was a somewhat dangerous scenario." She explained.

Lina blinked. "You mean, you KNEW?" She asked.

The woman merely smiled and continued to walk away from the temple.



The next morning.......

Lina was sitting up around the campfire. Sunrise was less than an hour away, and the tension had only continued to build. She was scared, that much was certain. She had never really had a REAL fight with Xellos because it was commonly known that he had power to burn. He had always been the strongest of them, even though he never worked out or practiced any magic. She had faced down some of the strongest creatures on the rim and she wasn't sure that any of them had been anywhere CLOSE to matching Xellos. This fight was going to decide the fate of the world, and though she only had one opponent, she knew that this fight was going to drive her beyond any of her previously known limits.

Zel sat up next to her and drew her into a hug.

"You scared?" He asked.

"Absolutely terrified." She replied.

"You hide it well." He answered.

"Sometimes I just want to crawl into a hole and never come back out, but that would never accomplish anything." She continued.

"You're right." He paused. "Lina, I want you to know that no matter what happens, I will always love you." He finished.

"Thanks Zel. Now then, let's go eat a big breakfast!" She cheerily cried.

Zel smiled and got up to follow her.

The group was already at Zela's temple awaiting the two combatants. Somehow, Lina managed to talk them into having breakfast before the fate of the world was decided.


Finally, when all was said and done, it was time to start.

Zelas put her arms into the air and formed the stone beneath everyone's feet into a raised fighting ring. The ring was basically a square that was twenty meters long on each side. The floor was tiled, but it had a rough texture to it when examined closely.

"There are five rules. Rule one; weapons are allowed, but not required. Rule two; you may under no circumstances kill your opponent. Rule three; if you fall out of the ring, you have ten seconds to get back into the ring, otherwise your opponent gets free shot at you. Rule four, Magic of all types is acceptable. And rule five; no outside help is allowed." She concluded.

Xellos suddenly stepped forward. "Master, if I may add one rule to that list?" He asked.

"You may." She replied.

Xellos looked straight at Lina. "There is to be no teleporting, but super speed is allowed." He answered.

Everyone gasped in unison, including Zelas.

"I want to defeat Lina, for once, fair and square. This way she will not be able to argue otherwise, which I'm sure she would if all I did was avoid her and then knock her out when she was exhausted. It would completely disgust me to even think of using such an advantage in a duel of this caliber. Lina deserves the right to see how good she is, and I for one and not going to stop her." He concluded.

Zel couldn't help but let small grin grace his features. "Perhaps he still has a small part of his humanity in him, Lina was not mistaken after all." He thought to himself.

Zelas reluctantly agreed to the final rule and the two fighters stepped into the ring.


The two fighters circled each other for a few minutes; Lina with a fireball in her left hand and Xellos with a ball of dark energy in his right. What happened next could only be described as unbelievable.

Lina and Xellos let their attacks go at the same moment. The balls impacted each other and exploded. The two fighters vanished and reappeared in the wake of the explosion they had caused, their forearms locked in a battle of strength and will. Xellos had the strength while Lina had the will. They separated and landed about thirty feet away from each other.

"You've gotten a lot stronger Lina, have you been working out without me knowing about it?" Xellos asked, smiling.

"It would be the only explanation that makes any sense." Lina shot back.

Lina and Xellos started exchanging attacks after that. Balls of fire and arrows of ice met with dark energy of every kind. The two alternated between fist-fighting and using magic, each giving as good as the other. They landed hits as well as took them, both of them fighting with perfect and beautiful rage.

Hours passed as the fight progressed. One.....two.....four.....six...until finally after seven hours of fighting, they began to show signs of extreme fatigue. Both of them were bloody and had numerous cuts and bruises all over their visible body parts. Lina had yet to try the Dragon Slave because she knew it wasn't enough to destroy Xellos, but she had one final trick up her sleeve that only Zel knew about. For it to work though, Xellos would have to be nearly exhausted so he couldn't fight against it. With him under the spell, she would be able to start using white magic spells and wear Xellos down enough so that she could safely knock him out and declare victory, and it seemed Xellos was unaware of her scrutiny the entire time.

Zelas didn't like the looks of things. She was controlling Xellos's body directly and she knew that she wasn't pulling any punches. Yet Lina was matching him blow for blow. She could detect that Xellos was wearing down quickly. As things stood now, she had a fifty-fifty chance of coming out on top. And Zelas didn't like to entrust her plans to the flip of a coin. Her temporary distraction was quickly taken advantage of.

"AHHH!" Lina yelled as she planted her fist in Xellos's gut and then jack hammered him into the ground. She instantly jumped away and began preparing the spell. Xellos was getting up, but not fast enough. Lina knew he was near the end of his rope and truth be told, so was she. Yet every time she looked in Zel's direction, she would see that gaze filled with strength and love and she would quickly re-double her efforts to keep her promise to her lover.

Zelas watched as the nearly broken body struggled to get up. "He's taking too much time! Inverse is going to get that spell off if I don't hurry things up!" She thought to herself. She hardly had time to gulp when Lina threw her arms forward and Zelas felt the body of her champion freeze in mid-motion. Lina looked almost completely exhausted, with very little power left. However, at the moment, she looked to be holding the key to victory in her hands.

"The paralyzing spell, I thought she would do that." Zel thought aloud.

"What kind of spell is that?" Filia asked.

"It paralyzes one's opponent for a couple of hours, holding them in whatever position the victim happens to be in. The spell eventually wears off, but I think Lina may have just won the fight." Zel admitted.

Zelas was fuming inside at having to lose her greatest general in over four thousand years. She silently grinned and gave Xellos control of his body again. Instantly, the general and high priest let out a scream of pain as Lina walked up to him and cast Recovery on his chest wounds. Rather than closing them up like it would to a normal person, Xellos's wounds grew bigger and more blood flowed from them in response to the pure magic running through his dark body.

"Do you yield?" Lina asked, extinguishing the spell. Xellos merely looked her in the eye with nothing but pure rage flowing through him. "I will never give in to a mortal like you!" He yelled as the agonizing pain returned.

Lina finally stopped the spell and let Xellos merely hang limp from the excruciating pain that saturated every part of his body. She turned to Zelas and put her hands on her hips, preparing to announce that she had won. Lina couldn't even smirk in triumph before the unthinkable happened.

Zelas disappeared! Lina suddenly heard a growl of rage behind her, and whipped around to see what was going on. Her breath instantly caught in her throat.

Zelas was holding an enchanted dagger at Zel's throat. One which most certainly would pierce his stone skin as easily as a regular blade cut through flesh.

"I ALWAYS get what I want! Now Lina, if you would so kindly come over here and kneel before your new master, we'll get to...." Zelas was cut off as she felt a stone elbow in your abdomen. She got the breath knocked out of her, but nothing more. Zel was preparing to leap away when he felt the blade pierce his chest and be ripped out sideways.

Lina literally became a blur of light. She managed to catch your husband as he fell to his knees, her hands becoming stained with the blood of the man she loved.

"ZEL!.....ZEL DON'T LEAVE!!!.....PLEASE!!!" She wailed as she felt the life in her arms start to slip away.

"Don't worry about me love.....just make her pay...." Zel managed to gasp out, bringing blood along with it.

She looked into his eyes, and to her surprise, they looked to be at a deeper peace than Zel had ever known. She had experienced that once before, when she died against Rezo's copy, she had been brought back though.

The thought never crossed Lina's mind that Sylphiel could bring Zel back just as easily.

"I'll wait for you..." He said as his head went limp as well as his hand that had found its way to her cheek.

Zelas was enjoying the meal, but she had bigger fish to fry.

"Now then, to discuss the terms of..." She began to go on about how since Lina was all alone again that she should join the mazuko and help Zelas conquer the world.

Her statements fell on ears that might as well have been deaf.

"How.....dare.....you..." Lina started, sobs choking her words off. Zelas immediately stopped in the middle of her speech.

"HOW DARE YOU!?!??" Lina shouted with a ferocity that shook Zelas to her very core. Lina threw her own sanity out the window as she let 'it' take control for the third time in her life. It came rather easily this time.

Zelas looked on in utter terror as Lina's eyes became completely red. The white parts at the edges vanished and her pupils became coals stoking the fires of all nine hells that now raged within her eyes.

Lina threw her head back and let out an animalistic cry of rage that shook the very base of the island deep within the ocean. She saw before her Zelas, her mortal enemy, the person that had called forth this power she now wielded. Her eyes narrowed and Zelas, for the first time in her existence, felt true and genuine fear.

"Now you die." Lina stated. She disappeared in the blink of an eye and sent her fist straight into Zelas's gut. Zelas also felt pain for the first time as well when that same punch rammed home. Lina kicked Zelas back another hundred yards and started to slowly walk towards her with the glazed look of death in that fearsome gaze.

Zelas slowly reeled herself back in and realized that Lina was no longer just a potential recruit, but a serious threat that could only be dealt with in one manner. She snapped her fingers and an explosion engulfed Lina on all sides.
Her eyes widened to the size of saucers when the sorceress merely strolled out of the inferno without a scratch on her.

When Lina had finally closed the distance, she spoke. "And now, it begins."

What followed was the first relatively even battle between a mortal and a lord of darkness. The amount of energy given off was inconceivable on both sides, but still they fought. Pain, hunger, and thirst suddenly became nothing more than a single drop of rain in a thunderstorm. All that mattered to either of the women was the wild frenzy of blows given and taken and the desire to go on and on, fighting for no other reason than to try and forget their losses and decide what was to happen next through their conflict.

When it all boiled down to the nitty gritty, Zelas was a lord of darkness and had a much greater reserve to draw from than Lina. Lina began to tire while Zelas kept going, and not even her great rage could fuel Lina enough to override true exhaustion.

Some time later, Lina was pummeled into the ground and couldn't bring herself to get up anymore. She was suddenly brought back to reality when Zelas wrapped her hands around Lina's neck and pulled her from the ground.

"Any last words before I send you to meet your lover?" She asked. Lina had nothing left to say, she had failed. Zelas released her grip on Lina's neck with the full intention of kicking her hard enough to split her body in two and would have succeeded........

......if another foot hadn't met with the left side of her jaw and knocked her back several meters!

Lina also would have struck the ground, but was caught an instant later. Her exhausted body hardly had enough energy to open her eyes.

"I don't want any knight in shining armor......I want my Zel....." she thought sadly as her eyes began to water. It was only after all this that she realized the arms that were holding her were made of stone....

Her head snapped up so fast that she almost whip-lashed herself! She came eye to eye with her husband. He was still wearing the bloody clothing, but Lina didn't care.

"I take it I owe Sylphiel and Amelia a really big favor?" She asked, her exhaustion evident in her voice. Zel merely nodded.

"I'll finish this one for you love, rest now." He replied as Lina's head fell to his chest, trying to snuggle a little closer.

Meanwhile, Zelas was on her last set of legs, getting up slowly. Zel regarded her with a look of pure hatred. Then he grinned darkly, knowing he would have to unveil his biggest secret from his journey to the rim. Something Lina still pestered him about, trying to get him to teach her.

Of course, he had never used it on a lord of darkness, but the principle was essentially the same. Zel walked towards Amelia and Sylphiel, his emotionless mask falling into place once again. He gently set Lina before the two white mages and caressed the side of her face once more before turning back to the task at hand.

"Make certain that Zelas does not attack her." He let emotion begin to fill his voice for the first time in a long time.

He normally tried to remain cold during battle, but this attack would require half of his soul to be suppressed and let the other side have dominant control. The only problem was that he had to suppress almost all evil within him, and though it took some doing, he had mastered his darker side. Now he stood before the dark lord Zelas, protecting the person he loved most.


Zelas was finally on her feet and stared at Zel.

"I knew I should have taken out that damn shrine maiden while I had the chance." She started.

Zel smirked and disappeared.

The next thing Zelas felt was a punch right in her gut. She doubled over in pain, putting her arms in front of her belly protectively. She glanced up and saw Zel, grinning at her like it was nobody's business.

"So.....you've gotten a little faster......no matter..." She gasped out as she directed a punch up into his own abdomen, but meeting nothing but air. She was shocked to say the least. She couldn't sense the speedy chimera either, until his knee connected with her jaw!

She stumbled backwards, her sudden onset of fear growing by the moment. She saw the chimera perform a flip while simply floating in the air, as if under water. Strangely, he wasn't using any normal magic spell to levitate his body. His feet connected with her jaw a second time after he finished the flip, using the momentum to deliver a maiming blow to the Beastmaster. Zelas could no longer hold herself up at that moment and she fell to one knee.

"How did he get so strong?" Zelas thought to herself as she felt Zel start landing punch after punch across on her upper torso, leaving small fist-sized craters where his punches connected.

Finally, the chimera landed another uppercut on the right side of her face and she flew backwards, landing about thirty meters from Zel.

When she finally managed to regain her footing, her mind was racing.

"How can he be doing this? A mere mortal has never been able to match the power of the lords of darkness!" She thought to herself. Her anger reached its peak and she let out a blood-curdling scream that forced everyone to cover their ears.

"I am the Beastmaster Zelas! I WILL not, CANNOT be DEFEATED!" She shouted as she charged at the chimera. As she reared back her right arm for an earth-shattering punch, Zel made his move.

"Here goes nothing...." Zel thought to himself as he started to charge up for the attack. Zelas was charging towards him and falling right into the palm of his hand. His right hand started to sparkle as he started to sweat from the effort. Finally, a small white flash emanated from his fist and he simply threw his arm forward in a sideways motion like a pitcher in the game of baseball. All that emerged from his hand was a small ball of sparkles that went straight through the Beastmaster's chest, leaving no hole or visible injury of any kind.

Her fist connected square with Zel's face, knocking his head back sharply. Zelas stared at him with complete incomprehension until she felt a fire start to build in her chest right where her heart should have been.

"What did you do to me?" She asked as the pain intensified every instant.

"Nothing much actually. That was nothing more than the first and to date only attack that is based from white magic." He replied.

"What in the nine hells...?" Was all she had time to think of.

The Beastmaster's back suddenly exploded from within in a shower of sparkles.

Her scream was deafening at the pain inflicted on her. The sparkles slowly started to consume her entire body, eating away at her being like acid eats away at metal.

Everyone on the battlefield watched in stunned silence as Zelas slowly was consumed by the power of the evil within her own heart. Her body grew smaller and smaller and eventually every piece was consumed by the mysterious array of sparkles.

Zel only had time to smirk before he took leave of his senses and fell to the ground face first.

Everyone, Lina included, had never run so fast in their lives.

They reached him and managed to roll him over. His eyes were closed and his breathing was even, showing that he was just spent from the attack. Lina knelt down and picked up her husband's limp body and brought him into her lap, hugging him with genuine affection.

"It's finally over Zel." Lina whispered into his ear.

"I know." He replied, speaking so softly even Lina had trouble hearing it.

"Congratulations." L-sama replied. Lina nodded and let Amelia and Sylphiel start casting more healing spells on Zel to help revive him so that they could get down to more important matters.

The entire group returned to the temple of the recently deceased Beastmaster to find her high priest and general lying unconscious on the platform that had served as the ring for Lina's first bout. Everyone watched as the lord of nightmares slowly walked up to him and placed her left hand on his head and her right across his back.

"By the power I possess,
I free you from your bonds.
Bonds to your body,
Bonds to your soul,
Now and forever broken, you are free."

As the blonde woman recited the spell, Xellos began to glow an eerie shade of white. It surrounded his entire body and at first it was only on the surface of his skin, but soon the light penetrated to his very core, cleansing his soul of every bit of evil that Zelas had inflicted upon him.

When the lord of nightmares had completed the spell, the audible sound of chains breaking could be heard deep within the minds of everyone present, and as the snapping of metal bands grew less and less, Xellos stood up and opened his ancient set of cobalt blue eyes that had been banished from his form over a millennia ago. He slowly walked back towards the group behind L-sama, looking something like a lost, wandering child.

His eyes may have changed, but his voice hadn't. "I want to thank you Lina, and you Zelgadiss, for freeing me. You don't have any idea how annoying it is to have to keep everything a secret. I wanted so many times to just shout out to all of you what was really going on, but she wouldn't let me. And when I didn't do as she asked, she simply took control of me. Maybe now I can get back to my life, though my family is long gone as well as everything else I worked to achieve in my first life." He explained.

L-sama spoke up suddenly. "I have but one more thing to say before I leave you all." She turned to Xellos. "You still have most of your mazuko powers. You can teleport and you have your superhuman abilities as well. Although now you will have to eat like a normal person again as well." She explained.

"Thanks for everything L-sama, if you ever need my assistance in the future, I'll be at your service." He answered.

"No, I plan on letting you try to get your life back together. I have no intentions of calling upon you for a long while." She concluded.

"However..." She continued, glancing at Lina and Zel. "...we will have to talk someday soon about your role in the future. Until we meet again!" She finished and vanished into mid-air.



Xellos teleported everyone back to the port city of Avernus so that they could go their separate ways. The group had gathered for one final meal together before they would part ways in the morning.

"I still can't believe all that's happened..." Amelia trailed off.

"Neither can I..." Xellos said between mouthfuls of food. Xellos had indeed impressed everyone with his vigor for eating, he was definitely third in line behind Gourry and Lina.

"Where will you two go Lina?" Gourry asked.

"Zel and I plan on going back out to the rim. It seems that it paid pretty well to explore uncharted territory and we always get first dibs on any treasure we find!" She replied cheerfully.

"Sanjuro and I plan on going back to Saillune and start rebuilding. It's going to be a long time before we fully recover, but we should get started just the same." Amelia continued.

"Gourry and I are going to stay in Saillune for while with Amelia and her family since there aren't that many people left in Sairaag to help rebuild the city." Sylphiel replied.

"Martina's estate wasn't hit too hard, so I suppose we'll go back home and repair whatever damages we find." Zangulus added.

The next sentence spoken at the table stunned them all.

"What do you plan on doing Xellos?" Filia asked. Jaws simultaneously hit the table.

Xellos was rather stumped by the question, but answered just the same.

"I'm going to see if I can dig up anything that could be left of my old life. I may find something to do between here and there, but otherwise I have nothing planned. I may even just travel like Lina and Zel, trying to set right what I've done wrong." He replied.

As if that weren't enough, Filia floored everyone yet again.

"You're welcome at our cottage if you eventually find yourself with nowhere else to go......" Filia started.

Xellos lightly glanced back in her direction. "Thanks......Filia-chan!" He replied breaking out into a huge grin. Which of course resulted in another pummeling from Filia's mace, only this time, Xellos didn't get up as quickly as he used to.

Filia never once made any indications that she had withdrawn her offer.

"I have an idea." Zel spoke up. Everyone looked up in his direction.
"Well, it seems rather odd that all this would happen an even ten years after we parted ways the first time, so I believe that we should make it our little tradition to have a reunion every ten years or so." He explained.

"That's a great idea Mr. Zelgadiss!" Amelia echoed. Everyone nodded in agreement.

"So it's agreed, when ten years have passed, me and Zel will return from the rim and stop by Saillune first and from there we can take a breather and invite everyone for a visit for a few weeks!" Lina started.

Everyone agreed, slowly realizing that this little group had now grown into an extended family. Everyone at the table wished that time would freeze so that they could enjoy this moment just a little longer. Sadly, it wasn't to be.

The group parted ways the next morning outside the inn that they had stayed at the night before.

"So I guess we'll see everyone in about ten years?" Lina asked hesitantly as she gave everyone a goodbye hug.

Zel was giving handshakes to Gourry, Zangulus, and Xellos before he left.

Gourry suddenly spoke up. "Take care of her for me, will you?"

Zel smiled. "You know I will Gourry."

Gourry suddenly pulled out a small package and handed it to Zel.

"Tell Lina that this is for her. I don't think I'm going to be needing it for a while, and it'll come in handy where you two are going." He said before Zel tucked it away in the folds of his cloak.

"I think I know what it is, and if I'm right, then she's going to be ecstatic for the next two weeks." He replied, grinning as wide as Gourry had ever seen.

The group parted ways soon after. Xellos and Filia headed for her cottage so Xellos could first get used to living in the mortal world again. Sylphiel, Gourry, Martina, Zangulus, Sanjuro, Amelia, and all their kids headed for Saillune so that they could start rebuilding the decimated city.

Just as Amelia and the others reached the crest of the hills that were just outside of Avernus, a yell unlike any other rang out from the other side of the city from a certain ecstatic red-haired sorceress.

"THANK YOU GOURRY GABRIEV!!!"

Even from that distance, everyone cringed at the shear volume of it.

"I take it she liked your present?" Sylphiel asked innocently.

"You think so?" Gourry echoed.

It took everything everyone had not to burst out laughing.
With all that had happened recently, it wasn't that odd when they failed miserably.



Ten Years Later.....

"Lina, why exactly are we going to Sylphiel's first? I thought you said that we would meet up with Amelia and Sanjuro first and then invite everyone else..." Zel questioned.

"Listen Zel, I want to visit with her for one. Secondly, do you honestly think that with an entourage in front of the castle that we would be able to get inside to see the two of them when they're entertaining guests? And finally, I have a favor to ask of her..." She replied.

"What favor would that be?" Her husband asked.

"You'll just have to wait and find out!" Lina replied as she smiled and latched on to her husband's arm in her almost traditional manner. Zel smiled and simply decided to leave it at that.

They arrived at Sylphiel's and Gourry's second home in Saillune. Their first was still currently being rebuilt in Sairaag. Lina cheerfully knocked on the door and waited for the lady of the house to answer. The door slowly opened to reveal Filia!

"OH! Lina, it's so good to see you after all of these years!" She nearly screamed. Sylphiel soon appeared right behind her as the dragon priestess hugged the daylights out of the sorceress.

"OH! Lina's back for the reunion and the wedding!" Sylphiel shouted.

Lina and Zelgadiss found themselves on strangely familiar ground.

So they blinked......twice.

"Who's left to get married?" Lina thought aloud.

Xellos appeared at the front door. "Oh, Lina! Nice to see you got the invitation, I was worried that it wouldn't get out that far to you!" He started.

Zel spoke up. "Enough with the suspense already. No, I'm afraid we didn't get the invitation. So who is getting married?" He asked.

"Why me and Filia-chan of course!" Xellos replied.

Lina and Zel could only stare in silence.

"I guess that was a little too much for them at one time." Val started as he came out the door. The boy still only looked ten because of the fact that the ancient dragons aged rather slowly, even in childhood.

Zel was the first to recover and started to lightly shake Lina back into consciousness.

"Well, though unexpected, I wish you both luck." He replied sincerely.

"Yeah!" Lina echoed. "Congratulations you two!" She finished.

The group was led inside by Sylphiel who immediately went into the kitchen to make some tea.

"Sylphiel..." Lina started.

Sylphiel jumped, clearly startled.

"Ye...Yes, Lina?" She asked.

"I need you to check something out for me and it has to do with something rather important. Could we go somewhere private and talk?" She asked hesitantly.

Sylphiel nodded. "We'll use my room upstairs, follow me." She started. "So what's so important Lina?" She continued.

Lina hesitated, but not for long. "Well, for the past month or so, I've been really sick to my stomach and having these really weird cravings..." Her voice trailed off as the two disappeared up the flight of stairs.

Meanwhile, Zel was downstairs catching up on old times with Filia and Xellos and becoming acquainted with their soon-to-be adopted son, Val. No one ever noticed the teapot on the stove whistling until Sylphiel took it off the stove some thirty minutes after she had went upstairs with Lina.

For some strange reason, she wore a hapless grin on her face for the rest of the evening. It was almost a mirror image of her husband's, but she had a rather good reason to be smiling like she was.



One week later.....

"Well Lina, I must say your visit was rather sudden, but thankfully it was near the end of that conference between Saillune and Sairaag. Otherwise, we might have had to skip out on the reunion!" Amelia explained.

"I'm sorry to have put that on you. But hey, we're here now, so why worry about it?" She asked, drawing a grin from her old student mage.

They slowly walked over to where the group was seated and awaiting Lina and Amelia to raise their glasses.

Only one word seemed to come to mind, and strangely enough, everyone knew it.

"CHEERS!" The group shouted.