Chapter Eighteen: A Complete Spell

Disclaimer: I do not own Slayers, or any of their characters. However, I do own Babbit, Yeshta, Pickle and Slipper. Varunia is borrowed from my sister.

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*********************************************************************** After A dinner that consisted of the previously roasted nuts and a large number of fish, Slipper sat down and tried to remember how he had cast the spell in the first place.

"Let's see... I cast most of the spell at that weird temple on the top of a really big mountain that is about a week's travel from here… Then I went to Atlas City, and finished it up on you." He tilted his head thoughtfully.

"You saw the temple?!" Babbit demanded in surprise.

"Yeah. There were a whole bunch of weird ghosts, so I had to cast a Ghost-Away spell just to work on the spell. That was really tiring, trying to hold up a Ghost-Away spell while fiddling with a new spell." He paused again. Babbit took the opportunity to speak.

"It seems to me like the Anti-Rezo spell is an alteration of the Ghost-Away spell."

"That's right." Slipper nodded. "We could break it from here, but it would be easier to break it from the place I did the initial casting." He shrugged. "It's up to you, Babbit. It'll be harder from here, but I'm not sure if it's worth traveling so far for."

"Any distance is worth traveling for this." Babbit whispered to herself.

"What?" Slipper asked, startled.

"Nothing." Babbit replied, then started thinking. So that temple DOES exist! But how did I get so far from it while I was unconscious? Did Rezo help me? She wondered to herself. "Hey, Slipper. Is there any way that Rezo could break the spell from his side?"

"Huh? I don't quite know what you mean. It would help up break the spell if he tried to break it too, but without us being willing to let him do that, he couldn't." He looked like he was trying to figure something out.

"So he couldn't come while I was unconscious or asleep?" She asked. He blinked, and stared at her with wide eyes.

"I never thought of that!" He exclaimed. "I thought he would come while you were awake if he was going to possess you."

"Fool. Don't you know ANYTHING about ghosts? If they want to possess you, they'll do it while you're DEFENSELESS. Anyway, answer the question. Could he?"

"Yeah. I didn't specify that in the spell, so I suppose that he could." Slipper yawned. "Can we do this in the morning? I'm tired."

"NO!" Babbit snarled. "I'm sorry." She said in a quieter voice. "I meant, is there anything that needs done in preparation? Like a diagram?"

"Yeah." He yawned again. He proceeded to lean against a tree and mumbled directions as Babbit carried them out.

"Now what?" She asked, turning to him.

"That's all..." He mumbled, and started snoring. Babbit stared at him, and wondered if he had even been awake when he gave the directions to her. She hoped that the diagram wouldn't summon anything terrible, as she stepped in to the center of it.

"Placing my soul in the magic circle, I come before you. Ghosts of before, hear my plead, and send me the one called Rezo." She paused, making motions with her arms. This is a variation of a summoning spell. She thought to herself, but quickly pushed the thought aside as she continued I a loud and clear voice, closing her eyes again.

"Rezo, who is no longer of this world, heed my call and come before me." She felt the resistance of the previous spell pushing her back. "REZO! HEED MY CALL! APPEAR BEFORE ME!" She intensified her calling. She felt something, like a pulse of energy encircle her, and the magic circle beneath her glowed brilliantly. She felt the resistance of the spell again, but this time, she fought against it with all her might. She felt it shatter suddenly, and she fell foreword, landing on the dirt with a soft THUMP. She was unconscious. She awoke a little while later, as the sky was beginning to lighten, promising that the sun would soon rise. She moaned softly, sitting up slowly and touching her aching head.

"Dear one, you have succeeded." Rezo stood beside her, with tears of joy slowly sliding down his face.

"Rezo!" She stood up completely, and threw herself at him, but passes through him, falling in to the dirt once again. She slowly sat up again, tears of mixed emotions in her eyes. "Rezo, I'm so happy to see you, but I can't touch you..." She reached one hand out to him. His ghostly hand met hers, but she couldn't feel him.

"What's going on?" Slipper asked, sitting up and rubbing his eyes groggily.

"I finished the spell without you." Babbit said crankily, wiping the tears from her eyes.

"Really? Good for you. Feed me. You said you'd give me breakfast too." He yawned and stretched. "Oh? Hi, Rezo." He greeted.

"Hello." Rezo returned the greeting, unsure of how to react.

"So, what are you planning to do now, Babbit? Marry him?" Slipper yawned again, and started gathering wood for a fire. Babbit blinked in surprise.

"I hadn't thought about it." She answered quietly.

"Well, if I were you, I'd go to those weird guys who did those cloning experiments a while ago, and see about making Rezo a new body." He trailed off explaining why that was a good idea. Babbit looked to the horizon, where the sun was just beginning to peek over the mountains. It seemed reasonable enough.

"Rezo, how would you feel about that?" She asked quietly as Slipper continued to ramble about his idea. "Being officially resurrected, that is." Rezo smiled a little bit.

"I would like that very much, but I feel I would be dishonest if I didn't inform you that..." He paused, his expression flickering like the candle he had watched so intently in Atlas City.

"That I wouldn't be your first love?" She asked, watching as his expression looked pained for a moment, before looking apologetic.

"That much is true. Also, you are descended from my blood, and I fear that that would prevent us from producing children." At Rezo's words, Babbit felt her face begin to turn red with embarrassment.

"Th... That's not what..." She paused, shaking her head, to rid herself of the stinging blush. "Listen. First, both of my parents have been chimera-ized, so I have no true blood relatives, and second, a new body would mean a new chance, just as the rising of the sun means a new day." She was unsure of the meaning of her own words, but Rezo nodded his head in understanding.

"If you do not object to the knowledge that you are not my first love, then I would be honored to become flesh once more and be by your side."

"I do not object to the knowledge. However, I would request that you do not constantly remind me of it. I do not ask to be your first love, but to be your only true love." She wondered if her words were selfish as they left her mouth.

"Agreed. I shall never forget my previous loves, but I will not speak of them unless it is by your request."

"Agreed. Then let us set off in to the brilliance of the new day, with the hope of being together tomorrow." She smiled, and her heart ached only slightly.

"Hey Babbit, I'm hungry. Feed me. It was part of our deal, remember?" Slipper whined, as he had finally finished his speech about how good his idea was.

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Dun-da-dun! The end! What should I do for a sequel to this? Tell me in a review! ^_^ \/