Slayers Resurrection
Part II
Chapter Seven
"Gaav the Demon Dragon King"
The words left a gaping vacuum in the air, one that was filled by nothing but the echos that shook through Amelia's own head. She could remember Gaav. She could see him, his long red hair whipping around him, his huge figure dominating her horizon. She could remember. . pain. It's ghost whipped through her, her breath hitched in her throat, her stomach twisted and turned and bile rose in her throat. He had almost killed her. This man, standing right there, so tangible, so forgotten, had almost ended her life in a lifetime long ago. After that moment, everything had become a gift.
She could smell the smoke. It was the smoke of this lifetime, the smoke in a world where she wasn't a clutzy princess, but a girl, a girl who had found her purpose in the church, a girl who was cowering before the man in front of her. She didn't have the hope that her father would come save her. She didn't have justice. She didn't have the belief that had ruled her previous existence.
But she had God.
The God of Abraham, Issac and Jacob, the God who burnt the bush, the God who found the promise land, the God of her ancestors and the founders of this country. A God who loved her and who would protect her. A God who was waiting for her to join his eternal kingdom in the sky, a God who she knew. He was as intangible as the memories that flooded her head, but even as she thought them they rang with shock and disbelief and the fact that she had never heard the name Amelia Tseyruun until three weeks ago. God she had known all her life. It was he she could trust.
It was the trust to give her the certainty to do what she next did.
'I know I'm crazy' she thought as she leaped into the air to land shakily on a fallen tree limb. 'I know that this is insane. I know I've never done this before' She raised her hands in front of her, slightly apart so there would be room for magic. 'But I know that I can.'
"Almechia Lance!!" The words tore out of her throat and broke the shocked stupor that had descended on the people around her. Mel, who had been in her way jumped aside, fell to the ground and rolled four times before coming to a stop. Zel stood behind her and she could feel him summoning his own spell, could feel the currents twisting in the air as he prepared a secondary strike. Gaav looked at the beam of white light speeding toward him, and for one moment raised his eyes to meet her own. Ami felt the contact move through her, and she felt the fear rise in her again. Then he pulled away and sprung into the air, hanging suspended long enough for the spell to crash behind him.
She had missed.
But even as disappointment flooded her, Zel released the tide of air he had been holding, like most of his spells, she remembered, he did it silently, and Mel screamed "Fire Ball!" and flung a circular inferno at the opponent.
Gaav cast a shield spell Ami had never seen before to handle the wind, pushing away into infinity. She stared at the glowing red ball hurling itself toward him, and dared to let herself hope. The monster, however, noticed, and sidestepped quickly across the air. He wasn't quite fast enough, and the spell singed the lower half of his ponytail away. He picked it up and stared at the charred ends for a moment before falling gracefully to Earth.
"Very good" he said, his tone full and rich as she remembered it, retaining the mocking edge that had so stung her last time. "I see you still have all of your capabilities. I am pleased." His speech was broken then as he heaved a gasp of air.
Ami blinked. Was that what she thought it was?
Gaav breathed again, just as audibly.
It was. Ami's mind struggled with the shock of it. It was heavy, and caught in his chest. She could hear it, hovering there. He sounded like she did after she had run a 100 yard sprint, like all the air had been knocked out of him.
She had never heard a monster breath.
It was obviously summer. Green glowed upon the trees, lilting in the wind and trembling in it as it played with them. Fillia let herself enjoy the view for a moment, relishing the soft breeze, the gentle awarnesses that touched her senses, the smells, the feel of hair against her cheek, the taste of fresh air. Then she turned to the dirty mazoku behind her.
"You. I want you to make sure you don't touch me during the flight. I don't know if I could handle-just don't touch me."
He glanced at her under heavy lids, his lips twisting in an odd expression, one she couldn't quite read. It look smug, though, and it rankled her. "What are you smiling at?"
"Now that, lady dragon, is a secret."
She glared for a second longer, just to establish complete control, as it should be, and turned her concentration to the merge. She felt her body, strangely young, felt her mind seep through every pore in her skin, her fingertips and toes, her chest and deep into every atom of herself. A moment later, the familiar feeling of change came to her, as her second self descended to earth, shifting her body to fit its parameters. Wings burst from her back, and she gave a small gasp of pain, feeling the skin around them bond even as it turned scaly and rough. Her legs became long, her neck shot up from the ground. Delighting in the power that came from her metamorphasis, the craned her neck and looked down at the small speck that was the moster.
She spoke, as dragons do, into his mind. 'Stop gawking there, little one, and jump up here before I squash you.'
The tiny, purple form below her shook itself, and then she felt, with distaste bordering on nausea the wave of magic emitting from it as Xelloss cast a flight spell. In seconds, he was seated on her back, and she was immediately grateful for the pant legs. Her warning had been justified, she couldn't handle his skin. This proximity was causing her distress as it was, but then darkness and light were not meant to coexist.
She managed to pull her ego up once more as her wings beat the air beneath them, and she rose into the air, thinking that this was a journey that he, that no one, could do without her. And then they flew, away from the city and away from the forgotten life she had lived as Fiona Drygoon.
Why am I here? The question he had been asking himself for the past three weeks came back again, echoing through Val's consciousness, forcing him to sit suddenly upright. It startled the pigeons in front of him into flight, and he watched their irregular patterns through the air with a lazy satisfaction. He realized, with disgust, a moment later that it was apathy.
The wind spun about suddenly, hitting him full in the face. He shivered and hugged his coat up around his shoulders. What am I doing here? The question was there again. But it was always there when he was here.
He sighed, and slumped a little lower. Here. His father's house. His dead father's house. Living with his aunt, who barely had enough money to support herself, but insisted that he come down once a year and pay proper respect to those that had 'gone on'. She didn't even like him, or if she did, it was in a twisted 'I see my brother who I loved in you' way.
Whatever it was, it was not a way that he wanted to be loved in, anyways.
His grand mother, who he lived with, thought it was a wonderful idea, though, and since she couldn't come herself, she sent him, with a big bouquet of roses and a tin of homemade cookies. And then he'd get off the plane and see his aunt and hug her and pretend that he wanted to be here for a moment, before he was free to go to out on his own, when a listless manner would descend on him and he would wander about the small town kicking empty soda cans and ignoring everyone and everything.
It was like he disappeared into thin air.
He wondered, apathetically of course, what was going on back home. He thought of his soccer team, thought of Sabrina, thought of that blonde, Fiona, whoever she was, and that new kid he'd seen around, with the purple hair. He thought of his grandmother and her dying body, he thought of the way her eyes turned blank every so often, how she worried him. He thought of his minister and the wacko girl at his church. He thought of how everyone was having a better time than him right now, because all of them hadn't been shipped to their aunts to visit gravestones and sit in parks.
He was drawn, rather abruptly, out of his reverie by a white and black checked ball hitting him on the side of the foot. He looked up, and saw a tiny kid looking up at him with scared eyes. Unwilling to say anything, Val stared back, wondering dully if he looked long enough the kid would just walk away.
He didn't.
Finally, tired of this dumb game, Val spoke. "This your ball?"
"Yes." The reply was quick. The poor scared kid had been waiting for him to speak.
For the first time in a while, he was interested in it. "Do you play much?"
"A little. I'm not very good though."
Val thought of Sabrina, and how soft her eyes turned when she saw little kids. He smiled fondly. "I'm sure you're alright. Want to play with me?"
The kid studied him for a while, long enough for Val to think, oh, this is rich, I'm being rejected by a kid. A pause later though, the little thing had turned his head to the side and nodded it vigorously.
Val stood up. It was cold, he realized suddenly, and he had been sitting for a long time. He could barely feel his legs. The kid had been playing all morning, though, and slamed the ball toward him. On instinct, Val fell forward in a dive, catching the ball. The kid let out a frustrated sound.
"You can't do that! Only feet in soccer!"
He was a second away from shouting at the kid, telling him that he played goalie, very well too, and he knew more about soccer than anyone else he knew. But then, it wasn't worth the effort. Not anymore. So he just nodded, and kicked a pass.
The checked sphere rolled neatly toward the little right foot of his opponent, who started to dribble off away from him. In moments his tired, cold legs were running, sprinting toward the objective, the ball rolling away from him.
He didn't see the tree till it was right in front of his face.
They'd been fighting for what felt like hours. Lina had lost count of the fireballs she'd shot off toward the redheaded man, but she was sure it was way up there, in the thousands maybe. No time to think about that, though. She leaped into the air as a burst of what felt like molten rock was hurled just beneath her. Someone's voice was summoning another spell, she couldn't tell anymore if it was Zel or Amelia. She was so tired.
Lina landed roughly, a sudden, sharp pain shot up through her feet and into her shins and she moaned before she could even stand up. When she did struggle to her feet, another shot was being taken at her, this time an orb of ice. For an impossibly long second, she debated whether or not she should dodge, it seemed like so much effort. Even as the thought crossed her mind, she was throwing herself to the side, trying desperately to think of a counter spell, calling up a levitation, rising thirty feet into the air.
Now she could see. Now she had time, maybe a minute, to think.
Amelia was standing on a pile of rubble, gasping for breath. It had been she that had called the new spell, probably an almechia lance, which Gaav had obviously evaded. Zel was standing also, but now he crouched, even as the demon king launched himself up to follow Lina heavenward.
Her time was up.
And now, the presence that had been waiting for the right moment took control. Her thoughts sped up. Her actions sped up. Everything about started going faster and faster. The mind that was Mel had been shut away into a private little compartment, and someone far more brilliant, far more capable, had taken over her mind.
It was shocking.
But she didn't have time to dwell on the shock as she suddenly went into a steep dissension, pulling her hands toward her chest and shouting to the rushing air, and ever-climbing figure of Gaav, now above her, "Fire Arrow!"
The burst of flame flew upward, appearing faster because of her fall, but now she wasn't falling anymore, she had landed. She looked up, and saw Gaav move neatly out of the way, then hover in place. A smile graced her lips.
He hadn't seen it.
Zel's spell of moments before sped upward, a brilliant beam of white light, slamming into the form and obscuring all else in the produced flash. Her smile turned relieved. It was finally over. They'd beaten him.
She moved, breathed, for the first time in what felt like a long time. She turned toward Zel. "Nice one!"
"Thanks!" He looked calmed, too, and she could see the white undertone to his cheeks receding, gradually being replaced by a victorious flush. She glanced toward Amelia, who was standing up, shakily, an unbelieving smile on her lips.
It was over.
They'd won. It was impossible, but it had happened. Somehow, she had managed to do what she had never been able to do before. The impossible assailant, Gaav, had weakened, and was now defeated. She smiled and turned toward her friends, returning Amelias hug.
Over over over over. The word was sweet, even in her mind.
"We did it, Lina, we won!"
That was Amelia, cheering. Hearing those words canceled whatever presence had been controlling her. She suddenly felt much smaller. And in the smallness, she began to doubt. Her thoughts of moments ago mocked her in her mind-what she had never been able to do before. If not before, then why now? What had made this special? It didn't seem right.
Zel walked over to them, smiling. She looked at him, and realized she had never seen him look so relieved. "Mel!" he shouted, "that was amazing! Did you see that? Did you see it?"
Yes, Miss Mel, did you see it?
She stiffened and spun around. "Who's there?"
"What? Mel, what are you talking about?" Amelia looked at her, puzzled, still clutching Lina's arm.
"Nothing." She swallowed, her mouth suddenly dry, then grinned shakily. "Nothing. Just forget it. Let's get to my Grandma's house, I wanna get out of this goddam dessert."
A.N.-HA!! I'm back!! You probably thought I was gone but no! I came back and finished this chapter and I'm gonna try to finish this story. I think. If I GET REVIEWS. Okay? I'm saying that right now. If you review I'll finish. If not, I won't. If you want me to finish, review. If not, don't. It doesn't matter to me because I've already worked out what I want to happen in the end and I've reached emotional satisfaction about it. So review. Even to tell me it sucks. JUST TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK. Okay? Okay. Good great and marvelous.
REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW
Okay. Now I'm done.
Reivew.
Almost.
Done now.
D.F
Part II
Chapter Seven
"Gaav the Demon Dragon King"
The words left a gaping vacuum in the air, one that was filled by nothing but the echos that shook through Amelia's own head. She could remember Gaav. She could see him, his long red hair whipping around him, his huge figure dominating her horizon. She could remember. . pain. It's ghost whipped through her, her breath hitched in her throat, her stomach twisted and turned and bile rose in her throat. He had almost killed her. This man, standing right there, so tangible, so forgotten, had almost ended her life in a lifetime long ago. After that moment, everything had become a gift.
She could smell the smoke. It was the smoke of this lifetime, the smoke in a world where she wasn't a clutzy princess, but a girl, a girl who had found her purpose in the church, a girl who was cowering before the man in front of her. She didn't have the hope that her father would come save her. She didn't have justice. She didn't have the belief that had ruled her previous existence.
But she had God.
The God of Abraham, Issac and Jacob, the God who burnt the bush, the God who found the promise land, the God of her ancestors and the founders of this country. A God who loved her and who would protect her. A God who was waiting for her to join his eternal kingdom in the sky, a God who she knew. He was as intangible as the memories that flooded her head, but even as she thought them they rang with shock and disbelief and the fact that she had never heard the name Amelia Tseyruun until three weeks ago. God she had known all her life. It was he she could trust.
It was the trust to give her the certainty to do what she next did.
'I know I'm crazy' she thought as she leaped into the air to land shakily on a fallen tree limb. 'I know that this is insane. I know I've never done this before' She raised her hands in front of her, slightly apart so there would be room for magic. 'But I know that I can.'
"Almechia Lance!!" The words tore out of her throat and broke the shocked stupor that had descended on the people around her. Mel, who had been in her way jumped aside, fell to the ground and rolled four times before coming to a stop. Zel stood behind her and she could feel him summoning his own spell, could feel the currents twisting in the air as he prepared a secondary strike. Gaav looked at the beam of white light speeding toward him, and for one moment raised his eyes to meet her own. Ami felt the contact move through her, and she felt the fear rise in her again. Then he pulled away and sprung into the air, hanging suspended long enough for the spell to crash behind him.
She had missed.
But even as disappointment flooded her, Zel released the tide of air he had been holding, like most of his spells, she remembered, he did it silently, and Mel screamed "Fire Ball!" and flung a circular inferno at the opponent.
Gaav cast a shield spell Ami had never seen before to handle the wind, pushing away into infinity. She stared at the glowing red ball hurling itself toward him, and dared to let herself hope. The monster, however, noticed, and sidestepped quickly across the air. He wasn't quite fast enough, and the spell singed the lower half of his ponytail away. He picked it up and stared at the charred ends for a moment before falling gracefully to Earth.
"Very good" he said, his tone full and rich as she remembered it, retaining the mocking edge that had so stung her last time. "I see you still have all of your capabilities. I am pleased." His speech was broken then as he heaved a gasp of air.
Ami blinked. Was that what she thought it was?
Gaav breathed again, just as audibly.
It was. Ami's mind struggled with the shock of it. It was heavy, and caught in his chest. She could hear it, hovering there. He sounded like she did after she had run a 100 yard sprint, like all the air had been knocked out of him.
She had never heard a monster breath.
It was obviously summer. Green glowed upon the trees, lilting in the wind and trembling in it as it played with them. Fillia let herself enjoy the view for a moment, relishing the soft breeze, the gentle awarnesses that touched her senses, the smells, the feel of hair against her cheek, the taste of fresh air. Then she turned to the dirty mazoku behind her.
"You. I want you to make sure you don't touch me during the flight. I don't know if I could handle-just don't touch me."
He glanced at her under heavy lids, his lips twisting in an odd expression, one she couldn't quite read. It look smug, though, and it rankled her. "What are you smiling at?"
"Now that, lady dragon, is a secret."
She glared for a second longer, just to establish complete control, as it should be, and turned her concentration to the merge. She felt her body, strangely young, felt her mind seep through every pore in her skin, her fingertips and toes, her chest and deep into every atom of herself. A moment later, the familiar feeling of change came to her, as her second self descended to earth, shifting her body to fit its parameters. Wings burst from her back, and she gave a small gasp of pain, feeling the skin around them bond even as it turned scaly and rough. Her legs became long, her neck shot up from the ground. Delighting in the power that came from her metamorphasis, the craned her neck and looked down at the small speck that was the moster.
She spoke, as dragons do, into his mind. 'Stop gawking there, little one, and jump up here before I squash you.'
The tiny, purple form below her shook itself, and then she felt, with distaste bordering on nausea the wave of magic emitting from it as Xelloss cast a flight spell. In seconds, he was seated on her back, and she was immediately grateful for the pant legs. Her warning had been justified, she couldn't handle his skin. This proximity was causing her distress as it was, but then darkness and light were not meant to coexist.
She managed to pull her ego up once more as her wings beat the air beneath them, and she rose into the air, thinking that this was a journey that he, that no one, could do without her. And then they flew, away from the city and away from the forgotten life she had lived as Fiona Drygoon.
Why am I here? The question he had been asking himself for the past three weeks came back again, echoing through Val's consciousness, forcing him to sit suddenly upright. It startled the pigeons in front of him into flight, and he watched their irregular patterns through the air with a lazy satisfaction. He realized, with disgust, a moment later that it was apathy.
The wind spun about suddenly, hitting him full in the face. He shivered and hugged his coat up around his shoulders. What am I doing here? The question was there again. But it was always there when he was here.
He sighed, and slumped a little lower. Here. His father's house. His dead father's house. Living with his aunt, who barely had enough money to support herself, but insisted that he come down once a year and pay proper respect to those that had 'gone on'. She didn't even like him, or if she did, it was in a twisted 'I see my brother who I loved in you' way.
Whatever it was, it was not a way that he wanted to be loved in, anyways.
His grand mother, who he lived with, thought it was a wonderful idea, though, and since she couldn't come herself, she sent him, with a big bouquet of roses and a tin of homemade cookies. And then he'd get off the plane and see his aunt and hug her and pretend that he wanted to be here for a moment, before he was free to go to out on his own, when a listless manner would descend on him and he would wander about the small town kicking empty soda cans and ignoring everyone and everything.
It was like he disappeared into thin air.
He wondered, apathetically of course, what was going on back home. He thought of his soccer team, thought of Sabrina, thought of that blonde, Fiona, whoever she was, and that new kid he'd seen around, with the purple hair. He thought of his grandmother and her dying body, he thought of the way her eyes turned blank every so often, how she worried him. He thought of his minister and the wacko girl at his church. He thought of how everyone was having a better time than him right now, because all of them hadn't been shipped to their aunts to visit gravestones and sit in parks.
He was drawn, rather abruptly, out of his reverie by a white and black checked ball hitting him on the side of the foot. He looked up, and saw a tiny kid looking up at him with scared eyes. Unwilling to say anything, Val stared back, wondering dully if he looked long enough the kid would just walk away.
He didn't.
Finally, tired of this dumb game, Val spoke. "This your ball?"
"Yes." The reply was quick. The poor scared kid had been waiting for him to speak.
For the first time in a while, he was interested in it. "Do you play much?"
"A little. I'm not very good though."
Val thought of Sabrina, and how soft her eyes turned when she saw little kids. He smiled fondly. "I'm sure you're alright. Want to play with me?"
The kid studied him for a while, long enough for Val to think, oh, this is rich, I'm being rejected by a kid. A pause later though, the little thing had turned his head to the side and nodded it vigorously.
Val stood up. It was cold, he realized suddenly, and he had been sitting for a long time. He could barely feel his legs. The kid had been playing all morning, though, and slamed the ball toward him. On instinct, Val fell forward in a dive, catching the ball. The kid let out a frustrated sound.
"You can't do that! Only feet in soccer!"
He was a second away from shouting at the kid, telling him that he played goalie, very well too, and he knew more about soccer than anyone else he knew. But then, it wasn't worth the effort. Not anymore. So he just nodded, and kicked a pass.
The checked sphere rolled neatly toward the little right foot of his opponent, who started to dribble off away from him. In moments his tired, cold legs were running, sprinting toward the objective, the ball rolling away from him.
He didn't see the tree till it was right in front of his face.
They'd been fighting for what felt like hours. Lina had lost count of the fireballs she'd shot off toward the redheaded man, but she was sure it was way up there, in the thousands maybe. No time to think about that, though. She leaped into the air as a burst of what felt like molten rock was hurled just beneath her. Someone's voice was summoning another spell, she couldn't tell anymore if it was Zel or Amelia. She was so tired.
Lina landed roughly, a sudden, sharp pain shot up through her feet and into her shins and she moaned before she could even stand up. When she did struggle to her feet, another shot was being taken at her, this time an orb of ice. For an impossibly long second, she debated whether or not she should dodge, it seemed like so much effort. Even as the thought crossed her mind, she was throwing herself to the side, trying desperately to think of a counter spell, calling up a levitation, rising thirty feet into the air.
Now she could see. Now she had time, maybe a minute, to think.
Amelia was standing on a pile of rubble, gasping for breath. It had been she that had called the new spell, probably an almechia lance, which Gaav had obviously evaded. Zel was standing also, but now he crouched, even as the demon king launched himself up to follow Lina heavenward.
Her time was up.
And now, the presence that had been waiting for the right moment took control. Her thoughts sped up. Her actions sped up. Everything about started going faster and faster. The mind that was Mel had been shut away into a private little compartment, and someone far more brilliant, far more capable, had taken over her mind.
It was shocking.
But she didn't have time to dwell on the shock as she suddenly went into a steep dissension, pulling her hands toward her chest and shouting to the rushing air, and ever-climbing figure of Gaav, now above her, "Fire Arrow!"
The burst of flame flew upward, appearing faster because of her fall, but now she wasn't falling anymore, she had landed. She looked up, and saw Gaav move neatly out of the way, then hover in place. A smile graced her lips.
He hadn't seen it.
Zel's spell of moments before sped upward, a brilliant beam of white light, slamming into the form and obscuring all else in the produced flash. Her smile turned relieved. It was finally over. They'd beaten him.
She moved, breathed, for the first time in what felt like a long time. She turned toward Zel. "Nice one!"
"Thanks!" He looked calmed, too, and she could see the white undertone to his cheeks receding, gradually being replaced by a victorious flush. She glanced toward Amelia, who was standing up, shakily, an unbelieving smile on her lips.
It was over.
They'd won. It was impossible, but it had happened. Somehow, she had managed to do what she had never been able to do before. The impossible assailant, Gaav, had weakened, and was now defeated. She smiled and turned toward her friends, returning Amelias hug.
Over over over over. The word was sweet, even in her mind.
"We did it, Lina, we won!"
That was Amelia, cheering. Hearing those words canceled whatever presence had been controlling her. She suddenly felt much smaller. And in the smallness, she began to doubt. Her thoughts of moments ago mocked her in her mind-what she had never been able to do before. If not before, then why now? What had made this special? It didn't seem right.
Zel walked over to them, smiling. She looked at him, and realized she had never seen him look so relieved. "Mel!" he shouted, "that was amazing! Did you see that? Did you see it?"
Yes, Miss Mel, did you see it?
She stiffened and spun around. "Who's there?"
"What? Mel, what are you talking about?" Amelia looked at her, puzzled, still clutching Lina's arm.
"Nothing." She swallowed, her mouth suddenly dry, then grinned shakily. "Nothing. Just forget it. Let's get to my Grandma's house, I wanna get out of this goddam dessert."
A.N.-HA!! I'm back!! You probably thought I was gone but no! I came back and finished this chapter and I'm gonna try to finish this story. I think. If I GET REVIEWS. Okay? I'm saying that right now. If you review I'll finish. If not, I won't. If you want me to finish, review. If not, don't. It doesn't matter to me because I've already worked out what I want to happen in the end and I've reached emotional satisfaction about it. So review. Even to tell me it sucks. JUST TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK. Okay? Okay. Good great and marvelous.
REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW
Okay. Now I'm done.
Reivew.
Almost.
Done now.
D.F