I don't own Slayers
=Chapter XVII=
The hum of power spread throughout her body, filling her with it's light and intensity. She felt as if her skin would burst with all the force that coursed through her veins.
She shut her eyes, feeling the soft and warm wind encircle her. Warmth and love flooded through her and she knew that this was the feeling of the Lord of Nightmares. In her mind's eye, she could almost see the Goddess walking toward her, wearing a toga of the purest of whites with a golden cord wrapped around her waist. Her long fair hair and golden eyes watched Lina with so much love and wisdom that Lina felt humbled. She wanted to kneel in the Goddess' presence.
"Child of Light," the Lord of Nightmares whispered with a commanding voice. The Goddess walked up to Lina and felt her temples. "Why do you summon me?"
"I--" Lina broke off and hid her face. "I wish for you to save my sister. One of your dark lords has soiled her blood and taken her body to destroy our world--You're the only one that can cleanse her. If I take you into my body, you'll be able to help her and our world."
The Lord of Nightmares was quiet for a moment before she murmured, "If I enter your body, you will not be able to support me with your mortal flesh. You will die."
Lina took a deep breath and said, "I know."
The Lord of Nightmares placed her fingertips underneath Lina's chin and tilted the red head's face so that she could peer into Lina's soul. "You are strong, Lina Inverse. Stronger than most of my children that walk the world." The Goddess let her face break into a grin. "Your wish is granted child. Close your eyes."
Lina nodded and shut her eyes, preparing herself.
The Goddess kissed Lina's forehead then whispered the words of an incantation.
--
Zelgadis dropped to his knees, unable to fight any longer. His stamina was severely low and being thrashed around by a powerful Dark Lord was not helping. He panted on the ground, supporting himself with his elbows.
He glanced up between the strands of hair that fell over his face. Xelloss was standing in front of him, a sadistic smile spreading over his face. He was pulling out more and more magic, some of which Zelgadis had never heard of, to hold Dark Star back.
But, despite the agile abilities of Xelloss, Zelgadis had noticed a severe deceleration of the Trickster Priest's movements as he dashed toward Luna.
Suddenly, a scream ripped through the air grabbing Zelgadis' attention. He whipped his head around and stared at the place where Lina had been.
Light had broken from the clouds slamming down against the floor. A young woman's body levitated, red hair flowing gently behind her, with the light filling her. Lina was slowly brought back to the ground. It took her a moment to gain her balance before she began to walk, determinedly, toward Luna.
He could feel the electricity that vibrated around Lina's body as well as see the golden aura that surrounded her. He could see the minute change in her walking and the difference in the way she swung her arms. Whoever this was, this was not the Lina he knew. This had to be the Lord of Nightmares.
--
Lina stood in the center of a dark room with smoke crawling around the ground.
She took a step forward, hearing the pure sound of innocent laughter echo in the dark halls. She turned, following the sound, and for a moment, she could see a ghostly figure of her as a child, dancing as Luna sat by her playing on an instrument. Behind her, a young Zelgadis followed her with a huge smile on his face. He looked about ready to tickle her.
Lina, with nothing to do, decided to follow the image. She could feel her muscles working hard as it brought her through a ghostly maze of an old village that she couldn't remember. Suddenly, child Lina stopped in her tracks and looked up at a large house. She appeared to shy away, but then with a wild sense of determination, she ran inside, Lina close at her heels.
Child Lina ran up the stairs searching in each doorway for someone. Lina peaked into one of the doors as an image appeared. She watched it wearily as flickers of what was occurring on the outside flashed on the smoke. She could see the Lord of Nightmares standing before Dark Star, saying words that she could not hear.
Dark Star answered back, using Luna's body like a puppet. Lina felt a surge of anger spread through her but quickly squashed it. There was nothing she could do anymore. Luna had been swallowed up by that darkness.
Dark Star darted forward with magic in her hand and the Lord of Nightmares met her with a terrifying burst of energy.
Lina stepped back from the image and decided to search for something else. She looked for child Lina, but the child was gone replaced by a long hall with a door at the end.
Lina walked on hearing the loud crack of her steps in the quiet hall. She felt like an intruder then immediately scoffed. She should have been use to the feeling, she was a thief after all.
When she reached the door at the end, she pushed it gingerly and poked her head inside.
"Luna?"
Luna lay in the middle of the room, blood pouring from her head and eyes. Lina dashed inside and kneeled by her sister. "Luna? What are you doing here?"
Luna coughed, her body shaking with the force of each one. She looked up at her younger sister and gave her a small grin. "Hey, little sister." She fell into another fit of coughs and all Lina could do was hold on to her. "I guess I couldn't protect you from this, could I?"
"Luna, just hold on. I think I know a healing spell."
"Save it. It won't work. I'm dying Lina…You saved me…in your own crude fashion."
Lina chocked back a sob. "What are you talking about. If I did save you you'd still be alright."
"No, no little sister. You brought me back…you gave me back a soul." Luna covered her mouth as she coughed some more. "When I was just traveling with Rezo, without you, I don't know what happened to me. I became consumed with thoughts of killing him. I didn't care for anyone…or anything…then I saw you again…"
"Luna?"
"Look, I don't have much time…when I saw you again, I remembered how it use to be, with just you and me. I recalled my need to help you grow and why I did what I did…I'm not proud of some of my decisions…but…when I saw you again, saw the person you had become…I knew that it was worth it…Lina…I love you…" Suddenly, Luna looked up, her eyes glazing over with happiness as she whispered, "Goddess, Xelloss is your man…"
"Luna, you're not making sense. Just relax and I can help you."
Lina raised her hands over her sister's chest and began an incantation, but Luna interrupted by pushing Lina's hands away. "Conserve your strength, sis. You'll need it if Zelgadis listens to what I told him on the alter..."
And before Lina could protest, Luna's body faded into the mist and she was gone.
--
Zelgadis watched in awe and horror as Luna's body twisted and thrashed about until she carried no breath. With the darkness gone, her body was nothing more than a shell. He knelt beside Luna's body and lay his hand over her eyes. With gentle fingers, he pulled the lids shut and let Luna rest in peace.
Slowly, he turned to the Lord of Nightmares who had been watching him up to this point. "Is Lina alright?" he asked.
She looked at him, her eyes betraying nothing giving Lina's face an almost dead look. It caused Zelgadis to shiver slightly. "Your Lina is no more. She has given her life to call me into this world."
"No," he whispered as he stood up in one fluid movement. He advanced toward the Lord of Nightmares, not sure at what he was doing. He looked at her, squarely in the eye and said, "Give her back."
"That is not possible. No matter what you think, mortal, you cannot save her. She is already gone, walking in the world that leads to the dead. You know it as the Shadow Lands."
"I'm not giving up on her. I'll give you my life in exchange for hers," Zelgadis spat. He was about to grab the shoulders of the Goddess before her felt Xelloss pull him back. The Trickster Priest shook his head dangerously, warning Zelgadis that his brashness wasn't a good idea.
The Lord of Nightmares merely chuckled at Zelgadis and said, "You amuse me, mortal. You're love for her is strong. You may enter the Shadow Lands and search for her, but if you fail, it is your death."
The Goddess then turned to Xelloss. "And you, mortal, your wish will be granted. With Dark Star's defeat, I must appoint a new god to take his place. You have proved yourself worthy with your calculating mind and persistence. The one called Luna even recommended you before she gave her life away. Congratulations."
Xelloss bowed before the Goddess and whispered a thank you before he turned to Zelgadis. "Just remember what Luna said to you when you sat on the alter and you'll be fine." Xelloss winked at Zelgadis one last time before he fazed out of that place.
--
Zelgadis ventured forth, feeling the coldness surround his body. He could see nothing but hazy smoke along the ground and an endless supply of darkness. His eyes peered around, searching for something, anything, that would tell him of Lina's whereabouts.
Closing his eyes, he searched for her warmth and for her power. He could feel it, but it was very weak, like she was ready to give up.
He chased after it, as fast as he could, ignoring the images of him as a happy child, of his parents glancing at him, of his grandfather looking upon him with his eyes opened. He ignored the images of forgotten memories that would normally make him curious and searched for her, for Lina within the endless fog.
Then, he felt her presence. It was so strong that it nearly overpowered him. He searched around the corridor and saw a flash of red. He ran toward it and knelt beside it.
It was a red, oval gem. He had given Lina something similar to this jewelry a long time ago and had seen it once again in a store window. He picked it up, feeling the warmth radiate around it, feeling the bond that he and Lina shared within it. She was close by.
He stood up and whirled around, his capes kicking up some fog. His quick eyes caught a faint ghost of her standing with her back toward him. He hurled his body toward the figure and was shocked as he passed right through. He turned around and looked at the ghostly figure's face.
Lina had her eyes pressed shut.
"Lina?" he murmured.
Her eyes suddenly opened and she was looking at him in shock. "Zel? What are you doing here? You shouldn't be here--"
"Neither should you."
"Get out of here or you're going to die."
"I'm not leaving here without you."
"Look you stubborn mule--"
"Look who's talking!"
Lina and Zelgadis stared at each other before a smile broke out on each of their faces. Lina was the first to sober up, however. She looked at Zelgadis and said, "Tell everyone that I'll miss them…tell everyone thank you."
Zelgadis shook his head. "I'm not going to do that. I meant what I said. I'm not leaving here without you. If that means my death, then I'm prepared for that."
Before Lina could reply, Zelgadis pulled her up to him and kissed her gently on the mouth, slightly surprised that he didn't pass through that time.
--
When Lina pulled away, albeit slowly, her eyes opened and she stared into the warm depths of Zelgadis' sapphire blue eyes. He was smiling down at her, happy to see her and happy to hold onto her.
When she pulled back further, she was surprised to hear the voices of several people screaming her name. She turned around and saw Amelia running toward her, her arms out and ready to wind Lina around the waist. The darkness, she realized, had disappeared and she was now back on earth with her friends and everyone she loved.
Behind Amelia, at a much slower pace, were Gourry who was being supported by Filia and Syphiel and Prince Phil. All of them had a gigantic smile on each of their faces.
Before anyone could reach them, however, Lina turned to Zel and whispered, "You know, when you were on the alter, what did my sister say to you?"
Zelgadis tried to hide the blush that spread across his face by burying his head in the crook between Lina's head and shoulder, but she spotted it. She was ready to klonk him on the head if he didn't answer soon when he said, "She told me to name our first child--if it's a girl--after her."
"Oh," Lina managed to reply before she was bombarded by Amelia's bear hug.
=The End=