Disclaimer: Do I really HAVE to make one for each chapter?? Ok, ok! I don't own Slayers!
We got captured?
How did that happen?
"Ready guys?" Lina asked as she stared at the army advancing in front of them. Damien whistled once, and the battle was on. "Fireball" Lina incinerated one of the chimeras with her magic. "Is that the best you can do?" she gloated. Damien simply pointed at the creature. Lina looked in surprise as the burnt creature stumbled back on his feet, seemingly unharmed. "These creatures were made to battle even the gods themselves" Damien shouted "Do you really think that your puny magic is of any use here?".
Lina looked around, she had to admit that this looked bad. "Lina look over there" Zel shouted. A group of creatures was advancing on Taki and Filia. "Stay away from me!" Taki shouted and fired her guns at the advancing creatures. The bullets didn't have much of an effect. One of the creatures lashed out and hit her in the back of the head. Without a sound she feel to the ground. The creature picked her up and vanished. "What did you do to her?" Amelia demanded. "Don't you worry about that" Ascard told her "You'll see her soon". Another scream pierced the air, and Filia was gone.
"Stay together guys" Lina shouted "we don't stand a chance if they get us separated". The rest of the group moved into a circle.
"Xellos, can't you do anything about this!?" Zel shouted. The priest didn't need the encouragement. He pointed at one of the chimeras. A dark beam of energy shot from the tip of his finger. The beam hit dead on and the creature was incinerated. As the smoke cleared there was nothing left where the chimera was standing. "Alright Xellos!" Lina cheered "You go!". Damien had stopped smiling "You are pretty powerful aren't you? Looks like I'll have to take care of you myself!" With those word he vanished from sight. Seconds later Xellos' body was pierced by two curved daggers. He fell to his knees "How did you…?" for one there was fear to be traced in his voice. Damien appeared in the spot where he was before "You should have paid more attention" he smirked " I told you that I was infused with the power of Gaav. I'm more powerful that any of you can imagine!".
Line looked over her shoulder at her fallen team mate "You ok there?" She asked. "I was careless again, wasn't I?" Xellos whispered "Should have taken care of him the moment we learned of his existence". One of the chimeras teleported up in front of Xellos. Before the priest could do anything, both of them vanished in a flash. "NO WAY!" Lina shouted "They got Xellos just like that?". The five remaining party members moved closer together. "At this rate they'll get all of us" Zelgadis whispered. "Can't you use your dragonslave Lina?" Gourry asked. The petite sorceress shook her head "If I do that, I'll end up blowing up this whole town!".
"Mr. Gourry behind you!" Amelia shouted. Her warning came just a second to late. The blonde swordsman took a blow to the head and passed out. As it had happened before, he was picked up and transported away. It didn't take long before the same happened to Zel and Amelia. "What do we do now, Miss Lina?" Sylphiel asked, her voice shivered with fear. "You go the same way as your friends" Damien informed them. Both the girls looked at him in anger "Like hell we are" Lina spat.
"You know" Damien said, looking deep in thought "you could just surrender". Lina only answered with a glare. "Maybe we should do as he says?" Sylphiel suggested. "A wise decision" Damien clapped his hands. With a scowl Lina nodded "I guess we have no choice at the moment". Two of the chimeras walked up to them and placed their hands on the girls shoulders. In a flash they were gone.
"Where are we?" Sylphiel asked. She was still feeling a bit dizzy from the astral travel. Lina looked around "looks like a mansion of some sort?". Ascard and Neela took The two girls through a maze of hallways, while Damien gave the army new orders. "I don't know what plans that crazy moron have by bringing you two here" Ascard grumbled. Lina was silent. "For once I agree with you" Neela said "That crazy bastard will end up throwing the entire world into chaos. And there is not a damn thing we can do about it!". Ascard nodded "I hope lord Loid knows what to do…" Sylphiel gently poked his shoulder " Excuse me? But who is this Loid you keep talking about?". Ascard shot her a glare "He is the one that made us the ones we are. He even made your wonderful little Eruk". Sylphiel gasped. "And never touch me again" Ascard added with a low growl.
Sylphiel shivered as they passed through a laboratory. Various creatures could be seen maturing inside the test tubes. "We're here" Ascard informed them. He opened a large door "Inside with you" he ordered "and no funny business". The room they entered was lit with countless candles.
"So good to see you again, Lina Inverse" A voice could be heard from somewhere. Lina instantly paled "that voice… it can't be…". Sylphiel looked at her friend "what's wrong miss Lina? You look like you have seen a ghost".
A flash of lightning illuminated the room, revealing an old man staring out of the window. "We meet again after all of these years" the old man laughed. He turned around "And you have a new sidekick, I see". The old man looked Sylphiel over "At least this one has a better sense of fashion". He walked forward. "Diol!" Lina growled "I thought they locked you up, and threw the key away!". Diol chuckled "they let me out early. Good behavior, and the fact that I didn't do anything THAT bad also helped".
Sylphiel practically had to hold Lina back "Nothing bad!?" She cried "You made ten copy's of that… that insane… Greedy… stuck up…". Lina couldn't bring herself to mention her old travelling companions name. "You just had to show up and remind me of her!" Lina lunged forward to another attack, but again Sylphiel managed to hold her back. "I never knew you had another companion miss Lina" Sylphiel said, before letting go of the redhead. "Now don't you start with me too, Sylphiel" Lina sighed. This was just not going to be her day. "Well, if you feel that way about you old partner" Diol shouted "then you'll just love to meet my assistants!".
He posed dramatically, just for the effect. "OHOHOHOHOHOHO" A terrible sound echoed down the empty hallways. "What was that?" Sylphiel looked around, this was starting to get way to scary for her taste. "No! not that!" Lina whispered "Give me slugs, give me my sister, anything but that!!".
Ten persons dressed in long cloaks entered the room. If Lina had been pale before, she was now resembling a ghost. "Do you have any idea how long I've waited for this?" Diol asked "Time to reveal yourselves girls!". Moving as one, the ten persons pulled their cloaks of and tossed them away. Sylphiel blushed deeply. The ten women in front of her was extremely scantly clad. She had never even imagined that anyone could walk around in public like that. As the first shock had passed she noticed that they all looked exactly the same. "Miss Lina, do you know them?" She asked. Lina slowly nodded "yes, I know her".
It was difficult for Sylphiel to determine if Lina looked terrified or just plain angry. "It has to be a mixture of the two" she concluded. Lina raised her hands and prepared to deal with her problems the usual way, blowing them up. " I wouldn't do that if I were you" Diol smirked.
"It doesn't hurt to try" Lina shouted back "Flare…". A sharp bolt of pain shot through her body.
"What happened miss Lina?" Sylphiel asked. Lina carefully touched her forehead "Not again" she muttered. She brushed some of her hair aside. A metallic circlet could be seen underneath. "What is that thing on your head, miss Lina?" Sylphiel asked. "Oh just a little something that will prevent her from using her magic" Diol snickered. "How did you…? When did…?" Lina was slowly recovering from the shock. "You shouldn't worry about that" Diol laughed "We have some unfinished business to take care off, just you and I". Lina swallowed hard "you don't mean…?". He pulled an old sheet of paper out of a pocket in his robe. "Haven't you given up on that idea yet!!?" Lina shouted. "What idea, miss Lina?" Sylphiel was starting to feel a little lost with everything going on.
"Girls, why don't you take her down to her friends?" Diol pointed at Sylphiel. The Nagas nodded. Sylphiel backed away from them "Miss Lina?". Somehow she doubted that this would end pleasantly. "Please, I don't want to have trouble with you. So why don't you be a good girl, and follow peacefully" Diol suggested "I really don't want to hurt anyone".
"No, you just want to use peoples head in some twisted chimera design" Lina mumbled.
A couple of Nagas went up to Sylphiel to escort her out of the room. "Wait just a minute there, old man" A voice came from a dark corner of the room. The two Naga clones stopped walking and looked around to locate the unknown speaker. "Damien? What are you doing here?" Diol asked. He had made it perfectly clear that he didn't want to be disturbed.
"Oh I just came here for a little detail" He casually walked out in the light. "I just wanted to say that from this very moment, I taking charge of everything".
"What did you say?" Diol turned around to face his creation. "Come on, don't tell me you have gone deaf on me old man?" Damien smirked "I said, I'm taking over". Diol backed away, this was certainly unexpected. Damien walked up to the Naga clones " I already have the army, Ascard and Neela on my side. It's time for you girls to choose your destiny. Follow me and you'll live, and get rewarded. Refuse and die. Pretty simple, right?". The clones looked at each other nodded, and started laughing. "Good. I knew you had some reason" Damien tossed them a bag of gold coins "and there is more where that came from". He covered his ears "and there is a bonus if you'll just stop laughing" he added. The clones immediately went silent. Apparently they had inherited the original Naga's greed.
"That only leaves you" He turned to Diol "I could use a talented sorcerer to make my army even more powerful".
"What? Should I be working for you?" Diol spat "I created you! You are working for me!". Damien sighed "I was afraid you would say that". He snapped his fingers. Two of the chimeras from the army smashed through the door. "If you don't work for me, I don't need you around".
"What are you doing? Let me go!" Diol shouted as he was dragged away. "You are turning on the man that gave you your power?" Sylphiel asked. She was afraid of this man. Even though he looked like the one she had come to know as Eruk, there wasn't a trace of compassion in his behavior.
"Now to figure out what to do with the two of you" Damien looked like he was thinking, but somehow both Lina and Sylphiel had a feeling that it was only for show. "Are you going to kill us?" Sylphiel asked. "Am appealing thought, I must admit." Damien admitted "I'm sure you deaths would be quite entertaining, but I have no time at the moment". Lina pushed Sylphiel out of the way "are you saying that we are not important enough for you?" she shouted. "Miss Lina please don't provoke him" Sylphiel whispered. She was pretty sure that he would find the time to kill them both if Lina kept provoking him. And as things were, they wouldn't stand a chance against him. Because of the circlet Lina was unable to use any of her spells, and Sylphiels limited knowledge of attack spells was equally useless.
"At least tell us what has happened to our friends" Lina demanded. "Yes, I bet you must be anxious to see them" Damien said. He snapped his fingers twice "Neela, Ascard. Take these two to the other prisoners".
Sylphiel was relieved that Lina decided to go without a fight. "So they are alive?" Sylphiel asked hopefully. "For the moment" Ascards answer was short and precise "Just look at this" he pointed to a strange metal tube. Curiously they looked through the small window on the tube. The inside was colored brightly pink and was filled with the prettiest flowers any of them had ever seen. In the middle of it all was Xellos. He seemed unconscious. "I was wondering how they managed to keep him under control" Lina wondered out loud. She made a mental note of trying that out herself, if they managed to get out of this mess alive.
They were taken into another room. "Gourry…" Lina whispered. The blonde swordsman was sealed behind a magic field. A look around the room revealed that he was not the only one. All of their other friends was in similar fields. "I'm afraid that we are almost out of room" Ascard said and opened a metal door and pushed them inside a small cell. "Please don't bother trying to use magic" Ascard informed them "Both the door and the walls of this room are made of orihalcon. "What are you going to do now?" Sylphiel asked. Ascard looked a bit unsure for a moment, but quickly regained his composure "We are going to burn this town to the ground". Both the girls gasped "Why do something so horrible?" Sylphiel couldn't help but think of the destruction of Sairaag. Many innocent lives were lost that day. But it had been even worse for those left behind. "We can't let anyone interfere with our plans" Ascard answered without any emotion in his voice "All of humanity is going to die anyway. This town is just the first one to go". He closed the door. The sound of the key turning in the lock could be heard clearly inside. "Now what do we do, miss Lina?" Sylphiel asked. The sorceress sighed " For once, I honestly don't know".
Authors notes:
Well, that was a surprise, wasn't it? Loid is really Diol! Did anyone guess? I did throw a lot of hints about his looks and his chimera making so, who knows…
But as usual, if it was a complete surprise, then I did my job good enough.
I can't thank you enough for your reviews everyone. Sadly, this story is almost at an end (no, don't cry! There is still a few chapters left)
I hope you'll read on to the end.
