A/N: Just a couple more updates and this will be finished. Once it is, I'm going to post it on my website in one long, glorious story, just like it was originally intended. Hooray for my chapterless novelettes. I counted the words in this fic, and if you had 350 words a page (which is roughly paperback size, I think), these Slayers fics of mine would number around 1500 pages. Feel proud of yourself for reading this. Thanks for all your support, and I hope you enjoy!!

Xellos felt the scream being ripped out of his throat, but he could not hear it. He couldn't hear anything as he watched his youngest child being disembowled. The world was silent as time slowed, his innards clenching as an expression of pain marred Gorran's handsome face. The sight of the young man's blood brought Xellos to a standstill, the borders of his vision fading to blackness. Lina was beside him, her face a rictus of agony, her mouth open in a soundless shriek, her eyes huge. Time snapped back to normal, and a single noise registered in Xellos' brain: Lecia's scream. She kept screaming and screaming, the sound ceaseless and becoming raw. Xellos began to run forward, Lina at his side, but the distance between them and their son seemed insurmountable. His legs quivered beneath him, panic like needles in his veins, but he managed to haul Lina back to standing when she tripped. Val sped past them, shedding his human form and swatting the enemy aside. The Monster twisted in the air and landed several yards away, a low chuckle emanating from it. Val roared and gently scooped up Gorran's ruined body, firing a powerful beam of energy on the spot where the Monster lay.

Xellos choked on his own cry and collapsed onto the rock, his knees buckling beneath him. Lecia was still screaming, her voice becoming more faint as it wore out. A glance showed her and Kerra clutching one another, their faces damp with tears. Lina was sobbing next to him, on her knees and curled around herself, her fiery, charred curls dragging in the ash and obscuring her face. He looked up at Gorran's still figure in Val's claws and felt despair seize his heart. He had utterly failed to protect his family, and Gorran's death was the price for his sins. There was no absolution for his actions, and his evil had manifested itself in the greatest evil of all being done to him. A howl welled up in his chest, and he threw his head back, releasing the sound and letting the winds carry his sorrows aloft, Lina shuddering in his arms.

He didn't expect to hear an answering howl, and blinked past his tears to see a gigantic black wolf appear in their midst. "You've botched this, Xellos," a smooth voice said, and he stared as the wolf morphed into a woman with silvery-blonde hair. "Then again, I didn't expect them to actually merge."

"Xellas!" Lina shouted, her face tight with a scowl. "What are you doing here? Come to laugh as we die?"

Xellas sniffed, a bangled hand brushing away stray strands of hair. "Foolish mortal," she sighed. "Actually, you are the reason I'm here. I've come to call in my favor."

"Favor?" Xellos asked, clutching Lina more tightly. "What's she talking about?"

Lina's scowl did not ease. "She saved your life, back before Gorran was born. I pledged her a favor in return for her services."

"How could you?" he gasped.

"What did you expect me to do?" she snapped, tears making trails in the soot on her cheeks. "Just let you die? Let the man I love die?"

"But she could take anything," he protested. "Don't give in to her."

"Not even when I could save your boy?" Xellas asked, a cigarette appearing from nowhere.

Xellos' heartbeat thundered in his ears, the blood rising to his face. "I would rather Gorran die than have him be your slave for all eternity," he spat. "Get away from here."

Xellas gestured with her cigarette holder. "It's not him I want."

"What do you want?" Lina cried. "Just take it and save Gorran!"

A grin crossed Xellas' face, the tattoo-like marks on her skin stretching with the expression. "I'll take what I've always wanted, then. Come here, my dear," she said, and motioned with her hand. Lecia squealed as she suddenly shot forward under a power other than her own, only to come to a stop a mere foot away from Xellas. "Now, are we even?"

"No!" Xellos shouted. "Stay away from my family. You can't have any of my children!"

"Lecia!" Lina screamed. "Get away from her!"

Lecia looked Xellas straight in the eye, amethyst orbs meeting golden ones. "If I do what you want, can you save my brother, Grandma?" she asked, her voice so quiet that Xellos could barely hear her.

Xellas reached out and stroked Lecia's jaw with a finger. "Of course, cub. What your family doesn't seem to realize is that I believe in balance. Your life for his. It's only fair."

"Please, little one," Xellos begged, trying to stand, but his muscles wouldn't work. Lina rose with a grunt, eyes flashing, and ran towards Xellas, dagger drawn.

"You stay away from our family. You can't have any of us," she growled, and jumped in the air, slashing at Xellas as she came down. Xellas merely raised a hand and Lina went flying, Xellos finally finding the strength to move in order to catch her.

Xellas' eyes narrowed at Lecia, who was standing still, fists shaking with the force with which they were clenched. "Make your decision. Wait much longer and even I won't be able to bring back your brother."

Lecia covered her mouth and muffled a sob as she looked at Gorran's life bleeding away through Val's fingers. The dragon had reverted to human form and was desperately trying to heal Gorran, although his magic was obviously having no effect. "I can't do it, Lecia," he croaked, tears coursing from his golden eyes. "It's too bad, and filled with dark energy."

"I'll do it," Lecia said, looking at the Greater Beast. "I'm yours."

"No, Lecia!" Lina screamed, trying to break free of Xellos' grasp.

"Oh, gods, no," Xellos murmured, closing his eyes for a second. Maybe if he distracted her, Zelgadis and the others could pool their energy with Val's and save Gorran on their own. Then Lina and he would figure out how to destroy Xellas along with the Dolphin/Dynast creature...

"The gods are all dead, Xellos," Xellas said softly. "And even if they weren't, they certainly wouldn't listen to you."

Lecia smiled at her parents, the expression wistful. "Trust me," she pleaded, her amethyst eyes shining. "You raised me. I know what I'm doing."

"Lecia, no, we can figure this out-" Xellos began, trying to move toward her, but Lina, to his surprise, held him back.

"Let her do it," she said, voice flat and hard.

Xellas raised an eyebrow. "You're an honorable woman," she said, and popped an amethyst out of her necklace, handing it to Lecia. Walking over to Gorran's form, she smiled as Val and the others backed away. The demon kneeled and held her hand over Gorran's body, the stink of blood rising from his skin as it knit together. Gorran's body twitched and flailed, but before long not even the faintest mark remained on his abdomen. An emerald slipped out of the young man's pocket and Xellas picked it up, fastening it into her necklace in the space the amethyst had vacated. The corner of her lip curled up and she left the unconscious man there, sauntering back over to Lecia. "I've been waiting for this moment your whole life," the Monster Lord murmured, and placed a hand on Lecia's forehead. Suddenly a woman no longer stood before them, but a tall figure with a wolf's head and gigantic bird's wings, a golden crown nestled on its head. Lecia closed her eyes, her body spasming as darkness flowed from Xellas' hand and around Lecia's body, completely obscuring her. Xellos began to cry, Lina's arms wrapping around him as she stared at her daughter.

"He's okay," Val announced, passing his hands over Gorran. "He's perfectly fine. Not even a trace of impure magic."

Xellos felt Lina sigh, but he couldn't celebrate the return of his son without mourning the loss of his daughter. He alone understood Xellas' power and the depths of her deceit, and yet he could do nothing. He had failed his entire family. "Look," Lina breathed, and he raised his head, blinking through the tears at where Lecia had stood. His daughter was standing there once more, her back to everyone, her long, dark hair cascading in a silky curtain to her waist.

"Lecia?" he hazarded, and she slowly turned around to look at him. Her eyes were slitted, just as his had been, and she had the same tattoo-like marking near her eye that Xellas had.

"I'm here, Daddy," she said, and her smile was that of a human. "It's all right."

Xellas scowled. "This wasn't what I expected."

"Of course it wasn't," Lecia replied. "But it's what you'll get, and you'll find I'm stronger for it."

"I don't understand," Lina said, voice clear in the wreckage of the forest. "What's going on, Lecia? Are you all right?"

"Perfectly fine," she said. "You see, Daddy's a Monster made human, but I'm a human made Monster. She can add to my astral form, but she can never take away my heart."

"But, Lecia," Val cried, confusion written all over his face. "I'm a dragon, and you're-"

"I'm going to be with the man I love, forever," she replied. "As a Monster I'm immortal, Val. We'll never be parted, now."

Val rose, leaving Gorran in the care of the Greywords, who were watching with dropped jaws, and ran over to Lecia, hoisting her in the air.

"You're stronger than we thought, dragon," a two-toned voice growled, and all turned to see the enemy rise out of the spot Val had charred. "It took us a while to put our form back together." Its flat gaze shifted to the winged wolf. "And you, Xellas. We're ashamed of you. Have you forgotten you're a Monster?"

The winged wolf regarded the enemy coolly. "No, I just remembered why we were really put on this planet," she replied. "I pity you your twisted existence."

"Fool," the creature hissed and sprang at Xellas.

A large sword appeared in Xellas' hand, coming up and blocking the enemy's claws. "Hurry up, cub," the Greater Beast grunted. "I'm not strong enough to beat them by myself."

"Right," Lecia replied with a feral grin and began to move forward.

Xellos watched his daughter in awe as he felt the waves of power roll off of her. Perhaps her defection to the Monster race wasn't as awful as he thought. "Lecia," he called out, and she turned to look at him. Taking a deep breath, he tossed her his staff. "It's yours, now."

A bittersweet smile crossed her face as she caught his staff, and he knew then that his daughter wasn't a lost cause. She had retained at least a piece of her humanity, and that was enough. She was still his daughter.

"What are you doing?" Xellas yelled, dodging a swipe and folding back her wings. Furred muscles bulged as she swung her sword. "Hurry up!"

Lecia winked at her father and threw herself into the fray, the jewel atop the staff glowing red as she held it aloft. Winking out of existence, she reappared behind the enemy and brought the jewel down on top of its head, knocking it to the side. "She's still our baby," Xellos whispered to Lina. "She's still Lecia, and she's a natural Monster."

Lina scowled, but she nodded. "I'm not surprised. The past haunts us, doesn't it?"

"Let this be the end," Xellos intoned.

Lina stood and shouted at the dragon. "Val, get in there and help her! Your girlfriend's toast if you don't do something!"

"Right, Miss Lina!" he shouted, and entered the fray, his offense melding seamlessly with that of the Monsters.

"Come on," Lina commanded, and dragged Xellos over to their son. Zelgadis put a hand on Xellos' shoulder while Amelia wiped away tears. Lina blinked her own feelings away and gently lifted Gorran's head, cradling it in her lap. Her hands ran through his ash-stained curls, wiping them out of his face and exposing the twin moles on his forehead. "When I was little, Luna told me that these moles meant I was marked by a higher force. It was the Lord of Nightmares that marked me so; I wonder who Gorran was marked by?"

Xellos took hold of Gorran's hand, the fingers as long as his own and the palm even broader. He wondered for the hundredth time when his little boy had become a grown man. It seemed like yesterday that he had been toddling around the back yard in diapers. Glancing at Kerra, who was holding Gorran's other hand and barely contained her sobs, he found himself ferverently hoping that everything would turn out all right, so his precious child could marry and know the joys of having a family. Amelia and Zelgadis embraced one another, Amelia burying her head in Zelgadis' shoulder.

"This is awful," the princess muttered. "This is just like fighting Darkstar, but even harder. We don't have any special weapons to help us this time."

Xellos silently agreed. Xellas was no match for the amalgam Monster, not even with Lecia and Val helping. There was no way to win, and so many people were involved that he found it difficult to focus on what was going on. His thoughts strayed to the people left at home, and he found himself hoping they were safe. As he realized what he was thinking as feeling, he realized at last that somewhere along the line he had become completely and truly human.

"Come on, kiddo, wake up," Lina said, still stroking Gorran's head. "I know you're tired, but you have to wake up. We need you."

Gorran's eyes fluttered open, amethyst orbs looking blearily into the gray sky, and Kerra let out a sob, throwing herself onto his chest. His hand freed, the young man reached up and ran his hand over her raven-black hair. "Hey," he murmured. "I didn't think I was going to make it."

"You almost didn't," Lina said sharply, but her eyes were soft. "Your grandmother saved you."

Gorran snapped upright, eyes wide. "What? Xellas? Where's Lecia?"

"Your sister traded herself for you," Xellos whispered hoarsely. "She's with Xellas and Val, fighting."

"What?" Gorran snapped. "She can't have, she... What do you mean?"

"She's a Monster now," Kerra answered. "But she's still your sister. She's the first Monster to love."

"A Monster turned human and then Monster again cannot love, only possess," Xellos offered. "But I think a human turned Monster retains at least some of the strength of their emotions." He squeezed his son's hand. "Lecia loves you, loves us, very much, and she always will. Besides, this way she can be with Val forever."

Gorran hung his head, his eyes obscured in the shadows of his short curls. A moment of quiet passed, the only sounds the occasional grunt or profanity from where the battle still raged on. "I never guessed that Xellas would fight for us," he said softly.

"She's not necessarily fighting for us," Xellos replied. "She has always been a proponent of balance in this world. Why else would she have befriended Luna? What she's fighting for now is the harmony of light and darkness on this planet. She understands that darkness must not rule all, but neither should light."

"But look at that!" Gorran shouted, gesturing towards the battle, where the four combatants were constantly de- and re-materializing. "There's no way we mortals can compete with that, not even with the runes on our side. This fight is way out of our league! What are we supposed to do?"

"We can't just sit here and die," Zelgadis said. "We have to do something, even if it's fighting to our very last breath."

"Have we exhausted all our options?" Xellos asked, looking at his wife.

Lina's gaze went hard, understanding what he meant. "Just about," she replied. "That's not worth the risk. We can try a few astral spells, but we'll need to regain our energy."

"We can help," Amelia said. "Even if you just need to borrow power from us, we can help."

"Right," Lina nodded, quickly explaining the mechanics of the spell. She was going to try and cast a net around the creature's astral form and attempt to cut it into smaller pieces, which Xellos would then search out and destroy. "If it doesn't work, we're out of options."

"There has to be a way," Gorran growled, rubbing his temples.

"It's okay, I know it will be," Kerra told him. "It just has to be. Your parents are the strongest, most skilled sorcerers ever. If they can't succeed then there was never any hope in the first place.

Lina's eyes roved over the group, over the dirty, tired faces of her friends and loved ones. "Thank the gods the others are safe at home," she muttered. "Okay, let's do this."

Xellos nodded and followed her as she took up a position not far from where the battle was taking place. Zelgadis and the others caught up with them, Gorran leaning heavily on Kerra. Lecia was dirty, a cheek blackened with Monster's blood, and Val had several long scratches down his forearms. Xellas was the worst off, one of her wings completely torn apart, and still she was doing most of the offensive. Xellos felt his heart sink as he realized their enemy was barely damaged at all.

Suddenly Lecia threw her staff at the Monster's head, grinning maliciously as the butt of the staff sank deep into one of the creature's mismatched eyes. The thing screeched and clawed at its face, and just before it could tear out the staff, Lecia summoned it back to her hand. "You're not dealing with mortals anymore," she crowed, taking her long, dark hair in one hand behind her, her fist resting at the nape of her neck. "You're dealing with the new general priestess!" Her free hand unsheathed her knife and cut off her hair, the dark strands dropping to the stone. She released her hair, it barely hanging below her chin, and attacked the creature again.

"Xellos!" the creature bellowed, and Xellas winced.

"It's gone completely insane!" she cried. "Watch yourselves!"

Val knocked Lecia out of the way as the Monster swiped at her, and they winked out of existence. "She looks just like you," Lina said. "That thing must be mistaking her for you, now. Well, she always did say that she wanted to grow up to be just like you."

"I wish she hadn't taken it so far," Xellos murmured as he watched the remnants of her hair blow about in the wind.

"Vanity means nothing at this stage of the game," Lina growled. "Besides, she's a Monster now, and she can grow it back with a wave of her hand, if she wants to. Now, can you locate them on the astral plane?"

"Yes," he replied.

"Then guide me," she ordered, and he directed her spell as she carefully cast it, borrowing power from Zelgadis and Amelia. The threads of her magic were strong, and he quickly and quietly wrapped them about the amalgam astral form he could see. The forms of Xellas, his daughter, and Val darted in and out, but never long enough he could see them. The form of Dynast's and Dolphin's combined astral forms, however, was mammoth and unwieldly, and Xellos suddenly understood why the Monster seemed so slow. It was actually too large to move easily.

"Got it," he said after a moment, confident the threads of her casting were in place, and Lina began her final chant. Bringing her hands together, red energy surrounded her for a moment, then was gone.

The creature suddenly appeared on the physical plane, screaming, writhing, and clawing at its one-eyed face. The other three popped into view a moment later, staring at the spectacle. "Is it working?" Kerra asked, eyes wide.

"No!" Lina shouted, just as the creature sprang to standing and threw its arms wide. Lecia grunted and was thrown to the side, as was Val as he tried to help her. Xellas screamed as her side was ripped open, and a moment later she was gone, returned to the astral plane to heal.

"What do we do?" Amelia cried as the creature caught sight of them and began to charge.

Gorran muscled his way to the front of the group, dark eyes snapping. "The only thing that's left to do," he growled, and Xellos watched in horror as he quickly drew some runes, trapping them inside a clear barrier. Lina pounded on the invisible boundary, screaming her head off, her words a mixture of profanity and pleading. Gorran smiled sadly at them all, then positioned himself squarely in front of the charging enemy. He mumbled a terrifyingly familiar spell beneath his breath, and suddenly his body was suffused with a golden light.

"Gorran, no!" Xellos shouted. "It's too dangerous."

Gorran did not listen, instead chanting the final words of the spell that would end the battle, one way or another: "Giga Slave!"