Disclaimer: Slayers belongs to Kadokawa Shoten and is distributed by
Central Park Media. I own only this story.
Faces: Finale
Chapter 6
Revelations and Transitions
Diol, who considered himself one of the few who had come close to taking over the world, smiled as he mixed a green fluid with a vial of red fluid. Nodding to himself, he approached a table where a young elvish boy was strapped down.
"Well, young one," Diol said. "You'll be happy to know that your part of the experiment is proceeding splendidly!"
The elf, weak from days of the old lunatic's torturous experiments, said nothing.
Diol affectionately mussed the boy's hair and went to another table. Beekers of green, blue and red fluid boiled cheerily under bunsen burners. So engrossed with his experimenting was he, that he almost didn't notice Scarrin rushing into the lab.
"They have him!" he announced. "They HAVE HIM!"
The warlord was as giddy as a school boy. Diol grunted. "So they finally got him, huh? Good for them."
"It's better than good," Scarrin told him. "Soon, Diol, SOON!" He closed his eyes in near rapture. "It's almost here."
"So you keep telling me," Diol told him with a snort.
Scarrin shot him an annoyed look and growled. "It's easy for you to be condescending while in your original form."
"So I'm told," Diol replied, going back to his experiment.
The chimera looked out the window of the tower he had taken as his own. "Look at me," he growled. He brought his hand up and stared at it. "Imprisoned in this bag of meat.A warrior, a king, a being of thought and energy.And all I need is one man."
"You need more than that, if Gandrav is right," Diol reminded him, not even facing him.
Scarrin growled again. "I'm still not sure he is."
"Can you take that chance?"
Scarrin looked out at the moon. "No," he said finally. "No, I can't."
Lightning traveled up and down Sylphiel's body as if searching for a place to rest and not finding one. Lina's hands balled into fists at the sight of Amelia's body at the shrine maiden's feet.
Gracia saw the bloodied form of her sister's body and screamed shrilly.
Sylphiel.or whatever it was.smiled evilly. "If what Miss Sylphiel knows of white magic is correct, and I have no reason to think it's not," she said casually, "Then Miss Amelia has about ten minutes before a resurrection spell will no longer work." She brought her hands up. Black lightning cascaded between them. "If you want her, come and get her!"
Lina grit her teeth. "Gracia," she said quietly, "I'll lure her away. You go for Amelia, got i." She broke off as she turned and found Huey holding the woman, fanning her face.
She had fainted.
Lina sweatdropped. "Okay, new plan," she said just as seriously. "Huey, YOU go for Amelia, then get her and Gracia out of here."
"But.Miss Lina!" Huey began, panic-stricken. "She'll."
Before the artist could finish, Lina leapt forward and flew into the air. "FLARE BIT!" Tiny darts of fire shot from her fingertips, exploding around the woman in Sylphiel's form, causing smoke to billow around her. A gust of wind pushed the smoke cloud away, revealing a very unconcerned Sylphiel.
Lina's feet hit the ground ten feet from her. "What are you?" she growled.
It smiled. "Your death." Sylphiel raised a palm, and a pulse of light knocked Lina on her back. She clutched at her chest and coughed, feeling as if she'd just been kicked by a horse.
Sylphiel walked forward until she was standing over the sorceress, smiling. "Well?" she asked. "What great spell does the Dragon Spooker have now? What technique will she unveil this time?"
Lina coughed again and whispered. "Kikyoass-fu."
Sylphiel blinked "What?"
Suddenly, Lina's foot shot out and connected with Sylphiel's right knee- cap. The woman screamed and fell to her knees. Lina jumped to her feet.
"I said, 'KICK YOUR ASS, FOO!'" she screamed, and kicked Sylphiel right in the face. The violet-haired woman fell onto her back with a grunt.
Lina grabbed and lifted a charred cinder block, a piece of the building Sylphiel had destroyed. She grunted as she lifted it over her head and prepared to bring it down on the fallen woman. Suddenly, Sylphiel looked up at her with fear-filled eyes.
"MISS LINA, PLEASE!" she screamed. "MY BABY!"
The redhead paused, her eyes wide.
"Sucker!" Sylphiel cried, kicking Lina in the stomach. Lina grunted and stumbled backward, dropping the block. Sylphiel was on her feet in a second, grabbing Lina by her red-gold hair and slamming her fist into the sorceress' face, once, twice, again, one more time, and threw her to the ground.
Huey, meanwhile, was dragging Amelia's body towards Gracia's still unconscious form. When the two were lying side by side, the artist knelt over his fiance and began to gently slap her face.
"Gracia," he whispered urgently. "Gracia, wake up!"
The shrine maiden whimpered and opened her eyes. "Mmmm..Huey chan?"
"Gracia!"
"I had a horrible dream," she said. "Amelia was killed by Miss Sylphiel."
"Gracia! It's no dream! You have to wake up!"
The woman shot up to a sitting position. "What?! AMELIA!" She quickly knelt next to her sister and began a spell. "Where are Miss Lina and Miss Sylphiel?!" she asked quickly.
Huey was looking in another direction, as if in a daze. "They're.um.rolling around on the ground, tearing at each other's hair and clothes." he said dreamily.
Gracia hmmph'd and worked on her spell.
The two women climbed to their feet. Sylphiel brushed a blood-coated wisp of hair from her eyes and growled, her eyes glowing red. "I could kill you with my magic with just a thought," she said. "But I want to kill you with my bare hands."
Lina spit out a tooth and put her hands on her hips. "You killed Ritsuko," she breathed, "You killed Amelia. You tried to kill Gourry." She shook her head. "Bitch, you're gonna be lucky if you JUST die!"
"FLARE ARROW!"
"FREEZE ARROW!"
"FIREBALL!"
"FREEZE BRID!"
As the spells impacted one another, a cloud of steam erupted between them. Through this cloud, Lina shot forward. Sylphiel shrieked as the redhead slammed into her, knocking her down. She felt the woman's hands around her throat, squeezing hatefully.
Sylphiel reached up and grabbed a hand full of Lina's hair. She pulled sharply until the redhead's ear was an inch from Sylphiel's mouth.
"If.I..go," she gagged out. "Sylphiel.dies..too."
Lina grit her teeth. "She'll thank me!" she hissed back, and squeezed harder.
Amelia opened her eyes weakly. "Gracia oneechan?" she whispered.
"It's okay, Amelia chan," Gracia said. "You'll be okay."
Amelia blinked as another form appeared just behind her sister. "I'm seeing double," she complained. She arched an eyebrow. "Except.one of the doubles is dressed like a bondage queen."
"What the hell?" Naga breathed.
"Over there!" Shadow Lina cried, pointing at her own double, strangling another woman.
"We gotta stop her!" Gourry cried, leaping forward. "If she kills it, Sylphiel could die too!"
Naga rushed after him. Just as Shadow Lina began to follow, she spotted three people not far away.
"NAGA CHAN!"
"LINA CHAN!"
"I'm so confused," Jeffrey, Amelia and Huey said all at once, blinking at the sight of the two doubles hugging.
Gourry grabbed Lina around the waist with both hands and pulled her off Sylphiel. The redhead started kicking and screaming.
"LET ME GO! I'LL KILL IT!"
As the swordsman dragged Lina away, Naga and Jeffrey stepped between them and Sylphiel. The purple-haired woman rose to her feet and faced them.
"What are you?" Naga asked. "A changeling?"
Sylphiel glared. "You," she said, pointing at Naga. "Priestess. Release me."
Naga blinked. "I don't understand."
The demon's eyes flashed red. "One thousand, thirty-three years ago, your ancestor helped imprison me here. Release me! Or I'll use this form to burn your city to the ground."
"Jeffrey," Naga whispered. "Go get the others."
The boy looked at her. "Then what, Miss Naga?"
"RUN!"
With that, the White Serpent took off after Gourry and Lina. The others, seeing their mutual leaders in retreat, quickly followed.
"YOU CAN'T HIDE FROM ME, LINA INVERSE!!" Sylphiel screamed. "YOU CAN'T HIDE FROM ME!! I'LL HUNT YOU DOWN LIKE THE DOG YOU ARE AND MAKE YOU BEG FOR DEATH!"
"LET ME GO, GOURRY! LET ME GO! I HAVE TO KILL IT! LET ME GO!"
Gourry unceremoniously dropped the redhead and started panting for breath.
"What WAS that thing?!" Shadow Lina asked, catching up to them.
Lina took one look at her double and broke out in a sweat. "Nya.nya.nya.nya.."
"Oh! It's you!" Shadow Lina cried, clapping happily. "I always wondered what happened to you!"
"Is everyone okay?" Jeffrey asked.
Lina started shaking.
A few moments later, Huey and Gracia appeared, helping Amelia walk between them.
"Amelia!" Lina cried. She ran up to the girl and took her hand, as if checking to see if it were broken. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine.Miss Lina," Amelia said quietly. "Miss Lina.That's not Sylphiel. It CAN'T be!"
"It's not," Lina growled. "It told me as much. But it IS Sylphiel's body."
"Then what do we do?" Gracia asked. "We can't risk killing Miss Sylphiel!"
Lina said nothing. Gourry spoke up for her. "Right!" he said. "Lina will think of something!"
"Well she'd better think of something quickly!"
Lina turned to the sound of the voice as Naga stepped out of the shadows. "You," she growled.
"Long time, Lina chan," Naga said without humor.
The two stared at each other for a hard moment. The silence might have gone forever if a thunderbolt of fire hadn't slammed into the building next to them.
"I think she's here!" Shadow Lina squeaked, jumping behind Jeffrey.
"Down that alley!" Lina shouted, running into an alleyway between two buildings. The group followed her as she kicked a door in and ran inside the building. They took two flights of stairs down and ran through what seemed like an old warehouse. Running past several large crates, they took two more flights of stairs back up and found themselves at another door, huffing and puffing from exertion.
Lina listened at the door for a moment and turned to the others. "Okay, from here on in it should get pretty normal. Stores, crowds, lots of places to hide until we can figure this out. I count to three, I open the door, we move out! Got it?!"
Everyone nodded.
"Okay! Follow the leader! One.two.THREE!" She threw open the door.
Sylphiel was standing there.
Lina shut the door and locked it again. Taking a breath, she turned to the others. "We may be trapped," she told them.
The door exploded inward, knocking them all back.
They all groaned and coughed dust as they struggled to their feet. Sylphiel walked toward them through the fog. She stopped just before Lina, who was lying on the ground, coughing.
"You can't escape from me," she told the redhead.
"I guess you're right," Lina told her. Her hand closed around some loose sand and rubble. "Then again." She flung the dust into Sylphiel's eyes!
The shrine maiden shrieked and covered her face with her hands.
Lina pointed up at her. "FIRE."
"LINA DON'T!" Gourry shouted.
"BALL!"
People outside the warehouse screamed and ran in terror as the building collapsed. Fiery brands and collapsing mortar fell to earth. Another explosion erupted from the debris, and they ran faster, knowing that this wasn't some accident. Something dreadful was happening.
Impossible as it might seem, a hand pushed its way out of the wreckage, grabbing hold of a piece of mortar, it pulled until a mop of dirty red hair appeared. Lina pulled until most of her body was outside the wreckage. She heard moans to her right and called out. "Gourry? Amelia? Gracia?"
"Miss Lina?" she heard Amelia call out, followed by a cough. "Is that you?"
"Miss Lina?" Jeffrey called. "Which one?"
"Which do you think?" Lina shouted back, coughing.
"I'm over here, Lord Jeffrey!" Shadow Lina called.
"Where's Sylphiel?" Naga asked.
"Is she dead?" she heard Gourry ask quietly. He wasn't far from her. Lina slowly rolled onto her back and looked back at the pile of wreckage. From beneath it, as if beneath a pool of water, a red glow began to brighten and move outward.
"We don't have much time," Lina said deadpan.
They all rose to their feet and quickly checked each other over for injuries. Gracia and Amelia quickly healed those that did as the crimson glow continued to brighten.
"What do we do?!" Gracia wailed.
"It's not Sylphiel," Lina whispered.
"But it's IN Sylphiel's body!" Gourry countered. "If we kill it."
"We might not have a choice!" Lina cut him off.
"Miss Lina." Amelia whispered in shock.
"I could use the Ragna Blade," she told them, turning towards the glow.
Gourry grabbed her by the arm and whirled her around. "That'll cut Sylphiel in half!"
Lina stared him in the eye. "We don't even know if she's still alive."
"Then we shouldn't use such a spell until all other possibilities are tried!" Amelia countered.
"WE DON'T HAVE TIME TO DISCUSS THIS IN A COMMITTEE!" Lina shouted.
A red pillar of light shot up from the center of the wreckage and into the sky.
"We've got a problem," Shadow Lina noted.
"We've got a BIG fucking problem," Naga agreed.
"INVEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!"
Shadow Lina squeaked and ducked behind Jeffrey at the sound of the wail. Lina watched as Sylphiel, suffused in a bright red glow, climbed from the wreckage and stood up.
"All right, Amelia," Lina said quietly. "Give me an option."
Amelia swallowed and tried to think of something. She racked her brain from a solution, but one wasn't presenting itself.
"There's still one spell we can try."
Amelia turned as Naga walked past her towards Sylphiel. "Gracia oneechan?" she whispered.
Naga didn't turn. She continued forward and drew her rapier. "Lina chan, get the others back," she ordered.
Shadow Lina blinked, then gasped as realization struck her. "MISS NAGA, NO! IT'LL KILL YOU! MISS NAGA!"
"What's she doing?" Amelia asked.
Shadow Lina was shaking. "She's going to use the Elemekia Star."
Shabranigdo watched through ruby eyes as Naga stepped forward, her sword drawn. "Come, if you dare," he whispered. He felt Sylphiel renew her struggle, trying to intervene before her friend was killed.
"Come," he whispered again.
Naga chanted as she walked. "Shards of the Great One, aid me in my holy quest."
"GIVE ME INVERSE!" Sylphiel shouted at her.
"Let the last rays of your light destroy the evil before me."
Above her, thunder cracked, and the clouds began to swirl into a nightmarish vortex. From the epicenter of this whirlpool, a continuous bolt of white lightning shot down and took hold of the end of her rapier.
Naga screamed and fell to one knee as the white-hot pain rushed through her body. Rising, she continued chanting.
"In thy great name I pledge myself to the light!"
The lightning renewed in intensity, and Naga's hand began to burn.
"Let all the evil that stands in our way be destroyed!" she screamed over the thunder and pain. "By the power you and I possess!"
Shabranigdo laughed.
Naga rushed forward and screamed, raising her sword. The tip pierced Sylphiel's shoulder and buried itself there. The demon grabbed onto the blade with both hands and looked into Naga's eyes.
"Wh."
"ELEMEKIA STAR!"
Lina watched as a ball of white energy flew from the vortex along the path of the lightning and strike Naga and Sylphiel. A tremendous explosion sent a cloud of dirt and debris rolling straight at them. They all dived to the ground and covered their heads as the shockwave rolled over them.
Then silence.
Shadow Lina, lying next to her, rose to her feet and stared out at the white fog before them.
"M.Miss Naga?" she whispered. "MISS NAGA!"
Lina could only stare in shock at the image before. Except for a cloud of dust, there was nothing.
"MISS NAGA!" the shadow screamed. Weeping, she turned and grabbed hold of Jeffrey, burying her face in his tunic and crying uncontrollably.
Jeffrey wrapped an arm around her and blinked back tears of his own. Heroes didn't cry. They accepted fate as it was. Even so.
"Miss Naga," he whispered.
"Gracia oneechan?" Amelia asked. "Was that."
Jeffrey took a breath and blinked as he saw something in the cloud.
A tall figure was walking toward them, carrying something in her arms.
"Miss Naga." Jeffrey whispered.
Naga, Sylphiel cradled in her arms, walked forward. Her hair was bleach white and her skin pale, but she was still in one piece. She stumbled forward and lay on top of the shrine maiden.
"Miss Naga!" Jeffrey cried, running forward. Shadow Lina ran after him.
"Y.You're alive!" the shadow gasped.
Naga rolled onto her back and breathed deeply as the others approached her. "Ooo..oo..." She swallowed back the laugh and smiled.
"I knew you could do it!" Jeffrey cried.
"What WAS that?!" Lina asked.
"I thought you said the Elemekia Star was a suicide spell," Shadow Lina told her.
Naga sat up and let Gracia and Amelia look at Sylphiel. "It's not," she explained quietly. "It's a white magic spell.an exorcism spell..and a test of faith." She said this last part in a whisper.
"Is she okay?" Gourry asked, looking down at Sylphiel's unmoving form.
"She's breathing," Amelia said.
"But how can we be sure it worked?" Lina asked.
"I guess we'll have to wait until she wakes up," Gracia counseled.
"What do you think, Amelia?" Lina asked.
Amelia wasn't looking at them. She was looking at the cloud. "Miss Lina," she said.
Lina looked at the cloud, and her eyes went wide.
There was a red glow deep within the cloud. "You gotta be fucking kidding me," she said in disbelief. "REZO WAS EASIER TO KILL THAN THIS! WHAT THE HELL IS THIS THING?!"
"Sha."
They all turned and looked down at Sylphiel in shock as she continued her whisper.
"Shab..ra..nig.do."
"I think we just upgraded our 'problem' to a 'catastrophe,'" Shadow Lina noted.
Lina turned and faced the glow. "Well?!" she called at it. "What do you want?!"
"Choose," a raspy voice called from everywhere and nowhere.
"Choose?" Lina asked with a blink.
"What does he mean, Lina?" Gourry asked.
Lina's eyes went wide. "Everyone! Clear your minds! Don't think!"
"THE CHOICE IS MADE!"
"WOAH!" Lina cried, turning back to the light. "We didn't choose squat!"
"What's he talking about!?" Jeffrey asked.
"MY MIND WAS EMPTY! AND I GUARANTEE GOURRY'S WAS!" Lina called.
"Yeah!" Gourry agreed!
She turned to the others. "Right?!"
"I don't know what you're talking about, but I wasn't thinking of anything," Jeffrey said.
"Me neither!" Shadow Lina squeaked.
"Totally empty!" Gracia told her.
Everyone nodded their heads.
Except one.
Lina stared at her in shock.
Amelia looked at her shoes.
"Amelia," Lina whispered. "What did you do?"
"I.I couldn't help it," she whispered.
"What did you do, Amelia!?"
"I.I just thought..I mean.Just as you said to clear our minds, I was thinking."
"Thinking what, Amelia chan?" Gracia asked gently.
Before she could answer, there was a roar from down the street. They all turned and watched as a tower collapsed from not far away. They could see a something dark moving between the buildings.
"Is it a dragon?" Gourry asked, puzzled.
Amelia gulped.
Whatever it was turned the corner. The group heaved a collective sweatdrop.
"Ummm.This is beyond comment," Lina said quietly.
"Lina," Gourry asked, "Is this still a problem?"
"I.um.think so," she answered.
"What the fuck is that?" Shadow Lina asked before quickly covering her mouth as if to hide the obscenity.
Amelia laughed nervously and gulped. "It's Piko Piko Naga Chan."
The superdeformed golem, a vision of cuteness, looked almost exactly like Gracia except it was squat, wide-eyed and had rosy cheeks. It roared and raises its huge fists in the air and brought them down on the building next to it. The tower crumbled down before them.
"IT'S SO ADORABLE!" Gracia squealed, stars in her eyes.
"You know," Naga said quietly. "They always told me I'd end up destroying Seyruun, but I never really believed them."
Lina shook her head. "Neither did we, Naga. We were just trying to scare you."
"Lina, what do we do?" Gourry asked.
"Pick Sylphiel up," she ordered. She braced herself for an attack. Naga stood next to her and likewise readied an attack.
"Any ideas?" Naga asked her.
Lina bit her lip. "I can't use the Giga Slave and a Ragna Blade didn't work on Gaav, so there's no reason to think it would work here." She chuckled dryly. "Damn, we could sure use Zel right about now."
"Right now I'd settle for a good distraction while we come up with a plan."
"JUSTICE WILL CONQUER ALL!"
The two sorceresses blinked and turned just in time to jump out of the way of a charging white stallion.
"PHIL!?" Lina cried in disbelief.
"Papa?!" Naga echoed.
Prince Phil rode forward and stood up in the saddle. He pointed at Piko Piko Naga Chan. "BEGONE, SPECTER OF THE DARK PAST! THE HAMMER OF JUSTICE SHALL FALL UPON THEE!!" With a mighty roar, Phil leaped into the air and struck the golem dead in the throat, knocking it onto its back with a huge crash.
"Well, he won't last forever, but I'd call that a distraction," Lina said, turning to Naga. "Now we need a plan." Her eyes narrowed. "Naga, can you do that spell of yours again?"
Naga took a breath and thought. "I think so, if I had another conductor. My sword is charcoal. But, Lina, all it did last time was expel the demon! What makes you think it would be any different this time?"
Lina nodded. "I think that spell might work along the same lines as the Giga Slave. The more powerful the conductor, the more powerful the spell. Damn! If only we still had the Sword of Light!"
"What about your sword?"
Lina shook her head. "It's just a plain old.." She turned to the golem. "I wonder.I THINK I'VE GOT IT!"
Just then, Phil flew over their heads. "I SHALL RETURN! GRACIA! AMELIA! AVENGE ME!"
"I think we just ran out of distraction," Naga noted.
Lina grabbed Naga's hand. "This is going to take crackerjack timing," she told her seriously.
Naga smiled. "I'm ready when you are!"
"LEVITATION!"
Hands joined, the two rose into the air towards the golem, which was just beginning to right itself. Its eyes glowed red as it searched for them. The two mages landed on its shoulder. The golem seemed unaware of their presence for the moment.
"Sword of the cold dark void," Lina chanted. "Free yourself from Heaven's bonds." Lina started to glow. "Become one with my power, one with my body."
Naga blinked in confusion. She had never heard THIS spell before.
".And let us walk the path of destruction together.Power that can smash even the souls of the gods!" Black lightning encircled Lina's right hand as she grasped hold of Naga's hand with her left.
"RAGNA BLADE!"
A twelve-foot shaft of darkness the color of burning pitch shot from her hand into the sky. The golem roared as it took notice of them.
Lina grit her teeth as she strugged to keep the spell under control. "NAGA! THE SPELL!"
Naga got over her shock and began to chant. "Shards of the Great One, aid me in my holy quest.LINA!"
This last part came as the golem's hand reached up for them. Lina, concentrating on the spell, could do nothing to stop it. "Damn," she growled.
Before the stone hand could reach them, a bolt of flame shot out and struck it on the wrist, setting its fingers ablaze. The golem roared and reared back. Naga and Lina had to steady themselves quickly to keep from falling.
"What the." Lina cried. Looking out, she gasped in amazement. "Sylphiel!?"
Standing on the roof of a nearby shop, Sylphiel held her arms out again. "FLAAAARE..ARROW!" Another three meter bolt of flame shot from her hands and struck the golem's midsection. Piko Piko Naga Chan's stomach erupted in fire. Sylphiel readied another spell.
"Zelgadis dear.lend me your strength," she whispered, a tear rolling down her cheek. "Where ever you are."
"FINISH IT!" Lina screamed.
"Let the last rays of your light destroy the evil before me." she chanted. The vortex swirled above them, and white lightning shot out to engulf the Ragna Blade. The power was more intense than before. The heat was baking their skin. They both whimpered at the pain of the spells reacting to one another.
"In thy great name I pledge myself to the light!"
"This one's for you, Ritsuko," Lina whispered. "And you too, Zel."
"Let all the evil that stands in our way be destroyed!" she screamed over the thunder and pain. "By the power you and I possess!"
Lina turned the Ragna Blade and screamed as she drove it into the golem's neck.
"ELEMEKIA STAR!" Naga screamed.
Plaug the goat herder whistled as he got ready for bed. His flock was tended, and it was time for the old shepard to find his sleeping roll. Laying on the soft grass, he rolled over so that he could see the lights of Seyruun twenty miles away. The city lights comforted him, and he liked to imagine what was going on in the big city at night while he slept.
He yawned and smiled.
He blinked suddenly. Why was the sun coming up? And why in the west, over Seyruun?
Sitting up, his mouth dropped open in awe. Seyruun was engulfed in a white light. Nothing of the city could be seen through its brilliance.
"Cepheid!" he gasped. "Cepheid!"
The light began to fade, then nothing but darkness.
The last time Lina Inverse had visited Seyruun, her Dragon Slave had taken one of the five points of the star that made up the city. Naga, never to be outdone by the redhead, had cast a spell that took the southern half of the city.
Seyruun would never be a star again.
Dawn's light showed that the buildings, those that were left standing, were burnt black and still smoked. Sand, gravel or brick no longer made up the ground, but grey-white ash.
It was through this desert of ash that Gourry crawled, on his hands and knees, searching like a man who had lost his keys in the sand at the beach.
"Lina!" he called as he searched. "Lina!"
Nearby, he heard the others calling Lina or Naga's name as they too searched.
"Oh god," he whispered. "No. Come on, Lina! Where are you?!"
The ash rose above his elbows. He sat up on his knees and looked out at the desert around him.
"I'll never find her in this," he whispered. Gritting his teeth, he reached down again and continued searching. He cried out in pain and pulled his hand back. He had cut it on something sharp under the coat of ash. Leaning back, he reached out with his good hand to steady himself. It disappeared into the ash and hit something.
It felt like.
"LINA!" Turning, he began to dig. He saw white hair, once red, appear and the ash-coated face of Lina Inverse. Grabbing her by the shoulders, he pulled. The unconscious sorceress was heavier than he thought, but soon found the reason as Naga's head appeared as well. The two were still holding hands as if their lives depended on it.
"HELP!" he screamed to the others. "THEY'RE OVER HERE!" He cradled Lina in his arms and moved a few strands of white hair out of her face. Reaching down, he tried to separate Lina and Naga's hands. He heard a sickening sound like a scab being pulled from flesh and grimaced as he realized Naga and Lina's palms were burnt, almost melted together. "Hold on," he whispered. "Just hold on."
He didn't look up as the shadows of the others fell upon him. The swordsman continued to rock Lina gently in his arms.
"It's okay," Gourry whispered. "You got him. It's over." He held her to his chest as the others looked down at him.
"It's over."
Author's Notes:
A few tributes in this chapter. One to "Big Trouble In Little China" when Lina opens the door and finds Sylphiel there. I always loved that movie. Another tribute to "Ghostbusters" later on, but don't worry, I managed to refrain from saying, "There is no Sylphiel, only Zuul!"
Now for some plugs. Once again, I shamelessly plug the Give Sylphiel a Chance Foundation at www.sylphiel.org. Taloon runs a great site, and it's important for Sylphiel fans to stick together. I'm also going to plug the Slayers Fan Fiction Archive at www.slayersff.com. It's small right now, but if you've got a Slayers fic, send it in. Fanfiction.net is great, but the individual archives have personalities and communities all their own.
Faces: Finale
Chapter 6
Revelations and Transitions
Diol, who considered himself one of the few who had come close to taking over the world, smiled as he mixed a green fluid with a vial of red fluid. Nodding to himself, he approached a table where a young elvish boy was strapped down.
"Well, young one," Diol said. "You'll be happy to know that your part of the experiment is proceeding splendidly!"
The elf, weak from days of the old lunatic's torturous experiments, said nothing.
Diol affectionately mussed the boy's hair and went to another table. Beekers of green, blue and red fluid boiled cheerily under bunsen burners. So engrossed with his experimenting was he, that he almost didn't notice Scarrin rushing into the lab.
"They have him!" he announced. "They HAVE HIM!"
The warlord was as giddy as a school boy. Diol grunted. "So they finally got him, huh? Good for them."
"It's better than good," Scarrin told him. "Soon, Diol, SOON!" He closed his eyes in near rapture. "It's almost here."
"So you keep telling me," Diol told him with a snort.
Scarrin shot him an annoyed look and growled. "It's easy for you to be condescending while in your original form."
"So I'm told," Diol replied, going back to his experiment.
The chimera looked out the window of the tower he had taken as his own. "Look at me," he growled. He brought his hand up and stared at it. "Imprisoned in this bag of meat.A warrior, a king, a being of thought and energy.And all I need is one man."
"You need more than that, if Gandrav is right," Diol reminded him, not even facing him.
Scarrin growled again. "I'm still not sure he is."
"Can you take that chance?"
Scarrin looked out at the moon. "No," he said finally. "No, I can't."
Lightning traveled up and down Sylphiel's body as if searching for a place to rest and not finding one. Lina's hands balled into fists at the sight of Amelia's body at the shrine maiden's feet.
Gracia saw the bloodied form of her sister's body and screamed shrilly.
Sylphiel.or whatever it was.smiled evilly. "If what Miss Sylphiel knows of white magic is correct, and I have no reason to think it's not," she said casually, "Then Miss Amelia has about ten minutes before a resurrection spell will no longer work." She brought her hands up. Black lightning cascaded between them. "If you want her, come and get her!"
Lina grit her teeth. "Gracia," she said quietly, "I'll lure her away. You go for Amelia, got i." She broke off as she turned and found Huey holding the woman, fanning her face.
She had fainted.
Lina sweatdropped. "Okay, new plan," she said just as seriously. "Huey, YOU go for Amelia, then get her and Gracia out of here."
"But.Miss Lina!" Huey began, panic-stricken. "She'll."
Before the artist could finish, Lina leapt forward and flew into the air. "FLARE BIT!" Tiny darts of fire shot from her fingertips, exploding around the woman in Sylphiel's form, causing smoke to billow around her. A gust of wind pushed the smoke cloud away, revealing a very unconcerned Sylphiel.
Lina's feet hit the ground ten feet from her. "What are you?" she growled.
It smiled. "Your death." Sylphiel raised a palm, and a pulse of light knocked Lina on her back. She clutched at her chest and coughed, feeling as if she'd just been kicked by a horse.
Sylphiel walked forward until she was standing over the sorceress, smiling. "Well?" she asked. "What great spell does the Dragon Spooker have now? What technique will she unveil this time?"
Lina coughed again and whispered. "Kikyoass-fu."
Sylphiel blinked "What?"
Suddenly, Lina's foot shot out and connected with Sylphiel's right knee- cap. The woman screamed and fell to her knees. Lina jumped to her feet.
"I said, 'KICK YOUR ASS, FOO!'" she screamed, and kicked Sylphiel right in the face. The violet-haired woman fell onto her back with a grunt.
Lina grabbed and lifted a charred cinder block, a piece of the building Sylphiel had destroyed. She grunted as she lifted it over her head and prepared to bring it down on the fallen woman. Suddenly, Sylphiel looked up at her with fear-filled eyes.
"MISS LINA, PLEASE!" she screamed. "MY BABY!"
The redhead paused, her eyes wide.
"Sucker!" Sylphiel cried, kicking Lina in the stomach. Lina grunted and stumbled backward, dropping the block. Sylphiel was on her feet in a second, grabbing Lina by her red-gold hair and slamming her fist into the sorceress' face, once, twice, again, one more time, and threw her to the ground.
Huey, meanwhile, was dragging Amelia's body towards Gracia's still unconscious form. When the two were lying side by side, the artist knelt over his fiance and began to gently slap her face.
"Gracia," he whispered urgently. "Gracia, wake up!"
The shrine maiden whimpered and opened her eyes. "Mmmm..Huey chan?"
"Gracia!"
"I had a horrible dream," she said. "Amelia was killed by Miss Sylphiel."
"Gracia! It's no dream! You have to wake up!"
The woman shot up to a sitting position. "What?! AMELIA!" She quickly knelt next to her sister and began a spell. "Where are Miss Lina and Miss Sylphiel?!" she asked quickly.
Huey was looking in another direction, as if in a daze. "They're.um.rolling around on the ground, tearing at each other's hair and clothes." he said dreamily.
Gracia hmmph'd and worked on her spell.
The two women climbed to their feet. Sylphiel brushed a blood-coated wisp of hair from her eyes and growled, her eyes glowing red. "I could kill you with my magic with just a thought," she said. "But I want to kill you with my bare hands."
Lina spit out a tooth and put her hands on her hips. "You killed Ritsuko," she breathed, "You killed Amelia. You tried to kill Gourry." She shook her head. "Bitch, you're gonna be lucky if you JUST die!"
"FLARE ARROW!"
"FREEZE ARROW!"
"FIREBALL!"
"FREEZE BRID!"
As the spells impacted one another, a cloud of steam erupted between them. Through this cloud, Lina shot forward. Sylphiel shrieked as the redhead slammed into her, knocking her down. She felt the woman's hands around her throat, squeezing hatefully.
Sylphiel reached up and grabbed a hand full of Lina's hair. She pulled sharply until the redhead's ear was an inch from Sylphiel's mouth.
"If.I..go," she gagged out. "Sylphiel.dies..too."
Lina grit her teeth. "She'll thank me!" she hissed back, and squeezed harder.
Amelia opened her eyes weakly. "Gracia oneechan?" she whispered.
"It's okay, Amelia chan," Gracia said. "You'll be okay."
Amelia blinked as another form appeared just behind her sister. "I'm seeing double," she complained. She arched an eyebrow. "Except.one of the doubles is dressed like a bondage queen."
"What the hell?" Naga breathed.
"Over there!" Shadow Lina cried, pointing at her own double, strangling another woman.
"We gotta stop her!" Gourry cried, leaping forward. "If she kills it, Sylphiel could die too!"
Naga rushed after him. Just as Shadow Lina began to follow, she spotted three people not far away.
"NAGA CHAN!"
"LINA CHAN!"
"I'm so confused," Jeffrey, Amelia and Huey said all at once, blinking at the sight of the two doubles hugging.
Gourry grabbed Lina around the waist with both hands and pulled her off Sylphiel. The redhead started kicking and screaming.
"LET ME GO! I'LL KILL IT!"
As the swordsman dragged Lina away, Naga and Jeffrey stepped between them and Sylphiel. The purple-haired woman rose to her feet and faced them.
"What are you?" Naga asked. "A changeling?"
Sylphiel glared. "You," she said, pointing at Naga. "Priestess. Release me."
Naga blinked. "I don't understand."
The demon's eyes flashed red. "One thousand, thirty-three years ago, your ancestor helped imprison me here. Release me! Or I'll use this form to burn your city to the ground."
"Jeffrey," Naga whispered. "Go get the others."
The boy looked at her. "Then what, Miss Naga?"
"RUN!"
With that, the White Serpent took off after Gourry and Lina. The others, seeing their mutual leaders in retreat, quickly followed.
"YOU CAN'T HIDE FROM ME, LINA INVERSE!!" Sylphiel screamed. "YOU CAN'T HIDE FROM ME!! I'LL HUNT YOU DOWN LIKE THE DOG YOU ARE AND MAKE YOU BEG FOR DEATH!"
"LET ME GO, GOURRY! LET ME GO! I HAVE TO KILL IT! LET ME GO!"
Gourry unceremoniously dropped the redhead and started panting for breath.
"What WAS that thing?!" Shadow Lina asked, catching up to them.
Lina took one look at her double and broke out in a sweat. "Nya.nya.nya.nya.."
"Oh! It's you!" Shadow Lina cried, clapping happily. "I always wondered what happened to you!"
"Is everyone okay?" Jeffrey asked.
Lina started shaking.
A few moments later, Huey and Gracia appeared, helping Amelia walk between them.
"Amelia!" Lina cried. She ran up to the girl and took her hand, as if checking to see if it were broken. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine.Miss Lina," Amelia said quietly. "Miss Lina.That's not Sylphiel. It CAN'T be!"
"It's not," Lina growled. "It told me as much. But it IS Sylphiel's body."
"Then what do we do?" Gracia asked. "We can't risk killing Miss Sylphiel!"
Lina said nothing. Gourry spoke up for her. "Right!" he said. "Lina will think of something!"
"Well she'd better think of something quickly!"
Lina turned to the sound of the voice as Naga stepped out of the shadows. "You," she growled.
"Long time, Lina chan," Naga said without humor.
The two stared at each other for a hard moment. The silence might have gone forever if a thunderbolt of fire hadn't slammed into the building next to them.
"I think she's here!" Shadow Lina squeaked, jumping behind Jeffrey.
"Down that alley!" Lina shouted, running into an alleyway between two buildings. The group followed her as she kicked a door in and ran inside the building. They took two flights of stairs down and ran through what seemed like an old warehouse. Running past several large crates, they took two more flights of stairs back up and found themselves at another door, huffing and puffing from exertion.
Lina listened at the door for a moment and turned to the others. "Okay, from here on in it should get pretty normal. Stores, crowds, lots of places to hide until we can figure this out. I count to three, I open the door, we move out! Got it?!"
Everyone nodded.
"Okay! Follow the leader! One.two.THREE!" She threw open the door.
Sylphiel was standing there.
Lina shut the door and locked it again. Taking a breath, she turned to the others. "We may be trapped," she told them.
The door exploded inward, knocking them all back.
They all groaned and coughed dust as they struggled to their feet. Sylphiel walked toward them through the fog. She stopped just before Lina, who was lying on the ground, coughing.
"You can't escape from me," she told the redhead.
"I guess you're right," Lina told her. Her hand closed around some loose sand and rubble. "Then again." She flung the dust into Sylphiel's eyes!
The shrine maiden shrieked and covered her face with her hands.
Lina pointed up at her. "FIRE."
"LINA DON'T!" Gourry shouted.
"BALL!"
People outside the warehouse screamed and ran in terror as the building collapsed. Fiery brands and collapsing mortar fell to earth. Another explosion erupted from the debris, and they ran faster, knowing that this wasn't some accident. Something dreadful was happening.
Impossible as it might seem, a hand pushed its way out of the wreckage, grabbing hold of a piece of mortar, it pulled until a mop of dirty red hair appeared. Lina pulled until most of her body was outside the wreckage. She heard moans to her right and called out. "Gourry? Amelia? Gracia?"
"Miss Lina?" she heard Amelia call out, followed by a cough. "Is that you?"
"Miss Lina?" Jeffrey called. "Which one?"
"Which do you think?" Lina shouted back, coughing.
"I'm over here, Lord Jeffrey!" Shadow Lina called.
"Where's Sylphiel?" Naga asked.
"Is she dead?" she heard Gourry ask quietly. He wasn't far from her. Lina slowly rolled onto her back and looked back at the pile of wreckage. From beneath it, as if beneath a pool of water, a red glow began to brighten and move outward.
"We don't have much time," Lina said deadpan.
They all rose to their feet and quickly checked each other over for injuries. Gracia and Amelia quickly healed those that did as the crimson glow continued to brighten.
"What do we do?!" Gracia wailed.
"It's not Sylphiel," Lina whispered.
"But it's IN Sylphiel's body!" Gourry countered. "If we kill it."
"We might not have a choice!" Lina cut him off.
"Miss Lina." Amelia whispered in shock.
"I could use the Ragna Blade," she told them, turning towards the glow.
Gourry grabbed her by the arm and whirled her around. "That'll cut Sylphiel in half!"
Lina stared him in the eye. "We don't even know if she's still alive."
"Then we shouldn't use such a spell until all other possibilities are tried!" Amelia countered.
"WE DON'T HAVE TIME TO DISCUSS THIS IN A COMMITTEE!" Lina shouted.
A red pillar of light shot up from the center of the wreckage and into the sky.
"We've got a problem," Shadow Lina noted.
"We've got a BIG fucking problem," Naga agreed.
"INVEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!"
Shadow Lina squeaked and ducked behind Jeffrey at the sound of the wail. Lina watched as Sylphiel, suffused in a bright red glow, climbed from the wreckage and stood up.
"All right, Amelia," Lina said quietly. "Give me an option."
Amelia swallowed and tried to think of something. She racked her brain from a solution, but one wasn't presenting itself.
"There's still one spell we can try."
Amelia turned as Naga walked past her towards Sylphiel. "Gracia oneechan?" she whispered.
Naga didn't turn. She continued forward and drew her rapier. "Lina chan, get the others back," she ordered.
Shadow Lina blinked, then gasped as realization struck her. "MISS NAGA, NO! IT'LL KILL YOU! MISS NAGA!"
"What's she doing?" Amelia asked.
Shadow Lina was shaking. "She's going to use the Elemekia Star."
Shabranigdo watched through ruby eyes as Naga stepped forward, her sword drawn. "Come, if you dare," he whispered. He felt Sylphiel renew her struggle, trying to intervene before her friend was killed.
"Come," he whispered again.
Naga chanted as she walked. "Shards of the Great One, aid me in my holy quest."
"GIVE ME INVERSE!" Sylphiel shouted at her.
"Let the last rays of your light destroy the evil before me."
Above her, thunder cracked, and the clouds began to swirl into a nightmarish vortex. From the epicenter of this whirlpool, a continuous bolt of white lightning shot down and took hold of the end of her rapier.
Naga screamed and fell to one knee as the white-hot pain rushed through her body. Rising, she continued chanting.
"In thy great name I pledge myself to the light!"
The lightning renewed in intensity, and Naga's hand began to burn.
"Let all the evil that stands in our way be destroyed!" she screamed over the thunder and pain. "By the power you and I possess!"
Shabranigdo laughed.
Naga rushed forward and screamed, raising her sword. The tip pierced Sylphiel's shoulder and buried itself there. The demon grabbed onto the blade with both hands and looked into Naga's eyes.
"Wh."
"ELEMEKIA STAR!"
Lina watched as a ball of white energy flew from the vortex along the path of the lightning and strike Naga and Sylphiel. A tremendous explosion sent a cloud of dirt and debris rolling straight at them. They all dived to the ground and covered their heads as the shockwave rolled over them.
Then silence.
Shadow Lina, lying next to her, rose to her feet and stared out at the white fog before them.
"M.Miss Naga?" she whispered. "MISS NAGA!"
Lina could only stare in shock at the image before. Except for a cloud of dust, there was nothing.
"MISS NAGA!" the shadow screamed. Weeping, she turned and grabbed hold of Jeffrey, burying her face in his tunic and crying uncontrollably.
Jeffrey wrapped an arm around her and blinked back tears of his own. Heroes didn't cry. They accepted fate as it was. Even so.
"Miss Naga," he whispered.
"Gracia oneechan?" Amelia asked. "Was that."
Jeffrey took a breath and blinked as he saw something in the cloud.
A tall figure was walking toward them, carrying something in her arms.
"Miss Naga." Jeffrey whispered.
Naga, Sylphiel cradled in her arms, walked forward. Her hair was bleach white and her skin pale, but she was still in one piece. She stumbled forward and lay on top of the shrine maiden.
"Miss Naga!" Jeffrey cried, running forward. Shadow Lina ran after him.
"Y.You're alive!" the shadow gasped.
Naga rolled onto her back and breathed deeply as the others approached her. "Ooo..oo..." She swallowed back the laugh and smiled.
"I knew you could do it!" Jeffrey cried.
"What WAS that?!" Lina asked.
"I thought you said the Elemekia Star was a suicide spell," Shadow Lina told her.
Naga sat up and let Gracia and Amelia look at Sylphiel. "It's not," she explained quietly. "It's a white magic spell.an exorcism spell..and a test of faith." She said this last part in a whisper.
"Is she okay?" Gourry asked, looking down at Sylphiel's unmoving form.
"She's breathing," Amelia said.
"But how can we be sure it worked?" Lina asked.
"I guess we'll have to wait until she wakes up," Gracia counseled.
"What do you think, Amelia?" Lina asked.
Amelia wasn't looking at them. She was looking at the cloud. "Miss Lina," she said.
Lina looked at the cloud, and her eyes went wide.
There was a red glow deep within the cloud. "You gotta be fucking kidding me," she said in disbelief. "REZO WAS EASIER TO KILL THAN THIS! WHAT THE HELL IS THIS THING?!"
"Sha."
They all turned and looked down at Sylphiel in shock as she continued her whisper.
"Shab..ra..nig.do."
"I think we just upgraded our 'problem' to a 'catastrophe,'" Shadow Lina noted.
Lina turned and faced the glow. "Well?!" she called at it. "What do you want?!"
"Choose," a raspy voice called from everywhere and nowhere.
"Choose?" Lina asked with a blink.
"What does he mean, Lina?" Gourry asked.
Lina's eyes went wide. "Everyone! Clear your minds! Don't think!"
"THE CHOICE IS MADE!"
"WOAH!" Lina cried, turning back to the light. "We didn't choose squat!"
"What's he talking about!?" Jeffrey asked.
"MY MIND WAS EMPTY! AND I GUARANTEE GOURRY'S WAS!" Lina called.
"Yeah!" Gourry agreed!
She turned to the others. "Right?!"
"I don't know what you're talking about, but I wasn't thinking of anything," Jeffrey said.
"Me neither!" Shadow Lina squeaked.
"Totally empty!" Gracia told her.
Everyone nodded their heads.
Except one.
Lina stared at her in shock.
Amelia looked at her shoes.
"Amelia," Lina whispered. "What did you do?"
"I.I couldn't help it," she whispered.
"What did you do, Amelia!?"
"I.I just thought..I mean.Just as you said to clear our minds, I was thinking."
"Thinking what, Amelia chan?" Gracia asked gently.
Before she could answer, there was a roar from down the street. They all turned and watched as a tower collapsed from not far away. They could see a something dark moving between the buildings.
"Is it a dragon?" Gourry asked, puzzled.
Amelia gulped.
Whatever it was turned the corner. The group heaved a collective sweatdrop.
"Ummm.This is beyond comment," Lina said quietly.
"Lina," Gourry asked, "Is this still a problem?"
"I.um.think so," she answered.
"What the fuck is that?" Shadow Lina asked before quickly covering her mouth as if to hide the obscenity.
Amelia laughed nervously and gulped. "It's Piko Piko Naga Chan."
The superdeformed golem, a vision of cuteness, looked almost exactly like Gracia except it was squat, wide-eyed and had rosy cheeks. It roared and raises its huge fists in the air and brought them down on the building next to it. The tower crumbled down before them.
"IT'S SO ADORABLE!" Gracia squealed, stars in her eyes.
"You know," Naga said quietly. "They always told me I'd end up destroying Seyruun, but I never really believed them."
Lina shook her head. "Neither did we, Naga. We were just trying to scare you."
"Lina, what do we do?" Gourry asked.
"Pick Sylphiel up," she ordered. She braced herself for an attack. Naga stood next to her and likewise readied an attack.
"Any ideas?" Naga asked her.
Lina bit her lip. "I can't use the Giga Slave and a Ragna Blade didn't work on Gaav, so there's no reason to think it would work here." She chuckled dryly. "Damn, we could sure use Zel right about now."
"Right now I'd settle for a good distraction while we come up with a plan."
"JUSTICE WILL CONQUER ALL!"
The two sorceresses blinked and turned just in time to jump out of the way of a charging white stallion.
"PHIL!?" Lina cried in disbelief.
"Papa?!" Naga echoed.
Prince Phil rode forward and stood up in the saddle. He pointed at Piko Piko Naga Chan. "BEGONE, SPECTER OF THE DARK PAST! THE HAMMER OF JUSTICE SHALL FALL UPON THEE!!" With a mighty roar, Phil leaped into the air and struck the golem dead in the throat, knocking it onto its back with a huge crash.
"Well, he won't last forever, but I'd call that a distraction," Lina said, turning to Naga. "Now we need a plan." Her eyes narrowed. "Naga, can you do that spell of yours again?"
Naga took a breath and thought. "I think so, if I had another conductor. My sword is charcoal. But, Lina, all it did last time was expel the demon! What makes you think it would be any different this time?"
Lina nodded. "I think that spell might work along the same lines as the Giga Slave. The more powerful the conductor, the more powerful the spell. Damn! If only we still had the Sword of Light!"
"What about your sword?"
Lina shook her head. "It's just a plain old.." She turned to the golem. "I wonder.I THINK I'VE GOT IT!"
Just then, Phil flew over their heads. "I SHALL RETURN! GRACIA! AMELIA! AVENGE ME!"
"I think we just ran out of distraction," Naga noted.
Lina grabbed Naga's hand. "This is going to take crackerjack timing," she told her seriously.
Naga smiled. "I'm ready when you are!"
"LEVITATION!"
Hands joined, the two rose into the air towards the golem, which was just beginning to right itself. Its eyes glowed red as it searched for them. The two mages landed on its shoulder. The golem seemed unaware of their presence for the moment.
"Sword of the cold dark void," Lina chanted. "Free yourself from Heaven's bonds." Lina started to glow. "Become one with my power, one with my body."
Naga blinked in confusion. She had never heard THIS spell before.
".And let us walk the path of destruction together.Power that can smash even the souls of the gods!" Black lightning encircled Lina's right hand as she grasped hold of Naga's hand with her left.
"RAGNA BLADE!"
A twelve-foot shaft of darkness the color of burning pitch shot from her hand into the sky. The golem roared as it took notice of them.
Lina grit her teeth as she strugged to keep the spell under control. "NAGA! THE SPELL!"
Naga got over her shock and began to chant. "Shards of the Great One, aid me in my holy quest.LINA!"
This last part came as the golem's hand reached up for them. Lina, concentrating on the spell, could do nothing to stop it. "Damn," she growled.
Before the stone hand could reach them, a bolt of flame shot out and struck it on the wrist, setting its fingers ablaze. The golem roared and reared back. Naga and Lina had to steady themselves quickly to keep from falling.
"What the." Lina cried. Looking out, she gasped in amazement. "Sylphiel!?"
Standing on the roof of a nearby shop, Sylphiel held her arms out again. "FLAAAARE..ARROW!" Another three meter bolt of flame shot from her hands and struck the golem's midsection. Piko Piko Naga Chan's stomach erupted in fire. Sylphiel readied another spell.
"Zelgadis dear.lend me your strength," she whispered, a tear rolling down her cheek. "Where ever you are."
"FINISH IT!" Lina screamed.
"Let the last rays of your light destroy the evil before me." she chanted. The vortex swirled above them, and white lightning shot out to engulf the Ragna Blade. The power was more intense than before. The heat was baking their skin. They both whimpered at the pain of the spells reacting to one another.
"In thy great name I pledge myself to the light!"
"This one's for you, Ritsuko," Lina whispered. "And you too, Zel."
"Let all the evil that stands in our way be destroyed!" she screamed over the thunder and pain. "By the power you and I possess!"
Lina turned the Ragna Blade and screamed as she drove it into the golem's neck.
"ELEMEKIA STAR!" Naga screamed.
Plaug the goat herder whistled as he got ready for bed. His flock was tended, and it was time for the old shepard to find his sleeping roll. Laying on the soft grass, he rolled over so that he could see the lights of Seyruun twenty miles away. The city lights comforted him, and he liked to imagine what was going on in the big city at night while he slept.
He yawned and smiled.
He blinked suddenly. Why was the sun coming up? And why in the west, over Seyruun?
Sitting up, his mouth dropped open in awe. Seyruun was engulfed in a white light. Nothing of the city could be seen through its brilliance.
"Cepheid!" he gasped. "Cepheid!"
The light began to fade, then nothing but darkness.
The last time Lina Inverse had visited Seyruun, her Dragon Slave had taken one of the five points of the star that made up the city. Naga, never to be outdone by the redhead, had cast a spell that took the southern half of the city.
Seyruun would never be a star again.
Dawn's light showed that the buildings, those that were left standing, were burnt black and still smoked. Sand, gravel or brick no longer made up the ground, but grey-white ash.
It was through this desert of ash that Gourry crawled, on his hands and knees, searching like a man who had lost his keys in the sand at the beach.
"Lina!" he called as he searched. "Lina!"
Nearby, he heard the others calling Lina or Naga's name as they too searched.
"Oh god," he whispered. "No. Come on, Lina! Where are you?!"
The ash rose above his elbows. He sat up on his knees and looked out at the desert around him.
"I'll never find her in this," he whispered. Gritting his teeth, he reached down again and continued searching. He cried out in pain and pulled his hand back. He had cut it on something sharp under the coat of ash. Leaning back, he reached out with his good hand to steady himself. It disappeared into the ash and hit something.
It felt like.
"LINA!" Turning, he began to dig. He saw white hair, once red, appear and the ash-coated face of Lina Inverse. Grabbing her by the shoulders, he pulled. The unconscious sorceress was heavier than he thought, but soon found the reason as Naga's head appeared as well. The two were still holding hands as if their lives depended on it.
"HELP!" he screamed to the others. "THEY'RE OVER HERE!" He cradled Lina in his arms and moved a few strands of white hair out of her face. Reaching down, he tried to separate Lina and Naga's hands. He heard a sickening sound like a scab being pulled from flesh and grimaced as he realized Naga and Lina's palms were burnt, almost melted together. "Hold on," he whispered. "Just hold on."
He didn't look up as the shadows of the others fell upon him. The swordsman continued to rock Lina gently in his arms.
"It's okay," Gourry whispered. "You got him. It's over." He held her to his chest as the others looked down at him.
"It's over."
Author's Notes:
A few tributes in this chapter. One to "Big Trouble In Little China" when Lina opens the door and finds Sylphiel there. I always loved that movie. Another tribute to "Ghostbusters" later on, but don't worry, I managed to refrain from saying, "There is no Sylphiel, only Zuul!"
Now for some plugs. Once again, I shamelessly plug the Give Sylphiel a Chance Foundation at www.sylphiel.org. Taloon runs a great site, and it's important for Sylphiel fans to stick together. I'm also going to plug the Slayers Fan Fiction Archive at www.slayersff.com. It's small right now, but if you've got a Slayers fic, send it in. Fanfiction.net is great, but the individual archives have personalities and communities all their own.
