AN: Ok, Digi-Riven, I hereby dedicate this chapter to you, because your comment amused me GREATLY (and cuz u actually remind me of me...scary, ne?). *gigglez* Ummm...I'm still not done with school work ^_^; so chapters may be delayed. But but but! (lol, love that song), Spring Break is a-comin! I might have time to write then. ^_^ Thanks to the faithful reviewers!

Disclaimer: I don't own Slayers, I just borrow the characters for purposes of torture and stress relief. ^_^

* Chapter * 10 *

Lina awoke with a splitting headache. What happened? she asked, sitting up and pressing a hand against her forehead to ward off the pounding ache in her skull. Itai...did someone see the driver of that wagon? she grumbled. She looked around the cave and saw her friends scattered about, all still unconscious. Koutero was nowhere to be seen.

Growling in frustration, the red-haired sorceress clambered to her feet and dragged herself over to the closest of her fallen companions, Gourry. The swordsman was sprawled on his back, his sword a few inches away from his right hand where it had slipped from his grip. Lina's chest tightened at seeing the blonde man in such a state, but she quickly did her best to push the feeling down.

She was about to grab his shoulder and try to shake him back to wakefulness when she noticed something. A small trail of silver across the blue armor on Gourry's shoulder. Lina's ruby eyes followed the trail, along Gourry's shoulder, up his neck, until it stopped at his golden locks. Lina's chest suddenly tightened and her hands began to shake ever so slightly as she saw the cause of the slimy silver trail. A slug, worming it's soft, slimy body into Gourry's hair. Lina shivered and tried to calm herself down.

It's just one stupid little slug, she told herself, not sounding all that convincing. We're in a dark, damp cave, of course there will be slugs here... she trailed off as she saw another slug crawling up Gourry's leg. Lina's stomach lurched and she jumped back, her heart pounding faster than normal. Deciding that Gourry could wake up in his own damn time, Lina went to check on Amelia.

The young princess was slightly paler than usual, and there was a slight trickle of blood trailing down her face from a cut in her forehead. Lina glanced down, and immediately regretted it, when she saw yet another slug, sitting in the small pool of blood that had collected by the side of the younger woman's face.

I think I'm gonna be sick, Lina murmured, turning her gaze away from the princess and glancing over at Zelgadis. Oh gods, not more of them, she moaned, seeing silvery trails running across Zel's clothes, a slug resting on his chest, another one weaving between the shaman's fingers. A third slug was on the toe of his boot, and Lina thought she saw the tail of another one, making it's way up the leg of Zel's pants.

What in the hells is going on!? Lina cried in dismay, feeling her stomach twist in knots, her hands shaking uncontrollably now. She cast a Light spell and sent it up almost to the ceiling of the cave. Glancing around, she saw that the floor itself seemed to be shining silvery with the trails of what must have been a thousand slugs. She could see now that all of her friends now had the slimy creatures crawling over them. A sickening idea occurred to her, and she slowly cast her eyes down to look around her own feet. What she saw was the disgusting silvery trails leading up towards her, converging as they drew nearer to her booted feet. The slugs almost seeming to sense her fear... it was if they were attacking her!

When Lina felt a small weight land on her shoulder, with a nauseating splat, it was too much for her. The terrified sorceress shrieked, throwing the slug off of her shoulder with a quick, panicked movement, and she began running towards the mouth of the cave.

And where do you think you're going? said a voice directly in front of Lina. The red-head tried to stop herself, but inertia won the battle and she found herself crashing into something that, while surprisingly soft, did not yield to Lina's comparatively small form. And so, Lina found herself knocked off balance and thrown to the floor. Slowly, ruby eyes looked up, a sick, nervous feeling settling into the pit of Lina's stomach.

I know that voice,' Lina thought, forcing herself not to panic. It was a losing battle, as her eyes swept up, taking in the waitress' outfit, the purple hair and bangs that shaded eyes Lina knew all too well. Luna Inverse stood over her little sister, tapping a bamboo stick on her palm.

You really botched this job up, little sister, Luna said, glowering down at the quivering girl at her feet. Lina was frozen to the spot, paralyzed by fear.

Oh gods oh gods oh gods oh gods, how is she here, oh gods, she's gonna kill me, oh gods oh gods oh gods...' was all that Lina's mind could process at the moment. Luna took a step towards Lina, and that was it for the small sorceress. Lina screamed, and the earth itself shook with the force of it.


* * *


Amber blinked, shaking her head in confusion. Before she could try and figure out what had happened, her attention was drawn back to the scene before her, with Lina and Gourry charging Koutero, the Mazoku grinning confidently. Amber rushed to prepare a spell to attack the Mazoku, but before she could finish it, she watched in horror as Koutero sent out a sickly green wave of energy, knocking down her friends and allies. She abandoned her Elemekia Lance and tried to put up a shield against the wave of evil energy; but there was no time, and with a nauseating jolt, she felt the wave of energy pass through her, knocking her back onto the cold stone floor of the cave. A fuzzy feeling began to envelop her body, her limbs responding slowly to her commands. Her brain felt as though it were wrapped in cotton.

The Feelings were gone...

Amber was an empath, she could sense the emotions of others. Sometimes, powerful emotions could almost overpower her own emotions, if she didn't shield against them. Often, the raven-haired woman thought of her empathy as a curse; but it had it's benefits. It was this strange talent of hers that allowed her to sense out Mazoku like Xellos; their emotions (if they could even be called emotions) were so different from human emotions that to Amber, Mazoku stood out like the proverbial sore thumb.

But the Feelings were gone. The strange cottony fibers that had wrapped themselves around her mind had blotted them out. She couldn't think straight, couldn't make her mind focus or concentrate. The world was a garbled jumble of confusing images and sounds, her brain didn't seem to be processing anything correctly, and it was making her stomach feel seriously queasy. She closed her eyes tightly, hoping to block out at least some of the muddled images. She wished desperately that the could of confusion would pass.

Without warning, she got her wish, and then some. The cottony fibers suddenly tore away from her mind; and with them, they tore out the barriers that Amber had built up over years and years of learning to shield out the emotions of others from her own mind. In an instant, her world went from a muddled gray cloud to a blinding bright-white flash of far too much clarity. For an instant, there was only the blinding flash of knowing that the shields were gone.

Then the screams began. Amber didn't know if they were her own or if they belonged to any of the other people in the cave, all she knew was that her mind was screaming in white-hot agony. Fear, her own or someone else's?, twisted her stomach into painful knots. Her heart beat so fast in her chest she wondered if it might burst. Her body ached and screeched with the need to cry, to fight, to curl up into a tiny ball and hide; a hundred thousand conflicting emotions crashing down around her at once. Terror, pain, frustration, anger (oh gods, the burning hatred!), threatened to choke her as her throat closed with the overwhelming power of the brutal force of the emotions.

However, even through the sickening confusion of emotions that raped her mind, she could still single some out, recognize them. There was the familiar cool determination of Raven, amplified a thousandfold. There was the conflicting natures that she'd always felt from Faith, but never understood before. And a cold purple-black humor that could only be that Mazoku, Xellos. Burning rage that must be Lina. Unwavering loyalty from the swordsman, Gourry. Nameless terror from that dragon-woman, Filia. A mix of fear and stern resolve from that petite princess, Amelia. Protectiveness and single-mindedness from Zelgadis. All pressing in on her mind, threatening to overwhelm her, to wash away those scraps of emotion and consciousness that could still be called She was losing herself.

But above them all, towering over her trembling mind, was a sickening, gloating wash of conquest, of victorious superiority. A vast, devouring darkness that threatened to destroy her mind and send her reeling into madness forever. The energy that was Koutero's mind and emotion grinned down at the tattered, quavering shreds of what remained of Amber's individuality, almost lost on the sea of emotions wracking her mind. The last thing Amber heard before consciousness floated away from her was that damned gloating voice.

You humans can lose yourselves so easily...


* * *


Gourry saw a flash of light, though he wasn't sure what had just happened. He figured that white-haired guy had tried something, but it didn't seem to have worked. Lina was still charging at the Mazoku, with a huge sword of black energy gripped in her hands.

Hey, when did she cast that Ragna-thingy?' he wondered, but he didn't have much time to wonder about it as Lina brought the sword down in a single, powerful stroke that should have sliced the white-haired Mazoku from the junction where neck and shoulder met down to his hip...if the blade wasn't stopped short by something. The tiny man began to laugh with a force Gourry didn't think was possible from such a small frame... Then again, Lina could be really really loud too... Gourry snapped himself back to the present. Can't get distracted now,' he thought.

Silly little sorceress, the Mazoku giggled. Such tricks are useless! You think that even my mother's power can touch me while I'm in this place? I'm protected by powers you could never understand! Gourry saw the glimmer of cold determination shine in the fiery sorceress' eyes, and he knew that something big was gonna happen. Probably something bad, too.

We'll just see about that, Lina said, a cold smile spreading across her face. Lord of the Darkness and the Four Worlds, I call upon you, grant me all the power that you possess! The talismen that Lina wore began to glow bloody red, and the small woman's eyes were as bright and hard as rubies. Zelgadis ran forward with Amelia, both of them screaming at Lina.

Don't do it, Lina! It's too dangerous! Gourry's stomach dropped as he finally figured out what was going on.

Lina's gonna cast that Giga Slave thing!' he realized. He wanted to tell her not to do it, he tried to speak...

Darkness beyond blackest pitch, deeper than the deepest night! Lina chanted, Lord of Darkness, shining like gold upon the Sea of Chaos, I call upon thee, swear myself to thee! Let the fools who stand before us be destroyed by the power you and I possess! A huge ball of darkness gathered in Lina's hands, devouring light. The Mazoku was just laughing and laughing.

Mother will not keep me from completing my goal! he cried, his green-white eyes glazing over, an insanely distant look on his face.

GIGA SLAVE! Lina screamed, directing the hungry black energy towards the white-haired Mazoku. Electricity filled the air as the black energy crashed against whatever shield the Mazoku was using. The energies shrieked as they battled, and everyone save the two combatants dropped to their knees, covering their ears from the terrible noise. It sounded as though a soul were shrieking it's death throes. Gourry watched the battle through slitted eyes, his heart pounding with fear.

Not again...please not again...' The energies struggled, seeming to be evenly matched... Then blackness became gold.

The dazzling light made Gourry close his eyes and turn his head. For what seemed like hours, the brilliance was too much for him, and he couldn't even turn his face towards the source of it. It was as though the sun itself had come down into the small cave. When finally the brilliance died down enough that Gourry could open his eyes and look at what had happened, he saw his worst nightmare come true.

It was like the battle with Hellmaster all over again.

Lina stood amidst a vast golden aura, she herself glowing like a living golden statue. But it wasn't Lina. It was Her. She looked at Gourry, Her eyes almost sad. The swordsman stumbled to his feet and rushed towards Her. But about five feet in front of Her, he found he couldn't move forward anymore. He tried in vain to reach Her, but only succeeded in pressing himself against what seemed like an invisible wall separating him from Her.

Not again. Please, not again, he whispered, staring at Her, his blue eyes wide with fear and pain. Time seemed frozen. His chest felt as though it would burst. He wanted to scream, wanted to call Lina back from wherever she had gone to, but his voice wouldn't obey.

There are no more second chances, She said simply. And She faded away. There was no grand chase through the sky, no battle through the Sea of Chaos. She was just gone. They both were. Gourry sank to his knees and died inside.



End Notes: Yes, I am an evil evil evil writer. MUAHAHAAA!! I love being me. But now I want food...yet I have none... oops, sorry, brain ran away for a moment. ^_^; Please R&R, even if it's just to tell me I'm evil (I take it as a compliment). ^_^