Disclaimer: Dont own no nothing.

Ahh, I really need to prioritise. Something just kept me from continuing. The fact that I'm lazy doesn't help either. If I publish something I regret, then... o_0.

Nevermind. Here's the next chapter.

I'm sure no one wants to read this portion anyway so let's make it short.

Hat O' Doom: *teary eyes* THANKS!!!!

Amelia felt her shoulders being pushed forcefully backwards and vaguely registered the impact of her body on the ground as she slid towards the edge of the shield.

"ZELGADIS!!!" she screamed, when she remembered that Zelgadis had taken her place in front of the Plant's mouth...

"OWW!!!"

Zelgadis felt a really really sharp prod as Xellos slammed his staff into him in an effort to push him out of the Carnivorous Plant's way. Lina's eyebrow twitched as she saw Zelgadis pushing Amelia to take her place only to see Xellos stab Zelgadis with his staff, sending him crashing into the shield. It was probably the only thing she could twitch. Her limbs were already rendered completely useless.

"What the hell did you do that for?!? That really hurt!! Ouch...I think my jaw's broken..."

"If it was, Zelgadis, I don't think you'd be talking right now."

Filia, Lina and Gourry watched open-mouthed as Xellos' eyes opened for no apparent reason and his pupils rounded. But he still looked like the apprehensive, calculating jerk he was. Not to mention evil.

"Aw, dang," Xellos said, half pouting as he tried to shake his staff off his hand. It was now completely stuck onto him, being part of his existence and all.

Zelgadis wasn't paying any attention to Xellos but instead helping Amelia sit up. She looked pretty bad - her body was practically mangled. Slowly, she managed to sit up and widened her gaze.

"Wow, you look really handsome, Mr. Zelgadis! But I still like your chimera-look more..."

Zelgadis examined himself in the shield as it had mirror-like properties. "Hmm, you do?"

"Yes, Zelgadis.."

"ENOUGH!!! This is no time for your emotional frivolities!! We are not -" Angel shouted, a full fleet of hostile plants lined up behind him.

"ENOUGH!!! HELP ME ALREADY, DAMN!" Lina exploded, even louder than Angel.

"Ah." The Slayers scrambled to break Lina free of her frozen chains.

Lina wrenched her leg free from the last piece of ice, only to find that she couldn't stand.

"Ouch.."

"Lina!! Everyone!!" Gourry shouted from outside, banging his fists repeatedly on the shield. His voice became fainter and fainter as the shield turned opaque. Xellos glanced one last time at Filia with curious eyes before she, too, vanished from sight.

"Hey! What's going on here?!" Lina said, directing her questions at RainWitch. The rain was much heavier now.

"The Shield has simply materialised into a stronger substance," RainWitch replied, as though that explained anything.

"But the rain's still coming in," Zelgadis said, looking upwards at the baby-blue of the dome-shaped shield. Indeed, rain still fell as though clouds were inside the Shield itself.

"Yes, well, the Miral Shield was designed to do that. Now stand up! We don't have all day."

"Geez, no need to be so -" Lina said, then stopped when she saw Angel's teeth clenched together with great effort.

"Hey, you wouldn't happen to be powering the shield, would ya?" Lina asked.

"Er.."

"Ah! I knew it! So if we, say, kill you or knock you unconscious, the shield will be off, won't it?"

"Um..!"

"Whoa, struck gold again! Today's a lucky day after all! Amelia, you just sit there and heal. Alright, everyone else, ATTACK!"

"Dug Haut!"

"Digger Bolt!"

"Dynast Breath!"

...Nothing happened.

"WHAT!?!"

Angel laughed. "This is the true intent of the Miral Shield! Though it is still undergoing testing, it seems as though it will prove extremely successful. Imagine, the whole of the Inner Barrier cast with the Miral Shield!"

"Blessed, humble hand of God. Breath of Mother Earth, I pray thee come before me, Show your great compassion to this person and deliver them! RECOVERY!"

Everyone turned to look at Amelia.

"It seems to have no effect on White Magic..." Amelia said, almost as if apologetically. Her wounds healed and she managed to stand up, albeit awkwardly.

"Didn't I say it was still a prototype?!? Besides, White Magic doesn't directly harm us, so we thought we'd just..make thing easier."

"Your country is quite the gentleman," Xellos noted.

"No, actually, the cost of making a Miral Shield is quite high..." RainWitch said, sweatdropping.

"Oh. We see," Zelgadis said.

Then, everyone suddenly reacted and pulled out whatever weapons they had. Lina unsheathed a small dagger, Xellos continued being glued to his staff, Amelia procured a longsword from Zelgadis and Zelgadis - well, basically just Zelgadis.

While the evil plants curled about and torrents of water sent by RainWitch trashed the Slayers, Zelas was contemplating going down there herself to stop all the hulabaloo. There was a pretty high chance Xellos was going to get killed - and that was really bad, because that'd be a real waste of her essence and her influence, as well as power as a mazoku lord, would dwindle by say, a lot. Plus no one could tame the wolves quite as hilariously as Xellos could.

Dynast and Dolphin were probably watching this right now, she thought. Suddenly Zelas sat upright. It just occured to her that losing Xellos was equivalent to losing a general and a priest - or the other way round - and that meant she'd be like Phibrizzo, only a lot less powerful. (Dead.)

It could invoke a war, two against one. And she would be that one.

Because after losing her priest she would be really ripe for killing.

No!! It wasn't fair!! She was the youngest daughter! You know, the one that always has a happily-ever-after privilege.

If only daddy Shabranigdo won that stupid battle. Stupid Ceiphied.

All right then. It was settled. Losing Xellos would mean losing almost everything, so she had better get down there and started saving her everything. Zelas got up, ready to leave. Then she sat back down when she saw what was happening.

"Hey Filia, check this out!" Gourry said, suddenly noticing something.

"Hmm?" Filia walked over to listen to whatever Gourry had to say, because for Gourry, an observation was probably far better than a theory.

"Well you see, there isn't any water sliding down on this big circle thing."

Filia blinked, unable to see the point. "Well, yes, you're right, Gourry."

"And, well, I just thought it was strange that water is also zooming inside."

"That's probably because RainWitch is using the rain to battle, right?"

"Yeah, I know. But isn't it kinda weird that the water just keeps going in?"

"You know, Gourry, after you fight with an element, you have to summon it back. The same goes for after throwing away a sword, say, you have to get it back."

"I know, I know! But I think it's a bit too much."

"They are trying to take over the Inner Barrier, Gourry..."

"All right. Fine. But I'm telling you there's something weird about the amount of water going in."

"Uhh... Lina!!" Amelia said, prancing about. As she was the shortest, the water in the shield was rising rapidly up to her waist. She could hardly swing a sword in these circumstances.

"Whoa!! I thought I was getting wet but this is practically a lake! Don't tell me you planned this!"

"Well - er, of course we did!"

"That tone suggests something else," Zelgadis said skeptically. At the same time, the evil plants exploded due to overwatering.

"You idiot!" Lina spluttered as another gush of water choked her. "You designed for water to get in but not out?!?"

"Ehe..."

RainWitch had already stopped collecting water into the shield, but the rain was practically pouring andthere wasn't much anyone could do about it. Lina and Amelia were already floating to get their heads out of the water. Zelgadis was having a really hard time.

"Xellos?!? You can't swim?!?"

"Well I never really had to you see, Miss Lina."

"Then how are you keeping afloa - woah!"

Beneath the ripples of the water surface, Amelia could see that Xellos was standing on his staff.

"Wasn't it stuck on your hand Xellos-san?"

"It think it's fine as long as it sticks to me, Amelia."

"I can't believe you don't know how to swim," Zelgadis said, he himself stepping on Xellos' staff. "In all your centuries of existence and pretense of being a human, didn't you ever have to swim?"

"What kind of human circumstances would I be forced to swim!?"

At the same moment, Angel was also bickering with RainWitch.

"You and Lizzie were making the shield to suit YOUR needs and you didn't think that all this rain would have to go somewhere?!?"

"Shut up. It's not like you helped any."

"ARGH, that's it, I'm getting Lizzie to redesign this thing. Goodness knows how much that'll cost..."

"QUIET!!" Lina screamed. "All right, Angel, if that's really your name, hurry and deactivate the shield already. Obviously neither of us are going to win while getting drowned."

"No way! The moment I deactivate the shield you're going to Dragon Slave us off the Inner Barrier."

"Uh -" Xellos began.

"Y-You wouldn't do that, would you Lina?" Amelia and Zelgadis said at the same time.

"Well it's your fault for picking a fight with us!! Why don't you go bother my sister instead, she's more powerful!!"

"Lina, I -"

"Exactly why we wouldn't bother when your stupid princess is right over here!!!"

"Um, Lina.."

"WHAT!?"

"It's just.. we're running out of time." Xellos pointed at the water level, which was reaching the neck area already.

"All right Angel, spill and tell us where's the thing that absorbs power from you."

"Well it's right over here.." Angel pulled back his sleeve to reveal a jewel-like object encrusted on his shoulder.

"Alright, prepare yourself!" Lina grabbed Zelgadis' arm, ready to use it like a hammer.

"No! Don't destroy it, that way the shield'll never be deactivated. It's programmed that way so that if we lost the opponent would die trapped inside the shield as well," RainWitch said, flinging Zelgadis' arm aside, almost causing him to fall.

"Then what are we going to do?" Amelia chewed her lip.

"Easy. We knock him unconscious, or seal his powers away."

"RainWitch!! Are you trying to finish me off?!"

"Well it's the only way we're going to get out, so..."

"Alright, what was the original way to get out?" Zelgadis asked.

"Um..."

There was a very pregnant pause.

"DAMN YOU LIZZIE!!!!!"

"Alright then. In that case, if you please, Zelgadis."

"My pleasure."

"Noo! What're you doing?!? Stop! STOP!"

PLEAACK.

The shield slowly disintegrated, and all the water was let out to wash over a dumbfounded Filia and an unwary Gourry.

"Another happy ending," Xellos said as his pupils narrowed back to form the usual shard-like shape. His eyes closed. Nothing wrong there.

"Let's go, Filia."

Xellos and Filia vanished, as did RainWitch and Angel.

Lina remained sitting, her feet still limp and cold.

"Why the hell are we always left behind!?"

Gourry's stomach growled.

"Oh, shut up."

Lina's stomach growled.

Zelgadis sighed.

Amelia sighed even louder.

All right, so maybe there wasn't anything emotional in this one.

But I hope you smiled!

..somewhere...