Author's notes: I think my program, has gone and changed it's self. Has gone off and changed it's self. La la la! Oh um…. Next chapter is here. Read. Please?

Hapless not Hopeless

"Has anyone else noticed how quiet it is?" Amelia asked.

The wind blew tumbleweed by. It was obvious that the valley was empty, and the dragons and the elves had sought refuge somewhere else. Everyone had been too busy fighting with Norst to notice, but as they stood alone in the valley, the haunting quietness came as a surprise.

Xellos had finally gathered himself enough to hold back his cries against the agony that the struggle had inflicted upon him. He had been loud enough to fill the entire valley, but now that he was silent, it became aparent that so were their surroundings.

"My people have moved further into the mountains," Milgazia said as he began walking away from them. He wanted to see for himself that everyone was alright.

As the elder vanished behind a wall of rock, Amelia turned back to Lina and Gourry who were lazing around after the battle. Seyruun's plans had been shattered for the moment. There was no reason for them to stay.

"So why was Dynast's priest after you?" Lina asked from her position stretched out on the grass.

Xellos' eyes were closed tight with pain. His gloves had dissolved off his hands, and it was taking everything he had left to keep himself together. Why was he fighting to stay alive? There really wasn't a point in him existing anymore. Filia saw these thoughts reflecting in his face and clutched him tighter.

"Miss Filia…?" Amelia said as she worriedly looked over the golden dragon's shoulder.

"Norst wanted to kill Xellos…" Filia finally replied.

"Well that was obvious" Lina said as she sat up from the grass. "So. What has Xellos done this time?"

"He did absolutely nothing wrong!" the golden dragon bristled, and Lina blinked back her surprise. She wasn't expecting Filia to readily defend him.

"It looks like a lot has changed from before," Gourry noted.

The monster tried to move away from Filia, but it was a feeble attempt. He flinched as a stab of pain that shot through him. It was stemming from his non-physical wounds. There wasn't much of his astral self left. The only way to ease the pain a little was to stop moving.

"She's laughing…" he croaked. "I know…"

"Shh Xellos," Filia hushed him. "Focus on healing yourself…"

"Ok…" Lina said giving both of them a funny look. "One of you needs to explain what's going on here."

Filia bit her lip and looked at Xellos. The monster's eyes opened slightly, and he opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out. Did he want to tell them? Or did he want her to explain?

"Well…" she began unsurely. When Xellos made no move to stop her, she continued to tell their old travelling companions everything she knew about their current situation. By the time she had recounted everything she could think of, including the part about Xellos unintentionally breaking her clock, she stopped. She was relieved in a way that she no longer had to worry about hiding it or handling it herself.

"Oh Mr. Xellos!" Amelia exclaimed teary eyed. "I didn't know! I kept carelessly rambling on about the Dark Star event to promote justice without knowing or even thinking how it might affect the people around me! It was a very selfish and unjust thing for me to do!"

"Amelia!" Lina shouted as she slammed the girl's face into the ground to shut her up. "You don't just admit something like that to someone like him."

Xellos lifted his head slightly to regard his old comrades. He managed to smile a little despite the waves of anguish that threatened to envelope him. Amelia was really too naïve, but he had already known.

"I already knew," he told the princess who was now nursing a bump on her head. "I don't care… It's pointless." He cringed, and suddenly the pain he had been trying to block out overwhelmed him. He would have screamed, but his throat had been shredded by his earlier cries. There wasn't much left of his physical body either… The only thing he could do was draw himself back into the astral plane.

Filia watched helplessly as he vanished from her arms. She stood frozen in place, her eyes staring blankly at where Xellos had just been. She was able to gather herself, and she quickly switched from holding the monster to hugging Valgarv's egg close.

"We've got to help Mr. Xellos," Amelia said glancing up at Lina.

The sorceress gave her an I-can't-believe-you're-serous look. Her eye twitched slightly when Amelia's hard stare locked into her own. The princess was serious.

"Look Amelia," Lina began, her voice rising steadily. "I've killed monsters in the past, but we're talking about the entire monster race here. If they want him dead, they'll get him no matter what. Just think about how much trouble the Hell Master went through to kill Garv."

"As the Princess of Seyruun, I hold myself responsible for what happened to Mr. Xellos!" Amelia declared as she leapt up from the ground and struck a dramatic pose. "That's why I can't turn away from this horrible injustice that has occurred due to my own thoughtlessness!"

"Well then, have fun Amelia," Lina said as she turned her back to the princess. Gourry caught her by the shoulder and spun her back around.

"We can help too right Lina?" the swordsman asked.

The sorceress' face showed her immediate frustration. The stupid swordsman hadn't taken in a thing she said. He probably didn't even know what was going on.

"Gourry," she said through clenched teeth. "Do you even understand what's going on here?"

"Well," the swordsman began scratching his chin thoughtfully. "I know Xellos needs our help."

"Mr. Gourry is right Miss Lina!" Amelia rejoined. "Besides, Miss Filia got herself involved, and she could be in serious danger too.We can't abandon our friends when they're in need!"

"Fine," Lina finally relented. She suddenly sprouted a grin and took out her money counter. "But this is going to cost you extra, and Xellos is going to owe me for this one."

Amelia slumped. "How can you be so mean Miss Lina..?"

The group began travelling in the direction they saw Milgazia disappear. Since Xellos had left them for the astral plane, they decided to wait around the valley for him to return. Besides, Lina and Gourry were getting hungry and they wanted to hunt down the elder so they might get something to eat.

Filia trudged along behind them. Her eyelids felt heavy and she forced herself to keep moving forward. It had been a very long and tiring day. She glanced down at the egg she held tenderly in her arms. Thank Ceifeed that they were both still ok.

When Milgazia saw them heading his way, he left the company of his fellow dragons to speak with them. He hadn't bothered to change out of his human form. The trees that grew around this area of the valley provided cover for his race, and the thick mountain walls offered a barrier between them and most dangers. Turning Lina and her crew away from their sanctuary would have been the safest and wisest thing for him to do, but he couldn't.

"You are still here," he noted absently.

"Yeah," Lina replied giving him a smug smile. "Sorry to disappoint you."

"That's one monster down and how many to go?" Gourry asked counting on his fingers.

"One? I've taken care of more than just one! What about Sherra, Phibrizo, Saygram , Kanzel, Mazenda, Dark Star and those two pieces of Shabranigdo?" Lina demanded. "Norst only adds to the list!"

"What about Mr. Chicken?" Amelia asked reflecting back to when they ran into the monster that looked like a chicken.

"I think I'll leave him off the list…" Lina replied dryly.

"You have killed many monsters," Milgazia said. He had to admit that Lina was a very amazing human. No Dragon King in history had ever defeated as many high ranked monsters as Lina had.

The sorceress seemed pleased with herself. "That's right! Any monster who's dared to face me, the great genius sorceress Lina Inverse, has ended up toast!"

"Toast?" Gourry questioned looking around the area. "Where? Where is it?"

Amelia got in Lina's face and wagged her finger at the boastful sorceress. "Miss Lina, you shouldn't take all the credit like that!"

The sorceress waved her away. "Fine fine. I guess you guys did help me a little bit."

Filia sighed. At least they seemed happy and not worried about being dragged into another problem.

The other golden dragons were continuing their day as normal. She envied them. After she had found out about her people's past, she could never bring herself to continue normally like she had before.

She didn't notice Milgazia approaching her until he was already standing by her side. The elder's concerned expression startled her. "You're worn out Filia, you should rest."

Filia became flustered by his concern. "I'm fine," she assured him. "Really, I'm fine." When he elder's gaze didn't lift from her, she got a little defensive. She wasn't even sure why. "You don't have to worry about me."

"You are a parent Miss Filia," Milgazia reminded her. "You should take this time to rest. It has been a very stressful day, especially for you."

"And you too right?" Gourry asked..

The elder paused for a moment. "…Yes. I suppose."

"Mr. Milgazia does have a point Miss Filia," Amelia stated leaving Lina's side. "You should get some rest. I'm sure being a parent isn't easy, and you should take every opportunity you can to relax and prepare yourself for what's ahead."

"Yeah," Lina said giving her a sincere look. "Don't forget we're here to back you up."

More notes: Getting the other Slayers characters in there has proven to be a difficult thing for me to do. I just keep getting writer's block when it comes to them! Meh. By the time I post this, I should be finished writing the chapters, so I guess I shouldn't complain.