Revenge of the Magic of Carealot

Disclaimer: I do not own: Slayers or anything else that ends up on this story!

Episode 12: "We must fight or face defeat…we must stand tall and not retreat!" – Lynn Minmei: Force of Arms

Philionel cheered as he watched his people drive back the vile invaders. A tall handsome young swordsman joined him suddenly by slicing in half a troll lumbering towards him. A very beautiful young woman followed behind him casting a powerful fireball at another creature. Phil paused to watch them for a minute the boy looked familiar but he couldn't tell where he could possibly have met him. Phil realized as the woman came closer that she was actually blind! Though the disability didn't seem to impede her superb abilities in the least!

"Hey Grandpa don't stop now! Those Trolls will eat you alive!" The young man called out to him cheerfully. Phil laughed.

'This young man must be VERY young if he's calling me Grandpa!' he thought as the boy and the girl took up positions around him. He was immediately impressed by their teamwork and their combined strength. As he watched the young man though he felt again as if he'd known the boy all his life he shook his head thinking that was completely impossible. Another horde approached leaving him no more time to ponder these mysteries.

"I'm Phillip and this is Aurora!" the young man called out cheerfully to him as they fought through the next wave. He was about to introduce himself but the young man and the woman already knew who he was. Philionel laughed as Aurora poked Phil in the ribs for addressing the crown Prince in such a casual manner. Phil didn't care since it was obvious the boy's heart was in the right place. He was grateful however for the strength of his new protectors who stuck close to him for the remainder of the battle fighting off creatures and healing wounds. They made an awesome team!

"We'll worry about protocol later!" he laughed "now: IN THE NAME OF JUSTICE GO FORWARD TROOPS! THE RIGHTEOUS SHALL BE VICTORIOUS TODAY!" he bellowed so loudly nearby troops on both sides paused. With a war cry he launched forward his new companions close on his heels as other members of his guard followed him into the fray their spirits lifted by Phil's declaration. The enemy had been routed…the enemy troops were now fleeing the city at highest speed. Phil cheered and encouraged his comrades onward.

He nearly screamed himself hoarse when the regular Saillune army arrived and his loyal friend Gen Walker joined him. He stopped to pat Prince Pavan encouragingly on the shoulder as he was joined by his elite squad whom had been sent via a teleport device his cousin Medea possessed as soon as the messenger from Saillune had arrived in Ascantha. Despite the arrival of Sephiroth Phil continued to encourage his troops. He still believed that they could win…

Raven struggled on the tower casting arrow after magical arrow. The fighting had paused only long enough for Corey to refill her quiver and bring a couple of extra quivers. He stood behind her now holding up a large shield attempting to protect her from the worst attacks but despite his heroic efforts a few enemy arrows managed to slip through. One arrow managed to nick her and while the wound itself was not life threatening Raven could tell she hadn't very long. The poison seeping through her would kill her within the next few minutes.

"Corey look!" she called trying to keep pain out of her voice. Less than a mile from the palace gates Saillune's army could be seen riding fast what looked like a giant rainbow. Corey cheered and called down to the rest of the troops the good news. A cheer rose weakly from the tired and battle scarred fighters. Raven sighed with relief.

'All I have to do now is last long enough for Chels to get here…' she thought. The magic of the bow forbid males from using it. The only exception would be if there were no females left in her bloodline to take the bow a male would be able to substitute. Through the magic of the bow she knew her mother would not be able to take it.

'Chels will protect Corey…' she thought tiredly as she continued to fire the arrows with unerring aim.

"Hey Raven you ok?" asked Corey worriedly as his giant shield deflected another volley.

"I'm fine! Just keep that shield up!" Raven replied quickly. She smiled… Chelsea had reached the draw bridge! She could see the rapport of her canon already doing away with the new enemies with ease. Her happiness was cut short as she saw Jesse flying across the gate back into the city proper from a hit by a troll's giant club.

She screamed and fired arrows felling the beast but the damage was done. Jesse fell and did not get up again. Mai screamed and threw herself more furiously into the battle cutting down viciously anything that came in her path. One of the medics stopped to check Jesse but shook his head and moved on. Another soldier moved Jesse's body to the side to keep it from being trampled by the advancing horde. Furiously - though her strength waned - she fired her arrows.

"Corey I'm running low!" she called back. Reluctantly her little brother put the shield down and hurried to find more ammo for his sister.

"And get Chels up here!" she called out as he hurried away not wanting to leave his sister unprotected for too long. Raven smiled as she continued to fire her arrows she felt something hit her back but she was beyond pain now. She didn't let up until the last minute but her strength finally failed and she collapsed. She had one last vision: Chelsea and her brother celebrating. She smiled…

Corey ran down the stairs gathering arrows off of dead enemies. So intent was he on his mission that he didn't see the man in front of him until he smashed headlong into him. He jumped back fearing it might be an enemy but his eyes suddenly went wide with shock.

"L-l-lord Greywords!" he exclaimed in utter disbelief.

"Your name is Corey correct?" intoned Zelgadis it was not a question. Corey nodded completely speechless. In front of him stood the supposed dead fiancée of Queen Amelia Wil Tesla de Seyruun. He was quite alive and not alone! With him was a tall man with short white hair wearing black sunglasses and a long red trench coat he used his guns to shoot enemies with amazing and deadly accuracy.

"Where is Amelia? Can you tell me?" Zelgadis ordered firmly.

"She's up at the palace sir! She thinks you're dead!" he replied both awed and shocked. Zelgadis asked him then what he was doing and Corey immediately explained he was gathering arrows for his sister. Zel quickly looked around and snatched up an empty quiver from an enemy. He took the few arrows Corey had gathered and cast a spell on the quiver.

"Here the quiver will replenish itself for two hours!" he said handing Corey a magically refilled quiver "this has to end by then!" he declared grimly looking at his companion.

"Lead the way Zel!" his companion said and with a nod to Corey they ran off passing a shocked Mai and Chelsea on his way. Chelsea ran towards Corey a triumphant smirk on her face. Chelsea and Corey exchanged an excited look and ran up the stairs back to the tower telling everyone they ran into that Lord Greywords had come back from the dead.

They found Raven on her knees with her head resting against the wall her eyes closed and a smile on her face. She looked as if she was taking a break. Corey and Chelsea ran calling out her name. Raven did not respond. When they reached her Corey realized there was a pool of blood gathering behind Raven. Alarmed he looked at her back and her armor had been punctured several times.

"No! Rai NO!" Chelsea screamed dropping her canon and taking her friend in her arms. Tears streamed quietly from Corey's eyes as he allowed himself a moment to grieve. He put his arms around Chelsea and his sister.

"Come on Chels! Lord Greywords said this would be over soon! We gotta keep going," he sobbed. Reluctantly Chelsea dislodged herself from her friend and they laid her gently on the ground between them. They clasped hands.

"Let's win Corey!" Chelsea declared grimly.

"Yea for Raven!" Corey agreed solemnly. Raven's bow pulsed. If it hadn't disappeared from Raven's side it meant to Corey that his mother had fallen as well. There were no females to take the bow so it fell now to him. Grimly he picked it up and set the first of his arrows on it.

"I watch your back and you watch mine!" Corey declared confidently.

"You got it!" Chelsea asserted and both began laying their deadly fire upon the enemy…

Seto watched for a moment as Filia – the queen of the sky – vaporized enemy after enemy with ease. But his seasoned warrior instincts told him she was starting to get tired. He cheered when her attack against Sephiroth forced him to back away a few steps. He could see Sephiroth glare after her.

"Take that you bastard!" he cheered as he swung his sword and fired a spell right behind it. Then a horrible screeching noise reverberated through the entire city as a horrible shadow spread through the ground. He looked up in time to see a great horrible beast emerge from a dark vortex. It was at least twice the size of Ms. Filia and far better armored with more combat experience.

He desperately cut down one then the next enemy trying to reach a higher ground. Ms. Filia did a fair job of staying away from it's talons but was barely able to avoid its deadly lightning breath. After a while he could tell the beast was just toying with her. He looked at Sephiroth and realized by the smirk on the man that he had summoned the beast to do exactly that. Perhaps to sap away at the morale of the fighters. Filia was their ace…

'If she loses…' he shook the thought away! Filia couldn't lose! He wouldn't allow it! He forced his mind to calm down and search for the answer which he was certain would be buried in his mind. Something his grandmother had mentioned long ago only he would be able to do:

"One day when you're strong enough you can use the secret shape! But be careful! Don't use it unless your life is worth what you're defending with it!"

His eyes flew open and he smiled he knew now what he had to do. Seto was not only the last druid but the last in a very special line of druids. He felt his body lifting up into the air as the magic of the wild shapes began burning in him with a power that felt like it would consume him entirely. Filia fell finally from a blow of the creatures claws half-conscious transforming into her human form as she came crashing down. The beast circled gloating!

Seto caught her easily and gently placed her on a nearby rooftop. He continued shooting up towards the massive enemy letting the power build within him until finally it exploded! He screamed a challenge at the beast but was half shocked when the challenge came out as an earth shattering roar instead of words! He took an instant to note the silver claws that were now his hands and the massive silver body that now housed his soul.

'I will crush you!' Seto thought viciously at his opponent. His heart leaping for joy! He finally found the strength to protect those he loved! The beast eyed him warily obviously understanding that while Filia may not have been in his class Seto would be more than a match for it! Seto's dragon mouth opened and a beam of white light fired directly at the beast hitting its mark and stunning Bahamut Seto quickly followed his first attack with a swipe from his new massive claws.

'I will win!' Seto promised himself fiercely and the fight was on! He didn't hear the cheers that rose from the ground but he would've smirked in amusement if he had seen Jou and Honda jumping up and down yelling "Go Kaiba Go!" or Yugi yelling "Give 'em hell Kaiba!" as they watched him transform from below…

Amelia had joined Lina and Gourry when he was injured. Zangalus had drifted off towards the opposite end of the courtyard but returned to his old sparring buddy as soon as he noticed Gourry had been injured. The injury had not been severe and after a quick patch up from Amelia he was on his feet good as new! They all paused to watch in astonishment as Amelia's captain of the guard Seto Kaiba transformed into a huge silver-white dragon.

"Wow! Druids are awesome!" Lina cheered as she watched Kaiba turn the battle in their favor once more. Zangalus and Gourry pumped their fists in the air shouting encouragements to the young captain.

"Zelgadis would've been so proud of him," Amelia commented smiling wistfully. Jou ran towards Amelia intent on taking Kaiba's position as the queen's protector. Amelia decided she would go check on Filia and was off meeting Jou half way. They were joined by Honda and then Yugi.

Lina sighed heavily but before she could say anything she turned and froze. Sephiroth had actually come down from his perch. He stood calmly smirking as he squared off against Gourry. Lina called out to him to back away and she would take him on but with a grim determined look on his face Gourry refused to back down. Zangalus pulled her away understanding that this was Gourry's fight. His swordsman's honor demanded he face Sephiroth alone.

"Please win Gourry" Lina prayed softly as she battled other invaders. And even though she shouted cheers and encouragements her heart constricted with worry as Sephiroth's sword came too close to Gourry's head every now and then. Their swords clashed loudly with such speed that it was often difficult for the untrained eye to follow. Occasionally fighters would lift their eyes to witness the magnificent sword battle and admire the grace and sheer power of the swordsmen.

Everyone's eyes alternated between their own battles and watching either the great beasts battling for supremacy in the sky or the amazing swordsmen clashing in the courtyard of the palace. Then suddenly when it seemed Gourry was finally going to gain the upper hand Sephiroth's sword parried his opponent's thrust and skewered Gourry in a near fatal wound near his left shoulder making him unable to fight anymore.

"No! Gourry No!" Lina screamed running towards him. She reached him in time to keep him from smashing to the ground and put him gently on the courtyard stones. Blood poured freely out of the wound she looked around frantically for Amelia but she was not around. Gourry begged her not to use the Giga Slave before he became unconscious from the loss of blood. She patched him up as best she could then she turned to glare at Sephiroth.

"So it seems you are finally ready…" Sephiroth intoned calmly. Her response was simple:

"Darkness beyond blackest pitch deeper than the deepest night…"

Zelgadis hurried down the streets shocked to see the bright and beautiful Saillune so ravaged by these monstrous invaders even more horrible was the thought that Amelia believed him to be dead. He knew he should've levitated to the palace but after running into Corey at the gates he realized he was more help by stopping to assist the troops on his way to the palace. He looked up every now and then to watch in astonishment the silver-white dragon battling overhead and wondering where it came from.

From Rinoa and Squall he learned that Jafar – Prince Akmed's genie – had teleported him away but masked it behind some kind of fire spell making it look as though he had disintegrated Zelgadis. He hurried up the main road. He paused once more as he spotted a blood drenched Sylphiel sitting against a wall. Her eyes were open and she was barely breathing but Zel realized her wounds were too severe she would not last much longer. Zell Dincht's dead body lay draped across her legs.

"Zelgadis? I was expecting my father," she wheezed painfully.

"Sylphiel…" he began but words failed him. She smiled realizing in one final moment of clarity that Zelgadis was not dead he had come back somehow.

"Gaston and Akmed are dead… in their greed they summoned something worse…" she began urgently "don't let Lina cast the Giga Slave! Don't let her…" her voice failed her then and the light left her eyes. Zelgadis reached up to close Sylphiel's eyes. Rage exploded in him as he looked around and found many more familiar faces in the dead.

"Dante…please go to the palace and find my fiancée Amelia. Please make sure she's safe!" Zelgadis intoned solemnly. Dante smirked.

"You're gonna go take on this "worse" thing right?" Dante asked knowing almost immediately even before Zel's determined nod that the answer was yes. It's what he would do in Zel's place. Zelgadis took to the sky in the direction Sylphiel had weakly pointed in. Dante didn't stop to puzzle on how he did this without a devil trigger. He ran full tilt in the direction of the castle stopping every now and then to lend a hand and gather information about what his new friend was going off to fight but didn't linger for long…

Amelia looked around feeling at the brink of utter despair once more. Her once bright city was ravaged by the battle and even though Saillune's army had returned the battle still was not turning in their favor once more. Jou was down below still near the palace gates injured. Honda and Yugi were doing their best to protect him while Lisa cast a healing spell. Everyone looked tired and hurt. Filia was weakened by her wounds but she would be alright. She looked down at her self and aside from some rips on her clothes and some dirt she was fine. She wasn't even tired.

"Why?" she wondered angrily finding it suddenly unfair! She realized that it had to do with Zel's second gift. The ring glowed brightly casting a continuous recovery spell that was quite powerful. She ripped it from her finger and flung it away from her angrily sobbing disconsolate. She wanted to bleed and die with her people! Amelia was broken.

"Zelgadis…" she sobbed as she watched her people battle wearily yet still determined to win. Yes she would bleed and she would die with the rest of her people then join her beloved in the next world! She threw herself down on the main road rushing past daddy determined to fight with every ounce of life left in her! Her progress was halted by three of the large venomous lizard creatures one in front and two behind her. Amelia took them on dispatching the first with ease and turning to face the other two.

She cast her spells again with deadly consequences but in her fury she failed to notice in time the draconian coming up behind her. She was so used to having Zelgadis at her back she had forgotten to stay alert for possible back attacks. She turned too late ready to meet her death but it never came. The creature slumped to the ground. A sword poked out from its chest for a moment then was pulled out as it fell.

Her protector was a tall man with short white hair wearing black clothes and a long red trench coat. He studied her for a moment with mild curiosity as he tossed aside the sword he'd picked up along the way mumbling something about it being useless. He asked her if she was alright and for a moment Amelia was so angry at the man for denying her the reunion with her beloved she so desperately wanted that she couldn't speak.

"Are you Amelia?" he asked pulling out a pair of guns shooting them without looking and still managing to hit his mark. The question caught her by surprise continuing to keep her speechless. Everyone knew who she was in Saillune why would he ask that? She simply nodded.

"A mutual acquaintance of ours whom I just rescued from hell asked me to find you. Come on we need to hurry!" he said and pulled Amelia along with him as he raced back towards where his compaion was poised for the final battle. Too shocked and curious Amelia could do nothing but follow…

In Orange Grove the villagers were contending with their own problems some beasts from the earlier summonings had managed to escape in their direction. The villagers did a good job of destroying the small and medium sized ones but currently a large horned beast the size of an elephant was rampaging down the road and nothing seemed to be able to stop it.

"Get back!" yelled Cid. As the fighters scrambled hoping the beast would barrel down their main road and just keep going straight out of town! One person however lost in grief from hearing of her master's death refused to move. She stood in the middle of the road calmly summoning all the power her master had bestowed on her. The last spell he taught her was the fireball. He had been very stern about not using it unless she absolutely had no other choice.

"Right now I have no other choice master," she said hoping somehow her dear master would hear her. She reached deep down for every ounce of spell casting wisdom her master had ever given her. Her injured brothers and parents called out desperately for her to get away as the beast's monstrous galloping rattled the earth. She ignored them as she chanted all the words for the spell very carefully assuming the pose her master had taught her:

FIREBALL!

A huge ball of flames burst from Laura's hands hitting the creature dead on disintegrating not just the beast but all the ones stampeding behind it! She smiled at her accomplishment but it had taken too much power from her. A cheer rose from the villagers who shouted: "Hooray for mighty little Laura!" but Laura wasn't able to respond. She found her knees buckling and knew she was not going to be able to keep herself upright. It didn't matter! The village was safe and she knew her master would've been proud.

She expected to hit the ground hard but instead a pair of arms stopped her rapid descent and lower her gently to the ground. A face was smiling at her but she thought she must be dreaming. After all Almanzo Wilder just couldn't stand the sight of her or so he had said many times! So he just could not be smiling at her…could he? She was too exhausted so pondered it no more. She heard her master's voice deep and soothing:

"Well done Laura…"

She smiled as his voice called for her to join him.

"I'm coming master…" she said softly and exhaustion vanished as she felt herself surrounded by light…

Ok now let's keep moving 'cause I'm on a roll!