I must be the most non-action Slayers fanfiction writer ever. In most Slayers fanfictions I've read, there would have been at least twenty spells cast by now, and maybe a Dragon Slave or two. So far the only spells in this saga are Xellos's teleports, a Raywing, and a Fireball. Don't worry action fans. The spells are sure to come... eventually.
"Look mom! I see Seyruun!" Val was pointing excitedly to Seyruun, a city that was formed in the shape of a star. The middle of the star was the holiest place in the city.
"It's funny, Miss Lina," Filia mused as she watched Val run down the hill, "in spite of all my traveling with you, I have never seen Seyruun before."
"Filia, that's because you stopped traveling with us. I've been to Seyruun a dozen times since Darkstar was destroyed. In truth, you've barely traveled with us at all. All of our journey took place in the New World," Lina pointed out.
"In all the times I've been to Seyruun, it has always made me want to leave as soon as possible," Xellos murmered to himself.
Lina overheard. "Xellos, that's because Seyruun is one of the holiest places on the map. It's a heaven that's a hell to a demon."
"All I want is some food," Gourry whined.
Lina perked up. "Oh yeah, that's right Gourry! We're near the palace! Phil always has food; what with Amelia's appetite and all. Come on Gourry! Let's go get some dinner!"
"Excuse me miss, but no commoners are allowed in the palace at this time," a guard in white stoidly (and bravely) held his position, though calling Lina a commoner might have been a mistake.
"Common?! I am Lina Inverse, famous sorcery genius! I go where I please! Besides, I was invited here."
"By whom?"
"Zelgadis Greywers." The guard snorted. "Oh yeah, princess Amelia's soon-to-be consort of granite. It would be just like him to invite someone and not tell the royal guard."
"By his letter, I would guess he thinks you would forget the message the second he stopped saying it."
"What do you mean by that, commoner?" Lina stayed cool, even through the insult.
"I think princess Amelia's consort-to-be doubts you could sneeze without help, much less protect the royal family." The guard's face turned red, but before he refused the group entry, Amelia showed up.
"Oh Miss Lina, you came!" Amelia (again dressed in princess garb,) came prouncing through the garden surrounding the palace. All the guards bowed to her. Lina raised her eyebrows.
"Amelia, since when are you and Zelgadis getting hitched? And since when did you know that we were coming?" Lina wondered. Amelia blushed, and tried to come up with a plausible explaination for this, err... recent development.
"Oh, Mister Zelgadis and I aren't getting married." Amelia laughed uneasily. "It's just that he's been living here so long that some of the staff thinks something's going on."
"And how right they are," Xellos thought to himself. He smiled in his normal, annoying way. No one noticed, of course. Everyone was far too used to Xellos to notice that look anymore. Amelia noticed Filia and Valterin for the first time, and was overjoyed. "Oh Mister Xellos, you convinced her! Zelgadis said you wouldn't do it, but I knew you had goodness in your heart! Filia being here will surely further the cause of justice!" Everyone facefaulted except for Xellos and Amelia (who's smiling with her eyes closed, Xellos style.) Xellos sweatdropped, and tried to slip away. Too late for him though. Amelia grabbed his arm and dragged him up to the palace, chatting all the while about what a great hero of justice the mazoku will make. The speech went something like this: "I, Amelia Wil Tesla Seyruun, pledge to make you a warrior of justice. Those born of evil can change their ways and be upholders of peace, so good people may sleep soundly, knowing that good triumphs over all!." Xellos was steadily turning green, and leaning more and more on the princess. Everyone got up, and Lina sweatdropped when she saw Amelia dragging around the helpless mazoku.
"Sometimes I thing that Amelia is the only one here who can control Xellos to any degree. She says three words and he becomes weaker then the snobbish pain-in-the-butt here."
"Hey!" the guard protested to this (not really inaccurate) description of himself. Filia sighed, and she started walking to the palace, with Val trailing behind her. Gourry, in the meantime, was still scratching his head, trying to figure out why Xellos was so sick.
"Hey Amelia, where's Zel?" Lina asked as the group following Amelia walked down the palace corridors. Xellos was lagging behind everyone else, observing everything in the palace. He still looked a little green, but was no longer leaning on Amelia.
Amelia thought a little before answering Lina's question. "Hmmm... I think Mister Zelgadis is down at the stables, inspecting horses for your journey."
Lina stopped dead. "Journey?! Amelia, we just got here after traveling for two weeks, and you want us to leave now?! What about dinner?!"
Amelia kept on walking, not really noticing Lina's outburst. "Oh, you won't be leaving now, Miss Lina. Probably tomorrow, for a tour of the kingdom."
"What do you mean you? Amelia, are you telling us you won't be coming?"
"Of course I won't be coming, Miss Lina. The reason you came is because some people tried to assassinate daddy and me. You'll be traveling around Seyruun with Mister Zelgadis, letting everyone know that Princess Amelia is under the protection of Lina Inverse. Then those assasins wouldn't dare to come and try to kill me."
Xellos (who was listening to the conversation) walked up to Lina and Amelia. "Amelia, there's a flaw in your plan."
"What flaw, Mister Xellos?"
"While everyone's gone trying to convince the assasins that Lina Inverse will blast anyone who touches you, who will protect you here?"
Amelia contemplated that for a moment. "Oh yeah, I never thought of that."
"Well, I have a suggestion. Gourry and Zelgadis are well known travelling companions of Lina, but Filia, Valterin, and I are not, so we will not contribute to Lina's image. Why don't we stay here with you? Filia is far more powerful then any of your guards, and Valterin is an ancient dragon, who's power is many times that of a golden dragon, though he is young. I can stay in case these people that are after you are far more powerful then one would assume."
Amelia, eyes shining, said in trembling voice, "Said like a true hero, Mister Xellos!"
Everyone facefaulted except Xellos. The demon sweatdropped, with Amelia behind him, smiling widely (this scene is almost identical to the one at the palace gates.) Lina got up, rubbing the back of her head. She sighed. "This is going to be a loooong week for Xellos while we're gone."
"Ahhhh, the dining room," Gourry sighed in contentment and closed his eyes, to savor the delicious smells wafting from the table. He sniffed deeply. "Is that dragon flambe I smell? There's nothing like it... Royalty sure knows how to eat!"
Lina and Val were drooling. Filia didn't look impressed, and Xellos wasn't there at all. Lina noticed this for the first time. "Hey Amelia, where'd Xellos go?"
Amelia thought for a moment. "Hmmm, I think he went to the stables to tell Mister Zelgadis our plans."
Lina slapped her forehead in frustation. "Amelia, don't you remember how those two get along?"
"That won't be a problem, Lina." Lina whirled around, surprise written on her face. Zelgadis was standing in the doorway to the dining room, arms crossed. Xellos was leaning against the wall twirling his staff, with his usual smile. Zelgadis walked up to the princess, and said tiredly, "Wasn't our original plan to have us ride Filia around Seyruun?"
Filia bristled. "I am not a pack horse!"
Zelgadis nodded thoughtfully. "Well, I guess I see your point in changing the plans Amelia. Anyway, Xellos and I won't be together through most of this anyway. He'll be at the palace, and I'll be touring Seyruun. In the meantime," and Zelgadis sighed with resignation, "I'll make an effort to be as cordial as possible to this namagomi."
Xellos raised an eyebrow, and Filia shrieked with indignation, "Listen up chimaera! That's my line!"
Lina was lying in bed with her eyes closed at the royal palace of Seyruun, trying to figure out some minor mysteries. "Xellos is acting differently from usual. I wonder what's up." She sighed and opened her eyes to stare out the window. "Something big must be going on, for Xellos to act so... normal. He doesn't even respond to Filia's and Zel's insults. How strange." Lina closed her eyes again. "It's amazing how little we really know about Xellos. We know he's a monster, and he kill a clan of golden dragons during The War of the Monsters' Fall single-handedly, but beyond that, we know nothing. We don't even know who's been giving him orders since the Lord of Nightmares destroyed Phibrizo." She shifted a little. "I guess we'll never know much about him." The sorceress yawned. "That's the problem with demons. You can only trust them as far as you can throw 'em..." And Lina fell off into a slumber riddled with nightmares.
Lina woke up the next morning grumpy and on edge. This boded ill for Gourry who (being a morning person) didn't understand Lina's need to be alone when she awoke.
"Hey Lina!" Gourry said happily as Lina stomped by him to get to the dining room. Lina promptly stepped on Gourry's toes as she passed. Gourry sat down on the floor, holding his injured foot in pain and confusion. "Owwww! Why'd ya do that, Lina?!"
Lina (now far down the hall,) called over her shoulder, "Because you're too damn happy, jellyfish brains!"
When Lina got to the dining room, she found Val eating a gigantic pile of food, and Amelia was just finishing up on her not-to-small portion of breakfast. Zelgadis, Filia, and Xellos were all sipping tea. Zelgadis was also reading the paper. Lina yawned, and thought, "Geez! I'm the only one still in my pajamas. I knew I shouldn't have worn my pink bunny bottems today! I wonder why everyone's up so early." Lina glanced at the window, and saw that the sun was already high in the sky. The sorceress thought, slightly panicking, "What time is it? Why didn't anyone wake me up?" Out loud, Lina said cheerfully, "Has Gourry already eaten?"
"Yes," replied Zelgadis, sipping his tea.
Lina started to panic again. "Gourry takes forever to eat. He must have gotten up hours ago!"
Filia glanced up, and said calmly, "You're up late, Lina."
Lina starts to shriek, "That's not my fault! It's not like I have an alarm clock or something. It's your fault for not waking me up!"
"I wasn't assigning fault, Lina. I was just stating a fact."
Lina's face turned red, but she decided to not fry Filia... just yet. Instead Lina hopped into a chair, and yelled, "Hey, servant people! Get me my food! Lina Inverse is hungry!"
"We'll be gone only a few days. Wait to do anything rash, for after we get back, something will probably happen," Zelgadis warned Amelia as servants packed four horses to go on the journey. Xellos walked up behind Amelia and placed his hand on her hand. He said cheerfully, "Don't worry about Amelia. The dragons and I will take care of the princess."
Zelgadis opened his mouth to answer, but didn't to say anything. He walked next to Gourry and Lina, who were standing near the horses.
Lina was leaning against one of the steeds, observing everything. "This is weird. I'm not used to traveling with just Zelgadis and Gourry. The last time I did that was when Zelgadis had just declared he was going to revolt against Rezo. That was seven years ago!" Lina sighed. "Have things really changed since then? Outwardly, no. On the inside... I've changed a lot. Learning to cast the Ragna Blade and Giga Slave, meeting Xellos... Filia... Val..." Lina blushed. "Starting to love Gourry... for all his faults. The only thing in the universe I'm scared of anymore is my sister. How mundane is that?"
"What are you thinking about, Lina?" Lina blinked to find Gourry staring into her face.
Lina screeched, "Don't do that to me Gourry!" and drop-kicked the swordsman into the side of the palace. Gourry cracked the wall, and slowly slid down, obviously knocked silly. Everyone grimaced in recognition of Gourry's pain, remembering past experiences with the small chested sorceress. Filia walked out of the front of the palace, with Val right behind her. The dragon priestess went right up to Xellos and hit him on the head. The mazoku fell to the ground in pain. He whined, "Ohhhh! Filia, what did I do?"
Filia yelled in his face, "You namagomi! You didn't tell me you were teaching Valterin magical fusion spells!"
Val scuffed his feet behind Filia. He muttered, "Sorry Xellos."
Xellos stood up, rubbing the back of his head. He tried to explain. "Filia, when I tried a magical fusion of my magic and your own back when we were trying to recover all the Darkstar Weapons, it didn't work too well. So I was simply practicing with Val so the magical fusion of white and dark magicks would go more smoothly. There's no telling when the fusion of both extremes could come in handy..."
Lina stared. "Xellos never explains anything!" The sorceress thought in confusion. "Something really weird must be going on..."
Filia quieted. She hadn't expected Xellos to explain anything either. Val piped in. "Yeah mom, we weren't doing anything! Xellos said that if a fusion spell goes wrong, the dark and white magicks just cancel each other out and nothing happens. If a fusion spell goes right, the fusion can create anything... even worlds, if the spells are powerful enough."
Lina interrupted, suddenly very interested in the conversation. "So Val, what happened when you and Xellos fused dark and white spells?"
Val scuffed his shoes, looking embaressed. "Miss Lina, I don't know any white spells more powerful then recovery. The spells have to be equal in power, or the more powerful one will overpower the weaker spell. For example, if the dark spell was more powerful, the dark spell would overpower the white spell. All that would happen is a slightly weakened dark spell, for the white spell would drain some energy. Xellos had to cast weak dark spells so the fusion would not become imbalanced."
Xellos shrugged. "We were just experimenting."
Lina looked at Filia, impressed. "Filia, you've done a great job teaching the kid. He has magical theory down pat."
Filia looked confused. "But Lina, I didn't teach Valterin any of that. All I instruct him on is healing spells."
Lina and Filia thought for a moment, then the lightbulbs flashed. As one, the dragon and the sorceress turned to stare at Xellos, who was explaining the nuances of Shadow Snap to Val. "Val, for Shadow Snap you need a sharp instrument to hold the shadow. Knives are common, for they are easy to get a hold of. Shadow Snap is a shamanistic spell, one drawn from the astral plane. You tap onto your power, and concentrate on the one you want to stop. After the spell is cast in your mind, you throw your knife into their shadow, effectivly stopping them in their tracks."
Xellos handed Val a small knife, and said, "Now, let's test it. Hmmm... try it on the chimaera," and Xellos pointed to Zelgadis, who was directing the loading of the horses. Val nodded, and concentrated, tapping his connection with the astral plain. Suddenly, the dragon yelled, "Shadow Snap!" and threw the knife at Zelgadis's shadow.
Zelgadis was talking with a servant. "Now, on Lina's horse load plenty of food..." when the chimaera froze.
The servant grew concerned. "Sir, what is wrong? Are you all right?"
Zelgadis could not answer. Valterin looked pleased at his accomplishment. Lina and Filia (who were watching the whole thing) gaped. The sorceress laughed, and Filia's face turned red with anger. She stomped up to Xellos, and started yelling in the demon's face. "You namagomi, what are you doing teaching my son spells like that?! He isn't mature enough to handle immobilization spells yet!"
Xellos just smiled. "Filia, your tail is sticking out." Filia growled, and brought out her mace. She swung with all her might. Xellos dodged just in time, but was put in an armlock by Zelgadis (who by then had removed the effects of Shadow Snap.)
Zelgadis's voice was cold. "I'll hold him and you hit him." Filia's war shriek dominated the landscape, with only Xellos's scream of pain rivaling it in volume. Lina's laughter was heard faintly as Filia proceeded to pound Xellos to a pulp.
"Who says there's no justice in the world?" Filia thought, deeply satisfied as Xellos fell unconscious under her blows. The mazoku somehow still managed to smile through the entire beating. Valterin, though he thought the punishment unjust, did not dare incure his mother's fiery wrath.
Gourry stood there, scratching his head. "Why is Xellos on the ground? Is Filia trying to heal him with her mace? I don't thing that'll work..."
"Bye, Miss Lina! Bye Mister Gourry! Bye Mister Zelgadis!" Amelia waved to the three travelers as they road away from the castle to tour Seyruun. Lina and Gourry waved back. Zelgadis glanced at Amelia, and flashed one of his rare smiles. Amelia blushed. Filia and Valterin waved at Lina too. Xellos wasn't able to. He had one arm in a cast, was covered with bandages, and had a crutch to lean on, his staff in the mazoku's other hand. Still, the demon managed to smile as the fabled sorceress and her entourage faded from view.
"Sheela, the Tri Anzi are no longer together. They have gone their seperate ways." A young man with black hair and cold blue eyes sat on a throne. His clothing was black, with a cape draped around him. Pinnacles of ice shooting from the floor surrounded the young man, and a girl with blue hair kneeled before him. She looked up into his cool eyes. "The Tri Anzi lord? Who would they be?"
The young man smiled, though there was no humor in his gaze. "Even I do not know. One can... sense when they are together. An ambiance of power envelopes the astral plane. A demon with keen enough senses can tell. The Tri Anzi were assembled only briefly, so I had no time to pinpoint their location."
"But lord, what part would the Tri Anzi play in your plan?"
The young man grimaced. "None at all. With the Tri Anzi assembled, not even the Lord of Nightmares can stop them. This bodes ill for everyone, mazoku included. The world destroyed under their terms would be a terrible fate indeed. I hear the dark one controls the actions of grey and white, and darkness always means destruction." Sheela didn't answer, for she knew not what the Tri Anzi were. The young man continued, this time giving instructions. "Sheela, I believe Zelas thinks we are behind the attempted assasination of those peace loving fools, the Seyruun royal family. Follow Xellos secretly, and when the time is right, approach him to offer a conference between Beastlord and myself. The benefits will be... mutual."
The girl bowed. "Yes, Lord Dynast," and teleported away. Dynast frowned, still deep in thought about what to do about the Tri Anzi... and how to block the dark one from his desires.
"Cephied, my son. The time is right for Gaav and Phibrizo to regain their powers, as well as the Water Dragon King." Cephied, the god of light, the nemesis of Shabranigdo, a man looking rather like a young golden dragon in his human form, bowed before his mother, a woman encased in a golden sheen, seemingly surrounded by swirling clouds.
"May I suggest that Hellmaster and the Demon Dragon King be placed in the charge of the Greater Beast, at least until their powers mature? She has the goals of a demon, and will teach them the way to restore the balance. Beastlord the only proper high ranking monster available."
The Lord of Nightmares nodded. "We will alert her to their presence through her general-priest."
Cephied was startled. "You mean...?"
"Yes."
The god of light bit his lower lip. He bowed, and murmered quietly, "He will be alerted to their presence after you send them on their journey." Cephied straightened up, and asked, "Mother, what about the priest? He is an important part of this puzzle as well."
"It is already taken care of."
"The copy or the original?"
"Both are important. They were remolded as human twins," Celphied closed his eyes. "The pieces are starting to fall into place. The stage is set, the actors chosen. The only thing left to chance is how the play will run."