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"Slayers Faces" Part 7 By: Davner Storm! Victory Will Be Ours!
Thunder roared overhead. The wind blew a little faster announcing the coming of rain. Zelgadis looked up at the sky and digested what Xellos had just told them. Adara looked at the Mazoku in shock. “The Wind Dragon King is coming here?!” “It would appear so,” Xellos told her with a weary smile. “Wake up, Achi,” Zelgadis ordered, giving the child-like goddess a light slap on the cheek. “C’mon. Wake up.” Achi didn’t respond in the slightest. Another boom screamed overhead. “I have to warn them,” Adara said quietly. “I have to warn the others!” “Adara, wait!” Zelgadis commanded. The elf huntress turned to him. “I can’t just stand by and let them…” “We won’t. I’ll go with you.” Sylphiel’s eyes went wide. “What?” she asked in a weakened voice. Zelgadis turned to the injured Xellos. “Xellos, you’re human and you’re injured; so don’t think for a second that I can’t beat the life out of you right here if you lie to me. What’s going to happen now?” Xellos thought for a moment. “If the Wind Dragon King is as persistent and as anal as he was a thousand years ago, he’ll try to take the island.” “He wants the trees,” Sylphiel told them weakly. “He won’t risk destroying them.” Zelgadis thought on this for a moment. “And the elves?” he asked Xellos. “The elves are more than just an annoyance. They’re a symbol of his defeat. If he can wipe them out while at the same time securing the island for himself, he will.” Rarely was Xellos’ voice as grave as it was now. The chimera assessed the situation and came up with a plan. “Sylphiel, can you walk?” At the shrine maiden’s nod, he continued. “Naga, take Xellos, Sylphiel, and Achi to the north end of the island and take a boat.” Sylphiel blinked in shock at hearing this. “Go out beyond the tree’s effects and…” “I’m not leaving,” Sylphiel stated firmly. “Zelgadis dear! I can’t let you make this sacrifice alone!” Zelgadis smiled. “What sacrifice?” Sylphiel stared at him dumbly. “Once you’re outside of the tree’s effects, you can heal yourself, and I think Xellos will be fine as well.” Xellos only nodded at this. “Then come back to the village. Adara and I will warn them.” “Then what?” Adara asked. “We can’t stand against the Dragon!” “If your people enjoy life, they’ll have to leave the island,” Xellos told her. “Do you have enough ships for that?” “I…I don’t know!” Adara cried. “Maybe…” “We don’t have much time,” Zelgadis reminded them. “Then we should start now,” Naga announced, taking Achi from Zelgadis. “Follow this road all the way to the beach. You’ll be able to see our ships there. You should be able to find one of the smaller boats without a problem,” Adara told them. Naga smiled. “Ah, the life of a sailor! OOOOHOHOHOHOHOHO!!!” “Adara, come on,” Zelgadis ordered. “Zelgadis dear!” The chimera turned human stopped and turned at the voice. Sylphiel walked up and stood before him. She blushed and looked down at the ground, painfully aware that three pairs of eyes were on them. She waited for them to get the hint and turn away, but they continued to look on. The shrine maiden began to fidget. “Kiss him, stupid!” Naga cried suddenly. Without even thinking, Sylphiel leaned up and kissed him, wrapping her arms around him and holding the former chimera as tightly as her weakened state would allow. Adara gasped quietly at the sight and sighed. Naga and Xellos began to golf clap, lightly tapping their fingers against the palms of their other hand. Sylphiel broke the kiss and stepped away. “I’ll be back,” she told him quietly. Zelgadis smiled and turned. “Come on, Adara!” The two started back towards the village. “Hmmph!” Xellos sniffed. “He didn’t say goodbye.” Sylphiel sighed and started for the north shore.
“Hmmph!” Adara sniffed. “Imagine the nerve! Taking advantage of the situation like that! For shame, Miss Sylphiel! For shame!” Running alongside her, Zelgadis sweatdropped. “You should demand an apology,” the elf counseled him. “Sexual harassment is a very real and damaging phenomenon, and isn’t to be taken lightly!” “I’ll…um…think on that,” Zelgadis said uncomfortably. “You…um…didn’t…enjoy it…Did you?” Adara asked. “Well…” “OH MY GODS! YOU DID!” Adara wept. “Um…” “Well, fine!” Adara spat. “Two can play this game! Next time we’re facing certain death and destruction at the hands of the Shinzoku, I’ll kiss you right in front of her! That’ll show her!” “Let’s split up!” Zelgadis suggested with a sigh as they entered the village common. “You round up as many people as you can and tell them what’s happening. I’ll find the sheriff.” She nodded and ran for where every elf man in Zarak Tor went in the late afternoon; the local pub. Zelgadis started running for the sheriff’s office and found his former captors looking up at the sky, commenting on the weather. “Sheriff,” Zelgadis began, panting. Usually, his demon abilities made running such a distance easy. Now that he was human… “Ah, Zelgadis,” the Sheriff greeted him. “Still here?” “What kind of emergency plans do you have for escaping the island?” Zelgadis asked without preamble. “Huh?” “An evacuation?!” Zelgadis reiterated. The sheriff scratched his head. “Ain’t got one of those…” Zelgadis sighed. “Sheriff, I want you to listen to me very carefully…”
Adara entered the pub, already full of laughing men there to ride out the storm, took a deep breath… And screamed at the top of her lungs. Every head in the bar turned to her in shock. “Ahem…Now that I have your attention…” she began demurely. “Adara! What’s going on?!” her father, Atlin, asked from behind the bar. “Father!” Adara cried, running up to him. “There’s well…a teeny…weeny…tiny…itsy…bitsy…little problem…” she said. “Well?” Atlin asked. Adara took a breath. “YouseeourhouseguestAchiturnedouttoreallybeaspyfortheShinzoku AndnowtheWindDragonKingiscomingheretotaketheholytreesbecausethat’swhat’s curingDearZelgadis’curseandaccordingtoDearZelgadiswehaveaboutthreehourstolive!” Atlin stared at her while she tried to catch her breath. “So what you’re saying is that we’ve got shit?” “YES!” Adara cried. “WE GOT SHIT!” Atlin shouted at the other elves in the pub. He walked out from behind the bar and removed his apron. Walking over to the fireplace, he reached up and removed the heavy axe he kept there….
Xellos gasped suddenly as he felt a sudden surge of power flow through him. He looked down and saw the wound in his stomach begin to close on its own. Looking over at Sylphiel, the Mazoku saw that the scar on her face was gone. He smiled. Naga trimmed the sail of the tiny boat as it pitched back and forth in the choppy sea. “You okay?” she asked the priest. “Yes,” he said, rising to his feet. “We’re far enough out.” Naga nodded and tied off the sail. She turned to Sylphiel, who was tending to the still unconscious Achi. “Come here,” she told her. Sylphiel obeyed, and Naga began chanting a healing spell. “I’m not sure how this will help you,” she told the shrine maiden, “But it can’t hurt.” “Why isn’t she awake?” Sylphiel asked, looking down at Achi. “She’s still breathing,” Naga assured her. “I’m sure she’ll wake up when she’s ready.” Xellos, somewhat less optimistic, didn’t add anything. Instead, he reached into his robe and removed a small, wooden pen. Sylphiel saw him do this and blinked. “What are you doing, Mister Xellos?” Xellos smiled and raised the pen. “Just taking care of some minor correspondence,” he told her. He began to write in the air. Letters of fire in the Mazoku language hung in the air in front of him. “’Dear Metallium…blah…blah…blah…’” he said as he wrote. “’Wind Dragon King….blah…blah..blah….Zarak Tor….blah…blah…’” Sylphiel just blinked. “’Going to die…blah… blah…blah….Pepperoni and mushrooms…..blah…blah…BLAH! Sincerely….Xellos…’” He smiled. “That should do just nicely!” he commented as he reread the fire letters. He reached up and grasped the top right and bottom left corners of the page of fire and bent the letter as if it were a regular piece of paper. He then scrunched it until it was a small ball of flame floating in his right hand. He bent down and blew a short puff of air. The fireball shot into the sky. Naga and Sylphiel looked on in awe. “Well,” he said, “I believe Zelgadis and Adara are waiting.” “Right!” Sylphiel replied. “Let’s get back to the island!”
“Don’t step there!” Xellos looked down at his feet and stepped to the right, around the trip-wire. Zelgadis was tying off another wire. Looking at the ground, Xellos could see portions of a net peeking out of the leaves covering it. “How is everyone?” Zelgadis asked. (“How is Sylphiel?”) Xellos translated in his mind. “Fine,” he said. “Though Achi is still asleep. What are you doing?” “Adara and the sheriff are getting the villagers together. They’re going to get as many to them to boats as they can. A few of us are going to slow down whoever the Wind Dragon King sends after them.” “I see,” Xellos replied. He poked at the net with his staff. “And you think these little squirrel traps will work?” Zelgadis finished tying off what he was working on and stood up. “The trees level the playing field,” he told the Mazoku. “Meaning that whatever the Wind Dragon King sends can be killed. Instead of being a smartass, maybe you should help.” Xellos sighed and undid the clasp on his robe. “Yareyare…”
Naga took a sip of lemonade and adjusted her sunglasses as she watched on. Zelgadis, Xellos, and three of the elves from the village were working together, pulling a rope attached to a pulley that was hoisting a large section of a tree into the air. Xellos had discarded his black robes and was working bare- chested. Naga had to admit, her priest side-kick was rather well-built… “HEAVE!” she yelled at them as they grunted, pulling with all their strength. She took another sip of lemonade. “HEAVE!” As a group, the five men grumbled at her. “QUIT SLACKING, YOU BIG BABIES!” she yelled at them. “I SAID HEAVE!!” Finally the tree was high enough, and Zelgadis tied the rope off while they worked on the net. “Don’t you have anything useful you can be doing?” he asked her. Naga grimaced. “What?! I’m supervising!” Her cape flapped as another gust of wind struck it. “Besides, I’ve already set up punjee sticks on the other side of town. Your little rabbit traps are all that’s left.” “How’s the evacuation going?” Xellos asked. “Adara’s moving everyone north. The sheriff is handing out bows and knives to anyone willing to stay and fight. And Sylphiel and Zuanna have set up an infirmary at the temple.” Zelgadis hissed in pain and looked at his hands. They were raw and blistered. “Dammit,” he muttered. “Bet you’re missing that stone body now, aren’t ya, Stony?” Naga said with a grin. He growled. “You want to supervise? Fine. I’m going to get some salve for my hands.” He walked past Naga and started towards town. “You’re in charge, I guess.” Naga grinned. “If you say so….OOOOOHOHOHOHOHO!!!” She pointed down at the elves. “Okay! You, you, and you! Run those lines into the trees and set up the trip-wires! You! Side-kick! Dance for me!” Zelgadis sighed as he walked. Couldn’t things be easy just once? He had left Lina and the others to avoid these kinds of entanglements, and now he was once again knee deep in them. Why did he bother? It really wasn’t his problem. He should be up on the mountain, filling bags with the holy fruit, not preparing for a guerilla war. He entered the elves’ temple as he thought on this. He found Sylphiel on the other end of the main hall, preparing bandages. She turned at the sound of his entrance. “Zelgadis dear? Are you all right? Was there an accident? Are they here yet?” “No,” Zelgadis told her. “I think they’re still getting ready. I…um…hurt my hands,” he said lamely, showing her his blistered palms. She took his wrists and examined them. “Zelgadis dear! You should have been wearing gloves!” She pulled him into a nearby room where they intended to put serious patients and shut the door behind them. Sitting him down on a small couch, she got some salve and bandages from a table nearby and knelt in front of him to treat him. “I’ve never used gloves before,” he told her simply. “You’ve never been human before,” she said in reply as she began to apply the healing agent to his palms. “You can’t keep acting like you’re a chimera!” she cried at him. He blinked, puzzled at her outburst. All he had done was blister his hands a little, and here she was almost in tears. “Sylphiel, what’s wrong?” She took a breath and continued working on his palms. “You can’t keep taking risks as if you have your old body to protect you,” she told him. “It’s so easy for you to die now,” she whispered. “Like when you took that arrow to protect me. It was a very heroic thing…” “You don’t have to make a big d…” “But it was also a stupid thing!” she cut him off. “What if you had died?!” “What was I supposed to do?” he asked, his eyes narrowing. “Let you get shot?” “You could have pushed me! Or…or…I don’t know…” “What do you want from me?” he asked her. She looked up at him as she started to slowly bandage his hands, tears in her eyes. “I want you to leave.” “What?” “I want you to go, Zelgadis dear,” she told him urgently. “Take one of the boats and leave with the others! You’ve already done so much. Just this one time, let somebody else do it!” He sighed. “Normally, I would. But we’re the ones who brought this problem here. I’m responsible.” She tied off the bandage and took a breath. “You could die out there so easily,” she whispered. “And so could you,” he reminded her. “I don’t see you rushing to leave.” “I have a duty to help those that need me,” she said as if it explained everything. “This isn’t Sairaag, Sylphiel. It’s not the same,” he whispered to her. She didn’t say anything. She tightened the bandage. “I don’t want to lose you, Zelgadis dear,” she whispered. “Not like I lost everyone else.” He reached out and touched her chin, tilting her head up so that he could look at her green eyes. “It’s easy,” he whispered, “It’s easy to die when you have nothing to lose. It’s much harder when you’re fighting for someone.” She reached out and touched his brown hair. Leaning forward, she kissed him, not lightly or demurely like before, but urgently, almost desperately, as if the world were ending tomorrow and she had only this one last kiss to give him. Zelgadis reached up with his wounded hands and held her, closing his eyes as they continued to kiss. There was still a little time left, and if they were going to die, they had might as well make the most of it. He felt her weight press against him as she climbed into the couch with him, never breaking that kiss. Naga could handle things for a few hours, and they did only have a little time left. Let someone else handle things…just this once.
Naga looked up at the sky and watched as a bird flew overhead, circling the village. Adara walked up to her, her bow slung over her shoulder. She followed Naga’s gaze and blinked. “I’ve never seen such a large bird before,” she remarked. The White Serpent’s eyes narrowed. “Go get Zelgadis and Xellos,” she told Adara. Overhead, two more large birds joined the first in its circling. “Tell them it’s time.”
The creature that hit the ground near the village stood up to its natural eight feet height and rustled its golden-brown feathers. Two more Avians just like him landed nearby and looked to him for guidance. Others were on the way, but Kreetsk, vassal of the Wind Dragon King, was eager to take the island. He reached out with his hand, the wings on his back folding behind him reflexively, and tried to fire off a burst of flame. Nothing. “Weapons,” he hissed, drawing his own rapier as the others did the same. Four more Avians landed behind them. The others were shorter than he was by more than a foot. They were just Betas, not an Alpha like him. He led their flock. He lifted the rapier and tested its edge on his powerful beak. Satisfied, he hissed and waved the flock forward. The other Avians “hopped” forward, using their wings to make short jumps ahead. They didn’t want the villagers to get a bead on them. Thanks to those damned trees, they were vulnerable. The low-level Shinzoku heard a sharp shriek preceded by several whishing sounds. He looked and found one of his birds hanging from a tree, entangled in a net. The bird continued to shriek. “Cut him down!” Kreetsk ordered. Two Avians flew up and prepared to cut the net off their comrade. There was a high-pitched whistle. One of the helping birds cried out and fell, striking the ground with a sharp thud, an arrow sticking out of its back. Another whistle, and the second bird fell. A third struck the netted Avian, silencing him. It had all happened in less than a minute. “To ground! To ground!” Kreetsk cried. The rest of his birds hit the dirt. One of them took a few hurried steps before diving, however, with his last step he struck one of the trip-wires… A six foot tree trunk suspended on either side by ropes swung out from the trees and struck him as he dove, shattering every bone in the bird’s body. An arrow struck the dirt next to the Alpha’s face. Had he fangs, he’d have bared them as he growled. “STRIKE!” he shouted. Three of his remaining Avians took to the air. Another arrow from the ground dropped one. One of the others pointed to the ground. Hidden behind a few bushes, a blonde elf woman was renocking her bow. The two Avians dove downward, landing on either side of the surprised woman. Adara cried out and reached for the long knife on her belt. One of the birds lashed out, striking her with the pommel of his sword. The elf fell on her back. The Avians took another step towards her. “Hey, chicken,” they heard someone call out casually from behind them. They turned just in time for Zelgadis to slash into one and Naga bury her rapier into the chest of the other. They birds gave soft shrieks and fell. “What do you think?” Naga asked with a grin, kicking one of the dead birds. “Original recipe or extra crispy?” Zelgadis rolled his eyes and turned back to the approaching force of Avians. More were landing in the distance. “That’s a lot of birds, Stony,” Naga commented uneasily. “Come on,” Zelgadis told them. “We’ll pull back behind the second ring of traps.”
Night was beginning to fall on the island. The sun was dipping below the horizon. The Avians had halted their attack with the dying of the light, not able to see well enough to fly, and a fight in the darkness was a fool’s one. Elves with light swords, axes, knives, or bows stood an unsteady watch within the village. Though Zelgadis, Naga, and Adara hadn’t met with too much trouble, elves watching the other sides of the village had met with hard-hitting attacks, and Sylphiel and Zuanna now had their hands full with wounded. Lying on a couch not far away from where the shrine maiden was working, Achi, still unconscious, slept soundly. For now, it was all quiet on the village front. Zelgadis looked out the window of the temple, watching the south approach. He grunted in satisfaction and turned. He saw Sylphiel not far away, sitting against a wall, her hands covered in blood from the wounded elves, asleep. He walked up to her and removed his tan cape, draping it over her like a blanket. She stirred for a moment, but continued to sleep. Knowing she wouldn’t get many more chances, Zelgadis let her rest. “Stony,” He turned and found Naga walking up to him. “What do you think?” she asked, serious for the first time in weeks. Zelgadis took a breath. “They’re Avians,” he said simply. “Usually they have magical abilities, but without them they’ll have to depend on strength and weapons. Their ability to fly gives them an advantage, but only when they can see. They won’t move at night.” “You seem to know something about them,” Naga noted. Zelgadis didn’t answer. “What are our chances you think?” Naga asked him. He looked over at her. “They’ll be watching the roads now. Tomorrow I want you to take Sylphiel and whoever’s left and go north to the boats.” “She won’t go,” Naga told him. “Then you knock her over the head and drag her,” he ordered her seriously. He lowered his voice as he noticed a few of the elves staring at him. “I mean it,” he whispered to her. “I don’t want her on this island when the sun rises tomorrow.” Naga nodded. “My side-kick will do it,” she assured him. “I’ll have him take charge of the walking wounded. I’ll stay behind.” Zelgadis blinked. “There’s no money in it, you know,” he reminded her. “Like Hell there is!” she cried in response. “I have an investment here! That’s *my* orihalcon they want! Besides, you’ll need another swordswoman.” He considered it. The idea of her *ordering* Xellos to do something had the potential for a bit of amusement. And if anyone could get Sylphiel north safely, it was Xellos. Zelgadis nodded. “Let’s round up any elf that can still fight. We have a hard morning ahead of us.”
“I won’t go.” Zelgadis growled. “Sylphiel, there’s nothing more you can do. The wounded are going to need you with them on the road, not here.” “I don’t care,” she said quietly. She was exhausted. It had been too long since she had used any of her healing skills that didn’t involve magic. She had forgotten how hard it could be. Xellos seemed to notice the exchange and walked up behind Sylphiel unnoticed. “There isn’t time to explain it to you,” Zelgadis told her. “The sun will be up soon, and then they’re going to attack. We can’t hold them back, but we can slow them down. We’ll be right behind you.” “Zelgadis dear,” Sylphiel began, “I told you, I’m not going to leave your side. I’m not going to lose anyone this time. And if I do, I want to be with you.” Her expression turned cross. “And there isn’t a single thing you can do about it!” Xellos hefted his staff and struck the shrine maiden in the back of the head with it. Sylphiel collapsed at Zelgadis’ feet, unconscious. The former chimera snarled and took a step toward the priest, who held a hand up. “Now, now…You wanted her out of the fighting,” the Mazoku reminded him. “She’ll have a headache when she wakes up, but not much more.” Zelgadis paused, then finally nodded. “Get going,” he told Xellos. He turned to go. “Mister Zelgadis.” The man turned back. Xellos then did something that surprised him. He bowed to Zelgadis. “What was that for?” Xellos smiled. “If nothing else, Mazoku respect strength….Not stupidity, really, but strength.” Zelgadis said nothing. “You can’t win,” the priest told him, his voice deadly serious. “No,” Zelgadis whispered. “But I can help them get even.” He turned and walked out the door. Xellos sighed. “Yareyare…”
Kreetsk saw the sun beginning to rise, the fog covering the village would soon burn away. The day was theirs. Without a sound, he took to the air. Avians, hidden in the foliage all around him, followed suit. It only took one or two flaps of their wings to get them far enough. This time, they’d try the shock method. They landed in the center of the village, right next to a giant wheel, their weapons out and ready. Nothing. “I see nothing,” one of the Betas whispered. Other Avians were landing at other parts of the village. Kreetsk heard a creaking sound and turned to see the giant wheel turning. Looking farther, he could see a series of ropes and pullies connected to it come to life. “TO SKY!” he shouted. Before any of them could react, a slack rope buried just beneath the dirt snapped taut, whipping out at them and taking the birds off their feet. As if it were a signal, elves appeared on the roofs of houses with bows and began shooting. They only managed to get off one or two shots before more Betas landed on those roofs and struck them down, but it bought enough time for more elves, these armed with axes, picks, and knives to emerge from their hiding places and attack. Kreetsk saw three howling elves leap on the back of one of his Betas and begin hacking at the bird. More elves appeared. One of them holding a short sword decided to make the Alpha his target. Kreetsk parried a hasty thrust with his rapier before running the blade through the man’s neck. Another two approached and were easily killed. Finally, the real battle had begun. Even so…shouldn’t there be more elves here? Some of his Betas had taken to the sky and were diving on the elf “warriors.” Kreetsk saw one man dressed in white dive forward, just barely avoiding a diving Avian’s slash. He rolled to his feet and slashed, taking another bird’s wing off. Kreetsk blinked his yellow eyes. He knew that man… Another face from another battle leapt to mind; a face of stone. Kreetsk growled and started forward. “The Red Priest’s general,” he hissed to himself, raising his rapier. He began stalking forward, right towards Zelgadis.
Sylphiel came to to the sound of the ocean. “Wha…What’s going on? Zelgadis dear?!” She shot to her feet and moaned as the pounding in her head punished her for it. She looked around and found herself at the same pier as before. Elves were cramming themselves into fishing boats. What had happened? She found Xellos nearby, standing next to Adara. She rushed up to them. “What’s going on!?” she cried at them. “Where’s Zelgadis dear?!” Xellos said nothing, a sure sign that something was wrong. “WHERE IS HE?!” “He hasn’t come yet,” Adara said softly. She was busy searching the ocean with a short telescope. “I’m going back,” Sylphiel stated firmly. She started down the pier and for shore. Before she could make it ten steps, Adara cried out. “I see something! A ship!” “Oh goody!” Xellos said. “More bad news…” “It’s really weird,” Adara commented. “It looks like a little, red dwarf, giving me the finger…” Sylphiel rushed forward and grabbed the telescope from the elf. She looked through it and saw the ship Adara was talking about. It looked like a clipper. There was a picture on the sail… Lina Inverse, grinning and giving the victory sign. “It’s from Inverse!” Sylphiel cried. “They must have sent a ship after us!” Alongside that clipper were two other Inverse ships. “That’s a good thing, right?” Adara asked. “It means we’re saved,” Sylphiel told her. “We’ll have no problem getting these people off now.” She handed the telescope back to Adara and ran down the pier. “Hey! Where are you going!?” Adara cried after her. “I have to find Zelgadis dear!” the human shouted back over her shoulder. Adara growled. “Oh no you don’t! This time you’re getting a chaperone!” She tossed the telescope to Xellos and ran after her.
Zelgadis turned just in time for something to strike him in the stomach. He doubled over and gasped before having that same something grab him by the neck and lift him off the ground. Zelgadis looked up and saw a yellow, Avian eye narrow at him. “Nice to see you again, chimera,” Kreetsk hissed at him. Zelgadis felt his blood run cold, but didn’t let on the fear he felt. “Nice to see you again too, Kreetsk,” he gasped out. The Avian responded by ramming his knee into the human’s stomach and throwing him by the neck through the wall of a nearby house. Somehow, Zelgadis had made it without breaking any bones. He groaned and leaned on his sword, using it as a crutch to get to his feet. He looked through the hole in the wall and saw Kreetsk walking towards him, holding his rapier casually in his right hand. Zelgadis weakly raised his sword and braced himself. To say that Kreetsk was an intimidating opponent was an understatement. Zelgadis had been wary of facing him last time they had met while he still worked for Rezo, and then he had all the strength, magic, and speed necessary to beat him thanks to his chimera body. Now, things were a little different… “WHITE SERPENT STRIKE!” He heard to the right and saw Naga dive at the bird. Kreetsk just folded his wing forward and used it to bat the sorceress away. Naga screamed and went flying. So much for reinforcements… Kreetsk stepped into the house and eyed his prey. Zelgadis didn’t wait. He lunged forward and slashed at the Avian. Kreetsk swung his rapier and actually knocked the sword out of Zelgadis’ hands! It flew out and embedded itself in another wall. The Alpha followed up by backhanding the human with his left fist, sending Zelgadis flying into the back wall. He slid to the floor, blood trickling down his nose. Zelgadis assessed his options. None. He grimaced and tried to rise, but ended up falling down again. Kreetsk looked down at him. The human knew that if he were physically capable of it, the Avian would be grinning from ear to ear. (If I had my magic, I’d wipe that beak right off his…) He paused. An idea came to him. He closed his eyes and pointed his hands at the bird. “Source of all souls which dwell in eternal and infinite…” Kreetsk stopped, his eyes narrowing. “Everlasting flame of blue…” (Time to see how well briefed he is,) he thought as he chanted. The Avian stood there, waiting. “Let the power hidden in my soul be called forth from the infinite…RA TILT!” Nothing. Kreetsk sighed. “Do you take me for a complete idiot?” he asked the human. Without waiting for an answer, he lashed out with his taloned foot and kicked Zelgadis in the stomach. Zelgadis gasped in pain again. (So much for a bluff…) he thought. He gasped again from another kick. Suddenly, there was a crash. Zelgadis looked up and saw a broken piece of board hit the ground next to him. Kreetsk looked behind him. Something had tickled the back of his head. Sylphiel stood there, a broken piece of wood in her hands. She looked at the shattered board, then up at the irritated Kreetsk. “Uh…oh…” she whimpered. The Avian almost casually backhanded the woman. Sylphiel went flying out of the house through the hole Zelgadis had originally made. “SYLPHIEL!” The shrine maiden hit the ground not far away and rolled to a stop, severely dazed. Kreetsk started out of the hole in the wall after her. Zelgadis snarled and pulled his knife from its sheathe on his boot. He lunged at the bird, but Kreetsk heard him and whirled around, snatching the man’s wrist and lifting Zelgadis into the air. He squeezed. Zelgadis heard the bones in his wrist cracking, but grit his teeth and refused to make a sound. The Alpha leaned forward until his beak as grazing the human’s cheek. “Baaaaad chimera,” he hissed, then quickly head butted him before whirling around and throwing Zelgadis to the ground next to Sylphiel. “Chimera, when I’m done killing you….probably sometime next week…” Kreetsk noted casually. “I’m going to pull your spine from your body and put it up on display in my home nest…” Zelgadis tensed and prepared himself for one last suicide attack. Before he could act, however, there was a high-pitched whistle from behind the bird. Kreetsk tensed suddenly and looked down at his chest. A shiny, metal arrowhead was peeking out at them through his gold-brown plumage. Kreetsk was amazed. He turned and saw a blonde elf woman aiming her bow at him. Another whistle, and another arrow was buried in his chest. He turned to look at Zelgadis. “Not like this?” he seemed to say. Another whistle, and another arrow poked out of his body. The Alpha fell to the ground and lay still. Adara lowered her bow and took stock of the situation. “It sounded like a duck,” she said with a smile.
Naga pushed out with all her might, and the door that had landed on her fell to one side. She stood up and dusted herself off. That overgrown chicken thing had launched her pretty far, causing her to land in a nearby outhouse… But Naga wasn’t bitter…oh no… She drew her rapier. “EXTRA CRISPY IT IS!!!” she screamed. She saw Adara trying to help Zelgadis and Sylphiel along and ran up to them. “You guys okay?” she asked. “Help me, Miss Naga,” Adara begged. “We have to get them both to the ships.” Naga looked around at the village. Parts of it were on fire, and the Avians were regrouping for another charge. Zarak Tor was, as they had expected, lost. “Okay, give me one,” she ordered, pulling Sylphiel’s arm around her and supporting the shrine maiden. “Sylphiel?” Zelgadis murmured, still in a daze. “Try not to speak, darling Zelgadis,” Adara whispered to him. Zelgadis tried to focus his eyes, but found it very difficult. What had happened to him? He felt like he was hit by one of Lina’s DragonSlaves… He looked up and saw the burning village around him. “Sylphiel?” he asked again. “She’s safe,” Adara told him after a long pause. “We mustn’t remain here.” As they hobbled away, Zelgadis looked to his left and saw a gravemarker. The marker they had given the elf he killed during his trial, the one passing himself off as Elmo the Destroyer. (“They’ll kill us all….”) The assassin’s words came back to him, taunting him. Zelgadis tried to put it aside and concentrated on walking.
He started to come to again to find Naga kneeling over him. She was waving her hand over his head as she chanted a healing spell. “Mister Zelgadis? Are you all right?” a familiar voice asked him. He blinked his eyes, trying to get them to adjust to the darkness around them. Where did he know that voice from? Inverse. It was the mayor of Inverse… He felt the earth move under him, yet it didn’t feel like an aftershock. “How is he?” he heard Sylphiel ask from nearby. He heard the sound of footsteps on wood. A second later, an image of beauty was looking down at him. “Sylphiel?” he asked. He was getting stronger. He could feel it. He felt…powerful… She reached out and caressed his face, her own expression one of worry. “I was so frightened when you passed out,” she told him, quietly. It was then that he noticed her scar was gone. He reached up and touched her face… With a stone hand. He stared at it and realized where he was. He was on a ship. He was off the island… Sylphiel saw his change in expression and reached out, caressing his cheek with her fingers. “We’ll go back,” she promised him. “As soon as we figure out a way.” Zelgadis clenched his mouth shut and rose to his feet. He looked back at the island. Night had fallen, but the smoke and fire of the burning village could still be seen. He saw Adara nearby, holding onto Atlin as they watched the smoke rise. “My Gods,” Adara whispered. “It’s as if the whole world’s gone insane.” The chimera took a breath and turned, looking upward. He saw the image of Lina on the sail. He was on an Inversian ship, but where had it come from? Other ships, Inversian and elven floated nearby. Xellos suddenly appeared next to him. “This is the work of creatures of light,” he said quietly. “Shut up, Xellos,” Zelgadis muttered, turning away. “What do we do now?” the Mayor of Inverse asked. “I mean, when the crew of your ship washed up on shore, we came as quickly as we could. We weren’t counting on a mass exodus.” Naga leaned against the mast and observed as the conversation continued. She heard a squawk and turned to see a large albatross land on the guard rail nearby. “We can’t leave,” Zelgadis told him seriously. “Agreed!” Adara cried, wiping a tear from her eye. “We won’t leave our home to be used as some weapon for the Great Dragon!” “I’m sorry, Miss Adara, I really am,” the Mayor told her. “But we’re a rescue party, not an army.” “And an army is what it would take to punt those birds off the island,” Naga noted. Nearby, the albatross squawked again. “You shut up!” she ordered it. “Make me.” Naga blinked in surprise. The albatross hopped down to the deck and began to reform itself, changing its shape. Naga jumped back. Xellos pushed to the front of the crowd and held his staff up in a defensive posture. The albatross began to take a human shape. The feathers retreated beneath its skin to be replaced by the white cloth of a leisure suit. In less than a minute, a man stood before them. He wore all white from his shoes to his trousers to his shirt and jacket to the fedora on his head. A patch covered his left eye, and a bushy moustache covered his lip. He held a cane with a handle in the shape of a dragon with its wings outstretched. He knocked this staff on the wooden deck twice. “I was wondering if you had the clout to show up yourself,” Xellos remarked. “You’ll wish I hadn’t, Mazoku,” the man remarked. He turned and walked to the railing. “Magnificent, isn’t it?” he asked, gesturing to the island. “Who would’ve thought those flakes could create something so threatening?” “You’re him, aren’t you?” Adara asked, her voice quaking. “You’re the Great Dragon…” The Wind Dragon King smiled. “Ah. One of the aforementioned flakes…” He turned and looked at the flotilla of ships, laden with elf refugees. “Lots of flakes…” “If you’ve come to gloat, don’t bother,” Zelgadis told him. “You have the island. You’ve got what you want. Take it and get the hell off this ship.” The Wind Dragon King smiled and knocked his cane against the deck again. “By Cepheid, I like you! You get directly to the heart of matters, don’t you? Let me be direct with you, then. You see those ships?” he asked, pointing at the flotilla. “You know what’s in them?” “Elves,” Sylphiel told him. “Soldiers,” the Wind Dragon spat. “*THAT* is the true weapon of Zarak Tor! Trees?! They were only part of it. The real threat is what those trees create.” “Soldiers *you* can’t kill,” Xellos told him directly. “Very good, Mazoku. And may I thank you? You’ve made my job so much easier by putting them all in rickety boats. Saves me the trouble of having the Avians slaughter them by hand.” He reached out and pointed at one of the elven ships. A flash of lightning leapt from his finger and struck the ship, which promptly exploded. “STOP IT!” Adara screamed. The moustached man ignored her. He pointed at another ship and fired again. Xellos disappeared and reappeared directly in front of the ship, absorbing the blast with his staff. He vanished again and reappeared where he had started. “You dropped this,” he commented and pointed his staff at the dragon. A ball of light flew from the staff and struck the Shinzoku dead on, enveloping the Wind Dragon King in smoke. The smoke cleared. The man was unscathed. “Still the Eternal Pain in the Ass, I see,” he commented. He raised a hand. A bolt of energy flew from his palm and struck Xellos square in the chest, knocking him back against the mast. The Mazoku blinked and shook his head. A patch of burned cloth marred his chest. He looked up and found the Shinzoku pointing a hand down at him. Xellos just shook his head. “A dragon does this…and *I’m* the monster…” “It’s all for a good cause, Xellos,” the man pointed out. His finger began to glow. He cried out suddenly as a bolt of blue struck his hand from the side, freezing his entire arm. The Wind God, held his arm painfully and growled, looking for the source of the ice spell. Naga, another Freeze Arrow nocked and ready, frowned at him. “No one pushes around Naga the White Serpent’s priest side-kick *except* Naga the White Serpent.” The Wind Dragon King clenched his fist, and the ice around his arm disintegrated. “This doesn’t concern you, human.” “Oh, I think it does,” Naga told him. Behind her, Zelgadis and Sylphiel braced themselves and prepared spells of their own. “Good side-kicks are so hard to find.” The Wind Dragon smiled. “So they are…” He raised his cane, and suddenly a wall of air smashed into the three mortals, blowing them back against the main cabin. He turned as Xellos suddenly vanished and appeared behind him. The Shinzoku vanished just as a beam of fire would have swept over him. Xellos growled and braced for a counterattack. He wasn’t disappointed. The dragon appeared behind him and lashed out with his cane. The head struck Xellos’ chest. There was a flash of light, and the Mazoku was thrown back again. Adara, Atlin, and the Mayor were huddled in the corner, two of them watching magic being used in battle for the first time and not liking it one bit. The Mazoku landed near Sylphiel, who quickly bent over him to check his injuries. Rather than finish the trickster priest off, the Wind Dragon was forced to deal with Zelgadis and Naga. The chimera threw himself to the left and rolled to his feet. “RA TILT!” A bright blue light engulfed the Wind Dragon King, but did little more than that. The man in the hat lashed out with an attack of his own, tossing Zelgadis back. “VU VRAIMER AQUA SPECIAL!!!” The water near the ship coalesced into a human shape eighty feet tall and rose above the clipper, roaring. Sylphiel watched as Naga’s water golem lashed out with its fists at the dragon, only to be deflected by a shield of wind. “It…would appear…that I have overextended myself,” she heard Xellos comment. “Are you all right?” she asked the priest. “A little…weakened…” Xellos told her honestly. “After all…He’s a full Shinzoku. He is to me what I am to Lina.” “Zelgadis dear and Miss Naga will stop him,” Sylphiel assured him. “I’m afraid that might not be possible. And if it isn’t…” He looked up at Sylphiel. “My dear Sylphiel, do you trust me?” Sylphiel bit her lip and nodded slowly. “No matter what happens he can’t have those trees,” Xellos told her. “He would say the same about you,” she pointed out. Xellos smiled weakly. “True,” he conceded. “But I would be just as satisfied if I didn’t have to deal with them anymore.” Sylphiel took a breath. “What do you want me to do?” The trickster priest, the Mazoku, looked into her eyes. “You have to destroy them.” She didn’t answer. “It’s the only way.” “But…Zelgadis dear…” “If you don’t destroy that island, your Zelgadis dear is going to end up in the next world along with the elves.” Sylphiel looked up and saw the fighting still going on. The Wind Dragon King fired off a blast of air, like that in a Bomb De Wind, and the water golem evaporated before their eyes. (“You led them here!”) she heard the elf’s voice in her mind. She stood up and turned towards the island. She set her jaw and raised her hands to the air. “Darkness beyond twilight…”
“FEHLZAREID!” Zelgadis watched the blue beam of light spiraled out and slammed into the Shinzoku, who only grunted and turned his attention to the chimera. He reached out and fired off a blast of lightning. Zelgadis jumped to the right, narrowly avoiding the attack. “DEMONA CRYSTAL!” The Wind God suddenly found himself trapped up to his knees in ice crystals. He snorted derisively and vanished. “Huh?!” Naga gasped in disbelief. She felt something move behind her and turned just in time to see the god’s cane whip out and strike her in the chest! The blow knocked the sorceress off her feet, but her ample breasts caused the cane to bounce back with a *boing!* and strike the Wind Dragon King right in the face! *THWACK!* Zelgadis sweatdropped and sighed. “Of course…” Naga looked up and growled. “Bastard…VICE FREEZE!” The ice spell flew into the air and into the Wind Dragon’s face. He covered his face with his hands and stumbled back. “STONY!” Naga yelled as she rolled away. “GOZ V’ROW!” Zelgadis screamed, slamming his hand to the ship’s wooden deck. A pitch-black shadow ran up the deck, destroying planks and timbers, and struck the dazed Shinzoku. The Wind Dragon King cried out and fell to one knee. Naga and Zelgadis braced themselves for another attack. That’s when they noticed it. “By the power you and I possess!” Sylphiel chanted. “Sylphiel!” Zelgadis cried. “DRAGON SLAAAAVE!!” A ball of flame erupted from the shrine maiden’s hands, pausing before her to gather strength before flinging itself towards the mountain. The hell fire flew true, right on course… And suddenly vanished just before it would have crossed the shore onto the island. Sylphiel gasped in shock. Behind her, someone laughed. She turned and found the Wind Dragon King smiling at her. “Now you know how I felt.” He took a step towards her. “Those damn trees can be so annoying, can’t they?” Xellos interposed himself between the two and raised his staff. “Back for more?” the Wind Dragon asked. He raised his hand and formed a ball of lightning. Xellos braced himself and smiled. “Mister Xellos!” Sylphiel cried. The Wind Dragon King fired! At the last second, Xellos reached to his right and grabbed Adara by the scruff of the neck, pulling her in front of him, using her as a shield. The elf screamed in terror as the ball of lightning struck her dead on. “ADARA!” Atlin screamed. The light dissipated a moment later. Adara stood there, her eyes wide and panting in panic, but unharmed. The Wind Dragon King blinked his one eye. Xellos smiled and pointed his cane over Adara’s shoulder. He fired off a dark energy blast and watched as it struck the Shinzoku in the midsection, knocking him back. The wind god rose to his feet and grit his teeth, his eyes now glowing in rage. “FREEZE ARROW!” “BRAM BLAZER!” Zelgadis cried, following up on Naga’s ice attack. The Wind Dragon King knocked both attacks aside and howled at the sky. A blast of wind struck the two magic users, knocking them to opposite sides of the ship. “Zelgadis dear!” Sylphiel ran to the chimera and knelt over him. She grit her teeth and turned to the god. “FLARE ARROW!” Her target snorted as the flame dart bounced harmlessly off a shield of wind. Before he could react, however, Xellos was on him again, blasting at the god while ducking behind the screaming Adara for cover, trusting her body to absorb the magic blasts. Sylphiel turned her attention back to Zelgadis, kneeling over him and preparing a healing spell. As she worked, tears ran down her face. “It’s my fault, Zelgadis dear. It’s my fault,” she kept whispering. “He was right. I led them here. I led them here, and now they’re all going to die because of me. Zelgadis dear, I can’t stop it. I can’t stop it…” “Sylphiel,” Zelgadis whispered. She looked down at him, amazed that he was still conscious. The chimera looked up at her, his face a mask. He seemed to pause, as if he was about to say or do something he wished he didn’t have to. Finally, he took a breath and spoke. “Kick the table.” “Wha…” Before she could get her question out, she heard a cry of pain behind her. She turned and found Xellos lying on his back, his shoulder impaled and pinned to the ground by the Wind Dragon’s cane. (“Kick the table…”) Sylphiel rose to her feet and turned to the island. “Darkness beyond twilight…” The Wind Dragon King heard her and turned. “And what are you doing over there?” “Crimson beyond the blood that flows…” The Shinzoku laughed. “Are you still trying?” “Buried in the flow of time…” He took a step towards her, but Xellos lashed out with his hand and snagged his ankle, channeling a blast of Mazoku energy through it. The Wind Dragon cried out and turned back to Xellos, channeling a bolt of lightning through his cane and into the wounded Mazoku. “In thy great name, I pledge myself to darkness…” Naga finally came around, saw what was happening, and grabbed Adara, Atlin, and the mayor. “Hold onto something!” she cried. “Let all the fools who stand in our way be destroyed…” Sylphiel chanted quickly, aware that time was running out. “By the power you and I possess!” She paused for a second and looked down. Zelgadis was looking up at her sadly. He nodded once. “I’m sorry,” she whispered to him. He said nothing. She turned back to the island. “It won’t work!” the Wind Dragon laughed. At the last second, Sylphiel pointed her hands down at the water! “DRAGON SLAAAAAVE!!” Another ball of hellfire coalesced and shot downward at an angle towards the island. It hit the water and disappeared beneath the surface. Horror crossed the wind god’s face. “What have you done?” he breathed. “Offhand, I’d say she fucked you,” Naga smirked. Sylphiel wasn’t listening. She was looking down at the water. There was a bright flash beneath the inky depths. Suddenly, she was pulled down by a stone hand just as a plume of water and steam shot into the sky. Looking up, she saw a wall of white, boiling water miles long shooting into the air. Muffled explosions could be heard. The ship lurched to one side. Sylphiel cried out in fright and reached out. Someone grabbed her hand. She opened her terror-filled eyes and found that it was Zelgadis, holding onto the rail with one hand and her with the other. It started to rain, hot water rushing over all of them. “Sweet Lina’s tit! Look at it!” she heard the Mayor cry out. Sylphiel looked towards the island… And saw it *sinking* slowly beneath the surface of the water, the shelf upon which the island sat disintegrated by her Dragon Slave. In her life she had never seen anything like it. The entire island was disappearing. She saw Avians flying into the sky, escaping the catastrophe. “TIDAL WAVE!” The ship lurched again as the Inversian sailors did their best to bring the ship over the wave before it could crash on top of them. Sylphiel screamed and clutched at Zelgadis, who held her as tightly as he could without hurting her. The nightmare seemed to go on for hours, but in reality only minutes passed. She continued to cling to the chimera even after the rain finally stopped and ship became calm again. Her eyes were clenched shut. She just wanted it to be over. Finally, she opened her eyes again. The ship was a mess. Flotsam and jetsam lay about, waterlogged planks, sails, and rope. She found Naga, Adara, Atlin, and the Mayor huddled in a corner, having tied themselves to one of the rails. Zelgadis was next to her, rising to his feet. She did the same and looked out at the ocean. Zarak Tor was gone. “Do you have any idea what you’ve done?” She turned and found the Wind Dragon King standing in the middle of the deck, his fists clenched. Xellos, standing nonchalantly not too far away, smiled. “I think Naga put it best earlier.” The Shinzoku glared hatefully at him. “I can still make you pay for it,” he growled, raising his hand. “I wouldn’t do that, if I were you,” Xellos told him, waving a finger at him. “I expected better from a vassal of Metallium than idle threats,” the Wind Dragon spat. Xellos grinned. “Than I shan’t disappoint you.” He raised his staff in the air. The red gem at the head of the rod blinked three times. Sylphiel turned as she felt something appear behind her. A man in red armor and holding a sword made of flame was floating a few meters away from the ship. She turned and saw another creature, another Mazoku, appear on the other side of the ship, this one in black robes and a hood. A third appeared above, hovering near the crow’s nest. The Wind Dragon eyed them warily. “It doesn’t matter,” he bit out. “You still won’t survive my next attack.” “And you won’t survive ours,” Xellos pointed out. “Is this how you want the ballad of the great Wind Dragon King to end?” he asked. “With yet *another* failure?” By this time, Zelgadis and Naga were readying attacks of their own. The Shinzoku glared hatefully at them. “This won’t be forgotten,” he growled. “Likewise,” Xellos bit back. The Wind God threw an acidic look to Sylphiel and turned. Taking a step, he suddenly vanished, replaced by a flock of seagulls, which cawed angrily and flew off in different directions. Xellos lowered his staff and took a breath. He turned to the nearest Mazoku and bowed. “Please pass my thanks along to Zelas sama.” The Mazoku in the red armor bowed, turned, and disappeared. The other two followed him. Adara looked out at the water where Zarak Tor had once been. “Our home,” she whispered. “What will we do now?” Her father hugged her, trying to comfort her. “Side-kick,” Naga began, walking up to Xellos. “If you had back-up waiting in the wings…Why did you wait so long to call them in?” “Wait?” Xellos asked, his finger going to his lip. “I called them in at the exact moment I felt the situation was untenable.” “WE WERE GETTING OUR ASSES KICKED!” Naga screamed at him. “Hmmm…” he thought. “Perhaps you’re right. After all, if I had been more prudent and called them in earlier, the Wind Dragon King might have been beaten. Then my fellow Mazoku and I could have just walked in and taken the trees for ourselves.” “You planned it this way,” Sylphiel breathed in amazement. Xellos smiled. “That….is a secret.” “Won’t your boss be mad?” Naga asked. “Oh, I’m sure she’ll be somewhat irked by it all, but when you add it all up, I prevented the Shinzoku from getting a powerful weapon. I’ll just be sure to stay out of her way for a bit, and everything will be fine.” Sylphiel didn’t hear this last part. She turned her head as she heard the sound of a door closing. The door to the aft cabin was clicking shut. (Zelgadis dear…)
Zelgadis rested his hand on the small table in the cabin and took another pain-filled breath. He’d be in pain for awhile, but it would pass eventually. It was one of the advantages of being a chimera. Accelerated physical healing. He heard the door open and close quietly behind him. “Go away, Sylphiel,” he whispered. “Zelgadis dear…please… I know…you must hate me for what I did…” He still wouldn’t turn to her. “You only did what I couldn’t,” he spoke quietly. “And if I could have, I would have done the exact same thing.” “I want to help,” she told him. He chuckled lightly. “You can’t help me,” he told her. “No one can help me.” “Zelgadis dear…” “I’ll be okay, Sylphiel.” He felt her place a hand on his shoulder. He turned his head and looked up at her emerald eyes. “Remember who you’re talking to?” she asked. “Don’t do this to yourself. Don’t bottle it up. That won’t make it hurt less, just torture you more.” He didn’t say anything, just stared. “Please,” she whispered. “I’m here, Zelgadis dear. I’m here.” Unbidden, his breath caught in his throat, a lump forming there. He fought to drive it back down as he had done so many times before, but this time it was simply too much for him to bear. Moisture formed in his eyes, and he was forced to take another breath; a breath that came in the form of a sob. Sylphiel reached out and took his head in her hands, pulling him to her as he started to cry in earnest. “Shhhh,” she cooed, holding him to her breast and rocking him like she would a baby. “It’s okay,” she whispered. His arms, shaking from distress, anger, frustration, and despair, wrapped around the shrine maiden, holding onto her like a lifeline as he wept. Sylphiel continued to hold him and rock him gently, eyes closed as she wept for him. “Everything will be all right,” she whispered to him. “I promise.” She shut her eyes and held him closely. She had been raised from birth to be a white priestess, a healer, trained to ease the suffering of others, and now she seemed incapable of easing the suffering of the one closest to her. She would have done anything to end his suffering, to take that pain and make it her own. She could only hope that sharing that pain might help a little. For now, it was all she could do.
The sounds of hammers and saws in action made sleep almost impossible, even as early as it was in the new village dubbed, “New Zarak.” Sylphiel stepped out of the tent she had spent the last few hours in and took in the scene around her. It had been good of the Mayor of Inverse to offer the Zarak Tor refugees help and supplies in building their new village on the shore of the Siria Sea, near the mouth of the river they had taken so long ago to get there. She yawned, and her stomach rumbled, reminding her of the last time she had eaten. The shrine maiden started for the makeshift kitchen tent, intent on helping out with breakfast. Before she could make it ten steps, however, Adara had run up to her, excitement all over her face. “Miss Sylphiel! Come quickly! Achi’s awake!” The priestess didn’t waste any time. She followed the elf to another, larger tent, where they had kept the wounded. She threw the tent flap open and found the little Shinzoku sitting up on a cot, a puzzled expression on her face. “How do you feel?” Sylphiel asked her, approaching warily. She wasn’t quite sure how the Shinzoku would react. Achi blinked at her. “Hi,” she said. “Um…Okay, I guess…” “Are you hungry? Would you like something to eat?” The girl nodded. Sylphiel asked Adara to get a bowl of porridge from the kitchen tent and turned back to Achi. “We were so worried.” “Um…Can I ask a question?” the girl asked her. “Of course.” Achi looked right into Sylphiel’s eyes. “Who are you?”
“So she doesn’t remember anything?” Naga asked as they walked along the beach. “No,” Sylphiel told her with a shake of her head. “None of it. She doesn’t even remember being a Shinzoku. I don’t understand it.” Xellos chose this moment to speak. “When you and Achi fought in her mind, what you killed was not Achi, but a part of that mind. The only part that was vulnerable.” “Will she recover?” Sylpiel asked him. “Perhaps,” the Mazoku told her. “Perhaps she’ll remain as she is; a little girl with nothing more pressing to worry about than a cute, mortal boy who’s stuck her hair in a bottle of ink.” “Perhaps…that would be better,” Sylphiel commented. “So what will you all do now?” Adara asked. “I suppose…We’ll go back to Bes and meet Lina and the others,” Zelgadis replied. “Miss Naga,” Sylphiel spoke up, “Why don’t you come with us?” Naga blinked in surprise. “I’m sure Miss Lina would be thrilled to see you again! You could join us!” Naga looked down at the ground. “As what?” she whispered. “Lina’s sidekick again?” Sylphiel blinked in startlement. “No, Sylphiel. Somewhere out there is a legend waiting for Naga the Serpent to fulfill it!” She raised her fist in the air. “OOOOHOHOHOHOHOHO!!!” She turned to Xellos. “What do you say, Priest Side-Kick of Questionable Worth? We’re not bad as a team.” Xellos scratched his head. “Er…I’m not sure…” “You said yourself you wanted to lay low for awhile, Mister Xellos,” Sylphiel pointed out with a smile. Naga wrapped an arm around the priests’ shoulders. “Come on, side-kick! It’ll be fun!” Xellos sighed, then smiled. “Well…lacking anything better to do…” “That’s the spirit! OOOOOHOHOHOHOHOHOHO!!!” She started to drag Xellos off. “Now, then, the way I figure it, you should be entitled to about ten percent of any treasure we find, you being the side-kick and all…” “Does that include the orihalcon you snuck off the island?” Naga paused. “Don’t get mouthy. You’re just the side-kick…” Zelgadis smiled tightly. “About time he found someone to be annoying to *him* for a change.” “What about you, Adara?” Sylphiel asked. “I’ll stay and help build our new village,” the elf told them. “They’ll need good archers.” “The Mayor has given your people his promise of protection,” Zelgadis told her. “You should be able to live here in peace.” They continued to walk, entering the village common. “Peace,” Adara whispered. “Will we be able to know that without the safety of our island?” “The island was just a place,” Zelgadis told her. “It’s the people that make a place a home.” He nodded up at a nearby hill. Sylphiel and Adara followed his gaze. A man in a black hood, holding the reins of a horse stood there. “Isn’t that…” Sylphiel began. They watched as the man walked down to the village and up to an older, female elf. He pulled back his hood, revealing a head of blonde hair and long, pointed ears. The woman cried out in joy and hugged the elf assassin, who embraced her tightly. “Their mother,” Sylphiel noted. “Perhaps you’re right, darling Zelgadis,” Adara told him. “We still have our people. And as long as there are people, life can go on.” Zelgadis felt someone take his hand and looked down to find Sylphiel’s fingers interlaced with his own. He found himself smiling. Yes, life could go on.
“Good bye!” Achi cried happily as she waved. “Safe journey!” Adara added. “Do you think they’ll be okay?” Sylphiel asked as she boarded the ship to Inverse. On the riverbank below, the elves of Zarak Tor waved to them. “Oh, they’ll be fine!” Naga assured her. “Inverse is only a few hours away, and the Mayor promised he’d look after them.” “I’m quite sure they’ll make it, Miss Sylphiel,” Xellos told her. “Perhaps they’ll even prove to be the beginnings of a new, great Elf civilization on this continent.” “Either that or they’ll leave to rejoin the other elf nations on the other continents,” Zelgadis commented, entering the ship. Sylphiel smiled. “Yes. Whatever destiny they have, I am sure it will be one of their own choosing.” She looked out at the elves and waved. “Bye everyone!” “Bye, Oneechan!” Achi shouted. “Visit soon!” The shrine maiden smiled and turned to enter the ship. She stopped suddenly as she heard something. “CAW! CAW!” She turned her head and saw an albatross sitting on the rail, looking at her. She felt a chill run up her back. “Shoo!” she yelled. The bird took to the air with an angry caw and flew off. Sylphiel took a relieved breath and went inside. Even so, she couldn’t forget the Wind Dragon King’s last threat. Was this really over?
“So then, and I can’t believe I did this, I let the guy join the party. Sure enough, it was trouble. He must have used some sort of sleep spell or something, because we all woke up the next morning tied up and robbed!” Lina paused to take a huge draught of ale. “He even took our shoe laces!” She leaned over the table and took Zelgadis by the shoulders. “What kind of sick son of a bitch takes your *shoe laces*?” she asked, mystified. “A very disturbed individual, obviously,” Zelgadis told her. “Anyyyyyway!” Lina continued. “The next morning we caught up with him, beat the snot out of him, and got our stuff back. We finally find the dragon’s egg, and it turns out that when they say it turns whatever it touches into pure diamond, they *really* meant, ‘sets whatever it touches on fire.’” “Ouch,” Zelgadis noted. “Gourry found a new sword,” Lina said, counting off on her fingers as she recounted the events of her journey to Krenek. “It actually protects the wielder from attack spells.” “It does?” Gourry asked, looking at the sword on his belt with new respect. “For the the sixty-*seventh* time,” Lina growled. “Yes.” Zelgadis took a sip of tea. The party had come full circle, meeting up at the exact same inn in which they had first split up. It was amazing how little had actually changed. “So…” Lina began warily. “No luck, huh?” “No,” Zelgadis told her simply. “I’m sorry, Zel. I was really hoping you were right.” He shrugged. “As far as the trip is concerned, I’m glad I made it.” He said this as Sylphiel came up behind him and rested her hands on his shoulders. Lina blinked in puzzlement at the sight. Zelgadis and Sylphiel both seemed different, though for the life of her she couldn’t figure out how. “Um…” She seemed to recover a second later. “Oh, by the way! I know where we’re going next!” “Oh? Where?” Sylphiel asked. “I found out that there’s been some bitch pretending to be me out in some theme city and taking credit for the stuff I’ve been doing! Can you believe that?!” Sylphiel and Zelgadis started to sweat. “Well, when I find the sorry hag that’s b…” “Oh, Miss Lina!” Sylphiel said, trying to change the subject. “I almost forgot! One of your oldest friends asked us to give you a message!” “An old friend? A message?” Lina asked. “Yes.” Sylphiel and Zelgadis both cleared their throats. “OOOOOOHOHOHOHOHOHOHO!!!!” Lina screamed and fell out of her chair. From their right, they heard dishes crash. They looked up and found Amelia at the kitchen door, her face white as a sheet. “Mister Zelgadis! Miss Sylphiel!” she cried, rushing up to them. “Where is she?! Did she say where she was going?!” Zelgadis and Sylphiel blinked. “Well, last time we saw her, she was heading for Atlas City.” “We have to go after her!” Amelia cried, running for the door. “Maybe we can catch her!” “Amelia! Where are you going?! What’s going on?!” Lina yelled, rising to her feet. “It’s Gracia oneechan!” Amelia cried, rushing out the door. “Gracia oneechan?” Gourry asked. “My sister! My older sister!” With that, Amelia rushed out the inn door. Zelgadis pounded his fist on the table. “I knew it! *That’s* who she reminded me of!” Lina ran after the princess. “Amelia! Wait up!” “Hey, Lina! Wait for me!” Gourry cried, following after the sorceress. Zelgadis and Sylphiel watched them go and turned to one another. “What do you think?” he asked her. Sylphiel giggled. “I think it sounds like a wonderful adventure!” The chimera smiled and took her hand. “Then come on!” Sylphiel squeaked as Zelgadis pulled her out the door and after the trio. The shrine maiden laughed as she ran, holding Zelgadis’ hand tighter. The moon, bright and full shined down on them as they started out on the next adventure, the next of many for them. “Hey, everyone! Wait for us!”
The End…
Author’s Notes: If you would like to flame me, my address is doscher009@hotmail.com Thank you for taking the time to read this fic. I do hope you enjoyed it. Davner
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