Slayers Fan Fiction ❯ Slayers: Alive ❯ Chapter 50

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Slayers: Alive - Episode 148: Fight! A Test Of Determination

Out in the hallway at the stadium, Xellos grinned at Lina in his usual trickster fashion. "Be right back," he faded away into the astral side.

Lina looked up and down the hallways to make sure no one had seen Xellos disappear. She tapped her foot impatiently as she waited for him to return. A few minutes later, the monster general priest phased back into existence. "It took you long enough!" Lina impatiently exclaimed.

Xellos was holding a very large sandwich. "Beast Master perfected her magical oven which can de-poison dragon meat very quickly. The poison is harmless to monsters, but she likes to go all the way to make her cuisine perfect."

Lina snatched away the sandwich and took a big bite. She immediately spat it out into a potted plant that was decorating the deserted hallway. "I thought you said Zelas made this cuisine!" She reproached angrily.

"She did," Xellos confirmed. "Zelas cooked the dragon meat; I only put it in the sandwich."

Lina parted the two halves of the bred to take a look inside. There were some multicolored condiments all over the inside of the sandwich. "It takes a really horrible cook to mess up making a sandwich," she grimaced in a depressing tone, over the waste of such great cuisine.

"Ingrate," Xellos grumbled.

"I dare you to eat this," Lina returned the sandwich to Xellos with a challenging glare.

Confidently, Xellos took a bite and soon found himself spitting into the same unfortunate potted plant Lina had attacked before with a very similar disgusted expression. "I blame the dragon." He tossed the rest of the sandwich into the potted plant.

Lina pouted, "I blame you!"

Any further arguments were interrupted, by a member of the tournament staff exiting the room where the participants were gathered and spotting the pair in the hallway. A very embarrassed Milgazia was with him, his eyes glued to the floor. The employee was also being accompanied by an energetic Amelia. "There you are Miss Xexe and Miss Lina. You and your respective partners Miss Mimi and Miss Amelia will be participating on the next round. Please follow me to the test room before going out to the court." Xellos and Milgazia especially didn't like the sound of that, but they went along anyway.

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Lina, Amelia, Xellos and Milgazia, aka Xexe and Mimi, were led to another room which held a pedestal in its center, with a pillow upon which there was a clear glass orb. The employee picked up the orb and it glowed blue. "This orb glows blue for males and pink for females. Please excuse the inconvenience ladies, but we've had some people trying to bend the rules for the sake of taking a shot at the price." He passed the glowing orb to Amelia and it turned pink when she held it. Eyeing Lina suspiciously, the employee mused, 'there's no way that flat chested tomboy is a girl...' Although, to his surprise the orb glowed pink when Lina held it.

Lina held out the orb to Xellos, who hesitated to take it. "What's that?" He spoke in a girly voice, pointing at something down the hallway outside of the small test room, although there was in reality nothing there.

"What is it, miss?" The employee stepped out to the hallway and found nothing. Before he could get back inside the test room, the door was slammed closed and locked. He attempted to open it, but it wouldn't. "Open the door!"

"Oh my, the breeze must have pushed the door closed and it's stuck!" Xellos exclaimed in his acted voice. He picked up the glass orb, which glowed blue. Whispering so that only his fellow brass rackets participants could hear him, he concluded. "There's no way around this."

"But aren't you a cone?" Lina blurted out. "What's the difference between a boy cone and a girl cone anyway?"

Shaking his finger in front of his face, Xellos replied, "that is a secret." Lina huffed in response.

"I think what he means is that a monster's persona, rather than their astral form, is what determines gender," Milgazia pointed out. It was obvious that they already knew who he was, so pretending he didn't know them was useless.

"Which means that no matter how you disguise yourself, you can't trick that thing any more than a non-monster could," Lina concluded.

"But why are you doing this in the first place?" Amelia inquired with curiosity.

"That's what I'd like to know too," Lina added with a suspicious look.

"That is a secret!" Xellos annoyingly replied. He quickly tossed the blue glowing orb to Lina as he heard the door open and it became pink when she caught it.

The same employee from before, now looking rather upset, entered the test room. "I had to use the spare key. Funny how the breeze locked the door in addition to closing it." He frowned suspiciously, eyeing Milgazia critically. 'This one is cute, but kind of tall for a girl and what's with those eyebrows?' The employee mused; he didn't seem to have any suspicions about Xellos yet.

"Oh no, I don't feel good," Xellos exclaimed dramatically, in an exaggerated pained female voice.

Xellos pretended to faint into Milgazia's arms, who was not very happy to catch him. Trying to mask his voice as well as he could, which wasn't all that great, Milgazia excused himself and Xellos. "I should take Xexe to see the nurse, please excuse us."

"You'll be forfeiting the match if you leave now!" The employee called after them as Milgazia ran away carrying Xellos down the hallway.

"It looks like we win by default!" Lina cheered, though her victory was interrupted by an earthquake, signaling that the Stillness was about to go on the attack again.

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Milgazia dropped Xellos in the hallway after they turned a corner away from the room from where they fled. Fed up with all of this, the golden dragon elder turned to walk away in a huff. Before Xellos could comment on his daring actions, he saw Milgazia stop cold, but not because of the earthquake. From the opposite side of the hallway, Filia and Zelas were coming over. Filia just stared at Milgazia and Zelas noticed him at last.

The monster lord smiled, the expression growing as she tried to contain laughter. A soft melodious giggle fought to come out until she couldn't resist it anymore. The giggle evolved into an all out elegant laugh. Around that time, Lina and Amelia curiously made their way over. Zelas' laughter increased until it became a loud and imposing mix between laughter, roar and howl. Several minutes passed as all those present held their hands over their ears in pain. Finally, Zelas took a deep breath and quieted.

Zelgadis and Gourry, who were supposed to be in the audience, rushed over to see what was going on. "What happened?" The chimera urged in alarm. "There was an earthquake, we heard a roaring howl and everyone in the audience is in a panic! Was it part of the Stillness' atta-" Zelgadis paused, leaving his question unfinished. "Milgazia?"

"That awful sound was Zelas," Milgazia grumbled in embarrassment.

"The earthquake was most likely the Stillness," Lina pointed out.

Gourry placed his hand on Milgazia's shoulder in a sign of support. "They're picking on you too? I know how it feels. I've lost count of how many times Lina forced me to wear a dress against my will."

"So the ever serious Milgazia has a sense of humor after all." Zelas calmly approached, grinning in amusement. "We are no longer partners for LIFE," because there had to be a change of plans due to the Stillness' not waiting any longer to attack. "But you can still be my brass rackets partner every now and then," she mocked.

Xellos wasn't expecting Beast Master to be so easily appeased. Though she wasn't actually planning to kill Filia, her misleading phrasing was still true. Nonetheless, as far as Xellos knew, he just saved Filia from being killed. Amelia, Lina, Zelgadis and even Gourry were also paying attention to Zelas' words. They silently concluded along with Xellos and Filia, that though Zelas and Milgazia broke up, they were somehow still friends. It was a bit odd, they mused, but certainly less complicated than dating. Perhaps this was all for the best. Thankfully, none of them voice their conclusions.

Any reaction Milgazia might have intended to voice was interrupted by another earthquake. "The Stillness is getting impatient," Zelas noted. "There's no more time to waste. Xellos, remember what we talked about when you reported late last night? Go, everything is ready for you to regain your shield."

"Yes, Lord Beast Master," after glancing briefly at Filia, Xellos teleported to Wolf Pack Island. He was going to once again temporarily become human. That would grant him a physical shield against the Stillness' astral powers.

"Fang!" Zelas called out. The monster fox appeared, answering to his master's summoning instantly. "It is time to prepare for the final battle. Take the last ancient dragon to Wolf Pack Island for safe keeping and assist my soldiers in getting ready. Milgazia, you can go home and defend your reptile pals; Fang can teleport you to Dragon's Peak. My soldiers of chaos can handle this. Now I must go, I have some business of my own to take care of." With those words of parting, Zelas disappeared.

"By soldiers, does she mean us?" Gourry inquired with the same cloud of confusion that followed him everywhere.

"Looks like it," Lina confirmed. "Alright everyone, time to finish the Stillness once and for all. If it came out of hiding, it must think it's ready to face us. The Void was weakened because the cycle was moved back after the power of the Sea of Chaos was used to restore the planet. Lamentation, which is fused with the remains of the Green Alchemist, must be stronger than the Void." Lina was now in full on leader mode. "The Void retreated and must have fused with the rest of the Stillness again. Let's stay on our guard and most importantly, let's win!"

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Zelas reappeared at the main area of the stadium. The panicking crowd noticed her and pointed. They didn't understand where Yuna Wolf had come from and why she was standing there so calmly. Zelas took on her true form, causing an even bigger panic to spread out. Zombies were emerging from the earth again and the vegetation was going crazy. The Stillness was going all out!

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Fang teleported Lina, Gourry, Amelia, Zelgadis and Filia to a new location. They reappeared on a small island covered in cooled off volcanic rock. "This is..." Zelgadis looked around recognizing the area, it was his island. The human Xellos, Tiffany and Celo were already waiting there.

"My mission with you is done, I'll go take my place for my next task. Good luck everyone!" Fang teleported away.

"Greetings everyone, this is where the gate way has been prepared." Celo pointed to a glowing circle on the ground. "The left over energy from the volcanic rocks is a good conductor for magic." The circle was surrounded by many symbols and words written in an ancient lost language. "I modified the spell Solex reported, which was used to temporarily open a gateway. I've made it so that it will stay open. It took a little longer, but it should be worth it. This way some of the energy left in this world will seep into the battle zone and make it a little more bearable. Don't expect Lord Ruby Eyes spell to be too responsive, the Stillness is draining him terribly. Beast Master is not really worried though; the dragons have suffered many losses and are in no position to attack after this is over."

"Tiffany, you're..." Filia was shocked at seeing how much her friend changed.

Tiffany's disguise was gone and her chimera condition was obvious. "Don't be sad, sweet Filia, I've always been the host of the End. It's alright, I've come to terms with this, I'll do everything I can!" She assured.

"This is not a time for doubts," Celo added. Filia knew it was hard for him, but if he could be strong, then so could she, for Tiffany's sake.

Another being emerged from the astral side. He wore dark blue clothes with white details in a style similar to an army general. His hair was the same violet color as Xellos, though in a much less neat style in short spikes. A patch of cyan hair stood out on the right side of his bangs, which fell unruly over the edge of his small rectangular silver glasses. Despite the hair and glass in the way, his golden eyes were very focused and piercing. His ears were long and pointy and he wore an earring on his left ear shaped like a black dice with white dots.

"What a surprise to see you outside of the office, Eros," Xellos greeted him with a grin.

Erosnum, a monster on the lower end of the high rank in terms of power, frowned. "My name is Erosnum," he corrected. He hated when people abbreviated his name. Pushing up his glasses as it was his habit, he went down to business. "I am only here to see you off, out of curiosity. It is not every day that one has to deal with adverting the end of the world. This is certainly not the first time, but this particular coming of the apocalypse has been by far the one that brought the most complications to my accounting duties. A word of advice, if it is possible, try to save the world as economically as you can, I am having a hard time as it is readjusting budgets and keeping things under control. I must return to my duties now, good day."

"Who was that?" Filia curiously inquired.

"Erosnum or just Eros for short, he's Beast Master's head accountant and the lead manager for her business ventures," Xellos explained. "He's a walking contradiction, although maybe he has to be. A monster can't work with predictable numbers for too long before having to find a source of chaos and unpredictability. He spends most of his time working and favors stability and safe investments in his job. In his free time, he's an impulsive gambler who can't get enough of the thrill of risk," the general priest chuckled at the irony. "It looks like he was only here to see us off. Shall we be on our way?"

"This is it!" Lina cheered, "the Stillness will finally pay for causing a famine!"

"Fight hard, don't forget you're representing Lord Beast Master in battle!" Celo reminded. "The Stillness is launching a massive wave of attacks all over the world. Milgazia and the dragons will defend the Kataart Mountains. Since Seyruun is technically allied to Beast Master now because of the fine print of a food purchase contract, she has recruited Phythan and Onyx as her interns again and sent them to assist in defending the city. Fang will help out where he's needed too."

"And Luna will protect Zephilia," Lina concluded.

"For chaos!" Celo cheered.

"For chaos!" Xellos cheered as well.

"For justice!" Amelia was being herself.

"For food!" Lina and Gourry added as they stepped into the circle along with everyone else.

The gateway activated and Lina, Gourry, Amelia, Zelgadis, Xellos, Filia and Tiffany were transported away, to the enemy's main base, while Celo remained guarding the portal to make sure it stayed open. Besides, he wasn't sure he could hold back the need to interfere if he actually saw the End's host being combined with the other pieces, but he understood this had to be done.

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The gateway took the group to a cavern deep underground. Though they could not see a tunnel or any physical path leading to the surface, they could feel the astral space around the island connected to the area they were in, beyond the astral shield that surrounded it. It seemed to lessen the sense of detachment that came with that strange place, as if they were no where.

The stone walls pulsated with glowing energy that lit up the whole space in the center of which there was a giant seed. The seed was surrounded by tree roots that had no perceptible beginning or end, entangling the seed and its surrounding area, sinking into the walls. "So you came... No, I allowed you to come." The Stillness' echoing voice was heard.

Amelia shuddered involuntarily, "why do I feel like the 'life is wonderful' song is silly?"

"Because this place is anti-life!" Zelgadis realized.

"Focus everyone! The atmosphere here is like a constant astral attack!" Lina called out. They just barely arrived at the battle field and things were already looking difficult.

Xellos soon realized why exactly Beast Master couldn't be there. Even with everyone's thoughts anchoring her existence to the world, the astral draining properties of the atmosphere were too strong. Somehow, their bodies were reacting on their own, as if awakening to an unknown survival instinct and redirecting some of the astral damage to the physical plane. The result was pain, a constant pain that wouldn't cease for as long as they were so close to the center of the Stillness. Xellos understood now why he so crucially needed a shield, without the physical body he had, he would be badly drained already.

"I have your other piece right here!" Tiffany charged forward bravely. The brown roots that surrounded the area glowed green, producing a multitude of thorny vines that aimed to trap her.

"Why do you return the missing fragment?" The Stillness' voice echoed ominously. "Erratic creatures of chaos, your behavior makes no sense. None the less, the End should sleep a little longer; it is not yet time to clean the remains of the world, not until it all dies."

"As if we'd ever allow that!" Lina shot a barrage of fireballs, clearing the path for Tiffany, "Fireball! Fireball! Fireball!"

"Life is wonderful and I'll never stop thinking that!" Amelia determinately declared. "Elmekia Lance!" The lance of light flew ahead of Tiffany, colliding with the seed that contained the remains of the Green Alchemist, Lamentation and the Void.

"Ray Wing!" Tiffany sped up her approached to the enemy across the large underground chamber.

"Source of all souls which dwell in eternal and infinite. Everlasting flame of blue, let the power in my soul be called forth from the infinite... Ra-Tilt!" Zelgadis released the spell as strongly as he could, aimed at the Stillness' seed.

"Stupid dragon, you know what would really be helpful now, right? Fusion magic," Xellos suggested.

"Yes, but how are we supposed to do that, raw garbage?" Filia argued. "You're a human and if you were a monster, you wouldn't be able to be here." Filia urgently reminded, though she knew Xellos must have some kind of plan in mind if he was bringing that up.

"Beast Master and I planned for this. You just need to take care of the holy magic, I'll supply the monster energy with a direct link to Beast Master's power. Just because Zelas isn't here in person, doesn't mean she can't lend me her power." Xellos ascertained with confidence. "Just give me a few seconds to call it."

"Right, leave these annoying vines to me!" Filia continued shooting the vines with her laser breath, preventing them from trapping her and the others.

Tiffany was almost to the seed when she crashed into an invisible shield. The Ray Wing spell came undone and she levitated to stay in place. At the same time, the ground around the rest of the group began to crack, with rotting corpses emerging from it. "Xellos, Filia, use fusion magic!"

"Fusion magic? Is it going to get rid of the zombies?" Gourry used his special sword to create echoes of the slashes, which chopped a line of zombies to pieces. Even then, the corpses tried to pick themselves up and put themselves back together, albeit they were slowed down.

"No, this is to help Tiffany with her mission." Filia explained, while Amelia exorcised the zombies. Xellos was almost ready, so she would have to call forth her power soon.

"Astral Vine!" Zelgadis powered up his sword and slashed away at the attacking vines. "These stupid vines are still coming, zombies and killer plants? Those are two things that are not supposed to happen at the same time!"

"Xellos, the spell!" Filia called out, gathering her holy magic in a golden ball in her hands. "Ah!" The thorny vines that were heading towards her were reduced to ashes by a fireball.

"You just focus on that spell; I'll guard the two of you." Lina kept them safe while the fusion magic was being casted.

Xellos was perfectly still with his eyes closed, standing motionless like a statue for several more seconds until he appeared to awaken suddenly. "You better be ready!" He formed a ball of black light in his hands that was very much pure monster energy.

"Zelas is possessing you... So that's how..." Filia recalled using a similar technique herself to call the Fire Dragon for information, but this was a more advanced version. It was probably only possible to cast it so quickly because of the relation between Zelas and Xellos.

The two opposing energies were united in a beam of black and gold that disintegrated all the thorny vines that tried to get in its way. The fusion magic crashed into the seed surrounded by what looked like shattering glass as it destroyed the invisible shield around it, which previously shielded it from physical attacks and non-astral magic.

To be Continued

Slayers: Alive - Episode 149: Win! There Are No Impossibilities

Deep underground... While the area of the fusion magic's impact on the seed still glowed with swirls of black and gold, surrounded in purple lightning, Tiffany flew into it. It was obvious she was in a lot of pain as she pushed her mutated body against the glowing surface of the seed and slowly sunk into it, chanting the spell that was obtained from the knowledge Rezo left to Zelas. Tiffany forced the Stillness to absorb the final fragment, holding on to the remains of the Green Alchemist to help the merge progress. A noticeable crack was left on the seed where the fusion magic had hit it.

"Tiffany!" Filia called out to her, as silence invaded the area and the attack of the vines appeared to relent, though the zombies were still coming. "I can no longer sense her presence, but the Stillness feels stronger."

"Not stronger, only clearer because it's not hiding behind that shield anymore," Lina corrected. "Tiffany understood what she needed to do, don't let this dishearten you!"

"You're right... I can't lower my guard," Filia realized.

Xellos was released from Zelas' temporary possession looking dizzy and sick. "I'm back... I think..."

"Xellos!" Filia tried to steady his balance in worry. "All that monster energy flowing through a human body was too much!"

"It doesn't matter," Xellos insisted, stepping aside and finding his focus to continue fighting. "This human body only needs to last out through this fight. It doesn't matter in what conditions I'm left. After this is over, I will no longer need this vessel."

The earth shook as the thorny vines dried up and fell off the roots and the seed glowed, emitting an echoing voice. "Lamentation, the Void, the End, I am the Stillness, I am nothingness. Why do you seek to complete me? Do you really believe you can destroy me if all the pieces are together? Destroying a single piece is useless, but destroying all three at the same time is impossible."

"Where are your chimeras?" Lina boldly challenged. "Why are you not throwing more of your minions at us? Why aren't you sending more of those plant monsters to attack us? It's because you've run out, haven't you? They're all dead and all you can do is throw more zombies at us. I see right through you, by wanting to destroy everything, you'll destroy yourself. You really are nothing and if not for the remains of the Green Alchemist and the other pieces of chaos in you, you wouldn't even be here."

"Silence, insignificant human!" The earth shook more violently and more zombies emerged from it.

"Miss Lina, I don't think making the Stillness angry is a good idea!" Amelia warned.

"I may be just a human, but you should never underestimate an angry human and let me tell you, us humans get really cranky when someone messes with our food supplies!" Lina threatened. "Give me some cover guys, this might take a while longer to cast, but I'll do it!"

"I don't know what her plan is, but we might as well go with it." Zelgadis decided, mostly because he really didn't want to argue with Lina right now.

"Right, we'll follow Lina like we always do," Gourry slashed away at more zombies along with Zelgadis, making it easier for Amelia and Filia to exorcise them.

"Darkness beyond twilight, crimson beyond blood that flows..." Lina focused hard, speaking each word carefully to allow the energy to go to her.

"The Dragon Slave?" Filia questioned. Wasn't that spell supposed to be unusable at the moment?

"Buried in the stream of time is where your power grows..." Lina continued slowly casting the spell.

"Lord Ruby Eyes is being drained away by the Stillness and the Stillness is right here in front of us," Xellos realized. "I understand; this is the place where Shabranigdu's energy is going. His power cannot be called from the surface, but if it's this close towards the point where his power is being taken to, then it might work."

"I pledge myself to conquer all the foes who stand, before the mighty gift bestowed in my unworthy hands..." Shabranigdu's energy which the Stillness tried to call towards itself was responding to Lina more and more with each word she spoke. It was as if the piece of Shabranigdu would rather lend its power to this chaotic girl than be used by the being of nothingness that stood against chaos. "Let the fools who stand before me be destroyed..." Lina was expecting the spell to be difficult and drawn out all the way, as it was when she started it, but now it was turning out to be one of the most powerful Dragon Slaves she had casted. "By the power you and I possess..."

Finally ready, Lina released the spell she was so well known for, full force, aiming for the crack left by the fusion magic attack on the seed. "Dragon Slave!" The massive blast of energy collided with the seed, turning it into a ball of glowing fire. The roots connected to the seed and the cave walls around them were ablaze with Shabranigdu's energy reducing them to ashes. The aftershock of energy made the group drop to the ground and cast shielding magic to protect themselves from the massive blast that was entrapped in the chamber.

When the blindingly bright light cleared out, everything was left in darkness. The pulsations of energy in the cave walls were no longer there. Zelgadis and Amelia flooded the area with orbs of light, restoring the chamber back to its previous level of brightness, like daylight. The Seed was still there, floating, but its colors looked gray, dried up and dull with numerous cracks around it. The seed's shell fell away to reveal a silvery mist in the middle of it. "Give up, insignificant mortals, the Stillness cannot be defeated!" The Stillness echoing voice was heard.

Lina was left exhausted with the massive amount of power Shabranigdu allowed her to call. Everyone's capabilities were reduced due to the atmosphere they were in and they were pushing themselves past their limits. At least the zombies had stopped emerging from the ground, at least for now. "We'll win and we'll have another triple banquet in Seyruun!"

"Insignificant creatures," the Stillness' growling voice echoed. "There will be nothing left for anyone to feast on. Not even the monsters can enjoy the world's misery, because only I shall feast on even them."

Glaring fiercely at the silvery mist that was the Stillness, Lina voiced her conclusions. "When I called Shabranigdu's power, I realized that you weren't just draining power from the fragment that is frozen in the northern mountains, there was more power than that. That power was from discarded fragments that were thrown into the Sea of Chaos. For a second when Shabranigdu's energy was coursing through me, I could see it. I saw the true Sea of Chaos beyond the space that separates it and the world," Lina revealed. "You have no intentions of allowing the world to start anew."

"That is the purpose of the End," Lina continued. "It exists to not allow a new world to be reborn from the remains of the old one. I see now how important it was to fuse the End with the other pieces and destroy it. If the End remained, the world could still be erased if the situation got bad enough, even if the roles of Lamentation and the Void were incomplete. You intend to make it so that what's left of the world can't even be absorbed by the Sea of Chaos, so that it's completely gone. Then you intend to attack the Sea of Chaos itself and erase the remains of all things that once belonged to the world, everything and everyone."

"Returning to chaos leaves behind the hope of rising from chaos, because chaos is life. But life is imperfection and I cannot allow that imperfection to go on existing," the Stillness replied. "What you say is true, I intend to erase it all, not simply end it, but make it as if nothing ever started, as if the world never existed. Don't you know? The Sea of Chaos is the source of power of the Lord of Nightmares, if I can weaken the Sea of Chaos, my ultimate enemy, the Mother of All Things, who dared to set this chaotic world in motion, will be weakened too." The Stillness revealed in its echoing ominous voice. "This insignificant world is only a stepping stone; it is the Mother of All Things that I wish to challenge."

"The Stillness may not be a monster, but it's something that doesn't belong in this world and it is mostly astral," Lina mused aloud. "Maybe it can be exorcised; we all saw how Elmekia Lance and Ra-Tilt worked even before the fusion magic destroyed the shield."

"I am indeed no monster; do not compare me to those creatures of chaos!" The entire area trembled as the silvery mist of the Stillness produced many twisting ribbons of light that flooded the atmosphere and made it hard to breathe. The pain was both physical and mental, making giving up just to be put out of the misery very tempting.

Doubts invaded the group's minds and for a moment even Lina questioned if she could get through this. Then suddenly, Amelia's voice was heard, "life is wonderful, living is great, injustice and evil those are the things I hate! Life is wonderful and don't you forget, if we work together we can defeat any threat! Life is wonderful and living is delicious, after this battle we'll have a banquet most nutritious!"

"Triple banquet!" Lina and Gourry exclaimed at the same time.

"There's no way we're going to die without having another banquet like that!" Lina stubbornly declared.

"That's right, we'll save the world and then we'll eat!" Gourry cheered.

"How can you resist?" The Stillness intensified the power of the twisting ribbons of light that flowed from the silvery mist. "Come to me undead minions!"

The ground under their feet shook violently as a creature much larger than a human zombie broke free from it. The being was rotten and decayed, but its features were still unmistakable, though its once brilliant golden scales were now dull and damaged. "A golden dragon zombie?" Filia gasped. The ground continued to shake and break as three more zombies emerged, their rotting scales in different colors from the others. "A Black dragon, a white dragon, a dimos dragon... How could they have been turned into zombies?"

"This is no time to despair," Lina insisted in warning. "All of this has to be draining the Stillness' power. The more the enemy throws at us, the more desperate it is! Darkness beyond twilight, crimson beyond blood that flows..." Lina paused, Shabranigdu's power wasn't responding at all. "What?"

"Do you really think I would let you pull off that trick twice?" The Stillness' voice echoed. "I'm holding on to Shabranigdu much more strongly now. I will not allow his power to be stolen from me again! Attack undead dragons!"

The four dragon zombies let out a breath of black smoke that flooded the area in darkness. Amelia send out a bright Lighting spell with extra power to try to create enough brightness to see through the smoke as it seemed to consume the light orbs that had been previously created. The light illuminated the area just in time for Amelia to jump back away from an incoming claw attack from the golden zombie dragon.

"These dragons... They're just empty shells, they don't have the abilities of their races when they are alive." Xellos observed, narrowly dodging the dimos zombie dragon's tail as it tried to crush him.

"Right, they're nothing but big animated corpses!" Lina agreed.

Gourry got flung against a wall by the white dragon's tail. "These corpses hit hard," he peeled himself off the indentation in the shape of his body that was left in the wall and fought back with his sword, the echo of the slashes colliding with the dragon zombies' tough hide with little effect. The black dragon tried to slash at him with its claws, but Gourry parried with the sword, pushing against the dragon's claw until the claw was cut off. "The echo slashes may not work against them, but the sword is sharp enough!" Realizing that close range direct attacks was the only way his sword would work against the dragons, Gourry bravely charged forward.

"Fireball! Fireball! Fireball!" Lina shot one spell after another, but it didn't seem to have much of an effect against the dimos dragon's tough hide. She forced herself so much that she fell to her knees after the rapid succession of unsuccessful spells. Amelia and Filia's Elmekia Lances didn't have much of an effect either, even though the dragons were zombies.

Gourry's visibility was limited, though Amelia, Filia and Xellos tried to keep casting light spells as much as possible, while Zelgadis was busy parrying the blows of the golden dragon with his Astral Vine powered sword. It wasn't enough to cut the dragon, but at least it provided some defense. Gourry's whole body ached with every step he took, but he was determined not to give up, especially when he saw how hard Lina was trying. He was supposed to be her protector, though more often than not she was protecting him. More than that, he was her fiance, he couldn't let her down. He attacked the white and golden dragons as they attempted to slash away at him with their claws and cut them off, causing the undead creatures to screech sickeningly.

More black smoke emerged from the cut off limbs of the zombie dragons, making the area darker and more difficult to fight in. The dimos dragon swung its tail at Gourry, while keeping its claws occupied with Zelgadis. Gourry cut off the tail, just as the Astral Vine ran out from Zelgadis' sword and the blade was broken. In a fast motion, Zelgadis jumped back and shot out a hastily casted, but nonetheless powerful "Elmekia Lance!" The lance of light flew past the dimos dragon's body, colliding with its tail and making the creature screech in pain. "Magic won't work on the zombie dragons' hide, but they can be exorcised if we aim for the area were the limbs were cut off!" The chimera realized.

Lina was back on the attack, fueled by her sheer determination. "Gourry, chop them to pieces, we'll cover you!"

"Right!" Following this new strategy, Gourry charged forward while Lina, Zelgadis, Amelia, Xellos and Filia provided support. He slashed away at the dragons, cutting their claws and tails and making as many gashes on their hide as he could.

"Amelia!" Zelgadis called out, "let's finish them!"

"I'm with you!" Amelia responded.

Together, Zelgadis and Amelia prepared for a super powered Ra-Tilt that would weaken the exposed zombie dragons enough to be exorcised. "Source of all souls which dwell in eternal and infinite. Everlasting flame of blue, let the power in my soul be called forth from the infinite... Ra-Tilt!" The zombie dragons were reduced to dust by the force of their combined powers. All four undead dragons had been defeated, but it was clear that Zelgadis and Amelia put all their energy into that spell and were left barely standing.

As a result of the zombie dragons being gone, the black smoke that covered the area dissipated and with another light spell, the battle zone was restored to its near daylight brightness. "We can't give it time to recover, Filia, fusion magic again!" Xellos called out, once again attempting to summon Zelas' power.

"I'm on it!" There was no time to doubt, as Filia powered up her holy magic to fuse it with Beast Master's energy.

"I won't allow this!" The ribbons of light that the Stillness had been producing as an attack, faded into a much dimmer light as it directed its efforts elsewhere. It was trying to close the gateway to cut off the link between Zelas and Xellos.

"Mr. Celo, if you can hear me, keep the gateway open!" Amelia called out.

xoxox xox xoxox

Back on the island's surface, Celo was struggling with all his power to continuously cast the spell to keep the gateway open. If the group was completely cut off from the world that would put them in a severe disadvantage, an even bigger disadvantage than what they were already in. He was only a middle ranked monster, but he was a human chimera and that made him more stable in these conditions than even a high ranked monster could have been. Celo had the abilities of a monster with the determination of a human and their insatiable desire to live. He would not allow Tiffany's sacrifice to be in vain.

xoxox xox xoxox

In the battle field below ground, the silvery mist of the Stillness was distorted. "Celo... I know you're there, I know you're trying your best. I can feel it being one with this creature. Everyone in Seyruun, Dragon's Peak, Zephilia and Wolf Pack Island are trying their best too." It was Tiffany's voice that was echoing within the Stillness.

"Why do you still exist! Your consciousness should have been lost!" The Stillness' ominous voice echoed.

"Rezo's knowledge wasn't only about how to fuse with you, but also about how to preserve my soul for a while after the fusion and use its vital energy to attack from within!" Tiffany revealed. "My spell is finally ready. Everyone, take this opportunity!"

The silver mist of the Stillness glowed golden as Tiffany used her very soul to weaken it, becoming chaos with her very essence to power her final spell. With Celo having managed to stabilize the gateway from outside, Xellos was able to call more of Beast Master's power and fuse it with Filia's holy energy in another massive fusion magic attack. Before the golden glow of Tiffany's last attack faded from the silver mist that was the Stillness, the black and golden energy of fusion magic, collided with the Stillness in a bright display of power.

The group was terribly tired, exhausted beyond anything they had ever felt. Zelas released Xellos again, but this time he was left in a much worse condition than before, coughing out blood, due to some internal bleeding caused by the pressure of so much monster power coursing through him. "Xellos!" Filia shouted worried. "This is different from having a dragon lord possess someone, a monster lord's energy is too harsh. Even if you won't need this human body after this fight is over, you still need to survive long enough to become a monster again. If you die now then... then I don't know what I'll do!" Filia cried as she tried desperately to heal him.

"Stupid dragon... I'm not done yet," Xellos assured with some difficulty. "But it looks like I won't be calling for Beast Master again," it was too risky, too suicidal. His human body wouldn't hold out long enough to finish an effective attack anyway.

"We'll call out monster and holy magic separately and let the fusion happen within the enemy," Lina theorized with a new strategy. It looked like the Stillness was trying to start up with its previous attack with the life draining ribbons of light that had disappeared completely after the latest fusion magic attack. In the conditions the group was in, they would soon collapsed if they were exposed to that again.

In a desperate move to cause a diversion, the Stillness made an effort to call forth more human zombies. They were a lot smaller than the zombie dragons of course, but more numerous and it took a lot less energy to control them. "Gourry, let me see your sword!" Zelgadis rushed to the swordsman's side, who held out his sword to the chimera. "Astral Vine! There, try it now."

"Alright, here goes!" Gourry slashed away at one of the attacking zombies, reducing it to dust. "Wow, that really powered it up!"

"As I thought, the dragon horn has traces of holy magic properties," Zelgadis concluded. "Powered up with Astral Vine, that sword should be strong enough to exorcise the zombies now."

"Good thinking," Lina agreed, getting back into leader mode. "Gourry, we'll leave the zombies to you. Make sure the rest of us don't get eaten!"

"You can count on me!" Gourry assured as he took out the many zombies, guarding the rest of the group.

"Filia, your energy might be drained from the fight, but you can get holy energy from another source." Lina continued swiftly explaining her strategy. "I'm sure Luna is somehow aware of our situation; call out to her in prayer. Call out to the knight of Ceifeed and have her channel Ceifeed's energy through you."

"I understand!" Filia determinately agreed, immediately setting out to do her part.

To be Continued

Slayers: Alive - Episode 150: Finale! Every End Brings A Beginning

It was the final effort against the Stillness. Lina had come up with a plan, which she quickly finished explaining. "Xellos, you'll be forcibly pulling Shabranigdu's energy from the Stillness' grasp along with me, but this won't be a double Dragon Slave." The crafty red haired sorceress got the idea from when she saw Amelia and Zelgadis casting Ra-Tilt together before. "This will only be one Dragon Slave casted by both of us. You better make sure not to fall out of rhythm, but don't strain yourself and put your life in danger either. I'll be counting on you to talk Beast Master into throwing a victory banquet for us when this is over with more of her delicious cooking!"

"She better not include dragon cuisine in the menu!" Filia protested.

"Dragon cuisine is the food of champions," Xellos teased, "of course we need to have some of that."

"You piece of raw garbage, we'll discuss this later!" Filia growled and went back to concentrating on calling out to Luna.

"Zelgadis," Lina continued handing out strategic roles in the final effort. "Prying Shabrannigdu's energy off the Stillness won't be easy, especially if it goes on the attack with those draining waves of light again. Keep the Stillness busy with astral attacks!"

"I'll give it everything!" Zelgadis assured.

"Amelia, we'll be counting on you to watch over all of us," Lina set the final piece in place. "Heal us with your magic and keep our spirits high!"

"I'll make sure we all continue our wonderful lives together!" Amelia cheered.

Thus the group effort against the ultimate enemy continued, against one that was in a sense the opposite of the Mother of All Things, and thus the opposite of all of them.

"Source of all souls which dwell in eternal and infinite..." Zelgadis called upon power from the astral side.

"Darkness beyond twilight, crimson beyond blood that flows, buried in the stream of time is where your power grows..." Xellos and Lina chanted in perfect unison.

"Ivory beyond white, everlasting infinite light..." Receiving Ceifeed's power from Luna, Filia casted a powerful holy spell.

It was something against nothing, existence against nonexistence, chaos against emptiness. Gourry protected the group from the attacking zombies, using his skills and speed to move around them, not allowing any of the zombies to reach his precious friends.

"Everlasting flame of blue, let the power in my soul be called forth from the infinite... Ra-Tilt!" Weakened by Zelgadis' attack, the Stillness was losing its grip on Shabranigdu's power.

"I pledge myself to conquer all the foes who stand, before the mighty gift bestowed in my unworthy hands..." Xellos and Lina continued simultaneously.

"Brightness that pierces the night, by your endless power destiny ignites..." Filia continued her spell as well.

To the tune of the improvised rhymes of the 'life is wonderful' song, Amelia constantly casted healing magic to make sure everyone maintained the strength and stamina needed to play their respective roles.

As soon as the Ra-Tilt was released, Zelgadis started casting another one, empowered by Amelia's healing magic. "Source of all souls which dwell in eternal and infinite..."

"Let the fools who stand before me be destroyed by the power you and I possess..." Xellos and Lina had amassed a good amount of Shabranigdu's energy, forcibly stealing it from the Stillness.

"Let the world be purified by your might..." Filia was almost done with her spell.

"Everlasting flame of blue, let the power in my soul be called forth from the infinite..." Zelgadis' second Ra-Tilt was almost ready to attack.

"I won't allow this... I won't allow this world to exist!" In a final desperate effort, the silver mist glowed brightly, trying to drain away what little life was left on the surface of the planet, along with the planet itself.

xoxox xox xoxox

In Seyruun, Philionel, Naga, Gravos, Jillas, Elena, Palou and the people of Seyruun felt as if their very existence was being drained. The most recent zombie attack had just ended and Philionel was in the middle of addressing the city and all those present in it when they felt the attack from the astral side. "The enemy is reaching out to us in desperation! That means our comrades are almost victorious, we cannot let their efforts go to waste! We cannot allow the enemy to use our own energy against us!"

"Ah! Ha ha ho ha ha!" Naga laughed loudly and vigorously. "I came to Seyruun to make sure the world could go on after the battle, to make sure there was a place our brave heroes could return to, a place we could all call home." Her royal roots started to show as she addressed her people as a princess would. "Seyruun was and still is one of the places that is keeping the world alive. We are supporting life itself. It's up to us to do our part to help save the world. Everyone, hold on to life, wish to live with all your heart, think of the brave victory that lies ahead! Laugh with all your might and let us celebrate that we're alive!" Naga cheered. "Ah! Ha ha ho ha ha!" Everyone who was gathered actually started laughing with Naga, not caring about how obnoxious they were. Their combined will sent a rush of positive energy towards the Stillness as it helplessly tried to steal their life force, only to have it work against it.

xoxox xox xoxox

At Taforashia, Pokota had been addressing his people as well. "Our will to live will save us. Be strong, let's show that we can't be erased!"

Similar situations were taking place all over the world, including Dragon's Peak where Milgazia's clan was putting up a strong resistance against the Stillness.

xoxox xox xoxox

At Wolf Pack Island, Zangulus, Martina and Sylphiel stood surrounded by wolves. "We're defending a monster lord's territory, but I guess it's okay this time," Sylphiel concluded.

"I'm pretty sure our boss' boss will be pleased with this," Zangulus agreed. "And these wolves are actually pretty good battle comrades." He patted one of the many ferocious wolves that Zelas kept on her island. Though they wouldn't normally allow humans near them without ripping them apart, they were used to having certain humans around when Beast Master said it was okay and acted more like puppies than wolves with those few exceptions.

"They're adorable once they know who their allies are," Martina agreed. "With the reward Lord Beast Master will give us we can rebuild the kingdom of Zoana and maybe even build a shrine to Zoamelgustar and a shrine to Beast Master! Ah! He he ha he he!"

Fang came running over in his semi-human form, with little Val flying by his side in dragon form. "Val is a fast learner; I've taught him a few tricks that are useful for battle!"

Sensing something in the atmosphere, Sylphiel pointed it out. "Do you sense that? It feels like the enemy is trying to drain our energy. I can't allow that!"

"The Stillness has another thing coming if it thinks it can steal energy from us!" Zangulus resolutely declared.

"We're too strong for it! Right, Val?" Fang cheered.

Val was all too happy to agree, "right!"

"We're protected by Zoamelgustar and by Beast Master, we can't be defeated!" Martina shouted victoriously.

xoxox xox xoxox

In a random little town where human survivors had gathered, Zelas was wrecking havoc. "Are you just going to give up? Are you just going to die? Feel fear, feel anger, feel a thirst for vengeance, feel alive!" Fighting a hopeless situation depressed people, but when the problem was an enemy rather than a seemingly hopeless situation, having a face to blame for their trouble gave people a target for their efforts. With that came the motivation to bring forth those efforts seeking vengeance, even if it was an impossible revenge.

The townspeople fought against the wolves that accompanied Zelas with no real chance of victory, but a stubborn lively determination. They didn't know she was planning to spare their lives to use their frustration to feed her monsters. This also contributed against the stillness because even negative emotions could encourage living when they fueled a strong fighting spirit. The monster lords couldn't get too close to the Stillness and the atmosphere was uncomfortable to them, but they were far stronger than regular monsters and could still put up a fight.

In other survivor settlements across the world, Dolphin and Dynast were bringing terror to the citizens in a similar way to Zelas. They never truly understood all of the complex details of the hidden truth, but they knew this was a good way to generate anger, fear and despair. The kind of negative emotions that had some substance to them, rather than that empty sorrow of quiet acceptance that tried to overtake the world. Overall, Zelas was enduring much better than the other monster lords because of the links she cunningly constructed with the chaotic living creatures of the world.

xoxox xox xoxox

In the main battle field, Gourry continued his efforts until every zombie had fallen to his powered up sword and the Stillness could no longer call anymore undead minions, as it braced itself for the impact of the powerful magic that was about to assault it.

"Resurrection!" Amelia extended her magic to the other spell casters for one final boost of power.

"Ra-Tilt!" Zelgadis released his spell, opening the path for the final blow.

"Dragon Slave!" Lina and Xellos released their team-casted spell.

At the same time, "Heaven Light!" Filia released the spell she had been casting with Luna's energy.

The magic hit the Stillness all at once, causing the silver mist to glow in all the colors visible to the eye as it finally began to fade away. The Stillness' final effort to drain away the energy from the people left on the planet backfired and it continued to disintegrate without a defense against the power of its opponents' magic and will to live. "It is not my end, not until everything ends!" The Stillness screeched as the silvery mist that formed it started to fade away.

Lina had begun to cast another spell soon after the Dragon Slave she casted with Xellos was released. "Multiply my humble speed, let all my energy be freed, to quickly do as I please, accelerate all my deeds. Haste!" Lina was drained from the battle and using a haste spell would only cause the remainder of her life to be drained away faster. Her hair was already starting to lose its color from her dangerously low energy level. Yet she knew this was necessary. "I won't let you escape; you won't retreat to come back again!"

The Stillness was an inch away from being completely destroyed and Lina knew they couldn't afford to go through a battle like this more than once. This enemy had to be defeated permanently now. "Invisible links of the chain, which binds all in this plane, make the target's struggle vain, follow the inescapable lane! Pursuit!" Lina casted the spell on herself, linking herself to the Stillness so that it wouldn't get away. This time it was different from the way the spell was used in the past. Probably because of the properties of the atmosphere where they were, Lina could clearly see a chain of astral energy linking her to the Stillness and dragging her along as it faded away.

"Lina!" Gourry struggled to reach Lina, but there was no way he could get to her fast enough. He could hear everyone calling out her name, none of them would be able to reach her. No one would be able to stop the Stillness from taking her away; Lina had chained herself to it. "Lina, take this!" Gourry couldn't reach her, but he could at least lend her his sword. Lina caught the dragon horn sword just in time as she faded away completely along with the Stillness. "Lina... Please win and come back like you always do."

xoxox xox xoxox

Lina held on to Gourry's sword as she went through a tunnel of light, the astral chains binding her to the silver mist ahead. "Human, there is nothing you can do. This is my final ability, the power of rebirth. I was destroyed back there, but I was not erased. What I have learned, I'll take it back with me to the past and come back stronger. This war will be repeated until I win and I know this second time will be the last!"

"So you're going to the past to merge with the past Stillness. That would create a paradox that would shake the very foundations of the world and make it that much more chaotic!" Lina threatened.

"It doesn't matter, because all that chaos will be gone in the end. The world will simply be even more imperfect than it already is!" The Stillness argued. "Don't you know? The illusion of logic is nothing but a lie, because the chaotic world is a mass of energies pushing and pulling with the random whims of those who inhabit it. You strive to create the effect that you expect and call it logic. Yet in the end the chaos of the world is ready to make it burst at the seams at all times with all its inexplicable phenomenon, starting with life itself. Existence is illogical, what is to live? What is to be? What is to exist? It is all imperfect chaos!" The Stillness bitterly accused.

"Bitterness," Lina observed, "even you who are nothing have become an entity. Hypocrite, if not for the chaos that contaminates you, you wouldn't exist. Since you hate chaos so much, I'll be taking it away, leaving you as a pure nothing that will forever fade into the emptiness of nonexistence! I will not allow you to reach the past! I was the one who caused the Lord of Nightmares to stop shielding the world for a moment and set the cycle of the end in motion. In a stubborn foolish whim that only a chaotic existence such as a human could have, I exchanged the world for the life of the man I love... Even though no one has directly blamed me, this time I'm going to take responsibility for my actions!"

'I allowed you to live even after you gave up everything, do not expect it to happen again...' Lina remembered the words spoken to her by the Mother of all Things.

"This sword's blade is made of dragon horn and the hilt is infused with monster energy, the dragons and the monsters, the representatives of the opposing forces that fuel the chaos of the world. Let this blade be tempered with the energy of the Mother of All Things, the Lord of Nightmares!" Lina shouted with unbreakable determination.

'I have been avoiding using this type of spell since your warning. I know I shouldn't abuse this power, but this time I'm not giving up anything. This time there's not a hint of desperate resignation in me,' Lina called out to the Mother of All Things in her thoughts.

With the power of chaos surrounding her, Lina chanted a powerful spell, using the dragon horn sword to channel it. "Lord of dreams that terrify, sword of cold and darkness, free yourself from the heaven's bonds. Become one with my power, one with my body and let us walk the path of destruction together! Ragna Blade!"

The dark chaotic energy of the Lord of Nightmares covered the sword becoming one with it as Lina attacked the Stillness one final time. The blade cut through the silvery mist, dissolving it truly and completely by absorbing anything related to chaos into it and leaving the Stillness as a pure nothing that could not exist. Finally, the Stillness was no more. The Ragna Blade faded from Lina's hand, the sword in its core being reduced to dust along with Lina's body, leaving her with a ghostly appearance.

Lina looked into the distance and saw the Sea of Chaos. A ghostly Tiffany that, other than being partially transparent looked like her original self, floated towards the Sea of Chaos. "This isn't your place, Lina. Don't you hear him calling you?"

Lina focused and she could hear it, faintly at first, then almost as clearly as if he were standing right next to her, it was Gourry's voice. "I hear him and I'm sure Celo is calling out to you too."

"He is..." Tiffany smiled with more warmth than anyone would guess a ghost could have. "But I don't have enough energy left to answer right now and he understands that. You're still charged with chaotic energy, so you can go back, you can be restored to how you used to be."

"Sorry for all the trouble I caused..." Lina apologized.

"It's okay," Tiffany assured. "You are the manifestation of chaos, acting rashly and evolving as a result is part of change, of motion, of life. I am free from the End and for that I'm thankful. Now go, Lina Inverse, let the strong emotion of the rush of a chaotic moment take you back to those who wait for you. Go and be alive!"

The ghostly Lina nodded with a bittersweet smile as she looked towards the blue sphere with patches of green and swirls of white, surrounded in a red glow of magical energy, that was her world. "Victory banquet, here I come!" Surrounded by a bright chaotic light, Lina flew towards the world from whence she came.

xoxox xox xoxox

"Lina... Lina... Lina..." She slowly opened her eyes and saw Gourry's smiling face with a background of clear blue skies. The group had returned to the surface and were at Zelgadis' island. "How do you feel, Lina, are you okay?"

Lina smiled, glad to be back. "I'm better than okay, we won, the Stillness is gone for good." She took in her surroundings, glancing around. Amelia, Zelgadis, Filia, Xellos and Celo were all there. "I lost your sword, broke it actually. Sorry about that."

"It's okay," Gourry smiled sweetly, lovingly. "I'm just glad you're back."

Lina leaned into Gourry with the smile remaining on her face until she noticed a peculiar detail. "Why am I wearing Filia's cloak?"

As if it wasn't a big deal, Gourry explained. "You were naked when you fell from the sky, so Filia's letting you borrow her cloak so you don't catch a cold or something."

Lina's face turned an impossibly bright shade of red. She discretely peeked into the cloak, while making sure to keep herself covered. "I fell from the sky na... na..."

"Now you know how I felt during that town rampage incident," Filia commented with a teasing smile.

Lina felt her whole body shake in mortified rage and she reacted in the only way she could think of right now. "Darkness beyond twilight, crimson beyond blood that flows..."

"The Stillness was destroyed, so Lord Ruby Eyes is no longer being drained by it," Xellos pointed out. That meant that the Dragon Slave should be back to normal and given Lina's temper that translated to trouble.

Lina continued, "buried in the stream of time is where your power grows..."

"Lina, don't destroy this island, I need it!" Zelgadis pleaded.

Too mortified to listen to reason, Lina did not stop. "I pledge myself to conquer, all the foes who stand..."

"Forget the island; if anyone tries to interfere with us again they'll have to answer to me!" Amelia bravely declared with more aggression than anyone expected from her. She wouldn't let anyone come between her and Zelgadis again, especially not because of an outdated technicality.

Lina kept going, "before the mighty gift bestowed, in my unworthy hands..."

"Amelia..." Zelgadis was taken by surprise with Amelia's determination and it made him very happy. He too was set on making things work by any means necessary.

Lina was dangerously close to finishing her spell and it didn't look like anyone, not even Gourry, could stop her now. "Let the fools who stand before me be destroyed..."

"Everyone gather around for an emergency teleportation!" Celo urgently called out.

"By the power you and I possess!" Everyone except Lina was teleported away from the island. "Dragon Slave!" The island was no more...

xoxox xox xoxox

Several days later, Seyruun was full of great festivities. Amelia and Zelgadis were enjoying their time together. He expected trouble to arise because his island was destroyed, thus he was no longer the ruler of anything. Yet surprisingly, no one tried to steal away the throne after all. Maybe the stubborn distant relatives of Amelia came to their senses, perhaphs because Amelia got fed up and threatened to break their bones with a pacifist crush. Either way, the point was that the happy couple was allowed to be together without any further complications.

Lina and Gourry were pigging out. King Philionel was giving a victorious justice speech. Naga and Martina were laughing loudly. Gravos and Zangulus had formed a mutual understanding for each other and became good friends. Martina had recently noticed she was pregnant, she and Zangulus were very excited about baby Zoamelgustar, or excited and terrified in his case. Jillas and Elena were talking animatedly, clearly enjoying each other's company. Fang was playing with Val, Palou and Fili. Milgazia, Memphis, Phythan, Onyx and Sylphiel were also guests at Seyruun. Solex was safely sleeping inside his egg. Xellos was a monster again, continuously teasing Filia as he always did, but she was okay with that.

Even Zelas attended the party at Seyruun... and brought some dragon cuisine to share. Lina and Gourry appreciated her cooking, though none of the dragons present were happy about it. Enjoying the festivities, despite the inconveniences, Filia mused about how much her life had changed and yet the essence of it had been preserved. Life was certainly full of a lot of crazy twists and turns. The unexpected occurred and the impossible was discovered not to be impossible after all. Life was unpredictable, erratic, hectic, confusing, exciting, amazing, chaotic... Chaos, that's what it was to be alive. Filia realized that deep down she didn't want it any other way.

End of Slayers: Alive

Credits

The title of Slayers: Alive is a reference to the Alive Beam from Phantasy Star Portable 2 as the theme of the story centers around the will to live on.

The monster parrot that first appears on Episode 002 is partially based on Neuro's true form from Majin Tantei Nogami Neuro.

Episode 006 was inspired by the movie Inception.

The dream eater or lesser imp from Episode 007 was based on the evil Gremlings, the version they turn into if fed after midnight. The sad kitten look from the same episode was inspired by Puss from Shrek 2.

The giant worm that pretends to be a cave and the transparent goop monster in Episode 008 are based on the Exogorth from Star Wars V: Empire Strikes Back and the Revival Jam from Yu-Gi-Oh!'s Battle City episodes respectively.

The design of the fairy from Episode 011 is based on Navi from Legend of Zelda. The story about the mermaid is a combination of The Little Mermaid and Cinderella.

In Episode 012, Lina's dresses were based on dresses worn by Jessica Rabbit from Who Framed Roger Rabbit? and Ariel from The Little Mermaid. Jessica was also the model in the poster. Lina's final dress was inspired by Serena's princess dress from Sailor Moon.

In Episode 013, Amelia's dresses were based on Belle from Beauty and the Beast and Cinderella. Amelia's chosen dress was partially based on Tiana's costume party dress from The Princess and the Frog and Queen Serenity's dress from Sailor Moon, with the brooch partially based on Peach from Mario. Filia's first two dresses are based on Peach and Daisy from Mario. Deedlit and Parn are from Record of Lodoss War.

The Kompeito mentioned in Episode 018 is a type of sugar candy from Japan.

Giovanni from Pokémon and three of my Pokémon fanfic characters Comet, Pixel and Laiki, appear in Episode 024. The novel Zelgadis read was a reference to my Pokémon fanfic Don't Give Me Diamonds.

The manga collection Lina mentioned in Episode 026 was Dragon Ball Z. The plushie prizes were based on Hello Kitty, Fantastic Four (the Thing) and Superman.

The costumes the main characters wear on Episode 027 were based on Rika from Phantasy Star IV (Lina), Link from Legend of Zelda (Zelgadis), Wonder Woman from the DC comics (Amelia), Sephiroth from Final Fantasy VII (Gourry), James from Pokémon (Phythan), Sailor Venus from Sailor Moon (Filia) and the Dark Magician from Yu-Gi-Oh! (Xellos).

Phythan was reading the Death Note manga in Episode 029.

The Haste and Hastaga spells first mentioned on Episode 030 are from Final Fantasy.

The mutant called Quicksilver Naga mentions in Episode 035 is a reference to Pietro Maximoff from X-Men: Evolution. The swordsman with the horse named Epona, mentioned by Gourry is Link from Legend of Zelda.

The names of Aya and Kyle on Episode 040 are a reference to Parasite Eve and the names of Alys and Chaz are a reference to Phantasy Star IV: End of the Millennium; they are not the same characters, they only share their names. Sasha, Anna and Manna from Harvest Moon: More Friends of Mineral Town are cameos by the characters from the game.

The animals Filia and Xellos imagine in Episode 044 are Babs, Fifi and Dizzy from Tiny Toons and Pikachu from Pokémon.

On Episode 046 pulpo is Spanish for octopus.

The title of Episode 052, Show Me How To Care, comes from the song Sweet Kiwi by Marooned 5.

I couldn't find any official names for Lina's parents first mentioned on Episode 053. I named her father after Light Inverse from Slayers Light Magic. Labyrinthine's name represents the mystery of Lina's parents and I thought it would be funny if they all had simple L names, except for one with a complicated L name that's too long for Gourry. The swords are: Elsydeon (Phantasy Star IV: End of the Millennium), Espelancer (Legend of Heroes: Tear of Vermilion), Masamune (Final Fantasy VII, Chrono Trigger, others), Muramasa (Samurai Deeper Kyo, others), Tessaiga (Inuyasha).

Jarde, who first appears in Episode 056, is from Valkyria Chronicles II. The episode title Get Along! Try Again is based on the Slayers opening theme.

Credits to Rinoaebastel for the Xellos ice-cream cone joke on Episode 057.

The three figthers wearing red, blue and green on Episode 058 are based on the style of Street Figther characters.

Xellos' nickname of Ice-cream first used on Episode 060 is a reference to Hey Arnold! since it's Helga's codeword for Arnold. It also fits with the ice-cream cone dream on Episode 057.

Xellos' collar reacting to the word sit on Episode 062 is a reference to Inuyasha.

The piranha plants in Episode 064 are based on the ones from Mario. Lina and Amelia made Sailor Moon poses.

In Episode 066 there's a small reference to Pokémon in Zelas' line, from the episode where James' parents say that that Jessebelle is "too good for our delinquent son."

The Scream mentioned in Episode 067 refers to the famous painting by Edvard Munch. Zelas' alias of Yuna is after the character from Final Fantasy X since she is a summoner and Zelas is Beast Master.

The golden pyramid in Episode 069 looks like the Millennium Puzzle from Yu-Gi-Oh!

Filia's explanation of "she's a she, he's a he" on Episode 070 is a reference to when Yusei meets Leo and Luna in Yu-Gi-Oh! 5Ds.

The old lady from the shop on Episode 071 was Cologne from Ranma 1/2.

The title of Episode 073, Size Matters, is a reference to Ratchet and Clank. The Temple of Chronos is from Slayers: Light Magic.

In Episode 075, Justice For All is a reference to the Phoenix Wright game series. The sign in the garden signed by Aeris is a reference to Final Fantasy VII.

The purple haired girl with glasses on Episode 077 was Lucca from Chrono Trigger, who was traveling with Magus.

The spaghetti kiss on Episode 079 is a reference to Lady and the Tramp.

The title of Episode 084, Prepare For Trouble, is a reference to Team Rocket from Pokémon.

The octopice quotes on Episode 086 have references to: "bare my children" (Miroku from Inuyasha), "I will never be a memory" (Sephiroth from Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children), "ogres are like onions" (Shrek), "may the force be with you" (Star Wars) and "they've got more fur than any turtle ever had" (opening song from Samurai Pizza Cats). The mirror of truth is based on the one from (the original) Lufia II: Rise of the Sinistrals.

Howl, Sophie, Markl and Calcifer from Howl's Moving Castle are referenced in Episode 088. The spell Xellos casts is in Latin.

The name Yuuyami, first mentioned on Episode 089, means dusk in Japanese.

First appearing on Episode 100, Neuro and Yako are from Majin Tantei Nougami Neuro. Zenki, Chiaki and Lupapa are from Zenki.

On Episode 103 the wedding crashers were Shrek and Donkey. The 'left turn at Albuquerque' is a reference to Bugs Bunny. The cruise ship is named after the airship from Final Fantasy VII.

On Episode 107, the man in green and his horse were Link and Epona from Legend of Zelda. Relm is from Final Fantasy IV. Momoka is from Zombie Loan. Laiki is one of my Pokémon fanfic characters from Don't Give Me Diamonds.

Fili's siblings first mentioned on Episode 109 are named after the original four ghosts from Pac-Man, Blinky, Pinky, Inky and Clyde.

The title of Episode 111 Hope Is Hard To Kill is from the Prince of Egypt movie song. I'm basing my dragon weight estimates on dinosaurs, specifically the T-Rex.

On Episode 116, Prisoner Island is a reference to Samurai Pizza Cats, although, unlike the secret resort in that series, the Prisoner Island in the fanfic is actually a jail. Piquel is a reference to Bonkers, not the same character, they only share a surname.

The red parrot in Episode 119 is Iago from Aladdin.

The last part of the spell Xellos casts in Episode 121 is in Latin.

Zelas calling Xellos brat boy on Episode 123 is a reference to Madame Boss from Pokémon.

The dragon keychain Filia gives Xellos on Episode 133 is based on Ly-Xu's fanart.

Filia's peculiar adventures from the end of Episodes 134 and Episode 135 are based on Alice in Wonderland.

The green parrot from Episode 135 is Thundra from Aladdin.

The title of Episode 136, All The World's A Stage, is a reference to Shakespeare. The "I am your father" quote is from Star Wars.

On Episode 138, Cactuar is from Final Fantasy. The hypnotic cactus in an ice-cream stand situation is based on Outlaw Star episode 13.

Ash, Misty and Pikachu from Pokémon make an appearance on Episode 140.

On Episode 141, Miku Hatsune is from Vocaloids. Kooky and Kootie Pie are Ludwig and Wendy's names from the Super Mario animated series.

The title of Episode 146, Break Free And Rise Up, is a reference to Zenki. Banora apples are from Final Fantasy VII. Won is from Harvest Moon.