Slayers Fan Fiction ❯ Slayers For the Future: The Prophecy of Inverse ❯ Showdown! Xellos vs. Hiero….Gods and Monsters ( Chapter 20 )

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Chapter 20

Showdown!

Xellos vs. Hiero….Gods and Monsters.

~ Artemi Forest ~

Hiero was sitting in the middle of nowhere. He was dreaming again, the same dream he'd had since his awakening, the dream of Xellos. Hiero found this dream more frightening than when Xellos kidnapped him in his child body because he could see Xellos, could hear him, but he could never move to get at him. He was stuck in place in the middle of a blackened area of mountains and cliffs. It was place he knew of from his priesthood teachings as a youngster, the Demon's Teeth Mountain range, a place where nomads roamed and the sinners fled to. It was a place where it was easy to get lost without the aid of magic of any kind.

He found it to be an unsettling place to be stuck dreaming out with the fruitcake lurking somewhere in the shadows. Hiero had tried in earlier dreams to move, but he never succeeded. Right now, he wasn't bothering to try.

"Little blue brat….so powerful, yet the past makes you stagger in your stride. It's such a pity….I know about your powers, I know you aren't from this plane. It will be interesting to figure out what you are piece by bloody little piece. Then you'll be my personal Mazuko slave, heh, heh, my lackey. I'll be the one laughing." Xellos said, his voice sounding as if it were everywhere.

"Like I care….you couldn't bore me to death, you tedious namagomi bastard! Get out of my head! You're not and never will be welcome in my mind! You won't have me as your anything. You'll die first!" Hiero yelled, wanting to draw his sword but his arms wouldn't budge either.

Xellos laughed at him, appearing a few feet away from him, his staff glowing bright as blood. 'Ech, new stuff. The dreams don't change unless it's going to happen soon. I hate being a visionary….I can't control knowing about the course of destiny….but why does it always have to me to solve it?' he thought sourly, trying to keep a brave face on as Xellos approached.

"You try and wield the sword of light upon me and you will only fail. It only takes me one time to learn from my mistakes. How about you? Hmmm? You're not answering." Xellos tittered, his eyes still pleasantly shut and his lips in a malicious smile. "I can wield anything and kick you're sorry Mazuko ass. You have no dignity, you have no soul, if you had, you'd never of abused me for Xellas' sake, you would have just beaten me up, not what you did….I'll kill you, but not just for that, for everything you and Xellas put my family through. That's utterly unforgivable!" Hiero snapped, getting smashed in the gut with the staff. His body still refused to move, making the hit burn right through his right side.

As the blood gushed out of the gaping hole, Xellos opened his amethyst eyes and pointed his still glowing staff right at Hiero's face. "You will not be the one who can wield the Sword of Light. If you can even remotely hope to kill me, you must sacrifice and die….and give in to your deepest hate. Only then can you win….don't listen and you're setting your family all up for the slab. No matter, say AHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!" Xellos cackled, firing a crimson blast from his staff into Hiero's wide-eyed face.

"AHHHHHHHHH!!!!" Hiero shouted, sitting up quickly in his bedroll as he escaped his nightmare. He was alone near the lake he'd decided to sleep near. It had been a few days since they left Stylis Acres, but his mother and aunt had insisted that they stop at a few towns on the way home for prime shopping and food.

The food part was more for his mother than Aunt Filia, but it hindered their progress to Sakura Village nonetheless. In all the nights they'd set down to sleep, he'd woken everyone up with his screaming from the dream. Normally Xellos would kill him from behind, never being seen, but this time being shot in the face was far more painful, even in the dream world.

After the first few nights of being bopped on the head by his mother and getting dirt thrown at him by Justin was too much. What made things worse was him not being able to get back to sleep since Justin snored and talked about justice speeches in his sleep, Hiero had decided sleeping a good distance away from where his family camped was best. It would prevent him and them from losing anymore sleep.

'And I'm not sure that even with my healing ability and eternal life I'd want to deal with being beaten on for having nightmares. And I thought dying was painful….Mom's really treating me like she would a group member now that she knows I'm not from this world….but it's not so bad. She's not fireballing me. It's probably since I've been so quiet since the awakening. I'll make it up to her….somehow, maybe blow up some bandits for her.' He thought, a small smile nudging through his lips.

He looked up from where he sat, the moon shining on him with its pale crescent light. "Maybe I should open up a little more now. Better she hits and fireballs me for doing something bad, like teasing people or blowing something up," he said quietly, getting out of his bedroll then folded it up," I might as well go back to camp now. The dream only happens once a night anyhow….Better start now or be yelled awake by Mom and Dad looking for me."

~

"Breakfast! At last, I'm starved." Lina chirped, attacking her cooked fish greedily. Hiero was eating in the same fashion by a tree, not by the doused fire that everyone else was eating by.

Lina grabbed up another helping before casting her eyes back at her sapphire-haired son. He looked very happy when he was eating or with Val, but mostly he always looked like he was thinking about something, his face depressed all the while. 'He is acting like Zel again. Does he think we don't love him anymore because of what Delphine said? He keeps putting that mask up when we try and do anything. Then again, I treat him less like my child and more like a man….but isn't that what he wants. I can't baby him anymore, he's older than everything except L-sama.' She thought, shoving her fish into her mouth absentmindedly.

"Hey Mom, can you move? I want some more fish." Hiero's voice piped. Lina blinked a moment then saw that Hiero was right in front of her, looking at her curiously, but not too much as to push it any further. "Uh, sure…." Lina said dumbly, letting her son pass to grab more fish, too much in her opinion when she saw he took half the roasted pile of yummy fish onto his small tin plate.

Lina jumped him before he could walk off with most of the food, but he managed to keep the plate balanced in his hands as he topple, only losing a few fish to the dirt ground. "OW! What the hell are you doing, Mom?" Hiero yelped, cramming a fish into his mouth. He knew what she was doing when she started to reach for his plate. Lina gaped as he stuffed the entire plateful of breakfast into his mouth and swallowed it.

"You pig! I didn't even get to have thirds and your seconds was half of our food! Give it back!" Lina growled, grabbing at Hiero's ear and mouth, yanking with all her might.

"OW! OW! OW! Mom, no. First come, first serve. I was hungry!! You said there was a town nearby, what are you freaking out about, OW! Peh! We can get more food there!! OW! Dad, get her off! ICH!" Hiero groaned, wishing he could turn his head to see how his father was taking this. He heard footsteps, so he gathered he father might be coming to help.

Then the yanking stopped, Lina protesting and kicking when Zel grabbed her from behind and lifted her off swiftly from Hiero's back. "You dunce, we have to go through Delicia. That place is utter hell and their food is the worst….We had to go through there twice almost every damn year in hunting Luna down and I still dread going in that nut house of a town! That's why I'm beating on you, let me go, ZEL!" Lina yelled.

~

Hiero just looked at him mother blankly. He'd never heard of Delicia during his studies and never heard about it from anyone he'd met during his travels.

"How bad can it possibly be?" he asked, regretting it when his mother's face went red with anger. From the way his mother was acting, he gathered it was something she didn't like. 'Maybe they raise giant slugs or cook slugs. That's pretty much the only thing Mom is scared of besides my late Aunt Luna.' He thought, backing up like crab before leaping up to run as his mother broke free of his father's grasp.

She started chasing him around the remaining fish, grabbing up one after another as she tried to swat at Hiero's head. "It only happens to be the most biased, escargot sucking, bronze lunatic female town that castrates men and their cohorts with the worst spells imaginable! Do you have any idea how dangerous it is to be a man in that village??" Lina yelled, managing to smack the back of Hiero's head once before he sped up.

"Castrating? Eww!! What the hell kind of town is that?" Hiero asked, speeding up again to make it look like he was chasing his mother around. She was too enraged to notice this. "The entire village is like that of Femile, which I know you had to have heard of from living on our old continent for so long, except that the inhabitants are really female, not a pack of men in drag! These women are like amazons, and their idea of procreation is like that of a black friggin' widow spider, mate then kill. Any man that tries to pass through is either castrated by getting his stuff blown off or has to be their slave.
"Wait, how'd you get Dad and Val through?" Hiero put to her swiftly, tackling her from behind, holding her down with all his might. She struggled, but she'd never get free. He was a lot stronger than she was, but he knew she'd fight him all the way. He was just like her, headstrong and impulsive, never one to go down quietly. "How else, she made us wear dresses and we moved through as quickly as possible. Go ahead and laugh." Val interjected, looking rather cross. Hiero didn't laugh. He slowly got off his mother and looked thoughtfully at his friend. "Sorry….though you all should have warned me about this before breakfast. I would have liked a little warning before you tried to cram some sissy suit on me. Not like I'd let Mom get away with stuffing me in one." Hiero replied evenly, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Well that's why we didn't tell you about it, we wanted to wait till the last minute so you'd have to put it on….this being the last minute. Last I head, they have lookouts at the entrance of Delicia and some men who tried to do what we do got spotted dressing in open area. It may have been miles away, but telescopes are real handy for those bronze she-demons. Those poor guys got blown apart before they even reached the entrance," Lina sniffed, brushing herself off as she went for her pack," So suck in your dignity and get ready for Delicia. I bought extra dresses for you and Justin so we can do this nice and quick."

Hiero looked at her sourly, then at Val, whose face looked as green as his hair. "No." Hiero said flatly, turning his nose up at his mother with narrowed eyes. Lina met this with her angry death look, but Hiero didn't back down. "That doesn't work on me, Mom. When I say no, I mean it. Val and me aren't putting on dresses, and that's final." Hiero said curtly.

"And why not? Castration doesn't scare you in the least? That's bull." Lina snapped, yanking out four dresses and tossing them at Hiero's boots. He looked at them and smirked. "I said no because I have a better idea." Hiero replied.

"And what might that be, genius?" Lina sneered. Hiero smiled and put his hands in prayer. "This….Phase Dorsa, overtake me!"

There was a gentle glowing about Hiero for the moment, but it faded as did with his Void transformation. Yet, a dragon was not what replaced him. A lovely, young dark-haired woman with blue eyes stood there in mage robes, looking very pretty and smug. "Because, mother," the woman Hiero had become said sweetly in her honeyed voice," Why wear a dress when you can create the illusion of one with your own body? Are we all on the same page now? I'm not putting on a dress when I can just make others think I am. It's so much less embarrassing to my male dignity this way….and Val's is coming up."

Val was gawking at Hiero like he'd grown three heads, not moving even as Hiero's new form took aim at him with her hands. "Illusion….Gender-Bender!" Hiero announced, green tendrils of light wrapping around Val's stunned body all at once, breaking apart to reveal a pretty green-haired girl in a mint-green gown.

"AH! What did you do, Hiero!" Val shrieked, feeling at his dress and suddenly very supple chest in alarm. "Don't be such a baby, it's all an illusion, a perfect illusion that even fools the one it is cast on as well as those looking at you. Your voice is the only problem, I don't do voices with illusions. I can do them on myself because I absorbed this woman, so I can assume any form of her life that she went through….which is why I'm so cute. Aren't I? Oh ick….her personality is in here too, I forgot about that." Hiero explained, sighing a little.

It had been long time since he assumed the form of anything human size. Dealing with the personality trying to aid his own was laughable at times and at others they were a pain in the ass, especially when the laughing was directed at him, not from him. To see Justin smirking, Filia and his father blushing, and his mother struggling to keep a straight face, it wasn't as bad as it looked, but suddenly felt very embarrassed for letting Dorsa's mind filter into his so quickly. He shrugged at last, giving a toss of Dorsa's long, dark hair.

"Stop staring and stuff Dad and the justice freak into those….very puffy dresses. Heh, oh, sorry….uh, think of it this way, at least all the other times you got dolled up, you did it for revenge against Luna. Now you're trying to hold onto your ....pffft….manhood." Hiero was saying as seriously as he could, but the sight of Filia and Lina chasing Justin and Zelgadis around with dresses wasn't helping to keep the mood. He fell over laughing when Lina tackled Justin and tugged a gaudy looking pink dress over his frightened head and re-did his ponytail so it was high on the back of his head, completing the façade. Hiero heard Val start laughing and topped over as Hiero had.

Hiero tried not to look when Filia tackled Zel, proving that she was a lot heavier and stronger than he was. She proved it when she knocked him out cold with her mace and tugged a frilly lavender dress with puffy sleeves over his head. Hiero simply stopped looking when he saw his mother and aunt were stuffing balls of yarns down the fronts of the dresses. 'Hmm, I never want to leave Sakura Village again. I'll die laughing if we have to go through with this all over again.' He thought, giggling loudly.

~ Outskirts of Delicia Village ~

Hiero and Val remained at the back of the group, snickering at Justin and Zelgadis for their plight, getting dirty looks from Justin, who looked too damn adorable so dolled up to take seriously. Hiero and Val laughed each time Justin tried to do so, which resulted in one of the Saillune prince's many justice speeches and crying fits. They were only about a mile away from Delicia, but Hiero was very bored with being reduced to just laughing.

Zelgadis neck just turned pink and lowered his head, tripping occasionally on the hem of his disguise. Hiero made no comments about his father, he wasn't in for a beating at the stone hands of a highly embarrassed chimera, especially one that was his father. He didn't like to see his father humiliated at all, though he was content with making him blush about things concerning Lina. Girls mentioned in any general conversation were good enough to make his father and Val blush. It was just amusing to watch.

Right now, looking at Justin in drag was equal inviting to put his second favorite past time into play, to be insulting and a huge tease. "You know Justin, that color really makes your hips look fat in that dress. Just like you're grandmother….bet when your voice goes high it sounds as annoying as she did." Hiero spouted, a rude smile on his face.

Justin growled and looked back with another dirty look. "You dare take the sacred name of a queen and great justice champion in vain, villain!? I am doing this because your mother made me, coward. Can't even sacrifice your dignity for the greater good, you must use parlor tricks." Justin spouted, his voice actually sounding in a rage.

'Hit a nerve, it's so easy with those loon Saillunes when their precious pride is attacked, not like they deserve dignity, bunch of nut cases. Hmm, parlor tricks, huh?' Hiero thought, taking slight offense to the insults.

Hiero smiled, his Dorsa form making him look more snotty than malicious as he set one delicate hand on his chest. "Oh, I think I'll cry and faint. You saw what I am capable of, I can do much better than some busty mage that rocked the elements in her time. And I can fry your hide to your head before you can blink, you little sissy prince. Save your justice for someone who gives a damn." Hiero said with mock hurt.

"Justin looked ready to say something, but thought better of it and looked back ahead. He muttered something, words that only Hiero and Zelgadis heard thanks to their wonderful enhanced hearing. "Stupid devil spawn….son of a bitch." Justin had said, and Zelgadis stopped all movement and looked in horror at Justin. It took the young Saillune prince all of a minute to realize he'd been heard.

"How dare y…." Zelgadis was gaping, but Justin was knocked away from him by a flurry of blue and black before he could say another word. Hiero's Dorsa form had rammed Justin from behind and was currently beating his face in. Justin socked the girl form in the face rather out of reflex of the pain he was getting. Hiero fell onto his back and Justin started choking him. "And you call me….gag….unjust. Little loser justice freak." Hiero said in Dorsa's voice.

His family and friends just stared at the two beat each other up, Hiero clawing at Justin's wrists and face and Justin trying to choke the life out of him. Finally, Hiero decided that he'd had enough and launched a swift and hard kick in between Justin's legs, cracking him hard in the groin. He felt a slight squeeze on his slender neck as Justin's eyes bulged and his mouth soured, then delighted his face with a smile as the prince rolled off with a pained moan.

Justin brought his hands to his pained loins, as he lay sideways on the grass, the fluffy dress getting in the way and making it harder to stop the pain. Hiero didn't give him the pleasure of being alone with his agony and put him in a good headlock and began knocking his slim knuckles on Justin's head extra hard. "Take it back, you wuss. No one insults my mother! Not even me. I'll kill me first. Take it back!" Hiero growled.

"Yes, please do. Lina-chan's dignity is sacred, is it not little Hiero….girl. Hmm, that's a new look for you. Not bad." Xellos voice piped suddenly, from overhead. Hiero looked up casually at the trickster priest, who was floating a good distance above them, positioned between them and the town of Delicia. His eyes were shut and a pleasant smile was plastered on his face.

"Ah Xellos, get your dress on and get down here. The fight's just getting good." Hiero spouted pleasantly, rapping a pained Justin on the head. Xellos seemed to smirk, but he couldn't be sure.

"Love to under any other circumstance, but I'm here one business little boy. Xellas and I are sick of waiting for you to come to your senses and join us. This is my final offer. Will you stop being such a human…..and become a Mazuko? Last chance…." Xellos said in an almost casual manner, adjusting his collar a bit. His staff was glowing a gentle red at the moment, but Hiero gathered it was going to be short lived. His answer wasn't going to change, not for Xellos anyway.

He dropped Justin roughly onto the grass and stood up, prim and proper. "Phase Dorsa! Leave Me!" Hiero stated in a bored tone, his sapphire-haired true form reappearing after a flash of dark light. He looked up with a smile, his dark cloak rustling in the wind, his sapphire banging moving slightly with it like fine silk.

He lifted up his gloved hand and pulled off the glove, then unwrapped the bandages off of it. Hiero knew what was there, the symbol of the Dynast Grausherra, the Mazuko he'd accidentally gotten in the service of. The Dynast let him remain human and left his family alone, Xellas would never do that, not now or ever.

He was content in displaying it fully to Xellos, though he didn't look very surprised, he was still smiling at Hiero. "I know about that little detail, but either way, we can just take you from the good smart ass frosty Mazuko Lord. The realm of the beasts is much more….exciting." Xellos chided, wagging his finger knowingly at a disgusted Hiero.

Then Hiero's smile came back as he wrapped his hand back up, leaving the glove on the ground. "Hmmm….now let me think….Uh, no. I am priest, as much as everyone hates that little fact, to Dynast Grausherra, the Ha-ou*. Why would I want to be a part of a rank amateur Mazuko breed when I can retain my great power, without you two losers making me look bad. The nerve." Hiero said sarcastically, dripping his pleasant satisfaction on every word.

Xellos fumed, gritting his teeth to the point of breaking, his left eye, thought shut, twitching. "My great Juu-ou** Xellas and my self, AMATEURS!!?? You should have stopped at the 'no' part and called it quits, I might have made your death a little quicker….but it seems that there is no reasoning with you. Everything dies, and so will you. There's a way and it's my way….but I'm going to break a few of my toys before I break you." Xellos crooned, his staff bright with red light. He fired directly behind Hiero, where his family and friends stood.

Hiero whipped his head around to see they had all leapt out of the way, all weapons drawn. He was glad they were all right, but not happy that his father was struggling with his dress.

Xellos let out a malicious and dopey laugh, forcing Hiero to look back at him over his shoulder. "Nice for a warning shot, little Hiero, but you're no fun tripping all over the place. Time to have a brief bit of fun before carrying out my orders to destroy you all. I won't be but a minute." Xellos said pleasantly, looking away from Hiero and the group to aim his sights towards Delicia.

Before anyone could get a word out, Xellos lifted his free left hand up and pointed at the town. Hiero barely had time to blink as the entire town was shoved by an invisible force so hard that it ripped the whole place apart in seconds, leaving nothing but blood stained stone and woods in place it all. Hiero waited a moment, reaching his mind out a little to see if anyone was left alive, but it was a wasted effort. Xellos had wiped the entire town out of life and structures. The sky was now filling with dark, purplish clouds, lighting and thunder toiling over each one.

"Gives a whole new meaning to the phrase 'Beat them single handedly.' But you being the Dragon Slayer of golden dragons, I should have expected such a pointless and petty act from you." Hiero said matter-of-factly as the sky was darkened. Xellos opened his eyes then, finally teleporting himself down in front of Hiero. He didn't look happy with the response.

"I hate that name." Xellos sneered. Hiero just smiled and teleported himself near Val. "Like I care. I thought you wanted to die already. Put 'em up, namagomi fruitcake." Hiero let out, taking out his demon sword. Xellos looked as stunned as everyone else, but Hiero paid it no mind.

"Stop your gawking and start fighting, weakling." Hiero grated out, sticking his tongue out at Xellos to egg him on further. Xellos smiled, which didn't sit well with Hiero. "Why take on the prize when I can take on a pawn." Xellos said pleasantly, a beam of red shooting out of his staff opal to his right.

He heard a loud yell, his mother shouting and Filia screeching. The loud thudding on the grass made his head jerk towards it, his eyes quivering.

"DAD!" Hiero yelped, his eyes wide with pain and sorrow before rage took them over and he charged Xellos. The sight of his father bleeding out of his chest with a large smoking wound, lying there on the ground writhing in pain was too much. He was going to finish Xellos off now, no matter what his dreams foretold.

~

"I'm good at goading people too. Hah, hah!!" Lina heard Xellos cackle, the banging of Hiero's sword against his staff ringing in her ears. She tried to push it away, her son's rage spreading throughout her equally, but she dared not leave her husband's side. "Filia, you know how to heal right?" Lina said quickly, pushing her tears back as hard as she could.

"Yes….we'll both have to seal the wound up. Mazuko magic is that deadly. Hurry, get all the recovery spells you can out of your body and cast. I'll use resurrection. Hurry, Lina." Filia said frantically, starting her spell up as Lina cast multiple recovery spells on her groaning husband.

Zelgadis' wound was sealing, but he was still bleeding out his dark chimera blood all over himself and the grass. Lina's gloves were drenched in it, but she went on casting even as Filia's hands began to glow, clutching Zelgadis' wound," Resurrection!!"

The wound slowly began to close, the bleeding subsiding generously enough that Zelgadis looked to be spared of anymore pain. Lina thought she saw a spark of pleasure in his eyes for a moment, but all was not pleasant behind her.

Lina found out the hard way as wet, warm stuff fell all over the, something smacking her in the side of the head. She fell on Zelgadis' arm, getting face full of drying chimera blood.

She got to her feel quickly and looked towards the source of the attack, which was a lone Xellos with a trail of blood leading from halfway from him to her. She followed it with wary eyes, seeing her and Filia's sides were soaked with blood. When the trail ended, she saw Hiero lying in a tangled heap with Justin looking down at him, too scared to move. Hiero wasn't moving at all, her eyes and face flaming angrily when she saw why. He had a hole blown through his chest, she could actually see the grass and part of Justin's boot behind him. Blood was spreading in grisly red lake as he lay there, not breathing, just bleeding out floods of sickly crimson.

"He was protecting you again….stupid human that he is. Giving one's life over and over again just to see your lives go on. What kind of an idiot wants things slowing him down? He could do so much more with you all out of the way, but he keeps protecting you," Xellos hissed out sweetly, eyeing Lina as she stared at him dead on," Ah, well, that's the way the cutie pie crumbles. I'll just relieve him of you all while he regenerates, then maybe he'll sing a different tune."

Xellos charged at Lina as she flung a barrage of Flare Arrows at him at him, but he teleport out of harms way and sent a smile and laughter her way. Lina cursed as she ran for him. 'Don't stand a chance against Mazuko magic. We've never had to actually fight him till now. I need Zelgadis now more than ever, other than Hiero, he's the only on with decent white magic and spirit spells.' She thought, preparing a Rune Flare.

"Ah, Lina-chan, how I loathe this. You would have been much better off marrying me and Hiero being my son. He would have come either way, I suspect….hee, hee." Xellos tittered, teleporting behind to give her kiss on the back of her neck, teleporting when she turned around to slash him with her sword. He appeared behind her again and gave her a good clock on the head.

"Hold still, you lousy Mazuko pervert!" Lina growled, slashing his face open with her blade. It quickly healed and he hovered back a good distance. "Argh, dumb ass bastard! Eat…..Rune Flare!" she screamed, firing the energy beams at Xellos ever grinning face.

~

Zelgadis was finally able to sit up when he heard Lina screaming out a number of fire spells, his vision a bit blurry as he tried to focus on the fight. As his eyes focused, he saw Lina wasn't even grazing Xellos, and the Mazuko went on taunting Lina terribly and smiling all the way. "Filia, help Lina….," he told the dragoness, looking away from the fight to see Justin laying his son on the ground neatly," Justin and I will attend to Hiero. You and Val protect Lina."

Val had already tugged off his shirt before Zelgadis could finish, tossing his sword aside as his dragon form took hold of his body, the glimmering emerald scales glistening in the as the lightening flashed. He fired his dragon breath at Xellos back, catching him perfectly, but Xellos just looked at him sorely while he regenerated.

"Giant iguanas now, Lina-chan? How insulting….to send such weak and ugly creatures to grace this battle of the damned. Makes my victory seem so hollow."

"You haven't won yet." Lina growled as Filia became a dragon, glaring wickedly at Xellos. Her flaming breath was practically licking at her jaws and nostrils. Xellos smirked, then shrugged. "You honestly thing a pair of overgrown iguanas and you can defeat me Lina-chan? Ugh, that's funny, even for you….this might actually be more enjoyable than I thought," he snickered, then swiftly rushed meet her, slamming his staff against Lina's sword," Come get some, my soon to be Mazuko sweetheart."

"In your dreams, fruitcake. HAH!Bamu Rod!" Lina shouted, a long whip of fire appeared in her hands. Xellos wasn't avoiding so well but the pain he was put through was making his smile grow.

"This gets better each minute, Lina-chan, don't bore me too quickly." Xellos teased, letting the hits come more than trying to avoid them.

~

Zelgadis kept looking back forth from his wife and friends to his dead son, who's wounds were miraculously healing even in death. "I can't believe you never bothered to learn white magic….I'm still getting my strength back from Xellos attack, I can't help him heal any faster." Zelgadis grumbled, not knowing whether to be sickened by the slow healing rate of torn and burnt muscles and flesh regenerating or marvel at such a feat of a dead man.

"I'm sorry, but only the girls in my family get to learn white magic…..the boys become knights unless they say otherwise. It is just to help a downed man….even if it's this man. Why can't I go fight with the others?" Justin whined, getting smacked in the face, as delicately as his golem flesh could manage, knocking him flat on his back.

"Because unlike the others, you have no magic skills and you are not a dragon. Xellos would kill you the moment he laid eyes on you. Trust me, you're better off staying out of this." Zelgadis said crossly, starting a bit as Hiero moaned.

"Damn Mazuko….when he says sucker punch, he means a lot of them. I'll show him, cheat me during a battle. I'm supposed to….cough….cheat." Hiero was mumbling as the last of his wounds closed up. His shirt was ragged shambles and blood stained every inch of his body, but he sat up as if he'd just woken up.

He didn't look very happy, to say the least, he looked terribly angry and full of venomous rage. "I guess that stupid dream was right, the Sword of Light can't be used by me to defeat that namagomi fruitcake." He said in his normal velvety voice, fully laced with dignified grace, his anger gone as if it had never existed.

Zelgadis raised an eyebrow. "What dream? You've been having more visions and didn't tell us?" Zelgadis said in shock. Hiero just gave him a sardonic look, as if to say," You can't be serious."

"All those nights of me waking up screaming and moaning in my sleep and you didn't think anything was wrong. Man, you are getting senile, Dad," Hiero said sarcastically, then pulled out the Sword of Light with it's blade still in place," No time for this talking crap, get this to Mom. She knows how to use it, so she's got to be the one to slay Xellos with it. I'm just going to soften him up for her. Tell her to shove it right through that namagomi's black heart after I grab him…..she does her part and she can keep the sword."

"What?" Zel demanded, but his son bopped him on the head with his elbow. "Oh, Dad, just do it, he's enjoying all that crap. She needs the sword….go on!" Hiero ranted, slamming the hilt of the sword in his father's hand before shoving him off towards the fight. Val and Filia were ruining what little grass remained on the battleground, Xellos taking advantage of their temperaments to get them to blast each other.

'Ah well, he hasn't gotten us killed yet….and I stress the word yet. Dammit Hiero, trouble is going to be your middle name from now on….if we survive the fruitcake. He was bad enough as our ally, as an enemy, I don't want to think about it.' Zelgadis thought, rushing off towards his wife.

She was hitting Xellos a lot with her fire whip no matter where he appeared, but Xellos was enjoying it all. "Enjoy this fruitcake," Zel mumbled as he got closer to the fight," Source of all souls which dwell in eternal and infinite. Everlasting flame of blue, let the power hidden in my soul be called forth from the Infinite....RA-TILT!"

As the spirit destroying blue-white flames of the smell began to surround Xellos, he vanished from sight, the smell crashing in on nothing. Xellos reappeared a good distance from the spot and wagged his finger at Zelgadis. "Ah, ah, ah, Zelly-chan. My game, my rules, my advantage. You'll never hurt me with such common spells. You can do better than this, surely….or not, either way, I'll have your son!" Xellos cackled, half ignoring the last lash of Lina's fire whip.

Zelgadis had reached Lina while Xellos had been speaking and remained close to her, his body still tired and sore from his earlier injury. "Is Hiero up again?" she asked quietly, her voice harsh.

Zelgadis nodded and handed her the Sword of Light. She looked fairly surprised at the gift, her eyes full of wonder for a few moments, then became skeptical. "He wants you to stab Xellos in the heart after he softens him up a bit. He says it has to be you, he can't do it….one of his vision dreams again. You can do it once he gets a grip on the fruitcake…." Zelgadis told her, sighing as the skeptical look refused to leave his wife's face," And he said you could keep it after you do the deed."

Her face lit up then. "If I get to keep it," she began, pulling the blade out of place swiftly," Then let there be light!" The familiar glowing blade of light shot out of the hilt in seconds. Zelgadis soon looked away from her, right at Xellos who was still hovering with his stupid grin several feet away.

"Like I'm scared." Xellos laughed, firing a crimson stream of energy at the pair. They both dove out of the way in opposite directions, but Xellos seemed hell bent on hitting Zelgadis. 'Life would be easier for him to make Lina a Mazuko if he kills me first. Stupid fruitcake!' Zel thought, barely escaping another blast with a rolling tumble.

He had no idea where he was going, just that he was trying to avoid being hit and to get closer to Xellos. The second part wasn't working out because Xellos kept driving him farther and farther away. He could barely make anything but the grass and dirt beneath him until he rammed into something hard.

The masculine groan was Val's, bare and weakened from his fighting with Xellos. His left arm was badly burned and his mouth was leaking a bit of blood. Filia was crouched near him in her cloak, trying to heal him. Zel felt he'd made Val's injuries worse, but he knew either way they would. Xellos was still shooting crimson energy at them.

In split second, put up every protection spell he could think of to block the first wave of blasts, each one destroying his spells on impact. Xellos smiled at Zelgadis' efforts even wider before he began to twirl his staff rapidly. "Good-bye, all….Lina and Hiero-chan are mine at last." He laughed, letting loose a cyclone of crimson lightening to spiral for the three heroes.

Zelgadis closed his eyes as the cyclone grew near, hating himself for not being able to protect his friends and praying Lina would defeat Xellos.

"Guumueon!!!!" Hiero's voice suddenly rang out, and then Zelgadis' ears filled with the sound of a loud explosion.

As he opened his eyes, he saw the same anti-magic shield Hiero had used against Luna was all around himself, Val, and Filia. Looking back towards Xellos, he saw Hiero was levitating right in front of the angered Mazuko, grinning ear to ear.

~

"Are you deaf, namagomi? No one takes my family away from me….or tries pathetically in your case and lives. I was trying to fight with my heart before, all the hate I feel for you, but that's irrational and stupid, pretty much what you are, weakling. The best you can do is pick on people and dragons….using your little disappearing act to win? Hmmm….Justin could wipe the floor with your face if all you can perform are stupid magic tricks not even fit for a carnival side-show. I hope this is all a joke and not your true power, that would be a pity, destroying someone so weak and foolish." Hiero said crisply, keeping his face and voice overly pleasant. It was making Xellos sick, his grin now a frowning sneer.

"Weak? Me? You little brat bastard child….I'll show you the meaning of mean!" Xellos growled, firing a bolt of crimson light at Hiero face. Hiero simply vanished and appeared behind him. "Chaotic Disintegrate!!"

The blue white light flew from Hiero's hands faster than Xellos could react, the spell catching him painfully in the back. He fell to the ground with sickening, wet thud as his oddly colored blood leaked from his wounds.

"I was a priest you know. Now, this is for everything you did to Val, namagomi. Infinite earth, mother who nurtures all life, let thy power gather in my hand! VLAVE HOWL!!" Hiero crowed, staying high in the air as he focused dead on Xellos position, a pool of magma forming under the pain Mazuko," Let's see how you like fighting a big cheater! Taste my….pleasure. Hah, oh…..did I melt your arm off? Dopey me."

Hiero made himself sound happier with each moment Xellos suffered. He went in the first time to brashly, to filled with angry and distaste, things Xellos loved and fed on. Hiero couldn't help but hate the Mazuko that had worried his parents that night he kidnapped him and when Xellas and him told Luna about Hiero's existence. There was so much to hate about him, but it was pointless to use it as an advantage. Xellos would get stronger if he showed his anger. Happiness and being emotionless, they were the key to starving a Mazuko, of power and mentality.

Hiero stayed high in the air as Xellos teleported out of the lava pit he'd created and appeared halfway between himself and his mother. "Don't go now, the fun's just started. This is for telling Luna about me!" Hiero shouted, emotions driven fully from him and the bracelet on his wrist glowed.

"A mere component of the Lord of Nightmares

Could release understanding upon the world

Frozen into the dark knife of annihilation

With our power, with our essence

Together we can destroy all who cross our path

Spirits of the gods, deliver your smiting blow.…

LAGUNA BLADE!!"

Xellos eyes bulged suddenly upon hearing the spell being cast, but didn't move. "You can't cast that without all the talismans of Lei Magnus, boy! Your spell is," Xellos was saying haughtily until the dark blade of the Lord of Nightmares formed in Hiero's hands,"….useless?"

Xellos was electrified by the dark energy of L-sama, batting his broken and bleeding body high in the sky before the spell faded out. Hiero floated downwards, his hair streaked with white, but he remained standing as he gathered his energy anew.

"Mother….after this next spell….argh, do as I said. You have to do this….or our asses are finished." Hiero shouted at her. She nodded in the distance, shouting back at him, "Fine, but watch your damn mouth or you'll be sucking on soap bars for a week!"

"Ah Mom! I'm battling….Ah, here comes our special guest." Hiero announced, pointing happily at the plummeting and bloody form of a haggard looking Xellos Metallium.

Xellos wasn't healing as quickly as Hiero suspected he wanted to, not even after his long drop and crash landing into the ruined ground.. Pushing himself into his mind slightly, he found that Xellos wasn't just lacking in a speedy recovery, he was lacking in strength from the attacks. 'Get ready for a lovely surprise, fruitcake.'

"Nice of you to drop in…but I'm afraid your stay is at an end. Lei Magnus actually had a message for you when I was talking with him all those decades ago, about your Xellas taking his precious talismans away after he worked so hard to get them." Hiero said rather pleasantly, grinning sweetly at the groaning, bloody Mazuko. The streaks of white began to fade from his hair, his sapphire Mazuko eye keeping on Xellos ever pained movement.

"What pray tell did Magnus say? That he admired my style and flair for fun and drama? That I impressed the great Demon King more than a weak little human upstart?" Xellos tried chortling, but it sounded a bit gargled and strained.

Hiero smiled. "Flattery will get you absolutely nowhere. No he said you need to be put in your place, like the fool you are, and I aim to please after I sort'a tricked the old psychopath. He's given me so much," Hiero sighed, shaking his head a bit to make his longest bang slide off his right, Mazuko eye," Blast Bomb!!!!"

~

A flurry and bright ring of energy balls formed around Xellos weakened form, his staff reduced to splinters and the opal it contain shattered to dust. His bloody, wretched body felt all the pain of Lei Magnus' powerful fire shamanism spell, each ball of white hot light bursting around him. They let out intense and volcanic heat that since every part of him, his amethyst eyes fastened on the similar and crazed looked sapphire blues of Hiero Greywords.

'I'll murder him for this….let Xellas rage, let them all rage, no one hurts me and gets away with it, especially not a little human brat!' Xellos tortured mind screamed. Xellos leapt up as best he could, leaking out his Mazuko blood, torn sinew and shatter bones, baring his teeth at the still smiling Hiero.

Suddenly a flash of red and white came in front of him, a white-hot pain erupting in his blackened heart. The pain started to infect every part of his body and dark soul, unable to speak or move as the pain pulled him down into Hiero and Lina merciless attacks.

~

"Oh….damn….Lina-chan….Hiero, what can be gained from denying the world my brand of fun? It's not fair!" Xellos sputtered before letting out a banshee wail as the pain crashed into him, the Sword of Light embedded fully in his chest and poisoned his body to death with its toxic blessed energy.

Hiero snickered behind his mother and spouted so devil may care," That is a secret!"

Lina watched with wide eyes as Xellos began to crumble into ashes, screaming all the way. When nothing remained of him, the sword swept upward hard since she'd been holding it in Xellos with all her strength, and it sent her toppling backwards into her son's warm body. He held her up, keeping her sword arm steady, and hugged her gently. "Congrats, Mom, you just destroyed another Mazuko and got the Sword of Light. How do you feel?" he asked pleasantly, still hugging her and nuzzling his soft, silken hair against hers.

"I feel….hungry….and like putting you over my knee for waiting so long to tell us about your damn dreams." Lina spouted in a mock-annoyed tone, giggling slightly as her son's hair was tickling her cheek.

"I'm hungry too, if it helps any. Oh Mom, what fun is it if you know everything that's going to happen? I have to live with it, why should you suffer a life without interesting surprises? You're the great Lina Inverse, well, technically Lina Greywords, but you know what I mean. There's nothing my Mom can't handle in this chaotic universe." Hiero let out pleasantly, lifting his mother up in the air to swing her around a bit before setting her gently back on solid ground.

"Ok, ok, enough with the flattery, Hiero….for now. I'm just glad that's over with, and that I got a decent prize out it. Hee, hee, in your face Gourry, I finally got the Sword of Light." Lina crowed, raising the sword up happily as she used her free hand to flash a victory sign. Hiero smiled, one hand on his hip and flashed her one of his own victory signs.

"It's easy to get mad at you, but it's hard to stay that way. Why do you have to be so damned adorable all the time." Lina said slightly, reaching up to rumple his hair.

"Heck if I know….let's just leave it at that and go home. I miss the Sakura Village's famous cherry pies and tarts….not to mention all their extra fat turkeys." Hiero said with a charming smile, his cloak fluttering dramatically in the wind. It was still dark out, but Hiero didn't seem to care.

"Lina! Hiero! Hey!" it was Zelgadis' voice, his rapid footsteps ringing blissfully in her ears as she turned to see him, a cloaked Filia, and Val with his shirt wrapped around his waist. "Hey, Zel-kun! We did it, the namagomi finally bit the eternal dust. No more rude interruptions now." She told him happily, noting all three of them looked as pleased as she did.

Zel embraced her tightly, kissing her fully on the lips before she could hug back. "Yeah, no more." He said adoringly, stroking one of her cheeks with a smooth stone finger.

"HEY! What about me?!" Justin's voice cried out. Lina looked back, seeing Hiero's pleased face sour at the very sound of Justin's voice, the young prince trotting up to them with tear filled eyes and his sword drawn.

"Oh for the love of L-sama….why can't I get some damn peace and quiet!!" Hiero raged, making the prince stop in his tracks, a scared rabbit look crossing his innocent features. Lina and the others barely had time to react as Hiero whipped around and fired a ball of dark energy at Justin. On impact, a dark flash occurred for a brief moment, then Justin was gone.

"HIERO!! What did you do?!" Lina scolded, putting her son in a headlock. "Ah Mom, I didn't kill him.…gag….I just sent him back to Saillune. I can long-range teleport myself and other things….choke….now….ack! He's back home….I swear, please I need air!! MOM! You're embarrassing me, the little snot wad is home!!" Hiero yelped as his eyes went wide.

Lina squeezed his neck a few minutes more before letting him drop to the group in a coughing heap, then slapped him heartily on the back. "Just checking….having the loons from Saillune hunting us down for vaporizing their heir prince wouldn't be real good for any of us, Hiero. Now, let me get MY new blade for MY new Sword of Light, and we can get going. Ah, and no more damn Delicia to worry about either….Xellos came in handy for something, all be it so brutal. A few less slugs and castrating feminists in the world. Onward to home, guys, finally."

Hiero managed to get up and rubbed his throat as she quickly retrieved and fastened her blade into the Sword of Light.

"Yeah, I love you too, Mom….cough….finally I can sleep in my own damn bed and eat at my own table….and actually see what they and Sakura Village looks like with my own eyes." Hiero breathed out, still rubbing his throat and forming a faint smile on his lips.

Zelgadis chuckled at the display, Val and Filia both smiling. "Yeah, Hiero, finally we can all go home. Yeah!" Lina crowed, rushing off towards the mountains that held Sakura Village, Zel latching arms with her as she passed him by. Hiero followed, giving a blushing Val his cloak to hide his nakedness, and tugged him along behind his parents. Filia was right beside them, soon the entire group running off into the distance, finally going home.

~ Meanwhile ~Saillune Palace -

"Someone! Anyone! Please! For love of truth and justice, I beg of anyone that can hear me! Get me down from here!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Justin screamed, crying madly as he held tightly onto the tallest tower flagpole that Hiero had teleported him to.

The End….Or Is It?

Note: *Ha-ou = Supreme King (Dynast Grausherra)

**Juu-ou = Beast King (Xellas Metallium)