I don't own Slayers. Never will. Wish I did. Kinda sad; last chapter and all. It's been fun. Look out for upcoming DVD Extras, though. Written mostly with "Rain", a song from Cowboy Bebop, in mind and "Claire Bible" from the Slayers NEXT score (played during mostly Halcyform's little story arch, which makes sense, really).
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Slayers SILENCE
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Episode Twelve:
"Game Over! All Things Must Come to an End!"
"Will... will Lina be okay?" Gourry asked quietly to Amelia.
The princess had taken note that since the others left, Gourry had taken hold of the fiery girl's hand. Whether he himself had noticed was unknown, and Amelia would have gushed over it, but she needed to concentrate on the healing spell.
Amelia smiled weakly. "I'm sure she will be, Mr. Gourry. Ms. Lina can't be defeated, right?"
Gourry looked uncertain about that, his eyes back to the wincing sorceress. "What if... she is one day?"
"Mr. Gourry?" Amelia blinked at him, ending her healing spell. If she went on, she'd probably pass out.
"What if Lina can't win just one time?" Gourry wondered, eyebrows knitted deeply.
Amelia understood. That must have been his fear. "I can't really tell you... but that time isn't now, Mr. Gourry. Ms. Lina is going to be fine! But what happens in the future, we'll worry about it then." Gourry still looked uncertain.
Lina coughed a little, blinking. She groaned, waking up again. "...I fell asleep..."
"Are you feeling better, Ms. Lina?" Amelia wanted to know.
"Yeah... and ready to kick some ass..." Lina winced, trying to get up.
Gourry frowned and lifted her up, putting her arm around his neck. "You can't do it by yourself."
Lina opened her mouth to remark, but become quiet instead. "...I guess not..." she admitted.
Amelia slid her friend's arm around her neck as well. "We'll help you, Ms. Lina. You're still not at full strength." And to be honest, she was deeply worried about Zelgadis and the others.
Lina smiled a little. "Let's go. We'll do what we can..."
"Was the first time not enough?" Halcyform mused softly, smiling somewhat as he eyed the offenders below him. The screeches of the beings held within the mound of flesh didn't affect him a single bit, even as they would crescendo every now and again.
Zelgadis was actually the first to speak. "I think you misunderstand. The first round was enough for us to become even more determined. I honestly don't care what happened to you in the past; you have no right to have done this to any of us!"
"And what do I care of other beings, dead or alive?" Halcyform growled somewhat. "My wounds haven't stopped bleeding since the day she died. No one has truly experienced it. A piece of your soul torn away from you. Feeling like an empty thing."
That rung some bells. Zangulus's arms suddenly felt weaker as he lowered his sword, feeling a realization. That's what he was trying to achieve... And what to do with that information, though?
Vrumugun came close to frowning. "I will stand in front of Sylphiel as she casts the spell. I will do what I can to divert his attention, but you two shall also do so from respective sides."
"And why in front of Ms. Sylphiel?" Xellos was curious, doubting he'd be doing much here.
"If Halcyform decides to attack her, and with me in front of her, you would have no choice but to place a shield up," Vrumugun informed him rather smugly.
Xellos sweatdropped. "That's very deceitful of you, Mr. Vrumugun! ...I like it."
"Although I particularly do not mind tricking the trickster, pleasing you was not my intent."
Zelgadis took out his sword, looking rather merciless as he ran around to flank the left side of the wailing column. Holding out his hand, he cast an Elmekia Flame before evading one of Halcyform's attacks.
Zangulus turned to look at Sylphiel. "Whatever happens to us, don't stop casting that spell. Don't stop for anything. Promise me, all right?"
She nodded a little, somewhat uncertain. "A-all right. I promise. I won't stop."
He smiled a little to reassure his sister. "Good." Because what's going to happen is going to be helluva dangerous.
Zangulus moved off to attack at the other side, holding up his enchanted weapon before using a Howling Blast on the mound.
"You think this will work? No matter what you throw, you can't stop me. It's just a simple fact you refuse to accept," Halcyform brushed off their attempts, holding out his hand. Samantha rose up from where she laid, eyes opening and immediately smiling as she awkwardly walked a bit of a ways.
Vrumugun twitched noticeably. That certainly got his attention...
Sylphiel took in a deep breath. She couldn't stop for anything. She needed to clear her mind and totally concentrate on this. Besides, even if someone had so much as a scratch, she'd be able to heal them...
The priestess held up her hands, closing her eyes as she chanted what she remembered from watching Lina. "Lord of the Darkness and the Four Worlds, I call upon you, grant me all the power that you possess..." The talismans glowed a deep red as she then held her hands as if cradling a precious gem; a gentle white glowing ball began to form in her palms as she concentrated.
Vrumugun stood, not moving an inch as magical spells were thrown at him. His mind was mostly entranced by Samantha, debating on what to do. Sighing, feeling mildly annoyed, Xellos appeared in front of the mage and threw up a shield, blocking off the attacks.
"Damu Brass!" Zelgadis snapped, throwing the earth spell at the mound. Like anything else, damage was dealt, but Halcyform didn't waver in the slightest.
What caught him off guard was the disturbing sight of several arms from the mound gathering in one spot, holding out their hands at Zelgadis. A rather large fireball was cast from several different persons, catching the chimera on fire. He cursed and ran off, trying to concentrate on a water spell in the meanwhile.
Vrumugun, without any words, formed an Icicle Lance, still deciding what to do as Samantha advanced. This is not her. I am pained... as they were when facing their closest ones.
The mage shook slightly, letting the ice lance sink into the ground and reach to quickly freeze the puppet. "I am sorry," he apologized sorrowfully.
He heard Sylphiel murmuring softly behind him, yet her voice echoed throughout the room, somehow deafening the screams from the dripping creation of flesh before him.
"Gentle flames of life, blazing inferno of healing..." she spoke smoothly, the light in her hands growing.
She can't be distracted, even if Halcyform's attacks are blocked off by Xellos, Zangulus noted. He eyed up at Halcyform, who was bound by his own creation. I doubt Vrumugun realized it. He hates him too much to notice, and Samantha having affected him isn't helping any. Zel definitely not, and Sylphiel's head has to be totally on the spell. I'm sure this'll distract Halcyform at least...
Zelgadis managed to get an Aqua Create, turning around and feeling miserable. The attack scorched his stony hide, but not mortally wounding him. It certainly slowed him down, though.
Sylphiel continued gently, "Let your light embrace and guide us..." She dropped the ball of light, letting it spread and form a shape of a bird in the floor in front of her.
"Zelgadis!" Zangulus called over his shoulder. "Give me a flying spell up to Halcyform!"
The chimera turned to face the other swordsman. He stared for a moment, then frowned. "You'd better have a good idea what you're doing. Diem Wing!"
"I hope I do, too," Zangulus muttered before he was thrown up to Halcyform. He readied his sword, and once he was just about at equal height of his opponent, the swordsman thrust the Howling Sword at Halcyform.
Halcyform hit it aside with his forearm, ignoring his newly formed deep gash from blocking the attack.
Then everything seemed to happen at once, and yet freeze.
Coming in was Gourry and Amelia, helping Lina along the way as the sorceress threw a weaker spell than usual, a fireball, but still efficient against the mound. Lina truly was not a quitter.
"Amelia, go help Zelgadis," Lina told the princess. Amelia nodded, running toward her chimera friend, white magic spell forming in her hands.
Gourry completely lifted Lina into his arms. She flushed, about ready to argue when he interrupted, "You can't walk in your condition, Lina! But you can still make things go boom, right?"
Lina cracked a grin at his terms. "Yeah. I can still make things go boom. Hold still, though." She started up another fireball in her hands, trying to take aim in her awkward situation.
Halcyform shoved his hand into Zangulus's side as though his arm was a weapon.
Zangulus was a little too shocked at first to respond to Halcyform's attack. He tried to speak, but it came out as a pathetic cough, feeling blood dribbling down his lip. The dark haired man lifted his already injured arms to hold his sword, but they felt too weak now. He found it easier to just drop the enchanted blade.
So he did.
Sylphiel almost completed the spell, her eyes closed as her mind was completely focused. "...To cleanse and purify all by the power we possess!"
A low trill of a bird could be heard, as though it was miles away yet so close at the same time. A beam of light started to form around her, glowing white feathers appearing and falling around her slowly.
"You pursued me very well. I didn't think it was the last time we'd meet," Halcyform commented, eyes narrowing, and yet he smiled even worse than Xellos.
Zangulus tried to speak again, but he choked, dangling in the air with only Halcyform's hand in his side to hold him up.
A white haired man hired him to injure people in...
"Bomul," he managed to cough out, his arms shakily rising up again.
"Think further," Halcyform laughed softly. "Who do you think would have set fire to Sairaag?"
Zangulus glared a little, trying not to let himself swallow.
Use the information, he reminded himself. Ignore him...
The light grew within the room, not strong enough to blind them but enough to be felt. The sounds of the bird was growing louder as well.
Zangulus grabbed ahold of the arm in his side, and pushed himself, making the wound larger. To his pleasure, this confused Halcyform.
"You were trying..." Zangulus gagged in the middle of his sentence. "...trying to make us understand." He pushed himself further, knowing that this probably disturbed Halcyform in a bizarre way. "Everything came back to haunt us... to remind us... and make us realize what we already have..."
"How could you have known?" Halcyform was shocked.
Zangulus smiled wryly. "Everyone's ultimate fear is to be left alone... no matter how little or great it affects us." He tried to break out of a coughing fit, coming out rather hoarse. "Martina's death would leave me alone... Vrumugun didn't want to relive the day Samantha died. Gourry doesn't want to lose Lina... and you're reliving your own nightmare of Rubia's death as well."
Halcyform was too surprised to say anything at first, prying away one of Zangulus's hands from his arm. He murmured something to the swordsman.
There were too many things to say, but the Xoana king didn't have the time or the energy. Hopefully one word would get it across.
"Thanks," was all Zangulus managed to get out before letting go of Halcyform's arm, feeling too weak to keep holding on. He dropped toward the floor, getting caught by both Zelgadis and Amelia.
"PHOENIX FLARE!!"
Tearing away from the floor where the shape of a bird was implanted was a large glowing magically created one. It hovered there for a moment, as Sylphiel murmured to herself, eyes closed as she concentrated to control the spell.
"She's really doing it...!" Lina commented, eyes widening slightly.
Xellos no longer had his smile. Eyes slightly open, he looked upon the bird-shaped spell before disappearing. To be safe, he could simply just watch from the Astral Plane and be sure things go the way they were supposed to.
All eyes were attracted to the spell, waiting for the moment.
In reality, everything took place in a matter of seconds. The spell gave out a shriek before taking off, circling around and soaring right through Lina and Gourry before crossing the entire room, engulfing everyone as it moved.
Zelgadis twitched before screaming out in apparent pain, grabbing his head as he fell back. Amelia caught his arms, calling out for him. What was wrong?! This was a healing spell!
Halcyform looked on, unmoving until he closed his eyes. He appreciated the nightmare finally ending as he, the horrid creation below him, and the wails of the beings stuck within all vanished.
In Sylphiel's mind, it seemed to take hours. She could sense all who were in pain, cursed, dying... All she knew was that she needed to cure all that in one faithful stroke. She was the spell; the spell, the phoenix, was her, and she would guide it. They/she would heal everyone.
Ms. Lina is first. Knitting together everything, even up to her damaged clothes. Ms. Amelia did a nice job with what she could do.
Gourry is safe. His injured feelings will have to be cured on their own.
Mr. Vrumugun's curse. Undo, undo, undo... Who could she link him with, though, who was just as powerful as Dynast?
Where this spell draws its power from.
She sewed it together, placed everything where it was needed.
What happened to big brother...?
Fix it. He'll be fine, he'll be okay; you can fix it. Pull it together, repair, piece by piece...
Mr. Zelgadis... the most complicated, quite possibly.
Running out of time.
I'm sorry. I can't fix everything. I'm getting... tired...
Finally. Halcyform.
Let your soul and the others rest in peace.
Zangulus's hand jerked to his injury, but all he felt was a hole in his shirt. It was like nothing even touched him! And his arms felt healed as well.
Then Sylphiel really managed to...
He looked up. All there was left was a crater where once was the mound of beings and Halcyform. Nothing more.
She must be really tired... Zangulus stood up, turning around to see his sister falling forward out of exhaustion. He ran across the room, catching her and patting her back lightly.
Sylphiel yawned softly, barely even having the energy to open her eyes and squint up at him, having a questionable look on her face.
"You did it," he confirmed for her with a little smile. "It's over."
She smiled back, closing her eyes and pleased at that.
Zangulus stood up, having his sister in his arms as she rested.
"I feel as good as new!" Lina was awed, flexing her fingers a little bit. She looked around, then noticed where she was. Flushing, the sorceress wasn't quite sure what to say about being in Gourry's arms. Then she eyed at him accusingly. "You're not going to suddenly break out into flowery speeches and propose to me, are you?"
Gourry blinked at her. "Why would I talk about flowers? And I thought Amelia was the one who did speechy things."
Good ol' Gourry. Lina grinned and set herself down from his arms.
Vrumugun wasn't sure what to do. How was he any different?
Then he noticed that the air was... cold. It felt cold. He could feel cold.
He touched his own forehead. Warm. He was warm!
The mage would have burst out laughing, but he had better control than that. But he did feel satisfied in smiling.
"Everyone! Come over here!" Amelia called out suddenly, her voice shaky.
"Amelia, what's wrong?" Lina asked, running toward her friend. She stopped abruptly, staring at Zelgadis. The sorceress leaned forward, blinking at him quietly.
Amelia nodded eagerly and helped Zelgadis back up. "I know it's not much, but..."
Zelgadis was just confused. "What? What happened?"
Lina grabbed a handful of Zelgadis's hair, yanking it out rather painfully. "OW! Lina, what--" Zelgadis began to ask.
The sorceress held out the hair to Zelgadis. "This is what happened, Zel." Lina was grinning.
He took it, eyes wide. "It's my hair..." Instead of the lavender color the others were so adjusted to, Zelgadis's hair had turned from wire to his normal dark brown. Normal.
"But the rest of your body..." Amelia said rather sadly.
True. Zelgadis was still the same other than his hair. Still, he had an unusually bright smile on his face. "That's all right. This is a step further than anything else I've tried." He owed it to Sylphiel.
He grew thoughtful. Maybe when her energy restored...
Think about the future later, Zelgadis pointed out to himself for once. He was just happy to get a part of himself back.
Lina was never so happy to be alive, to be able to enjoy eating. She nearly inhaled a few chicken bones along the way, but that didn't matter. She was enjoying herself, through and through, as was Gourry. That's all that really mattered.
"Um, Mr. Vrumugun, be careful, that's--" Amelia attempted to warn.
"... ... ... Ow. Hot," Vrumugun stated flatly, eyeing the offending cup of tea. He still wasn't used to being able to actually feel heat. He wasn't upset at it; he was entirely thankful of how hot it was.
"You've best be more careful now," Xellos said cheerfully, appearing beside the mage.
"Why are you still bothering me?" Vrumugun complained lightly. "You have no more business with any of us."
Xellos grinned. "Oh, quite the contrary. I have a bit of things to discuss with Zangy, although he doesn't appear to be here right now."
Lina garbled out something along the lines of, "He's upstairs with Sylphiel." as she stuffed her face.
"I see, I see," Xellos nodded appreciatively. "And nice hair, Zelgadis."
"I don't know whether or not to take that as a compliment from you," Zelgadis replied.
"Do I always come off as so insulting?" Xellos sniffed irritably.
"Your very existence means nothing but trouble for us," Lina told him, finishing the last bit of turkey on the table. "What else could you want from Zang, anyway?"
Xellos hmmed softly. "A little of this, a little of that-- AH! Here he is!"
From the staircase, Zangulus eyed at the mazoku, then looked at the others. "What's he doing here?"
Xellos tugged the swordsman down and placed him in his chair. "I'll be more than happy to answer that! My business with Mr. Vrumugun is fairly done--I'll be doing an occasional check up, but that's not important anyway--but with you I have some things to tie up. First, you promised Ms. Lina a feast, hm hm?"
"I didn't promise her anything," Zangulus responded, glaring at Lina.
Lina glared right back. "So what?! I'm making you! You owe me big time!! I'll... I'll follow you back to Xoana!" She waved her arms furiously. "I won't forgive you until you give me the biggest feast EVER!"
As Zangulus grumbled to himself, Xellos nodded a few times. "Yes, yes. Exactly! Now, you didn't think that I'd teleport everyone so willingly out of Halcyform's lair for free, did you?"
"I was kind of hoping you would," Zangulus muttered.
"Oh, you're so silly sometimes," Xellos laughed. "Well, you're wrong. I want a bit of a reward myself, you know!"
Zangulus peered at him. "What do you expect me to do?! Give you a feast?? You don't even need to eat!"
Xellos grinned. "Just making you think about it is so delicious. But I want something more. I want... dragon cuisine."
"NO!" Zangulus snapped at him.
"That's unfair!" Lina growled. "I want dragon cuisine, too!"
Zangulus just wanted to bash his head against something hard. Zelgadis wasn't that far off...
"Wow! We're getting dragon cuisine?!" Gourry was like a little kid waiting for the one thing he wanted all his life.
"I didn't promise anything..." Zangulus tried desperately to say "no". Why wouldn't anyone listen to him?
"You really have come a long ways to give us something so grand, Mr. Zangulus!" Amelia said rather cheerfully.
Zangulus pulled his hat over his eyes. "...I give up..."
"Two dragon cuisines, then. One for Ms. Lina, and one for myself," Xellos confirmed. "I'll be waiting!"
Great. Wonderful. Just how the hell would Martina respond to having to make two dragon cuisines, one for a mazoku no less? Besides... he never even got her a souvenir while he was out!
"AARRRRGGGHHH!!" a frustrated king was heard throughout Atlas City.
There was way too much to tell Martina in the letter, other than the horrific news about the enormous feast needed for an angry sorceress and a happy mazoku.
Zangulus tapped the quill to the paper bitterly. What could be said...?
He glanced over his shoulder to his sleeping sister.
I'm coming home. And I've brought a souvenir.
Besides, how realistically could he talk about the whole ordeal? All Martina needed to know was that he was finally coming back.
"...To be honest, I did not think that you and Sylphiel were capable of helping me."
After all that had happened, Zangulus wasn't at all surprised at Vrumugun's sudden entrance. "Don't thank me. Sylphiel did it by herself."
Vrumugun nodded slightly. "Still... I owe you both many thanks."
There was something nagging on Zangulus's mind. There was something he needed to tell his best friend. What was it...?
Zangulus set aside his quill. "There's something Halcyform told me before he died."
"In which case I noticed that you have become much more observant. I am sorry I did not... do anything to aid you then."
"Don't bother. I'm surprised you could hear me," Zangulus told him. Vrumugun merely raised an eyebrow at him. "Yeah. Okay. I know I'm loud. Shut up."
"Why did you thank him?" Vrumugun queried, almost sounding like he was scolding him.
Zangulus crossed his arms. "A few things. In someone else's eyes, he did too many horrible things. That's true, but whether he realized it or not, he kind of made things the way they should be."
"Do clarify."
"First of all, if he hadn't even started on this whole bit, I would have never met you," Zangulus pointed out. "I don't even think I'd be alive right now, either; where would that put Martina and Xoana? And Sylphiel is here with me. Those are just a few things."
Vrumugun didn't appear to be very convinced.
Zangulus shrugged. "Anyway, Halcyform told me something. He told me that he was sorry."
"...That is meaningless," Vrumugun muttered somewhat angrily. "I can never forgive him for what he has done. What I did and what he did are things that cannot be simply forgotten!"
"I doubt anyone wants to forget this. But I think in the end he really was sorry for what he did, and I also think that you don't want to let yourself forgive him. You don't blame him as much as you blame yourself, either." Zangulus narrowed his eyes a little. "Am I right?"
Vrumugun didn't reply right away. He finally sighed a little. "...I almost miss your insensitive self."
"I do sometimes, too," Zangulus grumped. "I really suck at being nice."
"I still refuse to forgive him," Vrumugun said.
Zangulus picked his quill back up. "I doubt Halcyform's intention was to get you to forgive him. He just wanted to let you know."
"...I see. Thank you, Zangulus."
"Don't worry about it," he assured the mage.
"Hm. Almost two years and the entire thing's been rebuilt," Lina mused.
Zangulus was actually surprised. "I've been gone for three months and the entire kingdom's already up?? There was only half when I left!"
Indeed, Xoana was completely restored to its former... not-so-blown-up-ness. Even right down to the overlooking castle up on a cliff. It was the way it was before Lina threw a Dragon Slave.
"Do you think... it'd really be okay if I stayed here?" Sylphiel wondered.
"I'll sleep in the moat if it gets you to stay here," Zangulus replied.
The moment they arrived at the front of the castle, Martina rather happily greeted her husband with a few kisses.
"You forgot to write for a week," she complained. "I was so worried!"
"Doesn't look like you had time to lament about him," Lina remarked, looking all around the entire city of Xoana.
Martina immediately perked right up. "Lina? What a wonderful surprise!" She joined hands with the sorceress. "Everyone's here; that's just perfect! We just finished the city yesterday, in fact."
"How the heck did you finish it while I was gone, anyway?" Zangulus wanted to know.
"Oh, they needed some inspiration. You were a little hard on them, Zangy-dear," Martina replied honestly. "Anyway, with the city finished, your return, and a visit from everyone, there really should be a party. The dragon cuisine should be finished today, in fact! We've been preparing since you left."
Zangulus almost fell over. "Is there anything else I should know about?"
Martina took a moment to think. "I don't think so. Now... more importantly: where's my souvenir?" Her eyes grew big and shiny, anticipating her gift.
"Ah... about that..." Zangulus coughed. "Meet, once again, Sylphiel. My sister."
There wasn't a look of disappointment on her face as he imagined. Instead, Martina took Sylphiel's hands happily. "I'll have to make an extra room for you, then! I'm so glad!"
"S-so am I," Sylphiel stammered out, smiling nervously. "Would it be awkward for me to call you my sister?"
"Certainly not," Martina replied, smiling. It seemed like she would prefer it.
"Um... Mr. Zangulus?" Amelia spoke up. "There's something you should know... I kind of invited Daddy and Uncle Christopher to join us. They should be here soon."
"What?!"
"And so are Ms. Filia, Mr. Jillas, and Mr. Gravos," Amelia announced.
Zangulus twitched a little. "Is there any REASON you had to pull this on me?!"
"They did help us cure Ms. Sylphiel, and of course I wanted to invite Daddy and Uncle Christopher!"
"Hello!" Xellos greeted as he appeared amongst the others.
Martina scowled. "What are you doing here?"
"Zangy promised me a feast!" Xellos beamed. "So good to see you, Mrs. Martina. How is Lord Zoamelgustar?"
"Zangy-dear," Martina looked at her husband somewhat suspiciously.
"Well... uh... that is... NONEOFITWASMYIDEA!!" Zangulus dashed away into the castle.
Sylphiel looked after him worriedly. "Big brother...?"
"Oh, dear. I do believe he's becoming stressed," Xellos noted, nervously rubbing the back of his head.
Vrumugun appeared shortly after the mazoku, eyeing him. "I do not think you are aiding his case at all."
"Vrumugun! Welcome back," Martina greeted. "I'm sorry, but I need to have a talk with Zangy. Come in everyone."
While the others were more than happy to come inside, Vrumugun turned to the mazoku. "What happened to Sherra?"
"Oh, just something that I doubt she's very good at," Xellos replied cheerfully. "But it's something she's learning since that little trial we had."
Sherra's eyebrow twitched irritably. "...It's all come down to this..."
"Sherry! I'm hungry!" Deep Sea Dolphin complained. "Is it done!?"
Having used Sylphiel's recipe for the soup, Sherra had tried several times a day to get it right. She wasn't allowed to stop until Lord Dynast and Dolphin were both satisfied with the meal.
"My name is Sherra," the general told her in a grumble, bringing over the pot.
Dolphin tasted it, then wrinkled her nose. "Too spicy!" the puppet version of herself announced.
"Spicy?!" Sherra growled.
The demi-god's eyes shimmered sadly. "You're yelling at me...!"
Sherra groaned. Why her?!
"I do believe you need to try again," Dynast informed his general smugly.
"Yes, Lord Dynast," Sherra sulked.
"Doesn't it take six months for dragon cuisine to be made?" Zelgadis pointed out, seated at the long table within the court yard. It was just being set up, and, unlike Lina and Gourry, he was allowed to be seated there without greedily grabbing things to shove in their mouths.
"I'm happy to announce that we have the most fit chefs in Xoana," Martina said pleasantly. "They can make it half in that time!" She laughed heartily, proud of herself.
Another annoying laugh was heard in the vicinity, having Amelia grow big sparkly eyes. "Daddy!" she squealed, running from her seat to where her father arrived.
"Daughter!" Prince Philionel greeted Amelia, catching her in a loving hug.
"Daddy!"
"Dau--"
"Don't start that again," Lina groaned. "Hiya, Phil."
"Ms. Lina! How great to see you!" Philionel said.
Zangulus, wondering why he had to give the formal speech, approached the prince of Seyruun. "It's my pleasure," not really, he thought, "to welcome you to Xoana."
Philionel gave the other ruler a hearty slap on the back, nearly causing Zangulus to get the air knocked out of him. Phil didn't seem to notice. "Many thanks, dear friend! You kept my beloved daughter safe from the clutches of evil."
"...Yeah. Sure," Zangulus wheezed, getting his air back.
"Mr. Zangulus really did fight with a true passion for Justice, Daddy!" Amelia added. "I was so amazed; I never thought he had it in him!"
Philionel was impressed. "How righteous...!! This truly does call for a celebration with our new ally of truth, friendship, and... JUSTICE!"
"Daddy!"
"Daughter!"
"MS. LINA!!" Filia hollered, coming inside with Jillas and Gravos not far behind.
"Hey! Filia! How's it going?" Lina greeted.
"I'm fine, thank you, but I can't believe that you would have... DRAGON cuisine!" Filia huffed a little.
"Look, that doesn't mean you have to eat it..."
Filia frowned. "Of course I won't! But what shocks me even more is that... that... that thing gets a feast to himself as well!"
"Don't flatter me so," Xellos laughed, blushing.
"You!" Filia turned to Zangulus. "How could you?!"
"It's not like I have a choice. Can't I be left alone for just a moment?" Zangulus complained a little.
"Please, Miss," Sylphiel spoke up. "Mr. Xellos helped us during our journey. We had to repay him somehow."
Filia wasn't convinced. "Why would that monster ever help a living soul?"
"Filia, just calm down a moment. It's a really long story to tell, anyway," Lina told her with a nervous laugh.
Filia sighed heavily. "I suppose it is, but... still..." She eyed Zangulus again. "Is there anything non-dragon related here that we can eat?"
"That table, I think," Zangulus pointed out, hoping to be left alone.
Filia nodded. "Thank you." She took off that way with Jillas and Gravos following.
"I guess we can't have dragon cuisine, either," Jillas said sadly.
"Of course not; how brutal," Filia muttered a little. "Golden dragon or not, it's wrong to take any life!"
"It really depends on the situation, of course," Zelgadis vaguely commented, his back to the former priestess.
Filia turned around to talk back, then looked alert. "Mr. Zelgadis? Is that you?"
"Well, I would like to say 'in the flesh,'" the chimera replied.
"I'm glad to see you've gotten part of your cure, at least; good luck with the rest," Filia told him pleasantly.
Zelgadis smiled. "Thanks."
Amelia, with her father to her left, sat down next to Zelgadis. She was extremely cheerful, beaming toward her friend. "What are you going to do now?"
"Probably wait for Sylphiel to recover before asking her to cast the spell again," Zelgadis answered.
"Would you... would you like to wait at Seyruun?" Amelia wondered, squirming a little as she blushed.
Zelgadis looked at her, bewildered somewhat. "Sure. Why not?" he answered.
Amelia smiled, standing up from her seat as she gave Zelgadis a kiss on the cheek.
"Was that for good luck?" Zelgadis asked, ignoring his own blush.
"Sort of," the princess laughed nervously. "Good luck in a few things..."
That was the end of it, wasn't it?
The end and the beginning of another thing.
Zangulus's mind was occupied, even as he ate. The dragon cuisine was more than superb, yes, but he was wondering.
Now what?
Well, I'm not going to go adventuring in a long time; I know that much, Zangulus relieved himself. There was no way he could be convinced to leave again. The journey was way too much, and he just wanted to settle down. Besides, he had Sylphiel there with him now.
"What do you mean you haven't married Gourry yet?" Martina demanded of Lina.
"Of course I haven't! Why would I wanna get married? There's too much to do in the world; that means I would have to settle down," Lina argued.
"If you had the chance, would you?" Martina asked.
Lina flushed. "I'm not telling!"
"Um... what are you two talking about?" Gourry wondered.
"NOTHING!" Lina replied. "Keep eating!"
Some things change, but then again some things don't, Zangulus thought.
He turned his head, a little worried. "It's not poisoned," he told Vrumugun, half-jokingly.
"I hope that should not be one of my concerns," Vrumugun responded.
"Then what's the matter?"
"I have been traveling for awhile now, either running or fighting. I have no home to speak of. Now that it is all over, what am I to do?"
Zangulus shrugged. "Stay here. It's not really that big of a deal; I would actually prefer someone level-headed around here because half the time I don't have a clue what I'm doing. Besides, the last thing you deserve is to be bugged by Xellos for the rest of your life, otherwise being alone."
Xellos popped up. "Did someone call me?"
"No; go away," Zangulus told him flatly.
"Awww. Phooey," Xellos sighed. "Ohhh, Ms. Filiaaaa! I have some dragon wine soufflé!"
"TRASH!"
The Trickster Priest became a shooting star.
"Perhaps I could get along with that golden dragon," Vrumugun mused softly. "But at any rate, I would not want to be a bother to you any longer."
"Then stay here; I'd rather you'd do that than have me wonder what the heck you're doing every single day. You said you owed me and Sylphiel; so stay here. That's an order."
Vrumugun raised a brow. "Very well then."
"Good. The worst thing in the world is being left alone; like I said, you really don't deserve that," Zangulus told him.
"Um... big brother?" Sylphiel perked up.
"Yeah?"
Zangulus found mashed potatoes in his eye.
"Food fight?" Sylphiel giggled softly.
Upon the next day, some were leaving, some were staying. Nonetheless, it was a day that said this is the way things will be and will remain to be.
"It was nice to have a visit, Lina; send some letters sometime," Martina waved her friend good-bye.
"Yeah, sure. I still kind of need to find Gourry a new sword, anyway. That'll be our next journey," Lina replied. "You guys take care!"
"Bye!" Gourry waved as he took off with Lina.
"You know, I'm a little surprised," Sylphiel said quietly to her brother.
Zangulus glanced at her. "About...?" he prompted.
"You never asked for a fight once from Gourry..." Sylphiel pointed out.
"..." Zangulus replied to that. He felt like screaming in outrage, but... ah, what the hell? Maybe next time.
"Mr. Zangulus! Mrs. Martina! Ms. Sylphiel! Mr. Vrumugun!" Amelia called out, waving from a horse. Zelgadis was on another one behind her, along with Prince Philionel and Christopher. "We're going!"
"Send a letter when you've recovered," Zelgadis requested from Sylphiel. "I'll be in Seyruun."
Sylphiel nodded. "I will. Take care, everyone."
As they left, it just felt satisfying that it was all over. Sylphiel wouldn't be alone. She was genuinely happy. It was the way things would be.
Nobody was alone, and that's the way it was meant to be.
-=-=-
Done. Ending. That's it. WOOOO!! It's all over! Wheeee! Everyone's happy! I'm happy! Even Vrumugun was happy! Happy happy happy! I managed to write Martina! HAHAHAHA!
No. Seriously. I'm really proud of this series. I mean, other than a couple of sidestories and extras, there's nothing left of this. This was the conclusion.
Is there going to be a sequel? Not bloody likely. But that's okay! Ha ha! Hee hee! Hoo hoo! There's so much to say, but I'm leaving that up to DVD Extras. So, in short, don't be alone; cherish those with you because the worst thing in the world is being alone. Cherish, dammit. CHERISH!
The special end theme I imagine for this would be "It's My Life" from the Cardcaptor Sakura movie. Really sweet song. ^_^
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Alba Aulbath
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