Slayers: Alive
Episode 121: Fusion! All For A Common Goal
Filia was in the middle of her prayer for the late king of Seyruun when Zelas appeared, walking down the temple's long center hallway where everyone had gathered to pay their respects. Xellos had been making faces at Filia in the front row, trying to get her to lose her concentration and laugh in front of everyone. Lina and Gourry were tasked with the chore of sitting left and right from Xellos to make sure he stayed in his seat and didn't cause any major trouble. With her eyes trained on Zelas with worry, Filia continued reciting her prayers on automatic, while the monster lord walked over to Philionel, who was sitting with his daughters. She whispered something in his ear, which caused the soon to become king crowned prince to jump.
All the attendees of the service gasped as Filia paused her prayers in shock. The golden dragon tried to pick up where she left off but found herself unable to do so. To try to save face as much as possible, given that her worries about what Zelas had set into motion were making her mind go blank, Filia finished off her prayers with the simple and somewhat generic ending of, "may you rest in peace, we shall always honor your memory."
As soon as Filia was done, Philionel didn't waste a single second in making his way to the front of the assembly and beginning a speech of his own, which turned out to be very short. "This unjust enemy that is upon us will not be allowed to destroy our precious world. I'm sure my father would be proud to know that our farewells to him have come accompanied with the determined declaration that victory will be ours!"
Zelas blinked, her face becoming more perplexed with every word that Phil spoke. "That's not right..." She shook her head in disappointment.
"Lord Beast Master?" Xellos inquired in confusion. "Why does Phil sound all excited instead of terribly offended?"
"I don't know," Zelas' expression turned sour. "I was trying to be rude and improper by speaking of the upcoming battle in an interruption of his mourning, but it looks like he's simply too glad that the issue is being addressed to take note of the timing. It doesn't even look like the zombies can bother him now. Such random volatile creatures the humans are."
"Does that mean that the plan you were working on is ready?" Lina inquired urgently.
"Yes," Zelas informed.
"By the way," Philionel added at the end of his speech of heroism, "we're surrounded by zombies, please don't panic, we'll fight them off and continue the service later."
"Ah! Ha ha ho ha ha!" Naga let out her battle cry, "those zombies won't know what hit them!"
"Let them handle things here, gather around my pawns, for my plan of attack some fusion magic will be needed." Zelas teleported Xellos and Filia away without giving them a chance to react.
xoxox xox xoxox
They were on a mountain top and there were gears, gears and more gears. The gears were made of shiny silvery metal in many different sizes. Some were round, others were oval shaped and some were, strangely enough, squares and triangles. The non-rounded gears flipped from one side to the next, fitting into the shapes around them as they spun in continuous motions. The mountain of gears all seemed to power a strange diamond-like jewel at the top of the contraption. It was on top of a rod protuberant above the multitude of gears. Yet it was not really a diamond, it was something much more magical, a carefully crafted artificial gem. The fine jewel had silvery sparks constantly surrounding it and odd black swirls within it.
"Oh, my stomach," Filia complained as she tried to steady herself.
"Lord Beast Master," Xellos addressed the monster lord with curiosity. "You said you needed fusion magic for this to work." He wondered if he was there to receive his monster power and provide it or to make Filia cooperate. Then Xellos noticed the approaching person who came into view from the other side of the mountain of constantly spinning gears that were making Filia dizzier than she already was. "Milgazia?"
"You can't expect one golden dragon to be enough to provide the lesser half of fusion magic if I'm providing the more important one, so there's two," Zelas calmly stated.
By then Filia had fought with her sickness enough to compose herself somewhat. "What exactly is the plan?" She asked as calmly and neutrally as possible.
"This," Zelas pointed to the device of many gears. "It is the product of much research; Celo has been constantly working on it in secret. With the beam of chaotic light this device will produce fueled by fusion magic, power will be borrowed from the Sea of Chaos and brought to the world. The world will then absorb that chaos and push back the cycle of the Stillness."
"Is that the truth?" Filia asked with great suspicion and uneasiness, while Xellos stood around grinning constantly as he often did.
"I believe it is," Milgazia stated, which took Filia by surprise, though his following explanation justified his theory. "The latest part of the cycle of the Stillness involves the Void. At this point the monsters are also being adversely affected. If the cycle is turned back by empowering the world with chaos, it may be reverted to its previous stage of Lamentation. At that point, although the living creatures of the world that have physical bodies will still be affected as the cycle tries to move forward again, the monsters will be able to recover."
"But that's..." Filia looked back and forth between the quiet Zelas and the serious Milgazia. She wasn't even sure how to phrase her concerns, but she shouldn't have to, it should be obvious.
"A dangerous gamble," Milgazia admitted. "But right now the Stillness is a bigger threat than even the monsters. This must be done; we'll have to deal with the consequences as they come. Besides, if the planet is left as it is, it will die." When it came down to it, it was the difference between a dying planet and a suffering planet. At least a suffering planet still had hope.
"Eternal torture is best," Zelas chirped cheerfully. "Death is far too peaceful and calm, not chaotic."
Filia let out a tired breath, everything was terribly stressful lately. "How is Val?"
"Having fun getting into mischief," Zelas grinned.
Filia had a feeling that she would have both Xellos and Val to drive her insane in the future, but she supposed she would learn to deal with it. Besides, she had educated Val the best she could along with his aunts and uncles during his first few weeks of life, so maybe those lessons would stay with him and he wouldn't turn out to be too mischievous... hopefully. "Alright, let's do this."
"Finally getting down to business? It's about time," Zelas replied with a very Zelas-like comment. "Xellos, I have a spell for you to cast." Zelas materialized a scroll out of the astral side and handed it to Xellos. "This device is powered by a large amount of fusion magic; it is its fuel in a sense. However, what activates it and allows it to call the power of the Sea of Chaos is the force that pushes and pulls fate until it aligns with destiny. Chance, the collective conscious, the force that unknown even to themselves, humans have a natural talent to influence."
The spell turned complex towards the end which was why Zelas choose to have Xellos perform it instead of getting Lina, who was originally human, to do it. In theory, since Xellos was currently a human, he should be able to handle the spell effectively as he had already learned to control his energy as a human since the time when he took magic lessons from Lina. Aside from that, his knowledge of many years as Beast Master's favorite spy would help him better understand the spell.
Xellos examined the scroll, reading over it several times. The last few lines were written in an ancient language that roughly translated into something along the lines of 'pure wild unknown disorder image; powerful motion force, fulfill unexpected.' "I'm ready whenever the stupid dragons are," Xellos grinned mockingly.
Without another word everyone got into position with Zelas standing in the middle in front of the rod culminating in the enchanted diamonds. Milgazia and Filia stood left and right of her ready to cast their part of the fusion magic, allowing the machine to absorb it. Xellos stood completing the square around the rod at the center of the machine across from Zelas, next to the golden dragons. Then the magic began. First Zelas, Filia and Milgazia powered the machine, making the gears spin faster noisily. The beam of light that came from the magical diamond reached beyond the skies further than the eye could see in a mix of gold and black, attempting to establish a sort of connection with the Sea of Chaos in order to call forth its power.
To prevent the world from being absorbed into the Sea of Chaos and created anew, the power would be channeled through the stream of chance with the spell Xellos began to cast. "Between chaos and perceived order, commanding the path beyond borders, with ideas coming closer in distance, shaping illusions into existence, the luck that knows no master, spins towards freedom faster. Endless sea of possibilities, unlock the true abilities, of a world made of your essence, let us see your luminescence! Incorruptus indomitus ignotus incompositus imago, imperiosus impulsum impetus impleo improviso! Chaotic Chance!"
The flow of energy on the golden and black beam of light that went from the diamond to the sky changed direction instead receiving energy of black, silver and gold that came from beyond the sky and towards the world. "That is enough," Zelas announced and the fusion magic spell casters ceased their efforts.
Xellos used the control granted to him by the spell to push the power borrowed from the Sea of Chaos itself into the machine of many gears, which in turn pushed it towards the planet. The gears started spinning nonsensically, sometimes in the opposite motions that the laws of physics dictated they should spin in. The motions turned more rapid and ever changing and Xellos was surrounded by a golden light with black electricity and silver sparks all over him. This was too much...
"Xellos!" Filia tried to approach him and cast her healing magic, but it had no effect as her energy was absorbed by the energy of the Sea of Chaos before it could reach Xellos.
Danger, there was danger, Zelas could sense it as if the machine was about to blow up, but Xellos couldn't move from his position. If he didn't maintain the spell, the world would reset itself, being created anew, and the Stillness would still be around. It would probably keep its memories too, while the living creatures of the world, monsters and dragons included, forgot everything and live their lives anew. They couldn't allow that. Now that the Stillness had already entered the world, even if the world was recreated, it would hold on to it and stay. With its preserved memories the Stillness would have a vast strategic advantage. Zelas refused to lose, any creature that picked a fight with her, even if it was as powerful as the Stillness, had to be destroyed.
Beast Master retreated into the astral side and teleported away, straining her energy to actually reappear in the right place, a safe distance away. She watched the beam of light that came from beyond the skies from afar. She looked at the ground below as the earth itself glowed in random colors. This was definitely too much. The power of the Sea of Chaos was much greater than she had expected. Even if she took precautions and stopped powering the machine when she and the golden dragons still had more to give, even this relatively small amount of energy that was borrowed from the Sea of Chaos was impressive beyond anything Zelas had ever seen.
At the area near the machine of many gears, the mechanisms were overloading and the gears were falling apart. "Filia, we need to retreat!" Milgazia called out urgently as he transformed into a dragon and took flight. He looked back, realizing that Filia wasn't following him. "Filia, get out of there!"
"Go ahead, I'll be right there!" Filia called out in response. She was lying, she planned to stay with Xellos and it was obvious she had no intentions of moving.
Before Milgazia could make it back to Filia and drag her away to safety, the machine of many gears exploded in a bright light, its components disintegrating into silver dust. An orb of light formed over the area, the aftershock of its energy pushing Milgazia back strongly.
When the light finally cleared, a heavy feeling of chaotic energy was left in the air. The earth had ceased its rainbow glow and the land was very much revived. Zelas crossed her arms and huffed. "It wasn't supposed to go this far." The grass, the trees, the land's produce, it was coming back as if it was the beginning of a very fruitful spring. All of this had really thrown off the season with an early chilly winter and now an early spring. The planet was revitalized. "How annoying," Zelas growled.
Beast Master teleported towards were Xellos and Filia lay in a bloody mess in the area where the machine used to be. "Xellos..." He was still alive, but just barely. His hair had changed to white and the injuries of his human body appeared to be beyond repair. There was only one way to preserve him alive now. Zelas was surrounded by black light as she activated the power of the black cone gem on her necklace. She called Xellos soul back into the black jewel, leaving behind the broken shell of his human body. He would still need a physical body as a shield later when the final battle against the Stillness took place, but she could change him when the time came. For the time being, Xellos had to be healed by his monster energy. His essence felt as if it would dissolve, he would need the extra power to stay whole.
Milgazia landed near by and transformed back into his human form. "Filia's injuries are-"
"Your problem," Zelas interrupted. "She may be a traitor in the eyes of many golden dragons, but you're not one to abandon a fellow dragon in need, are you? Not that I care, she has already done her part. If you save her or not, that is your choice. My business here is finished for the time being, farewell." Zelas teleported away, back to Wolf Pack Island to take in the situation, come up with a new strategy, rest, recover and attempt to nurse her general back to health.
"Of course I can't abandon her..." Milgazia muttered under his breath as he casted his most powerful healing spells on Filia. She might have been regarded as a traitor by most dragons and even members of his own clan might disapprove of his actions, but he couldn't let her die. Filia had done more for the golden dragon race than she herself might realize. Years ago, when the ancient dragons were driven to extinction, Milgazia did not participate in that unfair battle. However, he could not stop it, as he was going through a critical battle with his own clan inside the barrier.
Back then, Milgazia moved carefully, having only recently assumed leadership of his clan due to the previous leader falling in battle. He was a thousand years younger and less experienced, but he was very wise and skilled. It was a tragic time of disorder and anarchy among the dragons, making Milgazia's new position as elder difficult to assimilate. He did his best and gained great respect because of it, yet he always wished he could do more. Later traveling with a human friend was also a big eye opener for him. Milgazia was patient, diplomatic, serious, quiet, strong and calculating, but sometimes being a little rash and energetic could yield better results than clinging to caution as strongly as he often did. He learned from humans that one could not put things off for later for too long or the opportunity to do them would be lost.
Filia, who was not even yet born until around five hundred years after the time of the War of the Monster's Fall and was in no way to blame for the past, was the one to try to make up for it. She was the one protecting and raising Val. Although Milgazia was distrusting of the monsters and wasn't particularly happy about Filia's choices, he could respect them and he could respect her efforts to atone in the name of the golden dragons. If anyone wanted to criticize him for choosing to save Filia's life, let them. He would do what he felt was the right thing regardless of what anyone said.
xoxox xox xoxox
"Beast Master might have overdone it a little..." A red haired monster noted as he witnessed the changes on the planet's condition from the outskirts of a village far from the peninsula.
"At least the undead stopped attacking," a girl with black pigtails and priestess-like clothing observed.
"I should report to Beast Master now," Zenki decided.
"This time the seal of my ancestor was broken permanently," Chiaki recalled with a hint of nostalgia. "I know I said you could go where you wanted before and I meant it, but this time, you'd have no reason to return. Are you going to spend all your time serving Beast Master now?"
"I have a lot to catch up on. Besides, there's no reason for me to be here." Zenki walked a few steps away from her, not looking back, then turned around with a grin. "Although I might come back... if I feel like it." He faded away to the astral side.
Left standing on a small hill with her village a short distance away, safe from danger for now, Chiaki smiled. "See you later, Zenki..."
xoxox xox xoxox
The scent of tea was in the air when Filia woke up several days later. She sat up slowly on the bed and examined the unfamiliar setting she was in. It was some sort of cabin with only the very basic of furniture as if it had gone without inhabitants for some time before her arrival. As for said arrival, she couldn't remember it at all. She looked down at her clothing with curiosity. She was wearing a pale aqua color simple dress that began at her shoulders and ended below her knees. It had pale green embroidery around the neckline that hugged the shoulders, the short puffy sleeves that rested above her elbows and the bottom of the skirt.
Filia didn't remember owning such a dress and the design reminded her of the clothing of the elves. She tried to get out of bed, but felt a rush of tired dizziness overtake her and sat back down. She didn't know how she got there or why she was there, but the atmosphere had a calm and familiar quality to it that helped her remain relatively calm. "Hello?" She called out unsure, "is anyone here?"
"I think I heard the boss!" A voice very much like that of Jillas was heard from outside the bedroom. Soon the fox beastman appeared at the door with a relieved smile upon his face. "She's awake!" He cheered.
Gravos soon joined in, entering the room sharing Jillas' relief. There was also someone else with them. It was a little boy with the appearance of a one year old human toddler, the speech capability of a ten year old human and speed and agility well beyond even a fully grown man. The little boy had teal hair, golden eyes and pointy elf-like ears. "Mommy!" Val ran to his mother and hugged her happily. "I'm really glad you're awake!"
"Val?" Filia stared at the child in her arms in disbelief. Her shock was initially interpreted by Jillas and Gravos as being taken by surprise to see Val in his human-like form for the first time. He no longer had the black horn on his head as when he was Valgarv and his hair was less spiky as it originally was. He was a not a combination of monster and dragon, but a pure ancient dragon. Filia gently hugged her son and caressed his hair. She was wearing a golden amethyst ring that she didn't remember owning. With a meaningful look in her eyes that indicated that she was fighting to keep her composure for Val's sake, Filia gently lifted her eyes from Val to Jillas and Gravos. "When did Val hatch? For how long was I asleep?"
To be Continued
The last part of the spell Xellos casts is in Latin. At last it is the end of another story arc and the start of the final arc. :D