The Power of the Giga Slave,
A way to avoid using the spell of all chaos.
"Darkness beyond blackest pitch,
deeper than the deepest night.
King of Darkness who shines like gold upon the sea of chaos.
I call upon thee and swear myself to thee.
Let the fools who stand before me be destroyed
by the power you and I possess.
Sword, accept this darkness and obey my command.
Giga SLAVE!!"
     There was a brilliant flash of light, then a wave of ever expanding darkness which drained the life from everything it touched. The people around him, the people who he cared about most in the world and who he would do anything for, all vanished, or, to be more exact, disintegrated into dust and darkness. He screamed in pain as the dark wave tore through his body, breaking down his power. He also screamed for he felt the earth's pain as it was returned to a state of chaos.
     "I knew Syplhiel told me not to use that spell, but I had to. I simply had to. There was no other choice. The Laguna Blade, even at maximum power, wasn't enough to defeat that monster. Shabrinigdo fell after several swipes of the Laguna Blade, but this monster..... was far more powerful than the dark lord. I can't believe that the spell that I thought I, the warrior of darkness, would have no power controlling, could backfire. Now the world and my friends.... are all gone... and I killed them!"
     Alex sat up, panting, sweat dripping from his body. He couldn't believe how vivid the dream was.... if it was a dream. He shuddered, remembering how often he had used the Giga Slave. Lina was afraid to use it after she had learned the secret, yet she hadn't told him everything about it. Sylphiel simply told him not to use it, even in the most extreme situations, yet he had used it over and over and over.... and perhaps it wasn't a dream, but a vision... a vision of what may happen the next time he uses that spell; the spell that calls upon the Lord of all Dark Lords, the Lord of Nightmares; the Giga Slave.
     'Oh man, this is seriously freaky,' he thought, turning on the light above his bed. As his room filled with light he felt a little better, since it wasn't darkness. 'I have to get Lina to tell me everything she knows about the Giga Slave.' he contiuned, getting out of bed. He wiped the sweat from his brow and picked up the phone. With shaking hands he dialed the number for Lina's room.  Two rings later a very tired (and somewhat cranky) Lina picked up.
     "This had better be important!" Lina growled, "It's four in the morning and if I don't get my beauty sleep I get REALLY cranky!"
     "Lina, it's Alex," he said in a wavering voice, "I need to know everything there is to know about the Giga Slave."  He heard Lina gasp, and there was a pause of several moments. Finally Lina spoke.
     "The Giga Slave.... the spell which calls upon the source of all chaos. The one spell which can return the world to a state of complete chaos. Why do you need to know all this?"
     "I.... I had a dream.... or perhaps a vision... of what would happen the next time I used the Giga Slave," he said, his voice gaining strength, "it was horrible. I watched as all of you were vaporized or something. I felt the earth's pain and heard it cry out as it was torn apart."
     "I didn't know anything about that the first time I used the spell," Lina said, "but when the Clair Bible told me about the Lord of Nightmares and the source of all chaos, I knew that I couldn't cast the Giga Slave ever again. Then Hellmaster Philbrizo took Gourry and the sword of light and I had to fight him to save Gourry and prove once and for all that I was a force to be reckoned with."
     "Well, I'm glad to hear that."
     "Anything else you want to know," Lina asked, her tone suddenly shifting, "Before I hit you with a Dragon Slave, which is the punishment for interrupting my sleep!"
     "Um... no... good night."
     Once Alex hung up the phone he shuddered again, not so much out of fear of Lina's wrath, but of the power of the monsters they were fighting. A month earlier he and some of the others battled an android who had the power of a minor dark lord, and it took the power of a magically enhanced Giga Slave to destroy him. Before that they managed to best Shabrinigdo with the Laguna / Ragna Blade, a couple Giga Slaves, and a whole lot of luck. He shuddered when he remembered how Andrew almost didn't make it out of that fight. Before that was summer vacation with Buffy and the dark spirits which inhabited Sunnydale. All of the monsters which they fought were incredibly powerful, and almost every time he had used the power of the Giga Slave.
     A knock at the door brought him back to reality. He put on a t-shirt before opening the door to face Amelia and Zelgadis. Amelia wrapped her arms around his waist and said, "Poor mister Alex."
     "We heard from Lina about your vision," Zelgadis said, "just how bad was it?"
     "Incredibly scary," Alex said, "I killed all of you and destroyed the world... the world I was trying to save."
     "What kind of monster were we battling against?" Amelia asked.
     "I don't know, but it was incredibly powerful. The full force Ragna Blade didn't have any effect on it, and the last ditch was the Giga Slave. Lina was so weak and coughing up blood after using that spell. Amelia was one of the first to fall.... a victim of the monster's blast and poor placement of a large boulder. Sylphiel tried to heal her, but the monster was just too powerful and without batting an eye it slashed her in two.  Zel bit the big one when he was skewered by... by..."
     Alex broke down sobbing. Amelia hugged him tighter and Zel put his arm around Alex's shoulders. Alex sobbed, "I don't want to remember this dream any longer. I want to find that monster and make him PAY!!"  A strange aura surrounded Alex, lifting him off of the ground, snapping the elastics which held his hair in a nice neat ponytail. Before Zelgadis' and Amelia's eyes he transformed into a powered up warrior of darkness; Star Warrior Saturn.
     "Assemble the others," Saturn said in a voice which was nothing like Alex's calm tone, "We're gonna go and destory the dark master once and for all."
     "Wha... WHAT?!" Amelia stuttered, backing into a wall in sheer horror.
     "What kind of sorcery is this?"! Zelgadis asked, preparing for battle. He didn't get a chance to strike, though, for the aura about Alex vanished, the transformation reversed, and the exhausted warrior of darkness fell to the floor in a heap.
     "Mister Alex?" Amelia asked, poking the comotose form on the floor, "Are you ok mister Alex?"
     "I.... I know where he is," Alex gasped, collecting himself, "that monster in my dream, I know where he is. We have to go and beat him."
     "Are you sure you're in any condition to do that?" Zelgadis asked, putting his hand on Alex's shoulder, "That transformation seemed to take a lot out of you."
     "If we don't beat him he'll get stronger and then we won't have any choice but to invoke the Giga Slave, and then what happened in my dream will happen for real, and I don't want that to happen."
 Zelgadis and Amelia both saw the horror and the determination in Alex's eyes. Zel sighed and said, "All right, but if Lina hits you with a Dragon Slave..."
     "I won't come crying to you," Alex finished, coughing. He took his communicator from the pair of jeans he had tossed over the back of a nearby chair and punched the button for 'all points alert'. Once the more powerful members of the Warriors and Sailor Soldiers punched in he began his message.
     "Before any of you get mad at me for waking you from your slumber, hear me out. One of the most powerful monsters which we have ever faced is in the area. We must attack and defeat him now before he amasses his power. We must defeat him now, before we're left with the one option I shudder to think about. We must defeat him before our last chance will be using the Giga Slave.
     "I'm not expecting all of you to show up for this fight, but I need the backing of those who are incredibly strong. The stronger you are, the more important you are. The Star Warriors are some of the strongest by far, as are the Moon Warriors. I know that the Moon Senshi are right up there in fighting power. What I want all of you to do is meet me in front of T-hall as soon as possible and then I'll lead us to this monster." Alex coughed a couple times before saying, "The sooner we get this battle over with, the sooner we can all sleep a bit better. Alex signing off."
     Once he finished his message he grabbed the pair of jeans that was on the chair and pulled them on over his shorts. He slipped on his boots, grabbed a heavy jacket from his closet, and turned to Amelia and Zelgadis.
     "Let's go!" he said, running from his room. Amelia and Zelgadis followed him as he leapt down four flights of stairs and kicked his way into the main lobby. He crashed his way through two doors and into the breezeway outside his dorm. Amelia and Zelgadis wondered what had gotten into Alex, but shrugged and figured they would never know. They then joined Alex in his charge across campus to T-hall, the main office building on campus. There they waited a while until a slow trickle of tired warriors and senshi appeared, among them Lina, Sylphiel, Gourry, and Tony Booth.
     "This had better be important," Lina said, forming a fireball, "because if not you're toast!"
     "Alex wouldn't call all of us here unless it was of dire importance," Tony said, cancelling out Lina's fireball with a freeze arrow, "And didn't he call and ask you about the Giga Slave?"
     Lina flushed red, since Tony reminded her of a certain mazoku named Xellos who drove her and Zelgadis up a wall. Lina was about to hit Tony with a Fireball when Alex poked the sorceress in the shoulder. She turned and was surprised when he gave her a big hug and began sobbing into the shoulder of her cloak.
     'Poor kid,' she thought, 'that vision must have really fightened him. I'm sure I would be bawling too if I witnessed all my friends get blasted by a spell that I thought would defeat the monster.' Lina stood there, a small smile forming on her face. She put her hands on Alex's shoulders and said, "It's ok. We're all here and we'll help you defeat this monster."
     "Thanks, thank you all of you," Alex said, standing and wiping his eyes, "The monster is located a couple miles from here in a sort of spacial bubble, which stretches the area he's in to near infinite proportions. He is one of the most powerful monsters which we have encountered thus far, and getting stronger by the minute."
     "So, let's go and knock some sense into him," Gourry said, "Teach him not to mess with us."
     "Gourry, Gourry, Gourry," Lina and Alex sighed, "That monster could wipe us off the face of the map without batting an eye."
     "He's even more powerful than Shabrinigbo," Alex said, causing everyone to shudder.
     "We barely escaped that one with our lives," Derek said.
     "Even the four Evangelion units couldn't wipe Shabrinigdo out," Andrew said, "What chance do we have against this guy?"
     "We just have to try," Alex said, taking to the air, "Now, will you just trust me and follow me? It's not like I'm leading us to certain doom. I believe that we have a chance of defeating him."
     "All right," Andrew sighed, also taking to the air, "Let's go and teach that monster not to pick a fight he know he can't win!"
     Wing after wing of Warriors and Sailor Soldiers took to the sky, following Warrior Saturn, the leader of the Star Warriors. The destination was the Zornasto woods, two miles to the north east of campus.

     After several minutes of flying at full burn they reached the Zornasto woods, which seemed to stretch for hundreds of thousands of miles in any direction, the effect of the monster's space warping bubble. They set down in the woods, the darkness engulfing them. Lina, Alex, and Sylphiel cast light spells, bringing day to this sub world of perpetual night. The minute they had light, though, several barrages of energy blasts ripped through the woods, breaking down trees and anything else that got in their path.
     "What the hell?!" Jason exclaimed as he cartwheeled off to the side and fired off a Crystalline Rhondo, which vanished into the darkness, "Where are those shots coming from?"
     "I have no idea," Darren said, leaping from branch to branch while trying to pinpoint their target, "Every time I think I get a lock it moves."
     "Burst Rhondo!" Lina shouted, firing off a barrage of energy spheres, which vanished into the darkness and exploded, illuminating some of what was beyond them.
     "Fireball!" Amelia shouted, hurling a sphere of flames towards where the energy blasts were coming from. There was a loud explosion which lit up half of the forest. A black form ran from the light.
     "I think I saw him," Tony Clough said, firing off a water blade in the direction the form went. There was a piercing cry of pain and several large fireballs approached them.
     "Smooth move," Jubilee said, freezing one of the fireballs with her Aqua Illusion attack.
     "Supreme King of the frozen soul, grant me the power of your icy rage," Zelgadis chanted, "Dynast Breath!"  A wave of ice tore across the ground, running up some trees and forming an icy shield. The fireballs ran into the shield and were instantly canceled out.
     "Nice thinking Mister Zelgadis," Amelia cheered, "but now we need to find that monster and smash him with the hammer of justice!"
     'This kid needs to get serious,' Lina and Alex both thought, sweatdrops forming on their heads.
     "I think I pinpointed his location," Darren called as he dropped from the trees, "He's a little ways to the west. That icy blade of Neptune's injured him a little bit."
     The group moved in the direction which Darren told them to go, ready to fight should they need to. They eventually came to a large clearing, where the first light of morning illuminated what was to be their battlefield. In the center was one of the more human looking monsters. He was a large human, about the size of Gaav or the first piece of Shabrinigdo that they battled, with long blue hair that was done up in several braids, tanned skin, and glowing red eyes. He wore black leather pants, black boots, a flame orange tunic, and an overcoat of the same color orange, which was unbuttoned. At his side rested a twin scabbard with a pair of Masamune swords in them.
     "He's gigantic," Roxy gasped, stepping back a little.
     "I am the dark lord of pain and destruction," the monster said, "I am called Diablos, and I simply ask a favor of Miss Inverse and Mister West."
     "And just what is this... favor?" Lina asked in her nonchalent way.
     "I simply ask the two of you to use that little spell of yours that could destroy the world."
     "I don't think so," Alex said, drawing his star sword, the blade glowing silver - white.
     "Then you shall all perish!"
     Diablos drew his swords and began slashing through the air, creating shockwaves which hurled people around and slashed up their outfits. Gourry drew his sword of light and charged at Diablos. He leapt into the air, the blade above his head, and slashed downward, meeting with resistance from Diablos' own swords. Diablos swung one blade, hurling Gourry backwards while slashing with the other sword, knocking the sword of light from his hands. Gourry crashed into a tree and remained motionless while the hilt of the sword landed in Lina's hands.
     "GOURRY!" Lina cried when she saw her guardian and friend go down. She turned to Diablos and said, "You're gonna pay for hurting Gourry!"
     "Gourry dear," Sylphiel cried when she saw her love go down. She too turned to Diablos, a look on her face that said 'don't mess with me!'. She began to chant a spell.
     "Darkness beyond twilight, crimson beyond blood that flows. Buried in the stream of time is where your power grows. I pledge myself to conquor, all the foes who stand, against the mighty gift bestowed to my unworthy hand. Let the fools who stand before me be destroyed by the power you and I possess. DRAGON SLAVE!!"
     Sylphiel's spell struck Diablos full force, exploding into an energy wave which would surely destroy anything. Unfortunately Diablos was one of the higher level dark lords and simply took the brunt of the attack with no damage what so ever.
     "That tickled," Diablos said, laughing, "Actually that hurt, but I can shrug off a little pain like that."
     "This guy is worse than Gaav," Lina said, "We may just have to utilize the Giga Slave."
     "Are you nuts?!" Zelgadis said, forming a barrier to block an incoming blast, "That spell could vaporize the planet and return it to a state of chaos."
     "We don't have much of a choice," Lina said as Warrior Night flew over her head and collided with a boulder, "we're getting pounded!"
     "Dynast Bras!" Amelia shouted, a pentagram forming around Diablos and blasting him with electricity.
     "Storm STRIKER!" Alex shouted, the weather changing to a storm. Bolt of lightning tore across the sky, concentrating in one point until a massive lightning bolt split the heavens and struck Diablos with enough force to blow out a crater. When the dust cleared Diablos still stood, a little charred, but none the worse for wear.
     "Gravity Cutter!"
     "Crystal Rain!"
     "Light Spear!"
     "Almekia Lance!"
     A blade of energy, a rain of razor sharp crystals, a spear of light, and a lance of astral energy struck Diablos, the blade being deflected, the crystals piercing his coat and tearing it to shreds, the astral energy lance making him stronger, and the spear of light piercing his left arm and putting him in pain.
     "Who shot the lance?" Lina asked. Everyone pointed to Warrior Orion, who shrugged and said, "it's an attack that only I can cast."
     "You'll pay for that!" Diablos growled, the ground shaking and rocks floating towards the sky. A massive plume of magma shot from the ground and covered Orion, sealing him in a rocky prison.
     "Andrew!" Alex gasped, turning back to Diablos, his face devoid of emotion. "You're gonna pay for doing that to our friends."
     "Who's we?" Diablos asked, laughing, "I think you're going to die next."
     Alex aligned the chaos emeralds in his gauntlets until they glowed with energy. He then began to chant a spell.
     "Lord of the dreams that terrify, sword of the cold and darkness. Free yourself from the heaven's bonds. Become one with my body, one with my essence, and let us walk the path to destruction together. Power that can smash even the souls of the gods. Ragna BLADE!!"
     A black blade of dark energy formed between his hands, this time it was a single blade instead of a double blade, but it was immense none the less. He leapt into the air, the blade above his head. Diablos also leapt, wanting to meet the blade head on with his swords. The black blade easily cut through the first sword, but the second sword gained the power of the first and slashed the Ragna Blade in half. Alex fell, the dark energy running out of control through his body. He was fortunate enough to contort his body so he could land in a crouch, but he coughed up blood a minute later.
     'Damnit, I'm all out of power, and this guy is getting stronger by the minute,' he thought, trying to recover a little faster.
     "Feel the hammer of justice," Amelia shouted, "Ra TILT!"
     Blue white flames erupted around Diablos, engulfing him. Amelia thought it was a sure kill until Diablos reached through the flames and blasted her. The blast sent Amelia flying into a boulder. There was a sickening CRACK as the princess' back struck, and her lifeless body dropped to the ground, blood issuing from the wound in her back.
     "Amelia!" Zelgadis screamed, drawing his sword, "Astral Vine!"
     His sword was charged with astral energy in a matter of seconds and he charged at Diablos. He leapt into the air and slashed downward, meeting resistance from the sword. Diablos fired a beam from his eyes which caught Zelgadis in the chest and sent the chimera flying into a tree. Zelgadis went limp, blood oozing from the wound in his stomach.
     "No," Lina said, holding the sword of light in her hands, "this can't be happening."
     "Do it Lina, cast the Giga Slave. End it for all of us," Diablos said, laughing maniacally.
     "Oh, I'll end it for you all right," Lina said, "I'll just do it my own way." Lina aligned her talismens until they glowed. She then incanted the spell.
     "A mere componant of the lord of nightmares could bring understanding upon the world. Frozen into the dark knife of annihilation. With our strength, with our essence, together we can destroy all who cross our path. Spirits of the gods, deliver your smiting blow. Laguna BLADE!!"
     A large blade of dark energy, much like the one that Alex had summoned only minutes earlier, formed in Lina's hands. She screamed, "Die you bastard!" Before charging at Diablos, the sword held like a spear. Diablos swung downward with his sword in an attempt to cleave Lina in half, but Lina dodged and leapt into the air. She swung downwards, only to meet resistance from Diablos' crossed arms. Diablos swung his arms apart, hurling Lina through the air. Lina managed to land on her feet, the Laguna Blade vanishing, her power exhausted.
     "Sylphiel, work on healing Amelia and Zelgadis," Lina said, drawing the sword of light, the blade increasing to three times the size of Lina's body. "I may have used up all of my magic power, but I can still use the sword of light."
     "That sword cannot hurt me," Diablos said, laughing, "You can try, but that little pig sticker has the power of a cattle prod with dead batteries. Just toss it away and let me kill you."
     "Lina, go and recover your strength," Tony Booth said, "I'll take him on."
 "So we have another contender," Diablos laughed, firing a ray at Tony, who easily deflected it with his bare hands. Diablos saw this and gasped. "How can a mere mortal deflect one of my rays?"
     "Magic shield on the armor," Tony said, "guaranteed to withstand some of the higher level spells and come out of the fight without a scratch."
     "Then you can burn in eternal hell. Vlave Howl!"
     Plumes of magma erupted from the ground around Tony, all collecting above his head before crashing down upon him and burying him in molten earth, which quickly hardened into an inpenetrable dome.
     "This has to end," Alex said, tossing Lina an ether. Lina drank the ether and went to tend to Gourry's wounds with refreshed magic power. Alex then stepped before Diablos, his star sword in hand, "I'll end this for you, you monster!"
     "So you're gonna cast the Giga Slave?"
     "I'll do better than that, but it'll take me a while."
     "We'll cover for you," the Star Warriors said, taking up battle positions. Diablos waved his hand and sent all of them careening off into the darkness and into assorted rocks and trees.
     "This is for my friends, especially Zelgadis, Amelia, Gourry, and Lina," Alex said, his sword of light glowing a brilliant silver - white which illuminated the forest around them. "Light beyond the whitest dawn, brighter than the brightest sun. King of light who shines like silver amid a sea of stars...."
     "This isn't the Giga Slave!" Diablos gasped.
     "It's a spell that calls upon the lords of light," Lina gasped, "Alex found a spell that's the opposite of the Giga Slave.
     "I call upon thee and swear my alligence to thee. Let the foes who stand before me be destroyed by the holy light of judgement. God SLASH!!"
     Alex leapt into the air, the glowing blade of light above his head. He swung downward, releasing a beam of pure white energy, which Diablos attempted to block with his remaining sword. The spell broke the sword before slashing through his right side. Diablos screamed in pain as his astral body was broken down. A large explosion followed, which broke down the spacial bubble and returned the forest to normal. The holy light flowed over those who had fallen, reviving them and rejuvinating them. Alex landed moments later, the last of the light leaving his sword. He resheathed the sword and turned to the others.
     "So, how was that for an attack?" he asked.
     "You have to teach me that spell!" Sylphiel and Lina exclaimed, "Please, please, please, pretty please with cherries on top!"
     "What an attack," Zelgadis said, "you really taught him a lesson."
     "He wanted the Giga Slave, but what he got was an attack that called upon the source of all light instead of the source of all chaos," Alex said, "it's an incredibly powerful spell, and not nearly as dangerous."
     "Think we should get back to campus?" Adderson asked.
     "Yeah, probably," everyone else said as the sun broke over the horizon, showering them with the golden light of dawn, signaling that it was a new day for the world, thanks to the new spell.

     "Alex, are you in?"
     "Huh? Yeah, I'm here," Alex said, opening the door. Zelgadis, Amelia, and Andrew greeted him.
     "We want to thank you for what you did for us today," Amelia said, giving Alex a large plate of cookies.
     "You saved everyone from certain destruction," Andrew said, "I would have, but at the time I was buried under a few tons of hardened lava."
     "Do you guys do things like this for Lina every time she saves your butts?" Alex asked. Amelia nodded and Zelgadis sighed. Alex groaned in displeasure.
     "So, can you teach me that spell?" Amelia asked, her eyes filled with wonder.
     "Amelia, that spell is incredibly difficult to cast. It took most of my magical power to cast it, but it has a better recovery time than the Ragna Blade. I'll teach it to you... eventually."
     Amelia pouted when she heard this, but she smiled and said, "Yeah, I guess it'll take me a while to get strong enough to use it."
     "You want to go get some breakfast?" Zelgadis asked, "Lina and the others are meeting us at the dining hall."
     "Sure, just give me a minute to do something," Alex said, seating himself at his computer. He typed for a couple of minutes before saving his file. He stood up, grabbed his coat off of his bed, and joined the others in going to breakfast. He didn't close down the application, though, and the name of the file blinked on the screen: 'The Slayers ULTIMATE'.

The End.