Episode 41:
Not So Super Market

     The school year was over and summer vacation was about to begin. Unfortunately that meant Lina Inverse and her friends needed to find a new place to stay until Sylphiel regained her full powers so she could cast her teleport spell to send them home.
     "Why don't you find an apartment in my home town?" Alex West suggested one day when he, Derek Taylor, and Adderson Martin were hanging out with Lina, Gourry Gabriev, and Zelgadis Greywords at the local pizza place.
     "We need money to pay for it," Gourry said. Lina and Zelgadis nodded in agreement.
     "The supermarket where I work is always looking for help, and you three and Sylphiel could probably get jobs fairly easily."
     "What kinds of jobs could they offer a sorceress, a swordsman, a shrine maiden, and a mystical swordsman?" Zelgadis asked, "We don't exactly blend in that easily."
     "Zel's right," Lina said, "I'm not exactly what you would call a people person."
     "I'm with Lina on this one," Gourry said, "she might use a fireball or a Dragon Slave and blow the place to pieces."
     "HEY!" Lina exclaimed, leaping up and bringing her fist down on Gourry's head, "Whose side are you on anyway, yogurt brain?!"
     "Gourry has a good point," Zelgadis said, sipping his soda, "your temper needs some work."
     "Why I oughta.... "
     "If the store hires her and she gets pissed off we can bend over and kiss our asses good-bye," Derek whispered to Alex as the three slayers argued.
     "Hopefully she'll cool down by the time she gets the job," Alex said, a sweat drop forming on his head.
     "When pigs fly," Adderson said, devouring a slice of pizza in one bite. His face turned red a couple seconds later and he spit flames across the table, barely missing Lina and Alex, "That's HOT!"
     "I'll show you something hot," Lina growled, summoning a sphere of flames, "Fireball!"
     The side of the pizza place where they were seated exploded out into the street. When the smoke cleared everyone was singed and blackened by the explosion.
     "We're toast," Alex said, exhaling smoke as he said it.
     "Why did you have to blow me up?" Zelgadis asked.
     "Sorry," Lina said, shrugging, "forgot to focus."

     A week later the supermarket hired Lina Inverse, Gourry Gabriev, Sylphiel Nells Raada, and Zelgadis Greywords. With some help from Alex, Derek, and a long distance contribution from Jason and Adderson, the five slayers managed to rent an apartment with enough room for all five to live comfortably. Since Amelia was under 16 and Lina was just barely 16, the group decided that Amelia should stay home and take care of the house work and stuff. Amelia protested.... at first, but soon enjoyed doing the cooking and cleaning and other housework.
     Meanwhile the other four showed up at the store, more or less dressed for work. Lina wore a pair of tight black jeans, a yellow T-shirt, and a pair of brown boots left over from when she wasn't traveling with Gourry. Gourry wore his basic outfit, minus the armor, gloves, and sword of light. Zelgadis wore the same white pants and brown boots, but opted for a black T-shirt and a blue denim shirt. Sylphiel borrowed a pair of black coveralls from Crystal and wore those, a white T-shirt, and her regular boots, which the legs of the coveralls managed to conceal.
     "Welcome aboard," the front end manager, Mrs. Martha O'Clair, said to the four when they showed up for the first day on the job, "So you're Lina, Gourry, Zelgadis, and Sylphiel."
     "That's us," Lina said, grinning from ear to ear.
     "Are you ready for orientation and training?"
     "We sure are," Sylphiel said energetically.
     "That's the kind of enthusiasm we welcome in our employees."
     "We're going to need uniforms, right?" Zelgadis asked.
     "That's right," Martha said, stepping into the small room off of the courtesy booth. She emerged a couple seconds later with a pile of green store shirts in her arms, "What size do you take?"
     "I take a small," Lina said, "Gourry will need an extra large, Zel will probably take a large, and Sylphiel will probably need a medium."
     "Here you go," Martha said, giving each person a shirt, She then motioned Dan Jensen and Rich Doremus to come to the courtesy desk. When the two arrived, Martha said to them, "Please take them out to the break room so that they can change, then take them to the training room."
     "Ok," Dan said. He turned to the others and said, "Please follow me."
     "Sure," Lina said as she and the others followed Dan through the store and out back to the break room. They were surprised to find Alex out there, munching thoughtfully on a salad.
     "First day, eh?" he said, grinning at each person, "Good luck."
     "Thanks," Lina said, tucking her shirt into her jeans, "I'm ready to go."
     "So am I," Zelgadis said, adjusting his belt.
     "Ditto," Sylphiel said, "you almost ready Gourry dear?"
     "I think so," Gourry said, "but this shirt feels strange." Everyone turned to see Gourry with the shirt on wrong.
     "It's backwards, yogurt brain!" Lina exclaimed, summoning an energy sphere, "Fire... "
     "Freeze Arrow!" Richard shouted, hurling a large icicle at the fireball. The two connected and canceled each other out, "No blowing up the store."
     "No Dragon Slaving the customers, no flying about the store, and no fireballs," Alex said, "the biggest spell I'm going to allow you to use is a Monobolt, and use that sparingly."
     "WHAT?!" Lina exclaimed, her temper flaring, "Why I oughta... "
     "Would you prefer me to lock your magic away?" Alex asked, getting an immediate reaction from Lina who cooled her jets. "I know it's going to be hard, but show some self control."
     "Oh.... ok," Lina sighed, "I'll try."
     "Good, now go and train hard," Alex said as the others left. Once they were gone he sighed. "We're all doomed."

     Aside from the little incident in the break room, the first day at the store went pretty well. When they returned home that night Amelia had a large dinner of roast beef and pasta and salad awaiting them.
     "Food!" Lina exclaimed when she walked into the dining room, "Lots and lots of food!"
     "Wow Amelia, you did a great job with dinner," Gourry said, seating himself and grabbing a large piece of beef, which he immediately took a big bite from, "this is delicious!"
     "Thank you Mister Gourry," Amelia said as she sat at the head of the table. She served herself some pasta before passing the dish to Lina, who scooped a triple portion onto her plate before passing it on to Zelgadis.
     "How was your first day at work?"
     "It went pretty well," Sylphiel said, taking a sip of milk before she spoke, "It was just orientation today. Tomorrow we get to train in our departments."
     "Where are those?"
     "Bagging," Gourry said.
     "Cashier," Sylphiel said.
     "Stocking shelves in grocery," Zelgadis answered. The other three then turned to Lina.
     "Um.... errr.... bagging also," Lina said after a long pause.
     "Oh boy," Zelgadis sighed under his breath, "Bagging is a difficult job."
     "I know that!" Lina shouted, leaping out of her seat and slamming her hands on the table, "I can handle a little job like that."
     After half an hour more of eating everyone decided they were stuffed. As Amelia cleared off the table and washed the dishes, Lina and the others prepared for bed, since they would have an early day at the store the following morning.

     The following day was a Saturday, and that meant the store was incredibly busy. The group showed up at the store at a prompt and early 9:30 in the morning. Once they punched in each person went to their own departments for training.
     "Lina, you will be bagging with Gina," Martha said, indicating a short, dark skinned woman with long, curly dark hair, "and Gourry will be training with Josh," she added, indicating a short and somewhat chunky young man.
     "Goody," Lina said, walking up to Gina, "Hi, I'm Lina."
     "Nice to meet you Lina. You want to do carts first or learn the layout of the store?" Gina said.
     "I'd like to do carts," LIna said, heading for the door, "the morning air will wake me up."
     As the pair did carts, Lina thought to herself, 'This isn't so hard. I think I can do this without wanting to blow somebody away with a spell.'
     A couple minutes later, though, Josh came out to bring Gina in to bag. Gina told Lina to continue on with bringing in the carts and she would be back as soon as she could. That was the point where Lina's day went from good to bad, for every time she brought carts in it was like she was doing nothing in the way of progress.
     "Bloody unbelievable," Lina said under her breath as she brought another load of carts in, "I seem to be getting no place with this and I'm not liking it one bit!"
     The minute she finished pushing the carts into place five customers practically ran Lina over trying to get carts. Lina saw this and blew steam from her nostrils.
     "You aren't going to get away with this," she growled, summoning all her energy into a single point, "Mono BOLT!"
     Lina hurled several thunderbolts at the customers, electrocuting them. Once the spell ran its course she turned on her heel and went back to gathering carts. Gina rejoined her a couple minutes later.
     "You know what's funny?" Gina asked.
     "No, what?" Lina groaned as she pushed ten carts towards the door.
     "Five customers said somebody who looked remarkably like you just hit them with a thunderbolt of some sort."
     "That's impossible. I've been collecting carts the entire time."
     "Oh well. Let's go in and I'll show you how to bag the groceries."
     As Lina worked to learn to bag groceries she couldn't help but overhear other employees and even some of the customers bad mouthing her friends. Alex also overheard this and felt his own anger increasing.
 'I swear I'm gonna hit somebody with a Dragon Slave,' Lina said telepathically to Alex.
 'Cool your jets,' Alex sent back. As he sent that, Josh came up to Lina and said, "So, that guy who's working as a stocker is your friend?"
     "That's right," Lina said, "I've known him for quite some time now."
     "What's wrong with his skin? Is it, like, some horribly contagious disease? Because if it is, I don't want to catch it."
     Lina couldn't believe what she had just heard. She looked at Alex, who nodded. "All right you little punk," Lina growled, "You just made a big mistake by saying bad stuff about Zel."
     "Is Zel short for Zelda?"
     Lina blew more steam from her nostrils. She then held her hands so her palms faced each other. An energy sphere formed, but Josh didn't seem to notice until Lina chanted the spell.
     "Oh source of all power, light which burns beyond crimson, let your power gather in my hand. Fire... BALL!!"
     Lina hurled the fireball at Josh, catching him in the chest and hurling him across the front of the store and into a wall. The fireball then exploded, singing Josh to a crisp. Lina then looked at the rest of the people in the front end, the look in her eyes asking, 'Who wants some?!'
     Martha ran from the office and looked at the scene of chaos. She knelt down next to Josh and asked, "What happened?"
     "That little witch," Josh coughed, pointing to Lina, "she hit me with some sort of... spell."
     "You were bad mouthing my friend," Lina snarled, another energy sphere forming, "I'm not about to stand by and let you get away with something like that." she then chanted, "Dragon of darkness that sleeps in the inferno, lend your roar to burn my enemies to ashes..."
     "Lina, stand down," Scott Watkins, the manager, said as he emerged from the office.
     'Ugh, the one person I want to hit with a Dragon Slave,' Alex thought, 'No better time than the present to do so.'
     Alex changed his stance and began to go through the motions for the spell. He then chanted the incantation.
     "Darkness beyond twilight, crimson beyond blood that flows. Buried in the stream of time is where your power grows. I pledge myself to conquer all the foes who stand against the mighty gift bestowed in my unworthy hand..."
     "Miss Martha!" Sylphiel exclaimed, leaping in front of the startled front end manager and casting a major protection spell.
     "Gaav Flare!" Lina shouted, hurling the energy sphere at Josh.
     "Dragon... SLAVE!" Alex shouted, releasing the accumulated dark energy as a killer beam.
     The Gaav Flare struck first, hitting both Josh and Scott, burning them to a cinder. The Dragon Slave, since it was being cast by somebody who wasn't incredibly skilled with the spell, merely sent Josh and Scott screaming through a few walls and out into the parking lot, where the beam exploded into an energy dome.
     "I don't think Alex is too happy," Gourry said as he rounded the corner. It was obvious he was talking to Zelgadis, because the chimera rounded the corner a couple seconds later.
     "How could you tell?" Zelgadis asked, a sweat drop forming on his head.
     "Call it a hunch," Gourry said, shrugging, "I also get the feeling that Lina is angry about something."
     "You better believe it," Lina said, walking over and elbowing her tall friend in the ribs, "One of those little puss hole baggers as saying some bad stuff about Zel so I let him have it."
     "And why did you hit Scott?" Martha asked.
     "It was something I had wanted to do for a LONG time," Alex said, "do you think I'll get fired for that?"
     "I doubt it. I've been wanting to do something like that for a long time myself," Martha said, "But next time you feel like blowing him away, talk to me first, since it will cut down on the damage to the store," she added, motioning to the holes in the walls and the blast crater in the parking lot.
     "Sorry," Alex said, a sweat drop forming on his head, "I guess I don't know my own strength."
     "I think we should make a quick retreat," Lina said, pointing to the singed store manager and the equally crispy bagger.
     "We'll see you tomorrow," Zelgadis said, motioning for Alex and the others to follow him.
     "I don't think so," Scott said, blocking the exit, "Alex and Lina, you're both fired."
     "And you're gonna get fried again," Alex said, a wry grin on his face. Zelgadis, Lina, and Sylphiel caught onto what he was thinking. The four formed energy spheres between their hands and began to incant the spell when Martha surprised all of them.
     "Freeze Arrow!"
     A large ice crystal flew by their heads and struck Scott, freezing him solid. Alex, Lina, Sylphiel, and Zelgadis turned and looked at Martha, who shrugged and said, "Everybody has their own little secrets."
     The moment she finished saying that Gourry poked Lina in the shoulder.
     "What is it now yogurt brain?!" Lina demanded, grabbing Gourry by the ear.
     "The boss is breaking free from the ice," Gourry said. Lina and the others turned on heel to see Scott breaking free of the icy prison, his eyes glowing red. Josh's eyes also began to glow red.
     "Are they.... monsters?" Sylphiel asked.
     "We'll find out in a second," Alex said, taking his mini-computer from his pocket. From the readings he got he said, "either there is too much interference or this is an angel / youma / mazoku mix."
     "Yes!" the pair of now transformed people said, "we are the ultimate breed of evil."
     "I knew nobody could be that annoying," Lina said, "nobody human, that is."
     "So what do we do?" Martha asked.
     "Evacuate the store," Zelgadis instructed, "after that we'll take care of things."
     "Without vaporizing the store this time, though," Alex added, a sheepish grin on his face.
     "All right," Martha said, picking up the intercom and pressing the button. Once she knew she was on she said, "Attention Butson's shoppers, please evacuate the store in an orderly and calm manner immediately."
     A tidal wave of customers charged through the front end, causing Lina and the others to have to use Levitation to keep from getting flattened. Once all the customers were out of the store, most of the employees also made a hasty retreat - all except those who possessed 'the power'.
     "What's the call?" Derek asked, rounding the corner from the deli department.
     "We transform," Alex said, reaching into his jeans and pulling out his transformation pen, which he spun around in his hand before holding it above his left shoulder in his right hand. The other Warriors produced their power items and struck similar stances.
     "Saturn Super Nova Power!"
     "Pluto Super Nova Power!"
     "Ice Crystal Power!"
     "Flame Crystal Power!"
     "Sphinx Crystal Power!"
     "Sun Crisis Power!"
     A wave of violet light washed over Alex's body, forming the black body suit he wore. An amulet in the shape of a starburst formed on his chest and from that burst ribbons, which wrapped around his body to form his armor, gauntlets, boots, and utility belt. Derek held his transformation pen before his body and began to spin until the entire area was awash with blinding light. When he came out of his spin he stood in a relaxed stance, the butt end of his staff behind his right leg. Ice blue ribbons emerged from the crystal at the end of Rich's pen, wrapping around his body and forming his under suit and his ice blue armor. The crystal in the forehead of the Sphinx glowed flame red before a Sphinx of flame emerged and breathed fire on Nick, forming his armor. The crystal in Dan's amulet glowed before ribbons exploded forth from it, wrapping around his body and forming his armor and outfit. The crystal in the end of Matt's pen glowed before flame red ribbons emerged and wrapped around his body, forming his undersuit and his own flame red armor. Each person finished their transformation in either a battle stance, a relaxed stance, or a dance move.
     "Prepare to get a royal butt kicking," Warrior Saturn said, tossing his star sword to Gourry, "Go.... get 'em Gourry!"
     How... amusing," the now transformed Scott said, "this will be worth a laugh or two. But first to show our true forms."
     "That's not it yet?" Warrior Hellfire asked.
     The pair of super mix breeds glowed, their skin turning a greenish blue, their hair pea green. The taller of the two had hair which stood on end, a bandanna wrapped around his head. He wore black leather pants, black boots, a black T-shirt, and a black leather jacket. On his back rested a large plasma cannon and a black leather sheath which housed a long sword. The shorter one had longer hair than the other, which he had pulled back in a long ponytail. This one was dressed in black shorts, black boots, a flaming orange T-shirt, and a black denim shirt with the sleeves torn off. On his hip rested a sheath with a fairly long sword. This one possessed black angel wings.
     "Well, now we know what we're up against," Warrior Arctic Chill said, drawing his ice dagger.
     "But we don't have a clue as to what their powers are," Lina said, "the first rule of fighting anything is to see what your opponent has for attacks."
     As if on cue the second being took flight. It spread its wings wide and released a beam of awesome power, which hurled everyone across the front end of the store and into a nearby wall.
     "You were saying Lina," Warrior Pluto said.
     "Nothing," Lina giggled uneasily, "nothing at all."
     "I can't move a muscle," Sylphiel said, fighting against the power of the beam.
     "Then prepare to die," the large of the beings said, charging at them and drawing its sword as it ran. It swung the blade towards Lina, only to have the sword blocked inches from Lina's head by a pair of familiar swords. Lina looked up into the dark eyes of Warrior Thunderbolt, who was stretched out on the shelf above them. Warriors Nova, FireStar, and Night were also with him.
     "You have to give us a point for showing up in the nick of time," Warrior Night said, running his fingers through his purple hair.
     "Later Night," Warrior Saturn said, "Now.... GET ME DOWN FROM HERE!"
     "With pleasure," Warrior Nova said, leaping down from her perch. She took her chakram and hurled it at the smaller of the beings. The chakram clipped the end off of its left wing before rebounding off of the wall and clipping the right wing on the return pass. Warrior Nova held her hand out to catch her weapon, but the being who was near them caught the whirling blade inches from its intended target.
     "Hey Vandole," the being near them shouted to the other, "you want me to kill them?"
     "Sure Valgard," Vandole said, "start with the witch who injured me."
     "With pleasure," Valgard said, clipping Nova's chakram to his belt before turning his sword on Nova. Nova held her ground and held her palms so they were facing. She then shouted, "Rainbow Borealis Flash!"
     Thousands of colored plasmoids poured from her hands and exploded, blinding Valgard and Vandole and distracting Vandole so the effects of the beam wore off. No sooner had the Warriors and Slayers regained their feet than the took off to hide throughout the store.
     "We need to turn this to our advantage," Warrior Saturn said to Zelgadis, who was hiding nearby.
     "How do we do that?" Zelgadis asked.
     "I have a bit of an idea," Saturn said, collecting thunder energy around his right hand. He then said, "Ring Shot," before punching forward. The rings struck the light over their heads, causing it to explode. A chain reaction began where every light in the store exploded until they were in complete darkness.
     "Nice going," Lina said from the shelf above them, "but how does this help?"
     "They can't see us, but we can see them," Saturn said, activating his VR Visor. Once activated, Saturn tracked the monsters. He then activated a small microphone so he could give coordinates to the others.
     "Lina, throw a fireball about 45 degrees to your right," Alex said, "and aim low."
     "All right," Lina said, an orb of flames forming between her palms, "Fireball!"
     The fireball sailed at Vandole and Valgard, who were passing by the courtesy booth. Valgard saw the fireball out of the corner of his eye and drew his sword. He swung like a major league batter, striking the fireball with his sword and sending it right back at Lina, Zelgadis, and Saturn.
     "We're barbecue!" Lina exclaimed, covering her head with her hands.
     "No we're not," Saturn said, "Blaze Wall!"
     He snapped his fingers and a wall of flames erupted in front of the fireball, canceling it out. Lina and Zelgadis looked at Saturn, who shrugged and said, "An old spell I picked up years ago."
     "Now that's what I call a save," Lina said, "Know any spells for killing a hawk creature?"
     The minute Lina said that Valgard located them and flapped his wings, fanning the fire and sending the temperature soaring into the triple digits.
     "Hot!" Lina screamed, diving from the shelf and hiding behind Zelgadis.
     "Now would be a good time for some high level magic," Zelgadis said, elbowing Lina in the side.
     "All right," Lina said, stripping off her work shirt. Beneath the long sleeved shirt she had her talisman bracelets, belt, amulet, and her tunic.
     "At least she's prepared," Saturn said, erecting a force wall to block some of the flames.
     "Icicle Lance!" Lina shouted, hurling a javelin of ice at the flames. The lance struck the ground before the blaze wall, freezing everything around it in a matter of seconds. Lina, Zel, and Alex took that moment to leap forth and roll forward, all coming back up on their feet.
     "Now to shine some light on the situation," Lina said, an orb of light forming in her hand, "Crimson fire burning bright, into my hand gather your light."
     The orb floated above their heads before glowing brilliantly, shedding some light on their dark predicament. Valgard and Vandole were nowhere to be seen, but the glass in the front doors was shattered, black feathers on the ground mixed with the glass. One of the large picture windows was also shattered.
     "We're in trouble now," Alex said, gazing upon the place where the monsters made their hasty exit.
     "But where did they run off to?" Rachel asked as the other Warriors and Slayers arrived.
     "Only one way to find out," Sylphiel said, producing her crystal wand. She gazed into the crystal and concentrated until an image formed. When the Warriors saw where the two monsters were they gasped.
     "They had to pick the football field at the high school, didn't they?" Rich asked sarcastically.
     "Where else in town is there someplace large enough for an epic battle?" Nick asked.
     "This isn't going to be as epic as our battle with the dark lord Shabrinigdo, or our fight with Copy Rezo and Zannifer," Lina said, reminiscing on old times.
     "But it's going to be tough," Zelgadis said, "the one with the sword and plasma cannon..."
     "Valgard," Sylphiel said.
     ".... Yes, Valgard," Zelgadis said, a sweat drop forming on his head, "he can send spells back at the casters with his sword. And that one with the wings... "
     "Vandole," Sylphiel said again, causing a larger sweat drop to form on Zel's head.
     "Vandole... can fire some sort of ray from his wings, plus he can intensify spells by flapping his wings."
     "Which means they're both going to be tough to defeat," Dan said, "Valgard also has incredible speed and agility, and I imagine Vandole will have the same sort of abilities."
     "Don't forget they're part angel and part youma," Alex said, "which adds more trouble to the equation."
     "How so?" everyone asked sarcastically.
     "I'll show you," Alex said, taking a pair of coke bottle glasses from his pocket and putting them on. "It's time for Saturn's monster make-up lesson."
     Several charts and a blackboard appeared behind Alex. He took out a pointer and pulled down a diagram of the basic monster types.
     "A Youma is what Sailor Moon and the Sailor Soldiers have been battling for the longest time," Alex said, pointing to the first picture on the chart, which was a cardian. "These monsters range from Cardians to Droids to those who were possessed by the Negaverse. They were fairly stupid to start with, but some of them were pretty crafty and smart, yet they all underestimated their opponents, though some have come close to finishing off one or more of the Sailor Soldiers. They're fairly low grade, since a fireball or Sailor Moon's scepter can easily turn them into moon dust.
     "The second type of monster is the angel," Alex continued, pointing to the second picture on the chart, which was of the third angel, "They are more powerful than your conventional monster, plus they're a hell of a lot larger. Eva Units or high level attacks and magic are needed to vanquish these. If you couple a youma with an angel, you get offspring with properties of both. They're small, but incredibly strong and a real pain in the butt to kill.
     "The third type of monster is the pure bread kind, or Mazoku," Alex continued, pointing to the third diagram on the chart, which was Shabrinigdo, "Lina and the Slayers know that these are incredibly tough to kill. They're stronger than angel / youma cross breeds, which makes their DNA very useful if you're trying to make the perfect, unstoppable force of evil. Incredibly powerful magic or magic based weapons, like the sword of light and Laguna Blade, are needed to vanquish these. Should you run up against something which is composed of all three, you're in deep trouble. Now, are there any questions?"
     Everyone stared blankly at Alex, who had a sweat drop form on his head. He took the glasses off, folded them up, and put them back into his pocket before saying, "Let's defeat this demon!"
     "Technically it's a monster," Sylphiel said, causing everyone to fall over.
     "Whatever it is we need to destroy both of them before they get any stronger," Derek said, "Lina, call Amelia. Her knowledge of white magic may come in handy when we need to contain these creatures."
     "Right," Lina said, pulling out her cel - phone and dialing the apartment. Amelia picked up a couple rings later and the exchange between the pair went rather quickly. When Lina hung up she turned to the others and said, "we're off to kill the monsters!"
     "Not without me you're not, Lina Inverse!" a woman's voice said. Everybody turned to face a tall, rather well endowed woman wearing skimpy black leather. She wore a gold circlet in her long, violet hair.
     "Not you!" Lina exclaimed, falling over backwards onto her butt.
     "Naga?" Alex asked, walking up to the woman and finding himself eye level with her chest.
     "Yes, that is me, Naga, the white serpent," the woman said before laughing. Everyone cringed at the sound of her laugh.
     "How the hell did you get here Naga?!" Lina demanded, "You're not exactly skilled in white magic."
     "Well, I just happened to be strong enough to cast that time teleport spell your friend used."
     "And if I'm right you're stuck here for a couple of months until your powers recharge," Richard said. Lina fell over when she heard this.
     "We should go and kill those monsters now, Miss Lina," Sylphiel said, "before they get too strong."
     "I guess you're right Sylphiel," Lina said, "Naga, you want to come along?"
     Naga took a step back when she heard this. "Fight with you, like old times?" she asked.
     "Yeah, like old times, just don't laugh so much."
     "Sounds like a plan to me," Zelgadis said as he turned to leave the store.
     "The more, the better," Nick added, joining Zel.
     "Hurry up!" Rachel shouted from outside.
     "We're coming, we're coming," Matt said as he and the others joined Nick, Rachel, and Zel in the parking lot. A couple seconds later Amelia floated down to a landing. She was dressed in her adventuring outfit and she had a large backpack slung over one shoulder.
     "Hey Amelia," Lina said, "what's in the bag?"
     "Your clothes," Amelia huffed, dropping the bag to the ground, "your laundry is HEAVY!"
     "You brought the sword of light?" Gourry asked, digging through the back and pulling out his armor and gloves, "Oh, never mind. I found it."
     "I just need my tunic, cape, shoulder guards, gloves, and sword," Lina said, digging through the bag once Gourry was done. She emerged a minute later with the articles of clothing in hand.
     "That leaves my cape, shirt, and sword," Zelgadis said, reaching into the bag and pulling out his gear.
     "Which means whatever is left is my cape," Sylphiel said, unclipping the straps on her coveralls. The coveralls slid to the ground and she stepped out of them. She then stripped off her store shirt to reveal she was wearing her adventuring clothes under her work clothes.
     "Well, at least we were well prepared," Lina said, clipping her cape on, "and Sylphiel seems to be the most prepared out of all of us for some odd reason."
     "Call it a hunch," Sylphiel said, "I just had the urge to wear my other clothes under my work clothes today."
     "Are we ready to go?" Naga asked, "I want to fight some monsters NOW!"
     "Calm down Naga," Lina said, a sweat drop forming on her head, 'What a brat she is... almost like Amelia."
     "We know the drill," Zelgadis said as everyone formed a small group.
     "I see I have you well trained," Lina said sarcastically as she joined the group. "Now, let's go kick some monster butt!"
     Zelgadis cast a wind barrier, which Lina reinforced. Amelia cast Levitation while Sylphiel cast a protection spell. The result was a rapidly rising bubble, which cleared the tree line moments later. The bubble sped in a north - easterly direction, flying over houses, businesses, streets, the river, and the common before it finally reached the destination of the battle: the football field at the high school.
     "There they are!" Amelia exclaimed when the bubble reached the perimeter of the high school property.
     "Is it me or did they get bigger?" Tod asked.
     "I think they got bigger," Darren said.
     "They still have my chakram," Rachel said.
     "We should descend," Lina said, "then attack from the ground."
     "Why not try an aerial attack first?" Alex asked, pointing his right index finger like a gun, "Blast Ash!"
     Several small energy beams fired from his finger, exploding in the air around Vandole and Valgard. When the smoke cleared the two monsters could see the Warriors and Slayers standing at the far end of the football field, each person in either a battle stance or a relaxed stance.
     "You're in deep trouble," Naga said, "and now you must be punished. Prepare to fry! Freeze Arrow!"
     Naga held her hands like she was holding a bow and arrow. Several arrows of ice fired from her hands and flew at Vandole and Valgard. Valgard drew his sword and swung upward, deflecting the freeze arrows off towards the sky.
     "Wow," Amelia said, "that wasn't much help."
     "Oh well, I tried my best," Naga said, "and it doesn't hurt to try."
     "Damu Bras!" Zelgadis shouted, hurling a sphere of energy at Vandole. The sphere struck the airborne pest and rocked him with the force of the bass at a heavy metal concert. Vandole descended rapidly, landing in a crouch.
     "You're gonna pay for that!" Vandole shouted, unsheathing his sword. He then charged at Zelgadis at such a rapid rate that to the naked eye he was nothing but a blur. "Life Sprinkler!"
     Vandole appeared to split into four separate parts, all of whom slashed Zelgadis repeatedly before they slashed upwards, sending Zel to the sky. The four Vandoles disappeared, only to reappear as one above Zel and smash him into the ground. Vandole then spread his wings, unleashing a gravity beam which crushed Zelgadis into the ground.
     "Mister Zelgadis!" Amelia shouted, running to his aid, "Flare Lance!"
     Unfortunately Vandole blocked the lance with his sword, sending it back at Amelia. The lance struck the ground before Amelia and exploded, hurling her through the air and into Richard's arms.
     "This isn't going to be an easy fight, is it?" Amelia asked, looking into Richard's deep brown eyes.
     "Nope, it's not," Alex said, leaping over Richard and Amelia with his sword drawn, the blade glowing with energy, "Tornado Strike!"
     Alex swung downward, releasing the energy, which struck the ground before Valgard. The energy spun around Valgard's legs, forming a massive tornado funnel, which hurled Valgard half a mile into the air before vanishing abruptly. Valgard began to plummet, and surely would have fallen to his doom if Vandole hadn't flown up and caught him in mid fall. Vandole forgot about keeping the gravity beam trained on Zelgadis, giving Zel a breather and a chance for Matt and Gourry to help him out of the ground.
     "How are we going to defeat them if they can block or deflect our attacks and strike us with incredible speed?" Zelgadis asked.
     "Divide and conquer," Lina said, her talismans glowing with energy.
     "You're not going to use..." Amelia asked, only to be cut off by Lina's nod. "We're all doomed!"
     "Hey bird brain!" Lina shouted as Valgard and Vandole landed, "eat this! Bomb Spread!"
     Lina fired off what appeared to be a Burst Rondo, but when the energy balls exploded they had the force of a Burst Flare a piece. The ground around and beneath the monsters was blown to pieces. When the dust cleared, though, the monsters were still in perfect condition.
     "That tickled," Valgard said before belching energy blasts at Lina. To everybody's amazement Lina leapt over and dodged every blast. When she stopped jumping everyone applauded her gymnastic ability.
     "Save it for later guys," Sylphiel said, forming an energy sphere between her hands, "Fireball!"
     The fireball sailed right past Valgard and Vandole, who broke out laughing. Sylphiel grinned wickedly as the fireball looped back around and struck the two monsters in the back, sending them to the ground.
     "Way to go Sylphiel!" Lina cheered, "I never knew you could do something like that."
     "Well, I picked it up from you Miss Lina," Sylphiel said, "I guess my spells are growing in intensity."
     "They're still alive," Gourry said, producing the sword of light, "Light come forth!"
     Gourry swung the sword of light until he was holding the blade before his body. Valgard and Vandole got to their feet and struck battle stances. The Warriors and Slayers drew their weapons and also struck battle stances. Alex, on the other hand, reached behind his back and produced a small notebook, which he flipped through.
     "What's that?" Lina asked, looking over his shoulder.
     "My personal spell book," Alex replied, "I have some really powerful spells in here, some of them my own creations."
     "Like what?"
     "Well, this one for starters," Alex said, pointing to one on the page he was on," the Giga Slave was one of the later ones, but the Rah Tilt and Dragon Slave were some of my first incredibly strong spells."
     "And how about one of the ones you created yourself?"
     "You'll see," Alex said, closing the spell book and replacing it in his subspace pocket. He then closed his eyes, held his hands above his head, and recited the spell.

"Never underestimate the destructive forces of nature,
For what may be beautiful one minute can be lethal the next.
I call forth the powers of thunder and lightning, wind and rain,
to vanquish all those who dare to oppose me.
Goddess of the sky, deliver your smiting blow.
Storm Striker!!"
     A sphere of aqua energy formed between his hands, a beam of light shooting from it and piercing the sky. Around the beam storm clouds formed and swirled. The wind began to pick up speed, blowing against Vandole and Valgard. The sky seemed to open as first rain, then sleet, and finally hail beat against the pair. Ultimately a giant thunderbolt crackled across the sky, striking the pair and zapping them. The sky then cleared like nothing happened a moment later.
     "What the hell just happened?" Lina asked in disbelief.
     "My super special spell," Alex said, grinning, "the Storm Striker."
     "You have got to teach me that spell!" Lina and Amelia said at the same time, "PLEASE?!"
     "I will.... after we wipe the floor with these monsters."
     "No problem," Lina said, going through the beginning moves of a spell. She then recited the incantation.
"Darkness beyond twilight, crimson beyond blood that flows.
Buried in the stream of time is where your power grows.
I pledge myself to conquer all the foes who stand
before the mighty gift bestowed in my unworthy hand."
     As Lina chanted the spell, Gourry charged at the monsters with the sword of light above his head. Before he reached the monsters, though, he leapt into the air. At that moment Lina finished the spell, sending it at the sword of light.
     "Dragon SLAVE!"
     The Dragon Slave struck the sword of light, increasing the blade's power by hundred fold. Gourry slashed downward and surely would have cleaved Valgard and Vandole in half if a third blade hadn't blocked the blade. The person swung their blade, knocking the sword from Gourry's hand and sending it sailing. The force also threw Gourry onto his butt. Gourry looked up to see a third person dressed in black denim with a pair of silver long swords in hand, one pointed at Gourry's throat.
     "Vannon!" Vandole exclaimed, "Nice of you to finally join the battle."
     "It's great to be here," Vannon said, thrusting the blade closer to Gourry's throat. He then turned to Gourry and said, "You're one of Lina's and Alex's friends, aren't you?"
     "Well, yes, I am," Gourry said, crawling backwards.
     "Then you must die!"
     Vannon raised one of the blades above his head, ready to strike Gourry dead. As he swung downward a pair of the spell casters saved Gourry's tail.
     "Balas ROD!"
     A pair of energy whips wrapped around Gourry's arms and reeled him backwards. Vannon's sword struck the ground between Gourry's legs. Gourry looked at how close he came to becoming a Eunuch and passed out.
     "Now is not the time to pass out, yogurt brain!" Lina shouted as she and Alex hauled Gourry in.
     "He was almost neutered," Derek said, "leave him be."
     "Guys," Amelia said, "you don't want to know what the demon spawn is doing."
     "Why's that Amelia?" Naga asked, looking over to where the three monsters were. She took a step back when she saw. "Li... Li... Lina.. " she stuttered in shock.
     "What's wrong now Naga?" Lina asked, looking over at the three monsters. When she saw them in a triangular formation she summoned a fireball.
     "Don't," Zelgadis said, stepping in front of Lina, "if you interrupt a Delta attack the results could be deadly."
     "And if we wait we're dead," Darren said.
     "Tough choice," Richard and Alex said, "Let's nuke 'em!"
     Alex summoned a sphere of blood red energy while Rich channeled ice energy into the blade of his sword. Steve and Tod noted what their teammates were doing and called upon orbs of lightning and fire.
     "Gaav Flare!"
     "Freeze Arrow!"
     "Digger Volt!"
     "Fireball!"
     The four spells joined to form a shadow energy beam, which made contact with the Delta field and canceled it out. The three demons charged forward at an amazing rate, only a trio of blurs to the naked eye. They struck quickly and repeatedly, weakening the group of heroes incredibly fast. The Warriors and Slayers dropped to crouches, too weak to do much else.
     "This is the end, isn't it Lina?" Naga asked.
     "You might be right Naga," Lina said, "we could be finished."
     "Here comes the grand finale," Vannon said, stopping long enough to raise his sword to the sky, "Skygate!"
     Sheets of lightning cascaded around the Warriors and Slayers, bringing each person to near fatal status. The demons took a moment to laugh before they began to summon another Delta attack.
     "What shall we do?" Sylphiel asked, producing her crystal wand.
     "I learned a trick during my time at the arena," Alex said, "something called a Near Fatal attack."
     "Is this like a Limit Break?" Dan asked.
     "Or an Esper?" Nick asked.
     "To a point, yes. When a person is Near Fatal they usually have a technique or attack they use at that time which is more powerful than a normal attack."
     "Whatever you're going to do, you had better do it before they complete their attack," Amelia said.
     "I'm going to use my Near Fatal tech. Sylphiel, use Recovery on everyone. Zel and Amelia, you use Ray Wing to get us above the action. From there split into three groups and attack."
     "Sounds like a plan," Sylphiel said, beginning the incantation for her spell, "Humble, blessed infinite God, Light and breath of mother earth. I pray thee, come before us, show your great compassion to us, and deliver us..."
     As Sylphiel chanted her spell, Alex dropped to a crouch, closed his eyes, and summoned energy into and around his body, forming a ghostly orange aura. He then stood up and put his hands above his head, centering the energy into a large sphere above his head. He then shouted, "Solar Flare!" before hurling the sphere into the center of the triangle. The sphere exploded into an expanding heat wave which knocked the three demons for a loop and weakened them. Alex then looked at Sylphiel and gave her the go ahead.
     "RECOVERY!"
     Sylphiel held her crystal wand to the sky. Waves of healing light struck each of the weakened people and reenergized them. As the lights died down Zelgadis and Amelia created a sphere around the group.
     "Ray WING!!"
     Once the sphere was airborne the three demons recovered and began to search for their prey.
     "This is almost too easy," Lina snickered, "they can't find us, but we'll hit them from above."
     "Split into three groups and leap for it," Alex said, "Once down we divide and conquer"
     "Sounds like a plan which just might work," Naga said, leaping through the bubble and diving towards the ground, head first. When she neared the ground she flipped forward and landed on her feet. She then turned to the sky and motioned the others to land.
     "I think we do as the large breasted one says," Darren said, leaping through the bubble as well. He landed in a crouch next to Naga.
     "And I'll be team leader number three," Richard said, leaping through the bubble and dropping to the ground. He also landed in a crouch next to Naga.
     "Everyone out of the pool," Dan said as everyone leapt free of the bubble and dropped down to land behind the team leaders. Alex, Matt, Lina, Dan, and Steve went with Darren; Sylphiel, Amelia, Nick, and Tod went with Naga; Zelgadis, Gourry, Derek, and Rachel went with Richard.
     "Choose your target and then split up," Alex said before the three demons figured out that the Warriors and Slayers were on the ground.
     "Prepare to die!" the three demons said, launching a delta beam at the heroes, "Delta Wave!"
     The three groups split off, Naga's group going to the right, Darren's group going to the left, and Rich's group splitting down the middle and leaping backwards and off to the sides.
     "What the hell?" Vannon asked, "You're not supposed to do that!"
     "Says who?" Naga asked, "If you think we're going to hold still for some second class, third rate monster who thinks he's all that and a bag of chips, you've got another thing coming!"
     Vannon's eyes flashed red when he heard this. Who did that lady think she was, calling him that? He drew his sword and charged directly at Naga, ready to cleave her head off. As he slashed through the air Naga side stepped the blade and hit Vannon with her best shot.
     "Freeze Blast!"
     Arctic winds gathered in Naga's hand. She hurled them at Vannon, striking him and freezing him in a solid block of ice. Unfortunately Vannon began to trash talk everyone, which caused the ice to crack and shatter.
     "Ancient creature which sleeps in the stream of time," Nick chanted, holding his piece of red materia to the sky, "I summon thee to burn my enemies to ashes. Flame Sphinx!"
     A beam of red light emerged from the materia and pierced the sky. Clouds swirled around the beam, blackening the sky. From the central point of the swirl the mighty Sphinx emerged. The great beast dropped down and landed next to Nick.
     "Go get 'em!" Nick said, pointing to Vannon. The Sphinx growled before leaping through the air and tackling Vannon to the ground.
     "Get the hell off of me!" Vannon said before belching a freeze blast at the Sphinx. The mystical creature was quickly frozen in a block of ice and knocked to the ground.
     "No way," Nick said when he saw what Vannon did to his esper, "that's not possible."
     "But it is," Vannon said, "I'm the best, and that means I can absorb an attack and use its energy later."
     "You're not going to get away with that," Amelia said, "Flow Break!"
     A 6 - pointed star in a circle formed under Vannon, striking him with a beam which held him in place. Amelia turned to the others and said, "Finish him in the name of justice!"
     "With pleasure," Tod said, cracking his whip through the air. The stars on the ends of the whip glowed white hot with energy as he lashed it about. "Shooting Star Strike!"
     "Elmekia Lance!"
     "Damu Bras!"
     "Dug Haut!"
     "Flame Claw!"
     The ends of the whip extended when Tod cracked it, the stars breaking through the flow break and lodging in Vannon's body. Tod tugged on the whip, discharging the accumulated energy, which raced through Vannon's body. Amelia's Elmekia Lance struck Vannon in the shoulder, piercing it before exploding and blowing his shoulder off. Sylphiel's sonic attack struck with the force of the bass at a heavy metal concert, rattling Vannon to his knees. Nick pressed one of the jewels on his right gauntlet, causing large blades to emerge. He leapt into the air, gathering flame energy into the claw. He then dove downward, the blade above his head and slashed Vannon from head to toe. The flame energy exploded, engulfing Vannon and weakening him severely. Naga's stone spike attack weakened Vannon even more and pierced his legs, keeping him in place.
     "Now to finish him off," Amelia said, forming a sphere of energy between her palms, "Source of all souls which dwells in the eternal and the infinite, ever lasting flame of blue. All power hidden deep within be called forth here and now. Rah Tilt!"
     The sphere exploded into a beam of astral energy, which struck Vannon with the power equal to that of the Dragon Slave. The beam exploded into an energy dome, which quickly wiped Vannon out of existence before dissipating. Once the last sign of the explosion died away the five heroes looked the blast site over, only to find no sign of the demon.
     "Do you think we got him?" Amelia asked, "I mean, he was a mix of youma, angel, and Mazoku."
     "I'm sure we got him," Tod said, "we're at our peak energy level so he didn't stand a chance."
     "But now neither do you," Valgard said. The five turned just as he pulled the trigger on his plasma rifle. The beam struck the five repeatedly, hurling them across the football field, up a small hill, and into the fence around the tennis courts.
     "Leave them alone!" Richard said, hurling a Cryo-blast at Valgard, who fired a shot at the sphere, canceling it out.
     "You were saying?" Valgard said, turning the gun on Rich, who drew his ice dagger and held it before his body. "That puny sword isn't going to help much."
     "But it gives me enough time to recover my weapon," Rachel said, snatching her chakram off of Valgard's belt before cartwheeling away.
     "Why you little witch!" Valgard said, turning the gun towards Rachel, who leapt into the air before calling on an attack.
     "Halo Laser Slash!"
     Rachel hurled her chakram at Valgard before striking it with a laser. The chakram became a spinning energy blade, which slashed through Valgard's gun several times before returning to her hand. Valgard's laser cannon fell to the ground in pieces after that, a worthless mass of junk.
     "I don't need a laser to beat you," Valgard snarled, charging at Rachel with his sword drawn, "Life Sprinkler!"
     As he was about to invoke the attack a pair of Cryo - blasts struck the ground before him, turning it to glare ice. Valgard slipped and fell on his butt and slid towards Rachel at a remarkable rate. Rachel leapt into the air, performed a head stomp which left an impression of her boot on Valgard's forehead before she flipped through the air and into Derek's arms. Derek turned an embarrassed shade of red, since this was his ex- girlfriend from years back. Rachel blushed also, since she knew Derek was faithful to his current girlfriend.
     "Um... Derek, you can put me down," Rachel said, breaking the silence.
     "In a second," Derek said, leaping skyward. Valgard sailed under them and wound up on his face again. Once Derek touched down he put Rachel back on her feet.
     "That monster has the coordination and grace of a lead hippo," Zelgadis said, a sweat drop on his head.
     "You'll smear for that remark!" Valgard said, charging at Zelgadis. Zel drew his sword and deflected the incoming blade. The two then began to duel, sparks flying as the blades clashed.
 "You're pretty good," Zelgadis said, the strain showing on his face as he concentrated on the task at hand.
     "You're not bad yourself," Valgard said, also showing the strain.
     "Go Mister Zelgadis," Amelia cheered from the side lines. Both Zel and Valgard looked to see the other Warriors and Slayers on the bleachers, watching the pair fight it out.
     "Looking good Zel," Rachel shouted.
     "You guys could help you know," Zelgadis shouted, his head swelling to twice its normal size. The people on the bleachers fell off and onto the ground.
     "Well, if we must, we must," Gourry said, "Light come forth!"
     Once Gourry had the sword of light in hand he looked to Amelia and Sylphiel, who both cast the same spell on the blade.
     "Rah Tilt!"
     The blade increased in size as astral power was added to the magical weapon. Gourry leapt into the air and slashed downward, catching Valgard completely off guard. Valgard was instantly vaporized, leaving a very stunned Zelgadis to fall on his face.
     "You ok Zel?" Gourry asked, helping his friend to his feet.
     "Yeah, I'm fine," Zel said, "he was one heck of a fine warrior and I will miss him."
     "You won't miss this!" a familiar voice said as a force beam struck the other two groups, crushing them to the ground.
     "I... forgot about.... Vandole," Zelgadis said.
     "Lina, Alex, Darren, Steven, Matt, and Dan are supposed to finish this one off," Gourry said.
     "Well, where are they?!"
     "Right here!" Alex said from the other end of the field. Everyone looked to see Alex with his glaive charged with dark energy and Lina with the Laguna Blade in hand. Behind them stood Steve, Dan, Darren, and Matt, all who were ready to attack should Lina's and Alex's attacks be insufficient to vanquish the third monster.
     "Prepare to fry!" Alex said, leaping into the air, his glaive above his head, "Giga Flare!"
     Alex swung the glaive downward, the accumulated energy released at the lowest point of the arc. The dark thunderbolt struck next to Vandole before exploding into an expanding dome of energy and solar intensity heat. Unfortunately Vandole leapt into the air and flapped his wings, sending the energy wave towards Alex and the others.
     "We're toast!" Lina said, the Laguna Blade vanishing.
     "No we're not," Darren said, a sphere of dark energy forming between his palms, "Galaxy Aura Barrier!"
     Darren heaved the sphere above their heads, which exploded and expanded to form an energy barrier against the Giga Flare.
     "And now to reinforce the barrier," Alex said, taking a familiar talisman from under his armor, "Humble, blessed will of God, light and breath of mother earth. By the light of purity I possess I summon holy energy to surround us and protect us. Barrier!"
     The area was awash with white light, which reinforced Darren's barrier. The Giga Flare struck the shield and was redirected around the six heroes. Once the attack passed the shield was dropped and the six charged to help their friends, whom Vandole was still torturing.
     "We need an attack or a spell he can't turn back on us," Dan said.
     "First we need to wrap him up," Lina said, "Balas Rod!"
     "Flame Whip!"
     The pair of energy whips wrapped around Vandole, bringing him down on his face. Once he was wrapped up Lina used a second spell to contain him.
     "Holy winds, winds which blow gently across the land. Let all things be filled by your pure breath. Van Rehl!"
     Lina placed her palm to the ground, icy tendrils emerging from where she touched. The tendrils wrapped around Vandole, sealing him in an icy prison. Once he was sealed in a block of ice Lina turned to the others and said, "He's all yours."
     "Thank you Lina," Matt said, taking his axe and spinning it, "Blazing Blade Boomerang!"
     Matt hurled his axe, which was engulfed in flames, turning it into a fiery disc of death. As the boomerang neared the frozen Vandole something strange began to happen. Vandole's eyes began to glow red. He then began to grow, easily shattering the icy prison. When he stopped growing he was about 100 feet tall.
     "This is just peachy," Alex said, "I was hoping he wouldn't find out about that."
     "So now what do we do?" Naga asked.
     "Hit it with everything we've got," Lina said, another Laguna Blade forming between her hands. "Amelia give me a lift."
     "All right Miss Lina," Amelia said, grabbing Lina by the belt, "Ray Wing!"
     Once airborne, Amelia lobbed Lina at the angel's head. Lina swung the Laguna Blade, only to have Vandole block with a well armored forearm. Lina crashed face first into the hand, a muffled, "Koala." coming from her. Vandole, noticing the fly speck on his gauntlet, waved it so that Lina sailed through the air and into Alex, who was in the process of gathering dark energy into his star sword. The impact sent both of them to the ground, the dark energy dissipating.
     "Stubborn... no good... HEY!" Lina exclaimed when Vandole turned towards Zelgadis and Naga, who were pairing up for an attack, "Get back here you piece of dragon fodder!"
     "He's not listening," Alex said, gathering dark energy into his sword, "Sword, give me your strength. 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!"
     Dark energy crackled into the blade as Alex chanted the spell. The sky was quickly darkened again, the central point of the gathering energy dark as night. Everyone stared in awe as Alex called upon a force so dark and powerful none dare to interrupt the casting of the spell. Lina took this time to chant her own spell.
     "Darkness beyond twilight, crimson beyond blood that flows. Buried in the stream of time is where your power grows. I pledge myself to conquer all the foes who stand, against the mighty gift bestowed to my unworthy hands. Let the fools who stand before me be destroyed by the power you and I possess!"
     Vandole turned back towards Lina and Alex, only to be hit by a triple force spell by Amelia, Zelgadis, and Sylphiel.
     "Source of all souls which dwells in the eternal and the infinite..."
     "Everlasting flame of blue..."
     "All power hidden deep within be called forth here and now."
     "RAH TILT!"
     The blue - white flames struck Vandole, and though the triple blast wasn't enough to finish him, they were enough to hold him in place for the final attacks.
     "Giga SLAVE!"
     "Dragon SLAVE!"
     The bolt of dark energy and the beam of dark energy struck Vandole with enough force to shrink him back to his normal size and severely weaken him. Vandole was now on one knee in a crouch, his black angel wings folded behind his back. He was resting on his sword, leaning on the blade for support. Lina and the others walked up to him, getting within speaking range.
     "You managed to best Vannon and Valgard," Vandole said, "that proves you have guts. More than our leader thought you had, anyway."
     "And who is your leader?" Naga asked, bouncing as she came to a stop.
     "Nobody knows his name, but everyone calls him Black X."
     "That name doesn't ring any bells," Lina said, "but we just have to wait and see what happens next."
     "Aren't we going to finish him off?" Amelia asked.
     "Yeah, I can't go back to my leader like this," Vandole said, regaining his feet. He took to the sky and kicked it into over drive, reappearing behind and above people, striking them with his sword, and vanishing into thin air. "Finish me Lina, if you can!"
     "I have no choice," Lina said, aligning her talismans, "The demons blood amulets will have to be powered up for me to use my ultimate spell."
     "Hurry up and do it," Gourry said as he dodged a sword from sub space.
     "Oh lords of darkness of these four words, I call upon thee to grant me all the power that you possess. A part of the Lord of Nightmares. When the burden of the world is undone. Freezing blade of darkness. My powers, unite with my body, to walk the road to destruction as one. To even destroy the souls of Gods. Laguna Blade!!"
     A sphere of dark energy formed in Lina's hand, which she clasped. The sphere exploded to form a twin edged blade of dark energy. Lina took a moment to calculate where Vandole would appear next and shouted, "Black sword of darkness, slash through all!" before slashing through the air. A portal opened where Lina slashed and out stepped Vandole, a slash running from his left shoulder to his right hip.
     "How... how were you able to beat me?" he asked, stunned that a mere human could wound him.
     "The Laguna Blade, the black sword of the Lord of Nightmares, can smash even the souls of Gods," Lina said, "not even your little leap to subspace could stop the sword from finding you."
     "And now to finish it," Alex said, holding his glaive above his head. The blade glowed a brilliant silver as energy gathered into it. Alex swung the blade downward while shouting, "Silence Glaive Apply!" At the bottom of the arc there was a split second of silence before the explosion engulfed the area, wiping Vandole off the face of the planet and destroying half of the football field. Once the smoke and dust settled, the Warriors reverted to their mortal forms and Gourry resheathed the sword of light.
     "So that takes care of that," Zelgadis said.
     "Mister Scott was really a monster," Sylphiel said, "how horrible."
     "I don't think that was the real Scott Watkins," Alex said. Derek, Rich, and Matt nodded in agreement.
     "Where do you think the real one is?" Gourry asked.
     "If I knew how the monster race thinks I'd have to say he's someplace within the store."
     The group began their long hike back to the supermarket, which would be closed for a couple of weeks so that repairs could be made. As the group walked away, the sky darkened yet again, clouds swirling around a single point. At that single point a portal opened, dumping a very boyish looking girl and a cat girl onto the part of the football field which wasn't destroyed.
     "What the hell?!" the boyish girl exclaimed, standing up and brushing dirt from her white pants. As she straightened up her red armor she turned to her companion. "Fam, how the hell did we end up here?"
     "Gee Ihrie, I'm not sure," the cat girl said, supporting herself on her staff, "maybe I miscast that last spell."
     "You DID say Spirits of air, hear my discourse, stop my enemies with unblockable force.', Didn't you?"
     "I'm not sure," Fam said, pulling a small notebook from behind her back. She thumbed through pages until she came to that particular spell. A sweat drop formed on her head when she read the spell again.
     "What's wrong Fam?" Ihrie asked. "You DID cast it right, didn't you?"
     "Nope," Fam said, her voice very weak and shaky, "I didn't."
     "You WHAT?!" Ihrie exclaimed, leaping over Fam and looking at Fam's spell notes. Ihrie then face faulted. "No wonder we took a trip through time and space. Instead of Unblockable force you said Historical tour. Now we're stranded.... oh, where ever the hell we are!"
     "Oh brother," Alex sighed, walking up to the two travelers, "so now you're stuck here also?"
     "It looks that way," Ihrie said, "where are we, and who are you?"
     "You're in Newport, New Hampshire, in 1999, and I'm Alexander West."
     "Bloody unbelievable!" Ihrie sighed, "Fam, do you have any magic power left?"
     "Not enough to get us home," Fam said, "I'm sorry Ihrie."
     "We have room at our place for you," Amelia said, "Don't we Miss Lina?"
     "Um... yeah, I think so," Lina said, "we're going on vacation soon so you two and Naga can stay at our place."
     "Thanks very much," Ihrie said, "we'll make sure to keep it clean."
     "Now to get back to work," Rich said as they turned to head south for the store.

     Meanwhile, in the produce cooler, which was located off of the bakery and break room, two people were trying their damnedest to stay warm.
     "How long have we been in here?" Josh asked, his teeth chattering from the cold.
     "Since the monster stuck us in here and sealed the door," Scott said, his breath visible in the cold air.
     "How long ago was that?"
     "Five or six days.... maybe more."
     "They haven't suspected anything yet?"
     "Well, I'm not sure. Hopefully they'll find us soon. I'm getting sick of eating vegetables."
     The two looked at each other as if to say, "We're gonna get out when hell freezes over." and they began pounding on the door and shouting for help.

END

     "In our next episode, with the store closed down for repairs Alex, along with the Slayers, some of the Senshi and Warriors, and Asuka and Rei, drive to California to visit Alex's cousin, who happens to be the famous Buffy Summers, the original vampire slayer. During the start of the visit the townspeople turn on those who study or use magic. Unfortunately this includes our heroes. Stay tuned to Slayers Convention and see how they get out of this one."