It was a dark and dismal day in Sunnydale, this one more so than the other dark and dismal days. Buffy Summers, a.k.a.. the vampire slayer, was restless as could be. Alex West, a.k.a. the demon slayer, was also restless and took some time to update his website. Asuka Langly Sohryu and Lina Inverse, a.k.a. the second child and the sorceress supreme, were bored to the point of screaming. As for the other warriors, sailor soldiers, slayers, and the first child.... well, they were all sprawled out in different rooms of the Summers house doing various things.
     “I am SO bored,” Lina sighed. She was stretched out in a chair so her feet were at the head rest and her head was laying off of the seat, her red hair flowing down the foot rest and onto the floor.
     “Count the ceiling tiles,” Alex said, typing fast and furious on his laptop computer.
     “I did,” Lina groaned, forming a small fireball and absentmindedly tossed it into the air, “there are five hundred, seventy two and one half.”
     “No fireballs in the house,” Buffy said as she walked by. She caught the fireball and handed it back to Lina.
     “Party pooper,” Lina grumbled under her breath.
     “Tetris smetris,” Asuka grumbled from her corner of the room. Alex glanced over to see Asuka and Derek in a head to head competition on their gameboys. Asuka was foaming mad, which made it apparent she was losing.
     “Hah,” Derek cheered as he scored the winning line. Asuka fell over from exhaustion.
     “Well, that kills the excitement,” Alison sighed. She was stretched out on the floor, her hair spread out around her head.
     “I agree,” Alyssa said. She was stretched out on the other side of Alison facing the opposite direction.
     “When are the guys going to return with the videos?” Amelia asked. She had opted to hang upside down from one of the curtain rods in the living room.
     “Any minute now,” Lina said, back flipping off of the chair and landing in a crouch. At that moment the front door opened and in stepped Zelgadis, Gourry, Xander, and Richard.
     “We’ve got the videos!” Richard exclaimed. A tidal wave of people ran up to him and fought to see what they would be watching.
     “Titanic 2,” Alison and Alyssa cooed, snatching a video from the top of the stack.
     “Attack of the Hellspawned!” Alex exclaimed, snatching one of the videos.
     “And all of the Halloween, Friday 13th, and Nightmare on Elm Street movies!” Andrew and Jason said, taking the rest of the stack.
     “And we brought the munchies,” Zelgadis, Xander, and Gourry said, holding up a bunch of shopping bags stuffed with junk food.
     “You guys are too good to me,” Lina said, advancing towards the shopping bags with a look she only got when she was about to gorge herself silly.
     “Sorry Lina,” Zelgadis said, placing one booted foot against Lina’s forehead, “but you have to share with everyone else.”
     “But I’m HUNGRY!”
     “We also ordered pizza,” Xander said, opening the door as Willow and Oz entered, their arms loaded with pizza from the local pizza place.
     “Somebody take these before I drop them,” Willow said, her voice muffled by the stack of boxes. Tony and Bethany moved in to relieve Willow of her heavy load.
     “This should keep us occupied for a little while,” Ariel said, plopping down before the big screen tv and wolfing a couple of slices of pizza, “Not bad.”
     “Well, today seemed like a perfect day for lounging,” Buffy said, “no signs of the forces of darkness, the weather sucks, and it’s a school holiday so we don’t need to worry about classes.”
     “This is the life,” Lina said, downing slice after slice of pizza, “mmmmm.... burp.”
     “Our Lina is no lady,” Gourry sighed, “but we love her just the same.”
     The group stuffed themselves silly with pizza and junk food and were about to begin the longest movie marathon in history when the phone rang. Mrs. Summers, Buffy’s mom, answered the phone when nobody else did. She then walked into the living room and stood in front of the tv, blocking everyone’s view.
     “Buffy, it’s Cordelia’s mom,” Mrs. Summers said, “She wants to know if she’s here.”
     “We haven’t seen her all day,” Buffy said, “why, is something wrong?”
     “She says that Cordelia stepped out for air last night and never returned and now she’s worried.”
     “I’ll go out to search for her,” Buffy said, uncurling from where she was sitting on the couch and running towards the door.
     “I’m coming also,” Lina said, grabbing her cape from a hook by the door.
     “Count me in,” Asuka said, leaping over bodies to catch up with Lina and Buffy.
     “Hurry back,” Alex called.
     “And be sure to call if you find anything,” Willow added as the front door slammed shut.

     “Of all the stupid, idiotic things that Cordelia could have done,” Buffy grumbled as the three marched through the streets of Sunnydale, “how the hell could she get lost in her own home town?!”
     “Maybe she didn’t have a choice,” Lina said, picturing demons dragging a kicking and screaming Cordelia into a den of darkness. She immediately discarded that idea, since demons don’t like women who can beat the crap out of them without batting an eyelash.
     “Knowing Cordelia it isn’t good.”
     As they rounded a corner onto Main Street a girl darted past them and into an empty building. Buffy took off after the girl. Lina and Asuka looked at one another before running after Buffy.
     “Alicia, come back!” Buffy was yelling as she leapt up the stairs. She began pounding frantically on the pair of industrial strength doors. “Open these doors this minute!”
     “Buffy, get a grip,” Asuka said, wrapping her arms around Buffy and lifting the slayer off of her feet.
     “I don’t think she can hear you,” Lina said, knocking on the doors to test their thickness, “these are shielded and incredibly thick. Not a sound would get through.”
     “Incoming,” a young man shouted, practically bowling the three over as he effortlessly opened the door, entered, and slammed it shut behind him.
     “I really have a bad feeling about this,” Asuka said, setting Buffy on her feet. “We can’t open the door, but they can? What’s up with that?”
     “It’s a shelter for runaway teens,” Lina said, floating over Buffy’s and Asuka’s heads, “it says so on this sign.”
     “Let’s see about entry,” Buffy said, taking a deep breath and knocking on the door. A moment later the door opened and a young man about Buffy’s age stepped part way out. He had short brown hair which was spiked, sparkling blue eyes, and had a clean shaven and tanned face. He wore blue jeans, white sneakers, and a green denim shirt.
     “May I help you?” he asked, smiling to show off perfect white teeth.
     “Yes, we’re looking for a Miss Alicia Kurato,” Buffy said, twisting a strand of blonde hair around her finger, “do you know if she’s here?”
     “Um... I don’t know anybody by that name,” the man said. It was obviously a lie, since he wouldn’t look any of the three in the eye.
     “Oh well,” Lina said, “what can we say?”
     “How about hello,” Asuka said, performing a spin kick to the door, hurling it wide open. Lina then hit the young man with a Monobolt, knocking him unconscious.
     “Now that we have entry, let’s see about finding Cordelia and Alicia,” Buffy said, running through the entrance hall with Lina and Asuka in hot pursuit.

     In the basement of the building sat a small pool of water. It was nothing very fancy; just rocks around a 13’ by 6’ hole in the floor. It wasn’t very deep either, just 3.5’ deep. But this one little pool housed a very dangerous secret, which someone was about to discover.
     “So this will cleanse me?” Alicia was asking a man in his 30’s.
     “Yes, you’ll be pure again,” the man said, an evil twinkle in his eye, “just step into the pool and let the water cover your body.”
     “It looks icky,” Alicia said, kneeling down to get a better look.
     “Alicia!” Buffy shouted as she, Asuka, and Lina came charging down the stairs.
     “Buffy?” Alicia said, surprised that the great vampire slayers was there.
     “Alicia, look out!” Lina screamed as two clawed hands emerged from the pool and wrapped around Alicia’s arms, pulling her into the water head first. To Buffy’s horror and Lina’s shock the space around the pool rippled, giving a faint hint of a portal to another world being there.
     “Welcome slayer,” the man said, “and good-bye,” he added, leaping into the pool.
     “I’m calling for backup,” Asuka said, pulling out her cel phone and dialing the Summers residence.
     “And we’re going in,” Lina and Buffy said, leaping through the portal. Asuka followed a moment later. What the three saw when they reached the other side terrified each to the core.
     “What is this place?” Asuka asked, looking at the plainly clad young men and women slaving away at incredibly difficult tasks.
     “This is horrifying,” Lina said, shock in her voice.
     “This has to end,” Buffy said, walking towards one of the guards. Asuka and Lina followed, only to be surrounded by a large battalion of the guards. Before any of the girls could strike back the man from the shelter stepped forth.
     “So, we meet again Buffy Summers, the slayer,” the man said, staring Buffy in the face.
     “You better be glad your goons have us restrained,” Lina shouted, “otherwise I’d hit with such a powerful spell...”
     “You wouldn’t be able to,” the man said, standing so close to Lina that she could smell his breath, “I take it you’re the famous sorceress, Lina Inverse. I know all about you, including the interesting fact that you can’t use high level spells underground.”
     “Ooooh, whatever!” Lina growled, resisting the restraints.
     “Knock them out!” the man commanded. Three guards stepped forth and put cloths laced with chloroform to the faces of the three women. A moment later all was darkness.

     Meanwhile, in the Summers house, the rest of the group was enjoying the movies and junk food when several communicators pinged or beeped. The owners of the communicators took them from their pockets and answered the call.
     “Guys, it’s Asuka. This is a prerecorded message which will play the moment I cross through a portal. I have the homing signal on my cel phone active so you should hopefully have no trouble finding me, Lina, and Buffy. Hurry up and get cranking.”
     “It figures,” Rei sighed, “Asuka was always the impulsive one, and that usually got her into a TON of trouble.”
     “At least she had the common sense to send a message saying that she needed backup,” Mina said, “plus she turned on her homing signal so it would be easier to find her.”
     “Well, what are we waiting for?” Zelgadis asked, attaching his sword to his belt, “Our friends need our help.”
     “Time to power up,” Jason said, taking his transformation pen from his pocket, “Callisto Nova Power!”
     “Star Crystal Power!”
     “Venus Crystal Power!”
     “Pluto Super Nova Power!”
     “Phobos Cosmic Power!”
     “Deimos Cosmic Power!”
     “Orion Nova Power!”
     “Sun Crystal Power!”
     “Neptune Super Nova Power!”
     “Pallas Moon Power!”
     “Vesta Moon Power!”
     “Thunder Crystal Power!”
     “Ice Crystal Power!”
     “Universe Rebirth Power!”
     There were several flashes of colored light as each person transformed into their super powered alter egos. They then ran for the already open door, bowling over Willow, Xander, and Oz, who were trying to get out of the way of the charging group of people.
     “Sorry,” Sylphiel called back as she tried to catch up with the others.
     “It’s all right,” Xander said, sprawled out on the floor, “I’m fine. Really.”
 “There they go,” Willow said, rubbing the egg sized bump on her head, ‘Please save Buffy.’

     “The signal is getting stronger,” Warrior Saturn said from the head of the charging horde. His wrist mounted computer showed a grid map of the city, one building with a blinking red light, another group of lights getting closer to the stationary one.
     “I hope we’re not too late,” Warrior Universe said.
     “They can take care of themselves,” Gourry said, “especially Lina. She’ll flatten anybody who dares to get on her bad side.”
     “I hope you’re right about that,” Warrior Orion said, “don’t forget that Lina can’t use any of her really big spells underground.”
     “Which has been pointed out MANY times in the past,” Zelgadis sighed.
     “We’re almost there!” Warrior Saturn exclaimed as they turned a corner. He stopped dead in his tracks, the rest of the group stopping on a dime. They stared in shock at the exterior of the shelter. What had been clean and white when Lina and the others had entered had turned an inky shade of black; the decorative stained glass windows were boarded over and broken; the heavy doors were off of their hinges.
     “Are you sure this is the place where the signal is coming from?” Sailor Venus asked when she saw the looks of the building.
     “Yeah, this is the place,” Warrior Saturn replied, sticking out his tongue at the decrepit building.
     “Let’s go inside all ready,” Sylphiel said, “Miss Lina and the others may be fighting for their lives inside.”
     “And there is only one way past a barrier like this,” Amelia said, “Damu Bras!”
     Amelia hurled a sphere of energy at the doors, which, upon making contact, rattled the doors with the force of the bass at a heavy metal concert. The doors crumbled a moment later, opening the way
     “And now to shed some light on the subject,” Sylphiel said, “light which burns beyond crimson flame, let thy power gather in my hand. Lighting!”
     A globe of light formed in Sylphiel’s hand, which floated before the shrine maiden as she walked. The others followed closely behind her as not to get lost in the catacombs.
     “Are we getting closer to the signal?” Warrior Callisto asked after what seemed like an eternity.
     “Yeah, we’re right on top of it,” Warrior Saturn said, checking the grid. He pressed a button and the image changed to a map of the inside of the building. “According to this we are right above the signal.”
     “There’s a door over here,” Sailor Phobos said, turning the doorknob, “well I’ll be damned if it isn’t locked.”
     “Allow me,” Warrior Orion said, stepping up to the door. He knocked against the wood until he found a certain point. He then made a fist, brought back his arm, and CRASH, he punched right through the door. Around the hole the wood cracked and splintered until the rest of the door fell apart, leaving a pile of kindling in its wake.
     “Let’s hear it for brute strength,” Gourry said. Sylphiel and Amelia turned to give him a death stare. “Well, somebody had to say it since Lina’s not here.”
     “Shall we proceed?” Sailor Deimos asked, motioning to the gaping hole and the incredible darkness beyond.
     “Let’s,” Warrior Saturn said, activating a flashlight on his gauntlet. He descended some rickety looking stairs first, followed by the others, with Sylphiel bringing up the rear. Once they reached the bottom of the stairs they saw the pool, more or less unchanged. The only sources of light in the basement were Saturn’s flashlight, Sylphiel’s light spell, and a mysterious light coming from the pool itself.
     “This is creeping me out,” Amelia said, huddling behind Zelgadis.
     “Yeah, this is really creepy,” Rei said, hiding behind Gourry, “go get whatever is down there Mister Gourry.”
     “Um... I’ll wait for Alex to go first,” Gourry said.
     “All right,” Alex sighed, stepping forward, “but first a little magic spell.”
     Alex crossed his arms before his body, aligning the chaos emeralds in his gauntlets. “Lord of darkness of these four worlds. I call upon thee. Grant me all the power that you possess.” As he chanted the spell for magic amplification the emeralds glowed with energy. Once he was sure his power would be boosted he began the spell.
     “A mere component of the Lord of Nightmares could bring understanding into 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 small sphere of dark energy formed between Warrior Saturn’s palms, which, when he clutched it, exploded into a large sword of darkness... the black blade of the Lord of Nightmares, the legendary Laguna Blade. Saturn turned to the others and said, “Come on, let’s go save Lina, Buffy, and Asuka!”
     “We’re right behind you,” Zelgadis said, drawing his sword.
     “Then let’s go!”
     Warrior Saturn stepped up to the pool, held his breath, and leapt in, expecting to feel water seeping through his armor and into his shorts. What he felt was a WHOOSH as space parted and a THUMP as his feet struck pavement. When he opened his eyes again he saw the same things that Lina, Asuka, and Buffy saw when they stepped through the looking pool. A couple of seconds later something landed on each shoulder, stunning him out of the trance he went into. He looked up to see Amelia standing on his shoulders.
     “Um, Amelia, what are you doing?” he asked.
     “Wha? Mister Alex?” Amelia stammered, losing her balance and toppling backwards off of Saturn’s shoulders. Though he expected to hear a sickening THUMP when Amelia would land on her head, he only heard a light tap as both of Amelia’s heels touched down. He turned to see the Seyruun princess in a crouch.
     “Nice landing,” Saturn said, a little surprised by Amelia’s landing. Apparently Amelia was surprised by her perfect landing as well, since she cartwheeled out of the way as Zelgadis, Sylphiel, and Gourry touched down beside them. They moved out of the way in time for the others to come plunging through the portal, with Rei Ayanami being the last one through. Once everyone got their bearings they moved into battle positions, weapons drawn and ready. From the shadows came an army of demon guards, each armed with a mace or large club. They quickly surrounded the group.
     “This does NOT look good,” Warrior Neptune said, the watery blade of sub - sonic water forming at the end of his trident.
     “We had better find the others soon or defeat this army,” Warrior Saturn said, “I’m starting to run out of power.”
     “Why don’t you join your friends then,” a voice said from a catwalk. The group looked up to see the same man who had subdued Buffy, Asuka, and Lina, his eyes cold and emotionless. On either side of him stood guards armed with gas canister launchers. “Fire away!”
     The guards took aim and pulled the triggers, launching canisters of sleeping gas into the midst of the group. People began dropping like flies.
     “We must... fight on.... to save... our friends,” Amelia said, trying to form a fireball. She fell face first to the ground a moment later, fast asleep.
     “I’m not about... to give... up,” Saturn said, slashing wildly with the Laguna Blade. He fell forward to his knees and then flat on his face, the black sword vanishing.
     “Take them to their cells,” the man said before laughing demonically. Then all went black.

     Alex opened his eyes to a world with a Technicolor rainbow sky, lush forest lands, pink mountains, flowers which danced, animals which sang and said, “Hello, how are you today?” and a sun with a smiley face.
     “Oh great,” he groaned, rubbing his head, “I’ve died and gone to hell.”
     “Hello,” a rabbit said as he hopped up to Alex, “how are you today?”
     Alex recoiled in horror, for it was a fluffy pink rabbit, the worst kind imaginable. Alex screamed before the world went topsy - turvy and flood waters rushed over him.
     “Are you O.K.?” Lina’s voice asked. Alex sat bolt upright to face the sorceress supreme.
     “Are we still in hell?” he asked. Lina nodded. “At least it’s this hell and not the one I envisioned.”
     “And what kind of hell was that?” Asuka asked, kneeling down next to Alex.
     “The worst possible kind, with dancing flowers, singing animals, and fluffy... pink.... bunnies!”
     Asuka and Lina recoiled in horror. Not even the most demented mind could think up something as horrific as that. Alex looked at the pair, blinked a couple of times, and ran his hands over his dripping wet face. He turned to face the front of their cell, rubbing his eyes and blinking some more. A small pink form leapt through the bars and said, “Hello, how are you today?”
     Alex opened his eyes and once they focused on the object his jaw dropped. Asuka and Lina looked at the small form, their jaws also dropping. Three screams of terror filled the cell, the dungeon, the building, the town, the state, the country, and the entire planet, for what they saw was the worst thing that any of them could imagine; a small, fluffy, pink bunny.
     “What in the nine hells?!” Lina exclaimed, rapidly backing up against the back wall of the cell and then pressing herself into a corner, “This is worse than Naga’s laugh or even trying to train Jeffrey!”
     “Why are you looking at me like that, Miss Inverse?” the rabbit asked, “I have done nothing to you.”
     “You.... you’re a... a... pink rabbit,” Asuka stammered, hiding behind a bed the best she could.
     A sweat drop formed on the rabbit’s head. “You just had to bring that up, didn’t you?” it asked.
     “You’re also incredibly fluffy,” Alex said.
     “I chose this form because it’s supposed to be comforting, but judging by your reactions it isn’t.”
     “I’ve been hanging around with some people who are too cute for their own good,” Lina said, moving out of her corner.
     “Bad experiencing with public broadcasting,” Asuka said. They then turned to Alex, who had a sweat drop form on his head.
     “Errr.... umm..... aaaaaah,” Alex stammered, “Well.... let’s just say I don’t handle cute too well.” Lina, Asuka, and the rabbit fell over.
     “Well, welcome to hell,” the rabbit said, squatting on its hind legs and crossing its forepaws, “apparently your version of hell includes things like me.” Alex, Lina, and Asuka nodded. “Well, if you want to save your friends and the rest of the people here you had better hurry because time in here is accelerated.”
     “WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY ACCELERATED?!” the three exclaimed.
     “For every hour you spend in here, half a day passes outside,” the rabbit explained.
     “And how long was I unconscious?” Alex asked, rubbing his head.
     “A couple of hours,” Asuka said, “which means we really need to get out of here.”
     “Which leaves one option,” Lina said, forming an energy ball. She then shouted, “Damu Bras!” while hurling the sphere at the wall. The wall exploded outward, opening their way to escape. Lina hopped through first, followed by Asuka and Alex, then the rabbit, who turned violet for some reason.
     The three rounded a corner and found the other cells, all the occupants people who were with them from the start.
     “Hey, nice to see you figured a way out,” Gourry said.
     “Well, it wasn’t easy,” Asuka said, “we had to deal with a....”
     “Mystic advisor,” the rabbit said, hopping onto Asuka’s shoulder.
     “Yeaaaaahh!” Amelia shouted, stumbling against a wall.
     “Awwww.... how cute,” Sylphiel said. The rabbit turned a pleasant shade of red.
     “Just get us out of here,” Tony said.
     “Here it goes,” Lina said, forming a fireball. Alex stepped in front of her and said, “let me take care of this.”
     “Just hurry up,” the rabbit said, “time is flying fast.”
     “Here it goes. Freeze Arrow!”
     Arrows of ice struck the bars of the cells and were reflected upward and onto the ceiling, which quickly grew a nice sheet of ice.
     “No dice, eh?” Lina said.
     “None,” a very distraught Alex replied, “this stinks!”
     “Well, now it’s my turn. Fireball!”
     Lina hurled a large sphere of flames at the bars, which struck and came close to barbecuing everyone inside. Yet the bars still stood.
     “Wha?!” Lina exclaimed, a large sweat drop forming on her head, “It... it didn’t work either.”
     “Let’s try a double dose,” Alex said, glancing at Lina. Lina caught his glance and smiled. They both cast the same spell.
     “DAMU BRAS!”
     Two spheres of energy struck the bars, causing them to vibrate with great intensity. Yet the bars didn’t crack or even show a scratch.
     “Oooooh, this is too much,” Lina shouted, furiously rubbing her hands through her hair, “You’re dead!” she then began to incant a spell. “Darkness beyond twilight, crimson beyond blood that flows...”
     “Miss Lina?!” Amelia said, puzzled.
     “Lina, stop it, you’re casting the Dragon Slave!” Gourry shouted. His shout was met by unhearing ears.
     “This is going to hurt, isn’t it?” Cordelia asked. Zelgadis and Sylphiel turned to see the frightened girl pressing herself into a corner.
     “If we don’t use a protection spell it’s REALLY going to hurt,” Zelgadis said, forming a wind barrier.
     “... Buried in the stream of time is where your power grows,” Alex chanted, joining Lina in casting the spell.
     “I pledge myself to conquer all the foes who stand against the mighty gift bestowed to my unworthy hand.”
     “Let the fools who stand before us be destroyed by the power you and I possess.”
     “DRAGON SLAVE!!”
     Twin energy beams exploded forth from the hands of the sorceress and the warrior. The beams intertwined before striking the bars. Zel, Amelia, and Sylphiel pooled their power to form a barrier to take the brunt of the Dragon Slave. When the smoke cleared a moment later the bars were still standing, the floor and ceiling were a mess, and Alex and Lina lay on the floor, exhausted.
     “This stinks!” Lina groaned.
     “Tell me about it,” Alex replied, “who knew prison bars could withstand a Dragon Slave?”
     “You obviously weren’t aiming at the right spot,” the rabbit said, turning a shade of orange which meant it was angry. It hopped up to the lock and tapped it with its right paw. The lock and bars disintegrated a moment later. Everyone fell over.
     “How? Wha?” Lina stammered. She regained her feet and within a moment had the rabbit by the throat. “What are you trying to pull here?!”
     “Your friends are free, aren’t they? That’s all that counts.”
     “Yeah, but where’s Buffy?” Jason asked, taking note of the lack of the slayer’s presence.
     “They’re probably trying to break her spirit,” the rabbit said.
     “They’ll have some trouble doing that,” Alex sighed, “I’m going to find her and help her. Lina, Asuka, and Zel are with me. The rest of you help the other prisoners and set up a way to destroy this place.”
     “You heard the man!” Asuka shouted, “Move out!”
     Asuka, Lina, Zelgadis, and the rabbit took off after Alex, who went in search of his cousin. As for the others Ariel, Bethany, Mina, Gourry, Sylphiel, Rei, and Amelia went to free the remaining people. Andrew, Adderson, Jason, Tony, Alison, and Alyssa went in search of a way to destroy the place. Dan, Steve, Rich, and Derek went for the portal to guard against anyone who wasn’t human escaping.

     “If I remember correctly,” the rabbit said from Lina’s shoulder, “the main ground is coming up on our left.”
     “That’s what you said three turns ago,” Zelgadis said as they raced through the maze of corridors, “and we’re no closer to finding Buffy or a way out than we were five minutes ago.”
     “And we’re still weaponless,” Asuka said, causing everyone to freeze in their tracks.
     “I almost forgot about that,” Lina said, “I have my magic, but Zel and I don’t have our swords.”
     “My star sword and daggers are gone,” Alex said.
     “As is my chain gun and laser sword,” Asuka said. The four turned to the rabbit, who turned white with fear.
     “Ummm.... heh... you probably want your weapons, right?” the rabbit stammered, noting the four pairs of angry eyes trained upon him.
     “They would be helpful,” Lina said, pointing her finger like a gun at the rabbit’s head, “Tell us where we can find our weapons or we’ll be feasting on smoked rabbit.”
     “The weapons locker is fifty feet behind us, on the right, behind a heavily locked and armored door.”
     “Oh brother, at this rate we’ll never get to save Buffy,” Zelgadis sighed.
     “Oh, I’m sure we will,” Asuka said, “you guys go on ahead, I’ll go and get the weapons.”
     “We’re going to stick together,” Lina said, “Mister Mystic Advisor, please lead the way.”
     “Sure,” the rabbit said, leaping from Lina’s shoulder and hopping down the hallway. Zel and Alex looked at each other, shrugged, and followed Lina, Asuka, and the rabbit. Fifty feet later they stood behind a heavily armored door which served as the entrance to the weapons locker.
     “You’re sure this is the right door,” Lina said, standing before the immense door.
     “This is the one,” the rabbit said confidently, now sitting on Asuka’s shoulder.
     “Then let’s blow it up. Gaav... Flare!”
     Lina hurled a sphere of blood red energy at the door. The sphere exploded into a beam which struck the door and melted much of the outer skin without doing much else.
     “Elmekia Lance!”
     “Fireball!”
     Zel’s and Alex’s attacks caused the door to bulge inward and crack the hinges which held it to the wall. Asuka flipped through the air, rebounded off of the wall behind them, then drill kicked the door. The hinges shattered on impact, causing the door to fall into the weapons locker.
     “Well, here are our weapons,” Alex said as he viewed the immenseness of the room.
     “At least our stuff is together,” Asuka said, grabbing her chain gun and her laser sword. She then tossed Lina and Zelgadis their swords. Alex reclaimed his sword and daggers, then took the weapons of his friends and transported them to their subspace pockets.
     “Now that we’re well armed,” Asuka said, checking to see that her chain gun was loaded, “let’s go and save Buffy!”
     The four charged down the long hallway, taking the turns that the rabbit instructed until they eventually reached the main chamber of the underworld. What came next was a lesson in ass kicking.

     “Who are you?!” a guard asked a young man, a club above his head.
     “I’m Leo,” the young man replied timidly.
     “You’re nobody!” the guard said, bringing the club down on the person’s head. The young man fell to the ground, clutching his head. “As long as you’re here you’re nobody!” he then moved on to a young lady. “Who are you?!”
     The young woman in question was Buffy’s friend Alicia. Alicia paused for a moment before she said, “I’m nobody.”
     The guard moved down the line, getting closer and closer to Buffy, who had a wry grin on her face. When the guard was about to step before her, a loud explosion occurred off to the side. The guard turned his head as a certain redheaded sorceress, a stone skinned mystical swordsman, an auburn haired angel, and brown haired warrior charged into the room, weapons drawn and blowing away any guard who got in their way.
     “Who are you?!” the guard bellowed.
     “I’m sorceress supreme, Lina Inverse!”
     “Mystical swordsman extrodinaire, Zelgadis Graywords.”
     “The second child and number one butt kicker, Asuka Langly Sohryu!”
     “The warrior of darkness and cousin to that young lady before you, Alexander West!”
     “And who are you?” the guard asked, turning to Buffy.
     “I’m Buffy, the vampire slayer. And you are?” Buffy said before delivering a spin kick to the guard’s head, sending him to the ground.
     “Way to go Buffy,” Alex cheered.
     “We don’t have much time,” Buffy said, “Alicia, get the others to the portal.”
     “Are you sure you...” Alicia began to say, but caught the gentle smile that Buffy gave her. “O.K., everyone follow me.” she said, running off towards the portal with the other young people following close behind.
     “We just need to destroy the boss guy and blow this place sky high,” Zelgadis said.
     “You’re looking for me?” the big boss man asked. The five turned to see the boss flanked by several large guards.
     “Let’s fry him!” Lina said, forming a fireball, which quickly vanished with an audible POOF. A sweat drop formed on her head. “What a time to experience that time of the month!”
     “But we don’t suffer from those kinds of problems,” Alex and Zelgadis said, charging forward. Two of the larger guards stepped forward and swung their arms, smacking the pair across the floor.
     “But I don’t want to get up now mommy,” Alex moaned, his head swimming.
     “Well, our brave heroes are down for the count,” Asuka said sarcastically.
     “He may be down, but I’m still up and kicking,” Zel said, standing and drawing his sword, “Let’s fight on!”
     “I’m all for it,” Buffy said, flipping through the air and drill kicking one of the guards in the head. She rebounded through the air and caught onto a pipe overhead. After a few gymnastic moves she released and drill kicked a second guard in the face, following her forward momentum and riding him to the ground. A third guard came up behind her and wrapped his arms around her body, getting her in a massive bear hug.
     “Fastball special coming right at ya!” Zelgadis said, picking Asuka up and hurling her towards the guard. Asuka drew her laser sword and held it before her, taking aim at the guard’s head. There was a sickening THUNK as her sword sunk hilt deep into the guard’s head. The guard went limp a second later, releasing his captive and falling backwards.
     “Ha ha,” one of the guards laughed as he stood over Alex, “me get to kill a warrior.”
     “I don’t think so,” Lina said, sliding through his legs and kicking upward. The guard’s face turned blue as he crumpled over. She stood over the guard and said, “You even think of hurting him again and I will kill you.”
     “What the hell?” the boss said as he saw the three ladies and one man taking out his forces, “How is this possible?!”
     “Who knows,” Buffy said, brushing her hair back from her face, “maybe because good triumphs over evil!”
     “And now to rock his world,” Zelgadis said, forming a sphere of energy in his right palm, “Infinite earth, mother who nurtures all life, let thy power gather in my hand. Vlave Howl!”
     Zel slammed the sphere of energy into the ground, beginning the end for the parallel world. Plumes of lava erupted from the ground, all rising up and combining before crashing down upon the platform the boss was standing upon and bludgeoning him. The eruptions continued, filling the corridors with fast moving lava and destroying the complex.
     “We need to get out of here FAST!” Asuka said, gouging a large rift in the ground with her laser sword to divert the magma from her.
     “We’re sort of on top of that,” Lina said, using a Demona Crystal to freeze some of the magma, “Alex, Zel, you ready?”
     “Ready,” Zelgadis said, setting up a wind barrier, “you certainly recovered from that time of the month fast.”
     “Set,” Alex said, setting up a protection spell. He kicked Zel in the shin, “It’s best not to bring that up now.”
     “We’re off,” Lina said, giving Zel a sidelong glance, “Levitation!”
     The three spells combined to form a bubble which sailed over the lava toward the exit. The bubble sailed easily over the lava in the main room. However, when they reached the corridors they ran into the problem of steering and lack of space.
     “We’ll have to drop the barrier and run,” Zelgadis said, “There’s no lava so it should be safe.”
     “Let’s hurry up,” Lina said as they dropped to the ground, “I’m not in the mood to get fried!”
     The five charged through the corridors at a rapid rate, three capes billowing behind. When they were almost home free a large steel gate before them began to descend, cutting off their escape route.
     “We’re not going to make it!” Asuka screamed.
     “Yes we are,” Zel said, taking the hilt guard from his sword and hurling it. The metallic item turned into a sort of boomerang and wedged itself between the gears controlling the gate. Asuka slid under the gate first, followed by Buffy, Lina, and Alex. Zelgadis brought up the rear, recalling the boomerang as he slid. Following Zel was a sickening THUNK as the sharp ends of the gate sank into something fleshy. The five turned to see the roasted boss stuck beneath the metal grate, the blades sunk into the back of his thighs.
     “You will never get out!” he said, gasping for breath.
     “Get bent,” Buffy said, turning on her heel and running towards the exit. The other four looked to one another, shrugged, and followed Buffy to the portal, where Gourry was helping the last of the people through to the normal world.
     “Lina,” the swordsman exclaimed when he saw his redheaded partner, “I was worried about you!”
     “It was nothing to worry...” Lina began to say, but she was caught up in Gourry’s embrace. She began to protest, but sighed and said, “I’m sorry to have worried you, but we were fine.”
     “I’m glad,” Gourry said, lifting Lina above his head, “up you go.”
     Once Lina was through the portal Gourry helped Asuka and Buffy through. The rabbit suffered to be tossed through the portal and into Sylphiel’s hands. Zelgadis and Alex both cast Levitation and lifted Gourry through. Once everyone was through the portal a small geyser of magma followed, only to fall back through, sealing the portal shut for eternity.
     “Well,” Cordelia said, “this certainly has been an interesting couple of hours.”
     “You mean week,” Alex said, checking his uplink with the mainframe at home, “according to my calculations Cordelia has been gone for eight days while the rest of us have been gone for seven.”
     “How will I explain this to my mom?” Buffy said.
     “We’ll find a way,” Zelgadis said, turning to walk up the stairs.
     “What’s to become of me?” the rabbit asked, turning pink again.
     “Willow can take care of you,” Sylphiel said, “she’ll think you’re the cutest thing.”
     Once everyone was out of the building Lina and Amelia used a combination LOCK spell to make sure that nobody else would be able to enter. The group then turned and headed for Buffy’s house, where they would finish out their horror movie marathon and the rest of their vacation without any more interruptions, yet minus a week of time.

     A few days later Amelia received a phone call from one of her aunts, who just happened to be asking after Lina. Lina took the phone from Amelia and said, “Lina Inverse here.”
     “Lina, there is some creepy activity going on in Atlas City. Would you be willing to come out and check into it?”
     “Sure thing. Does Amelia have any money to spend on transportation and hotel?”
     “Yes, I wired her some money from a vacation fund and sent her some brochures on trains and hotels.”
     “Way cool. We’ll be in Atlas City soon.”
     “O.K.. I won’t be here, though. I have other matters in Sairuun to attend to.”
     “Don’t sweat it. We’ll be fine. Good-bye and thanks.”
     Once Lina hung up the phone she gave it to Amelia and said, “You start making reservations for train and hotel. Gourry, Alex, Zel, Sylphiel, Andrew, Jason, Adderson, and Derek. You guys start packing your bags for your trip to Atlas City. We’ll take the Mustang to the station and the others can drive it back to Newport. Ooooh, this will be sooooo cool!” she added, running to begin packing. The others sighed as they began to pack for their trip to Atlas City. But what adventures lay ahead for our heroes? Stay tuned and see.

     Next episode: Slayers / Warriors vacation special.