The Y-zone phased in around them, first darkness, then gradually a craggy landscape and a dirt brown sky. Atop a large spire of stone stood Tormaline, dressed in the outfit that contained the colors of L-sama and Ruby Eye Shabrinigdo, his cape billowing out behind him.
     “Welcome to the Y-zone, my home realm,” Tormaline said, laughing maniacally, “you will never escape from here! NEVER!!”
     “We’ll see about that,” Lina said, her talismans glowing, “Darkness beyond twilight, crimson beyond blood that flows...”
     “Lina, wait!” Ryoko screamed as she leapt into the path of an energy beam meant for Lina. The demon queen fell to the ground, clutching her stomach.
     “Ryoko?” Lina said, a little stunned. She turned her gaze upon Tormaline and hardened it upon him. “You hurt my friend and now you must pay.”
     Amelia and Zelgadis pulled Ryoko back to the back lines for a healing spell while Lina continued her spell, hate frozen upon her face.
     “... Let the fool who stands before me be destroyed by the power you and I possess. Dragon SLAVE!”
     The spell looked like a sure kill, and it was right on target, yet when Tormaline waved his hand the spell changed direction and sailed off to the west, blowing up a mountain range half a mile away.
     “Your pitiful spells are no match for me,” Tormaline said as an army of undead monsters phased in around him. “My army of darkness will defeat you!”
     Lina, Saturn, and Mackenzie yawned in unison. As the army advanced upon them a wall of flames erupted out of space, frying much of it to a crisp in a matter of seconds. A hail of fireballs toasted much of what remained, and a hail of holy lances erased what was left. Tormaline stared at them in shock, his left eyebrow twitching.
     “How... how did you defeat my army?” he asked.
     “Scenario 34 alpha,” Saturn said, rubbing his finger nails upon his shirt sleeve, “villain calls forth army of undead creatures. It’s one of the oldest ones in the book.”
     “Try to think of something original for once,” Lina said, “I mean, your army was large, but come on! We defeated it in three attacks, and all of them weren’t even at max power.”
     “You.... you weren’t using your full power?!” Tormaline exclaimed.
     “Why should we?” Mackenzie said, running his fingers through his hair, “I mean, those were weak monsters. That was a ¾ power heat wave I used.”
     “You... what kind of creatures are you?”
     “Your worst nightmares,” Saturn said, smiling evilly, “you think your power is absolute here in an alternate dimension? Boy, are you ever wrong. I’ve crossed dimensions, as have some others in our group, so we’re no newcomers to this idea.”
     “Well, I’m touched that you think you can defeat me,” Tormaline said, his voice dripping with sarcasm, “but what you defeated wasn’t even my army of darkness, but a small sample of the weaker creatures.”
     “I knew that was too easy,” Lina grumbled.
     “Come forth my army of darkness. Come out and serve your master!”
     From around the group appeared horde after horde of undead creatures, monsters, orcs, ogres, berserkers, and other evil things. Weapons were drawn, spells were fired up, and powers were activated.
     “This is the battle to end all battles,” Mackenzie said, summoning his power into one concentrated globe of fire and wind. This sphere he hurled into the masses of undead while shouting, “Heatwave!”
     The sphere exploded, releasing the super heated winds that expanded out from the center, decimating all in its path and blasting out a crater of melted rock and glass.
     “Kid, you have your life ahead of you,” Monet said, punching the head off of one of their adversaries. The head continued on a backward path until it collided with another group, bowling them over. When she saw the impact she added, “Don’t be in such a hurry to throw it away.”
     “This is your first battle, isn’t it?” Zelgadis asked as he formed a protective barrier to absorb some fireballs. When Mackenzie nodded he said, “O.K., some pointers. First, don’t be distracted by the idea of the head honcho being unprotected. Usually he has some sort of barrier set up or something.
     “Second, don’t use all of your big spells or attacks in the very beginning of the battle, since you’ll just waste your energy. Save them for the end of the battle and even then use them sparingly.
     “Third, look out for your friends and teammates. If someone is in trouble, lend them a hand or throw up a shield or something. Only in extreme cases should you throw yourself in between a person and a weapon or spell blast.”
     Several members from the front lines sailed over their heads, falling into a heap near where Sylphiel and Amelia set up shop for healing spells. Zelgadis sighed and went charging to the front lines, his cape fluttering out behind him.
     “Zel, wait,” Alex called as he blocked several energy blasts with his glaive, channeling the energy into the ground and back at the casters. Several members of the army suddenly exploded, taking out those around them.
     ‘So he knows energy absorption, amplification, and redirection as well,’ Tormaline thought as he began to fire up his own spell. “Let the winds of the world blow like there is no end. Let the lightning split apart heaven and earth. Let the waters of the world surge and rise to the breaking point...”
     “You must be kidding!” Andrew shouted, “That spell from a fifth class sorcerer like him?! It won’t work!”
     “... I call upon thee and swear my power to thee. Let those who oppose me be destroyed by the power you and I possess. Goddess’ of the sea and sky, unite your power now....”
     “He’s got the incantation wrong,” Alex said in shock, forming an aura barrier around the group, “if this spell were to backlash...”
     “Then we can all bend over and kiss our asses good-bye,” Derek said, using his mutant ability to lift large deposits of metal from the ground to drop them upon the enemy.
     ‘If my calculations are correct, then I might be able to cancel out his spell,’ ran though Mackenzie’s mind as he powered up one of his attacks. His hands glowed, surrounded by golden red energy as a globe of flames and wind formed between his palms. He held this above his head, allowing it to increase in size as he channeled more of his energy into it.
     Tormaline took little notice of this and continued to summon his spell, the winds increasing and tearing through the landscape, crumbling rocks and sending pieces sailing through the air.
     “Maelstrom!” he shouted, bringing the elements together in a brilliant display of lightning, surging waves, and winds more powerful than any used in Alex’s Storm Striker spell. As the storm closed in around the group, Mackenzie sent his energy globe to the sky, where it exploded into a dome of flames and winds like those of the desert. The Maelstrom spell struck this barrier, and upon impact Mackenzie dropped to one knee, straining to keep his dome in place. Outside of the dome the water boiled and evaporated, the winds were canceled out, and the lightning was nullified.
     Tormaline took note of the energy dome that had suddenly appeared and stared in awe at the magnitude of the power behind it. He glared evilly and redoubled his efforts to wash the group away, the waves surging higher.
     Mackenzie was now on both knees, leaning on one hand for support, his other hand raised to the sky, smoke rising from his palm as he poured his energy into maintaining the barrier. A sudden drop in his power level alerted the others to his plight.
     “Mister Mackenzie,” Amelia said, rushing to his side. “Everything will be just fine. Please, let us help you.”
     “Hurry,” Mackenzie whispered, his voice raspy, “can’t maintain... much longer.”
     “Amelia, Burst Flare, pronto,” Zelgadis said, a globe of flames forming in his hand.
     Amelia formed a small globe of fire in her hand as well, and the pair shouted, “Burst Flare!” combining their spells with Mackenzie’s attack. The dome’s power was instantly reinforced, and Mackenzie slumped to the ground in a somewhat unconscious heap of red cloth.
     “Medic!” Amelia shouted, feeling the strain of maintaining the spell. Sylphiel was at Mackenzie’s side in an instant, opening his trench coat in order to listen to his heart and breathing.
     “He’s going to be fine with some rest,” Sylphiel said after a moment, starting a resurrection spell to endow him with some energy.
     Tormaline’s Maelstrom spell ended a moment later, the evil one dropping to one knee from exhaustion. The army of darkness took this moment to regroup and resume its attack upon those within the dome. The first ones to touch the dome were roasted to a cinder, but those who followed met with substantially less resistance from the shield until they were able to pass through without much effort.
     “Damn, then can adapt!” Rich shouted as he activated his cold wildfire attack, striking one flank of the encroaching enemies with subzero flames.
     “Somebody call for backup?” a familiar voice asked moments before the area was awash in blinding light. From the light stepped Warrior Nights and the constellation warriors Ursa, Cassiopia, Nebula, and Centaur.
     “Looks like Celia called us at the most opportune moment,” Centaur said, his bow forming in his left hand. He notched a golden arrow, which glowed silver-white as he drew the bowstring back.
     “Did you call for me sugar?” Celia asked as she and Xellos appeared behind Centaur. Centaur’s jaw dropped and he released the arrow without aiming, striking in the midst of the army. The resulting explosion of holy power erased a good sized chunk of the monsters, leaving the others to stare in shock and horror.
     “Here we go again,” Cassiopia sighed before kicking an undead creature away, “Centaur falls for the beautiful woman who he knows he can’t have because he already has three other girlfriends.”
     “Woah, who are these other three women?” Night asked, elbowing Centaur in the ribs.
     “What are you talking about Night?!” Centaur demanded, slamming his bow into a berserker and knocking it away, “What three women?!”
     “Us you dolt!” Ursa grumbled, bodily lifting an ogre above her head before hurling it through the air and into another group that got bowled over by the impact. She then turned to Centaur and said, “How could you forget that special bond we share?! I can’t believe you!”
     “Can we please talk about this later?” Nebula asked as she executed a burning dragon kick, which she followed up with a tornado kick and a burning rave combo.
     “I see you’ve been training,” Alex said as he activated an eruption spell that burned out a large hunk of the army. Nebula landed on his shoulders before firing off a Star Storm attack.
     “What else were we to do while you were locked away?” she asked, flipping from his shoulders so that he could block some incoming spells with his sword. The blade glowed before he swung it towards the army, sending a wave of shadow energy into their midst.
     “You could have busted us out,” Hellfire said as he lobbed his axe into the army. A visible swath was opened in the ranks as creatures were mowed down by the spinning blade, which changed its course and returned to his hand, mowing more down on its return trip. The staff on the axe shrank down so that he could clip it to his back.
     As the battle waged on they grew stronger, but how much longer must it go on? Each and every day they dreamed of winning and beginning a new life...

     <Minmei: “Hey! That’s my song you’re mangling you sicko!”
     *the bubblegum pop singer is bound, gagged, and shoved into a closet with many mischievous sprites, several deranged chibis, and one mazoku priest*
     author: “It’s my fic and I’ll use it how I want to. We now return you to your regularly scheduled fanfic.”>

     “Are we even making a dent in their ranks?” Zelgadis asked as he fired off several Elmekia Lances, “We’re starting to lose power and ground.”
     “According to the latest calculations, give or take a couple thousand, we have mowed down enough monsters to fill the entire Atlantic Ocean and half of the Pacific Ocean,” Ryoko said, lobbing energy balls into the midst of the army, “and yet they keep on coming!”
     A wave of explosions tore through the area from above, erasing many of the attackers. The heroes looked skyward to see Celia swinging Xellos around by his feet and legs like a Mazoku laser cannon.
     “For once the fruitcake comes in handy,” Bryan said, smashing his fist into the ground. A large chasm opened in the midst of the army, sucking many in.
     “Aim for the rear ranks,” Night shouted as he began to focus energy into his hands, “they haven’t moved an inch, which means they’re probably the regenerative units for the rest of the army.”
     “Would a Giga Slave take them out?” Lina asked, “borrowing” Gourry’s sword of light. This would have been perfectly acceptable had Gourry not been in the middle of hand to hand combat with a berserker.
     “Lina?!” he said, ducking to keep his head from being lopped off, “I need that!”
     “Gourry, catch!” Alex said, throwing the blonde swordsman the samurai sword that he used for a couple of his own attacks. The scabbard bounced off of Gourry’s head before landing in the swordsman’s hands. Alex sighed as the scabbard gained a couple of nice dents from deflecting a battle axe, but knew he had done the right thing since a light beam came from the blade, slashing anything evil for 20 feet behind the target.
     The redheaded sorcereress popped up next to Alex a moment later, a wicked grin upon her face.
     “Let’s strike them with a combined spell,” she said, holding the sword of light like a favorite doll.
     “Like what?” he asked, his own sword glowing a blinding white, inscribed runes appearing on the blade.
     “That God Giga Slash you came up with and have mentioned before.”
     Silence filled the air all around, which was shattered by the occasional explosion or grunt of a monster. Alex finally sighed and said, “O.K., you win. But be warned. This spell takes a lot of power to cast.”
     “If we can combined two types of spells then all will work out,” she said, putting her hands on her hips, “just trust me.”
     Alex nodded. “All right then. You cast the darkness part of the spell and I’ll cast the light.”
     The two stepped towards the front of the group, a tornado sailing over their heads to clear a path for them. They stopped in the middle of the clearing, swords held before their bodies, which were set back to back. A magic circle formed beneath them, glowing with runes and zodiac symbols as they began to summon energy into their weapons.
     “Golden lord who floats endlessly upon the sea of chaos...”
     “Come forth and join your power with the shining silver goddess of the sky...”
     “An ancient pact between light and dark, chaos and being, that must be broken at a time like this...”
     “I call upon thee and swear my allegiance to thee. Let the fools who stand before us be destroyed by the power that you and I possess...”
     “Heed our call and punish those who desire destruction!!”
     The two energies flowed from the swords, intertwining into one another. the spell casters turned their heads towards their targets, hate glistening in their eyes. The back lines blinked and tried to move back, yet discovered they had no place to go. The two spell casters brought the swords down before their bodies, the blades positioned for a swiping strike.
     In unison, they shouted, “God Giga SLASH!”, swiping the blades towards the army in a perfectly mirrored motion. Flowing silver white met with blackness and gold, intertwining into one beam as the energy sailed through the air, striking the ground in the midst of the back ranks. A blinding explosion followed, a wave of energy tearing through the army and razing it asunder.
     When people regained their vision they witnessed the army’s sudden disintegration, starting from the rear most ranks forward, a giant bed of flowers growing up beneath them. Tormaline stared on in horror as his entire army met its end. A troop who was relaying information to him suddenly turned to ashes, a bed of roses springing up where it was.
     “We did it!” Amelia cheered when she saw this, “We triumphed in the name of justice!”
     “Justice my ass!” Lina said, “We triumphed in the name of L-sama, the silver goddess, and our powerful magic!”
     “No, it was because of the justice we held in our hearts!”
     Alex, Zel, Andrew, Mackenzie, Monet, and Jubilee all sighed in unison. Xellos looked puzzled as the two argued since he knew who L-sama was, and had heard a bit about the Shining silver goddess of the sky.
     “Guys, in case you’ve forgotten, we still need to vanquish Tormaline,” Zelgadis said, indicating the force of evil that still stood before them.
     “Right,” Lina said, swinging the sword of light in Tormaline’s direction. The blade fizzled and vanished the moment it was in the exact direction that he was located in. She blinked at this and commented, “What in the nine hells?!”
     Tormaline laughed maniacally as all the magical auras in the area shimmered and eventually failed. The armor that the warriors wore unfurled into ribbons and melted away, leaving them standing in their street clothes. Alex’s star sword ceased to glow, the blade losing its shine and growing dull and tarnished.
     “You fools, I have won,” he said, a bubble of energy surrounding him, “I have won and you have lost!”
     An aura barrier formed around the group, emanating from Alex, Andrew, and Adderson, who stood back to back, using the last of their skills and powers to protect the others.
     ‘We must pull together to finish this enemy,’ ran through Alex’s mind, ‘I know that his power is great, but our combined power is far greater. We need to unite to finish him off.’
     The symbol for Saturn, surrounded by a star, formed on his forehead, glowing brilliantly in golden hues. Zelgadis, Lina, Amelia, and Gourry suddenly gained upgrades for their outfits and weapons in the forms of magical talismans.

         <Music: In Limitless Desire from Slayers OVA’s>

     Tormaline floated down to the same level as the others, easily tearing through the aura barrier. The bubble shut behind him, locking the others in with him.
     “Those new fashions won’t help you to escape my wrath,” he said, casting a Dragon Slave without even incanting the spell or speaking the spell name. As it neared them the spell blast suddenly arced upward, crashing into the barrier and shattering it from the top on down. The three who maintained it collapsed onto their faces, their energy spent. The Slayers turned to see their friends fall, staring in shock as a bubble formed around the three and took them toward the sky.
     “Too bad they couldn’t stick around,” Tormaline said, grinning wickedly, “I must take them away before their value is diminished any further.”
     Zelgadis drew his sword, which instantly glowed an angelic white, angel feathers fluttering about him. He held the blade above his head, the talismans around his wrists and neck glowing brilliantly as an attack spell was initiated.
     “You bastard, I shall never forgive you if anything happens to them,” he said, feathers swirling around him, a golden glow outlining his body, “Alex gave the last of his energy to help us, and he’s done so much for us that now is the time to give something back to him!”
     Tormaline fired off another Dragon Slave attack, only to have the same results as previously. This time he took note of Celia and Xellos intervening by creating a spell shield before the group. As he prepared to fire off another Dragon Slave a sound wave crashed through his body, sending him several feet away and into a boulder. He opened his eyes and through a haze of pain saw Amelia holding an interesting looking hand bell with a mystical symbol engraved upon it.
     “Taste the wrath of my hammer of justice,” Amelia said, glaring at Tormaline, “you hurt Mister Alex, Mister Andrew, and Mister Adderson, and for that I cannot, nay, we cannot forgive you. Mister Zelgadis, let him have it!”
     “With pleasure,” Zel said, bracing the sword by his side with the blade pointed at Tormaline. He growled, his golden glow increasing as he shouted, “Angelic Justice!”, thrusting the sword forward. A hail of angel feathers cut through the air, striking Tormaline and shredding much of his costume and cape, leaving small cuts in his flesh.
     Lina and Amelia looked at Zel, both a little shocked by the new attack spell. Zel looked back at them, a little shocked himself since angelic was not a word people usually used to describe him.
     “Mister Zelgadis...” Amelia said, “that attack...”
     “Was probably part of the gifts given to us,” Lina said, the jewels in her shoulder guards glowing as well as her talisman bracelets, clasp, and belt buckle. She traced a circle in the air with her fingers, crossing them at the top and the bottom. A couple more crosses with her hands and a magic circle glowed in the air before her, a golden and silver glow outlining her body. She touched the bottom of the circle with the palms of her hands like she were holding it and said, “Prism Cannon!”
     The six points of the star glowed in rainbow colors before the center of the star opened, belching forth a rainbow that struck Tormaline and through him through the boulder behind him. A very battered and weak evil one climbed through the hole in the rock, his crown broken, his cape non existent, the rest of his outfit shredded.
     “That was a new attack spell,” Tormaline moaned as he crawled towards the group. He coughed up a pool of blood a moment later, disgusting those before him.
     “Not attack spells, but magical attacks,” Amelia said, holding the bell inches from Tormaline’s head. She held the bell above her head a moment later and shouted, “Angelic Herald!”
     The bell began to chime quite loudly, angel feathers drifting through the air. A beam of light shot from the bell, piercing the sky. From the clouds came three columns of light, locked in each one of the three who had been sent away by the bubble. All stared in awe as glows came from each column, reenergizing the warriors and bringing their transformations back.
     “They... they’ve returned?” Celia and Monet said in unison.
     “But are they free?” Mackenzie asked, staring at the three columns that now caused the sky to glow.
     “Please spare me, oh bringers of my apocalypse,” Tormaline said, bowing towards the columns. “I now see the error of my ways.”
     Three pairs of eyes snapped open, bodies moving like they were holding bows and arrows. Arrows of light formed in their hands, and three voices called in unison, “Celestial Arrow!”
     White light concentrated towards the three figures, rising to blinding intensity in a matter of seconds. Three arrows of light were released as one magnificent motion, all streaking through the air and becoming one before driving their way through Tormaline’s body. The reaction was instantaneous, for the body of the evil one instantly disintegrated into ashes, from the inside out. What remained blew away on unseen winds into eternity. The Slayers and Warriors watched in awe at the instantaneous transformation of the landscape, from dark and gloomy to bright and beautiful. Only the pillars of light remained, and these slowly deposited their cargo upon the ground.
     Once Alex, Andrew, and Adderson were safely on ground level the columns of light vanished. The trio lay with peaceful expressions upon their faces, each clad in flowing white robes with golden trim.
     “Alex, time to wake up,” Ryoko said in her sweetest tone into Alex’s ear. When she didn’t even get an answer she grumbled, “Hey sleepyhead, time to rise and shine!”
     “I don’t think that will work,” Lina said, “Zel, can’t you use Dicleary upon them?”
     “I’ve tried,” he replied, since Alex’s head was laying in his lap, “it didn’t work, and any stronger attempt amy fry his brain to a cinder.”
     “Why not use a Digger Volt on him?” Xellos asked. A moment later he found the bell in his face.
     “Mister Xellos, that’s just plain mean. We did that to Miss Filia once and nearly killed her in the process,” Amelia said, preparing to shake the bell. Xellos cringed, then directed his attention back to the mountain, where a cloud of blood red blocked the sun and turned day into night. Atop the mountain, starting with the feet, a figure formed. The figure was Tormaline, and in his final form none the less. Six arms, three eyes, and enough spell power to destroy the planet was what this form housed.
     “Shit,” Night said, “he’s not dead yet?!”
     “No, I’m not,” Tormaline said, laughing maniacally. When he stopped laughing he said, “You managed to defeat my weaker forms, but in my ultimate form you shall never defeat me.”
     Force waves tore through the area, leveling all in their path. Zel, Lina, and Amelia fought to remain on their feet, but wound up joining the others on the ground.
     “We’re getting our butts kicked,” Gourry said, his armor shattering and falling away.
     “We need to... to develop a plan,” Xellos said, his staff shattering, his cape tearing apart from the blast, “If only.... if only we... we could... I don’t know any more.”
     “The mazoku doesn’t have a plan?” a mysterious voice said from behind them. The group looked to the ground to notice that the bodies were gone, then looked to the source of the voice. In the shadows stood three forms, light hilighting parts of their faces.
     “Looks like it’s up to us once again to save their butts,” the second figure said, “though by now they should be able to do it on their own.”
     “I agree fully,” the third figure said, a gold bladed sword glittering in the light.
     “You.. how?” Tormaline stuttered, staring in awe at the three in the shadows. A force wave tore through the area, creating a crater in its wake. The three figures leapt out of the way, heavy robes swished off for lighter weight armor. Weapons glistened as the three figures attacked Tormaline in rapid succession, blinding flashes of light all that was visible of their strikes. The three then fell back and introduced themselves.
     “From the silent star Saturn, the warrior of death and rebirth, Star Warrior Saturn!”
     “From the stars nearest the north star, the hunter of the universe, Star Warrior Orion!”
     “From the beginning of time, from the start of creation, another warrior of the stars, Star Warrior Universe!”
     The trio struck impressive battle stances, and a moment later blood sprayed from Tormaline’s body in many places, and the others stared in awe at this. Four of Tormaline’s arms dropped away in pieces a moment later, his body shrinking down to normal human size as blood sprayed at 1,000 psi.
     “How were you able to resurrect so quickly?!” Tormaline demanded, white glows coming from the severed limbs to stop the bleeding and heal his body. He coughed up some blood a moment later due to the sword sticking through his stomach.
     “Simple,” a voice whispered in his ear in a husky tone, “our power is greater than yours, and Amelia’s power gave us a much needed kick to a new level.”
     “Which means you lose,” Lina said, her talismans and the jewels in her shoulders glowing once again. “By the 13 signs of the zodiac I pledge my life so that he may be called forth. By the blood red tides of hell I command the celestial gates to be opened.  Unleash the crushing blow of destiny!”
     A magic circle with zodiac signs formed beneath Lina, spinning in a clockwise manner. A globe of darkness formed between her palms, crimson and gold playing over the surface of the sphere. She held the globe overhead, allowing it to grow in size until it was the same proportion of a large beach ball. She glanced at Zel and Amelia, who initiated their own attacks, the bell and Zel’s talismans glowing. Angel feathers filled the air as the pair with enchanted attacks began to summon them.
     “Prepare to take a fall you yellow bellied, slime sucking, inbred pain in the ass!” Mackenzie growled, summoning flames into his fist, “Heatwave!”
 The temperature around Tormaline suddenly increased to 180 degrees Fahrenheit, giving the being of pure evil something to think about.
     “Angelic Justice!”
     “Angelic Symphony!”
     Zel’s attack was the same, a hail of angel feathers that tore at the target. Amelia’s attack, on the other hand, consisted of her holding the bell before her body and ringing it, waves of sound and light slamming into the target, eventually driving through it.
     By now Tormaline was more or less finished, and the landscape was growing more and more unstable by the minute. Xellos and Celia, aided by the constellation warriors, opened a portal back to their own reality. Mackenzie, Zelgadis, Amelia, Lina, and the other three Star Warriors remained behind to make sure the job was done properly.
     “Miss Lina, the portal is going to close soon,” Xellos called as he strained to keep the doorway open.
     “Give her a moment,” Mackenzie shouted, “she’s going to unleash the power of her spell in a...”
     Lina took that moment to shout, “Demon Gate!”, the magic circle beneath her shrinking inward, the globe of darkness vanishing. Beneath Tormaline a demon circle formed, the center of the star vanishing, the outer edges opening to reveal a gateway to a demon dimension. Malformed hands and arms and even legs reached up to drag Tormaline in with them.
     “What... what are you doing?!” he shouted as he was dragged down “I can’t go out like this...”
     Tormaline clawed at the ground to keep from being pulled in, eventually finding a hand hold on a large rock. A golden battle axe and a golden sword lopped his hand off, sending him screaming into the brink. The gateway closed a moment later, but only after one hand popped out to give them a thumbs - up. All that remained was a few wisps of golden smoke and a charred mark on the land. Mackenzie didn’t even bother to finish the sentence he had begun. He just turned and ran towards the portal, which by now was coming close to slicing Xellos in half.
     “Hurry up!” Xellos shouted, more out of pain than anything else. “The gateway is going to...”
     A blinding white light filled the air, and then there was silence.

     On the other side of the portal those who had escaped waited anxiously for the reappearance of their other party members. Gourry and Celia waited right next to the opening, anxious to see their friends reappear. A blinding light came from the portal, and a very battered mazoku priest shot from it seconds before it slammed shut quite audibly. Hellfire and Night caught Xellos before he could crash into a wall, both falling over from the force of the catch. Celia was at his side instantly, cradling his head in her lap.
     “Xellos. C’mon Xel, say something,” she cried, tears welling up in her eyes.
     “Something,” Xellos moaned, rubbing his head as he struggled to sit up. He instantly looked to where the portal had been, then looked at the floor. “They didn’t make it.”
     “So they’re gone...” Gourry and Sylphiel said, clinging to one another.
     “No he’s not,” Ryoko said, anger in her voice, “if I know Alex he’ll find some way out of there. He simply has to. He... he can’t....” she finished up in tears, eventually screaming, “Dammit Alex! You and those guys can’t be lost forever!”
     The majority of the group began to walk away across the courtyard they had appeared in, leaving Celia, Xellos, Sylphiel, Gourry, and Ryoko to silently mourn the others. A globe of blinding white light formed before them, depositing Amelia’s hand bell in midair. Celia and Sylphiel both reached for it, but Celia was the one to take it.
     “Let’s see if this has the power to return our friends to us,” she said, the bell above her head. Angel feathers swirled about her as she called out the power’s name. “Angelic Herald!”
     Once again the bell began to chime quite loudly, calling the others back to the courtyard. Angel feathers filled the air as the bell continued to chime. A globe of light began to form above them, but then began to die off almost immediately. Gourry and Sylphiel put their hands on Celia’s right shoulder, Xellos and Ryoko their hands on her left shoulder. The chiming grew in intensity a moment later, the globe reappearing and growing in brilliance. The bubble descended to the ground a moment later, depositing the group in suspended animation. Angel feathers swirled around each in the smaller group, restoring life to them and reanimating them.
     “.... the nine hells?!” Lina said, finishing the sentence she began moments before she was spirited away. She looked around as time caught up with her brain, then said, “We’re home.”
     “We were victorious!” Amelia cheered, jumping for joy, “we won and we got home safely!”
     “I can’t believe you guys aren’t roasted to a crisp,” Ryoko said, clinging to Adderson, Alex, and Andrew, “I thought I had lost you forever.” The three looked a little stunned and patted her on the back to comfort her.
     “Mister Zelgadis,” Celia said, pouncing onto the chimera and burying her face in his shoulder, “I thought you were dead.”
     “Mackenzie!” Monet said, leaping onto the unsuspecting Heatwave, nearly crushing him with her super strength. She noticed the blue tinge to his face and loosened her grip. “Sorry. I guess I don’t know my own strength sometimes.”
     Lina looked a little hurt, but soon found herself swept up in the powerful arms of Gourry. He said in her ear, “Lina, I thought I had lost you.” He then kissed her on the cheek, expecting a fireball, but wound up with the sorceress’ arms around his neck.
     “Gourry,” she said, “let’s go home.”