“You know, we could always just ask Mister Xellos to transport us there.”
     “What?! That fruitcake?! That’s about the LAST thing I want to do right now.”
     “Amelia’s right. Xellos could be our last hope of getting there sometime before Sylphiel gets into major danger or before Alex becomes lost to us forever.”
     “Even you’re agreeing with her. Geeze Zel, I thought you’d oppose having anything to do with Xellos, especially after that incident in the shower.”
     Zelgadis blushed crimson red at the reminder of what a certain purple haired Mazoku priest had done for fun a few days earlier. Amelia noticed this and colored crimson herself, not from embarrassment, but from the thought of somebody else enjoying Zel’s body instead of her.
     “Mister Zelgadis?! I never knew!”
     “Woah... calm down Amelia. You know how Xellos likes to play pranks on people.”
     “From what I heard it wasn’t just a prank.”
     “Gourry?! Geeze, I thought you’d wonder what Xellos did to get Zel here all riled up.”
     “Nope, I heard the whole story right from the priest’s mouth after he finished.”
     It was Lina’s turn to color crimson, and she immediately fell back upon her trusty ace in the hole - the Dragon Slave. The minute she got, “Darkness beyond twilight...” out of her mouth she found herself bound, gagged, and had Nick administering a sedative via hypodermic needle.
     “This is for your own good,” he was saying as he injected her, “not to mention for our own good and well being.”
     Lina began to protest, but felt her eyes growing heavier by the second. She muttered something about pizza and was out cold a moment later. The others breathed a sigh of relief, since Lina wouldn’t get a chance to hit any of them with a Dragon Slave or blow up 19 blocks in every direction.
     “Well, she’ll be waking up with a bit of a hangover in a couple of hours,” Nick said, putting the used syringe on ice before dropping it into a hazardous materials bag, “until then we should try to locate our ticket to whatever world those two ended up in.”
     “Which takes us back to where we were moments ago,” Zelgadis sighed, “trying to figure out if we should rely on Xellos to teleport us there or what.”

     It was the midnight hour once again, and in a certain bathroom a hot bubble bath awaited a tired body. Scented, aroma therapy candles illuminated the room, filling the air with the smells of lavender, chamomile, and roses. A lightly chilled glass of slightly carbonated cranberry juice sat on a small table next to the tub, which was filled to the brim with relaxingly scented bubbles.
     ‘This is exactly what I needed,’ Alex thought as he slipped his robe off before stepping into the tub, an involuntary wince of pain visible as the water touched where a demi - human had decided to try to take a bite out of his leg. As he slipped into the water he glanced over at the door, smiling in satisfaction at the heavy bars blocking the door, the razor wire and the high explosives surrounding the area in front of the door.
     “If they even try to get in they’ll get the surprise of their lives,” he chuckled as he dipped his head under the water to wet his hair. He emerged and shook his head violently, spraying water and suds every which way before reaching for a bottle of herbal shampoo. “I’m not about to have this little rite of relaxation interrupted, especially not in the way that Seifer did to my shower the last time.”
     ‘Do you really think it was meant to distract you from your work?’ sounded in his mind as the small stone on the table with the juice pulsed and glowed.
     “Of course it was.... at least I think it was.... I don’t know any more,” he replied as he lathered up his hair, “I mean, it was nice, but right now I’m not in the mood for anything like that to happen. I ache all over, I have bruises upon bruises, and I’m exhausted. Right now all I want is a glass of cranberry juice and some real relaxation time in this bath.”
     ‘But was all of the nitro really necessary?’
     “Of course it was. How else was I to get the point across that I don’t want to be disturbed in the bath?”
     He dunked his head under the water a second time to rinse the shampoo out. From the shadows stepped two forms, both clad in long coats, which were quickly shed along with other articles of clothing. As his head broke the surface he caught the sounds of barely contained laughter. Opening his eyes he saw Seifer and Irvine, both stripped to their boxers, standing in the candle light.
     “Did we miss the fun?” Irvine asked, grinning at him.
     “I think we may have done something wrong,” Seifer said when he saw Alex’s expression, which was dark and menacing, his eyes hidden by shadow, the red in his hair being brought out by the candlelight. The hum of an incantation filled the air a moment later. “Oh cripes, he’s really going to invoke that in here?!”
     “... As thy words of pledge, obey my will and be my power. DARE BRANDO!!”
     Alex snapped his fingers, and for the first time in weeks his full power was felt by somebody who had royally pissed him off. The door was blasted off of its hinges, smoke pouring into the hall as several more explosions went off, waking almost everyone within Garden with the commotion, vibrations, or the chaos which followed.

     An emergency meeting was called two hours later, and various people showed up in various states of dress and undress. Laguna, Squall, Quistis, and Rinoa weren’t overly happy about their midnight wake-up call, and Headmaster Cid was especially unhappy about the events of the past two hours.
     “You know why you’re here, don’t you?” he asked Alex, Irvine, and Seifer, who stood before them, each dressed in whatever they could throw on in a matter of minutes after the explosions.
     “Yes sir,” Alex sighed, half saluting since he didn’t have the strength to do a formal salute. He yawned a moment later and rubbed his eyes.
     “Yes sir,” Irvine and Seifer said in unison in half - hearted voices.
     “Whose idea was it to use vanish spells to hide in the bathroom?”
     Seifer and Irvine looked at one another before saying, in unison once again, “It was my idea.”
     “Oh brother,” Squall sighed, holding his hand to his forehead, “it’s going to be another long night, isn’t it?"
     “And whose idea was it to barricade the door with high explosives, razor wire, and several heavy bars?” Cid asked.
     “My idea sir,” Alex said, “but may I please explain myself?”
     “Considering the circumstances, go right ahead.”
     “Well, you see, a little while ago, at the same hour as this incident, I was taking a relaxing shower, when...”
     And that was how Seifer’s little midnight raid on the shower came to light. Shock and horror registered on everyone’s faces as Alex explained everything. Irvine turned red with indignation, since he thought that they were surprising him for the first time that night. Selphie blushed crimson, since she thought that Irvine strictly liked women. Laguna and Squall both blushed since they knew about the three and their relationship and how they had known about it for quite some time. In the end Cid was the one who blushed, since he had no idea that something like this was happening under his nose.
     “Oh boy,” he said after he’d heard the entirety of the events. He held his fingers to his temples and began to rub them violently. “I don’t know who to believe or what to expect any more.”
     “So what do we do about the bathroom sir?” Squall asked.
     “Is it in ruins?”
     “Yes sir.”
     “Is it ruined to the extent that the outside can be seen from the inside?”
     “Only as far as the hallway sir.”
     “Are the windows broken?”
     “Cracked, but not shattered.”
     Cid sighed loudly before saying, “I don’t want to deal with this at this hour. If someone can fix it by morning, more power to them. If not, then we’ll figure it out later on. Right now you should get some sleep, since you’ll be heading to Trabia tomorrow at some time.”
     “But shouldn’t they be punished?” Squall said, “I mean, they destroyed Garden property...”
     “We’ll figure that out tomorrow,” Cid said through a yawn, “right now I’m going to bed.”
     “But sir.”
     “No buts. Go. To. Bed.”
     Squall turned and left in a huff with Rinoa and Laguna quick to follow in order to calm him down. Quistis sighed and wandered off for her own bed, her hair done up in braids for the night. Seifer, Alex, and Irvine walked off together, Alex slightly steamed about the intrusion, Irvine and Seifer following several paces behind.
     As they turned down their hallway Alex came to a stop, a glowing white globe forming in his palm as he muttered an incantation.
     “Time which has passed, be called back once more,” he said as the globe floated down the hallway and into the remains of the bathroom. A blinding light filled the hallway, and they shielded their eyes against this. When the light died away they could see that the hallway was no longer in shambles, and when they looked into the bathroom it was just as it had been before the explosion, minus the added safety precautions.
     “Pretty handy spell to have,” Alex said as he picked up the gem that allowed him to summon his esper, “you miss me?”
     ‘Why the hell did you have to blow me up?’ a very frightened voice said in his head. A large sweat drop formed on Alex’s head, and he giggled nervously.
     “I forgot to focus yet again,” he said after a moment. Irvine and Seifer sighed.
     “Well, I guess we’re off to bed,” Seifer said as he turned to leave the room.
     “No, you’re staying with me again tonight,” Alex said in a sultry voice. Seifer could feel himself blushing hotly. He heard an evil little giggle before Alex took him by the arm and dragged him off to his room. Irvine, on the other hand, sighed deeply and followed.

     “Next!”
     “But Miss Lina, that was the last one. Didn’t any of them match up to your expectations?”
     “If any of them had then I wouldn’t have asked for the next applicant.”
     Amelia, Zelgadis, and Nick sighed deeply, since they had been interviewing realm dancers and dimensional shifters the entire afternoon. Three were lost in space, two came back with no clothes, several others caved under pressure, and one had wet himself trying to activate his power.
     “This is hopeless,” Mackenzie said as he poured them another round of hot cocoa, “isn’t there anybody who isn’t Xellos who can actually get us somewhere?!”
     “I can,” came from the door. The voice was sweet, melodic, and quite familiar, and everyone looked up to see Celia standing in the doorway.
     “Come again,” Lina said, arching an eyebrow.
     “I said I can get us across the grounds of time and space to where ever Alex and Sylphiel ended up,” Celia said shyly.
     “Why didn’t you say something sooner?” Zelgadis asked as he rose from his chair.
     “Well, um, because I didn’t think my powers were good enough.”
     “Can you get to our home time and back and bring us the picture of a green haired elf?” Lina asked.
     Celia vanished in a puff of crimson smoke, which quickly dissipated in the middle of the coffee shop.
     “Do you think we’ll see her again?” Amelia asked before taking a sip of her cocoa.
     “I sure hope so,” Nick said, “otherwise we’ll have no super gorgeous half vampire in the story line.”
     Lina clubbed him over the head for that comment. A moment later another puff of crimson smoke formed in the middle of the shop, and from that stepped Celia, a little worse for wear but holding a wrapped package, which she handed to Lina.
     “I found the elf,” she said, dusting herself off.
     “Wow, you sure did,” Lina said as she unwrapped the package to find an autographed, full color etching of an elf with green hair and gold high lights, golden eyes, horns, and a black cloak with green lining. “You really found him.”
     “Mister Cennarian has a way of overdoing it,” Amelia said as she looked over Lina’s shoulder.
     “I think we found our ride to the world where Alex and Sylphiel wound up.”
     “Oh, who’d we find?” Gourry asked as he looked up from his cocoa.
     “Celia, you yogurt brain!” Lina grumbled. A moment later she invoked a Dare Brando, which resulted in the windows of the coffee shop being blown out. Several people lay in the center of the room, all extra crispy.
     “Why Lina, why do you insist on blowing everyone up when you only mean to hit Gourry?!” Zelgadis asked.
     “Sorry guys, I keep forgetting to focus,” Lina said, a large sweat drop forming on her head.

     Bright and early the following morning Seifer awoke to find himself alone in bed. From outside he heard music like nothing he had heard before, and this was pounding at ear split levels, or at least for those who lived near the quad.
     “What in the world?” he muttered as he slid out of bed.
     He threw on his clothes, leaving his shoes and coat in Alex’s room, before he left to stumble towards the quad. As he approached the quad Laguna and Rinoa joined him. As they stepped out into the quad it was like they were stepping into another world.

<music: Rhythm Emotion from Gundam Wing>
     Zell, Alex, and Irvine were on the stage, going through the motions of a kick boxing aerobic workout. On the floor below them many students mirrored their motions. The music was loud enough to shake the ground beneath them, along with their teeth, but nobody seemed to notice or really care since they were too busy moving to the beat.
     “Well I’ll be...” Laguna said, blinking in disbelief, “Zell and Alex aren’t tearing each other apart.”
     “That actually looks like fun,” Rinoa said, “I’m going to join them. And you,” she added, poking Seifer in the ribs, “could use a workout as well.”
     She then turned and bounced off into the crowd. Seifer and Laguna looked at each other, shrugged, and chased after her. They caught up to her at the front of the group, where she had begun to get into the groove and get the hang of the kicks and punches and other moves.
     “And now for a change of pace,” Zell said, his voice booming through the quad thanks to the headset he wore as the stereo system behind them switched to a new track.
<music: Throw The Groove Down by 2 Unlimited>
     “Throw the groove down,” the artist sang as Zell and Alex dropped backwards, catching themselves with one hand. They flipped backwards, coming up in unison as the artist said, “spin it round and round. We’ll raise the roof, we got to prove that we can get loose. Throw the groove down, spin it round and round. We’ll turn it up, not gonna stop, just throw down the groove.”
     “This is fun,” Rinoa said as she jumped into the air and kicked forward. As she came down she spun around, dropping down to a crouch on one knee.
     “I guess this song is just something to have fun to,” Seifer said as he flipped backwards. As he came up he performed a drop back like the one that Zell and Alex had performed moments earlier, but instead of flipping backwards he pulled himself back up to his full height.
     “But what is the purpose of this exercise?” Laguna asked as he dropped to a crouch due to a leg cramp. “This stinks.”
     “To se just how well you can adapt to a situation,” Alex said as he and Zell jumped down from the stage.
     “You like the wake-up call?” Zell asked, grinning mischievously.
     “It’s interesting,” Seifer said before Irvine jumped from the stage and wrapped his arms around Seifer’s shoulders.
     “I think the workout is over,” Rinoa said as the music came to an end, “geeze, how long have you guys been doing this?”
     “For about an hour,” Irvine said before pulling the band out of his hair. He brushed his fingers through it, shook it out, and pulled it back from his face before adding, “it feels great at this time of day.”
     “I need a shower after that,” Alex said as he cracked his shoulders and yawned. He turned to Seifer and said, “And this time you’re not exactly not invited.” and with that he turned and bounced off.
     Seifer ran the sentence through his mind a couple of times before he realized that what Alex had said wasn’t a put down but an invitation. “Hey, hold up!”
     “I’d better go keep an eye on them,” Irvine said, “plus I need a shower myself.”
     “We’ll see you this afternoon when we meet to go to Trabia,” Laguna called after them.
     “Think they’ll be ready to go?” Rinoa asked as they walked off to get some breakfast.
     “I sure hope so,” Laguna yawned, “as for right now I need some coffee.”

     Later that day they met by the main entrance to Garden, Alex once again wearing the coat that Seifer had given him, with the latest modification of a dragon emblazoned on the back. Under that he wore a silver silk shirt, a black pleather vest, green cargo pants, and his usual black combat boots.
     After several minutes of waiting Seifer yawned and said, “I’m bored.”
     “Ditto,” Zell sighed, shifting his perch upon the stone wall by the road, “Squall and Laguna aren’t here yet, and we can’t do anything until they arrive.”
     “So now what do we do?” Selphie asked, yawning a moment later. She then held her nunchuks behind her back before leaning backwards, assorted cracks and pops sounding from her upper and lower spine.
     “So we’re sitting out here for nothing?” Rinoa asked, “Man, this is such a pain. Where are those two?!”
     “We could try sparring in order to pass the time,” Alex said as he stared at the sky with his hands behind his head. When he was met by an icy silence he said, “On second thought we’d better not.”
     “Actually that’s a wonderful idea,” Seifer said as he leapt up from his seat, “I haven’t sparred with anyone in ages.”
     “Which is a good thing,” Zell muttered to himself, “the last person he sparred with was Squall, and both of them gave the other a scar.”
     “Well, that won’t happen to me,” Alex said, which surprised Zell since he was sure nobody had heard him. The young mage rose from his seat, his hand reaching into subspace to draw forth his no dachi, the Star Sword that symbolized the leader of the Star Warriors. He took on a battle stance, the sword held before his body, the blade pulsing with energy.
     “Are you sure you want to fight me?” Seifer asked as he drew his gunblade from his coat.
     “Bring it on,” Alex said, a sneer crossing his lips. A wind blew up around him, a low level Levitation spell cast to give him more maneuverability.

<music: “Here comes the Music” by Technotronic>
     The pair lunged at each other, blades flashing in the sunlight as they swung. Metal clashed on metal as they struck fast and furious, sparks flying from each strike. Both combatants could feel themselves getting closer and closer to feeling their limits break. Seifer swung low, Alex easily flipping clear of the blade before swinging for Seifer’s legs. Seifer executed a majestic back flip, landing on one hand before flipping back to his feet.
     “Excellent recovery,” Alex said as he swung high, his blow deflected by Seifer’s blade. He grinned wickedly before saying, “Your skills are magnificent.”
     “Yours aren’t bad in themselves,” Seifer said as he swung low, which Alex easily blocked and deflected.
     Several more sword blows rang through the area before Seifer’s weapon burst into flames. He swung at Alex while shouting, “Fire Cross!”
     At that same moment Alex’s weapon gained a ghostly aura, the blade humming with energy. He swung at Seifer while shouting, “Giga Crisis!”
     The two limit skills met at a central point, and what ensued was a battle of minds, wills, and strength. From the front gate stepped Squall and Laguna, locked in deep conversation. The hair on the back of Squall’s neck stood on end as they approached the group, and this caused him to look up and see the fire fight going on between the two.
     “Oh brother,” he said, holding his hand to his temples, “I can’t take much more of this. I thought the two of you were sharing something special.”
     Seifer and Alex looked at him in a unison motion, both stunned at this. The energy beams from their weapons shifted, the Fire Cross toasting Alex to a golden crisp, the Giga Crisis also toasting Seifer to a char broiled black. The attacks ceased a moment later, leaving the fighters smoking.
     “Hello Squall, “Alex coughed, smoke coming from his nostrils as he sneezed a moment later.
     “We were wondering when you’d show up,” Seifer said, brushing the ash from his hair.
     “You two decided to spar, didn’t you?” Squall asked. The two nodded. “Thought so. At least you don’t have any scars to remember this by.”
     “Unlike when you and Seifer fought,” Quistis said. Squall flushed red at the reminder of his past.
     “So are we ready to go?” Selphie asked, bouncing to her feet. She took two steps and collapsed into Zell’s arms. “Wow.... got up too fast that time.”
     “We’re all set,” Laguna said, clapping a hand on Squall’s shoulder, “the ship awaits us down at Balamb harbor.”
     “Then let’s go!” Alex said, “Trabia, here we come!”

     Across the ocean of time and space the Slayers were preparing for their trip through time and space. Celia was tanking up on high protein shakes and high carb shakes to provide the power she would need to leap through time and space with so many passengers. Lina was strapping on her talismans, those of the demons blood and those of the angelic light. Zelgadis and Amelia were also checking their own equipment, making sure they had magic revitalization drinks and the items they would need. Gourry was polishing his sword, and Nick and Mackenzie were making sure they were well prepared. They continued this in silence, or at least until the Vampyress released a very unladylike belch. She then began to hiccup up bubbles containing butterflies.
     “Wow Miss Celia, you need to teach me that trick,” Amelia said as she chased the bubbles around.
     “I don’t think that’s a trick Amelia,” Lina said, noting the stunned expression on Celia’s face.
     The vampyress flailed for a moment before belching up the mother of all bubbles, this one with a small dragon inside. The bubble burst, releasing with the dragon a scream like none ever heard on this earth.
     “Celia, are you going to be O.K.?” Zelgadis asked, thumping her on the back. Celia gave him a thumbs up sign before belching up a large stream of flames.
     Nick and Mackenzie both blinked at Celia before performing some hand motions and saying, “Bless you.”
     Celia blushed, held her hand to her lips, and muttered a polite, “Excuse me.”
     “That gives new meaning to the phrase heartburn,” Lina said as she surveyed the melted patch of snow and the charred grass beneath it.
     “Do you think you can get us there, to where Alex and Sylphiel are?” Zelgadis asked, gently rubbing Celia’s back.
     “Yeah, I’m fine now,” Celia said, belching up one last bubble, which popped in a small chorus of angelic voices. “The shakes just didn’t want to mix in my stomach.”
     “Resulting in indigestion,” Gourry said. Everyone turned to look at him. “I’m really not as stupid as you think.”
     “No, but you’re a pain in the ass!” Lina grumbled, bringing her elbow down on Gourry’s head. “C’mon Celia, let’s go!”
     An aura of light formed around the vampyress, her hair billowing out around her face. She lifted from the ground, a bubble forming around the group as they were lifted skyward. A portal opened above them, which they quickly entered.
     Colored lights swirled around them, flaming pink, many shades of violet, searing blues and flaming reds, all on a background of black with tinges of gold. The bubble shuddered as they passed through rings of colored light, and Celia cried out mentally, ‘Zelgadis, where are they located?’
     ‘Follow the map in my mind,’ Zelgadis replied mentally, projecting an image.
     ‘I see it.... hold on, since we’re coming to the exit!’
     The bubble burst through the barriers of time and space, passing through one final ring of colored light before emerging in broad daylight in the sky above the world where they could find Sylphiel and Alex.
     “This place is gorgeous,” Amelia said, pressing her face to the side of the bubble.
     “Amazing,” Zelgadis said, “it’s more beautiful than I ever imagined.”
     “We need to land quickly,” Celia said as the bubble began to dive toward the nearest piece of land. The occupants of the bubble were thrown about in chaos, and had to fight to stay upright.
     “Celia, what’s wrong?” Lina asked.
     “We have to land. I can’t keep us airborne!”
     “If we impact at this speed we’ll be reduced to a stain on the ground,” Nick commented after running some quick calculations.
     “We’re not going out like that,” Amelia said, “Ray Wing!”
     The bubble stopped in mid descent. Unfortunately the momentum caught up with the occupants, flattening them to the bottom of the bubble.
     “Thank you so very much Amelia,” Lina grumbled from beneath Gourry and Mackenzie.
     “Ummm... you’re welcome?” Amelia said hesitantly.
     “Just land this damnable thing,” Mackenzie moaned, “I need to puke.”
     The bubble descended at a slower and steadier rate than when Celia was in control, and but for a couple of light bumps they landed quietly and safely. Once the bubble disintegrated they sprawled on the ground, Mackenzie running off to retch, Lina and Nick to kiss the ground, and Celia and Amelia to receive Recovery spells from Zelgadis.
     Once they were over the air sickness and whatnot Lina asked, “So exactly where are we in relation to where Alex and Sylphiel are?”
     “Sylphiel’s energy is coming from the North East, at a great distance,” Zelgadis replied “As for Alex, his is to the north and is moving North east.”
     “And I’m exhausted,” Lina said.
     “You haven’t done a thing,” Nick said, “if anybody should be exhausted it’s Celia and Amelia, since they got us here.”
     The ground rumbled a moment later as Lina’s stomach proclaimed how empty it was. The other members of the group sighed.
     “We should find a town,” Gourry said, “then hopefully Lina won’t tear anybody apart from being too hungry.”
     “Then onward we shall go,” Lina said, striking a dramatic pose to steal the scene.
     “Miss Lina, the town is this way,” Amelia said from behind Lina.
     “Yeah, I knew that,” Lina said as she ran to catch up with the others.

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