“Oh man, it’s pouring out there,” Lina inverse said as she stepped into Ross’ Diner, shaking rain from her umbrella and from her jacket. She glanced at the patrons until she found the table which was occupied by Alexander West, Zelgadis Greywords, and Celia Chere Briggs. She quickly stepped towards their table, narrowly avoiding waitresses encumbered by large trays of food. “Hi guys,” she called as she approached and slipped her jacket off.
     “Hey Lina,” Celia said, looking up from her romance novel. She blinked before saying, “It’s raining again, isn’t it?”
     “Without fail,” Lina said as she slid into an empty seat. “I take it you guys have been waiting for it to stop?”
     “More or less,” Zelgadis replied before taking a sip of his coffee, “the minute the sun comes back out it’s suddenly raining again.”
     “And I intend to put a stop to it,” Alex said without looking up from what he was working on. He chewed thoughtfully on the end of his pencil for a second before scribbling frantically.
     “How do you intend to do that?” Lina asked as the waitress brought her her usual lunch.
     “With my brand new Storm Splinter,” Alex replied, smiling contentedly.
     “Oh yeah? Can I see it?”
     Alex handed her a small sheaf of papers, which, as it turned out, was the calculations for the spell. Lina’s eyes widened as she read the spell, her face lacking emotion as she became absorbed by the calculations. She finally looked up from the notes, handing them back to Alex.
     “Pretty impressive spell and a creative use of magical fusion and the use of two spells that should normally cancel each other out,” she said, “a spell like that is going to take a lot of power.”
     “What spells does it combine?” Celia asked before taking a bite of her parfait.
     “Oh, just the Ragna Blade and the Goddess Blade.”
     Celia stopped in mid motion, her ice cream melting and dripping onto the table. After a few seconds of awkward silence she asked, “He combined those two spells?”
     “And added a tertiary spell to send the combined energy forth to end this stormy weather for a while.”
     “With a week of thunderstorms and rain almost non stop every day and more each day I thought we’d need an ark,” Zelgadis said as he finished his lunch. “Just how does the incantation go?”
     “That’s the thing I haven’t figured out,” Alex sighed, “I think I might have writers block, since I have the calculations, and I know how those are supposed to form the incantation. Yet there’s a block.”
     “He’s right,” Lina said, “I only saw the numbers and figures, not words in an italicized text like usual.”
     “So what does that mean?” Celia asked.
     “It means either there’s something wrong with the calculations, or there’s a strong force out there that really does not want this spell completed.”
     “And I’ve triple checked my calculations,” Alex said as Zelgadis glanced over his shoulder, “I can’t find a single thing wrong with it.”
     “Why not do what you friend RC normally does with her spells?”
     “What does she normally do?” Celia asked.
     “Adds a Q to the equation,” the other three replied.
     “Do her spells normally work?”
     “Yeah. Her Heart’s Bane Rose and Soul Reaver are really powerful and really cool,” Alex said as he glanced at his notes, “the only problem I have is where to place the Q.”
     “Miss Lina, Mister Zelgadis, Miss Celia, are you there?” Amelia’s voice said over their communicators.
     “Yeah, we read you Amelia,” Lina said as she unclipped a gold and black D3 from her belt, “what’s the situation?”
     “Well, Mister Cennarian, Miss Sylphiel, and myself are currently locked in combat with the one who’s causing these storms,” Amelia replied as her image appeared on the D3’s screen. There was a lot of interference with the video feed, but audio was coming through fine.
     “And just what is it?” Zelgadis asked, a D3 of blue and silver in his palm.
     “It’s a youma - mazoku cross,” Cennarian’s voice said as the screen split, Amelia on one side, Cenn on the other, “and this one is really damn powerful!”
     “What’s your current location?” Celia asked, a D3 of lilac and plum in hand.
     “Currently we’re on the common, but if the storm keeps up like this then all of downtown will be flooded,” Amelia wailed, “please hurry.”
     “Well Alex, looks like your Storm Splinter will get its first test run,” Lina said as she left money for her part of the check.
     “Where do I put the fragging Q?!” he asked nobody in particular as he worked to assemble his spell notes.
     “Do what I do,” Celia said as she threw her violet trench coat on, “pick a spot and put it in.”
     “But the haphazard placement of a variable factor could result in a backlash that would nuke all of us to a cinder.”
     Lina sighed as she finished tying her coat closed. She then grabbed Alex’s pencil, flipped open the notes, and scribbled in a Q, all while Alex protested. A moment later the pages of notes glowed, the mathematical equations on the first page being replaced by the spell’s incantation.
     “Well I’ll be,” Zelgadis said in awe, “nice work Lina.”
     “So what does it say?” Celia asked as she looked over Alex’s shoulder.
     “Here,” Alex said, handing her the page, “you should have no trouble reading it now.”

     “If all goes well I’ll have a Ragna Blade on one end and a Goddess blade on the other,” Alex said as he gathered up his notes and left some money for his check.
     “What about the power needed to fuel the spell?” Zelgadis asked as he zipped his raincoat up.
     “Simple. I transform and use the combined power of the super emeralds and power rings. With my chaos transformation I should have more than enough juice to blast the storm apart.”
     By now they had stepped out into the storm, which had since gained gale force winds and driving rain.
     “So what do we do now?” Celia asked as she tied her hair back. Water was already beginning to drip down her forehead and face.
     “Is anybody looking at us?” Alex asked as the other three formed a human screen around him.
     “Nope,” Zelgadis said, “they’re all looking at or paying attention to other things.”
     “Good. Star Crystal Power!”

     <Chibi Zel: “That sounded way wrong.”
     <Chibi Saturn: “I’m the only one who can ride you like that, right?”
     <*A sweat drop forms on Chibi Zel’s head.*
     <Chibi Zel: “We’ll discuss this later.”
     <Chibi Celia: “And now back to the fic.”>

     “Giddy up!” Lina said, smacking Zel in the rear with a monovolt. Her mount took off like a shot, dropping her to the ground. “Come back Zel! I promise I won’t do that again.”
     Several bolts of lightning illuminated the sky, all converging on the common, which was less than 100 yards away. There were several screams, and  a moment later a slightly charred green haired elf skidded to a stop at their feet.
     “Well, well, look who left the party early,” Lina said, tapping Cennarian with her foot, “Hey Cenn, time to rise and shine.”
     Cenn opened one eye, then closed it and sighed. “It’s nice to see you too Lina. And yes, I’m doing fine. Thanks for asking.”
     “What’s he...” Celia began to say, but noticed Saturn shaking his head, “Ahh... gotcha.”
     “So, Cenn, you going to help us defeat that thing?” Saturn asked as he helped the elf to his feet.
     “Provided we can get close enough to do anything,” Cenn sighed as he brushed ash from his face, “the moment we got close enough for anything to work we either got struck by lightning or blown back by a gust of wind.”
     “Celia, you stay here and heal him,” Lina said, “Saturn, prepare for the Storm Splinter.”
     “All right!” Saturn said, magical glows surrounding the gems in his bracers and the hilt of his sword. He reached beneath his armor and pulled out ten golden rings, looping five over his right bracer, the other five over his left bracer. The rings glowed a moment later, adding power to the emeralds. “I’m all charged up!”
     “Then let’s get moving, magic boy. Our friends need us.”
     Lina took off running, with Saturn coming up behind her using a Ray Wing and staying low to the ground. Sorcerer and sorceress reached the common as another hail of lightning bolts nearly blinded them. They heard a grunt and looked up to see Zelgadis forming a protective barrier around them.
     “Hurry up and shatter the storm,” he said, “I’m low on power, and Sylphiel and Amelia are about ready to keel over.”
     “You won’t be able to do such a thing,” a gruff male voice said from atop the band stand. Lina and Alex glanced up to see a young man with long, dark blue hair dressed in flowing black robes over tight black pants and black boots with lightning bolts emblazoned on gold upon the heels standing on the top point, the wind blowing his hair about. “My name is Stormy, but you can call me the black summoner of thunder.”
     “And you’re about to be barbecue,” Lina grumbled, a globe of crimson forming between her palms. “Dragon... SLAVE!!”
     Lina hurled her hands forward, sending a ray of dark energy at Stormy. The storm caller waved a hand at the ray, and a second later it turned around on itself and headed for Lina and Saturn.
     “Miss Lina!” Amelia called moments before a bolt of lightning struck behind her, throwing her to the ground.
     ‘I gotta time this just right,’ Lina thought as she crouched to leap, ‘factoring in the wind and everything else I’ll need to leap more towards the statue than anything.’ “Alex, prepare to leap south by south east.”
     “Huh? What?” Saturn said, blinking in awe as Lina winked at him seconds before the spell struck the ground in front of them.
     As the Dragon Slave detonated Lina leapt towards the center of the common and a statue there, the explosion propelling her onward to her destination. At that same moment Alex leapt for the sky, the explosion’s shockwave catching him in the back to propel him higher.
     ‘Now that I have some altitude it’s time to use my spell,’ he thought as he gathered the necessary energy from the power rings and chaos emeralds. A globe of glowing white formed in one hand, while at the same time a globe of inky black formed in the other. He clasped his hands around these, a broadsword forming from the white globe, a katana from the black. He joined the swords at the hilts, a flash of colored light coming from the junction point.
     “Just what do you think you’re doing?” he heard Stormy say from below.
     “Sword of the cold dark void, unite your power with the blade of light and holiness. By your combined strengths I pledge my life so that my foes will be destroyed and that the sky will clear on our path to destiny. Heaven and earth, sky and spirit, grant me your strength so that I might split apart the sky to end this nightmare...”
     As he chanted the spell he held the twin sword above his head, spinning it as the blades glowed. Energy crackled around him as the glow from the emeralds and power rings increased. Stormy commanded multiple bolts of lightning to strike Saturn, only to watch in awe as a certain red haired vampyress and a particular green haired elf appeared between the lightning and its intended target, a shield forming to divert the attack.
     “Impossible!” Stormy shouted, stamping his foot. “I’ll destroy you once and for all! Let the wind blow like there’s no tomorrow. Let the waters of the world surge and swell. Let the lightning split apart the sky and crumble the earth. Water to air, air to fire, fire back to water. Let these elements combine and obliterate all who dare to oppose me. Goddess’ of the sea and sky, unite your powers now!”
     “Crud, he’s going to cast the Maelstrom!” Zelgadis said.
     “And it sounds like he perfected the incantation,” Lina added, a small globe of white forming between her palms. She turned towards the statue before saying, “Vu... Vraimer!”, smashing the globe into the ground.
     A ray of light raced across the ground and up into the statue. Lina then performed a few motions before saying, “Go get him big fella.”
     The statue leapt down from its pedestal and ran across the common, the flag in its hand held like a spear. When Stormy saw this he screamed, ceased casting his spell, and ran with the statue hot on his tail. Lina then gave Saturn the thumbs up for finishing his spell.
     ‘Here goes everything.’ “Storm... SPLINTER!!”
     The two blades gained a brilliant golden glow as he chanted, a column of energy engulfing each one. Saturn swung the blades forward as he shouted the command words, one column splitting the sky as the other one came up from behind to complete the attack. The two energy waves met, the clouds melting apart from the center on out. Brilliant sunlight flooded across the land, drying up the wetness and bringing some relief to the town and surrounding areas.
     “Score!” Lina cheered as she pulled her raincoat off, smiling as the rays of the sun warmed her skin.
     “Thank you very much,” Saturn said as he performed a perfect three point landing with the twin swords behind his back.
     “Mister Alex, you’re the greatest,” Amelia said before glomping him.
     “So, whatever happened to that Stormy guy?” Cennarian asked as he slipped his cloak off and wrung it out.
     “I really don’t know,” Lina said, “but I think I used a stronger Vu Vraimer than normal...”

     Several counties away, heading north by north east, Stormy was still running from the artificially animated stone statue. He had tried all of the spells and attacks in his arsenal against it, including a few combination techniques, and had done no damage to his adversary what so ever.  He was running out of energy, his legs burned and screamed from the strain, and he was running out of breath more and more by the second. Yet he had to get away from that statue before it impaled him... or worse.
     “I’ll get you, Lina Inverse,” he huffed before vaulting off of a ledge into a river, the statue stopping at the edge. “Mark my words,” he shouted as he fell, “I’ll get you... and your little friends too!!”

     “And temperatures are expected to be in the mid to upper 90’s for the next five days with plenty of sun each day...”
     “Ross, please turn the news off,” Zelgadis sighed as he lifted his head from where he was resting it on the counter. Today he was clad in a loose fitting black shirt that was open midway down the chest, khaki cargo shorts, and sport sandals.
     “Sure thing Zel,” Ross said cheerfully as he changed the channel to VH2, which was playing non - stop dance music and videos that day.
     “If we don’t get one type of summer weather then it’s the other,” Celia sighed as she fanned herself with a menu as she read her romance novel. Today she wore a light violet sun dress, and her hair was pulled back in a loose braid with a piece of violet ribbon at the end.
     “Why aren’t you guys at the beach?”
     “No car,” Cennarian sighed as Amelia wove the longer part of the back of his hair into braids. The elf wore a blue tank top, light weight green cargo pants, and sport sandals similar to Zel’s, and his normally spiky green hair was drooping into his face.
     “No money either,” Amelia said as she tied an elastic around the latest braid. She wore a yellow dress similar to Celia’s, with the addition of a yellow choker. “All done Mister Cennarian. That was fun.”
     “No energy,” Lina sighed without looking up from her book of spells. Today the sorceress had her hair pulled up in a ponytail, with her bandanna holding it in place. She wore a pink tank top with a violet short sleeved shirt over it and blue shorts, her sandals on the floor. “I never knew it could stay so hot for so long.”
     “Say Lina, just what are you doing?” Alex asked as he glanced up from his laptop. He wore a gray T-shirt, loose green cargo shorts, a loose fitting orange shirt with intricate designs imprinted on the back and fringe, and sport sandals like the others.
     “Oh, nothing. Nothing at all,” Lina said as she scribbled something down on a piece of paper.
     “Sure looks like you’re doing something. Let me see it,” Alex said as he reached for the paper.
     “Back off catboy before I turn you into...”
     Cennarian took that moment to snag the page. As he glanced at it a sweat drop formed on his head. “She’s crazy,” he said as he passed the sheet to Zelgadis, who looked it over.
     “Lina, you can’t be serious,” Zel said.
     “Oh, but I’m very serious.”
     “But that spell will...”
     “Oh yes.”
     “We’re all doomed.”
     “Care to share with us Zel?” Alex asked as the others watched Zelgadis’ and Cennarian’s reactions to what was on the piece of paper.
     “She’s creating a spell to end this heat wave,” Cennarian sighed as he rubbed his temples. The other people at the counter exclaimed, “WHAT?! You must be kidding!”
     “Here we go again,” Alex sighed as the others protested loudly to Lina thinking of making it rain some more. “The insanity never ends.”