Graduation day blues -
the Wind Princess’ revenge
“Alex, if you don’t hurry up
you’re gonna be late for the ceremony.”
Several loud knocks accompanied the
shouting coming from outside of the room of Alexander Mathias West.
From inside the room came a few loud grumbles of displeasure of having
to get up at some ungodly hour for something mega important in the life
of anyone who was anyone or would be anyone in the world.
“I’m coming, I’m coming,” was the
first coherent thing said by the room’s sole occupant. A minute or two
later the door opened to reveal Alex, his dark brown and burgundy hair
a mess. He wore a pair of sleep pants and a Hawaiian print shirt that
was open down the front, and he looked like he hadn’t slept at all.
Standing in the doorway were Lina Inverse, Zelgadis Greywords, Seifer
Almasy, Tina Johnson, Mackenzie Andrews, and Nick Andrews.
“Good morning,” Mackenzie
bubbled, grinning from ear to ear. “How are you? Are you psyched about
graduating? Do you have everything? Do you want to know what time it
is?”
“You guys gave him caffeine,
didn’t you?” Alex asked as Lina elbow stomped Mackenzie into the floor.
“Not by choice,” Nick yawned,
scratching the back of his head, “he went into the room with the
vending machines at one of the rest areas we stopped at and came out
with his arms laden with bottles of cola.”
“I’ve had six of them,” Mackenzie
volunteered. “And I want more and more and more and more and more.”
“Please stop him,” Zelgadis
sighed, “and please do so before I hurt him severely for being so
damned hyper.”
“Oh, cheer up Zel,” Lina bubbled,
poking her companion in the ribs, “it’s not that bad.”
“It’s that bad,” Alex yawned,
stretching so that his shirt fell completely open. Seifer blushed and
averted his gaze while Tina simply poked Alex in the ribs.
“Sweetie, you really need to
hurry up and get dressed and whatnot,” she purred, “otherwise we’ll be
late, and since we’re graduating that’s a bad thing.”
“All right, all right,” Alex
muttered, grabbing his towel and bath things from his closet, “I’ll get
ready.”
“So what are we going to do in
the meantime?” Seifer asked as Alex stepped into the bathroom and
closed the door.
“We’re going to tie Mackenzie
down and torment him until he stops being so damned hyper,” Nick
muttered as his younger brother bounced away from them and tore into
the lounge at warp speed. “Mack, you’d better pray we don’t catch you!”
“Watch and learn,” Tina said,
stepping into the lounge, a blue energy trail following the sweep of
her right hand. She brought her hand to eye level and took aim at
Mackenzie, who was bouncing from couch to couch. “Aqua Rake,” she said,
a wide trail of blue forming where her arm had swept. The air around
the youngest Andrews brother was suddenly awash with water and bubbles,
and she giggled as he began to swim in the air.
“You might want to reconsider
using that type of an attack,” Nick said, stepping into the lounge.
“Oh, why’s that sweetie?” Tina
asked, batting her eyes at him.
“For the simple reason that fire
plus water equals instant Jacuzzi.”
“Huh?”
“Heatwave!”
Tina blinked in awe as her spell
was turned from something of torment into something of immense pleasure
for at least one person. Lina walked up to the airborne hot tub and
poked one finger in. “Perfect temperature,” the sorceress beamed,
hopping into the water and letting out a long sigh of relief. “This
feels wonderful. Hey Mack, can you turn up the temperature a little bit
so that my muscles can get the best relaxation possible?”
Seifer sighed and smacked his
forehead, as did Zelgadis, both of whom were embarrassed to have to
deal with either of the people inside the superheated water spell.
“This has got to stop,” Seifer
muttered.
“Anybody have a death wish?” Zel
asked, recalling just how volatile Lina’s temper could be if somebody
did something that she disliked.
“Now why would you ask that?”
Tina asked, wrapping her arms around Zel from behind and giving him a
hug, “I’m the queen of death sweetie and don’t you forget it.”
Zel blushed and flailed. Tina
simply smirked and snapped her fingers, ending her spell. The water in
the center of the room vanished, dropping a very wet sorceress and an
equally wet Mackenzie onto a nearby couch, where water pooled around
their feet. “And that is how you take care of business,” Tina beamed,
releasing Zel from the hug and walking across the room to the other
two. “Now what lesson have you learned?”
“That your magic is wonderful
stress relief,” Lina beamed, “You have to teach me how to use Aqua
Rake. I’d be unbeatable in battle and also be able to make my own
instant hot tub.”
A sweat drop formed on Tina’s
head, and she looked at the floor. ‘Why me?’ she asked a greater power,
‘Why do I always wind up with the crazy ones?’
“The shower’s stopped running,”
Nick announced from the doorway, “I guess Alex is in the process of
getting ready for the ceremony.”
Everyone poked their heads into
the hallway in time to see Alex step out of the bathroom, clad only in
a pair of boxer shorts. Alex turned his head when he heard the door
open, and when he saw everyone looking at him he turned bright red and
dashed for his door, colliding face first with it since he’d locked it
to keep people out while he wasn’t in. He frantically punched in the
combination for his lock, crashed face first into the door again, and
was finally able to open it. He slammed the door shut behind him, a
loud tearing sounding as he walked away since he’d caught his boxers in
the door.
“CURSORS!” he shouted, opening
the door enough to pull his shorts back in, then slamming it shut.
Tina looked to the others for an
explanation, and the others shrugged in response, since they didn’t
know either.
A few minutes later the door
creaked open again, and out stepped Alex, wearing a well worn pair of
green jeans, a white T-shirt, and his favorite dragon shirt over it. He
also wore his graduation gown, and held his graduation cap in his hand.
“Well,” he said, smiling at the others while slipping his sun shades
on, “You ready to head out or what?”
“Hell yeah,” Tina said, grabbing
his arm and dragging him towards the door, “I’ve been ready to go for
the past half an hour!”
“She’s terrible,” Seifer gasped
as Alex’s arm was practically torn off.
“You get used to her,” Nick
replied, rubbing his head.
“Tina, can you release him from
your death grip for a moment,” Irvine said, following behind the
energetic young woman and the poor mage whose shoulder was about to go
out, “Seifer and I have some good luck to give him.”
“Oro?” Alex asked, arching an
eyebrow.
“Knock ‘em dead tiger,” Seifer said,
pulling Alex into a rib cracking embrace. He pushed the mage a couple
inches away before kissing him on the lips. He broke the kiss a moment
later and stepped away, leaving Alex to blink a couple of times.
“If anything happens, we’re here for
backup,” Irvine said, kissing Alex on the cheeks and forehead before
hugging him. “And I’m sure there are a ton of others in the audience
and in the stands who have the powers you have.”
Alex nodded and smiled before giving
the thumbs up sign. “I have your cell phone number in case I need to
call.”
“And if you do it just to chat with
your honeys I’m going to kick you someplace uncomfortable,” Tina
growled as she stood on her toes in an attempt to loom over Alex. “Ok
sweetie?”
All five men in the hallway cringed
and reflexively covered their jewel boxes. Tina and Lina both chuckled
before Tina grabbed Alex’s arm and dragged him towards the door.
“Onward, to graduation!”
The door at the end of the hall came
off of one hinge as they crashed on through before dashing for the
other side of campus and the field where graduation services were being
held.
<music: ‘Second Chapter’ -Dirty Pair
FLASH>
Friends
yakusoku shita yume no
Hashiri gaki wo ARUBAMU ni nokoshi
Friends dare mo ga mina kyou wo
Sotsugyou shite otona he to kawaru
Ima tojiru saigo no peeji wa
Ashita he tsuzuku tobira
* [Motto tsuyoku tsuyoku
[Kimi no mune ni tsuyoku
[Haruka na aozora wo ukabe
Motto takaku takaku
Tonde yukeru takaku
Mienai tsubasa wo hirogete
Yagate hajimaru kimi no dai ni shou
Good luck zutto negatteru
Friends wasurenai yo watashi
Meguri aete yokatta to omou
Friends ano hi kimi ga kureta
Kono yuuki wo taisetsu ni suru yo
Mada ima wa chisana omoi wo
Ashita wa kitto ieru
Motto hayaku hayaku
Hikari yori mo hayaku
Afureru tokimeki wo otte
Motto tooku tooku
Tadori tsukeru tooku
Sono hi no jibun wo shinjite
Sayonara jyanaku kimi no dai ni shou
Good luck zutto mitsumeteru
* repeat
Motto tooku tooku
Tadori tsukeru tooku
Sono hi wo jibun wo shinjite
Sayonara jyanaku kimi no dai ni shou
Good luck zutto mitsumeteru
As
the song plays, Alex and Tina run from the mini dorms, down a long
stretch of road until they reach the main street, where people clad in
black robes are marching from all corners of the campus to reach the
site of the ceremony. The two friends look left and right, both
somewhat shocked by the number of people heading in the same direction
that they’re heading in. Mackenzie, Nick, and company catch up to the
two graduates, and together they brave the crowd and the traffic that
is flowing towards the field house and the graduation ceremony.
The
group soon discovers they have to head all the way up to main street,
and from there enter through the main building or the far end of the
field. On their way they meet up with Darren, Cassi, Dawn, Heather, and
Will, all five of whom are decked out for graduation ceremonies in
their best casual dress clothes. The now larger group finds that crowds
can be rather unforgiving, especially if people get separated from the
larger clusters, and in one brief moment of chaos, Mackenzie is pulled
away from everyone. Only by forming a human chain are they able to pull
him to safety before he’s crushed to a pulp.
As
one large mass they stop at the entrance to the field, Seifer and
Irvine both giving Alex extra long hugs and kisses, Zel giving Alex a
pat on the back, Lina winking and giving both Alex and Tina a thumbs
up, and the Andrews brothers doing the same as the seven melt into the
crowd of black frocked graduates, where they stand in wait of the
beginning of the ceremony.
“Good morning everyone,” a man in
his early thirties in business attire announced, silencing the loud
roar of the audience and graduates. “Thank you for coming, and welcome
to the 2001 ceremonies for graduation.”
Applause and catcalls, mostly from the
graduating class, echoed through the area. The man cleared his throat,
and everyone fell silent so he could continue.
“I want to personally thank each
and every one of you for coming today to witness this spectacular
event, as well as enjoy the special extras that come with such a
ceremony as this. Announcing today’s special featured performers for
the graduation march are none other than....” The crowd were on the
edge of their seats, awaiting the announcement of the person who many
of them came to see. “Vitamin C!” Loud applause. “Providing backup for
her song styles is the band formerly known as the Three Lights, Dust
Chip!”
“Dust Chip?” Alex asked, arching
an eyebrow, “What in the name of the goddess’ underpants?”
“Long story,” Darren said over the
comm link that was active in Alex’s earring, “Chris, Eddie, and Ryan
decided their group needed a major overhaul, both in style and in PR,
so they went from pop to neo-grunge punk.”
“But Dust Chip... that’s an ice
spell from Lina’s handbook.”
“Exactly my point. They’re
cutting edge, ice cold, and sharp.”
“Plus their single ‘Do me like an
animal’ is at the top of the punk and grunge charts and have been for
the past five weeks,” Mackenzie bubbled, cutting in on the
conversation. “They’re the hottest thing since.... well, since their
earlier boy band personas.”
Alex sighed and bowed his head.
“Goddess have mercy,” he muttered under his breath.
“She’s gonna be busy with that
hon,” Tina said, wrapping her arm around his, “Right now we have yet to
march into the stadium and take our seats.”
“Dust Chip,” Mackenzie bubbled.
“Can it Mack,” Alex sighed,
rubbing his temples.
“But Dust Chip. Think about it.”
“Drop it Kenzie,” Cassi grumbled
under her breath.
“But Dust Chip?” Mackenzie asked.
“Drop it Mack,” Nick sighed,
signing off of the frequency.
Smoke and fog began to roll
across the stage, and all around the stadium people went into defensive
settings lest the forces of evil attacked. A platform rose from the
center of the stage, and standing upon this was Vitamin C. Behind her,
decked out in leather pants and dark dress shirts with the sleeves
slightly rolled up and the fronts unbuttoned to the center of their
chests, were Chris, Ryan, and Eddie, each one tuning their instruments.
“Good morning UNH!” Vitamin C
announced over her headset microphone. She received a hearty response
of cheering, catcalls, and applause. Once this died down to a dull roar
she continued. “Thank you for having me here to perform for the class
of 2001!” More cheering and applauding ensued. “Give a hearty hand for
my backup band and good friends, Dust Chip!”
The screaming of rabid fan girls
threatened to blow everyone away. Once the fire hoses had been deployed
to calm down the screaming mob, Dust Chip struck up the first chords
for the graduation song.
<music: ‘Graduation (Friends Forever)’ -
Vitamin C>
As the song played, the 2600+
graduates for the class of 2001 marched into the center of the field
below the stadium. Technically there wasn’t much marching, since with
so many people it would take hours for everyone to enter and be seated;
there was much walking, some skipping, and a bit of jumping as the
graduates entered, walked to their respective sections, and stood in
wait to be seated.
After several repeats of the
refrain and chorus, the band kicked it up a notch, launching into a
remix of the song, which ended the entrance of everyone quite nicely.
Alex glanced to his right at Tina, who smiled at him nervously.
‘Who
from our group is graduating today?’ Alex asked inwardly,
running through a list of their members. He and Tina, he knew that much
for a fact. Jason, Josh, Jack, and Nate were somewhere in the chaos and
confusion, as were Darren, Cassi, Heather, Dawn, and Will. He wondered
for a moment if he was forgetting anyone before pushing the thought
from his mind.
“Thank you Vitamin C and Dust
Chip for that... err... lovely song,” the university president
announced once everyone was in their places and the song came to a
close. “We look forward to the finale when we’ll hear you play again.”
“Something’s coming,” Dawn’s
voice said over Alex’s earring communication link, “I can feel it.”
“Probably just the three day old
enchiladas she had for breakfast,” Tina commented, hiding the fact that
she was sensing it as well. A force darker than anything else she’d
felt in the past. Darker than the forces at the Gables. Darker even
than the mage master.
The school president was about to give
the order for all to be seated when the sky darkened suddenly, going
from bright and sunny to pitch dark clouds rolling across the sky with
a hint of thunder and lightning.
“This is bad,” Alex said, playing with
the ring on his right hand that contained the mighty star crystal, his
transformation item. “The wind’s shifted.”
“I think even the norms can feel it
now,” Tina said, looking at the reaction from the students around her.
Lightning crackled through the
air, striking a tower behind the stage that held speakers, essentially
shorting out the sound system in one shot.
“Oh hell!” Chris exclaimed,
diving out of the way as a speaker fell to the stage. “Eddie, Ryan, get
Miss C to safety.”
“Oh no you don’t,” Vitamin C
said, standing defiantly, her hands on her hips, her auburn red hair
blowing in the wind, “I may be a pop star, but I’m going to stay and
help in any way that I can.”
She brushed her hair away from
her left ear, revealing a winged microphone, much like what the
starlights used to transform with. “You three aren’t the only rock
sensations with super powers, ya know.”
“We don’t even know who or what
is attacking,” Chris said as the wind suddenly increased.
“Typhoon? Hurricane? The goddess
frickin’ apocalypse?!” Ryan growled, ducking as the wind began picking
up debris. A chair sailed over their heads, and all four hit the dirt
as other items on the stage became airborne.
“I think this classifies as an
emergency,” Eddie said, ducking behind a support tower with Vitamin C
in tow. He looked over at Chris and Ryan, both of whom nodded as they
clipped winged microphones to their ears.
“Fighter Star Power....”
“Healer Star Power...”
“Maker Star Power...”
“Singer Star Power...”
“MAKE.... UP!!!”
<music: ‘Starlights Transform’>
Stars swirled around the four,
dissolving their clothes, only to replace them with skimpy dominatrix
style outfits trimmed in gold. Once they finished transforming into
their super powered alter egos they stepped from behind the support
towers, just in time to be caught in a torrential downpour.
“It promises to be one of those
days,” Sailor Star Fighter sighed as his hair was matted to his head
and face by the rain.
“Did Mother Nature start her
period today, or what?” Sailor Star Singer asked, her hair now hanging
in drenched clumps.
“If we hadn’t defeated the Wind
Princess I’d swear she was the one attacking us right now,” Sailor Star
Healer said, running his fingers through his silver hair to push it
back from his face.
“What makes you think I’m gone?”
a female voice boomed through the air. People looked around for the
source of the voice, eventually realizing that the source were the
clouds themselves.
“Oh hell,” Lina grumbled, a
hastily worked barrier spell all that was between them and the pouring
rain, “how could she survive the magic we worked?”
“She gets one come back episode
and then we frag her for good,” Zel smirked, “haven’t you read villain
contracts?”
“Miss Lina, I think we should do
something before we’re flooded out of the grounds,” Amelia whimpered,
pointing down at the rapidly flooding field below.
“Of all the times for this to
happen. Why hasn’t Alex transformed yet?!”
“Too many people around,” Alex
replied over the radio, “nobody else has transformed save for the four
on the stage.”
“He’s right,” Seifer said,
handing Lina a pair of field glasses, “There are four dominatrix
sailors on the stage, and no sign of any others.”
“Come out, come out little
senshi,” the Wind Princess taunted, cyclones forming on the field,
waterspouts forming from those. “So many people, so little time to
destroy all of them!”
A loud crashing resonated through
the air as bolts of lightning crackled, striking support towers without
relent, the electricity riding through these to the wet ground, where
anyone in the vicinity was instantly electrocuted.
“Damn,” Alex hissed as he stood
on his chair to look around, “too much chaos and confusion. Too many
people.”
Several more bolts of lightning
struck around the field, shocking more graduates into submission. Alex
and the others in the stands who shared the bond of senshi and warriors
watched in horror and doubt, since innocent people were being injured
because of them.
“Bring out the sailors or I’ll
send out my snow dancers to find them!” the Wind Princess cackled, the
rain turning to snow driven by an icy wind “Looks like they’re not
coming. Looks like they don’t care.”
“Looks like you’re aching for an
ass whooping!” Lina growled, standing on her seat, her hands glowing
from a spell she was casting.
“Lina Inverse is here!?” the wind
princess asked in disbelief. “This makes it all the more fun. Hit me
with your best shot, oh flat chested one.”
“Flat chested?! FLAT CHESTED?!”
Lina hissed, the remark about her chest size filling her with rage.
“Lady, I’ll show you what some flat chested little girl can do to you.
Dragon... SLAVE!”
A ray of blood red sizzled
through the sky, directed at the center of the storm. The clouds
parted, revealing sunny sky for a moment as the ray passed harmlessly
through. Lina’s jaw dropped when she saw her spell defeated, and she
quietly melted back into her chair.
“Any other takers?!” the Wind
Princess taunted, “Or shall I destroy you now?”
“Star Serious Laser!”
“Star Sensitive Inferno!”
“Star Gentle Uterus!”
“Star Spiritual Cannon!”
Four attacks of glowing white
light struck the clouds, and for a brief moment the wind and rain
appeared to lessen. These weather conditions increased in potency as
the Wind Princess boomed, “Who DARES to attack me?!”
<music: 'Starlights Introduction'>
“The angel of light who runs
freely...”
“The mother of a new age...”
“Surrounded by the dark denseness
of the night...”
“Heard on the winds of
eternity...”
Lightning struck the towers at
the back of the stage, the lights set atop them shining down upon four
sailor soldiers in black dominatrix outfits, all with very different
hair colors in similar styles.
“Sailor Star Maker...”
“Sailor Star Healer...”
“Sailor Star Fighter....”
“Sailor Star Singer!”
All four struck dramatic poses
before saying, “Sailor Starlights, Stage on!”
“Only four of you against me? How
pathetic!” the Wind Princess hissed, ice crystals joining the snow and
wind in the attack upon the stadium.
“We’ll fight you to the end!” Sailor
Star Singer shouted, her hands glowing. Rings of stars began to spiral
around her wrists as she powered up to attack. “Star Spiritual Cannon!”
She threw her hands up to the
sky, two rays of glowing white energy spiraling from her hands. The two
beams intertwined as they screamed towards the stars above.
“Pathetic,” the Wind Princess
hissed angrily, a shield of ice forming in front of the beam. The
shield absorbed the attack, amplified it, and redirected it back at the
caster with a shower of ice shards added for good measure. Sailor Star
Singer stood up in shock as her own attack was turned against her,
frozen in place with fear.
“Heatwave!”
The temperature in the are around
Sailor Star Singer shot up exponentially, vaporizing the ice shards
while deflecting the attack off to the side. Star Singer looked up to
see Mackenzie, Nick, and the Slayers bounding down the steps from the
audience as people fled from the area.
“Everyone, please remain calm!”
Amelia called out, directing people towards the exits, “Remain in line.
We will make sure you are safe!”
“DIE!” the Wind Princess shouted,
lightning bolts striking the building that people were passing through
to safety. Chunks of brick rained down upon people as one whole wall
collapsed upon the crowd.
<music: ‘Love Destiny’ - Ishida Youko>
Silence filled the air as all
motion ceased. Those in the arena possessing sailor power snapped at
the Wind Princess’ blatant disregard for innocent life. Power items
glowed in sailor colors as powers were activated. As one voice, every
sailor soldier and warrior in the stadium shouted, “TRANSFORM!”
Multiple flashes of colored light
were visible as transformations took effect, infusing those surrounded
by the lights with fantastic powers. Once the lights died away, a large
contingent of warriors stood in the stands, all battle ready.
“Brought forth from the planet of
silence, Saturn, a silent angel, a god of death and rebirth, Warrior
Saturn!”
“We are armor clad defenders of love
and justice. On behalf of the universe, we’ll punish you!”
“Prepare to view my true form!”
the Wind Princess howled, the clouds parting to reveal the princess at
the center of a mass of demons.
“Holy cheeselogs!” Mackenzie
exclaimed, his jaw dropping when he saw her new form, “That’s bloody
insane!”
“That does not look good,” Tina
said, her bracelet activating, changing her outfit to the maid’s
uniform she wore for battle.
“Prepare to die, die, DIE!” the demon
swarm cried as one, multiple heads attached to tentacles racing down
from the sky towards the Slayers and Warriors.
“Earth below me, heed my
command!” Lina chanted, pressing her palm to the ground. A circle of
light formed around Saturn’s feet seconds before a column of rock shot
up from the ground, sending the warrior into the air.
“Lina?!” Saturn exclaimed,
clinging to his glaive for dear life.
“Use that ribbon attack of yours
or that big explosion attack!” Lina called back, “Nuke those monsters!”
“She can’t recall my attack
names, but she knows the effects,” Saturn muttered to himself, the
blade of his glaive humming as he prepared to attack. He spun his
glaive around, bringing the blade up above his head. “Silence
Glaive..... Surprise!”
A globe of energy expanded from where
Saturn was located in the air, tearing through the advancing demons,
beating them back.
“Useless!” the demons cried. Eyes
widened in awe as the globe expanded, disintegrating some of the demon
heads within the energy field. “What?!”
“Not useless,” Saturn said
through gritted teeth, the chaos emeralds in his bracers glowing as
their powers were tapped.
“Regroup on me,” Seifer called to
all involved in the battle. “Celia, prepare for mass teleport!”
“The innocents, or you guys?”
Celia asked over the comm link.
“The innocents. Have healers on
stand by for the injured.”
Large shards of ice formed in the
sky, glittering like thousands of diamonds as they hovered in place,
awaiting the time to attack.
“Diamond Storm!” the demon swarm
cried, the ice shards raining down upon the fields and the people below.
“Now!” Seifer shouted as the
innocent people shimmered and blinked out of existence, having been
teleported away to safety by Celia and the people of Terra.
“No holding back,” Lina said, her
talismans glowing as she cast a boost spell. “Fireball!”
“Galaxia Gun!”
“Cosmic Fire Strike!”
“Lightning Barrage!”
“Queen’s Guard!”
Four attacks of various elements
cut their way through the diamond storm, the flame attacks fizzling
mere inches from their intended target. The lightning attack and
Galaxia Gun found their marks, chewing into the demon mass above.
As the ice shards rained down
upon them a dome of energy formed over their heads, blocking most of
the attack long enough for several levels of barriers to be cast.
“She’s about twenty times
stronger than she originally was,” Warrior Fire Star reported, his VR
visor glowing, “at this rate our defenders will burn out long before we
even make a dent in her HP.”
“Can’t we initiate a united
planet attack?” Warrior Night asked, brushing his fingers through his
hair to push it from his face.
“Only if we had a focus,” Warrior
Saturn sighed, “and that focus would have to be someone from the moon.”
“Like Mike or Serena,” Warrior
Cassiopeia sighed, “neither of whom are here at the moment.”
“Draining Deluge!” echoed through
the area as the snow and ice switched over to purple rain that ate
through their barriers like they were paper.
“We can’t just stand around and
wait to be picked off,” Lina sighed, charging her talisman bracelets,
“Saturn, lend me one of your light weapons.”
“I doubt the Giga Slave would
even dent her,” Saturn sighed, “even the Goddess Giga Strike wouldn’t
affect her. Not at this power level.”
“Miss Lina, we need to do
something fast,” Warrior Cassiopeia said, “the rain has reached my
barrier and is beginning to eat into it.”
Lina sighed, grumbled, and elbow
stomped Saturn. “Baka,” she muttered, snagging the Star Sword from
Saturn’s back, “you have a magic focus of your own. Plus you have chaos
power. On top of that you have the Storm Splinter spell that could
diminish her attack power by some ungodly level. Oh, and you can use
your Silence Glaive to erect a Silence Wall.”
Saturn rubbed his head where Lina
had smacked him, taking time to absorb all that the sorceress had said.
“Somebody do something,” Cassi
said, sweat pouring down her face, “it’s taking all my strength to
maintain the barrier.”
“Saturn, you have to defeat this
force of evil,” Lina said, turning towards the Wind Princess while
summoning the blade of light into being. “You have to help us.”
“Li... Lina?” Saturn asked,
coming out of a fog. For the first time that day he was seeing the big
picture and how all of the smaller pieces fit into it. He realized that
he, too, was one of those key pieces to the puzzle.
“Crimson Rain!” the Wind Princess
howled, cackling as her rain shower changed colors once again to blood
red. Concrete began to smoke the moment rain made contact, and anything
else began to dissolve within seconds.
“Malamyotismon’s attack,” Saturn
grumbled, charging his chaos emeralds, “find some originality for your
attacks, will ya?!”
“And we recall what happened to
him,” Seifer said with a smirk, “go get ‘em tiger.”
A globe of shining silver light formed
in Saturn’s right palm, another globe of dark energy forming in his
left. “Sword of the cold dark void,” he muttered under his breath, a
Ragna Blade forming from the dark globe, “unite your power with the
blade of the shining silver goddess.”
A goddess blade formed from the globe
of light, and he joined both blades at their hilts, a ring of rainbow
light marking a fusion spell. “By your combined strengths I pledge my
life so that my foes will be destroyed. Heaven and earth, sky and
spirit, give me your strength so that I might cleave open the heavens
to end this nightmare!!”
The last couple of lines of the
incantation were yelled as he ran down the steps from the stands to the
field below, spinning the twin blade above his head like a trained
baton twirler or blade singer. He leapt into the air when he reached
the bottom of the steps, a wind spell from Zelgadis pushing him to new
heights.
“Your spell is useless!” the Wind
Princess growled, the surrounding countryside shaking, “Crimson
Thunder!”
A blur of white and gold shot
between the lightning bolts and their intended target, absorbing the
attack before plummeting to the stands below. Saturn glanced down to
see Delwynndwn Siele rise from the ground, his long blond hair matted
to his head from the rain.
“Let her have it!” Del shouted,
giving Saturn a thumbs up. “I’ve got your back!”
Saturn smirked evilly at the Wind
Princess, a green glow surrounding his body as he siphoned energy from
the chaos emeralds into his body for the spell he was casting.
“Storm...” Saturn cried, holding
the twin blades above his head, a long ray of light extending from each
sword. “SPLINTER!” he shouted at the top of his lungs, swinging the
blades in a downward arc, the two rays of light cutting through the air
to strike at the center of the demon mass.
“Now is the time to attack!” Del
shouted as Saturn began his descent towards the ground.
“Crimson Lightning!”
Multiple bolts of blood red lightning
crackled through the air, all directed at Saturn, who was more or less
defenseless during his time in free fall. Lina looked up at Saturn,
then down at Del, before smiling maliciously.
“Mega Brando!” she cried, waving
her arm up and snapping her fingers. A very surprised Del let out a
rather long, “SHIT!” as he achieved escape velocity, appearing between
Saturn and yet another lightning attack, his body glowing as he
absorbed the full onslaught of the attack.
“Tasty,” he remarked, smoke
rising from his now dry hair. He belched and exhaled a long stream of
smoke. “Too heavy on the spice, though.”
“DIE!” the Wind Princess howled,
more lightning filling the air. Del waved his hand over his friends, a
bubble of lightning forming over them. All of the lightning the barrier
absorbed was redirected into his body, where it was stored for future
attacks.
“Don’t you realize your attacks
are useless on me?” Del asked, crossing his arms and legs as he began
his descent. “I absorb lightning. Oh, and incidentally, good-bye.”
He waved at the Wind Princess,
curled into a tight ball, and dropped towards the ground seconds before
Saturn’s chaos powered spell struck its target, cutting through the
storm and half of the combined power of the demons.
“Soul...” Warrior Centaur growled
low in his throat as he notched and drew back a silver arrow. A silvery
glow surrounded the arrow as two globes of silver magic formed in front
of his bow to orbit around the arrow. “ERASER!” he cried, releasing the
glowing arrow. A ray of silver light burst from the air around the
arrow, two more rays orbiting the central beam as they tore through the
air to strike down the Wind Princess.
“She’s wounded, but still going,”
Zelgadis reported as a new hail of crimson lightning filled the sky.
“Which means it’s time for an
ultimate attack,” Del said, a fanged grin crossing his lips, “Miss
Lina, I need you to cast the Dragon Slave.”
“Huh WHAT?!” Lina exclaimed,
nearly falling over, “Didn’t we go over this? She’s still too strong
for it to be effective!”
“Hence the combo attack idea,”
Saturn explained, “just trust him Lina, he knows what he’s doing.”
“Wouldn’t it make more sense for
the two of you to use a Goddess Giga Strike?” Zelgadis asked, “Combined
that with a Soul Eraser, and you get...”
“Goddess Giga Soul Union,” Saturn
and Lina said simultaneously, “You’re bloody brilliant.”
“Remind me to be bad with you
later,” Saturn smirked, picking his glaive back up. The blades at each
end vanished, large blades of light forming in their wake. “Hey Lina,
you recall the incantation?”
“Thought you’d never ask,” Lina
said, smiling a fanged grin as her demons blood talismans glowed a
brilliant blood red. “Glowing golden lord who floats upon an endless
sea of chaos...”
“Come forth and unite your power
with the shining silver goddess of the stars,” Saturn chanted, his
chaos emeralds glowing as wisps of white magic swirled into his glaive.
“An ancient pact between light
and dark, chaos and creation, which must be broken in times so dire,”
both casters spoke as one voice, weapons glowing white and black, a
globe of pitch black and blinding silver - white forming above their
heads.
“I call upon thee and swear my
allegiances to thee! Let the fools who stand before us be destroyed by
the powers you and I possess! Goddess of light and Lord of Nightmares,
come before us and deliver us!”
The two mages leapt into the air,
Saturn gaining more altitude than Lina since his part of the spell
would be the first to be unleashed. “Goddess....”
“Giga...” Lina cried, swinging
her weapon as Saturn swung his, sparks of blackness flying from her
blade.
“STRIKE!” both shouted,
completing the arcs of their swings. The globe above them dissolved
into an intertwining ray of light and dark that joined with Centaur’s
Soul Eraser attack, creating an entirely new spell attack.
“Goddess Giga Soul UNION!” all
three cried as the two outer rays of Centaur’s attack absorbed the
fusion spell and changed colors to blinding silver and jet black. The
beams themselves underwent an awesome transformation, changing into a
pair of roaring dragon heads that sent chills down the spines of those
who heard the cry.
“You haven’t seen the last of
me!” the Wind Princess cried as the attack struck home and detonated,
creating a black hole effect that drew her in. “I’ll be back!”
“Newsflash honey,” Celia said,
appearing near the Wind Princess with Delwynndwn in tow, “Your contract
is up and you’re outta here. Go on Del, give her hell.”
“Thanks for the super charge,”
Del smirked, his eyes glowing white, his hair rising on end as
electricity crackled around him. “Electricity of all types can be
absorbed by me. Oh, and here’s your change. Tempest Strike!”
“Crimson Lightning!”
Those on the ground watched in
shock as Celia and Del were bombarded by a never ending barrage of
blood colored lightning bolts. Celia managed to teleport to safety,
leaving Del to absorb the brunt of the attack.
“Del!” Saturn cried, watching as
his friend was blasted by one of the strongest respawns of any enemy in
the past.
“Go Del, go Del, get up there and
give her hell!” Amelia cheered at the top of her lungs, the hand bells
of Angelic Strength forming in her hands. As she cheered she rang the
bells, unlocking a power she didn’t know she had - the power to inspire
those around her.
“Go Del!” people began to cheer.
“Go Del! Get up there and give her hell!”
“FOOLS!” the Wind Princess
sneered. Even at twenty percent of her strength she was still a force
to be feared. “They can’t hope to win with just you in their corner.”
“Want to make a bet?” Del
sneered, the band holding his hair back melting away, the glow in his
eyes growing brighter. “I think I just reached a new level of power.”
Multiple demon eyes opened wide with
amazement that someone as small as Del could possess such an awesome
power. Del’s body took on a silver glow, a silver aura forming around
his body. The clouds above them grew darker, whirlpools forming in the
dark masses.
“What sort of power is he
packing?” Lina asked, her eyes wide with shock and horror when she
sensed the strength of Del’s impending attack.
“My question is, can he control
it?” Saturn stated, a silence wall forming around them.
“We’ll find out soon enough,” Zel
replied, watching in awe as bolts of lightning split the sky, “He’s
going to attack.”
“Nihilistic...” Del muttered low
in his throat, tornado funnels forming out of the whirlpools of clouds.
“MAELSTROM!” he cried, releasing all of the energy he had accumulated
by throwing his head back and his body rigid. The tornado funnels moved
around the Wind Princess, electricity flowing through the funnels,
turning them into the ideal weather weapon.
The Wind Princess screamed in
pain as the last of her strength was drained away, her demon bodies
disintegrating into dust. A blinding light filled the air as Del
released the last of his energy in one final bolt that set things to
right.
All in the stadium gasped as Del
began to plummet, head first, towards the ground. Before anyone could
cry out, though, Zelgadis took to the air and caught the falling elf,
descending to the others with help from a levitation spell.
“Did... did we really beat her?”
Amelia asked in disbelief.
“I’d say we did,” Lina said,
shielding her eyes as the sun began to break through the clouds.
“Thank you,” a gentler version of
the Wind Princess’ voice said, a ghostly vision forming in front of
them. “Thank you for freeing me of the evil influence.”
“Wind Princess?” Seifer asked.
“Long story,” Nick replied,
“we’ll tell you later.”
“I want to apologize for all of
the rotten things that you had to endure,” the Wind Princess continued,
“I am deeply sorry for all of that and pray you’ll forgive me so that I
can pass on to the next world without this burden on my shoulders.”
“Forgive you?!” Lina growled,
“Why, I oughta....”
“Lina, sit,” Zelgadis commanded,
restraining the redhead, “if anyone should forgive her it should be
those who lost their guardians in the attacks. What of the pain felt by
Mina and Serena and Alex and Reeny? Or Cathy and Jess? We lost all
seven of the guardians in the toughest battle we ever fought as a team.”
“I hope I can make it up to those
people,” the Wind Princess said, waving her hand. A wave of golden
light swept across the pavement in front of her, blinding anyone who
looked directly at it. When the light died away seven cats of various
shapes, sizes, and colors stood with confused looks on their faces. One
thing they shared in common was the golden crescent on their foreheads.
“Star?” Saturn asked tentatively,
taking a step towards a black cat wit ha star shaped white patch on its
forehead.
“Alex?” the cat asked, taking a
step forward, “How long was I out for?”
Tears streamed down Saturn’s face
as he picked Star up and hugged him. “You’re back. You’re finally
back,” the warrior sobbed, “I can’t believe you’re back.”
“Will someone, like, explain
what’s going on?” a cat with fluffy calico fur asked, “Because I’m,
like, totally clueless and lost.”
“Later Tara,” Mackenzie said,
picking the cat up to scratch her behind the ears, “according to Alex,
it’ll be a long story he’ll have to tell many people.”
“No hard feelings?” the Wind
Princess asked hesitantly.
“You brought our guardians back
to us,” Saturn said softly, “for that we’re grateful. I suppose we can
forgive you for your actions, so long as you promise to think long and
hard about this and won’t forget what you learned.”
“Alex,” Nick said, “you know what
you’re doing?”
Saturn turned and favored Nick
with one of his trademark smiles of reassurance. Nick nodded. “You know
what you’re doing.”
“My princess,” a liquid male
voice said from behind the Wind Princess, “all is ready for you.”
“Freezon?” the Wind Princess
asked.
“Yes, my princess, it is I, your
humble servant,” a blob of light said as it formed. Features became
defined, and a moment later a ghostly image of a Darien clone with blue
hair and blue and white clothes standing near an ornately carved door
stood behind the Wind Princess. “Icezer, Chilla, and Frigidera area ll
waiting for you to cross over. Are you ready to go?”
The Wind Princess looked over her
shoulder at Saturn, the Warriors, and the Slayers before nodding. “Yes,
I believe I’m ready to go.”
“Buh-bye,” Celia said, waving as
Freezon led the Wind Princess through the door. “We’ll miss you. Take
care of yourself.”
“Farewell,” the Wind Princess
said, turning once she was through the door to wave to them. “I’ll
never forget you. I wish you the best in life.”
The door then closed and
vanished, and she was gone. Those who had transformed during the fight
reverted to their normal identities, all feeling a little better
knowing the world was a safer place.
“Alex,” a female voice called
from the top of the stairs as a young lady with long brown hair pulled
back in a thick braid, wearing a pink dress and red jacket, skidded to
a stop. She surveyed the storm damaged area and arched an eyebrow.
“What the heck did I miss by being late?”
“We’ll fill you in later Aeris,”
Alex said with a smile and a shrug, “right now we need to tend to some
people and set up a new place for graduation.”
A couple of hours, a quick
relocation and wardrobe change, and a minimum of hassle later the class
of 2001 was taking two for graduation ceremonies. Aeris was seated in
the audience with Alex’s parents and family, as well as the rest of his
friends. When it was his turn to get his diploma and have his picture
taken he blew a kiss to everyone in the stands before giving a victory
sign and a giant grin.
‘I
finally did it,’ he thought as he shook hands with the head of
the Liberal Arts program, ‘I’m now a
graduate.’
“This is the first day of the
rest of your lives!” Vitamin C announced, “So congratulations to all of
you. Now, to bring this to a close, hit it boys.”
<music: ‘The Graduation Song (Friends Forever)’
- Vitamin C>
“And so we talked
all night about the rest of our lives
Where we're gonna be when we turn 25
I keep thinking times will never change
Keep on thinking things will always be the same
But when we leave this year we won't be coming back
No more hanging out cause we're on a different track
And if you got something that you need to say
You better say it right now cause you don't have another day
Cause we're moving on and we can't slow down
These memories are playing like a film without sound
And I keep thinking of that night in June
I didn't know much of love
But it came too soon
And there was me and you
And then we got real cool
Stay at home talking on the telephone with me
We'd get so excited, we'd get so scared
Laughing at our selves thinking life's not fair
And this is how it feels
(1) - As we go on
We remember
All the times we
Had together
And as our lives change
Come whatever
We will still be
Friends Forever
So if we get the big jobs
And we make the big money
When we look back now
Will our jokes still be funny?
Will we still remember everything we learned in school?
Still be trying to break every single rule
Will little brainy Bobby be the stockbroker man?
Can we ever find a job that won't interfere with a tan?
I keep, I keep thinking that it's not goodbye
Keep on thinking it's a time to fly
And this is how it feels
(Repeat 1)
La, la, la, la?
Yeah, yeah, yeah
La, la, la, la?
We will still be friends forever
Will we think about tomorrow like we think about now?
Can we survive it out there?
Can we make it somehow?
I guess I thought that this would never end
And suddenly it's like we're women and men
Will the past be a shadow that will follow us 'round?
Will these memories fade when I leave this town
I keep, I keep thinking that it's not goodbye
Keep on thinking it's a time to fly
(Repeat 1 (3x))
As the song plays a photo montage of Alex and company following the
graduation ceremonies runs. A picture of Alex grinning from ear to ear
and holding his diploma for all to see. A picture of Alex, Tina,
Darren, Dawn, Heather, Will, and Cassi grouped together, arms around
one another. A picture of Alex being pounced upon by Aeries, who hugs
him until he turns blue. A picture of Alex, his sister, and his
parents. A picture of Cassi, Dawn, Darren, Will, and Heather together,
all striking dramatic poses and pointing to their diplomas. A picture
of Jack, Josh, Jason, Alex, and Nate with Celia and Del. A picture of
Jack Josh, and Nate together, all showing off their muscles. A picture
of Alex being pounced by Seifer and Irvine, both of whom give him an
extra long embrace. A picture of Alex and Tina with the Slayers, Zel
being hugged by a relentless Alex, Tina hugging both of the Andrews
brothers. The final picture is a group photo of everyone, friends and
family, Warriors, Slayers, and norms alike, pulled together by one
thing in common - people they loved completing school to begin their
lives in the real world.
-End
“Hey, Alex here, telling you to
stay tuned to more Slayers Fantasy. Gonna be a long summer, and who
knows what can happen when we try to go on vacation. We’re not going
anywhere.... well, scratch that. We’re off to Tina’s cottage in Maine
to celebrate graduation, and a new invisible enemy is causing chaos
across the state and between two worlds. Looks like vacation is gonna
be preempted by a need to save the world. Stay tuned to ‘The Phantom
Menace’ or I’ll really cause some trouble.”