| Slayers |
| Episode 8: HELP! Shabranigdo is Reborn! |
| A peaceful-looking town is seen from far overhead; warm sunlight is wafting through the air, and birds are singing. The mood is a happy one, far different from that of the battles the Slayers has fought through. As the scene zooms in on a market, people are excitedly chattering. Inside a restaurant, Lina slams her hands on the table in finality. "Okay, that's it. I may have skipped some stuff, but that's basically the whole story." Gourry, Zelgadis, Zolf, and Rodimus all look at her in complete disbelief, with sweatdrops included. Lina blinks at them. "What, you don't understand? Should I start over?" Gourry puts his hand to his hand. "Uh, no," he says. "I think the situation is very clear." Rodimus speaks up: "You talk more than anyone I've ever met!" "I do?" Lina asks, for once innocent and oblivious. In unison, the other four nod a "yes". Lina puts her hand behind her head, and giggles sheepishly. "Now that we're all up to date, may I ask you a question?" Zelgadis begins. "Will you give me the Philosopher's Stone?" "Not on your life!" Gourry replies. One of Zelgadis's eyes flash, menacingly. "It'd be a waste to have you use it for revenge." "What?" Zelgadis asks, outraged. He, Rodimus, and Zolf stand in unison. "What?! Gonna start a fight now?" Lina demands. Zelgadis mutters under his breath, and sits back down. Lina and Gourry agree that Zelgadis has about as much chance of getting the Stone as Rezo does. They still don't trust Zelgadis completely. However, Lina doesn't know what Rezo's up to either. "There's more to this than him just wanting his eyes cured," Lina hypothesizes. "What's this Rezo guy up to, really?" Zelgadis hmphs, showing his uncaring. Suddenly, the waiter arrives with a whole lot of food, and Lina goes to the opposite end of the mood spectrum, nearly going insane with joy as she gulps down the food. Barely chewing, she just chugs everything down, and not with much manners, either. "Keep eating like that, and you'll get big," Gourry warns. "And I don't mean in your breasts, either." Now, it's Lina's turn to have her eye shine menacingly. A fork lands and is stuck in the table; it was clearly thrown with great force by Lina. Comically, Gourry and Zelgadis gasp with fright as they look at how close the fork came to hitting them. The mood had changed from serious to completely silly. The scene pans right outside, showing the town. Lina and Company walk out of the restaurant, with Lina happily full, and Gourry rolling his eyes. "Rezo could attack at any minute! You shouldn't be so relaxed," Zolf pointed out in an orderly tone. "Well, excuse me for wanting to relax a little!" Lina snapped back indignantly.\ Right after she says this, Lina suddenly bumps into something, and falls to the ground. The others tense up, ready for battle. However, it's seen that Lina had obviously just bumped into a little kid. "Oh, are you OK?" Lina asked. "Yeah, are you all right?" Gourry echoed. "You can get hurt running into something that bony." Lina muttered an "ahem", and then told the boy to be careful of where he was going next time. At this, Gourry promptly sweatdropped. "Sorry," the boy replied, in a friendly manner. All of a sudden, Gourry gasped. The focus is put on the little boy, and there is a flash of red; the boy is seen half-as if he were about to say something, and half-shocked. Clouds tinted red in the background move behind him, and the boy glows red as well. Lina gasps as the boy turns to solid stone. The mood had turned to dead serious once again. All of the company looked in alarm. "Up there!" Rodimus suddenly announced, looking up at the sky; a silver orb was hovering through the air. "Rezo's sorcery!" Zelgadis said, grimacing. The orb opened up, revealing an eye, and rays of red light shone down on the stone figure of the boy. Near the boy, the figure of Rezo appeared, which Lina recognized immediately. He was only a hologram, glowing blue as he faced them. "Forgive my absence, dear friends," he said. He asked them to give him the Philosopher's Stone, once again, which Lina promptly refused. Rezo, in turn, still refused to tell them his true objectives. "Ah, such hostility toward me, even though I intend to pay for it," Rezo announced clearly, referring to the Stone. "Oh? And what could be worth the price of the Philosopher's Stone?" Zelgadis challenged Rezo. Rezo put his hand to his chin, as if in thought, and then spread his hands in a shrug as he replied, "What, indeed? Well... The lives of everyone in this village. Would that be worth it?" The Slayers gasped at his cruelty, but Rezo merely continued, "I imagine turning them all to stone like this boy would be quite artistic." "Are you mad??" Zelgadis demanded. Rezo then announced that if they would like to make a deal, then they should go to his tower; Zelgadis would know the way. With that, his holographic form glowed an even more demonic red than his surroundings, and then, Rezo vanished. Zelgadis cursed Rezo, and then threw his dagger at Rezo's disappearing image. The dagger went through Rezo, and then hit the pupil of the eye projecting the image, dead center. Glowing red magical energy in the form of tiny dots spilled down from the broken eye like fallen fireflies. Lina looked on, to where Rezo used to be, in a determined, serious way. "What do we do now, Lina?" Zelgadis asked. "We're just going to have to play along with him," Lina replied decisively. "He's not going to stop here. He's going to want to kill people in other villages too. It's like he's taken an infinite number of hostages." Lina continued to look forward, and then up, as the last bit of red energy vanished, and the sky returned to normal. "Hey, what's with you guys?" a voice asked, and Lina looked down to see the little boy, alive and well. She gasped in surprise, and then smiled in realization, and shook her head. "No, it's nothing. It's getting late. You'd better get along home." The boy nodded his head, and then bid them a fond farewell, as he ran away from them. "You really intend to deal with Rezo?" Zelgadis asked. "Oh, I don't know, what's the harm in just talking to him?" Zelgadis, however, replied that Rezo wasn't one to listen to reason. The scene pans up, and the Slayers are seen within a crystal ball, and Rezo has hands over it. "So, what will you do now?" he asked, ominously, "Lina Inverse?" He's seen on the top of a large rock structure, and, as the scene pans out, a huge tower is seen against a black and dark purple sky. The scene shifts to that of peaceful night. Zelgadis trains in his room in an inn, swinging his sword with ferocity. Rodimus, in his room, is meditating to clear his mind. Meanwhile, Zolf is simply looking out the window at the sky. "It's a bad moon," he said, as the sky darkened a bit. Gourry, as to be expected, is asleep, but he suddenly sits up. "Huh? Oh yeah, I agree perfectly..." he murmurs in his sleep, and then drops back down. Lina, in her room, looks at the Orihalcon statue. All of a sudden, she sneezes, and reacts awkwardly to it. The next day, Lina, Gourry, Rodimus, Zolf, and Zelgadis are seen walking again, with a gray sky above them. "Aren't we at Rezo's tower yet?" Gourry asked. "We should be able to see it soon," Zelgadis replied. When Lina asked what it looked like, Zelgadis replied that it was mostly just empty space until the top floor; the tower looked to have been built a thousand years ago. "A thousand years? That would be about the time Shabranigdo was reborn in the War of the Monsters' Fall," Lina commented. "So it may seem," Zelgadis replied. "There, you can see it now." Lina looked up, and in the far distance, the ominous tower is seen. Close up, thunder rumbles at the very top, and the scene pans downwards to the bottom. Inside the tower, the door opens, and Lina & Company walk in. The mood is once again a tense one, but now even more so than before. They slowly walk through the hall, and thunder rumbles again. Lina demands that Rezo show himself, since they had arrived. Rezo's form materialized some distance in front of them. "Rezo!" Gourry yelled, reaching for his sword. "No, another phantom, like before," Lina replied, stopping him. "I bid you all welcome," Rezo announced. The scene is now seen behind Rezo, as he gazes down at the Slayers. "Have you no honor?!" Zelgadis asked. "Forgive this form I've taken, but I am occupied at present," Rezo replied. The focus switches to Lina, and she announces that she has brought the Orihalcon statue. She reaches into her bag, and brings it out, proving it. "I'd prefer to give it to you in person, and ask you something," she requested. Rezo agreed. "Forgive me, but would you please come to the top of the tower?" he asked, and suddenly, the holographic form glowed red again, and then shot upwards faster than anything could move. The Slayers stood at the foot of a staircase, and Lina gasped as she looked upward. A tiny glowing object that looked like a star could be seen above a seemingly infinite flight of stairs that wound around the tower endlessly in circles, and rafters everywhere doubly supported the structure. "That's gonna be a pain to climb," Lina decided, and cast a Levitation spell, while Zelgadis, Zolf, and Rodimus in turn cast their own. Gourry looked on in alarm, and Lina hovered down next to Gourry. "Hang on tight, Gourry. We're going up," she announced. Gourry grimaced, looking worried. Zelgadis, Zolf, and Rodimus are seen levitating high above, going past all the staircases and rafters. Lina passes them in the foreground, with Gourry seen holding onto her waist. He nervously glances down again, still with the same worried look. "I can't fall, can I?" he asked. "Hey, you get weird on me, and I drop you!" Lina replied, still looking ahead. At this, Gourry panicked, and fumbled around in the air, suddenly grabbing hold of Lina's chest. Lina gasped in embarrassment, and yelled at Gourry very angrily. "Help, I'm falling!" Gourry shouted, oblivious to Lina, and still flailing around. Zelgadis, Zolf, and Rodimus were already up at the top of the tower by now, and they looked as Lina landed with the clutching Gourry. Gourry still had his head down, yelling about how he was falling. "We've landed," Lina announced, exasperated. Clenching her fists, she kicked Gourry away hard as she yelled, "Are you just gonna hang onto me the whole day?!" she screamed. "You're blushing," Zelgadis stated simply. "Who asked you??" Lina shouted back. Twin doors are seen on the inside of a room, and Lina opens them, entering, along with everyone else. Inside, the true Rezo is sitting at the end of a table, and candles are lit all along the table. "I've been waiting for you, my dear friends," he says. "Looks like he's real this time," Lina muttered. The mood was tight once more. Lina showed Rezo the Orihalcon statue, to which Rezo responded, "Will you give it to me, then?" "Oh, it's not gonna be that easy!" Lina replied. Rezo, amused, asked if they thought they could defeat him there. "Oh, there's a couple of things I want to ask you," Lina replied. "Answer them or I'll blow this thing to smithereens right here," she claimed, pointing to the statue. Cutting right to the chase, she asked what he wanted the Stone for. "Didn't Zelgadis already tell you?" the Red Priest asked. "That line about curing your blindness?" Lina asked back. "I could explain it to you, but you wouldn't understand," Rezo replied, his eyes darkening." "Even accepting that, it still doesn't explain something," Lina replied, flashing back to the now-distant memory of when they'd first met Rezo. "Why didn't you tell me the truth when we first met?!" In the flashback, Lina was exclaiming about how Zelgadis wanted to resurrect Shabranigdo, and destroy the world, with Rezo deceiving her. Then, another flashback showed Dilgear with his dozens of minions about to fight them, and when Lina fought against Zorom. In the present, Lina asked, as the flashback ended, "What were you doing when you sent Dilgear and that Monster out after us? If you really wanted the Stone, it would've been quicker to come after us yourself... or did you have something else to do?" As Lina finished speaking, she held up the Orihalcon statue, and it glinted in the light. Rezo looked back, and grimaced. Obviously, something had been found out. "What do you really want it for?" Zelgadis asked. "Maybe you do want to cure your eyes, but it's the method of doing it that has me nervous," Lina continued. Gourry, meanwhile, was completely unsure of what was going on. "Well, hang on! I'm getting to the conclusion!" Lina yelled at him, as Gourry turned chibi and started flailing about in defense. "And what is your conclusion?" Rezo asked, in control once more. "Your deal with that monster... You get your sight in exchange for..." Lina began, "resurrecting Shabranigdo, Dark Lord of the Monster race!" Zelgadis, Zolf, and Rodimus gasped in alarm. "Correct?" Lina asked, performing a little curtsy as she finished. Rezo looked on in silence, though he was smiling. "SHABRANIGDO??? He's that main monster guy!" Gourry exclaimed, popping up into the foreground. "That's why you couldn't tell us the truth, and why you had to spend so much time preparing to do it," Lina finished. "I don't believe it!" Zolf exclaimed. Rezo laughed. "Well done! A brilliant case of deduction!" he complimented Lina, clapping his hands. "It's all exactly as you suppose." With that, each one of the Slayers is seen in a single moment of cold realization. The mood gets even darker and more pressing with the statement. "Resurrecting Shabranigdo is the cure for my blindness!" Rezo exclaimed wildly, his face looking evil. Although the Slayers thought this was crazy, Rezo continued to explain that when the power of man is insufficient, the power of the Gods or the Monsters must be sought, and the power of the Dark Lord is greatest of all. Lina looked on is disbelief, and a chibi-form of her popped up in her thoughts. "I was half-guessing! I didn't expect it all to be true!" it exclaimed. "Anyway, now that we know that," Lina continued, "I can't let you have this!" With that, she pointed to the Orihalcon Statue, and prepared to destroy it right there. "We'll see," the Red Priest replied, and as he brought his staff up, and then back down, the familiar eerie ringing sounded everywhere. "Life born of hardest stone, formed of weak flesh," Rezo began, glowing red, and the mood dampening even more. The background around him turned to that of chaos and darkness. Zelgadis grimaced, and an internal struggle began to take place. As Rezo finished the spell, he said, "and become mine!" Lina gaped as Zelgadis let out a yell. Once more ringing his staff as he thrust it forwards, Rezo exclaimed, "Now dance, my loyal puppet!" Gourry looked on in horror, and Zelgadis's eyes glowed a demon red as he went to attack Lina. He ran up, and hit her hard in the stomach, causing Lina to let out a gasp as she dropped the Orihalcon statue. Rezo's magic instantly encased it in a bubble, and brought it back to the Red Priest. After retrieving it, he said, "Now then, be so kind as to play with these people here." His staff was rung once more, and Zelgadis, under Rezo's total control, drew his sword as quick as lightning, and dashed towards the Slayers to attack them. The battle had begun. Meanwhile, Rezo exited through a secret passage in the wall. "He's going to resurrect Shabranigdo!" Rodimus exclaimed, as they furiously tried to get past Zelgadis. Gourry leaped over to the door, but Zelgadis was quicker, and blocked his way with his sword. Meanwhile, Rezo ran through a dark tunnel. "Zelgadis, buy me the time I need," he whispered, as he came upon a room with a huge circle all around it. Many strange symbols were engraved in it. Rezo walked up onto it, and the Orihalcon statue he was holding simply vanished with his magic, and the Stone appeared. "At last, the true Philosopher's Stone!" Rezo exclaimed with glee. "With this..." Rezo held up his staff, and fired a red blast at the Stone. The Stone blazed with electricity, and then energy shot everywhere, illuminating the circle so that every symbol and perfect detail shone with light. It's seen that Rezo is at the direct center of the circle; all was ready. A sword swung through the air, and Zelgadis hollered as his sword met Rodimus's axe. "Master Zelgadis!" Rodimus exclaimed, helpless to what to do. "What's wrong with him?" Gourry asked. "Leave this to me!" Lina replied, rolling up her sleeves. "I'll settle this in one shot." With that, Lina ran up to Zelgadis, and fired a Diem Wing right in his face. Zelgadis let out a groan as he was thrown backwards, smashing into the rock wall behind him. "WAKE UP!!" Lina yelled, running up behind him, and then kicking him in the back. Once more, Zelgadis was thrown forward, and then he hit the ground. "What happened?" he asked, half-awake. "TAKE THIS!" Lina shouted again, and then hit him hard in the head. Gourry gaped. "I thought he was back to normal!" he said, as Rodimus and Zolf rushed to Zelgadis's side. "What happened to me?" he asked. "You were under Rezo's control," Lina explained, and then they set off on their task, no more time having to waste. They went through the doorway Rezo had gone through, and then through the tunnel. When they arrived at the doorway, Lina gasped and shielded her eyes as large winds blew everywhere.. "What a huge magic circle!" Zolf exclaimed, as smoke swirled around every smaller circle within. Rezo is seen standing at the very center, as he was before. "Shabranigdo! The time of your rebirth has come!" Rezo yelled, his hands held upwards toward the sky, and red energy beaming down in all directions around him. As the ritual took place, the Stone which the red energy surrounded suddenly snapped. "What the...?" Rezo gasped. "Has he failed?" Zolf asked. "No! He hasn't!" Lina yelled over the strong winds. "The power here is getting stronger!" In the very center of the circle, Rezo was crackling with red energy, and dark purple smoke was surrounding his feet. Red lightning shot upwards and away from him as well. The very room's air had darkened to black chaos. "Were we too late?!" Zelgadis asked, looking into the gloom and darkness. Rezo looked downwards, grimacing, and then, suddenly, he turned his head upwards and yelled. "He was wrong!" Lina exclaimed suddenly. Rezo, oblivious, now laughed with great joy and power. His goal had been accomplished, and red energy blazed and shot everywhere from his eyes. "At last! I've done it at last!" he exclaimed, and laughed even louder. After an eternity of frustration, his blindness was gone. All of a sudden, he gasped, and covered his eyes with his hands, and then his whole body leaned backwards as he let out a yell of pain. As he continued to yell in agony, Lina continued, "This tower isn't where Shabranigdo is sealed at all! This is only the place for the ceremony! The Dark Lord... The Dark Lord is sealed within Rezo's own eyes!" As Lina continued to look on, Rezo let out louder yells of torture, and white energy shot out from him in beams. "The Dark Lord is being reborn!" Lina realized. The room blazed red and white, and Rezo's form took on a pure white as it shifted and turned, about to form into the most horrible being imaginable. His shouts echoed everywhere, and his shapeless form continued to twist in pain. Shabranigdo was going to be reborn. |
| Overall Episode: 8 |
| Episode 1 of Video 3 |
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