Garrett was feeling just a bit snippy. There he sat in an open clearing...as bait for Shabranigdo. Lina, Gourry, Zelgadis, and Amelia stood off to one side, ready to pull Garrett back at the last possible moment. Kylie, Eduardo, and Roland stood to the other side, ready with their proton guns. Garrett soon began to hear the telltale footfalls of the Dark Lord. "Oh boy," he thought to himself, "I just hope God's ready to meet me!"
The ground under Kylie's feet began to shake as Shabranigdo got closer. The only thing Kylie was really afraid of was that Lina her friends wouldn't be able to pull Garrett back in time. But Kylie forced that thought out of her head. This WOULD work...
* * * * *
Lina chewed absently on her fingernail. She was apprehensive. The last time she'd fought Shabranigdo, it had taken the Giga Slave to defeat him. But she wasn't sure she wanted to risk this world for her own gain. If they Slayers lost this fight, it was not their homes that were in danger, but a whole world full of innocents. For perhaps the first time, Lina felt a little bit reluctant to throw out such a powerful spell.
Zelgadis stood next to his long-time friend and ally Lina and looked at her face. Her features were twisted into a frown of confusion, so Zel approached her with a question.
"Lina, what's on your mind?"
"Huh? Oh, nothing Zelgadis, nothing. I was just thinking," she replied distractedly.
"Uh, huh, sure Lina and I'm Prince Phil. Now come on, tell me what it is...maybe I can help," Zelgadis put his stone hand on his best friend's shoulder.
"No Zel, I don't think you'll be able to understand this one...because I don't even understand it myself!" Lina snapped.
"Well, you just looked sad, is all. I'm sorry if I bothered you," Zel said, sounding just a bit hurt. He turned slowly and walked away.
Lina silently admonished herself for being so rude and continued thinking. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Kylie talking to Gourry. She decided to watch them for awhile to see what was up. Lina was horrified when Gourry took the girl's chin, tilted it up, and kissed her soundly on the lips. Lina's eyes narrowed with anger. She suddenly felt silly. After all, it wasn't like she and Gourry were anything special...but then, why did she feel so depressed. But either way, the Dark Lord was getting closer, so it was time to push all those thoughts out of her head. Lina nerved herself and stood to go talk to Kylie.
"Lina wait!" Eduardo called. Lina spun on her heal and ran smack into his chest. She looked up to see his eyes. He smiled warmly and kissed her. Her heart jumped and she stepped back to breathe.
"What was that for?" she demanded.
"Good luck for both of us!" he grinned and retreated to his assigned post.
Lina sighed and continued on her way to talk to Kylie.
"Hey, Kylie. Can I talk to you for a minute?" Lina said, gathering her wits.
"Sure. What's up?" Kylie answered, turning her head to face the red-haired sorceress.
"Kylie, I'll be blunt. Last time I fought Shabranigdo, it took a Giga Slave to defeat him. And then it only worked with the Sword of Light! There's no telling if I can pull it off or not. And if I fail, your world might be destroyed. So I'm asking you to speak on behalf of your world...would you be willing to risk it all?" Lina asked, staring at the almost mirror image of herself.
"Yes, Lina. But only on one condition... that you teach me the spell too," Kylie set her face with grim determination.
"But I can't! You don't even know the fundamentals of magic!" Lina protested.
"Au contraire, Lina. I happen to be well versed in the language of magic. I have been studying it since I was fifteen, and I know all the rudimentary spells. If you wanna make sure the Giga Slave works, let me help you. Quick now, tell me. The Dark Lord's getting closer. I can almost smell him," Kylie said, silencing any argument before if might arise.
Lina knew when she'd been beaten so she agreed, "Alright Kylie...you win. Here it is." She reached into her pouch and produced a piece of paper containing the age-old spell and handed it to Kylie saying, "Here, memorize it and give your proton gun to someone else. If we're gonna do this, we still need him immobilized." Having said that, Lina Inverse turned away to prepare herself for battle.
* * * * *
How dare he! How dare Eduardo kiss Lina like that! She was every bit as good as Lina...and she loved Eduardo. Why did Lina have to take him away from her? Kylie shook her head in shame. The reason was that she had never claimed him for herself. Eduardo could only wait so long. Kylie set her mind to the task of memorizing the spell and pushed Eduardo to the back of her mind.
Eduardo silently stared at Kylie. He wondered what she was doing with that little piece of paper. What had Lina given her that was so interesting? With some great effort, Eddie resisted the urge to go talk to her. The vibrations from the Dark Lord's footsteps were becoming stronger and louder. Eduardo began to smell the stench of death as Shabranigdo drew ever closer. This was to be the Ghostbusters' shining hour. It was do or die, and Eduardo much preferred the do.
* * * * *
Garrett sweated in his chair. He really hoped his friends would haul him back in time. As the dark shape loomed closer, Garrett began to shake. He started to pray.
Kylie saw the visible signs of fear on each of her comrades' faces, especially poor Garrett. This was not his day. She had traded Gourry her gun for his Sword of Light and gone to join Lina in a small grove of trees. Roland was across the field, patiently explaining to Gourry how the gun worked. Eduardo sat nearby, brooding about something, and she was about to pee in her panties. She shook her head to clear the fear, but no matter what she did, she couldn't shake it.
Lina's hands shook, but she didn't know why. After all, she'd beaten Shabranigdo before! Of course, maybe it wasn't the Dark Lord she feared at all, but the Giga Slave spell she had to use against him. As Lina pondered this, Shabranigdo appeared before them, ready to eat Garrett whole.
* * * * *
At the last possible second, Gourry, Lina, Amelia, and Zelgadis hauled back on Garrett's rope. Garrett and Roland opened fire on the creature, setting their proton guns to maximum force. Eduardo followed suit. Lina and her friends hurled powerful spells at Shabranigdo to keep him distracted.
Zelgadis marveled at how long it'd been since something humorous had happened. Of course, about one minute after he mentioned this to Lina, Gourry Gabriev tried to use the proton gun. The huge swordsman looked extremely comical with the tiny gun and the utterly confused look on his face was priceless. Lina and Zel looked at each other and then, in true character, burst out laughing.
* * * * *
Kylie stared incredulously at the laughing pair. Shabranigdo fought hard to break free of the proton stream, but Kylie kept encouraging her teammates to fight on. She looked around and saw that this battle was not being fought alone. As she had expected, there was a helicopter overhead attempting to get coverage of the situation. The spells Lina and her friends were using were far from effective and in fact only served to agitate the Dark Lord. All this and those two could be laughing? But then she saw Gourry and she almost lost it. It was rather funny to see.
As the battle drew to a stalemate, Kylie and Lina realized that the only thing left was the Giga Slave. But to do that would mean risking everything. Literally. Kylie sucked in a sharp, frightened breath as she noticed a single tendril escape the force field.
"Lina!" she hissed, "It's now or never! Let's do it!" Kylie grabbed the red-haired sorceress by the shoulder and pulled her to her feet.
Lina nodded firmly, "Okay, Kylie. I warned you of the dangers and I guess I'm as ready as I'll ever be," she said to Kylie. Then she turned to Amelia and shouted, "Hey Amelia! Shield us with a Ray Wing, now!" And with that, she and Kylie advanced into the clearing.
* * * * *
"Darkness beyond blackness, deeper that the darkest night..." Kylie and Lina chanted in contralto unison, "King of Darkness who shines like gold along the sea of chaos. I swear allegiance to thee and I call upon the."
Eduardo's throat went taut. Not Kylie, NO. "KYLIEEEEE!!!!!!" Eduardo screamed as he watched her, unable to help in any way. He felt so helpless.
At the same moment, Gourry had spotted Lina. No wonder Kylie had asked for the sword. He chewed his lip in apprehension. He saw a flash of light and could hold back no longer, "LINA NOOOOOOOO!!!!!!"
* * * * *
Kylie and Lina were oblivious to everything as they finished the spell, "Let the fool who stands before me be destroyed... GIGA SLAVE!!!"
To be continued...