Lina watched the thing that called itself Dalgar cautiously. She had faced Monsters many times before, but that didn’t make defeating one any easier. A Dragon Slave would more than likely be enough, but they were still in the middle of a town. Smaller spells might work. She couldn’t be sure until she knew the full power of her opponent.
She began to prep a fireball spell in order to test the Monsters strength, but Ranma was suddenly engaging it in combat. Gaping at him, she wondered what kind of idiot fought a Monster head on and unarmed. Then she remembered that Ranma wasn’t familiar with what a Monster was. "Get away from him Ranma!" she shouted.
Ranma either didn’t hear her or chose to ignore her because he continued his attack. She watched in amazement as he deftly dodged the large black sword and tried to strike at his foe. Unfortunately the few blows he got through didn’t seem to do much more than dent the creatures armor. A backhand to Ranma’s jaw sent him back into the air to land a few feet away from her. Amelia was at his side almost instantly.
"Are you hurt Mr. Ranma?"
The martial artist regained his feet quickly. "Only my pride. What is that guy?"
"A Monster," answered Lina. "A creature from another plane of existence. He and others like him have incredible power that no human can hope to match with conventional attacks. Not even you."
Ranma made an unintelligible grunt and she knew he would probably attack again given half a chance. She decided not to give him that chance. Once again her attempt at a spell was disrupted though. This time by Serena.
"Moon Scepter Activation!" The blast from the girl’s wand shot forward, but the Monster simply raised its blade and the attack shattered on its darkness. "Y…you can’t do that," she stammered in shock. Laughter was Dalgar’s only response.
Whatever power the girl had gained from her strange transformation, it wasn’t enough to even slow the Monster. That meant that it was finally her turn to try. "Fireball!" Once again he simply raised his blade to block. This time however, the attack was reflected back at her. With a startled squawk, she threw herself out of the way of the burning sphere.
She closed her eyes as the explosion from the reflected attack sent rock and dirt flying in every direction. When she opened them again, Gourry was standing over her protectively. Slowly she got to her feet and began trying to locate the Monster. It wasn’t hard since he hadn’t moved from where he had been standing. He had every right to be confident, but this was pushing it.
"You’re up Gourry," she said to the swordsman’s back. His only response was to move from a defensive position to one from which he could attack. The Sword of Light hummed softly in his hand.
"Are you going to try and match swords with me little human?" taunted Dalgar.
"Yep," answered Gourry completely missing the sarcasm in the question. He ran towards the Monster and attacked with an upward swing that was blocked by the dark sword. When the two blades connected, there was a thunderclap and lightning arced high into the air. The force of their meeting threw both fighters back.
"So," began Dalgar, "that is what happens when Sword of Night meets Sword of Light. I had expected something a little more grand."
Lina gaped at the Monster and his blade. Unlike the Sword of Light, there had been no eyewitness reports of its darker sibling. The only place it was mentioned regularly was in the manuscripts relating the war between Shabranigdo and the Water Dragon King. Then it had been wielded by one of the dark god’s generals. To find it now in the hands of a Monster was both frightening and exciting.
Zelgadiss stepped up next to her as she watched Gourry once again engage the Monster. "If that sword is what he claims it to be than I believe a hasty retreat is in order."
"What’s the Sword of Night?" asked Amelia. Lina looked at her and saw that everyone except Gourry was standing close by watching the fight and waiting to hear her explanation.
"The Sword of Night is the opposing force of the Sword of Light. While the Sword of Light absorbs magic and uses it to enhance itself or the user, the Sword of Night reflects or destroys magic. Besides the fact that they’re both about equal in power, that’s all I know."
Zelgadiss nodded in agreement of what she had said. "With such a powerful blade in the hands of a Monster we stand little chance of beating him without a plan."
"You don’t intend to run away and leave the people of this town to this monster do you?" asked Serena indignantly.
"It doesn’t care about the people here," stated Ranma. "It only wants me and Lina. You know, he’s holding his own now, but he’s beginning to get tired."
Lina realized that he was talking about Gourry and saw that he was right. "My Dragon Slave has a chance of stopping him, but we have to get away from here to use it. Zel, Amelia, the Rah Tilt might stand a chance too, so we’ll use that to cover our retreat. If it doesn’t work then Dalgar should follow us. When he does we need to find a way to keep him from blocking my attack."
"Leave that to me," said Ranma cracking his knuckles. "I’m still not done with this guy yet."
"Fine, but make sure you’re not near him when I launch my spell. Everybody ready?" They all nodded. "Good. Zel, Amelia, go! Gourry! Down the middle!"
Both sorcerers launched their most powerful spell, and Gourry threw himself to the side moments before they impacted on the Monster. Seconds later they were all running as fast as they could in the opposite direction. Glancing over her shoulder to see if the Rah Tilt had worked, Lina saw Dalgar striding after them.
"He shattered it," exclaimed a shocked Zel. "That sword of his shattered the most powerful spell white magic has to offer."
"Let’s hope he can’t do that with black magic’s most powerful spell." Looking over her shoulder again, Lina saw the Monster raise his sword high over head and bring it crashing down to the ground. The earth split before the blade and tremors spread out like shock waves, ripping the ground apart. "We have to go airborne," she shouted. "Levitation!" She grabbed Gourry and soared up into the air.
Lina had expected that someone would have to grab Serena and Ranma as well, but she was surprised to see them bounding through the treetops. To her amazement they were easily keeping pace with her flying, which was much faster than the average person could run. She wondered where they had obtained such speed and stamina.
"You think you can escape me so easily," bellowed the Monster. Suddenly lightning split the clear sky, and she and the others were forced to land in a small clearing. Ranma and Serena joined them there.
"This is far enough," she stated. "You guys keep him busy while I cast my spell. And remember Ranma, don’t be anywhere near him when I cast it."
"Yeah, yeah. I’ll be fine."
Before Lina could say anything else, several trees parted and Dalgar stepped into the clearing. "Decided to stand and fight eh? Better for you if you had continued running." The sword in his hands glowed with a dark light.
Ranma stepped forward looking cockier than ever. "I don’t think we finished what we started."
Dalgar smiled revealing rows of sharp teeth. "Than let us finish it human."
"Right!" The martial artist charged and attacked head on. It amazed her that even knowing what he was facing Ranma showed no fear in his attack.
"You guys need to warn him when to move." The others nodded. With Ranma engaging toe to toe with big and ugly, there was no room for anyone else. "Darkness beyond twilight, crimson beyond blood that flows," she began. "Buried in the flow of time." Ranma moved between Dalgar’s strikes as if dancing. He did little attacking, content to simply dodge. "In thy great name I pledge myself to darkness." Ranma jumped over a sword swing and managed to get in a head strike. It didn’t do much to faze the Monster. "All the fools who stand in our way shall be destroyed…"
"Now Ranma!" shouted Zelgadiss. Ranma whirled in mid-air and kicked the elbow of Dalgar’s sword arm. The Monster roared in pain and his arm and blade fell limply to his side. Ranma turned to run, but Dalgar lashed out with his foot, tripping the martial artist.
"No!" screamed Serena. She launched herself forward to try and save him.
Lina was oblivious to all of this. "…by the power you and I possess. Dragon Slave!" Even as she fired her spell she saw Serena rush to stand over Ranma. She tried to halt the attack, but it was too late. The blast shot towards its target at full speed.
Moments before the blast connected, she saw Dalgar move to try and put his blade between himself and the spell. He partially succeeded, but the attack still hit him. There was a massive explosion and she saw Serena throw her hands up before her even as the magic swept over the two people. The blast devastated the clearing and most of the surrounding area and when it was over an uneasy hush settled over the group.
"Ms. Serena? Mr. Ranma?" mumbled Amelia in a tear-choked voice.
Lina hung her head. "I told him to get out of the way."
"Look!" exclaimed Gourry, pointing to where the smoke from the explosion was slowly dissipating. Lina looked up and saw Serena standing over Ranma on an undamaged patch of ground surrounded by devastation. A crystal set in the brooch on her chest was glowing brilliantly and the billowing smoke marked the clear dome that surrounded the two.
"They’re alive," exclaimed Amelia. Serena collapsed to one knee and everyone ran towards the two. "Are you okay?" asked a worried Amelia as she kneeled down next to a tired looking Serena.
"I’ll be fine. It just took a lot of energy to maintain that shield."
"And exactly how did you generate said shield?" asked Lina kneeling down next to the strange pair.
Before she could get her answer, Ranma jumped to his feet and stomped over to look down on her. "What the hell was that thing?" he demanded.
Lina smiled. "That was my one shot, sure kill, Dragon Slave spell. Guaranteed to work every time."
"Yeah? Well, you almost got me killed! And you didn’t get Dalgar with that blast either."
"What?" she exclaimed jumping to her feet. She searched the area for any sign of the Monster, but found none. "I don’t see him. How do you know he survived?"
"Right before your spell hit I saw him slip through some hole in the air. I think you managed to hurt him before he got away though."
She and Zel exchanged glances. "Probably a warp spell of some type," muttered the chimera. "Very powerful."
"Anyway," she said turning back to Serena, "enough about big and ugly for the moment. What’s with this crystal doodad you have there?"
"The Imperium Silver Crystal is where I get my power. It also has powers of its own," she stated gesturing to the clear area her shield had protected.
There was a sparkle in Lina’s eye. "Is it really powerful?" The girl nodded and the sparkle got brighter. "Can I have it?"
Serena looked shocked. "No!"
"Why not? Didn’t I just save your butt?"
"Yours too."
Before Lina could argue her point anymore, Amelia stepped between the two. "How can you ask her to give up her power source Ms. Lina. It’s what she uses to defend love and justice with. And it gives her this really cool costume to fight in too."
"That reminds me," said Zel. "What’s with the costume and sudden power increase anyway?"
Serena sighed. "Where I come from I’m a Sailor Scout, a defender of justice. There are only six of us and we fight to protect the Earth from the evils that threaten it. I’m Sailor Moon. The others are Sailor Mercury, Sailor Mars, Sailor Jupiter, Sailor Venus, and," she gestured to Ranma, "Sailor Sol."
Everyone looked from Ranma to the costume Serena was wearing and back again. Lina began to snicker. "You mean you…" She couldn’t continue and simply gestured at the skimpy outfit.
"Hey shut up! I do it only when I’m a girl okay! It’s not like I asked for it."
Amelia crossed her arms beneath her breasts and glared at Lina. "Well I think it’s very noble of Mr. Ranma to fight for justice as a Sailor Scout. You shouldn’t be teasing him about it."
Lina just shook her head. These were strange people indeed. Looking around at the company she kept, she decided that maybe they weren’t so out of place here. "Forget about it. We have more important things to talk about. If Dalgar did survive than he’s bound to come after us again. In that case our only real option is to find him first." Ranma nodded his agreement at her pronouncement, but the others stared at her as if she had gone crazy.
"You want to hunt a monster?" asked Zel in an amazed tone of voice. She nodded. "Why?"
"Because I don’t enjoy being hunted. And because now he knows he can’t go head to head with all of us, which means he’ll be using more cautious measures. Being attacked in my sleep doesn’t really appeal to me."
"Okay then, how do you intend to find him? It’s not like you can simply ask people where he’s living."
Lina smiled. "Lord Koldan lives in the city of Haggen, about a months travel from here. If we find him than we find Dalgar. Guaranteed."
Zelgadiss finally relented with a sigh. "Fine, we go monster hunting. It won’t be the first time I followed you into something stupid." Turning on his heel, he headed back to town.
Lina turned to Ranma and Serena. "What about you guys?"
Ranma put on a cocky grin. "I said I’d help you deal with this guy didn’t I. Besides, I still intend to beat that Monster guy senseless."
With Amelia’s help, a shaky Sailor Moon got to her feet. "At the moment I’ve got nothing better to do so I’ll go. Besides, you’re our only chance to get home so we have to keep you safe."
She laughed. "I don’t think there’s any such thing as safe for this group." Three heads nodded in agreement. "Okay then, tomorrow we head to Haggen. But now it’s time for dinner!" This statement perked everyone up and the semi merry group headed back to town. Gourry, who had been asleep through the entire discussion, was left behind and didn’t get back to town until late that night.
Ranma studied the town they were slowly approaching. Even bathed in the light of the setting sun it still looked like every other town they had passed through over the last month, only bigger. More of a city than a town he supposed. The city of Haggen. The city where Koldan was supposed to live.
He turned his attention away from the city to study the strange group he was traveling with. Lina and Gourry were rapidly moving away from the others, the promise of food pulling them towards the city like a magnet. It was obvious that Zelgadiss would have liked to join them, but his dignity kept him from dashing ahead like a child.
Amelia was walking next to Serena talking at the taller girl about something or another and apparently completely oblivious to the city ahead. Serena nodded appreciatively at whatever was being said, but her gaze, along with most of her attention, rested on the city. He knew that she too wanted to go charging into the city along with Gourry and Lina. Only politeness toward the girl next to her kept her from running off. His own stomach growled quietly, reminding him that a little food wouldn’t go amiss right now.
The month long trip from Baicho to Haggen had started out fairly well. They had stocked the needed supplies, food mainly, and had started out the day after defeating Dalgar. Villages had been frequent for the first two and a half weeks of their journey and they had had many opportunities to refill their always rapidly depleting food supply. Somewhere along the way he had even found someone who could recreate the Chinese clothing he was so fond of. Needing new clothing herself, Serena now had something similar to what Amelia wore. She had foregone the cape though, and a small golden crescent adorned her left breast with its larger twin decorating her back. Those had been Amelia’s idea.
Every evening when they would stop for the night, Ranma would teach martial arts to whoever wanted to learn. Serena and Amelia were there every night and he had managed to get both to the point where they could kick without falling down. Some muscle was even beginning to show on their thin frames. Lina joined them frequently and he was amazed at how quickly she had taken to the art. She had a temper that rivaled Akane’s though, and small impact craters marked many of the places they had stopped for the night.
Except for the bouts between him and Lina, the trip had been uneventful. He had remarked on how strange it was that Dalgar hadn’t made a repeat appearance and Lina had told him that was either because he couldn’t find them or because he knew they were going where he wanted them to and was waiting for them. He was personally hoping for the first reason.
The cause of the hunger running rampant through the group was the fact that they hadn’t seen a village or town in the last week and a half. This meant that they had to forage for their food. Ranma was fairly good at this and Zel and Lina had some experience, but when the group you were trying to feed ate enough for twenty people you had problems. Problems with several hungry people who were all fairly powerful and desperate for food. Not a good mix.
Luckily that was all at an end. "C’mon, let’s hurry," he said to the three people still within hearing range. "If we don’t than those two will have eaten everything in the city before we get there."
The idea of not getting any food spurred everyone into a dead run and they caught Lina and Gourry at the gates to the city. "You could have waited for the rest of us you know," whined Serena.
Lina snorted. "First come first serve and I intend to be first." She darted into the city and everyone followed close on her heels.
They all made a beeline for the first eating establishment they saw. Unfortunately, five people trying to go through a door meant for one didn’t work to well. They were forced to make the doorway bigger.
"What have you done!?" demanded the angry proprietor as he stared in shock at the large, jagged hole in the front of his building.
"Here," said Lina thrusting a bag of gold into the man’s hands. "Bring us six helpings of everything on your menu and make it fast. If you don’t than I will be forced to further remodel your restaurant."
The man opened the bag thrust on him and his frown became a smile. "Of course, of course. I’ll get my cooks on it right away." He hurried off and they found a table to wait at.
Everyone was too hungry to bother with talk so they waited with silent impatience for the food to come. A passing waitress carrying a pitcher of water tripped over something and spilled the contents of the pitcher over Ranma’s head. There were shocked gasps from the people who saw his transformation, but no one at the able even batted an eye. His unwanted ability to attract water like a magnet had given everyone plenty of chances to see him change on the trip.
The waitress was too startled by what she had seen to do more than stammer a quick apology. Picking up the pitcher hurriedly, she headed for the kitchen at something close to a dead run. Ranma-chan paid about as much attention to the waitress as she did to the water dripping off of her hair, which was to say very little. A few minutes later the food arrived on several large, steaming platters. A few minutes after that it was gone and there were sighs around the table as everyone slumped contentedly in their chairs.
"Ah, that hit the spot," said Lina. "Now it’s time for bed."
"What about Koldan?" asked Zel.
"He’ll still be here in the morning. We’ll deal with him then." Lina slid out of her chair and headed for the door, and Ranma-chan got up to follow her out along with the others. It was dark when they exited the restaurant so they found the nearest inn and everyone headed to their rooms with little talk.
Ranma-chan wasn’t ready to crash yet so she began practicing kata in the small area of the room that was free of obstruction. Even though it was night the moon provided plenty of light so she didn’t bother to light any candles. She could hear Lina’s snoring coming through the wall, but she had put up with it during the entire journey and it had become easy for her to simply ignore it.
She was just finishing her last form when she noticed that Lina’s snoring had stopped. So intent on ignoring it had she been that she hadn’t noticed when the horrendous noise had quit. Glancing outside she realized it was very late and wondered what the sorceress was doing up at this hour. She was about to go investigate when she heard the soft clicking sound of her door opening.
The rational part of her mind told her it was Lina coming to talk to her. Her instincts told her something was wrong and she should hide. Always being one to ignore rational thought, she hid. Flattening herself up against the wall next to the door where it would be hard for someone to see her in the dark, she waited. The door swung silently inward and a dark figure that was much bigger than Lina stepped quietly into the room. Ranma-chan easily recognized the dark shape as Dalgar in his human guise. Anger welled up inside of her, but she forced herself to remain hidden for the moment.
Dalgar still wasn’t fully in the room when he raised one hand and gestured towards the bed. The sheets on the bed began to writhe around, apparently trying to tie up whoever was supposed to be sleeping there. The surprise the Monster felt when they simply entangled one another was obvious in the way he stood. From where she stood on his right side Ranma smiled.
Her first blow was a punch to the side of his face. The second was a kick to the back of his knee and the third was a round kick to his ribs that she was sure he felt even through his armor. With a surprised grunt, Dalgar flew back out her doorway and through the door of the room across the hall. Through the large opening made by the Monsters body she could see Zel on his bed trying in vain to break the bonds that held him.
Ranma-chan decided to help. She leaped through the hole in the wall and brought both feet down squarely on Dalgar’s face. Leaving the stunned Monster lying on the ground groaning, she hurried to where Zel was tied up. Using both hands to tear at the sheets, she began to rip them off of the chimera’s body. She almost had the ones tying up his arms when a large hand clamped down on the back of her neck. "Uh oh."
She wasn’t completely sure what happened next, but when she regained her senses she realized she was lying face down in the street. Bits of glass and broken wood littered the ground around her. Looking up she saw a Ranma shaped hole in what had been the outside wall of her room. Even as she noted this, the monstrous form of Dalgar flew out of the room, destroying what was left of the wall. She rolled quickly out of the way as his feet smashed into the ground where she had been laying.
Leaping to her feet she prepared to defend herself against an opponent she had already faced twice before. "What kind of coward attacks his opponents when they’re asleep," she taunted.
Dalgar laughed. "You judge me by human standards. Monsters have no care for such stupid things as honor. Getting the job done is all that matters." He drew his black sword from where it was sheathed on his back. In the darkness of night his eyes seemed like two bonfires burning brightly, but they gave off no light. "I believe this will be our last fight girl. I have already incapacitated your friends and now you are all that remain. You will have no help this time."
Ranma-chan ground her teeth in frustration. What he said could very well be true from what she had seen of Zel. As much as she hated to admit it even to herself she knew from her last two fights with Dalgar that she was no match for him alone. Since she would probably receive no help and she couldn’t defeat him as things stood that left only one option. Mentally she reached for what she needed and the henshin wand appeared in her hand.
"What is that," demanded Dalgar. "Perhaps you have new weapon to try against me?"
She smiled. "Not exactly." She raised the wand above her head and Dalgar took a defensive position with his sword held out before him. "Sol Star Power!" The words were easier to say than they had been in the past and the light of her transformation consumed her. Serena had told her of the problem she had had transforming and so Ranma-chan had made a point to break the dimensional barrier at the start of their journey. When it was over, Dalgar was watching her warily.
"What is this? You dress as that other one does now. I have never seen magic like this before."
"That’s because you’ve never been to Earth. I’ll be more than happy to show you how our magic works though."
"Ha, no matter what kind of magic you use I will still defeat you. You don’t stand a chance against me."
"We’ll see." Dalgar charged suddenly, bringing his sword down over his head. She sidestepped and planted a knee firmly in his chest. The strength of the blow was enough to send the Monster into the air. He managed to land on his feet though, and his sword whistled through the air as it sought Sol’s head. All it found was air as she nimbly jumped over the arcing blade. The mid-air kick she delivered to his face sent Dalgar stumbling backwards.
Dalgar’s eyes flared with rage. "How can you be so strong all of a sudden? Where did you get such strength and speed?"
"The Sun grants me it’s power so that I can fight things like you. You who taint this world with your evil. You who seek only power for yourselves and misery for others. You who would consume this world with your greed. I will not stand for it. In the name of the Sun I will defeat you." That whole speech sounded a little stupid to her ears, but Sailor Sol didn’t care. All that mattered right now was getting rid of Dalgar so she could make sure her friends were all right.
"You will find that the dark forces are not defeated so easily. Not even by one of your caliber." The dark blade swung again, and again she dodged and struck. She stayed in close this time and continued to work his body while he tried desperately to strike at her.
Finally leaping away she raised one hand over her head. "Solar…" she began and a chain of fire appeared at her feet and began to move up her body, encircling her on its way. It reached her upraised hand and flared brilliantly. She brought her flame engulfed hand down across her body and then swept it out and up. "…Flare!" The flames shot forward like a flame-thrower to engulf Dalgar.
The Monster managed to raise the Sword of Night in order to block the attack, but only partially. Some of the flames whipped around the blade to strike him in the face and body. He screamed as he fell backwards trying to keep hold of his blade while clutching his injuries at the same time. He went to one knee, digging the tip of his sword into the ground to support himself, and Sailor Sol prepared for the finishing blow.
The blast of white energy that slammed into her chest knocked the wind from her lungs and caused black specks to dance across her vision. When her vision cleared and she could breath again, Sol tried to pick herself up off of the ground. Her muscles felt watery and she felt as if she had no energy, making such a simple task difficult. She managed to make it to a kneeling position and began surveying the area in an attempt to figure out what had happened. It wasn’t hard.
Standing next to Dalgar, looking down at the injured Monster was a man dressed in purple robes trimmed in gold. A circlet of gold was set upon his brow and his long white hair was tied back with a black cord. Cold blue eyes looked out of a face that was weathered from exposure to the sun and lined with age. His lips were pursed as if he was trying to solve a puzzle.
"The amount of energy I felt down here led me to believe that you must be battling the great Lina Inverse. Instead I find you fighting a strange girl dressed in stranger clothing, and losing. You disappoint me Dalgar."
The Monster seemed to hang his head in shame at the rebuke. He was cloaked in shadow, but it was obvious that he was grievously hurt. "She is the boy I told you about. The shape-changer who travels with Lina."
"Is that so?" The man turned to study her for a moment. "Well, I must say that I am impressed with you girl, or whatever you are. Most people would have been struck unconscious for days after being hit with my energy dispersion spell."
"You must be Koldan." The man made a half bow, confirming Sol’s statement. "What did you do to me?"
"Do to you? Not much. As the name of the spell implies, I simply dispersed your energy and strength. You will be fine after a few days rest." A dark smile crossed Koldan’s face. "Unfortunately for you, you will not have those days to recover." He raised one hand and it began to glow with a soft purple light. Sol forced herself to stand and Koldan’s smile became amused. "Do you intend to try and fight? I doubt you have the strength to even walk, let alone challenge me."
"I will not die on my knees." She tried in vain to find some pocket of energy to defend herself with, but it was obvious that Koldan’s spell had worked all to well. All of her strength had been sapped just as if she had used her Super Nova technique. She could hardly even find the strength to talk.
Koldan laughed. "Do not worry about dying. I have no intention of killing you."
This statement startled her for a moment. "You’d better kill me because if you don’t then I’ll pound you into the ground."
"Oh, I have no doubt that you will try. It will be a futile effort however. You see I sought to bring Lina Inverse here so that I could drain away her energy and use it for myself. I expected her and her friends to come, but I did not expect you. You have far more energy than she, and I will drain all of it away and leave you a shadow of what you are. Then I shall take the energy of your friends and become so powerful that no one will be able to stand against me."
As Koldan talked, the energy he was gathering in his hand was growing more and more intense. Sol knew that soon he would be ready to take her energy and there wasn’t a damn thing she could do about it. The fact that no one had come to investigate the noise they were making meant that all of her friends were tied up in the inn. There would be no one to help her. Despair began to flood through her even as the purple energy began to pulse. She pushed it down and forced herself to find a way out.
Pushing Koldan and purple energy from her mind, she concentrated on gathering what strength she could. Reaching deep down inside of herself to the stubbornness that made up her very core, she found what she was looking for. It was only enough for one strike though, so it would have to be perfect. Hoping Dalgar wouldn’t get in the way, she prepared to launch herself at Koldan with the hopes of giving her friends some time to escape.
"It’s time." The purple energy in Koldan’s hand had become almost black and was pulsing rapidly. With a wordless shout he fired it as a thin beam of purple light. Using the small amount of strength she had collected, Sol dodged the attack and threw herself at the robed man with all of her remaining strength. Inches from her target she slammed into an invisible barrier that sent a jolt of electricity racing through her body. She was flung backwards with a cry of pain.
Staring up at the clear night sky, Sol could here Koldan laughing. She didn’t have enough strength left to even turn her head, but out of the corner of her eye she saw the purple energy began to gather again. Suddenly there was a familiar voice shouting something she couldn’t quite make out. That last jolt had left all of her senses addled and she could neither see nor hear clearly.
A second voice joined in with the first and she tried desperately to decipher what was being said. She couldn’t, but she realized who was talking, Lina and Serena. Help had come after all. A voice she recognized as Koldan’s began speaking and there was a flash of purple light, a shout and then a scream. Purple suddenly became pure white and the light washed over her with a roar. There was pain beyond anything she had ever imagined, worse even then when they had fought Dolgoth. It was too much. She blacked out.
Zelgadiss worked at the sheets that bound him, and ever so slowly they yielded to his constant pressure. Ranma had managed to loosen them when she came to his aid, but Dalgar had sent her flying before she could finish the job. Luckily the Monster had paid little attention to the fact that some of his bindings had been broken.
With a loud snap the final strand of bedding broke. Quickly unraveling what was left, Zel grabbed his sword from where it was leaning in the corner and headed out of the room. Looking across the hall to the hole Ranma had flew out of, he considered whether to help her or free the others. He’d seen the martial artist hold her own against Dalgar before, so he decided to help the others first.
As he headed down the hallway a bright orange flash from outside caught his eye, but he ignored it. He didn’t bother to try the first door he came to; he simply kicked it open. Inside he found Serena tied up on her bed in much the same way as he had been. "Hold still," he told the squirming girl as he raised his sword over his head. She froze like a terrified rabbit and he brought his blade down, slicing her bonds.
"You could have killed me," shouted Serena as she yanked what was left of the sheets off of herself.
"But I didn’t. Ranma is outside fighting Dalgar. Go help while I free the others." Without waiting for a response, he turned and left the room. He heard grumbling from behind him, but even as he was kicking in the door across the hall he saw the flashes of light that signaled the girls transformation.
Inside the second room he found Lina. "Hold still," he ordered. Unlike Serena, Lina continued to squirm around on her bed. Sighing in frustration, he swung his sword as carefully as he could, but he still felt it nick her arm.
"OWWW," bellowed Lina as her severed bonds fell off of her. There was a trickle of blood running down her arm. "What the hell were you thinking?!"
"I told you to be still. Maybe you’ll listen next time." Ignoring the sorceress’s furious glare he turned to go. "Ranma’s outside fighting Dalgar and Serena’s on her way to help. You go too while I get Amelia and Gourry."
"Your lucky I’m madder at that stupid Monster than at you. When this is over I’m gonna make you pay for this though." Zel was ignoring her as he exited the room.
The next room was Amelia’s and she listened when he told her to sit still. "What’s going on Mr. Zelgadiss?"
"Ranma, Serena, and Lina are fighting Dalgar. Come with me while I get Gourry and then we’ll help too." Striding across the hall he kicked down Gourry’s door and found him already reaching for his sword. The tattered remnants of his bonds were lying on the floor and there was a feral light in his eyes.
"If he’s hurt Lina…" he growled.
"She’s fine," assured Zel. "She’s outside fighting even as we speak. We need to get out there and help." Gourry was cutting a hole in the wall before he had finished speaking. The swordsman leapt through and he followed pulling Amelia along with him. Hitting the ground, he studied a scene he could make little sense of.
Lying on the ground in the middle of the street was a girl dressed similar to Sailor Moon. He assumed that was Ranma as a Sailor Scout. Standing a few feet away from the fallen girl was Sailor Moon with scepter in hand. Between those two and a man dressed all in purple was a very angry looking Lina. The man’s hand was glowing purple with unreleased magic and at his feet was a very wounded looking Dalgar.
It was obvious that words had been exchanged and something big was going down, but he couldn’t tell what. Gourry moved towards Lina, but before he could take three steps, the man released his magic with a shout. The purple beam shot straight for Lina and she raised her up hands before her. "Barrier!" she shouted.
A nearly invisible shield appeared before Lina, but the beam hit before it was complete and was simply deflected instead of stopped. This would have worked fine except for the fact that it was now heading straight for Sailor Moon. The beam moved too fast and she had no time to react. It struck her directly between her breasts, right where she kept her magic crystal. She screamed and the light turned from purple to bright white and began expanding outward like a raging tornado, engulfing the warrior of justice in seconds.
"What’s going on," demanded Gourry as he raised his hands to shield himself from the light and the wind that was beginning to whip around the area.
Zel only stared mutely at the tornado of light. Next to him Amelia was doing much the same. There was a feeling in the air, a feeling all magic users feared. Every apprentice was given a first hand demonstration of this feeling with a carefully controlled experiment. This was so that they would know exactly what it was when they felt it and know to get as far away from the source as possible. It was the feeling a magic user got when two forms of magic were mixed.
It was obvious that Lina knew what was going on too, but before she could try and get away a strand of light shot out and grabbed her. She was pulled screaming into the rapidly expanding tornado. Of Serena and Ranma there was no sign. "Gourry get back here fast," he shouted even as he grabbed the warrior by his armor. Pulling him back behind himself, he turned to Amelia. "We need to set up a shield! Quickly before it can get to us!"
The girl nodded and raised her hands up before her. Zel did the same and a clear globe of magic surrounded the three of them. Glancing around outside of the small bubble he found the man in purple opening a portal through which to escape. Both he and Dalgar quickly stepped into it, but before it could close behind them a strand of light shot through the opening. He thought he heard them scream, but he ignored them and turned back to study the whirling mass of magic.
"What’s going on!?" demanded Gourry. "What happened to Lina and the others!?"
"I don’t know," answered Zel. "That tornado was caused by the mixing of two different forms of magic. When that happens anything and everything can happen. It’s an extremely dangerous situation. Look for yourself."
The tornado had stopped expanding, but wild strands of magic were shooting off in every direction. Wherever they struck strange things happened. One struck the front of a store and it became a motley of colors. Another struck a rain barrel and it got up and ran down the street. A building down the street suddenly erupted in a ball of green fire. A curious man poking his head out of a window was turned inside out by a stray blast. He fell screaming from the window, dead before he hit the ground.
One of the blasts connected with the shield and it was all he and Amelia could do to keep it in place. Gourry was beating on the inside of the bubble, trying to get out. "We have to help them! We can’t let them die!"
"It’s too late to help them, but there’s no guarantee they’ll be dead. I just pray that whatever happens to them won’t be worse than death." Gourry began beating on the shield even harder.
The storm of magic finally began to dissipate and after about six minutes it had completely disappeared leaving chaos in its wake. There was a very small jungle, complete with monkeys, where it had been centered. He breathed a sigh of relief when he saw all four of his friends hanging in a large tree apparently unhurt. Then his breath caught. Four?
"Um… Mr. Zelgadiss, something’s not right."
"Tell me about it," muttered Zel as he moved closer to his friends wondering what kind of surprises were waiting for him.
