SPOOF CHASE PRODUCTIONS
(http://spoof.maison-otaku.net/)
PRESENTS...
Slayers ReBirth :
Segment V : Dragon Faith
A Slayers Fanfic Series by Stefan "Twoflower" Gagne
(Almost all characters copyright H. Kanzaka / R. Araizumi,
obviously. If I ever even considered claiming that these
were my own characters I'd probably be thrown into a small
cell where I'd be forced to eat my own spleen to live.)
--> Read the enhanced hypertext version at <--
--> http://pixelscapes.com/slayers <--
[-III----------------------] [-VII--]
[-O--------------------] [-I---] [-II-] [-IV--] [------]
[-VI---------] [------]
Time --> [=V==================] [------]
-=-
It was on Thursday, during the lunch rush hour, when Luna realized
she had to go save the world.
Most people have a limited form of psychic power. Usually they can get
a pang that says 'you left the iron on', or 'it's a good time to write a
letter home', or 'maybe Fluffy needs more food and water'. It's all just a
matter of what your common, every day activities are, the things that
resonate best with you. For Luna, it was being a savior of mankind. She
wasn't the least bit surprised when she was busy jotting down an order for
spare ribs, and the thought occurred to her, 'maybe it's time to go save
the world.'
It didn't feel very urgent, so she made sure to finish her sweeps
through the restaurant, and collect her tips. She returned to the kitchen,
took off her apron, and calmly informed her employer that she had to go
prevent the end of the world.
"Again?" he asked.
"Yup," Luna said. "Timing's bad, I know..."
"The renovations on the tea room are almost done," he noted. "We're
going to need our best staff to cover them, give the right impression for
opening day... are you sure it can't wait?"
"Ceipheed's calling," Luna said gravely. "Personally."
"That deep, huh," the manager said, stroking his cheesy beard. (His
wife liked it on him, but he really hated keeping it trimmed, Luna knew.)
"I guess it's unavoidable. When do you think you'll be back?"
"If I succeed, soon," Luna said. "If not... ya'know. I'll need Ang."
"Oh, you can have HER," the manager prompted, in the tone of voice he
always reserved for discussing the restaurant's latest employee. "I was
thinking of firing her anyway. ...with your permission, of course. I
mean, she drops dishes, gets orders wrong, and the staff... well, she
depresses them."
"Ang's having some probs," Luna said. "Phase. She'll grow outta."
"I know how that is, I know how that is," the manager repeated, as he
often did when trying to show his ethos. "You know Rennie, my daughter,
right? She's into that whole teenage angst thing right now. Perfectly
miserable around the house. But Angela's a grown woman..."
"Not 'xactly," Luna shrugged. "Let's say she hadda grow up recently.
Fast."
[()()]
Dragons aren't supposed to dream. At the very least, they do not dream
as humans do; they know their dreams mean something, visions brought on by
their highly magical natures. It's reported that Mazoku are similar... but
they probably only have nightmares. Which would explain a few things to
Angela. All she'd been having since her.. accident were nightmares.
She tried to simply get less sleep to avoid them, but this never
worked. It meant she'd simply be drained of energy during the day, prone
to napping or spacing out... and then the nightmares were worse, because
they weren't the easily ignored, heavy duty visions. They were faint
glimpses of horrors and terrors. It was all the usual stuff... the
Councils of Dragons denouncing her, accusing her of her sins -- sins she
couldn't deny any more.
She worked with the Mazoku. She sought glory for herself, and power.
She put the creed of the Dragons, the preservation of all life, and placed
it off to the side in favor of her own goals. Finally, she allowed a
Mazoku to 'heal' her... cursing her body with a Mazoku's leathery bat wing,
mismatching her own angelic bird's wing. Sure, she could make these wings
vanish when she wanted, but they were always there, under her mental
skin...
And oh, did they surface in dreams. Again and again, seeing the
tainted form they represented. A constant stream of self loathing and
lucid understanding, seeing what she always told herself she wasn't played
out before her, torn from her by Nightmare himself, before Lina destroyed
the horrible creature... Angela was a hypocrite, a liar, a sneak, a
glutton, a fool...
A check pad bounced off her forehead, waking her up.
"Oi, Angs," Luna called from across the restaurant. "Wakey."
"I was just resting my eyes," Angela lied. She could identify and
catalogue every lie now, instead of glossing them over...
"Lyin'," Luna said, recognizing. "S'okay, though. Gotta get sleep
somehow, yannow?"
Angela sighed, slumping. "What do you want? I'm not on shift for
another hour..."
"Shift's over," Luna said. "Ceipheed needs us."
A perk ran up Angela's spine. "What? The King of Dragons?"
"Only Ceipheed I know," Luna smirked. "C'mon."
"What does he want with me? Haven't I paid enough for my sins?
What--"
"Cool it," Luna said, cutting her off. "Gonna sprain yer tongue.
S'nothing bad. C'mon."
Angela straightened herself as best as she could, instincts to carry
herself like royalty kicking in as she fell in step next to Luna. "Where
exactly IS Ceipheed?... if you don't mind me asking. None of the Dragons
seem to know, after all..."
"Oh, he's downstairs," Luna said.
Angela paused in her tracks.
"Excuse me, but I could swear you said--"
"Basement," Luna nodded.
"What is the most powerful god of righteousness doing in the basement
of a three star restaurant?!" Angela gaped.
"Recovering."
[()()]
In the basement, there was a half-filled wine rack with vintages from a
whole three months ago. There were preserved cheeses, some of which were
home to a vast number of rats. Dust. Cobwebs. A single hanging lamp,
with a light spell Luna put there to save the manager some money on lamp
oil. It did not look like the home to the king of Dragons.
Granted, there was that gigantic locked oaken door, but none of the
staff ever took notice of it. Even Angela hadn't; it surprised her when
they descended into the familiar basement, and there it was... as if the
light simply hadn't fallen on it before, or it had blended into the wine
rack, or Angela's memory simply skipped over...
"S'okay," Luna said, studying Angela. "I put a spell onnit. Basic
ignore-me."
"Oh.." Angela said, totally unfamiliar with that spell. "I see. That
makes sense."
Luna produced the key to the door, probably the only key that existed
and probably not made of any naturally occurring metal, and unlocked the
door. It opened undramatically into a dark room, and she walked right
through. Angela proceeded a few steps behind, hesitatingly...
It was hard to identify where the walls were. There was barely any
light at all, the dim light from the cellar stopping just a foot or two
short of the open door; not nearly enough to be of any use. Angela kept
very still, fearful of stepping into some void she could not recognize.
Luna recited the incantation.
"Yo, Ceph," she called. "I see ya."
And a light winked into existence, a light which had always been there;
simply inactive. It was like a tiny blue spark of energy, reflecting off a
great ocean of water, an ocean which couldn't conceivably fit down here.
The spark was Ceipheed.
%It has been a long time,% Ceipheed said, a voice that spoke directly
into Angela's mind, in her native dialect. It was a gentle, ringing voice,
like the chiming of a small bell.
"Yeah," Luna agreed. "Wazzup?"
%The end times have begun. I can feel the pangs of future troubles,%
Ceipheed said, with concern. %I cannot take the helm of the Dragons. I am
too weak after the previous war... however, I have planned ahead for this
occurrence.%
"Groovy."
What?
"N'ever mind, g'wan."
%You are my plan, my Knight. This is not a quest any of my children
could do alone, but a human... a human posesses the chaos that could swing
the tide in favor of eternal, sustained Life. There is no war in the
classical sense, but there is a battle of great import to win. You have
much to do.%
"'kay. What's the score?"
The light flared one moment, reflecting in Luna's eyes... despite her
eyes being closed, underneath those waves of bangs.
"Oh, 'kay," she said, recognizing whatever transmission Ceipheed gave
her. "Gonna bring Angs. Cool?"
Angela's throat seized, as she felt the eyes of Ceipheed scan her soul.
%She is not a Dragon,% he proclaimed. %She is a half-breed. I see no
value in regards to the plan for humanity's future.%
There's nothing quite like being told by your personal god that you are
a lesser being. Angela's shoulders slumped lower than they had all day.
But Luna's look hardened. "You got a plan, I got a plan. Angs's
crucial. You wanna write'r off, I'll skip out too."
Ceipheed was taken aback by this, as far as it was possible for the god
of goodness to seem reproachful. %Do you not have faith in me, Luna
Inverse?% he asked.
"Sure thing," Luna smiled. "S'long as you got faith in me. We're
tight. Trust me."
The light of Ceipheed, business complete, winked out. In the faint
after images, like staring directly at a lamp for too long, Angela could
swear she saw the faint outline of the largest, most beautiful dragon she
could imagine... sleeping and undisturbed.
[()()]
Preparing for the journey was a task.
Angela normally wouldn't even consider heading out into the world
without her full wardrobe, magically stored and summonable at a moment's
notice. Her evening gowns, ballroom dresses, tasteful business garb and so
on... but she hadn't worn any of it since her change. It didn't feel
right, like she was flaunting her previous structure of egotistical lies...
She settled on some ordinary, store-bought casual clothes that would be
suitable for road travel. But she couldn't bring herself to pick anything
that wasn't color coordinated.
A knock on the door of her cheap, rented apartment roused her attention
from packing. It was Luna, still in her waitress's uniform.
"You're going on a quest in that?" Angela asked, confused.
"'course," Luna said. "S'enough."
"Where are your bags? Presumably stored between worlds, as mine are,
yes?"
"No bags," Luna said, shaking her head. "Don't need 'em. You ready?"
Angela glanced at the pile of luggage she was preparing with a hint of
shame. And that was her trying to be minimalist and humble.
"I'm ready," she said, looking back to Luna and ignoring the pile of
stuff. "Let's just go."
"What 'bout your stuff?"
"You said I don't need it, yes?"
"I don't," Luna corrected. "You're not me. What happened to yer
dresses?"
"They're not appropriate anymore," Angela simply stated.
Somewhere behind her hairdo, Luna's eyes were thoughtful, studying the
half-Dragon. Logic twisted through her head, modifying and changing
plans...
"'kay, I get it," she said. "I can handle. Mmm. Let's go pick 'im
up."
"'im who?" Angela asked.
Luna told her.
"Oh, bugger," Angela groaned.
[()()]
Bugger wasn't very hard to find, in that Luna seemed to know exactly
where to find him without any of that middleman activity of 'searching' or
even 'thinking about it'. Naturally, Angela asked how she managed the
trick, and naturally, she wasn't saying.
He was being assassinated successfully at the time, but a timely
intervention left him with only a dismembered arm, which to a Mazoku wasn't
much of an injury. He was already able to flex it a little after
reattaching it with some black healing. This might have been a good sign
if not for Luna's casual mission briefing.
"Gonna end everything," she had said. "Ceipheed's orders."
Oh, and that the Knight of Shaburanigdo would probably try to stop
them. Then she said she had to go shopping, ordered them to wait at a
pleasant sidewalk cafe, and left them to engage in polite conversation.
"Damn thing's aching me," Bugger complained, moving his elbow around.
"You Dragons got it lucky. Your healing isn't designed to make you feel
like death warmed over after it's done, or cause cancers or festering warts
or anything. Just lick, boom, split, done.."
"Don't talk to me about healing," Angela said. Not in one of those
starter ways that lets you launch off on a tirade, but a straight request
with a hint of malice.
Bugger looked funny at her. "I take it you're still pissed?"
"Of course.... no. I'm not angry anymore," Angela said, any embers
burning dying out before they could get started. "There's no point to
being angry. The Dragons call me a half-breed, and they're right. Maybe
it's all thanks to you and your bungling, but what's done is done, and now
I just have to live with it."
"Bungling?!" Bugger said. "That's a right insult to my work, that is.
You'd have been kicking it in the great golden hoard in the sky if not for
me, I'll have you know. That Nightmare bastard did a number on you."
"At least I would have died for the Dragon cause," Angela sighed,
wistfully. "A suitable stopping point. It would have been true glory..."
"I remember you sayin' that last time, gel, and I don't buy it now
either," Bugger said, spitting in his coffee for emphasis before taking a
sip. "No such thing as a glorious death. You just get a little wet
squelch and it's done. Was hoping you'd figure out that little lesson
after what I did."
"And this is preferable?" she asked. "Perhaps they're hidden now, but
those wings are forever to mark me. You should have just left me to die
there. You know what I've been doing with Luna? Waitressing. A common
servant, underneath one who was an unofficial enemy to me in the past!
This isn't much better than your little wet squelch."
"Now you're talkin' like ME," Bugger said. "I don't like that. Ought
to get a patent on pessimism, see that I don't. So shut yer yap, gel, and
drink your damn coffee. You don't even have any style to that sort of
depression. Any idiot can do suicidal whining. 'Oh, waah, waah, my life
blows. Better off de'd.' But it takes a master like me to do DOOM with a
capital OO."
"Oh really?" Angela asked, leaning over the table slightly. "Well
then, Mr. Doom, what to you soothsay about this expedition that Lunatic has
us on?"
"Easy," Bugger said, leaning back in his chair and grinning. "We're
going to be destroyed, possibly slowly and with a great deal of agony.
She'll use us as bait, fodder or shields while going about her higher
purpose. And what's more, if she's really mean, she'll toss us at the
Knight of Shaburanigdo. You haven't met Lara, have you? I met her a few
times. A right vicious little twat, she is. I'd hazard to say she's
actually more deviously inventive and sadistic than any six Mazoku,
possibly even on par with that git Xelloss... what's more, if those hints
of horrible things ahead weren't bad enough, Luna's said straight up she
intends to end the world. Dragons! Ending the world! Don't that take
all? Can't be a good thing if life's come to that. So, take your Luna
factor, your Lara factor and your End of the World, Mazoku War Getting Into
Full Swing factors and add 'em up. Answer's obvious. Yes, Ms. Angstela,
we're quite doomed. Smoke 'em if you got 'em."
Angela tapped her fingers together, slowly digesting Bugger's report.
"Then why are you staying here, and not running for the horizon?" she
asked.
"I'm a glutton for punishment," Bugger admitted. "Besides, it'll
probably be more interesting meeting the apocalypse with you than it would
be hiding in a smelly basement, avoiding the Beastmaster's vice squad."
A thick silence ensued. Angela ran her finger around the rim of her
cup, in thought... Bugger sipped his nasty coffee, as the milk had curdled
and sugar had turned to jelly simply because of who he was.
Angela broke the silence. "If you knew you'd end up like this, would
you still have agreed to team up?"
"Eh? Wot?" Bugger asked.
"Back when we were trying to stop Lina Inverse. Would you have done
anything differently?"
He thought about it for a few moments, but shook his head. "Naah.
Probably wasn't a good way out of that mess. Lina had too much destiny
rollin' behind her. Too much momentum. Separate or together, we wouldn't
'ave been able to stop that."
"But separate, we wouldn't have gotten into all this trouble..."
"Brighten up, dammit," Bugger suggested. "I'm supposed to be the
naysayer. Where's that Luna twit, anyway? We need to get this show on
the--"
Luna appeared.
"'ello," she said, smiling. "Ready?"
"Where are the things you bought?" Angela asked.
"Gotta hurry," Luna said. "Let's fly."
She didn't bother to tell them she was just watching them discuss while
disguised as their waiter. After all, they wouldn't understand why.
[()()]
Luna decided to brief them in-flight, over the central ocean, once they
were at least three hundred miles from the nearest shore. The reasons
became obvious.
"Gonna assault the Dragon University," Luna explained, never losing her
grin. "Raid the archives. Steal an artifact from maximum security."
"You're suicidal, aren't you?" Bugger asked. "The Du is built over the
ruins of Wetlantis. Center of the ocean. They'll see us coming from miles
away, not to mention the fact that every hotheaded Dragon adolescent brat
being educated there will be more than willing to tear us... or at least,
me, to shreds on sight. I doubt they'll be very happy to see Angela,
either."
"I remember the University..." Angela said. "It is very, very secure.
That is where Dragons are trained in the arts of logic and debate, in
magical arts and culture."
"And fighting," Bugger added.
"Yes, and fighting. As well as the social graces befitting one of my
race, and the ancient heritage and customs thereof--"
"And fighting."
"YES, and fighting."
"Just figured it was worth mentioning twice," Bugger said, "Considering
we're going to be doing a bloody lot of it. Place is armed to the teeth
and locked tighter than Angela's thighs."
The half-Dragon bristled at the comment.
"S'important," Luna explained. "Lock of Order's there. Ceipheed wants
it."
"And why, praytell?" Angela asked. "No, no. Don't bother. You rarely
answer any other questions we have. Just expecting us to follow your
orders, marching blindly into--"
"The Lock of Order is part of a device of phenomenal power," Luna said,
dropping her quirky tone. "The ultimate power, the most important things
in the world, in existence since the dawn of the universe for the sole
purpose to end it. Already the Mazoku have recovered parts of this
device. They're going to use it to destroy the world. If the Dragon plan
of life's preservation is to have any weight, we need to compete for the
parts of the device as well. Ceipheed has allied with its maker to see to
it that all life will go on, despite the end. You two will help me in
gaining the Lock for Ceipheed."
The trio flew in silence.
"Y'know?" Luna added, in her usual tone, to cap off her words.
"I think I preferred it when she was being glib," Bugger muttered under
his breath.
"So... this truly is a holy mission for Cephieed-sama?" Angela asked,
quietly.
"A-yup."
Bugger glanced over, studying Angela's facial expression. "You can cut
that hopeful look. Ceipheed's not gonna forgive you for the stunts we
pulled and mystically transform you back into another prissy little
Dragon. This isn't going to work. If--"
"Shut up," Angela said.
"Fine, fine. Ignore the Bugger. Just trying to keep you from coming
crashing down when this goes wrong," Bugger warned. He turned, to look at
Luna. "Knight of Shaburanigdo. You said that before. So where's the
Knight of the Lord of Nightmares in this mess? Where's your adorable
little brat of a sister fit into the whole scheme of things?"
Luna paused.
"Dunno," she admitted. "Ceipheed didn't say. Guess I'll find out."
[()()]
Dragon University did not built itself, nor did the Dragons build it.
Nobody knows exactly who did. It was always assumed some ancient tribe
of Dragons constructed the spires and peaks, since only a Dragon could
achieve such elegance of design, such functionality inside the sphere of
beauty. Most of it was in ruins, but repairs were easy, once the structure
had been reclaimed as a rightful possession.
Okay, some people thought some ancient humans built it, but nobody
honestly believes that. Even if there are no places to perch and the doors
are pretty small and the primitive yet complicated wall paintings depicted
human shapes.
The previous civilization left no records, and the location was dubbed
Wetlantis after a few folk legends of a city floating in the center of the
ocean. Nowadays, however, it was simply the Dragon University, converted,
retooled and rebuilt for that purpose. It was wall to wall Dragons, gold,
green, blue, red, but mostly gold. Wizened elders, brash youths, servants,
every range of the Dragon spectrum.
The group had to approach from underwater to even come close without
avoiding detection.
"First, they'll probably torture some information out of me," Bugger
whined. "Oh, sure, they're a wise and enlightened race, although against
us evil little Mazoku bastards, anything goes... no matter that I've been
kicked OUT of the Mazoku, no, they'll just assume I'm being devious and
sinister and lying, so--"
"How do we approach?" Angela asked. (She had teamed closely with Luna,
ever since seeing a glimmer of hope... and thus had tried to keep her
flawed wing hidden away as much as possible, relying on basic magic to fly,
as crude as that was.)
"Gonna go in the door," Luna said, pointing to the oversized brass
gates, stamped with huge DU letters.
"The front door?" Bugger asked. "The front-bloody-DOOR? Are you
insane, woman?"
"C'mon, let's go," Luna said, standing up, and marching across the
surface of the water, towards the ivory steps.
Angela fell in stride next to Luna immediately, walking proudly. "Come
on, Bugger. Clearly she won't allow harm to come to you."
Nervous, Bugger withdrew from hiding, and kept behind the women. "I
got a bad feeling about this."
"You ALWAYS have a bad feeling about this."
"I mean it this time," Bugger said. "It smells. And I'm not
complaining. I just don't like it."
Pausing at the feet of the steps, Luna grabbed hold of the massive door
knocker with magical weaves of power, and slammed it repeatedly against the
door. Until it snapped off, and came crashing to the steps, cracking the
stone under a solid ton of metallic impact.
"Way to be subtle," Bugger mumbled.
The doors opened shortly after, with a team of guard-Dragons, shifted
into full reptilian form and ready for conflict. A pair of humanoid-form
Dragons walked with them, one quite old, with a traditional well groomed
beard of station, with appropriate robes -- the other wearing a full set of
human armor, and probably no older than any of the students.
"I am the Dean of Dragon University, Umias," the old man announced.
"And this is my security officer Jedal. We saw your undersea approach more
than an hour ago."
"Oh, hell," Bugger wheezed.
"Figured," Luna said, grinning. "Good ta see ya. On a mission from
Ceipheed."
"You are not welcome!" Jedal barked, in a voice that did not command
respect, but could have commanded someone to pass the salt. "You scolded
the Dragons and sided with the forces of chaos. You rejected our noble
ways and teachings! You--"
"I'm afraid word travels fast of your exploits, Luna Inverse-san,"
Umias said, raising a hand to halt his eager beaver second in command. "We
have been instructed not to assist you until a Council can judge if you are
fit to continue holding your office, in light of recent events..."
"Oh, s'easy," Luna said. "I brought the traitors. Wannem? Let's
clear the record."
"Traitors?" Angela asked, puzzled.
"The half-breed and the Mazoku worm," Jedal said to his superior.
"They are wanted for crimes. I will take them into custody, and--"
"Not without my approval," Umias reminded him.
An uneasy pause fell over the group, unsure whether to pounce the
newcomers or greet them.
"No.. no, wait," Angela said, interrupting. "I'm here with Luna on a
holy mission. We seek penance through labors towards the--"
"It's Ceipheed's will to exchange them," Luna said, serious tones
sneaking back into her voice.
Umias breathed a heavy, old sigh. "Take them."
Bugger, who had already started preparing a few moments before Luna
even muttered the word 'Traitors', launched an attack of black energy, and
the battle was in full swing.
Of course, a war of eight fully powered gold Dragons against one Mazoku
isn't much of a battle. Maybe with a Dragon half-breed in the mix, some
sort of escape with minor injuries could be managed... but Angela wasn't
moving. She was too shocked to even consider lifting a finger, watching in
horror as the troops subdued Bugger quite painfully... then none too
courteiously restrained her. Her!
"Well, Knight... what would you have us do with them now?" Umias
asked. "We are a school, not an armed jail."
Luna shrugged. "Dispose of the Mazoku, detain the half-Dragon. Not
hard, she'll submit. Council'll sort her out, dead or alive."
Umias looked down. "Jedal, make it so. As she said."
"Luna!!" Angela protested, as she was dragged into the building. "What
do you think you're doing!? You said..."
And Luna smiled at her. Not Luna's usual smile, but a devious, tricky
one. A secretive one. And then everything went black, as the Dragons put
a sleep enchantment over her.
[()()]
The University was abuzz. Prisoners! They had prisoners!
Legendary criminals of the week!
"Serves them right, thinking they could assault the Dragon University,"
one particularly school-spirited Dragon said. "We'll put that Mazoku out
of its misery."
"Maybe the other one can be saved."
"I doubt it. She's been corrupted, from what I heard. Let one of her
wings go to darkness."
"So? Forms are mutable. Natures aren't."
"What about the Knight? I heard she told a Council to screw off! How
can they stand for that?"
"She brought in the criminals."
"I don't trust her. Humans are too weird. They've got no moral
decency! Killing each other off like they do and causing hurt and harm
randomly..."
"Do you think they'll let us watch them execute the Mazoku?"
"Will this be on the test?"
And from on high, the Dean of Dragon University watched students
running around the campus quad. He looked down on them with a mixed
expression.
"The fountains are lovely," he said, voice crackled with old age.
"Mmhmm," Luna agreed.
"We didn't make those, you know. They're Wetlantis original. But the
children love them so. It's rather peaceful. But we didn't make them."
"Mmhmm."
"Not a very peaceful day, however," Umias noted, turning away from the
window, to look across his study at the human. "What with the tidings you
bring."
"Mmhmm."
"You've put my campus in an uproar," he continued, faintly annoyed.
"There's talk among the students of finding where we put the Mazoku, and
ending him themselves. Violence from the tongues of babes. I've even had
to put Angela under guard... for her protection rather than for guarding
her."
"Strange days," Luna shrugged.
"I should simply have the three of you escorted off campus immediately,
possibly to a proper Council," Umias noted.
"...willya?"
"No.." Umias said, sinking into his padded office chair. "No. Jedal
will handle it. I'm an old Dragon, Luna Inverse. Best let the young ones
handle affairs. They'll be the leaders once I'm gone, after all.
Ceipheed's will that life go on, regardless of death..."
"A-yup."
Unable to tolerate any more one-worded responses, Umias took a leap.
"Do you ever lose faith in Ceipheed?"
"No."
"I have," he continued. "I have thought things that put my faith in
question. The new Dragons are not... they are not what I would call
ideal. I was there when the Gold Dragons committed genocide on the Ancient
Dragons, you know. I was young. We slaughtered them so that our place in
the hierarchy was assured, all justified under the plan that life must go
on. It was only a LITTLE death, we reasoned. The Ancients were stale and
unable to defend us during the War, we could do so much better if they
would have let us have a chance..."
"I know th'history," Luna said.
"The history doesn't say much about the aftermath," Umias stated.
"Because Gold Dragons wrote the history as the victors. But we changed,
most of us, the leaders of the assaults. We realized our mistakes, how we
might have destroyed our kind in the infighting, the futility of warring...
perhaps the coming of Xelloss was our penance. He nearly wiped out the
Gold Dragons. Singlehandedly, even... was Ceipheed punishing us? Was it a
coincidence?"
"Stuff happens."
"It will happen again!" Umias said. "Already, a Mazoku war runs. A
repeat event! When this one fights to a stalemate -- as they always have
despite the glory of Ceipheed and the natural assumption that good wins
over evil -- what then? Will another kind say the Gold Dragons have done
poorly, and destroy us? Will the Mazoku see this new generation as a
threat and send another hunter? The students are brash and foolhardy. The
whole new generation is!"
"Kids," Luna said. "What can ya do?"
"You can have faith in Ceipheed, that life will be preserved and the
flame of life never will be extinguished..." Umias recited. He inhaled
deeply. "If you still believe that."
"You don't?"
"Realize that I cannot tell another Dragon this," Umias said. "If
someone like Jedal knew my faith was not the unswerving zealot's stance
most Dragons today have, my position as Dean would be compromised..."
"Then why tell me?"
Umias paused, his scattered thoughts reassembling. His furor returning
to the calm depression he held upon first meeting Luna.
"You are Ceipheed's right hand," Umias said. "I don't know.
Perhaps... perhaps I wished you could give me some assurance. I need to
know that my fears are unfounded. Tell me, as a prophet or a warrior or
whatever your role is. A human you may be, but right now, I trust you more
than I would most Dragons."
Luna sat back, thinking about it. Umias stared at the Knight of
Ceipheed, at this strange little human who seemed to hold such power... a
simple girl, but with such confidence! Confidence he wished he had. A
confidence that was not as frightening as the looks of absolute devotion he
saw in the eyes of other Dragons.
"One way or another, life will go on," Luna said, speaking with an edge
of holy reverence. An edge of prophecy. "By Ceipheed's hand and by the
hands of several others. I state now and forever that the best laid plans
will lead indirectly to the proper conclusions. Everything is flawed and
whole with cause and effect. Thus, all measures taken to achieve the goals
and subgoals of Dragonkind will lead to peace regardless. Final, resolute,
intended peace, identified or not, under the grace of the Lord of
Nightmares. That is what will happen."
"I.. I don't understand," Umias said. "Do you mean that Ceipheed is
wrong? Is He right? What does He intend?"
"He's wrong for the right reasons and right for the wrong ones," Luna
said, looking directly at Umias from underneath her heavy bangs. A brief
flare of the blue light of Ceipheed flashed in her eyes... no, it was
golden. A wobbling, chaotic spark. "I will be guided as his hand and I
will contribute as ordered. Be it a puzzle piece or a puzzle, the picture
will be unified at last. Aid me."
"Anything," Umias agreed. Without question.
"I need the Lock."
"The what?"
Luna's posture relaxed, her voice slurring back into form. "Y'know.
Silvery. Lock-shaped. Artifact."
Umias grasped for the conversation, still unable to shake the tingle
from his spine of the future-reading. "Artifacts... they are kept in the
museum. West wing. But the lock.. no Dragon can touch it without
incredible pain. We have had it guarded, as it seems to be of import,
but... listen, that artifact was here in Wetlantis before we arrived, just
sitting in a room, as if someone had dropped it into the universe at
random, very long ago. We don't know what it is."
"I do," Luna said. "Fork it over."
"It's not as easy as that," Umias said. "There will be questions --
politics. Why we gave it to a human. You are under question, even if you
have given us the two traitors... listen, Jedal may not approve of this
move, and he does have sway in the student body, so... it's not that easy.
Maybe if I work it over in an impromptu Council, in a few days--"
"Too long."
"I could try to simply authorize your taking of it as an emergency
measure under the grace of Ceipheed, but not everybody here believes that
you are Ceipheed's voice. I suppose if you worked fast enough... although
there may be pursuit if it is agreed that it was the wrong thing..."
"Umias.."
"Maybe if I--"
"Umias!"
The elder Dragon startled, as Luna... chuckled. There was a joke going
on, and only she got the punchline.
"Sit, relax," she suggested. "Chill. Already got plans workin'."
"Plans? Is this.. is this part of Ceipheed's will?"
"Naw," Luna said. "It's mine."
[()()]
"Got a smoke, mate?"
"Silence, dog!!"
Now THAT was uncalled for.
Granted, Bugger had been having the worst day he'd had in a long time
since the last worst day he'd had in a long time (yesterday). And yes, he
was captured by his enemies (one set of them) and was probably going to be
killed within a matter of hours, or given his luck, minutes. He was
trapped in a deep, nasty little cell in the storage basement of the Dragon
University, where they still had rats and mold. To top it all off, his
hands were bound behind his back using restraints made of painfully strong
white magic.
But despite all this, maybe he was just allowing a small bit of hope,
but he figured asking for a cigarette wasn't out of the question.
"Come on, I'm not going to live long enough to enjoy it properly,"
Bugger said.
"Dragons don't smoke," Jedal, captain of the guard said in a nasty
tone. "It's a filthy, health-destroying habit."
"I know. That's the point. Spare a light?"
"You're going to be executed," the Dragon reminded him.
"At least it'll be a change of pace from almost being killed," Bugger
said.
"Doesn't this worry you at all?"
"Figured it'd happen sooner or later," Bugger said. "Just got to
expect it. Wake up one morning, oh no, probably going to die today. Go to
bed, figure, well, maybe tomorrow."
"You're not like other Mazoku I've met," the Dragon said, keeping up
the angry tone instead of switching to a curious one. "They would
gratefully die for the glory of Shaburanigdo, their foul demon king! At
least they had some spirit to them, unlike you, spineless maggot!"
"Nothing glorious about death," Bugger muttered. "Some people like to
be martyrs for their causes, but I don't. Oh, they say, how tragic and
noble, let us be inspired by his messy end to do whatever deed we want to
do! Where does it get the actual martyr? Dead. Can't even bloody enjoy
it, because 'e's dead. No point whatsoever."
Jedal snorted. "Better to put you out of your obvious misery, then."
Bugger squatted. Not much choice. "Rather obvious, is it?"
"You Mazoku are a predictable lot."
He didn't respond to the crack. Thinking had set in, and once you get
around to a serious bout of thinking, it's hard to stop.
This is exactly how he'd behave, wasn't it? Get tossed into the worst
case situation, expecting it all along, and whine and stew in it like he
usually did. Eventually, he'd be destroyed, without much protest. Luna
must have predicted he'd do it. She knew he'd be a pushover, nudged
directly into a grave. And Angela...
The half-Dragon had hit hard times, certainly. Mopey. Depressive. No
self esteem. Just like him. How would she act when she was betrayed?
Probably sulk a lot and wait to be convicted and sentenced by the Dragons.
Just like he was. AGAIN she was going to act like him! Of all the...!
Luna was expecting them to roll over and die, to raise her standing
with those stinking lizards. That's why she used them. They'd do just
what she wanted.
"Bloody hell," Bugger said aloud. "That BITCH!"
"Silence, you--"
"You have NO idea how much that pisses me off," Bugger shouted at
Jedal. "Why should I sit here and do what she wants? She wants the
perfect pessimist, does she?"
Jedal got a white ball of fire ready. "Be quiet, or I'll--"
That's when Bugger opted to shift to his true Mazoku form. The
fireball winked out, its owner quite terrified.
As he should be. Bugger, in full 'glory', stood tall and wide, a
walking lump of waxy slime and dirt in a shredded trenchcoat. He had a
blob of pus for a head, and eyes that floated in bloodshot agony. It
snapped through the restraints without much of a thought. Could've done
that at any time, he thought to himself. But she wasn't expecting me to.
"I don't think I wanna BE the perfect pessimist today," he slurped, in
a voice like raspy flesh on shrapnel. "Or maybe even ever again. Not if
it's gonna make me this easy a mark to be used. Bugger THAT. Now beat it,
kid. I gotta score to settle with the Lunatic."
"You.. you won't get past me!!" Jedal squeaked in a mousy voice. "I
will stop you, even if it means my death!"
The Mazoku picked Jedal up by his head, and smashed him against the
ceiling.
"Unoriginal little blighter," Bugger gurgled. "Think I'll be
especially nasty to you on general principles. Ought to learn a lesson..."
Jedal spat up a wad of blood, glaring. "Fine, then! Destroy me, you
foul worm!"
"Ohhh, that's not what I meant," the Mazoku said, flooding one gooey
hand with black energy. "Rather the opposite..."
[()()]
The first explosion to be felt in the Dean's Office was a pretty good
one. It had that earth-shaking feel to it, a low hum that you can feel in
the ancient stones, followed by enough yelling to be heard even from that
distance.
Umias set down his tea, looking concerned. "What was..."
"Heh."
Luna rose, straightening her waitress uniform. The elder Dragon looked
at her, confused.
"What's going on?" he asked. "Do you know of this?"
"Just plans," Luna said. "Sorry for the mess, gramps."
"What are you talking about?!"
Luna paused. "Do you trust me?"
"I already said I did!"
"Groovy," Luna grinned, big and wide, and possibly a little mean. "You
won't get in trouble! Gonna steal the Lock. Not your fault I backstabbed
ya, right? Gotta go now. Thanks for the tea. Later."
"But--"
In a flash of white light, Luna was gone.
Umias stared at the space she was previously occupying. He swallowed,
hard.
"I hope my faith was well put," he said to himself. "In you and
Ceipheed."
His door burst open, the unfamiliar form of Jedal staggering in,
clutching at his misshapen arm.
"Sir!!" he wailed. "The Mazoku escaped! It's horrible! He's...
he's..."
"Oh, no.." Umias said. "Casualties? The students?"
"No," Jedal said, showing his arm. "He's... healing them, sir.. oh,
Ceipheed!! Don't look at me!"
"Stop that," Umias ordered. "Go and rustle up the guard. ALL of it,
tainted or not. I want them in full arms and attention to stop the
Mazoku. And... pull the guards out of the museum as well, we need all the
manpower we have."
[()()]
Angela's cell was considerably more up-scale. She was at least
half-Dragon, after all, and that entailed some comforts.
She was kept in a simple unoccupied dormitory room. There wasn't a
lock on the door, and the window had no bars. The guard was there to keep
others from coming IN, and the walls weren't even very thick. But
regardless, she was held as fast as if she was chained to a fifty ton rock.
The only person in the world who had given her a fair shake after her
accident had turned on her. Any worth she might have had to the Dragons
was gone. Motivation was, as a result, the last thing on her mind, content
to just lie there on a stiff college bed, and wait for whatever was to
happen to her.
There was some commotion in the hall, but Angela didn't stir. Didn't
even register the noise. Took no notice of her door being blown to
component atoms, and the Mazoku walking in to meet her.
Bugger downshifted back to a humanoid form, and waved a hand over
Angela's open eyes. "'ey, gel. You drugged or something? Wake up."
"I'm awake," Angela said, in a flat tone.
"Ah, great," Bugger grinned. "So! Let's blast the hell out of here,
annihilate Luna and split. Up you go."
She didn't move.
"Oh... no, let me guess," Bugger sighed. "You're too sad to bother.
You know, this is gettin' tired, gel. What's the problem? The real
problem? What's got you so wormed out?"
"You know."
"Refresh my memory."
"I'm... nothing," Angela said. "Not a Dragon. Not a Mazoku. My
people fear and loathe me, my god rejects me, my only supposed friend
betrayed--"
"Stop!" Bugger said, holding up a hand. "Back up. Got something
wrong."
Angela slowly sat up on the bed, glaring at him. "Ceipheed himself
TOLD me I had no worth."
"Not that. Forward a bit, try again."
"What, that Luna betrayed me?"
"Not what you said."
"Yes it is."
"No it ain't."
"Yes it is."
"No it... DAMMIT, gel!" Bugger yelled. "I'm trying to be NICE to you
here! Play along!"
"It's still true, isn't it?!" Angela shouted back. She snapped her
wings out, showing off the crux of her problem. "What am I? A Dragon or a
Mazoku? Tell me! The Dragons won't let me be a Dragon! What else can I
be!"
"You can be dead, if we wait here long enough," Bugger said, nervously
looking at the door. "They'll catch on pretty quick that I'd come here."
"Why would you come here?" Angela asked. "You wouldn't want to save
me. Just leave me alone."
It probably wasn't the most elegant solution, and certainly wasn't the
most pleasant, but it worked.
With a snap, Bugger reached out and grabbed the remaining angel's wing,
and tore it from Angela's back in a swift, sharp motion. Before she even
had a chance to blink, he had darkness in his hand, healing the injury...
and growing a duplicate black bat's wing. A matching set.
"There! Fine! You're a FULL Mazoku now!" Bugger said, tossing the
torn wing away. "Who cares if Ceipheed thinks you're worthless and those
idiotic Dragons sneer at you? At the very least, and I do mean very least,
I don't give a damn who and what you are, and I'll accept you! None of the
other Mazoku will, but they're all wankers! They don't want me, either.
Jeez, gel, given that we're both generally despised, you'd think bein' in
the same boat would give us a little something to rely on..."
Angela stared in abject horror, at the severed, discarded wing. Her
mouth formed a round, round O, as did her eyes. "You... you just..."
"So can we give the self-image thing a rest and go after the real enemy
here?" Bugger asked. "Luna Inverse. She played us off to make herself big
with your ex-Dragon pals. Fat load of pricks they are! They could care
less about you, so why should you care what they think?"
Angela fell into her mind, lost without a paddle. It was so
confusing. Who and what was she? Just when she had decided she wasn't
anything, the situation went and changed again. Now where did she stand?
Bugger reached out, offering a hand.
"We've got to hurry," he said. "Guards'll be charging in here any
second now, little miss Mazoku."
"I'm.. Mazoku now, aren't I?" Angela asked, quietly.
"If you wanna look at it that way," Bugger said. "Doesn't matter to me
what terminology you--"
Angela gathered a ball of black energy, and hurled it at her old wing,
incinerating the feathers, melting the bone.
"We're going after her together, right?" she asked again, now with more
fire in her voice.
"Ah... yeah, that's... generally the idea," Bugger mumbled, a bit
stunned by the show of power. "You okay now?"
"No," Angela said. "But I'm getting better."
[()()]
Dragon University was a mob scene. Terrorists! Terrors! Students
holed up in their dorm rooms, listening to guards running around, as a
frantic Jedal tried to track the Mazoku who was roaming the complex. Being
a very complex complex and having an army that had little actual field
experience didn't help matters.
The few times guards did find the Mazoku and the strange half-Dragon
(who rumor said had turned into a giant bat with razor sharp fangs, but
rumors are rumors), disaster struck. Half-Dragons left in their wake!
Deliberately polluting their pure systems! Better to die than that!
Luna just had to laugh, but she didn't want to draw any attention. She
had found a servant's uniform. In past efforts, she had found that a nice,
tidy uniform was often a key to success... because nobody paid attention to
a generic working class person. She moved freely around the campus,
carrying a load of freshly pressed clothes, seemingly on an errand through
the chaos. Nobody cared.
The museum was deserted. It was a refreshing surprise.
"Thanks, Um," she said to herself, tossing the clothes aside, and
approaching the artifacts room. The lock melted into slag at the touch of
her fingers, and she swung the door open easily.
There, in a near-corner of the room, was the Lock of Order. Nobody
here could touch it... only a human, a being of chaos, could lay a finger
on the devices of Order. A strange irony, Luna found. The Dragons had
simply roped off an area on the floor, put up a warning sign and had some
handy pamphlets describing the strange history of this unknown artifact.
Luna politely pushed the ropes aside, picked up the lock and dropped it
into a pocket on her apron. Easy as that.
It was when she attempted to leave the museum that they caught up to
her. She actually was expecting to see them earlier.
"'ello," she greeted. "'sup?"
"You're gonna die, Luna Inverse," Bugger snarled, a melting clump of
wax and splatter, his true form. Angela was at his side, and much to
Luna's surprise, now had a symmetric set of wings. An interesting solution
to the situation!
Instead of getting ready for battle, Luna... got on her knees, and
bowed most respectfully to the two of them, fingertips touching the floor.
Bugger ignored this, stepping forward -- but Angela put an arm out,
blocking him.
"What trick are you playing now?" she asked the human.
"Oh, no trick," Luna said. "Wan'ned to thank ya."
"Thanks??" Bugger roared. "You wanted us to die, you did!"
"Naw," Luna said. "Great successes! Everything 'cording to plan!"
"Explain the logic underlying THAT statement," Angela commanded.
And Luna did just that, pulling her official restaurant ordering pad
from a pocket, and getting out a pencil. "Lock obtained. Check. Umias
not primarily to blame, check. Jedal and ilk humiliated, check. Dragons
tossed into chaos, check. Gonna have to rethink their ideas 'bout what a
Dragon is, possible future check. Most 'portantly... both of ya acted like
I hoped, check. Angela got her groove back, check, Bugger got a spine,
check, both of ya got a good bond goin', check. Glorious day, yeah?
Goodness all around."
"The hell is she talking about?" Bugger asked.
"She... seems to have manipulated us into thinking she manipulated us
in another direction," Angela translated. She looked curiously at Luna.
"Tell me, Luna... have you ever heard of one named Xelloss?"
"Nope," Luna lied.
"Let's just say if you two ever had children, I would be very afraid,"
Angela said. "Come, Bugger. Let's get out of this place."
"But... hey! We didn't put the smack down on--"
"We don't need to," Angela said. "But damned if we're going to keep
working for her. Selfish, manipulative little human... we're taking leave
of your company, Luna. Once burned is more than enough."
"'bye," Luna said, waving.
"Yah, well... this ain't over," Bugger pronounced lamely. He
teleported away, Angela shortly after, and the two departed -- presumably
together, for parts unknown.
Luna looked at her list, and made note of the last two items.
"Angela 'n Bugger will be safe somewhere away from Chaos Island when
the end comes... check," she said. "End the world.... unchecked..."
She gave her surroundings one last look. The sounds of Dragons
shouting and carrying on, confused by the taints in their midst, their
simple, cyclic lifestyle thrown into whack were faintly heard.
"Better get to that last one," she said.
[()()]
Ceipheed's orders had been very simple. He was a pretty pragmatic god,
all things considered; no more or less said than needed. In response,
Luna's approach was equally straightforward. Tasks complete here, it was
time to move on, without much of a care for the madhouse she left behind.
Truth be told, she didn't need to do all of that. Ceipheed didn't ask
her to. But it felt good, and in the end, was the right thing to do for
everybody in question. Luna had made a habit of ensuring the proper
outcome regardless of how seemingly ludicrous the means.
There was one final leg to the trip, however. She had to go to the
appointed place and wait for the appointed time. Then she would wait, for
the other pieces of the puzzle to come to her, brought by her sisters.
Ceipheed told her they'd be coming along after her, and what they'd want to
do. Life would get complicated at that point, but until then, things were
groovy.
Travel was easy. A simple flight spell over the circle sea, towards
the island... the one mini-continent no sailor approached. Luna slid
through the veil of mist and swirling storms that kept outsiders from Chaos
Island like a hot knife through tofu, the Lock of Order clearing the way
for her. Inside, it was actually a pleasant day. She didn't take much
note of her surroundings, not seeing any need to.
Waiting was also easy for someone used to waiting on tables. Luna sat
up her traveling kit, with a small tent and cooking fire, and was working
on the daily special (sweet and sour dried pork with rice) when she saw her
sister.
It was a brief vision, probably intended to be subliminal, of Lina
Inverse holding the golden power that contrasted against the deep blue
ocean of Ceipheed's light. When Luna turned to look, it was gone.
"Know you're here," she said quietly. "Come out."
A voice spoke between her ears.
"He Told You?" she asked, with a tone of shock seldom heard in the
voice of the all-creator.
"Yep," Luna said. "Said this was your home. You'd try to change my
mind."
A small child of golden light walked between the air, standing before
Luna. Her gaze could pierce the sun. Luna met it evenly, never losing her
trademark grin.
"There Is Little I Can Do Against Human Will," the Lord of Nightmares
said. Was that a sigh added? "I Have Designed It Too Perfectly... And
There Is Even Less I Can Do Against My Enemy Directly."
"It'll be cool," Luna said, not the least bit unsettled by having to
comfort the god of gods. "Don't panic."
"The End Times Have Begun," the Lord said. "Already The Three Races
Gather This... Thing Together. This Hated Thing I Was Unable To Purge From
My World. I Cannot Know If My Chaos Will Overcome Order's Plans To Destroy
What I Have Striven To Develop.."
"Nervous?"
"I Am Incapable Of Emotion As Your Kind Know It. ...But I Suppose In
Some Vaguely Equivalent Sense, It Could Be Conceivable," the Lord of
Nightmares stated. "Tell Me, Luna Inverse... When The Time Comes, What
Will You Maintain Faith In? Order, or Chaos?"
Luna paused, a dead air beat, the hopes of a god waiting on the answer.
"Neither, I guess. I got my faith in Ceipheed," she eventually
replied.
If it was possible for the deity's shoulders to slump, they would have.
"You Have Made Your Choice," She affirmed. "Whether You Realize Or
Not. I Will Leave You Until The Time Coming."
The Lord vanished, without a sound or an optical effect.
Luna went back to cooking her dinner, whistling a tune, and waiting.
Truth be told, she was looking forward to the family reunion. Because
regardless of Ceipheed's orders, or the Lord's wishes, Luna had her own
plan, and Lina was a key component to it.
"Seeya then, sis," she said to herself, voice barely a whisper.
Luna remained as quiet as a mouse for the following days, awaiting the
end.
2b Continued