Slayers! Yoyutchi
by Leaf-Chan (leaf_chan@excite.com)

"Eat spiritual death, bizatch. Raystorm Flare!"

Episode VIII: The End

			[-----]

Some believed that the world was dominated between two forces striving for
control, and that these two forces have long since entered a stalemate that
is now being played out in the eternal little battles and unnamed wars
throughout the land. A series of battles that rage on between Mazoku and
Dragon and human, with no clear victor nor loser. Each side had its
strengths: the Mazoku were immensely powerful, the Dragons were benevolent
and still fairly strong, and the humans... sucked up to the Dragons.

Thus, it was up to the Dragons--or, rather, a certain representative of the
Dragons--to stick up for them ol' humans when the time came to haul their
asses out of the fire. This certain representative just happened to be
human, and she, conveniently enough, came straight down from the Man
himself. The big cheese. The big boss dude. The Flare Dragon Formerly
Reigning As Ceipheed.

Luna had never been much of an active representative; or rather, Knight.
When it came around to do her job, she did it quickly and efficiently and
usually in a fashion that didn't beget folk songs and tales of legend.
Those
sort of affairs were left to greater beings like her boss, or the *really*
powerful people.

This time, however, she was sure of the feeling that this particular
episode
will go down in history and get her name in the history books (provided
that
the students actually got to the reading portion of their curriculum, given
the current rate of decreasing educational interest these days) as the
First Defender of Mankind.

The ironic thing was that she was saving mankind from itself.

People thought it was decided long ago that it was between a dude with a
ruby eye, a big-assed dragon, and some mysterious mistress of bad dreams
were the only forces to ever appear in the equation of life. They were
wrong.

In the middle of a nondescript field just outside of Scriimtu (a town that
looked like a beaten-down version of Scriim laying to the south), Nevv
Swanson, Knight of Ilyuum, was consummating the pact that she'd made six
years ago.

			[-----]

Memories were such a quirky thing, really.

Nevv's life was flashing before her eyes, and it wasn't in any sort of
figurative sense, either; she really *was* seeing it flash before her eyes.
Maybe it was just the high-grade energy streaming at her from below, or
maybe it was just the idea that she was about to bring forth (not
resurrect--Ilyuum had never actually *been* in this world before, not yet)
something that could potentially destroy the world with her own hands.

Heh, funny how life turned out. She was currently in the twelve-year old
phase of her memories, and the array of schoolwork, love letters,
bitchslaps, and wedgies played itself before her star-filled eyes. And then
there was a special spark as her eyes beheld the one incident when she'd
stumbled outside of town.

She had gone on the right path, as always, except this time it was
different.

The forest around her had quickly given way to unfamiliar surroundings and
eventually become something downright frightening altogether. Nevv wasn't
one to try her luck too much, and had turned around on the path. The weird
thing was, even though she'd only walked a few seconds into the forest, the
path she'd taken in was now completely gone.

"Hello?" she called out nervously.

The rest of that particular memory had been a haze. She only remembered a
shine of brilliant blue light, a warm and blissful presence, and a power
that was absolutely *throbbing* in her hands.

And the goal. There was, of course, her goal.

Here she was, doing it. The third force, the interloper, the variable in
the
equation of this world...

The bulge of energy was taking shape now, elongating itself into something
thinner and higher, towering over the fragmented remains of the ground that
Nevv stood on. She felt herself changing again, like last time when she'd
hazily spoken the word: yes. But this time... it was into something even
more different than what she had turned into, the Knight of Ilyuum. This
time, she was becoming... no, *Becoming*.

Yeah. It was a trip, all right.

When all was said and done, the energy spread itself up into the sky like a
giant beacon screaming out "THIS IS THE PLACE TO GO FOR THE BIG FIREFIGHT
THAT TAKES PLACE NEAR THE CLIMAX OF THE STORY". In front of the beacon was
a
solitary figure, now dressed in an obligatory skimpy suit of white cloth,
metal lace, and silk frills acquired from Sexy Villain Ltd.

Nevv paused, then smiled and shivered in... anticipation.

"God damn, I'm freezing," she muttered.

Or maybe it wasn't anticipation after all.

			[-----]

Ace and Gary awoke once more from their reverie and immediately noticed
that
they were in the presence of something very powerful. As befits their
status
as Mazoku, they stood up, dusted each other off, and stumbled over to see
what was going on.

They were greeted by the skimpily-clad and big-bosomed Knight of Ilyuum.

"Hey you two," Nevv called in greeting. "How's it going?"

Gary blanched as Ace turned aside, his more refined senses of erotica
utterly repulsed. "Nevv Swanson, *why* are you wearing such a ridiculous
costume?" the former asked, smoothing the front of his somewhat-tattered
spandex tights so that it didn't look *too* bulgy.

The girl smiled brightly, and leaned against the shaft of energy behind
her.
"I don't know," she said. "I think it's a rule that all powerful beings
have
to be over half-naked and female. I'm damn dissatisfied to act as the
cheesecake of this particular situation."

"What is the rather-large shaft of energy that you seem to be leaning your
body on?"

"This?" Nevv smiled, although it was now more whimsical and cruel than
anything else. "Oh, this baby's going to take the world by storm. Maybe you
want to be the first volunteers?"

Ace and Gary blinked.

"Oop, too late," Nevv said, pointing one finger at them. The shaft of
energy
rose, flexed, and seemed to surround the girl in an unholy aura, its
permutations and curves raging over her like the waves of an angry ocean.
"Here. Hold this."

And the energy gathered, then simply surged forth at both Mazoku in a flash
of power that sent both of them reeling back a full twenty feet.

"... ngh," Gary groaned, then slumped over the barely-corporeal body of his
unconscious companion Ace.

Nevv giggled.

Wink.

Nevv turned.

"That's not nice," Luna said, smiling. Flanking her on both sides was Lina,
Emmanem, and Kiseki.

The last one raised one forearm up in a show of utter bullsh... defiance.
"Surrender now, or prepare to fight!" Kiseki yelled.

"That's a tough one," Nevv muttered. "I think I'll fight."

"...oh, shit." Kiseki glanced at Lina, who happened to be making her face
comfortable against a slab of rock. Repeatedly. "Lina? Help? A little? Use
that thing you did to blow up my town?"

Dora-Mata sighed. "I can't believe this is happening," she mumbled, then
gathered both hands back and began to charge a bright red-purple wave of
energy...

"Nevv Swanson... cease this madness!" Emmanem declared. "I implore you, on
behalf of all that is decent--" He noticed her outfit. "--on behalf of all
that is decent and fully-clothed, cease this violence!"

"Oh, but I can't..." she said mournfully. "You see, I have this little pact
that I made with some god a few years ago, and I gotta keep it, you know
what I mean? I know, it's sudden and it sounds like a bad contrivance, but
seriously, this has been going on for a long time. So can't we just be
friends? I know Ilyuum'll appreciate it if you joined His side..."

Emmy considered this for a very long while. Two seconds later, he shook his
head firmly no.

"I cannot support any interloper who meddles in the affairs of the powers
that be," he said slowly. "It is not my place t--"

"In other words, ya don't wanna have powers-that-wannabe butting in, eh?"
Lina shot back. "Er, I mean: in Thy great name, I pledge myself to
Darkness!"

"... yes, Lina, I appreciate your marvellous tact and insight on this si--"

"Oh, shut up and fight already! Oyaji FLARE!" With that, Kiseki took
careful
aim at Nevv and fired off an array of lights that flashed and looked very
pretty. The lights flickered about Nevv, throwing her off-balance for the
slightest moment... and then Luna moved in and vaporized the entire area
around them with a deft gesture of one hand.

The three others--Lina, Kiseki and Emmy--went flying. Luna remained in the
midst of the column of power, smiling whimsically as her hair fluttered
about, revealing the faintest glow of blue from beneath her bangs. As for
Nevv, she managed settle down back in her spot amicably after recovering
from the unexpected surprise of being flung a few hundred feet into the
air.

Knight of Ilyuum: "I thought you were supposedly anti-climactic."

Knight of Ceipheed: "Sometimes. Didn't hafta meet you before."

Lina stumbled up, blinking, the Dragon Slave having dissipated into a haze
of crimson light. Kiseki and Emmy did likewise a second later.

The ground beneath them suddenly gave out as the shaft of energy behind
Nevv
pulsed and streaked directly towards Luna. Bits of rock crumbled and dust
flew. The rock gave way completely, then collapsed back down towards the
gaping hole that was now in the middle of the land underneath them. Luna
weaved aside; no, she simply wasn't there the next millisecond, and Nevv
was
sent packing by a large burst of red-blue energy from somewhere off to her
right.

Scrambling frantically for solid ground (*relatively* solid...), the three
quickly managed to take refuge upon a sizable floating chunk of rock that
hadn't been sent tumbling groundwards.

The only thing that Emmanem could do was watch in silent rumination as the
battle played itself out between the two Knights as they rebounded off of
each other, massive bursts of power in every size, shape, and color ("A red
phallus. Very funny, Nevv.") flying and impacting on both air and ground.

The only thing that Lina could do was... stay the hell away from the
parties
involved. It's not like she was *reeeeeeally* needed in this anyways,
right?
Grumble, grumble. She also didn't want to admit that seeing her sister
actively using magic was something that freaked her out to no end. So, she
set out a low table, a bowl of rice, and began eating. Yooooooosh...!!

The only thing that Kiseki could do was pretend to be actively involved in
the fight, swinging punches (although neither mage was actually touching
each other; at a certain point in the art of flinging magic at each other,
you learn that actual physical contact is something that's too vulgarly
simplistic to be actually used) that hit solid swathes of air and mimicking
the complex and flowing gesticulations required to cast spells. You know,
stuff along the lines of pointing fingers (index fingers), waving an arm,
and yelling out the name of the spell for dramatic effect.

Luna didn't like to yell. "Dragon Slave."

"Wha... oh, shit, not this," Nevv realized, and quickly shifted aside
before
Luna opened her right palm, sending a blast of violent crimson power at
her.
Priding herself on having anticipated such an obvious attack, Nevv raised
her own hand to strike the occupied Luna--not *physically*, of course,
magic
was *so* much more elegant, and even if it wasn't, it made things go boom--
with her own magic.

Nevv's spell phased directly through Luna. The Knight of Ilyuum had a full
second to stare before she was struck dead-on by a Dragon Slave from
behind.

Large explosion. Rocks went tumbling down, taking the three who were
sitting
on top with them. Lina's bowl of rice ended up on top of her head.

"Nevv!!" Emmanem shouted, bolting to his feet and reaching futilely with
both arms, as if to shelter her from the impact of the Slave.

Kiseki quickly reached up and tugged him back. "You can't do anything about
this!" she pleaded. "Emmy... we must do what we have to do!"

"What may that be?"

Kiseki looked down. Ground. Approaching. Rapidly. "RUN AWAY!!!"

			[-----]

"Oogh."

Where the heck was she *now*?

It was like before, when she'd been captured by the Disturbingly Ambiguous
Mazoku... only this time, the darkness seemed more real, more solid, and
less sticky. It was...

She looked up. It was dark outside, wherever 'outside' was.

/Kiseki Rendahl./

She glanced upwards and saw more blackness. Where the *heck* was she?

/I am in your mind./

"What?!" she said aloud. The sound of her own shrill voice bounced and rang
hollowly off of the walls around her, dancing back and forth in tandem
oscillation. "Who are you?"

/I am that which you refer to as 'Ilyuum'./

"Oh, I get it... you're the bad guy." Kiseki stood up, then decided, what
with the aching limbs and all, that it wasn't worth it. "What'd you do to
Nevv? Where's Lina, and Luna, and Lara--"

/Wrong story./

"--er, sorry, Lina, Luna, and Emmanem?" she finished.

/They are fine. I have taken this moment to approach you in your hour of
need, to guide you and instruct you as to what the future shall hold./

"Cool!" Kiseki gushed, nodding. She thought about it. "Huh?"

Ilyuum repressed a mental sigh, and tried again. /I wish to aid you, Kiseki
Umi Rendahl./

"Ohhhh, no," she said, backing up and raising her hands defensively,
willing
the oyajiness to life. "Luna offered to help me last time, and look where
that got me... so no! Now let me go and tell me where the others are! In
that order, please."

/I cannot do that just yet... for you wield a power that, even now, defies
the dominance of the four forces of this world./

"... what's that mean? You talk just like Emmy... sheesh."

/Observe your hand./

Kiseki did so. The energy there was a translucent pink, shining faintly in
the darkness of the 'room'. "Yeah, it's saikyou power. So?"

/Do you understand, Kiseki? Do you know what you possess?/

"Um... no." She glanced around once more, fidgeting. "I have to go to the
bathroom."

/.../

"I really do!" Kiseki insisted. "C'mon. It's all dark here... you can't
even
see me, right? So I'll just go behind this patch of... oogh, no, that's not
darkness--"

/*Kiseki* *Rendahl*./

"What now?"

/... the bathroom is to your left, down six clumps and to the right of the
patch of *really* dark... darkness./

A few minutes later, she came back. "Thanks, I needed that... where were
we?"

/Your power, Kiseki. Your power... and how you can wield it to your maximum
potential./

Kiseki blinked. "Why does that mean so much to you? Don't you have Nevv to
do
the work?"

There was a flash as Kiseki's mind opened. It didn't happen of its own
accord, nor did Kiseki herself have the knowledge to do so. Ilyuum
stretched
one nonexistant hand forth and began feeding images into her brain.

"Whoa... this is cool..." she said. Flicker.

Flash.

"GAH!" Nevv screamed, reeling backwards as Luna shifted her arm down
slightly. Irisdescent blue energy flared. The Knight of Ilyuum faltered,
and
then was sent flying once more as Luna moved in and delivered a blow with
the back of her hand--or rather, the edge of a spell that was focused in a
large orb around her hand. Panting, Nevv stumbled to her feet again, and
coughed once or twice before lowering her gaze down to the ground once
more.

Luna hovered above her, a whirlpool of energy gathering almost before she
had recovered from the previous spell. "Sorry," she said.

"... huff... 'sorry'... won't cut it--AAAGHH!!!"

The prone form of Nevv Swanson collapsed to the ground, still surrounded by
the shaft of blue light that somehow seemed to protect her from what would
have normally killed a living being nice and dead. Odd, that, since the
Dragons did pride themselves on being the preservors of life.

Luna settled on the ground, crossing her arms over her ample chest as the
elegant garments about her fluttered to a halt. "Ceipheed's orders," she
said simply, and fired a Burst Flare into the ground, obscuring Nevv from
sight in a blinding explosion of white light that... that...

Kiseki couldn't watch anymore, and abruptly jerked her head up, gasping
with
a fear that seemed to rack her entire being. It was almost as if she had
*become* Nevv...

"Where is she?!" she demanded, even as the darkness around her suddenly
began to turn light, into a faint shade of azure. "What's going to happen?"

/I must take my leave for now, Kiseki.../

"No! Darn you, get your butt back here! You haven't explained anything to
me!"

/You will know in time./

"Argh! Chouhatsu Brand!!"

/.../

A brief pause. /That was not necessary, Kiseki. I shall return in due
course. But for now... the game continues./

"Game...?" she murmured. "What're you talking... oh, you're gone, darn."

There was a distinct sensation of someone--some*thing*, rather--mentally
waddling out, as if a very large and very painful object was lodged in-
between what would have been his legs. And then Ilyuum simply wasn't there
the next moment.

Neither was Kiseki.

			[-----]

"Wake up!"

"... grnk."

"Stupid Kiseki, wake UP!"

"... don' wanna."

"Wakeupwakeupwakeup!!"

"Oh, fine." Kiseki did just that, and she found herself lying on the
outskirts of Scriimtu, in the middle of a grassy field. Next to her,
unconscious on the ground, were the forms of Lina and Emmanem.

Who the heck was just yelling at her, then?

An explosion rocked the area, sending a rush of hot, dry air skimming past
the blades of grass.

Kiseki was up and about a half mile away from the field when she hazarded a
look back. The sight of an enormous flare of blue light shaped in the form
of a dragon's head greeted her eyes.

"... I *cannot* allow this!" she said firmly to herself. "I let my hometown
be destroyed once in the ensuing chaos of Lina Inverse... and now, I will
not let her sister do the same to the world!"

A gleaming flash of light clicked into being above Kiseki's head: a spell
taught to her by her late and great sensei. "For love! For vengeance! And
for truth!" she declared, shifting into a pose that was more than faintly
reminiscent of the two Mazoku who had captured her a while ago. "I am
Kiseki
'Umi' Rendahl, master of Saikyouism! And I shall fight... for everlasting
peace!"

Kiseki was then caught in the midst of one of Nevv's spells. "AUGH!!"

"Hey, neat," Luna remarked, somehow avoiding a blast of light with a deft
turn of her neck and nothing else. "Thought you were gone."

Nevv, her expression tired but determined, flung a fold of her tattered
Evil Villain Skimpy Getup aside (there was a big flowing cape as well that
always seemed to catch the breeze just right each time the wind came by).
"I
told you, Luna... I made that promise to Ilyuum nine years ago, and since
then I've matured beyond my initial lolicon appeal into full-blown
womanhood."

Luna didn't say anything. For once, Nevv wasn't sure if she was stunned
into
silence or just biding her time.

"You remember that promise, don't you?" she continued, smiling slightly.
"In
fact... I think that's the first time I took the left path... and you took
the right one for the first time."

"... ayep." Luna smiled faintly. "Too late now. Not gonna end up friends
'gin. Realized my destiny."

Nevv sighed. "I should've guessed. Still. You always were the stronger
one--"

"Ilyuum is not Ceipheed."

"No. He's not." Nevv raised one hand, and began invoking the magics that
she
suddenly felt were always a part of her, the processes and words and
recitation flowing through her mind with lubricated speed. "But they always
thought He was... but I am the Knight of Ilyuum, and I *will* obey my
Master."

Luna's eyebrow perked up. "'kay. Me too." She opened her left hand, and
infinitesmal specks of power began drawing back between her fingers,
centering in her palm.

"Trust. Denial. Devotion. Belief." Knight of Ilyuum.

"....." Knight of Ceipheed. "..................."

"Shatter before the light that Ilyuum and I wield... pulse that brings
life,
abyss that harbors death, stretch both expanses before my darkness and my
light..." Nevv took a quick breath, sucked down a mouthful of Thirst-Aid,
and continued. "...and fly forth across the space of time to vanquish them
all! Beast, beastmaster, and master: heed my cry--OW!!!"

"What the hell do you think you're doing, Nevv?" Lina demanded, setting her
portable wind hammer aside. Both spells of both girls dissipated into
nothing, the focus lost.

Nevv sighed exaggeratingly as if she was hired to star in one of those
cheesy daytime sitcoms that women in their forties liked to watch while
eating BonBons straight from the can which was sitting next to a box of
tissues left on the table for convenient tear-wiping. "I'm going to change
this world, of course," she said. Once every hour, on the hour, twice on
Tuesdays. Thank you, please drive thru.

"What is the meaning of this?" Emmanem inquired, getting up and brushing
his
blue hair back with a smooth hand. Sparkles flitted about in the air. Nevv
brushed the effect off.

"Look, fembot, do I need to explain myself?" Nevv replied, irritated at
having her trump card interrupted. "Listen to my words and you'll
understand. Now excuse me, I have a spell to cast... huh?"

"Go boom now," Luna whispered. She closed her fist, then opened it again--
and this time the world around them simply turned a blinding pitch of
white before fading into black, the last thing that any of them saw.

			[-----]

Author's Notes: Welp--it's finally over! Yeah, the project I began as a
joke
to promote Luna Inverse has finally come to a dubiously-fun halt. Anyways,
I'd like to thank Darkheart One for his Slayers experience, Stefan Gagne
for
writing Slayers fics and inspiring piddly little authors such as myself,
and
the people of Tokyo-3 for their support and their guidance. If you have
anything to say about this series, feel free to emaaaAAAAAGHHHHH!!!!

[Lina shows up, an irate look on her face.]

[Lina]: YOU BASTARD! How can you end the story like this?! I didn't even
get
a major role! This story's about *me*, not some girl who's a cheap Neve
Campbell knockoff!! Now get your butt back to writing, or I'll shove a Bomb
Di Wind so far up your butt you'll be feeling it for the rest of your
life!!

[Kiseki]: What about me? You started with my point-of-view and now you've
fallen in love with that tramp Nevv!

I... I did *not*!

[Nevv]: Well, I can't help it if I've got the goods and he's got the
needs--OW.

[Emmanem sets his mallet down.]

[Emmanem]: The story is far from over, dear readers. Merely allow us to
convince our author to finish the work so you may continue to enjoy the
experience that is Slayers Yoyutchi.

[Kiseki]: Yeah! I mean, there hasn't even been a real plot yet!

[Lina]: You should see the original series...

[Kiseki]: Leafie never did watch enough Slayers.

All right, damn it, I get the point! >_< Just give me some time to type,
I've got so much junk to do these days--

[Nevv]: Like downloading Cham-Cham porn from ABPEA?

... that WASN'T funny.

[Nevv]: Oh, I bet it stung like a somebitch... but then again, I'm not the
one who has to resort to a completely fourth-wall shattering moment such as
this one to make people laugh.

[Lina looks at you.]

[Lina]: Um... they're not laughing...

[Kiseki]: There, now, don't cry! It's almost over!

You guys are incorrigible. All right, lemme finish this damn chapter up,
work on my homework... and then I'll reveal the rest of the plot. OKAY?!

[All]: All right!

[Luna]: Yay.

And *you*. Remember that you're not canon. So don't come to me if I don't
write you in enough scenes, because you're technically an original
character.

[Luna]: 'kay.

[Lina]: And there was much rejoicing.

[Emmanem]: May we return to the story now, dear Leaf?

Sure, sure...

			[-----]

"Oi. You're not dead."

"... huh?"

Lina opened her eyes and saw the face of her sister hovering over her. Her
first response to such an act of sibling tenderness was natural.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!"

Scrabbling to get the *hell* away, Lina managed to hit her tailbone on a
bit
of rock that was protruding out from the ground. She yelped in protest,
then
continued her attempts at fleeing as Luna looked on with an expression that
was kind of between pity and amusement.

"C'mon," Luna said, and that was when Lina noticed that the area around
them
was still flaring with the leftover traces of Luna's magic... magic that
happened to be around them in a hemisphere that extended about a hundred
feet in radius.

Lina glanced around her in confusion. "Sis... what's going on?"

"Long story. Wanna hear?"

"You said that we were fighting against an evil, malevolent force known as
Ilyuum last time!" Lina protested. "What the hell's going on now?"

"Same ol' same ol'," Luna replied, grinning. "Fightin' against Ilyuum. We
won. Time to have a lil' talk."

"... with whom are we conversing?" Emmanem grumbled, picking himself up off
of the dirt and dusting his sparkling blue hair off.

"Her boss," Luna said, gesturing at the unconscious form of Nevv Swanson.

"What'd you do to Nevv?!" Kiseki yelled, leaping onto Luna from behind...
ooh, wait, that wasn't padding--owowowowow, not the lightning spell, Luna--

"She's fine. Lost the battle. Too inexperienced."

"I thought you were going to kill her."

The Knight of Ceipheed regarded Emmanem with a look of amusement. "Nah.
Dragons don't kill. Knights of Dragons don't either."

"Are these real...?" Kiseki muttered. Squeeze. Squeeze squeeze.

Luna's usually-calm disposition cracked just a tiny bit: a microscopic
sliver in the smooth sheen of calmness. "Kiseki."

The girl grinned. "Hmmmmm?"

"Mono Volt."

"AUUUUUUUUGGGGGHHHHH!" Clunk.

"Let's go," Luna said, lowering her index finger.

"Go? Where?" Emmanem wondered. He was getting that feeling of not knowing
what the heck was going on again--why was this becoming something all-too-
normal these days?

"To see Nevv's boss," she repeated. "And mine."

Blinking, Lina and Emmanem had a full half-second to wonder what the
ramifications of that statement were before they disappeared from beneath
the hemisphere of energy, taking the prone forms of Kiseki and Nevv along
as
well. A second after they were gone, the hemisphere itself vanished,
leaving
the dust to clear and expose a massive hole in the ground that no longer
contained a brilliant bulge of energy as it did twenty minutes ago.

			[-----]

There was a man standing before them. He was short, wizened, with grey hair
that frizzled wildly around his balding head and a long grey beard that
hinted at the mad scientist type. The robes he wore were starry and a deep
celestial hue, not really looking like cloth but more like the fabric of
the
night sky itself. Atop aforementioned balding head, a small crown rested on
the man's glistening pate, striking a curious incongruity between what
appeared to be a senile old fart and a wise old king.

The man raised one arm in anticipation, and a moment later, four more
presences arrived in the space that, since they had occupied it, had
finally
acquired a name: the Between.

Presences, yes, for physical appearances were trivial here in a place where
physicalities did not exist. There was only pure thought, mind, and that
which people called the spirit, that which existed in the astral plane.
This
was not the astral plane. It was, in fact, not even native to this world;
the Between was a result of the merging that had been forced onto it by the
Other. All mystical terms aside, it was a really detached place with funky
strobe lights and black mist.

Four presences. He reached, and felt who they were--in a purely consensual
and non-vulgar fashion, of course. Lina Inverse... yes, *her*. He knew all
about Lina Inverse already. What's this? Jukaara... he was not from here.
He
was one of the Other's... no matter. Lack of knowledge implies temporary
lack of threat. Moving on, here was a most interesting one... Kiseki 'Umi'
Rendahl... a wildcard in a game of variables. Yes. And lastly, there was...

/Hi. Care for a spot of tea?/

... yes, that's Luna, all right.

And then another presence joined them--a familiar one to both Luna and the
old man. This one had a strong mental appearance as well... that of a
young,
sturdy man with tanned skin, fair blond hair, and blue eyes, garbed in what
was little more than a t-shirt with ripped sleeves and blue jeans.

Nevv finally came to, and looked up. And realized. /Oh... my... God.../

/That is I,/ Ilyuum replied.

Both men turned to look at the four before them.

/Welcome to the Between,/ said Ceipheed.

			[-----]

Comments can be sent to: leaf_chan@excite.com




________________________________________________________________
Get FREE voicemail, fax and email at http://voicemail.excite.com
Talk online at http://voicechat.excite.com

-- 
           .---------Anime/Manga Fanfiction Mailing List----------.
           |    To send a post to the list -- ffml@fanfic.com     |
           | To contact the admin staff -- ffml-admins@fanfic.com |
           |  To change your account -- ffml-request@fanfic.com   |
        .--'      Listar Help -- put "help" in the subject (*)    `--.
        |      Subscribing -- put "subscribe" in the subject (*)     |
        |    Unsubscribing -- put "unsubscribe" in the subject (*)   |
        | Setting a flag -- put "set ffml <flag>" in the subject (*) |
        |          (*) Remove quotation marks for commands.          |
        `-------------http://www.fanfic.com/FFML-FAQ.txt-------------'