Heh heh, just playing with some ideas in the spirit of the (Halloween)
season. I'm not sure if I'll write a proper story but even this little
bit was a lot of fun. ^_^
Nightman
----------
Slayers X! -- The Teaser!
Linna Inverse was peacefully sleeping; her rest was so deep in fact that
she was snoring loud enough to emulate a lumberjack hard at work. The
inn�s beds had proven to be very comfortable, a nice respite after the
hardships of dealing with Rezzo in Sairaag.
In the distance she heard a rumble and a crash, and a sound like an
explosion. She rolled over and muttered "sounds like a Magna Blastaa,"
in her sleep. There was an answering detonation a few moments later.
"Mmm, Amelia�s throwing a Blam Blast in response," she noted.
All right, so it took a few seconds for this to all sink in. Give the
woman some slack; she�d had a hard day.
"Amelia!" she yelled as her eyes snapped open and she raced for the
door.
Moments later she reached the other end of the hallway. Gourry was
standing there in his boxer shorts and t-shirt; he was drawing forth the
blade of the Sword of Light. Linna gathered the energy of a flare arrow
to her hand and darted in. She gasped in horror at the sight that beheld
her. The far wall had been blown away; beyond was a swirling vortex of
dark clouds. Hovering in mid-air was a vile black cloaked figure, and in
his grasp was a struggling Amelia. Linna gasped as she recognized what
that vortex was and what kind of a person the figure was.
"A Black Priest!" she gasped and raised her hands to fire the arrow.
"Now now now, Linna Inverse," the man�s sepurlchal voice rang through
the swirling dark air. "I mean to take my revenge on the royal family of
Seyruun, but if you want to shoot through her to get to me, I suppose
I�ll have to console myself with Princess Amelia being slain by her own
mentor! BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!"
"Give her back!" yelled Gourry, who was actually considering tossing the
Sword of Light at the rapidly retreating figure. But if he missed
(albeit unlikely) then he�d hit Amelia; then again there was that weird
magical vortex stirring up the air. He concluded that he�d better not
risk it.
Just before the figure vanished into the vortex behind him, Amelia
suddenly yelled out, "MISS LINNA! He�s taking me to Castle _______!!"
Amelia�s words were ripped away from her by the sound of the vortex
beginning to collapse into itself, but Linna read her lips.
Linna�s eyes became as wide as saucers; she immediately dashed forward
and took her best shot. Gourry wasn�t sure that she *wasn�t* aiming at
Amelia, but regardless, the bolt was simply pulled apart by the vortex
before it got anywhere close to the vanishing pair. A second later, the
Black Priest and Amelia were engulfed by the vortex and vanished.
Linna closed her eyes and began to weave power. "Gourry, go get your
pants, and our packs, hurry," she bit off. Confused (nothing unusual
there) Gourry hurried and complied. When he got back, fully dressed, a
huge nimbus of crimson and darkness surrounded Linna. It was more than a
little disturbing.
"Spirits of Darkness, who gather in the shattered Void,
grant unto me the Path of Nightmares..."
At this moment, Zelgadis levitated in through the hole in the wall.
"What�s going on? I felt magic being used so I came back and HOLY GODS!
You�re not casting THAT spell are you?"
"Into the maelstrom of shadows and pain,
into the lands of nevermore..."
Zelgadis blanched; a trick when your flesh is actually stone. "Gourry
what happened?"
"Amelia�s been kidnapped!" Zel�s face clouded. "Some weird Black Priest
guy - she said he was taking her to Castle Ranier or something." Zel got
pale again and darted to stand next to Gourry.
"Though all the walls of Hell should stand between us,
by the ancient contract I hold,
let all bars pale; convey us unto the place of despair...
INVERSE GATEWAY!!"
She made a final gesture and suddenly a huge swirling vortex of dark fog
appeared just outside the room�s wall. It was very similar, but not
identical, to the one used just minutes before by the Black Priest.
"Hurry! We�ve got to save Amelia!" she said as she darted forward. "That
priest is taking her to a fate worse than death!"
"From what?" asked a mightily confused Gourry.
"From Dracula, King of the vampires!" answered Zel as he and Gourry lept
after Linna into their own vortex, and vanished.
Elsewhere, under the light of a full moon.
"It�s here, I�m sure of it. The spirits don�t lie," Maria insisted. She
was a pale blonde woman in green trousers and a white ruffled tunic. A
small white owl perched on her left wrist, on pale deerskin gloves. Her
companion was a tall well-built man wearing breeches, a good-quality but
somewhat plain shirt and vest, and heavy black boots with buckles. A
braided, almost chain-like whip dangled from his grasp. They were
walking through the small valley formed by two forested hills; fog
enshrouded the ground.
"Very well, Maria. But I�m still not sure this is the best idea."
"We need him Richtor," she said simply. "We need him very very badly. If
Shaft�s disciple succeeds ...! I have some magic but not enough power to
stop him. We need Alucard." Richtor shuddered at the name. "Remember,
you said yourself he helped Trevor Belmont...!"
"Yes, three centuries ago! He may seem human but he is at least PART
vampire if not more than part!" growled Richtor. Maria looked at him
crossly. It was not a new argument. The owl on her wrist hooted and took
flight. Maria flashed a triumphant smile and darted after it, nimbly
leaping through the fog enshrouded ground and somehow finding perfect
footing every time. With a resigned sigh, Richtor followed after.
The owl lead them to a small mausoleum, nestled into the side of a hill.
The small yard around it was actually fenced off. Maria boldly walked
right up to the front of the building and examined the door. "Richtor,
come here and push this open." Surprised that she didn�t do somthing
magical, Richtor complied.
The two of them descended a small flight of stairs and came to a
circular underground chamber, dominated by complex glowing lines on the
floor that marked out a thirty foot pentagram with all sorts of extra
lines and embellishments. Maria gave it all a cursory glance and sniffed
disdainfully. She paused for a moment and a pure, white-blue glow began
to shine around her. She strode directly across the pentagram and toward
the stone sarcophagus in the center. As she did so, the red lines of the
pentagram faded as she crossed them.
Richtor was no expert in the magical arts, but even he thought breaking
a pentagram was a Bad Idea.
Right at the sarcophagus, Maria stopped and spoke in a clear voice:
"By the magic between the Earth and Heaven
Awaken now unto the Light!
Son of Lisa! Son of Dracula!
Alucard, Prince of Shadows, ARISE!"
A huge pillar of light rose from her as she raised her hands. It slid
off her and centered on the sarcophagus, and then it exploded outward,
filling the room with blinding light. Richtor shielded his hands and
when the glare faded a moment later, the mysterious Alucard was standing
where the sarcophagus had been. He looked very angry and when he spoke,
his fangs were in evidence. At the sight of them, Richtor firmed his
grasp on the family�s relic whip.
"Why have you awakened me??"
"Alucard," Maria began in a gentle voice. "We desperately need your
help. Shaft�s Disciple Necros has returned and summoned the Castle back
into existence. The spirits have told me of his plan! He means to summon
the Daughter of Darkness back into this world! It was *she* who made
Dracula the lord of the undead. She can raise a new lord up in his place
- or perhaps this time rule herself. I have my magic and Richtor has his
combat skills, but it�s not enough to oppose Necros. Please, help us!"
Alucard�s visage lost its angry cast. He looked down at the floor. "I
just want to rest in peace," he said almost helplessly. Touched by the
moment of vulnerability, Maria stepped forward and touched him on the
wrist. He looked up, startled, and she met his gaze. He was so
beautiful, that long white hair, the aristocratic features, and his
eyes, which seemed an infinite well of sorrow that she was ... just ...
falling ...
Maria shuddered. Alucard�s hand was on her shoulder and he had gently
shook her. She was confused.
"My apologies," he said stiffly. "I did not expect you to so boldly meet
my gaze. It will not happen again."
Maria�s eyes darted to his again, quickly. But this time the shutters
were up; his eyes were just eyes. She nodded. "Forgive my boldness."
The two stood in awkward silence for a moment. Until Richtor cleared his
throat.
"If you two are done getting reacquainted? I believe Maria said
something about Necros needing to sacrifice a virginal princess to
perform his ritual?"
"If I recall my lore correctly, the spell�s sacrifice has to not only be
a virgin and a princess, but a sorceress as well," Alucard said
confidantly. "Now where could he possibly find a woman who�s all three?"
Inside Castlevania, Necros began to laugh, and the hollow, mocking sound
of it rang throughout the night.
Bonus! Trailer!
The music of "Prologue" (track 2 on the SOTN soundtrack) plays.
Linna, Gourry and Zel step forward in a group from one hallway, looking
menacing
Maria, Richtor and Alucard step forward facing them, also looking
menacing
Image of Zel running through the forest outside the castle, ala the
opening bit of SOTN
Linna throws a fireball at a big ugly winged demon
Maria in a prayerful pose, glowing
Alucard frowns and flourishes his cloak
Gourry summons the sword of light
Richtor snaps his holy whip at a skeleton
A tarot card fills the screen; it is split with 2 images like a regular
playing card. The top half is Linna dressed up in a striking black gown.
She�s holding a small fireball edged with a pentacle though the card is
the Queen of Rods; then the card rotates and it�s Maria with her white
owl on one wrist and a ball of light with a cross dimly visible within
it in the other hand; Maria is the Queen of Cups.
Another card appears; this one is the Knight of Cups/Knight of Rods and
it�s Gourry and Richtor, each with his family�s heirloom weapon. Both
are dressed up in their finest, with Gourry having ceremonial armor on
and Richtor a nice surcoat.
A third card appears. The first side is the Knight of Pentacles and it�s
Zelgadis wearing finery such as we�ve never seen him in before. The card
rotates and it�s the Knight of Swords; it�s Alucard looking quite a bit
like he does on the cover of the Japanese version of Castlevania (and
the same picture is under the disc in the US versions).
Words appear on the screen overtop of a rapid-fire barrage of images*:
TWO SORCERESSES!
TWO SIDEKICKS!
TWO TACITURN MEN WITH DARK PASTS!
ONE EVIL PRIEST!
ONE SACRIFICE GIRL!
MIX WELL AND SERVE!
SLAYERS X: DAUGHTER OF DARKNESS!
A Slayers TV/Castlevania: Symphony of the Night crossover!
*If you're really good with freeze-framing, you can make out a cloaked
figure. By the distinctive outline, it might be Naga. ^_^