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                            PRESENTS...

                       [ Slayers Demiurge ]

                            book eight
                             "Jihad"

        A Slayers Fanfic Series by Stefan "Twoflower" Gagne

      (Certain characters copyright H. Kanzaka / R. Araizumi,
     obviously.  If I ever even considered claiming that those
    were my own characters I'd probably be thrown into a small
  cell where I'd be forced to eat my own writer's block to live.)

        Check out the web center with fanart and more, at
         --> http://pixelscapes.com/slayers/demiurge <--

-=-

     There's a certain pride that comes in living in a fifty mile wide 
sprawling city that was previously best known as being a large smoking 
crater.  Looking at Sairaag from afar, which was really the only way to grasp 
the sheer scope of the city-state/empire, you'd never know it had been wiped 
off the map on two separate occasions.

     Instead, you'd marvel at the sheer effort it must have taken to expand 
it to six times its original size, much less rebuild it in the first place.  
Not only was it a big city, but it was a big MODERN city... full of shining 
metal and brass construction, towering buildings rivaled only by the urban 
landscapes of Darata, and elegant architectures to make Sailoon weep in 
jealousy.

     Ductwork and sturdy tubing connected every building, piping all manner 
of things to and fro -- working plumbing, electrical power, steam pressure 
for various machines, and endless reams of paperwork.  Most of that paperwork 
flowed to the center of the city, to the Imperial Palace, where everything 
'got done'... although there could be little doubt what the core of the city 
truly was, at first sight.

     The palace itself wasn't much of an affluent and aesthetic royal palace.  
Instead, it was a huge, sprawling lump of monolithic buildings, so connected 
by skywalks and tunnels and sub-buildings as to become one whole congealed 
structure.  Despite the seemingly random construction of it, it remained 
airtight and secure; one of the few places in the city completely lacking in 
windows.  Or doors.

     Nobody walks into the palace.  You're either summoned, or you have no 
business being there.  If employed there, you're assigned a hidden entrance, 
one of dozens available -- and if you compromise the security, you can bet 
that the next time you walk in, that entrance will be sealed behind you, 
which isn't a problem as you'll likely not be walking out again.

     And if you were a small, rag-tag band of adventurers trying to break in 
to rescue a cohort and send the place to the big real estate lot in the sky, 
the best way to proceed would be to walk up to it, turn around, walk away, 
leave the city and take up a peaceful life as a potato farmer instead.

     Lina Gabriev had absolutely no plans to pick up a hoe when her husband 
was inside that blasted place.  However, she was not stupid enough to just 
blast a hole in it, climb in, and go looking.  As much as she wanted to get 
this over with and run back to the comfort of her old home (as old habits die 
hard), she knew this was going to take careful planning.  Forethought.  
Reconnaissance.

     She didn't trust 'Inverse' to handle that end of things.  The younger 
Lina may be powerful as a god and as resourceful as, well, Lina Inverse, but 
she was NOT accustomed to this period in history, and wouldn't mix as well 
for a little undercover work.  So, while the 'adventuring party' stayed at an 
inn on the fringes of Sairaag, having checked in at night and in disguise to 
avoid the bi-hourly announcements of their arrest warrants, Lina Gabriev was 
off doing a little footwork.  Which also happened to involve consuming very 
large dinners -- once again, old habits die hard.

     "You know, information about this place is hard to come by," Lina said, 
engaging in conversation with a fellow trademan, while she enjoyed her bowl 
of Sairaag-style sweet and sour noodles.  "All I heard was that they had some 
very fat government contracts up for hire to develop weapons.  I didn't hear 
there was a magical ban, or I wouldn't have wasted five days getting here."

     "Ah... you may want to keep your voice down, miss," the merchant said, 
looking around.  "While I'd like to believe myself very worldly, many here 
have a bit of a fear of magic--"

     "It's a justified fear, Myron," her other companion said, looking quite 
bitter.  He was far older than the merchant, and wearing far shabbier 
clothing.  (He owned this restaurant, and had come out to find out exactly 
who was eating an upwards of 17% of the kitchen in one sitting, and got 
sucked into the gaping maw of Lina's discussion.)  "I don't mean anything 
personal against you, miss, but I trust something I can hold in my two hands 
and understand to some weird, arcane power from a time long forgotten.  
Especially a power stemming off those blasted Mazoku, or off some crazy 
shamans.  Give me a good, solid gun any day over some fire spell, I say."

     "Mel, you don't know how a gun works any more than you do a fire spell," 
Myron the Merchant(tm) joked... but kept his voice low, so as not to be 
overheard.  "If anything, you'd have to study for years, with hard magical 
training just to toss a small fireball.  ANY idiot can pull a trigger.  Which 
do you think is safer?"

     "Anyway," Lina said, wanting to get back on topic, "I'm not willing to 
go away empty handed.  There's got to be SOME way to talk to someone in the 
palace about getting a weapons contract; if I can't make the stuff, I know 
some mechanists and blacksmiths back home.  Maybe I can pick up the 
percentage.  Do you know anyone?"

     "There was that Roy fellow who frequented the taverns I frequent, but I 
haven't seen him lately," Myron said, thinking back.  "He worked for the 
military.  The army and the government keep to themselves... this is your 
first time here, right?"

     "That's right.  It's sort of a research trip too."

     "You don't need to worry about the government," the merchant said, a bit 
proudly.  "Everything works transparently.  All we have to worry about are 
our own affairs.  They make sure the power and water keep going, and that 
crime is kept suppressed, and we take care of the whole living to day to day 
and prospering thing.  It's actually quite an easy life."

     "And we deserve it, too!" Mel added.  "I remember the first time the 
city was destroyed... the first hardship.  I was lucky enough to be off 
getting supplies for the restaurant; I come back and I hear about how Lina 
Inverse destroyed the city.  And something about some demon or another, but I 
didn't pay much attention to the local mythology.  It was a very hard year, 
trying to rebuild the city again... and during one month when I was off 
giving a lecture at culinary school in Sailoon, I come back to find the 
Mazoku showed up and destroyed the city AGAIN.  Nothing was left!  Everything 
we'd built back up was wiped clean.  I tell you, if not for Elizabeth 
Balderdash leading the reconstruction efforts, I'd have bee forced to leave 
my homeland long ago..."

     "I'll be the first to admit, she's done wonders for Sairaag," Myron 
conceded, again watching his volume.  "The city is prosperous again, and life 
is easy.  No small amount of work went into that, and without her 
organizational skills and new technologies, we'd never have recovered.  But 
things aren't ALL well outside of the city.  I don't like to really talk 
about this, since it goes against everything we hear in the news, but... 
Mina, where are you from again?"

     "Zeifelia," Lina said, recognizing her 'stage name' immediately.

     "Right.  Well, the news here is talking about how we're working 
diplomatically to help move them under the Sairaag umbrella, and all that.  
But I've BEEN out and about, on trade routes, and it sounds more like a 
military action waiting to happen.  Just like Sailoon.  Mel, how'd the news 
put it?"

     "That Queen Amelia and some pagan wizard named Noisemacher or something 
had destroyed the diplomatic envoy we sent.  Religious and magical zealots 
were ruling the city and refused to accept Sairaag's proposal of alliance.  
Honestly, and the magic lovers call US close minded?  At least we don't 
worship any beastly gods who sacrifice virgins or--"

     "The way I heard it from a friend of a friend is that we were trying to 
take over their city with siege equipment," he continued.  "Military 
annexation.  We were the ones leaning on them, not the other way around.  I 
know it's hundreds of miles away, and I wasn't there personally, but--"

     "That's ridiculous," Mel scoffed.  "We're not a hostile country.  We 
work, we live, we love our families, and we're not at war with anyone.  
There's nothing in the daily news about any wars, so why would anybody think 
that?"

     "I'm just saying the world SEES us as this big, growing thing that's 
eating up everything in its path," Myron protested.  "I'm wondering if we're 
being told the whole story.  Mina, what do you know about it?  You're on the 
outside; whereas most of these people never leave the city.  How do you see 
us?"

     Lina gave pause.  She could either tell the truth, and risk drawing 
attention, or...

     "I don't know.  I'm just trying to make money," Lina lied.  She took one 
last forkful of noodles, chewed quickly, and swallowed.  "I think I'd better 
get moving.  Time is money, and I've got to find SOME way to talk to the 
military and see if I can make any contracts.  Hey, what about the smitheries 
on 32nd and 6E Street?  I heard they produce firearms for military use--"

     "You don't want to go there," the merchant quickly warned.

     "Huh?  Why?"

     "Smells bad," Mel added.  "Industrial sector.  Lots of smokestacks.  I 
really wish they'd push harder for the pollution legislation; it wasn't so 
bad in the first few years, but it's getting nasty now."

     Myron scratched his head, nervously.  Which Lina immediately picked up 
on; this guy was NOT good at lying.  "It smells terrible, yeah.  But I just 
meant that those guys were on contracts for years.  Nobody gets a NEW 
contract, and the shipments just get piped by ducts over to the palace after 
being filled, anyway.... it's a closed system.  Everything relating to the 
government is a closed system.  You'd be wasting your time, Mina."

     "Okay, okay, I got it.  I'll look elsewhere," Lina lied again.  "Mel, 
I'll be back for breakfast, so you'd better replenish your stocks!"

     Mel groaned, his age showing as he scribbled down a supply requisition 
order to replace all the food she'd just eaten, and rolled it into an empty 
metal tube drawn from his apron.  He walked over to the nearest tube slot, 
stuffed it up, and with a hissing FWOOMPH, it was off to his supplier.  "I 
should have never switched to all you can eat," Mel grumbled.  "You're as bad 
as Lina Inverse!"

     She decided to take it as a compliment.  Of all the things she hadn't 
been like lately, Lina Inverse was one of them.  And now, here she was, 
sneaking around in disguise and walking that bleeding edge of danger, far 
from home... it was frightening.  Beyond frightening to one like her.  But 
something like fear was not going to stop her, not anymore.

     Honestly, she could understand where Mel was coming from... the comfort 
of an established life.  Your needs taken care of, without a single cause to 
leave your home, to ever find out about the world outside your walls.  For 
the last few years, Lina had LIVED that life; secluded and protected.

     But the secluded and protected had no idea what was going on around 
them.  They didn't know why she was in town, or what powers she brought with 
her... and knowing how her.. companion's adventures typically ended, in a 
very explosive way, she started to worry.  Even if they were almost 
guaranteed evil would be vanquished and the world would be saved, the numbers 
were starting to tick in her head of who would have to be sacrificed to get 
to that wonderful happy ending... the gods typically demanded blood, and odds 
are, they'd be getting it soon.


                           --------------
                           eight part one
                           --------------


     Just a few days ago, Lina learned that a god hell-bent on the 
extermination of gods just like her was plotting to taking over the world and 
was nearly unstoppable.

     Her reaction to the recent turns of events was thought out well in 
advance.  She had a particular methodology to how she approached crisis 
situations, and it had never failed her before -- here, it was the ideal 
solution to the problem.  It was exactly what the situation called for.  So, 
with determination, with every fiber of her being, she proudly raised her 
fork high, plunged it into a pork chop and gnawed a large portion of it off.

     "WHOOO, this is GOOD stuff!!" Lina Inverse declared, holding her 
succulent meat cut high, in appreciation.  "Man, Sairaag may be loaded with 
whackos who want to kill me, but the cooking is STILL some of the best you'll 
ever find!  Hey, you gonna eat that?  Not hungry?"

     Penny Gabriev looked up after a few moments, the questioning tone 
interrupting her train of thought.  Her plate indeed was fairly full... and 
given she'd inherited at least some of her mother's ravenous appetite, that 
was cause for alarm.

     "No... I'm not hungry," Penny replied, pushing the plate a few inches 
away -- right into Lina's waiting fork.  "Sorry, I'm just..."

     "I know, I know," Lina said, having perfected the master skill of 
talking while eating without grossing out your companions (much).  "You're 
worried about Zoamel, and about your father.  Hey, me too!  I've traveled 
with both of them long enough to care about them and want to help them... but 
that's no reason to let a perfectly good steam pressure cooked Sairaag dinner 
go to waste!  Hey, do you want to hit the steam heated onsen around the 
corner after dinner?  They've got a piped in waterfall!"

     "How do you do it, Lina?" Penny asked.  "We've been waiting around 
several days here, while who knows what is happening to them... I've been on 
edge the entire time.  And here you are, chowing down and cracking jokes and 
enjoying this like a vacation!"

     "Yeah, so?" Lina asked, polishing off Penny's prime cut of pork.  She 
left the rest, however; no need to deprive the young girl of her nutrition.  
"Your mother says we can't just go busting in and blowing stuff up, much to 
my annoyance, so we have to wait around.  Why wait around in worry and 
despair when you can live high on the hog, so to speak, and exploit the city 
you're about to detonate?"

     "I guess that makes sense, but... I just can't imagine my mother acting 
like that," Penny said.  "She's too professional to act like that.  And she 
is you, right?  I mean, some of you.  Sort of.  If what Xelloss told you was 
right..."

     "I've given it a lot of thought," Lina said.  "It was the last piece of 
the puzzle, really.  All this time I was running around thinking 'I'm Lina 
Inverse, I'm a human, I want my life back.'  But it's not my life... it's 
hers.  Once I've got that, the rest is easy.  Let me put it this way -- in 
the middle of the enemy's stronghold, you see me here, eating and drinking 
and enjoying things, right?"

     "Right..."

     "It's the same thing," Lina said, leaning over to smile confidently at 
Penny.  "I'm not the sort of person to dwell on the negatives.  Lina 
Inverse's life belongs to your mother.  Once we split off, I lost all right 
to it... now, I'm Lina Inverse, the goddess of destruction, greed and 
accidental salvation.  I've decided to accept that, because, hey -- what 
other choice do I have?  This is what I AM; I'm what she was, personified.  
This is what the world needs.  I have to work with it as best I can, and 
right now, the best way to do that is to have dinner.  What I am is what asks 
for that.  So, even in the face of incredible danger, I am what I am... 
sometimes relaxing, sometimes fighting, always me.  That's what Lina Inverse 
is."

     "...I don't think I fully follow that, but I get the idea," Penny 
decided, after working it over a few times in her mind.  "You know... it's 
funny.  When we first started out this quest, I wanted to BE you.  To become 
a legendary heroine, stomping bandits, the whole deal.  It sounded so 
exciting and romantic and powerful..."

     "Hey hey, you're gonna make my ego swell here."

     "It's true!" Penny defended.  "And for awhile, I was so blinded by how 
amazingly cool you were that I didn't really understand... I can't be you.  
We're different people, and each time I tried to be you, I messed it up.  
Once I stopped trying to emulate you, I think I started seeing things 
differently..."

     "And now you're the best Penny you can be, like I'm the best Lina I can 
be," Lina said.  "Wow, I'm just loaded up on warm and fuzzy feelings right 
now just thinking about that.  Of course, it's a shame to lose a Lina-
fangirl, but I can cope."

     "What?  No no... you don't understand," Penny said.  "Once I decided to 
be me and let you be you... I believed in you even MORE.  I could look at it 
from outside, or something, and REALLY appreciate what you are, not just your 
legend... I mean, look how far you've come in this quest!  I don't think 
anybody else could have taken a missing persons search and ended up 
challenging a god for the fate of the world.  You're everything your legend 
says you are, and I still believe in that legend just as much as I used to -- 
the difference is I'm willing to make my own legend now, instead of copying 
yours.  I think you're going to win here.  Beat the bad guy, save the 
princess and make off with the gold!"

     "Except that we don't know how to beat the bad guy, there's no princess 
but two princes, and based on past experiences in Sairaag I don't think 
anybody's gonna want to pay us for destroying the city," Lina corrected.  
"Don't get ahead of yourself, Penny.  Sure, I think we'll win the day too, 
but at any time we just try to COAST on that without making an effort we're 
all gonna be crispy critters.  It's cheating to rely too hard on luck, and 
fate hates a cheater.  Got it?  Stay focused.  Gourry and Zoamel are 
depending on us."

     The very mention of their names put Penny back into her serious mood.  
"Right.  I understand, Lina.  I won't let it get to my head."  She tugged her 
dinner plate back... no use wasting food, as she made up her mind to finish 
off what was left.

     "Speaking of letting things get to your head, I'd LOVE to know where 
your mother is," Lina grumbled.  "She's been acting like SHE runs this little 
adventuring party ever since we lost our menfolk.  I swear, if she doesn't 
get back soon from yet ANOTHER 'fact finding session' I'm just gonna blow a 
hole in the Palace and go get things done--"

     "Lina, we took a vote on this, and I agree with mother," Penny reminded 
her, pointing with the Fork of Accusation.  "If you want me to play this 
cool, you play it cool too, okay?  I don't want to do ANYTHING to needlessly 
risk their lives.  And try to argue less with mother!  We're going to blow 
our cover if we make a scene."

     Lina folded her arms, miffed.  "It would've been a draw vote if we had 
Xelloss around.  He's all in favor of stomping this place flat right away.  
Where does he get off going 'I leave things up to you' and taking off?  He 
could be useful around here!  We could send him in as a scout, use him for 
our all-important first assault wave, use him as a human shield, paint a big 
target on him and punt him into the fray to distract the army--"

     "Xelloss isn't in tip-top health, Lina.  If he wants to sit it out, I 
say let him sit it out..." Penny said.. hefting the cloth-wrapped 'walking 
stick' she was carrying.  "Besides, I have this.  That and my faith in you 
are all I need."

     "Cute," Lina said, obviously without meaning it.  "Hurry up and finish 
your meal.  Sitting around relaxing and livin' large is nice, but on second 
thought, I'm sick of being cooped up; let's go run some errands."

                                    [*]

     The master manipulator sat hunched over his chessboard.  The pawns were 
in play, the knights maneuvered into position.  Each piece, carefully 
sculpted and painted to represent a puppet in his play of fate and destiny... 
Lina, Lina, Penny, Zoamel, Gourry... Elizabeth, Zelgadis, Science... the 
great game of the gods was about to begin, as ancient as the dawn of time, as 
endless as the rolling sea--

     An errant wing knocked his Queen over.

     "Do you mind?  I'm attempting to have a dramatic moment here," Xelloss 
said, quite perturbed.  He picked up the chess piece and put it back.  "You 
could have broken this.  Do you know how hard it is to carve a 1/16th scale 
Lina?  Her little stick legs break if you do it wrong.  If you nicked her, I 
swear, no more dead rats for dinner."

     Xelloss sat back on his makeshift seat of an overturned tree trunk.  He 
had a wonderful view of Sairaag, from this vantage point... even the 
monolithic Palace, smack dab in the center.  It was the perfect angle for 
what he had planned.  Most importantly, nobody would bother him here, and he 
could relax and enjoy the fireworks to his heart's content; if only his 
former master would calm down.

     The bird flapped around, deliberately getting all up in his area, to the 
point where Xelloss decided Enough Was Enough.  His eyes actually opened.

     "No, I will NOT be aiding them," Xelloss retorted to the latest round of 
squawking.  "You don't understand.  You NEVER understood anything, Zelas-
Metallum.  It was always me with the brilliant ideas, it was always me 
pulling the strings years in advance to achieve the effect we wanted in the 
later decades... while you got all the credit.  But I don't mind.  'tis the 
life of an underling.  But in return, I expect you to listen to me when I 
tell you, this is what must be done.  We will stay RIGHT here, waiting for 
the real prize--"

     The bird whapped its wings in the air madly, knocking over a few pawns.

     "Yes, you'll be restored to your former glory," Xelloss sighed.  "I 
promised that.  Please, have some faith!  Aren't I the most loyal of your 
minions?  Not to mention the only one still alive and walking and not sucked 
into the gaping maw of Sairaag's destiny?  So I say we stay RIGHT here.  Now 
make yourself comfortable.  Or don't, for all I care.  But leave me alone.  I 
still have some time left to ponder the future of the Mazoku, and make the 
final preparations."

     The aging Mazoku studied his board... studied the city.  Carefully, he 
selected his Queen's Bishop, Lina Gabriev, and made the move.

     Not that it actually prompted Gabriev into action in some weird magical 
mind control sort of way, it just made the whole exercise feel so much more 
entertaining to him.  A good way to kill time, before the killing began.

                                    [*]

     Finding the steelworks was just as easy as Mel had stated; Lina Gabriev 
simply followed her nose.

     Of course, she could have followed her eyes as well.  Thick black smoke 
pumped out of the tall stacks in the industrial sector; the smell of molten 
metal was thick in the air, as the blacksmiths in this neck of the woods did 
a little more than just mint horseshoes.  Street traffic also dropped to a 
nil, since nobody really came here on foot -- and nothing got shipped to or 
from here on carriage.

     Briefly, Lina wondered where all the raw materials and/or finished 
products were coming from / going to, until a sound like a suit of armor 
rolling down a hill alerted her.  Strung between buildings were massive round 
pipes, ductwork, funneling who knows what to and from... mostly to, 
specifically, the Imperial Palace.

     An engineering marvel aside, Lina was pretty sure nobody here was going 
to talk to her, nor did she want to talk to anyone.  Army guards had been 
posted at every street corner, and would cleanly spot her if she tried to do 
anything more than 'just pass through'.  The cloak she'd picked out did a 
great job of concealing her features, as well as making her look like the 
most suspicious person in a ten mile radius.

     Making a scene was not a good idea.  So, Lina Gabriev chalked this lead 
up as a Dud, and turned about face, to get away from this area just as 
quietly as she had entered.

     A plan that failed miserably when the building behind her exploded.

     The concussion wave knocked her cleanly off her feet, and into a wall.  
Not being the spring chicken she once was, she staggered a bit, vision 
blurring; that warm and runny feeling down her forehead was probably blood.  
She could hear just fine, though, hear the gunshots and sword clatter and 
other telltale signs of a battle... and a fairly large one, to boot.  Who 
would be battling out here, anyway?  Workers of the world revolting against 
the bourgeoisie or something?

     She didn't panic.  Everything about her wanted to panic, to 
instinctively run for home, but she stopped listening to that little voice 
several days ago.  She put Gourry firmly in mind, and made her decision to 
stand.. perfectly.. still, and let her senses recover before doing anything 
rash...

     A plan that failed miserably when someone grabbed her.  She kicked back, 
hard at crotch level, getting disoriented as she then turned to face her 
attacker a little too quick.  Too amateurish, Lina, your skills aren't as 
sharp as they once were, she thought -- right as someone clubbed her over the 
head with the handle of a rifle, and that was the end of her fun 
investigative jaunt.

                                    [*]

     A nearby teletype printer sprang to life.  Compressed air from one of 
the many ducts running into the palace translated into blocky, nasty looking 
letters, hammering out one after another on the paper tape.  The smell of 
machine oil and bad printer's ink wafted up from the device as the news came 
in.

     Zelgadis tore the tape off the printer.  He was not surprised by the 
word from their forces, but that failed to comfort him.  He folded up the 
tape, so as not to have the rough paper snag on anything, and marched a 
quarter mile down to have a little chat with his companion.

     She was, however, too busy torturing Gourry to pay much attention.

     He folded his arms, waiting patiently for Elizabeth to get done whatever 
nonsense she was up to.  The machine she'd placed Gourry in was silly even 
for her design aesthetics; some odd mismash of power conduits from the core, 
wiretaps and spiky bits of metal.  It served no constructive purpose 
whatsoever.

     "This serves no constructive purpose whatsoever," he said, deciding the 
words needed public airing.  He had to repeat them again, louder, to get her 
attention.

     Elizabeth took off her insulated work gloves, letting the controls rest.  
"On the contrary," she stated, calm as can be for someone engaging in such 
activities.  "This research will enable us to extract information more 
efficiently from our prisoners in the future.  True, he knows nothing we need 
to know, but his willpower is remarkably high--"

     "I'm fully aware of Gourry's capabilities," Zelgadis bit off, more than 
slightly annoyed.  "This will only serve to enrage both Linas further than 
they already are.  We should be offering him in exchange for a peace treaty 
with them."

     "The core has calculated a projection of Lina's fifty most likely rescue 
strategies, and has determined that they will all fail," Elizabeth spoke.  
"Her power as a god is strong, but the power from the core has reinforced our 
defenses sufficiently.  She will pose no significant problem."

     "Perhaps if you weren't so busy running the numbers and engaging in 
frivolous experiments, you would be able to pay more attention to affairs of 
state," Zelgadis accused, holding out the tape.  "There was another 
successful bombing campaign in the steelworks.  Weapon production is going to 
drop ten percent for the next week.  Ever since you foolishly gave them a new 
leader, they have been--"

     "I did NOT give them a new leader."

     "Your soft spot allowed him ample escape opportunity," Zelgadis quickly 
replied... and then allowed himself a frustrated sigh, a rare emotional 
signal.  "Elizabeth, what is the matter with you?  You've been distracted and 
unfocused.  I'm going to go so far as to say you're not as sure of yourself 
as you have been, and don't bother disagreeing; it's the truth."

     "I have no doubts," Elizabeth said, voice dropping a few degrees.  
"Everything is going according to plan.  I have faith in our success, in your 
cure, in our ushering in of the new order.  I will admit... I am disappointed 
in my brother, and what became of him.  But I will get over that.  What other 
'affairs of state' did you want to bring to my attention?"

     "There are reports of Lina Inverse and company already being here.  They 
bypassed the checkpoints on the railways and roads--"

     "Yes, I know," Elizabeth said, with a smile.  "Before you ask, I am 
doing nothing because they need to be demoralized.  Let them think we know 
nothing.  When they come, we will crush them, humiliate Lina Inverse, and 
possibly catch her once and for all.  The same goes with the rebels; we will 
destroy them in one blow.  What little damage they do to us is unimportant in 
the long run.  The core systems have planned all of our moves well in 
advance, of course."

     "Of course," Zelgadis said, with distaste.

     "Are you doubting our technical edge, Zelgadis?" Elizabeth asked, 
curiously.  "I've never seen you disagree so directly with me in previous 
efforts.  Do you doubt the strategy programs of the core?"

     This gave him pause.

     "Of course not," he said, feeling it was obvious enough.  "The core has 
proven invaluably useful.  It's never let us down before... and I believe it 
will continue to aid me."

     "Then do you doubt me, perhaps?  Haven't we been lovers long enough to 
understand how we handle situations?"

     The chimera smiled widely.  "Of course not, Elizabeth.  I trust you to 
the end of my life.  Perhaps I am making too much of this.  Sorry for 
bothering you."

     Elizabeth Balderdash allowed a curt nod, and then immediately returned 
to her work.  She pushed a lever, funneling more power into Gourry's 
(previously) unconscious body.  Zelgadis watched on, tracing the glowing 
conduits from the machine, back to the wall... eventually, those connections 
would go back to the core.

     Did he doubt the core?  Of course not.  Not when it held the key to his 
cure.  His sister would indeed be proud of him, wherever she was.  Soon, the 
research would be complete, and all the power he sought as a child would 
become untainted.

                                    [*]

     The Imperial Palace of Sairaag is powered by the Core.  The Core is a 
big cylinder full of swirly glowing blue mist.  This is all humans see, and 
the extent of their understanding.  Partly this is out of ignorance of what 
the Core actually IS -- partly it's an inability for human eyes to see the 
true contents of the Core.  It wasn't designed for the convenience of 
mortals... or for immortals.

     Zoamel Gustav, at that moment, was feeling very inconvenienced.  He had 
inconveniently lost all track of the passing of time, and the passing of 
space.  Split seconds had passed since he felt the irresistable pull of the 
'Eradicator' disk.  Years had passed since he felt the pull.  He felt the 
pull in the future, the past, the present.  He felt himself in the disk, in 
the Core, walking around in his memory, any number of places...

     Overall, he felt tired.  And he was getting weaker just being here.  
Wherever here was.

     It was impossible to keep a coherent train of thought.  Every time he 
tried to think about why it was impossible, he lost track of what he was 
thinking of.  Any number of potions and herbs can paralyze the human body, 
but to paralyze the essence of a god is another matter--

     Psst.

     The sound (if you could call the virtual symbol that was represented by 
a sound, since sound did not carry in the Core and there was nothing physical 
to emit the sound) shook him out of his trance.

     The trick is to focus on the others, not on the whole.  Look for the 
parts and don't let it overwhelm you.  Come on, hurry up.  If you go nodding 
off for a few hours you might miss all the fun.

     Zoamel Gustav pulled hard, like a man hauling the moon down from the sky 
with a bullrope, but eventually got enough of his wits about him to stay 
cognizant of his surroundings.  It was an etherial blue mass... a jelly so 
thick he could not move.  But he could see others... other entities, 
recognizable by essence pattern if not by visuals.  He could feel their 
shapes.

     "Focus on me," a young-feeling shape said.  "Keep focused.  There's only 
a few of us who are strong enough to resist the draining and stay awake.  As 
much as it sickens me to say it... I need your help."

     He had a feeling, but the begrudging admittance confirmed it.

     "Ace Champion," Zoamel addressed, his thoughts linking to the other 
god's thoughts.  "So, you were captured by your own allies.  I am not 
surprised, as you--"

     "Skip the taunting," Ace said.  "Normally I'd approve, but we have to 
work fast.  Things are happening outside.  Big things.  Here, feel... feel 
these guys, I'll link you to them through me.  Keep FOCUSED."

     A half dozen weakened gods filtered their way into Zoamel's perception.  
Some of the older ones were too fuzzy, too gone from prolonged power 
draining, but all of them were clinging to each other like a life raft in a 
shipwreck.  There were others here... many, many others, but they drifted in 
sleep, unable to wake and realize they were prisoners...

     "Yo, Zo," a gruff voice echoed.  "See the bleepers got you too, huh?"

     "Drake?"

     "Yeah.  And those others, they's some Mazoku that got bagged a long time 
ago.  Couple random Bard-gods, a few weather deities, Lord Dynero... just the 
ones that could keep their heads... thought I was dead, 'till Ace, that 
little bleephead, explained things.  Like him or not, he's got things figured 
out."

     "I knew they'd make a move on me," Ace explained.  "So I made sure I had 
an ace up the hole, so to speak... there's an innate flaw in the Eradicators 
that keeps ME conscious if I'm ever trapped.  From there, I rallied the 
troops, and started resisting.  I hate cooperating... but I do not lose. 
Ever.  And I won't now.  Do you feel that?"

     Ace redirected Zoamel's attention to a small, almost unnoticeable 
conduit in the Core.  Unlike the others, which sucked power off to various 
tunnels and cables, this one powered a small machine built right into the 
core.

     "That's where Science issues orders," Ace said.  "We've coopted it.  It 
just takes a SLIGHT push to change the pulses, and it ends up displaying 
instructions it never meant to.  We don't change the mind of a god, we just 
change the words his voice speaks in the physical world.  A nice hack if I do 
say so myself..."

     "Science hasn't detected you?" Zoamel asked, suspicious.

     "Not yet.  We've been careful.  But if we're lucky, we won't have to 
worry.  We've prompted it to instruct Sairaag to ignore the rebels, to 
torture Gourry Gabriev, that sort of thing... it may be ruthless, but this 
will make it easier for the rebels to attack, and to make it more 
dramatically correct for Lina to come and blow this place up.  Once the hold 
Science has on us is broken, we all go free.  And don't you get on my case 
about cooperating with my rivals; this is a one time deal only.  Understand?  
Now, will you help us?  The more we have, the easier this will be."

     It was a dangerous plan, like all of Ace's gambits... a large payoff, 
but an incredible amount of risk.  Ace always pulled through on such chances, 
simply because of what he was, but in this situation, the rules would be 
different.  He didn't believe they could keep up the ruse long... and the 
consequences could be harsh, if Science noticed and tried to suppress and 
destroy them.  It only needed their energy, not their SELVES... only a fool 
would support such a plan without thinking it through...

     A brief flicker of memory, of Penny's face, was all Zoamel needed.  
Because with that memory, he felt a link -- a link outside of the Core, to 
strong belief, to faith and love and hope.  To a weapon made in the name of 
love and vengeance, made in his name, to free him.  To complete his quest in 
the name of his believers.

     If she believed in him that strongly, he would believe in her, and 
support her in any way he could.

     "Very well."

                                    [*]

     For no reason she could grasp, Penny felt very, very good for a moment.  
Like a warm hug, or a confident hand on her shoulder, a pep talk she couldn't 
hear...

     Lina waving around a gun big enough to put a hole in the continent 
prompted her to dive for cover and completely lose track of that feeling.

     "Now, THIS is what I'm talking about!" Lina said, hefting the bizarre 
metal contraption up to one shoulder, peering through the stained glass 
sighting scope.  "One of these, you could blast a ship out of the water, or 
torch a castle from a mile away, and they'd never sense it coming with 
magical defenses!  WOOHOO!  How much money do we have left?"

     "...five gold, six silver, a copper, a farthing, and nine pieces of 
eight and one of these weird red gold coins from some foreign country," Penny 
said, thumbing through her purse.  "I was never very good at economics.  I 
don't think I inherited it from mother..."

     "So about 8.158 gold," Lina calculated with practiced ease.  "And the 
price tag on this iiiis.... 8,158 gold.  Hmm.  We're off by a few decimal 
places.  Rats."

     "Can't you just go wave wave poof and.... beat The Bandits?" Penny 
asked, swapping in the Safe To Use In Public words, although the shopkeeper 
had ducked under his counter for safety when Lina began her hands-on window 
shopping a few minutes ago.  (He also had his fingers in his ears, just 
waiting for Lina to accidentally blow up the shop while she played with the 
inventory.)

     "We're not talking about ordinary bandits here," Lina explained.  "I've 
got to approach this like I'd approach any fight.  When I feel totally 
outmatched, I go look for bigger, badder spells.  And since there's a decided 
lack of those sorts of things around here, I've got to make do with big metal 
phallic things that blow stuff up real good.  Odds are The Bandit Chief is 
stronger at this sort of thing than I am... what with all of The Hostages it 
has.  I want an equalizer."

     "But how can you kill a... a... 'Eternal Bandit'?" Penny asked, 
forgetting what the code word for 'God' was.  "I mean, I thought it was 
impossible..."

     Lina flipped the barrel of her cannon open, examining the ammo chambers.  
She could probably fit her whole arm into those things.  "TECHNICALLY, it's 
impossible.  Even the Hostages weren't killed.  I haven't worked out those 
details yet, okay?  First thing we do is rescue the others, then we'll worry 
about how to stop this whole thing.  I'm figuring, though, if we can show 
this city just how technology can fail them, they'll lose faith in it... and 
what better way than to demolish the one thing that's been a constant in this 
city?"

     "The Palace?"

     "You catch on quick," Lina said.  She spun the barrel, and put the 
cannon back on the wall -- too small, too small.  "That, plus freeing the 
Hostages and whacking the ringleaders, may be enough to take this 'Bandit 
Chief' down a few pegs... at the very least, it'd be a good start.  I'm gonna 
win here.  I know it.  I just don't know HOW yet.  Until I do, it can't hurt 
to arm ourselves to the nines.  Ooooh!  What does THIS one do?"

     Penny took a few steps back, as Lina fetched a nasty looking six 
barreled explosive shell launching shoulder mounted mortar cannon.  "Lina, 
watch it!  You don't even know how to USE that stuff!"

     "What's so hard?" Lina asked, hefting the weapon.  "You just point it 
and pull the little switch and stuff goes--"

     "BOOM," the building across the street said.

     "Yeah, boom," Lina agreed.  "Although it might not be useful against the 
deity that spawned this stuff, we can at least do entertainingly large 
amounts of property damage, right, Penny?"

     "...speaking of which," Penny said, a big bead of sweat comedically 
sliding down the back of her head, as she pointed out a window, "I think this 
just turned into a low rent district.  Take a look."

     Lina turned to see, and sure enough, one of the many weapon shops in 
this district was indeed on fire, with most of its inventory going BOOM POP 
POW BANG up into the air like so much combustible, volatile chemical based 
ammunition in a firearms shop on fire.  The front window of their shop had 
been blown in a few feet by the concussion, and the shopkeep was probably 
running for the hills by this point... but most importantly, soldiers were 
flooding the street, swiftly reacting to the disturbance...

     With a swift yank to the front of her dress which threatened to make it 
highly inappropriate to wear in public, Lina pulled Penny to the ground, 
before one of the soldiers could see inside the blown glass window of their 
shop.

     "Lay.. low.." Lina whispered.  "If they spot us, they might notice who 
we really are.  Keep cool.  ...Penny, get your pointy blade stick thing 
DOWN!"

     "What?" Penny asked, before realizing she was still holding up wrapped 
weapon, like a big 'ol waving flag for the soldiers to take note of.

     "*You there, in the shop!*" a mechanically amplified voice boomed, as 
soldier's boots rattled, moving into position.  "*Stand and put your hands 
behind your head!  You are wanted to help the Empire of Sairaag in 
information retrieval regarding this incident!*"

     "...sorry," Penny mumbled.

     "You're still pretty new at this, aren't you?" Lina rhetorically asked.  
"Look, it's fine.  I've got a plan.  Or at least an impulsive idea.  Stay 
DOWN.  Got it?  Good..."

     And Lina stood up, facing the soldiers.  Her cloak hood had been knocked 
back, and it was pretty obvious to anybody who had seen her wanted poster 
exactly who she was.

     "BEHOLD!  I'm Lina Inverse!" she declared.  "Surrender now and I might 
only set you on fire instead of pasting you across the landscape!!"

     The reaction was swift -- one thick hail of bullets.  Lina focused, and 
let them pass right THROUGH her, shredding most of the display cases on the 
back wall.  Whoever trained these guys didn't teach them real well if they 
were trying lead slugs on her.  She did her part and laughed scary-like in 
the face of the supposed onslaught... it had the right affect, a few of them 
cringing in shock.

     But a few of them also had the RIGHT idea, and the impromptu Eradicators 
they were armed with (just in case they DID bump into the notorious Lina 
Inverse At Large) were out and incoming.  She flexed her fingers, hoping the 
new trinkets Penny had made were going to work...

     Five discs flew straight and true, and then flew wobbly and false the 
moment they got close to Lina.  They rebounded off the shop walls and came to 
an ineffectual rest, having never found their intended target.

     With slow and deliberate precision, Lina Inverse cracked her knuckles, 
putting on the grin she usually reserves for a helpless seven course meal 
trapped in her path.  Knees knocked.  Minimum waged army grunts began to 
figure out that they didn't really have anything left they could use against 
a raging god...

     "So, boys," she oozed with satisfaction, "Now that it's been established 
that you can't hurt me, who wants to play first?"

     Moments later, Lina was helping Penny to her feet, and wandering the 
silent and empty city street.  She appraised the damage to both shops, and 
eyed a few choice bits of hardware, the next impulsive plan coming easily to 
mind.

     Penny was totally speechless, as Lina led her around.  "That was... that 
was..."

     "A complete loss of our cover story?  Brash and dangerous?  Juvenile?"

     "INCREDIBLY COOL!"

     "Actually, it was, wasn't it?" Lina agreed, puffing up her unimpressive 
chest a bit.

     "You've got amazing style!  Every time I tried to do stuff like that, 
though, I'd just fall on my face or run out of good taunts or they'd attack 
me before I could finish my introduction..."

     "Yeah, well, it helps to be bulletproof," Lina pointed out.  "Don't 
forget that important factor.  Only do crazy stunts like that if you can back 
it up.  Now, they're gonna be back with reinforcements, and I don't feel like 
a running battle.  I'm sick of retail pricing; let's just do some impromptu 
looting and get the hell out of here.  Less chance of them finding our 
hideout that way.  You check the bombed shop, I'll take the one we were just 
in--"

     (Hold on a second, the Inner Lina(tm) asked.  Something just occurred to 
me.  There are TWO shops here, right?

     Right, that means twice as much stuff to stea-- liberate.  To liberate 
for the cause of love and justice!

     Okay, good, but one of them blew up, and the army ran to see what was 
going on.  They blamed you for it, sure, but who REALLY caused that 
explosion?)

     Lina turned her full attention to the smoke-filled shopfront, and saw 
motion.  Simple shifts in the flow of the smoke, but enough to indicate 
something... or someone... or more likely than not many ARMED someones moving 
around.

     She pushed past Penny, to shield her, and then whisked her hand through 
the air -- the gesture amplified by sheer will to reach gale-speed winds.  
The smoke cleared in an instant, revealing many surprised looking looters 
wearing gas masks in the process of hauling away the shop's stocks.  They 
froze a second, like someone who had just been caught naked with the 
neighbor's cow, before quickly getting their weapons ready.

     Lina charged a fireball the size of both Naga's breasts put together, 
and was about to hurl it before a voice sliced through the air like an 
incredibly sharp thing.

     "Guys!  Cut it out!  Everybody lower your weapons!" the leader shouted, 
waving his arms quickly to signal his troops.  He peered across the street at 
Lina, from behind the mask.  "It's Lina Inverse!"

     "Wow, this whole 'scaring the opponent into surrender with your terrible 
reputation' thing is working wonders today," Lina said out loud.  "Who're you 
guys?"

     "We're not your enemy," the leader replied, stepping carefully over the 
rubble.  "Gabriev told us you were in town, but when we checked your inn, you 
weren't--"

     Penny stepped out from behind Lina.  "Mother?  What about her?"

     "She--"

     It's hard to stealthily approach a scene with a thousand men in full 
armor.  Not only is it an obvious thing from any distance, but the sheer 
sound of all those boots clanking along just cries out 'Hi!' in a malicious 
sort of way.  Lina's ear twitched as she heard the first clattering tones of 
that familiar sound.

     "We can save questions for later, Penny," Lina said.  "Look, mister, 
this is real exciting, but it's time for us to go.  Now, give me one good 
reason why that exit should be alongside YOU guys and not just away on our 
own."

     The leader pulled off his mask, revealing a (mostly) clean face behind 
the sooty hair and clothes.

     "Because if you've seen ANY of the wanted posters in this town," Roy 
Balderdash explained, "Then you know I'm just as much of an enemy of the 
state as you are.  Screw the past grudges, there are more important things at 
stake here.  If you come with us, maybe we'll have a chance at stopping my 
crackpot sister once and for all."

     
                            --------------
                            eight part two
                            --------------


     Most buildings in the condensed industrial and commercial sectors of 
Sairaag have one entrance.  The entrance also serves as the exit.  There are 
no other ways into the building; windows abound, certainly, but they're meant 
for looking at the shiny happy sun and getting air into the room and lighting 
up things.

     When the Sairaag army saw the rebels dive back into the ruined store, 
they assembled in a cluster in front of the building, rifle barrels bristling 
like a next porcupine quills, issued a few demands, and simply waited for the 
rebels to come out.  They were cornered in the building, after all, and it 
was like shooting fish in a barrel.

     But apparently, the barrel had a hidden bottom, because they were gone.  
The army moved on to hassle and interrogate a few passers-by just so they 
could justify their paychecks, then went home, never catching on to how those 
escape artists kept doing this time and time again...

     Lina wished she hadn't found out.  There was nothing more unpleasant or 
uncomfortable than being stuffed into a large tube and shot at hypervelocity 
through the Sairaag ductwork system.  This was meant for non-fragile shipping 
cargo, not very fragile and delicate beauties such as herself... but it was 
the only solid escape route, and apparently a time proven one, from the 
limited information Roy gave her before departure.

     Ten intensely bruising minutes later, and her capsule finally shuddered 
to a halt in parts unknown.  The latch popped, and she emerged...

     It wasn't a very impressive underground resistance hideout.  No 
dilapidated walls, barely-lit rooms full of hushed men discussing war plans 
while pushing little die cast figures around on a map, no swarthy dogs 
smoking and telling dirty jokes while cleaning weapons... a few-dozen late 
teen and twentysomething boys sitting around chatting didn't count, no matter 
how much green they wore.

     Given the young age of the resistance force, the rebels present almost 
made it look like a school dormitory, except for the decided lack of 
underwear and takeout food boxes decorating the scenery.  It had to be the 
tidiest little rebellion Lina had ever seen.  Not that she had seen many 
rebellions in her time, of course.

     Roy had gone ahead, and was already 'unpacked' and lounging in a wooden 
chair.  He wasn't pushing die cast figures around a map, but he was frowning 
at a blueprint, which instantly made him the most authoritative figure in the 
room.

     Penny's shipping container slid into the duct-dock next, shuddering to a 
halt.  She emerged dazed, but in otherwise good shape -- until her mother 
started patting her down to check for injuries.

     "You okay?" Lina Gabriev asked.  "They didn't hurt you, right?"

     "Uh... I'm fine, mom," Penny said, confusion rising like the almighty 
tides of the ocean.  "Err.  Hi.  How are you?"

     "Fine, except for a headache," the elder Lina said.  "One of these kids 
knocked me out before dragged me here.  Fine method of invitation!"

     "You were a civvy in the middle of a battle," Roy gruffly replied.  "We 
didn't know it was YOU until after the fact.  The Balderdash Resistance Front 
isn't exactly a crack team of professional soldiers -- be glad you didn't get 
accidentally shot."

     "Be glad I didn't accidentally Dragon Slave you," Lina Gabriev growled 
lightly.  "No good bandit trash..."

     "Ah... excuse me, can someone explain why we're here?" Penny asked.  
"I've gotten a little lost, things are going so fast..."

     Lina Inverse surveyed the scene.  "Isn't it obvious, Penny?  These guys 
want us to help them stop the Sairaag Empire.  That's how this sort of thing 
happens, I mean; wandering hero gets sucked into political conflict and ends 
up saving the day with the help of plucky locals.  But I was planning on 
taking care of the situation myself, and given that most of these guys 
wouldn't pass the 'you must be this tall to ride this ride' limit, I think I 
should stick to my original plan."

     "Zeifelian true to the core," Roy said, with a slight smirk.  He rolled 
up the blueprint for now.  "Always with the quippy speeches and remarks.  We 
may have had our differences, but I trust a homelander more than anybody else 
at this point.  They're good boys, but you I know will be a stand-up person 
when it comes down to--"

     "Excuse me; back up a bit, Roy.  Haven't you been trying to kill us 
lately?  Not to mention jumping me and Penny back when you were a two bit 
bandit thug."

     "Water under a burned bridge," Roy quickly said.  "I've realized just 
what a yutz I am.  You can consider this my personal twelve step program 
towards being less of a yutz... my campaign to do something that's actually 
going to make a difference, namely, get my sister's plans derailed.  And yes, 
you're right, we do want you to help... we know what you are; you're a god.  
It takes a god to fight a god.  We've been able to disturb the normal flow of 
business, try to slow the growth in Sairaag..."

     "Bombings and guerrilla tactics, I know," Lina said.  "Basic stuff."

     "Trying to sway popular faith to a new tune," Roy said.  "Elizabeth had 
way too much of this explained to me.  I know about killing gods.  You knock 
out the support, the rest comes tumbling down.  If we can ingrain the idea 
that machinery fails when you least want it to, through careful sabotage, 
we'll have a good start.  But it's not enough.  That's where you come in."

     "Humor me.  What do you want, exactly?"

     "We want, exactly, for you to break the one machine everybody in this 
town has utter and unswerving faith in," Roy said, getting to his feet.  "The 
Imperial Palace.  It's the heart of the city, and without it, nothing would 
work.  The shipping ducts, the broadcast facilities, power and water 
services... it would be a disaster.  But it would also spell the end of the 
chokehold they have on us, if enough people lost their faith."

     Lina Inverse turned to her counterpart, with a big grin.  "See?  See?  
Didn't I tell you we should just show up and immediately kick some ass 
instead of sitting around all day planning?  I was right!  OKAY!  Let's go 
blow stuff up!!"

     "You're forgetting something," Gabriev said dryly.  "Two things that go 
boom if that building goes boom."

     "...oh, right," Inverse said.  "Ah, Roy?  We'll do your dirty work, but 
we gotta get Gourry Gabriev and Zoamel Gustav out of the building first.  
Think you can manage that?  I'll wait here while you're busy.  You got any 
food around--"

     "Impossible," Roy said, spreading out his blueprint again.  "After they 
got ME out, Zelgadis ordered more security lockdowns.  They don't know we use 
the ductwork to get around, but there's so many armed guards in the place now 
that we'd get no more than six steps inside before being killed.  That's also 
why we can't just torch the place ourselves."

     "Aren't you forgetting?  I'm a god," Lina said.  "I don't die.  It's one 
of the signing bonuses."

     "It won't do you any good," Roy said.  "The Eradicators--"

     "Penny cooked up a nice countermeasure to them."

     Roy eyed Lina oddly, reluctant to believe that.  "Okay... fine.  
Assuming you're right, it still won't do you any good.  The force the god in 
there puts out is overwhelming to Demiurges.  Your powers weaken, and you 
lose touch with your followers who think you're the cat's meow and can walk 
on water and be totally immune to bullets.  Maybe you won't DIE, but they'll 
capture you easily enough if you're not careful."

     "Sheesh, look at Mr. Negativity!" Lina complained.  "You seem to know a 
hell of a lot about this for someone who I knew as a simple bandit.  On WHOSE 
authority exactly do you know that I'd be walking into that kind of hostile 
environment?"

     "On the authority of Sylpheel," Roy said quietly, sitting back.  "'cause 
she tried it the day we heard about Gourry's capture, and we almost lost her 
in the process."

     "..." was Lina's witty quip retort comeback catchphrase snappy reply.

     Lina Gabriev stepped in to take up the helm of conversation.  "That's 
impossible," she said.  "Sylpheel is here?"

     "Yeah, in the other room," Roy said, plain as can be.

     "So you went and dug up her corpse, is that it?  Inverse, quit looking 
confused.  Sylpheel's been dead for over three years now.  Official news that 
I heard coming out of Sairaag was that she came down with an incurable 
disease, but I'd hazard she just disagreed with Elizabeth's tactics."

     "You'd hazard right," Roy agreed.  "But she's in the next room, if you 
want to talk to her, either way.  And yes, she'll talk back.  She's like Lina 
is, now.  Ever since I found out they exist, I swear, I can't swing a dead 
cat nowadays without hitting a--"

     Lina Inverse looked up, promptly.  "Of course I want to talk to her!  If 
she's been in the palace and knows this much... definitely!  Take me to her!  
Gabriev, Penny, you two wait here.  I've got immortal matters to discuss."

     "ExCUSE me, but when did you get to be leader of this group?" Lina 
Gabriev asked.  "You need to learn to respect your elders, young lady.  I 
don't think we should be rushing into all this -- we barely know these 
people, and they're claiming they have--"

     "Yeah yeah, we're being impulsive and taking risks, I've heard it 
before," the young god yadda-yadda'd.  "C'mon, Roy."

     Mrs. Gabriev stood indignant, as the two made an open and shut door out 
of the matter, leaving her with the decidedly non-rag-tag rebels, and her 
puzzled daughter.  The fuming frustration fumed away before she waved the 
fumes away, and became determined... to do something else than fume about it.

     "I need fresh air," Lina Gabriev announce.  "There's a rooftop balcony 
upstairs, if I recall.  Come along, Penny."

     "What?  Uh, okay.  Sure.  Um, mom..."

     "Yeah?"

     "I don't think you're giving her enough credit," Penny said quietly, 
unsure of second guessing her mother.  "She may act a bit crazy sometimes, 
but she knows what she's doing, right?"

     "Oh, I know her.  I WAS her.  And where'd it get me?"

     "It got you through a few battles with Mazoku Lords and a lot of 
adventures," Penny supplied automatically.  "And it got you a family, in the 
long run, right?"

     Lina froze.  Not long enough to look like she hadn't lost her cool; but 
just long enough to have the following chain of thoughts ---

     Penny didn't know about what Xelloss did to her; she didn't know the 
only reason Penny existed was because Xelloss forced her to 'settle down'.  
But if she hadn't been the free, almost random spirit she once was, would she 
have been enough of a threat to merit that action?  Would her future have 
ended up the same?

     She'd always assumed her past was a childhood she had tossed aside in 
favor of more realistic goals.  She didn't know it was a stepping block that 
lead her straight into that second phase, that one triggered the other.  
Chaos theory in action... without being the crazy type Lina Inverse now was, 
would her family ever have existed?  It got her a family, in the long run, 
right?

     They'd had problems in the past.  Relationship issues, family fights.  
But now she had a chance to make that all better.  If asked previously, she'd 
say her only regret was being a spoiled brat in her past.  Now she knew a 
different regret; that she hadn't really been mature at all, and frittered 
away this chance at a different life in her apathy.  That changed now.  That 
had changed the moment she knew the truth.

     --- so, when she unfroze, she turned a smile on her daughter.

     "I guess it did," she agreed.  "You're right.  Okay... fine.  I'll give 
your new friend some leeway.  But the stakes are high here, Penny, not just 
for her but for all of us.  One mistake..."

     "She won't make a mistake," Penny said, firmly.  "I have faith in her."

                                    [*]

     This room looked just like the previous one -- tidy, with fresh paint on 
the walls and not a hint of the seedy underbelly of a desperate resistance 
force, blah blah blah.  But simultaneously existing on that level... it was 
also holy.

     Maybe it was just the way the light came in through the windows, perfect 
beams slanting to illuminate the room.  The few candles kept around for 
nighttime visits, drippy and currently unlit, as well as the various chairs 
arranged in rows.  This was a shrine, a small church... and at the 'altar' 
stood a single figure.

     A figure in stone.

     Lina cocked her head, examining the statue.  It had been uprooted from 
some public structure, obviously; broken, jagged stone still formed its base.  
A makeshift idol to worship, a flawlessly smooth marble representation of a 
woman Lina hadn't seen in years.

     Sylpheel stood, not in the dignified and regal stance of royalty, or 
even as an authority in white magic, but as a compassionate human... arms 
wide to whoever would approach her, eyes soft and expression simple.  Whoever 
carved it might have intended it as a family decoration, but it had to have 
struck a nerve -- Lina could FEEL the faith from the young soldiers outside.  
That was what had drawn them together, to resist the new order.  Sylpheel had 
officially become a martyr.

     (Not in the sense you believe,) her voice echoed.

     "What...?" Lina said, pushed out of her study of the statue by the 
sound.

     Roy scratched behind his ear, not reacting.  "She doesn't talk to me.  
I'm not one of her believers; I just do the directing, they do the believing.  
Before they busted me out of jail, they didn't have much organization... this 
Sylpheel person may be a good leader, but she's not a military commander."

     "She never was a violent person," Lina said quietly, a bit detached.

     "I'll leave you two alone to rap the light fantastic or whatever," Roy 
decided, adjusting his belt.  "We've got a lot of planning to do if you 
seriously want to invade that place before torching it.  I'll be going over 
the blueprints in the main room if needed."

     Lina didn't pay attention to his leave.  She was too busy feeling this 
new force, trying to identify it.  Something was odd.  It felt so old...

     (Older than you imagine,) Sylpheel said.  (I have been protecting this 
city since the first humans took shelter in my land.  I have had many forms, 
constantly shifting and adjusting with the times.  I am not the woman you 
knew named Sylpheel... this is simply the shape that they have believed me 
in.)

     "You don't feel like her," Lina responded, looking the statue eye to 
eye, as equals.  "But Roy said you tried to invade the Palace when you found 
out about Gourry..."

     (Part of my shape is my love for Gourry Gabriev,) Sylpheel explained.  
(...I feel a great deal of sorrow over these events.  I acted foolishly.  
Now, I cannot even manifest as a moving figure.  I'm too weak.  The Demiurge 
of Science punished me for my transgression.  He has let me live, for now, 
since I seem to pose no major threat... for whatever reason, they have not 
taken strong action against my followers.  Yet.)

     "Stupid move on their part," Lina said, with a little smile.  "I've 
decided I'm going to help you.  But first, I've got to invade that place and 
bust out Gourry, and Penny's boyfriend--"

     (You mustn't,) Sylpheel warned.  (Science is too strong.  It has 
become... unnatural.  An abomination.)

     "Yeah, a real bad mofo, I know.  Gods fight all the time, right?"

     (Not like this.  Not like this,) Sylpheel warned, genuine fear in the 
sound of her voice.  (You don't understand.  Lina... you are a young god.  I 
can feel it in you.  A powerful god, but inexperienced.  I have existed since 
before the demon wars, and have survived and engaged in many jihads... holy 
wars.  We struggle daily for our believers, and they struggle for our glory.  
We clash.  That is the way of things.)

     "Right, right.  I learned a lot about that stuff off Drake and Ace."

     (But this is not a normal holy war, Lina.  Science... has cheated.  He 
is co-opting his enemies, turning their power into its strength,) Sylpheel 
explained.  (All Demiurges, at one level or another, seek to be the strongest 
god in the world, the most powerful, the most popular.  But no matter how 
much they wish to humiliate or crush their rivals, none to date have... have 
annihilated them.  Lina, if one god devours all others, what happens to the 
world?)

     "I'd guess... that the whole world would only have one god," Lina 
theorized.  "If they could really gobble up all the Demiurges, and the huge 
Demiurges like Ceipheed and Shaburanigdo, there'd be nothing left.  Except 
maybe atheism."

     (Atheism is actually a very nice person.  I used to play games with him 
from time to time.  A little nihilistic, since he doesn't believe he exists, 
but he has very strong followers.)

     "Really?  Go figure."

     (What Science seeks is not competition.  It is not jihad.  It is... 
total control over the belief of man.  Its plan is simple, it wishes to be 
'the only game in town', a complete theological monopoly.  Once it has 
that... there will be no chance for rivals to pull it down.  The balance of 
the gods leads to no one god dominating for very long.  The people always 
have a CHOICE of what they believe in.  But a future with no choice...)

     "Bleak as hell," Lina said, grimly.  "Humans might end up little more 
than mindless drones... since there's nothing else to believe in?"

     (Yes.  At the core... this is not an issue of science versus magic, or 
tradition versus the present, or something as trivial as that.  Any god could 
have orchestrated this... violation, Science simply was the first to find a 
way to cheat.  This is not just a fight for the safety of you and your 
friends, Lina.  It is a fight to stop a thing that must not be.  Something 
against the laws of nature and the chaos that is order that is the Lord of 
Nightmares... something that... something unholy...)

     "Sylpheel?"

     (Yes?)

     "You're babbling."

     If it was possible, the statue would have blushed.

     (I am sorry.  I have grown weak, and I barely realize what I am saying 
sometimes...)

     "Hey, hey, everybody has an off day," Lina laughed.  "It's okay.  You 
can relax now.  Lina Inverse is on the task.  You know what I am, and what I 
do.  I'll take care of things, and then you can get back to work helping your 
people recover from what Science did to them."

     (Do not take this lightly, Lina Inverse.  I have seen into your future.)

     "....hey, whoa," Lina warned, backing up.  "Don't jinx it.  I don't want 
to know my future."

     (I also have seen that I will tell you, regardless of your protest.  I 
am sorry.  You will win the day -- that is obvious.  It is what you are.  But 
to do it, a great sacrifice must be done in your name.  One to make even a 
god weep...)

     "I don't want to know!" Lina demanded.  "Okay?  I act in the NOW.  I 
deal with what's in front of me, I handle the situation, I get the job done.  
I don't think too hard on it.  If I think too hard, I could doubt myself, and 
if I doubt myself--"

     (You fail.)

     "Exactly."

     (I understand.  Pardon my acts.  Please... I must rest.  I have said too 
much, I fear.)

     "It's fine, it's fine," Lina soothed.  She turned to leave, shaking off 
her doubts, focusing.  "Just leave this to me."

     (...and Lina?)

     "Yeah?"

     (Please tell Gourry-sama how proud I am of him.)

                                    [*]

     The small stairwell up to the roof wasn't as well kept as the rest of 
the building.  Lina had to push at the door to get it unstuck, as someone had 
slapped a fresh layer of paint over it, which made the door a size too big 
for its frame.  But once there, she was relieved to see the light of day, 
fresh air... but not to see other people.  She was hoping for a quiet moment 
to think and chat with her daughter.

     Someone had gone and built some giant machine on the rooftop.  Most of 
it was covered in a tarp, to prevent prying eyes elsewhere in the city from 
seeing it, but three people were busy working with it, adjusting controls, 
tightening screws and so on and so forth...

     She paused, something not quite clicking.  Or rather, clicking with 
absolute familiarity.  The same thing happened to Penny.

     "You again?" Lina Gabriev addressed to Myron, the merchant she had met 
earlier.

     "You AGAIN?" Penny blurted out, on seeing Lord Noisemaker.

     "Err, hello," Myron greeted, nervously.  "Ah... sorry I hit you back at 
our raid on the steelworks, but I DID warn you not to go there--"

     "Penny Gabriev?" Lord Noisemaker spoke, in surprise.  "How is it you and 
your companions keep meeting up with me?"

     "WAIT!  Wait," Lina Gabriev shouted, waving her hands.  "I've had far 
too many confusing things happen to me today to chalk up another one to a 
massive surprise run-in.  Penny, this is Myron, someone I met earlier who 
apparently was working with the rebels.  As for the others, I demand a 
capsule summary immediately."

     "Uh... uh...." Penny babbled, getting her bearings.  "Well, that's Lord 
Noisemaker the alchemist and his Apprentice--"

     "I'm a Journeyman now, actually," the Journeyman said with pride.

     "--and Lina bumped into them a long time ago when I got my Table-chan 
and apparently they were around in Darata too working on traps and we met 
them again in Sailoon where they were trying to find a way to stop the 
Sairaag army and I helped investigate a suspicious bombing and they used the 
evidence to convince the people Sairaag was cheating and I don't think we've 
seen them since but I could be mistaken and I think he said he's some member 
of a group that blends magic and technology but then again I could be 
mistaken there as well and hey, it's good to see you guys again, what's under 
the tarp?"

     "That didn't exactly help ease my confusion, but I get the idea," Lina 
Gabriev decided.  "Now.  What are you all doing HERE?  Not you, Myron, I've 
figured that much out already."

     "Ah... miss Gabriev, I presume?" Lord Noisemaker said, still working at 
orienting himself to the discussion.

     "That's MISSUS!"

     "Yes, yes.  Well... it's quite simple, really," he explained.  "After 
Penny's invaluable assistance which we, ah, took the lion's share of credit 
for in order to obtain a governmental grant, word of our singlehandedly 
staving off the Sairaag army got back to the rebel movement here... ah.  
You're not going to attack us, are you, young Penny?"

     "Oh, no, you can keep the glory on that one," Penny said with a smile.  
"But if I were you, I wouldn't tell Lina Inverse.  She might get mad."

     Lord Noisemaker paled briefly, considering what a mad Lina Inverse would 
be capable of.  "Yes, well... we won't be requiring your assistance this 
time, regardless.  Sir Balderdash has his doubts, but I believe that superior 
planning and development of our weapon will rule the day!  Things are very 
much in hand, and our plan for destroying yonder Imperial Palace goes 
according to schedule."

     Lina looked across the city of Sairaag.  The headquarters of the rebels 
were indeed embedded in the suburbs of the city (if any part of the city 
could be considered 'suburban', given the thick technololgical landscape).  
The Palace was visible in the distance... with the covered machine 'pointed' 
right at it.

     "You can't blow it up yet, they have hostages," she pointed out, with a 
sharp tone of 'And if you disagree with me, you will taste my Fist of Death'.

     "...ah... as you say," Lord Noisemaker said.  "But when the time DOES 
come, we will be ready."

     "So what is this bloody thing, anyway?" Lina asked, walking over and 
giving the hunk of machinery a nice kick.

     "Aaah!" the Journeyman shouted, pulling at his hair.  "Careful!  We just 
spent all day tuning the thing!  If the Dragon Slave Amplification Cannon 
doesn't fire right on the first try, we won't GET a second shot!"

     Lina's ears perked up.  The very words sent memories shooting across her 
forebrain, as she turned to face the young boy.

     "'Dragon Slave Amplification Cannon'?" she pointedly asked, in such a 
way that needed no further instructions.  Information was demanded.

     "Um, um, um..." the Journeyman stammered, for even if he had progressed 
beyond Apprenticehood, something about Lina invoked an Angry Mother response.  
"It... takes an ordinary Dragon Slave, and not only focuses the energy into a 
controlled blast capable of targeting the Palace alone, but it multiplies the 
strength by a factor of four."

     Lord Noisemaker pulled out his be-robe'd chest in swelling joy.  "Simply 
superior thinking in practice, my good woman!  A union of the technological 
and the thaumatological.  These Sairaag simpletons would never understand the 
perfection of design and fuction--"

     "So who's casting the Dragon Slave?" Lina asked.  "And if you call me 
'my good woman' one more time, I'll... I... well, you'll damn well wish you 
hadn't, that's for sure."

     Myron the Somewhat Unintimidating Rebel Warrior cleared his throat in a 
penitent manner.  "Erm, excuse me, Mrs. Gabriev... I've volunteered for the 
duty.  I've been practicing magic in secret for a few years now, and I 
started studying the spell last month so we could-- excuse me, what are you 
doing?"

     Lina stood on her tip toes, studying Myron through a complicated looking 
scrying lens.  She took an attachment out of a pocket in her robe, and 
latched it on -- it glowed briefly, lighting up two dots, then chimed.

     "You're kidding yourself if you think you've got the magical power to do 
any real damage," she said.  "You barely rate at a two on Harnum's Scale.  
Assuming you can even CAST the spell, a Dragon Slave from YOU through that 
thing would barely scratch the Palace.  I've done my research.  It's made of 
magic-resistant materials, and it'll take a phenomenal amount of power to cut 
the armor."

     "Ah... I'm afraid there's nothing we can do about that," he pointed out.  
"Magic is hard to come by here, and since this is the best we have available 
for the--"

     Lina turned the lens around, facing her.  Fifteen dots lit up 
immediately, glowing brightly enough to hurt Myron's eyes, before the chime 
sounded.

     "You guys," she decided, "Are VERY lucky that I happen to be here.  
Never send a man to do an Lina's job."

                                    [*]

     A war council was promptly called.

     Lina Inverse was a plan by the seat of your pants, fly off the handle 
and burn the bridge when you come to it sort of girl... but she DID 
understand the value of actually sitting down and thinking something out.  
Sometimes.  She'd done this before they all went to face Shaburanigdo.  She'd 
done it numerous times in the past to encourage her teammates, and decide 
what actions would be taken first.  It was a staple of her existence.

     All the players were present.  Roy Balderdash, makeshift leader of the 
good guys, took the head seat; both Linas flanked him.  There was Penny 
Gabriev the heroine in training, Lord Noisemaker the innovator of violence, 
his Journeyman, Myron the weak mage, and the entire assembly of hardy young 
lads.  Table-chan was busy ignoring the serious tone and cavorting around, 
trying to get attention.  They'd even dragged Sylpheel's statue out to 
observe the preceedings.  Everything was in place for decisions to be made 
which would determine success or failure in the battle to come.

     However, this war council was flawed in one vitally important way, which 
would doom them all to failure.

     "What do you mean, there's no food?!" Lina Inverse protested.  "I can't 
kick ass if my nutritional needs aren't satisfied!"

     "I'm not going to be launching ANY sort of attack until nightfall," 
Balderdash replied, rolling his eyes a justifiable amount.  "You'll have 
plenty of time to pig out between now and then, okay?  If anything, the 
sooner we can come to a consensus, the sooner you eat, yeah?"

     "Let us decide these matters most serious in a rational and swift 
manner," Lina spoke, words grave and dire in tone.

     "...right.  Okay.  Now, we've got the ability to pipe up to ten people 
into the secondary supply docking station of the palace," Balderdash 
explained, pointing it out on the blueprint.  "The primary station is too 
guarded after we used it to bust me out.  It means a pretty long running 
battle to get to the Core and the Experiment Room, where intelligence says 
your pals are being held."

     "And Sylpheel says the longer I say in there, the more chance of being 
too weak to fight," Lina Inverse added.  "So, here's my plan.  We rush in 
there and kick some ass like a flash of lightning and save the day!"

     "THAT'S your plan?!" Lina Gabriev shouted.

     "It's worked for me before," Inverse explained.  "If I think too hard on 
it it'll all fall apart.  There's no other safe way into the building, right?  
So we've got no choice.  It'll be a knock out drag down high speed brawl, but 
if I concentrate more on blazing through than cleaning the place out, we can 
be in and out faster than a butter churn.  Roy, can you assure me we'll have 
an exit?"

     "No, not really."

     "Works for me," Lina decided.  "I'll go in alone, and come out with 
Gourry and Zomael."

     "I'm coming with you," Penny spoke, her first words since sitting down.

     "Pen--"

     "You can spare all the reasons I shouldn't be going, I'd probably agree 
with all of them," Penny said.  "Except this is what I WANT to do.  Zoamel's 
in there, and I'm holding his weapon.  I'm going to take the bounty he's set 
on Sairaag's head in his name and complete his quest.  If you just bring them 
both out and we do get rid of the Palace, he'll never get vengeance by his 
own hand."

     "Pointy stick thing, you mean."

     "Pointy stick thing, yes.  But it's the same thing.  YES, I know I'm 
mortal and MOM, don't give me that look, I know you don't want me getting 
hurt, but NO, I'm not going to take no for an answer so you both can give up 
trying to protest it, so it'll be me and Lina Inverse and that's it invading 
the building itself, okay?"

     "Erm... excuse me, Miss Inverse," Myron interrupted, in his humble way.  
"But... I've been talking with the others, and we want to accompany you."

     "You'd only get in the way," Lina Inverse said flatly.

     "We're well armed and reasonably trained," Myron added.  "We could cover 
while you lead the attack.  This way, we'd also present the soldiers inside 
with so many targets that it would draw fire away from you.  That's a bit 
morbid, but... we have to do this in the name of Sylpheel.  It's already been 
decided."

     Lina Inverse opened her mouth to protest, but then did not.  Something 
flashed back to her; Sylpheel's words, describing the holy war as a natural 
order of things.  People fighting for what they BELIEVED in, rather than 
being co-opted as Science had done... here, she could feel that belief 
radiating off Myron.  Not mindless sheep with a god directing the slaughter, 
but someone who felt that faith so strongly that he genuinely wanted this, 
beyond danger and risk... so he could stand up for his beliefs.

     "Okay," Lina agreed.  "I'll take five of you guys with me.  Make sure 
they're the fastest runners and brawlers you have, I don't want any slow 
slugfests.  HEAVY armor, as heavy as you can use and still run effectively; 
we'll be fleeing more than shooting in this fight.  Put whatever mages you 
have available into the mix as well, I doubt they're prepared for magic 
INSIDE the walls of the fortress."

     "...and THAT about covers the first half of our program, but make that 
four of the guys here.  I'm coming with you people as man number five," 
Balderdash ordered.  "I know the innards of that place better than anyone... 
but Lina, if we're not out after the ten minute mark, I'm leaving 
instructions to blow the place up anyway.  Hell, I already almost died once 
recently, what do I have to lose?  Because if we do stay any longer, they 
might be able to throw up extra defenses, and the second half won't be 
possible."

     "Acceptable," Lina said.  "Knowing me, we'll be out at the nine minute 
fifty nine second mark, but hey, that's good enough."

     "The second half of the plan concerns torching the compound itself," Roy 
explained.  "Noisemaker here has finished tuning the Dragon Slave 
Amplification Cannon... and apparently Mrs. Gabriev is volunteering to 
provide the bang for our buck."

     "I'm not the sort of person to dive headfirst into a firefight," Lina 
Gabriev said.  "Not anymore.  I'm too old for that kind of activity, but that 
doesn't mean I can't help lead us to victory.  While my juvenile counterpart 
here and my daughter who I think is risking way too much over a boy are off 
doing their thing, I'll be waiting here... and on signal, I'll pump enough 
raw black magic at that thing to melt it into slag.  Plus, I'll focus the 
beam so it does NOT destroy Sairaag this time.  I've wiped this city off the 
map more times than I should have, even for good causes."

     "Once THAT is done," Roy concluded, "The palace will be annihilated, all 
the mechanical services this city has become dependent on will fail, the 
trapped gods should hopefully be freed, and the Demiurge of Science will lose 
belief by the cartload and be forced to flee.  We may have mop-up work to do, 
but the blow will be crippling enough to make this battle winnable by mortals 
again.  ...good lord.  And to think weeks ago the most thought I had to put 
in on a daily basis was which wallet to lift."

     "Everybody's changed," Lina Gabriev said, voice serious.  "We've all 
progressed farther than we expected to when we got sucked into this thing.  
Maybe it's fate, maybe it's luck, or just drama in action, but... I don't 
think any one of us will ever be the same again."

     "Except Table-chan!" Penny cheered, holding up the Wandering Monster 
Table.  It posed dramatically.

     Nobody quite knew how to respond to that.

     "...one of these days, Noisemaker," Lina Inverse quietly said, "I'm 
going to hurt you for making that thing which has gotten on my nerves at a 
constant rate.  If you'll excuse me, I'm going to get dinner."

                                    [*]

     She'd shrugged off offers for group dinning with Penny, with Lina 
Gabriev, with anyone else.  Her excuse was simply that she didn't feel like 
footing the bill for anybody else's appetites, and she needed to focus on 
consuming enough protein to power her up for tonight's raid.

     The real reason (since Lina usually had two reasons for every action) 
was more vague.  She had a nagging feeling.  Nagging feelings were very, very 
bad in her line of work; it meant something was not right, and if you 
couldn't figure out what that something was, it would jump up and bite you on 
the ass at precisely the worst moment.

     Lina Inverse sat in a small sidewalk bistro, taking in the rays of the 
setting sun as she worked on her fourth steak.  Her cloak was up, and 
identity concealed... she simply didn't will anyone around her to pay 
attention to her.  A simple enough trick, once she decided she could do it.  
It let her have a nice, quiet dinner, even if getting the food was difficult.

     It didn't, however, prevent all untimely interruptions.

     Lina didn't bother to acknowledge his presence immediately.  She chewed, 
swallowed, and chased her beef down with a bit of fruit punch, before finally 
meeting him eye to eye.

     "This really is all your fault, isn't it?" she asked.

     The half-visible form of Xelloss sitting across from her pouted.  "You 
say that as if it were a bad thing, Lina.  One day, you'll look back on this 
day, and you'll thank me.  You'll say, 'Xelloss, what a guy, there's someone 
who really knows where it's at and what's going on.  What a great guy!  Why 
didn't I have more sex with him when I was a mortal, anyway?'"

     "Get over yourself," Lina grumbled, cutting her next bite away from the 
steak.  "What's with the gloomy specter gimmick, anyway?"

     "Oh, I can't leave my assigned position, not yet.  Sorry.  Very secret 
reasons and all that.  But I couldn't let you march off to war without a 
little last minute encouragement, could I?"

     "If you've got a specific place to be, then you STILL know more than 
you're letting on," Lina decided.  "Xelloss, you know, I really hate your 
guts.  I don't care if you're supposedly doing it for 'the right reasons', 
you've caused me and my other self a lot of pain--"

     "Yes, yes, I've heard this sob story before," Xelloss yawned.  "I'm 
surprised you haven't learned more humility after similar traumatic 
experiences have yielded world-saving results.  This is your JOB, Lina 
Inverse."

     "I KNOW it's my job.  I've accepted that.  But there are times when I 
don't have to like it.  What's going to happen here, Xelloss?  I can't put my 
finger on it, but something is going to go wrong.  It's too cut and dry, too 
clean a finish for something NOT to go wrong.  Sylpheel told me a blood 
sacrifice would be made in my name."

     "Oh, I'm not privy to the future," Xelloss protested.  "I just know 
little things I designed and put into motion.  Anything else, I leave to the 
mother of all things."

     "Someone's going to die," Lina said, trying to prompt him.  "Maybe Lina 
Gabriev.  Maybe Gourry.  Maybe Penny, maybe Balderdash, maybe everybody in 
the entire damn city.  It's happened before.  Every time we go up against 
something like this there's a price to be paid.  What's going to happen?"

     "I honestly have no idea, Lina--"

     "Then what good are you?" Lina asked.  "What good am I, for that 
matter??  I'm not going to accept this, you understand.  I don't care what 
prophecy or dramatic convention demand of me.  I've never kowtowed to the 
rules before and I don't intend to start now.  If I'm a god, and I'm in 
charge of keeping the world safe and orderly, I'm going to INSIST on a happy 
ending.  Nothing else will be acceptable."

     "If anybody can perform such a feat, it would be you," Xelloss noted.  
"Sometimes, things are out of our hands, however.  Perhaps the outcome I seek 
won't come to be, perhaps it will.  Fight with all of your will, with all of 
your unlimited desire, Lina Inverse.  Perhaps then you will win the right to 
reshape the story more to your liking.  Until then... I salute your spirit, 
Lina Inverse, and bid you farewell."

     "What outcome are YOU seeking out of this?" Lina asked, suspiciously.

     "Ah," Xelloss smiled, as he began to fade away.  "That is a secret."

     Lina hmphed, when he was gone.  Typical.  But she remained resolute, as 
she finished off her steak, paid the check, and made her way back to the 
safehouse.  She was going to play this in Inverse fashion, Inverse style, and 
wasn't going to 'trust' that the outcome be to her liking.  She would MAKE it 
to her liking.

     And woe be to anybody who tried to stop her.

     
                           ----------------
                           eight part three
                           ----------------


     The Imperial Palace had many store rooms... places where massive 
cylinders arrived from the pneumatic networks, loaded with weapons, supplies, 
food, or other materials required for day to day living.  They went, for the 
most part, unscreened.  There wasn't very much to worry about, not since the 
guards posted at each store room were jacked up a notch.  Explosives could be 
detected instantly; people less than instantly, but anybody who popped up out 
of one of those things would be greeted by a hail of bullets before they 
could do anything.

     A large cylinder slammed into the net at the end of the tube.  Guards 
checked the label on the side, which declared it contained volatile 
materials, and opened it very carefully before it exploded.

     Fires that were not true flames roared through the supply room.  They 
were hot enough to melt the steel walls into deformed slabs of putty.  The 
guards didn't see it coming... but truthfully, that was probably for the 
best.

     Seconds after the room went from still and quiet to blazing inferno it 
went to still and quiet again, as Lina Inverse walked out of the flames.  She 
quickly applied an ice spell (or her equivalent of an ice spell), to prevent 
the delivery track from being unusable, and to make the room hospitable for 
regular humans...

     The next few tubes arrived a little too fast and ended up crashing into 
each other.  Penny Gabriev flopped out of her tube with a ringing headache; 
Roy and his companions were used to this sort of thing and were merely 
annoyed.

     "You could have been a little quieter about our arrival," Roy chided, 
examining the warped remains of the store room.

     "We had no chance of sneaking in, so why not announce immediately and 
get the element of surprise?" Lina asked.  "Ten minutes, right?"

     "Ten minutes," Roy replied, drawing his new, rebel-issue gunblade from 
his back, while pulling out the map.  (He made sure it was an extra five 
inches longer than the one Zelgadis carried.  Perhaps he'd turned over a new 
leaf from his bandit days, but to the male ego, bigger was always better.)  
"I'll stay in the middle and direct the group around the halls.  Lina, you 
and Penny take front and try to clear the path.  My boys will keep us covered 
from behind.  Move fast, no mop-up, just blaze through--"

     "I remember the plan," Lina said, walking right through the open 
doorway-- and casting twin fireballs to her left and right, on pure instinct.  
Screams resounded in fine stereo.  "Let's go."

                                    [*]

     Alarms echoed through the metal hallways of the palace.  Feet were 
running, voices were shouting, orderes were being issued.  They irritated 
Elizabeth Balderdash to no end.

     She tapped her pen against the clipboard, studying the medical data.  
Gourry's tests had proven quite useful; the interface she had planned would 
actually be feasible with these new parameters.  Perhaps a few tweaks, and 
the new weapons would be--

     Her door flew open, the military commander of Sairaag feeling no need to 
announce his entrance.  Elizabeth felt quite irritated about this as well.

     "Rebels are inside the palace," Zelgadis reported.  "Lina Inverse is 
with them.  Every time I get a report about their location, a new one comes 
in moments later reporting them as farther along in the building.  
Eradicators seem to be having no effect on Inverse.  They came in through the 
secondary docking station I thought was supposed to be intrusion-proof--"

     "Yes, I know," Elizabeth said.  "It would be the most likely entrance 
point.  I suppose they want Gourry and Zoamel back..."

     "I told you taking the Gabriev man was a mistake."

     "Zelgadis, please," she chided.  "Spare me your I Told You Sos.  There 
was no mistake made.  We are fully prepared for an armed invasion force.  
Perhaps a few dozen men will die, but they will never take back what they 
hope to retrieve.  They can do no lasting damage to us this way.  Don't you 
remember the young goddess who came through here recently?"

     "With ALL due respect," Zelgadis spoke, almost meaning it, "This is a 
bit different, Elizabeth.  This is Lina Inverse--"

     "An outmoded example of a system given to collapse!" Elizabeth replied, 
banging her palm on the table.  "Do not bother me with these trivialities!  
She is not the future, and never will be -- WE are the future.  We are 
powerful.  We are more powerful than any god on the planet, as science 
protects us, empowers us!  Any gestures by those piddling rebels are 
unimportant.  They have walked right into a hopeless situation.  They just 
don't know it yet."

     "And when, Elizabeth, will they know it?  When they've waltzed past our 
inferior internal defenses?"

     "You don't understand, Zelgadis," she sighed.  Elizabeth gathered up her 
medical notes... the precious data.  Exactly what the situation called for.  
"You never truly believed; you're too practical, too straightforward.  But 
that's okay... it's what endears you most to me.  You WILL see what I mean... 
come with me.  We are going--"

     "--to the Core," Zelgadis added.

     "...yes, to the Core," Elizabeth chimed, stepping out of her chamber 
door.  "Come along."

     "Perhaps I'm not as straightforward as you think," Zelgadis spoke behind 
her back.

                                    [*]

     Minutes went by.  The paths through the palace were not designed for 
ease of travel; they were designed to accommodate the near endless series of 
rooms required to support the bureaucracy.  Lina had stopped paying attention 
to where she was, concentrating only on targets, and on Roy's voice as he 
guided the group in a madcap rush towards Gourry's holding cell.

     "We've lost two of the guys," Roy announced, never taking his eyes from 
his map.

     That was a surprise.  Lina lobbed a gravity charge ahead of her, 
knocking soldiers back into the barracks they were flowing from, before 
looking back... and indeed, where four men were covering their exit with a 
steady hail of bullets, there were only two.

     "Don't give me that look, you know we came prepared for this," Roy 
shouted back, keeping his tone even despite the raised volume.  "Left ahead."

     So far, Lina hadn't felt any 'power drain' whatsoever.  She could feel 
something.. HUGE, nearby.  Likely the Demiurge of Science.  But there wasn't 
any crippling, halting voice like Sylpheel had described, and for the time 
being Lina wasn't going to kick a gift horse in the mouth by waiting around 
to get weak.  The plan had been crafted with her gradually sliding power in 
mind, but if she had it, she was gonna USE it...

     The group wheeled around a corner -- into a wall of soldiers.

     Lina prepared another shot of that old black magic, but Penny stepped up 
to the plate first.

     "KYAA!" she shouted, swing the purest ivory naginata in a wide, flat 
arc, swinging from the hip... it left a glowing trail of incandescent light.  
And it missed the soldiers completely.

     Then their pants fell down.

     Penny twirled the naginata into a new attack stance, this one that would 
aim a little higher than waist level.  "Beat it!" she ordered, and lo, they 
did.

     "...you definitely take after your father," Lina commented.

     "Gosh, thanks!" Penny replied, smiling.  "I figured the less folks we 
have to kill, the better--"

     "We're going to melt the building down into a puddle of molten steel in 
a few minutes, Penny," Lina reminded.  "Even if they started running now they 
probably wouldn't make it out in time.  Don't forget that.  This is a war."

     ...a war, Penny thought.  Just as Zoamel had explained to her, so long 
ago, in Darata.  Where things would have to go wrong to make a right...

     She dropped her childish impulses, realizing the seriousness.  If she 
wanted to rescue Zoamel, she had to become like him -- do what needs to be 
done, pay the prices charged...

     "But regardless of that, you're right.  This isn't as efficient as I'd 
like," Lina said.  "The less we have to do, the better, just to make sure we 
can get it all done in time.  Roy!  Where's Gourry?"

     "One turn, two flights of stairs up, a turn, we're there," Roy reported, 
tracing the path with his eyes on the map.

     "And where's Zoamel?"

     "In the Core.  It's one flight of stairs down from here; we're gonna 
have to backtrack once we've got him.  Why?"

     Lina stopped her run.  "I'm saving us some time," she decided, starting 
to glow red with a flaming shell of her willpower.  "I don't know what 
Sylpheel was going on about, I've got more than enough strength to take care 
of things MY way.  You guys head to the Core on your own.  Penny can take 
care of things.  She's an Inverse, after all.  I'll meet you there."

     In a blaze, Lina shot through the ceiling above... ignoring all those 
silly conventional theories about using hallways and stairs and things to get 
from point A to point B.  Roy moved out of the way to avoid dripping hot 
metal from falling on him.

     "...leave to Inverse not to stick to the plan," Roy grumbled.  He turned 
to face Penny.  "Well, kid?  Can you get us there reasonably unscratched?"

     "I can do it," Penny said, with resolve.  "I'll remove all obstacles."

     Her naginata glowed briefly with spirit, as she spoke the words.

                                     [*]

     The last thing he remembered...

     No.  The last thing he CLEARLY remembered was fighting with Zelgadis, in 
the tunnels under Bimini island.  It was a good fight; Zel was just as good 
as he had remembered.  But then his wife said something, and there was a 
bang, and he THOUGHT he got shot, but everything went black...

     He remembered hurting a lot.  Someone was doing something to him that 
hurt like hell, so he deliberately didn't pay much attention to it.  Still, 
he couldn't ignore the exhaustion, the half-delirious state he was in.  He'd 
rest here awhile... just until he could see straight, and walk straight.  
Then he'd get out of here.  Being the captain of the guard had its advantages 
in knowing security risks of holding rooms, and there would be at least one 
he could capitalize on.

     But not yet.  First, sleep.  He hoped his wife wasn't upset.  Lina... 
she was so fragile.  Tough as nails, but she had a soft spot for her family 
that she'd never had as a brash young kid.  She'd be very worried...

     There was a bright light from... somewhere.  Gourry rolled on his side 
on the metal floor of his holding room, to see part of the floor going away, 
very bright.  Like a fire, but it didn't burn him.  Somehow, he could tell it 
was trying not to burn him.

     Then the angel floated from the floor.  Graceful and beautiful... Gourry 
smiled weakly, despite his jaw hurting.  It was his wife.  The color and the 
shape were right.

     "Lina..." he called, as loud as he could (which wasn't very loud at 
all.)

     "Shhh," Lina soothed, picking him up.  Somehow, she was able to hold his 
weight in two arms.  "Don't move, okay?  You're really torn up here.  I gotta 
get you back so you can be healed by--"

     He silenced her with a kiss.

     'Silence' was exactly the right word to describe things after the kiss.

     "I missed you..." Gourry said, vision blurred as he tried to make out 
his wife's expression.

     "I... I missed you too, Gourry," Lina said quietly.  "...we have to go 
now."

     Everything blinked white, and confident that things would now be just 
fine, Gourry decided to take that nap.  He never doubted for a moment that 
Lina would save him, somehow.

                                     [*]

     The sky was quickly turning to night.  Figuring it was safe to uncover 
now in the mask of darkness, Lord Noisemaker had whipped the tarp off of the 
Dragon Slave Amplification Cannon.

     Lina Gabriev felt a momentary twinge of greed on seeing it.  She'd 
always reveled in the discovery of new magic... new techniques, new spells, 
new summoning rituals.  Once she took up a business, she'd made a habit of 
extending that love into magical relics, staves, scrolls, spellbooks -- 
things that not only were great to study academically but fetched a pretty 
penny.  (Not her daughter.)

     So, the first thing she thought on seeing the machine unveiled was 'I 
wonder how much I could charge for that thing?'.

     The second thought was 'Maybe he'll sell it to me when we're done.'

     The third was 'Maybe I'll take it anyway.'

     "Mrs. Gabriev?"

     "Sold!  I mean, yes?"

     "We're warming up the cannon now," the Journeyman explained... trying to 
block Lina's view of Lord Noisemaker giving the cannon a delicate technical 
adjustment by cursing at it and whapping it with his staff.  "Just a few 
minor glitches to get out of the way before--"

     In a sharp flash of white, Lina Inverse appeared, holding an injured 
Gourry.

     "...take care of him," she said, laying him down.  "I've got to get back 
to work."

     In a sharp flash of white, Lina Inverse went bye bye.

     "...I didn't know she could do that," the Journeyman said, stunned.

     "Neither did I, and likely, neither did she," Lina Gabriev spoke 
quickly, before running to Gourry's side.  She pushed back all her fear, her 
terror at seeing him in this... very unpleasant state.  Fumbling through her 
cape, she flicked her thumb from pocket to pocket, looking for the item she 
wanted... there.

     Whipping out the scroll, Lina Gabriev started to feed a trickle of power 
into it, tracing the iconoglyphs with her fingers.  She pressed the paper to 
Gourry's chest, mumbling ancient words... and as the paper faded away, so did 
his injuries.  In short order, Gourry was back in top condition, if 
completely exhausted and unlikely to wake up before the big show was over.

     "BLAST it all!" Noisemaker shouted, giving the cannon another solid 
kick.  "JOURNEYMAN!  You bungling dolt, you forgot to install the Wave Bender 
Disc!  No wonder these calibrations are completely off the mark.  We've only 
got a few minutes here, hurry up and fetch it!"

     "The... Wave Bender?" the Journeyman asked, feeling his stomach sink 
down to his ankles.  "Ah.  Well.  You know, it's a really funny story, see, I 
was going through the bags in Darata for things to pawn when we were hard up 
for money, and I thought we had a spare somewhere but it turns out that--"

     Lord Noisemaker gave the Journeyman a fierce whap upside the head.  
"You're officially demoted to Apprentice, you oaf!  There's no way we can use 
the cannon now without taking out half the city with it!!  The beam will be 
totally unfocused!"

     "I'm sorry, sir!" the Apprentice whined.

     "ExCUSE me!!" Lina interrupted, waving her arms.  "What do you mean, 
blow up half the city!?  That's totally unacceptable!  If the cannon doesn't 
work, we're just going to have to pull back and think of another plan--"

     "There's no other weapon powerful enough to destroy the palace," Lord 
Noisemaker warned.  "We've researched this extensively.  Unless you happen to 
have the Giga Slave or something ridiculous like that available, we'll have 
to go with this and hope that the--"

     "No.  NO GIGA SLAVE, no loose cannon!" Lina shouted, putting both men in 
their place.  "Now quit dreaming up worst case scenarios.  Let's work the 
problem.  What, exactly, is a Wave Bending Whatsamacallit?"

     "It's a circular disk of orihalcon," the Apprentice explained.  "We use 
it to take the spell and warp it at high speed around the orihalcon's null-
magic field, like a spoiler on the back of a hydroplane.  It has four 
extendable stubs to latch it into place in the barrel of the cannon, and the 
energy swirls through the gap, focusing the beam."

     "So... you're saying that in order to get this thing to work and save 
the day, we need a circle of orihalcon with four appendages," Lina repeated.

     Lord Noisemaker groaned, and has a seat on work bench.  "If only that 
Inverse hadn't gone and stolen my........."

     ...all eyes turned on the Wandering Monster Table, which was content to 
play hopscotch over near Penny's discarded backpack.

                                     [*]

     The doors to the Core chamber slammed open... falling inward and 
crashing to the ground.  Normally it took a complicated eight hexcode 
password to engage the hydraulics that opened the door, but Penny found that 
a good slice from a blade forged from a god worked just as well.

     The two remaining soldiers went in first, taking up flanking positions 
before Roy and Penny advanced.  But there wasn't much in the Core chamber 
worth noting.  The guard who was usually sleeping on duty had been called off 
to deal with the invaders; only one person remained.

     Standing across the way, on the other side of the wide metal catwalk, 
right in front of the towering Core itself was Zelgadis, commander of the 
Sairaag army.  He didn't seem very worried, as he watched them enter, arms 
folded neatly; his gunblade remained holstered at his side.

     "Hey, Zelgadis, great timing!" Roy called, waving.  "You can help us 
open that bloody ghost trap up and let everybody go that you've enslaved.  
I'd say the gig is up, but that'd be very cliche of me, so be a dear and give 
us a hand, okay?"

     "...Zeifelian to the last," Zelgadis spoke, the words toned like a 
deadly insult.  "Always with the sarcastic remark, always underestimating the 
seriousness of your situation.  You never understood, Roy.  I knew you never 
would, even if her weak heart thought you could come around to understanding.  
If only you knew the POWER our new order will bring to the world--"

     Penny, who had learned the value of pouncing the bad guy in the middle 
of his speech during her travels, issued a simple command.  "Shoot him!"

     Both soldiers pulled their triggers, having already targeted Zelgadis.  
Bullets sharpened specifically to cut chimeric flesh flew straight and true--

     And were fried by a bolt of blue lightning, stopping well short of their 
intended target.

     "Look out, the Core's armed!" Roy announced, seeking covering position 
behind the guard's desk.

     "...that wasn't from the core!" Penny shouted.  "It was from abov-- LOOK 
OUT!"

     Quickly, she rolled out of the way, which did a terrific job of saving 
her life from the beam of pure blue lightning that slashed right through the 
group.  The two soldiers weren't as lucky; in the blink of an eye, they 
turned into whiffs of ozone and carbon, and the suspended platform that 
comprised the 'room' twisted and buckled under the cutting force...

     This effectively left Penny and Roy trapped on the platform, with a 
distance neither of them could long-jump to get back to the door.  Easy 
pickings for the large mecha that had just made its presence known.

     Latched magnetically to the core walls, the metal machine seemed cramped 
in the Core's hollow central spire.  It was vaguely human in shape, one hand 
holding a plasma rifle that had done a great job of wiping out their back and 
only means of escape; the other locked hard onto the wall, to support its 
weight.

     "What the hell is that thing?!" Roy shouted, over the din of the 
machine's internal gears grinding away.

     "Just a weapon we didn't inform you of during your tenure," Zelgaids 
spoke.  He hadn't moved an inch since they had first arrived.  "A machine, 
powered and directed by the human inside.  As you see, your entire quest was 
for nothing.  Elizabeth, kill them."

     The mecha targeted the group.  Penny briefly thought about running away, 
but there was nowhere to run TO... which meant only one option left.

     She stepped out from around her cover, daring to stare the mecha right 
where she hoped Elizabeth's eyes were looking through.

     "Penny, are you nuts?!" Roy shouted.

     "I'm not going out without a fight!" Penny yelled back, twirling her 
staffblade into the ready position.  "For ZOAMEL!!" 

     She SPRINTED forward -- barely avoiding the beam gun piercing the 
platform where she stood.  Zelgadis actually took a step back, not expecting 
such an incredibly suicidal maneuver... Penny didn't put any tactics into it, 
no foreplanning, she just bum-rushed the guy intent on fighting him until 
someone was dead.

     But internally, she knew this was probably not going to work.  She had 
to hope for a miracle.  Or rather, pray for one.  She only knew two gods, and 
one of them wasn't going to be able to help... but the other SPECIALIZED in 
last minute heroic rescues.  She put all of her belief into that god she knew 
and trusted with her life, and pushed HARD, as she simultaneously slashed out 
at Zelgadis, blade tracing a perfect arc...

     The bad news was that Zelgadis avoided the attack, cross-blocking his 
(now drawn) gunblade against the blade of the staff.  Both were stuck 
momentarily in deadlock.

     The good news was that Lina Inverse made her traditional last moment 
appearance, bursting through the center of the mecha in an electric blaze of 
glory.

     The machine buckled like a belt.  Lina blink-teleporting right inside it 
and exiting via the nearest available weak point, a one million to one 
chance, had done the job.  The legs of the machine dropped, plunging hundreds 
of feet into the inky blackness below; the torso clung desperately to the 
walls, prying a bulkhead away in the process and exposing the internal rooms 
of the palace.

     Lina dusted herself off, and studied the trashed machine.  "You know, 
traditionally," she commented, "When you BUILD a mega ultimate super death 
weapon to use in the last act of the drama, it's not supposed to go splat 
this soon.  Kind of a let down for everybody involved.  But, in your case, 
I'm willing to make an exception!"

     "Thank Lina it's Lina!!" Roy groaned.  "Let's get your pal out of there 
and book, we've only got a few minutes!"

     "No problem!" Lina said, giving a thumbs up.  She turned to face the 
Core, bathed in its glowing light of a thousand enslaved gods.  "I...."

     Then she FELT the power of a thousand enslaved gods.  Everything about 
her stopped moving; her cape didn't even finish its flourish she had begun on 
turning to face the enemy.  She was frozen in every sense of the word.

     Somehow, though, she could FEEL the battle below.  Penny starting to 
fight Zelgadis, who clearly had the advantage of time and training.  Roy, 
trying to aim a clean shot to pick off Zel, without succeeding.  But all of 
that felt distant, secondary.  There was something much more dangerous, much 
more frightening, and it had a hold on her very essence...

you know what i am.

                                                   Yes, I do, she thought.

awareness that cause is futile.  i allowed your path of success / at any time 
stoppable.  situation: seeking absolute comprehension of your future 
procedural task.  installation of lina inverse in core power unit now in 
progress.

     The trinkets Penny had made for her, the ones with the magnetic metal 
that dispelled the Eradicators, shattered.  The piercing stone scraped her, 
hurt her like a burn that dug itself hard into your body and mind.  Agony 
flooded Lina Inverse's soul as she watched, helpless, as robotic arms 
extended from the core... an Eradicator held high and coming down hard.

you have failed.  your actions were predictable.  fear is not suggested 
procedural action; unit lina inverse was never adequate at demiurge role, and 
resistant continually.  exchange offered: eternal peace and rest blended into 
my reality, if unit lina inverse does not resist assimilation.

                                                                     NO.

invalid option.  preparations complete.

     The Eradicator came closer... and then shattered, powdery fragments 
scattering to the winds as a bullet pierced it through the heart.

     Roy Balderdash lowered his gunblade, grinning.  No time for a smirk or 
comment, however; the cutting blue beam was back, and nearly took his legs 
off.

     Lina quickly assessed things, while she had this momentary control over 
her own body.  Her power WAS down; she was in the presence of a force beyond 
her comprehension, empowered by the stolen faith of millions of people, 
embodied in the Demiurges that had been trapped by Science.  Penny was 
pressed up against a guardrail, Zelgadis clearly with the advantage.  The 
mecha wasn't damaged enough, and Elizabeth was still able to target Roy with 
her beam rifle.

     This was not going to work.  They'd walked right into a situation custom 
tailored for failure, and now they were all going to die.  At least she could 
have the satisfaction that this palace would be going up with them.  She 
could feel the icy grip of Science resume its hold on her... now, far too 
weak to resist--

     The grip slowed, and halted.  A single voice spoke to her, pushing past 
Science's cold and mathematical speech patterns.  A familiar voice, but 
barely above a whisper, from exhaustion.

     'Save Penny,' Zoamel pleaded.

     Lina shook out of the grasp and got full control over herself.

     "RETREAT!" she screamed, and was in two places simultaneously -- one of 
her getting a good grip on the back of Penny's shirt, the other snatching up 
Roy Balderdash by the belt just as he was about to fall off the platform.  
And then all fou... all three of them were gone.

     Zelgadis frowned, shifting from attack stance to normal stance, having 
nothing to fight.  He looked up at Elizabeth, who was just now climbing out 
of the cockpit of the mecha.

     "Something's wrong," Zelgadis decided.  "What are they planning now?"

     "I assure you, they fled knowing they could not win," Elizabeth replied, 
floating down to join him, using her personal antigravity belt she'd just 
invented that morning.  "There's nothing left they can do.  It's over."

                                     [*]

     Penny shook free of Lina's grip, as the three arrived on the roof of the 
tidiest den of rebellion ever known.  She turned to face Lina, fire in her 
eyes -- and met Lina's gaze, which was just as fierce.

     "I KNOW you didn't want to leave him behind, but this was his request," 
Lina informed her.  "There's no way in hell we could have busted him out.  
We're going to have to hope the second half of the plan works, and he escapes 
after the Core's scrap metal."

     Roy tossed his gunblade aside; there'd be no more close infighting now.  
"Is the cannon ready or not?" he demanded to know.  "If we're LUCKY they 
won't have their defenses up by the time--"

     "Primed and ready," Lina Gabriev announced, standing on the caster's 
platform.  The magic circle hastily inscribed at her feet was already glowing 
with black power, dripping upwards along her body, and to her hands... the 
Dragon Slave Amplifier getting warmed up.

     The Wandering Monster Table, embedded a few inches into the cannon's 
nozzle, trembled a bit until a harsh 'hold still' gaze from Lina Gabriev got 
the thing rock solid.

     "Hey, whoa!  Why is my poor Table-chan in that thing?!  He--"

     "Can't talk, busy saving world," Lina Gabriev quickly spouted.  
"Darkness from twilight, crimson from blood that flows..."

     "I would suggest that everybody get DOWN, now," Roy said, tossing 
himself flat.  "Pull your cape or your shirt over your head or something too, 
don't worry Lina, we know you've got nothing to show under your shirt..."

     "I'll smack you later," Lina warned, before flopping down, taking Penny 
with her.

     "...buried in the flow of time; in Thy great name, I pledge myself to 
darkness..."

     "Boy, this is really exciting," the Apprentice said, drunk on adrenaline 
rush and pure thrill.  "Sir, I'm really proud to be here at this historic--"

     Lord Noisemaker knocked him on the back of the head, to get the boy to 
lie down.

     Red light mixed in with the black darkness, forming a spiraling swirl 
around Lina Gabriev.  Age hadn't unsharpened the knife of black magic she 
toted like a diner's club card; it had only matured it, like fine wine.  The 
ball of swirling, nightmarish energy formed between her hands, ready to let 
loose...

     "...those who oppose us shall be destroyed by the power you and I 
possess!" she completed.  She closed her eyes, trusting the cannon to handle 
the aiming; otherwise, she could go blind at this close range...

     "DRAGON SLAAAAAAVE!!!!"

     Energy poured out of Lina's hands, a constant stream; this was not a 
single shot, this was a conduit from the gates of hell, flowing around the 
Table (which had passed out from shock), focusing, shunting down the 
amplifying barrel, and coming out the other end as a tight beam of ABSOLUTE 
WHOOPASS.

     People all over Sairaag looked up, as the beam tore through the sky; a 
shaft of pure red light, not wobbling, not wavering, flying straight for its 
intended target...

     Energy shields slapped up around the palace, but they collapsed like a 
burst soap bubble the instant the Dragon Slave touched them.  The entire 
compound glowed white-hot, for the barest instant, as the spell knew what 
area it was going to take out, and got to work at doing just that...

     The world went kinda photo-negativey.  Sound canceled itself out.  Time 
and space met, shook hands, and then promptly exploded.  The Lord of 
Nightmares looked up and wondered what in the hell was going on up there.

     There was no smoke to clear; the smoke had burned itself up.  When the 
LIGHT cleared, however, the palace was gone.

     Lina Gabriev smirked, tossed back her hair, and flashed a V sign.

     "Victory!" she proclaimed.

     Then she noticed that not ALL of the palace was gone.

     "...shit," she added.

                                     [*]

     Zelgadis uncovered his eyes.

     He had NO idea what had just happened.  It was like his entire world had 
just exploded, reformed, exploded, and reformed again.  He got the sneaking 
suspicion that reality was lying to him.  Time was being quite annoying as 
well.  Then... it all stopped.  Everything was right as rain.

     Except, of course, that 95% of the Imperial Palace was missing.  
Everything except for the barest fragment of the platform, and the Core 
itself, standing tall and true, glowing its blue light into the night sky of 
Sairaag.

     There was panic in the streets, of course.  This town knew a cosmic 
battle when they saw one, and had some in-born primal instinct to get as far 
away as possible in situations like these.

     Elizabeth Balderdash shook her head, trying to clear it... before gaping 
in horror at a scene that Zelgadis regarded with quiet disdain.

     "No.. no!  They're abandoning us!" Elizabeth shouted, clutching the 
twisted metal of the guardrail.  "They're abandoning their faith in us!  This 
cannot be!"

     "There's no use denying it," Zelgadis spoke.  "They've destroyed us.  
Without the mechanisms of the Palace, this city will not run.  Without the 
fear and comfort the empire provides, the people will not follow us.  We may 
be alive, but it's over."

     Elizabeth stared, eyes wide, expression crazed.  Her cool and calculated 
composure had gone away forever; all that was left was her inner madness.  
"Then... then we'll have to continue without them!  We don't need them!  
We've collected enough of these pathetic GODS to continue!"

     "What are you proposing...?" Zelgadis asked.

     She turned to the core, arms wide... speaking to the monstrous machine.  
"Your power is sufficient!  The time is NOW!  It's earlier than your 
projections had theorized, but it can be done!  Take me!  Take me into your 
being now, merge with me!  Through me, through your stolen faith, you can 
RULE this world as the most powerful god in existence, beyond hope, beyond 
faith, beyond the Lord of Nightmares!!"

     A single voice echoed in the minds of Elizabeth and Zelgadis, a single 
word.  Accepted.

     The metal door swung open, exposing the core's brilliant blue mists, the 
energies.  They were trapped and contained, a one way entrance only, but 
suitable for a man-sized object to walk into that maelstrom.

     "Goodbye, Zelgadis," Elizabeth said, taking her first steps toward 
immortality.  "This was always my destiny, from the first day he spoke to me.  
I have been waiting so long for this.  It has been fun--"

     She heard the sound before she felt the pain.  She saw the blade before 
she acknowledged it was cleanly run through her, back to front.

     "...you always underestimated me, Elizabeth," Zelgadis spoke, lips so 
close to her ear.  "You never planned to cure me.  You stole my sister's 
techniques and Ace's technologies for your own god complex.  But I was the 
one Science TRULY chose.  You were just baited by his machinations into being 
our tool.  You've just outlived your usefulness to us."

     He pulled his gunblade out of Elizabeth's back, shoving her to the 
floor.  Without a second look at her, as unimportant to him as yesterday's 
trash, he stepped forward into the soul-light of Science.

     Elizabeth's world began to fade to black.  She cursed herself, called 
herself the fool, the used, the led... the same words her brother had used 
against her.  She thought he simply did not understand... now she knew he 
understood more than she ever had.

     Forgive me, brother, she thought, before closing her eyes.

                                     [*]

     "...okay, so, the Core's remaining," Lina Inverse summarized.  "No big 
deal.  We just took out Science's entire power base.  The city's EMPTY now, 
he's got no more followers!  He won't be nearly as strong as he was.  We'll 
go in there, crack the glass, set them free and that's the end of it."

     Penny gripped her staff for support... trying to feel Zoamel through it.  
There was nothing.  The ivory had gone cold, the blade not.. SEEMING nearly 
as sharp as it once was.  "Lina, something's wrong here... it doesn't feel 
like it's over.  You remember how you said they shouldn't have shown their 
ultimate mega final whatever weapon like that, and how you took it out 
easily?"

     "Yeah, so?"

     "What if THAT wasn't their ultimate mega final weapon...?"

     "You worry too much, Penny!" Lina laughed.  She rolled up one sleeve, 
posing with a leg up on the roof's guardwall.  "I'll fly over there, kick 
some ass, bring back the hostages and have PLENTY of time for a late second 
dinner!"

                                     [*]

     Perfection.

     Absolute, flawless perfection.  Zelgadis hadn't spoken to Science many 
times... he didn't need the constant ego-stroking Elizabeth did.  Once he 
heard the bargain, he had been sold immediately, and required no further 
goading.  That simple deal had led him to this point.

     He stood inside the swirling power, feeling all the gods that were in 
here with him, but most importantly feeling the touch of Science's intensely 
REAL power, capable of anything, leader of men, maker of tools, organizer of 
society, the New Order incarnate...

     "I pledge my life to you!" he called out, knowing the words Science 
wanted to hear.  "Become one with me, so that your power can surpass all!  
And in return... I take back my humanity!"

accepted.

     Zelgadis screamed, feeling the power dig into him... the old familiar 
feel, just like on his sister's table... where the Demiurge of Science 
secretly directed her hand, to show Zelgadis what it was capable of.  The 
procedure was bunk, but his sister's faith in science made him a believer.  A 
believer in miracles...

     The skin emerged first on his chest.  The circle that had formed there 
during the original experiment, which reverted to smooth grey stone unlike 
the rocky stone of his body, was now soft and pink and very fragile.  But the 
rest of his body tensed and flexed, stone shattering, flesh-muscles bulging 
beneath his cast off shell.  Wire-hairs fell out, true hair grew back in...

     In moments, he was human.  Just a normal human, before his two plus 
decade quest had nearly ruined his life.  He felt at peace... he no longer 
had to drive, to push to any limit conceivable for the ONE THING he'd always 
wanted.  He'd achieved his dream.  Now, he could just be Zelgadis Greyweirs 
again.

     "...thank you," he breathed, through moist lips.

     Then he felt the caress of the wire against his new skin.

you are welcome.

     His voice screamed out loud, as the wires and cables of Science dug into 
his flesh, turning him into a permanent fixture of the Core.  He was mortal.  
He was human.  But now, he was the vessel of a god, and that god decided to 
leave out one important detail: in pledging his life, he had truly pledged 
his life.

                                     [*]

     ...the ground shook.

     That's an understatement.  Usually, earthquakes are simple waves rolling 
through the surface of the world, spreading from a focal point.  This was 
different.  This was the ground itself actually shaking, as a whole, not as a 
reaction to some other force.

     Lina Inverse wobbled a bit, before jumping back, to land on the roof.  
Her eyes widened at the sight...

     The Core was glowing brighter than the sun, but that wasn't the problem.  
The problem was that the entire city of Sairaag was bending and warping 
around the Core, buildings, steel, concrete, metal structures and ductwork 
and all the machines that made Sairaag so interconnected pulling together.  
The solid materials defied reality, they flew in the face of all conventional 
thinking... as they began to take shape.

     The others were shouting typical things, like 'what the hell is that' 
and 'what's going on' and so on.  Lina was transfixed.  She FELT what was 
going on.  Science had done the thing she dared not do... it had become 
mortal.  And in being mortal, it no longer had to bother itself with petty 
things like faith.  It was a force of nature, a thing onto itself, and it 
wanted a new body to get up and walk around with...

     Sairaag made for a great body.  It had been customed designed for this 
purpose, the entire city automated and designed around the central palace, 
just for this day.  The great machine in the center of the city flexed its 
arms, looking very much like a HUGE copy of the simple mecha Lina had to 
fight not minutes ago.  This time, however, it had eyes... two eyes of 
perfect circles, of the most brilliantly awful red light.  Those eyes turned 
on her.

     And she knew that nothing could be done now.

     "...guys!  SHUT UP!" Lina shouted, willing her voice to overpower them.  
"I can explain.  Science just... MERGED with someone.  That means it's 
infinitely more powerful than it was.  Lina!  You remember Shaburanigdo?"

     "Shaburanigdo!?"

     "It's considerably worse than Shabby-kun," Lina Inverse said, with no 
small amount of dread.  "The good news is that it's mortal now.  We can KILL 
it, not just knock away its support like we did before.  The bad news is 
that... I don't think we're capable of killing it.  It's the strongest thing 
in the world right now and it KNOWS it.  That's why it hasn't bothered to do 
anything to us!  LOOK!"

     Science continued to rise from the wreckage of Sairaag, body forming as 
each new building was crunched down and reprocessed into his mechanized 
whole.  The god now stood over a thousand feet high.. and kept looking down 
at them.  If it was possible for a machine to be smug, it would be.

     "...okay, my brain has just locked up," Roy announced.  "I did my part.  
I am going to go downstairs, and drink myself stupid.  I leave the rest to 
you guys."

     Science, now a fully mobile walking giant, gave the group a tiny nod... 
before turning around, each footfall enough to crack the building's 
foundations, and starting to walk away.  Every footfall warped and distorted 
the ground... cables and tubes springing up, metal sheets covering the grass.  
The world around it was changing, all by its willpower, by its unleashed 
ability to institute the new order...

     "What can we do?" Penny asked... her voice small, and afraid.  She 
couldn't tear her eyes off the tin god, knowing that Zoamel was in there, and 
now there might be no way to get him back...

     "...I've got the Giga Slave," Lina Gabriev suggested.  "Sure, it'd 
probably destroy the world if I tried to use it right now, but ... um... I... 
argh.  LINA!  This is your job, isn't it?!"

     "What?"

     "You're the world savior!" Lina Gabriev shouted at her counterpart.  
"Not me.  I'm not the one who's going to save the day.  I'm with Roy on this; 
I've played my part.  I helped damage the thing, and Gourry's safe, but I'm 
not the one who can beat that thing.  YOU are.  So go destroy it!  The whole 
world is counting on you!"

     "It's not that SIMPLE!" Inverse shouted, pointing at the god.  "I'm like 
a flea to that thing!  The only way I could possibly get enough power to go 
toe to toe with a merged Demiurge is........ is..."

     Oh, no.

     Not that.

     She'd SWORN not to do that.  Lina Inverse had come to grips with being a 
god, and on hearing that the answer she'd sought after was an atrocity 
waiting to happen, she'd sworn never to...

     Lina scanned the horizon.  She KNEW Xelloss was out there.  He knew this 
was coming, somehow.  Sylpheel knew it was coming; a warning was issued, that 
a blood sacrifice would have to be made in her name.  There was no other way.

     She turned to her group, and got ready to break the news.

     "The only way I could face Science now... is if I do what he did," Lina 
announced.  "I have to merge with a human.  I have to use their faith, use it 
to unchain myself from my believers and become a rouge god--"

     "What, is that all?" Gabriev asked, wanting to get on with it.  "Fine!  
I've done weirder things on my off weekends, and you know it!  Get the spell 
or the ritual or whatever fired up and we'll--"

     "You don't understand!  I'd have to take your LIFE to do it," Inverse 
finished.  "It's a sacrifice... but that doesn't matter, it wouldn't work 
with you.  You've got no faith in me whatsoever.  Don't try to lie; I know 
it.  You KNOW I'm a god, you know all these things as facts, but you believe 
in yourself now more than you could ever believe in me.  I'm glad for you, 
frankly, but that doesn't help us.  The only person here who's stuck by my 
side through this whole quest, who understands me and believes in my power 
is..."

     The Wandering Monster Table hopped onto her head.  "Demiurge!"

     "No, not YOU!  You're ruining the moment!" Lina shouted, yanking the 
thing off her head.  She was ready to drop kick it one for all the irritation 
it had caused her over the last few weeks, but--

     Penny rested a hand on Lina's shoulder, stopping her.

     "Let's go," she said simply.  "I'm ready."

     Lina Gabriev exploded.  "PENNY!!"

     "If I do this," Inverse warned, "You're going to cease to be.  After a 
short amount of time I'll have completely taken over your life.  You'll never 
be with Zoamel again.  I don't WANT to do this, Penny!  I'm supposed to be 
the savior, the winner, and I don't want an ending like this!  Not when 
you've come into your own, you've discovered what kind of a person you REALLY 
want to be!  I'd be robbing you of everything you've achieved at my side!"

     "Yes!  Exactly!  Penny, think this through!!" Lina Gabriev shouted, 
trying to get between the two... and finding her own daughter raising a hand, 
to block her.

     "I know what's involved," Penny said, with a sad smile as she listened 
to her mother's protests.  "But what other choice do I have, if I want Zoamel 
to be free, and the world I've gotten so fond of to continue to exist?"

     Lina Inverse chewed her lip, unsure.  "Penny..."

     "I've always believed in you, even when I was a little girl," Penny 
spoke.  "I may not be able to BE you, but I can help you save the day.  I 
want to do it.  Let's do it."

     The two floated away from the building, standing on an invisible floor, 
as Lina Inverse prepared herself.  Penny swallowed her fears, let her 
devotion to Zoamel and her belief in Lina bubble to the surface, and the pair 
began to glow...

     "You get back here THIS INSTANT, young lady!!" Lina Gabriev screamed, 
waving her hands, feeling so helpless.  "You're grounded!  For the rest of 
your life!  You're not going to do this!  Don't!  Don't leave me!  Please, 
Penny, I love you, don't--"

     A comforting hand fell on Lina Gabriev's shoulder.  She turned quickly 
to see...

     "It's her choice," Gourry said softly.  Tears ran down his cheeks, but 
he spoke with confidence, with decision.  "We raised her to think for 
herself, and she's made up her mind.  There's nothing we can do.  I've never 
been prouder of her to this very day.  And I've never been prouder of you."

     "...Gourry..."

     The couple embraced, and kept their eyes away from the scene.  It was 
too hard to bear.

                                     [*]

     Science swept like a wave of reformation and organization across the 
world.  Everything it had programmed, everything it had planned, had now come 
to fruition.  With the human in its heart, and the invulnerable force of its 
will and technology, nothing would be capable of stopping it.

     All variables had been factored, cofactored, studied, analyzed, checked 
and rechecked.  The task was complete.  The god took another step towards its 
destiny.

     And found itself blocked.

     The figure was tiny.  A simple girl, with flowing braided hair, and a 
bladed staff sharp enough to cut the sky.  She glowed with some internal 
force, a golden light that obscured her face... but Science could feel what 
this newcomer was.

     They were kin.  They were the same.  Gods beyond reproach, shapers and 
makers of the universe, tied to no one.

     "I am Penny Inverse," the small god declared, shifting her staff into an 
attack posture.  "And I'm going to kill you."

     The battle began.

     It was not a battle of blades or weapons.  No fancy laser beams, no 
spells, no physical feats to amaze and please the eye.  This was a battle of 
will; the willpower of Science versus the willpower of Inverse.  Both wanted 
differing destinies for the world, and the clash occurred on a higher level 
than simple reality.

     Time splintered in two directions, shattering in wake of the forces that 
were bending it.

     In one timeline, the world was an urban industrial zone, home to 
automobiles and airplanes and computers, telecommunications to distance its 
people, flourishing crime with unbeatable weapons, armies with the ability to 
kill millions in a single shot, and magic as little more than a child's 
fantasy.  A world with one true god.

     In the other timeline... everything was the way Inverse wished it.  
Specifically, back to normal.  No sweeping changes, no massive upheaval, just 
a return to what the world had known and loved and never wanted to let go of.  
A world of magic, myth, treasure, and people who worshipped any god they 
pleased...

     But that timeline was losing.

     Inverse was strong.  She could feel herself floating free from the 
world, an outside agitator, a force onto herself -- but Science had the 
advantage.  It had the combined power of all the gods of the world on its 
side, enslaved to its yoke, and THAT was the power which became amplified.  
The battle was just as unbalanced as it was before the merge.  Lina had 
failed...

     No, wait, Penny thought.  You're thinking too bluntly.  We can't just 
pulverize this thing flat, crush its will.  But what we can do is FOCUS our 
will on the one part that Science cannot do without... and strike there.  
Every machine has a weak spot, a malfunction waiting to happen.

     I wouldn't have thought of that, Lina mused.

     The small god twirled her staff, and pointed it straight ahead.  She 
turned the plane of her will from a push-of-war with Science, and twisted it 
around her staff, before shooting forward.  Focused in purpose.

                                     [*]

     Zelgadis could feel the god of Science taking over his body.  He was 
weak, too weak to resist.  He wanted to be strong.  He'd asked Rezo to make 
him strong, and... he became a monster in the process.  Now he was weak 
again, and would die, and there was nothing that could be done...

     In his mind, his sister scolded him with the truth he already knew.  
He'd done the one thing he planned on avoiding... he had become Rezo.  He'd 
sold his soul to a demon just to cure what should have been a trivial 
ailment.  He decided not to live with what he was, and obsessed with it, 
driving him to burn bridges and forge new pacts with darkness.  And now, like 
Rezo, he was to be destroyed for his sins.

     There was an odd kind of peace to it.  The whole affair was over now, 
wasn't it?  Did Rezo feel like this, when he was consumed by Shaburanigdo?  
All his sins washed away in one ultimate sacrifice, losing his life and his 
soul, but regaining his conscience in the process?  There was no way to know.

     Zelgadis's vision was fading...

     But not so far as to not see the light of day, as Penny Inverse carved a 
huge chunk out of Science's machine chest.  Gears sprung, tubes spurted 
hydraulic fluid, as she sliced her way to the core... to where Zelgadis hung, 
his frail body in a network of wires and cables.

     Now he understood.  He'd signed over his life... which meant if he was 
to die, Science would die with him.  He laughed weakly, and smiled... come, 
come, he urged in what he hoped was his voice.

     Penny Inverse rocketed into the Core chamber, the heart of Science, and 
swung down hard with the blade --

     Only to be stopped.  Science had caught on to the plan, and wasn't going 
to allow it.  The blade was a simple thing to halt...

     "...no," Zelgadis said.  And PUSHED...

     Hundreds of gods pushed right along with Zelgadis.  Individually they 
had no hope of resisting, but through Zelgadis, the crack in the armor, they 
could hold back the tide for one critical moment.

     The invisible hand of Science was stayed.  The hostages inside the god's 
heart, mortal and immortals, had given the beast a new struggle to handle. It 
wouldn't last; but it would last just long enough.

     The naginata freed itself, as Zelgadis watched it.

     "...the chest," he explained.  "The circle there.  It's my weakest 
point.  Strike there."

     The blade of the staff flared, as a shape in the mists of the Core 
flared.  Zoamel was about to take his vengeance, at long last.  Penny was 
about to save the one she loved.  Lina was about to save the world.  Zelgadis 
was about to be redeemed.  And the god that called itself Science was about 
to die.  History had narrowed down to this point...

     The bladepoint sank true, and all those 'about to's came into being.

                                     [*]

     "Damn, I checkmated myself again," Xelloss grumbled.  "Honestly, I'm 
just too good to challenge myself..."

     He heard the first metallic crack echoing across the plains of Sairaag, 
and looked up.  It was about time, too.  For a few moments, he was wondering 
if Lina would really be able to pull it off after their big zappy spell 
didn't do the job.  He shoved the chess set aside, smiling as he rose to his 
feet.

     The blackbird Zelas-Metallum flapped over, and perched on his staff.  
Beady eyes were transfixed on the tin god... watching, as it collapsed to its 
knees, and keeled over.  It was crumbling away like a sand castle, machinery 
and masonry coming unjoined, the spiritual force that had held them tight 
being present no longer.

     Most importantly... the core was exposing itself to the air, and the 
glass had shattered.  The heart of a Demiurge was now simply another machine 
that shouldn't have been possible in the first place, and the blue mists that 
were trapped in it now broke loose, winging towards freedom...

     "And that, my dear Zelas," Xelloss said, breathing a sigh of relief, "Is 
death's bell tolling for the god who thought he could become the Lord of 
Nightmares.  And rightfully so.  I do hope Lina survived her little fight, 
however..."

                                     [*]

     She cracked open an eye.  There was no light, no scene, no gravity.  A 
sense of floating inside herself prevaded; the only sound that reached what 
she presumed to be her ears was a human heartbeat.  The pulsing tone echoed 
like a soothing earthquake or a quiet riot, calming but demanding of 
attention.  The beat was fading.

     I didn't want this to happen, Lina Inverse thought.  Issac warned me, 
and I heeded the warnings, but it happened anyway.  And now, Penny has to 
suffer because I wasn't strong enough...

     "It's okay," Penny said.  She was here too, with Lina Inverse, since 
they were technically one person now... but her voice was fading along with 
that heartbeat.  "I had to save the world, didn't I?  I'm proud I did this.  
I wasn't imitating you, I was following my own goals.  I finally became my 
own heroine.  No regrets.."

     "Don't lie," Lina accused, face to face with her other half.  "You've 
got a regret.  Zoamel may be free now, but you're never going to see him 
again.  It might have been the right thing to do, but now..."

     "...there wasn't any other way..."

     "I know.  And that's the problem," Lina said.  She stood up... she felt 
her body stand, at any rate.  Her stolen heartbeat sounded faster and faster.  
"I told Xelloss I wasn't going to be satisfied with any ending other than the 
ending *I* wanted.  And this is not what I want!  I thought I wanted to be 
mortal, so I could live my own life, so I could be who I was... the way 
things were, with Amelia, and Zelgadis, and Gourry, but..."

     Gourry.  A memory flashed... a confused, but heartfelt kiss he had for 
Lina.  For someone he knew as Lina.  She felt a pull, in that moment, and it 
was very hard to resist.  In a rush she had remembered everything about 
Gourry, their adventures, their time spent together, the good and the bad and 
just for that BRIEF moment in the heat her battle she felt...

     Connected.

     Of course.

     "Penny!" Lina shouted.  "Don't fall asleep -- don't give into the merge! 
Issac never bothered to try and break his merge, but that doesn't mean it's 
not possible!  I know how you can break out of it!"

     "....."

     "Think of Zoamel!" Lina continued to yell, exploring deeper and deeper 
into herself, trying to find Penny before it was too late.  "Find him!  
You've got a bond with him, and it's the purest form of belief there is.  You 
don't worship him like you do me, you love him!  If he's truly free now, he 
can pull you away from me, and I can leave your body!  PENNY, say something!"

     "... ..lina.." the quiet voice spoke.  Lina could make out a foggy 
shape, and... pushed it away, hard.  Pushed it away from herself, because 
touching Penny might only make it worse.

     "Have confidence in yourself, please!" she begged.  "You're not me!  You 
said so yourself: you can't BE me.  Be yourself!  Find him, go to him, it's 
what YOU want, not me!"

     She pushed herself farther away... and knew it was working.  There was 
someone else here now, a ghostly blue and white shape... feeling the fresh 
air of freedom, and looking for Penny just as she was looking for him.  The 
moment was critical... Lina had to let go.

     It had been a long quest.  Everything they set out to accomplish had 
been accomplished, and more; this wasn't Lina's quest anymore, it was 
Penny's.  Lina's part, saving the world, was now over.  It was time to leave, 
and let the girl live out her life as she saw fit.

     Never looking back, Lina sped for the future's horizon.  The faithful 
needed her; she could feel the pull, and embraced it, welcomed it.  As long 
as there were bad guys to take down, as long as large dinners went uneaten 
and the world needed someone to cleanse its problems now and then, Lina 
Inverse would be there.

     "Goodbye, Penny," she spoke softly.  "You've done well."

     And Lina Inverse was history.

     
                            ---------------
                            eight part four
                            ---------------


     The stars were out.

     Penny blinked her eyes a few times.  No stars, stars.  Stars, no stars.  
Cool air passed over her skin, the distant rumblings of collapsing machinery 
trickling into her ears.  It was her body; she felt alive.  Truly awake and 
alive...

     A shape eclipsed the moon.  Familiar to her, and dear to her...

     "I'm free, Penny," Zoamel said quietly, brushing her hair back from her 
face.  "You did it."

     "Zoamel..."

     They leaned ever closer, the inevitable drawing better than gravity, 
better than any force in the universe... and...

     Fortunately Gourry covered Lina Gabriev's mouth to keep her from 
interrupting the scene, and the couple finally got to have their first kiss.  
At least until the Table landed on Zoamel's head in its euphoric glee over 
the recent victory, and broke things up.

     Penny giggled, as the normally graceful and unflappable god looked 
adorably confused, Table-chan squatting on his head.  "Demiurge!" it 
declared.

     "That IS you, right?" Lina Gabriev asked, staring down at her daughter.

     "It's me, mom," Penny said, getting back to her feet.  "It's just me.  
Lina... Lina left.  She let me go so I could come back to.. to all of you."

     "I'm glad I woke up for the real show!" Gourry said, rubbing a hand 
behind his head and laughing.  "Except usually it's me bailing your mother 
out of bad situations like this, not the other way around--"

     Lina Gabriev tugged hard on Gourry's ear.  "ExCUSE me?  When did I ever 
need help from you?!  You couldn't even tie your shoes if I didn't remind you 
how to do a bow knot!"

     Zoamel swallowed hard.  Although they had defeated the near-omnipotent 
god of Science, now he had a far more frightening situation to deal with... 
future in-laws.

     Still, they had won.  Zoamel looked up at the fading mists... Demiurges 
winging their way back to their temples, their churches.  His vengeance had 
struck true, and his brethren were free...

     All's well that ends well.

                                     [*]

     The grip around the ruby-helmed staff tightened.  Xelloss's gloves let a 
protesting squeak of fine leather, as his fingers flexed... his smile flexing 
even wider, as he watched part of the mist break off, drawing closer.

     "Why, look, Zelas!" Xelloss said, pointing out the approaching comet.  
"It's the rest of your self!  It knows you're here, and it's coming home.  
And look, Dynast is with you, and all the other nice Mazoku that were trapped 
by the naughty humans!  Free at last, free at last, thank Lina we are free at 
last!!"

     Zelas-Metallum flapped her wings a few times, squawking in delight.  She 
landed on Xelloss's outstretched hand, and spread her wings wide... waiting 
to accept her glory once more.

     "Didn't I promise you this day would come?" Xelloss asked.  "Didn't I 
tell you all my plans were building to this moment?  Do you doubt me now, 
Zelas-Metallum?  Do you doubt your poor little underling, your general-
priest, who you treated just as poorly as the weakest runt in your litter of 
demons...?"

     With a snap of the fingers, black power poured into Xelloss's hand... as 
he whisked his hand, grasping the bird who had so foolishly perched there.

     "I'm afraid I lied," Xelloss spoke... eyes opening, flaring up with 
purple in the irises as he stared at his former master.  "I led you to the 
North Pole specifically so you would be crippled, and I could use you as a 
magnet tonight.  Your usefulness is officially over.  Goodbye, dear Zelas."

     There was a squawk, a wet crunching sound, and Xelloss let the dead bird 
fall to his feet.  Simultaneously, he twisted, raised his staff and let the 
energies previously trapped in the Core flow to him.  The comet plowed right 
into his body, whirling around the black cone of darkness that was his true 
Mazoku self... until all that bottled Mazoku astral energy was integrated 
into his own identity.

     Xelloss, now effectively 2.4 Mazoku Lords strong, closed his eyes smiled 
in relief, and gave a sweeping bow to the scene in general.

     "Thank YOU, Miss Lina Inverse," he graciously offered.  "I couldn't have 
done it without you.  Farewell."

     He folded into shadow, and disappeared.

                                     [*]

     Slowly, the citizens of Sairaag trickled back into the city.

     The term 'city' had to be applied very loosely.  There was barely enough 
left to qualify as a respectable set of ruins.  The few scraps of buildings 
remaining after the disaster were totally unusable.  Machines littered the 
landscape, broken and discarded... a huge pile lurked less than two miles 
away, where Science had given up the ghost.

     Survivors picked through the rubble.  Everything they had built up after 
the LAST time Sairaag was destroyed was gone... again.  They wandered absent-
minded through the streets, not sure what to do next, not sure if they were 
dreaming or just having a nightmare.

     A group of three walked along the streets, surveying the damage as well.

     Roy Balderdash grumbled, shaking his head.  "Terrific.  We were trying 
to save the city, and we leveled it.  At least the damn god is dead now..."

     "Does this mean I'm going to go down another rank?" the Apprentice 
asked, nudging the remains of a steam powered cart with his foot.  "Ah.. 
actually, IS there a lower rank than Apprentice?"

     Lord Noisemaker crouched down, to pick some parts out of the wreckage of 
the cart that he figured he could use later.  "Don't be daft, lad.  Nothing's 
lower than Apprentice.  But... I'd be willing to restore you to Journeyman in 
wake of this.  We DID achieve victory, at lea--"

     A club struck the window near Noisemaker's head, shattering it; he threw 
up his cloak quickly, and stepped back.  One of the locals was busy beating 
on the cart with a stick, frenzied in the pointless action.

     "What's the matter with you?!" Noisemaker demanded.  "You almost hit me!  
I'm the one who does the whacking around here, my good man!"

     "It's these blasted machines!" the Sairaagian shouted.  "They ruined us!  
Destroy all technology!  We should have never turned our backs on the old 
ways of magic!"

     Roy smacked his forehead... then marched over, and yanked the club away 
from the man, intent on shaking some sense into him.  "You putz!  That's just 
as extreme as what got you into trouble in the FIRST place!!  The problem 
isn't technology, or magic, or the birds or the bees or the Mazoku or 
anything like that; it's when you turn into a bloody zealot!"

     He tossed the man aside, continuing as he towered over him.

     "What were you planning to do, start up some technophobic group to run 
around rioting and trashing the city?  Oh, that's real smart, let's destroy 
everything that's already been destroyed, lather ourselves up into a 
frenzy... better yet, let's form an army and go around the world trashing all 
the machines and gizmoes and inventions you guys came up with!  It'll be the 
same old story from the other direction.  I may be an outsider here, but I've 
dealt with this city long enough to know the score.  What you people need 
isn't to bank all your faith in one thing or another; there's nothing wrong 
with technology.  Just stop deifying it!  If you REALLY want to build this 
city back up and not have it fall over again, stop relying on one thing or 
another and just rely on yourselves!!... .. what're you guys lookin' at?!"

     Roy turned one hundred and eighty... looking at all the refugees, who 
had gathered, to listen to him speak.  They seemed expectant, as if they 
wanted him to go on... to guide them.

     "...I'm not falling into that trap," he said quietly.  "I'm not my 
sister; I don't want power.  But if you people are serious about still living 
here... oh, hell.  I'll do what I can.  What do I have at home, a bunch of 
immature little punk bandits?  Noisemaker!  How much would it cost to hire 
you on permanently?  These guys are going to need a brainiac like you to make 
stuff go.  I'm no scientist, or magician."

     "Ah... well, I suppose we could stay," Lord Noisemaker said.  "In 
exchange for, say, a guildhouse for fellow Thaumatologists--"

     "Good, the more the merrier," Roy said.  He rolled up his sleeves.  Time 
to get to work.

     Leave a Balderdash to clean up after a Balderdash.  But maybe this time, 
he could avoid the family curse, and make things better for a change.

                                     [*]

     A middle aged man with a very bad combover spread his arms wide in front 
of the graven icon, the motions identical to how he had performed them 
hundreds of times previously.

     "O terrible god!" he declared, bowing to the statue as was tradition.  
"Please do not step on us like the worms we are.  Hear our calls, hear our 
cries, and CURSE our enemies who tremble like pillars of salt in the eyes of 
your rage!!  The curses of the unholy and the damned be on our enemies!  
Black god of vengeance, above all gods, these are the names of those who will 
burn forever in the acidic pits of your gallbladder!........"

     ...and the cult leader tapped his foot, waiting.  The statue of the 
monsterous god gave about as much reaction to the speech as the crowd had.  
IE, el zippo.

     "People," the leader addressed, quite accusing in tone.  "We have gone 
over this time and time again.  WHEN you attend the weekly meetings of the 
Unholy Cult of Zoamel Gustav... you are EXPECTED to intone the names of those 
you seek to destroy right now!  Come on, am I talking to myself up here?  
Sometimes I wonder if I'm the only person here who really CARES about the 
complete and total annihilation of those who oppress us.  MARTY!"

     "Here, o terrible leader!"

     "Are you calling me a terrible leader?!"

     "Ah... I meant it with respect, sir."

     "Marty, what's the problem here?" the cult leader asked.  "You're the 
keeper of the List of the Damned.  What's the problem?  Have you lost 
interest?  You're all faithful, yes?"

     "Yes, they are."

     "Right.  Well, if you are, then... then...... ahh.  Who, exactly, said 
that?..."

     "Me," the man spoke, sitting casually on the stone base of his mighty 
frightening statue.  He sat with his chin on one palm, a thoughtful poise.  
"Your god, Zoamel Gustav."

     Everybody went pale.  Or at least as pale as a bunch of cultists who 
thought hooded robes were very fashionable and rarely got out much could get.

     "You know in your hearts that it is I," Zoamel reminded them.  "I have 
appeared to you once before, when I set out to destroy our enemies... and I 
have done so.  With the help of our new allies, we've vanquished all who 
threatened the world itself."

     "...ah... very good, sir," the cult leader said, wondering if he should 
be bowing.  But... it didn't feel right to bow to someone who was sitting 
around as if he was chatting over tea.

     "But that was then, and this is now," Zoamel spoke, standing and dusting 
off his hands.  "I've had time to think about the situation.  I'd like to ask 
you, my faithful, one very simple question.  Do you REALLY want vengeance?  
Is there truly malice in your heart, and an unquenchable need to punish the 
ones who you are upset about?"

     "Oh, quite terrible and horrible malice, great lord Zoamel!  Our knives 
dipped in blood will forever--"

     "Marvin, please."

     "--not really, sir," Marvin the Pagan Cultist corrected.  "I've been 
trying to encourage them, sir, but... we're just simple town folk.  There's 
just not very much around here to be angry about.  O please don't crush us 
like maggots beneath thy mighty iron--"

     "What is it you need?" Zoamel asked.  "Please... tell me.  I've sat in 
shadow, I've allowed the rituals to continue until they have become 
meaningless.  If I'm truly going to support you, now that I've come to a 
realization about my relationship with man, I'm going to need to talk with 
you... one on one.  As a true leader, and not simply a figurehead.  Charlie?  
I see you in the back.  There's something you want, yes?"

     "Ah, it's nothing really," a younger cultist said.  "I just..."

     "Speak up, son.  We're all cultists here."

     "I'm very worried about my math test tomorrow, sir."

     "You really should have studied," Zoamel warned... but chuckled a bit at 
the requested, and waved a hand, a brief glow following it.  "I will grant 
you a boon, however, young Charlie.  You shall not require sleep nor food nor 
drink tonight, for as long as you read your textbooks and make up your 
skipped homework.  If you are diligent and true in this path, then victory 
over your... archnemesis the math test shall be yours."

     Charlie's jaw fell.  "Th.. thank you, o great Zoamel!"

     "Hurry home, you have much to catch up on," Zoamel said, waving him off.  
"My followers... the Cult of Zoamel Gustav changes from now on.  I will break 
the news to Martina back at the head temple... of that and... other recent 
developments.  I want to work with you, to be the best god that I can be.  I 
promise you I won't hide from you any longer.  I can't promise I won't hurt 
you, as I may be immortal, but I am still capable of error... but I will do 
the best that I can by you.  This is my New Covenant of Zoamel.  Let the book 
begin anew."

     "Hail Zoamel!!" Marty pledged.  "Hail Zoamel, god of the people!  Hail 
Zoamel, god of wisdom!!"

     The faith flowed anew... fresh and pure, unlike the diluted and 
ritualistic belief from before.  Zoamel smiled, and basked in it... this was 
how it was meant to be.  Just as Drake had taught him... to help people, to 
TRULY help people, you couldn't hide from them.

     Of course, the future was unknown to him.  He couldn't say it would 
prove a success.  But at least now, he was trying.

                                    [*]

     Despite being a mature young adult now, who had stood against monsters 
and gods, Penny still freaked completely out when she opened her bedroom door 
and walked right into a cobweb occupied by three spiders.

     Her room was almost derelect.  Lina hadn't bothered to clean it much 
since Penny had run away from home, a time that felt like years gone by... it 
would probably take all of tomorrow to get the place presentable.

     It didn't matter, however.  She was home.  Zoamel was off with his 
followers, her mother and father were sharing some... personal time in a 
nearby room (and thankfully on a bed with a Silence spell cast on it) and the 
quest was over...

     ...and then she noticed the string of tied up bedsheets dangling out her 
window.  They had been a bit rain-soaked and torn, but it was still the very 
same ladder she had used to climb to freedom, and join Lina on her journey.  
Penny smiled fondly at the memory... then pulled the sheets back in through 
the window.  She wouldn't be needing them anymore.

     Because the NEXT adventure she went on, she'd be walking out the front 
door.  She'd come to a sort of agreement with her mother; she was trusted 
enough to go out on her own now, as long as she didn't come back with any 
crippling injuries, cursed magical artifacts, maps to treasures that would 
take her halfway around the globe, or new immortal boyfriends.  Mother had 
been very specific about these things.

     Despite that, the future was wide open to her.  For now, she'd sleep.  
But tomorrow, she'd start her life anew.

     
                           -----------------
                           ...one year later
                           -----------------


     For the first time in four days, the rains had cleared.  There was an 
accident at the Zeifeilian town hall with a weather control machine and an 
overzealous farmer, who had been petitioning for weeks to get a little extra 
rain for his crops; when due process took too long, he broke in and threw 
levers until the town was a mudhole for the better part of a week.

     Penny stepped out of her galoshes, careful to set them by the door 
before tracking sludge across the clean floor of the shop.  She gave a brief 
nod to her mother, who was busy reading some torrid romance novel where the 
fair young maiden met a handsome and dashing rouge, and the two carried on a 
whirlwind romance and eventually destroyed a small country and robbed it dry.  
(The author was definitely a local.)

     "Any luck yet?" Lina asked.

     Penny shook her head.  "They're still not understanding yet.  The branch 
of the Cult of Zoamel Gustav, God of Wisdom and Sometimes Vengeance is still 
being mistaken for Martina's primary branch, the Unholy Cult of Zoamel Gustav 
the Monstrous and Terrible.  I don't think we're ever going to be taken 
seriously at this rate..."

     "People's minds take awhile to change," Lina noted, closing her book.  
"Give it time, okay?  You just started the High Priestess gimmick, and 
respect takes time to build.  Took me years to get established as a major 
mover in the magical goods--"

     "--it's thaumatological instruments now, mother.  Nobody says 'Magical 
Goods' anymore, it's so old world."

     "I'm an old lady, okay?  Permit me my delusions," Lina requested.  "I'm 
not hip to the slang you kids use these days, or that sugary pop idol 
music... Penny, you're blocking the door, move over."

     Penny scooted off to the side, in time for a disheveled looking dumpy 
man to wander into the shop.  He quickly made his way to the counter, and 
slapped more money on the table.

     "I need another Bag of Holding," he wheezed.

     "S'matter, Matthew, you drop it down a well or something?" Lina asked.  
"I just sold you one not two hours ago.  I don't HAVE another one."

     "You don't?!  But... but I got robbed!" the man declared, angrily 
banging the counter.  "Those blasted Black Wyvern bandits attacked me on my 
way out of town!  They've got one of those half-Mazoku mercenaries with them, 
too.  I swear, it's too dangerous in this countryside nowadays!  An honest 
merchant can't move two feet without having to deal with some unsavory--"

     "Penny?" Lina asked, looking around the man.

     Penny took her ivory staff from the umbrella rack.  "Already on it.  Be 
back in... ten minutes."

     "What?  Err, what?" Matthew asked, looking confused.

     "Well, we've got this policy," Lina explained.  "If your goods get 
stolen... we get them back.  By force, if required.  This shop doesn't 
tolerate bandits, and we've got the crusaders of the Church of Zoamel Gustav 
to back that up."

     "Zoamel?  Oh, thank heavens!  I won't have to pay for another--"

     "--for a slight fee," Lina added.  With an evil, evil smirk.  "Miracles 
are not cheap, buster.  Now, that'll be... oh, 250% of what you paid.  And 
it'll be an obligatory 50% overhead fee for services rendered, since, well, 
she's already left, hasn't she?  Will that be cash or credit?"

     Outside, Gourry looked up from polishing his Captain of the Guard's 
Official Chestplate, to see his daughter waving at him.  Table-chan bounced 
up and down a few times upon seeing Penny as well, knocking the can of metal 
polish off its top.

     "I'm off to fight evil, dad!" she called.

     "Make sure you're home before supper!" he warned.  Kids these days, 
growing up so fast.  Although... she didn't LOOK a day older than she did a 
year ago.  Funny, that.  He resumed his polishing.  It never hurt to look 
good for the troops, after all.

                                    [*]

     Penny crouched behind a grassy knoll, looking across the plain towards 
the bandit encampment.  She motioned for the other two crusaders in her wing 
to stay down, as well as the wing fifty feet to her left.  No sense in 
rushing in right away.

     She felt a tap on her shoulder, the usual signal for quietly getting 
attention...

     "Private party?" Zoamel asked, fading into view next to her, lying flat 
to avoid detection.

     "You're always welcome, dear," Penny added, smiling.  "It's just the 
Black Wyverns again.  They've got a Half-Maz with them this time, though.  I 
was going to handle him..."

     "I'll take care of that," Zoamel spoke.  "Xelloss needs to learn not to 
interfere with my new homeland.  Send your wing flanking to the left; they 
used a different kind of wood for the wall there, which should be easily 
broken.  The other wing can--"

     The ground trembled with a massive explosion, as a pillar of black smoke 
rose from inside the encampment.  Screaming and panic was immediately 
audible, surprising Penny's troops; she motioned for them to stay still until 
she could assess things.

     "...did something blow up in there?" she asked.  "Maybe they have a 
siege engine and it backfired... it's hard to trust the weapons from Atlas, 
they're so unreliable..."

     But Zoamel was smiling.

     "Oh, it's not a machine," he said.  "I can feel exactly who it is..."

     The entire north wall of the compound shattered.  Bandits scattered like 
frightened bandits, flames quickly consuming the camp, spreading faster than 
flames technically should.

     Out of the flames walked a single figure, cape unsinged.  She marched 
right over to Penny, and dropped one (slightly mauled) Bag of Holding in 
front of her.

     "Give that back to Matthew, okay?" Lina Inverse asked, hitching up her 
belt a little.  "It got a little shredded... ehheh.  Kinda overdid things, 
didn't I?  Gotta go, I'm needed in Darata.  See you around."

     She twirled once, and was gone.






                                                                 THE END






Author's Postword.

It was experimental as hell.  I wasn't sure it was going to work.  I mean, a 
world so distorted that it almost felt like an elseworlds?  The largest cast 
of original characters this side of ReBirth?  Who was going to want to READ 
something like this?

Apparently a lot of people.  I'm definitely not going to complain about that.

Thank you to all the readers of Slayers Demiurge.  Your feedback has kept me 
going, even when my 9-to-5 job was getting all up in my area and crushing my 
will to write.  I'm definitely not going to be able to match the speed 
records I set with Trilogy, as a college brat with tons of free time... but 
I'm not going to stop writing.  I've already got a new project in the works.  
I won't jinx it, but if you've come this far, you probably already know what 
it is.  If not, just visit the website and educate yo'self.

Maybe it's not my finest work, but I'm damn proud of it, and I'm happy to be 
writing these words in closing.  Thank you for reading this far.  Until next 
time, no matter where you go, there you are.

                                               -Stefan "Twoflower" Gagne
                                                April 20, 2000
                                                Gaithersburg, MD