Author's Note: I'm a day late! 7/02/08 marks a big date in all of our calendars... It's the premier date of the first episode of Slayers REVOLUTION, the fourth all-new series of Slayers! So here's just a little something from me to commemorate this event. Go check out the first episode, too, if you haven't already. I know it's only in a raw right now, but at least take a look at the awesome opening!

The Last Meeting

"Lina-san, I believe this will be our last meeting."

At the time, she had taken little note of the meaning behind those words. But now, as reality confronted her with the bitter truth, those words pressed upon her soul like a heavy weight.

Lina rushed over to his side, stumbling the entire way. She fell to her hands and knees as she got near and scrambled desperately to get closer, but as she reached out to lift his head, her hands passed seamlessly through his body--he was fading fast.

"You idiot!" Lina screamed as the tears fell from her eyes. She slammed one fist into the ground just beside his head, lowering her own as the sobs rose painfully from her breast. If Xelloss still had any material substance, her forehead would have been pressed against his chest as she slowly shook her head side to side in disbelief, but instead it swung from her shoulders like a slow pendulum. In a heartbroken whisper she asked, "How could you do this to me?"

He slowly opened his unfocused eyes, taking in the blurred vision of the world that was offered to him. But out of the mess of swirls and colors, he could still make out the bright red color of her hair that he had grown so fond of. He could imagine what she looked like at that moment, from her glistening eyes to the gorgeous trail of hair that fell lightly over her trembling shoulders as she wept--for him. With a weak smile, his head rolled over to the side as he commented, "What's this? This isn't the Lina-san I know."

She lifted her head. Tears stained her cheeks, coating them with a rosy pink glow. Lina bit her lip to stop its endless quivering. Xelloss caught the sight out of the corner of his eye and turned his head once again to face her. Weakly, he reached out a hand and pressed it against the side of her face, though neither party could feel the touch. She put her own hand on top of his, feeling the tears beginning to well up once again in her eyes.

"Why?" she asked again.

"I don't know. It seems I wasn't quite being myself," he replied as cheerily as he could make it sound.

Lina closed her eyes. "You're so unfair," she murmured.

"Lina-san."

Lina could almost feel his touch as he gently brushed her cheek with his thumb. He offered her a faint smile as he whispered his last breath—an inaudible sentence that Lina once believed she would never get to hear.

"It would seem that I've fallen in love with you."

Then he was gone. His essence scattered, leaving a cloud of golden dust that hung suspended in the air, shining dully in the moonlight. Time seemed to freeze for a moment before the speckles fluttered to the ground, a sight that made Lina suddenly aware of the stillness of the air for the first time that night.

"Stupid…" she whispered. "How could you do this to me? Xelloss…"