Luna felt herself coming to, slowly, still a little dazed from the hit she had taken. It wouldn't take long for her to get her bearings, however, and then she would be back in the fight.
She creaked open an eye in time to see a fist smash into her face and unconsciousness welled up in her again. Luna hadn't yet cleared her mind for much coherent thought, but she was damn sure that somebody was going to pay for that.
"Keep her unconscious," one of the elves snapped as Luna shifted. "She's as powerful as any Darklord, if she wakes up we're all dead."
"That's easier said than done!" one of them snapped. "We're basically trying to keep a god incapacitated here."
"She has a human body," the first one said. "Without her conscious thought she is as vulnerable as anything else."
An arrow thwacked off of their shield.
"I wouldn't try anything else, or the woman dies," one of the guards shouted.
"Release our Lord, and then you can have her back," another added.
"Damn it, I said hold your fire until we get some magical support over here," the Sailloon army officer smacked the errant archer in the back of the head.
"Why are we so concerned over some purple-haired trollop that was too stupid to get away from the battle?" one of the soldiers asked.
"That's the difference between us and them I guess," the officer shrugged and added the thought. "Besides, the elves seem to think she's somebody important, so maybe she is."
"That's total bunk," a soldier said. "Of what possible importance could she be?"
"Didn't any of you notice a purple-haired sorceress wreaking havoc through the main body of demons?" someone behind them asked. They turned around to see a young man with a sword standing behind them, as if he had always been there.
"We saw the explosions but we thought that perhaps the dragon had," the officer stopped himself as he realized that he was suddenly deferring to the young man. "Where did you come from anyway?"
"The wood elf field hospital," Jolrael said, shrugging. "I was looking for some acquaintances of mine when I heard about this."
"And just..." the officer started.
"I'm Jolrael Gabriev," Jol answered deadpanning as he walked to where he could see the elves behind their magical field.
"As in..."
"Gourry Gabriev's son."
"What are..."
"Forcing an arrogant elf to call a surrender."
"How..."
"Do what?" Jolrael turned toward him and blinked innocently. The officer just stared.
"If you know what's going on then..."
"She's Luna Inverse," Jolrael said. The soldiers stared at him blankly. "The Knight of Ceipheed." More stares. Jolrael rubbed at the bridge of his nose and tried another tactic. "The older sister of Lina Inverse." Suddenly all eyes were riveted on the elves.
"What is the educational standard of you people anyway?" Jolrael asked before turning toward the elves in their makeshift barricade.
He was considering how to break through the spell shield when he caught sight of a ripple in the grass. Then there was a flash of red fur, streaked once by silver, and then there was just the ripple again.
Jolrael smiled, maybe a distraction was all that was necessary.
"I'll be right back," Jol said as started walking.
"They still haven't answered us," one of the elves noted. "Don't they know who we have here?"
"A human is moving out into the open," one of the guards noted. "He's dressed in elven garb." The last was said with a hint of distaste. The self-appointed leader came to their hastily erected barricade of wood to note the young man approaching them.
"It's just a boy," the elf sneered. "Probably one of those upstart humans that live with the wood elves. Get out of the way boy, we're dealing with..."
"You're trying to rescue that arrogant little fool of an elf, Fimore," Jol snapped off.
"Who are you to say..."
"Considering I'm the one that defeated him, I pretty certain I can say whatever I want about him," Jol said.
"If you want to get this woman back in one piece," the elf insisted. "You will treat our Lord with the respect he deserves."
"I thought that was what I was doing," Jol noted innocently.
"I'll not listen to the prattle of a fool boy that claims to have defeated a true Elf Lord," the elf snapped. "Find someone with real authority to talk to us boy."
"As you wish," Jol shrugged and started walking away. "That barrier only stops projectiles, doesn't it." The elf narrowed his eyes.
"Why do you ask that?" he demanded evenly, shouting across the field.
"No reason," Jolrael said, smirking. He turned around and walked back to the forest. As he came with in the concealment of the trees one of the soldiers turned to him, confused.
"That's it?" Jol smiled at the man. Within a moment a cry of surprise and terror rang out from the elves' little position. It was cut off almost immediately.
"Did I mention that I wasn't the only one out there?" Jol asked the man as the sounds of battle progressed.
Lina paused a moment to stare at the sword currently rammed through her stomach and out her back. Then she looked up at the elf holding the sword and smiled.
"What are you trying to do?" she asked. The elf stammered for a moment before the werefox changed form again. The blade shattered as she took the fourth aspect and stood, towering over the attacking elves.
The elves backed off immediately, noting that the werefox wouldn't leave the unconscious form of their prisoner. If she was unwilling to leave the knight unguarded then she wouldn't follow them, and the werefox had no way to hit them from a range. At least so they thought.
Lina shrank again to the fox-girl form of the second aspect and glared at the small group of elves encircling her and her sister. Her tail swished angrily and the fur of her body stood out on end. Some of the elves would have found the unclothed werefox quite beautiful, if she weren't so obviously intent on destroying them all.
"I can handle this pest," the elven sorcerer declared. He gathered his hands together to draw power and then thrust outward. "FLARE ARROW!!"
"Windy Shield," Lina sounded bored as she raised the spell and watched the fire arrow flitter into nothing in the wall of air.
"How did you do that?" the elven sorcerer demanded. "You're a werecreature! You shouldn't be able to do that!"
"Personally," Lina smirked. "I'd worry more about what I'm about to do than how I'm going to do it." Lina raised her hand, fangs bared in a vicious smile. "DUG HAUT!!" She whipped her arm around in a semi-circle and was pleased to see the elves around her decimated as a circle of spikes grew from the ground.
"What the hell was that?" one of the soldiers asked as the spikes encircled the elves position.
"They're fortifying their position!" the officer insisted. "Wait are those?"
"The spikes came up through the elves!" Someone shouted. As he shouted the silent form of Zelgadis Greywords passed to the front of the ranks.
"That's odd," he said. "Lina usually prefers fire." As he said that the spikes began exploding into fireballs. "Ahh, never mind."
"Milord?" a soldier addressed Zelgadis nervously. "Did you say...Lina?"
"Yes," Zelgadis agreed.
"As in Inverse?" someone else asked.
"Yes."
"As in the dead Lina Inverse."
"She's not quite dead yet," Zelgadis corrected them.
"She's getting better," Jol added.
And now for something not completely different.
Luna felt the backlash of heat and slowly opened her eyes to look at the devastation around her. She quickly caught sight of her sister, naked again, tossing the last of a salvo of fireballs.
"Get some clothes on, Lina," Luna grumbled as she sat up. "Where is the fool that hit me?"
"He's somewhere in the barbeque," Lina answered back. "And have you tried keeping a wardrobe when you change size all the time?" She meant to sound defiant, but she wasn't that over her fear of the older Inverse yet. It came out sounding petulant.
"That is no reason to be prancing around like a common tart," Luna insisted. "I see you regained your magic."
"Great timing too," Lina said, then hesitated. "You were, well, captured and we needed some heavy magic."
"Yes, I suppose thanks are in order," she said. "But first do something about your state of dress, I'm in good enough condition to handle any stragglers."
"Okay, okay," Lina said grumbling. In moments there was a small red fox with a streak of silver running down from her head. She stared up at Luna with a "is this better" look on her face.
"Good," she looked about to spot the few survivors of Lina's attacks. "I suppose the battle is over then."
Yeah, Lina thought, answering vocally with a small whuff. All that's left is waiting for my kids.