This is the first Slayers story I've had a chance to post on ff.net, so I hope it hasn't been done before and I hope I've not copied anyone. This takes place two years after the defeat of Dark Star, so it would help if you've seen all three Slayers seasons. Characters from Next also appear. Enjoy!

Slayers: Matchmaker!

The Lord of Nightmares was aggravated. She wasn't furious, or even mad... Just a bit perturbed. Three years had passed since Hellmaster had been destroyed, and yet nothing had happened! After all she'd done to assure that things would be set right! She had put aside her own agenda for them, and nothing had happened. Her infinite mind ticked and slowly gathered into form within the chaos around her. Something had to be done.

Her shape formed carefully, taking on her last true form - that of Lina Inverse. Funny, she thought. For Lina was one reason she was aggravated... After her temporary body had completed, the Lord of Nightmares looked around the chaos, and decided a meeting was in order. A wave of her hand and she found herself on part of the astroplane - a dark, mysterious part that monsters and demons rarely came to. This would serve well, she mused. Another slight gesture and the astroplane took the shape she willed - a long, dark assembly hall, upheld by black pillars that reached into foggy space above and disappeared beyond eyesight. Candle arbors dimly lit the darkened sides of the hall, and the Lord of Nightmares gracefully sat down on a throne which simply appeared behind her.

Smiling in approval of her new surroundings, she snapped her fingers and mentally called forth all the high-ranking monsters, demons, and other dark lords. Within seconds, they filled the great hall, all bowing low before her.

She looked them over with satisfaction, letting the silence hang in the air. After a moment, she spoke.

"I've called you all here because of an important, pressing matter that has been my concern for the past few years." She crossed her legs and surveyed the crowd again. No one spoke. Good, she thought. "The matter deals with several humans, one in particular known as Lina Inverse."

A slight murmur in the crowd. Just the reaction she'd expected. One monster, however, stepped forward. "Lord of All Darkness! If you wish her dead, we will gladly oblige you! After what Lina did to Hellmaster, we would be most happy to -"

"SILENCE!" The Lord of Nightmares' voice echoed throughout the hall, and she snapped her fingers together. The monster that had been so bold to speak was instantly surrounded in flames. "I said NOTHING of killing her! Don't speak unless I call you forth!" she ordered. The monster and the flames disappeared entirely.

"Now..." She rubbed one temple and closed her eyes. "As I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted... I do not wish Lina dead. Quite the opposite. I helped Lina defeat Hellmaster. She wished to die to save one man, a man called Gourry Gabriev. But he was also willing to sacrifice for her, so I gave them back to each other. And now, they can't even tell each other their true feelings! None of you have any idea how aggravated I am about this. And so, I wish to do something... To bring them together." She flourished her hand, and a holographic image of Lina and Gourry appeared beside her. "I will need a someone to help me achieve this task."

At that moment, another monster stepped forward - however, this one had great power and was much higher-ranking then the last monster, who had been destroyed for stepping up. He dropped to one knee on the floor, his head bowed low.

The Lord of Nightmares stopped and stared at him. He was very smart, she decided. He'd always been smart. Cunning, and very deceptive too. However, he was just who she wanted. The silence between them filled the room before the monster spoke.

"Lord of Nightmares... Are we to understand that you wish to play... a matchmaker?"

"Ah, Xelloss." She stood up and smiled wickedly towards him. "Just the monster I wished to see. I'll be needing your assistance in this matter."

He looked up. "Why, I'm quite flattered! But -"

"Do me one favor right now." She said darkly. "Cut the act. I can see through it, and it really annoys me."

Xelloss stood up with these words, and opened both eyes - which glinted a dangerous purple in the candlelight. "Yes, Lord. As you wish."

"Now, you've traveled with Lina and her friends for some time, both during the Hellmaster incident and during the Dark Star incident. You know them all very well."

"Forgive me for saying so, but I believe you would know Miss Lina much better than I. For you, the Mother of All Things, have connected with her mind."

"Perceptive, Xelloss. But I only could read her thoughts at that time, and when Gourry touched me, I could also read his. I do not know what they're like on a daily basis." She crossed her arms and looked down at him.

He refrained from saying that he believed the Lord of Nightmares had unconsciously inherited a few of Lina's personal traits during the time they were connected.

"What do you wish me to do?" he asked.

"Get them together. Married, in love, all that sort of stuff." She shrugged and sat back down.

He didn't say anything.

"Is this too hard a task for you, Xelloss?"

"No, not at all. I'd be most happy to assist in the matter." He smiled evilly and started to disappear, but the Lord of Nightmares snatched him back onto the astroplane.

"I'm not done yet." She ordered.

"Forgive me, Lord..." Xelloss blinked. "I thought you were. You want me to get Lina and Gourry together... so I was just going to leave and begin my new assignment!"

"That's not all!" she stood up, her eye ticking. All the monsters in the room shrank back slightly. She looked to Xelloss again. "There is one other couple I'm concerned with. Might as well get them together while we're at this matchmaking business." The hologram swirled and misted, and a moment later, had completely regained a new shape. This time, Amelia and Zelgadis appeared.

"The crowned Princess of Seryuun, and the grandson of Rezo the Red Priest. An interesting combination." The Lord of Nightmares mused. "They too, refuse to express their true feelings to each other. Xelloss, this is also part of your task." She stopped short and looked at him. "Why, Xelloss, do I detect a hint of fear?"

"No," he answered carefully.

"Feelings of an impossible mission?" she smirked.

A long pause followed, and Xelloss' eyes closed and he smiled brightly. "YES!"

Her eye ticked again, and a bright flash illuminated from her hand as a high-speed spell headed for him. Xelloss disappeared into subspace. Everyone in the room screamed and ducked behind the pillars, and the spell exploded in the distance. Xelloss reappeared.

"Xelloss..." she warned. "You DELIBERATELY dodged!"

"I assumed you were only joking..." he replied meekly.

"I do not joke!" She fell back into her throne, glaring at him.

"But, I'll be quite willing to help, and do what I can." He smiled, hoping to make her less angry with him. "However, Zelgadis isn't one to trust me so easily."

"I don't care HOW you get these two couples together, just do it." The Lord of Nightmares snapped. "You're smart, use your imagination!"

Xelloss' bright smile turned evil. "As you wish. Am I free to take leave now?"

"YES." She waved him off, and he disappeared once more. Then she sat in silence, waiting. After a few minutes, when she was sure he'd left, she looked back up. "Zelas."

Xelloss' mistress stepped forward, cringing at his previous behavior. "Shall I punish him, Lord? I try to make him stop playing games, but it seems to be a side personality of his!"

"No, Zelas... It's alright." The Lord of Nightmares sighed. "However, I do need your assistance as well. While Xelloss works with Lina, Gourry, Amelia, and Zelgadis, I believe we need to take care of... Xelloss."

"Of Xelloss?" Zelas stared. "I'm afraid I don't understand."

The Lord of Nightmares chuckled. "Like the other Slayers, Xelloss has a problem admitting his true feelings to someone. And come to think of it, the monsters and the dragons have been enemies for over a thousand years... Perhaps it's time we bring the two back together."

"WHAT?!" Zelas cried.

"...There's a golden dragon named Filia that Xelloss was interested in. Oh yes, they tried to hate each other, but in reality, they don't. This is an excellent chance to bring everyone back together."

"Lord, are you getting soft?" A demon stepped into the main area, facing the Lord of Nightmares. "With all this romance, and bringing people together?"

A spell knocked him backwards. "We're always fighting!" she yelled. "I want to try something different for a change!"

No one spoke as the spell's aftermath of smoke faded into the darkness. The Lord of Nightmares inhaled deeply before sinking back into her throne. She waved her hand once more and waited a few seconds. A pale light suddenly glowed at the far end of the hall, and grew brighter and closer. Within moments, it died down and revealed a man, standing warily before the Lord of Nightmares.

He lowered his head. "You have called me forth, Lord of Nightmares. I come to you as you bid."

"Milgazia. Nice to see you. We're having a little meeting here over some issues of romance."

"That's...nice." Milgazia said dryly - and half uninterested.

The Lord of Nightmares' eye ticked. "I'm going to need your help in this matter, so do me a favor and cut the sarcasm. Damn, you're almost as bad as Xelloss."

Milgazia visibly cringed at the comparison. "I shall ignore the last comment simply because there's nothing I can do about it. But I'm thoroughly confused at what you need ME for."

So the Lord of Nightmares took the next five minutes to explain to the Golden Dragon EXACTLY what she wanted to happen between Lina, Gourry, Amelia, and Zelgadis. Milgazia frowned the entire time, listening carefully.

"...And the catalyst in this entire scheme is going to be Xelloss." she finished. "He's going to play matchmaker for me, since he's spent time with the group."

"And I'm need for...what?" Milgazia asked slowly.

"Part of the plan," Zelas sighed, stepping forward, "is to attract Xelloss to Filia, the Golden Dragon Priestess who once served the Fire Dragon King."

"You're joking." Milgazia stated dryly. "That's ludicrous. Xelloss won't fall for it; he's too damn smart. And I thought he hated Filia. It's obviously she hates him!"

The Lord of Nightmares smirked. "Oh, Xelloss will fall for it, Milgazia. I'll make sure of it. I think its time the monsters and the dragons get along. And with Hellmaster and Gaav out of the way, things should be much more simpler. What I need YOU for, is to get Filia into the game."

"And how, pray tell," Milgazia glared, "am I supposed to do THAT?"

"Well, as soon as I figure out how Xelloss is going to act, then I'll know what to do. Right now, you can wait around here until I have some more precise orders for you. I assure you, no monster or demon will harm you."

Milgazia still looked uncomfortable with the entire situation - not to mention aggravated that he'd been called forth and was still trying to adjust to the idea. Glancing around warily, he noticed monsters whispering and frowning towards him. So he didn't move from the center of the hall. At least there, the Lord of Nightmares could keep an eye on him.

"You don't look thrilled, Milgazia," Zelas appeared beside him, her smile faded.

"Do you expect me to be?" He didn't look at her. "I'm being asked to cooperate with the monster race, something the dragons rarely do at all! This wasn't a top priority on my 'to-do' list today. Not to mention I'm on the astroplane with so many monsters and demons that it literally scares the hell out of me."

"They won't harm you, not with her here." Zelas nodded towards the Lord of Nightmares, who was playing with her holographic image again, trying to follow Xelloss' moves outside the astroplane. "Besides, I think it's an interesting idea. If it works, I'll be amazed."

"If it works..." Milgazia smirked at her, "it'll be funny as hell."

With that, he settled back as best he could to wait for his orders in the Lord of Nightmare's plan.

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