Chapter 1: The Secret I Have Hidden

Someday shalalala lala

I want to whisper privately to you the secret that I have hidden...

I will always stay with you and look after you from behind.

News of Lina Inverse's death travels fast, but Xelloss travels faster. In exactly 30 seconds after her death, he is already delivering invitations to her funeral across the world via the astral plane.

Filia is selling a fine china vase to a highly unimpressed customer when Xelloss arrives. The sensation of his presence immediately causes a reflex action that sends the customer and the china vase flying out the window. Not that she wants to send him flying out the window. She simply missed Xelloss with her mace. Stupid mazoku teleportation powers.

"You! What do you want?" Filia hisses. Though it has been around six decades ago since they last met, Filia never forgot the disgusting sensation of being near him. And though they said goodbye on relatively tolerant terms, the presence of a mazoku was, is, and forever will be sending a shiver down the back of any dragon.

"My, my, Filia-san," says Xelloss through a cheerful grin, "How so very rude of you." Xelloss starts sipping a cup of tea that he has just pulled out of thin air.

"You...you just sent away my customer!" Filia huffed.

"Well, if my memory serves me correct, you were the one who sent him flying out the window with that mace!" Xelloss smiles happily.

"You...you..."

"In any case, I'm afraid I have some sad news for you," Xelloss sips again from his cup of tea, "Dear Lina-san is dead. You are invited to her funeral tomorrow at the usual cemetery."

Filia is just about to retort, but stops as the news sink in, and then grows suspicious. "You're tricking me, right?"

"Afraid not," Xelloss replies carelessly.

"But...but...how?" Filia stammers, still unable to believe it.

"That's...well..."

"Well?"

"...a secret!" Waving a finger, Xelloss disappears.

"You...you...come back here!" Filia screams. "You can't just drop a bombshell like that and leave! Xelloss!"

A piece of paper flutters to the ground. Filia, upon seeing the content, kneels down and starts sobbing.

"Congratulations!" It says in a cheerful handwriting, "You are invited to Lina Inverse's funeral ceremony, which will take place Sunday, May 2, at the Cemetery of Seyruun. Be there at 5 o'clock! There will be delicious refreshments afterwards!"

No one can question a note like that.

Xelloss didn't kill Lina, in case anyone's wondering.

Lina had always been powerful and a huge interest for his master Zelas, as well as the others of the mazoku race. They watched her as she mastered the Dragon Slave, and then the Giga Slave. They watched as she saved the world on various occasions, while almost destroying it in the process.

And they watched with special interest as she destroyed half a continent in excruciating fury when the Lord of Nightmares took Gourry away without an explanation.

Now, the mazoku love destruction. Really they do. But when Lina, by then a tornado of madness, wandered into their territory and destroyed everything in sight, well, you can't blame them for getting a little mad. And you really can't blame Zelas for sending out mercenaries after her when she ruined their decade-long project to reconstruct the five Darkstar weapons.

Xelloss have a sneaking suspicion that it was the Sword of Light that did it for Lina.

Either way, as stated earlier, Xelloss didn't kill Lina, really he didn't. He quite liked Lina, in fact. And it was such a shame that now he can no longer witness her friendly mass destruction. No, Xelloss would never kill Lina. All he did was to feed her some purposely vague information that led her to wrong assumptions. Which, indirectly, led her to his master's trap. Emphasis on the "indirectly" part.

Of course, Filia doesn't know any of this. And there's a 99% chance that she never will.

And Xelloss will see to it that the 1% doesn't come true.

Filia bows her head sadly at Lina's tombstone, tears flowing freely down her face. She is now the last of the team who saved the world from Darkstar (except for a certain namagomi, but of course "it" doesn't count). Amelia sacrificed herself to justice when she defended Zelgadis from a group of powerful, racist sorceresses. Zelgadis tried to bring her back from the Sea of Chaos, but ended up being dragged in himself. This tragedy happened about five years ago. But they did manage to have two children, one girl and one boy, both half-human and half-chimera, who now rules the kingdom of Seyruun. Zelgadis never found the cure for his skin, but Amelia was cure enough for his heart. Which is why Filia imagines that they are both together now, happily watching their children grow up from the Sea of Chaos, forever in peace.

But Lina's story was not so fortunate. No one knew (as far as she is concerned) who killed her. Or how. Or why, for that matter. Rumors here in Seyruun said before she was killed, she went on a mad rampage of destruction because of the death of a certain blond swordsman that was apparently not very bright. Filia can not imagine what could have caused her to do that, as she is certain, despite Lina's unquestionable love for Gourry, Lina doesn't just destroy stuff for fun, unlike some mazoku she can mention. Of course, Lina destroy stuff all the time, but it's always either justified to some degree, or a total and complete accident. And this doesn't look the least like an accident.

But no matter what her end had been like, when she was alive, Lina was an energetic young girl, a kind sorceress, and a truly great friend. Filia remembers the time when she encouraged her when she was hesitating during the last battle. She taught her to face her own fears with a smile and to go forward into the future with the faith that everything will turn out all right. When Lina left after the battle, she didn't even ask Filia for her price, despite all she has done for her, saying Filia can pay her back next time they meet. Dear Lina-san, Filia mused sadly, How I wish I had the chance to pay you back!

Filia put her pure white lilies on the gravestone. Other mourners are gathered sparsely around the refreshment table, barely enjoying the all-you-can-eat buffet that Lina would have died for.

Filia leaves. She doesn't eat anything.

Xelloss watches as Filia leaves without even looking at the refreshments. He sighs. Such a waste of good food. He had even placed his favorite dish in there (which surprisingly no one had touched yet)!

He of course cannot possibly be so wasteful. He flashes over to the table, startling a few low-level sorceresses in black robes. Xelloss wonders what connection they have to Lina. After so many years, all of the original crew had died, and he isn't aware Lina had other friends. Perhaps Lina owed them something?

Xelloss watches as the mourners run away hurriedly. When a famous evil mazoku suddenly appears in front of you, that's usually the smartest option. Unless you happen to be Lina. Then the called-for action would be head-locking him for whatever treachery he has just committed.

Xelloss laughs amusedly, hovering cross-legged a few feet above the ground. Once the people completely cleared out, he floats over to Lina's tomb.

Someday shalalala lala...

He stops in front of the stone and stands up.

"Hey Lina-san!" He grins cheerily. "How do you like the Sea of Chaos? Good? Bad? Fun? Boring? Well, I guess you would have known already, since you've been there once. Haha, but you didn't remember that, did you?" Xelloss sits on the ground, facing the tombstone, as if chatting with an old friend.

"Of course not! But you get to find out again, eh? I got to say I wasn't too impressed first time I went there after my creation, but there's a lot of fun there, actually. The chaos for which it's named after is simply fantastic!" He pulls out a brochure. "See? There's even an amusement park where you can re-enact the War of the Monster's Fall! They simulate me so well!" He leans in a little so that his head is just barely touching the top of the stone.

I want to whisper privately to you...

"By the way, Hikari-chan is doing pretty well magic-wise. She's becoming a strong sorceress. Soon she's be able to do the Dragon Slave! How nice is that! And the young rulers of Seyruun are ruling very justly, as you would assume. Filia-san is still her old self. Hey, you know, she didn't even touch my cooking! I know you would have truly appreciated it, wouldn't you have, Lina-san?"

"Either way, got to go now. My master is sending me to... well, that's a secret! But before I go..."

The secret that I have hidden...

"I'm sure going to miss you being here, Lina-san."

...I will always stay with you and look after you from behind.

With that, he playfully transfers a kiss with his fingers to the gravestone. He then disappears, leaving a freshly-baked cookie on Lina's grave.

It might have even tasted good.