Chapter One: Meetings of Friends…

Vaneral looked around the city she was in and muttered a curse under her breath. It was a nice and happy city, full of nice and happy people with nice and happy lives during a nice and happy day and…well, it just wasn't a place that a person like Vaneral would like. At when considering what she was.

She ignored that people that stopped in their business to stare at her. She was an elf of distant heritage and few in this land had seen an elf since the last left Mipross. She just wanted to get to a tavern, have few drinks, and listen to any good story she might help gain popularity. If not that, then at least play a few games of chance. She frowned at the thought. Zakainel hated that game…and Vaneral couldn't figure why… Yeah right. She grinned harshly. Yeah, forget the story. I'll get some [people] angry.

She walked strongly with purpose towards the tavern, grinning at her task. Suddenly—CRAAAASH!!! Vaneral yelped in surprise and jumped back. A huge explosion erupted from the nearby bar, causing windows to blow out throwing glass everywhere followed by smoke.

"What the bloody hell??" She gasped as another explosion promptly followed.

From inside, a female voice screeched, "YOU GIVE THAT BACK, GOURRY!!!"

Another voice, distinctively male and probably this Gourry cried out, "Not a chance! This is mine, I tell ya!"

Vaneral raised an eyebrow curiously and stepped into the tavern. She quickly dropped to the ground as another fireball tore overhead.

"The next'll hit you if you don't give it back!" Vaneral saw that a small red haired girl was causing the messy argument and noticed yet another fireball ready in her hand. She was throwing death glares at a tall long haired blonde man holding in his hand a fork with a small insignificant sausage on its prongs.

"I didn't take this from your plate, Lina! It's from mine!" He yelled at her.

"But who's paying for this meal?" Lina snarled.

"Ameria!" he pointed to a young lady sitting next to a man in shamanist's outfit, all the while muttering something about her daddy going to kill her. Vaneral looked curiously at the beige-garbed man with his face covered with a hood and mask.

"Exactly!" Lina gave a feral grin, "AND, since both of us are women, everything from here to here," she drew her hand over the entire table, "belongs to me! Er, us, eheh." She walked over to him smugly.

"Wha…?" He said, utterly confused at the bewildering logic, as she snagged the fork from his hand.

Vaneral barked out a laugh, truly liking this strange group. She found her targets, but she wondered if she even had to try to get them angry…

"Lina," the masked man said sternly to the red-head, "Will you stop and explain what you want to do?"

"Oh, lighten up Zel," Lina laughed, "We have all day, and while we're here, I want to eat."

"That's all you do," He muttered, "Well, I can't stand this. I'm going to the libraries to check the magic tomes." He got up a turned to the young girl in white, "Coming Ameria?"

"Sure, Zelgadis-san!" She smiled and got up and walked up to him.

He nodded, "See ya, Lina." He and Ameria walked out.

"Man, he needs to lighten up and enjoy life…" Lina shook her head and sighed, "Waiter!"

A harassed-looking man drug his way to her table and muttered, "What would it be, Miss?"

Vaneral gasped aloud when Lina said simply, as if it was nothing much, "Everything. Triple portions."

Gourry walked up and added, "Make that six portions." He grinned as Lina nodded.

"Okay…all of it…" the waiter rubbed his forehead and wrote their order down. As he walked away, Vaneral walked to their table.

"Who are you?" Lina asked. Gourry looked up, curious.

"Vaneral Chisuko, bard extraordinaire," Vaneral made a sweeping bow, pulling off her huge hat with a strange smile, "And you, I presume are Lina Inverse, and Gourry Gabriev." She looked up.

"Yeah. You're a bard, eh? What tales do you know?"  Lina asked all the while looking towards the kitchen, waiting for her meal impatiently.

Vaneral shook her head, "None I'm wanting to tell now," She smiled knowingly, "Though many tales do I know of Lina Inverse the Dramatta." She winked.

"Oh-ho, really?" Lina smiled viciously, "Less of the Dramatta, bard."

Gourry looked at them, somewhat curious.

***

Someway or the other, the conversation between Lina and Vaneral dwindled down into a heated game of dice. Gourry was dead asleep.

"AAAAAAGHHH!" Lina screeched at Vaneral, "How the HELL are you doing that?!"

Vaneral looked at her unperturbed, "What?"

If glares could kill…Vaneral would be nothing but ash (which is very likely in the case that Lina specializes in fire magic…). Lina yelled irately, "Winning all the FRICKIN' time!"

Vaneral grinned sardonically, "Don't you humans believe in luck?"

Lina growled, "Not when a person happens to be this lucky, Bard."

"You think I'm cheating?" Vaneral cocked an eyebrow curiously, "Me? Do I look like I cheat??" All the while thinking, Boy, isn't that what Zakainel said?

Lina answered with a skeptic smirk.

Vaneral returned with a confident smirk, "Hey, hey. I know my trade. I don't lower myself to a that level by loading dice!"

Lina raised her own bright red eyebrow and muttered dangerously, "My woman's intuition says you're lying."

Vaneral smacked the table in glee, "Oh, ho! Your woman's intuition is it?" She laughed and muttered quietly to herself, "My own says to quit while I'm ahead!"

"What was THAT Bard?" Lina growled and thought, Why do I feel like I'm talking to Xelloss again??

Vaneral jumped back, but quickly regained her composure thinking, Gods, I forgot she knew Xelloss! Damn! Why do I do this to myself?! She sighed and said, "Nothing important, Dramatta."

"Call me Dramatta again and you may end up as a crater Bard."

"Quit calling me Bard, Dramatta," Vaneral just smiled nastily, "Or I just may end up with a purse not of my own."

"Was that a threat?"

"As much as yours was."

"Uh huh."

"Yep."

"Oi…"

"Hai…"

***

"Oh, this is interesting…" Ameria said quietly as she flipped the pages of a large book, "Zelgadis-san! Look here!"

Zelgadis looked up from his own reading at her call and walked up to her, "Yes?" The book was titled Legendary Curses and Cures and depicted a tall purple-haired man in priestly robes of red. Zelgadis gasped and turned to the page Ameria was on.

"I know. Doesn't he look like the Red Priest?" Ameria asked.

Zelgadis just nodded, in slight shock. As he scanned through the page he said, "This is it…"

Ameria's midnight blue eye lit up in excitement, "Your cure?"

"Sort of," he replied, "It tells of a place where I could find it though." He read from the pages, "Where trees are cities and cities ruins, the Library of Sages stays hidden in stony alcove. Find cures and curses, spells and enchantments, tales and treasures, and blank pages."

"This is it, Zelgadis-san!" Ameria cried out happily.

"Yeah, it does seem like it…" Zelgadis smiled.

Nearby another elf, this with short reddish-brown hair, sat looking through the record log of the city in frustration, "Walker, Mindy…Waland, Miranda…Wingblade, Axptera…Hey, I know her…" He shook his head rubbing his eyes, "Damn..." He looked on, flipping through the pages muttering, "Windburn…Windburn, Phobos, come on…"

Zelgadis and Ameria jumped as he slammed the book in anger and threw it across the room, narrowly missing Zel's head.

"What the hell was that for?!" Zelgadis yelled at him.

"Shh!" The librarian hissed, to which Zel promptly ignored.

The elven man looked up, taken aback at the yell. He saw Zel and Ame, or as he interpreted, a chimeric human and a young girl, glaring at him. He sighed, apologetic, "I'm sorry. I was looking for something and couldn't find it."

Zel relaxed, a little understanding. He had been looking for his cure and knew how it felt when he had no leads. He asked, "What are you looking for?"

The elf looked at him in mild surprise, "Why do you ask?"

Zel shrugged, "It's not my business."

He stood quiet for a bit and then spoke up, "Have you seen an elven woman about five foot seven, with silver hair and green eyes? Her name is Phobos."

Ameria shook her head, "I'm sorry sir. We haven't seen her. Maybe you could ask that elf in the tavern?" She looked at Zelgadis.

"Yeah, I remember an elf standing there watching Lina destroy the place…all the while laughing wasn't she…" He agreed.

"Laughing…?" The elf said suspiciously and narrowed his eyes, "Gods forbid she is who I think she is. Not to mention she wouldn't know anything about her whereabouts…" He closed his eyes and sighed, "I guess I should check this out. Thanks." He opened his eyes suddenly as if remembering something, "By the way, my name is Destiny Blueflame." He offered his hand to Zel and Ameria.

"Zelgadis Greywers," Zel took it along with Ameria.

"Ameria Wil Tesla Seiruun," Ameria said.

"Pleasure to meet you, my friend." Destiny grinned softly, "Where is this Tavern? There's eight of them in this place."

Zelgadis grabbed his book and said, "Come on."

***

"Yeah, Seiruun is a nice place. Hmm…" Vaneral paused, "I thought Minniko was crazy, but Seiruun beats her. Or at least some of the people. Decent they are, but…do they like Justice and peace, or what?"

Lina shrugged, "Doesn't bother me too much. Ameria is crazy about it, but you get used to it after a while."

"Hey, hey! I support justice as much as the other, but peace bugs me." Vaneral said, "I grew up in a place where dueling was constant and watching dangerous magical experiments were entertainment. Nothing was peaceful. I like it that way." Her eyes flashed gold as the sun hit them. It was getting late.

"Ah, I guess I understand that." Lina stuffed a slice of meat into her mouth, "Ah whood doh." She swallowed, "I would know, I mean."

"Yeah, you would," Vaneral said.

Lina pulled a wry face, "WAITER!" She screamed and spat the second piece of meat out of her mouth, "WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?! DRADORA SURPRISE?!" The waiter ran up and tried to explain the situation.

Gourry jumped up at the sound of the word Dradora, "Don't say that again! Ugh!"

Lina gasped, whether by not really believing that he remembered that particular incident or that he was awake, no one knows, "Gourry?! You remembered that?" She just stood bug-eyed at him, "Oi."

"Who couldn't remember that?" He cried out, "I have bad memory, but not that bad!"

"Wanna bet?" Lina muttered.

"Plus, we nearly died by that meal!"

Vaneral sat glancing at the two with slight surprise, "How, was it poisoned?"

Lina pulled a disgusted grimace, "Worse. It was made with a fresh whole Dradora, curse of the outer world. Not tasty, not even close." She looked back at the waiter, "WELL?! GET ME TWENTY NEW PORTIONS! Not like this one, or there will be HELL to pay!" The waiter ran to the kitchens.

"Hua. Sorta like Zak's cooking. Hmm…" Vaneral pondered.

"Well, well, well…" An annoying, and horribly familiar voice reached Lina's ears. The ever amused, ever obnoxious, the ever irritating purple-haired mysterious trickster priest emerged behind the sorceress, "Aren't you always the negotiator." He laughed.

Before Lina could retort, Vaneral growled, "Why, by the nine hells, are you here Xelloss?"

Lina's eye flickered at her in surprise, "You know Xelloss?"

"Yeah," Xelloss smiled, his eyes closed as always, and he leaned on Lina shoulder, "She and I go waaaay back, don't we Vaneral?"

"Go away." She turned away from him, "Go to your Dragon Priestess." She muttered venomously.

"GET OFF XELLOSS!" Lina yelled into his ear, throwing him a bit off balance.

"Yare, yare!" He laughed, "Perhaps I came at the wrong time!" He stepped back, but still stayed uncomfortably close to her.

"Xelloss?!" the door opened with a jerk and Zelgadis stormed in, "What the hell are you doing here?!" Ameria and Destiny ran in with him, Ameria just as surprised as Zelgadis.

"Hey Zelgadis! Ameria!" Gourry waved at them, "Where were ya?"

"Vaneral?" Destiny gasped, then frowned and pulled out his sword, "Why, by the Gods are you here?"

"Destiny?!" Vaneral fell off her chair, "No way! When did you get here?!" She whipped out her own sword and pointed it to him.

Xelloss turned away grinning inanely, "Well, isn't this a meeting of friends." He started laughing as the tension rose to extreme levels.

***

Author's Note

Well, this is end Chapter one. To clear things up, Vaneral and Destiny have known each other for a while, and practically…hate each other. Xelloss is here on a mission, he most likely won't explain fully, or at all. So we can expect a pile of Xelloss ash to appear quite soon. Vaneral and Xelloss know each other from a long time ago, and it's hard for me to explain how. Actually, I just won't until later.

Well, that's the end of my little ramble.

Ja Ne! ~VCBSSTE

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