AN: I do not own The Slayers, I just play in the sandbox.
"Amelia?" Gourry asked as he opened the door to the room he was sharing with Zelgadis and Pokota. "Are you looking for Zel?"
"Um, actually I was looking for Miss Lina. Is she here?"
"No, I thought she was in the room you two got."
"Well she isn't. She's not in the baths or dining room either. Do you think Wizer…"
Gourry hit himself on his head, "How could I have been such an idiot?"
"Are you saying that there's something unusual in you being in that state of mind?" Zel asked sarcastically from his bed.
"We passed a bandit camp earlier," Gourry explained, ignoring him. "I thought I was the only one who noticed!"
Gourry turned back into his room to grab his sword as Amelia exclaimed, "What? Going out there alone with so many people after us?"
"It wouldn't be the first time. Let's find her before she causes too much trouble."
"I'm going to stay here." Zel announced, "There were several suspicious people in the inn, and I would not trust them to leave our rooms alone."
It had been the only thing on her mind since she had spotted the camp shortly after lunch time. It had been so long since she'd seen a bandit camp that Lina just could not resist the impulse to attack them and claim their treasure. She knew her friends would not approve, especially with everything else they had on their plate. This was why she would attack swiftly, get what she wanted, and return before anyone noticed her absence.
So she snuck out and headed for the woods on foot. Over the years Gourry had developed the uncanny ability to detect when she casted a ray wing and had interrupted several attempted attacks. She was almost at such a distance from the inn that she would feel comfortable casting one when a voice cried, "Dark Mist!"
Lina was caught off guard. "Who's there?" she hissed as an inky black cloud enveloped her. She could not see her hand from her face. Stranger still was the fact that she sensed no one there. There was no presence, no sense of blood lust. Whoever was there was a pro at masking his presence. Lina started to chant a spell, hoping the person would tip his hat so she would at least have some idea which direction to aim her spell.
Suddenly a hand clasped around her throat, cutting her spell off as he started to squeeze the life out of her. Lina tried to swing blindly in the dark at whomever had her in a death vice, but it was no use. A low gravelly voice sounded through the darkness. "I am Zuuma and I only tell my name to two people." He snarled as his grip on her throat tightened, "Those who hire me, and those who are my prey."
Lina felt the life ebb out of her as she struggled to retain consciousness. A familiar voice cut through the darkness and cried her name. Was she hallucinating? She tried to form words, to let him know she was here, but all that came out was a strangled moan as her grip on reality slipped.
He called her name again. Real or not, it would be the last thing she heard…
"Bomb Di Wind!" Amelia cried. The darkness retreated from the wind and revealed the gruesome scene. A man dressed in black was strangling Lina. Her hand had been at his arm in a desperate attempt to fend him off. No sooner had the mist abated then did her hand go limp. Gourry hollered her name and charged at the stranger as Amelia headed towards Lina, hoping against hope that there was still time.
The man in black discarded Lina as though she was a rag doll as he prepared himself for Gourry's attack. Amelia ran to Lina's side and checked for signs of life, and exhaled in relief when she found a weak pulse. Trusting Gourry to keep the man in black away she cast a healing spell.
She's dead! The thought assaulted his mind like the pounding of a drum. It was what propelled him to launch an ardent attack against the one had taken her life. The image of her arm going limp clung to his memory and fueled his rage. Gourry moved swiftly, putting his opponent squarely in the defensive. It barely registered with him that the other man was blocking his attack with his bare hands. For the first time in his life, the need for revenge consumed him.
Blinded by fury, it did not dawn on him what the other man was doing until it was too late. "It's a shame. I was only hired to kill the girl. You needn't die."
Gourry was about to spit some retort about how the other man was not in a position to make demands when he realized that he had been separated from Amelia. "Dark Mist!" the other man snarled before launching a fierce counter attack.
Gourry realized his mistake too late. Never let your emotions overcome you was one of the first rules of sword fighting. Never underestimate your opponent was the second. Whoever this man was, he was good, and he fought dirty.
Gourry tried to anticipate his attack, but found it difficult. The other man was very good at masking his presence. Eventually the inevitable happened, and Gourry felt himself being cut open…
From somewhere overhead, Lina could hear Zel asking, "I heard the sounds of fighting from the inn. What happened?"
"Miss Lina was attacked. We were just in time, a few seconds later and…but Mr. Gourry went off after whoever attacked her."
Lina's eyes shot open and she bolted upright. "What?" she croaked, her throat still sore from nearly having her wind pipe crushed.
"Easy, Miss Lina." Amelia said, "You're lucky to be alive right now."
"Where did he go?"
"That way, but Miss Lina, you're in no condition to…"
An icy hand grabbed Lina's heart. If anything happened to him it would be all her fault. "Gourry!" she cried, ignoring the pain in her throat, as she headed off in the direction Amelia had indicated. "Gourry!"
Fortunately, it did not take long to find the inky black cloud. Lina cast a wind spell, dissipating it swiftly. "No!" Lina cried as she registered the sight of him lying in a pool of his own blood. "Oh no, no! Amelia!"
Lina reached him first, followed momentarily by Amelia who began to cast a resurrection spell. Lina knelt beside him and, deciding to hell with who noticed, cradled him gingerly in her arms. Briefly she wondered where the water on his brow was coming from when she realized it was from her own tears. She wanted to ask Amelia if he would be fine, but she also didn't want to interrupt her, so she said nothing. Numbness started to sink in.
"Do you know who did this, Lina?" Zel asked.
"Said his name was Zuuma." Lina replied mechanically.
"Zuuma!?" Zel repeated. Lina didn't even have the interest to ask any more questions. It could wait until she knew if Gourry would be okay or not. "You're lucky to be alive."
Lina did not answer. She was lost in the possibility that Gourry might not be so lucky. And all because she had been reckless.
Amelia groaned in frustration, causing Lina's alarm to rise even higher. "Oh no, Gourry, you are not leaving me!"
He stirred. Amelia relaxed a little. "He'll be fine now, but let's get him back into the inn."
They managed to return safely to the inn and get Gourry, who had still not woken, into a bed. As soon as Amelia was satisfied that her care was no longer needed, she left Lina alone to watch over him. Lina sat quietly by his bed, guilt nagging at her mind.
His voice cut through her thoughts, "You're alive!"
Lina snapped out of her reverie to find that he had awoken, "Of course I'm alive." She said, harsher than she meant to. She softened her voice, "It was you we were worried about."
Lina's resolve to not cry wavered and broke as he reached a hand out to caress her cheek and then her hair. He withdrew his hand as he propped himself up on one elbow to look at her better. "I just had to make sure that you were real."
"I'm real," Lina said as she dried her eyes and composed herself, "And we have a real new danger to face."
"It would be a lot easier to face together then it would if you just decided to go wandering to bandit camps on your own, no?" Gourry asked.
Lina blushed, "Point taken. We're in this together."
AN: I was never happy with how Zuuma was introduced in the anime. In the books he was this terrifying assassin who nearly killed Lina. In the anime he was introduced in a humorous episode and not nearly as menacing. So I took a page from the novels and upped the ante a bit.