Title: Lina in Horrorland
Author: Yugure
Rated: PG13 and up for language, violence, gore, eventual gross stuff.
Chapter 1: Into the Dark
"It's fine by me if you want to act like a spoiled brat, but when it comes to other people's business, Lina, you need to learn when to shut up and stay out!" Zelgadis shouted at Lina's turned back, his words cutting like knives. Lina balled her hands into fists and counted to ten, and when she still hadn't calmed down, she counted ten more. Zelgadis's face was splotched red with fury. "I didn't ask you to 'help', Lina, and look what you've done! You've totally ruined everything!"
"Hey, none of that was my fault!" Lina whirled around and glared at the chimera, her face equally wrought with fury. "I insisted on coming along because we're friends, and friends help each other out. That's exactly what I tried to do, Zelgadis. I'm not going to let you get killed just because you don't want us to get involved. Well, guess what? We already are involved! We have been ever since we first met!"
"No, Lina," Zelgadis said, and a grim chuckle escaped his lips. His haunted eyes were narrowed and it seemed as though ice was freezing inside his pupils. "No, you didn't do this because we're friends. You did this because there was something in it for you. You never risk yourself unless you'll get something out of it."
"That is not true!" Lina answered hotly. She felt her face flush. "For L-sama's sake, Zelgadis do you not believe in friendship or what?!"
"When it comes to you, Lina, yes. That's exactly true." Zelgadis picked up a satchel near his feet and turned towards the setting sun in the west. "I'm leaving."
"Mr. Zelgadis, don't go! Please!" Amelia cried out, her first time speaking since the argument between Zel and Lina began. She reached out to touch his arm, to pull gently on his sleeve, but the chimera stepped away.
"Let him go, Amelia." Lina turned her back on Zelgadis and put her hands on her hips. "He doesn't want to stay with us. He doesn't care for us, so just let him go."
"Um..." Gourry began, but when Lina shot him a withering glance, he shut up.
"We didn't mean any harm, Mr. Zelgadis!" Amelia continued. "We only wanted to help! It's not like we purposefully destroyed the Oracle-"
"Shut up, Amelia," came the low reply from the chimera. Amelia's eyes started to tear up, and she quickly turned away from Zelgadis.
Nobody spoke. Lina kept her back to the rest of the group, her mind racing through a million things she wanted to say but knew she wouldn't. Lina Inverse did not apologize for being wrong. Lina Inverse was NEVER wrong... Er... well... according to herself, she was never wrong. Gourry looked between Lina, Zel, and Amelia, a quizzical expression on his face. He knew better than to say anything, but the question remained on the tip of his tongue. Amelia sat down next to the fire and fought to control the tears that threatened to break free. Zelgadis began walking away.
"Bastard," Lina muttered under her breath.
"Bitch," Zelgadis grumbled at the same time.
Lina refused to call out to him. She ground her teeth together and kept her hands tightly clenched at her sides. I will not, I will not, I will not... Aw, screw it! "Zel!" But when Lina turned, the sorcerer swordsman was not there. "Damn him. DAMN him!"
"Miss Lina..." Amelia began, her face turned towards the fire and tilted downwards. "Is he going to come back?"
"How the hell should I know? I'm going to bed. Amelia, you get first watch. Wake me when you get tired," Lina retorted. She didn't wait for an answer. She wiggled into her bedroll and curled up in a ball, her back towards the fire. As much as she wanted to sleep, as much as the proverbial sand threatened to close her eyes, her brain would not allow it.
It all started with the lead... We all thought Zel's cure was in Gaia. It was a sure-fire lead, something that held definite promise for finding what we- I mean Zel- needed. How was I supposed to know there was treasure there as well? "Search the old temple and you shall find what you seek," the old geezer had said. Well, we found it all right. I never saw Zelgadis look so happy, ever. That look of pure elation... L-sama, he really thought he was going to be cured. I'd give everything I have to see his face like that again. I was so happy for him... What the hell went wrong? I don't even remember clearly. I do remember racing for the treasure while Zel read the inscriptions on the Oracle. He yelled something at me, right as I reached for the first piece of gold. Something like, "Don't touch it, Lina! That's forbidden treasure! It'll destroy this whole temple if you disturb it!" Well I'll be damned if my arms weren't already elbow-deep in gold. I swear, it wasn't my fault! If only he'd told me sooner! ...The whole friggin' place came down around our heads. We were lucky to escape with our lives. The Oracle was destroyed. Self-destructed, I think. At least, that's what Zel said once we'd checked ourselves over for injuries. I've never seen him that mad before. And now... this...Zelgadis... I'm so sorry...
It was about there that Lina's brain finally relinquished its hold on consciousness. The sorceress fell into a deep sleep.
It was the scuffling sounds that woke Lina up first. Groggily opening her eyes, she peered into the gloom. Amelia was over by the fire, asleep, and Gourry was busy sawing logs from his own bedroll. Ready to admonish the princess for leaving their party unguarded, Lina crawled out of her bedroll and stood up.
Scritch scritch scraaaatch. Scritch scritch scraaaatch.
Lina became fully awake then. It sounded to her as though something with immense weight was moving through the trees with a rhythmic stride, scraping along the underbrush. Lina left her bedroll and strode toward the forest, readying a fireball for whatever emerged from the darkness. She chuckled darkly to herself as she imagined a charred and contrite Zelgadis coming back to camp. However, the creature that came through the woods put all other thoughts out of her mind.
Slithering toward her was the oddest creature Lina had ever seen. She was so shocked she completely dropped her spell. It had the upper female human torso and a large snakelike body. Scales the size of Lina's fist clinked together as the thing hauled itself across the ground. The face was nearly hidden by dun-colored tresses and sharp spines poked out from the elbows and wrists.
Lamia, Lina thought. L-sama, they're supposed to be extinct. I've only heard rumors and stories that there are some still alive, but...What the hell is it doing here? According to legend, they're supposed to be in the far, far south!
The lamia appeared to be oblivious to Lina, in spite of her nearly standing in its path. The creature cradled something in its arms, and as moonlight broke through the heavy clouds above, Lina saw the glint of metal. The lamia broke into a gentle but faster slide, her lower snake half coiling and pulsing with the use of giant muscles. Lina recognized the metal in its arms almost immediately. The Sword of Light! The creature veered around Lina and pushed onward.
"Get back here! Where the hell do you think you're going with that?!" Lina yelled running after the retreating figure. The lamia turned her head, and eerie, glowing green eyes glared at Lina. A vicious hiss rose into the air, originating from somewhere deep in the lamia's chest. Lina felt the hatred, the venom, the animosity like a sharp kick in the ribs. This creature was unlike anything she had ever faced, and it was not happy.
"FIREBALL!" Lina cast the spell and aimed it at the lamia, but the exotic creature proved to be faster than a speeding ball of flames. "DAMMIT! Get back here or I'll really cause some damage!"
The lamia picked up its pace, and Lina realized she was quite far from the campsite. Crap. I should have woken Amelia and Gourry, but... I'm sure they're fine. The sword of light is more important right now!
"You've had your warning! Darkness beyond twilight, crimson beyond blood that flows..." Lina slowed her stride and braced herself for the unleashing of the Dragon Slave. "... DRAGON SLAVE!!"
The night became an inferno. Clouds turned blood red and trees whipped around by the force of the blast. The world, once dark and safe, was now brilliant in its fury and full of dangerous potential. The lamia wasn't the least bit phased, and she kept right on racing away. Lina stared in shock at the quickly retreating form. No way! No freaking way! She should've been scorched, at least! Startled, thrown off balance, SOMETHING!! What on earth am I up against now? I wish Zel was here; he knows more about mythology than I do- Lina immediately stomped on that idea, grinding it into the ground. I don't need Zel to do anything for me! I don't need ANYBODY! Damn him and his problems, they plague me even when he's gone!
"RAYWING!"
The petite sorceress continued to grumble after she levitated and took off after the lamia. It was shortly after that that Lina realized she had lost track of the mythical creature. Stewing in her own discontentment, she didn't even realize she was now in the middle of the forest and the going was slow due to the ever-present grabby branches and gnarled trees in her way.
It wasn't until a branch actually made a swipe at Lina that she realized things were not quite... right. Lina's Raywing ceased working. She ended up on her rear in the middle of a mudpit.
"DAMMIT!!" she shrieked, and unloaded all her frustration into a string of very colorful and original curses. She stared with unbelieving eyes as an oak branch bent towards her and long, spindly twigs began caressing her hair. Lina swatted at the twigs but another branch took their place, as did another, and another, and another...
Soon Lina was trapped by trees. The sorceress, uncomprehending her predicament, continued to smack the twigs and branches. "This is very NOT FUNNY!" The mud gurgled around Lina, and she glared down at it. Her outfit was completely ruined. The numbing cold was seeping through to her bones and soon her teeth were chattering. "FIREBALL!"
Nothing happened.
"FIREBALL! FIREBAAAAALL!"
Still nothing happened. It most certainly wasn't "that time of the month" yet, so what was wrong? Lina was determined to find out, but her first priority was to get onto dry land and away from the psycho trees.
The muck squelched and squeaked as Lina pulled herself free and crawled onto the bank. The trees followed her, but gave her enough room to reorient herself.
"I'm cold, I'm tired, I'm hungry, the sword of light was stolen, I'm an absolute MESS and these trees are trying to cop a feel! SOMEBODY tell me what the HELL is going ON!"
Lina received an answer, albeit one she didn't want.
The lamia reappeared. From behind a cypress she slithered out, green eyes narrowed in slits and dainty but vicious fangs peeked out from a tight-lipped grimace. A low rumbling began, gurgling up through the lungs of the lamia, and it ended in a bone-shattering, nerve-wracking hiss.
"Damn," Lina breathed softly. One foot came up, then the other, and they moved on their own accord. Lina let them take her away. The high keening wail of the lamia indicated that the chase was on.
Lina never saw the hole appear in front of her, but she certainly felt the wind rushing up from the fall, her hair blowing every which way, the darkness closing in on her, and feeling settled into her bones...
Evil. It was primal, disgusting, raw evil. It sucked at Lina's soul and pried into her mind, spilling forth old, painful memories like blood leaking from a cracked skull.
Lina's scream echoed and seemed to fill eternity. It ended with a sickening smack and white-hot stars exploding across her vision. The pain was immense. The world stopped spinning, but the darkness continued to swirl around her.
The crunch of bones against hard surfaces was a sound Lina never wanted to hear again... if she ever had the chance to. She felt the snap of her neck from the impact, felt her brain bouncing back and forth inside her cranium. The white-hot stars increased in ferocity and numbers. Washes of pain and crimson flowed over the sorceress, and almost as suddenly as it happened, everything went dark.
Everything...
... except the far away burning of a flickering candle.