...Eh, how do I start this? How 'bout with telling you all, I don't own Slayers. Or Alice in Wonderland. Hadn't ment for all the refrences, really. I have a Beta, but she hasn't seen this. She's currently working on a diffrent one of my works, and I was simply too impatient to wait. Sorry, Crystal.

I am a perfectionist, and thus, hate this chapter because I had to force myself to write it. When I force myself, it never ends up too good, I think. And I am my biggest critic.

But then again, I'm never happy with anything I write. Gah.

I'm planning on updating this weekly, and I have about 3-4 chapters after this one written/rough-drafted, each about 3-5 pages long. So, yeah. Please pay no heed to the collection of unfinished Pokemon stories that I've written...

Without further ado(SP? What the heck is a ado, anyways?)-

Almost Lina

The Rabbit Hole? Or Maybe The Tornado

Summer vacation, Lina decided, was a gift from the gods.

Lina stretched her arms out wide, and leaned back as far as the car seat would allow. She yawned, loud and content. She would have put her feet up on the dashboard, is she hadn't known that Zel would throw a fit. He hated distractions while he was driving.

She tilted her head to the side a little, in order to look at him from the corner of her eye. His dark hair covered his eye, but she was sure he was fully concentrated on the road in front of him. He tried to hide it, but driving on these cliff roads always made him nervous.

She snickered to herself. It hadn't been difficult to force him to come with them to the beach, despite his argument that he was too busy with his summer jobs. That was how Zel was- all work and no play, spending his free time sulking in some corner. He'd been that way ever since she had first met him. The simple fact was that he spent too much time inside, and had needed some fresh air. She noted with some satisfaction that he was now sporting a slight sunburn, a sign that he had spent some well-earned time outdoors. He might have complained at first, but she knew that he had enjoyed today.

Pity it's over. I didn't get the chance to bury him in the sand. The image of Zel neck deep in the sand popped into her head, making her snicker louder.

"Something funny, Lina?"

Lina looked over her shoulder at the blond behind her. "Oh, just picturing Zel as a sand man." She said with a grin. He just looked at her in confusion.

Gourry was the athletic, if not somewhat dim-witted, one of the group. The varsity football star had been Lina's friend ever since she had moved into the neighborhood. He excelled at sports and video games, but had difficult in school, mostly due to a bad memory. A really, really bad memory. It used to be unbearable, before his doctor gave him some medication to help him out. He hated taking it, but at least now he could follow a conversation.

Sitting next to him was Sylphiel, his not quite girlfriend. Sylphiel was nice, sweet, understanding, and anyone with any brains could tell she was in love with Gourry… anyone, that is, except for Gourry himself. Lina felt somewhat sorry for her; Gourry was just too dense sometimes. Gourry did care for Sylphiel, just not as much she would have liked.

From the far back seat, Lina could hear Amelia's light snoring. Even though Amelia was only a year younger than her, the day spent at the beach had tired the sophomore out. Lina smiled to herself. Despite her 'Justice' obsession, Amelia was Lina's best friend. She was practically her sister.

Lina's mind drifted to both her and Amelia's real sisters, and she involuntarily shuddered.

And then there was Pokota. Lina wasn't really sure how he had become part of their group, he just sort of appeared one day. Lina's smile turned into a frown; she and the freshman had a bittersweet relationship. At times they acted like the best of friends, at others they hated each other's guts. Such was their friendship…

Such was all their friendship. For what wasn't the first time in her life, Lina wondered about the probability of the six of them meeting and becoming friends. They weren't exactly the group that you'd normally imagine. She thought of it a moment more, before she shrugged it off and blamed in on fate. It was like destiny, almost. She wasn't one to really believe in that sort of stuff, but that didn't mean she didn't believe in the inevitable.

Looking out at the paved street before them, she yawned once again, her eyes closing on her. She had her friends, she had a wonderful day at the beach, and she had a full summer vacation in front of her. Right before sleep overtook her, the thought grazed her mind life is wonderful…

Then the trigger question was asked. "So, where are we going to eat?"

And all hell broke loose.

But not all was right in this world.

Above the traveling van, unseen to all were four beings that did not belong to this dimension. They were powerless here, all but one.

The first being was a dragon, made of crystal like fire.

The second was a wyvern, with body like stone and wings like marble.

The third was a snake, made of wind so fierce it looked like light.

The last was a being that was highly disturbed.

"I do not believe what we are doing is right." He told the other four. Unlike the others, he looked more or less human. In his large hands, he held the orb. "We do not know how our actions will affect this world's future."

The first being growled. "You are the last one who should complain about that, Overworlder." The dragon like fire spat. It's body glowed red, as if it held a tempest itself inside.

"We have no choice." The stone wyvern said, in a much more polite tone of voice. "If our world is to survive, it has to be done."

The crystal dragon shook his head, obviously irritated. "They are only a few humans out of billions. They will not be missed."

"You are wrong, Flarelord." This time it was the orb that spoke. It glowed a sea blue, like the ocean beneath it. "These humans have families and friends who will miss them dearly. But, I agree. To save our world, it must be done."

The Overworlder looked down at the van. He could practically see them, laughing and enjoying themselves.

"If you have any other ideas, Sirius," the orb said, "…now is the time to say it."

He could feel the stares of the three dragons. He had nothing to say.

The van was nearing a sharp curve in the road. Even though he disagreed with the plan, it would be against his nature to fight against it any longer. It was time.

"I don't care what you say; we are not eating at McDonalds!" Lina yelled at the blond football player. "We're going to Taco Bell!"

"But isn't the McDonalds here cheaper-" Sylphiel swallowed the rest of what she was going to say as Lina gave her her worst glare.

"McDonalds is disgusting! Give me a good Burrito any day."

Gourry looked at the red head in confusion. "Really? I don't see what's wrong with hamburgers." In response, Lina attempted to hit him over the head, a feat which proved to be difficult when wearing a seat belt.

"Quit it, Lina!" Zel yelled at her, trying his hardest to keep his eyes on the road, "Could you be any more distracting?"

Before Lina could snap back at him, she saw something strange outside the window. She blinked once to make sure she wasn't seeing things. "What is-"

A bright light flared up in front of them. Lina was blinded, she shut her eyes instantly. She heard someone in the car scream. Zel slammed on the breaks, but it wasn't quite enough. There was a jarring impact, as they hit the railing, before a terrifying weightlessness as the car went over the edge.

"In order to save our world from destruction, the Lina Inverse of this world must die."