The Temple of the Fallen Angel Sages holds knowledge comparable to that of the Claire Bible. More specifically it contains a complete collection of curative works, a section devoted to all the Mazoku and their weaknesses, and finally the secrets of the Dark Priestess's resurrection (will go into greater depth in another story) and the Book of Fate. Unfortunately the Angels sealed the temple off from all that would seek its treasures and neither the power of the gods nor demons can smash the seal. The key lies in a simple combination, an idiot and two children. The Slayers already have two of the components (Val as the little kid), but where are they going to find the third? Set after the three seasons of slayers (obviously), please review and tell me what you think and if I should continue.
If You Can Count to Ten
Excitement glowed within the garnet depths of Lina Inverse's eyes as she surveyed the bustling town before her. To either side of the crowded streets businesses dealing solely with guiding tourists to the Temple of the Fallen Angel Sages thrived. She had heard the rumors circulating about the Temple and the unfathomable treasure of knowledge it possessed. Supposedly it was a close rival to the Claire Bible, if such a thing was possible. People claimed that not only did it hold a complete library of all curative spells and the like, but it also held detailed descriptions of every being demonic and godly, including weaknesses. The only problem was that no power, neither godly nor demonic, could break the shield protecting it. Of course it had never seen the like of Lina or her Ragna Blade.
"Alright, let's go find us a guide," she called to her companions.
* * * *
The plump, balding man regarding the visitors before him with a critical eye, he was the owner of Temple Adventures, Inc. after all. Immediately he noted the manner with which they bore themselves, they weren't the average tourists. No, they were dyed in the wool adventurers.
"The Temple of the Fallen Angel Sages?" he repeated slowly. "I can guide you there."
"Really?" the redheaded girl cried eagerly, slamming her gloved hands onto the desk in front of him. An inkpot jumped and spilled its dark contents across the ledger before him. The man frowned, regarding the mess and the girl in turn.
"Not only that, but the secret of the Angels' shield has been passed down through my family. I am the sole person who knows how to enter," he told the girl and her companions with a sage nod.
"Then why hasn't anyone ever entered it?" the blue-skinned man behind the girl demanded coolly. "I'd think that if you do indeed know the secret then you would've acquired the knowledge long before."
The guide gave him a sly wink, "Who says I haven't? Perhaps now I'm just interested in money."
"Withholding valuable information that could help the world is wrong," the short brunette declared dramatically, pointing an accusatory finger at him.
"Right, Amelia," the redhead muttered, scratching her head distractedly. "So how much would it cost if we wanted to get to the Temple and enter it?"
The man closed his eyes, hands clasped before his rotund stomach, and seemed to be thinking deeply. Mentally he was calculating the wealth that each possessed individually based on their appearance alone. He would guess that they weren't the average adventurers of poor means, no they looked like they could afford the good stuff.
"I'll tell you what," he began conspiratorially, "Since you all appear to be quite dangerous, and well I don't want to get hurt, I'll cut my rates in half. How about two thousand?"
"How about five hundred," the redhead countered, a greedy glint entering her eye.
"I am being generous here, after all I have to make a living. One thousand-five-hundred," he returned, opening his pallid blue eyes.
"There are other guides out there," the girl told him with a toss of her crimson hair.
"But do they know the secret?"
"What secret?" the blonde swordsman standing behind the redheaded sorceress asked. He then found himself pummeled within an inch of his life by said sorceress. The man cleared his throat authoritatively and the two stopped fighting.
"I'll go to a thousand, but that's it. If you won't accept that then you'll have to take your chances with someone else," he informed them imperiously. The adventurers shared a look and then nodded in confirmation.
"Alright, old man, you got yourself a deal," the smug redhead declared.
"Good, then you'll need to stock up enough provisions for a days journey and bring me everything on this list," he told them, handing the girl a small sheet of brown paper.
"Two cow stomachs?"
"That is part of the ingredients needed to invoke the power that shall bring down the shield temporarily."
* * * *
Lina left Gourry, Sylphiel, Filia and little Val with the three horses laden with food, while she, Amelia, Zelgadis and Xelloss entered the store that the list recommended. A small bell rang and the sound of light footsteps could be heard among the tall shelves that filled the store.
"Hello," a young girl called, black pigtails bouncing coltishly. "Can I help you?"
"You run the store?" Lina asked with trepidation, having had a bad experience with another child whom had made it her mission to follow in her grandfather's footsteps.
"Only when my parents aren't here," the child replied cutely. "So what do you need?"
Without a word the sorceress handed the girl the list. She read it over, a thoughtful look on her face. Lina sincerely hoped that she could read. The girl made a happy sound and motioned for the adventurers to follow her deeper into the store.
"I have everything you need," she informed them cheerfully. "By the way did you hire Temple Adventurers, Inc.?"
"Yes," Zelgadis replied concisely a look of complete boredom on his face.
"I hope you know that this stuff won't help bring down the shield," the girl remarked as she pulled a large jar of red-brown powder from a shelf. "These are all ingredients for his famous Angel Stew. He owns a restaurant and inn near the Temple."
"What?" Lina screamed grabbing the child by her thin arms. "He sent us out for stew mixings?" The girl nodded, fear blatant in her green eyes. The sorceress then emitted a terrible scream and started pulling out her hair; the rest began to slowly back away from her.
"What is this?" Xelloss asked, removing a bottle decorated with red glass in the shape of flames from a shelf nearby. He pulled out the stopper and a great blast of heat incinerated the area around him.
"Oh, that's essence of dragons' breathe. It's highly explosive," the girl replied serenely.
"Thanks for warning me," a charred looking Xelloss mumbled, a puff of smoke drifting from his mouth.
"Anyways," the girl continued placing the jar on a nearby table. "None of the guides around here know anything other than how to get there. I hope he didn't make you pay him four hundred up front, that's his usual price."
A blazing fire took root in Lina's garnet eyes and an angry flush spread across her cheeks. She clenched her hands into fists and started to shake violently.
"Four hundred? Four hundred!" she yelled, "He charged us one thousand."
"Oh dear, well he must have thought you were rich," the little girl told them with blithe sympathy. "If it helps any I know the secret of the Temple."
The three adults turned to give the green-eyed girl and incredulous look, even the Mazoku stared wide-eyed at her. A small blush stained her cheeks and she avoided their gaze in embarrassment.
"I wasn't supposed to tell you that," she mumbled, fidgeting with great nervousness. "Mommy told me not to tell anyone without her permission."
"You know the...the secret?" Amelia gasped in shock. "How?"
"I don't know if I should tell you, after all I don't know you guys," the girl replied.
"I'm Lina Inverse, this is Amelia, this is Zelgadis, and he's Xelloss. Nice to meet you. So what is the secret?" Lina exclaimed, a crazy glint in her eyes. The girl backed away uncertainly.
"I'm Ari Melsay," the girl replied, sounding close to tears.
"Lina, you're scaring the girl," Zelgadis informed the crazed sorceress.
"No I'm not, in fact I'm very good with children," the redhead replied, shooting the chimera a dark look. "So what is the secret, Ari? I'm sure your parents wouldn't mind."
"Well, okay, I guess," Ari hesitated, pulling distractedly at a pigtail. "The only way to enter is to have two kinds of people in your party to take this test. One of them has to be a genuine idiot, the other kind are two children. Unfortunately one those three need to be from my family."
"An idiot and two children?" Zelgadis repeated thoughtfully. "We have two of those and the third?"
"Hey, Ari, how would you like to go on a little adventure?" Lina asked the little girl.
"Involving children in our adventures isn't right, Miss Lina," Amelia declared. Lina and Zelgadis shot her a look that immediately forestalled any further outbursts.
"I'd love to," the girl told the cheerfully. Lina gave a shout for joy and was about to drag her from the store when what the girl said next stopped them all dead in their tracks. "But I can't, after all he is a Mazoku, an envoy for the demonic powers."
"What are you talking about?" Lina asked in pathetic attempt to bluff.
"I'm pretty sure you know what I'm talking about," Ari informed them condescendingly, or at least as condescendingly as one of her age could. "Your companion there is a Mazoku and for that reason I can't allow you to enter the Temple."
"You mean Xelloss here? You don't have to worry about him, if he tries anything we'll just beat the crap out of him," Lina assured the girl, ignoring the priest's muttered 'thanks'.
"Mommy told me that we aren't allowed to let those touched by demonic or godly power inside," the girl continued with marked obstinacy. She glared at Xelloss who returned her stare with an amiable smile. "What would you do if I did take you?" this was directed at the cheerful Mazoku.
"That is a secret." An assortment of groans and muttered curses answered his trademark reply.
"No it isn't," Ari retorted hotly. "You were sent with them to destroy the knowledge about the demon race and most likely obtain the secrets of the Dark Priestess' resurrection."
A deathly silence followed her statement and everyone turned to stare at Xelloss who stood there looking harmless and innocent. He gave a small shrug of his shoulders before winking at them all.
"If he doesn't come will you take the rest of us?" Zelgadis asked. The girl nodded absently, her full attention resting on the priest. "Then that settles it, sorry Xelloss but I'm afraid you can't come."
"That hurts, you're so eager to be rid of me, Zelgadis," Xelloss replied with acidic humor. "Well, if I'm not invited then I won't come. Hope you all have a pleasant journey." With that he phased out and a collective sigh of relief was heard.
"Okay, let's get to that Temple," Amelia and Lina declared, the latter grabbed Ari's hand and dragged the startled girl out to the rest.
"I have to tell my parents," the girl cried. The sorceress let her scrawl a quick note before picking her up and tossing her on one of the less burdened horses.
* * * *
"Xelloss gave in too easily," Zelgadis muttered to Lina as they walked beneath the verdant canopy overhead. "He's up to something."
"He's always up to something," Filia replied with a scorn. "When isn't his race doing something or other to destroy the world or create misery for the rest of us?"
"Do you think he'd destroy the knowledge of the demons and gods?" Amelia asked with a mixture of anger and outrage.
"Who knows," Lina remarked. A musing look suffused her countenance as she pondered the enigma that was Xelloss.
* * * *
Thanks for reading, I hope it's interesting so far. Please review and tell me what you think.
PS. Don't own nuthin' because I'm a poor, poor writer. So don't sue unless you want a piece of old felt and a used Kleenex.
If You Can Count to Ten
Excitement glowed within the garnet depths of Lina Inverse's eyes as she surveyed the bustling town before her. To either side of the crowded streets businesses dealing solely with guiding tourists to the Temple of the Fallen Angel Sages thrived. She had heard the rumors circulating about the Temple and the unfathomable treasure of knowledge it possessed. Supposedly it was a close rival to the Claire Bible, if such a thing was possible. People claimed that not only did it hold a complete library of all curative spells and the like, but it also held detailed descriptions of every being demonic and godly, including weaknesses. The only problem was that no power, neither godly nor demonic, could break the shield protecting it. Of course it had never seen the like of Lina or her Ragna Blade.
"Alright, let's go find us a guide," she called to her companions.
* * * *
The plump, balding man regarding the visitors before him with a critical eye, he was the owner of Temple Adventures, Inc. after all. Immediately he noted the manner with which they bore themselves, they weren't the average tourists. No, they were dyed in the wool adventurers.
"The Temple of the Fallen Angel Sages?" he repeated slowly. "I can guide you there."
"Really?" the redheaded girl cried eagerly, slamming her gloved hands onto the desk in front of him. An inkpot jumped and spilled its dark contents across the ledger before him. The man frowned, regarding the mess and the girl in turn.
"Not only that, but the secret of the Angels' shield has been passed down through my family. I am the sole person who knows how to enter," he told the girl and her companions with a sage nod.
"Then why hasn't anyone ever entered it?" the blue-skinned man behind the girl demanded coolly. "I'd think that if you do indeed know the secret then you would've acquired the knowledge long before."
The guide gave him a sly wink, "Who says I haven't? Perhaps now I'm just interested in money."
"Withholding valuable information that could help the world is wrong," the short brunette declared dramatically, pointing an accusatory finger at him.
"Right, Amelia," the redhead muttered, scratching her head distractedly. "So how much would it cost if we wanted to get to the Temple and enter it?"
The man closed his eyes, hands clasped before his rotund stomach, and seemed to be thinking deeply. Mentally he was calculating the wealth that each possessed individually based on their appearance alone. He would guess that they weren't the average adventurers of poor means, no they looked like they could afford the good stuff.
"I'll tell you what," he began conspiratorially, "Since you all appear to be quite dangerous, and well I don't want to get hurt, I'll cut my rates in half. How about two thousand?"
"How about five hundred," the redhead countered, a greedy glint entering her eye.
"I am being generous here, after all I have to make a living. One thousand-five-hundred," he returned, opening his pallid blue eyes.
"There are other guides out there," the girl told him with a toss of her crimson hair.
"But do they know the secret?"
"What secret?" the blonde swordsman standing behind the redheaded sorceress asked. He then found himself pummeled within an inch of his life by said sorceress. The man cleared his throat authoritatively and the two stopped fighting.
"I'll go to a thousand, but that's it. If you won't accept that then you'll have to take your chances with someone else," he informed them imperiously. The adventurers shared a look and then nodded in confirmation.
"Alright, old man, you got yourself a deal," the smug redhead declared.
"Good, then you'll need to stock up enough provisions for a days journey and bring me everything on this list," he told them, handing the girl a small sheet of brown paper.
"Two cow stomachs?"
"That is part of the ingredients needed to invoke the power that shall bring down the shield temporarily."
* * * *
Lina left Gourry, Sylphiel, Filia and little Val with the three horses laden with food, while she, Amelia, Zelgadis and Xelloss entered the store that the list recommended. A small bell rang and the sound of light footsteps could be heard among the tall shelves that filled the store.
"Hello," a young girl called, black pigtails bouncing coltishly. "Can I help you?"
"You run the store?" Lina asked with trepidation, having had a bad experience with another child whom had made it her mission to follow in her grandfather's footsteps.
"Only when my parents aren't here," the child replied cutely. "So what do you need?"
Without a word the sorceress handed the girl the list. She read it over, a thoughtful look on her face. Lina sincerely hoped that she could read. The girl made a happy sound and motioned for the adventurers to follow her deeper into the store.
"I have everything you need," she informed them cheerfully. "By the way did you hire Temple Adventurers, Inc.?"
"Yes," Zelgadis replied concisely a look of complete boredom on his face.
"I hope you know that this stuff won't help bring down the shield," the girl remarked as she pulled a large jar of red-brown powder from a shelf. "These are all ingredients for his famous Angel Stew. He owns a restaurant and inn near the Temple."
"What?" Lina screamed grabbing the child by her thin arms. "He sent us out for stew mixings?" The girl nodded, fear blatant in her green eyes. The sorceress then emitted a terrible scream and started pulling out her hair; the rest began to slowly back away from her.
"What is this?" Xelloss asked, removing a bottle decorated with red glass in the shape of flames from a shelf nearby. He pulled out the stopper and a great blast of heat incinerated the area around him.
"Oh, that's essence of dragons' breathe. It's highly explosive," the girl replied serenely.
"Thanks for warning me," a charred looking Xelloss mumbled, a puff of smoke drifting from his mouth.
"Anyways," the girl continued placing the jar on a nearby table. "None of the guides around here know anything other than how to get there. I hope he didn't make you pay him four hundred up front, that's his usual price."
A blazing fire took root in Lina's garnet eyes and an angry flush spread across her cheeks. She clenched her hands into fists and started to shake violently.
"Four hundred? Four hundred!" she yelled, "He charged us one thousand."
"Oh dear, well he must have thought you were rich," the little girl told them with blithe sympathy. "If it helps any I know the secret of the Temple."
The three adults turned to give the green-eyed girl and incredulous look, even the Mazoku stared wide-eyed at her. A small blush stained her cheeks and she avoided their gaze in embarrassment.
"I wasn't supposed to tell you that," she mumbled, fidgeting with great nervousness. "Mommy told me not to tell anyone without her permission."
"You know the...the secret?" Amelia gasped in shock. "How?"
"I don't know if I should tell you, after all I don't know you guys," the girl replied.
"I'm Lina Inverse, this is Amelia, this is Zelgadis, and he's Xelloss. Nice to meet you. So what is the secret?" Lina exclaimed, a crazy glint in her eyes. The girl backed away uncertainly.
"I'm Ari Melsay," the girl replied, sounding close to tears.
"Lina, you're scaring the girl," Zelgadis informed the crazed sorceress.
"No I'm not, in fact I'm very good with children," the redhead replied, shooting the chimera a dark look. "So what is the secret, Ari? I'm sure your parents wouldn't mind."
"Well, okay, I guess," Ari hesitated, pulling distractedly at a pigtail. "The only way to enter is to have two kinds of people in your party to take this test. One of them has to be a genuine idiot, the other kind are two children. Unfortunately one those three need to be from my family."
"An idiot and two children?" Zelgadis repeated thoughtfully. "We have two of those and the third?"
"Hey, Ari, how would you like to go on a little adventure?" Lina asked the little girl.
"Involving children in our adventures isn't right, Miss Lina," Amelia declared. Lina and Zelgadis shot her a look that immediately forestalled any further outbursts.
"I'd love to," the girl told the cheerfully. Lina gave a shout for joy and was about to drag her from the store when what the girl said next stopped them all dead in their tracks. "But I can't, after all he is a Mazoku, an envoy for the demonic powers."
"What are you talking about?" Lina asked in pathetic attempt to bluff.
"I'm pretty sure you know what I'm talking about," Ari informed them condescendingly, or at least as condescendingly as one of her age could. "Your companion there is a Mazoku and for that reason I can't allow you to enter the Temple."
"You mean Xelloss here? You don't have to worry about him, if he tries anything we'll just beat the crap out of him," Lina assured the girl, ignoring the priest's muttered 'thanks'.
"Mommy told me that we aren't allowed to let those touched by demonic or godly power inside," the girl continued with marked obstinacy. She glared at Xelloss who returned her stare with an amiable smile. "What would you do if I did take you?" this was directed at the cheerful Mazoku.
"That is a secret." An assortment of groans and muttered curses answered his trademark reply.
"No it isn't," Ari retorted hotly. "You were sent with them to destroy the knowledge about the demon race and most likely obtain the secrets of the Dark Priestess' resurrection."
A deathly silence followed her statement and everyone turned to stare at Xelloss who stood there looking harmless and innocent. He gave a small shrug of his shoulders before winking at them all.
"If he doesn't come will you take the rest of us?" Zelgadis asked. The girl nodded absently, her full attention resting on the priest. "Then that settles it, sorry Xelloss but I'm afraid you can't come."
"That hurts, you're so eager to be rid of me, Zelgadis," Xelloss replied with acidic humor. "Well, if I'm not invited then I won't come. Hope you all have a pleasant journey." With that he phased out and a collective sigh of relief was heard.
"Okay, let's get to that Temple," Amelia and Lina declared, the latter grabbed Ari's hand and dragged the startled girl out to the rest.
"I have to tell my parents," the girl cried. The sorceress let her scrawl a quick note before picking her up and tossing her on one of the less burdened horses.
* * * *
"Xelloss gave in too easily," Zelgadis muttered to Lina as they walked beneath the verdant canopy overhead. "He's up to something."
"He's always up to something," Filia replied with a scorn. "When isn't his race doing something or other to destroy the world or create misery for the rest of us?"
"Do you think he'd destroy the knowledge of the demons and gods?" Amelia asked with a mixture of anger and outrage.
"Who knows," Lina remarked. A musing look suffused her countenance as she pondered the enigma that was Xelloss.
* * * *
Thanks for reading, I hope it's interesting so far. Please review and tell me what you think.
PS. Don't own nuthin' because I'm a poor, poor writer. So don't sue unless you want a piece of old felt and a used Kleenex.