Disclaimer: I own only my OCs, and I guess maybe the plot. Nothing else. So there!

AN: And so the second episode is here! I do hope you enjoy Lina's first days on the job and her interaction with the various people of Mahora, etc… Still a little slow here, sorry!

Review Responses:

Robby Cartwright: Nice to see you enjoyed it! Don't worry, I plan on keeping up the good stuff, dood!

tojaka: What will happen now, you ask? Read and find out, dood! And, in response to your PM, neither Naga nor Martina will show up... most likely. Even I have to admit that that'd be hilarious, though... And no, Eva doesn't know Gaav/Garv- They're from different worlds, after all! (And even if she did, he's already dead anyway)

lord Martiya: Yup, low power setting. That and comedic effect. Yeah, I am fairly interested in that Eva info, though I'm not sure if I'll be able to use it in the fic or not. Send me a PM maybe and I'll see.

Dark Lord Sigma and MASmaster: Glad ya like the comedy, expect more dood! Yeah, I guess that foreshadowing with Chao was pretty obvious, eh, dood? And you can thank my hard work by keeping up the good work on your fic(s), dood. :)

All that said, let's get it on!

Episode 2: Teachers, Dodgeballs, and Bears, Oh My!

1111111

1111 PE Fields 1111

"I'm Lina Inverse, and I'm your new PE instructor! A pleasure to meet you all!" Lina shouted authoritatively to the class of 2A, Chachazero present on her head. "I'm a little new at this teaching thing, but I hope we can all have a good class together! Now, just hang on a sec while I take roll…"

And as Lina did this, the girls of 2A talked with each other and expressed their reactions. For the most part, they were excited and curious. However, a select few had slightly different opinions…

Kaede Nagase, Setsuna Sakurazaki, and Mana Tatsumiya were all quite aware of her power, and were a little wary, especially after yesterday's 'Magical Energy Spike' incident. True, the Dean had later on that day told them that it was nothing to be concerned about, but still.

Eva was gaping at the thought of the ever-irritating (well, in her opinion anyway) redhead actually being her TEACHER. The evil glint Eva swore that she saw in Lina's eye at some point during the roll, a point wherein her eyes shifted almost unnoticeably to Eva for a split second, did NOT help the vamp's mood much.

Chachamaru made sure to update her databanks so as to refer to Lina as 'Lina-sensei' from now on, rather than 'Lina-san.' Also, she really couldn't help but hope that Lina and her mistress would get along… despite the rather low percentage of such an occurrence that her calculations showed.

Chao found herself wondering if Lina would make a good ally… ah, but that's for another time.

As Lina finished the roll, she called out, "Before we begin, does anyone have any questions for me?"

Resident news reporter Kazumi Asakura almost immediately asked, "Where are you from and do you have a boyfriend?"

"None of your business and if you ask again you're running extra laps." Lina stated in a deadpan tone.

The student Asuna Kagurazaka then asked, "Aren't you a little young to be a teacher?" 'Seriously, she looks like she should be in high school!'

"I'm 18. So yeah, maybe a little, but tough luck, Kagurazaka. Next!"

Haruna Saotome, class pervert (eh, more or less), asked, "Are you a lesbian?"

An awkward moment of silence passed. Eva stifled a laugh. A crow cawed in the distance, likely the same one Lina heard yesterday. And as Lina answered, she made a note to herself to find that crow and kill it later.

"…Why the HELL would you ask something like that?" She blushed a bit, though whether it was in embarrassment or anger was debatable.

"Well, because of that rumor that female PE teachers are lesbians!" (1)

"…You're basing this off a rumor?" Lina deadpanned.

"Yeah."

"You're running ten extra laps after class today."

"But!" Haruna whined.

"Alright, that's enough questions for now, just go and run a couple of laps around the field."

The class went to do so, Lina keeping an eye out to make sure that no one slacked off.

"…That was evil of you, Lina-sama! I liked it!" commented Zero, referring to Haruna's punishment. She then asked, "What would you have done if mistress had been lazy?"

"…I would've threatened to force-feed her garlic while she slept." Lina responded, smirking.

"Ouch." Zero said, amused.

Meanwhile, Haruna, while running, muttered, "She's totally a lesbian."

"I HEARD THAT SAOTOME! NOW YOU'RE RUNNING 20 EXTRA LAPS AFTER CLASS!"

1111 The next day, Dean's Office 1111

Lina, dressed again in a white t-shirt and grey sweatpants, yawned a little. She had been up last night enjoying the thing known as 'television.' She didn't have it back on her world, and she had to admit, it was pretty cool. As a result, she had stayed up and watched some random horror movies with Zero, who probably enjoyed the death/killing scenes a little too much. Lina and Eva had even gotten into another fight at one point, caused by Lina turning up the volume too loud… which, of course, she did just to piss off Eva. But, I digress….

Lina was in the office to tell Konoemon what she had figured out regarding the plans of the Mazoku. Zero, much to the little doll's distress, had been removed from her (beloved) Lina-sama's head for the time being, and was waiting outside the office. Konoemon began business by casting some kind of silencing spell, so as to keep the info confidential. It was not an issue last time, as there were no listeners, but this time, Zero needed to be kept out of things.

Konoemon started, "So what is it that you wanted to tell me, Lina-san?"

"I know why those Mazoku wanted to come here now." Lina said, completely serious.

"I see…"

"Yeah. They're after a fragment of a powerful demonic god from my world called Shabranigdo."

"Oh, that can't be good… but what would a fragment of a god from your world be doing here?"

"I don't know, old man. It just is."

"Alright… where is this fragment?"

"It's sealed inside a human somewhere in this world."

"Do you know where, exactly?"

"No… for all I know it's sealed in some random guy halfway across the planet from here."

"I see…"

"But, on the other hand old man, I am getting this weird feeling that it may actually be somewhere in the academy… women's intuition, I guess…."

"Well, no matter where this fragment may be, the mages of Mahora will assist you in stopping its release, Lina-san."

"Thanks old man."

And as this conversation finished, the serious atmosphere dispersed. Zero was let into the room and regained her position atop Lina's cranium, much to the Dean's amusement.

Then, Konoemon said, "Oh yes, I just remembered… was that large explosion in the woods last night caused by you, Lina-san?"

Zero looked quite proud of her Lina-sama at the reminder, and blushed at the memory of the 'glorious destruction,' while Lina herself had the decency to look a bit sheepish, "Uh… yeah, it was." Her face returning to its regular expression, she asked, "I was actually wondering why you didn't send security or something."

"Hohoho. I considered doing so, but then decided that if were a threat, then Evangeline and Chachamaru would probably have dealt with it. And of course, it also occurred to me that it may have been you… hohoho!"

Suddenly, the trio in the office found themselves jumping in surprise as they heard a voice outside cry, "HAS THIS WHOLE SCHOOL GONE MENTAL!"

"…That sounded like Kagurazaka." Commented Lina, who vaguely remembered the orange-haired girl's voice from that question she'd asked yesterday.

And, in a few minutes, Lina, Konoemon, and Zero found themselves joined by Asuna, Konoka, and a young boy named Negi. Negi and Konoemon talked for a bit. During this time, Lina wondered why a ten year old would be a teacher. Asuna groaned to herself at the thought of having another young teacher. I mean, she could take Lina somewhat since the redhead WAS 18, but this kid? Who had embarrassed the hell out of her, no less? Not so much. And as for Zero, she was thinking thoughts regarding Lina that may or may not have been lewd, I dunno, I wasn't really paying attention.

Who WOULD pay attention, after the ample-chested Shizuna came in and greeted Negi?… and of course the lucky bastard was just the right height to get squished between her breasts.

Anyway, following a little more discussion, Konoemon asked to speak with just Negi and Lina, and so the room vacated.

"Well Negi-kun, this is one of your coworkers, Lina Inverse-san. She is new here like you and I do hope you two can help each other out when you can, as being new in a place like this can be quite taxing."

Negi bowed to Lina. "Greetings, Lina-san."

"Nice ta meet ya, kid." Lina said nonchalantly, then, looking up, "You say something too Zero."

"Hi!" said the doll. Negi looked a bit surprised that Zero could talk.

"Oh yes Negi-kun, Lina-san here is a mage, just as you are."

A look of understanding crossed the young boy's face.

"…You know kid, did it ever occur to you that maybe carrying around that staff might be a little suspicious?"

Another awkward moment of silence, and another random crow caw.

'…That bird's as good as cooked…' Yeah, three's the charm for Lina. The bird had to die later.

Getting back to business, Negi looked a tad embarrassed. "Um…well, no, I suppose it didn't…"

Lina sighed and walked over to Negi, and patted him on the head. "You've got a lot to learn, kid." And then she made her way out of the office "Later!"

1111 Later, Welcoming Party 1111

Class 2A had decided to throw a party for their two new teachers. Well, mostly Negi due to most of the class finding him adorable, but Lina was lucky enough to be able to cash in on things.

In other words, she ate food. A LOT of food. Much of which was meat buns made by Chao and Satsuki. Guess who their new favorite customer is?

Lina, having finished stuffing her face, was sitting a little ways away from the action now, Zero in her usual spot. Lina was still in her 'PE teacher outfit.' Eva and Chachamaru soon joined them.

"…And you're sitting here WHY, Eva?" Lina asked, drinking a soda.

"Because, INVERSE, I find you more bearable than these idiot girls, if only barely." Eva replied, sipping tea.

"Aw, I feel so honored," Lina answered sarcastically.

"Screw you, Inverse," Eva retorted, tick mark present.

"Bite me, Eva." Lina developed a tick mark of her own.

"Don't tempt me…"

The two dysfunctional housemates glared at each other lightly and then proceeded to ignore the other. Chachamaru sighed a bit. Zero looked a little disappointed, likely because she wanted another fight to break out.

And from there things went on fairly normally. Or they would have, except that Class 2A doesn't really qualify as 'normal' except maybe by an insane lunatic's standards.

1111 Later that night, Eva's Cottage 1111

Lina was cooking dinner for herself. As she did this, Eva, smelling something odd, walked in.

"…What's that smell?" The loli inquired.

"Roasted crow." Lina replied nonchalantly, continuing her cooking and mostly ignoring the vamp. Zero, sitting in a nearby chair, giggled a little. (2)

Eva gave her houseguest a funny look before deciding that she was probably better off not knowing.

1111 The next day, PE fields 1111

Lina knew something was up. Hard not to when half your class is in a daze.

'… What, did they all sleep in or something?' The redhead thought to herself somewhat sarcastically.

Lina decided to just take roll. Eva walked past her as she did so, muttering 'love potion' just loud enough for the redhead to hear.

'Ah, that explains it… Why do I get the feeling that that kid Negi is involved?' The new teacher thought to herself with a half-lidded gaze.

Finishing roll call, she yelled, "Alright ladies, I don't know what happened and I don't care. Just run some laps, maybe that'll wake y'all up. AND NO FALLING ASLEEP!"

The portion of the class that wasn't something along the lines of 'drunk' did so readily. The part of the class that was 'drunk' groaned a bit before complying.

Lina grumbled something under her breath. She got the feeling that things would only get more bizarre from here. She idly considered asking (read: persuading) Konoemon to give her a raise.

Then the sorceress felt something. And it felt… familiar…. She turned around quickly, eyeing a tree behind her. She could've sworn she saw something disappear. As if to confirm her thought that something was there, a few leaves fluttered down, disturbed.

'Hmmm…' Lina thought, before asking Zero, present on her head as usual (I think by now I probably don't need to keep repeating this, do I?), "Zero, did you feel something…?"

"Yeah, Lina-sama, I did. I wonder what it was?"

"…If it was what I think it was, you may get the chance to kill something soon."

"Really? Yay! You're the best, Lina-sama!"

1111 Unknown Location 1111

In a dark, damp place elsewhere, a place that looked quite similar to an overly-spacious sewer, a familiar shadowy being was brooding.

It was Umbra. And soon Dezga appeared beside him.

"… I (yawn) found Inverse, sir. She's a teacher or something now, it looks like."

"Really now? Interesting… did you find any of her pesky friends?"

"No, sir (yawn)."

Umbra narrowed his eyes, seeming to glare at nothing in particular, pausing a moment.

"… Does anyone (yawn) reading this even remember us?" Dezga suddenly inquired, sleepily. (3)

"They should, it's only been two chapters… AND STOP BREAKING THE FOURTH WALL!" Umbra muttered, then yelled, in an annoyed fashion.

"Alright, alright, sheesh…" Dezga looked around for a minute, "… (yawn) Where's Kragoss?"

"I don't know or really particularly care. Last I saw he was trying to catch and eat sewer rats."

"KRAGOSS GOT YOU NOW, CHEESEBURGER!" A shout echoed from elsewhere in the sewer.

"…And the idiot appears to be under the impression that the rats are cheeseburgers…" Umbra muttered, becoming ever more irritated. Ignoring his more idiotic minion, he turned back to Dezga.

"Bring me an animal or something. I don't care where you get it from, but get one."

"(Yawn) Why, sir?"

"Oh, you'll see soon enough…" Despite having no apparent mouth, the fact that Umbra was smirking was undeniable.

Dezga teleported away to do his job, muttering, "This better be worth skipping my nap…" as he did so.

1111 The next day (again…), Hot Springs/Bathhouse 1111

"Aaaah… This feels so good…" Lina said, enjoying her bath. She'd heard about this place some time ago but hadn't really gotten around to trying it out until now. Zero, being made of wood, was sitting nearby. Whether the blush on the doll's face was the result of the heat or possibly something else (nudge nudge, wink wink) was debatable. (4)

And then Lina's relaxation time was interrupted as Asuna stormed in and tossed Negi into the water with a splash. The two didn't really notice Lina, too busy with their own devices, until,

"Ahem." Lina stated.

"Geh!" Asuna and Negi jumped.

"L-Lina-sensei?"

"Lina-san?"

"Wow, ya guys finally noticed me. Too busy flirting or what?"

Asuna blushed and sputtered something incoherent at this, and Negi himself looked pretty embarrassed as well.

"Stop being all embarrassed and do whatever you came in here to do, just don't bother me." Lina told them, trying to get back in her 'happy place.'

The young mage and his, uh, retainer (yeah, let's go with that) complied, still blushing a bit.

And then yet another interruption came in the form of EVERY girl in the class deciding to walk in and bathe for whatever reason. As the outside commotion neared, Asuna whispered a "Please don't tell them we're here." To Lina as she and Negi ducked behind a plant to hide.

'Eh, why not… but they totally owe me later.' Lina thought to herself with a smirk.

The girls of 2A settled into the bath, most saying 'Hi, Lina-sensei' or something to that effect before returning to their own devices. Eva set herself down beside Lina again.

"…You're sitting by me because you find me more bearable than the other girls, right Eva?" Lina asked the loli.

"Yes Inverse, if only barely. Any particular reason why you're asking?"

"Well, considering the mindset of a lot of the girls in this class…" Lina began.

"You think they're going to misconstrue something, don't you Inverse?" Eva finished, before scoffing, "If that happens, they're all dead meat."

"Maybe Eva, but not before our reps are shot straight to hell."

"…" Eva inched away from Lina slightly. "…Satisfied now, Inverse?"

"Eh, I guess that's enough space to be safe…"

And as this conversation finished, the vamp and sorceress then became witness to a moment that Lina would find hilarious for ages to come… the 'Asuna Breast Inflation' incident. Oh yes, this was a night that would live in infamy, as Lina (while noting that, unsurprisingly, Asuna knew about magic) and Zero laughed their asses off at the sight (luckily, Zero went unnoticed by the girls) and even Eva found herself snickering a bit.

Yeah, tonight was a good night…

1111 The next day (yet again…), Eva's Cottage 1111

It was afterschool, and as Negi tutored the 'Baka Rangers,' Lina was browsing through some books of Eva's, most of which were magic-related.

"Hey Eva, ya mind if I read some of your books?" She yelled to the vamp, thinking, 'It would probably be a good idea to learn about this world's magic…'

"Whatever, Inverse," Came the vamp's answer to Lina's question, "Just keep them in good shape or you're dead."

"Bring it on, Eva…" The redhead muttered under her breath as she took out a book and found a place to read. Suffice to say, some of the stuff she read about was quite fascinating… (cough) Pactio (cough).

1111 Later that Night, the Sewer-like Place 1111

"Alright sir, here's an (yawn) animal. Now what?" Dezga said, having brought in a large bear. Said bear wore a collar with the word 'Archie' engraved on it. How odd.

"(whimper) (whimper)" cowered the bear in fear.

"… Dezga, are you aware of a little something known as 'willpower'?" Umbra asked, looking at the bear, apparently named 'Archie,' menacingly.

"Yeah, sir. Why?"

"Well, let me tell you something. There are three levels of willpower. The first is the 'Intelligent Being' level. Intelligent creatures, such as humans, have a great amount of will; this level is the strongest. The second is the 'Animal' level. Unintelligent creatures, such as this bear, have some semblance of will, but not enough intelligence to use it; they mainly run on instinct. The last level is the 'Sleeping' level. Sleeping or dormant beings have no will to speak of until they awaken. You got this all so far?" Umbra explained. (5)

"Yeah. So, this (yawn) bear is in that second level. So…?"

"Well, you see, I have an interesting little ability I like to call 'Corruption,' which allows me to mutate and take control of living things," Umbra continued explaining, his tone growing ever more menacing, "And depending on the strength of will the creature I use it on has, they have varying ability to resist 'corruption.' And a second level being like 'Archie' here…" Umbra raised a hand, "… Is rather easy for me to corrupt…" Umbra made his way toward the whimpering Archie, placing his hand upon its head.

ZAAAAP!

Tendrils of darkness spread over Archie's form as the process of Corruption began.

"(WHIMPER) (WHIMPER)"

"HAHAHAHAHAHA!"

"…This is creepy…" Dezga muttered, "…Like a rape scene or something…"

After a long, agonizing, half-minute or so, the process was complete, and a new being lurked in the shadows where Archie once was. Umbra turned to Dezga.

"Dezga, meet… Shadow Bear." Turning back to 'Shadow Bear,' the mutated creature growling, Umbra then ordered, "Now, my creation… KILL LINA INVERSE!"

"Kill… Lina Inverse…" The being parroted, before making its way out of the lair.

After a few moments, Dezga then lazily commented, "Well (yawn), better Shadow Bear than Pedobear…"

Umbra turned to the lazy Mazoku, bearing a deadpan expression.

"…What?" Dezga inquired. Umbra just shook his head and slithered away.

1111 The next day (here we go again…), Mahora Quad (I think) 1111

Various students relaxed in the greenery, sun shining brightly. Among them were Class 2A's 'sports girls,' Makie Sasaki, Yuna Akashi, Akira Okochi, and Ako Izumi, who were playing volleyball.

"So what do you guys think of our new teachers so far?" Asked Makie, passing the ball to Akira.

"Well, Lina-sensei's a little strict, but seems quite nice." Akira passed it to Yuna. "And Negi-bozu is pretty cute."

"Yeah, and Negi-kun tries pretty hard." Yuna hit it to Ako.

"Well, even though Negi-sensei is cute," Ako caught and kept the ball, "It'd be nice if we could rely on him a little more for advice like Lina-sensei or Takahata-sensei. I mean, he IS our homeroom teacher, even if he is a kid." She hit it to Yuna.

"I don't see what the big deal is, since this is an elevator school anyway." Yuna bounced it to Makie.

"Yeah, but like Ako-chan said," Makie missed and the ball hit and rolled on the ground, "Lina-sensei would be better for advice… and heck, Negi-kun might actually have to ask US for advice! Hee!" As she moved to pick up the volleyball, she noticed a group of girls standing by it... Senior student girls.

Cue squabble, during which Ako and Makie ran off to get Negi.

Now, as all this occurred, Lina was making her way to the quad, intending to pass through it on her way elsewhere. Noticing the fight breaking out, she was going to step in and end it (read: give the seniors a good ass whooping), but…

"Stop picking on my students!" Negi yelled, rushing to the scene. "I-I'll get mad if you keep doing this! A-And picking on others isn't nice!"

Lina just gave a deadpan expression upon seeing this. '…That was pathetic…'

Deciding that Negi would need the experience as a result of his display, she opted to let him take care of things and sat back and watched the action. She found it all rather amusing, really, Zero even more so.

Eventually, Takamichi arrived and ended the fighting. He walked over to Lina.

"Hello, you're Lina-san, right?"

"Yeah, that's me. Hmmm… You seem kinda familiar, by the way…" The redhead vaguely remembered someone looking like him, but couldn't quite put her finger on why.

"Well, I was the one who found you that day."

"Oh yeah! I remember now! So, you're Takamichi, right?" She remembered the day she got here a little more clearly now, and also recalled the name of the person Konoemon said found her.

"Yep, that's me Lina-san." Takamichi said, a small smile on his face. It turned into a neutral expression as he continued, "Now, I was actually wondering why you didn't step in to stop the seniors."

"Ah, come on Takamichi, did you SEE Negi's pathetic little attempt at authority? I figured he could stand to build a little character, you know?"

"Hm… I suppose you do have a point Lina-san."

"Damn right I do! And I get the feeling those girls aren't finished yet…"

"Mm-hm…" Takamichi nodded a little in agreement.

"…Takamichi, you know those seniors, right? When do you think they'll be back?"

"…Probably around your PE period or so."

"I see… Takamichi, can you tell the old man I'm taking the rest of the day off? And to have Negi sub?"

"Alright, sure… but why?" Takamichi asked, confused.

"Because if you're right about when the seniors'll be back, then if I'm there, Negi won't be able to grow, you know? He needs this." Lina said, serious look present. It then changed to a lighter-hearted one, "And besides, I still haven't gotten around to seeing much of the campus yet!"

Takamichi laughed a bit. "Don't worry, Lina-san. I've got it."

"Thanks, Takamichi. Alright, see ya!" And Lina ran off.

"…Lina-sama, are you sure we can't at least watch the action?" Zero asked, referring to the fight that was sure to break out between sempais and kohais.

"Yes, I'm sure Zero. Sorry!"

"Awww…"

"Relax, Zero! On the bright side, we can see that new horror movie you wanted to watch! What was it called… Splice, I think?" (6)

"Oh, true… Thanks, Lina-sama!"

1111 Mahora streets 1111

Lina was currently in search of the campus movie theater in order to watch the previously-mentioned movie. The streets were rather deserted since classes were still in session. And yet, oddly…

"…Lina-sensei?" came a whisper.

The redhead jumped, and whirled around to see… nothing. She stopped a moment. 'Weird…'

"Lina-sensei?" the whisper came again, this time a little clearer.

"Okay, I know I heard something that time…" Lina muttered, "What about you, Zero?"

"I think I heard something…"

"Lina-sensei!" Okay, THAT was pretty damn clear!

"Alright then…" Lina looked all around, and, failing to find anything, let loose a little magical energy, which inadvertently seeped into Zero as well.

And, lo and behold… there was a ghost girl floating a little ways away!

"LINA-SENSEI!" The girl shouted rather loudly.

"ALRIGHT, ALRIGHT I HEAR AND SEE YOU! Geez…"

"You… You can see me…?" The ghost girl said, clearly excited.

"Yeah, yeah… hey, you're Aisaka, aren't you?" 'Well, that'd explain why I've never seen her in class…'

"Yes… Yes!" resident ghost of Class 2A, Sayo Aisaka, shouted happily, "You can see me!" And then she tried to hug Lina… only to pass through her. "… Awww…" She seemed slightly dejected.

Lina shivered a little at the sensation, then reached a hand to the ghost. "Hey, don't worry kid! You'll be able to touch things someday… well, probably anyway."

"Oh, um… Thanks Lina-sensei… um… will you be my friend?"

"Sure, why not? Just, no possessing me, alright?" Lina said, remembering that one incident that occurred soon after meeting Amelia. (7)

"Don't worry Lina-sensei, I would never do something like that…"

"Good. Zero, you'll be Aisaka's friend too, right?"

"Sure. Can we go see Splice now?"

"Alright, alright. You wanna come, Aisaka?"

Sayo nodded and floated beside Lina and Zero as they made their way to the theater.

1111 Rooftop courts 1111

Lina and Takamichi's 'plan' worked out nicely, as now Negi, as well as most of Class 2A, was up against the seniors in a dodgeball game. Of course, there were some who weren't participating… such as Eva and Chachamaru for instance, who were wondering where exactly Lina was.

However, at the moment, we will focus on two girls in particular: Mana Tatsumiya, resident gun-slinging priestess (at the moment cleaning one of her guns), and Zazie Rainyday, resident silent (mostly) acrobat. Zazie moved to sit beside Mana.

"…" She… 'said.'

"…What's wrong, Zazie? You seem a little down." Mana questioned.

"… Archie was kidnapped…" Zazie said, a sad note clear in her quiet voice.

"You mean that bear in your circus?" Zazie had taken Mana to her 'Nightmare Circus' a few times, so the priestess recognized the name of the circus bear somewhat. "How was he kidnapped?" (8)

"…His cage bars were slashed open…"

"What? Slashed open? But how?"

"…" The acrobat offered no answer, not knowing how.

"…Strange…" Mana muttered, before returning to cleaning her gun.

She found herself wondering why she suddenly had a very bad feeling….

1111 Forest 1111

"Man… Why'd they have to be sold out of tickets…?" Zero whined.

"Oh relax, Zero. They'll restock."

"Lina-sensei's right Zero-san. Just be patient."

"But I really wanted to see it…"

Such was the conversation the trio of Lina, Zero, and Sayo had as they waltzed through the woods. The movie they had went to see was, obviously, sold out, and so Lina opted to just do a little more sightseeing and then go home instead. Actually, they were on their way home right now.

CRACK!

… Or at least they were, until that sound reached their ears.

"What was that!" Lina shouted. Whatever it was, it sounded big.

"Kill…" Came an intimidating voice as the racket continued, something stomping through the brush.

CRACK! CRASH!

"Lina-sensei, I'm scared!" Sayo shouted over the noise, hiding behind the sorceress.

"Will I get to kill something Lina-sama?" Zero asked excitedly.

"Yeah, I'm getting that feeling…"

CRASH! CRASH! CRASH!

And the mystery creature revealed itself to be…

"ROAAAAR! KILL LINA INVERSE!" Shouted the monster, now revealed to be an extremely large, inky black bear with glowing yellow eyes.

…Curiously, it wore a spiked collar with the word 'Archie' engraved on it.

'Ah, crap…' Lina thought as she prepared for battle.

"ROAAAAR!"

11111111

Next time:

Lina: Dammit, does ANYTHING work against this bastard!

Archie: ROAAAR! KILL LINA INVERSE!

Mana: Looks like you could use some help, Lina-sensei!

Lina: YA THINK!

Lina:… And to top it all off, Library Island? I wonder if there's treasure there?

11111111

…And the second episode ends with a cliffy! Aren't I evil, dood? MWAHAHAHA! Anyways, hope y'all enjoyed the chap, be sure to review, and catch ya later, doods!

Notes:

(1) I really couldn't help myself with this. I just heard the rumor and thought it'd be funny.

(2) Couldn't really help myself here either. I wonder what roasted crow tastes like?

(3) Seriously, DOES anyone out there remember these guys?

(4) I really like to emphasize Zero's fangirlish-ness regarding Lina a lot, don't I?

(5) Honestly, I made that all up off the top of my head.

(6) Again, I couldn't help myself, I thought it would be fairly fitting. Has anyone reading this seen that movie, by the way? What was it like?

(7) Referring to Season 1, Episode 12 of Slayers, for anyone who's curious.

(8) I guess Archie is technically an OC. If you think about it though, it would make sense for Zazie's circus to have stuff like that.

... It also occurs to me that the title is a reference to something, I think the Wizard of Oz, and that this chap has A LOT of notes. Sheesh...