Broken Nightmares
Act 7: Take Off! Separated on the Way
By: Sora Kazeno
Lina washed her face for the umpteenth time. No matter how many times she thought it over she always came to the same conclusions. The first rays of light crept through the window. It was finally time to head to the temple.
Everyone sat around the table waiting and wondering where Lina was. The door slammed open and Lina entered the room. She appeared disheveled. She plopped down into an empty chair. "The way I see it, I have three options on what can happen." Lina said as she emphasized her point be holding up three fingers. "The first one is to sit around and wait for Kakken to find me. The second one is to cast the Giga Slave to stop Kakken since no other magic has worked on her. Or the third option is to seal the spell. Since I am not about to sit around and wait for death the first option is out. I could cast the Giga Slave against Kakken but that is what started this mess by miscasting the spell. That is the backup plan if all else fails. The one that might actually work is to seal the spell."
"But Lina-san sealing a spell is very dangerous," Sylphiel stated as she listed to Lina's choices.
"So you want me to cast the Giga Slave again and hope it doesn't go out of control?" Lina asked as she turned her gaze to face her.
"That isn't what I meant!" Sylphiel exclaimed as she felt her cheeks flush. "It just there has to be a less dangerous way of stopping this."
"I can't find one. If anyone else has any ideas let me know. I've been up all night thinking about it and that is what I came up with," said Lina as she looked at the others in the room.
No one spoke or moved.
"So I guess that is the plan," stated Zelgadis. "We'll continue to see if we can come up with something Lina."
His sentence was met with silence. "Lina?"
She didn't respond. She was sound asleep.
"I guess she really was up all night," Amelia said as she looked at her sleeping friend. "Maybe we should let her sleep for a few hours first. If she's exhausted she isn't going to be able to do much."
"What do you think of Lina's assessment?" Zelgadis asked the others.
"We have to do everything we can to save Lina," said Gourry without hesitation. "We've made it this far so we need to finish it."
"I just wonder if we are missing something, " said Naaga.
"There has to be some other alternative that we're missing," Zelgadis stated as he stared in the distance. "I keep having this feeling that we're missing something too and it seems too simple."
"I know what you mean," Amelia said in agreement. "Lina-san isn't telling us something," She turned her attention to Sylphiel. "Is there anything else you can tell us about sealing magic?"
Sylphiel sat quietly before she said, "it is extremely dangerous for the spell caster. However, only the spell caster is at risk whereas everyone is at risk if the Giga Slave is cast."
"So Lina was correct, the question becomes which spell does she have a better chance of succeeding?" Zelgadis wondered out loud.
"That's right! Where's Lina-san!" Amelia chimed in.
Xellos remained silent and shook his head no.
Sylphiel gasped and fell to her knees.
The Lord of Nightmares turned her attention to the group of individuals that stood before her. "I appeared on this world because the once called Lina willed me too." Her voice was monotone. "She sacrificed all that she was…" Her gazed turned to one man as she raised her arm to point at him, "all to save that man's life." She continued to point at him as she spoke, "the wish that the girl named Lina sent me… her honest thoughts, her pure heart… because of those thoughts, I am here now."
Amelia looked up at the Lord of Nightmares as she spoke, "she sacrificed all that she was…?"
Zelgadis began to yell at the Lord of Nightmares in response. "Are you saying that's what Lina wanted?"
"The polar opposite of nothingness is existence," said Xellos as he looked at the others. "In other words, when a pure wish is made by existence to call forth oblivion, it must itself return to oblivion." He looked his head slightly as finished, "I suppose that's to maintain balance."
Tears began to stream down Sylphiel's face. "Then… Lina-san… What about Lina-san?" Sylphiel yelled at the Lord of Nightmares in disbelief.
"The chaos that exists within me… has consumed her," explained the Lord of Nightmares as she turned away from them.
"Damn it!" Zelgadis yelled at her dropped to his knees and slammed his granite hard fist into the ground.
"It can't be true!" Gourry shouted at the retreating form of Lina engulfed in a golden light.
"Gourry," said Zelgadis as he stood up to stand next to him to comfort him over the loss.
"I don't know what's going on here, but if Lina's disappeared, I want it all undone!" Gourry shouted at the Lord of Nightmares. "I want it undone!" He yelled again as he took a step forward with his hands raised.
"That's right!" Martina chimed in. "What's the point of you saving all of us and Gourry if you aren't here anymore!" She questioned the Dark Lord.
The Lord of Nightmares started at them blankly. She did not respond.
"That's right," Zelgadis said in agreement with Martina. "That's exactly right."
The Lord of Nightmares still did not respond to their statements.
"Lina!" Gourry shouted as he called out to the retreating form. "Wake Up!" He continued to yell at her. "LINA!"
She did not respond to any of his outbursts. Her body began to slowly levitate upwards. The ground beneath began to crack and break apart.
"LINAA!" Gourry continued to yell attempting to get through to her. "LINAAAA!" He began to scream as he became frantic at the thought of losing her. "Wake up! Lina! You belong here with me! Not inside that pay-off!"
"I'm right here!" Lina yelled as she stretched her arm out. The gesture caused her to fall out of the chair and onto the floor. The chair fell out top of her.
The sound of footsteps approached rapidly.
"Lina!"
"Lina-san!"
Feeling sheepish she fell out of her chair to have another nightmare about the events of that evening, Lina quickly removed the chair from on top of her. She has half way off the floor before the others entered the room.
"Lina-san we heard a lot crash; are you okay?" Amelia asked as she rushed to her side.
"I'm fine," stated Lina and she rose to her feet. She brushed some dust off her clothes. "We need to get going."
"Who were you calling out to?" Zelgadis asked.
Lina felt the temperature in her cheeks rise, "I don't know what you're talking about." She turned her direction to the window and looked at the position of the sun in sky. "We need to hurry before Kakken finds us again."
It was obvious Lina was not going to discuss what her nightmare was about it. Zelgadis knew if he pressed the issue she still wouldn't budge because that is the type of person Lina is.
"You wanted to speak with me?" Rowdy asked as Drake approached him.
"I want to go to the temple with them. I want to do everything I can to help them," said Drake as he walked closer to his father.
"This isn't your fight."
"Nor is it Gourry's but he is also going."
"That would be incorrect," Rowdy said as he pulled a book from the shelf.
"What do you mean?"
"So you haven't figured it out yet. Lina cast the Giga Slave to defeat Hellmaster. She cast the spell to save one man's life. A life she values more than her own."
Drake clenched his fist tight. "Regardless I still want to help them. They will need all the help can and they will not be able to find their way in the forest if Gourry is their guide."
Rowdy smirked. "That is true. It is your choice if you wish to go. I just want you to return in one piece. There are still big plans a head for you."
Lina took a deep breath of fresh air. She was attempting to clear her mind from what she saw earlier. Although the experience was terrifying at the same time she was glad to have seen more moments of the battle. It gave her more knowledge about the magic that belonged to the Dark Lord. If she used the Giga Slave again she would essentially be summoning the Lord of Nightmares to this world. By losing control of the spell once she summoned the Lord of Nightmares it allowed her to take control of Lina's body. This knowledge created even more pressure to seal the spell and not to cast the Giga Slave once more. The others talked around her but she ignored their comments.
Lina's eyes shifted to her companions. The longer she remained with them the more she placed them in danger. They might get in the way when the time came. Everything seemed simpler when she traveled by herself. Though it is helpful to know someone had her back. This made her reevaluate her thoughts. Kakken seemed to come out of nowhere to attack. Without their help she never would have been able to cast the Raguna Blade against her. The magic was not powerful enough to defeat her but it did buy them some time. The more she thought about it the more it made sense to stick together.
"You seem really quiet," said Drake as he walked up to Lina.
"Umm, yeah. Just trying to stay focused," Lina said. She tried to redirect her thoughts. "How much further do we have until we reach the river on the map?"
Drake pulled out a sheet of paper to consult. "It doesn't look like it is too much further. We can be there in a little while. It has been two days since we last saw her."
"Yeah. It makes me wonder how much longer we have until she shows up," Lina said as her eyes shifted around the woods. "I keep thinking she is going to show up out of now where.
"You don't have to wait any longer Lina."
The voice made her freeze in her tracks. After the shock wore off she whipped around to face her adversary.
"You recovered faster than I thought," Lina said. "Most people don't get up and walk away from that attack."
"I'm not most people. If you want to stop me you can't hold back Lina Inverse," Kakken said. "You seem to think that mid-level magic is enough. Perhaps it is time I demonstrate the type of magic you will need." Kakken raised her right hand as rays of gold and black formed.
Sylphiel prepared a defensive spell as the other took a battle stance.
"Here we go again," Zelgadis said with his sword raised. "Drake, do you have the location memorized?"
"Pretty much," said Drake with his own sword raised.
"Good. We're going to need that knowledge," Zelgadis said as a ball of energy headed in his direction.
"We should use the forest to our advantage," said Lina as she eyed the space between trees to judge her surroundings. As she looked around she formed a plan. The trees could provide cover. She didn't have any other spells to try at this point. Lina knew their best approach at the moment would be to separate. Making Kakken angry would be the easiest way to make her lose concentration.
"I see you're still on the Lord of Nightmare's leash," Lina said with a smirk.
Kakken's jaw clenched. "Your cheap tricks won't work on me." She turned her attention to the others. "What I wonder is how well the forest would manage if was on fire…" Kakken smiled. She noticed the panic that began to set in on the faces of the others.
Naaga accepted her challenge by summoning magic of her own. "FREEZE ARROW!"
Kakken cocked her head to the right and missed the attack. "Not even close." Kakken began to mumble something under her breath.
Lina knew she was preparing for a spell and they didn't have a lot of time left. "We have to separate here. Keep going east toward the river and we will meet up there," Lina quickly explained to the others.
"Are you sure that's best?" Asked Amelia with doubt evident in her voice.
"It might be the best way to lose Kakken," Zelgadis said as he prepared to summon raywing for a quick escape.
"It might also be the best way for Lina to lose us too," Naaga said as she took a step forward. "She ran once odds are it will happen again as we get closer."
Sylphiel gasped at Naaga's statement. "That's not fair! Lina-san needs us."
The conversation distracted them from what happened next. The snap of wood redirected their attention to the start of the fire. It didn't take long for the flames to spread around them and seemed to dance from tree to tree.
"Come out wherever you are!" Kakken taunted them as she flew above them. She knew that would not try to fly above the fire since it would only take a matter of seconds for her to find them. Their only route of escape was through the maze of trees on fire.
Gourry searched the flames frantically for Lina. He was in disbelief that he had lost sight of her. He had avoided some other attacks from Kakken and the next thing he knew there was fire everywhere. He came across Sylphiel. "Are you okay?"
"Gourry-sama thank goodness!" Sylphiel exclaimed as she ran up to him. "We have to get out of here. Lina-san said earlier to head to the river. That is where we will find the others."
Gourry hesitated for a moment. He didn't want to abandon his search but he knew what Sylphiel had said made sense. He looked around the forest one more time and did not see any of his comrades. It was time to move on.
Zelgadis coughed from the smoke. The smoke was slowly thinning out ahead. The smoke was finally clearing. He heard little noise behind him indicating he was far from the battlefield or it ended. He wondered where the others were. The only thing he had to go on was the plan Lina spoke of. If Kakken were to find her she'd be a sitting duck.
"You seem a little lost," said Xellos as he seemed to appear out of thin air. Zelgadis quickly spun around in the direction of the voice. "You're timing is impeccable as always. For once I would like to see you around when there is danger."
"But what would be the fun of that?" Xellos asked with a smile. "I am merely an observer. It would be foolish for me to get in the way of the Lord of Nightmares."
"What is her real plan?" Asked Zelgadis as she began to feel is anger rise.
Xellos continued to look at Zelgadis with his all knowing smile, "sore wa himitsu desu."
"Is that all you can say?" Zelgadis yelled at him. He found a large rock and whipped it at him.
Xellos easily dodged the assault. "You might have been more willing to turn against your Master. But I would be a fool. The Lord of Nightmares is on an entirely different level than Rezo ever dreamed of."
Zelgadis felt his temper continue to rise but he knew what Xellos spoke of was true.
She cursed her height. She closed her eyes for a moment and strained her ears for the sound of water. She heard nothing. She could assume she was heading in the correct direction. She was no longer able to see the firestorm behind. A levitation spell would allow her to determine her location. However she would become a sitting duck. She looked to her right and saw a familiar sight.
"I was starting to think I was the only one that was able to get away," Naaga said to her.
The sound of thunder redirected their attention to the sky above them. Within seconds drops of water began to hit them.
"Well we need to get going," Naaga and was she began to walk to the right.
"You're going the wrong way!" Amelia exclaimed at Naaga's retreating form. "We need to go the other way."
"What makes you so sure?"
"I just came from that direction!" The drops of rain turned into a downpour. Amelia could feel her clothes becoming soaked and heavier.
Within seconds Naaga clothes were soaked. "Arguing isn't going to get us anywhere."
"How long have been in this area?" Amelia asked her.
"A while."
"So then lets go in the opposite direction I just came from because if we go back the other way we'll run into Kakken again."
Naaga ignored her younger sister's protests. "We'll just go ahead by air..." Naaga said as she paused for a moment ready to cast a spell.
"No!" Amelia yelled at her as she decreased the distance between them. "Are you crazy? Kakken is looking for us! She'll find us in a matter of seconds."
Naaga did not respond. She knew Amelia was correct. Her clothes were already soaked and she was running out of options. "Fine, we'll play it your way. But you're never going to hear the end of it if you're wrong."
"Gourry-sama are you sure you're going the right way?" Sylphiel asked her companion. The further they traveled the more spaced out the trees became. Her gut told her Gourry was not close to their destination. The sounds of the battle were far in the distance.
"I'm pretty sure this is the right direction. There is only so many ways we can go," said Gourry as he heard water running in the distance. "Lina said something about a river."
Sylphiel shifted her concentration to focus on the sounds around her. "Gourry-sama, I hear the sound of water!" Sylphiel felt her heart beam with pride at the thought of her beloved's accomplishment. Sylphiel was amazed at how quickly Gourry had moved ahead and placed more distance between the two of them. Sylphiel began to run to catch up to him.
"We're really close!" Gourry shouted in the distance.
Sylphiel could no longer see him. She began to sprint forward and frantically searched the surrounding area. "Gourry-sama!" She waited a few moments and did not hear a response. She increased her speed. She then heard a shout and a large splash. She recognized the voice as belonging to Gourry. She felt tired but the thought of Gourry needing help pushed her forward and gave her new strength to move forward. It did not take her long to find Gourry.
He was swimming in the lake. "I found the lake!" Gourry exclaimed gleefully.
Sylphiel stared at him with her mouth open wide. He wasn't attempting to get back out of the lake but just swimming around carefree like he had all the time in his world.
Lina rested her hands on her knees and leaned forward. She felt like her heart was hampering in her chest. She had to cast Dragon Slave at Kakken and then run as fast as she could since the flames were drawing closer. The smoke from the fire provided her some cover.
"You were right it wouldn't take long for that lady to find you," Drake said as he stood next her. Drake caught her by surprised as he seemed to come out of nowhere. "At least you are heading the right direction."
Lina smiled at his remark. "The only question is will everyone else be heading in the right direction."
"And here I thought this is how you wanted everything to work out so the others would not be in danger. I guess there is more to you than just a pretty face."
Lina blushed as she turned away from him. This was the last thing she needed at the moment. "We should get going. Lead the way and I'll follow."
Noticing Lina was out of breath Drake asked, "are you sure you'll be able to keep up?"
"No problem," Lina said with a reassuring smile but deep down sure wasn't so sure she could keep up to the challenge.
Zel looked for anything that resembled a boy of water. So far he was striking out. He wasn't able to find any of his companions either. He was unsure of what direction he was going because of the thick canopy of trees he was surrounded by. He was hoping to run across a familiar face; however, the face that found it was not the one he was hoping for.
"That was one heck of a show back there," Xel said as he appeared above Zelgadis.
"You again," mumbled Zel.
"Here I thought you would be happy to see me," said Xel as he stood a few feet from him. "Just to think I was actually going to give you some information you would find useful."
Zelgadis attention now focused on the mazoku in front of him. "I'm all ears."
Xel smiled at the change in Zelgadis' demeanor. "It seems you are running out of time. The Lord of Nightmares is growing inpatient and urging Kakken to end this soon. Be prepared for a final confrontation." He remained silent for a moment debating whether he should disclose anymore.
Zel took the moment to try to obtain more information about Xellos' warning. "What kind of final confrontation?"
"When Lina attempts to seal the Dark Lord's magic," started Xel, he then paused for a moment before he continued. "Lina might want to re-evaluate her choices…" Xellos said as his voice trailed off.
"What does that mean?" Zelgadis shouted at him. Xellos did not respond to Zel's question. He looked at him and smiled. Zelgadis felt his anger begin to boil over. "I thought you said you had information! You're making general statements and act like you're some walking wealth of knowledge!"
Xel frowned at Zel's outburst. "I convey knowledge that is imperative to Lina Inverse. It would be in your best interest to convey that message to her… that is if you can find her." Without another word Xellos vanished.
Lina was kicking herself for saying she could keep up with Drake without a problem. She bared any sleep from the night before and this morning. The lack of sleep was having an impact on her. Shortly after she and Drake and set out the sky began to open up and created a fog in the forest. The fog slowly began to lift the further they traveled from the fire. Unfortunately the fog was thick enough for her to lose Drake among the trees.
She ran faster hoping she might be able to catch up to Drake. The only problem was she wasn't one hundred percent sure if she was heading in the right direction. As she ran she focused on the objects in the distance and not the object right in front of her. She never saw the rock which caused to trip and fall face forward. The world around her went black as her body fell limp to the ground. Her mind no longer consisted of racing thoughts trying to find Drake or the river. Her mind began to drift back and images of herself as the Lord of Nightmares and the death of Hell Master consumed her thoughts.
"LINAAAA!" Gourry had shouted at her treating form. "Wake up! Lina! You belong here with me! Not inside that pay off!"
"I think he means not inside that chaos," Zelgadis said to Amelia.
Gourry began to charge forward toward Lina. Boulders began to rise upward. Gourry jumped from boulder to boulder to try to get closer to the retreating form of the Lord of Nightmares. "LINAAAAAAA!" He continued to yell as his voice seemed full of anguish.
"After him Amelia!" Zelgadis instructed. Gourry would not be able to save Lina without everyone's help.
"Right!" Exclaimed Amelia, as she prepared to cast a spell.
"Raywing!" Zelgadis and Amelia casted in union together, immediately they began to lift off the ground along with Gourry.
"Wait for me!" Sylphiel exclaimed as she cast her own levitation spell, fearful of being left behind.
"No! Don't leave me behind!" Martina shouted at their figures as they began to appear smaller and smaller before her. "No! Please!"
"Martina. Martina!" Zangulus exclaimed as he tried to get her attention. He grabbed her shoulders in an effort to get her to focus. "Now is the time to pray to Zoamelgustar." His words seemed to have calming effect on her.
Meanwhile, Gourry continued to struggle forward. "You think I'm just going to let you take Lina like this!" He shouted at the retreating figure. He reached forward trying to grab her. "This time I'm going to save you!" Determination gleamed in his eyes. "I'M GOING TO SAVE YOU!" He shouted louder. As if his declaration was heard by the Lord of Nightmares a large boulder appeared in his way. Gourry used the Sword of Light to easily break the obstacle into two.
"Gourry!" Zelgadis exclaimed has he lost sight of him between the two boulder fragments.
The Lord of Nightmares disappeared into a black sphere.
Gourry knew he didn't have much time left. "I won't let you go!" He shouted as he raised the Sword of Light above his head. His sword was the only shot he had of making it into the void known as the Giga Slave. He felt himself rise higher into the air and was surrounded by darkness.
"It's no use!" Zelgadis shouted to the others. He wanted to help Lina and Gourry but they were too late. "Go back!" Zelgadis exclaimed. However, his warning came too late and the trio was blasted backward by high winds.
Gourry continued to push forward and met resistance along the way. "LINAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" Gourry shouted as he struggled to get closer to her. "Maybe you're stubborn and sort of perverse… maybe you trick people with your charm… maybe you look down on anyone who's weaker than you… but…but I… but I need you!" Gourry pleaded with Lina's retreating form.
The Lord of Nightmares responded by firing a wave of energy at him. Her speed seemed to pick up after the blast. Gourry used the Sword of Light to block the energy. The energy engulfed the sword and disappeared. Gourry ignored the loss of his sword and continued to struggle forward toward Lina. Gourry felt his armor begin to crack from the pressure. This encouraged him to continue on. "LINA!" He pleaded as he continued to struggle forward. "DON'T LEAVE ME!"
He stretched his arms out as far they would go. It was just enough to reach inside the sphere the Lord of Nightmares created around Lina. He felt the rest of his armor crumbles to pieces. He continued to push forward and was able to grab Lina's arms. She stared at him for a moment without blinking. Her eyes seemed to look right through him. She closed her eyes and disappeared.
Gourry felt his heart drop as she disappeared before him. "Lina…." A few moments later specs of color caught his attention. The color took on the forms of bubbles and a mixture of energy. Everything began to blend together and take the form of young girl. The colors continued to swirl together and became Lina Inverse. Gourry stood in shock at the sight before him.
Lina's eyes began to flutter. She slowly opened them and smiled at the sight of Gourry before her. Within moments they were in each other's arms.
Drake no longer heard footsteps behind him. He slowed his pace and looked for Lina behind him. He never found her. He backtracked his steps a bit and was unable to locate her. Earlier he told her where to go. He had to keep moving forward hoping Lina would be able to make it there on her own. He noticed a figure dressed in tan up ahead. He approached more cautiously trying to determine who it was.
As he drew closer he realized he did not be on high alert. It was Zelgadis.
"I'm glad I found someone else," Drake said as he approached him.
Zel nodded his head in acknowledgement. His eyes darted from tree to tree. It was as if he was searching for something or someone. "I think he's finally gone for good," he stated.
"He who?" Asked Drake confused by Zelgadis' statement.
"I ran across Xellos earlier. He said something about Lina needing to re-evaluate her choices. Do know what that means in relation to sealing a magic spell?"
"I'm not sure. My understanding of the magic is that it is difficult to preform and prevents anyone from casting the spell again in the future." Drake paused for a moment to look at a path to the right of Zelgadis. "I think we should keep heading to the lake. It is where everyone else will be. Besides we can plan our next move along the way."
"Very well," Zel said as he agreed with Drake's assessment.
Lina slowly began to open her eyes. Her head was throbbing. She raised her left hand to back of her head and slowly rubbing the area hoping the pain would decrease. She frowned when she realized it would take a bit longer. She didn't see Drake or the others anywhere. She slowly rose to her feet. She wasn't sure exactly which direction she came from.
"Look at what we had here gents," a bandana wearing bandit said to a group of four other bandits.
"I really don't have time for this," Lina said as she began to walk away.
"This broad is nuts. She thinks she can just walk away from us. That's a riot!" The leader said as the other men closed in around her.
"You're loss. I guess I have been low on funds," said Lina as small ball of light began to form in her hands."
"Umm boss…" A bandit said next to the bandana one.
"Not now," He said back to him.
"But boss… I think that's the dragon spooker."
The boss seemed to look Lina over trying to figure out who she was. "RUN!" He yelled at the others. But it was too late, fireball was already cast.
"How much further is it?" Zel asked Drake.
"We don't have too much left to go. We should be there soon," Drake said as he continued to move forward.
"I'm surprised to see how quickly you became friends," Kakken said as she appeared to the left of the group. "I'm little disappointed in you Drake that you lost Lina. I was hoping to finish this once and for all."
"What does she mean you lost Lina?" Zelgadis questioned as he turned his attention to the man next to him.
"We were separated earlier," Drake said. "The next thing I knew she wasn't behind me."
"So he left her on her own for me to find and destroy her," Kakken taunted them. Kakken smiled at them eerily until she vanished from sight.
"Can't we stop for a minute?" Naaga asked as she rested against a tree trying to catch her breath. "I'm used to… better travel accommodations," said Naaga as she fumbled for the right words.
"But he have to find Lina-san," Amelia said as she surveyed her surroundings. "We owe Lina a lot and it is not fair for us to abandon her in her hour of need."
"We're not abandoning her. We just simply can't find her. That is different," explained Naaga as she looked at her younger companion. "We find her, then what?"
Amelia stood silent for a moment. "…we look for everyone else."
A booming noise redirected their attention northeast of their present location. Naaga's eyes narrowed. "That was a fireball spell. I'm willing to bet that was Lina," said Naaga as she stood upright with a new found motivation to press forward.
"How can you tell?" Amelia asked in awe.
"I've traveled with Lina long enough," said Naaga with a smile. "If we want to find here, we need to head in that direction."
"Let's go find Lina-san!" Exclaimed Amelia as she charged forward in the direction of the blast.
After Kakken left Zelgadis became quiet and seemed even more intent to Lina. He and Drake had rarely spoke. Drake noted their location and knew they were nearly at the lake. Voices stopped them in their tracks. Their eyes shifted to each other both ready to go at a moment's notice. They walked slower as they strained their ears to identify the voices.
"But Gourry-sama," the voice said, "you have to be more careful."
It was Sylphiel.
The two quickly picked up their pace eager to rejoin some of their companions. It did not take long before they saw the sight of blonde hair. "I'm surprised you found the lake," Drake said as he congratulated his directionally challenged brother. The congratulations were short lived when he noticed he was soaking wet. "What did you do fall in?"
Sylphiel blushed and tried to think of an answer for Gourry. "…well we were in a hurry…"
Gourry thought about it for a minute. "You said to head to the lake and once you find it you know you're there. We found it!" Exclaimed a gleeful Gourry with a smile.
The reunion was interrupted by a group of bandits running by cursing. "Keep running! We have to get away from that flat chested demon woman!"
"Lina!" Gourry exclaimed as he began to run in the direction the bandits had just came from. He sprinted to the right of the group.
"Gourry wait!" Zelgadis yelled at him as he began to run.
An ear piercing laughed made the others cringe. "I see we arrived just in time," said Naaga with a hand next to her face.
"Amelia-san!" Sylphiel exclaimed as she rushed to her side to greet her.
Lina frowned. She seemed to lose her direction due to chasing the bandits. However, some stress relieve was in order. And she had her reputation to consider as the bandit killer. The thought made her smile.
"Did you lose all your friends?" Xellos asked as he appeared inches next to her ear.
His sudden appeared caused her to jump back in alarm. "You need to stop doing that!" Lina exclaimed as she turned around and took a swing at Xel. He quickly dodged the effort.
"You have to be quicker than that!" Xellos said with a smile. "If I were you I would find your friends soon. Kakken seems to be giving them a hard time trying to find you. I would hate to think what she would do if she becomes impatient."
"That's not fair!" Shouted Lina as she tried to get herself under control as she felt her anger boil. "They have nothing to do with what happened! Kakken should be focusing on me."
"Ah but you are forgetting how many times your friends have stopped Kakken from completing what she wants."
Lina felt her stomach drop. She knew he was right. Because her friends were in danger she cast the Giga Slave. Because Gourry was in danger she cast the Giga Slave. If they were in danger again she might feel compelled to cast the spell again. These thoughts renewed her focused to find the book. She looked around for the mazoku and he seemed to disappear as quickly as he had appeared.
The clouds opened even more the further the group traveled from the river. The downpour became so heavy it was difficult to see ahead of them.
"We're not going to get anywhere if we continue to stay in this weather. We need to find a location to take shelter until this passes," Zelgadis said as he turned his attention to his surroundings.
"There is a cave not too far that can provide us shelter for the night. I have used it in the past when I have traveled around the island. It isn't too much further," Drake said as he picked up his pace.
Within minutes they arrived at their destination. The cave split into two tunnels.
"Which way do we go?" Amelia asked as she looked between the two choices.
"We go to the left. I have firewood stored in there as well as other materials stocked up," said as he pointed to the left passage.
Zelgadis cast a lighting spell to lead the way.
Twenty minutes later Lina ran into the cave drenched. She looked at her soaked clothes and was wondering how affective the wood she found would be. She took the path closest to her on the right. She summoned a low level lighting spell to guide her further back into the cave. Five minutes later she came across the remains of a fire pit. Lina smiled at her luck. She dropped the soaked wood on the pile. A simple fireball spell would do the trick.
"Fireball!" Lina exclaimed as the flames cackled from her fingertips. A small flame rose from the logs until it disappeared. Lina began to yell at the wood for being wet and kicked the pile over. Her light spell gave out.
A rumble sounded behind her. The sound seemed to come from behind the wall she stood in front of. The rumble grew louder as she backed away from the boulders. Light began to trickle in from the cracks. A blade of light appeared and was lowered to the ground. A large figure moved forward to approach her with its right arm extended forward. "Lina! We've been looking for you everywhere!"
Lina's jaw dropped as the realization hit her it was her traveling companions. She held her hand against her chest as she struggled to breathe. She was afraid Kakken had found her and it turned out be Gourry. Her sense of relief transformed into one of anger. There was only one way to correct this problem. She clocked him in the face for nearly scaring her to death.
Zelgadis teardropped as he watched the events before him unfold. "This relationship keeps getting weirder and weirder." The others stood quietly and watched. Drake raised an eyebrow.
Lina emerged victorious while Gourry didn't fare as well with lumps on his face. "But Lina… we were just trying to find you…" Gourry mumbled as he squinted at her through his black and blue eye.
"I always thought about making his cove area a little bigger," said Drake as he looked at the mess Gourry had made. Drake began to move the boulders to the side to make room for the others. It didn't take long for the others to help him move everything.
After things calmed down the group had a fire roaring. They were no longer soaked and began to talk shifts throughout the night to keep watch for Kakken. They knew she was out there somewhere. Gourry had volunteered for the first watch and seemed to sit their motionless.
Lina was supposed to be asleep but her thoughts were racing about the conversations she has had as of late. She felt like she was in a hopeless situation yet never one with so few options. She might survive selling the spell but she has this sinking feeling in her stomach there was more to the magic than she or even Rowdy knew. But she did not trust herself to cast the Giga Slave once more. She looked over at Gourry who seemed to be focused on the fire pit before him. She tried to shake the thoughts from her head. Her body felt exhausted but her mind would not stop racing.
The next act will be out early summer. Act 8: Oi Lina! Where Are We?