-I apologise for the delay! I've been so busy lately! I'm in a play and we have practices and such... At least I've memorised all my lines! Anyway here's the next chapter! This is one that I particularly like, probably because it has more pairings and such. Anyway, enjoy! :3-
7- Freeze! The harsh mountain blizzard!
"Linaaaa! I'm cold!" Zara whined.
"Dang it, how can you be cold, kid? You've got long sleeves and pants? I'm here in short sleeves and I'm not cold." Lina snapped back.
"I heard that little kids are sensitive to cold weather." Gourry offered.
"They're oversensitive if you ask me." Lina groaned.
"It was your idea to take this shortcut in the first place, so whatever happens is your fault." Zelgadis pointed out.
"Well that stupid map never told me that we'd have to climb a mountain! It just told me to follow this path- and what do you know? We're on a mountain!" Lina yelled back, staring warily at the precipice on her left. To make up for the time that they had lost by going to the beach, Lina had insisted on taking a shortcut that she had heard about from someone in the last town they had visited. "Hey navigator, what does the map say now?" She asked.
Gourry looked at the map that he was carrying. "Uh, it loops around a lot, probably because of the mountain. There's a sharp curve ahead, but the rest looks pretty easy to follow."
"Let me see that." Lina said, scrutinizing the map. "Well, what do you know? It's not upside-down this time. You seem to be getting better at reading maps. I'm impressed." She gave her companion a pat on the back, but with Lina it was more like a slap, and Gourry stumbled forward, losing his grip on the map. He tried to grab it as it fell, but by the time he reacted, it was already too far over the cliff face to safely do anything about. Lina and Gourry stood and watched it fall.
"Gourry?"
"Yes, Lina?"
"YOU IDIOT! YOU DROPPED THE MAP!" Lina slapped her friend angrily. "Now we might get lost and it's all your fault!" Lina grabbed Zara's hand and began walking forward.
"B-but Lina! You were the one who-" Gourry called after her, but Zelgadis stopped him.
"It's no use." The chimera advised. "It was her fault, but Lina's not the type of person to take the blame for something like that."
"M-Mister Zelgadis is right. Miss Lina w-would only get angrier if y-you accused her." Amelia added, catching up to Gourry and Zel.
"Amelia, are you okay?" Gourry asked, noticing Amelia's broken speech.
"F-fine, Mister Gourry. I just agree w-with Zara-chan. It is p-pretty cold out here." Noticing the concerned stares from her friends, she continued. "Oh, don't worry. I'm f-fine. It'll take more than a l-little cold weather to bring down a warrior of Justice- aahcho~!" A sneeze was added to the end of her sentence.
"Here."
Amelia looked up in surprise, and then down at the tan cloak that had been placed around her shoulders.
"Mister Zelgadis?"
"Chimeras don't get cold as easily... I figured that you could use that more than I could... It'd be bad if you got sick..." He explained, turning to continue on the path.
"Oh, thank you so much, Mister Zelgadis!" She said gratefully, running up to him and grabbing his hand. He looked at her, surprised, but didn't say anything.
"Lina, why are we stopping?" Zara asked as Lina paused to wait for her friends.
"Because those friends of mine are slackers and won't pick up the pace." Lina explained. "C'mon! What are you guys waiting for?"
"We're coming Miss Lina, Zara-chan!" Amelia called, joining her companions.
"Finally. Took you long enough. And Amelia, why are you wearing Zel's cape?"
"Well, Mister Zelgadis let me borrow it because I was cold." Amelia explained , tugging at the cape that was dragging the ground.
Lina sighed. She didn't like Zel's depressive attitude all the time, but what she liked even less was how he could be so ill-tempered towards other people, and so nice to his precious Amelia. Not that he'd ever call her that. Lina almost wondered if Zelgadis noticed this himself.
"Fine, but we need to get moving." Lina said. "For some reason it feels like it's getting even colder, and I don't like the look of those clouds." As Lina said this, a few large snowflakes began to fall.
"Hey, it's snowing!" Amelia exclaimed. "I knew it was cold, but not that cold."
"Why do I seem to have the uncanny ability to cause precipitation to fall on cue?" Lina wondered out loud, remembering the thunderstorm that they had encountered about a week ago.
"Hey Lina, do you think it's safe to continue on this path now?" Zelgadis asked. "These mountain passes are dangerous even in good weather. This snow could make things even more risky."
Lina shrugged. "I bet it'll blow over soon. The people at that village said that it was too early in the season for blizzards. Those usually happen later in the year." She continued walking and explaining. "And I also want to make it to the next town as soon as possible. The map- which we no longer have, thanks to Gourry- said that it was just on the other side of these mountains. We could probably reach it by nightfall, which will save us the trouble of having to camp on the mountain."
"It would be nice to sleep in a warm bed, instead of having to camp on this cold mountain." Amelia agreed, watching the flurries as they became larger and more abundant.
Lina grinned happily, seeing that Amelia had agreed with her. Zel couldn't argue now.
"So do we just keep following the path?" Gourry asked.
"Yep. You're still the navigator, however stupid you might be. Lead the way, Jellyfish." Lina replied, following him. She only did this because there was one path- impossible to get lost on. She wouldn't have trusted him to get them anywhere otherwise.
A pair of red eyes watched them through the thickening flurries.
This ought to be good. Have fun freezing to death, Lina Inverse. Lorelei sneered mischievously.
Lina's assumption about the snowstorm passing was as far off the mark as it could possibly be. The snow didn't stop, but actually got harder as they walked. The wind whipped violently and the snow made it impossible to see anything. The friends made their way through it, but it was slow going. In such a bad snowstorm, they couldn't even see their hand in front of their face, much less the others. As the navigator, Gourry was at the front, and when he found a small cave in the rock face beside them, he didn't hesitate to take shelter from the storm.
"Lina! Zel! Amelia! Zara! There's a cave over here! We can get out of this storm for a while!" He called and made his way in, waiting for his friends to follow.
"That's one serious snowstorm. So much for not occurring until later in the season."Zelgadis mumbled, as he entered the shelter of the cave, brushing snow off his shoulders.
"Yeah, I'll say." Gourry replied. "Speaking of which, where is Lina? Lina! LIN-"
Lina grabbed Gourry's arm. "I'm right here, idiot."
"Ouch, Lina your hands are cold!" He exclaimed.
"Oh, I wonder why that is?" Lina asked, her voice full of sarcasm. "My gloves got drenched, so I took them off to see if that would make my hands any warmer, but it didn't work. Now I don't want to put them back on because they're cold and wet." She shook out her snow-drenched gloves angrily.
Gourry grabbed Lina's hands in an attempt to warm them up. "There, that better?" He asked.
"No- your hands are cold too, genius!" Lina replied, snatching her hands back and hitting him over the head with a glove.
Zelgadis looked anxiously out into the howling blizzard. "Amelia! Zara!" He called, but got no response. "Do either of you know where Amelia and Zara are?" He asked turning to his companions.
"They were right here just a minute ago." Lina said, looking around.
"Yeah, but where is here?" Gourry asked.
"Idiot! It's your fault that we don't know! You're the one who dropped the map!"
"Well, I wouldn't have dropped it if you hadn't hit me!"
"I did not hit you!"
"You certainly did!"
"That was a gesture of approval for doing something good! Just when I thought you might be getting better, you go and do something stupid like this!"
"Maybe you just don't know your own strength!"
"Well, maybe you're just-"
"THIS IS NO TIME FOR YOU TWO TO BE ARGUING!"
Lina and Gourry turned around quickly. Zelgadis was usually so calm, but they could see anger and fear flaring in his eyes.
"Geez, Zel, there's no reason to get so worked up. Chill out." Lina replied, still a bit surprised.
"That's not funny, Lina!" Zelgadis shot back.
Lina paused for a second, realizing what she had just said. "Oh, uh, sorry. No pun intended, seriously. Just calm down alright?"
Zel turned his attention back to the snowstorm and considered it for a moment, trying to regain his composure. "Amelia and Zara are out in that somewhere..." He finally mumbled.
"I know." Lina said solemnly. "We just need to figure out what to do, alright?"
"We have to go find them!" Zelgadis replied turning to leave the cave, the panic returning to his voice.
"Wait, Zel!" Lina called, grabbing Zelgadis' sleeve. "It's dangerous. We need to figure out what we're going to do before going back out there."
The chimera turned a heated glare back at the sorceress, but realised that she was right. Going back out without knowing what to do would only endanger themselves as well.
"So what do you suggest we do?" He sighed reluctantly.
"We've got to think like Amelia and Zara. What would they do if they got separated from us?" Lina asked.
Gourry thought for a moment. "Zara would probably cry if you weren't there with him, Lina."
"That mindless little kid. He'll freeze his face if he does that." Lina replied. "But Amelia will protect him., and if worst comes to worst, he'll be able to protect Amelia too."
"But what if they got separated?" Zelgadis asked the question that had been in the back of Lina and Gourry's minds, although they didn't want to acknowledge it. The thought of Zara all alone in the dreadful snowstorm, scared and lonely, gave Lina a terrible sinking feeling that she wasn't sure what to do with.
"Zara doesn't like to be alone. He's usually clinging to someone, and since he's not here, he's obviously clinging to Amelia." Lina reasoned.
"Yeah, that's right." Gourry agreed.
Zelgadis was not entirely convinced, but imagining Amelia out in the blizzard with the little boy was better than imagining her alone. He couldn't stand the thought of the princess stuck in a blizzard by herself...
"Amelia would protect Zara at all costs." Zelgadis said firmly. "She would not let a person- especially a little kid- get hurt. That we know for sure."
Lina nodded. "But where would they have gone? Would they have kept on the path?"
"Maybe they just didn't see us duck into this cave." Gourry suggested. "Perhaps they're just ahead of us a little way. We could catch up to them easily."
"And then what? Drag them back here?" Lina asked.
"Well, we can't exactly keep following the path like this." Gourry replied.
"Then let's go find them before they get too far ahead." Zelgadis suggested, eager to get out and search.
"Lead the way, Zel." Lina said.
"Amelia? Wh-where are L-Lina and Gourry and Z-Zelgadis?"
"I don't know, Zara-chan. S-stay close though. We'll f-find them, don't w-worry."
Amelia and Zara hadn't gotten separated, as Zelgadis had feared, but were clinging to each other for warmth and comfort as they frantically searched for their friends. The cold and dampness of the blizzard was beginning to get to them and they were vigorously shivering. Even Zelgadis' cape did little to shield them from the harsh winds and stinging cold of the snowflakes.
"I'm c-cold... and... tired..." Zara swayed as he walked. His voice trailed off into something indecipherable as he stumbled.
"Z-Zara-chan! You c-can't faint on me!" Amelia cried, steadying the boy as he slowly drifted from awareness. Amelia didn't have the energy to panic. The cold was wearing away at her consciousness as well, and she mumbled as she fell unconsciously to Zara's side.
"Justice will... certainly... prevail..."
The wind blew the tan and green cape around forcefully as the two motionless figures lay huddled beneath it.
"N-no sign of them..." Lina gasped, clutching the cold rock wall of the slightly larger cave for support.
"And still so c-cold..." Gourry added.
Zelgadis was silent, staring out at the snowstorm; it was still as strong as ever.
"You're not thinking of going straight back out, are you?" Lina asked hesitantly, holding a Fireball in her hand for warmth. Gourry was crowded around it as well. Zelgadis would have liked to warm up just a bit, but he was more concerned with the safety of Amelia and Zara to really care that much.
"If they're out there, then they could be in danger. They could get frostbite, or hypothermia, or worse..." Zelgadis clenched his teeth, not wanting to expound on what 'worse' could actually mean.
"Yeah, I know... but..." Lina didn't like to think that her friends were in trouble. She wanted to assume that they had also found a cave in which to wait out the storm, and that she should do the same. Once the storm was over, they could search again. But the way Zelgadis was putting it, it seemed like after the storm would be too late...
"Are you having fun yet?" A voice from above them asked. Lina recognized the high-pitched tone.
Lina and her friends turned around suddenly. Lina had the urge to throw the fireball she was holding, but decided against it.
"Lorelei! What are you doing here?" Zelgadis yelled angrily.
"Oh, just having a little fun in the snow. Isn't it beautiful? A dazzling blanket of pure white snow covering the world, turning a formerly drab mountain into a winter wonderland. It's certainly romantic, right?" Lorelei said dramatically. "Too bad your little girlfriend and that kid decided to get themselves lost."
"Y-you..." Zelgadis growled, not stopping to correct her on his relationship with Amelia. There was no time for that now.
"This blizzard, is it your doing?" Gourry asked.
Lorelei smiled. "Silly human. I am a monster after all. If one of my songs could summon a giant lake monster, then surely I'd have a song to summon a little snowstorm."
"A little snowstorm?" Lina exclaimed. "We almost froze to death!"
"That was the intention, silly." Lorelei said, waving a finger tauntingly.
"Wait! What about Amelia and Zara? What do you know of them?" Zelgadis demanded.
"What?" Lorelei looked puzzled. "Oh, those two? Err, I just figured that if they weren't here with you guys then they must be lost somewhere..." she then murmured to herself. "Oh crap, Master's going to get mad at me if he finds out that I let... oh never mind!" Lorelei turned back to Lina and her friends. "My main target is Lina Inverse! If you two would kindly give her to me, I'll spare your lives." She said, addressing Gourry and Zelgadis.
"Never!" Gourry yelled back almost before she had finished her sentence.
"That's right. We won't let you kill Lina." Zelgadis affirmed.
Lina looked at them, surprised that even the chimera had come to her defence. "Gourry... Zel..." She murmured. Turning to face Lorelei, she exclaimed "And you can be sure that I'm not going to let you kill me!"
"Agh, always such a pain." Lorelei said, unhappily. "All your same tricks again?"
"Perhaps." Gourry replied. "But this is new, thanks to you." He drew a long, gleaming sword and held it ready to strike. They had found a new one in the previous village and he'd been practising with it. It seemed even better than his last one.
Lorelei looked at the swordsman, still grinning. "So, you did get a new sword, huh Jellyfish?" She asked, remembering a few previous insults from Lina.
Lina's eye twitched angrily. "What did you say?" She growled at Lorelei. "Shut up, birdbrain! I'm the only one who can call him that! FIREBALL!"
Lorelei dodged, surprised that Lina had gotten so angry. She realised that she must have hit a touchy subject for the sorceress and was somewhat pleased with herself.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I thought it was an insult, not a pet name." Lorelei said, smiling teasingly. "It's certainly more creative than something like 'dear' or 'sweetie.'"
Lina's face burned crimson. "N-no! It is an insult! That guy has less brains than a jellyfish!" She defended, flustered. "But you just can't use it!" Lina shot a few more attacks at the monster.
Gourry watched, and tried to remember whether anyone other than Lina had ever called him a jellyfish-brain. It wasn't like her to stick up for him like this, but he didn't complain.
"Now you're going to get it! Time for my special new attack! FREEZE ARROW!" Lorelei sent a few freezing arrows at Lina which the sorceress dodged easily.
"A new attack? Hah! You used that last time! And for your information, I've had quite some experience with Freeze Arrows."
"Oh, but are you paying attention?" Lorelei asked.
Lina turned to the walls of the cave. The ice that had hit the walls was slowly growing, increasing in size as it consumed the cave wall. "It's.. it's... growing?" Lina asked.
"Of course. This special Freeze Arrow allows the ice to consume anything it touches. If I can hit you, then you'll be turned slowly into a block of ice. And once you're encased in ice, it's only a matter of time before you freeze to death!" Lorelei grinned.
"And once again, you're telling me this because you expect me to die in a few minutes." Lina said.
"I wouldn't tell you otherwise. That goes for you two as well. Now that you know my secrets, you must die too." Lorelei said to Gourry and Zelgadis. "Get ready!"
"Huh...wha...?" Amelia murmured as she began to wake up. She examined her surroundings, trying to remember what had happened. The last thing she remembered was Zara-chan fainting in the snowstorm, and then... Amelia realised that she was inside, lying on a couch in front of a fireplace. Zara was still unconscious, in a chair with blankets draped around him.
A voice behind her brought Amelia back from her reverie. "Ah, ya finally woke up." A woman's voice said.
Amelia turned to see an older woman who had entered from an adjacent room. "Oh, excuse me, but what happened?" She asked the woman.
"Ya don't remember? The two o' ya were out in that beastie of a snowstorm." The lady explained.
"Yes, but...I wasn't sure... did you bring us in here?"
"Aye. You two were in pretty bad shape. Ya had some traces o' frostnip, but the fireplace in here should've taken care o' that. I'm surprised that the little one didn't catch hypothermia. He's a hardy little one, isn't he? Is he yer brother?"
Amelia glanced at Zara, sleeping peacefully in the chair beside her. "No, he's just a friend of mine, but yes, he is very strong for a boy his age."
The woman nodded in reply. "I see. If ya don't mind me asking, what were the two o' ya doing out on the mountain in the first place? It certainly isn't the type o' place that young people ought to be alone."
"We were with some of our friends and were trying to take a mountain pass as a shortcut, but we got separated in the blizzard." Amelia replied. She reached for her shoulder to clutch at Zelgadis' cloak, but realized that it wasn't there. The woman noticed Amelia's evident dismay at the absence the object.
"Ya looking for that cloak that ya were wearing earlier? I set it up to dry, it was so cold and wet." The lady retrieved the tan and green cloak from the back of another chair by the fireplace.
"Oh thank you!" Amelia said, hugging the cape. "This belongs to one of my friends. It would be terrible if I lost it."
The woman nodded. "Well, ya should thank yer friend when you see 'em again. It saved your life, that thing did."
Amelia looked up, startled.
"I went to shut the door in order to keep the snow out, and heard somethin' blowing around in the wind. I knew that I hadn't left anything o' mine out in such weather, so I went out to investigate. I'm glad I did, turns out there was a little boy and a young woman out there, half frozen to death."
The princess gazed affectionately at the cape. "Mister Zelgadis..." She murmured. "I'll be sure to thank him when I... oh no! He's still out there! And Mister Gourry! And Miss Lina!"
"Eh?" The woman watched as Amelia ran over to the chair and gently shook her young companion awake.
"Amelia?" He asked dazedly.
"Zara-chan! Miss Lina, Mister Gourry, and Mister Zelgadis are in trouble!" Amelia exclaimed.
"Lina?" Zara hadn't been completely conscious, but hearing the sorceress' name and trouble in the same sentence brought him back to attentiveness.
"We've got to go find them!" Amelia said, making her way for the door of the house.
"W-wait! Where do ya think yer going? Ya can't just go back out in that!" The lady protested.
"I'm sorry miss, but my friends might be in danger! I have to help them! Thank you very much for saving us!" Amelia called.
"Thank you lady!" Zara added, as the two left the little house. The woman stood for a moment, and watched the figures disappear into the howling blizzard.
"...what on earth just happened?" She wondered out loud.
"FREEZE ARROW!"
Lorelei's attacks were getting harder and harder to dodge, as the cave floor and walls began to fill with ice. Lina, Gourry, and Zelgadis had to be careful not to step on or touch any of the ice, or they would be encased in it and immobilised.
"Lina, what do we do now? We can't keep dodging- she'll fill up the whole cavern with ice!" Gourry asked, trying to keep his sword from touching any of the contagious ice.
"Give me a minute! I'm thinking!" Lina replied.
"Hey, Lina? Did you really mean what you said about calling me 'jellyfish?"
"Now is not the time to discuss that, idiot!"
Lina jumped around the patches of ice that were slowly spreading out over the cave floor.
"It won't be long before you're trapped." Lorelei taunted with an amused smile on her face. Lina Inverse and her friends were certainly fun to play with.
"We won't give up that easily! FIREBALL!" Lina tossed a Fireball at Lorelei, which the little monster effortlessly dodged.
"You'll have to be faster than that to hit me! FREEZE ARROW!" Lina stepped back to dodge the attack, but there was nowhere to go.
"Lina, look out!" Gourry jumped in front, deflecting the attack with his sword. "You alright?" He asked.
"Yeah, fine, thanks. But... Gourry... your sword..." Lina pointed out. A thick layer of ice had coated the tip of the blade where it had repelled the attack, and was slowly spreading.
"Ah! No! Not my sword! It's new too! Get off! Get off!" He yelled, madly trying to brush the ice off his weapon. Instead, the ice continued to grow, and covered his fingers as well. "Aah! Now it's on my hand! Get it off! Get it off!" Gourry exclaimed, waving his hand around in a futile attempt to dislodge the ice shards.
"Gourry! Quit it! You're making it worse!" Lina shouted.
"Aww, it looks as if Lina Inverse's little jellyfish is trapped. That ice won't stop growing until it has completely consumed its victim. But don't worry. If you hand yourself over to me, I'd be able to spare his life. With a bit of memory loss, of course. What do you say, Lina Inverse?" Lorelei bargained tauntingly.
"Don't do it Lina! I can manage!" Gourry called, as he held his sword in his good hand, and tried to cut the ice off his arm with it. He was not having much success.
"Gourry's right! We've got to focus on beating Lorelei!" Zelgadis agreed.
Lina bit her lip as she watched Gourry struggling with his weapon. She constantly reminded herself that they'd gotten out of worse fixes than this, but she didn't have the slightest clue what to do in this situation. If only Lorelei wasn't so good at dodging attacks...
"You monster! I'll take you on!" Zelgadis continued, drawing his own sword.
"Hah! Just try and scratch me!" Lorelei teased.
"With pleasure." Zelgadis lunged at the tiny monster, his sword aimed to strike, but Lorelei was too fast for him.
"Freeze Arrow!" Lorelei shot an attack at Zelgadis, but he was also adept at dodging. "Say, you're pretty fast for someone whose skin is made of rock. But might I make a suggestion to pay attention to where you dodge next time? If there were going to be a next time, that is."
"Wha-" Zelgadis tried to move, but found that his shoes were stuck fast to the still-growing sheet of ice on the cavern floor. He tried to break free, but the ice was too strong.
"Oh, now the chimera is down too." Lorelei observed, with a false innocence. "This is your last chance to save them, Lina Inverse. Otherwise, I'll just have to kill all three of you."
"No, thank you. We've been able to pick ourselves out of worse situations than this." Lina said boldly. The sorceress had just gotten an idea. Lorelei was good at dodging attacks because she could fly around in the relatively spacious cavern. But deeper into the cave, the passages became narrower. If Lina could chase her deeper into the cave, then...
"Hey! You want me, right birdbrain? Well you'll have to catch me first!" Lina took off down the cave passage with a Fireball in her hand for light.
"Wha? Get back here you!" Lorelei yelled, following Lina down the dark passageway.
"Don't worry guys! I'll be back to thaw you out eventually! Don't die while I'm gone!" Lina yelled, half teasing, half dead-serious, to her friends.
"Lina..." Gourry murmured as he watched her leave. "I hope you know what you're doing. Don't die either."
Lina ran as fast as she could down the natural corridor, her Fireball lighting the way. Farther and farther... it didn't seem to stop. She finally arrived at a smaller chamber, which was a dead end. If she was going to face Lorelei, it would have to be here.
"You're pretty quick for a human. You can run as fast as I can fly." The piercing voice behind Lina said. "But there's no running from your death anymore, Lina Inverse."
"Oh, are you so sure of that?" Lina asked the monster, turning around.
"Certainly. FREEZE ARROW!" Lorelei shot nonstop attacks at the sorceress, who had a hard time dodging.
"Oh, yeah? Well, fire melts ice! FLARE ARROW!" Lina shot back.
For what seemed like an eternity, the two fired trivial spells back and forth, neither able to breach the other's defences. It was an endless game, and the two were so evenly matched that it seemed that neither of them would win.
"Getting tired yet?" Lorelei huffed as she prepared another Freeze Arrow.
"No on your life." Lina replied with a determined smile, though she was speculating how long they could keep this going. It was just like the first time that they had fought. Lina wondered why Lorelei didn't use that Shadow Bond attack that she had used before. It occurred to Lina that Lorelei wanted to win using her special Freeze Arrows, without relying on her staff. She was like a child playing with a new toy. And despite her intelligence, the tiny monster was just as childish as she appeared.
Lorelei fired a barrage of Freeze Arrows and Lina rushed to dodge them, but she wasn't quite fast enough. An ice shard settled itself on her hand. She remembered Gourry, and didn't attempt to brush it off. It would only make things worse.
"Finally! The infamous sorceress Lina Inverse meets her end!" Lorelei sneered.
"I-I'm not down yet!" Lina said, getting back up, determination visible in her eyes.
"Of course. I know that you're doomed and everything, but you don't have to worry. I'm going to make sure you're dead before I go anywhere. I could kill you off right now, but after all the trouble you've put me through, I think I'll just watch you become consumed in ice. That should be interesting. Oh, and if you try to get out of it, I will destroy you right then and there." Lorelei threatened, grasping her staff and created a ball of dark energy, which she threateningly aimed at Lina.
Lina looked up at the monster, the ice making its way up her hand. "I can still perform spells for now, but she's not going to let me. I just need a distraction... something!"
"L-look Zara-chan! It's a cave! Do you think that they came in here? There are footprints..." Amelia asked as she and Zara entered the icy cavern.
"Look at the ice." Zara said, pointing out the crystals on the walls of the cave. They looked as if they had been growing over the walls and suddenly stopped...
Amelia continued farther on while Zara still stared at the icy patterns that decorated the walls and floor of the cave. They would have been quite beautiful if it hadn't been so cold. Zara's thoughts were interrupted by a piercing scream. He recognised the voice. "Amelia! What's wrong?" He called, but as he turned his attention farther into the cave, he didn't even have to ask. Amelia stood, staring at the two motionless figures.
"M-Mister Gourry... M-Mister Zelgadis... they've been... frozen solid!" Amelia looked around with a worried glance. Whatever had done this, it hadn't been natural. "We've got to thaw them out!" She said, determinedly and began a heat spell.
"What about Lina? Where is she?" Zara asked anxiously.
"I'm not sure where Miss Lina is." Amelia said, chipping away at the melting ice surrounding Gourry's sword.
Zara looked around hesitantly. "That way! Lina went that way!" He yelled, pointing down the passageway leading deeper into the cave.
"Miss Lina is down there?" Amelia asked. She trusted Zara's judgement, but it seemed a bit strange.
"I'm sure! I have to find her!" Zara exclaimed, taking off down the dark passage.
Amelia watched him go. "Be careful! Mister Gourry, Mister Zelgadis, and I will join you as soon as we can!"
Zara nodded, and continued running toward where he knew Lina was.
When Zelgadis opened his eyes, the first thing he noticed was that it was no longer cold in the cave. The ice on the walls and floor had been melted. And, of course, the ice that he had been sealed in was melted as well. The cave might have been warmer, but he was still recovering from being frozen, and shivered violently. Suddenly, he felt something placed over his shoulders. Zelgadis looked quizzically at the tan cloak, eliciting a response from the person he hadn't realized was standing next to him.
"I guess you're the one who needs this more right now, Mister Zelgadis."
"Amelia!" He gasped, standing up next to her.
She smiled. "I'm glad you're okay. You scared me for a minute when I saw you frozen. I thought that mayb-"
She was unable to finish her sentence as the chimera crushed her to his side. "Don't ever get lost like that again." He demanded. Amelia said nothing, she simply nodded.
"Huh? Where am I? What happened?" A confused voice asked. Zelgadis released Amelia, almost reluctantly. The two joined Gourry, who was looking around, confused.
"Amelia? Zel? What are you doing here? It's not cold. Are we dead?"
"Far from it, Mister Gourry!" Amelia enthused. "You were frozen solid just a few minutes ago, but now you're alright!"
"Yes, but how exactly? And how did you get here? Where were you?" Zelgadis asked, curious now that he'd gotten over his initial relief of seeing her alive.
"Zara-chan and I got lost in the snowstorm. A nice lady who lives on the mountain helped us out, and we started looking for you. When we found this cave, we found you two frozen, so I used a heat spell to thaw you out." Amelia explained.
"I see." Zelgadis said, nodding.
"But where is Zara now? And Lina?" Gourry asked, looking around.
"Zara-chan said that Miss Lina went down that way." Amelia said, pointing farther into the cave.
"He's right! Lorelei chased her that way. But what happened to them?" The swordsman replied, beginning to panic.
"We won't know unless we go after them." Zelgadis replied. "Come on."
"Right, Mister Zelgadis!" Amelia agreed, following him.
"Wait for me!" Gourry called.
"I could kill you off right now, but after all the trouble you've put me through, I think I'll just watch you become consumed in ice. That should be interesting. Oh, and if you try to get out of it, I will destroy you right then and there." Lorelei had said.
Lina needed a distraction. Something to draw Lorelei's attention away from her for just a moment in order to regroup and fire a spell. She just needed something- anything!
Suddenly, Lina's distraction appeared. "H-hey! What are you doing to Lina?"
The sorceress was just as surprised as the monster. "Zara? What are you doing here?" She asked.
"That kid! Well, you're obviously not dead, so that's a good thing. But you can't interfere! This is between me and Lina Inverse!"
Lina listened, wondering why Lorelei was happy that Zara was alive. But it didn't matter- Zara was just the distraction that she needed.
"You can't hurt Lina!" Zara said, definitively.
"Hah, silly human. She is already as good as dead. Isn't that right, Lina In-"
"FIREBALL!"
Lorelei was slammed against the wall of the cavern. She stared up in astonishment. "B-but, how-"
"FLARE ARROW! ELMIKIA LANCE!"
The small monster was bombarded by powerful attacks. She suddenly realized that she had lost control of the battle. It's all that little boy's fault! Dang it! She cursed.
"Now, it's time to teach you a real lesson." Lina said, cornering Lorelei. "Darkness beyond twilight, crimson beyond-"
"No! No! Stop!" The tiny monster begged. "I'll leave for now, but don't expect me to let you win so easily next time." With that, Lorelei teleported away, leaving no trace of herself behind. With the magic source gone, the ice on Lina's arm returned to normal, and she brushed it off.
"Hmph. That coward." Lina scowled. She then turned around as Zara hugged her tightly.
"Lina! I couldn't find you! I missed you!" He cried.
"Uh, missed you too...?" Lina replied. "How did you get in here?"
"Amelia and I found the cave, and Gourry and Zelgadis too. I knew you were here, so I came to find you."
"How did you know I was here?"
"I just did."
"I see." Lina replied. "Well, I suppose we should find the others and-"
"Miss Lina! Zara-chan! Are you there?" Amelia's voice called.
Amelia entered the small chamber, followed by Zelgadis and Gourry.
"Amelia! Zel! Gourry!" Lina greeted them, glad to see that her friends were no longer frozen.
"It's Miss Lina and Zara-chan!" Amelia enthused, seeing her friends. Zelgadis nodded in their direction.
"Lina..." Gourry said grabbing the girl by the shoulders. "Lina, you're okay!"
The sorceress slapped her protector over the head with one of her slippers. "Oh really? I hadn't noticed. Thanks a lot mister state-the-obvious."
Gourry made a fast recovery. "Zara, you're okay too!" He said, hugging the little boy who was very happy to see him.
"Yeah, we're fine!" Zara assured him.
"What happened here, anyway? Where is Lorelei?" Zelgadis wondered.
"Oh, don't worry. I scared her off. She wasn't so brave when I threatened to Dragon Slave her face off." Lina shrugged. "So, are we just going to stand here, or are we going to continue what we were doing before this stupid blizzard hit?"
Amelia nodded. "Oh right! It's getting late! But if we hurry, we can still probably make it to the town on the other side of the mountains."
Lina grinned. "Alright, let's get moving. Lead the way, navigator."
"Huh?"
"That's you, Jellyfish."
"Oh, right."
It was dark as they followed the rest of the path, but the clouds had disappeared and the moon illuminated their path sufficiently. Amelia and Zelgadis were walking ahead, while Lina, Zara, and Gourry were farther behind. The group walked in silence, each of them lost in their own thoughts.
"...Mister Zelgadis?"Amelia broke the stillness.
"Hmm?" He asked.
She tugged at his cape, which she was wearing again. "Um, I just wanted to... thank you."
"For what?"
"For saving me."
Zelgadis looked at the girl with a puzzled expression. "Wha... what do you mean? If anything, you're the one who saved me, remember?"
"No, I mean..." Amelia looked back up at him. "...you let me borrow this cloak. When Zara-chan and I got lost, we fainted in the snowstorm. The nice lady who rescued up said that she would have never found us if she hadn't seen your cape first. So it was thanks to you that she found us. So thank you."
The thought of his two friends unconscious in the terrible blizzard horrified Zelgadis, and he shook his head to clear his mind of the thought. They were safe now, so it didn't really matter.
"Amelia?"
"Yes?"
"Well, you don't need to thank me or anything."
"What? Why? You were the one who-"
"But you saved me. Gourry and I would have stayed frozen and probably died if you hadn't thawed us out when you did."
"Oh, yeah." Amelia said, remembering. "So... I guess that just makes us even then."
"I suppose it does." Zelgadis smiled. Amelia grabbed his hand as they continued walking.
"Is he asleep?" Lina asked, pointing to the child that Gourry was carrying, perched on his shoulders.
"Yeah, I'm not surprised. Zara had a pretty long day- we all did." Gourry replied.
"Hmph, that's for sure."
The two walked in silence again for a moment.
"Hey, Lina?"
"What's up?"
"Did you really mean what you said about calling me 'jellyfish?"
Lina cringed. He was bringing that up again. She secretly willed Zara to wake up and interrupt the conversation, but the three-year-old was sleeping soundly.
"Yeah, of course. I couldn't let her insult you." Lina replied.
"Why not?"
"Because, idiot, we might fight a lot, but as far as enemies are concerned, we have to put up a united front."
"Ah, that makes sense." Gourry nodded. "Uh, but what's a 'united front?"
Lina rolled her eyes. "It means that we stick up for each other, jellyfish."
"Oh, okay. Do you like sticking up for me?" He asked.
"Um..." Lina wasn't sure how to answer that. "I don't know. It depends. Do you like sticking up for me?"
"Lina, that's my life. I'm your protector."
"Oh. So you wouldn't help me out otherwise?"
"No, of course not. W-wait, yes. I mean no. No- I mean no that I wouldn't not help you if... ah! This is a confusing question!"
"Don't hurt yourself." Lina chided, watching his perplexity.
"No, what I'm saying is that, even if I wasn't your bodyguard, I'd still protect you."
"Why?"
"Well, because... you're... uh, actually I..." Gourry stumbled to find a way to phrase his answer without angering Lina.
"You what?" She asked hesitantly.
"Are we there yet?" A drowsy voice interrupted their conversation.
"Zara! You're awake!" Gourry said, lifting the boy off his shoulders. "Can you walk now?"
"Yeah, of course!" Zara replied.
Gourry placed the boy on the ground. "Come on! Amelia and Zelgadis are way ahead of us!" He said, running to catch up with their friends.
"Hey! Wait up for me!" Gourry called, following Zara. "Lina, come on!"
Lina watched them run. "What was he going to say...?" She wondered. "That idiot..." She called back out as she ran. "Hey! Wait for me! Don't leave me behind! I'm the one who chose this shortcut, remember! Get back here!"
-Poor Lina and Gourry, they got their moment interrupted. *sigh* I remember when I first told my brother this story, and at the "I guess that makes us even" part with Amelia and Zelgadis he actually said "awwww..." The made me happy because he's not into romance that much, and at the time I wasn't even sure if he recognised Amelia and Zel as a pairing. Speaking of my brother, the next chapter is going to feature a few OCs from his (unpublished) fanfiction. An old friend of Amelia's, Josiah is a professional chef, and has been asked to host a cooking competition in the town. When Lina and friends visit, they decide to try their hands at cooking too. Who wants to eat what Lina and Gourry cook? Not me... R&R! :3-