"The Lost Temple." Lina said, gazing out at the field around her. Gourry stood by her side, frowning, "Hey Lina, I don't see any temple. All I see is a field."
Sure enough, they were on the outskirts of Zefiel City. Vineyards lay behind them, and in front of them was a seemingly endless field. Rather strange place for a temple. Lina's eyes narrowed, and she started scanning the ground. She apparently found what she was looking for, as she walked up to a seemingly ordinary looking rock and rested her palm on it, closing her eyes. She started chanting in some language Gourry couldn't understand, and then it seemed as though an earthquake were occurring. The ground rumbled, and Gourry knelt on the ground for balance, "Lina, what did you do?"
Lina showed no sign of inconfidence, however, as she stared straight ahead of her, "What I am doing is bringing the Lost Temple to surface again, after probably one thousand years buried underground. I'll just have to add it to my list of accomplishments."
"Yeah," Gourry said, "Considering this earthquake doesn't destroy the city! Whoa!"
From a tear in the ground a flat roof started rising. Doric columns followed, yellow and crumbling, and then the ancient stone stairs emerged. Lina smiled, "Alright, let's go!" she said, charging up the stairs, Gourry close behind. They got in without any trouble, the door closing behind them and shutting out the light. "LIGHTING!" Lina called, and bright luminosity filled an ancient stone corridor. Lina and Gourry exchanged a glance and set off down the corridor, not really sure of what was awaiting them.
"That was really good tea." Amelia said to Zelgadis as they headed to the library. Scarlet trailed behind them and fumed about how much of her time Luna had wasted. Zelgadis and Amelia ignored her as best as they could.
"And Luna was the perfect hostess." Zelgadis added, "I can see why Lina's scared of her, however. It's not everyone who can slay a dragon with a kitchen knife."
"Still," Amelia said, "It just isn't like Miss Lina to run away from her fears."
"Hmm…you have a point there. With life threatening dangers at least."
"What?" Amelia asked.
"Have you seen her admit her feelings for Gourry?"
"Oh," Amelia said, thinking, "I wonder what sort of relationship Miss Lina and Miss Luna had before Miss Lina ran away."
"At any rate, Luna was very helpful in explaining some things about the Jewel of Rajah to us. Amelia, do you think you would be able to activate the jewel now?"
Amelia shrugged, "I'll have to experiment a bit, but at least I have some idea what to do now. I never would have thought of using shamanist spirit magic to activate it, though." She thought for a minute before asking, "Mr. Zelgadis, do you still want to use to Jewel of Rajah for your cure? You seemed a little reluctant the last time we talked about it."
Zelgadis sighed. He had to tell someone, and he'd rather tell Amelia than Lina or Gourry. Besides, he owed her that much. "When I was talking with Milgasea…"
The earth shook suddenly, and Zel, Amelia and Scarlet were nearly thrown off their feet. They exchanged a look, "Looks like Miss Lina is stirring up trouble again." Amelia said.
"Oh!" Scarlet roared, "What are those two doing to my site?"
And with that she sped up ahead of them, past the library, well on her way to the outskirts of the town. Amelia breathed a sigh of relief as Zel folded his arms across his chest. "Did you get the impression that Miss Luna was keeping her from them for as long as possible?" Amelia asked.
"Hm." Zelgadis said, "But why? At anyrate, we'd better get going ourselves. Time isn't moving any slower, and I want to get through the rest of the library today."
Lina and Gourry walked silently through the temple. It was rather boring as temples go. No writing on the walls, no interesting little traps, and no end in sight. The corridor seemed to stretch on endlessly. Lina started wondering if there was some secret passageway they had missed when suddenly the corridor panned out into a huge room. Lina and Gourry might have been more excited about this, however, had there not been about a hundred berserkers in the room with them.
Interestingly enough, Lina smiled, "Figures," she said, "Well, I prefer this to a greasy dog creature. BURST ROND!" she yelled, and small balls of light appeared around several of the berserkers. It didn't do much damage, but it frightened them a bit. Gourry ran in with his sword raised screaming a battle cry. Lina eyed the situation a bit before turning to a group of berserkers far away from where Gourry was and yelling, "VAL-FLARE!"
Something that looked like an enlarged flare arrow emerged from her hands and hit a group of berserkers full on. They didn't stand a chance in the explosion that followed, and their numbers were seriously depleted evening out the odds a bit. Unfortunately, it also had the effect of enraging the remaining berserkers, causing the strength of their attack to increase. Soon enough, Lina and Gourry found themselves pressed back to back amid a torrent of bloodthirsty berserkers. "FIREBALL!" Lina called, "FLARE ARROW!"
Gourry's elbows kept bumping into her back as he moved his sword through the air, thrusting, parrying, blocking. The berserker's possessed incredible strength, but he had faced berserker's before, not to mention Dark Lords and monsters. He was not going to be beaten by this group, even if there was so many.
Behind him Lina was also starting to feel the effects of exhaustion. Her magical energy was limited, and she thought of drawing her sword to conserve it, or at least cast a spell through it, but that would mean leaving her guard down for a moment, and in a situation like this, even a moment was too much to spare. The press of bodies against them was great and Lina knew that all it took was one opening, one mistake on either of their parts, and they were as good as dead. She couldn't use the Dragon Slave…not without destroying the temple itself and any chance she had of getting her hands on Sorcerer Keran's spell. And she couldn't very well allow that.
Gourry bit his lip in pain as he realized he'd been hit. Not badly, but a hit was a hit, and in this instance could be deadly. He gritted his teeth and continued fighting. He'd deal with the wound when this was over, but right now he had to concentrate on surviving this. He'd taken worse injuries before, he could take this…
Unaware of her partner's condition, an idea came to the sorceress. As annoying as Scarlet could be, she had taken the time to teach Lina the Zelas Brid. It might just work…"Gourry, cover me!" and without waiting for him to reply, she chanted, "Lord of Darkness of the Four Worlds," she began, the magical amulets on her arms, neck and waist glowing, "I call upon you, grant me all the power that you possess." She looked up, an evil gleam in her eye, "ZELAS BRID!"
A beam of light appeared in her hands, and she used it as a whip to cut through the group of berserkers before her. Effortlessly it cleaved them, and they fell in multitudes before her. "Yes!" she cried, lashing out again with the whip, taking out more of them. Behind her, on his reserves of strength and adrenaline, Gourry took out the remaining berserkers before him and turned to see Lina finish off the remaining group with the Zelas Brid. When the last of the berserkers had fallen she turned and flashed him a victory sign, winking smugly at him.
Gourry smiled at her before falling to his knees, clenching his side in pain. "Gourry?" Lina asked, and then gasped as she saw red seeping through his blue tunic. She knelt beside him, "RECOVERY!" she yelled, placing her hand over the wound.
"It's not bad, Lina. It's really not that deep."
"Yeah, looks like you lucked out." Lina eyed the mess around them as she healed him. For whatever reason she started thinking about their battle with Gaav three years ago, one in which they had nearly fought to their deaths like they had nearly done here…the battle in which in its aftermath Gourry had been taken from her. She bit her lip, trying to force down some of the feelings threatening to explode. She'd never realized how much the swordsman had been a part of her life until Phibrizzo had kidnapped him, and now he very easily could have been taken from her forever again. If the berserker had cut him just a bit more deeply…
"Looks like Sorcerer Keran really didn't want this spell to be found." Lina said to take her mind off the direction it was flowing.
Gourry nodded, "I don't want to see what lies ahead. Lina, is the spell really worth it?"
"A spell to combine white, black and shamanist magic? What kind of a question is that, Gourry, especially with Xellos showing up again, not to mention the warning that Milgasea passed down through Zel? And besides that, something in my bones says that we need to find this spell. Call it women's intuition."
Gourry shrugged, found that it hurt to do that, and tried to remember not to do it again until Lina had finished casting the healing spell, "Okay." He thought for a moment before tentatively saying, "You know, I know for some reason your sister scares you. But she didn't seem like she was going to kill you or anything."
"Huh?" Lina asked, taken so completely by surprise by his change of subject that she nearly interrupted the healing spell. She sighed, and took a deep breath. It must have really been weighing heavily on Gourry's mind for him to remember about it and bring it up. Shyly, she looked at Gourry as he averted his gaze from her, his blue eyes brimming with concern. Something broke as she watched the swordsman, "No, she wouldn't." Lina agreed quietly. She thought for a moment before adding, "Luna won't hurt me physically that much. Emotionally, well, that's another story." Lina discontinued the healing spell and helped Gourry to stand up, wondering why in the world she'd just told him what she had. Lina stopped herself with an effort. She was telling too much, yet it felt surprisingly good to let it out, "Come on, let's get away from all these bodies, take out our rations and regain our strength a bit before continuing on."
"Right," Gourry said, looking at Lina curiously. She'd never opened up before, and her change in manner had thrown him completely. May be it was Zel and Amelia being gone…
Lina was just as confused as he was, if not more so. What has gotten into me? She wondered to herself. Was it nearly losing Gourry, or was she just tired of keeping him at bay? Or had hurting him last night gotten under her skin more than she had realized? She didn't want to hurt him anymore. The realization was a strange one to her, but not as surprising as the next one that came as she watched the swordsman as they came upon the shelter of the hallway. She trusted him.
"What do you mean by emotionally?" he asked as they sat in a hallway far enough away from the room where the battle had taken place so as not to be overcome by the smell of blood and guts and death.
Lina opened up her pack, pulling out some hard bread and handing some to Gourry, before biting into her own piece. She took so long in answering Gourry thought that she was just going to ignore the question until she said, "Growing up here was like growing up in a shadow, namely, my sister's shadow. Luna has a lot more power than I can ever hope to have! She's gained a piece of Ceiphied's power, and she uses that power uninhibited with incantations and can make even a kitchen knife a deadly weapon for a dragon! I didn't have a name for myself in Zefiel City, I was simply 'Luna's kid sister.' It was unbearable! And then after the incident with the projections I finally had the chance to show the town just how powerful I was, show them that I could do tremendous things as well by fighting some banshee that was terrorizing some of the vineyards. While I was confronting the banshee, Luna just had to butt in and steal my victory! I had to get out then, I had to get away from home. There was no way I could continue to grow into what I am today while living in her shadow! I had to make my own name, I had to make people respect and fear my name, like they did Luna's. So I ran away. And now I'm back here in her shadow again." Lina sighed, drawing her knees to her chest, "That's why I didn't want you to meet my family. With Mom and Dad its Luna this, Luna that. Compared to the stuff she's done my adventures are hardly worth an eye blink. I couldn't let you see me overshadowed like that."
"Well you might be surprised," Gourry said, "Your parents seemed pretty proud of your accomplishments to me at least."
Lina face faulted, "What?"
"They went on and on about a lot of things. Something about Shabrabingo and Hellover Phillybree and Death Star. Something about those events seemed familiar, they kept pressing me for details, but…"
Lina grabbed a bunch of his tunic, pulling him close to her, "And just when were you talking to my parents?"
Gourry sweatdropped, and scratched his head, "Uh, last night. I was taking a walk and your dad recognized me and invited me to his home. Your sister was still working, but your mom was there. She makes some delicious coffee cake!"
Lina let go of him, shock taking over as a million questions hit her at once, "How, what, wait. My dad recognized you? How?"
"We'd met once. We defeated a monster together. It was right before I met you actually."
Lina shook her head, "You mean you met my dad before you met me!?"
Gourry nodded as he patted her on the head, "He told me to find a purpose for the Sword of Light. And soon after I met you, and I did."
Lina blushed fiercely, "And then last night you met my mom and saw my house?"
"Yup! And while we were eating they started asking me all these questions about what you had done, where you were, what you were doing. They seemed disappointed when I told them you weren't planning on dropping by. You really should stop by, you know. I mean, that coffee cake was delicious and your mom said she'd make me another one if I ever stopped by…"
"Good grief, this can't be happening, this can't be true! I can't believe this, I just can't! Gourry of Jellyfish found my house and had dinner with my family without my having a clue about it!"
Gourry frowned, his face falling, "Did I do something wrong, Lina?"
Lina blushed suddenly, overcome with emotion, before leaning back against the wall beside him, "No, Gourry, surprised as I may be, you did something right." She bit her lip for a moment before adding, "Thank you."
Gourry smiled, patting her on the head, "It was the least I could do."
He was quiet for a moment before he said, "I'm sorry I've been so mad about this these past few days. It's just that I thought you didn't want them to meet me because I wasn't important enough."
Lina turned and put a hand on his arm, "What? No! It was never about you. I mean I…I…" she grew very red all of the sudden, "I wasn't even thinking about it like that!"
He moved his hand to cup her cheek and stroke it. Lina's heart started to beat very fast as she found herself moving closer to him, closing the distance between them. But just when she was about to brush her lips with his, Scarlet's shrill voice rang through the room.
"There you are! And what a mess this place is! What the carnation do you think you are doing? Excavating this temple without me!?"
Lina hit the wall with her fists, and got up. "Hello Scarlet."
They had met with no berserkers, undead, or greasy dog-like creatures on the rest of their journey to the vault where Sorcerer Keran kept his works. Apparently Sorcerer Keran had felt that the berserkers were enough to keep anyone out. He had never crossed paths with Lina Inverse, the walking force of destruction before. Gourry, Lina and Scarlet were just happy about that, though. Both knew that even though they had rested a bit they were definitely not in their prime right now and expending energy to fight another battle was more than either wanted to do at the moment. Right now dinner, a hot bath and a soft bed sounded real nice, but first they had to get the next piece of the puzzle.
The door didn't open the convenient way by allowing its handle to be turned. Lina's first inclination was the fireball the hell out of it, but Scarlet didn't approve. While her conversation with Gourry had lifted her spirits a bit, she was still in a bad mood and she didn't particularly feel like dealing with stubborn doors or uptight archeologists at the moment. So she muttered under her breath as Scarlet picked the lock.
Once open, they wordlessly walked through the doorframe and into Keran's office. Once again, papers and old, musky books lined the room. For once, Gourry joined Lina in her search for something useful, mostly because he was hoping to find something on the strange sword he had. Gourry stared at the book, frowning. This one was in some language he didn't even recognize! He put the book down. At least it helped narrow the things down that he could look through.
"Found it!" Lina said, clapping her hands together triumphantly, "Next stop, the Elmekia Empire!"
Gourry sweatdropped, "The Elmekia Empire?" he asked, his voice raising an octave, "It can't be!"
Lina raised an eyebrow, "What is it, Gourry?"
Gourry sighed, lowering his head, "Well, I guess we saw your home, Lina. I guess it's time we saw mine."
"Elmekia?" Lina repeated thoughtfully, chin resting on her hand, "So that's where you're from."
"Yeah," Gourry said, sounding somewhat desolate, "Elmekia is my home. Only, I don't think anyone there will be happy to see me."
"If this is about the Sword of Light, Gourry, it has been returned to where it belongs, you shouldn't have to worry about facing your family's wrath over losing it."
"It's not that, Lina," Gourry said, "It's the circumstances that I left home with the Sword of Light that I'm worried about."
"What?" Lina asked, "What do you mean circumstances? The sword was passed down to you, wasn't it?"
Gourry sweatdropped, "Err, not exactly."
Lina slapped her forehead, muttering to herself, "Oh I don't believe this, I just don't believe this. Alright, Gourry, just what exactly happened?"
Gourry thought for a moment, "Well, from what I can remember…"
Lina slide to a pile on the floor, "Oh dear…"
"Father died suddenly without really specifying to whom the sword should be passed down to. It was either going to be me or my twin brother, and since it isn't known which of us was really older, the right of primogeniture was nullified, see?"
"So let me see," Scarlet said, "You stole the sword because you wanted it."
"No!" Gourry nearly yelled, "It wasn't that at all! It was…well, I didn't trust my brother, see? He was mean and power crazed, and I didn't trust him with the power the sword would give him."
"So you took it so he wouldn't be able to abuse it?" Lina said.
"Sort of," Gourry said with a sigh, "It was also tearing the family apart. Soon everyone wanted the sword for themselves, my uncles, aunts, cousins. Then my family started killing each other for it. One of my other brothers was killed in the fighting, and when that happened I knew I had to do something to keep the family safe!"
"So you took it and ran, huh?"
"Yeah." Gourry said, his voice heavier than usual. "If the sword wasn't there, then there wouldn't be anything to fight over, would there?"
Lina sighed, shaking her head. "And you've had no contact at all with your family since, right?"
"None at all." Gourry confirmed, "They might even kill me on sight if I step into Elmekia!"
"Well this is just great," Lina said, "We have to go to Elmekia, Gourry, our lives depend on it. Well, my life at least." Lina thought for a moment, a solution coming to her. It wasn't a particularly pleasant one, but she'd dragged Gourry into enough adventures and jeopardized his life one too many times.
"Well, I guess the solution would be for Gourry to remain in Zefiel City while Lina and I tarry forth to the Elmekian Empire." Scarlet said, seeming to have read Lina's mind. "Then we can meet up once we get the next clue to where the spell it."
"What! There's no way I'm letting Lina go there without me!"
Lina put a hand on his arm, "I'll be fine. I mean, I'm glad you wanted the job and all, but it's not like I needed a protector. And with Scarlet and likely Zel and Amelia it's not like I'd be alone. And like Scarlet says, once I get what I need, we can meet up again."
Gourry's face hardened, "No way, Lina. Besides, it's not as if I've never been any place dangerous with you before. It would be stupid for me to be your protector while expecting my safety to be guaranteed at all times."
Lina smiled, "I guess you have a point. But I also don't want to put you in a position where you have to defend yourself against your own family for me."
He put his hand on her head and ruffled her hair, "I'm not leaving, Lina. Like it or not, you're stuck with me."
Lina laughed quietly to herself, and smiled while Scarlet folded her arms across her chest and looked worried. Lina really didn't want to have to leave him anyway, even if it was for a short while. She stood on her toes to pat him on the shoulder, "Glad to have you along then. We'll just have to be careful then. May be if we dressed you up like a girl again…"
"What?" Gourry yelled, "There's no way I'm going to Elmekia dressed as a girl! If my brother found out I would die!"
"Alright, then," Lina said, "We'll think of something. Come on, let's go back to the inn. Zel and Amelia are probably eating diner by now, and we wouldn't want to miss out on that!"
AN: Hey ya'll. Thanks for reading thus far! Lately I've been having people challenge me to write more with Lina's parents, which I originally glossed over in this fic. The reason is because I don't like writing her parents because there's no way to know what Hajime Kanzaka would have named them and I have this whole complex about getting something wrong. It's not rational of me, but there it is. Anyway, to help me around this, please go to my profile for a link, which will take you to my tumblr and a poll to name Lina's parents. Poll closes next Weds and whichever name wins I will use. Thanks!
