A dainty ephemeral hand gently grasps a delicate teacup carved from the rarest gem. The gentle sloshing of the tea capsizes a slave ship deep in a forgotten sea.

NARRATOR

Food has always played
a vital role in life's rituals.
The breaking of bread - the
last meal of the condemned
 man - and now this meal.
However informal it might
appear you can be sure there
was to be very little 'bonhomie'.

We sat around a tacky coffin shaped table, Xellos at the head. He trained his lips into a haughty pout and looked bored. His eyes, still open, flicked towards Luna occasionally. When I would look away from him I was certain I could feel his gaze on me also.

I hitched up the sheet that was playing replacement dinner wear. Gourry had draped it around me more artfully than I would have expected, tying it in a big guady bow. Amelia and Naga stood behind Xellos sentinal. Amelia with a bottle of wine, Naga with a plate of thick meat slices. My stomach didn't so much as rumble as roar with need. Gourry was staring the platter down. I knew we were thinking the same thing. If Naga doesn't kick her ass into some meat serving action I don't know how much longer I could stand it before I jumped her.

Amelia started forward first sloping wine into the mismatched glasses without a care. The dirty white table cloth was soon a deep purple.

Xellos cleared his throat and held up his glass. "First, a toast." His pursed lips stretched into a smile that made my skin crawl. I looked away. "To absent friends." A few people mumbled something but my attention was fully held by the meat.

Next, and more importantly, Naga sauntered around the table slapping slices of meat down on plates with a splat. I was vibrating with anticipation. It was inexpertly cooked, one side was a hair above raw but the juice didn't even have time to settle before half the slab was in my mouth. I chewed with gusto. Gourry had inhaled his considerable slice in seconds. He was eyeing my other half so I shoved it into my mouth gulping down poorly chewed mouthfuls. He sighed and went back to stalking Naga's platter with his eyes.

Feeling considerably heartened by the scant offerings I gulped down my dirty glass of wine slamming it down on the table. I opened my mouth the speak by was cut off by none other than my sister. My mouth clamped shut. I had forgotten she was there somehow.

"I believe you brought me here to discuss Zangulus." She daintily cut a piece of meat chewing it deliberately.

"Zangulus!" Martina shrieked, raising from her seat.

Xellos merely chuckled. "I'm afraid that's a rather tender subject. Would anyone care for another slice."

Martina blanched then pushed her plate away. I signaled for another slice immediately. Martina threw me a look of the deepest loathing. "Excuse me." She choked out, then ran from the room with a terrible scream. Naga splatted another slice down on my plate.

Zelgadis cleared his throat. "I believe he was implying that this is the remains of Zangulus." He said at his driest.

"He vaporized him on the spot." I reasoned, taking a big bite. "Besides, this tastes too much like wild boar. I doubt Zangy'd have such a gamey taste."

Zelgadis did not comment nor did he finish his slice. I was about to dive for it when that terrifying person I was trying to ignore spoke up again.

Luna leaned in our direction and stage whispered. "I knew he was in with a bad crowd, but I never expected this: Mazoku." I choked on my meat.

She never lost her broad smile as she turned back to Xellos. I shrunk in my chair.

"Is that so Dr. Inverse- or shall I say, Dr. Von Inverse!" Luna smiled.

"That doesn't even make sense." Zelgadis frowned at Xellos.

Xellos brandished a steak knife at him with a snarl. Zelgadis raised his eyebrows and I could tell he was trying not to roll his eyes at the flimsy blade.

"That's alright, Zelgadis." She waved him off. I think I'm supposed to start a song now, yes?" She laughed. Xellos's smile became a little strained.

"What ever do you mean. I thought we were still discussing Zangulus?"

"Nah, don't care all that much about him actually. I'm more interested in what you're doing here."

I stuck the last piece of meat in my mouth, chewing as I watched Xellos's face. His smile was becoming increasingly strained and his eyes were closed again. His eyebrow twitched.

I could hear the strained sound of Martina singing down the hallway. I caught snippets of the words and her confession of love for Zangulus. I immediately lost interest. I turned back to the contest of wills around the table. Gourry had snuck Zelgadis's unfinished pork onto his own plate and was well on his way to finishing it off.

I was starting to feel woozy again, certain that something had been in the wine but my head was clearer than it had been most of the night. I watched what amounted to the worlds stupidest staring contest as Xellos never opened his eyes and no one could really tell what my sister was looking at with her obscure choice of hairstyle.

My sister broke "eye contact" with Xellos and stood abruptly. With a mighty heave she flipped the table. No one had been expecting it and everyone dove out of the way. Even Xellos looked surprised. I was tangled in my sheet but Gourry pulled me to safety, holding me against him as my weak knees shook. Zelgadis cursed and leapt to our side. He was staring at the floor with a nasty expression.

Oh. Well that was different.

Under the table was an insanely detailed magic circle. Runes were carved into the rock floor but they seemed to change if I stared at the too hard. It was hurting my eyes. Such circles' powers were related to their size but I had a sneaking suspicion that this might only be the center. "I've seen these before..." I whispered.

Zelgadis was stunned, he turned to me staring intently with bloodshot eyes. "What is it?" He hissed back, barely audible.

"When we were looking for the Claire Bible-" Xellos's whine cut me off.

"Mau, Luna-san, that was my line..." He pouted. Luna's smile never changed.

"You really ought not improvise, not at such a delicate moment." He said in a strangely frank voice.

"Don't care." My sister replied.

"I can see the family resemblance." Zel quipped the side. I chose to ignore this seeing as how there were other things to worry about. I'd just put it on the list of things I'd kill him for later.

"While I appreciate the invitation to your little party, it occurs to me that I might have not been the intended recipient." My sister went on. Xellos frowned neither confirming nor denying the comment.

"But I'm afraid I've been ordered to cut this gig short. Creating a gateway to this dimension is strictly prohibited. "

"Well, Luna-san," Xellos said brightly. "Things probably aren't going to go as planned."

"Why's that?" She raised and eyebrow. I think.

"Because by entering this area you enter a contract and the contract must be completed to it's end or you'll be required to stay until it is fulfilled. But by then..." He smiled.

"By then?" This time it was me asking.

"That's a secret." He smiled.

As they had been talking a buzzing noise had been steadily raising. The noise was becoming increasingly obvious as angry voices hissing in the background.

"But more importantly." Xellos started towards me. "How could you!" He sneered, backhanding me. I staggered backwards. Xellos inserted himself between me and Gourry so I did the first thing that came to mind and bolted from the room. I kept tripping on my skirt and staggering in an effort to put distance between us. Xellos was hot on my heels. I thought I heard music and was enraged when I finally understood what Xellos was saying as chased me.

"I'll tell you once, won't tell you twice- you're apple pie don't taste too nice."

I whipped around. "You got a lot of balls saying that to me, buddy!" I screamed, face burning.

"I've laid that seed, should be all you need." He said reaching for my sheet. I could see Zelgadis and Gourry pounding down the hallway, my sister following at a leisurely pace but too far to block Xellos. I wrenched away from him flying down the hallway as fast as my jello-y knees would carry me.

"You're as sensual as a pencil, wound up like an E on first string."

I hit a dead end, but turned back snarling at that remark.

"When we made it, did you hear a bell ring?"

We were face to face when the wall behind me gave. I toppled through, but managed to quickly right myself. I was dimmly aware that I was back in the lab and dashed down the ramp towards the lift. Xellos cut me off and I sidestepped around the tank trying to keep something between us. Gourry and Zelgadis dashed down the ramp. Gourry halted in front of me. "Go for the exit!" He demanded, his eyes never leaving Xellos. Zelgadis was at my back panting. I sighed and squared my shoulders. Running wouldn't do me a damn bit of good.

Xellos skipped towards the machine. "The transducer," he slammed a handle down "will seduce 'ya."

The air crackled with energy. The three of us froze on the spot in a grim face off. It felt like someone had Shadow Snapped me to the floor.

"My feet, I can't move my feet!" Tumbled out of my mouth. I couldn't move much anything else for the matter but my arms were still free.

My sister was standing off to the side, leaning against one of the nude statues. "My wheels. I can't move me wheels." She said grinning. Well, I'm glad someone found this situation humorous.

"It's as if we're glued to the spot!" Zelgadis spat out.

"You are!" Xellos oozed out. "So quake with fear your tiny fools!"

"We're trapped." I growled out fighting off another dramatic wail or anguish.

"It's something you'll get used to. A mental mind-fuck can be nice!" Xellos added sauntering over towards me.

"You won't find humans quite the easy mark as you imagined. I suppose this sonic transducer- it is, I suppose, some sort of audio-vibrato-physio-molecular transport device?" Luna rattled off, still cool as a cucumber.

"You mean?" Zelgadis started, having been the only one who followed the stream of nonsense.

"Yes, Zel-kun, it's something the Sorcerers Guild has been working on for quite some time, but it seems our friend here has found a means of perfecting it. A device, which is capable of breaking down solid matter and then projecting it through space and, who knows, perhaps even time itself."

"But... don't we already have the sort of capability?" Zelgadis mumbled, nonplussed.

"Work with me here." Luna smiled at him.

"You mean he's going to send us to another dimension?" I sighed.

He sauntered over and started bad touching me, running his hands down my hips and telling me to wise up and a few other choice comments I chose to ignore. I shoved and batted at him, unable to move most of my body. He kept shooting looks at Gourry who looked as if he would gladly poke a few holes into my tormenter. But that was little consolation when I noticed Amelia lounging against a machine, her arm resting on a lever. She absentmindedly swayed her hips to the music that was ever present.

[NARRATOR]

And then she cried out...

"Stoooop!" I yelled unable to push Xellos away.

Gourry opened his mouth to protest Xellos's treatement of me when with her creepy brain-washed grin, Amelia pulled the lever turning Gourry into a nude marble statue. A well-sculpted one at that.

Zelgadis had barely opened his mouth when the lever went a second time also turning him into... a stone statue.

My sister chuckled, not bothering to try and escape when the lever went a third time.

I locked eyes with Amelia and she leered and down went the lever.