*Author's Notes* Wow, I'm sorry for being so uber late with this chapter. It's kinda funny really, I had this all done then ff.net went down and after if came back up was doing a little proofing and got a much better idea on how to end it. So I had to rewrite a majority of this bloody story. But I am much happier with it this way. Anyway, on with the fic!

Disclaimer: I'm assuming if you're reading this then you've read the other chapters. I have said on numerous accounts that I do not own the Slayers cast. If you believe I do, then you are an enormous, genuine dumbass. Kami, Sugi, and Kathy were born from the depths of my limited imagination, so I'd appreciate that you do not use them without asking me first. Have a lovely day.

Chapter 9.

The group arrived in the town where Sugi was currently residing about two weeks from where we left off. For the entire trip, Zelgadiss would not stop constantly grumbling and muttering under his breath and cursing his existence. The grumbles and protests got progressively louder each day and as they were entering the town he was practically yelling them.

 "You DO NOT want to meet this man! Believe you me, you don't want to meet him!" Zel cried, trying desperately to deter his friends from encountering Sugi.

"You've been saying this the entire trip yet you still continue to lead the way. He can't be that bad," Kami stated rather irritably.

"You want to bet?" Zel said indignantly.

"Stop acting like a baby Zel and take us there," Lina demanded. She was inwardly surprised at Zel's protests though. Zelgadiss didn't often show much emotion with the exception of anger and angst, and his recent childish protests and pouting was an entirely new side of him. She would have laughed had his behaviour not been incredibly annoying.

"Fine, but I don't want to hear one complaint from anyone after you meet him. Not one!" he exclaimed as he took off rather quickly into the busy city. The rest of the group had to practically jog to keep up with him.

Zelgadiss led them through many busy streets that were crowded with peasants and merchants. The group elicited many stares from the townsfolk, for not too often did they see people (with the exception of Zelgadiss and his dull tan apparel) so extravagantly dressed. However their surprise quickly diminished once they realised which direction the band of foreigners were heading, and then they only frowned slightly and kept up their work.

Zel stopped at the end of a particularly dark and trashy street to wait for the others to catch up. Once they were all together again he motioned to the group to round the corner. He took a deep breath and thought rather bitterly, We're here…

 Like a grapefruit in a field of tomatoes, there stood Sugi's mansion. However, it wasn't the actual structure that held the band of travelers in a state of stupefied wonder, it was the giant neon sign that hung over it's doors.

"S- Sugi's House Of Love……" Kami said slowly.

"What the hell…." was Lina's contribution.

"Come on, let's go inside so we can get this over with," stated Zel.

"….kinda place is this?" Lina continued.

"It's Sugi's mansion," Zel replied.

"It's a brothel!" shouted Amelia.

"I don't want to hear one complaint, remember?!" and with that, Zel headed towards the entrance. The others followed nervously.

The sight they were greeted with was more astounding then the sign. Inside the……reception room was a harem of mainly women, but also a couple men.  Zelgadiss walked briskly to the reception desk and told the pretty middle aged woman there, "I'd like to see Sugi."
          "I'm sorry sir," she said without looking up from the papers she was working on, "but you cannot see him unless you have an appointment."
          "Kathy," he said, getting her attention, "tell him it's Zelgadiss."

"Zelgadiss?" she said in wonder, "take off that hood so I can see you better." Zel obliged.

"It is you! Haven't found your cure yet, I see," she said excitedly. Her gaze now fell on the group behind him who had been watching the previous event with amusement and curiosity. "Those your friends?" she asked and he nodded. "Well, Sugi's occupied at the moment but I'm sure," she said then let her gaze fall on the entourage of men and women in the room, "that you guys can amuse yourselves until he's ready." At Zel's look of utter horror she laughed and said, "You haven't changed a bit, don't worry, I was only kidding. In the back room, you remember how do get there, don't you? There's plenty of snacks and books. Help yourselves and I'll come by when Sugi's free."

Zel led them to the back room with Lina and Gourry practically on his heels, the mention of snacks the only thing on their minds. Once there, Amelia and Kami chose out a couple books and sat down to read while Gourry, Lina, and surprisingly Zelgadiss sat down and started eating.   

          A couple hours passed and Sugi had still not graced the group with his presence. Mostly everyone had fallen asleep, some on the couch some leaning against the wall on the floor. Kami was sitting cross-legged on the floor with her shoulders hunched forward and her head resting in her hands. She was trying to remember every detail of that night when she had been transported here, to see if she could figure out what exactly happened. She knew that her necklace and the words non sono reus played an important factor, but something was missing. Okay, lets, for the hundredth time, replay the events of that night. Went to library, got book. Picked up book, looked at cover, pages and bookmark, started working. Saw picture. Read words and poof, hello Zel-san. That's about it. What the bloody hell am I missing!?! She sighed loudly and frowned, letting her frustration show a little. It was then that she felt the strong and familiar arms of Zelgadiss wrap around her.

"My, aren't we being bold," she teased him.

          "Bah, everybody's asleep," he replied in a relaxed tone of voice.

          "Oh, so you're ashamed to be around me when people are conscious?" she said with mock accusation.

          "N-no! That's not what I meant!" he said hastily.

          "Relax, I'm just kidding, Zel-san."

          "You don't have to be so formal you know."

          "Hmm? Oh, that. I like calling you Zel-san, no one else does. They call you Zel or Zelgadiss-san, and in Xelloss' case Zel-kun. It's original. You don't mind, do you?"

          "No, I just thought it odd, that's all."

          "We haven't had much time together recently, have we?" she said, changing the topic.

          "No, we haven't. All that traveling, no one's had time to relax. Look how quick they passed out."

          "They fall asleep that quickly all the time," she said flatly, then smiled.

          "Yeah, I guess so. But--" he was cut off by his own surprise, when he felt Kami turn around so that they were face-to-face, kiss his nose, then snuggle into his chest and emit a loud yawn.

          "Sorry ta cut you off **yawn** Zel-san, but I'm really sleepy. Just let me rest for a minute…" she said as she gently lowered her eyelids and her breathing fell steady. Zel paused slightly, then wrapped his arms lightly around her back and closed his eyes too.

          "Goodnight, ladies. It was a pleasure seeing you again, as always," an immensely tall man said as he walked out a door. You could hear the aforementioned ladies giving replies of giggles and such. The man strut down a long hallway before entering the 'lobby' of his building and approaching Kathy, who sat behind her desk scribbling away on some papers.

          "Hello, Kathy. Ever the diligent worker, I see," the man stated with a sly voice and a grin.

          "It's what you pay me for, sir," she replied, looking up from her papers and mirroring his smile.

          "But you should have fun! Preferably with me," the man almost whined, although he kept his grin. Kathy sighed, having gone through this discussion on almost a nightly basis.

          "I would prefer to have my 'fun' at home with my husband."

          "Ah, such a stick in the mud! But nevertheless, I'll soon woo you over to me, using only my ultimate charm and gorgeous looks. It's a mystery on how you've resisted me so far!" he said dramatically.

          "Perhaps it was your massive ego, sir." He just looked at the woman he'd been working with for over ten years and smiled.

          "Anything new happen tonight?" he asked, changing the subject.

          "Ah yes. You won't believe who came stalking through our front door."

"Shabranigdo?" he offered.

"Yes, it was the demon lord himself. Of course not! Bah, what a stupid comment. It was Zelgadiss, you remember him, the priest's grandson?"

The man smiled. That was one of the reasons he had originally hired Kathy. She was a hard worker and was never afraid to speak her mind. Over the years they had developed a strong friendship.

"Of course I remember Zelgadiss. He worked with us for….what was it, a year or two?"

"Year and a half actually. Him and a group of people who he says are friends are in waiting room A."

"Did he mention why he came?"

"No, he just stalked in here, then demanded to see you. Took me by surprise, he did."

"He never was one for tact and subtlety."

"And you are?"
 "That's besides the point. How long have they been waiting? It is quite late out."

"Um…..about three and a half hours."

"Hmmm, okay. I'll go see them now. And Kathy? You should go home now, your husband's probably waiting. Don't bother coming to work tomorrow; you've been here quite late all this week, so you should spend the day with you family. Goodnight!" he said and walked down the hall to waiting room A.

"Goodnight, Sugi!" she called after him.

The group rose with a start to the deep voice of Sugi shouting, "Raise and shine!" After the initial blanket of sleep wore of and they were more aware they rose to great him.

"He….he's beautiful…."muttered Amelia who had stars in her eyes.

"That's what a prince should look like," Lina commented. Sugi flashed the women a bright grin and tossed his long hair over his shoulder. "Good evening ladies," he said, slowly eyeing up the women, "gentlemen," he said, giving a nod to the men. "Ah, Zelgadiss. It's been a while, neh? So what's new?"

"Nothing." Zelgadiss replied flatly.

"Well, aren't you going to introduce me?" Sugi questioned.

"Uh, yeah. This is Lina, Gourry, Amelia, Kami, and Xelloss," he practically growled the latter's name.

"Yare yare, Zel-kun, what did I do?"
          "Your presence is enough to offend me."

"Ooh, harsh Zel-san, that was uncalled for," Kami scolded.

"He deserves it!"

"Excuse me?" Sugi asked, slightly miffed at being ignored. "Is there a particular reason you've decided to come Zelgadiss or *laugh* did you decide to be sociable." Lina smiled at how well Sugi seemed to know Zelgadiss. Zel just scowled and brushed it off.

"Yes, there is a reason," Zel said and proceeded to explain Kami's and the group's situation.

"So all she says are some words in a foreign tongue, then poof she disappears momentarily and then comes back? The necklace is tied in somehow? Can I see a demonstration?" Kami and Zel both nodded their heads.

"Ready, Zel-san?" Kami questioned.

"Hai!" he responded after situating himself on the couch. Sugi was frowning in concentration as he paid close attention to Kami. After they were done he sat down on a nearby chair and started thinking.

"Hmmm," he said after a couple minutes of silence, "may I see your necklace?"

"Sure," Kami replied and handed it to him.

"I thought so," he said slowly. "The gem inside is part of the Staff of Gods," he declared.

"What?!" everyone cried in unison (Well, except Kami, she just looked mildly confused).

"The Staff of Gods?!" Lina practically yelled. "So is this a major power amplifier?"

"No. Let me explain something about the Staff of Gods. Now, the average person has heard of it, and they know that its pieces are extremely powerful. More powerful and serious sorcerers know of the amplifying powers some of it contains. However very few people know that there are two sections of the Staff of Gods. There is the part that amplifies power, and although they are the utmost of rare objects on this planet there is something rarer. That is the other part of the Staff, the part that seals and unseals power. That is what Kami's necklace is."

The group was rather shocked by what Sugi had said and it took them a while to respond.

"How did part of the Staff of Gods get into Kami's world?" Amelia asked.

"Beats me!" Sugi replied. During his whole serious speech he had slowly been moving closer to the girls. "What do you think, Lina-chan?" he said, and let his hand cup her behind.

"HENTAI!!!!" she screamed. "FIREBALL, MONOBOLT, FREEZE ARROW!!" When the cloud of smoke disappeared there stood Sugi, without even a wrinkle in his clothes.

"Now now, no explosives in the waiting room," he chastised. Lina was just seething. If one looked hard enough they could probably see smoke emerging from her ears. "What the hell do you think you're doing!!!!? You don't go groping innocent young girls, even if they are immensely beautiful and powerful sorceresses!!" she yelled. Nobody decide to comment on the 'innocent, beautiful girl' part.

"Uh, back to my necklace," Kami said, changing the subject and stepping a bit further from Lina, "How did this power my necklace contains get me here?"

"I'm not incredibly sure. I think that there might be some sort of……seal between our worlds. Your necklace is simply unsealing each time you say whatever those words were.

"Non sono reus?" she offered without really thinking.

"Wai—oof!" Zelgadiss said then landed hard on the ground in a matter very unbecoming.

"Wasn't the brightest thing I've done," Kami grumbled while fighting down nausea.

"But why can't she stay in her world?" Amelia asked.

"I don't think her necklace has enough power to keep her there."

"So it would need an amplifier!" Zel said, catching on to Sugi's train of thought.

"Yes, but not an ordinary amplifier, not even one as strong as the demon blood amplifiers that miss Inverse over here has," Sugi said.

"You know who we are?" Lina asked, her anger currently forgotten.

"Of course. You, are Lina Inverse. He is Gourry Gabriev, yielder or the Sword of Light. She is Amelia Wil Tesla Sailloon. Ah, and there's Xelloss Metallium, oh don't look at me like that, I'm not ignorant enough to be fooled by your disguise. I make sure I know about who enters my building. You're all quite an infamous group."

Kami didn't much care that he knew who her friends were; she just wanted to learn more about how she got here. "So an amplifier's needed eh?"

"Yes, can you think of what you had with you while you first read the words?" Sugi asked.

"Hmmm, I had my bag, which just had a pen and a notebook, my old uniform, and that book. Could it have been the amplifier?"

"No, it needs to be a stone of some sort. Are you sure their weren't any strange stones around?"

"Uh, no I don't think so…wait!! It was that friggn' bookmark! I knew something was missing. I just can't believe it was so simple!" At the others' perplexed looked she sighed and explained, "In the book there was this bookmark. It had this intricate design with many different small stones on it. Those were the only stones there so I'm sure they were the amplifier. But how the bloody hell did all this get into my world?"

"Who knows, sometimes mysteries can't be explained," Xelloss offered. "Or they can be secrets!" he added cheerfully.

"So, I can't get back without another amplifier like that, can I?" Kami asked slowly.

"No, I'm pretty sure you can't," Sugi said compassionately. Lina walked over to the distressed girl and put an arm around her and drew he into a hug.

"It's okay, really," Kami said as a tear slid down her cheek, "it just sounds so final. I love you guys so much but it still hurts to know I'll never be able to see my family again."

The group was at a loss to say. Deciding that actions were better than words they all went and gave her a giant group hug.

Kami stiffened then shouted, "GET YOUR HAND OFF MY BREAST, SUGI!!!!"

End.