Rated: R
Language:English
Categories: Action/Adventure/Romance
Title: My Obsession
Summary: "I'll see to it personally he has a better life this time." "'But- Gaav! That's impossible! He's dead!'" ""Who the Hell am I!"" 'You're mine, Valgaav.'

My Obsession

I'm rather proud of how this story is turning out so far. I'm sorry it's taken me so long to update it; I couldn't figure out how to end the last one. Time to bring in the actual Slayers group..About time isn't it? Hey—this is a GaavVal fic isn't it?
Chapter Ten: Word Gets Around Fast

The early morning sun rose slowly into the sky, giving the clouds and the land below it a graceful, relaxing glow of light reddish-pink as it melted the night away. All the sounds which accompanied nightfall, too, were slowly being banished as the morning's rays flooded the world to awaken it from its peaceful slumber, crickets were beginning to give way to the chirping of birds, fruit bats gave way to roosters as they flew back to their caves to sleep through the morning, and all around there was a smell of-

"Ahh, finally! That rack of dragon ribs I ordered is finally here!" cried Lina Gabriev in relief, grinning as a malicious glint entered her eyes when she looked down at the plate set before her by the waiter.

"He- hey! Don't eat it all, Lina! Save some for me!" Gourry Gabriev shouted in dismay as the redheaded woman began to devour the ribs.

Lina's bright eyes narrowed, her grin turning malicious to match the glint in her eyes as she stared at another rib. Picking it up with her now-bare hands, she ignored the funny, inquisitive looks given to her by those seated at tables surrounding she and her lover's as she growled at the food, "Prepare yourself..You're goin' down. Down my throat and into my stomach, that is, you beautiful, delicious, tantilizing food!"

Gourry lept forward a bit, leaning over the table and snatching a couple of ribs for himself before they were all downed in one foul swoop by the woman across from him.

As she finished chewing a particularly stringy bite of dragon rib, Lina chuckled. "This morning couldn't get any better! It's a beautiful day so far, they agreed to serve lunch a little bit early, we finally paid off our tab- for this restaurant, anyway...And, best of all, the food here is famous!"

Gourry nodded cheerfully, grinning as he swallowed the last bite of his third rib and raised his arm to signal the waiter to bring another rack their way.

Behind the two traveling companions, facing the doorway, Zelgadiss Greywords and Amelia Wil Tesla Seyruun sat with wide eyes, frozen in the middle of whatever they had been doing at the voice ringing behind them.

Zelgadiss shook his head vigorously, closing his eyes as he set his sword down upon the seat beside him and Amelia shivered.

"I could have sworn I just heard Miss Lina and Mister Gourry's voices..But that can't be! What business would they have here?" whimpered Amelia, scooting closer to Zel.

A tiny voice cleared its throat, looking nervously back at the table behind Amelia and Zel from the corner of his eyes with distaste. "What, er...What can I do for the two of you today?" he asked nervously.

Amelia blinked and looked up to the waiter, smiling politely. "Hi! Can we get a- Mister Zelgadiss, what do you want?"

"Surprise me." replied the chimera briefly.

"Alright, let's see..." Glancing back down the list of items on the menu, Amelia's smile turned into a slight frown. "There's so much to choose from..."

The waiter sighed, asking, "Would you like a little more time to decide?"

"Oh, no! That's fine—okay, I know now. He'll have the Pasta Surprise...No wait, make that the Dragon Flambé Supreme with- Mister Zelgadiss, are you sure you won't just choose something?"

Zel chuckled slightly, letting his answer remain unsaid.

Understanding the silence to be a yes, Amelia sighed. "Okay, if you're sure...Alright! He'll have the Fillet of Chime—– uhhhm...That's not a good idea- okay then, put him down for the–"

"We'll both have the squid with dragon sauce and the dragon ribs on the side please." Zelgadiss sighed and said, folding his menu and taking Amelia's gently, doing the same with it as he looked at the waiter.

With a thankful smile to Zel, the man took the menus and walked off, rolling his eyes as his back turned to them to walk off.

"I'm sorry Mister Zelgadiss...I couldn't decide what you would probably-"

"Was Chimera Fillet really on that menu?" inquired the man thoughtfully.

With a brief nod, Amelia smiled sadly and nodded. "Sorry; I didn't think about it before I suggested it..."

"Don't worry about it."

Behind the two, Lina's eyes widened with each passing sentence, grinning in the middle of biting down into the tenth plate of ribs brought to she and Gourry's table.

"Hey, those voices sound familiar." Gourry murmured to Lina, blinking. "Where have I heard them before?"

"If I'm not wrong (and when was I ever?) those two are-"

"I've heard them before! But who is it? Hmm...Hm...I wonder...Hmmmm-"

SMACK.

"Ow! What was that for Lina!"

"We do know those voices, jellyfish-for-brains!" Lina grumbled, standing to her feet and walking over to the table behind theirs.

Immediately upon seeing Lina, Amelia pulled out gag glasses with a big nose and mustache attached to them, two pairs, and put one on her face and one on Zel's. "Hello, Miss Li-" she began, freezing befor deepening her voice. "I mean- hello, miss person I've never seen before in my entire life."

Zel blinked through the glasses, shaking his head. Does Amelia really think Lina and Gourry won't recognize us? With my body still that of a gollem, they'll know we're who we are if only because of how I– I'm giving Gourry too much credit. He'd probably fall for it...But Lina—

"Hey, Lina? Why are you bothering those nice people? Come on back over here and eat!" grinned Gourry from beside Lina, looking to Amelia and Zel.

Well, I was right...Gourry fell for it. sighed Zel to himself. But Lina still—

"Hey, Gourry?" Lina began.

"Yeah?"

"Do you really have to be that stupid all the time or are you doing it because you think it keeps the romance alive?"

"What are you talking about? We shouldn't bother those nice people with things like that, they're probably—"

"That's Amelia and Zel, you idiot!"

"It is!"

Amelia removed the glasses with a sigh, taking Zel's and putting them back up. Smacking her forehead against Zel's shoulder, she thought, Every single time we run into her if we aren't trying to we always get into—

"Help! Help! Oh, vengance!" shouted an old woman's voice from the doorway.

Lina, Gourry, Zelgadiss, and Amelia paused then and there in their actions, turning their attention towards the door where an old woman with tear-filled eyes was panting to catch her breath.

"Not any of my business." Lina sighed, shaking her head and turning back to her friends.

"But Miss Lina, she said she needs help! It's the right thing to do!" Amelia pleaded, clenching one hand into a fist.

Here it comes.. thought Zel, leaning to the side towards the wall and banging his head against it a few times.

And Amelia did continue, saying, "It's not right to leave someone in need of assistance alone without it! Where is the love in your heart? Where is the justice?"

"Look, Amelia: that old woman may have yelled for help, but she wants retribution too. Remember? She didn't just scream about help. Besides, there's no payment and I don't work for free. So this time, we don't have to help. You're absolutely—"

Sobbing, the old woman cried, "I'll give a reward for anyone who can help me! Please!"

Lina's eyes widened a fraction at this and she grinned. "–Absolutely right, Amelia! What kind of person would leave an old woman in need when she asks for help! What kind of person does that? Not Lina Gabriev, sorcery genius! I've gotta find out what's wrong and fix it!"

With nothing more, she zipped off to the woman's side, her husband, Zel, and Amelia behind her.

"What's wrong ma'am?" asked the redhead gently, looking down into her teary eyes. "Who are you, and what can we possibly do to help? And how much is that reward?"

Amelia shot a glare at Lina, but the woman replied, "I'll pay you whatever you want!"

A wide grin spread across Lina's lips. Whatever I want! Think of how much I could charge for this even if it's the smallest thing! Oooh—think of all the food I could buy with it! Dragon Ribs, Dragon Flambé with Squid Fries and Shrimp Sauce on the sides, oh this will be wonderful!

"I'm Edna Klaine; my grandson was Chliff Klaine and—"

"The Brass Racket champion from a year or two ago? He was the youngest person to make the championship..." Zel mused.

At this, Edna burst into tears once more, sobbing into an annoyed-looking Lina's shoulder.

"What's the matter?" asked Amelia, frowning in concern as she, too, kneeled down beside the woman.

"He was killed last night; you have to find the one who did it! You just have to! It must have been that man!"

"What man?"

Edna sniffed, wailing, "That's the problem, miss, I- I don't remember the name of him!"

Great. growled Lina, thinking to hserself. Typical old woman; how am I supposed to find someone I know nothing about?

Zelgadiss kneeled beside Lina and Amelia, turning the woman around carefully to face him. "Do you remember the way the man looked? I can't guarantee he may've done it but it would give us something to go—"

Shrieking, Edna smacked Zel over the head with her cane, reaching over to the table nearest them and grabbing a napkin...With which she began smacking him, shouting, "Paper Beats Rock Attack!"

Lina rolled her eyes, looking at Amelia. "She's as crazy as your dad."

Amelia frowned at her, carefully and gently prying the napkin from Edna's hand as Zel sat there glaring at his luck. "He's okay, Miss Edna—he's a good person! He won't hurt you!"

This seemed to slightly comfort the woman, who shifted her weight a bit.

"Well, what did he look like?" prodded Lina.

"Tall!"

Lina's eyebrows twitched at this response. "How tall, ma'am?"

"How tall?"

"Well, yeah. How tall was he?"

"Why, he was so tall..." If you couldn't guess what came next, you're a complete fool. This is Slayers, people; they're not all serious and depressing and angsty! "...That when I first laid eyes on him, I asked how the atmosphere up there was!"

Again, Lina twitched; Gourry, however, was laughing like a madman.

"Come on you old woman be serious! How tall was the guy!" growled the redhead, glaring darkly into Edna's eyes.

"He must have had at least eight feet on him!"

Gourry blinked, lifting a hand to his chin in thought. "So he's a spider? I thought he was a man!"

"Gourry shut up he is a man! She meant he had to be at least eight feet tall! Geeze, Gourry; think before you speak, huh?"

"He had piercing blue eyes...And he had such a strong build; he was looking for someone."

Zelgadiss' eyes widened a fraction at these words, looking to Lina. "He sounds familiar already."

"Can't be." Lina refuted, shaking her head in certainty. I bet the guy didn't even have—"

"Oh, yes; and he had the longest red hair I've seen in my life! Longer than yours, missy!"

"But- it can't be. Are you sure you can see colours properly, grandma? Or maybe your judgement in height's off?"

"I know what I saw, missy!"

"What was the guy wearing?" asked Gourry, leaning down over the elder woman with his head cocked to one side.

"Hey, that was actually helpful for a change, Gourry!" chimed Lina.

Edna studied Gourry for a moment, finally calming down from her teary sadness over her grandson enough to speak without stammering. A few more moments passed, then she replied, "I couldn't tell, sonny; he kept whatever he was wearing hidden by that huge, unsightly orange—"

"Trench coat." sighed Zel, lifting his gaze up evenly with Lina's. "It has to be Gaav."

"That was it! That was the man's name! It was- oh, you have to help me! That's the man my innocent little grandson told me about who threatened him away from that nice boy he liked! It has to have been Gaav that killed him; please do something!"

Amelia's eyes widened at this as she let out a gasp of surprise.

"Who's Gaav?" Gourry muttered, leaning down to Zel's ear before asking this. "Is it that thing judges use?"

"That's a gavel, Gourry...Gaav is the Demon Dragon King, the one who we fought with up in theKatatoe Mountains. "

"The only enemy Miss Lina couldn't defeat..." whimpered Amelia in addition, sinking lower onto the ground beside Zelgadiss and Lina.

"You've gotta have the guy mixed up with him or something; he was defeated by Hellmaster Phibrizzo!"

"No, missy, I know the name! He said it was Gaav, the Demon Dragon King; he looked like him, sounded like him, it has to be who he was! Please, do something about Gaav!"

"But- Gaav! That's impossible! He's dead! He's been dead for years now—Phibrizzo made sure he couldn't come back again!"

"It has to be him, Lina." sighed Zel in defeat, staring hard at Edna in thought and dread understanding of what this meant. "She described him perfectly...And it is like him to kill someone over nothing at all...But how would he be back after Phibrizzo killed him? Why would it take him so long to resurface if he could have done it at any time?"

Before anyone could think of a response to the chimera's questions, Amelia gasped audibly a second time, launching herself forward a bit and bringing her nose centimeters from Edna's. Her brow furrowed in concern and eyes shining with undeniable fright, she grabbed the shawl around Edna's shoulders gently and pulled her forward a little. "You said your grandson was threatened by Gaav, didn't you?"

"Yes, yes; I did..."

"Over a boy?"

"Yes. He said Gaav seemed interested in—"

"The boy, Miss Edna; what was his name? What did he look like?"

Simultaneously, realization struck both Lina and Zel as to what Amelia was trying to find out. The same sinking feeling the princess had in her stomach reached theirs as they listened closely for the woman's answer.

"A nice young fellow a few towns away from here; his mother owns one of the shops there."

"But what's he look like? What's his name?" Lina pried.

"His name- I don't remember it, now, either; I'm sorry!"

"What does he look like, then?"

"He has a very handsome face; flawless features...Amber eyes, greenish hair down to, oh, here...A bit on the tall and skinny si—"

"Val!" shouted Lina, Amelia, and Zelgadiss in unison.

Not seeing where this was going, Gourry muttered to himself, "What about him?"

"Gaav's trying to build his forces back up...And he wants Val back again to do that." Lina growled through clenched teeth, eyes narrowed. "He wants to change him back into Valgaav again...That lousy—"

"But Filia's taking care of him; that guy—"

"Gaav!"

"—can't get to him, can he?"

"We hope not, but we can't be sure about anything anymore. If he's back after we thought he couldn't return, there's no telling what he's capable of doing or how powerful he is. I couldn't beat him the first time we fought him; if he's anymore powerful now that he's back, and if he does manage to get his hands on Val and make him into Valgaav, there's no way we could beat him now...Not when Valgaav had that much power alone; combine his strength with Gaav's at the same time, and think about them attacking us together along with whatever other goons the Demon Dragon King could throw at us, and we're history..."

"Please, say you'll do something!" pleaded Edna again, tears welling up in her eyes and beginning to fall once again.

"We've got to. He's probably gonna come looking for us eventually, anyway...He did the first time; now he's back and probably hopping mad we led Phibrizzo right to him."

"You'll do it...?"

"You've got yourself some temporary bounty hunters."

"Where!" shouted Gourry, looking around and drawing his sword from its sheath as Zel collected his sword from the booth he and Amelia had been sitting at.

"Put it up, Gourry! Zangulus is married and Martina would kill him if he came out all this way looking for you just to have a little sword fight!"

"Oh, yeah; I forgot about that..."

"Come on, guys. It looks like we've got traveling to do."
To Be Continued..
Still think it's not out of character yet? The name of the mountain range has been changed to the Katatoe Mountain because that sounds more like what they say in the anime than what I was finding on search engines anyway. Thanks to possessed-anarchist for the name correction and reviews thus far.