Author's Note: Ok, this chapter might be a bit shorter than usual because I'm actually breaking this chapter- which was going to be about 28 pages- into two chapters. I'm only half done it though, so if I waited till I wrote the rest you guys might end up waiting awhile. So, I decided to post the half I have now and hopefully I'll be done the other half and post it soon.

Note to Nightswift: I'm sorry to disappoint you, but Filia won't be joining them on the trip.

Note to Hanna-chan: In chapter seven you said I made a mistake. I believe what you are referring to is how it was translated into the dubbed version. I can't remember if that is how it is written in the subbed version, but I got the words to the incantation of the Dragon Slave at and I believe that is how it was spoken in the original Japanese version.

Chapter 11

Girl for a Day

"Whee!" Val cheered, riding on top of Joey's shoulders. After receiving Gourry's cure, he and Yami were feeling like their usual selves again and were in much happier moods.

The blonde had thought it would be a good idea to give Val a piggy back ride. He used to give Serenity one all the time, when he was younger, so how hard could it be. It was a good idea. ...an hour ago. Joey was beginning to feel his legs wear out from running around the room and the occasional gallops. He panted heavily like there was no tomorrow.

"Giddy up horsie!" Val yelled, having the time of his life. Joey finally decided he couldn't last much longer. His energy drained, Joey plummeted to the floor, his face full of carpet.

"Aw, horsie go down." Val pouted, sad that his ride was over.

"The horse needs a break." Joey mumbled.

"Hey Val, if you want better control of your horse, you might consider tying him with a rein and putting a saddle on him." Tristan remarked.

"Stay out of this Tristan." Joey replied. The last thing he wanted was for the brunette to plant ideas into Val's head.

"Can we do that again Joey? PLEASE!" the child asked innocently with huge puppy- dog eyes.

The blonde swiftly turned his gaze away. He had great will power, but one look at those eyes and his will would shatter instantly. For the sake of his health, he had to resist! "Uh...I kind of need a rest."

"But you guys will be leaving soon..." Val pouted, with his chubby arms folded over his chest in a huff.

"Tell you what Val." replied Gourry. "I'll give you five piggy-back rides next time I come visit."

The boy grinned. "Ok!" Val climbed off from Joey's back and slid to the carpet. "I'm going to see Mom." he declared, dashing from sight.

Joey sighed with relief that the weight had been lifted from his shoulders. Literally! "Thanks Gourry. I would've hated to disappoint the little guy, but my back couldn't have taken another hour."

"I know the feeling. I come from a big family and I had to babysit almost all of my baby cousins."

Joey rotated his shoulders to rid himself of the kinks. "Still, he's a cute kid. He reminds me of my little sister Serenity when she was his age."

"Yeah." agreed Gourry. "Hard to imagine he was once a part dragon, part mazoku guy who wanted to kill us all."

"Say what!" Joey and Tristan cried, shocked.

"Hey guys, we're leaving!" Tea shouted.

"Coming!" Gourry called back, racing out the door.

"Wait a second! Gourry get your butt back here!" Tristan exclaimed as he ran out with Joey close behind.

The others had already gathered themselves at the front door and were prepared to leave. "Thanks for having us Filia." said Tea.

"It was my pleasure. It was nice to have other company than that namagomi."

"Talking about me again? You must have the hots for me. I never knew you cared." Xellos chirped, popping from behind the dragon girl.

Filia jumped 10 feet away. "Damn you! Don't you have other people to pest. I hate it when you sneak up on me!"

"That's probably why he does it." Zelgadis reasoned.

It was then Gourry, Tristan, and Joey came upon the scene. The brunette groaned greatly, seeing Xellos had returned. "Oh wonderful! He's back."

"Why Mr. Tristan." said Xellos with mock grin. "I sense hostility."

/I'm starting to see why Lina groaned yesterday, when Xellos made his appearance./ Yami mentally discussed with Yugi.

/I know./ The boy suddenly felt a frightening shiver crawl up his spine.

/What's wrong/

/I just had a scary imagine of Xellos meeting Yami Bakura./

/A demented tomb robber and a fruitcake priest. That's a horror movie waiting to happen./

While the boys were busy with their private conversation, Tea and Amelia cringed as the girls locked onto Filia's irritated expression with her eyes dangerously twitching a mile a minute. That could only end with one result. They were about to witness Filia bashing Xellos with her mace...again.

"Err...well thanks again for letting us stay the night Ms. Filia." Amelia said to distract the deranged dragon.

Filia quickly remembered her manners and turned to the princess, with her hands still twitching, ready to attack. "Oh...it was no problem. I hope you're able to find that book."

"Hopefully, it won't take us that long." said Zel. "That is as long as Lina doesn't get side tracked."

"What is that suppose to mean!" demanded Lina, glaring with fire in her eyes.

"You guys will come back sometime right?" piped Val. "Gourry promised to give me 5 piggyback rides."

The swordsman patted the child on the head. "Don't worry, we'll be back."

"And while they're gone." Xellos piped in, settling his hand on Val's shoulder. "I'll be here to keep you company."

"Oh no you won't!" Filia screeched at full volume. "The LAST thing Val needs is a bad influence like you!"

The priest popped opened an eye, with an amused smirk tugging at his lips. "And I suppose a selfish ex-priestess is a better influence?"

Once again, and not for the last time, Filia's anger snapped. She lifted her skirt, clutched her mace and got ready for battle. "DIE NAMAGOMI!" Filia cried, madly swinging her weapon and chasing the amused priest about the shop.

"Move to your left Mom!" Val instructed. "Now Right! Right!"

The others sweat-dropped. "Ok, I'm taking bets!" Joey announced, grabbing a pad of paper and a pencil. "Who wants to wager that Filia's gonna hit Xellos this round?"

The blonde was unable to write any bets, for Zel tugged at the teen's ear and dragged him along outside with the others trailing behind.

"You know." pondered Yugi aloud, after they had been travelling for 2 hours. "It seems to me that a lot of people here tend to be a bit...um..."

"Crazy?" finished Lina as she glanced to the boy.

"Yeah."

"Trust me Yugi, not everybody in this world is like that."

"We just have the lousy luck of meeting the more insane people." Zelgadis confirmed, reading his map without shifting his gaze.

"With that aside, I know quite a few people who'd make Xellos and Filia look perfectly normal."

"Like who?" inquired Yugi.

"It would take far too long to list, but my old partner comes to mind."

"Who me?" responded Gourry.

"Not you jellyfish brain! The partner I had before you!"

"Ms. Lina, I didn't know you had a partner before Mr. Gourry." said Amelia

"Well...I shouldn't really say she was my 'Partner' per say..."

"Then how would you describe her?" asked Yami.

Lina thought hard for a moment. "A girl that was EXTREMELY annoying and somehow was able to find me wherever I went."

The entire group sweat-dropped. "That's a pleasant description." muttered Tristan.

"Hey, I'm only telling you the truth."

Yami rolled his eyes in response. He should have gotten use to Lina's answers by now. "So, what town are we heading to next?"

The chimera let his stone finger run along the thin black line drawn on the map. "According to this we are..." His voice died off and his emotionless face was replaced by a disgusted and irritated face. It was similar to a person's face after discovering there was a giant rat sleeping in their freshly made bed.

Zelgadis cringed and mumbled rather coldly. "Uh Damn!"

"What's the matter?" questioned Amelia, curious about what could be upsetting the chimera so much.

"The next town is Femilla."

"So?" asked Gourry.

Zelgadis sighed at his friends ignorance. "It is also the sister city to Femille, which we have such fond memories of."

All the slayers briskly moaned. "Uh...I still don't quite understand." stated Yugi innocently, with his hands placed behind his head.

Lina scratched her head and sighed as she thought of the best way of explaining the current situation. "You guys really need a brief history lesson. First of all, Femille is an all girl city full of Shrine Maidens. No men what so ever."

"What's so wrong with that?" Tristan and Joey asked, each slightly drooling. No doubt the boys were having...er...perverted thoughts of what to do in an all girl city.

Lina snarled. "Don't get your hormones too excited. Femilles does not allow men in. Ever! In fact, if a man was caught, he would be executed!"

Tristan and Joey's faces paled. "That's...not fun."

"And Femilla is the sister city?" questioned Tea.

"Correct." replied Zel. "And I know for certain they carry the exact same traditions as Femille."

Tea slapped her forehead. "Wonderful! How are we suppose to go through if men can't enter?"

"Oh we have a way." Amelia replied rationally.

"You do?"

Lina smiled an evil devilish grin. It gave Tea an unsettling feeling in the pit of her stomach, for she knew it meant trouble.

"It's easy." Lina began. "All we do is..."

"NNNOOO!"screamed Gourry, throwing himself at Lina's feet, begging and crying absolutely terrified. "Please Lina! Not THAT plan! Anything, but that one!"

"Uh...what is this 'plan' exactly?" Yami inquired, although from the swordsman's reaction, he wasn't sure if he really wanted to know. If this was Lina's plan, he probably wasn't going to like it at all.

Amelia replied in a calm tone. "To sneak in, you guys are all going to dress up and pretend to be girls."

The boys stuttered, tongue tied, with Tea laughing uncontrollably in the background.

Joey scowled greatly, snarling more than a chained pit bull. He HATED this! He LOATHED this! This was a crime against everything that symbolized his manhood! Growling, he said bitterly. "I want EVERYONE to know, THAT I HATE THIS PLAN!" Joey sprang up in his new long flowing mint green dress with puffed sleeves. "This is cruel and inhumane!"

"Joey put a lid on it!" Tristan snapped, fixing his long white gloves that matched his electric blue dress. "None of us guys are giddy with glee here either!"

Joey shot the brunette a sharp fierce glare. "Tristan, this is even more humiliating than that time I lost to Kaiba and when I was forced to wear that dog suit, put together!"

Zelgadis, who was in the middle of adjusting his cape along with his white dress, quirked an eyebrow, catching the last part of Joey's comment.

He debated if he should ask Joey more about it, but chose to not further investigate. If it involved a dog suit, it couldn't have been a delightful experience. "Couldn't have been any worse than wearing a bunny suit."

Joey's anger dissolved and the chimera received puzzled looks from the two boys. "Bunny suit?"

Zel blushed with embarrassment, regretting ever mentioning his own personal experience regarding animal costumes. "Oh...forget it! Just be grateful that this is only the first time you had to go in drag!"

Tristna joined Joey in staring at Zelgadis questionably. "How...often have you guys done this?"

"Too often." Zel grumbled darkly.

Joey wanted to poke at the subject for more detail, but forgot it as they suddenly heard a high pitched scream from Gourry.

"AARRGG! Lina let me go!"

The sorceress shoved Gourry back on the stump for the seventh time. "Gourry, stay put! I'm not finished braiding your hair yet!"

The swordsman developed a dark look that was begging for murder. It was not a common face on the gentle swordsman, but he HAD to draw the line with what he would and would not do!

"Why the hell do I need a braid!"

Lina replied with a logical grin. "Cause first time, it was pig-tails. Second time, it was a ponytail. A braid is just the next stage. We can't be using the same hairstyles every time."

Gourry's eyes twitched. "You...enjoy torturing me don't you?"

"Oh don't be silly! Now be a good boy and let me finish this quietly!"

Lina continued to brush and braid. Honestly! You would think these men would be more appreciative of all the hassle the girls went to by sneaking into the city, and snagging a dress for each of them to wear. It wasn't exactly a walk in the park! Lina had thought that finding a dress to fit Yugi would be the most difficult, because of the boy's short height. It proved not to be the case, however, since Amelia was almost the same height as Yugi.

Thinking of the innocent teen, Lina raised her gaze to where Yugi was sitting, with Tea giving him his make-over. "How's your end coming Tea?"

The girl gave a tired sigh. "It would be a whole lot easier if Yugi would hold still. I keep messing up his mascara."

Yugi also sighed, feeling uncomfortable in his new violet dress. He knew it was only for pretend, but if felt really weird! He never wore make-up in his life! Grandpa would have a heart attack if he saw him now! Plus, the fact that Tea seemed to be having a little too much fun assisting him did not make him feel any better.

"Why do we need make-up anyway?" he asked Lina.

The red haired sorceress grinned. "It has more effect!"

"If you say so..."Yugi muttered, as Tea brushed blush on his cheeks. "By the way, where's Yami?"

"He went behind that tree to change." replied Amelia, pointing the direction. "But he's been there an awfully long time. Do you suppose we should check on him?"

"Don't...bother..."Yami rang out venomously, stepping into full view.

A hush fell, as all eyes were glued onto Yami. Nobody dared to move or speak. The rustling of leaves were the only objects in motion. The game king was wearing a long, flowing bright pink dress. White trim lace was sewn along the hem and the edge of the sleeves. There was even lace along the front and neckline. The outfit was completed with a blue bow in the back and a pearl necklace was roped around his neck.

Yami's arms were folded and he glared at every single living thing in sight. In other words, he was not happy! In a slow, emotionless voice, he declared quite distinctly. "I swear to Ra, if anyone makes one comment-and I mean ONE SINGLE COMMENT- on this outfit, that person shall face a fate worse than death!"

Silence was his reply. They were as lively as a funeral on a rainy day!

Lina coughed, breaking the quietness. "Yami..."

All heads turned to Lina, petrified at what she would say and how Yami would react.

Lina smiled smugly and said pleasantly "You look VERY PRETTY!"

Yami shouted a battle cry and pounced, but found himself held by Joey and Tristan at the last second. It took both of their strength to steady their grip. If they released Yami, there would be a blood bath! It was not a simple task, especially seeing that Yami was waving his arms and legs frantically and screaming "LET ME AT HER! LET ME AT HER! LET ME AT HER!"

"Yami calm down!" said Tristan, who was really frightened by the game king's out of character behaviour.

"Yeah! Chill dude!" added Joey, just as disturbed.

"Don't want to mess up your make-up!" teased Lina.

"That's not helping! Do you have a death wish!" both boys yelled.

Yami growled deeply like a caged bear. "Dammit! This is ridiculous! I'm the king of games! NOT the queen!"

Lina scooted in closer, but still keep a safe distance. "Think of it this way." she said. "Now you can be the king of cross dressers!"

If looks could kill, Lina would've died on the spot from the one Yami shot her.

"I REFUSE to go through with this!" he hollered.

Zel sighed, feeling Yami's pain. "I hate this as much as you, but it's this or risk getting your head chopped off."

"I'd rather risk getting my head chopped off!"

"Yami be serious!" cried Yugi.

The ex-pharaoh snarled. "Fine, but I'm not doing this willingly!"

With their wardrobe finished, the group headed to the front gates of the city. Two female soldiers were stationed at the gates with swords attached to their belts, prepared to arrest any unwanted men that attempted to sneak past them.

One women, the older of the pair, wore a suit of bright red amour while her younger companion was dressed in yellow amour.

"Er...you've never mentioned there would be guards." Tea whispered to Lina anxiously.

"Got it covered. Just let me do the talking."

"If you're talking, we're doomed."

"Yami, shush!" Yugi scolded. He knew Yami was dreading every moment of this. It was a low blow to his prideful nature, but he still had to be careful. There was no telling what could happened if they slipped up and Yugi did not want a hands on experience on what the consequences would be if their true gender was discovered.

The red solider woman eyed the travellers as they approached. "Hault!" she cried.

She marched forward with her sword drawn. "State your business here."

Oh don't mind us!" Lina answered in the best happy-go-lucky voice she could muster. "We're just some cute adorable sisters passing through."

Yami scoffed, but regretted doing so as Yugi poked him sharply in the ribs.

"Sisters?" questioned the yellow guard baffled. "Funny, I can barely see any resemblance between any of you."

"Yes...well the gene pool can play odd tricks at times."

"True." admitted the red solider. She drew back her sword and stared directly at Lina, still keeping her no nonsense manner. "What are your names?"

"Uh...names?...Oh...Yes. I'm Lina, these two are Tea and Amelia." Lina then gestured to Yugi and Yami. "The twins are Yuga and Yama." Yami resisted the urge to slap his forehead. Lina then directed her attention to Joey and Tristan behind her. "Those ones are Josephine and Tracy." The boys groaned. "And the tall ones in the back are Zelda and Gabrielle."

Zelgadis rolled his eyes at his carefully chosen named and Gourry sweat-dropped. "At least it isn't Lala this time." thought the swordsman."

The red solider muttered a "Hmm." as she stroked her chin. "I see...So then..." The yellow solider than tapped her shoulder and she whispered in the red solider's ear.

Whatever she said made the solider blush red to match her armour. "You...have a point." she replied, still blushing.

She turned back to the group. "Alright, you may pass."

"Yes!" cheered Lina.

"Not so fast." The red solider was still blushing. "The rest of you may past, but we would like to discuss something with Ms. Yuga and Ms. Zelda."

"Huh!" the entire group chorused.

"Why!" asked Amelia. The solider became flustered by the questioned.

"Just...go on ahead. It won't take long. Your sisters will be joining you shortly."

Yami didn't like the idea of leaving Yugi with these guards, but what choice did he have?

/I'll be alright Yami./ Yugi reassured, sensing his uneasiness. /Besides, I'm not alone. Zel is with me too./

Yami hesitated, but left the boy's side. /The minute something's wrong, let me know./

The others past through the gates, not without taking worried glances at Zelgadis and Yugi as the guards approached them. Once they were safely inside Gourry asked "What was that about?"

"How should I know!" snapped Lina.

"Do you think they suspected they were really men?" inquired Tea.

"I don't think so." Amelia replied. "If they did, wouldn't they have arrested all of us?"

"Whatever the reason, I don't like the idea of leaving them alone with those guards." said Yami.

"Me neither!" Joey added. "I swear if they pull something..."

"Calm down." Tristan ordered. "Those guards said they only needed to talk to them and they would be right back. So quit presuming the worst."

"Kind of hard not to in an all man-hater city." Lina remarked.

"Here they come!" Tea exclaimed.

Zelgadis and Yugi were slowly making their way to their friends. The group couldn't help but notice that both boy's faces were flushed red and blushing. It was as if they had been dipped in red paint. They were also avoiding any sort of eye contact with each other or anyone else for that matter. Neither spoke a word as they approached.

"Um...so what did the soldiers want?" questioned Amelia.

Zel and Yugi were horrified at the questioned and reacted saying "We don't want to talk about it!"

"Come on!" exclaimed Lina. "You can't expect us to let you off the hook without telling us!"

Yugi twiddled his fingers and looked to the chimera for support. Zelgadis sighed and replied still blushing "You tell them."

"I was afraid of that." the boy thought. He stared at the others and in a timid voice said. "They...wanted to know...if we were free Saturday night."

A tumble weed passing by was the only sound heard. "Too...much information." stated Lina.

"It gets worse." said Zelgadis. "The yellow solider gave me her address."

"WAY too much information!"

Lina: Hey Lina here! ES was planning to have Yami do the author's note here, but he suddenly disappeared.

Yami: Lina when I get out of this closet you are dead!

Lina: cough Anyway, ES will hopefully get the next chapter up soon and she would like to give Dragonslave151 a big "Thank you" for the idea in the next chapter. It will be a bit longer than this chapter, so hopefully it won't take too long to write and...

Yami: breaks out of closet GRR! LINA!

Lina: Uh...that's all for now! Got to go! Races out of room with Yami chasing her