"Did I do something wrong?" Jean-Luc asked as he stood before Lina, Luna and Amelia.

Well if that's not an indication of a guilty conscience, Lina thought as she raised her eyebrow at him questioningly and watched him squirm. "You and Indy…"

"We're been a lot more cautious since we released the Sad Lady!" he said, and Lina folded her arms across her chest and continued to stare him down. He sighed, "Okay, so last weekend when Farmer Brown's dog got out and dug up the cabbage patch, it might have been because Indy and I thought about training him to sniff out treasure."

Lina could feel Luna glaring at her, obviously wondering why she was wasting time with this. Lina smiled a little.

"I'll send you over to Farmer Brown's later." Lina said as shook her head and pulled out the paper he had written, "Actually, the reason I called you here was this."

Jean-Luc's eyes widened as he realized he'd just revealed his guilt unnecessarily. Luna, meanwhile, continued, "You wrote about the current location of Hellmaster's device, and I was impressed. Your information was in line with our own sources, and miles more accurate than any of your other students."

"Does that mean I get an A?"

Lina bopped him on the forehead. "It means that we need more information, and quickly. We need to know where a team that we sent after Hellmaster's device went, and we need to know where it currently is."

"But what about the sources you have?" Jean-Luc asked.

"We need this information as fast as possible." Lina explained. "So it's all hands on deck. We need all of the information that you can gather on this by tonight!"

"Tonight!?" he repeated.

"So don't waste time. You can take Indy with you. But stay away from Farmer Brown and any other diversions! Lives are on the line so keep your eye on the prize. Get going and get that information gathered!" Lina said.

"Right." He said, and then he turned and walked out the door, nearly running into Jeeves as he did.

"Careful, lad."

"Sorry," Jean-Luc said as he moved around Jeeves, who came into the dining room.

"The Eternal Queen is here, along with Princess Gracia of Saillune."

"Sis!?" Amelia exclaimed as she stood up.

"Oh, why can't anyone important ever stop by when the place is tidy?" Lina groused as she pulled at her hair.

"After what happened last night, no one will judge." Luna said as she jabbed her sister in the ribs.

Meanwhile, Amelia sprang up and practically bowed Jeeves over as she ran into the hallway and cried, "Sis!"

And then Lina heard the laugh. "It can't be!" she said as she turned blue in horror as her parents shuddered. She raced out into the hallway and saw Naga standing there with the Eternal Queen. Jean-Luc and Indy were in the foyer as well, staring in open mouth shock at the nearly naked woman who was hugging Amelia. And was it her imagination, or was Indiana drooling!?

"Argh!" Lina screamed as she grabbed Naga, tore her away from her sister and pushed her into the dining room, "Get in here before you sully this place's reputation and jumpstart half of this school's population into an early puberty!"

"And I thought you'd be happy to see me!" Naga said as Lina slammed the door in her face and then turned to the remaining people in the foyer.

"Don't you have something to do!?" Lina snapped at Jean-Luc and Indiana, who shut their mouths, nodded and ran off. Lina shook her head and decided it was a good thing that the foyer was destroyed and that most of the kids were either out in the yard or in the dorms and not mulling about. She then looked at the Eternal Queen and Amelia. Amelia looked baffled, while the Eternal Queen looked as though she was trying to suppress a laugh. Lina sighed, "I am so sorry about that. And this mess. We're still waiting for a carpenter to fix all this."

"Given what happened last night I am just glad it was a building that was damaged, and not a student. And we're also relieved that Gourry was not killed." The Eternal Queen said.

Lina took a breath, and then she heard Naga laugh from the dining room. "I guess we'd better get in there. Right this way."

Lina walked in and found Naga laughing as Leia stared at her in shock while she held her hands over Han's eyes.

"So," Leia said, "You're Amelia's sister?"

"You're a Saillune princess!?" Lina snapped.

"You know each other?" Amelia asked.

"Is it really so surprising?" Naga asked, though whether she was talking to Amelia or Lina was unclear.

"Then why do you dress like…" Leia asked as she stumbled to find word that would be respectful and finally settled for, "…that!"

Naga laughed, and Amelia said, "It used to be the fashion. Sis is very traditional."

"Oh. I see." Leia said as she shook her head as Han stood up and muttered something about checking on how the students were doing and left.

"We don't judge other people's cultural traditions." The Eternal Queen said diplomatically. "Especially when they are going to help us with securing Hellmaster's device."

"You're relying on her!?" Lina exclaimed.

"Hey! I'm a better sorceress than you ever were!" Naga replied.

"Oh don't even…"

"Lina…" Luna said warningly.

"Look, you may be bowed over by the fact that she somehow happens to be royalty, but if you knew what a load of…"

"Think carefully about what you say next, Lina." The Eternal Queen said, and Lina folded her arms across herself and sat down, looking thunderous. Luna stepped on her foot, and Lina kicked her back in the shin. Lina sensed Luna's arm flex as she grabbed her butter knife, and Lina decided it wasn't worth being humiliated in front of Naga and did her best to compose her face into one of polite neutrality.

"Welcome to Maninstit. I'm so surprised to see you again. I had thought that chapter of my life had closed, but, surprise! Here you are." Lina said as she put as much sugar and sweetness into her voice to mask the sarcasm as she possibly could as Luna facepalmed. Lina decided that even if Luna was going to give it to her later, it would be worth it, "Why don't you take a seat?"

"Now that you're giving me the proper respect, I will!" Naga said as she sat down, and Lina bit her lip on her retort and tasted blood.

Alona came in to ask about what refreshments they wanted. Once she'd left the Eternal Queen got straight to business, "We had hoped it would not come to this with Hellmaster's device. But it looks as though we are going to have to send a multinational group there to destroy the device. Several kingdoms will be joining us, to ensure that the device does not fall into the hand of a single nation. And the plan is to destroy it rather than remove it from the Elmekian Empire.

"Time is of the essence. We have a representative from the Ducky of Kalmaat and, several from the Alliance of Coastal States, one from the Kingdom of Ralteague and one from the Kingdom of Lyzeille, all of whom should get here by tomorrow morning. I will be sending Princess Maeve as my envoy on behalf of Zeferia. It is time she started to handle serious tasks. Lina, I would like for you and Gourry to accompany her."

"But," Lina said as she felt torn between the need to be in two places at once, "After the attack today, who will watch over the school?"

"I will." Luna said.

Lina took a deep breath as the Eternal Queen continued, "Given Princess Amelia's condition it's a good thing Princess Gracia came through to represent Saillune."

"What condition?" Naga asked.

But before Amelia could answer, Zelgadis walked in. "Oh, honey, I was hoping you would take the rest of the day to rest!" Amelia said as she walked up to him.

"I'm fine," he said, and then he caught a glimpse of Naga and his jaw dropped as his face turned red. "Wh…why is someone dressed like that here!?"

"Like what?" Naga replied, "This is proper attire for a princess."

"A what!?" Zelgadis shrieked.

"Zel, this is my sister, Gracia, but we call her Naga." Amelia said, "Sis, this is my husband, Zel."

"Your sister!?" Zelgadis bellowed.

Naga, meanwhile, grinned wide as she got up, flung her arms out, grabbed Zelgadis and wrapped him in a big bear hug, quashing his face right under her chin and over her breasts. Lina blushed, and resolved that princess or not, if she did that to Gourry she would kill her where she stood. Zelgadis, meanwhile, let out a strangled sound as he tried to push himself away from her as Naga exclaimed, "I always wanted a brother! Welcome to the family!"

"Oh, you're getting along so well!" Amelia crooned as she clasped her hands together and nestled them against her face as Zelgadis succeeded in getting out of Naga's grasp, looking red faced and terrified, and sat as far from Naga as possible, "I'm so happy we're going to be one big happy family!"

"You and Daddy always did take such a rosy view of things." Naga quipped as she sat back down.

"You think it's okay for her to go walking around in that!?" Zelgadis asked in disbelief as he averted his eyes from Naga, "We're a school!"

"Oh, stop being so silly." Amelia said, and Zelgadis looked as though he was going to explode as Lina shook her head and reflected that at least they would be leaving with Naga soon. And then it hit her like a punch in the gut. They would be leaving with Naga and Gourry. Gourry would see Naga. And Gourry would probably like what he saw. Lina felt sick as Amelia, apparently bound and determined to ignore the bad blood that was forming, said, "Sis! Guess what! Zel and I are going to have a baby. You're going to be an auntie!"

Zelgadis sat at the table, and he looked to be questioning what he had married in to while Naga looked Amelia over. "You don't look pregnant."

"It's still early." Amelia said with a wave of her hand.

Lina decided to cut in and get things back on track, "I'm not objecting. I've felt I needed to be in the Elmekian Empire. But why have you changed your mind on this?"

"When we first found out about Hellmaster's device, we did not have the alliance we now have with Saillune, Kalmaat and Lyzeille." The Eternal Queen explained, "We needed to be sure that our intentions wouldn't be misread and spun as an act of aggression. You have no idea the propaganda that is being spun about you in Dils and the Elmekian Empire. Taking the time to form this alliance was a calculated risk. If they got the spell quickly it would have been the wrong one decision. But they didn't. I felt we had the time to make an alliance and give you justification and cover for being there. With other nations being present, no one can accuse you of attempting to destroy cities or for Zeferia to be up to ill good."

The Queen sighed as she shook her head, "We had hoped we wouldn't have to use you. But after losing our first team, I can't justify sending anyone else but you this time. And given the nature of Hellmaster's device, it will take a weapon like the Blast Sword to destroy it. And I would not like to take that weapon from Gourry to bestow it upon another."

"Right." Lina said, "I guess I'd better get packing."

But as she got up, she found she didn't feel the enthusiasm for the mission that she thought she would. While she felt going to the Elmekian Empire was the right thing, she didn't want to also be taking care of a bunch of diplomats who might cramp her style. And she was even less thrilled about the idea of Gourry and Naga spending so much time together. While she was sure that Gourry wouldn't cheat, spending a few weeks with Naga tormenting her about how poorly developed she was compared to her and how Gourry would like her a lot better if she looked more like Naga was turning her stomach. Especially as she couldn't shake the doubt that Naga would be right.


Lina wasn't sure how they knew, but as soon as she got to the stairs she was surrounded by kids who were upset that she would be leaving. "Why do you have to go?" "Can't Miss Luna go?" "Who will take care of us?"

Lina shook her head, even as she had to admit that she was pleased that they would miss her, "Hey, buckle up! Miss Luna will take good care of you. And Mr. and Mrs. Inverse will still be here, also with Duke Zelgadis and Princess Amelia. And Sir Gourry and I will be back before you know it!"

"You don't understand!" Danielle said, "We're scared."

Well, given what had happened this morning, they had good reason to be. And Lina did hate that she was leaving them scarcely a day after the attack. But still. "Look, you knew that danger would be a part of this! And it's nothing that the people I am leaving you with can't handle."

"You don't understand!" Peter cut in, "We're scared of her!"

"Her?" Lina repeated.

"Miss Luna!" Peter replied, and other people muttered in agreement.

"It won't be too bad." Gomez said, "She is very pretty."

Lina's eyes narrowed, and Gomez straightened, "Not that you aren't pretty, just…"

"She'll keep you in line!" Lina snapped, "Which is just what you need! And when I come back I expect you to be stronger and better! And Gomez, get started on helping Alona scrub the floor!"

Gomez sighed in resignation. "Right away, ma'am."


Gourry stirred as she opened the door and walked in. "How are you feeling, love?" she asked.

"I'm fine." He said as his eyes followed her as she got into bed with him. "What all have you found?"

She took his hand, "They think it was an attack on our school by either the Elmekian Empire or Dils, and that it was meant to look like an assassination attempt."

He closed his eyes and squeezed her hand as she said, "They don't think your family did this, but that they were meant to take the fall for it."

"How can they know that?" he asked.

"The ambassador to Elmekia was acting suspiciously. He knew information about the attack and he tried to railroad your mother with it." Lina explained, and for a moment he was still as he let the information sink in.

"I want to believe it's true so bad." He finally said.

"Then why don't you?"

"Because the risks of letting my guard down are so great." He replied.

She had hoped that the news would have brought him more solace than it did. Especially since he wasn't going to like what she said next. "There's more. The Eternal Queen came by." She said. "We've been set upon a new task."

He opened his eyes. "They're taking the school from us?"

"No," she said, "But Hellmaster's device has fallen into the hands of the Emperor again. And the Eternal Queen has decided to send us in."

He sat up, "To Elmekia?"

She nodded, "We're there to escort and protect Maeve, as an envoy for the Eternal Queen. There will be a representative from the Duchy of Kalmaat, Lyzeille, and Amelia's sister arrived and will be attending, too." She bit her lip as she thought of Naga. And what Gourry would think of Naga. Particularly Naga's breasts. Lina pulled her hand away.

Meanwhile, his face became set. "When are we leaving then?"

"First thing in the morning." Lina replied as her anger started to build and she wrapped her arms around herself and moved away from Gourry, "We're hoping that we can use the Blast Sword and destroy it."

"What else do I need to know?" he asked. Well at least he was taking the news stoically and wasn't being a baby about it.

"Amelia's sister, well, you're not going to believe what I tell you until you see her. She…she doesn't wear a lot of clothes."

He raised an eyebrow and looked at her as if he was wondering if she was telling the truth or not. "Are you trying to lighten the news? Because that's a very bad joke."

"She wears a tiny black bikini and I don't know how her top hasn't caved in under the weight." Lina explained as she started to blush. "You'd think in a school where there are children she'd put something on, but she's an honest to god princess. Who am I to tell her to cover up?"

He continued to look at her as though she was pulling one on him. She folded her arms across herself as said, "You'll see for yourself. Nothing I say can prepare you for the experience! Just make sure you don't stare! It's impolite!"

He shook his head in disbelief, "We have to go to the Elmekian Empire to destroy a device that can wipe out entire cities after they nearly succeeded in killing me, and you're worried that I'm going to stare at Amelia's sister?"

She huffed, "Well, when you put it like that it may sound ridiculous! But let's just say I like our odds of succeeding more than I like the odds of you not having a gushing nosebleed the first time you meet her."

Gourry looked exasperated at being in the dog house for something he'd not even done yet. "Is she hot?"

"She makes Amelia look flat chested!" Lina spat.

"Oh," Gourry said as he scratched his nose nervously.

"Don't sound too excited. I know about your breast obsession."

"Yeah, I like breasts." He admitted, "And I married you even though yours are small."

She grabbed a pillow and hit him with it. "What?" he said, "I didn't say they weren't satisfying in their own way! Do you want me to like you for such a shallow reason?"

And that was when Lina heard that laugh. Lina felt her hair stand on end as she cursed herself for forgetting Naga's penchant for getting into places she shouldn't. "Who said you could come in here!?" Lina yelled, now completely red faced. This was not a conversation that she had wanted her to overhear!

"I just had to meet your husband." Naga said as she materialized from the balcony, "See who would go for a shrimp like you. It sounds as though someone is worried about what will happen now that he sees a real woman!"

Naga started to pose dramatically as Gourry's jaw dropped.

"Diem wind!" Lina said as she sent Naga flying back out the balcony and into the wild blue yonder, and then she went and closed and locked the doors.

"Lina!" Gourry exclaimed.

"What?" she asked dangerously.

"You just blew Amelia's sister out the window! And she's a princess!"

"Don't sound so concerned! Trust me when I say there's no way that that hurt her." Lina said as she got up and drew the curtains. "And why are you so worried about her, anyway? Wouldn't want anything to happen to her, would you?"

He threw his arms up, "I'm not going to win here, am I?"

"Nope." She said, "Get up and get dressed. We have to go down for dinner. And once again, no staring!"

He got out of bed with a sigh and started to dress and she sat on the chair, silently fuming. He looked at her carefully, "Look, just so you know, there's such a thing as too much. And that woman? She's too much."

"Well I'm glad you finally admit it." She replied.

"Look, it's going to be a hard trip to the Elmekian Empire." He pointed out. "Why are you making it harder than it has to be?"

"I have no idea." She replied as she continued to keep her guard up.

"Why don't you just go down without me?" he said as he barely kept the aggravation from his voice, "Just send something up. I'm still recovering and I'm not up for this."

"Fine, I'll just go and do that then." She said as she got up and walked to the door and opened it, and then stopped in her tracks when she saw the hole in the floor and was smacked in the face with the fact that she was lucky to have this problem. She sighed and closed the door and turned around and sat beside him and leaned her head against his shoulder.

"What's with you?" he said, caught off guard by her sudden change in mood.

"That hole in the floor reminded me of how I felt this morning." She said. She then hit her knee, "I'm not even mad at you. Look, I knew her before I met you and she's always trying to be better than me but I could just slap her back in place. But now she's a stupid princess and Sis says I have to be respectful and treat her as my better, and she was all over Zelgadis when she met him, and I don't know how Amelia was so calm about it. And I just want to blast her into the next kingdom before she pulls that with you but I can't."

She took a deep breath and put a hand on his knee, "But you did get blown through the floor this morning. So I guess I should go easier on you."

"Well that's very considerate of you." He snapped as he pulled away.

Oops. Lina thought to herself as she wondered why treating him nicer was so hard. And why he put up with it. "Look, I screwed up and let this go to my head. I don't know why I get this way. How can I make it up to you?"

He looked a bit caught off guard, "I'll have to think about that and get back to you. But don't let her get to you so much! She's not worth it."

"Right," she said, even as her fingers dug into her knee and reflected that it was going to be a long trip.

He studied her for a moment, as though trying to work out how sincere she was. Then he put his hand over hers. "Think of what we have. She's not worth destroying that."

She suddenly wrapped her arms around him and leaned her head against his chest to listen to his heart. His heart that was beating with life. Damn, why did she have to pull this after what happened this morning? "You're right."

"Just don't be so quick to forget next time." He said, even as he brought his arms around her to stroke her hair.

"I won't." she promised.


AN: To make things easier, I just decided that Naga prefers her nickname and insists that her family uses it even, with Princess Gracia being an official thing.

And I didn't think I was going to take this to the Elmekian Empire and believed I could avoid that somehow,,,and then I realized I couldn't. Buckle in and enjoy!