SailorStar9: This is the start of a new arc and I'll probably end up killing Aria off at the end of this. For everyone who put this fic on your favorited and followed lists and/or story alerts, thank you, but remember everyone, a lot of authors (myself included) sustain on readers' reviews.
Basic Summary: The Slayers TRY arc of the Ragradia Sapphire fic.
Disclaimers: I own nothing, except for the plot bunny. Heck, even the pairings aren't mine.
Prologue: Majestic? Hoist Sails for the Journey!
One year after the fight against Phibrizzo...
Lina stretched herself awake and found a sealed envelope slid under her room's door. "What do we have here?" she looked at the envelope. "'To Miss Lina Inverse...', but who knows we're here now? Who sent this to me? Someone named 'Filia'." she looked at the signature on the back. "Who's that?"
Some time earlier...
"And in conclusion, my fellow rulers, whom I've gathered here." Prince Philionel ended the meeting. "One thing is clear now. The disappearance of the Mazoku's barrier inside of which we have lived for the past thousand years is now an indisputable fact."
"If the Mazoku's barrier is gone, doesn't that mean we can now travel to the outer world?" a councilor wondered.
"But for a barrier we've never had any means of destroying before to suddenly disappear..." the councilman beside him started.
"Look for yourselves." Phil turned to the pillar of light in the distance. "That pillar of light we see is only one piece of evidence that the barrier has vanished. For that reason, we of the Kingdom of Seyruun, propose the dispatching of a peace delegation. I ask for the cooperation of the other kingdoms in this endeavor.
"Now then, in my father's place, I, Amelia Wil Tesla Seyruun, will explain this plan to all of you." Amelia took over.
Later in the morning...
"Hold it, Gourry!" Lina fumed, the pair were fighting over the table of seafood. "I grabbed that sashimi for myself!"
"What are you talking about, Lina?" said swordsman retorted. "it goes bad if you don't eat it fast."
"I am feeling satisfied." Lina moaned in happiness after having filled her stomach.
Aria just sighed as she washed down the last of her cranberry-orange muffin with her glass of iced fruit tea.
"Considering we haven't been to the outer world in a thousand years, those ships are pretty small." Lina turned to the fanfare at the port as the Seyruun embassy team prepared to set sail.
"You think so?" Gourry wondered. "By the way, Lina, can I ask you something? What's the 'outer world'?"
"You're asking me again, poached eggs for brains!?" Lina screamed. "Listen up." she slammed a hand on the world map she spread out on the table. "This is the area we live in, got it? And the coast of this kingdom is where we are now. Until now, we've never left this area." she circled the land mass on the map. "But since the situation's now changed, we have to go investigate what the outer world is like. That why a bunch of different kings are sending out a delegation."
"So, why hasn't anyone gone out there before now?" Gourry asked.
"You're missing the basic problem, aren't you?" Lina sighed. "I may be wasting my time, but I'll explain it to you. One thousand years ago, the dark lord Shabranigdu was born in the War of the Monsters' Fall. Ever since then, there's been a high-level magical barrier around this region we live in that that dark lord's followers erected. Because of it, going out to or coming in from the outer world has been impossible. However, this era has seen a dramatic change arise. The barrier around our land has disappeared and travel to the outer world is now possible. Besides that, there's also that pillar of light. Ever since it happened, we've been able to see that pillar of light."
"Good grief, you three never change." Zelgadis noted. "I haven't seen you guys in a while."
"I was wondering when you will show up." Aria grinned.
At the top of a lookout tower...
"It has been a while since then, hasn't it?" Lina gushed. "You doing all right?"
"I suppose." the chimera shrugged. "And you guys?"
"Same old, same old." Aria waved.
"I should suppose so." Zelgadis chuckled.
"So, did you come to see the boats sail off to the outer world?" Gourry asked.
"Yeah." Zelgadis turned to the port.
"You're actually thinking there might be some magical item in the outer world that can revert your body back, am I right?" Aria was already used to her lover's way of thinking.
"It's nothing." Zelgadis assured. "I'm patient."
"But they're sending delegates from a lot of kingdoms, right?" Lina pointed out. "Can you just slip in with them?"
"Maybe." Zelgadis shrugged. "And if that does not work, I can try taking my own boat. So, what are you guys doing here, anyway?"
"We're here to check out an offer I got in this letter." Lina pulled out the envelope she received. "I've never heard of the person who sent it to us, but the pay they're offering can't be beat. I'm prepared to find out it's all a prank, though. Who's there?" she was alerted by the arrival of someone when the bronze bell rang.
"I am the one who sent that offer." Filia stepped out into the light. "I am the 'Filia' who sent you that letter, Miss Lina. And you must be Zelgadis Graywords." she greeted. "And you Gourry Gabriev. Not to mention, the reincarnate of Ragradia-sama, Aria Hayter."
"So, you've done some checking up on us." Zelgadis noted.
"At least as far as how you destroyed Hellmaster Phibrizzo." Filia nodded.
"Now I get it." Lina remarked. "So, knowing what you do about us, what kind of offer do you have?"
"I've come to talk to you to confirm how powerful you really are." Filia replied, not before Gourry spotted a tail on her back.
"What are you doing, Gourry?" Lina exclaimed when Gourry peered under Filia's skirt to confirm what his eyes had seen.
"It's not what you think." Gourry protested. "I was just looking in here."
With an angry scream, Filia pulled out the spiked mace she had attached to her thigh and send Gourry flying up the tower chimney with a swing.
"Well, that made a great impact." Aria winced at the dent the mace made after Filia dropped it before fleeing.
That night...
"Serves you right for pulling a stunt like that." Lina chided, Aria had used her 'Healing Mist' to close up Gourry's wounds.
"But I'm telling you..." Gourry protested.
"But why did you..." Zelgadis spoke. "You know, do that? Were you really that interested in flipping her skirt up?"
"Don't be ridiculous!" Gourry objected. "I just wanted to see what was in there."
"Isn't that usually the point of flipping the girl's skirt?" Zelgadis rebuked.
"No!" Gourry wailed. "I saw a tail. That girl had a tail."
"What's that supposed to mean?" Lina pressed. "What is this thing?" she winced when Zelgadis tossed the mace to her and the sorceress found herself weighted down by the weapon. "It weighs a ton."
"That girl swung this around without breaking a sweat." Zelgadis explained. "Meaning, at the very least, she's special somehow. A girl with a tail is a very suspicious person, though."
The next day...
"My fellow inhabitants of this land," Phil begun his speech. "For the first time in a thousand years, we will set foot in the outer world. At the moment, we cannot know what is going on out there. Will we be greeted with good will? Or will it be just the opposite? Countless dangers may await us there. But equal in number to the dangers, no in greater number, are new possibilities. And so now, we take that first step out to find them."
"Bring forth the map." Amelia took over. "To avoid the desert that stretches to the south of us, our fleet will be sailing south from this coast. "Our flagship will be the 'Cepheid', from the Holy Kingdom of Seyruun."
In the audience...
"Wait, don't tell me the delegate this time is Amelia..." Aria gawked.
"Amelia!" Lina shouted, waving. "It's me!"
With Amelia...
"It couldn't be..." Amelia felt a shiver down her spine. "I'm just hearing things."
In the audience...
"Looks like she can't hear us." Gourry remarked.
"We'll just catch up with her later." Lina growled. "And when we do..."
"I suppose." Zelgadis agreed. "But what about that girl Filia from yesterday? Things have gotten a bit hazy since then."
"I'm right here if you want me." Filia voiced. "About yesterday, I'm terribly sorry. I believe I forgot something when I left yesterday. Might you still have it?"
"You mean this thing?" Zelgadis handed the mace over.
"Thank goodness." Filia sighed in relief. "Might we continue our talk from yesterday?"
"It's about a job that paid a special guarantee, right" Lina confirmed.
"A favor beyond just finding out how powerful we are." Zelgadis added.
"That's why I'm going to have to test all of your power." Filia nodded. Concentrating, she vanished.
At the abandoned lookout tower...
Filia focused on her brooch and transformed into her Golden Dragon form.
With the gang...
"Hey there, Amelia!" Lina rushed up. "Long time no see."
"Lina-san." Phil acknowledged the sorceress.
"Lina-san, I'm doing official business." Amelia protested. "Can we talk later?"
"Why so unfriendly all of a sudden?" Lina chided.
Just then, in dragon form, Filia shot through the navy fleet, destroying several galleons in her wake.
"Hold it." Lina gaped. "Is this the test of our powers?"
"You mean this is your fault?" Amelia exclaimed.
"It seems there's no doubt about it." Zelgadis confirmed.
Filia dived down from the sky.
"Look out!" Gourry warned as Filia closed in, both he and Zelgadis jumping in to block off the attacking dragon.
"It's pretty certain we're the dragon's targets." Zelgadis noted, the harbor was utterly destroyed by the dragon's tornado-force shockwaves.
"What's it thinking?" Lina retorted. "Doing this with so many people around. There's only one thing to do now. Let's go, guys!" she ran up the rope anchor onto one of the ships. "We'll lead that thing onto the open sea.
On the freed galleon...
"This is my ship." the ship captain stepped in. "My ship is like a part of my body. She's all yours." he made his getaway, after Filia shot down at them.
"I'll take command." Amelia stepped up. "All hands, take position." she ordered. "Signal to the other ships. All ships, defensive formation. Take us to combat speed one. Deploy oars. Combat speed two." she continued, now face-to-face with the airborne Filia. "Prepare anti-air defenses. Sorcerer team, forward. Fire!"
"Fireball!" a barrage of fireballs were released at the attacking Golden Dragon.
In retaliation, Filia fired her laser breath at the ships.
"Ex-quip: Tsunami Plate!" Aria jumped into action. "Water Formation Wall!" she raised a high wall of water in front of the ship.
"Golden dragons are as tough as I've heard." Zelgadis growled, the mast was broken by the swooping dragon.
"Light, come forth!" Gourry summoned the Sword of Light and fired a energy beam at the incoming dragon, who dodged the attack, allowing it to hit the ship on the other side.
"It sure isn't playing around." Lina growled. "Fine then. Then, I'm not pulling any punches, either. Rune Flare!" she fired off a barrage of fire blasts at Filia, lighting the Golden Dragon on fire.
Completely unfazed, Filia flew over the ocean and readied another laser breath.
"Ex-quip: Sedna's Sage Armor!" Aria took the fight to the water and summoned the Seaslayer curved blade. "Great Bubble!" she encased Filia in a dragon-sized water bubble. "Imploding Water Wave Bullet!" her next attack shot the still trapped Filia upwards into the air via a water tower. "I think I overdid it a little." she sweatdropped.
"A little!?" Zelgadis gave her a look.
"Anyway, let's get back to the port fast so that I can find that Filia girl and really make her pay for this." Lina winked. "Tsunami!" she exclaimed in horror as the giant sea wave flooded the ship and the port.
"All I see is the ocean." Amelia moaned, peering through her spyglass after the wave subsided. "All the other ships must have been sunk. Lina-san, take a look." she handed the spyglass to Lina.
"That's the port we just left?" Lina gawked at the distance.
"I think the tsunami from Aria-san's attack must have..." Amelia stammered. "What do we do?"
"All right, it's decided." Lina grinned. "We set out for the outer world."
SailorStar9: Now that's done, read and review.