SailorStar9: After uploading the prologue, I present Chapter 1 of this fic. 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.
Disclaimers: I own nothing, except for the plot bunny. Heck, even the pairings aren't mine.
Chapter 1: Doubtful? A Letter from Home
"Well..." Aria drawled amusedly. "Who didn't see this coming?"
"So hungry..." Lina moaned, she, Gourry and Amelia were slumped on the partially destroyed galleon. "Our new adventure may be coming to a quick end."
"That's why I always say, it's not good to do things without thinking about them." Amelia muttered.
"I never expected we'd lose all our food in that fight." Zelgadis was peering through his spyglass at the ship's bow. "Hey." he kicked Gourry onto his back.
"It's been seven days now." Amelia sighed. "Do you think we're going to die?"
"Gee, whatever happened to the optimistic Amelia we used to know?" Aria teased.
"Bird!" Lina grabbed hold of a seagull pecking on her hand. "Roast chicken!"
"Wait a minute..." Aria snatched the flailing bird from Lina's grip. "A sea bird? Then perhaps..."
"If there are birds here, then we must be near land." Zelgadis realized what she was thinking.
"Bom Di Wind!" energized by the prospect of food, Lina cast the air spell at the sails to propel the ship towards the direction the flock of birds flew off to.
In a dreary basement elsewhere...
"You're saying you still haven't found it?" Valgarv asked his subordinates. "The last one? We already know who has the Sword of Light. Only one more, we have to find the final one."
Shortly afterwards...
Grabos and Jiras led their raiding party into a nearby town.
Igniting the cannon they brought with them, Jiras blew open the gates.
"Don't let anything distract you." Grabos instructed.
"Boss, what are we looking for?" Jiras asked.
"Just bring back anything that looks weird." Grabos replied. "And also any treasure you might find, too."
As the raiding party was gathering their loot, a rumbling was heard in the distance and the galleon carrying Lina's group moored straight into the town square.
"Food!" Lina, Gourry and Amelia dashed out of the utterly destroyed ship, before the group skidded to a stop when they realized they had interrupted the raid.
"Looks like they're being attacked by somebody." Zelgadis noted.
"These guys are strangers." Jiras reported, giving Lina a sniff. "Weird scent on them."
"Shut your mouth!" Lina roared, leaping out of Grabos' grip. "Keeping staving people from eating after they finally make it to land is inexcusable and worthy of divine punishment."
"There's no telling what being this hungry has done to us." the shrunken Gourry added.
"You attack innocent people and force them to give you their money." Amelia glared. "In other words, that is absolutely, positively wrong. In the name of Justice, Love, Truth, and Food, I, Amelia, shall smite you with the Hammer of Justice."
"In any case, why don't you just turn tail and run home?" Zelgadis was also not in the mood to patronize the raiders. "Not telling what may happen if you don't."
"Guys, take care of them!" Grabos ordered.
"If you still intend to fight us, we will show you no mercy." Amelia growled as the lizardmen attacked.
"Let's make this quick." Aria glowered. "Ex-quip: Dragonite Wheel Armor!" she summoned her multi-shot armor, the eight swords that came with it circling her in increasing speed. "Circle Sword!" she took out all the lizardmen with one attack.
"With one hit..." Amelia gawked. "Aria-san, amazing..."
"Who are these guys?" Grabos gawked. "Monsters?"
"Food..." Gourry drew out the Sword of Light, cutting down the final pair of lizardmen.
"Boss, his sword..." Jiras stammered.
"The Sword of Light?" Grabos recognized the weapon. "Is that it? But how can it be? How'd it end up in the hands of this fiend? Now that we know this, time for the kids' game to end. Do it, Jiras."
"Catch!" the fox beastman pulled out one of his bombs and tossed it at Lina's group.
"Food!" Gourry grabbed the bomb with his teeth, causing it to explode.
"What was that?" Lina asked.
"A bomb." Zelgadis explained. "Rezo did research into them before. It's a weapon you light on fire and then explodes. We shouldn't be too surprised." he assured. "At the very least they aren't as strong as explosive spells. That's why Rezo abandoned his research into them."
"What are you mumbling about?" Jiras tossed out the rest of his bombs. "Try these on for size."
"Water Prison." Aria bit back a frustrated sigh and locked every one of the bombs in a water bubble each and putting out the sparks on the wicks.
"You wanted an explosion, right?" Lina grinned. "Try this! Mega Brand!" she sent Jiras flying into the air.
"You're a sorceress?" Grabos realized he was out of his league.
"You're just figuring that out now?" Lina scoffed. "I don't know who gave me the name, but I'm the beautiful sorcery genius."
"Look out!" Zelgadis moved to block out the cannonball that was fired at Lina.
"It bounced off?" Grabos exclaimed in shock. "But that's impossible."
"Too bad for you." Zelgadis smirked. "But my body is part rock golem and..."
"Even if you're one third Blow Demon, that still doesn't mean you can tank a cannon, idiot." Aria rebuked after Zelgadis collapsed.
"Your flying tools might be something to look out for." Lina admitted. "Let's get serious and get our food. Garuk Ruhard!"
"Burst Flare!" Amelia added in her attack for good measure.
After the fight, leaving the others to gorge themselves, Zelgadis focused on determining their location. "What?" he spotted the Golden Dragon that had attacked them before flying to the outskirts of the town through his octant.
"That Golden Dragon from before." Lina realized.
"It can't be." Amelia gaped. "I thought Aria-san blasted it with her Water Wave Bullet."
On the streets...
"What's going on here?" Zelgadis asked, the group was chasing after the Golden Dragon.
"It looks like it's landing." Amelia pointed.
In the nearby canyon...
The Golden Dragon landed and reverted back to its human form.
"You..." Lina gawked.
"If we had some delicious cookies too, this will be perfect." Filia sat down and poured out some tea for her guests.
"What is going on here?" Lina demanded. "Who are you? What are you after? Start explaining."
"Of course." Filia assured. "There's something that I must ask of all you."
"Is she a friend of yours?" Amelia inquired.
"Sort of." Zelgadis replied.
"About me," Filia started. "What you call the 'outer world', this world, in other words, is where I am a priestess at the temple of the Fire Dragon King."
"You're a priestess of the Dragon race?" Zelgadis realized.
"Yes." Filia nodded.
"Then, that tail I saw..." Gourry gasped.
"I'm still not used to taking human form." Filia bashfully admitted. "Occasionally, my tail shows."
"Whatever." Lina retorted. "So, why'd we get attacked by a dragon priestess?"
"What I did, I was confirming your power, as I said I would." Filia replied.
"So, you attacked a town to do that?" Lina fumed.
"Destroying the town wasn't my intention." Filia defended. "It was Aria-san's spell that did that. Besides, if you couldn't handle something like that, I doubt you'd be able to survive what's ahead of you. You must follow a prophecy which foretells destruction. This all begun several weeks ago when we received a premonition at the temple of the Fire Dragon King. 'There shall come a controller of a dark star who shall call forth the light. And the world shall be flooded with darkness. Dragon's blood shall spread and following the power between light and darkness, a single star shall be awakened. Around the star shall spin five lights. And the power shall be a darkness beyond twilight. A brilliance beyond the dawn. When the power is loosed, we shall fall to an arrow which will split the heavens apart.' Those were the words of the prophecy. The first part, about darkness consuming the world, means that the world faces a grave danger. The next part, 'the power between light and darkness', we think may refer to humans."
"Those who live between light and darkness..." Lina mused. "The ones who are neither Gods nor Monsters."
"The rest of it still doesn't make sense to us." Filia admitted. "We've decided that a human is the key to avoiding this danger and so we set out to find someone with enough power."
"Then, that person is Lina-san?" Amelia blinked and causing Lina to spew out her tea.
"Sorry, that's the funniest thing I've heard." Lina burst out laughing. "So, there's some nonsense about a threat to the world and suddenly I'm the representative of the human race?"
"No, you're not the representative." Filia corrected. "You're the fill-in."
"What do you mean?" Lina fumed. "Didn't you just say you had to choose the most powerful human of all?"
"The truth is, we asked somebody before we asked you." Filia confessed. "But they were too busy with their part-time job to be bothered. So, we fell back to you, Lina-san. And after testing all of your power, I believe the five of you should be enough for this."
"You gotta be kidding!" Lina roared. "Why should I go and follow some nonsense and risk my life after you go and call me a stand-in? You can go back to your first choice, can't you?"
"She said you might be against it." Filia smiled lightly. "Our original choice gave us this letter to you." she pulled out the letter and handed it to Lina.
Taking a look at the letter, Lina instantly paled. "Your first choice..." she gaped nervously. "Was her part-time job being a waitress?"
"Yes." Filia beamed.
Letting out a frightened squeal, she built a golden pyramid which she threw herself in to hide.
"What's wrong?" Amelia was confused bu the extreme reaction. "What's in this letter?" she caught the piece of paper that floated into her hands. "It's really a simple letter, isn't it? 'Shut up and do it. Signed, Sis.'
"I knew it..." Aria moaned.
"Aria-san?" Amelia blinked.
"You guys remember what I said about one of Lina's two greatest fears being slugs?" Aria sweatdropped. "Well, this is the second... Lina's older sister, Luna Inverse, aka the Knight of Ceifeed."
"She's gonna kill me!" Lina wailed.
"She did say she'd punish her badly if Lina-san refused..." Filia supplied. "But..."
"Lina has a sister she's that scared of?" even Gourry was surprised.
"What's she like?" Zelgadis wondered.
"Let me put it this way: she once defeated a plasma dragon with only a kitchen knife." Aria deathpanned.
"You've got to be kidding me." Zelgadis blanched.
Later...
"So, do you feel like accepting the job?" Filia asked.
"Whatever I do doesn't matter." Lina shrugged. "I can't disobey my sister. Besides, if Sis told me to do it, it means something else. Anyway, I wonder what we should do now."
"First of all, we go to the temple of the Fire Dragon King, which I serve." Filia decided the group's next destination. "Our elder is waiting there."
SailorStar9: Now that's done, read and review.