Companions
By Terra
It was the pain that stuck out in his mind the most. It was a wee bit more painful
than all the anvils that have, do and will exist being dropping every inch of the body
several times. That is not exactly what one would expect from a black cloud. It did not
really matter at this point what it looked like. The point is Gourry couldn't escape.
Gourry's thoughts were simple and clear, "OOOOOWWWWW!!!! AAAAAAAA!!!!!! S***********T!!!!!!
AAAAAAAA!!!!" to say the very least.
If Gourry had not been in such pain, he might have wondered why Phibrizo had
teleported them outside his temple, rather going right inside. Phibrizo opened a hole into
the impregnable wall and dragged the bundle of clouds and Gourry inside behind him.
It was very dark and hard to see for Gourry, but Gourry could not really see anyway
since all he could see was bright lights produced from the pain. Of course, Phibrizo
obviously could see and floated down, down, down the bottomless pit with Gourry, still in
the cloud, in tow. When Phibrizo had landed, he feel to his knees and gasped for breath.
Eventually, he flipped over to his back and laid there, looking at the ceiling. He laid
there for a very long time before he looked at the cloud as if he hadn't seen it before.
Gourry could hear him say, "Oh, yeah. Him. I really need to let him out." He sighed, "But
I'm so beat. I can't move." He moaned, "I got to get up anyway, the longer I lay here, the
longer it will take to recharge myself." He pushed himself to a sitting position with some
effort and looked blankly around the room. "Cage. Need a cage." He looked up and snapped
his fingers. A large crystal cage was produced from nothing. Phibrizo just stared at it in
disgust, as if his creation offended him.
He looked at Gourry and back to the cage. He groaned, "Great, I have to move the
cage over to him." He looked at the cloud. With a resigned sigh, he picked himself up and
went to the cloud, "I know you can hear me. Look, neither of us wants trouble. I'm tired,
you're in pain, we both have our problems here. I know what you're thinking, 'As soon as
the Hellmaster lets me go, I'm getting out of here.' I just want to tell you that my temple
is a labyrinth, you would die before you would get to the entrance. Even if you did, the
only way you can leave is the way you came in. So, let's make this easier for both of us. I
let you go, you don't run away or resist, we'll both be happy. Does that sound like a fair
deal? Good." Phibrizo waved his hand and the cloud vanished. Gourry was suspended in mid-air
for a few second then dropped three feet on to his butt. Gourry looked at Phibrizo.
Hellmaster looked more tired and worn-out close-up. His shoulders sagged and his arms were
limp. Phibrizo sighed and snapped his fingers. The cage disappeared and reappeared over
Gourry's head. Before Gourry could react, Phibrizo slid out of the way as the cage fell with
a thundering clang, entrapping Gourry.
"Sorry for the wait. Killing Gaav takes a lot of hard work. That guy just won't
die!" he whimpered. "I suggest you sleep, Swordsman. You'll need it." Phibrizo dragged
himself to a crystal throne and gladly sat. Before Gourry's eyes, Hellmaster dissolved into
the throne.
Gourry looked at his prison. It was huge for a cage. There was enough room for him
to lie down. "'Sleep', he says," he muttered. He looked at the bars of crystal. He could
break those with the Sword of...
"HEY!" Gourry shouted when he noticed his absent sword. Well, he would just have to
break those bars with his hands. He grabbed two bars and tried to pull them apart but
electricity shot through his unsuspecting hands and made him shriek in pain. In defeat, he
laid down in his cage and wondered how Lina was holding up.
*** ***
Someone was poking Gourry in the ribs. "Lina... go away..."
"Aren't you hungry?" a small voice piped into his ears. Gourry was instantly awake,
"Of course I am! I..." He suddenly remembered where he was. The small voice that had spoken
was not Lina nor Amelia. It was Hellmaster Phibrizo. Currently, he was sitting cross-legged
outside the cage, with his arms supporting him.
"Good. 'Cause I brought you food," he chirped, holding up the food basket for
Gourry's inspection. It was piled high with bread, cheeses, fruits and meats and looked very
tempting. A little too tempting.
"Never mind, I'm not hungry."
Phibrizo looked confused and frowned, "You're not? I thought you would be." His eyes
brightened and he clapped his hands, "Oh! I get it! You think I poisoned the food! Now why
didn't I think of that before, you're smarter than you look, Swordsman. The thing is, you're
wrong. I didn't poison the food. The food is fine, I just got it a few seconds ago. I didn't
have time to poison it even if I wanted to."
"So you say."
"That's right, that's what I say. The food is fine, Swordsman. I have no intention
of killing you... yet."
"Yet?"
He laughed, "I haven't decided yet. But for now, I need you alive and healthy."
Gourry looked dubiously at his captor, "Why?"
"You're my hostage! Lina has to come to me to save you! If you're dead, how is she
supposed to save you?" He waved the matter off, "but never mind that, eat. I can't afford
you getting weak and sickly. I'm going to take good care of you, Swordsman." Phibrizo pushed
the basket through the bars and laid the basket at Gourry's feet. Gourry looked the
Hellmaster and cautiously picked up a piece of cheese. He inspected it and slowly put it
into his mouth. The cheese _tasted_ fine. He waited a minute to feel if it made him feel
different. He felt fine, aside from the increasing hunger he felt. He then took another
portion of food. When that food did nothing harmful, he devoured the rest of the basket in
a matter of minutes. Phibrizo sat quietly and very still, just watching Gourry eat. When
Gourry had finished, Phibrizo said, "Now, see? Was the food poisoned? Of course not."
"It was quite good actually. Thank you." Gourry said.
"You're welcome. I bet you're wondering where your Sword is," Phibrizo said, getting
up and patting himself off.
"Actually, I was."
"Good. I have it. Would you like it back?" Phibrizo asked. Not waiting for an
answer, he took the Sword from its hiding place behind the throne. He snapped his fingers
and the cage disappeared.
Startled, Gourry jumped up, all his alarms going off. Phibrizo causally tossed
Gourry his Sword. Gourry caught it with difficulty and asked, "You're... you're letting me
leave?"
Phibrizo laughed, "No! I'm going to train you! Let you leave? You're a comedian,
Swordsman."
"How do you know I wouldn't just kill you with the Sword of Light?"
"Because the Sword of Light can't harm me, so, I'm not afraid." Phibrizo rocked on
his heels, and inquired slyly, "So, want to explain why you have the Sword of Light even
though you're not supposed to?"
"How...?"
"Scanned your memories. You're wasting that thing. The Sword can do so much more
than what you do with it."
"Like what?"
"Why don't I show you? Now, listen carefully. I am now your teacher, and I'm going
to help you improve."
Gourry didn't a chance to ask him how he would help him improve before Phibrizo
disappeared and reappeared right by his side, "Now. Lesson One. Deflecting spells. Ready?"
Gourry nodded. "Good. Turn the blade's edge towards you. Good, good." Phibrizo disappeared
and reappeared back at the throne, "Now, I'm to going to cast a Dragon Slave. Now, when I
cast it, I want you to think of the spell going around you, like water going around a rock.
Now, concentrate." Phibrizo said nothing but the tell-tale beam of the Dragon Slave shot out
towards Gourry. Gourry tried to imagine the going around him but he knew he was going to be
extra-crispy in just a few...
But when he opened his eyes, he was very much alive and Phibrizo was looking sourly
at him, "You don't have to close your eyes, you big coward." He shrugged, "Oh, well. Ready
yourself. Now don't close your eyes!" The beam shot towards Gourry again and Gourry's heart
beat faster. He could see what a Dragon Slave looked like from the victim's point of view.
Gourry tried to imagine the beam going around and to his amazement, the beam hit his blade
and split into two direction, completely avoiding him.
"I never thought it could do that with just the edge," Gourry said in awe.
"There's plenty more that the Sword can do that you haven't imagined," Phibrizo said
, triumphantly.
Gourry looked at him, "Why are you doing this?"
"Doing what?"
"Teaching me these techniques. Why are you helping me defeat you?"
"Defeat me? How? I told you, the Sword of Light can't hurt me," Phibrizo sighed and
added softly, "I'm not your true enemy."
"What?"
"See," Phibrizo looked away, "I'm tired of the life I lead. I want to help the world
with its problems. My associates don't exactly agree with me and have destroyed every plan
I have devised to achieve that goal. But this time, I made them believe that chaos is my
true goal, even though it's not," he paused, and suddenly became more confident, "I'm
training you to defeat your true enemy, Deep Sea Dolphin."
"Deep Sea Dolphin?"
"Yes. Lina Inverse is very crucial to my plan and Deep Sea Dolphin somehow found out
about it and now she will stop at nothing to kill Lina Inverse. That's I sent Xellos to
protect her but with Xellos wounded, I need someone else and I nominated you."
"Why did you say to the others that you wanted to bring chaos?"
"There might have been spies of Deep Sea Dolphin in the area. She's unsure of
exactly what I want to do but she found out that Lina is important. But that is not
important right now. To defeat her, you must improve and we better get started."
After that, Phibrizo taught Gourry rigorously on how to make the Sword shoot beams and how
the Sword could absorb, magnify and return a Dragon Slave.
When Gourry became weary and Phibrizo had taught all that he seemed to think that
needed to be taught, they stopped. Phibrizo left Gourry to get him food and returned in a
matter of minutes with a basket full. As Gourry ate, he asked, "When are you going to send
me back so I protect Lina from this Trout person?"
Phibrizo smiled at him, "Right now if you're ready." Gourry quickly finished eating
and stood up. "First, I have to give you better armor than the scrap metal you have on
now." He snapped his fingers and a complete suit of armor appeared on Gourry's body. His
old armor appeared in a pile near the throne. Gourry felt for his face but found a metal
plate there.
"Why is my face covered?" Gourry asked. Phibrizo smile grew broader. He asked
sweetly, "You know all that stuff about my true plan and Deep Sea Dolphin?"
"Yeah?"
"Well... how do I put it?" His eyes brightened, "I lied! The one I was training you
for was Lina Inverse. The only way she can stop you now is with the Giga Slave and she'll
be devastated when she finds out she just killed one of her best friends."
"No! I won't...!"
"Too late!"
Phibrizo snapped his fingers.
The End
Author's Notes: This story wouldn't leave me alone! I just always wondered what exactly
Phibrizo and Gourry did while Lina and co. were running around like headless chickens.
So, that was my explanation! Hated it? Liked it? Didn't understand it? E-mail me at
destinyplot@lycos.com
By Terra
It was the pain that stuck out in his mind the most. It was a wee bit more painful
than all the anvils that have, do and will exist being dropping every inch of the body
several times. That is not exactly what one would expect from a black cloud. It did not
really matter at this point what it looked like. The point is Gourry couldn't escape.
Gourry's thoughts were simple and clear, "OOOOOWWWWW!!!! AAAAAAAA!!!!!! S***********T!!!!!!
AAAAAAAA!!!!" to say the very least.
If Gourry had not been in such pain, he might have wondered why Phibrizo had
teleported them outside his temple, rather going right inside. Phibrizo opened a hole into
the impregnable wall and dragged the bundle of clouds and Gourry inside behind him.
It was very dark and hard to see for Gourry, but Gourry could not really see anyway
since all he could see was bright lights produced from the pain. Of course, Phibrizo
obviously could see and floated down, down, down the bottomless pit with Gourry, still in
the cloud, in tow. When Phibrizo had landed, he feel to his knees and gasped for breath.
Eventually, he flipped over to his back and laid there, looking at the ceiling. He laid
there for a very long time before he looked at the cloud as if he hadn't seen it before.
Gourry could hear him say, "Oh, yeah. Him. I really need to let him out." He sighed, "But
I'm so beat. I can't move." He moaned, "I got to get up anyway, the longer I lay here, the
longer it will take to recharge myself." He pushed himself to a sitting position with some
effort and looked blankly around the room. "Cage. Need a cage." He looked up and snapped
his fingers. A large crystal cage was produced from nothing. Phibrizo just stared at it in
disgust, as if his creation offended him.
He looked at Gourry and back to the cage. He groaned, "Great, I have to move the
cage over to him." He looked at the cloud. With a resigned sigh, he picked himself up and
went to the cloud, "I know you can hear me. Look, neither of us wants trouble. I'm tired,
you're in pain, we both have our problems here. I know what you're thinking, 'As soon as
the Hellmaster lets me go, I'm getting out of here.' I just want to tell you that my temple
is a labyrinth, you would die before you would get to the entrance. Even if you did, the
only way you can leave is the way you came in. So, let's make this easier for both of us. I
let you go, you don't run away or resist, we'll both be happy. Does that sound like a fair
deal? Good." Phibrizo waved his hand and the cloud vanished. Gourry was suspended in mid-air
for a few second then dropped three feet on to his butt. Gourry looked at Phibrizo.
Hellmaster looked more tired and worn-out close-up. His shoulders sagged and his arms were
limp. Phibrizo sighed and snapped his fingers. The cage disappeared and reappeared over
Gourry's head. Before Gourry could react, Phibrizo slid out of the way as the cage fell with
a thundering clang, entrapping Gourry.
"Sorry for the wait. Killing Gaav takes a lot of hard work. That guy just won't
die!" he whimpered. "I suggest you sleep, Swordsman. You'll need it." Phibrizo dragged
himself to a crystal throne and gladly sat. Before Gourry's eyes, Hellmaster dissolved into
the throne.
Gourry looked at his prison. It was huge for a cage. There was enough room for him
to lie down. "'Sleep', he says," he muttered. He looked at the bars of crystal. He could
break those with the Sword of...
"HEY!" Gourry shouted when he noticed his absent sword. Well, he would just have to
break those bars with his hands. He grabbed two bars and tried to pull them apart but
electricity shot through his unsuspecting hands and made him shriek in pain. In defeat, he
laid down in his cage and wondered how Lina was holding up.
*** ***
Someone was poking Gourry in the ribs. "Lina... go away..."
"Aren't you hungry?" a small voice piped into his ears. Gourry was instantly awake,
"Of course I am! I..." He suddenly remembered where he was. The small voice that had spoken
was not Lina nor Amelia. It was Hellmaster Phibrizo. Currently, he was sitting cross-legged
outside the cage, with his arms supporting him.
"Good. 'Cause I brought you food," he chirped, holding up the food basket for
Gourry's inspection. It was piled high with bread, cheeses, fruits and meats and looked very
tempting. A little too tempting.
"Never mind, I'm not hungry."
Phibrizo looked confused and frowned, "You're not? I thought you would be." His eyes
brightened and he clapped his hands, "Oh! I get it! You think I poisoned the food! Now why
didn't I think of that before, you're smarter than you look, Swordsman. The thing is, you're
wrong. I didn't poison the food. The food is fine, I just got it a few seconds ago. I didn't
have time to poison it even if I wanted to."
"So you say."
"That's right, that's what I say. The food is fine, Swordsman. I have no intention
of killing you... yet."
"Yet?"
He laughed, "I haven't decided yet. But for now, I need you alive and healthy."
Gourry looked dubiously at his captor, "Why?"
"You're my hostage! Lina has to come to me to save you! If you're dead, how is she
supposed to save you?" He waved the matter off, "but never mind that, eat. I can't afford
you getting weak and sickly. I'm going to take good care of you, Swordsman." Phibrizo pushed
the basket through the bars and laid the basket at Gourry's feet. Gourry looked the
Hellmaster and cautiously picked up a piece of cheese. He inspected it and slowly put it
into his mouth. The cheese _tasted_ fine. He waited a minute to feel if it made him feel
different. He felt fine, aside from the increasing hunger he felt. He then took another
portion of food. When that food did nothing harmful, he devoured the rest of the basket in
a matter of minutes. Phibrizo sat quietly and very still, just watching Gourry eat. When
Gourry had finished, Phibrizo said, "Now, see? Was the food poisoned? Of course not."
"It was quite good actually. Thank you." Gourry said.
"You're welcome. I bet you're wondering where your Sword is," Phibrizo said, getting
up and patting himself off.
"Actually, I was."
"Good. I have it. Would you like it back?" Phibrizo asked. Not waiting for an
answer, he took the Sword from its hiding place behind the throne. He snapped his fingers
and the cage disappeared.
Startled, Gourry jumped up, all his alarms going off. Phibrizo causally tossed
Gourry his Sword. Gourry caught it with difficulty and asked, "You're... you're letting me
leave?"
Phibrizo laughed, "No! I'm going to train you! Let you leave? You're a comedian,
Swordsman."
"How do you know I wouldn't just kill you with the Sword of Light?"
"Because the Sword of Light can't harm me, so, I'm not afraid." Phibrizo rocked on
his heels, and inquired slyly, "So, want to explain why you have the Sword of Light even
though you're not supposed to?"
"How...?"
"Scanned your memories. You're wasting that thing. The Sword can do so much more
than what you do with it."
"Like what?"
"Why don't I show you? Now, listen carefully. I am now your teacher, and I'm going
to help you improve."
Gourry didn't a chance to ask him how he would help him improve before Phibrizo
disappeared and reappeared right by his side, "Now. Lesson One. Deflecting spells. Ready?"
Gourry nodded. "Good. Turn the blade's edge towards you. Good, good." Phibrizo disappeared
and reappeared back at the throne, "Now, I'm to going to cast a Dragon Slave. Now, when I
cast it, I want you to think of the spell going around you, like water going around a rock.
Now, concentrate." Phibrizo said nothing but the tell-tale beam of the Dragon Slave shot out
towards Gourry. Gourry tried to imagine the going around him but he knew he was going to be
extra-crispy in just a few...
But when he opened his eyes, he was very much alive and Phibrizo was looking sourly
at him, "You don't have to close your eyes, you big coward." He shrugged, "Oh, well. Ready
yourself. Now don't close your eyes!" The beam shot towards Gourry again and Gourry's heart
beat faster. He could see what a Dragon Slave looked like from the victim's point of view.
Gourry tried to imagine the beam going around and to his amazement, the beam hit his blade
and split into two direction, completely avoiding him.
"I never thought it could do that with just the edge," Gourry said in awe.
"There's plenty more that the Sword can do that you haven't imagined," Phibrizo said
, triumphantly.
Gourry looked at him, "Why are you doing this?"
"Doing what?"
"Teaching me these techniques. Why are you helping me defeat you?"
"Defeat me? How? I told you, the Sword of Light can't hurt me," Phibrizo sighed and
added softly, "I'm not your true enemy."
"What?"
"See," Phibrizo looked away, "I'm tired of the life I lead. I want to help the world
with its problems. My associates don't exactly agree with me and have destroyed every plan
I have devised to achieve that goal. But this time, I made them believe that chaos is my
true goal, even though it's not," he paused, and suddenly became more confident, "I'm
training you to defeat your true enemy, Deep Sea Dolphin."
"Deep Sea Dolphin?"
"Yes. Lina Inverse is very crucial to my plan and Deep Sea Dolphin somehow found out
about it and now she will stop at nothing to kill Lina Inverse. That's I sent Xellos to
protect her but with Xellos wounded, I need someone else and I nominated you."
"Why did you say to the others that you wanted to bring chaos?"
"There might have been spies of Deep Sea Dolphin in the area. She's unsure of
exactly what I want to do but she found out that Lina is important. But that is not
important right now. To defeat her, you must improve and we better get started."
After that, Phibrizo taught Gourry rigorously on how to make the Sword shoot beams and how
the Sword could absorb, magnify and return a Dragon Slave.
When Gourry became weary and Phibrizo had taught all that he seemed to think that
needed to be taught, they stopped. Phibrizo left Gourry to get him food and returned in a
matter of minutes with a basket full. As Gourry ate, he asked, "When are you going to send
me back so I protect Lina from this Trout person?"
Phibrizo smiled at him, "Right now if you're ready." Gourry quickly finished eating
and stood up. "First, I have to give you better armor than the scrap metal you have on
now." He snapped his fingers and a complete suit of armor appeared on Gourry's body. His
old armor appeared in a pile near the throne. Gourry felt for his face but found a metal
plate there.
"Why is my face covered?" Gourry asked. Phibrizo smile grew broader. He asked
sweetly, "You know all that stuff about my true plan and Deep Sea Dolphin?"
"Yeah?"
"Well... how do I put it?" His eyes brightened, "I lied! The one I was training you
for was Lina Inverse. The only way she can stop you now is with the Giga Slave and she'll
be devastated when she finds out she just killed one of her best friends."
"No! I won't...!"
"Too late!"
Phibrizo snapped his fingers.
The End
Author's Notes: This story wouldn't leave me alone! I just always wondered what exactly
Phibrizo and Gourry did while Lina and co. were running around like headless chickens.
So, that was my explanation! Hated it? Liked it? Didn't understand it? E-mail me at
destinyplot@lycos.com