Disclaimer: No, I don't own Slayers…I wish I did, then we'd have another
season! *pouts*
The Slayers:
Return
"Have you completed your mission Xelloss?"
"Hai Xelas-sama…" The purple haired trickster bowed down before his
master…and mother. "It was a simple task."
The dark lord nodded. She took another puff of her cigarette, Standing up,
she looked down at her priest and general. "Very good… Now, I have a new
job for you."
"Reunite!
The Slayers Return!"
A small town…prosperous, peaceful…or at least until…
"HEY! That was mine!" said a certain blond mercenary with the brains of a
jelly-fish.
"Too bad, Gourry - gotta be faster than that!" replied a very familiar (and
rather flat-chested) redhead.
Watching, the waiter sweatdropped. It was like a nightmare…some horrible
nightmare.
Of course, he didn't know these two personally. He cleared his throat to get
their attention, then squeaked a question at them. "Hey…you
two…almost…done…?"
The redhead glared at him, "No way! There's still a bunch to eat!"
Gourry nodded, then wolfed down another chicken, whole. He disgorged the
bones a moment later, spitting them out like the rapid fire of a machine gun.
A certain chimera we all know (and quite a few love) took another sip of
coffee. "What about Val's birthday party? Filia's expecting us."
The two sweatdropped, then charged, dragging the poor chimera out the
door behind them.
The waiter stood dumbfounded for a moment, then charged after them,
"HEY! YOU DIDN'T PAY ME! GET BACK HERE!!!"
~
Just outside the edge of the village, on the road beside the grassy plateau,
Zelgadis stopped them. Sighing, he rubbed his temples. "You do realize you
forgot to PAY for the food, don't you?"
Lina sweatdropped. Then, she laughed, her hand slapping Zelgadis on the
back. "Hey, we were in a hurry! Unless you want us to be late…"
"Yeah, and we don't want her to pull out that mace on us," said Gourry.
Zel shrugged. "It's no fault of mine…"
"Hey, wait…isn't this the side of town we arrived in?" asked Gourry.
The famous sorcery genius and dragon spooker stopped cold, "So that
means…"
"We have to go back, through the town." Zel sighed. He looked from Lina to
Gourry, "So much for arriving early." He turned around to start walking
back through to the other side of the village.
""Hey, wait for us!" said Lina and Gourry together, rushing to catch up with
Zel.
A lovely little pottery and mace shop…
"MO-OM!!!!!!!"
Blah, I'm no good at narrations…
"MO-OM! MO-OM!!!!" The voice called again and again, loud enough to be
heard several streets away.
Luckily, the neighboring houses and shops were rather used to it by now.
Either that, or they had moved away.
Anyway, back to our story…
A blond, blue eyed woman dashed out the back of the shop. Decorations
hung off, dragging behind her on the ground. A dragon's tail with a small
pink bow, held stiff by her alarm at the sudden summons, also trailed more
of them behind her. "Val? Val, are you alright?"
A young boy, no more than five by the looks of it, hung upside down off the
branch. His greenish hair hung from his face, golden eyes shining with fear,
"HELP! GET ME DOWN!!"
"Don't worry Val, I'll be right there."
Filia Ul Copt sighed inwardly. This wasn't like this was unusual…it was the
fifth time this week Val got himself in that predicament. She marched to
the tree, and plucked the young boy from the branch, almost like picking an
apple from a tree.
Val wrapped his adoptive mother in a tight hug, "Thank you mommy! I
thought I was gonna fall and break my head!"
Filia gave a weak smile and hugged him back, "You know as well as I do I
wouldn't let that happen." She mock-glared at him. "But didn't I tell you last
time that climbing trees was dangerous? "
Val looked down, tears in his eyes, "I-I'm sorry mommy…" He sniffed.
Filia sweatdropped, and gave little Val another hug, "It's alright…just don't
do it again, alright?"
His expression suddenly changed from nearly crying to beaming , "Alright
mommy! Can I have some ice cream?"
The former priestess nodded with a smile, "Anything you like birthday boy."
He laughed, and darted ahead, "Can't catch me mommy!"
She smiled gently, and went after him.
It had been three and a half years now since the battle with Darkstar…and
since she last saw Lina and company. Things had been so peaceful, living in
the shop, raising the rapidly growing Val.
His egg hatched six months after that battle. His progress since then…
His last birthday had been quite fun, but quiet. Just herself, Val, Jillas, and
Gravos. This year, her assistants had needed to go off, especially since
Jillas wanted to return to Palu. She wasn't quite sure where Gravos had gone,
but he had said it was urgent.
Little Val had been so disappointed when he heard the two wouldn't be here,
that Filia got an idea. She sent invitations to Lina, Amelia, Zelgadis, and
Gourry. Hopefully they would come.
The only one she hadn't sent an invitation to was…
"Hey mom, watch out for that…"
BOOM!
"Tree…." , he finished, wincing.
Filia lay in a heap on the ground, eyes swirling, "Itai…"
****************
Half an hour later, as if by magic (great line, neh? .) the shop was
decorated beautifully. A (very) large birthday cake was on the middle of a
long table covered in food. Val was looking clean, and not liking it, but was at
least allowed to wear his typical outfit. Filia did the same.
Filia stood, pleased at the good job she had done, a small bandage on her
head. "Now we just need to wait for a guest to arrive…"
"Hey, mom, can I open my presents yet?" , asked Val in a sweet tone.
Filia patted him on the head with a slight grin, "Not yet. We need to wait
for awhile, alright Val?"
"Can I go play in the mud then?"
Filia was about to answer that when a knock came at the door. She looked
over, and also nearly fell over as Val dashed past her, "I'll get it!"
He whipped open the door to find…no one. With an odd look, he closed the
door and looked at his approaching mother.
Filia sweatdropped. "Val…why didn't you let them in?"
He shrugged. "There was no one there."
As the knock at the door returned, a curious (if slightly annoyed) look came
to Filia's face, "Well, let's see then…"
Throwing open the door, she held her mace up high over her head,
"Whoever's there can just come out!"
She saw a cringing Amelia. "G-gomen nasai if I'm late Filia-san…"
Relief and guilt were obvious as Filia lowered her mace, "Gomen nasai Amelia-
san…I thought you were a prankster."
The small princess relaxed, but asked curiously, "But who would do something
as unjust as playing a prank on you Filia-san…? Oh!" she exclaimed, holding up
a big light purple box tied with a frilly pink bow. "This is for Val!"
A warm smile made its way onto Filia's lips, "Thank you Amelia-san…Val? Come
say thank you to Amelia-san."
No response.
"VAL?!"
With a apologetic look, Filia set off looking for Val, Amelia close behind. He
was probably up in that darn tree again…
Or that's what Filia THOUGHT…until she spied her adoptive son playing
happily in the mud. Her jaw dropped, "V-Val…?"
With a look of joy on his face, Val turned to look at his mother, "Hi mom!
Wanna play in the mud with me? Amelia-san can come too if she likes!"
At that, Filia took action…she fainted.
Sweatdropping, Amelia shook her slightly, "Filia-san…? This…is no time…for a
nap…"
As if things couldn't get any worse then, a knock came at the door…a loud
one…just before it was fireballed right off the hinges. Let's see if you can
guess who it is.
"HELLO?! WE'RE HERE!! ….WHERE'S ALL THAT FOOD YOU PROMISED!?" ,
a certain sorcery genuis (or dragon spooker) called at the top of her lungs.
Coyly, Amelia stepped into the room, sweatdropping.
Lina grinned, "Hey Amelia! Guess you got here first! We would have gotten
here sooner but…we got kinda distracted."
"You mean we washed dishes for four hours after you and Gourry tried a
dine and dash and went the wrong way…" , Zel offered in his usual cheerful
manner.
Sweatdropping, Lina caught him in a headlock, "Hey, you didn't exactly tell us
we were going the wrong way either!" , she growled.
"Yeah, I did!" , said Gourry proudly, causing more sweat drops to emerge.
Looking like she had suddenly remembered something, Lina let go of Zel and
asked Amelia, "Hey, where are Filia and Val anyway?"
"Well…" Amelia almost whimpered. She looked like she wanted to say
something, but she was frightened to speak. But what could possibly be so
bad, so vile, that the Princess of Justice…..
"Well what?" , the sorceress asked, putting her hands on her hips.
Gulping, Amelia said in a low voice, "Well…Val's playing in the mud and Filia-
san's fainted…"
With a sigh, Lina smacked her palm against her forehead, "Typical…less than
five minutes here and this place is already becoming a madhouse."
"Actually, this happened BEFORE you got here Lina-san, so…"
"Shut up."
"Geez…I didn't think a little thing like your kid covered in mud would make
you react like that," said Lina. She shoved more food into her mouth.
"You don't know how long it takes to get him clean!" said Filia, scowling at
Lina.
The youngster's lower lip trembled. "Are you m-m-mad at me mommy?"
Sighing, Filia grinned at Val. "Even if I was, I can't stay mad at you long and
you know it."
With a gleeful grin, Val went back to impersonating his new friend Gourry.
He shoveled the food away as if he hadn't eaten since the day he hatched.
Amelia was eating much in the same manner, Zel opting to drink coffee
instead of risking a limb.
"Wow Filia…most people gain weight after having a baby, but you look as good
as you did!" , Gourry exclaimed in a cheerful tone.
Can you guess what happens next?
THWAK!
"Itai…", mumbled a heap on the floor with blond hair.
Filia glared at him, "How dare you say such things!"
Amelia jumped up onto the table, pointing her hammer of justice at Gourry,
"You should know better than to make any remarks about a woman's weight!
It's unjust!" A slurping noise from the table made Amelia turn, to see Lina
drinking her soup. "Hey, that was MY soup!!!" she yelled.
Lina looked up at Amelia. The soup bowl was still in her hands. "You should
have eaten it then! Eaters keepers!"
"That was MY soup! It's unjust!"
"Don't even start, little miss justice!"
Amelia tensed, her fists clenching at her sides. She glared at Lina. "You…
flat-chested…. short… person!"
"FIRE--"
Filia's eyes widened. No. She couldn't. She wouldn't - would she? "Lina-san,
not in my house!"
"--BALL!!"
Filia sighed. Now Amelia lay roasted on the floor, not too far from the still
twitching Gourry. Not to mention, her wall was scorched.
Val went starry-eyed, "Can you teach me how to do that?!"
Sweatdropping, Lina chuckled nervously. "Ummm…maybe later, alright?
Umm, look at the time! Val, you can open your presents n—"
Val jumped on the presents before Lina could finish, not quite hearing (or
caring about) Filia's squeak of protest.
Meanwhile, Gourry was conscious again, and looking to see if any food was
left. Luckily for him, there was a rather convenient bowl of walnuts still
sitting undisturbed on the table, a nutcracker by its side. Picking it up, he
went to work cracking and eating…cracking and eating…cracking and
eating…cracking and eating…cracking and eating…cracking an--wait…
He looked at it in puzzlement. The nutcracker hadn't even made a dent…
With a frown, he tried again…and cracked something at least.
"Poor nutcracker. We hardly knew ye! You will never live to crack another
nut," said Gourry.
He sighed. How would he get that walnut open now?
A grin popped up on his face like magic. He took the walnut and put it down
on the center of the table. He started reaching for his sword…
Val straddled one of the empty boxes. "Whee….look mommy, I'm riding a
pony!"
Lina glared at Val, playing with the empty boxes. "Why isn't he playing with
the jellyfish I gave him?" she asked everyone and no one. She sniffed,
wiping a little tear from the corner of her eye. "Doesn't he like the stuffed
green jellyfish I gave him? Doesn't he like me any more?"
Gourry scratched his head. Then he shrugged. "Maybe he's allergic to
jellyfish?"
Lina grimaced at Gourry. "You – JELLYFISH-FOR-BRAINS!!" She slammed
her fist down on the top of Gourry's head.
"Itai!!!! Lina, why are you so mean to me?" asked Gourry. He pulled out his
sword and aimed for the nut on the table.
Filia applauded Val briefly… then she yawned. Ceipheed, she was getting
tired. While she stretched, she saw something out of the corner of her eye.
Something shiny…
"GOURRY!!!!" ,she exclaimed, "DON'T--"
Too late.
Gourry swung the sword. With a clunk, the table was sliced in two. The still-
intact walnut rolled to Lina's feet.
Lina stomped her foot and glared at him, "WHAT did you think you were
doing!?"
Gourry sighed. He pointed to the walnut. "Well, I was eating the nuts Filia
put out, but this one wouldn't open. I tried cracking it with my sword, but…"
Filia pulled her mace out and played baseball with his head…again. "NOT only
did you just slice my table in half, but you also brought food when I told you
not to, and said I put it out!" Her tail was in plain sight, waving around.
Lina sweatdropped.
"What's up with you?" asked Filia.
"I see you got a new brand of underwear since our last adventure," said Lina.
"Nice color…."
Blushing a bright red, Filia pushed her tail down again.
Cracking her knuckles a bit, Lina glared down at the walnut. "Well, however
it got here, It sure looks tasty…"
"L-Lina-san you wo--"
"FIREBALL!"
Once the smoke cleared, Lina stood triumphant…until she saw the walnut in
the same place, in one piece. Fire burned in her eyes, "Alright, that's it! Time
for my sure kill shot!"
Amelia paled. "Lina-san…you don't mean…"
"Darkness beyond twilight, crimson beyond---hey, let go of me Filia!" , she
yelled as Filia grabbed both of Lina's arms.
After several, long moments, Filia finally let go of Lina. Sighing, she
sweatdropped. "I'm not just going to let you DESTROY my house Lina-san!"
With an angry grunt, Lina kicked the walnut…sending it crashing through the
window.
Filia's tail popped out again, "LINA-SAN, WOULD YOU MIND REFRAINIG
F---" , she stopped short as the walnut came flying back…through another
window.
Both Lina and Filia paled…and decided to ignore it.
Amelia trotted over, and whispered, "Filia-san…can we spend the night? Val's
already in bed now."
Filia sighed, but nodded, "Alright…as long as you don't destroy it."
Zel (who had been drinking coffee silently during all of this for anyone
wondering ~_^) stood up. "Let's hurry up then…maybe we can find a cure in
this city somewhere."
Filia showed them to their rooms…Zel and Gourry would sleep in Val's room
on cots (as long as they promised not to wake him up), while Amelia and Lina
would do the same in Filia's room.
The others were asleep before Filia, which was normal. Filia sat up for
awhile, staring at the full moon in the sky, until sleep finally came for her as
well. She didn't notice the shadowy figure sitting in the trees looking in…
********
In The Next Chapter…
What's this? A mysterious hooded figure appears! But, who is she…and
what does she have planned? And why are these men after her…?
Not only that, but someone has decided to rejoin them! Someone very
familiar…..
"Mystery!
Who is This Person Anyway?!"
season! *pouts*
The Slayers:
Return
"Have you completed your mission Xelloss?"
"Hai Xelas-sama…" The purple haired trickster bowed down before his
master…and mother. "It was a simple task."
The dark lord nodded. She took another puff of her cigarette, Standing up,
she looked down at her priest and general. "Very good… Now, I have a new
job for you."
"Reunite!
The Slayers Return!"
A small town…prosperous, peaceful…or at least until…
"HEY! That was mine!" said a certain blond mercenary with the brains of a
jelly-fish.
"Too bad, Gourry - gotta be faster than that!" replied a very familiar (and
rather flat-chested) redhead.
Watching, the waiter sweatdropped. It was like a nightmare…some horrible
nightmare.
Of course, he didn't know these two personally. He cleared his throat to get
their attention, then squeaked a question at them. "Hey…you
two…almost…done…?"
The redhead glared at him, "No way! There's still a bunch to eat!"
Gourry nodded, then wolfed down another chicken, whole. He disgorged the
bones a moment later, spitting them out like the rapid fire of a machine gun.
A certain chimera we all know (and quite a few love) took another sip of
coffee. "What about Val's birthday party? Filia's expecting us."
The two sweatdropped, then charged, dragging the poor chimera out the
door behind them.
The waiter stood dumbfounded for a moment, then charged after them,
"HEY! YOU DIDN'T PAY ME! GET BACK HERE!!!"
~
Just outside the edge of the village, on the road beside the grassy plateau,
Zelgadis stopped them. Sighing, he rubbed his temples. "You do realize you
forgot to PAY for the food, don't you?"
Lina sweatdropped. Then, she laughed, her hand slapping Zelgadis on the
back. "Hey, we were in a hurry! Unless you want us to be late…"
"Yeah, and we don't want her to pull out that mace on us," said Gourry.
Zel shrugged. "It's no fault of mine…"
"Hey, wait…isn't this the side of town we arrived in?" asked Gourry.
The famous sorcery genius and dragon spooker stopped cold, "So that
means…"
"We have to go back, through the town." Zel sighed. He looked from Lina to
Gourry, "So much for arriving early." He turned around to start walking
back through to the other side of the village.
""Hey, wait for us!" said Lina and Gourry together, rushing to catch up with
Zel.
A lovely little pottery and mace shop…
"MO-OM!!!!!!!"
Blah, I'm no good at narrations…
"MO-OM! MO-OM!!!!" The voice called again and again, loud enough to be
heard several streets away.
Luckily, the neighboring houses and shops were rather used to it by now.
Either that, or they had moved away.
Anyway, back to our story…
A blond, blue eyed woman dashed out the back of the shop. Decorations
hung off, dragging behind her on the ground. A dragon's tail with a small
pink bow, held stiff by her alarm at the sudden summons, also trailed more
of them behind her. "Val? Val, are you alright?"
A young boy, no more than five by the looks of it, hung upside down off the
branch. His greenish hair hung from his face, golden eyes shining with fear,
"HELP! GET ME DOWN!!"
"Don't worry Val, I'll be right there."
Filia Ul Copt sighed inwardly. This wasn't like this was unusual…it was the
fifth time this week Val got himself in that predicament. She marched to
the tree, and plucked the young boy from the branch, almost like picking an
apple from a tree.
Val wrapped his adoptive mother in a tight hug, "Thank you mommy! I
thought I was gonna fall and break my head!"
Filia gave a weak smile and hugged him back, "You know as well as I do I
wouldn't let that happen." She mock-glared at him. "But didn't I tell you last
time that climbing trees was dangerous? "
Val looked down, tears in his eyes, "I-I'm sorry mommy…" He sniffed.
Filia sweatdropped, and gave little Val another hug, "It's alright…just don't
do it again, alright?"
His expression suddenly changed from nearly crying to beaming , "Alright
mommy! Can I have some ice cream?"
The former priestess nodded with a smile, "Anything you like birthday boy."
He laughed, and darted ahead, "Can't catch me mommy!"
She smiled gently, and went after him.
It had been three and a half years now since the battle with Darkstar…and
since she last saw Lina and company. Things had been so peaceful, living in
the shop, raising the rapidly growing Val.
His egg hatched six months after that battle. His progress since then…
His last birthday had been quite fun, but quiet. Just herself, Val, Jillas, and
Gravos. This year, her assistants had needed to go off, especially since
Jillas wanted to return to Palu. She wasn't quite sure where Gravos had gone,
but he had said it was urgent.
Little Val had been so disappointed when he heard the two wouldn't be here,
that Filia got an idea. She sent invitations to Lina, Amelia, Zelgadis, and
Gourry. Hopefully they would come.
The only one she hadn't sent an invitation to was…
"Hey mom, watch out for that…"
BOOM!
"Tree…." , he finished, wincing.
Filia lay in a heap on the ground, eyes swirling, "Itai…"
****************
Half an hour later, as if by magic (great line, neh? .) the shop was
decorated beautifully. A (very) large birthday cake was on the middle of a
long table covered in food. Val was looking clean, and not liking it, but was at
least allowed to wear his typical outfit. Filia did the same.
Filia stood, pleased at the good job she had done, a small bandage on her
head. "Now we just need to wait for a guest to arrive…"
"Hey, mom, can I open my presents yet?" , asked Val in a sweet tone.
Filia patted him on the head with a slight grin, "Not yet. We need to wait
for awhile, alright Val?"
"Can I go play in the mud then?"
Filia was about to answer that when a knock came at the door. She looked
over, and also nearly fell over as Val dashed past her, "I'll get it!"
He whipped open the door to find…no one. With an odd look, he closed the
door and looked at his approaching mother.
Filia sweatdropped. "Val…why didn't you let them in?"
He shrugged. "There was no one there."
As the knock at the door returned, a curious (if slightly annoyed) look came
to Filia's face, "Well, let's see then…"
Throwing open the door, she held her mace up high over her head,
"Whoever's there can just come out!"
She saw a cringing Amelia. "G-gomen nasai if I'm late Filia-san…"
Relief and guilt were obvious as Filia lowered her mace, "Gomen nasai Amelia-
san…I thought you were a prankster."
The small princess relaxed, but asked curiously, "But who would do something
as unjust as playing a prank on you Filia-san…? Oh!" she exclaimed, holding up
a big light purple box tied with a frilly pink bow. "This is for Val!"
A warm smile made its way onto Filia's lips, "Thank you Amelia-san…Val? Come
say thank you to Amelia-san."
No response.
"VAL?!"
With a apologetic look, Filia set off looking for Val, Amelia close behind. He
was probably up in that darn tree again…
Or that's what Filia THOUGHT…until she spied her adoptive son playing
happily in the mud. Her jaw dropped, "V-Val…?"
With a look of joy on his face, Val turned to look at his mother, "Hi mom!
Wanna play in the mud with me? Amelia-san can come too if she likes!"
At that, Filia took action…she fainted.
Sweatdropping, Amelia shook her slightly, "Filia-san…? This…is no time…for a
nap…"
As if things couldn't get any worse then, a knock came at the door…a loud
one…just before it was fireballed right off the hinges. Let's see if you can
guess who it is.
"HELLO?! WE'RE HERE!! ….WHERE'S ALL THAT FOOD YOU PROMISED!?" ,
a certain sorcery genuis (or dragon spooker) called at the top of her lungs.
Coyly, Amelia stepped into the room, sweatdropping.
Lina grinned, "Hey Amelia! Guess you got here first! We would have gotten
here sooner but…we got kinda distracted."
"You mean we washed dishes for four hours after you and Gourry tried a
dine and dash and went the wrong way…" , Zel offered in his usual cheerful
manner.
Sweatdropping, Lina caught him in a headlock, "Hey, you didn't exactly tell us
we were going the wrong way either!" , she growled.
"Yeah, I did!" , said Gourry proudly, causing more sweat drops to emerge.
Looking like she had suddenly remembered something, Lina let go of Zel and
asked Amelia, "Hey, where are Filia and Val anyway?"
"Well…" Amelia almost whimpered. She looked like she wanted to say
something, but she was frightened to speak. But what could possibly be so
bad, so vile, that the Princess of Justice…..
"Well what?" , the sorceress asked, putting her hands on her hips.
Gulping, Amelia said in a low voice, "Well…Val's playing in the mud and Filia-
san's fainted…"
With a sigh, Lina smacked her palm against her forehead, "Typical…less than
five minutes here and this place is already becoming a madhouse."
"Actually, this happened BEFORE you got here Lina-san, so…"
"Shut up."
"Geez…I didn't think a little thing like your kid covered in mud would make
you react like that," said Lina. She shoved more food into her mouth.
"You don't know how long it takes to get him clean!" said Filia, scowling at
Lina.
The youngster's lower lip trembled. "Are you m-m-mad at me mommy?"
Sighing, Filia grinned at Val. "Even if I was, I can't stay mad at you long and
you know it."
With a gleeful grin, Val went back to impersonating his new friend Gourry.
He shoveled the food away as if he hadn't eaten since the day he hatched.
Amelia was eating much in the same manner, Zel opting to drink coffee
instead of risking a limb.
"Wow Filia…most people gain weight after having a baby, but you look as good
as you did!" , Gourry exclaimed in a cheerful tone.
Can you guess what happens next?
THWAK!
"Itai…", mumbled a heap on the floor with blond hair.
Filia glared at him, "How dare you say such things!"
Amelia jumped up onto the table, pointing her hammer of justice at Gourry,
"You should know better than to make any remarks about a woman's weight!
It's unjust!" A slurping noise from the table made Amelia turn, to see Lina
drinking her soup. "Hey, that was MY soup!!!" she yelled.
Lina looked up at Amelia. The soup bowl was still in her hands. "You should
have eaten it then! Eaters keepers!"
"That was MY soup! It's unjust!"
"Don't even start, little miss justice!"
Amelia tensed, her fists clenching at her sides. She glared at Lina. "You…
flat-chested…. short… person!"
"FIRE--"
Filia's eyes widened. No. She couldn't. She wouldn't - would she? "Lina-san,
not in my house!"
"--BALL!!"
Filia sighed. Now Amelia lay roasted on the floor, not too far from the still
twitching Gourry. Not to mention, her wall was scorched.
Val went starry-eyed, "Can you teach me how to do that?!"
Sweatdropping, Lina chuckled nervously. "Ummm…maybe later, alright?
Umm, look at the time! Val, you can open your presents n—"
Val jumped on the presents before Lina could finish, not quite hearing (or
caring about) Filia's squeak of protest.
Meanwhile, Gourry was conscious again, and looking to see if any food was
left. Luckily for him, there was a rather convenient bowl of walnuts still
sitting undisturbed on the table, a nutcracker by its side. Picking it up, he
went to work cracking and eating…cracking and eating…cracking and
eating…cracking and eating…cracking and eating…cracking an--wait…
He looked at it in puzzlement. The nutcracker hadn't even made a dent…
With a frown, he tried again…and cracked something at least.
"Poor nutcracker. We hardly knew ye! You will never live to crack another
nut," said Gourry.
He sighed. How would he get that walnut open now?
A grin popped up on his face like magic. He took the walnut and put it down
on the center of the table. He started reaching for his sword…
Val straddled one of the empty boxes. "Whee….look mommy, I'm riding a
pony!"
Lina glared at Val, playing with the empty boxes. "Why isn't he playing with
the jellyfish I gave him?" she asked everyone and no one. She sniffed,
wiping a little tear from the corner of her eye. "Doesn't he like the stuffed
green jellyfish I gave him? Doesn't he like me any more?"
Gourry scratched his head. Then he shrugged. "Maybe he's allergic to
jellyfish?"
Lina grimaced at Gourry. "You – JELLYFISH-FOR-BRAINS!!" She slammed
her fist down on the top of Gourry's head.
"Itai!!!! Lina, why are you so mean to me?" asked Gourry. He pulled out his
sword and aimed for the nut on the table.
Filia applauded Val briefly… then she yawned. Ceipheed, she was getting
tired. While she stretched, she saw something out of the corner of her eye.
Something shiny…
"GOURRY!!!!" ,she exclaimed, "DON'T--"
Too late.
Gourry swung the sword. With a clunk, the table was sliced in two. The still-
intact walnut rolled to Lina's feet.
Lina stomped her foot and glared at him, "WHAT did you think you were
doing!?"
Gourry sighed. He pointed to the walnut. "Well, I was eating the nuts Filia
put out, but this one wouldn't open. I tried cracking it with my sword, but…"
Filia pulled her mace out and played baseball with his head…again. "NOT only
did you just slice my table in half, but you also brought food when I told you
not to, and said I put it out!" Her tail was in plain sight, waving around.
Lina sweatdropped.
"What's up with you?" asked Filia.
"I see you got a new brand of underwear since our last adventure," said Lina.
"Nice color…."
Blushing a bright red, Filia pushed her tail down again.
Cracking her knuckles a bit, Lina glared down at the walnut. "Well, however
it got here, It sure looks tasty…"
"L-Lina-san you wo--"
"FIREBALL!"
Once the smoke cleared, Lina stood triumphant…until she saw the walnut in
the same place, in one piece. Fire burned in her eyes, "Alright, that's it! Time
for my sure kill shot!"
Amelia paled. "Lina-san…you don't mean…"
"Darkness beyond twilight, crimson beyond---hey, let go of me Filia!" , she
yelled as Filia grabbed both of Lina's arms.
After several, long moments, Filia finally let go of Lina. Sighing, she
sweatdropped. "I'm not just going to let you DESTROY my house Lina-san!"
With an angry grunt, Lina kicked the walnut…sending it crashing through the
window.
Filia's tail popped out again, "LINA-SAN, WOULD YOU MIND REFRAINIG
F---" , she stopped short as the walnut came flying back…through another
window.
Both Lina and Filia paled…and decided to ignore it.
Amelia trotted over, and whispered, "Filia-san…can we spend the night? Val's
already in bed now."
Filia sighed, but nodded, "Alright…as long as you don't destroy it."
Zel (who had been drinking coffee silently during all of this for anyone
wondering ~_^) stood up. "Let's hurry up then…maybe we can find a cure in
this city somewhere."
Filia showed them to their rooms…Zel and Gourry would sleep in Val's room
on cots (as long as they promised not to wake him up), while Amelia and Lina
would do the same in Filia's room.
The others were asleep before Filia, which was normal. Filia sat up for
awhile, staring at the full moon in the sky, until sleep finally came for her as
well. She didn't notice the shadowy figure sitting in the trees looking in…
********
In The Next Chapter…
What's this? A mysterious hooded figure appears! But, who is she…and
what does she have planned? And why are these men after her…?
Not only that, but someone has decided to rejoin them! Someone very
familiar…..
"Mystery!
Who is This Person Anyway?!"