Slayers is the property of Kadokawa Shoten and Software Sculptors.
LINA: Lina Inverse here! Just when you think you know who you're fighting and why,
things take a sudden turn! What the hell kind of story is this, anyway?! Can't I just go back
to trashing bandits and fighting Mazoku?! NOOOO!! I have to deal with this kind of crap!
And to top it off, Sylphiel might be pregnant?! Jeez! When did this series become a made
for TV movie?! The melodrama's kill'n me!
AMELIA: But it doesn't matter, because I got my Gracia Oneechan back! Two loving
sisters are reunited at last!
LINA: AAAAAUUUUUUUUUGGGGGGGHHHHHHHH!!!!
Faces: After!
Part 20
Reunion!
The Trials of Family!
Sylphiel said nothing. She was staring down at the tabletop, unwilling to look Lina
in the eye.
"That's it, isn't it?" Lina asked softly. "Zel's, I assume…"
The shrine maiden looked up in irritation. "Well OF COURSE it's Zelgadis
dear's!"
"Okay! Okay! Shhh! I didn't mean anything by it!" Lina assured her. "Well…I
mean…How? I…"
Sylphiel looked miserable.
"Congratulations."
The shrine maiden didn't look up to accepting the accolade and said nothing.
"Um…Isn't this what you wanted?" Lina asked softly.
Sylphiel finally looked up at her. "But not like this! Not NOW!"
The redhead blinked in confusion. "What's the problem?" she asked. "I
mean…I've seen your dreams, Sylphiel. I KNOW this is what you've always wanted…"
The shrine maiden looked fearfully at Lina. "But never until AFTER Zelgadis dear
found his cure!"
Lina blinked again, this time as realization dawned on her. "You don't think Zel is
just going to SPLIT, do you?!"
"Of course he wouldn't! He's not that type of man!"
"Then what?!" Lina asked. "What has you so scared?"
Sylphiel looked away, once again unable to look Lina in the eye.
"Come on…What is it?"
The priestess took a breath. "This is going to change things…"
"Of course it's going to change things!" Lina told her.
"He won't want to leave…"
"Well, I would certainly hope not!" Lina agreed.
She looked up at the redhead. "And what about his cure?" she asked softly.
Lina went dead silent. Suddenly, she saw Sylphiel's point, her fear. She knew
Zelgadis, and she knew that the second Sylphiel told him about the baby, he'd act. In all
likelihood, Sylphiel would have an engagement ring on her finger the very next day, and he
would immediately stop his search. There was no way he'd leave her now.
He had too much honor for that.
And that frightened Sylphiel. Would Zelgadis stay out of duty or love? And if it
was duty, would that make him resent both her and his child? Would the idea that his cure
was still out there, in reach, gnaw at his mind?
It was one hell of a problem, that was for sure. Lina could see why Sylphiel would
be worried. It was exactly the kind of thing that someone as sensitive as Sylphiel WOULD
worry about.
The shrine maiden was staring at the tabletop again.
Lina sighed. "What do you want to do?"
"Well, you lost him! I hope you're happy!"
Iffy sighed and bowed her head. "I'm sorry, Lord God General Priest Jinnar Sir,"
she whimpered meekly.
Jinnar growled and turned back to his wall-sized map of the world. "Well there's
no use crying over it now, I guess. My other cronies should find him again before long.
Until then you do exactly as you're told! Understand!?"
"Yes, Master…"
"Good." Jinnar put his finger to his lips in thought. "Well, as long as you're not
busy you might as well continue with the Seyruun operation."
"Finally…."
"What was that?!"
"NOTHING, MASTER!" Iffy cried, waving her hands frantically.
"Good! Now get going!"
Iffy saluted smartly. "Yes, Sir, Lord God Ge…"
"JUST GO!!!"
Iffy disappeared.
Jinnar sighed. "How can a Mazoku be so dumb?"
Sylphiel turned the key to her room and stepped inside, expecting to find the others
there. Lina had told her there was something else she needed to take care of and had sent
her back to the inn to apprise the others of the situation.
Except there was no one here to apprise.
She blinked at the empty room for a moment and found herself actually sighing in
relief. Sylphiel didn't want to face him right now. She couldn't. Not yet. Not while she
was still so confused.
The shrine maiden sat down on one of the two beds in the room and took a breath.
Digesting the news was still hard for her. Lina had promised to help, but she knew in the
end this was something she'd have to face alone.
Her hand came to rest on a piece of folded paper lying on the bed next to her.
Blinking, she opened it.
"'Lina,'" she read out loud. "'Went to the palace with Amelia. Back later.
Gourry.'" She blinked. "'P.S. Save some dinner for me.'" She put the note down. "The
palace?" She blinked again and stood up. The shrine maiden would have to start now if
she was going to catch up to them before they got into trouble. She scrawled a note to Lina
and left it where the redhead was sure to find it before walking out the door.
Walking…not running…
She still wanted some time to herself to think.
Lina put the teacup down and looked up at the woman sitting across from her. "So,
come on, Ritsu," she said. "What does it mean in human terms?"
The blonde in the white coat took a sip of tea before looking her friend in the eye.
"To be honest, I'm not quite sure. There HAVE been cases where a sorceress with child
has retained her powers, but those instances are rare and due more to a specific astral
anomaly that's not present in Miss Sylphiel." She set her teacup down and adopted a
pensive look. "More than that, I really can't discuss with you."
"Ritsu," Lina went on, "We've been friends for a long time. If there's something
you're holding back…"
"Without examining the father, I really can't say for sure…"
"But you suspect something," Lina told her.
Ritsuko stood up and walked to the window of her office. Without looking at the
redhead, she began. "The human body works in certain ways, Lina. It has certain failsafes
and cycles designed to keep it safe and operating normally. As long as the body remains a
totally human one, these safeguards work. But in cases of…mixed pairings…it can be
somewhat…different."
"Zelgadis is still human, Ritsuko," Lina informed her.
"Perhaps not totally," the Healer whispered. "Not…astrally…or maybe there's
something inside that's not TOTALLY human. That could be why Miss Sylphiel has
retained her powers."
"Something like what?" Lina asked.
"Something…divine?" Ritsuko asked herself. "Or demonic?"
Lina's eyes went wide as she began to get the gist of what Ritsuko was suggesting.
"You know," she whispered, "Now that I think of it…Luna never lost her powers during
her cycle…I know because I'd always wait for her time of the month so I could turn the
tables on her….And she always kicked my ass anyway…" She stood up and faced the
healer. "If you're saying what I think you're saying…Then that means…"
Ritsuko faced her. "That Sylphiel is either carrying a small piece of the Flare
Dragon Cepheid…"
The redhead swallowed dreadfully as the full implications of what she was about
say took hold of her. "…Or a piece of a Mazoku…"
Where Zelgadis, Amelia, and Gourry had snuck into the palace, Sylphiel preferred
to simply walk up and ring the front doorbell. This was, of course, after smiling to the
guard and giving him her name and her business there, I.E. preventing her friends from
causing untold mischief. After inquiring if anyone had been arrested on the palace grounds
and finding out that her friends were not in a dungeon…yet…Sylphiel found herself ringing
the bell at the front door of the castle.
She waited; the two guards standing nearby took no notice of her. Finally, the door
opened…
"Miss Naga?!" Sylphiel asked, blinking.
Gracia blinked at the woman on the doorstep from inside the castle.
"Um…Hello…Miss…"
"Sylphiel. Remember? We met in Giln."
Gracia looked puzzled for a moment. She had traveled a lot and had been in Giln
on more than one occasion. "Um…Yes! Of course! Sylphiel!" she said excitedly. "Of
course I remember!" she said, when in reality she hadn't a clue.
Sylphiel smiled. She knew Naga was a little flaky…
"Um…How have you been?" Gracia asked politely. "Please, come in." She stood
aside and let the shrine maiden enter the palace proper.
"I'm all right, I suppose," Sylphiel told her. "When did you come to Seyruun?"
"Oh, weeks ago," Gracia replied, racking her brain for an answer as to how she
might know this woman. "Um…I got engaged," she announced, showing off the ring.
Sylphiel blinked and smiled, hugging the tall woman. "I'm so happy for you!?
Er…It's not Xellos, is it?"
Gracia laughed. "OOOOHOHOHOHO!!! No, no, no! Xellos was a polite enough
man and an amicable breakfast guest, but he's no Huey!"
"So Xellos left?" Sylphiel asked as they walked down the hall.
"Oh, weeks ago!" Gracia told her, remembering the nice young man she had
breakfast with that one time.
"Oh, well, could you help me? I'm looking for three of my friends…"
"Oh! So you know my sister!"
Sylphiel beamed. She KNEW it! "So you ARE Amelia's sister! I knew it!"
"Just follow me! They're this way!"
"Then there was the time me and Gracia Oneechan went to the Seyruun Zoo and
kept a tiger from escaping and wreaking havoc on the populace!" Amelia continued with
yet ANOTHER 'Me and Gracia Oneechan' story. The two men sitting at the table with
Amelia and Phil could understand that the princess was excited about her sister being
home, but they were rapidly wishing that Gracia HAD turned out to be an imposter with a
nefarious plan.
So when Gracia returned with Sylphiel in tow, it was like watching salvation itself
enter…
"Sylphiel!…Er…Syl chan!" Zelgadis cried, jumping from his seat and rushing to
the shrine maiden. Before Sylphiel could react, the chimera was hugging her and
whispering in her ear. "I'll do whatever you want. Just get me the hell out of here!"
"Zelgadis de…" She oomph'd suddenly as Gourry joined the hug.
"We're begging you!" the swordsman whispered urgently. "We'll do
anything…ANYTHING!!!"
Gracia smiled. "Well, isn't this just wonderful?!" Amelia nodded in agreement.
"Ah!" Phil began, rising to his feet. "So you're here! And where is Miss Lina?!"
"Well," Sylphiel said, "I left a note at the inn, so she should be…"
"Hey! Anyone home?!" Lina's voice called from down the hall.
Lina growled as she left the two unconscious guards crumpled on the front steps.
She couldn't believe how utterly stupid they were. First Amelia, Gourry, and Zelgadis run
off to the palace after she told them not to! Now, Sylphiel had gone after them.
It was time for Lina Inverse to kick some ass.
"Hey! Anyone home!?" she called out, readying a spell. "Come out, come out,
where ever you are!"
She turned the corner into the sitting room and saw her friends before her,
apparently having tea and cookies without her…
Strike one…
Gourry was hugging Sylphiel…
Strike two….
And standing off to side, smiling brightly was…
Strike three…
"Naga," she breathed.
Gracia was smiling brightly. Clapping her hands together, she rushed forward.
"Oh! Lina chan! I've missed you so much!!!"
"FIREBALL!!!"
Repair crews were working on fixing up the sitting room, but in the meantime, the
group had decided to have some dinner. The Royal Family of Seyruun sitting down
together for a meal was an oddity in itself without the fact that they were all wearing
bandages from being singed by Lina's spell.
Sitting on the other side of the table, Lina fumed.
"What is your problem?" Zelgadis whispered to her from his seat.
"Okay, I admit, I got caught by surprise by seeing her, but that is NOT Naga."
"It looks like Miss Naga to me, Miss Lina," Sylphiel spoke up from the other side
of Zelgadis.
"I refuse to believe it," Lina growled. "Naga wouldn't be caught dead wearing
that much clothes! And the fact that she's being polite just shows that, whoever she is,
she's bad at acting!"
"But…" Gourry said, a finger to his lips in thought, "Everyone else here seems to
think it's her. Maybe you're just wrong."
Lina turned an acidic gaze on her boyfriend. "Gourry…DEAR," she muttered
evilly. "I….am….not….nor am I ….EVER…..WRONG!"
"Um…Yeah, I guess I forgot…"
"It's not Naga! And I can prove it!" Lina declared in a harsh whisper.
"I'll have the soup," Amelia said to a well-dressed waiter.
"Roast chicken!" Phil added.
"I'll have a salad," Gracia told them.
"A-HA!!! PROOF!!" Lina screamed, jumping to her feet and pointing an accusing
finger at the First Princess. "NAGA THE WHITE SERPENT WOULD NEVER ORDER
JUST A SALAD!!! IMPOSTER BITCH!!!"
Silence.
"Miss Lina!" Amelia cried angrily. "How could you say that about my own
sister?!"
Before the Second Princess could continue, there was a sound.
A sniffle, to be precise.
Gracia dabbed at her eyes with a napkin. "I…I don't know what to say, Lina
chan…After all we've been through together…"
"Now look what you've done!" Amelia cried, rushing to Gracia's side. "You've
made her cry! For shame, Miss Lina! For SHAME!"
"Oh, can it!" Lina told her. "I once saw this woman eat a ROCK!" She faced the
First Princess. "Salad, my ass!"
"Miss Lina!" Sylphiel cried. "Whether you like Miss Naga or not, you are a guest
in HER house!"
"THAT'S WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT! THIS ISN'T HER HOUSE! SHE'S
AN IMPOSTER!"
"Tha…That's not true! I AM Gracia Wil Naga Seyruun!" Gracia sniffled. "We
used to travel all over the world together, Lina chan! How…How can you say I'm an
imposter!?"
"A….SALAD?!"
"I have to watch my figure…" Gracia told her. She stood up and walked around
the table until she was standing in front of Lina. "Please, Lina chan. I know I've done
some mean things to you…but please…please be my friend." She held her hand out for the
redhead to shake.
Lina looked up at Gracia and raised her hand…
"I can't believe you belted her right there in front of Miss Amelia and Prince Phil!"
Sylphiel said, shaking her head.
Sitting in the small cell of the Seyruun palace's dungeon, Lina huffed. "I'm telling
you, it's not the real Naga!"
"She seems like a perfectly nice young lady," Sylphiel commented.
Lina glared at her. "And how does that compare to the Naga YOU met?!"
The shrine maiden blinked. "Okay, I see your point." She looked through the bars
at her friend and sighed. "But even so…Isn't it possible that…Oh, I don't know… How
can there be more than one Miss Naga?"
"It's probably one of those damn copiis," Lina growled. "Gold-digging little
sneaks…"
"If it was a copii, wouldn't that make her JUST like Miss Naga?"
"Yeah…"
Sylphiel nodded. "Then it couldn't be a copii! A copii would be mean, abrasive,
and insulting! Miss Gracia is the exact opposite of that!"
Lina's eyes went wide.
"Miss Lina?"
"Oh…my….GOD!"
"Gracia Oneechan? Are you feeling better now?" Amelia asked as she put the wet
towel away. Her recovery spell healed up the black eye nicely, but did nothing for her
older sister's self esteem.
Gracia sniffled. "I just can't believe sweet little Lina chan would be so mean!"
She sniffed again and buried her face in her hands. "All those years traveling alone must
have seriously warped her moral center!"
Amelia blinked. "Miss Lina has a moral center?"
Floating outside the princess' window, Iffy blinked. With a thought, she
disappeared and reappeared on the palace roof. "Hmmm…" She reached into her pocket
and took out her 'To Do' list.
"Buy bread….Do Lord God General Priest Jinnar Sir's laundry…kill Xellos, and
that's underlined twice….Oh! Here we are! 'Kill the Princess of Seyruun!'"
She looked up.
"THE Princess of Seyruun….As in ONE princess of Seyruun….But there's two of
them down there! Should I go back to Wolfpack Island and ask Lord God General Priest
Jinnar which one is the one I'm supposed to kill?"
An image of Jinnar, breathing Hellfire and pointing at her popped into her mind.
"YOU MEAN YOU FAILED AGAIN, YOU WORTHLESS PIECE OF ASTRAL
SLIME!!!???"
She hung her head. "Oh, dear, anything but that!" Sighing, she kicked a shingle off
the roof and listened to the sharp cry of pain from below as it struck a passing woman.
"Okay," she said, taking a breath. "What exactly did Lord God General Priest
Jinnar tell me to do?"
A chibi Jinnar appeared on top of her head, his arms folded across his chest as Iffy
remembered the conversation. "Iffy, would you be nice enough to go to Seyruun and take
care of the problem there? Apparently, the princess of Seyruun is developing a secret anti-
Mazoku weapon and she has to be stopped! Pretty please!?"
The chibi disappeared, and Iffy blinked. "So….If I destroyed the WEAPON, I
wouldn't have to worry about which princess to kill since I wouldn't have to kill a
princess to begin with!" She smiled and floated up into the air.
"Iffy, you are such a genius!"
In a puff of smoke, she was gone.
"Amelia, this is my fiancé, Huey!"
Amelia scratched her head and giggled nervously. "Yeah, we've met." She bowed
to the man before her. "Sorry about…you know…tying you to a chair and trying to beat a
confession out of you…"
Huey Einberg smiled. "That's all right. Your sister always told me you were a
'warrior of justice.'"
"I can't believe MY Oneechan is getting married!" Amelia gushed, her hands
clasped in front of her. "So tell me how you two met!" She plopped down in a chair and
looked up at the two of them.
"Well," Gracia began, sitting down next to her, "It all started when Huey and I met
for the second time…."
"Naga chan! Naga chan! Look! Lookit all the cute golems!!!"
Shadow Lina bounced up and down in glee as several tiny golems danced in the
display case in front of her.
"They're so ADORABLE!!!"
Gracia, dressed in a simple blue dress that covered her from neck to ankles walked
up behind the redhead and smiled. "And they look like you, Lina chan!"
Shadow Lina continued bouncing up and down, clapping her hands in joy….
"Miss Lina was with you?" Amelia asked. She put her finger to her lips.
"Hmmm….I guess it was during one of those times that we had all broken up…"
"I guess so," Gracia said noncommittally.
"Oh! I have to get one! Luna Oneechan would LOVE it!" Without another word,
the shadow dashed into the small golem shop, leaving Gracia there to view the golems.
As the tall woman looked over the dancing statues, someone walking by had caught
sight of her.
Huey Einberg stopped in the middle of the street and blinked. "Look, Laia! It's
her!"
His pink-haired sister looked in the direction Huey was pointing and went pale.
"Oh no! They're back!" She started tearing up. Memories of what happened last time the
woman and her red haired companion had come to town resurfaced. Lina and Naga using
up their grocery money on fast food and ale. Lina and Naga getting into a fight in the street
in the middle of the night. Lina and Naga DESTROYING the entire town trying to get at
one another.
Tears ran down her face. "I'm so unfortunate!"
Huey didn't notice. He was staring at the woman. Her image had haunted him ever
since she had left after the great golem battle. He didn't notice that his sister was staring at
something down the street. Didn't notice her waving and screaming frantically. Didn't
notice her run out of the street as fast as she could….
And he didn't notice when an out-of-control bull golem ran straight into him.
"How awful!" Amelia cried.
Huey hit the ground hard. The bull raced down the street, not giving the man it just
totaled a second glance. He winced in pain. He was pretty sure his ribs were broken. A
shadow fell over his form, and he looked up…
SHE was standing right there.
"Miss…Naga…"
Gracia knelt before him. "You poor thing!" she cried.. "Hold still." She placed
her hands on his chest and chanted a healing spell. He could feel his bones mending under
his skin, under her gentle touch.
"Miss…Naga," he whispered.
She looked down into his piercing gaze, a blush rose to her cheeks…
"And we've been together ever since!" Gracia finished.
Amelia clapped. "How romantic!"
"After a few months, we decided to get married," Huey told her, "But Gracia chan
wanted to have the wedding here so her family could be a part of it. So we packed our
things and moved here."
"We were just waiting for you to come back, Amelia chan!" Gracia told her
excitedly. "I want you to be my Maid of Honor."
"Really?!" Amelia gushed. "Me?! Maid of Honor?!" She ran forward and hugged
her sister. "I love you, Gracia Oneechan!"
"I love you too, Amelia chan…"
Floating outside the window, Iffy sniffled. "That's so sweet!" She wiped a tear
away. "It's so wonderful and happy and…" She broke off as she started feeling woozy.
"Oh, yeah…" she muttered shakily. "Mazoku….Happy…Bad…." Without another word
she started falling from the sky.
She fell past several palace windows before striking the ground and crashing right
through to the sub-basement below…
"Sylphiel! You have GOT to get me out of here!" Lina said, shaking the bars of
her cell.
"Miss Lina, you really shouldn't make things worse," Sylphiel cautioned her.
"Why do you think I haven't busted MYSELF out of here?!" Lina asked her. "I
don't want Amelia hunting after me again! Last time that happened it sucked! Just go get
Amelia and tell her that I need to speak to her!"
"She's awfully mad at you right now, Miss Lina. I don't think she'll listen…"
"You're a shrine maiden of Cepheid! Use your pull! You know the big guy, right?!
Use some influence and get me out of here!"
"It's really not as simple as…"
Before the shrine maiden could finish, a Mazoku crashed through the ceiling of
Lina's tiny cell and went straight through the floor, leaving two gaping holes; one going
down, the other going up.
Lina blinked. She looked from Sylphiel, to the holes, and back again before
looking up at the sky. "And a million goldpieces!" she shouted out. When nothing
appeared, she stamped her foot. "Damn! Thought I was onto something for a second
there…"
"Miss Lina! Who WAS that?!"
"Hell if I know," Lina muttered, dropping to her knees and looking down the hole
in the floor. "Let's go find out…"
Gourry stepped inside the room the Royal Family had set up for him and yawned.
He was looking forward to a good night's rest. Sure, Lina was in the dungeon, but at least
that meant there was no way she could fly in through the window and…
He stopped suddenly.
Someone was in the room with him.
"Who's there?!" he called out, his hand going to the hilt of his sword.
Something whispered in the darkness.
He reached out and struck a match against the wall, lighting a nearby lamp with it.
With the room illuminated, he could see the threat arrayed against him. He gasped.
At least twenty chibi's were standing on his bed. Chibi Zelgadis, Chibi Amelia,
and Chibi Sylphiel at the head of the pack, their arms folded over their chests in anger.
"Oh, God, not again," he whimpered.
"Gourry dear," Chibi Sylphiel began. "This is an intervention."
Chibi Amelia nodded. "We're all part of your mind, Gourry, and we're here to tell
you in one just voice that you have a problem!"
"Yeah," Chibi Zelgadis said, "That you're still acting like a whiny little bitch."
"Now, now, Zelgadis dear," Chibi Sylphiel told the other chibi. "No need to be
rude."
"But he IS acting like a whiny little bitch!" Chibi Zelgadis defended.
"So…" Gourry began, pointing at Chibi Zelgadis, "You're my angry side…" He
pointed at Chibi Amelia, "You're my good side…" He turned his finger on Chibi Sylphiel.
"And you would be my romantic side, right?"
They all nodded.
"So what are you?" he asked, pointing to a chibi in the back.
Chibi Gaav hefted his sword over his shoulder. "I'm your subconscious fear of
weird-looking men wearing trench coats and carrying phallic objects…"
The other chibi's all turned to look at him.
"Well, I AM!" Chibi Gaav defended.
"That's not the point!" Chibi Amelia cried, turning back on Gourry. "We're here
to get you to act on your feelings for Miss Lina!"
"Just talk to us, Gourry dear!" Chibi Sylphiel begged.
"Or else," Chibi Zelgadis threw in.
"Suuuuurrrreee…" Gourry said. He started to turn. "Just let me get
my….YOINK!" With that, he ran down out the door and down the hall!
"HE'S MAKING A RUN FOR IT!" Chibi Amelia cried, pointing after him.
"STOP THE VIOLATOR!!" Chibi Gaav yelled.
"AFTER HIM!" Chibi Sylphiel shouted as the pack of chibi's took off after the
swordsman.
"I….tai…" Iffy whimpered as she stood up. She blinked and looked around.
Looking up at the sky, she saw that she had fallen through several sub-basements before
stopping here. Daylight was just a small pinprick of illumination far above her.
"Wow," she breathed. Turning to her new surroundings, she could only see
darkness. With a mental command, the orb in the head of her staff began to glow,
illuminating the area with a pale, blue light. She could see now that she was in a large
antechamber. An opening to her right led towards a dark hallway.
"Hmmm…." Iffy said to herself. "A dark room….a dark tunnel…A dark
EVERYTHING!" She snapped her fingers. "The PERFECT place to hide a secret
weapon!"
Praising herself for her leap of logic, Iffy started down the hallway.
A ball of light fell from the opening in the ceiling and bounced a few times before
coming to rest on the floor. A few seconds later, booted feet landed softly next to it. A
few seconds after that, a second set of boots, these purple, landed next to them.
Sylphiel held up her own lighting spell as Lina's floated up from its place on the
floor and came to rest in her hand.
"I've never seen THIS part of Seyruun before," Lina breathed, moving the light orb
around to get a better look at the antechamber.
"Well, from the looks of things, that young woman would have landed here,"
Sylphiel pointed out. "But where is she?"
Lina pointed her light down at the floor and nodded her head at what she saw.
"Looks like she walked out." Sylphiel turned and saw the footprints in the dust before
them. "One tough girl…"
The shrine maiden nodded. "What now?"
The redhead started down the tunnel down which Iffy had walked. Sylphiel
followed just behind.
Gourry dashed around the corner, panting for breath. This was going too far! It
was okay when they were giving him advice or playing devil's advocate, but now they had
their own agenda, and it was freaking him out!
He turned to look behind him and screamed.
Twenty chibi's were running behind him in hot pursuit.
"STAY AWAY FROM ME!!!" he screamed at them.
"You can't hide from US, bitch!" Chibi Zelgadis shouted after him. "We're YOUR
mind!!"
"SOMEBODY HELP ME!!!" Gourry screamed as he turned another corner…
Crashing headfirst into Zelgadis.
"Gourry?! What's wrong?!"
The blond turned and pointed down the hallway. "THEM!!!!!!!!!"
Zelgadis looked around the corner for whoever it was that had frightened the
greatest swordsman in the world out of his mind.
Nothing.
"Um…Gourry?"
The blond man cowered behind the chimera. "They were there! I swear! I
SWEAR, ZELGADIS! THEY WERE AFTER ME! They looked like YOU! And Amelia!
And Sylphiel! And Gaav! And…"
Zelgadis regarded his friend as he ranted. After about the seventh familiar name on
the list, he reached out and slapped the swordsman. "Get ahold of yourself!"
"But I'm telling you! They're real! I saw it! IT WAS OUT ON THE WING OF
THE PLANE!!!!"
Zelgadis smacked Gourry again, and the blonde seemed to come around, blinking in
confusion. "Now if you're done hallucinating…" Zelgadis prompted.
Gourry looked back down the hall. No chibi's. "Oh, thank Cepheid!" he breathed.
"I thought they had me for sure that time!"
"Er…Right…" Zelgadis agreed. He looked up at the cowering blonde and took a
breath. "Gourry, I want to talk to you."
"You can do whatever you want as long as you don't leave me alone for them to get
me!"
"Um…Okay… Why don't I buy you a drink? It'll….make you less psychotic…"
"Yeah…Yeah, that would be good," Gourry replied, looking around fearfully.
"Booze…That'll work…Yeah…"
Zelgadis rested a hand on Gourry's shoulder and started guiding him downstairs.
The blond's head was darting to and fro like that of a prairie dog that just heard a
rattlesnake nearby.
"Gourry," Zelgadis began, "I wanted to talk to you about something." He took a
breath and began. "Sylphiel told me about how the two of you met. I just…wanted to
say…Thank you."
"Uh huh," Gourry replied, not really paying attention as he searched his
surroundings for hiding chibi's…
"I'm not going to explain why," the chimera went on gruffly. "So I'll just say thank
you and be done with it, all right?"
"Uh huh."
Zelgadis looked at Gourry and sighed as they continued to walk.
The sounds of dripping water were the only ones present in the tunnel. It was
obviously very ancient and hadn't been used in centuries. Cobwebs covered the stone
walls. The air was musty and stale. The trail Lina and Sylphiel had been following had
seemed to fade away. For some reason there was less dust in this part of the cavern.
"So," Lina began, making conversation, "Have you decided how you're going to
tell him?"
Sylphiel paused for a moment and bowed her head. "Not yet."
"Can't hide it forever," Lina pointed out.
"Yes, Miss Lina, I know that," the shrine maiden replied tiredly. "I just need a
little time to prepare him for it."
"Well…Whatever happens, we're there for you, Sylphiel," Lina told her sincerely.
"Thank you, Miss Lina," Sylphiel replied warmly and with a sniffle.
Seeing that the shrine maiden's dam was about to burst, Lina thought fast.
"Uh…Looks like a fork up here! Let's split up, okay?"
Sylphiel nodded.
The two sorceresses started down different paths.
Iffy waved her staff around this new chamber and blinked. There was a familiar
feeling here. She just couldn't put her finger on why, though…
The tunnel fork she had taken led her to this place. It was a large chamber several
meters high. Writing in an ancient tongue covered the walls. The script was so old that
even predated HER. Sitting in the center of the room was a pedestal, and atop this pedestal
was a single ruby.
Something whispered to her.
She turned sharply. "Hello?!" The Mazoku blinked as it whispered to her again.
"Well of course I'm a Mazoku, silly!" She smiled brightly. "Can't you tell?"
If whispers could sweatdrop…
It settled for whispering to her again.
"Oh wow! Really?!" she asked excitedly. She began hopping up and down in
glee, giggling.
A harsh whisper stopped her.
"Sorry," she apologized. "I'm just so excited! I've never met royalty before!"
If the whispers could, they would have smiled. Instead, they started to tell Iffy what
she would have to do in or…
"Ooh! Lord God General Priest Jinnar should hear this!" Iffy said suddenly. She
raised her staff over her head and formed a dark portal in the floor. "I'll go tell him!"
The whispers would have blinked if they could. Instead they started shouting at the
dense Mazoku, ordering her to stay!
"I'll be right back!" Iffy cried. "I promise!"
At this point, the whispers started getting hostile…
Iffy looked crossly at the ruby. "Jeez, I hope the OTHER parts of you aren't this
pushy! I said I'll be right back!"
The ruby started glowing an angry red.
"Later!" Iffy said with a smile and a victory sign before hopping through the portal.
The dark doorway closed behind her, leaving the glowing crystal to its own evil thoughts.
Before its annoyance could grow into hate, however, he heard something.
"Is someone down here?"
Sylphiel stepped forward into the chamber. She could have sworn she heard
someone speaking…
Instead of a potential conversationalist, she found a mammoth room with a large
ruby sitting on a pedestal in the center.
"Hello?" she called out again.
"Mazoku…"
She turned suddenly. Someone had whispered the word right into her ear! But
there was no one there…
"Miss Lina?" she asked. "This isn't funny!"
She heard another whisper, something more faint. It was as if she could hear it in
the back of her mind.
"Sylphiel," she answered the whisper's question. "Who are you?"
The whispers lied.
"I don't believe you," Sylphiel told it flat out. The ruby started to glow.
It whispered angrily to her. A red mist, almost a blood fog, rose near her feet
unnoticed.
Sylphiel swallowed fearfully and started back the way she had come. "I'm going to
go get Miss Lina," she breathed. When she turned to leave, she found the red fog blocking
her path. She jumped back a pace, only to find another patch of the fog moving over her
shoulder and down to her waist. It seemed to linger there for a moment.
The whispers said something…
Sylphiel's eyes went wide. She turned and darted to a corner of the room the fog
hadn't covered yet. "Get away from me! Flare Arrow!" The bolt of fire went straight
through the fog and struck the far wall with no effect. "S…Stay away! Miss Lina!"
"MISS LINA!!!!"
"You must choose," the frail, ancient man in the chain mail with a large, red cross
on the front told her. "But choose wisely. For while the true Grail will bring you life…the
false one will take it from you."
Lina looked around the room filled with cups of differing sizes, shapes, and values.
Her eyes traveled over each one in turn. She stepped forward. A simple cup was before
her now, made of stained wood and faded paint. The simple cup of a carpenter…
She slowly reached out…
And picked up the gold, jeweled cup that was sitting next to it.
"LUCKY!" Lina cried, holding it aloft. She ran to the small basin of water nearby
while the elderly knight was bashing his head against the wall. She filled the glittering cup
with water. "Eternal life, here I come!" she toasted. She put the cup to her lips…
"MISS LINA!!!!"
And spit the water out. "Sylphiel?!" she called back.
No answer.
The redhead tossed the golden cup aside and started running back down the
corridor from where she had come. She found the fork in the road quickly enough and
started sprinting down the path Sylphiel had taken.
Within a few minutes, she was there.
Sylphiel was rising to her feet, her hand on her head. Lina looked around and
blinked. There was nothing in the chamber except some cobwebs, some old writing, and a
ruby with large crack in it.
"Sylphiel? What happened? Are you okay?"
The shrine maiden nodded as she stood up. "Yes, Miss Lina, thank you." She
pointed at the cracked stone. "That…That ruby was the source of some hideous evil. It
tried to attack me, but I managed to break the crystal at the last second with my magic."
She took a deep breath. "I was so scared, though. I was almost…It almost…"
"It's okay," Lina said supportively. She walked over and inspected the ruby.
"Whatever it was, it's gone now."
Sylphiel nodded and swallowed nervously. "Miss Lina, can we get out of here?
This place is creepy."
Lina thought about going back and getting her eternal life, but if one chamber
contained a hostile entity, who knew what the real deal with that crazy old knight was
about.
Better not to push her luck.
"Come on, Sylphiel. Let's go get something to eat."
"Let me see if I got this straight," Jinnar said as he picked up the cracked ruby.
"You…went off-mission…fell down a hole…walked in here…and found….a DARK
LORD?"
Iffy nodded sadly. "But he was right here! I swear! He called me an idiot
floozy!!!"
Jinnar arched an eyebrow. "Well at least his eyesight works…"
"I'm telling you the truth, Lord God General Priest Sir! I swear! He was right
here! I told him not to go anywhere and that I'd be right back, but I guess he got bored and
left!"
"Got bored and LEFT?" Jinnar asked sarcastically. He took a deep breath, and
Iffy braced herself.
"WHAT KIND OF FREAKING IDIOT DO YOU TAKE ME FOR?!?!?!?!" Jinnar
screamed at her.
"A loud one, Sir!" Iffy replied with a grin and a salute.
"SHUT UP!!!!"
Iffy flinched and bowed her head. "Yes, Master…"
"ALL YOU HAD TO DO WAS KILL THE PRINCESS OF SEYRUUN AND YOU
EVEN BOTCHED THAT UP!!!"
Iffy raised a finger. "Um…As long as we're on that subject, exactly WHICH
princess am I supposed to kill?"
Jinnar blinked at her. "You mean there's more than one?"
Iffy nodded.
The General Priest thought for several moments, then…
"So kill both of them."
Iffy's face lit up. "That works even BETTER!!"
"Good….NOW GET TO WORK!!!"
Iffy saluted. "Roger, Tac HQ! Over and out!"
With that, she disappeared.
Jinnar sighed and hefted the cracked ruby. "A piece of the Ruby Eye…That's
rich…"
Gourry was sitting on his bed, reading the latest issue of Swords and Swording.
He looked up suddenly.
He knew what this meant.
He was in another one of those freaky dreams!!!
Someone was tapping on his door.
"Gourry?" Lina's voice called from the other side. "Gourry…please….I…I need
you…"
"Oh no," he said, shaking his head. "Not again! Not this time!" He raised his hand
and slapped himself across the face!
He woke up.
The swordsman sighed in relief and smiled. Nothing weird was going to happen to
him TONIGHT…
He tried to roll over and suddenly found he couldn't. Blinking, he tried to raise his
hands, but found them immobile!
"What the…"
He looked down at himself…
The twenty chibi's were standing on his chest. His entire body was criss-crossed
with ropes, tying him securely to the bed. The chibi's glared angrily at him.
"…."
"…"
".."
"."
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU
UUUGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Gourry screamed.
"You're not getting out of it this time, bitch!" Chibi Zelgadis told him angrily.
Chibi Amelia nodded. "This time, you're going to demonstrate your love to Miss
Lina!"
"HOW THE HELL DID YOU DO THIS TO ME?! YOU'RE MY MIND!!!"
"It wasn't easy getting you to tie yourself up in your sleep!" Chibi Sylphiel told
him with a bright smile.
"Or getting you to first write that note to Miss Lina either!" Chibi Amelia agreed.
"WHAT?!"
There was a knock at the door.
"Gourry?" Lina's voice came from the other side. "Are you in there? I just got
your note…"
"Don't do this to me!" Gourry hissed at the chibi's.
"God! You are such a whiny little bitch!" Chibi Zelgadis remarked.
One by one, the chibi's disappeared in puffs of smoke.
"Gourry? Hey, are you in there?" Lina asked through the door again.
"Um…" Gourry replied, struggling in his bonds. "I'm…just…um…"
"Gourry, I'm coming in!"
"Don't do that!" Gourry shouted back.
The door opened, and Lina stepped inside.
She blinked.
He blinked back.
Lina folded her arms over her chest. "Do I really want to know?"
Gourry turned bright red in embarrassment.
The redhead looked over the swordsman and started smiling. Gourry knew then
and there that he was in trouble…
Lina turned and shut the door…
"Um…Lina…What are you doing?" Gourry asked.
She turned back to him and took off her cape. Gourry started to sweat. He
swallowed nervously as she undid the first couple of buttons on her blouse.
"L…Lina?" he asked.
The sorceress sat on the edge of the bed and adopted a girlish, innocent look.
"Why…Gourry dear!" she cried in mock amazement. "Whatever are you doing?!"
"Lina?"
She turned her grin on him and rested her hands on his chest.
"Could you…you know…untie me?"
Her grin turned evil. "You know, Gourry…It's a seller's market. You want out of
those ropes. What'll you give me in return?"
He turned red again. "Um…How about…er…"
She leaned forward and kissed him softly. "Gourry," she whispered, "I don't know
if you were just waiting for the right time or just didn't know…But I don't want to wait
anymore."
Gourry swallowed nervously.
"If I untie you…will you stay with me tonight?"
Gourry felt her hands pressed against his chest and the weight of her body against
his. He could smell the spicy scent of her hair and could still feel the feather touch of her
lips against his from only a moment ago.
He looked into her ruby red eyes and nodded. "I guess…"
Lina's eyebrow twitched. "You….GUESS?!"
"I mean! Yes! Yes! Oh, dear Cepheid, Lina, stay with me tonight! Please! I need
you!"
She giggled and kissed him again. "Okay…I'll stay…I guess…"
Zelgadis looked up as Sylphiel entered their room. "Oi, Syl chan," he greeted.
"Where've you been? Amelia said something about Lina breaking out of prison. If she's
hiding, you can tell her that Naga's already begged Phil to pardon her."
Sylphiel smiled. "It's okay, Zelgadis dear. We met Amelia in the hall."
"Oh," the chimera replied. "Well, at least now the city's safe…" He sat back
down on the bed.
The shrine maiden sat down next to him and took his hand. "Zelgadis dear," she
began, "I need to talk to you about something very important." She smiled at him and
squeezed his hand gently.
"Is something wrong?"
Sylphiel took a deep breath. "It really depends on how you look at it," she
explained. "I'll tell you…but you have to promise to let me explain it all before you react,
okay?"
He turned toward her and squeezed her hand back. "Of course. What is it?"
She took another breath, not sure as to how to begin. "I know there's no easy way
to say it," she told him. "It's just so…Well…I mean…"
"Syl chan," he said with a smile. "You can tell me anything. I promise."
She smiled at him. "I know. I'm just trying to find the best way to word it."
Another deep breath. "I guess…the easiest way is to tell you straight out…"
Zelgadis blinked, but waited for her to continue.
Sylphiel smiled and leaned over until her lips were only an inch from his ear. He
could feel her warm breath against his earlobe as she spoke a single sentence to him…
"Do exactly as I say, or I'll kill your woman right here in front of you."
To Be Continued…
Kudos to those who caught the Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade and Terror at Thirty
Thousand Feet references. ^_^ I'd like to thank all my prereaders including Cav, Fish,
Will, and Sethra. You guys are great.
LINA: Lina Inverse here! Just when you think you know who you're fighting and why,
things take a sudden turn! What the hell kind of story is this, anyway?! Can't I just go back
to trashing bandits and fighting Mazoku?! NOOOO!! I have to deal with this kind of crap!
And to top it off, Sylphiel might be pregnant?! Jeez! When did this series become a made
for TV movie?! The melodrama's kill'n me!
AMELIA: But it doesn't matter, because I got my Gracia Oneechan back! Two loving
sisters are reunited at last!
LINA: AAAAAUUUUUUUUUGGGGGGGHHHHHHHH!!!!
Faces: After!
Part 20
Reunion!
The Trials of Family!
Sylphiel said nothing. She was staring down at the tabletop, unwilling to look Lina
in the eye.
"That's it, isn't it?" Lina asked softly. "Zel's, I assume…"
The shrine maiden looked up in irritation. "Well OF COURSE it's Zelgadis
dear's!"
"Okay! Okay! Shhh! I didn't mean anything by it!" Lina assured her. "Well…I
mean…How? I…"
Sylphiel looked miserable.
"Congratulations."
The shrine maiden didn't look up to accepting the accolade and said nothing.
"Um…Isn't this what you wanted?" Lina asked softly.
Sylphiel finally looked up at her. "But not like this! Not NOW!"
The redhead blinked in confusion. "What's the problem?" she asked. "I
mean…I've seen your dreams, Sylphiel. I KNOW this is what you've always wanted…"
The shrine maiden looked fearfully at Lina. "But never until AFTER Zelgadis dear
found his cure!"
Lina blinked again, this time as realization dawned on her. "You don't think Zel is
just going to SPLIT, do you?!"
"Of course he wouldn't! He's not that type of man!"
"Then what?!" Lina asked. "What has you so scared?"
Sylphiel looked away, once again unable to look Lina in the eye.
"Come on…What is it?"
The priestess took a breath. "This is going to change things…"
"Of course it's going to change things!" Lina told her.
"He won't want to leave…"
"Well, I would certainly hope not!" Lina agreed.
She looked up at the redhead. "And what about his cure?" she asked softly.
Lina went dead silent. Suddenly, she saw Sylphiel's point, her fear. She knew
Zelgadis, and she knew that the second Sylphiel told him about the baby, he'd act. In all
likelihood, Sylphiel would have an engagement ring on her finger the very next day, and he
would immediately stop his search. There was no way he'd leave her now.
He had too much honor for that.
And that frightened Sylphiel. Would Zelgadis stay out of duty or love? And if it
was duty, would that make him resent both her and his child? Would the idea that his cure
was still out there, in reach, gnaw at his mind?
It was one hell of a problem, that was for sure. Lina could see why Sylphiel would
be worried. It was exactly the kind of thing that someone as sensitive as Sylphiel WOULD
worry about.
The shrine maiden was staring at the tabletop again.
Lina sighed. "What do you want to do?"
"Well, you lost him! I hope you're happy!"
Iffy sighed and bowed her head. "I'm sorry, Lord God General Priest Jinnar Sir,"
she whimpered meekly.
Jinnar growled and turned back to his wall-sized map of the world. "Well there's
no use crying over it now, I guess. My other cronies should find him again before long.
Until then you do exactly as you're told! Understand!?"
"Yes, Master…"
"Good." Jinnar put his finger to his lips in thought. "Well, as long as you're not
busy you might as well continue with the Seyruun operation."
"Finally…."
"What was that?!"
"NOTHING, MASTER!" Iffy cried, waving her hands frantically.
"Good! Now get going!"
Iffy saluted smartly. "Yes, Sir, Lord God Ge…"
"JUST GO!!!"
Iffy disappeared.
Jinnar sighed. "How can a Mazoku be so dumb?"
Sylphiel turned the key to her room and stepped inside, expecting to find the others
there. Lina had told her there was something else she needed to take care of and had sent
her back to the inn to apprise the others of the situation.
Except there was no one here to apprise.
She blinked at the empty room for a moment and found herself actually sighing in
relief. Sylphiel didn't want to face him right now. She couldn't. Not yet. Not while she
was still so confused.
The shrine maiden sat down on one of the two beds in the room and took a breath.
Digesting the news was still hard for her. Lina had promised to help, but she knew in the
end this was something she'd have to face alone.
Her hand came to rest on a piece of folded paper lying on the bed next to her.
Blinking, she opened it.
"'Lina,'" she read out loud. "'Went to the palace with Amelia. Back later.
Gourry.'" She blinked. "'P.S. Save some dinner for me.'" She put the note down. "The
palace?" She blinked again and stood up. The shrine maiden would have to start now if
she was going to catch up to them before they got into trouble. She scrawled a note to Lina
and left it where the redhead was sure to find it before walking out the door.
Walking…not running…
She still wanted some time to herself to think.
Lina put the teacup down and looked up at the woman sitting across from her. "So,
come on, Ritsu," she said. "What does it mean in human terms?"
The blonde in the white coat took a sip of tea before looking her friend in the eye.
"To be honest, I'm not quite sure. There HAVE been cases where a sorceress with child
has retained her powers, but those instances are rare and due more to a specific astral
anomaly that's not present in Miss Sylphiel." She set her teacup down and adopted a
pensive look. "More than that, I really can't discuss with you."
"Ritsu," Lina went on, "We've been friends for a long time. If there's something
you're holding back…"
"Without examining the father, I really can't say for sure…"
"But you suspect something," Lina told her.
Ritsuko stood up and walked to the window of her office. Without looking at the
redhead, she began. "The human body works in certain ways, Lina. It has certain failsafes
and cycles designed to keep it safe and operating normally. As long as the body remains a
totally human one, these safeguards work. But in cases of…mixed pairings…it can be
somewhat…different."
"Zelgadis is still human, Ritsuko," Lina informed her.
"Perhaps not totally," the Healer whispered. "Not…astrally…or maybe there's
something inside that's not TOTALLY human. That could be why Miss Sylphiel has
retained her powers."
"Something like what?" Lina asked.
"Something…divine?" Ritsuko asked herself. "Or demonic?"
Lina's eyes went wide as she began to get the gist of what Ritsuko was suggesting.
"You know," she whispered, "Now that I think of it…Luna never lost her powers during
her cycle…I know because I'd always wait for her time of the month so I could turn the
tables on her….And she always kicked my ass anyway…" She stood up and faced the
healer. "If you're saying what I think you're saying…Then that means…"
Ritsuko faced her. "That Sylphiel is either carrying a small piece of the Flare
Dragon Cepheid…"
The redhead swallowed dreadfully as the full implications of what she was about
say took hold of her. "…Or a piece of a Mazoku…"
Where Zelgadis, Amelia, and Gourry had snuck into the palace, Sylphiel preferred
to simply walk up and ring the front doorbell. This was, of course, after smiling to the
guard and giving him her name and her business there, I.E. preventing her friends from
causing untold mischief. After inquiring if anyone had been arrested on the palace grounds
and finding out that her friends were not in a dungeon…yet…Sylphiel found herself ringing
the bell at the front door of the castle.
She waited; the two guards standing nearby took no notice of her. Finally, the door
opened…
"Miss Naga?!" Sylphiel asked, blinking.
Gracia blinked at the woman on the doorstep from inside the castle.
"Um…Hello…Miss…"
"Sylphiel. Remember? We met in Giln."
Gracia looked puzzled for a moment. She had traveled a lot and had been in Giln
on more than one occasion. "Um…Yes! Of course! Sylphiel!" she said excitedly. "Of
course I remember!" she said, when in reality she hadn't a clue.
Sylphiel smiled. She knew Naga was a little flaky…
"Um…How have you been?" Gracia asked politely. "Please, come in." She stood
aside and let the shrine maiden enter the palace proper.
"I'm all right, I suppose," Sylphiel told her. "When did you come to Seyruun?"
"Oh, weeks ago," Gracia replied, racking her brain for an answer as to how she
might know this woman. "Um…I got engaged," she announced, showing off the ring.
Sylphiel blinked and smiled, hugging the tall woman. "I'm so happy for you!?
Er…It's not Xellos, is it?"
Gracia laughed. "OOOOHOHOHOHO!!! No, no, no! Xellos was a polite enough
man and an amicable breakfast guest, but he's no Huey!"
"So Xellos left?" Sylphiel asked as they walked down the hall.
"Oh, weeks ago!" Gracia told her, remembering the nice young man she had
breakfast with that one time.
"Oh, well, could you help me? I'm looking for three of my friends…"
"Oh! So you know my sister!"
Sylphiel beamed. She KNEW it! "So you ARE Amelia's sister! I knew it!"
"Just follow me! They're this way!"
"Then there was the time me and Gracia Oneechan went to the Seyruun Zoo and
kept a tiger from escaping and wreaking havoc on the populace!" Amelia continued with
yet ANOTHER 'Me and Gracia Oneechan' story. The two men sitting at the table with
Amelia and Phil could understand that the princess was excited about her sister being
home, but they were rapidly wishing that Gracia HAD turned out to be an imposter with a
nefarious plan.
So when Gracia returned with Sylphiel in tow, it was like watching salvation itself
enter…
"Sylphiel!…Er…Syl chan!" Zelgadis cried, jumping from his seat and rushing to
the shrine maiden. Before Sylphiel could react, the chimera was hugging her and
whispering in her ear. "I'll do whatever you want. Just get me the hell out of here!"
"Zelgadis de…" She oomph'd suddenly as Gourry joined the hug.
"We're begging you!" the swordsman whispered urgently. "We'll do
anything…ANYTHING!!!"
Gracia smiled. "Well, isn't this just wonderful?!" Amelia nodded in agreement.
"Ah!" Phil began, rising to his feet. "So you're here! And where is Miss Lina?!"
"Well," Sylphiel said, "I left a note at the inn, so she should be…"
"Hey! Anyone home?!" Lina's voice called from down the hall.
Lina growled as she left the two unconscious guards crumpled on the front steps.
She couldn't believe how utterly stupid they were. First Amelia, Gourry, and Zelgadis run
off to the palace after she told them not to! Now, Sylphiel had gone after them.
It was time for Lina Inverse to kick some ass.
"Hey! Anyone home!?" she called out, readying a spell. "Come out, come out,
where ever you are!"
She turned the corner into the sitting room and saw her friends before her,
apparently having tea and cookies without her…
Strike one…
Gourry was hugging Sylphiel…
Strike two….
And standing off to side, smiling brightly was…
Strike three…
"Naga," she breathed.
Gracia was smiling brightly. Clapping her hands together, she rushed forward.
"Oh! Lina chan! I've missed you so much!!!"
"FIREBALL!!!"
Repair crews were working on fixing up the sitting room, but in the meantime, the
group had decided to have some dinner. The Royal Family of Seyruun sitting down
together for a meal was an oddity in itself without the fact that they were all wearing
bandages from being singed by Lina's spell.
Sitting on the other side of the table, Lina fumed.
"What is your problem?" Zelgadis whispered to her from his seat.
"Okay, I admit, I got caught by surprise by seeing her, but that is NOT Naga."
"It looks like Miss Naga to me, Miss Lina," Sylphiel spoke up from the other side
of Zelgadis.
"I refuse to believe it," Lina growled. "Naga wouldn't be caught dead wearing
that much clothes! And the fact that she's being polite just shows that, whoever she is,
she's bad at acting!"
"But…" Gourry said, a finger to his lips in thought, "Everyone else here seems to
think it's her. Maybe you're just wrong."
Lina turned an acidic gaze on her boyfriend. "Gourry…DEAR," she muttered
evilly. "I….am….not….nor am I ….EVER…..WRONG!"
"Um…Yeah, I guess I forgot…"
"It's not Naga! And I can prove it!" Lina declared in a harsh whisper.
"I'll have the soup," Amelia said to a well-dressed waiter.
"Roast chicken!" Phil added.
"I'll have a salad," Gracia told them.
"A-HA!!! PROOF!!" Lina screamed, jumping to her feet and pointing an accusing
finger at the First Princess. "NAGA THE WHITE SERPENT WOULD NEVER ORDER
JUST A SALAD!!! IMPOSTER BITCH!!!"
Silence.
"Miss Lina!" Amelia cried angrily. "How could you say that about my own
sister?!"
Before the Second Princess could continue, there was a sound.
A sniffle, to be precise.
Gracia dabbed at her eyes with a napkin. "I…I don't know what to say, Lina
chan…After all we've been through together…"
"Now look what you've done!" Amelia cried, rushing to Gracia's side. "You've
made her cry! For shame, Miss Lina! For SHAME!"
"Oh, can it!" Lina told her. "I once saw this woman eat a ROCK!" She faced the
First Princess. "Salad, my ass!"
"Miss Lina!" Sylphiel cried. "Whether you like Miss Naga or not, you are a guest
in HER house!"
"THAT'S WHAT I'M TALKING ABOUT! THIS ISN'T HER HOUSE! SHE'S
AN IMPOSTER!"
"Tha…That's not true! I AM Gracia Wil Naga Seyruun!" Gracia sniffled. "We
used to travel all over the world together, Lina chan! How…How can you say I'm an
imposter!?"
"A….SALAD?!"
"I have to watch my figure…" Gracia told her. She stood up and walked around
the table until she was standing in front of Lina. "Please, Lina chan. I know I've done
some mean things to you…but please…please be my friend." She held her hand out for the
redhead to shake.
Lina looked up at Gracia and raised her hand…
"I can't believe you belted her right there in front of Miss Amelia and Prince Phil!"
Sylphiel said, shaking her head.
Sitting in the small cell of the Seyruun palace's dungeon, Lina huffed. "I'm telling
you, it's not the real Naga!"
"She seems like a perfectly nice young lady," Sylphiel commented.
Lina glared at her. "And how does that compare to the Naga YOU met?!"
The shrine maiden blinked. "Okay, I see your point." She looked through the bars
at her friend and sighed. "But even so…Isn't it possible that…Oh, I don't know… How
can there be more than one Miss Naga?"
"It's probably one of those damn copiis," Lina growled. "Gold-digging little
sneaks…"
"If it was a copii, wouldn't that make her JUST like Miss Naga?"
"Yeah…"
Sylphiel nodded. "Then it couldn't be a copii! A copii would be mean, abrasive,
and insulting! Miss Gracia is the exact opposite of that!"
Lina's eyes went wide.
"Miss Lina?"
"Oh…my….GOD!"
"Gracia Oneechan? Are you feeling better now?" Amelia asked as she put the wet
towel away. Her recovery spell healed up the black eye nicely, but did nothing for her
older sister's self esteem.
Gracia sniffled. "I just can't believe sweet little Lina chan would be so mean!"
She sniffed again and buried her face in her hands. "All those years traveling alone must
have seriously warped her moral center!"
Amelia blinked. "Miss Lina has a moral center?"
Floating outside the princess' window, Iffy blinked. With a thought, she
disappeared and reappeared on the palace roof. "Hmmm…" She reached into her pocket
and took out her 'To Do' list.
"Buy bread….Do Lord God General Priest Jinnar Sir's laundry…kill Xellos, and
that's underlined twice….Oh! Here we are! 'Kill the Princess of Seyruun!'"
She looked up.
"THE Princess of Seyruun….As in ONE princess of Seyruun….But there's two of
them down there! Should I go back to Wolfpack Island and ask Lord God General Priest
Jinnar which one is the one I'm supposed to kill?"
An image of Jinnar, breathing Hellfire and pointing at her popped into her mind.
"YOU MEAN YOU FAILED AGAIN, YOU WORTHLESS PIECE OF ASTRAL
SLIME!!!???"
She hung her head. "Oh, dear, anything but that!" Sighing, she kicked a shingle off
the roof and listened to the sharp cry of pain from below as it struck a passing woman.
"Okay," she said, taking a breath. "What exactly did Lord God General Priest
Jinnar tell me to do?"
A chibi Jinnar appeared on top of her head, his arms folded across his chest as Iffy
remembered the conversation. "Iffy, would you be nice enough to go to Seyruun and take
care of the problem there? Apparently, the princess of Seyruun is developing a secret anti-
Mazoku weapon and she has to be stopped! Pretty please!?"
The chibi disappeared, and Iffy blinked. "So….If I destroyed the WEAPON, I
wouldn't have to worry about which princess to kill since I wouldn't have to kill a
princess to begin with!" She smiled and floated up into the air.
"Iffy, you are such a genius!"
In a puff of smoke, she was gone.
"Amelia, this is my fiancé, Huey!"
Amelia scratched her head and giggled nervously. "Yeah, we've met." She bowed
to the man before her. "Sorry about…you know…tying you to a chair and trying to beat a
confession out of you…"
Huey Einberg smiled. "That's all right. Your sister always told me you were a
'warrior of justice.'"
"I can't believe MY Oneechan is getting married!" Amelia gushed, her hands
clasped in front of her. "So tell me how you two met!" She plopped down in a chair and
looked up at the two of them.
"Well," Gracia began, sitting down next to her, "It all started when Huey and I met
for the second time…."
"Naga chan! Naga chan! Look! Lookit all the cute golems!!!"
Shadow Lina bounced up and down in glee as several tiny golems danced in the
display case in front of her.
"They're so ADORABLE!!!"
Gracia, dressed in a simple blue dress that covered her from neck to ankles walked
up behind the redhead and smiled. "And they look like you, Lina chan!"
Shadow Lina continued bouncing up and down, clapping her hands in joy….
"Miss Lina was with you?" Amelia asked. She put her finger to her lips.
"Hmmm….I guess it was during one of those times that we had all broken up…"
"I guess so," Gracia said noncommittally.
"Oh! I have to get one! Luna Oneechan would LOVE it!" Without another word,
the shadow dashed into the small golem shop, leaving Gracia there to view the golems.
As the tall woman looked over the dancing statues, someone walking by had caught
sight of her.
Huey Einberg stopped in the middle of the street and blinked. "Look, Laia! It's
her!"
His pink-haired sister looked in the direction Huey was pointing and went pale.
"Oh no! They're back!" She started tearing up. Memories of what happened last time the
woman and her red haired companion had come to town resurfaced. Lina and Naga using
up their grocery money on fast food and ale. Lina and Naga getting into a fight in the street
in the middle of the night. Lina and Naga DESTROYING the entire town trying to get at
one another.
Tears ran down her face. "I'm so unfortunate!"
Huey didn't notice. He was staring at the woman. Her image had haunted him ever
since she had left after the great golem battle. He didn't notice that his sister was staring at
something down the street. Didn't notice her waving and screaming frantically. Didn't
notice her run out of the street as fast as she could….
And he didn't notice when an out-of-control bull golem ran straight into him.
"How awful!" Amelia cried.
Huey hit the ground hard. The bull raced down the street, not giving the man it just
totaled a second glance. He winced in pain. He was pretty sure his ribs were broken. A
shadow fell over his form, and he looked up…
SHE was standing right there.
"Miss…Naga…"
Gracia knelt before him. "You poor thing!" she cried.. "Hold still." She placed
her hands on his chest and chanted a healing spell. He could feel his bones mending under
his skin, under her gentle touch.
"Miss…Naga," he whispered.
She looked down into his piercing gaze, a blush rose to her cheeks…
"And we've been together ever since!" Gracia finished.
Amelia clapped. "How romantic!"
"After a few months, we decided to get married," Huey told her, "But Gracia chan
wanted to have the wedding here so her family could be a part of it. So we packed our
things and moved here."
"We were just waiting for you to come back, Amelia chan!" Gracia told her
excitedly. "I want you to be my Maid of Honor."
"Really?!" Amelia gushed. "Me?! Maid of Honor?!" She ran forward and hugged
her sister. "I love you, Gracia Oneechan!"
"I love you too, Amelia chan…"
Floating outside the window, Iffy sniffled. "That's so sweet!" She wiped a tear
away. "It's so wonderful and happy and…" She broke off as she started feeling woozy.
"Oh, yeah…" she muttered shakily. "Mazoku….Happy…Bad…." Without another word
she started falling from the sky.
She fell past several palace windows before striking the ground and crashing right
through to the sub-basement below…
"Sylphiel! You have GOT to get me out of here!" Lina said, shaking the bars of
her cell.
"Miss Lina, you really shouldn't make things worse," Sylphiel cautioned her.
"Why do you think I haven't busted MYSELF out of here?!" Lina asked her. "I
don't want Amelia hunting after me again! Last time that happened it sucked! Just go get
Amelia and tell her that I need to speak to her!"
"She's awfully mad at you right now, Miss Lina. I don't think she'll listen…"
"You're a shrine maiden of Cepheid! Use your pull! You know the big guy, right?!
Use some influence and get me out of here!"
"It's really not as simple as…"
Before the shrine maiden could finish, a Mazoku crashed through the ceiling of
Lina's tiny cell and went straight through the floor, leaving two gaping holes; one going
down, the other going up.
Lina blinked. She looked from Sylphiel, to the holes, and back again before
looking up at the sky. "And a million goldpieces!" she shouted out. When nothing
appeared, she stamped her foot. "Damn! Thought I was onto something for a second
there…"
"Miss Lina! Who WAS that?!"
"Hell if I know," Lina muttered, dropping to her knees and looking down the hole
in the floor. "Let's go find out…"
Gourry stepped inside the room the Royal Family had set up for him and yawned.
He was looking forward to a good night's rest. Sure, Lina was in the dungeon, but at least
that meant there was no way she could fly in through the window and…
He stopped suddenly.
Someone was in the room with him.
"Who's there?!" he called out, his hand going to the hilt of his sword.
Something whispered in the darkness.
He reached out and struck a match against the wall, lighting a nearby lamp with it.
With the room illuminated, he could see the threat arrayed against him. He gasped.
At least twenty chibi's were standing on his bed. Chibi Zelgadis, Chibi Amelia,
and Chibi Sylphiel at the head of the pack, their arms folded over their chests in anger.
"Oh, God, not again," he whimpered.
"Gourry dear," Chibi Sylphiel began. "This is an intervention."
Chibi Amelia nodded. "We're all part of your mind, Gourry, and we're here to tell
you in one just voice that you have a problem!"
"Yeah," Chibi Zelgadis said, "That you're still acting like a whiny little bitch."
"Now, now, Zelgadis dear," Chibi Sylphiel told the other chibi. "No need to be
rude."
"But he IS acting like a whiny little bitch!" Chibi Zelgadis defended.
"So…" Gourry began, pointing at Chibi Zelgadis, "You're my angry side…" He
pointed at Chibi Amelia, "You're my good side…" He turned his finger on Chibi Sylphiel.
"And you would be my romantic side, right?"
They all nodded.
"So what are you?" he asked, pointing to a chibi in the back.
Chibi Gaav hefted his sword over his shoulder. "I'm your subconscious fear of
weird-looking men wearing trench coats and carrying phallic objects…"
The other chibi's all turned to look at him.
"Well, I AM!" Chibi Gaav defended.
"That's not the point!" Chibi Amelia cried, turning back on Gourry. "We're here
to get you to act on your feelings for Miss Lina!"
"Just talk to us, Gourry dear!" Chibi Sylphiel begged.
"Or else," Chibi Zelgadis threw in.
"Suuuuurrrreee…" Gourry said. He started to turn. "Just let me get
my….YOINK!" With that, he ran down out the door and down the hall!
"HE'S MAKING A RUN FOR IT!" Chibi Amelia cried, pointing after him.
"STOP THE VIOLATOR!!" Chibi Gaav yelled.
"AFTER HIM!" Chibi Sylphiel shouted as the pack of chibi's took off after the
swordsman.
"I….tai…" Iffy whimpered as she stood up. She blinked and looked around.
Looking up at the sky, she saw that she had fallen through several sub-basements before
stopping here. Daylight was just a small pinprick of illumination far above her.
"Wow," she breathed. Turning to her new surroundings, she could only see
darkness. With a mental command, the orb in the head of her staff began to glow,
illuminating the area with a pale, blue light. She could see now that she was in a large
antechamber. An opening to her right led towards a dark hallway.
"Hmmm…." Iffy said to herself. "A dark room….a dark tunnel…A dark
EVERYTHING!" She snapped her fingers. "The PERFECT place to hide a secret
weapon!"
Praising herself for her leap of logic, Iffy started down the hallway.
A ball of light fell from the opening in the ceiling and bounced a few times before
coming to rest on the floor. A few seconds later, booted feet landed softly next to it. A
few seconds after that, a second set of boots, these purple, landed next to them.
Sylphiel held up her own lighting spell as Lina's floated up from its place on the
floor and came to rest in her hand.
"I've never seen THIS part of Seyruun before," Lina breathed, moving the light orb
around to get a better look at the antechamber.
"Well, from the looks of things, that young woman would have landed here,"
Sylphiel pointed out. "But where is she?"
Lina pointed her light down at the floor and nodded her head at what she saw.
"Looks like she walked out." Sylphiel turned and saw the footprints in the dust before
them. "One tough girl…"
The shrine maiden nodded. "What now?"
The redhead started down the tunnel down which Iffy had walked. Sylphiel
followed just behind.
Gourry dashed around the corner, panting for breath. This was going too far! It
was okay when they were giving him advice or playing devil's advocate, but now they had
their own agenda, and it was freaking him out!
He turned to look behind him and screamed.
Twenty chibi's were running behind him in hot pursuit.
"STAY AWAY FROM ME!!!" he screamed at them.
"You can't hide from US, bitch!" Chibi Zelgadis shouted after him. "We're YOUR
mind!!"
"SOMEBODY HELP ME!!!" Gourry screamed as he turned another corner…
Crashing headfirst into Zelgadis.
"Gourry?! What's wrong?!"
The blond turned and pointed down the hallway. "THEM!!!!!!!!!"
Zelgadis looked around the corner for whoever it was that had frightened the
greatest swordsman in the world out of his mind.
Nothing.
"Um…Gourry?"
The blond man cowered behind the chimera. "They were there! I swear! I
SWEAR, ZELGADIS! THEY WERE AFTER ME! They looked like YOU! And Amelia!
And Sylphiel! And Gaav! And…"
Zelgadis regarded his friend as he ranted. After about the seventh familiar name on
the list, he reached out and slapped the swordsman. "Get ahold of yourself!"
"But I'm telling you! They're real! I saw it! IT WAS OUT ON THE WING OF
THE PLANE!!!!"
Zelgadis smacked Gourry again, and the blonde seemed to come around, blinking in
confusion. "Now if you're done hallucinating…" Zelgadis prompted.
Gourry looked back down the hall. No chibi's. "Oh, thank Cepheid!" he breathed.
"I thought they had me for sure that time!"
"Er…Right…" Zelgadis agreed. He looked up at the cowering blonde and took a
breath. "Gourry, I want to talk to you."
"You can do whatever you want as long as you don't leave me alone for them to get
me!"
"Um…Okay… Why don't I buy you a drink? It'll….make you less psychotic…"
"Yeah…Yeah, that would be good," Gourry replied, looking around fearfully.
"Booze…That'll work…Yeah…"
Zelgadis rested a hand on Gourry's shoulder and started guiding him downstairs.
The blond's head was darting to and fro like that of a prairie dog that just heard a
rattlesnake nearby.
"Gourry," Zelgadis began, "I wanted to talk to you about something." He took a
breath and began. "Sylphiel told me about how the two of you met. I just…wanted to
say…Thank you."
"Uh huh," Gourry replied, not really paying attention as he searched his
surroundings for hiding chibi's…
"I'm not going to explain why," the chimera went on gruffly. "So I'll just say thank
you and be done with it, all right?"
"Uh huh."
Zelgadis looked at Gourry and sighed as they continued to walk.
The sounds of dripping water were the only ones present in the tunnel. It was
obviously very ancient and hadn't been used in centuries. Cobwebs covered the stone
walls. The air was musty and stale. The trail Lina and Sylphiel had been following had
seemed to fade away. For some reason there was less dust in this part of the cavern.
"So," Lina began, making conversation, "Have you decided how you're going to
tell him?"
Sylphiel paused for a moment and bowed her head. "Not yet."
"Can't hide it forever," Lina pointed out.
"Yes, Miss Lina, I know that," the shrine maiden replied tiredly. "I just need a
little time to prepare him for it."
"Well…Whatever happens, we're there for you, Sylphiel," Lina told her sincerely.
"Thank you, Miss Lina," Sylphiel replied warmly and with a sniffle.
Seeing that the shrine maiden's dam was about to burst, Lina thought fast.
"Uh…Looks like a fork up here! Let's split up, okay?"
Sylphiel nodded.
The two sorceresses started down different paths.
Iffy waved her staff around this new chamber and blinked. There was a familiar
feeling here. She just couldn't put her finger on why, though…
The tunnel fork she had taken led her to this place. It was a large chamber several
meters high. Writing in an ancient tongue covered the walls. The script was so old that
even predated HER. Sitting in the center of the room was a pedestal, and atop this pedestal
was a single ruby.
Something whispered to her.
She turned sharply. "Hello?!" The Mazoku blinked as it whispered to her again.
"Well of course I'm a Mazoku, silly!" She smiled brightly. "Can't you tell?"
If whispers could sweatdrop…
It settled for whispering to her again.
"Oh wow! Really?!" she asked excitedly. She began hopping up and down in
glee, giggling.
A harsh whisper stopped her.
"Sorry," she apologized. "I'm just so excited! I've never met royalty before!"
If the whispers could, they would have smiled. Instead, they started to tell Iffy what
she would have to do in or…
"Ooh! Lord God General Priest Jinnar should hear this!" Iffy said suddenly. She
raised her staff over her head and formed a dark portal in the floor. "I'll go tell him!"
The whispers would have blinked if they could. Instead they started shouting at the
dense Mazoku, ordering her to stay!
"I'll be right back!" Iffy cried. "I promise!"
At this point, the whispers started getting hostile…
Iffy looked crossly at the ruby. "Jeez, I hope the OTHER parts of you aren't this
pushy! I said I'll be right back!"
The ruby started glowing an angry red.
"Later!" Iffy said with a smile and a victory sign before hopping through the portal.
The dark doorway closed behind her, leaving the glowing crystal to its own evil thoughts.
Before its annoyance could grow into hate, however, he heard something.
"Is someone down here?"
Sylphiel stepped forward into the chamber. She could have sworn she heard
someone speaking…
Instead of a potential conversationalist, she found a mammoth room with a large
ruby sitting on a pedestal in the center.
"Hello?" she called out again.
"Mazoku…"
She turned suddenly. Someone had whispered the word right into her ear! But
there was no one there…
"Miss Lina?" she asked. "This isn't funny!"
She heard another whisper, something more faint. It was as if she could hear it in
the back of her mind.
"Sylphiel," she answered the whisper's question. "Who are you?"
The whispers lied.
"I don't believe you," Sylphiel told it flat out. The ruby started to glow.
It whispered angrily to her. A red mist, almost a blood fog, rose near her feet
unnoticed.
Sylphiel swallowed fearfully and started back the way she had come. "I'm going to
go get Miss Lina," she breathed. When she turned to leave, she found the red fog blocking
her path. She jumped back a pace, only to find another patch of the fog moving over her
shoulder and down to her waist. It seemed to linger there for a moment.
The whispers said something…
Sylphiel's eyes went wide. She turned and darted to a corner of the room the fog
hadn't covered yet. "Get away from me! Flare Arrow!" The bolt of fire went straight
through the fog and struck the far wall with no effect. "S…Stay away! Miss Lina!"
"MISS LINA!!!!"
"You must choose," the frail, ancient man in the chain mail with a large, red cross
on the front told her. "But choose wisely. For while the true Grail will bring you life…the
false one will take it from you."
Lina looked around the room filled with cups of differing sizes, shapes, and values.
Her eyes traveled over each one in turn. She stepped forward. A simple cup was before
her now, made of stained wood and faded paint. The simple cup of a carpenter…
She slowly reached out…
And picked up the gold, jeweled cup that was sitting next to it.
"LUCKY!" Lina cried, holding it aloft. She ran to the small basin of water nearby
while the elderly knight was bashing his head against the wall. She filled the glittering cup
with water. "Eternal life, here I come!" she toasted. She put the cup to her lips…
"MISS LINA!!!!"
And spit the water out. "Sylphiel?!" she called back.
No answer.
The redhead tossed the golden cup aside and started running back down the
corridor from where she had come. She found the fork in the road quickly enough and
started sprinting down the path Sylphiel had taken.
Within a few minutes, she was there.
Sylphiel was rising to her feet, her hand on her head. Lina looked around and
blinked. There was nothing in the chamber except some cobwebs, some old writing, and a
ruby with large crack in it.
"Sylphiel? What happened? Are you okay?"
The shrine maiden nodded as she stood up. "Yes, Miss Lina, thank you." She
pointed at the cracked stone. "That…That ruby was the source of some hideous evil. It
tried to attack me, but I managed to break the crystal at the last second with my magic."
She took a deep breath. "I was so scared, though. I was almost…It almost…"
"It's okay," Lina said supportively. She walked over and inspected the ruby.
"Whatever it was, it's gone now."
Sylphiel nodded and swallowed nervously. "Miss Lina, can we get out of here?
This place is creepy."
Lina thought about going back and getting her eternal life, but if one chamber
contained a hostile entity, who knew what the real deal with that crazy old knight was
about.
Better not to push her luck.
"Come on, Sylphiel. Let's go get something to eat."
"Let me see if I got this straight," Jinnar said as he picked up the cracked ruby.
"You…went off-mission…fell down a hole…walked in here…and found….a DARK
LORD?"
Iffy nodded sadly. "But he was right here! I swear! He called me an idiot
floozy!!!"
Jinnar arched an eyebrow. "Well at least his eyesight works…"
"I'm telling you the truth, Lord God General Priest Sir! I swear! He was right
here! I told him not to go anywhere and that I'd be right back, but I guess he got bored and
left!"
"Got bored and LEFT?" Jinnar asked sarcastically. He took a deep breath, and
Iffy braced herself.
"WHAT KIND OF FREAKING IDIOT DO YOU TAKE ME FOR?!?!?!?!" Jinnar
screamed at her.
"A loud one, Sir!" Iffy replied with a grin and a salute.
"SHUT UP!!!!"
Iffy flinched and bowed her head. "Yes, Master…"
"ALL YOU HAD TO DO WAS KILL THE PRINCESS OF SEYRUUN AND YOU
EVEN BOTCHED THAT UP!!!"
Iffy raised a finger. "Um…As long as we're on that subject, exactly WHICH
princess am I supposed to kill?"
Jinnar blinked at her. "You mean there's more than one?"
Iffy nodded.
The General Priest thought for several moments, then…
"So kill both of them."
Iffy's face lit up. "That works even BETTER!!"
"Good….NOW GET TO WORK!!!"
Iffy saluted. "Roger, Tac HQ! Over and out!"
With that, she disappeared.
Jinnar sighed and hefted the cracked ruby. "A piece of the Ruby Eye…That's
rich…"
Gourry was sitting on his bed, reading the latest issue of Swords and Swording.
He looked up suddenly.
He knew what this meant.
He was in another one of those freaky dreams!!!
Someone was tapping on his door.
"Gourry?" Lina's voice called from the other side. "Gourry…please….I…I need
you…"
"Oh no," he said, shaking his head. "Not again! Not this time!" He raised his hand
and slapped himself across the face!
He woke up.
The swordsman sighed in relief and smiled. Nothing weird was going to happen to
him TONIGHT…
He tried to roll over and suddenly found he couldn't. Blinking, he tried to raise his
hands, but found them immobile!
"What the…"
He looked down at himself…
The twenty chibi's were standing on his chest. His entire body was criss-crossed
with ropes, tying him securely to the bed. The chibi's glared angrily at him.
"…."
"…"
".."
"."
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU
UUUGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
HHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Gourry screamed.
"You're not getting out of it this time, bitch!" Chibi Zelgadis told him angrily.
Chibi Amelia nodded. "This time, you're going to demonstrate your love to Miss
Lina!"
"HOW THE HELL DID YOU DO THIS TO ME?! YOU'RE MY MIND!!!"
"It wasn't easy getting you to tie yourself up in your sleep!" Chibi Sylphiel told
him with a bright smile.
"Or getting you to first write that note to Miss Lina either!" Chibi Amelia agreed.
"WHAT?!"
There was a knock at the door.
"Gourry?" Lina's voice came from the other side. "Are you in there? I just got
your note…"
"Don't do this to me!" Gourry hissed at the chibi's.
"God! You are such a whiny little bitch!" Chibi Zelgadis remarked.
One by one, the chibi's disappeared in puffs of smoke.
"Gourry? Hey, are you in there?" Lina asked through the door again.
"Um…" Gourry replied, struggling in his bonds. "I'm…just…um…"
"Gourry, I'm coming in!"
"Don't do that!" Gourry shouted back.
The door opened, and Lina stepped inside.
She blinked.
He blinked back.
Lina folded her arms over her chest. "Do I really want to know?"
Gourry turned bright red in embarrassment.
The redhead looked over the swordsman and started smiling. Gourry knew then
and there that he was in trouble…
Lina turned and shut the door…
"Um…Lina…What are you doing?" Gourry asked.
She turned back to him and took off her cape. Gourry started to sweat. He
swallowed nervously as she undid the first couple of buttons on her blouse.
"L…Lina?" he asked.
The sorceress sat on the edge of the bed and adopted a girlish, innocent look.
"Why…Gourry dear!" she cried in mock amazement. "Whatever are you doing?!"
"Lina?"
She turned her grin on him and rested her hands on his chest.
"Could you…you know…untie me?"
Her grin turned evil. "You know, Gourry…It's a seller's market. You want out of
those ropes. What'll you give me in return?"
He turned red again. "Um…How about…er…"
She leaned forward and kissed him softly. "Gourry," she whispered, "I don't know
if you were just waiting for the right time or just didn't know…But I don't want to wait
anymore."
Gourry swallowed nervously.
"If I untie you…will you stay with me tonight?"
Gourry felt her hands pressed against his chest and the weight of her body against
his. He could smell the spicy scent of her hair and could still feel the feather touch of her
lips against his from only a moment ago.
He looked into her ruby red eyes and nodded. "I guess…"
Lina's eyebrow twitched. "You….GUESS?!"
"I mean! Yes! Yes! Oh, dear Cepheid, Lina, stay with me tonight! Please! I need
you!"
She giggled and kissed him again. "Okay…I'll stay…I guess…"
Zelgadis looked up as Sylphiel entered their room. "Oi, Syl chan," he greeted.
"Where've you been? Amelia said something about Lina breaking out of prison. If she's
hiding, you can tell her that Naga's already begged Phil to pardon her."
Sylphiel smiled. "It's okay, Zelgadis dear. We met Amelia in the hall."
"Oh," the chimera replied. "Well, at least now the city's safe…" He sat back
down on the bed.
The shrine maiden sat down next to him and took his hand. "Zelgadis dear," she
began, "I need to talk to you about something very important." She smiled at him and
squeezed his hand gently.
"Is something wrong?"
Sylphiel took a deep breath. "It really depends on how you look at it," she
explained. "I'll tell you…but you have to promise to let me explain it all before you react,
okay?"
He turned toward her and squeezed her hand back. "Of course. What is it?"
She took another breath, not sure as to how to begin. "I know there's no easy way
to say it," she told him. "It's just so…Well…I mean…"
"Syl chan," he said with a smile. "You can tell me anything. I promise."
She smiled at him. "I know. I'm just trying to find the best way to word it."
Another deep breath. "I guess…the easiest way is to tell you straight out…"
Zelgadis blinked, but waited for her to continue.
Sylphiel smiled and leaned over until her lips were only an inch from his ear. He
could feel her warm breath against his earlobe as she spoke a single sentence to him…
"Do exactly as I say, or I'll kill your woman right here in front of you."
To Be Continued…
Kudos to those who caught the Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade and Terror at Thirty
Thousand Feet references. ^_^ I'd like to thank all my prereaders including Cav, Fish,
Will, and Sethra. You guys are great.