Lina: coming in Oh, Demonheart... notices my visitor Xellos?!? What are you doing here?
Xel: 'innocently' Well, I was just walking around enjoying nature when I came upon you and Aloria talking about a job concerning my friend here. I couldn't just let him suffer at your hands, now could I?
Lina: And how much is Demon there paying you to protect him?
Demon: scratching head I'm not sure what you're talking about Lina. All Xellos told me was that you were hired to get me. Just before you came in he offered to protect me from you at no charge.
Xel: That's exactly what I said! But of course I never told him I couldn't be bought off...
Demon: Y-you didn't? starts to slink in chair, going ever so slowly for trapdoor hidden under desk
Lina: Ok... 80%, not a silver more.
Xel: You know that's not what I mean, Lina. You told her that for the money she was offering, you'd be willing to kiss me! If you were honest, I'll back off.
Demon: stops trying to escape, sits properly in chair Oh good, I'm safe. There's no way Lina would... watches in horror do that. suddenly wishes he had just kept running
Random Unknown Mazoku: takes picture, flash hits Lina's eyes Got it, sir! I'm heading back now! vanishes
Lina: shoving Xellos off her You tricked me!
Xel: No, I'm backing off, just like I said. You can do anything you want to Mr. Demonheart now. Just like I can do anything I want with my new picture!
Lina: Like give them to me?
Xel: laughs You're funny, Lina. vanishes as well
Zel: begrudgeingly Hello, my name is Zelgadis Greywyrs. A typical manic depressant human-turned-chimera by my grandfather/greatgrandfather Rezo the Red Priest. In trying to find my cure I have unknowingly transported myself to the mysterious world of El Hazard without a means of return home. What is going to happen to me in this unpredictable place?
"Ray Wing!" Lina shouted as soon as she got back into the gardens. Her spell lifted her high into the air. Even if that Eye of God couldn't dodge her attack or anything, it would still be best if she was a close as she could get to the thing. For that she wanted to look for the highest place in the city. Lina half-expected Amelia to already be there, singing some Justice song to encourage the public into thinking that everything was going to be all right. If she had been there, Lina would just have to push her off and be a hero twice in one day.
Spotting what she was looking for, Lina quickly touches down. 'Ok, time to get this over with...' Lina thought to herself. Positioning her demon's blood amulets in the proper places, she cast the amplification spell...
* * * * *
Nanami pointed excitedly to three figures running toward them. "Look! There's Chico! Get ready to leave, Alielle!"
"Right!" Alielle cracked her knuckles and placed her hands on the controls.
"Chico! Hurry up, there isn't much time!" Nanami shouted to her friend.
Chico jumped onto the ship with Gourry following close behind. The escort, with his job done and relieved to be free of the blonde swordsman, turned around and started to run back the way he came.
Gourry turned to his 'friend' Chico. "Where's he going?"
Chico shook his head. He tried his best to explain V E R Y S L O W L Y to him.
"Chico," Nanami asked in the middle of his explanation, "Who is this guy?"
Gourry, who wasn't really listening to Chico, introduced himself. "I'm Gourry Gabriev, at your service."
Makoto turned to look at him. Even though he had insisted on waiting for Chico to be saved before heading back to Rashtaria, he had been looking at the Eye ever since they got back to the boat. He was having doubts about saving Chico, even though he knew that if Chico wasn't rescued now he probably never would be. Execution was a popular punishment for traitors, after all.
"You're the swordsman of light?"
"Used to be, but I gave the sword back to it's rightful owners."
"Oh, yeah. I forgot I heard about that." Makoto couldn't think of anything else to say, so he started to turn back to the Eye.
Gourry, noticing that Makoto was more interested in staring off into space, decided that whatever he was looking at most be important. He looked in the same direction. "What's happening to the moon?"
Shayla Shayla smacked him on the head. "That isn't the moon, you idiot! That's the Eye of God! And if we don't do something soon it's going to destroy the world!"
Gourry rubbed his head. "Gee, Lina. Why don't you just blast it like you did everything that tried to destroy the world?" He didn't notice that Shayla Shayla wasn't Lina because she hit him and shouted at him just like Lina always did.
Before Shayla could be mad at being called Lina, whoever she was, Makoto shouted "Something's happening to the Eye!"
Sure enough, a beam of energy appeared on the horizon in the direction of Rashtaria. It soared straight at the Eye and engulfed it in a bright flash of light that forced everyone to cover their eyes. When they could see again, the Eye was still there. However, it was obvious that the Dragon Slave had an effect. The Eye stopped charging up to destroy everything.
Gourry was genuinely confused. Wasn't Lina here with him? How could she cast her Dragon Slave all the way over there from all the way over here? Eventually it clicked in his head.
"Hey! You're not Lina!" He said as he pointed at Shayla Shayla.
* * * * *
Ifurita was knocked loose from the explosion that rocked the Eye. She struggled to get up, but felt very weak from whatever it was that she had been doing here. When she finally got to her feet, she took a good look around.
"Oh, I know where I am now! I'm in the Eye of God!" Just then she looked sad. "Master told me never to come here again no matter what... I better get out of here before he finds out and punishes me." She picked up her staff and ran for the exit. Once out she started flying back towards Bugrum territory. Yet another amped up Dragon Slave hit the Eye as she was leaving, but she was already flying around on her own and wasn't shaken by the blast at all.
* * * * *
Somewhere else completely, someone with golden hair was taking some aspirin. Her left hand was pressed to her head with an ice pack in an attempt to dull the throbbing pain there.
"That damn contraption... Always gives me the worst of headaches whenever some idiot turns it on and I get summoned into it... At least Lina's getting rid of it for me. An unexpected but nontheless good reason to have kept her around."
At this she walked over to a bed and flopped down face-first into a pillow. "When I wake up, I guess I'll have to bring her back home, won't I?"
* * * * *
Both the Eye of God and Lina fell to the ground at roughly the same time. Lina because she couldn't cast so many Dragon Slaves in a row without it taking a toll on her body. The Eye because the damage recieved by the spells trashed it's propulsion system beyond the ability to remain in orbit.
In Lina's case, a tree was able to slow her decent. But even then, she desparately needed medical attention if she was going to survive. As for what was left of the Eye, it crashed hard into a large mountain that Mr. Fujisawa had yet to try to climb. It was completely obliterated by the impact, and the fragments of the Eye would once day be discovered and be mistaken for a lost city that would allegedly be even older then what the Eye itself really was.
Lina came to in one of the palace rooms, patched up like a mummy with Gourry holding one hand and the doctor examining her on the other side of the bed. Princess Rune was standing behind Gourry with a smile on her lips.
"Miss Lina, you did it! The Eye of God has been completely destroyed and will never meanace the people of El Hazard again."
Lina tried her best to smile with all the bandages around her head. "Great. So when are you giving me my 1000 gold coins for destroying the thing?"
The doctor coughed to attract attention. "1000 gold coins? Why, that happens to be what my bill will come to for treating all of your wounds!" He held out a piece of paper so that she could see it.
"What? That's way too high!" Lina shouted.
"You were hurt pretty bad taking a fall like that. You should be lucky to be alive. And it's not like I can wave my hands and magically heal you or anything like it's nothing."
"Now doctor," Princess Rune coolly said to him, as she kept up her part of the act. Her justification for this trick was that she had never actually agreed to pay Lina the 1000 gold coins for destroying the Eye. That was completely something that Lina decided she was going to get, and therefore Rune didn't really owe her anything. "Lina here did save the world. Can't you forget about the bill just this once?"
Lina tried her best to nod, but couldn't. If only these morons hadn't mummified her so much she'd be able to cast a healing spell on herself and force the doctor to forget the bill. As it was, she tried her cute act. "Please, mister doctor... I just want to enjoy the wonderful world I just saved from destruction. To enjoy life while I'm still young and innocent is all I ask. Can't you see it in your heart to just forget about that silly old bill?"
The doctor looked deep into those huge, tear-filled eyes Lina was making at her. Then he looked at the princess, and back at Lina. Torn between two women, neither of whom he wanted to disappoint, he desparately attempted for a compramise. "I... I guess I could only charge 500 gold coins just this once..."
Gourry had to hold Lina down to keep her from trying to hug the doctor, which in her current condition was not a good idea. "Oh thank you! You're so kind!"
Princess Rune glared at the doctor for a moment for his failure, then smiled again as she looked back at Lina. "When you recover completely, I will gladly give you the 500 you have left of the money we agreed upon for ridding us of the Eye of God."
Lina did her best to shake her head no. She had noticed the doctor's troubled glance at the princess, and concluded that he had only billed her at all because the princess ordered him to. Just because Lina was forced to accept a reduced reward didn't mean that the princess was going to get away with it. "I'd much rather give the doctor his fee myself. After all, I am the one who he is taking such good care of. I should be the one to pay the bill."
Rune Venus was not pleased with this turn of events. The reason her kingdom used paper money was because so much gold had been lost seemingly forever over the centuries. The turn to paper money was intended to slow the loss of gold by storing the gold used for money in a safe place. While there was gold used by the people for jewelry, that was required because they still had a need to SEE the gold. If they didn't, they wouldn't have any faith in the paper money at all. That would cause an even worse panic. As it was, half of the gold stored for money would have to be melted down to make Lina's payment. They really needed a way out for the good of Rashtaria.
"I'm sure you wish to return to your world as quickly as possible," Princess Rune told Lina, "But it will take time to gather the entire payment you requested. To make room in the royal budget, of course. I can't be expected to not pay some of the royal army just so I can pay you, Lina Inverse. They would not stand for it. So please, allow me to give your the 500 as soon as I can so you can return home. I will personally see that the good doctor will get what's coming to him."
Lina thought about this. It was obvious that the doctor was in big trouble now. Lina needed to plan a way to get him out. Even if he did try to cheat her out of a lot of money, he didn't deserve to die by anyone's hands but hers. He needed to stay alive at least until Lina could get the bandages off one of her arms.
"Let's wait until I recover to see if I wish to leave your great land so quickly."
Rune Venus nodded. She too needed time to scheme. "Very well. If you will excuse me, it is time for my bath." She turned to leave, and wondered where she last placed that puppet of hers.
Xel: 'innocently' Well, I was just walking around enjoying nature when I came upon you and Aloria talking about a job concerning my friend here. I couldn't just let him suffer at your hands, now could I?
Lina: And how much is Demon there paying you to protect him?
Demon: scratching head I'm not sure what you're talking about Lina. All Xellos told me was that you were hired to get me. Just before you came in he offered to protect me from you at no charge.
Xel: That's exactly what I said! But of course I never told him I couldn't be bought off...
Demon: Y-you didn't? starts to slink in chair, going ever so slowly for trapdoor hidden under desk
Lina: Ok... 80%, not a silver more.
Xel: You know that's not what I mean, Lina. You told her that for the money she was offering, you'd be willing to kiss me! If you were honest, I'll back off.
Demon: stops trying to escape, sits properly in chair Oh good, I'm safe. There's no way Lina would... watches in horror do that. suddenly wishes he had just kept running
Random Unknown Mazoku: takes picture, flash hits Lina's eyes Got it, sir! I'm heading back now! vanishes
Lina: shoving Xellos off her You tricked me!
Xel: No, I'm backing off, just like I said. You can do anything you want to Mr. Demonheart now. Just like I can do anything I want with my new picture!
Lina: Like give them to me?
Xel: laughs You're funny, Lina. vanishes as well
Zel: begrudgeingly Hello, my name is Zelgadis Greywyrs. A typical manic depressant human-turned-chimera by my grandfather/greatgrandfather Rezo the Red Priest. In trying to find my cure I have unknowingly transported myself to the mysterious world of El Hazard without a means of return home. What is going to happen to me in this unpredictable place?
"Ray Wing!" Lina shouted as soon as she got back into the gardens. Her spell lifted her high into the air. Even if that Eye of God couldn't dodge her attack or anything, it would still be best if she was a close as she could get to the thing. For that she wanted to look for the highest place in the city. Lina half-expected Amelia to already be there, singing some Justice song to encourage the public into thinking that everything was going to be all right. If she had been there, Lina would just have to push her off and be a hero twice in one day.
Spotting what she was looking for, Lina quickly touches down. 'Ok, time to get this over with...' Lina thought to herself. Positioning her demon's blood amulets in the proper places, she cast the amplification spell...
* * * * *
Nanami pointed excitedly to three figures running toward them. "Look! There's Chico! Get ready to leave, Alielle!"
"Right!" Alielle cracked her knuckles and placed her hands on the controls.
"Chico! Hurry up, there isn't much time!" Nanami shouted to her friend.
Chico jumped onto the ship with Gourry following close behind. The escort, with his job done and relieved to be free of the blonde swordsman, turned around and started to run back the way he came.
Gourry turned to his 'friend' Chico. "Where's he going?"
Chico shook his head. He tried his best to explain V E R Y S L O W L Y to him.
"Chico," Nanami asked in the middle of his explanation, "Who is this guy?"
Gourry, who wasn't really listening to Chico, introduced himself. "I'm Gourry Gabriev, at your service."
Makoto turned to look at him. Even though he had insisted on waiting for Chico to be saved before heading back to Rashtaria, he had been looking at the Eye ever since they got back to the boat. He was having doubts about saving Chico, even though he knew that if Chico wasn't rescued now he probably never would be. Execution was a popular punishment for traitors, after all.
"You're the swordsman of light?"
"Used to be, but I gave the sword back to it's rightful owners."
"Oh, yeah. I forgot I heard about that." Makoto couldn't think of anything else to say, so he started to turn back to the Eye.
Gourry, noticing that Makoto was more interested in staring off into space, decided that whatever he was looking at most be important. He looked in the same direction. "What's happening to the moon?"
Shayla Shayla smacked him on the head. "That isn't the moon, you idiot! That's the Eye of God! And if we don't do something soon it's going to destroy the world!"
Gourry rubbed his head. "Gee, Lina. Why don't you just blast it like you did everything that tried to destroy the world?" He didn't notice that Shayla Shayla wasn't Lina because she hit him and shouted at him just like Lina always did.
Before Shayla could be mad at being called Lina, whoever she was, Makoto shouted "Something's happening to the Eye!"
Sure enough, a beam of energy appeared on the horizon in the direction of Rashtaria. It soared straight at the Eye and engulfed it in a bright flash of light that forced everyone to cover their eyes. When they could see again, the Eye was still there. However, it was obvious that the Dragon Slave had an effect. The Eye stopped charging up to destroy everything.
Gourry was genuinely confused. Wasn't Lina here with him? How could she cast her Dragon Slave all the way over there from all the way over here? Eventually it clicked in his head.
"Hey! You're not Lina!" He said as he pointed at Shayla Shayla.
* * * * *
Ifurita was knocked loose from the explosion that rocked the Eye. She struggled to get up, but felt very weak from whatever it was that she had been doing here. When she finally got to her feet, she took a good look around.
"Oh, I know where I am now! I'm in the Eye of God!" Just then she looked sad. "Master told me never to come here again no matter what... I better get out of here before he finds out and punishes me." She picked up her staff and ran for the exit. Once out she started flying back towards Bugrum territory. Yet another amped up Dragon Slave hit the Eye as she was leaving, but she was already flying around on her own and wasn't shaken by the blast at all.
* * * * *
Somewhere else completely, someone with golden hair was taking some aspirin. Her left hand was pressed to her head with an ice pack in an attempt to dull the throbbing pain there.
"That damn contraption... Always gives me the worst of headaches whenever some idiot turns it on and I get summoned into it... At least Lina's getting rid of it for me. An unexpected but nontheless good reason to have kept her around."
At this she walked over to a bed and flopped down face-first into a pillow. "When I wake up, I guess I'll have to bring her back home, won't I?"
* * * * *
Both the Eye of God and Lina fell to the ground at roughly the same time. Lina because she couldn't cast so many Dragon Slaves in a row without it taking a toll on her body. The Eye because the damage recieved by the spells trashed it's propulsion system beyond the ability to remain in orbit.
In Lina's case, a tree was able to slow her decent. But even then, she desparately needed medical attention if she was going to survive. As for what was left of the Eye, it crashed hard into a large mountain that Mr. Fujisawa had yet to try to climb. It was completely obliterated by the impact, and the fragments of the Eye would once day be discovered and be mistaken for a lost city that would allegedly be even older then what the Eye itself really was.
Lina came to in one of the palace rooms, patched up like a mummy with Gourry holding one hand and the doctor examining her on the other side of the bed. Princess Rune was standing behind Gourry with a smile on her lips.
"Miss Lina, you did it! The Eye of God has been completely destroyed and will never meanace the people of El Hazard again."
Lina tried her best to smile with all the bandages around her head. "Great. So when are you giving me my 1000 gold coins for destroying the thing?"
The doctor coughed to attract attention. "1000 gold coins? Why, that happens to be what my bill will come to for treating all of your wounds!" He held out a piece of paper so that she could see it.
"What? That's way too high!" Lina shouted.
"You were hurt pretty bad taking a fall like that. You should be lucky to be alive. And it's not like I can wave my hands and magically heal you or anything like it's nothing."
"Now doctor," Princess Rune coolly said to him, as she kept up her part of the act. Her justification for this trick was that she had never actually agreed to pay Lina the 1000 gold coins for destroying the Eye. That was completely something that Lina decided she was going to get, and therefore Rune didn't really owe her anything. "Lina here did save the world. Can't you forget about the bill just this once?"
Lina tried her best to nod, but couldn't. If only these morons hadn't mummified her so much she'd be able to cast a healing spell on herself and force the doctor to forget the bill. As it was, she tried her cute act. "Please, mister doctor... I just want to enjoy the wonderful world I just saved from destruction. To enjoy life while I'm still young and innocent is all I ask. Can't you see it in your heart to just forget about that silly old bill?"
The doctor looked deep into those huge, tear-filled eyes Lina was making at her. Then he looked at the princess, and back at Lina. Torn between two women, neither of whom he wanted to disappoint, he desparately attempted for a compramise. "I... I guess I could only charge 500 gold coins just this once..."
Gourry had to hold Lina down to keep her from trying to hug the doctor, which in her current condition was not a good idea. "Oh thank you! You're so kind!"
Princess Rune glared at the doctor for a moment for his failure, then smiled again as she looked back at Lina. "When you recover completely, I will gladly give you the 500 you have left of the money we agreed upon for ridding us of the Eye of God."
Lina did her best to shake her head no. She had noticed the doctor's troubled glance at the princess, and concluded that he had only billed her at all because the princess ordered him to. Just because Lina was forced to accept a reduced reward didn't mean that the princess was going to get away with it. "I'd much rather give the doctor his fee myself. After all, I am the one who he is taking such good care of. I should be the one to pay the bill."
Rune Venus was not pleased with this turn of events. The reason her kingdom used paper money was because so much gold had been lost seemingly forever over the centuries. The turn to paper money was intended to slow the loss of gold by storing the gold used for money in a safe place. While there was gold used by the people for jewelry, that was required because they still had a need to SEE the gold. If they didn't, they wouldn't have any faith in the paper money at all. That would cause an even worse panic. As it was, half of the gold stored for money would have to be melted down to make Lina's payment. They really needed a way out for the good of Rashtaria.
"I'm sure you wish to return to your world as quickly as possible," Princess Rune told Lina, "But it will take time to gather the entire payment you requested. To make room in the royal budget, of course. I can't be expected to not pay some of the royal army just so I can pay you, Lina Inverse. They would not stand for it. So please, allow me to give your the 500 as soon as I can so you can return home. I will personally see that the good doctor will get what's coming to him."
Lina thought about this. It was obvious that the doctor was in big trouble now. Lina needed to plan a way to get him out. Even if he did try to cheat her out of a lot of money, he didn't deserve to die by anyone's hands but hers. He needed to stay alive at least until Lina could get the bandages off one of her arms.
"Let's wait until I recover to see if I wish to leave your great land so quickly."
Rune Venus nodded. She too needed time to scheme. "Very well. If you will excuse me, it is time for my bath." She turned to leave, and wondered where she last placed that puppet of hers.