Life Goes On
By David Goldsmith

(A continuation of: Hope and Love....Death and Rebirth )

Disclaimer: I do not own Slayers in any way, form, or fashion. I am simply using the characters created by someone else to create a work of fiction that I hope other will enjoy. Leave a review if you like the story, leave one if you don't, but I crave feedback in any form! (It's a new addiction, honest it is!)

Author's Note: Well, people have informed me that they want to see Ryo and Katherine take on the world.....so here is the next installment of "Hope and Love....Death and Rebirth!" The first part will deal primarily addressing the relationship between Amelia and Sanjuro, since someone wanted to know more about how they got together. After that, it's time to welcome some new arrivals into the world! I am going to start calling ALL of the kids by name!

Lina: Enough with this already David! Quit with all the explanations, pass out the ammunition, and let's GO TO WAR!!

David: (sweatdrops) O....kay.......little help here

Zel: Lina.....behave.

Lina: You're such a spoil sport! (Pouts)

Zel: And then some.....

David: And now........ON WITH THE SHOW!!



Amelia Wil Tesla Saillune looked out the window of her newly rebuilt palace. Everything was going great and had been for the past two years since the reunion where Lina had announced her pregnancy. Amelia heard her little troublemakers start to cry and went in their general direction to see what was wrong.

"I never thought I would have TWINS..." Amelia thought to herself, remembering the shock that she had gone through when the midwife told her she had another baby to deliver. She had a boy and girl, and both were just as precious as little babies could be.

She had named the boy Phillip after her father, while Sanjuro had named the girl Callie after his best friend in childhood that had died when she was just six.

Phillip was almost a carbon copy of his grandfather with the same color hair and eyes, but he was much calmer than Amelia had ever thought possible.

Callie was the bright and cheerful one of the duo, exuding an aura of happiness and cheer than was second to none. Her blond hair practically shined when the sun hit it, and her eyes were pale blue.

Kethry was away with her father in Sairaag attending another conference so that the city could officially declare that its doors were once again open to all so that they could start rebuilding and restoring the city's trade and commerce.

Amelia eventually found the twins playing a spirited game of tag in the library, but Callie had bumped her head a little too hard on a bookcase and was in tears. Phillip was kneeling next to his twin sister and trying to console her as best he could, but was about to burst into tears himself when he saw his mother.

"Mommy! Callie bumped her head!" The small child explained. Amelia walked towards them and brought her hand to Callie's forehead where a bruise had already formed.

She chanted the familiar recovery spell and Callie brightened up immensely.

"Thank you mommy!" The girl nearly shouted with glee, feeling much better. Amelia only nodded.

"Now what have I told you two about running around in the library?" She asked patiently.

"That we shouldn't do it because we could break something or hurt ourselves..." The pair recited in unison.

"Very good, but I don't think that's a mistake you're going to repeat anytime soon. Now how about we go read a story! I'll even let you two pick it out." Amelia explained.

The twins jumped for joy and followed their mother deeper into the library. Amelia eventually came to a rather large fireplace with a few sitting chairs and let the twins plop down in front of one of the chairs as she went to the nearby bookcase that held a copy of nearly every fairy tale in the entire kingdom.

"What's it going to be you two?" She asked. Amelia was still amazed at how much enjoyment the twins got out of simply hearing a story being read to them. She also recalled that they loved the stories about their Aunt Lina and Uncle Zel most of all.

"Hey mommy, tell us the story about you and daddy again..." Phillip silently requested.

Amelia smiled. She adored at how the twins wanted to know how their parents were before they were born. She simply moved back towards the chair, she didn't need any book for this story.

As she settled into the chair, she let the memories overtake her and began her story.

"When I first met your father, it was on a day much like this one. It was sunny and bright outside and the birds seemed to sing everywhere you went......


(Flashback Begins)

Amelia was standing at the gates to the royal palace, looking overly depressed. She was all dressed up and standing next to her father as she awaited the arrival of a prospective husband. It was no secret that she didn't like meeting two different men every week, but her father was paramount on finding someone for his youngest daughter.

Amelia was beside herself at the moment, thinking about the man she thought that she loved more than anything.

"Mr. Zelgadiss, why don't you ever visit me so I can tell you how I feel?" She thought to herself as the entourage pulled up. She was impressed to see that the prince himself was riding his own horse and not dressed up as if he was going to a ball.

She was rather stunned when he simply walked up and introduced himself.

"Good day, I'm Sanjuro. It's an honor to meet you." He started, sounding rather jovial about the whole experience.

Amelia had expected a prince with a 'holier than thou' attitude that rode in a carriage where nothing could blemish him. This was a totally new experience for her.

"I'm Amelia, and it's nice to meet you too." She started, thinking that since he wasn't using any formalities, it wouldn't matter if she did the same.

"Your majesty..." Sanjuro bowed to Amelia's father. "Thank you for allowing me this opportunity to meet your daughter." He continued.

Phil smiled. He had been hoping for such an event.

"It's no problem at all, your father and I go way back lad. I figured that since we were introducing Amelia to all the other princes in the region that I'd add your name to the list." He explained.

Amelia cringed. She didn't like being treated like a piece of meat to be fought over and impressed by others, but she suddenly realized something. All the other suitors had immediately addressed themselves and tried to impress her with their prestige. Meanwhile, this guy had simply introduced himself and in no way had made it known that he was competing for her hand.

"Maybe he's not that bad, but I'm still going to wait for Mr. Zelgadiss to resurface so that I can try to tell him how I feel, but until then..." She started. "... this Sanjuro seems like a nice guy to be friends with." She finished.

The next month or two flew by as Amelia spent her time in the company of Sanjuro. She learned a lot about him and he learned just as much about her. Amelia found herself drawn to him in such a manner that was completely unexplainable and she found her love for Zelgadiss to be dwindling, but her pride made her think of him every time Sanjuro got too close for comfort.

Then the unthinkable happened. Sanjuro confronted her one night in the library while she was in her favorite chair reading one of her favorite books.

"Amelia..." Sanjuro started.

Amelia looked at him in the shadows, wondering what was on her friend's mind.

"...I was wondering.....what are hiding from me?" He asked softly.

"What do you mean?" She asked, feeling a chill sweep down her spine.

"I mean that you seem to be holding yourself back over something, or is it someone?" He asked.

Amelia froze, not knowing what to think.

"I recognize a lot of things in you Amelia. I was once the same way about another woman. She acted like she loved me, and she did to a certain degree. Only her heart truly belonged to someone else, someone that came back and took her away from me. I was left alone to wonder what I had done wrong. So I'm asking you, what are you hiding from me?" He explained.

Amelia bit her tongue. He wasn't anywhere near as dense as she had originally thought all princes to be.

"You know that I used to travel with Lina Inverse, correct?" She asked.

Sanjuro only nodded.

"Did I ever tell you about a man called Zelgadiss?" She asked, knowing the answer to her own question. Sanjuro shook his head in a negative response.

"Well, Mr. Zelgadiss and I were the white and shamanistic mages in our group. I originally felt a little intimidated by him, but as I got to know him, he seemed to be all I had ever wanted. As time passed, I found myself more and more attracted to him. Soon I realized that I was in love with him, and though he never said it out loud, I know that he feels the same way." She started.

It's been about two years now since he left our group after the Dark Star incident, and I don't know if he still feels the same about me. I want to believe that he still loves me, but I feel at the same time that I shouldn't hurt you by leading you on. You're a good friend Sanjuro, and I'm sure you'll make a good husband for some princess. But before we progress any further in our relationship, I'd like the opportunity to see if I can win Mr. Zelgadiss's heart. If you'll just wait for a while, then we'll find out which way we can go with this..." She finished.

Sanjuro nodded. "I appreciate your concern about hurting me. I'll give you that chance that you want because......I love you enough to want you to be happy." He admitted.

Amelia blushed in response and walked over to him. "I need a favor of you now." She began. "In order to send out a messenger, we need to have a valid reason. So if you'll agree to it, then we could announce our engagement and not set a date and wait for Mr. Zelgadiss to show up. When he and I have decided what to do, we'll go from there. Is that fair enough?" She asked, hoping he would go along with it.

"I'll help you." Sanjuro started. "This Zelgadiss must be a really nice guy for you to go to such lengths for him." He continued.

Amelia nodded. "He's one of the three men I would die for at this moment." She concluded.

Sanjuro looked confused. "Your father is one of those three, Zelgadiss the other...." He thought aloud.

"Who's the other man?" He asked. Amelia gently squeezed his hand and looked into his eyes, pleading with him to understand. Her eyes sparkled like never before as Sanjuro suddenly realized what she meant.

In that instant, Sanjuro knew that he loved Amelia. She would choose to die for him because she cared about him that much. He silently hugged her and then turned to leave the library.

Amelia, for once, couldn't bring herself to think of Zelgadiss. In that moment, there was only Sanjuro.



A few weeks later.......

Amelia watched as she saw the dispatched messenger return on his brown mare. She smiled knowing that he would only return if he had succeeded in finding Zelgadiss and Lina.

"It won't be long now..." She thought aloud.

Silently, Sanjuro watched her from the doorway, his heart aching at the obvious cheer that sang in Amelia's veins at the prospect of seeing Zelgadiss again.

Even though he had never met Zelgadiss, he was both envious and jealous of the man who had managed to steal Amelia's heart without apparently trying at all. He turned and walked back towards his room. When he locked his door behind him, tears found their way to his eyes and he found himself silently wishing that Zelgadiss wouldn't steal away the woman that he loved so much.


Five days later......

"Her majesty Princess Amelia requests your presence in the royal study shortly after the sun sets." The guard stated as he informed the blue-skinned chimera of Amelia's request.

"Inform her that I will be waiting." He replied.

The guard nodded and went to relay the news to the princess.



Later that night......

Sanjuro was about as nervous as he could ever remember being. He could just picture it now. Amelia in Zelgadiss's arms, walking into the room and telling him that they were still in love and that they were getting married. He couldn't bring himself to hope for the impossible, since Amelia had told him every time that she was certain that Zelgadiss loved her.

It had been over two hours since she had gone to meet with Zelgadiss in the study and finally, he succumbed to his curiosity and started of in that direction to check on how things had transpired.

When he arrived at the door, he almost felt sick to his stomach. When he opened that door, there would be on turning back from the horror he was sure would come. He would lose another woman he had come to love. Only this time, he feared for his sanity if the one he loved left him for another.

With an unknown burst of courage, he cracked the door open to hear sniffles and small sobs. His heart fervently hoped they were sobs of pain instead of joy. He slowly made his way over to the fireplace and when all that separated him and Amelia was one lone bookcase, he took a steadying breath.

The thought never crossed his mind that Amelia's voice was the only one present the entire time he had been listening.

He slowly stepped out from behind the bookcase and for a moment, he thought he was in heaven.

Amelia was on her knees, crying. And she was alone.

He approached her slowly, not wanting to startle her. When he finally came close enough, he sat down beside her and gently placed his arm over her shoulder.

Amelia looked at him but a moment before she buried herself in his chest, sobbing again. With time, she eventually calmed down enough to talk. Sanjuro was shocked speechless the whole time.

"He never loved me, he only thought of me as his little sister..." She started.

"It's alright, everything will be fine." Sanjuro thought aloud. Amelia suddenly looked up into his eyes. She had looked into Sanjuro's eyes before and they were cobalt blue in the sunlight. Now, in the dark room lit only by a small fire, they were a deep violet. Amelia had never seen a gaze as penetrating as the one Sanjuro was using at that moment.

A realization suddenly washed over Amelia. She had met Sanjuro and became his friend, but deep down, she had always denied herself because she thought that she loved Zelgadiss.

Now, with nothing holding her back, she was overwhelmed with how much she loved the man before her. He treated her as an equal and as a friend before anything else. He had given her the chance to win Zelgadiss's heart despite the pain it brought him. And in that moment, Amelia's defenses crumbled to dust and she admitted it right then and there.

"I love you..." She began. "I've loved you since that first day, but I couldn't bring myself to face the truth.....you were never pushy or demanding. All you wanted was to be my friend before anything else. Then you said you loved me and that threw me off for days, and now that I know what Zelgadiss thinks of me, I can't think of anything else to say..." She explained, stifling a sob.

Sanjuro felt his heart swell with joy at the prospect that the Gods wouldn't tear his heart apart twice in one lifetime. He simply hugged Amelia for all he was worth, in absolute awe at how he felt for the young woman in his arms. They hadn't even known each other for half a year, and yet here they were.

They finally managed to look into each other's eyes once again, and this time there was nothing on their minds but each other. Their lips met in a timid kiss, each not willing to believe that this was actually happening. When they parted, all tears stopped and they kissed again, with untold emotion that had been locked away in both of their hearts for longer than even they could remember.
The pain that both had previously felt dwindled to nothing at all, and for the longest of times, they couldn't bring themselves to let go of each other.....

(End Flashback)


Amelia stared at Callie as he eyes twinkled. Phillip was wide eyed as well, being the hopeless romantic that he was at such a young age.

"That was sweet!" They both stated in unison.

Amelia smiled as the twins were about to get up when another figure spoke up.


"After all these years, I'm surprised you remember that night in such vivid detail darling..." Sanjuro said.

"How could I ever forget that?" Amelia asked as her husband lightly placed his hands on her shoulders and planted a kiss on the top of her head.

"What are you doing back today daddy?" Phillip asked.

"Your big sister was more than capable of handling the rest of the conference by herself, so I figured that I'd come back early and surprise everyone!" He explained.

"Hey, are the others coming over for the party dear?" Amelia asked her husband.

"Yeah, but Lina and Zel are still on the rim. There's no way we're going to get a messenger out that far." He explained.

He neglected to mention that Kethry was starting to really like Gourry and Sylphiel's oldest son, Kain. Though she was two years older than him, he was already taller than her and proved to be quite intelligent in his studies.

"What she doesn't know won't hurt her." Sanjuro thought to himself.

"So they'll all be here next week?" Amelia asked.

"Yeah, everyone except for Lina, Zel, and their kids." He began.

"It'll be nice to meet all of the children at once, though I do wish that Lina and Zel would've stayed and at least let their children be born before they went off to the rim again." Amelia complained.


"Well, look on the bright side, in eight years, they'll be here anyway. We've waited ten years before; we'll just have to be patient." Sanjuro replied as he started massaging his wife's tense shoulders.

The twins had long since made a discreet exit, leaving their parents alone. Amelia and Sanjuro took full advantage of the lull in attention.



One week later......

Amelia sat near the head of the dining room table, taking stock of how many children what couple had and trying to memorize their names. She began again, starting on her right and working her way around the table.

Xellos and Filia had officially adopted Val, who still only looked about twelve. They had also had a little girl whose name was Eleanor. Everyone called her 'Elly', and she had her mother's blond hair as well as her father's cobalt blue eyes.

Elly was two years old and certainly one-of-a-kind in the hybrid category. She had her mother's golden dragon blood, along with her father's mazuko powers. The only thing was, the mazuko powers came at little cost to the girl. She had little trace of mazuko blood in her veins, which meant that she would be able to transform with little pain after she hit puberty. Yet that was what had complicated things.

Filia had nearly died delivering Elly, simply because her body reacted to the mazuko elements in Elly's blood. Xellos was not going to risk losing Filia, so the couple agreed that Xellos would cast a sealing spell on Filia so that she would never be able to have another child. Though they had wanted more, they felt the risk was certainly not worth leaving their kids without a mother.

Martina and Zangulus were finally able to come to another reunion after having missed the previous one and were stunned into silence when everyone told them that Lina was pregnant and that she had probably given birth a year ago.

Martina had another child roughly six years old, and she was the spitting image of her mother. Her name was Danielle and her light green hair was straight, pulled into a neat ponytail and her light blue eyes seemed to sparkle everywhere she went.

Their son, Gabriel, was much like his father at twelve years old. He had a mass of black hair, but unlike his father, he also kept his hair in a ponytail to keep it out of the way when he sparred with his father. He was a great swordsman, rivaling his father and perhaps one day, Gourry Gabriev himself.

Gourry and Sylphiel by far had the biggest family among their group. Though the swordsman and his wife hadn't changed much physically, they were now the very responsible parents of three boys and two girls.

Their oldest son, Kain, had dirty blond hair and green eyes at the age of fourteen. He was well built like his father and had taken up being a swordsman as well as a healer, learning small amounts of white magic from his mother. His personality could be described as smug, but he was nice and polite not to mention full of confidence. He was second only to his father in swordsmanship, and a heated rival of Gabriel's.

Their oldest daughter, Rebecca, had been but an infant when Lina and Zel defeated Zelas. She remembered nothing about that horrendous fight, much to her parent's relief. She was the spitting image of her mother though she was much smarter than the rest of her family put together. She was only twelve, but yet she practically handled all of the money within the household. Everyone had been amazed at this, but Rebecca threw it off as child's play since she had an incredible knack for it.


Their eight year old son, Garrod, had dark brown hair and green eyes. The bangs hung over his right eye, like his father. He was rather calm and detached half of the time, but proved to be just as good a tactician in battle as his father had been. Gourry hadn't known much, but when he was sword fighting he had been the master of masters. Garrod was much the same way, but he was able to remember stuff far better than his father. He was also capable of adapting to any situation he might come across, a critical and necessary talent.

Their six-year old son had been named after an ancestor of Gourry's that Lina had once told him about. Rowdy wasn't very tall, but he was cheerful and his blue hair was accented nicely by his green eyes. His hair wasn't to his waist as his ancestor's had been, it was cut rather neatly and short with a few bangs hanging over his eyes. Rowdy was incredibly adept at sword fighting for his age and already wore a sword across his back like the Rowdy before him. The only difference was that Rowdy was left-handed instead of right.

Finally, Gourry and Sylphiel had discovered shortly after Lina and Zel left that she had become pregnant yet again with their now two year old daughter, Alicia.

Everyone called her Alice though, and she was as cute as a button. With light golden hair and turquoise eyes, she had taken an early interest in white magic. Her mother had already taught her everything from Recovery to the small scale protection spells. Even at two years of age, she excelled at anything she did.

Amelia finally was able to commit their names to memory and the celebration continued well into the evening until it was time for the kids to all go to bed.

Even Kethry, at sixteen years old, was made to retire so that the adults could have a bit of time together.



"Kids sure are a handful..." Xellos started.

"For once, I find myself extremely inclined to agree with you darling." Filia echoed.

"Yet the moment they look at you and ask you for something, you just can't bring yourself to say 'no' too often, can you?" Gourry asked. Everyone shook their heads in agreement.

"Everything's almost back to normal around here." Amelia began. "I just wish Miss Lina and Mr. Zelgadiss had been here, I really wanted to meet their kids before they turned ten." She finished.

Everyone in the room suddenly turned their thoughts to the two empty seats that had been purposely left empty the entire evening. All the adults knew who should have been there, but the kids had all been puzzled except for Kethry, who missed her aunt and uncle just as much as the adults missed their friends.

"I wonder what they're up to at this very moment....." Martina thought aloud.

"If I know Lina, then she's probably......." Gourry trailed off.




Somewhere at the edge of known territory.....

"RUN!!" Lina yelled as she turned around and felt the fire singe her clothes as she moved at her best possible speed to make it to the river. Zel was right beside her, carrying Ryo and Kathy under his arms.

The kids were surprisingly calm as Lina and Zel jumped off the edge of the cliff, falling towards the rather deep river about another thousand meters below them.

A wall of flame burst over the cliff edge further into the sky, traveling in a straight line over the edge of the cliff before it finally blew out and disappeared.

Lina and Zel eventually cast levitation and stopped mere inches from the surface of the water. Through all of this, the kids could only stare into space, dumbfounded at what had just happened. They both dared to glance at their mother and found her fuming.

"All right! No more solo ruin exploring for either of you until you learn how to NOT set off EVERY SINGLE booby trap!" She yelled, clearly frustrated beyond belief.

"I would have to agree with your mother; that was rather reckless of both of you." Zel admitted.

The twins hung their heads in shame, but Lina was quick to correct that.
"Although I have to admit, you two did real well for yourselves until we got to you." She continued.

Zel merely chuckled at the comment. "That they did. What other pair of two-year olds could hold a lower demon at bay and avoid any other traps after they triggered the first ones." He smiled; pleased that neither of them had been seriously hurt, but they needed to learn to wait for Lina and himself to accompany them into unexplored ruins.

Ryo and Kathy's eyes filled with joy that their parents weren't totally ticked off at them.

The family made camp that night along the banks of the river. The children were already used to roughing it almost every night, though they stayed at an inn when they could. After a meal of fresh fish and wild turkey, the group settled down for the night.

Zel leaned up against a tree while Lina snuggled up on his right side. His kids merely made pillows out of their jackets and laid their heads on Zel's left leg, covering up with a blanket.

Lina eventually wiggled her way onto her husband's lap, careful not to disturb the kids, and placed her head right across his shoulder. Lina fell into a deep sleep listening to Zel's steady breathing, wondering what tomorrow would bring.


The next day found the Greywords family on the road again towards a town they had heard of that was a little deeper into the territory they were currently exploring.

Zel and Lina found themselves walking down memory lane as they watched Ryo and Kathy run wild around them. The duo ran through bushes, jumped over rocks, and did practically anything there was to do in the forest. All the while, their parents kept a keen eye on them.

"It's so hard to believe how much they've grown these past couple of years." Lina thought aloud.

"I know what you mean. It seems only yesterday that we stayed up late every night holding them in our arms as we slept." He replied.

"Yeah, but I think those months we spent in that old cabin in the mountains were the best time of my life." She continued.

Lina and Zel had found an abandoned cabin in the mountains just inside of the unknown territories. They had spent almost a year and a half there while they had raised the kids to an acceptable level.

They were exceptional kids; already walking, potty trained and the whole nine yards as far as hygiene was concerned. They were also extremely smart, already speaking full sentences and being able to understand half of what was being said between their parents.

That of course had its drawbacks. They hadn't gotten much rest on certain nights and the twins were far harder to handle than your average infants and toddlers. Not to mention there were certain things that had popped up much earlier than the young parents had expected.

Among such 'early horrors' was included the question every parent dreaded.

At the tender age of two, the twins had already asked, "Where do babies come from?" Lina had simply let her jaw hit the ground and let Zel handle the situation.

What he did was actually pretty brilliant, and Lina could hardly contain herself when he glanced at the twins.


In a rare moment for his teasing nature, he simply replied, "That....is a secret." The twins had pouted, but their father stood firm in his decision.

It had been two years of sacrifices and tense situations galore, but through it all, they had kept their sanity intact and had managed to teach their kids a lot about life.

Ryo and Kathy, as previously stated, were not your ordinary kids. They could already cast numerous shamanistic and white magic spells, but Lina strictly forbade them to learn any black magic at their current age. Ryo and Kathy had asked her why, but when she gave them 'the look' every question was instantly forgotten in a desperate attempt to preserve their lives.

They had learned later, from their father, that because their mother had been able to cast black magic when she was so young, she had kept herself from 'growing up.'

Zel had asked them if they wanted to remain in a child's body for the next thirty or so years and they hastily replied, "NO WAY!"

The parents quickly drifted back to the present when their kids came up alongside them, noticing the town that was appearing through the trees.

The family got one room, seeing as how the twins could still sleep in the same bed. As everyone settled down for the night, Zel and Lina cuddled together in their bed and whispered so they wouldn't wake the twins up.

"It's been a really interesting two years hasn't it?" Lina asked.

"More so than I could have ever imagined." He replied.

"Do you.....ever regret having the twins?" Lina asked.

"I've lived to regret many things my love, but my family is one thing I will never regret." He answered firmly.

Lina could only hug her husband and fall asleep in his warm embrace, Zel following suit a few minutes later.

When they awoke the next morning, they found the twins between them. Kathy was latched onto Zel while Ryo was firmly attached to Lina. Both Lina and Zel smiled at the cute family picture this would make and went back to sleep, their hands joined together just below their waists.


If they thought that the previous two years were a chore, they were in for a pretty big shock.



Three years later.....

"KATHY!!" Ryo shouted as he slashed through another monster, picking up his sister and helping her to her feet. The boy surveyed the scene quickly, counting another fifteen monsters or so.

His parents were working on about eight of them, with the other seven coming in his general direction. His mother had the sword of light at the ready while his father's sword was glowing red from Astral Vine. Kathy clutched her brother's waist tightly as she watched them close in.

Ryo readied his sword as a plan came to mind. "Kathy, on three, I'm going to throw you in the air. Cast levitation and distract them with a spell of some kind. Hopefully, whatever your spell doesn't get, I will." He explained.

Kathy quickly nodded and grabbed his wrist. Using the strength his father passed to him, Ryo sent his sister a good twenty meters into the sky. She quickly cast levitation and managed to produce a gamma flare, which was nothing more than a really bright flare to be used at night to illuminate one's surroundings. It temporarily blinded the seven or so monsters, giving Ryo all the time he needed.

The lavender-haired boy shot forward into the pack of monsters. He disappeared to the naked eye and for the next instant, moved too fast for anything human to see exactly what he was doing. Several well-placed slashes later, Ryo reappeared on the opposite side of the monster pack with his back to them. One by one, the monsters dissolved from the wounds inflicted upon them by the wielder of a holy blade.

Ryo watched as his parents finished off the last of 'their' monsters and walked over to them. The blade on his mother's sword disappeared and his father's returned to its normal silver hue as he returned it to its sheath.

Ryo suddenly tossed his sword carelessly into the air, never once glancing upward. The sword twirled numerous times, and eventually came under the law of gravity. Ryo leaned slightly to the left and the sword fell point down into the sheath across his back with an echoing *CHING*.

Lina and Zel both clapped their hands, smiles wide on their faces.

Kathy and Ryo blushed at the attention. "Mom! Dad! You're embarrassing us!" They nearly shouted in unison.

"What's there to be embarrassed over? You two just basically killed fifteen monsters apiece and all by yourselves to boot! I'd say that's a great achievement for a couple of kids who just turned five!" Their mother explained.

Though the twins treated the whole situation like an everyday event, they knew that their mother was right. Most kids their age were still not allowed to even touch weapons and learn magic. That's why Ryo and Katherine always thought their parents just plain out ruled!

"I'm hungry..." Kathy mumbled as her stomach began to growl.

Lina strode over and picked up her daughter. "Well that's something we'll have to fix, now isn't it?" She explained as Kathy found herself on her mother's shoulders, seeing as how Kathy was still a little on the short side.

Ryo and his father looked at the two ladies in amusement.

"Was mom like this before we were born?" Ryo asked.

"She was most of the time. What was it your Uncle Sanjuro once called her....'The Enemy to anything edible'..." Zel trailed off.

Ryo smiled and then heard his own stomach voice its protest. "Man dad, why couldn't I have taken after you instead of mom in the food category?" The boy asked.

Zel grinned and started walking in the general direction his wife and daughter had taken. Ryo wasn't nearly as bad as his sister and mother, but he could still put away a few full course meals all by himself.

"Luck of the draw Ryo, luck of the draw...." Zel trailed off.

Ryo just shrugged and ran off to catch up with his sister, his father matching his pace easily.


Later that night.....

"That's MY turkey!!" Kathy shouted as she and her mother fought mercilessly over the scrumptious looking bird.

Sparks seemed to fly between the family only at mealtime, but that was easily overlooked by everyone. Ryo decided he had seen enough for one night and did the one thing he knew he would get away with.

He hastily took a knife and sliced the turkey in half. The two females shot him a death glare and his honed battle instincts made him reach for his sword on the back of his chair. Then they simply smiled and thanked him for solving the argument.

As violent as she seemed, Lina would never strike her children without an EXTREMELY good reason. If they were possessed, then yes she would hurt them to break the spell, but otherwise she had no intentions of harming her babies.

Everyone sat at the table for a good while talking about the past battles they had been in over a few pots of tea. Lina and Zel offered pointers, but rarely interfered with their children's battles unless it was life-threatening.

Ryo had become a withdrawn figure, much like his father. Although Ryo was by far the better conversationalist, he was still shy around mass groups of people. He also possessed a rather unique sword, one that had belonged to a holy warrior by the name of Tapion.

Ryo had rescued the guy from a hoard of trolls, but he had been too late to save his life. Seeing the potential of such a boy, Tapion entrusted Ryo with his sword as his show of gratitude. Ryo had been three and a half when he received the sword, which he had named Tapion after its previous owner.

Ryo had become quite the swordsman and spell caster, learning everything he could from his parents. His personality fluctuated from one end of the spectrum to the other for unknown reasons. His parents had worried about him, but Ryo eventually got through that phase of adjusting and was back to his usual cool, calm, and collected self.

Katherine was almost exactly like her mother; volatile to no end. She exhibited mood swings that came and went like the wind, but she was less destructive than her mother. Kathy carried a small, incredibly rare enchanted sword that sucked energy out of a being and gave it the wielder of the blade. Kathy had rarely used it for fear that she might kill someone with it. Against a monster however, it was an invaluable tool that replenished a fighter who had little power to spare.

Kathy was strong, but by no means as strong as her brother in strength nor her mother in power. Yet her power and strength were growing by the day and soon she would rival all of them. Lina and Zel had kept a watchful eye on Kathy though, seeing as how Lina's power could have been passed to her. Needless to say, Lina didn't want her daughter to have to go through what she did.

There hadn't been any conclusive evidence that she had a similar 'gift,' but there wasn't anything to deny that she didn't either.

Lina sighed. "We'll just have to wait and see what happens." Lina thought to herself.

The family soon retired for the evening. Lina paid for two rooms since the twins had agreed to let their parents have some time alone, which was becoming a rare thing for Lina and Zel. The twins had been sleeping in a separate room from their parents at inns for over a year now, and both Lina and Zel saw it as a godsend that their kids were so responsible at times like these.

Late that night, Lina and Zel lie awake after a rather.....exhaustive evening. They were both grateful that Ryo had the foresight to get a room on the other end of the hall.


"Zel...." Lina started.

"Yeah..." He silently encouraged.

"I was just wondering lately.....if you ever thought you would want more than just Ryo and Katherine...." Lina continued.

"Are we going to have another kid Lina?" Zel asked, sitting straight up in bed.

"No, I'm not pregnant. I was just thinking that my actually being able to conceive those two was an absolute miracle. I don't know if I'll be lucky enough to get pregnant again, so I was just wondering...." She trailed off.

"I would be perfectly happy even if we never had another child. I love you Lina, and we DID get the twins after all. Sure it took us twenty years, but that just goes to show you that absolutely nothing is impossible. We originally thought that you would NEVER be able to bear children, yet you did. Have a little more faith in yourself Lina, your starting to take after me...." Zel trailed off, chuckling.

Lina looked at him deviously. "Then why don't we back to work?" She asked.

Zel's chuckle gave way to a hearty laugh. "You're insatiable!" He choked out amongst his laughing.


"Yeah, and you know you love me for it!" Lina smiled as she pounced on her husband.

As usual on a night like this, they got very little sleep.


The next morning, Ryo and Katherine watched their mother appear from her room looking as smitten as a kitten, followed by a rather chipper father.

"See, I told you that letting them have some time alone would put them in a better mood." He started, a smug grin spreading across his face.

Katherine's only response was to stick out her tongue.

Ryo grinned and messed with his sister's hair, then ran off to get some breakfast.

Katherine's face suddenly went from happy to sad. Her brother was acting normal despite the nightmare that he had last night. She could remember quite clearly that he had never had these nightmares before he received that sword of his. The sword that was never more than a few meters from him. He even had it with him when he bathed!

Though Katherine was worried for her brother, she knew he could handle it now. He had been depressed when he first got the sword, but he had learned to control whatever that sword was doing to him. Even after he had gained a significant measure of control, the nightmares still plagued him from time to time.

"Holy sword, huh? Sounds like something else entirely. I don't know if I should tell mom and dad or not, but Ryo seems to be alright." She debated with herself.

"If he starts getting depressed again, then I'll tell them. Until then brother, I'll have faith that you can beat this." She thought to herself.

"Kathy, is anything wrong?" Zel asked his daughter as he silently watched her seem to brood over something.

"Nothing dad, everything's fine!" She flashed her father a winning smile, but unfortunately, Zel didn't buy into it. He was far too observant to let something like that slide.

Zel slowly kneeled down beside her. "Kathy, if you ever need to talk to me about something, don't hesitate. I won't tell your mother about this, but promise me that if things get out of hand that you'll come to us." He silently urged.

Kathy looked shocked but nodded just the same. As her father walked away, she spoke up.

"How did you know dad?" She asked.

He grinned. "I'm able to read your mother perfectly sweetie, and she's the expert next to me on how to hide what you're feeling. Plus you don't usually brood, so I could guess that something was on your mind." He answered.

Kathy smiled once more and leapt into her father's arms. "You're the best dad!" She nearly screamed. Her father smiled and set her on his shoulders, carrying her down to breakfast.



5 years later....

"I can't believe it! We finally get to meet everyone!" Kathy shouted happily.

Ryo was grinning, thinking about meeting the former swordsman of light and testing himself against the master.

Lina and Zel grinned as they made their way towards Saillune after yet another ten year stretch. They were eager to meet their old friends and see what had transpired in their absence.

At their current pace, they would arrive in a few days. Everywhere they looked, they saw people constructing new homes and tending relatively new plots of land. While it most certainly meant that Saillune was recovering, the mere volume and numbers of the people was staggering.

The family eventually made it to a town that had an inn and settled down for an afternoon of relaxation.

Zel and Lina went to check out the local magic shop to cash in on some of Lina's homemade charms and amulets while Kathy went to a restaurant for a snack and then went off to soak in the inn's hot springs.



Ryo occupied himself with walking through town, taking in his surroundings and checking out local merchants that seemed to have items that interested him.

While he was purchasing a new whetstone to use in sharpening his sword, he heard a bit of commotion coming from the town square that was about thirty meters away from him. Deciding to investigate, he placed the new whetstone in the special case attached to the scabbard on his back and headed in that direction.



"LET GO OF ME!!" The girl shouted. The three men holding her were currently above her on the scale of strength, but only because they were using enhanced magical items that drained her strength. She continued to struggle as the three of them dragged her away.

"You freak! You don't belong among the rest of us! You and your people always think you're SO much better than us! Well we're going to show you just who's at the top of the food chain!" One of the men yelled.

"If my parents or brother was here, you'd be feeling some pain! NOW PUT ME DOWN!!" She screamed. She hated having to go into towns like this with all the prejudice that was flying around. Her being an easy target at ten years of age certainly didn't help.

Then something happened that no one saw coming.

"The lady said to put her down, I suggest you listen." Someone said in a forceful tone across the courtyard.

Every head turned to see a boy no more than ten or twelve years of age standing there, wearing a look of pure disgust and hatred. He had light blue eyes and lavender hair. He was wearing gray pants tucked into tan fighting boots with some kind of black belt. He wore a black undershirt and was wearing some type of lavender overcoat that only reached down to his midsection. He may not have spoken much, but his eyes spoke volumes of his intent.

Any experienced fighter among the crowd could see that the boy was dead serious. Unfortunately, none of the three attacking the girl noticed.

Instead, they burst out laughing.

"And what do you plan on doing kid? Running home and crying to mommy?" They continued laughing and the boy slowly advanced, never faltering or showing any signs of fear. When he stood only about twenty feet from them, he spoke again.


"The lady said to put her down. Don't make me repeat myself." He replied darkly.

The group suddenly realized that the boy wasn't playing and simply dropped the young girl.

"If it's a fight you want kid, then you've come to the right place!" The second one shouted.

The boy looked at all three sizing them up.

"No magic potential whatsoever, visible charms used to drain strength, no apparent backup......piece of cake." He thought to himself.




The group brought out a few daggers and one had a small sword on his person.

The boy scowled. "I think it's only fair that I warn you guys. You don't stand a chance against me." He stated.

The men only snickered and lunged at him.

In a flash, the boy caught the nearest man by the arm, and using his own momentum, threw him over his shoulder and into the side of a nearby building, leaving a deep imprint.

The second was approaching fast. Using only one arm, the boy pivoted on the heel of his hand and turned slightly, delivering a maiming kick to the man's jaw and sending him through the crowd.

The third he finished with a little showing off. He planted both hands in the ground after kicking the second, positioned his ankles on either side of the man's neck, pushed off the ground with arms flying over the man's head in an arc, and finally used that momentum and his legs to throw the man into the side of a building over twenty meters away.

The boy landed with one knee on the ground, his fists clenched at either side of his body. He slowly rose and turned to survey his handiwork. Three clean knockouts without even breaking a sweat.

"All too easy..." The boy thought aloud.

In the space of a heartbeat, the crowd had seen the impossible. A ten year old boy defeating three fully grown men with no apparent effort!

Everyone missed the ever present fact that the boy had never once gone for his sword.

The boy slowly walked over the girl and offered her his hand.

"Are you okay?" He asked, his scowl fading into a look of concern.

The girl could do nothing but stare at the boy, utterly mesmerized by how handsome he was despite his age. She blushed, but took the offered hand and stood up.

No one from the crowd could have said anything, but the silence was quickly broken.

"ELLY!" A voice shouted from a ways off.

"I'm over here big brother!" The girl shouted.

"Elly?" The boy asked, a genuine look of confusion crossing his features.

"Short for Eleanor..." The girl trailed off, blushing.



A pre-teenager with light green hair burst through the crowd and raced for his little sister. The crowd quickly dispersed, recognizing who the young man was. He knelt down and embraced the smaller girl.

"I came running when I heard guys talking about a fight, I'm sorry sis!" He apologized.

Elly just hugged him back, apparently glad to have someone familiar to hold on to while she let out her stifled sobs of relief. Her older brother suddenly noticed the boy.

"Who are you?" He asked, his voice bordering on hatred.

"Don't yell at him Val! He saved me!" Elly shouted hastily. Val calmed down immediately.

"I'm sorry.....I just reacted." He admitted to the two children.

The boy had another look of confusion running across his face.


"VAL? Oh man, I don't like where this is going. The only thing missing to prove my theory is..." His thought trailed off.

"ELEANOR METALLIUM!!" A female voice roared through what was left of the crowd, revealing a blond woman with green eyes running towards the girl with a violet haired man right on her heels. The girl immediately left Val's arms and jumped towards the woman and man.

"Well, there goes the ball game....." The boy thought to himself.

"MOMMY! DADDY!" She shouted as her mother broke into tears.

The scene was rather touching until the purple-haired man spotted the boy. The teenager immediately jumped in front of his father.

"NO DAD! HE HELPED HER!" Val shouted.

The purple man immediately calmed down, but saw that the boy had leaped back about ten feet, crouched into a defensive posture, and grabbed the hilt of his sword.

"Well, you surely are on edge, now aren't you?" The man started.

Filia hastily made her way in front of her husband. "There's no need for that young one, we won't harm you." She stated calmly.



The boy simply took his hand off of his sword and slowly returned to a relaxed stance, although it was clear that his guard was still full on.

"Thank you for saving our daughter from those imbeciles." The man stepped forward and offered his hand. "My name is Xellos, and I'm very grateful that you stepped in and helped her." He continued.

The boy stepped down his defenses another notch and took the proffered hand in a firm shake.

"Pleasure's mine." He stated simply.

There was an awkward silence that was broken by the soft spoken young warrior.

"They'll probably be back soon with a few reinforcements." The boy stated, noticing the men had dislodged themselves and disappeared.

"I suggest that we disperse and go our separate ways." He calmly stated as he turned to walk away.

Elly separated herself from her family and hastily grabbed the boy's wrist.

"Wait! I don't even....know your name...." She said, blushing again.

The boy turned and looked at her with his penetrating sapphire eyes, seeming to internally debate whether or not he should divulge such information.

"My name.....is Ryo." He stated as he turned to leave.

"I'm certain our paths will cross once more, until next time..." He said as a cloud of smoke engulfed him, causing even Xellos to lose track of the boy.

When the smoke cleared, there wasn't a single trace that he had ever been there and not one of them had the faintest idea of which way he had gone.

"Mom, Dad, we had better go like he said." Val spoke up.



Xellos and Filia snapped out of their trance and started to move again, nearly dragging Elly with them.

"What an absolute dream!" Elly thought as she couldn't help but think of her lavender-haired savior.


Ryo crouched on the roof he had managed to get too before the smoke had cleared.

"Man, I thought the great former-general of the Beastmaster would be able to keep track of me. Guess everyone around here has gotten slack in their training. No matter, I'll see them again when we get to Saillune." He thought

"That girl, Elly.....she was kind of nice..." His thoughts took a different turn as he leapt from rooftop to rooftop on his way back to the inn for a restful night's sleep.

He eventually got back to the inn just as his parents and sister walked through the front door. He joined them for dinner and he started sharpening his sword while they waited for the food to arrive.

"So what did you do in town Ryo?" Lina asked.

"Not much, just got a new whetstone for Tapion." He replied, holding up the item in question.

"We heard that there was a fight somewhere in town, were you a part of it?" Zel asked.

"Fight?" Ryo visibly twitched. "You mean I actually missed a FIGHT?!?" Ryo nearly yelled.

Zel smiled and dropped the subject. Ryo always acted like that if he missed the possibility of getting into trouble. Either he was outraged at missing such an opportunity, or he was an incredible actor.

Knowing his son, Zel figured it was a little bit of both.

The family sat down to a nice dinner and retired for the evening. That night, Ryo dreamed of a giggling girl with shimmering blond hair and sparkling blue eyes.



A few days later......

"Welcome to Saillune kids!" Lina shouted.

Ryo and Katherine could do nothing but stare at everything. There was just SO MUCH to look at!

Lina and Zel had never even thought that things would be this well off only ten years after the city had been nearly leveled.

They took in the sights on their way to the palace and introduced the twins to the culinary wonder known as soft serve ice cream! While Ryo and Katherine licked their huge cones, the family continued on their way to the royal palace.

Lina and Zel decided to stop by Gourry and Sylphiel's place first and introduce their kids. When they got there though, they found the place deserted.

"I wonder where they could be?" Lina thought.

"They might be at the palace..." Zel ventured.

"Maybe, but I know that we'll at least find either Amelia OR Sanjuro there. One of them always holds down the fort unless it's a matter of DIRE importance." Lina explained.

Zel nodded. "Then we should just go straight to the palace and see what we can find out." He started and walked in that direction.

His family followed him without question, and after seeing a few more of the sites on their way to the palace, they eventually arrived at the outer gates.



"We're here to request an audience with Her majesty Queen Amelia." Zel began.

"The Queen is entertaining guests right now and isn't to be disturbed for any reason." The guard answered.

"Not even to greet the infamous Lina Inverse Greywords?" Lina asked, stepping forward.

Something immediately clicked in the guard's mind and he realized what a mistake he had made.

"I...I apologize Miss Greywords, I will relay to the Queen that you are here immediately." The guard hastily left.

"I wish I got that kind of recognition..." Zel grumbled.

"How do you expect to get it if you always hide behind that mask and stay in the shadows whenever you visit?" Lina asked.

Zel raised an eyebrow. "That's a very good point..." Zel answered as he removed his hood and mask, letting the rest of the guards have a rare glance at his face.

Kathy was holding onto her mother's leg, nervous about being in such a big and fancy place.



The guard eventually returned.

"The queen humbly requests your family's presence. We'll take you to her immediately." He began.

"Let's go gang!" Lina echoed.

The guard escorted the family through the castle and soon came upon a room that clearly had a crowd within its doors. The guard bowed and returned to his post, leaving the Greywords family to sweat bullets.

They waited for about five minutes before Kathy took charge.

"Enough moping around! Let's go on in and introduce ourselves! What do you say brother?" Kathy asked, showing more enthusiasm.

"When the time to perform is present, the time to prepare is past..." He replied as he slowly walked forward and joined his sister.

"Truer words were never spoken...." Zel added and grasped Lina's hand.

His wife smiled in return and they moved in front of their children to enter the room first.


"Now then, no more talk of business everyone. We're here to have fun and take a load off for a few days!" Amelia chided softly as Kethry began talking about the conference again.

Everyone's attention was suddenly turned towards the opening doors, even though they all had a rough idea of who would be coming through them.

"HI EVERYONE!" Lina shouted.

Smiles spread across the faces of everyone present as they watched Lina and Zel enter the room.

As fate would have it, the Metallium family was seated closest to the door.

"How's everyone been for the past ten years?" Lina continued.

"Just fine!" Amelia volunteered.

"Don't you have someone to introduce to us?" Filia inquired, eager to finally meet the children of Lina and Zelgadiss.

"Okay Filia, since you're so impatient....." Lina trailed off.


"This is Kathy...." Zel started, lightly pushing the young girl forward.

Kathy was flushed, but she quickly bowed and spoke. "Nice to meet all of you." She stated in an almost timid fashion.

Kathy stepped to the side to let her brother through.

"And this is....." Lina started, but was rather abruptly cut off by a shrill cry that suddenly came from down at the other end of the table.

"YOU?!!?" Elly could have fainted right then and there.

Ryo turned and grinned smugly.

"I said we would meet again, now didn't I?" He replied.

Several questioning gazes were instantly thrown his way, mostly by Xellos, Filia, and Val.

Elly on the other hand was positively swooning.

Ryo noticed his parents giving him a couple of hard stares before they spoke......in unison.

"Explain." They commanded.

Ryo never faltered. "While we were in the town two days ago where you heard about the fight, I stepped in on behalf of Filia and Xello's daughter and stopped three guys from man-handling her into the middle of next week." He explained.

Filia was shocked into numbness and Xellos, for once, had his eyes as wide as saucers and his jaw hanging freely. Val grinned at how sly the boy was in handling his parents.

"That's right!" Elly shouted. "Those men were going to kidnap me and beat me to a bloody pulp, but Ryo saved me!" She continued, her hands on her chest.

"Why do I not like the way she's looking at me?" Ryo absently thought.

Finally, Xellos managed to return to reality.

"Why didn't you tell us that you were the son of Lina and Zelgadiss?" He asked.

Ryo smirked. "Because you never asked." He hastily replied before Xellos could withdraw his statement.

"ANYWAY!" Lina shouted. "This is Ryo....." She finished.

The next few minutes were pure chaos as Ryo and Kathy were swept up in a tornado of women trying to get a 'good look' at them.

Their parents just watched and beamed with pride.

It was a new experience for the two kids, seeing as how their parents never smothered them with affection. Yet Lina and Zel would always make sure that their children knew that they loved them with all their hearts and would readily sacrifice all that they possessed for the two of them if necessary.

After a nervous fifteen minutes of so, the newcomers were finally allowed to have a seat.

"You can sit here Ryo!" Elly pointed, and the open seat she was pointing to was right beside her.

Ryo quickly glanced around the room. Kathy had just taken the only remaining open seat other than the one in question, next to Val.

Ryo turned back to Elly, carefully glancing her over. He had never had anyone openly show feelings for him the way that Elly was doing at that moment. He slowly smiled.

"Thanks Elly." He replied as he pulled out the chair and placed his sword across the back of the chair. He sat down and scooted the chair closer to the table.

"Mommy says that you shouldn't bring weapons to the table..." Ely trailed off.

Ryo turned his head back in her direction. "That's just Tapion, I'm never more than a few meters from him at any given time." Ryo gently explained.

"So your sword has a name young Ryo?" Xellos asked, perplexed at how his daughter could already be infatuated with a boy she had only met once before.

"I named it after the previous owner, a man I saved back when I was only about three and a half. He passed the sword to me as a sign of gratitude and I've had it with me ever since." Ryo explained, leaving out the fact that Tapion was indeed a holy sword. It was much like the Blessed Blade of Flagoon, but immeasurably stronger. Ryo knew about that from first hand experience.

"Tapion.....Tapion.......where have I heard that name before?" Xellos thought to himself.

A few servants arrived to take Ryo and Kathy's orders for lunch, leaving them some tea to sip until their food came.

Val seemed interested in Kathy and made small talk until her food came, then he was lucky if he got a word in edgewise. The look of shock he wore said it all.

Lunch eventually ended and everyone decided to go their separate ways for a little recreation.

The adults headed out to the terrace, but not before Lina turned to her children.

"Ryo and Katherine Greywords! If you blow up, carve up, or stir up any more than a few cinder blocks, then you are going to answer to me! Understand?" She asked in a rather unsettling tone.

Katherine and even Ryo meekly nodded as they headed towards the garden with the rest of the kids, Ryo strapping his sword onto his back as he left.

Zel looked at Lina cautiously. "You STILL scare me when you talk like that..." He stated.

His wife wickedly grinned at him. "You're just lucky that I'm on your side darling, otherwise you'd be toast......burned toast...." Lina's wicked grin melted into a playful one as Zel smiled back.

"I have no doubts...." He replied as they went to join their old friends for what was to be a long 'catching-up' session.



"What's life on the road like?" Val asked Kathy.

"It's pretty neat actually. We get to fight monsters all the time and learn fun magic spells too!" Kathy explained.

Val grinned. "From what mom and dad tell me about your parents, that doesn't surprise me that much. By the way, what's up with your brother, he's so serious all the time..." Val started.

Kathy looked ahead at her brother, who was practicing his swordsmanship in front of a small crowd that consisted of all the kids at lunch.

"He takes after dad a lot in that aspect. Strange thing is.....under all that bravado, he's just like the rest of us. You just have to find a way to get past all of his defenses, then he's your friend for life.

Val suddenly frowned as he spotted Kain and Gabriel return from inside with their swords, eager to give Ryo a run for his money.

"Do you think it's wise to let your brother fight them with real blades for the first time?" Val asked.

"They're no threat to him.....he's just humoring them. His exercise was bait to all who would bite and apparently he's got two big fish to tackle now." Kathy replied, her face breaking into a confident grin.

"Actually, they the ones that need to worry. My brother was slaying monsters in mass numbers with that same sword five years ago. If anything, you should warn them!" Kathy continued.


Gabriel stepped up towards Ryo, a wide grin on his face.

"So, you think you can keep up little guy?" He asked.

Ryo frowned. "I'll manage." He shot back.

For a moment, Gabriel faltered. He looked into Ryo's sapphire eyes and could swear that he saw a man staring back at him. Eyes like that coming from a person so young could only mean that he was more mature than anyone had currently given him credit for. It could also mean that he had seen things normal kids his age were never meant to see, but there was no way to know which was true.

Gabriel drew his sword and prepared himself for what would hopefully be a decent spar. The boy's skills were magnificent, but how experienced he was in combat, only his family knew. Gabriel took up the traditional stance of his father and prepared to leap at the boy.

Ryo merely reached up and grabbed the hilt of his sword, making no move to draw it.

"You going to draw your sword or are you just going to wait?" Gabriel asked.

"Let's find out...." Ryo replied.

Gabriel took that as his cue to charge, and charge he did.

Ryo kicked the scabbard upward with his elbow and brought the sword out in the blink of an eye and met Gabriel head on.

The two swords met in a clash of metal and both of the fighters entered a contest of strength, trying to throw the other back and gain an advantage.

Ryo was barely exerting himself, but it was clear that Gabriel was almost to the struggling point. Ryo didn't grin or smirk in any way at the small victory he was about to claim. If anything, he focused himself even more.

Gabriel eventually was thrown backwards and landed on his back, but he quickly leapt to his feet as Ryo charged him, his sword poised at his right side for a strike.

Gabriel got up and started into a barrage of swings and slashes. Each and every attempt was expertly parried by Ryo with his sword. The boy eventually disarmed Gabriel a few minutes later, sending his sword into the air and catching it in his other hand.

"I believe this round belongs to me." Ryo stated as he threw Gabriel's sword into the ground point first. The sword remained upright as Gabriel uprooted it and returned it to its sheath.

"That was.....utterly incredible. How did you become so skilled?" Gabriel asked.

Ryo looked at him and grinned. "When you're trained by one of the best and have to exercise your skills on a daily basis in battle, you learn real quick what works and what doesn't." Ryo explained.

"Do you think you could give me a few pointers?" Gabriel asked.

Ryo's grin disappeared, but he didn't appear angry. Ryo silently brooded over the problem before answering.

"Catch me later on that one." He replied.

Gabriel wasn't disappointed by any means. "Sure, now I think Kain wants to get his butt kicked." Gabriel stated.

Ryo's head shot in Kain's direction, and the young man stepped forward.

Kain was by no means as dense as his father and knew that this fight would be as tough as it had seemed. "Man, this kid didn't even break a sweat against Gabriel. It usually takes us a good hour to declare a victor." Kain thought to himself.

It was at this point that another audience began watching that nobody noticed.

Ryo started out the fight the same way, waiting for his opponent to move first.

Kain didn't disappoint him. Charging Ryo, he slashed right about where Ryo's chest would have been if the boy hadn't changed strategies and let himself fall to the ground!

Kain flipped his sword around and tried to stab at the grounded Ryo, but Ryo merely kicked the blade away with his booted feet before performing a few aerial flips and landed neatly.

Ryo landed about twenty feet from Kain, sword at the ready. Kain crouched into defensive posture and waited for Ryo to strike this time.

Ryo leapt forward, covering the distance between them in a single bound, bringing Tapion down on Kain's blade in a crushing blow.

Kain, caught off guard by the sudden lack of space between himself and his opponent, buckled under the force of the impact and was forced onto one knee. Kain was strong, but he was absolutely baffled at how this ten-year child was beating him in a competition of strength when he was at least a decade his elder!

Ryo sprang back, satisfied that Kain was in enough shock to throw him off for a while. The battle after that was rather short, consisting merely of Kain being outmatched in almost every category by the far more battle-experienced Ryo.

When Kain was finally disarmed and at sword-point, the entire group heard a sound above them.

All heads turned to the terrace above their position and found their parents clapping!


"Well done Ryo!" Lina shouted.

"I must say that I'm impressed." Gourry echoed.

Every adult seemed to have something to say as Kain and Gabriel silently fumed at their respective defeats.

Ryo looked down, sheathed his sword, and slowly walked away.

Everyone was struck dumb except for Elly, who got up from her seat and ran after him.

"Seems little sister has a certain affinity for your brother..." Val thought aloud next to Kathy.

The parents had quickly gone back to their talking, seeing as how they had probably embarrassed Ryo to no end.



"RYO!" Elly shouted, finally about to catch up to the lavender-haired boy.

"What is it?" He asked coldly.

"Why did you leave like that, they were only paying you a compliment." Elly started.

"I didn't do that for recognition of my skills. I did that so I could test myself against another. I didn't expect my parents and everyone else to actually be paying attention to the fight." He replied.

"If you don't do this to get recognized, then why do you do it?" Elly asked, slightly perplexed at his behavior.

"Painful memories......and a promise." Ryo answered quietly.

"What memory?" Elly prodded.

"Perhaps I'll tell you someday.....until then it's my cross that I must bear alone." Ryo replied, smiling slightly at Elly.

Elly managed a smile of her own, yet now she wondered what cross he could possibly be talking about.

"What is it that you're hiding?" She thought to herself.

Ryo turned and walked away so that he could have some time alone.



Kathy was sitting in the flower garden with Val, looking at the collection that the groundskeeper had amassed for the royal family.

"Are you as experienced as your brother?" Val continued, trying to learn more about the Greywords twins.

"Give or take.....I'm a little more magic-inclined than Ryo, but he's definitely a better all-around fighter than I am." She answered, picking a multitude of colors from the wide variety in front of her.

"What spells can you cast?" Val continued.

"Pretty much everything from the white and Shaman bases, but when I get older, mom will teach me all her black magic attacks as well!" She answered with more enthusiastically.

"I can't wait to start, but mom says it'll make me stay in a ten year old body for at least another thirty or forty years." She replied.

"Better listen to her, after all she's the sorcery genius!" He continued, grinning.

Kathy smiled. She didn't even know Val that well and she already liked him. He was rather calm and collected like her brother, but his sense of humor was a lot better than Ryo's and his charming nature only served to attract her to him like a magnet.


Nearby, a dark shadow loomed over the happy reunion, completely unnoticed by all except one individual.

"Was it wise to follow him? Perhaps not, but now we have something to use against him." The being in question thought.

"We've overstepped our bounds a bit, but it was necessary in order to keep track of him. After all, that sword is the key and he doesn't even have a clue as to what he is really carrying. Could this situation get any better?" The being continued as it observed the red-headed girl in the flower garden with the young green-haired boy.

"Finally, our chance has come. And this time, we will emerge the victors." It thought before it dissolved once again into darkness, preparing to strike.




Author's notes: Wow! I'm glad I got some reviews! Now here is the continuation people have asked for. I'd appreciate further reviews, whether they are good or bad. Anybody can feel free to e-mail me at: alex_001@hotmail.com

I have another section planned, but it's winding down in a hurry unless I get some reader input and ideas on where to take this little mini-series!
Hope everyone gives me some input. Until next chapter faithful readers!



Next time on Life Goes On:

Some of the gang is kidnapped by a new enemy as Ryo finally decides to open up to someone! (Can you guess who?) The remaining gang springs into action and begin to race after their friends and family, but where do they go? Secrets are revealed and with Ryo as their only guide, the gang sets out for the deepest realms of the uncharted territories. What dangers await them in the places that not even the Lords of Darkness have set foot before?

Find out next time!