"Xui-chan?" a voice called out across the astral plane.
"Hai, Auntie?" another voice replied, with the enthusiasm of a child.
"I'm entering the forest now. I hope to get me "companions" to trust me. You want to help grant your mothers wish, don't you?"
"Oh, yes! More than anything, I would love to see mother again!"
"Good. Then help me out."
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Lina finished her dinner (as well as Gourry's) and looked over at Kiri, who was asleep on the ground.
"She sure sleeps a lot for a runt..." Lina said, grabbing some food off Amelia's plate.
"Miss Lina! That's MY food!!!!!!!!" Amelia protested upon noticing what Lina had just done.
"Will you too stop fighting and finish eating. We have to get to the next town before sundown! I heard that these woods have a curse on them," Zel said.
"You mean the one about the forest turning into a giant maze at night?" Lina asked, "That is total fiction. It's only people getting lost in the dark."
"Wouldn't say that!" exclaimed a familiar voice.
"Xellos!!!!!" everyone exclaimed, looking at the priest who had just appeared in front of them.
"What's a Xellos?" a sleepy voice asked. Everyone tuned to see that the commotion caused by Xellos's appearance had woke the sleeping Kiri.
"Sore wa Himitsu desu!" Xellos replied, but then thought better of it, "errr... I mean... I am a Xellos!"
"OK!" Kiri exclaimed happily.
"So, Xellos, what was that you said about the story about the forest turning into a maze being real?" Lina asked.
"It is called Xui's Curse. It turns the forest into a maze at night... but all the details? Well... Sore wa Himitsu Desu!" Xellos answered with his fruity grin.
"If the forest turns into a maze at night, then it is bad that the sun is setting now, right?" Kiri asked, pointing to the setting sun.
"Eep!" Lina said as Xellos dissapeared and the forest took on the form of a gaint maze.
"Welcome to my maze! You are all invited to play a game with me!" A voice called out.
Everyone looked up to see a raven-haired girl floating above them.
"Um... Who are you?" Gourry asked.
"And what do you want?" Amelia piped up.
"Oops! I forgot to introduce myself didn't I! Well, My name is Xui, and I am gonna play a game with you!" She replied, holding out a large poster with the rules of the "game" written out on it.
1) you have until morning to ALL get out of the maze. If not, I win and you all die.
2) The walls of this maze are special. not even the Ragna Blade can damage them. The Giga Slave can, but I doubt you will want to use it, because in here it is harder to control magic.
3) NO LEVITATING OR FLYING! If you do this you forfeit the game, and my "insurance" that you follow the rules will be killed.
"Insurance?" Zel asked.
"Hai!" Xui said, "I get to have something to insure that you won't just fly away!"
Suddentally their was a big flash of light. When Lina and the others regained their site, they relized what Xui's "insurance" was. Kiri was gone.
"We have to find the way out of here so that we can save Kiri!" Lina said.
The others agreed, and they headed off, unaware that they were not alone in the maze.
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Toki: Hi? Did you like chapter 2? I'm sorry it's so short (and that this is cut and paste of comments from chapter 1), but I am trying to release a new chapter every 3 days at the most! (in this case, every 10 or so hours)
Suka: But in order to do that we need your help! Tell us what you think of the fic to inspire us, and send any ideas of things that can happen later on to me a MahouBunnyBell@aol.com! This goes for all chapters!
Naoki: We would also like people who would like to edit the fic for us, seeing how it is typed up really fast, and never edited or proofread!
