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Slayers Lunar

Part 3: Meribia

Later that night, Xellos woke to find that Lina wasn't in her bed. Carefully moving as to not wake Nall or the others, he managed to get as far as the cabin door when the ship creaked under his feet.

"Xel?" Nall called sleepily from the foot of the bed. "Wha's goin' on?"

"Lina's not in her bed," the purple haired boy explained.

"That's weird, but I'm sure she's just out looking at the stars." The little white dragon did a cat like stretch before fluttering over to Xellos. "She can't be far, this is a ship, right?"

"I'd better check on her." With that, the boy and dragon left the second class cabin in search of their missing friend.

A few minutes later, Xellos and Nall found the red haired girl up in the crow's nest gazing at the stars, a faraway and sad look on her face. "Hey there she is!" Nall said.

"Shh, Nall. I think she wants to be alone." He grabbed the dragon as he was about to fly up to the girl.

"I thought you said you wanted to check on her," Nall complained.

"I... um... let's go back to bed, Nall," he said blushing slightly.

"But Lina..."

"She'll be ok, Nall. She'd tell us if there was anything wrong."

The white dragon took a last look at the girl above, hesitating. "Lina..." he said quietly, hoping she was all right.

The next day, the Hispaniola pulled into the port city of Meribia. "Whoah!! What a big city!!" Gourry shouted. "Um... why are we here again?"

Lina promptly smacked him in the head. "Baka!"

"If you children don't mind, I have some business to attend to over in Black Rose Street," Zelgadis said, "If you'd like you can stop by after you've sold your diamond, Lina."

Nall hmphed. "Why would she visit a creep like you?"

"I'd watch your tongue if I were you pussy cat."

"I'M NOT A CAT!!!!" the dragon yelled causing the crowds to stare. "Heh, heh?" He quickly hid behind Xellos. By then, Zelgadis had already left.

"Let's get going, Xel! I'm hungry!" Lina said grabbing the purple haired boy and dashed down the street in search of a place to eat. Gourry shrugged his shoulders then ran after them.

After leaving Gourry to deal with a shop keeper they'd found and just plain wandering around the city, Xellos and Lina decided to pay their respects to the mayor of Meribia, one Maryuu-ou Garv.

Finding the mayor's house was no problem since it had happened to be the biggest house in town. To their surprise the guards at the door didn't even stop to ask their business. "Garv-sama is a very friendly person," one of them explained.

"He likes it when people come to spar or to just say hello," the other said.

"He seems like a nice guy, Xel," Lina said.

"Well he is one of the Four Heroes," her companion replied.

"Just to think! You're going to meet one of your idols!"

"Yeah. I can't believe it myself. Just the other day I was loafing around in Burg and now I'm actually going to meet Maryuu-ou Garv."

When they were escorted to the mayor's office, the two couldn't take their eyes off the hulking figure before them. He wore a bright orange trenchcoat and red hair down to his waist in a loose ponytail. 'This is the great Garv?' Lina thought. 'I'd thought he be a lot more handsome.' The mayor glared at them, making Nall cringe a little.

"I'm Maryuu-ou Garv, mayor of Meribia. I'm a fair man, so I'll warn you since you're new here. If you've come to cause any trouble in my city, I'll make sure you'd regret ever being born!" He then struck the desk with his fist making Nall to jump and hit the ceiling. The mayor began to laugh as if it was the funniest thing ever.

"So what brings you to Meribia kids?" he asked once he had calmed down.

"Um..." Xellos began. "I... um... that is..."

"Well spit it out son! Whatcha waiting for?"

"Xel's on a quest to become Dragonmaster," Lina piped up.

"Lina!" Xellos blushed.

laughed loudly. "Dragonmaster, huh?" The purple haired boy shyly nodded. "Betcha think you're the next Dynast, right? Well come with me kid and let me see whatcha got."

Before any of them knew what was happening, Garv had dragged them upstairs and to his own personal dojo.

"OK kiddo, show me how good you are," he said taking a sword off the wall and going into a battle stance. "Don't think I'll go easy on ya because you're a kid."

"You can do it Xel! Show him what you're made of!" Lina and Nall cheered.

Xellos really didn't want to do this, but seeing there was no way out of it, he too went into a stance. After a long fight, Garv dealt the boy a blow which knocked him off his feet and into the wall behind him.

"Not bad kid, but you've still got a lot to learn. If you do become a Dragonmaster, don't forget to stop by," the former hero said as he helped the winded boy up.

"Thank you sir," Xellos said, actually glad to have had a chance to spar with one of his idols. "You're really good yourself."

Garv laughed. "Of course I am aren't I! They didn't call me Maryuu-ou Garv for nothin'!" He continued to laugh, while Xel, Nall, and Lina got sweatdrops forming near their heads.

After a few more hearty laughs from Garv and some snacks, Lina wanted to check out Black Rose Street since the people they'd met around town said that the shops there had some of the strangest things. Also there was a fortune teller whose predictions were extremely accurate.

Lina was curious. She also thought maybe the fortuneteller could tell her what the dream she kept having meant.

After checking the stores along the way, they reached a shop isolated at the end of the street, a crystal ball painted on the sign outside told them that it belonged to the fortuneteller. A young man with blond hair stood outside with a dreamy look on his face.

"You goin' to see the fortuneteller?" he asked them.

"Sure am," Lina said.

"Wish it were me," the man complained, "she's sure a cutie! But I don't have enough silver." He sighed before moving on.

"Hey Xel, maybe you should have your fortune told," Nall said, teasingly.

"Don't even think it, Xellos!" Lina said. "She might throw us out if you start drooling all over her." Xellos blushed.

When they opened the door, they could barely see anything. It was so dark that even the candles scattered about barely held back the darkness. A table stood on a dais and on it was the standard crystal ball for gazing. A hooded figure sat closest to the crystal and to their surprise, Zelgadis sat at the other side, talking to the fortuneteller.

"...and that's what happened." He was about to speak again, but the figure rose from her chair.

She placed her hand on the crystal before speaking, a few mint green curls peeked from under the hood. "What do we have here?" she asked cheerfully, eyeing Xellos carefully. "If you're here seeking knowledge, welcome! Welcome to my shop! I the great Martina shall tell you your future. Lord Zoamelgustar knows all!" She then began to laugh maniacally causing the hood to fall down, revealing a young woman with mint green curly hair and a black spiked tiara.

"Oh hello, Lina," Zelgadis said. "I'm glad you've decided to stop by."

"Yeah I bet you are," Nall said, his fur bristling a bit.

The lavender haired boy choose to ignore the cat like dragon. "You see I was about to go look for you. I wanted to invite you to join the Magic Guild of Vane. The way you fought against that sea monster was amazing."

"But I didn't do anything. Xel did most of the work. I only helped a little," Lina said modestly, blushing.

Zelgadis looked disdainfully at the purple haired boy. "Well he wasn't too bad either. I guess he could come too."

"Well, I don't know," Lina began.

"Oh come on Lina," Nall but in, "It sounds like fun."

"It's settled then," Zelgadis said, closing the matter. "If you'll excuse us, Martina."

"Oh but I want to read your future, Zel-kun!" the green haired woman whined.

"Maybe next time," he said leading the others out of the shop.

"I'll be seeing you later Xellos-san," the fortuneteller said, a sly smirk on her face.

"Ok first we have to go to the Spring of Transmission then I'll introduce you to..."

"Hold on a second, Zelgadis," Lina said. "We have to check to see if Gourry was able to sell that diamond yet."

"All right I wait by the city gates for you then," Zelgadis said and left for the gates.

The lavender haired boy pouted, but followed the two to a not so reputable shop just off of Black Rose Street. Inside, Gourry was busily looking at a bunch of rusty looking swords and cheap armor.

"Oh there you are Lina!" he said when the shop door opened. "Where'd you go?"

"Did you sell the dragon diamond yet?" she asked, trying her best to control her temper.

"You mean that big shiny rock right?" Xellos placed a hand on the redhead's arm. "Um... no."

"You baka!!" Lina shouted. "What did you think we left you in here for! Yeesh!"

"Lina, please calm down. You know Gourry has problems remembering things," Xellos said placing himself between the blond and her.

Sighing, Lina went up to the deserted counter in the back. "Hey! Anyone in here?!" she yelled. A scruffy looking man came from the back.

"Well hello there little lady," he said, "What can I get for you?"

"We'd like to sell this diamond," Lina said taking out the dragon diamond from Gourry's pack.

The shopkeeper let out a whistle. "That's the biggest diamond I've ever seen. Where'd a bunch of kids like you get it?!"

"We got it from a dragon," Gourry chirped.

"A dragon eh? Well it doesn't matter where you got it," he said taking a real good look at it. "Let's see a diamond this big should be worth about... 20,000 silver I think."

"20,000?!!!!" Lina, Xellos, and Nall said, amazed.

"Is that a lot?" Gourry asked.

Choosing to ignore him, Lina faced the keeper. "It sounds fair to me, you've got yourself a deal 'ji-chan."

"I'll just put this in the safe in the back and I'll bring you your money." With that he grabbed the diamond and returned to the back.

After a few minutes of waiting, Xellos began to get suspicious. "Um... Lina I don't think he's coming back."

"Really? What gave you that idea?" she replied angrily. "That's it! I'm going to see what's going on!" Lina leapt over the counter and ran into the back.

"Hey Lina! Wait for us!" Gourry said also jumping over the counter followed by Xellos and Nall.

"Yare, yare," the purple haired boy muttered.

There was no sign of the shopkeeper or a safe or anything in the empty storeroom at back. Suddenly a thief emerged from a hidden door. "You kids looking for old Dross?" he asked. "I just saw him running like mad. He had the biggest piece of ice I've ever seen."

"Ice? I thought it was a diamond," Gourry said confused.

"I'll... uh... be going now," the thief then dashed out of the storeroom and out of the shop.

Lina quickly held her nose as she and the others entered the city's sewer system. "Ugh! And I thought the food back at Saith smelled bad," the redhead complained.

"I don't see the shopkeeper anywhere," Xellos said.

"What are you kids doing down here?" asked a old man who just happened to be the sewer custodian. "This place is full of monsters. It's too dangerous to be playing down here now get on home."

"Just what we needed," Nall said cringing on Xellos' shoulder, "more monsters."

"Listen pops," Lina started. She was beginning to get peeved. "We only came down here because a no good shopkeeper made of with our dragon diamond and we want our money!"

The old man backed away from the smoldering red haired girl. "Well, now that you mention it, I did see someone dash across the bridge not too long ago."

"Great! Let's go Xel!" Lina ran ahead again only to stop in her tracks to find that the bridge the old man had mentioned was now in a up position. "Hey! What's the big idea?!!" she yelled.

"Do you kid really wanna go after this guy?" the custodian asked.

"I'm afraid we'll have to, sir," Xellos said staying well away from the fuming Lina.

"Ok, but please be careful." The custodian then pushed a blue button at the back wall. To Lina's glee, the bridge then went back down, crossing the gap. "Most of the bridges are up so you'll have to find the buttons to lower 'em." The old man said before letting the other boys go after her.

"Thank's old man!" Gourry said then went off to find Lina.

Once they reached an area free of monsters, the group took a short breather and stock of the treasure they collected along the way. "If I see another snake it'll be too soon," Lina said leaning against the wall.

"I agree with you on that Lina," Nall said. "But those fish monsters looked kinda tasty don't you think?"

"Only you would think of food like that," she retorted.

"Well you know fish is my favorite food," the white dragon said, grinning.

"Hey guys I think I see someone moving in the next room," Gourry said peering through the doorway.

"Well I guess we'd better get going," Xellos said sighing.

"It better not be monsters," Lina muttered.

In the next room were a couple treasure chests and the reason for their little trip through the delightful Meribian sewers - Dross the shopkeeper. "Ok pal, you're cornered there's no way out," Lina said getting ready to attack, "Now hand over the money!"

"Oh no you've found me," the shopkeeper said, mockingly. "Whatever shall I do?" He then whistled and a huge water dragon appeared from under the murky sewer water.

"Ack! Not again!" Lina cried.

"That thing's huge!" Nall said staring at the monster.

"And it'll be the last thing you'll ever see," Dross said. "Enjoy your dinner, my pet." The shopkeeper ran off to a far corner to hide to make sure they were properly taken care of.

However, Xellos's and Gourry's skills with swords and Lina's singing soon defeated the water dragon. The children now had Dross completely cornered with no way to escape. "Are you going to hand over our money or do I have to get really nasty?" Lina said, glaring at the man.

"H-here ya go! Just d-don't k-kill me!" The thieving shopkeeper handed over the dragon diamond.

"I thought you said you were going to give us 20,000 silver for this. Now where is it?!" Lina had no intention of keeping the diamond now.

"I'm really sorry about that miss, but I haven't got that much," Dross confessed, sadly.

"What?!!!!!!!" Lina screamed.

"Why didn't you say so?" Xellos asked.

"Would you have given me the diamond?" he asked. Lina shook her head. "There you have it. I've never seen such a big diamond before and got a bit carried away."

"A bit carried away?!"

"Lina," Xellos said holding the irate redhead back. "He's not worth it."

"Tell ya what, you kids can have the shop it's worth at least 30,000 silver," Dross said.

"What would we do with a shop?" Lina asked. "I want money!"

"Lina, let's just find someone else," Xellos said.

Gourry however, hadn't heard them. "Can we really have the shop?" he asked excitedly.

"Sure, it's all yours. I was going to call it quits anyway," Dross said, "Guess people got wise to my little pranks." He laughed sheepishly.

"Um... you could work for us," Gourry said, not wanting to see anyone out of a job.

"Gourry!! Are you out of your mind?!" Lina shouted. "You don't know how to run a shop!"

"He can run it for me and I can make sure he doesn't cheat people," Gourry said, simply.

"I can be honest, really." The shopkeeper looked at them pleadingly.

Sighing, Lina gave in. "Ok Gourry he can stay, but I'm not gonna stay here an keep an I on him all the time."

"I'll stay, Lina," Gourry said. Truth be told, he had decided that he really wasn't cut out to be an adventurer.

"Gourry!" Lina said in shock. "You sure about this?"

"Yeah, I'm really not that good at this adventuring thing. Xel's a lot better than me," the blond said. "You're not mad at me are you Lina?"

"Hey, if this is what you want then, it's ok with me," Lina said, a little sad to see him leave, "No one's stopping you."

"We're still friends, right?"

"Sure we are Gourry, we'll stop by again if we need anything," Xellos said reassuring their friend.

"Yeah it's not like this is sayonara forever," Nall added.

"Thanks guys!" Gourry then gave them a big hug.

Once they recovered from Gourry's bear hugs, the group left the sewers and went to the inn. Lina insisted on taking a bath before heading off to Vane with Xellos and Zelgadis.

Did you like this part minna?

If so, then let me know. I just adore feedback!!!

Zel: I'm still a jerk I see.

Sakura: Hey! It's not my fault your character's a jerk Zel. Blame the game writers.

Xel: Why'd you make Gourry-kun leave? You're going to lose some readers over this.

Sakura: I know Xel. But to tell the truth, I never really liked Gourry that much. He'll still be in the story tho. Just not too much.

Xel: Oh well at least I still have Zel and Lina-chan to play with. ^_^

Sakura: Just save some for me 'k Xel?

Xel: Of course Miko-sama.

Sakura: I love my life! ^_^

Firia: Sakura-saaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan!!!!!!!!!! How dare you make that namagomi my father!!!!!!!!!

Sakura: FIRIA!!! YOU JUST GAVE AWAY A MAJOR PLOT ELEMENT HERE!!!!!

Firia: Eep! Demo....

Sakura: No buts lizard onna! Anyway Garv was the only one capable for Hell Mel's part and you're the only one who's perfect for Jessica. Can you see Sylphiel playing that part? Perhaps you have someone better in mind? (eg)

Firia: Ano... Etou... um... no?

Sakura: Thought so. Any more complaints minna?

Lina, Zel, and Firia: shake their heads

Sakura: Good.

Xel: I like your style Sakura-chan.

Sakura: Why thank you Xel. Must be my mazoku blood. (VEG)