Author's Note: Okay, I know it's a little behind schedule but here is the next chapter, and let me tell you, I meant to have this up a whole bunch sooner but I kind of lost touch with fan fiction for a little bit. Anyway, this chapter involves a trial, with you know, judge, jury, and lawyers and stuff, the only thing is, I really know nothing about how those work so I kind of just threw it together which means that this author's note is plainly just another warning for inaccuracy and such, but this is the way of my writing!^.^ Anyway, I included most of the names of the people who have reviewed for me so far and you'll probably see these characters again^.^ Also, eventually I'm going to get around to re writing the chapters I've written so far and then putting them on my own website with some pictures that I'll draw, I'll let anybody who's interested know when that is happening^.^ Oh an also, would someone please tell me how to spell Mozoko?
On to the story:
Slayers AcademyChapter Six- A Day of Trials (hee hee)
The tournament arena was huge and Crescent could swear there were over a thousand people sitting in the stands. A huge square mat that was a hundred feet by a hundred feet sat in the middle. There was a smaller square painted in the middle of the mat, it was only fifteen feet by fifteen feet. The smaller square was where the sword fighting would be held. On the far end of the mat there were a bunch of targets set up. That was where the bow and arrow competition would be held and on the front half of the mat there were posts sticking up out of it. The staff fighting would take place on those. On the left and right side of the mat were gigantic stands. The right stands were bright maroon and gold. It looked like the entire school was there, wearing their uniforms and waving banners. The left stands were filled with green and black. The Mozoku Academy students were here as well and they did not look happy to be on Slayers grounds.
"Oh my god, I can't do this." Crescent said aloud to herself. She felt a hand on her shoulder and looked. Selene was grinning at her.
"Don't worry. You are an ace at the bow and arrow, hello? I mean you've your family Moonstorm bow right there. You'll do fine. Just ignore your little stage fright problem and you'll be fine. Now me however? Damn, I didn't even practice the saber this weekend and I bet my mom is somewhere out there, waiting for me to embarrass her, or the other way around."
Crescent smiled and Selene moved on to talk to Xelloss. Crescent sighed and muttered very quietly, "I so cannot do this."
"You don't listen well do you?" Zelgadis asked her. He had suddenly appeared right next to her. She blushed.
"What?"
"Your friend gave you pretty good advice. You should just calm down."
Zelgadis' tone irritated Crescent, maybe it was because he was probably right, or maybe it was because he was sticking his little blue nose where it didn't belong. "Look, Zelgadis. I am just fine. I know my bow like the back of my hand and I will win this competition no matter what. Why don't you just focus on your own competition, hmmm?"
Zelgadis shrugged. "You don't have to get defensive and if you're so calm why are your hands shaking?"
Crescent held up her hand, yes, it was shaking, very badly. She turned it into a fist. "My hands are not shaking! You're just making stuff up because you're so nervous yourself. You probably can't even match up to Gourry!"
Zelgadis turned on her. "Why don't you stop accusing me and accuse yourself. You're the one who is making things up; I was just trying to give a little advice. If you didn't want any then you should have just said so."
"I didn't even ask for your advice, you just gave it." Crescent replied. They both remained quiet, glaring at each other, both of them aware that the other was right on one count.
"Hey Zel, hey crescent. What's up? Having a staring contest?"
Crescent turned from Zelgadis and rushed Lina. "Glad you're finally here." She said shooting daggers at Zelgadis.
"Why? What happened? And I can only stay down here for so long, only competitors are supposed to be down here and since Luna is here I can't get into anymore trouble or she'll fry my ass."
"Just some troubles." Zelgadis said absently. "Looks like the tournament's about to start, better get going Lina."
"Fine then, just kick me out." Lina said sarcastically, "Thank you very much Zelgadis but Lina Inverse excuses herself. Good luck you two." She left. Crescent glanced at Zelgadis.
"We had better get in Line. They'll be calling the competitors names now." Zelgadis said, not looking at Crescent. He walked towards Rune, Selene, Xelloss, Naga, Zangulus, and Shadow. Crescent followed grumpily.
Darn, Zelgadis got on her nerves. The group of competitors got inline. He was always acting so superior, like he was always right. The announcer had started speaking and the stadium had gone quiet. Of course, what bothered Crescent more was that he tended to also be right, and he was pretty good at almost everything. The announcer went through a little speech and began introducing the fighters. Rune was called first. Then the person she was going against. The girl's name was Cassidy Dell; they called her Cassidy the courageous. Yeah, courageous for being the only girl on the Mozoku high team; Poor her, Crescent thought. The two walked up and into the center of the mat. Zelgadis was blocking Crescent's view so instead she was seeing only his back. Like most of the competitors he was wearing his own uniform for fighting. He wore white pants, a white tunic, a white cape, a white mask, and a white hood. Crescent thought it was bit dramatic. She wondered what the material was. Without thinking she reached out.
"Hey, what're you doing?" Zelgadis whispered. Crescent flushed.
"Just trying to see what your outfit is made of." She replied sheepishly.
"It's silk, alright? Easier to move in."
Crescent nodded, "Makes since. A little overdone wouldn't you say?"
She thought she saw a flicker of a smile but then it was gone and Zelgadis just said, "Well, what about you?"
Crescent realized that Zelgadis had probably been about to laugh at her. Celeste had designed her sister's outfit. Crescent had only worn it to stop her sister's begging but now she felt really embarrassed. She wore a leather tunic and leotard with one shoulder plate on her left shoulder. She also wore tall green boots and a green choker, usually a green cape, but only when she didn't have wings, accompanied the outfit. It was something she traveled in during the summer but it felt a bit showy and a bit flashy now. She didn't have to answer Zelgadis however because he had already been called. His opponent mirrored him as he walked onto the mat. But before Zelgadis was out of earshot he turned his head and whispered. "Don't let him get to you" And continued walking.
She was last and as the announcer called her name she felt her stomach flutter. She watched as Duran stepped next to her. He was grinning and waving to his school like he was a king. Crescent wanted to kill him.
"Hey there, little miss wings. So we meet again." Duran said slyly as they walked. "It's a pity I have to play against you, I'd rather be playing with you." He threw his head back and laughed sharply. Crescent ruffled her wings and slid her foot out. Duran, who was too busy laughing at his own joke tripped and fell flat on his face.
The entire student body of Slayers Academy began laughing. Crescent blushed as she went quickly to the group of competitors. Selene and Xelloss winked at her.
Meanwhile….
The town court was located in the city hall. It was not a large room but it was big enough to sit the jury, the two teams, and a handful of an audience. Celeste nearly laughed when she entered. She had to remind herself that this was Gourry's real trial, and not some mock debate. Sylphiel tapped her and smiled encouragingly. Sylphiel had obviously figured out something that Celeste hadn't because she was totally lost. Still, Sylphiel had assured her again and again that she knew what she was doing.
Celeste's team, her, Sylphiel, and Gourry sat at their table while the opposing team, some lawyer representing Gaav's family, sat at the other. A small audience was in the room whispering excitedly. A cop entered.
"Please rise for the honorable judge." He announced, his voice echoing through the room, which quieted accordingly. All stood as entered and sat. The room was quiet and Celeste was starting to feel a bit nervous.
"Will the defense please rise and state your case." It was a command, not a question.
Sylphiel rose and Gourry and Celeste followed suit. "The defense pleads not guilty of the murder of Gaav and we are here to prove that Gourry didn't do it." Sylphiel said loudly. The words sounded odd coming from her but the judge continued.
"Call your first witness."
"The defense calls Miss Aqua." Sylphiel stated. The teacher came forward and swore in. Sylphiel then asked her to repeat what had happened on the fateful day and then about the information on how the teacher's communicated.
"So when Mr. Gaav called Gourry to his room was he speaking to you alone or the whole school?"
"Just to me, dear." Aqua replied.
"Thank you, that will be all." Sylphiel sat and smiled at Gourry.
The judge leaned forward, "Would the prosecution like to cross examine the witness?"
The lawyer nodded and stood, approaching Aqua. He leaned on her table and glared at her. "Did Gourry seem mad when he left your classroom?"
"No, not really. He is such a ni-"
"Not really?" The lawyer repeated.
Aqua nodded, "Yes, that's it."
"Could you be a little more specific?"
Aqua frowned, "Well, he didn't seem to mind about not being picked but he did say it was too bad he wouldn't get to fight Mozoko Academy. Apparently they had harmed a friend-"
"Do you see, ladies and gentlemen?" The lawyer interrupted Aqua and turned to the jury, "The desire to fight against his rival school was so great it drove the boy to kill. It could have been something like a berserker mode but we will never know."
Celeste's lip curled in disgust. The truth was that there was no supporting evidence to the supposed murder besides Gourry's sword and there was also no evidence saying he didn't do it. At least not that Celeste knew of.
Next Sylphiel called Romulus to the stand. Again she asked him to share his report while the offensive judge did not question him at all.
Waitaminute! Celeste thought suddenly, Gourry's sword is the key… Her thoughts trailed off as she turned to Sylphiel. "Sylphiel, will you let me handle the next round?"
"But Cel-"
"Please!?"
Sylphiel sighed. "Fine then. Go ahead."
The judge addressed their table. "Would the defense like to call another witness?"
Celeste stood and nodded firmly. "The defense calls Gourry Gabrieve." They swore him in and had him seated while Celeste planned her course of action. "Could I please see evidence set #1, please?"
An aid, wearing gloves, brought Gourry's sword to the front and waited for Celeste to put on her own gloves. Carefully she took the sword.
"Now Gourry," Celeste started, bringing his sword in front of him. "Is this your sword?"
Gourry shook his head. "It looks like it, sure does, but I'd know my sword like the back of my hand and that's not it."
"Really?" Celeste asked, "How can you be so sure?"
Gourry shrugged, "Well, that's sword has obviously never been used. It doesn't have any dents or scratches or anything and my sword is magickal in nature it carries the marks of it's battles."
Celeste silently thanked goddess for Gourry having such knowledge of weaponry and for the fact that all the jurors and pretty much everybody used a sword or knew something about them. She turned to face the audience and jury.
"So the truth is revealed, Gourry's sword is not really Gourry's sword but a fake produced so well that even when you remove the blade a beam of light is given off…" She did so and indeed the Sword of Light was there but Celeste calmly slid her hand through the light, grinning at the shocked faces of everyone in the crowd. "…But it is all an elaborate illusion put in place to frame Gourry Gabriev for the murder of Gaav." The room went into a roar of voices and lawyers shouting while the judge tried to bring them all to quiet.
"You will wait to make the accusations till your rebuttal, young lady, do you understand me?" The judge asked. Celeste nodded and went to her seat where Sylphiel was waiting bright eyed. "Will the prosecution cross examine the witness?"
Gaav's lawyer glanced at Celeste and Sylphiel; Celeste saw that he was sweating. "Yes sir." He stood and approached the bench to begin questioning. Celeste saw the skeptical faces of the jury and realized she and Sylphiel had practically won, if only they could figure out who really did it.
She felt a tap on her shoulder and looked at Sylphiel who motioned for her to lean closer. "Let me tell you what really happened, Celeste, since I've got this whole thing figured out."
Selene watched the Shadow's performance with the slightest bit of jealousy. She was positive that she wasn't going to look that good when she got out there. She sighed, if Shadow won his round then Slayers Academy would be ahead by one round and it wouldn't be devastating for Selene to lose her round, except for the fact that her mother was out in the crowd. She sighed again and reviewed the tournament in her mind, looking for some sort of pattern.
Rune had gone first fighting a girl named Cassidy Dell. Cassidy had been surprisingly good at the Rapier and beaten Rune. Selene chuckled at the girls nickname: Cassidy the Courageous. She highly doubted the girl had picked it herself and it proved that the fighters nicknames had nothing to do with their ability, well, come of them.
Zangulus had fought second in the broadsword competition. He had won, and not surprisingly since he was the only person besides Zel and Gaav who could stand for long against Gourry. Even though Zangulus had won it had been no easy victory. His opponent had been strong but not strong enough.
The third competition was archery, Crescent going against that idiot Duran. Crescent had won from the beginning and even though Duran had tried to cheat at the end she had still won and none of the teachers even noticed him cheating. Duran actually sucked at the bow and Selene wondered if he had entered simply to aggravate Crescent.
Now Shadow was up, and true to his nickname he was fighting as if in a dance, the foil moving quickly to strike, parry, and block his opponents. The fight went quickly and Selene was sure she was not the only one who couldn't follow the two. She looked at Xelloss. He was just sitting there with his eyes closed. Selene scanned the audience and really couldn't make out any faces but quickly turned her attention to the ring when she heard the loud groans from the slayers Academy students. Shadow had lost and it was now her turn. Xelloss opened an eye and grinned at her. "Try to blow someone up for me, please?"
Selene laughed, "This isn't a magick competition, Xelloss, it's strictly weapons." She emphasized the words with a swipe of her blade and left for the ring. Her opponent, Juntai, was tall. Of course, Selene wasn't exactly tall herself and it seemed everyone was tall to her, excluding the tiny Manda and Amelia. He was wearing only loose fitting pants a grinned at the crowd. Not egotistically but friendly-like. He wasn't bad looking but Selene knew that he knew how to use his weapon.
"Good luck to you." He greeted her, moving into a ready stance. Selene vaguely heard the announcer saying something.
"Yes. Good luck." A shot rang out and Juntai was moving, quite speedily. Selene moved faster, her smallness helping greatly, and her mind blanked out. She heard people shouting, saw Juntai moving, felt air sliced by dulled blades, and smiled when it was over. She had won, Juntai sitting patiently at the tip of her saber, his own a few feet away. Selene wondered how she had done it.
Eris sat at the witness stand, looking stressed and upset. Celeste liked that: it meant she was worried.
"So, how did you know that Gourry and Romulus were going to Gaav's office?" Eris looked around uncomfortably, opened her mouth and then closed it again, "And the, Miss Eris, why did you accuse Romulus of cheating on a paper when he didn't even turn in one? Could it be because you needed Gourry to be alone with Gaav where he could be framed for Gaav's murder without interference? Could it be because you were in on the plot to put Gourry out of the competition? Could it be-"
"Alright!" Eris shouted, tears streaming down her face. "It's true, Gourry was framed. But I didn't want to do it! I had too, he made me, HE MADE ME!!!" She began sobbing hysterically and Celeste turned and shrugged at Celeste. The judge was staring at the two, obviously shocked and completely forgetting his hammer. He turned to the teacher.
"Miss Eris, please calm down." He said, standing from the judge's seat. "If your 'confession' is true then we will find out but right now I would like to know where and who the person is that framed Gourry."
"It's Gaav!" Sylphiel shouted, jumping up from her seat. Celeste had never seen her so excited. "He got Eris to make a double of himself and the sword and then framed Gourry! He's not dead and I bet he's at the tournament right now!"
The judge stared at Sylphiel. "Miss Eris, is this accurate?" Between sobs Eris sputtered out yes and explained how Gaav had made her do it because he was actually an old teacher from Mozoku high and he really wanted Slayers Academy's name to go down the drain. The police took her away for questioning while the judge lead the rest of the room to the tournament.
Crescent sat alongside the rest of the slayers academy contestants on the edge of the waiting ring. Xelloss was competing and it was probably the most interesting competition yet. Xelloss stood, sort of, with his staff out stretched, on two posts. His opponent, Aaron, who was apparently some sort of Ninja and whose nickname was Aaron the Kessenno Athema, stood on one post opposite him, balanced with his staff in one hand. Crescent wasn't really sure how the fight worked, or even if it was a fight. It seemed they both dashed around on the many posts, striking with the staffs and then suddenly they would both stop and stand there for a minute.
"Why don't they do something?" She whispered impatiently.
"Because this is a test of both skill and endurance. Didn't you listen to the rules?" Zelgadis told her. Crescent glanced at him a shrugged.
"No, I was to busy trying to ignore your annoying presence." She thought she saw Zelgadis raise an eyebrow but ignored it. She was trying to make sure he didn't get on her nerves, trying very carefully to make sure he knew he wasn't really bothering her at all.
"Well, they have to fight and keep their stances and go like this until one of them falls. Usually the competitors actually don't loose the fights, they just fall over from exhaustion during one of the pauses."
Crescent nodded. Xelloss didn't look tired; actually, he looked amused, standing there with a grin on his face. Aaron didn't exactly look tired, just serious. "I hope he doesn't try to cheat."
"Who, Xelloss or the other guy?" Selene asked from her other side. Crescent just grinned at her.
"Both."
"I doubt that the Kessenno would cheat." Zelgadis replied. Selene winked at Crescent who just shrugged.
"He comes from Mozoko High, doesn't he?"
Zel frowned, "That doesn't mean anything. Just because you and your sister are cursed doesn't mean you're monsters, does it?"
It was Selene's turn to frown. She turned away from the two and Crescent was sure she heard her whispering about trouble. Crescent refused to get angry and forced a smile on her face.
"I don't know. Does it?"
"Of course not. So just because the Kessenno comes from Mozoko High doesn't mean he'll cheat. I doubt even Xelloss will cheat during this. The only idiot who isn't taking to competition seriously is Duran."
Crescent turned her attention to the ring, trying to focus on the fight was difficult with Zelgadis sitting right there, so calm about his own fight coming last. At least she had won; even with that dope trying to cheat her she had still beaten him.
Xelloss and Aaron were fighting again. Both of them were jumping from post to post trying to hit each other. Aaron tried to knock Xelloss of his feet but he just jumped away and swung his own staff at Aaron's back. Aaron ducked and pulled his staff up for Xelloss' stomach. He twisted and blocked, bringing the two face to face for a second. Crescent thought she saw Xelloss whisper something to Aaron who looked quite enraged. Xelloss' jumped back as the whistle sounded. Aaron kept his place, glaring at Xelloss. When the whistle sounded again Aaron attacked with a barrage of stabs and swings. Xelloss bounded backwards, looking ecstatic that his competitor was trying to kill him. Crescent heard Selene muttering to herself and saw what she was muttering at. Xelloss was eventually going to run out of posts and he didn't even see it, instead his eyes were fixed on something behind Aaron, though he continued to dodge the attacks. Crescent looked backwards towards where Xelloss was looking and gaped. She could have sworn that she had just seen Gaav.
"Um, Selene? I think-"
A roar of laughter had erupted from the opposite side of the arena, where Mozoko high was seated. Crescent saw that Xelloss had indeed fallen. He didn't look upset and tried to shake Aaron's hand. Aaron refused and Xelloss shrugged returning to the waiting ring where Selene slapped him over the head.
"What did you go an do that for!? You could have won! I bet you knew that you were running out of room! Don't you realize that we are now down one round and that Zelgadis HAS to win his round or we lose? What were you thinking!?"
"That…" Xelloss replied, grinning and tapping his nose, "…That is a secret. Now, have more faith in my little Zel-Chan. He's actually pretty good."
"Argh!" Selene yelled pulling a giant saber. "Die Xelloss! Die!" The two ran off leaving crescent to shake her head. She was sure that Riley would show up sooner or later to protect her lovely Xelloss-sama, and she did not want to be there when that happened.
"What did Xelloss see?"
Crescent jumped. She spun around to find Zelgadis standing there, determinedly calm with his bastard sword in hand. "What do you mean?" She snapped.
Zelgadis didn't look at her; he just stared strait ahead, his face looking particularly stony. "I saw you look back. What were you and Xelloss looking at?"
"Gaav is in the stands." Crescent said. Zelgadis peered at her, as if he were trying to decide if she were lying or not. "It's true. At least, it looked a lot like him. I'd be careful if I were you. It looks like Mozoko high is playing dirty."
"Playing dirty is so much fun!" Xelloss said, suddenly appearing next to Crescent's shoulder. "Please don't tell Selene, that would ruin all my fun!" He disappeared.
Zelgadis stepped out of the ring without a word.
"I wish Gourry were fighting." Crescent muttered. She thought she saw Zelgadis' head twitch slightly but figured it was her imagination.
Sylphiel gasped as they entered the arena. It was huge! And to think the students of slayers academy built this thing. She and Celeste lead the procession of jurors, judges, and witnesses. Eris had joined them as well, escorted by to officers. Gourry was following the judge, pretty much unsure of anything that was happening.
"What are we doing here?" He asked, tapping Sylphiel on her shoulder. "I thought I wasn't competing in the tournament."
Sylphiel smiled and patted Gourry's hand. "Oh, Gourry-sama, you might get to fight after all! Isn't that great?"
Gourry scratched his head. "Yeah. But where's my sword? I hope Lina didn't steal it."
Celeste chuckled. "Don't worry, Gourry. Lina didn't steal your sword, Gaav did."
"I thought that I had killed Gaav?"
"Nope, Gourry, you sure didn't." Celeste replied, still laughing.
"Good. I thought I didn't, but with this whole trial thing I wasn't really sure."
Sylphiel couldn't help but smile and hug Gourry. The group was now coming upon the announcer's stand and she could see that most of the audience hadn't even noticed their arrival. All eyes were glued to Zelgadis and his opponent. Sylphiel whispered to the announcer, asking for the score. Slayers Academy was down one round, which meant Zelgadis, had to win to tie the tournament.
"I wonder how long they've been fighting?" Sylphiel asked aloud. Celeste pointed to the waiting ring for the Slayers students and both went to where Crescent stood, looking somewhat worried.
"How long have they been at it, sis?" Celeste asked her sister.
Crescent blinked at them, "Aren't you supposed to be in court?"
"Well, we've brought the court with us. It turns out-"
"Gaav framed Gourry." Xelloss finished, appearing next to Celeste with Selene right behind him.
"Is that your secret!?" Selene shouted, grabbing the front of Xelloss' shirt. "Is that what I've been chasing you all over this ring for!?"
"Of course."
"Aaaaarrrgggghhh!!! Die Xelloss! Dieeeeeeee!!!" Both disappeared.
"Anyway," Crescent directed their attention back to herself; "Both Xelloss and I saw Gaav in the stands."
"Yeah, we figured out what he had done and came here as quickly as possible. How long have they been at it?"
"Zelgadis and Moro?" Crescent asked, looking worriedly at the fighters, "For thirty minutes. They each have to mark their opponent five times before either can win. Zelgadis has slipped twice and been marked three times. Moro, his opponent hasn't slipped at all, has had to replace his sword after Zelgadis broke it, and been marked three times as well."
"You mean actually falling?" Celeste asked, "I couldn't imagine Zelgadis doing that."
"It happened, but only recently. I'm not sure if having stone skin makes the heat better or worse but I'm betting Moro's sweating enough for both of them."
A cheer went up and Sylphiel saw that Zelgadis had marked Moro again. He stood in a stance of pure defense, which surprised Sylphiel. Moro charged for attack after attack and Zelgadis only defended, blocking again and again. As if she had asked the question aloud Crescent told her why.
"He's waiting for a shot he'll know will get in, one Moro can't block. It's a slow process but it's worked so far." Sylphiel smiled at Crescent who blushed and turned away to talk to Selene.
The clang of metal made Sylphiel look up. Moro was trying to force Zelgadis to his knees. He swung his foot out, sweeping Zelgadis who fell backwards. Moro slashed his blade at the same moment that Zelgadis turned and stabbed at him. Silence filled the arena. Zelgadis had been marked once more but the tip of his blade was touching Moro's stomach. The fifth mark for Slayers Academy.
As the cheers rang out Sylphiel turned to Celeste who nodded at her. They both approached the announcer. He was already speaking with the judge so they waited patiently.
"So these young ladies think that Gaav is in the arena, though they aren't exactly sure where." The judge was explaining. "They seem to think he framed Gourry and with Miss Eris' testimony it shouldn't be hard to prove him guilty, if we can find him."
Amelia was
shaking her head beside him. "To think
Teachers could sink to such a level of dishonesty and do such horrible things."
"Where did you come from?"
Celeste asked.
Amelia smiled at her and flashed a peace sign, "I was supposed to be giving out the awards for this tournament and doing all the official announcing."
Sylphiel focused on the announcer. "Please don't announce that we're looking for Gaav until after we have captured him, I don't want to have to worry-"
"Why worry?" Xelloss asked, "They cause such stress lines and wrinkles in the face."
"Where did you come from?" Celeste asked, startled.
"Why, I just pooped in." He replied grinning.
Sylphiel forced a smile and returned to her conversation with the announcer, "I don't want to have to worry about-"
"The only person who has to worry is Xelloss!" Selene growled, grabbing Xelloss' shirt.
Xelloss grinned. "Oops, you found me, now it's your turn to hide."
"We're not playing hide 'n go seek, Xelloss. We're playing pin the saber on the slayer student. And can you guess who the slayers student is?"
"Not a clue." Xelloss replied.
"Anyway." Sylphiel tried to smile, "I don't want to have to worry about having-"
"What's to worry about?" Crescent interrupted dryly, "I mean except for the fact that the supposedly dead Gaav is back and sitting in the stands."
"I still very much doubt you saw Gaav." Zelgadis added.
"Where did you two-" Celeste started.
"He is out there. Just because you're too blind to see him, too bad, he's sitting out there right now, trying to figure out a way to get out of here and glancing at us nervously."
"I'm not-"
"Wait one second!" Sylphiel shouted. Everyone surrounding stopped talking and looked at her. "We are trying to solve a case here so please, be quiet! Now Crescent, you're telling me you know where Gaav is right now?"
"Yes."
"Do you think you could sneak up on him without him seeing you and capture him?"
Crescent glanced at the stands, "I would need help. Someone to cast the spells to bind him; I can't cast white spells well."
Sylphiel opened her mouth to volunteer Celeste but Zelgadis spoke up first.
"I'll go." Crescent was glaring at him, Celeste was hiding a giggle behind her hand, Selene was smiling behind Crescent and Zelgadis, but he didn't seem to notice any of it. "Just to make sure Crescent doesn't get into any more trouble."
Sylphiel nodded. "Okay, but hurry. We'll explain that Gourry-sama is being allowed to fight the tie breaker and let Mozoko High choose someone form their team to fight him." Crescent stalked away, followed by Zelgadis.
Behind her, Crescent heard Sylphiel announcing Gourry's return to the arena and the rounds of cheers that greeted him. Annoyingly enough she also heard the sound of Zelgadis.
"I can take care of this without your help you know."
"You just said you couldn't do it without a spell caster." He replied, catching up with her.
She paused, "True, but Celeste could've don't it. She and I usually work as a team."
"I didn't want her to distract you. When you two get around each other you change completely."
"Like you won't distract me." She muttered. They went behind the seats, in the general area where Crescent thought she had seen Gaav. All right, now I'm sure he's around here somewhere, though he's probably already moving around. I'll fly up and look for him and then come back down and point him out. Got it?"
She did not wait for a reply. Up she went until she was above everyone sitting in the Mozoko High section. She was behind them where they couldn't see her. She scanned the crowd. Gaav had been wearing a long dark trench coat and big black hat. Still, his long red hair should give him away but she couldn't see it so instead she made sure Zelgadis was out of the way.
"Oh great." She muttered. Duran and the other competitors, excluding Moro, surrounded Zelgadis. She flew down and landed lightly between Zelgadis and Duran.
"My, my, if it isn't little miss wings." Duran spat, "So nice of you to join us."
Crescent surveyed the group, Zelgadis looked calm enough, but then again, he always did. "What happened to your usual group of lackey's?"
"They didn't have enough backbone so I got rid of them and got myself a new group." Cassidy snorted and Duran glared at her, "This one should make short work of you and blue boy."
"Whatever, can we just skip the crap and you just tell us where Gaav is?" Crescent snapped.
"Gaav is dead," Aaron replied. "I don't know how you got your swordsman out of it but he killed Gaav, we all heard about it." Crescent noticed that Duran was looking a bit more nervous.
"I never did understand why they fired him," Cassidy added, "He was a good teacher and now look where he is." The rest of the group nodded, all except Duran.
"Gaav used to teach at Mozoko High?" Zelgadis questioned.
Cassidy nodded before Duran could shout shut up. She stared icily at him in return. "That's right, he was the weapon's sensei."
"Well, Gourry didn't kill him, isn't that right, Duran." Crescent stated calmly.
"What are you saying girlie?"
"You knew about the whole thing!" Crescent shouted, "You're probably here to distract Zelgadis and me so that Gaav can leave!"
"It's working isn't it?" He sneered before he realized his mistake. Juntai, Cassidy, and Aaron were staring incredulously at him.
"What's she talking about, Duran?" Aaron asked. Duran grinned.
"Well, you know what, I guess I can tell you guys. See, I was the only one important enough to tell at first. Gaav wasn't fired, or at least, not really. He was sent to Slayers academy to sabotage them this year. He knew all about the tournament, and told me so I could help. Like I said: the only on-"
"Stupid enough." Cassidy growled. "Are you serious? You mean Gaav's murder was fake? I can't believe this, I didn't even think my school would sink so low."
Aaron nodded, "This is not right. Our school should be disqualified."
"You're fools to think so," Juntai laughed. "Our school is known for its trickery, it just show our cunning. You should be proud we pulled this off."
"Juntai's right you two. You're just babies who don't want to get their hands dirty." Duran added.
Cassidy grimaced at Crescent. "Sorry about this. We had no idea, but I think we can help you out." She smiled evilly and turned to Duran. "Alright Duran. You'll tell us where Gaav is won't you. You already know that Aaron and I are much better fighters then you."
Duran looked around. Juntai had disappeared; he swallowed. "Gaav is probably just outside the arena. Waiting for me." Then he ran off. Aaron looked apologetically at Crescent and Zelgadis.
"We'll make sure the principal finds out about this. After all, we know he's a decent person." Crescent wasn't sure if he was serious or not and didn't have time to find out because Zelgadis was pulling her to the exit of the arena.
"We've got to hurry. That was nice handling of the situation. How did you know Duran knew?" Zelgadis asked quickly.
"Being in the background for so long help's you learn to read people," Crescent replied, pulling her arm free of Zelgadis' hand, "Most of the time, at least."
They went outside, where Gaav was standing with his back to the exit. He turned when he heard them but before he could open his mouth Zelgadis had cast the spell. Crescent went to the now frozen-in-place Gaav and pulled off his hat. They both carried him back into the arena.
At…
…This is an interruption from the Author's subconscious, in other words, an author's note. Because I have just realized that the chapter is dragging on and it goes against the author's character to read or write a chapter that is longer than eight pages, I'm going to end it sort of abruptly. Thank you, and now….
The announcement was made that Mozoko High's former teacher, Gaav, was conspiring to make sure that Slayers academy failed in the tournament and to frame Gourry Gabriev for murder. Neither plans succeeded. Mozoko high was disqualified for the weapon's round, which would have resulted in Slayer's Academy winning except for the fact that the kind student body of the school said that they could just go ahead and forego such an act and let the actual winner of the tournament win. Gourry Gabriev had already beaten Moro the wolf God at that point which did result in Slayer's academy winning. Amelia presented the ceremony of awards and gave each winner of a round a trophy accompanied by her own speech about how she hoped they would each use their skills for good-doing and justice. There was a small appearance made by Xelloss during the ceremony, followed by Selene Lunar who was followed by Riley. At the end, Gourry was asking for someone to explain slowly and in few words what had just happened.
The next day at Slayers academy was normal (if any day at slayers could be called that) except for the fact that the weapon's sensei was missing. The students went back to their grueling work and the principal began looking for the newest weapon's sensei.
This concludes the summary-
Lina: Wait a minute! How come I was hardly in this chapter, or any of the other chapters!? Aren't I, Lina Inverse, the beautiful genius sorceress supposed to be the star of Slayers? Where's my contract!? I'll sue!
Sylphiel and Celeste: Not another trial!
Xelloss: Ooooo! Can I play a judge?
Selene: Die Xelloss! Dieeeee!!!
Zinka: the chapter is over now! You can all go away!
Selene: Die Zinka! Dieeeee!!!
Zinka: umm, this concludes this chapter. Ummm…bye now….AAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!
Author's note: sorry people, couldn't help myself^.^