Slayers: To the End...
By Hotaru Kimiko Lai
(also known as the Sneaky Chibi Otaku Geek... )
Disclaimer...
Hotaru, reading off a paper: "I don't own Slayers... I don't?"
Sakura: "No, you don't."
Hotaru: "Are you sure? I could have sworn..."
Rei*: "No, it's not yours."
Hotaru: "Oh, oh well... are you sure???"
Rei* and Sakura: "Yeeeeeeess." They sigh.
Hotaru: "Well, according to my dear friends, I don't own Slayers..."
Sakura: "Oh, and Hotaru?"
Hotaru: "Yeah?"
Sakura: "I got a new name for you. I hereby dub you as the Sneaky Chibi Otaku Geek!! That is such a dude-type of name!!!"
Hotaru: "Cool!"
Mutual facefaults...
Chapter 5
Childish Conversations... (Version 5.1)
Lina looked nervously at the Beastmaster as she sat down in the chair that Zelas had pointed. It was a nice chair, made of heavy dark oak and blood red cushions.
'Don't think about blood,' thought Lina to herself. 'They are not blood red... they are... dark red...' She took in a deep breath and let it out slowly as she made herself as comfortable as she could.
Zelas had meanwhile started to study her. Zelas was wearing a white tunic with gold, red and black trim. Her flowing blond hair was put up in a high pony tail gathered with a black cord. But in a few seconds, a mist of blues, grays and purples appeared and surrounded her. After the mist cleared, instead of Zelas, a younger looking person was in her place.
"..." said Lina as she witnessed the transformation. This new girl looked to be about her age. She still had blonde hair, but it was loose. The tunic had shrunk, and her eyes were a glittering iridescent green color, as if tiny emeralds had been scattered across a rich and luxurious forest green velvet.
"Greetings," said a soft and sweet melodious voice that came from the girl opposite of Lina.
"Um...uh... you're Beastmaster, right?" asked Lina hesitantly. She secretly checked the power level and magical arrangement of Beastmaster.
"Yes," said the girl. "I am Beastmaster. I have had to leave my old form and take this one, which takes less to uphold, causing it to become a lesser drain on me."
"Oh,..." said Lina intelligently. And sure enough, the power levels were extremely low. "So, why did you want me?"
"Oh, nothing much," said Zelas with a small smile. "I can see it in you, Fate has once more begun with her dance... now, all I can do is watch out for you; It's up to Chance herself to see if Fate will dance with Death or Life."
"O.K." said Lina hesitantly, trying hard not to freak out. "So, what am I supposed to now???"
"Well," said Zelas. "Have you read the prophecies?" Lina brightened up, now she wasn't on shaky ground. Prophecies were her specialty, along with bandit hunting, and treasure expert... As long as there were no more sayings of doom and gloom, she'd be fine, she hoped...
"Yes, I've read them," said Lina with a glint in her eyes. "All of them, and I have a few questions,..." She took out a small sheaf of papers from one of her coat pockets. Zelas inwardly twiddled imaginary thumbs.... hopefully, it wasn't going to a really huge mistake or something...
*****
Xellos paced the floor. He had paced the floor for quite some time now..., actually, ever since he had phased back,... that is.... a little less than one minute. Zelgadis decided to inform him of that fact.
"I know," said Xellos. "But still, I'm sure that is enough time for her to find the three million doors I set up. I was sure that she would be transported back..."
"You mean, you set up yet another trap for her???" asked Zelgadis.
"No, I set them up years ago, when Zelas ordered the house built." said Xellos.
"But why put such... childish traps?" asked Zel, curiosity oozing out of him.
"Sore wa himitsu desu!" said Xellos as he smiled cutely and wagged his finger from side to side at Zelgadis.
"Figures," said a mad chimera. "What else can I expect from an idiotic Mazoku like you?"
"There's the question of the century," said Xellos. "Why will nobody call me Xellos, except Gorky? And he won't call me Mazoku..." Xellos sat down on the floor and frowned cutely. Zelgadis decided not to ask who in the world was Gorky. After all, it would probably interrupt the silly Mazoku's concentration. He could already see the smoke coming out of Xellos's ear.
Meanwhile...
"So, what you are saying is that,..." here, Lina checked her notes. "The reason that the scrolls don't have a call number is because they were written before the call number system was invented?"
"Of course," said Zelas as she took a huge draught of orange juice. Normally, she'd be smoking something, or drinking wine, but smoking and wine just didn't fit in with the personality she chose. Besides, orange juice was still good, it just needed more alcohol... now, there was an idea, why not just spike all the juice in the house??
"But, how can I cross reference the facts?" asked Lina.
"But Lina," said Zelas. "You have no need to cross reference your facts."
"Yes, I do," said Lina. "All facts must be double checked when mentioned in a prophecy. Rule #26, in The Researcher's Guide to Knowledge and Prophecy. Besides, the prophecy talks about another prophecy which the Chosen One was supposed to have fulfilled by them."
"Oh," said Zelas. Stupid Xerxes, what in the world had he written. Lina continued with the next question.
Meanwhile...
Xellos decided to stop thinking about it, or else, he would have a major head ache. He was bored... all Zel did was radiate control and calm... how annoying. No angsty feelings to feed on. He was bored.... like majorly bored... Suddenly, a brilliant idea came to him... perfect! And Zelgadis wouldn't care, and neither Zelas nor Lina would ever know... so he phased out.
'Silly Mazoku,' thought Zelgadis as he tried to make himself comfortable. He took out a book from his cape space and started to read. We zoom in to the title of the book... "Stress and You"
Meanwhile, Xellos froze outside Zelas's door and cocked his ear as he tried to listen. Finding it hard, he took a glass from where ever it was he put his stuff and held it to the door. Interesting...
In Zelas's room...
"...and just who wrote the prophecies, do you know?" asked Lina to the girl who was still drinking her juice.
"Why is that important?" asked Zelas. "It's a prophecy, perhaps the person wanted to remain anonymous."
"But Beastmaster!" said Lina. Seeing Zelas in the little girl disguise had made her feel many times more comfortable. "It's standard regulations! According to The Researcher's Guide to Knowledge and Prophecy, which was written eons ago, any prophecy written must have the author's ID number and call number address!!! It's for credibility! No sane researcher in Seerin would obey a prophecy like this one!"
"To tell you the truth," started Zelas, her mind working like lightning. "I have no idea who the author was... I wasn't keeping track of them. But I know that, whether written by a licensed prophet or a crack, Fate has a different way of working things..."
"Well," said Lina hesitantly. "You're right about that... I just wish I knew more... I mean... gosh! It concern's L-sama!!! You would think she could spare me a few seconds and come and tell me something!!!"
'Or maybe not... I hope she doesn't,' thought Zelas as she tried to look intelligent while drinking her juice... Out loud, she said, "Why don't you and your dear friend Zelgadis stay here for the night? That way, you can check out the scrolls. I'll try to help you, but I really can't do much, you know..."
Lina thought about it for a second. Normally, it wasn't safe to stay under one roof with the Beastmaster... but then, it wasn't safe to disobey her orders either. And, she should really ask Zelgadis his opinion, if he thought it safe to stay here or not...
"I'll have to ask Zelgadis if he has any other plans, or not..." started Lina. Zelas nodded understandingly and snapped her fingers. In a flash, Zelgadis appeared in the room, on the chair, reading his book. He looked up, startled, his eyes blowing up to huge proportions before he realized where he was. Immediately, his book went back to his cape-space and tried to look cool and calmed. He almost succeeded, except for the fact that Zelas chose that moment to offer him some orange juice.
"Would you like some?" asked Zelas. Zelgadis stared. "It's rich in vitamins and it's good for you! And non alcoholic too!!!" He looked at the juice, and then at Zelas, and then at Lina, and promptly sweatdropped. Lina smiled awkwardly.
"Hey, Zel!" she said weakly.
"Um..." he said. He nodded at the girl offering him some juice. "Is that who I think she is?"
"Depends who you think I am," said the girl simply. "Will you have some?"
"Um... no thanks," said Zelgadis. The girl kept on.
"I mean, if you think I'm the princess of Zoana, I'm not. I'm not royalty either. And I'm not a guy..." Zel just looked at her.
"Um... Zel," said Lina hesitantly. "That's...um... Lord Beastmaster, Zelas."
"Oh, I thought so,..." said Zel quietly. Lina nodded slowly.
"So, anyway Zel, I have a question for you." said Lina. She whispered in his ear... Zel sweatdropped and looked at her as if she were crazy.
"And you're asking me???" said Zel. Lina nodded and batted her eyelashes at him.
"So, tell me, what should I do???" Her eyes were huge and watery. They were really big. He didn't understand how they could stay on her face... "Sure, I guess so..." said Zel. Lina nodded to Zelas.
"Okey dokey!!!" said Zelas. She snapped her fingers and Xellos appeared. He happened to be holding a glass to his ear. He froze and quickly hid the glass. Or at least, he tried to. Lina saw it and grabbed the glass away from him.
"Xellossss...." she growled.
"Yes, Lina chan???" he asked cutely, hopping she wasn't too mad.
"What is this?" she asked. Zel stepped back and waited for the Xellos- bashing to begin. Zelas smiled cutely and also stepped back.
"Um... a glass, Lina chan..." said Xellos.
"And what are you doing with a glass at your ear?" she asked with a dangerously quiet voice. Xellos was about to speak, but Lina kept on. "And if you say, 'That's a secret'... I will majorly kick your butt into the middle of next week after sticking you in one of Amelia's pep talk sessions." Xellos blanched.
"Um... I.... hehe... I was..." started Xellos, getting a tad bit nervous. He began to play with the corner of his robe.
"Yes, Xellos??" asked Lina
"I was... letting my ear drink some wine..." he said with a major smile on his face. Lina sweatdropped before she broke the glass on his head and then started pounding him.
"You stupid, silly, idiotic, crazy, mentally handicapped Mazoku!!!!!!!" shouted Lina as she shook him after his pounding.
"Itai..." said Xellos.
"Anyway, Xellos," said Zelas. "I want you to show Zelgadis and Lina to their rooms. They are staying tonight with us."
"Whooooopeeeee!!" said Xellos as he disentangled himself from Lina's clutches and jumped around the room. "Yaaaaaah!!! Lina chan and Zel are staying for supper with us, Lina chan and Zel are staying for supper with us..."
"Fruity Mazoku," said Lina as she bopped him in the head as he came back. Zelas just smiled.
Later on... in Lina's room...
Lina smiled to herself. The room was very nice, it just had an over- touch of red... but it was nice. She decided to take a bath before having supper. Who knew when would be the next time she'd have one. So, with a smile on her face, she ran to the bathroom.
Fifteen minutes later...
Xellos knocked on the door. Hm.... how weird, no answer... perhaps Lina had fallen asleep. Well, he was charged with the duty of telling the guests that it was going to be time to eat in a few minutes. Anyway, back to the present task... nobody was answering... was Lina OK? He cautiously opened the door and walked in. He was surprised at the change the room had gone through. Before Lina, it was very, very neat. After all, he himself had cleaned it up on orders of the Beastmaster. Of course, clean up for him meant... that everything went in different places. Anyway, it had looked very neat and clean. Now,... it looked like as if a hurricane had passed through and had paid extra attention to the room. It looked very, very, very messy. And more importantly, Lina wasn't there.
"Lina!!" he shouted. No answer. "Lina!!!" There was a muffled sound coming from the adjoining room. Fearing the worst, he ran and burst into the room. He froze..., for he had forgotten that the adjoining room was the bathroom. Lina looked at him with a raised eyebrow.
"Didn't you hear me say that I was coming???" asked a towel-clad and red faced sorceress. As it was, the towels were dripping wet, and well, didn't leave much to the imagination. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll just fry you in little pieces. FIREBALL!!!!" There was a huge explosion. Xellos went flying with a silly grin on his face.
"Little pervert," said Lina as she slammed the door shut.
For supper...
Xellos came into the dining room, in a cute little chef's hat and white apron with purple trim and a smiley face on the center carrying a covered dish of something.
"Please, tell me you didn't cook supper..." said Lina with a pale face. She and Zel were sitting at a table along with Zelas, still in little girl form.
"Why Lina, I'm hurt!" said the Mazoku as he put the plate down. "And why don't you want me to cook?"
"Don't you remember the puppet incident?" asked Lina, referring to one of the many adventures. You put on a pink apron and cooked a monstrosity and because of you, we lost that contest!!!"
"Oh, now that you mention it, you're right!" said Xellos. He smiled and went back inside to bring in more plates. Lina sighed. Zel just stared at the covered dish. Chibi-Zelas just giggled.
Finally, the time for truth had come... They all watched quietly as Xellos uncovered all the plates.
"No need to worry," said Xellos. "I made them all extremely edible for you!" Lina blanched. "Just kidding!!! Hahaha!!! You're so funny, Lina chan!!!" Lina glared at him. "Zelas ordered them."
Supper was sort of expected, considering that it was Zelas who ordered it. There was roast pork in red wine, and a side dish of rice with a slice of lemon on it. And salad, and bread with a Sephyrian grape preserves. For drinks, there was rich Sephyrian wine, but Lina and Zel decided to drink grape juice, which had a very weird taste to it... hopefully, it wasn't too spiked...
*****
That night, Lina was exhausted... majorly. So she bolted the room, brushed her teeth and collapsed on the bed with out writing in her journal. Within seconds, she was fast asleep, forgetting about the dreams she normally had.
She found herself on a barren field. There was nothing there, no plants, no rocks, nothing, but the hot sun beating down on her and the ground below. There was nobody there. And it was lonely... until a little rainbow started to grow from the rock hard ground. It was a black and gold rainbow and grew to amazing proportions, spiraling as it reached for the skies. And right beside it, grew a little twig that soon turned into a ... signpost??? The words on it were... "Climb the rainbow." Lina sweatdropped and slowly climbed up the rainbow. It had shaped itself into a type of staircase by now. She climbed for what seemed for her a long time. Not that it mattered much. Whenever she got hungry or thirsty, a green and purple polka dotted cloud would fly by with something to eat or drink. The cloud would politely stay there until Lina finished and then it would go away with the trash. Finally she reached the top. There was a huge upside down dome made of glass filled with water, and it was huge. Right in the middle of it, there was a little island with candies and sweets growing everywhere. She spied a little boat that said "Row me." So she did... The sky here was more colorful, and brighter, but in a refreshing way. Once she got to the middle of the 'lake', she got on the island. Behind her, appeared a little frog.
"Greetings!!!" it said. Lina jumped.
"Uh..." she said intelligently as she stared at the frog. It was very, very small. It could fit in the palm of her hand.
"Welcome to Frog Isle. Her highness, Chaos Amph awaits you." The little frog jumped high in the air and gave a very loud croak. Out of the plants and underneath some rocks came a little frog which slowly turned into a huge glossy, black horse as it jumped towards Lina.
"Um..." said Lina. "Am I supposed to ride it?" The frog croaked and nodded. Lina nervously got on it, and the frog-turned-horse bore her away to a clearing where a little girl with huge cerulean eyes and green hair stood.
"Greetings, Chosen One," said the girl. "I am Queen Chaos Amph, or as you know me, Lord of Nightmares!!!" She smiled, revealing a row of gleaming white teeth.
"Huh??" asked Lina as she got off. "Am I dreaming?"
"Sort of," said the girl, or LoN. "You're dreaming, but this is really happening. I made this dream world just for you. Anyway, I have a question for you."
"I have one too," said Lina. "I thought you were... um... different."
"I am, just that right now, I don't feel like being too serious. Anyway, here's my question. Do you want to be one of my Chosen Knights??"
"Huh??"
"It'll be very fun, and you'll get to have cool powers!!!"
"And what if I say no? I mean, I don't even know what I'll do!"
"OK, if you become my knight, I promise, lot's of fun, you won't have to kill your friends because I'm not planning that, you can choose your own uniform, you'll help me play the biggest practical joke on the world and you'll find the love of your life!!! What do you think???" Lina just stared.
Author's notes...
So, what do you think??? Personally, I really enjoyed writing the chapter; It was so fun!!!!!.... Anyway, I have a question for all of you... I have been thinking (because I do think, just not always) I can make it into a humor fic or make it serious..., and I can't decide... cause you see, I love writing both... (sometimes I'm sort of angsty and like depressing stuff, but usually I like something brighter, and happier...)
So, send your votes in!!! Your options are...
1. make it serious
2. make it funny
3. whichever...
4. stop writing
()_()
=( . . )=
q-( )-p
5. make you all guys chocolate chip cookies
6. keep on writing
()_()
=( . . )=
b-( )-d
Have a great Chinese New Year!!!! Welcome to the Year of the Horse!!!! Chinese New Year is celebrated the 12th, 13th and 14th of February this year. Consider this a little present from my part to yours. Thank you for all the encouragement, people!!!!
Hotaru Kimiko
PS... do notice, because I'm doing a mini-poll, I can't get the next chapter out till you guys answer me... so R and R, and C and C, or just e- mail me at hml_kimiko@hotmail.com
THANX!!!!!
PPS... If ff.net screwed up my format, there are supposed to be little mice. One after option 4, and after option 6. One has thumbs up, one has thumbs down. ^.^;;
PPPS... And thanks to Misao Nakuru Mou for teaching me the mousey!!!!
Quote for the chapter...
"A friend is a person with whom you dare to be yourself."
-Pam Brown
"Why did they nail his hands and feet? His love would have held him there."
-Michael Card
"There's a kind of magic in masks. Masks conceal one face, but they reveal another. The one that only comes out in darkness."
-Granny Weatherwax (Maskerade by Terry Pratchett)
By Hotaru Kimiko Lai
(also known as the Sneaky Chibi Otaku Geek... )
Disclaimer...
Hotaru, reading off a paper: "I don't own Slayers... I don't?"
Sakura: "No, you don't."
Hotaru: "Are you sure? I could have sworn..."
Rei*: "No, it's not yours."
Hotaru: "Oh, oh well... are you sure???"
Rei* and Sakura: "Yeeeeeeess." They sigh.
Hotaru: "Well, according to my dear friends, I don't own Slayers..."
Sakura: "Oh, and Hotaru?"
Hotaru: "Yeah?"
Sakura: "I got a new name for you. I hereby dub you as the Sneaky Chibi Otaku Geek!! That is such a dude-type of name!!!"
Hotaru: "Cool!"
Mutual facefaults...
Chapter 5
Childish Conversations... (Version 5.1)
Lina looked nervously at the Beastmaster as she sat down in the chair that Zelas had pointed. It was a nice chair, made of heavy dark oak and blood red cushions.
'Don't think about blood,' thought Lina to herself. 'They are not blood red... they are... dark red...' She took in a deep breath and let it out slowly as she made herself as comfortable as she could.
Zelas had meanwhile started to study her. Zelas was wearing a white tunic with gold, red and black trim. Her flowing blond hair was put up in a high pony tail gathered with a black cord. But in a few seconds, a mist of blues, grays and purples appeared and surrounded her. After the mist cleared, instead of Zelas, a younger looking person was in her place.
"..." said Lina as she witnessed the transformation. This new girl looked to be about her age. She still had blonde hair, but it was loose. The tunic had shrunk, and her eyes were a glittering iridescent green color, as if tiny emeralds had been scattered across a rich and luxurious forest green velvet.
"Greetings," said a soft and sweet melodious voice that came from the girl opposite of Lina.
"Um...uh... you're Beastmaster, right?" asked Lina hesitantly. She secretly checked the power level and magical arrangement of Beastmaster.
"Yes," said the girl. "I am Beastmaster. I have had to leave my old form and take this one, which takes less to uphold, causing it to become a lesser drain on me."
"Oh,..." said Lina intelligently. And sure enough, the power levels were extremely low. "So, why did you want me?"
"Oh, nothing much," said Zelas with a small smile. "I can see it in you, Fate has once more begun with her dance... now, all I can do is watch out for you; It's up to Chance herself to see if Fate will dance with Death or Life."
"O.K." said Lina hesitantly, trying hard not to freak out. "So, what am I supposed to now???"
"Well," said Zelas. "Have you read the prophecies?" Lina brightened up, now she wasn't on shaky ground. Prophecies were her specialty, along with bandit hunting, and treasure expert... As long as there were no more sayings of doom and gloom, she'd be fine, she hoped...
"Yes, I've read them," said Lina with a glint in her eyes. "All of them, and I have a few questions,..." She took out a small sheaf of papers from one of her coat pockets. Zelas inwardly twiddled imaginary thumbs.... hopefully, it wasn't going to a really huge mistake or something...
*****
Xellos paced the floor. He had paced the floor for quite some time now..., actually, ever since he had phased back,... that is.... a little less than one minute. Zelgadis decided to inform him of that fact.
"I know," said Xellos. "But still, I'm sure that is enough time for her to find the three million doors I set up. I was sure that she would be transported back..."
"You mean, you set up yet another trap for her???" asked Zelgadis.
"No, I set them up years ago, when Zelas ordered the house built." said Xellos.
"But why put such... childish traps?" asked Zel, curiosity oozing out of him.
"Sore wa himitsu desu!" said Xellos as he smiled cutely and wagged his finger from side to side at Zelgadis.
"Figures," said a mad chimera. "What else can I expect from an idiotic Mazoku like you?"
"There's the question of the century," said Xellos. "Why will nobody call me Xellos, except Gorky? And he won't call me Mazoku..." Xellos sat down on the floor and frowned cutely. Zelgadis decided not to ask who in the world was Gorky. After all, it would probably interrupt the silly Mazoku's concentration. He could already see the smoke coming out of Xellos's ear.
Meanwhile...
"So, what you are saying is that,..." here, Lina checked her notes. "The reason that the scrolls don't have a call number is because they were written before the call number system was invented?"
"Of course," said Zelas as she took a huge draught of orange juice. Normally, she'd be smoking something, or drinking wine, but smoking and wine just didn't fit in with the personality she chose. Besides, orange juice was still good, it just needed more alcohol... now, there was an idea, why not just spike all the juice in the house??
"But, how can I cross reference the facts?" asked Lina.
"But Lina," said Zelas. "You have no need to cross reference your facts."
"Yes, I do," said Lina. "All facts must be double checked when mentioned in a prophecy. Rule #26, in The Researcher's Guide to Knowledge and Prophecy. Besides, the prophecy talks about another prophecy which the Chosen One was supposed to have fulfilled by them."
"Oh," said Zelas. Stupid Xerxes, what in the world had he written. Lina continued with the next question.
Meanwhile...
Xellos decided to stop thinking about it, or else, he would have a major head ache. He was bored... all Zel did was radiate control and calm... how annoying. No angsty feelings to feed on. He was bored.... like majorly bored... Suddenly, a brilliant idea came to him... perfect! And Zelgadis wouldn't care, and neither Zelas nor Lina would ever know... so he phased out.
'Silly Mazoku,' thought Zelgadis as he tried to make himself comfortable. He took out a book from his cape space and started to read. We zoom in to the title of the book... "Stress and You"
Meanwhile, Xellos froze outside Zelas's door and cocked his ear as he tried to listen. Finding it hard, he took a glass from where ever it was he put his stuff and held it to the door. Interesting...
In Zelas's room...
"...and just who wrote the prophecies, do you know?" asked Lina to the girl who was still drinking her juice.
"Why is that important?" asked Zelas. "It's a prophecy, perhaps the person wanted to remain anonymous."
"But Beastmaster!" said Lina. Seeing Zelas in the little girl disguise had made her feel many times more comfortable. "It's standard regulations! According to The Researcher's Guide to Knowledge and Prophecy, which was written eons ago, any prophecy written must have the author's ID number and call number address!!! It's for credibility! No sane researcher in Seerin would obey a prophecy like this one!"
"To tell you the truth," started Zelas, her mind working like lightning. "I have no idea who the author was... I wasn't keeping track of them. But I know that, whether written by a licensed prophet or a crack, Fate has a different way of working things..."
"Well," said Lina hesitantly. "You're right about that... I just wish I knew more... I mean... gosh! It concern's L-sama!!! You would think she could spare me a few seconds and come and tell me something!!!"
'Or maybe not... I hope she doesn't,' thought Zelas as she tried to look intelligent while drinking her juice... Out loud, she said, "Why don't you and your dear friend Zelgadis stay here for the night? That way, you can check out the scrolls. I'll try to help you, but I really can't do much, you know..."
Lina thought about it for a second. Normally, it wasn't safe to stay under one roof with the Beastmaster... but then, it wasn't safe to disobey her orders either. And, she should really ask Zelgadis his opinion, if he thought it safe to stay here or not...
"I'll have to ask Zelgadis if he has any other plans, or not..." started Lina. Zelas nodded understandingly and snapped her fingers. In a flash, Zelgadis appeared in the room, on the chair, reading his book. He looked up, startled, his eyes blowing up to huge proportions before he realized where he was. Immediately, his book went back to his cape-space and tried to look cool and calmed. He almost succeeded, except for the fact that Zelas chose that moment to offer him some orange juice.
"Would you like some?" asked Zelas. Zelgadis stared. "It's rich in vitamins and it's good for you! And non alcoholic too!!!" He looked at the juice, and then at Zelas, and then at Lina, and promptly sweatdropped. Lina smiled awkwardly.
"Hey, Zel!" she said weakly.
"Um..." he said. He nodded at the girl offering him some juice. "Is that who I think she is?"
"Depends who you think I am," said the girl simply. "Will you have some?"
"Um... no thanks," said Zelgadis. The girl kept on.
"I mean, if you think I'm the princess of Zoana, I'm not. I'm not royalty either. And I'm not a guy..." Zel just looked at her.
"Um... Zel," said Lina hesitantly. "That's...um... Lord Beastmaster, Zelas."
"Oh, I thought so,..." said Zel quietly. Lina nodded slowly.
"So, anyway Zel, I have a question for you." said Lina. She whispered in his ear... Zel sweatdropped and looked at her as if she were crazy.
"And you're asking me???" said Zel. Lina nodded and batted her eyelashes at him.
"So, tell me, what should I do???" Her eyes were huge and watery. They were really big. He didn't understand how they could stay on her face... "Sure, I guess so..." said Zel. Lina nodded to Zelas.
"Okey dokey!!!" said Zelas. She snapped her fingers and Xellos appeared. He happened to be holding a glass to his ear. He froze and quickly hid the glass. Or at least, he tried to. Lina saw it and grabbed the glass away from him.
"Xellossss...." she growled.
"Yes, Lina chan???" he asked cutely, hopping she wasn't too mad.
"What is this?" she asked. Zel stepped back and waited for the Xellos- bashing to begin. Zelas smiled cutely and also stepped back.
"Um... a glass, Lina chan..." said Xellos.
"And what are you doing with a glass at your ear?" she asked with a dangerously quiet voice. Xellos was about to speak, but Lina kept on. "And if you say, 'That's a secret'... I will majorly kick your butt into the middle of next week after sticking you in one of Amelia's pep talk sessions." Xellos blanched.
"Um... I.... hehe... I was..." started Xellos, getting a tad bit nervous. He began to play with the corner of his robe.
"Yes, Xellos??" asked Lina
"I was... letting my ear drink some wine..." he said with a major smile on his face. Lina sweatdropped before she broke the glass on his head and then started pounding him.
"You stupid, silly, idiotic, crazy, mentally handicapped Mazoku!!!!!!!" shouted Lina as she shook him after his pounding.
"Itai..." said Xellos.
"Anyway, Xellos," said Zelas. "I want you to show Zelgadis and Lina to their rooms. They are staying tonight with us."
"Whooooopeeeee!!" said Xellos as he disentangled himself from Lina's clutches and jumped around the room. "Yaaaaaah!!! Lina chan and Zel are staying for supper with us, Lina chan and Zel are staying for supper with us..."
"Fruity Mazoku," said Lina as she bopped him in the head as he came back. Zelas just smiled.
Later on... in Lina's room...
Lina smiled to herself. The room was very nice, it just had an over- touch of red... but it was nice. She decided to take a bath before having supper. Who knew when would be the next time she'd have one. So, with a smile on her face, she ran to the bathroom.
Fifteen minutes later...
Xellos knocked on the door. Hm.... how weird, no answer... perhaps Lina had fallen asleep. Well, he was charged with the duty of telling the guests that it was going to be time to eat in a few minutes. Anyway, back to the present task... nobody was answering... was Lina OK? He cautiously opened the door and walked in. He was surprised at the change the room had gone through. Before Lina, it was very, very neat. After all, he himself had cleaned it up on orders of the Beastmaster. Of course, clean up for him meant... that everything went in different places. Anyway, it had looked very neat and clean. Now,... it looked like as if a hurricane had passed through and had paid extra attention to the room. It looked very, very, very messy. And more importantly, Lina wasn't there.
"Lina!!" he shouted. No answer. "Lina!!!" There was a muffled sound coming from the adjoining room. Fearing the worst, he ran and burst into the room. He froze..., for he had forgotten that the adjoining room was the bathroom. Lina looked at him with a raised eyebrow.
"Didn't you hear me say that I was coming???" asked a towel-clad and red faced sorceress. As it was, the towels were dripping wet, and well, didn't leave much to the imagination. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll just fry you in little pieces. FIREBALL!!!!" There was a huge explosion. Xellos went flying with a silly grin on his face.
"Little pervert," said Lina as she slammed the door shut.
For supper...
Xellos came into the dining room, in a cute little chef's hat and white apron with purple trim and a smiley face on the center carrying a covered dish of something.
"Please, tell me you didn't cook supper..." said Lina with a pale face. She and Zel were sitting at a table along with Zelas, still in little girl form.
"Why Lina, I'm hurt!" said the Mazoku as he put the plate down. "And why don't you want me to cook?"
"Don't you remember the puppet incident?" asked Lina, referring to one of the many adventures. You put on a pink apron and cooked a monstrosity and because of you, we lost that contest!!!"
"Oh, now that you mention it, you're right!" said Xellos. He smiled and went back inside to bring in more plates. Lina sighed. Zel just stared at the covered dish. Chibi-Zelas just giggled.
Finally, the time for truth had come... They all watched quietly as Xellos uncovered all the plates.
"No need to worry," said Xellos. "I made them all extremely edible for you!" Lina blanched. "Just kidding!!! Hahaha!!! You're so funny, Lina chan!!!" Lina glared at him. "Zelas ordered them."
Supper was sort of expected, considering that it was Zelas who ordered it. There was roast pork in red wine, and a side dish of rice with a slice of lemon on it. And salad, and bread with a Sephyrian grape preserves. For drinks, there was rich Sephyrian wine, but Lina and Zel decided to drink grape juice, which had a very weird taste to it... hopefully, it wasn't too spiked...
*****
That night, Lina was exhausted... majorly. So she bolted the room, brushed her teeth and collapsed on the bed with out writing in her journal. Within seconds, she was fast asleep, forgetting about the dreams she normally had.
She found herself on a barren field. There was nothing there, no plants, no rocks, nothing, but the hot sun beating down on her and the ground below. There was nobody there. And it was lonely... until a little rainbow started to grow from the rock hard ground. It was a black and gold rainbow and grew to amazing proportions, spiraling as it reached for the skies. And right beside it, grew a little twig that soon turned into a ... signpost??? The words on it were... "Climb the rainbow." Lina sweatdropped and slowly climbed up the rainbow. It had shaped itself into a type of staircase by now. She climbed for what seemed for her a long time. Not that it mattered much. Whenever she got hungry or thirsty, a green and purple polka dotted cloud would fly by with something to eat or drink. The cloud would politely stay there until Lina finished and then it would go away with the trash. Finally she reached the top. There was a huge upside down dome made of glass filled with water, and it was huge. Right in the middle of it, there was a little island with candies and sweets growing everywhere. She spied a little boat that said "Row me." So she did... The sky here was more colorful, and brighter, but in a refreshing way. Once she got to the middle of the 'lake', she got on the island. Behind her, appeared a little frog.
"Greetings!!!" it said. Lina jumped.
"Uh..." she said intelligently as she stared at the frog. It was very, very small. It could fit in the palm of her hand.
"Welcome to Frog Isle. Her highness, Chaos Amph awaits you." The little frog jumped high in the air and gave a very loud croak. Out of the plants and underneath some rocks came a little frog which slowly turned into a huge glossy, black horse as it jumped towards Lina.
"Um..." said Lina. "Am I supposed to ride it?" The frog croaked and nodded. Lina nervously got on it, and the frog-turned-horse bore her away to a clearing where a little girl with huge cerulean eyes and green hair stood.
"Greetings, Chosen One," said the girl. "I am Queen Chaos Amph, or as you know me, Lord of Nightmares!!!" She smiled, revealing a row of gleaming white teeth.
"Huh??" asked Lina as she got off. "Am I dreaming?"
"Sort of," said the girl, or LoN. "You're dreaming, but this is really happening. I made this dream world just for you. Anyway, I have a question for you."
"I have one too," said Lina. "I thought you were... um... different."
"I am, just that right now, I don't feel like being too serious. Anyway, here's my question. Do you want to be one of my Chosen Knights??"
"Huh??"
"It'll be very fun, and you'll get to have cool powers!!!"
"And what if I say no? I mean, I don't even know what I'll do!"
"OK, if you become my knight, I promise, lot's of fun, you won't have to kill your friends because I'm not planning that, you can choose your own uniform, you'll help me play the biggest practical joke on the world and you'll find the love of your life!!! What do you think???" Lina just stared.
Author's notes...
So, what do you think??? Personally, I really enjoyed writing the chapter; It was so fun!!!!!.... Anyway, I have a question for all of you... I have been thinking (because I do think, just not always) I can make it into a humor fic or make it serious..., and I can't decide... cause you see, I love writing both... (sometimes I'm sort of angsty and like depressing stuff, but usually I like something brighter, and happier...)
So, send your votes in!!! Your options are...
1. make it serious
2. make it funny
3. whichever...
4. stop writing
()_()
=( . . )=
q-( )-p
5. make you all guys chocolate chip cookies
6. keep on writing
()_()
=( . . )=
b-( )-d
Have a great Chinese New Year!!!! Welcome to the Year of the Horse!!!! Chinese New Year is celebrated the 12th, 13th and 14th of February this year. Consider this a little present from my part to yours. Thank you for all the encouragement, people!!!!
Hotaru Kimiko
PS... do notice, because I'm doing a mini-poll, I can't get the next chapter out till you guys answer me... so R and R, and C and C, or just e- mail me at hml_kimiko@hotmail.com
THANX!!!!!
PPS... If ff.net screwed up my format, there are supposed to be little mice. One after option 4, and after option 6. One has thumbs up, one has thumbs down. ^.^;;
PPPS... And thanks to Misao Nakuru Mou for teaching me the mousey!!!!
Quote for the chapter...
"A friend is a person with whom you dare to be yourself."
-Pam Brown
"Why did they nail his hands and feet? His love would have held him there."
-Michael Card
"There's a kind of magic in masks. Masks conceal one face, but they reveal another. The one that only comes out in darkness."
-Granny Weatherwax (Maskerade by Terry Pratchett)