Slayers: To the End...
By the Sneaky Chibi Otaku Geek
Disclaimer... Slayers doesn't belong to me. I don't own any of the characters, except for the weird ones you have never heard of until you began to read today. ^^ Please enjoy.
Chapter 18 Storytelling time!...
Xellos sat on a tree as he thumbed through a large book. His finger was going down the table of contents as he softly read the headings out loud.
"Um... let's see.... Chaos magic's strongest attacks,... Chaos magic's weakest attacks,.... Chaos magic's middle attacks,.... What to do when tied with black magic absorption rope,... What to do when tied with white magic absorption rope,... What to do when tied with chaos magic absorption rope,... What to do when tied with rope that absorbs all magics,... New spells to use while in air,.... New spells to use while on ground/Chaotic shamanism... New spells to use while under water,... New spells to use while in the Astral Plane,... Your Chaos Staff and you,... Your Chaos Sword and you,..." He closed the book and his eyes. There were many things in there. He had only seen a few things and hadn't had enough time to read everything in the book. It would take time learning all the new spells... and he was looking for Lina's condition and how Chaos magic would affect her during 'that time of the month.'
"Why don't you have an index?" asked Xellos crossly at the book. When a little translucent blue fairy appeared, he nearly died from shock.
"I am The Index, how can I help you?" asked the little fairy. Xellos peered at her closely. She wore a blue gown with little blue shoes. Her hair was also blue. And she had her hair put up in an elaborate braid. Her gown had little Greek characters embroidered all over it. And she wore pink reading glasses that kept on slipping from her nose.
"Um... how interesting..." said Xellos as he kept on staring at her. The little fairy took a step back from his scrutinizing, slit, purple gaze. "I'm looking for information on women conditions and their relations with Chaos magic." The fairy blushed.
"Page 3578," she said. "Why would you want to know that?"
"Sore wa himitsu desu!" he said to the fairy. Then he winked at her. "What do you think?" The fairy turned purple.
"If that is all I will be leaving now." she said. He nodded. She vanished. When she was gone, he laughed softly to himself. He turned to page 3578. The title? Chaos Magic and Your Changing Female Body. Part 1,... Your period and you.
Xellos looked at the title... well... yeah... that was what he wanted to know... Just out of curiosity, he paged to the next chapter. He read the title to himself.
"Chaos Magic and Your Changing Female Body. Part 2,... Magic and Intercourse... interesting..." said Xellos as he noted the page number. He would have to read this later. Yes he would. Now, to find out about Lina's problem...
"As all female magic users know, the changing body is sometimes the biggest obstacle when trying to perform your daily duties or magic..." read Xellos. He continued. By the time he had finished reading the whole chapter, he smiled to himself and vanished from sight.
*****
Lina woke up and scowled at the bars holding her in. This was stupid. This was pathetic. This was driving her nuts! She couldn't cast anything! Well, not anything worth casting to seriously maim Mazoku... She sat down, careful not to touch the bars. She was in enough pain already, thank you very much. She bent double for a minute, while gritting her teeth. She'd have to find another pad soon... too bad Mazoku don't usually have pads around... All of a sudden, she remembered her sword. Maybe that could help her get out. She searched her skirts for her sword, but couldn't find it.
"This is stupid!" she said out loud.
"It is, I agree." said a voice beside her. Lina jumped and turned around, her hand trying to form a fireball before she remembered that she couldn't cast magic. She stared into amethyst eyes. "Hello Lina chan!" he said with a dopey smile.
"Aargh! Xellos! Get me out of here, you silly ex-Mazoku!" said Lina. Her smile and twinkling eyes softened the harsh tone of her words.
"Yare, yare, Lina chan." he said. "Always so impatient. Don't you want to know what I learned?"
"If you read the scroll before I have, you are dead." said Lina as she crossed her arms.
"Me? Of course not!" said Xellos. "I'm hurt!" He grinned at her.
"Well, then... only if it's important." said Lina. "I don't have time for your little jokes."
"My, Lina chan... I'm so hurt! Don't you trust me?" asked Xellos. "I always tell you important stuff."
"Yeah, and you leave out the rest... Now, out with it." said Lina. Truth be told, she was glad to see Xellos. What she hated was to let him see how dependent she could be on him at times. Especially during the dreaded... 'time of the month' junk.
"You have to guess, Lina chan!" said Xellos. He tossed her sword to her.
"Thanks, you fruitcake." she said. She tried to cut through the barrier with her sword. Nothing very interesting happened. "So, what am I supposed to do?"
"Use your sword." said Xellos, with a smile, thoroughly enjoying her annoyance. Besides... he still enjoyed teasing people, especially his Lina chan.
"I did." she said.
"You did it wrong." Smile.
"OK, I'll bite. How am I supposed to use it then?" she asked, clearly annoyed.
He smiled. Hook, line and sinker... "Channel Chaos magic through your sword." He smiled, vanished into her cage, gave her a small kiss, and vanished again. Lina was about to scream with rage when she heard footsteps. She quickly hid her sword and composed herself, by sticking a huge glare on her face. Numik/Kimun walked in.
"How do you do, Princess?" he asked agreeably.
"Better than what you are going to feel when I get my hands on your sorry neck." said Lina.
"My, my, my... so vibrant, so funny and witty even during times of utter despair and hopelessness." She glared at him. "It's not like you could do much anyway, Miss Lina. Not with your delicate condition."
"Oh, shut up." said Lina. "Just you wait... You can't keep me here forever."
"I can too."
"You can't.
"Can."
"Can't."
"Can."
"Can't, can't, can't."
"Can, can, can." retorted Lina. Good, while the idiot of the Mazoku was having fun teasing her and playing childish games, she decided to trust her ex-Mazoku fiancee. Just like she had when she hadn't known him too well... She stuck her tongue out at him. He did it to her. She took out her sword and called out to the Lord of Nightmares. With glee, she noticed the pommel stone glowing like the sun. And from the edge of the blade, she could see the Mazoku's surprised look. Perfect. With a silent swish, she ran her sword through the bars of black magic. The blade didn't even have to touch them before they disintegrated before her eyes. She got in ready stance, one hand holding her dress, the other her sword.
"Can too!" she said with a wicked smile, before she charged him. Xellos watched from the shadows. This was so fun! It was so nice that Lina had trusted him.
Numik frowned as he made his own sword appear. He had been told that he had to capture Lina, and he had... of course, she was now fighting him. Darn it,... she was good with her sword. She was before, but now that she seemed to have complete control of her magic, they were more evenly matched. Had she just been teasing him by not using her magic and causing him to be overconfident and that way, plan his downfall? Probably. That Inverse was one sly serpent. He brought his sword down, just to have it blocked by Lina's sword. They stood there, both of them doing a contest of strength and wills as they stood there, swords locked. All of a sudden, Lina grinned, and kicked him in the stomach. He backed off, and Lina kicked him in the groin. He winced. That had hurt a lot... the little.... She grinned and pulled out a long strand of hair. With a smile, she cast a spell on it, one he had never heard. Poor Mazoku. This one hadn't paid much attention to Lina's recent life and developments. "Played with yarn, and played with twine, Feline's play, child's toy, Bind this one who in my presence stands, and drain him clean with contagious joy! Cat's Cradle, Variant 3!" She grinned, an honestly happy smile decorating her face. The hair in her hands shimmered in the air, floating for a while before it lengthened. It shimmered and then turned from ruby to a gold orange. It tightened around Numik and then vanished. He stood up, his face twisted into a huge smile that threatened to split his face in half.
"What did you do to me?" he growled. Or at least... he tried, but his face didn't allow it. And it didn't come out in a menacing tone... it sounded... happy. And glad and joyful... He was going to majorly puke if this continued. He concentrated on his hand and took out a ball of black magic. Just as he was going to throw it at her, it sputtered and died, it's magic flying to her in a harmless way where she reigned it in and watched it dissipate.
"I don't know... but whatever I did, I think you liked it." said Lina with a smile. "You're smiling, after all."
"What did you do!" he shouted. Lina snapped her fingers and the hair that had vanished appeared on him, tying him up and gagging him.
"Like someone I know says.... Sore wa himitsu desu!" She closed her eyes and wagged a finger at him. He felt the bile rise in his throat from all the happiness that came from both her and him. She laughed and vanished.
*****
She appeared in Kimun's room, Xellos beside her.
"Thank you." she said as she hugged him. Xellos nearly bent over as his mind was suddenly inundated with a ton of happy thoughts.
"What was that?" he asked her.
"Sore wa himitsu desu!" she said with a giggle. She calmed down and toned down her level of happiness. Sure, he was happy also, but her spell caused a lot of happiness to float around her. He frowned at her for stealing his phrase.
"Lina..." he whined. She giggled and leaned against him. She took him to a sofa and rested.
"That was a game I found the girl's playing when I was in Seerin." she said. "I just used it as a base for my spells. The game is called Cat's Cradle. You get a piece of string, tie it into a loop and make symmetrical figures. You know my shield I made that night, long time ago..." Xellos nodded. He remembered the shield. It had been thin and delicate, but strong. "... that was another variant. The actual spell is a shape-shifting string that ties up the person and drains their magic. Variant 3 ties them up and infuses them with a healthy dose of joy and happiness to go along with it. Oh, and the other one can't help but smile. It's quite amusing to watch, really. It was meant for the girls to learn simple magic and get them to goof off. It obviously has other uses." She smiled and closed her eyes with a sigh of contentment. He put his arm around her. "How did you know I could cast magic? I didn't know.... I was about to scream and yell at you for not noticing that I was...um... sick."
"You didn't read your manual, did you?" asked Xellos as he put his head on hers.
"I did too!" said Lina indignantly. "I read the first chapter." Xellos sweat dropped. That was the chapter with the most destructive spells.
"How about chapter 56?" asked Xellos.
Lina fidgeted. "Um... no..."
"Thought so," said Xellos, a smug smile on his face. Then Lina stood up suddenly and ran to the bathroom.
"I'll be back!" she said before the room slammed shut. Xellos smiled. Lina was so unpredictable. It was quite cool, really.
When Lina finished dealing with her complications,... they put together a plan to cover themselves.
"Are you sure this will work?" asked Xellos as he looked at the script that Lina had written out for him. They were going to erase everybody's memories and then write out something for them. Which was why Lina had written a quick story and forced him to read it. "It's a silly story."
"WHAT?????" asked Lina, her eyes glinting dangerously.
"Um... nothing Lina chan. I was just saying how sensible you are!" said Xellos as he rubbed the back of his head awkwardly.
"Good." said Lina. She was going to get the energy required to put up a huge shield that would contain all the magic going on inside it without any leakage to the outsides areas. With a quick chant, her talismans started to glow their gold color, complete with their sporadic flashes of silver and black. As soon as she had the energy, she raised her hands up, her eyes shut with concentration. Xellos watched her at work. Seeing Lina channel so much raw power was truly a wonderful sight. There weren't many who had as much talent and control as Lina,... and now, with almost unlimited power at the tips of her fingers... well, it was truly awe inspiring. Not that he couldn't do it also... but he was different. He was a Mazoku, although also a Chaos being at the present moment. Lina had been human, coming from a race of ordinary and mundane people. Even as a human, she had been magnificent, no one coming close to her when it came to Black Magic.
"Xellos...." growled Lina, staring at him through narrow eyes. "Stop staring at me and read the stupid script!" He grinned and took a deep breath. All the servants were inside her magic shield....
"This morning, a truly wonderful and magnificent person was expected at the Setran Castle. This wonderful and charming lady was the Princes of Urdia, Princess Lina." He made a face. "Now... Lina was a beautiful princess with ruby eyes and crimson hair... and she was here to get married to the Prince of Setra, Prince Numik...."
******
(Fifteen minutes later)
"... and so, Prince Numik decided that although Princess Lina was a very charming lady, it wasn't right of him to force her to marry him. So, he ordered the wedding to be canceled and gave all the food to the Princess so that she could give it to the poor and needy. Also, he had her belongings moved to a real guest room for the night and would let her go early tomorrow in the morning. As a gift of good will for being so nice of a Princess, the Prince gave her one fourth of his fortune. Wasn't he nice? The End." said Xellos. It was an amusing story to say the least. Lina sighed and dropped the shield. She sank to the floor, the casting of magic having worn her out. It wasn't often one had to hold so much magic in a fixed shape for over five minutes. Xellos snapped his fingers and once more, the hustle and bustle around the castle started up.
Lina closed her eyes and sighed. It was done. The servants were fast asleep and the moon was out. She was packing a few things. Tomorrow she'd go back to her parents and explain that the Prince had changed his mind and then that night, she'd read the scroll and go back home. Yeah... Xellos was reading through the manual book, looking very interested. She tried to see or read his mind, but it was tightly shut. He had just grinned at her and said "Sore wa himitsu desu!" Of course... if you looked at him carefully, you noticed his black eye and his bruising cheek... Lina hadn't taken it very well, to say the least. Lina looked out the window and sighed. The night was very calm and quiet. It'd be nice to go out and fly like the girl out there, but if anyone saw her.... wait a minute. She peered closely at the sky, her eyes narrowing to see better. Yeah,.. there was a girl flying in the sky, and she was flying towards them.
"Um... Xellos." she said.
"Hm...?" asked Xellos, still reading fervently.
"Magic is banned here, right?" she asked.
"Yeah..." said Xellos. He turned the page and smiled. This was so interesting!
"So, care to tell me why there is a girl flying towards us?" asked Lina. She could see the girl was quickly approaching. Xellos made an affirmative sounding noise, not paying much attention. He did pay attention when Lina was pushed back by a dark blur and said blur had a firm grip on him. Lina stood up and looked at it dangerously. It, turned out to be a girl... who was talking to Xellos...
"Oh, Xellos kun! How are you? What are you doing here? And who is she?" asked Misty, her brown eyes staring adoringly at him.
"Yes, Xellos kun... who is she?" asked Lina, echoing the girls question, sarcasm dripping like yogurt.
"Um... jeje... I can explain..." said Xellos, trying to calm the two girls down. Misty was eyeing Lina critically, the two staring at each other. If looks could move mountains, their glares would have re arranged most of the world by now...
"Ah.. I get it!" said Misty. "Xellos kun! You are so smart! Corner the Princess here and kill her. It'll seem as if the Prince of Setra murdered her. Not that I would mind." Lina's eyes narrowed as she clenched her hands.
"Xellos... you have exactly 5 minutes to explain just who SHE is... and three passed already..." said Lina with an extremely menacing tone.
"Um... Lina... this is Misty... the sidekick to Xellos in this world." said Xellos.
"Not just sidekick! I'm also his girlfriend!" declared Misty triumphantly. Her eyes dared Lina to beat that.
"You're what?" asked Lina to Xellos.
"No, not to me! To the other Xellos!" said Xellos as he tried to calm Lina down. It wasn't working very well. She had taken out an hourglass and was staring at him.
"And Misty... this is a fellow demon hunter." he said, thinking up of a quick lie to tell her.
"Oh... so.. now, I'm just a 'fellow demon hunter?'" asked Lina sarcastically. "I'll show you a demon hunter, you...." Lina started to say before Xellos put his arms around her and kissed her on the cheek.
"And my soon to be wife." he said, hoping Lina wouldn't blow up and kill him and Misty and the castle and everything around them within a 15 mile radius. Lina tried to speak, but found that she had no words to say... so she blushed hotly. It was nice to have him holding her like that. Misty's eyes teared up and her lower lip trembled.
"Xellos....kun...? Does that mean... you don't love me anymore? That you'll never call me your Sugar Bunny again?" she asked tearfully. At this, Lina lost hold of her temper and let it consume all its way. Which happened to be Xellos at the present moment.
"XELLOS!!!!!!" she shouted before punting him out the window. "YOU IDIOT!" *****
(47.38 minutes later and two more trips for Xellos via Lina Airways....)
"So, I think I get it this time." said Misty. Lina sighed. "You and Xellos kun are from a different dimension."
"I'm not your Xellos kun." said Xellos automatically. He had a blacker eye than before, and was holding an ice pack to his head. Lina sure could pack a punch....
"OK... and you two are demon hunters sent to find a demon here." said Misty. Lina crossed her fingers. So far so good.
"So, Lina and Xellos... are engaged and were looking for the demon. Lina as the Princess, Xellos as a rebel leader." Xellos nodded encouragingly.
"And that is why you know magic. And you found the demon?" asked Misty.
"Yes." said Lina. "And we killed it and banished it." She was sitting beside Xellos.
"So, where's my Xellos?" asked Misty.
"He'll probably be back in two days." said Xellos. OK, they were doing fine so far...
"But I don't get it..." said Misty. "If Lina is really your fiancee, why doesn't she have an engagement ring?" Lina glared at Xellos. Xellos gulped. Some things never change.
*****
The next day passed without many explosions happening around the trip. Lina was forced to endure a very long trip back home. But that was OK. She spent the whole ride with Xellos. They just sat together and talked softly so that no one would know that Xellos was there also. She got home, explained matters to her parents in very simple words and with a very high decibel level. They had accepted, specially after seeing the gold she brought back with her. That night... while reading the Prophecy... "Once upon a time there was a very hot sorceress dude type of lady. She was really strong and powerful and had a fiery temper." read Xellos. Lina was sitting beside him. "Hm... it's written in a different style, that's for sure."
"Ok, Ok, just get on with it." said Lina. She personally didn't like that style, even thought it was straightforward. She preferred a little more ornate... but well... Albuntra was... different, to say the least.
"OK... let's see... here we are. And this really cool sorceress dude type of lady will be fire incarnate (let's call her Fire, just like her). And she'll be destined for great things, not just pleasing anyone that comes along and offers her gold. And she'll get a message from this other really hot lady who wears white and sometimes purple and sometimes, pink, and sometimes yellow but usually gold. And Fire, along with her sidekick will do many cool things. Her sidekick, Shadow, and her, Fire, will live happily ever after. But before this happens, Fire will have lunch and eat up a piece of a slice of cake. And then she will eat a whole slice of cake. And then, along with her sidekick, and a small cat, they'll eat another slice of cake. It's a chocolate cake. And the gold lady that wears many colors will bring a plate of steak. But before Fire and Shadow can eat it, they'll have to eat one more piece of cake. But Fire won't want to, and will call on her seven dwarfs to help her eat the cake. But along came two spiders who tried to steal the cake from Fire so that she wouldn't have her plate of steak. Fire got very mad and she and Shadow and her dwarfs killed the two spiders and they got to eat their plate of steak. Fire then will get mad at one of the dwarves and hit him on the head for not sharing. And Fire and Shadow will live happily ever after. And they will be very happy except that Fire will beat up Shadow for stealing part of her steak also. The End. May the Lord of Nightmares (the gold lady that wears other colors) bless this prophecy." Xellos finished reading it.
"Interesting, wouldn't you say?" he asked. "Lot's of symbolism."
"Um... yeah." said Lina.
"What was he thinking of when he wrote it?" asked Xellos. Lina blushed.
"Not telling." she said. She then firmly shut her mind to Xellos's probing thoughts as he tried to find out.
"Come on Lina chan? Please?" asked Xellos. He was grinning as he tried to find a weakness in her mental armor. "After all, I got you a ring, didn't I?"
Lina smiled as she looked at her ring. It was a delicate gold band with a ruby and amethyst staff and sword design. Xellos used her moment of distraction to 'break in.'
"Xellos!" she shouted as he broke in and read her thoughts.
"Really?" asked Xellos as he neared her, a sly look on his face. She blushed hotly once more and backed away slightly.
"What are you planning to do, fruitcake?" she asked softly, knowing that her cheeks were once again flaming. "You know, some thoughts are meant to be private. And stop smiling at me like that..." She looked down under his gaze.
"I just find it... how shall I put it?... very interesting." He sat behind her and pulled her up to him so that he could rest his chin on her shoulder. "I also find it... very fitting." he whispered in her ear. She tried to elbow him in the stomach but he caught her arms and put his arms around her, his hands covering her smaller ones, settling over her ring. She sighed and muttered "Fruitcake." before she rested and finally fell asleep in his embrace. And after a while, he did too, resting his head on her chin, leaning slightly against Lina's ruby tresses.
The next day, Xellos went back to his camp and Lina stayed in her room. At lunchtime, they both summoned the spell that would take them back home. And that's were they appeared. Back in the real world, the one where they came from, in their own Astral Plane. Lina saluted the Lord of Nightmares who appeared before them.
"Mission Accomplished." she said. Then both her and Xellos bowed, Lina holding her sword and Xellos his staff.
"A job very well done." said the Lord of Nightmares. "I am glad to see the mission done so well and to see you two get along again. Now, go to your friends and fulfill your prophecy." She smiled at the ring that adorned Lina's left fourth finger. The two bowed once more and phased out from the Astral Plane. While traveling...
"So, how are we supposed to kill two spiders?" asked Lina.
"Sore wa himitsu desu!" said 'Shadow'. Lina laughed and Xellos joined her, their happy laughter echoing eternally in the Astral Plane.
Author's Notes Hi!!!!!! I got another chapter out! Aren't you all so proud of me? *Looks at the audience eagerly* ^^ Anyway. What do you think? You like it? Getting too silly? Getting too sappy? Not enough adventure? Comments and Criticisms are extremely welcome! Thank you all for your patience with me as I type this thing up. The story's drawing to an end and I hope you have been enjoying it. I'm planning a couple more. And a fun type of Epilogue which is bouncing around in my mind. Yeah, and hopefully, all the loose ends will be tied up in a cool braid at the end of the story. I love macramé. Not that you wanted to know that. ^^ Yeah, so... what do you think? An authoress like moi (I'm learning French! So far I can say 'I am on the floor.' It goes 'Je suis sur le plancher.' Like I'll need to say that to someone.... ^.^;;; ) needs tons and tons and trillions of encouragement cause school begins in August!!!! Waaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!!!! Quick tip to all of you. Don't take three AP courses and plan to tutor, take piano lessons and try out for Drama during your senior year. ^^ Yes, my secret is out... not that it was that much of a secret. I'll be a senior next year. And if you don't hear from me in a loooooooooooooooong time.... well, let's blame good ole senior-itis. Just kidding. I hate that stuff. It's no excuse for slacking off during your senior year. Don't do that. It's not correct. Finish your school year with a running leap, not with a wobble and a limp....^^ OK, that's my encouraging speech thingy for the chapter. I have done my civic duty to encourage all of you to do well in school. ^^ OK... I'm really tired now, so I'll sign off. Please review... and once more, thank you for all your wonderful reviews. Keep em coming! ^^ Comments and notes and cards of encouragement? Send them to hml_kimiko@hotmail.com ^^ Arigato! Have a great day and take care!
Hotaru PS... Sorry for the long author's notes....jejeje...
Quotes.....
"I don't get mad, I get even." -I have no idea.
"Procrastination is an extreme form of patience." -I have no idea.
"Procrastination is the art of keeping up with yesterday." -Unknown (at least... to me it is!)
"The pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; the optimist, the opportunity in every difficulty." - L.P. Jacks
Disclaimer... Slayers doesn't belong to me. I don't own any of the characters, except for the weird ones you have never heard of until you began to read today. ^^ Please enjoy.
Chapter 18 Storytelling time!...
Xellos sat on a tree as he thumbed through a large book. His finger was going down the table of contents as he softly read the headings out loud.
"Um... let's see.... Chaos magic's strongest attacks,... Chaos magic's weakest attacks,.... Chaos magic's middle attacks,.... What to do when tied with black magic absorption rope,... What to do when tied with white magic absorption rope,... What to do when tied with chaos magic absorption rope,... What to do when tied with rope that absorbs all magics,... New spells to use while in air,.... New spells to use while on ground/Chaotic shamanism... New spells to use while under water,... New spells to use while in the Astral Plane,... Your Chaos Staff and you,... Your Chaos Sword and you,..." He closed the book and his eyes. There were many things in there. He had only seen a few things and hadn't had enough time to read everything in the book. It would take time learning all the new spells... and he was looking for Lina's condition and how Chaos magic would affect her during 'that time of the month.'
"Why don't you have an index?" asked Xellos crossly at the book. When a little translucent blue fairy appeared, he nearly died from shock.
"I am The Index, how can I help you?" asked the little fairy. Xellos peered at her closely. She wore a blue gown with little blue shoes. Her hair was also blue. And she had her hair put up in an elaborate braid. Her gown had little Greek characters embroidered all over it. And she wore pink reading glasses that kept on slipping from her nose.
"Um... how interesting..." said Xellos as he kept on staring at her. The little fairy took a step back from his scrutinizing, slit, purple gaze. "I'm looking for information on women conditions and their relations with Chaos magic." The fairy blushed.
"Page 3578," she said. "Why would you want to know that?"
"Sore wa himitsu desu!" he said to the fairy. Then he winked at her. "What do you think?" The fairy turned purple.
"If that is all I will be leaving now." she said. He nodded. She vanished. When she was gone, he laughed softly to himself. He turned to page 3578. The title? Chaos Magic and Your Changing Female Body. Part 1,... Your period and you.
Xellos looked at the title... well... yeah... that was what he wanted to know... Just out of curiosity, he paged to the next chapter. He read the title to himself.
"Chaos Magic and Your Changing Female Body. Part 2,... Magic and Intercourse... interesting..." said Xellos as he noted the page number. He would have to read this later. Yes he would. Now, to find out about Lina's problem...
"As all female magic users know, the changing body is sometimes the biggest obstacle when trying to perform your daily duties or magic..." read Xellos. He continued. By the time he had finished reading the whole chapter, he smiled to himself and vanished from sight.
*****
Lina woke up and scowled at the bars holding her in. This was stupid. This was pathetic. This was driving her nuts! She couldn't cast anything! Well, not anything worth casting to seriously maim Mazoku... She sat down, careful not to touch the bars. She was in enough pain already, thank you very much. She bent double for a minute, while gritting her teeth. She'd have to find another pad soon... too bad Mazoku don't usually have pads around... All of a sudden, she remembered her sword. Maybe that could help her get out. She searched her skirts for her sword, but couldn't find it.
"This is stupid!" she said out loud.
"It is, I agree." said a voice beside her. Lina jumped and turned around, her hand trying to form a fireball before she remembered that she couldn't cast magic. She stared into amethyst eyes. "Hello Lina chan!" he said with a dopey smile.
"Aargh! Xellos! Get me out of here, you silly ex-Mazoku!" said Lina. Her smile and twinkling eyes softened the harsh tone of her words.
"Yare, yare, Lina chan." he said. "Always so impatient. Don't you want to know what I learned?"
"If you read the scroll before I have, you are dead." said Lina as she crossed her arms.
"Me? Of course not!" said Xellos. "I'm hurt!" He grinned at her.
"Well, then... only if it's important." said Lina. "I don't have time for your little jokes."
"My, Lina chan... I'm so hurt! Don't you trust me?" asked Xellos. "I always tell you important stuff."
"Yeah, and you leave out the rest... Now, out with it." said Lina. Truth be told, she was glad to see Xellos. What she hated was to let him see how dependent she could be on him at times. Especially during the dreaded... 'time of the month' junk.
"You have to guess, Lina chan!" said Xellos. He tossed her sword to her.
"Thanks, you fruitcake." she said. She tried to cut through the barrier with her sword. Nothing very interesting happened. "So, what am I supposed to do?"
"Use your sword." said Xellos, with a smile, thoroughly enjoying her annoyance. Besides... he still enjoyed teasing people, especially his Lina chan.
"I did." she said.
"You did it wrong." Smile.
"OK, I'll bite. How am I supposed to use it then?" she asked, clearly annoyed.
He smiled. Hook, line and sinker... "Channel Chaos magic through your sword." He smiled, vanished into her cage, gave her a small kiss, and vanished again. Lina was about to scream with rage when she heard footsteps. She quickly hid her sword and composed herself, by sticking a huge glare on her face. Numik/Kimun walked in.
"How do you do, Princess?" he asked agreeably.
"Better than what you are going to feel when I get my hands on your sorry neck." said Lina.
"My, my, my... so vibrant, so funny and witty even during times of utter despair and hopelessness." She glared at him. "It's not like you could do much anyway, Miss Lina. Not with your delicate condition."
"Oh, shut up." said Lina. "Just you wait... You can't keep me here forever."
"I can too."
"You can't.
"Can."
"Can't."
"Can."
"Can't, can't, can't."
"Can, can, can." retorted Lina. Good, while the idiot of the Mazoku was having fun teasing her and playing childish games, she decided to trust her ex-Mazoku fiancee. Just like she had when she hadn't known him too well... She stuck her tongue out at him. He did it to her. She took out her sword and called out to the Lord of Nightmares. With glee, she noticed the pommel stone glowing like the sun. And from the edge of the blade, she could see the Mazoku's surprised look. Perfect. With a silent swish, she ran her sword through the bars of black magic. The blade didn't even have to touch them before they disintegrated before her eyes. She got in ready stance, one hand holding her dress, the other her sword.
"Can too!" she said with a wicked smile, before she charged him. Xellos watched from the shadows. This was so fun! It was so nice that Lina had trusted him.
Numik frowned as he made his own sword appear. He had been told that he had to capture Lina, and he had... of course, she was now fighting him. Darn it,... she was good with her sword. She was before, but now that she seemed to have complete control of her magic, they were more evenly matched. Had she just been teasing him by not using her magic and causing him to be overconfident and that way, plan his downfall? Probably. That Inverse was one sly serpent. He brought his sword down, just to have it blocked by Lina's sword. They stood there, both of them doing a contest of strength and wills as they stood there, swords locked. All of a sudden, Lina grinned, and kicked him in the stomach. He backed off, and Lina kicked him in the groin. He winced. That had hurt a lot... the little.... She grinned and pulled out a long strand of hair. With a smile, she cast a spell on it, one he had never heard. Poor Mazoku. This one hadn't paid much attention to Lina's recent life and developments. "Played with yarn, and played with twine, Feline's play, child's toy, Bind this one who in my presence stands, and drain him clean with contagious joy! Cat's Cradle, Variant 3!" She grinned, an honestly happy smile decorating her face. The hair in her hands shimmered in the air, floating for a while before it lengthened. It shimmered and then turned from ruby to a gold orange. It tightened around Numik and then vanished. He stood up, his face twisted into a huge smile that threatened to split his face in half.
"What did you do to me?" he growled. Or at least... he tried, but his face didn't allow it. And it didn't come out in a menacing tone... it sounded... happy. And glad and joyful... He was going to majorly puke if this continued. He concentrated on his hand and took out a ball of black magic. Just as he was going to throw it at her, it sputtered and died, it's magic flying to her in a harmless way where she reigned it in and watched it dissipate.
"I don't know... but whatever I did, I think you liked it." said Lina with a smile. "You're smiling, after all."
"What did you do!" he shouted. Lina snapped her fingers and the hair that had vanished appeared on him, tying him up and gagging him.
"Like someone I know says.... Sore wa himitsu desu!" She closed her eyes and wagged a finger at him. He felt the bile rise in his throat from all the happiness that came from both her and him. She laughed and vanished.
*****
She appeared in Kimun's room, Xellos beside her.
"Thank you." she said as she hugged him. Xellos nearly bent over as his mind was suddenly inundated with a ton of happy thoughts.
"What was that?" he asked her.
"Sore wa himitsu desu!" she said with a giggle. She calmed down and toned down her level of happiness. Sure, he was happy also, but her spell caused a lot of happiness to float around her. He frowned at her for stealing his phrase.
"Lina..." he whined. She giggled and leaned against him. She took him to a sofa and rested.
"That was a game I found the girl's playing when I was in Seerin." she said. "I just used it as a base for my spells. The game is called Cat's Cradle. You get a piece of string, tie it into a loop and make symmetrical figures. You know my shield I made that night, long time ago..." Xellos nodded. He remembered the shield. It had been thin and delicate, but strong. "... that was another variant. The actual spell is a shape-shifting string that ties up the person and drains their magic. Variant 3 ties them up and infuses them with a healthy dose of joy and happiness to go along with it. Oh, and the other one can't help but smile. It's quite amusing to watch, really. It was meant for the girls to learn simple magic and get them to goof off. It obviously has other uses." She smiled and closed her eyes with a sigh of contentment. He put his arm around her. "How did you know I could cast magic? I didn't know.... I was about to scream and yell at you for not noticing that I was...um... sick."
"You didn't read your manual, did you?" asked Xellos as he put his head on hers.
"I did too!" said Lina indignantly. "I read the first chapter." Xellos sweat dropped. That was the chapter with the most destructive spells.
"How about chapter 56?" asked Xellos.
Lina fidgeted. "Um... no..."
"Thought so," said Xellos, a smug smile on his face. Then Lina stood up suddenly and ran to the bathroom.
"I'll be back!" she said before the room slammed shut. Xellos smiled. Lina was so unpredictable. It was quite cool, really.
When Lina finished dealing with her complications,... they put together a plan to cover themselves.
"Are you sure this will work?" asked Xellos as he looked at the script that Lina had written out for him. They were going to erase everybody's memories and then write out something for them. Which was why Lina had written a quick story and forced him to read it. "It's a silly story."
"WHAT?????" asked Lina, her eyes glinting dangerously.
"Um... nothing Lina chan. I was just saying how sensible you are!" said Xellos as he rubbed the back of his head awkwardly.
"Good." said Lina. She was going to get the energy required to put up a huge shield that would contain all the magic going on inside it without any leakage to the outsides areas. With a quick chant, her talismans started to glow their gold color, complete with their sporadic flashes of silver and black. As soon as she had the energy, she raised her hands up, her eyes shut with concentration. Xellos watched her at work. Seeing Lina channel so much raw power was truly a wonderful sight. There weren't many who had as much talent and control as Lina,... and now, with almost unlimited power at the tips of her fingers... well, it was truly awe inspiring. Not that he couldn't do it also... but he was different. He was a Mazoku, although also a Chaos being at the present moment. Lina had been human, coming from a race of ordinary and mundane people. Even as a human, she had been magnificent, no one coming close to her when it came to Black Magic.
"Xellos...." growled Lina, staring at him through narrow eyes. "Stop staring at me and read the stupid script!" He grinned and took a deep breath. All the servants were inside her magic shield....
"This morning, a truly wonderful and magnificent person was expected at the Setran Castle. This wonderful and charming lady was the Princes of Urdia, Princess Lina." He made a face. "Now... Lina was a beautiful princess with ruby eyes and crimson hair... and she was here to get married to the Prince of Setra, Prince Numik...."
******
(Fifteen minutes later)
"... and so, Prince Numik decided that although Princess Lina was a very charming lady, it wasn't right of him to force her to marry him. So, he ordered the wedding to be canceled and gave all the food to the Princess so that she could give it to the poor and needy. Also, he had her belongings moved to a real guest room for the night and would let her go early tomorrow in the morning. As a gift of good will for being so nice of a Princess, the Prince gave her one fourth of his fortune. Wasn't he nice? The End." said Xellos. It was an amusing story to say the least. Lina sighed and dropped the shield. She sank to the floor, the casting of magic having worn her out. It wasn't often one had to hold so much magic in a fixed shape for over five minutes. Xellos snapped his fingers and once more, the hustle and bustle around the castle started up.
Lina closed her eyes and sighed. It was done. The servants were fast asleep and the moon was out. She was packing a few things. Tomorrow she'd go back to her parents and explain that the Prince had changed his mind and then that night, she'd read the scroll and go back home. Yeah... Xellos was reading through the manual book, looking very interested. She tried to see or read his mind, but it was tightly shut. He had just grinned at her and said "Sore wa himitsu desu!" Of course... if you looked at him carefully, you noticed his black eye and his bruising cheek... Lina hadn't taken it very well, to say the least. Lina looked out the window and sighed. The night was very calm and quiet. It'd be nice to go out and fly like the girl out there, but if anyone saw her.... wait a minute. She peered closely at the sky, her eyes narrowing to see better. Yeah,.. there was a girl flying in the sky, and she was flying towards them.
"Um... Xellos." she said.
"Hm...?" asked Xellos, still reading fervently.
"Magic is banned here, right?" she asked.
"Yeah..." said Xellos. He turned the page and smiled. This was so interesting!
"So, care to tell me why there is a girl flying towards us?" asked Lina. She could see the girl was quickly approaching. Xellos made an affirmative sounding noise, not paying much attention. He did pay attention when Lina was pushed back by a dark blur and said blur had a firm grip on him. Lina stood up and looked at it dangerously. It, turned out to be a girl... who was talking to Xellos...
"Oh, Xellos kun! How are you? What are you doing here? And who is she?" asked Misty, her brown eyes staring adoringly at him.
"Yes, Xellos kun... who is she?" asked Lina, echoing the girls question, sarcasm dripping like yogurt.
"Um... jeje... I can explain..." said Xellos, trying to calm the two girls down. Misty was eyeing Lina critically, the two staring at each other. If looks could move mountains, their glares would have re arranged most of the world by now...
"Ah.. I get it!" said Misty. "Xellos kun! You are so smart! Corner the Princess here and kill her. It'll seem as if the Prince of Setra murdered her. Not that I would mind." Lina's eyes narrowed as she clenched her hands.
"Xellos... you have exactly 5 minutes to explain just who SHE is... and three passed already..." said Lina with an extremely menacing tone.
"Um... Lina... this is Misty... the sidekick to Xellos in this world." said Xellos.
"Not just sidekick! I'm also his girlfriend!" declared Misty triumphantly. Her eyes dared Lina to beat that.
"You're what?" asked Lina to Xellos.
"No, not to me! To the other Xellos!" said Xellos as he tried to calm Lina down. It wasn't working very well. She had taken out an hourglass and was staring at him.
"And Misty... this is a fellow demon hunter." he said, thinking up of a quick lie to tell her.
"Oh... so.. now, I'm just a 'fellow demon hunter?'" asked Lina sarcastically. "I'll show you a demon hunter, you...." Lina started to say before Xellos put his arms around her and kissed her on the cheek.
"And my soon to be wife." he said, hoping Lina wouldn't blow up and kill him and Misty and the castle and everything around them within a 15 mile radius. Lina tried to speak, but found that she had no words to say... so she blushed hotly. It was nice to have him holding her like that. Misty's eyes teared up and her lower lip trembled.
"Xellos....kun...? Does that mean... you don't love me anymore? That you'll never call me your Sugar Bunny again?" she asked tearfully. At this, Lina lost hold of her temper and let it consume all its way. Which happened to be Xellos at the present moment.
"XELLOS!!!!!!" she shouted before punting him out the window. "YOU IDIOT!" *****
(47.38 minutes later and two more trips for Xellos via Lina Airways....)
"So, I think I get it this time." said Misty. Lina sighed. "You and Xellos kun are from a different dimension."
"I'm not your Xellos kun." said Xellos automatically. He had a blacker eye than before, and was holding an ice pack to his head. Lina sure could pack a punch....
"OK... and you two are demon hunters sent to find a demon here." said Misty. Lina crossed her fingers. So far so good.
"So, Lina and Xellos... are engaged and were looking for the demon. Lina as the Princess, Xellos as a rebel leader." Xellos nodded encouragingly.
"And that is why you know magic. And you found the demon?" asked Misty.
"Yes." said Lina. "And we killed it and banished it." She was sitting beside Xellos.
"So, where's my Xellos?" asked Misty.
"He'll probably be back in two days." said Xellos. OK, they were doing fine so far...
"But I don't get it..." said Misty. "If Lina is really your fiancee, why doesn't she have an engagement ring?" Lina glared at Xellos. Xellos gulped. Some things never change.
*****
The next day passed without many explosions happening around the trip. Lina was forced to endure a very long trip back home. But that was OK. She spent the whole ride with Xellos. They just sat together and talked softly so that no one would know that Xellos was there also. She got home, explained matters to her parents in very simple words and with a very high decibel level. They had accepted, specially after seeing the gold she brought back with her. That night... while reading the Prophecy... "Once upon a time there was a very hot sorceress dude type of lady. She was really strong and powerful and had a fiery temper." read Xellos. Lina was sitting beside him. "Hm... it's written in a different style, that's for sure."
"Ok, Ok, just get on with it." said Lina. She personally didn't like that style, even thought it was straightforward. She preferred a little more ornate... but well... Albuntra was... different, to say the least.
"OK... let's see... here we are. And this really cool sorceress dude type of lady will be fire incarnate (let's call her Fire, just like her). And she'll be destined for great things, not just pleasing anyone that comes along and offers her gold. And she'll get a message from this other really hot lady who wears white and sometimes purple and sometimes, pink, and sometimes yellow but usually gold. And Fire, along with her sidekick will do many cool things. Her sidekick, Shadow, and her, Fire, will live happily ever after. But before this happens, Fire will have lunch and eat up a piece of a slice of cake. And then she will eat a whole slice of cake. And then, along with her sidekick, and a small cat, they'll eat another slice of cake. It's a chocolate cake. And the gold lady that wears many colors will bring a plate of steak. But before Fire and Shadow can eat it, they'll have to eat one more piece of cake. But Fire won't want to, and will call on her seven dwarfs to help her eat the cake. But along came two spiders who tried to steal the cake from Fire so that she wouldn't have her plate of steak. Fire got very mad and she and Shadow and her dwarfs killed the two spiders and they got to eat their plate of steak. Fire then will get mad at one of the dwarves and hit him on the head for not sharing. And Fire and Shadow will live happily ever after. And they will be very happy except that Fire will beat up Shadow for stealing part of her steak also. The End. May the Lord of Nightmares (the gold lady that wears other colors) bless this prophecy." Xellos finished reading it.
"Interesting, wouldn't you say?" he asked. "Lot's of symbolism."
"Um... yeah." said Lina.
"What was he thinking of when he wrote it?" asked Xellos. Lina blushed.
"Not telling." she said. She then firmly shut her mind to Xellos's probing thoughts as he tried to find out.
"Come on Lina chan? Please?" asked Xellos. He was grinning as he tried to find a weakness in her mental armor. "After all, I got you a ring, didn't I?"
Lina smiled as she looked at her ring. It was a delicate gold band with a ruby and amethyst staff and sword design. Xellos used her moment of distraction to 'break in.'
"Xellos!" she shouted as he broke in and read her thoughts.
"Really?" asked Xellos as he neared her, a sly look on his face. She blushed hotly once more and backed away slightly.
"What are you planning to do, fruitcake?" she asked softly, knowing that her cheeks were once again flaming. "You know, some thoughts are meant to be private. And stop smiling at me like that..." She looked down under his gaze.
"I just find it... how shall I put it?... very interesting." He sat behind her and pulled her up to him so that he could rest his chin on her shoulder. "I also find it... very fitting." he whispered in her ear. She tried to elbow him in the stomach but he caught her arms and put his arms around her, his hands covering her smaller ones, settling over her ring. She sighed and muttered "Fruitcake." before she rested and finally fell asleep in his embrace. And after a while, he did too, resting his head on her chin, leaning slightly against Lina's ruby tresses.
The next day, Xellos went back to his camp and Lina stayed in her room. At lunchtime, they both summoned the spell that would take them back home. And that's were they appeared. Back in the real world, the one where they came from, in their own Astral Plane. Lina saluted the Lord of Nightmares who appeared before them.
"Mission Accomplished." she said. Then both her and Xellos bowed, Lina holding her sword and Xellos his staff.
"A job very well done." said the Lord of Nightmares. "I am glad to see the mission done so well and to see you two get along again. Now, go to your friends and fulfill your prophecy." She smiled at the ring that adorned Lina's left fourth finger. The two bowed once more and phased out from the Astral Plane. While traveling...
"So, how are we supposed to kill two spiders?" asked Lina.
"Sore wa himitsu desu!" said 'Shadow'. Lina laughed and Xellos joined her, their happy laughter echoing eternally in the Astral Plane.
Author's Notes Hi!!!!!! I got another chapter out! Aren't you all so proud of me? *Looks at the audience eagerly* ^^ Anyway. What do you think? You like it? Getting too silly? Getting too sappy? Not enough adventure? Comments and Criticisms are extremely welcome! Thank you all for your patience with me as I type this thing up. The story's drawing to an end and I hope you have been enjoying it. I'm planning a couple more. And a fun type of Epilogue which is bouncing around in my mind. Yeah, and hopefully, all the loose ends will be tied up in a cool braid at the end of the story. I love macramé. Not that you wanted to know that. ^^ Yeah, so... what do you think? An authoress like moi (I'm learning French! So far I can say 'I am on the floor.' It goes 'Je suis sur le plancher.' Like I'll need to say that to someone.... ^.^;;; ) needs tons and tons and trillions of encouragement cause school begins in August!!!! Waaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!!!! Quick tip to all of you. Don't take three AP courses and plan to tutor, take piano lessons and try out for Drama during your senior year. ^^ Yes, my secret is out... not that it was that much of a secret. I'll be a senior next year. And if you don't hear from me in a loooooooooooooooong time.... well, let's blame good ole senior-itis. Just kidding. I hate that stuff. It's no excuse for slacking off during your senior year. Don't do that. It's not correct. Finish your school year with a running leap, not with a wobble and a limp....^^ OK, that's my encouraging speech thingy for the chapter. I have done my civic duty to encourage all of you to do well in school. ^^ OK... I'm really tired now, so I'll sign off. Please review... and once more, thank you for all your wonderful reviews. Keep em coming! ^^ Comments and notes and cards of encouragement? Send them to hml_kimiko@hotmail.com ^^ Arigato! Have a great day and take care!
Hotaru PS... Sorry for the long author's notes....jejeje...
Quotes.....
"I don't get mad, I get even." -I have no idea.
"Procrastination is an extreme form of patience." -I have no idea.
"Procrastination is the art of keeping up with yesterday." -Unknown (at least... to me it is!)
"The pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; the optimist, the opportunity in every difficulty." - L.P. Jacks