Hello ya all. This is me (waves). And this in my first fic (smiles). So please be kind (threatens).
D: I do not own them. Well kind of;)
CHAPTER ONE:
Shock!
A newcomer!!
( And the circumstances surrounding it!)
People say, that this lake cannot be approached by any mortal being.
People say, that the monster from its depths cannot be defeated by any force.
People say many strange things...
-DRAGON... SLAAAVE!!!!- a huge, burning ball of energy flew out of the hands of a young, red haired girl. It went roaring through the still surface of the water and hit a lizard with an electric eel crossover- the so called monster. The above mentioned creature took a few steps backwards, blinked in total shock with its two yellow ugly eyes and sank into the lake.
- Invincible, huh?- smirked the winner with contempt, wiping the splashed water from her forehead with the corner of her cape. Suddenly, she smiled broadly, turned around and headed back to three of her friends, seated comfortably under a nearby tree. Each of them held two sheets of paper over their heads.
- 9.9... 9.8... 8.2?!?! Amelia!!!!!!!
- I'm sorry miss Lina- the young, dark haired juror blushed furiously from head to toe- But I just couldn't give you the highest score, when this monster looked so... harmless... and pathetic.
- But you've heard the legend! An invincible monster from the depths of an unapproachable lake...
- It's because of the surrounding rocks- Lina was cut off by one of the two men left. Even a beginning apprentice in magic could, without any doubts, tell that he was a chimera- a combination of a human, golem and demon. Whether he would first recognize it by his rough, rocky skin texture or the blue color of it was still under discussion.- We just flew over them, but the local people probably considered them invincible, because of the lack of magic outside of the barrier.
There was silence. Deadly one.
- I'm sure, that, after a moment of consideration, you would came up with the same explanation- the man added, gulping.
The sorceress was on the verge of exploding.
- I' m sure, that I would, Zelgadiss...- a little, red sphere began forming in her hands.- but still I wiped out the monster in an absolutely perfect way! Fire Ball!!
The only one who managed to escape from under the tree was a tall, long haired blonde guy, and he got out of the way just because the sphere wasn't aimed directly at him. The other two, target receivers of the spell, still sat in their places, their skin an intensive shade of brown. And there was smoke coming out of them. The surviving swordsman glanced nervously at the girl and quickly raised two sheets of paper.
10.0. ^_^
Each of them failed to notice a pair of surprisingly familiar ugly yellow eyes, watching the whole scene from the middle of the lake. The water around them became visibly darker...
When it came to the fire ball scene, the eyes sweatdropped.
************
A dark figure on a dark throne smiled a dark smile and snapped his dark fingers, upon seeing the lake scene in his (well, obviously) dark orb called the Corridor Of Watch.
- Came closer, Shinzette.
A tall, definitely woman figure separated from the ubiquitous shadows and approached the mirror. She was beautiful, with pale skin and incredibly silver eyes, that sparkled every time they caught light. She was wearing a sleeveless, silk tunic, that was matching her eyes and a light blue leather belt, that underlined her slim waist. The tunic was ending slightly above her knees, but had two deep cuts on both sides. Her ankle length shoes with high heels matched the belt.
The only dark thing about her was the hair- incredibly long, wavy, deep shade of black except for the light blue endings. There was also a spiky fringe.
Oh, and she had wings. Beautiful, light blue, angel-like wings. She unfolded them, when she knelt before her master.
- Look into the COW.- he commanded.
Shinzette sweatdropped at the sound of the abbreviation, but obediently walked to the orb.
- One of the ancient gates is ready to open. The seal is still there but its about to be broken by a foolish sorceress.
- Is it the main one, master?
- No, the main one still remains hidden. But this is one of the passageways to the world of the Knight.
Shinzette smiled, revealing her white fangs. She knew exactly what that meant. Once her masters Knight was on the surface of the Main Plane, she at last would be free to go there, after 3500 years of waiting.
- Not only you may, but you must- said the dark master, reading her mind- When the Knight arrives, he shall be unawake. You will go there and bring him to me.
- What about the ones, who unsealed the gate?
- Do whatever you please. They are unimportant.
The girl's eyes sparkled, just at the thought of the unexpected pleasure. She snapped her fingers and a long, silver whip with a black handle appeared in her left hand.
- I shall wait, and when the time is right I will carry out your orders- she said, bowing her head and slowly backing up into the darkness.
- Good- mussed her master, teleporting out of the throne room.- And I shall wake the others.
************
A young, blonde haired girl stood before an old, devastated house.
- I don't like it. It's creepy- she said, wrapping herself tighter in her jacket.
- That's the whole point- she was assured by a guy with crystal blue eyes, short dark hair and a posture of a professional boxer.- Besides, it looks a lot better during the day.
- Yeah, too bad it's midnight right now...
- Raloc, some help please!!!- a voice came from the front door. A brown haired girl and her twin brother were trying to get rid of the primitive chain, that kept the door closed.
- Ok, I'm going to help Anya & Casur- said Raloc.- Cheer up, it will be fun!- he added, seeing the girls expression.- We all agreed that this is the best way to spend Halloween. A haunted house! Come on, how cool is that!!
- It is... cool- sighted his friend- And, as you may remember, I was the one who came up with this crazy little idea. It's just this weird feeling that caught me right this moment. There is great evilness in this house...
- Ok, stop it,- Raloc was laughing but something in his eyes betrayed his real mood- if you say that in front of Anya she will freak out, and THEN we will have something to worry about! Besides...- he assuringly put his hand on her shoulder- nothing can happen to us, as long as we stay together. Isn't that what Casur always says?
And with that he went to help the twins open the door.
The girl stood alone for a couple of minutes, trying to fight the fear which came crawling up her spine every time she looked at the house.
- Yes, finally!! Come on Alariell, we're going in!
She shook her head a couple of times to get rid of the evil visions and followed her pack of trusted friends into the house.
A strange formation of clouds- a whirl of some kind- appeared above the building. And, although they were dark, a careful observer could notice little glimpses of blue- just like there was water somewhere inside them...
************
- ROARRR!!!!!- came a sound from the middle of the lake. Lina turned around and her eyes went wide.
- But I have just killed you!!!- she complained.
- ROARRR!!!!!- answered the monster.
Lina steadied herself, ready for an attack, jus like the last time. But none came. The overgrown lizard was just roaring his throat out, like he was trying to scare them away only with a verbal threat. And he looked very desperate.
Lina sat down with her legs crossed, mindless of the noise or, as a matter of fact, the horrible odor which came with it. Her friends approached the lake and stood behind her.
- Maybe he is trying to communicate- suggested Zelgadiss.
- Or maybe he is warning his other fellow monsters that finally justice has arrived and that they should beware!!- exclaimed Amelia with starry eyes.
- Or may he's singing!- said the swordsman with an almost intelligent look on his face.
Zel & Amelia hit the ground.
-Gourry!- screamed Lina and punched him right in the stomach, shaking her head in resignation- After all those years of traveling with me, you are STILL an idiot!
- So, what now?- Amelia quickly cut into the discussion- I mean with the... creature- somehow, calling this miserable animal growling in the middle of the lake a monster didn't seem appropriate.
- I don't know- replied Lina, and they all turned to face the water. In that very moment, the ekhm, monster, exhausted from all the roaring, fell flat onto the surface of the lake. All of them sweatdropped.
- Flare... Arrow?- said the sorceress and a small, arrow shaped flame came racing towards the corpse. It poked it on the head and in a flash the monster turned into dust.
And then it all began...
************
- So, this is the place, where she was murdered- announced Casur, carefully looking around a dusty, large room on the second floor. There was no furniture in here- just large, gothic style windows with rotten stores that used to be red at some point in the past. Probably the Middle ages.
Casur's three companions gathered around his back and were now curiously peeking from under and above his shoulders. For a while, nobody seemed to have any intention of moving. They just stood there, until the silence became really uncomfortable. And then a little longer.
- Ok, so this is our stop for the night- said Raloc, finally moving into the room. The others followed, bringing in some light from their flashlights. They reached the middle and again stopped in silence. A branch, casually hitting the window almost gave them heart attacks.
- Maybe, ukhm, we should like, hmm, ya now, find another place to stay?- asked Anya in a really timid voice.
- No way!- started Raloc, but was eventually cut off by another branch attack. He gulped nervously, and in the next period of unnatural silence, everyone could very clearly hear Alariell curse under her breath:
- I knew there was something wrong with this place...
- You knew, and you didn't tell us?!?!? Tell ME?!?!- Anya's voice was now high pitched. - This was a stupid idea! Let me go, I wanna go home!!!
But no matter how hard she tried to break loose, her brothers grip was well trained for situations like this.
- You can't go home right now, everyone will find out that we are gone!!- he screamed directly into her ear, with little effect. Raloc shot Alariell a death stare, and took a couple steps into the darkest corner of the room.
- ANYA, LOOK!!!- he shouted at the top of his lungs, pointing into a spot behind him.
- I don't want to, I don't want to!!!- came the reply. Raloc sweatdropped.
-There is nothing there.- he calmly explained.
Anya finally turned her face to look into the pointed direction, but only due to the active help of her brothers hands wrapped tightly around her head.
-Look, that place there, is the spot where Miss Ericasel was murdered. The potentially most haunted place in the whole house.- he gulped, when a lightening confirmed his words. - Now, I'm going to stand there and therefore prove to you, that there is nothing to be afraid of. Alariell is overreacting, as usual.
With that, he slowly started moving to the spot, for eternity marked by the stains of blood that had never come off from the wooden floor.
The whirl above the house became bigger, now disturbing everything around with its power. It began flashing, moving faster and faster, lowering itself onto the roof of the mansion. And strangely enough, it was roaring.
-Oh, for Christ's sake, I'm not always overreacting- shouted Alariell, pissed off by the accusation, and, for a moment, forgetting about her fears. Raloc stopped half way through the floor.
- And if it is such a big deal, then I will stand in this freaking doom spot- she continued, now walking with determination, past the stunned Raloc (shooting him a death stare of course) and onto the blood marked floor.
- There. And did I get blast into oblivion?? And who is overreacting now, huh?- she felt strangely happy with herself, especially upon seeing her friends frozen and pale faces. But they were not looking at her. Their attention was drawn by the, lets say meteorological phenomena located straight above the girls head. And closing.
It was too late, when Alariell realized, that her friends were all to shocked for her little act of bravery to be the cause. It was too late, when all her feelings of fear and evil came rushing back into her brain, causing her to freeze with peril. It was too late, when she finally managed to look up and saw clouds, water, wind and flashes. And a beam of extremely white light rushing towards her. She was just about to scream, when the light hit her, and everything became multicolored and really, really fast. Now she could scream, only her friends couldn't hear her, being a couple of dimensions away.
************
- Guys, come on, we have to get out of here!!!- Gourry screamed, absolutely terrified by the water show taking place in front of him. He was just about to run for safety, when in the corner of his eye he caught a glimpse of his three friends, lying cringed on the ground, obviously unable to move.
- Lina, Zel, Amelia, what's wrong?!?!
- The power...- whispered Lina through clenched teeth- it's so great... overwhelming us...
Gourry didn't hesitate for a second- he took a strong grip of the sorceress arms and tried to pull her up, only to be thrown down by a sudden blow of wind. They turned to face the lake and watched in awe as their private apocalypse began.
The lake was boiling with thick, slimy, black water- just like oil. The howling wind blowing around created a whirl out of it, that was slowly growing and rising. The sun turned a strange shade of blue, changing the whole landscape into a creepy, lunar scenery. All the trees around the lake were blown away- the only things left were three people, pressed to the ground by the impressive amount of magical energy that was being created.
And one person completely immune to magic, dangling loosely on the edge of one of the sorcerers cape.
The whirl was now huge, completely black and still howling. Suddenly, when it probably reached its highest point, it changed shape- for a second it looked like a massive door with a white, shining seal on it.
Then the seal broke.
- What the...- started Zelgadiss, but was interrupted by an enormous blast of energy, accompanied by a bright flash. He yelp in pain, as every little particle of his body took its maximum mana capacity multiplied by a thousand. He could just imagine the suffering Lina and, especially, Amelia felt, their bodies being made of flesh instead of stone. He silently cursed himself for not being able to create a proper shield.
Lina saw red spots flying in front of her eyes. The pain got so unimaginable, that she was nearly on the verge of braking down and passing out. The only reason, why she held her head up was because Gourry was holding the other end of her cape, working as a lever. She was silently watching as the blast slowly faded away, leaving the water again in a shape of a whirl.
A few seconds later, the spinning pillar collapsed, leaving a small, human shaped figure floating in mid air about 6 meters high above the ground. She was screaming.
And then, she fell.
************
- It is done.- the voice echoed through the dark throne room.
************
The pain was gone in a flash and suddenly Lina found herself able to move again.
- Is everyone all right??- she shouted, getting up on her feet.
- Yeah- answered Zel.
- I suppose- said Gourry, still a little dizzy from the dangling.
-Amelia??- Lina asked, turning into the direction of her friend.- Amelia!!!
They all quickly rushed to their unconscious friends side. The girl was laying still, blood coming out of her ears, nose and eyes, barely breathing.
- It was to much for her, all that massive power- concluded Zel, carefully rising her head and gently putting it on his lap. - I'll take care of this, you go and see what happened.
- There was someone there...- Lina said, suddenly realizing and slapping her forehead.- Some creature, maybe a human, came out of the whirl and fell into the water!!
- Go- whispered Zel, concentrating his healing powers on Amelia's forehead. Lina nodded and quickly rushed to the shore. She was about to go in, when she felt a burden attached to her cape.
- Gourry!!
- I'm sorry Lina, but my fingers are stiff and I can't let go- said the swordsman, blushing a little. The sorceress sweatdropped. And then...
- Fire Ball!!
Well, at least he wasn't slowing her down anymore. She took a couple of steps backwards, run and dived into the water, feeling pretty unsure with magic under the surface of this lake. She swam to the bottom, looking for some remains of the gate, the monster, or the destructive power of the whirl. There was nothing. Just sand and a couple of little water plants. She reached the middle of the reservoir and finally found what she was searching for- a still, human figure, floating near the surface. Using the rest of her breath, Lina caught the body and headed for the shore.
When she reached it, everything was under control- Amelia was sitting, leaning on Zelgadiss, still feeling a little dizzy. Gourry spotted the sorceress and helped her onto dry land. She knelt on the ground, breathing heavily, finally letting go of the human she was carrying in her arms.
- Who is that?- asked Amelia, slowly approaching the stranger.
- I don't know- admitted Lina, curiously looking at the body- but help is definitely needed.
Amelia nodded her head.
- Recovery!- she shouted, and white light shot out of her palms, directly into her patients chest. A moment later, it worked. The almost drowned victim of the whirl coughed, spat out some water and opened her eyes.
She was a young, quite beautiful girl, with shoulder length blonde hair, going around her head and ending in spiky claws, neatly shaped around her face. A peace of bangs, partly covering her left eye was also included. She was dressed in a pair of blue jeans, ending on her hips, and exposing her slim waist, a short sleeved, tight red shirt tied above her stomach and a fitting blue jeans jacket. Her eyes were incredibly blue and big, and, as a matter of fact got even bigger, when her vision cleared, revealing four strangers staring down at her. She jumped and squeaked in horror.
- Who... who... who are you?!?!- she asked in a trembling voice.
- I think we are the ones who should be asking this question.- quietly pointed out Zelgadiss. The girl, upon seeing the chimera, screamed and started retreating until her back made contact with a nearby rock. She was breathing quickly, finally paralyzed with fear.
Zel let out a heavy sight and sweatdropped. Gourry compassionately patted him on the back.
In the meantime, Lina crawled to the terrified figure, and quite violently shook her by the shoulders.
- Tell us who you are and then maybe we will figure out what had just happened here!!... And, of course, introduce ourselves.
To everyone's surprise, the method worked. The girl calmed dawn a little bit, set her arms free and said in a quiet, but clear voice:
- My name is Alariell Hunter and I want to know what is this place and how I got here.
D: I do not own them. Well kind of;)
CHAPTER ONE:
Shock!
A newcomer!!
( And the circumstances surrounding it!)
People say, that this lake cannot be approached by any mortal being.
People say, that the monster from its depths cannot be defeated by any force.
People say many strange things...
-DRAGON... SLAAAVE!!!!- a huge, burning ball of energy flew out of the hands of a young, red haired girl. It went roaring through the still surface of the water and hit a lizard with an electric eel crossover- the so called monster. The above mentioned creature took a few steps backwards, blinked in total shock with its two yellow ugly eyes and sank into the lake.
- Invincible, huh?- smirked the winner with contempt, wiping the splashed water from her forehead with the corner of her cape. Suddenly, she smiled broadly, turned around and headed back to three of her friends, seated comfortably under a nearby tree. Each of them held two sheets of paper over their heads.
- 9.9... 9.8... 8.2?!?! Amelia!!!!!!!
- I'm sorry miss Lina- the young, dark haired juror blushed furiously from head to toe- But I just couldn't give you the highest score, when this monster looked so... harmless... and pathetic.
- But you've heard the legend! An invincible monster from the depths of an unapproachable lake...
- It's because of the surrounding rocks- Lina was cut off by one of the two men left. Even a beginning apprentice in magic could, without any doubts, tell that he was a chimera- a combination of a human, golem and demon. Whether he would first recognize it by his rough, rocky skin texture or the blue color of it was still under discussion.- We just flew over them, but the local people probably considered them invincible, because of the lack of magic outside of the barrier.
There was silence. Deadly one.
- I'm sure, that, after a moment of consideration, you would came up with the same explanation- the man added, gulping.
The sorceress was on the verge of exploding.
- I' m sure, that I would, Zelgadiss...- a little, red sphere began forming in her hands.- but still I wiped out the monster in an absolutely perfect way! Fire Ball!!
The only one who managed to escape from under the tree was a tall, long haired blonde guy, and he got out of the way just because the sphere wasn't aimed directly at him. The other two, target receivers of the spell, still sat in their places, their skin an intensive shade of brown. And there was smoke coming out of them. The surviving swordsman glanced nervously at the girl and quickly raised two sheets of paper.
10.0. ^_^
Each of them failed to notice a pair of surprisingly familiar ugly yellow eyes, watching the whole scene from the middle of the lake. The water around them became visibly darker...
When it came to the fire ball scene, the eyes sweatdropped.
************
A dark figure on a dark throne smiled a dark smile and snapped his dark fingers, upon seeing the lake scene in his (well, obviously) dark orb called the Corridor Of Watch.
- Came closer, Shinzette.
A tall, definitely woman figure separated from the ubiquitous shadows and approached the mirror. She was beautiful, with pale skin and incredibly silver eyes, that sparkled every time they caught light. She was wearing a sleeveless, silk tunic, that was matching her eyes and a light blue leather belt, that underlined her slim waist. The tunic was ending slightly above her knees, but had two deep cuts on both sides. Her ankle length shoes with high heels matched the belt.
The only dark thing about her was the hair- incredibly long, wavy, deep shade of black except for the light blue endings. There was also a spiky fringe.
Oh, and she had wings. Beautiful, light blue, angel-like wings. She unfolded them, when she knelt before her master.
- Look into the COW.- he commanded.
Shinzette sweatdropped at the sound of the abbreviation, but obediently walked to the orb.
- One of the ancient gates is ready to open. The seal is still there but its about to be broken by a foolish sorceress.
- Is it the main one, master?
- No, the main one still remains hidden. But this is one of the passageways to the world of the Knight.
Shinzette smiled, revealing her white fangs. She knew exactly what that meant. Once her masters Knight was on the surface of the Main Plane, she at last would be free to go there, after 3500 years of waiting.
- Not only you may, but you must- said the dark master, reading her mind- When the Knight arrives, he shall be unawake. You will go there and bring him to me.
- What about the ones, who unsealed the gate?
- Do whatever you please. They are unimportant.
The girl's eyes sparkled, just at the thought of the unexpected pleasure. She snapped her fingers and a long, silver whip with a black handle appeared in her left hand.
- I shall wait, and when the time is right I will carry out your orders- she said, bowing her head and slowly backing up into the darkness.
- Good- mussed her master, teleporting out of the throne room.- And I shall wake the others.
************
A young, blonde haired girl stood before an old, devastated house.
- I don't like it. It's creepy- she said, wrapping herself tighter in her jacket.
- That's the whole point- she was assured by a guy with crystal blue eyes, short dark hair and a posture of a professional boxer.- Besides, it looks a lot better during the day.
- Yeah, too bad it's midnight right now...
- Raloc, some help please!!!- a voice came from the front door. A brown haired girl and her twin brother were trying to get rid of the primitive chain, that kept the door closed.
- Ok, I'm going to help Anya & Casur- said Raloc.- Cheer up, it will be fun!- he added, seeing the girls expression.- We all agreed that this is the best way to spend Halloween. A haunted house! Come on, how cool is that!!
- It is... cool- sighted his friend- And, as you may remember, I was the one who came up with this crazy little idea. It's just this weird feeling that caught me right this moment. There is great evilness in this house...
- Ok, stop it,- Raloc was laughing but something in his eyes betrayed his real mood- if you say that in front of Anya she will freak out, and THEN we will have something to worry about! Besides...- he assuringly put his hand on her shoulder- nothing can happen to us, as long as we stay together. Isn't that what Casur always says?
And with that he went to help the twins open the door.
The girl stood alone for a couple of minutes, trying to fight the fear which came crawling up her spine every time she looked at the house.
- Yes, finally!! Come on Alariell, we're going in!
She shook her head a couple of times to get rid of the evil visions and followed her pack of trusted friends into the house.
A strange formation of clouds- a whirl of some kind- appeared above the building. And, although they were dark, a careful observer could notice little glimpses of blue- just like there was water somewhere inside them...
************
- ROARRR!!!!!- came a sound from the middle of the lake. Lina turned around and her eyes went wide.
- But I have just killed you!!!- she complained.
- ROARRR!!!!!- answered the monster.
Lina steadied herself, ready for an attack, jus like the last time. But none came. The overgrown lizard was just roaring his throat out, like he was trying to scare them away only with a verbal threat. And he looked very desperate.
Lina sat down with her legs crossed, mindless of the noise or, as a matter of fact, the horrible odor which came with it. Her friends approached the lake and stood behind her.
- Maybe he is trying to communicate- suggested Zelgadiss.
- Or maybe he is warning his other fellow monsters that finally justice has arrived and that they should beware!!- exclaimed Amelia with starry eyes.
- Or may he's singing!- said the swordsman with an almost intelligent look on his face.
Zel & Amelia hit the ground.
-Gourry!- screamed Lina and punched him right in the stomach, shaking her head in resignation- After all those years of traveling with me, you are STILL an idiot!
- So, what now?- Amelia quickly cut into the discussion- I mean with the... creature- somehow, calling this miserable animal growling in the middle of the lake a monster didn't seem appropriate.
- I don't know- replied Lina, and they all turned to face the water. In that very moment, the ekhm, monster, exhausted from all the roaring, fell flat onto the surface of the lake. All of them sweatdropped.
- Flare... Arrow?- said the sorceress and a small, arrow shaped flame came racing towards the corpse. It poked it on the head and in a flash the monster turned into dust.
And then it all began...
************
- So, this is the place, where she was murdered- announced Casur, carefully looking around a dusty, large room on the second floor. There was no furniture in here- just large, gothic style windows with rotten stores that used to be red at some point in the past. Probably the Middle ages.
Casur's three companions gathered around his back and were now curiously peeking from under and above his shoulders. For a while, nobody seemed to have any intention of moving. They just stood there, until the silence became really uncomfortable. And then a little longer.
- Ok, so this is our stop for the night- said Raloc, finally moving into the room. The others followed, bringing in some light from their flashlights. They reached the middle and again stopped in silence. A branch, casually hitting the window almost gave them heart attacks.
- Maybe, ukhm, we should like, hmm, ya now, find another place to stay?- asked Anya in a really timid voice.
- No way!- started Raloc, but was eventually cut off by another branch attack. He gulped nervously, and in the next period of unnatural silence, everyone could very clearly hear Alariell curse under her breath:
- I knew there was something wrong with this place...
- You knew, and you didn't tell us?!?!? Tell ME?!?!- Anya's voice was now high pitched. - This was a stupid idea! Let me go, I wanna go home!!!
But no matter how hard she tried to break loose, her brothers grip was well trained for situations like this.
- You can't go home right now, everyone will find out that we are gone!!- he screamed directly into her ear, with little effect. Raloc shot Alariell a death stare, and took a couple steps into the darkest corner of the room.
- ANYA, LOOK!!!- he shouted at the top of his lungs, pointing into a spot behind him.
- I don't want to, I don't want to!!!- came the reply. Raloc sweatdropped.
-There is nothing there.- he calmly explained.
Anya finally turned her face to look into the pointed direction, but only due to the active help of her brothers hands wrapped tightly around her head.
-Look, that place there, is the spot where Miss Ericasel was murdered. The potentially most haunted place in the whole house.- he gulped, when a lightening confirmed his words. - Now, I'm going to stand there and therefore prove to you, that there is nothing to be afraid of. Alariell is overreacting, as usual.
With that, he slowly started moving to the spot, for eternity marked by the stains of blood that had never come off from the wooden floor.
The whirl above the house became bigger, now disturbing everything around with its power. It began flashing, moving faster and faster, lowering itself onto the roof of the mansion. And strangely enough, it was roaring.
-Oh, for Christ's sake, I'm not always overreacting- shouted Alariell, pissed off by the accusation, and, for a moment, forgetting about her fears. Raloc stopped half way through the floor.
- And if it is such a big deal, then I will stand in this freaking doom spot- she continued, now walking with determination, past the stunned Raloc (shooting him a death stare of course) and onto the blood marked floor.
- There. And did I get blast into oblivion?? And who is overreacting now, huh?- she felt strangely happy with herself, especially upon seeing her friends frozen and pale faces. But they were not looking at her. Their attention was drawn by the, lets say meteorological phenomena located straight above the girls head. And closing.
It was too late, when Alariell realized, that her friends were all to shocked for her little act of bravery to be the cause. It was too late, when all her feelings of fear and evil came rushing back into her brain, causing her to freeze with peril. It was too late, when she finally managed to look up and saw clouds, water, wind and flashes. And a beam of extremely white light rushing towards her. She was just about to scream, when the light hit her, and everything became multicolored and really, really fast. Now she could scream, only her friends couldn't hear her, being a couple of dimensions away.
************
- Guys, come on, we have to get out of here!!!- Gourry screamed, absolutely terrified by the water show taking place in front of him. He was just about to run for safety, when in the corner of his eye he caught a glimpse of his three friends, lying cringed on the ground, obviously unable to move.
- Lina, Zel, Amelia, what's wrong?!?!
- The power...- whispered Lina through clenched teeth- it's so great... overwhelming us...
Gourry didn't hesitate for a second- he took a strong grip of the sorceress arms and tried to pull her up, only to be thrown down by a sudden blow of wind. They turned to face the lake and watched in awe as their private apocalypse began.
The lake was boiling with thick, slimy, black water- just like oil. The howling wind blowing around created a whirl out of it, that was slowly growing and rising. The sun turned a strange shade of blue, changing the whole landscape into a creepy, lunar scenery. All the trees around the lake were blown away- the only things left were three people, pressed to the ground by the impressive amount of magical energy that was being created.
And one person completely immune to magic, dangling loosely on the edge of one of the sorcerers cape.
The whirl was now huge, completely black and still howling. Suddenly, when it probably reached its highest point, it changed shape- for a second it looked like a massive door with a white, shining seal on it.
Then the seal broke.
- What the...- started Zelgadiss, but was interrupted by an enormous blast of energy, accompanied by a bright flash. He yelp in pain, as every little particle of his body took its maximum mana capacity multiplied by a thousand. He could just imagine the suffering Lina and, especially, Amelia felt, their bodies being made of flesh instead of stone. He silently cursed himself for not being able to create a proper shield.
Lina saw red spots flying in front of her eyes. The pain got so unimaginable, that she was nearly on the verge of braking down and passing out. The only reason, why she held her head up was because Gourry was holding the other end of her cape, working as a lever. She was silently watching as the blast slowly faded away, leaving the water again in a shape of a whirl.
A few seconds later, the spinning pillar collapsed, leaving a small, human shaped figure floating in mid air about 6 meters high above the ground. She was screaming.
And then, she fell.
************
- It is done.- the voice echoed through the dark throne room.
************
The pain was gone in a flash and suddenly Lina found herself able to move again.
- Is everyone all right??- she shouted, getting up on her feet.
- Yeah- answered Zel.
- I suppose- said Gourry, still a little dizzy from the dangling.
-Amelia??- Lina asked, turning into the direction of her friend.- Amelia!!!
They all quickly rushed to their unconscious friends side. The girl was laying still, blood coming out of her ears, nose and eyes, barely breathing.
- It was to much for her, all that massive power- concluded Zel, carefully rising her head and gently putting it on his lap. - I'll take care of this, you go and see what happened.
- There was someone there...- Lina said, suddenly realizing and slapping her forehead.- Some creature, maybe a human, came out of the whirl and fell into the water!!
- Go- whispered Zel, concentrating his healing powers on Amelia's forehead. Lina nodded and quickly rushed to the shore. She was about to go in, when she felt a burden attached to her cape.
- Gourry!!
- I'm sorry Lina, but my fingers are stiff and I can't let go- said the swordsman, blushing a little. The sorceress sweatdropped. And then...
- Fire Ball!!
Well, at least he wasn't slowing her down anymore. She took a couple of steps backwards, run and dived into the water, feeling pretty unsure with magic under the surface of this lake. She swam to the bottom, looking for some remains of the gate, the monster, or the destructive power of the whirl. There was nothing. Just sand and a couple of little water plants. She reached the middle of the reservoir and finally found what she was searching for- a still, human figure, floating near the surface. Using the rest of her breath, Lina caught the body and headed for the shore.
When she reached it, everything was under control- Amelia was sitting, leaning on Zelgadiss, still feeling a little dizzy. Gourry spotted the sorceress and helped her onto dry land. She knelt on the ground, breathing heavily, finally letting go of the human she was carrying in her arms.
- Who is that?- asked Amelia, slowly approaching the stranger.
- I don't know- admitted Lina, curiously looking at the body- but help is definitely needed.
Amelia nodded her head.
- Recovery!- she shouted, and white light shot out of her palms, directly into her patients chest. A moment later, it worked. The almost drowned victim of the whirl coughed, spat out some water and opened her eyes.
She was a young, quite beautiful girl, with shoulder length blonde hair, going around her head and ending in spiky claws, neatly shaped around her face. A peace of bangs, partly covering her left eye was also included. She was dressed in a pair of blue jeans, ending on her hips, and exposing her slim waist, a short sleeved, tight red shirt tied above her stomach and a fitting blue jeans jacket. Her eyes were incredibly blue and big, and, as a matter of fact got even bigger, when her vision cleared, revealing four strangers staring down at her. She jumped and squeaked in horror.
- Who... who... who are you?!?!- she asked in a trembling voice.
- I think we are the ones who should be asking this question.- quietly pointed out Zelgadiss. The girl, upon seeing the chimera, screamed and started retreating until her back made contact with a nearby rock. She was breathing quickly, finally paralyzed with fear.
Zel let out a heavy sight and sweatdropped. Gourry compassionately patted him on the back.
In the meantime, Lina crawled to the terrified figure, and quite violently shook her by the shoulders.
- Tell us who you are and then maybe we will figure out what had just happened here!!... And, of course, introduce ourselves.
To everyone's surprise, the method worked. The girl calmed dawn a little bit, set her arms free and said in a quiet, but clear voice:
- My name is Alariell Hunter and I want to know what is this place and how I got here.