Chapter Two
"So, let me get this straight……………..You guys were just minding your own business, when this light suddenly appeared, zapped you, then you found yourselves here?" Lina asked, after Mimiru had explained as best she could their situation.
"That's about the ins and outs of it." Bear said, looking aside as Amelia finished healing Crim.
"I see. So ya'll are stuck here and there's no way for you to get back?" Lina again asked.
"That's right." BT said, with a sigh.
"You might as well come with us, then. Things like that don't normally happen when something isn't going on. L-sama only knows what you're doing here, but you might as well make the best of it." Lina said, with a resigned sigh.
"Might as well. So, I would be correct in guessing that we'll be stopping in Seiruun in two days?" Bear asked.
"Yep. Not a bad guess for somebody who is half dressed." Lina said.
"I beg your pardon?" Bear asked; it was now his turn to go deadpan. He gave BT an unreadable look when she snickered at him.
"Well, Bear, you are the least dressed one here besides Mimiru. You live up to your screen name that way." Sora sneered, from a safe distance away.
"Do what?! I dare you to repeat that!" Mimiru shouted, as she jumped to her feet, now officially in 'Sora thrashing mode'.
"Here we go again." Tsukasa muttered, as Bear sighed and shook his head in resignation.
"Do they fight often?" Amelia asked, speaking for the first time since she had entered the clearing.
"You don't know the half of it." Tsukasa replied, as he watched Mimiru and Sora go at it.
"Sorta act like a certain dragon and Mazoku we know, don't they?" Zelgadis asked, with some sarcasm in his voice.
"Oh yeah." Lina muttered, as she watched them fight.
"What dragon?" Gourry asked, being his usual clueless self.
"Filia, jellyfish brains!" Lina snapped, revealing the fiery temper she'd been holding in check for almost an hour.
"Remind me not to get on her bad side." Tsukasa murmured, to Zelgadis, who happened to be standing right beside him.
"That's a skill you'll have to learn on your own, at your own risk." Zelgadis replied, then added, "Don't worry, it won't take long to learn, though."
"What's all the noise about?" Crim asked, as he sat up, wincing slightly at the little pain that still remained from his injuries.
"Nothing to concern yourself with, Crim. Mimiru's fighting with Sora again, and there has been a question on dragons brought into the open. That's all." Bear said, as he nonchalantly watched Lina yell at Gourry, then slowly calm down.
"Shall we get going, then? It won't be long until sunset." BT said, as she watched Crim get to his feet and dust himself off.
"Yeah, let's go." Lina said, as she turned to leave. Without another word, they all left the clearing, and soon the woods, behind. When they reached the town inn, dusk had fallen, and some of the locals were lighting the lamps. BT sighed with relief as she, Subaru, Mimiru, Amelia, and Lina reached the one large room they were going to share for the night.
"That idiot Sora……………I'm glad I don't have to share a room with him! The guys can have him!" Mimiru grumbled, as she sat down on one of the beds and undid her boots.
"Why does Sora seem to bother you so much, Mimiru?" Subaru asked, as she also took off her boots, and placed them and her axe beside the bed.
"He acts like a bratty kid brother! He's just there to annoy the hell out of everyone around him. He even tries to annoy Bear, the most tolerant of all of us, aside from Tsukasa. Should I give you some more reasons for not liking him?" Mimiru asked, heatedly.
"You don't have to. I was just curious, that's all." Subaru said, as she reclined on her bed.
"Why do you let him get under your skin like that, Mimiru-san?" Amelia asked. Mimiru shrugged.
"I guess it's because I'm not as thick-skinned as Bear is. He takes everything in stride, and even if something does bother him, he's not one to show it." Mimiru said, quietly, calming down as she got off the subject of Sora.
"What about Tsukasa? What's he like?" Lina asked, curiously, as she sat in a chair and faced Subaru and Mimiru.
"Tsukasa is the most reclusive of our group. He was very hesitant about joining us, at first, but eventually he trusted us enough to come along on a few dungeon adventures. He's quiet, stubborn, opinionated, patient, and, with people he trusts, loyal to a fault.* " Mimiru said, showing some admiration for the Wavemaster, even though he'd given her a hard time just a short time before.
"I noticed that most of you have weapons. Was this 'World' place dangerous?" Amelia asked.
"Not really. It's not something you would understand, but what we do in 'The World' is nothing more than a game. A place of escape for those who dream to have adventures of their own." Subaru said, in response to Amelia's question.
"Well, this is all too much to take in at one go. Let's get some sleep, and we'll talk about this in the morning. Good night." Lina said, as she went to her own bed and flopped down on it. Taking that as a cue to call it a night, Mimiru, BT, Subaru, and Amelia did the same.
Hours later……………..
Tsukasa sighed as he stared up at the ceiling. Bear, Zelgadis, Gourry, Crim, and even Sora had fallen asleep hours ago.
"For some reason, I feel restless. What is it about this place that is making me so edgy?" Tsukasa wondered, as he rolled onto his side and tried to get comfortable. No such luck. With yet another sigh, Tsukasa got out of bed and went to the window. He could see the clear night sky and all of the stars in it. As he gazed at them, he saw a shooting star blaze across the diamond studded expanse, and watched as it vanished. But, before it did, something flashed across his mind's eye; a terrible, blackened visage leered out of the shadows for just a split second, and then was gone. It may not have appeared for long, but it was enough to startle Tsukasa, and make him back away from the window, his eyes wide with horror.
"What was that just now?! What did I just see??" Tsukasa thought, shuddering as the horrible picture again appeared in his mind. Deciding that sleep was now out of the question, Tsukasa got dressed as quietly as he could, then left the room. When he had gotten outside, he sat down beneath a tree and let his mind wander. What was it that he had seen? Was it a vision of some kind? If so, then what kind was it?
"You look thoughtful." A voice said, startling Tsukasa from his musings. Immediately he was on his feet, and had his staff in hand, ready for a fight. All he saw was the unassuming form of a mischievously smiling, purple-haired priest.
"Calm down, I am not going to hurt you." The 'priest' said, with a smile.
"Who are you?" Tsukasa asked, wary of the priest.
"I go by the name of Xellos, the Trickster Priest. Who might you be?" the priest asked, still with his closed-eye smile.
"My name is Tsukasa. How long were you standing there watching me?" Tsukasa asked.
"Not long. As a matter of fact, only a few moments." Xellos said, as he watched the boy relax a little. Tsukasa sighed and sat back down, placing his staff beside him as he did so. Xellos did the same.
"So, what're you doing out here in the middle of the night?" Xellos asked, curiously.
"I came out here to think, since I couldn't sleep. There's something about this place that bothers me…………..something dark and evil." Tsukasa murmured, tiredly. Xellos merely stared at the Wavemaster, his own thoughts drifting to what he'd been told by his mistress, Xelas Mettalium.
"Could he be the one that Xelas-sama wants me to keep an eye on? But for what purpose, I wonder?" Xellos wondered, as he watched Tsukasa drift slowly and reluctantly into exhausted slumber. Without saying a word, Xellos carefully picked up the slumbering Wavemaster and his staff, teleported back to the room the men were sharing (not in that way!) and placed Tsukasa back in his bed, removing shoes and hat with a mere wave of his hand.
"Sleep well, young Wavemaster." Xellos whispered, opening his catlike eyes and smiling a knowing smile. Things were about to get interesting again.
Mimiru awoke to the sun shining in her eyes. With a sigh, she turned away from the window and looked at the room she was in.
"So, it wasn't just a bad dream. I'm really here." Mimiru thought, as she sat up and put her boots back on. She turned when she heard her companions begin to stir.
"Damn……………….why can't morning come a little later?" Lina grumbled, as she pulled the covers over her head. There was a mumble of agreement from Amelia.
"Well, if morning came later, then it wouldn't make any sense to have breakfast, would it?" BT asked, as she sat up and looked over at Lina. Immediately, Lina was wide awake.
"That's right! It's time to eat!" Lina yelped, as she quickly got dressed and bolted down the stairs, with Amelia close behind her.
"We'd better get down there, or there won't be anything left." Mimiru said, as she went after them.
"What's going on, BT?" Subaru asked, still in the process of waking up.
"Everyone else is heading downstairs for breakfast. Let's do the same before all the food is gone, okay?" BT said, as she stood and waited for Subaru to get up and get ready. They (BT and Subaru) got to the dining hall just as the men were arriving.
"Good morning, BT, Subaru." Bear said, civil even though it was early.
"Good morning. I suppose you'd slept well?" BT asked.
"Yes, surprisingly. Sora didn't make too much of a fuss last night, so I know he's going to reserve all of his energy to annoy Mimiru today." Bear said, mentally counting down the seconds before Mimiru and Sora would go at it again.
"Five…………." Bear muttered.
"Four…………" BT continued, watching as Sora sneaked up on the unsuspecting Mimiru.
"Three…………" Bear said, ready for the explosion.
"Two…………" BT muttered, bracing for it.
"One………….." Bear whispered, as Sora prepared to douse Mimiru with some water.
"Zero………….." both mumbled, watching in shock as Mimiru turned and jammed a honey cake right into Sora's face.
"What the…………………..?!? Damn you, Mimiru!" Sora screamed, as he tried to wipe the sticky substance from his face and hair, only succeeding in making matters worse.
"That's what you get for trying to sneak up on me, Sora!" Mimiru crowed, victoriously.
"Now I would never have heard Sora coming. Mimiru has good ears." BT said, admiring Mimiru's cunning use of the honey cake. Bear only chuckled and shook his head. Soon breakfast was officially under way. Luckily for the misplaced players, they still had their bags of gold to help pay for breakfast (this also pleased Lina to no end). Zelgadis had also found someone sane to talk to in the forms of Bear, BT, and Crim. Mimiru grinned as Lina congratulated her on outsmarting Sora, and Subaru was listening with undivided attention to some stories Amelia was telling her about some of her previous adventures. Only Tsukasa was quiet.
"What's up, Tsukasa? You look sorta down." Lina said, noticing that one of their number was silent.
"Just thinking, Lina, that's all." Tsukasa murmured, still looking depressed.
"What're you thinking about, Tsukasa-san?" Amelia asked, as several pairs of concerned eyes focused on the young Wavemaster.
"Just something I dreamed last night." Tsukasa replied, somberly.
"Would you mind explaining what it was that is obviously haunting you now?" Zelgadis asked, surprising the others with his concern.
"It would be too hard to explain. And, you guys would think I am crazy, anyway." Tsukasa said, with a slight smile.
"Nah, just go ahead and spit it out. We'll listen." Lina said, nonchalantly.
"It might help you feel better, too." Gourry added, for once knowing what was going on.
"It was………………some sort of darkness…………….it had a face, but it was blackened beyond recognition…………….almost as though it had been burned. I don't know what it was, but I know that it was evil……………..and that it knows we are here." Tsukasa said, haltingly, almost afraid that his companions would start laughing at him. Instead, the exact opposite happened in Lina's case.
"You saw that thing too?!" Lina yelped, leaping up and gaping at Tsukasa. Tsukasa nodded.
"What does it mean, though?" Bear asked, wanting to know what this had to do with them being there.
"If Tsukasa had seen the same thing I saw, then it was meant that we would meet. L-sama must have reached across the dimensions and pulled you here. But, whatever that thing was, it didn't want her to succeed, so it tried to kill you when you all materialized here. Before it could kill Crim, someone must have driven it off. But who? Who could have done that?" Lina mused, aloud.
"Sore wa himitsu desu!" a man's voice sang out, as the owner appeared above the table the group was sharing.
"Oh, hello Xellos. Did the BeastMaster send you out to keep an eye on us again?" Lina asked, dryly, as the Mazoku grinned down at them.
"You know I can't tell you that, Lina. But I must say that Xelas-sama has a special interest in young Tsukasa." Xellos said, as he descended from midair and sat down beside Tsukasa.
"Did you drive………………..oh, never mind. I shouldn't even bother asking you, since you'll never give me a straight answer, anyway." Mimiru said, coolly.
"Right you are. It seems that I will be accompanying you for the rest of this trip." Xellos announced.
"Lovely." Lina grumbled, sarcastically, knowing that she had to pick up Filia next.
"This is gonna be fun………" Mimiru muttered, in the exact same tone of voice as Lina.
"Why do you say that?" Crim asked, curiously.
"Xellos and Filia hate one another with a passion. Get those two in the same room together and you know that there will be major property damage in two seconds flat. If you think Sora and I were bad, Bear, then you haven't seen anything yet." Mimiru explained.
"Wow, those 'anime' things really do know a lot about us, huh?" Gourry asked, amazed by how much Mimiru knew about the fiery dragon priestess' hatred of the Mazoku.
"More than you realize, Gourry. More than you realize." Mimiru mumbled, as they all prepared to pay the tab and leave.
Meanwhile, in the darkness of the farthest reaches of the Mazoku realm, an evil darker than even the worst Mazoku was stirring; and vengeance was on its mind.
I realize that this is more than likely NOT Tsukasa's true personality, but this is an Alternate Universe, so some things will be different.Author's Note!
I hope this chapter was as good as the last one. It's taking me a while to get an idea as to what Tsukasa and the rest have to face. E-mail me if you have any ideas as to what this new evil could be, please!
Gemini