Disclaimer: Repeat after me. Slayers aren't mine.

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The sun had just come over the horizon and Lina was already awake and out in the woods. She stifled a yawn. She wasn't really a morning person, but there was work to do before she left for Seyruun.

"No that's not good enough. How about this one?" Lina was rummaging through some weeds looking for something. Suddenly, she saw what she wanted and her eyes lit up. "Perfect!" She reached down and picked a gorgeous flower adding it to the others she had already collected. She got up and started running. There wasn't much time before they had to leave.

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Elsewhere, Emily was sitting in front her father's grave holding a freshly picked bunch of flowers. "I got these for you dad." She laid the flowers on the marker that Lina had made the day before.

Behind her, Lina came running up. Seeing that Emily was already there, she sat down behind a tree and waited. She didn't want to interrupt.

Emily hadn't noticed Lina and continued to talk. "I really miss you dad. I don't know how I'm going to deal with mom without you around. She drives me crazy sometimes you know? She's kinda the reason that I left."

Behind Emily there was the sound of something falling in the bushes.

Emily was lost in thought.

"Em? Are you alright?" Gourry walked over to the little red haired girl sitting on the ground. He helped her to her feet.

Emily was crying. "I'll never get it dad! I'll never be as good as you!"

Gourry smiled and picked up Emily's sword. "Sure you will! I can tell. You've got talent. You're already better than I was at your age." Gourry scratched his head. "At least I think I wasn't this good at your age."

Emily smiled and took her sword back from her father. She assumed a defensive stance. "Like this dad?"

Gourry stood next to her and assumed a similar stance. "That's right! Just lower your arms a little."

Emily tried her best to imitate Gourry's flawless defense.

"Good. Now, where do we attack our enemy?"

"We charge him head on! Right dad?"

Gourry grinned. "Well, not quite. It takes more than brute strength to be a master swordsman." Gourry glanced down at Emily. "Or swordswoman. You have to outthink your opponent as well."

Emily giggled. Dad was talking about outthinking someone? She looked up expecting to see him laughing. Instead she was met with a stern look. She stopped laughing.

"I'm serious Em. This could save your life someday. When we attack our opponent, we attack his weakness. If he prefers to fight at a distance we move in close. If he favors his right side we attack the left. Understand?"

Emily nodded.

Before Gourry could continue the lesson Lina stormed into the clearing. "Gourry you jellyfish! Quit playing around! We're going to miss the all you can eat buffet in town!"

Gourry called over to Lina. "Yes dear!" He turned to Em and whispered to her in a conspiratorial way. "Remember what I said about weaknesses? Your mother doesn't have any. When she says anything it's best to nod your head and smile. Got it?" He winked at her.

Emily laughed for a moment before remembering where she was. "Sorry dad. I think I zoned out for a minute there." She arranged the flowers on his grave. "I'll remember that. 'Nod your head and smile', right?" She stood up and brushed the dirt off of her pants. "Bye dad. I love you." She turned to leave and practically bumped into Lina. "Mom? How long have you been there?"

Lina ignored her question. "Is that true? Am I the reason you left?"

Emily got a shocked expression on her face. "You heard that?"

"Answer the question Emily."

Emily sighed. "Well, partly yeah. We never really got along you know? It's like we don't have much in common. Well except for our amazing looks right?" She struck a pose and smiled at Lina.

Lina just stared at her.

Emily shrugged and continued. "It's just that you're so damn pushy and you never listen to me. And I know that you were disappointed that I didn't want to study magic like you."

Lina interrupted. "I never said that I was disappointed in you! Now you listen to me Emily!" She poked Emily in the chest to emphasize her statement. "I am NOT pushy! And furthermore!"

Emily cut her off. She was yelling now. "See? You're not listening again! Why do I bother trying to talk to you?" Emily threw up her hands in frustration and stomped off towards the house.

Lina stared after her for a moment before turning to put the flowers she had brought on Gourry's grave.

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Zelgadis took one last look around the ruins of his lab. It would likely be the last time that he was there. He didn't regret it though. The lab was full of bad memories. He had destroyed all of the chimeras he had created. Now there was only one left to do. He turned and walked out the door.

Xellos appeared in the lab. "Good news Zelgadis! I think I may have your cure! Eh?" He looked around noticing that he was alone. "Hmm. This won't do." He disappeared.

Zelgadis was walking down the tower stairs to the door when Xellos appeared next to him.

Xellos was smiling. "How industrious! An entire village annihilated and you're off to find your cure again. Bravo Zelgadis!"

Zelgadis kept walking. "I'm going to find Lina. My cure doesn't matter anymore."

Xellos's eyes widened in shock. This wouldn't do at all. He moved in front of Zelgadis trying to stop him from leaving. "Let's not be hasty here." He appeared to think for a moment before his face lit up. "Ah! What if I told you I had a lead on another Soul Render?"

Zelgadis grabbed Xellos by the collar of his shirt and flung him over the railing of the stairs. "I told you I don't care anymore. I've got to try to apologize to Lina."

Xellos reappeared nose to nose with Zelgadis while floating upside down. He smirked. "Your cure doesn't matter? My, my Zelgadis. When did you develop a sense of humor?"

Zelgadis scowled at him and continued to walk. "Why do you care if I find my cure anyway?"

Xellos appeared to ponder this for a second. "Of course I care! We've been acquaintances for years now and I've grown to enjoy your company."

Zelgadis sighed. "Don't give me that garbage. You enjoy seeing me in misery, so why help me?" He stopped and crossed his arms.

Xellos righted himself and landed on the step below Zelgadis. "Oh dear! You should know by now. That is. . ."

Zelgadis cut him off with a spell. "Flare Arrow!"

Xellos laughed, disappearing before the projectile could hit him.

Zelgadis looked around. Where could the bastard be?

"How rude Zelgadis!" Xellos's voice echoed throughout the tower making it impossible for Zelgadis to pinpoint his location. "As I was saying, that is a secret!"

Zelgadis ignored Xellos's mocking laughter. On the stairs in front of him was a scroll. He picked it up and opened it. It was a letter from Zoana Mining Company to a potential buyer regarding an item. Zelgadis's eyes widened.

"A Soul Render!" He ran the rest of the way down the stairs to the door. He was about to exit when he remembered Lina. Somehow he had to try to make amends. He threw down the scroll and exited the tower.

Moments later, he came back in and picked it up looking around with a guilty expression on his face. He hoped Xellos hadn't seen this moment of weakness. He then ran back out the door.

In the shadows, Xellos smiled.

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Emily finished packing her bag. It was pretty easy considering that she hadn't really had time to unpack to begin with. She was feeling guilty about what she had said to Lina earlier. After all, she was pretty upset Emily supposed. As hard as it was for her to accept her father's death, it must be that much harder for Lina.

How long had her mother and father been together? About twenty-five years she guessed. Despite how quickly Lina seemed to have recovered from her loss, Emily was sure that she was hurting. She knew that Lina had loved her father even though she wasn't a terribly affectionate woman. Gourry had always been able to bring out Lina's softer side. They had been perfect for each other.

Emily slammed her fist down on her bag. She had picked a fight with her mother at her father's grave of all places. This time she had been the insensitive one. She vowed to try to get along with Lina better.

Lina came back to the house about an hour after Emily and had promptly gone into her room without saying a word to anyone. She had packed everything that she thought she would need. She had a feeling that she wouldn't be coming back from this journey. Not that she was worried about death or anything like that. She just felt that there were too many memories here.

She knew that Gourry would have understood. That was why they were so good for each other. They were both free spirits, going wherever the road would take them. Lina knew that Gourry wouldn't have wanted her to stay here and be miserable. It was time to move on.

"Alright then! Time to go!" Lina jumped up on the bed and pointed out the window in dramatic fashion. She climbed off the bed and walked out into the main room of the house. Emily and the kids were waiting patiently for her. Suddenly, she remembered something. "Be back in a sec!" She turned around and ran back into the bedroom.

Emily and the children heard her rummaging around for something. After a few moments, she emerged carrying a large object. She smiled at Emily and threw the object at her. "Here you go kid!"

Emily caught the parcel and stared at it, not daring to believe what she was holding. "Dad's sword?"

After losing the Sword of Light, Gourry and Lina had spent the next couple of years searching for a suitable replacement. They had eventually found one in the possession of a bandit leader. He had boasted that he could defeat the famous bandit killer Lina Inverse. He was almost right. It had looked bad for Lina until Gourry had killed the man in a duel.

The sword Emily was holding possessed the ability to absorb magical spells. Its blade was covered in strange glowing runes from a forgotten language. Lina had spent a couple months trying to decipher them before giving up.

Emily looked up at Lina struggling to think of something to say.

Lina just waved her off. "Don't worry about it. Gourry said that he was going to give it to you if you ever showed up again, so I figured you should probably have it. Now, let's go to Seyruun!"

Lina led Emily and the kids out the door and into the morning light.

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Next Chapter: Lina and company are finally on the road to Seyruun. Also, Zelgadis makes a grab for the Soul Render, but will he have to fight the entire kingdom of Zoana to get it?

Notes: Whew! Another chapter out the door. This story is getting a little tougher to write now. It's not that I don't know what to write, it's more like I don't know how it's going to unfold. Usually, I have the next chapter done when I post the previous one in case I have second thoughts about something. This chapter is the first exception to that rule. I'm happy with it and I have a vague idea of where the next one is going so I figured it would be okay.

Stara Maijka, I'd like to point out that, yes Gourry has been blown up, dropped long distances, and had stuff fall on him. However, I challenge you to point out to me when, if ever, this has happened ALL AT ONCE. Mwah! Ha! Ha! Seriously though, I wanted Gourry to have a heroic death. (He's my second favorite guy behind Xellos.)

Thanks for reading everyone! I hope you enjoy the rest of the story. As always, feel free to praise or raze my work.