A/N: Yay!  I'm glad your curiosity is peeked. That means you'll keep reading to see what happens next, yes?  I think for one of /my/ stories, it's going pretty fast.  I'm writing this half on the wing, so I don't know how long it will be, exactly.  I think I'm just going to fix a few details in Liona Inverse the Dragon Tamer and then repost the chapters separately, so I don't lose the reviews (at least, I hope not) ^_^.  Oh yes, if you want to find some more information about Korin (really, Kollina), go to the very last chapter of my first story, Inner Beings.  Happy reading!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything that isn't mine to own.

Uh Oh!  Trouble on the Go

            The room was quiet.  As soon as Xellos had disappeared, Dynast had as well.  Not that anyone really noticed – they were too busy watching Lina.  They knew what a traumatizing experience this was for her, especially after the Hellmaster ordeal.  Slowly, Gourry walked towards Lina and put a comforting arm around her.

            Quietly, he asked, "Lina, are you okay?"

            Obviously fighting back the urge to seriously hurt somebody, Lina vehemently replied between clenched teeth, "My two-year-old daughter was just kidnapped by a powerful monster that was once on our side.  Do you /think/ I'm okay?"

            As she thought what Gourry's response might be, she held up a hand and added, "Don't answer that."

            Slowly, Lina stood up again with her bangs covering her eyes once more.  In a dangerously low voice, Lina declared, "Let's go.  I need to vent some anger on some bandits."

            As if an invisible being heard her "wish", all six of them were suddenly teleported back to the ruined city of Dils.  However, the only thing different was that the city of Dils didn't seem ruined at all.  Curious, Lina looked around at the bustling lines of people moving up and down the packed dirt road.  On either side of the road were regular buildings, most of them selling something or other.  It was apparent that they had landed in a prospering marketplace.

            Filia stopped a passing merchant and asked where they were.  The man answered "Dilss," before starting to walk again.

            Filia looked towards Lina, but her (Lina's) eyes had become glossy with greed as they looked towards a restaurant sign that read, "ALL-YOU-CAN-EAT BUFFET - - Gourmet food all just for one gold piece!"

            As if verifying her current thoughts, her stomach growled loudly.

            This also triggered a response from Gourry.  "Lina – last one there's a rotten egg!"

            Her competitive blood rising by the second, Lina declared back, "Yeah – See ya later jellyfish brains!"

            With that, both of them raced into the restaurant, with the remaining four "Slayers" slowly following them in an eased walk.

             Trouble temporarily forgotten, Lina, Gourry, Amelia, Filia, Val, and Zel (in order of largest to smallest "meal") buried their worries in towers of food (more Lina than anybody else).  What put Lina in an especially good mood was the fact that all of it paid up to only one gold piece.

            However, when they finished and the manager (this was a special case) gave them the bill, the outcome was slightly different then expected.  As usual, Lina was outraged and as usual, she attracted a crowd.  Needless to say, she was close to making the manager cower in fear.

            "30 Gold pieces?!  That's crazy!  Your sign said '1 Gold Piece for All You Can Eat!'  Explain yourself old man!"

            The manager nervously cleared his throat and explained his calculations between stutters.  "Y-you s-see M-miss.  Perhaps you didn't finish reading the sign.  The last part said 'Four dishes for 1 gold piece'.  You miss, had 40 dishes by yourself, which adds up to 10 gold pieces already.  That blonde man next to you had 36 dishes – equal to 9 gold pieces.  The raven haired girl had three while the green haired little boy had one – which adds up to one gold piece as well.  The blonde lady had 2 large dishes and that peculiar traveler in the corner had four pots of coffee – I'll count that as another one."

            Zel was quick to calculate.  Even though he didn't care if they had to pay 30 Gold pieces, he didn't want Lina to lose her temper.  Bad things always happened when she did.  "That's still only 21 gold pieces.  Where did the other 9 come from?"

            The manager was still holding up remarkably well under the penetrable glare of Lina Inverse, but it was easy to see that he was going to lose it soon.

            "W-well, you cleared out the food that I had set out for diners /completely/ - a three gold piece charge.  Then you cleared out my reserve pantry stash – an additional five gold piece charge.  The last gold piece is simply tax."

            "/TAX?!?!/  Why you little-!" Lina was struggling to do bodily harm to the poor old manager while Gourry was holding her back (easily I might add) "That's a rip-off!"

            Lina gave Gourry a quick kick on his shin with her heel so that he'd let go of her.  Then, wasting no time, she launched a Mega Brand spell, which completely obliterated the restaurant, not to mention toasted everybody in it.  Worried, Amelia cast a sort of shield over the ground so that they wouldn't get injured too badly.  When the singed manager landed he slowly raised a hand and said, "For wrecking my business and most likely driving me out of business, I raise the total to 50 Gold Pieces," before he blacked out.

This enraged Lina even more, but Amelia and Zel decided that it was best just to let him have the money.  After all, it took a lot of guts to even stand against Lina for this long.  Since Lina always had any money that Gourry might have received (safekeeping), Zel had spent all of his money on traveling to find his cure (with no luck whatsoever), and Filia had been living outside the "barrier" so she didn't have any local money, Amelia used the royal funds to pay for it.  After the manager had been paid, the Slayers started off again, with a struggling Lina in front.  Ever since the manager had given them their bill, Korin had been in a fit of giggles, but she quieted down once they had left.  Perhaps, just perhaps, she was laughing at the chaotic scene that Lina had created.

            After the restaurant was out of sight, Lina stopped struggling and Gourry let go, but Lina was still fuming under her breath.

            "Magic amulets only 199!  Come and get 'em!  Assorted magic artifacts for one low price!"

            Lina's ears perked up at this, and turned to see a rather dimly-lit store with a magical amplifying advertiser in front.  Without even asking the others, Lina's curiosity had gotten the better of her and she went in. Glancing at each other, the rest of the group just shrugged and followed her in.

            For selling magical enhancements, the place was very dark and mysterious.  One with typical common sense would think that this was no place to shop.  Nevertheless, Lina was used to these kinds of shops, and knew from experience that they often had very good items.  She looked around to see what they had.  Having nothing better to do, the others separated and followed suit.  They all eventually came back with something or some things.

            Lina wanted to buy a set of black pendants that were said to protect the user from all sorts of harm.  Gourry wanted to buy a sword polishing kit (how did that get in a magic shop?  It must have something special to it).  Filia wanted an Emotion Enhancer Bracelet that if worn, channels the user's emotions through his or her weapon (look out for Mace-sama! -_-!).  Val wanted a red weapon or toy (the thing he had in Slayers Try).  Amelia wanted Purification Bracelets that purifies whoever it is directed at (along with the spell that goes with it).  Zel wanted his cure (as if!) but since he couldn't get that here, he decided to get a coffee pot along with a bag of coffee grinds (what's magical about that?  This, too, must have something special to it).

            Remembering what she had to do later on (save Liona), Lina really didn't pay attention to the prices (they were just a "tad" above reasonable) and paid for everyone.  From her hiding place, Korin laughed again, because Lina had just spent all of her money without putting up a fight or even realizing it.  This was sure to bring chaos later on.  When they went outside again, the Slayers saw that the sun was already setting over the horizon.  They quickly walked on to find an inn, which they found not too far away from the edge of town.  They went in and were told that the price for three rooms for one night was 300 Silvers (semi-fancy inn).  Lina looked in her money bag and realized with horror that she didn't even have one Bronze left.  Lina was greatly disgruntled but then decided that she'd hunt down some bandits later.  Right now, Lina grinned as she turned to Amelia, "Amelia, I'll let you take this one."

            Once again deciding that it was better that she pay, Amelia once again dove into the royal funds to pay for the night.  They were led up to their rooms and they just decided to go to sleep.  Lina divided them like so: 1)Lina and Gourry 2)Filia and Val 3)Zel and Amelia.  The first two pairs and Amelia couldn't be happier, but Zel seemed a bit uncomfortable with it all.  Before he realized it, the first two pairs were asleep with the door closed, and Amelia was changing into her pajamas in the bathroom.  Zel gulped and went inside, closing the door behind him.  (I'll stop there with them, for those of you that dislike Z/A coupling, I'll just have them sleep.  For those of you that are all for it, go ahead and imagine whatever you want to happen to them.  Remember, in my story, Amelia is 18 and Zel is 21.)

            The next morning, Lina and co. set off bright and early to find a bandit gang or hideout.  They had to walk quite a bit, but Lina's sharp eyes found it.  It was very similar to the hideout that Lina had busted right after Gourry was taken.  Lina didn't even start to get suspicious until after she let loose on the bandits and stole about the same amount from them as she had that time. . .  When these thoughts crossed her mind, she stopped dead in her tracks and put down her pile of treasure that she had tied around her neck. . . Lina knew that she remembered any treasure that she ever stole that was of any significance.  In this case, Lina was startled when she found that she had stolen the exact same things that she had that previous time.  Nobody but Zel had any idea what she was thinking at that moment, but it became clear to Amelia when the bushes rustled in the distance and a white flag was raised.  Lina found herself casting the same exact spell and saying the exact same words.  As if on cue, the white flag was waved even more frantically, but Lina released it anyway.   Then, a figure flew up and came flying back down with a crash.  There, on the ground in front of Lina, was the one and only Sylphiel.

            Lina did some quick thinking on her part.  First, that restaurant had conveniently rose the price of their meal by almost five times which had resulted in Lina blowing up the restaurant, which had resulted in an even further raising of price.  Second, that store had also conveniently set the prices so that it was not a bronze more or less than everything that Lina had in her pouch, which she didn't realize until at least half an hour later.  Finally, this bandit hideout that looked and had exactly the same thing as the bandit hideout that she had sacked after Gourry had been kidnapped.  She knew someone was replaying history when Sylphiel had crashed in front of them, charred by the exact same spell.  Lina realized with a start what connected all of these events together.  Each event caused a different sort of chaos.  The first was direct damage and making her temper rise.  The second was taking all of her money without her realizing it, which made it a delayed reaction to her pride kind of chaos inside her.  The final one was also deep within her heart- making her remember an event that she so wished to forget.  So, who can manipulate events to meet their desired effect?  Lina's brain finally landed on the culprit.  Someone who she had /seen/ use chaos to her advantage.

            Taking a deep breath, Lina yelled at the sky, "KORIN!  I KNOW YOU'RE WATCHING US!  SHOW YOURSELF AND EXPLAIN!"

            Silence followed.  Everyone had been scared stiff (but Zel) when Lina had yelled out suddenly and said what she said.  A few minutes after Lina's declaration, a reply echoed through the trees.  "You know, I really do explain more than I should to you guys, but I suppose I can do it again."

            At that moment, Korin appeared just a few feet in the air, in front of Lina and company.  With her usual happy-go-lucky smile, Korin asked, "So what do you want to know?"

            Lina chose herself as the spokesperson.  "First, were you responsible for everything that happened to us in Dilss?"

            Korin raised an eyebrow and crossed her legs Indian-style as she floated up and down a few inches.  "Eh… I'm surprised you figured that out so quickly.  Yes, I'm responsible for it.  Next?"

            "Why did you do it?  Why did you create such chaos for us?"

            "You haven't realized it yet?  I /live/ for chaos.  Our creator created us to make chaos.  Didn't you ever know that?"

            This answer totally threw off everybody.  Something clicked in Lina's brain.  "Wait a minute.  Do you mean to tell us that 'the meaning of life' is to create chaos in our world?!"

            Korin seemed to think a while before answering, "Now /that/ is a secret."

            Lina was infuriated with this answer, but she accepted it because she knew that no one is really supposed to know.  Lina looked around to think of any other questions.  Her eyes settled on the Sword of Light.  She turned to Korin and asked, "Is the sword that Gourry has really Gorun Nova?"

            Korin looked as if it was a very "iffy" thing.  She explained, "Well, yes and no.  It isn't the sword that is with the 'Overworlders' as you call it, but it /is/  the Sword of Light.  Hmm…  Oh all right.  It isn't Gorun Nova at all.  It looks similar, but you'll soon see that if used correctly, it has enough power to go head to head with Lina's Ragna Blade.  How's that?"

            This answer, too, shocked them into silence.        Lina finally asked the question that was bugging her since the day that she met Korin.  "Who /are/ you?"

            Korin winked and said, "It depends on what you mean by that.  I am my master's knight.  I am known by my master as Kollina, but you may still call me Korin; it makes no difference to me.  I will never truly be against you, Lina, or your family because my mission is to protect you.  As long as my master allows me to, I will never let The Chosen Ones die."

            With that, Korin disappeared once more.  Her last echoing words were, "Oh, and the one you wish to find can be found on Wolf Pack Island.  Beware, because the Southern Seas hold more than just a Mazoku Lord's hideout."

            Korin's words left more mystery than before.  Everybody decided to sit down and discuss it.  Even Sylphiel was interested.

            "You know, if you think about it, Lina has been hurt and in near death situations, but she did always somehow survive.  Before, I thought it had just been pure luck."

            Sylphiel agreed with Zel.  "Lina even survived after we all thought we had lost her.  Once when fighting Copy Rezo and again when the Lord of Nightmares consumed her."

            Gourry's spirit was a bit higher than anyone else because he realized something, "Hey, if she protects our /family/ that means she won't let Liona die either, right?"

            Lina smiled wanly and nodded.  She vaguely remembered hearing something that sounded very familiar to what Korin, or rather, Kollina had said.  Unfortunately, she couldn't remember it at all at the moment.

            Amelia wondered aloud, "What did she mean with the last part?  'Beware, because the Southern Seas hold more than just a Mazoku Lord's hideout.' "

            Lina answered that question.  "She told us where Liona is – on Wolf Pack Island.  You can tell already that the island is full of wolves that are probably stronger than usual because Beastmaster Zelas lives there.  Also the Southern Seas that surrounds the island connects with the Demon Sea, where Deep Sea Dolphin lives.  If you get that much, you know the seaward journey is going to be tough.  Another thing, Dolphin most likely controls the surrounding sea creatures.  If I'm right in my assumption that the three remaining Mazoku Lords are working together on this one, than Dolphin's creatures are going to prevent us from getting to the island."

            Amelia looked at Lina in astonishment.  "How do you know all that?"

            Lina sarcastically replied, "I read."

            Zel stated, "So do I, but I don't think even I know that much about the Mazoku Lords.  Books on them are very rare."

            Lina rolled her eyes.  "You've obviously never been to Zelphilia.  Just my home has a private library that's full of all this stuff.  I taught myself a lot of the magic and skills I know now, you know.  'Course, I went to the Sorceror's Guild as well.  Enough about me, how do we get to the Island?  Getting to the southern shore is easy enough, but I'm not sure after that."

            Gourry stood up.  "Well then, let's just get there first.  We'll deal with the sea when it comes."

            Almost everybody was surprised that Gourry was even listening, but it seemed that since they got married, Gourry was paying /much/ more attention to whatever Lina said (I wonder why).  Nevertheless, they had to agree.

            With a goal in mind, Zel pointed them South and they began their long trek.

A/N: Is that good enough for you?  ^o^  Please review.  Thanks again to the people that reviewed my story thus far, I hope you come back for more ^_^  Let's see… They're in Dilss right now, just about the Polar opposite from Wolf Pack Island.  So that's, I dunno, I'll say at least a month of traveling by foot or air or horse.  How do you like my 'meaning of life'?  ^_^!  You don't have to comment on it, but please just review.  Ja ne!