A/N: Ah… I'm so Ureshii. . .(happy). Reviews are like fuel for my writer's ego. Arigato!! Hmm… Let's see… Next step is infiltrating the island and the castle to get to Liona! Let's go!
Disclaimer: I still have yet to even go near the owner's contract, so I am not and will never be the owner of Slayers or anything else that isn't mine to own.
Huge! There Are So Many Paths!
When they didn't feel any water hitting them, the Slayers looked up. There was a flurry of excitement when they discovered that they were floating several feet over the rocky surface of the water, on what seemed to be a transparent platform. Lina looked around and saw Sallis petting the head of a long (and large) lake dragon. Oddly enough, it had make-up on its face. . . and it was rather blueish. Ah! Lina realized who it looked like – the gay dragon from Sandoria! She snickered and was about to tell Gourry when he suddenly yelled out in surprise.
"Ah! Oi, Lina! Come look! Our ship was smashed to itty bitty bits!"
At this, Lina also looked down through the transparent "floor". Amelia asked the question that was on Lina's mind. "How are we going to get to the island now? It's so far away that we can't even see it, and now we have no ship to take us any further."
Zel grimaced at her words and added, "Well, /some/ of us can see it, but it hasn't gotten closer at all since we first sighted it."
Val was still looking at the floating "floor". It was see-through, but on the edges, one could see a golden frame or rather, aura surrounding it. Jillias and Gravos also seemed interested in it. (This had been their first visit "inside the barrier") Val was poking it questioningly and Jillias asked to nobody in particular, "I wonder who made this floor? And how come we didn't get hit by the wave but the ship did?"
Sally suddenly sighed and glanced at them as she continued to pet the dragon's head. "You guys sure like to ask a lot of questions. I cast this magical floor spell. It lifted us up just before the tsunami hit. Oh, and I'll have to apologize for the tsunami. My friend here was coming at top speed and couldn't stop in time. Oh yes, I should give you a proper introduction. Leila, this is the group I'm traveling with right now; Lina, Gourry, Amelia, Zel, Val, Jillias, and Gravos. Everybody, this is my friend Leila; she's from the seaport of Sandoria."
At this, Lina watched as Gourry suddenly turned a slight shade of blue at the memory (even he would remember such an event). Lina and Amelia were in a fit of laughs at it, however. Suddenly, Lina recalled something from what Sallis just said. "She?"
Sallis blinked and nodded. "Yes, 'she'. Leila and her brother Keika live in the bay of Sandoria. Have you met before?"
Gourry seemed immensely relieved with this news. After stifling her laughter, Lina waved off the question. "You could say that /Gourry/ knew 'Keika'. We three met him in Sandoria."
Leila suddenly roared and made a whole lot of racket. When she stopped, Sallis laughed and said, "Is that so? Leila tells me that Keika returned home one day quite broken up because someone had ruined his makeup. Ah, I didn't tell you, did I? Keika and Lelia are both gay as in Keika likes beautiful guys and Leila likes beautiful girls. Ha, and it seems she's rather taken with you two. Do you want to pet her?"
Lina and Amelia both blushed slightly at being considered beautiful girls, but immediately got second thoughts about petting a dragon. Sallis saw their hesitation and tried to coax them.
"Come on, if you don't make nice-nice with Leila, she won't give you a ride on her back to Wolf Pack Island."
At this, Lina perked up. "Really? She can do that? Lucky!"
In her old childish nature, Lina stood up and walked over. She could have sworn that the lake dragon /purred/ as Lina pet it. Gaining confidence by example, Amelia also walked over. Also wanting a free ride, Gourry asked, "Sally? What about us? Can we pet her?"
Crossing her arms in front of her, Sallis replied, "I don't think so. Leila isn't really interested in guys. Hmm… Ah well. Lina, Amelia? This magic floor is going to disappear in about five minutes, so if you're planning on taking a ride, you'd best get on now."
"Hey, what about Gourry and the others though? We can't just leave them stranded here!" Lina declared.
Sallis sighed and said, "I suppose she'll let them ride, but down blame me if she tries to throw you off. Come on. All aboard."
Sallis climbed on first and seated herself in the first part of Leila's mane. Deciding that it might be hard for eight people to stay on, she waved her hand and a sort of rope looped around Leila's mouth and another rope tied both sides to the previous rope, becoming something much like reins on a horse. Lina climbed on next right behind her and immediately gripped the reins on either side of her torso. With full understanding, Amelia sat directly behind Lina.
Leila was apparently used to this, so she didn't budge an inch, but when Gourry tried to get on next, Leila's tail flailed and tried to swipe him off her back. By holding onto the reins though, Gourry managed to stay on. Sallis cooed some soothing words into Leila's ear and she immediately calmed down. Eventually, Zel, Val, Jillias, and Gravos clambered on, just as the floor collapsed and disappeared. Sally directed Leila and with a roar, Leila was off. It turned out that Leila could travel quite fast. If it weren't for the ropes, they would have all easily fallen off.
They traveled for what must have been hours, but the island didn't seem any closer. After a long while, Lina asked, "How much farther is it? I'm getting tired and I'm hungry!"
Sally grimaced and voiced her thoughts sarcastically, "Unless you intend to fish off of Leila's back or Miss Zelas Beastmaster decides to hold a banquet in your honor, you won't be eating for quite a while."
Lina groaned and looked around. As far as she could see, they were surrounded in every direction by the blue ocean. Lina sighed as she closed her eyes and daydreamed about the food she could be eating. Suddenly, Leila came to a very abrupt stop, which made everyone lurch forward, hitting the person directly in front of him or her. When they looked to the side to see what made her stop, everybody became downcast with a feeling of foreboding. For there, in the middle of their path, surrounded by whirlpools, was a blue-haired female with a flowing sea blue gown covered with pictures portraying sea life. At first, her face appeared grim, but she suddenly broke into a large smile and pointed at them. A torrent of sea creatures flew out of the water in front of her and tried to crash into them on their way back into the ocean. Leila was very well trained because she managed to dodge all of the attacks with apparent ease. The strange newcomer started to get angry and sent more streams of aquatic creatures at them.
Upon deciding to help out, Lina got ready to cast a variation Mono Volt on the schools of large and exotic fish, while at the same time, Gourry got out his sword and prepared to swing at them. Seeing this, Amelia and Zel also prepared to attack. The attacker noticed this and started to float down near the surface of the water. Sallis also saw them preparing the attacks, but did nothing besides steer Leila away from the oncoming attacks. Just as Lina, Gourry, Amelia, and Zel launched their attacks, the sea-faring woman put her hand on the water's surface and cast a silent Sea Blast, blocking the attack. Well, at least that was the idea. Since Lina's Mono Volt was electric, and she had countered with water, the electricity naturally traveled through the water shocking both the nearby horde of fish and the lake dragon along with the Slayers. At the same time, Gourry's sword shot a "Lance of Light" so to speak from his blade. It hit the woman between her neck and her chest and somehow, that, along with Zel and Amelia's Fireballs, sent her tumbling head over heels backwards just above the water's surface.
She stopped tumbling some 20 yards ahead of them and sunk into the water. There was a brief flash of light in the area where the woman had sunk. The next moment, the dolphin from before gave a mighty jump. When it surfaced again, a bit farther away, it was being followed by a legion of sea creatures. As soon as she left, the whirlpools dispersed, leaving them in perfectly calm waters. Lina sighed with relief; it appeared that the attacker, whoever it was, would leave them alone for the time being. Before anyone could even ask, Sallis answered, "That was Deep Sea Dolphin, the Mazoku Lord that reigns over the Demon Sea to the west. Mess with her friends and you mess with her, but then, if you hurt them, she'll run away and come back with much bigger friends." Sallis sighed and nudged Leila to start going again after feeding her a small snack. Lina and the others had to grab onto the side rails quickly, or else they really would have fallen off.
When they had settled down, Sallis continued, "Some say she was driven insane, but I think its partly just childish instinct. After all, she /is/ supposedly the youngest of the Mazoku Lords. Ah well, we should reach Wolfpack Island within the hour."
For the remainder of the sea trip, they were all pretty much silent. It was amazing that they had gone this far, this fast, and none of them were feeling sea sick yet, but maybe it was because Leila was going so fast that they didn't have time to think about that. When the time came, Sallis bent down her head a little and called out to the rest of them, "You'd better cast barrier spells on yourselves or else you'll be severely hurt soon! We're coming to the monster barrier around the island."
They did as they were told, Lina and Amelia covered themselves and Gourry while Zel covered himself, Val, Jillias, and Gravos. Lina wondered if Sallis had cast a barrier spell, but she was slightly eased when a golden aura spread over her and then moved to cover Leila before it disappeared from view. As Leila went through something ever so slowly, everyone felt a slight electrical twinge on top of something that was similar to being frozen stiff, while the smell of fresh earth and nature became apparent in the air. They all winced as the feeling became stronger, until it was almost unbearable. Then, just as suddenly as the pain appeared, it disappeared. Amelia, Gourry, Jillias, and Gravos opened their eyes, and saw before them a gigantic island with steep cliffs on all sides. On the only large hill on the eastern side of the island stood a huge gray fortress complete with turrets and barred windows. When they voiced this speculation, Lina pointed out that this was what they saw in the telescope earlier. Zel and Val nodded in agreement, but Sallis remained silent as she steered Leila to the nearest part of the island.
It just so happened that the closest part was on the polar opposite side of the island to the castle. What amazed them was that when Leila stopped just inches from the side of the island, the cliff rose at least three times higher than the whole length of her body. Due to the shortage of sorcerers and sorceresses, Sallis offered to cast the magical floor spell again and they all readily agreed. After they all jumped/climbed/flew down from Leila, the Slayers gathered around Sallis on the small beach, but made sure to give her enough room to form the spell. Lina heard the incantation of this spell and it struck her as odd, but finally just assumed that it was a completely original spell.
"Lord of the Heavens,
Lord of the Earth [beneath me],
Create a floor of the lightest of weights,
That will lift me up to the skies above.
Holy Dais!"
The golden aura that had surrounded Sally during of the incantation crept down her body like luminescent liquid, onto the ground, and spread around the group until it formed a smooth rectangle. Gourry and Val watched in awe as the golden-bordered platform slowly carried them higher and higher. When the platform was level with the grass on top of the cliffs, Sallis made a quick hand movement and the floor came to a stop. If someone from Earth had witnessed or experienced this spell, it would have very much reminded him or her of an elevator. The group of eight travelers walked off the floor seconds before it dispersed once more. Looking back, Lina chuckled slightly before putting on a determined face.
"Alright! We're off to rescue Liona! Forward, Ho!!"
Her voice echoed on the huge island, so naturally, birds flew the coupe (the trees) at the sound of her voice. Lina felt a tad offended, but marched forward anyway, all the while taking the lead (obviously) as the group walked towards the castle. Gourry and Zel followed directly behind Lina, while Gravos, Amelia, and Jillias came behind /them/. Sallis took the rear with Val close at hand. Before long, they reached a lax forest area. Taking an apprehensive intake of breath, Lina trudged on in.
Not all that far away, in the depths of the castle, in the throne room to be exact, Zelas Metallium, Lord Beastmaster, was laid back in her chair, smoking. (Tsk Tsk Tsk Smoking's BAD) Suddenly, mid-puff, she almost gagged as she felt sudden magical power on both the astral and physical plane. She coughed several times before her /ever/faithful general/priest asked, "Umm… Are you alright?"
Zelas caught her breath and glared at the servant that she had created eons ago from part of herself. She ruefully answered, "No thanks to you."
Xellos put on a nervous smile in face of his master's wrath. Thankfully, Zelas turned the short conversation serious.
"Did you feel that strong aura just now?"
Xellos grew serious as well. "Yes."
Suddenly, an echoing voice betrayed another's presence. "It would seem that Lina and the others have successfully arrived on your island, Miss Metallium. And it seems… Oh no…"
The voice broke off suddenly. Mazoku Lord and Servant looked at each other in a questioning way. Finally, Zelas shrugged and commanded Xellos in a voice dripping with poisoned honey, "Oh Xelly-dear (Xellos grimaced at the nickname), please go and /greet/ our guests. Zeynon, would you be a dear and please go and wake my darling babies in the forest? Dismissed."
Xellos, the Mysterious Priest, and Zeynon, a mazoku in original wolf-form, bowed to their mistress and teleported off to who-knows-where. Left alone once more, Zelas continued to smoke.
Meanwhile, Lina-tachi were progressing very slowly through the forest that had suddenly started to become much darker and denser the more they went in. Whenever there was a large floral barrier in their path, Lina would just fireball it. Apparently, this was an enchanted forest because only the part she directed it at, was damaged in any way. From there, Gourry and Zel slashed clear a pathway for them to walk through. After walking for a long while, they reached a small clearing. In the middle of it, surrounded by trees (duh), there was a small pond clear as day. Lina rushed forward and bent down with the mind to drink it, closely followed by the others. If Sallis hadn't warned them so suddenly, who knows what would have happened.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you."
Lina stopped and looked around at Sallis. Actually, everyone else did, too. "Why? We haven't eaten or drunk for hours! We're thirsty!"
Gourry added, "And hungry!"
Sallis put a hand on her forehead and sighed. She walked towards the pond and stopped at the edge. She picked up a stick and slowly dunked the first half into the water. Lina-tachi watched as she pulled it back up seconds later. They definitely did not like what they saw. The branch looked like it had been dipped in /acid/ rather than water. Sallis threw the branch into the pond and looked at the group.
"I'm not saying you'd come out like that if you drank it, but I'd strongly advise against it if you aren't a mazoku. This is from a sacred spring, at least to the Mazoku race, that replenishes and heals any mazoku that drinks from it. Of course, there are only five places where there is even a drop of it. One spring with Dynast, one in Hellmaster's headquarters, one here, at Zelas' island, well, you get the point. If you're hungry. . ."
Sallis stood up and her hand glowed gold before she reached inside her cloak. She pulled out eight small, pink pills and handed one to each of them, taking the last for herself. "Swallow this and you'll find that the effects will be /fulfilling/. You may chew it first if you wish, but it won't do much good for such a small pill. Once everyone gulped them down, they were surprised to find (except for Sallis of course) that they felt quite full, as if they had just eaten a big feast. Sallis explained, "They're travel rations. Handy on an expedition like this."
Everybody but Val, Jillias, and Gravos suddenly sensed something. Sallis smiled and bent down next to Val. Just then, several pairs of gleaming red eyes and low growls could be seen and heard all around them. The Slayers were apprehensive, but Jillias and Gravos were just plain scared. If Val wasn't the reborn form of an Ancient Dragon and Mazoku, he probably would have been too. To put it simply, the people who could use magic readied spells; the person with only a sword unsheathed his sword; and those that had no weapons whatsoever were hidden from view by the circle that the others had made.
A lone wind blew, as if acting as the signal for the ambushers to attack. When they came into view, they were revealed to be wolves with gleaming red eyes and a wonderful mixture of black and purple in their coats. Since they were on a Mazoku Lord's island, they assumed that any thing and any one that moved was a mazoku, thus, they took no mercy on them. Lina first cast a Fireball, just to test it. The wolf she hit dropped to the ground with a whimper, but got up again moments later. Angered, Lina hit the rest of her targets with Elmekia Lances. Gourry attacked two at once with his "special" sword, and they were slain instantly. They were slashed in half and disappeared in a scratchy black movement. Zel and Amelia attacked a large area by casting double Ra Tilts. Strange as her style was, Sallis simply waited until a wolf was just a few feet from her before she cast a barrier spell knocking it back, unconscious. Apparently, it was a very strong electrical barrier.
Having nothing else to do, Val, Jillias, and Gravos made a game of counting how many wolves the others killed. In the end, when there were no more left in sight, Jillias tallied them up. Lina killed 7; Gourry, 12; Amelia and Zel 10; Sallis, no kills, but 15 electrocutions. After taking a breather, Lina caught sight of another pair of eyes in the shadow. It walked slowly forward, into the light. It was pure black with a gray underside. The wolf was larger than the previous, but when he looked at the eradicated wolves before Sallis, his eyes widened with surprise. With a soft whimper, the wolf backed into the trees and ran off in the direction of the castle. Gourry made to go after it, but Lina stopped him. "If a mazoku doesn't go after you, consider yourself lucky, especially when you're on mazoku territory. Come on, we're not getting any younger just sitting here."
Lina started walking in the same direction that the wolf had gone and was quickly followed by the others in the same formation.
Apparently, the news of the unsuccessful ambush had spread quickly, because they didn't meet any other barriers besides those of overgrown vine and weed growth. In the same amount of time it took to get as far in as the pond, it took to get to the other side. Fortunately, after many hours of getting lost while going straight all the way (don't ask me ^.^), they finally reached the end of the forest. When they got out, they immediately saw the entrance to a cave. Above the entrance was the hill on which the fortress stood. From up close, it looked even older and larger than from a faraway glance.
Not feeling particularly up to scaling the hill, Lina decided to go for the cave entrance. Since nobody really dared to doubt Lina's judgment, they followed her in. As soon as they went in, the entrance was suddenly barricaded, trapping them in a pitch-black cave. Lina used Lighting, as did Amelia, Zel, and Sallis. Feeling that there was nothing they could do about the entrance at the moment, they decided to walk on. When they went through another archway, torches suddenly lit up on either side of them, equally distanced about 10 feet apart. Needless to say, they "blew out" their spells and followed the pathway. At the end of the long tunnel, there was a large cavern type room. From there, the pathway split twice. Deciding to let a stick decide, Lina picked up a long stick, and let it drop. It pointed towards the left one. Sallis smirked to herself as Lina walked towards the left side. They had scarcely walked 10 yards before a low rumbling could be heard. Lina stopped and listened. Suddenly, a huge boulder came rushing towards them, forcing the travelers back to the cavern. They dove out of the way as the boulder ran smack into the entrance to the first lighted tunnel, blocking their way back even further. Deciding that the other way would have been much safer, Lina led them into the right tunnel.
They walked for quite a while; the path seemed endless. When they finally reached the end of that tunnel though, they came to a cavern much like the previous one. The only difference was that now there were three tunnels. The middle pathway appeared to be stone steps leading up. The left was a winding trail going ever so slightly up. The right pathway was straightforward. Amelia tried her luck with the stick, and it chose the middle one. So Lina-tachi started to walk up that one. Unfortunately, they hadn't walked up 25 steps before it turned into a downhill slide. If Sallis hadn't moved with Val, they would have been squashed by the rest of them. Gravos, Amelia, and Jillias took that job though. Once everybody got up and brushed themselves off. Jillias chose the left one so Lina chose the right one. Sallis smiled yet again as she followed the small troupe. Once more they went through a straight but long lighted tunnel. When they came out, they were met with the same problem except the three choices had different pathways. The left turned left, the right turned right, and the middle was straightforward. Sallis suggested that they would probably cover more ground if they split up. Lina was against this at first, but after they barely dodged a line of spears coming down, another boulder, and went through another tunnel only to find a cavern that branched into another three tunnels she was all for it. Actually, she didn't know how much good would come from splitting up, but the moment they did, there were no more booby traps, at least not at first.
The first group was Amelia and Zel; they took the middle road. The next group was Lina and Gourry; they took the right path. The rest – Val, Jillias, Gravos, and Sallis, took the only path left; the left path. (Word "Pun" Intended ^_^)
The first group went through the end of the tunnel, and came across a huge lake. When they tried to fly across, they were met with a barrier as soon as they hit the air above the edge of the bank. They saw a single boat next to a small dock to the right of them. So, with no other option visible, they went in. The boat /was/ rather small, so they had to squish in a bit. Zel rowed; the boat creaked ominously. As soon as Zel stopped rowing to check out the noise – which happened to be in the middle of the lake – The boat sprung a leak. Amelia put the force of both of her hands to try to plug it up while Zel rowed as fast as he could to the other side. Unfortunately, an even bigger hole sprang up right under Zel. The force was so strong that it lifted him at least 8 feet above Amelia's head. With nobody to row, the boat began to sink, with Amelia still in it. Upon seeing that she might drown, Zel jumped down from the small pillar of water and picked Amelia up. Taking a deep breath, Zel attempted the Run-on-Water trick. Due to his demonic qualities, it actually worked. They both had to sit and catch their breath when Zel finally reached the other side. After taking a rest, the pair prepared to continue on, but it turned out that they had been resting on a trapdoor, and getting up set off the doors so that they plunged ever deeper into the caves.
The third group had many twists and turns and choices, but they managed to get through the traps and maze with Sallis' help. After about 9 caverns worth, they came across, of all things, a dead end. They decided to backtrack and try a different route but it turned out that the second was a dead end too, and the last one had a boulder that blocked them from going any farther back. With the boulder-free path as the last possible choice, they walked to the end of the tunnel, only to find another dead end. Finding some curious hieroglyphs on the lower part of the wall, Val ran his hand over the drawing/writing. It suddenly glowed a bright red, and the wall moved aside to reveal another pathway, with but one choice. Soon, they came to the light at the end of the tunnel, and went towards it. After discovering that the sun had now set, (where did the "light" come from then) the group members looked around and found that they were on a very small cliff overlooking the forest. When they looked up the hill, and compared it to the distance to the ground, Sallis estimated that they were halfway between the castle and the ground. Knowing that their wandering had come to a stop, Sallis announced that they were going to have a full-course dinner. Afterwards, they would sleep and wait till morning to decide what to do. They had no problem with this, of course. Sallis set up a picnic blanket of sorts and magically pulled a dozen plates piping with hot food from her cloak. After they ate, Sallis silently put a heavy sleeping spell on the three, protected them with a long-term barrier, and with a last look, teleported away.
Lina and Gourry were met by a very straightforward path. Of course, spears, arrows, and trap doors tried to do them in, but after working together for five years now, it was nothing that they could handle. However, not once after they had separated from the rest, had they had to choose a pathway – there was only one to choose from. Along the way, they came across five caverns, all with only one path to take. After they came out of the fifth tunnel (which was very short), they found themselves in a long corridor going left and right. Directly ahead, were two very large brass doors with large, lit torches on either side. Seeing the big golden knocker, and tired of tunnels, Gourry knocked (with the knocker). The sound echoed through the air, followed by an eerie silence.
Lina and Gourry waited. A few moments passed before the double doors creaked open slowly. A voice echoed, "Enter," and Lina could have sworn it was Xellos' voice. Lina and Gourry walked forward. The first thing they saw was a golden throne atop a gray marble dais. Seated quite elegantly on the throne chair, was the most beautiful woman either of them had ever seen (No offense to Lina herself, but it's the truth). She had a nice tan, albeit a bit darker than most, and clothes that were cut short (as if made for hot summers), but still fancy and well, /fun/. It was a violet color with a black design and gold trimmings. Her rubies and amethysts in her rings, bracelets, necklaces, and earrings matched her hair and eyes. She had a look about her, as well as a smile, that seemed to say, "I'm the most enjoyable Lord there ever was!"
As they were now only several feet away from the throne, something made them compelled to bow in her presence. The beautiful woman that could only be Zelas Metallium herself, nodded her head in response. From there, she took on a completely different attitude. It actually seemed a lot similar to the way Xellos acted during their travels.
In a completely innocent and carefree tone, Zelas gave a closed eye smile as she clasped her hands together next to her cheek as she greeted them.
A/N: Urgh! Too… tired… cannot continue this chapter… must wait till next time… This was my longest chapter yet! 7 ½ pages! The sea travel took more time than I expected. Oh wellz. Thanks for staying with me for this long! If all goes well, there should only be one or two more chapters, but you never know. Please review! I know you read my story, so please don't forget to leave a comment! Ja ne!