Lina yawned loudly and she tried to stretch the sleep out of her muscles. She was surprised she had gotten any rest at all, with Gourry and his incessant loud snoring. Turning her gaze towards the other side of the room, she saw her old friend sprawled out as usual across his entire bed. She smiled and shook her head before hopping out of her own and making her way to open a window. One simple smell of the air from outside hinted that a glorious day was at hand. Of course it would be. The most powerful sorcerers in the world would make sure of that. Today was the opening ceremonies of the Sorcerers League, where all the mages would come together and compete. It was the first time that anyone had ever attempted such an event like this, with no real known reason for it. To see who really is the most powerful magic user in the world, perhaps. Lina couldn't help but be excited about this. The few prizes she had actually heard of were amazing. Rare treasures from ancient times, powerful talismans and amplifiers, scores of money, bragging rights. What could be better? Lina wondered what the actual tasks would be like. She highly doubted there would be any combat between people. It would be far too dangerous. It must involve fighting some mystical creatures and finding some sort of item at the top of some treacherous terrain. Yeah, the usual.
She was excited especially to see a few old friends. Amelia was coming as an honorary guest, which wasn't too surprising. Lina couldn't wait to give her the gift she had made for Amelia's 18th birthday. Zelgadis was rumored to be attending as well. She wasn't sure why. Maybe he wanted to compete, or most likely he wanted to harass some of the mages if they could cure him. That wouldn't be surprising either.
She let out a long sigh and stretched. Five years… Hard to believe it had been five years already since they all met. But then again, when you have adventures like they do, time really does fly. Everyone has grown so much, she thought. Lina herself had a sudden growth spurt and grew a few inches. Her face had a new pretty glow of maturity, not that her skin wasn't healthy anyway. She was built different than other people, after all. But she was the same old hot-tempered Lina. No change there. What fun would that be? Amelia must've changed a lot, too. After going separate ways, the friends promised to see each other every few months. However, the past year was a busy one, and it was just short of 10 months since they had gotten together. This was a perfect opportunity. Well, first things first.
A loud, strange snore came and interrupted her thoughts. She turned and walked over to Gourry's bed. Looming over him, she thought of a way to wake him up.
"I know." She leaned over, opened one of his eyes, and screamed. At this, Gourry must've leapt three feet into the air before landing with a thud on the hardwood floor. He then popped up a few moments later, looking peeved and tired.
"Lina! What the hell is wrong with you?"
"Time to get up, jellyfish," she smirked. Gourry turned to look out the window, seeing the sun barely making its way up from the horizon.
"Gah, what time is it? Too early…" he forced himself up and stretched.
"C'mon, I have to sign up today and get to the opening ceremonies."
"It's not until nightfall, for goodness sake."
"Yeah, yeah. But I want to check out my competition. Besides, I have to do that stupid entrance test."
"For what?"
"Ugh, how many times do I have to tell you? Only 30 people can compete in each division, and there are a few hundred who've come to try out, so we all have to take a test, and the 30 best magic users for each division will be chosen and announced at the ceremonies tonight."
"Oh, that's right. You never explained to me about these psychic magic people."
"Over breakfast. Come on, I'm hungry."
"Ok, I'll have… two orders of pancakes, a side of bacon, one of those waffle special things…" Lina mumbled.
"And an order of cheese sticks!" added Gourry. The waitress gave them both a dumbfounded look.
"What? A sorceress needs her energy for the test today!" The waitress just started nodding and walking into the kitchen. If one thing hadn't changed, it was their appetites.
"Ok, now, Gourry. You know that psychics are people who have extreme mind control, right?" He nodded. "Good. Now, psychic mages use their mind power to alter and control the magic they use. There are disadvantages and advantages to this. When they use a combo, they have to focus on two tasks, not one. Therefore, the magic spells won't be as powerful as if full concentration was put on them. However, when a psychic is really good and can use their abilities to a high level, they can manipulate anything and everything about that spell. Got it?"
"I think so..." The waitress came back with their food and set it down on the table.
"Yatta! I'm so hungry." Lina wasted no time in digging in. Gourry was soon to follow.
"So, these psychic people…"
"I'll show you what I mean when we watch some of them in action today. The tests are open seating."
"That's good. Isn't it dangerous, though?"
"I doubt it. Any really dangerous tasks will probably have the audience far away…"
"So, who's idea was this anyway?" the blonde asked with a mouthful of … something.
"What? The competition?"
"Yeah."
"Good question. I'll have to ask around, I guess. I wonder what time I have to be at the sign up booth. And where it is, for that matter…"
"FUNNY you should be pondering that, my dear lady!" came an unfamiliar, and unwelcome, voice from behind Lina. She yelped and whipped around to see… nothing. Her eyes darted back and forth until a stubby hand appeared out of nowhere in front of her face. She blinked before following the appendage to its origin and found a very small man standing before her. He was short beyond all reason, and round as well. She felt like she was staring down at a beach ball with arms and legs. He had on a floral designed T-shirt, shorts, sandals, and a straw hat that covered his hairless scalp. Quite the vacationer… He gave her a warm smile before inviting himself to sit at the table in an empty seat beside Gourry. What a sight that was… the tall and buff swordsman staring down confused at the cheery little plump man. Lina was too dumbfounded to even respond.
"Uh… who are you?" Gourry asked innocently. The small man just chuckled.
"Why, my name is Chukabu. Sir Chester Chukabu," he said. Lina's eye ticked. What kind of name is that? Sounds like something a muse-deprived fiction writer would come up with, she thought to herself. She shook her head of all thought and just blinked at the man. This was so surreal for some reason. "I work with promotion for the committee. Anyway, I reckon you're here to enter the contest?" he asked, that same happy grin plastered onto his shiny round face.
"Yeah… I am," Lina replied, eyebrow raised.
"Here's a map and pamphlet of today's events. You should sign up as soon as possible. You have to pass the preliminary evaluation before taking the test." He handed her the odd pile of papers, big and small. She scanned over it a few times, every now and then looking up and eyeing the man curiously. He just sat there… forever smiling… it was starting to creep her out.
"Alright. I guess I'll go right after breakfast, then," she finally concluded. His smile widened --although she didn't think that was possible-- and he spoke again.
"Glad to hear it. Do your best. Rumor has it you're a favorite. Wouldn't want to disappoint the fans and not make it in." He gave her a slight wink before excusing himself from the table and moving on, perhaps to harass some other unknowing group. Lina followed him with her eyes as he walked out and then turned back to the table, now covered in multicolored papers.
"Well, that sure was weird," Gourry finally said after a few minutes.
"Yes and no. This is the first time anyone's tried something like this, and while it seems popular with spectators, of course possible entrants are going to be weary. They've got to convince those teetering on the decision that it's worthwhile to join. So guys like him have to go out and pull the whole 'oh, if you don't join now, you'll miss out on the event of a lifetime' type deal. However… he was just strange."
"That's for sure. But wouldn't the prizes be enough? I mean, it got you here, didn't it?" Lina sighed. He's always asking questions… but at least he sort of had a point. She pulled out the main application and began to fill it out. Gourry started to sift through the other papers to see what they could do that day after she didn't answer.
"Ok, let's see. Name. Lina Inverse. Age. Twenty…. gender, female, bla bla bla. Ugh, this is so tedious." She continued to answer scores of questions like "food allergies" and "other participating family members", the latter of which made her wonder if her 'dear' sister had any idea of this. She also came across a few odd ones such as "have you ever raised chickens for commercial benefits?" and "have you ever found yourself at the bottom of deep crater with no idea as to how you came to be there". She was temped to answer them humorously but decided it would be in her best interest not to.
"Hey, Lina! Check out this one postcard. That guy's in it…" he handed her the small card.
"Who?"
"Sir Chocobo or whatever."
"Chukabu. Yeah that's him all right." She continued the application after shrugging off the irrelevant diversion. A few minutes passed before he spoke up again.
"Hey, Lina. It says here that a representative from Seyruun will be making a speech at the opening ceremonies. I wonder if it'll be Amelia."
"No, it'll probably be Phil." She got back to answering questions. Sure enough, a few minutes later…
"Ooh, Lina…"
"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU WANT?!?!?!" He blinked.
"Why are you mad?" he said, eyes widening. She bit her lip and tried to control her annoyance.
"I'm sorry. What is it, Gourry?" she said in forced politeness.
"Look at this." He handed her yet another piece of paper. This one had information on a sword fighting mini competition. She knew exactly what he wanted the second she read the first line.
"Do you think you could handle it?" she asked.
"Of course! C'mon, we've seen the world about to be sucked into oblivion a few times. What's a friendly contest among peers?" He beamed. She just looked back amused.
"Well, if you really want to, then go right ahead," she mumbled as she began to pick up her things. She motioned for the waitress to come, paid the check, and grabbed Gourry to go and check out what there was to see.
It was a long, long line. So much for sorcerers being weary. There had to be more people waiting there to register than Lina had thought would even show up to the thing all together. She started to do the math in her head. Three divisions: White Magic, Offensive/Defensive Magic, and Psychic. Thirty contenders in each category. That meant ninety people would be competing. But there had to be at least a few hundred there. Maybe even a thousand.
"I'm bored," Gourry complained. He, like 80% of the waiting victims, was sitting on the ground in line under the beating sunlight. Despite the heat, however, Lina was pacing back and forth in front of him, covering up her unusual nervousness with the usual impatience.
"Quit bitching," she grumbled. "How do you think I feel? I'm the one competing, you know!"
"Yeah, I do know. Why do I have to wait, too?" A pout formed on his face and Lina twitched. As a friend, she thought, he should wait with her. But his complaining was borderline whining, and having company wasn't worth dealing with Gourry when he acted like a preteen. So she just sighed and gave in.
"Fine, go. Make yourself useful." He paused a few moments, half expecting a lecture or beat down or something of the sort. Seeing that she meant it, he got up and practically skipped away. She blinked, slightly offended by how quick he was to just leave, but took his place on line anyway. She sat on the ground, crossing her arms and legs, putting on a pout herself.
"Arg, doesn't ANYBODY have any suspicions at all about this? Then this wouldn't take so damn long."
"Well, fancy meeting you here, Miss Lina!" She picked up her head, wiping away the red bangs that were clinging to her skin, and was just about face to face with Sir Chuka-beachball (which was kind of sad, because she was sitting).
"Er…hi. Sir Chukabu…"
"Please, call me Chester."
"Alright then, Chester. What's the big surprise? You wanted me to sign up, right?"
"Oh, indeed I did. But I have something for you, and I'm glad we crossed paths." With that, he handed her small card, which was a shiny golden color on both sides. It had nothing written on it except for a long series of numbers. Some sort of code or ID, she supposed.
"Um… thank you." She noticed a few hushed whispers and glances in her direction, but decided to ignore it.
"I suppose you don't know what to do with it, eh?" She shook her head. "Well, follow me then." Reluctance came over her. She didn't want to lose her place in line, but something told her to go anyway. So she stood up and trailed behind the little man. They walked up the line. Every now and then, someone would turn to watch and when they saw the card in her hand, they'd give a quick glare of envy. She ended up shoving the thing into her pocket.
"Where are we going?" she finally questioned.
"To get you signed up, of course". She stopped suddenly.
"But wait. I was already…"
"That little card is a pass, Miss Lina. It allows you to go straight in, pretty much." He smiled again, and beckoned her to continue walking. No wonder people were looking at me like that, she mused. But this must mean that everybody knows about these cards. I sure didn't…
She found herself on another line, this one only occupied by two other people besides herself. They, too, had the gold cards. The desk was underneath a canopy, which was a welcomed plus. The sign above it read "Selected Gold Members." Lina turned to ask Chester about it, and why he had given it to her, but when she did, he was gone.
"So, I see you're a lucky winner!" came one of the other contestants-to-be. He was tall and built, his arm muscles about twice the size of Gourry's. His face was tan and unshaven, and his eyes were dark grey. Yet he and a kind demeanor about him, and it sort of reminded her of Phil.
"Yeah," was all she could think of to reply.
"What did you do to get yours, hm?"
"What? I didn't do anything. Some guy gave it to me."
"Woah! Lucky indeed! Do you know what that card is?"
"A pass to not have to wait for hours?" The man let out a chuckle, amused by her answer. She got the idea that he figured she was joking. He watched her for a few moments, as if waiting for he real reason, but a young woman in the other line chimed in instead.
"What are they for?" she questioned.
"These are very limited," he started in a proud, matter-of-fact tone of voice. "Only about twenty of them, I heard. You get one by either doing something charitable or by being a favorite." He turned to Lina again. "I'm sorry. I suppose I figured you had done something to get it. You know… you didn't look like the formidable type. But you must be a favorite if someone just gave it to you. Goes to show, good things come in small packages, right?" He laughed again, amused at himself this time. Lina, of course, was not. She secretly hoped to face him so he could see how good THIS small fry was. Normally, she would have done something painful, but it was far too hot, she didn't want to risk getting disqualified before even starting, and it was her turn anyway.
"Welcome to the League, Miss. May I see your application?" the women asked with a rather obnoxious sweetness to her tone. Lina handed her the small packet. After the women skimmed over it a bit, her eyes widened and she looked up at Lina in slight shock.
"Well! I must say! Lina Inverse! This is certainly going to be an interesting show!" She was a bit louder than Lina would have liked. As expected, suddenly everyone was whispering again, but this time things like "oh, I'd be afraid to go against her!" and "Maybe I should quit now." Lina smiled inwardly to herself. Interesting indeed, she thought. The infamous dragon slayer is here!
*******Closing Credits*******
A/N: Yay. Chapter one! Lets see….author comments. ::ponder:: Well, I didn't want the first chapter to be TOO boring, so I tried to stick to mild humor to keep it interesting. Yay for Lina and conflicting emotions! She's such a ham. ^-^
Not too much to say. Chapter two is written and ready for upload as soon as I get a chance.
Review Corner: Well, since it's chapter one and I have no reviews yet, this section of the closing credits. Basically, I'll answer any questions you guys have and/or just comment on the reviews you leave! I think it's important to keep ties with you guys, the readers, cuz you're what makes a fic successful. So, always look forward to that! I usually comment on everyone unless there's too many reviews, which I doubt there will be. :D
Ch2. Preview: Lina checks out a few of the entry tests to get a feel for what they're like. She overhears some gossip about a possible scandal going on behind the scenes regarding the competition. To top it off, she gets threatened by an official who warns her to forget about what she heard. Dun dun DUN. Lina's in trouble now! What will become of our heroine and her companions? Find out in Chapter Two: Scandal on the first day?
How's that for cheesy announcer? X3
So, what do you think?
~Isa