**A/N**

I want to thank you guys for the reviews you left! Here's chapter two for ya. Not too much dialogue. It's mostly story telling, but we've got some action coming it with the entrance test. Plot twists come in, too. Some mild fluff toward the end. Yay. ^-^ Don't forget to read the closing credits for fun stuff and more info! Enjoy.

*****

The stadium was rather large, probably able to fit about two thousand people if filled to capacity. Despite the room, however, there probably wasn't more than two hundred or so. Lina was among them, sitting alone snacking on some sandwiches and a bottle of fruit juice. The test still hadn't begun and it had been at least half an hour since the scheduled time for it to start. She sat there staring up at the sky, which was, once again, brilliantly blue and cloudless. She sighed, feelings of boredom taking over her head. First boredom with waiting and then boredom of the constant good weather and boredom of Gourry always wanting to go off and do something stupid. Yeah, she was pretty damn bored.

She finally removed her gaze from the sky to the center of the stadium, where four large cages sat, heavily guarded by a slew of about 30 or so staffers. Every now and then, a large grunt or bang would come out of one, and the group would swarm to appease whatever was inside. Lina had thought about what sort of creatures were in the cages, but that got boring after about five minutes. It was pretty distant and she couldn't get a good look through the bars. She fiddled with a small band around her wrist. It was given to her by the staff when she entered and apparently was to prevent the audience from using magic and interfering with the test. Of course, Lina had to test it out. While she was still able to cast some low level spells that wouldn't catch anyone's attention, it took quite a while and a good amount of energy. She felt it wasn't worth the effort.

Lina was relieved to see a short middle aged man come out from a dark entrance in the seating. He used a spell on himself to make his voice louder. Lina felt her heart flare up with excitement as he began to speak.

"Welcome ladies and gentlemen! We thank you for coming to view this examination, test 37-D of the Psychic Mage category. Please remain quiet during the exam as to not disturb the contestants and dragons that will be used. A shield has been erected to keep any outside forces from interfering with the exam." Lina was impressed at this. She hadn't been able to see or sense any sort of energy shield around the center of the stadium. For a fleeting second, she wondered if it was really there of they were just saying that. Her thoughts were interrupted, however, when he continued to speak.

"Let me introduce to you the four competitors! Please come out now." At the four contestants came marching out from the same dark doorway, each one clad with a purple sash around their waist that also had a small gem on one end. She squinted to get a better look and noticed that one of them stood out like a sore thumb. Three were men, all tall, one of them lanky and thin and the other two muscular. Lina guessed their ages to be late twenties, early thirties. The last was a young girl, also tall, and cut. She had long black hair tied tightly into a braid. She looked to have the physique of a swimmer. Despite this, Lina wondered how she could stand a chance against the others. She was small compared to them, and also looked a bit scared and weak. She could overhear other people nearby commenting on her, saying she was crazy and there was no way. Lina wouldn't want to admit it, but she felt the same way. Still, she hoped that maybe the girl would win.

"The contestants will be required to complete three tasks. They will be judged on their skill and power, and given points and style and how they complete their tasks. Additional points will be awarded for speed and based on the difficulty of each task. Contestants, are you ready?"

"Yes," they all said in unison.

"Then let the test begin!"

The exam started simply enough. There were four mages opposite the contestants who cast flare arrow and sent the spells hurtling at them. One by one, the four used their psychic powers to manipulate the spell and direct them to hit a target as accurately as possible. The thin man did the best hitting the bull's-eye directly. One of the two stronger men was the second fastest, but missed the target completely. The other one hit it fairly accurately. Lastly came the girl who got the bulls' eye as well, but was the slowest.

They all ran to the next station, which was on an elevated platform in the center of a circle that had four points marked. Here, they began to cast their own fireball and sent them flying out in front of them in different directions. It looked as if they'd hit the audience, but then each fireball was surrounded by a purple aura and slowly hovered to a stop. They began to shrink, some faster than others, but eventually were so small Lina could only make out a tiny dot. The four balls were sent into the ground on four marked spots and set off a extreme explosion. The girl's happened to be the second largest, beaten only by the thin mage who was proving himself to be the best. After the debris from the blasts cleared, they all jumped down and ran over to where the four cages were. The cages swung open and out came four adolescent lesser-dragons, all quite agitated and violent.

Lina's eyes widened. She had no idea how on earth they could control the things. But as she watched, the girl had managed to calm one of them down. She was talking to it, looking it straight in the eye, and soon enough had it under her command. While the other three continued to struggle with their own dragons, she hopped onto hers and flew up high above the stadium to where a small tray stood floating with four balls sitting in it: one gold, silver, copper, and glass. She grabbed the gold one and then held it up above her head where she fficially took first place. Lina watched on amazed and awe-struck at the whole thing. She had no idea how on earth ANYBODY had thought up of a test like that. She was even more shocked at how fast it had happened. I couldn't have taken more than ten minutes.

After a short time, the other three men had taken claim to their prizes: skinny mage taking second, and the two big guys taking third and forth. Lina was extremely proud of the young girl and decided she'd go over to congratulate her on the victory. She began to pack up her random odds and ends into her bag when she overheard some conversation.

"Hey, did you here about what Lucas said a few nights ago at the pub?" came a low, hurried voice from a few seats behind her. Lina turned her head just enough to catch the site of two scruffy looking middle-aged men with pot-bellies sitting next to each other. She turned back to her bag, going much more slowly now.

"No, I wasn't paying any mind to that ol' drunkard. Nobody does. Why do you bother listening to 'im, eh?"

"He's got some interesting stories to tell, Keon. You ought to pay attention—"

"Yeah, yeah. Get on wit' it, why doncha?"

"Anyway, he said something about a secret plan coined up by Rester."

"You mean the chairman? The one that started this whole thing?"

"Sure do! Apparently, he wants to know who the most powerful sorceress in the world are. That's why he came up with the competition. He's going to try and take over the planet…" At this, the man Keon started to let out a loud guffaw that shook the benches. Lina winced and was tempted to cover her ears but decided against it.

"Take over the planet, you say? That's the most ludicrous thing I've ever heard! That ol' bloke is out of 'is mind, if ya ask me."

"Shhhh! Keep it down, you bumbling idiot!"

"For what? Are you afraid ol' Rester is going to come and take you to your mum? GAHAHAHA!"

"God dammit, Keon! Shut your damn mouth already!" Lina noted a hint of panic in the man's voice.

"Oh, I'm so scared, they're going to take over the planet! What ever shall we do? YAHAHAHAHAHAH! Wooo, you really crack me up, ya know that?" Keon's friend said nothing. He just sat there looking at him incredulously. "Oh, don't look like such a scared rabbit. You can't tell me you believe that, now?"

"I'll admit at first I thought it was just some pointless ramble. But notice how he hasn't been back since?"

"They probably threw 'im out for disturbing the peace or what have you." The other man just sighed and focused his attention back to the field. There was a large crowd now surrounding the four contestants, especially the girl. Lina figured she's see her around and decided to just sit and wait for the next test to begin. There was nothing left to do anyway…

Within a few minutes, Lina found herself dozing off, her head slowly falling backward onto the empty bench behind her. The sun beat down on her face from almost directly above and the heat just acted as a catalyst to her drowsiness. Her eyelids grew heavy as she felt her mind slip into blissful rest until a loud THUD broke her out of her near sleep. She scowled and turn her head toward the commotion. Her eyes shot open at what she saw.

The two men where there, Keon with a bruised and bloody face and the other out cold on the floor. Next to them were three men, all in official looking uniforms and sashes tied around their waists, similar to the testing contenders but a deep blue color. One of them violently shoved Keon forward and then returned to help another official carry his friend off. The third stood there overlooking the whole thing. Lina quickly turned away, her heart racing almost as fast as her mind. While she had no intention of believing the story before, now it was hard for her to feel there was no validity to it.

A sudden chill flew up her spine and as much as she wanted to resist, she turned her head back to where the struggle had been. And he was staring at her. Straight at her, right into her eyes. His were a cold icy blue, expressionless and almost empty. He was much younger than she would of thought: probably mid twenties or so. His face was strong and handsome, but his eyes were sharp daggers that seemed to slice into everything they set their gaze upon. She knew instantly that they were the source of the chill she had gotten. But once again, a loud interruption, this time a BANG coming from the center field, had broken her thoughts and caused her to look ahead of her. She blinked a few times, unable to focus on what had made the sound. And again, for the last time, she turned her head towards the seats behind her, but this time, they were gone.

She looked around and noted that the stadium was practically empty now aside from a few straggling viewers like herself and a rush of workers setting up the field for the next test. She realized that she had indeed fallen asleep and was probably there for some time before she woke up. And while the summer sun still blanketed her with warmth, her body was covered in goose bumps and she was very, very cold. She shot up, grabbing the last of her belongings, and ran out of there.

***

"Let's see… I'll have three ice cream sandwiches and a vanilla shake. "

"Er…is that all?"

"Yeah."

"23 silver coins please!"

Lina found herself indulging in one of her favorite pastimes: food. It was practically evening now and she spent most of the day just wondering around being useless. She was slowly making her way towards the eastern side of town where Gourry said he'd meet up with her. A small restaurant called "Joe's Bayside Bridge Club." …

She took a seat at a table on the balcony overlooking the bay which led to the sea. The sun was setting off to the right and it was quite the picturesque scene. The sky was painted with purples and pinks, bright oranges, and deep reds. This led her to think of blood. And that led her to think of what happened that morning…

"Dammit!" She slammed her fist down on the table and then her head. It's what she had to deal with all day. Trying so hard to forget what had occurred and being able to for a short while until SOMETHING reminded her. Her frustration was getting the best of her and she shoved a chunk of ice cream into her mouth.

"Hey, Lina! How was your day?" Gourry had finally showed and took at seat at the table across from her. She angrily turned her head towards him, refusing to remove it off the table, and gave him the look of death. He just blinked and then smiled.

"Wow, you look almost as bad as if you just woke up…" He paused and thought about this. "Nevermind, nothing's that bad." She just rolled her eyes and finally lifted her head.

"It sucked, if you must know."

"Oh, sorry to hear that…. Care to tell?"

"Er… nah, it's… not that big a deal…" She wasn't quite sure why she didn't want to say anything.

"Hmm. Well, then. I've got to show you something! It'll cheer you up. Come on!" He jumped up from the table and grabbed her arm. She just followed, not really in the mood to protest or ask. He brought her to this open area inside the town where a small dance floor had been set up. There were a lot of people dancing and being happy and perky. It made Lina sick and she looked up at Gourry.

"What is this all about?"

"Doesn't this look like fun?" he asked. She looked back at the happy people as they slowly made their way closer to the party. It did look fun. Fun and happy which was quite the opposite of how she was feeling and thus, made her feel worse.

"Sort of."

"Wanna dance?" At this, she felt blood rush to her face and she shot up straight. She looked at him wide eyed and surprised.

"D..dance?"

"Uh..yeah. Dance. You know… like…dance?" He did a sort of jig thing as if to explain what the word "dance" meant. She just kept staring at him. Sudden defense mode sprang up and she crossed her arms.

"I don't dance. That's for kids. Jeez, you can be so childish sometimes." He just shrugged.

"It's not for kids. There are people older than us dancing! You can be such a party pooper sometimes." He crossed his arms to mock her and put on a pout. She couldn't help cracking a smile, but only after she knew he wasn't looking.

He noticed a small girl of about seven sitting by herself and watching the dance floor longingly. So he went over and asked her to dance. She blinked and looked up at him before smiling widely and accepting his offer. Lina just watched on, still smiling. What a doof, she thought. She took a seat at an empty table and looked around. She didn't want to admit it, but the lighthearted atmosphere definitely lifted her spirits a bit.

But after a few minutes, she got bored. What's with me? she thought to herself. She certainly felt like she hadn't been herself since she arrived at this whole thing… She let out a long sigh and then thought about the conversation that morning. With an exasperated "ARGH!" she dropped her head into her hands and cursed inwardly. This wasn't her idea of a good time….

"Hello there, Miss Inverse," she heard from a very uncomfortably close range. She lifted her head and then her mouth had dropped slightly open. It was him…

It was as if she almost had something to say, but the dryness in her throat let no words escape. She knew she must have looked like a frightened little girl sitting there staring at him like that. But she couldn't bring herself to snap out of it. It was extremely unlike her and she didn't like it at all. "Glad to see you again. Having a good time?" She nodded slowly, not taking her eyes off of his. He smiled and turned his head to the dance floor. "That's good to hear." He watched all the joyous dancers, his mysterious smile still there.

"People are wonderful creatures, don't you think?" he asked. She said nothing. He continued without waiting for an answer, the grin melting off his face. "However, there are many flaws in the human psyche. Mindless babble, for instance. People saying things without thinking of the consequences or whether what they say has any relevance. Stupidity. Sometimes, it's best if one pays no mind to such babble. It keeps the mind clear and the heart free of tainting. That is some of the best advice I was ever told. Do you understand?" She didn't react. She knew exactly what he was saying but didn't want to acknowledge it. So she sat there. Staring. He turned back and smiled again at her. "Good. So, are you here with someone? A boyfriend maybe?"

"No," she said bluntly, the only word able to come out.

"Ah, what a shame. Someone as talented and attractive as you should be." He stood up and bowed before turning to leave. "Until next time, Miss Lina."

She sat there, sweat beading from her forehead and her heart pounding again. She knew she was blushing madly, but that was the least of her worries at the moment. This was much more serious than she could have imagined. What the hell was going on? She sighed and rested her chin in her hands. Then she shook her head and looked around. Gourry was standing there a few feet away giving her a look she'd never seen before. She swallowed hard and gave him a nervous smile. After a few odd moments, he walked over.

"Who was that?" he asked more seriously than she would have liked.

"I honestly don't know. He was … I think he's part of … maybe he's staff." Gourry just continued to stare at her, seeing right through the words. She shrugged, her defense mode kicking in again.

"Oh well, no worries. It was about the competition anyway. Hey, I'll take you up on that offer." And with that, she grabbed his hand and led him out onto the floor.

*****Closing Credits*****

A/N: Yay, chapter 2! I'm really sorry it took longer to come out than expected. I had an anime convention this weekend for one. And I dunno, I had it written and it magically disappeared from my computer. Along with a random website I had made. I don't know what that's all about, and I'm not happy about it.

Anyway, my thoughts: I like this chapter. Favorite scene probably has to be Gourry and the little girl. It's something I could just see him doing.

Introduced some major plot points. And if you can guess, some major characters as well. Keep in mind, Lina and her crew are the main characters and I'm keeping it that way. The OC's will not run the show. They're there to move the story along. Blee!

I have chapters 3 and 4 outlined, and 3 summarized, so I'm looking forward to that!

I really like the ideas for Chapter 4 and can't wait to write it. As a pre-preview, it's Lina's turn to take the entrance test and we get lots of action! LOTS of it. Oh yeah!

Hopefully, it won't be too long. Can't wait! My challenge to you: guess which of the characters in this chapter should be coming back. XD

I'll be in Florida for a week, so the next chapter should be due by…hmm, I'll say Sunday/Monday of next week. *nod nod* sounds good to me.

Rant: I HATE FF.NET FORMATTING! AKDHFDLSKFJ@#*($YU!_(*@&#(*&*!!!!!! I had such a hard time getting this story to look HALF decent for viewing. Grrrrrrrrrr

Review Corner: Yay! 5 reviews! That pleases me greatly. :p I get to comment to you guys! Woot.

-Pogo: Phew, I'm glad I was able to keep them IC. I haven't watched slayers in a VERY long time, so that can be a challenge. But I have slayers Premium downloaded and 2 random episodes on my computer, so I just keep watching them over and over again to get the feel. Thanks for reading and I hope you'll stick with it.

-Beedoo: Hey! Thanks for the review. The next chapter is here! XD Hope you liked it.

-CT: Thanks for the compliment. First chapters are always a bit tough since you've got to get people's attention and all. Yes, I do plan on having Gourry's compete in the sword tournament. Whether or not it will have a big affect on the story is yet to be decided. As of right now, though, I think it won't. That can always change if I get an idea. And I also plan and bringing back our old favorite characters, some more than others. You undoubtedly will see Xellos and Filia, perhaps Martina and Zangulus a little later. Zel and Amelia are definitely coming! Check out that CH. 3 Preview. So look forward to that in future chapters.

-Saki3: Woosh! I'm glad you find it interesting. This is good, I usually suck at that starting stuff!::Is relieved:: Promise, I'll keep writing!

-Mossygirl: Yay, another one. XD I'm glad everyone's finding the first chapter interesting. Well, I'll do my best to keep the humor going. My friend let me borrow Slayers NEXT again, so I can get the feel for the characters a bit better. Sorry this chapter didn't have much funny stuff, but chapter 3 is a bit more light hearted with Amelia, so expect humor and light fluff to ensue.

-LitingTune: Saved you for last cuz you wrote the most! I am really glad you're enjoying my story so far. I'll try hard to not disappoint you. I actually enjoy this story a lot and the way it's coming out, which is a rare thing. I never like my own work! I'll keep updating as much as possible and look forward to your future reviews. *hug* Yay! I love to please people. XD And don't worry about threatening me. I need that sometimes to make sure I keep with my deadlines. X3 Thanks again!

Ch.3 Preview: Amelia shows up and Lina is thrilled to be able to spend time with one of her best friends. And as an honored guest, Lina's sure she'll be seeing a lot of the princess throughout the competition.

But, alas, the lighthearted fun comes to a halt when once again, Lina find herself in the cold gaze of a figure who she thinks may be following her. Is it a good idea for her to continue to be a part of this competition? Would it be in her best interest to drop out? What is with these people…

That and more in Chapter 3: Between Old Friends!