Chapter 3
"Return of the Sorceress"
After nearly a half hour of running, they finally caught up with Death Fog. The Dark Lord didn't move very fast, but he'd had a good head start while Gourry, Helinor, and Arimus recovered from the force of his movement.
And now, while they were fighting, Gourry never wished more that he had his Sword of Light back. Helinor and Arimus could cast golden spells, but they were very small and weak, and they took a long time to cast. It looked pretty much hopeless for them. Death Fog hadn't attacked back as of yet, but they all knew it was only a matter of time.
Just like things always did, the bad suddenly took an unexpected turn for the better.
A voice chanted loudly through the fight, "Sword of the cold, dark void. Free yourself from the heaven's bonds."
Gourry looked up, and all around. There was no mistaking it. That was Lina's voice! But where was she?
"Become one with my power, one with my body, and let us walk the path of destruction together. Power that can smash even the souls of the Gods. RAGNA BLADE!!"
There was a large explosion of black energy, followed by a blast of light. Gourry shaded his eyes against the sudden light. When it died off, he looked back towards where it had come from. The dust slowly cleared away. Death Fog was still there, though he looked very injured. And standing on a rock that jutted out from the ground was--
"LINA!!" Gourry shouted. He scrambled to his feet, and ran as fast as he could towards Lina. He wanted nothing more than to hug her and hold her tight, but he restrained himself. "How... How did you... The temple... You..." he stammered.
Lina smiled at Gourry. For a second, she thought he'd hug her, but he'd stopped running when he reached her. She'd sort of hoped that he would hug her. But, seeing as he didn't, she'd just answer his questions. "It was actually pretty simple," she told him. "While Trephied was alive, the power behind the seal was shared between both of us. When he died, all the power was up to me. I wasn't just going to stay there forever. I knew I had a chance of defeating Death Fog once he was released, so I just broke the seal. When the temple collapsed, I cut the straps, and blasted my way out of there."
Gourry smiled at her in relief. Lina was shocked to see tears in Gourry's eyes. "I'm just glad you're okay, Lina," he said finally.
Arimus and Helinor had caught up to them, and heard Lina's tale of escape. "I'm impressed, Lina Inverse," Helinor said. "I never would have thought a human capable of--"
"You should never underestimate Lina Inverse," she said haughtily.
"Look!" Arimus shouted, pointing to the sky. "Death Fog is leaving!"
Lina and the others looked up as well. "He must be going to regenerate," Lina thought aloud. "He probably won't fight while he's so injured." She turned to Helinor, and asked, "How long will it take him to recover?"
"From an attack like that? Most of all night, I'd say," Helinor responded. He and Arimus were obviously impressed by Lina's escape and dramatic reentrance with the powerful Ragna Blade.
"Great!" Lina said, smiling. "Then we can get some sleep! I don't know about you, but I'm wiped out! Where's a good inn to stay at around here?"
Arimus and Helinor shared confused glances. Then Arimus shrugged, and said, "There's a town just a short ways off... But shouldn't we attack Death Fog while he's injured?"
Lina started walking towards the town, and waved her hand idly, brushing that aside. "I'll deal with him later. We can't fight when we're tired and hungry! Let's go get some food and some sleep and come back and kick his sorry butt!!"
"Yeah!" Gourry agreed, taking off after Lina.
Helinor and Arimus just stared after them for a moment before they began to follow, albeit at a much slower pace.
When they reached the inn, Helinor and Arimus were in for another shock. The amount of food Lina and Gourry ordered, and the voracity with which they ate it. Their table was in the center of the inn, and all surrounding tables were empty. People were lined up against the wall, watching the violent spectacle. On a few occasions, Lina would let loose a Fireball, which would scare the wits out of most of the onlookers. Even Helinor and Arimus disassociated themselves from Lina and Gourry, standing along the wall with the other spectators.
Finally, after settling down, the tables and bowls empty, Lina sighed, and announced, "I'm full. I couldn't eat another bite!"
"Me too," Gourry said, propping his feet up on the table.
"Now!" Lina declared, standing up and pointing at pretty much nothing. "It's off to bed!! C'mon, Gourry." She grinned, and challenged him to a race up the stairs. She won, naturally, because Gourry knew she would have blown him up if he won. After they reached the top of the stairs, Lina stopped so suddenly that Gourry nearly ran into her. Lina peeked around Gourry, and back down the stairs. "You coming?" she asked Arimus and Helinor.
Arimus nodded, and answered, "But not just yet. We'll be up shortly."
Lina shrugged. "Okay." She turned and found her room. She smiled up at Gourry, said goodnight, and went inside. While she was getting comfortable in her bed, she realized something she'd not had time to think about all day.
She was still in her pajamas. Gourry had been, too, for that matter. But with his armor strapped on, it looked almost like his normal clothes. Lina gritted her teeth. Why hadn't Arimus or Helinor told her she was in her pajamas? She sighed, and figured she'd just ask Arimus or the innkeeper for some clothes tomorrow.
Just as Lina was about to fall asleep, she heard something outside her door. She looked over there, and saw the door start to open. She got her hands ready to cast a fireball at whoever the intruder was--
And stared as Gourry walked slowly into her room.
"Gourry?" she asked, confused. She lowered her hands, and sat up in bed. "What are you doing in here?"
Gourry fidgeted a little, and said, "I need to talk to you."
"Sure, what is it?" Lina asked with a shrug.
After pulling a chair over to Lina's bed, he sat down on it. "I just wanted you to know that I was really scared today," he admitted.
"Of Death Fog? You don't have to be scared of him, I'm gonna whip hi--"
"Not him," Gourry interrupted.
Lina blinked, puzzled. "Well... What, then?"
Gourry took a slow breath, before he said, "When they took you away from me and locked you up... I was scared I'd never see you again. And..." He looked away. "I felt like it wasn't worth living without you there for me to protect. I almost stayed in that temple when it started to collapse. I felt like it wasn't worth being alive if you were gone." He looked up at Lina again. "I'm scared, because I've never felt like I should die if I never saw someone again. I don't want you to ever, ever leave again, Lina. Promise me that? Please?"
"G-Gourry..." Lina stammered, blushing, trying to find something to say to all of that.
"Just promise me, Lina?" Gourry asked her.
Slowly, Lina nodded, and told him, "I promise."
Gourry smiled, and hugged Lina tightly. "Thank you, Lina." Then he stood up, and started out of the room. He was about to open the door, when Lina said his name. He turned around to look at her.
"Gourry, do you..." Lina started, blushing brightly. "I mean, would you..." Again, she didn't finish her sentence. Instead, she smiled a little, and shook her head. "Never mind."
"What is it, Lina?" Gourry asked. What had she tried to ask him?
Lina snuggled down into her blankets again, and said, "Nothing. Good night."
Gourry looked at Lina for a moment, before he replied, "Good night," and left the room.
Lina stared after the door. She couldn't believe she'd almost asked Gourry that... Good thing her common sense took over. She turned onto her other side, and curled up in her blankets. But, the thought that Gourry would be that distraught over her being gone... She'd been sad and upset when Gourry had been kidnapped by Phibrizzo-- she'd even cried --but she never thought of not living. Of course, she'd been confident that she'd get Gourry back. Gourry was convinced he'd never see her again. But, still... He'd rather die than live without her? Did that mean that he really--
Before she could think anything strange, Lina cut her thoughts off, and forced herself to go to sleep. Despite what Gourry had told her, nothing between them would change. Everything would be exactly the same as before, because nothing was different.
In the morning, after Lina got some new clothes from the inn, she, Gourry, Arimus, and Helinor left the inn at a run, chasing after Death Fog. He'd most likely healed himself by then, and it was time to attack. It took them the better part of an hour to find Death Fog, and when they did, they seemed to be at the perfect battle site. The area was wide and flat, with mountains on two sides and a deep valley at the opposite end. Death Fog couldn't get out, while Lina and the others had a sure was of escape should they need to retreat. Lina, however, was not intending on running away. She would win.
"All right," Lina shouted, facing Death Fog. "This is it, guys. The final showdown. Death Fog is going down."
"I think the best way to attack," Helinor told Lina. "Would be for you to use that powerful attack you used yesterday, while Arimus and I cast our spells as well."
Lina nodded. "Works for me," she said. "I'm going to cast my spell. Make sure you're ready to cast yours when mine goes off, okay?" When Helinor and Arimus nodded, Lina bowed her head, and extended her hands out to her sides. "Lord of Darkness, ruler over the Four Worlds, I call upon you. Grant me the power that you posses," she said, chanting the talisman amplification spell. Then she began the Ragna Blade. "Sword of the cold, dark void. Free yourself from the heaven's bonds. Become one with my power, one with my body, and let us walk the path of destruction together. Power that can smash even the souls of the gods. RAGNA BLADE!" Lina held the blade of magical power in her hands. She could control the Ragna Blade easily now. She glared at Death Fog, right into his metallic green eyes, and charged at him. She jumped into the air, and brought the black blade slashing through the air, and through the fog surrounding the Dark Lord.
When Lina fell to the ground again, she looked up at Death Fog from her knees. "He's not even injured!" she shouted. Death Fog didn't even have a scratch on him. "The Ragna Blade didn't even touch him!!" She glared at Helinor and Arimus, who had run over to her, Gourry right on their heels. "What the hell happened?" she demanded loudly, standing up and placing her hands on her hips. "That spell worked great last night! Now it went right through him! Explain!!"
"On rare occasions," Arimus started. "Death Fog can build an immunity to certain spells. Normally he can't defend against very powerful spells. But he must have had all that time overnight to build up his immunity."
Lina was furious. "AND HOW COME NOBODY TOLD ME THIS BEFORE?" she exploded, standing on tiptoe to try to shove her face up to Arimus's.
"Because it normally wouldn't happen with such powerful magic," Arimus told her steadily.
Gourry placed a hand on Lina's shoulder, and she sighed in frustration. "All right. Fine. What do we do now?" she grumbled, crossing her arms. She was very much aware that Gourry didn't take his hand away, which helped her relax a little.
Arimus and Helinor looked at each other, and shrugged, not knowing what to do. Gourry shrugged at well. "If I had my Sword of Light, you could cast spells into that," he said ruefully. "But it's gone..."
"Gourry, you're a genius!" Lina shouted, clapping him hard on the shoulder.
Gourry blinked. Lina, calling him a genius? "What did I say?" he asked, more confused than ever.
"We'll go to the Overworld and get your Sword of Light back from Sirius!" she exclaimed. "We'll just borrow it for a little while! He won't mind!"
"How will we get to the Overworld?" Gourry asked.
Lina turned to Helinor and Arimus now. "You two got from the Higher World to our world. You can get to the Overworld too, right?"
Helinor and Arimus glanced at each other. Then Helinor answered, "I suppose we could..."
"Great!" Lina said enthusiastically. "Now, let's get going already--"
"Lina Inverse," Arimus interrupted. She ignored the glare Lina shot her, and said, "If we leave, Death Fog will make it to the town on the other side of that valley. He'll kill everyone there."
Lina stared. "N... No way..."
Slowly, Arimus nodded. "We can't leave. The town will be destroyed."
Lina bit her lip, and looked up at Death Fog. They couldn't defeat him with the means they possessed now. They needed the power of the Sword of Light, and probably the other Dark Star weapons, too. Those were their only solution at the moment. Unless... She could try the Giga Slave. But, even though she could control the power of the Lord of Nightmares when using the Ragna Blade, the Giga Slave was the Lord of Nightmares, and there was no controlling her. After learning the truth about the Giga Slave, she tried never to cast it again. But, if they couldn't get the Dark Star weapons, then what other choice did they have? Would she really have to use it?
"Lina Inverse," Helinor said quietly, as if he was reluctant to speak. "There is another way..."
"What is it?" Lina asked, jumping on any suggestion that would get her out of casting the Giga Slave again.
Helinor looked Lina steadily in the eye. "We could seal Death Fog to you temporarily while Arimus, Gourry Gabriev, and I go to the Overworld and get the Sword of Light."
"You think that after you nearly sealed me to that thing for eternity, I'd let you go and do it again? What kind of idiot do you take me for?" Lina yelled.
"We know you're capable of either maintaining or breaking the seal," Helinor said calmly. "If we left you, you could easily break the seal, and we'd be back at the starting point."
"If, however," Arimus continued for Helinor. "You hold the seal of your own will, you can maintain it until we can return and destroy Death Fog."
Lina glared between Arimus and Helinor for a minute. She sighed, and bowed her head reluctantly. "As much as I hate to admit it, you guys are right," she said. "That seems about the only way for this to work out right now."
"Lina..." Gourry said quietly, his voice obviously protesting that agreement.
"Don't worry about me, Gourry," Lina told him with a reassuring grin that belied the butterflies in her stomach. "I'll be fine. You just hurry up and get Sirius and the Dark Star weapons, okay?"
Gourry just looked at her for a moment, his eyes begging her not to do that. But her stare was steady, and he could tell that she wasn't going to give in. He sighed, and his shoulders sagged. "If you say so, Lina," he said finally.
"Great!" Lina said, putting on a false smile. "Then let's do this!" Despite what Helinor and Arimus said, she was still nervous about having Death Fog sealed to her again.
Arimus and Helinor stood around Lina. Each of them had one palm facing Lina, the other facing Death Fog. Upon their instruction, Lina faced Death Fog, and held her hands out, palms toward the Dark Lord. Gourry hung back, watching silently.
Slowly, Arimus and Helinor's hands began glowing golden. The light encircled Lina and Death Fog, connecting them by a steady beam. There was a loud rushing sound, and a bright flash of light. When the light faded, Death Fog was gone, and Lina was glowing with a golden light. Her jaw was locked, and her hands were tightly into fists. "You guys better hurry up," she told them. She could feel Death Fog trying to break away, already testing the limits of her willpower and strength. "I can't hold him very long."
"Lina?" Gourry started, taking a step towards her.
"Go!" Lina shouted.
Arimus took Gourry by the arm, and led him away from Lina. Lina watched as the three of them held hands, and disappeared in a golden light. When they were gone, Lina let herself drop to her knees. She didn't let on how strongly Death Fog was trying to break free. She hadn't been understating the fact that she wouldn't be able to hold him long. She found herself wishing they were back already so she could let Death Fog go.
Authoress Note:
I AM SO SO SO SO SO SO SORRY IT'S TAKEN ME THIS LONG TO UPDATE!!! First I had computer problems, then we revamped my hard drive, then we had MORE computer problems, then after we got my computer working, I couldn't find the file for this fic! Finally, I got around to doing a search over both computers, and found it! So here it is! I even put in more than I had originally planned to make up for it!! Forgive me please!!!
In any case.... some of you may have noticed that the chant for Lina's talismans is different. In the series, the chant goes "Lords of Darkness of the Four Worlds, grant me all the power you possess." In this fic, it's "Lord of Darkness over the Four Worlds, grant me the power you possess." Same basic thing, but if you remember, Dark Star is dead, so Lina's old talismans don't work. She has new ones, meaning there's a new chant. Just in case some of you didn't catch that.
And now I have a recommendation to make. If you have a PS2, get/rent the game Ephemeral Fantasia. It is UBER-awesomal. You'll want a LOT of extra time on your hands, though. Like, a week's worth. Probably more than that, actually. And you'll want to print out the walkthrough. There's a really good walkthrough out there somewhere that I use all the time. You can't beat the game without it, trust me. But it is so much fun! And it has lots of kawaiiness! And there's a talking guitar! It's definitely worth renting! My brother says it's a lot like Grandia (sp?), if anyone's played that..... I haven't played Grandia, so I wouldn't know. All I know is that I love it. I've had it for a few days now, and I think I'm about halfway through it. So, yeah, go rent it. After you rent it and play it, I'll show y'all the pictures I drew for it ^_____^