Chapter 12 - A Cave...Oh, Nice
"We've been walking and walking and walking and walking for days now! I've had enough of this sun and sand!!" Lina fell forward onto her stomach.
"Me too." Gourry fell next to her in the same way.
"Sarah-san, how much longer do we have to go?"
"Not very far. If we go quickly enough, we can reach those cliffs within a few hours."
"A few hours...that's what you said three hours ago!" Filia exclaimed.
"Yes, but I also said if we go quickly enough. Inverse, Gabriev, and Saillune are all slowing us down too much."
"But Seliana, they're humans, people, it can't be helped."
"They need to learn to get through things like this. Otherwise they're hopeless."
"Hey! I'm not hopeless! And don't go off without me!" Lina got up wearily and pulling Gourry up on his feet, the both of them stumbled forward to catch up with the rest of the group, only ending up in the sand again.
"Sarah! How can you? We have all been going on like this for days. Even if we can take it, Lina, Gourry, and Amelia-san are still humans! And they are people, like you and me. How can you be so heartless??"
Sarah growled at Filia's voice but stopped, turned around sharply and walked back. She ignored the blinking from the others as she pulled Lina to her feet and then picked her up, carrying her over her shoulder. Lina started to yell and refused to be carried, but Sarah casted a sleeping spell on her and then continued on forward.
"I am only carrying Inverse. The rest of you figure out who is going to carry Gabriev and the princess."
With that, she walked forward across the sand at a brisk pace. Jeffrisce shrugged and picked up Gourry while Zelgadiss was left to carry Amelia, who started blushing while politely refusing. Then they all caught up to Sarah and the peacefully sleeping Lina.
"So what do we do when we get to the cliffs?"
"Climb."
"Climb!? That!? While carrying these three??"
"They will have had enough rest by then. Inverse might cause trouble, so her I shall keep carrying even when we climb. She'll be awake by the time we get to the cave."
"Cave? What cave?"
"Sarah's cave, I believe."
"You still remember that, do you? Well good for you. It just so happens to have a portal connected to one near the lake we are looking for."
"Then you must have been there before."
"No Copt, I have not. In fact, I never knew of its portal until LoN told me of it. Which was not too long before I met this group."
"So you've never been to the temple itself?"
"No, I am afraid not, Graywords. So when we reach the temple...whatever lies there, a test or a challenge, I must go through it also. Then again, this journey itself could be the test..."
"That doesn't really make much sense Seliana. How can the journeying be a test when there's someone leading? And what kind of a test would that be?"
"Jeffrisce, you think too little. Spend a little more thought on these things, won't you?"
"Uh...think too little? Thanks a lot..."
"You shouldn't really take much offense from Sarah. Her hobby is criticizing others after all."
"Maybe so, but I would be grateful if you would not say that in front of me so....bluntly..."
"Does that mean that I am annoying you?"
"No, just offending me, not that I really mind, I guess. But I thought that you were much more polite than that. More polite than the average Mazoku. But I guess you are that average Mazoku."
"Oh, I wouldn't know about that. I consider myself a unique being, Mazoku, of course, but still unique in my own way, as everybody else."
"Ah, I see, is that how you feel about dragons also? For example, this Copt, an ex-priestess of the Fire Dragon King, mother of the last of Ancient Dragons, and, perhaps the -only- emotional Golden Dragon that has dared to insult you directly. Is that what you consider unique? Perhaps unique is a word you like to use in place of fond characteristics."
"I doubt that."
"Well I do not, and you cannot change my mind."
"I am sure I can."
"I am sure that you cannot."
"Well then, we shall see."
"Yes, we shall."
Zelgadiss sighed while Filia was trying to suppress her feelings towards Sarah. Ever since they left that town Xelloss and Sarah had been quietly and calmly arguing and throwing insults at each other. So calmly that if you didn't listen to their conversations carefully enough, you'd think they were having a nice afternoon chat. But as Zelgadiss listened, he could tell they were trying to make the other angry and hurt. Xelloss just couldn't figure out why Sarah would be jealous of Filia and so refused to believe that. So he was angry at Sarah for a different reason. He could be thinking that Sarah was doing this on purpose so that he would hate her, but that was Zel's thoughts.
This was why the two were arguing with each other so much. It was interesting to watch Xelloss arguing in this certain way, though, because whenever he argued with Filia, it was very noticeable because he would twitch, look a bit malicious, or his voice would hold that teasing tone. Right now though...his face was still the same, as if that cheery grin and happy closed eyes were plastered right onto his face. And he spoke normally, just like Sarah spoke as she normally did, and he looked unbothered by it all...but hearing his replies and remarks towards Sarah, he was definitely upset at the least.
Three hours later, Zelgadiss sweatdropped. This time Xelloss and Sarah were arguing again, just like before...but this time they were talking about Filia and both were calmly spitting out little insults at each other and her. So now Filia was angrily joining in on the argument. This caused Xelloss to twitch slightly, and Sarah...her voice just became deathly cold and silent, a bit threatening also.
"Hey, guys, guys, Xelloss, Filia, Seliana, calm down, you can't all keep fighting while we climb the cliffs."
"You stay out of this before I hurt you Jeffrisce."
"Seliana, ^^; I said calm down."
"Do you think you are my anger counsellor?"
"Um...no?"
"Good. If that was what you were thinking, your face would have been stuffed into a pile of rough gravel by now." A sleeping Lina still hanging over her shoulder, Sarah started climbing up the steep cliff that the group had just reached. Next followed a somewhat nervous Jeffrisce, then Xelloss, and then Filia. Zelgadiss and Amelia were left to wake the sleeping Gourry(he fell asleep on the way)before they followed them up.
"So, when we get up there, are we going straight through the portal, or can we have a rest?"
"I was waiting for someone to ask me that. I plan to stay there for a few days before going."
"A few days? Three?"
"Hai."
"Why so long?"
"Because we have enough time, and during that time, these humans we have in our group need to rest up to full health and get ready for whatever might be at that temple, or just the lake."
"Oh... And you have no problem with that?"
"No. I had problems earlier because I just wanted to get to my cave. Once we are there, everything is fine. Anything ahead of that is not my problem except for what might be laid directly in my path."
"Oh, I see...then... You weren't really complaining about them being humans but how slow they were being?"
"....."
"Why Sarah, I think Grau was right last time we met him. You have gone soft. During the time I knew you I never thought that you would actually really care for a human. But I guess now you care about all of them as individuals, just like humans themselves."
"Shut up. I have not gone soft. If I was allowed to, I would cut this girl's throat right here for being such a damn nuisance. But being one of your lord's top pawns in her plans and also a being that can serve LoN in one out of two ways, I cannot. Two different things would happen. You would be forced to fight me to make sure that I would not be able to kill her, and sooner or later, LoN would mark me a traitor and pull me back to my death. I do not favor either."
"Either? I do believe that you have no reason to be afraid of a fight between us."
"....." Sarah stopped in her climbing for a moment and then started up again at twice the speed as before.
"Oops, I think I hit a weak spot just now." Xelloss grinned cheerily and continued at the same speed. As he did, Zelgadiss wondered why Xelloss was bothering to do such physical work. Actually, he wondered why he even bothered to stay around. Was it because of Sarah? He wouldn't know his reasons. All he knew was that Xelloss had been acting differently ever since Sarah joined their group, even when she had been acting. They must have had some past. And remembering what he had seen before that night that Sarah was revealed, he thought...they must have gone through a lot for the two of them to be the way they were, and for a Mazoku like Xelloss to...love...
"Zelgadiss-san, do you think it's really possible for Mazoku to have feelings?"
He sighed and shook his head. "I don't know Amelia, I really don't know."
"...Well...if that's true...then I wonder why they just can't feel. Uh, discluding Xelloss-san."
He thought about what she had said. He hadn't thought of that himself. If Mazoku could feel, then why didn't they? Then something that Sarah said suddenly popped up. 'That is how our race is. We are originally born without a natural ability to feel.' If that was the case for Silver Dragons...then maybe it was the same for Mazoku? Sarah had also said that the priests of her race were like moving statues. Mazoku weren't exactly like that...so...maybe they do feel emotions after all, just not positive ones. Seeing Xelloss, they definitely become angry, and anger -is- an emotion, good or bad. So even if they couldn't love, they were definitely not completely without feelings.
"Only a little more, come on, Seliana's already gone in." Jeffrisce was looking down at them from the small mouth in the cliffside. Xelloss got up and in on his own, so did Filia(she refused Jeffrisce's hand.She's still quite upset from the argument before with Sarah and Xelloss)but the others accepted his help gratefully. Well, Zelgadiss only mumbled a quiet thanks, but the other two happily smiled and thanked him. Then they all headed inside.
First it was a little dark, but they soon found themselves in a large chamber with a few torchs, a few more tunnels connected to it. They looked around in awe at the color of the cave. It was beautiful. A pinkish red with purples and blues, a little green here and there. In some spots there was also a little orange and sometimes yellow. The firelight of the torches sort of made the whole chamber sparkle and glitter.
"Wow...this place is beautiful..." Amelia whispered quietly as if it would be a great sin and terrible unjust crime to break the silence of the beautifully colored cave. Then the ones in this large chamber heard footsteps coming from one of the tunnels, and then Sarah's cool and pretty much monotone voice stabbed into the calm atmosphere like a knife.
"That is why I like to sit here and think. It has a rather relaxing and peaceful air about it. It is much easier to think. Any of you are welcome to come here and do the same during our stay here. However, right now I should show you to your own rooms. Do not expect as much beauty as this though. This is the only chamber with this many colors. The rest are basically dull and boring." She moved from the mouth of the tunnel over to another one and walked inside without waiting to see if the others would follow.
All of them took an extra moment to look around before they went to follow Sarah. Jeffrisce, Zelgadiss, Filia, then Amelia and Gourry. Xelloss must have already gone into some other tunnel.
"Remember, above the opening of this tunnel is a glass orb with a crescent moon lit inside it. Any chambers down this tunnel are all used as bedrooms. They all have the neccesary furniture and light, but there are no fireplaces." The silver haired chimera stopped in front of a curtain before pulling it back to show a fairly large room with a bed with a peacefully sleeping red-head, a couple torches, some extra blankets, a drawer, and a small round table with one wooden chair. "This is the warmest of the rooms, so Inverse and Saillune should sleep here."
"Arigatou Sarah-san."
Sarah gave her an unemotional look and then shrugged slightly. "I am not doing this out of kindness. That bed is too small for two, so one of you need to spread out those blankets and sleep on the floor. But having seen Inverse's sleeping habits, I suggest you sleep on the bed and Inverse on the floor. I cannot allow my clients to be beaten during sleep." She let go of the curtain, hiding the room from view, and she continued forward, stopping at a second room. When she pulled the curtain open, it showed a second room just like the first, with the exception of a certain sleeping sorceress. "Here, I am not sure who to put. This room and the one before are really the only warm rooms, and I do not know how Copt and Jeffrisce take the cold. But Gabriev, I believe, would need to sleep in this room, meaning either Graywords or Jeffrisce need to sleep here."
"Me! ^-^ I've been wanting a nice warm room for quite awhile."
"So you plan on putting me in a cold room!?"
"Hey, I said me! Seliana, can I?"
"Hai. There is no other choice. No matter how idiotic Gabriev is, his body can still feel cold, as he is human, and therefore if I put him in the next room, there is a possibility that he will catch a cold. And even if he does not, setting my human client in a cold room is not desirable. You, however, are not really my client as you did not join this group from the very beginning and your highest goal is not to get to the temple but to watch over this group. This discludes you from my checklist of clients. Meaning I have no reason to care for your health. But if you wish, I can find something for that baby to sleep in and cast a spell on it to keep him warm."
"Hey, hey, stop ignoring me!"
"Ugh! You are almost as cruel as that demon! Hai, I do wish to do that, but if you can cast a spell like that then why don't you just cast a spell on the whole room to make it warm?"
"TT Both of you are ignoring me~!"
"Simple, the spell would drain me while it is in effect. Yes, I could sleep to regain my energy, but if I sleep, the spell goes out, and I do not sleep all that much anyway. But for that little space it would not have much effect on me. Now," She turned to Jeffrisce and Zelgadiss. "Graywords, are you okay with Jeffrisce taking this room? You can either take the same room as Copt or you can take a room by yourself in the last one. Most coldest of course, but being what you are, it probably won't bother you in the least."
"I don't mind. But if my room is the last then what about you?"
"I just said before while talking to Copt that I do not sleep. I do not need a room and neither does Xelloss."
"But you need to rest Seliana, you haven't slept at all since we left my forest."
"I have gone a whole year without sleep and I can go for an eternity if I want. Anyway, if I sleep that baby will have no way of keeping warm unless he moves to a different room and this fool of a dragon will not want to be away from him."
"Foo-!"
"If that is what you were worried about then you could have just asked me."
"Ah! Hey, Xelloss, since when were you standing here?" Gourry blinked at the shorter man right next and behind him.
"Oh, since before."
"Before when?"
"Just before. Anyway, Sarah, it is true you can go on without sleep but that does not change the fact that you become tired and weary doing so. So you should get as much sleep as you can when you get the chance. And there will be no need to worry about Valteria since you can cast the spell and use me as an energy source instead."
"Offering your services to me are you? Or are you offering it to this ex- priestess indirectly?"
"E-"
"I am merely offering a second possibility that includes you catching some sleep and the little dragon getting his warmth so that you, the guide of your so-called 'clients', may get your rest and be relieved of worries so that you can concentrate better on your job. For your clients are also mine, and if they are lead by a worn out and basically useless woman, that becomes my concern."
"Stop i-"
"Woman? Hmph, you took the time to specify. Fine then, I shall sleep for a night."
"Four."
"One."
"Five."
"We will only be staying for three days and three nights."
"You two..." (quick note from author - To the reader(s)! Brace yourselves...)
"Still five."
"Two."
"Five."
Twitchtwitch..twitchtwitch...
"...Three."
"Um..."
Twitchtwitch twitch
"Six."
"Three, that is final.!" Her voice had suddenly dropped a few pitches and became very sharp and silent, but cold and threatening. No, not threatening, killing. She wasn't very fond of sleeping, basically because if she was unconcious she couldn't keep an eye on things, meaning she would have to depend on someone else to keep things under close watch and she would never know when she would wake and what she might dream. It was those last two she was most afraid of. The unknown. Her life was mostly in order, she knew basically everything, she could tell anybody every detail about themselves, she could always guess their next move, their next words, thoughts even. Yet...in sleep...The Forest of Dreams hadn't been an exception. She was still scared even then, but she had known she needed those dreams.
"Deal! Well then, I think you need to sleep in the last room with Zelgadiss."
"Yes, I guess so."
"Nani???" Zelgadiss blinked and stared at the two. "What the hell are you saying!?"
"Well it is obvious that Filia-san will not allow herself to sleep with such a 'mad and cruel' chimera such as Sarah. She really is that stubborn."
"Mad and cruel? Well I had no idea that the golden pridess, oh, priestess...ah, yes, it was ex-priestess. I really had no idea she called me mad. I must thank you for telling me that. But then again, you did not tell me, but rather insulted me through her. So I really must ignore it instead...this being which Copt calls..namagomi...nice name for him, is it not? No matter, he is right. Copt will not let me stay in the same room, and there are no more rooms, so I have no other choice but to sleep in the same room as you. Now I have no problem with that, you are a man that can be trusted, not to mention cute, and I have no miscomfort around any men. However, what do you think? Do you happen to have any problems with sleeping with a girl in the same room?"
Twitch.....twitch....massive twitching...........................
"Uh...well...not really.."
"Then it is settled. This has all been set up comfortably for everyone, even me. I do not wish to sleep with that anger filled Golden Dragon either." Just as Sarah turned away to head back to the main chamber, the aforementioned anger filled Golden Dragon sort of...
"HOW CAN THE BOTH OF YOU JUST IGNORE ME LIKE THAT AND TALK SO CALMLY IN FRONT OF ME AS IF YOU WERE TALKING OVER AFTERNOON TEA WHILE INSULTING ME AND TREATING ME AS IF I WERE NO MORE THAN A MERE MOUSE!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I HAVE -NEVER- IN MY ENTIRE LIFE MET ANY TWO PEOPLE WHO ENJOY DOING THAT AS MUCH AS YOU TWO!!! AND YOU BICKER AWAY AT EACH OTHER SO HAPPILY AND UNEMOTIONALLY LIKE COMPLETE ENEMIES WHILE AT THE SAME TIME TEAMING UP JUST TO MAKE ME FEEL HORRIBLE!!!!!" This burst, eh, scratch that, this explosion....wait, scratch that again....this super nova greatly surprised Gourry, Zelgadiss, and Jeffrisce. Xelloss merely raised an eyebrow at Filia with a curious look and Sarah...well...she...
"And since we are done with deciding on who goes where, I can show you the other different rooms there are and afterwards have dinner. Or you can do whatever you like and simply hear a few short notes. On the other hand, you might like to go follow Saillune and join her in her effort to escape my boring tone of speech, Xelloss's playful and happy irritation, and angry and hurt Copt's wrath. Whichever is fine by me." She then took a step forward but stopped there. "Yes Copt, I am pretending that that outburst never happened, and no, I am not sure how Xelloss was trying to treat you, but I, definitely, was not treating you as if you were no more than a mere mouse, but rather, as if you were no more, yet much less, than a pesky mosquito.an annoying tick.a white termite.a mere -ant-." Sarah greatly stressed the word 'ant' and stood still for a long moment before making haste to the main chamber.
"Yare yare, that was certainly harsh.." Xelloss spoke slowly and quietly, showing even the least bit of pity towards the very surprised, perplexed Filia. Even he had never gone that far, and probably never would. Maybe pretend that someone hadn't just yelled a million times louder than the infamous Lina Inverse and continue the words he had been interupted in.maybe.but call someone no more than an ant? That was harsh, very harsh, and she had even added 'much less', making it even worse. That was something he would never do. It got plenty negative emotion out of a person, but he considered that to be too low for him. He did, after all, prefer to get his fill of negative energy through other ways. But he had never thought of Sarah as someone who would say that either. So now he started to think, why did Sarah say that? Did she really hate Filia that much? Did she really even have proper reason to?
".....That...that....." Everybody turned to look at Filia. Her head was bowed and shadows hid her face. Her arms were straight and stiff at her sides with fists clenched tight. "...that monster!" She turned sharply around and ran down the tunnel, heading into the room that was to be temporarily hers. There were a few wet dots left on the floor.
"Filia..." Gourry spoke her name softly. He knew what had just happened, and now he felt sad for the deeply hurt dragon. They all watched the curtain of Filia's room quietly before they left to do their own things. Gourry and Jeffrisce went inside their room. Xelloss and Zelgadiss headed towards the main cave chamber.
"Hm...that was very cruel...even for Sarah."
"That's strange to hear from you."
"Hm? Why is that?"
"Because you're the one who usually bothers us so damn much."
"Ah, yes. But I would never go as low and cruel as that. Not in the case of words, atleast. But that really was much too cruel for that to have been Sarah. She is normally insulting and uncaring towards others, but only on the outside. Of course, most things she says are true, especially when they are about her own thoughts, but due to her still having her dragon part with her, she still has a mind for others. That keeps her from saying anything too painful. But just before she knowingly wounded Filia deeply. Hm.. I believe she also tried to upset me."
Zelgadiss looked up at him with a funny look. What made him say so much all of a sudden? He couldn't know. So he ignored that and just thought about what he said. Then he heard voices coming from ahead. Amelia's and Sarah's. He listened more closely in curiousity.
"Demo! That was still mean to do that, Sarah-san." Was she talking about what had happened before? Had she heard that even after leaving them?
"If she were in my position she would have done the same."
"Still! That doesn't mean you can go and just do everything your way!"
"In this case, it does."
"But she'll only be angrier later."
"Then I can just do it again."
"Demo!"
"Stop it princess. Not everyone shares your thoughts on just things. Or how to seperate right and wrong. This is simply my way of doing things."
"But it's still so...mean!"
"Not mean, just a slight bit forceful."
Xelloss and Zelgadiss finally came to stand at the opening of the tunnel with sweatdrop hanging above them both. Sarah was sitting cross-legged on the floor looking very bored with a sleeping and awkwardly sprawled out girl in front of her and in front of that a concerned looking Amelia standing over the other two. No, seeing that wasn't really strange. The reason for the sweatdrop was what Amelia had said next, and so the author apologizes for not typing it up earlier, but she had thought that it would have been better to type it after the sweatdrop even though the actual order is the opposite.
"That's mean! Being forceful is mean! I mean, think about it. Lina-san wakes up from Filia-san's voice, you pass by the room just when she steps out and she spots you. She suddenly gets angry and opens her mouth to say something to express her anger, but before she makes even the slightest little sound, you cast a spell making her fall asleep again! That's just mean making someone who just woke up sleep again, unwillingly too! That's mean, forceful, unjust, wrong, and a violation of free will!"
"What you are saying does not make much of an impression on me, neither does it make much sense. So just leave me be. This is just my way of taking care of things. Besides, Inverse needs her rest anyway. And it will do her a little good to skip dinner."
"You mean to keep her away from food by keeping her asleep?"
"No Graywords, I plan to push her meal to breakfast so that I can save atleast some of the food I have stored here. Which is not exactly much. If I want to keep Inverse and Gabriev in top shape though, I am going to have to somehow gather up much more food..."
"That won't be easy unless you mind teleporting back and forth from here and some place with piles of food."
"Hm... I could do that, but I am not fond of using my teleporting ability too much."
"Why is that, Sarah-san?"
"It makes me feel like a Mazoku. I have not much against them, but I do feel that they are quite lazy and take too much confidence in their skills. I also feel they overuse them a bit."
"But it is always for a good reason, no?"
"Good reason or not, my thoughts do not change." Sarah sighed quietly. "I guess I will just have to keep the two pigs from eating everything up at once."
"Ano, Sarah-san...how are you going to do that?"
She looked slightly thoughtful for a moment before returning to that serious look with basically no feeling. "I have no idea. I will have to see when it comes to it."
"Seeing those two eat and what Lina will do to get her food, there isn't much chance of success."
"For you or another human, no, there is not. I have enough confidence in myself though. I am sure I will figure something out. And if not, well, there is always force."
Amelia and Zelgadiss both looked a bit unsure.
"What if Lina-san gets so angry that she even casts a Fireball inside here? Then won't there be a cave in?"
Sarah slightly raised an eyebrow. "Is Inverse really that careless? Well, no need to worry about that anyway. There is a spell casted on this cave that keeps it stable. I am not exactly sure what, but nothing changes around here. Almost as if stuck in time. No magic and no strength can break anything here, not even make a crack. I have seen it before. Even I have tried it. No mere human will be able to break the spell here."
"So that was what I had felt earlier. You don't know what the spell is? Who cast it?" Zelgadiss asked in yet again more curiousity.
Sarah shook her head slowly. "I was only the one who found this cave. It was always like this. Well, anyway, I should tell you which rooms are which." She got up to her feet quickly and turned to the wall with the group of tunnels. "I will say this again, the tunnel we just came out of has a crescent moon above it and only has rooms." She pointed to the tunnel straight behind Xelloss and Zelgadiss. "The one with the star leads up to a large room with three window-sized openings. There is a view of the sky, a view of the direction we came from, and a view of what is past these cliffs. The one with the half moon leads to the dining room. Surprisingly enough, there is also a kitchen. But unfortunately I do not cook, so it carries no use for me. Everything there works quite well, though. The full moon leads down a tunnel of obstacles and to three different rooms. One is for physical workout. It is very fitting for swordsman and martial artists. The second is basically empty. But you can find a pile of magical practice targets in the far corner. If desired, they can be used to practice magic aim. Other than that, you can do basically anything there. The magic around this cave is most strongest there, so if you need to boost any spells you want to use or practice, that is an ideal place. The third is a healing room. The obstacles in the tunnel are only dangerous enough to give a person several bruises and bodyaches, but nonetheless, the healing room is there. It can also get rid of fatigue after training or before. The tunnel with the empty black orb above it leads to a small pool of water. I have never thought of any use for it, but apparantly, that is the portal leading to our destination. The last tunnel with nothing above it leads to four bathrooms. Two for females, two for males. And I think in the case of perverts, they both have magical barriers that do not allow the undesired sex to enter. Interesting really."
Xelloss sweatdropped at the mentioning of the magic barriers on the bathrooms and quietly slipped away without anyone's notice. Well, except for maybe Sarah's, but if she did notice him 'run away', she made no effort to show it.
"Sarah-san..."
"This place...seems to be a very useful place..."
Sarah shrugged at Amelia and Zelgadiss. "Yes, and it has helped me in several ways. But it is more interesting and entertaining than it is useful. Indeed, this place is a curious mystery. However, there is no way of which I know of that will lead to the answers of all the questions spinning around this cave. Anyway, I think I shall go get dinner prepared. Do whatever you like in the meantime." She left them and went down the tunnel of the half moon, disappearing at the turn before anybody could say anything. She certainly liked to walk at a terribly quick pace.
"...Zelgadiss-san..."
"Yes Amelia?"
"We've been through a lot of things...but this has to be the most interesting yet mind-boggling adventure yet..."
"I'll have to agree with you on that.." A sigh escaped Zelgadiss's mouth.
~~~
Did I overdo it a bit?^^;; well um..anyway, on to chapter 13!*skips happily away....well, no, actually...she runs away to escape any wrath of Lina and Filia fans.then she pops up again for a moment* Oh, I think I should rewrite this story after it's finished so um...any suggestions, please say in review, I'd really appreciate it!^_^ *runs away again in case of any readers that want to hurt her ;*
"We've been walking and walking and walking and walking for days now! I've had enough of this sun and sand!!" Lina fell forward onto her stomach.
"Me too." Gourry fell next to her in the same way.
"Sarah-san, how much longer do we have to go?"
"Not very far. If we go quickly enough, we can reach those cliffs within a few hours."
"A few hours...that's what you said three hours ago!" Filia exclaimed.
"Yes, but I also said if we go quickly enough. Inverse, Gabriev, and Saillune are all slowing us down too much."
"But Seliana, they're humans, people, it can't be helped."
"They need to learn to get through things like this. Otherwise they're hopeless."
"Hey! I'm not hopeless! And don't go off without me!" Lina got up wearily and pulling Gourry up on his feet, the both of them stumbled forward to catch up with the rest of the group, only ending up in the sand again.
"Sarah! How can you? We have all been going on like this for days. Even if we can take it, Lina, Gourry, and Amelia-san are still humans! And they are people, like you and me. How can you be so heartless??"
Sarah growled at Filia's voice but stopped, turned around sharply and walked back. She ignored the blinking from the others as she pulled Lina to her feet and then picked her up, carrying her over her shoulder. Lina started to yell and refused to be carried, but Sarah casted a sleeping spell on her and then continued on forward.
"I am only carrying Inverse. The rest of you figure out who is going to carry Gabriev and the princess."
With that, she walked forward across the sand at a brisk pace. Jeffrisce shrugged and picked up Gourry while Zelgadiss was left to carry Amelia, who started blushing while politely refusing. Then they all caught up to Sarah and the peacefully sleeping Lina.
"So what do we do when we get to the cliffs?"
"Climb."
"Climb!? That!? While carrying these three??"
"They will have had enough rest by then. Inverse might cause trouble, so her I shall keep carrying even when we climb. She'll be awake by the time we get to the cave."
"Cave? What cave?"
"Sarah's cave, I believe."
"You still remember that, do you? Well good for you. It just so happens to have a portal connected to one near the lake we are looking for."
"Then you must have been there before."
"No Copt, I have not. In fact, I never knew of its portal until LoN told me of it. Which was not too long before I met this group."
"So you've never been to the temple itself?"
"No, I am afraid not, Graywords. So when we reach the temple...whatever lies there, a test or a challenge, I must go through it also. Then again, this journey itself could be the test..."
"That doesn't really make much sense Seliana. How can the journeying be a test when there's someone leading? And what kind of a test would that be?"
"Jeffrisce, you think too little. Spend a little more thought on these things, won't you?"
"Uh...think too little? Thanks a lot..."
"You shouldn't really take much offense from Sarah. Her hobby is criticizing others after all."
"Maybe so, but I would be grateful if you would not say that in front of me so....bluntly..."
"Does that mean that I am annoying you?"
"No, just offending me, not that I really mind, I guess. But I thought that you were much more polite than that. More polite than the average Mazoku. But I guess you are that average Mazoku."
"Oh, I wouldn't know about that. I consider myself a unique being, Mazoku, of course, but still unique in my own way, as everybody else."
"Ah, I see, is that how you feel about dragons also? For example, this Copt, an ex-priestess of the Fire Dragon King, mother of the last of Ancient Dragons, and, perhaps the -only- emotional Golden Dragon that has dared to insult you directly. Is that what you consider unique? Perhaps unique is a word you like to use in place of fond characteristics."
"I doubt that."
"Well I do not, and you cannot change my mind."
"I am sure I can."
"I am sure that you cannot."
"Well then, we shall see."
"Yes, we shall."
Zelgadiss sighed while Filia was trying to suppress her feelings towards Sarah. Ever since they left that town Xelloss and Sarah had been quietly and calmly arguing and throwing insults at each other. So calmly that if you didn't listen to their conversations carefully enough, you'd think they were having a nice afternoon chat. But as Zelgadiss listened, he could tell they were trying to make the other angry and hurt. Xelloss just couldn't figure out why Sarah would be jealous of Filia and so refused to believe that. So he was angry at Sarah for a different reason. He could be thinking that Sarah was doing this on purpose so that he would hate her, but that was Zel's thoughts.
This was why the two were arguing with each other so much. It was interesting to watch Xelloss arguing in this certain way, though, because whenever he argued with Filia, it was very noticeable because he would twitch, look a bit malicious, or his voice would hold that teasing tone. Right now though...his face was still the same, as if that cheery grin and happy closed eyes were plastered right onto his face. And he spoke normally, just like Sarah spoke as she normally did, and he looked unbothered by it all...but hearing his replies and remarks towards Sarah, he was definitely upset at the least.
Three hours later, Zelgadiss sweatdropped. This time Xelloss and Sarah were arguing again, just like before...but this time they were talking about Filia and both were calmly spitting out little insults at each other and her. So now Filia was angrily joining in on the argument. This caused Xelloss to twitch slightly, and Sarah...her voice just became deathly cold and silent, a bit threatening also.
"Hey, guys, guys, Xelloss, Filia, Seliana, calm down, you can't all keep fighting while we climb the cliffs."
"You stay out of this before I hurt you Jeffrisce."
"Seliana, ^^; I said calm down."
"Do you think you are my anger counsellor?"
"Um...no?"
"Good. If that was what you were thinking, your face would have been stuffed into a pile of rough gravel by now." A sleeping Lina still hanging over her shoulder, Sarah started climbing up the steep cliff that the group had just reached. Next followed a somewhat nervous Jeffrisce, then Xelloss, and then Filia. Zelgadiss and Amelia were left to wake the sleeping Gourry(he fell asleep on the way)before they followed them up.
"So, when we get up there, are we going straight through the portal, or can we have a rest?"
"I was waiting for someone to ask me that. I plan to stay there for a few days before going."
"A few days? Three?"
"Hai."
"Why so long?"
"Because we have enough time, and during that time, these humans we have in our group need to rest up to full health and get ready for whatever might be at that temple, or just the lake."
"Oh... And you have no problem with that?"
"No. I had problems earlier because I just wanted to get to my cave. Once we are there, everything is fine. Anything ahead of that is not my problem except for what might be laid directly in my path."
"Oh, I see...then... You weren't really complaining about them being humans but how slow they were being?"
"....."
"Why Sarah, I think Grau was right last time we met him. You have gone soft. During the time I knew you I never thought that you would actually really care for a human. But I guess now you care about all of them as individuals, just like humans themselves."
"Shut up. I have not gone soft. If I was allowed to, I would cut this girl's throat right here for being such a damn nuisance. But being one of your lord's top pawns in her plans and also a being that can serve LoN in one out of two ways, I cannot. Two different things would happen. You would be forced to fight me to make sure that I would not be able to kill her, and sooner or later, LoN would mark me a traitor and pull me back to my death. I do not favor either."
"Either? I do believe that you have no reason to be afraid of a fight between us."
"....." Sarah stopped in her climbing for a moment and then started up again at twice the speed as before.
"Oops, I think I hit a weak spot just now." Xelloss grinned cheerily and continued at the same speed. As he did, Zelgadiss wondered why Xelloss was bothering to do such physical work. Actually, he wondered why he even bothered to stay around. Was it because of Sarah? He wouldn't know his reasons. All he knew was that Xelloss had been acting differently ever since Sarah joined their group, even when she had been acting. They must have had some past. And remembering what he had seen before that night that Sarah was revealed, he thought...they must have gone through a lot for the two of them to be the way they were, and for a Mazoku like Xelloss to...love...
"Zelgadiss-san, do you think it's really possible for Mazoku to have feelings?"
He sighed and shook his head. "I don't know Amelia, I really don't know."
"...Well...if that's true...then I wonder why they just can't feel. Uh, discluding Xelloss-san."
He thought about what she had said. He hadn't thought of that himself. If Mazoku could feel, then why didn't they? Then something that Sarah said suddenly popped up. 'That is how our race is. We are originally born without a natural ability to feel.' If that was the case for Silver Dragons...then maybe it was the same for Mazoku? Sarah had also said that the priests of her race were like moving statues. Mazoku weren't exactly like that...so...maybe they do feel emotions after all, just not positive ones. Seeing Xelloss, they definitely become angry, and anger -is- an emotion, good or bad. So even if they couldn't love, they were definitely not completely without feelings.
"Only a little more, come on, Seliana's already gone in." Jeffrisce was looking down at them from the small mouth in the cliffside. Xelloss got up and in on his own, so did Filia(she refused Jeffrisce's hand.She's still quite upset from the argument before with Sarah and Xelloss)but the others accepted his help gratefully. Well, Zelgadiss only mumbled a quiet thanks, but the other two happily smiled and thanked him. Then they all headed inside.
First it was a little dark, but they soon found themselves in a large chamber with a few torchs, a few more tunnels connected to it. They looked around in awe at the color of the cave. It was beautiful. A pinkish red with purples and blues, a little green here and there. In some spots there was also a little orange and sometimes yellow. The firelight of the torches sort of made the whole chamber sparkle and glitter.
"Wow...this place is beautiful..." Amelia whispered quietly as if it would be a great sin and terrible unjust crime to break the silence of the beautifully colored cave. Then the ones in this large chamber heard footsteps coming from one of the tunnels, and then Sarah's cool and pretty much monotone voice stabbed into the calm atmosphere like a knife.
"That is why I like to sit here and think. It has a rather relaxing and peaceful air about it. It is much easier to think. Any of you are welcome to come here and do the same during our stay here. However, right now I should show you to your own rooms. Do not expect as much beauty as this though. This is the only chamber with this many colors. The rest are basically dull and boring." She moved from the mouth of the tunnel over to another one and walked inside without waiting to see if the others would follow.
All of them took an extra moment to look around before they went to follow Sarah. Jeffrisce, Zelgadiss, Filia, then Amelia and Gourry. Xelloss must have already gone into some other tunnel.
"Remember, above the opening of this tunnel is a glass orb with a crescent moon lit inside it. Any chambers down this tunnel are all used as bedrooms. They all have the neccesary furniture and light, but there are no fireplaces." The silver haired chimera stopped in front of a curtain before pulling it back to show a fairly large room with a bed with a peacefully sleeping red-head, a couple torches, some extra blankets, a drawer, and a small round table with one wooden chair. "This is the warmest of the rooms, so Inverse and Saillune should sleep here."
"Arigatou Sarah-san."
Sarah gave her an unemotional look and then shrugged slightly. "I am not doing this out of kindness. That bed is too small for two, so one of you need to spread out those blankets and sleep on the floor. But having seen Inverse's sleeping habits, I suggest you sleep on the bed and Inverse on the floor. I cannot allow my clients to be beaten during sleep." She let go of the curtain, hiding the room from view, and she continued forward, stopping at a second room. When she pulled the curtain open, it showed a second room just like the first, with the exception of a certain sleeping sorceress. "Here, I am not sure who to put. This room and the one before are really the only warm rooms, and I do not know how Copt and Jeffrisce take the cold. But Gabriev, I believe, would need to sleep in this room, meaning either Graywords or Jeffrisce need to sleep here."
"Me! ^-^ I've been wanting a nice warm room for quite awhile."
"So you plan on putting me in a cold room!?"
"Hey, I said me! Seliana, can I?"
"Hai. There is no other choice. No matter how idiotic Gabriev is, his body can still feel cold, as he is human, and therefore if I put him in the next room, there is a possibility that he will catch a cold. And even if he does not, setting my human client in a cold room is not desirable. You, however, are not really my client as you did not join this group from the very beginning and your highest goal is not to get to the temple but to watch over this group. This discludes you from my checklist of clients. Meaning I have no reason to care for your health. But if you wish, I can find something for that baby to sleep in and cast a spell on it to keep him warm."
"Hey, hey, stop ignoring me!"
"Ugh! You are almost as cruel as that demon! Hai, I do wish to do that, but if you can cast a spell like that then why don't you just cast a spell on the whole room to make it warm?"
"TT Both of you are ignoring me~!"
"Simple, the spell would drain me while it is in effect. Yes, I could sleep to regain my energy, but if I sleep, the spell goes out, and I do not sleep all that much anyway. But for that little space it would not have much effect on me. Now," She turned to Jeffrisce and Zelgadiss. "Graywords, are you okay with Jeffrisce taking this room? You can either take the same room as Copt or you can take a room by yourself in the last one. Most coldest of course, but being what you are, it probably won't bother you in the least."
"I don't mind. But if my room is the last then what about you?"
"I just said before while talking to Copt that I do not sleep. I do not need a room and neither does Xelloss."
"But you need to rest Seliana, you haven't slept at all since we left my forest."
"I have gone a whole year without sleep and I can go for an eternity if I want. Anyway, if I sleep that baby will have no way of keeping warm unless he moves to a different room and this fool of a dragon will not want to be away from him."
"Foo-!"
"If that is what you were worried about then you could have just asked me."
"Ah! Hey, Xelloss, since when were you standing here?" Gourry blinked at the shorter man right next and behind him.
"Oh, since before."
"Before when?"
"Just before. Anyway, Sarah, it is true you can go on without sleep but that does not change the fact that you become tired and weary doing so. So you should get as much sleep as you can when you get the chance. And there will be no need to worry about Valteria since you can cast the spell and use me as an energy source instead."
"Offering your services to me are you? Or are you offering it to this ex- priestess indirectly?"
"E-"
"I am merely offering a second possibility that includes you catching some sleep and the little dragon getting his warmth so that you, the guide of your so-called 'clients', may get your rest and be relieved of worries so that you can concentrate better on your job. For your clients are also mine, and if they are lead by a worn out and basically useless woman, that becomes my concern."
"Stop i-"
"Woman? Hmph, you took the time to specify. Fine then, I shall sleep for a night."
"Four."
"One."
"Five."
"We will only be staying for three days and three nights."
"You two..." (quick note from author - To the reader(s)! Brace yourselves...)
"Still five."
"Two."
"Five."
Twitchtwitch..twitchtwitch...
"...Three."
"Um..."
Twitchtwitch twitch
"Six."
"Three, that is final.!" Her voice had suddenly dropped a few pitches and became very sharp and silent, but cold and threatening. No, not threatening, killing. She wasn't very fond of sleeping, basically because if she was unconcious she couldn't keep an eye on things, meaning she would have to depend on someone else to keep things under close watch and she would never know when she would wake and what she might dream. It was those last two she was most afraid of. The unknown. Her life was mostly in order, she knew basically everything, she could tell anybody every detail about themselves, she could always guess their next move, their next words, thoughts even. Yet...in sleep...The Forest of Dreams hadn't been an exception. She was still scared even then, but she had known she needed those dreams.
"Deal! Well then, I think you need to sleep in the last room with Zelgadiss."
"Yes, I guess so."
"Nani???" Zelgadiss blinked and stared at the two. "What the hell are you saying!?"
"Well it is obvious that Filia-san will not allow herself to sleep with such a 'mad and cruel' chimera such as Sarah. She really is that stubborn."
"Mad and cruel? Well I had no idea that the golden pridess, oh, priestess...ah, yes, it was ex-priestess. I really had no idea she called me mad. I must thank you for telling me that. But then again, you did not tell me, but rather insulted me through her. So I really must ignore it instead...this being which Copt calls..namagomi...nice name for him, is it not? No matter, he is right. Copt will not let me stay in the same room, and there are no more rooms, so I have no other choice but to sleep in the same room as you. Now I have no problem with that, you are a man that can be trusted, not to mention cute, and I have no miscomfort around any men. However, what do you think? Do you happen to have any problems with sleeping with a girl in the same room?"
Twitch.....twitch....massive twitching...........................
"Uh...well...not really.."
"Then it is settled. This has all been set up comfortably for everyone, even me. I do not wish to sleep with that anger filled Golden Dragon either." Just as Sarah turned away to head back to the main chamber, the aforementioned anger filled Golden Dragon sort of...
"HOW CAN THE BOTH OF YOU JUST IGNORE ME LIKE THAT AND TALK SO CALMLY IN FRONT OF ME AS IF YOU WERE TALKING OVER AFTERNOON TEA WHILE INSULTING ME AND TREATING ME AS IF I WERE NO MORE THAN A MERE MOUSE!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I HAVE -NEVER- IN MY ENTIRE LIFE MET ANY TWO PEOPLE WHO ENJOY DOING THAT AS MUCH AS YOU TWO!!! AND YOU BICKER AWAY AT EACH OTHER SO HAPPILY AND UNEMOTIONALLY LIKE COMPLETE ENEMIES WHILE AT THE SAME TIME TEAMING UP JUST TO MAKE ME FEEL HORRIBLE!!!!!" This burst, eh, scratch that, this explosion....wait, scratch that again....this super nova greatly surprised Gourry, Zelgadiss, and Jeffrisce. Xelloss merely raised an eyebrow at Filia with a curious look and Sarah...well...she...
"And since we are done with deciding on who goes where, I can show you the other different rooms there are and afterwards have dinner. Or you can do whatever you like and simply hear a few short notes. On the other hand, you might like to go follow Saillune and join her in her effort to escape my boring tone of speech, Xelloss's playful and happy irritation, and angry and hurt Copt's wrath. Whichever is fine by me." She then took a step forward but stopped there. "Yes Copt, I am pretending that that outburst never happened, and no, I am not sure how Xelloss was trying to treat you, but I, definitely, was not treating you as if you were no more than a mere mouse, but rather, as if you were no more, yet much less, than a pesky mosquito.an annoying tick.a white termite.a mere -ant-." Sarah greatly stressed the word 'ant' and stood still for a long moment before making haste to the main chamber.
"Yare yare, that was certainly harsh.." Xelloss spoke slowly and quietly, showing even the least bit of pity towards the very surprised, perplexed Filia. Even he had never gone that far, and probably never would. Maybe pretend that someone hadn't just yelled a million times louder than the infamous Lina Inverse and continue the words he had been interupted in.maybe.but call someone no more than an ant? That was harsh, very harsh, and she had even added 'much less', making it even worse. That was something he would never do. It got plenty negative emotion out of a person, but he considered that to be too low for him. He did, after all, prefer to get his fill of negative energy through other ways. But he had never thought of Sarah as someone who would say that either. So now he started to think, why did Sarah say that? Did she really hate Filia that much? Did she really even have proper reason to?
".....That...that....." Everybody turned to look at Filia. Her head was bowed and shadows hid her face. Her arms were straight and stiff at her sides with fists clenched tight. "...that monster!" She turned sharply around and ran down the tunnel, heading into the room that was to be temporarily hers. There were a few wet dots left on the floor.
"Filia..." Gourry spoke her name softly. He knew what had just happened, and now he felt sad for the deeply hurt dragon. They all watched the curtain of Filia's room quietly before they left to do their own things. Gourry and Jeffrisce went inside their room. Xelloss and Zelgadiss headed towards the main cave chamber.
"Hm...that was very cruel...even for Sarah."
"That's strange to hear from you."
"Hm? Why is that?"
"Because you're the one who usually bothers us so damn much."
"Ah, yes. But I would never go as low and cruel as that. Not in the case of words, atleast. But that really was much too cruel for that to have been Sarah. She is normally insulting and uncaring towards others, but only on the outside. Of course, most things she says are true, especially when they are about her own thoughts, but due to her still having her dragon part with her, she still has a mind for others. That keeps her from saying anything too painful. But just before she knowingly wounded Filia deeply. Hm.. I believe she also tried to upset me."
Zelgadiss looked up at him with a funny look. What made him say so much all of a sudden? He couldn't know. So he ignored that and just thought about what he said. Then he heard voices coming from ahead. Amelia's and Sarah's. He listened more closely in curiousity.
"Demo! That was still mean to do that, Sarah-san." Was she talking about what had happened before? Had she heard that even after leaving them?
"If she were in my position she would have done the same."
"Still! That doesn't mean you can go and just do everything your way!"
"In this case, it does."
"But she'll only be angrier later."
"Then I can just do it again."
"Demo!"
"Stop it princess. Not everyone shares your thoughts on just things. Or how to seperate right and wrong. This is simply my way of doing things."
"But it's still so...mean!"
"Not mean, just a slight bit forceful."
Xelloss and Zelgadiss finally came to stand at the opening of the tunnel with sweatdrop hanging above them both. Sarah was sitting cross-legged on the floor looking very bored with a sleeping and awkwardly sprawled out girl in front of her and in front of that a concerned looking Amelia standing over the other two. No, seeing that wasn't really strange. The reason for the sweatdrop was what Amelia had said next, and so the author apologizes for not typing it up earlier, but she had thought that it would have been better to type it after the sweatdrop even though the actual order is the opposite.
"That's mean! Being forceful is mean! I mean, think about it. Lina-san wakes up from Filia-san's voice, you pass by the room just when she steps out and she spots you. She suddenly gets angry and opens her mouth to say something to express her anger, but before she makes even the slightest little sound, you cast a spell making her fall asleep again! That's just mean making someone who just woke up sleep again, unwillingly too! That's mean, forceful, unjust, wrong, and a violation of free will!"
"What you are saying does not make much of an impression on me, neither does it make much sense. So just leave me be. This is just my way of taking care of things. Besides, Inverse needs her rest anyway. And it will do her a little good to skip dinner."
"You mean to keep her away from food by keeping her asleep?"
"No Graywords, I plan to push her meal to breakfast so that I can save atleast some of the food I have stored here. Which is not exactly much. If I want to keep Inverse and Gabriev in top shape though, I am going to have to somehow gather up much more food..."
"That won't be easy unless you mind teleporting back and forth from here and some place with piles of food."
"Hm... I could do that, but I am not fond of using my teleporting ability too much."
"Why is that, Sarah-san?"
"It makes me feel like a Mazoku. I have not much against them, but I do feel that they are quite lazy and take too much confidence in their skills. I also feel they overuse them a bit."
"But it is always for a good reason, no?"
"Good reason or not, my thoughts do not change." Sarah sighed quietly. "I guess I will just have to keep the two pigs from eating everything up at once."
"Ano, Sarah-san...how are you going to do that?"
She looked slightly thoughtful for a moment before returning to that serious look with basically no feeling. "I have no idea. I will have to see when it comes to it."
"Seeing those two eat and what Lina will do to get her food, there isn't much chance of success."
"For you or another human, no, there is not. I have enough confidence in myself though. I am sure I will figure something out. And if not, well, there is always force."
Amelia and Zelgadiss both looked a bit unsure.
"What if Lina-san gets so angry that she even casts a Fireball inside here? Then won't there be a cave in?"
Sarah slightly raised an eyebrow. "Is Inverse really that careless? Well, no need to worry about that anyway. There is a spell casted on this cave that keeps it stable. I am not exactly sure what, but nothing changes around here. Almost as if stuck in time. No magic and no strength can break anything here, not even make a crack. I have seen it before. Even I have tried it. No mere human will be able to break the spell here."
"So that was what I had felt earlier. You don't know what the spell is? Who cast it?" Zelgadiss asked in yet again more curiousity.
Sarah shook her head slowly. "I was only the one who found this cave. It was always like this. Well, anyway, I should tell you which rooms are which." She got up to her feet quickly and turned to the wall with the group of tunnels. "I will say this again, the tunnel we just came out of has a crescent moon above it and only has rooms." She pointed to the tunnel straight behind Xelloss and Zelgadiss. "The one with the star leads up to a large room with three window-sized openings. There is a view of the sky, a view of the direction we came from, and a view of what is past these cliffs. The one with the half moon leads to the dining room. Surprisingly enough, there is also a kitchen. But unfortunately I do not cook, so it carries no use for me. Everything there works quite well, though. The full moon leads down a tunnel of obstacles and to three different rooms. One is for physical workout. It is very fitting for swordsman and martial artists. The second is basically empty. But you can find a pile of magical practice targets in the far corner. If desired, they can be used to practice magic aim. Other than that, you can do basically anything there. The magic around this cave is most strongest there, so if you need to boost any spells you want to use or practice, that is an ideal place. The third is a healing room. The obstacles in the tunnel are only dangerous enough to give a person several bruises and bodyaches, but nonetheless, the healing room is there. It can also get rid of fatigue after training or before. The tunnel with the empty black orb above it leads to a small pool of water. I have never thought of any use for it, but apparantly, that is the portal leading to our destination. The last tunnel with nothing above it leads to four bathrooms. Two for females, two for males. And I think in the case of perverts, they both have magical barriers that do not allow the undesired sex to enter. Interesting really."
Xelloss sweatdropped at the mentioning of the magic barriers on the bathrooms and quietly slipped away without anyone's notice. Well, except for maybe Sarah's, but if she did notice him 'run away', she made no effort to show it.
"Sarah-san..."
"This place...seems to be a very useful place..."
Sarah shrugged at Amelia and Zelgadiss. "Yes, and it has helped me in several ways. But it is more interesting and entertaining than it is useful. Indeed, this place is a curious mystery. However, there is no way of which I know of that will lead to the answers of all the questions spinning around this cave. Anyway, I think I shall go get dinner prepared. Do whatever you like in the meantime." She left them and went down the tunnel of the half moon, disappearing at the turn before anybody could say anything. She certainly liked to walk at a terribly quick pace.
"...Zelgadiss-san..."
"Yes Amelia?"
"We've been through a lot of things...but this has to be the most interesting yet mind-boggling adventure yet..."
"I'll have to agree with you on that.." A sigh escaped Zelgadiss's mouth.
~~~
Did I overdo it a bit?^^;; well um..anyway, on to chapter 13!*skips happily away....well, no, actually...she runs away to escape any wrath of Lina and Filia fans.then she pops up again for a moment* Oh, I think I should rewrite this story after it's finished so um...any suggestions, please say in review, I'd really appreciate it!^_^ *runs away again in case of any readers that want to hurt her ;*
