A/N: You reviewed so quickly! I is appeased - Here's the next chapter! Oh, notice that I rose the rating for my story to PG-13. I probably don't need to, but I'm doing it just in case

Disclaimer: You know, the whole concept of this is ludicrous. If any of us actually had anything to do with creating or owning Slayers, why on Earth would we resort to FANfiction? Bakas, whoever made up this dumb rule. Fine: I don't own Slayers. Happy? HMPH!

A Gift to Remember

Part 2 – The Present

Almost instantly, Lina felt a pair of piercing eyes sending chills down her back with steadily increasing proximity. Slowly, she turned her head, to see who it was. The instant she did, she sat gaping, shell-shocked like no turtle could ever be. After the shock wore off in about a minute's time, fear began to seep through. Unable to fight the urge, Lina was brought to such a level of fear, that she whimpered, an act never thought possible coming from Lina. But still, the source of her fear approached closer, and closer, until…

"You're late, Lina-chan." The figure, covered in a dark purple cloak, visibly smirked as it stood before the young sorceress. Lina gulped, unable to speak.

Amelia noticed the traveler a while back, and greeted the person cordially. "Welcome to my party. Pray tell, you have enjoyed yourself tonight, yes?"

The person turned towards her, and inclined its head briefly. Turning back to Lina, it answered, "I will now. Come, Lina-chan. I must speak with you in private."

If it were possible, Lina froze up even more at that. Fear, Anxiety, and Reluctance churned inside her, her eyes openly revealing those emotions. The figure smirked again, and held out a ghostly pale hand, revealing a curious blue design, not unlike an intricate dragon tattoo.

Lina forced herself to look down at her lap, to escape the look that promised severe discomfort for her in the near future. She shuddered at the thought of what might happen if she was allowed to be taken away by… by her. Clenching and relaxing her fists constantly, Lina was sweating with nervous concentration. Amelia and the newcomer watched as slowly, Lina began to shake her head. As it became fiercer in defiance, Lina spoke with a slightly wavering voice, "I won't. I- I don't want to leave here. Pl-please don't make me go."

This seemed to frustrate the hooded figure, and she spoke sternly now after grabbing hold of Lina's closest wrist. "That's enough. You're coming back with me whether you like it or not. It's…for your own good."

Seeing Lina's wavering defense start to break down, Amelia quickly asked the stranger, "Umm, if it's not too much trouble, can I go as well? If Lina must go, I wish to stay by her side. She is one of my closest friends, you know."

With a quick jerk, the stranger fixed an increasingly dangerous glare towards her. Almost seething, she replied, "No. Absolutely not. When she gets home, Lina-chan is to be quarantined immediately. I cannot risk the safety of the next ruler of Seyruun. Now if you'll excuse us…"

Amelia was beyond startled. She glanced between a guilty looking Lina and a frustrated, mysterious stranger. "Wait a moment. Quarantined? Whatever for? And who exactly are you, to speak of Lina going home, such as you did?"

The stranger sighed, and in one sweep raised her cape enough to envelop Lina in it as well. Amelia caught the slightest glimpse of a white-over-purple waitress uniform before the pair disappeared. As Amelia stared at the place they had previously been, she uttered the name, "As the rumors say, 'the Waitress of Doom'. Lina's older sister, Luna Inverse, Knight of Celphieed."

Lina winced as she was thrown into a cold, bare room. She felt her back crack uncomfortably upon making contact with the stone room. The door from which she was forced to enter soon closed, after an eerie spell of prolonging creaks. As soon as the door's lock clicked, Luna's voice rang true. "Now then, Lina-chan. Something tells me that you haven't been completely honest about what happened to you during the last week. Now will you tell me willingly, or will I have to force you too?"

Surprisingly, in the privacy of her own home, Lina started to fight back tears. "Onee-chan, you know I'd tell you anything if I could, but this…this thing I kept from you, it's too humiliating for me to talk about."

At that, Luna's expression seemed to soften… slightly. She slowly walked towards her younger sister, and bent down to eye level with her, placing a hand on her shoulder. "I know I shouldn't need to ask, but would you rather I do a little mind reading to find out? I know something's been different about you lately; something happened the night before yesterday's, I'm just not positive as to what it is."

Lina slowly nodded, sniffing miserably. Taking that as a consent, Luna moved her tattooed hand from Lina's shoulder to the top of her head. She whispered a spell that channeled to her hand, making her "tattoo" glow a luminescent blue on par with the Sword of Light. In a great flash of light, Luna traveled to visit Lina's subconscious realm within her mind.

Insert Memories and then some here

Within a sixth of an hour, Luna and Lina returned to reality. Relieving Lina's head of her hand, Luna could only stare at her younger sister. She hung back a bit hesitantly before embracing her sister in a sudden bear hug, revealing a softer side to the destined knight. She whispered in Lina's ear, "Gomen ne, Lina-chan. I really do feel sorry about what happened. If I had been there, or if you had been within my calling, I would have stopped it, without a doubt. I know I've made you have a rough childhood, but I wanted you to be able to and want to live a carefree and independent life. You understand what I'm saying, don't you?"

Lina sniffed again as she hugged her sister back. She mumbled a childish whimper of an affirmation. They sat like that for a few moments more, before Luna finally whispered, "Tell me who did it. Tell me who the sinful ingrate is."

The younger sister was quiet again, save for occasional sniffs. Softly, she uttered, "Zelgadis. I don't want you to hurt him, but it was Zelgadis."

Both sisters knew that Luna's body had gone rigid at the thought. Loosening her muscles back up a little, she hissed, "That once-chimera boy did it? Your long since best friend? How could I possibly not harm him? I removed his golem-part for his word that he'd live his life in peace, and help those who needed it, but…I never suspected that he'd do something like this…"

Lina's voice squeaked as she defended him. "It's- It's not his fault. He…was being controlled, I just know it. He'd never do anything like that if he were his normal self.

Luna sighed and patted Lina's back. "Lina, Lina, Lina-chan. Did you not realize it while you were traveling with him? Because of his selfish quest, he concentrated only on that, ignoring his past instincts. But after freeing him from what he hated most, his 'grotesque looks' as he put it, his primitive instincts returned, and he…took advantage of it…of you."

For another long period, Lina was quiet. "What if…what if I…um…allowed him to? It wouldn't be…be 'wrong', would it?"

"…wrong is wrong no matter what the context – especially if it concerns my dear little sister, my only real family in this world."

Finding no easy response to that, Lina sat in silence. Suddenly, Luna broke the silence by declaring, "I'm doing a test on you now; don't move." Unlike before, Lina was more than willing to comply, despite her restless feeling of becoming tired. As she felt Luna's aura surround her, she became aware of the warmth of her embrace enveloping her body and soul. It comforted her through and through, and before she knew it, she had blanked out.

Upon awakening again, Lina found herself in a familiar room. She stared, dumbfounded, recognizing the room as the one she had never been allowed in before, but had always snuck into – Luna's room. Thinking of her older sister, Lina scanned the area around the lavender bed, and found that she was nowhere to be seen. During her scan, she noted that the sun was shining high above outside the open window. She slowly eased out from under the covers, and stretched with a big yawn. During the downwind, she caught sight of a huge tray of food on the night table.

Lina glanced around nervously. Luna never allowed food inside the house, outside of the kitchen. Was this a trap to test her wills? Would she be punished for succumbing to it? When her stomach growled in wanting, Lina gave up resisting and chowed down. Explanations later, punishment later, food now. After taking the first bite out of her scrambled eggs, Lina realized that Luna had personally homemade this meal for her.

Touched and slightly reminiscent, Lina slowed down drastically to savor each bite. Although it was early morning when she started, the sun was high above by the time she finished, but she had no regrets. More out of habit than anything else, Lina opened the door and went to their professional chef's kitchen to wash her dishes in the intended tub. After neatly setting them down to dry, Lina walked to the front door, to take a breather, and saw a note attached to it in Luna's 'reminder' paper notes. The short note read: Going out for a few days. Do not leave town until I come back. I've cast a force field around the town so that no evil beings will visit you. Go and catch up with old friends. Lina sighed, and like she always had before, she took a nearby pen and wrote "Ok" next to Luna's signature, saying that she had seen it. Lina went back to her own room, and looked around.

Upon opening her bedroom door, Lina felt like she was bowled over by a tsunami of nostalgic memories. She hadn't used her room since she was what? Ten years old? Her furniture was stacked rather neatly (via Luna) behind quite a few stuffed animals, most of which were dragons. Her bed, to Lina's chagrin, still fit her quite well, though her feet were closer to the foot of the bed than she had last remembered it.

Sliding off her bed with a sigh, she decided to see if anything in her closet still fit her. She almost burst out laughing hysterically when she saw that the biggest clothes there were fit for that of a seven-year-old, and would no longer fit her. In fact, she did, after finding that she could not hold it in. She was laughing so hard the first few minutes, that she did not hear the doorbell for quite some time. Finally when she calmed down long enough for the person at the door to ring it three times in succession, she heard it. Taking long, calming breaths, Lina walked to the front door to see who it was.

From behind the door, Lina called out, "Who's there?"

A quaint little voice of a man replied, "It's Marv the Mailman. Got a package for you to sign."

Lina peered through a nearby window and found that she recognized the young mailman. Quickly, she opened the door and warmly greeted, "Marv! Long time no see! How did you ever get to be a mailman?"

The young man, close in age to Lina, blinked at her for a few minutes before verifying, "Lina? Lina, is that really you? It is, isn't it? My, I haven't seen you in just about forever!" Marv gave her a quick look-down (I don't know if that's the proper phrase…) and remarked with an assuring nod, "Ten years have passed and you still look as cute as ever. A more mature sort of cute, but cute nonetheless."

Lina blushed a little at the comment and said back with a smirk, "And I see you still haven't mastered that impish messy hair of yours. It's as carefree as a house inside a tornado."

They stood in a short, comfortable silence before Marv remembered why he was there. He held out a brown package to Lina, and asked that she sign it. Lina complied and took the package. Just as she was about to shake it, Marv warned her to be careful, as the sender sent an urgent note that it was to be handled with the utmost care as it was very fragile. Lina nodded and carefully set it on the dining room table. When she came back to close the door, she found that Marv was still there.

He was blushing and stammering as he slowly got out, "Um, s-since you've been gone so long…you mind having l-lunch w-with m-me after my shift's over?"

Lina grinned and replied with a childish, "Sure!" Before adding, "What time is your shift over?"

Marv brightened up considerably at her acceptance, and fumbled to say that his rounds should end around high noontime. Lina nodded at this and told him that she would pick out some new clothes to wear, as she needed some better-fitting casual outfits. Marv nodded and waved shortly, before going back onto his horse and traveling to the next house he was due to deliver to.

Lina did exactly what she said she would. After taking a shower and brushing her teeth and hair and all those other morning duties, Lina set out for town. She decided to explore it while she sought out both suitable restaurants and tailors. Eventually, she found a tailor she liked, and went in. There, she recognized quite a few faces of her childhood friends; in turn, they recognized her as well. They all talked mindless chit-chat, inviting Lina to butt in whenever she liked, but Lina only smiled, and continued to look over the material while imagining what she wanted to wear. Not sure how long she would be staying here, Lina decided to buy a pre-made outfit first. After seeing her struggle for something that would look good on her, her now fashion-expert friends chose a combination of red and black that showed off all of the right places, while still covering her in her usual modesty. Lina approved of it greatly, and thanked her friends before paying for it. The hefty price that she paid would be circulated around and greatly appreciated by the townsfolk. At the door, Lina split from her friends, saying that she was going to look for a good restaurant.

While strolling down the lane with her new clothes, she realized with a feeling of previous stupidity, that she should just go to Luna's restaurant. She may not be there, but Lina still wanted to see how well off it was. Memories of being forced to work there day after day in her childhood, Lina knew all to well where it was located.

Passing through the swinging door, Lina looked around as a bell sounded her arrival. A woman slightly older than Lina greeted her and verified that she would like a table for one in a corner. Soon after the menu was given to her, Lina made her order. During her fifteenth plate, a rushed Marv came in, spotted her, and rushed quickly over. He bowed several times apologetically before Lina told him to sit down. He complied, but blinked rapidly in astonishment at the rate that the food was leaving the table. Slowly, he asked how long Lina had been here. She shrugged in response, saying that she had ordered everything off the menu. Marv's eyes bugged out at that. He repeated Lina's last words with dumbfounded bewilderment. Lina smirked at his reaction, and said that he could start eating if he wanted. If there were leftovers afterwards, Lina would simply bring it home. When Lina heard him mumbling the calculations of how much this would cost, she smiled at him and told him that he need not worry – she had already paid for it. Reluctantly, Marv nodded and began to eat, increasing in vigor as he went on.

After the dishes were cleared, they finally got around to talking. Lina told of how she had started out alone, honing her skills, on bandits and thus receiving the nickname of Bandit Killer. Through her travels, the names just kept being added on, with most having very little truth to them, and twisted at that. She then briefly told about her adventures with the Princess of Seyruun (both of them at one point or another), the wielder of the Sword of Light, and…a chimera, cursed by his own grandfather who held a piece of Shabrinigdo in his blind eyes.

Marv had stayed in Zephilia all his life, and marveled at Lina's accounts of her adventures. As for him, he had started working his way up by being a busboy at the restaurant they were currently at. Luna, as part-time assistant manager, eventually recommended him to a friend of hers who worked at the post office and needed someone with fast legs to make deliveries. That's how he got to be in the line of work he was in.

When their stories came to a pause, Marv looked at the clock and jumped up. Hurriedly, he explained that he was due back at the post office very soon, and he had to leave now. Lina understood, and told him that she hoped to see him later. Marv nodded and ran out the door. As Lina watched him leave, she almost choked on her tea as she noticed a very familiar man walk through the doors, and lock eyes with her.

A/N: Hope you don't hate me for portraying Zel kinda badly in this chapter. Well, maybe not 'portraying', just 'suggesting'. Hehe, I'm like that sometimes… Just as a warning for the future, I never said this was going to be a happy story – I was only asked to write a Lina/Zel fic. Hehe…

Darn it…I really really really want to make a one–shot / one-chap story, but my plots are always too complex. Well, if you read really quickly after I finish this story, you might be able to finish it in one sitting. sigh but it just won't be the same T-T Please review and make me feel better . Please?