Seyruun High Jinx –NEXT!
Chapter 47
The Musical: Intermission and Act Four
"When you look through plain glass, you see people, but if you cover it with silver, you stop seeing others and see only yourself." —Ancient Proverb
Now, Lina's musical had its humor, gore, action, and suspense, but romance was at a bare minimum, or less. The audience, as they often do when something they desire is missing, filled in-between the lines. Every companionable moment, eye-to-eye or flesh-to-flesh or glove-to-sleeve contact, was construed to imply some form of love interest. Reality confused with fantasy. Or...was it the other way around?
Well, the real part of Real-ity was about to hit the fan part of Fan-tasy...
Intermission
The minute they were safely out of earshot of the audience, Lina lashed out at Xelloss and Gourry. "Okay, you two. If I find out you got some kinda bet going on, I'm gonna pound your brains into pate...which reminds me...AMELIA!"
"I've got the snacks right here, Miss Lina, and drinks in the cooler!" Amelia said in a timely manner.
Lina dove for a doughnut, declaring it, "Cool!"
"Milk?" Gourry tossed her a carton.
"Uh, sure..." Lina decided to drop the topic. For the time being... (slurp)...in light of... (chomp, chomp)...alternative things to... (gulp)...do.
"What makes you think anything's going on?" Unfortunately, Xelloss decided to keep the hot topic on the front burner. "We were just appealing to the audience by spicing things up a bit, right Gourry?"
Gourry wouldn't meet his eyes. Some things were better left unsaid, including most of what was going through his mind at the moment, like 'dooooo-nut.'
"What are you guys talking about?" Filia asked. Having spent most of her time backstage helping out, she had missed the latest competition for Lina's heart.
"What's going on? You're curious about what's going on? I'd like to know what was going on, too. All I know is that I've been kissed more in the last hour than in the previous year, and it wasn't in the script," Lina snapped.
Gourry was concentrating on his next doughnut, conveniently out of the discussion.
So... Amelia filled in, "Both Mr. Xelloss and Mr. Gourry kissed Miss Lina on stage in front of EVERYBODY! It was so romantic... You could hear the crowd really getting into it."
"I want them to get into the story! I want them to get the monster/syndicate thing, dammit!"
"There you are!"
Lina spun around, the color draining from her face at the same time. "L-Luna! Milgasia?"
"We would have gotten here sooner, but we wanted to wait around for our man's breakdown and his complete tale," Luna smiled. "Musical's moving along nicely, I take it?"
Lina just nodded mutely.
"Who let you backstage?" Zelgadiss asked warmly as he strode to greet them.
"Must have been my persuasive personality," Luna matched him smirk for smirk.
Val and Xelloss closed in. Xelloss asking, "Slate, you interrogated him?"
"Did he do it? Why?" Val asked excitedly.
"Mister Slate?" Amelia couldn't recall where she'd heard his name before.
"Do we have time to go into this now?" Milgasia inquired of Lina.
"Yeah, sure. The longer the break the more refreshments we sell. Spill it."
Luna ripped through a short genealogy of Milgasia's family for the benefit of Amelia, and then briskly touched on the key elements of her big news. "While helping me sort and review some of that data you all...recovered...last summer, Xelloss decoded and opened some previously-thought-to-be-damaged files. We... uncovered a clan-syndicate tie to steal all the ancient lands wealth resources."
"Wow!" Lina caught Val's eyes. "Close call, huh?"
"Yeah, which is why I wanted to search that lookout place to find some sub-stan-she-a-shun. Mil and I located the old building on some really old maps, and..."
"Val, you're talking about that place you took me for Valentine's Day, right?" Filia asked. "Then that box I found contained the evidence for all this? What about Mrs. Saunders?"
"I'll get to her," Val settled Filia down with a smile, and then continued. "Yuh see, Xelloss and Zel de-cod-ed most of the records from the box that fell outta the bed..."
Sylphiel jabbed at Filia teasingly, "You didn't tell me you guys were, like, fooling around up there."
"Huh? Oh...NO! Nothing like that. Oh, shut up, Sylphiel!" Filia ended with a grin and both girls started giggling, both hanging on one of Val's arms.
"Getting back to my story..." Val raised his voice to stifle their silliness. "Ah, shit, Zel you tell it. They'll listen to you."
"All right, but I'll just tell it once, so if you're interested..." Zel closed his eyes and waited until the tittering had ceased. "Good. What we understood from the deciphered text, verified the clan-syndicate tie Luna and Xelloss had discovered. It was more recent than they had supposed. We also did the finger print checks. That's how we found out that Mrs. Saunders had owned the safety box you found. Of course it had been stolen from her, but she was more than happy to play the 'bad guy' and pretend to be caught," Zelgadiss explained until he was out of breath.
Val nodded. "Yeah, she was our di-ver-sion. Once word got out that we weren't lookin' for the snoop, the guy sent word via our mole, Jillas... hey Jil! Ah, guess he's gotta go to the john. Anyway, we made like we were leakin' stuff and Jillas passed the com-yu-ni-kay the dude wrote to the syn-di-cate back to us and we fed back instructions to the mystery dude. See, we still didn't know who it was; we couldn't trace him. So, we dummied up some dir-ec-shuns and told the dude to go back up to the lookout and get back to work." Val grinned. "The asshole did, and McGywn and his posse were waitin' for him."
Getting restless from an excess of adrenalin and his ADD condition, which was currently one-hundred-percent-unmedicated, made waiting for the 'telling' almost too much for Xelloss to stand. "So? So so so so so? What was Slate up to?" he asked urgently.
Luna put a hand on his shoulder, "Steady, boy, and I'll tell you."
Lina wondered at that. He calmed noticeably under her care. His breathing slowed and his busy hands steadied. An almost serene expression graced his face. Lina guessed that her sister must have found some secret 'off button' pressure point near his neck, and decided that would a useful trick to earn.
"Okay, Knight," Xelloss sighed contentedly.
"Would you like a turn at this?" Luna deferred to Milgasia. It was his brother-in-law, after all.
"Ah...well it seems Slate's link with the syndicate was very, let's say, weak. Mostly, he just wanted to establish that there was a leak and that it was my clan, making me responsible. Why me, you ask? Because his plan was to ruin my reputation then unseat me in order to take over the clan. All that so he could get his hands on the Ancient lands. Apparently, he was under the false notion– as were all the clans and the syndicate too, I suppose-- that I had control of Val's Ancient Clan inheritance. In fact, he said that it is largely accepted that I was and am currently the overseer of his land grants and resources, AND that I've withheld power and financial returns from Val." Milgasia smiled and shook his head.
"That ain't true," Val assured everybody. "But he ad-vises me and..." Val's turn to sport a knowing grin, "...we drew up a bunch of bogus papers makin' it look like I gave most of my stuff up to Mil. So folks would leave me alone. Guess it worked."
"And backfired on Milgasia," Luna noted. "To Slate's credit, he wasn't the slimeball I took him for at first. Although he was working with the syndicate in a way, he didn't turn over any information of consequence to them. Also, he wasn't going about it in a way that would have gotten Val kicked out of the clan and his inheritance confiscated. The worst thing I can think of that he did was to compromise the security of the clan."
"Why was Slate using Jillas?" Amelia asked.
"Mine, mine, mine!" Xelloss claimed his turn to share. "Both Jillas and Gravos were small-time jobbers for the syndicate, especially in summer. Remember last summer? They were on the Ancient territory and found Val before us. That's when Slate learned of them. Once they were working the area, word got out and they would have been chased off, but then we got there and...well...they left when we did, saving the clan out there the trouble. Now, Slate and others knew about the Ancient Clan inheritance sitting there waiting. And, with no survivors to control it all, he and his cronies of clan leaders out that way were the default owners."
Xelloss bowed to Val dramatically and went on, "Val, Val, Val...When they learned about you... whoosh! Bye, bye Easy Street! When Milgasia was recovering from his broken legs in the hospital, he met his wife-to-be– who, I must put in here, was the only person in that entire territory who showed me any kindness. Anyway, he was trying to drum up some help from the locals to unearth, so to speak, Val, and that's when they learned of Val's existence."
"Yes," Milgasia inserted, "She was like an angel then...still is..." He cleared his throat with embarrassment. He wasn't a man to emote like that. "Unfortunately, when word got out about Val, Slate and his colleagues assembled and formulated a plan, the plan which has now been foiled."
"There are changes in the clan hierarchy occurring at this very moment," Luna added. "And more to come. The repercussions from this will take a long time to unfold all the intrigues, I am certain of it."
"Five more minutes! Oh...you have company. Hello, I'm Daniel Grauscherra, Seyruun high School principal, and you are...?"
"Luna Inverse, Lina's sister and the Knight of Cephied. Nice place."
"Knight of...? Oh, yes, very nice. Plenty of space," He shook her hand and smiled in a friendly manner, and then his eyes roved over to the other stranger.
Luna stared at him. This is the current leadership of the syndicate? I believe we have won the war...
"Milgasia, Cephied Believers Clan leader. Nice to meet you at last. Xelloss has mentioned the good job you've been doing at the school."
"He has? Well, I have been enjoying it there. Nice town, Seyruun is...further south than I'm used to."
"Northern boy, eh?" Luna asked. She could swear he didn't know what her position stood for!
"That's right. I was feeling a bit, well, trapped up north. When I heard of this job opening, I jumped at the chance..."
So did Luna. "How did you hear about the job opening?"
"Teaching Administrator's newsletter. Lists them all. Last spring, this position came up. The principal had died in an accident..."
"You are aware that was Xelloss' mother?"
"Oh yes, he told me about that. Sad loss."
"No it wasn't," Luna corrected him. "She wasn't dead; She was hiding."
"No...?" Daniel glanced over to Xelloss. "What happened then?"
Luna rolled her eyes. What Lina had told her was right. Either he was a clever actor or a clueless idiot.
"I killed both her and Daddy in one blow last summer! 'Sum-mer tiiiiiime, and the liv-ing is eeeee-zeeeee...'" Xelloss began to sing.
"Not really," Lina muttered. "Uh, so did you ever find your assistant, Sherra?"
"Why yes, I saw her. Funny thing that was too. She was walking off with an older man. Seen him around but don't know his name. He works for you maybe?"
"Rodimus?" Zel asked. "Highly unlikely."
"Could be, but like I said...I don't know his name," Daniel said.
Zel checked his watch, "Lina..."
She nodded, "Uh, that five minutes is about up and some of us need to change clothes, so if you all will excuse us."
Heading the refreshment stand crew were the girls from the sailing club. Bunny, busy with the popcorn machine, didn't notice the tall woman in evening dress enter the building, but her friends Ami and Rei did.
"Pssssst! Rei! Isn't that that Beryl lady from Atlas City?"
"Oh my gods...oh my gods...Bunny over there!" Rei pointed with excitement.
Sure enough, in strode Beryl McQueen, an imposing woman with cascades of chestnut hair and a neckline to her navel, and her quartet of color-coded cronies.
"Cover for me!" Bunny yelled as she knelt down and crawled beneath the table.
"What are you doing down there?" Rei asked her.
"I've got to let the principal know that awful woman is here. He did tell us to be on the look out for any unsavory types."
"But I think he meant kids from gangs and stuff!" Rei hissed under the table.
"Don't bother him, tell Zelgadiss!" But Ami's words fell on deaf ears. Bunny had already located Mr. Grauscherra.
"Subaru? I'd like you to meet a dear friend of mine, Detective Leon Orcot."
"Dear? Hey, we're not that close! What are you doing here anyway? Kinda far from Chinatown for you," the man snorted.
Subaru looked up from his new friend, Count D, to the lanky blonde-haired officer. "Nice to meet you, Detective. Are you here for the show?"
"Nah, I'm on duty. Chief McGywn says there's bound to be trouble here today, but I don't see it."
"Oh, I see a suspicious looking man..." Count D began.
"Where? Where?"
"With the black hair..."
"Who? You don't mean the guy next to the ticket booth, do ya? That's Detective Laytner!" Orcot narrowed his eyes at the Count. "You knew that didn't you? You're just trying to get rid of me...why...? You got some drug deal going down here? Meeting smugglers? Rare animal handlers?"
"Count D has been very kind to bring me here today so that I could watch my friends' performance," Subaru said in D's defense. "You may join us, if you want."
Orcot rolled his eyes. Two of them! Two effeminate weirdoes who talked like they were in some sort of martial arts movie! And this new one with the sad green eyes and empty movements...he acted like someone who'd been witness to a terrible crime, listless and hiding like the kids he'd seen in abuse trials. He wasn't so sure if he liked his number-one suspect hanging around this mystery kid. "Save me a seat. I'll be back!" the detective ordered D and ran off.
"Does he bother you with false accusations all the time?"
"Yes, but he's harmless and fun...at times," Count D smiled and bit into the richly iced brownie he had just bought.
This time, Filia and Val had more central roles to play as the 'dragons of destiny'. It took both Gourry and Xelloss to assist Val into his 'wings' and guide him to his place on the stage. He wasn't in the first scene, but he had to be in position behind the first scene's backdrop in order to speed the transition to scene two.
"It's nice to see them work together," Amelia said.
"Who–? Oh, Xelloss and Gourry, you mean. Yes, as long as Lina's not involved they're fine, but she just brings out the worst in them," Zel sighed.
"And the best, too! Maybe they can all get married someday and share her."
Zel looked at Amelia as if she had sprouted a horn right in the middle of her forehead. It was an odd expression, causing Amelia to burst into laughter. "I was kidding, Zelgadiss!"
He closed his mouth and blushed faintly, "I knew that..." when they were interrupted by Sylphiel.
"Amelia, some cute guy's brought you a treat. Back at the door," she giggled.
"I wonder who?" Amelia smiled and skipped off in search of the mystery boy.
Zel's piercing gaze penetrated the bodies, focusing to a point at the door. Slim and short in stature, long, reddish braid...Duo with his trusty, morose, sidekick Heero. Sender of mushy valentines two years in a row... He decided to move closer to listen in, just in case there was some kind of trouble.
"Hi, Amelia! Hey, you guys are amazing. The music is so cool, the sets...the story's really gripping and funny. I didn't think something Lina would write would have so much...romance in it, though, I mean... especially for her."
"Thank you, Duo. I think Mr. Xelloss and Mr. Gourry are having some fun with the audience. Oooo, is that for me?"
"Um...yeah...we...ah...weren't sure you got anything to eat," he said through a grin, shielding his lilac-colored eyes with his thick long bangs.
"He bought these this morning," Heero clarified, "...whether or not you needed them to eat."
Amelia set the plate of pastries to the side and gave Duo a big Amelia-family-style hug. "Thank you, again for thinking of me. I just love raspberry-filled Danish!"
She does? Zel wondered as he watched through narrowed eyes. With a smirky smile he mused on, I know for a fact that she prefers lemon.
He paid closer attention to what else was enfolding. Zel was deeply pleased to note that both of them were still far shorter than him. Merely boys in comparison.
Heero was talking again, urging his friend to action, "Go ahead. She has to go back on stage soon."
Amelia had freed Duo from her clutches, allowing him to gasp for air. "Ah...whew...would you like to go to a movie or something after this? Next week?"
Without a moment of consideration, she replied, "Yes, that sounds fun! Call me tomorrow. My number's in the school directory, okay? So, were you selling tickets earlier?"
Zel shook his head. What? She said Yes? Well, he guessed that meant they weren't boyfriend and girlfriend after all. He wasn't sure if he was relieved or disturbed. It took some action on his part to proclaim exclusivity, he concluded, if that's what he wanted, of course. If she wanted that. Who could know? She seemed to want to go out with that guy, Duuuu-o, since she hadn't wasted a second pondering her answer. No struggling with any deep-seated emotional ties for her! On the other hand, he had her private cell phone number and Duo would have to go through the mayor's switchboard to talk to her, heh, heh.
"Yeah, and it was completely sold out! I bet we could fill it all over again, if you wanted to do it," Duo said brightly now that he had the ordeal of asking her out of the way.
"It does seem a shame to just throw all these sets away after today," Amelia said wistfully. "Ah, so Heero, are your other friends from GW Tech here too?"
"Yes," he nodded curtly. "Trowa reported that they had spotted an OZ military training truck parked off the main road. Quatre and Wu Fei are canvassing the area for signs of any of the students or instructors."
At the word 'OZ', Zel had nabbed Xelloss and dragged him over to the three kids by the door. Amelia heard Xelloss laughing and turned their way. "Oh good, Zelgadiss... Mr. Xelloss... I don't see Miss Lina, but you all should hear this, too."
Xelloss became serious when Heero directed a question his way, "You are aware of what OZ is, correct?"
Xelloss nodded slowly. "Yes, it began as an administrative division of one of Zelas' syndicate operations, then became a training camp for recruits masquerading as a military-type school for hard-to-handle kids," he explained to the others.
"I get it! Offspring of Zelas: 'O' 'Z' !" Amelia said aloud.
"Shhh!" Xelloss smacked his hand over her mouth. "It's a secret...okay? Okay?"
She nodded and his hand dropped.
"Zechs is sitting midway back stage left side. Flowing white hair catches my eye," Xelloss smiled in a confidant manner.
"I thought it was flowing red," Zel muttered to his best friend.
"That too!" Xelloss smiled.
"We will keep watch," Heero assured him. "I will trade seats and get closer, now that the lights are up."
Zelgadiss followed both boys out to sneak a peek at the audience. "Damn..." he growled under his breath.
"What is it?"
He nearly jumped out of his skin at the feeling of a cool hand on his and the warm body attached to it pressed up to his side.
"You see something bad?" Amelia asked.
"N-not good," he gasped as he got his wits back. "Tiiba's milling around in the center aisle with a horde of shadowy figures I don't recognize."
"Oh no..." she said with dismay. "Should I go tell Miss Lina?"
"No, don't bother her. She doesn't need any more distractions now. I'll let Rodimus know. He'll keep an eye on them."
He was gratified by her look of admiration. "You realize...I know I'm safe, because of you, not Rodimus," she said.
"Excuse me, Zelgadiss?"
Zel turned regretfully from this promising conversation with Amelia to face a far less interesting one, he supposed, with Grauscherra. "What?" he asked in an icy tone.
Amelia looked from one man to the other. Zel was slightly shorter and thinner, but they were very similar in build and face shapes. Japanese heritage showing through, she guessed. Had Zelgadiss' hair been normal, it might have looked like Mr. Grauscherra's. But, she sighed, those matching eyes were the giveaway–- deep, pure, cerulean blue-green–- a family trait. The principal eye's, however, reflected his current emotional state, which was a combination of confusion and excitation bordering on delirium– or so Amelia thought.
"An excitable young lady working at the refreshment stand just informed me that some dangerous woman...ah...Berry Mc-something...is here. Mean anything to you? Sorry to bother you like this. Usually Miss Sherra's around to ask."
"Xelloss is the one you want. He is familiar with all the lowlife–- by name anyway. Hey, Xelloss!" Zel called out. "Yes, you...no the other goofball named Xelloss..."
"I have so much to doooo," Xelloss said breathlessly.
Grauscherra related what Bunny had told him.
"Beryl McQueen? I didn't think we'd be a rich-bitch attraction. Gods, who's next? And, yes, Zel-gaaa-diss, she is a syndicate underling. Oh, there's Lina. I gotta catch her before she goes on stage. Ta, ta!"
"That's Filia you have to catch, don't forget!" Zel said in jest, referring to an upcoming scene with can't-miss timing. Noticing that the other man was still standing close by annoyed him. He turned to the principal and snapped irritably, "Anything else?"
"Have a minute?"
Zel checked his watch. "Just."
"I don't think we've gotten off to such a good start, you and I, seeing as we are family and all. Just found out about it before the show. Lina told me. Thought I knew, I guess." Daniel smiled nervously.
"Considering how I learned about the rest of my family, this is as good a start as any." Zel folded his arms over his chest protectively. "Two years ago, all I had was a surly grandfather. Now, I have an alive, crotchety father, a couple of living uncles-- one certifiable and my step-brother too and the other, well that's where you fit in, right? Let's see...then I have a dead mother, a dead step-mother, and a long dead, crazy homicidal grandfather... So, what's one more bloody, blood-thirsty relation?"
"I see what you mean. You have a father? You've met him?"
"I once even lived with him. Professor Rezo Greywords, chemistry department. Used to be my grandfather...don't ask. The Red Priest, the guy who blew up Sairaag, now he was my actual grandfather."
Daniel's eyed widened, "Oh?"
"What now?"
"Then...that story in the musical... It was real?"
"Substitute the syndicate for the monsters and its close, but you know all this."
"No...no I don't. I had no idea...You are...you really did knock off Gaav and Phibrizzo..."
Zel decided that as long as he was signing his own death warrant, a verbal agreement in this case, then he might as well sign with a flourish. "And Zelas and Darkstar and Kanzel and Gretel too...all right, that was a joke...Mazenda. That leaves just you and some aunty-deep-sea-mammal."
"Me? Oh...deep sea... Dolphin you mean? Um, not her. She's in a sanatorium. Harmless old thing, really. And me, well... haven't we just met?"
"It's easier that way. Believe me; putting away someone you know well is much more painful. Uh, time's up." Zel strapped on his sword and marched onto the stage.
Lina matched his stride. "Ready?"
"Yes, you?"
"You betcha," she gave her best bud a wink.
Moments before, Lina had been busy talking to her friend Tasuki from the Suzaku Seven. The two bands had spent time in August on the road together playing a few gigs, but Tasuki had known Lina way back when she was the toughest kid on the block, and the youngest.
"I gotta tell ya though, Chiriko spotted the guy first, comin' in, but then Nuriko said he could see him gettin' a drink and talkin' on his cell phone in the lobby."
"Yeah? And who'd you say this bad dude was? Nakago?" Lina asked.
"Tall blonde dude. Really works the babes. If he's here, then so's his minions and...well, Xelloss will know 'im, I'll bet. His band played some dirty tricks on us, leavin' the equipment at the place we were playin' at in bad condition and makin' it look like it was our fault. But worse than that, they're...bad news all around. Just tellin' ya not ta worry. We got them covered. They won't mess up your musical. Ya got my word on it." He cracked his knuckles for more that just effect.
Lina slapped him on the back. "Thanks, Tasuki ! I bet you will and I'm counting on ya too. Ah, there's Xelloss. I'll pass that name by him."
Oh yes, Xelloss recognized the name. "Syndicate," he spat. "Zechs is here too and our principal, oddly enough, just passed me the news that Beryl McQueen has made her entrance as well."
"Who?"
Xelloss smiled. "More trash. I'm calling our crew..." he said in a lowered voice. Speaking into his cell phone, he continued, "Hello? Zolf, we have a cleanup on aisle 12 and in the lobby. Zechs, McQueen, and Nakago. You know? Dandy! Carry on then, my good man. My mind is set to rest knowing you are on duty. Yeah, well...bye." He smiled down a Lina. "Nothing to worry about. Security is on the job!"
"To tell ya the truth, I trust us more to keep us safe, ya know?"
"Certainly. But today...soon the bad guys will be playing with their gloves off and even those amplifiers and that pendant won't protect you, I'm afraid."
"I didn't mean these things anyway. I meant you...a-and Zel and Gourry and Val and you know."
"Yes. Those to whom life is meaningless without you!"
Lina smiled and punched him, "You betcha! Come on, goofus. Let's go!"
"You're late!" Martina chastised them all.
Majestically, Lina swept past her declaring, "I am never late. I set the time."
Amelia, Sylphiel, and Gourry joined Zelgadiss and Lina on stage behind the curtain. Behind them was a painted village. They pulled up at a small table and waited. The background music climaxed and the curtain rose on...
Act Four The Battle Field Expands
Scene One
Martina stepped to their table, tablet in hand. "Can I take your orders?"
"I'll have one of everything!" Lina shouted. "And make it snappy!"
Martina's expression turned sour. Pigs... "Everything. Got it. And you?
"Me, too!" Gourry agreed. "Ah...um...two of everything!" He waved two fingers in the air for Martina to see.
What a waste of manhood..."Two. One, two. I get it. And you?" Martina looked down her nose at Amelia's cheerful countenance.
"I'll have the same!" Amelia said with enthusiasm.
"Naturally," Martina nodded curtly, little copycat... and stared at the next in line.
"Salad and would you put the dressing on the side? Or... um...just sprinkle some vinegar on it. And... a glass of water," Sylphiel added.
"Sprin-kle of vinegar?" Martina broke her pencil in her fingers.
"I'm watching my weight," Sylphiel said with a concerned look. "Are croutons rich?"
Martina grumbled under her breath, ...soaked in butter...fat, fat, fat... then aloud answered, "No," and turned to Zelgadiss. "And you, Sir?"
"Tea."
"Tea? Just...tea?" Martina's eyebrow twitched.
"Yes. Tea. Plain," Zel clarified.
The audience was filled with kids who were witnesses of Lina's gang's lunchtime antics. This was a reality they could vouch for; they snickered.
"Fine," Martina stomped off in a huff, nose in the air.
"Poor Miss Martina," Amelia sighed. "Her castle and everything destroyed and now...reduced to waiting tables. Although, she looks very nice in that outfit, don't you think?"
"Yeah, well, she should be happy my sister got her this job here. Hey, it wasn't my fault her castle was in Gaav's territory when we took him out. She should blame that little Phibrizzo creep."
But Lina's excuses would have to go largely unsaid, when a beautiful, tall blonde girl approached them. "Which one of you is the most powerful sorceress in the world?"
Lina looked up, "Who's askin'?"
Filia pulled up an empty chair. "My name is Filia Ul Copt. I was told I could find the person I need at this restaurant."
"Well, it could be me. Depends on what the deal is."
Filia stood and burst into song explaining that she was a representative from the dragon community with a strange prophecy to fulfill. "Gather the five weapons of power and return them to the Stargaaaate... before it's too laaaate... Don't leave it to faaaate!"
"Yeah? So, these weapons you mentioned, how do we find them? And are they valuable?" Lina asked as the song's end.
"They will all have the mark of the gods on their handles," Filia told them. "Like the decoration on my pendant."
She showed them all the heavy metal bobble hanging from a chain around her neck.
There were a few gasps from select audience members, who never expected such an overt flaunting of power...
Zelgadiss drew his sword, "Look at this! Gourry, show her yours."
"They both have that symbol imprinted on the hilts!" Amelia exclaimed.
"What does that mean?" Sylphiel asked.
"It means we only gotta find three more," Lina answered. "Then what do we do with them?"
"Take them to my elders at our greatest shrine and we can unlock the secret of the prophesy."
"And...what's in it for me?" Lina pounded the table with a fist.
This sent the audience into fits of giggles and snickers. Lina captured her own character quite convincingly.
"Well..." Filia began to answer, when Martina returned, juggling armloads of plates and bowls.
They didn't need to pretend to eat; Martina actually served them real food. Lina, Gourry, and Amelia dug in with their usual gusto. There was a small tussle over a sparerib and Amelia and Lina traded off stealing one another's rolls.
"Looks like the lunchroom all over again!" one person shouted out.
"Yeah, all that's missing is bloodshed!" someone else in the audience added amid snickers.
"Come on, we have to hurry!" Filia begged, then demanded, stomping her foot, "NOW!"
"Now? I haven't even started the soup..." Lina said off-handedly.
Filia jumped up, knocking over her chair in the process, lifted the huge (but actually empty) punch-bowl-sized tureen and pretended to quaff it back in a few colossal gulps.
Laughter shook the theater hall. Who would have thought the snooty cheerleader would make fun of herself like that!
"All right!" she shouted as she smashed the empty bowl to the floor. "Done. Now, go! The elders will pay you handsomely for successfully completing the prophecy, if...IF we get there before it's too late."
"Too late?" Sylphiel was quizzical. "You just got here."
"That's right," Amelia joined in. "It isn't healthy to exert yourself on a full stomach!"
"Wha- what?" Filia swirled around and stomped her foot, then...keeled over, eyes closed.
But before she hit the floor, Xelloss appeared from behind a backdrop and caught her in his arms. This had been practiced to perfection. Filia had warned Xelloss that if he failed to catch her ONCE, he would die a long and painful death at her hands. He never missed his cue. "My, my but you are a heavy girl. Did I miss something?"
Zel shook his head, stood and sheathed his sword. "Not a beat. We were just leaving. Enjoy your lunch."
As the actors walked off stage, Xelloss bearing Filia admirably without staggering, Lee and Luke whisked away the props surreptitiously to the opposite side. The music became dark and dramatic, and the lighting altered. The backdrop rose on a set which now simulated a cavern with shiny, luminous paint giving the effect of moisture on hanging stalactites. Val, wings extended, looked positively, marvelously, evil.
Outside the rear of the building, a big man perspiring heavily and dressed with a hint of the gypsy or actor about him, was pushing a large wooden crate toward the rear stage door.
"The musical is in progress. No admittance."
"Oh? That's okay. No problem. I'm their director just delivering some props."
Rodimus stepped in front of the door. "They have no director..." then on closer inspection, he realized who the man was. "Mr. Rossburg?"
"Yes, yes! You see, that fiery little redhead wanted a few of these for her own play. I think they'll work best in the finale."
"Okay, " Rodimus opened the door. "Just shove it in and take this pass. Seat's on the house."
"Why, thank you, my good man! Thank you very much!"
Scene Two
Meanwhile, Val was finishing his tortured solo from his cave-like set. At his feet were Jillas and Gravos. They were dressed like a couple of gypsies because Zelgadiss and Lina had acquired the two costumes for free at the costumier's going-out-of-business sale, and they fit.
"Boss, they're here," Gravos said.
Val looked over at him, frowning. "Who?"
"The guys who killed Lord Gaav, sir. They're climbing up the mountain. They might find the way down into here."
"They want this," Val hefted the mighty pike-like weapon in his fist and stabbed at a loose set piece, bringing down a crumble of fake-rock. "And they are lookin' for the one hidden in this place. They have the other holy weapons with them?"
"Oh, yes, boss. At least... I saw two swords!" Jillas assured him. "But if we couldn't get past the guardian to get that holy weapon, boss, they can't, I'm sure."
"But if they can, then all we do is kill them all and the treasure is ours. All of them, but one... I must go meet the human creatures that destroyed my Lord Gaav...and make them pay," Val growled.
They exited the stage amid stormy music and a lighting change, slightly lighter to enhance the foreground, as Lina and company entered from the other side.
Filia was chastising Xelloss, "Never, never, ever touch me again you...piece of raw monster garbage!"
"You can bet on it. Next time, I'll let you fall. Knock some sense into that tiny dragon brain of yours." Xelloss topped it off by sticking out his tongue at her.
"Oooooh!" she screamed. Lee pushed an over-fifteen pound mace from under a hollow rock prop to under Filia's skirt, and then crawled off unseen off stage. "Take this!" Filia shrieked as she swung the mace through the air at Xelloss' head. Had it connected, it would have knocked his head off. Thankfully, they had practiced the routine so many times that as long as his attention didn't waver a micro-second and his quick reflexes remained perfectly intact, he would survive her attack.
One of her swings circled a little too close to Zelgadiss for him to ignore it. "Cut that out! Now, you are leading us here, so, which way do we go?" Zelgadiss asked Filia. "Left or right? And remind me, you are certain we'll find the last two weapons here?"
Filia hid away the mace, gripped her pendant and hummed some tune, trance-like. "Straight ahead...Oh!"
And the lights went up as the curtain fell in preparation for the next scene. This set was very simple. An enormous wood square piece of plywood with a four-by-four-foot-square cut-out of the center was painted to look like stone. The opening was replaced for the start of the scene and the entire structure was centered on the stage with the secondary curtains split and down on both sides. Bobby hit the lights, leaving only the exits illuminated. The audience was in the dark and twelve fog machines were filling the room with a thin mist within seconds. When the main curtain rose, what the crowd saw was nothing. It was dark. They could hear voices...
Scene Three
"Down there."
"That tiny hole?"
"Well, a few rocks have to be moved."
There was a terrible fingernails-on-the-blackboard scraping sound, and the cover in the opening was laboriously pushed to the side; at least it sounded that way. "Mr. Zelgadiss, that's far enough! If you use too much magic power to move the rocks, the whole place might cave in!"
"Don't worry, Amelia."
"What we need now is a lighting spell," Lina said, and then brilliant backlighting flicked on.
The light rays were reflected by the mist particles, so that to each person in the room, it appeared that the rays were headed directly at them– as lights on a car in a thin fog, piercing the darkness ahead. The result was feeling as if you were sitting in your seat in the theater at the bottom of a hole.
The audience let out a collective, "Ahhhhh."
"Where does it go?" Lina peered into the cavity in the cave floor. Her face could be seen looking 'down' the opening as she stood behind the structure. The effect was very realistic. One by one, each of the others looked into the 'hole'.
"I don't know, but what we are looking for...it's there," Filia replied.
"I think it's in the other direction," Xelloss put in just to make trouble.
"Then you go that way," Lina growled. "This is Filia's prophecy."
"How do we get down? I can't fly," Gourry asked.
"I brought a rope. You can climb down," Zel told him.
"Oh, that is a problem. If I transform into my dragon form, I'll be too large to fit!"
"I suggest you tie the rope to her, and then climb down." Xelloss smiled and dashed out of the path of Filia's swinging mace.
"Youuuuuuu!"
Or at least that is what the audience could imagine as the sound of her screaming and thundering feet was all that could be heard.
"That's it!" shouted Lina. "Zel, help me fly Gourry down. Amelia and Sylphiel can take care of Filia."
A combination of fog and darkness contributed to the successful illusion working– they did seem to float 'down the hole'. The backlights dimmed as they all moved 'away' from the opening, until the opening was replaced invisibly with another object completely.
One of the set design features had included embedding a huge video screen into the opening, now a 'cave' wall. It came to life. Zelgadiss was particularly pleased with how this effect came out in the end. He had convinced Milgasia one afternoon to drape himself in a pale colored concealing hooded cloak and recite a few lines, while Kiki recorded him. Xelloss messed with the image later to give it a mystical appearance, and now it played out on the wall.
"It's the Extreme Elder!" Filia cried out, messing up her line. She should have called him the 'Supreme Elder.'
"Looking eerily eldritch..." Xelloss muttered. Just to play on her little error in a way that would annoy her, he continued, "Elaborately lacking in élan due to elusive electro convulsive treatments. That's my eloquent and elevating elegy!"
"I don't think he's real," Lina deduced.
"That's just what I said!" Xelloss whined, ignored by everybody.
Zelgadiss knew an illusion when he saw one too. He moved off to the side to examine an interesting artifact.
At this point, the Milgasia-Elder-apparition gave a brief retelling of the massacre of the Ancient race of dragons that had once filled the caverns, revealing how Filia's people were ultimately responsible.
Filia was beside herself with despair at this news. "If only I hadn't this terrible journey to complete, I would leave my shrine for good!"
So dispirited she was, that even Jillas, observing from the side, was moved. "Hey, it wasn't you that did nothin'! Say, I know where another of those marked things is, and mebbe the guy with it can help you just like he helped me when I was down!"
This pitched Filia into another song, which grew into a duet with Jillas reminding her to buck up and make the world a better place and not fold in their time of need, and Filia replying that that was just what she intended to do—as soon as he stopped staring at her breasts!
"Look at this!" Zelgadiss raised a dangerous looking crossbow-like weapon to his shoulder. "Can you find a marking?"
Both Lina and Xelloss were close at hand. "Yes! Imprinted here!" Lina crowed. "This one's mine!" and ripped it away from her friend.
"I think...it should be mine," Xelloss said as he struck her down and took the bow.
"But it is MINE!" bellowed a rough voice from the shadows and Val made his appearance once again.
"Who are you?" Lina asked, as she regained her feet. "Not that it matters, 'cause we got here first and say it's ours. Anyway, it looks like you got your hands full with your own weapon."
"I am VALGAAV. Once an Ancient Dragon, but re-born anew as a servant of Lord Gaav. Ah, yes, I see you know the name. Murderers!"
"Another MONSTER!" Sylphiel shrieked.
"Another...?" Val's hooded eyes slipped over the group, landing on Xelloss. "You. You should go. Leave the weapon of the Ancients and go."
"I'm afraid I can't do that," Xelloss smirked. "You see, I have one of the set too," he twirled his staff as an example. "And, if I am not mistaken, you are carrying one of your own. It appears all five prophesied keys to the puzzle are gathered. No, ValGaav, I think I'll stick around now that things are getting interesting."
Everyone was assembled for another one of the bigger song and dance routines. Symbolically, it was a fight between the monsters over supremacy, with humans and the one pure dragon getting the bad side of magic. Filia tried to convince ValGaav to turn 'from the dark side' (Lina couldn't resist this nod to one of her favorite movies) and together see the prophecy through to its end and make Dragon Kind stronger. As the tempo escalated, so did the pyrotechnics.
It ended dramatically with one of Val's signature howls as he and Xelloss fought in earnest. Lina and company made their escape with the weapons, excepting Xelloss' staff, while the monsters were otherwise occupied (working very hard not to really do one another harm while dodging sprays of sparks.)
If anything interesting was going on in the theater hall, Lina and the other Slayers couldn't have known or heard such was their overpowering cacophony of music and sound effects.
The audience was so in awe of the spectacle, they nearly forgot to applaud when the lights all went out.
The stage went dark.
"Where are we?" Amelia asked. "It's so dark."
"Astral plane is my guess," Lina answered her.
"Bing-go!"
"Xelloss! Are you behind this? Stop it at once! Send us back NOW!"
And then the lights went up on...
Next time, Act Four concludes with Scene Four ...From the Authors:
The pictures for the musical are working. Please go to the author profile for Kaeru Shisho and choose the link. You will find the pictures under Seyruun High Jinx, Summer Special, and NEXT. Pictures for other stories are associated with their links.
KS
End Seyruun High Jinx –NEXT! Chapter 47.