Help!
I'm Inside the World of the Book?
Episode 3
It was bright and the sun was shining. Several birds chirped merrily, and several insects buzzed in the background. A bee buzzed in the foreground. Lina blinked groggily. She sat up and rubbed the sleep from her eyes, wondering how she could have slept in so late. Shouldn't Gourry have woken her up long ago so they could move on? She opened her eyes and looked around. She recognized nothing in the landscape. "Umph," groaned someone beside her. Lina turned, expecting Gourry to be there. Naga blinked confusedly back at her. "Ano... where are we?" Lina took a deep breath. "Something tells me this isn't Rand McNally." She stood up and walked in a tight circle, memorizing the locale. They were in a meadow of some sort, surrounded by trees and the fringes of a forest. In the east there was a small dirt road. It looked rather like a lot of places Lina knew. But she had just been in Rand McNally, and now she could not find signs of a village or any other people. "What happened? We opened that book and then..." Naga rubbed her head woozily. "Old magic. An incantation - Naga!" Lina gasped, "Remember what you read? 'The story itself is a spell.' That must have been the trigger which sent us to...where ever 'here' is!" Naga jerked upright. "You mean we're...inside the book?" That hadn't occurred to Lina; she thought they had just been transported somewhere. Unfortunately, Naga's guess made dreadful sense. "'One who finishes the book shall acquire power as the heroine...who gathered the Suzaku no Shichi Seishi...'" she quoted, then paused. "Does that make us the heroines?" "Ohohoho! I'm definitely the heroine!" Naga laughed, covering her shock. "But it's not Suzaku, it's Seiryuu, remember?" "Whatever. That means..." There was a long pause in which the only sounds were the birds cheerfully singing from the forest and bees buzzing in the meadow. The peace was too calm for Lina's nervous mind. Something had to happen. She bit her lip and drew a trickle of blood. It hurt. Lina winced slightly, then realized it wasn't a dream. It was real. Inside the book? Lina and Naga exchanged a look. "I don't like this at all," voiced Lina. "Hmph," agreed Naga.
Wind rustled through the trees, sending several leaves spiraling lazily across the dusty path. It was an exceptionally beautiful summer day outside, with just the right amount of wispy white clouds, perfume of wildflowers, and wildlife bird-and-insect chorus. Lina and Naga didn't even notice. They trudged onwards, both unusually silent. At one point, Naga had begun laughing (for lack of anything else to do) but Lina had clobbered her. After that, they walked down the path quietly, each lost in her own thoughts. Trudge, trudge, thud. rustle Thud, trudge, thud? rustle rustle They stopped simultaneously. Even lost in their own thoughts, they had realized they weren't alone. "Who's there?" challenged Lina. A gang of ragtag men stepped out onto the road, not bothering to hide anymore. They didn't do anything, they just stood there blocking the path and muttering to themselves. "That tall one will fetch a great price." "The shorter one's kinda flat, but even a few ryou will help." "NANI?" roared Lina. "Who do you think you are, talking about me like that? Slave traders?" They nodded. "Oh," said Lina. Naga grinned. "It's been awhile, ne Lina-san?" Lina nodded. "Hope we haven't lost our flair." The slave traders pulled out their weapons and stood their ground menacingly, two of them scowling for good measure. Lina and Naga went into fighting crouches, preparing to cast spells at them. The battle was about to begin when... "YAMETE!" Everyone paused. A bird chirped. A bee buzzed. "Ano..." said Lina. "Now what?" A blue-haired young man was standing behind the gang, eyeing them critically. Unlike other hooligans Lina had met, the slave traders attacked the man without exchanging any words. They were efficient Lina had to admit as she and Naga watched noncommittally. The young man promptly set about beating them up. He's almost as good as Gourry, Lina thought. "Ne, Naga, are you seeing a red thing glowing on his forehead?" "Yup." "Oh, good. It's not just me, then." Lina scratched her head, wondering how the character 'oni' could possibly glow red on someone, unless he was using magic. The fight was over quickly. The blue-haired man smiled as the character faded from his forehead. "Daijobu?" "Hai," answered Lina. "But we were perfectly capable of defending ourselves..." "You know, money is a better way of showing your appreciation," he said, suddenly all smiles. He held out an open palm expectantly. "Naaani?" "Tisk tisk, money, o-ka-ne, coins! Money is everything." Naga snickered. "You already know that part, ne Lina-san?" A vein popped on Lina's head. "Oi, wait a second. You saved us of your own accord! And we didn't need the help! And now you want us to pay you?" He looked surprised, then annoyed. "You probably don't have any money anyway. Humph. I hate poor people. Ja ne." He shuffled off, muttering something to himself, and disappeared around a bend. "WHY, THE NERVE!! I OUGHT TO-" Lina fumed, starting after him. She didn't get very far. Another blinding flash of light enveloped her and Naga.
Lina fell off the chair she was sitting in. "Itai!" She rubbed her sore hip and looked around. "The inn?" gasped Naga. "But... how?" They exchanged another look. Surrounding them was Lina's room at the Dancing Fish Inn. The book lay open on the desk. Bam! Bam! Someone was knocking rather forcefully on the door. Lina shut the book swiftly. "Lina? Lina! Are you in there, Lina?!" "G-Gourry!" She leapt up and pulled the door open. Gourry knocked on her head several times before realizing the door wasn't closed. "Oops, gomen Lina-san! But where have you been? It's already past lunch time!" "Eh?" "Yeah! I heard from the innkeeper about this new restaurant in town. He says it's a 'buffet' or something, and it's supposed to be all-you-can-eat- for-one-low-price." "WHERE?! Wherewherewherewhere?!" Lina grabbed Gourry's arms. "Let's GO!" They zoomed off, breaking several speed records and leaving a trail of dust and smoke behind them. "Ano," said Naga. "What about me?" The departed forms gave no answer. Annoyed, she was about to follow them when she noticed the book on the desk. "Hmm..."
Lunch was pure heaven for Lina. After an extremely weird day, dealing with batty clerks and strange books, it was comforting to do something completely normal. It was easier to put her fears and worries aside when she had a plate of food in front of her. "Whoever came up with this 'buffet' idea is a genius!" proclaimed Lina over a third helping of chicken drumsticks. "No waiters; just grab your food and eat!" "Yeah," nodded Gourry around a mouthful of potato. "No waiting, too. Speaking of waiting, I was waiting for an hour earlier. Where did you go? Naga said you went to a magic shop and she was going to follow, but when I asked the innkeeper, he said there wasn't a magic shop in town. Then you're suddenly in your room with Naga, but I didn't leave the inn all day, and I didn't see you come in..." Lina paused. "Wait...what did you say?" "I didn't leave the inn all day." "Before that." "Um, there wasn't a magic shop in town?" "No, before that!" "Um, where did you go?" "No, no, no! Gourry, it was the first thing you said!" "Errr...I don't remember." A sweatdrop rolled down the back of Lina's head. "You said you waited for an hour?" "Oi, if you remembered, why didn't you just tell me?" he grumbled in annoyance. Lina didn't hear him. He said we were gone for an hour, but that's impossible! Naga and I were in that place for half the day! We were walking for at least three hours alone! How can that be? When I finish, I'm gonna go find that clerk and demand to know what's going on! Lina stood up, suddenly no longer hungry. It was a rare occurrence, but rarer things have been known to happen, if rarely. "I'll meet you back at the inn. I have some business to finish." She left, with Gourry staring at her diminishing form. "Does this mean I can finish off your plate?" Pause. "Hey, THANKS!"
Down the street, left at the red corner shop, past the fountain, right at the junction. Lina wove her way through the streets and paused at the antiques shop. It wasn't there. Lina blinked. She looked at the town around her. The antiques shop was directly across from the gray, boarded-up storefront, next to a iron lamppost, near the fabric shop. She was just here earlier today! Where did the store go? She frowned and rubbed her chin thoughtfully. Earlier it had been raining; the drizzle had finally stopped. Maybe she had gotten a direction mixed up. Sighing, she set down the road. An hour later, she stared at the same street corner. She had scoured the entire town without finding any sign of the shop. It was like it had disappeared off the face of the map. This was screwy. Shops don't just fade away like that! Extremely frustrated, Lina turned around and headed back to the inn. Maybe, with Naga's help, they could search again and find it. There had to be some street she missed where the antiques shop was hiding! At the inn, Gourry was chatting with several of the locals. Lina nodded to him and headed up the stairs, only to be stopped when someone grabbed her arm. "Gourry?" "Lina, what's wrong? You look really worried about something." She blinked. "Oh, um, it's really nothing. Is Naga here? I need to talk to her." "Nope. Haven't seen her since we went to lunch." The sorceress sighed and made her way to the room. "Gourry, stop following me." "Gee, I'm sorry, Lina. But you don't look too good, so I was worried." Even more annoyed, she opened the door to her room and stopped at the threshold. The book was open on the desk. There was no sign of Naga. Lina remembered closing the book before Gourry had come in earlier. The only way it would be open would be if... "Oh, crap." Lina was at a loss for words. "Ne, what's that? You okay, Lina?" "No, I'm not. But I know where Naga is." Lina went over to her desk and looked at the book closely. "Huh? Where?" Lina turned the page. "Lina?" A blast of red light burst from the book and swallowed Lina. Gourry was stunned. "Lina?" He walked over and picked up the book. He looked at it, looked under it, and looked around the room. "Lina? Where'd you go?" The blonde turned his attention to the book again, the wheels in his mind slowly going to work. Of course! It must be a magic book and Lina must have cast some spell! But...why would she do that? Unless it had something to do with Naga? Gourry scratched his head in confusion. Now that both Lina and Naga were gone, he had nothing to do. There was a long pause in which Gourry pondered over the situation. Finally, he did as any smart person would do, despite the fact that his intelligence was below par. He sat down and started reading the book.
Continue:episode: Disaster! What Happened to my Magic?
I'm Inside the World of the Book?
Episode 3
It was bright and the sun was shining. Several birds chirped merrily, and several insects buzzed in the background. A bee buzzed in the foreground. Lina blinked groggily. She sat up and rubbed the sleep from her eyes, wondering how she could have slept in so late. Shouldn't Gourry have woken her up long ago so they could move on? She opened her eyes and looked around. She recognized nothing in the landscape. "Umph," groaned someone beside her. Lina turned, expecting Gourry to be there. Naga blinked confusedly back at her. "Ano... where are we?" Lina took a deep breath. "Something tells me this isn't Rand McNally." She stood up and walked in a tight circle, memorizing the locale. They were in a meadow of some sort, surrounded by trees and the fringes of a forest. In the east there was a small dirt road. It looked rather like a lot of places Lina knew. But she had just been in Rand McNally, and now she could not find signs of a village or any other people. "What happened? We opened that book and then..." Naga rubbed her head woozily. "Old magic. An incantation - Naga!" Lina gasped, "Remember what you read? 'The story itself is a spell.' That must have been the trigger which sent us to...where ever 'here' is!" Naga jerked upright. "You mean we're...inside the book?" That hadn't occurred to Lina; she thought they had just been transported somewhere. Unfortunately, Naga's guess made dreadful sense. "'One who finishes the book shall acquire power as the heroine...who gathered the Suzaku no Shichi Seishi...'" she quoted, then paused. "Does that make us the heroines?" "Ohohoho! I'm definitely the heroine!" Naga laughed, covering her shock. "But it's not Suzaku, it's Seiryuu, remember?" "Whatever. That means..." There was a long pause in which the only sounds were the birds cheerfully singing from the forest and bees buzzing in the meadow. The peace was too calm for Lina's nervous mind. Something had to happen. She bit her lip and drew a trickle of blood. It hurt. Lina winced slightly, then realized it wasn't a dream. It was real. Inside the book? Lina and Naga exchanged a look. "I don't like this at all," voiced Lina. "Hmph," agreed Naga.
Wind rustled through the trees, sending several leaves spiraling lazily across the dusty path. It was an exceptionally beautiful summer day outside, with just the right amount of wispy white clouds, perfume of wildflowers, and wildlife bird-and-insect chorus. Lina and Naga didn't even notice. They trudged onwards, both unusually silent. At one point, Naga had begun laughing (for lack of anything else to do) but Lina had clobbered her. After that, they walked down the path quietly, each lost in her own thoughts. Trudge, trudge, thud. rustle Thud, trudge, thud? rustle rustle They stopped simultaneously. Even lost in their own thoughts, they had realized they weren't alone. "Who's there?" challenged Lina. A gang of ragtag men stepped out onto the road, not bothering to hide anymore. They didn't do anything, they just stood there blocking the path and muttering to themselves. "That tall one will fetch a great price." "The shorter one's kinda flat, but even a few ryou will help." "NANI?" roared Lina. "Who do you think you are, talking about me like that? Slave traders?" They nodded. "Oh," said Lina. Naga grinned. "It's been awhile, ne Lina-san?" Lina nodded. "Hope we haven't lost our flair." The slave traders pulled out their weapons and stood their ground menacingly, two of them scowling for good measure. Lina and Naga went into fighting crouches, preparing to cast spells at them. The battle was about to begin when... "YAMETE!" Everyone paused. A bird chirped. A bee buzzed. "Ano..." said Lina. "Now what?" A blue-haired young man was standing behind the gang, eyeing them critically. Unlike other hooligans Lina had met, the slave traders attacked the man without exchanging any words. They were efficient Lina had to admit as she and Naga watched noncommittally. The young man promptly set about beating them up. He's almost as good as Gourry, Lina thought. "Ne, Naga, are you seeing a red thing glowing on his forehead?" "Yup." "Oh, good. It's not just me, then." Lina scratched her head, wondering how the character 'oni' could possibly glow red on someone, unless he was using magic. The fight was over quickly. The blue-haired man smiled as the character faded from his forehead. "Daijobu?" "Hai," answered Lina. "But we were perfectly capable of defending ourselves..." "You know, money is a better way of showing your appreciation," he said, suddenly all smiles. He held out an open palm expectantly. "Naaani?" "Tisk tisk, money, o-ka-ne, coins! Money is everything." Naga snickered. "You already know that part, ne Lina-san?" A vein popped on Lina's head. "Oi, wait a second. You saved us of your own accord! And we didn't need the help! And now you want us to pay you?" He looked surprised, then annoyed. "You probably don't have any money anyway. Humph. I hate poor people. Ja ne." He shuffled off, muttering something to himself, and disappeared around a bend. "WHY, THE NERVE!! I OUGHT TO-" Lina fumed, starting after him. She didn't get very far. Another blinding flash of light enveloped her and Naga.
Lina fell off the chair she was sitting in. "Itai!" She rubbed her sore hip and looked around. "The inn?" gasped Naga. "But... how?" They exchanged another look. Surrounding them was Lina's room at the Dancing Fish Inn. The book lay open on the desk. Bam! Bam! Someone was knocking rather forcefully on the door. Lina shut the book swiftly. "Lina? Lina! Are you in there, Lina?!" "G-Gourry!" She leapt up and pulled the door open. Gourry knocked on her head several times before realizing the door wasn't closed. "Oops, gomen Lina-san! But where have you been? It's already past lunch time!" "Eh?" "Yeah! I heard from the innkeeper about this new restaurant in town. He says it's a 'buffet' or something, and it's supposed to be all-you-can-eat- for-one-low-price." "WHERE?! Wherewherewherewhere?!" Lina grabbed Gourry's arms. "Let's GO!" They zoomed off, breaking several speed records and leaving a trail of dust and smoke behind them. "Ano," said Naga. "What about me?" The departed forms gave no answer. Annoyed, she was about to follow them when she noticed the book on the desk. "Hmm..."
Lunch was pure heaven for Lina. After an extremely weird day, dealing with batty clerks and strange books, it was comforting to do something completely normal. It was easier to put her fears and worries aside when she had a plate of food in front of her. "Whoever came up with this 'buffet' idea is a genius!" proclaimed Lina over a third helping of chicken drumsticks. "No waiters; just grab your food and eat!" "Yeah," nodded Gourry around a mouthful of potato. "No waiting, too. Speaking of waiting, I was waiting for an hour earlier. Where did you go? Naga said you went to a magic shop and she was going to follow, but when I asked the innkeeper, he said there wasn't a magic shop in town. Then you're suddenly in your room with Naga, but I didn't leave the inn all day, and I didn't see you come in..." Lina paused. "Wait...what did you say?" "I didn't leave the inn all day." "Before that." "Um, there wasn't a magic shop in town?" "No, before that!" "Um, where did you go?" "No, no, no! Gourry, it was the first thing you said!" "Errr...I don't remember." A sweatdrop rolled down the back of Lina's head. "You said you waited for an hour?" "Oi, if you remembered, why didn't you just tell me?" he grumbled in annoyance. Lina didn't hear him. He said we were gone for an hour, but that's impossible! Naga and I were in that place for half the day! We were walking for at least three hours alone! How can that be? When I finish, I'm gonna go find that clerk and demand to know what's going on! Lina stood up, suddenly no longer hungry. It was a rare occurrence, but rarer things have been known to happen, if rarely. "I'll meet you back at the inn. I have some business to finish." She left, with Gourry staring at her diminishing form. "Does this mean I can finish off your plate?" Pause. "Hey, THANKS!"
Down the street, left at the red corner shop, past the fountain, right at the junction. Lina wove her way through the streets and paused at the antiques shop. It wasn't there. Lina blinked. She looked at the town around her. The antiques shop was directly across from the gray, boarded-up storefront, next to a iron lamppost, near the fabric shop. She was just here earlier today! Where did the store go? She frowned and rubbed her chin thoughtfully. Earlier it had been raining; the drizzle had finally stopped. Maybe she had gotten a direction mixed up. Sighing, she set down the road. An hour later, she stared at the same street corner. She had scoured the entire town without finding any sign of the shop. It was like it had disappeared off the face of the map. This was screwy. Shops don't just fade away like that! Extremely frustrated, Lina turned around and headed back to the inn. Maybe, with Naga's help, they could search again and find it. There had to be some street she missed where the antiques shop was hiding! At the inn, Gourry was chatting with several of the locals. Lina nodded to him and headed up the stairs, only to be stopped when someone grabbed her arm. "Gourry?" "Lina, what's wrong? You look really worried about something." She blinked. "Oh, um, it's really nothing. Is Naga here? I need to talk to her." "Nope. Haven't seen her since we went to lunch." The sorceress sighed and made her way to the room. "Gourry, stop following me." "Gee, I'm sorry, Lina. But you don't look too good, so I was worried." Even more annoyed, she opened the door to her room and stopped at the threshold. The book was open on the desk. There was no sign of Naga. Lina remembered closing the book before Gourry had come in earlier. The only way it would be open would be if... "Oh, crap." Lina was at a loss for words. "Ne, what's that? You okay, Lina?" "No, I'm not. But I know where Naga is." Lina went over to her desk and looked at the book closely. "Huh? Where?" Lina turned the page. "Lina?" A blast of red light burst from the book and swallowed Lina. Gourry was stunned. "Lina?" He walked over and picked up the book. He looked at it, looked under it, and looked around the room. "Lina? Where'd you go?" The blonde turned his attention to the book again, the wheels in his mind slowly going to work. Of course! It must be a magic book and Lina must have cast some spell! But...why would she do that? Unless it had something to do with Naga? Gourry scratched his head in confusion. Now that both Lina and Naga were gone, he had nothing to do. There was a long pause in which Gourry pondered over the situation. Finally, he did as any smart person would do, despite the fact that his intelligence was below par. He sat down and started reading the book.
Continue:episode: Disaster! What Happened to my Magic?