Abyss of the Heart

Chapter 1

Xellos was scared. The demon, though powerful, was no match for what he had just sensed.

"Not even Inverse could handle this. An army of Linas maybe, but still..."

It wasn't long ago that Xellos was just being his usual curious self, wandering around in search of entertainment. That was when he stumbled across an area he couldn't teleport into. One foot in and his senses went haywire. Something overwhelmingly powerful was lurking in that void. Something powerful enough to seal away the demon's powers just by passing a border.

"And it's expanding. I can feel it."

Xellos left the area quickly, disappearing as soon as possible.

"Give it here!"

"You already ate your share!"

"But I'm still hungry!"

The sound of war over a grilled fish tore apart the quiet woodland area.

"Just stop being so selfish Gourry and give it here." Lina whined, pulling on the tail end of the fish.

"Me selfish? At least I don't steal ice cream from little kids." Gourry pointed out, giving a fierce tug. Still the redhead refused to let go. However, an unseen force split the fish in half. Sending both Lina and Gourry tumbling back.

"It's impossible to meditate with you two bickering." Zelgadis grumbled, placing his sword back in its scabbard. Lina wasn't too mad about falling, after all, she got some of the fish.

"So, any leads yet? I wanna get this job over with so I can eat again." Lina asked, though slightly muffled with the fish in her mouth. The town they just left offered them free food and board if they stopped a dangerous sorcerer. Lina was quick to volunteer everyone.

As Zelgadis opened his mouth to answer her,

"PERVERT!!!" interrupted his words. It was coming from the direction of the lake.

Filia had been relaxing with Amelia, cleansing her human-self in the pristine lake they had found. That was, until a certain demon appeared on the lake's rock centerpiece. Xelloss smiled and waved, but before he could apologize for not paying attention to where he was teleporting, a large, golden, pink ribbon clad, tail slammed into him sending the demon across the lake and into the woods.

"Go Miss. Filia! You have served justice well!" Amelia cheered the towering dragon form of Filia Ul Copt. The only disappointment the golden one had was she didn't get to use her beloved mace-sama. She regressed to her human form quickly.

"Stupid namagomi, peeking at us like that. The nerve!" she ranted, hurriedly putting her clothes on. Amelia followed suit, also ranting but about justice and such. The two returned to the camp site to find questioning faces.

"Are you alright, Filia?" Lina asked, not sure if she really wanted to know.

"Oh, I'm fine. Just squashing a large, purple, bug." she answered, though it did little to clear the confusion.

"Bug or not, that was some sight." Xelloss said, appearing behind the offended pair. This time Filia was happy to see him, because she had her weapon of choice.

"Oh, it's you. What now?" Zelgadis questioned, not all too happy to see him. Xellos smiled his typical smile.

"As much as I like to collect secrets, there is one I can let go. It's about the sorcerer you're after."