Chapter Twelve
Dis.: Don't own it!
Ya'll are lucky that I'm getting this chapter in. :P I just spent a week building from 6:30 in the morning to 7:00 at night, with absolutely NO breaks except for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. We didn't spend that long eating either. The person I worked with is tireless, he generally got there at 4 in the morning (shudder) and stopped at eight or nine or ten PM, I didn't keep track. I'm so tired. But here ya go, a fresh off the platter chapter ;)
Lina sighed. She'd never done an initiation before, and she wasn't sure how Lindsey was going to become a master. She had hoped that Sylphiel knew, but that idea had been thrown out the window when she asked Lina what she was supposed to do. 'Why is it everyone looks up to me when it comes to problems. Well, no matter what the problem, Lina Inverse can solve it.' Lina grinned to herself and went up to Lindsey, sitting by herself in a completely straight white cotton dress. It had absolutely no form, and Lina shuddered, remembering that she had had to wear a dress exactly like it when she was initiated. 'Wait, that's it! I can do the same thing with her as Luna did with me!' smiling in relief, Lina grabbed Sylphiel by the arm and walked a little ways into the forest.
"Miss Lina? What is it? Did you need something?" Sylphiel blinked, confused.
"Yes. I need a favor from you Syl." Lina turned around and faced the priestess.
"Please tell me, Miss Lina and I will try to do everything I can help." Lina shook her head. You'd think that after traveling with the dramatta for a few years, the priestess would have learned something about making blind promises.
"Well, this may sound like a strange request, but..."
A few hours later, Lindsey was starting to get impatient. Lina and the other priestess had gone off somewhere to do something, they hadn't told her what, and they hadn't come back yet. The blonde guy went walking off, saying something about dinner, but he didn't ask if anyone wanted to come. The blue guy was practicing swordplay with Kevin, and Lacey was...well, the crazy girl was on the edge of the small clearing doing cartwheels. 'I'll never understand that girl.'
A cold wind blew through and Lindsey shivered. It had an...empty feeling to it. Like all the life had been stripped away from it. The area around her seemed to lose something she hadn't noticed was there, but she was darned if she knew what it was. Kevin and that other guy had not stopped, seeming not to notice anything strange or out of the ordinary. Lacey had disappeared, but Lindsey wasn't worried. She could take care of herself.
Glancing sharply around, Lindsey didn't notice anything out of the ordinary, but it just seemed as if everything had become a little less...full of life. It made no sense to her, but maybe Lina would know.
A dark mist filled the clearing, covering everything and making it impossible to see. It pressed on her skin, her closed eyes. It was hot, sticky, yet cold and free at the same time. Lindsey tried to scream, but the mist filled her throat, and a strange heaviness filled her.
Seconds later the area cleared and everything was as it had been. Except for the gnarled old man, standing in the middle of the clearing. He had a blunt, cruel face. His nose seemed squashed in, yet pointy, and he was completely bald. About 3'2" the little man was like an evil gnome. He had all of his fingers but two, his pinkies, but you could see neither his arms, nor his legs. Everything except his head and hands was covered in an old cloak.
Unnerved at his sudden appearance, Lindsey shouted, "Who are you?" without thought.
"'What's in a name? that which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.' " He croaked out in a voice that seemed as if it hadn't been used in years.
"What?" Lindsey blinked, totally confused. The gnome stood, and said nothing. He lifted his hands and an orange glow emanated from them. He took the glow and shaped it into chains. The gnome looked around and saw Zelgadis and Kevin, but instead of looking afraid of their drawn swords, he grinned and walked straight up to them. The two warriors stood, rooted to the spot, unable to move. But as they stood, paralyzed, the gnome walked up to each and wrapped them in the glowing orange chains.
Looking at them, it didn't seem any different, save for the chains, but you could see that if they had been trying to move, it would have been impossible. They were both wrapped, feet together and hands to their sides.
The gnome stood by them for a moment and then turned to her. Fearing that he would do the same to her, Lindsey panicked. She didn't have a sword, her magic wasn't meant for fighting, and so all she knew were healing and protection spells. Not a good way to fight a battle.
"What do you want?" she asked bravely, but her voice was trembling.
"Your skills to test, that I may disappointed be not. Then might I be put to rest, and drink from my rightful pot." He grated out.
"What the heck is that supposed to mean? It makes no sense."
"Sense it need not make, however strength is a test you must take."
"Rhymes and stuff like that have never been my forte. I'm guessing ya wanna fight. Well, be my guess, I'll try." She spat the words at him in anger.
"Fight you will not, for strength is not your lot. Defense you will use, but let us not muse. Down to fight, shall we go, and the stronger am I, the more you shall know."
"Oh, shut up and let's get on with it! Nothing you say makes sense anyway!" she yelled at him in exasperation, but he simply threw a flare arrow. She blocked with a wind barrier. He threw a fireball, she blocked with an Ext Ball. They went on and on, the spells slowly getting stronger, until the gnome shook his head, smiling.
"Great at defense is thee, almost equal are you to she. Go I now, to where I stay, 'till I'm called upon, by all who may."
The darkness filled the clearing again and when she looked again all she saw was an annoyed Zelgadis and a confused Kevin, both unbound. Lina and Sylphiel were still nowhere to be seen. Lacey and Gourry were just coming into the clearing, each holding food of some kind or another.
"Why the hell did he have to tie me up? It wasn't like I'm going to interfere with an initiation. Kevin, maybe he woulda, but still, last person I saw try to do that was killed in less than a second, completely incinerated. I'm not stupid." Zelgadis continued to grumble under his breath and walked out of the clearing. Kevin just blinked and wrinkled his eyebrows. He turned to follow Zelgadis, but Lina and Sylphiel walked into the clearing.
"Lina," Lindsey began, "What the heck was all of that?! He just showed up, chanting rhymes and stuff then he started to attack me and-"
"I am proud to be the first person to call you a master," Lina announced, "But if you continue to complain..." Lina let the threat hang in the air and walked away. It took several moments for the message to sink in and Lindsey sat down in shock. She was a master, just like that. A master. And it was easy. No ceremony or anything. Lina just comes walking up to her and tells her she's a master. 'Oooh, I think I feel a headache coming on.'
"Thanks, Syl." Lina smiled wryly. "He's not easy to summon."
"No problem, I'm very happy that I could help." Sylphiel smiled softly. Lina shook her head and walked up to Lacey and Gourry.
"So," She rubbed her hands together greedily. "Whatcha got to eat?" Gourry smiled happily, excited to finally be eating.
"Food!" he exclaimed innocently. And got a knock on the head for his troubles. While he nursed his head, Lina jumped on the food, devouring it like a wildcat. Zelgadis quit complaining and managed to steal a couple of pieces before they disappeared. Lacey grabbed her own share, a little smaller than Lina's, and walked to a corner, devouring it almost fast as Lina was. Lindsey still sat on a rock, looking dazed, and Sylphiel walked up to her and congratulated her. A few hours the group went to bed, mostly content with their progress.
Lina sat in her bedroll, unable to sleep. 'I've get to get to those mountains. I've wasted enough time with everything else. The mountains of Tamar, and their half-and-half gems...not much is known about them. Well, not near so much as I'd like to know. All I know is that they're dangerous, monsters protecting the gems and other things. Not much to go by.' She stood up and glanced around. Everyone was asleep, and a soft smile played on her lips. 'Good, it would be nice to have some time to myself.'
She walked out of the clearing and climbed a tree far enough that she could not hear them, if they were talking, but close enough that she could still see them. The time magic wouldn't work if they could still see each other.
She must have stayed up in the tree for over half the night, but the time flew, her thoughts not leaving her alone. She thought about her family, Kevin and Luna, about 'It' and it's mysterious power over her. She thought about her friends and she wondered what Sylphiel and Gourry were going to do, if they were going to stay or if she needed to get Xellos to take them back. Her thoughts continued to plague her and so concentrated was she that the sudden voice startled her.
"Lina..."
Ok, folks, that's all for now! ;)
Reiko5: An obsession with subtly trying to cause as much chaos as possible, huh? Sounds fun, I'll have to try it sometime ;) I've always been a bit more on the violent side, heh, I'm a LOT more like Lina... :P :)
Anonymous: oooo, so close, nice try though, that's not a plot hole. I wanted that to be there. I mean, at the time Kev would just be a baby, and it's kinda hard to kill somebody when you're a baby, ne? plus there's...other reasons... :P
Critter: you always were one of the most confusing people I knew...lol, well I mentioned you more ;) oh, crazy one :D I'll see you in a couple of days.
Thanks for reviewing, everybody. I really appreciate it. Review?...Please?
Dis.: Don't own it!
Ya'll are lucky that I'm getting this chapter in. :P I just spent a week building from 6:30 in the morning to 7:00 at night, with absolutely NO breaks except for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. We didn't spend that long eating either. The person I worked with is tireless, he generally got there at 4 in the morning (shudder) and stopped at eight or nine or ten PM, I didn't keep track. I'm so tired. But here ya go, a fresh off the platter chapter ;)
Lina sighed. She'd never done an initiation before, and she wasn't sure how Lindsey was going to become a master. She had hoped that Sylphiel knew, but that idea had been thrown out the window when she asked Lina what she was supposed to do. 'Why is it everyone looks up to me when it comes to problems. Well, no matter what the problem, Lina Inverse can solve it.' Lina grinned to herself and went up to Lindsey, sitting by herself in a completely straight white cotton dress. It had absolutely no form, and Lina shuddered, remembering that she had had to wear a dress exactly like it when she was initiated. 'Wait, that's it! I can do the same thing with her as Luna did with me!' smiling in relief, Lina grabbed Sylphiel by the arm and walked a little ways into the forest.
"Miss Lina? What is it? Did you need something?" Sylphiel blinked, confused.
"Yes. I need a favor from you Syl." Lina turned around and faced the priestess.
"Please tell me, Miss Lina and I will try to do everything I can help." Lina shook her head. You'd think that after traveling with the dramatta for a few years, the priestess would have learned something about making blind promises.
"Well, this may sound like a strange request, but..."
A few hours later, Lindsey was starting to get impatient. Lina and the other priestess had gone off somewhere to do something, they hadn't told her what, and they hadn't come back yet. The blonde guy went walking off, saying something about dinner, but he didn't ask if anyone wanted to come. The blue guy was practicing swordplay with Kevin, and Lacey was...well, the crazy girl was on the edge of the small clearing doing cartwheels. 'I'll never understand that girl.'
A cold wind blew through and Lindsey shivered. It had an...empty feeling to it. Like all the life had been stripped away from it. The area around her seemed to lose something she hadn't noticed was there, but she was darned if she knew what it was. Kevin and that other guy had not stopped, seeming not to notice anything strange or out of the ordinary. Lacey had disappeared, but Lindsey wasn't worried. She could take care of herself.
Glancing sharply around, Lindsey didn't notice anything out of the ordinary, but it just seemed as if everything had become a little less...full of life. It made no sense to her, but maybe Lina would know.
A dark mist filled the clearing, covering everything and making it impossible to see. It pressed on her skin, her closed eyes. It was hot, sticky, yet cold and free at the same time. Lindsey tried to scream, but the mist filled her throat, and a strange heaviness filled her.
Seconds later the area cleared and everything was as it had been. Except for the gnarled old man, standing in the middle of the clearing. He had a blunt, cruel face. His nose seemed squashed in, yet pointy, and he was completely bald. About 3'2" the little man was like an evil gnome. He had all of his fingers but two, his pinkies, but you could see neither his arms, nor his legs. Everything except his head and hands was covered in an old cloak.
Unnerved at his sudden appearance, Lindsey shouted, "Who are you?" without thought.
"'What's in a name? that which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.' " He croaked out in a voice that seemed as if it hadn't been used in years.
"What?" Lindsey blinked, totally confused. The gnome stood, and said nothing. He lifted his hands and an orange glow emanated from them. He took the glow and shaped it into chains. The gnome looked around and saw Zelgadis and Kevin, but instead of looking afraid of their drawn swords, he grinned and walked straight up to them. The two warriors stood, rooted to the spot, unable to move. But as they stood, paralyzed, the gnome walked up to each and wrapped them in the glowing orange chains.
Looking at them, it didn't seem any different, save for the chains, but you could see that if they had been trying to move, it would have been impossible. They were both wrapped, feet together and hands to their sides.
The gnome stood by them for a moment and then turned to her. Fearing that he would do the same to her, Lindsey panicked. She didn't have a sword, her magic wasn't meant for fighting, and so all she knew were healing and protection spells. Not a good way to fight a battle.
"What do you want?" she asked bravely, but her voice was trembling.
"Your skills to test, that I may disappointed be not. Then might I be put to rest, and drink from my rightful pot." He grated out.
"What the heck is that supposed to mean? It makes no sense."
"Sense it need not make, however strength is a test you must take."
"Rhymes and stuff like that have never been my forte. I'm guessing ya wanna fight. Well, be my guess, I'll try." She spat the words at him in anger.
"Fight you will not, for strength is not your lot. Defense you will use, but let us not muse. Down to fight, shall we go, and the stronger am I, the more you shall know."
"Oh, shut up and let's get on with it! Nothing you say makes sense anyway!" she yelled at him in exasperation, but he simply threw a flare arrow. She blocked with a wind barrier. He threw a fireball, she blocked with an Ext Ball. They went on and on, the spells slowly getting stronger, until the gnome shook his head, smiling.
"Great at defense is thee, almost equal are you to she. Go I now, to where I stay, 'till I'm called upon, by all who may."
The darkness filled the clearing again and when she looked again all she saw was an annoyed Zelgadis and a confused Kevin, both unbound. Lina and Sylphiel were still nowhere to be seen. Lacey and Gourry were just coming into the clearing, each holding food of some kind or another.
"Why the hell did he have to tie me up? It wasn't like I'm going to interfere with an initiation. Kevin, maybe he woulda, but still, last person I saw try to do that was killed in less than a second, completely incinerated. I'm not stupid." Zelgadis continued to grumble under his breath and walked out of the clearing. Kevin just blinked and wrinkled his eyebrows. He turned to follow Zelgadis, but Lina and Sylphiel walked into the clearing.
"Lina," Lindsey began, "What the heck was all of that?! He just showed up, chanting rhymes and stuff then he started to attack me and-"
"I am proud to be the first person to call you a master," Lina announced, "But if you continue to complain..." Lina let the threat hang in the air and walked away. It took several moments for the message to sink in and Lindsey sat down in shock. She was a master, just like that. A master. And it was easy. No ceremony or anything. Lina just comes walking up to her and tells her she's a master. 'Oooh, I think I feel a headache coming on.'
"Thanks, Syl." Lina smiled wryly. "He's not easy to summon."
"No problem, I'm very happy that I could help." Sylphiel smiled softly. Lina shook her head and walked up to Lacey and Gourry.
"So," She rubbed her hands together greedily. "Whatcha got to eat?" Gourry smiled happily, excited to finally be eating.
"Food!" he exclaimed innocently. And got a knock on the head for his troubles. While he nursed his head, Lina jumped on the food, devouring it like a wildcat. Zelgadis quit complaining and managed to steal a couple of pieces before they disappeared. Lacey grabbed her own share, a little smaller than Lina's, and walked to a corner, devouring it almost fast as Lina was. Lindsey still sat on a rock, looking dazed, and Sylphiel walked up to her and congratulated her. A few hours the group went to bed, mostly content with their progress.
Lina sat in her bedroll, unable to sleep. 'I've get to get to those mountains. I've wasted enough time with everything else. The mountains of Tamar, and their half-and-half gems...not much is known about them. Well, not near so much as I'd like to know. All I know is that they're dangerous, monsters protecting the gems and other things. Not much to go by.' She stood up and glanced around. Everyone was asleep, and a soft smile played on her lips. 'Good, it would be nice to have some time to myself.'
She walked out of the clearing and climbed a tree far enough that she could not hear them, if they were talking, but close enough that she could still see them. The time magic wouldn't work if they could still see each other.
She must have stayed up in the tree for over half the night, but the time flew, her thoughts not leaving her alone. She thought about her family, Kevin and Luna, about 'It' and it's mysterious power over her. She thought about her friends and she wondered what Sylphiel and Gourry were going to do, if they were going to stay or if she needed to get Xellos to take them back. Her thoughts continued to plague her and so concentrated was she that the sudden voice startled her.
"Lina..."
Ok, folks, that's all for now! ;)
Reiko5: An obsession with subtly trying to cause as much chaos as possible, huh? Sounds fun, I'll have to try it sometime ;) I've always been a bit more on the violent side, heh, I'm a LOT more like Lina... :P :)
Anonymous: oooo, so close, nice try though, that's not a plot hole. I wanted that to be there. I mean, at the time Kev would just be a baby, and it's kinda hard to kill somebody when you're a baby, ne? plus there's...other reasons... :P
Critter: you always were one of the most confusing people I knew...lol, well I mentioned you more ;) oh, crazy one :D I'll see you in a couple of days.
Thanks for reviewing, everybody. I really appreciate it. Review?...Please?
