Chapter 4: Awaken in Another World
"Wh...what happened?"
Emerald eyes slowly opened. She blinked a couple of times as they tried to adjust to daylight. She lifted a hand to block out the sun.
"Oooh...my head." she sat up, her hand is now nursing the sharp pains flickering inside of her brain.
"Well..at least I can move. Hey Spike are you..." She looks around her surroundings, she's alone in a green woodland forest.
"Not even Earth has this much clean air and greenery when I was little." she considerably noted.
Faye quickly stood on her two feet which only worsen her headache and made her a little dizzy. To all her knowledge and her escapades, she never encountered anything like this, not even those reproducted forest perserves on those rich and fancy parts on the rest of the solar system.
"Whoa...Where am I anyway? Spike!"
"What do we have here?" a husky male voice spoke.
She turns around and spotted a big, ugly, burly man. And behind him, there's ten to fifteen more men that seems to be his group, a mixture of fat and skinny rough guys, some with black eye patches like back in the old days where pirates wore in the movies and some with facial hair or none at all, but all wore dirty, ragged, ancient-looking clothes and holding up swords and other melee weapons (to her anyway) are showing toothy grins.
She smirks. "A little too early for Halloween, ain't it fellas?"
"Hallow what?" one of the smaller men asked his fellow comrades, they shrug their shoulders.
"You look lost lady...maybe you need someone to help you find your way."
"No thanks. I'm a grown woman...I can find my own way." she placed her hands on her tilted hips.
"My...and are you grown..." the men agreed by giving leering looks at her.
She rolled up her eyes. 'Men...being distgusting pigs as always.'
"Well...how about if you give us your money."
"Sorry...as you can see motions arms to prove point I don't have anything and I don't carry cash. I'm not really from around here anyways." '...not that I'm lying.'
"Hmm, maybe you didn't understand me...Give us all your possessions and we'll let you live."
She gave a 'oh please' expression.
"Look...I already told you that I got zilch. So why don't you take your ugly sorry ass and the rest of your pathetic boys, crawled under a rock, and leave me alone. Go play somewhere else." Faye crossed her arms and start to walk away at the opposite direction.
"Why you little wench...I'll teach you how to respect us... the hard way."
His group starts to gang up on her, her reflexes went of go reach for her Glock.
Only to forget she doesn't have it anymore. "Shit!"
Usually she would just kick their ass, but there's little more of them for her tastes.
"Well...gotta go."
She starts to run into the vast woods, but the leader gripped her arm first. He pulls her to face him.
"Let go of me you jerk!"
She knee him in the groin area, he doubled over and kicked him in the face, he falls back. Two more came up closer to her. Poker Alice dodged a blow from her left while she round house-kicked the guy's face from her right.
'Too bad Lunkhead is missing the fun. Which reminds me ...where the hell is he?' she thought as she delivered a punch to a face that's little too close for comfort.
She felt a big hand on her shoulder, she grabbed hold with two hands on the bandit's wrist, twisted it, which gave her a rewarding scream from her would-be attacker, and luckily for her he was light enough, flung him with ease at an upcoming three. The bandit boss raised himself off the ground and yelled at his followers to grab the wildcat. She punched another guy's face in, but the guy didn't retract, so she punch him harder...
"Ow...looks at hand that hur...notice right index fingernail Aaww crap! My nail broke...you broke my nail dumbass!" and kicked him hard in his guts.
"Damn it! I just had Ed do the works on them."
Big mistake for her to put her guard down, for she felt two sets of hands gripping on both of her arms.
"Hold her still men."
The leader come up close, he smiled at her. "Well Wildcat (a/n: sorry...couldn't think of anything else) ...you fight pretty well considering your just a woman."
"Funny...I was about to say the same thing about you (1) and your partners..." she scrunched up her nose as an unwelcoming stench came to her delicate nose.
"Eww...don't you think it's time for their diaper change? Ugh...I definitely going to need to take a long, long hot shower to get out this smell."
Some of the men blushed sheepishly, held their pants' waistline tight, and scadadaled off somewhere while the rest made faces. The ugly man laughs,
"We'll get very good money off of selling you, cutie. But first...part of the lesson is to test the merchandise. We wouldn't want to disappoint our future, rich buyers, now do we?"
She widened her eyes then narrows them at him. "I don't think so."
She elbowed the thief from her right and slammed her boot heel hard on lefty's right foot. As she was ready to deliver a powerful Jeet Kune Do kick (courtesy of Spike, even though he really didn't teach her, she learned by spy...er...watching him closely.) to the leader's upper chest, she heard someone yelled...
"Laphas Seed!"
"What the..?"
Magical ropes appeared out of nowhere, tied her up and she fell with a thud on the hard ground.
"Umpf...Ow.." she tries to move...'Oh no...not again..' she sighed when she notices her muscles will not respond.
"Good work Boss...she can't do anything or get out of that now."
"See...I told you that this kind of magic comes in handy." he bends down to his captive.
"Now...about that lesson Wildcat." his lusty eyes gazed over her body.
"Can I get a raincheck on that for like... never!" she yelled at him.
She might be scared but she wouldn't give any of them the satisfaction of knowing, so she closes her eyes for a minute, long enough for her to hear them making crude comments, some clothes ruffling, and bare, hairy skin next to her legs along with something else that made her shudder. Her eyes popped wide open, fear, repulsion, and anger expressing in her green eyes.
"GET OFF OF ME BASTARD! DON'T YOU TOUCH ME...HELP! HELP...PLEASE ANYONE...PLEASE HELP ME!
This time she can't hold her emotions back when he saw him shirtless and with a toothless grin. How she hates being vulnerable.
"Easy Wildcat ...there's no one but us...the next village is miles away so they can't hear your screams."
"Oh God...SPIKE! SPIKE...WHERE ARE YOU! PLEASE...HELP...ME!" her words are coming out in strangled cries, tears began to trail from her eyes.
The bandit leader chuckles along with his men's ruckus chuckles. His grubby, thick fingers started to clasp the button from her top when...
"FFIIRRE BAALLL!"
A girl's voice broke the crowd's noises before an explosion blew up behind them. Bodies, singed, charred, or incinerated, flew everywhere.
"Huh!" he turns around to see the commotion.
"Don't you know it's not nice to pick on tied up, defenseless girls?" the same voice spoke calmly yet Faye can sense it filled with hatred.
The leader quickly stood up, pulls out his sword, and move to the side, giving Faye sight on who is her rescuer. Her eyes caught sight on a fists-on-hips stance, vertically challenged girl with long, orange-red hair that reminds her of the same hair color as of one of her partners, Ed. However, this one seems to have a life of it own, like wild fire. She's wearing matching maroon colored shirt and pants, well except for the yellow sash around her chest and the white borders on her shirt, and a black cloak with big round gems around the shoulder pads area. Both her cloak and hair flowing in the breeze, Faye was also able to get a closer look at...
'Her eyes...they're about the same color as Lunkhead's.'
The petite woman is smiling although her red eyes tells a different story, a tale of anger.
"Well, well, well...smirk another girl who just waiting to get robbed and learn a lesson as well...er...you are a girl, right? I mean you do have a flat chest for starters..."
"What. Did. You. Say?" her smile turned to a straight, pressed, thin line.
"Oh...so you are little...carefully thinking a girl then?"
"YOU JERK! NO ONE CALLS LINA INVERSE A LITTLE GIRL WITH A FLAT CHEST AND GETS AWAY WITH IT ALIVE!" her fanged teeth are showing.
"L..L...LINA...IIINVERSE! THE DRA-MATTA...TH...THE BBBANDIT KILLER...THE ENEMY OF ALL THA...AAAT L...LLIVES!"
He sputtered as he cowered in terror. He dropped his sword, quickly snatched up his clothes, and ready to flee but he just suddenly heard one of his men telling him about the spell he used earlier. He gathered up his courage, grins, and he was about to say the magic words when he heard something else...
"FFLLAARE ARROOWWW!" Lina got to him first.
He was blasted up high and fell down with a loud, heavy thump. His body covered in ashes. Many men of the group that were still in good shape or at least alive retreated by leaving dust clouds and their comrades behind. The others were either to badly injured or paralyzed with fear. She was in total shock, never in her life has she seen someone do anything without any form of weapons.
'That girl must have some kind of laser cannon hidden somewhere, or maybe...' she continued to think of any possible reason.
Yet, she almost forgot her current situation until the urge to scratch the itch in her head, she frowned...Oh how she wished she's free from these ropes so she can escape. Despite of her confusement, something in her guts tells her to run for cover.
Faye smirked, 'She must be great bounty hunter like me for her to get that much fear from jackasses like him. But why he dubs her with names like that?'
" ...?" startled emeralds meets arched rubies.
The girl looks at the magically bound prisoner,
"Flare Arrow!" and sends out a spell in her direction.
A small, flaming arrow came towards her.
"Wait...I...Oh great...I'm gonna die!" the captive squeaked when she felt the heat coming closer, she scrunched up her eyes, and thinking the worse. On instincts, her body flinched.
Lina's arrow worked against that weak spell but for some reason, the girl made no effort to move.
"Oh no...oh no...what did I do to deserve this? All I wanted was to get money and have fun with the girls...The Dra-Matta is gonna kill me...I didn't know that anything that small can be a girl...I thought she's a boy..." the tough macho man has now turned into a blubbering baby.
He's not the only who reverted back to his infancy for his comrades were doing the same thing as their boss.
She narrowed her eyes and glinted the building up rage within. She then decided to warn the tall busty brunette.
"Move outta the way lady, unless you want to get fried."
Her eyes opened as soon as she first heard the redhead's voice. Faye can practically see her battle aura, and thanks to her woman's intuition, moved right behind the sorceress. Once the buxom woman is out of the spell's range, she notices the man still there crying and talking more about his bad luck.
"Now it's my turn...I'm gonna teach all of you a lesson that you can take to your graves, bastards! Darkness beyond twilight Crimson beyond blood that flows Buried in the stream of Time is where your power grows I pledged myself to conquer..."
Valentine listened attentively to the redhead as she chants. She can feel and saw a strange, raw-like power gathering into the petite's gloved hands. The thieves-turned-chickens widened their eyes as they recognize those infamous words. Some were trying to get their muscles to cooperate and some were praying, but all were begging for mercy.
"...All the foes who stand Against the mighty gift Bestowed in my unworthy hands Let the fools who stand before me Be destroyed by the power you and I possess DRAAGGON SLAAVVEE!"
A powerful shot of black and red pillar aimed at the pitiful, holding-on-to-each-other-to-dear-life bad guys as Faye shaded her eyes. Debris flying everywhere, dead bodies charred to a crisp, trees and shrubbery reduced to splinters and twigs, and a large, burnt, quarry-like hole in the ground where they once stood.
Faye stood there, jaws dropped to the floor and eyes that were wide as dinner plates.
'H..hhhow did she do that?' Her gaping mouth continue to move but no words came out.
"Um...hello? Are you okay?"
Lina did a Gourry-thing by using a stick to poke her arm. Faye slowly turns around to look at the arched brow girl.
"Huh?" She shakes her head and regained her posture. "I'm sorry...Thanks for saving me...but...How...how did you do that?"
The sorceress stared at the tall, shoulder-length brunette, wearing a yellow head band, a red sweater or shawl hung loosely in her arms, yellow, tight short shorts, matching yellow blue buttoned short top, and a very ample chest, practically protruding out her shirt, that reminds her of couple of women she unfortunately know.
'L'Sama...why me? I swear...this must be a practical joke send by someone...Maybe it's from ol' Crabby Shabby Pants...' she blinked when she just remembered the question the stranger asked.
"Your...welcome...um...'how did I do' what?" 'Magnificent...I caught Gourry's snail-pace-slow wits.'
"That blast coming out of your hands...I didn't see you with a remote nor a grenade...not even a mini-nuculear cannon...the only weapon I see is that old sword you have strapped."
Lina stared at her and blinked again.
"One question: You're not from around here are you?" making a conclusion.
'I'm really that transparent, huh...' "How can you tell? Er...that reminds me...where is here anyway?" taking another look around the amazing nature.
Lina arched her eyebrow at her again.
"Well...One: you mentioned about New world's non-magical weapons and my sword being old. Two: your outfit. And three: you're in the land of near the Alliance of Coastal States (2), and even if you are from outside the barrier...everybody knows what magic is."
During the time she was counting down her theories, the brunette looked more confused with each word that is processing in her mind. Once Lina was done, it was Faye's turn to stare and blink when one word stuck in her mind...
"Magic? Yeah...aha...you use magic and stuff...here."
She looked down at the looney girl with a returning raised brow.
"What kind of an idiot do you take me for? Everybody knows they don't exist. Talking about running away with your imagination..."
"Um...excuse me...I'm not 'running away with my imagination'...that thing I did with my hands is called magic...black magic to be exact. Geesh...I underestimated Gourry, this lady is dumber than he is."
"Excuse me...who are you calling dumb. I'm not the one who said magic is real"
Poker Alice's and the Dra-matta's arms laid on their sides, their hands tighten into balls of fists. Glaring at each other's eyes, a small lightning bolt shot between the two as their gritted teeth revealed fangs for incisors. They finally broke off their hot-headed pose, stood two feet apart with their arms crossed on their chests yet both are not letting the other off of her sight.
"Prove it to me that they do exist then."
Lina facefaulted,
"What! You just saw what I did to those bandits!"
"That could've been just a cheap trick."
" A CHEAP TRICK!...Grrr...Fine! What do you want me to do." she rubbed her temples. Now she understands what her blue friend has gone thru during the times they would "discuss".
"Pull a rabbit out of a hat." it was the only thing that crossed her mind.
The sorceress did yet another facefault but this time when she got up, there's a sweat drop attached to her head.
"YOU GOTTA BE KIDDING!"
"Does it look like I am?" she put on her most serious face even though she mentally kicked herself. 'I should've asked for gold or expensive jewels...'
"I don't do that kind of magic...I'm am intelligent, high-level sorceress not a magician! I do sorcery spells!"
"Ok then, do one of your sorcery spells."
The two wildcats heard some rustling behind them, both already figuring they're humans.
"Sure...how about another...FLAARE ARROWW!" she aimed it behind them.
A singed person fell to the side from the bushes, unconscious and flambeed. Lina walked up to blackened body, grabbed it's collar and starts to shake it furiously.
"Where's the rest of your buddies." she snarled.
She stopped to let the guy talk. Unknown to either of the ladies, it was a trap. Faye was looking at Lina with curiosity until she noticed something shining from the tree on the opposite where Lina stood. Her sharp eyes widened when she saw a camouflaged man withdrawing bow and quiver.
"LINA! LOOK OUT!"
The arrow was shot out of the green leaves.
"Huh?"
Faye ran and tackled the standing redhead to the ground when a swoosh flew right by and scratched her arm.
"Wh...what happened"
Inverse and Valentine quickly got up.
"Over there!" the vixen pointed to where it came from.
Out came three bandits who laid hidden after the first Fireball, with raised swords, bows and clubs ready. Lina and Faye faced them, they looked at each other, and look at the thieves with raised eyebrows, tilted hips, and folded their arms across their chests along with a 'ho-hum-give-me-a-break' expression.
"You'll pay..."
Lina interrupted the one who tried to kill her.
"Yeah, yeah, yeah...I know the whole stock dialogue...you'll say that I'll pay for killing your boss unless I either hand over all of my valuables or if I work for you..." she yawned and continued.
"...and 'honor amongst thieves' crap. Why don't any of them get a new line. Well, I"ll give the same answer as I gave all other bandit gangs...FIRE BALL!"
She charred the remaining bandits. Faye stood there, impressed by the heroine as Lina walks scouts the area and leaving the four behind.
"So wait, let me get this straight...you do this kinda stuff all the time?"
"Yup, it's my job...now where can their treasure be?" she looks around for any nearby caves...no such luck.
Faye is in awestruck when she heard...
"Treasure? You mean like gold, silver, jewelry, and such?" she sees Lina nodding yes.
"Here...let me help you." she helps out by looking for anything conspicuous.
Both were quiet as they continue to search. The brunette felt like breaking the silence.
"How long have you been doing this kind a thing?"
"Which thing? Wielding magic or being a traveling sorceress?"
Poker Alice blinked. "Er...both."
"Well, I learned magic for fourteen years as for traveling from one place to another...oh...for about six years or so." she said it nonchalantly as she heads for another direction.
Faye stops and her jaw drops to the floor, again. She shakes her head.
"Just how old are you?"
"Nineteen." Lina kept walking.
"Wait...you know how to use these powers ever since you were five and you've been doing this since you were thirteen! Wow...you look really young for your age." '...I shouldn't talk. She must've been a child prodigy or something.' Faye reminded herself of her age as she walked beside her.
"Thanks...I think. So... since you happened to overhear my name and my career, what's your name and what do you do for a living"
(1) I couldn't think of anything until I heard from Disney's "The Hunchback Of Notre Dame.
(2) I looked up in Slayers 4.1's site as I was trying to find a land near the land outside of the barrier.
Hola Minna-San...any questions? I hope y'all like it so far...questions? comments? Read and review...please...thanks! Adios, Miss "L".