---o--o--o---
[Lina] Oh no! What's happening to Zel...
[Author] Oh, and you think its my doing that he's changing...Its always the author's fault, its always the authors fault...
[Lina] Damn you! Tell me what's wrong with Zel, otherwise I will *DRAGON SLAVE* your ass off!
[Author] ...Mommy!!!!
---o--o--o---
Slayers: Clouds!
Chapter 5:
Damn it! The Truth is Hard to Find!
---o--o--o---
The early morning was cold, sparse. Ground that had once been fertile with greenery could no longer support life. Sunlight barely could get out and spread its wings, for fierce winds would rob it of its energy.
On such bare ground, laid the body of Mr. Turnip, still holding onto the specter. The glass holding specter that had once been a conductor of the Lynx's power was nothing more than a shattered and mud-trenched globe on a stick.
He was barely alive. Turnip's mind shouted obscenities through the pain of it all. Yes, he was technically still alive, carefully thinking of one Lina Inverse. Blasted that girl who stuck me down, he reflected. Blasted little kid with the power to take out Mazoku and frighten Ryozoku alike, the resources that even rivaled the gods of Cepheid.
Turnip tried to get up, his mind issuing commands to the rest of his body. No dice. His feet seemed tied down, his arms and hands likewise. From the look of his body, he seemed twisted into some kind of pretzel, unable to budge. Turnip couldn't tell much since his head was twisted upward while the rest of the body was face down.
"You're dead, Turnip." A voice, with little compassion. Shadows fell over his sight, it was from someone behind his head.
"Nice observation, idiot. Want to-" Shocked, he stopped his words in mid-sentence as sudden astonishment of warmth entering into the body carcass.
"I'm giving you some of my energy to power your mouth, old boy. Oh, and your head as well. See, you're body has been sitting here for a couple of days or so. It looks like some wild animal has gotten to you. Those ankles of yours must be tasty."
Turnip looked down to see that his body below the waist was pretty much gone. His left side still had a thigh bone stripped bare to the bone, apparently torn away in chucks. His right side wasn't much better. "I do seem to be 'quite' dead, my friend. Care to tell me what you want?"
The mystery voice swing to the other side of Turnip. The fellow wasn't taller than three or four feet, his look was definitely brown, ugly and troll-like. An ugly mess of thick black hair hid most of his head, except for the hooked nose and crooked grin. "You're going to work for me, Turnip. Because otherwise, I'll make you cooperate in a less-likely fashion."
Turnip scoffed. "Heh, why would I want to work for a Mazoku. I'd rather be toast."
The stranger's eyes just glowed dark red under his messy hair. "That can be arranged, if you wish..." He chucked deeply, then coughed a bit. "This body doesn't suit me. But I like it."
The troll turned his attention back to Turnip. "I would assume you want revenge. After all, there is one Lina Inverse out there. And her companions I might add."
Turnip licked his lips in delight. "Well, I don't think I can refuse an invitation like that, Mazoku."
"Its Joe to you, Turnip. Do not take all day."
"What a strange name."
Joe kicked him. "It wasn't my idea, baka."
Turnip winched in pain, the little nerve cells he had left felt the fear. "Very well, Joe. I pledge to you."
Immediately after finishing his words, Turnip's body glowed with a deep red shade of power. It encompassed his leftover body, forming back his legs back into normal human shape. It was soon over, as Turnip stood in front of his new Mazoku master.
"Ahhh, that feels good." Turnip stretched his shoulders around, getting a bit loose. His new image had the appearance of a human, except for his red-glowing eyes. "What else, Mazoku?"
Joe sidestepped around to Turnip's front, looking up at his now taller Mazoku. Turnip could now fully see his beady red eyes shine thought the natty hair. "Again, it's Joe, you filthy human." He walked around is new subordinate. "You will tell me everything you know about the Cloudminders. Do I make myself clear?"
Turnip just laughed. "I should have known." And he chuckled again, this time joined by his new Mazoku master.
---o--o--o---
In another similar place, one of bare ground and even barer signs of life, were familiar company of Lina and her companions. They were already a few days journey south, without a hint of a sign, a bridge, or of any civilization.
But Zelgadis was sure this was the way -- a well beaten path of wagon wheels and feet had made earlier impressions in these fields. Instincts told him the bridge of the ancients was nearby, very close indeed.
The chimera had managed to start a fire among some old campfire stones and moss. The old stones showed signs of a fire from not long ago -- shades of black and gray, tinted with the charcoal of cindered wood. The new fire licked at these old stones while newly grown moss sizzled from the heat. Tiny flames ate at dead wood as it rocked from their heated expansion. He had made himself at home by sitting on a nearby fallen log, the wood piece was too large and obtuse to light as a campfire.
He wasn't really hungry but surprising cold. His body had felt weakened these last few days, as if he were slowed by the slight flu. Ever since Monte Darlo, he thought. Why, he asked himself. Why did he have to know what was exactly happening to him. Why?
Footsteps stirred around from behind Zel, he was surprised to see Lina up and early, just after the morning sunrise.
"Morning, Zel. Get any sleep last night?" Lina was not a particular charming at the crack of down, but she wasn't a total sleepy head either.
The chimera just picked at the fire with a stick, taming the flames as wood settled into briquettes from his churning. "Sleep was fine." The sorcerer sat down next to Zel and settled in, warning her hands by turning towards the fire.
"Ahhh, that feels good." She arched her neck loose, trying to get awake.
"Why are you following me here, Lina?" he asked. "Is there some reason that you're coming with me in search of the City of the Clouds?"
"Heh?" Lina arched her eyebrows up in surprise. "Zel, that Turnip guy tried rubbing us out. I don't like being shown off."
Zelgadis continued to poke at the fire wordlessly.
"You know, we're down here because of you, Zel. The Cloudminders may have secrets for changing you back into a human. You know that the Lynx box has already done that, even if it was temporary."
"Why?" He looked up at Lina. "Why then? Why them destroy it?"
"What do you mean, why! We didn't have a choice!" Lina bitterly stomped her feet on the ground. "Damn you Zel, I save our asses once again from endless danger, and you can't even acknowledge it?" She coughed in irritation, her feet pushing some sand closer to the campfire stones.
The chimera just stared.
"You're problem is that I never know there is a problem. You are an endless bottomless pit, and whatever words come in never get out!" She had taken to upping her voice at the chimera, annoyed from his lack on answers. "You know I'm right, don't you."
"No, you're wrong. You should have left me there to die." He stared back at Lina, with resentment in his eyes as he stood up. "You should have killed me!"
"Kill you? Are you crazy!!" Lina was in shock from Zelgadis' words. "Why the hell for?! You've helped save us from Shabranigudo, from Gaav, from Filbrizzo. From Valgaav and Dark Star. The list goes on and on!" The sorcerer was up on her feet, pushing back at the chimera. "Why the hell would I turn around and kill my friend!"
Zel not dared to look into Lina's eyes. "Screw you."
Lina huffed with pure rejection. "I'm not going to kill you, Zel. I see into the eyes, and I see how long that you have wanted to become human. I know that you've spent your entire life in trying, and you're not giving up that easily!"
The chimera silently nodded his head.
"Look, there has to be answer somewhere. Rezo wouldn't just change you in this creature and not have a way to turn you back. That Lynx box, chaos box...no matter how temporary, changed you into a human. I'm sure the Cloudminders have something else to change you back, and by Cepheid, we'll use it, get it, or take it to change you back. Either way, I'm here, Amelia, Sylphiel, Filia, and even Gourry. We're not going to let anything happen to you without a fight."
"That is, until I die."
Lina was furious. "You're not dying! You're lifetime may be longer than mine, because you're a chimera. No one has killed you! You're not fricken' dead!"
He just looked up. "I'm dying, Lina! Just look!" He bared his arm to the early sun, showing the underside of the upper forearm to Lina. Where there had once had been a rubbery skin covering with hard lesions, was now almost completely covered within a rough casing of stone. He pulled at it, flicking specs of dust off of his body.
"I can feel the energy in my body seeping away, the once human flesh in my body is leaving me. It's as if I'm slowing down, my eyes aren't adjusting to the speed and motions of other humans anymore. I can't feel my arm anymore. I will, eventually, become..."
The sorcerer just stared, not believing her own ears.
"Lina...I'm turning to stone."
Lina almost fell down in a jumbled heap. "Zel! That's...not true!"
"It's true and you know it." He pounded his stick into the ground in frustration. "I don't know how long I have, but its already getting difficult to walk and stand. I'm already in incredible pain, every time I move, or take a step. Its bearable now, but I have no idea how much worse its going to get. I figured I've got a few weeks, maybe longer. That should be plenty of time to find the City of the Clouds. But I'll be out of time after that."
"No time? But..." She couldn't comprehend the answers as her eyes started to tear. "How can you say something like that?"
Zel lowered himself to her height. "You have to promise me two things, Lina. You must."
"Anything. I swear." Lina was close to balling into a state of total despair.
"One, you can't tell anymore. Not Amelia, not Sylphiel. Not even Filia. Damn it, if you tell Gourry, he'll probably remember. I don't want them worrying about me. Do you understand?"
"But...but why? We can help you, Zel. Maybe they know of something that can help...or we can comfort your pain..."
The chimera shook his head. "I know about my chimera body, Lina, I know its strengths and weaknesses. I want no other help. Otherwise, I will leave. Disappear." Lina's mouth just hung agape, appalling to the core. "It's bad enough that you how I feel, Lina, I can't bare for anyone else to know. Do I make myself clear?'
Lina hiccupped. "I...understand." She gulped for a second, her mouth dry from all the words. "What was the other thing."
"We're going to find the City of the Clouds. It's the only solution we have at the moment." Zel looked up into the sky, as if looking for an answer. "The magic that takes chaos, that stone and the secrets that Turnip took to his grave. Whatever it is, I know it's the answer. Nevertheless, if I'm not cured of my affliction, you must promise...to kill me."
"Zel!" choked Lina, the words dying in her throat. "I can't!"
"You must!" Zel's voice was of a tone she had hardly heard before. She remembered he had used it when facing off with Gaav and Valgaav. "If my body slows down, my mind will become a prisoner in the stone statue you see before you. I will be conscience, without the ability to move, speak, or communicate."
"But..." Tears fell from Lina's eyes, disappearing into the dry sandy soil by her feet. "I...I..."
"Would you let be in a position worse than death!"
Lina looked down on the ground, her face hidden by her matted red hair. "I will do what you ask, Zel." She sniffled again from her fallen position. "I promise."
"Very well." And the chimera turned away, leaving Lina to her thoughts.
How could he, thought Lina. How could he be so naive, so stupid. So selfish and not even realizing it, hurting the friends that he had with even knowing it. "Zel, I did swear. Funny how you roped me into such a promise."
She took out a short knife and stabbed in into the ground next to her. No blood ceremonies in her book for ever necessary, she thought too much of them ever since Naga kept passing out from them. "Heh, I did promise to kill you. But not before restoring your hide to normal. I swear, no matter the cost."
---o--o--o---
Thoth walked his way south of Monte Darlo. The full breakfast from before had fed him with a least a couple of days food. However, Thoth was still surprised for his lack of hunger. He must have really stuffed it down.
Thirsty for some fresh water, not just drink but to wash his dirty beard as well, the old man leaned down into the a gully of a nearby riverbed.
Thoth saw how he had aged in the years. The river readily supplied him with a perfect reflection of crabby face. He had imaged himself as a godly prince, his castle window higher than any mountain, his view of the world had been unbelievable. Alas, it he been such a lovely dream.
Looking into the stream again, Thoth could see new growing shapes above his head. It was apparent he had company.
"Hello, Mad Thoth," belched a nasty voice behind him. "Care for a swim?"
The old man coughed. "And you might you be, sonny?" He turned around to a gaggle of Turnip security guards, led by an bulky and balding older man in an apron. "Oh, my...company!"
"I don't believe I've met you before, though I believe you know your friends." The guards just readied their miniature crossbows into a firing position. "I'm Biru, by the way."
Biru immediately stick his finger out, pressing it against Thoth's bony skeleton. "Oh, and you're going to help me. These associates are mine are ex-patriots of Monte Darlo, and they sure seemed to know you very well."
"Oh, I'm sure..." The old man just gulped. "Your friends aren't very friendly to someone like me."
"Talk is cheap, old man." Biru had out a large chef knife, the newness of the blade memorized in Thoth's eyes. "Now, you're going to tell me some information. Do I make myself clear?"
Thoth nodded with his head, the lower half of his beard was still wet from the river.
"Tell me about Lina Inverse, you baka. My friends here tell me you swindled a little breakfast out of the bitch. Where's she going?"
Thoth just shook his head. "I'm not sure I can do that. After all, they fed me lots and I haven't seen crumbs from you yet."
"Look, 'Mad' Thoth or whatever you call yourself. If you don't help me, I promise you won't be around much longer. Do I make myself clear?"
Thoth seemed to think for a minute before answering. "Well, I dunno...How much food have you got?"
Biru blew up, stunned. "What the hell! You'd pick death over a last meal!!" The inn owner hopped up and down like an angry jackrabbit, then he smiled. "Do you know that I'm a gourmet chef...right!"
Thoth eyes lit up like torches as he licked his lips. "Well...if you put it that way, I guess I could lead you to them."
"Aaaaagh! Fine! Whatever makes you happy!" The raving innkeeper turned to the troops. "Stand down, you fools, he'll lead us right to our Inverse Tax. The little sissy is going to pay...she's going to pay her taxes!"
---o--o--o---
Lina didn't feel like leading the group that day; she had let the rambunctious Amelia climb the trees in front, scouting for patrols or Cepheid knows what else.
"Lina." Filia was right next to the redheaded sorcerer, trying to get her attention.
The often-taxed one has much too many items on her mind at the moment. First, the Cloudminders, as Xellos had mentioned. With Xellos popping up from the middle of nowhere, she was sure the Mazoku were part of the mix, there was no doubt of that in her mind. She quickly shook her head -- dragons occupy the City of the Clouds. A secret sect of ancients ones could swing the balance of power away from the Mazoku, thus plenty of reason to keep one Lina Inverse away from them.
Sure, the Lynx box inlet looked like it was from the City of the Clouds. But after her little chit-chat with Xellos and the mad one, none of the other merchants could identify any new information on the cloud symbol. She had even asked Filia for information, but she seemed dumbfounded as well.
"Lina!" The dragon maiden tugged on Lina's arm to no luck.
She had taken her time to fill Filia up on their recent adventures. The dragon maiden seemed rather amused at her tales of Biru and his tax-scheming ways. Nevertheless, the sorcerer was not smiling during the retelling.
Crap, thought Lina, then Zel this morning has to have the worse of temper tantrums. She cursed at how the chimera was using her, as her anger quickly deepened her sadness. She was now on a true mission, not just for treasure fortune, not just to get to the bottom of Turnip's awesome magic-stealing power, and not just to find the City of the Clouds. It was an undertaking to save her friend, something of seriousness that she had faced only too many times before.
"Lina!!"
"You don't have to yell, you know! I'm right here!" Lina took a breather for a second, grabbing her chest in excitement. After a few more keyed up pants, she calmed down to a reasonable manner. "Heh...sorry...Now, what was it."
"Um...um...maybe, never-"
"Filia..." Lina blinked at the golden dragon. "I'm here, tell me."
"Well, we're traveling to the costal city where Turnip got his magic...right?"
"It's not magic, at least in the traditional sense, and something never seen it before. Turnip's powers seemed to be able to control the flow of chaos."
"Chaos? Are you sure?" asked Filia.
"I'm very sure. It was expensive stuff that Turnip bought, all right. And that old guy said it was to the south. This kinda stuff you can't exactly pick up at a local magic stop, it would have to come from someplace special. And a costal trading city with a sheik sounds like a good place to start."
Filia smiled in delight, "Oh, it sounds wonderful!" She rubbed down here arm again in happiness. "Maybe a nice spa, I sure can't seem to wait!"
Lina shook her head. "I'm sure it's a rich city, Filia. I can't imagine Turnip going to a poor place. Those furnishings in his casino, they were worth a fortune."
"You mean, I'll be able to sell my vases down here?" Filia's eyes teared in happiness. "You know, its so expensive to take care of little Valgaav. I've already built an expansion on the side of the house, with several extra cribs in case he grows big. You know, he's still a couple of years away from hatching..."
Lina stared back at the dragon. "Filia, you're unbelievable..." Filia eyed Lina for a sec, but the petite sorcerer didn't want to press her luck. "Juras is taking care of little egg Valgaav, I suppose?"
"Uh-huh. He's like a nanny now. I'm so excited to be coming down here instead."
The sorcerer groaned. "Remind me not to have kids. It's bad enough bandits these days don't have as much money as they used to. Now I've got innkeepers after me as well."
"Oh, you told me about that, Lina. You know, with all the damages that you cause-"
"It was Naga's fault!" she screamed, before quickly shutting her mouth. "Damn, I can't believe I said that." Lina just thought to the more than numerous times that her old 'friend' would burn down an inn or tavern. No wonder she was cursed with stupid inverse tax.
"Who's Naga?"
Lina just blushed. "Its...its no one, I swear. Just some crazy dream I had last night." The petite red-head chuckled at her own comments. "I guess I that third portion before I went to sleep was a bit much."
"Lina!" Amelia was screaming in the short distance over the hill, up a nearby tree. "I see it!"
"Really!" Lina heard the Saillune princess and was off in a flash over the next crest. "Come on Filia, we can't be late for your vase sale!" She grabbed the shrine dragon's hand and tugged Filia in tow to the rest of the excited group.
---o--o--o---
Lina stared in sheer awe at the bridge, looking at the absolute size of the structure. It seemed to span not two sides of river, but a giant and deep valley of rock and darkness. Instead of a junction off the side of a small hill, each end of the bridge intersected into a large base of twin miniature mountains.
She stared again, joining her companions in silent utter astonishment. Distracting her, were the swirl of winds, that made walking more than a bit of a chore for Lina and company. Earlier that day, there had been almost no wind at all. Now, nature's fury made Lina's dark cloak wrap tightly around her petite body.
The bridge itself, made of cut stone and rubble, it didn't just span in a straight line across the tremendous valley. It arched in the middle, skyward into the clouds before settling back down to the surface. The causeway width of the bridge was large enough for several wheeled wagons to cross at one time.
The ancient conduit looked like was almost part of a bracelet. Its surfaces were utterly smooth where stone met stone, yet the exterior conditions were roughed cut as well. The causeway of the bridge was lined with high bearing walls to the height of Lina's neck, at least four feet into the air. The entire structure had the appearance that it not been built for the purpose of humans in mind, but for much larger creatures...
"Wow." Amelia was impressed.
"Its beautiful," said Sylphiel.
"The scale of the structure is impressive. The shear size should collapse onto itself, yet the bridge is still standing." The chimera studied the ancient bridge from a higher position on their near mountain. "It looks useable to me."
The party approached the bridge carefully, looking for signs of unsafe use. In fact, the structure was in perfect shape, although weather elements had dulled the stones and other parts were covered in moss and dusts, the overall bridge seemed rather intact.
Gourry took a peek into the valley that was spanned by the huge bridge. The depth of the gorge was unimaginable. Winds continue to swirl around, whisking at Gourry's blond hair. "It's a long way down. I wouldn't want to fall into there."
Filia watched from the side of the hill, waiting for Gourry to fall in. "You know, for once you're right. Those currents are even too strong for me to fly over."
"Come on!" Lina was already on the bridge, waving historically. "We haven't got much time until sunset, you know." Zel muttered a few unintelligible words as he stomped onto the overpass.
Amelia, Sylphiel, and Lina were well onto the bridge already. "Lina, look here!" shouted the Sailoon princess, she was kneed on the ground while pointing to a single tile on the walkway.
"It's a flat one, unlike the rest of the bridge." Amelia pointed to a central tile near the mouth of the bridge. Even though the tile was mostly covered in moss, a familiar pattern of writing could be seen in the smoothed out piece of stone.
"Do you think it means anything?" asked the shrine maiden.
"I dunno." Lina leaned down on her knees, her fingers peeling away at the many years of moss. "Give me a hand here, girls." The three of them quickly cleared off the rest of the tile of natural debris.
The single tile was as smooth as glass, the elements of weather had not made a single dent into the material unlike the rest of the bridge. With perfect precision, the group uncovered the treasure: a carving of an image almost lost from time.
"Well, it certainly looks like a picture of a cloud." Amelia wiped her hands clean with a towel from her traveling pack.
The group stood back, admiring their find. "We've got to be on the right track," pointed Sylphiel. "I just know it."
Lina scraped away the rest of the mass from the tile, to her disappointment it did not reveal any other shiny clues. "Well, what can I tell you-" she showed her dirty fingers to the nice and clean shine maiden, "that this bridge has been here for a long, long, time!"
Sylphiel face just squealed with fright.
"That's gross, Lina!" exclaimed Amelia. A second later, the princess had thrown her towel to the petite sorcerer.
"Yep, that will definitely help," said Filia. Behind her, holding up the rear were the men of the group.
"Making mud pies again, again I suppose?" The chimera pinged, looking at all the girls with dirty fingers.
Lina chuckled. Before long, the whole group took to laughing.
---o--o--o---
They continued on the bridge span another several hundred feet into windy air. The heavy winds were making traveling rather difficult - for every three steps they walked, the entire group was pushed back by one.
"This isn't normal, Lina." yelled Sylphiel. "I mean, is it suppose to be this windy?"
"I know, but keep going. We can't raywing it over this blustery weather." Lina was sure she could glide out over the valley cliffs, but landing safely at tremendous falling speeds -- either on the opposite side or back where they started was a total crapshoot.
"Hear that, Amelia?" Lina took out her sword from its sleeve.
"I only hear the wind up here. How can you be so sure something's coming?"
"Cause I'd do the same thing. Get ready everyone, we've got some visitors somewhere."
*WHOOOSH!*
Sure enough, as they had just made the approximate middle of the massive bridge when a fireball singed over their heads, narrowly missing the ducking Lina, just to the right of Gourry.
"Whoa, that was a close one!"
The blond swordsman just commented non-chalantely. "You're lucky you're so short, Lina. If you were Filia's height, it might have hit you."
Lina whacked Gourry in the side of the head, subtle enough to get his attention, making the poor swordsman fall to the ground. "Baka!"
"Ow, that hurts." He rubbed the sore spot where the redhead had stuck with open hand. "You cloud be a little more gentle. Don't you remember out talk?"
Lina blinked at the swordsman and smiled. "Well, at least the poor fireballs won't hit you now!"
Zel muttered. "Damn winds accelerate the fireballs from who knows where. Wherever they are, we're sitting pretty right now."
Amelia jumped on the bridge side rails, the elevation of the bridge was of no concern to her. "Whose who hide in shame and deceit, you know you have no choice in the end!"
"Oh brother, not again." melted Lina.
"Surrender now or face the wrath of Justice!"
The chimera sighed. "I think she picking up pointers from Xellos."
"It's not from me," said Filia.
"Nah, its definitely from me, before I usually blow someone away," explained Lina.
Sylphiel put her hand together to the left of her ears, tilted her head, and smiled. "She's growing up right before our eyes, Lina. Isn't it kawaii?"
Lina pouted, "If you say so..."
Amelia pointed up into the air. "We will not be defeated to those who hide! We will stand for what is right, we stand-"
*WHOOSH!* *WHOOSH!* *WHOOSH!*
Amelia froze, unable to jump off the railing. A crazy number of fireballs were coming in at every angle. Not totally accurate because the high winds and long distances, their were enough of them to strike her down. "No time to get off...No time to..."
She felt a tug from the back of her legs, the rest of her body quickly following backwards. Before another second passed, Amelia had been quickly tugged off of the side rail.
It was Lina. "It's amazing how many times I've had to bail you out." Amelia face froze up for a sec, threatening to break out into tears - until Lina responded with a blink from one of her eyes. "Baka."
Amelia didn't answer, she just turned over with her eyes glassed over. "Thank you."
"Hai. Don't mention it."
*WHOOSH!* *WHOOSH!*
"There's got to be at least a dozen on either side of the bridge." Zel was announcing as if it were a regular weather forecast. "We're pinned down for the moment until help comes to bail us out."
"What about some shields?" questioned Amelia. "Couldn't Sylphiel and Filia protect us?"
"And then what? We can't levitate out of here." The chimera pointed to the sides of the hill in front of them. "The winds are much too strong, we would become a pancake against the side of the mountain."
"Do we stay here, then?" asked Sylphiel, getting her scepter up to raise a shield.
"No way." Lina turned around at the ground, eyes for all to see. "I'm not letting some group of third-rate wizards to pin us like a tail on a donkey. We're going over this thing, and we're doing it now."
The rest of the group nodded in agreement.
"Zel, stay here and provide me with cover. Amelia and Filia will give you some protection." Gourry gulped. For a second, the swordsman was going to say something, but Lina cut him off. "Sylphiel, you come with me. I'm going to need it as we're going to run them down."
A shadow of doubt crossed the shrine maiden's face. "Run? But I can't do a spell while-"
"You can do it, Sylphiel. I know you can." The sorcerer's words seemed to calm Sylphiel's complexion to a determined one.
"What do I do?" Gourry asked, shrugging his shoulders.
"Keep Zel company and out of trouble. Got it?"
"Yea, I think." Gourry seemed to get Lina's orders. Everyone else did as well, as the rest of the group shook their heads in silence. Then, he didn't. "Hey, wait a minute-"
"OK...NOW!" Lina growled, she grabbed Sylphiel with her hands in tow, bolting for the other side of the bridge.
"Blam Blazer!" Zel's spell caused the firing to end for a few seconds, keeping the rogue wizards pinned in their bushes. But not for long.
*WHOOSH!* *WHOOSH!*
"Barus Wall!" shouted Amelia.
The two girls were over the bridge in a flash, crossing over the rest of the connection in a flash. Lina didn't take a thanking for dirt ground again, she attacked with ferocity.
"Fireball!"
"Aiiiieeee!"
Lina blasts lit up the brush line along the cliff, tossing wizards and dirt alike into the air to their impending doom. She had taken out a half-dozen almost as easily as taking out the trash. "Damn." She mused, "Frickin' too many wizards to take in one shot!" She shot another fireball from behind her back, frying a couple of more bad guys. "Two down, many more to go-"
*WHOOSH!* *WHOOSH!*
The fireball shots were about to hit the red-headed sorcerer when they hit a rather familiar shield target just in front of her, quickly shattering in every which way.
"Thanks, Sylphiel."
The shine maiden had her scepter outstretched and glowing while she caught her breath. "I...can't believe...you run that fast, ...Lina. I could barely keep up with you there."
"No sweat. When you eat as much food as I do, you've got plenty of energy to burn off. I've got to keep this girlish figure going somehow." Lina's attention turned as another round of fireballs harmlessly bounced off Sylphiel's shield. "Now, who's next to be fried!"
Zel and the rest of the company were now running across the bridge as Lina fired her more powerful fireballs across the chasm. The winds were making it difficult however, as one of the shots caught a wind drift, thus heading toward her friends still on the bridge.
"Aaaaeeeii!" shouted Gourry, as the whole group dived for cover.
Filia was up first from her un-ladylike duck, sticking her head over the bridge side wall. "Hey Lina! Watch it!" She was quickly joined by the slightly blackened and not so smiling faces of Amelia, Zel, and Gourry.
"Heh...clumsy me! I'll be more careful next time!" Lina sweetly smiled with her innocent charm, even though her fellow members were rather immune to Lina's charm.
"Hmmph!" The Saillune princess stuck her nose up with a bit of distaste.
"Is that most of them?" questioned Gourry, looking at Lina pounce another round of wizards.
"Nope, don't think so." Zel pointed to a new approaching group, coming up from their former positions. "Looks like more company."
"Halt, conspirators of Lina Inverse!" The boys already turned around, their swords ready and waiting.
And then the chimera laughed. "You're unbelievable, Biru. We just can't shake you."
The balding one was ready at attention, with about a dozen Turnip security guards dressed in a mix of Monte Darlo uniforms with some extra patches of mercenary armor. "You...You are comrades of Lina Inverse. As associates, You shall pay Inverse tax now!"
"Didn't I dispatch this guy a little while ago?" asked Gourry.
Zel sweatdropped. "Umm, for once, no. You were intoxicated. Remember?"
Gourry nodded. "Yea, I do for some reason."
The group just facefaulted.
"This guy is a bastard and Lina and I gave him the slip." He thought about his puzzling statements and clarified them. "Actually, I was a bit dizzy, so Sylphiel and Lina managed to carry me away. It was nice getting taken cared of."
Filia cringed. "You mean you were drunk and you remember everything that happened?"
"Yeah, I do!" said Gourry.
Zel winced. "Never mind that you're not going to win, Biru. All I want to know is how you traced us down here." The chimera's response got a shuffle from behind Turnip's mercenary guards, as a familiar yet older face stepped forward.
Zelgadis scowled. "Thoth. I should have known."
"Heh. It's me, Thoth." The old man waved heartedly with his hand. "Biru offered me some food and stuff, it was a proposal that I could not refuse."
"Scheming as usual," replied Zelgadis. "So, you've joined up with Biru, haven't you?"
"Well, not exactly..." Biru reached around with his arm and grabbed the old man harshly by the collarbone. "And don't think that we're not scared of you, stony?"
"How could you turn traitor, Thoth?" whined Amelia. "After all, I had shown you the way of justice!"
"My dear, justice does not fill my tummy." The old man's tummy bellowed some nasty hungry sounds, while Amelia's posture turned white ashen at Thoth's unconscious body response.
"Thoth! You two-timing phony!" spit Amelia. "I'll never trust you again!"
The old man sighed in disgust.
Determined to get some attention, Filia spoke up. "Now that you have us cornered, what are you going to do with us?"
"You, to pay. Now." Biru unbuckled a short sword, pointing it to the crew.
"Afraid not." The chimera already had his sword out as well, now he just flashed the blade into the sky.
*Astral Vine*!
The sword responded to chimera's words by glowing, backing Biru's troops from their positions around Zel and company.
"Now, if you want a beating, that's fine. Just remember who took out Turnip."
Biru's troops were horrified from Zel's words. "That's just...not true!"
They were about to scatter for good when a strike of lightening hit the bridge, knocking of few of the troops clear off the crossway and into the bottomless ravine. Most of the group immediate fled, leaving Biru with the company of a handful of men.
Lina looked from the south side. She was still taking care of the few rogue wizards that were left. But the lightening strike got her attention, as well as the sound of flapping in the distance. "Hey Gourry! Zel! You're about to have company!" The sorcerer was maintaining her hands in the air, trying to keep the setting sun out of her eyes.
Filia saw it first, pointing to a black dot in the sky. "Its...flying! And in this wind!"
"That means it must be a...a...Dragon!!" exclaimed Amelia.
Another blast took out a couple more of Biru's mercenary guards. Before long, Biru was alone. "Troops? Thoth? You blasted deserters!" He looked around to see his men fleeing to the north end of the bridge. "Come back here and fight, you cowards!"
Zel nodded, ducking for cover. "I think Biru was better." Another blast lit up the bridge in fireworks of lightening, tossing bits of stone into the air.
Gourry was ecstatic. "Oh boy, dragon cuisine!" shouted Gourry. "We'll roast it for dinner tonight!" bellowed the swordsman, licking his chops with a bit of excitement.
"Baka!" Filia had her mace in Gourry's ear, the swordsman could be seen collapsed over, with only the mace handle sticking up from his buried head. "I can't believe you would go out and eat some poor cousin of mine!"
"uuuuugggghhh..."
The dragon lady went over to Gourry and took her mace. "It's not like you'll even hunted from Dragon cuisine before."
The swordsman, still stooped in a daze, nevertheless opened his trap. "Well, actually, when I was with Zel and Amelia once, we-" and his mouth was closed in an instant by the chimera's strong hand. "Ummmm!"
"Heh, Gourry remembers so many tall tales. Foolish boy." At the same time, Amelia slapped the swordsman in the back with her knee, getting the swordsman to shut his trap.
The dragon was no longer the little black dot, but a charcoal creature of incredible size, with a length of a hundred feet or more. Its doubled heads were easily six feet wide, easily large enough to swallow cattle whole.
Its multitude of wings were small compared to the rest of its size, but it seemed to have fluttering fins everywhere as it snaked its way across the sky. The shear amount of small wings kept the beast flying up in the air. It was more of a snake than a dragon, it lacked any type of front nor back arms or legs.
"That!" beamed Filia, "is most certainly not a dragon related to me!" She pointed up at the creature in disgust.
"And its got two heads instead of one!" announced Amelia.
"So, why isn't it a dragon?" asked Gourry. "Its got scales, doesn't it?"
"Dear Cepheid, do you know what it takes to keep these scales perfectly honed!" Filia pointed to the black beast in the air. "Look at that thing!" She showed her bare arm off to Gourry, though he was unimpressed. "I bet it hasn't had a bath in years!"
"It looks like a dragon to me."
"Numskull! I'm in human disguise! Does that mean I'm human?"
The dragon snake didn't like getting made fun of at all, and one of the heads shot a lightening bolt right to Filia. Amelia and Filia put up walls, but they couldn't hold them for long against the powerful dragon breath. Suddenly, a fireball from the opposite side clocked right into one of its heads, dismembering the long cranium from the rest of the body.
"Gotcha!!" shouted one Lina Inverse, with another fireball spell already in her hand. Smoke poured around the neck of the dragon, the other remaining head screamed in apprehension.
Black smoke poured out of the neck, as if caught in a bit of fire. The results quickly cleared where unexpectedly, two new heads appeared where only one head had been before.
"Huh? What the hell?" as Lina extinguished her fireball.
Laughter ensued around the valley as a little man jumped up into the air from the back of the dragon. "Hehehehe, Lina is so foolish! Lina is so foolish!" The little man was barely 4 feet tall, with a tummy almost as wide as his height. He was simply dressed in white full-length tunic, and wore no other armor or decoration of any kind. Above his tummy, was a roundish face, with a bald head save for a few dangling curly hairs. "You can't hurt my pet! You try too hard!"
To Lina, that explained the mystery dragon part. "I see you're intend on hurting us, Mazoku."
"I think he's toying with us," said Filia.
"I'd like to think so," responded Lina, "but dragons that can have multiple heads is a new one in my book."
"Its not a dragon!" yelled Filia.
"Hehehehe. My master says Curly must hurt you!" The little man landed on top of his dragon pet. "Now hurt them! Cause them pain!"
The group sweat dropped.
"Lina," asked Sylphiel, "This Mazoku seemed a bit strange to me. Is something wrong with it?"
Lina nodded. "I dunno, but he seems two sticks short of a campfire."
The little Mazoku yelled again, determined to get Lina's attention. "Now, you stay in one place so I can hurt you!"
Lina tensed madly. "You must be dumber than you look Curly, because for a Mazoku like you, that's a compliment!" she shouted.
*Diem Breeze!*
The spell froze one of the dragon head, causing it to shatter into pieces of black and red. More smoke rose from the body of the dragon, for now the snake-like beast had four heads Out of his long mouths came more strikes of lightening, hitting the her friends on the bridge, and Lina alike to the south.
The petite sorcerer cursed. "Lina!" shouted Sylphiel, after blocking the dragon's lightening shots. "That thing is dangerous! I can't hold out if you keep adding heads to that thing."
*Fireball!* *Fireball!* *Fireball!*
Lina shot another volley of fireballs in disgust, shooting off a couple of more heads. "Die, you miserable excuse for a monster! Why you can't your heads stay dead for once!!"
"No, Lina!!" shouted Amelia, dodging a round of lightening. "What do you think you're doing!"
The dragon roared in delight, with all heads that seemed to number more that eight, it shot lightening strikes everywhere their were humans. Its heads could now face in multiple directions, shooting away in a pure state of amusement. Black smoke from the dragon poured over the bridge, hiding its human occupants from immediate detection.
"Quickly, everyone! Jump over the side wall and hold on!" shouted Zel, a lightening bolt just missing his head as he rolled away.
"Are you crazy!" shouted Filia. "It's a long way down from here, and its not something I can just 'glide' up!"
"Its that, or you're going to be electrocuted!" sniffed the chimera. "And I don't think you want that to happen!" He reached for Amelia and offered the shorter one a boost over the side of the railing.
*Fireball!* *Fireball!* *Fireball!*
Lina stared for a second, waiting for the black smoke to clear away. "Have you had enough, Curly, or should I take more pot shots at your little pet."
"Hehehehe, you never learn Lina Inverse. My pet is developing off of your stupidity, I'm so much enjoying this fun!" The clouds cleared as a multitude of dragon heads appeared, all stalking in delight, downward at the petite sorcerer. The dragon's snake heads now dominated the body, it was as if someone had taken a dragon and stuck a bunch of octopi on it.
Amelia looked at Gourry and Zel, all hanging on the opposite side of the siderail of the bridge. "Where's Filia?" she asked.
"I think she made it over to Lina's side," answered the chimera. "Dammit, we're pinned until she bails us out."
"Lina's help?" trembled the petite princess, still hanging onto the rocky ledge in sheer fright.
"She's a fool! She's a fool!" The Mazoku was happily dancing above his pet's heads, teasing his poor victims. "More heads! More heads! And more heads!"
Zelgadis turned his head around across his body. "Lina! Care to give us a hand here?"
"One second, Zel!" She answered with a smirk on her face, giving a wink to the hanging chimera.
"Don't hang around for too long, you know." She could see her friends immediately loosen up.
"I think Lina's is up to something."
Lina turned to find the dragon maiden had joined her on the south side, gasping for air. "Hi Filia, glad you could make it. Now stand next to Sylphiel and give me some more protection against lightening bolts." She winked at the end in a state of control, with Sylphiel smiling a confirmation.
"Hai." She answered.
Lina smiled. "OK, Curly! I've decided to be generous! You asked for more heads, right?" The little Mazoku smirked a bit at the sorcerer's line of questioning, unsure what the next move would be, pointing his stubby fingers at the sorcerer. Before he could answer, Lina jumped another off another round of spells off the tips of her fingers.
*Fireball!* *Fireball!* *Fireball!*
"You're a fooool!!"
*Fireball!* *Fireball!* *Fireball!* *Fireball!*
Black smoke plumed like a volcano over the bridge, taking out the sun, the mountains, with it finally being swept away by the wind. And if one thought the dragon was huge...well, you would have been mistaken.
"Is that enough?" Lina puffed for some air while Sylphiel held the petite woman up. "Heh, its got it be."
"Hold still, Lina..." The shrine maiden applied a light healing spell onto the sorcerer to get her breath back.
"Thanks, Sylphiel. You seem to bail me out a lot."
Lina's target was a tremendous beast of a creature. Unable to fly, it had sunk onto the bridge, its many dragons heads were now everywhere, limping like wet noodles over either side of the railing.
"Wha? Where were you flying, you baka!" groaned Curly. The heads groaned in agony, the shear weight of the beast pinned it to the bridge like a plump turkey.
Curly was on top now, trying with all its might to get his dragon up and airborne, poking and prodding with his short sword. "Wake up! Wake up you horrible beast! You got to kill her!" But the dragon would not budge, the creature seemed stuck fast.
"Come on, Gourry, time to go." Zelgadis used one of the many dragon neck to climb back onto the bridge, apparently safe from the gluttonous beast.
"...darkness beyond twilight, crimson from blood that flows; buried in the flow of time..."
"Lina?" questioned Zel, hearing the chaos words in the distance. He turned around. "Everyone, time to run!"
"...Those who oppose use us shall be destroyed by the power you and I possess..."
"Dragon Slave!!"
"Baka dragon!" shouted Curly, before being disintegrated with his the last of his pet.
---o--o--o---
The chaos enhancing dragon slave finally died down, the smoke cloud quickly disappearing from the fierce winds. The monstrous spell had succeeded rather well -- it had taken out the dragon, the little annoying Curly, and the bridge of the ancients.
"Victory!!" shouted Lina, her two fingers high into the air.
Sylphiel and Filia face faulted.
Where the wondrous arch of the ages had been only held little remains of rock and slab in the mountain hills were left. Huge amounts of stone and block just disappeared into Lina's Dragon Slave, never to be seen by human eye again.
"This bridge has been here forever!" shouted the dragon maiden, "its been here for thousands of years! And you're not even here for one day, and its gone!"
Lina hid among herself. "Errrr....look, its not like I meant to blow up the bridge!" She looked at the abyss that had once been crossable, kicking a pebble into the dark chasm. "Can't we just fly over it?"
"No! We can't! I'm not flying around for your enjoyment!" Lina could swear that Filia had shifted colors from yellow to bright red. "Beside, I don't know where I'm going, its not like we can just fly random around here."
"Filia, relax! We should be just a few days north of the Sheik's city, you know the place where Turnip traded for stuff? We'll get to the bottom of this. And I'm sure its a coastal city, so we can take a boat back!"
"I hope you're right Lina, for Cepheid's sake."
"Um, Lina?" Sylphiel tried to butt into the conversation, but was a tad quiet. "Lina?"
The sorcerer turned her head away from the chasm. "I'm sorry Sylphiel. What is it?" Sylphiel has her hands knotted together in a puzzled manor.
"Ummm....where's Gourry dear?"
---o--o--o---
"How does this damn thing work?" Gourry shook at the mirror, holding it out to show everyone like a demonstration of a toy at a carnival.
The princess bleeped. "Don't break the thing! It's the only way we can talk to Lina!" shouted Amelia, pointing to the bridgeless cliff.
"Give me the mirror, Gourry!" The chimera made a grab for the object, managing to grab onto a couple of corners. Each man tugged it endlessly in different directions, shoving, cursing. After a few bouts, it then the object lit up in a kaleidoscope of colors.
"Hey! Who am I talking to here!...Is our food all right? Answer me, dammit!"
Gourry managed to get the mirror back from Zel for a second. "I'm here, Lina. I think we're OK."
"The FOOD!"
"Ummm...I'm afraid you blew up our supplies as well."
"Baka." Lina lit a fireball in her hand, and threw it toward Gourry, or at least the image of Gourry into the mirror. Instead of her mirrored side shattering, Gourry got the message right in the smackers.
"Owww..." The swordsman held the mirror out from his charred yet still twitching body.
"Wow," announced Zel, "only Lina could power a spell through these viewing mirror. How fun." The chimera let out a smile of disbelief.
"Not fun," sizzled Amelia, "...scary."
"I heard that!! Now, let me talk to Zel, otherwise you're going to get much worse." The chimera silently obeyed Lina as he picked the mirror from Gourry's charred grasp. "Any idea how you're going to get caught up to us?"
"No..." The rustling in the bushes alerted Zel enough to throw his loose arm into the shrubbery. Out popped the familiar face of Thoth, handled in the head by the strong hands of Zelgadis. "But I've got some volunteers."
"Oh, don't mind me..." answered the maddening old man. "I was just hiding, you know..."
Lina snicker. "Yah, I can see that. Ok, I'll ring you every once in a while. Good luck in getting down here."
Zel was trying in finish his conversation with Lina when Thoth was moving around, trying to break his grip. It was because of Amelia, who was kicking the poor man. "You two-timing...feelin' sicko of an old man..."
"I see you got your hands full. Hand me off to Gourry, would you?"
The chimera handed the mirror back to the blond swordsman. "Watch out, she's testy. And its not her time of the month." And just before he could complete the handoff, Zel got a bit of a shock. "...Ouch!"
"...baka..."
Gourry got his hands and his undivided attention on the mirror. "What is it, Lina?"
"Keep an eye on Zel for me," asked Lina, "he's going through a rough time right now."
"Sure will." Gourry paused for a second to think. "But be careful, Lina."
The sorcerer hissed. "Why would you say that?"
Gourry paused to copulate his thoughts, unusually to the point. "Lina...I'm not there to protect you."
She blushed to an immediate pink. "You know, I'll be back. I promise." The pink quickly reddened into total embarrassment.
"I'm fine!!" screamed the petite sorcerer, "and cut that out!"
"But Lina..." pleaded the swordsman.
"Fireball!"
---o--o--o---
[Lina] {cracks the knuckles} Ahhh, nothing like a little *Dragon Slave* to get those frustrations out...
[Filia] But you always blow up the castle, the bridge, the cave, the town, the lair, the city... {rambles on}
[Lina] Now -- temper, temper, Filia!!
[Filia] WHO'S THE ONE WITH THE HIGH TEMPER!
---o--o--o---
[Lina] Oh no! What's happening to Zel...
[Author] Oh, and you think its my doing that he's changing...Its always the author's fault, its always the authors fault...
[Lina] Damn you! Tell me what's wrong with Zel, otherwise I will *DRAGON SLAVE* your ass off!
[Author] ...Mommy!!!!
---o--o--o---
Slayers: Clouds!
Chapter 5:
Damn it! The Truth is Hard to Find!
---o--o--o---
The early morning was cold, sparse. Ground that had once been fertile with greenery could no longer support life. Sunlight barely could get out and spread its wings, for fierce winds would rob it of its energy.
On such bare ground, laid the body of Mr. Turnip, still holding onto the specter. The glass holding specter that had once been a conductor of the Lynx's power was nothing more than a shattered and mud-trenched globe on a stick.
He was barely alive. Turnip's mind shouted obscenities through the pain of it all. Yes, he was technically still alive, carefully thinking of one Lina Inverse. Blasted that girl who stuck me down, he reflected. Blasted little kid with the power to take out Mazoku and frighten Ryozoku alike, the resources that even rivaled the gods of Cepheid.
Turnip tried to get up, his mind issuing commands to the rest of his body. No dice. His feet seemed tied down, his arms and hands likewise. From the look of his body, he seemed twisted into some kind of pretzel, unable to budge. Turnip couldn't tell much since his head was twisted upward while the rest of the body was face down.
"You're dead, Turnip." A voice, with little compassion. Shadows fell over his sight, it was from someone behind his head.
"Nice observation, idiot. Want to-" Shocked, he stopped his words in mid-sentence as sudden astonishment of warmth entering into the body carcass.
"I'm giving you some of my energy to power your mouth, old boy. Oh, and your head as well. See, you're body has been sitting here for a couple of days or so. It looks like some wild animal has gotten to you. Those ankles of yours must be tasty."
Turnip looked down to see that his body below the waist was pretty much gone. His left side still had a thigh bone stripped bare to the bone, apparently torn away in chucks. His right side wasn't much better. "I do seem to be 'quite' dead, my friend. Care to tell me what you want?"
The mystery voice swing to the other side of Turnip. The fellow wasn't taller than three or four feet, his look was definitely brown, ugly and troll-like. An ugly mess of thick black hair hid most of his head, except for the hooked nose and crooked grin. "You're going to work for me, Turnip. Because otherwise, I'll make you cooperate in a less-likely fashion."
Turnip scoffed. "Heh, why would I want to work for a Mazoku. I'd rather be toast."
The stranger's eyes just glowed dark red under his messy hair. "That can be arranged, if you wish..." He chucked deeply, then coughed a bit. "This body doesn't suit me. But I like it."
The troll turned his attention back to Turnip. "I would assume you want revenge. After all, there is one Lina Inverse out there. And her companions I might add."
Turnip licked his lips in delight. "Well, I don't think I can refuse an invitation like that, Mazoku."
"Its Joe to you, Turnip. Do not take all day."
"What a strange name."
Joe kicked him. "It wasn't my idea, baka."
Turnip winched in pain, the little nerve cells he had left felt the fear. "Very well, Joe. I pledge to you."
Immediately after finishing his words, Turnip's body glowed with a deep red shade of power. It encompassed his leftover body, forming back his legs back into normal human shape. It was soon over, as Turnip stood in front of his new Mazoku master.
"Ahhh, that feels good." Turnip stretched his shoulders around, getting a bit loose. His new image had the appearance of a human, except for his red-glowing eyes. "What else, Mazoku?"
Joe sidestepped around to Turnip's front, looking up at his now taller Mazoku. Turnip could now fully see his beady red eyes shine thought the natty hair. "Again, it's Joe, you filthy human." He walked around is new subordinate. "You will tell me everything you know about the Cloudminders. Do I make myself clear?"
Turnip just laughed. "I should have known." And he chuckled again, this time joined by his new Mazoku master.
---o--o--o---
In another similar place, one of bare ground and even barer signs of life, were familiar company of Lina and her companions. They were already a few days journey south, without a hint of a sign, a bridge, or of any civilization.
But Zelgadis was sure this was the way -- a well beaten path of wagon wheels and feet had made earlier impressions in these fields. Instincts told him the bridge of the ancients was nearby, very close indeed.
The chimera had managed to start a fire among some old campfire stones and moss. The old stones showed signs of a fire from not long ago -- shades of black and gray, tinted with the charcoal of cindered wood. The new fire licked at these old stones while newly grown moss sizzled from the heat. Tiny flames ate at dead wood as it rocked from their heated expansion. He had made himself at home by sitting on a nearby fallen log, the wood piece was too large and obtuse to light as a campfire.
He wasn't really hungry but surprising cold. His body had felt weakened these last few days, as if he were slowed by the slight flu. Ever since Monte Darlo, he thought. Why, he asked himself. Why did he have to know what was exactly happening to him. Why?
Footsteps stirred around from behind Zel, he was surprised to see Lina up and early, just after the morning sunrise.
"Morning, Zel. Get any sleep last night?" Lina was not a particular charming at the crack of down, but she wasn't a total sleepy head either.
The chimera just picked at the fire with a stick, taming the flames as wood settled into briquettes from his churning. "Sleep was fine." The sorcerer sat down next to Zel and settled in, warning her hands by turning towards the fire.
"Ahhh, that feels good." She arched her neck loose, trying to get awake.
"Why are you following me here, Lina?" he asked. "Is there some reason that you're coming with me in search of the City of the Clouds?"
"Heh?" Lina arched her eyebrows up in surprise. "Zel, that Turnip guy tried rubbing us out. I don't like being shown off."
Zelgadis continued to poke at the fire wordlessly.
"You know, we're down here because of you, Zel. The Cloudminders may have secrets for changing you back into a human. You know that the Lynx box has already done that, even if it was temporary."
"Why?" He looked up at Lina. "Why then? Why them destroy it?"
"What do you mean, why! We didn't have a choice!" Lina bitterly stomped her feet on the ground. "Damn you Zel, I save our asses once again from endless danger, and you can't even acknowledge it?" She coughed in irritation, her feet pushing some sand closer to the campfire stones.
The chimera just stared.
"You're problem is that I never know there is a problem. You are an endless bottomless pit, and whatever words come in never get out!" She had taken to upping her voice at the chimera, annoyed from his lack on answers. "You know I'm right, don't you."
"No, you're wrong. You should have left me there to die." He stared back at Lina, with resentment in his eyes as he stood up. "You should have killed me!"
"Kill you? Are you crazy!!" Lina was in shock from Zelgadis' words. "Why the hell for?! You've helped save us from Shabranigudo, from Gaav, from Filbrizzo. From Valgaav and Dark Star. The list goes on and on!" The sorcerer was up on her feet, pushing back at the chimera. "Why the hell would I turn around and kill my friend!"
Zel not dared to look into Lina's eyes. "Screw you."
Lina huffed with pure rejection. "I'm not going to kill you, Zel. I see into the eyes, and I see how long that you have wanted to become human. I know that you've spent your entire life in trying, and you're not giving up that easily!"
The chimera silently nodded his head.
"Look, there has to be answer somewhere. Rezo wouldn't just change you in this creature and not have a way to turn you back. That Lynx box, chaos box...no matter how temporary, changed you into a human. I'm sure the Cloudminders have something else to change you back, and by Cepheid, we'll use it, get it, or take it to change you back. Either way, I'm here, Amelia, Sylphiel, Filia, and even Gourry. We're not going to let anything happen to you without a fight."
"That is, until I die."
Lina was furious. "You're not dying! You're lifetime may be longer than mine, because you're a chimera. No one has killed you! You're not fricken' dead!"
He just looked up. "I'm dying, Lina! Just look!" He bared his arm to the early sun, showing the underside of the upper forearm to Lina. Where there had once had been a rubbery skin covering with hard lesions, was now almost completely covered within a rough casing of stone. He pulled at it, flicking specs of dust off of his body.
"I can feel the energy in my body seeping away, the once human flesh in my body is leaving me. It's as if I'm slowing down, my eyes aren't adjusting to the speed and motions of other humans anymore. I can't feel my arm anymore. I will, eventually, become..."
The sorcerer just stared, not believing her own ears.
"Lina...I'm turning to stone."
Lina almost fell down in a jumbled heap. "Zel! That's...not true!"
"It's true and you know it." He pounded his stick into the ground in frustration. "I don't know how long I have, but its already getting difficult to walk and stand. I'm already in incredible pain, every time I move, or take a step. Its bearable now, but I have no idea how much worse its going to get. I figured I've got a few weeks, maybe longer. That should be plenty of time to find the City of the Clouds. But I'll be out of time after that."
"No time? But..." She couldn't comprehend the answers as her eyes started to tear. "How can you say something like that?"
Zel lowered himself to her height. "You have to promise me two things, Lina. You must."
"Anything. I swear." Lina was close to balling into a state of total despair.
"One, you can't tell anymore. Not Amelia, not Sylphiel. Not even Filia. Damn it, if you tell Gourry, he'll probably remember. I don't want them worrying about me. Do you understand?"
"But...but why? We can help you, Zel. Maybe they know of something that can help...or we can comfort your pain..."
The chimera shook his head. "I know about my chimera body, Lina, I know its strengths and weaknesses. I want no other help. Otherwise, I will leave. Disappear." Lina's mouth just hung agape, appalling to the core. "It's bad enough that you how I feel, Lina, I can't bare for anyone else to know. Do I make myself clear?'
Lina hiccupped. "I...understand." She gulped for a second, her mouth dry from all the words. "What was the other thing."
"We're going to find the City of the Clouds. It's the only solution we have at the moment." Zel looked up into the sky, as if looking for an answer. "The magic that takes chaos, that stone and the secrets that Turnip took to his grave. Whatever it is, I know it's the answer. Nevertheless, if I'm not cured of my affliction, you must promise...to kill me."
"Zel!" choked Lina, the words dying in her throat. "I can't!"
"You must!" Zel's voice was of a tone she had hardly heard before. She remembered he had used it when facing off with Gaav and Valgaav. "If my body slows down, my mind will become a prisoner in the stone statue you see before you. I will be conscience, without the ability to move, speak, or communicate."
"But..." Tears fell from Lina's eyes, disappearing into the dry sandy soil by her feet. "I...I..."
"Would you let be in a position worse than death!"
Lina looked down on the ground, her face hidden by her matted red hair. "I will do what you ask, Zel." She sniffled again from her fallen position. "I promise."
"Very well." And the chimera turned away, leaving Lina to her thoughts.
How could he, thought Lina. How could he be so naive, so stupid. So selfish and not even realizing it, hurting the friends that he had with even knowing it. "Zel, I did swear. Funny how you roped me into such a promise."
She took out a short knife and stabbed in into the ground next to her. No blood ceremonies in her book for ever necessary, she thought too much of them ever since Naga kept passing out from them. "Heh, I did promise to kill you. But not before restoring your hide to normal. I swear, no matter the cost."
---o--o--o---
Thoth walked his way south of Monte Darlo. The full breakfast from before had fed him with a least a couple of days food. However, Thoth was still surprised for his lack of hunger. He must have really stuffed it down.
Thirsty for some fresh water, not just drink but to wash his dirty beard as well, the old man leaned down into the a gully of a nearby riverbed.
Thoth saw how he had aged in the years. The river readily supplied him with a perfect reflection of crabby face. He had imaged himself as a godly prince, his castle window higher than any mountain, his view of the world had been unbelievable. Alas, it he been such a lovely dream.
Looking into the stream again, Thoth could see new growing shapes above his head. It was apparent he had company.
"Hello, Mad Thoth," belched a nasty voice behind him. "Care for a swim?"
The old man coughed. "And you might you be, sonny?" He turned around to a gaggle of Turnip security guards, led by an bulky and balding older man in an apron. "Oh, my...company!"
"I don't believe I've met you before, though I believe you know your friends." The guards just readied their miniature crossbows into a firing position. "I'm Biru, by the way."
Biru immediately stick his finger out, pressing it against Thoth's bony skeleton. "Oh, and you're going to help me. These associates are mine are ex-patriots of Monte Darlo, and they sure seemed to know you very well."
"Oh, I'm sure..." The old man just gulped. "Your friends aren't very friendly to someone like me."
"Talk is cheap, old man." Biru had out a large chef knife, the newness of the blade memorized in Thoth's eyes. "Now, you're going to tell me some information. Do I make myself clear?"
Thoth nodded with his head, the lower half of his beard was still wet from the river.
"Tell me about Lina Inverse, you baka. My friends here tell me you swindled a little breakfast out of the bitch. Where's she going?"
Thoth just shook his head. "I'm not sure I can do that. After all, they fed me lots and I haven't seen crumbs from you yet."
"Look, 'Mad' Thoth or whatever you call yourself. If you don't help me, I promise you won't be around much longer. Do I make myself clear?"
Thoth seemed to think for a minute before answering. "Well, I dunno...How much food have you got?"
Biru blew up, stunned. "What the hell! You'd pick death over a last meal!!" The inn owner hopped up and down like an angry jackrabbit, then he smiled. "Do you know that I'm a gourmet chef...right!"
Thoth eyes lit up like torches as he licked his lips. "Well...if you put it that way, I guess I could lead you to them."
"Aaaaagh! Fine! Whatever makes you happy!" The raving innkeeper turned to the troops. "Stand down, you fools, he'll lead us right to our Inverse Tax. The little sissy is going to pay...she's going to pay her taxes!"
---o--o--o---
Lina didn't feel like leading the group that day; she had let the rambunctious Amelia climb the trees in front, scouting for patrols or Cepheid knows what else.
"Lina." Filia was right next to the redheaded sorcerer, trying to get her attention.
The often-taxed one has much too many items on her mind at the moment. First, the Cloudminders, as Xellos had mentioned. With Xellos popping up from the middle of nowhere, she was sure the Mazoku were part of the mix, there was no doubt of that in her mind. She quickly shook her head -- dragons occupy the City of the Clouds. A secret sect of ancients ones could swing the balance of power away from the Mazoku, thus plenty of reason to keep one Lina Inverse away from them.
Sure, the Lynx box inlet looked like it was from the City of the Clouds. But after her little chit-chat with Xellos and the mad one, none of the other merchants could identify any new information on the cloud symbol. She had even asked Filia for information, but she seemed dumbfounded as well.
"Lina!" The dragon maiden tugged on Lina's arm to no luck.
She had taken her time to fill Filia up on their recent adventures. The dragon maiden seemed rather amused at her tales of Biru and his tax-scheming ways. Nevertheless, the sorcerer was not smiling during the retelling.
Crap, thought Lina, then Zel this morning has to have the worse of temper tantrums. She cursed at how the chimera was using her, as her anger quickly deepened her sadness. She was now on a true mission, not just for treasure fortune, not just to get to the bottom of Turnip's awesome magic-stealing power, and not just to find the City of the Clouds. It was an undertaking to save her friend, something of seriousness that she had faced only too many times before.
"Lina!!"
"You don't have to yell, you know! I'm right here!" Lina took a breather for a second, grabbing her chest in excitement. After a few more keyed up pants, she calmed down to a reasonable manner. "Heh...sorry...Now, what was it."
"Um...um...maybe, never-"
"Filia..." Lina blinked at the golden dragon. "I'm here, tell me."
"Well, we're traveling to the costal city where Turnip got his magic...right?"
"It's not magic, at least in the traditional sense, and something never seen it before. Turnip's powers seemed to be able to control the flow of chaos."
"Chaos? Are you sure?" asked Filia.
"I'm very sure. It was expensive stuff that Turnip bought, all right. And that old guy said it was to the south. This kinda stuff you can't exactly pick up at a local magic stop, it would have to come from someplace special. And a costal trading city with a sheik sounds like a good place to start."
Filia smiled in delight, "Oh, it sounds wonderful!" She rubbed down here arm again in happiness. "Maybe a nice spa, I sure can't seem to wait!"
Lina shook her head. "I'm sure it's a rich city, Filia. I can't imagine Turnip going to a poor place. Those furnishings in his casino, they were worth a fortune."
"You mean, I'll be able to sell my vases down here?" Filia's eyes teared in happiness. "You know, its so expensive to take care of little Valgaav. I've already built an expansion on the side of the house, with several extra cribs in case he grows big. You know, he's still a couple of years away from hatching..."
Lina stared back at the dragon. "Filia, you're unbelievable..." Filia eyed Lina for a sec, but the petite sorcerer didn't want to press her luck. "Juras is taking care of little egg Valgaav, I suppose?"
"Uh-huh. He's like a nanny now. I'm so excited to be coming down here instead."
The sorcerer groaned. "Remind me not to have kids. It's bad enough bandits these days don't have as much money as they used to. Now I've got innkeepers after me as well."
"Oh, you told me about that, Lina. You know, with all the damages that you cause-"
"It was Naga's fault!" she screamed, before quickly shutting her mouth. "Damn, I can't believe I said that." Lina just thought to the more than numerous times that her old 'friend' would burn down an inn or tavern. No wonder she was cursed with stupid inverse tax.
"Who's Naga?"
Lina just blushed. "Its...its no one, I swear. Just some crazy dream I had last night." The petite red-head chuckled at her own comments. "I guess I that third portion before I went to sleep was a bit much."
"Lina!" Amelia was screaming in the short distance over the hill, up a nearby tree. "I see it!"
"Really!" Lina heard the Saillune princess and was off in a flash over the next crest. "Come on Filia, we can't be late for your vase sale!" She grabbed the shrine dragon's hand and tugged Filia in tow to the rest of the excited group.
---o--o--o---
Lina stared in sheer awe at the bridge, looking at the absolute size of the structure. It seemed to span not two sides of river, but a giant and deep valley of rock and darkness. Instead of a junction off the side of a small hill, each end of the bridge intersected into a large base of twin miniature mountains.
She stared again, joining her companions in silent utter astonishment. Distracting her, were the swirl of winds, that made walking more than a bit of a chore for Lina and company. Earlier that day, there had been almost no wind at all. Now, nature's fury made Lina's dark cloak wrap tightly around her petite body.
The bridge itself, made of cut stone and rubble, it didn't just span in a straight line across the tremendous valley. It arched in the middle, skyward into the clouds before settling back down to the surface. The causeway width of the bridge was large enough for several wheeled wagons to cross at one time.
The ancient conduit looked like was almost part of a bracelet. Its surfaces were utterly smooth where stone met stone, yet the exterior conditions were roughed cut as well. The causeway of the bridge was lined with high bearing walls to the height of Lina's neck, at least four feet into the air. The entire structure had the appearance that it not been built for the purpose of humans in mind, but for much larger creatures...
"Wow." Amelia was impressed.
"Its beautiful," said Sylphiel.
"The scale of the structure is impressive. The shear size should collapse onto itself, yet the bridge is still standing." The chimera studied the ancient bridge from a higher position on their near mountain. "It looks useable to me."
The party approached the bridge carefully, looking for signs of unsafe use. In fact, the structure was in perfect shape, although weather elements had dulled the stones and other parts were covered in moss and dusts, the overall bridge seemed rather intact.
Gourry took a peek into the valley that was spanned by the huge bridge. The depth of the gorge was unimaginable. Winds continue to swirl around, whisking at Gourry's blond hair. "It's a long way down. I wouldn't want to fall into there."
Filia watched from the side of the hill, waiting for Gourry to fall in. "You know, for once you're right. Those currents are even too strong for me to fly over."
"Come on!" Lina was already on the bridge, waving historically. "We haven't got much time until sunset, you know." Zel muttered a few unintelligible words as he stomped onto the overpass.
Amelia, Sylphiel, and Lina were well onto the bridge already. "Lina, look here!" shouted the Sailoon princess, she was kneed on the ground while pointing to a single tile on the walkway.
"It's a flat one, unlike the rest of the bridge." Amelia pointed to a central tile near the mouth of the bridge. Even though the tile was mostly covered in moss, a familiar pattern of writing could be seen in the smoothed out piece of stone.
"Do you think it means anything?" asked the shrine maiden.
"I dunno." Lina leaned down on her knees, her fingers peeling away at the many years of moss. "Give me a hand here, girls." The three of them quickly cleared off the rest of the tile of natural debris.
The single tile was as smooth as glass, the elements of weather had not made a single dent into the material unlike the rest of the bridge. With perfect precision, the group uncovered the treasure: a carving of an image almost lost from time.
"Well, it certainly looks like a picture of a cloud." Amelia wiped her hands clean with a towel from her traveling pack.
The group stood back, admiring their find. "We've got to be on the right track," pointed Sylphiel. "I just know it."
Lina scraped away the rest of the mass from the tile, to her disappointment it did not reveal any other shiny clues. "Well, what can I tell you-" she showed her dirty fingers to the nice and clean shine maiden, "that this bridge has been here for a long, long, time!"
Sylphiel face just squealed with fright.
"That's gross, Lina!" exclaimed Amelia. A second later, the princess had thrown her towel to the petite sorcerer.
"Yep, that will definitely help," said Filia. Behind her, holding up the rear were the men of the group.
"Making mud pies again, again I suppose?" The chimera pinged, looking at all the girls with dirty fingers.
Lina chuckled. Before long, the whole group took to laughing.
---o--o--o---
They continued on the bridge span another several hundred feet into windy air. The heavy winds were making traveling rather difficult - for every three steps they walked, the entire group was pushed back by one.
"This isn't normal, Lina." yelled Sylphiel. "I mean, is it suppose to be this windy?"
"I know, but keep going. We can't raywing it over this blustery weather." Lina was sure she could glide out over the valley cliffs, but landing safely at tremendous falling speeds -- either on the opposite side or back where they started was a total crapshoot.
"Hear that, Amelia?" Lina took out her sword from its sleeve.
"I only hear the wind up here. How can you be so sure something's coming?"
"Cause I'd do the same thing. Get ready everyone, we've got some visitors somewhere."
*WHOOOSH!*
Sure enough, as they had just made the approximate middle of the massive bridge when a fireball singed over their heads, narrowly missing the ducking Lina, just to the right of Gourry.
"Whoa, that was a close one!"
The blond swordsman just commented non-chalantely. "You're lucky you're so short, Lina. If you were Filia's height, it might have hit you."
Lina whacked Gourry in the side of the head, subtle enough to get his attention, making the poor swordsman fall to the ground. "Baka!"
"Ow, that hurts." He rubbed the sore spot where the redhead had stuck with open hand. "You cloud be a little more gentle. Don't you remember out talk?"
Lina blinked at the swordsman and smiled. "Well, at least the poor fireballs won't hit you now!"
Zel muttered. "Damn winds accelerate the fireballs from who knows where. Wherever they are, we're sitting pretty right now."
Amelia jumped on the bridge side rails, the elevation of the bridge was of no concern to her. "Whose who hide in shame and deceit, you know you have no choice in the end!"
"Oh brother, not again." melted Lina.
"Surrender now or face the wrath of Justice!"
The chimera sighed. "I think she picking up pointers from Xellos."
"It's not from me," said Filia.
"Nah, its definitely from me, before I usually blow someone away," explained Lina.
Sylphiel put her hand together to the left of her ears, tilted her head, and smiled. "She's growing up right before our eyes, Lina. Isn't it kawaii?"
Lina pouted, "If you say so..."
Amelia pointed up into the air. "We will not be defeated to those who hide! We will stand for what is right, we stand-"
*WHOOSH!* *WHOOSH!* *WHOOSH!*
Amelia froze, unable to jump off the railing. A crazy number of fireballs were coming in at every angle. Not totally accurate because the high winds and long distances, their were enough of them to strike her down. "No time to get off...No time to..."
She felt a tug from the back of her legs, the rest of her body quickly following backwards. Before another second passed, Amelia had been quickly tugged off of the side rail.
It was Lina. "It's amazing how many times I've had to bail you out." Amelia face froze up for a sec, threatening to break out into tears - until Lina responded with a blink from one of her eyes. "Baka."
Amelia didn't answer, she just turned over with her eyes glassed over. "Thank you."
"Hai. Don't mention it."
*WHOOSH!* *WHOOSH!*
"There's got to be at least a dozen on either side of the bridge." Zel was announcing as if it were a regular weather forecast. "We're pinned down for the moment until help comes to bail us out."
"What about some shields?" questioned Amelia. "Couldn't Sylphiel and Filia protect us?"
"And then what? We can't levitate out of here." The chimera pointed to the sides of the hill in front of them. "The winds are much too strong, we would become a pancake against the side of the mountain."
"Do we stay here, then?" asked Sylphiel, getting her scepter up to raise a shield.
"No way." Lina turned around at the ground, eyes for all to see. "I'm not letting some group of third-rate wizards to pin us like a tail on a donkey. We're going over this thing, and we're doing it now."
The rest of the group nodded in agreement.
"Zel, stay here and provide me with cover. Amelia and Filia will give you some protection." Gourry gulped. For a second, the swordsman was going to say something, but Lina cut him off. "Sylphiel, you come with me. I'm going to need it as we're going to run them down."
A shadow of doubt crossed the shrine maiden's face. "Run? But I can't do a spell while-"
"You can do it, Sylphiel. I know you can." The sorcerer's words seemed to calm Sylphiel's complexion to a determined one.
"What do I do?" Gourry asked, shrugging his shoulders.
"Keep Zel company and out of trouble. Got it?"
"Yea, I think." Gourry seemed to get Lina's orders. Everyone else did as well, as the rest of the group shook their heads in silence. Then, he didn't. "Hey, wait a minute-"
"OK...NOW!" Lina growled, she grabbed Sylphiel with her hands in tow, bolting for the other side of the bridge.
"Blam Blazer!" Zel's spell caused the firing to end for a few seconds, keeping the rogue wizards pinned in their bushes. But not for long.
*WHOOSH!* *WHOOSH!*
"Barus Wall!" shouted Amelia.
The two girls were over the bridge in a flash, crossing over the rest of the connection in a flash. Lina didn't take a thanking for dirt ground again, she attacked with ferocity.
"Fireball!"
"Aiiiieeee!"
Lina blasts lit up the brush line along the cliff, tossing wizards and dirt alike into the air to their impending doom. She had taken out a half-dozen almost as easily as taking out the trash. "Damn." She mused, "Frickin' too many wizards to take in one shot!" She shot another fireball from behind her back, frying a couple of more bad guys. "Two down, many more to go-"
*WHOOSH!* *WHOOSH!*
The fireball shots were about to hit the red-headed sorcerer when they hit a rather familiar shield target just in front of her, quickly shattering in every which way.
"Thanks, Sylphiel."
The shine maiden had her scepter outstretched and glowing while she caught her breath. "I...can't believe...you run that fast, ...Lina. I could barely keep up with you there."
"No sweat. When you eat as much food as I do, you've got plenty of energy to burn off. I've got to keep this girlish figure going somehow." Lina's attention turned as another round of fireballs harmlessly bounced off Sylphiel's shield. "Now, who's next to be fried!"
Zel and the rest of the company were now running across the bridge as Lina fired her more powerful fireballs across the chasm. The winds were making it difficult however, as one of the shots caught a wind drift, thus heading toward her friends still on the bridge.
"Aaaaeeeii!" shouted Gourry, as the whole group dived for cover.
Filia was up first from her un-ladylike duck, sticking her head over the bridge side wall. "Hey Lina! Watch it!" She was quickly joined by the slightly blackened and not so smiling faces of Amelia, Zel, and Gourry.
"Heh...clumsy me! I'll be more careful next time!" Lina sweetly smiled with her innocent charm, even though her fellow members were rather immune to Lina's charm.
"Hmmph!" The Saillune princess stuck her nose up with a bit of distaste.
"Is that most of them?" questioned Gourry, looking at Lina pounce another round of wizards.
"Nope, don't think so." Zel pointed to a new approaching group, coming up from their former positions. "Looks like more company."
"Halt, conspirators of Lina Inverse!" The boys already turned around, their swords ready and waiting.
And then the chimera laughed. "You're unbelievable, Biru. We just can't shake you."
The balding one was ready at attention, with about a dozen Turnip security guards dressed in a mix of Monte Darlo uniforms with some extra patches of mercenary armor. "You...You are comrades of Lina Inverse. As associates, You shall pay Inverse tax now!"
"Didn't I dispatch this guy a little while ago?" asked Gourry.
Zel sweatdropped. "Umm, for once, no. You were intoxicated. Remember?"
Gourry nodded. "Yea, I do for some reason."
The group just facefaulted.
"This guy is a bastard and Lina and I gave him the slip." He thought about his puzzling statements and clarified them. "Actually, I was a bit dizzy, so Sylphiel and Lina managed to carry me away. It was nice getting taken cared of."
Filia cringed. "You mean you were drunk and you remember everything that happened?"
"Yeah, I do!" said Gourry.
Zel winced. "Never mind that you're not going to win, Biru. All I want to know is how you traced us down here." The chimera's response got a shuffle from behind Turnip's mercenary guards, as a familiar yet older face stepped forward.
Zelgadis scowled. "Thoth. I should have known."
"Heh. It's me, Thoth." The old man waved heartedly with his hand. "Biru offered me some food and stuff, it was a proposal that I could not refuse."
"Scheming as usual," replied Zelgadis. "So, you've joined up with Biru, haven't you?"
"Well, not exactly..." Biru reached around with his arm and grabbed the old man harshly by the collarbone. "And don't think that we're not scared of you, stony?"
"How could you turn traitor, Thoth?" whined Amelia. "After all, I had shown you the way of justice!"
"My dear, justice does not fill my tummy." The old man's tummy bellowed some nasty hungry sounds, while Amelia's posture turned white ashen at Thoth's unconscious body response.
"Thoth! You two-timing phony!" spit Amelia. "I'll never trust you again!"
The old man sighed in disgust.
Determined to get some attention, Filia spoke up. "Now that you have us cornered, what are you going to do with us?"
"You, to pay. Now." Biru unbuckled a short sword, pointing it to the crew.
"Afraid not." The chimera already had his sword out as well, now he just flashed the blade into the sky.
*Astral Vine*!
The sword responded to chimera's words by glowing, backing Biru's troops from their positions around Zel and company.
"Now, if you want a beating, that's fine. Just remember who took out Turnip."
Biru's troops were horrified from Zel's words. "That's just...not true!"
They were about to scatter for good when a strike of lightening hit the bridge, knocking of few of the troops clear off the crossway and into the bottomless ravine. Most of the group immediate fled, leaving Biru with the company of a handful of men.
Lina looked from the south side. She was still taking care of the few rogue wizards that were left. But the lightening strike got her attention, as well as the sound of flapping in the distance. "Hey Gourry! Zel! You're about to have company!" The sorcerer was maintaining her hands in the air, trying to keep the setting sun out of her eyes.
Filia saw it first, pointing to a black dot in the sky. "Its...flying! And in this wind!"
"That means it must be a...a...Dragon!!" exclaimed Amelia.
Another blast took out a couple more of Biru's mercenary guards. Before long, Biru was alone. "Troops? Thoth? You blasted deserters!" He looked around to see his men fleeing to the north end of the bridge. "Come back here and fight, you cowards!"
Zel nodded, ducking for cover. "I think Biru was better." Another blast lit up the bridge in fireworks of lightening, tossing bits of stone into the air.
Gourry was ecstatic. "Oh boy, dragon cuisine!" shouted Gourry. "We'll roast it for dinner tonight!" bellowed the swordsman, licking his chops with a bit of excitement.
"Baka!" Filia had her mace in Gourry's ear, the swordsman could be seen collapsed over, with only the mace handle sticking up from his buried head. "I can't believe you would go out and eat some poor cousin of mine!"
"uuuuugggghhh..."
The dragon lady went over to Gourry and took her mace. "It's not like you'll even hunted from Dragon cuisine before."
The swordsman, still stooped in a daze, nevertheless opened his trap. "Well, actually, when I was with Zel and Amelia once, we-" and his mouth was closed in an instant by the chimera's strong hand. "Ummmm!"
"Heh, Gourry remembers so many tall tales. Foolish boy." At the same time, Amelia slapped the swordsman in the back with her knee, getting the swordsman to shut his trap.
The dragon was no longer the little black dot, but a charcoal creature of incredible size, with a length of a hundred feet or more. Its doubled heads were easily six feet wide, easily large enough to swallow cattle whole.
Its multitude of wings were small compared to the rest of its size, but it seemed to have fluttering fins everywhere as it snaked its way across the sky. The shear amount of small wings kept the beast flying up in the air. It was more of a snake than a dragon, it lacked any type of front nor back arms or legs.
"That!" beamed Filia, "is most certainly not a dragon related to me!" She pointed up at the creature in disgust.
"And its got two heads instead of one!" announced Amelia.
"So, why isn't it a dragon?" asked Gourry. "Its got scales, doesn't it?"
"Dear Cepheid, do you know what it takes to keep these scales perfectly honed!" Filia pointed to the black beast in the air. "Look at that thing!" She showed her bare arm off to Gourry, though he was unimpressed. "I bet it hasn't had a bath in years!"
"It looks like a dragon to me."
"Numskull! I'm in human disguise! Does that mean I'm human?"
The dragon snake didn't like getting made fun of at all, and one of the heads shot a lightening bolt right to Filia. Amelia and Filia put up walls, but they couldn't hold them for long against the powerful dragon breath. Suddenly, a fireball from the opposite side clocked right into one of its heads, dismembering the long cranium from the rest of the body.
"Gotcha!!" shouted one Lina Inverse, with another fireball spell already in her hand. Smoke poured around the neck of the dragon, the other remaining head screamed in apprehension.
Black smoke poured out of the neck, as if caught in a bit of fire. The results quickly cleared where unexpectedly, two new heads appeared where only one head had been before.
"Huh? What the hell?" as Lina extinguished her fireball.
Laughter ensued around the valley as a little man jumped up into the air from the back of the dragon. "Hehehehe, Lina is so foolish! Lina is so foolish!" The little man was barely 4 feet tall, with a tummy almost as wide as his height. He was simply dressed in white full-length tunic, and wore no other armor or decoration of any kind. Above his tummy, was a roundish face, with a bald head save for a few dangling curly hairs. "You can't hurt my pet! You try too hard!"
To Lina, that explained the mystery dragon part. "I see you're intend on hurting us, Mazoku."
"I think he's toying with us," said Filia.
"I'd like to think so," responded Lina, "but dragons that can have multiple heads is a new one in my book."
"Its not a dragon!" yelled Filia.
"Hehehehe. My master says Curly must hurt you!" The little man landed on top of his dragon pet. "Now hurt them! Cause them pain!"
The group sweat dropped.
"Lina," asked Sylphiel, "This Mazoku seemed a bit strange to me. Is something wrong with it?"
Lina nodded. "I dunno, but he seems two sticks short of a campfire."
The little Mazoku yelled again, determined to get Lina's attention. "Now, you stay in one place so I can hurt you!"
Lina tensed madly. "You must be dumber than you look Curly, because for a Mazoku like you, that's a compliment!" she shouted.
*Diem Breeze!*
The spell froze one of the dragon head, causing it to shatter into pieces of black and red. More smoke rose from the body of the dragon, for now the snake-like beast had four heads Out of his long mouths came more strikes of lightening, hitting the her friends on the bridge, and Lina alike to the south.
The petite sorcerer cursed. "Lina!" shouted Sylphiel, after blocking the dragon's lightening shots. "That thing is dangerous! I can't hold out if you keep adding heads to that thing."
*Fireball!* *Fireball!* *Fireball!*
Lina shot another volley of fireballs in disgust, shooting off a couple of more heads. "Die, you miserable excuse for a monster! Why you can't your heads stay dead for once!!"
"No, Lina!!" shouted Amelia, dodging a round of lightening. "What do you think you're doing!"
The dragon roared in delight, with all heads that seemed to number more that eight, it shot lightening strikes everywhere their were humans. Its heads could now face in multiple directions, shooting away in a pure state of amusement. Black smoke from the dragon poured over the bridge, hiding its human occupants from immediate detection.
"Quickly, everyone! Jump over the side wall and hold on!" shouted Zel, a lightening bolt just missing his head as he rolled away.
"Are you crazy!" shouted Filia. "It's a long way down from here, and its not something I can just 'glide' up!"
"Its that, or you're going to be electrocuted!" sniffed the chimera. "And I don't think you want that to happen!" He reached for Amelia and offered the shorter one a boost over the side of the railing.
*Fireball!* *Fireball!* *Fireball!*
Lina stared for a second, waiting for the black smoke to clear away. "Have you had enough, Curly, or should I take more pot shots at your little pet."
"Hehehehe, you never learn Lina Inverse. My pet is developing off of your stupidity, I'm so much enjoying this fun!" The clouds cleared as a multitude of dragon heads appeared, all stalking in delight, downward at the petite sorcerer. The dragon's snake heads now dominated the body, it was as if someone had taken a dragon and stuck a bunch of octopi on it.
Amelia looked at Gourry and Zel, all hanging on the opposite side of the siderail of the bridge. "Where's Filia?" she asked.
"I think she made it over to Lina's side," answered the chimera. "Dammit, we're pinned until she bails us out."
"Lina's help?" trembled the petite princess, still hanging onto the rocky ledge in sheer fright.
"She's a fool! She's a fool!" The Mazoku was happily dancing above his pet's heads, teasing his poor victims. "More heads! More heads! And more heads!"
Zelgadis turned his head around across his body. "Lina! Care to give us a hand here?"
"One second, Zel!" She answered with a smirk on her face, giving a wink to the hanging chimera.
"Don't hang around for too long, you know." She could see her friends immediately loosen up.
"I think Lina's is up to something."
Lina turned to find the dragon maiden had joined her on the south side, gasping for air. "Hi Filia, glad you could make it. Now stand next to Sylphiel and give me some more protection against lightening bolts." She winked at the end in a state of control, with Sylphiel smiling a confirmation.
"Hai." She answered.
Lina smiled. "OK, Curly! I've decided to be generous! You asked for more heads, right?" The little Mazoku smirked a bit at the sorcerer's line of questioning, unsure what the next move would be, pointing his stubby fingers at the sorcerer. Before he could answer, Lina jumped another off another round of spells off the tips of her fingers.
*Fireball!* *Fireball!* *Fireball!*
"You're a fooool!!"
*Fireball!* *Fireball!* *Fireball!* *Fireball!*
Black smoke plumed like a volcano over the bridge, taking out the sun, the mountains, with it finally being swept away by the wind. And if one thought the dragon was huge...well, you would have been mistaken.
"Is that enough?" Lina puffed for some air while Sylphiel held the petite woman up. "Heh, its got it be."
"Hold still, Lina..." The shrine maiden applied a light healing spell onto the sorcerer to get her breath back.
"Thanks, Sylphiel. You seem to bail me out a lot."
Lina's target was a tremendous beast of a creature. Unable to fly, it had sunk onto the bridge, its many dragons heads were now everywhere, limping like wet noodles over either side of the railing.
"Wha? Where were you flying, you baka!" groaned Curly. The heads groaned in agony, the shear weight of the beast pinned it to the bridge like a plump turkey.
Curly was on top now, trying with all its might to get his dragon up and airborne, poking and prodding with his short sword. "Wake up! Wake up you horrible beast! You got to kill her!" But the dragon would not budge, the creature seemed stuck fast.
"Come on, Gourry, time to go." Zelgadis used one of the many dragon neck to climb back onto the bridge, apparently safe from the gluttonous beast.
"...darkness beyond twilight, crimson from blood that flows; buried in the flow of time..."
"Lina?" questioned Zel, hearing the chaos words in the distance. He turned around. "Everyone, time to run!"
"...Those who oppose use us shall be destroyed by the power you and I possess..."
"Dragon Slave!!"
"Baka dragon!" shouted Curly, before being disintegrated with his the last of his pet.
---o--o--o---
The chaos enhancing dragon slave finally died down, the smoke cloud quickly disappearing from the fierce winds. The monstrous spell had succeeded rather well -- it had taken out the dragon, the little annoying Curly, and the bridge of the ancients.
"Victory!!" shouted Lina, her two fingers high into the air.
Sylphiel and Filia face faulted.
Where the wondrous arch of the ages had been only held little remains of rock and slab in the mountain hills were left. Huge amounts of stone and block just disappeared into Lina's Dragon Slave, never to be seen by human eye again.
"This bridge has been here forever!" shouted the dragon maiden, "its been here for thousands of years! And you're not even here for one day, and its gone!"
Lina hid among herself. "Errrr....look, its not like I meant to blow up the bridge!" She looked at the abyss that had once been crossable, kicking a pebble into the dark chasm. "Can't we just fly over it?"
"No! We can't! I'm not flying around for your enjoyment!" Lina could swear that Filia had shifted colors from yellow to bright red. "Beside, I don't know where I'm going, its not like we can just fly random around here."
"Filia, relax! We should be just a few days north of the Sheik's city, you know the place where Turnip traded for stuff? We'll get to the bottom of this. And I'm sure its a coastal city, so we can take a boat back!"
"I hope you're right Lina, for Cepheid's sake."
"Um, Lina?" Sylphiel tried to butt into the conversation, but was a tad quiet. "Lina?"
The sorcerer turned her head away from the chasm. "I'm sorry Sylphiel. What is it?" Sylphiel has her hands knotted together in a puzzled manor.
"Ummm....where's Gourry dear?"
---o--o--o---
"How does this damn thing work?" Gourry shook at the mirror, holding it out to show everyone like a demonstration of a toy at a carnival.
The princess bleeped. "Don't break the thing! It's the only way we can talk to Lina!" shouted Amelia, pointing to the bridgeless cliff.
"Give me the mirror, Gourry!" The chimera made a grab for the object, managing to grab onto a couple of corners. Each man tugged it endlessly in different directions, shoving, cursing. After a few bouts, it then the object lit up in a kaleidoscope of colors.
"Hey! Who am I talking to here!...Is our food all right? Answer me, dammit!"
Gourry managed to get the mirror back from Zel for a second. "I'm here, Lina. I think we're OK."
"The FOOD!"
"Ummm...I'm afraid you blew up our supplies as well."
"Baka." Lina lit a fireball in her hand, and threw it toward Gourry, or at least the image of Gourry into the mirror. Instead of her mirrored side shattering, Gourry got the message right in the smackers.
"Owww..." The swordsman held the mirror out from his charred yet still twitching body.
"Wow," announced Zel, "only Lina could power a spell through these viewing mirror. How fun." The chimera let out a smile of disbelief.
"Not fun," sizzled Amelia, "...scary."
"I heard that!! Now, let me talk to Zel, otherwise you're going to get much worse." The chimera silently obeyed Lina as he picked the mirror from Gourry's charred grasp. "Any idea how you're going to get caught up to us?"
"No..." The rustling in the bushes alerted Zel enough to throw his loose arm into the shrubbery. Out popped the familiar face of Thoth, handled in the head by the strong hands of Zelgadis. "But I've got some volunteers."
"Oh, don't mind me..." answered the maddening old man. "I was just hiding, you know..."
Lina snicker. "Yah, I can see that. Ok, I'll ring you every once in a while. Good luck in getting down here."
Zel was trying in finish his conversation with Lina when Thoth was moving around, trying to break his grip. It was because of Amelia, who was kicking the poor man. "You two-timing...feelin' sicko of an old man..."
"I see you got your hands full. Hand me off to Gourry, would you?"
The chimera handed the mirror back to the blond swordsman. "Watch out, she's testy. And its not her time of the month." And just before he could complete the handoff, Zel got a bit of a shock. "...Ouch!"
"...baka..."
Gourry got his hands and his undivided attention on the mirror. "What is it, Lina?"
"Keep an eye on Zel for me," asked Lina, "he's going through a rough time right now."
"Sure will." Gourry paused for a second to think. "But be careful, Lina."
The sorcerer hissed. "Why would you say that?"
Gourry paused to copulate his thoughts, unusually to the point. "Lina...I'm not there to protect you."
She blushed to an immediate pink. "You know, I'll be back. I promise." The pink quickly reddened into total embarrassment.
"I'm fine!!" screamed the petite sorcerer, "and cut that out!"
"But Lina..." pleaded the swordsman.
"Fireball!"
---o--o--o---
[Lina] {cracks the knuckles} Ahhh, nothing like a little *Dragon Slave* to get those frustrations out...
[Filia] But you always blow up the castle, the bridge, the cave, the town, the lair, the city... {rambles on}
[Lina] Now -- temper, temper, Filia!!
[Filia] WHO'S THE ONE WITH THE HIGH TEMPER!
---o--o--o---