Author notes: Well… After a long wait, chapter 1 is finally done. Hope you guys like it, but let me say a few things. I felt that this chapter was a bit choppy and odd... I also tried my very best to keep Lina in character. Also, I know my description isn't the deepest, but I still try.

Special thanks goes to Saffire Persian for beta reading.

Chapter 1: Welcome to a new world, Lina

Lina had lost the will to scream once she opened her eyes. She saw multiple bright colors above and below her. It was like she was in a rainbow colored outer space. Her body moved along smoothly, as if she were flying. She no longer felt in danger, but she felt worried as she began to wonder about Gourry and what may have happened to him. But as Lina started her deep thoughts, the bright colors around her dimmed and she could see a white light at the end of the void, that grew brighter and brighter, until it blinded her. She finally passed the blinding light and, as her vision began to return, land. She softly landed on a sidewalk and glanced around in every direction. No one was around, but she could not help but gaze up at the buildings that surrounded her: they were tall and sturdy looking, the sun's rays refracting of the glass.

Something red with people inside whizzed by her, too fast for Lina to identify what it was. "Where… am I?" She asked herself.

Realizing that she was the only one in the area, she started to walk hesitantly forward. It was better than just standing around, in any case. And though she felt the urge to fly, she doubted it was a good idea -- for all she knew, this place might have a law against flying. A couple more of those strange objects sped by, differing in color. They certainly weren't flying.

Far on the other side of town, a brown skinned boy walked through his school's double doors, and into the oddly colored indigo hallway, already full of teenagers. He made his way to his locker – again, an odd color: green - entering the combination. Once opened, he unzipped his backpack and took out three textbooks, only putting two in his locker. The other, he kept in his hand. He shut his locker, continuing on down the highway until he came across a long, blonde haired girl at her locker.

Looking around, he quickly ripped out a hairbrush from his pocket, brushing his short black hair until he was satisfied, before putting it away, just as quickly. Taking a deep breath he cautiously walked up to where she was, leaning against a nearby locker.

"Hey."

She turned to him, her dark purple eyes meeting his friendly black eyes. "Oh, hey, Whit." She didn't sound too thrilled.

"What?" he said, feigning hurt. "You don't sound happy ta see me," His eyes focused on her well-developed chest hidden in her white shirt, but quickly returned to meet her eyes.

"Oh, it's nothing," she said. "I'm just a little tired today. I really didn't wanna come to school today."

"Who does?" Whit agreed. Feeling the need to change the subject, he said: "So… Did ya think about what I said yesterday?"

She closed her locker, holding her physical science book against her chest. She sighed. "Whit… you know I have a boyfriend. I can't go out with you."

"Ah, come on, Nicole!" Whit exclaimed. His 'cool' act had all but melted. "You don't need him! I'll treat you so much better than he would."

A warm smile graced Nicole's face. "If you would of only told me you had feelings for me before, I might have gone out with you."

"But wasn't it obvious?" Whit questioned her. "We've been friends since we were kids."

Nicole avoided eye contact with him. "That's another reason why we shouldn't go out with each other."

"Why?" Whit asked. He knew what she was getting ready to say. All girls seemed to say this to their childhood male friends, once they wanted to start a serious relationship.

"Because-" Here it was. "-It would ruin our friendship."

Despite the fact he had foreseen the remark, he could not help but feel he had been shot full in the chest. At that moment, all the confidence he once had faded away -- along with his happiness. His smile disappeared, and no matter how hard he tried, he could not get it back.

Nicole, noticing his changing expression, felt guilty. "Don't be sad. You're still my best friend, and I'll always be there for you," She quickly changed the subject. "Well, I better get going, the bell will ring in a few more minutes."

She began to walk off, but Whit followed her. "Can I walk you to class?" he pleaded. "I'll even hold your book for you."

"But won't you be late for your class?" Nicole asked.

"I don't care," Whit continued. "I've never been late to class, so I won't be getting a detention."

"Ok then," Nicole smiled, as she handed him her book.

The two walked side by side and arrived at Nicole's classroom in a matter of seconds. They gazed into each other's eyes.

"Thanks, for walking me to class," Nicole said.

"Anytime," Whit answered, handing the textbook to her. His eyes slowly dropped down to her lips.

"I'll see ya next period-" Nicole flinched, when Whit gently placed his hand on her tanned face.

She felt paralyzed by his touch, but also felt safe. Her eyes danced as she stared into his. He carefully edged his face in closer to hers and closed his eyes. This was it! This was the moment he was waiting for! …Just a few more inches… He felt it… But it was not soft it was hard and rough… and it hurt… A lot. He fell backwards to the ground, an intense pain throbbing in his cheek. He opened his eyes.

There was a male teenager standing next to Nicole, clad in a football jersey. He was extremely muscular and much taller than Whit, who was barely over five foot six. Fear jolted through Whit, at the stare he was getting from the brown haired football player. All around him, students were gathering.

"Rolf!" Nicole yelled at him. "Don't hit him!"

"Don't hit him?" Rolf asked, turning to her. "He just tried to kiss you. He tried to kiss my girl. Did you expect me to just stand around and let him do it?"

"No… I…" Nicole began.

Rolf cut her off. "No, I don't need to hear your excuse for not resisting. We'll talk after I'm done with him," He walked up to Whit and lifted him up by the collar of his long black shirt.

"Fight! Fight! Fight!" The students chanted together.

"Kick his ass, Rolf!" A student shouted out from the crowd.

"I will," Rolf replied. He saw the frightened look in Whit's eyes and smirked. He enjoyed the fact that he was scaring him. He pulled his fist back and brought it forward connecting with Whit's face. Whit was sent soaring backwards and rolling across the ground several feet away.

"Rolf! Stop it!" Nicole screamed, grabbing his hand.

"Shut up!" Rolf bellowed as he pushed her down.

Nicole fell on her behind and looked up at Rolf. She became teary eyed. He ignored her and continued the fight.

"That's how you handle a woman," another student commented.

Rolf stomped and kicked Whit repeatedly in the ribs and skull as he lay on the ground.

"Kick his faggot ass, Rolf!" Another student cheered on.

Rolf picked up Whit by the head and saw the hurt expression on his face, hot tears running down the offender's cheeks. Rolf harshly threw him. Whit's spine hit a locker and he fell flat on his face. Rolf stood over him. "Come on, you pussy! Try stealing my girl away from me now that I'm here!"

Whit held his ribs and staggered back to his feet. He was in a lot of pain and it felt like his face was swollen. Without warning, he jumped at Rolf and drove his fist into his face with all his might, causing them both to fall to the school floor.

The crowd gasped. None of them were expecting Whit to actually hit him. Rolf glanced at the crowd and shrugged like the hit was nothing. "Was that all you got? You hit as hard as my five year old sister."

Rolf stood up and approached Whit, but before he could do anything else a tall, skinny man stood in front of him with his hands out. "Alright, Rolf that's enough! You know there's no fighting in school."

"Well, Mr. Smith," Rolf said, trying to sound innocent. "He started it. He came out of nowhere and attacked me. I was only defending myself."

"Can it," Mr. Smith retorted. "You can't fool me. You started the fight. You always start the fights. I should suspend you."

"But you won't," Rolf grinned. "Because I'm the captain of the football team and you want to win this year, right?"

"Keep talking like that and I will suspend you indefinitely," Mr. Smith replied, looking angry.

Several other teachers were already moving the student spectators back to the classroom.

Rolf looked down at Whit disdainfully. "Hey, Whit! This isn't over. Meet me after school and we'll finish this!"

And with that, Rolf stomped off, not even bothering to see if Nicole was ok or not. Mr. Smith and Nicole went over to Whit and helped him to his feet. Nicole still had tears running down her face. It was not because she was in pain: it was because her best friend and boyfriend were fighting each other over her. She fixed her eyes on Whit's face. His tears had stopped flowing and he was now extremely upset. There was no blood on his face but his cheek and left eye were swollen. He gritted his teeth and forced himself not to look at Nicole as two teachers helped him to the nurse's office. He didn't want her to see how weak he was. She probably thought he was a wimp and an idiot for trying to kiss her.

The school nurse took him in. Mr. Smith left the room, but Nicole stayed for a long enough to mutter the word "sorry" before leaving. The nurse checked Whit for injuries, but other than a few bruises he was fine. After that, she let him rest on one of the beds in the office. He never slept though; he just lay there for the rest of the school day, wondering why things never seemed to go his way and how he could get away from Rolf after school.

The last bell rang signaling the end of school for today. As soon as he left the nurse's office he bolted towards the school exit but just as soon as he hit the outside Rolf was there, waiting for him. He wasn't alone either. Two other members of the football team were with him. Both of them wore mischievous expressions on their faces, and all were as buff as Rolf was. Whit knew then escape was inevitable: even if he called for help he'd have to fight them eventually. A hopeless expression appeared on his face and he hung his head in despair.

Rolf rested his arm around Whit's neck. "Come on, buddy, let's go." Rolf said, letting off a vacant smile.

Rolf led Whit forward and the other two members of the football team followed. Rolf took Whit into a dark alley a good distance away from the school. The fake smile on his face disappeared and turned into a furious one. He shoved Whit forward, making him stumble.

Rolf cracked his knuckles. "Any last words before we begin?"

"Just one," Whit said. "Why are you fighting me? You already beat me up earlier. I understood the message you was trying to send me and I won't try to take your girl anymore."

"No… you didn't learn the lesson yet," Rolf continued. "You'll do it again, so I have to teach you why you shouldn't ever go near Nicole ever again!" He turned to his two friends. "Go get 'em, boys!"

With the snap of his fingers, his teammates rushed at Whit all at once. Whit swung at the first person that reached him only to miss when the guy dodged under his fist and dealt a powerful blow to his stomach, knocking the wind right out of him. The second guy let out a fast fiery of punches to Whit's face and sent him flying back, knocking over a trashcan in the process.

The guy who attacked Whit first dropped his elbow on Whit's vertebrae and kicked him in his bruised ribs continuously, then picked him up by the arms and let the other guy kick him in the groin. The cruel hit caused Whit to cry in agony and tears to drop down his face. The first guy released Whit from his grasp and watched as he curled into a ball on the ground holding his lower body part.

"Hold him up again," Rolf ordered. "Let me get some hits in."

Rolf's two teammates did as they were told without hesitation and held Whit up by his arms. They too were enjoying every moment of this and felt no sympathy for Whit. Rolf smashed his fist into Whit's face and then bashed it into his gut. The hit was so hard that it forced Whit to cough up blood, landing on Rolf's football jersey. This only made the football captain angrier, making a sudden uppercut under Whit's jaw and then grabbing him by the head and slamming his knee into his face. Whit's nose began to bleed.

About a few yards away, Lina was still exploring the new world she had arrived in. She passed by a few people who commented under their breath about her outfit but she ignored them. Their clothes, to her, were extremely weird as well. Her feet hurt, and she was hungry. Lina suddenly no longer cared who saw her flying in the air. Who knows, maybe they would see her as an angel and worship her.

Worship? Lina liked the sound of that.

"Levitation!" She yelled, manipulating the air around her until she was floating in the air.

Lina stared in amazement at the ground below her. Not only did the buildings go on forever, but she realized that there were no castles here and this certainly didn't look like any kingdom she had seen or heard of. Still hungry, she descended to see if she could locate any restaurants, but no luck. She did however, gain attention for the people who just happened to look up to see her soaring through the air. People pointed and gasped in astonishment as they watched her fly by.

"Mommy, was that a witch?" A little girl asked.

"Didn't look like any witch I've seen before," her mother answered.

Lina rose up higher and turned to the west she noticed that this part of the city was more disserted than the east side. She was getting ready to turn back around but she heard the sound of a voice call out. She wasn't sure what it said but she did hear the words "help" in it.

She stayed hovering in the air. "Help?" She repeated. "Someone needs help… maybe they're being attacked by bandits!"

She lowered herself and flew around hoping to find out where the voice came from.

"Help!"

'There it is again,' Lina thought. She traced the voice and saw a teenager being beaten up by three other people who were all dressed in the same uniform, but had different numbers on the back. "Ok, here we go," She said to herself.

Meanwhile back on the ground, Rolf slapped Whit across the face and watched him fall to the ground face first. He wiped the blood on his hand on the brick wall next to him. "Have you had enough yet?" Rolf asked.

He snapped his fingers and his two friends walked over to his side. The sound of Whit's muffled crying satisfied him. He turned away. "Come on, boys, let's go."

Before the three could leave a feminine voice called out to them. "Hold it right there!"

They turned to the voice to see a small girl in a sorceress outfit standing in front of the wounded Whit.

Rolf stared at her attire and made a small chuckle that soon turned into full-blown laughter. His friends joined in on the laughter.

"Isn't it a little too early for Halloween, little girl?" Rolf questioned. "What do you want anyway?"

"Return whatever you stole from him," Lina replied, pointing to Whit.

"We didn't steal anything from him," one of Rolf's teammates answered.

"You should really stay outta people's business, you nosy little bitch!" The other teammate added harshly.

Lina's blood boiled from the teenager's comment. "What did you just call me?"

"I called you a bitch," the guy repeated. "What you gonna do about it? Go crying to your mommy? You don't wanna piss me off."

"No, but I'll make you cry to your mommy," Lina hissed as lightning formed in her hand. "Digger Volt!"

Lina launched the dark blue electricity from her hand and watched as her spell electrocuted all three of the football players before exploding. Once the dust and dirt cleared, Lina noticed all the football players were stacked on top of each other, their clothes torn and their hair frizzy from the constant streams of electricity that now ran through their bodies.

Lina clapped the dust off her white gloves. "That'll teach you to mess with me," she turned to Whit, who was still face down on the ground. "Are you ok?" She lifted up his head and saw his sad, bloody face. She shrieked and let go of his face. "Obviously not…"

Lina placed her hand on Whit's back and closed her eyes. "Oh blessed and humble hand of God, life and breath of Mother Earth," Lina felt a strange tingling sensation rise within her as she continued the chant. "Come before me and show your great compassion and deliver us!"

A bright ball of light formed in her hand and covered Whit's body. After a moment the ball of light on his back faded away. He slowly looked up and saw Lina towering over him. She smiled. "Good as new."

"Huh?" Whit spoke as he felt his face. His face was no longer bloody and he felt normal. All the pain had gone away, he really was good as new. He stood up and looked at Lina and then saw Rolf and his friends unconscious behind her. "What did you do?"

"I beat up those guys and healed you," Lina revealed.

"You did what!" Whit bellowed with disbelief. "But-but how?"

"Now tell me…" Lina said, ignoring his question. "Why were those guys attacking you?"

"It's a long story," Whit went on. "You sure you wanna know?"

"No not really," Lina replied, casually. "Now how 'bout a reward for saving you?"

"A reward…?" Whit repeated.

"Yeah, I at least deserve some kinda reward for saving your life," Lina grinned, while putting her hand out. "If it weren't for me you'd be dead right now. So hand it over. Money, food, whatever it is give it to me."

"But I don't have anything" Whit declared.

"Then I'm afraid you're useless to me too," Lina said, as a light orange ball of fire formed in her hand.

Whit flinched and crouched down holding his head. "Ok, ok, don't hurt me! I'll give ya whateva you want!"

"That's more like it," Lina nodded, as the fireball disappeared from her hand.

Whit stood back up. "You hungry?"

Lina jumped in his face with exhilaration. "You have food!"

Whit edged away. "Well no, but we can go to a restaurant. Whichever one you like and I'll pay for it."

Lina giggled happily. "You sure know how to treat a lady," she grabbed his hand. "Levitation!"

After a moment, the two were high in the air. Whit panicked and screamed as his eyes bulged out from fear as he stared at the ground far below him. He held Lina's hand tightly.

"Relax. I won't drop you," Lina reassured. "Now show me where the restaurants are at."

Whit pointed in the direction they were supposed to go and Lina took off like a jet making Whit scream in terror. After a few minutes, Lina landed in front of a restaurant, seemingly pleased with her choice. They took a sit at one of the tables and waited for a waiter to come to them. Lina pounded on the table, chanting wildly. "Food, food, food!"

"Jeez! When was the last time you ate?" Whit asked.

"Hours ago," Lina claimed. They sat there in silence until Lina decided to start a conversation. "So tell me. Where are we?"

"What do ya mean where are we?" Whit asked. "You live here right?"

"Actually, no I don't," Lina said.

"Then how'd you get here?" Whit questioned. "Let me guess, you flew here."

"Well… I didn't fly here," Lina started. "I was sent here by a time mage."

Lina saw several question marks appear above Whit's puzzled face. She heaved a long-suffering sigh. "You don't know what a time mage is do you?"

"Oh, I know what it is," Whit answered. "I play video games, but come on seriously. We know time mages aren't real."

"Yes, and I suppose magic is fake too?" Lina replied sarcastically, with a raised eyebrow.

"Yep," Whit nodded, with his eyes closed.

Lina gritted her teeth and slammed Whit's head into the table. "You moron! I was just using magic!"

Whit held his hurt face. "Oh yeah… I forgot."

"Please don't tell me he's an idiot like Gourry," Lina whispered to herself in disappointment.

"You never told me your name," Whit replied, looking into her beautiful crimson eyes. "My name's Whit."

"And I'm the beautiful, genius sorceress Lina Inverse!" She exposed.

"Wow… A sorceress…" Whit slowly said with a blank stare. He turned away from her. 'There's no such things as sorceresses and magic… and yet she really does know magic. Take that all you non-believers!' Whit thought as he began to laugh. He stopped once Lina threw a saltshaker at his head. He turned to her.

"What's so funny?" Lina asked, going on the defensive.

"Oh, it's nothing, Lina," Whit shook his head. "I just can't believe that magic and sorceresses are real."

"You mean you've never seen one?" Lina inquired with a surprised expression. "What kinda world is this?"

Before Whit could say anything else, a waiter had finally arrived at their table. "What will you two have?"

They both exchanged glances at each other.

"Why don't you order first, Lina?" Whit beamed

"Sure," Lina smiled back. She opened the menu in front of her, scanned the list and closed it.

"Well, what're you getting?" Whit asked.

"I'll take everything on the list," Lina responded.

"What!" Whit and the waiter yelled simultaneously.

"You heard me," Lina said, plainly.

"But-but-but," The waiter stuttered.

"No, buts about it," Lina answered him. She grinned at Whit. "What will you be eating, Whit?"

Whit shut his jaw. "I think I'll pass on eating… Think I might go on a diet too."

"If you say so," Lina replied.

"That's one helleva girl you got there, sir," The waiter whispered in Whit's ear.

"She ain't my girl," Whit corrected him.

"I'm hungry!" Lina whined. "Hurry up and serve us the food!"

"Oh! Right away ma'am!" The waiter replied, as he hurried off to the back.

After a few minutes of waiting, all the food Lina ordered was placed on the table. There wasn't a single empty spot left on the table all was covered by plates of different foods. Hamburgers, turkey, ham, rice, spaghetti, fried fish, pasta, macaroni, soup, pizza, salad, sandwiches, chicken wings, chicken nuggets, the list just went on and Lina was devouring one plate after another without the slightly indication of quitting.

Whit watched in awe as Lina ate up everything in front of her. Now that she was too busy to notice him he studied her body. She really was beautiful to him… But she was nowhere near as developed as Nicole was. As he compared the two girls together he was unaware that Lina was staring right back at him.

"What's wrong?" Lina asked with her mouth full.

Whit didn't even hear her talking to him. He was still too busy thinking of which girl was better. He snapped out of his thoughts once Lina smacked him on the head with a drumstick. "Don't ignore me when I'm talking to you!"

"Oh, sorry, Lina," Whit apologized, rubbing his head. "So, Lina you say you don't live here, right?"

"That's right," Lina confirmed, in between bites.

"Well… If you don't gotta place to stay why not spend the night over my place?" Whit insisted with a mischievous expression.

"You won't charge me rent will you?" Lina questioned, growing suspicious.

"No," Whit said. "I'll let you stay with me as long as you'd like… If it's ok with my mom that is."

He reached over to try and grab a slice of pizza. Lina spotted his hand and slapped it before it could obtain the food. "Hands off! If you wanted food you should of ordered some."

"Aw, can't I get one little bite?" Whit whimpered.

"Nope," Lina shook her head. "I'm a growing girl and growing girls need their food."

"But growing girls never eat this much… Except for fat ones maybe." Whit added.

Lina gripped Whit by the throat. "Hey! Are you calling me fat!"

"No!" Whit quickly replied. "You're far from being fat!"

She released him and drank her drink.

'She's gonna end up killing me,' Whit thought as his face slightly twitched.

The waiter came back, handed Whit the check, and walked off. A large drop of sweat ran down his face when he glanced at the price.

$627.98, the check read.

"Good lord that's a lotta money!" Whit nervously said to himself. "It's a good thing I gotta credit card,"

As soon as Lina was finished eating all her food, Whit paid the restaurant with his credit card and the two walked outside. The setting sun was making its way over the horizon, a beautiful collage of pink and orange, though Whit barely noticed as he directed Lina to his house. As they sat in his room, Lina told him a little about her past and told him how she arrived here in his timeline. Once they heard the click of the front door, they went downstairs and saw a middle aged, brown skinned woman with medium long black hair standing at the door.

"Hi, mom!" Whit greeted her overdramatically as he hugged her.

"Wow, you actually gave your own mother a hug today?" Whit's mother smiled, hugging him back. "What's the special occasion? You want a new video game or something?" She saw a disgusted Lina behind him. "Why, hello there and just who might you be?"

Lina pasted a cheerful look on her face. "Hi! My name's Lina Inverse," she made herself sound childish and sweet.

"Yes… But what are you doing in my house?" Whit's mother questioned, she glanced down at Whit, who was still hugging her. "What I tell you about having your friends over while I'm not home?"

Whit's eyes became large, and puppy like. "But mother, you don't understand. I found Lina outside. She was tired, hungry and had no place to go," Whit tried his best to sound depressed. "She begged me for food and I took her to a restaurant. She told me she ran far away from home to get away from her horrible parents."

Lina followed up on Whit's fake story. She wiped her eye as if she were on the verge of crying. "Yes, my mom and dad were both alcoholics and would always argue and beat me every day. So one day I ran away and vowed to never return home. Living out on the street proved to be more difficult than I thought it would be and I didn't want to be taken in by an orphanage," Lina walked over and held Whit's hands sincerely. "Then I met your son, who was kind enough to help me out."

Whit laid his dispirited eyes on his mother. "She has no place to stay mom… So… Can we keep her, huh, can we?"

Lina dropped her act and smashed Whit down to the ground with her fist. "I'm not a pet!" She screeched.

Whit's mother laughed. "Sure, Lina can stay for as long as she likes."

Whit's head shot up from the ground. "You really mean it!"

"Yes," Whit's mother nodded.

Whit stood up and jumped with his fist in the air. "Yeah!"

'There's one thing that bothers me,' Whit's mother thought, while looking at Lina. 'What's with her weird clothes?'

As soon as night came around, Whit let Lina have his room while he slept on the couch downstairs.