Slayers Final
Chapter Four:
"I'm Hot, Tired and a Cacti bit my Butt"
"Gourry?"
"Yeah, Lina?"
"I'm tired."
"We know, Lina, we all are."
"You don't understand, I'm REALLY tired." Here we are, walking an endless sandbox of misery. Nothing but yellow sand and blue sky for miles in any direction, speaking of which, why does sand seem to end up in places on your body you didn't even know you had?
"As Gourry said, we all are Lina, especially after we found out that "giant chicken" makes an excellent stool softener." True, only a few hours after we had finished off the cooked bird, we all had violent diahrea and were puking all over the place at the same time. I didn't believe it physically possible until that night. Then Xellos showed up, feigning distress, explaining that "chocobos" , the giant chickens eat a root that is toxic to humans and the toxin, while diluted in the chocobo's body, is still enough to make you violently ill for a day and a night. Xellos, the bastard, was probably watching the whole thing laughing his ass off. But, he did give us some supplies for the desert.
"You're mean Zel. . ."
"Here Lina, hop on my back, I'll carry you for a while."
"Are you sure, Gourry? I mean, we are in the middle of the world's largest natural furnace. . ." We entered the desert headed south just as Xellos had instructed us, our destination? The Temple of the Fire Drag. . .I mean, the Temple of the Fire Crystal. That was nearly a week ago. We are almost out of rations and water, we have been traveling almost non stop to make up for it though. Everyone is tired, but at least they're not complaining like I am. . .I don't know why but I am always the first to complain about everything.
Probably because my sister wouldn't listen to me complain and punished me whenever I did. I guess now with her not here, I feel I can get away with it. . .odd how Gourry started me on this train of thought almost a week ago, back in the woods north of the desert. It has been a rather. . .cathartic experience, though. It used to be, whenever I even thought of my sister, I would freak out and go hide somewhere. Now, with Gourry listening, even of he doesn't understand half the time, I can share my fears with someone I now know who loves me.
"Ooohohohoho! I see cactus!" Naga, the former crown princess of the White Magic Capital of the World, Seyruun, and my former and one of my current traveling companions. She has an unique perspective of the world that always puts her on top. You can either admire her for her overly assertive attitude, I have my suspicions that it is forced, or be annoyed by her arrogance. Must people go with the latter.
"Are you sure this time, Gracia? The last time you said you saw cactus there wasn't anything there. The time before that too." Amelia, the current crown princess, maybe if she can get over her current difficulties with her father, has probably had the toughest time out of us all. She has found her sister after being estranged for nearly a decade, but Naga, apparently, isn't the same person she used to be. Now, Amelia has a drunk air head whose afraid to spill a little blood, even for her friends, for a sister. On top of this, she has Zelgadis to worry about.
Zelgadis, the chimera who once was human, who would do anything to become normal again. He and Amelia have obviously fallen for each other, though, I wonder about Zel's motives. He has been slowly becoming more and more demon-like in my eyes. Everyday he becomes a little more cruel, a little more sadistic. He tries to hide it by not saying anything, so he can't hurt us, but sometimes it is inevitable.
"Dammit, Naga! If you say you see cactus one more time-" Here's a good example.
"Mr. Zelgadis!" Amelia's relationship with the chimera has been strained as of late. It started when Zel asked her to come with her to talk in the woods, just before we ate the avian laxative. I don't know what was said between the two, but I suspect that it had something to do with why Naga was covered with dirt and blood slumped over on a tree, unconscious.
"Sorry, but how many times do we have to stop to try and find imaginary cactus!? We don't have much in the way of food or water left, we can't afford waste any more time!"
"But I really saw them! They move whenever we get near them though!" Naga looked frantic, more than one should when someone doesn't believe them. Probably because we took her brandy flask away as alcohol is the worst thing to have in a desert. It'll dehydrate you even faster than this gods-forsaken sun. And none of us felt like baby-sitting an unconscious Naga again.
"What kind of cactus can move?" Asked a fast becoming angry Zel.
"Well, we are on a new world, remember the chocobo? There are different kinds of animals here, maybe Naga has been seeing some kind of animal that only looks like a cactus." Amelia stopped the rapidly crumbling civility between Zel and her sister. She's had enough of there fighting I suppose. Naga and Zel have been trading barbs ever since we left the woods.
"You mean like those over there?" Huh? I lifted my head off of Gourry's shoulder to see where he was pointing. Sure enough, there were several small cacti grouped together about 500 yards to the west. They were under a small outcropping of rust colored rock.
"Well, I'll be damned if I weren't already. . .this is the only cover from the sun we've seen for days, let's rest here for a while. We can also get water from cactus and maybe there are some animals taking advantage of the shade we can use for food."
"Giddy up, Gourry!" Food! Zelgadis said there will be food!
"Right!" He ran with myself still quite comfortable attached to his quick at lubricous speed. I can only imagine the other's blank stares as we left them 500 yards behind in roughly 5.2 seconds.
Now, where is the food? I see rocks that sort of look like food, I see cactus, but no prickly pears. . .maybe there are some insects or something hiding under the rocks?
Prick
"OUCH! What the hell? That cactus wasn't behind me a minute ago. . .?" But I really saw them! They move whenever we get close, though! No way . . .I jumped at the seemingly inanimate plant to see if it would jump back, attack, laugh at me, something! But only the stinging sensation on my rump and my clear memory of there NOT being a cactus behind me when I bent over to turn over a rock told me that something was very wrong. I looked over at Gourry, he was moving around at such a frantic pace that even if the cactus did move, they would be hard pressed to sting him.
The others caught up now and looked a bit perturbed at my sickeningly innocent expression I had on my face. And rightly so, mind you! They've been around me long enough to know what it means.
"Oh, Mr. Zelgadis?" He visibly trembled.
"Where is the food? You said that there would be food, you silly chimera."
"Now, look-"
"YOU LOOK HERE, ZEL! YOU SAID THAT THERE WOULD BE FOOD, THEREFORE YOU WILL MAKE FOOD APPEAR HERE, NOW!"
"I. . .uh. . .cactus?"
"Who the hell would eat a cactus?"
"No, behind you! Get down!" I ducked without thinking, and was gratified when I saw what had to be a thousand needles fly over my head and bounce harmlessly off of Zel. I jumped to my feet and found some cover behind a small boulder. I stole a quick glance and saw that Gourry was waving his sword in wild circles to deflect any needles, he seemed very hard pressed as his was deflected as much as he was collecting. . .ouch. There were dozens of them, all the cacti in the area had sprouted stubby arms and legs, and they seemed to have an unlimited supply of needles, unlike the fish-men of our world who could run out of scales if they shot to many from their body. And the majority of them were focused on turning Gourry into swiss cheese.
"Gourry! Over here!" I think he heard me, but he didn't immediately move, he had his hands full by just trying to defend himself. Gourry isn't going to last long, those needles may be small, but they hurt, and judging by my now swelling posterior, slightly poisonous too, his chest may be fine with his breast plate and all, but his legs and legs are almost completely exposed. . "Zel! Get to Gourry!" He is closest to him, maybe he can get him to safety. If HE heard me, he gave no indication, he just kept on hacking the little anthropomorphic cacti into little pieces. Naga and Amelia aren't going to be much help, Amelia can't use her bow at this close range and she can't fight bare handed against the little spiky monsters!
Naga, whoa, Naga is actually fighting! Letting her cape fly loose to distract the cacti she actually drew her sword and is cutting the freaks to pieces! I guess it makes sense, the cacti don't bleed blood. They bleed WATER. She may have just redeemed herself a little in my eyes. Maybe she can be of use! She is closer to Gourry than I am.
"NAGA! Get Gourry over here!" She flashed me a big smile that was somehow both grateful and condescending. She moved quickly to my swordsman, slicing any cacti that came near her. Gourry, didn't look good, his movements were slowing, his arms and legs looking like a demented voodoo priest's pin cushion. Naga came in fast and hard, her short sword hacking the beasts down like firewood. Gourry finally collapsed, driving some of the needles even deeper into his flesh.
Zelgadis was still in full battle frenzy, even going as far as mutilating already fallen cacti if there weren't any fresh ones in reach. Amelia was hiding with her head in the dirt like an ostrich, what the hell? Why would Amelia be hiding like that? I know she is completely useless in this battle, but still. . .at least the cacti are avoiding her.
Naga, after cutting down the remaining cacti, finally reached Gourry, who was convulsing slightly on the ground. Gourry. . .Well, since the cacti are all dead, there is no reason for me to hide here, now is there? OUCH! Maybe moving isn't such a good idea. If I hurt this much, how much pain must Gourry be feeling right now? If he's even conscious that is. . ..
Naga with Gourry in tow and the others plopped down next to me, we are all exhausted. The heat had been bad enough, but for those who fought it must be really rough right now. Damn you Xellos. . ..
"Gourry's not doing to well." Zelgadis said that so nonchalantly it made me seethe. But I didn't have the energy to both lash out at Zel and get to Gourry. Why? I didn't fight. . .it must be the needle! Great! The second time in a week I've been poisoned! I struggled over to Gourry, and, at first glance, I agreed with Zel's assessment of Gourry's condition. His arms and legs swelled to almost a third larger than normal, impaled with what had to be a hundred needles. . .his eyes were shut, his face pale and sweating profusely. Not good in any circumstance but even worse in this desert.
"Here, drink this Miss Lina." Amelia handed me a flagon (a full flagon) of slightly odd tasting water. As soon as I imbibed, I felt stronger, the swelling on my butt went down. I immediately forced some of the water (if it was water) down Gourry's throat. He spit up some of it, but he was already looking better.
"What is this, Amelia?"
"It's water from the cactus. I filled my flagon with some, I suggest you do the same when you are both feeling better."
"How did you know it would work against the poison?"
"Poison!? I though you two just had heat sickness!"
"Yeah, whatever, these needles are coated with some kind of natural toxin, even one sting hurts enough to where you can't even move. I assume that the water inside these things has a natural antidote. Just help me get rid of these needles on Gourry's limbs." I looked over at Naga, who was staring down Zelgadis with a cocky grin.
"You may have pulled through this time, but we'll see just how brave you are the next time we face an enemy that actually bleeds." Zel then stalked away to fill his canteens with the cactus water, leaving a seemingly still arrogant Naga, but to those who have known her long enough, she looked visibly deflated. Amelia stopped yanking needles out of Gourry and put a comforting arm around Naga's shoulder.
"It's okay Gracia, I thought you where really brave back there. But you didn't have to shove my head in the sand!"
"Oooohohohoho!" Well, she seems to be a little better, alcohol or no. Speaking of. . .I reached into my pack, I made sure Naga wasn't looking, and pulled out her flask of brandy. I took a quick swig, the swelling may be down but it still hurts like a bitch. I then splashed some of the drink on a rag and began to rub down Gourry's now needle free wounds, on top of everything happening today, the last thing we need is an infected swordsman. Gourry stirred a little, then his eyes groggily opened.
"What happened. . .? I last remembered fighting . . .cactus?" I hit him over the head with my slipper.
"OW! What was that for!?"
"That's what you get for trying to take on an entire cactus army by yourself, Jellyfish!"
"Well, sorry. . .what a minute? Why do I smell like Naga?"
I watched Gourry and Lina interact with each other from the in the shadow of a rock outcropping, wondering if Amelia and I can ever have such a profound relationship. Well, except without the gratuitous violence. I know I really screwed up with my way of "helping" Naga overcome her fear of blood. I don't know if Amelia will ever trust me again so that we can ever get that close.
DAMMIT! I need her. I need her as much as I need to have my human body back. But I feel the demon inside me constantly gaining more and more possession of my soul. I fight back, I have too, but it is so hard. . .it isn't as bad when Amelia is around me though. I suppose it has something to do with positive emotions like love that keeps the demon at bay. But ever since that night we caught the bird. . .I can still feel the demon shrinking back whenever I am around her, just not as much as it was a week ago. I've tried to make amends, I've tried to apologize to Naga. But I am not the best at saying I am sorry, and it doesn't help that Naga and I have been trying to get at each other's nerves ever since that night. Can't say I blame her though.
This journey has been one personal hell after another. If I am not subconsciously trying to make everyone feel bad, I have been mentally picking myself apart, trying to figure out how to stop. Bad enough we are in an unfamiliar desert in an unfamiliar world without worrying about what you might do without thinking. This world is full of dangers, some natural, like these cacti and toxic birds. Others, of a more. . .supernatural persuasion. Which brings me to a troubling question; Where have all the demons gone?
We have been here for nearly a week with no sign of us being followed or even watched. Not that that is a good thing though, demons can follow and watch you from the astral plane, the parallel dimension where demons and gods reside. I know from experience that Xellos is more than likely keeping an overly amused eye on us right now. He probably enjoyed that little skirmish we just had, even if it could have turned his plans for us sour if it had gone differently.
Anyways, the demons couldn't have lost track of us, could they? Or maybe they have something else to worry about. Xellos did mention something about a war camp. Maybe they are too busy subjugating the remaining resisting mortals than to deal with us at the moment. I suppose I should be thankful we haven't run into Ragnazzo and Cagnazzo ever since we have gotten here. But. . .it's so damn boring without having any demons breathing down our necks. Sure we run into a few pockets of the local wildlife and a few groups of monsters, but when you have traveled with Lina Inverse long enough, you tend to expect she somehow, someway she pissed off a Demon Lord and is now out for revenge.
We decided to set camp here, and resume our journey after the sun had set. The night will protect us from the infernal heat of the sun but the trade off will be the nocturnal beast whose only fear seems to be fire. We lit torches made from dried out cactus people (it's amazing how fast those things dehydrate after you kill them) and walk in a circle formation.
We could see fleeting movements out the corners of our eyes, fast moving shadows darker than the night. Amelia was getting nervous, she tried to hide it but her shaking legs gave her away. Lina was slowly getting pissed off, as usual, at the cowardice of our invisible tag-alongs, openly challenging them to come out into the open. Gourry just shook his head in exasperation and reminded Lina that the cacti were bad enough, who knows what is following us in the night. We tried to avoid any confrontation and luckily for us, so did the unseen stalkers. It helped that Lina got the bright idea of giving Naga a swig of brandy (to Amelia outrage) which turned her into the world's most annoying "Ooohohohoho" sounding alarm system, thus scaring anything away within a ten mile radius We also avoided any cactus we saw.
Dawn eventually broke, and we where none the worse for wear. Although Lina's complaints seemed to increase in both volume and quantity. Naga's stream of self congratulation diminished, thank the gods, mostly due to her lack of alcohol I suppose. But in its place was a brooding, haunted Naga who seemed to see things that only she could. This in turn, worried Amelia, who is still not talking to me, to the point where she was begging Naga to tell her what is the matter. Gourry was just being Gourry, stoically taking desert heat and Lina's complaints with a few words of comfort to keep her relatively calm.
Then around noon that day, we saw it. An series of angular rocks and chimneys that could not be natural. A city! They were colored as the desert rocks were, offering some camouflage from invading forces.
"About freakin' time! Come on Gourry, let's make them pay us our weight in food for making a temple this far in the middle of nowhere!" Lina's priorities made it through the desert intact I see.
"Maybe Mr. Xellos will be there waiting for us." Amelia looked somewhat hopeful, the exact opposite of my feelings. Experience says that if Xellos in within a 100 mile radius of any of us, trouble will soon find or has already found us.
"I'm not sure that is something to be praying for, Amelia. After all, Xellos is the one who dropped is on this gods-forsaken planet." Despite her talk, Lina seemed somewhat excited about what kind of trouble Xellos has gotten them into. Maybe all her years of getting into trouble has become addictive.
Despite the seemingly short distance the structures seemed, it took us the rest of the day to get to the first of the structures. Even in the waning light, we could tell that the place is deserted. There were no lights in any windows, no muffled sounds of communication, not much of anything really.
"Maybe it's just some ancient ruins or something. It doesn't look like anyone has been here in a long time." I commented, I've been to enough temples and ruins in search of a cure to know if something is ancient or not.
"No, someone is here. . .."
"Gourry?" He had that look in his eye, the one that belied his animal-like instinct to sniff out danger. We've all been around him long enough to take it as a genuine warning. We took defensive positions back to back to each other.
Swoosh!
They appeared out of nowhere, ten of them, all dressed in what had to be robes of some priesthood. The robes were white with red triangles trimming the hems. We couldn't see their faces as their hoods obscured them. They were armed with long staves with crystals of varying colors topping them. The priest in the middle stepped forward.
"Welcome, Light Warriors. You will come with us."
Author's Notes: The plot thickens. . . .As you can tell, this chapter is quite a bit shorter than the previous ones. I intend to keep it this way so you, the readers, do not have to wait as long for updates and the chapters are in easier to digest chunks. What will become of our intrepid adventurers? Will they be beaten senselessly by the men with sticks, or do they have something more devious in mind? And where the hell is Xellos? Find out next time in. . .
Slayers: Final
The Odd Burning Sensation
BTW;
Thanks to those who reviewed!
Chapter Four:
"I'm Hot, Tired and a Cacti bit my Butt"
"Gourry?"
"Yeah, Lina?"
"I'm tired."
"We know, Lina, we all are."
"You don't understand, I'm REALLY tired." Here we are, walking an endless sandbox of misery. Nothing but yellow sand and blue sky for miles in any direction, speaking of which, why does sand seem to end up in places on your body you didn't even know you had?
"As Gourry said, we all are Lina, especially after we found out that "giant chicken" makes an excellent stool softener." True, only a few hours after we had finished off the cooked bird, we all had violent diahrea and were puking all over the place at the same time. I didn't believe it physically possible until that night. Then Xellos showed up, feigning distress, explaining that "chocobos" , the giant chickens eat a root that is toxic to humans and the toxin, while diluted in the chocobo's body, is still enough to make you violently ill for a day and a night. Xellos, the bastard, was probably watching the whole thing laughing his ass off. But, he did give us some supplies for the desert.
"You're mean Zel. . ."
"Here Lina, hop on my back, I'll carry you for a while."
"Are you sure, Gourry? I mean, we are in the middle of the world's largest natural furnace. . ." We entered the desert headed south just as Xellos had instructed us, our destination? The Temple of the Fire Drag. . .I mean, the Temple of the Fire Crystal. That was nearly a week ago. We are almost out of rations and water, we have been traveling almost non stop to make up for it though. Everyone is tired, but at least they're not complaining like I am. . .I don't know why but I am always the first to complain about everything.
Probably because my sister wouldn't listen to me complain and punished me whenever I did. I guess now with her not here, I feel I can get away with it. . .odd how Gourry started me on this train of thought almost a week ago, back in the woods north of the desert. It has been a rather. . .cathartic experience, though. It used to be, whenever I even thought of my sister, I would freak out and go hide somewhere. Now, with Gourry listening, even of he doesn't understand half the time, I can share my fears with someone I now know who loves me.
"Ooohohohoho! I see cactus!" Naga, the former crown princess of the White Magic Capital of the World, Seyruun, and my former and one of my current traveling companions. She has an unique perspective of the world that always puts her on top. You can either admire her for her overly assertive attitude, I have my suspicions that it is forced, or be annoyed by her arrogance. Must people go with the latter.
"Are you sure this time, Gracia? The last time you said you saw cactus there wasn't anything there. The time before that too." Amelia, the current crown princess, maybe if she can get over her current difficulties with her father, has probably had the toughest time out of us all. She has found her sister after being estranged for nearly a decade, but Naga, apparently, isn't the same person she used to be. Now, Amelia has a drunk air head whose afraid to spill a little blood, even for her friends, for a sister. On top of this, she has Zelgadis to worry about.
Zelgadis, the chimera who once was human, who would do anything to become normal again. He and Amelia have obviously fallen for each other, though, I wonder about Zel's motives. He has been slowly becoming more and more demon-like in my eyes. Everyday he becomes a little more cruel, a little more sadistic. He tries to hide it by not saying anything, so he can't hurt us, but sometimes it is inevitable.
"Dammit, Naga! If you say you see cactus one more time-" Here's a good example.
"Mr. Zelgadis!" Amelia's relationship with the chimera has been strained as of late. It started when Zel asked her to come with her to talk in the woods, just before we ate the avian laxative. I don't know what was said between the two, but I suspect that it had something to do with why Naga was covered with dirt and blood slumped over on a tree, unconscious.
"Sorry, but how many times do we have to stop to try and find imaginary cactus!? We don't have much in the way of food or water left, we can't afford waste any more time!"
"But I really saw them! They move whenever we get near them though!" Naga looked frantic, more than one should when someone doesn't believe them. Probably because we took her brandy flask away as alcohol is the worst thing to have in a desert. It'll dehydrate you even faster than this gods-forsaken sun. And none of us felt like baby-sitting an unconscious Naga again.
"What kind of cactus can move?" Asked a fast becoming angry Zel.
"Well, we are on a new world, remember the chocobo? There are different kinds of animals here, maybe Naga has been seeing some kind of animal that only looks like a cactus." Amelia stopped the rapidly crumbling civility between Zel and her sister. She's had enough of there fighting I suppose. Naga and Zel have been trading barbs ever since we left the woods.
"You mean like those over there?" Huh? I lifted my head off of Gourry's shoulder to see where he was pointing. Sure enough, there were several small cacti grouped together about 500 yards to the west. They were under a small outcropping of rust colored rock.
"Well, I'll be damned if I weren't already. . .this is the only cover from the sun we've seen for days, let's rest here for a while. We can also get water from cactus and maybe there are some animals taking advantage of the shade we can use for food."
"Giddy up, Gourry!" Food! Zelgadis said there will be food!
"Right!" He ran with myself still quite comfortable attached to his quick at lubricous speed. I can only imagine the other's blank stares as we left them 500 yards behind in roughly 5.2 seconds.
Now, where is the food? I see rocks that sort of look like food, I see cactus, but no prickly pears. . .maybe there are some insects or something hiding under the rocks?
Prick
"OUCH! What the hell? That cactus wasn't behind me a minute ago. . .?" But I really saw them! They move whenever we get close, though! No way . . .I jumped at the seemingly inanimate plant to see if it would jump back, attack, laugh at me, something! But only the stinging sensation on my rump and my clear memory of there NOT being a cactus behind me when I bent over to turn over a rock told me that something was very wrong. I looked over at Gourry, he was moving around at such a frantic pace that even if the cactus did move, they would be hard pressed to sting him.
The others caught up now and looked a bit perturbed at my sickeningly innocent expression I had on my face. And rightly so, mind you! They've been around me long enough to know what it means.
"Oh, Mr. Zelgadis?" He visibly trembled.
"Where is the food? You said that there would be food, you silly chimera."
"Now, look-"
"YOU LOOK HERE, ZEL! YOU SAID THAT THERE WOULD BE FOOD, THEREFORE YOU WILL MAKE FOOD APPEAR HERE, NOW!"
"I. . .uh. . .cactus?"
"Who the hell would eat a cactus?"
"No, behind you! Get down!" I ducked without thinking, and was gratified when I saw what had to be a thousand needles fly over my head and bounce harmlessly off of Zel. I jumped to my feet and found some cover behind a small boulder. I stole a quick glance and saw that Gourry was waving his sword in wild circles to deflect any needles, he seemed very hard pressed as his was deflected as much as he was collecting. . .ouch. There were dozens of them, all the cacti in the area had sprouted stubby arms and legs, and they seemed to have an unlimited supply of needles, unlike the fish-men of our world who could run out of scales if they shot to many from their body. And the majority of them were focused on turning Gourry into swiss cheese.
"Gourry! Over here!" I think he heard me, but he didn't immediately move, he had his hands full by just trying to defend himself. Gourry isn't going to last long, those needles may be small, but they hurt, and judging by my now swelling posterior, slightly poisonous too, his chest may be fine with his breast plate and all, but his legs and legs are almost completely exposed. . "Zel! Get to Gourry!" He is closest to him, maybe he can get him to safety. If HE heard me, he gave no indication, he just kept on hacking the little anthropomorphic cacti into little pieces. Naga and Amelia aren't going to be much help, Amelia can't use her bow at this close range and she can't fight bare handed against the little spiky monsters!
Naga, whoa, Naga is actually fighting! Letting her cape fly loose to distract the cacti she actually drew her sword and is cutting the freaks to pieces! I guess it makes sense, the cacti don't bleed blood. They bleed WATER. She may have just redeemed herself a little in my eyes. Maybe she can be of use! She is closer to Gourry than I am.
"NAGA! Get Gourry over here!" She flashed me a big smile that was somehow both grateful and condescending. She moved quickly to my swordsman, slicing any cacti that came near her. Gourry, didn't look good, his movements were slowing, his arms and legs looking like a demented voodoo priest's pin cushion. Naga came in fast and hard, her short sword hacking the beasts down like firewood. Gourry finally collapsed, driving some of the needles even deeper into his flesh.
Zelgadis was still in full battle frenzy, even going as far as mutilating already fallen cacti if there weren't any fresh ones in reach. Amelia was hiding with her head in the dirt like an ostrich, what the hell? Why would Amelia be hiding like that? I know she is completely useless in this battle, but still. . .at least the cacti are avoiding her.
Naga, after cutting down the remaining cacti, finally reached Gourry, who was convulsing slightly on the ground. Gourry. . .Well, since the cacti are all dead, there is no reason for me to hide here, now is there? OUCH! Maybe moving isn't such a good idea. If I hurt this much, how much pain must Gourry be feeling right now? If he's even conscious that is. . ..
Naga with Gourry in tow and the others plopped down next to me, we are all exhausted. The heat had been bad enough, but for those who fought it must be really rough right now. Damn you Xellos. . ..
"Gourry's not doing to well." Zelgadis said that so nonchalantly it made me seethe. But I didn't have the energy to both lash out at Zel and get to Gourry. Why? I didn't fight. . .it must be the needle! Great! The second time in a week I've been poisoned! I struggled over to Gourry, and, at first glance, I agreed with Zel's assessment of Gourry's condition. His arms and legs swelled to almost a third larger than normal, impaled with what had to be a hundred needles. . .his eyes were shut, his face pale and sweating profusely. Not good in any circumstance but even worse in this desert.
"Here, drink this Miss Lina." Amelia handed me a flagon (a full flagon) of slightly odd tasting water. As soon as I imbibed, I felt stronger, the swelling on my butt went down. I immediately forced some of the water (if it was water) down Gourry's throat. He spit up some of it, but he was already looking better.
"What is this, Amelia?"
"It's water from the cactus. I filled my flagon with some, I suggest you do the same when you are both feeling better."
"How did you know it would work against the poison?"
"Poison!? I though you two just had heat sickness!"
"Yeah, whatever, these needles are coated with some kind of natural toxin, even one sting hurts enough to where you can't even move. I assume that the water inside these things has a natural antidote. Just help me get rid of these needles on Gourry's limbs." I looked over at Naga, who was staring down Zelgadis with a cocky grin.
"You may have pulled through this time, but we'll see just how brave you are the next time we face an enemy that actually bleeds." Zel then stalked away to fill his canteens with the cactus water, leaving a seemingly still arrogant Naga, but to those who have known her long enough, she looked visibly deflated. Amelia stopped yanking needles out of Gourry and put a comforting arm around Naga's shoulder.
"It's okay Gracia, I thought you where really brave back there. But you didn't have to shove my head in the sand!"
"Oooohohohoho!" Well, she seems to be a little better, alcohol or no. Speaking of. . .I reached into my pack, I made sure Naga wasn't looking, and pulled out her flask of brandy. I took a quick swig, the swelling may be down but it still hurts like a bitch. I then splashed some of the drink on a rag and began to rub down Gourry's now needle free wounds, on top of everything happening today, the last thing we need is an infected swordsman. Gourry stirred a little, then his eyes groggily opened.
"What happened. . .? I last remembered fighting . . .cactus?" I hit him over the head with my slipper.
"OW! What was that for!?"
"That's what you get for trying to take on an entire cactus army by yourself, Jellyfish!"
"Well, sorry. . .what a minute? Why do I smell like Naga?"
I watched Gourry and Lina interact with each other from the in the shadow of a rock outcropping, wondering if Amelia and I can ever have such a profound relationship. Well, except without the gratuitous violence. I know I really screwed up with my way of "helping" Naga overcome her fear of blood. I don't know if Amelia will ever trust me again so that we can ever get that close.
DAMMIT! I need her. I need her as much as I need to have my human body back. But I feel the demon inside me constantly gaining more and more possession of my soul. I fight back, I have too, but it is so hard. . .it isn't as bad when Amelia is around me though. I suppose it has something to do with positive emotions like love that keeps the demon at bay. But ever since that night we caught the bird. . .I can still feel the demon shrinking back whenever I am around her, just not as much as it was a week ago. I've tried to make amends, I've tried to apologize to Naga. But I am not the best at saying I am sorry, and it doesn't help that Naga and I have been trying to get at each other's nerves ever since that night. Can't say I blame her though.
This journey has been one personal hell after another. If I am not subconsciously trying to make everyone feel bad, I have been mentally picking myself apart, trying to figure out how to stop. Bad enough we are in an unfamiliar desert in an unfamiliar world without worrying about what you might do without thinking. This world is full of dangers, some natural, like these cacti and toxic birds. Others, of a more. . .supernatural persuasion. Which brings me to a troubling question; Where have all the demons gone?
We have been here for nearly a week with no sign of us being followed or even watched. Not that that is a good thing though, demons can follow and watch you from the astral plane, the parallel dimension where demons and gods reside. I know from experience that Xellos is more than likely keeping an overly amused eye on us right now. He probably enjoyed that little skirmish we just had, even if it could have turned his plans for us sour if it had gone differently.
Anyways, the demons couldn't have lost track of us, could they? Or maybe they have something else to worry about. Xellos did mention something about a war camp. Maybe they are too busy subjugating the remaining resisting mortals than to deal with us at the moment. I suppose I should be thankful we haven't run into Ragnazzo and Cagnazzo ever since we have gotten here. But. . .it's so damn boring without having any demons breathing down our necks. Sure we run into a few pockets of the local wildlife and a few groups of monsters, but when you have traveled with Lina Inverse long enough, you tend to expect she somehow, someway she pissed off a Demon Lord and is now out for revenge.
We decided to set camp here, and resume our journey after the sun had set. The night will protect us from the infernal heat of the sun but the trade off will be the nocturnal beast whose only fear seems to be fire. We lit torches made from dried out cactus people (it's amazing how fast those things dehydrate after you kill them) and walk in a circle formation.
We could see fleeting movements out the corners of our eyes, fast moving shadows darker than the night. Amelia was getting nervous, she tried to hide it but her shaking legs gave her away. Lina was slowly getting pissed off, as usual, at the cowardice of our invisible tag-alongs, openly challenging them to come out into the open. Gourry just shook his head in exasperation and reminded Lina that the cacti were bad enough, who knows what is following us in the night. We tried to avoid any confrontation and luckily for us, so did the unseen stalkers. It helped that Lina got the bright idea of giving Naga a swig of brandy (to Amelia outrage) which turned her into the world's most annoying "Ooohohohoho" sounding alarm system, thus scaring anything away within a ten mile radius We also avoided any cactus we saw.
Dawn eventually broke, and we where none the worse for wear. Although Lina's complaints seemed to increase in both volume and quantity. Naga's stream of self congratulation diminished, thank the gods, mostly due to her lack of alcohol I suppose. But in its place was a brooding, haunted Naga who seemed to see things that only she could. This in turn, worried Amelia, who is still not talking to me, to the point where she was begging Naga to tell her what is the matter. Gourry was just being Gourry, stoically taking desert heat and Lina's complaints with a few words of comfort to keep her relatively calm.
Then around noon that day, we saw it. An series of angular rocks and chimneys that could not be natural. A city! They were colored as the desert rocks were, offering some camouflage from invading forces.
"About freakin' time! Come on Gourry, let's make them pay us our weight in food for making a temple this far in the middle of nowhere!" Lina's priorities made it through the desert intact I see.
"Maybe Mr. Xellos will be there waiting for us." Amelia looked somewhat hopeful, the exact opposite of my feelings. Experience says that if Xellos in within a 100 mile radius of any of us, trouble will soon find or has already found us.
"I'm not sure that is something to be praying for, Amelia. After all, Xellos is the one who dropped is on this gods-forsaken planet." Despite her talk, Lina seemed somewhat excited about what kind of trouble Xellos has gotten them into. Maybe all her years of getting into trouble has become addictive.
Despite the seemingly short distance the structures seemed, it took us the rest of the day to get to the first of the structures. Even in the waning light, we could tell that the place is deserted. There were no lights in any windows, no muffled sounds of communication, not much of anything really.
"Maybe it's just some ancient ruins or something. It doesn't look like anyone has been here in a long time." I commented, I've been to enough temples and ruins in search of a cure to know if something is ancient or not.
"No, someone is here. . .."
"Gourry?" He had that look in his eye, the one that belied his animal-like instinct to sniff out danger. We've all been around him long enough to take it as a genuine warning. We took defensive positions back to back to each other.
Swoosh!
They appeared out of nowhere, ten of them, all dressed in what had to be robes of some priesthood. The robes were white with red triangles trimming the hems. We couldn't see their faces as their hoods obscured them. They were armed with long staves with crystals of varying colors topping them. The priest in the middle stepped forward.
"Welcome, Light Warriors. You will come with us."
Author's Notes: The plot thickens. . . .As you can tell, this chapter is quite a bit shorter than the previous ones. I intend to keep it this way so you, the readers, do not have to wait as long for updates and the chapters are in easier to digest chunks. What will become of our intrepid adventurers? Will they be beaten senselessly by the men with sticks, or do they have something more devious in mind? And where the hell is Xellos? Find out next time in. . .
Slayers: Final
The Odd Burning Sensation
BTW;
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