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Note: lol thanks moon, but i'll start calling you panda-chan;D

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Lina strode into the little village, her eyes darting everywhere. She was obviously expecting an ambush of some sort or at least a couple of angry stares. This town was vaguely familiar to her, but it held no significance in her mind when passing through. This 'Rezo' was definitely in for something more than he bargained for because when she was done with him...well...there really wouldn't be a him left to speak of.

This always happened to her, all these crazies were always looking for one way or another to kill her! Ridiculous...It wasn't like she ever did anything that bad, sure a couple of gangs here and there, but going so far as to kidnap her friends, kidnap her even, trying to blow her out of existence, put out wanted posters for her, use her emotions, and even taking her treasures for no reason at all? That was going a little overboard, eh? It seemed that all her troubles had started as soon as she had gained traveling companions long ago, not that she really minded. Having company was worth everything she'd once encountered.

Now that those days were over, things like this only seemed to piss her off rather than excite her as it once had. I mean, yeah, it was good to see Zel again, and Hiyo wasn't bad company either, but for once she actually wished she was just a normal girl that lived in the mountains somewhere. For once she wished she was still with her family, even if her sister was a scary bitch that was worth it. Xelloss she didn't count as company, though, he wasn't staying. And now that she thought about Zel wasn't either, at least she didn't think he was. Hiyo was probably going to go back to her village as soon as the war had ended and Lina would be alone again, blowing up stupid bandits.

That lifestyle had never bothered her really, and even now it still had a certain appeal to it, but having people to talk to every once in a while never hurt either. Maybe it was just one of those irreplaceable feelings being with friends gave her, or maybe she was just as crazy as the goons that were always trying to kill her. Eventually it would all end, just like it had a year ago. This kind of happiness never lasted forever; Lina knew that from harsh experience. She was happy for everyone, really she was, but it had always seemed unfair how she never got that happy ending, nothing was ever happy in her endings.

What was she thinking? This wasn't like her at all! She was supposed to be confident, beautiful, and brave! Not weak, ugly, and cowardly! Keh, that wasn't Lina Inverse at all! She mentally smacked herself and started walking a little straighter, feeling more like normal again.

"Head Priest Rezo's chapel is down this road and to the left, all the way down the Forrester's Trail." Cobalt spoke, pointing north. "This is as far as I can take you, I'm afraid."

Hiyo's eyes widened and she turned to clutch her tiny hands into his shirt, her eyes were watering. "You're leaving me?" Cobalt gave her a heart-wrenching look and embraced her intimately. "I'll find you again, my dear Hiyo. A knight always finds his maiden."

She smiled sadly when they broke apart, waving him off with a 'be safe' and then turning back to the others. "I'm going to miss him, very much."

Zelgadiss snorted. "I'm certainly not."

Lina seconded, "That goes double for me! He was so annoying, and a very pompous man. But I am happy for you Hiyo-san, you've found someone who cares about you just as deeply as you for him." A sad look passed over Lina's face before she quickly hid it with one of her cheery smiles. In truth she was just a little jealous that Hiyo could be so fortunate in love, but she really was happy for her all the same.

Hiyo noticed Lina's momentary slip but decided not to ponder it, Lina could handle herself couldn't she?

Xelloss glanced between the two, feeling their mixtures of conflicting emotions. He'd known exactly who Lina had been thinking of just a moment ago, and he'd recognized the usual feelings that clouded her mind everytime his picture came into her thoughts. It made him angry that the idiot swordsman had left such a deep wound on Lina, and thought nothing of it, or rather he was just too stupid to know anything was wrong.

Zelgadiss just stared at the three who had suddenly fallen into a critical silence. "What is wrong with you all?"

Lina looked up, almost surprised to see him there. She realized that he was sensing something was amiss, but she quickly put a stop to his assumptions. "Nothing! Jeez what made you think anything was wrong?" She lifted her chin up a couple of notches and marched up ahead, trying to look eager to reach this Red Priest.

Hiyo smiled reassuringly at Zelgadiss and followed Lina, while Xelloss gave him a knowing smile and tapped him teasingly on the nose with his staff. Zel reached out to smack him, but he easily dodged through teleportation up ahead with Lina. He grunted irritadedly and hurried onwards to catch up with the rest of them.

OoO

"Oh, wow..." Hiyo breathed, staring up at the huge chapel. It looked more like a mansion from where they were standing, and Lina was getting madder by the second.

So this is where the dirty fake lived? Keh. It wasn't THAT big.

"What are you all gawking at? Let's get in there and kick that little fruitcake's ass!" She growled before literally kicking the door open and barging into the huge entry hall.

The place was disgusting, there were cobwebs in every dreary corner, and even the bright sun outside couldn't brighten the dark house. It looked like it was...haunted or something. Lina ventured farther inside, everyone behind her following hesitantly. "Ms. Lina...I'm not sure I want to be here anymore. This place is kind of scary." The door behind them slammed shut as if by magic and Hiyo yelped while reaching out to latch herself to Xelloss's arm. He rolled his eyes and patted her hand sympathetically.

Lina turned her face up to the second floor balcony, and shouted defiantly. "We know you're here, you fruitcake! Now get your ass down here so I can kill you!"

A laughter cackled in response to her shouts, and the whole group froze in fear-except for Xelloss of course. "Ah, Lina Inverse. It seems you are still just as charming as ever. How pleasant."

A figure emerged from the shadows of the second floor and stepped forward to peer down at them with an evil smirk.

Lina's jaw dropped and she raised an accusing finger up at the imposter, "I-I know you! You were one of the mazoku I fought off awhile back!"

The mazoku laughed dryly. "It's so nice to see that you remember me, Lina-san. That's fantastic!" Lina growled. "What the hell are you doing going around spreading rumors about me? Didn't I kick your ass hard enough already?"

He only laughed again, this time hysterically. "When my master had heard of your search for the Claire bible, he sent me after you to eliminate you as a threat." His gaze swiveled to Xelloss. "But HE was with you." Xelloss pointed an innocent finger to himself. "Me? Why, yes I was. But what does that have to do with anything?"

The mazoku snarled. "That made it harder for me to approach Ms. Inverse, for I had to first lure you away from her. It worked of course, but the little wench still defeat me. Now my master has banished me from the mazoku realm and I am the laughing stock of my entire race!"

Lina rolled her eyes. "So? What did you expect me to do? Be a good little girl and lay down to die? No way! I'm a sorceress, not a coward."

An evil grin spread across the mazoku's features, his malicious face shone in the dimmed sunlight through the tinted windows. "It no long matters, young Lina, for I have lured you here so that I can stop all possibilities of my race winning the war against the ryuzoku."

Lina crossed her arms and let out an exasperated sigh. "Let me guess, this is all about revenge, isn't it? You want to kill me so the mazoku won't have a chance at defeating the dragon lord, then you'll get to laugh in their faces while they are crushed into the dirt by the ryu?"

"Exactly."

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Eh, I am sorry to inform the readers that since I am not getting reviews but from one person(to whom I am now in her eternal debt for keeping my spirits up on this one), I have decided that I might just drop this story. So far I've gotten since I last checked (bout an hour ago) 1,345 views all together, and each of my chapters have been looked through. I'm not sure if I should keep this story up since it feels like you all are reading it and then cringing in disgust. Sorry panda-chan but I might just drop this one into the dirt:( I've been working on this plotline for awhile now it does feel sad to let it go, but what happens happens, eh? Anyways, happy reading for what I predict to be the last chapter will be coming soon!

REVIEW, although I know you aren't I'm going to slowly kill my fingers a little more anyways:D