The Mystery of Kanzaka Manor- Part 2

Lina wasn't sure how long she sat on the ground, numbly staring off into space. Gourry was gone. And she hadn't been able to do anything. It was like Hellmaster Phibrizzo all over. What if she never saw him again? Something wet touched her cheek, and she realized she was crying. Snap out of it Lina! a voice shouted in her head. Gourry will be fine! You saved him from Hellmaster, you can save him from a few pathetic ghosts. Lina stood up, feeling resolved. Sitting around and moping wouldn't solve anything. It was time for action.

The only problem was, now what? Lina had no idea where the ghosts had taken Gourry. She made an inventory of her options. There was one door on the wall to her right, and on the left side of the staircase there was another door. The staircase itself led up to a balcony extending in opposite directions towards two archways on either side of the room.

It was time for the one thing Lina could count on most: her women's intuition. After thinking it over for a minute, she finally decided to head up the stairs and to the right. "Let's see where this corridor leads," she said to herself. It was long, dark, and spooky, with dust and cobwebs everywhere. It was the sort of thing you'd expect to find in a mansion like this. The walls were lined with various pictures, mirrors, and doors, but Lina ignored them all, instead choosing to follow her intuition and keep going straight. She was sure she'd find something eventually.

Amelia marched through the hallways, a determined look on her face. Those ghosts who had taken Mr. Zelgadis were going to pay. They would feel the wrath of the Flames of Justice burning within her.

Unlike Lina, a course of action had been very easy for Amelia to decide upon. There were only two doors going in and out of the library, and one of them was the door Amelia and Zelgadis and come in through. The other door opened to a long corridor, not unlike the one Lina was currently walking through. Eventually she came across a spiral staircase. Amelia paused for a moment unsure of what to do. Keep walking down the corridor, or go up the stairs? She concentrated for a moment, using her priestess powers (or "Justice Sense" as she preferred to call it) to figure out which way to go.

Eventually she got the feeling that the stairs would lead somewhere important, so up she went.

"How long is this corridor anyway?" Lina grumbled. It felt like forever since she'd left the Entrance Hall. To make matters worse, all the portraits on the wall were the kind that's painted so it seems like their eyes are following you. It was really starting to creep her out. Lina was sorely tempted to just fireball the lot of them, but that would probably just attract more ghosts. Right, now finding Gourry was more important.

After a while, the corridor came into a fairly large room. It was filled with even more creepy paintings (much to Lina's displeasure), as well as various statues and tapestries. On the other side of the room was an archway, which led to… another long dark corridor. She moaned. There's no end to them!

Suddenly, she heard footsteps. Lina tensed, ready to blast whoever it was if need be. A ghost wouldn't make footsteps. Who else could be here? The person who next emerged from the corridor was probably the last person Lina expected, along with Filia and Hellmaster.

"Amelia!"

"Miss Lina!"

After one joyful reunion, and two not so joyful explanations, Lina and Amelia were sitting down in the art gallery, discussing the matters at hand.

"So Mr. Gourry was captured by ghosts?" Amelia asked. Lina nodded.

"And the same happened to Zel, right?"

"Yeah," Amelia replied. "So what do we do now?"

"Rescue them, duh!"

"I know that. I meant how do we rescue them?"

"Hmmm…" Lina furrowed her eyebrows in concentration. She hadn't given it much thought.

"I suppose the only thing we really can do is search the mansion for them," she said finally. "They're bound to be somewhere around here."

Amelia nodded slowly. It wasn't much of a plan, but at the moment it was all they had.

"Alright then, it's decided," Lina said, standing up. "Where do we start looking?"

"Perhaps I can help you young ladies?" came a new voice.

Lina and Amelia both shrieked, and looked around frantically for the speaker. But there was no one else in the room (Dundundun).

"W-who's there?" Amelia stammered.

"Oh, there's really no need to be frightened," the voice said amiably. "I'm quite-"

"No need to be frightened!" Lina roared, using anger to cover up her fear. "After you just came out of nowhere and scared the living daylights out of us, you say there's no need to be frightened! Why don't you show yourself!"

"Very well," the voice said, almost resignedly. Through a nearby tapestry appeared… another ghost. The two sorceresses tensed, ready to cast spells if need be. The ghost was a short, bald, middle aged man with a thick handle bar moustache and monocle. He was fat, and dressed in typical butler attire (whatever that may be). Obviously, he was a butler

"Don't worry," the ghost said mildy. "I won't hurt you. My name is Jeeves. I was once the butler in this mansion."

Lina and Amelia looked at each other, blinked, and then looked back. Who was this weirdo?

"As for your friends," Jeeves continued on, "I happen to know where they are being held."

"You do?" Amelia asked eagerly.

He nodded, smiling. "Follow me." And with that, the butler ghost disappeared behind the tapestry he came through.

Lina and Amelia stared. Lina was about to ask what next when Jeeves reappeared.

"Goodness me, I forgot to tell you there's a hidden passage behind this tapestry, didn't?" he said. "How terribly rude, please forgive me." He disappeared again.

Amelia lifted the tapestry, and sure enough there was another corridor. Jeeves stood (or rather, floated) waiting for them. "Come on now, let's hurry, there isn't much time to spare."

As the walked down the hallway, Lina whispered, "So Amelia, what do you think of this Jeeves guy?"

Amelia bit her lip. "I really don't know Miss Lina. I mean, he says he knows where Mr. Gourry and Mr. Zelgadis are, but…"

"But he could be leading us into a trap," Lina finished. Amelia nodded. "Still," Lina continued, "It's not like there's any better option."

Amelia frowned "But what-"

She was cut off as Jeeves suddenly said, "Well, I suppose you're wondering why your friends were kidnapped, no?" Without waiting for a response Jeeves continued. "You see, many years ago this mansion belonged to a powerful sorceress, known simply as L. L was all at once admired, feared and respected for her skill at sorcery. Kanzaka Manor (that's what this place is called) was renowned throughout the world as a great center of magical research.

One day L fell in love with another sorcerer. The two were engaged to be wed, when an evil sorceress, jealous of their love, ruined everything. On the day of their wedding, she kidnapped L's fiancée and bewitched him to fall in love with her instead. Devastated, L committed suicide."

"Th-that's so sad!" Amelia sniffed, clearly moved by his story.

"It gets worse," Jeeves said melodramatically. This guy sure likes to hear himself talk, though Lina. "Shortly after L's death, the servants all died mysteriously one by one. The mansion was quickly abandoned, and fell into disrepair. Now L's ghost haunts this place, lamenting the loss the loss of her fiancée, while the ghosts of her servants wander about the mansion, taking any living man who enters to their mistress in the hopes he might be her beloved."

"What about you?" Lina asked. "How do you fit into all this?"

"Oh me? I was dead long before all this started," Jeeves said cheerfully. "I'm really just an observer. And now I must leave you, friends, for we have arrived."

Amelia gave him a surprised look. "You're not coming with us? Why?"

"Because," replied Jeeves, slowly disappearing, "I don't like getting to involved in this sort of thing. I really prefer just watching from the sidelines." And then he was gone.

"That cowardly sonova-!" Lina growled strangling the air.

"Miss Lina, please, let's just concentrate on rescuing Mr. Gourry and Mr. Zelgadis," Amelia pleaded.

Lina took a few deep breaths and nodded. Turning, she pushed the door open.

Or tried to at least. "What!" she cried angrily. "Why won't this thing open!" She slammed her self against the door, but to no avail.

"Ummm, Miss Lina…" Amelia tapped the older sorceress on the shoulder.

"Not now Amelia!" Lina muttered a spell, and Amelia only had split second to leap out of the way before she cast it. "Damu Bras!" Boom! The doorway exploded.

"Miss Lina, the sign said 'pull,'" Amelia said getting up and coughing.

"Oh…" Suddenly Lina felt very stupid. But it didn't last long. Once the smoke cleared, they saw some sort of magical laboratory. And in the middle of it stood the semi-transparent figure of a tall blonde woman in a black-strapless dress.

"L," Lina and Amelia said in unison. The woman from the portraits.

L smirked. "Indeed."

A/N: BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Cliffhanger. Aren't I evil? AND I ACTUALLY UPDATED! -Gasp shock horror-