A/N: I'M SORRY I UPDATED SO LATE DX Gomen! I'm reallysorry! I was trying balance my school work and my writing, but it didn't work all that well. I also am having some health issues with my toe. But, that's not excuse! As an apology, there's going to be some AmeliaZel fluff thrown in here. Once again, I'm terribly sorry!

Disclaimer: I will never be able to obtain this anime production called Slayers for the rest of my human life. *Sigh*

Chapter 3

A Little Investigating

"Oh, please come back!" Amelia called out to the children as they ran away. "I just need you to answer some questions! Please, come back!" Amelia sighed and stopped cupping her mouth. She turned to Zelgadis. "This is happening to everyone! Whenever we try to ask someone something, they shoo us away, or run away themselves!"

"It's quite annoying, to be honest," Zelgadis admitted. "Maybe, we should split up. We'd cover more ground that way, considering we haven't been at this for a very long time. Splitting up will be the best way to get things done," Zelgadis suggested. Zelgadis looked around at the farmers market. People were rushing around, carrying on with their daily lives as if nothing was wrong. They all didn't know Zuuma was alive and well. To be honest, sometimes Zelgadis envied them. They had normal human lives. They didn't have to worry about the fate of the world, and most of all, they were human.Not chimera.

"We'll meet back here in half an hour," Amelia ordered. She pointed towards the large hill. "I'll look over there, can you check out the other side of town?" She asked.

Zelgadis nodded. "Yeah, I can. Meet you back here in half an hour." Zelgadis nodded, leaving Amelia and him to part their separate ways.

Slam!

That would be door number nine to shut in Amelia's face. Amelia sighed in defeat and walked down the grey stone steps. There was obviously a big difference between the downtown and uptown; Downtown seemed more dilapidated, but they seemed like more of a community. Uptown was filled with regal rich people, who only cared about themselves.

Downtown, the children ran down the dirty street laughing and smiling. It was a sad thing most of those children had no families, or they were starving. As soon as Amelia was done with all these problems, she made up her mind to help people here. Amelia exhaled and stood up. Maybe I'll look on the hill,She though, I think I'll get some better luck there than here.Amelia stared at the huge, green hill for a few moments before she headed out.

Zelgadis wasn't having any luck, either. No one here would talk to him, which agitated him. Everyone here was snobbish and self-centered. He decided to check out the pub. He had gotten some useful information at pubs in the past so maybe that could help him this time. He opened up the door to the pub, the bell doing a happy jingle as it rung. Everyone was too busy drinking or laughing with each other to notice Zelgadis, much to his relief. It ticked him off if anyone stared at him. He sat himself down at the bar as the bartender came over. The bartender had a bald head that shined. He had choppers, a beard, and a mustache. He had tattoos on his arm and he wore a black apron. His whole appearance seemed menacing, to say the least. The smell of cigarettes and old whiskey radiated off of him

"What'll it be, boy?" He spit in the glass he was holding. He had a thick Scottish accent.

"Actually, I'm not here for a drink," Zelgadis began, "I'm here for some information."

"Alrighty then, boy. What do you need to know?" The bartender started to clean the shiny white beer glass. Although he may have looked tough, hygiene was very important to him, ironically. "Do you need to know about the lake?"

"No. We need to know how you can bring back the dead," Zelgadis explained. In a snap, the whole pub fell deathly quiet. Zelgadis felt the eyes of many curious men on him. Well, so much for staying quiet. The bartender cleared his throat as everyone else resumed their interesting conversations.

"May I ask why, boy?" The bartender set the glass down.

"Um..." Zelgadis searched in his mind for an answer. "That's personal business." The bartender looked around cautiously. When he made sure it was safe, he leaned in towards Zelgadis, and motioned Zelgadis to do the same.

"Go to the library in the N section," he whispered, "and remember, the Moon is a mysterious mistress."

"What?" Zelgadis raised an eyebrow. The bartender picked up the glass and resumed cleaning it as if nothing ever happened. Zelgadis figured this would be all he could get, so he left the pub. The Moon is a mysterious mistress… He repeated in his head as he made his way towards the Rainbow Trout Library. What does that mean?

"Stand still!" Mrs Talelia growled, even though she was deathly afraid of Lina. Gourry sighed and rubbed his temples. He felt a migraine coming on. Lina sunk even lower in the wooden chair. It had been forty five minutes, and Gourry already had to put out four fires. But Mrs Taleila was persistent, and kept on insisting she do Lina's hair.

"Are we done yet?" Lina moaned and clenched her fists. "This is really annoying!" Although it may have been annoying, Lina's hair never looked better. It was done in beautiful, orange curls. All she needed was a dress, and she could have been considered a princess. But that's one thing Lina would never wear.

"Not yet, we still have fifteen more minutes left," Gourry answered. Lina moaned and sank even lower than before, if that was possible. Mrs Talelia yanked on Lina's hair to make her sit up.

"Sit up straight!" Mrs Talelia growled. Lina reluctantly did so. Anything to get this over with, She thought in her head. Gourry stood up from the violet couch and stretched. His head touched the ceiling.

"These ceilings are a bit low, aren't they?" He stared at the ceiling.

"Gourry, you're the tallest person here." Lina rolled her eyes. "It's obvious you're going to touch the ceiling."

"Oh, yeah. Right."

Amelia trudged up the steep, grassy hill. A light wind could be felt on her pale skin as she trudged to the top. When Amelia finally made it, she found a surprise waiting there. Densui sat at the top collecting dandelions as she hummed a cherry tune.

"Densui?" Densui looked up and gasped in surprise, but then smiled and waved hello.

"Hello, Ms Amelia!" Densui sat the weaved bowl full of dandelions down. "Funny meeting you here. What are you doing here?"

"I'm, uh, looking for some information," Amelia answered. "What are you doing here? And where are Ms Fubaii and Mr Ukatsu?"

"They're off doing their thing." Densui waved the question away. "Anyways, I'm up here picking dandelions for the villagers. Dandelions are edible and healthy, so I thought I would pick some. Poor children, they must be so hungry. Say, would you like to pick some with me?"

"Sure!" Amelia smiled and sat down next to Densui. For a while, they picked the bountiful dandelions in silence. "Densui," Amelia began.

"Hmm?" Densui looked up at Amelia.

"Pardon me if I'm intruding, but why are you hanging out with Mr Ukatsu and Ms Fubaii? Don't they seem… I don't know, scary?"

"Oh, no no no!" Densui shook her head and smiled. "They're my brother and sister, and they're not very scary once you get to know them. Fubaii may act tough, but she's very protective of me and wouldn't let anything harm me. Ukatsu would do the same," Densui explained. "But ever since Ukatsu met Ms Lina, he's been acting strange." Her voice trailed off.

Strange? This could help. "What do you mean by 'strange?'?" Amelia pushed on. Densui tapped her chin with her pointer finger.

"Well, he's been nonstop thinking about Ms Lina, and he sits in his room with the lights off and the door locked when he have nothing to do. At night, I'll wake up to get a glass of water, and he'll be awake on the bed, just rocking back and forth. I don't think he's gotten any sleep at all, to be honest. He also doesn't eat, and only talks about Mr Gourry and Ms Lina.

"But please don't be intimidated! Fubaii and I have been trying to figure out what's been happening to him. Maybe he's sick, and needs a doctor? I think he has a crush on Ms Lina." Densui giggled. "Maybe that's why he's constantly thinking about her!" Amelia seemed weary over this. Sure, when you have a crush you think about them lot, but getting no sleep? Staying inside your bedroom all day with the lights off and the door locked? No, that's not an ordinary crush. Could it be…?

"Ms Amelia? Are you alright?" Amelia snapped out of her thoughts. She shook her head and smiled at Densui.

"I'm fine, I was just wondering about something." Densui resumed picking the dandelions.

"What were you thinking of?" She asked.

"I was just thinking about how you all look nothing alike," Amelia lied. She hated to lie to Densui, but some things have to be done for the greater good.

"That's because we're adoptive siblings," Densui explained nonchalantly.

"Adoptive siblings? That make's sense, I guess." Amelia shrugged. Densui returned to picking dandelions, a small smile on her face.

"Anyways, I've been meaning to ask you something, Ms Amelia," Densui admitted, "what is your relationship to Mr Zelgadis?"

"M-Mr Zelgadis?" Amelia's face flushed and she turned away, twiddling with her fingers. "H-he's my comrade, and my close friend." Densui raised an eyebrow and grinned.

"Only a comrade? Not some sort of boyfriend, or even… a husband?" She teased. Amelia' face flushed more and she jumped from embarrassment. Densui giggled. "I see the way he looks at you. I think he likes you!"

"Y-You think so?" Amelia smiled. Densui nodded.

"There's some sort of distant sparkle in his eyes when he sees you. I guess you're on the only ones who can see through his rocky skin and see the true him on the inside, huh?" She picked another dandelion. Amelia rubbed the back of her head. Was that really true? No, Densui must have been only trying to flatter Amelia. But, Amelia wouldn't..

No, justice comes first! Amelia looked at the clock and gasped. "Oh no! I'm late!" She stood up and quickly bowed to the confused Densui. "It was fun picking dandelions with you!"

"Maybe we can pick some more another time?" Densui smiled. She really did like Amelia.

"That would be great! I have to go now, bye!" Amelia quickly ran down the hill. She was already twenty minutes late.

"Where is Amelia?" Lina growled. Zelgadis sat in his chair worriedly. It wasn't like Amelia to be late at all. She was always the first one arriving, no matter what the event. Could she be in trouble? What if she's hurt? What if-

"I'm sorry I'm late everyone!" Amelia panted. She leaned against the doorway for support. It was clear that she had been running a very long time. The book showing was right by the lake, so it took a while to get there if you were by the hill.

"Hey Amelia!" Gourry greeted. "What's up? Why are you panting?"

"The more important question is why are you late?" Lina growled. Amelia was finally able to catch her breath after a minute.

"I was picking dandelions with Ms Densui, and found out something strange." Amelia broke away from the doorway. "Ms Densui said that Mr Ukatsu has been acting strange lately."

"What do you mean by strange?" Zelgadis asked. He was much calmer now.

"She said that he hasn't been sleeping at all, and he hasn't been eating, either. She says when they have nothing to do, he sits in his bedroom all day with the lights off and the door locked." Amelia rubbed her arms. "Ms Lina and Mr Gourry, you two should really stay away from him."

"No, Amelia. Just because you said he hasn't been sleeping or eating lately and how he sits in his bed all day only makes me want to talk to him more," Lina sarcastically said. "Of course we're going to stay away from him!"

"But there's more!" Amelia exclaimed.

"More?" Gourry breathed. Amelia nodded.

"Ms Densui says the only thing Mr Ukatsu speaks of is Ms Lina and Mr Gourry!" An uncomfortable silence fell upon the group. Something was obviously wrong with Ukatsu.

"Everyone!" A familiar voice cheered. Lina groaned as Mrs Talelia skipped into the room. "The book showing is tomorrow! We have to go over all the procedures to make sure nothing bad happens!" She took out a piece of paper with a bunch of scribbles on it. "You four are the main security; there is no one else, due to the shortage of workers." Mrs Talelia pointed to a wide circle in the middle of the paper. "This is where the book will be. Of course, it will be protected by a glass case, but all of you will be the enforcement. The book showing lasts from seven AM to eleven PM. Your salary is ten gold coins per hour-"

"Only ten?" Lina exclaimed. She was in her business-woman mode. "Let me tell you something, Mrs Talelia, protecting this book should pay more! We have to keep the little kids from touching the glass, make sure no one passes the ropes, and did I mention any attacks? Our priority is to protect the book and the citizens, but what if we're killed?! Ten gold pieces for hour would definitely not cover our death!" Lina nodded confidently.

"Erm, what do you suppose the pay should be then, Ms Lina?" Mrs Talelia cleared her throat awkwardly.

"I propose we get twenty gold pieces per hour!" Everyone else fell over anime style. Lina crossed her arms and frowned. "What's wrong with you guys?! Twenty gold pieces per hour is a great and reasonable price!"

"That's not a great price, it's practically robbery!" Zelgadis exclaimed.

"Zelgadis is right, Lina. Twenty gold pieces is too much!" Gourry agreed. Lina growled and shot them both down with a death glare. Zelgadis and Gourry shrunk back in fear. Lina turned to Mrs Talelia.

"So, what'll it be?" She leaned on her right leg. "Is it a yes? Or do I have to persuade you?" She summoned a fireball and held it close to her face.

"T-Twenty gold p-pieces it is!" Mrs Talelia stuttered and held up her hands to protect herself. "Just p-please don't hurt me!"

"Ms Lina, that's blackmail!" Amelia scolded. She stood on her tip toes and leaned towards Lina with her fists clenched in anger. "It's evil to blackmail someone, Ms Lina!" Lina just simply scoffed and ignored the angry princess.

"Is it?" Lina pretended to act innocent, just to tease her. "My gosh Amelia, I didn't know! I suppose I'll have to take that back then, won't I?"

"Ms Lina!" Amelia whined. "Stop teasing! You know it's wrong!"

"Relax, Amelia!" Lina put a hand on Amelia's shoulder. "Everything's gonna be okay, just cool off." She looked at the clock. "Oh, would you look at the time? It's already six PM! Better get back to the inn and get ready for the big day tomorrow!"

"Don't change the subject, Ms Lina! Blackmailing is still wrong!"

"Amelia, do us all a favor and drop the subject, will ya? It's really annoying now." Before Amelia could protest, Lina was already out of the door. Amelia heaved a heavy sigh. She took in the musty smell of the small, run down dressing room. It smelled of old perfume. Yuck! At least I can leave this smelly old place. Amelia thought and followed Lina.

"Hold on! You two!" A saleslady shouted as soon as everyone reached outside. The saleslady squeezed through the people and ran up to Zelgadis and Amelia. She panted as she held up a clipboard and a pen. "I'm Ileana head of the Contests facilities. This week we're having a contest for couples! Whoever seems like the cutest couple gets a trip to Seyruun for free!"

"Oh no, we're not a couple!" Amelia nervously laughed. Zelgadis light blushed and put up his hood to make sure no one could see his pink blush. Ileana sighed, and her face drooped, like a wilted flower.

"Such a shame, you two would make such a nice couple. Well, I'm off!" She waved goodbye and ran off. Zelgadis cleared his throat awkwardly.

"She talks really fast!" Gourry whistled. Lina rolled her eyes and continued on. Tomorrow was a big day, and they had to get ready for it.

Fubaii moaned. She meant to roll over on her side….but ended up rolling off the comfy bed. She hit the cold floor with a thud. Her baggy shirt and her sea green hair were sprawled all over the floor. "Oww," she moaned, "that hurt!" She got up and used her bed for support. Across from her sat Ukatsu, who was wide awake. He rocked back and forth on the bed, muttering about something.

He was most likely muttering about taking Lina and killing Gourry, Fubaii decided. It happened so often that Fubaii didn't dwell as much as she did on it before. Hey, think too hard on something, and your brain will explode! Fubaii warned herself and returned to bed. She shot one glance at the calmly sleeping Densui, before Fubaii herself went to sleep.

"Hey! Kid! Don't touch the glass!" Lina snapped at a small kid. The kid ran away to their mother, sobbing. Lina huffed and crossed her arms. "Do people even read the signs?! If it says don't touch, then don't touch!"

"Lina, weren't you a little too hard on the little guy?" Gourry kindly ushered a man away from the glass. "He was just a little boy, after all. He didn't know better." And of all people, Gourry knew better. He knew what it was like to be confused, and lonely.

"People aren't going to be that nice to him in the future," Lina said, "so he might as well learn that now!" The building was adorned with beautiful decorations. The walls were painted a sparkling electric blue. The once muddy, worn title was now replaced with shimmering, new white tiles. Paintings of the pasts kings and queens on the land hung on the wall. Most of the picture took up the whole length of the wall, others only took up half. But the one thing everyone wanted to see was the book. The Knowledge of the Sea wouldn't be opened, of course. Just in case it was touched, or even stolen, security could handle it.

Unbeknown to everyone, a priest with violet hair sat at a corner in the table drinking tea. He set the tea down on the pink and white saucer and looked around.

"My, my, the people of SagamiPort sure know how to throw a party!" He sipped his tea, but the monster had a hard time doing so. Even though Xellos may have been a high ranking monster, he could only handle a party for so long. Xellos looked at the clock. It was twelve PM. Xellos smirked and set the tea down. "How about a little fun?"

Zuuma waited outside of the building. Of course, he was hiding in the shadows. Since he looked suspicious, he didn't want to go downtown. People would be on their tip toes and would surely report any suspicious behavior on a day like this. He also didn't want to alert Lina Inverse that he was here. If he wanted to kill her, he would have to have the element of surprise. He looked at the clock. It was noon. Time to begin the plan.

"Wow, you're tall, Mr!" A little girl whistled. Gourry laughed and bent down so he was eye to eye with the little girl.

"I guess I am. What's your name, little girl?" He asked. The little girl giggled, then stood on her tippy toes, then leaned back on her heel.

"I'm six, Mr," she answered. She pushed on her loose tooth with her pinkish tongue. "Look what I have! I have a loose tooth!"

Lina glanced back at Gourry and smiled. He was always good with kids.

"Enjoying the view, Ms Lina?" Xellos teased. Lina jumped in surprise and turned around. She growled at Xellos, like a wolf.

"Xellos!" She spat, as if the word itself was poison. "What're you doing here?!" Xellos summoned a cup of tea and began to drink it. Is that the only thing he drinks?! Lina shouted in her head. "Xellos, answer me!"

"I came to have a little fun!" Xellos grinned. Lina clenched her fist.

"Xellos, I'm getting paid twenty gold pieces per hour. If you so even dare to mess up this day, I will blow you to smithereens with the Ragna Blade!" Lina threatened. Xellos's grin only grew wider. Her anger was quite delicious.

"Now, Ms Lina, you've only tempted me more," Xellos teased.

"Xellos!-" KLANK KLANK KLANK! Lina only blinked, and the next moment she knew, Gourry had his sword protecting her head. Three daggers fell to the ground. Amelia and Zelgadis quickly came to their friend's aid.

"Ah, I see your skills have not wavered," Zuuma examined and he stepped out of the shadows. Lina gritted her teeth and got into her position to fight, along with her friends. "Not a day has gone by where I haven't dreamed of killing you." He took in a deep breath and exhaled it. "I can already picture you lying on the ground with your guts hanging out of your stomach, daggers in your throat. Oh, how marvelous it is."

"You're insane!" Zelgadis spat. Amelia worked on evacuating the citizens out of the building. Zuuma chuckled darkly and grew his long, glowing black claws.

"Allow me to show you how much I've grown!" He jumped in the air with his claws ready to strike. Lina, Zelgadis, and Gourry jumped in different directions to avoid Zuuma. Zuuma hit the glass case, sending the millions of glass pieces flying into the air. Thankfully, the book was unharmed. Amelia ran over and picked up the book, but Zuuma sent another claw attack towards Amelia.

It hit Amelia in the hand. She cried out in pain and dropped the book to clutch her bleeding hand. Zuuma saw this as an opportunity to strike at her. He took out a long dagger and ran towards her. Amelia gasped, but it was too late to move, now.

"Astral Vine!" Zelgadis struck at Zuuma, but Zuuma dodged it. He landed on his feet in a crouched position a few feet back. Amelia immediately began to cast a healing spell. "Amelia, are you alright?"

"I'll be fine, I just need a simply healing spell," Amelia reassured. Zuuma stood up and readied for another attack.

"Fireball!" Lina shot a fireball at Zuuma. Zuuma just stared at the glowing fireball until it hit him. Amazingly, it had no effect on him. It seemed as if the fireball didn't hit him at all. Lina and Gourry gasped. It seemed Zuuma would be more difficult to deal with than last time. Xellos sat back on the sidelines and sipped his tea.

"My, my, this is surprising!" He fake exclaimed. "I didn't think Zuuma would be back from the grave!" Zuuma looked to Xellos.

"And who might you be?" This reply shocked everyone. Zuuma couldn't remember his murderer? Sure, forgetting your car keys was one thing, but a murderer?! "You're quite annoying."

"Oh, I get that a lot." Xellos waved the insult away. He was much more focused on how Zuuma couldn't remember him. "I see that you're here to kill Ms Lina Inverse, aren't you?"

"What does it look like, fool?!" Zuuma spat. Xellos opened one eye and smiled.

"I can't let you do that." Although his voice was calm, it was terrifying at the same time. Xellos love it when his prey would start to get scared. Oh, fear, anguish, sorrow, and hate must have been a monster's favorite meal.

Xellos waved the tea away and pointed his staff at Xellos. "I've been sent to make sure Ms Lina stays alive and well, and I'm afraid I can't let you kill her." The end of Xellos's staff started to glow. "Now, do you prefer death, or would you retreat, for now?"

Zuuma checked his surrounding. Everyone had a perfect shot to kill him at the moment. He gritted his teeth.

"Until next time, Lina Inverse. I will kill you!" And with that, he vanished. Amelia sighed and lowered her Flare Arrow. She turned to where the book was supposed to be, but there was only one problem…the book was gone.

A/N: I DON'T UPDATE FOR ALMOST A MONTH, AND NOW I LEAVE YOU ALL WITH A CLIFF HANGER. WOW. *Slow Clap* YOU ALL MUST LOVE ME NOW! I had to end the fight scene short because the chapter was getting a little long. It took a few days to write this! Thanks to everyone who has reviewed, and has done all that other stuff.

Gerao-A: Yes, there is the question of how Zuuma is alive and well, but I will eventually answer that! I promise!

Dragon Slave: Thank you! :)

Annimejunkie'smeow: Thanks! I'm glad you're enjoying this

Guest: Haha, I'm sure she is. Thanks for reading!

Bye everyone!