Hello everyone! We've made it to 12 chapters- yay! If you've read this far, thank-you-thank-you! As always, I don't own anything. I'm just a fan writing some fiction. Please enjoy!
12- Cut To The Chase
"You brought back this brat, but you couldn't get me back my little boy? What kind of game are you guys playing?"
Lina was awake and in the library when the group returned to the Temple. She was joking; the smile that she gave Lyos made that clear.
"Hey, if you're so displeased, maybe you should've gone out to the town yourself." Lyos sniffed disdainfully.
"Sorry, but I think I'm fine here." Lina waved one hand, setting her book aside. "The library has far too many interesting things to read."
"I thought you said that you were going to rest." Gourry asked, sitting down next to her.
"I tried, but I couldn't seem to get to sleep. The High Priest told me that I could spend some time in the library. I like libraries, so I decided that it was a better idea."
"Well, we didn't see Zara, but we saw Azarel, and she mentioned Zara... we think." Zelgadis offered. "If Lyos can be trusted, it's likely that Zara is here in Ti Toh."
"If Lyos can be trusted?!" Lyos repeated angrily, shoving his way to sit on the other side of Lina. The sorceress looked a little bothered, but Gourry didn't seem to mind. "Azarel said that she had a pair of 'brothers' who were staying with her at a bed-and-breakfast near the market."
"Enrique and Zara..." Lina breathed. "So she's referring to him as her brother now? That's cheap! The only people who could ever call Zara their brother aren't even born yet!"
"It seems that Azarel is assembling a makeshift family." Pestis mused. "Which strikes me as a little odd... that's not Azarel's style."
"It's not?" Amelia asked.
"Absolutely not. Azarel never held any respect for the concept of family. There must be some sort of convoluted scheme going on."
"I figured. 'Convoluted scheme' sounds more Azarel's style." Lina sighed. "But if that's the case, then I can't figure out what she need Zara for. There's nothing about him that could possibly help her obtain the Key of the Aqualord."
"What is this Key of the Aqualord that everyone keeps talking about?" Lyos demanded. "And what does it have to do with me?!"
"What does it have to do with you? You're the Knight of the Aqualord." Zelgadis responded. "It has everything to do with you."
"Let's not be so quick to make assumptions." Shizuri interrupted. "Lyos, do you have the Banisher?"
"Yes, I have it, but..." Lyos retrieved the sword from a sheath that he had over one shoulder.
"Wow! That's such a small sword! It's kind of like a knife!" Pestis exclaimed, hovering over the sword curiously.
"It's not supposed to be this small." Lyos yanked it away from the professor. "At least, not when I wield it. The small sword grows into a magical blade in response to my power. But lately... I haven't been able to use it. It seems like it's broken."
"What?! Broken? How long has it been that way?" Shizuri demanded.
"A few weeks now-"
"And you didn't come to us at the temple?"
"No, I..." Lyos stammered. "I didn't think... I mean... I didn't want to..."
"You didn't want to seem weak." Lina finished for him
"What?!" Lyos turned to Lina with such fierceness in his gaze that Gourry put an arm around her and pulled her closer to him. Lyos noted the gesture, but it only made him angrier.
"Why should I be afraid of seeming weak?! It's the sword's problem, not mine! It's got nothing to do with me!"
"It's got everything to do with you." Lina repeated. With Gourry's protection, she was invincible. She could say whatever she wanted. "You are the one that can call upon the power of the Aqualord. The Banisher uses that power. If somehow the flow of power from you to your sword is interrupted, then-"
"That's not it! It's not me! I've made sure of it!" Lyos replied fervently. "Don't you think that was the first thing that came to my mind? Don't you think I was terrified that I'd lost my ability to call upon the god's power? I tried on my own to summon the Aqualord's power, and succeeded. Then, when I tried it with the Banisher, it didn't work. It's not my lack of power, it's the Banisher's lack of response to that power."
"You called upon the power of the Aqualord without using the Banisher?" Shizuri gasped.
"Yeah, and destroyed one of my good daggers in the process." Lyos sighed. "I have plenty of other weapons, but none that can hold the Aqualord's power the way the Banisher does. If I try to summon that power to an ordinary weapon, it breaks."
"I understand that." Lina commented. "It's just like Gourry with magical swords. He wields a replica of the Sword of Light right now... but when he didn't have a magical sword, he went through regular swords like toothpicks. His skills require something more powerful, that can stand up to his swordsmanship skills."
"It's not the same thing." Lyos huffed, indignant at the thought of having his divine power compared to simple swordsmanship.
"It sounds a lot like the same thing." Gourry offered innocently. "I know you don't like me very much, but you don't have to treat me like I have some sort of disease. We should be friends- we both wield very special swords, right?"
Lyos turned away. "Didn't Lina say that yours was a replica? I wield the real thing. You're nothing but a phony."
"Hey now!" Lina growled. "Gourry's phony sword actually works- which is more than we can say about your real thing, right?"
"You guys, please!" Shizuri interjected. "This is not the time or place for this sort of argument! We've got to figure out what we're going to do!"
"She's right." Zelgadis agreed. "Azarel is going to be very upset that she lost Lyos. She won't give up so easily."
"We can't let her get to Mister Lyos, though." Amelia sighed. "We may have no choice but to fight her..."
"No. There must be some other way." Pestis interrupted. "Azarel doesn't fight fair- we have to avoid initiating a fight at all costs."
"And just let her do as she pleases?" Amelia gasped.
"Doing nothing would also be inviting her to initiate a fight." Zelgadis added. "If she really fights dirty like you say, we'd have little chance of gaining the upper-hand in a fight that she starts. We have to be the ones to make the first move."
"But if that first move is not a smart move, we have little chance of gaining the upper-hand anyway." Lina moved Gourry's arm from around her and stood up, returning the book she'd been reading to the shelf. "We need to think it through first."
"There doesn't seem to be a lot of time to think things through right now!" Lyos jumped to his feet as well.
"The stakes are pretty high here, Lyos. I don't think we can afford not to think things through." Lina shot back.
"It seems to me like we're sort of going about this the wrong way..." Gourry murmured. The whole group turned to him.
"Care to enlighten us on your thought processes, Gourry?" Lina asked.
"Well... I mean... Azarel is after Lyos in order to get the Key, right? So if Lyos stays here at the temple, we're all sitting ducks."
"He does have a good point." Amelia nodded.
"But... if Azarel only wants Lyos for the purpose of finding the key, then if we were to begin using Lyos to search for the key instead, then we-"
"H-hey! No one is going to be using me for anything!" Lyos yelled.
"Please, just hear me out!" Gourry begged. "I haven't had a good idea like this before!"
"Let him talk, Lyos." Lina demanded.
Lyos scowled, but was silent, so Gourry continued anyway.
"So, uh, if we start searching for the Key instead, Azarel will certainly know what we're doing, since she's a Mazoku and Mazoku know everything. And it stands to reason that, if she fought us for Lyos in the beginning, she'd have to do all the searching herself. But if she follows us and waits for us to find the Key, then all she has to do is fight us then, and the Key is hers. In that case, then we can lead her away from Ti Toh and back to somewhere where we have an advantage- like Seyruun or something- and so then we can initiate the fight at any time and place that we choose. It makes sense... doesn't it?"
The group was silent for a moment, everyone glancing back and forth at one another. Gourry looked around timidly, hoping that his idea wasn't too useless. Lina was the first to speak again.
"My Gourry is a genius!" she declared proudly. "That's a perfect idea!"
"It makes a lot of sense, especially considering Azarel's nature." Pestis nodded. You're good at getting into a Mazoku's head, Gourry."
"He works well under pressure." Lina responded affectionately. "Either that, or he's secretly an evil Mazoku mastermind. Gourry! Are you secretly an evil Mazoku mastermind?"
"Huh? What?" Gourry blinked confusedly.
"See, it's got to be the first one." Lina laughed.
"Are you really sure that's going to work?" Shizuri questioned.
"Well, I know Azarel better than anyone in the world." Pestis began. "And I know that this sounds exactly like the kind of plan Azarel would make- planning to follow us while we search, I mean. It won't be as simple as Gourry makes it sound, but if we play our cards right, we might be able to make it work..."
"As long as we're taking an active role in all this, I agree." Zelgadis nodded.
"Me too!" Amelia chimed. "The power of Justice will be on our side!"
"What we need to do," Pestis spoke "is search seriously for the Key. If Azarel knows that we're searching, there won't be any motivation to approach us until we've actually found it. The best thing to do would be to keep it in the back of our minds that Azarel is trailing us, but to search seriously. The faster we find the Key, the faster we can protect it."
"It might also make sense to split into groups." Lina spoke. "Azarel can't follow all of us at once."
"Won't that make us more vulnerable?" Shizuri asked.
"No, and here's why." Lina began. "Like it or not, Azarel needs us, and she needs us alive. The ones that she seems to be most interested in are Lyos and Pestis- we already know for a fact that she doesn't want to kill Lyos, and I don't think she even has the power to kill Pestis. So those two are safe."
"And what about the rest of us?" Shizuri questioned.
"We're expendable- but not really." Lina replied. "Azarel can't kill Gourry or me... not if she wants to keep Zara's loyalty, that is. And she' not going to kill anyone in the presence of Lyos or Pestis, for fear that either one might turn against her. And, if we split up into three different groups, then it's possible that Azarel's little posse will also split up to keep an eye on all of us, and at least one of our groups will be able to catch Zara alone."
"Oooh, oooh!" Pestis waved his hand excitedly. "I call Amelia and Zelgadis! Can they be in my group?! Please-please-please let them be in my group!"
Everyone stared.
"This... this is not a grade-school field trip, Pestis." Zelgadis groaned. "Please, can we try to keep the childishness to a minimum? I have enough on my mind without having to worry about babysitting you."
"B-but I want you in my group..." Pestis whined.
"He can have them." Lyos spoke. "There's no way that I'm travelling with Zelgadis."
Zelgadis crossed his arms and sighed. "I apologize, Pestis. It's clear now that you aren't, in fact, the most childish person here."
"See? See?! This is why I can't deal with him!" Lyos argued.
"Calm down, Lyos. You can come with me." Shizuri offered, placing a hand on his shoulder. "There are plenty of temples dedicated to the Aqualord in some of the neighbouring countries- it might be a good idea to visit them."
"Oh hey! I have an idea too!" Amelia exclaimed. "I know that the libraries in the ancient city of Sairaag were destroyed several years ago, but Taforashia, which was established by the descendants of Sairaag, may still have some reproductions of texts from those libraries. We have a friend in Taforashia that could probably help us. What do you think, Mister Pestis?"
"I would love to accompany you to Taforashia!" Pestis exclaimed. "That would be wonderful!"
"And while you guys are doing that, Gourry and I can do some sniffing around the coast of Ralteague. We've heard various legends while travelling in those parts- perhaps some of them are worth looking into." Lina declared.
"I'll have to speak to the high priest about it," Shizuri began, "but it sounds like a good plan of action to me."
"I need to return to my home and pack some belongings. You just pulled me off the street, you know." Lyos sighed. "But I'll do anything if it means getting my Banisher back to normal."
"He's right. We also need to figure out what's happening to the Banisher. It could be important." Lina agreed. "But finding the Key and Zara comes first, and we'll keep an eye out for information about the Banisher as well."
Pestis nodded. "Good. So it's decided, then."
"Hey, Lina. Can't sleep either?"
Lina jumped. "G-Gourry! Don't sneak up on me like that!"
She gripped the handle of the temple balcony, though she then released it when she found that it was frozen. The group had decided to stay the night in Ti Toh before departing the next morning for their varied destinations, but Lina found sleep difficult. She had spent most of the journey asleep, and now suddenly it seemed like there was so much to do. It was impossible to shut down her mind.
"Sorry, sorry." Gourry waved his hands in apology. "I guess we're both just having trouble resting now that we know exactly what our plans are now."
Lina shrugged. "I suppose that's it. I kind of feel trapped right now- like I want to go ahead and start travelling."
Gourry placed a hand on her shoulder. "Do you want to take a walk?"
She grinned. "You know, if I get tired, you may have to carry me back up the hill."
"I can handle that."
In just a few minutes, Lina and Gourry had gathered some warm jackets and were exploring the town by night. The streets were empty, and the sky was filled with soft flurries that were slowly accumulating.
"...I guess it'll kind of be like old times again... just the two of us travelling together..." Gourry thought out loud as they walked. "But I'm too used to having Zara with us now. We're a family now, and it's lonely without him."
Lina nodded. "I guess I'd feel better if he was with someone we knew... like when Imia kept him over our anniversary trip, back in..." Lina paused to think. "...well, it was over a year ago! Because that was our second anniversary, and our third was a month ago..."
"Three years." Gourry chuckled. "It sounds like such a short amount of time, but it doesn't feel like it. I guess it's because of all the adventures that we've had."
"Adventures, huh? I guess so-"
"Aaaaah!"
Lina cringed. She'd seen Gourry step on that patch of ice and couldn't manage to say something before he'd slipped and toppled over.
"Oww, that hurt. Why is ice so slippery?" he groaned.
"Are you okay there?" Lina grabbed onto his hand to help him up.
"Yeah, fine... better me than you." Gourry rubbed his shoulder. "I guess I'd better watch where I'm walking from now on- huh? Lina? Where are you going? Hey, wait! Come back! Lina!"
Lina had left Gourry's side and run up a few blocks, peeking around the corner of a building. "Shhh! Did you see that?" she whispered.
"See what?" Gourry whispered in reply.
"Right when you fell- there was a man that ducked around this corner. I think... it might have been..."
"What?"
"Follow me!" Lina grabbed Gourry's arm and dragged him down the street, trying to find the figure that she'd seen just a few moments before. He stumbled as he tried to keep up without slipping over any ice again- it wasn't clear how Lina was keeping her balance, but she clearly had more important things to worry about.
"There! Down there! Near that fence- he just turned left into the alley! C'mon- we need to follow him!"
Gourry was still confused as Lina dragged him down the street and around the corner. "H-hey, Lina... what's going on? Who is that?"
"You're telling me that you don't recognize him?" Lina demanded. "That profile and gait is unmistakable!"
"I didn't see him. You think it's someone we know...?"
She smirked. "I was wondering when Xellos was going to show up. I'm just surprised that it took him 12 chapters..."
"Be careful what you say, Lina!" Gourry warned.
"Yeah, yeah... WAIT!"
The two stopped abruptly as they almost turned a corner. The figure that they'd been following was standing where the alley dead-ended, facing another figure that Lina could see, but almost didn't recognize. It was a bespectacled man, dressed in business attire as though for some unknown formal event, leaning against the brick wall as if he'd been waiting a while for a guest to arrive.
If it weren't for the pink flower clip that was pinned to the lapel of his jacket, Lina almost wouldn't have recognized him.
"It's been a while, hasn't it, Xellos?
"Indeed, it has." Xellos gave a nod. "You seem to be doing well."
"Oh, I suppose. But… I've missed you, my dear friend..."
"Dear friend? That's a bit of a stretch, I think." Xellos chuckled. "I'm a little surprised that you'd call me out here, Azarel. What exactly do you want from me?"
"Always one to cut to the chase, aren't you? We've barely exchanged salutations. Clearly we're not here for a cup of tea." Azarel ran a hand through his hair smugly. "In actuality... I have a business proposition for you, Xellos."
(A/N: Aaaaand… another transition-y chapter. I don't really know why I bother that much with these author's notes at the end; it's not like I have anything of much value to say. Hah…)