Slayers Fan Fiction ❯ Titled ❯ Chapter 4 ( Chapter 2 )
[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
By: David_A._Tatum 
Anime/Manga: Slayers Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Adventure / Action / Comedy / Fantasy / Romance / | Type: Continuation | Uploaded On: 09.22.2003 | Pages: 9 | Words: 11.7K | Visits: 565 | Status: Work In Progress
Anime/Manga: Slayers Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Adventure / Action / Comedy / Fantasy / Romance / | Type: Continuation | Uploaded On: 09.22.2003 | Pages: 9 | Words: 11.7K | Visits: 565 | Status: Work In Progress
If anyone who does anything related to fanfiction (runs a major
archive\review site, writes it, etc.) and will be attending AnimeUSA
(Nov. 21-23 2003 in N. Virginia (Tyson's Corner, technically -- about
20 minutes from my new home)), please let me know. I'm moderating
the fanfic panel there, and I'm VERY desperate for panelists -- I've
only got two tentatives, and I'd like to have 4 panelists and 4
alternates.
If I can't get at least one more panelist, I'll have to cancel the
panel...
which'd be a shame, because while I've been a panelist myself several
times, this is the first time I've moderated one.
Contact me, if interested, at my (relatively) new e-mail of
desaix@anifics.com
-------------------------
Chapter 4: Gourry’s Plan
...In Which Things Are Discussed, Some Secrets Are Revealed, a Council of War is Formed, and Gourry Shows Intelligence
MILD LIME
“How’s Gourry?” Lina and Sylphiel both asked as a healer came out of the rented room they’d placed him in.
“Well, physically, he’s fine. I had to cast a triple strength sleep spell on him, though. The blood of those ogres can be mildly poisonous, and he seems to have ingested some of it during your battle, but he’ll recover completely if he gets enough rest.” He paused, looking between the two girls. “Which one of you two is Lina?”
Lina hesitantly raised her hand. “I am.”
The healer nodded, and handed her a freshly cleaned short sword. “Before I put Mr. Gabriev under, he told me to give this to you, and to apologize for having chipped the blade.”
Lina looked at her sword. Just as the healer said, there was a small chip out of the blade. Very small- she wouldn’t have noticed it if she hadn’t been looking for it. She sighed. “We’re going to HAVE to get him something better. He would never have chipped the Sword of Light.”
Sylphiel looked at Lina with reproach. “How can you be so cold?!” she demanded, using the same tone of voice she had when she accused Lina of having stolen the Sword of Light and tossing Gourry into a river.
Lina smiled, sheathing her sword. “I’m not being cold. I’m relieved- if Gourry hadn’t apologized for knicking the blade, I would have been worried.” She turned to head down the stairs, where the rest of the company was waiting. “He did, though, so I know he’ll be all right.”
Sylphiel stared. She had long knew how Gourry felt about Lina, but she couldn’t help but wonder if Lina felt anything in return. She remembered the incident where Lina cast the Giga Slave to save him, true, but... still, sometimes she felt Lina wasn’t really concerned enough about the swordsman. This adventure, she promised herself, she’d keep an eye on them to make sure Gourry was treated right.
* * * * *
“So, what do we do, now?” Filia asked as Lina made it to the table.
Xelloss shrugged. “All I know is that the Lord of Nightmares told me to get everyone together, and keep you all safe until I get further orders.”
Lina frowned. “What are YOU doing talking to the Lord of Nightmares? I wouldn’t think you would be on her list of close friends.”
“How do you think I recovered the Sword of Light from her after Gourry lost it inside your Giga Slave?” Xelloss smirked. “See, I was created by her from the body of Zelas Metallium. Also created were the position of the Knight of Ceiphied,” he bowed to Luna, who nodded back, “Rezo the Red Priest, and the Founder of Sailoon.” He smiled. “We were all made as her servants. Some of us went insane- like Rezo. Some of us were enslaved to our masters- like myself. Some of us became PART of the city we founded- like Sailoon herself, plus one other whose name would mean nothing to you.” He looked over at Luna again. “The Knight of Ceiphied was the only mortal among us. When Luna dies, the title will be inherited by someone else. But that won’t be for some time, I expect.”
Lina looked at her sister uncomfortably. “Some people accuse me of being the Lord of Nightmares. Would that make you my servant?”
Luna just smiled.
Xelloss sweatdropped before continuing. “Um... anyway. I was to be enslaved to Zelas until the Lord of Nightmares had a use for me, and then I would be freed. A few days ago, L-sama summoned me with the mission of gathering most of you together, and wait for further orders.” He frowned. “Come to think of it, I was sort of expecting her to get those to me already.”
Filia coughed. “Um... forgive me, but... what does all this talk about being the Lord of Nightmares servant have to do with anything? We need to worry about this Mazoku Uprising that seems to be happening right under our noses.”
Xelloss turned an eye to her. “This isn’t a Mazoku Uprising. This is an assassination.”
“What do you mean by that?!” Filia screeched. “Zelas sending almost a thousand of her beasts against us, and threatened that she was coming against us with more as soon as she could get her forces together, PLUS hinting she might actually show up to fight us IN PERSON.”
Xelloss smiled. “None of which suggests a Mazoku Uprising. If it was a Mazoku Uprising, they’d have struck this city which we’re currently taking refuge in, first.” He shook his head. “No, they’re targeting someone.”
Filia blinked. “Who?”
He looked over at her, then down at the egg she was carrying. “Well, let’s see. The Mazoku know that they’ve just BARELY got the edge over you Dragons at the moment. They also know that if you’re able to raise Valgaav over there to adulthood, he will single-handedly be enough to give you guys the advantage. So, they have to kill you and Valgaav before that happens.” He paused. “They also seem to have targeted Lina for some reason- probably they’re a little scared of her. After all, she toasted a part of Shabradnigo, Hellmaster Phibrizo, AND helped us destroy Dark Star and Gaav. I was told by Zelas that she didn’t think I could match her in a normal fight.”
Filia raised an eyebrow. “But you were offering to kill her in return for Valgaav’s services?”
Xelloss smirked. “I said a normal fight. I wouldn’t have fought her in a normal way.”
Lina sighed, bashing him over the head. “Stop talking about killing me, okay? It isn’t the sort of thing I want to think about right now.”
He rubbed the back of his head. “Owie. That hurt!” Turning his attention back to Filia, he continued, “At any rate, the Mazoku leadership knows that if they were to try a full-scale uprising right now, the remaining three Dragon Kings would come out of their hiding places and destroy them. If they stick to just us twelve, though, the Dragon Kings won’t bother.” He smiled. “So basically it’s the twelve of us versus Zelas and everyone in her power. And I should mention she has more servants, and more powerful servants, than anyone else in the Mazoku hierarchy, save Shabradnigo himself.”
Silence reigned for a moment. “So, how’s Gourry?” Amelia asked Lina, trying to change the subject.
“Huh? Oh, he’s a little sick because the blood of some of those Ogres he killed got into him, somehow, but he’ll be fine after an extended rest.” Lina paused. “That reminds me... sis, can I talk to you in private for a bit?”
Luna smirked up at her sister. “Your servant, sis,” she said teasingly.
* * * * *
Sylphiel stepped into her room and stopped cold. They had assigned four people to a room (only paying for three rooms), and so she had been forced to share with Martina, Naga, and Amelia. She wished she had been assigned to Gourry’s room (he being thought of as the most trustworthy man to share a room with three girls- largely because he was totally unconscious and unlikely to wake for several days), but Lina, Luna, and Filia were given that one. Lina because she’d been forced to share a room with him before on their travels and was most comfortable with the situation (and was paying for the room), Luna because she was Lina’s sister, and Filia because... well, she drew the short straw. Initially, the plan had been to let Zangulus and Martina share a room with two other girls, but only Naga was willing to share the room with the married couple. Everyone else was afraid the pair would keep everyone up all night.
Now, Sylphiel was wondering if it might have been better to be kept awake by Zangulus and Martina’s passion, as she stood between a duel of deranged plans, combined with lots of annoying and rather frightening laughter, held by Naga and Martina.
“Well I was able to conquer an entire nation with ten clones of myself! OOOH HO HO HO HO HO!”
The Queen of Xoana snorted. “Please. I once summoned a hurricane to torment Lina Inverse, even at the cost of tormenting myself! Oh ho ho ho ho ho ho!”
Sylphiel, much to her dismay, found herself more impressed with Naga than Martina. Both for her achievements and her laugh. Not that she was going to say anything, though.
Amelia stepped in, saw her sister and Martina in a confrontation, and shrugged. Grabbing Sylphiel by the arm, she dragged her out of the room and shut the door behind them. “We’re going to need a nightcap before we go to bed, tonight. A lot of them, actually. Enough that we’ll be able to pass out despite my sister’s laughter.”
Sylphiel, unable to break Amelia’s grip, protested, “But I’m a Shrine Maiden! I’m not supposed to get drunk!”
Amelia shrugged. “So? I’ve been a Shrine Maiden in training all my life, and I’m a princess to boot. I’m not supposed to get drunk, either... but sometimes, there’s just no choice.” She paused. “I don’t think I’ll remain a Shrine Maiden, forever, come to think of it. I’d never be able to get married if I was.”
Sylphiel paused. ‘Oh, yeah- that’s why I never came on to Gourry when I knew him as a teenager- I wasn’t allowed to date anyone. Hmm... but I’m willing to retire from being a Shrine Maiden, if I can ever win him from Lina.’
* * * * *
“So, sis,” Luna asked. “What’cha wanna talk about?”
Lina shifted uncomfortably. “You saw Gourry fighting in the battle, right?”
Luna nodded, smiling. “Yep. He’s good. I’d like to spar with him, one day.”
Lina winced, picturing poor Gourry after a day of practice with her sister. “Um... talk to him about it when he’s feeling better. I was really wondering if you noticed how uncomfortable he was using my sword.”
Luna nodded again. “Yeah... seemed to expect his sword to be a bit longer than it was, sometimes.”
“Right,” the younger sister agreed. “That’s part of it. Another part is that he’s used to using the Sword of Light, but he gave that up to its home world, so he no longer has a sword of his own.” She paused. “I’m making him a new magic sword, but I was wondering if you might have a spare weapon for him.”
Luna thought about it. “Longsword, right?”
Lina nodded. “The sword was sometimes disguised with a normal blade, and that normal blade was a longsword, yeah.”
The elder sister went over to her pack and looked through it for a bit. As she searched her bag, she kept talking to her sister. “I could make a weapon for him. I’m better than you at that sort of thing.”
Lina scowled. “Yeah, you can.” She paused. “But... well, you’ve never seen the sort of weapon I’m making for him in action. See, I want to make him a NEW Sword of Light.”
Luna pulled a longsword out of her bag that REALLY shouldn’t have fit inside it. Turning to Lina, she smiled, “Sounds neat. Need help?”
Lina nodded. “Yeah... that’s the other thing I wanted to ask you. Do you see these four talisman I’m wearing right now?”
“Yep.”
“They enhance black magic quite a lot, and I can use them to focus energy and that sort of thing.” She paused. “I was wondering if you knew of such a thing for white magic, or could make something like that?”
Luna approached her sister and studied the talisman closely. “Hmm... these don’t just focus black magic, you know.”
“Yeah, but they do black magic best. I need something that’ll do the same thing for White magic- they’ll need to be able to handle other forms of magic, as well.”
“Hmm... curious.” Luna continued to study the gems. “Did you get these from your fight with Shabby?”
“Uh, no,” Lina said. She wasn’t really comfortable around her sister in the first place, and hearing her refer to the most powerfully evil Dark Lord in her world as ‘Shabby’ didn’t help ease her nervousness. “Xelloss had them. I spend several million to purchase them from him.”
“Odd... I thought these belonged to one of the parts of Shabradnigo. Well, that was a long time ago- Xelloss probably looted them off of one of them.” She straightened herself. “Well, at any rate, the answer is I don’t know of anything specific that you could use. That doesn’t mean there isn’t anything, though. There are lots of treasures from antiquity that probably have the properties you’re looking for, but I’m not in possession of any of them, nor do I know where you could find them. Well, if you could find them, maybe the elves might know of something- they used to make some pretty good magical items that might have needed talisman like that.” She handed Lina the sword. “Here, this is for Gourry to play with- it’s a good sword. I was able to use it to kill a mid-level Mazoku once, but it IS a bit heavy.” She pulled a second item out of nowhere. “And this is for you- one of the most useful books I’ve found on weaponsmithing magical weapons. Probably not anything you’d find in any of the major libraries, either. Be careful with it, though- it’s older then Xelloss is.”
Lina blinked at her sister in surprise. In all the time she could remember, Luna had NEVER been this helpful to her before... well, not without causing her a lot of pain. “Um, sis?”
“Yeah, Lina?”
“Why are you being so nice to me? You’ve never acted like this before!”
Luna smirked. “As Xelloss would say, that... is a secret.”
* * * * *
It was very late at night, and the company had gone to bed. Well, most of the company- Xelloss was still awake, chatting amiably with Luna in a nearby all-night tavern (the kitchen in the inn was closed) about their plans, but everyone who was still at the inn was asleep.
Gourry was having some especially pleasant dreams. Simple dreams- he and Lina, sitting under a tree, fishing. Lots of food nearby. The stream they were getting their fish out of gurgling happily. Peaceful- very peaceful. No enemies they HAD to fight, though Lina was saying something about how much fun the last bandit raid had been, and why didn’t they go on one again soon?
Yeah, very peaceful dreams. Shattered, however, by a very powerful instinct inside of him.
‘Gourry, wake up!’ something inside of him said.
‘But I’m having such a pleasant dream!’ he complained. ‘Lina’s happy, I’m happy, we’re together, having fun...’
‘I know, but there’s no time to enjoy it. Lina’s in danger!’
His eyes snapped open as he roused himself to consciousness, breaking the six sleep spells that had been placed on him (three by the healer and one each by the girls as they got ready for bed, just to make certain he didn’t get up while they were changing. He glanced over at the spot on the floor Lina was sleeping on anxiously.
‘Why is she sleeping on the floor when I’m sleeping on a bed?’ he asked himself. ‘That isn’t right!’
He didn’t have time to puzzle things out, however- standing over Lina, preparing to drive some kind of weapon through her heart, was a vaguely humanoid creature. Probably a mazoku, but Gourry wouldn’t know for certain if it told him. He didn’t care, either- all he knew was that it was threatening Lina.
He reached for his Sword of Light, forgetting for the moment it wasn’t there. Finding it missing, he did the only thing he could- he launched himself at the thing hovering over his charge, shouting at the top of his lungs, “LIIINAAAAAAA!”
Every muscle in his body felt sluggish, but he didn’t have a choice BUT to move harder than he’d ever moved before. If he didn’t, Lina would be dead, and if she was dead... well, what other reason did he have to live, if not for her?
*crunch* He collided with the creature seconds before its weapon would have pierced Lina’s chest. Gourry’s tackle sent both of them careening into the Inn’s wall- and through it.
The thing, which Gourry could now tell for certain was a mazoku, effortlessly tossed the swordsman back into the hole the two of them created. Having sapped all of his strength in the one attack (six sleep spells were quite weakening), Gourry didn’t have the energy to protect himself from the fall. Thankfully, however, someone was waiting to catch him.
“Hi!” Filia said, smiling as she held him up. “You really shouldn’t be out of bed, you know?”
By this point, everyone in the two rooms had awakened, and Lina was quite pissed.
“Now look here!” she shouted. “Attacking me in the middle of my beauty sleep is NOT a smart thing to do- I don’t care if you ARE a Mazoku! *Flare Bit!*”
The hundreds of tiny explosions as the charges from the Flare Bit hit the Mazoku’s shield did little outside of cause noise. However, that was enough to bring aid, as the noise was able to travel through the now-quiet streets of Femille to reach the empty tavern Luna and Xelloss were chatting in.
That aid didn’t arrive right away, though. Silently, the Mazoku attacked again, throwing its own spell at Lina. She dodged, but a part of it winged her leg, knocking her to the ground.
“LINA!” Gourry shouted, adreneline allowing him to tear out of Filia’s grasp. Acting entirely on instinct, he ran down to her. “*Restoration!*” he somehow cast, not even aware he was doing it. His hands glowed white, and Lina’s wounds healed up rather quickly with his spell.
Meanwhile, Luna and Xelloss had teleported in.
“Hmm... don’t believe I know you,” Xelloss told the Mazoku.
It didn’t say a word- it just cast a spell at him.
The spell never reached, as Luna’s sword cut through it, and continued traveling on until it sliced through the creature. Xelloss added a blow from his staff to the attack, and between the two of them it was rather handily destroyed.
“Odd,” Xelloss continued. “He’s not the sort of servant my former master would create- she’s a lot more imaginative in her designs. That’s why they called her the Beastmaster, obviously. That guy looked more like one of Dynast’s servants.”
Luna frowned. “Does this mean Dynast and Zelas are working together in this?”
“Probably. Looks like our job just got a lot tougher.”
Lina was looking at Gourry, blushing. His healing spell had successfully repaired her leg, but after the brief burst of energy he had to save her from the Mazoku and then the second burst of energy he used to heal her, he had collapsed. Right on top of her. In a rather awkward position.
Luna, passing by as she continued talking to Xelloss, smiled at her sister. “You know, it’d probably be more comfortable if you two shared a bed instead of using the floor.”
* * * * *
A half hour later, the rooms had been repaired (thanks to Luna’s magic) Gourry had been returned to his sick bed (this time with six more sleep spells placed on him (each girl being DOUBLY sure he wasn’t going to wake up that morning when they were changing)), and everyone was settling down.
Lina couldn’t help but smile at the sleeping Gourry as she resettled her bed things. “I can’t believe the idiot took THAT long to learn a simple healing spell,” she said- though there was enough affection in her voice that it was obvious she wasn’t being mean. The others in the room made a point of ignoring her.
“How did he do that?” Filia asked, awed, as she cast her second spell.
“Do what?” Lina asked, settling into her futon on the floor.
“Break through all six sleep spells placed on him by both that healer and us, just to protect you from that attacker? I mean, what he did was downright remarkable!” She moved over to her own futon, squatting down and pouring herself a cup of chamomile tea to fall asleep with.
Lina couldn’t prevent a small smile from sneaking its way onto her lips. “Yeah... he’s been a pretty reliable guardian. I probably don’t thank him enough, but I doubt he’d understand why I was thanking him if I did.”
“How did he know you were under attack, though? I mean, you didn’t sense the Mazoku. I didn’t sense the Mazoku. No-one else sensed the Mazoku. But he did- and he was able to sense it through six sleep spells, a slightly poisoned body, and his own regular exhaustion. And he was able to act on it, too.”
Lina got up from her futon and walked over to the sleeping swordsman. She placed a hand to his forehead, detected the mild fever the poison in his bloodstream was giving him, and sent him a silent spell that even she didn’t know she was casting. “I don’t know. It seems he’s always there when I need him, though. And even when I don’t need him.” She adjusted his blankets slightly. “You can see why I want to get him a new weapon, though. He’s quite useful to have around.”
Luna, who they both thought was asleep in the corner of the room, smiled as she witnessed her little sister with Gourry. ‘Hmm... sis, do you even know what spell it was you just cast?’ she asked herself.
* * * * *
“I don’t like it,” Zelgadis said. It was the next morning, and they were discussing the attack in Lina’s room. “They’re attacking us in the city, now?”
Xelloss shook his head. “It was a single assassin, not a full-scale attack. And I’m fairly certain it wasn’t one of Zelas’ servants, either- most likely, it was Dynast’s. Which means, we’re not just up against her, but against every Mazoku out there.”
“So how are Gourry... and Lina?” Sylphiel asked, concerned.
“Gourry’s resting comfortably,” Filia said. “Lina’s staying with him. She claimed she wanted time to read some book in peace, and to say that there wasn’t much we could do until he was awake, so let’s hold off on our council of war for a while.”
“Makes sense,” Luna said. She made some sort of gesture to Xelloss that only he caught.
Amelia blinked. “Lina hasn’t eaten today, has she?”
“I don’t think so,” Filia answered. “Not yet, anyway.”
Zelgadis sighed. He felt they should be taking immediate action, but apparently he was being out-voted. “Well, I guess we could gather supplies in the meantime.”
Xelloss laughed. “An excellent plan, Mr. Zelgadis. Since you suggested it, why don’t you go do that? And why don’t you take most everyone with you- Luna and I will stay here to protect Filia and Lina, if anyone attacks.”
Zelgadis clucked- obviously, he was being gotten rid of. Still, if it got him out of sight of that annoying Trickster Priest, he’d do it. “Yeah, whatever. Come on, gang.”
With that, most of the company dissolved, leaving just Filia, Luna, and Xelloss.
“So, Luna,” Xelloss coughed. “What DID you want to talk about, anyway?”
Luna looked at Filia, pointing her thumb at her. “Sure it’s safe?”
Xelloss chuckled. “Oh, let’s not keep this a secret from her. She could be useful.”
Filia glared at Xelloss. “Excuse me, Mr. Raw Garbage, but I don’t particularly LIKE being used- especially by the likes of you.”
Xelloss twitched, but remained calm. “Oh, but you’ll like helping us with this, I expect. So, Luna....” He opened a single eye, leveling it at the elder Inverse sibling. “Why’d you want me to get rid of everyone?”
“Lina cast something on Gourry. Thought you’d be interested.”
Xelloss’ open eye widened. “You mean, she cast THE spell?” Luna nodded.
Filia blinked. “Um... what spell is this?”
Xelloss looked at Filia and considered. “Hmm... how old are you, Filia? How long ago were you hatched?”
Filia frowned. “How rude! You should NEVER ask a lady her age, not even a dragon lady like me!”
Luna smirked. “Answer, Filia. He needs to know.”
Filia sighed. “Well... my egg was laid back during the Koama war, but my mother wasn’t able to hatch me at first. I was actually buried by her- to protect me from YOU, mazoku- and my mother didn’t recover me until the war was officially suspended and the surrounding area was stabilized. Then it was another few hundred years before she could get around to it, thanks to her being sent off as a diplomat to your side, in the cease-fire negotiations.” She paused. “Well, to make a long story short, I’m only about three hundred, though my egg’s been around for over a thousand years.”
Xelloss smiled. “Hmm... you say she was a diplomat in the cease-fire negotiations? I might actually have met her a few times. Who was she?”
“Ilana.”
Xelloss eyes widened. “Hmm... you’re lucky to be alive. I spared your mother on the battlefield because she was a non-combatant. I nearly got punished for that one.” He paused. “Actually, you saved your mother’s life, though you probably weren’t aware of it at the time. If she hadn’t been carrying your egg, I would have thought she was a Dragon Warrior, and been forced to kill her.”
Filia glared at Xelloss. “Don’t remind me of what you did to my race, freak.”
Xelloss sighed- he knew he deserved that one. Still, it was rather annoying. “Sorry- not like I had a choice in the matter. Still, it sounds like you’re too young to remember this spell we’re talking about- it’s only been used a couple of times in the past eight-hundred years, and it isn’t very famous or anything. In fact, it’s a rather private spell.”
Filia’s annoyance with the mazoku was starting to grow greater than her curiosity about the spell. “Just tell me what the stupid spell is, and what it does, so we can get on with all of this!”
“Not a stupid spell,” Luna said. “Dangerous, yes. Stupid, no.”
“Dangerous? In what way?” Filia asked.
“It’s kind of hard to explain,” Xelloss said. “Though, considering Lina and Gourry’s condition prior to this, it probably is pretty safe.”
“WILL YOU JUST EXPLAIN WHAT’S GOING ON, PLEASE!” Filia growled, her tail popping out.
Luna clucked. “Calm down. We’ll explain.” She looked at Xelloss. “Though it’s kinda hard to.”
Xelloss sighed. “I guess we should start at the beginning. Lina and the Water Dragon Kin Ceiphied have a lot in common, oddly enough. You know that Lina destroyed Hellmaster Phibrizo, right?”
Filia nodded. “Yeah... that’s the main reason I took Luna’s recommendation when she selected Lina for the Dark Star incident.”
Xelloss coughed. “Well, see, the thing is, they don’t really know it, but neither Lina nor Gourry survived that incident. They both died- Lina sacrificed herself to the Lord of Nightmares to save Gourry from Hellmaster, and Gourry sacrificed himself to... well, Lina, sort of, to save her. Lina was consumed by the chaos when Hellmaster killed her in the middle of a Giga Slave, and Gourry... well, Gourry went INSIDE the Lord of Nightmares trying to bring Lina back.” He paused. “Technically, I suppose his body wasn’t destroyed, but he should have been lost inside the Chaos forever, and large portions of his soul were stripped away- the only thing remaining in his body was his love for Lina. Once he went inside, there was no way out.”
Filia blinked. “They certainly seem to be quite lively, for a couple of people consumed by the Chaos.”
Luna chuckled. “Yep. But they were.”
Xelloss nodded. “As Luna said, they WERE, in fact, consumed by the Chaos and killed. But there was a problem- the Lord of Nightmares was faced with a paradox, and so had to make a decision. Water Dragon King Ceiphied had made a similar bargain towards the end of the Koama war, where he exchanged his life so that the Mazoku could be defeated. As part of that bargain, I was created, Luna’s Knighthood was established, and the other Servants of the Lord of Nightmares were born.”
Filia’s eyes widened in wonder. “We of the Dragon Race always wondered how he was able to seal Gaav and the awakened part of Shabradnigo as he was being destroyed. I guess that makes sense, though.”
He nodded. “But the Water Dragon King didn’t need to remain alive for his bargain to succeed. Lina did. Lina called upon power from ANYONE, solely to protect Gourry. And all Lina wanted was for Gourry to live on, so she didn’t really care when the Lord of Nightmares took her away, because Gourry was safe.”
“But he wasn’t,” Luna supplied.
Xelloss nodded. “No, he wasn’t. Gourry would rather he die than Lina die- and so he followed her into the Lord of Nightmares. He didn’t care if he lived or not. In fact, if he hadn’t been able to rescue her, he would have killed himself for having failed to protect the one meaningful thing in his life.” Dramatic pause. “And that was where the paradox came in- the Lord of Nightmares took Lina to save Gourry, but Gourry could not be saved without Lina. And Lina had already been lost inside the Chaos, and Gourry lost HIMSELF inside the Chaos going after her.”
Filia had calmed down enough to pay attention to the story, and flushed slightly. How romantic their dedication for each other sounded. She knew they kind of liked each other, but wasn’t aware that their feeling were that strong. “So what did the Lord of Nightmares do?” she asked.
Xelloss smiled slightly. Filia was acting just like a little kid waiting for her parents to finish a bedtime story. It made her look kind of cute. “Well, there wasn’t much she COULD do, really. She promised to save Gourry. So she rebuilt both Lina and Gourry out of their remaining elements in the Chaos. Thing is, though... parts of both of them were ‘lost,’ sort of. L-sama could isolate the missing elements, but couldn’t tell who’s was who. So... well, Lina and Gourry share parts of the same soul.” He shrugged. “Of course, that still wasn’t enough, so she incorporated a small portion of herself in each of them, to give them a way to escape the Chaos intact. Finally, she wiped their minds of the incident, so that they wouldn’t go insane remembering being disassembled and reassembled- Gourry was intact through much of his time there, but he had to be taken apart for her to insert the bit of herself needed to keep them alive through the transition.”
“So, you’re saying... Gourry and Lina ARE the Lord of Nightmares?” Filia asked.
“Partially,” Luna said.
“Think of it this way,” Xelloss explained. “Their bodies, minds, and even their souls are all intact- though small parts of their souls have been meshed together. However, all of those things are now POWERED by the Lord of Nightmares, who gave each of them a small part of herself so that their bodies, minds, and souls would be able to exist both inside and outside of the Chaos.”
“But not ALL of the Lord of Nightmares is inside them,” Luna added.
“Not even close. They didn’t get much of her, at all. In fact, they’re still more or less normal people- though they’ve received a few side effects from the procedure they don’t realize, yet, and... well, there are certain conditions to their continued existence.”
“Side effects?”
“They’re immortal,” Luna explained.
“Sort of,” Xelloss expanded. “They won’t age much, and they can’t die naturally. Gourry’s ability to cast spells was increased slightly, and they both were subconsciously made aware of this. And, as I said, there are certain conditions to their continued existence- if Gourry and Lina ever, well, ‘break up’ on a permanent basis, the Lord of Nightmares will simply leave their bodies, and they’ll, well, fall apart.”
“They can fight,” Luna continued. “They’ve got a grace period in which they can make up if they break up, but... well, to put it bluntly, they’re linked forever.”
Filia looked over at Xelloss. “Is this why you said it was a bad idea to try and hook Gourry and Sylphiel up?”
Xelloss smirked. “No, I thought it was a bad idea to try and hook Gourry and Sylphiel up because I figured the only way to do that would be to kill Lina. But I guess this is just as good a reason, huh?”
A twinge of that annoyance from before resurfaced, but she clenched her teeth and held it in. “So, anyway... what spell is it that Lina cast on Gourry? This ‘dangerous’ spell which might not be so dangerous, any more?”
“Soul Refresh,” Luna answered.
“‘Dangerous’ isn’t the way to put it,” Xelloss said. “Probably a better word would be ‘binding.’ Essentially, what the spell does is it uses your soul to ‘clean out’ elements which trouble another soul by letting them enter your own. The problem with this spell is that it can sometimes merge the two souls together, so it should only be cast between intimates. It was originally used to treat insanity, but it was quickly found that this just divided the insane portions between the caster and castee. Which was fine, if you could wipe the insanity out of your own mind- as some of the stronger mages could- but that’s what lead to the reputation of it being a ‘dangerous’ spell.”
Filia blinked. “But why would Lina cast a spell like that on Gourry? He certainly didn’t show signs of any mental distress.”
“Side effects,” Luna said, prompting Xelloss.
“Oh, yeah. If neither person if feeling too much mental distress- and Lina and Gourry aren’t, despite their hectic lives- it usually results in the most pleasant of dreams. And those dreams are usually shared between the caster and the castee... like I said, this is the sort of spell only intimates used with each other.”
“Redundant, though,” Luna commented.
“Heh... yeah, as near as I can tell they already share dreams sometimes,” Xelloss agreed. “But this WAS one of the signs we were looking for, wasn’t it?”
“Signs?” Filia asked.
“Part B of L-sama’s orders. Hook sis and Gourry up,” Luna explained.
“The Lord of Nightmares feels a little guilty, because she thinks she went a little overboard with her memory wipe of their time inside the Chaos, and accidentally removed their memories of their first real kiss. We need to wait for three signs before we start overtly guiding them together, though. The ‘Sharing of Souls,’ which I guess this is- we were thinking this might have been what she meant, earlier. The ‘Elven Sword,’ which I have no clue about. Luna probably knows more about swords than anyone else, though.”
Luna shrugged. “Lina’s making a sword. Needs a few things, first, though. Prob’ly that.”
Xelloss nodded. “And, finally, the ‘Dragon’s Heart.’ Say, Filia- you’re a dragon. Any clue what that might be?”
“Uh... there are lots of things it could be,” Filia blushed. “I don’t want to talk about most of them.”
“But the most likely one is?”
“Um, that’s one of those I’d rather not discuss,” Filia replied, blushing deeper. “I’ll let you know if I see it, though.”
Xelloss nodded. “Right, so the final sign is to embarrass you. Well, I’ll to my best to bring that one about, Filia- don’t worry!” he patted her on the head.
“DON’T TOUCH ME, FREAK!” A gentle caress of her mace sent Xelloss flying into the distance.
* * * * *
Sylphiel cracked open the door to Gourry’s room and quietly stepped inside. There he was, sleeping innocently on the room’s one bed. Lina sat on a chair next to him, holding a book open. Closer inspection showed that she had fallen asleep reading.
Silently, she walked over to the bed, adjusting the covers to keep Gourry comfortable. Something Lina should have done as she watched over him, instead of just reading that stupid book, whatever it was.
He’d done it again- pushed himself beyond what should have been humanly possible in his desire to protect a woman who had never claimed to need protection. Felt the presence of a Mazoku intruder, snapped through six sleep spells, and tackled it. TACKLED a Mazoku! It was a rather ridiculous thing for him to do, really- a suicidal gesture that would do little more then gain a moment of time for someone else to react. But he’d done it, all the same- just to protect one Lina Inverse, Bandit Slayer, Dragon Spooker, and Enemy of All Who Lived.
It was only the second time she knew of him pushing himself like that. The first was... well, the last time she’d seen him, where he stormed a big ball of Chaos just to retrieve the same Lina Inverse. It was then she knew she didn’t stand a chance at his heart- at least, not while Lina lived. Sylphiel wouldn’t even THINK of killing her, herself- after all, Lina was a friend, and had risked her own life to protect her. But Lina DID live a rather dangerous life, so there was always the possibility that she might die during one of her adventures... and Sylphiel, of course, would be available to comfort Gourry as much as she could.
She wouldn’t feel so upset if Lina would ever do anything to show Gourry the appreciation he so rightly deserved. It was pretty obvious she was no longer sticking with him just to get the Sword of Light anymore- the Sword of Light was gone, and she was still with him. But she wasn’t showing him any affection, from what Sylphiel could tell.
“Mmm... Sylphiel?” Lina said, blinking the sleep out of her eyes. “What are you doing here?”
Sylphiel blushed slightly. “Oh... I just wanted to visit Gourry, check up on him, make sure he was still okay.”
Lina rolled her eyes. “Of course. Well, don’t worry- he’s doing fine. He probably won’t be waking up until tomorrow- after all, we’ve now got a full twelve sleep spells working on him.” Her stomach growled slightly. “Um... are there any leftovers from breakfast downstairs?”
Sylphiel shrugged. “Not that I know of. I think Amelia tried to save something for you, but your sister ate it.”
“Figures,” Lina said. “Oh, well. Maybe I’ll eat something for dinner.”
Sylphiel stared at Gourry’s sleeping form. “I imagine you’ve seen him hurt quite a bit in your journeys together.”
Lina shook her head. “Not really... nothing so bad that a simple light healing spell didn’t fix him up. In fact, I don’t recall him ever looking quite as bad as he did after that battle. He wasn’t hurt in the Shabradnigo incident- stunned occasionally, but never hurt. He wasn’t hurt by Copy-Rezo. He wasn’t hurt by Gaav or any of his servants. Heh... I wasn’t even able to hurt him when he was being used against us by Phibrizo. The Lord of Nightmares didn’t hurt him... I don’t think. I can’t really remember that incident all that clearly. Valgaav and Dark Star didn’t hurt him. I really don’t think he’s EVER been seriously hurt before... until now.” She looked at Gourry’s sleeping face. “Sylphiel, do you think you could arrange for my dinner to be brought here, today? Just get me whatever the special is.” She paused. “Um, I want to try and finish this book.”
Sylphiel shrugged. She hadn’t eaten with Lina often enough to realize that what she was asking for- just one portion of a meal- was significant. “I’ll give them your request when I head back down.” She recalled her earlier thoughts and took a deep breath. “Lina?”
“Yeah?” she said, turning her attention back to her book.
“You once said you were following Gourry to get his Sword of Light. He doesn’t have a Sword of Light any more, so... um, if you’re willing to answer... why do you follow him now?”
Lina froze. “Um... I don’t really know,” she said. Letting her eyes travel over Gourry’s features once more, she sighed. “I guess part of it is just that I’m so used to him being there that... that I couldn’t see him NOT being at my side, you know? That’s not the only reason, but it’s the only one I can actually identify- or WILL identify- right now.”
Sylphiel nodded. “Ever wondered why he stays with you?”
Lina laughed. “Constantly. Usually when he’s at his most annoying.” She looked up at Sylphiel. “He wants to protect me for the rest of his life. I can’t deny him that.”
Sylphiel nodded. That struck a blow to her- she knew Gourry was in love with this girl, but when things like that were said bluntly to her it still hurt. “I’ll... get that dinner order for you placed.” She rushed out of the room, not able to stay in there any more.
Lina glanced at Gourry one last time before returning to her book. “I just hope he doesn’t get himself killed doing so,” she whispered under her breath. Blinking when she realized she said that, she turned all of her attention to the book, desperately trying to block out everything Sylphiel’s conversation stirred up. It wasn’t something she particularly liked talking about any day, but when Gourry was hurt... well, it just wasn’t something she wanted to talk about.
* * * * *
Amelia sat next to Zelgadis as they ate dinner, starring across at Martina and Zangulus. Zangulus seemed rather uncomfortable with the displays of affection Martina was giving him in public, but seemed to be enjoying them immensely, regardless.
Amelia sighed, picking at her food. “Zelgadis?”
“Yes, Amelia?”
She took a deep breath. “Can we talk privately for a bit?”
“Beats watching them fawn over each other all night,” he said, standing up and grabbing his cup of coffee.
Amelia winced at his comment as she stood up as well. “Let’s go to my room... there shouldn’t be anyone else there right now.”
“Um, okay,” he said, following her up the stairs into the private rooms of the inn. “So, what did you want to talk about.
“Zel... um, look,” Amelia said. She wasn’t able to meet his eyes. “This adventure... it scares me. I mean, yeah- we shouldn’t abandon Lina or anything, but... well, if the battle had lasted much longer I don’t think Gourry would have made it. We’re going up against... well, overwhelming forces. And... well, I guess what I’m saying is I’m not sure we can win this one.”
Zelgadis relaxed, placing a comforting arm on Amelia’s shoulder. “Is that all? Look, we’ve all been in tight situations before, and we survived. We’ve faced down Shabradnigo, Copy Rezo, Gaav, Phibrizo, AND Dark Star, and we lived through it all. I’m not saying this isn’t a bad situation, I’m just saying we can handle it.”
Amelia straightened up, looking him in the face. “Yeah, we can handle it. But will we all live through it? Can you PROMISE me that we’ll all survive this one?”
Zelgadis shook his head. “Promise? No. But I’m never going into a fight believing I’m not going to get out of it victorious. Not since Shabradnigo.”
Amelia smiled weakly. “I’m not saying that you should. I’m just saying...” She couldn’t finish- at least not that way. “Look... I don’t WANT to die, I don’t EXPECT to die. I don’t want anyone I know or care about to be hurt in this thing, but... it could happen. And... there are some things I want to have happen before I die.”
Zelgadis raised an eyebrow. “What do you want?”
Amelia bit her lip nervously. “I was watching Martina and Zangulus down there, and they just seemed so happy... and... Zel, when I asked you on the way here if you might be willing to get married one day, if you found a willing girl. Well, I’m more than willing right now... Zel, before we really get too deep into this adventure, could we, um, get married?”
Zelgadis, who many believed was the stoic rock of the company, one who could never be phased by anything anyone did, reacted in typical fashion for one of his unshakable character. He fainted.
* * * * *
“Let me get this straight,” Lina said, looking at the newly arrived couple. She was still sitting at Gourry’s bedside, her book set aside and a half-eaten plate of (now cold) ribs on a nearby table. “A half hour ago, Amelia, you asked Zelgadis, here, to marry you, correct?”
Amelia nodded. “Uh huh!” she agreed enthusiastically.
“And Zel... after a fainting spell that lasted for twenty-nine minutes, which you don’t want to admit you had and don’t have to- I don’t care- you agreed, right?”
Zelgadis blushed even deeper. “Um...”
“I’ll take that as a yes,” Lina huffed. “And, first thing you do upon making this sudden decision, is come to my room. Now, WHY?!”
“Um... I want you to be my maid of honor, Lina,” Amelia explained nervously. “So... will you do it?”
Lina blinked. “Um... when is it?”
“Tonight!” Amelia said. “We want to get this... out of the way.”
“Tonight!” Lina exclaimed, somewhat shocked. She’d seen Amelia and Zelgadis getting gradually closer together during their adventures, so it wasn’t too big of a surprise when they announced they were getting married. But that night? That was... rather sudden. And she didn’t want to leave right then. “How about we wait until tomorrow? That way, Gourry can join in the fun- he should be up to it by then... and I’ll have had time to finish my book, of course.”
Amelia’s eyes sparkled. “Does that mean you’ll do it?!”
“Er, maybe,” Lina said. She wasn’t really that enthusiastic on the subject- she enjoyed going to weddings, sometimes, but participating in the ceremony... well, that just wasn’t her cup of tea. “What about Naga? Wouldn’t she want to be the maid of honor at her sister’s wedding?”
Amelia blinked. “You mean Gracia? I forgot about her. But it’s been so long since I’ve seen her, and she’s changed so much since I last knew her... Lina, to tell you the truth, you’re more of a sister to me then she is, now. I’ll make her one of my bride’s maids, but I want YOU to be my maid of honor. Please?” Lina looked reluctant. “Pretty please? If you say yes, we’ll hold off until tomorrow night for you!”
Lina sighed. She couldn’t say no to that face. “Oh, all right. Now get out of here and let everyone else know, okay? I want to finish my book before everyone else comes to bed!”
“Yay!” Amelia rushed over to her and hugged her. Lina blushed slightly. “Thank you, Lina- you don’t know how much this means to me.”
Lina returned the hug, patting the other girl on the shoulders. “Think... nothing of it,” she said.
“Come on, Zel- let’s go tell the others!” Amelia said, buzzing out the door and grabbing him by the sleeve.
Lina sighed, looking at Gourry with something resembling sadness on her face. “Gourry... we’d better all make it out of this one. I don’t want to lose any of them.”
* * * * *
Luna smirked as she entered her room, preparing to go to bed. Lina had fallen asleep at Gourry’s bedside again, still ‘reading her book,’ which just happened to be the same book Luna had loaned her the previous day.
“Lina,” she said quietly, shaking her younger sister gently. “Lina, you’d sleep better in your futon.”
Lina blinked her eyes open. “Eh, what? Oh, yeah... bedtime.” She bent over Gourry and straightened his blankets once. She lay a hand on his forehead. “*Soul Refresh*” she cast.
Luna blinked. “What spell did you just cast?” she asked, trying to make certain she heard right.
Lina looked over at her sister. “Sleep, of course- we want him to wake up in the morning, but not until after we’re done getting dressed.”
Luna nodded. Just as she thought, Lina hadn’t even been aware she was casting Soul Refresh. Perhaps she’d been doing that for a while now, but Luna wasn’t about to complain. Filing that bit of information for reference, she gently guided her sister back to her futon. “Get some sleep yourself, ‘kay? Gotta Council of War, then a Wedding, tomorrow.”
“Wedding?” Lina said, remnants of her nap still showing in her voice. “You mean I didn’t dream that? Zel and Amelia ARE getting married?”
Luna nodded. “And you’re the maid of honor. Naga through a fit when she found out.” She guided the drowsy Lina into her futon. “Now, *Sleep.* I’ll see you in the morning.”
Lina was out almost the second her older sister’s spell reached her. Luna smiled, tucking her in. Standing up, she walked over to Gourry and shook her head.
“Boy, you’re lucky to have sis,” she said. Then she remembered the previous night, where Gourry had broken through six sleep spells to save Lina’s life. “Then again, she’s probably just as lucky to have you.”
* * * * *
“So, Gourry’s still under the effects of about twenty sleep spells cast on him over the past two days, and LINA’S still under the effects of YOUR sleep spell from last night, right?” Zelgadis asked.
Luna nodded. “Yep.”
“Okay... so how were you planning to wake them up in time for the Council of War?” he asked.
“And our wedding?!” Amelia added, causing Zelgadis to blush slightly.
“Er, yes, and our wedding?”
The elder Inverse sibling smirked. “Simple. *Flow Break!*” she cast. Nothing seemed to happen except a mild flash of light in the shape of a star in a circle. “Lina, time to get up!” she called.
Lina blinked her eyes open. “Huh?”
“Time to get up, sis,” Luna said. “And maybe we could try to get Gourry up, as well? The healer was here earlier and said the poison is now completely out of his system.”
“But hurry up. I KNOW you two will want breakfast, and we’ve got a Council of War to hold,” Zelgadis reminded. Amelia looked at him. “Er... and a wedding to attend.”
“Breakfast?” Lina said blearily. “Oh, right... um, can you leave the room for a bit? I’ll wake Gourry up after I’ve had a chance to freshen up and change.”
Luna nodded. “Sure, sis. Come on, guys- let’s give her some privacy.”
Zelgadis and Amelia followed the elder Inverse out of the door. Lina blinked the sleep out of her eyes as she looked around the room. “Ugh... Luna must have cast a Sleep spell on me,” she grimaced. There was a mild tingle to her body, the aftereffects of the Sleep spell’s effect. “Poor Gourry, though. He’s going to get it MUCH worse when he wakes up. I wonder how many times we cast that silly spell on him, between us?”
Shrugging, she stood up and pulled a fresh set of clothing out of her bag, tossed it over her shoulder carelessly, and started changing. Her clean pants just happened to fall onto the bed Gourry was sleeping on, stirring him, but she didn’t notice. She just thought about how much she really wanted a bath first, but she realized there wasn’t really enough time for one.
Gourry’s eyes started blinking themselves opened just as she was pulling off her shirt. His eyes adjusted to the light, and he suddenly realized what, exactly, he was seeing- Lina, stripping off her underwear.
He mentally gasped. He couldn’t, physically, due to the aftereffects of over twenty Sleep spells (for some reason, the effects of having that many Sleep spells case on one person had never been studied by any of the major magical schools), nor could he move his hand to cover his eyes. He couldn’t close them, either, though whether that was something caused by the spells’ aftermath or not, he couldn’t tell.
Lina, now totally naked, closed her eyes and started stretching. It felt good to be able to do something like this when she wasn’t wearing her somewhat heavy armored shoulder pads (however used to them she was) or restrictive clothing. There wasn’t too much time for even that, though, if she wanted to get everything they were planning done by the end of the day.
She opened her eyes, glancing around for the fresh clothing she had scattered about the room. There was her shirt on the chair, and over there on the bed were her pants, and-
Wait, were Gourry’s eyes OPEN? And if his eyes were open, didn’t that mean he was awake? And if he was awake and his eyes were open, didn’t that mean he’d been watching her as she changed... and was STILL watching her even now? “Gourry...” she uttered in a low growl.
Gourry never wanted to be able to move any more than he did at that moment. Unfortunately, the parts of his body responsible for movement hadn’t quite recovered yet...
Downstairs, the assembled company heard a powerful explosion coming from up in Lina’s room. As fast as they could, they ran up the stairs and burst through the door, Zelgadis (sword drawn) in the lead.
A still naked Lina, standing next to the charred (but miraculously still breathing) body of Gourry, glanced over at them, fire in her eyes.
“You all, too?! *FIREBALL!!*”
* * * * *
Once the situation had settled down, the room had been restored to order, the fires put out, and Lina finally put on some clothes, the entire company (Gourry included) met down in the tavern, at a makeshift round table (six small tables arranged in a circle). The arrangements had the violently embarrassed Lina sitting next to the obviously just as embarrassed Gourry. They both seemed to be sitting as far away from each other as the tables would allow.
“Well,” Xelloss started, all smiles. “Now that Lina’s had her bit of exhibitionistic fun, let’s get this Council of War started.” He paused to allow Lina’s fierce growl of anger before continuing. “Basically, I have no more idea of what’s going on than any of you do. L-sama just said to gather you all together and protect you until she gave us word. She had a few more orders, as well, but those are a secret, and don’t really relate to our current situation.”
Zelgadis frowned. “They don’t? Do they give you any hints as to why the Lord of Nightmares is suddenly becoming active in this world again, after so long of just ignoring it and allowing the Dragons and Mazoku rule as the gods of this world?”
Xelloss hesitated. “Well... her orders didn’t explain anything in that regard, no. However, I suspect Lina’s casting the Giga Slave against Phibrizo might have something to do with it...”
Sylphiel sighed. “I warned you that you should never cast the Giga Slave, Lina.”
Lina glared at her. “I didn’t really have much choice at the time.”
Sylphiel looked at Gourry, sighed, then looked down at her table. “No, I guess you didn’t.”
“At any rate,” Xelloss said, “We now have to decide what to do about the horde of Mazoku and their followers who appear to be following us. We know that at least my former mistress, Zelas, and one other of her peers, Dynast, are working together against us. I would not be surprised if the final surviving Mazoku of her level, Dolphin, was aiding them as well. Which means, of course, that it’s us versus every mean and nasty living being out there. It’s a good thing Hellmaster is dead, or we might have had to include ever non-living being out there in that list, as well.”
“Don’t worry- Zoamelgustar will protect us!” Martina exclaimed. Her husband glanced over at her hesitantly.
Zelgadis sighed. “I suspect it will take more than just the blessing of Zoamelgustar to keep us safe from THAT many Mazoku. Perhaps we should find a place of refuge, and gather a force that CAN keep us safe around it. Something along the lines of the three remaining pieces of Ceiphied’s power.”
Luna shook her head. “We can ask them, but I doubt they’ll help.”
Filia nodded. “That I can confirm. The remaining portions of Ceiphied don’t want to be bothered unless Shabradnigo is reborn.”
Xelloss coughed. “We could free a portion of Shabradnigo, and that might attract their attention.”
Lina glared at him. “Are you KIDDING?!” she nearly screamed with the pent-up frustrations of that morning. “Yeah, sure- it would attract their attention, all right- but WE’D be their enemy, too!”
Xelloss shrugged. “It was only a suggestion.”
“Forgive me,” Vrumagum said. “But I believe that gathering allies is only a secondary priority at the moment. Wouldn’t our first priority be finding a safe place to assemble these forces we are counting on to defend us?”
“What’s wrong with right here?” Filia asked. “This is a nice city- a bit small but what difference does it make? It’s supposed to be a center of study for Shrine Maidens, so there should be plenty of mages here to help defend it from attack.”
“It’s too small,” Zelgadis commented. “Lina could wipe it out with a single Dragon Slave. Considering several of the Mazoku are more powerful than a single Dragon Slave, this city wouldn’t last long when their heavy hitters showed up.”
“Sailoon is pretty big!” Amelia suggested. “And it’s protected by my father’s great sense of justice! That would be the perfect place to use as a refuge!”
Naga sweatdropped. “Amelia... I am pretty sure I told you that I DIDN’T want to go back to Sailoon anytime soon, didn’t I?”
Xelloss scratched his head. “Well, Sailoon DOES have special properties that would help protect it from the Mazoku, but...”
“Amelia,” Zelgadis said, scratching his head as well. “Um... I understand your Sailoon Pride and all, but... don’t you think your father would get a little upset when most of the city gets destroyed in a Mazoku war?”
Naga nodded enthusiastically. “Besides, sis... are you SURE you want to have your honeymoon anywhere NEAR where daddy might show up at any moment?”
Amelia looked a little scared. “Er... maybe we should find someplace else.”
Gourry scratched his head. “Honeymoon? Is that some kind of pickle?”
Lina flushed. “Gourry! Don’t tell me you don’t know what a honeymoon is? No, wait- never mind. I should have expected that from you.”
“So what is it?” he asked her.
“It’s... uh... er... does anyone ELSE want to field this one? Please?” she begged.
Xelloss smirked. He was sitting at the table next to Gourry, so he was in an advantageous position to lean over and whisper a few details on what a honeymoon was to the swordsman.
By the time he was done, Gourry was as red as a beet. “Oh... I guess that isn’t a pickle, after all,” he said dazedly.
Xelloss sweatdropped. “Well... I suppose I’ve heard of some women USING a pickle, but usually not during the honeymoon.”
Gourry looked over at Amelia. “So you’re getting married?”
“Uh... yeah,” she said. She still wasn’t quite over the picture she had of her father bursting in on her and Zelgadis just when things were getting good.
“Well, I know the perfect place for you to do it!” he exclaimed. “And we won’t even have to worry about these people attacking us while we’re there, either.”
Filia’s attention perked up- she’d been glaring at Xelloss and wondering what tales he’d told the poor clueless swordsman. How dare he make Lina’s wedding night so confusing for Gourry! Well, assuming they were successful and Gourry ever went ON a honeymoon. “Oh? Why not?”
“Well,” Gourry said. “They wouldn’t be able to find it. Only my family and the people who live there know about it, and there’s something about it that won’t let it be found.”
“And why is it so secret?” Xelloss asked, curious.
“Well, it’s an Elven village,” Gourry explained. “A group of homeless elves, aided by my ancestors- starting with Rowdy Gabriev, the first of my family to use the Sword of Light in combat- beat off a group of Mazoku who ruined their village. Rowdy, who was the Grand Oregano or something like that, built them a secret refuge. My family and these elves have been allied ever since.”
Lina’s jaw dropped, and she looked over at Gourry, then to Naga (who seemed totally clueless), then back to Gourry.
“Grand Oregano?” Martina asked.
“I... I think he means sage,” Lina answered. “The Great Sage Rowdy Gabriev. I met him once.”
Gourry frowned. “Rowdy’s been dead for a long time, Lina- you couldn’t have met him. You are right, though- I think it was Great Sage. I knew it was some kind of herb, though. I always figured he got that title because he was a great cook.”
“Well, you do act like you’re related to a plant sometimes,” Lina muttered under her breath. Louder, she said, “It’s a long story, but I think I did. He showed up in the future to take me to the past and rescue these same elves. Er... I don’t know if he was a good cook or not, though- I never had any of his food. At any rate, this place sounds like the best suggestion so far.”
“Hmm... Elves, huh?” Xelloss said. “Sounds just like what the Lord of Nightmares was expecting us to do.”
‘Elves?’ Filia thought to herself. ‘Elven sword... the prophecy!’ Turning her attention to the gathering, she said, “I agree. Let’s go to this village of Gourry’s.”
Xelloss turned to look at her. “YOU agree with ME?”
“It’s a miracle,” Zelgadis said, smirking. “If THOSE two agree, I might as well, too.”
“I like Elves,” Luna said, showing her enthusiasm for the plan.
“How romantic! A hidden Elven village in an out of the way place, our friends all there to see us off- it’s the PERFECT place to hold a wedding!” Amelia squealed. “It’d be worth the wait, too- wouldn’t it, Zel? Wouldn’t it?”
“Er...” he gargled nervously.
“Any objections?” Xelloss asked. There was a pause. “Well, then- seems like we’re decided. The wedding’s postponed, people. We have a plan. Now, how about allies?”
Luna shook her head. “Not now.”
Lina nodded in agreement with her sister. “Let’s wait until we get to the Elven village before we talk about that. They may not want us to bring others in, considering the lengths to which they seem to be going to protect their privacy.”
There were a lot of nods, and Xelloss finally joined them. “Very well. I guess we’d better get packed, then- we seem to be starting our travels again already!”
archive\review site, writes it, etc.) and will be attending AnimeUSA
(Nov. 21-23 2003 in N. Virginia (Tyson's Corner, technically -- about
20 minutes from my new home)), please let me know. I'm moderating
the fanfic panel there, and I'm VERY desperate for panelists -- I've
only got two tentatives, and I'd like to have 4 panelists and 4
alternates.
If I can't get at least one more panelist, I'll have to cancel the
panel...
which'd be a shame, because while I've been a panelist myself several
times, this is the first time I've moderated one.
Contact me, if interested, at my (relatively) new e-mail of
desaix@anifics.com
-------------------------
Chapter 4: Gourry’s Plan
...In Which Things Are Discussed, Some Secrets Are Revealed, a Council of War is Formed, and Gourry Shows Intelligence
MILD LIME
“How’s Gourry?” Lina and Sylphiel both asked as a healer came out of the rented room they’d placed him in.
“Well, physically, he’s fine. I had to cast a triple strength sleep spell on him, though. The blood of those ogres can be mildly poisonous, and he seems to have ingested some of it during your battle, but he’ll recover completely if he gets enough rest.” He paused, looking between the two girls. “Which one of you two is Lina?”
Lina hesitantly raised her hand. “I am.”
The healer nodded, and handed her a freshly cleaned short sword. “Before I put Mr. Gabriev under, he told me to give this to you, and to apologize for having chipped the blade.”
Lina looked at her sword. Just as the healer said, there was a small chip out of the blade. Very small- she wouldn’t have noticed it if she hadn’t been looking for it. She sighed. “We’re going to HAVE to get him something better. He would never have chipped the Sword of Light.”
Sylphiel looked at Lina with reproach. “How can you be so cold?!” she demanded, using the same tone of voice she had when she accused Lina of having stolen the Sword of Light and tossing Gourry into a river.
Lina smiled, sheathing her sword. “I’m not being cold. I’m relieved- if Gourry hadn’t apologized for knicking the blade, I would have been worried.” She turned to head down the stairs, where the rest of the company was waiting. “He did, though, so I know he’ll be all right.”
Sylphiel stared. She had long knew how Gourry felt about Lina, but she couldn’t help but wonder if Lina felt anything in return. She remembered the incident where Lina cast the Giga Slave to save him, true, but... still, sometimes she felt Lina wasn’t really concerned enough about the swordsman. This adventure, she promised herself, she’d keep an eye on them to make sure Gourry was treated right.
* * * * *
“So, what do we do, now?” Filia asked as Lina made it to the table.
Xelloss shrugged. “All I know is that the Lord of Nightmares told me to get everyone together, and keep you all safe until I get further orders.”
Lina frowned. “What are YOU doing talking to the Lord of Nightmares? I wouldn’t think you would be on her list of close friends.”
“How do you think I recovered the Sword of Light from her after Gourry lost it inside your Giga Slave?” Xelloss smirked. “See, I was created by her from the body of Zelas Metallium. Also created were the position of the Knight of Ceiphied,” he bowed to Luna, who nodded back, “Rezo the Red Priest, and the Founder of Sailoon.” He smiled. “We were all made as her servants. Some of us went insane- like Rezo. Some of us were enslaved to our masters- like myself. Some of us became PART of the city we founded- like Sailoon herself, plus one other whose name would mean nothing to you.” He looked over at Luna again. “The Knight of Ceiphied was the only mortal among us. When Luna dies, the title will be inherited by someone else. But that won’t be for some time, I expect.”
Lina looked at her sister uncomfortably. “Some people accuse me of being the Lord of Nightmares. Would that make you my servant?”
Luna just smiled.
Xelloss sweatdropped before continuing. “Um... anyway. I was to be enslaved to Zelas until the Lord of Nightmares had a use for me, and then I would be freed. A few days ago, L-sama summoned me with the mission of gathering most of you together, and wait for further orders.” He frowned. “Come to think of it, I was sort of expecting her to get those to me already.”
Filia coughed. “Um... forgive me, but... what does all this talk about being the Lord of Nightmares servant have to do with anything? We need to worry about this Mazoku Uprising that seems to be happening right under our noses.”
Xelloss turned an eye to her. “This isn’t a Mazoku Uprising. This is an assassination.”
“What do you mean by that?!” Filia screeched. “Zelas sending almost a thousand of her beasts against us, and threatened that she was coming against us with more as soon as she could get her forces together, PLUS hinting she might actually show up to fight us IN PERSON.”
Xelloss smiled. “None of which suggests a Mazoku Uprising. If it was a Mazoku Uprising, they’d have struck this city which we’re currently taking refuge in, first.” He shook his head. “No, they’re targeting someone.”
Filia blinked. “Who?”
He looked over at her, then down at the egg she was carrying. “Well, let’s see. The Mazoku know that they’ve just BARELY got the edge over you Dragons at the moment. They also know that if you’re able to raise Valgaav over there to adulthood, he will single-handedly be enough to give you guys the advantage. So, they have to kill you and Valgaav before that happens.” He paused. “They also seem to have targeted Lina for some reason- probably they’re a little scared of her. After all, she toasted a part of Shabradnigo, Hellmaster Phibrizo, AND helped us destroy Dark Star and Gaav. I was told by Zelas that she didn’t think I could match her in a normal fight.”
Filia raised an eyebrow. “But you were offering to kill her in return for Valgaav’s services?”
Xelloss smirked. “I said a normal fight. I wouldn’t have fought her in a normal way.”
Lina sighed, bashing him over the head. “Stop talking about killing me, okay? It isn’t the sort of thing I want to think about right now.”
He rubbed the back of his head. “Owie. That hurt!” Turning his attention back to Filia, he continued, “At any rate, the Mazoku leadership knows that if they were to try a full-scale uprising right now, the remaining three Dragon Kings would come out of their hiding places and destroy them. If they stick to just us twelve, though, the Dragon Kings won’t bother.” He smiled. “So basically it’s the twelve of us versus Zelas and everyone in her power. And I should mention she has more servants, and more powerful servants, than anyone else in the Mazoku hierarchy, save Shabradnigo himself.”
Silence reigned for a moment. “So, how’s Gourry?” Amelia asked Lina, trying to change the subject.
“Huh? Oh, he’s a little sick because the blood of some of those Ogres he killed got into him, somehow, but he’ll be fine after an extended rest.” Lina paused. “That reminds me... sis, can I talk to you in private for a bit?”
Luna smirked up at her sister. “Your servant, sis,” she said teasingly.
* * * * *
Sylphiel stepped into her room and stopped cold. They had assigned four people to a room (only paying for three rooms), and so she had been forced to share with Martina, Naga, and Amelia. She wished she had been assigned to Gourry’s room (he being thought of as the most trustworthy man to share a room with three girls- largely because he was totally unconscious and unlikely to wake for several days), but Lina, Luna, and Filia were given that one. Lina because she’d been forced to share a room with him before on their travels and was most comfortable with the situation (and was paying for the room), Luna because she was Lina’s sister, and Filia because... well, she drew the short straw. Initially, the plan had been to let Zangulus and Martina share a room with two other girls, but only Naga was willing to share the room with the married couple. Everyone else was afraid the pair would keep everyone up all night.
Now, Sylphiel was wondering if it might have been better to be kept awake by Zangulus and Martina’s passion, as she stood between a duel of deranged plans, combined with lots of annoying and rather frightening laughter, held by Naga and Martina.
“Well I was able to conquer an entire nation with ten clones of myself! OOOH HO HO HO HO HO!”
The Queen of Xoana snorted. “Please. I once summoned a hurricane to torment Lina Inverse, even at the cost of tormenting myself! Oh ho ho ho ho ho ho!”
Sylphiel, much to her dismay, found herself more impressed with Naga than Martina. Both for her achievements and her laugh. Not that she was going to say anything, though.
Amelia stepped in, saw her sister and Martina in a confrontation, and shrugged. Grabbing Sylphiel by the arm, she dragged her out of the room and shut the door behind them. “We’re going to need a nightcap before we go to bed, tonight. A lot of them, actually. Enough that we’ll be able to pass out despite my sister’s laughter.”
Sylphiel, unable to break Amelia’s grip, protested, “But I’m a Shrine Maiden! I’m not supposed to get drunk!”
Amelia shrugged. “So? I’ve been a Shrine Maiden in training all my life, and I’m a princess to boot. I’m not supposed to get drunk, either... but sometimes, there’s just no choice.” She paused. “I don’t think I’ll remain a Shrine Maiden, forever, come to think of it. I’d never be able to get married if I was.”
Sylphiel paused. ‘Oh, yeah- that’s why I never came on to Gourry when I knew him as a teenager- I wasn’t allowed to date anyone. Hmm... but I’m willing to retire from being a Shrine Maiden, if I can ever win him from Lina.’
* * * * *
“So, sis,” Luna asked. “What’cha wanna talk about?”
Lina shifted uncomfortably. “You saw Gourry fighting in the battle, right?”
Luna nodded, smiling. “Yep. He’s good. I’d like to spar with him, one day.”
Lina winced, picturing poor Gourry after a day of practice with her sister. “Um... talk to him about it when he’s feeling better. I was really wondering if you noticed how uncomfortable he was using my sword.”
Luna nodded again. “Yeah... seemed to expect his sword to be a bit longer than it was, sometimes.”
“Right,” the younger sister agreed. “That’s part of it. Another part is that he’s used to using the Sword of Light, but he gave that up to its home world, so he no longer has a sword of his own.” She paused. “I’m making him a new magic sword, but I was wondering if you might have a spare weapon for him.”
Luna thought about it. “Longsword, right?”
Lina nodded. “The sword was sometimes disguised with a normal blade, and that normal blade was a longsword, yeah.”
The elder sister went over to her pack and looked through it for a bit. As she searched her bag, she kept talking to her sister. “I could make a weapon for him. I’m better than you at that sort of thing.”
Lina scowled. “Yeah, you can.” She paused. “But... well, you’ve never seen the sort of weapon I’m making for him in action. See, I want to make him a NEW Sword of Light.”
Luna pulled a longsword out of her bag that REALLY shouldn’t have fit inside it. Turning to Lina, she smiled, “Sounds neat. Need help?”
Lina nodded. “Yeah... that’s the other thing I wanted to ask you. Do you see these four talisman I’m wearing right now?”
“Yep.”
“They enhance black magic quite a lot, and I can use them to focus energy and that sort of thing.” She paused. “I was wondering if you knew of such a thing for white magic, or could make something like that?”
Luna approached her sister and studied the talisman closely. “Hmm... these don’t just focus black magic, you know.”
“Yeah, but they do black magic best. I need something that’ll do the same thing for White magic- they’ll need to be able to handle other forms of magic, as well.”
“Hmm... curious.” Luna continued to study the gems. “Did you get these from your fight with Shabby?”
“Uh, no,” Lina said. She wasn’t really comfortable around her sister in the first place, and hearing her refer to the most powerfully evil Dark Lord in her world as ‘Shabby’ didn’t help ease her nervousness. “Xelloss had them. I spend several million to purchase them from him.”
“Odd... I thought these belonged to one of the parts of Shabradnigo. Well, that was a long time ago- Xelloss probably looted them off of one of them.” She straightened herself. “Well, at any rate, the answer is I don’t know of anything specific that you could use. That doesn’t mean there isn’t anything, though. There are lots of treasures from antiquity that probably have the properties you’re looking for, but I’m not in possession of any of them, nor do I know where you could find them. Well, if you could find them, maybe the elves might know of something- they used to make some pretty good magical items that might have needed talisman like that.” She handed Lina the sword. “Here, this is for Gourry to play with- it’s a good sword. I was able to use it to kill a mid-level Mazoku once, but it IS a bit heavy.” She pulled a second item out of nowhere. “And this is for you- one of the most useful books I’ve found on weaponsmithing magical weapons. Probably not anything you’d find in any of the major libraries, either. Be careful with it, though- it’s older then Xelloss is.”
Lina blinked at her sister in surprise. In all the time she could remember, Luna had NEVER been this helpful to her before... well, not without causing her a lot of pain. “Um, sis?”
“Yeah, Lina?”
“Why are you being so nice to me? You’ve never acted like this before!”
Luna smirked. “As Xelloss would say, that... is a secret.”
* * * * *
It was very late at night, and the company had gone to bed. Well, most of the company- Xelloss was still awake, chatting amiably with Luna in a nearby all-night tavern (the kitchen in the inn was closed) about their plans, but everyone who was still at the inn was asleep.
Gourry was having some especially pleasant dreams. Simple dreams- he and Lina, sitting under a tree, fishing. Lots of food nearby. The stream they were getting their fish out of gurgling happily. Peaceful- very peaceful. No enemies they HAD to fight, though Lina was saying something about how much fun the last bandit raid had been, and why didn’t they go on one again soon?
Yeah, very peaceful dreams. Shattered, however, by a very powerful instinct inside of him.
‘Gourry, wake up!’ something inside of him said.
‘But I’m having such a pleasant dream!’ he complained. ‘Lina’s happy, I’m happy, we’re together, having fun...’
‘I know, but there’s no time to enjoy it. Lina’s in danger!’
His eyes snapped open as he roused himself to consciousness, breaking the six sleep spells that had been placed on him (three by the healer and one each by the girls as they got ready for bed, just to make certain he didn’t get up while they were changing. He glanced over at the spot on the floor Lina was sleeping on anxiously.
‘Why is she sleeping on the floor when I’m sleeping on a bed?’ he asked himself. ‘That isn’t right!’
He didn’t have time to puzzle things out, however- standing over Lina, preparing to drive some kind of weapon through her heart, was a vaguely humanoid creature. Probably a mazoku, but Gourry wouldn’t know for certain if it told him. He didn’t care, either- all he knew was that it was threatening Lina.
He reached for his Sword of Light, forgetting for the moment it wasn’t there. Finding it missing, he did the only thing he could- he launched himself at the thing hovering over his charge, shouting at the top of his lungs, “LIIINAAAAAAA!”
Every muscle in his body felt sluggish, but he didn’t have a choice BUT to move harder than he’d ever moved before. If he didn’t, Lina would be dead, and if she was dead... well, what other reason did he have to live, if not for her?
*crunch* He collided with the creature seconds before its weapon would have pierced Lina’s chest. Gourry’s tackle sent both of them careening into the Inn’s wall- and through it.
The thing, which Gourry could now tell for certain was a mazoku, effortlessly tossed the swordsman back into the hole the two of them created. Having sapped all of his strength in the one attack (six sleep spells were quite weakening), Gourry didn’t have the energy to protect himself from the fall. Thankfully, however, someone was waiting to catch him.
“Hi!” Filia said, smiling as she held him up. “You really shouldn’t be out of bed, you know?”
By this point, everyone in the two rooms had awakened, and Lina was quite pissed.
“Now look here!” she shouted. “Attacking me in the middle of my beauty sleep is NOT a smart thing to do- I don’t care if you ARE a Mazoku! *Flare Bit!*”
The hundreds of tiny explosions as the charges from the Flare Bit hit the Mazoku’s shield did little outside of cause noise. However, that was enough to bring aid, as the noise was able to travel through the now-quiet streets of Femille to reach the empty tavern Luna and Xelloss were chatting in.
That aid didn’t arrive right away, though. Silently, the Mazoku attacked again, throwing its own spell at Lina. She dodged, but a part of it winged her leg, knocking her to the ground.
“LINA!” Gourry shouted, adreneline allowing him to tear out of Filia’s grasp. Acting entirely on instinct, he ran down to her. “*Restoration!*” he somehow cast, not even aware he was doing it. His hands glowed white, and Lina’s wounds healed up rather quickly with his spell.
Meanwhile, Luna and Xelloss had teleported in.
“Hmm... don’t believe I know you,” Xelloss told the Mazoku.
It didn’t say a word- it just cast a spell at him.
The spell never reached, as Luna’s sword cut through it, and continued traveling on until it sliced through the creature. Xelloss added a blow from his staff to the attack, and between the two of them it was rather handily destroyed.
“Odd,” Xelloss continued. “He’s not the sort of servant my former master would create- she’s a lot more imaginative in her designs. That’s why they called her the Beastmaster, obviously. That guy looked more like one of Dynast’s servants.”
Luna frowned. “Does this mean Dynast and Zelas are working together in this?”
“Probably. Looks like our job just got a lot tougher.”
Lina was looking at Gourry, blushing. His healing spell had successfully repaired her leg, but after the brief burst of energy he had to save her from the Mazoku and then the second burst of energy he used to heal her, he had collapsed. Right on top of her. In a rather awkward position.
Luna, passing by as she continued talking to Xelloss, smiled at her sister. “You know, it’d probably be more comfortable if you two shared a bed instead of using the floor.”
* * * * *
A half hour later, the rooms had been repaired (thanks to Luna’s magic) Gourry had been returned to his sick bed (this time with six more sleep spells placed on him (each girl being DOUBLY sure he wasn’t going to wake up that morning when they were changing)), and everyone was settling down.
Lina couldn’t help but smile at the sleeping Gourry as she resettled her bed things. “I can’t believe the idiot took THAT long to learn a simple healing spell,” she said- though there was enough affection in her voice that it was obvious she wasn’t being mean. The others in the room made a point of ignoring her.
“How did he do that?” Filia asked, awed, as she cast her second spell.
“Do what?” Lina asked, settling into her futon on the floor.
“Break through all six sleep spells placed on him by both that healer and us, just to protect you from that attacker? I mean, what he did was downright remarkable!” She moved over to her own futon, squatting down and pouring herself a cup of chamomile tea to fall asleep with.
Lina couldn’t prevent a small smile from sneaking its way onto her lips. “Yeah... he’s been a pretty reliable guardian. I probably don’t thank him enough, but I doubt he’d understand why I was thanking him if I did.”
“How did he know you were under attack, though? I mean, you didn’t sense the Mazoku. I didn’t sense the Mazoku. No-one else sensed the Mazoku. But he did- and he was able to sense it through six sleep spells, a slightly poisoned body, and his own regular exhaustion. And he was able to act on it, too.”
Lina got up from her futon and walked over to the sleeping swordsman. She placed a hand to his forehead, detected the mild fever the poison in his bloodstream was giving him, and sent him a silent spell that even she didn’t know she was casting. “I don’t know. It seems he’s always there when I need him, though. And even when I don’t need him.” She adjusted his blankets slightly. “You can see why I want to get him a new weapon, though. He’s quite useful to have around.”
Luna, who they both thought was asleep in the corner of the room, smiled as she witnessed her little sister with Gourry. ‘Hmm... sis, do you even know what spell it was you just cast?’ she asked herself.
* * * * *
“I don’t like it,” Zelgadis said. It was the next morning, and they were discussing the attack in Lina’s room. “They’re attacking us in the city, now?”
Xelloss shook his head. “It was a single assassin, not a full-scale attack. And I’m fairly certain it wasn’t one of Zelas’ servants, either- most likely, it was Dynast’s. Which means, we’re not just up against her, but against every Mazoku out there.”
“So how are Gourry... and Lina?” Sylphiel asked, concerned.
“Gourry’s resting comfortably,” Filia said. “Lina’s staying with him. She claimed she wanted time to read some book in peace, and to say that there wasn’t much we could do until he was awake, so let’s hold off on our council of war for a while.”
“Makes sense,” Luna said. She made some sort of gesture to Xelloss that only he caught.
Amelia blinked. “Lina hasn’t eaten today, has she?”
“I don’t think so,” Filia answered. “Not yet, anyway.”
Zelgadis sighed. He felt they should be taking immediate action, but apparently he was being out-voted. “Well, I guess we could gather supplies in the meantime.”
Xelloss laughed. “An excellent plan, Mr. Zelgadis. Since you suggested it, why don’t you go do that? And why don’t you take most everyone with you- Luna and I will stay here to protect Filia and Lina, if anyone attacks.”
Zelgadis clucked- obviously, he was being gotten rid of. Still, if it got him out of sight of that annoying Trickster Priest, he’d do it. “Yeah, whatever. Come on, gang.”
With that, most of the company dissolved, leaving just Filia, Luna, and Xelloss.
“So, Luna,” Xelloss coughed. “What DID you want to talk about, anyway?”
Luna looked at Filia, pointing her thumb at her. “Sure it’s safe?”
Xelloss chuckled. “Oh, let’s not keep this a secret from her. She could be useful.”
Filia glared at Xelloss. “Excuse me, Mr. Raw Garbage, but I don’t particularly LIKE being used- especially by the likes of you.”
Xelloss twitched, but remained calm. “Oh, but you’ll like helping us with this, I expect. So, Luna....” He opened a single eye, leveling it at the elder Inverse sibling. “Why’d you want me to get rid of everyone?”
“Lina cast something on Gourry. Thought you’d be interested.”
Xelloss’ open eye widened. “You mean, she cast THE spell?” Luna nodded.
Filia blinked. “Um... what spell is this?”
Xelloss looked at Filia and considered. “Hmm... how old are you, Filia? How long ago were you hatched?”
Filia frowned. “How rude! You should NEVER ask a lady her age, not even a dragon lady like me!”
Luna smirked. “Answer, Filia. He needs to know.”
Filia sighed. “Well... my egg was laid back during the Koama war, but my mother wasn’t able to hatch me at first. I was actually buried by her- to protect me from YOU, mazoku- and my mother didn’t recover me until the war was officially suspended and the surrounding area was stabilized. Then it was another few hundred years before she could get around to it, thanks to her being sent off as a diplomat to your side, in the cease-fire negotiations.” She paused. “Well, to make a long story short, I’m only about three hundred, though my egg’s been around for over a thousand years.”
Xelloss smiled. “Hmm... you say she was a diplomat in the cease-fire negotiations? I might actually have met her a few times. Who was she?”
“Ilana.”
Xelloss eyes widened. “Hmm... you’re lucky to be alive. I spared your mother on the battlefield because she was a non-combatant. I nearly got punished for that one.” He paused. “Actually, you saved your mother’s life, though you probably weren’t aware of it at the time. If she hadn’t been carrying your egg, I would have thought she was a Dragon Warrior, and been forced to kill her.”
Filia glared at Xelloss. “Don’t remind me of what you did to my race, freak.”
Xelloss sighed- he knew he deserved that one. Still, it was rather annoying. “Sorry- not like I had a choice in the matter. Still, it sounds like you’re too young to remember this spell we’re talking about- it’s only been used a couple of times in the past eight-hundred years, and it isn’t very famous or anything. In fact, it’s a rather private spell.”
Filia’s annoyance with the mazoku was starting to grow greater than her curiosity about the spell. “Just tell me what the stupid spell is, and what it does, so we can get on with all of this!”
“Not a stupid spell,” Luna said. “Dangerous, yes. Stupid, no.”
“Dangerous? In what way?” Filia asked.
“It’s kind of hard to explain,” Xelloss said. “Though, considering Lina and Gourry’s condition prior to this, it probably is pretty safe.”
“WILL YOU JUST EXPLAIN WHAT’S GOING ON, PLEASE!” Filia growled, her tail popping out.
Luna clucked. “Calm down. We’ll explain.” She looked at Xelloss. “Though it’s kinda hard to.”
Xelloss sighed. “I guess we should start at the beginning. Lina and the Water Dragon Kin Ceiphied have a lot in common, oddly enough. You know that Lina destroyed Hellmaster Phibrizo, right?”
Filia nodded. “Yeah... that’s the main reason I took Luna’s recommendation when she selected Lina for the Dark Star incident.”
Xelloss coughed. “Well, see, the thing is, they don’t really know it, but neither Lina nor Gourry survived that incident. They both died- Lina sacrificed herself to the Lord of Nightmares to save Gourry from Hellmaster, and Gourry sacrificed himself to... well, Lina, sort of, to save her. Lina was consumed by the chaos when Hellmaster killed her in the middle of a Giga Slave, and Gourry... well, Gourry went INSIDE the Lord of Nightmares trying to bring Lina back.” He paused. “Technically, I suppose his body wasn’t destroyed, but he should have been lost inside the Chaos forever, and large portions of his soul were stripped away- the only thing remaining in his body was his love for Lina. Once he went inside, there was no way out.”
Filia blinked. “They certainly seem to be quite lively, for a couple of people consumed by the Chaos.”
Luna chuckled. “Yep. But they were.”
Xelloss nodded. “As Luna said, they WERE, in fact, consumed by the Chaos and killed. But there was a problem- the Lord of Nightmares was faced with a paradox, and so had to make a decision. Water Dragon King Ceiphied had made a similar bargain towards the end of the Koama war, where he exchanged his life so that the Mazoku could be defeated. As part of that bargain, I was created, Luna’s Knighthood was established, and the other Servants of the Lord of Nightmares were born.”
Filia’s eyes widened in wonder. “We of the Dragon Race always wondered how he was able to seal Gaav and the awakened part of Shabradnigo as he was being destroyed. I guess that makes sense, though.”
He nodded. “But the Water Dragon King didn’t need to remain alive for his bargain to succeed. Lina did. Lina called upon power from ANYONE, solely to protect Gourry. And all Lina wanted was for Gourry to live on, so she didn’t really care when the Lord of Nightmares took her away, because Gourry was safe.”
“But he wasn’t,” Luna supplied.
Xelloss nodded. “No, he wasn’t. Gourry would rather he die than Lina die- and so he followed her into the Lord of Nightmares. He didn’t care if he lived or not. In fact, if he hadn’t been able to rescue her, he would have killed himself for having failed to protect the one meaningful thing in his life.” Dramatic pause. “And that was where the paradox came in- the Lord of Nightmares took Lina to save Gourry, but Gourry could not be saved without Lina. And Lina had already been lost inside the Chaos, and Gourry lost HIMSELF inside the Chaos going after her.”
Filia had calmed down enough to pay attention to the story, and flushed slightly. How romantic their dedication for each other sounded. She knew they kind of liked each other, but wasn’t aware that their feeling were that strong. “So what did the Lord of Nightmares do?” she asked.
Xelloss smiled slightly. Filia was acting just like a little kid waiting for her parents to finish a bedtime story. It made her look kind of cute. “Well, there wasn’t much she COULD do, really. She promised to save Gourry. So she rebuilt both Lina and Gourry out of their remaining elements in the Chaos. Thing is, though... parts of both of them were ‘lost,’ sort of. L-sama could isolate the missing elements, but couldn’t tell who’s was who. So... well, Lina and Gourry share parts of the same soul.” He shrugged. “Of course, that still wasn’t enough, so she incorporated a small portion of herself in each of them, to give them a way to escape the Chaos intact. Finally, she wiped their minds of the incident, so that they wouldn’t go insane remembering being disassembled and reassembled- Gourry was intact through much of his time there, but he had to be taken apart for her to insert the bit of herself needed to keep them alive through the transition.”
“So, you’re saying... Gourry and Lina ARE the Lord of Nightmares?” Filia asked.
“Partially,” Luna said.
“Think of it this way,” Xelloss explained. “Their bodies, minds, and even their souls are all intact- though small parts of their souls have been meshed together. However, all of those things are now POWERED by the Lord of Nightmares, who gave each of them a small part of herself so that their bodies, minds, and souls would be able to exist both inside and outside of the Chaos.”
“But not ALL of the Lord of Nightmares is inside them,” Luna added.
“Not even close. They didn’t get much of her, at all. In fact, they’re still more or less normal people- though they’ve received a few side effects from the procedure they don’t realize, yet, and... well, there are certain conditions to their continued existence.”
“Side effects?”
“They’re immortal,” Luna explained.
“Sort of,” Xelloss expanded. “They won’t age much, and they can’t die naturally. Gourry’s ability to cast spells was increased slightly, and they both were subconsciously made aware of this. And, as I said, there are certain conditions to their continued existence- if Gourry and Lina ever, well, ‘break up’ on a permanent basis, the Lord of Nightmares will simply leave their bodies, and they’ll, well, fall apart.”
“They can fight,” Luna continued. “They’ve got a grace period in which they can make up if they break up, but... well, to put it bluntly, they’re linked forever.”
Filia looked over at Xelloss. “Is this why you said it was a bad idea to try and hook Gourry and Sylphiel up?”
Xelloss smirked. “No, I thought it was a bad idea to try and hook Gourry and Sylphiel up because I figured the only way to do that would be to kill Lina. But I guess this is just as good a reason, huh?”
A twinge of that annoyance from before resurfaced, but she clenched her teeth and held it in. “So, anyway... what spell is it that Lina cast on Gourry? This ‘dangerous’ spell which might not be so dangerous, any more?”
“Soul Refresh,” Luna answered.
“‘Dangerous’ isn’t the way to put it,” Xelloss said. “Probably a better word would be ‘binding.’ Essentially, what the spell does is it uses your soul to ‘clean out’ elements which trouble another soul by letting them enter your own. The problem with this spell is that it can sometimes merge the two souls together, so it should only be cast between intimates. It was originally used to treat insanity, but it was quickly found that this just divided the insane portions between the caster and castee. Which was fine, if you could wipe the insanity out of your own mind- as some of the stronger mages could- but that’s what lead to the reputation of it being a ‘dangerous’ spell.”
Filia blinked. “But why would Lina cast a spell like that on Gourry? He certainly didn’t show signs of any mental distress.”
“Side effects,” Luna said, prompting Xelloss.
“Oh, yeah. If neither person if feeling too much mental distress- and Lina and Gourry aren’t, despite their hectic lives- it usually results in the most pleasant of dreams. And those dreams are usually shared between the caster and the castee... like I said, this is the sort of spell only intimates used with each other.”
“Redundant, though,” Luna commented.
“Heh... yeah, as near as I can tell they already share dreams sometimes,” Xelloss agreed. “But this WAS one of the signs we were looking for, wasn’t it?”
“Signs?” Filia asked.
“Part B of L-sama’s orders. Hook sis and Gourry up,” Luna explained.
“The Lord of Nightmares feels a little guilty, because she thinks she went a little overboard with her memory wipe of their time inside the Chaos, and accidentally removed their memories of their first real kiss. We need to wait for three signs before we start overtly guiding them together, though. The ‘Sharing of Souls,’ which I guess this is- we were thinking this might have been what she meant, earlier. The ‘Elven Sword,’ which I have no clue about. Luna probably knows more about swords than anyone else, though.”
Luna shrugged. “Lina’s making a sword. Needs a few things, first, though. Prob’ly that.”
Xelloss nodded. “And, finally, the ‘Dragon’s Heart.’ Say, Filia- you’re a dragon. Any clue what that might be?”
“Uh... there are lots of things it could be,” Filia blushed. “I don’t want to talk about most of them.”
“But the most likely one is?”
“Um, that’s one of those I’d rather not discuss,” Filia replied, blushing deeper. “I’ll let you know if I see it, though.”
Xelloss nodded. “Right, so the final sign is to embarrass you. Well, I’ll to my best to bring that one about, Filia- don’t worry!” he patted her on the head.
“DON’T TOUCH ME, FREAK!” A gentle caress of her mace sent Xelloss flying into the distance.
* * * * *
Sylphiel cracked open the door to Gourry’s room and quietly stepped inside. There he was, sleeping innocently on the room’s one bed. Lina sat on a chair next to him, holding a book open. Closer inspection showed that she had fallen asleep reading.
Silently, she walked over to the bed, adjusting the covers to keep Gourry comfortable. Something Lina should have done as she watched over him, instead of just reading that stupid book, whatever it was.
He’d done it again- pushed himself beyond what should have been humanly possible in his desire to protect a woman who had never claimed to need protection. Felt the presence of a Mazoku intruder, snapped through six sleep spells, and tackled it. TACKLED a Mazoku! It was a rather ridiculous thing for him to do, really- a suicidal gesture that would do little more then gain a moment of time for someone else to react. But he’d done it, all the same- just to protect one Lina Inverse, Bandit Slayer, Dragon Spooker, and Enemy of All Who Lived.
It was only the second time she knew of him pushing himself like that. The first was... well, the last time she’d seen him, where he stormed a big ball of Chaos just to retrieve the same Lina Inverse. It was then she knew she didn’t stand a chance at his heart- at least, not while Lina lived. Sylphiel wouldn’t even THINK of killing her, herself- after all, Lina was a friend, and had risked her own life to protect her. But Lina DID live a rather dangerous life, so there was always the possibility that she might die during one of her adventures... and Sylphiel, of course, would be available to comfort Gourry as much as she could.
She wouldn’t feel so upset if Lina would ever do anything to show Gourry the appreciation he so rightly deserved. It was pretty obvious she was no longer sticking with him just to get the Sword of Light anymore- the Sword of Light was gone, and she was still with him. But she wasn’t showing him any affection, from what Sylphiel could tell.
“Mmm... Sylphiel?” Lina said, blinking the sleep out of her eyes. “What are you doing here?”
Sylphiel blushed slightly. “Oh... I just wanted to visit Gourry, check up on him, make sure he was still okay.”
Lina rolled her eyes. “Of course. Well, don’t worry- he’s doing fine. He probably won’t be waking up until tomorrow- after all, we’ve now got a full twelve sleep spells working on him.” Her stomach growled slightly. “Um... are there any leftovers from breakfast downstairs?”
Sylphiel shrugged. “Not that I know of. I think Amelia tried to save something for you, but your sister ate it.”
“Figures,” Lina said. “Oh, well. Maybe I’ll eat something for dinner.”
Sylphiel stared at Gourry’s sleeping form. “I imagine you’ve seen him hurt quite a bit in your journeys together.”
Lina shook her head. “Not really... nothing so bad that a simple light healing spell didn’t fix him up. In fact, I don’t recall him ever looking quite as bad as he did after that battle. He wasn’t hurt in the Shabradnigo incident- stunned occasionally, but never hurt. He wasn’t hurt by Copy-Rezo. He wasn’t hurt by Gaav or any of his servants. Heh... I wasn’t even able to hurt him when he was being used against us by Phibrizo. The Lord of Nightmares didn’t hurt him... I don’t think. I can’t really remember that incident all that clearly. Valgaav and Dark Star didn’t hurt him. I really don’t think he’s EVER been seriously hurt before... until now.” She looked at Gourry’s sleeping face. “Sylphiel, do you think you could arrange for my dinner to be brought here, today? Just get me whatever the special is.” She paused. “Um, I want to try and finish this book.”
Sylphiel shrugged. She hadn’t eaten with Lina often enough to realize that what she was asking for- just one portion of a meal- was significant. “I’ll give them your request when I head back down.” She recalled her earlier thoughts and took a deep breath. “Lina?”
“Yeah?” she said, turning her attention back to her book.
“You once said you were following Gourry to get his Sword of Light. He doesn’t have a Sword of Light any more, so... um, if you’re willing to answer... why do you follow him now?”
Lina froze. “Um... I don’t really know,” she said. Letting her eyes travel over Gourry’s features once more, she sighed. “I guess part of it is just that I’m so used to him being there that... that I couldn’t see him NOT being at my side, you know? That’s not the only reason, but it’s the only one I can actually identify- or WILL identify- right now.”
Sylphiel nodded. “Ever wondered why he stays with you?”
Lina laughed. “Constantly. Usually when he’s at his most annoying.” She looked up at Sylphiel. “He wants to protect me for the rest of his life. I can’t deny him that.”
Sylphiel nodded. That struck a blow to her- she knew Gourry was in love with this girl, but when things like that were said bluntly to her it still hurt. “I’ll... get that dinner order for you placed.” She rushed out of the room, not able to stay in there any more.
Lina glanced at Gourry one last time before returning to her book. “I just hope he doesn’t get himself killed doing so,” she whispered under her breath. Blinking when she realized she said that, she turned all of her attention to the book, desperately trying to block out everything Sylphiel’s conversation stirred up. It wasn’t something she particularly liked talking about any day, but when Gourry was hurt... well, it just wasn’t something she wanted to talk about.
* * * * *
Amelia sat next to Zelgadis as they ate dinner, starring across at Martina and Zangulus. Zangulus seemed rather uncomfortable with the displays of affection Martina was giving him in public, but seemed to be enjoying them immensely, regardless.
Amelia sighed, picking at her food. “Zelgadis?”
“Yes, Amelia?”
She took a deep breath. “Can we talk privately for a bit?”
“Beats watching them fawn over each other all night,” he said, standing up and grabbing his cup of coffee.
Amelia winced at his comment as she stood up as well. “Let’s go to my room... there shouldn’t be anyone else there right now.”
“Um, okay,” he said, following her up the stairs into the private rooms of the inn. “So, what did you want to talk about.
“Zel... um, look,” Amelia said. She wasn’t able to meet his eyes. “This adventure... it scares me. I mean, yeah- we shouldn’t abandon Lina or anything, but... well, if the battle had lasted much longer I don’t think Gourry would have made it. We’re going up against... well, overwhelming forces. And... well, I guess what I’m saying is I’m not sure we can win this one.”
Zelgadis relaxed, placing a comforting arm on Amelia’s shoulder. “Is that all? Look, we’ve all been in tight situations before, and we survived. We’ve faced down Shabradnigo, Copy Rezo, Gaav, Phibrizo, AND Dark Star, and we lived through it all. I’m not saying this isn’t a bad situation, I’m just saying we can handle it.”
Amelia straightened up, looking him in the face. “Yeah, we can handle it. But will we all live through it? Can you PROMISE me that we’ll all survive this one?”
Zelgadis shook his head. “Promise? No. But I’m never going into a fight believing I’m not going to get out of it victorious. Not since Shabradnigo.”
Amelia smiled weakly. “I’m not saying that you should. I’m just saying...” She couldn’t finish- at least not that way. “Look... I don’t WANT to die, I don’t EXPECT to die. I don’t want anyone I know or care about to be hurt in this thing, but... it could happen. And... there are some things I want to have happen before I die.”
Zelgadis raised an eyebrow. “What do you want?”
Amelia bit her lip nervously. “I was watching Martina and Zangulus down there, and they just seemed so happy... and... Zel, when I asked you on the way here if you might be willing to get married one day, if you found a willing girl. Well, I’m more than willing right now... Zel, before we really get too deep into this adventure, could we, um, get married?”
Zelgadis, who many believed was the stoic rock of the company, one who could never be phased by anything anyone did, reacted in typical fashion for one of his unshakable character. He fainted.
* * * * *
“Let me get this straight,” Lina said, looking at the newly arrived couple. She was still sitting at Gourry’s bedside, her book set aside and a half-eaten plate of (now cold) ribs on a nearby table. “A half hour ago, Amelia, you asked Zelgadis, here, to marry you, correct?”
Amelia nodded. “Uh huh!” she agreed enthusiastically.
“And Zel... after a fainting spell that lasted for twenty-nine minutes, which you don’t want to admit you had and don’t have to- I don’t care- you agreed, right?”
Zelgadis blushed even deeper. “Um...”
“I’ll take that as a yes,” Lina huffed. “And, first thing you do upon making this sudden decision, is come to my room. Now, WHY?!”
“Um... I want you to be my maid of honor, Lina,” Amelia explained nervously. “So... will you do it?”
Lina blinked. “Um... when is it?”
“Tonight!” Amelia said. “We want to get this... out of the way.”
“Tonight!” Lina exclaimed, somewhat shocked. She’d seen Amelia and Zelgadis getting gradually closer together during their adventures, so it wasn’t too big of a surprise when they announced they were getting married. But that night? That was... rather sudden. And she didn’t want to leave right then. “How about we wait until tomorrow? That way, Gourry can join in the fun- he should be up to it by then... and I’ll have had time to finish my book, of course.”
Amelia’s eyes sparkled. “Does that mean you’ll do it?!”
“Er, maybe,” Lina said. She wasn’t really that enthusiastic on the subject- she enjoyed going to weddings, sometimes, but participating in the ceremony... well, that just wasn’t her cup of tea. “What about Naga? Wouldn’t she want to be the maid of honor at her sister’s wedding?”
Amelia blinked. “You mean Gracia? I forgot about her. But it’s been so long since I’ve seen her, and she’s changed so much since I last knew her... Lina, to tell you the truth, you’re more of a sister to me then she is, now. I’ll make her one of my bride’s maids, but I want YOU to be my maid of honor. Please?” Lina looked reluctant. “Pretty please? If you say yes, we’ll hold off until tomorrow night for you!”
Lina sighed. She couldn’t say no to that face. “Oh, all right. Now get out of here and let everyone else know, okay? I want to finish my book before everyone else comes to bed!”
“Yay!” Amelia rushed over to her and hugged her. Lina blushed slightly. “Thank you, Lina- you don’t know how much this means to me.”
Lina returned the hug, patting the other girl on the shoulders. “Think... nothing of it,” she said.
“Come on, Zel- let’s go tell the others!” Amelia said, buzzing out the door and grabbing him by the sleeve.
Lina sighed, looking at Gourry with something resembling sadness on her face. “Gourry... we’d better all make it out of this one. I don’t want to lose any of them.”
* * * * *
Luna smirked as she entered her room, preparing to go to bed. Lina had fallen asleep at Gourry’s bedside again, still ‘reading her book,’ which just happened to be the same book Luna had loaned her the previous day.
“Lina,” she said quietly, shaking her younger sister gently. “Lina, you’d sleep better in your futon.”
Lina blinked her eyes open. “Eh, what? Oh, yeah... bedtime.” She bent over Gourry and straightened his blankets once. She lay a hand on his forehead. “*Soul Refresh*” she cast.
Luna blinked. “What spell did you just cast?” she asked, trying to make certain she heard right.
Lina looked over at her sister. “Sleep, of course- we want him to wake up in the morning, but not until after we’re done getting dressed.”
Luna nodded. Just as she thought, Lina hadn’t even been aware she was casting Soul Refresh. Perhaps she’d been doing that for a while now, but Luna wasn’t about to complain. Filing that bit of information for reference, she gently guided her sister back to her futon. “Get some sleep yourself, ‘kay? Gotta Council of War, then a Wedding, tomorrow.”
“Wedding?” Lina said, remnants of her nap still showing in her voice. “You mean I didn’t dream that? Zel and Amelia ARE getting married?”
Luna nodded. “And you’re the maid of honor. Naga through a fit when she found out.” She guided the drowsy Lina into her futon. “Now, *Sleep.* I’ll see you in the morning.”
Lina was out almost the second her older sister’s spell reached her. Luna smiled, tucking her in. Standing up, she walked over to Gourry and shook her head.
“Boy, you’re lucky to have sis,” she said. Then she remembered the previous night, where Gourry had broken through six sleep spells to save Lina’s life. “Then again, she’s probably just as lucky to have you.”
* * * * *
“So, Gourry’s still under the effects of about twenty sleep spells cast on him over the past two days, and LINA’S still under the effects of YOUR sleep spell from last night, right?” Zelgadis asked.
Luna nodded. “Yep.”
“Okay... so how were you planning to wake them up in time for the Council of War?” he asked.
“And our wedding?!” Amelia added, causing Zelgadis to blush slightly.
“Er, yes, and our wedding?”
The elder Inverse sibling smirked. “Simple. *Flow Break!*” she cast. Nothing seemed to happen except a mild flash of light in the shape of a star in a circle. “Lina, time to get up!” she called.
Lina blinked her eyes open. “Huh?”
“Time to get up, sis,” Luna said. “And maybe we could try to get Gourry up, as well? The healer was here earlier and said the poison is now completely out of his system.”
“But hurry up. I KNOW you two will want breakfast, and we’ve got a Council of War to hold,” Zelgadis reminded. Amelia looked at him. “Er... and a wedding to attend.”
“Breakfast?” Lina said blearily. “Oh, right... um, can you leave the room for a bit? I’ll wake Gourry up after I’ve had a chance to freshen up and change.”
Luna nodded. “Sure, sis. Come on, guys- let’s give her some privacy.”
Zelgadis and Amelia followed the elder Inverse out of the door. Lina blinked the sleep out of her eyes as she looked around the room. “Ugh... Luna must have cast a Sleep spell on me,” she grimaced. There was a mild tingle to her body, the aftereffects of the Sleep spell’s effect. “Poor Gourry, though. He’s going to get it MUCH worse when he wakes up. I wonder how many times we cast that silly spell on him, between us?”
Shrugging, she stood up and pulled a fresh set of clothing out of her bag, tossed it over her shoulder carelessly, and started changing. Her clean pants just happened to fall onto the bed Gourry was sleeping on, stirring him, but she didn’t notice. She just thought about how much she really wanted a bath first, but she realized there wasn’t really enough time for one.
Gourry’s eyes started blinking themselves opened just as she was pulling off her shirt. His eyes adjusted to the light, and he suddenly realized what, exactly, he was seeing- Lina, stripping off her underwear.
He mentally gasped. He couldn’t, physically, due to the aftereffects of over twenty Sleep spells (for some reason, the effects of having that many Sleep spells case on one person had never been studied by any of the major magical schools), nor could he move his hand to cover his eyes. He couldn’t close them, either, though whether that was something caused by the spells’ aftermath or not, he couldn’t tell.
Lina, now totally naked, closed her eyes and started stretching. It felt good to be able to do something like this when she wasn’t wearing her somewhat heavy armored shoulder pads (however used to them she was) or restrictive clothing. There wasn’t too much time for even that, though, if she wanted to get everything they were planning done by the end of the day.
She opened her eyes, glancing around for the fresh clothing she had scattered about the room. There was her shirt on the chair, and over there on the bed were her pants, and-
Wait, were Gourry’s eyes OPEN? And if his eyes were open, didn’t that mean he was awake? And if he was awake and his eyes were open, didn’t that mean he’d been watching her as she changed... and was STILL watching her even now? “Gourry...” she uttered in a low growl.
Gourry never wanted to be able to move any more than he did at that moment. Unfortunately, the parts of his body responsible for movement hadn’t quite recovered yet...
Downstairs, the assembled company heard a powerful explosion coming from up in Lina’s room. As fast as they could, they ran up the stairs and burst through the door, Zelgadis (sword drawn) in the lead.
A still naked Lina, standing next to the charred (but miraculously still breathing) body of Gourry, glanced over at them, fire in her eyes.
“You all, too?! *FIREBALL!!*”
* * * * *
Once the situation had settled down, the room had been restored to order, the fires put out, and Lina finally put on some clothes, the entire company (Gourry included) met down in the tavern, at a makeshift round table (six small tables arranged in a circle). The arrangements had the violently embarrassed Lina sitting next to the obviously just as embarrassed Gourry. They both seemed to be sitting as far away from each other as the tables would allow.
“Well,” Xelloss started, all smiles. “Now that Lina’s had her bit of exhibitionistic fun, let’s get this Council of War started.” He paused to allow Lina’s fierce growl of anger before continuing. “Basically, I have no more idea of what’s going on than any of you do. L-sama just said to gather you all together and protect you until she gave us word. She had a few more orders, as well, but those are a secret, and don’t really relate to our current situation.”
Zelgadis frowned. “They don’t? Do they give you any hints as to why the Lord of Nightmares is suddenly becoming active in this world again, after so long of just ignoring it and allowing the Dragons and Mazoku rule as the gods of this world?”
Xelloss hesitated. “Well... her orders didn’t explain anything in that regard, no. However, I suspect Lina’s casting the Giga Slave against Phibrizo might have something to do with it...”
Sylphiel sighed. “I warned you that you should never cast the Giga Slave, Lina.”
Lina glared at her. “I didn’t really have much choice at the time.”
Sylphiel looked at Gourry, sighed, then looked down at her table. “No, I guess you didn’t.”
“At any rate,” Xelloss said, “We now have to decide what to do about the horde of Mazoku and their followers who appear to be following us. We know that at least my former mistress, Zelas, and one other of her peers, Dynast, are working together against us. I would not be surprised if the final surviving Mazoku of her level, Dolphin, was aiding them as well. Which means, of course, that it’s us versus every mean and nasty living being out there. It’s a good thing Hellmaster is dead, or we might have had to include ever non-living being out there in that list, as well.”
“Don’t worry- Zoamelgustar will protect us!” Martina exclaimed. Her husband glanced over at her hesitantly.
Zelgadis sighed. “I suspect it will take more than just the blessing of Zoamelgustar to keep us safe from THAT many Mazoku. Perhaps we should find a place of refuge, and gather a force that CAN keep us safe around it. Something along the lines of the three remaining pieces of Ceiphied’s power.”
Luna shook her head. “We can ask them, but I doubt they’ll help.”
Filia nodded. “That I can confirm. The remaining portions of Ceiphied don’t want to be bothered unless Shabradnigo is reborn.”
Xelloss coughed. “We could free a portion of Shabradnigo, and that might attract their attention.”
Lina glared at him. “Are you KIDDING?!” she nearly screamed with the pent-up frustrations of that morning. “Yeah, sure- it would attract their attention, all right- but WE’D be their enemy, too!”
Xelloss shrugged. “It was only a suggestion.”
“Forgive me,” Vrumagum said. “But I believe that gathering allies is only a secondary priority at the moment. Wouldn’t our first priority be finding a safe place to assemble these forces we are counting on to defend us?”
“What’s wrong with right here?” Filia asked. “This is a nice city- a bit small but what difference does it make? It’s supposed to be a center of study for Shrine Maidens, so there should be plenty of mages here to help defend it from attack.”
“It’s too small,” Zelgadis commented. “Lina could wipe it out with a single Dragon Slave. Considering several of the Mazoku are more powerful than a single Dragon Slave, this city wouldn’t last long when their heavy hitters showed up.”
“Sailoon is pretty big!” Amelia suggested. “And it’s protected by my father’s great sense of justice! That would be the perfect place to use as a refuge!”
Naga sweatdropped. “Amelia... I am pretty sure I told you that I DIDN’T want to go back to Sailoon anytime soon, didn’t I?”
Xelloss scratched his head. “Well, Sailoon DOES have special properties that would help protect it from the Mazoku, but...”
“Amelia,” Zelgadis said, scratching his head as well. “Um... I understand your Sailoon Pride and all, but... don’t you think your father would get a little upset when most of the city gets destroyed in a Mazoku war?”
Naga nodded enthusiastically. “Besides, sis... are you SURE you want to have your honeymoon anywhere NEAR where daddy might show up at any moment?”
Amelia looked a little scared. “Er... maybe we should find someplace else.”
Gourry scratched his head. “Honeymoon? Is that some kind of pickle?”
Lina flushed. “Gourry! Don’t tell me you don’t know what a honeymoon is? No, wait- never mind. I should have expected that from you.”
“So what is it?” he asked her.
“It’s... uh... er... does anyone ELSE want to field this one? Please?” she begged.
Xelloss smirked. He was sitting at the table next to Gourry, so he was in an advantageous position to lean over and whisper a few details on what a honeymoon was to the swordsman.
By the time he was done, Gourry was as red as a beet. “Oh... I guess that isn’t a pickle, after all,” he said dazedly.
Xelloss sweatdropped. “Well... I suppose I’ve heard of some women USING a pickle, but usually not during the honeymoon.”
Gourry looked over at Amelia. “So you’re getting married?”
“Uh... yeah,” she said. She still wasn’t quite over the picture she had of her father bursting in on her and Zelgadis just when things were getting good.
“Well, I know the perfect place for you to do it!” he exclaimed. “And we won’t even have to worry about these people attacking us while we’re there, either.”
Filia’s attention perked up- she’d been glaring at Xelloss and wondering what tales he’d told the poor clueless swordsman. How dare he make Lina’s wedding night so confusing for Gourry! Well, assuming they were successful and Gourry ever went ON a honeymoon. “Oh? Why not?”
“Well,” Gourry said. “They wouldn’t be able to find it. Only my family and the people who live there know about it, and there’s something about it that won’t let it be found.”
“And why is it so secret?” Xelloss asked, curious.
“Well, it’s an Elven village,” Gourry explained. “A group of homeless elves, aided by my ancestors- starting with Rowdy Gabriev, the first of my family to use the Sword of Light in combat- beat off a group of Mazoku who ruined their village. Rowdy, who was the Grand Oregano or something like that, built them a secret refuge. My family and these elves have been allied ever since.”
Lina’s jaw dropped, and she looked over at Gourry, then to Naga (who seemed totally clueless), then back to Gourry.
“Grand Oregano?” Martina asked.
“I... I think he means sage,” Lina answered. “The Great Sage Rowdy Gabriev. I met him once.”
Gourry frowned. “Rowdy’s been dead for a long time, Lina- you couldn’t have met him. You are right, though- I think it was Great Sage. I knew it was some kind of herb, though. I always figured he got that title because he was a great cook.”
“Well, you do act like you’re related to a plant sometimes,” Lina muttered under her breath. Louder, she said, “It’s a long story, but I think I did. He showed up in the future to take me to the past and rescue these same elves. Er... I don’t know if he was a good cook or not, though- I never had any of his food. At any rate, this place sounds like the best suggestion so far.”
“Hmm... Elves, huh?” Xelloss said. “Sounds just like what the Lord of Nightmares was expecting us to do.”
‘Elves?’ Filia thought to herself. ‘Elven sword... the prophecy!’ Turning her attention to the gathering, she said, “I agree. Let’s go to this village of Gourry’s.”
Xelloss turned to look at her. “YOU agree with ME?”
“It’s a miracle,” Zelgadis said, smirking. “If THOSE two agree, I might as well, too.”
“I like Elves,” Luna said, showing her enthusiasm for the plan.
“How romantic! A hidden Elven village in an out of the way place, our friends all there to see us off- it’s the PERFECT place to hold a wedding!” Amelia squealed. “It’d be worth the wait, too- wouldn’t it, Zel? Wouldn’t it?”
“Er...” he gargled nervously.
“Any objections?” Xelloss asked. There was a pause. “Well, then- seems like we’re decided. The wedding’s postponed, people. We have a plan. Now, how about allies?”
Luna shook her head. “Not now.”
Lina nodded in agreement with her sister. “Let’s wait until we get to the Elven village before we talk about that. They may not want us to bring others in, considering the lengths to which they seem to be going to protect their privacy.”
There were a lot of nods, and Xelloss finally joined them. “Very well. I guess we’d better get packed, then- we seem to be starting our travels again already!”