-- Attached file included as plaintext by Listar --
-- File: EpFive2.txt
Slayers Persist Episode Five: "Reunion! A Detour On The Path To Revelation."
By Zach Grafton, 2000.
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Things began to unfold rather rapidly from there on.
Arriving at the old shack energized, Zel's and Selena's swords
covered in the leafy entrails of all the unfortunate vines that had grown
at locations specific enough to become obstacles for a parade of heroes and
heroines on a mission, Lina was caught again by a sense of deja vu. She
remembered, fleetingly, the skirmish that had taken place in this clearing;
her and Naga versus Galef, Zachard, and a bunch of Lesser Demons. She also
remembered Galef trying out the spell Meteor Fall, apparently in an attempt
to become a silver haired chick magnet with a black trench coat.
"Ah," Galef murmured, patting the shack's decrepit wooden
sideboards. "To be home again."
"I hope you guys remember the way to the lab," Lina said, her tone
straightforward and deadly. "Otherwise, your supervisor's going to bring on
the big spells."
"Huh?" Zel asked, looking surprised. He caught her look. "Oh, yeah.
I'll, uh, get medieval." A small mass of fire swirled in his palm.
The Destructive Organization Xain's only two active members averted
their eyes. "Well, we'd love to show you," Galef said, tugging at his
collar. "But--ano--he was actually the one who found it. We didn't know it
was there."
"Wow," Gourry spoke up. "You guys are really pathetic!"
"Hey," Zachard cried. "No one insults the two of us and gets away
with it! I challenge you to a sword match!"
Lina dropped a flowerpot on his head. "We really don't need anyone
to take over Zangulus's first season role, thanks very much. You ready to
lead us in?" She'd switched attention back to Zel, waving his hand back and
forth to dissipate the small amount of fire energy.
"Sure. I assume he had this ridiculous throne when you were here,
too?"
"Yeah. First class tackiness. And I see the little candle is still
here. A really desperate attempt to look spooky in front of your one
subordinate, eh?"
"Evidently," Zel added, sliding his hand along the throne's arm.
"Galef wasn't secure in his occultic prowess."
Zachard laughed. "That is so true!"
"Enough!" Galef screamed, his voice deep and gruff enough to invoke
a sudden chill in his verbal tormentors. When they looked back to him,
however, he was pulling at his hair and tears were coursing down his
cheeks. "Do you all have to be so mean?"
"Hey, if you try taking over the world, you automatically offer
yourself up for ridicule. It's one of the unwritten laws." Lina nodded at
her own common sense. So did Gourry, since he couldn't think up anything
clever to follow it with.
"Oh, here we go," Zel said, and after a small click of a sound, the
shack began to shake as its giant throne swung into the ground, revealing a
corridor leading into the ground.
"Wow," Lina whistled. "Pretty nice. So let me guess, you guys
didn't even build your own headquarters?"
"Of course we did," Galef puffed up. "Zachard just discovered the
foundation of an older monument. We built the place ourselves."
"And set the throne on the pedestal ourselves," the swordsman added
defensively.
"Well, that goes without saying. No elf would ever design something
that idiotic." Lina turned to them, nodding toward the lab's entrance. "Why
don't you two lead us in?"
Shoulders slumped resolutely, Galef and Zachard did as commanded.
Jer gave a gruff little chuckle at Lina's shoulder as Zelgadiss, elected
warden for the journey, trudged after them.
"Hm?" The sorceress tried to look like she hadn't forgotten he was
there.
"They're fools," the old man said, wiping sweat from his forehead
with a handkerchief. "But they're hard workers, once you give them a reason
for it."
"A reason for life," Gourry agreed, singsongy.
Lina hurried to keep the others from getting too far ahead. "That's
common enough. Zel was your average run of the mill rabble before we ran
into him, too. He even tried to take me on, once!"
"I remember defeating you with a blow to the stomach," Zel
responded. She'd forgotten about his demonic hearing ability.
"That wasn't a fair fight!" she shouted. The echoes were loud
enough for a good head ringing among her companions.
"Oh, that's right." Zel allowed himself a grin. "It was your--"
Wham!
"--itai."
Selena gasped as Zel wrested a socket wrench out of his hair.
"Lina-sama, what did you do that for?"
"You'd understand if you traveled with her," was all Gourry said.
Selena's expression was pretty grim, but she didn't pursue the topic.
"Here we are," Galef informed as his feet met smooth, nondescending
concrete. "This is where we turned back last time."
"Indeed." Zelgadiss gazed around the barren room sullenly. "I
couldn't make anything out of the magic current, either. A cleric or
priestess like Shilfiel would be most useful in this kind of situation..."
"Or Amelia, but she stayed behind." Lina walked to the center of
the room, looking around. "And I don't see any doors like we had at the
other two, although the rest of it looks pretty similar."
"Do you think you can find us a path?" Zel asked. "I could assist."
"Might as well try. And two are better than one, I suppose."
Gourry noticed Selena looked a shade uncomfortable as the two of
them stood side to side, eyes closed, but couldn't fathom out why. Then the
two of them took hands, and he understood very well (although any questions
he might have had about the budding sorceress-swordswoman were instantly
shoved aside in his mind).
The two stood that way for what seemed a very long time.
Groping along after those teasing threads of magical knowledge was
hard work. Lina held still with her eyes closed, unmoving in both the
physical and mental sense. All she allowed to work now was her spiritual
side, a fleeting, sad little thing when compared on the scale with Mazoku
or Dragons, but quite impressive when put up against a regular person. Lina
Inverse is, as you should already know, a very amazing young lady.
"Lina." A voice, far off and barely a whisper.
"Nani?" she asked, startled enough that she momentarily lost her
way. Then she caught herself, found it, and followed. "Who is this?"
"You recognize Me well enough by now," the voice responded, light
as breath.
"The Legacy?" she asked needlessly. She felt its consent.
"I am not only an artifact, young one. And you know it."
"Do I?" she asked. And of course she did.
Xelloss, charbroiled but none the worse for wear, had lead them
through the sanctuary with the cheeriness of your typical tour guide. As
there was nothing down there to point out, however, he'd worked off his
energy through a good dosage of backstory.
"--and soon the head of these temples were the only ones left in
this area."
"That's sad," Amelia had said. "That was a terrible war."
"It was. But as for what happened to those priests, I couldn't
say."
"You probably could," Zelgadiss said. "But it's a secret, right?"
"Well, I do have my own theories. Nothing concrete this time,
however." Xelloss smiled back at the chimera. "You know I couldn't hold
information from such wonderful friends."
"Don't jerk us around," Lina said, and had surprised herself by the
sharpness of it. "We know you have no concept of friendship."
"That's true," Xelloss conceded. "Anyhow, what do you know about
the Legacies?"
"The what?" Amelia and Gourry asked.
"Oh, looks like we're here." Lina cleared her throat, gesturing to
where the corridor opened into a large circular room a few feet ahead. "Why
don't you guys go ahead, I think I want to talk to our comrade here alone."
"Sure," Amelia said, the first to agree. Zel had given her a
searching look as he followed the other two into the large room, but had
kept quiet. She waited until they were out of sight, turned to Xelloss...
and found that he was already walking off after them.
"If you have something to say to me," she hissed, "say it privately
where they can't hear."
Xelloss's eyebrows perked. "You don't want your own companions to
know what all this is about?"
"What is it all about?" she hissed. "All I know is that I've been
targeted by Mazoku again, and some weird thing that calls itself the power
of the Lord of Nightmares keeps talking to me inside my head."
"The Legacies of the Lord of Nightmares," Xelloss agreed, meeting
her eyes. "There are three of them, formed at the time of Shaburanigdo's
War against your Dragon thousands of years ago."
"What are they?" Lina asked. She felt her stomach tighten.
"Coalesced forms of the Sea of Chaos," he answered. "Formed from
the massive amounts of power used in that battle and left over to change
history whenever men would come across them."
"Like the Philosopher's Stone," Lina breathed. He nodded.
"Except, unlike a simple magic-boosting artifact, this is the Lord
of Nightmares' power." He paused, watching her. "And therefore the Lord of
Nightmares Herself."
There was a space of an instant where Lina was awed beyond the
ability to speak. She caught herself as quickly as she could. "So why
haven't I heard anything about this before? The Philosopher's Stone is
famous for all the times people have taken command of its power and tried
to do crazy things with it!"
"Yes, and that's because when it is used, people are alive to tell
about it." Xelloss was not smiling now; indeed, he even looked somewhat
respectful. "When one draws on the Lord of Nightmares, She destroys
everything nearby before her power is canceled. And, in every case in
history known to Mazoku kind, it ends with the one who has drawn upon it
sucked into the Sea of Chaos itself."
That stunned her, at least temporarily. "You mean, without any hope
for an afterlife?"
Xelloss nodded, shook his head. "Soul and body alike, completely
gone. Nothing survives that power. It's akin to destroying a Mazoku on the
Astral plane."
"Like what happened to Hellmaster Phibrizo," she whispered.
"Oi! Lina!" Gourry cried, nearly toppling her on top of Xel.
"Don't do that!" she shrieked back, regathering her composure.
Apparently they'd wandered into the center room without her realizing it.
She noticed that a number of doors opened off from it, so presumably no
matter which door they'd chosen, they would have ended up here. Gourry'd
been so pleased with himself earlier, however, that she didn't bring this
to his attention.
"Sorry," he'd said. "But Amelia found something."
The room was indeed grand looking. Larger around than the Water
Dragon King's shrine, held up by giant columns of exquisite design, it was
lit only by the Light spell on her dagger tip and a powerful source in the
center of the room that resembled a sort of staff, surrounded by a ring of
waist high wall. Zelgadiss was inspecting this as Gourry and Amelia were
scouring through one of many volumes of books.
"That was quick," Lina said, coming over to appraise the goods.
"What, was it right on top of the pile?"
"Actually, it was alone on the stone desk over there." The Princess
indicated it with a quick elbow-jerk. "I guess its owner was the last
person down here."
"The elves' priest?" Zel asked, wandering up. Amelia shook her head
and opened the book to the first page, holding it over for Lina to see.
Giving the amount of light already available, she sheathed her dagger and
took the small tome for herself.
Reading aloud, she said, "The Journal of Lyle de Seiruun."
"The Prince who left Seiruun to form the country of Panifess?"
Zelgadiss asked, peering over her shoulder.
"The country of Halgon and our elven attackers," Lina agreed,
flipping through the pages. "What's this doing here?"
"The last few make some sense," Amelia said helpfully. "I don't
know what that Legacy stuff is all about, but it's in there, too."
Indeed it was. Lina narrated the text, skipping the date at the top
for urgency's sake.
It has been centuries since the elves were with us, and I think
I've discovered their fate. What's worse, I believe I may fall to the same
end. I cannot let that happen; I owe more to my subjects than that.
A brief glance up to Xelloss. Nothing to read there. Lina went back
to the book.
I am leaving my country, and I will give it leave of these cursed
Legacies as well. I may not be able to take the other one without Varena
noticing me (gods take me for trusting her with this information!), but I
can at least depart to my corner of the world with this one where it may
not harm anyone. And hopefully, without the two of them in the same city,
anyone who wishes to call upon both their powers and unleash whatever hell
lay within will be thwarted.
I feel much regret on departing when there is such conflict within
the walls of this city due to Varena's mishandling of power; I believe the
desire to help the people will always burn within me. But for the good of
all, this must be done. I can only hope the witch does not stop me before I
can flee!
Well, that is all for tonight. I hope to have a chance to write
more, but I may be forced to act quickly, lest I am discovered.
Lyle de Seiruun
Lina closed the book. "That's all."
"I guess he had to leave pretty quick then," Gourry thought aloud.
Amelia nodded. "The date in the book is within two days of the
discovery that he was missing," she said. "I remember all this from history
classes. It's pretty romantic, not counting the stuff about the Queen
Varena."
"History probably has him fleeing from her wrath for political
reasons," Zelgadiss murmured. "I doubt they mention anything about
Panifess, or these Legacies."
"Hai," Amelia agreed. "Not a word."
"I think we better keep this for later," Lina said, tapping its
cover with her fingers. "Kind of cryptic to read down here."
"But I think it's taught us one thing already," Zelgadiss said.
"And what's that?" Lina asked.
"We need to be headed for Panifess."
She nodded, grinning. "I guess if we're going to find anything,
that's where it would be. Back to the castle to make travel arrangements,
then."
"Right!" Gourry and Amelia chorused, peppy for no particular
reason. Zel, looking thoughtfully at Lina and then Xelloss, acquiesced with
a slight nod. And then, in a sudden blur, they were gone.
"What the hell?!" Lina shouted, leaping to action. A hand clutched
at her shoulder, and she swung around full force. Xel ended with a facefull
of boot.
"I sent them back to the surface," he explained after resetting his
jaw. "Nothing to get yourself worried about."
"I don't like Mazoku sneaking up on me," she grunted. "Why am I
still down here?"
In a freakily calm voice, Xelloss turned and walked to the glowing
sculpture in the center of the room saying, "Come here, Lina." She
complied, too out of sorts not to.
He stretched his hand toward the staff, looking at her solemnly
with his Mazoku eyes. Atop the magical light source was set a small round
pedestal. She took this in as she hopped over the wall between it and her.
"With the death of Aqualord Ragradia, the barrier protecting this
Legacy disappeared," he explained, pointing the end of his staff at the
structure she'd just climbed. "And there was no one around then to notice.
No elven priests, certainly."
"And so it was left down here until Lyle came across it," she
surmised, looking at the empty little seat where the Legacy of Twilight had
once resided. "But he took it with him to Panifess."
"That one's already in the hands of our enemies," Xelloss informed
her, quite seriously. "But thankfully, we have the Legacy of Dusk."
"We do?" Lina asked, eyes wide. "But I never got to a room like
this. I didn't even see it!"
"That's because you drew its attention to you," Xel said, and she
was totally transfixed under his gaze.
"What--what do you mean?" She could barely move.
"The Legacies were originally the Sea of Chaos itself. It can
transfer its power as it sees fit." Xelloss closed his eyes. "Lina Inverse,
you are the new Legacy of Dusk."
A moment later, she was standing in the middle of a very
weirded-out Phil's study with her friends.
"Lost to your memories?"
"Not at all," she answered, adapting to the freak-out mind
conversation smoothly enough. "And yes, I know who you are."
"Grand. Then you know the power you possess."
"I understand that it exists. I have no idea how to use it."
"Ah." The voice paused. "You will, when the time comes."
"I assume you can speak to me at any time, then?" Lina wasn't
particularly enthusiastic about the thought.
"I could," the voice answered. "But I will not. To do so would
destroy your sanity, almost as I completely encompassed you in your battle
against the Hellmaster. In order to speak to Me safely, you must be in
contact with at least two of, as you refer to them, My Legacies."
"Is the other one in Biatz?" Lina asked. She was given the
impression of discontent.
"No. But as you may have known, all the laboratories built by the
race known to you as elves are connected through magical orbs they had
created. Use this information as you wish."
"Okay. You're saying the one with the other Legacy is in an elven
laboratory as well. That I'm, in a sense, contacted with that one as well
as the one inside me."
"Perhaps. I do not direct the fate of life on your plane; I watch
and intervene only when I see a shift to the Balance. There may be one
coming in the future, but it is not on scale with the Hellmaster's plans.
Thusly it is not worthy of my complete attention. I will assist you
minimally, Lina Inverse, but hopefully that is more than you will need. It
had better be, for you to be prepared for what is to come."
"Wait, I still--"
The connection was lost, the voice was gone, and Lina suddenly felt
very, very tired.
Zelgadiss, too, was embarking on a search with his soul. And just
as Lina, he was greeted by a disembodied voice.
"Hello, Zelgadiss Greywers," this voice said, and all concentration
was lost. Any assistance he had meant to give was gone the moment his mind
latched ahold of that voice, and the face of Rezo appeared before his
spiritual self.
The Red Priest laughed silently, regarding him with those blind
eyes. "What?" he asked finally, amused. "Aren't you happy to see me?"
"Rezo," Zelgadiss finally growled, his fingers curling into a fist.
He knew this wasn't happening, and knew that no physical attack would help
even if it were. His body did not seem his own, however, and his mind had
given way to his emotions.
"That is no way to greet one who is twice over your elder," the
bastard said. "Especially not after I granted your request for power with
such an open heart."
"Had I asked to become a freak, I would have thanked you!" Zel
spat.
"What is the matter, after all? I thought you were making such
progress over the years. Leaving your bitterness behind, learning to live
with yourself..."
"I could never become accustomed to this." Zel was already
preparing a full library of spells. "Never!"
Sighing, Rezo raised his staff. It fell back to the ground with an
alarming clang. "If that is true," he answered, "you are truly damned to a
life of misery."
Screaming with rage, Zelgadiss attacked.
"What's wrong with him?" Lina asked. She'd come to and had been
able to get her wits about her when Zel's body, sprawled beside her on the
floor when she'd awakened, began grunting. His left foot kicked a few
times.
"Nothing, I hope," Selena answered. She was sitting at his side,
trying to rouse him. "He just fell over after you two began your... spell.
We can't get him to wake up."
"My spells don't work," Galef explained. "Although admittedly, I'm
not the best at white magic."
"I don't think this is something we can do with low-level tricks,"
Lina said. "I don't know what, but we've got someone very powerful after
us."
"But why is he playing with his mind?" Selena cried. "Those
nightmares, and this... Whatever it is, it's driving him crazy!"
Gourry shook his head. "Why would they want to do this to Zel and
Amelia?"
"Maybe they just haven't gotten around to us yet." Lina gritted her
teeth. "In any event, we've got to get him out of here. Gourry, Zachard,
you two get him up the stairs. Galef, you'll be able to hold his weight
better, prepare a Levitation spell to take him back to Biatz. Selena and
Jer--"
"Ah-ah!" someone cried from the stairway. "I think you should just
stop right there, how about you?"
Lina clenched her teeth, didn't bother turning around. "Cairi."
"Hey," he greeted, stepping into the room's small circle of light.
A gasp flew from Selena, and when Lina turned, she nearly dropped her
knife.
Cairi's wound had apparently had time to fester. The two halves of
the chef's face were now crusted over, flopping on their own respective
sides of scalp. That once perky chef hat was now burnt and blackened,
bobbing solemnly away from the other. His widely parted eyes nearly bulged
out of their sockets, and whenever he spoke, it was the left side that had
privilege to his tongue. This was, of course, purely a Mazoku head trick;
the hell of it was, it worked pretty well.
"Damn," Lina managed. "You're an ugly son of a bitch."
"All thanks to you," Cairi answered bitterly. "I see you left the
Princess back in the town. I was hoping she were here, but I guess it will
be easier to pick her off separately. When I'm done with the three of you,
of course."
"There are more than that here," Zachard said, looking around. "Can
you not see very well? I think we can light the place up better for you--"
"Shut up," Cairi said, and the dopey swordsman was flung backward
into a wall. "I have no interest in these people. Only Lina Inverse and her
cohorts matter to us."
"Whenever I hear my full name, I always know it's gonna be trouble
that follows." Our Heroine sighed, flipping her hair back over her
shoulder. "Look, I'd better just tell you. I'm going to want some answers
this time."
"Good luck getting them," Cairi intoned, and thrust his hands
toward the ceiling. The last thing Lina and her gang realized was that the
floor had given way beneath them and they were starting an uncomfortable
descent into the lab's basement.
Amelia sat up in bed.
"Your Highness?" Raleic was immediately bedside.
"I had a dream," she mumbled, speech difficult with blurriness.
"I'm sorry, Your Highness," the postal worker and self-appointed
nanny consoled. "If you want, I can get you some more tea--"
"Not that dream," Amelia replied quickly. "I think Zelgadiss..."
Her voice trailed off like some elusive dream, and before she could
bother to find it again she'd hopped out of bed and made for the door.
Raleic, startled into action after her quick on-the-job doze, soon
followed.
The group landed without too much damage, thanks to those good old
Levitation spells that kicked in at just the right moment, and a handy
Balus Wall that shielded off the fragments of rock that were a bit slower
in falling. Cairi, above, was laughing, but there really wasn't any reason
for it; it's just something anime villains do.
"At least he's alone this time," Lina mumbled to herself. She took
a quick look around. The room was obviously very large, with only a small
fraction lighted (and that from her dagger, still aglow). She could faintly
make out shapes of what appeared to be crystals, weird magical devices, and
a lounge chair or two. The magical energy of the place was intense, even
after centuries of disuse; given more time, she would have been glad to
scour the place for hours. No such luck, however, and she returned to
sizing up their opponent.
"This shouldn't be too difficult once he gets close. One more
Laguna Blade should take him out, he couldn't have had time to regenerate
all the way since last time." She spoke up. "Anyone who can't use magic,
get behind us. This isn't a fight you can win."
Gourry, Zachard, and Jer reluctantly broke away, forming a half
circle behind the other three. Selena and Galef took up position on either
side of Lina.
"How much magic have you taught her exactly?" Lina asked the
sorcerer, cocking her head toward toward the girl.
"I guess we're about to see," he answered grimly. Selena drew her
hands together, the picture of deadly beauty. "You say this guy's strong?"
"Strong enough to be a serious annoyance," she agreed. "You can
distract him with your summoning magic, right?"
"More than distract, I think." Galef made sure the right amount of
haughtiness reached his voice, and then fell quiet as their opponent
descended swiftly for them.
Cairi hovered over Lina with his destroyed face, grinning on both
halves. Selena had trouble keeping her concentration at such a sight, and
Galef was obviously doing all he could by keeping down his lunch.
"Ready to see this through to the end?" the chef asked, almost
idly. Lina's teeth clenched; she was sick of cocky villains.
"I am if you are," she returned. There wasn't going to be any mercy
this time; her hands clenched at the air, ready to call upon the chaotic
blade as soon as she had the few moments necessary. To her side, there was
a flurry of robes; the battle had begun.
"Lesser Demon, I choose you!" Galef thrust his open hands to the
sky, his cry met by the conjured forms of three freakish goat like beasts.
Fire consumed Cairi's figure, and Lina was about to begin her chant when
all three of the monsters exploded from the inside out.
"That was cute," Cairi sniffed, emerging from the fire unscathed.
He flung forward as a blur, his fist a mass of darkness, missing Lina's
stomach by a fraction. Nimbly skipping backward, the sorceress landed
neatly on her feet, ready for a second attack... and realizing too late
that she would not be on the receiving end of this one.
"Gourry!" she screamed as Cairi reached for him. The swordsman
swung hard and quick, but without any effect; the Mazoku caught the blade
in his hand, sending surging blasts of dark waves along it and into her
sidekick's body before he could let go. He screamed for a moment before
going limp and falling backward, unconscious.
"Gourry!" she cried again, dashing forward, the words of the spell
working fast in her mind. Before she reached them however, she found
herself face-to-face with the two elves from the other day. She had just
enough time to acknowledge them before bowling them over completely,
lunging for Cairi and muttering that spell. Ralov and Fairn cried for a
penalty shot from the background.
"Lord of the Darkness and Four Worlds, I beseech thy fragments..."
The Mazoku swung around, bulging eyes slit. Teleporting swiftly, he
and Gourry reappeared far above, much out of the Lina's reach. "Kill her,"
he snapped at his elven henchmen.
A clash of steel behind her; she swung around to see Jer and
Zachard deflecting two elven blades from her unprotected torso. The elder
gave her a nod, knocking Ralov off balance.
"We'll take these two," he told her.
"Ergh," Zachard agreed, parrying Fairn's advances.
Lina didn't have time for thanks. She swung around to see Cairi
produce his own sword from his hand, a weapon created from the swirling
vortex of darkness in his soul. This wasn't like the Laguna Blade; this one
was purely of his own energy, filled with whatever dark and poisonous
motives drove him and his companions. She also registered something hard
and spiky under her foot; trivial, but she kept in mind.
"Stop!" she shouted, raising her hands. "What the hell do you guys
want from us?"
"Only to get you out of the way," he responded down. His blade was
stayed at his side, but he could change that quickly. "It's nothing
personal, you know. You just happen to know the wrong people." Gourry began
to stir, but was held tight.
"And what exactly do you think we'd prevent you from doing?" she
cried up. The sound of swordplay echoed behind her. "Take over the world?
Even a dullard like Gourry could see a clich� like that coming!"
"She's right," the half-concious captive agreed. Cairi answered
this charge with a smirk.
"I'm afraid our goal is nothing at all that extravagant. We're
simply out for revenge."
"Revenge against who?!" Lina shouted, hopping up and down. "And why
the hell do you think we'd care?"
"Whether you'd care or not, you'd eventually get in our way." He
shook his head, as if she'd been forcing his hand. "He'd make sure of it.
He's a master of manipulation."
"Who are you talking about?!" She stomped her foot, glowering. "I
don't give a damn for Mazoku quarrels."
Cairi was done chatting. His sword rose, came close to tapping
Gourry's skin; he cringed in pain, the simple proximity of the spiritual
weapon causing pain. "All you need to know is that your record of Mazoku
killing has gotten you quite a record," he told her complacently, "as has
the company you've taken. And now you can watch as this one dies."
At the cry of "Monstrous Occultic Eye!" from behind, Lina leapt
into action. Apparently Galef wasn't as dense a bastard as he seemed; a
giant orb appeared behind Cairi, blasting him with a plasma shot to the
back. This in itself didn't seem to cause the Mazoku any harm, but it was
then that Lina ducked down and flung the thing she'd been standing on. By
the time Cairi saw the unconscious chimera coming, it had already knocked
Gourry out of his hands and into the Levitation spell of a very timely
Selena.
"Nice," the sorceress commended her assistants, as Zachard and Jer
disarmed their elven adversaries and held them at bay,
swordpoint-to-throat. She turned back to their main adversary. "Guess that
takes care of that."
"You think?" Cairi responded, she noticed too late that his sword
arm wasn't there. It appeared directly in front of her, the blade cutting
into her stomach.
She gaped, open-mouthed, at the protruding weapon. The sight took
Jer and Zachard by surprise, and the next thing they knew, they were being
tossed across the room by a blast of a spell from the elves. Selena and
Galef were next, rendered swiftly unconscious as the two henchmen ran to
finish off Lina Inverse for good.
"Lina-san!" someone cried, and as she prepared one last ditch
effort to roll away from the assailants, she watched as the giant throne
fell directly on top of them both.
There was silence, filled only with a few blinking sound effects.
"The hell?" Cairi mumbled, squinting to see a figure climbing its
way on top of the piled heap of iron and elf.
"Two more fiends crushed under the Weight of Justice!" Amelia
cried, her fingers raised in a V. Raleic half-heartedly waved a colorful
flag with the phrase "Justice Rules!" in the background.
"Hey!" Lina shouted up, waving with both hands. "Nice entrance!"
"Yosh!" the Princess cried, and directed her attention to Cairi.
"And now for you!"
"The hell!?" Cairi shouted, just in time to meet face to face with
a Ra Tilt. The outline of his body squirmed, wavered, and then dissolved.
Lina whistled, her brows raised.
"Wow," Gourry said, stumbling up from the background. "That was
good!"
Amelia beamed, casting her eyes about. "Zelgadiss-san saw, didn't
he?"
The swordsman held up the chimera's knocked out body by the collar.
"Naw, he's out." And then on seeing her face fall: "But I'm sure he'll be
really excited when we tell him about it!"
"That's not important now!" Amelia was quick to cover up. "We've
got to take these two back to prison--"
"Like we'd let ourselves get caught like that," Fairn growled,
teleporting in front of her young girl, sword in one hand, swirling ball of
energy in the other. Raleic was on the ground behind her, already dealt
with. "That would be an insult to our race's memory!"
"It would be pretty humiliating," Ralov agreed, appearing behind
Lina and thrusting his sword point an inch from her throat. "One of the
points on that thing really dug into my side. I swear, if I die from
Tetanus, I'm going to..."
"Let her go," Gourry growled. His sword was in his hand in a flash.
"I could dismember you before you moved, and you know it."
"That where I come into play," Fairn said, and blasted him with a
fistful of raw dark energy. He hit the ground with another scream; this was
not his day.
"This is for Gregory," the female informed them, her muscles
tensing for the strike...
...and her mouth dropped open when she found herself staring at her
own arm on the floor, hand still clutching the sword, blood splashed like a
crazy warden's attempt to liven up death row.
Amelia took the opportunity to flip out of her grasp and knock
Ralov's sword aside, freeing Lina and taking position above Gourry's
groaning frame. The male elf hardly noticed.
"Fairn!" he shouted wildly, running to her side. "Oh, Gods, are you
okay?"
As she turned to him, Lina and Amelia had time to snap out of it,
and took in a sight that sent them both psychologically reeling; Selena
Dyne, standing with a raised and bloodied sword, her eyes set in a steely
glare. Amelia was suddenly sure her rescue story was going to be greatly
overshadowed.
"What happened?" Ralov was asking stupidly, his hands flailing over
the smooth shoulder that once went on to connect to an arm. She was in no
better condition, her mouth agape, simply staring and not comprehending.
"Should I try a Healing spell?" Amelia asked, unsure. Lina looked
to her and was about to respond when at the edge of the light's reach in
the huge room, darkness began to spill forth, coming together in a solid
form.
For a moment, Lina (as certainly many of the readers, as well) was
sure it was Cairi, but it didn't take long to make out a woman's shape in
the collecting void.
"Hey, it's another girl with bigger breasts than Lina!" Gourry
cried from the floor, and had his face immediately stepped on.
"This is the last time," the woman called to them. Fairn and Ralov
looked up, as if awakening from a daydream.
"Who are you?" Lina asked, gritting her teeth. "Out for revenge as
well?"
"I'm done with mind games and charades," the woman spat. Her eyes
were the red, bloody slits of all Mazoku, her lips full and trapped in an
enraged sneer. "The next time we meet, all four of you are dead!"
"Cairi?" the sorceress asked, taken aback. "You're still alive?"
"You haven't even met our Lord," Ralov cried. At some point he'd
shrugged out of his cloak and draped it over the stump of his companion.
"You stand no chance against her, and you'll stand no chance against him
either!"
"Your death warrants have been signed," Fairn screeched. The
sparkle of tears stood out on her cheeks. "Thank L-sama I took Halgon from
you before he wound up with a knife in his heart!"
"You did take him, then?" Lina cursed, reaching for her dagger.
"You realize I don't take the kidnapping of any of my companions lightly,
even stupid ones I hardly know."
"What you take lightly," the Mazoku intoned glaringly, "is of no
consequence now. You'll come to check out the elven capital in Panifess, as
you've been planning, and there we'll settle this. You will not interfere
with our greater plans."
"Then I look forward to seeing you," the sorceress agreed, eyes
locked and not wavering.
A beat, two beats, and then all three of them were gone. Fairn's
dismembered arm went with them as well, and the sword it held clanged as it
settled to the ground.
No one spoke for a minute, and then:
"A last parting gift, looking forward to our next rendezvous!"
A short humming sound began from one of the long unused elven
devices, and then another, and Zelgadiss shouted, "Quick! A defensive
spell!"
Galef and Amelia converged to form a solid one; Zelgadiss woozily
found his feet and attempted to assist. "You picked a damn good time to
come around," Lina complimented with a pat to the back. She was then about
to suggest to Selena that she help, too, but the girl had the look of one
who's just awakened in the middle of sleep walking. Probably the first time
she'd drawn blood; the sorceress left the girl to herself.
The spell formed around them, strong enough just as the laboratory
exploded. Lina quickly levitated all of them up and out, their protective
bubble riding the shockwaves of the blast to safety.
"Kind of reminds you of Rezo, doesn't it?" she asked while they
were spinning out, and Zel's eyelid twitched.
Raleic came around eventually. They didn't have as much luck with
Selena.
The girl sat all night, refusing to sleep, huddled up by herself
and staring into space. Her absorption was relieved only every so often,
when Zelgadiss awkwardly asked her a question, or offered her something to
eat. Amelia made sure she wasn't present whenever that was happening. As
far as Zel himself was concerned, he could not remember a thing about his
mental battle with his great-grandfather, and his sleep that night was
dreadfully unfulfilling.
On a lighter note, however, Lina and Gourry had found their own
undisturbed area that night and sat together, looking at the stars. There's
nothing quite like gazing skyward at night to shake off the effects of a
taxing battle.
"Here you guys are," Jer greeted them eventually.
"Hey, mayor-san," Gourry said. "How's everybody?"
"Selena will be fine," he assured. "I'd have a seat with you, but
this back of mine's been killing me."
"Well, old man, you did save my life." Lina winked up at him. "Go
pamper yourself a while."
A slight flush of crimson bloomed against his weathered cheeks.
"I'll be fine," he responded quickly. "I just wanted to ask if you folks
will be staying with us long. You know you're welcome for as long as you'd
like, we need a good tourist attraction."
"And what better to draw crowds than Lina Inverse, Destroyer of
Corporations and Their Headquarters?" Galef asked, ambling up. Next to him
was Zachard, nodding dippily. They hadn't taking the loss of their shack
very well.
"It's appreciated," Lina grunted, repressing the desire to throttle
all three of them. "But we've got to be on our way in the morning. That
thing is right, we're on our way to Panifess."
"You realize they'll be waiting for you."
She nodded. "And we'll be waiting for them."
Jer smiled. "Impressive as ever. You know I'd offer my assistance,
but for my age."
"The village needs you," Gourry chimed in. "And so does your
daughter. We can take care of ourselves."
"Well, I can, anyway," Lina said, nudging her sidekick's ribs. He
pretended to find this amusing.
"I've got to find a new sword before she completely destroys my
self-esteem," he muttered to himself.
Sorceress, swordsman, chimera, Princess, and postal worker stood
outside the mayor's house the next morning. On the front steps were Jer and
Selena Dyne, Zachard, and Galef and his wife and daughter. The last two had
rushed over as soon as they'd heard the chimera and his friends were
leaving; Zel was less than thrilled to be on the receiving end of a number
of sloppy little girl kisses. (At least, that's the effect he adopted for
public display.)
"Drop by whenever you can," Jer said in farewell. "You know you're
always welcome here."
"It was interesting making reacquaintance with you," Galef agreed,
his golden tooth catching the sun. "Perhaps sometime we'll decide who's the
better sorcerer through a duel."
"And the best swordsman!" Zachard agreed, attempting to look tough.
Lina and Gourry exchanged a glance. "I think we'll pass," she
returned. "Consider yourselves winners by default."
"Hell yeah!" the two exclaimed, striking their fists to the air.
Mrs. Kainzard rolled her eyes.
"Excuse my husband," she grunted, elbowing him roughly. "He's not a
very good sport."
Further niceties were exchanged, but as they drew to a close Selena
had yet to speak up. Jer finally placed a hand on her shoulder, when the
group was ready to take off.
"I'm sorry," she told her father quickly, and then faced the
others. "Take care on your journey."
"You too," Lina agreed. "And keep practicing your stuff."
"Hai!" she responded sunnily. Amelia breathed a sigh of relief, but
sucked it back in at her next request. "Take care of Zel-sama!"
The blushing chimera turned away. "Isn't it time to go?"
"Yeah, yeah." Lina shrugged at the farewell committee. "He hates
good-byes. Anyway, we'll seeya!"
"Farewell," they called after, and the group was on their way.
Back on the steps, the crowd respectfully dispersed. Jer and Selena
were left finally, watching the retreating entourage.
"I think I'll go get something from Baker," the elder said finally,
turning. A part of him knew what was coming before it actually came.
"I'm going with them, Father." She didn't avert her eyes from the
dwindling figures. Jer sighed, turning back to her.
"As a dad, I've got to say I'd rather you didn't." He regarded her
a moment; the determination in her eyes, the set of her jaw. He moved his
head, watching the group climbing a hill, Lina as always in front,
beckoning the others onward. "But as a public official, and an old man who
can still kick some ass, I'm going to have to agree. I guess you proved
yourself capable enough at handling yourself last night."
Her lips brightened in a smile, and she jumped on him, hugging him
fiercely. "Thank you, Father."
"Ermf," he agreed. "Hurry up and go before you lose them."
She hopped up quickly, kissed him on the cheek, and was dashing off
before he knew it. Watching her running into some bizarre situation that
could her wind up with her death, the couldn't recall a time he'd ever felt
more proud as a father.
Nor as a mayor, nor as a retired fighter.
"So we've got one more tagging along," Gourry beamed. "This should
be neat."
"Yeah, as long as you keep yourself out of trouble," Lina warned.
"I've already got my hands full taking care of this big idiot."
"I won't slow any of you down," she vowed, quite solemnly.
Apparently she'd missed the intended humor of the exchange.
"Sheesh. You're almost as serious as Zel." The sorceress feigned a
sigh.
"Someone has to be serious around here," he returned. Amelia, next
to him, was too busy trying to keep a positive expression to enter into
this conversation.
Far from where they stood, in the distant reaches of Panifess, a
stocky little man was sleeping soundly, an elf was tending to his partner's
wounds, and a Mazoku was reporting to her Lord.
"When they arrive," the Lord said, "you will make sure they die."
"Of course," she swore, her head bowed.
There was indeed going to be much bloodshed on the morrow.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Many characters are copyright of Hajime Kanzaka, Rui Araizumi, Kadokawa
Shoten, TV TOKYO, SOFTX, and Marubeni. Story by Zach Grafton.