"Aren't we on the New World yet?" Lina moaned to herself in a weak voice, lying on the hard wooden floor of Sailoon's royal ship, on the brink of death. She was much thinner and her skin was a pale white. Even her eyes and hair seemed to have lost their brightness and color, from the starvation and dehydration she was going through, along with Ameria, Gourry, and Zelgadis.
Lina stared up at the sun, her eyes squinting at the pain of the bright light. She felt really concerned about herself for once. Her confidence had faded. She was weak with hunger and her throat was dry. She was tempted to drink the pure, blue, sparkling water of the ocean. But no, that would only dehydrate her more.
Lina began realizing that her time was running out. She had to make it to the New World! But... She sighed.
"I was so determined to go and now I'm dying, just on the trip... I'll never make it, we're so far! How did I get into this anyway?" She thought back to the events of the past few days.
"Firia, she disappeared!" Lina cried. Gourry and Zelgadis stood watching the place where she had been standing, as amazed as Lina.
"We knew she was no ordinary woman but..." Zelgadis became unsure of himself. Lina turned back around, noticing Sailoon's ships departing for the New World to claim new land for the town. The sails were raised in the breeze, the gongs going off in celebration. Prince Philionel stood watching his ships leaving with a look of triumph on his face, proud of their accomplishment. Princess Ameria stood by his side, smiling as the sailors waved in good-bye.
Lina pushed through the crowd leaving the others behind and forgetting about Firia, who was giving them less trouble by leaving. She ran to the stand where they stood urgently. She began climbing up the stairs before Ameria actually noticed her. She shivered, knowing Lina would embarrass her in this perfect moment. Her! The princess of Sailoon! It was uncalled for!
Lina noisily greeted her, excited to meet her again. Ameria on the other hand tried to hide before she really was embarrassed. Phil ran to greet Lina, ruining Ameria's attempt to get away.
The blue skies had turned black. A shadow was flying over them. They all looked up in amazement as a huge golden dragon flew over them. A weird looking dragon at that. It had a face! Blue eyes and golden blonde hair that matched the scales.
The citizens ran around everywhere in confusion, screaming and running for dear life. The dragon swooped down, breaking buildings and frightening everyone like in the old fairy tales.
Lina ran to the last boat at land with Zelgadis and Gourry following. They swooped down on the ropes boarding the ship for safety. Ameria had managed her way up even in high heels, though she whined about it first.
The dragon seemed to be aiming for the group! It swooped down to the boats of Sailoon, the huge wings flapping and causing wind to blow the ships in all directions. Ameria signaled for all the other ships to attack, and a line of priests came forward to her orders, casting fireballs on it all in row.
It was still going, and all of the crew members were scared out of the ships and into life boats to sail back to land before they were eaten alive. Lina, Ameria, Zelgadis, and Gourry were the only ones left. There was no way for them to retreat.
The dragon had taken no damage, and was still after them, so they had to resort to Lina's Dragon Slave to stop it. It had worked, although it caused a tsunami that destroyed half of the town and pushed them farther away from the land. Not to mention destroying half the boat.
"And now we're stuck here in the Middle of Nowhere!!" Lina managed to scream in her painful condition. "We're never gonna make it to the New World!" Lina slowly forced herself up, moaning all the way. She felt like she had casted the Laguna Blade one too many times. She even felt like she would throw up blood, have it trickling down her lips, not being able to move in frightening pain.
She used all her strength to walk to Gourry's side, worried about his condition. He was pale and much thinner than herself, he looked as weak as a rag doll. Her eyes glimmered with concern. She sat down beside him and looked closer at his face which was almost frightening.
"Are you okay, Gourry?" Lina asked him softly. He slowly nodded and laid down on the hard floor, looking weaker with every passing second.
Zelgadis was in much better health than the others. He was used to not eating, but was still going through coffee withdrawl which was even more frightening than starvation to him. He still had hope though, in his weak attempts to sail the broken boat. A cure was the only thing clinging to his mind along with coffee, but tomorrow seemed no brighter for him than the others.
Ameria on the other side of the ship was dying of boredom along with starvation, and had been making little slits in the wood from her slow cutting with a knife to entertain herself. Matters of justice wouldn't get them through this one. Sailoon's ships failed to cross to the New World and now she would as well. Her stomach rumbled and she moaned. She twisted onto her back looking up at the sky.
The sun was fading behind dark gray clouds. A sound of thunder roared in the sky and more clouds moved in. Ameria sat up, stunned.
"Lina-san, it looks like a storm's coming," Ameria said looking over at her. Lina looked up from Gourry to the sky, now noticing the black skies. A rain drop fell on her nose, and it began pouring down, hitting hard on the wooden floors of the boat.
"Yeah... Looks like a big one too," Lina replied. Rain soaked down their hair, freezing them in no time. Ameria's lips trembled with cold.
"There are no blankets on board!" She cried in a scared voice. "We'll all freeze to death..."
Lightening flashed in, lighting the dark sky for a single moment. The wind blew fiercely, the waves violently hitting the boat and moving it every which way. More lightening and rain followed, and the waves hit harder.
The ship tipped, causing Lina and the rest to all fall back. Lina hit her arm violently against the lose sharp ends of broken wood. Her outfit ripped, and red blood began pouring down her arm. She choked on her breath trying to move, but pain struck her everywhere. She screamed and couldn't hear clearly.
Ameria smashed into the side of the boat, her limbs stinging with unbearable pain. She began crying and her body felt like it was breaking apart.
Zelgadis remained balanced near the sails, his stone fingers gripping into the wood, causing finger marks. He kept gasping but didn't scream. Ameria began screaming on the other side, her body bruising more and more. Zelgadis loosened his grip and ran to her, safely grabbing her in his arms.
Gourry screamed, his body being ripped to shreds from broken wooden ends, stabbing into his body everywhere. He twisted and turned but his body was weak and the wind was too strong. Lina moaned and tore herself from the wood, blood staining it. Blood trickled down to her gloves, turning them from white to red. Her eyes were blurred and she could hardly see in the rain.
She heard Gourry screaming in pain, and her thoughts went haywire. She turned and saw him trying to break free from the wooden needles. She couldn't hear herself in the loud rain and wind, and cried out as loud as her pitch would go, trying to be heard.
"Gourry!! Gourry!!" She thrust her arm out trying to reach his. He forced himself to move, trying to touch her hand. His hand shivered in the cold, barely missing hers. He could not reach further. The cuts stung him everywhere and he couldn't move. Lina crawled inch by inch still trying to make it to Gourry's hand. She screamed in pain, blood falling from her mouth and down to her lips. She shivered at the familiar taste and began crying and shaking her head back and forth in confusion.
She threw herself out, her gloved fingers hardly touching Gourry's bare hands from the fingerless gloves. Blood ran onto his fingers from hers and he screamed her name, forcing himself out of the wood. The wind shoved him away, blowing him to the other side of the boat away from Lina. The waves hit and the ship shifted. Gourry fell overboard...
His scream pierced the darkness, a frightening sound. Lina turned her head back and forth screaming his name in terror.
Ameria shifted in Zelgadis' arms, seeing Lina's fright.
"Gourry-san... He..." More tears came down her face along with the cold rain. Zelgadis didn't move from shock, standing exactly where he was. The waves crashed harder, the boat almost tipping completely over. Zelgadis gasped, trying to grasp the wood and stop, but he was immobilized from his shock... It was too late.
They were thrust into the sea. Zelgadis lost his complete hold of Ameria's body. He kept grabbing at her hand, the waves still hitting hard. He squeezed to keep hold and Ameria started screaming, her fingers almost breaking from the pressure of the stone. They let go, and were carried away. The storm left no mercy.
Lina ran to the side of the boat.
"Ameria, Zel, don't leave me too! Don't leave me here alone!!" She cried. More lightening struck, the cold winds still blowing, ignoring Lina's crying. No matter how loud she yelled, it couldn't compare with the storm, and she was overwhelmed. There was nothing she could do now except wait.
The waves hit harshly against the ship. The mast became loose, shaking. Lina didn't notice. Her heart was broken... It stung worse than her wounds.
The ship shifted and Lina fell over, her body limp and weak. She could no longer move. Nothing was clear and she couldn't go on without the rest of them. She had lost Gourry to Phibrizo once and she had sworn she wouldn't lose him again... And now he was gone...
She couldn't do anything. She was too weak to cast a spell and even so... There was no reason for her to live.
She opened her tear stained eyes. They stung terribly. Again the boat shifted and she fell back, her head hitting the side harshly... And then there was black... Black...