Zelgadis's eyes flew wide open, terror still clinging in their depths, and sat straight up, his heart pounding inside his chest and a heavy sheen of perspiration sticking to his skin and pajamas. His hands clutched at the inn's sheets, and his breath came in heavy pants as he sat there on the bed.
No...Lina... Gotta warn her...he thought dimly in the back of his mind as the nightmare that had just run rampant through his dreams faded.
"Lina..." he whispered into the darkness, an unmistakable hint of concern and worry in his voice, though he tried to keep it out.
Something had happened in that nightmare, and it had involved Lina. But he couldn't remember how... He ran a hand through his wiry hair, closing his eyes for a moment as he tried to gather together thoughts which were running around in circles.
It was just a nightmare. That's all it could have been, he told himself silently, trying to calm his clamoring fears.
Zelgadis lay back down on his bed, pulled the covers up to his chin, and curled his body into a fetal ball. Just a nightmare...right? Five minutes later, he turned over and tried another position. Two minutes after that, he rolled over again. One minutes after, he rolled again. For thirty minutes, he tried different positions: plumping his pillows, plumping his bed, throwing off his covers, covering himself from head to foot... Nothing worked. His mind couldn't get away from the nightmare, and the suspicion that Lina was in danger.
He sighed, swung his feet off the bed, and padded over to where his clothes lay. It was obvious he wasn't going to get any sleep tonight. Not wasting time, he quickly got dressed, putting on all but his usual mantle and cloak. He almost left his sword, before habit kicked in and he strapped it on. It always amazed him when he needed to have it by him, so he kept it close no matter what time it was.
The door creaked as he slowly opened it up and shut it behind him. Stealthily, he made his way downstairs to the tavern. No one was around, not even the innkeeper. That shouldn't surprise me; it's the middle of the night.
He sat down on one of the chairs and rest his arms on a table, thinking steadily about the dream. What had it meant? The only themes he remembered to it were "Lina" and "danger." That could mean just about anything. It was dangerous when Lina "by accident" blew up a town, which is what the dream might mean and be warning of. Or it could mean that Lina would be the one in danger.
The trouble with dreams is that it's very hard to predict what they mean, or even if they mean anything. For all he knew, it was just something his imagination came up with. On the other hand, it could be an actual warning of the future. Whether that warning was important was another matter entirely.
Gourry's head would have short-circuited by now. As it was, Zelgadis had a minor headache. His mind was running in circles, trying to figure out what to do about the dream, and at the same time trying to remember the damn dream. It was a nuisance, and he wasn't getting himself anywhere.
He sighed in disgust and glanced out the window at the stars. The moon shone brightly, illuminating the table which he sat at with startling clarity. There were deep gouges from a thrown fork on the surface, as well as a hole where an angry dinner knife had landed. He gave a small, amused smile as he realized he'd unconsciously sat at the table they'd used at dinner.
"Zel?" a voice asked tiredly, but still sounding startled.
Zelgadis jerked his head up at the unexpected disturbance, and saw a sleepy Lina in the inn's light blue pajamas, rubbing sleep from her eyes. She yawned, blinked, and looked at Zelgadis again. "Zel, what're you doin' up?" she half-mumbled.
Shrugging carelessly, as if it wasn't important, he responded, "I woke up, and couldn't get back to sleep."
"A nightmare?" she asked wisely as the sleepy look slowly faded from view. She plopped down on a chair next to him.
He nodded and answered truthfully, "Yeah."
"Mmm... My nightmares usually involve food, or rather, not being able to get to food," Lina said sagely. After a pause, she added wryly, "I doubt your nightmares are like that, though."
One corner of his mouth curled up involuntarily. "Food, huh?" He shook it off before saying seriously, "I can't remember what I was dreaming about." All I know is that it involved danger and you. But he didn't quite dare to say it.
"Yet you're still down here? Must have been quite a nightmare."
"I guess so," he agreed hesitantly. Trying to sound casual, he said, "Why are you awake?"
"My instincts told me something was wrong, and I tend to trust them when they send me such warnings, so I decided to investigate," she explained easily.
"Interesting..."
The simple statement caught her attention, and she frowned at him with shrewd eyes. "What's wrong?"
He paused while he considered what to say. "...I woke up from a nightmare I can't remember, which is why I came down here, but...I did recall two overwhelming themes to the dream. One was the feeling of danger. The other was...you."
Her answer came out as a startled, none-too-pleased screech. "M-Me?! Why the heck were you dreaming about me?!"
"I don't know!" he admitted, gritting his teeth and blushing furiously. "I've been trying to figure things out, but I'm not getting anywhere because I can't remember anything about the dream itself!"
Lina sighed and shook her head. "That doesn't help." An involuntary yawn rose out of her mouth. "Anyway, I'm going to bed again. See you in the morning."
"Goodnight," he mumbled, sinking deep into his thoughts.
As he watched her walk softly back up the stairs and into her room, closing the door behind her, a feeling of deja vu swept over him. He felt as if he'd seen this all before... And he broke out in a cold sweat as his eyes widened...
"Lina!" he shouted desperately, running up to her and throwing the door open.
She didn't bother scolding him, since he looked so worried. "What's wrong?" she asked, her eyes sharp and concerned.
"Come with me, now!" Without waiting for an answer, he pulled her back down the stairs and outside of the building.
A second later, her room blew up.
Lina gaped at her room, then swiveled her head to look at him with astonished ruby eyes. "What the...? How'd you know that was going to happen?"
"I suddenly remembered my dream, as you walked back up the stairs... I saw you blown apart by a sneak attack that you weren't expecting." He shivered as the dream washed over him again.
A sniveling chuckle from behind them interrupted Zelgadis's explanation. "So, you escaped my sneak attack. How very clever of you... I was sure I masked the bomb's presence well enough that you'd never find it in your room. Obviously, you did. Very clever, indeed."
Both Zelgadis and Lina whirled toward the voice. On a rock near them sat a small mazoku who looked like a cross between a human and a newt.
She rubbed the bridge of her nose in annoyance and closed her eyes briefly. "So you're the reason for the explosion. It figures it was done by an amateur. Experts rarely get the drop on me." Without warning, Lina snapped her fingers in front of her. "Mega Brando!"
The little demon shrieked in surprise and pain as the rocks, dirt, and grass beneath him exploded upwards, carrying him with it. Lina didn't wait for him land. Instead, she cupped her hands in front of her, aimed carefully at the flying mazoku, and chanted, "Elmekia Flame!" The little mazoku ceased to be during his flight.
Dryly, Zelgadis pointed out, "He was just a lower-level mazoku. Wasn't that overkill?"
Lina swept her hair dramatically behind her and smirked. "Considering he tried to kill me - No." She turned on her heels as dramatically as she could, despite that she was wearing pajamas, and said over her shoulder. "I'm going to bed."
He nodded and followed after her.
Once they saw her room...or what was left of it...Lina groaned and slumped against the wall, banging against it with her fist. "I forgot my room didn't exist anymore." Her eyes widened and she started to smile gleefully. "Oh Zel..."
He sensed where her thoughts were going and waved his hands in denial in front of him. "Oh no! I'm not giving my room up! I refuse!"
...Five minutes later, Lina was ensconced in his bed, and he was sitting on a nearby chair, a curious, wistful expression on his face as he watched her breathing deepen as she fell asleep...
Part of the inspiration for this came from a bit of advice I recalled. (I can't remember where, but probably from anime or a movie...) "Masters fear amateurs because they're unpredictable; they aren't set in their ways, and so in the middle of a fight can do something unexpected to win." Or something like that... 'Don't know whether it's true or not, but I thought it was an intriguing idea.