This story is an account of what if Lina met Zelgadis before anybody else in Slayers, including Naga. Zelgadis is also human in this and is fifteen years old, while Lina is thirteen. This is set before the movies, the OAV's and the entire TV series.
"MAN! This is the life!" Lina Inverse exclaimed as she rubbed her full belly.
Sorceress Supreme, Lina Inverse had just finished her last plate out of thirty and was now fully content.
"Now, to make things perfect, a nice warm and soft bed would sure hit the spot!" she said as she paid for her food and walked out of the restaurant.
"I wonder if there are any inns open this late," she pondered as she walked through the town.
Lina looked around and then noticed a young man with dark blue hair standing by a fountain.
Might as well get some information, she thought as she walked up to him.
"Oi!" she exclaimed loudly, getting the quiet young man's attention.
"What is it that you want, little girl?" he asked, rather rudely.
Lina wrinkled her nose. Ugh! This character needs to work on his attitude.
The young man raised an eyebrow at her. "Well?"
Lina let out an embarrassed chuckle and then asked, "Are there any inns open around here at this time of night?"
The man nodded and pointed ahead of her. "Do you see that building?"
"The one that looks like it's gone through Hell and back? Yeah, I see it," she said, distastefully.
"That would be the only one open at this time," he said.
"Ugh. Just my luck. I might as well sleep outdoors then," she complained.
"Are you ALWAYS this picky?" he asked, curiously.
"Are you ALWAYS this nosy?" she shot back.
"..." was his intelligent response.
Lina smirked. "Men."
As Lina began to walk off she noticed something odd about the young man. She looked at his ears and gasped.
"Mazoku!" she said, incredulously.
The young man sighed and said, "Only half."
Lina calmed and said, "Oh."
"I don't think that you've told me your name yet, young lady," he said.
"Lina. Lina Inverse," she answered.
"The Dra-matta. Interesting indeed, but I can't say that you live up to some of your other nicknames," he said with a smirk.
Lina looked at him curiously. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"You're NOT flat in that part of your anatomy, to start off," he said.
Lina blushed and said, "Well, that's a first."
"And you are NOT a little girl," he said.
Lina blushed even deeper, but glared at him as well. "Then why do you get off calling me little girl?!"
He smiled slightly at her and said, "That was before I knew that you were Lina Inverse."
Lina blinked. "I see. What's your name, by the way?"
"Zelgadis Greywers," he replied.
"Interesting name. It's nice," she said.
Now, Zelgadis blushed. "Ano...arigato."
"But it's a bit too long. Mind if I call you Zel?" she asked.
Zelgadis shrugged and said, "Sure, why not?"
"Now then. If you're part mazoku, doesn't that mean that you're very strong and fast?" she asked.
Zelgadis nodded. "Hai. I mostly use my sword, though and quite a bit of Shamanist magic."
"Meaning that you can use spells like that Ra Tilt, ne?" she asked.
"Hai. I can use some Black and White magic, but my skills within those two fields are limited," he said.
"I use Black magic," she said.
Zelgadis smirked. "So I've heard."
Lina glared at him. "Shut up."
Zelgadis ignored her comment and asked, "What else can you do?"
"I can also use Shamanist, White, and Chaos magic," she said.
"Sugoi!" he said with a whistle.
Lina threw her hair back arrogantly and said, "I AM pretty amazing."
"And full of yourself," added Zelgadis.
"You're an asshole," she muttered.
"Yes, I am," he agreed.
"Well, I'm not gonna sit out here all night talking about pointless stuff, so I'm gonna go to the forest and find a resting area," said Lina as she turned around and began to leave.
"Ano...wait," said Zelgadis.
Lina turned to him again and said, "What?"
"I was wondering...would I be able to come along with you?" he asked.
Lina looked at him confused. "Whatever for?"
"Well, it gets pretty boring around here and I've never been on a REAL adventure before, so I was wondering if it was ok if I joined up with you," he said.
"Like be my partner?" she asked.
"You could say that," he said.
"Well then, let's go," she said as she grabbed one of his hands and dragged him off with her.
After a good hour of walking, they managed to find a nice forest clearing. They then sat down and began to camp out.
"Tell me about your life, Zelgadis," said Lina.
"My life?" he asked, curiously.
"Well, you don't look much older than me and you're already out on your own. You must have an interesting story to tell," she said.
"Well, I'll only tell if you tell me about yours," he said.
Lina nodded. "Deal."
"Now then...where do I start," he said, thoughtfully.
Lina giggled. "How about at the beginning?"
Zelgadis glared at her, but Lina just grinned at him.
"You are one impossible woman," he said, while shaking his head.
"Woman?" she asked, blushing slightly.
"Well, isn't that what you are considering your anatomy?" he asked her with a shrug.
"Yes, but...I'm still a young girl, not a woman," she pointed out.
"Maybe physically, but your experiences have aged your mind and thus your ARE a woman in more than one aspect," he said.
"..." Lina was left speechless.
"Did you want me to tell you my story now?" he asked.
Lina was knocked out of her trance and then said, "Oh, umm...sure!"'
"Well...I was born in a cottage in the Eranian Forest. My mother died giving birth to me and my father was killed when I was five. The only person there to raise me was my grandfather, Akahoushi Rezo," he said, pausing, due to the fact that Lina's eyes had widened considerably.
"Something wrong?" he asked.
"You're related to Akahoushi Rezo?! Only one of the five great wise men in the world? That Rezo?!" she asked, enthusiastically.
"The same one," he said.
"Eep! Sugoi!" she exclaimed with bright eyes.
Zelgadis shook his head and said, "You are really something else."
Lina blushed and looked away. Why am I acting like this? I just met him and I'm behaving like some lovesick idiot!
"May I continue?" he asked.
Lina just nodded in response.
"Well, anyway, during the time he raised me, he taught me magic and showed me how to use my mazoku powers. He also gave me my sword and showed me how to use it as well," he said.
"Your sword?" she asked.
Zelgadis pulled out a long and heavy sword from his sword belt and showed it to Lina.
"It's called Astral Vine. It's enchanted and it also enhances my mazoku abilities," he said.
"Sugoi," she whispered in awe as she looked at the sword.
"Is 'sugoi' the word of the day?" he asked with a chuckle.
"Oh, be quiet you. Just finish the rest of your story," she muttered.
Zelgadis chuckled once more and put his sword back into his sword belt.
"As I was saying, after I finished learning all of everything that Rezo taught me, I was fourteen. He decided that it was time for me to go out into the world and use my abilities to their fullest. I've been travelling ever since," he said.
"And how old are you now?" asked Lina.
"Fifteen," he said.
"Can you guess my age?" asked Lina.
Zelgadis tapped his chin thoughtfully and then said, "Ten?"
Lina's eyes bulged out. "Yada!"
"Then how old?" he asked.
"Thirteen!" she exclaimed in frustration. "I thought you would have known!"
Zelgadis shrugged. "Well, I didn't."
Lina rolled her eyes. "Whatever. My turn to tell, isn't it?"
"Yup," said Zelgadis.
"What to say? I was born in Zephilia and both my parents are still alive. I also have an older sister who's a Knight of Cepheid," she started off.
"Very impressive," said Zelgadis.
"Not when you get to know her she's not," said Lina with a shiver.
"Is she THAT bad?" he asked, curiously.
"Bad is an understatement," Lina muttered.
"Please continue," said Zelgadis.
"Anyway, I left home when I was six and mastered all of my magic and a bit of swordplay when I was ten," she said.
"Why'd you leave home so young?" he asked.
Lina let out an embarrassed laugh. "You really DON'T wanna know."
Zelgadis looked at her puzzled. "Why? Did something bad happen?"
"You COULD say that," she said, nervously.
"You were the cause of it, weren't you?" he asked, logically.
"Umm...yeah. I did something really, really bad and now I have an enormous fear of my sister. I had already feared her from before, but at that moment, I think that my fear of her went completely over the edge," she said.
"What did you do?" he asked.
Lina sighed. "I took some pictures of my sister bathing nude and then I sold them to some boys out on the street. When she found out about it, she beat me up. It was much worse than all of the other times she had beaten me up combined," she said.
"That's terrible," said Zelgadis.
Lina nodded. "I still have some of the bruises from that day."
"I can't believe it," he said, shaking his head all the while.
"Well, on that very day I ran away from home and I never ever returned since then," she finished.
"I don't blame you," he said, while looking up at the sky. "You'd better get some sleep. I'll take the first watch."
Lina yawned slightly and then asked, "Are you sure?"
"You yawn and then ask me if I'm sure? You are very odd indeed," he said with a small smile on his face.
Lina hadn't heard him for she was already sound asleep. Zelgadis smiled at the small sorceress that was sleeping before him.
How can something so small be so powerful? Guess that question will remain unknown for a long time, he thought as he watched her sleep.
After a few hours, dawn was breaking and Zelgadis moved to awaken Lina.
"Lina, it's morning. Wake up," he said, softly.
Lina groaned, rubbed her eyes and then opened them. "Morning already?"
"I know that you didn't get much sleep, but next time I promise that you will," he said.
"You'd better keep that promise or your hide is mine, Zelgadis Greywers," she said, jokingly.
Zelgadis blushed and then said, "Let's move out."
Lina grinned. "Are you suddenly in charge?"
"I just thought that you might want some breakfast," he stammered, quickly.
Lina quickly patted him on the back and said, "It's ok. I don't mind if you take charge as long as we get an equal share of doing it."
"I thought that you were gonna treat me like some lackey. Why not?" he asked.
Lina shrugged. "Because you're intelligent. Your ideas will probably end up being similar to mine and if they're not, we can figure out a way to make our different ideas work out together."
"How can you tell if I'm intelligent?" he asked.
"You have a strong wit and as far as I've seen, people who are not intelligent have very little to no wit in them," said Lina.
"If you say so. Anyway, you hungry?" he asked.
Lina smiled. "Always."
The two walked back to the town to an inn to have breakfast. Lina ordered everything on the menu, leaving Zelgadis, who had ordered only two items, astonished.
"How is it that you don't gain any weight?" he asked with wide eyes.
"The food I eat gets burned quickly and used as magical energy. It's a very easy way of getting that kind of energy especially when it's that time of the month," she said.
"Sucks to be female," said Zelgadis.
"You have no idea," said Lina.
"Where do we go from here after we've finished eating?" he asked.
"How about we go to the island of Miwal?" she asked.
"What's there?" he asked.
"Dunno. Just wanna go and see it. I heard that it's pretty there during this time of the year," she said.
"Then let's go," he said.
The food suddenly arrived and then the two of them dug into their meals.
"Now this is quality chicken!" Lina declared as she popped another morsel into her mouth.
"It must be if you're eating it THAT fast," Zelgadis commented.
Lina ignored him and continued to eat on rapidly, finishing before Zelgadis.
"Jeez, Zel! You're still only halfway through your meal?" she asked, incredulously.
"Well, at least I have some manners while I eat," he said as he lifted his fork to his lips and chewed on his salad.
"What's that supposed to mean!" she asked, angrily.
"Simply that you have no manners," he replied, calmly as he began to finish his food.
"You are so frustrating!" she growled.
"I know," Zelgadis said simply as he finished the last bit of his salad. "Who's paying?"
"I guess I am," said Lina.
"I'll wait outside for you," said Zelgadis.
"Okay!" she said as she went to pay.
Zelgadis walked out of the inn and leaned against the entrance. As soon as he felt someone try to push the door, he quickly moved and saw that the person was Lina.
"Shall we go?" asked Lina with a grin.
Zelgadis grinned back and nodded.
"Great! I can see some ships out at the port from here. Maybe one of them is headed to Miwal," said Lina.
"There's a possibility," said Zelgadis.
"Then what are we waiting for? Onward!" she said as she grabbed Zelgadis by one of his arms and dragged him to the ships with her.
Zelgadis could feel a fond smile tugging at the sides of his lips. She's growing on me.
As soon as they reached the ships, they searched for one that was making a stop at Miwal.
"Excuse me, Sir!" Lina exclaimed with a wave at one of the captains.
"Yes, little lady?" he asked.
"Is this ship heading to or making any stops at Miwal?" she asked.
"She sure is," he replied.
"Great! How much?" she asked.
"It's free for newlyweds and for those whom are about to get married. We actually perform wedding ceremonies on board the ship," he said.
"That's great and all, but...we need to know how much it would cost for regular people," she said.
"Fifty gold per person," he said.
"That's quite a lot," she said. "It had better be worth it."
"Don't worry, it is," he assured her.
"Alright then," she said as she got out a small sack, which contained one hundred gold coins. "This should pay for both mine and his expense to stay on the ship until we get to our destination."
The captain took the bag from her and asked, "You don't mind if I count its contents?"
Lina shrugged. "Be my guest."
"We're boarding now, if you would like to know," the captain informed her.
"Arigato!" she said she and Zelgadis ran up the ramp and onto the ship.
"How long is the actual voyage to Miwal?" Zelgadis asked Lina.
"I have no clue," she said. "Hey, captain!"
"Yes, little lady?" he asked.
"How long will the voyage to Miwal be?" she asked.
"I'm calculating that we'll be there in about a month," he told her.
"A MONTH!" Lina and Zelgadis exclaimed at the same time.
"That's just an estimate, you two. It just might be shorter than that," he said.
"A whole month? Masaka," Lina said under her breath.
"Is spending a whole month with me on a ship so bad, Lina?" Zelgadis asked quietly.
"Iie, Zel. You're not the problem. I just hate long journeys in general," she said.
"So, the company is acceptable, but not the length of the trip?" he asked, with a wry smile.
"I guess you can say that," she said.
"I just hope that we won't kill each other," he said.
Lina laughed. "That will be completely unavoidable."
"Well, I'm going to my room to take a nap," said Zelgadis.
"I'll probably do that too," said Lina as they each made their way to their own separate room.
Zelgadis opened the door to his room and entered it. As soon as he was inside, he crashed down onto his bed and fell asleep. Right next door to his room, Lina was doing the exact same thing.
Lina opened her eyes an hour later to find that she was on a bed in a ship. She then remembered that she and Zelgadis were travelling to Miwal.
She got out of bed and decided to take a tour of the ship and maybe get some fresh air. She then looked across her room at the door, which connected her room to Zelgadis'. She wanted to knock on it, so that way she could ask him to come with her, but she decided not to disturb him.
She opened the front door to her room and exited quietly, only to find Zelgadis leaning on the outside door to his room.
"Sneaking off?" he asked.
Lina shook her head. "I just came out here for fresh air. You?"
"Couldn't sleep," he replied.
"Oh," she said.
"Do you want to take a walk with me around the ship?" he asked, blushing.
She blushed slightly, but then grinned. "My, my, Zel. I didn't know that you would have the guts to ask me out."
Zelgadis' eyes bulged out and Lina giggled.
"I'm not asking you out!" he protested.
"But it certainly sounds like you are," she teased.
Zelgadis coughed nervously and dismissed her comment. "Well, are you coming or not?"
"Coming!" said Lina as she followed Zelgadis out onto the ship's deck.
As soon as they were out on the deck, Lina ran up to the edge of the ship and placed her hands on the railing.
"How beautiful!" she exclaimed as she looked at the sunset.
"It is rather lovely," Zelgadis agreed.
"Look at how the sun is shining on top of the ocean, making it sparkle!" Lina said excitedly.
Zelgadis had to smile at Lina's happiness. He then suddenly noticed that Lina had begun to shiver. Zelgadis shook his head and walked up from behind her.
"That won't do," he said as he took off his long, black cloak and wrapped it around Lina's arms. "Here you go."
Lina blushed furiously and then asked, "Are you sure you won't be needing it?"
Zelgadis shook his head. "I've felt colder weather, so I'm ok."
"If you say so," said Lina as she snuggled into the cloak. It smells just like him. GAH! What am I thinking?! He may be attractive and all, but I most certainly do NOT like him like THAT!
While Lina was having an internal battle with herself about her love life, Zelgadis stole a peek at the sorceress.
So pretty. The rumors about her beauty were so wrong. She is more beautiful than any other woman that I have ever seen. She's also good company and that makes her even more attractive. I don't know if I like her like THAT, yet, but...I do know that I like her. She will make a good friend for me, considering that I have no other friends, he thought, while he looked at Lina.
The two just stood there, looking at the sunset and contemplating their mixed up feelings for each other. Even though they had just recently met, there was something there between them.
After they walked back inside their rooms, they got cleaned up for dinner and as soon as they were finished, they walked together to the ship's dining room.
Once they got there, they noticed that it was just like an inn like restaurant, so they fell directly at ease.
"I wonder what I'm gonna order tonight!" Lina exclaimed with a gleam in her right eye.
"Probably everything," Zelgadis muttered.
"You're probably right!" said Lina, jovially.
Zelgadis looked up at Lina and then his brow furrowed when he looked at her forehead.
"Lina?" he said.
"Huh?" she replied.
"What are those two dots on your forehead?" he asked, curiously.
Lina lifted up her bangs to give Zelgadis a clearer view of them. "Oh these? They're mage marks."
"Mage marks?" he said, interested.
"In other words, the marks of L-sama herself," she said.
"Nice," Zelgadis commented.
"Yep," Lina agreed.
"How did you acquire them?" he asked.
"Well...I learned the Giga Slave. That's how," she said.
"Giga Slave? What kind of spell is that?" he asked.
"Chaos magic, otherwise known as Nightmare magic," she said.
"Don't tell me that that spell..." he trailed off.
"It calls upon the power of the Lord of Nightmares," she said.
"You can't be serious. Do you know how dangerous and risky a spell like that is?" he asked in disbelief.
"I know the chances. If I lose control of that spell even once...I will die," she said, seriously.
Zelgadis cringed inwardly at the thought. I hope that she never uses that spell.
Lina noticed the almost sad look upon Zelgadis' face and frowned. "Is there something wrong, Zel?"
"I was just thinking," he said.
"About what?" she asked.
"Nothing in particular," he lied.
"Oh," she said.
"Oh, look! Here comes our menus," he said.
"Finally," she muttered.
Zelgadis suppressed a smirk and instead, looked at his menu in silence. After he looked at it for a minute, he decided on two items and then set it down onto the table. He noticed that Lina was still looking at the menu, and her expression was not very happy.
"This food sucks!" she said under her breath.
"Why is that?" asked Zelgadis.
"Okay, I have nothing against vegetables, but...to be the only items on the menu...that's just a bit too much," she complained.
"Then why don't you just order a salad and be done with it?" he asked with a twinge of annoyance.
"Because I'll still be hungry! I need to eat as much as possible because if I don't -- " but Zelgadis cut off her complaining right there and then.
"Shut up! Just shut up! If you don't like the food, then fine leave and go back to your room. Stop complaining because it doesn't serve what YOU like! You are NOT the center of the damn universe, Lina! Just be grateful that they have food! The cooks here should never bust their backs for the likes of you!" he whispered, angrily.
Lina was stunned into silence and felt as though she was going to cry at any minute. Why do his words affect me so? He's not my sister and yet...I don't like him being angry with me. This is the first time that he has ever snapped at me. It shouldn't affect me, but it does. Why?! Oh gods, why?!
Lina then stood up and gave him a stony gaze. "I suddenly lost my appetite." After having said that, she stalked off to her room, most likely to cry.
Zelgadis lost his appetite as well and walked back to his own room. She DID deserve it, but I shouldn't have been THAT harsh. I guess I should apologize, somewhat. It was definitely uncalled for, on my part. I wonder if she'll even talk to me after that.
Zelgadis, finally in his room, knocked on the door across it. "Lina? Are you in there?"
Lina wiped the tears away from her face and asked in an angry tone of voice, "What's it to you, huh?"
Zelgadis winced as those words stung his heart badly. "I wanted to apologize."
Lina got off of her bed and leaned against the door that joined their rooms. "Huh?"
"Please, Lina. Please. Let me apologize," he said, almost as a whisper.
Lina opened the door and as soon as she did, Zelgadis looked at her in shock.
"Lina! What happened? What's wrong?" he asked, frantically.
Lina raised her head and tear stained eyes to meet his and said, "You're what's wrong with me. And you aren't the one who should be apologizing. I'm the one because you were right in everything you said back there."
"I'm what's wrong with you? How is that even possible?" he asked.
Lina looked away from his eyes and declared mentally, I am a lovesick idiot! This feeling must be love because it's fucking with my emotions too damn much!
"Lina?" he said as he carefully placed a hand on one of her shoulders.
"Zelgadis, please leave me be," she said, nearly losing her strength.
"No, I want to help you. If I'm the problem, then please tell me how shall I fix it, Lina, but please don't push me away," he said, almost whispering. It hurts too much when you do.
"Zel, please go away," she said, almost crying.
"Lina, please..." he trailed off and instead turned Lina around to face him.
"Zelgadis, please don't," she said, the tears threatening to spill at any moment.
"Lina, I just want to help you. Let me do so. Let me in," he pleaded.
Zelgadis lifted her face to his and ran a thumb over her left cheek.
Lina looked into his blue eyes confused. "Zel, what are you..."
But, he didn't let her finished as he pressed his lips against hers. Lina kissed back and let the tears flow freely. Lina placed her own hands on Zelgadis' face and made a surprising discovery. Zelgadis was crying as well. Lina then circled her arms around his neck and kissed him even more deeply.
When he felt Lina respond to his kiss, Zelgadis could have sworn that he felt his heart swell with joy. His arms immediately wrapped themselves around her waist, while they kissed.
As soon as they broke the kiss, they just stood there holding onto each other, tightly. They looked back into each other's eyes and smiled. They both knew there and then that the pain that they had both felt since they had met, had finally disappeared.
"I don't know how this is possible, but it's true," said Lina.
Zelgadis held her even tighter. "And in so short a time, too."
"There's always the concept, love at first sight," she said.
"Do you think it's possible?" he asked.
"It happened to us," she said. "Why wouldn't it work?"
"You got me there," he said.
"I hope that I'll always have you, too," she said as she snuggled into his embrace.
"You always will, Lina. On that you can be sure of," he said as he kissed her forehead.
"Say it, Zel. I want to hear it," she whispered into his tunic.
"I love you," he said, simply.
"And I love you," she said as she looked back up into his eyes and gave him a short, quick kiss on the lips.
At that moment, they both felt the ship beginning to rock back and forth. They knew that something was wrong, so they ran out of Lina's room to the deck to check it out for themselves.
As soon as they reached the deck, they looked over the railing and noticed a strong tide and winds attacking the ship at the same time.
"What do we do, Zel?!" Lina called out over the loud, crashing waves.
"I don't know, Lina. We can try to Raywing ourselves out of here," he said.
"But what about the rest of the people on the ship? I don't have enough strength to take them all," she said.
"You take as many as you can. I'll deal with the rest," he said.
At that point, Lina and Zelgadis split up and went to warn the rest of the people on the ship, only to find that the ship was empty. In shock, they both ran back to the deck.
"Zel, did you see anyone?" she asked, frantically.
"No, no one," he said, just as shocked.
"Do you think that this is some sort of trap?" she asked, fearfully.
"If it is, they want us and only us," he said.
"Whatever for?" she asked.
"Beats me," he said with a shrug.
"Well then, let's get the hell out of here!" she exclaimed as she began to cast Raywing.
"Ah...damnit! RAYWING!" he chanted.
He and Lina were suddenly surrounded by their own separate Raywing globes as they flew off into the air.
Suddenly a strong wind hit them, while they were in the air and separated them even further.
Lina looked around frantically for Zelgadis' globe, but through the thick air, he was nowhere to be found.
"ZELGADIS!!!!!!!!!!!" she cried as she finally passed out from exhaustion.
Back in Zelgadis' own globe, he was also looking for his lover. As soon as he noticed that she wasn't anywhere around, cursed.
"Masaka! Why does this shit always have to happen to me? I find the love of my life and right after we confess our feelings for one another, something like THIS has to happen! Damnit all to Hell!" he yelled.
Zelgadis, instead of passing out, sat there mumbling obscenities about his own bad luck.
"And your luck is about to get worse than it is now. Indeed it is," said a voice from above the clouds.
"Rezo-sama, what shall we do with them?" one of his minions asked.
"Delete their memories of each other and separate them completely. I need Zelgadis to work for me in order to get the Philosopher's Stone. I need to make him stronger and for him to follow my commands as a golem chimera," he said.
"As you wish," they said in unison as they disappeared.
Rezo looked down at the two with a sinister smile. "Oh yes. You two shall meet again, but much later. I will also destroy Lina Inverse with my puppet, in other words her one true love Zelgadis!"
The mazoku group split up as one side of them went to Lina's globe and the other side went to Zelgadis' globe.
The ones at Lina's globe didn't have a hard time placing the permanent amnesia spell on her, since she was already passed out.
Though, the ones at Zelgadis' globe were having a rougher time, so they decided to knock him out themselves. After placing the permanent amnesia spell on him, they all went back to Rezo. Once back to where Rezo was, Rezo nodded with satisfaction, waved an arm and then they all vanished.
Three days later...
Lina opened her eyes and rubbed her forehead as she looked at her surroundings questionably.
"Where am I?" she asked herself.
She was lying on the sand of some beach. She slowly got up and her face was marred with confusion.
"Why can't I remember anything?" she asked herself.
"HEY! Girly!" some loud male voice yelled.
"Huh?" said Lina as she scratched the back of her neck as she turned around and ended up face to face with a very tall and burly man.
"Are you Lina Inverse, the bandit killer?" he asked her.
"That would be me. And who might you be?" she asked, in an arrogant tone of voice.
"The lead bandit of the strongest bandit gang from this island," he said importantly.
Lina raised an eyebrow. "Oh really?"
"Eh? What's that look on your face?" he asked, fearfully.
Lina smirked. "DIL BRANDO!"
Our lovely heroine ended up frying not only the lead bandit, but the members of the gang that were hiding behind bushes as well.
Lina sighed as she heard her stomach growl. "Time for some GRUB!"
Lina then ran off for the nearest restaurant.
In another area, a forest more or less, Zelgadis was lying in a field of grass, staring up at the sky.
"How the hell did I end up here?" he asked himself.
He looked around, but then he felt a strange urge taking over him.
"I must become stronger. Stronger! STRONGER!!" he shouted up at the sky.
He then took out his sword and began swinging it around, repeating the phrase about him needing to become stronger over and over again.
Rezo suddenly appeared in front of Zelgadis, making him an offer, which he ignorantly accepted.
"AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Zelgadis screamed as he felt the pains of the strengthening transformation overcome him like a million needles plunging in and out of his body.
As soon as the transformation was done, he looked down at his hands in terrified shock. He screamed even louder and on the inside he was asking himself over and over again, What have I done?
"Zelgadis," started Rezo, "I now need you to find the Philosopher's Stone for me."
"Like hell I will! You turned me into a chimera!" he growled.
"You asked for strength and I gave it to you. A golem chimera was the most suitable form for me to place you in, so that I could easily give you the power that you sought," said Rezo.
Zelgadis glared at Rezo, but decided that his argument was logical.
"Will you help me now?" asked Rezo.
Zelgadis sighed and asked, "What do I need to do?"
Rezo smiled and said, "Good boy. As I said, I need you to find the Philosopher's Stone for me."
"Very well. If that is what you seek, then that is what you'll receive," said Zelgadis.
"Good. Now, go," said Rezo, ordering Zelgadis off.
Little did Rezo know that Zelgadis was planning his revenge, while pretending to find the Philosopher's Stone for him. Zelgadis was going to put that stone into good use and kill Rezo for giving him what he wanted through a method that he didn't desire.
Thus...the Slayers cycle begins and the two lovers, who were separated during the turmoil of the storm, will later find each other once more.