"...Buried in the flow of time...
In thy great name, I pledge myself to darkness.
May the fools who stand before us be destroyed...
By the power you and I possess...
DRAGU - "
Lina sat up in her bed suddenly, her breathing coming in sharp gasps. She was sweating profusely, and the sheets were tangled around her legs. A nightmare?
The dream, details already fleeing from the sorceress's mind, had been quite vivid. A battle. The fiery genius sorceress Lina Inverse, the former Swordsmen of Light, Gourry Gabriev, the chimera and great shamanist, Zelgadis Graywords, the second Crown Princess of Seyruun, Amelia Wil Tesla Seyruun, and the Sairaag shrine maiden, Sylphiel Nels Raada, all up against some unknown enemy. Perhaps Lina knew during the dream, but it was gone now.
All the others were down and out. Amelia taken down first when her Balus Wall failed. Gourry fell soon after; he had been standing nearby, and the adversary's Blast Bomb had quite a wide range. The enemy struck out at Zel next, almost running him completely through his chest, but with what? What could that guy have had that would penetrate Zel's stone skin? It didn't matter though, the damage was done, and the remaining shaman was down for the count. Sylphiel ran to his side the second the bad guy phased away... phased? Mazoku? Lina defended them as Sylphiel performed Resurrection.
One thing Lina knew for certain, this guy was tough. She cast all sorts of wide range spells - scores of Flare Arrows, Flare Bits. She even cast a Dynast Breath when he started to close in. Then, weapon in hand, he broke through her defense. Lina noticed too late. She was just about to be struck with whatever that thing was that had hurt Zel when she heard the last of Sylphiel's chaos words. The sorceress ducked as her shrine maiden friend blasted him with a weak Dragu Slave. Although Sylph specialized in Ruby Eye's spell, the Resurrection had weakened her dramatically, and she collapsed as the last of her energy was put into her casting.
Seeing that the enemy was not yet beat, Lina drew her sword. She had learned somewhere along the way that she had better control over the Laguna Blade if she channeled it through an enchanted object. Her short-sword had slight enchantments on it, so it worked quite nicely. She chanted the words under her breath for the boost spell to her talismans as their adversary phased back in. Yes, now Lina was sure it had phased in. She still couldn't see his face, though. It was as if he was enshrouded in shadow, giving little away as to his true form. The shadows seemed to swirl around him. She couldn't focus on that now; she had a spell to cast! Raising the sword, she began the chant..."Lord of the dreams that terrify..."
Zelgadis had almost fully recovered from his wounds, and stood next to Lina, powering up a big ass spell. It looked sorta like a Ra Tilt, but Lina didn't think that's what it was on reflection. For some reason, the sound had left her memory of the dream silent. Weird. Zel released his spell, but it hit off the man's shield, completely ineffective. A gloved hand came out from the darkness, power glowing around it. The ball of energy flew out towards the chimera, striking him down in one shot. The cheap bastard hit him in exactly the same spot he struck the first time.
Laguna Blade spell complete, Lina jumped towards the swirling-shadow-covered man, thrusting the sword of cold and darkness into him. The sound returned, and allowed her to hear his scream. Her ears also picked up Zel's screams, but she couldn't tell what he was saying over the crackling of her spell.
Suddenly, the figure laughed. She recognized the laugh, but she didn't know whose voice it was. Still trying to figure out who the voice belonged to, she wasn't listening to the man until it was too late to get out of range.
"...Buried in the flow of time...
In thy great name, I pledge myself to darkness.
May the fools who stay before us be destroyed...
By the power you and I possess..."
A ball of energy, crimson beyond flowing blood, gathered within the enemy's pale gloved hands. The churning blackness surrounding him began to dissipate as the last lines of the spell were said, but Lina still couldn't place the man. Realizing it was too late to get away, she tried one last pull of the Laguna Blade through his body.
"DRAGU - "
"And then I woke up," Lina finished retelling the dream to her friends. All who had been in her dream were with her in her inn room. Xelloss was also there, smiling as always despite the tale.
"Ne, ne, Lina-chan, do you think it was a dream or a vision?" he asked exuberantly.
BOINK
"Don't say something like that so cheerfully, fruitcake!" the red- head screamed. She caught the smiling Mazoku in a Inverse Death Chokehold ™ and held on tight until his face turned the same colour as his shoulder-length hair.
"Actually, I think it was a legitimate question, Lina-san," Sylphiel chimed.
"If only a certain annoying priest hadn't said it like he had," came a mutter from Zelgadis. The chimera had only recently rejoined the group after yet another unsuccessful cure quest, and so was currently in one of his majorly angsty 'damn you, Rezo' moods. Xelloss was probably having a feast off all the negative emotions.
Lina finally calmed down enough to release Xelloss and sat back down on her bed, staring at her hands. "I'm not sure. I don't get visions most of the time, in fact, the last time I had one was when I was ten, and that was about going to an amusement park later in the week. But...this dream was so clear, so vivid..." she trailed off, shaking her head.
"Don't worry, Lina-san," Amelia smiled. She stood on the dresser, being the highest object in the room, and posing proclaimed, "By the burning Star of Justice, I swear to you that we shall find an answer to all of this!" Sweatdrops all around.
"Ano, what were we all yawn talking about, minna? I fell asleep."
The fiery sorceress's temper flared yet again.
BASH
"Gourry no baka!!! Can't you stay awake for once?!?"