What the? One minute, we're all standing in the mountain pass, the next we're floating around in this huge void, then we're back where we were? What the hell is going on here?
"What the hell?" Zel my friend, sometimes we think so much alike that it's scary.
I look around; all of us are in the positions we were before that weird shift, but the dragons and Xelloss are missing. Eew. Make that just Xelloss.
"Ano...What happened?" Gourry asks. I come up behind him, armed with a furry bunny slipper. I hit the guys in this merry band of mine so often that I'm bound to hurt my hand if I don't use a weapon instead. And besides, I don't want to cause any serious damage, so a slipper to the skull does just the trick.
WHACK!
"Yakamashii, Broth for Brains!!!"
"I know what happened." Filia states. Kowaii...her face looks like a mixture of anger, fear, and sadness. With a twitching eye and her tail sticking out like that, I'd sum up that she shouldn't be messed with at the moment. I smirk. I'll bet Amelia gets it.
"What did happen, Filia-san?"
"Ooooh NAMAGOMI!!!!" she screams to the sky. Whoa, when did the mace come out?
THWACK!!!
BOING CRASH BOING CRASH BOING CRASH BOING CRASH
Yep, Ame got it, all right. That's what she gets for not observing the 'Caution: Pissed Dragon' warnings practically hovering over Filia's head. Hell, even Gourry sees that! The princess hobbles back over.
"Itai."
"G-gomen, Amelia-san. It's just that...well...look what that baka namagomi did!" she wails.
"Huh? I just figured some animals came through here while we were gone," Gourry smiles.
I sigh. This is getting us no where fast. I jump up on the boulder Zel's taken a seat on. "Whatcha got?"
"Xelloss left us a present," he shows me the parchment in his hands.
"A map?"
"To the temple, I would assume. He even added a little 'You are Here' symbol on it."
"Well, guess we've got no other choice than to follow that then. Oi, Filia!" she looks up at me from her crouching over the...ugh...remains. "You want to give them last rites, ne?" She nods. "How long is that gonna take?"
"The standard ceremony takes two hours."
Eep. "Uh, can we make it any shorter? I mean, they deserve a proper funeral and everything, but we really aren't safe staying simply in the mountains overnight. We need to get to the temple before dark."
"Well, I suppose I can cut some of it out, since I didn't know them or anything."
"Yosh! Let's get this started then, ne?"
That ceremony was really nice. Even with the impromptu setting and everything, Filia still managed to make it an unforgettable event in my mind. Ryuuzoku ceremonies are always so elaborate. I sigh. Going to those ceremonies was the only part I liked about being dragged around with Luna-nee-chan as she did her Knight stuff when I was little.
It's about an hour before nightfall now, and we're not far from the temple. Well, according to the map Xelloss left us, anyway. Gods, what is with him lately? That night when we were alone, he was so different. He actually dropped that damnable smiling mask of his once or twice. And now on this journey, he goes and does this. If I had done that in Filia's presence, I would've bolted too, but why did he do it? The whole Mazoku/Ryuuzoku thing? It probably could've been avoided. I guess he figured they would've told the other dragons he was in the range. And we can't have that right now.
Ahh! I can see the temple now! Uh, I think it's a temple. Maybe. There are two Ryuu guards slumped near the entrance. Yeah, Filia saw them too. How many dragon rampages are we gonna have to endure on this trip? I hope he didn't kill them. If that cave really is the temple, he's got no place to hide from Fi's mace rage. Ah, good, they're just asleep. I walk up to the cave's entrance.
"Wait!"
I frown. "What is it now, Filia?"
"The entryway, there's some magical barrier on it. I can't tell what it's made of, but I don't think it'd be a good idea to just walk underneath it."
"Well, we can always try." Zel, always the voice of reason. He picks up a rock and hurls it at the opening in the rock face. As it hits a certain point, a flash of gold zaps the stone into oblivion, leaving nothing behind. Eep. Glad we've got our happy little miko in the group on this trip. Unfortunately, evil little shield = no entering the temple.
"Uh...this is a bad thing, right?"
BONK
"Yes, Gourry-san, this would be bad. We can't get inside if we can't get past the doorway. Perhaps one of the guards knows." Amelia crouches down in front of one of the slumbering dragons and pokes him (I guess it's a him) with a stick a few times.
"Don't bother, Amelia-san, he'll be out for quite some time," Xelloss reappears at the cave's entrance. Why does he look so smug? Probably feasting off of Filia, I guess.
Said miko grimaces and twitches. "You, you, you... How could you do that?!?! They weren't even doing anything and you just slaughtered them!"
"Whatever do you mean they didn't do anything? They insulted me."
"An insult is punishable by death in your book?!?!"
"Oi," Thank you for interrupting, Zel. "Let's worry about that later. The sun is almost down and we haven't figured out a way to get past the barrier yet."
"There's no barrier," the priest replies. Huh? What does he mean by that? We saw it. Zel throws another stone at the entrance, this one falling to the ground about five feet inside.
"Hey, you're right, Xelloss!" Yes, Gourry, we can all see that.
"Yosh! Let's go then. Lead the way," I point to Xel and he starts walking in. The group follows shortly after.
This place really doesn’t look like much of a temple to me. I cast a Lighting, but it's weird. The light, instead of a bright white, glows gold. Strange. The other magic casters notice this too, but don't say anything. We head down a tunnel in the cave. What's a thing that can grant your heart's innermost desire doing in a grungy old hole in the wall anyway?
A light appears in the distance. As we travel towards it, I release the Lighting, preferring to use the other golden glow. We reach the end of the tunnel, stepping out into a large room. Now this place looks more like a temple. The entire room glows the same golden colour, the light coming from a pool in the room's centre. The walls have gold coverings, intricate patterns carved into the metal with meticulous skill.
Suddenly, a woman emerges from the waters, somehow completely dry. This place just keeps getting weirder and weirder. I guess she's the guardian of the temple, as she's dressed in a outfit befitting that station. A modest gown of gold graces her person, the hem falling slightly below her feet as she hovers scant inches above the water. Her barely-longer-than-shoulder-length hair cups her face and rests softly behind her back. Her green eyes blink, then focus on us.
"You have come, as..." she turns her head slightly, moving her eyes, "Xelloss said you would."
"We've come for our wishes," I reply. "I assume you're the granter, ne?"
"Hai, I am the priestess of the temple and the granter of the heart's innermost desires. However, patience is a virtue, Lina Inverse. One you should practise more often."
Zel looks at her suspiciously. "How do you know who she is?"
"I know who all of you are, Zelgadis Graywords. As I do any who are meant to enter this temple. Now, let us begin." A golden beam of light engulfs the miko, then dies down to a faint glow. Her eyes...they've turned gold as well... Why do Ame and Zel look scared all of a sudden?
"What's wrong?" I ask.
"She...you..." Amelia articulates, making various pointing motions.
"You looked like that when you were taken over by the Lord of Nightmares, Lina." Oh. Whoa, does that mean she's been taken over? Creepy... I'm not so sure I want this anymore.
Her voice cuts through my thoughts. "Daughter of Copt, step forward."
I look to Filia as she complies, wading into the shallow waters of the pool. The miko places her hands upon Fi's temples, then comes down to speak to her. A smile of contentment crosses the Ryuu's face. I wonder what she said? Guess I'll ask later. Filia steps out of the water and goes back to where she stood before. She's dry, too. Maybe the water is an illusion?
"Son of Gabriev, step forward."
"Huh? Me?" Ooh, if it weren't so damned inappropriate, I'd bash you upside the head right now, Gourry!
Gourry walks into the pool and the same things happen yet again. Only this time, another flash of the golden light comes between the two, then the miko speaks to him again. I hear him say 'Really?' with a lot of awe in his voice, but that's all I get before he leaves.
"Daughter of Inverse, step forward." What are we going boy-girl here like a bunch of kids? Ah well, no time to think about that now. I wade in and stand tall before her, awaiting her next words. She bends down and whispers to me, "You want to be the best sorceress in the world, ne?"
"Of course," I reply.
She smiles warmly at me, then holds her two hands in front of her. I look down at them before being blinded by a flash. When my vision returns, she holds an ancient-looking book in her hands. The miko hands the book to me. "Learn this and you will be." She looks up and directs her voice to Xelloss. The smiled dropped from her face, issuing an order to the mazoku. "Teach her." He nods. What's this all about? She turns back to me and motions for me to go. I walk about of the pool and back to where I was. Well, it felt like water, but I'm still dry.
"Daughter of Seyruun, step forward." Now there's a change in the order. I squeeze the princess's hand as she takes her turn. I hear Zel sigh by my side.
"She's doing this on purpose, isn't she?"
"What?"
"I'll probably end up going last."
"Maybe. I wonder if Xelloss is going to go, too."
"Why wouldn't he? He's got to have some reason for coming here. If not for his own innermost desire, then what?"
"That's true." I start to say more, but then another golden flash bathes the room. I see another object between the miko's fingers. It looks like some sort of necklace. Interesting. She hands it to Amelia, then the princess returns to our sides.
"Son of Graywords, step forward." I smile involuntarily. Zel looks like a scared little mouse, despite his attempts to make it look otherwise. I'll bet we can all guess what his heart's innermost desire is. I'll be shocked if it isn't what I expect it to be.
He wades into the golden pond cautiously, his head down. I frown. He's letting his depressive side run away with him, even now. The miko speaks to him softly. Her words cause him to throw up his head, then whisper something excitedly to her. I grin again as golden light envelops the two of them completely, being careful to shield my eyes this time. A scream goes vaults into the room's ceiling, a splash soon following. Amelia clings to my arm, worry marring her features.
When the light fades, we see the miko still hovering over the waters, but Zel has fallen to his hands and knees, panting and shaking. His head pops up over his shoulders suddenly, alerting us all to the change.
Where there was once a head of lavender now sprung a shock of brown hair, no tapered ears in sight. He stands shakily, the miko having to hold onto his elbows as a support, then he turns around and faces us all. And I've never seen someone so happy in their lives.
Zel runs towards me and Ame, catching us both in a group hug. I heartily return the embrace, smiling and laughing as his own chuckles strike the air. He releases me and takes Amelia in both arms as she wraps hers around his neck and pulls her legs up around his waist. She kisses him on the lips, bringing him back down to earth a bit, but not much. I watch them celebrating as Gourry and Filia come to join us all.
Somewhere in the back of my thoughts, I hear the miko call out another name, then see Xelloss go for his turn. Damn, what was that name?