With dinner finished off they took a few moments to get prepared before they left to go meet Gek. Outside the palace the four walked in the night towards the city square. The air had a deathly chill to it that caused Sylphiel to shiver. The sky was a dark blood red color and completely starless. An evil darkness seemed to play on the surroundings, giving the normal city of Sailune an unfriendly and dangerous look to it. The streets were deserted. Everyone in the city had long since retired to their beds. Sailune looked like a ghost town.
It's hard to believe that this is the same city that we entered earlier today. This isn't good, before we left I didn't feel like this was going to be a trap. I know it's not a trap, but I also know that something is going to happen that we aren't going to expect. But then what are we expecting? Zelgadis thought walking in silence.
"What time are we supposed to meet Gek?" Sylphiel asked as they set themselves down at Gek's chosen meeting spot.
"The note just said after nightfall. That could be any time really before dawn."
But off course logically they expected that Gek meant right after the sun set. Two hours later they weren't so sure. Another hour after that they really starting to wonder, and an hour after that they were just pissed.
"Where the hell is he?! We've been waiting here for four hours!" Zelgadis fumed while pacing back and forth.
"I don't know, but would you please sit down! You've been pacing around for over an hour and it's really getting annoying." Phil rubbed his eyes. Like the others they had been watching Zelgadis pace and in this dim lighting it wasn't good for their eyes.
"Well I'm sorry but this is whole thing is irritating me. Man it's almost something like he would do."
"Who would do?" A voice spoke from the air. The creature was all green and had large oversized legs and long arms with claws. It had a very skinny body but it was covered in an armor like substance that appeared to be its skin. No doubt this was definitely Gek.
"You asked us to meet you here?"
"Yes I did didn't I?" It grinned and spoke in a slurred raspy voice.
"What have you done with my dear daughter?!" Phil screamed at the green monster.
"Nothing, but rather than take my word for it I'll just show you." Even as Gek spoke those words everything started to blur and in a brief moment of everything changed and Phil, Zelgadis, Gourry and Sylphiel were in a dark room with odd décor. Amelia was sitting in a chair with a big smile on her face.
"Daddy!" Amelia said as she jumped into her father's arms.
"Oh my dear sweet Amelia! Did that bad monster hurt you?"
"What? Mister Xellos? He wouldn't hurt me at all."
'Gek' snickered and changed to his real form as the ever so annoying Xellos the Trickster Priest.
"Damnit I knew this whole situation reeked of you fruitcake!" Zelgadis said drawing his sword on the grinning monster.
"Now, now didn't your mother teach you not to point weapons at your friends?"
"Friend my- "
"Mister Zelgadis please! Even if has been irritating in the past you should still be polite."
"Whatever, I don't care Sylphiel! Xellos where the hell is Lina?!" Though Zelgadis was mad still he put away his sword. Like an ordinary sword could harm a monster anyway.
"It's a secret..."
"Why you little monster scum!" Zelgadis yelled as he grabbed Xellos by the neck.
"It's a secret, even to me. And if you please stop trying to strangle me then I might be able to explain what has been happening and what little I know."
Zelgadis complied and let him go. Xellos while rubbing his neck turned away from them and took a deep breath sorting out mentally what he was going to tell them. I hate giving away so much information. But I have to, Lina's life is in danger, and Master Zellas will kill me if I don't follow her orders.
"First of all that green monster form is only one I am imitating. There really is a monster named Gek and he was planning on kidnapping Amelia."
"And just how did you know about this Xellos?!"
"It's a - or I mean I'm not sure how. I was given a message just as Prince Philionel had been given. Only mine was a little more detailed. You see Gek's main goal was to kidnap Lina not Amelia."
"But why would he want to go after Amelia?"
"Despite Lina's greedy and selfish nature she still wouldn't let any harm happen to one of her friends. Gek was going to exploit that weakness by kidnapping Amelia and get Lina to surrender herself for Amelia. I intervened and 'kidnapped' Amelia myself. Without Amelia as ransom Gek shouldn't have been able to get Lina."
"If that was true then how did she get kidnapped? And why even bother?!" Xellos was trying Zelgadis' patience.
"I am under my master's orders. It seems that my master is not too pleased about someone trying to kidnap the 'great' Lina Inverse. As for Gek I underestimated him. I never though any monster would be able to cast such strong magic besides black magic. He managed to put half of Sailune asleep with that simple sleep spell he casted."
"Half of Sailune?! I thought he only put the all the people in the palace and on the palace grounds asleep."
"Oh no it was a larger spell than that. He even managed to put me asleep. But I guess that's not too surprising. My powers and defense are weakened while I am in Sailune." Xellos cringed at the thought of the magic square that is Sailune. The major white magic amplification quality to the city was the reason why his powers were not as strong and why took Amelia to a subspace dimension. In this created dimension he could keep his powers strong and be in a better situation to protect Amelia.
"What are we going to do?"
The group was silent at this point. Usually in a situation like this Lina would be able to think up some idea on what they could do next. But without Lina there, they were a bit lost.
"Xellos do you know where we can find Gek?" Zelgadis spoke up after a while breaking the spell of silence.
"Hmm... I wish I could. Normally I could just find his location by using the astral plane. Only I can't because Gek has put up some sort of shield. I have no idea where he is and if Miss Lina is alright."
"What could that monster want with Miss Lina?"
"It could be a number of things Amelia... Miss Lina has gained quite a few enemies in the past. She has developed high magic leveled powers at such a young age that very few mortals have acquired through their lifetime. But I just wish I knew if Gek was doing this under orders or not..."
"What do you mean?"
"Well lower level monsters are supposed to follow orders of their masters right? Since both Gaav and Fibrizo are dead all of their minions have been running amuck. And to make things worse Dynast has isolated himself not letting one see him and Deep Sea has disappeared. No one knows where either one of them are, not even my master."
"So Gek may be doing this on his own actions?"
"Though the monster lords have not been there to order their lower monster subjects, the lower monsters have been taking orders from others. Some of them outside sources that are not of the monster race."
"Not of the monster race? How do you know this?"
"I've heard rumors. Some of the lower monsters are under command of slightly higher leveled lower monsters while others are doing the will of something else. I really don't know what that something else could be, but from I can gather they are stronger than the monster race and much more evil." Xellos' expression was utterly serious. He wasn't smiling nor was his eyes closed. In fact he seemed a bit worried if anything.
"Something more evil and powerful than the monster race? Is that really possible?"
"If you had asked that to me years ago I would have said no."
"No you would have said 'It's a secret.'" Gourry said very seriously, more so than you'd expect from him.
Xellos managed a thin smile. You're probably right. Hmm... I've spent most of my life knowing that I was part of the strongest and powerful race. It's very unsettling to know that I might have just been blindly believing some false truth.
"I hope Miss Lina is alright..." Amelia said in an almost whisper. Phil put a defensive arm around her shoulders.
"I'm pretty sure that wherever Miss Lina is she's taking care of it. Even if Miss Lina seems to attract trouble and danger quite often, she usually is able to handle herself."
"In any case if we want to find Lina then we have to find Gek. Xellos do you have any idea how we could even go about searching for him?"
Before Xellos could answer Zelgadis' question one of the walls was destroyed by an explosion. A very angry monster came out from the smoke cloud giving Xellos an evil glare. The monster was just like the form that Xellos had been initially imitating. Same green body, long arms and everything.
"Xellos you slime! How dare you! First you mess up my chance to kidnap the little princess and then you take Lina as well!" The monster almost spat out. His dislike for Xellos was very obvious.
"Gek what are you talking about?! I never took Miss Lina! You kidnapped her!"
"I never got a chance to! You and the justice freak stopped me that damned sleep spell, and then you take her before I even woke up!"
"Put you asleep? You put me to sleep!"
"I never did such a thing! A monster could never cast such a strong sleep spell!"
"But if you didn't take Miss Lina than who did?" Xellos was very confused.
Zelgadis on the other hand had remembered an important fact.
"Phil didn't you say that the monster that kidnapped Lina was a blue green color?"
"Yes a dark green blue! And its voice was different too."
"A third monster? My what an odd situation this is turning into..."
"Shut your yap Xellos! I know you have her so just give me Lina Inverse and I wont kill you."
"What you kill me? I am Greater Beast Zellas' top general. You're just a lowly monster minion. You don't have the power or brains to do me any harm."
"You really think so? Well I'll have you know I'm not the same 'lowly monster' as I once was. The people who want Lina gave me extra powers. I'm even more powerful than you."
"Who and why would these people want Miss Lina?"
"I really have no idea and I also don't care. So stop your lying trickster priest and hand over Lina Inverse!"
"I don't have her."
"Well then you are going to wish you did, because guess who I'm going to take my frustrations out on?" The evil gleam in Gek's eye as he smiled gave Amelia cold chills.
Even though the room was dark to start off with, it got darker almost to match Gek's dark expression. The green monster grinned larger as he powered up an attack. The group scattered and got into battle ready positions. Except for Xellos. He wasn't convinced of Gek's 'extra powers'.
"Still the fearless monster Xellos? Funny how you're not taking me seriously while your humans friends are. Oh well you'll just have to learn the hard way." Gek without speaking threw a dark blue energy mass at Xellos that he dodged easily. Xellos was going to make some sort of wisecrack at Gek till he saw that Gek was still smiling. It was then that Xellos turned his head just as the energy mass hit him from behind.
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Xellos screamed in pain. Shockwaves of gut wrenching pain racked through his body paralyzing him. He could even move his lips to speak.
"Oooohh the agony you're in Xellos is most... delicious. Not only is it painful but it sucks the life out of you as well. If I hold this little 'spell' on you long enough you'll die and I absorb your power and life force. Do you like that? Do you want more?" Gek spoke in a mocking tone as he increased the power factor of the spell a level.
"RA TILT!" Both Zelgadis and Amelia yelled together using Gourry's sword to amplify the spell.
Gek just cackled and defused the spell.
"Are you really in that much of a hurry to die? Well I was going to deal with you guys later but I might as well deal with both you and Xellos at the same time." Gek's eye's glowed blood red and another energy mass was shot this time a red one. Sylphiel barely had enough time to react and casted a barrier. The red mass sent recoils of pain through Sylphiel's body from just the friction of it smashing against her barrier. But she was holding up against it, only her power was draining fast.
"Help me guys! I can't hold this barrier much longer."
Amelia and Zelgadis quickly complied and helped her with the barrier. That helped a lot, and Sylphiel was able to relax a bit. But it was still putting way too much strain on the three of them.
What type of spells are these? Or are they even spells? Gek didn't even need to say a damned word! The things came and submitted to his will. What sort of power is this? Zelgadis thought as he gritted his teeth.
"Heh, heh. You think one is a lot of trouble, how about two?" And Gek threw a third one at them, this one a pukey green color while still holding the red one he was using against them and the blue he was using on Xellos. Xellos' screams of pain echoed in throughout the created dimension.