A dark shrouded person walks the streets during a moonless night with a dark purpose in his insane mind.
"Revenge oh how revenge is sweet, and so sweet that will make everything just right." The dark clad man hissed with a cackle. And in his hand he held a torn picture of person that could not be made out clearly because the part of the picture where the person's head should be had been torn off.
Amelia shuddered in her chair. She knew that she shouldn't be so superstitious about what day was coming up but she couldn't help but think of all those awful stories she had been told in the past.
"Miss Lina?"
"What?!" Lina barked out at her. Lina was right in the middle of eating her dinner and didn't like to be interrupted. Amelia, Lina, Zelgadis, Gourry, Xellos, Sylphiel and Gavin were all eating dinner in a small town that they had ended up in after a long two days of travel.
"Um, are you um... I don't know... a bit uneasy about tomorrow?" Amelia had her eyes glued to her plate. She couldn't look up because she knew that she was being silly and she was mentally kicking herself for it. But still the worry was there.
"Oh for crying out loud Amelia! You can't possibly think all those myths are true do you? Nothing happens on the night of Harvest Moon. Their just old wives tales that were made up to scare little children not to cause mischief." Lina growled as she went back to food.
"Lina what's the night of Harvest Moon?" A person asked. Of course Gourry would be that person. (sweatdrops all around)
"Are you honestly telling me that you haven't heard of the night of Harvest Moon before? Man what were you raised by wolves or something?!" Lina bopped him on the head. "No what am I saying? You were probably told it before but weren't listening or don't remember. Though I don't think it would have mattered much to your parents anyway. Probably too dumb to do anything bad." Lina muttered and continued to shovel food in her mouth.
"Someone's got to explain it to him." Zelgadis pointed out. Everyone's eyes turned to Lina.
"I'm sure as hell not going to do it! I was the one who had to explain who Shabrinigdo was."
"Whose that?" (Guess who asked that?)
Then everyone looked to Zelgadis who just groaned.
"Okay fine. The night of Harvest Moon happens once every three years on the same day as harvesting. The reason why this is called Harvest Moon is because the night before it there is no moon in the sky and on the day of harvest during the normal yearly festival there's a full moon. And that night the full moon stays in the sky for as long as it stays night and it stays night for a few hours longer then a normal. No one knows why this happens because theoretically it's impossible, but it does happen every three years.
Now as the legend goes some time back in the past in a small quiet farming town some of the village children where causing some trouble on the night of Harvest Moon. It's said that these kids while they were destroying and stealing things they angered a very powerful goddess by destroying one of her temples. She told them that she would forgive them if they apologized and promised to fix the temple. But they angered her more by refusing and they went on destroying more of her temple. She was so full of fury that she created hundreds of evil creatures and put a curse on the world. Whomever acted what the goddess thought of as bad on the night of Harvest Moon would have some of her creatures take care of them. The children laughed in her face and went to their homes. And during that night in each of those kid's homes their parents heard blood curling screams that woke them all up. And when each parent of those children who had angered the goddess rush to their kids' rooms they were horrified to discover that their kids had disappeared. All that remained was blood on their children's sheets and their children's dying screams in the air." Zelgadis finished and took another sip of his tea. Everyone minus Lina and Xellos gaped at Zelgadis with mouths hanging open.
"My Zelgadis you're quite the story teller." Lina said with a smirk and continued to eat. And she was the only one eating too, everyone else had lost their appetites (except Zel had already finished eating himself so it really didn't matter to him.)
"Miss Lina can't believe you can still eat after hearing that!" Amelia exclaimed.
"Oh it's quite simple Amelia, I don't believe any of that. I don't care that it's the night of Harvest Moon, nor do care if I do something bad have some wacko goddess' creatures come after me. I'm not scared by stupid things like that, and neither should you." Lina shoveled the last big of her food and happily sighed in content. "Anyway I'm done I think I'll head off to bed now. Goodnight everyone." Lina waltzed off without a care in the world.
A few hours later...
Amelia was laying in her bed freaked out of her mind. She couldn't fall asleep no matter how hard she tried. All she could think about was the night of Harvest Moon. In the past she had always been unable to sleep the day before the night of Harvest Moon and ended up sleeping through most of the harvest festivities.
She eventually just got up and went out in the hallway to go downstairs to go get something to help her nerves. When she stepped out into the hallway she bumped into a dark shadowy person.
"AHHHHHHHH!" Both Amelia and the shadowy person screamed at the same time. Amelia looked at the shadowy person blankly just to realize it was Gavin.
"Gavin?"
"Oh um hi Amelia." Both of them were quiet for a very moments, both embarrassed.
"Couldn't sleep. What about you?"
"Same reason."
Again another lapse of silence passed by.
"We're being silly aren't we?"
"I guess so. I was heading downstairs, care to join me?" Amelia smiled at Gavin.
"Sure."
The morning of Harvest Moon...
"So Miss Lina what are we going to do today?" Xellos said in his usual cheeriness.
"Might as well stick around here for the festival. Just because it's both Harvest day celebration and Harvest Moon doesn't mean that we can't enjoy the festivities." Lina grinned mischievously. On the Harvest day festival one thing that you could find in even the smallest of towns was lots of good food. There was no way that Lina was going to pass this up.
Zelgadis shook his head. "You just want to stick around and freeload."
Lina glared at him. "And what's so bad about that?! We're in a nice quiet town that likes to share its festivities with others, it would be an insult if we didn't accept their generosity."
Everyone sweatdropped.
"Gee Miss Lina really knows how to twist things around..." Amelia stated.
Everyone else nodded.
"So what are you guys waiting for? Lets go!" Lina declared and walked off.
How is it that I go on my own trying to find a cure lead and somehow I end up back with everyone going along with one of Lina's crazy ideas? Zelgadis shook his head again and followed the group, which was following Lina.
Not too far away from them the same dark shrouded person that appeared in the town the day before watched them with a wild look in his eyes. He laughed crazily clutching the picture in his hand.
People around the strange man started to stare and point. The man noticing this immediately stopped his insane cackle and ran off.
Zelgadis gave a curious stare back towards all the commotion was. "Hey Lina what do you think just happened over there?" Zelgadis asked Lina turning his head around to look at the petite sorceress. But to his dismay she wasn't listening. She and the others were busily chomping down on some harvest treats that had been given to them. Zelgadis glared at Xellos. "Why the hell would be eating for? I thought monster didn't eat mortal food."
"What's wrong with me trying to fit in with the crowd?"
"You mean pretending to be a human?"
"Exactly."
Rather then answering Zelgadis just ignores the headache inducing monster.
The day went by rather fast while the whole group took advantage of the festivities. Zelgadis was marveled on how no one was treating like a freak. He was being treated like a normal person and not a chimera. Which really surprised him. Ever since he had been turned into a chimera Zelgadis had avoided taking part in this festival. This was the first time he was taking part in this festival since he became a chimera.
Meanwhile Gourry and Lina were completely gorging out on as much food they could get their hands on.
Sylphiel and Gavin both found Lina and Gourry's manors embarrassing but was otherwise enjoying themselves while Xellos was just being Xellos.
The only person who wasn't really enjoying herself was Amelia. All she could think about was the harvest moon. She was deathly afraid that she was going to do something bad that would anger the vengeful goddess. So much that it was making her jumpy and klutzy.
In a dark room only lit by a circle of black candles the darkly clad man sat in the middle of the circle. The blue flames of the candles made strange patterns on the person's face and on the walls around him.
The man's eyes shone with an eerie red light as he cackled wildly staring down at the picture in front of him.
"Revenge, revenge...." He chanted over and over. Beads of sweat dripped off his brow in deep concentration. "They all will die! Everyone one of them... don't sleep... death, death... death, death... mass murder... all shall die before the night is over... revenge, revenge... oh how I will have my revenge..."
Amelia felt a sudden sense of disorientation as she and the others passed by town's temple shrine to their harvest goddess. Everything started to spin around her and wobbled on her feet. She felt like her whole body was being turned into jelly.
She felt herself stumble backwards. Amelia fell backwards into a small shrine statue that fell to the ground with a slight thud.
Everyone immediately froze and their eyes locked on Amelia. All of the townspeople stared at Amelia with blank emotionless stares. Not one of them made a sound or moved at all.
Amelia almost streaked in terror. She quickly picked up the little statue which thankfully wasn't cracked or broken in anyway and put the statue back on its pillar in the way it was before.
The townspeople still remained still and silent for a few moments. It was as if they were all waiting from something to happen. And when nothing did everyone started to move again and carry on with their business like nothing had happened.
Lina frowned at the previous display. "Guess they must be really serious about their shrines..." Lina shrugged it off and went back to eating food.
The rest of the day went fine except for the fact that Amelia was terrified out of her mind. What did I do? What did I do? She kept thinking the same thoughts over and over again. Did I anger the goddess am I going to be punished?
Normally Lina would say something to this obvious display of worry by Amelia, only Lina was too wrapped up in what she was doing that she was obviously to Amelia.
"Amelia don't worry too much about it. Mistakes happen. I don't think that a goddess could get angry at you for accidentally knocking over one of her temple statues." Gavin said trying to calm her down.
Amelia burst into tears. "But, but I defiled her temple!! And I could have broken that statue!" Amelia said overdramatically.
"But you didn't and you put it back exactly the way that it was before. And you didn't defile her temple just by moving something. If you had broken it then maybe it would be defiling. Besides no goddess would be that petty to get angry over such a stupid little insignificant thing."
"You think so?"
"I know so Amelia. You don't need to worry one bit!" Gavin gave her a warm smile.
"Thank you Gavin!" Amelia cried out giving him on of her dad's big bear hugs that leaves you breathless... literately.
"Don't (cough) mention...it." Gavin said with his face a bluish color from lack of oxygen.
"Okay guys it's time to go for the big harvest dinner feast!" Lina declared dragging everyone in the group to the town square.
"Lina all you have been doing the whole day is eating. Aren't you full yet? I don't think you want to have a stomach ache."
"I'm not full yet Zel and I'm not going to get sick!!" Lina growled at him and her eyes glazed over in happiness once she saw all the food there was to eat. "Let's eat!"
By the end of the feat there wasn't a single scrap of food left, Lina and Gourry had made sure of that.
The night sky was dark and the bright full moon bathed the town in its lunar light. It was now late and it was time for everyone to retire to their beds.
After a meal like that everyone was tired and sleepy. Not one person should have trouble sleeping that night. Or so that was the original thought.
Lina mentally cursed Zelgadis as she lay uncomfortably on her bed in the inn. She was sleepy, and she was tired, but there was no way she was going to fall asleep anytime soon. Why? She had a stomach ache.
Damn you Zel! Damn you, damn you, damn you, DAMN YOU!!!!
Lina got out of her bed and decided to see if there was anything downstairs that she could take to settle her stomach. She would have casted a healing spell if she could. But during the night of the harvest moon for some strange reason magic was impossible to cast. Lina couldn't even cast a simple light spell and the same went for every other mage around. Though Lina herself wondering if this no-magic effect was only limited to mortals. Can monsters cast magic at this time? Lina evilly grinned at the thought.
She noticed at she went into the hall on how quiet the whole inn seemed to be. There wasn't a single sound in the whole place except for the sounds of Lina's light breathing and creaking sounds of her feet on stepping on the old hard wood flooring.
Lina dismissed the extreme silence and quietly as she could she went down the stairs to the inn's restaurant. She tip-toed around and almost screamed at the top of her lungs once she realized that she wasn't alone in the dark restaurant. Or she would have screamed if the person behind her had not grabbed her from behind and covered her mouth quickly before she could make any noises.
"What are you doing up so late?" Zelgadis whispered in her ear.
Lina's previously shocked face turned into one of complete anger as she grabbed Zelgadis by the arm and sent him flying over her shoulder. Zelgadis crashed very loudly into a table and some chairs.
"Next time think twice before you think about sneaking up on me like that!" Lina spat out in a hissed whisper.
Both she and Zelgadis were half expecting to hear people protesting to the noise and come down and complain at the two of them. But they heard nothing. Not one people had been woken up by the noise they had just made.
"Wow that's really freaky..." Lina commented out loud.
Zelgadis got up and brushed himself off of table and chair debris before walking back over to Lina. "Alright I'm sorry for sneaking up on you like that. But why are you up anyway?" Zelgadis whispered to her while lighting up a candle.
"I couldn't sleep."
"Your stomach hurts doesn't it?" Zelgadis smiled mischievously.
"Shut up! Grrrr..." She glared at him evilly. "So why the hell are you up?"
"Because Xellos has been driving me nuts!"
Lina raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean by that?"
"He refuses to let me sleep! He's been bothering me since we all went back to our rooms!"
"Ne, Zelly your soo mean!" Xellos cried out appearing out of no where and latching onto Zelgadis' arm.
Zelgadis gave him one good pound to the noggin and Xellos fell to the ground clutching his now sore head.
"And what the hell is up with him?"
"He's scared."
Lina had to bite her lip in order from laughing hysterically. "Scared? A powerful monster like him scared?!" Lina couldn't contain it anymore and she started to laugh out loud.
"Why is everyone so mean to me? I can't help it that the harvest moon does this to me!" Xellos cried out with tears falling down his cheeks in waterfalls.
Lina paused for a moment. "Harvest moon?"
"During the night of the harvest moon all monsters are turned mortal till the moon goes down and the sun rises."
Lina started laughing again and harder then ever. "Oh this is tooo rich! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!"
"Shhhh! Lina keep quiet! You might wake up the other people in the building." Zelgadis shushed her.
"I doubt that, everyone seems to be pretty dead asleep."
Xellos was going to say something when suddenly they heard one terrible blood curling scream coming from one of the inn's rooms. But before they could react that scream was joined by many others in a sickening melody of death till the whole inn seemed to echo with the painful screams.
Just as they started the screams one-by-one died down till only one scream remained dying out, barely lingering in the still air.
Without one word of communication between the them, Zelgadis and Lina immediately ran back up the stairs with Xellos frightfully following. They rushed into Gourry's room, but the blond swordsman was nowhere to be seen. The only thing that remained in the room was the thick dark red blood that soaked his sheets. The stench of death was in the air as if death had been in this room many days prior. Lina almost gagged on from the smell and they quickly left the room.
In Sylphiel's room it was the same. Nothing but blood. And that smell. Oh how Lina and Zelgadis couldn't stand that smell. Xellos himself didn't dare go in the room or any other. He stood out in the halls unable to move.
Amelia's room was the same, and Gavin's and everyone else's in the whole inn. Not one person remained except the three of them.
Lina fell to her knees in horror, sickness and in rage. She shook violently as she looked up her brother's bed. Tears of sadness and anger threatened to spill and she looked away from the bloody mess to the window. The once pale white Harvest Moon was now scarlet red washing the town with a blood red glow.