Shira: pops in I'm baaaack!
Minna: fall to the floor in agony Noooooo!
Shira: scowls Oh, hush. I could be a lot worse.
Xellos: raises an eyebrow Is that humanly possible?
Shira: smacks the Trickster Priest upside the head
Xellos: sighs contentedly Itai.
Shira: Grrr...
Gourry: interrupts Ah.. heh.. Let's just get on with the fanfic, ne, Shira?
Shira: glares at Xellos All right.
Xellos: ^-^
Lina headed down the cave's passage way with Gourry whining at her heels. "Linaaaa. it's DARK in here."
Lina scowled. "Then take out your Hikari no Ken."
Gourry scratched his head. "Why? I don't see any bad guys."
Lina rolled her eyes. "HIKARI no Ken! Light? It's the sword of LIGHT."
Gourry grinned. "Oh yeah! You're so smart, Lina!" He held out his sword. "Hikari O!" It whirred to life, giving off a blue fluorescent light.
They continued down until they entered a dimly lit room with two doors: One on the right, one on the left. "Okay, Gourry, two doors. One is a trap, and one will lead us to their lair."
"Or they could both be traps." Gourry added, getting a curious look from Lina. "Well, the way to their lair could be the way that Zelgadis and Xellos took."
Lina blinked. Twice. "Wow, Gourry, I hadn't even thought of that! Good job!"
Gourry flushed with pleasure. "Well."
Lina frowned. "Now, the problem. Which one are we going to try?"
Gourry looked thoughtful. "Let's try the left one."
"Why the left one?"
Gourry shrugged. "I dunno. Just have a feeling about it."
Lina took a deep breath, and swung the door open. She sniffed the air, and peered down into the darkness beyond. Gourry leaned over to peer in, too, but Lina shoved him back.
"Wha..?" Gourry began in confusion.
"FIREBALL!" Lina yelled, sending the whirling ball of flame into the pit below. It impacted, and something let out a loud, high-pitched scream. Lina quickly closed the door, and she and Gourry leaned against it. She glared over at Gourry. "Some feeling!"
Gourry grimaced. "Oops. Well, at least we know that it ISN'T that door!"
Lina sighed. "Well, only one door left." She took a deep breath, and opened it.
Meanwhile, Xellos and Zelgadis were walking in the opposite direction. Zelgadis frowned. This wasn't right. "Xellos, doesn't seem as if we're walking UP? Shouldn't the cave be DOWN?"
Xellos didn't look to be concerned in the slightest. "Possibly," he turned to look at the chimera, still floating Indian-style in front of him. "We won't know until we get to the end, will we? Oof!" Xellos rammed into a large, stone wall. The end of the path.
Zelgadis sweatdropped. "Well, we're at the end of the path. Now what?"
Xellos rubbed a lump on the side of his head. "Now, this will not do!" He disappeared in a purple cloud of smoke, leaving a very angry Zelgadis in his wake.
"Xellos!! Get back here!! DAMNED PRIEST!!!"
Xellos appeared in the main chamber of the Poison Fang's lair. It was much more convenient to just pop up there than to lead those silly humans there. He opened his eyes and peered down at the gang leader. "You assured me that the passage way would be cleared. Why is it blocked?" He said in a deadly serious tone.
The bandit king scrambled to his feet. "M.master Xellos!! W.we were told not to. we had to!! She was gonna kill us!!"
Xellos narrowed purple-slitted eyes. "And what is it you think I'm going to do to you?" He started for the bandit leader, but was interrupted by a familiar voice.
"Hold it right there, Xellos!" Lina shouted.
The red-head walked gracefully into the room, with Gourry right on her heels. She smirked at the mazuko's shocked look. "I knew you were up to something, mazuko, from the first day you ran into us. So, before we got to the caves, I pulled a few strings. I contacted my little friend here," she motioned to the cowering bandit leader, "And told him to block the left passageway up. Gourry and I went right, so we got here before you did." The corner of her mouth quirked upward. "Surprised?"
The mazuko's face resumed its normal mask. He laughed. "Very good, sorceress! You had me fooled into thinking I had the upper hand! However." He opened one eye, "There is something you didn't think of." At Lina's skeptical look, he grinned. "What about Zelgadis? Surely you don't think I'd leave him there by himself!"
Lina's eyes went wide. "You wouldn't."
Xellos clapped. "So, I sent some of my little friends to keep him company! Until next time, Lina!" And disappeared again.
"Shimatta!" Lina cursed. "We don't have time to backtrack. LEVITATION!" She scooped up the protesting Gourry and flew towards the direction of the left tunnel. When she got to the blockade, she dropped Gourry on a nearby ledge.
"Stay here!" She commanded. Lina closed her eyes, and concentrated on the power in her hands. "Crimson fire burning bright, gather in my hands and give me power!" She opened her eyes. "FIREBALL!" The blockade shattered, sending millions of tiny pebbles in all directions.
She picked up Gourry and placed him back on the ground, landing right in front of him. "Zelgadis!" She called. "Zelgadis! Are you up there?"
"I'm here! Damn it!" Came the muffled reply. Gourry and Lina rushed forward, and found Zelgadis backed up against a wall, surrounded by several large monsters. He was trying his best to fend them off, but the sheer number of them were getting the best of him.
"Darkness beyond twilight, crimson beyond blood that flows," Lina began. Gourry went into panicky chibi mode.
"Zelgadis, duck and cover!!" He wailed before running behind the nearest boulder.
"Buried in the flow of time is where your power grows!" A large red ball of light appeared inbetween Lina's gloved hands.
"I pledge myself to conquer
all the foes who stand
against the mighty gift bestowed
in my unworthy hand."
Lina looked up, red eyes glinting in the light of her spell. "DRAGON SLAVE!!" Wave after wave of flames engulfed the monsters, sending them to the floor writhing in agony. At last the fire died down, revealing a slightly scourched Zelgadis.
He dusted his hands off on his pants. "Thanks, Lina."
"No problem!" She exclaimed, making a victory sign.
"I. is it safe to come out now?" Gourry stammered.
Lina rolled her eyes and pulled Gourry out of the rubble. "Yes, Gourry, it's safe now." Then she turned to Zelgadis. "Well, the plan worked. sort of."
Zelgadis narrowed his eyes. "What do you mean, 'sort of?'"
"Well," she began, "I did manage to trick him. He was most defanetly surprised, but we didn't get what we wanted out of him."
Zelgadis shook his head. "He got us again in the end."
Gourry, who had remained silent until now, spoke up. "What exactly are we trying to get from him again?"
Lina groaned. "We're trying to find out why he's following us! We thought that after we tricked him, he'd accidentally give something away, but I guess he's too smart for that. We're going to have to track him down ourselves!"
Gourry facevaulted. "Are you sure that's a good idea, Lina?? I mean, he's a demon, right?"
Lina and Zelgadis turned to Gourry, wide-eyed. "W-what did you say?" Lina stammered.
Gourry blinked. "He's a demon. I don't think it's a great idea to be chasing demons around."
"Damn!" Lina cursed. "The damned priest is a mazuko! I should've realized it before."
Zelgadis still looked skeptical. "Now, hold on here. What makes you think that he's a mazuko?"
"Oh, come on, Zel! He has all that pure POWER! And on top of that, haven't you noticed how he enjoys to play with us humans?"
Zelgadis cursed. "You're right. So, you know where we have to go, don't you?" He looked at her with cold eyes.
Lina nodded grimly. "Wolf Pack Island."
Lina, Gourry and Zelgadis: O.o;;
Shira: beams Finally! We're getting semi-close to the end of this fic!!
Gourry: whines Promise?
Shira: impatiently Yes, Gourry, I promise.
Lina: Yay!
Shira: Well, we're getting to the good part, at least. Until next chapter, minna! Jaa!
(monitor winks out)