"So this is what it's like to be an adventurer," Val sighed, stretching his arms high above his head. His golden eyes took in the wide starry night sky. "Sleeping out under the clear night sky."
"Don't forget the pointy rock that always digs into your back no matter where you put your bedroll. Or the sudden rainstorms that leave you soaking wet in the morning. Or hours of trudging through sleet and mud in what would be only a one hour trip in clear weather," Lina added cheerfully as she tended the campfire.
"Anything else I should be thankful for, oh great experienced one," Val rolled his eyes.
Lina rocked back on her heels and thought. "Most likely. But I can't remember them right now. Don't worry, I'm sure you'll experience them all at least once on the entire trip."
Gourry's snoring rumbled through the night.
"Oh yes. Hearing that big lug snore every night we sleep out," Lina winked.
Val covered his ears. "Can't we wear earplugs?"
"And miss the sounds of some creature trying to sneak up on us?"
"I meant while we were sleeping. Isn't the purpose of someone keeping watch is to warn the sleepers of danger?"
"Yep. And I have first watch. You're second and Gourry's third. Get some rest now, you've got the worst shift," she grinned. "Plus I want to honestly tell Filia that her little boy went to bed early every night."
"Hai hai," Val grumbled, slipping into his bedroll.
Lina shook her head. For someone over 5 centuries old, he certainly acted like a child sometimes. Of course, Xelloss was over 1500 years old and he wasn't exactly the model of maturity either. Was one's level of maturity inversely related to one's age?
But Zelgadiss isn't like that.
Damn, why did she think of him? He wasn't here, which was just as well since his habit of watching her sleep was unnerving. If he thought she wouldn't notice something as obvious as that, then he must have lost something during those three centuries under Sairaag. What really kept her up at night was wondering what he was thinking while he watched her.
It wasn't as if I need him or anything, no Mazoku have attacked us.
Lina stared into the heart of the campfire, a small part of her wondering what he was doing now.
The campfire reflected oddly in the scrying crystal ball. Zelgadiss wondered what this Lina found so fascinating about it. She'd spent her entire watch staring at it, never stirring until it was time to wake Val for his shift. The focus of the ball moved with the young girl it was keyed to, coming to rest on her bedroll as she slipped into dreamland.
"Now what would Lina-chan do if she knew you were watching her like this?"
Zelgadiss never turned to look at Xelloss. He wouldn't give him that satisfaction.
"Get out."
"Have a seat? Thank you very much." Xelloss sat down and leaned back in an invisible chair. "I should have figured you'd end up here. This place has certainly seen better days."
The once Trickster Priest looked around the ruined broken wreckage of what was once the keep of the Greater Beast on Wolf Pack Island. It was a little known piece of history that the Greater Beast lured a portion of the Destroyer's forces to the island and wiped them out. Of course, it left this once forested natureland devastated.
"I thought you might have chosen somewhere closer."
Zelgadiss ignored him.
"Or at least be with her."
"...I can't do that."
Xelloss raised an eyebrow. "And what could stop you? Perhaps all that time in the damp dark rotted some of your memory but we are Mazoku Lords. Whyever can't you do whatever you what."
"Easy for someone who doesn't have a conscience to say."
"Oh dear, that's still in you? The transformation should have gotten rid of it."
"Just like it should have gotten rid of your heart?" Zel remarked snidely.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"I mean you living in the same town as Filia. Don't lecture me on what I should or shouldn't do when you can't even drop the pretense and tell her after all this time."
Xelloss scowled. "There is still bad blood between the remaining Ryuzoku and the Mazoku. And need I remind you of a little childish thing I did during the first Kouma War. What's your excuse?"
"It...just isn't right."
"Come again?"
"She...looks like Lina. She acts like Lina."
"Got that right so far."
"The way she taps her fingers when she's thinking, the way she packs enough food in one sitting to feed an army, the way she hits Gourry, the way she mouths off to cover how she really feels..."
"I think I'm getting the picture."
"Almost everything about her is just like Lina."
"Wouldn't that make her Lina...?" And would also mean Xelloss just lost a bet. If that wasn't Lina, the little scamp certainly did her homework.
Zelgadiss dropped his head in his hands. "That's what I keep thinking but that can't be possible. I know what happened, I can never forget it. She's so much like Lina but that makes it even more wrong."
"Did I miss something? How exactly does Lina-chan being almost exactly like Lina make things worse?"
"That's just it. I keep seeing Lina there, not this...this reincarnation. My mind keeps telling me that this Lina is different, but I can't shake the thought that Lina is Lina even though Lina isn't Lina. But my Lina is dead, so this Lina can't be Lina and because I...cared for Lina, I can't treat this Lina the same way, it wouldn't be right. Treating Lina like Lina is wrong because this Lina is a different Lina and can't be mistaken or used as a substitute for Lina."
Xelloss's eyes and head were spinning. "Are we talking about the same person here?"
"Apparently not."
"If that is what is going through your head, no wonder you're confused. I didn't even understand and I'm usually so good with convoluted logic. However, I really think you should go personally to make sure Lina-chan doesn't raise hell in New Saillune."
"What could she possibly do... Bad question."
"Exactly. I don't think she can handle both Val and Gourry in addition to herself in that paranoid city without a calm level head."
Zelgadiss could just see parts of the city, or the Saillune he knew, blowing up.
"By the way, you'd better change to a less... conspicuous form. A human one. Lynching non-humans seems to be a daily city event."
"State your business," demanded the burly guard, black eyes glaring at the three adventurers.
"We have some business with the royal family," Lina said simply.
The burly guard exchanged looks with the wizard next to him. "And what kind of business would that be?"
Lina bit back a retort. Causing an incident in this city would only make things harder for them. At least she didn't have to worry about Val accidentally revealing that he was a Ryuzoku which equaled death sentence in this place.
"I found something that I believe belongs to the royal family and would like to deliver it to them."
"Then just hand it over to us and scram."
Lina's fingers twitched and she imagined a satisfying scene of her blowing up these two worthless wastes of space and then having them grovel at her feet. Hmmmm, seemed familiar.
"Due to the delicate nature of this item, I would like to present it to the hands of the royal family myself."
The wizard frowned but kept a restraining hand on the guard's sword arm. For the first time, he spoke, in a soft lisping voice. "You understand we simply can't just let people walk up to the rulers of our fair city without advanced notice."
"How long then before we can get an audience?" Lina asked, barely within the lines of being civil.
"Weeks, perhaps even months."
Lina silently groaned.
"Of course, no non-citizen is allowed to remain in the city for two days in any given month."
Gods, no wonder New Saillune had a reputation for being inhospitable. She wasn't planning on camping outside the city for months on end. There was no way around just laying her hand on the table.
Lina removed the wrapped item from her pack and smirked as both the guard and the wizard readied sword and spell, respectively.
"Calm down, I'm just going to show you the item to prove how imperative it is that I meet with the New Saillune royal family at once." She unwrapped the scepter.
"The Star of Justice Royal Scepter!!"
"Arrest them!"
Gourry, Lina, and Val found themselves surrounded by a lot of spears pointed all at them.
"Great going, Lina," Val grumbled. "What are you going to do now?"
She laughed nervously. "Oh don't worry, I always have a plan. It's after the noon hour right?"
"Yeah, so?"
"Good. I'll remember to send your mother a note."
"Eh?" Val did not like that mournful teary look Lina just got in her eyes. "Lina, what are you-"
"A Ryuzoku is entering the city!!" Lina screamed, throwing Val through the city gates.
"WAAAAAAAAAAHH!" Val went flying through the air. The busy city crowd quickly parted to let the accused Ryuzoku make contact with the cobbled street.
"Let's go Gourry!" Lina called, grabbing her blond sidekick and flying off into the air.
"Forget them! Get the Ryuzoku!!"
Val sighed as the guards came upon him. Perhaps if he didn't do anything threatening, they'd overlook Lina's truthful accusation. Looking at the sharp spears points, Val reconsidered that thought.
At another city gate, another guard was questioning another traveler as to his intentions for visiting the city.
"You see, I've been traveling for a very long time. The road I've taken is a very spiraling one, a very long spiraling one, one that makes you very understanding and willing to let me into the city."
"We are very understanding and willing to let you into the city."
"Thank you," nodded the traveler and muttered under his breath after passing the guard. "And thank you idiots for being so easy to hypnotize. I usually have to use more physical effort."
Zelgadiss looked over New Saillune, unconsciously comparing it to the Saillune of old. The double magic seal structure still pervaded the city's structure but the people were very different. They rushed to and fro, heads always down, exchanging no words other than to harshly reprimand someone about watching where they were going.
"Hey, can you spare some coppers for an old man?"
Zelgadiss looked at the beggar, hunched over with age and dressed in discolored faded rags.
"Help for the lame?"
"Your legs seem to be alright."
"Ummmm, that is help for one who has lost his left eye?"
"Your eye patch is on the right one."
"You're not going to give me anything are you?"
"I'll buy a round if you get out of that ridiculous form."
The 'old man' stuck out his tongue. "Go to that tavern over there and say 'Bartholomew' sent you." He shuffled away.
Zel wasn't sure what the beggar was up to but given Zel's three hundred year absence, the former chimera could use some information on the present. He made his way to the tavern, gave the name to the bartender, and was shown to a private room on the second flight. It was a short wait before a young man entered with a bottle of wine.
"A toast. Haven't seen you for a very long time, bro. And for someone who is essentially immortal now that's saying a lot."
"Hello to you too Jedah."
Jedah dropped into a seat with a wide grin and began pouring out the wine. "Glad to see you've finally gotten over that attitude of yours and changed to your normal appearance. And you even remembered to give yourself normal eyes instead of our real slitted ones."
"Just what are you doing here?"
"Having fun. What else?"
"You haven't changed."
"Am I supposed to? I mean, I only became a Mazoku Lord. Nothing major."
Zel sighed and shook his head at his younger brother's nonchalant attitude.
"Seriously Jedah. What are you doing here? This isn't exactly a safe place."
"Annoying people. And trying to find out why the city has become so xenophobic," Jedah shrugged. "I think a renegade is serving as court advisor."
"A renegade? That would make sense. If they can keep this city out of Lei's hand, it's an indirect strike against him. But I heard the city is paranoid of all non-humans and even those who aren't from the city proper."
"Just a way to keep it straight who is who. Besides, it unites the people, in a sort of fascist prejudiced sort of way. But what dragged you out of Graveyard City?"
"Ummm," Zel cleared his throat. "I'm looking for someone who is supposed to have come to this city."
Jedah's ears perked up. "Someone? You mean to say some person has managed to entice my brother to leave his self-imposed and utterly pointless exile to wander the world in search of said person? Must be someone special. Is it a girl? Hmm? Hmm? I bet it is. Ohhh, Zel has a girlfriend, Zel has a girlfriend. Wait till I tell Terisa!"
"Don't tell her anything!" Zel snapped, aghast that the fourth Mazoku Lord learn anything about this. "And she isn't my girlfriend!"
"But it's a she. And if she isn't your girlfriend than it must be someone you reeeeeaaaaally like and are now stalking."
Zelgadiss groaned. "It's nothing like that. I just came to make sure she doesn't start a war or something."
"Mazoku?"
"No, human. More or less."
"More or less?"
"Never mind. Can you help me find her?"
"Will wonders never cease, you are asking me for help? Maybe there is hope that Dad finds Mom."
"Will you or won't you?" Zel growled.
"Will, will. So what's her name?"
"Lina."
"That girl you've been pining over for the last 5 centuries?"
"Not exactly. Her reincarnation possibly."
"Sure there is no personal interest. Let me get some runners on this."
Jedah slipped out of the room to talk to some hired help. Zelgadiss stared moodily in the depths of the dark wine. How much personal interest did he have in this?
Zel's younger brother returned and shut the door behind him, his face worried.
"You sure know how to pick the troublesome ones." Jedah held up a hand to stall his brother's questions. "Apparently, she tried to enter at the southern gate and got into an argument with the guards. When she revealed she had the Star of Justice Scepter, they immediately surrounded her and her friends."
"So she's captured?" Zel figured Lina would do something like that.
"Not exactly. Seems she threw in one of her companions, claiming him to be a Ryuzoku, and escaped during the confusion. The dragon is being held in prison for tomorrow's noon hanging, without the benefit of a trial I might add."
"Val," Zel sighed. Filia was not going to like this when she learned about it. "And there have been no signs of Lina or her companion since then?"
"That's right."
"Hmmmm."
Zelgadiss doubted Lina would leave Val to be hanged but what was she planning on doing now? She came to New Saillune to find one of the Demonblood Talismans and she could hardly do that without attracting a lot of attention.
"How are the night patrols?"
"There are six watchtowers, each having two wizards in addition to the normal complement of guards. In the streets, patrols of ten check the main streets every half hour. You don't think she's going to fly in at night do you?"
"Knowing her," Zelgadiss swirled the wine in his glass, watching the deep red wine sparkle. "Yes."
"Liiiiinaaaaaaaaa," Gourry whined as he hung on tight to her arm. "Are you sure about this?"
"Quiet," Lina hissed as the two flew closely along the rooftops after Lina had cleared them over the city walls. "You'll blow it if the guards hear us."
Both were dressed entirely in black now, even their long hair was covered, as they drifted silently, or nearly so with Gourry's whimpering, across the sloping roofs toward the center of the city where the Royal Castle of New Saillune rose like a white beacon. In fact, Lina thought, why didn't they just put up a big sign saying 'Here's the castle. Please attack me'. The place couldn't have been more obvious.
But that did make it a problem of sneaking in. Against the night sky, they were barely visible but unless they found a place to sneak in, she and Gourry would stick out like dots on a dalmatian, literally, while crossing the palace grounds. Lina lowered the two of them on a rooftop of a building outside of the wall surrounding the castle. What to do, what to do.
"Hey, Lina," Gourry whispered loudly.
"Hush, I'm trying to think."
"But something just came out of the wall."
"Things don't go through walls unless they're spirits like ghosts."
"I never knew ghosts had shadows."
Actually, ghosts usually don't have shadows. Corporeal ones did and they were often the more powerful types of ghosts. Lina had no desire to tangle with any type of undead.
"And there's a second one."
Despite herself, Lina looked down to where Gourry was pointing. It seemed that the second person was stuck. The first person kept tugging on his friend's arms.
"Those aren't ghosts, Gourry. They're as real as you and me."
"Really? But didn't you say only ghosts go through walls?"
Lina sighed. "They're using a secret passage."
Light bulb.
"Come on. They're going to be our ticket inside."
Lina leaped down from the roof and landed easily on the cobble streets without a sound. The two kids, also dressed entirely in black, never noticed her. She walked right up to the one pulling his friend from what she could see now was a very well concealed tunnel.
"Hey there," Lina whispered right next to the kid's ear. She clamped a hand over his mouth before he could scream. "What do we have here? Two little thieves?"
The one she was holding nodded, the one stuck in the tunnel shook his head. Then they switched their answers.
"Excuse me," asked the stuck one in a very polite voice. "But are you...kidnappers?"
Lina sweatdropped.
"Hey, Lina," Gourry called, walking up to them. "Did you catch the ghosts? These certainly are very small ones."
"Yes, we're ghosts," piped up the stuck kid. "Can you take us away from here?"
"Look, we're not ghost-catchers or kidnappers. We just want to get into the royal castle to look for something."
The boy chewed on his lip. "Well...you could take us then. I'm Prince Alfred and you're holding my twin sister Princess Amelia."
"What?!"
"Hey, there's someone over there!"
"Oh shi - ," Lina looked at the kids and swallowed her words. "We've got to get out of here."
"Hey, help me out of here!" Alfred demanded. "They'll make us go back in the castle for sure if they catch us."
"Look, kid, that'll be a lot better than what the guards will do to me and my friend if they think we're kidnapping you."
"If you don't, I'll make a huge fuss, accuse you of being kidnappers, and get you both landed in jail."
Lina gritted her teeth. The sounds of running footsteps approached. "Oh hell, Gourry, pull him out."
"Okay." Gourry grabbed the small prince by the shoulders and yanked him out with an audible 'pop'. Lina grabbed him by the collar as she levitated the four of them to the rooftops, out of view of the guards. All was quiet as the guards arrived and fruitlessly searched the area for the source of the noise.
"This is so cool," whispered Amelia after the guards left.
Lina bopped her on the head. "Cool isn't the word. Do you have any idea what the sentence is for kidnapping?"
"Death. Like almost any other crime in New Saillune," Alfred replied matter-of-factly.
"Exactly. So you two are going back into that castle and you'll show us the way."
Alfred and Amelia exchanged looks and simultaneously crossed their arms. "Why should we?" they asked in synch.
"Perhaps you should ask more politely," Gourry whispered loudly to Lina.
"Shut up. Look you two, I'm, I mean we're only here to get back something that...belongs to me. I'm betting that it's in the castle and you two are going to show me where."
"What if we don't?"
"Stop that double talk!"
"Maybe we like it."
"Actually, it's sort of neat."
"Who asked you Gourry!"
"We are not going back into the castle."
"Why in Lei's name not?"
The two looked at each other again. Lina could have sworn that they were talking to each other but no words were being exchanged.
"Who are you?"
"Why do you want to know that?"
"We want to know whether we can trust you."
"What kind of paranoid kids are you?!"
"Lina. They're just scared. It's alright. My name is Gourry Gabriev and this is Lina Inverse. We're not bad guys."
Alfred and Amelia gaped at the two. "You're Lina Inverse and Gourry Gabriev?"
Ohhh, this didn't look good. Lina knew her name was floating around but not Gourry's.
"You're lying."
Gourry and Lina slipped partway down the roof.
"What do you mean we're lying?" Lina hissed furiously as she crawled back toward the royal siblings.
"You think you can get on our good sides by naming yourselves after the great defenders of justice who fought by the side of our ancestor Amelia the Just."
A long sweatdrop slipped down Lina's head. "Look you two. Those are our names so deal with it. After all, you're named after Amelia Wil Tesla Saillune, one time traveling companion of the Lina Inverse. Who are you to talk?"
Amelia blushed.
Alfred frowned, the serious expression on his face old beyond his years. "Does that mean you'll help us? Just as your namesake's helped our ancestor?"
"Help? Help kidnap you?"
Alfred and Amelia shook their heads. "No. Help us save New Saillune from the Mazoku."
"What..."
"Let's get this straight. You two are Prince Alfred and Princess Amelia, the twins of the younger brother of the Crown Princess Lynis who is being seduced by one of the Royal Court Advisors who is named Vez who is also a Mazoku. You two found out his little secret and were going to be killed tonight which is why you escaped out of that secret tunnel you two burrowed with the original intention of just getting out of the castle. So now you want us to protect you from Vez and somehow kill him."
Alfred and Amelia nodded.
"You two certainly don't ask for much. Would you also like me to bring down the moon while I'm at it?"
"You can do that?" Gourry asked awed.
"No!"
"But didn't you just say - "
"I was exaggerating! Look you two, just because our namesakes seemed to run into Mazoku on a monthly basis or so doesn't mean we are capable of defeating any ourselves."
"But you have the sword of light," Alfred pointed out.
"And with our combined spell power we can surely do it," Amelia chipped in. "The spirit of justice always triumphs in the face of evil."
"Just where do you get this confidence? And what do you mean by 'combined spell power'? Don't tell me you both are spellcasters."
"We are."
Lina's eyebrow twitched. Ten year old spellcasters? Didn't anyone play during their childhood anymore?
"What about you, Miss Lina? Can you cast Dragu Slabu too?"
"That's not a spell I can cast in a city!" But she could cast it onto Gourry's sword of light, assuming this sword of light worked the same way as Dark Star's Gorun Nova. However, she'd still need the time and concentration to cast it.
"Look you guys. I'm not crazy about the idea of a Mazoku cozying up with the ruler of New Saillune but let's be practical. Flat out accusing Vez of being a Mazoku won't work. Our words against his, no one would believe us. Attacking him may be the only way to stop him if we even succeed at doing that. However, I doubt we can ambush him in the castle, we'd be up to our necks with palace wizards in no time."
"How about outside of the palace? Vez always attends the daily executions."
"Why am I not surprised. Don't forget that Gourry and I are outsiders. The people will side with Vez first as long as he doesn't break out of his role."
"If we attack him, he'll surely attack back."
"But he's pretending to be a sorcerer. Most of these people can't tell the difference between a Fireball and a Mazoku energy blast. Aaaah, the more I think about this the more impossible it seems," Lina groaned running her hands through her hair.
"Nothing is impossible!" Amelia cried. "Not when our hearts are fueled by justice's righteous wrath."
"We can't let our city fall to the Mazoku," Alfred added.
"Hmmm, too bad he isn't here."
Lina felt her heart skip a beat. "Wh-who do you mean Gourry?"
"Oh you know. That guy who saved us back in that place with lots of broken rocks and stuff? He's a Mazoku too so he should be able to fight this other Mazoku."
"What? You two were saved by a Mazoku?" The twins were torn between retreating in horror or demanding the details of such a glorious adventure. Curiosity won. "Where was this? What was going on? Who saved you?"
Lina waved her hands before her. "No no no. It was nothing. Just a chance encounter. It means nothing at all."
"But didn't he also go with us all the way back to that place where we first met?"
"Urk."
"And he wanted to meet that person you said paid us...Oh yes wasn't he also - "
Lina punched Gourry into the ground before he spilled anymore possibly incriminating information. Alfred and Amelia watched wide-eyed.
"Oh. Er. Hehe. This was nothing. Don't mind him. He doesn't know what he's talking about."
Lina could see that the two kids weren't completely buying it. She cleared her throat.
"Well. Since I do have to do a jailbreak of sorts tomorrow, running into Vez is a given. Now what spells can you two cast and exactly where are the strongest focuses of white magic in this city?"
Zelgadiss looked out the second flight window as the guard patrol passed yet again. There had been no city wide alarm which meant either Lina hadn't attempted to get in yet or she succeeded without bungling it. Neither possibility put his mind at ease.
And as much as he wanted to know where she was and what she was doing, there was another more important business at hand. He looked away from the window as Jedah entered the room, wearing the form of one of the city guards.
"Well?"
"Val is to be executed tomorrow by hanging at noon as expected. Vez, our little renegade, will also be present."
"Two birds with one stone then."
"Um, Zel. She probably knows about the noontime executions but are you sure she'll come and rescue him? After all, it was her that got him arrested in the first place."
"She'll be there and it will work perfectly into our plan. Our purpose is to destroy Vez. In that, Lina plays an important, if unknowing, part."
"Okaaaaaay. No casualties except him, we agreed."
Zel nodded. "There will be enough turmoil with his death. Remember though, we need to expose him. Show the people that he's a Mazoku and have him confess his manipulations. Otherwise the city may just turn him into a martyr."
"But revealing ourselves would place us in danger. Don't forget, none of us can move through dimensions while in the city and our power levels are severely restricted. The citybuilders made sure that the magical seals enveloping the city were stronger than the original."
"We'll just need to move quickly and efficiently then."
Jedah sweatdropped. His brother could be sooooo cold and calculating. "Confident aren't we? Okay, Mr. I-have-everything-figured-out, what's the backup plan?"
"Blow up the city."
"You're kidding right? Right?"
"They weren't there."
Vez sipped his wine, his calm outer demeanor belying the anger he kept tightly under control inside. Those twin brats had stumbled onto one of the times he relaxed his human disguise and they knew. Needless to say, when she came to check on his progress, she learned of his little problem. Vez let her settle the mishap her way.
"You said they knew. And now they're gone."
"It's not a matter of great importance," Vez shrugged negligently. "Who would believe them?"
"Is that what you're going to report to him?"
The Mazoku placed his glass down on a marble table and fixed his fellow Mazoku with a level stare. "I will report to him that the last Ancient Dragon has been killed. And I will not report about his little lapdog going after some...personal business."
The other Mazoku scowled. "What do you mean?"
"Lina Inverse is in town." Vez smirked as the fires lit up in her eyes. "I'm sure you have something to...discuss with her. Don't you? Yllia."