"Gods, it's good to be on my own again."
Lina stretched her arms high above her head and took in the crisp early morning air. This was just what she needed after all of those mishaps that she had stumbled upon during the past weeks. Some good old fashion, very hazardous to your health ruin exploring.
She almost skipped along the barely discernable path. And since Xelloss hadn't sent her on this little trip, she would get to find and keep all of the lovely loot. Plus, not one of the little circus that had followed her back from Saillune even knew she was going out. Yes, Lina was quite happy this early summer morning.
"Treasure, money, treasure, money," Lina hummed. "Money, money, money."
"Lina-san!"
"Impossible." Lina kept on going.
"Lina-san!!"
"I don't hear anything," Lina sang to herself.
"Maybe she can't hear us?"
"Then let's do it together."
"LINA-SAN!!!"
"Waah!" Lina screamed as two people yelled in her ears. "What the hell did you think you were doing?!"
"Good morning, Lina-san," chirped the floating twins.
"No, not anymore it isn't. What are you two doing out here?"
"We go wherever you go, Lina-san."
"No, you don't," Lina said firmly. "Now turn around and fly right back to Filia's shop. She's probably throwing a fit because you two are gone."
"No she won't," Amelia grinned.
"Val-san left early this morning and she's throwing a fit over that," Alfred added.
Val? Just why would he take off so early without telling his mother? Lina struggled with the thought. Oh well, it wasn't as if he couldn't take care of himself. He eventually had to fly from the nest but she thought he would at least take the time to inform everyone beforehand.
"Let him live a normal life."
Those words seemed familiar. Where had she heard them? When had she said them? Did she say them to Filia? Can't be, she hasn't known Filia that long. Why would she say such a thing?
"Lina-san?" Amelia waved a hand in front of the sorceress's face. "You there?"
"Where are we going?"
"An underground cavernous ruins situated in the foothills about, judging from the sun, southwest of here," Lina murmured absently, trying to make sense of this annoying deja vu.
"A race!"
"1, 2, 3, Go!"
"Ah, Amelia! Alfred!"
But the royal twins were no more than specks in the sky as they zoomed toward the place of fun and adventure. Adventure, maybe, but it wasn't going to be that much fun. They were going to be the death of her, and she wasn't talking about death by sheer irritation either. Didn't Saillune know how to teach its princes and princesses any better?
"Ray Wing!"
Lina flew after the twins, trying to ignore the disturbing images brought up by her thought of Saillune princes and princesses. She did meet King Philionel the Ghost but why did his two daughters pop into her mind? And why was she so surprised that Amelia looked so much like her ancestor when Lina had never met Amelia the Just, founder of New Saillune.
"Do you have any idea how worried Filia is about you?"
Val sighed. "I'm not a kid anymore. This is hardly the Second Kouma War. I think I'm entitled to go off on my own without mother needing to call in the big guns."
Zelgadiss raised an eyebrow. "You wouldn't be referring to me would you?"
"Who else? If she wanted firecrackers, she would have asked Jedah. If she was utterly besides herself, she might have asked Xelloss." Val considered that thought. "Perhaps when dead dragons rise."
"Coming to the topic of 'dead' and 'dragons', you should be returning home right now."
"Does everyone treat me like a kid?"
"Comparatively you still are."
"When your lifespan begins to measure in hundreds of years, the difference of about two decades doesn't seem like much."
"Filia was more than a few decades when she adopted you. To say nothing of how old Xelloss is."
"Old geezer."
"Quite."
"Old geezer with a twisted mind and sense of humor."
"That goes without saying."
"Old geezer with a twisted mind and sense of humor and a - "
"Stop stalling."
"If I tell you why I'm out here, will you let me stay?"
"And deal with your mother's wrath? I think not."
"You still think in terms of when you were mortal don't you. How can you not go crazy?"
"Who is to say I'm not? Now why are you here?"
"You'll let me stay?"
"It depends entirely on what you have to say."
Val sighed. "I'm looking for a birthday present for mother."
"I don't see any stores near here."
"But I don't just want to buy her something! It has to be something special. And I know there is something special here."
It was Zelgadiss's turn to sigh. Very long ago, they had learned purely by chance that Val possessed some unexplained divination powers that Val referred to as his Sight. He had no control over them, only experiencing visions at times of certain things or of future dangers. This had served him well during the war and supposedly, Val had stopped seeing things shortly after the war's end. So much for that.
"And whatever it is you saw with your Sight is located down there."
They stood at the entrance of a tunnel that sloped downwards into darkness. It had been obviously well-used as the path was firm from many feet crossing it and stamping down the loose dirt. Along the walls were torch bearers and unlit torchers awaiting to be used by whomever wished to descend.
"I suppose I should have called Lina in for this. It is up her alley," Val shrugged. "But then, she just might grab everything for herself."
"You didn't really know Lina very well did you."
"You mean during the Second Kouma War? Not really. She'd pop in sometimes with the Knight but she was involved in some big secret project. Never did learn what it was."
Could it have been the method to get to the Clair Bible?
"But from what mother told me, she was a lot different than from before the War. I remember seeing her watching the fighting from the outpost. She seemed very sad and hurt."
Hurt? More like betrayed.
"Where were you during the War? Xelloss keeps hinting that you two went through a lot. But you never fought on the side of the Ryuzoku. Were you fighting with Xelloss then?"
"..."
"Oh wait, the Greater Beast was your mother right? So you were helping her."
"I didn't know she was my mother at first," Zel said with an air of finality.
Val decided to ignore the unspoken warning.
"And the Greater Beast was fighting against the Destroyer but under the released Demon King of the North. How did it get released anyway? The Mazoku weren't able to do it during the millennia before."
"That isn't important."
"Does it have something to do with Lina?"
"What has something to do with me?"
Zelgadiss and Val whipped around to see Lina standing there with her hands on her hips, studying them. Behind her popped the smiling faces of the Saillune twins.
"Or were you talking about the Lina Inverse?"
"Nothing," Zel said brusquely.
"Yeah right. When you act like that, it has to be something important."
"I was just warning him about the dangers of running around without anyone's knowledge when the Renegade Mazoku know about his existence."
Actually, he hadn't but Val kept his mouth shut.
"That's right. Ryuzoku are pretty much non-existent now, to say nothing of being part of the Ancient Dragon branch." Lina looked Val up and down. He could imagine her calculating his value at the auction block. But she'd never go further than imagining it. He hoped.
"Yeah, and that Yllia girl wanted your head too."
"She's after my head as much as yours," Val retorted. "And at least I can fight against her."
"Barely."
"The point being," Zel interrupted. "That it isn't safe for either of you to be out here by yourself."
"Not safe?"
"By ourselves?"
Lina and Val exchanged grins that did not reassure Zel of their intentions to listen to him.
"Since it's too dangerous to be going alone..."
"We'll both go."
"That isn't what I meant."
"And you will be going too, right Zel?" Lina put on her best cute expression that always got her what she wanted. "The more the merrier?"
Zelgadiss winced. Why did she have to do that?
"I mean, why keep just watching me from the shadows?"
Okay, now he knew Xelloss or Jedah were in on this. There was no way she could have known he was always, well, usually watching her. Or it could be Lina's knack for guessing accurately. No, that was a trait of the other Lina, not this one.
"This is great! Just like one of Lina Inverse's adventures," Amelia grinned to her twin.
"But this time there are two allies of justice!" Alfred added.
"That's right," Lina groaned. "You two are here as well. Zel, can you dump them back at Filia's?"
"No fair!" they chimed.
"What's wrong, Lina? I thought it was more the merrier."
Lina wasn't sure if he was teasing her. "Val and I are adults. That's different. Amelia and Alfred are kids, and they're the Saillune heirs. They can't just come tramping along with us. Even though these underground caverns are mostly cleared out of traps and monsters, it isn't safe for them."
"Since most of the dangers are cleared out, it should be alright shouldn't it?" Zel said blandly. "If you're so worried, you can take them back."
If he thought this was going to keep her from having her first independent ruin romp in months, he had another one coming. It took more than a pair of overenthusiastic royal twins and a paranoid Mazoku Lord to deter Lina Inverse's namesake.
"Okay, we're all going in," Lina said sweetly. "But you'll have to follow my orders since I'm the only one who knows what she's doing."
"Yes, ma'am," saluted the twins and Val.
Zelgadiss shook his head.
"So which way?"
Val looked at the branch in the tunnel. "I'm not sure."
Lina sighed, shifting the torch to another hand. "Concentrate on the image you saw. Try to focus on the details. See what is similar, mark what is different. Then study what you see out here and match it."
"This is boring." Amelia began to yawn but Alfred nudged her to cover it up.
"Life isn't always exciting," Lina told them as she kept an eye on Val.
"But the stories..."
"Are stories. They usually don't include the countless days of preparing to kill a dragon or going through moldy books for an obscure reference."
"But how can you go through this day after day?"
"Hey, this is my job. I dig around in the dirt for things from the past. What I and other archaeologists - "
"You mean treasure hunters."
"Archaeologists use what items of the past we find to teach the present. It's a way of preventing past mistakes from being repeated and enriches our knowledge of ourselves."
"And in your case, lines your pockets with gold."
"You are ruining my professional image," Lina glared at the Mazoku Lord.
"I think it's this way," Val pointed toward the left branch.
"Are you sure?" Alfred asked skeptically. "Just like you thought the spear bottom pit was a shadow?"
"My Sight isn't perfect."
"Life is often decided by a decision on the edge of two choices. You won't learn which is which until you chose."
"You're unnaturally philosophical today," Zel commented.
"What do you mean unnaturally?" Lina demanded.
"There they go again."
The twins nodded in agreement with Val.
"Are they always like this?"
"Well, I haven't seen Zelgadiss in a very long time myself but yes, they usually get into these part discussion, part argument kind of things."
"I remember Mommy saying that if a guy teases you, it's because he likes you."
"Amelia, if you believe that, than doesn't it mean that Xelloss-san likes Filia-san? He's always teasing her." Alfred pointed out.
"Hey, that's right. What do you think, Val-san?"
"No comment."
"Ne, what about Lina-san and Zelgadiss-san then?"
"Amelia, you shouldn't ask so loudly."
"They aren't listening. Val-san, don't you see it too? Sometimes how Zelgadiss-san looks so sad when he looks at Lina-san. How come?"
Lina could feel her ears burning. Amelia was wrong, she was listening. But did Zelgadiss really look sad when he looked at her? Was it because he kept remembering the Lina Inverse's death? But then, that would bring down his own self-esteem and in a sense be hurting himself. So why did he stick around? How much had the Mazoku changed under Lei?
"What is it?"
Lina blinked. "What is what?"
Zelgadiss's emotionless eyes only looked forward. "Why were you staring at me?"
Eh?! She was too busy thinking she didn't even notice! Aah, how embarrassing. And he even noticed.
"No-Nothing."
"You find my appearance strange."
"Are you still hung up over that?" Lina rolled her eyes. "Then for Ceiphied's sake, just change. You're a Mazoku remember? Your physical form is of your own creation!"
Zelgadiss mumbled something.
"What was that?"
"......"
"If you have something to say, just say it!"
"...it's nothing."
"There you go again. Is that how you kept yourself satisfied? Feeding off your own emotions? I might as well go and talk to Val." Lina turned around to the lagging three.
"Lina-san walks too fast. We can't see in the dark you know," Alfred complained.
"I know, we can have a Lighting so we can see."
"No, Amelia don't!"
"Lighting!"
"Val? Amelia? Alfred?" Lina called down the empty hall. "Where are you three?"
Only the faint echoes of her voice answered.
"Damn."
"Where did they go?"
"Shifted," Lina said grimly. "Even after I expressly told everyone not to."
Zelgadiss looked at her oddly for her choice of terms. "If they're lost somewhere else here, I can just go to the other side and look for the astral sides." He began to phase out.
"Zel, no!"
Lina immediately lunged for him but it was too late. Her arms only grabbed empty air before she went skidding against the rough gravel floor.
"...idiot."
"Lina?" Zel called, looking around his unfamiliar surroundings. "Val? Amelia? Alfred? Is anyone here?"
But there was no answer or person in the darkness of this tunnel. Which wasn't where he was supposed to be. He was supposed to be in the other side where true Mazoku actually existed. Actually, he personally was uncomfortable there, probably because he hadn't been created Mazoku. He, Terisa, and Jedah were about the only ones there who looked exactly as they did in the physical plane as they did in the other.
Well, Xelloss looked like a giant black cone. That had been the topic of jokes for weeks when they first found out.
However, that was neither here nor there or how he ended up in these mazes of underground corridors instead of the other. He tried again, concentrating his focus on where his essence was truly tied. Nope, still here in the physical sense of the word. A different part of the corridors since he was now standing a crossroads of tunnels.
"Just what is going on here?" he asked aloud as if the walls in their infinite knowledge would answer him. Not feeling disposed toward him, they didn't.
"Think things through, Zel," he muttered to himself. "What happened? Val and the twins disappeared. I was going to search for them. But I ended up somewhere else. Twice."
Anxiety began to pray on his mind, not being able to see Lina with either his physical eye or mental eye. That shouldn't be right. Why couldn't he sense the 'tag' he had placed on her?
"Something here inhibits magic? But Amelia was able to cast that Lighting."
Of course! That was the key, magic.
"Amelia cast the spell and then they disappeared. I tried to shift dimensions and ended up somewhere else, disappeared to Lina's point of view. But my shifting isn't a spell. Perhaps by bending the rules of reality by drawing on energy and shaping it to your will causes these displacements? If that's the case, no wonder Lina warned everyone not to use magic down here."
If he couldn't just jump to the other side, then there was no chance of him being able to get topside. Looks like this search was going to take the long way, on foot. Picking a random direction, Zelgadiss began his search, concern for Lina overriding everything else.
"Lina-san? Zelgadiss-san?"
"Amelia, if you yell any louder, you might make the tunnel collapse."
Amelia clamped a hand over her mouth and looked at her twin.
"Now I wonder where they went? I don't think we passed any traps or descending floors or wrong turns," Alfred mused. "One moment they were in front of us, the next they weren't."
"Maybe they left us behind on purpose," Amelia sniffed. "Maybe they..."
"But it was Val-san and Lina-san who wanted to come down here. And Val-san was guiding us."
"True. Ne, Val-san? Do you know where they are? Are they lost somewhere?"
Val was staring blankly at the stone wall, one hand palm flat against it. He didn't appear to be entirely there, in mind that is.
"Val-san?"
"Maybe he's using his Sight."
"We should whisper or we might disturb him."
"But we've been talking normally and he hasn't done anything."
"I wonder how it works."
"I wonder what he can see. Maybe he can tells us when Auntie Lyn is going to get married."
"Yeah, she's going to be an old maid soon."
"I can't see those kinds of things," Val sighed.
"Did you find anything?" chimed the twins, latching onto Val.
"A headache."
"Val-saaaan."
"It isn't easy to focus my Sight. Usually it just happens. And trying to use it to 'see' where Lina and Zelgadiss are is pushing it."
"So we can't find them?" Amelia asked with trembling lips and watery eyes.
"Unfortunately, no. But they're probably searching for us."
"Then we should stay right here. How about a song? Then they'll know it's us!"
"Good idea, Alfred. How about 'Life is Wonderful'?"
Having listened to that repetitive little jingle nearly constantly along the entire trip back from New Saillune to Merilyth, Val was most eager to avoid another long exposure to it. No wonder Xelloss would always mention it with a queasy voice. If it made normal people sick, the effects must be devastating to a Mazoku.
"How about this? When I was searching for Lina and Zelgadiss, I got an image of the place where my mother's birthday present is. Wouldn't it be great if we found the treasure before Lina?"
"A score for justice!"
"We could sell it all for charity!"
"..."
Okay, they have been hanging around Lina too much. Except the only charity Lina donated generously to was herself. He wasn't saying she was a bad person, just that she had a strong streak of greediness which often took precedence over any common sense.
"But what did happen?" Val wondered. "Lina looked so scared when you were casting that spell, Amelia."
"Maybe she forgot we can cast spells?"
"It isn't everyday you run into ten year old spellcasters."
"We need a headstart to becoming powerful servants of justice!"
Val covered his eyes with one hand and shook his head. "I don't think that was the reason. You can learn something small like Lighting with rote memorization."
"Then maybe she didn't want us to cast the spell?"
"Perhaps but why?"
"Ummm, I think I remember something," Amelia admitted sheepishly. "Didn't Lina-san tell us to not cast magic down here?"
They looked up at the innocently floating orb of light.
"Terrific." Val summed up all of his exasperation in one word.
"I can...dispel it," Amelia offered weakly.
"Well, we haven't lost anyone else yet. Maybe it's just when you cast a spell."
"But you were using your Sight," Alfred pointed out.
"That's different I guess."
"How?"
"I don't know. I'm not mage," Val said crossly. "If there's one thing I'm going to get done today, I'm going to get my mother's birthday present."
"But shouldn't we stay here and wait?"
"What happened to the first strike of justice and the charity auction?" Val didn't like resorting to this because it guaranteed a continuous stream of justice and good propaganda but he wanted to get going. This little excursion was getting him into more and more trouble.
"That's right! Onward, fellow champions of good!" Alfred cheered, pumping a fist into the air. Amelia mimicked his gesture.
"Onward!"
They looked at Val. He sighed.
"Onward."
"Val-san, you need more iron in your diet."
"Okay, now this is the intersection with the natural formation of a lion's head in the ceiling."
Lina studied her map under the torchlight. A lot of help that was when she was the only one who knew what was going on and exactly where she was. Amateurs!
"I should have asked Val for a good description of that place he saw with his Sight," she grumbled. "Could have figured out where he might be heading. Odd that his Sight functions normally here but no magic or apparently Mazoku abilities can. Well, a mystery for another time."
She studied the gravel strewn floor. It wasn't natural for all of the tiny rocks to be there. When they had been mapping out the place, the gravel was used to keep track of which paths had been taken. It wasn't the most reliable method with lots of people but with a few, each wearing distinctive footwear, it cut down on paths getting redone.
No footprints here other than her own coming from the tunnel she just left. Still, that only meant no one had crossed here yet. They could be coming up one of the tunnels.
"Anyone down there?" Lina hollered.
Only echoes answered.
"They could be anywhere," she groaned. "Well, let's just choose a direction and go."
Lina began walking, periodically calling out for anyone but no one answered. There probably wasn't anyone else other than them down here now. Most of the treasures and relics had already been found but there were some passages that only she knew about that hadn't been fully explored yet. That was why she came here today. A reasonably close to home location in a safe marked excavation with no competition were the makings of a very profitable excursion.
"But no. I have to go looking for four people who don't know how to follow instructions."
She could understand it from the twins. Heck, she had done it plenty of times when this place was still being mapped out. Still, at least Zel should have listened and remembered.
"Thought I could depend on him."
Wait, did Lina just say what she thought she did? Depend on Zel? A Mazoku Lord? She must be getting soft in the head and heart, trusting one of them. With Xelloss, it was always a business relation and easy to keep that way. Lina had no interest in getting embroiled in any of his political plots and he quietly encouraged the fear and awe people looked at him with. But Zel...
Zel was always quiet, trying to stay unobtrusive. He was usually somewhere near her, watching her when he didn't think she noticed. Of course, she noticed, who wouldn't when you've got the attention of not one but two Mazoku Lords. But she pretended she didn't know and let him. He probably also scryed on her when he wasn't there.
Now why didn't that scare her? It couldn't mean anything good that she was under constant surveillance but, it felt nice in a way. That someone was always watching, always concerned about her.
"Reality to Lina, that 'someone' is an all powerful Mazoku Lord, Hellmaster nonetheless. He can't have your best interests in mind. You've been too emotionally deprived and are latching on to the first thing that kind of offers you some semblance of comfort."
That's right. He doesn't see her, he sees Lina Inverse. The person he still holds a candle for even after these five centuries. All he sees and cares about, assuming he can care, is this ghost of guilt come to life. So he's only following her to feed off his own despair.
"I'm just a free meal ticket," Lina joked weakly, not feeling cheered up at all.
For the first time since she woke up in Grandma's house, Lina wished she knew more about her past than she usually flippantly ignored. Sometimes, she really did feel like a ghost, a free floating spirit that can touch the world around it but isn't really a part of it. If she died, would anyone notice?
"Great. Thanks to him, I'm getting depressed. I'm annoyed, tired, depressed, thinking too much - Ow!" Lina dropped the torch which had burned down to the hand which held it. "I'm in the dark. Like I said, great."
A professional was always prepared and Lina knew exactly where she stored and extra torch and the flint and steel in her bag. Just by touch and familiarity, she struck the two metals together and the spark popped onto the waiting torch.
"If I don't hurry up, I'll go through all of my torches. There has got to be a better way...hm?"
Lina's sharp ears caught the faint strain of music. It was coming from where? Behind her? Lina started to run but the sound of moving gravel drowned out the melodic strains and she had to force herself to a careful walk. The only way there could be magic down here was if someone was making it.
She reached a crossroads of tunnels she passed through earlier but it was empty. The music was coming from one of the other tunnels. Lina stopped before each of them, trying to figure out which one was the origin. It became harder as she began to sing along with the music.
"...far away, long ago..."
This song was familiar.
"...glowing dim as an ember..."
Lina moved faster as the music grew more clear. The source was near. She didn't know who it was but someone was better than no one. Being alone. Lina never realized it until now but, she hated being alone.
"...someone holds me safe and warm..."
"Are you sure about this?"
"Yes. If you're in a maze, you put your right hand against the wall and keep following it and eventually you'll get to the exit."
Val scratched his head. "I always thought it was to the center of the maze."
"Well, there's only one of either right?"
The Ancient Dragon couldn't fault that logic.
"Ne, Val-san," Amelia tugged on Val's sleeve. "What did you find for Filia-san?"
"That's a secret," Val replied, holding the wrapped item even closer to himself.
"Please," pleaded the kids.
"No."
"Pretty please." They added the watery puppy dog eyes this time.
"Don't think so. Now about finding the way out?"
"We keep following the right wall."
"That's right. Lina will probably have a map of the place so she and Zelgadiss can find their own way out. It's probably better than wandering around aimlessly."
"Is Filia-san going to have a birthday party?"
"Can we come?"
"Will there be lots of balloons, and streamers, and flowers, and clowns, and cake, and musicians, and gifts, and - "
"Whoa whoa. I don't think mother is even going to be having a party."
"No party?"
"That isn't just!"
"She must have a party!"
"With balloons, streamers, flowers, clowns, cake, musicians, gifts - "
"It costs money, lots of it, to have all of that."
"Really?"
"You two..."
"We're at the center of the maze!" Amelia cried gleefully.
"I'm not going to say 'I told you so'." Val looked around the barren center of the maze. "Not much other than that ugly statue."
"I AM NO STATUE."
"I'm not in the mood for any of your games, Amelia, Alfred."
"We're innocent."
"I AM THE MINOTAUR."
However, no one paid any attention to the looming half man, half bull creature. They were seated around a cloth covered flat raised piece of stone.
"Didn't Lina-san say there were no monsters here?" Amelia asked, sipping some tea.
"Well, she said most of them were gone. Maybe they missed him. Can I have some cookies?"
Val passed Alfred a plate of cookies to go along with the tea. Mother always insisted on having tea in a stressful situation. He figured this qualified.
"I feel like I just fell into some overused story plot. Just the maze thing and a minotaur in the center."
"I know what you mean! Mommy used to read us a story like this but the hero used a ball of string to find his way in and out."
"Was it string or bread crumbs?"
"I'm not sure."
"YOU CAN NOT IGNORE ME."
The three kept right on doing it.
"YOU SHALL FACE A FATE MORE HORRIBLE THAN DEATH."
"Filia-san is going to be really worried about you, Val-san."
"What about your parents? You've mentioned your mother several times but I've only seen your aunt."
"That's because Daddy is Auntie Lyn's younger brother," Alfred explained. "But he renounced his claim to serve the church."
"ARE YOU LISTENING TO ME?!"
"Do you want a cookie? Some tea?" Amelia asked, offering the two items.
"WHY, THANK YOU. DON'T MIND IF I DO."
Val wondered how much weirder this could get.
"WAIT, YOU'RE SUPPOSED TO BE COWERING IN TERROR OF ME."
"Try wiping off the cookie crumbs," Val suggested.
"FOR DARING TO MAKE A FOOL OF ME, YOU SHALL FACE A TORMENT LONGER THAN DEATH!"
"It isn't just to go around scaring people," Amelia scolded.
"And it isn't polite to yell all the time either," Alfred added.
"Nothing phases you two, does it?" Val asked rhetorically.
"YOU MUST ENTERTAIN ME OR I WILL EAT YOU!"
"Entertain? Like in a song?"
"On three, Amelia."
"Oh no." Val backed up into the wall and covered his ears. The minotaur was right, this was a fate more horrible than death.
"Life is wonderful, so wonderful. The birds see happily in the trees, and love is everywhere," sang the twins, complete with accompanying gestures.
"...things my heart used to know..."
Zel stopped. Where were the words to the song coming from? It wasn't from the small music box in his hand. The voice, so familiar.
"...and a song, someone sings..."
"Lina?!"
"Zel? Zel, is that you?"
The sounds of gravel being crunched under running feet soon drowned out the music of the memento in his hand. Reflexively, Zel closed the box, ending the haunting melody.
"Zel?" Lina burst into view, holding a torch that briefly burned into his eyes. "You..."
Was she worried about him?
"You idiot! What the hell were you thinking? Didn't I tell everyone not to use magic while in here!?"
Zel sighed. What else was he expecting? Tears of heartfelt relief? Not likely.
"I wasn't casting magic exactly."
"But still!"
"How did you get here?"
Lina rocked back a bit at the change of topics.
"Get here? Well, it wasn't as if I was looking for you," Lina huffed. "I just heard some music and thought that was strange so I followed it. What happened to it? Did you hear it too?"
"You...were the one singing the words?"
Lina briefly froze. Oh gods, he must have heard. And she was probably singing terribly off key too.
"I was surprised...when I heard both."
"Well...I might have hummed a few lines," Lina said carelessly. "Just that the song sounded familiar."
But she's never heard it before.
"Where did you hear it before?"
"I don't know. The words just seem to come to me. Part of that mysterious past I know nothing about perhaps?" Lina grinned.
No one knew her past. That could be true.
"But where are Val and those twins? I swear I'm going to wring Amelia's neck when I get my hand on her."
But...this song...
"Shhh," Lina hushed, tipping her head to one side. "Do you hear that?"
Lina's ears were sharp but not as sharp as his. Lucky for her. She didn't need to hear the full rendition of "Life is Wonderful".
"You're about to get your wish. Looks like we found the twins."
Lina winced. "I almost wish I was wrong but we've been wandering around here long enough. Val had better be with them or safeguards be damned, I'm going to Dragu Slave the place."
From then on, things went rather well. Following the rounds of what apparently was the twins' theme song, Lina and Zel reached the center of the maze. There, they found out one of the perks of being a Mazoku Lord. You tended to scare other monsters silly.
"Ohsparemesparemesparemesparemespareme!"
"Good thing we had you along huh?"
"Be quiet."
"I think Zelgadiss-san is blushing!"
"Really? Hey, he is!"
"Can we please get going now?"
So because of Val's request, Lina guided everyone out of the labyrinth with the use of her map and several whacks over the head when one of the twins would forget and begin chanting a spell. Unfortunately, their 'little excursion' lasted well into the night. Filia was not happy to see them. Any of them.
"JUST WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?!?"
"For once, it isn't me she's screaming at."
"And what are you doing in my shop, Namagomi!"
"Drinking tea." Xelloss held up a teacup to support his claim.
"Get out of my shop! And Val? You're grounded for the next twenty years!"
"Isn't that a bit extreme?" Lina sweatdropped.
"Are you going to argue with her?" Zel asked.
Filia was burning up like a wild forest fire.
"We'll be...goingtobedrightnow!" Amelia and Alfred said in a synchronized rush as they dashed up to the guest room.
Filia's flaming eyes turned on the only two remaining culprits.
"Eep!" Lina hid behind Zel. "You can deal with her. You're a Mazoku Lord."
"Do I look like a useful magical item or something?"
"Almost. Do you have a flute so I can summon you whenever I need to be rescued?"
"I can't believe you..."
"And you! I thought you said you were going to bring Val right back!"
"Did I?"
"Don't play word games with me, mister!"
"Hehe, you know, it really is late. I'll be going. Right now." Lina ran out the door.
"I'm not done with you yet!!"
"Shut up! We're sleeping!" yelled some miscellaneous townperson.