Disclaimer: All characters that are used belong to their respective
creators. I do this for fun and do not make any money off of it. Please
don't sue me. The stories are mine, so please don't use them without
asking me.
=================================================================
  Lina stared up at Naga in disbelief.  The heat from the burning inn
had dried Lina's tears.  The cheerful crackling of the flames consuming
the inn concealed Lina's mutterings.

 "There is no reason for her to be here," Lina muttered to herself.
"I'm only the Bandit Slayer, not one of the top ten mages of the land."

 Naga pointed down at the group.  Lina gritted her teeth and waited for
the inevitable

 "Lina!  Lina Inverse!  I, Naga the White Serpent, have come to claim
you as my apprentice!  You need someone like me to teach you the ways of
this world."

 Lina blinked several times in shock.  She groaned, as she buried her
head in her hands.  The villagers sidestepped away from Lina, much to
her embarrassment.

 "Apprentice?" Lina whispered, as she stood up.  "I just want to enjoy
my second childhood.  No Dark Lords threatening the world and no Naga."

 Naga smirked, as Lina stood upwards.  "I see you have accepted your
fate."

 Lina yelled, "I am no one's apprentice!  What can I learn from you?!"

 "You'd be surprised," Naga countered.

 "Oh?  You mean like how to be a total moron?"

 Naga laughed a bit more, scaring all the animals.  "Oh my petit little
apprentice, you have much to learn."

 Lina snarled, "I'm not the one who set fire to an inn and doesn't know
Levitation or Raywing to get herself down!"

 "Err?"  Naga looked dumbstruck.

 Naga looked around herself at the burning building she was standing
on.  She then stared down at Lina's wickedly grinning face.

 "Someone, please help me!"  Naga cried out, as she went into a slightly
submissive posture.

As the entire crowd face-faulted, Lina fired a Dam Bras at Naga's feet.
Naga jumped up just as Lina's spell hit, destroying the roofing and
leaving a gaping hole behind.  With nothing to support her, Naga fell
into the fire with a scream.

 "Fighting dummies is such a waste of time," Lina said with a smile.
'She'll survive that.  So, it's time for me to leave.  I'll have to tell
the innkeeper about the treasure I left behind.  I do want to eat here
again.'

 Lina found the innkeeper, who was scowling at his burning inn.  He was
about to say something to Lina, when she grabbed him by the ear and
whispered what was in her room.   The innkeeper smiled and waved, as
Lina took off for another town via Raywing.

 As Lina flew away from the town, she thought, 'Apprentice?  Gahh!  I
thought having her as a rival was bad enough, I don't want her as a
mentor.  I'd say the gems and coins should cover repairing the inn.  The
gems were probably damaged in the fire and the coins melted.  Too much
irritation for too little treasure, besides I'm only down thirty
percent.'

 Lina patted the bags of valuables that she got in exchange for the
magic items.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
 Several days after the torched inn, Lina was walking through a forest
eating meat on a stick.  She cringed, as she heard laughter coming front
of her.  She looked forward and saw Naga wrapped up like a mummy and
also walking with the assistant of crutches.

 "So we meet again, Lina Inverse," Naga said.

 Lina gave a slight smile.  "I don't recall meeting any mummy-women in
my travels."

 Naga pointed at Lina with one arm.  "Aren't we being a silly little
girl.  I am your mentor, Naga the White Serpent."

 "Who are you?" Lina asked, while holding a hand to an ear.

 Naga fell to the ground in exasperation.  Lina ate the last bit of meat
and flicked the stick onto Naga's back.  Lina gave an amused snort, as
she walked by Naga.

 Lina said, "You're definitely white, I'll say that much for you.
Besides, I prefer learning on my own.  I don't need a mentor."

 Naga scrambled to her knees and stared at Lina's back.

 "I'm upset my little apprentice, I guess I'm going to have to teach you
a lesson."

 Lina turned around and shook her head in exasperation.  She raised both
hands in the air and brought them down to her sides with a shout.

 "Mega Brando!"

 The explosion from the Mega Brando spell sent Naga flying high into the
air.  Lina stared at the rapidly vanishing dot.

 "I got some good distance that time.  She'll be all right.  She didn't
have a tree drop on her this time around."

 Lina proceeded on her way and sighed.  She pulled the Crystal Knowledge
Sphere out and looked at it.

 "I probably should add a map function to this thing.  Ah, well.
Something to do in my spare time," Lina mumbled, as she put the sphere
away.  "Naga will catch up in that town that trick people into being
sacrifices for the Vampire Stiendorf.  On second thought, I better add
the map function as soon as possible.  I have a little time to play
before dealing with Naga again."

 Lina growled in annoyance at having to deal with Naga once more.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
  Several days later, Lina was enjoying three course meal with extra
large helpings at a tavern.  Suddenly, a burning ceiling timber came
crashing down in the middle of the room.  Lina's face hit the table and
she rocked her head back and forth.

 "Already?  I want some peace," Lina mumbled.

 Sighing, she got up, grabbed her possessions, and followed the rest of
the patrons outside the building.  Lina reattached her mantle and then
sat down beside a smithy.  Ignoring the laughter, she thought of her
'new' problem.

 'Okay.  Naga is here.  The vampire isn't that bad.  The map function is
ready, I'll just have to activate it secretly and let it record the
different directions I go in.'

 After the commotion died down, the village headmaster approached Lina
with a freshly bandaged Naga in tow.  Lina looked up from her sitting
position.

 "This woman claims that you are her apprentice,"  The village
headmaster said.

 "I'm not," Lina growled.

 "Regardless, you do need to pay for the damages to the tavern.  Now,
normally we would ask for money.  However,...."

 Naga cut in.  "However, my little apprentice, I managed to cut a deal
that we would rescue some townsfolk from a hideous monster that had
moved into a nearby ruins.  We both need to go to cancel your debt."

 "My debt?!" Lina snarled, and pointed at Naga.  "I'll deal with you in
a second!  First, I need to talk to the village headmaster in private."

 Naga laughed, as Lina led the headmaster out of a normal person's
hearing range.  As soon as they were out of everyone's sight, Lina
grabbed the headmaster by the shirt and glared at him.

 "If this a ruse to sacrifice innocent travelers to a monster you are
too scared to get rid of, I will be back and claim two thousand gold
from this town's treasury for being lied to and make you regret lying in
the first place," Lina hissed.  "Do you understand me?"

 The headmaster nodded with a bit of a sweat.  Lina let him go and made
a dismissive gesture.  She rejoined Naga and led the way to the
monster's hideout.  The headmaster wiped the sweat off his brow and
laughed.

 "You are correct about the sacrifices, but I've heard about your
arrogance Lina Inverse.  You won't stand a chance.  Maybe if you had
studied a bit harder instead of bandit hunting, I'd be worried," the
headmaster mumbled, thinking he was outside of Lina's hearing.  "You're
a wimp in the magical department."

 Lina's sharp ears caught the headmaster's words.  She suppressed a
smile, as she walked away.

 'Just keep thinking that.  It'll make it an even bigger pleasure when I
come back and claim my two thousand gold.'
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
 Lina looked at the mound that hid the monster that was terrorizing the
villagers.  Leaning forward, she put her hands on her knees in
amusement.  Naga was near a tree and removing the last of the bandages.

 'It's Stiendorf,' Lina thought in satisfaction.  'I wonder how mad I
can make him.  Better activate the map function.'

 Lina reached inside her cloak and tapped the amethyst sphere in a
specific sequence.  She nodded as she felt her little toy vibrate
slightly.  She looked over her shoulder at Naga and suppressed an
outburst of rage.

 'I'll deal with her soon enough.  If I can get Vu Raywa and Mega
Vrymer, it'll help later.'

 Naga came up and put a hand on Lina's shoulder.  "So my eager young
apprentice, lead and I'll correct your mistakes."

 Lina grimaced and went into the labyrinth.  She smirked, as she put
chalk arrows up, knowing full well that Naga would erase them.  When
they came to a door with a bas relief of a dragon on it, Lina traced her
fingers around the dragon and shook her head.

 "So Lina, what are you doing?" Naga asked.

 Lina replied, "It sounds like there are people behind this door and are
unable to get out."

 "What are you going to do about it?"

 Lina made a chalk arrow next to the door and then pressed the eye of
the dragon.  As the door raised, Lina backed away from the opening.

 Naga called out, "Are you the villagers?"

 Lina prepared herself for a mad dash.  The beings that were making the
noise came into the light.  They were zombies.  Naga, seeing that, ran
in terror.  Lina ignored the zombies and followed Naga.

 'I'll have to deal with the zombies later.'

 Lina caught up to Naga in front of a demonic looking statue.  Lina
smiled when she saw it.

 'We're here.  Nice using Naga's panic attack to my advantage.  Now I
get to use the ghosts to shock her again'

 Lina waited as Naga reclaimed her breath.  Naga looked at Lina
suspiciously.

 "You knew there were zombies in there, didn't you?"  Naga accused.

 "Now, how would I know that?"  Lina countered while smiling.

 Before anymore could be said, a group of ghosts appeared and pointed at
the two.  Between each pair of arms, a ball of greenish lightning
appeared.  Lina stepped behind Naga and shoved her into the blasts.
Naga was shocked and some of the lightning went into the ceiling.  As
Naga fell unconscious from the attack, Lina shook her head.

 "Tsk tsk tsk.  Just a bunch of show-offs.  Just like her," Lina said,
as she cupped both hands in front of her.  "That's perfect.  Don't
move.  Blam Blazer!"

 A blue beam of light blasted forth from Lina's hands and vanquished a
trio of ghosts.  The remaining ghosts fled from the attack.  Lina
breathed on both hands and dusted them off.

 'Now then, Stiendorf should make his presence known.'

 As if on cue, a voice was heard.

 "Not bad for mortals.  Thou art the first to reach the place of
sacrifice.  Such lively spirit that shall nourish mine flesh and blood."



 Lina gave an amused snort. 'I'm going to be two thousand gold richer.'

 Lina asked, "What are you going to do?  Turn us into zombies like those
others?"

 The voice gave a disgusted cough.  "Those fools met the fate of all who
get lost in the labyrinth.  Thou art the first to make it this far."

 Naga asked, "Well, what's your name."

 "Mine name is Stiendorf.  King of this labyrinth and kin to the noble
blood of darkness."

 "A vampire," Lina said with an amused shake of her head.  "It's so
obvious with your pretentious way of talking, your stupid name.  Then
you go on about being a king and topped it all off with that Blood of
Darkness silliness.  No can top vampires for being such arrogant,
idiotic show-offs with no sense of aesthetics."

 Stiendorf's voice boomed.  "How dare ye!  Insolent insects with gullets
that have no end!  Thou shall pay homage to me.  Thou shall pay homage
or suffer mine wrath."

 Lina asked, "Why can't he talk like a normal person?"

 Naga just nodded.

 Stiendorf said, "Behold the awesome power of the Dominion of Darkness."

 The demonic statue crumbled, revealing a door with a figure eight
design made up of a gold colored snake and a silver colored snake.  Each
snake was biting the other one's tail.  The door opened up.  Behind the
door was a large room with a casket in the center.

 Lina smiled mischievously and pointed at the casket. 'Hey, if he's
going to be an idiot and stay in a casket when he knows there are
hostiles out here, he deserves it.'

 Stiendorf's voice rang, "Thou shalst cometh forward.  Thou shalst..."

 "Mono Volt!"

 The lighting bolt leapt from Lina's finger and smashed into the
casket.  The lid of the casket was knocked off the top and the remainder
of the casket caught fire.  A man with long green hair and wearing a sky
blue tuxedo jumped out of the casket and glared angrily at Lina and
Naga.

 "What kind of girl interrupts a person in the middle of their
monologue?"

 Lina rubbed the back of her head and replied, "One who really doesn't
want to hear anymore from some upstart little bat with delusions of
grandeur."

  Stiendorf clenched his fists and snarled, "I have had enough of your
babbling."

 Lina waved at him dismissivly.  "Yeah.  Yeah.  I've heard it all
before.  You haven't said anything that changes my opinion of you."

 In his rage, Stiendorf changed his body somewhat.  His hands became
claw-like.  Fangs formed in his mouth.  Two large bat wings spread from
his back.

 Lina gave a hearty laugh, while Naga stared in shock at her.

 Lina said, "That's supposed to be scary?  If you added a pink dress
with a hat made of fruit, you'd look a little scarier.  Still lool lik a
moron though, but nothing can help that."

 Naga grabbed Lina by the shoulder and whispered, "What are you doing?"

 "You insolent mortal!  How dare ye!"  Stiendorf boomed.

 Lina put her hand on the hilt of the Blast Blade.  "One on one?  Or,
are you too scared?"

 Naga backed away from Lina, as Stiendorf formed a sword out of mid-air.

 "If this is how you want to meet your end, then so be it!"

 Naga stared at the two combatants.  Stiendorf stood in front of Lina,
just far enough away to allow her to draw her sword.  In a rapid move,
Lina unsheathed her sword and swung it in an upward arc.  The vampire
moved his sword to block the Blast Blade.  Lina brought the Blast Blade
across in a horizontal arc and quickly re-sheathed the blade.  A clatter
of steel on stone behind Lina signaled where the top part of Stiendorf's
sword landed.  Naga fainted at the blood on Stiendorf's face.

 Lina thought, 'Damn!  I missed his eyes.  That should slow him down
though.'

 The vampire looked at the remains of his sword and put his left hand
over his face.  He licked the blood off his hand and clenched his left
hand into a fist.

 "Why do they always have to lick their own blood?" Lina said. "It's
disgusting."

 "You tried to blind me," the vampire stated in a flat voice.  "Until
now, I have appeared in this human form. In honor of your ability to
destroy my sword, you shall face my true form"

 "I'd rather not, thank you.  Asha Dist!"  Lina retorted.

 The spell took the vampire in the chest, and he growled in pain.  He
quickly passed out from the attack.  Lina shook her head in
exasperation.

 "That really should have killed him.  I guess being a moron makes him
resistant to pain."

 At that point, Naga woke up and started laughing.  "Now that the
vampire is defeated, let's find that treasure my apprentice."

 Lina muttered, "Case in point."

 Stifling the urge to hit Naga, Lina quickly found where the books were,
while Naga was hunting elsewhere.  She used her sphere to covertly copy
the knowledge contained in the books into the sphere.

 'Naga can have the books.  I'll take the equivalent value in treasure.
Now to set up a bit of vengeance to those townsfolk.'

 After seperating the treausure, Lina and Naga got into an argument
about the chalk arrows that Lina had placed and Naga had erased.  It
wound up with Naga using Dam Bras to blow a hole in the ceiling of
Stiendorf's lair.  As the dome came crashing down, Lina used the sphere
to form a mental map that allowed her to retrace her way back to the
zombies.  Naga, of course, was caught by one of the falling pillars and
laid underneath it.  Before she left the lair, Lina grabbed the bound
and gagged vampire and slung him over her back.

 'Step one: Naga is out of the way.  I just have to avoid being touched
by the zombies.  They are so gross.'

 Lina used Dam Bras to blow a straight run from inside the labyrinth
through the walls to the outside.  She nodded in satisfaction as the
zombies slowly shuffled after her.

 "That's right," Lina mumbled.  "This way out."

 As soon as Lina was outside, she took to the air with Raywing.  The
pink and orange sky told Lina that it was getting very close to
nightfall.  Mustering as much speed as she could, she made her way back
to the village.  Seing the village headmaster beneath her, she dropped
Stiendorf.  The vampire landed head first onto the headmaster's head.
Lina landed in front of the sprawling official and put both hands on her
hips.

 "I told you, I'd be back if I found out that this was just a ruse and
claim two thousand gold from your town's treasury," Lina declared and
pointed at Stiendorf.  "There's your vampire.  Now, pay up!"

 The villagers looked at Lina in a bit of fear  The headmaster
shuddered, as he got to his feet.

 "You really don't expect us to pay you, after what your teacher did?"

 "One: She's not my teacher.  She's delusional.  Two: All of you were
too scared to get rid of this and sent innocent people to their deaths.
I took him out," Lina said, while placing her hand on her sword.

 'I'm sounding like Dad.  He once threatened to destroy a village
because they bowed to a Demon.  Wait.  It hasn't happened yet.  I did
remember to teach him Elemekia Lance and Elmekia Flame,' Lina thought.
'I think he's the only one who suspects that I'm holding back.'

 The village headmaster grumbled, but found enough gems and gold to
cover Lina's bill.  Lina took the payment and walked away.

 'If they run true to form, they'll attack while I'm asleep to claim the
treasure.  Too bad for them, I prepared for that.'

 Not knowing of Lina's sharp hearing, the headmaster mumbled, "You might
have defeated the vampire, but you're only human.  When you fall asleep,
that'll be the end of the arrogant Lina Inverse."

 Lina walked in the direction of the shattered ruins.  When she got far
enough away, she pulled out her sphere.  Looking around the clearing,
Lina nodded.  The sphere started glowing, as Lina tapped its power.

 "Have fun with the zombies, villagers.  I'm not sticking around.  Now
then....  Astral Warp!"

 Lina faded from view, as she teleported away.  Soon after she had
vanished, villagers came from one side of the clearing and zombies from
the other.  Screams and growls could be heard for miles.

 Back at the ruins, Naga managed to squirm her way out from underneath
the pillar.  She looked around and didn't see Lina.

 "Do you really think you could get away from me, my childish
apprentice?"  Naga said, and started laughing.

================================================================
Earlier chapter can be found here:
http://home1.gte.net/mathews1/


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