Disclaimer: People you recognize from the actual series of Slayers
aren't
mine...people you don't recognize probably are mine. If you want to use
my original characters, please ask me first and I'll gladly say yes. ^_^
Please send any and all C&C to my new address (my old one has decided
to go screwy on me) TaliaShimae@juno.com Sorry about the lateness of
this
message, but after trying to get my comp back online so you could
actually read
this, it's been a trying season.
Anyway, everyone over here wanted to say Happy Holidays and Season's
Greetings to you on the FFML.
Lina: Merry Christmas and don't forget the presents!!
Gourry: *sighs* ...Lina. Oh, hi and Merry Christmas everyone!
Zelgadis: Yeah, yeah, just don't get drunk or anything on egg nog.
Amelia: Wai! Remember to maneuver for the mistletoe! *blush*
Naria: Take care everyone and don't beat up the guy that comes down the
chimney like *some* people I know. He's here to help you.
Mirai: How the hell was I supposed to know?! Oh, Merry Christmas all.
Kaze: Heh heh...that backfired...well, on with the fic and Season's
Greetings!
Xellos: Don't forget me! Feliz Navidad! ^_~
Slayers: Double!
By Murasakikaze
Episode 5: Lost Moments
"Zel! Zel! Are you guys-" Lina came crashing through the brush to
find all three
people fishing by the river bank. He sighed and hung his head as the
other two
people tried not to stare at her. The chimera stood and handed the
fishing pole to
Jeze-chan.
"What is it?" he asked dryly. "Have you found her yet?"
Lina perked up and smiled. "Oh? Is that worry I hear in your
voice, Zelgadis?"
Zelgadis rolled his eyes and shook his head. "Mira-chan won't shut
up."
Lina shrugged and grabbed him by the arm. "We need to talk, now.
Amelia!
Gourry! Follow me!"
"Anou...excuse me, Miss Lina?" Mira-chan stood and handed her pole
to
Jeze-chan too. The poor girl was now juggling three, one of which had a
bite on it.
"Where did Naria-chan go?"
Lina froze for a moment, then smiled and winked at her. "She went
for a walk.
She'll be back soon, don't worry."
Mira-chan nodded and went back to help Jeze-chan. Unfortunately,
Jeze-chan
now sat in the middle of the stream still holding onto three fishing
poles.
"What happened to you?" the shorter inverse asked as she helped her
friend out
of the water.
Jeze-chan sniffled and tears started to form at the corners of her
eyes. "I-I was
fishing and then the fishie bit the line...and then it started fighting
me and I didn't
know what to do...and then the fishie got really mean and he pulled me
in...and I
didn't want to fight it, but it wanted to fight me...and I don't want to
go fishing
anymore."
Mira-chan stared at her friend for a moment, amazed that Jeze-chan
hadn't
taken a single breath in that entire statement. She smiled and patted
the inverse
on the head. "We'll go find Miss Lina and then we can find some fruit to
eat
instead. Fruit doesn't fight and it's really yummy."
Jeze-chan smiled and blinked back her tears. She really admired
Mira-chan
because the younger inverse was so much better than she was at
everything. She
always had nice hair, a better body, a pretty smile...Jeze-chan sighed as
she
thought about her idol. The two girls walked off after the retreating
forms of the
other group and called out for them to wait.
It was then that a very angry Naga stepped out from the opposite
side of the
river. "I thought you said you knew where you were going!!"
Ryouga Hibiki stepped out from behind the curvaceous woman, a whole
tissue
box stuffed up his nose, and smiled nervously. He had already
encountered that
weird thing called a fireball and it looked like this Naga person was
getting ready to
use another one.
"I do know where we're going!" he yelled. "They went northwest and
we went
northwest. We should have found them by now. Let's see...Aha! Tracks!"
Ryouga
leapt across the stream and found the faint imprint of boots. "You see
they're
heading this way! Since they're going east, we go east now."
Naga shook her head in embarrassment as the young boy took off in a
southwesterly direction yelling about how he'd get home and kick Ranma's
ass for
all the pain he had caused him. "Stupid boy."
~~~~~
The light was so intense it hurt to open her eyes. Where had that
idiot goddess
taken her now? Naria rubbed her eyes and sat up, pulling the white
sheets up
around her. She slowly studied the huge room from ceiling to floor. A
large full
length mirror was at the end of the room, but the curtains around the bed
made it
hard for Naria to see her reflection. There was a vanity and large
French doors
opening to presumably the bathroom or the hallway.
"Good, you're awake."
Naria jumped out of bed and in five seconds flat had located her
sword and was
pressing its tip to the jugular vein of the small child in front of her.
The chimera
relaxed and ran a hand through her hair.
"Jeez, you-" she froze midsentence. Something didn't feel
right...her balance
was off and she felt lighter. Naria's hand migrated from her hair to her
face and she
very quietly felt under her eyes, on her cheeks, and her chin. They were
smooth...
not a trace of the golem stones. She also realized that the floor was
extremely cold
and her sword was a little heavier than she had expected. "Wha....?"
"I wanted to make you more comfortable so I changed you back into
what you
would have been like had it not been for the fact that you were a
chimeran drone,"
the girl explained. "Please step this way. We have many things to
discuss."
Naria ignored her and pushed her way over to the full-length mirror.
The flowing
white gown almost seemed to melt away into her pale skin. Light
brownish-gold
eyes shone from beneath the shock of purplish blue shoulder length hair
and the
intense light glinted off the tears falling from Naria's face.
"Human...by the gods...I'm human..."
~~~~~
"What did you just say?" Zelgadis stared at the fiery sorceress from
his relaxed
position against the tree. "She has a what inside of her?"
"I do see Zelgadis-san's point, Lina-san...what is this Dolphin's
Tear?" Amelia
added in a gentler tone. After listening to the short but thorough
explanation, she
nodded her head. "I still don't understand why Xellos-san would tell you
all of this
though..."
The conversation stopped right there as Zelgadis revealed that he
did know how
to use the demon head trick. "WHAT DO YOU MEAN XELLOS TOLD YOU?!"
Lina sighed and waited for everyone else to pick themselves up off
the ground.
"Yes, Xellos told me as unbelievable as it might sound. He also said he
was a
neutral party in this, but I highly doubt it. We still don't know what
his agreement
was with Naria and, Zel, as soon as we find our little chimeran girl,
you're going to
pull it out of her."
"Why me?" He had settled down some and was now quietly fuming in the
background.
"Because besides the inverses, you're the only one she trusts for
some idiotic
reason and you were with her the longest back there on the island. Let's
get our
other halves and get going." Lina turned and hesitated for a moment.
"Plus, don't
tell Mira-chan or Jeze-chan about Naria disappearing...we don't want the
dam to
break again."
The three friends nodded in agreement and followed Lina out of the
clearing.
Xellos smiled, glad to see that Zelgadis appreciated his gesture of
cordiality. <Can't
let them get too close though...I'll still get to her before everyone
else...> With that
he disappeared and someone else reappeared.
"We'll see about that, Xellos-kun," the man whispered, homed in on
Xellos'
magic frequency and prepared for another jump.
~~~~~
Naria stared at the mirror and traced the contours of her
reflection's face. <It's
impossible...I lost my humanity when I became a drone...what's going on?>
Naria
caught the tears coming from her eyes on her soft fingertips and had to
laugh. She
was crying at the happiest time in her life when she hadn't even cried at
the saddest
time. Why would she release pent up tears now? Is this how it felt to
be happy?
"We have things we need to discuss, Naria. My name is Imako and we
have an
appointment to keep with Mirai and the new Kako," the goddess said gently
and
took the young mortal by the hand. "If we go now, we can show what I've
done to
Mirai. She'll be pleasantly surprised by this."
Naria nodded slightly and followed Imako out, still looking at her
reflection as
she was led away. Now if only she could bring Zelgadis here...he may not
have
been human before, but he still had a human soul. Maybe...just
maybe...her
thoughts trailed off and she turned around to talk to Imako.
"Is it permanent?" she asked hopefully.
"Listen, we're already late and Kako is very anxious to meet
you...at least the
new Kako is. You and that other boy killed the old one." Imako chose to
ignore the
question and smirked. "I'm actually really proud of you two. I hated
that old loon.
He gave up his position as God of the Past just because he found living
as a mortal
more fun. Baka..."
"You didn't answer me. Is it-" Naria was interrupted as Imako swung
two huge
double doors open and revealed three people inside. One was the tall
blond
goddess, Mirai, that Naria knew all too well. A slightly shorter man
with brown
bangs that covered his blue eyes and a long braid stood next to her.
Then came
another man that she didn't know either. He was taller than all of them
and wore a
simple white robe with a blue belt and long light blue hair.
"Welcome, Naria, we trust that you have brought your friend along
too?" the man
with the blue hair greeted her and extended a delicate looking hand.
"I'm Kojiro
Eienjo. It's good to finally meet you."
Naria took his hand gingerly and then smiled. "So...you're the
famous
Kami-sama that everyone's talking about, eh?"
Kojiro jumped slightly, then laughed. "Guess I shouldn't have tried
to cover it up
against you. Where's Lina?"
Naria shrugged. "I dunno."
Kami-sama looked puzzled. "What do you mean? I thought you had a
link with
her."
Naria shook her head. "You aren't too well informed on mistakes,
Kojiro-sama.
I have links with only two people, Mira-chan and the man named, Zelgadis
Graywords. If you want to know where they are...Mira-chan is wandering
through
the forest with Jeze-chan and Zelgadis is about five meters from their
position. Both
of them are searching for each other."
"So does this Zelgadis harbor the object?" Kojiro asked politely.
Naria shook her head. "I don't know what this 'object' is, but I do
know that it's
powerful and it's placed within me and Mira-chan."
The older man smiled and turned to the others. "She's pretty smart
for a mortal.
Mirai, you brought her up well!"
The blond goddess blushed slightly and smacked the other man for a
comment
he hadn't made yet. "Thank you, Kami-sama."
"Oh, how rude of me!" Kojiro turned and pointed towards the only
other unknown
person in the room. "That's Kako, the new one."
The 'new' Kako stepped forward and offered his hand. Naria glanced
at it, then
back at Kako, a cold expression spreading across her fine features. He
pulled his
hand back like he had been bitten and retreated to safety.
"Come now, you can't harbor bad feelings for him already! He's just
a newbie
and he's not all that bad," Kojiro laughed and slapped Naria on the back.
"Now kiss
and make up."
Naria whirled away from him and refrained from growling. "I don't
trust anyone
named Kako...especially him."
The young man dropped his eyes and let out a small sigh. "Whatever
my
predecessor did to you, I'm truly sorry you had to go through that, but I
didn't do it
o you and I can't undo it. Only he can and apparently he's dead now."
"I'm sorry, I never should have judged you like that." she whispered
softly and
hung her head. She was going to say something, then stopped.
Mirai placed a comforting hand on her shoulder and smiled down at
her. "He's
better as he is anyway."
"Is this permanent for me?" the mortal asked hopefully. "Is it?"
Mirai's eyes flickered slightly and she avoided Naria's gaze.
"Listen, Kako, we
better get moving if we're going to train the others in time."
Naria lowered her head and everyone could hear her fist tighten.
"Fine, avoid the
question. I know the answer now...take the spell back. I don't want to
be human."
Imako's head jerked up and stared at the girl in a mixture of horror
and confusion.
"What do you mean you 'don't want to be human?!' It's all you wanted
from the
moment you laid eyes on the outside world!"
"If it's not permanent, does it even really matter?! I don't want
to experience
humanity if I can't keep it or if he can't have it either!!" Naria
snapped back and
glared at the immortals surrounding her. "You all control the outcomes
of the
battles _I_ am going to be fighting. You can see what's going to happen.
You can
change the things that led up to this. You can tell who's going to die
in this. Why
don't you try and help us instead of leading us on this path of
destruction and
hatred?!"
The gods stared at her emotionlessly. Kako was the first to break
down and he
pushed past her as he bolted from the room. Imako left silently after
him and Mirai
was not long after. Kojiro sighed and lowered his head slightly, sitting
down on his
desk.
"Naria, come sit by me." He patted the space next to him and
waited. Naria
whirled away and was about to leave when a strong hand fell on her
shoulder. "I
said, come sit by me."
The former chimera glanced over her shoulder and found herself
looking at one of
her old clones. "The master requires your presence."
"So...you do the same things the old Kako did. The gods really
don't care what
happens to us do they? The Lord of Nightmares, Ceiphied,
Shabranigdo...all of
them are only silent observers that watch us slowly die...you immortals
make me
sick." Naria broke away from the clone's grip and began to stalk out of
the room.
She reached the door and grabbed the ends of her new robes. "By the way,
your
clothes only hinder people's movements."
With that she ripped away the lower half of her dress, making it
into a short
skirt. Naria threw the torn cloth back at the god and sneered. "Find
someone else
to fight your useless battles. This doesn't even have anything to do
with the fate of
the world as far as I know and that means I have nothing to do with it
either."
The doors slammed shut leaving Kojiro alone, clutching the white
silk. He
sighed and laid down across the desk, still holding the cloth.
"I should have told her..." he whispered. The clone nodded slightly
and allowed
the illusion to drop. Mirai sighed and walked over to her boss.
"Naria's a headstrong girl with very big morals. Your plan of
having her 'clone'
ask for help failed because of that, Kami-sama." The goddess paused and
glanced
down at him. "Want me to talk to her?"
She was met with a silent shake of the head. "I will."
The Child of the Future nodded and disappeared as Kojiro sat up. He
stared
down at the remains of a once beautiful dress and lowered his head into
his hands,
burying his face in the torn shreds. <What am I going to say to her to
make her
cooperate if I'm not allowed to lie?> A hesitant knock on the door
snapped the god
out of his trance. He answered it after throwing the cloth on the couch.
"Sir...there has been a report..." a young man said as he entered.
He waited for
Kojiro's go-ahead and then continued. "The Mazoku have finished off the
first-line
and are moving to the second. The council advises that you gain access
to the
Dolphin's Tear now before it's too late."
Kojiro lowered his eyes and then glanced back at the nervous
assistant. "Bring
the woman named Naria Eienjo Graywords to me now."
~~~~~
"Mira-chan! Jeze-chan! Where the-" Lina clamped a hand over the
belligerent
chimera's mouth and shook her head. She reminded him about the inverses'
policy
on swearing and removed her hand. "Where are you?!"
The silence of the forest was eerie and finally a quiet voice
floated above the
wind. "Zelgadis-sama! Miss Lina! Amelia-sama! Gourry-sama! Where are
you?
Naga-sama! Where did you go?"
"Mira-chan, keep talking! We'll find you!" Lina shouted back.
"Miss Li-KYAAAA!!!" Mira-chan's voice sliced through the air and
then
everything went quiet again. Amelia jumped over a group of bushes and
began to
run.
"Lina-san, this way!!" she yelled and was soon followed by the
others.
"Mira-chan! Jeze-chan!!"
"Someone help me!! Please, help me!!" Jeze-chan came crashing
through the
bushes and slammed into Amelia. She quickly regained her balance and
tried to
run off again. "Let me go! Please, I don't want to fight! Please let
me go!"
The Sailoon princess tried to calm the girl down as the others ran
ahead. Lina
was the first to burst into the clearing and drew her sword. Gourry and
Zelgadis
emerged side-by-side and unsheathed their blades.
The chimera growled and spat the words out like a bad cup of coffee.
"Kako.."
The overly confident and hawklike man smiled ruthlessly as he held
Mira-chan
by the scruff of the neck. "Ah, C1, I'm glad you're here. You can take
me to Naria."
"Like hell I will," he shot back. "I killed you back on the island.
You just don't
know how to stay dead, do you?"
"Yes, well, a contract with the Mazoku does tend to help one's
predicaments,"
the former god said with a smirk.
"Does everyone have a contract with some Mazoku or what?!" Lina
cried out in
frustration. "Listen, buddy, I remember what you tried to do to me back
at Garrou
and I am not going to forgive you for that."
The scientist grinned again and Lina wondered if he was related to
Xellos. "Do
you now? Do you also remember what your friend, C1, is? Or did he give
you the
line about forgetting after being hit with shrapnel?"
Zelgadis flinched invisibly and felt Lina's rage rise a meter or
two. "Yeah, I know
all about him and it doesn't matter! He's still my friend no matter what
and you're
still an enemy no matter what."
"I agree with that whole-heartedly, Lina. Good call," Xellos said
as he appeared
behind them. "So, Kako, been following me around again, eh? Poor
half-breed
can't even find his way into the dark during the night."
Kako growled. "Xellos...you are going to be the first to die when
the war breaks.
Your side is losing ground and fast and even if they do win, you'll be
branded as a
traitor in the Mazoku community."
Xellos shrugged. "What side? I'm the neutral party. Now if you
don't mind, I'm
sure that girl you have with you would like to be let go now that she's
awake."
Mira-chan's eyes were overflowing with tears as she looked up at the
mixture of
Mazoku and God. "Please...I'm sure if you just told me what you wanted
we could
work something out and we wouldn't have to fight and both of us would be
happy
and we could all be very good friends. Just please let me go because I'm
afraid of
heights and they're really scary and I think I'm going to cry because
you're really
scary too and you're holding me up really high off the ground and-"
Kako dropped the girl onto the ground and sighed. "Fine, whatever,
just shut
up."
"It's not polite to tell someone to 'shut up' because you might hurt
their feelings
and then you might not be very good friends anymore, Mr. Kako," Mira-chan
lectured from her position on the ground. "Please be nice, Mr. Kako, and
we can all
be very good friends, I promise we can be."
"I said, SHUT UP!" he growled and slapped the girl across the face
with the
back of his hand. Then Kako suddenly found himself at the receiving end
of
someone's Hikari no Ken and was just the tiniest bit concerned.
"Apologize to her, then leave," Gourry snapped. He pushed the sword
closer to
the man's jugular vein and narrowed his eyes. "Apologize!"
Kako returned Gourry's cold stare and shook his head slowly. "Such
power
should not go to waste...MONO VOLT!"
Gourry yelled in pain, then sagged as Kako caught him and the Hikari
no Ken.
He then promptly scooped the screaming Mira-chan up.
"LINA!!" the inverse cried and reached out for her savior.
"LINA!!!"
"If you want them back, bring me the rest of Dolphin's Tear,
Zelgadis, and Naria,"
he demanded.
"GOURRY!!" Lina ran forward and reached out to grab him, but was met
with
only thin air. She fell to her knees and stared at the hands that had
once saved the
world, but could not save her the only one she truly wanted to help.
"I've lost him before...not again..." she whispered and clenched her
fists. Amelia
placed a comforting hand on her shoulder and tried to cheer her up. Lina
waved her
away and stood. "Zel.."
"You can't seriously be considering that," he muttered, his voice
flat and cold.
"Of course not! Find Naria. We need her for this," Lina ordered and
stood.
"We'll get him back...and keep Dolphin's Tear from the Mazoku at the same
time."
~~~~~
"Kojiro wants to see you now, Naria." The young man motioned towards
the exit
and waited for the woman to follow him...which she didn't. "Please,
Naria, just
follow me and we can get this over with."
The girl stood and stared at him. She was still human and had
exchanged the
white robe for her old outfit of a loose black long sleeved shirt and a
pair of denim
pants. She pulled her gray boots on and attached her sword to the black
belt
hanging around her waist.
"Tell him that I don't want to see him," she growled. "And tell
Imako to change
me back."
"I'm afraid you don't have a choice in this about either of those
events. Now come with me," he demanded and grabbed her wrist. Naria's
amber eyes flashed dangerously and she snapped her arm from his grasp.
"You do _not_ go against Kami-sama's wishes, Naria Grayw-"
The assistant suddenly found himself at the end of a very large
broadsword and gulped slightly. "Don't touch me again and I do have a
choice. It's my life and I'll do
what I want, now get Imako to change me back."
"I'm afraid I can't do that and you have to come with me!" the man
growled and grabbed the sword. A thin red line appeared on his palm and
he closed his eyes. "Now, Sleep!!"
"You...little...b.." Naria's eyes slowly closed and she dropped into
the young
man's arms. If she had been awake to finish her sentence, Kami-sama
wouldn't
have liked her half as much.
"Well...at least you're coming halfway willingly..." he mumbled and
hoisted her
over his shoulder as he walked out.
~~~~~
"Why am I always stuck with searching for the weirdoes?" Zelgadis
sighed and
ran his hand down his forehead in exasperation. He had been walking
around for an hour now with no trace of anyone or anything other than the
occasional rabbit or wandering pig. He stopped and glared up at the blue
sky, unconsciously clenching
his fist. "You enjoy torturing me...don't you?"
"Of course we do. Your reactions are the only thing we Mazoku live
for,
Zelgadis!"
The chimera turned and almost sliced the man's head off. "YOU! Why
are you here?!"
Xellos smiled and deftly sidestepped the swing that would have taken
off his head
if he had not have been a Mazoku. "I'm just here to tell you a secret."
Zelgadis stepped back, but didn't lower his sword. "You never tell
secrets unless they're lies."
The Trickster Priest grinned and shook his head. "Now, now,
Zelgadis. The information I told Lina wasn't a lie. Naria-san really
does have half the Dolphin's
Tear inside her, but I'm sure you could already sense that...unless it
only works one way."
He fell silent and again ducked the fist that came at him. "No, it
must only work
one way since you can't tell where she is. Hmm...this could prove to be
very devastating..."
Zelgadis stopped trying to catch the Mazoku priest and leaned back
against a
nearby tree. "Whatever. Listen, if you want to follow somebody around,
go find
Lina. I'm not interested in playing your games."
"Oh, alright." Xellos waited until the chimeran swordsman had begun
to walk
away before finishing his thought. "Of course, that means that you
_don't_ want to
save Naria-san's life. Very well, then. Ta ta!"
For once in Xellos' life he was taken by surprise...Zelgadis didn't
stop or even turn around. "You really don't want to save her life?"
"I'm only going to get the idiot because my friend is missing and
Lina's upset.
She doesn't mean anything to me," Zelgadis shot back over his shoulder.
"Now
leave."
Xellos opened his eyes and watched the chimera disappear into the
forest. "So I guess you don't care that she's in a different world..."
From deep within the bowels of the forest, a stony-faced swordsman
clenched
his fist and smiled. "Gotcha.."
Then a mastermind manipulator shook his head and grinned. "No, I
have you."
~~~~~
"What was her name again?"
"Naria Eienjo Graywords."
"Yes. She harbors the second half of the Dolphin's Tear which Kako
is retrieving
for us. Why do you want it back so badly, if I might ask?"
"You may not ask, but I will tell you anyway. It is mine and I want
it back. The
worlds will return to the Sea of Chaos even if I must destroy them
myself."
"But wouldn't that be direct intervention?"
Deep Sea Dolphin smiled and shook her head as she watched the group
run through the forest. "Not if that idiot half-breed does his job
correctly without asking
too many questions. He still thinks that 'Marone' is working for him."
"So, Dolphin-sama, why are you letting that half-breed run around?"
Again the Dark Lord grinned. "Because...he's getting me everything I
want while
he is getting nothing that he wants. Even if he does get Naria and Lina
Inverse's
mirror self together, I'll take both them and my tear from him. Besides,
I'm not the
one he's bossing around; you are."
'Marone' sighed and nodded his head. "I understand, Dolphin-sama."
"Now go and tell him the news that the kamis are moving against him
again and
that they are sticking to the rules of the game. We can't let him find
too many
things out by himself."
~~~~~
Lina, Amelia, and Jeze-chan emerged from the underbrush and continued
to run.
The sounds of a battle had been carried to their ears and they weren't
going to miss
it. Suddenly from their right someone popped out and waved to them
before racing ahead.
Naga grinned and yelled for them to hurry up. "You're getting slow,
Lina Inverse!"
Lina gritted her teeth and sped up. "Hurry up you two!!"
"Hai, Lina-san!" Amelia huffed and grabbed Jeze-chan's hand. "Let's
go!"
The inverse nodded slightly and sped up a little, wondering if she
and Amelia
were related in a past life or something...
~~~~~
The knocking on the door broke the god from his nap and caused him to
growl slightly. He knew they were supposed to be coming, but he didn't
expect them so
soon. After pulling his robe back on, he called them in and sat down on
his desk
again.
"I brought her, Kami-sama...but she didn't want to come willingly and
I had to
sedate her," the man said as he placed Naria on the floor before Kojiro.
"I'll go
now."
Kojiro nodded slightly, then glanced down at the sleeping girl.
"Naria...I am truly
sorry for what I am about to do, but it is advised that I gain access to
that object
now..."
"I know...and I won't forgive you...but I won't stop you either..."
The god stiffened and watched as the girl sat up with her back to
him. "Y-you're awake.."
Naria nodded her head and stared at her hands. "What do I have
inside me that would be cause for a god to take someone's life even if
they are dying?"
"How do you know you're dying?"
The girl turned to him and laughed. "You expect me not to know when
my body
is shutting down and my brain is hemorrhaging? I can tell if my leash
has been reactivated or not, Kojiro, I'm not stupid no matter what you
think."
"I don't think you're stupid.."
"Oh, of course not. The great Kami-sama isn't allowed to say mean
things about people. I shouldn't have said that," Naria replied
sarcastically. "Answer my
question. What do I have inside of me?"
"How do you know you're leash has been activated?" Kojiro stood and
offered a
hand to her. "Come on, stand up."
"I asked you first," Naria snapped and hid her hands inside her
sleeves.
"I won't answer until you do," he sighed and grabbed her arm, pulling
her to her
feet. "Now how do you know?"
"Fine, because the programs I've been installed with are beginning to
shut down
and I'm bleeding from the hairline. Besides, you can usually tell when
you're going
to die, Kojiro." Naria's voice was edged with venom. "I have another
question to
throw in. Why did you let this happen to us? Zelgadis, the other
drones, the
innocent people he used, me...why? You're supposed to be the
compassionate
one of the gods... why did you let him kill us like this? I don't have a
soul anymore
and I'm more machine than I am human...but I used to be human which meant
I had parents and I don't even know who they are. How could you let that
happen to the thousands of people at Garrou?"
"I have no control over what they do and he gave up being an
immortal, choosing
the life of a mortal for some absurd reason. I am truly sorry for what
happened to
the humans and chimeras at Garrou, but I cannot help them or you." Kojiro
led
Naria over to a window and pulled back the curtains. "What do you see
down
there?"
"Warriors, people ready to die for a purpose," she replied
emotionlessly.
"Exactly, ready to die to defend the Dolphin's Tear, the object you
have a half of
inside you." After a brief explanation of the Tear, he waited for her to
gather her wits before continuing. "You and the girl Mira-chan are the
keys to this battle. We don't
know who is pulling the strings, but Kako, the old one, is involved.
Naria, you
realize that if we need the Tear...you're going to die."
She nodded. "I know, change me back to a chimera and return me to my
home.
If I'm going to die...I want to spend my time with my brother and my
friends."
"If you return home, you'll only be endangering them," he warned her.
Naria was silent for a moment, then she shook her head. "What would
you do?
Die among strangers or die with the ones you love?"
Kojiro nodded and Naria suddenly felt very cold.
~~~~~
Zelgadis sighed and sat down by the edge of the pool. "Why doesn't
anything go
my way? Where are you, Naria?"
"Are you sure you want her back here, Zelgadis?" Mirai's reflection
appeared in
the water and Zelgadis looked over his shoulder only to find he was alone
in the clearing. "Are you sure?"
"We need her back here to save Gourry and Mira-chan," he said as he
stared
into the goddess' face. "Why wouldn't I-we want her back here?"
"If she returns to your world...she'll have to face three possible
futures. Even if I bought her a little time by resetting her time
frame...she is still dying and she will
still become a berserker. Zelgadis, when that happens, you'll be the one
to put her
at rest."
The chimera flinched slightly. "Why?"
"You're the only one other than Gourry that has the power to do it,"
Mirai
answered. She looked over her shoulder and turned back to him, urgency
burning
in her eyes. "I must tell you something. Naria's deal with the Mazoku
Xellos will be
very important and-"
"What is the deal?!" Zelgadis interrupted her and resisted the urge
to pull her
through the water's surface.
"Well, if you'd shut up I'd be able to tell you!" Mirai snapped and
calmly regained
her composure. "Xellos got to her when I wasn't around and made a
promise with
her. She's linked to the one's she loves so she can easily track them,
but that
wasn't the deal. Naria's a smart girl and made sure that their pact
would only last
for a few years because she didn't think she would live that long. Naria
wants to
protect the people she loves, but she's too damn headstrong to realize
that she
doesn't need a Mazoku's help to do it.
"Okay, the deal is to protect the ones she loves she allowed Xellos
to 'channel' himself through her to do whatever he pleased which included
gaining information
on me, the other gods, and Garrou island. In exchange, he gave her power
and new spells that could help her track other people better. Xellos
craves information that
he knows will be useful and just this year, the contract ran out. Now he
wants to
have the link back because he discovered a bit too late the true extent
of Naria's powers. She didn't reveal that she had Dolphin's Tear in her
until her leash and
some of her more domineering programs disappeared.
"Zelgadis, if the time should come...kill Naria before her dominant
program takes over. She's dying already and you'll know when the time
comes...I have to go.
Kojiro is coming. Keep her safe, no matter the costs, Zelgadis. I have
faith in you," Mirai whispered and her image blurred before being carried
away with the current.
Zelgadis stood and wondered if the deal was even worth it. Naria had
been an
idiot, a complete idiot to do something like that. "Baka..."
"So who's a baka? I just wanted to protect people." Naria stepped
out from
behind a tree on the other side of the bank and smiled sadly. "So...you
know, eh? Guess I shouldn't have kept it from you, but I wanted to keep
you and Mira-chan
safe...it was my fault she has that thing in her and you...you're my big
brother.
Why wouldn't I want to keep you safe? I've followed your life since the
very
beginning, but I've lied to keep you safe. Zelgadis...I just wanted to
protect people."
"Naria.....where the hell have you been?!" Zelgadis corrected himself
and jumped across the river. "We need your help to get Gourry back
and-Naria?!"
He barely caught her in time to keep her head from striking the tree
trunk. Her expression told of the pain she was trying to hide. "Naria?!
Dammit, what's wrong?!"
She opened her eyes slightly and he noticed that they were a growing
a little
dull. "N-nothing...nothing's wrong...Zel-chan, you know...I missed you."
He raised an eyebrow and afforded her a smile. "Baka."
"Oniichan..."
It was odd hearing someone call him 'big brother,' but he smiled
nonetheless;
she was family after all. "What?"
"Oniichan...you know I'm dying, right?" He nodded slowly and saw her
smile
sadly. "So when I do die-"
"If, Naria. Don't say 'when' say if." He tried to hide the pleading
tone of his voice
and continued smiling.
Naria shook her head. "So _when_ I die, take care of Mira-chan for
me. I
promised I wouldn't leave her alone, but it looks like I won't be able to
keep that promise. Take care of her for me, Oniichan."
"I...I will, Naria, but I hope I don't have to," Zelgadis whispered
to himself and
looked around him to make sure no one was around. Then he gently cradled
her in
his arms and let her rest her head on his shoulder. "Get some sleep, you
look
tired."
Naria nodded her head and Zelgadis realized that she was like a kid
again; afraid and completely trusting. "Hai...Oyasumi, Oniichan."
Zelgadis sighed and patted her on the back. "Oyasumi, Naria."
~~~~~
Lina and Amelia facefaulted as they entered the town. It wasn't a
fight they
heard, but people running to help someone. Lina was the first to pick
herself up off
the floor and she almost screamed in frustration. "What are you doing
here?!"
Mira-chan looked up from her place by the water fountain and shot out
from under
the blankets like a rocket. "Miss Lina, Jeze-chan, Miss Amelia, Miss
Naga!!!"
She ran up and embraced her original in a huge hug and began to cry
again.
Jeze-chan hugged Mira-chan and began to cry again, which made Naga cringe
and
turn away. "Mr. Gourry is-is-HE'S GONE!! I tried to get away and that
evil Kako
person dropped me and I ran all the way back here and finally found all
these nice people, but I was so afraid!!"
"Whoa, Mira-chan, are you sure you're alright?" Amelia asked and
patted the
inverse on the head. "Ne? Are you okay?"
Mira-chan nodded and sniffled slightly. "Hai, I'm fine, Miss Amelia,
but Mr.
Gourry is still missing. I brought this back though."
She held up a very familiar sword and placed it in Lina's hands. "He
gave it
to me to give to you. Well, he threw it at me anyway."
"Yeah...as a last resort," Naga snorted under her breath. She was
lucky she had retreated to the forest's edge where no one had heard her.
Lina stifled her tears and pulled the Hikari no Ken out of the
sheath. A small
piece of paper fluttered to the ground and the sorcery genius picked it
up. "Find Zelgadis...we're leaving for the Dragon's Nest now."
"What does the note say, Lina-san?" Amelia asked as she helped
Mira-chan
gather up the other things she had.
Lina stuffed the paper into her bag and shook her head. "It was
nothing but
some stupid list of his. Let's go."
As they ran back into the woods and joined up with Naga again, Lina
couldn't
help but think of what he had written. The few words written had been
badly
smudged, but she could just make out what they said. "Lina, don't worry
about
me and take the sword; you'll need it. I lo-" The rest was too hard to
read...or maybe she didn't want to read them.
~to be continued
Murasakikaze