Okay, it's me again! ^^ I'm still looking for a better title before
this goes to my webpage so if you have ANY suggestions, I'm
open to them. As usual, please send me any comments,
criticisms, tips, etc by just tapping that little button that says
"Reply" on your screen. I'd be VERY happy to hear from you.
Just a slight warning before I let you get onto the fic, this one
is slightly more serious than the episodes to follow, so be
careful. All previous chapters can be found at my site:
http://www.geocities.com/Tokyo/Villa/9072/Fanfic.htm
~Murasakikaze
P.S. To those who haven't heard from me on the stories I
usually C&C (and you know who you are), sorry, but school
and a certain 'situation' with my hands have kept me from
typing until now. I'll be getting back to you about your stories
shortly, okay? Sorry for the wait and all.
DISCLAIMER: Slayers is the property of Rui Araizumi,
Shoko Yoshinaka, and Software Scupltors. These
characters are used without permission, but with no intent
of personal gain other than the enjoyment of the readers.
I am broke and a student so please do not sue me and
please tell your scary lawyers to stop throwing torches at
my door.
-- Attached file included as plaintext by Listar --
-- File: secret2.txt
The Secret Games
Episode 2: Fragile Truths
By Murasakikaze
Lina sighed as she stared out into the huge blue expanse
known as the ocean. She was once again back in Garrou
and once again standing on a rickety old dock. The only
difference being that a young chimeran girl was sitting at
the end of the walkway reading a comic book and propping
her feet up on the steering wheel of a rather luxurious
ferryboat. When she had gone to talk to the girl, she had
just ignored her, saying that it wasn't her duty to take
humans across. Lina groaned and waved her friend
onward. "Zel, you handle this one."
He shrugged and went down to talk with the girl. After a
few quick words and an explanation, he returned, blushing
slightly.
Lina waited all of two seconds before she asked, "So
what'd she say?"
"She can take us there for five silver pieces. It's pretty
cheap considering that you're not of the chimeran blood."
Amelia blinked. "What do you mean by that?"
Zelgadis turned and looked at the isle sitting nearly ten
kilometers off-shore, laughing to himself mentally.
"Well...there have been a few changes at Garrou Island."
"Changes? You mean they fixed the crater?" Gourry
seemed amazed by this since it had only been three or
four months since they had last been there.
Zelgadis nodded. "In a way...yes."
Lina couldn't take it anymore and finally blew up. "Will you
just tell us what happened instead of running around it?!"
Zelgadis smiled slightly and said, "They've completely
renovated the island. It's not longer a cloning facility, but
rather a very special place for everyone who is a chimera.
I can get you on that barge for free if you give me a minute.
Come on, Mira-chan."
The inverse nodded and took his outstretched hand, quietly
padding alongside him as they went down the dock. The
others hesitated for a moment, then followed. Zelgadis
stopped at the end of the dock and the girl put her book
down.
"Four humans and a chimera. That'll be-" She stopped as
Zelgadis brushed the bangs out of his eyes and away from
his forehead. She stared at him for a moment, then
quickly got up and moved aside. "That'll be free. Come on
in, guys. Next stop, Garrou Island!"
As Lina and the others piled in and took their seats, she
managed to ask him one question. "What did you do?
Flirt with her or something?"
Zelgadis shook his head seriously and held onto Mira-chan
as the boat pulled away from the dock. "Nope, I just pulled
authority. Something Naria taught me to do a long time
ago."
Lina stared at him quizzically for a moment, then satisfied
herself with watching the blue water zip by the boat. "So
what has happened to Garrou Island that's changed it so
much?"
Zelgadis smiled again and sheltered Mira-chan from the
wind as they sat at the bow. "It's become a...retreat of
sorts for chimeras around the world."
~~~
The young woman at the door was remarkably similar to
Naria and yet there was an edge about her that made her
completely different. That so called edge also made the
real Naria ready to pop her one. In short...she was a
complete ditz.
"Hello, and welcome to Garrou Island Compound Number
Seven, Chimeran Health and Relaxation Spa! We hope
you enjoy your stay here and please, feel free to ask me
any questions concerning your schedule," she bubbled,
obviously 99 bricks short of a full load. "Do not step on the
red lines and please remove your boots, spikes, swords,
and weapons of mass destruction before stepping inside."
Naria slapped her hand against her forehead and sighed.
"Gee, guess I left my Giga Slave at home today. Listen,
lady, where's the leader of this nuthouse?"
"Right here, Ms. Graywords. We've been expecting you."
Naria turned and found yet another clone standing behind
her, only this time of Zelgadis. The only differences were
that he had his hair tied back into a neat ponytail and
somehow he had managed to change his eye color into a
subtle green shade.
"How did you know I was coming?" she growled as the
clone behind her began her spiel again.
"Come now, C2. We have a few oracles who pass by here
and one to two decide to remain. One such boy predicted
your coming within the next seven days. Now, you are
looking for something, are you not?" He motioned for her
to follow and went through the large, gilded doorway. Naria
noticed that he slipped his shoes off before entering and
she did the same, carrying her long black boots over her
shoulder. "My name is Sirrus and I run this 'nuthouse' as
you call it."
"Oh, yeah...um...sorry about that, but the girl you have
running the front door doesn't give the best impression..."
she mumbled in return, rubbing the back of her neck with
her free hand. "I didn't mean to sound rude or anything."
Sirrus smiled at her and shook his head. "No, really, it's
alright. Maggie is a very...good girl if not all that bright.
She gets her job done and that's all we can ask from her.
During the Degeneration, not many of us survived with
intellect intact. Come on."
He continued down a long bluish hallway and kept the
smile on his face as she ran to catch up. "Degeneration?
What's that?"
"A dark period of time that happened nearly two months
ago. The leashes were reactivated and many of us died
while others...ended up like Maggie." His cheerful
expression was suddenly replaced with one of sorrowful
memories and helplessness. "It just disappeared one day
and we try not to think about that. It was a hard time for
many of the clones and has left many scars on the minds
of those able to remember it. Those like Maggie...they are
the lucky ones."
Naria felt a sword go through her heart when she realized
what he was talking about and lowered her head. Sy...Sy
only had a ten day leash system...did that mean? She
glanced up at him and noticed the cheerful expression was
back, but behind his eyes the turmoil still boiled. "Do you
know of a Chimera 67 or Sy from Compound 6? Do you
know if she is alright?"
He stopped just outside two large double doors with
intricately carved swordsmen facing off and shook his
head. "We weren't able to track the chimeras that left the
island after Compound 6 was destroyed. We don't know
what's become of them now."
"Oh...alright..." She waited while he pushed open the
doors and found herself staring into a huge room with a
high decorated ceiling with cherubs playing among daisies
and clouds. The floor was covered with neatly arranged file
cabinets, each twelve drawers high and nine drawers
across. In the middle sat a large oaken table with several
books strewn across its polished surface and a young girl
resting her eyes momentarily, her head lowered towards
her chest. She was probably the only human left on the
island.
"Jera, wake up. We have a visitor," Sirrus murmured and
shook the girl away. "Please help this young lady with
whatever she needs. She's from Compound 6 and needs
information on something. Make sure she finds it, okay?"
"Hai, Sirrus-sama." Jera stood and bowed politely, her
purplish black hair falling down around her face. "What is
it that I may assist you with, ma'am?"
"My name's Naria and I need any records of the
pre-establishment days from Comp 6. Plus any records
you can find about the Second Chimera would be a great
help. I'm mostly just looking for before she was put into
cryostasis and what happened in the three year interval.
Will that be too hard?"
Jera shook her head. "Of course not. We have all the
records of Compound 6 here and the most extensive
research were on the first two chimeras anyway. You said
you wanted the before cryostasis stage, right?"
Naria blinked and nodded. "Yeah. How long will that
take?"
"Not long at all. Hold on." The petite librarian disappeared
behind a row of cabinets and emerged several minutes
later with three dictionary sized books in her arms. "This
is all we have on the before cryostasis stage of Chimera
Two. If you want I can find the lead scientist's data logs
too."
She set the books down at the table and Naria took a
seat. "Yeah, that'd be great," she mumbled, already
leafing through the leather bound volumes. Each page was
mostly just notes and data on tests performed, but a few
were personal entries by someone who never signed their
name. The handwriting was neat, but towards the end it
became sloppy as if the writer had become agitated and
run out of time. Something had definitely gone wrong
during the test period.
~~~
"Will you just get up already?! They've left and we're falling
behind!! I swear, it would have been easier to just come
back to the mortal realm as gods!" Mirai screamed,
dragging the sleeping bag behind her. "People are always
talking about how alert and compassionate you are and
you just keep on sleeping well into the morning. Come on,
Kojiro!! WAKE UP!"
With one fluid movement, Mirai hefted the cotton sleeping
bag over her shoulder and hurled it into the river...that was
about fifty meters below the cliff she was standing on. The
golden aura flaring up around her didn't help the situation
much as the bag containing the still asleep kami splashed
into the freezing winter water. She watched in satisfaction
as the great kami broke free and floated back up to the
surface, screaming at her from below.
"Just you wait, Mirai!!! You'll be sleeping and wake up
tomorrow with pink hair!!" he yelled, freezing the river
around him. The goddess just smirked and spun on her
heel, leaving her companion behind. Kojiro waited all of
three seconds before teleporting out of the water and back
onto the cliff. Mirai was already gone and he could see her
breaking up the camp they had shared the night before.
"So temperamental for a goddess...Imako never threw me
into frigid water before..."
Mirai glanced up and stuck her tongue out at him. "Well,
Imako's never been with you more than twenty minutes at
a time!"
Kojiro turned away in a huff and stared out over the forest.
He created a towel out of energy and began to dry himself
off as he thought. It wouldn't be long now...Xellas and
Dolphin were planning something, but his range of vision
stopped just outside the Sea of Chaos where it was
evident they held all their meetings. Lina Inverse was the
center of all this, that much had been determined by an
earlier attack that had seemed like a normal berserker
hoard. He couldn't be sure, but it seemed like a great
amount of dark energy was gathering over a local harbor
which just happened to be Garrou. Kojiro was brought out
of his reverie by a twig snapping behind him. He glanced
over his shoulder and waited until Mirai had joined him.
"You can see it, can't you, Goddess?" He seemed almost
foreboding in a nonchalant type of way and Mirai nodded.
"What is it that you see?"
She closed her eyes and pointed towards the west.
"Garrou and the island, both being held by two different
forces. The island is being protected by our power, Garrou
has fallen under Mazoku control. Two of ours are
there...their mortal presence is dying. Do we give up our
human sides and go or do we continue walking?"
"We continue walking. If we bolt over there now, we won't
be much help other than to spread the disease. Let's go."
He turned away, blue hair waving slightly in a new breeze.
Mirai waited for a few moments, then followed him. They
finished breaking camp and started out again, unaware of
the someone watching them.
~~~
A sleek, black form flitted through the window and came to
rest on the chandelier in the center of the ceiling. The
curving wrought iron made a perfect perch for the raven and
it cleaned its feathers while waiting for its turn to speak.
Xellas tapped her cigarette against the young troll's
shoulder and snapped her fingers. In an instant, the troll
was no longer there.
"So what do you have to report?" This was when Xellas
put aside her usual insanity and became all business. The
raven knew she had not had a good day's hunt and more
than likely, it was because the former troll had botched
something up.
It stared down at her with sharp beady eyes and smiled as
best a bird could. "They are in no hurry to go anywhere,
Juu'ou-sama. The two gods Makah hit are suffering greatly
at your city along with most of the town. We cannot get to
Garrou Island though. A barrier is preventing us from
entering."
"Didn't I send Xelloss to enter it once?" She brushed the
burning ashes of her cigarette off her knee and returned the
bird's glare. "Why is it that you weren't able to?"
The raven bowed its head and sighed. "The gods are
meddling again and have already placed a young god at
the heart of the island. The recent influx of divine power
there has hindered our progress."
Xellas glanced away and a playful smile tugged at her lips.
"If it has hindered your progress, then perhaps you should
not be the one doing this for me."
The raven shifted uneasily. "Juu'ou-sama, I meant no harm
by my comment. It is just that I need one more day to
break in...please don't-"
Xellas rubbed her temples and let her cigarette fall from her
fingers. It was high time she paid another visit to her
unfortunate 'friend' in the Sea of Chaos. Besides, she still
wanted to beat that fish at her own game. The
Beastmaster snapped her fingers before leaving the room
and drew yet another happy face on the wall next to the
door. As for the one she summoned, Xelloss spent the
rest of the day cleaning up the mess on the high chamber
ceiling.
~~~
"Hey, you alright?"
Kako nodded as he let his head sink to the tabletop. "I'm
just sad is all."
"Sad about what?" the platinum haired goddess, Imako,
asked.
The God of the Past sighed and pushed the hair out of his
eyes. "That bastard Ceriphan cut my braid off. I liked my
braid."
"...You're worried about your stupid braid?" The sound of a
sandwich hitting the table made Kako sink further into his
self-imposed depression. "How can you be sad about
losing your braid?"
"It took me three hundred years to grow it out that long
naturally and only three seconds for that idiot to cut it off,"
he replied indignantly. After having his head pushed under
the table and hearing Imako say something about 'no, he's
just insane' to all the people staring, he sighed again and
poked her in the knee. "I'm still depressed..."
Imako laughed and kicked him in the head. "Will you shut
up?! People are still staring at us!"
Kako smiled slightly and poked her again. "That's
because you're holding my head in such a position that I
can look up your skirt, Ima-chan."
Most of the patrons of the restaurant fled as the table went
flying across the room. "YOU HENTAI!!"
Kako kept grinning, keeping his eyes closed. "Never said I
looked, just that it seemed compromising."
Imako promptly kicked him across the room and growled,
setting the table back up. "Jeez, you're just slightly older
than I am and yet you act younger than Hikaru-kun."
The God of the Past returned and rubbed his head. "I'm
still depressed, Ima-chan. Wanna let me change your hair
color or something to cheer me up?"
The look he received could have frozen the Sea of Chaos
and he quickly sat down, running a hand through his short
brown hair. Imako glanced up from her tea and sighed.
"Why don't you just make it grow again, baka?"
Kako's hand stopped midway through its flight and he
laughed. "Never thought of it that's why!"
Imako groaned and let her head bang against the table as
Kako twirled the ragged vestiges of his old pride around his
fingers. Spinning them like silk, he drew his hand slowly
away from the back of his neck, the long strands of
brunette hair following soon after. When he finally let go of
the few strands, they had once again multiplied into long
waves of brown hair trailing below his waist. Thankful that
all the patrons had left by then, he quickly braided it and
beamed. "Hai, much better now!"
"Now, was that so hard to do?" she asked, rubbing her
temples. "Why do you make such a big deal over such
small things?"
Kako's sapphire blue eyes narrowed and he smiled
mischievously. "It's not a 'small thing,' Ima-chan.
Wouldn't you think it would be a big deal if you lost all
those pictures you had?"
Imako blinked and stared at the older god, suspicion rising
in her green eyes. "You mean the ones that Lei-san made
for me and my special one too? The ones you're not
supposed to know about?"
Kako sweatdropped slightly and grinned. "Uh...yeah,
those would be them!"
The townspeople of Garrou didn't even stir as the sound of
a local tavern blowing up echoed through the cove. What
they did stir at was the sight of a man flying from the newly
formed crater screaming that if it took all of eternity, he'd
steal the pictures.
~~~
Naria rubbed her eyes and got up. In all her searching,
she had found only data tables and things she already
knew. It had been a waste of time...a complete waste of
time. Jera had returned much earlier with the diaries, but
she had not been able to read them. Tomorrow, she
promised herself, tomorrow she'd go through the diaries.
At the moment, she needed rest...
"Mira-chan...I'm so sorry about all this..." she whispered,
subconsciously braiding her long, glittering blue hair. She
stopped at the corner and stared down into the dark
depths of yet another hallway. Sighing, she leaned heavily
on the wall and lowered her head. "I wish you could
understand..."
"Understand what?" The sound of another voice made her
jump and when she turned around, ready to fight, she
found a chimeran girl, barely three years old, standing
behind her and holding a unicorn plushie. "What's the
matter, Oneechan?"
Naria smiled and shook her head. The girl continued to
smile and held up her doll. "Mina wants to know. What's
the matter?"
"Mina?" Naria eyed the doll for a moment, then sighed.
"Tell Mina that I'm just tired."
The girl smiled and hugged the stuffed toy. "Mina thanks
you for talking with Mina. Mina is always so lonely without
anyone to play with. Will you be Mina's friend?"
The older chimera hesitated, trying to figure out who she
was talking about, then smiled. "Yeah, I'll be Mina's
friend."
The girl's face lit up and she promptly jumped into Naria's
arms, snuggling up to her and closing her eyes. "Mina's
happy now...Will you be Mina's mommy? Mina lost her
mommy three weeks ago and now Mina is lonely...will you
be Mina's mommy?"
Naria's face fell and she cradled the young girl in her arms.
"I can't be your mother, Mina...but I'll take care of you
while I'm here. Is that alright?"
Mina nodded and began to doze off. "As long as someone
is holding Mina, Mina doesn't feel as alone.."
Naria waited until she was asleep, then carefully walked
down the hallway towards the main lobby where she had
first entered. Casting occasional glances towards the girl
in her arms, Naria wished she could say the same thing.
~~~
"Thank you. We won't need your services back." Zelgadis
waited until she had left, then turned to face everyone else.
"We better fly in."
"Why? I'd think walking would be a lot less conspicuous
here." Lina glanced around, seeing another small boat
parked about four meters away. "Bet that was Naria,
right?"
Mira-chan was already rooting through the contents of the
small craft and pulled a bag out of it. "This is hers!! She's
here! We have to find her!! Hurry up!!"
She ran forward and felt someone grab her collar, yanking
her back and pulling her off her feet. She was about to cry
when a huge, gaping hole opened up right in front of her.
Her eyes went a mile wide and the usual sparkles
appeared again. She turned to find and smiled at her
savior. "Arigatou, Gourry-san."
He returned her smile and pointed towards the tracks
leading around the hole. "Better watch for those."
Lina sighed and nodded. "Even if he's not that bright, he's
a good tracker so follow him. Zel, if we avoid the traps by
flying, we don't know what kind of environment they have
inside. We'll have to take this slow and easy."
Five minutes later the screams of 'Fireball' rang throughout
the forest.
~~~
Kojiro stopped just outside the small seaside village and
frowned. "We can't enter here."
"What?" Mirai dropped her pack and ran forward, instantly
coming to a halt just outside the city limits. She stumbled
back and fell, almost as if she had been pushed. "I-Ite..."
"Should have listened to me," he teased and poked at the
invisible barrier. "Huh, didn't think she'd move this fast.
Oh, well."
"Who are you talking about?" Mirai asked as she stood,
rubbing her sore hip. "Kamis it sucks to be mortal
sometimes..."
"The Greater Beast Xellas Metallium...Juu'ou is moving
faster than I had expected. Then again, no one can predict
what's going on inside an insane Mazoku's mind..." He
turned and smiled at Mirai. "There's no way inside this
barrier, so we might as well go home."
The younger goddess could only stare in shock as her
boss walked past her. "W-what do you mean 'go home?'
We can't leave! Imako and Kako are somewhere in that
barrier!"
Kojiro smiled slightly and nodded. "I know. That's why I
said we need to go home. This is too close to the present
for you to be able to see, Mirai, but you'll understand soon.
There is something in that city that I don't want either of
us catching."
As the elder god disappeared, she hesitated and continued
to watch the bustling town just within her reach. "Too
close to the present? What is he talking about?"
Mirai pressed her fingertips to the barrier and watched as
watery ripples of energy pulsated away from them. She
tracked their movement all the way to the top and sighed
as they continued to move horizontally along the box-like
barrier. She lowered her gaze and suddenly froze, an
expression of absolute terror flitting across her face. Mirai
quickly backpedaled and snatched up her pack,
teleporting out just before the shockwave hit her. Now she
knew...Imako and Kako were in very serious trouble.
~~~
"Check." Xellas set her piece down and grinned devilishly
at her partner. "It's time we quit, Dolphin. We only have
another day before we move ahead once more."
Dolphin growled and slammed her black piece down before
the attacker. "I know. Move, dammit."
Xellas sighed and did as she was told. "Dolphin, we have
successfully trapped two of the gods there and they are
furthering what we need without knowing, but it's no fun
unless you're down there spreading chaos too. I already
have the tests drawn up anyway."
Deep Sea Dolphin raised her azure-haired head and lightly
brushed a clam shell out of her eyes. "We don't move until
I say so. You wouldn't be involved in this unless I had
invited you in. So be a sweetheart and don't screw me
over on this."
Xellas nodded reluctantly and moved her piece across the
board. "When do you want to go?"
"Oh, say noonish? I think the lunch our will give us quite
an advantage. Many more people to terrorize and all."
Dolphin poured her cup of water into a nearby plant and
smiled as it died from the poison laced in it. She snapped
her fingers and instantly a fish man appeared, then
disappeared as Dolphin executed him.
"Is he the one who did it?" Xellas asked, never lifting her
eyes from the board. Dolphin shrugged and pushed her
piece forward.
"Think I care?"
"Nope, just wondering." Xellas set her piece down and
took a long drag of her cigarette. "Noon sounds good to
me. Xelloss should be done with his mission by then."
Dolphin groaned, as she instantly changed one of Xellas'
pieces to a black piece. "Now why must we use your little
pet in this?"
"He's a hard worker and _I_ want him there. Understand?"
she said, venom dripping in her voice. "Oh, Dolphin?
Checkmate."
Dolphin stared down at the board and sighed, hurling the
pieces into the Sea of Chaos. "Fine with me Xellas, but
you know what? I hate checkers; next time we play
badminton."
~~~
The scene to any normal bystander would be of a tall, lithe
youth dressed in silver and blue being tugged along by his
rather long braid by a shorter maiden with silver hair and a
set of fierce emerald eyes. Most people stayed out of their
way, but the few unfortunate to be in their path definitely
felt their wake. The youth was yelling about how she
couldn't treat an elder that way and the girl was saying
how she had higher rank. The man also had taken every
other bystander and used them as an anchor as he was
pulled along. Oddly enough, he was able to hold them for
three seconds, then it seemed as if his hand would slip
right through them.
"Would you stop that already?! People are staring!!"
Imako screamed, whipping Kako around and heaving him
across the plaza via his braid. Kako, in response,
slammed into the side of a nearby magic shop and
bounced like a rubber ball. He somersaulted back towards
her and with a quick twist, landed right behind the younger
girl. Taking advantage of the situation, he closed his eyes
and formed a long wooden staff in his hands. This he used
to expertly sweep the girl off her feet and into a nearby
water fountain.
"Serves you right for picking on me when I was already
hurt!!" Kako cried at her fallen form. He examined his staff
and quickly retied the blue ribbon at the end, forming a
golden spearpoint as a tip. "Jeez, you think you'd know
better than to do that to me. We're both mortal now and it
hurts when you toss someone into a solid rock wall."
Imako only burbled a reply and sat up, wiping the water
from her face with one hand. Kako stared down at her and
rolled his silver-colored sleeves, offering her his hand.
"Come on, let's get you out before you catch a cold or
something."
Imako growled at him and stood up, stomped out of the
water, and shook her head, sending water droplets flying
around the town square. She glanced up and couldn't help
laughing as Kako, hand still outstretched, was now looking
like a drowned rat. "All that from a little water!"
Kako scowled and wrung out his braid. "All that came
from you shaking your head, baka! It seems like I can't
take you to the beach or anything now. You'll soak up half
the ocean!!"
Soon the plaza was emptied of townspeople as everyone
fled for safer ground. Or more accurately, people fled to
the gambling tables to place bets on who would win the
fight.
~~~
Some say that it's an odd sensation. Others say it's
exhilarating and kinda like being on a mixture of Jolt and
seven packages of pure sugar. However, whichever way
you look at it, getting a physical body is one of the few
things the gods lived for. As the normally blank space
began to take shape once more, random balls of energy
stretched themselves out and took on solid form.
Humanoid appendages and faces formed out concentrated
light while two figures raced across the still forming
garden. One figure raised his hand, immediately being
raised above the newly formed gods on a makeshift
platform of earth and stone. He dropped his hand and
waited until all the gods had assembled before speaking.
"As you have already seen or heard, there is a crisis upon
the physical world we reign over. Now is the most difficult
time for the gods, and I must ask you for your complete
cooperation. I realize many of you will not be pleased with
my decision, but even the Goddess of the Future has seen
the importance of our united stand on this issue." Kojiro
stood, addressing nearly four hundred gods of all shapes,
sizes, and energy levels. A few nearly as powerful as
himself, some he could destroy with a blink of an eye, and
the majority being very restless and concerned about what
was happening. "There is a barrier around the town of
Garrou, a small province off the main coast. Now, Garrou
itself is not important, but the people currently there are.
They just happen to be Lina Inverse and the Greater Beast
Xellas Metallium."
The two names sent murmurs through the crowd and Mirai
eyed them coldly, causing them to quiet down again.
Kojiro cleared his throat and continued. "As you see, this
is a major issue, which we cannot ignore."
"If we do, the world will still continue, Kami-sama," called
the God of Darkness, Kuro. Several positive replies came
after that, cheering this outspoken one to continue with his
words. "Can it not be that we just leave Lina Inverse on
her own? She is powerful after all and quite capable of
taking care of herself."
"Do you not realize that it's because we gods have favored
her for her entire life?" Demuir, Goddess of Illusion,
countered. "We have helped those mortals more than we
help ourselves, it's our purpose here."
Many of the gods began to side with Demuir and chattered
among themselves as Kuro continued to argue with her.
Kojiro just watched the debate, acting as impartial judge
and jury. As Demuir resorted to name-calling, Kuro
remained noble and shook his head. "Do not stoop to
such levels, Demuir. Even if you are naive sometimes, I-"
"Stop this at once!!" The sharp and agitated voice rang out
through the plaza, cutting him off before he could finish his
sentence. The voice was followed by the metallic clang of
a staff striking the cobbled pathway. Demuir and Kuro
glanced up to find Mirai standing over them and scowling.
Her golden aura flaring up around her in her anger and
blinding those who looked too long. "You bicker like
children while your friends are trapped within the barrier,
dying slowly without even realizing it! They were marked
and now it has a taste for divine as well as human blood.
Lina Inverse is crucial to the survival of this world and the
order in which we try to maintain. If we lose her to Juu'ou,
all is lost, do you understand me? So stop whining like
children and start acting your age!!"
Demuir backed away and was assimilated into the crowd
while Kuro was soon to follow. Kojiro, still remaining
impartial to the argument, smiled faintly as Mirai ended
her speech and stomped back to the makeshift podium.
To help ease the tension, he spoke again. "If you have
any questions or concerns, you can ask me instead of
fighting over it because remember, Mirai is the one who
handles disputes, not me. Now, if you are all quite done,
shall we continue?"
After a collective murmured 'yes,' the god picked up where
he left off. "I need volunteers who are willing to come with
me to rescue the Fates and Lina Inverse. The Dolphin's
Tear has been given to the keeper of Time itself to remain
safely hidden for eternity, so do not think of using it as an
easy way out. I was told by a...higher source that we are
allowed to directly intervene in this plot, so who will come
with us?"
Silence descended upon the group and Kojiro felt his
proverbial heart fall. He was about to step down, when a
small voice came from the middle of the group. As if it
were one of the old movies, the people around the speaker
parted and formed a circle around him. The young
golden-haired boy smiled up at the older god and bowed
low. "I will help you get them back, Kami-sama."
Kojiro smiled as the child walked through the crowd and
came to rest at the bottom of the podium. "Thank you,
Hikaru-dono."
Soon after someone else emerged from the group and
bowed low, his brown hair masking his face, but the
light-green tunic telling all. "Kami-sama, we'd both be glad
to serve you."
Mirai breathed a sigh of relief as Kojiro was once again
smiling. "Then with Mirai, Hikaru, and Gaea, we will leave
for Garrou. The rest of you are to busy yourselves with the
background work. Don't worry, we'll be back soon."
~~~
"Damn, I knew she'd do something like this to preserve
order, but I didn't think she'd go this far." Xellas Metallium
sat in the middle of a large clearing in the midst of her
private woods and cursed her luck. "Ah, L-sama, it seems
that you still don't favor me over the rest of your servants.
And here I was thinking you'd actually come for tea this
afternoon, such is fate."
A moment of silence passed as Xellas listened to the
rustling leaves and smirked. She raised her head in time
to meet the bluish bubble that appeared before her. The
woman within the bubble was nothing more than an
illusion, but it was clear that she was not happy.
"What did I tell you, Juu'ou!! I knew she was going to
interfere and you wouldn't listen to me! Not only that, but
you're _allowing_ this to happen!!" Dolphin screamed, the
shells in her hair slapping together as she shook her head
violently. "I can't believe you!!"
"Oh, calm down, Dolphin. We still have a chance.
Besides, I made a small deal with L-sama a few decades
ago...she has to let us play one game with the humans of
our choice. I've made the game up and as long as it's 'fair'
to the humans, then we can play it. Now, are you still
ranting or do I have to continue muting your little
projection?" Xellas smiled as Dolphin, still enraged,
nodded her head in simple compliance. "Good, I'll explain
it to you at our next meeting...say, over a game of poker?
Alright, see you tomorrow then."
The bubble burst and Xellas was once again alone in the
forest. She grinned and tugged at the blade of grass
tickling her knee. It was going to be so much fun to watch
the little humans play her game...and she had made the
rules very fair in her book. Then again, 'fair' in her book
was outright cheating in another's.
~~~
"These records have to be wrong...Sirrus!!" Naria threw the
book down onto the table and darted out of the library. "Sirr-!"
The clone stopped as she ran into him and tried his best to
look confused as she explained her problem.
"There has to be something wrong with the records, isn't
there?! That couldn't have happened! He-he couldn't have
been-!" Naria stopped as she noticed the look on Sirrus'
face. Her ice blue eyes narrowed as she backed away, as
if stung by an unknown force. "You're worse at lying than
Oniichan is..."
The young chimera could only lower his head in shame as
she fled from his sight. It was going to be hard explaining
everything to her. "Poor girl, if only she had known
beforehand like the rest of us. Jera, bring our guests to
the main lobby and tell them that their friend is no longer
here. I don't think she wants to see them."
The young woman, who had apparently come out of
nowhere, nodded and ran down the opposite hallway
towards the waiting room. Sirrus bit his lower lip and
began the hard journey of trying to calm C2 down.
~~~
"What do you mean 'she's no longer here'?! We just heard
her voice!" Lina growled, stabbing the mousy librarian in
the shoulder with her finger. "Jeez, come on guys, we're
finding Naria ourselves. Apparently humans still aren't
welcome to this stupid place."
The fiery sorceress took off out the open door, not heeding
Jera as she tried to stop them. Mira-chan bowed politely
to the other girl and apologized before following her twin
out. The rest of the gang was soon to follow. Lina stalked
down the hallways and easily breezed by the closed
double doors with two swordsmen facing off against each
other. After about another ten minutes of searching the
rather long hallway (it really had no ending since the main
hallway they were on was built in a circle), they decided to
split into groups. Lina and Gourry would take one side
while Zelgadis, Amelia, and Mira-chan took the other. It
was Zelgadis' group that found the chimeran girl later on,
but when they did, they wished they hadn't.
~~~
Naria slowly backed away from Sirrus' pleading gaze,
shaking her head in disbelief. "You're lying to me! This
whole stupid thing was just fabricated by that idiot who
created me to make me go insane later on in life. This is a
total lie!! It has to be!!"
"Naria-sama, it's all very much the truth. I know it's hard to
suddenly find all this out, but most chimeras know of your
entire life. You were the first successful chimeran drone
and the only one to be made from a human. You had a
family once and the rest of us are just clones of DNA
samples taken years ago. I suppose the Creator decided
not to tell you about your family and now you're figuring it
out. The dreams you've been having aren't just
dreams...they're memories." Sirrus took yet another step
forward, causing Naria to be pressed up against the row of
cabinets. "It's true, Naria-sama...your parents are dead
and have been dead from the time they first took you to
Compound Six. It's also true about the Creator...about
Kako...he's really-"
Sirrus was cut off as Naria slammed her fist into his
stomach. Although it hurt, he gently placed his hands on
her quivering shoulders and tried his best to console her.
It was hard knowing that your worst enemy in the world
had been your family.
"You have to accept it, Naria-sama." She shook her head
and tried to pull away, but was powerless as she felt her
world crumble around her. "Kako Eienjo killed your
parents. He destroyed your town. He made you a
chimera...and he was-"
Naria screamed, prying herself from Sirrus' grasp. She
turned violently and pushed hard against the cabinets,
sending them crashing to the ground as tears began to
well up in her eyes. "You're lying!! This whole place is
made of lies!! All of it! It has to be!!"
Sirrus clasped his hands together in his lap and lowered
his head. "If you need proof, then I suggest you look at
this."
Naria glanced over her shoulder and tried to stop him as he
pulled a small photograph out of the book she had so
recently slammed closed on the table. He held it up
impassively at her eye level and she was forced to face
what she had never wanted to see. Naria had known for a
long time that the girl she always saw in her dreams was
her. The small child with purple hair and golden eyes had
been what she saw in the mirror when she had become a
human and now she was faced with that same child, but in
a different light.
The photo was a family portrait with her as a young human
girl, her mother and father, and Kako Eienjo standing
behind them, a hand resting on her father's shoulder. She
had to marvel at the resemblance her father bore to insane
god who chose a mortal life over that of the godhood.
Same hair, facial features, and he even worse glasses in
the picture...Naria watched as the lines of the people's
faces were blurred by her own angered tears. She slowly
sank to the floor and silently punched the carpeted ground.
Sirrus dropped the photo by her clenched fists and sighed.
"Do you finally accept it?"
She nodded, trying desperately to hold back the tears she
knew were starting to fall. From faraway she heard two
doors open and someone scream her name, but she didn't
want them to see her face and thankfully her bangs
obscured it enough. Sirrus turned to greet his guests and
smiled sadly.
"Naria Oneesama!! What happened?!" Mira-chan struggled
against two strong chimeran arms as she tried to reach
her adopted sister. "Naria Oneesama!!"
Zelgadis scowled at his clone as he held the inverse back.
"What did you do to her?"
"I just told her the truth," Sirrus replied, stoically.
Amelia pushed past the other two and gazed down at the
chimeran girl as her shoulders shook with unimaginable
rage. She raised her eyes to the chimeran boy before her
and murmured, "And that would be?"
He answered her by saying, "That Kako Eienjo is Naria
Graywords' grandfather."