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-- File: slayerswild3.txt
Slayers: Wild
By Silentnova
Slayers and its characters are the creations and
properties of Hajime Kanzaka. Ranma 1/2 and its
characters are the creations and property of Rumiko
Takahashi. The author is writing this story with
neither intentions of profit nor designs for
acclaim. Please, do not sue this poor author.
Criticisms & comments are said to be appreciated
and even rumoured to be used. Please, I can be
reached at [Silentnova@go.com] if you have anything
to add to the story.
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Part Three
Incredible! The Rings of Knowledge
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I
"Xellos, what are -you- doing here!?" Zelgadis
asked.
"Oh, is something wrong with me being here?" asked
the priest. "I've just come here to say hello!
Nothing more."
"Yeah right."
"Anyway," Xellos waved off further questioning.
"Ranma and Akane! It's so nice to see you two
again! How was the kind 'nutcase'? Did you find
what you were looking for?"
Ranma stood up off of the small pile off people
beneath her. "Don't know."
"Hmm?"
"We don't know what we're looking for. Akane and me
were looking everywhere, but we didn't find
anything." She shrugged. "Maybe it's because we
don't know what we're supposed to be looking for."
"We really don't know how we even got here," added
Akane, "one moment we were discussing whether my
sister or I should cook, then we were in that
mage's place."
"That sounds terrible!" Xellos' smiled. "Then it's
decided, I shall join you to help you to look for a
way home!"
"What!?" Lina pushed Gourry off of her self. There
was a brief silence then she crossed the space
dividing her from her prey and grabbed Xellos by
his collar. "Tell me what you're up to!"
A finger was waved her face. "-That- is a secret!"
Lina's grip over Xellos' collar tightened. "I've
already warned you."
"You did? But Lina, I don't remember you warning
him at all!" interrupted Gourry.
"I did so Gourry, you were just unconscious is
all!"
"But you underneath me, so that means..."
Zelgadis stopped the entire conversation. "Look,
let's continue this somewhere else. Or else we'll
end up being chased out of town by the mob
gathering outside."
"You mean they're going to blame us for that
duck!?" She ran over to a window. "But that duck
was theirs!" she shouted, pointing at Ranma and
Akane, who each took a step back in surprise.
"It's the one who destroyed the inn. That horrible
Lina Inverse!" someone shouted. "Get her!"
Zelgadis sighed. "Okay then Lina, have it your
way." He looked at Ranma and Akane. "Stay in front
of me, okay?"
"Hey! What about me?" Lina shouted. "A lady
shouldn't have to run after a man! And besides,
Ranma's half a guy!"
"Maybe it has to do something with breast size."
commented Gourry.
"No, that isn't it at all!" Zelgadis furiously
blushed.
"Gourry!" screamed Lina.
"Pervert!" Ranma and Akane shouted.
Three different elbows dug into Gourry's skull,
sending the sword-less swordsman off into a daze.
"Um, not to interrupt anything, but it appears
these farmers and townsfolk now have their
pitchforks and torches!" Xellos said. A sweat-drop
ran down his temple.
"Let's go!" Zel commanded.
---------------------------------------------------
II
A wall exploded scattering dust outward from the
inn. Suddenly a group of five escaped the inn,
dodging thrown pitchforks and rocks. Behind the
five was a mob.
"Humph, what is -he- doing here?" Olric asked. He
was standing high above the streets below. Many
thoughts passed through his mind. One passed his
lips, "I wonder, does he know?"
"Does it matter?" Emerald asked. "If we can get
what we want, -he- won't matter anymore!"
"True enough, but still...we must be even more
cautious now." He looked at the emerald hair elf
standing beside him. "Xellos is too powerful to
underestimate."
"And this is first-hand experience speaking?"
Olric ignored the question. His silence was answer
enough.
---------------------------------------------------
III
Ranma was bored. He was also dreaming. How he knew
he was dreaming was a small mystery, but one not
worth solving. Beside him stood Akane.
Before the two floated a priest. He never yet said
his name, but it seemed the priest couldn't
remember it anyway. He wore red robes and, like
Xellos, kept his eyes closed. Unlike Xellos, every
once in a while he would open his eyes and reveal a
kindness.
"Now, it is time to resume our lesson from last
night." he said, his soft voice filled with
excitement, as though -he- were the student.
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IV
Ranma awoke. "I thought I left school behind..." He
looked at the ring he'd unknowingly acquired just a
day earlier. "This is pretty annoying...Wish I
could take it off."
He spied Akane out of the corner of his eye. "Can't
take yours off either, huh?"
"No."
"Oh."
"Hey you two! Glad you're up! I need a cook!" Lina
looked back and forth between the two. Finally
resting her eyes upon Ranma, she grinned
mischievously. "Since you're from another world, I
really want to try something new for breakfast!"
Ranma shrank back. Nothing he'd ever seen before
rivalled the fear inspired in him from the gaze of
Lina. "Uh, okay...But first can you...uh, look at
these rings?" He showed Lina his ring. He knew
Akane did likewise.
"Hmm...wedding bands..." she replied. "Hey! Don't
look at me like -that-! Reminds me of someone, who
I really -do- not want to think about right now!"
"We're not married yet! We just want to know what
these dumb rings are doing. They're giving us weird
dreams and teaching us funny stuff!"
"Really? She yanked both Ranma and Akane's hands
close to her face. "What!? This can't be! These are
the markings of the Mage, Shazaard Lugandi! Not
only him, these rings have passed through hundreds
of other mages too. The last one was Rezo, the Red
Priest."
"Who are those two?" Ranma looked at Akane, who
shrugged. "Shazaard? Rezo? Guess they -must've-
been great if -Lina's- acting so surprised."
After a minute of studying the rings, Lina let the
hands drop. "The rings, they're not too special.
They simply teach you magic and some history
through your sub-conscience. My guess is, right
now, Rezo is the teacher."
"Oh, magic." Ranma began to saunter away. "Guess
I'll go...cook..."
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V
"Why didn't you ask me to cook?" asked Akane.
"Cause you look like you need my clever know how
concerning magic!" Lina added silently, "And also
because Ranma looked pretty scared whenever I
looked at you after I said, 'cook'!"
"Now Akane, I'm a little interested in something.
If you're being taught magic through your sub-
conscience, how far along have you come in your
lessons?"
"What do you mean?"
Lina looked around. "Say for example, I pointed to
that big rock over there and asked you to hit it
with a Flare Arrow, could you? I need to know if
you can look after yourself...I can't be worrying
about you or your fianc�e if we're attacked by
anything."
It wasn't difficult to understand what Lina had
asked her to do. "I think I might be able to, but I
don't know where to start."
"Start with the words. It's not too difficult. The
actions should come naturally, if you can destroy
stuff that is."
After calmly breathing in, Akane looked at the
rock. "East winds that blow, have you as their
source, into my hands, ignite all their force!
Flare Arrow!"
Suddenly an arrow of fire appeared in Akane's
hands. She drew back as if handling an arrow with a
bow then let go.
The poor, defenceless boulder had no chance.
Lina clapped her hands together. "Good job Akane!
It seems you -do- have a knack for magic in you!"
Lina had no chance to continue. A large shadow fell
over her. "Akane, look behind me and tell me what's
there!"
Akane backed up a couple of inches. "I don't live
around here, remember? So how would I know what
that -thing- is?"
"Oh yeah!" Turning around, Lina saw what it was. A
golem with an affinity for rocks. "Wow, it just
seems so contrived!"
Contrived or not, this particular golem was unhappy
with Akane's actions only moments before. It
swaggered protectively in front of any other
boulders in the area.
"Fireball!" Lina shouted, hurling one towards the
golem. With an amazing speed, the golem sidestepped
the fireball. "Back to camp Akane! I'm too hungry
to deal with that thing!" Turning around, Lina
grabbed Akane by her arm and dragged her in the
direction Ranma had gone.
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VI
"Magic, huh?" Ranma asked himself, as he finished
cutting the vegetables in front of him. "Wonder how
it works..."
Zelgadis, who wasn't too far away, coughed, gaining
Ranma's attention. "Excuse me, did you say
something about magic?"
"Yeah, Lina said these rings me and Akane got from
that one place are teaching us magic through our
subconscious'." Ranma looked at his ring. "It seems
true."
"Subconscious? Do you mean in your dreams?" Zel
asked.
"Yeah, some guy named Rezo is in them boring me
awake about how magic works! Can't even have a
decent dream with him in..."
In the moment it takes one to blink, Zelgadis had
Ranma by his collar. "Did you just say the name
Rezo!?"
"Uh, yeah. You know him or something?"
Zel let him drop. "I -knew- him. Let's just say he
-helped- me gain power, but it doesn't matter
anymore, he died when a part of the Dark Lord,
Shabrinigdo, was born."
"Now wait Zel, perhaps -it- does matter..." said
Xellos, who was tasting the finished food. "Ranma,
this salad is delicious!"
"Learned from the best."
"What do you want Xellos?"
"To try this wonderful food, of course."
"You're a Mozoku, do you even need food?"
"That's a secret!" said the priest, before walking
away.
"Humph, annoying pest!" Zelgadis muttered. He
looked at Ranma, who was looking a little bored.
"One question Ranma, can you cast a spell?"
"You mean like this?" Ranma faced the direction
opposite Xellos had gone and said, "Oh, source of
all power, light which burns beyond crimson red,
let thy power gather in my hand. Fireball!" The
ball of light, appearing between Ranma's hands, was
casually tossed forward.
At the same moment, Lina burst forth from said
direction dragging Akane behind her. The fireball
missed both and instead hit the stone monster
behind.
The resulting explosion propelled Lina and Akane
forward. Her speed was too much to stop, but Lina
tried anyway. She quickly found herself eating
dirt. Akane was tossed into the air, but was gently
caught by Ranma.
"Oh, what was that?" Lina asked, taking her face
out of the dirt.
"Just some weird stone monster thing that was
chasing you and Akane being blown apart by a
fireball." replied Ranma, still cradling Akane in
his arms.
Lina blinked. "Well, that explains quite a bit,
doesn't it?" She stood up and brushed herself off.
"Now that golem's dispute with us is settled, let's
eat and head on to Saillune!"
"What about Gourry?" Ranma asked.
"Don't worry about him!" A bead of sweat ran down
Lina's temple. "I'm betting those villagers will
let him go sooner or later! And this is good way to
teach him to be faster from now on!"
Ranma and Akane swallowed. "If this is how she
treats her friends, then I'd hate to be her enemy!"
they silently chorused.
---------------------------------------------------
VII
In a cold jail cell sat a blonde mercenary
swordsman, who didn't have a sword. Suddenly he
sneezed. "Wonder who's thinking about me?" he
asked. "Oh well, guess the only thing I can do now
is wait!"
End Part Three
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