Lina awoke from bed, rested, and as always,
hungry for the next meal, which, happened to be breakfast. She
got up, stretched, and looked down. Next to her bed, was the stereotypical
dumb blonde, but, male. She poked him with her foot. "Gourry?
Hey, Gourry. Wake up."
"Gwah...I like this jellyfish costume, yeah, go with da flow...woo..."
Gourry muttered sleepily. He snored loudly, typical Gourry. He
smiled gently and slept silently for a moment...
"GOURRY!!!! FOOD!!! BREAKFAST!! UP!! NOW!!" Lina yelled,
knowing that would get his attention. She chuckled a bit at her
behavior. She never actually knew why she needed him there at
the table, to argue with, to quarrel with, to get the last bit
of food left...A weak smile spread across her face, she blushed
a bit.
"...Food...FOOD!! WHERE?! Food, food, food, food!!!"
Gourry exclaimed loudly. He stood up at the mention of food, eyes
wide with eagerness to feast upon pancakes, bacon, eggs, whatever!
"Downstairs, silly. C'mon, Breakfast is at the table."
She spoke, smirking slightly.
"I bet I'll get breakfast before you will!" Gourry yelled
immaturely, as he usually handles food situations.
"No way! Eat my dust, Gourry!" Lina responded sharply,
taking a running stance, and she shot off.
"Not fair!" Gourry yelled. He ran ahead of her, putting
his hand out to block her. His hand accidentally hit her in the
wrong spot...
"GOURRY YOU SICK WEIRDO!! Get your hand off of my cleavage!"
Lina screamed, still running.
"Cleavage? You have cleavage? I don't see anythin--"
Gourry started, but was shut up by a kick in the face. Just at
that moment, a girl with long black hair and green eyes walked
out....
"Ah!" she squeaked in her meek, tiny voice. For a moment,
everything froze. Gourry looked to Lina, Lina looked to Gourry,
the girl looked to Gourry.
"Gourry dear? Miss Lina? Is that you?" she asked in
a soft voice.Her eyes sparkled at Gourry.
"Um...I think I know you...uh..."Gourry began.
"Sylphiel! It's you again! What brings you to Sailoon?"
Lina asked.
"I was traveling. Back in Sairaag, not much happens, so,
I thought if I left, I might find someone to help, or, if I was
lucky, run into you and dear Gourry." Sylphiel replied.
"Oh, I see..." Lina said, looking to Gourry. Gourry
happened not to be paying attention, and, attempting, perhaps
for the first time, trying to remember what he was doing.
"Hey Lina, weren't we going to get breakfast?" Gourry
asked, puzzled for a second.
"Oh...Uhh...YEAH! I'll beat ya there!!" Lina yelled,
running again. Gourry ran by her side, trying to get ahead. Far
behind them, Sylphiel, with a confused look on her face, was following.
"Mmm! That sure was a good breakfast, Mr. Xelloss!"
Amelia said, smiling, finishing off the scrambled eggs.
"Well, I guess my cooking isn't that bad, now is it?"
Xelloss responded.
"The coffee wasn't bad, to say the least..." Zelgadiss
muttered, not able to admit someone he disliked so much was a
good cook. Suddenly, Lina and Gourry appeared in the dining room,
Sylphiel catching up briefly.
"You mean you guys ate it all?" Lina asked.
"Well, Lina, Amelia and Zel tried not to eat it all, they
tried to leave some for you but..." Xelloss started.
"But it was the best food ever!" Amelia bursted. "I
couldn't help but eat it all!! It's so yummy! Mr. Xelloss is a
great cook!"
Lina slumped down in a chair. She just looked down, a sweat drop
on her head. She sighed, looked up, and screamed:
"DON'T SAY ANYMORE OR I'LL GET REALLY MAD!! NOW, MAKE ME
SOME FOOD!!!"
Sylphiel, still standing behind Gourry
immediately walks into the kitchen and makes some food, to avoid
angering Lina. Lina just sat quietly steaming. Gourry sat next
to her, requesting foods for Sylphiel to make. Zel just continued
drinking coffee. Xelloss...had...vanished, so, normal morning.
Later on that day, after Lina had eaten and Xelloss reappeared,
the group packed up and walked out of the town....
"I'm bored. I wanna be a true hero of justice, and fight
the villains, and destroy all evil!" Amelia whined. "And,
we're not doing that...I'm really bored...And I'm sick of walking..."
"Amelia, there's more to life than fighting bad guys..."
Gourry said, smiling, for no apparent reason.
"Like what? I thought the ultimate achievement in life was
to aid the fight for justice." Amelia replied.
"Oh...well...uh..."Gourry spoke, confused.
"Like food!! And money!! And power!!" Lina exclaimed
happily, continuing walking.
"Or like helping people out, or finding true love..."
Sylphiel started.
"Finding the right dress to wear--Or finding good jewelry.
Or annoying people...Or, maybe it's just to be pretty.."
Xelloss said, grinning and acting amazingly fruity. Everyone stopped
walking and stared at him, everyone raising an eyebrow at the
mazoku's strange comment.
"Oh..Um..Well, I guess I shouldn't have said that...Hm...Well,
never mind..." Xelloss replied, sweat dropping at his own
openness.
"As I was going to say, the only goals in my life are to
find a cure for this monstrous body and maybe increase my power."
Zelgadiss spoke.
'Mr. Zelgadiss, don't you have anything else to live for? No one
you love, or care about, and you don't even want to fight for
justice?" Amelia asked with wide eyes.
"Not really. None of that really matters to me, not until
I find my cure..." Zelgadiss muttered, annoyed at Amelia's
naivete.
And so, the group walked on, blowing up random obstacles, like
bandits, dead trees, weird girls drooling over Gourry... Finally,
they got to yet another town.
"Hey, Lina....Is there a restaurant
anywhere around here? I'm hungry. I want food. Find a restaurant,
Lina." Gourry whined.
"I'M HUNGRY TOO!! NOW, IDIOT, SHUDDUP!!!...I'm cranky....
" Lina yelled.
"Obviously..." Zel muttered.
"Quiet, you..." Lina spoke with an angry tone, glaring.
"I have a feeling something weird will happen today..."
She added.
"Guys, I agree with her." Gourry stated. "But,
let's go eat...You know how Lina gets when she's hungry!"
And so, the group of one dumb blonde, one mazoku, three sorceresses,
and one chimera moved on. Sylphiel stopped to look at some things
through a window.
Sylphiel, Gourry, and Lina ran ahead.
Zelgadiss, Xelloss, and Amelia sat on a bench on the street waiting
for Lina, Gourry, and Sylphiel to come back. They watched the
group walk to a restaurant. Sylphiel lagged behind Lina and Gourry.
"Sylphiel! Come on! It's time for lunch!" Said Gourry.
"Coming Gourry dear!" the girl replied back. She ran
to the man's side.
"Hey, there's a restaurant? Wanna eat there?" he said.
"Sure!" Sylphiel, responded. Suddenly, Lina grabbed
him by the hair and pulled him along.
"GOURRY!! LET'S GO!! TIME FOR...FOOD!!!" Her eyes glistened
wildly, with a desire...For nothing, but food...
"Miss Lina!" Sylphiel yelled. She caught up with the
red haired lunatic. "Please don't pull dear Gourry along
like that! He'll get hurt!"
"Ah, don't worry about me! I'm used to it." The man,
Gourry said with a big dumb grin.
"See, Sylphiel! He's too dumb to get hurt!" the Lina
stated. "Here we are! The best restaurant in Secata! 'Ling
Ling's Fine Cuisine'!"
"Um...Miss Lina, the place appears to be abandoned!"
Sylphiel suddenly yelled.
"Ah...."the red head, Lina, said in shock. "IT
CAN'T BE!!! NOOOO!! I WAITED ALL MY LIFE TO EAT HERE!!! AAAAAH!!"
Gourry stood up, looked at the door for a moment, and took a note
off of the door. Lina grabbed it quickly.
"Look! It says here that this restaurant has been closed
for 3 years--" Lina started.
Sylphiel looked over her shoulder and read, " ' To anyone
who is here now, in other words, fools, please go to our sister
restaurant, 'Lu Lu's Tasty Food'..." Sylphiel cocked an eyebrow.
"Miss Lina, don't you think this seems sort of tacky?"
"Who cares? The food is great. I've been here before."
Oh well...Let's find an inn..."
"LI-NAH!" Gourry said, hunched over. He turned around,
his eyes flashed red. Sylphiel cowered in fear.
"Oh no! My nightmare! No!" She yelled. She then proceeded
in fainting. Gourry removed his demon mask.
"Hey Lina like this mask? It's cool, huh?" Gourry spoke
with his casual voice and a big dumb grin. Lina just blinked.
"GOURRY!! Look what you did to Sylphiel!!" Lina yelled.
She pointed at the unconscious priestess laying on the ground.
"Huh? What happened to her?"
"You scared her you idiot!"
"I did?"
"Well, duh! Why else do you think she's unconscious? Could
it be because she didn't get enough sleep?!" Lina said sarcastically.
Hmm...Well, she did seem kind of tired when we left this morning--"
The idiot started, but he was quickly shut up by the flat chested
sorceress.
"Quiet, you...I'm hungry..." Lina muttered, annoyed.
After the group ate, and calmed poor Sylphiel down, they left the town and walked off into the forest. Xelloss, for some unknown reason was quiet, and he kept to himself; he didn't even annoy Zel or smile annoyingly. This behavior did not go unnoticed...
"Xelloss, what are you up to this
time?" Zelgadiss growled.
"Nothing, Zelgadiss, just...feel a familiar sense...of something
long ago..." Xelloss said, opening his eyes and looking down
as though he is concerned.
Amelia looked back at him, wide eyed.
"Mr. Xelloss, what are you talking about?" She asked.
Xelloss stopped walking and sat down on a log. "Well...if
only I could just say 'that is a secret' here. But I can't. It....hurts
a little." He looked down, a bit forlorn, still out of character.
"It's someone, a beautiful young lady I knew once...She was
someone who I truly loved. Someone who I found difficult to watch
being hurt. L-sama, I really miss her...I remember before the
War of the Monsters Fall, we were always together. Way back when
the world was new, and I was only about 20 years old, which was
quite a long time ago..."
FLASHBACK;
"Hey Xelloss, you'll never guess what that damn Hellbrat
did..." Xelas said, sounding fairly annoyed.
"What did Phibrizzo do this time?" Xelloss asked in
a bored tone, sick of Xellas's constant bitching.
"He decided to create some minions for himself. Stupid jerk
can't even do work himself..."
"Its not like you don't have minions, Xellas. Who else are
you whining at? That's right, me...One of your minions..."
"Shut up Xelloss. Just shut up....Anyway, he, of course has
a general, and a priest as well. But unlike the others, he also
has a priestess. I want you to investigate this, Xelloss! Now
go!"
"Yes Lord Beastmaster..." Xelloss bowed and vanished.
Reappearing somewhere near Phibrizzo's
little lair, he walks towards the entrance, which is completely
clear, since Hellmaster never does get much company. Carefully
he steps inside, on a crystal floor. All there is to be seen is
the floor, some miscellaneous crystals, a few scattered chairs,
a small table with 6 chairs surrounding it, and curtains, which
seem to be covering something on the wall.
"It seems as quiet as always..." Xelloss said to himself,
the sound of his own thoughts almost disturbing him in the silence
of Phibrizzo's lair. Xelloss heard footsteps. He quickly vanished,
then reappeared behind the curtains. Carefully he peered out
from the edge. It was Phibrizzo, walking out of the darkness
of a corridor.
"...And if you see anyone in my lair who does not belong,
kick their pansy ass!! Err...immediately dispose of them..."
Phibrizzo yelled back into the darkness. Phibrizzo then walked
across the room, and out the door.
Xelloss waited a few minutes, then walked out of the curtains.
Curious as to what was hidden behind the curtain, Xelloss pulled
on a cord to the left of it. It revealed a picture of Hellmaster's
silhouette against flames, his eyes glowing. Xelloss stared at
it for a few moments, amazed at the piece of art.
"So I see you like my painting of Lord Hellmaster, my dear
intruder..." A soft feminine, yet somehow evil voice spoke.
Xelloss turned around to face a girl about his age. She had eyes
the same color as Phibrizzo's, a light green, and she had long
bluish-black hair. Her attire was somewhat comprable to Phibrizzo's.
She wore a short blue dress with a darker breast plate, and three
over lapping pieces of cloth; two of which matched the breastplate,
the third being a lighter piece of fabric tied around her. So,
put in other words, she was an older, extremely feminine Hellmaster.
Like Phibrizzo in every other aspect, for the exception that
she wore no bracelets or wrist bands and that she wore tall knee
high boots, which perfectly matched her dress.
Xelloss turned around and glared.
"Are you the priestess of Hellmaster, who is being talked
about so much?" He said, ready force information from her
by any means necessary.
"Of course. And I know who you are. You are Xelloss Metallium.
General and priest to Beastmaster Xellas Metallium. And, I also
happen to know how you got that position. You'd be surprised
what else I know about you..."
Xelloss growled, and with unmeasurable speed pinned her against
a wall. She screamed, not expecting that.
"Rather forward, aren't we? Wouldn't you at least like to
know my name?" Hellmaster's priestess blurted out.
"It won't matter. Just answer my questions and I'll leave
you alone!" He yelled back. "Why did Lord Hellmaster
create you? How do you know so much about me? "
"Well now...That, is a SECRET!" She replied. Xelloss
was taken aback by this answer, an answer he had never heard before,
yet something he would use again and again in the future to come...
To be continued.