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Lina and Gourry sat downstairs and talked excitedly as they ate breakfast.
"So Gourry, where did you learn the sword thing you did last night," Lina asked.
"From my Grandpa, he taught me sword fighting and the other stuff so I could learn how to have complete control over my sword," Gourry explained as he continued eating.
"It was really cool," Lina smiled, "You must have spent along time learning how to do all those turns and throws."
"Yeah I really liked practicing, sometimes I'd even forget it was dinnertime, I would practice so much."
"You actually forgot dinner, you really must enjoy it then," Zelgadis smiled in his coffee mug.
"Yeah I guess so," Gourry laughed and continued eating.
Eating instead of fighting over food. It was the first time Zelgadis could remember seeing the two of them sitting through a meal without battling over it.
"Zel, maybe you should get Amelia," Lina said.
"She's going to miss breakfast if she doesn't hurry up," Gourry added, "And we still have to head over to the Palisades to find out more about the Monster mashing."
"That's Monster Bashing Gourry," Lina corrected him.
"I'll be back with her in a few minutes," the chimera said standing up and heading upstairs.
The last person Zelgadis wanted to face was Amelia, especially after what happened, but he didn't want the others to know something was going on so he did his best to act normal even though that's the last think he felt. His argument with the princess was still fresh in his mind and so was what happened after-- ESPECIALLY what happened after-- along with her promise to him. "Maybe she'll see things clearly now that she's had time to think," he thought and knocked on her door.
"Come on in," she answered and he entered carefully. The events of the night before slammed back into his mind in vivid detail as he looked around the room, to the windowsill he had found her sitting, to the bed where they had . . . he shook his head to clear his mind of the memory as Amelia appeared from behind her closet door. "Good morning," she smiled seemingly refreshed.
"Good morning," he said as he took his usual position against her desk.
"What's up?"
"Breakfast with Lina and Gourry," he answered, "You'd better hurry or there won't be any left."
"Okay," she nodded , walking over to him.
"Afterward we're going over to the Palisades for," he was interrupted by the princess standing on tiptoe giving him a kiss.
"You thought I forgot, didn't you,"she whispered gently, looking at him.
"Or came to your senses," he returned , all to aware of her fingers softly touching his cheek.
"But I already have," she smiled and kissed him again lightly.
"You can't be serious Amelia. You can't just go around kissing people whenever you feel the urge to."
"I'm not kissing just anyone I'm kissing you. It's like I said the opportunity presented itself and I took advantage of it," she shrugged.
"But I told you last night that . ."
"You only want to be friends, and we can be. We'll just be friends who like kissing each other."
"You're not listening to me at all," he sighed in frustration.
"I am listening to what you're SAYING. You're not listening to what your FEELING Zelgadis," she sighed equally frustrated. "Why can't you acknowledge you enjoyed what happened? And what's so bad about it that you feel the need to downplay it?"
"What makes you think I enjoyed it, Maybe I was just humoring your little crush or working through my frustrations, as you put it," he said trying to challenge her reasoning.
Amelia looked at him with an expression of surprise and perplexity as she pulled out a chair and bid him to sit down. "You're really grasping at straws with that one," she said quietly surprising him. "You've never indulged my feelings before first off; secondly You like to keep your feelings under wraps, particularly in that area and third; do you know how long you were here last night?"
"No."
"Almost two hours. I know because I got here twenty minutes before you came and I remember glancing at the clock when you left. For someone who wasn't enjoying himself you were here for quite a while," she said grabbing her boots from under the bed. "Look this isn't something that we can fix overnight and I know you're a little freaked out and . ."
"Freaked out," he asked.
"Yes, I know this is pretty scary for you but it's not going to just disappear. For now let's just finish the pageant, find Nephillo, find out the truth about our little 'dream' and get home."
"All right but no more kissing okay," the chimera asked and the princess pouted to which he couldn't help but laugh.
"What's so funny?"
"You, that look on your face. You look like a little kid who just got told she can't have her favorite candy."
"That's how I feel," she thought at the idea of not being able to kiss him. "All right," she sighed. "No more kissing. You're lucky I'm a patient, understanding person, Zelgadis," she smiled as they headed downstairs.
"You make it sound like I'm a chore," he smirked glad that their previous camaraderie was returning.
"Only the best kind," she smiled sweetly, "And besides you can make it up to me later," she ended heading down the stairs to eat with the others, leaving Zelgadis to wonder what she meant by later.
"All right everyone here's the deal with the monster bash," Mr. Divine said to the group sitting in the Palisades conference rom. Bubbles and Daisy fluttered around the room handing out the producer's infamous information packets as he fiddled with a slide projector.
"Okay, each of you guys gets a monster of equal power and ability," he stated showing them a picture of a lesser demon. "As you already know you'll be rated on certain factors as you battle. Your overall score will be factored in with your other scores from the previous competitions and that will determine the pageant winner."
Gourry raised his hand to ask a question. "Yes, Gourry," Mr. Divine asked.
"Is that how the People's Choice award is chosen too," the swordsman asked.
"No, that's determined by votes the town people cast after the last competition today. The Crowning ceremony will be tonight for both titles."
"Where is the monster bashing going to be held at," Lina asked.
"It says here the it'll be in the Sword & Stone arena on the other end of town," Zelgadis answered reading his information packet.
"Where did these monsters come from," the princess asked.
"We hired them," the producer explained.
"Hired them," they asked.
"Sure they needed the work and we needed the monsters."
"Do they know they're supposed to get beaten to a pulp," Lina asked.
"Yes," the producer nodded, "They see this as a good opportunity to improve their fighting skills."
"I don't exactly like the idea of helping a muzuko to become a better fighter," Amelia murmured.
"Neither do I," Zelgadis agreed.
"Don't worry they're pretty good guys. We've hired them for security and various other things throughout the city," Mr. Divine said.
"So then we're not supposed to kill them," Gourry asked.
"OH NO, they're mother would kill me. I'm a friend of the family you see. No your supposed to beat them as best and as fast as you can."
"Well that doesn't sound too bad," Amelia thought.
"What about these factors we'll be rated on," Zelgadis asked.
"The first element is level of destruction, how much or little damage you cause to the surrounding area. Then how fast you react to the monsters attacks; this also plays into how long it takes you to defeat the monster. The judges will be looking for speed and timing above all else."
"What about the condition the monsters in," Amelia asked.
"And how you defeat it," Lina added.
"You're not allowed to kill them as I mentioned, other then that I honestly don't know how condition will be rated," the producer shrugged.
"Other then that I think that covers everything, so what time do we bash monsters?"
"Around one o'clock," Mr. Divine answered looking at his watch. "That gives you all a few hours to get ready."
"And get lunch," Gourry smiled and Bubbles squealed in agreement as Daisy smiled at the two and giggled.
"Then I guess we'll all have lunch and meet everyone at the monster bashing," the princess smiled. Everyone left the conference room excited about the next event and lunch. Amelia noticed Zelgadis still seated as she headed for the door. "Zelgadis what is it?"
"Nothing, I'll be down in a minute," the chimera said. Amelia nodded and left the room.
He needed to be alone, to take a moment and breath. "We're getting closer," he thought, the statement having many levels of meaning. The last 24 hours had been the most emotionally exhausting he'd ever had. He stared at his hands and remembered how the night before they had held the petite princess so close to him he could feel her heartbeat in time with his.
"What is it," he asked himself, "That makes her so determined. "What is it that she sees in me that would make her persist," he asked himself burying his head his hands.
Amelia levitated upside-down over the doors archway and watched Zelgadis staring at his hands in deep thought then bury his head in them. She wanted to go and talk to him but decided that it was best to leave him alone for a moment and floated off, landing in an out of the way spot.
"So what's going on with you and Zel." Amelia turned and saw Lina leaning against a wall looking at her.
"Lina, you surprised me."
"Sorry, so what's up with you?" she asked again.
"What do you mean?"
"Something's up, you two are working really hard acting like it's not. If you don't want to talk about that's okay but . . ."
Amelia stared at Lina for a moment. "I need to talk to somebody about all this," she thought still trying to make sense of her own feelings. "Well it's a little complicated,"she started.
"I've got time," Lina said.
"So that's what happened to you guys last night after the show," Lina said amazed as the princess finished her story. "I'm impressed."
The princess felt a lot better talking to the sorceress. Although she didn't disclose any information about the dream and their plans to try and win the pageant, she did feel that the weight that had been burying her lessen a little. "It was unbelievable Lina," she sighed as she made herself comfortable in the arena seats. "But the talk we had afterward, that's what's got me really thinking.
"But it sounds like you handled things really well," Lina offered.
"I just felt like I couldn't let it end, I couldn't give up and I felt this new sense of determination come over me, especially when I said that he liked kissing me. I still can't believe I did that," Amelia whispered.
"Sometimes I wonder about Zel, I really do," Lina sighed. "What's his problem, you liked kissing him and he was the one who kissed you, he must have liked it otherwise he wouldn't be so bent out of shape over it. Why doesn't he just own up to how he feels?"
"I think he's afraid," Amelia sighed.
"Of what?"
"A whole lot of things that I don't think either of us could fully understand, but mostly he doesn't think he has the right to be happy an have a normal life because . ."
"He doesn't see himself as normal," Lina finished and Amelia nodded sadly. "He gets pretty depressed sometimes, I think this is the most lively I've ever seen him," Lina smiled hopefully. "It looks like you two have a lot to think about."
"A lot," Amelia sighed.
"Look on the bright side, you finally got to kiss the guy you like, that's all you did right," Lina asked looking at the princess intently.
"LINA, of course," the princess blushed hotly making Lina laugh. "Although the thought crossed my mind," the princess thought, recalling the pleasant dreams she had that night about being in his arms again, when the announcer appeared in the center of the arena.
"It's a lovely afternoon out here in the arena, and thank you for coming out for the Monster Bash," the announcer said and the audience applauded.
"Last night we got to see our contestants some wonderful talents and this afternoon we'll get the chance to see their ability, but before we begin the bashing let's kick things off with the question and Answer segment of our show. Since this is the last event of the Mr. Briseral pageant we decided that the questions should come directly from you the audience."
"I didn't know anything about this," Amelia whispered.
"Neither did I,"Lina whispered back.
"What if someone asks about that article," Amelia thought nervously looking around the audience.
"Don't worry Zel's a quick thinker, he'll think of something if someone asks about that article," Lina said realizing the source of the princess's sudden fidgety behavior.
"Now each seating section has a platform where you can come up and ask your questions," the announcer continued pointing out each of the platforms around the arena. "Our contestants will be out shortly so enjoy the show everyone."
As the audience applauded the announcers departure, Amelia sat nervously wondering wait the audience was going to ask and most of all how Zelgadis was going to react. The audience clapped louder as Gourry and Zelgadis came out onto the arena's main balcony and sat down. Members of the audience began to line up at their designated platforms excitedly waiting to ask questions.
Zelgadis looked at the masses of people as he took he seat. He had been such crowd's so much lately that it didn't bother him anymore as much as the first time did. He looked over at Gourry and smiled slightly as his blonde friend's enthusiasm. "He really enjoys this and all this people," he thought envying Gourry's ability to be so open and friendly with everyone he met.
"I wonder what they're going to ask us," the swordsman said suddenly.
"I don't know," the chimera answered.
"Well I guess we'll see," Gourry smiled.
The announcer returned and mediated between the varius platforms so that each section got an equal chance to ask questions.
The first question came from a young lady with long brown hair. "This question is for Mr. Gabriev," she started.
"Hi," Gourry smiled, "Call me Gourry."
"Hi Gourry," she smiled blushing, "I attended the Briseral Cooking Academy where you did your demonstration and I was wondering what other things can you cook?"
"We'll I like desserts, 'cuz they're so sweet," he smiled. "My mother always let me help in the kitchen when she made pies and cookies, I can make other stuff too, except I can never get fish quite right, but desserts are always my favorite."
The next question came from a little girl with turquoise hair and large eyes. "Hi Mr. Greywords I'm Ayame, I really liked the song you sang yesterday," she said blushing and giggling.
"Why thank you Ayame," he smiled.
"Where did you learn how to play guitar so pretty," the little girl asked.
"My parents wanted me to have some form of creative interest. I like listening to music a lot when I was younger so they thought I'd enjoy learning how to play an instrument or two.
"How many can you play?"
"Ten total," he smiled and the audience looked at him in amazement while the little girl blushed redder under the chimera's smiling gaze.
The questions came and went quickly. People were curious about a lot of different things. Many asked about their hobbies and other personal interests and a few of the children asked about their favorite colors and whether or not they had imaginary friends. At this Gourry began to tell them about his childhood playmate Mr. Puffkins, who patrolled his bedroom every night to scare away monsters.
All of this was a relief to Amelia who actually enjoyed listening to the questions as well as the answers, learning new things about her friends. Then came the last question.
An older woman with thick glasses stood up on the platform. She cleared her throat and adjusted her glasses. "This question is for Mr. Greywords," she started. "You've been in the papers a lot lately, how do you respond to the recent article about you and your relationship with your Image Coordinator?"
As she finished the question Amelia sat rigid in terror. "Now I understand that not everything in the papers is true, in fact some of its quite ridiculous," she laughed and a few members of the audience chuckled as well, "But I just wanted to know what's fact and what's fiction behind all the flamboyance," she ended.
In the back of his mind he knew that someone might ask a question about the article, but had hoped they wouldn't. And after what happened between him and the princess the night before he wasn't so sure what was fact and what was fiction anymore.
"I read the article that you mentioned and actually found it quite laughable. My relationship with Ms. Sailunne is one of friendship. Normally I'm not very comfortable around large groups of people, actually I dread the idea of being in crowds," he smirked and a few women in the audience sighed, "or have so much attention place upon me," he continued. "Being the good friend that she is, Ms. Sailunne tried to make sure that all of this wasn't an overwhelming experience for me and I guess this was misunderstood," he ended gently.
"Well that's good to hear that you have such a nice friend," the woman smiled.
Lina and Amelia sighed in relief.
"See I told you he'd figure out a way to handle it," the sorceress smiled, "And he made you look good too."
Amelia looked at the chimera s the announcer thanked everyone for their questions and smiled warmly. Zelgadis glanced briefly in her direction and seeing her smile blushed slightly.
"All right folks this is what you've all been waiting for the Monster Bash," the announcer boomed. "Our first contestant is Zelgadis Greywords." At that moment Zelgadis walked out onto the arena floor in his usual off white attire and his sword strapped to his waist.
"And the monster he'll be bashing today is Vinnie the Vicious." A ten foot monster entered the arena wearing a neon purple costume with hot pink tiger strips and a matching cape waved to the crowd.
"That's Vinnie the Vicious," Lina and Amelia said in shock.
"They've got to be kidding," Lina sighed.
"Now then boys," The announcer continued. "No killing and keep the destruction to a minium, first one unconscious is the loser, good luck," the announcer ended and left the arena.
Zelgadis stared at the monster in front of him in shock. "This must be some kind of joke," he thought as he and his opponent began to circle each other.
"Well little man," Vinnie said in a raspy voice, "You must have a lot of guts to fact Vinnie the Vicious."
"And you must have a lot of guts to wear that in Public," Zelgadis murmured.
"Your feeble attempts of humor fall on deaf ears little man, what're you going to do when Vinnie goes Vicious on you," the monster said, striking a pose and pointing at the chimera.
"Quite the showboating and bring it on," Zelgadis said in a low voice of irritation.
"Ooh he sounds so sexy when he's serious," a girl gushed in the audience.
Amelia looked behind her then turned back quickly in surprise.
"What is it," Lina asked. Amelia merely pointed behind her. The red head looked to find the entirety of the Zelgadis storm-troopers sitting a few rows behind them. Some were salivating into drool buckets that were carried off by the 'drool patrol" while others stared wistfully down at Zelgadis.
Lina turned back around in her seat and cringed. "Some people just don't have a life do they," Lina mumbled and at the moment Vinnie the Vicious launched a fireball at Zelgadis and the fight began.
The chimera easily blocked with a wind barrier then returned the blast. Vinnie dodged it easily and charged for Zelgadis with a large mace. Zelgadis drew his blade and blocked the monsters strike. They blocked and struck at each other for some time , their moves coupled with flips or somersaults through the air.
"He's so graceful," a girl sighed.
"Like a dancer," another added and Amelia had to agree. It always thrilled her to watch him fight like he was know. He moved so fluid and effortlessly he made a battle seem like a thing a beauty and not of violence.
Zelgadis had to admit that through all his posturing Vinnie the Vicious did have some skill "I'd better end this now, the longer I fool around the more points I could lose," he thought dodging another blow.
Using his chimeric speed, Zelgadis began to run around the monster in circles, creating a whirlwind. The monster began to be lifted off the ground by the force of the wind and became dizzy by all the spinning. When Zelgadis finally stopped the monster fell to the ground, wobbled around for a few seconds then fell unconscious.
The audience applauded when it was all over. Zelgadis made a quick assessment of everything. "No destruction of the surrounding area and Vinnie the Vicious is unconscious without a scratch," he smiled. "Hopefully that will be enough to win," his thoughts taking a serious turn.
"How long was that," Lina asked.
"Twelve minutes, sixteen seconds," Amelia said looking at her stopwatch, "And not a mark on him.
"I wonder how Gourry will do," Lina thought as the swordsman entered the arena as the announcer introduced him.
"Mr. Gabriev meet your monster, Introducing Duke the Dragon-Faced Destroyer," the announcer roared. The monster stepped into the arena dressed in a costume equally as outrageous Vinnie the Vicious. Duke wore a lime green outfit with chibi-dragons casting fireballs and wielding various types of weapons with sinister little grins across their faces. On he head Duke wore an elaborate headpiece of a dragon with blood dripping fangs.
"What's with the weird names and costumes," Lina asked scratching her head. Amelia simply shrugged and they continued watching.
"Hi," Gourry waved to his opponent.
"Hi," the monster waved back, "They say you're pretty good with a sword."
"Hey thanks, I hear you're pretty good with a- -Hey what are you pretty good with anyway," Gourry asked.
"Oh this," the monster said pulling out a staff with doubled -edged axe blades on both ends shaped like fire-breathing dragons that made the audience gasp.
"All right gentleman, you know the rules BEGIN, " the announcer and the two took fighting stances.
The two charged each other immediately exchanging and dodging blows. They moved with speed and agility surprising everyone who thought with their large builds the wouldn't be so limber. Things came to and end quickly when Gourry cut through the center of Duke's weapon and did a mid-air roundhouse kick as he flipped over the monster headpiece, knocking the monster out.
"Wasn't that amazing folks," the announcer yelled as the crowd clapped. "Give our contestants another round of applause, and remember tonight is the big night when we crown the new Mr. Briseral and present the People's Choice Award . Hope to see you there," the announcer smiled and waved to the crowd.
"Just think, tonight's going to be it, the crowds will probably be huge," Lina thought.
"Yeah huge," Amelia agreed as they headed out of the arena.
"Hey what's the matter, you still thinking about this thing with Zel," Lina asked.
"A little," the princess shrugged," Um Lina, could you . . ."
"Don't worry I won't say anything about our little talk."
"Thanks Lina," Amelia smiled and hugged her friend.
"All right enough with the mushy stuff. Let's go get the guys and get ready for tonight," Lina cheered and the girls set of to meet up with Gourry and Zelgadis.