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Author’s note: Title’s from Rurouni Kenshin soundtrack vol. 4. Hmm…nothing much to say here except that I think I’ve come to terms with this fanfic that ate all my free time. I guess that’s the price to pay for writing fanfiction. ^_^
Breathe. Don’t think of that time. The link is already severed, don’t think of it again…Breathe.
Her emerald eyes triumphant as the Earth Dragon King’s essence infused with her, those Dragon’s eyes beginning to glow with holy power. Winds began whipping up around the two locked in battle. Xellas’s eyes widened as she realized what had just happened.
She didn’t stand a chance against the God, for not even a piece of Ruby Eye himself could do it.
He screamed as Melena’s power closed around his master, their life-link letting him know exactly how it felt to be Sealed alive. Oh, Gods, the pain. Their screams rang through the valley together.
Somehow, the Beastmaster severed their link. Keeping their link meant death…but then again, severing the link between Creator and Creation usually resulted in death also. That was when he remembered, all those things better off forgotten. Chaos and Balance, the greater picture. Then he was all alone again, just like when he had first met her. Terribly alone. I want to kill her, Godsdamnit. I want to tear her from limb to limb and make her suffer in Hell for all of eternity.
Concentrate on something else. Don’t think of that time. Don’t remember; don’t let your hate get the better of you.
I hate her. I Hate Her. I HATE HER.
Stalking forward, he stepped over the corpses of golden dragons lying at his feet. He could hear children crying in the distance, somewhere in the rubble that was the Golden Dragon settlement. He didn’t care. She was here, and he was here to make her pay. She will pay dearly for what she did…
I should have killed her when I had the chance. I should have gone ahead and killed her. Damn Chaos and Balance, I should have killed her.
Her eyes despairing as the Dragon King left her to face him by herself. This time it was she who didn’t stand a chance. Her green eyes reflected her fear as he looked up at her, eyes no longer shadowed.
Xelloss trembled as he tried to control himself. He had hoped that one thousand years of absence had dimmed the pain of the memory, but it hadn’t. He had promised to kill her. He wanted to, so badly. He still wanted to. Every single fiber of his body is screaming for retribution against the one that wronged him. Gods, he wanted to kill her.
His scream of rage echoed in the Dragon sanctuary as his prey was whisked away, out of his grasp. It wasn’t fair! No!
And he will, just not now. He can’t kill her now; the link to Garv was in her possession.
Taking a deep breath, he restrained his homicidal instincts. Plenty of time for that later.
I hate her.
But that wasn’t important right now. Garv, Lina, the balance. Those were the important things. He could settle his score with the Golden Dragon later.
"Oi, Gourry! It’s time for dinner!" Lina called. The door to Gourry’s room opened and the tall swordsman peered out.
"Already!? Wow, where did the time go?" He opened the door completely and exited, shutting it behind him. "Well, let’s go. Where are Amelia and Filia and Xelloss?"
She whacked him upside the head. "Xelloss’s been gone since we got here, don’t you remember?!"
He rubbed his head. "Ouch…Xelloss’s gone?"
"I swear, you have such a terrible memory…" the fiery red-head muttered. "Let's just go, please?"
They made their way to the kitchen. Anyone else could have gotten lost quite easily in the huge building, but those two have an instinctive ability to detect food, no matter where it is. So they found themselves in the dining room, along with Filia and their hostess, Melena.
"Where’s Amelia?" Lina asked Filia as she sat down. The dragon shrugged.
"I was hoping you knew…Anyway, I think the servant said she’d be down in a minute." Filia toyed with her fork. "Maybe she isn’t feeling well?"
Lina got up. The food wasn’t here yet and she was a little worried. Usually Amelia is the most punctual person in this group. "I’ll go check on her."
"Want me to come?" Gourry asked. She shook her head.
"Nah. Just don’t eat all the food. Remember to save some for me." Of course, the hard part would be remembering where her room actually is…
Lina was saved from the terrible fate of getting hopelessly lost and missing dinner when she saw Amelia coming down the stairs with a serious expression on her face. "Yo, Amelia!" The younger girl looked up and Lina gave her a hearty slap on the back. "Time for dinner, girl. Didn’t you hear whoever it was that we sent to get you?"
"Yes, I did, Lina-san." Amelia looked torn, seemingly wanting to tell her something, yet stopping for some reason. "Lina-san…"
"What is it, Amelia? You look troubled." Lina wasn’t half as insensitive as she’d like people to think. "You can tell me."
"What do you think of Melena-san, Lina-san?"
"Eh?" Lina looked at Amelia and saw the girl was completely serious. "Well, she seems like a nice enough person."
"Really?"
"Why? What do you think of her?"
Amelia shrugged, "I don’t know. She just seems…false to me. Something about her just isn’t natural." She toyed with the jewels on her wrists. "It’s almost as if…she’s planning something or the other…I don’t know, Lina-san. I’ve spent all my life looking at people’s faces and reading them, trying to tell the difference between what is real and what isn’t. Something about her just seems wrong."
Lina was taken aback. "Amelia…really? All those things?"
Amelia blushed. "I might be wrong…I feel so bad for saying those things, I mean, I’m not even sure if I’m right or not…" She shook her head. "That’s not important right now. Xelloss-san talked to me just before I came down and-"
"Xelloss? Here?"
Amelia put a finger to her lips, "Shh…obviously, he knows Melena-san and he says that she knows him too. So we’re not supposed to mention his name when she’s around."
"That’d explain why he disappeared…What did he say?"
"He said that the artifact is here, for sure. He also says to not ask Melena-san about it and just act normally for a couple of days. He’ll let us know when he gets a pinpoint on its location."
Lina ran a hand through her hair. "Meaning we get to relax while he does all the work. Why does that make me nervous?"
"Anyway, we should get going. Filia-san and Gourry-san would be getting worried now."
"Ah, right." Lina perked up at the mention of those two and what they were waiting for. Food. "Let’s go! I don’t want Gourry to eat everything!"
Amelia smiled ruefully as Lina ran the rest of the way to the dining room. She really hoped this bad feeling in her chest was really just that.
"Lina?"
"ACK! GOURRY DON’T LOOK YOU PERVERT!"
Filia looked into the hallway that had Gourry, Lina and Amelia’s rooms and saw various bathroom items being thrown at high velocities. The poor swordsman whose name was screeched was trying to duck them all, being mostly successful.
"Lina, what are you doing?"
Lina shrieked something unintelligible and Gourry had to duck another flying projectile. "Gourry," Filia tried again. "What is going on?"
"I just needed my toothbrush!" He protested.
"THAT DOESN’T MEAN YOU CAN JUST WALK IN ON ME!!!"
Filia dodged a bar of soap. "Lina, calm down."
"NONONONO! I’M A PURE INNOCENT GIRL!"
Gourry was clueless as usual. "Why’s she so mad?"
Filia caught another bar of soap before it could smack her in the face. "Lina, stop throwing things. I’ll get the toothbrush for Gourry, okay?"
The flying barrage stopped and Lina peeked out from the edge of the door. "Um…actually, I think it’s in that pile somewhere…" She said, pointing to the tall pile of things she had thrown. Gourry was trying to wade out of it.
"Lina!" He complained. "How am I supposed to find it now?"
"Look for it, Jellyfish!"
"But you didn’t have to throw all those things at me!"
"You should knock before you enter!"
"All I wanted was my toothbrush!"
Filia surveyed the scene and decided that the damage wasn’t severe. "Good-night, people." She said. Lina stomped out and began digging through the pile.
"I’ll look for it, happy?"
Gourry looked surprised. "Huh?"
"Come on, the sooner we find it, the sooner we get to go back to whatever it was that we were doing. Don’t just stand there, gaping. Gimme a hand!"
Gourry blinked, then hurried to comply. Filia hid a smile as she saw Amelia peek out of her room.
They’re cute, she decided. "I’m going to bed."
Lina scowled at her as she dug through the pile. "Not this, not this…" She dug harder. "Stupid…" Ah-ha! "Here it is!" She tossed it at Gourry. "There. Now are you happy?"
"Thanks, Lina." He said simply.
She found herself blushing, unaccountably. "Go to bed, silly." She muttered as she went back to her room, slamming the door shut. Lina plopped herself down on the bed, sighing. What had gotten into her?
" Ugh." She groaned. " I’m so stupid. Now’s not the time to think about that." Putting Gourry aside for a second, she concentrated on the problem at hand. Frankly, she wasn’t about to buy the ‘Xelloss is a good Demon and will take care of everything’ act. And she hated depending on people. As far as she’s concerned, she can only depend on herself. So there’s the problem because she didn’t want Xelloss to be the only one in control. Hell, he’s the only one that knows exactly what was going on. And that’s not good. She wanted to know what was going on too. And she didn’t like being a pawn in his plans, no matter what anyone says.
What did Sis say about these things? Knowledge is power… So what she really needed is information. She needed to know where to find Garv and how to convince him to come out. And how to find this information? Well, Xelloss is one option. Not a very good one, but he’s there. Melena, maybe. But she would have to be very careful about how she phrases the question. Filia? It’s doubtful the Dragon would know. Hm…Not too many options.
Lina sighed again and pulled a pillow against her chest. She’ll ask Xelloss tomorrow. If that doesn’t work, then she’d have to try Melena.
That decided, Lina closed her eyes and relaxed. Tomorrow would be a big day…
Unfortunately for her, tomorrow wasn’t a big day. Neither was the day after that or the day after the day after that.
"This is not getting me anywhere." Lina grumbled. She couldn’t find Xelloss, no matter how she looked. The Demon didn’t seem to exist anymore. And Melena didn’t know a thing, not about Garv anyway. So she had absolutely no leads whatsoever.
She hated being stuck.
"Hey, Lina." Gourry’s voice came through the door to her. He knocked. "Lina, you in there?"
"Yeah. Come in." Gourry opened the door very cautiously. "What’s up, Gourry?" she asked.
"Amelia was wondering if you wanted to go out to the town for the day. She said she’s getting cooped up here."
"Oh." Lina sat up on her bed. "Sure. That sounds great!" She bounced up and hurried past him. "What are you waiting for? Let’s go. Did anyone tell Filia about this?"
Gourry thought for a second. "Hm, I think Amelia told her, but Filia said she wasn’t coming because she had things she needed to talk to Melena about."
"Okay. Well, we should go!" There’s nothing like a good meal and a day out in the town to make things all better. She grabbed her cape and wallet. "Hurry, hurry. The food’s not going to wait for us, you know!"
"Melena-sama, they’re out."
"All right. Keep an eye on them."
"Filia wants to talk to you."
Impatiently, she bit her nails. "Not now. Make up an excuse or something. Not now."
Her servant nodded and bowed, exiting silently.
Melena stood up and walked to her mirror. Her reflection stared angrily back at her. She was a nervous wreck, and the party hasn’t even started yet. "You’re out there somewhere, aren’t you, Xelloss?" She whispered. "You want my head, don’t you? Well, as long as I have your little pawns here, you can’t do anything. Not to me, not to the peace in the world. You can’t do anything."
She couldn’t make herself forget those eyes. Those frightening eyes that silently promised her death in the most painful, gruesome way possible. Those eyes that haunted her day and night. He was here, somewhere. And she was in his sights.
"I have your pawns." She whispered to herself. "You can’t hurt me…" She trailed a hand down the mirror, smiling a little. Were they trembling, ever so slightly? Soon, soon her wish would come true. All her dreams and hopes…everything she had been waiting for since the death of Filia’s father.
"Melena." A cold voice said behind her and she jumped, spinning around to face the intruder.
A tall woman stood there, half hidden in the shadows. Somewhere inside Melena’s mind, recognition dawned from the time she was one with the Earth Dragon king. Some half-hidden memory or instinct kicked in. She flung herself to her knees. "Z-Zira-sama…"
Zira looked down at her with barely concealed disgust. "Melena, get up. What the hell are you doing?" Melena trembled with fear and Zira sighed. She had forgotten that she had that effect on certain people. "Melena, get up."
The Dragon got up, shaking. "I-I can explain, Zira-sama…"
"You will explain nothing." Zira cut her off. "I wasn’t supposed to involve myself in this, but what you’re doing is going too far. Give up on the idea of being the General of Cepheed now. Filia is the one who is destined to hold that position for the rest of her days." Melena shook, whether in fear or in denial, she wasn’t sure. "You are NEVER going to be the General, or the Knight, so stop it. Stop all that plotting."
"I need it, Zira-sama." Melena whispered. "I need the power…"
"You don’t need the power, Melena. You already have enough power to make most of the Dragon population envious."
She shook her head. "No! You don’t understand! He’s after me! He is after ME! He will kill me, I can see it!"
Zira sighed. "Xelloss? Yes, he will kill you. But he won’t do it just yet. And if you continue with this stupid charade, it won’t matter if he wants to kill you or not. You’re all going to die."
"No…not Xelloss…" Melena whispered. "Not Xelloss. Him. Him."
Zira looked into the Dragon’s eyes. She had hoped that this wouldn’t happen, but it was already too late. Insanity had the once powerful Dragon in its grasp now. And she couldn’t interfere, not in this. Not now. "I leave you with a choice, Melena. Stop what you’re doing and I’ll talk to Xelloss about you. I doubt I can change his mind, but I can talk to him. If you continue…" Zira paused, letting the implications sink in. "then I’ll make sure you wish that Xelloss got to you first."
Melena tried to protest, but Zira was already gone.
"Hey, Filia!"
The Dragon General turned as Lina hurried to catch up with her. "Yes, Lina?"
Lina grinned. "Where were you? We had a lot of fun today!"
Filia smiled. "I had some things I needed to talk to Melena-san about, but she wasn’t feeling well today. I’m glad you guys had fun though."
Lina made a come close motion and Filia blinked, then put her pointed ear closer. "Xelloss wants you to meet him outside tonight when the moon rises."
"WHA-" Filia remembered to lower her voice. "What?!" She hissed.
Lina shrugged. "He said he had some information that you might want to know."
"At night?!"
"We’re not sure, but it appears that Xelloss and Melena know each other. He can’t let her know that he’s here and we’re not supposed to do anything suspicious." The red head shrugged. "I know that you don’t like him, but right now he’s the only one with the information. If you go talk to him, maybe he’ll actually tell you something useful."
"Useful?" She snorted. "Right." Lina gave her the Look and Filia sighed. "Okay, okay. Tonight, when the moon rises. Check." She peeked out the window. "Actually, it looks a bit cloudy. Do I have to go if it rains? Please say no."
Lina pulled out her sternest look.
"Okay, okay."
She just hoped they wouldn’t kill each other.
"The Gods are against me." Filia muttered spitefully. Well, the moon was up, somewhere in the dark storm clouds. It was freezing cold and she knows it’s going to start raining ANY minute now. Still no sign of Xelloss. Outside, right. That’s really helpful. Where outside, exactly?
She pulled her cloak tighter around her, hoping that if it does rain, the overhang of the roof of the building will keep her moderately dry for a while. He’s going to have to show up, sooner or later; and if it isn’t sooner, then she’s going to leave.
Thunder crashed, making her jump. A few cool drops of moisture landed on her face, then more followed. Soon, it was pouring. Filia winced as something wet and cold dripped down her back. "That’s it." She muttered, pulling her hood up. She wasn’t going to be cold and uncomfortable if he’s not going to show.
"Going somewhere, pretty Dragon?"
Filia spun around, all her senses screaming danger. All she saw was Xelloss, standing in the rain. Nothing, again. How the hell is he doing that? "Don’t sneak up on me like that!"
He tilted his head a bit, rain running down his face. "Like what? I wasn’t trying to sneak up on you."
Like Hell you weren’t. "You’re late."
He smiled a little. "Am I?"
"I’m not here to play twenty questions, Xelloss. What did you want to tell me?"
Xelloss took a step forward, his eyes opened. "Actually, I had a question for you, Filia." And suddenly he was right in front of her, shoving her against the wall. Before she could react, he had one hand holding her chin and the other behind her neck. "Are you going to answer it honestly?" He whispered in her ear.
Filia wasn’t stupid, she knew he could break her neck without further ado. But she was angry. How dare he do this, how dare he take his dirty hands and put them on her. "How about you answer one of mine first?" She hissed. "Give me one reason why I shouldn’t rip you apart for touching me."
He chuckled, "Filia-chan, take a look around you. No," He murmured as she tried to turn her head to look at the deserted street. "Use your other sight."
What the-? His fingers tightened around her throat and she had no choice but to obey. Xelloss couldn’t see her face because they were pressed together, cheek to cheek, but he can hear her barely audible gasp. Oh damn.
"Now," He continued, his breath warm against her ear. "I want to know who did that. Very few people can order the mobilization of the entire Dragon Army. Very few. If it was you, then I have every right to kill you right here and now. But it wasn’t you, was it, Filia-chan?"
"Let go." She said very softly and he did. A gesture of trust? After what he just did?! But that was for later. The anger, the indignation…"I don’t know who…but I have a good idea. Where is that artifact, Xelloss?"
"We don’t have time to get it, Filia. They’re too close. The first group will be here in hours."
She glared at him. "I came here to find Garv. So did Lina and Gourry and Amelia. I’m not leaving without that Demon Lord, and that’s final." She strode away, her back stiff with anger.
"Wait, Filia."
"What?" She snapped, turning. Xelloss stood there in the rain, smiling. A little girl with lavender hair stood by him.
"Take Xelana with you. She knows how to find that artifact."
The little girl smiled and skipped forward. "I’m Xelana, nice to meet you." Filia caught a glimpse of her golden, wolf eyes before those lavender bangs covered them again. The girl spun around on her heel, giggling and waving to Xelloss. "Don’t worry, Bro. I’ll take care of things at that end."
"I know, Xelana."
Filia watched her as she skipped on. "What will you be doing, Xelloss?"
Xelloss looked up at the dark and angry skies. Lightening flashed, illuminating the Demon for a split second. "I’ll deal with the Dragon Army." He said.
The door to the Council Room slammed open.
"You made it, Cepheed Knight." The Chief Dragon Elder said.
The Cepheed Knight was dressed in her usual waitress outfit, long bangs hiding her eyes. But one did not need to see her eyes to notice that she was not happy.
"I was just informed of the mobilization of the Army." She said coldly. "Has it occurred to any one of you to inform me of this before you send them out?"
"You were not available," One dragon elder explained. "We could not contact-"
Luna Inverse sat down in her seat, eyes still hidden and mouth set in a stern line. "That is no excuse. Sending out the army is an act of war. I am all for taking precautions and stemming the flow of Darkness, but isn’t declaring a war on an unseen enemy right now a little too early?"
"Cepheed Knight, we had information and acted upon it to the best of our abilities with the time and options given. I am sorry that we could not inform you of this earlier, but something had to be done."
The Knight seethed inwardly. After sitting idly around for a thousand years, they finally decided to do something, huh? Zira is not going to be happy about this, nor Xelloss. But then again, Xelloss is probably more irritated because he’s going to be the one dealing with this problem.
Another dragon opened his mouth to give another excuse, and she cut him off with a wave of her hand. "What is done is done. No use bickering over it. What is the status now?" she asked.
The Chief Elder tapped his fingers together. "The first detachment should arrive in approximately an hour."
"I see. Well, who was the informant?"
"I believe you know Melena."
Luna’s smile twisted sardonically. Yes, that’s one way to put it. "I know Melena. What did she say that made you send the army?"
"You are aware of the disappearances of the General and Xelloss, are you not?"
Luna tapped her fingers on the armrest impatiently.
"Melena has reported that both the General and Xelloss are in Atlas City right now. We cannot let Xelloss run loose and we need to know what the General is doing and why."
So much for hoping that they’d get by unnoticed, Zira is definitely not going to be happy about this. "So you send an army. Brilliant." Luna stood up, ready to leave. "Keep me informed, please. I’m sure Cepheed would like it if his representative here knows what is going on."
The dragons gaped at her back as she left, shocked by her lack of respect. Luna snorted silently. Let those old fossils gape, it wasn’t her problem. So, Melena finally chose herself over the Balance, huh? That would have effectively untied Xelloss’s hands.
Luna wondered dimly where Zira was right now. She had promised to take care of Lina, after all…
She just hoped that Xelloss wouldn’t do anything too drastic.
He loved the rain. He had a lot of fond memories of rain. Hunting in it, running in it, standing in it. All those things that he used to have time for…
"What are you doing, Xelloss?"
He opened his eyes and smiled at Zira. "I’m standing here." He explained.
"That doesn’t tell me anything." The woman replied.
"It doesn’t." he agreed, turning his attention back to the rain. Zira looked mildly irritated as he continued to stand there silently, a smile on his face.
"Xelloss, the Dragon Army is coming." She reminded him.
His smile didn’t waver. " I know."
Thunder crashed and the rain came down harder. "What are you doing, Xelloss?" She asked again, but this time her tone was different, curious. He didn’t move, but the winds picked up, whipping their cloaks around them wildly, as if trying to tear the cloth away. Zira stood unmoved in the onslaught. "Well?" Lightening crashed, ripping the dark sky above them with pure blue-white power.
"A little more wind, a little more lightening, a little more power in them. What a nice shield this storm will be." Xelloss mused. "Poor, poor dragons. I pity those that have to fly in this weather." The winds screamed as if in reply and Zira shook her head.
"I’ve never understood the way you think," She sighed, "But it seems to work. Fine, Xelloss, go play with the rain." And she disappeared.
Xelloss continued to stare at the dark sky as if entranced. Lightening stuck, four at a time, all around him. Rain continued to pour down, blowing sideways from the wind. More thunder.
Then he began to laugh, a delighted and incredibly ecstatic laugh. The storm roared on, expanding and growing, crackling with dark energy. He stopped laughing, but couldn’t keep the wide, dark grin off his face. There should be enough electrical and energy disturbances that teleporting is impossible. Let’s see the Dragons fly through this, he thought.
Xelana suddenly stopped, a snarl rising in her throat. Filia stopped, turning to look at her in confusion, catching a glimpse of the girl as she melted into the shadows on the wall. She spun around to see one of Melena’s servants swing a staff at her head. Filia ducked and the weapon whizzed by above her, and she used the chance to sweep her attacker off his feet. The dragon got to her feet in one smooth motion, weapons out and at ready.
Before the servant could get up, Filia had one of her daggers pressed to his throat. "Who sent you?" She asked.
He shook his head, sweat forming on his face as the sharp edge of her blade pressed a little harder against his neck. Filia repeated her question.
"I sent him, Filia."
Filia turned to see Melena standing against the open doorway, her blond hair loose and dragging on the floor as she walked forward. There was a slightly crazed look in those green eyes that had always been so serene and calm.
"I sent him to kill you, Filia. Or at least, that’s what I told him. But I know he can’t kill you. After all, you were trained by the best and you’re the General of Cepheed. He can’t kill you. But I can."
Filia screamed as dark energy burned through her, a red five-pointed star appearing on the ground beneath her. "Wards…" She said through gritted teeth as she fell to her knees. "How did you…?"
"Find ones that were made of Black Magic? It was hard, yes. But I have my ways." Melena smiled a little as Filia tried to get up and failed. "Dear Filia, don’t do that. It’s going to hurt terribly as it is, why make it worse? But don’t worry, I’m not going to kill you right off. There are some things to take care of first, so I need you to sleep for awhile, okay?" The dragon laughed lightly, her blithe tone creating an odd contrast with her words. Filia growled in frustration as her body refused to obey her commands. Melena raised a finger and the wards around her glowed again. Pain ripped around and into her and she screamed.
I hope Xelana finds Lina, was her last thought before the darkness of unconsciousness claimed her.
"And so I think the best thing to do-"
Lina never got to finish her sentence. With a yelp, a purple and brown bundle dropped onto her head, smashing her face into the soft bed she was sitting on.
Gourry and Amelia gasped with surprise.
"WHAT THE HELL!?" Lina screeched as she forced the intruder off. "WH-" She stopped as the lavender haired girl latched onto her arm.
"Lina-san, you’re in danger!" The girl said hurriedly. "Please, listen to me. I’m sorry I landed on you, but Melena’s servants are coming and they want all of you dead. She has already taken Filia-san hostage and told the Dragon Army to come here. You’re all in danger right now!"
Lina blinked, her mind trying to grasp all that was said. Lightening flashed outside, the rain battering against her window as if it wanted in. If what she said was true…"Oh, damn." She cursed. "Who are you? Who told you this?"
The girl shook her head. "I’ll tell you on the way, please follow me."
"On the way where?" Lina asked as the girl hopped off the bed nimbly. Thunder rumbled and the girl turned to look at Lina, her eyes hidden.
"To Garv."
That decided it. "Come on, Gourry, Amelia." Lina commanded, following the girl. "What’s your name?"
"Xelana." Xelana answered, touching her shadow on the wall. "Please trust me on this, we don’t have much time." Lina gasped as the shadow flared, like a black flame on the wall. The darkness shimmered and Xelana walked through. The sorceress hesitated for one second.
With a loud crash, the door to her room was smashed open and guards streamed in. Looks like time had just ran out. Lina grabbed Gourry’s arm. "Let’s GO! FIREBALL!"
The ball of energy exploded and pushed the attackers back temporarily. Lina shoved Amelia into the portal, then jumped in, still holding on to Gourry.
She stumbled over an object under her foot, disoriented by the transition. Xelana was steadying Amelia. "We’re safe for a little while." She whispered.
"Where are we?" The swordsman asked, looking around. "And why is everything so glittery?"
Lina twitched, her eyes widening at the sight of mountains of gold. "Go-gold…"
Xelana shook her head. "No, we must find the artifact and free Garv."
"Time out." Amelia said, holding Lina back, away from the treasure. "Lina-san, please! Remember what we’re here for!"
Lina stopped trying to reach for the money and took a deep breath. "You’re right…Okay, Xelana. I want an explanation. Who sent you? How do you know all those things that you told me, and why are you doing this?"
Xelana looked up, her golden, slit-pupiled eyes revealed. "My brother sent me. He told me that the Dragons are coming, where the artifact is, and what to do. I saw Filia-san get captured as I escaped and I’m helping you because both Xellas-sama and my brother asked me to. Melena is one of the most powerful dragons left in this world, only a step below the Cepheed Knight and General. We don’t have time left to waste." The Demon turned away and started walking. "We have to hurry."
Lina stared at the young girl’s back. "I guess you were right about Melena, Amelia…" She said. Amelia looked forward, her deep blue eyes sad.
"I wish I was wrong."