Hello, Hello! A lot of people might know me from my work in the Tenchi Fandom, but I had another story that was just begging for release. I do not own Slayers. If I did, I would be both Japanese and publishing new Canon material, not writing a fan fic. Oh well. See you in the Post chapter notes!
And all the Walls Came Tumbling Down Chapter the firstOn a trail leading to a small town called Blasnos, life had been good for a group of bandits known as the Hellsweepers. It was a beautiful autumn day, perfect for banditry. No one they had ever encountered had failed to fall to their collective awesomeness…until today, that is.
An explosion rocked the woods about five miles from the town. A huge mushroom cloud of smoke rose into the air. On the ground, all the members of the bandit gang Hellsweepers except the leader lay in smoldering heaps around him. He couldn't believe it. A single spell was all it took to take down his entire gang?!
The bandit looked around in horror as two shapes appeared out of the smoke, walking towards him slowly and resolutely. The taller figure was large and well armored. The figure held a weapon, most likely a sword, in its left hand as it walked next to the shorter figure. The shorter of the two wore a long cloak and held a small glowing orb in its right hand.
As the two beings came closer, they were finally visible as they cleared the smoke. The eyes of the bandit leader widened in shock at whom had defeated his band. The taller figure was a young man with blonde hair and crystal blue eyes, a slightly dumbfounded look on his face. The shorter figure was a young girl with crimson locks and a wicked grin on her face.
It was inconceivable! How could two people defeat over a dozen men with a single spell? The bandit turned a practiced eye to the duo and quickly concluded that it had to have been the female that had roasted his gang. How could that young girl do this? He usually claimed such women as his own to toy with; surely she could not be that powerful.
Even as the bandit leader got to his feet, the young swordsman had unsheathed his blade and stepped forward. He swung the blade a few times before frowning slightly and turning away from the bandit to face his companion.
"Oi, Lina! I don't think this sword is going to be any good either!"
Seeing an opportunity the leader of the Hellsweepers struck out at the golden haired male.
The ruby-eyed girl was about to shout a warning when her companion caught the bandit's sword with two fingers as it swung toward him. She shook her head with a smile as the blonde swordsman flicked the attacking blade away.
"I think I am going to have to find another sword Lina." Even as he spoke, the young man was using the weapon he was so disappointed in to parry the bandit's attacks.
"Alright Gourry, We'll see if there are any good ones in the next town. Hey," Lina exclaimed as she grabbed a stick off of the ground, "keep him busy a sec, would ya?"
The blonde, Gourry, turned his attention to the bandit even as he kept up his conversation with the red headed sorceress. "Sure thing, but what for?"
Lina mumbled to herself as she traced a circle around both of the combatants. When she finished she was standing just to the left of her dueling companion. "Hey Gourry, be a dear and c'mere."
With a shrug, the blue-eyed warrior parried another swing and jumped over the circle to join his companion. "Ok, now what?"
"Oh, nothing much. Dill Brand!"
The ground in the circle exploded upward, carrying debris and the hapless bandit leader far into the air. Lina held out her right hand expectantly. Just as a small bag of gold, likely from the bandit leader, was falling into her hand, a blue-gloved hand reached over and deftly grabbed the offering.
"Hey, that was mine! I beat him up fair and square!"
Gourry looked over at the fuming girl and scowled. "But I did all the work."
Lina stood there, a testament to human rage, her ruby eyes hidden by her fiery hair. "Oooh…you jellyfish-for-brains!" Lina brought up her hand.
"Fireball!"
One scorched swordsman later, the petite sorceress hummed to herself as she counted out the bandit's purse. She looked back at her singed companion as he moodily followed behind her. I think I hurt his feelings, she sighed to herself as she walked toward Blasnos.
"Look Gourry," she began apologetically, "Dinner's on me when we get to town, 'kay?" Crimson eyes joined the sorceress's mouth in a smile as Gourry's face cleared and he jogged up to walk beside her, his usual good humor returned.
"Hai, Lina."
Patrons at the village of Blasnos' single inn watched in amazement and horror as two travelers quickly, and noisily, ate enough food to feed a small army. Upon entry, the duo had requested rooms and then proceeded to order two helpings of everything on the menu.
For just the young red headed girl.
The young man had only ordered three helpings of all the even numbered entrees. After the waiter had picked himself up off of the floor, the blonde had also requested a mug of ale for himself and a glass of wine for his friend.
Now, with both food and spirits flowing freely, the other inhabitants of the inn were treated to a massacre of their food stock at the hands of the pair.
"So Lina, where are we going this time?" Gourry asked of his food-annihilating partner.
Lina drank deeply from her goblet to clear her throat. "Well, Gourry, I think we'll head for that old sages. Y'know, the one we heard about last town?"
Gourry's face blanked in confusion for a moment. Then it cleared and he answered between bites, "You mean the one that is supposed to be a master weapons maker?"
With a smile, Lina nodded. Trust jellyfish for brains to remember something when it concerns swords. "Yep, that's the right one. Maybe he'll know about a better sword for you." While her companion was distracted, the flame headed sorceress stole a sausage from his plate. "I figure at the least he'll know of a couple good legends."
The tall swordsman nearly nodded his head, and stole a piece of bacon from her plate. She saw this but let it go, since she snagged a large piece of ham in response. And so the fight for the most food commenced. The rest of the patrons from the inn could only watch in horror as the two travelers polished off a meal of gargantuan proportions.
Soon all that was left was a mound of plates reaching nearly to the ceiling. Lina and Gourry leaned back from the table and sighed with contentment. The blonde swordsman looked over at his ruby-eyed companion, smiling at the look of contentment on her face. He drank deeply from his beer while wishing, not for the first time, that the rest of their friends could be traveling with them. He dearly missed all of them, even though he would not give up traveling with Lina for anything in the world. He did wonder what happened to his friends though. It had been nearly a year since he had seen any of them.
They had recently heard from the princess of Saillune. Amelia was doing well as she helped her father rule the kingdom justly. Still, Gourry knew that she would rather be traveling with them. More specifically, he knew that Amelia would much rather be traveling with Zelgadiss.
And what had happened to that stony swordsman? The last they heard from him, he was heading further into the out lands as he searched for his cure. Gourry wished him luck; if Zelgadiss could find his cure, his friend would finally be able to live his life the way he wanted to. And with any luck that included a certain black haired princess in his life.
As for him, there was nothing better than traveling with Lina Inverse. Gourry didn't know how long he would be able to travel with her, but he hoped it was for the rest of his life. He still missed having the Sword of Light, but that was one of the reasons that the two of them were traveling. Maybe this weapons maker would be able to help them. Then he could protect Lina all the better.
Meanwhile, Lina was sitting back and study in her traveling companion. Why did he continue to travel with her? It didn't make any sense. Both of them knew that she did not need a protector, but still Gourry traveled with her. After everything they had gone through, after Fibrizo and Gaav and Dark Star, Gourry was the only one that was still with her. Lina was shocked to discover that she did not honestly remember what it was like to travel without him.
Shaking her mane of crimson locks, the sorceress decided that that was enough thinking for the night. "All right, Gourry," she said a she stood from the table, "I'm going to bed. We've got a really long day tomorrow."
"Hai Lina," the swordsman said as he smiled and stood. "I'll see you tomorrow morning for breakfast".
After the two had retired in their rooms for the evening, the owners and employees of the inn gave a collective sigh of relief. It was over, at least until breakfast.
The morning dawned like any other; crisp air carried by a slight morning breeze made everything seem fresh and new. After again eating more food than any two people should be able to consume, Lina and Gourry headed toward the mountain that held the weapons maker. It was peaceful traveling through the slightly rolling hills, just the two of them. Neither would say so, but it was just like when they first started traveling. And it was a comfortable silence between them; there was very little that needed to be said between well-traveled couple.
Around noon the duo finally reach the base of the "mountain". It turned out that it was, to the seasoned travelers, nothing more than a very large hill. Sitting atop this hill was a low stone building, the windows nearly touching the ground. One glance inside a window told Lina and Gourry that the majority of the building was actually underground. Near the house was a small copse of trees; in the middle of said trees was a large well. Sounds coming from the well drew the attention of both travelers.
Pumping water from the well within the trees was a young girl. Our crimson haired sorceress approached the young girl while her warrior in blue looked around the building. The young girl looked up when Lina approached stopped pumping and gave a wary smile.
The petit sorceress smiled and looked over the girl once. She had medium length brown hair, and wore a simple peasant dress; from all appearances she could not have been more than ten or eleven years old.
"What is a little girl like you doing so far out from the city?" Lina asked as she looked at the child.
The little brunette smiled and held up a pail of water. "Getting water for my grandfather," she replied smartly.
"Oh," Lina replied. "Can my friend and I go with you to meet your grandfather? We want to ask him a couple of questions."
The little girl looked at the red headed sorceress intently. Then, she nodded her head decisively. With a smile she started walking toward the mostly underground building.
With a shrug of her shoulders Lina followed the young girl, motioning Gourry to get in line with her. The trio entered. Inside, the building appeared comfy, if not downright homey. The walls were covered with shelf after shelf of books, leaving little space that was left bare. For all its seeming smallness on the outside, once inside of the home was quite obviously large. Indeed, there were two stairways heading down. From the right-most stairway an old grizzled voice called up.
"Kyra, did you get me the water that I needed?" The voice called up from the darkness. The young girl immediately walked over to the stairs. Walking down the stairs slowly, she answered, "Yes I did grandfather. And we have guests." She started to struggle with her charge, as the pail itself was nearly as big around as the little girl.
Ever the gentleman, Gourry quickly walked over and relieved the young girl of the pail. With a smile and nod, he headed down the stairs. Kyra bounced down the stairs ahead of him, with Lina following behind.
It was quite a bit warmer once they had reached the bottom of this stairs. Once their eyes adjusted to the difference in light, the travelers realized that they were in the grandfather's workroom. Glancing around the room, it became obvious that both sets of stairs led to the same place, just on different sides of the large room.
On the right side of the room was a large forge. Obviously well used and cared for, the elderly man looked perfectly at home in it. It was also clear that the forge was exclusively used for only one type of smithing.
The left side of the room was both held both a desk and multiple wall racks. The desk was covered in papers, probably designs and notes about the singular craft practiced here. The wall racks drew the immediate attention of Gourry and Lina. All of the weapons hanging from the walls were far beyond average, a testimony to the man's greatness. All of the gleaming instruments were of the utmost quality and precision, both breathtakingly beautiful and razor sharp. It was obvious to Lina and Gourry that this elderly smith was a master.
The smith himself did not appear to be that old. The only indications of his age were wrinkles in his face and gray in his hair. He looked over to his to visitors and said, "So what brings you so far out from town?"
"My traveling companion and I were trying to find a replacement sword," Lina said in reply. "Y'see, Gourry here used to carry a special sword for me, and we need to find me a good replacement."
Gourry immediately piped up from the other side of the room, "But Lina, it was my family heirloom, not yours!"
"Shut up jellyfish! If it weren't for me your family wouldn't even have the sword!"
The old man nodded and rubbed his chin. "What sort of blade did he own anyway?"
From where the golden haired warrior had been looking at all of the weapons on the walls, he turned to the smith. "I use to wield the Sword of Light," he muttered distractedly as he tested some of the blades.
The old man stopped rubbing his chin and looked from sorceress to swordsman incredulously. Lina smiled and nodded her head, her red eyes glinting mischievously. She patiently waited while the elderly smith collected him self and recovered from his shock.
"You heard right mister…umm…what's your name anyway?" Lina asked when she realized she did not know how to address the person she was talking to. The old man just the blinked at her dumbly.
Gourry looked over at the sorceress and said, "I think ya broke'im Lina."
Lina charged over to the larger swordsman, jumped up and knocked him in the head. "Shut up, jelly-fish for brains!"
"Owwww…."
By this time the old man had recovered. "My name and is Gerald. I'm sorry about the lack of introductions." He smiled sadly as he regarded the bickering duo. So much like my daughter and her husband. Shaking his head, the smith answered the fiery woman's original question.
"But to answer your question, I'm sorry but I have never made a weapon anywhere near that powerful." Gourry looked down cast and Lina's eyes dimmed a bit at this news. "The only thing that I know that might help is a legend from around these parts." Both travelers brightened at that.
Looking around, Gerald realized that Kyra was watching all of this in fascination. He slapped the side of his face and chuckled. "Where are my manners? Let's all go upstairs and we'll have a bit of tea while I tell you what I know."
Lina, Gourry, Kyra and old man Gerald went upstairs to the kitchen. In true grandfatherly fashion, Gerald gave the young girl a glass of milk and a few homemade cookies.
After starting the tea, the smith joined his visitors at the table. Gourry was the one who broke the silence.
"Umm…why is Kyra here? Ow! Lina that hurt!" He exclaimed after getting bonked on the side of the head.
Lina glared at her traveling companion. "You shouldn't have been so rude then, should you have?" She turned to their host. "Sorry about my friends lack of a suitable brain, but I think we are both curious how a sweet little girl like that is out here so far from the city."
"Well, that is a simple answer. My daughter and her husband were required to visit the city of Saillune about two months ago. Since the travel there and back would be quite dangerous, I offered to watch little Kyra until they returned."
Lina nodded. "Oh. Well that clears that up. She's such a sweet kid too."
"Aye, that she is Miss Inverse. In fact, I think she has the makings of a fine…" Before the conversation could go further, the teakettle whistled. Gerald stood and got the kettle and the requisite cups. Within moments all of the people seated at the table were served and seated, collecting his or her collective thoughts.
Finally, the old man broke the silence. "As I told you before, I have not made a weapon as powerful as the Sword of Light. However, I have heard of a legendary sword supposedly made during the Monsters War."
"What?!?!"
Gerald held up a hand. "I don't know if the story was true or not. However, I do know that there is a ruin in the Forest a weeks walk from here, in an isolated valley." He sighed and rubbed his shoulder as if remembering an old wound. "Being young and stupid I went there many years ago; probably about your age lass. The trip there was not particularly difficult, and I found the ruins just like the map I had said."
Lina interrupted him. "There's a map?"
He looked at her for a moment and then the aged smith stood and walked over to one of his many bookshelves. After scrounging through a shelf, Gerald finally produced an old and well-worn parchment. Wordlessly, he handed it to Lina. Setting it on the table, both Lina and Gourry looked it over as the smith continued his story.
"That's the map. Follow it to the letter and it leads right up to the entrance of the ruins. I didn't get much farther than that, though." The old man scratched the back of his head with one hand, obviously embarrassed.
Lina looked up at him. "Well? What happened then?" She asked impatiently.
"Umm, Lina?" Gourry asked.
"Not now, I wanna know what happened!"
Gerald smiled sheepishly. "Well, y'see, I am not a sorcerer by any means. It turns out that the Ruins are sealed. I couldn't get in." Lina fell out of her chair with a resounding crash.
The fiery sorceress jumped up immediately, her eyes raging infernos. "That's it?! All that buildup and that's all you can tell us?!?"
"Umm, Lina."
Said red-eyed sorceress was still ignoring her friend in favor of yelling at the top of her lungs. After a few more minutes of shouting and threats, Lina calmed down.
Gerald looked slightly put out, but not overly angry. "Now miss Lina. The map didn't do me that much good because I can't read it! I have no idea what language it's in." He just shook his head as Lina went back to looking over the map.
Moments later the sorcery genius looked up in disgust. "Dammit all, I can't read this either. It's not written in any magical language that I know." She puffed her breath out to move an errant strand of her hair. "And I know every magical language!"
"Umm, Lina?" Gourry started again. Finally, the combustible red head looked over at her blonde companion.
Lina sighed, expecting Gourry to ask a jellyfish-esque question of unbridled stupidity. She cracked her knuckles; Gourry would be just the stress relief she needed!
Then Lina's fantasy collapsed with one simple phrase: "I can read the map, Lina."
**THUD** And the sorcery genius is down! Lina picked herself up off of the floor and looked over at the blue-eyed swordsman in total astonishment.
"You can read the map?"
Gourry looked over at Lina and scowled. "I'm not a total idiot Lina! Besides, it's written in Elven." The penchant disapproval in his gaze stopped the upcoming Lina-tirade short.
Continuing to stare at him, Lina asked, "And how do you know how to read elven?" She just could not believe that her best friend and sometimes confidante could do something that she couldn't do. Other than fighting - after all, she had her magic, what good would being a sword expert be?
The blonde crossed his arms over his chest. It felt good to finally be able to lord something over Lina, even if it was only for a moment. And, on an even brighter note, she had yet to fireball him!
So Gourry finally answered, "I learned the language from the same place I learned how to wield the sword of light. My family."
Suddenly, a lightening spell went off in Lina's head. Of course! Rowdy married that elven girl, so Gourry would have some elven in his family. Her ruby eyes narrowed suspiciously. What else is he hiding? Then again, he hasn't been nearly as dim since he lost the Sword of Light. I guess the legends about the amount of focus it took to master it were real after all.
Smiling sweetly, Lina looked over at the swordsman. "Well then, what does the map say?"
Gourry, not realizing the danger he would soon be in, was eager to reply. "It says that the Mazoku sealed away a powerful weapon used by the forces of the Sea Dragon King." Suddenly, Gourry's face clouded in confusion. "Wasn't that nice Granny at the Blair Cribble the Sea Dragon? I'm confused."
Lina grit her teeth, but avoided retaliating. "Does it say how to get in or not Gourry?" She said, her voice tense with held aggression.
Oblivious, Gourry replied, "Yeah, you just have to bust the sealing stone."
"Thanks. Oh, and Gourry?"
Like a trusting sap, the blonde looked up at his traveling companion with a smile. "Yeah Lina?" He saw the look in her eyes finally and the smile fell away.
"Fireball."
Not long after the traditional Roasting of the Swordsman, Lina and Gourry had the map, had some supplies, and even had a new sword (of much better quality than the one he was using). The sword was made out of a composite metal; the entire sword blade had swirls and waves in the green-tinged metal making it almost look alive. The handle was covered in a dark blue leather that matched the color of the blonde's armor. After thanking Gerald profusely and giving a hug to little Kyra, the two slayers headed of into the wilderness to find the weapon that the Mazoku race had sealed more than ten centuries ago.
"So Lina, what do you think is going to be guarding the weapon?" Gourry asked as they traveled amicably into the wilds.
Lina shrugged her shoulders as they walked. "I dunno Gourry, but it can't be as bad as everything else we've gone through."
Floating far out of view, a cloaked figure marked the progress of the two travelers. So again they are going to make this interesting. I wonder if I should warn them? The shoulders of the being shook with mirth, causing the ruby tipped staff in its hands to shake. No, it'll be more fun to just watch. But if they get the weapon…
"My oh my, but you make life interesting don't you Lina?"
END, Chapter the First
Time for the Post chapter notes everybody. I wanna thank everyone that has bothered to read this story. I know it might not seem like it, but I have quite a plot worked up for this story. Just a couple notes that I feel need be said before ye read much further.
First and foremost, I am a supporter of traditional couples, as implied in the Canon. (yes, that means G/L, Z/A) If that is not what you are looking for, then go elsewhere. Sadly, I have a huge problem with non-canon coupledom, and there is far, far too much of it to suit my tastes. Instead of criticizing everyone elses work, I have opted to write my own. If anyone wants to know why I have such a problem with L/Z or L/X, drop me an email. At any rate, as I already stated, this eventually will have canon couples, but not for a few chapters.
Nextly I do wish to warn people about my handling of Xellos. Going along with the ideas presented in TRY, Xellos is not a nice guy. He is a Mazoku, after all. I do not intend to bash him, but he is quite evil and I will be showcasing my views on why he traveled with Lina and company.
The last thing that I think needs mentioning is that this is by no means a short story. It might take a while to post, but there will be a lot going on here. Just bear with me, K?
Now if everyone is done with my ranting, then I would greatly appreciate anyone that would like to drop me either a review or an email. This story cannot improve unless ye tell me what I have done right, or have done wrong, so feedback will help me improve the story. And thanks a million to Frrobbins (an excellent author in her own right) for proofreading my story and catching any typos or OOCness. Thanks Fritha!
-DREZ