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SERVICE! I'll Take My Past with Lemon Please!
Ashi: What will happen next?! Will the Slayers Crew make it out of the Desert of Ancients alive?! Will they-
Zephyre: Please stop. You're making it seem like this fic is some kind of old Batman episode.
Ertai: That's for sure. Back then, even the villians had corny lines.
Lina: ...and you're saying this fic isn't corny in itself?
[by Ashieyu]
"This really sux...,"Zephyre stated. "This really really sux!!!"
Even though the Slayers Crew have defeated Mahamoti Djinn, they were still stuck in the desert.
"HOW come all the other heroes you read about don't get stuck in in the middle of the desert after they defeat a bad guy?!" Lina fumed.
Zelgadis huffed as he trudged along with the others. "Because this isn't a fairy tale?"
"Cheer up guys," Amelia said. "I'm sure we'll get to Seyruun soon." Amelia took out the map she was entrusted with by the group. "Well, if we go a little to the northeast, we'll run into a town and we'll get out of this desert soone-"
"Well, what's the name of the town?!" Atalya...sheesh.
"...it's, uh...well...I don't know!" Everyone fell back from Amelia's answer. "I can't make read it. It's in another language." Filia took it to see if she could read it.
"I can't either," Filia said in a dis-heartening way. Lina tried, then Zelgadis, but of course, they couldn't make heads or tails. Then, something hit Zelgadis (a book hits Zelgadis, and you hear a big "Oof!" when he hits the ground.) Zelgadis reads the title: "'Ways to find out what a foreign text might say'. What? This is absolutely ridiculous!" He threw the book to the ground.
Amelia picked up the book and dusted most of the dust off it. She turned to a page in the book: "If all else [or everyone else] fails...let Zephyre read the untranslated text!" Everyone- ._.' "Well, it says for Miss Zephyre to read the untranslated text...so...," Amelia handed the map to Zephyre...Zephyer was little awkward about what happened, but still did as so, anyhow.
She studied the city name for a moment and spelled it out in her head; K-i-n-n-a-t.
"It says Kinnat," She said as she shoved the map back into Amelia's arms and looked away. Zephyre tried to pass it off as nothing, but Lina thought other wise.
"How the -hell- do you know what it says?!" Lina queried, rather demandingly.
"I don't KNOW how I KNOW!" Zephyre shot back. "I just KNOW!"
"How can you -just know- something that no one else here knows a thing abo-," Lina was cut off by Filia.
"Because...........SHE'S A MAZOKU!!!" Everyone fell over.
"Not this again," Zephyer begged.
"Wait a minute!!!" Gourry's light bulb flashed on. "Why would the map have only ONE city in a different language?" The Slayers Crew's eyes were almost as big as their heads from Gourry's sharpness.
"Come to think of it," Filia began, "where did you get that map from Miss Amelia?"
Amelia seemed kind of shy as the answer came to. "Well, I got it from Mister Ertai...,"
Everyone- o_o*
"Well, if that's the case," Lina mumbled to herself. "It's like they wanted us to go there. It's like Xellos and Ertai knew Zephyer could read it...," Lina perceptively concluded, "but the question is, why didn't you know you could read it?" Lina pointed at Zephyre.
Zephyre rubbed her arm, knowing why, just a little upset about the reason that she didn't really know why she didn't know. "...because, my past, it's all a blur! I can't remember anything!"
"But how do we know Mister Ertai and Mister Xellos want us to go to this Kinnat place?" Atalya countered.
"An excellent question," Xellos said cheerfully.
Lina- >_<# "XELLOS!!!" Lina put him in a headlock. "Just what is with you and Ertai giving us leads?!"
Well I can't tell you unless you let go of me." Lina let go of him...but Xellos started to straighten out his clothes and dust himself rather prolonging.
"-Today- would be nice...," Lina fumed.
"Don't rush me or I won't tell you," Xellos put his nose in the air while he got out his book entitled:
Locations and Resorts: A historian's guide. "Well, it says here that Kinnat is a very ancient and well-known city fro magic. One of the only ones left standing from after the Kyouma War. It's known for its devil magic, temples and a library that exceeds over 1,000 ancient texts and books and other such related paraphernalia."
"I think it's a set-up," Filia said knowingly.
"Oh do you?" Xellos cringed.
"Of course it is. Whoever you're working for this time has sent you to look for something and you thought you could trick us into going there and doing the work for you!" Filia was proud of herself, since she was the first to spot out his pretext.
"Well, if you caught on, I'm sure Lina has, so why not do it anyway? It's less work on my part and you're going that way anyway. I'm sure you'll find some interesting information there," Xellos reclined in the air. "Well," he yawned, "you all are starting to bore me. I think I'll go for now, bai bai!" and he disappeared.
"OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!! One of these days," Lina shook her fist, "I'm gonna find out just exactly what that guys damage is!!"
"In any case," Zelgadis began, "we probably should get going."
"But what exactly did Mister Xellos mean when he said that he was sure we'll be able to find some interesting information there?" Amelia pondered aloud.
"Well," Lina began marching, "if we want to find out; we're gonna have to go there one way or another. If I know Xellos, he only gives us the one way leads."
"But MISS LINA!!! He's using us!"
"Ya know what, Filia? It doesn't matter if he is or not right now, because, we need to get out of this desert and if he is right than we'll most likely need the information then. But, really, if you are into standing out her until you rot, then by all means, do it, but I'm in for getting some food!" Filia debated: would she rather stay here and die [because she doesn't have the map], or continue on with the group and know she's walking into a set-up of namagomis? This was pretty hard, considering that most of the time she gave the group the hint that she would rather die than to go anywhere with that namgo-
"HEY! Miss LINA! WAIT UP!!"
~*~*~*~*~*~
Kinnat, a famous ancient town filled with temples. Xellos had been true to that bit of information anyway. It was strange though, this town. They kept on seeing signs in the windows of many buildings that said things such as: 'We do not serve Mystics,' or 'Mystics are forbidden to enter.' Quite odd indeed. As Zephyre walked around with the others, she had a strange feeling about the place; like she'd seen it before, but there was this other feeling that wouldn't leave her alone, like she felt she wasn't welcomed most of all. In any case, they pressed on with commoners giving them bewildered looks or closing the window shudders once they came into view. They continued into the town's market, there was even more evidence that the town didn't want them to be there.
Zelgadis looked a bit unsettled. "Why are they all staring at me?!" he mumbled aloud. "What do they think I am? Some kind of troll made form the ninth circle of hell?" his anxiety level was growing rapidly, and he was about to blow, but instead, he fainted from the excitement that he was causing himself that shouldn't have even been there.
"What happened?!" Zephyre queried, with an odd look on her face.
"Poor Mister Zelgadis!" Amelia sympathized as she kneeled next to him. "I guess just the very thought of thousands of people staring at him was just to much."
"We need a break anyway," Lina concluded. "Gourry, you carry him so we can find some place to eat." Gourry's jaw dropped.
"L-Lina! That's Zelgadis we're talking about here. I can't carry him, he's just too heavy!"
"Oh yeah! Guess I forgot..."
"We can't just leave him here!" Atalya pointed out.
"I didn't say we were, did I? But we pull him along by a rope-" Lina's suggestion was interrupted.
"Lina, you know we can't do that!!" Zephyre countered.
"WAIT!!" Amelia cried. "What about Miss Filia?"
"That's right," Lina acknowledged. "Filia, just how much can you carry?
"WHAT? Miss Lina-!!"
"Filia...," Lina said rather acidicly. Filia sighed. HOW could she let a human do this to her? Oh she wished she could go off on Miss Lina and just whack her with her mace, but she had no real blackmail to get her out this!
Everyone helped to get Zelgadis on Filia's back, which didn't take too long, considering her Ryuuzoku strength. "Now to get some food...," Lina said carnivorously.
"Miss Lina," Filia dared to stop her, "by the way the way the people in this town are looking at us, I don't think we're going to get to eat.
"Well we'll just see about that," Lina marched off, determined to get some nourishment, one way or another. "Gourry, Amelia, you're coming with me." As Gourry and Amelia joined her, Atalya looked on in adoration.
"Isn't Miss Lina the greatest?!" Filia and Zephyre looked on in disgust.
"I'm...leaving that one alone," Zephyre backed off.
~*~*~*~*~*~
"What do you mean 'you don't server out of towners'," Lina questioned, outraged.
"I'm sorry miss, but we have a strict foreign policy in the city. It's for the safety for the kingdom," informed the waiter.
Lina ruffled her hair in frustration. "Well we'll just-" Amelia had already placed herself on a nice empty table and struck a pose.
"No Miss Lina! This isn't just! This is injustice to the max!!"
"But we're doing it to protect the city," The waiter defended. He was trying to keep his anger in check.
"Well, I guess that's a pretty good reason...," Amelia admitted.
"AMELIA!!!" Lina scolded. She hated when she started crap like this....but, this wasn't just about any old justice-gibberish. It was about food!
"...but keep exhausted, tired and hungry people from food is unforgivable!! In the name of Justice, you shall be punished!"
"Yeah!" Lina put her two cents in. "It's not like we're dangerous or anything. We just want something to eat!"
The waiter sighed. "Well, I don't know if you're dangerous, but you're coming off as pretty annoying...,"
"I don't know about you, but if I don't get some food and get some soon...in the name of my stomach I'm gonna kick some ass!!" Lina threatened bitterly. "C'mon Amelia!" Gourry tried to grab them before pounding down the poor waiter, but failed. Lina and Amelia pursued the waiter but being the smart waiter he is, he moved out of the way. Thus, Amelia landed on the table and with Lina followed suit and landing on the table, it broke. Gourry gawked and the two occupants at the ends of the table out down their menus to see who demolished their table.
"Oh, Miss Lina! I must not have heard you come in," Xellos said with surprise.
"Wow, Mister-"
"XELLOS!!! How the HELL are you getting served in this place?!" Lina demanded to know.
"*laughs* We're not being served, as you should all ready know. We just want to see the menus," Xellos laughed some more.
"But...why?" Gourry wondered confusedly.
"To seem normal of course!" Ertai grinned. "There's like, half a dozen waiters in this place, so only so many of them will see you at first. If we get lucky, one of the other waiters will come take our order!"
"That's the most warped logic I've ever heard of!" Amelia announced.
"You know, it's unjust to be 'quick-to-judge'," Ertai informed.
"But you're a Mazoku!"
"It's also unjust to be prejudice."
"But, but...you're on the side of evil! Justice shouldn't apply to you!"
"An act of oppression..." By this time, Ertai had Amelia crying and was laughing his Mazoku head off, and the manager of the restaurant came out also; not looking very pleased!
"Look what you've done to my restaurant!" the manager barely made audible through clenched teeth.
"What that?" Ertai said pointing to the broken table. "It was like that when we got here." THAT sent the manager overboard...and his face started to turn the darkest red color...
"That's IT! GET OUT!!!! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!!!" and he had them kicked out by security. Xellos and Ertai got up, almost simultaneously and brushed themselves off.
"This really is a not in my rope," Xellos said. "That Ryuuzoku herb tea sounded scrumptious..."
"Yes, a total catastrophe...," Ertai commented wryly. Everyone conscious [can't forget about Zel! ^_~!] sighed; except for one bubble-headed, tea-obsessed and VERY red-faced Ryuuzoku.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAUUUUUUUUUUUUUGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHH!!!!!" she dropped Zelgadis in the process of storming up to Xellos and pulling out her mace. Xellos was definitely in an awkward position. "I don't believe it! Not only are you a dirty, worthless Namagomi, but you're a poucher?!!" she threw her hands up in utter rage. "Although I should've expected as much from a useless, no-good Mazoku!!!" She started to pursue him with her mace. Ertai grumbled, Lina stress marked, Gourry was clueless and Amelia slumped. Zephyre sighed and Zelgadis................was, being unconscious. Atalya felt a speech coming on, but stopped, knowing how these two ticked when they were worked up.
Ertai stress marked when Xellos started to run in circles about him, Filia close in pursuit. Ertai rubbed his temples. "I am so sick of their constant, repetitive, indignant and incorrigible quarreling," he mumbled aloud to himself. He stopped to speak. "Xellos why must you constantly bicker with her? Don't you think she gets irritated enough when she sees you? Or is killing most of her kind not enough for you?" Everyone blinked at his sudden outburst...but sure enough, one person wasn't taken aback. Xellos just plastered a grin on his face. Ertai didn't know how to have any fun on a mission! Oh well, he might as well poke some fun at him while he left the spot open....
"Of course you know that's a secret. And even if I did have a motive, why would it be for something like that?"
Ertai slapped his face and sighed irritably. "Ya know, I really don't see how Beast Master favors you so much."
"What about my food?!" Lina brought up.
"Yeah, I'm really hungry too!" Gourry put in.
"And there's so many injustices plaguing this city," Amelia said dramatically. "We should help those who have lost their path to righteousness!"
"...and I plan to join her on behalf of all the oppressed females in the world!" Atalya and Amelia did some wonderfully synchronized, yet annoying duet poses.
"-What-?" Lina replied incredulously. "All forms of justice are expendable until my food crisis is solved!" Gourry blinked a few times.
"Uh, yeah! What she said!"
"But Miss Lina," Amelia said haughtily, "it's unjust to only think of yourself!"
"But Amelia," Atalya began her counter, "she should have a right too! After all, she's a girl and not many women get to think for themselves in our day and age!"
"I guess you're right," Amelia said meekly, "but we should still think of others before ourselves even if we are female."
"Amelia!!! You wouldn't be turning against you own kind would you?" This sparked a debate of the worst kind: Lina versus Amelia, and Atalya and Amelia versus Atalya. All in all, Gourry was really confused. While that went on, Xellos chose this time to poke some fun at Filia and continue their game of 'hot pursuit'.
Zephyre sighed and slumped to her knees. Ertai grumbled, stress marked and clenched his fists. Zelgadis was being unconscious. 'Why did I have to get stuck with the looney world-saving heroes? Damn you Zelgadis! You get to be unconscious through the whole thing!' Zephyre thought.
Ertai had had enough (Well, for the time being at least). This was getting them nowhere and frankly, he didn't feel like dealing with a bunch of food-crazed humans and Mazoku/Ryuuzoku bickering. Dealing with incessant whining wasn't a strong point of his and Xellos was just a league of his own. Solving was a better skill of his. He rubbed his chin in a moment of thought on how to handle this. 'What would be a good way of going about this?' He took in consideration of his surroundings. 'Don't want to bring unwanted attention given the town's like to foreigners...Or lack there of...,' He pondered a bit longer and debated the consequences. He gave up and shrugged his shoulders with a smile. "Oh well! BOMB DI WIND!" A blast of wind exploded from Ertai's palms and the Slayers' Crew was carried through the building doors behind them. Everyone around the scene stared wide-eyed at Ertai. He stress marked. "Well, what would you do with a bunch of blithering idiots!?!?"
~*~*~*~*~*~
A gentle but disciplined-looking old man searched through the reference books in his office. He had a showy white beard that went down to his chest and bushy eyebrows that hid his eyes. His white hair went down to the middle of his back, but age showed on the top of his head. He wore a light blue robe that accented the darker shades of blue sewn into it and white pearly white trimming went along the robe he wore. His pair of circular glasses rested on his the edge of his nose as he skimmed through an open book.{his name is Aldous}
BOOM! [groaning is heard]
The old man was startled, but headed for the door. He opened his office door and hurried over towards the front entrance of the library. What he saw was..........pathetic. Lina and company [minus Ertai] were mangled into a mass on the floor, the double doors hanging open. "Oh my.....," the old man couldn't conjure the words to get out of his mouth.
"Mind if we take a look?" Ertai strolled in coolly. "And don't mind them, too many down the hatch if you know what I mean...," Lina, somehow, got out of the mess and went up to Ertai and pulled his ear, letting it stretch and then let it go, smacking his head.
"Excuse him, he's-"
"Smart!" Ertai finished for her.
"More like smartASS!" Lina elbowed him hard in the side. "Anyway, we're just gonna look around for now." The old man nodded and gratefully returned to his office. Lina sighed at the others, still trying to get out of the mass of mess.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Ertai poured himself a nice cup of hot tea as he reclined on a seat at a table in the library. He sighed. Today was a bit much, even for a Mazoku like him. He sipped on his tea as the others rummaged through the library books. Xellos was on the opposite side of the table, seeming very content in watching the others look through books. He turned to Amelia, who had the most determined look on her face as she searched through a book. 'Trying to impress Zelgadis, no doubt...,' He sighed mentally and went to the next person. Zephyre was an odd character. Just what was with her anyway? Why did she really want to know about her past anyway? Was it that important? Why'd she have to be so perplexed and edgy all the time too? 'Still, she'd make an excellent-'
"WHAT are you doing Namagomi?!" Xellos could've sworn he saw acid seeping from the Ryuuoku's vile mouth when she said that. He cringed inwardly and twitched outwardly. Just why did she have to be so.....her?
"Nothing you should worry your pretty little head about," he managed to say with the same acidicy as Filia's remark. He sipped some tea. Oh how that Ryuuzoku irked his nerves. Filia marched straight over to where he sat and slammed her hand down on the table. "YOU could at least LOOK LIKE you're not using us and help!"
"But you seem to be doing just a fine job on your own," Xellos plastered a fake grin on his face. "Why would I want o get in the way?" He sipped his tea. Filia sighed. She would've loved to break out her mace right then and there and sent him flying into the Seyruun magical seal, but restrained. She was a Ryuuzoku, not some antagonistic, arrogant dirty Mazoku! She was higher than this slime that sat in front of her.
"There's just no reasoning with Mazoku," she stated simply. Xellos opened his eyes and glared.
"HA, and like Ryuuzoku are any different."
"Of course we are! Ryuuzoku are diplomatic, dignified and reasonable!"
"Yeah, that's further from the truth than my act of good surfacing!" he then began to laugh arrogantly. Tears welled up in the Ryuuzoku eyes. She was just too frustrated to think know. Why did Xellos always have to do this? She threw her mace blindly and ran out the door.
Everyone looked up in shock. Not just from Filia running out, but also because the mace had got Ertai in the face and he was down on the floor with a huge red mark on his face. Xellos shrugged.
"Oh well, guess you can't win them all Miss Filia-*whack* He was bashed in the head by and SD Zephyre with Filia's mace and kept doing it to a now SD Xellos.
"Xellos! *whack* You jackass! *whack* WHY *whack* do you ALWAYS have to be so YOU?! *whack* Thanks to you, *whack* we're one less person short of finding anything in this library! *whack* What do you have to save for yourself?! He raised a finger.
"You hid hardaa dan Miss Fiwia....," All- sweat drop
"*shock* I....I didn't know Zephyre could go SD......," Zelgadis made eye-contact with a flying mace from Zephyre's direction. The force of impact made him fall over.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~
