CHAPTER II

Uninvited Guest!

"Hai!" Amelia squealed. "Sheifeel! How have you been?! It's been so long!!!"
"Amelia-san!" The black-haired high priestess smiled sweetly, giggling. "I've been fine. Sairaag is coming along quite nicely, my people have returned and are living there again, and everything is just wonderful! I'm glad to see that you're looking well, too..."
"Hai, hai," Amelia caught her by the hand and dragged her into the hall. "Martina-san and Zangulus-san are down the hall, and Zelgadiss-san is right there. Say hi!" Amelia waved at the chimera resting at the bar, who bowed his head gravely back as Sheifeel bowed slightly to him before she was caught up by Amelia again.
"And I want you to meet Firia-san!" Amelia chattered on. "She's a high priestess just like you-well, she used to be one but now she's not but still I think you two would get along just fine!!!"
"Oh... Amelia-san," Sheifeel broke in shyly. "...is Gaury-sama here yet?" Amelia smiled widely. "HAI! He and Lina-san came in right before Zelgadiss-san did."
Sheifeel blushed faintly. "Where... is he? I want to see him... if he isn't busy."
Amelia nodded. "Okay-but later! I want you to meet Firia-san first!"
"Whatever you want, Amelia-san," Sheifeel hid a sigh.
"Firia-san!" Amelia called, bouncing and waving. "I want you to meet someone!"
Sheifeel saw a tall blond girl that had been perched by a window look up, nod and then glide to them. She was so pretty that Sheifeel felt a hint of envy.
Would Gaury-sama like me more if I was that pretty...? she thought dreamily.
"Firia-san, this is Sheifeel-san. She's a high white priestess the BEST there is!" Amelia said. "She once even saved Lina-san's life, back when we were facing Kopii Rezo. Sheifeel-san, this is Firia-san. She was once a priestess of the Fire Dragon King and she's the one that came along and got Lina-san into the quest that led us to save the world from Dark Star. Oh! I have to ask Zelgadiss-san something, so I'll leave you two to get to know each other, bye!"
The little princess of Sailoon was gone in a flash, Sheifeel looked at Firia and Firia looked back at her.
They stood there, just staring at each other... then Sheifeel smiled shyly, and Firia smiled back and suddenly they both broke into giggles.
"Hi, Firia-san..." Sheifeel said the same moment Firia spoke.
"Hello, Sheifeel-san..." Firia said.
They both trailed off and giggled again.
"So, you're a powerful priestess?" Firia asked.
Sheifeel blushed. "Oh, Amelia-san, tends to exaggerate..."
"But she said that you once saved Lina-san's life," Firia smiled. "That is no mean feat, knowing what she gets herself into."
Sheifeel's blush darkened. "Oh... that really wasn't only me, if Lina-san had not been as strong as she is, I would not have been able to save her."
"Still, that is something," Firia said.
"What of you?" Sheifeel asked. "How did you get Lina-san into a quest like that? She is not easy to convince and I know that she would not like to get involved in adventures that lead to that sort of thing."
Firia's smile was wicked. "BLACKMAIL."
Sheifeel blinked in surprise. "Huh?"
Grinning mischievously, Firia told her.
Amelia and Zelgadiss looked up when they heard the laughter. Zel smiled as he sipped his mug. "I see that they're getting along well."
"Oh, yes, they are so alike!" Amelia nodded, smiling back at him.
"So...Zelgadiss-san, what have you been doing for the past two years?"
"Traveling," the Chimera leaned back in his stool by the bar. "As I have always done, seeking a cure. But what of you, Amelia?"
"Do not ASK!" Amelia groaned. "Daddy's been making me study and study and study!"
Zel hid a smile. "But learning is very good, and one that a ruler must do to rule well."
"Yes," Amelia agreed. "But not all day, all night and even on the holidays for two years straight!"
Zel laughed lightly. "True."
He placed his mug down. "You did well fixing this party, Amelia."
Amelia blushed. "Thank you, Zelgadiss-san, but I haven't seen you all in the past two years... so I felt that I should really make this reunion something."
It wasn't going to be grand, Amelia remembered deciding. Well, except for the menu, she wanted Lina-san happy. They were in one of the wings of Sailoon Palace, the rooms around it were where everybody stayed. It was like another adventure, staying together... just like old times... well, without being chased, and all the other crazy stuff that had a way of happening. But Amelia didn't mind.
"I thought that I'd make it seem like old times, " she said. "When we ate and stayed together in the inn, when we were always close by, even when we slept. But no worries, no monsters chasing us or powerful demons trying to kill us. I think we all just relax, rest, catch up and have some fun."
Zel nodded. "Good idea. Well, now that we're all here..."
"Amelia?" Prince Philionel poked his head in.
"Yes, daddy?" Amelia asked, coming to him. "Is lunch set?"
He shook his head. "No, I'm just here to tell you that your last guest has arrived."
Amelia blinked in surprise. "Last guest?! But we're al-"
Prince Philionel started to say something when he was suddenly pushed aside-
In strode a widely grinning, oh-too-familiar priest.
"XELLOSS?!" Amelia, Zelgadiss and Firia screamed.
"Ah, hello to you all, Zel-kun, Amelia-san and Firia-san. MISS me?" Xelloss' grin impossibly got even wider.
"YOU invited HIM?!" Zel glared incredulously at Amelia.
"HOW could you?!" Firia asked in anguish.
"I-I didn't...er, uhm," Amelia stammered.
"Oh, Amelia-san, HOW could you forget me? Aren't I one of the gang?" he tosses her an adorably cute teary face look.
"Never," Zel growled.
"Since when?" Firia shot back.
Sheifeel, hearing the cries, went up to them, staring at Xelloss. "Isn't he... um, wasn't that the man back in Sairaag when Lina-san was possessed by the Lord of Nightmares... he was the one that told us what had happened to her...right?"
"Indeed, Sheifeel-san," Xelloss lost his teary face and had his grin back on. "And where is Lina-chan, by the way?"
"Why?" Firia snapped. "SO you can sell her to the Mazoku, like you were going to do when we were fighting Valgarb?"
"What do you want with her now, Trickster Priest?" Zel glared suspiciously at him, hand hovering around the hilt of his sword. Even Amelia looked slightly wary. Sheifeel just stood, unsure.
"So..." Prince Phil broke in suddenly. "He ISN'T invited?"
"Nope." Zel said.
"Not EVER," Firia agreed.
Amelia and Sheifeel just shuffled restlessly.
"Oh, well, that's too bad. He even brought a friend," Phil shrugged, stepping aside, looking behind him.
Milgazia strode in.
Amelia and Zel blinked, jaws hitting the ground in shock.
"Mil-" Amelia started.
"And who are YOU?!" Firia snapped angrily. "If you're a friend of this raw garbage then you must be scum!"
Outraged now, the dragon girl whipped out her mace and swept it out at him.
"Firia, wait! Wait! That's Milgazia, an elder Gold Dragon we met back on Dragon Peak!" Amelia waved her arms wildly, watching in horror as the mace swung down on Milgazia's blond head.
The mace impossibly skids to a stop, pressing down on a loose golden lock of Milgazia's head. "AN ELDER!!!!" Firia screamed, her face now as horrified as Amelia's was. Milgazia blinked, a faint sweatdrop on the side of his head. "It is all right, child. No harm came of it. Though, you must learn better control of your temper."
"See, that's what you get for being so violent, Firia-chan, " Xelloss chirped, suddenly beside her.
"WHAT did you say?!" she snarled, snatching her mace back up and now swinging it into Xelloss. "AND WHAT DID YOU CALL ME?!"
"So, what are you doing with him?" Zel asked calmly as Firia chased Xelloss around the hall.
Milgazia looked at Firia and Xelloss. "I take it this is normal?"
"Yup," Zel grinned.
"I must speak with young Lina, it involves-" Milgazia broke off, ducking a breath blast, and landed on his butt, then rolled quickly, just dodging a mace swipe. Zel fell beside him as the Chimera lunged out of the way of the next bunch, and Amelia took refuge behind the bar. Sheifeel was pleading to Firia to calm down.
"COME BACK HERE AND DIE! MAZOKU RAW GARBAGE!!!!" Firia screeched, unleashing blasts and mace swings in a crazed frenzy at the nimbly dodging, maddeningly smiling Mazoku.
"Ah ah ah, Firia-chan," Xel said, wagging his finger and winking. "Temper, temper, you almost hit Milgazia again."
Firia freezes at that then falls to the hall ground right in front of Milgazia. "I'M SOOOOOO SOOOOORRRRRRRYYYYY, ELDER!!! It is just that-that-that-!!!!!"
Milgazia really sweatdropped now. "I understand, child, I know what it is you feel."
"Now, as to you, Xelloss-san," Amelia ordered, poking her head out of the bar. "Stop teasing her."
"Oh, all right," Xel said. "For now."
Milgazia, Zel and Firia glared murder at him.
He just smiled back.
"You still haven't told me why you're with him," Zel said.
Milgazia scowled. "I-"
"Why not tell them when Lina-chan is here?" Xel cut in. "SHE is the main reason we're here."
The looks now were dark and wary.
"Well, like I asked before, where's Lina-chan?" Xel kept smiling brightly.
Amelia stared at him, then looked at Milgazia, and at last nodded slowly. "She's down the hall, I'll take you there."

A A A A A

"What room is this?" Zel asked Amelia as they came to a huge door.
"It's a game room usually, but now-" Amelia was cut off by childish squeals of delight that could be heard through the thick wood. "I made it into a nursery of sorts."
Xel smiled. "A nursery?"
Amelia nodded. "Martina and Zangulus' kids play here along with Valgarb."
She opened the door and they all went in.
And stopped at what they saw.
Gaury, Jiras and Kurabos sat at a table sipping mugs of ale, watching, along with Zangulus and Martina who sat at a sofa, the kids play on the fur rug in the middle of a huge room.
Lina sat cross-legged in the middle of a heap of toys on the rug. Four adorably cute children were crawling, sitting, and playing around her. Or was it playing WITH her?
"-for someone who doesn't have a love life, you've sure got a way with kids!!" Martina teased. "You'd make a great mommy someday."
"You're lucky I can't cast magic when my hands are full," Lina warned dangerously, her threat ruined when she suddenly squealed.
The green-haired little boy giggled having nuzzled Lina in the neck, he had a tight grip in her fiery mane, hugging her tightly.
"Ah, Val, quit that, that tickles!!"
Val just giggled some more, hunting around and rubbed even harder against Lina again, kissing her now.
"Aaahhh, VAL!!"
Jiras laughed. "To think that the master wanted so much to kill you, now look at him."
"He IS killing me!!" Lina gasped, doubled over under the Val, laughing. "Stop, Stop!"
The other three kids joined the fray. The only girl in the little gang, with hair as green as Val's, giggling as she threw her pudgy little arms around Lina and squeezed. The other two boys jumped into Lina's lap pinning her down, they snuggled against her, nuzzling her in the neck, and in the face. Val stuck to his spot, but got just as wild as the rest of the kids.
"Aaahhh, help!" Lina yelled, choked and laughed as the kids started tickling her. "Okay, stop, stop! I give up, I give up!"
"Isn't that so cute?!" Martina asked, laughing.
"Oh, yes," Zangulus agreed, grinning crookedly.
"The Great Sorceress Supreme Lina Inverse defeated by a bunch of children," Gaury was grinning, too, but his face hinted at something else. "Oh, the shame!"
"Oh, yeah," Lina wheezed, she was sprawled on the fur rug and was sat on by the kids, looking up from under her prison. "YOU deal with them since YOU claim to be my guardian!"
The foursome of toddlers looked up at Gaury, angelic faces dark and dangerous, daring him to try and take their toy. They all crawled closer around Lina, getting better grips on her, watching the blond swordsman warily.
"Uh oh, Gaury, " Kurabos said, grinning. "That looks like REAL trouble."
"Uh... nevermind," he backed off. "Can I pass guarding this once?"
"Some guardian," Lina sniffed and froze as her gaze fell on the rest that now stood in the room, watching and grinning just as widely. "XELLOSS?! WHA-MILGAZIA?!"
"Greetings, Lina Inverse," Milgazia couldn't help but smile fondly. "May we speak?"
The kids looked up curiously at Zel, Amelia, Prince Phil, Sheifeel, Firia, Xelloss and Milgazia, but they didn't let go of Lina. They did let her sit up a little, settling on her lap and back, playing and nibbling idly on her hair.
"Val, dear. Let go of Lina-san, " Firia said, stooping to pick up the green-haired boy. "She has to do something, this very important man has to talk to her."
"Taen, Zak, Mara, be good. Let Lina-san go, she has to do something," Martina and Zangulus stood, going to pick up their kids.
The lot of them stubbornly clung to Lina.
"But I still wanna play!" Val said, the rest echoing him loudly. "It's fun to hug her!"
Lina blinked and blushed a little. "Uh..."
"Oh, why is that?" Xelloss asked, grinning. Val smiled sweetly, his grip on Lina tightening as Firia tugged at him, burying his face for a moment in her neck. "She's really nice and soft, do you want to try it, too? I think you'll like it a lot, I do."
Lina's blush flared furiously. "VAL-!" she yelled.
"Tempting offer," Xel laughed.
"XELLOSS!!!" Lina could only glower up at him, her red face made a tomato look pale.
Martina grinned as she nimbly scooped up the girl. "You may be flat-chested but you sure are build to be a mommy."
Lina shot her a deadly glare. "What does that mean, MARTINA?"
"She's right," Firia giggled, at last getting Val off of Lina. "You have the hips for it."
"HEY!!!" Lina's face got even redder.
"Now, all you need is a daddy," Martina and Firia grinned wickedly.
"THAT'S IT!!!" Lina jumped on them both-tried to, anyway, since the last kid still clung to her, so she just half got up, and fell back down again. "Oh, just you two wait!"
"Any candidates?" Zel joined in. Gourry blushed.
Zangulus chuckled as he picked up the last kid. Lina sat where she had fallen, arms and legs crossed. "At least one that I know of."
"Why is everybody picking on me today?" she whined.
Milgazia kept smiling as he watched. Some things never changed.
Lina pouted, then looked up to him and smiled. Her smile was even brighter and livelier than he had remembered it, her eyes dancing even more. Her face had changed little, still young and carefree, but now seemed to promise even more than what he had at first seen.
He stepped up to her and held out his hand, she took it and he pulled her up.
"What are you doing here, Milgazia?" she asked, then glanced suspiciously to the Priest next to him. "AND with him?"
Milgazia felt his smile fade, and his face tighten grimly. "I am here to ask for aid."
Lina looked at him intensely, realizing something was seriously wrong. "With what? WHAT'S happened?"
Milgazia's face tightened further, turning bleak. "Aqua is dying."