AND THE WHEEL GOES ROUND
By Chibi J
Warnings by Chibi J: Heavy Zel+Amelia (in later chapters), possible character death (also in later chapters). Help wanted. Will grovel.
........"But Lina," protested Gourry feebly, "you can't possibly expect me to choose!"
........Lina's eye twitched warningly. "Gourry, this is very important, and we're counting on you to make the best decision, so pick already!"
........"But I don't know if I can choose just one or the other."
........"We've been through this, you numbskull. You're only picking which one to hit FIRST."
........Zelgadis sighed heavily. "Will this never end?"
........The party of four stood just outside of the little town's two most famous dessert parlors, waiting patiently and not so patiently for the decision on which to go to first. Predictably, the lot fell to Gourry to pick, adding an estimated two hours to the wait and quite probably a Elmekia Lance or two.
........"Um, eeny, meeny, miny, mo.....I pick that one!" He thrust his finger out at random, towards the shop at left.
........"Well done, Gourry, I knew you could do it!" Lina congratulated.
........"I'm glad Mr. Gourry finally picked one," said Amelia to her chimera companion as they followed the nutty sorceress into the building. He said nothing, which was normal for him.
........Lina strutted up to the counter and placed her palms imperiously on it. "Give me four orders of everything you got," she commanded. Then she turned to the others. "What are you guys gonna have?"
........
"Just coffee for me," Zelgadis said briefly.
........
"Oh, I don't know, just a chocolate ice cream, I guess," decided Amelia.
........
They watched resignedly, Zelgadis with folded arms, Amelia fiddling with her spoon, as Lina and Gourry chowed down (to put it mildly). "What is wrong with you guys?" demanded Lina through a mouthful of cake. "This is great, you're missing a fantastic meal."
........
"But Miss Lina, this is dessert, not—" Lina waved that away with her fork.
........
"Same thing."
........
A shadow fell across Gourry's pie. He looked up.
........
A cloaked figure stood by the table, regarding them from hooded shadows within a shrouding cowl. "Uh, who are you?" asked Lina without a pause in her eating. A sound like a laugh wound out of the concealing hood.
........
Zelgadis jumped abruptly to his feet. "Amelia—"
........
An explosion rocked the dessert parlor, strewing sprinkles like rain and splattering Gourry with ice cream. Zelgadis took refuge beneath the table, while Lina squeaked with rage at her ruined dessert. When the dust settled and the smoke cleared, they cautiously lowered their defensive stances, seeing that the stranger was gone.
........
"What was that?" asked Gourry stupidly.
........
"They ruined my FOOD!" Lina shrieked. "They're gonna pay for this! I'll—"
........
"Never mind that," said Zelgadis. "Where's Amelia?"
........
"What do you MEAN, never mind—hey, you're right. Where IS Amelia?"
........
"Hey, you're right," echoed Gourry.
........
"Didn't you say something about her before—" her jaw set "—our food blew up?"
........
"Well, yes—"
........
"How'd you know something was gonna happen to Amelia?"
........
"Because that person, if you'd bothered to ask what I saw, was Martina!"
........
There was a distinct pause. "What?" said Lina. "You mean that princess of that one kingdom that wanted to get rid of Seirun?"
........
"Yes, Lina," said Zelgadis, his voice dangerously low and a pronounced eyebrow twitch erupting. "Now that you know who the person was, why don't you DO something about it?"
........
"You don't need to get so worked up, Zel."
........
"Wait a second," remarked Gourry. "Who's Martina?"
........
There was a collective sprawl between Lina and Zelgadis, while Gourry looked on in puzzlement. "Oh, good grief, you moron." Lina pulled herself to her feet. "You can just wonder, because I'm not explaining it again!"
........
"But—"
........
"Shut UP."
........
"But you didn't even explain it once yet-"
........
"BURST RONDO!"
........
After the shock waves settled, Gourry sat up (sort of) and apologized meekly.
........
Zelgadis, meanwhile, had slipped off on his own.
........
Martina laughed with that annoying Martina laugh. Amelia almost rolled her eyes, but even in captivity, it wasn't proper and princessly.
........
"You have no justice in you, and I know that you will be beaten!" she declared randomly. "Justice will always win!"
........
Martina only laughed harder. "In the name of the mounstrous Zomelgustar, I will crush your precious justice and rule the world! Ahahahahahahahaaaaaaah!"
........
"Never! My friends will come to rescue me, and bring an end to your evil plans!" She paused. "Uh, what ARE your evil plans?"
........
"I will take over the world, by bringing under my power the demon Zanrustan, the Terrible!"
........
"But what do you need me for?" Martina cackled aggravatingly.
........
"You'll see."
........
Lina let go of Gourry's collar, abruptly dropping him with a thump. "Hey, where'd Zel go?"
........
"He was just here a moment ago," observed Gourry.
........
"He probably just left on his own again. Oh, well, his loss," said Lina flippantly, dusting herself off and yanking her partner to his feet.
........"But shouldn't we, you know, look for him?" She rounded on him again.
........
"Are you implying that I need that stony, blue, incompetant swordsman to do my work?"
........
"No, I just thought—"
........
"You never think, Gourry."
........
"But aren't you, you know, worried?"
........
She contemplated for a minute. "Well, I guess so. But right now we need to rescue Amelia. She's a princess after all, so maybe we can get a reward out of this." She pulled Gourry along behind her as she went north. "Besides," she added, "I'm gonna get that Martina for ruining my dessert!"
........They had been walking aimlessly for a time, and it was not until the next day that Gourry made a brilliant (for him) comment. The vagrants had entered a wood, and the flame-red sky above the trees was signaling sunset, when he turned to Lina and said, "Uh, where are we going?"
........
"To find Amelia, dimwit!"
........
"But, do you know where she is?"
........
"Of course not!"
........
"But then—"
........
She became annoyed. This was dangerous. "A true adventurer knows that the best way to find something is to look for it, and that's exactly what I'm doing!"
........
"But how do you know you'll find her by going this way?"
........
"Because I said so!" she exploded, turning into a giant, firey fanged face that cowed Gourry for the moment. He wisely replied, "Sure, Lina, I agree with you completely."
........
They started walking agin, off into the sunset without a trace of worry for anything other than their next paycheck. And, of course, their next meal.
........Zelgadis knelt and studied the ground. A dent in a leaf here, a broken twig there, a slight footprint over here. The trail was several days cold, but still discernable. Martina was obviously not woodswise.
........
He stood up and kept walking.
........It felt good, he decided, to be on his own again, and not have to listen to senseless fights or annoying prattle from his companions. A tiny corner of his mind wondered why he was going to rescue Amelia. She was a veritable fountain of speeches and emotions, the two things that irritated him the most. She never stopped spouting that justice rot, driving him quietly insane as he struggled not to kill her, just to shut her up. Why, he asked, is it my business what happens to her? Why don't I just escape from her, and Lina, and Gourry, and return to my quest to cure my body? He didn't really know, he decided then. No, that wasn't true; he did know why, but his subconscious refused to dredge it up to active knowledge no matter how hard he tried.
........The effort was giving him a headache, so he knelt and examined the trail again.
........It was fresher, only a day or so old, and that lightened his spirit as the anticipation of a real battle instead of an insignificant skirmish filled him from top to bottom.
........"You just wait, Martina. Do your worst to me. I will still be the victor."
........That night, as it had been the last few nights he had been alone, he found it hard to sleep. What, he demanded of his psyche, is the matter with me? I have been conditioned to sleep anywhere, anytime, and under any circumstances, so why the hell can't I?
........With the question came the answer: conditioning. He had spent so long sleeping through Lina and Gourry snoring uproariously and Amelia mumbling in her sleep that without the noisy background, it was too quiet. And too-quiet surroundings made him tense, and tenseness robbed him of rest.
........He found that knowing this, it was a simple matter to tune his senses to compensate for the missing sound, and he dropped off to sleep.
