Type: Anime

Crossover: Slayers/BASTARD!!

Parings: DS/Yoko, Zel/Kal

Disclaimer: I own nothing but Azrial. Inspired by the epic "Aftermath", the arc "Slayers AD", and my own twisted mind.

Warnings: mild yaoi alert!

Rated: R for language and violence

Shock!

Lina's old Student?!

By Youko Rayah

Lina sat up and stretched, waking from a delightful dream of Naga being struck mute and having to serve the powerful red head for the rest of her life. Last night had been peaceful, with only a brief spat at dinner. The Inn was an old favorite of hers, and the owner a good friend and traveling companion from twenty years prior. That thought gave her pause. It had been SO long since her last visit home, a century today to be exact. She found that she was home sick, and feeling her years.

Standing, she began to dress, thinking about her age. Amelia, Goury, and Zelgodis probably had no clue just how old she was. It was highly likely none of them knew the side effect of working Black magic. That price? A drastically slowed aging process. It was why she had been so angry with Selfel for casting a Dragu Slave against Fabrizo the Hell-Master. Now the Shrine maiden would age at an incredibly slow rate. She would be fifty, maybe older before she looked thirty.

Now fully dressed, the girl known to many as the Bandit Killer, Dragon Spooker, and The Natural Enemy to All Who Live, went in search for a cup of coffee and breakfast.

Zelgodis Grayword watched in quiet amusement as Lina fought Goury over a breakfast of sausage; scrambled eggs; bread rolls; muffins; three kinds of juice; coffee; omelets; and oatmeal sweetened with cream, honey, and strawberries.

It was obvious to Zelgodis that Lina knew the Innkeeper well. The man had prepared them rooms and had this breakfast ready with out needing to ask any questions. Then there was the familiar and cheerful way they joked and teased each other. Lina hadn't even twitched at the crack about her bust size!

The Innkeeper approached their table and addressed the feisty red head as Lina sat back with a satisfied sigh.

"Had enough already?" The man sounded slightly surprised. "Or are you just catching your breath?"

"Veeeeery funny Mieka. Hysterical even."

He smiled and handed her a small scroll. "This just came for you. It was forwarded from your family's estate by your sister."

"N-nee-chan sent it?!"

"Yep. I don't recognize the seal on it though."

Lina took the scroll hesitantly and looked at the seal. "By the Nine Hells! It can't be!"

"Can't be what, Miss Lina?" Amelia asked.

"It's from Darsh! I haven't seen or heard from him in…" Shaking her head to dispel the realization that it had been more than three hundred years, she broke the seal.

Her eyes scanned the text and her breath caught in her throat. "It can't be. It just can't!"

"Can't be what, Lina?" Xellos asked as he appeared out of thin air.

After glancing up, Lina read the letter out loud:

Lina-sama,

I'm contacting you to tell you my Wife-to-be has been kidnapped and taken to your homeland. I do not say this often Lina-sama, but I need your help.

You should be able to use your magic to find my companions, a powerful Ice-Mage named Kal-So, a White-Mage/Priest named Geo who is Yoko's father, and I. Please, I don't want to loose Yoko like I lost Arial.

Your student always,

Darsh Schnider

Lina looked up at them and said, "Darsh was my friend long ago. I taught him all I could about magic… We even took on a god of destruction together." Lina shook her head. "Things must be VERY bad if he's calling me for help. Power wise we're almost equals."

"He's as powerful as you?!" Zel couldn't hide his shock.

"Raw power wise, we're very close, but I'm stronger. Also he can't cast spells of ice for some reason. It seems to be a trait of the magic wielders where he's from, the ability of each mage focused on certain elements of magic."

"How did the two of you meet, Miss Lina?"

"Well Amelia, it was a long time ago. Before I met any of you, or even Mieka here. Years before I ever heard of the Giga Slave, I was traveling in a city that from here could only be reached through a magic gate. I was walking down a street and came across this guy who had been attacked by a group of bandits and stabbed."

Lina paused and took a sip of coffee before continuing. "I cast a Recovery on him and got him to a place where he could rest. Ended up teaching him magic, like I said. A while later, a lesser god of destruction called Anslasax attacked his homeland. We gathered over five hundred magic wielders together and cast a binding spell to in-seal it. I acted as the focus for the spell and Darsh distracted Anslasax's followers while I cast it. Our plan wouldn't have worked if Darsh hadn't thrown his power in at the last moment. Even then, it almost wasn't enough."

Here she paused again. Zel could see the memories playing in her eyes. The cost of the spell cast must have been high. He had never heard of someone acting as a focus for so much power.

"As it was, I was magically burnt out for quite a while. During that time I traveled with Darsh and taught him more about magic. It was during that time, when I had no power myself, that I learned the Giga Slave. Which is just as well. With out the use of my magic, I never cast it until we fought Shabrinigdo."

"If his fiancée has been abducted, than justice demands we help!" Amelia declared.

"I hate to say it, but Amelia is right," Zel said. "It sounds like he needs our help."

Lina nodded and stood. "We'll need supplies, Mieka. Including the items I left with you for safe keeping."

"You sure you want those thing back? It's awful dangerous."

"I know. But we'll need them to open the gate back to New York."

"New York?" Goury asked. "What's that?"

"New York was the name of a large city in Darsh's home land. It was destroyed during the rise of Anslasax. That gate is the only one linking this land and that one."

The others nodded and preparations were made. Mieka arranged for their supplies, and gave Lina a cloth wrapped bundle. When asked, all Lina would say was that it was something that would allow them to travel to Darsh's homeland. Everything was ready and Lina cast the spell that would locate the Fire-mage. With his location fixed, the adventurers set out.

They made good time, three days to the city Darsh and his companions, Kal-So and Geo, were waiting in. Upon arrival Lina tracked the Fire-mage to an inn, and led the others inside.

"Excuse me," she said to the Innkeeper. "I'm looking for someone. He's about as tall as my blond friend here, has white hair, blue eyes, real arrogant, and well dressed. Have you seen him?"

"Why yes I have, young lady. He and his traveling companion are in the dining room."

"Thank you!" Lina said in a voice akin to an excited child.

With Lina in the lead, the five adventurers entered the dining room of the inn. A quick visual sweep of the room revealed mostly upper crust guests of the merchant class, most likely here for the festival being held this week.

Lina quickly spotted the tall Fire-mage, and led the others over. "Hello Darsh. It's been a while."

The white haired man took one look at the red head and choked on his wine. "Lina?! What the HELLS happened to you?! You look like a little KID!"

Xellos mentally frowned at this outburst. What could this white haired mage mean by such a comment. He could sense the confusion in the others as well.

With a sigh Lina said, "It's a LONG story. Mind if we join you?"

"Have a seat. I take it they're with you?"

"Yes. Allow me to introduce Goury, Zelgodis, Amelia, and Xellos. I've been traveling with them off and on for the last few years."

"And this is Kal-So, my adopted son." The blond man nodded to the little red head. "And this is Yoko's father the Great Priest Geo," He continued, voice dripping with sarcasm.

"I take it you've had some interesting times too, huh?"

"That's one way of putting it. I spent 15 years in limbo, after being reborn and sealed within a child."

"I don't want to know, do I?"

"Probably not. Knowing you, you'd hit me over the head with a large blunt object."

"Alright. So, Tell me about this 'Yoko' girl. How was she taken, do you know who did it, what does she look like, and does she have any magical ability?"

The man identified as Geo looked at the red haired sorceress and snorted. "We have no time for games. We need to find my daughter, not humor children."

"Just who the hells are you calling a CHILD?! I'm older than HIM!" Lina snarled pointing at Darsh.

It was Kal-So's turn to chock on his wine now. "NANI?!"

Darsh just looked terribly amused. "Ignore Geo, Lina. He's an idiot."

Lina nodded grudgingly and took a sip of wine provided by Geo. Then she promptly spit it out. "What is this crap?! Hells Darsh, this has to be the worst wine I've ever had!"

"I will have you know that is the finest wine in all of Metericana!" Geo said huffily.

"Finest wine my ass. I've been drinking wine since I was ten. Waiter! One bottle of Zafillian wine, from the 763 pressing, if you have it, please."

The man brought the bottle and Lina tasted a small portion of it before paying several gold pieces for it. "This is wine," she declared when those at the table each had a glass. "My home land, Zafillia, is famous for it."

After that, they all settled down to decide a course of action. Yoko had been taking prisoner by a man who had violently opposed the idea of her and Darsh being wed. The man was a priest of a new religion that was sweeping across the Fire-mage's homeland.

"He's a real bastard too. He's been gaining support in Metericana and has been steadily driving out all the magic users. He'd get rid of me if he could."

"I'd like to see him try. Hells, Darsh, I trained you. You know more about magic than any body in your homeland, I made sure of that," Lina said with a vicious smile.

"But as to the rest?" she continued. "It could become very bad if there are too few magic users in Metericana. If something happens, there won't be enough people to stand against a major threat. You remember what happened at that military research facility in New Mexico."

Darsh nodded, "The military released Anslasax, and there almost weren't enough magic wielders to stop him. Even then, it was damn close."

"No shit. And only you and I, out of over five hundred mages, survived the casting. It's not something that bears repeating."

"You were there?!" Geo shouted. "But that was four hundred years ago!!!"

Zelgodis felt his eyes widen at this proclamation. His head swung around to stair at Lina. He had heard is said that Black magic use slowed the aging rate, but four hundred years? She couldn't be that old!

Wait, the chimera thought. This Darsh person had commented that Lina looked like a child. Implying that the last time he had seen her, her appearance had been different. Just what had happened to change that?

"Just shout it to the world, why don’t you," Lina snarled as she smashed him over the head with a chair.

"Miss Lina? You're four hundred years old?" Amelia gasped.

"A little over six hundred actually," Darsh said cheerfully.

Lina hit him over the head too.