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______Dinner was over and both children were up in bed; Gourry,
oblivious as usual, started to make his way upstairs. Lina
looked up from her coffee cup, and narrowed her eyes at him.
______ "Gourry," She said as softly as she could manage. "We
need to talk. There's a problem."
______"Huh," He turned in mid-step and noticed Lina's upset face
for the first time all evening. "What's wrong Lina?"
______"Sit down."
______Gourry came back down the stairs and pulled a chair next
to Lina. He sat down and put one arm around her and asked
quietly, "What is it?"
______"Peisha and Jason," Lina said as she snuggled against her
husband. "They went to see the soothsayer today."
______"What did he say?"
______"Essentially that the Mazoku were going to find a way to
escape that dimension we were able to seal them into. Xellos
and Zelgadis I think are going to be the key players in the
release."
______"Sounds like we need to get the old gang back together."
______"That's just it though, he said that Jason would be the one to lock the Mazoku back up,
and free the dragons."
______ "But you said that was impossible. The spell that trapped the Mazoku trapped the dragons
too."
______"It did. Maybe there's a way to fix it nowEButEquot;
______"Jason's really smart. He has a real talent for magic, and you taught it to him. Plus, I taught
him to use a sword."
______"Only one problem though."
______"What's that Lina?"
______"I don't want to see my baby in danger."
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______ "Ok Peisha," Jason said exasperatedly. "I think we're far enough from the house now that
mom and dad can't hear us."
______ "Yeah, I know," Piesha sat down against the abandoned building a block from the Inn that
their mother ran. "Do you have any ideas?"
______ "Yeah, mom's gonna filet us. Dragging me with you to sneak off after dark. You've lost your
mind."
______ "Hey! That's not what I meant and you know it!"
______ "About what then?"
______ "About the secret the soothsayer mentioned. About us."
______ "I told you before. That old man's crazy. He doesn't know what he's saying."
______ "But--"
______ "You read all the legends. The Mazoku are locked up for good. Lina Inverse and the other
Slayers did it twenty years ago."
______ "Legends have a tendency to be wrong. Maybe the spell can be broken."
______ "Then the Slayers will fix it."
______ "But Jase, no one knows what happened to any of the Slayers except Queen Amelia, and
she couldn't risk Seyruun by running off to fight Mazoku. Maybe the other Slayers are dead,
or won't fight. Someone has to fix things."
______ "Not me."
______ "Fine..."
______ "And not you either."
______ "Grrr..."
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______ Lina straightened her posture from where she had been quietly leaning against Gourry,
and wiped away the drying tears from the edge of her eyes. "Should we tell them?"
______ "Tell them what?" Gourry said with his typical 'brainless' face on.
______ "Gourry..." Lina drew out his name threateningly. Gourry moved his arms away from her
and looked frightened for a moment as he tried to think.
______ "Oh, that!" He furrowed his brow in concentration for a few moments. "I think we have to
tell them Lina."
______ "I was afraid of that..."
______ Lina stood and brushed a few srands of hair out of her face. "Well, I don't suppose there's
any options now."
______ "Lina," Gourry said nervously. "You're not going to wake them up to tell them now, are
you?"
______ "Huh?" She looked blankly at Gourry for a moment before continuing. "No. Of course
not. I'm was just going to check in on them. Besides, I want to try to talk to Amelia and Zel
first."
______ "Oh, Okay. Sounds like a good idea."
______ "The only problem is I can't contact Amelia without actually being inside Seyruun. The
magical barriers block crystal calls unless you have a specially made one, and it would've been
too conspicuous for us to have one. We wanted to live a normal life after all."
______ "Do you regret that decision Lina?"
______ "No... No, Gourry I don't. I've never been happier than I have been living here with you."
______ "I'm glad."
______ Lina smiled and sighed deeply, "Me too."
______ After a long silence...
______ "Well, I'll see you after you check on the kids."
______ "Okay."
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______ Lina cracked open the wooden door to Jason's room very slowly and carefully, trying to
prevent the hinge from squeaking terribly. When she was able to look in, she found that
Jason was nowhere to be found. She quickly went to the other side of the hall and flung
open Peisha's door, only to find her missing as well. However, in Peisha's room there was one
major difference, her bedsheet was carefully knotted and hung outside the second-story window
to make a crude rope.
______ Lina growled dangerously, this was not the first time they had pulled this stunt, she had
thought that they knew better by now. "Gourry!" She yelled down the hall. "They've snuck
out again!"
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