Chapter Seven: Speedbumps On The Way

Well, not everybody who was running after Lina and company was blackened. One of the chasers wore a distinct gray. He also had a better chance to catch up to Lina because he cast some flight spells before taking part in the chase. He, or I should say Tim, did actually catch up to Lina.

"Beautiful day for a nice flight, isn't it, Miss Inverse?" Tim spoke as he took off his hat to her. "I really wish you hadn't destroyed that inn. A good cup of hot chocolate is soooo hard to find."

Lina facefaulted, making Gourry fall with her. "Itai...," she said, holding her head as she looked at him. "Oi. Who are you?" she asked, slightly tilting her head. She was meeting lots of new people at once, like when she met all of her other friends; Amelia, Zel, Gourry.... She blushed slightly again, looking at this newest stranger.

"Careful there," Tim smiled. "Anyway, I'm just a wanderer passing through. I'm doing a favor for some friends, is all. The name is Timothy Grey. Some call me Tim. Others call me Timmy and find themselves in a world of hurt.

"But enough unpleasantness. Right now, all you need to know is I'm not gonna try and kill you, and that your path and mine are the same for the time being. So where are we headed?"

Lina crossed her arms across her chest (as small as it was) and narrowed her eyes at this Tim. "And how do I know you're not lying?" she asked him, voice serious and not wavering. She wanted to find out if he was a liar. The last thing she needed was another Xellos. Though, thank goodness, the trickster priest was leaving her alone, at least, for a little while.

Gourry stood next to her defensively, like always. She had become used to this. She knew that if this Tim decided to strike, he would not be walking away from the fight.

Tim grinned. Lina Inverse was reacting exactly as he'd figured she would. He paused, looking contemplative, then spoke. "For starters, if I wanted you dead, I would have attacked you while you were casting the Dragon Slave. Did you know that it takes fifteen seconds for you to cast that? In the same amount of time, most magicians worth their salt could have shot two flare arrows off at you. Now, I have never seen a mage lose their concentration when casting the Dragon Slave, but I imagine it has to be pretty painful for the would-be spellcaster."

Briar glared up at Tim with a pout. "And any idiot worth their salt knows that any number of flare arrows would be useless against Lina-sama while she's casting that spell, 'cause her valiant knight would have deflected them with his mighty sword." Her pout turned up to a grin as she spoke to Lina. "Bring him along anyway. He's cute, even if he's a bit wordy. 'Sides. One of my neato tricks is I can fastcast all of the Slave spells. With me watching over you, nothin' bad can possibly happen, can it?" Her eyes were doing that starry sparkle again.

Lina lifted an eyebrow, then began to walk away. Gourry looked back briefly, but walked close behind her. "Come on, before those villagers catch up," she said simply.

She was thinking. That Tim guy... he must know a lot about magic... Or a lot about me. She knew she couldn't talk him out of following, but being careful was her best bet. She just hoped Filia and everyone with her would catch up soon.

She didn't have to wait very long. The golden dragon soon arrived safely, with a whole bunch of others in tow.

Lina then smiled at Briar, whose eyes were still sparkling brightly. "Alright, alright, I believe you. Anyway, even if you couldn't deflect one, I know Gourry's there too." She brushed back a bit of her hair with one hand, looking forward. "So... What's this merry group of people doing? I mean... ano... Filia, why are you part of this big group? Where's your little Valgaarv?"

Filia looked at Lina with a sigh. "It just sort of... happened. You see, I was searching for Princess Gracia -- I'm sure you've seen the fliers. And then I met at this tavern a very nice fellow named Sarino-san." She smiled over to him while she mentioned his name. "The others just seemed to arrive spontaneously. It just seems we can't stay out of being a party togther! Ne, Lina-san?" She giggled at her corny little 'joke', if you could call it that.

"As for Val-Chan, he's staying with someone right now. I didn't want to take him on a long journey. Perhaps later we can go back and get him."

"Just wondering!" Lina grinned. "We all do seem to meet up with each other a lot, now don't we?" She giggled a bit to herself. "Where's Amelia and Zel? I seem to be magnetically attracted to all you guys or something!" This time she laughed harder, but she actually liked the way she always seemed to meet up with her friends. Well, because... they were her friends. "Ah, but Gourry, he's always here." She pointed to him as he nodded.

"I ain't going nowhere," Gourry added.

Filia smiled at the two. "Hai, hai, maybe they'll show up a little later." She looked over to the others nervously. Then realized that Kitsune's cart had literally been destroyed. And angry village folk were coming close... very close.

"Uhm... Lina-san... I think perhaps our subject for now shall be running." With that, she dashed away, leaving the two rather clueless. "Minna-san, haiyaku!" she yelled to her group.

As she ran, she thought of something. She stopped, to everyone's surprse. A light surrounded her; hopefully no one was watching! She blushed, knowing this had to be done. When the light disappeared, a blonde haired woman was not standing there, but a gold dragon. Might I add, the last of the Golden Dragons. "Everyone, get on! Haiyaku!"

Lina and Gourry hopped on. "Alright! The only way to fly!" she exclaimed. She waited impatiently for the others to get on.

Tim looked around and smiled wide. All things considered, this was becoming a very good day indeed. "A dragon as a travelling companion; my my, we are certainly full of surprises, Miss Inverse. You know, I always wanted to ride on the back of a dragon and now I get my chance. Truly, can this day get any better?"

"Depends on how exactly you define better, cutey," Briar said as she climbed on Filia's back and seated herself directly behind Tim.

"Well, unlike others I could mention, I'm not being sarcastic," was Tim's only reply. He wasn't quite sure how, but somehow he got the feeling that his presence and words were really bothering Briar. Of course, if one had to ask Tim if he really cared about that, he'd have to say not really.

"Who's being sarcastic?" Briar asked in a hurt tone. She leaned foward against his back and rested her head on his shoulder, making quite sure that the appropiate soft parts of her chest were pressing against Tim's firm back. "I think," she said, and giggled girlishly, "that you misunderstand me. After all, you pop up and say 'Oh if I wanted you dead, you would be.' There are politer intros you know. But you're a man, so you can't help it." She wrapped her arms around him. "But Lina-sama says you're okay and I think that's great! After all, I'd hate for a handsome man like you to go to waste!" And with that, she squeezed him tight.

"Aww... How sweet," said a young girl who sat by the two. "You people look so CUTE together." The young girl looked around as she stayed seated. "What? Can't I hitch a ride like a normal person?" She felt as if everyone was looking at her, because they were. "Oh, my name's Ninoa," the girl introduced herself. "I'm a Sage/Magic User/Adventurer. You people look like you're heading for some excitement, so I decided to tag along." She then looked at Lina with a grin. "I am allowed to tag along, right?"

Sai slowly sat up, in pain. He looked around and saw a massive golden dragon. "WHAT THE?"

Sai slowly and painfully stood up, holding his left side. He walked as fast as he could in the opposite direction from the dragon, using his sword for balance. He fell to the ground but slowly got back up. "I have to get out of here before the dragon sees me." Sai looked up at the sky while he walked. "Man, today is just one of those days."

Filia looked at the wounded Sai. "I said haiyaku, Sai-san!" she cried out, but remembered he didn't know she was a dragon. "It's me, Filia! Hurry!!"

Sai suddenly stopped, turned around, and looked at the dragon. "What the?" Filia? How can this be?

Sai then started to think. Hum... there were books at the Clan that said that a dragon can acquire human form. Sai then looked at the dragon again. Well even if it isn't Filia, I have to trust it. Sai then remembered that Filia was a girl. He started to shake, but the pain overtook him. "OW! This is no time for that fear now!"

Sai fell to the ground, but he slowly crawled to the dragon, moaning in pain every move he made. When he got there, he forced himself to stand up, and very slowly got on the dragon's back.

Sarino, still under the effects of Rill's binding spell, only watched the others in mild confusion. He wanted to go back with Rill, but as Rill had disappeared, he was unsure of what to do. "Rill..." he said in a childish, lonely voice.

Valgaarv sat playing under a tree, giggling happily. He'd gotten into the mud again, and was making a mess of himself. Suddenly, he looked up, as though he'd heard something, but when he saw nothing, he turned his attention back to the mud. It's not coming, he thought. Good!

"Is that everyone?" asked the now dragon Filia. She guessed it didn't matter now since the villagers were poking her with pitchforks... "AGH!! Well, if you're not here, I'll come back around later!" And with that, she took off, leaving the villagers in disbelief.

Filia looked nowhere but forward. "I think we can pick up my son on the way," she said, running just a little bit out of breath from the hurried start. "And Sai-san, don't worry, I don't bite!" And then she remembered something. "We forgot Sarino-san!" She really didn't mind leaving the one named Rill behind. He reminded her too much of... Xelloss.

The girl named Ninoa was still waiting for an answer to her question. Lina sighed. Why did they always ask HER? "I... guess." She looked at Gourry,who only shrugged. "Some help you are...," she said under her breath, before giving the girl a smile. "But... you better be ready for some adventures; they always happen when I'm around!" Gourry nodded enthusiastically.

Lina sighed, casting Recovery on Filia. It had worked before; she just didn't want to have to use it till she was blue in the face... again. Gourry put a secure arm around her, so she didn't fall off while casting. A very relaxed, blushing, and happy Lina kept the Recovery up whenever Filia needed it.

"Arigatou!" called Filia, now turning around to pick up the not-so-forgotten Sarino. Everyone was probably clueless on what she was doing, since she was turning around, back toward the town that had kicked them out. "Don't worry," she reassured everyone, "I'm just going to stop by and pick him up!" And that's just what she did.

Sarino's mind registered mild confusion when he saw the dragon and was pulled up onto her back, but barely anything. He was only worried about what had happened to Rill and where Rill was. "Rill..." he murmured.

Ninoa felt something. Like a cold draft, it passed her. Something about this Sarino wasn't right. As if there was something wrong with the picture. She couldn't put her finger on it, but knew that something was wrong. It didn't sit well with her, but she didn't let the others know, as she didn't want the others to worry about a hunch she had. Sighing, she looked into Sarino's eyes. There was something about them that felt ominous... and it startled her.

Val-chan was still playing in the mud when the feeling of something scary came to him again. He looked up, mud still dripping from his fingers, and looked around. His innocent eyes took in everything around him, but nothing that might have threatened him in anyway. "Go away," he said in a cross, childish voice. "I don't like strangers!"

Ninoa could tell that Sarino looked too distant to be all that normal. She felt that going on an adventure would help solve this little riddle that was bothering her. She then turned to Lina and started talking. "So, that Dragon Slave of yours is pretty powerful! I've learned some cool tricks myself. Oh, by the way, is it true that people actually call you the Bandit Killer or Dragon Spooker? What did you do to get such notoriety? You seem nice enough..." Ninoa went on like this for a while to come as they sat on Filia the Dragon's back.

Lina laughed nervously. "Well.... Um.... Can we not talk about that?" She knew how that would lead to a demonstration she did NOT want to give on Filia's back. She sighed. "But yes, my Dragon Slave is very powerful."

"Oh, of course the Dragon Slave is powerful," Ninoa went on. "But I know some really cool tricks that..." She stopped there. Humility is something to think about. Anyhow, Ninoa didn't want to jump the gun; she indeed didn't want to boast of her talents, especially against someone who very well could beat her to a pulp without magic... at least, that's what she'd heard.

Lina shrugged. "Yeah, once you know the spell, you can put your own signature into it, ne?" She smiled.

"Is yours just blowing things up?" Gourry asked. Lina began to laugh.

Tim moved out of Briar's grip, turned to Ninoa and smiled. "Well, from everything I've seen thus far, Lina's reputation, good or bad, seems well deserved. Just remember one thing. Where Lina Inverse goes, interesting times follow."

Briar listened to the little girl boast, and added it into her considerations. "Lina-sama," Briar trilled. "Is there anything specific we're off to do now?" She smiled cutely. "If there isn't, well, there's this cave up ahead and to the right. It's always been off limits to us villagers, because it supposedly contains great magics from long ago. And," she managed to look cutely frightened, "it's supposed to be haunted." She looked around at the people listening half-heartedly to her story. "But with all of these big, strong, handsome warrior types," her eyes began to shine with enthusiasm, "I feel like the safest lil' girl in the entire world." She suddenly looked thoughtful. "Or is there something else we need to do first?"

Tim turned back to Briar. "That depends on where the cave is at, and more importantly what is it called. I've had some small experience with dungeons in my lifespan, and I know enough that different dungeons call for different preparations."

With that, Tim pulled out a nondescript leather book and started reading it. "Until we actually DO land at a destination, I think I'm going to do some reading. Forgive the guilty pleasure, but I just have to know how the brave Asuka deals with the evil prince. Pleasant flight, everyone."

Lina was interested. "Filia, let's go there!" she exclaimed. She LOVED to learn about magic! "Briar, tell Filia where that cave is! I must know the secrets there!"

"Okay!" Not the merest smirk crossed her face, and her enthusiasm was entirely real. "It's just over that mountain," she called the directions to Filia.

She turned to the group as everyone now seemed interested. Winking at Sai ('cause she knew it bugged him), she began the legend of the cave. "It's called the Cave of Za'Bazaar. Supposedly, in the depths of it, the remains of an ancient city lie. In those ruins, there is an item of power. Some say it can make farming easier. Some say," her voice began to grow softer, "that it can bestow wishes. And some say that it," her voice was low now, so soft that the party had to lean forward to hear her words. She paused dramatically. "IT'LL SUCK YOUR SOUL!" she shrieked suddenly, a demonic mask appearing over her face for a brief second. She giggled as everyone jumped.

"Don't do that!" Lina said, smacking her on the head.

"Sorry," Briar grinned, not looking apologetic at all. "Anyway, supposedly the upper levels of the cave are filled with all sorts of nasty traps and monsters and the like." She looked meek and timid for a moment. "That's why I have all of you guys!" she said brightening considerably.

By the time her tale was finished, Filia had begun to land. There was a small woods that ran right up to the cliff face, save for a large semi-circular clearing around the mouth of the cave. The cave entrance was a perfect arch, hewn so smoothly it seemed if the mountain had been added as an afterthought; the interior was dark, as though no light went past the enterance. Above the cave, some archaic writing stood out against the rock of the cliff.

Filia had an odd feeling about this Briar. But still she set down by the cave's entrance.

Sai shook his head, not even thinking about dismounting from Filia quite yet. Everyone around him was talking about magic. He looked at Sarino and heard him say, "Rill, where are you?" very softly.

There was a sharp pain in Sai's side when he heard that name. "What the? You've met Rill? How can that be? I mean, I.... Oh I see. AAAAH!" The pain was so intense that, all of a sudden, Sai fell off the dragon's back. He hit the ground and a few drops of blood spurted from his mouth. He tried to sit up, but was unable to do so. "Why is this happening to me? Oh well. At least it can't get any worse."

Rufus the Unkempt, as the good people of Bury St. Edmund had called him, was many days closer to achieving his goal -- whatever that goal might be. He'd finally exited the forest and was even now approaching a small unassuming town in the middle of nowhere. If he'd taken the broad, well-maintained roads instead of forging a beeline path straight through the woods, he'd probably have arrived a day earlier -- but none of that mattered any more. He'd arrived.

Rufus wandered through the town for a while, delighting in the sheer lack of burrs and underbrush. Finally, when he was once again accustomed to the ways of such a backwoods metropolis, he made his way to the logical stopping point for any weary traveller. The local inn.

Only to find it charred almost beyond recognition.

In truth, this entire section of the town was looking much the worse for wear, to whit: the large crater which Rufus had barely noticed on his way into town. But of the buildings still standing, the inn was undeniably one of the most affected by whatever tragedy had struck.

Stepping over bits of scattered debris, Rufus walked right up to the small gang of workmen attempting to salvage what they could from the gutted inn. He completely ignored the workmen, though, and ended up facing a very irate man calling out commands left and right. Rufus stuck his own scruffily bearded face into the angry man's way and snapped, "Someone was here. Are they gone?"

The other man did a double-take. "You mean, them freaks what trashed my inn?" He suddenly glowered at Rufus with every ounce of malice in his portly body. Rufus glowered right back. "Were they friends of yours, scum?" the former inn's owner growled menacingly.

Rufus merely cocked his head to one side and said, "They have spoken to me."

"What? Who?" was the innkeeper's confused reply.

"Why, the Gods, of course!" Rufus would have elaborated further, but just then he caught a whiff of something tantalizing. The barely-edible remains of someone's dinner tossed into an alley, perhaps; whatever it was, it smelled far more appetizing than the leaves had been. With a mad laugh, Rufus dashed off in pursuit of food, leaving one very confused innkeeper behind.

The former innkeeper made a move to follow Rufus, but caught himself. "The guy's nuts," he muttered. "Just let 'im go." He then went back to bossing the work crew around, determined to save what he could of his family's business.

But what of Rufus himself? He was sitting by a garbage can, eating with relish an almost unscathed peanut butter and onion sandwich (no wonder it had been tossed out). No matter that the voices in his head would much rather that he continue speaking with the innkeeper....

His hunger finally sated, the man sporadically called Rufus the Unkempt walked back out among the townspeople. They didn't seem any more receptive to his speeches than the people of Bury St. Edmund had been, but that didn't stop him from extemporizing about the Gods for a good half hour or so.

If Rufus had been sane, he might have noticed something odd in the way that many of the townspeople were brandishing pitchforks, or gathering together in angry clumps and muttering to each other. "They got away!" was a common, angry exclamation. "But if they ever come back, ho ho...." was the usual reply, complete with wicked grin and impromptu hefting of newly-sharpened pitchfork.

"I wonder where the heck they got a dragon, though?" one villager said out loud, to which a crusty old geezer answered, "Heh, if'n I had a dragon, I'd fly down south, have me a nice vacation -- not fly up north to the mountains. Nothin' but trouble there."

Rufus wandered off again, but then with alarming suddenness, halted in his tracks. "I am privileged to do your bidding!" he yelled exultantly to no one in particular. Collecting quite a few stares along the way, he raced out of town, plunging once again into the surrounding forest as he travelled northwards. Directly towards the mountains looming in the distance.

Valgaarv still felt uneasy. Whatever it was was still after him. I want Filia..., he thought briefly, tears gathering in his eyes. "Filia! Filia!!" he called out loud, breaking into tears.

Suddenly, for no apparent reason, Filia felt her heart drop. Val... Val-chan? she thought. Why do I have the feeling that something is wrong?

Ninoa observed the cave entrance and a curious look appeared upon her face. "Hmmm...," Ninoa assessed. "One thing's for sure, the cave does possess a lot of magical interference... but there's something else there. Something almost... ah, nevermind." She looked back at her comrades and she clutched her tiger doll, Moshi, "The interference is going to provide some discomfort... but it shouldn't be too much of a problem."

The darkness of the cave gave her chills. Ninoa then began a light spell... or at least tried to. The ball of light blew up in her face; the others looked on as the smoke cleared. There, Ninoa-chan stood dazed from the explosion of her light spell. She looked back at her companions with an embarassed look on her face. "Ummmm... gomen nasai," Ninoa apologized. "My light spells could use a little work...."

The others face-faulted as she said this. After they recovered, Ninoa went over to Lina. She then whispered to her, "Oh, and you might want to be on the look-out for some demonic beasts. Before the interference kicked in, I sensed some rather large monsters there. Could be demonic beings... or maybe worse... Now, who wants to go first?"

Tim looked at the cave for a second and closed his eyes for another before he spoke. "I think that could have happened to any of us," he said, referring of course to Ninoa's failed spell. "Whatever is here, they're not happy about things. Question is: Are they trying to gain the powers within... or destroy it? Either way, this may be a more useful form for your light spells."

Tim picked up a handful of rocks and threw them up in the air. In midflight, he screamed "Illumis Contininum," and light flew from his hands and onto the rocks. The rocks landed, glowing from the light spell.

Tim picked up a glowing rock. "When the spell wears off, we should stick to torches, though," he said. With that, Tim entered the cave, holding a rock in his hand.

Kitsune regarded the cave entrance with a dark expression. "I don't have time to go exploring strange caves. I have to discover my heritage, and I'm running out of time." Turning to face the rest of the group, he asked one final time, "Is anyone willing to help me search for clues to my past?"

He was met with curious stares, and more than one murmuring of "Any treasure in it for me?"

In disgust, Kitsune turned and strode off away from the cave, disappearing into the nearby forest.

All thoughts of Valgaarv momentarily forgotten, Filia looked about wearily. The cave entrance was too small for a dragon. She'd have to change form... again... in front of everybody. "E-Excuse me!" Filia called nervously. "P-Please turn around!!" And as quick as she had said that, she began to change form. Soon she was the same Filia that they had all met before. "I'm sorry about that." She followed them into the cave.

Sai slowly stood up as he looked at the cave. He started to walk away from the group, for the mere presence of females started to drive up the fear inside of him. "You... you... you guys go ahead. I will stay right here."

Ignoring Tim and his rocks, Lina started a light spell and walked into the cave with Gourry close behind. "Alright, Guardian-sama, time to start protecting!" she said with a wink, as he nodded. She glanced around. "I'll be happy, as long as we don't run into any damn Mazoku!" she exclaimed. She shook her head, and glanced around herself again. "Or trolls... or ogres... or...." She just didn't want to think about it anymore; all those creatures pissed her off.

Sai watched the group enter the cave and was relieved that all the females had left. He started to walk away from the cave. Sai looked around and was suddenly overcome by overwhelming pain and fell to his knees. "Well, at least they won't see me suffer like this...."

So that was the sorceress Lina Inverse. Sai smirked and shook his head. "I don't think these people care if I live or die. No one does.... I am going to be leaving in an hour, anyway." Sai sat and rested.

As the party began to delve deeper into the caverns, Briar wove a dweomer of herself over herself, then wove another to make herself invisible. She continued with the party for aways, making sure no one had detected it. When she was sure, she slipped silently away, her illusionary self remaining with the others.

She carefully made her way back to the entrance, pausing as she heard a voice. Her invisibliity still on, she poked her head out. Hmm... I suppose it's too early for me to play my hand yet. I'd be better off aidin' the poor boy. She slipped back down into the cave a bit. "Sai?" she called out. "Are you out there?"

Outside, Sai jumped at his name. His head bobbed to and fro as he sought the speaker. He realized it came from the cave right at the same time he made the connection that the speaker was... a girl. He looked around for a place to hide; as he began to move, daggers of pain lanced through his body. He collapsed halfway to the forest, a thin trickle of blood running down the corner of his mouth.

"Sai! You're hurt!" Briar cried out, seeing him collapse. She started to move toward him, but stopped when she saw the terrified look on his face. "Sai-sama, the others were worried about you, so I came to check on you."

Now that she was not approaching, Sai relaxed, noting that it was the same distance to the woods as it was to her. "Ummm... T-thank y-you," he stammered.

"Sai-sama, I can heal you, but, you have to come here. I have to touch the wound." Seeing the blood drain out of his face, Briar almost lost her act. Almost, but, her skill was supreme. "Maybe this will help." She held out a strip of cloth. "A blindfold. You can wear it, and I'll act like a guy."

Sai stared at the blindfold. He picked it up and shook his head. "NO NO NO NO NO! If I am going to get over my fear, I have to learn how to deal with it at times like this."

Sai dropped the blindfold and balled his fists. He gathered his strength, and hit his wound as hard as he could. He forced himself not to scream, for he didn't want anyone to think of him as weak. Blood was pouring like a stream. The overwhelming pain caused Sai to get over his fear this time. He called to the girl, "Please, let's get this over with."

Briar smiled softly while mentally laughing. This guy's great, she thought. She held her hand out and began the spell. Afew minutes later, she stood up. "There ya go, cutie." With that, she slid around him and backed away, so he was in between her and the cave. "Now get goin'. The others are waitin'"

Sai stood up. "Hum... I am not in pain when I breathe anymore." Sai looked at her gladly. "Thank you. If there is ever a way I can repay you, let me know." Sai smirked and, summoning up his extra speed, raced to the cave, disappearing from sight within a few seconds.

It didn't take long for Sai to find the rest of the group. He came up suddenly behind them. "Hello!"

Filia jumped in surprise as she heard Sai behind her. "Oh... please don't do that again!" she said, out of breath. Being in a dark, dreary cave makes you sort of... jumpy.

"Filia, calm down!" Lina said calmly, then jumped when Gourry took her by the shoulder.

The group walked on through the cave with the light spelled rocks in hand. Ninoa thought to herself how lucky she was that the lights didn't go out suddenly. She really didn't like to be in the dark, not in such a creepy, damp, ominous...

"Stop it." she told herself, "It's just a cave, a big, dark, evil..."

This carried on some more until the group reached a fork in the cave. The paths seemed to reach farther than they could see toward the right and left, and Ninoa was sure that down one of them would lead them to the great force she had felt. But which one?

"Maybe we should split up," Ninoa suggested as the group looked around. She hoped that whichever way they chose, she could tag along with the steadiest light speller...

A ways behind the group at the mouth of the cave, a small dimensional portal opened and a female figure stepped out. She appeared human, and if it weren't for the silvery scaled tail and wings that portruded from her back, she could have easily passed for human. Her long, pale blue hair flowed down the middle over her large dragon-like wings, which came out of specially cut holes in the deep blue and gold trimmed robe she was clad in. Her tail emerged from the robe, curling slightly at the end.

"Mother said I could find her in this cave." the figure said to herself, looking to a large staff. The staff in her hand was ornately decorated blue and gold from top to bottom until the top, where silver swirled around it, forming a tail for the massive dragon headpiece which held a crystal orb delicately in its claws.

The figure approached the mouth of the cave and peered into the inky darkness. "Whether magical or of this world, Of evil make or woven by neutrality, Light be called forth, and dispell the darkness which lies before me." The staff in the figure's hand erupted in a blaze of light, causing the darkness within the cave to retreat.

She stepped forward into the cave. "Now, to find Lina Inverse."

Briar watched the dragon lady vanish into the cave. Hmm... she thought. More dragons, eh? They'll like that. With a smirk, she dropped her invisiblilty. Walking over to a large rock near the cave, she paused and wove a quick charm of normalacy. Got to get things prepared. Then she started to physically pass into the rock.

In the cave, meanwhile, as the party pondered left or right, evil was creeping up. They were dark things, who were only given form by the flickering light of the spells. They flowed forth, subtly, merging with the shadows of the party. Then, with synchronized movement and roars, they exploded from the shadows at the group.

As Sai watched, monsters suddenly appeared out of nowhere. Using his abnormal speed, he was able to dodge them. One of the creatures leaped at him. Sai smirked and with his speed, he dodged the beast easily. Sai looked like a kid in a candy store, dodging the strange creatures left and right.

Sai then stopped, intending to put an end to all this. He chanted a spell. "Holy wind, Wind which blows across the land, Let all things be filled with your Pure Breath... VAN REHL."

Ice formed along the floors and ceiling, racing down the cave. The spell, though truly potent against material foes, had no discernable effect against these creatures of shadow. They vanished momentarily, then reformed from the flickering shadows of the cave. Responding to Sai's speed and agility, one of the creatures merged with his own shadow. In mid dodge, Sai froze, unable to move. Other monsters moved quickly to take advantage of his weakness.

Sai realized that he couldn't move. "What the?" He looked back at his shadow. "OH NO!" Sai was in shock as he watched the other creatures preparing for their attack on him. "I don't believe this. Oh man, I can't believe this is it. There is so much I wanted to do.... Oh well, it's too late for that." Sai stood there quietly and waited for the monsters to finish him off.

Upon seeing the above dilemma, Tim pulled out his sword and began concentrating. He began casting Astral Bide, waiting for the correct moment to strike....

Sarino watched the others, the distant expression still on his face. He didn't want to go with these people, he wanted to know where Rill was. But it couldn't be helped, so he continued to follow them. "Maybe I'll find Rill..." he muttered distantly, his mind not taking in the battle much until one of the creatures appeared directly behind him. It was then he turned and grew angry. "FLARE ARROW!" he shouted, casting the spell with practiced ease.

Valgaarv had abandoned playing in the mud and was walking happily through the forest, seeing as his mother wasn't around to tell him not to.... The woods were peaceful, and he saw a bird here and there, a little animal sometimes. He caught sight of a cave up ahead, and there was a lady at the entrance to the cave. It didn't look dangerous, so he started running to reach it.

Briar paused as she was about to enter the rock. Her finely honed instincts told her she was being watched. She wiggled her fingers in preparation and whirled around. "DRA... Huh?" The spell fizzled as the last thing she had expected to see was a small green-haired little boy, who had stopped running at her motion.

They stood at impasse for a few seconds, neither quite sure of the other.

Finally, Briar smiled gently. "Kawaii." She knelt so her head was level with the boy's. "I'm Briar." Reaching behind her, she handed him a neat-looking toy. "Are you lost?"

Ninoa was surprised by the sudden barrage of monsters. She then tossed a few fireballs that exploded on impact. The fireballs bursted loudly but didn't cause any cave-ins. More monsters appeared out of the woodwork (or is that... cavework?) and charged at her. Projectiles came from their mouths as they charged at her. She knew she couldn't reflect the projectiles and the monsters with a regular magic shield, so she started chanting quietly.

"You who exists above me...," Ninoa started to chant, "I call upon thee to rip the dimensions of space and time into oblivion. I call upon your power to defend my life... Gil Vlas!"

The shield formed and caused a large black disc of sorts to appear. The monsters ran toward it and into it. They then were projected out with the force they used to ram it... and then some.

As they were smashed against the walls, Ninoa turned her attention to another monster attacking her. "You of the wicked seas," she chanted again, "I call upon your power to bleed life from those bodies who oppose you and I... Dolf Nails!"

Icicles jumped out of her fingertips and impaled the monster. She looked around to find other enemies to fight as the battle raged on...

What Ninoa saw gave her pause. For one, while her fireballs initially had the effect of dispersing a few of the monsters, the smoke and dust that had resulted had had the effect of creating more shadows for the things to reform and jump from. Secondly, being smashed against a wall did not seem to bother these monsters of shadow in the least. They simply reformed and returned to attack. And her ice attack had the same effect as Sai's ice attack: None whatsoever.

Inside of her black-ring barrier, her shadow began to twitch....

"Now is the time!" Tim screamed as he lunged at the Shadow Wraiths with his enchanted sword. He dispersed the group that were about to do Sai in, but got a few gashes in him for the effort. "Sai, Ninoa. They're intangible! Best thing you can do is use Spiritual Magicks against these things. Of course, if Miss Inverse and Mister Gabriev would see fit to use their Ragna Blade and Sword of Light respectively, these creatures should be gone in oh, say... 38 seconds on the conversative side of things. If anyone can't cast Spirit spells, make sure the wraiths don't get to whoever can!"

Ninoa started getting irritated at these wraiths. They just kept coming at them. She then decided it was time to break out her heavy artilery. "I call upon the fragments of purity...," she started to chant, "Make yourselves one with my body, one with my soul, and one with my mind. Twist the bonds of reality to do my bidding and vanquish those who dare to stop me on my mission... HOLY COLUMN!" As she finished the spell, Ninoa released a large column of light that engulfed everything around her in the cave in a radius of 300 feet. The column of white light decimated the beings of darkness and left the caves bare. Everyone stood shocked at her power. Ninoa merely rose a hand and made a peace sign while saying, "Victory!"

The moment the Shadow Wraiths had vanished from existence, enthusiastic applauding and cheering resounded against the cavern's walls. Hoots, hollers, and whistles of appraisal and congratulations turned out to be coming from above party members. Namely because hanging overhead them, was the strange boy Rill Tane.

Tail and legs enwrapped securely around a menacing stalactite, he appeared to be seated as comfortably as if he were not dangling upside-down and were instead on level with everyone else.

Sai was able to move again. He looked at his hands and was suddenly overcome with rage. He suddenly started to kick the wall repeatedly while yelling with rage. "THIS CAN'T BE HAPPENING TO ME!"

Sai took out his sword and looked at everyone -- at Rill last. He yelled one last time with rage, then triggered his super speed and went farther in the cave, disappearing from sight within seconds.

Lina looked at Tim dully. "I didn't feel like using Raguna Blade, AND Gourry doesn't have the Sword of Light anymore." She brushed back her hair in a stylish way, looking at Gourry, then at the others. "So! Now that that's over, where's this secret magic or whatever anyway?"

The illusion of Briar, still tagging along with the group, smiled merrily. "Lina-sama," she said. "According to the villager's tales, it's at the bottom of the cave. Which," she said, a finger up to her lip and thinking hard. "Is this way!" She pointed to the path on the left.

The female, dragon-like figure hovered down the cave passages quickly, her... insights allowing her to pick the right directions to accomplish her goal: to find Lina Inverse. Her wings beat at a slow and rhythmic pace, keeping her moving steadily forward faster than the normal running speed of the average human. After several minutes of traversing the cave, she found the patch of light which stood the party out from the darkness around the cave.

"Finally!" the figure shouted loudly causing most the party to jump. "I have found you, Mistress Lina Inverse."

Lina fell back, holding up love signs with her figures. Gourry jumped in front of Lina; he WAS her protector, after all. She blinked again, slowly getting up. "Alright, who are you and why do YOU want Lina Inverse?" She sighed. Why did all these people want to find her anyway?

Ninoa looked the newcomer, a female dragon, up and down. Her presence was interesting and she felt a strange aura. "Well, at least she isn't that demonic presence I felt earlier," Ninoa thought. "But what could she want with Miss Inverse?"

Ninoa shrugged and then realized that Sai was no longer with them. She looked around some more and found tracks that belonged to him. "Sai...," she sighed to herself. "What's the matter with you?"

Sai continued to walk further and further into the cave, a million thoughts per second flying through his head. "If the Clan ever found out about my two losses, I would never be accepted in there again." Suddenly he struck the wall with his sword over and over. He stopped for a moment, then put his sword away. Sai then used his abnormal speed to race through the cave.

He stopped all of a sudden. "Hum," he said to himself. "I will wait for them here." He sat down and started to meditate.

Ninoa kept thinking about Sai. "He's alone, and if what we've experienced is foreshadowing what's to come... then he could be in trouble!" Ninoa refound Sai's footsteps and started off. But before she did, she left a spell of protection to watch over her other comrades as well as "borrowing" Miss Lina's Lighting Dagger.

As she sped down the cave, she wondered just how far Sai could have gone. What mattered to her was his safety as she trekked through the cave.

Tim looked at the dragon-woman. Something about her was very familar, but he couldn't quite figure out how. Finally, he put it down to the fact that she was a dragon and just looked similar to Filia. This assignment with Lina Inverse was better than he expected. Not one, but two quests. Tim finally commented to Lina, "All of us have different agendas too. No doubt about it, Lina Inverse, you live an interesting life."

"Umm... yeah," Lina responded to Tim. She sighed briefly. "But I wonder why they surround ME...."

Gourry smiled. "Me too!"

"Baka...," Lina commented under her breath, holding her head.

"My name is Celise, Mistress Lina." Celise said calmly. "As for who I am, that I must tell to you and you alone. My mision is to aid you to the best of my ability within certain bounds. If you wish to know my true identity, please follow me down this corridor for a small bit."

Celise began to fly down the corridor into the darkness. When she noted Lina's hesitance, she turned. "You may bring your bodyguard, if you wish." she said warmly, then continued down a ways and stopped.

Lina only looked at Gourry who followed as they walked to Celise. "Ano... Explain?" she asked, very nervously. Putting her hands on her hips, the great Lina Inverse smiled, her Guardian at her side. "What do you need of me?"

"It is not YOUR services I require, Mistress Lina. My instructions are to aid YOU." Celise said evenly, in an innocent tone. "As for your explanation, I am sure you have met 'Auntie Aqua.' Well, I am her niece. My mother being her sister."

Lina's ears perked up. Auntie Aqua? She had been sad about losing her, the last remaining memories of the great Water Dragon... "Does this mean you are also powerful...?" she asked quietly.

"How is Auntie Aqua?" Gourry piped in, and got smacked in the head by Lina for his troubles.

"Gomen ne 'bout him... he forgets a LOT."

"Powerful!?" Celise gasped, jumping back, then calming a bit. "Yes, I suppose you could put it that way, though not as powerful as Auntie Aqua or my mother. You could say I'm more along the lines of middle management. As for the gentleman's question, as you know Mistress Lina, Auntie Aqua is unfortunately gone; however, the Clair Bible still remains safe and intact."

"Glad ta hear it," Lina replied,winking. "So, can you fill me in on everything? I hate being left in the dark...." She glared at Gourry, and he knew he better keep his mouth shut.

"Fill you in?" Celise asked, blinking in a confused manner. "I'm not quite sure if I understand. What do you need to know?"

"Just tell me everything," Lina said quite bluntly. She put her hands on her hips, then turned to Gourry only briefly before looking at Celise. "Just gimmie a reason to trust you. I've sorta had that problem the last few years... trusting people too easily. But since you want to 'protect' me or something, I'd like to know why."

"But I'M your protector...," Gourry pouted.

"I will not force you to trust me, Mistress Lina," Celise responded calmly. "However, I will tell you what you wish to know. My mother, is not truly a mother in the sense as you would call one. I was born half Mazoku, 1/4 dragon and 1/4 human. My father killed my true mother and forced me to reside amongst the Mazoku on the astral plane. I hated it.

"While the Dark Lord Shabranigdo and the Dragon Lord Ceephied began their fight, I began my escape. However, I was sealed by Koriryuuohma, who is now my mother. After 1000 years of being sealed, she realized my true intent. I was reborn her daughter and have lived amongst dragons since.

"The Demon Lord Dark Star was sought by us for some time to get revenge on him for our Kindred who died fighting him. My services to you are in part in thanks for destroying him. The other part of my services I am not at liberty to reveal to you, however, in good faith, I shall bestow upon you this," Celise said, handing a large bound book to Lina.

"That book, Mistress Lina, contains the studies by a great sage named Rathius, the last mortal to view the Clair Bible before you. Seeing the Clair Bible is a privilege not easily acquired. This book was snatched from the mortal realms once we knew what it contained: studies on trans-dimentional channeling. Rathius was consumed by his own experimenting while trying to draw power from two planes at once. I believe you will find the knowledge interesting, and perhaps even useful. It continues the story of the Lords of the Netherworld, forces so dark not even the Lord of Nightmares will help them escape the imprisonment we placed on them. Use this knowledge wisely and carefully, Mistress. Perhaps you can be the one to complete Rathius's last spell."

Lina took the book and fell to her knees. A Magic book, of Rathius's no less! She could be so lucky! "Really...," she said, mostly to herself. The thought fascinated her to a great extent. "Are you telling me that I could end this spell? That.... For this kinda spell you'd need a lot of power... I mean...." She looked to Celise, a bit dumbfounded, unable to find the words. "Channeling.... Sealing the great demons...." Her eyes trembled with excitment as she read.

"Oi... she's gonna read it forever, now...." Gourry whispered to Celise.

Celise smiled happily, allowing Lina to spend some quality time with the book, before she spoke again.

"Yes, you are quite right, Mistress Lina. The power necessary is quite great. However, as you will read later, Rathius discovered there was a ring which could help one achieve that power, The Ring of Philioni. Unfortunately, Rathius was too impatient to find the ring, and began his experiments without it. He was so close... the words and gestures... almost complete. But the near success took his life and cast him into the Netherworld for all eternity."

Lina fliped through the pages as she listened to Celise. "A ring.... Huh?" She sighed, looking up. "If that guy hadn't been in such a hurry, he coulda gotten it. People can be so impatient at times." She flipped through a few more pages, then looked up to Celise. "Anything else you could tell me about this?" She only prayed that it didn't get her involved with saving the world... AGAIN.

"Of course there is," Celise said. "Philioni was a high priestess who fell in love with a swordsman of a warring kingdom. Philioni's goddess abandoned her, because she pursued her lover. Philioni's lover, Syriun, soon fell ill to a deadly disease. Philioni, however, had lost the power to heal. For seven days she prayed to the Gods, and for seven days she got no answer. On the eighth day, however, Koriryuuohma answered her prayers. Syriun was cured, and in return they both dedicated their lives to the service of Koriryuuohma.

"After years of service, Koriryuuohma bestowed upon the lovers a ring and a holy sword. The lovers built a shrine of blue marble in honor of Koriryuuohma; they are buried in that very temple along with the ring and the sword presented to them 500 years ago."

Lina looked at Celise, then back to the book. "I wonder what real power this holds...," she said to herself, eyes gleaming with curiosity. "Could this power be dangerous...?" she then asked, thinking of the Giga Slave and shivering.

"You are thinking about the Giga Slave, aren't you?" Celise asked, concern hinting through the innocent tone of the voice. "I can assure you that the main problem comes from drawing the power from the Netherworld, not from controlling it. Perhaps sometime later, I shall tell you a story Auntie Aqua told me. A story she would have taken with her, but instead she entrusted it to me. But I am sure your duties here are far more important than the story. Maybe we should regroup with your companions?"

Lina nodded, standing up. "That might be a good idea, considering I'm the main topic a lot." She sighed, tucking the book into her cape. "Come on, Gourry, let's go back," she told her Guardian, then looked at Celise. "I guess I can trust you, if only a little." She smiled, happy to know someone else who knew Auntie Aqua so well. "You can tell me that story when we camp out tonight, ne?"

Sai was meditating calmly in the cave when he heard footsteps. He quickly rose to his feet, took out his sword, and stood next to the wall. Then he saw a light.

"Hum," he said to himself. "They are not going to get the drop on me again." Sai leaped up into the air and was about to slash the intruder when he saw it was only Ninoa.

Sai's fear started to take over and he fell to the ground before her feet. He looked up and saw her. He crawled back towards the wall, forgetting all about his sword. "W... W... W... What a... a... are you d... d... doing here?"

Rill yawned widely. Well now, this was getting dreadfully boring. For the time being, all those darkened beasties had gone away, and those below him were scrambling like ants, talking about stuff that, likely, needn't concern him. What irked him most, however, was that no one had bothered to pay any attention to him.

He sighed and allowed himself to simply drop from the stalactite, performing a last minute flip to expertly land upon his feet. These people were boring, but a few had promise, and those he filed away in memory for later.

Hmm, now last he saw, dearest Sai had bolted off deeper into the cave. With a high giggle, Rill fell to all fours. With his tail lashing about excitedly, he bounded forward on Sai's trail, chanting with vigour, "Sai, Sai, Sai!"

Ninoa merely looked at Sai as he cowered below her. She didn't look all that intimidating... did she?

"Sai...," she spoke softly and quietly so as not to scare him further. "Is everything alright?" It was obvious to her that Sai was terrified of her. She wanted to know why, but an idea crept into her head. "Hey! I know!" Ninoa surmised quickly, pounding her fist into her other hand. "What if I gave you an anti-fear tonic? Would that make you feel better?"

She pulled out a vial from behind her and handed it to Sai. She motioned for him to drink it as she smiled at him. "Don't worry," Ninoa assured. "It's not poison." The tonic had a bluish tint to it that seemed pleasant to look at as the two were in the cave. Unknown to them was the presence of a being lurking in the shadows...

Sai looked at the vial. With one shaking hand he slowly reached out and took it.

He looked at the vial in his hand. "Will this get rid of my fear of females?" he wondered. He opened the vial and drank the liquid that was inside. Sai then shook his head.

Sai's fear slowly went away, and he found himself amazingly not afraid of Ninoa. He rose to his feet and smiled. "Thank you."

"Sai, Sai, Sai!" bounded against the walls as Rill bounded across the gritty cavern floor. With his graceful, four legged and catlike springs, Rill proceeded along the rocky corridors, hot on the scent trail of Sai.

Within moments, he had found his quarry, and ignoring the girl beside Sai, cried out one last delighted chant of "Sai!" before throwing his arms tightly around the boy.

Sai was shocked to see Rill here. Sai was even more shocked when Rill hugged him. "Nice to see you, too..." he muttered.

"Ninoa, meet Rill... Rill, meet Ninoa." Sai took about two steps back from the others to allow themselves a chance to get to know one another.

A small whimper and darling pout came to Rill as Sai moved out of his embrace. He looked to the girl Ninoa and grinned widely. "Hello!" he chirped, quickly approaching her. Immediately Rill began to circle the girl, sniffing her.

Sai walked deeper into the cave, leaving Rill and Ninoa behind. He didn't want to deal with them just yet. He summoned his speed in order to reach the end of the cave faster.

As Sai continued to move through the cave, he wondered why Ninoa had helped him. "Hum. I shouldn't allow others to help me. It would be best if I avoid them helping me for a while. If my father heard about this, I would never hear the end of it...." Sai then summoned his full speed and raced down the cave.

As Sai started to move down the corridor, a pair of torches, one on each side of the tunnel, suddenly flared out into a pale, flickering green flame. Startled, he stepped back into a defensive stance, sword flickering from its sheath. All down the corridor similar pairs of torches burst into the same pale green flame.

Sai was shocked when he saw this event. He inspected one of the torches. "Hum," he said to him self. "Someone must be expecting me." He continued to race through the cave.

Sai suddenly stopped to catch his breath. "This is endless," he thought to himself. "This would be a good time to rest." He sat down. "I will wait for the others here."

Sai wondered what the others were doing. He then laughed. "Why am I worried about them? I'd better be worrying about myself. Better not start having feelings -- it is a big weakness." Sai then smirked. "I made it this far in life on my own. Better not ruin it. Thanks, Dad...."

As Sai finished catching his breath, a dim glinting caught his eye. Moving silently down the tunnel just a bit more, he saw the source. Before him stood a massive pair of doors. Hanging on them was a banner that was split in the middle. It glowed with a similar luminescence as the torches and read "WELC-OME!!"

He raised his head slowly. He saw the door and the sign on it: Welcome. Sai smirked. "Yeah right." He then started thinking. "Where are the ambushers? I know this must be a trap of some kind, but this is getting boring." For lack of anything better to do, he opened the door to see what lay beyond it.

Ninoa looked Rill over and thought that whatever Rill was, he wasn't human... duh. Ninoa then walked alongside Rill as if she were walking on eggshells. She stopped for a moment as Rill looked at her.

"I'm going to take a break right now...," Ninoa sighed to Rill as she placed a hand on the wall of the cavern. Then something peculiar struck her as she ran her hand across the wall. "Something's not right...," she observed as she stayed quiet, listening for something. Then she smiled. "It's here."

Before Rill could react, Ninoa tackled him to the ground to avoid a blast of red energy. When the smoke cleared, a man stepped out into Ninoa's view. He had white hair down to his shoulders and wore a large mantle of purple. His eyes were yellow and orange, and were filled with the excitement of the moment. Ninoa recognized him immediately. "Not you again!" Ninoa complained as she readied a spell. "Don't you ever give up?"

"You could always just die," the man replied as he stared back at Ninoa.

"I can't fight him here...," Ninoa thought to herself in the cavern tunnel. "I have to get to some place larger... but how?" She then turned her attention to the dagger she had "borrowed" from Lina, and a thought occurred to her. She then cast a spell as the word "Return" leapt from her mouth. The dagger then disappeared and Ninoa cast another spell. "TRACKING TELEPORTATION!" she yelled as she held onto Rill. The two disappeared before another blast from the man passed.

The man grinned with delight as he sighed to himself, "You won't escape me again... Ninoa...."

The illusionary Briar waited politely until Lina and Celise had finished their conversation and come back. Then she piped up. "Hey, guys, I do believe we're very close to where the treasure is. Let's catch up with the others, we can get movin'."

Sarino watched slightly, curious about what was going on and where in the world Rill had gone. "Rill...," he called, still very much under the power of the spell.

"N-nani?" Filia asked, looking at Sarino oddly. "You mean that strange person who seemed to be fascinated with us for some reason?" She took him by his shoulder and giggled. "You don't have to worry about him, he'll find his way back."

Just then, suddenly Ninoa and Rill appeared out of nowhere....

Ninoa opened her eyes and was thankful that the white-haired man was not there. She then looked around and saw Celise, Gourry, Rill, and the others... but where was Lina?

She then looked beneath herself to discover that she had landed on top of Lina and was now sitting on her back.

Ninoa quickly dismounted Lina and brushed her off. With a look of pure worry, she healed Lina for any injuries she might have endured. Ninoa's reward: A prompt beating by Lina.

After the beating was complete, Ninoa dusted herself off and healed herself. She then apologized many times over to Lina for falling on her by mistake. When asked how she got to on top of Lina, Ninoa then sighed. "Um, I had to get away from someone...," she explained, "I used a tracking teleport on the light dagger I had borrowed from you... umm, was that all right?"

She closed her eyes and hoped that the punishment Lina was going to give her for "borrowing" one of her items wouldn't be as severe as facing that man back there.

Lina put her hands on her hips, looking at Ninoa, eyes narrowing. "You WHAT?!" she asked. She was pissed enough that the girl had fallen on her, and now this? Her eyebrow twitched, and she saw Gourry backing away. "Fire Ball!" she cast at the girl, then walked away to rejoin the rest of the group, leaving her charcoaled buddy behind.

Ninoa let out a tense laugh and followed Lina and company. She was glad she'd only received a fireball and a royal beating, knowing what else Lina was capable of.

As soon as Ninoa teleported, the real Briar knew about it. Damn. Fortunately, she was resourceful, if nothing else. To the child in front of her, she beamed. "Hang on a second, will ya? This oneechan needs to check something," she said, while wiggling her fingers.

Val-chan watched closely as Briar walked over to the bushes and began to cast about in them. He didn't know he was looking at an illusion.

In reality, Briar walked the other way and concentated, gaining a bearing on the illusionary version of herself that was with the group in the cave. Her fingers worked some more and she got a playback of the scene in the cave. Hmm, she thought, considering her options. Then she modified her initial spell. If her illusionary self gained a will of its own, that was fine. She did not much care.

She walked back over to Val-chan and merged with her most recent illusion, then crouched in front of Val-chan. "Well, friend. It seems as though your mommy has gone somewhere without us. If you like, I'll help you find her." She beamed and extended a hand.