Embracing the Magic

Chapter 1- The Fiery Warrior

by Umi

February 2001

Disclaimer: Lina, Gourry, and all Slayers characters belong to Hajime Kanzaka and Rui Araizumi, not me! Hikaru, Umi, and all Magic Knight Rayearth characters belong to CLAMP, not me! I'm not makin' any money outta this! 

Note: There will be some spoilers throughout this series about the end of the first Slayers season, the end of Slayers Next, and the end of the first season of Magic Knight Rayearth!


"Where is Miss Lina?" Amelia looked at the food in front of her, frowning slightly. 

"I... <gulp> don't... <munch> know." Gourry said in between bites of his chicken.

"Hmm, that is odd." Zel sipped his coffee. "She's late."

"Yeah, Miss Lina's never late for a meal!!" Amelia's eyes widened. "What is she's in trouble?!"

Zel looked at Amelia. "What? You don't think..."

Gourry stood up. "Let's find out!"
****

Lina covered her wound with her hand. She tried to say something, but nothing came out. She felt numb. Her knees gave way and she fell forward, only to be caught by the pink-haired girl.

"I have you now, my cute little Hikaru."

Lina couldn't move. Her eyes were blank red orbs, devoid of any emotion.

The pink-haired girl grinned. "I've had fun playing with you. But now... I will kill you."

The girl raised her lightning blade and brought it under Lina's chin. It slightly cut Lina's skin, allowing blood to trickle down her neck. "Goodbye, Hikaru..."

"Arrow of flame!"

"What?!" The pink-haired girl dodged the blast, letting Lina slump to the floor in the process.

"Nova! Get away from her!" The girl who had just cast the spell pointed a sword at the pink-haired girl. She was dressed in a normal school girl outfit... but with armor. Her hair was bright red and tied back in a long braid. Her eyes were a burning flame of red.

"Hikaru?! How can that be?!" The pink-haired girl, Nova, shakily stood up. She had been badly burned by the other girl's fire spell.

"Nova! What are you doing here?! What did you do to her?!" Hikaru glared at her.

"I... I thought..." For a moment Nova's eyes were wide, shining with expression like a little child's. Then, just as suddenly, she closed them and regained her composure. When she opened them again they were slitted. "I will kill you, Hikaru." Nova jumped out of the window and disappeared.

Hikaru ran over to Lina's lifeless body. No... She feels too cold...

Too cold...
****

Gourry, Zelgadis, and Amelia rushed to Lina's room at the inn they were staying at. The sight they saw through the open door horrified them...

Lina was lying down on the floor. The girl was crying softly. Lina's blood darkened the girl's clothes and the carpet.

Lina was dying.

"LINA!!!" Gourry rushed over to Lina and pulled her into his arms.

Amelia let out a scream. "No, Miss Lina!!" She quickly started casting a recovery spell on her fallen friend.

Zelgadis' eyes widened. "Lina..." He turned towards Hikaru. "Who are you? Did you do this to her?!" Zel grabbed Hikaru by the shoulders. "Well? Answer me!!" 

Hikaru looked up at Zel. "I... I'm sorry... I couldn't save her... Nova... She came and tried to kill me, but..." Hikaru's eyes glistened with tears.

Zel looked surprised. He didn't know whether or not to believe her story... But she seems so sad...

"Hikaru!" A girl clad in a blue school girl uniform with armor similar to Hikaru's ran into the room. Her hair was long and flowed down her back in soft blue waves. Her eyes were deep blue seas of emotion as she looked at her crying friend.

Zel turned to face the newcomer. "What is going on here? Who..."

"Hikaru! We're... Oh no..." The blue-haired girl's eyes widened in horror as she saw the body on the ground. "What happened to her?! Will she be ok?! How can we save her?! We have to do something!!"

Gourry looked up at the interruption. His eyes were clouded with tears. "She... Lina's..." Zel walked over to Gourry and softly placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.

"Hikaru! Umi!" Another girl in a green school uniform with armor joined the group. Her hair was a short mass of golden curls. She adjusted her glasses, her soft green eyes noticing Lina. "Is that... Oh my gosh!" She ran to where Lina lay.

"What are you doing?" Amelia looked up from her spell at the other girl.

"Please, let me help. I can cast healing magic as well." The short-haired girl knelt beside Lina.

Gourry looked at Zel, silently asking if they should trust her. Zel nodded. Gourry turned to the girl. "All right." He hugged Lina tighter.

"Healing wind!" The short-haired girl reinforced Amelia's recovery spell with her own.

"Please... Please save her..." Gourry pleaded softly.

The blue-haired girl, Umi, walked over to Hikaru, who was shaking uncontrollably. She wrapped her arms around her in a gentle hug. "Hikaru... It's okay... It's going to be all right..."

Slowly, Hikaru started to calm down. "Umi... But... That girl... I... I... She's..."

"Hikaru..." Umi softly patted Hikaru's head. "It's not your fault. You had no idea this would happen. You didn't know that we'd be sent to this strange place..."

Zel walked over to the two girls. He was just about to ask what Umi meant by "this strange place" when he heard a faint cough.

A very familiar cough.

"Lina!!" Gourry hugged her tightly.

"Ow! That hurts Gourry! Get off of me! What are you doing, you hentai!!" The fiery redhead scowled, showing off her cute little fang teeth.

"Lina!" Amelia and Zel gathered around her. 

Lina blinked. She turned to Amelia. "Thanks Amelia, for healing me. I owe ya big time!" She smiled.

Amelia beamed. "Don't worry about it! Besides, there's someone else who helped heal you too!" She motioned towards the short-haired girl.

The short-haired girl smiled politely. "Hello. My name is Fuu Hououji. It's very nice to meet you."

Lina grinned at her. "Thanks so much for helping me out back there! You can cast magic spells too, right Fuu?"

The short-haired girl, Fuu, smiled. "Yes. My friends, Hikaru and Umi, can as well." 

"Really? Wow, that's pretty neat..." Lina suddenly remembered something. "Wait a sec! Where did the mazoku with pink hair go?! That witch!! She's gonna pay for messing with me!!" Lina clenched her hand into a fist.

Gourry, Zel, and Amelia sweatdropped. "Who?"

"Her name is Nova." Hikaru stood up and walked over to Lina.

"Nova..." Lina looked at Hikaru. "You look just like her..."

Hikaru nodded. "I think we have a lot of things to talk about..."

Lina nodded. "Ok. Let's go downstairs... After all..."

She patted her stomach. "I'm soo hungry!"

Everyone sweatdropped.
****

Lina wolfed down the huge roast beef in front of her. The stack of dishes on the table became so high it almost reached the ceiling of the restaurant.

Umi scowled. "I don't get that girl. She almost died today and now she's busy stuffing her face!"

Lina gulped down a bite of chicken. She glared at Umi. "Well, the reason I'm eating so much is because nearly dying is a very tiring and traumatic experience! I need food for energy and comfort!"

"Actually, she always eats that much." Zel muttered under his breath.

Umi glared right back at Lina. "Well, that's still no excuse for eating so fast and messily and for not having any manners!"

Lina stopped eating. "Oh, forgive me! Who made you my mother anyway?!"

"Oh? So you're saying I'm old-looking now, aren't you?!"

"What?! Geez, you're almost as bad as my sister!"

Zel rolled his eyes. Amelia, Fuu, and Hikaru sweatdropped.

Gourry snatched some of Lina's chicken.

Fuu blinked. "Wow, those two are rather similar in personality, are they not?"

Amelia sighed. "Oh, yeah."

Zel smirked. "They probably are going to become great friends. After all, Lina's probably thrilled to find someone who's as wacky and violent as she is."

Fuu smiled. "Yes, I agree. Umi probably feels the same way."

Amelia looked over at Hikaru, who had been silent the whole time. "Um, Miss Hikaru? Are you all right?"

Hikaru looked over at Amelia. "Huh? Oh, yeah, sure. I'm fine."

Amelia's eyes filled with concern. "Miss Hikaru..."

Hikaru looked down at her hands. She sighed. "Maybe we should have that talk now..."

"Ok." Amelia turned towards Lina and Umi, who were still arguing. "Um... Miss Lina? Miss Umi?"

They continued to argue.

"Um..." 

Zel walked over to Lina and quickly knocked her on the head. 

"OW! What was that?!" Lina turned around and glared at Zel. "Zel! What's the big idea?! Hitting me like that all of a sudden..."

"I was trying to get your attention." Zel explained calmly. "We should talk about what happened and what to do next."

Umi's eyes grew big. "Ano... Lina... Are you ok?"

Lina turned to her. "Yeah, I'm just soo fine, Umi. It's not like Zel's made out of something hard like stone or anything..."

"Well, I'm soo sorry for being a little concerned about you! Why do you have to be so sarcastic?!"

The two girls resumed glaring at each other.

Zel sighed.

"Um, you guys?" Hikaru walked over to them. "Can we please talk about things now?"

The girls blinked. "Oh, sure."

"Finally." Amelia murmured.

Gourry stopped eating a piece of roast beef. "Huh? What's going on?"

Lina bonked Gourry on the head.

"OW!"

Lina clapped her hands together. "All right, let's start. First of all, who are you guys?"

Fuu adjusted her glasses. "Let me start from the beginning. Hikaru, Umi, and I are from another world, called Earth. One day we were summoned to another world called Cephiro."

Gourry's head started to spin. "Whoa, too many worlds..."

Lina groaned. "Ok, so who summoned you there and what for?"

Fuu continued. "Well, Cephiro is a land of the will. People with strong wills hold the keys to their own futures. People's hearts decide everything in Cephiro."

"Really?" Lina moved her chair closer to Fuu. "That sounds interesting..."

Fuu nodded. "There was one woman in Cephiro who had the strongest heart and will of everyone. She was Princess Emeraude, who became Cephiro's Pillar. Basically, she was the one who would rule Cephiro. She used all of her energy and willpower to protect Cephiro and to keep it beautiful."

"Wow." Amelia's eyes shined. "She must have been a true hero of justice!!"

"Yeah, she was." A single tear trickled down Hikaru's cheek.

Umi placed a comforting hand on Hikaru's shoulder.

Fuu went on with her story. "Princess Emeraude was the one who brought us to Cephiro. She brought us there to protect the world because she had been kidnapped. We became Magic Knights and were given magical armor, weapons, and powers. That is why we can cast spells. We tried to save Cephiro and Princess Emeraude, but..."

Umi sighed. "We became caught up in a sorrowful, painful battle." 

Fuu wiped a tear from her face. "In the end, we returned to Earth. However, we were recently summoned to Cephiro again."

Lina softly spoke. "By who? If Princess Emeraude..."

Fuu continued. "We don't know. All we know is that there is another person in Cephiro who has a strong enough heart to summon people from the other world, to become the next Pillar."

Zel sipped his coffee. "And then, how did you end up here?"

Umi looked at Zel. "We're not sure. One minute we were talking to Clef about what to do about our enemies and the next minute we were here!"

Amelia spoke up. "Your enemies?"

Fuu nodded. "Yes. Cephiro is no longer the beautiful world it once was. Without a Pillar to sustain it, it has started to collapse. Several people from other countries are trying to take advantage of this fact in order to take Cephiro for themselves."

Amelia raised her fist in the air. "How horrible! You must stop them, in the name of justice!" 

Fuu smiled. "Well, that is how we came to be here."

Umi sighed. "Wow, I didn't realize that we've been to so many worlds. We'd better get some kinda frequent flyer mileage bonus for all this..."

Zel rolled his eyes.

"Wait!" Lina turned to Fuu. "You said that the Pillar has the power to summon people to different worlds, right? Well, maybe whoever has the potential to become the Pillar in Cephiro transported you guys to this world?"

Umi smiled. "Hmm, that's right! That must be it! Wow, you can be smart when you really want to, huh Lina?" 

"Yep yep yep. Never doubt Lina Inverse, the sorcery genius!" Lina laughed.

Umi sweatdropped. "Sheesh. Too bad she still has such a big ego. I can't believe she calls herself the 'sorcery genius'..."

"Anywayz!" Lina glared at Umi and then turned back to Fuu. "So, what about this Nova person..."

Hikaru looked up. "Nova..." She looked at Lina. "Nova is someone who we met the second time we went to Cephiro. She seems to be me... but not me, somehow. I don't understand it... She keeps telling me that she 'hates everything that I like', so she wants to kill Umi and Fuu..."

Zel looked at Hikaru. "So, is she your enemy too?"

Hikaru sighed. "I don't know... I don't know... anything..."

"Hmmm..." Lina looked up at the ceiling. "I wonder why she thought I was Hikaru..."

"Huh?" Everyone's eyes focused on Lina.

"Well, when Nova attacked me, she kept calling me 'Hikaru'. I wonder why?"

Zel spoke up. "Well, you two do look pretty similar. I mean, you have similar hair and eyes. Perhaps Nova was confused being in this strange world, so she thought that everything around her changed. Maybe she believed that even Hikaru changed so that she would look different. She recognized the hair and the eyes, and she probably decided Lina was Hikaru, but in the form of someone from this world."

Fuu nodded. "That sounds like a very possible answer."

Amelia softly spoke. "So, what do we do now?"

Lina was about to respond when a familiar raspy voice interrupted her.

"Right now..." A young man with bluish green hair grinned. He was clad in white pants, a short black cape that looked like a scarf in the front, and a shirt that exposed the lean muscles of his stomach. Scars covered his face. His brown eyes burned with rage.

"Valgaav..." Lina's placed a hand on her sword.

"You die!"

<To be continued...>