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                 (http://spoof.maison-otaku.net/)
                            PRESENTS...

                       [ Slayers Demiurge ]

                             book six
                          "Vulnerability"

        A Slayers Fanfic Series by Stefan "Twoflower" Gagne

      (Certain characters copyright H. Kanzaka / R. Araizumi,
     obviously.  If I ever even considered claiming that those
    were my own characters I'd probably be thrown into a small
  cell where I'd be forced to eat my own writer's block to live.)

        Check out the web center with fanart and more, at
         --> http://pixelscapes.com/slayers/demiurge <--

-=-

     Night.

     Another in a long string of similar nights.  She tosses in her queen 
sized bed, pulling at the sheets without realizing she's doing so.  In her 
mind, everything is wrong.  Everything is terrible.  And it horrifies her.

     Sometimes, she'll wake, but she has to sleep -- if she didn't get her 
rest, if she couldn't perform the same tasks she's had to perform every day, 
everything WILL go wrong.  She'd find whatever strength is needed to get back 
to sleep.  And then it all begins again.

     How long could that strength last, though, when she had doubted herself 
for so many years?  Just thinking about how many more days she could take 
stripped another day off the end tally...

     Don't think about it.  Don't face it.  Maintain.  She goes back to 
sleep.  Hours later, she pulls at the sheets without realizing she's doing 
so...     

                                    [*]

     Day.

     This was starting to get repetitive.  A lesser man would start to lose 
hope, but Gourry Gabriev was not a lesser man, thankfully.  Instead, he woke 
up three mornings in a row in Atlas City trying to find out where his 
daughter was.

     The trail had gone cold here.  Wherever the group went, it had left in a 
hurry, and apparently everybody in town was at some public event and didn't 
see what direction they left in.  There were some VERY confusing stories 
about what Penny was up to that Gourry felt no driving need to report to 
Lina... he didn't want to worry her.

     Lina, who did what she always did, selling and buying and making deals 
to help support the family.  Even when her daughter had run off and her 
husband was abroad it was business as usual for Lina.  Gourry tried not to 
worry about her (why worry, when she was 'perfectly fine'?) but knew if this 
kept up, even Lina wouldn't be able to maintain...

     Maybe that would be a good thing.  This had shaken the family out of a 
loop, a daily grind.  He wished Penny didn't have to be at risk to do so, but 
some dark part of him he never let surface was thrilled to be out and about 
and in the fray, and to have his wife be forced to face reality.

     But none of that would matter if he never saw Penny again.  So, he 
walked along Atlas City's streets on that third morning looking for signs of 
Penny, and just before he was going to turn in and get breakfast he saw a 
sign of Penny.  Literally.

     The likeness was off, but the warrior-princess figure (in a dress that 
really wasn't suitable for combat) fighting a huge dragon was DEFINITELY 
Penny.  Next to the lovely painting was a large title -- 'WE HAVE DEMONS & 
DUNGEONS 1st ED!!  ALL ACCESSORIES 25% OFF!'.

     Inside, a bright-faced merchant with new purpose in life who went by the 
name of Mint Endo had exactly the information Gourry wanted.  He was set back 
a few days by this, but surely he could catch up, even on the bargain 
basement horse he had rented.

     It was only a matter of time.  How long could he maintain this hunt 
before Lina's legendary ability to stay out of it cracked, though...?

     

                            ------------
                            six part one
                            ------------



     Lunchtime.

     Not that Roy Balderdash needed a lunchbreak.  His entire existence these 
last few days had been a lunchbreak, constant and unending, since he was 
assigned this post.  This ridiculous post, where he had no real orders to 
give and no actions to take -- likely his 'dear sister' just storing him 
somewhere until he was useful again.

     True, he had a dozen soldiers to look after, but they were egghead 
types.  ('Eggheads' being defined by Roy as 'anybody who knew more about 
these crazy machines than he did' which lately was 'everybody'.)  These 
weren't hack and slash, up on the front lines, death by day and seventy 
dollars a month fighters.  This was a siege, but it wasn't the normal kind 
with a huge wall and boiling tar and tense moments where one side tested the 
other.

     The last testing THIS city had done ended with a greasy patch in the 
grass where soldiers once stood.  After all, Sairaag had the War Machine on 
its side.  Literally.  A dozen of the cannons and energy stream throwers 
stood at the ready on all four sides of the city to mow down anything that 
dared to leave.  Who needed a thousand hardy men surrounding the place when 
you could independently target anything by remote?  Who needed men like Roy 
Balderdash?

     Clearly not Elizabeth.  He considered a few times... just how far was 
her all-seeing eye?  Where did she GET this sort of power over the world in 
the first place?  It didn't make any sense to him, but he was always a 
straightforward sort of bandit king, comfortable in a shortsighted fog.

     He considered running away a few times, if he felt he COULD escape his 
sister's zealot technocracy, but what if she was right?  What if Sairaag DID 
take over the world, and he was so obsolete that he didn't even have the 
limited value he held now?  The safest place was here, in Sairaag's ranks.  
Which hopefully someone would crush soon so he could get about banditing in 
the traditional sense.

     Maybe even Lina Inverse would crush them.  Some tiny, quiet part of Roy 
secretly hoped that would be the case.  Then maybe he could settle down into 
a nice, pleasant feud with her like the old days...

     Finally, something interesting happened.  One of those fancy portals the 
machines can open twisted itself in the air nearby... and unfortunately 
deposited Commander Greyweirs.

     "What is your status?" Zelgadis asked, no Hi, How are you, How's it 
been, Is your job satisfaction at optimal levels, valued employee?

     "No change," Roy stated.  He'd gotten used to Zelgadis popping out of 
thick air lately.  "They haven't made any further runs.  There are a few weak 
points of coverage folks have been sneaking through, but as per your damn 
weird orders, we're leaving them alone.  Are you here to relieve me?  That 
would be a relief."

     Zelgadis tugged a machine-printed scroll from his sleeve.  "New orders.  
Lina Inverse is headed this way.  You are not to stop her; we will take them 
all in one stroke once the circles break.  We are to step up the siege on 
both fronts.  Plans are already in motion on the inner front.  As for the 
outer, you are authorized to increase the setting on the machine to 125%."

     Roy wasn't the sort to shiver at an unpleasant thought, which made the 
fact that he shivered all the more unpleasant.  When he first got here, one 
of the techies explained what the tiny, unimpressive little machine was for, 
and he hadn't liked it one bit...

     If Lina Inverse really was coming, he hoped she'd quit taking her damn 
sweet time doing it.

                                    [*]

     Lina was not a master of stealth.  Or a mistress of stealth, for that 
matter.  But she knew the value of How Not to Be Seen, and was doing just 
that.

     They had seen the dull shine in the air over the capital city of Sailoon 
from miles away.  Lina, of course, knew exactly what it was from her past 
experiences here -- someone had raised a white magic shield through the 
inscribed magic circles that surrounded the city.  It served well as a haven 
in dark times, since nothing known to man (except maybe Shaburanigdo himself) 
could get through those things.

     Not that she had ever seen them raised.  But Amelia had described them a 
bit to her last time she was here, how they'd only been used twice in the 
history of her extensive royal family... something pretty spooky had to be 
brewing to justify this.

     She crouched in the bushes, nudging branches of nearby trees down so she 
could get a better vantage point, taking care not to snap the wood.  No 
sounds.  Nothing to give away position.

%    (Her armor and boots were designed not to make any noise, and 
fortunately her friends were similarly dressed; even Penny, who had left her 
armor behind in the mad run from Atlass City and was taking to wearing a 
fairly simple green tunic and skirt she bought en route.  The idol dress went 
into her pack; Lina asked who she'd want to wear THAT getup around again, but 
didn't press further to avoid Penny's panicked blush.)

     Why all the attention to stealth?  Because that machine looked FREAKY.

     Someone had parked a giant cannon gun blaster zapper thingy in a 
clearing outside the city.  It stood about twenty feet tall, but was totally 
unmanned... and somehow, Lina suspected that didn't make it any less 
dangerous.  The business end of the thing was aimed -- where else? -- 
directly at Sailoon.

     And naturally, the machine had the imperial crest of Sairaag on it.

     "Looks like Sailoon's got company," Lina said.  "I don't think we're 
gonna be able to get in there, guys.  Let's just move on.  The dock town 
linking to Bimini Island is only a few day's stroll from here."

     "What?" Penny asked, confused.  "But you were going on and on about how 
great it would be to see Amelia again.  I told you she's the Queen of 
Sailoon.  You're just going to leave her like this?"

     Xelloss pouted in his effeminate little way which suggested he was not 
in fact a dark demon slaking his unquenchable thirst on the sin of man.  "Oh, 
poop.  And here I had myself so excited about Lina finally getting her act 
together and squishing Sairaag.  Maybe I should have gone with your 
counterpart, as inactive and unadventurous as she may be..."

     "Look, just because I'm willing to toss myself into the fray now and 
then doesn't mean I pick EVERY fight I come along!" Lina hissed, keeping her 
voice low but nasty.  "This is NOT a good time to put a chip on our 
collective shoulders marked 'Sairaag'!  We've still got no idea why they're 
scooping up Demiurges like... like... dammit, what's something that's always 
getting scooped?"

     "Err, ice cream?" Penny suggested.  "Doggie doughnuts?  News 
exclusives?"

     "Oh my, Lina Inverse is scared," Xelloss teased.  "She's got a yellow 
tail and-- really, Lina, you don't have to set me on fire, a simple 'Shut up, 
Xelloss' would have sufficed.  Zoamel, may I borrow your canteen?"

     "No," Zoamel stated flatly.

     "Honestly, some gods simply have no manners whatsoever," Xelloss sighed, 
trying to pat out the fires in his clothes manually.

     "I am NOTHING like that other Lina!  No offense of course Penny, but I 
just feel like this is NOT the time to... I mean that if I go and... oh, 
fine!  If you want me to attack that thing, I will!" Lina decided, snapping 
the branches out of the way and marching directly to the clearing, brushing 
up an imaginary sleeve.  "Let's take the direct approach!  Seems like what 
you all want!!"

     The gun IMMEDIATELY snapped around one hundred and eighty degrees, 
sensing the motion.  Sixty four tiny red sighting dots lit up on Lina's 
person.  Everybody except the plucky little deified sorceress hit the deck.

     "Behold, I am a heroine and in the name of whoever, I punish you!" Lina 
declared, charging the Mother Of All Fireballs.  She flicked her wrist, 
casually lobbing the superpowered flaming wad of blazing doom at the machine 
and waited for the explosion...

     Which didn't come, as a bunch of magical lightning rods had been planted 
in a tight circle around the siege equipment, sucking up the energy and 
grounding it harmlessly.

     "What'd I say?!" Lina said, turning to her panicked group.  "Picking 
fights pointlessly is stupid!  If we're going to do this, we've got to do it 
MY way, and that's by--"

     "BEHIND YOU!" they shouted in unison.

     Lina sighed, and waited for the volley of red hot electrified death to 
whiz past her immortal badass self and mow down an acre of forest.  Zoamel 
quickly protected Penny -- Xelloss just felt annoyed that he was on fire 
again.

     "...as I was saying," she said, while the gun charged a second jolt, "If 
we're GOING to infiltrate Sailoon and help Amelia win the day, we're going to 
do it MY way.  Trashing one of these things would be easy enough, but who 
knows if they've got Eradicators or techno whatsitmajiggers and so on?  
Instead of just blindly attacking these guys, we get in, figure out how to 
help, get the job done and hurry along to where we're going.  Nice and 
subtle.  But THIS thing almost SINGED MY CAPE!"

     The young girl turned, marched over to the machine, and gave it a royal 
PUNT.  A huge crack ran down the center of the machine, and various kinetrope 
dot matrix displays repeated ERROR ERROR ERROR before the whole thing emitted 
a final death wail and shut down.

     Penny... blinked.  And blinked.  (There's some strange human reaction to 
surprise that demands you blink many times to clear your eyes and assure your 
brain that Yes, you did just see the impossible.  It also gives you something 
to do other than hold rock still, which is dramatically uninteresting.)  
"Lina... you... I mean.. WOW!  That was amazing!  But it wasn't very subtle, 
I don't think..."

     "I've got my own definition of subtle," Lina explained.  She turned to 
the shimmering bubble over the city, peering through the light fog to spot 
buildings and people... yes, people.  Staring in awe.  She then waved to them 
wildly.  "HEY!  YOO HOO!  LET US IN ALREADY!  I don't have all day, you 
know!"

     "Definitely not subtle," Xelloss bemused, having grown his hair back for 
now.  He kept his voice down, lest he raise the Ire of Inverse once more.  
"But that's Lina for you, boys and girls.  Once pushed too far, on impulse 
and bravado alone... she blows up one of the machines, making enough of a 
scene to convince a paranoid city to let her inside as a new hero.  I bet she 
doesn't even realize how clever that was.  Ah, it feels like the old days!  
Look at me, I'm all weepy and waxing nostalgic..."

     "The hell do you mean, you can't let me in?" Lina argued with the city 
guard on the other side.  "I told you, I'm a close personal friend of your 
QUEEN.  You know, Amelia Wil Tesla Sailoon?  Short and idealistic?.. okay, 
probably not short anymore, but I have this feeling you should damn well know 
what she looks like without my help!!"

     The guard pressed a small crystal to his ear, listening to the magically 
transmitted instructions.  "All entrances during a Citywide Emergency Defense 
Alert State must be approved by The Council," he stated, although with some 
fear after that wonderful little display of power.  "Err.  They say they 
might be able to vote on the issue tomorrow after teatime.  Maybe if you came 
back then?"

     "I don't think it's working right, Xelloss," Penny decided.  She 
cautiously got to her feet, to walk over and join Lina.

     "Vote?  Issue?" Lina asked, incredulous.  "Look, bub, any minute now 
those guys from Sairaag are gonna come investigate, fully armed.  If they do, 
I'll have to throw down with them, and this is going to be more trouble than 
it's worth and I'm going to go on my merry way as I had originally planned.  
Got it?  So open up or I'll take my cute little famous world-saving holy butt 
somewhere else."

     "Err... kind of getting into this god thing, aren't you, Lina?" Penny 
asked, a little nervous.

     "You'd think something like that would be enough to merit a backstage 
pass," Lina muttered.  "Membership ought to have its privileges..."

     Penny took control.  "Listen, mister... Captain Davin, is it?" she 
asked, reading his badge.  She adjusted her voice, to be a bit more 
plaintive, rather than Lina's bull in a pottery shop attitude.  "We're really 
in a fix out here.  Now, we're old friends of Amelia's, and willing to help 
you guys with your problem, but if we can't get in then we're going to get 
attacked.  Do you know who this is?  This is LINA INVERSE.  You saw what she 
did to that machine.  She could do it again.  Captain, have your troops had 
as much success as that against Sairaag's forces?"

     The guard hesitated.  Some memory clouded over his face, darkening it.  
"No, we haven't," he spoke, fear of Lina replaced by anger over something 
else.  "...I could try contacting the Royal Palace directly.  I'm not 
authorized to go over the heads of The Council, but..."

     "It would REALLY help, sir," Penny added.  Along with a little batting 
of the eyelashes.  "Please?"

     That did it.  The guard swallowed, and adjusted the collar on his armor.  
"I'll see what I can do, miss," he replied, stepping away from the shields 
and whispering quietly into his communication crystal.

     Lina turned to look at Penny, curious.  "That... was pretty good, Penny.  
When'd you learn how to win friends and influence people like that?  I 
thought you were the attack first with shouts of justice and ask questions 
later type..."

     "Oh... well, you know, just been thinking recently," Penny tossed off, 
with a shrug.

     The shield split... just a tiny aperture, tall enough for them to enter 
while crouched, wide enough to squeeze through.  Utterly unimpressive.  But 
the guard on the other side was saluting their entrance.

     "Her Royal Highness Queen Amelia Wil Tesla Sailoon welcomes her friends 
with open arms, and wishes to express her thanks for your assistance!" the 
guard announced.

     "Now THAT'S service!" Lina grinned, clapping once.  "Let's go!  The war 
can wait; posh palace quarters and four course meals, here I come!"

                                    [*]

     Plaster crumbled.  But the sound of falling plaster had long since 
ceased to be a major event in the palace of Sailoon.

     If anything, the stony crackle was a welcome thing, good for breaking 
the silence of the throne room.  She was quite looking forward to a further 
lack of silence, if her guards were right.  Things rarely were QUIET when 
Lina Inverse was around...

     Her stomach rumbled.

     Okay, there was that sound.  But that was one thing the queen would have 
preferred quiet.  Briefly her mind entertained the nightmarish prospect of 
Lina refusing to help because there wasn't enough food -- no, put that aside. 
Lina wasn't that shallow.  At least, not often.  Not when it counted.  
Hopefully not now.  The suspense was killing her.

     The door creaked open.

     "Hey, what's going on?" Lina Inverse asked, looking around the empty 
throne room.  "Shouldn't there be trumpeters to announce my presence or a 
parade through the streets or something?  ANYBODY HERE??!"

     A 35 year old woman attached herself to Lina like an energetic little 
child.

     "Lina-saaaaan!" Queen Amelia Wil Tesla Sailoon of Sailoon cheered, voice 
not having changed much despite the ravages of years.  She squeezed, almost 
smothering the young god.  "I'm SO HAPPY you're here!  Thank you thank you 
thank you..."

     "ghh," Lina replied.

     Thankfully, Amelia let go... and seemed confused.  "Ara?  Lina?  You 
shrank!  Last time I saw you--"

     "It's a long story," Lina offered, trying to decompress her rib cage 
through sheer air pressure, wheezing.  She weakly gestured to her companions.  
"Penny Gabriev, Zoamel Gustav, and you know Xelloss.  Guys, this is Amelia.  
Amelia, guys."

     "Hi!  Mother's told me so much about you!" Penny said, taking Amelia's 
hand and bowing, not quite up on proper male and female methods of paying 
respect to royalty.  "You've been kind of a hero to me, with your optimism 
and leadership!  How do you do?"

     "Things could be better," Amelia weakly said, with a weaker smile.  
"Come, come!  Let's.... er.  There's no real chairs here, so.. let's all 
stand around!  Lina, have you come to save Sailoon?"

     "Yeah, whatever," Lina offered, getting back to full upright position.  
"Piece of cake.  Just a bunch of machines out there.  I'll fill up on a huge 
dinner, get a good night's sleep, go out there and pound them into the dirt!"

     Zoamel stood, arms crossed, off to the side.  "That did not work, if you 
recall," he reminded.

     "Hai, hai, they've got these stick things that absorb magic," Amelia 
said, with a sigh.  "We've made several attempts at them... magically they're 
nearly invulnerable.  Every spell we use is eaten up by their defenses.  
Physically... we've lost several battalions trying to attack directly, sneak 
up unawares... everything.  If we didn't have the magic circles, those guns 
would have this city easily.  The situation could be better..."

     "Ehh, they haven't MADE an enemy Lina Inverse can't handle!" Lina 
boasted.  "Don't you worry a bit, Amelia.  Everybody's got a weak spot, and 
I'll find one!  We've.. come VERY close to besting Sairaag at every turn in 
our quest, and we'll best them here!  You have my word."

     "Oh, thank the gods," Amelia sighed, in relief.  She trembled slightly, 
exhaustion clearly showing through her royal visage.  "Now that Lina's here, 
everything will be better.  Thank the gods..."

     "I thought you didn't believe this was your fight, Lina?" Zoamel asked, 
making a VERY handsome Shaburanigdo's Advocate, as it were.  "That this was 
not the time for it, and it was not your style of action?"

     "You guys wanted to stop here and save the day," Lina said, almost 
growling it out.  "And Amelia's like family!  So, I'll kick butt and kick 
butt and when I'm done kicking butt, that's when the REAL buttkicking will 
commence!  Right, Xel?  You think I'm the one fated to blast Sairaag back 
into the Bronze Age, what do you have to say about my chances of winning?"

     Xelloss, bored with the heroic rhetoric, poked a nearby wall -- his 
finger going right through the cracked and dusty plaster.  "My my, Sailoon 
certainly has seen better days, hasn't it, Amelia-chan?"

     Dust settled on the group from the ceiling, as a CRACK signaled yet 
another difficulty in the building's integrity.  Lina shook her head, to get 
the stuff out of her hair.  "Yeah, I mean, don't you guys have a maid 
service?  Or some carpenters?  Phil didn't keep this place looking like 
ancient ruins--"

     "Father's not with us anymore," Amelia said quietly.  Informatively.

     Lina paused.  Death had a funny way of derailing your bouncy little 
train of thought.  "...ah.  Well.  I'm sorry to hear that, Amelia."

     "Oh.. it's okay," Amelia said, smiling absently.  "He managed to take 
his assassin with him... my Uncle Jeffrey.  But then grandfather died.  And 
so did my aunt.  And since Gracia's gone... I got the throne by default.  But 
it's okay!  I've been a good ruler.  Everything's been great, except for 
Sairaag, I mean..."

     "Speaking of ruling, what's up with this 'Council'?" Lina asked.  "Since 
when has Sailoon been a democracy?  I don't trust democracies, you don't get 
the good, honest ruthlessness of a monarch and have to deal with all that 
'politics' stuff..."

     Amelia kept her smile on like a mask.  (It was getting obvious, even to 
Lina, who didn't normally pay much attention to how people felt.)  "Oh, 
them... ah... well, they're the real power in Sailoon.  I thought it was time 
for a change, is all.  I've cut the budget a bit here in the palace and put 
it into the Council so the city can survive, even in the siege... it's better 
than a monarchy, nobody has to fight over a single throne of power.  Although 
they haven't exactly come to a solution to the situation with Sairaag... but 
you're here, Lina!  Lina Inverse!  You always know what to do.  You always 
win!  You've beaten Mazoku Lords and Shaburanigdo himself, surely you can 
handle a small army, even if they have machines capable of.. of tearing apart 
six men in a single shot and... and..... and you're Lina!  So I feel safe.  
Everything's good now.  Good.  Right?"

     An awkward silence didn't bother to hang over the group; it freely mixed 
on a social basis and chatted up Lina unsuccessfully.  She cleared her throat 
(partially because of the dust in the air), and smiled to Amelia.  "Right.  
Everything's good.  Don't you worry about a thing."

     "Good," Amelia echoed.  "Very good.  It's getting late.. I'm afraid we 
don't have an in-palace kitchen staff anymore, but feel free to fix yourself 
something from the pantry.  We.. you'll start tomorrow, and soon, we'll be 
free from this horrible siege!  Oh, oh... wait, let me give you something..."

     The queen fumbled in her robes a bit, and produced a simple charm 
bracelet.  It was a pink ribbon of silk, with a blue gemstone attached by 
magical power -- a sphere with an embossed six pointed star.  A copy of the 
magical circles.

     "I've got one, and so does everybody else in Sailoon's local White 
Mage's Guild," Amelia explained.  "The magic circles have taken a heavy 
beating, so we use these to supplant them with our own power while we sleep 
or go about our daily work.  Together, we can't fail!  There's safety in 
numbers, you know."

     Lina fingered it a bit.  She could FEEL some sort of link from it, 
something familiar, but she wasn't all that well versed in white magic and 
couldn't understand exactly how it worked.  Would it even work on a Demiurge, 
rather than a human who taps genuine magic?  With a shrug, figuring it 
couldn't hurt, she strapped the bauble on.

     "I'll.. I'll give you special clearance!" Amelia decided, taking mental 
notes in a hurry.  "Omega alpha red!  Full security to move freely in and out 
of the circles!  You can have any part of the army you need and any supplies 
you want!  Total executive power.  I can do that in the event of an 
emergency, even without the council."

     "Then why haven't you done something already?" Xelloss asked, curious.

     "Not to worry!" Lina said, interrupting quickly.  "Come, friends!  Off 
to the ... kitchen to make sandwiches, and then to rest before our day of 
glory!"

     "I KNOW you can do it, Lina-san!" Amelia smiled, putting all her hope 
and faith in the young sorceress.

                                    [*]

     "I don't know how we're going to do this," Penny said, before stuffing 
another peanut butter and jelly sandwich in her mouth, chewing thoughtfully.

     "The situation does seem grim," Zoamel spoke, sizing up the logistics.  
"Amelia's clearly feeling strain over this, and seems to have divulged all 
her hope in you.  Despite her edict, likely we will have conflict with the 
Council if we try to actually USE the resources of Sailoon.  On top of that, 
the machines are protected from magic, and likely have Eradicators just in 
case a situation like you arises."

     "Now now, let's not be naysayers!" Xelloss interjected, while feeding a 
rat to his former Mazoku Lord.  "I'm sure Lina will do very well tomorrow.  
She IS the one to defeat Sairaag.  I believe in it right down to my cold 
black shriveled up little heart!"

     Lina sat on the counter, swinging her ankles and remaining jovial.  
"Exactly!  I actually agree with this little bastard."

     "Why, thank you, Lina!"

     "I'm a god, aren't I?" Lina asked.  "A god of destruction, of profit, of 
a bunch of things.  I blow stuff up, it's my reason to be.  So I'll do a 
little property damage tomorrow.  Maybe I don't know EXACTLY how to smack 
these guys back to Sairaag, but something will come up.  Always does.  I 
should be taking advantage of my immortality, invulnerability and general 
asskicking power.  Amelia's backed to a wall here, at the end of her rope, 
close to the edge and a bunch of other metaphors, so it's time for me to step 
into the ring for her."

     "She's the leader of her people," Penny spoke, with a hint of warning.  
"She hasn't done anything about this except shuffle the task off to other 
people.  First a Council, and now you.  I thought you.. I thought mom told me 
that Amelia was strong willed and idealistic?  A natural leader, if a bit of 
a clumsy and silly one?"

     "Amelia's had a rough time, okay?  We'll leave it at that," Lina 
decided.  "There's no reason to drop her into the fray on this one when she's 
that frayed to begin with.  We don't need her.  I mean, in this kitchen, we 
not only have the second finest meats and cheeses, but we've got two gods, a 
Mazoku, and an adventuress in training!  That's GOT to be enough to handle 
any situation.  If anything, a cast of wacky yet powerful characters with 
different skills lumped together against impossible odds ALWAYS works!  I 
know these things."

     "I will go along with this.  It is part of my vengeance on Sairaag," 
Zoamel agreed.  "But I will express doubts now.  We must not be headstrong.  
Outthinking an enemy in a superior position is the key to victory--"

     Lina jumped off the counter, adjusting her cape.  "I don't think," Lina 
said flatly.  "In general, I don't bother to think things through.  It's 
true, I'll admit it.  But I'm a girl of action, that's just how I approach 
situations.  If I'm really going to play this god card to hilt, I've got to 
have faith in MYSELF to roll with it and come out clean in the end.  So, I'm 
going to go to bed, catch a little sleep so I can help out the magic circles, 
and tomorrow after a hearty breakfast we'll make our move."

     "Three cheers for Lina Inverse!" Xelloss shouted, hopping up and down in 
a purple and black cheerleader's costume and waving pom poms.  "Give me an L!  
Give me an I!  Give me an N!  Give me an A!  Lina!  Lina!  If she can't do 
it, no one can!  GOOOOOO TEAM!!  YAAAAY!"

     ....and everybody just STARED.

     "What?" Xelloss asked, pursing his lips cutely.
 
     "I don't know if I'll be ABLE to sleep tonight after that," Lina 
grumbled.  "Gonna give me nightmares."

                                    [*]

     All the lights focused on as single pinpoint, a single person on the 
stage.  Hard wooden flats were under her bare feet, as she stood in front of 
millions of people, faces unseen but eyes on her harder than a hammer to 
anvil. Words seized in her throat, failing to come out.  The script was in 
her hands, but the every sentence jumped for attention, blocking and mixing 
and scrambling before her eyes...

     "Everybody's expecting you to act," Xelloss warned, sitting in the 
director's chair, off to the side.  He shouted orders through a megaphone 
made with the skin of Shaburanigdo.  "Come come, get into character.  Know 
your role.  Give me an L!"

     "What's my motivation?" Lina asked.

     Sentences jumped off the script and whirled around her head, like 
puppies in a pet shop window, each begging for love and faith.  You want to 
be human!  You want to be a god!  You want your old life back!  You want your 
true love!  You want to eat good food!  You want to save the world!  You want 
to be rich!  You want to be happy!  You want to be purged from the world!  
You don't want to exist as what you are!  You want to find out what you are!  
You aren't you!

     "This a nightmare, isn't it?" Lina asked, turning to the audience.  Her 
voice remained distant, a voice not her own, but she tried hard to focus.  
"I'm not stupid.  I can tell these things."

     "Are you sure it is?" Lina asked, sitting in the front row.  She got to 
her feet, shaking her playbill angrily.  "You're the worst Lina Inverse I've 
ever seen!  You stumble around blindly, you don't remember your lines, and 
you've made terrible mistakes!  You're just a character based on me, you 
don't exist and you never did!"

     "No talking from the peanut gallery!!" Xelloss ordered, barking at the 
audience.  "Let Lina play her part and save the world!  She was born for it.  
She was MADE to do it.  She doesn't have to like it, understand it, or even 
be conscious of it.  If you idiots hadn't woken her up, it would have 
happened naturally!"

     Pinches ran up and down her arm, but she didn't wake up.  "Okay, okay, 
I'm getting sick of this now.  Is it morning yet?"

     Zelgadis tossed a small white disc up and down in his hand.  "You won't 
wake up, Lina.  You're in our grip.  You always were.  You're misguided, 
misunderstanding and you'll never be what you actually are, so you'll never 
defeat us.  You'll never win the game."

     "Shaddup!" Lina barked.  "I don't care if you're a figment, I'm going to 
win!  I'll beat Sairaag one day, when the time is right!"

     Ace Champion sat behind him, wrapped in chains and straightjackets.  He 
had a mad grin, and a pale complexion, drained of all life.  Black lightning 
pulsed around his body as she spoke in a voice dry as paper.  "But it's true, 
Lina.  I lost my game.  You'll lose it too, because the time will never BE 
right.  All it takes is one tiny toy... then you'll know what hell actually 
is.  It's knowing exactly what you are and what you were meant to do, but 
knowing you failed to do it..."

     A popcorn box bounced off her head.  For some reason, the lightweight 
box of snacks knocked her head over heels as if someone had shot her with a 
cannon.  Blood pulsed in her head -- did she have blood anymore?  Did she 
have a head?  Her body started to break down, faith fading, faith in what, in 
what was she what did it mean to have faith in Lina, was she Lina?  It hurt 
it hurt she was going away--

     "Get off the stage, impostor!" Lina in the audience screamed.  "You're 
not Lina the Human, you're not Lina the God, you're just a mistake!  An 
errand girl sent by arrogant taskmasters!  You can't help Amelia by being 
Amelia and you know it!  Run away, go away, go into that waking sleep again 
so you never have to face yourself and what you'll have to eventually accept 
and become--"

     The nightmare snapped in half.

     A figure dropped from the lighting rig, a shadow wrapped in a hooded 
black cloak.  Lina stared, knowing this wasn't part of the show, as the 
nightmare slid apart, cut diagonally by the mental sword of this knight...

     The black knight, with a full crest of Sailoon in gold thread on his 
cloak, spread his arms as the nightmare collapsed and faded away.  In a snap 
gesture, the pale figure turned to look at Lina, with a serpentine hiss, 
before the dream ended and the sun smacked Lina right in the eyes.  The show 
was over.  Time to go to work.

                                    [*]

     Lina hated it when her own imagined demons romping in the landscape of 
her unconscious mind had a good point.

     Where was she going?  What was she doing?  Ostensibly she was looking 
for the Tooth Fairy so she could become a human.  But she wasn't a human, she 
was a god, and if she tried to pretend she was anything else she'd probably 
be dead a few times over so far during this quest.  There was an end goal, 
sure, but WHY was she going for it?

     Initially, she just wanted to get this crazy weirdness shoved aside so 
she could live a normal human life.  It was an attractive, simple option.  To 
whisk away all the mad events she'd been wrapped up in, to be Lina Inverse, 
enemy of all who live and spunky sorceress gal... but the image of herself, 
her older self, in the audience kept coming back.  This world HAD a Lina 
Inverse.  True, she had a low opinion of that Lina, but what was she if she 
wasn't who she...

     She needed a distraction to keep her from thinking about this, and one 
was provided.  As she lurched in a zombie-like sleep deprived trance, the 
delicate scent of butter slipped past her nostrils.  She floated along 
(literally, spooking the few maids left in the palace) towards the source... 
and landed in a chair at the breakfast table.

     "Lina!  Did you sleep well?" Amelia asked.

     "No, I made a few mistakes," Lina replied absently, taking up knife and 
fork.  The spread was... *magnificent*.  Baked goods of all kinds, finely 
prepared meats, pancakes and waffles in glorious golden towers of the gods... 
this was the breakfast of champions.

     Naturally, Zoamel and Xelloss weren't having any of it, so that left all 
the more for Lina and Penny to devour -- and Penny, having those Inverse 
genetics, was already putting severe damage into the meal.  Lina fought to 
keep up, figuring she could chat later, when there was less food to compete 
over...

     Ten minutes later, most of the chow was gone, and both Inverses sat back 
with contented little sighs and slightly bulging bellies.  Penny dabbed at 
her cheeks with a napkin, having a bit more table manners than the last 
generation.  "That was amazing, Amelia-sama!  Truly a meal fit for a king.  
Err, queen."

     "I had it SPECIALLY ordered!" Amelia said, with a smile.. her own plate 
having only a few pieces of toast, which she hadn't finished eating.  "I know 
how much Lina likes food, and since we didn't have an in-palace staff, I got 
one of the local restaurants to deliver this.  I order out any time we have 
guests... it's a dent in the budget, but it's worth it.  So, Lina-sama, do 
you have a plan of attack now?"

     "To tell the truth... no," Lina admitted.  "I didn't sleep real well and 
haven't had time to think about it... crazy nightmares and stuff.  You know, 
the kind where six eyed penguins toss hair curlers on you and six copies of 
your sister laugh at you?"

     "...uh... no, I don't know that kind," Amelia said.

     "Guess I'm better at handling dreams in this form than I thought, 
though," Lina said, laughing.  "Some knight in shining... well, in a big 'ol 
black cloak saved my ass right before I woke up.  I don't think Gourry wears 
that kind of stuff, right, Penn--"

     Amelia's fork clattered to the floor.  While it was only a small utensil 
and a very big floor, the noise made when her dish and glass of orange juice 
followed it was enough to attract a few funny looks.

     She clutched the tablecloth in a knuckle-white grip, having accidentally 
yanked her breakfast off the table.  Cheeks pale, and eyes trembling, she 
tried to regain royal composure, and settle in.  "Ah... ha ha... nothing.  
Well, I'm sure you'll do very well against Sairaag today, Lina!  And if you 
need ANYTHING, just let me know!!"

     "...I think I need to know why you just freaked out, actually," Lina 
said.  "Amelia, you're twitchier than a long tailed cat in a china shop 
learning new tricks or something.  What'd I say?"

     "Nothing!" Amelia replied.  "It's nothing at all!  I haven't been having 
ANY problems sleeping tonight.  The entire city is counting on.. on the 
Council, but I'm supporting the circles and I'm just fine!  You have nothing 
to fear..."

     Lina leaned closer to the queen.  "You've NEVER been a very good liar, 
you know.  Spill it.  ...we won't think any lesser of you, okay?  I know I 
couldn't pull royal rank half as well as you can, so it's no big deal to 
admit a problem.  We're friends here, right?"

     The young queen's throat seized, momentarily.  "...yes..." she managed, 
weakly.  She slumped back into her chair, tension not going away, but 
untensing for long enough to speak better. "...I was just.. you said someone 
in a black cloak stopped your nightmare, right?"

     "Gosh, I always thought you assumed the guys in the black hats were the 
bad guys, Amelia-chan," Xelloss quipped, feeling like there wasn't enough 
comic relief in the room.  Zoamel gave him a nasty glare in thanks.

     "N-no!  Not this time!" Amelia replied, quickly.  "Whenever I'm having 
a.. bad dream, this person in a Sailoon royal crested cloak saves me.  But.. 
but I just thought it was the stress getting to me.  Getting to all of us."

     The sinking feeling started right about now.

     "'All of us'?" Lina prompted.

     "The Circle Keepers," Amelia replied.  "The white mages who have 
dedicated themselves to maintaining the city's safety.  The ones who lend 
their power to the circles.  We've all feeling stress because of constantly 
keeping the circles going, but the doctors said that was normal.  Even the 
bad dreams are normal.  And I figured, I was just imagining someone in a 
cloak who hissed like a serpent to.. you know..."

     "Okay, that's enough, thanks Amelia," Lina said, taking charge.  "I know 
what's going on."

     "Oooh, Lina's going to unmask the bad guy now!" Xelloss cheered, 
clapping lightly.  "I bet it's Old Man Withers who runs the haunted amusement 
park!"

     "Xel, don't make me hurt you," Lina scowled.  She held up her wrist... 
specifically, held up the blue gem she was given the other day.  "Stop me if 
you've heard this one.  Whole group of people wears these things, linking 
themselves up to the circles Sairaag's battering at.  ALL of them start 
experiencing nightmares.  Amelia, in the past, are there any records saying 
that putting up the shields caused bad dreams?"

     "Well... no," Amelia said, trying to remember.  "No.  Not as such."

     "And I know I'VE been having no problems until I got here," Lina said.  
"Penny, you having any bad dreams?"

     "Not a one," Penny said, feeding the wandering monster table some of the 
cutlery.

     "So somehow, nightmares are coming over this link," Lina finalized.  
"Think about it, it's perfect drama.  Sairaag must have some crazy machine 
pumping bad vibes into the circles, and thus into you guys.  Undermine the 
city from within, crack the people in charge, and bust the place up when 
those circles finally give."

     Zoamel ingested Lina's theory, and found himself nodding.  "It does 
assume a great deal, but I would not be surprised if a similar tactic was 
being used by Sairaag.  It is their style to take over by subtle use of 
technology and subterfuge.  They knock your invisible means of support out 
from under you, and then claim the easy kill.  But you have no proof, Lina." 

     "A mysterious figure in a black cloak," Lina stated.  "Common in my 
dream and Amelia's.  These bracelets.  The others having nightmares when no 
one else is!  It's all too coincidental to be coincidence!  Nine times out of 
ten stuff like this is a mysterious dark plot sneaking up behind you to pull 
your underwear up over your head in a metaphysical sense!"

     "Metaphorical," Zoamel corrected.

     "What EVER.  So, we find this guy Amelia and I saw, and we either find 
the SOURCE of the problem, or an ally AGAINST the problem -- he did knock my 
dream silly in two seconds flat, and he's been bailing Amelia out as well.  
He'd be perfect to stop Sairaag!  Hah!  How do you like THAT tactical 
planning, Zoamel?  Do you doubt my mad skills now?"

     "Yes, actually, I do," Zoamel spoke, calm and restrained as ever.  "This 
is an interesting diversion, but the hard reality of the situation are the 
many guns pointed at this city.  Running around chasing shadows will not stop 
the immediate threat.  Although I am curious as to how these circles work... 
they are landmarks, yes?  Why do they need additional supports?"

     "We can worry about the wiz-biz of local mages later, okay, Zoey?" Lina 
said, dismissing him.  Zoamel's metaphy-- metaphorical feathers bristled ever 
so slightly.  "Amelia, what can you tell me about the guy in the cloak?  
Presumably he's somewhere nearby, maybe in the city, if he can walk in our 
dreams with magic."

     "There's been sightings of a sorceress at Black Widow's Peak who wears a 
cloak like that," Amelia said.

     "...well, that was easy," Lina spoke after a bit of a pause, surprised.  
"Uh, how long have you known about this connection?"

     "Awhile now.  Why?"

     "Why didn't you DO something about it?  Go pay a house call or 
something!  I mean, maybe this guy.. this whoever could have helped!  Jeez, 
Amelia, it's simple logic here, you know?"

     The queen shirked back into her less than regal kitchen chair throne.  
"I've.. I've been busy with affairs of state.  Busy.  And it's a dangerous 
peak, I mean, I DID send two men, but they got chased off by a powerful 
sorceress so I didn't want to risk anybody getting hurt and--"

     "Okay, okay," Lina interrupted.  "Everybody, you're coming with me.  We 
can get out of the shields with no problem, they're only one-way.  We'll go 
handle whoever this is and see if we can win them over to our side.  Maybe 
with enough money it can be done..."

     "I am not interested in a day trip jaunt to find a mystery man," Zoamel 
stated.  "It would take us away from the city, and give Sairaag a good 
opportunity to press the attack, possibly keeping us from returning."

     Lina gritted her teeth.  Zoamel was always a bit of a stick in the mud, 
wasn't he?  "Fine, fine.  You can stay here and chat it up with the local 
mages.  Penny, you and--"

     "I think Zoamel's right," Penny chimed.

     "You ALWAYS have to take his side, don't you?"

     "What's that supposed to mean..?" Penny asked, a bit of hostility 
growing there.

     "I thought I was the heroine here?" Lina asked, standing up.  "When we 
started out, you were all thrilled to be going around with me and learning 
from me how to be an adventuress -- and apprenticeship takes dedication and 
loyalty!  What gives?"

     "Lina, jeez!  I'm not saying I don't want to be a part of the quest or 
to help you or anything!  I'm just not sure this is the way to do it, is 
all..."

     "Who's the experienced veteran here?" Lina asked.  "Who saved you from 
bandit thugs back in Zeifelia and generally saved the day each time we--"

     "Penny was responsible for the defeat of Ace Champion," Zoamel 
interjected.

     "That's right!" Penny replied, nodding, the table sitting on her head 
bobbing along in agreement as well.  "I mean, I'm only now starting to really 
contribute to this group, and I think I should have a say here.  If you want 
to check this lead, it'd be better if we split up and have some people stay 
here, to cover our bases--" 

     "Fine!  Stay!" Lina shouted, tossing her hands up.  "Xelloss!!  Any 
objections?!"

     The Mazoku visibly sweatdropped, smile turning nervous when the Evil Red 
Eyes of Inverse turned to stare at a point six inches inside his skull.  "No 
ma'am.  Sounds like an excessively nifty plan.  Please don't hurt me."

     Lina put a grip on his shoulder that could have compressed coal into 
diamond.  "Okay!  We'll be off.  And we'll be back in no time with a powerful 
ally!  Don't bother showing us out, the window is fine.  RAYWING!"

     She unlatched one of the main windows to the dining hall, shoved it 
open, and dragged a giggly Mazoku with her off into the sky.  In moments, she 
had reached the shield, and was out.

     "...perhaps we did push her too hard the other day," Zoamel admitted, 
watching the young god leave.  "But she is acting a bit rashly.  Much like a 
young Demiurge would, given no training or guidance -- believing herself 
unstoppable and divinely right.  The power goes to your head."

     "I know how that is," Amelia spoke quietly, breaking her silence.  "I 
was just like that long ago.  You think you can really change the world, that 
you can defeat any enemy because you're in the right... and... but hey, hey, 
it's okay!" Her voice dove into an upswing.  "Everything's good.  After all, 
Lina Inverse never loses!  She's so much better at this sort of thing.  She's 
beaten the Demon King, she's stopped the destruction of the world... I just 
know she'll do very well, and save us all!  She's going to save me.  This is 
SUCH a relief..."

     Penny peered a bit at Amelia.  "Um... Amelia-san, Lina's blown up cities 
in the process of saving them sometimes.  I agree that she's pretty 
incredible, and definitely a hero, but don't you think blind optimism here is 
kind of... risky?"

     "But what could go wrong?" Amelia asked.

     The room exploded.

     

                            ------------
                            six part two
                            ------------



     She was dead.

     She had to be dead.  She couldn't feel anything, and everything was 
black.  She was almost dead once and this felt just like it -- and the same 
fear set in.  What if this is all there is?  No paradise, no hell, just a 
nothing that lasts forever and--

     When Zoamel found her under a large piece of debris, she was curled up 
in to the fetal position, and crying.  But she stopped that fast.  Don't let 
them see...

     "What happened?" Amelia asked, regaining that composure, and looking 
around...

     The hall was a mess.  The entire windowed wall had exploded, debris 
everywhere.  The ground continually shook, as if there was some kind of 
earthquake... and in the distance, directly across the view to the edge of 
the city... one of the cannons from Sairaag was calmly pumping shell after 
shell into the air, explosive clouds forming from the huge muzzle of the 
cannon.

     "We're being shot at!" Penny summarized.

     "N-noo!" Amelia blurted.  "The circles!  They stop the shells!  It's 
impossible for them to be able to shoot THROUGH--"

     The next blast tore half of the room away.  Zoamel spirited both the 
queen and the adventuress away, landing on an adjacent building roof in less 
than a second.

     From out here the damage was incredible.  Huge chunks of the royal 
palace had been torn away from the building, debris flooding the street 
below.  New parts exploded, raining dust and rock everywhere, barrage 
unending, until the cannon's roar made Amelia want to scream, scream in 
terror...

     And that was it.  Nothing else blew up, and the gun went quiet.

     A voice replaced it.  A voice that had been amplified in the peculiarly 
tinny way that Sairaag managed to project voices.  It echoed across the city, 
the city shook into silence by the attack...

     "*People of Sailoon, your attention please,*" the even tones of 
Commander Greyweirs spoke.  "*As you can see, your magical circles have been 
rendered obsolete by the superior scientific craft of Sairaag.  This 
demonstration on your useless Royal Palace was simply to awaken you to the 
reality -- the reality that you are no longer living in an age of magic.  I 
beseech the Council to participate in developing terms of surrender, so that 
we do not have to destroy your homes.  Sailoon is a proud country, and 
Sairaag salutes your heritage... but this is the new age.  You can either 
join in the celebration of the Age of Science, or be cleared to make room for 
it.  The choice is yours.  Let us end this siege.  Council, I will await your 
answer tomorrow morning.  I am sure the people trust you to make the right 
decision.  That is all.*"

     A thick, terrified silence fluttered around Sailoon.  It was quickly 
replaced by commotion.  The circles had failed, they had failed completely...

     "..z.. zelgadis..." Amelia said, eyes wide in shock.  "That was..."

     "Those BULLYING little bastards!" Penny shouted, shaking a fist at the 
cannon.  "They think they can push us around?  Blah!  If even HALF the 
stories Lina's told me about this place are true, there's no way in hell that 
Sailoon will give up its ideals so soon--"

     'it's over,' Amelia spoke.  The words were soft, but they still halted 
Penny in her tracks.

     "Huh?"

     "It's over," the queen repeated.  A weak, frightened smile spread across 
her face.  "Sailoon lost its idealism long ago.  Don't you see?  It's over.  
They didn't need me anymore.  And now they won't need Sailoon; any country 
will do.  Maybe.. maybe Zelgadis is right... he..."

     The frail woman faded, eyes fluttering shut.  Her body, strained beyond 
strain emotionally, just gave up and sank into unconsciousness.  Zoamel 
supported her very carefully in his arms, before easing her to the rooftop, 
for now.  He stood... frowning, in the way that meant he meant business, and 
someone was going to lose an appendage.

     "This will not stand," he spoke.  His hand slowly curled into a fist, as 
the words poured from him.  "This is what Sairaag desires.  They destroy you 
from inside, kill your faith, as they have done here, destroying faith in 
these people's homeland..."

     "First thing's first, Zoamel," Penny said, trying to cool the god down.  
"She needs some medical attention.  Let's get her to a hospital.  I know, and 
I agree with you.  You and I, we'll find a way to stop them.  But first she 
needs help."

     "...yes," Zoamel agreed, letting his hand go slack.  "First things 
first."

                                    [*]

     If a building code existed for proper evil castles on twisted rocky 
spires of foreboding doom, this place would serve as the floor model real 
estate agents would take young couples on tours of.

     What else could one expect from 'Black Widow's Peak'?  There was a 
'Valley of Despair' all around it, and a 'Mountain of Insanity', and the 
'Long Jagged Path Of Irritating Little Pebbles That Get In Your Boot And Give 
You Horrible Blisters'.  (Lina knew this because it had been pointed out in a 
helpful sign, near a pleasant shubbery arrangement.)

     She just wasn't expecting a 'Doorbell', and a sign reading 'Deliveries 
in the Rear'.

     "Okay, here's the plan," Lina said.  "I've gone through enough of these 
sorts of evil lairs to know how they work.  Xelloss, you go in first and 
spring all the horribly mangling man-traps that have been set in the maze 
leading to the black cloaked guy's tower.  I'll walk along behind you and try 
not to step in any puddles of your blood.  With me so far?"

     "No," Xelloss said, quite horrified.

     "Good.  Then, when we get there, I'll use you as an inhuman shield to 
absorb all her biggest spells, and then I'll pound her into submission and 
MAKE her help us defeat Sairaag with his incredible magic powers.  It's 
foolproof!  Come on, I've got to use you as a raft so we can float in the 
moat of acid and find a secret sewer entrance."

     "Here's a silly idea.  Why don't we RING THE DOORBELL?" Xelloss offered.  
"I'm sorry, but it just seems like a considerably easier way to gain access. 
It also involves a lot less gratuitous bodily harm to my person.  Please?  
Pretty please?  I'll be your best friend!"

     "They'd be EXPECTING that approach, man!  Jeez, Xelloss, you can be SO 
dense--"

     *ding dong*

     "Sorry, my finger slipped," Xelloss apologized.  "Won't happen again."

     Lina smacked her forehead.  "I swear, I can't take you ANYWHERE..."

     "Well, excuse me for not wanting to be a pincushion," Xelloss chirped, 
hands on hips in cute defiance.  "I'm not getting any younger, you know, and 
being a Mazoku doesn't exactly have the same stock value it used to.  I'd 
prefer a nice, quiet, safe entrance--"

     The 'GO AWAY' unwelcoming mat under his feet swung away, dropping him 
into a pit of spikes.  There was an unpleasant little crunching sound.

     Wincing, Lina peeked into the dark pit, trying not to see if he was 
okay.  "Xelloss?  Yoo hoo?"

     "...oh, I'm just dandy..." Xelloss weakly replied, voice floating up 
from the bottom of the trap.  "Going to take a little while to get, ah, 
unimpaled.  Better move on without me for now.  Have fun storming the 
castle!"

     "I'll never forget your noble sacrifice, Xelloss!" Lina pledged, 
pounding a fist against her chest.  "Yosh!  I'm off!  By the Mighty Iron 
Fists of Justice, this will not stand!"

     "Hammer," Xelloss corrected, from the depths of despair.

     "What?"

     "It's HAMMER of Justice.  If you're going to rip off Amelia's catch 
phrases, DO try to at least get them right, Lina-chan... oh, dear, there's 
venomous cobras in here tooghgjkkhghkkk..."

     "Hammer.  Noted.  Okay!  I'm off!"

     She kicked the doors open with her Mighty Boot, and strode brazenly into 
the gaping maw of death.  Or at least into the tastefully furnished foyer of 
death.

     Whoever owned this place clearly was rich.  Great winding twin 
staircases lead up the sides of the tower, while enormous chandeliers hung 
from the ceiling.  A full red carpet with finely woven magical symbols 
covered the base of the tower, and a few stray tables had vases with black 
roses in them... but Lina wasn't here to evaluate the place for aesthetic 
purposes, she was here to kick ass and chew beef jerky, and she was all out 
of jerky.

     "I seek the owner of this keep!" Lina announced.  "I have traveled far 
and wide for at least the last hour to get here, and demand an audience!  And 
I'm not above lowering the property values to get one!"

     All the chandeliers dimmed, the candles magically snuffing out one by 
one.  A rising dramatic dirge floated up from an unseen organ, as spotlights 
snapped on, highlighting the landing at the top of the stairs... Lina looked 
up, a little irritated by the theatrics, and wondering exactly who was...

     Well, the figure DID have on that black cloak from her dream, but she 
wasn't exactly formidable.  A fourteen year old girl with raven-black hair 
did not an allpowerful dreamwalking mage make.

     "What, that's it?" Lina asked.  "You're the one?"

     "OHOHO!  Arrogant little girl!" the arrogant little girl laughed, 
mocking Lina.  "I mock you!  Mock mock MOCK!  I will be a suitable opponent 
to eject bandit trash such as you from my home!  PREPARE YOURSELF!  
TOOOOOH!!"

     The sorceress charged a massive fireball, leaping from the staircase.  
Lina took five steps to the left to avoid the fireball, and tried not to look 
when the young girl crashed face first into the smoldering remains of the 
nice rug.

     "...ow..." she groaned.

     "Nobody's that clumsy or that stupid without being related to Amelia," 
Lina decided.

     "OOOOOOOHOHOHOOHHOOOO!  You're so naive, Lina Inverse!!"

     The TRUE owner of this gloom keep had showed her face.  Wearing a fine 
black cloak with the Sailoon royal crest in gold thread, she descended from 
the stairs using a Levitation spell, rather than a swan dive, but touched 
down with the grace and dignity of a swan...

     Lina fell over with considerably less grace and dignity when she got a 
good look at the face.

     "N-N-N-N... NAGA?!!!"

     "I see that time has not improved your bust size," Naga joked.

                                    [*]

     Penny Gabriev picked up a bomb fragment.  Normally, red hot jagged metal 
would not be a wise thing to pick up with your hands, but Penny had A) dumped 
a bucket of cold water over it and B) donned a heavy pair of gloves.  She 
knew a few things about safety around some of the riskier elements of 'the 
new age'.

     Finding the fragment amidst the rubble hadn't been easy.  There was a 
considerable amount of blasted concrete, stone, and furniture lying in the 
courtyard in front of the main palace building, the side that was pounded on 
by cannon fire.  The palace guards were too busy digging out survivors to 
help -- fortunately, the body count had only tallied up minor injuries, as 
there were few palace staffmembers around anymore.  Small miracles often were 
the best ones.

     She started dropping the tiny fragments into the cold water bucket, so 
busy that she didn't notice Zoamel's approach.

     "Amelia is resting," Zoamel said, announcing his presence.  "The family 
doctor is seeing to her at the city hospital.  The strain from her nightmares 
and today's events was just too much for her."

     "Zoamel, look around and tell me if you see anything that doesn't quite 
make sense," Penny said, still collecting fragments.

     "I see the results of the cannon attack.  It's to be expected, given the 
sort of guns we saw they had outside.  If anything, this damage is probably 
minor compared to what they are capable--"

     "All the debris is OUT HERE," Penny explained, with a sweeping arm 
gesture.  "There's almost nothing in there, aside from a few collapsed 
ceilings.  Everything blew outward, not inward.  If they were shelling the 
building from that distance, wouldn't it punch holes INTO the structure and 
knock things inward?  Some would get blasted out, but not THIS much.  There's 
even some blast damage BEHIND the building, where they weren't shooting, and 
it's not from exit wounds. This is more like--"

     "Bombs placed inside the building to begin with, rather than shells 
launched at the building," Zoamel finished.  "I've been entertaining the 
notion as well.  As far as I could tell, those magic circles around the city 
did not shut down, were not punctured and remained undisturbed during the 
attack... I've kept a feeler on them ever since Lina took that amulet.  But 
even if this is logical, it's not conclusive proof."

     "That's what I'm getting now," Penny said, dropping the last bit of 
metal into her bucket.  "I had a few classes in metallurgy and chemistry 
before I decided to be a full time adventuress.  We can figure out what sort 
of explosives these were based on the chemical residue, but I don't know 
enough to tell for sure myself... I'm going to head down to the Alchemist's 
Guild, see what experts I can dig up on short notice."

     "If we can expose this as a scheme, perhaps we can convince the Council 
not to surrender," Zoamel said.  "I got an earful of public opinion.  Ever 
since the.. demonstration this morning, people have lost faith in the circles 
protecting them.... hrhmmm."

     "Hrhmmm?  Whyfor hrhmmm?"

     "While you're checking out the bomb shell, I believe I have a lead of my 
own," Zoamel decided.  "Let's meet back here in two hours.  Amelia may be 
awake by then.  I wish Lina hadn't left, we could use someone to stay with 
the queen while we work..."

     Penny smiled, hefting the heavy bucket up a bit, as her shoulders grew 
tired.  "We really do work great together, don't we, Zoamel?"

     "Ah... I suppose so," Zoamel said.  "We have skills in differing areas 
that compliment well."

     "Huh?  Yeah, there's that.  I meant, though... umm..."

     "Yes, Penny?"

     "Let's get to work," Penny quickly said.  "Amelia's counting on us.  I'd 
LOVE to come back to her with good news for a change.  She deserves it, after 
what she's been through.  I hope Lina appreciates the hard work we're doing 
here while she gets the easy stuff!"

                                    [*]

     Lina wished she could die.

     One Naga was bad.  One Naga was enough to put her off her lunch and find 
the nearest exit.  One Naga was MORE than enough to convince her, after a 
year or two of questing with her, to go solo.  (Then she met Gourry, and the 
rest takes too long to cover...)

      THREE NAGAS was enough to drive a headache six feet into her skull, 
even if she was a god and shouldn't be getting headaches, dammit.  She 
countered the headache by chugging the apple juice offered to her as a 
'relatively honored houseguest'.  The sugar took some edge off the pain.

     Even Xelloss seemed to be frightened, but it could have just been the 
after effects of his recent encounter with the hospitality of Black Widow's 
Peak.  He'd managed to close up most of the embarrassing puncture wounds 
after being pried out of there with a large lever, but he'd still seen 
considerably better days... he managed to ignore the evil looks from the 
teenaged Naga sitting across from him, fortunately.

     Said teenaged Naga was sulking.  She'd gotten a sticky bandage or two on 
her face after her failed attempt to annihilate Lina, and didn't like it one 
bit.  "Mommy, I could have taken them!  I've studied my black magic like you 
told me to, and I can do three spells in a row before I get tired!"

     Naga the Matriarch White Serpent bounced the adorable little four month 
old Mini-Naga on her knee, while spooning it baby food.  "Now now, Gabby, I 
told you that I'm to greet all houseguests, gatecrashers, inlaws and assorted 
scum who visit the castle.  You should have been cleaning your room, anyway!  
It looks like someone cast Diem Wing in there!"

     "Goo fis fee sees!" the baby warbled, waving her cute little arms.

     "Ah... mummy told you not to say that, little Olga.  But you're so cute, 
I will forgive you!  Whoosalittlepoosypoo?  Yes you are!  Yes you are!"

      "Goooeeooo!" Olga cheered, spitting up applesauce.

     "Oh, but I'm ignoring my guest!" Naga realized.  "It is SO good to see 
you after all these years, Lina.  I'd love to know what spell you found to 
stay eternally young... not that I've aged badly.  I'm still five times 
larger than you are where it counts!  OOHOHOHOOOOHOOO!"

     "Kill me," Lina whispered to Xelloss.  "Just kill me now."

     "But I AM curious," Naga continued, "As to the reason for your little 
visit.  We don't get many visitors to the castle aside from the occasional 
person selling magazine subscriptions, and they usually entertain the moat 
beast before leaving.  Are you here to catch up on old times?"

     Lina couldn't take it anymore.  "WHO did you trick into helping you 
spawn these.. various incarnations of you, Naga?!"

     "Oh, you mean Earl, my good husband," Naga said.  "Earl?  Burt?  Gabby 
dear, what's his name again?'

     "It's Peter, mum."

     "Yes, Peter.  Good man.  Does the dishes and makes sure the cat stays 
fed.  I met him shortly before we had little Gabby-chan there, he's been 
quite an obedient husband.  Although he DID throw his back out while we were 
conceiving Little Olga and is resting up at my inlaws right now, or I'd 
introduce you to him."

     Lina muttered a quiet prayer for Peter, wherever he was, and rolled 
right along.  "Naga... I know you've been doing some funky dream magic up 
here.  You walked INTO my nightmare last night, for starters!  What are you 
up to?"

     "Oh, that was you?" Naga asked.  "I thought I got sidetracked into one 
of the palace servants--"

     "What were you doing there in the first place?!"

     "It's quite simple, really.  Gabby-chan wets the bed some nights--"

     "MOTHER!!"

     "--and I've taken to dreamwalking while I sleep using an ancient family 
technique in order to help quell her bad dreams before she ruins another 
mattress," Naga continued.

     "That doesn't explain how you ended up in my dream."

     "Oh, that.  Well, I tend to wander," Naga explained.  "You know, here 
and there.  To Sailoon, mostly.  I don't go into the city itself in person, 
but it helps to stay abreast of current events."

     "There's certainly a lot of breast to keep current," Xelloss quipped, 
before getting a chair to the head courtesy of Gabby.

     "Manners, Gabby, manners," Naga reminded.

     "You've been helping Amelia out, haven't you?" Lina asked, leaning in 
closer, moving for the kill.  "I recognize the crest on your cloak now.  It's 
a ROYAL crest.  And your daughter there did a patented Amelia nose dive of 
justice... I'd suspected it for awhile, when we were travelling, but.. YOU 
are Princess Gracia ul Naga Sailoon, aren't you?!"

     "No," Naga said, voice dropping sixty degrees in temperature.  "My name 
is Naga the White Serpent.  I've renounced ANY claim to the throne or my 
family lineage.  I have nothing to do with the palace anymore."

     "You're still helping Amelia."

     "And why not?" Naga asked.  "I helped you, didn't I?  I help out where I 
can.  It's in my power, and I feel like it, so I do.  It goes no farther than 
that.  Lina... my family is insane."

     "Yes, I know.  I traveled with you for a year, remember?  And Amelia for 
years after that--"

     "I'm serious here!  They are quite barking mad," Naga insulted.. but 
never getting angry enough to disturb Olga.  "Did you know that of all the 
neighboring kingdoms, Sailoon's throne has the highest turnover rate?  
Regicide is practically a cash crop!  Princes feuding for the throne, 
princesses competing with each other for good husbands that can lead them to 
power... and if you know who I am, then you know what happened to my mother."

     Lina thought back.  Amelia had told her, once, but... no, there it was.  
She had no problems remembering when she remembered her brain was more the 
idea of a brain given wings of faith rather than a lump of gray matter.  "She 
was assassinated..."

     "Just as father has been," Naga added... then paused.  She shook it off, 
and continued.  "I have no interest in a throne that has been contested in 
blood time and time again.  The Council's no better, with the same amount of 
political backstabbing.  When you get down to it, father's ideals of justice 
were... ridiculous.  Nobody believed in them except a few hopeless fools in 
the population.  The night after mother's death... I took her costume, and 
left to find my OWN fortune.  Not one handed to me.  So no, I have nothing 
more to do with the family, not even Amelia.  What you saw was.. a lucky 
coincidence, I suppose.  Now.  Is that all you came to learn, Lina Inverse?"

     "The nightmares are being caused by the siege party," Lina said, 
dropping all cards on the table and hoping this would work.  "It's linked 
somehow to the shields around Sailoon.  Sairaag is driving your sister to the 
brink of mental collapse, Naga.  I saw you defeat my nightmare, likely 
generated the same way, with ridiculous ease.  I was HOPING that I could 
convince you to fight with us against them, to break the hold they have on 
the ones supporting the circles.  That you'd help us save your sister.  But I 
guess you don't care about that now, since you were expecting her to die 
anyway.  C'mon, Xelloss, no reason to stay any longer.  She's made up her 
mind to support Sairaag."

     "Oh, good," Xelloss said, weakly pulling himself up off the floor.  "I 
could use a nice cold shower and some warm tea, myself..."

     "EXCUSE me, Lina," Naga spoke, setting Olga back in her nearby crib.  
"But I don't recall ever saying I supported those ridiculous people from 
Sairaag--"

     "But you do," Lina broke in with.  "Because you know what's going to 
happen?  Your sister will crack eventually, and the circles will stop 
working.  Then they'll take over.  And you better believe they won't want any 
royal bloodline interfering in their 'new age' -- they prefer indecisive 
political Councils to a strong single leader.  So that not only means they'll 
have to subvert or eliminate Amelia, but they'll have to do the same to 
you... and your whole family.  You're all the same bloodline whether you 
admit it or not.  Maybe you don't approve of what your family's done in the 
past, but I can't believe you'd be willing to drop your sister, yourself and 
your children into that particular situation..."

     Naga narrowed her eyes like a coiled serpent observing her prey, or a 
mother eagle protecting her hatchlings, or a Naga that thinks it's being 
played as a fool.  "You're trying to play me as a fool, Lina.  Speculating 
and making speeches in hopes of me aiding you--"

     "Trying to convince you, sure, I'll freely admit that," Lina said.  "You 
can't argue with logic, Naga.  Sitting back and saying it's not your problem 
is not how change happens, not change for the better.  ...listen.  You're 
wondering why I'm so young, aren't you?"

     "The thought had crossed my mind a few times, yes...."

     Lina settled in.  This would take time.  "Then I'll tell you.  It'll be 
a tale crazier than any quest we went on together, but you know I only lie to 
knock down shopkeeper prices or hassle the bad guys.  It's a story about gods 
and monsters and the biggest monster squatting right now in Sairaag... but 
most importantly, it's also about the OTHER Lina Inverse... the one who's 
thinking the same way you are now.  Then maybe you'll understand..."

                                    [*]

     The country of Sailoon has a capital city (also called Sailoon; not very 
imaginative, admittedly) and that city is inscribed in a series of magical 
circles.  In the center of those circles is the main palace, but in the 
center of the palace is a simple dome, a building that rests at the very core 
of Sailoon itself.  It's easy to find, if you know a little geometry and are 
good with a compass, and Zoamel had no problems finding it.  Because he 
wasn't just following a hunch.

     He was following a scent.  It was a familiar power, although in a blend 
he wasn't wholly familiar with.  It connected the circles to this place, but 
connected other things as well...

     But speculation could wait.  Answers were more important than 
conjecture.  So, while Penny did her scientific research, Zoamel Gustav did a 
little magical research.

     Inside the dome, he found what he was expecting; a large statue at the 
very center of Sailoon.  It was a fairly stylized marble symbol meant to 
represent the Dragon King Ceipheed, heart of white magic, bitter enemy of the 
Dark Lord Shaburanigdo.  In truth, they got the nose wrong, but Zoamel wasn't 
here to be an art critic.

     Twelve sorceresses of the white variety stood at clock-points around the 
statue, clearly feeding it white magic energies with baubles similar to the 
one Amelia gave to Lina.  Zoamel didn't wish to interrupt their prayer, so 
instead, he felt for those connections he was sensing...

     There.

     All twelve were connected by lines to the statue, but they ended INSIDE 
the statue itself.  Zoamel probed the stonework, past the Ceipheed-disguise 
this being wore, and found what he truly sought.

     'Hello,' he spoke, on a level only the gods can understand.

     The magic circles surrounding Sailoon quivered slightly.  The white 
magic guild looked up in alarm, but Zoamel soothed the circles quickly, 
assuring them he meant no harm at all and just wanted to talk, which was a 
simple thought-gesture for one who was used to communicating by imagination 
itself...

     The circles didn't speak human language, so translation was spotty at 
best, but the dialogue went as thus.

%    'I didn't mean to scare you.  Terribly sorry.  I am like you... I am 
Demiurge as well,' Zoamel said.  'I felt your links... to these twelve who 
support you, from your Queen and a friend of mine, and even from the 
population itself.  The links of faith that keep you strong.  I followed them 
here.'

     [faith weak circumstances unknown blind information rectify], the walls 
spoke, from the central focus inside the statue.

     'There was an attack,' Zoamel explained.  'Humans tricked your believers 
into thinking you had failed them.  They are losing faith in you, aren't 
they?'

     [hurting tired no faith no warmth need help want protect faithful want 
save want keep out enemy please help sworn protect Sailoon bloodline hundred 
generations help hurting please rectify]

     'I understand, I understand.  My friends and I will aid you.  We are 
working to restore the faith your believers held.  Is there anything.. more 
immediate I can do for you, until we succeed?'

     [stop dreams wall filter not good stop Sailoon bloodline hurting stop 
find lost bloodline lost one help bloodline many time help again comprehend]

     Zoamel took a step back.  'Lost one...?'  He thought in terms of 
geography, in terms of things this unusual Demiurge would understand.  'The 
one in the mountain five miles from westward wall gateway?'

     [positive]

     The elder god allowed a smile.  'It seems Lina's impulsive behavior will 
help after all, rather than waste time.  Do not fear.  My companion has 
departed this very morning to seek the one you talk about.  The lost one will 
join your cause.'  Or likely suffer a few broken bones until he or she 
submits to Lina's will, he didn't add.

     Still, the situation sparked a bit of pleasure at the irony of it all.  
It was exactly as Xelloss explained; Lina's brash action got them entrance to 
the city and a place of honor with the city guard.  It wasn't her intention, 
and her methods were questionable, but they worked all the same.  Now she had 
run off on some side quest Zoamel had thought to be a childish waste of 
time... and which would end up bringing exactly the right tool to the job at 
hand.

    That was Lina Inverse, distilled to the most mystical core she possessed 
in mortal life; the ability to get shoved to the wall, with almost no 
planning and resources, and still come out on top through phenomenal luck and 
gut reactions.

    It was philosophically intriguing, but Zoamel wasn't going to rely on 
luck alone.  The way he saw it: the moment you ease back, relying wholly on 
your good fortune and taking a callous attitude towards risk, your luck WILL 
fail on you.  No -- he would continue as planned, just as Penny was, and 
eventually all points would converge on a solution... or possibly a situation 
even worse than the current situation.  But that would be dealt with in time.  
The here and now was more important.

     Zoamel allowed a small amount of his own faith to flow from his godself 
to the walls.  A show of support, a tiny dose of strength.  It wasn't much; 
he didn't command thousands of believers anymore, and knew he would have to 
conserve... especially if things were about to get quite hot in Sailoon.

     'Rest assured,' he spoke, soothing.  'The ones who have done this will 
pay.  We will see to it.  Or die trying.  I am bound by my faithful, and the 
enemy of my enemy is now my ally.  We work together.'

     [agreed.]

                                    [*]

     Penny Gabriev walked the street of Sailoon, expecting some tension and 
unrest.  The city WAS technically under siege by a few hulking monstrosities 
outside, after all.  But she wasn't expecting this level of tension.

     The whole city seemed near the verge of spiritual collapse.  No 
conversation was held outside of a hushed tone, and groups convened in small 
clusters... under pretenses of carrying on regular activity, like buying 
apples or negotiating the repairs to a wagon or getting a dinner order.  But 
only one topic was open for discussion -- surrender.

     The Council had convened immediately on hearing the declaration this 
morning.  Rumor had it they were favoring giving up; clearly the magical 
shields had failed miserably, and that meant they had no force left to 
resist.  There were no rallying cries to the noble banner of Sailoon, no 
'when I was your age, we didn't surrender to every namby pamby army that 
pushed us around'.  The population, already weak from the siege, was ready to 
fold and either deal with the new regime or resettle elsewhere.  There were 
even more hushed talks about nightmares people had been having, but these 
were silenced quickly... as if nobody wanted to acknowledge they could be 
weakening that much.

      Penny held her silence.  She wasn't going to go spreading rumors about 
the evidence she'd found.  Rumors were what was feeding this crowd now, 
whipping them up into a paranoid frenzy, and adding a rumor that there may be 
hope into the mix would make it lose credibility.  The better strategy would 
be to find hard evidence, locate the perp punk who did this, and bust them 
publicly...

      She almost stumbled two steps after that thought, but recovered.  She 
was doing strategic planning, wasn't she?

      It was enough to give her a smile in this atmosphere of pressure and 
despair.  Maybe she'd be forced into a silly dress and almost brainwashed, 
but she'd realized one very important thing out of her run-in with Ace 
Champion: she actually COULD think for herself.  This wasn't Lina's plan, or 
even Zoamel's.  It was hers and hers alone.  Admittedly, the others were 
HELPING... which kind of made her the leader of the team, didn't it?

      She didn't realize she was whistling cheerfully while skipping down the 
street like a little girl until some of the hopeless, exhausted eyes of the 
population started to stare at her.  She quickly cut that act out and got on 
with business, embarrassed.

      Finding an alchemist hadn't been hard.  Her little group (HER group, 
maybe?) had an enormous amount of respect with the city guard after the stunt 
Lina pulled the other day.  Hence, the captain was quite helpful in pointing 
out the address of a travelling alchemist who was staying in town; one who 
had set up shop under Council contract specifically to help find a way to 
defeat the siege machines.  TECHNICALLY she was supposed to go get the 
Council's approval before she diverted him from his work, but TECHNICALLY she 
had Amelia's royal support and Amelia still was above the council in name if 
not fact and TECHNICALLY she didn't actually give a flying.. a flying... 
well, something very nasty, indeed.

     Penny walked up to the small government issue cottage, which had already 
seen some fire damage from the day's first alchemiac experimentation, and 
knocked on the door.  It crumbled into a small pile of ash from the impact, 
which she took as an open invitation to make herself at home.

     "Hello??" she asked, leaning in and looking around.  "Is anybody here?"

     "...daft idiot!" the alchemist shouted, before whapping his pupil over 
the head with the Staff of Educational Enlightenment.  "How many times do I 
have to tell you about mixing the elementals?  You always put the bottled 
lightning magic into the diffuser BEFORE dropping it in the pot with the 
sulphurous dioxide!  A child of five would understand that!!"

     "Ow," the student replied in absolute respect for his teacher and 
humility.

     Penny approached, looking at the paper in her hand -- this WAS the right 
address, she hoped.  "Excuse me-- YOU!?"

     "YOU?!" Lord Noisemaker the Alchemist exclaimed.

     "ME!!?!" Penny shouted.  Paused.  "Ah, I mean, yes.  Me.  Hi!  Uh... 
before you ask, I left Table-chan with Amelia and no, you can't have him 
back--"

     "I've got more pressing problems to worry about than that," the old man 
grumbled, sitting his tired bones down in a government issue entirely too 
uncomfortable chair.  "Speak your peace and leave, miss.  I've got a fat 
scientific grant I'm not going to get if I can't save this blasted city by 
dawn and I need time to work on my superexplosive compound.  What I wouldn't 
give for a standard issue Deathtrap Construction Kit With Retractable 
Springloaded Orthagonally Launched Magical Warheads, but NO, they won't 
spring for something as basic as--"

     "I've got what you need to save the city," Penny said simply, to cut 
through the man's tirade.  She fished around in her bag, looking for her 
evidence.

     "Oh, you do?  Pull the other one, it's got bells on."

     Penny turned red.  "What?!"

     "It's not what you think," the younger assistant said, already too 
familiar with his master's little social problems.

     "Lass, miracle fixes to life's problems don't just miraculously wander 
in through the door in the final hour while being presented by your old 
enemies," Lord Noisemaker said, removing his spectacles and cleaning them on 
his soot-and-grease covered apron.  "So permit me to be a little skeptical 
about your claim.  If you've got some miracle in that sack of yours, I'll eat 
my beard."

     Penny presented him with the bomb fragments.

     "Salt, master?" the apprentice asked, holding up a shaker.

                                    [*]

     "...and that's the whole story," Lina finished with a croak.  She dove 
for the pitcher of lemonade, snatching it away from the marched Mazoku before 
he could have a glass, and chugged it.  Explaining your life's history tended 
to dry out one's throat.

     Naga was speechless.  An expert in reading faces, such as a master poker 
player, would be able to hear her reaction loud as a bell : a contemporary 
blend of doubt jazzed up with a little common-knowledge of Lina's typical 
modus operandi and a zesty splash of knowledge pertaining to magical and 
religious legends.  The whole rockin' affair went into a guitar solo of 
understanding and finished with an encore of rock solid comprehension.

     "Interesting," she said in actual words.

     "It's all true, swear to Myself," Lina declared.

     "So the Lina I know of... is in her hometown pushing spells on buyers," 
Naga stated.  "I always knew you... she had a good sense for business.  
Although I of course was ALWAYS the superior Achiever of Bargains!"

     "AND she's not lifting a finger," Lina continued, getting to the point.  
"She's sitting back and ignoring things.  Just like you are.  And look at me; 
I could have just... sunk back into that weird sleep, and not taken an active 
role in my life.  Nobody would even have noticed, but that's not ME.  I don't 
do that, and I know you don't either!  Come ON, Naga!  Even putting aside the 
long-term problem this causes for your.. scarily identical children, you 
WON'T sit back while Amelia's suffering and your home town is gonna get 
plowed into the dirt.  You believe in actions, not words!.... okay, words 
too, and those awful laughs, but actions above all!  I've SEEN you act 
without the slightest thought before!"

     "Thank you," Naga spoke, with added Ice and Nastiness.

     "You've been helping Amelia," Lina pointed out.  "Don't you think at 
least a PART of you wants to save her from this?  Just let go of your dislike 
of your family.  Amelia's all the family you have left outside of this 
castle!  You have to make a stand!  You have to do what's right!  In the name 
of justice, you must punish the bad guys and SAVE THE DAY!....."

     Then Lina realized she was standing on the table and posing 
dramatically.  Xelloss had already unfolded a cheap paper backdrop of the 
glorious rising sun behind her.

     Naga's eyelid twitched.  "...that is frighteningly familiar," she 
admitted.  Her voice was softer than the harsh tones she used to condemn her 
family, and slightly rattled from the display.  "And it does take me back.  
Little sister... she was always the idealistic one.  But she truly BELIEVED 
in what she espoused, I will give her that..."

     Lina hopped off the table, but not before frying Xelloss's stage props 
with a tiny fireball.  "So what do you say, Naga?"

     "Don't be a wuss, mom!" Gabby interjected.

     Naga snapped.  "Gabby!  What did I tell you about insulting people?!"

     "...I'm sorry, mum," Gabby said, meekly.  "I meant, 'Don't be a yellow 
bellied sand crawling cowardly little dog unworthy of licking the dirt off my 
knee high leather boots, you sad little spineless being.'"

     "That's better!" Naga approved, wholeheartedly.  She stood, rising to 
her feet, adding a bit of Looming to the equation for good measure as she 
placed one self-assured hand on her hip.  "Always assert your superiority in 
creative ways!  That is what the royal family of Sailoon is about; never 
surrendering our inferior enemies!  Amelia has faltered, and I, Gra-- Naga 
must save the tradition.  Yes, Lina, I will take you up on this offer.  I 
will link my dreamwalking spell to you and your friend here whose hair is on 
fire, and tonight, we will CRUSH the Sairaag nightmare-machines like so many 
insignificant little ants!!!  OOOOOHOHOHOHOHHOOHOOO!!"

     Gabby got to her feet, striking an identical pose, laughing into the 
back of her hand.  "OOOOHOOHOHHOOHHOOHOOO!!  Nobody defeats the White Serpent 
Clan of Sailoon!"

     "oohohoohoohoho," a little voice gurgled from the crib.

     OOMPH, went Lina's face on the floor.

     "Oh my," Xelloss added.

                                    [*]

     The Instrument, as Lord Noisemaker had dubbed it, was some bizarre 
combination of mechanically rotated lenses, a small steam driven engine and 
luminescent gas lamp for lighting (with a magical fuel source to provide the 
heat) and a series of browned filters designed to produce coffee on the fly.

     "Alchemy's sort of a twenty four hour a day thing," the young assistant 
was explaining to Penny, while the master did his work.  He drew two more 
cards from the deck.  "Call."

     "Four of a kind," Penny announced, spreading her hand.

     "Damn.  Anyway, we've been at this just for a few days... basically 
since we left Darata.  Master says the contract is good exposition."

     Bonk.  "EXPOSURE, you nitwit!  Get the big words right."

     "Does him hitting you like that really help you become more 
enlightened?" Penny asked, curious.

     The young sir rubbed his sore head.  "No--"  Bonk.  "Yes.  Yes, it does, 
I mean.  Anyway, Lord Noisemaker here is trying to promote the idea of 
thaumatological science, a sort of 'scientific study of magic', and if we can 
get this contract money it'll help spread.  Right, master?"

     "For once in your miserable life... yes," the master replied, eyes not 
leaving the scopes of his Instrument.  He rotated a few more lenses in and 
sipped his coffee.  "If it weren't for the mechanical purists of Sairaag or 
some of the magical purists in Zeifelia, we'd be making better progress.  
...you understand, young lady, what with the fees and expenses involved in 
this chemical analysis, I'm afraid we can't impart any of our contract money 
to you as a reward--"

     "We're not in it for the money," Penny explained, smiling.  "We just 
want to see justice done and stuff."

     "I'm not finding anything unusual about this fragment, child," the 
Master said, frowning.  "This could have been from a hand-held bomb, or it 
could have been from the cannons.  The metal grade is the same cheap material 
Sairaag usually employs for munitions.  Bah!  Pure burning powder will never 
defeat the enemy the same way as a black magic-charged nitrous compound--"

     "Shouldn't we be applying our science to peacetime efforts, Master?  
You're always raving about deathtrap this and explosive that and--"

     "IMPUDENT!"

     This time, the student ducked and the Staff of Enlightenment missed him 
completely.  It went WHOOSH right over his head, before striking against the 
floor stones with a satisfying clacking sound.

     And a HUGE GRIN burst out across Lord Noisemaker's face.

     "Lad... you are now officially enlightened!" he said.  "Oh, how I've 
waited for this day!  Whole bloody point of the Staff of Enlightenment is to 
figure out that the SMART thing to do is not to get hit by it!  I always knew 
you were slow, but you'd catch on eventually.  Perhaps NOW you're worthy of 
the higher learnings!"

     "..." was the boy's reply.  His face lit up like the halogen bulb in the 
Instrument.  "Golly!"

     Penny made a mental note to just teach HERSELF thaumatological science 
one day and continued.  "Maybe you can't tell from the type of metal, but are 
there any residues?  Anything trace?  Fingerprints, or something...?"

     "There's an unusually high level of calcium," Lord Noisemaker explained, 
ignoring his radiantly gleeful subordinate for now.  "I'll admit, that's a 
little odd, but I figured it for a chemical transformation after the fact. 
...although there's also some specks of flour burned into the metal itself.  
And bread crumbs."

     "...didn't you just say you didn't find anything unusual?" Penny asked, 
incredulous.

     "Ah... well, I was eating breakfast near the Instrument this morning," 
Lord Noisemaker admitted.  "That might've tainted the sample.  But I don't 
recall having toast, or any bread for that matter... I'm a backbacon man, 
myself.  Science takes a hearty load of protein to work properly, you know."

     "Sunny side up, please," the pupil warbled, still a bit dazed with glee.

     Penny snatched the bomb fragment out of the Instrument's tray, and 
stuffed it back in the bag.  "I think I have it," she said.  "But I need to 
do a little more investigation.  Sir, I'll let you know when I've got 
definitive proof... or if my hunch is right, a suspect!  Thanks for all your 
help!"

     "A suspect?  But we've hardly discovered anything!"

     "I know enough now," Penny said, smiling.  "More than enough."

                                    [*]

     Amelia huddled in the corner of the room.  Her bed was pushed up against 
the wall, away from the light of the setting sun, but she didn't lie down; 
she didn't want to lie down, she didn't want to risk falling asleep.  The 
nightmares were bad enough, even after fainting from the shock of Zelgadis's 
announcement... no more.  She couldn't face them again.

     She was kept in a private room, on a guarded private ward... a holdover 
from the days when the throne was routinely tested by the sword.  But nobody 
was bothering to worry about her.  They were too worried about the dawn, 
about what it might bring.  Amelia knew what it would bring -- surrender.

     The Council would surrender.  It listened to the people, and the people 
had long since lost any idealism they had about Sailoon... just as she had.  
But it still hurt.  Her home, her birthplace, the nation once so proud would 
be no more than a Sairaag puppet tomorrow.  Assuming she wasn't put to death 
to 'make way for the new age'...

     Zelgadis walked into the room, seemingly stepping out of thin shadow.

     She immediately screamed for help, the surprise and shock making her 
fear snap into full blown terror.

     "Please, Amelia, you don't have to yell," Zelgadis spoke, putting his 
hands in the pockets of his military issue uniform.  "It won't do any good, 
anyway.  We've silenced the room."

     The young queen pressed herself deeper into the corner of the room, 
sweat running down her neck.  She couldn't FEEL any shielding magics against 
sound.  "S-Silenced?  But that's impossible!"

     "I think you'll find -- as I have -- that technology makes the 
impossible possible.  It's a miracle, a man-made miracle.  But don't be 
afraid.  I simply want to talk," Zelgadis said.  "Besides, I'm not really 
here.  This is a projection of light, being shot through your window.  The 
technology for communication Sairaag has developed is quite revolutionary.  
If you don't believe me..."

     Zelgadis two a few steps forward, and waved his arm... through a nearby 
chair.  The image blurred and shadowed out when it reached an area blocked 
from the setting sunlight.

     Being addressed by a specter was no less frightening.  "What did you w-
want to talk about?"

     "About us, of course," Zelgadis said softly.  "We know each other, 
Amelia.  It has been some time, but I'm still the same man you knew.  I stand 
for what's right and just, and I don't wish to harm you or anyone in this 
city.  But I'm also a man of duty, as you know.  I came to plead with you, 
actually.  To plead with you for your life."

     "..." Amelia said, softening slightly.  The exhaustion was setting in, 
now that the initial adrenaline rush had left.  "...my life?"

     "Your Council has already approached us for surrender," Zelgadis said.  
"I finished coming to terms with them not ten minutes ago.  Your people are 
ready to end this pointless siege, and enter the world civilization.  But you 
still have some small measure of final say in such circumstances, it seems.  
Until you sign the papers, we can't make it official.  I know you treasure 
your country... and it's a wonderful country, I agree.  But you have to 
listen to REASON, Amelia.  This is the only way to ensure Sailoon continues 
to exist and thrive in the new age of man."

     Amelia fell silent.  She knew it was an eventuality.  She knew she'd 
sign it, no matter how many tears she had to choke back.  But SAYING the 
words, saying them even to an old friend... the tone of voice, the soothing 
one he used when he occasionally let slip how he really felt...

     "We've got some final changes to make to the papers," Zelgadis 
explained.  "They will be ready at dawn for your signature.  I want you by my 
side, Amelia.  By the side of Sairaag.  It's for the best.  There may need to 
be some small changes in how Sailoon works, to integrate better into the 
future of society, but you don't have to worry about that.  Let your Council 
worry for you.  That's why you set it up, didn't you?  To take the pressure 
off your throne?"

     "...it's for the people," Amelia squeaked, a company line.

     "Yes, for them, too.  But I understand perfectly.  I know about what 
happened to you, the day before you signed the Council's existence into law.  
It will never happen again.  Sairaag will be your ally, and you'll wear the 
finest regal wear, and be able to support your people as a figurehead and 
never need to lose your smile again.  Trust me.  I know what's best for you.  
You do trust me, don't you?  I'm your 'Zelgadis-sama', after all..."

     She didn't nod.  She wanted to, to agree and sigh in relief and go to 
sleep, to know it'd all be better and she wasn't in danger, and she wouldn't 
have to make mistakes and wouldn't have to be hurt but...

     Something stopped her.  It rose to her lips unbidden.

     "...I love my home," she said.  "I don't want to lose it..."

     "It's time you grew up, Amelia," Zelgadis said, his voice tone dropping 
into a more hostile area.  "Everybody leaves home eventually.  You'd better 
decide what means more to you; your life and the lives of everybody you know 
or some sort of archaic patriotic pride that YOUR regime has all but 
destroyed in your country.  I will see you at dawn.  I trust you to do what's 
right.  If not... you know I am a man of duty.  I will carry my duty out to 
the fullest."

     The image faded.  And so did the tiny flicker of a flame that had 
started to grow in Amelia's heart.  She tucked her head between her knees, 
and rocked slowly, waiting for this nightmare to be over.  Waiting to sleep 
forever...

                                    [*]

     All things considered, it had been going quite well.

     Naga had agreed to help, which is what Lina came here for in the first 
place.  They'd go into dreams, knock out whatever was causing the nightmares 
that were destabilizing the circle-support mages, and then give Sairaag the 
'ol one finger salute for a job well done!

     Lina had rolled on a wave all the way to this, a guest bedroom at Black 
Widow's Peak.  A wave of acting without thinking too hard about it.  She knew 
that's how she worked best... but now there was no acting to be done, in the 
hours before the attack.  Just time to rest, get prepared mentally, and go to 
sleep to face the battle.

     And she couldn't sleep.  She knew the deadline, nine o'clock, was when 
Naga would start off with or without her.  She knew she wasn't human and 
could do anything she wanted, and could sleep on and off like a light switch.  
And she still couldn't sleep.

     Lina rolled over in bed, hoping that maybe her left side would work 
better than her right, and came face to face with the smiling Mazoku under 
her covers.

     "Hello, dear!" Xelloss chimed before Lina punched him in the eye and 
punted him into a wall.

     "Get out of my bed, you freak!!" Lina shouted, a little vein bulging in 
her forehead.

     "...I was just wondering where you were," Xelloss said, upside down and 
slowly peeling off the wall.  He flopped to the floor, rolled, and got right 
back to his feet.  Smiling all the way.  "Naga's asleep.  She asked me to get 
you.  Do you want a glass of warm milk?  Shall I sing you a lullaby?"

     "Oh, good, a Mazoku lullaby," Lina grumbled.  "Probably involves 
disembowlments and decapitations and defenstrations..."

     "You know it already?" Xelloss asked, impressed.

     "I'll be asleep in a minute, okay?  It's not like I can switch off like 
one of those gas-lights," Lina said, pointing to the fancy Sairaag-designed 
table lamp.  "I'll join you when I'm good and ready!"

     The Mazoku scratched his chin, pouting a little as he thought it over... 
then snapped his fingers.  "Of course!  How could I be so blind?  I must be 
losing it in my old age.  You're scared, aren't you?"

     "Hey!"

     "I can smell it," Xelloss said, smiling wider.  "Mazoku are just sort of 
in tune with this sort of thing.  You've still got doubts.  Whenever you're 
alone, and not leading the wacky, eclectic group of adventurers onward 
towards victory, the doubt creeps in.  Are you doing well enough?  Are you 
true to yourself?  Are you even sure of who 'yourself' is?  Or are you just 
walking a path directly towards destruction--"

     Lina chucked the lamp at Xelloss.  He ducked it, not wanting to pry 
glass out of his face.

     "I am not 'scared', thank you very much!!" Lina protested.

     "It's no use lying, Lina.  I know.  But it's okay!  If there's any one 
human emotion I understand, it's fear," he said, less jovially mocking and 
more serious.  "Allow me to explain.  Fear has many interpretations, but I've 
developed my own -- which, of course, is absolutely correct in all respects.  
Follow the steps.  Shaburanigdo is a Demiurge, yes?  And we Mazoku feed on 
negative emotions.  Fear.  Anger.  Despair.  We feed on faith from you 
humans."

     "I've never worshipped Shaburanigdo," Lina said, coldly.

     "Ah, but you have.  Every dark thought you have.  Every doubt, every 
uncertainty, every fantasy about how things can go wrong... that's faith, 
Lina.  Faith in your worst nightmares coming to life.  Faith that nothing 
will be good and everything right will be wrong again.  That faith powers us.  
Right now, I feel a small trickle from you, and I'll admit that it satisfies 
me on some small level.  Are you still going to deny it now, Lina Inverse?"

     Lina dryswallowed.  She wanted to smack the guy around, beat him up, 
maybe blow him up... but it was unnerving.  He read her like a book.  To show 
that vulnerability to him was UNTHINKABLE... but right now...

     "...okay, maybe I am," Lina said.  "Fine.  And yes, I don't want to go 
to sleep.  Not after the wham-bang of a nightmare I had recently.  So what's 
your proposal, Mister Evil Genius?  You got an actual plan here or did you 
just come to talk smack and make fun of me?  Because if you DID, I'm gonna--"

     "Please, please, let's be nice-nice with each other," Xelloss begged.  
"I'm in NO shape to go toe to toe with you right now.  I am here to HELP you, 
Lina.  Do you want to know the trick for going to sleep?  For 'overcoming' 
your fear?"

     "If it's the last thing you say before you walk out that door, sure."

     "It's quite simple," Xelloss said.  "Essentially... don't bother trying 
to defeat your fear.  Oh, sure, it's all sweet and wonderful in the 
storybooks when the hero overcomes that stumbling block right when he needs 
to and walks off into the sunset fearless and proud, but that's not reality.  
In reality, it's never that convenient, and fear takes a LONG time to fully 
purge from your system."

     "That doesn't sound like a solution, Xelloss."

     "Ah, but you misunderstand!  If you cannot simply destroy your fear 
right now and go to sleep, what you need to do in the meantime... is act 
anyway.  Act despite fear.  Be afraid, be very afraid, but never let fear 
stop you cold.  Humans live in linear time; they don't see the future, but 
they run at full speed into it anyway, despite fear of the unknown.  THAT is 
how you deal with fear.  So go to sleep, even if you have a nightmare, and 
let's finish this side quest.  Mmm?"

     Lina perked an eyebrow.  "'Act despite fear'?  That's it?"

     "The results speak for themselves," Xelloss said, with a wry grin (but 
which grins of his weren't wry?).  "Just go to sleep.  Straightforward, 
simple, effective.  Right now.  Just go to sleep right now.  You're a 
Demiurge, you CAN turn it off like a gas light.  I know more about 
Demiurges... and you... than you'd ever imagine."

     "...such as?"

     "Ah!  That is a--"

     Lina went to sleep so she wouldn't have to hear the rest of that.

     

                           --------------
                           six part three
                           --------------



     Nobody slept at the small Sairaag camp, after the sun had set.  They 
weren't afraid; they were just on orders not to, in case anything came up.  
But it was dead boring, and Roy had blown through three cups of coffee 
already just trying to stay awake.

     Why was he here?  These soldiers didn't need a leader, and he was no 
army commander.  They went about their business with or without him.  
Elizabeth (whose grave Roy would spit on if she were dead and not family) had 
to be punishing him... blackmailing him into menial labor, forcing him to 
heel to her.  That was always the way; if you weren't with her, you were 
gonna be with her eventually.  This was how she showed people that.  No 
surprise she was hell bent on world domination, it was the only viable 
occupation for a person like that.

     He'd sat by like a good little soldier while Zelgadis negotiated with 
the two Council members who left the protection of the circles.  He'd 
listened to their heated discussions... how they caved to every one of 
Zelgadis's demands, whenever a little sweetener was tossed into the mix.  
Some extra funds for the Sailoon government there, a tax hike here, a mansion 
on the Sairaag coast there... and the deal was done.  Now they just had to 
wait until dawn for final approval from Elizabeth.

     Zelgadis sat on the grass, sharpening/loading his gunblade, and watching 
the city.  Almost thoughtful.  Damned if HE should be allowed to be 
thoughtful and moody in silence while Roy was freaking bored, so Roy 
Balderdash interrupted the silence.

     "Think sister 'o mine will approve?" he asked.

     "The terms are agreeable," Zelgadis said, dragging the stone across his 
blade's edge.  "We honestly weren't expecting such an easy takeover to get 
what we want.  I was counting on Amelia being as clueless and thickheaded as 
ever.  She was always the dense one, when we traveled... steadfast in her 
resolve, but to the point of stubbornness.  But she buckled like a belt, and 
now it is over."

     "Beats trashing the city," Roy said, with some small relief.  "Land is 
no good for Sairaag to resettle when it's got huge glowing craters all over 
the place."

     "We're not resettling," Zelgadis said.  "We have no interest in Sailoon, 
truthfully.  Perhaps we can find a use for it now that it has been so easily 
delivered into our hands, but the only goal was to get inside the circles, 
and take the prize."

     "...you were gonna kidnap the Queen?"

     "No, you idiot," Zelgadis barked.  "You bandits always think in small 
terms.  Money or ransom to lead to money.  Getting fat and rich and stupid on 
your tiny conquests when you can't possibly fathom the greater prizes--"

     "Get to the point, Zel."

     Zelgadis glared at him.  "I am your superior officer.  Do not take that 
tone of voice with me."

     "What're you gonna do, fire me?" Roy asked, grinning.  "Go ahead.  Do me 
the favor."

     "...if you MUST know," Zelgadis continued, quite irritated, "We want the 
Demiurge.  It rests, hidden, inside a statue of Ceipheed in the center of the 
city.  We can't simply stick a disk on the wall and get a drain; it has to be 
at the core.  Once the city is weakened, it will be ours."

     "Oh, one of those things again," Roy said.  He never understood this 
weird mythological fixation of theirs, but it wasn't his place to understand.  
"At least we can take it and go without wiping the place off the face of the 
world.  Bloody hell, you should have just asked to enter or snuck in as a 
merchant and taken it!  Beats squatting around here all day next to these 
blasted guns with nothing to do."

     Idiot.  If we did that, Zelgadis thought silently, then we wouldn't 
achieve the other, lesser goal... and that was to eradicate a backwards 
nation that would eventually try to rise against Sairaag, no matter how 
demoralized they were now.  History had shown that Sailoon's bloodline ran 
unusually strong, and had to be cut off to truly kill the threat they posed.  
Specifically, cut off at the neck.

     But no need to tell Roy Balderdash that.  He was just a grunt.  Zelgadis 
dragged the stone over his blade slowly, again and again, waiting for the 
sun. 

                                    [*]

     "Here's to our new allies, Sairaag!!  May they live forever, with the 
RIGHT thinking sorts from Sailoon as their proud and noble companions!" the 
master belted out, already having a drink or two in him.  (Fortunately, he 
was in the kitchen, and the customers couldn't see him getting tipsy.)  He 
raised his wine glass in toast with his fellow workers, and downed it.

     The day couldn't have gone better.  The bombs were so easy to get into 
the palace that he almost felt ashamed of his country -- and in fact did feel 
quite ashamed that they hadn't given up this ridiculous siege and joined 
under the Sairaag banner sooner.  Soon, he'd move his place of business to 
the glorious capital of technology... steam pressure cookers... automatic 
coffee machines... powered bread slicers!  He'd be living the EASY life!

     "Master!" one of the waiters shouted, running into the kitchen.

     "Yes, what is it, Harold?"

     "It's Howard," the breathless waiter replied.  "Ah... we have a customer 
who wishes to speak with you!"

     "With me?" the head chef asked, curious.  "Why is that?  No doubt a fan 
of my fine work in the culinary arts.  By all means, let them in, let them 
in!  Welcome, welcome to the Golden Roast Side of Meat!"

     "Thank you," the unassuming looking girl said, smiling.  "I've heard a 
lot about your business.  You're on contract with the royal palace, aren't 
you?"

     "...yes, we are," the head chef said, puzzled as to the question.  "Why, 
do you wish to contract us for a catering event?  We may be changing locales 
soon, you see, and can't take up any new jobs--"

     "Actually," Penny said, "I specifically heard that you provided the 
breakfast that Amelia served to her guests today.  Your entire team brought 
it down on carts, right?"

     "What are you getting at, young lady?"

     Penny held up the bomb fragment.  "It's simple.  You hid bombs in the 
food.  Then, after serving most of it, you dumped the carts at points in the 
empty, unguarded palace and left... since you had already gotten them past 
the front gate guards, being well known as caterers to the cash-strapped 
palace kitchen.  I'll give you one chance to fess up."

     The air in the room grew so tense that you could cut it with a knife.  
Fortunately, many knives were present, such as the one that had slipped into 
the master chef's hand.

     "An interesting story," he said.  "And entirely speculative, little 
girl.  Let me add some to that.  What if, hypothetically, a young little tart 
by the name of Lina happened to completely wipe me out recently, and being 
strapped for cash, I took a payment from Sairaag to handle the bombing that 
would make it look like they'd beaten the circles?"

     "It'd make sense," Penny said, folding her hands behind her back, and 
rocking on her feet, quite happy.  "That's the part I hadn't figured out yet.  
So, are you coming quietly or do I have to get rough?"

     Snickers and chuckles rolled around the kitchen.  The chef raised his 
knife.  "And who are you, exactly, to get rough with a master of the Culinary 
Martial Arts Nine Blades Rolling Cucumber Technique?"

     "I'm an adventuress, of course!" Penny said, smiling to him.  "I seek 
fame and glory and adventure and stuff like that."

     "And where is your sword, adventuress?  Where is your armor?  A 
sorceress's cloak, perhaps?  I just see some foolish girl in a pretty skirt."

     "I left that stuff behind.  I didn't need it anymore," Penny said.  "Not 
with an intellect as sharp as mine.  And not with a nine foot tall walking 
demon god with teeth longer than that knife looming up directly behind you 
with intent of having a good meal at your restaurant."

     "Oh, PLEASE," the chef laughed, turning to look into the eyes of a nine 
foot tall walking demon god with teeth longer than his knife looming up 
directly behind him with intent of having a good meal at his restaurant.

     The customers in the main dining hall ran away after hearing what 
sounded like a herd of wild lions tearing the kitchen apart.

                                    [*]

     Lina knew she was dreaming.  She KNEW she was dreaming.  She fell asleep 
so she could dream, so she could go off on this.. particularly unusual sort 
of fight.  But that didn't make it any more comfortable.

     All around her, a thundering wave of her believers called out to her, 
asked her to do things, each pulling on her with a rope.  She instinctively 
pulled back, not wanting to be yanked this way and that, but the harder she 
resisted the worse it got.  Panic kept her rooted in one spot, fear of losing 
herself again, while pride and a sense of duty kept telling her: let go, let 
go, this is what you are... what you're feeling is just a fear of the 
unknown.  You don't really understand yet.  Let go, and you'll find out...

     It's a strange feeling, to recognize something as blatantly digging on 
your fears, and still fear it.  In a dreamlike state, despite all your best 
intentions, the simple is the horrible and the obvious is the unnerving--

     The dream split into two, sliding apart before shattering like a 
funhouse mirror.

     "If you're QUITE done, we have to be getting on," Naga warned, 
temporarily flashing to the White Serpent avatar she wore from the last 
encounter Lina had with her here.  "I'll have to feed Helga in a few hours, 
and I'd like to be home before she gets too upset.  Let's begin.  Unless 
you'd like to stay behind?  You and your little purple haired friend are not 
familiar with dreamwalking, whereas I've had years of experience practicing 
the magic."

     "Oh, I've done a little dabbling," Xelloss probably understated.  "Don't 
you worry about me, miss."

     "...I'm coming," Lina said.  "You might need backup.  Otherwise, you'd 
have taken this thing out already, wouldn't you?"

     "HAH!  The great Naga the White Serpent requires no backup. ...but 
generally, I have found the source of the waves to be unapproachable, yes," 
she admitted.  "But before we continue, I must teach you the basics.  
Everything has meaning and nothing is real.  Once you accept that, no matter 
how strong a fear reaction you experience, you can still fight.  You must cut 
through the dream with a firm belief that what you see is not what exists."

     "...act despite fear, then?" Lina summarized, finding the resonance 
strange, as she glanced at Xelloss.  "And fight with the truth?"

     "Essentially," Naga agreed.  "But there's a lot more subtlety, 
technique, and training you lack.  Let me lead the charge; clean up anything 
I miss, and if you spot something ahead, tell me.  We're going to be plowing 
through Sailoon, along the shield wall, towards the source that is using the 
circles to resonate nightmares.  It will get worse and worse as we continue 
inward, so stay back if you lose your resolve.  Understood?"

     "Let's kick some," Lina said, smacking a fist in her palm.  "No stupid 
little spookshow is gonna knock Lina Inverse out of whack.  Bring it on."

     Xelloss remained amused.  But that was normal.

                                    [*]

     The situation couldn't be better!  Zoamel had... 'encouraged' a 
confession out of the chef responsible for the bombing.  Of course, that 
meant nothing if they couldn't put it to good use... and Penny knew exactly 
how to do that.

     If the Council was dead set on surrender and likely to debate for hours 
before agreeing to change that, then there was only one person who could 
carry this revelation to the people.  Assuming Penny could convince her to do 
it.  It FELT dramatically right, like the sort of thing an Inverse would set 
up, but--

     But the sound of shattering glass from Amelia's room wasn't encouraging.  
Penny picked up the pace, shoving by the guards posted at her door (who knew 
her, and allowed it), to enter the darkened hospital room...

     Light glinted off the broken mirror shard Amelia held up, as she whirled 
to face Penny.  A tiny dot of red appeared on her neck, as she accidentally 
scratched herself in the process.

     "St-stay back!!" she shouted.  "Don't think I won't use this!"

     Penny stood her ground, but put up her arms defensively -- a peace 
gesture.  "Amelia... put it down, okay?  Please?  You don't have to do this!"

     "I have to!" she said.  "It doesn't matter!  Don't you see?  We lost!  
The city is dead!  I'm dead!  Nobody cares anymore and nobody ever cared, 
and.. and I can't face that!  No more nightmares, no more failures, no more 
disasters... they don't need me.  I set it up so they don't need me; they 
have a democracy now and I'm out of the loop.  So it won't matter if I do 
this!"

     "Your father cared," Penny said, risking the reminder.  She didn't want 
to unsettle Amelia, but if she didn't talk her down fast...

     It worked.  The hand holding the shard shook a little.  "...he cared.. 
and he was a fool!  He was killed because he cared!  Don't you get it?  
...years ago... I took the throne.  I thought I could carry on in his name, 
do him proud.  I announced to the people that this would be the era of 
justice and fairness, and Sailoon would embark on a new golden age, and, and 
... nobody cared!  There were cheers, empty cheers and everybody left without 
having actually LISTENED to me!  Father just didn't realize how little the 
people cared about his ideals... I failed.  I failed my people."

     "Is.. that why you made the Council?" Penny asked, keeping her talking.

     Amelia slumped backwards, sitting on the edge of her bed, the weapon 
nearly forgotten.  "No.  No... that was when... when I realized what the 
throne was.  It was a prize, nothing more.  ...it's a long story..."

     "I think we have time," Penny said, carefully walking over and sitting 
next to her.  She slipped the glass shard from Amelia's unresisting hand.  
"And I want to know.  It's important, Amelia-san."

     The queen let a ragged exhale out.  "Very well.  One day, I was 
travelling with the white mages to review prospective candidates for entrance 
into the guild.  While on horseback, travelling the roads... I was shot in 
the chest with an arrow, and killed.  Just like that; the whole thing took 
seconds.  But one of my companions was strong enough to cast Resurrect, and 
heal me... heal me so I could hold a trial and bring the would-be assassin to 
justice.  I still believed in justice, until then."

     "What changed your mind?"

     Amelia looked Penny, square in the eyes.  "...I put a man to death 
because he shot an arrow at me.  The assassin was a paid professional.  But 
even though I knew WHICH Duke was responsible for it, one who was trying to 
climb his way up to my throne on top of bodies, I could never PROVE it was 
him.  I can't condemn a man in the spirit of justice without proof... but the 
wrong man went to the gallows, in the end.  He may have pulled the trigger, 
which was enough for the written law, but he wasn't the evildoer.  Evil got 
away with it.  After that... I understood how unfair and unjust the throne 
was.  It only led to chaos and bloodshed, so... I signed the Council into 
being shortly after.  To take the focus away from it, and away from me, and 
how I failed, to give the people something they NEEDED..."

     "...and it didn't work," Penny filled in.  "Because, and I doubt I'm off 
the mark here, the Council is just as filled with political infighting and 
indecision, and nothing actually gets done.  It just fails to get done with 
less violence than before."

     The queen nodded, mutely.  It pained her even to acknowledge it.

     "Okay... you've told your story," Penny said.  "Now I want to tell you 
one of mine.  Is that fine?"

     Amelia seemed confused, but nodded slowly.  "...I suppose."

     "Ever since I was young, I wanted to be an adventuress," Penny started.  
"Just like my mother was, before my mother got boring.  Sword, cape, dashing 
heroics, lots of money, the whole thing.  I patterned everything I did after 
that idea I had, of the bandit-stomping power that was Lina Inverse.  My 
boyfriend mocked me, the local thugs always beat me, but I kept going despite 
all signs saying I was doing it the wrong way... and I didn't realize how 
completely wrong that way was."

     "What?"

     Penny smiled weakly.  "It wasn't until I met the REAL Lina Inverse, the 
one from my fantasies, that I figured it out.  I wasn't like her.  She's a 
lot more cynical, and a lot crazier, and larger than life than I ever could 
be or want to be.  I admired her, and I still do.  I have so much faith in 
her... but *I* can't BE her!  Everything she did overshadowed me; every plan 
I took part in was hers, and I was always the wanna-be copy of her.  Sure, I 
was adventuring, but only by shuffling from problem to problem under her 
guidance.  I didn't know how to do anything by myself and do it well.  It's a 
lot like your problem... your dream proved to be less than pleasant when it 
was reality, and you were afraid of failure... I was afraid I had failed.  
That I picked the wrong goals in life, that my boyfriend and others were 
right and my life was over... you got killed, and it cemented your view that 
it was hopeless... but I got kidnapped and it cemented my view that there was 
hope."

     "K-Kidnapped??"

     "I escaped," Penny quickly said.  "And I escaped on my OWN.  I put 
together a plan, I commanded the troops, I got it done.  I could have waited 
for Lina to rescue me, and she probably would have, but I'd forever be in 
Lina's shadow if I did that... just like you're in the shadow of Sailoon's 
problems.  Amelia... if you want to just sit by and let things go out of 
control, I won't stop you.  But if you want to take hold of this country, and 
right those wrongs you've seen and done... I think I can help."

     Amelia seemed skeptical... she still clung to despair like a starving 
man in the desert.  "...it's beyond help.  The people have no faith in me or 
their city.  Sairaag's cannons just... sealed the coffin that had been built 
for so--"

     "They didn't actually breach the circles."

     "--what?"

     "Get ready for this," Penny said, bracing her.  "It was all a trick.  A 
local chef delivered bombs to the castle with your breakfast, and they went 
off while Sairaag fired blanks.  It LOOKED like they broke the circles, but 
they never did.  They're just as locked out now as they were yesterday.  It's 
a scam, Amelia!  And my friend Zoamel HAS the proof you want, the proof you 
need to see justice be done!  The Council won't act on this... but YOU can."

     A tiny flicker sparked in Amelia's eyes. "...a scam?" she repeated, as 
it slowly sunk in.  "Sairaag deceived us...?"

     "All to demoralize your city.  To seal the coffin, as you said.  If you 
go public with--"

     "It I tell my people what happened, they'll know they've been tricked," 
Amelia said, not needing to be fed the lines anymore.  "They'll demand 
justice.  They'll realize Sailoon is STILL strong, and we can still hold our 
own against our enemies!  ...but will they rally behind me?  I'm... I'm only 
a figurehead.  A failure..."

     "It's time to turn the city around," Penny said, standing.  "If it's 
Sailoon's darkest hour, maybe it can build back up from this low.  But you 
won't know until you try.  We'll go to the belltower at the north end of the 
palace, and bring a megaphone.  State of the city address.  Are you willing, 
Queen Amelia?  I can try to do it myself, if you're still afraid, but I think 
it'd be better coming from you..."

     Amelia stood up.

     "I'm afraid, but I must do this," she said.  "It's the only chance I 
have left.  The only chance Sailoon has.  Let's go."

                                    [*]

     "Hey, Naga..."

     "Yes?"

     "You remember that time when we were captured by those trolls and 
stuffed into a cookpot with six week old cheese, various nine week old rat 
corpses, and parsley?"

     "I had successfully forgotten that, Lina.  Thank you SO much.  Why do 
you bring it up?"

     "...because THIS IS WORSE!" Lina shouted, hanging upside down over a pit 
of scorpions the size of rotweilers on anabolic steroids.  She jerked to the 
left, shaking one off her dangling cape.  "Haven't you found the lever or the 
switch or the whatever yet?!"

     "That's LEVERAGE!  And I'm looking right now," Naga said, concentrating.  
"Every nightmare has a certain breaking point.  You just have to find it and 
apply pressure of will... the more obvious ones are easier to shatter--"

     "These scorpions are starting to tickle inside my pants," Xelloss 
groaned from the bottom of the pit.  "Can we please move on?"

     "Almost... THERE!" Naga shouted. She pulled free of the chains designed 
to hold a stampeding elephant, and flicked her arm in a single glowing arc; 
the nightmare shattered, split at its weakest point, and fell away into the 
dreaming void.

     Xelloss fished a stray scorpion out of his underwear and tossed it away.  
It faded to nothingness.  "At least few people are asleep in Sailoon.  It's 
been a cakewalk so far.  Except for that time Lina imagined a huge cream-
filled pastry trying to kill us..."

     "Hey, can I help it if I have stray thoughts?" Lina asked.  "I'm new at 
this.  And NO, I'm not going to wake up!  Let's just get on with it.  Where 
to now?"

     Naga felt around in the non-air before her.  "The trail is getting 
colder.  I had always suspected there was some masking to the machine 
generating the nightmares... the closer you get, the harder it is to find.  
This could take awhile."

     "We will finish before daybreak, right?" Lina asked.

     "That depends, Lina!  This is not easy work.  It might take a few nights 
of travel to finally pinpoint the source--"

     "We don't have that long," Lina said.  "No... I don't know how I know, I 
just do, and I'm not going to question that.  We've got to get this done 
TONIGHT.  Let me help.  How do you look for this thing?"

     Naga formed a complicated chalk drawing with the flick of her mind.  
"First, you parse the pulses of fear in the back of your mind and count the 
number of seconds between waves.  Then you move to three random points and 
take new samples of the--"

     "Never mind," Lina said.  She focused her mind... and for someone unused 
to really focusing on much of anything except whatever's trying to kill you 
with a sharp object or how to maximize your dinner potential, that was no 
small feat.

     Didn't help, either.

     So, she thought about something else.  She thought about that nightmare 
she'd hit when she got here, with all her believers.  How she felt so 
connected to them, exhilarating and terrifying at the same time.  She was 
trying to cut those bonds, wasn't she?  But there was a flip side to that 
coin, something intriguing that she didn't think was frightening at all, and 
before she could see it Naga had...

     THERE!

     Just like the time she tried to feel for Ace Champion's connections, 
wandering her mind around had gotten here just where she needed to be.  There 
was a tug... there was a link to the free-floating dreams all around them, in 
Sailoon, and it came from a VERY definite direction.  No triangulation 
needed.  She could say where it was just as sure as one could say the moon 
was in the sky...

     "This way," Lina said, with a nod of her head.  "And please, just don't 
ask why.  It's this way.  But you're right; the waves are getting stronger 
closer to it, and likely harder to break.  Try to keep your minds blank so we 
can avoid any more encounters.  Thought is REAL here if you make it real, 
right, Naga?"

     A glossy magazine unfolded in the air, with a full centerfold nudie 
spread of Lina wearing bunny ears and a tail.

     "Sorry, my bad," Xelloss admitted, waving it away with a thought before 
Lina slugged him.

                                    [*]

     Lina wasn't the only Inverse applying lessons learned from Ace 
Champion's little run-in.  Elsewhere, in the waking world, Penny was juggling 
her first stint as a media producer and spectacle promoter, in a public event 
that would make the Mooki-Pokko spotlight hogger proud.

     They're gotten all of Sailoon's attention easily; a few white mages to 
kick up some light spells, pointing an arrow to the tower, did that.  A large 
crowd, most of the sleepless population of the city had formed.  The bell 
chimed, and everything was ready to go.  Lord Noisemaker was ready with a few 
colorful bar charts he'd prepared about the bomb fragment's makeup to 
convince the Council he was spending their money well.  Zoamel had their 
confessed suspect by the jugular (literally), the megaphone had been 
prepared, and now it was time for Amelia to blow the doors off this scandal 
in front of the teeming masses...

     And Amelia had stage fright.

     "I can't do it," she said.  "I thought I could but I can't.  I'm afraid.  
I'll admit it.  I'm scared to death.  They won't accept me.  Not after all 
I've done to them.  They won't believe it, and it won't work, and--"

     "Amelia?" Penny interrupted.  "Listen, I'm sympathetic, and I want to 
help you work this all out, but we really don't have time for another 
inspirational speech here.  I'm sorry.  It has to be NOW, before people 
leave.  You've even got the Council down there ready to listen -- bunch of 
guys in brown robes and wigs, right?"

     "...they're here?" Amelia asked, surprised.  "But.. they almost never 
leave the Council mansion, except when campaigning..."

     Penny leaned over the ledge, to verify.  "Yep, they're here.  I know 
you're afraid... but just do what comes naturally.  Like you would have done 
years ago, or like you remember your dad.  Okay?  And TRUST that it'll work."

     "Like father..." Amelia repeated.  She drew in a deep breath.  "I'm not 
sure they paid attention to father, Penny.  He was loved by the people, but 
respected as a leader... no.  I'll do it how I'll do it.  That will have to 
be enough."

     She curled her fingers around the megaphone handle, and began.

     The queen may have started her speech shaky, almost begging for 
attention, but when she found she DID have their attention, the rest was 
almost a matter of routine.  Almost.

     Amelia explained the deception, but not the way Penny did -- she 
enriched it with emotion.  Her fear, her loathing of the Sairaag army worked 
into her words, into the way she SAID the words... by the time Zoamel had 
prodded the master chef up to the ledge to say his piece, passing off to 
Noisemaker's brief presentation, the crowd was sold.  Completely sold.

     Except for a few.

     Someone had slipped a mechanical voice amplifier (likely donated by 
Sairaag) to the Head of the Council, an old man with a graying beard.  "This 
is preposterous!" he declared.  "I tell you, I have been to the camp of the 
Sairaag party, and I have seen their weapons.  They breached our circle!  
Your highness, I mean no disrespect to the throne, but how do we know you 
didn't just hire an actor to play your saboteur, and convince the alchemist 
to doctor evidence so he would be paid his over inflated grant?!"

     "The nerve!" Lord Noisemaker bellowed.  "By the honor of my chosen 
profession, I ought to take this Staff of Enlightenment and shove it up that 
loudmouth's--"

     "Head Councilman," Amelia said, quickly cutting off the alchemist.  
Penny could see her shaking, a subtle touch the crowd would miss, as her 
words came sure and clean despite the terror the confrontation prompted in 
her.  "Perhaps you mean no disrespect to the throne, but you are giving it in 
large amounts."

     "My queen, I hardly think--"

     "Yes, that is true.  Need I remind you MY signature must go on your 
presumed surrender papers?  Listen to me... I know I have been reduced to a 
figurehead.  I did this by my choice, and I thought I chose well... but all I 
did was take the possibility of having a strong leader and exchange it for an 
absolute of bureaucracy.  There is less risk now, but that is because nothing 
can get done!  Perhaps my reputation has fallen... but I am of Sailoon blood.  
My father dedicated his very life and death to this country, as his father 
before him and onward.  I beseech the Council.  Support me in this, and do 
not quibble in it.  I want what is best for the country.  For us to carry on 
the name Sailoon, and not the name Sairaag.  That is ALL I want."

     Steam practically rose from the Head Councilman's ears.  "It seems 
disrespect goes around quite easily, MISS Amelia.  People of Sailoon, listen 
to me!  We CANNOT stand against Sairaag.  We must adapt!  You have seen the 
damage to the palace, how can you comprehend this ridiculous..."

     A gas light went off in Penny's head, as the man ranted.  She quickly 
slipped up next to Amelia, staying hidden by the ledge, and motioned for her.  
She whispered the plan... and the queen's eyes widened.  This it was not a 
gesture of fear, simply surprise... she interrupted the politician once more.

     "If this proof is not enough, I will give you more proof," the queen 
said.  Then... she turned, to face the large cannon that was aimed directly 
at the building, from across the city.  "ZELGADIS!  I know you can hear me 
out there.  You wouldn't be a good soldier not to monitor us in these last 
few hours.  I tell you now, we WILL resist you!  If you are a truly are a man 
of duty above being my friend... then fire your guns and destroy the tower I 
stand on!"

     A wave of panic shot through the crowd.  The Councilman tried to shout a 
protest, but his megaphone died out, the machinery blown from overuse.  
Frightened voices mixed together, blended as everybody waited...

     Waited for nothing to happen.

     "What's the problem, Zelgadis-san?" Amelia called.  "Fire your guns!  
I'm saying we will resist you to the last.  I won't run anymore!  This is 
your only alternative.  Or do you not want to show that you never really 
could penetrate the walls of this city?!  I'm calling your bluff, on the 
behalf of Sailoon, and its millennia-long history of pride, and I will show 
you the error of your ways with the HAMMER OF JUSTICE!!"

     The queen posed, one leg up on the ledge, one hand pointing to the 
cannon.  Heroic.  Defiant.  Melodramatic.  The crowd ate it up like taffy.

     Fears turned to jeers, as they realized how embarrassing this had to be 
for Sairaag.  More taunting came from the population, and laughs... some of 
it directed at the Council for being proven wrong in such a bold way.  The 
day was won -- even if they were still under siege, faith in the city's 
strength had been renewed.

     Belief flowed into the circles of Sailoon like a dammed river with the 
dam blasted to harmless pebbles.  Zoamel breathed a sigh of relief, feeling 
that energy sweep from the crowd to the tiny Demiurge hiding in the statue of 
Ceipheed, and could faintly hear it's poorly worded thanks.

     "It seems to be over," he said aloud.  And immediately wished he hadn't.

                                    [*]

     "So much for that idea," Roy Balderdash said, with a shrug.  "They wised 
up.  Do we get to go home now, FINALLY, Commander Greyweirs?"

     Zelgadis stood rock still.  Which was very appropriate, considering he 
was covered in rock.  Roy peered at the boy oddly.  Did his brain snap?  
There was that shocked look on his face, like he never expected Sailoon to 
have half a brain and see through the ridiculous plan...

     No, there was motion.  A fist, slowly curling.

     "...turn the machine up to five hundred percent strength," he spoke.  
"Once enough of them are destroyed, there will be nobody left to feed the 
circles, and they will collapse.  Then, the Demiurge will be ours.  Those are 
the orders Elizabeth gave to me in case something like this were to happen."

     "What?  Whoa, whoa!" Roy protested.  "The dream machine?  First of all, 
if your techie boys are right, it was never designed to go over two fifty.  
Second, if you do that, you'll probably burn out half the people in the city, 
awake or asleep!  What's the point?  They WON, you daft twit, they called our 
bluff!  Bagging some mystical fairy is not worth geno--"

     The former bandit king found himself pinned up against the huge power 
generator for the cannons, raised a full two feet into the air in a grip of 
stone.  His breath started to stop.

     "You DO NOT UNDERSTAND," Zelgadis hissed.  "You never bothered to 
understand what this project means.  Your sister gave you a chance to see and 
you've dug your heels in, refused to look into the light every time.  This 
project is worth more than a thousand lives, more than a million!  It will 
revolutionize the world, bring it under one banner, one church, with no more 
war, no more fear... it's also everything I've ever wanted and dreamed of 
through years and years of failure and despair, a price spent in family 
blood, and I WILL NOT LET IT GO.  If I have to destroy Sailoon to get what I 
want, I will.  If I have to kill Amelia, I will!  All of you are obsolete, 
all of you have NO place my future!!  BEGONE!"

     Zelgadis hurled Roy Balderdash across the camp, into a stack of drinking 
water barrels.  The bandit cracked his head on one, too dizzy to stand, to 
resist... but not too dizzy to watch the chimera scowl in absolute contempt 
for him.  But Zelgadis wasn't the sort to stay mad and carry on the fight... 
not anymore.  He had a job to do.  So, he wiped all emotion from his face, 
walked calmly to the Nightmare Maker, and cranked the knob so hard into the 
red that it clacked against the stopper.  Then the stopper broke in half.

     "Goodbye, Ameila," he spoke.  But it was hard to tell why he said it, 
and Roy couldn't focus his thoughts any more.  He fell into blackness, with 
one final thought: a small, half-hearted prayer that Lina Inverse, if she 
really was mixed up in this mess, would save the day.

     After all, just because he was a bandit didn't mean he was an idiot.

                                    [*]

     Lina Inverse felt a funny little twinge.  Some sort of pull that--

     Not that she could feel it after the WAVE hit.  It blasted her a million 
miles away into her mind, into the darkest corners that she didn't even know 
existed, a thundering roar that she couldn't cover her ears to avoid, like an 
infinite number of mouths open to one combined scream...

     Naga plowed through the holocaust, fighting it, swiping at every 
breaking point she could find.  She yelled something at Lina, but Lina could 
barely understand until they were standing side by side.

     "...wrong!" Naga shouted.  "It's gotten more intense -- far more intense 
than it should.  The machine must have been turned up, or something.  We have 
to retreat!"

     "Whoa, no, no way!" Lina shouted right back.  "If anything, we'd better 
hurry up and whack this thing!  We have to, I can feel it.  Don't ask me how 
I know--"

     "--you just know," Xelloss finished, appearing at their side.  
"Unfortunately, this does seem to be rather a lot of power, doesn't it?  I'm 
afraid even an expert such as Naga will be unable to withstand another few 
minutes of this, and we won't be able to run away from it fast enough to 
survive.  This seems to be the end.  This is another fine mess you've gotten 
us into, Lina."

     "Impossible!!" Naga growled, shattering every wave that approached.  
"Naga the White Serpent never admits defeat!  If I go down, I will go down 
fighting!!"

     But even Lina could see it wasn't going to work.  Every wave that hit 
Naga got just a LITTLE closer, a little hairier.  She was struggling to keep 
up, and once one of them got past her, they'd be lucky to remember who they 
were, lost in a maze of paralyzing fear, much less remember how to wake up 
from it...

     "Such a shame, such a shame," Xelloss spoke, totally unafraid.  "There's 
so much I wanted you to DO, Lina.  So many plans I had for you.  You don't 
know how unhappy this makes me, that my careful timing, my years of 
preparation are all going to naught.  I suppose you'll never know your 
purpose now..."

     Lina turned to face him.  "What are you TALKING about?!"

     "Ah," Xelloss said, with a smile.  "That is a--"

     Naga failed to break a wave.

                                    [*]

     The effects were less pronounced in the waking world, but still quite 
staggering.

     All at once, a black aura started to spread over the dome that rose from 
the circles.  It corrupted, it tarnished, it made the invisible walls visible 
in the ugliest possible way.  The taunting and laughter in the crowd slipped 
right back to fear, as it slurped its way along their protection, the bubble 
wobbling under the pressure...

     Zoamel could hear Sailoon's protectorate god wailing in agony, and came 
to the immediate conclusion.  "Zelgadis is amplifying the nightmares," he 
said.  "I am unaffected, but everybody in the city..."

     Amelia held her head, staggering.  She leaned hard against a wall, her 
breath coming in ragged bursts.  "..hurts.." she groaned.  "I'm.. I'm linked 
to the circles.  It's awful!  Screaming and screaming and..."

     "In minutes, it's going to start reaching the rest of the population," 
Zoamel said quickly.  "Something must be done.  If Lina hadn't run off, I 
would-- wait.  Was Lina successful?  Did--"

     "GRACIA!!"

     Zoamel turned to the voice... the queen's eyes flew open, her mouth a 
frozen O of shock.  "Gracia!  I heard her scream... she's in there!  Her, and 
Lina, and Xelloss!  They're trying to fight it and they're failing...... 
Penny!"

     "What?  What, yes?" Penny babbled, spooked enough to lose her cool.

     "I need you to knock me out!" Amelia said, bearing her jaw.  "I have to 
go to sleep.  I have... I have to face the dreams and help them.  Oh, 
Ceipheed, I'm so scared, but... they need help, they need it and... hurry and 
do it before I lose my nerve!!"

     "Uh.. uh..." Penny stammered, looking at her hand, unsure.  "You want me 
to hit you?  But, I mean, I couldn't--"

     The queen fell like a puppet with cut strings.

     "...a simple enough task," Zoamel said, lowering his hand.  "Sleep 
enchantment.  Of sorts.  I hope it will be enough.  Penny... if you want to 
leave here, to escape this, I can provide you with assistance..."

     "No," Penny quickly said.  "I said I'd support her and I meant it.  I 
just..." A full-body tremble took her, her knees starting to go weak.  "Oh, 
jeez... I can feel it.  Just like she said.  It's getting to me now too... 
Lina HAD to have succeeded.  It's up to them now..."

     While the god wasn't afraid, since he could feel nothing, he was 
perplexed.  Perplexed, because he found himself holding the young girl, 
trying to comfort her.  He didn't second guess the action, going with it.  It 
felt... right.  It felt perfect.

     "Lina will succeed," Zoamel said, stroking Penny's hair, hoping it would 
soothe her through the next few minutes.  "You must have faith.  ...and 
failing that, I will do what I can.  You will come to no harm, Penny.  I 
swear it."

                                    [*]

     A million zealots swore to follow Lina to the ends of the world.

     A million fanatics burned her at the stake, flames licking her cheeks, 
as she was called a freak and an abomination.

     A million victims of violence looked up to the sky and wished upon her 
to justify what had happened to them, to have it make sense.

     A million hearts opened to her in flaming fury, emotions sweeping like a 
tsunami, as she drank it in and grew powerful.

     Over and over she felt she hated herself, she loved herself, she 
couldn't stand herself, she just wanted to accept herself, to be herself, to 
shine and be true but it was like a white-hot rod she feared to grasp, in 
case it burned her to ash--

     A comet shot past Lina's shoulder, in between the waves.  It was enough 
of an outside element for her to return to 'consciousness', for a moment.  
She focused.  The dreaming.  Who she was, where she was, what was going on... 
if she lost grip on it again, there was no guarantee she'd return.

     It had the same effect on the others, with Naga and Xelloss temporarily 
coming to their senses.  And what they saw...

     A young girl, barely fourteen, in a pink and white adventuring costume.  
She wore bright blue talismans on each wrist, and had struck a dramatic pose.

     "Sister!  I have come to join you in battle!" Amelia declared.  
"Sailoon's darkest hour is on us.  Join me, and we will show the Sairaag 
aggressors that our family will never fall!"

     "...Amelia?" Naga asked, as her mind cleared.  "How did you... Amelia, I 
can't... we can't fight it!  I can't find the points anymore, there's just 
too much--"

     "Don't fight it," Amelia said.  "You can't conquer unlimited fear.  But 
I understand what can be done.  Night after night, I've experienced what this 
machine does, and it pushed me and pushed me... now I understand.  Take my 
hand..."

     The sisters joined hands, as the next wave came on, stronger than 
ever...

     Xelloss dove in front of Lina, twirling his staff into a radiant black 
circle, extending into a cone shape.  The wave sucked itself into the 
ultimate darkness of the Mazoku self, harmlessly passing Lina.  But that 
didn't surprise Lina... what surprised her was that the wave did nothing to 
Amelia and Naga, either.

     "...don't try to fight it," Amelia spoke.  "Just let it go through you, 
acknowledge it.  It's okay to be afraid if you don't let it stop you.  Now, 
which way to the machine?"

     "It's.. that way," Lina said, feeling for the invisible links that told 
her the way to go.  "Sic 'em."

     The two sisters blurred, punching forward, simply passing through each 
oncoming wave as if it never was there.

     "It's funny, the synchronicity of enlightenment," Xelloss admitted.  
"But then again, I suppose all actions and reactions are interrelated like 
that..."

     Lina put him in a chokehold submission grip.  "WHY didn't you do 
something before if you could block the nightmares, you Mazoku bastard!?"

     "..ghh..." Xelloss gagged.  "...it would've been too easy that way?"

     The frustrated god let go.  "Fine!  Whatever.  C'mon, let's go help 
them--"

     "Oh, we can't do that," Xelloss said.  "It's not our fight, see.  You 
got them this far, Lina.  You got Naga into action, while your 'daughter' got 
Amelia going, and this is where the two meet and save the day.  Bravo!  Fine 
work all around.  However, your part in the play is done now, so you may go 
backstage and wait for the finale."

     "That's ridiculous!"

     "Nobody said life was anything but," Xelloss quipped.  "Now stay put, 
please.  Just because you're a heroine doesn't mean you're always the 
savior."

     Lina stayed put.  What else could she do?  Xelloss was the only shield 
she had against the waves right now.  But she didn't like it, not one bit.  
It didn't FEEL right for her to stay on the sideline, without contributing... 
no, she had contributed, but...

     She looked on, into the distance.  The machine was almost visible, a 
tiny cube of silvery metal against the field of black.  It zigged, it zagged, 
it tried to evade -- Amelia and Naga were there, doing their best to destroy 
it.

     Lina was fed up with pseudo psychological symbolic dream imagery.  Why 
didn't the thing look like some funky machine with a crank and a dial and 
whirly bits that light up and so on?  That's what it SHOULD look like.  If 
she could look at it and see what it really was--




     She saw.




     It saw her, and in absolute surprise, went deep into hiding again.  Not 
that it did any good; far, far too late.  Lina had seen what she wasn't 
supposed to see, what nobody was supposed to see.

     It was like watching a fabulous stage play, with elaborate costuming and 
props and sets, where you were so into the drama that you didn't realize it 
was a drama... and then some idiot tosses the wrong lever and the curtain 
falls, and you can see the backstage area where people are eating doughnuts 
and reading the paper.  You can see the stone wall and the unused sets and 
props and the stagehands and ALL the hard, unyielding reality behind the 
fantasy.  You can see the soul behind the machine...

     No wonder Lina was able to trace the connections so easily...

     But before she could think any farther on that subject, the machine went 
'boom', and it was all over.

                                    [*]

     BOOM.

     The explosion ROCKED the Sairaag compound.  The nightmare machine, 
already overloading, received a massive blast of psychic feedback and gave up 
the ghost.  It exploded in a very aesthetically pleasing blue fireball... 
and, unfortunately, was large enough to engulf the power generator as well.

     That went up in an explosion that made the first one look like a kid's 
firecracker.  Boom.  Boom.  Dull concussions that shook the ground, that 
knocked Zelgadis flat on his back.  The first cannon overloaded, the 
connections to the power plant proving to be a fatal lifeline -- and then the 
next gun, and the one after that, and the one after that... dominoes going 
down in a chain.

     Two full minutes of blasts later, the landscape around Sailoon was a 
smoking wasteland, and Zelgadis's group was quite battered, but alive to see 
the aftermath.

     Sailoon itself was quite fine and dandy.  The circles had held true.

     Not even Zelgadis could deny the facts of the situation.  They were 
defenseless, the siege equipment was gone, and Sailoon would wise up to that 
fact in very short time.

     With much disgust, he ordered the retreat.  Elizabeth would not be 
happy, but there would be other gods to capture, other chances.  The project 
would not halt, the future would be assured... and his cure would be found.

     Using a portable portal generator, he and his crew dragged the 
unconscious Roy Balderdash with them across miles and miles, back to Sairaag.  
It was a physically impossible feat, of course, since you can't exactly go 
that far in an instant, but Zelgadis trusted his little gadget.

                                    [*]

     "HEY!  Hands off the eggs, I already called dibs on them!"

     "OOHOHOHHOO!  Quite like your mother, it seems.  I will not let my eggs 
go without a figh-- GABBY!!"

     "What?  You two were too busy fighting to eat them.  And it's not like 
Helga would eat them, she doesn't got her teeth in yet."

     "Although no doubt little Helga receives a bountiful meal from her 
mother's rather impressive teats whenever she desires!"

     "XELLOSS!!"

     "What?  It's true, isn't it?  Ano, ano, put down the chair, ha ha, I was 
just jo-- ow."

     "...tactless, as usual.  But I have come to expect this from a Mazoku.  
Lina, are you sure you do not want any of this royal breakfast?"

     Lina pushed her chair out.  "I'm sorry... I'm not hungry," she 
apologized.  With that excuse, she left the room, as silent as she had 
entered earlier in the morning.

     Naga paused, ignoring the battered Mazoku whose neck she was squeezing 
the unlife out of.  "...excuse me, but did I hear that accurately?  Lina 
Inverse... has no appetite?"

     "She technically doesn't have to eat, being a god.  Still, I have yet to 
see her turn down free food," Zoamel said.  "Something is amiss.  I will go 
talk to--"

     "I'm coming too," Penny said, sliding her chair out as well.

                                    [*]

     Lina stood on the royal balcony, overlooking the city.  It was a day of 
celebration, after all -- the first day they could safely lower the shields, 
the first time in a long time that it was okay to be proud of Sailoon... 
merchants were selling things at half price, the scents of dozens of fine 
foods wafted up from the streets, and laughter and song were found a plenty.

     Not that she felt like shopping or eating, despite the temptation.  None 
of them knew.  None of them knew what she knew...

     "Okay, spill it."

     She didn't turn.  "Hey, Penny, Zoey.  What's up?"

     "Don't play coy, we know something's wrong," Penny said.  "So you might 
as well tell us, otherwise, we'll have to dog you about it from here to 
Bimini Island and back--"

     "It's okay, I was planning to tell you two," Lina said, almost 
thoughtful.  "It affects all of us.  It's about our enemy, after all."

     "It seems we dealt the enemy a rather humiliating defeat," Zoamel spoke.  
"I'm quite pleased with the outcome of this simple 'side quest'.  Vengeance 
has--"

     "Not been served," Lina said, turning to face them.  She leaned against 
the railing, for support.  "Because the real enemy's still out there.  I saw 
it, guys.  When in the dream, I was able to track that thing, and I tracked 
it by lines... connection lines, like I used to spot Ace Champion's 
followers."

     "...I don't quite follow," Zoamel admitted.

     "Think about it.  Sairaag's growth is phenomenal!  They've got air 
travel, train travel, mass communication media, all sorts of wondrous and 
miraculous devices and gadgets and widgets.  Penny... I've told you a couple 
times how much I doubt all this stuff, right?"

     "But Lina, it EXISTS.  What's to doubt?"

     "I doubt how it exists," Lina said.  "It's too convenient.  Too easily 
won.  No human scientist could make those incredible leaps of development 
this soon.  Not without... invisible means of support.  Not without a force 
that wanted it developed and developed fast, so it could be used, used to 
spread influence over the whole world..."

     Zoamel may not have had a stomach, but if he did, there would have been 
a sinking feeling.  "Surely you can't be saying--"

     "Sairaag has one true god," Lina stated in a voice serious enough to cut 
diamond, "And its name is Science.  A Demiurge of Science.  A Demiurge with a 
thirst for the power and faith other Demiurges have, and the means to get it.  
Every day it's getting stronger, and getting a tighter hold on the world by 
eating up all the competition.  That's the enemy you've sworn vengeance on, 
Zoamel, not some city or some simple social movement.  It's been a god all 
this time, hiding in wait."

     Penny remained speechless until she was not.  "...waiting for what?"

     "I haven't figured that out yet," Lina said.  "Or what I can do about 
it.  Because now, I HAVE to do something about it.  I can feel the pull, the 
call to save the world.  This time, I want to follow that pull.  Everything 
in me feels RIGHT about doing this, no matter how much I protest being a god, 
it's something I want in my soul.  I can't tell where it's going to take me, 
or what I'll have to do when I get there, but it's going to happen.  I hope 
someone out there is praying for me to pull through, because I think the odds 
are actually against me on this one..."

     She turned back, to look over the city.  All those people had no idea 
what was going on in the celestial temples, that the gods they prayed to, the 
superstitions they held could be REAL... and be a real threat.  None of them 
knew, none of them knew what could be done even if they knew, but Lina knew 
one thing.

     "We're carrying on with the quest," she decided.  "We're going to Bimini 
Island, I'm going to find out how to become human.  We'll blow stuff up and 
make money and have some laughs and fight some serious battles as we always 
do.  It's the only thing we CAN do right now.  Xelloss's grand idea about a 
mad rush to blow up Sairaag isn't going to work right now, I'm absolutely 
positive about that.  We'll have to figure out what WILL work when the time 
comes.  Until then..."

     "Until then... business as usual," Zoamel said, his voice unusually 
quiet.

     "If either of you want to back out, hey, I can understand," Lina said.  
"I came into this life out of my haze of two decades by myself, and I can 
finish this myself.  But you two could get hurt.  I can't abide by that--"

     "No way," Penny interrupted.  "We're not ditching you.  I can't speak 
for Zoamel but I've got this feeling he'll agree with me.  If you started 
that way, we started this WITH you, and we'll end it with you.  The plucky 
band of mismatched heroes facing the end of the world... it works out 
perfectly, right?  It always works out perfectly..."

     The other two remained silent.

     Mid day, they packed their backs, and set off to the coast.  From there, 
it would be a boat ride, and on to Bimini, and whatever was waiting for them 
there.


                              [To Be Continued]