~Part 3-3~            Zelgadiss groaned in both pain and weariness, holding a nice, cold, ice bag to his head. That was some strange incident. Was... Kitty really... a girl? Well... she looked and sounded like a guy, genuine flat chest and everything. It didn't make sense. Same thing with Kagemi's sudden addition to the group, also attracting some kind of enemies to their list. Of course, all previous nasties had been dealt with in their own way, but this time, it couldn't be Mazoku. It didn't feel like Mazoku at all. But there was some strange power that had appeared in the magical medium lately. Perhaps some new form of Mazoku? Well, it was making his head hurt even worse. Being slammed twice in the exact same spot by vicious females was not his cup of tea. Ah, tea. What he wouldn't give for a nice cup right now... hmmm... he wondered if he should rephrase that thought.
    Amelia busied herself with Filia, making small structures from twigs and sticks, seeing how high they could pile them before they fell and roaring with obscene laughter when it did. Gourry was napping in a tree with a stray leg hanging directly over Naga, who was entranced by Lina's frustration who was taking it out on the sleepy Kagemi and the confused male, definitely male, Kitty Rhayader.
    After finally running out of air, Lina slumped onto the ground and glanced over at Zelgadiss, "Ne, Zel, daijiyobu?"
    He nodded vaguely, removing the ice bag for a brief moment.
    "OOOOH HO HO HO HOH HOH OOHOHOHHO!!!!" Naga laughed. She noticed a small twig had landed in her hair from above and was intent on punishing the tree.
    Just as she looked up, a huge SNAP ensued and the heavy weight of Gourry came crashing down, crushing Naga beneath him.
    "GYAAAAA!!!" Gourry yelped helplessly as Naga's shoulder guard spikes imbedded themselves into his sides.
    "EEEEEEE!!!!" Naga screeched, struggling without success to rid herself of the nasty fiend who had dared to land on her.
    Lina fell onto her back, laughing suicidally, quite unlike the sweat dropping Amelia and annoyingly grinning Filia. Zelgadiss looked on with no interest whatsoever. He was too occupied with his own thoughts to be bothered by such a thing. Kagemi watched, but was expressionless as the struggle continued and Kitty grinned in scary similarity to Filia.
    Finally, after the twist of hair, cloth, spikes, armor, and other body parts unraveled itself, Gourry got up rapidly, gave a pathetic little laugh to ease the tension in the atmosphere and commenced on a nice, recuperative walk... or so he thought. Naga displayed a menacing smile and quickly went about trailing him. She chuckled again and hastily ran after the dense swords man.
    Lina was dying on the ground, unable to breath from her laughter, but slowly regained semi-sanity as soon as Gourry and Naga had vacated the immediate vicinity.
    "Gourry!" Naga remained in pursuit, "GOOOUUURRY!!"
    He anxiously glanced around, in search of a hiding place, but found none. He continued in a random direction, "Uh oh..." he grumbled as he found himself before a wide, open field of tall grass.
    "GOOUU---OOUUURRY!!" Naga's voice was not far behind.
    "Please don't find me please don't find me please don't find me!" He repeated to himself as he ventured forth into the grass.
    "OOOOOOOOOOH HOO HOO HOO HOH HOH OHOOOOHOHOHOHO!!!!!" Naga roared, emerging chest-first from the tree line.
    "EEEAAAAUUUU!!!" Gourry made a slur of panicking sounds and ran for dear life and what little sanity he had.
    "Why are you running, Gourry-kuuuun!!??" Naga crooned with her nasty canines bared.
    "Who wouldn't!???" Gourry reluctantly replied and ran harder than he thought he could ever manage without such a catalyst, carving through the grass like a brand-new weed whacker.
    "HAH!!" Naga leapt forward and caught his waist.
    His eyes bulged in horror, "GUAAAA!!" he yelled without pause. Gourry continued forward, dragging Naga with a huge effort to have her lose her grip.
    "UUUOOOOOH HO HOHOHOHOHOH HO!!" she laughed again, purposely trying to catch her feet on anything to slow him down.
    "What do you want from me?????!" Gourry began panting heavily from dragging around Naga and her weights.
    Naga only laughed more insanely, and this time didn't stop as Gourry VERY slowly wound down and step by step came to an out of breath stop in the middle of the field where several of his paths in the grass crossed from his efforts.
    Naga grinned evilly and let go, but he was too pooped to move from where he stood, "You TOUCHED ME!!!" She freaked and drew her hand up and took her sweet time to reach inside her cape, "And for that..."
    Gourry inched away as he panted in exhaustion, tongue clearly hanging four inches from his mouth, and eyes slowly enlarging once again. He was very afraid. What would it be? A spell? A mallet? A pellet gun? A cannon? A baseball bat? A 747?
    "And for that..." Naga searched around a bit, then dramatically flung her arm out, retrieving something big and shiny, "you get a COOKIE!!"
    Gourry fell over right then and there and saw the jar in her hand from his low angle, right before everything went black. The crash was accompanied by a laborious thump.
    "What?" Naga became innocent faced and placed the jar under her other arm, "What did you think I was gonna say?"
    Shrugging her shoulders (with problems, considering the size of her spiked-things), she unscrewed the lid and daintily placed a chocolate-chip cookie in his upturned hands that lay across his chest in his unconsciousness.
    "He should be happy! Not everyone gets a cookie from the most powerful, sexiest, ultimate rival, Naga the White Serpent!" she chuckled again and hid the jar back wherever it came from in the first place.
    "Heh... that's better. Now I can get the Hikari no Ken without being so out numbered..." A flash of dark pink hair and black leather, mirroring Naga, drew her attention from the concealing of the cookie jar.
    Miral dragged the blade of her sword through the grass, holding it just above Gourry's cross-eyed head.
    "You again, huh?" Naga crossed her arms and nodded, "Well, I don't think you'll find that legendary sword around here."
    "My sources tell me it's right below us."
    Naga looked down and frowned as Gourry, fully awake now, tossed the cookie into his mouth and chewed, with no concern for the hovering broad blade above his head. He pushed Miral's sword to the side with his arm as he sat up.
    Miral was beginning to get angry, "Give me that sword..." she tried to sound demanding and clenched her teeth as she spoke.
    Naga let out a short, held back laugh, "Phaaaa!! This loser doesn't have the Hikari no Ken!"
    "Hey!" Gourry resented the remark 'loser'.
    Naga ignored him, "All the stories I've heard and the books I've read say that it's in the hands of a great warrior!"
    Gourry was confused, "But, Naga--"
    "No, no, Gourry, let me take care of this fruit!"
    "But I..." Gourry whispered as Naga stepped forward, full of intimidation, "Didn't Lina tell you?"
    Her eyes flashed with new interest, "Heh heh... gossip, c'mon, spit it out, ya fool!"
    Miral planted her sword blade into the ground so that it stood upright by itself and proceeded to twiddle her thumbs while she waited for Naga to figure out her course of action. She usually didn't like being the first to make a move. She'd decide that after her opponent chose their method of attack.
    "Well..." Gourry paused, "... what was I gonna say?"
    Naga smacked the back of his head, "FOOL! You said something about Lina not telling me something!!"
    "Oh," he responded, leaning in closer to Naga's open ear, "Well, I do have the Hikari no Ken..."
    "UUAOO HO HO HO HO HOHO yeah right."
    You don't believe me!?" Gourry was hurt, "But I was being serious!"
    Naga continued her mockery in her normal insane laughter, "OH OH OH OH OH OH, say, are you trying to be Naga, the White Serpent? I mean, this outfit is copywrited you know."
    Miral looked down at herself, then back at Naga, "Who?"
    Face faulting, Naga stomped her foot subconsciously in frustration, "ME, for crying in the mud!"
    "This is my gear, and it doesn't look a thing like yours!" Miral spat, pulling her sword from the ground and assumed a battle pose, ready for attack/defense, "Just give me the sword befo--"
    "Demona Crystal!!" Naga extended her arm as ice encased Miral's bare legs.
    "HEY!!" Miral hopped once, lifting herself and the formation of ice along with her, baring her teeth. The ice shattered upon landing on the ground again and her legs were lightly touched with blue from the cold.
    "Fool..." A male stranger's voice entered from above.
    "Immerak!?" Miral looked up in unison with Gourry and Naga.
    "Quit fooling around and get that sword, or you will not escape your Zalmashu's punishment," Immerak hovered in a seated, cross-legged poise above the group by a meter or two. His purple hair had a silvery shine in the noon sun as he glared expectantly at the slack-jawed Miral.
    "H-hai," she snapped out of the fear of punishment and turned once again to the still peering upwards warriors, "FLARE ARROW!" she positioned herself for balance and threw a slew of flames in Naga and Gourry's direction, sword still in hand.
    Naga jumped straight up in a vain attempt to escape the attack while the arrows collided into the ground, exploding on impact and throwing Gourry several feet away from the impact site, "UUAAOOO HO HO HOH HOHHOHOHO!!!" Naga laughed as she plummeted without grace, back-side first, "UOH HO HO HO HO HOH-- EEEEEK!!"
    A whip wrapped around her ankle and she flew into the ground with extreme force. She lay with her grin slowly dissipating into a scowl of anger, all in a nice, little crater. Miral withdrew the whip and tossed it into the grass beside her, never to be found again and started to scan the territory for the blond swords man.
    "Hurry up, Miral," Immerak crossed his arms in impatience, drifting some direction while he floated.
    She nodded to herself, very disturbed by Immerak's sudden direct commands. She was never directed in another's presence like this... never!
    "Naga!? Gourry!?" Lina appeared, seemingly from nowhere.
    Zelgadiss and Kagemi landed a few feet behind her, their Ray Wing spells dissipated, creating a blast of warm air. Soon after, Filia, accompanied by Kitty, ran in from the forest. All were drawn toward the battle by the explosion, waking everyone except one.
    Gourry emerged from the tall prairie grass with his hand on his head, groaning in pain, although  perhaps it was just a reflex that most people had after they had been attacked and blown somewhere.
    "What's gong on here!?" Lina demanded of Miral, whom she recognized without difficulty from the night previous, then caught sight of the observing Immerak.
    Miral raised her sword, seeing that she was once again out numbered, "Shadow THUNDER!"
    A burst of energy bolted from the heavens and into the tip of Miral's sword, which was unusual because the sky was perfectly clear and there were no clouds as far as the eye could see. The light refracted into scattered fragments, bailing upon everyone except her. Immerak casually watched, the electricity bouncing off his ovular shield that glowed slightly green each time a fragment reflected off it.
    The bolts struck the ground like lightening until all of it had been channeled by Miral's blade. None of the energy blasts had actually struck anyone, only fried patches of grass. It was an intentional warning, "I can kill you all now, but of course, I will give you a last chance to hand over the Hikari no Ken, then you will never hear from me again."
    "What the hell was that!?" both Lina and Naga shouter in anger.
    Immerak smiled inconspicuously, noticing that they had no idea. No idea at all.
    "Hikari no Ken?" Filia repeated unnecessarily.
    "That's right..." Kagemi mumbled, nearly inaudible, "That's the man that paid me to get Gourry's sword." She looked at an upwards angle to where Immerak silently sat.
    "I'm smelling a predictable evil scheme," Lina nodded to herself.
    "Miral!" Immerak said sternly after a momentary pause, "Zalmashu..."
    She blinked and made an upwards motion with her sword, "Shadow BLA--" Miral was tackled before she could finish casting the spell. Kitty and Kagemi each pinned one of her arms to the ground while Filia, with her superior strength, anchored her feet by sitting on her calves. Miral growled unhappily, allowing her sword to fall from her grip. She was thankful for this. She didn't want to help the mysterious priest, Zalmashu anymore, but she played along, to avoid making it look like she was giving up.
    Growling and struggling under the combined weight of Kagemi, Kitty, and Filia, Miral twisted her neck to look at Immerak, floating ominously, shaking his head in disapproval.
    "Useless girls..." he grumbled.
    "RUNE FLARE!" Lina attacked, but all the spears of flame bounced noiselessly off Immerak's shield and disintegrated into the air shortly after.
    "Who are you?" Zelgadiss stepped forward, arms familiarly crossed, having the feeling he wouldn't need to fight at the moment.
    Immerak smiled, uncrossed his legs, and stood up in his air space, "I am Immerak, a mage loyal to Zalmashu-sama and my brother, Fuolin." He lied for the sake of Zalmashu's plans and his paycheck.
    "Who's Zalmashu?" Lina didn't appreciate his arrogance. It reminded her slightly of Valgarve and the way he had first attacked out in the desert.
    "Zalmashu-sama will be the father of the new world," he acted, "He is a powerful priest and you should remember his name, for it will soon be known quite well."
    "Why is it necessary for you to have the Hikari no Ken, then?" Zelgadiss brought up while the free question and answer period appeared to be open.
    "Ah... that I cannot say," Immerak turned his head to look into the distance along his shoulder. The truth was he had no idea what Zalmashu's plans were, just vague suggestions like taking over the world, like everyone else, "but you know now I can't let you relay this information freely?"
    Gourry joined Zelgadiss and Lina, forming a small triangle, "Then...?" Gourry placed his hand over the hilt of his sword.
    "You must be punished..." Immerak's eyes flared, purely for dramatic emphasis. He found that it worked anyway, "Shadow STORM!"
    The immediate area was immediately bombarded by fragments of rock, hail stones the size of cannon balls, miscellaneous precipitation, twists of powerful winds, and the ever-common streaks of lightening. Lina was barely able to quickly put up a shield, but it buckled instantly. It managed to halt the rock fragments, but a huge chunk of circular ice hit her shoulder and knocked her down. Flinching, she lay motionless, praying to the Lord of Nightmares that she would not be bombarded upon any further. Gourry fell forwards, another hail stone landing square in his upper back. Zelgadiss smashed two ice stones with his fist, contacting them in air. He recoiled quickly, after beginning to feel the pain.
    Naga, Filia, Kitty, and Kagemi were tossed about in the wind and moisture, piling them on top of one another beside Lina. Miral was thrown into the rest of the girls, unpacking the pile, inflicting scratches and bruises as the collisions continued.
    All of a sudden, the storm ceased. Lina held her left hand to her opposite shoulder, silently healing it before it had the chance to worsen through use. Looking up, she noticed Immerak was gone, but his voice echoed in the back of her mind, a residual magic obviously set up to be heard after the storm, "You will live only to tell everyone the new genesis, the new world is upon us!"
    "LINA!!" Gourry's voice rang out in a tone not often heard from him, "It's gone! They took the Hikari no Ken! GAH!!" he began to feel his own injuries.
    "Oh my God! What happened!?" Amelia arrived finally, running to the recovering victims.
    "Slept in, didn't you? Uh... never mind, Amelia, can you attend to the wounds... I need to think," Lina lay on her back, the sun evaporating the instant rain, leaving the grass dabbed with dewdrops that sparkled intensely in the light.
    "Right!" Amelia clenched her fists and ran to Gourry, the undamaged Zelgadiss, and where the confused females had flown.
    "Shadow..." Lina repeated the word. It had some kind of significance here, but she just couldn't put her finger on it. Why did those big spells have 'Shadow' as a prefix? Damn it! Something was definitely weird here! The Hikari no Ken, they had it now, but why would they possibly need it? Immerak alone seemed to have a grasp on his powers, and they were by no means weak.
    "Oh no you don't!" Naga leapt upright, grabbing hold of Miral's blue cape before she could walk away.
    Miral sighed, "I'm sorry. I must apologize for all this. It wasn't my intention to hurt any of you."
    Lina overheard and a sudden question popped into her brain, "Hey you!" she jumped to her feet and speed-walked over to naga and Miral while removing stray strands of dry/wet grass from her hair, "What kind of magic was that Immer-guy using? I heard you use it as well. I haven't heard those incantations before and that itself is strange. Is it some new thing freelancers came up with? That's pretty potent stuff tho'."
    Miral closed her eyes, continuing to leave the party behind, "Kage..." she said quietly and commenced with her exit.
    "Hey!" Naga began to chase, but Lina held her back, "We don't need to worry about her anymore. She said we'd never see her again after they got the sword."
    "You're trusting her word? Lina, I thought you knew better than to trust those types! What ever would you do without me?"
    Lina nodded, ignoring most of what Naga said and turned back to the group, "Kage?" she thought to herself. It was vaguely familiar, but she still couldn't place it.
    Filia stood two meters from them, she was dead serious, "Lina, did you notice that magic? I think maybe we should talk about this... there's something I might help with."
    "Filia?" Lina had a feeling the Gold Dragon knew something, perhaps clear it up.
    "Ow..." a groan caught their attention.
    "K- Kitty!?" Lina stuttered, seeing a massive change in him... ahem, her.
    A sweat drop appeared over both Kagemi and Zelgadiss simultaneously. Zelgadiss knew for sure he wasn't imagining things 'cause that was something he never tended to do.