Alright, this is the part where I say that I do not own Slayers in any way shape or form, and that I'm just a poor lil' college student who takes artistic license with the idea for giggles. I gain no money by doing this; so I'm not even worth suing, Ok?

Ok, that having been said, I want to say a few things about this fic. Lina Inverse is my absolute all time favorite female anime character and I wrote this with the intent to see her grow as a person. As we grow older, one of the things we find out is that we're not indestructible and that we make mistakes. There are more than a few fics out there in which Lina sets out on her own, but I never thought her reasons were fleshed out enough. So this is my stab at it. The other Slayers cast show up, but this is mainly Lina's story. There's plenty of darkness and very bad stuff happening later on, just to let some of you know. I wrote the outline of this story whilst listening to Marilyn Manson's Antichrist Superstar, if that's any indication. Having said that, the later appearance of the infamous Beast Priest shouldn't come as a surprise.

Away From It All

A Slayers fanfiction

By Kitsuneonna

Lina's Oh So Devious Scheme

Lina leaned back from the table with a great belch ending with a satisfied sigh. Her boots clattered down amongst the remains of her breakfast. The terrified staff of the unlucky tavern all flinched as one at the sound.

A short visit to see Silphiel had stretched out to more than a month so far, with no end in sight. All this rest and relaxation was starting to affect Lina's appetite. Not to mention this serene town without any bandits around for miles was affecting her monetary situation. She sighed again as she counted out her remaining gold pieces. For the last few days, she had taken to eating in taverns instead of at Silphiel's place.

Gourry had been right; Silphiel was indeed a really great cook. However, Lina's nerves were wearing thin with Silphiel's 'little woman' routine. Predictably, Gourry ate it up along with all that 'great cooking!' But…

"If I have to hear the words 'Dearest Gourry' once more…." Lina grimaced.

She contemplated yesterday morning's breakfast. As usual, Gourry had woken her up and scrambled for the kitchen. For the first week and a half they'd been there, she had joined him in his mad dash. This morning, as with the past few mornings, she had dragged her feet, going downstairs with her shoulders slumped. As was the case every morning, Silphiel wore a cute little frilly apron, doing her best to look domestic and succeeding. Gourry was already at the table, tearing into his breakfast with ferocity--unmatched--aside from dinner the night before. The meal had been predictably excellent. Lina almost hoped (Just for variety, at least) Silphiel would slip up whilst cooking once in a while so everything wasn't always so perfect. Lina ate her meal almost mechanically, listening to the interchange between a love-struck shrine maiden and the jellyfish-brained object of her affections. For the entire meal, Silphiel hovered around them making sure everything was all right. Did 'Dearest Gourry have enough food on his plate?' 'Dearest Gourry, would you like more juice?' 'How is it, Dearest Gourry?' Silphiel did not ignore Lina either, as it would have been rude. Lina just asked less of Silphiel, as the other girl's sweetness was ruining her appetite. Also, why doesn't Silphiel ever take that silly damned apron off and eat with us? The constant hovering continued, however. They'd been visiting for more than a month and it bothered Lina that she seemed the only one annoyed with the situation.

What was worse, Gourry showed no indication of getting restless and wanting to move on, as he used to do. He used to be the one who'd get twitchy if they stayed longer than a few weeks. Normally in a situation like this, she would have dragged him out of town by his hair. She couldn't do that now, because Gourry had changed. Lina frowned sadly as she reflected on the difference in her long time traveling companion. Over the last six months or so, his reluctance at moving on once they visited a town had grown. He might not notice the change, but Lina did. Gourry was tired. Lina had decided on her own that if Gourry wanted to stay put, she'd better leave him with someone who could take care of him. Hence the reason to visit Silphiel in the town of Navian where she stayed with her uncle. Once they got here though, Lina realized she hadn't thought of how to leave town without Gourry. She had put it off a bit, out of her reluctance to part with him. The longer they stayed though, the more settled in Gourry got, and the more irritable Lina became.

However, out of her irritability Lina had devised the perfect excuse—er--plan! She'd needed to come up with business that Gourry couldn't be a part of. Being the beautiful sorcery genius that she was, her scheme was simple and brilliant. Lina glowed as she basked in her own ingeniousness for a moment. What she'd needed was a place Gourry couldn't go. Something to do with magic…

The sorcerer's city, Buldein had fit her needs perfectly. Its location was unknown to those not in the Magic Guild. However, it was widely known as the mysterious and legendary stronghold of the Guild. Therefore Silphiel would accept it, and help Lina convince her block-headed partner. As settled in as he may be, Gourry might still feel that as Lina's protector, when she left, it was his duty to go as well. One of the well-known aspects of the Buldein legend would work to her advantage, though. Buldein allowed only members of the Magician's Guild as well as some non-Guild shamans and sorcerers to pass through its gates; a powerful spell on the city itself denied entry and even detection of the city otherwise.

Well, today was the day she was definitely going to do it! She'd waited long enough to see if Gourry showed the least hint of being as sick of this peaceful town as she was. There'd been no sign of that; he was even talking to some of the local kids about lessons in swordsmanship. Something like that was a sure indication of a desire to stay.

"Right! Time to get to it." Lina thought as she got up with a resolute clatter of her chair. She tossed all but two of the last of her gold to the violently shivering tavern keeper who, for all his shaking, caught them adroitly.

"Keep the change Pops!" Lina chirped as she walked out the door. She didn't remember the last time she'd said that. An evil smirk spread across her face as she considered that once on the road, she'd find some unlucky evildoers, liberate them of their gold and roast their—

"Oy! Lina!" She turned to squint at Gourry, the late morning sun overcoming her after the dimness of the tavern. Thoughts of destruction relegated themselves to the back burner as she beamed at her partner.

"Gourry! Just the person I was looking for!"

"You were looking for me too?" He looked back at the tavern she'd just quit. "I wouldn't have been in there Lina… Silphiel made breakfast! You really missed out!"

"It's okay Gourry, I've eaten her cooking every day for the past month and a half." Lina grumbled. "I think I can afford skipping it now and then."

At this, Gourry looked a little perplexed. "You must be crazy, I could never grow tired of Silphiel's cooking…"

"That's what I'm counting on.." Lina muttered.

"Huh? What was that Lina?"

"Oh nothing. Hey, let's get back to Silphiel's. We have to talk."

"Okay."

Author's Notes: For those of you following the story, this is an update. As you may have noticed, I first posted this years ago, and then promptly went on hiatus. The story stayed in my head, and here we are now. Things change over the years, and there have always been some things I've wanted to fix. I am removing all Japanese words. I've come to the opinion that their usage in an English language fic is a bit on the pretentious side. Also, I've had to do too much explaining to my proofreader, who is not an anime fan, doesn't know Japanese, and is just reading on the merits of the story. I wasn't being fair to her. So… version 2.0 is dedicated to Tonya. I would appreciate any reviews—if anyone notices and likes/hates the re-edit.