Slayers Fan Fiction ❯ I Need a Hero ❯ Chapter 1

[ A - All Readers ]

Disclaimer: I do not own the Slayers, or the song. So please do not sue me. Thank you.

Warning: This is a songfic that is dedicated to the main Cannon pairing of the Slayer anime.





The lights on the stage were hotter than she remembered them being the first time she was there. But maybe the heat was really just from the flush that colored her usually pale cheeks. Whatever it was, she was beginning to sweat, like a nervous woman about to give away her biggest secret.

Well, she though, I am a nervous woman about to give away my biggest secret, so there.

She was dressed up pretty. And pretty wasn’t something she usually did. The dress she wore felt odd, how the straps slipped from her shoulders and rested on her upper arms. The way the corset clung to her stomach, pushing up her small breast. She glanced down, and realized that it made her look like she had much more cleavage than she really did. It felt odd, the feeling of her legs touching each other, bare. And the books she wore now, no longer casual travel boots, but shiny, new, black leather. It was polished so finely, and they were so beautiful. She hadn’t wanted to wear them, for fear of them getting scuffed, or damaged. But here she was now. Lina Inverse, in front of a crowd, hair brushed and curled, so ringlets framed her face. The rest of the thick locks were pulled back, exposing her neck. She truly did look beautiful that night. She only hoped that he would see her. That the one person she actually wanted there, would be there.

She and Amelia had planned it all out. Amelia doing most of the planning, and Lina doing most of the objecting and complaining. Lina had accidentally told Amelia that she felt more than friendship for Gourry, during one of their long talks. They didn’t usually have long talks, but when they did, and when Lina managed to get her hands on some wine, secrets were always revealed that she would never have told anyone, ever. Like when she had let it slip that she actually loved Luna, despite being terrified of her. That had led to Amelia making her write her sister a very long, very complicated letter. And it was filled with apologies and feelings.

Another terrible moment was when she told Amelia her favorite color, not red, as her clothing seemed to scream, but pink. Amelia had spent an entire day shopping, buying pink dresses, bows, shoes. She even went so far as to buy pink underwear. Lina felt her flush deepen when she thought of the fact that she was wearing said undergarments at that very moment.

It had taken a very long time for Amelia to pull of this one though. Two weeks, three days and six hours, not that Lina was counting. The dark haired princess had spent every night sneaking Lina out to the woods that surrounded the small town they were staying in. And there they had practiced, and trained, and sweated, for the moment that was now upon Lina. She had trained her voice, ordered the outfit, and then she had gotten a spot in the club. It was a small night club, but all the buzz of the town. The owner listened to Amelia’s speech of love and justice, and conceded that Lina would be allowed a spot in the night’s roster if the princess would just shut up. That had only proven to Amelia that Justice could conquer all, even if it was by boring them into submission.

Lina heard the music starting up, she felt herself begin to move, automatically, in the way she had been trained. And just before she started singing, she saw him. He was coming in with Amelia and Zelgadiss, looking slightly sad. And she heard, above everything else, his voice.

‘I still wish Lina was here.’

And she smiled and began to sing.

0o0

Amelia was trying to get the two men to walk faster. It wasn’t that she really wanted to miss the beautiful stars in the sky, or ignore the people who greeted them as they walked through the town. It was that they were late, and she knew Lina would have to begin singing without them there.

“Oh, please walk faster Mister Gourry,” she pleaded. “The show will start soon, and I know you don’t care, but I really want to see it!”

“It seems a little odd,” Zelgadiss put in, his eyebrow raised. “That you would want to go to a nightclub so badly, after openly detesting them for so long.”

“Aren’t I allowed a change of heart, Mister Zelgadiss?” she asked. “Oh, please hurry! I can hear the music starting!”

It had taken her all night to convince Gourry to go with her to a nightclub. It finally ended when she said how dangerous it would be for her to go alone, with all those drunken men that might want to hurt her. That had got Zelgadiss to go along, even though he said it was very unlikely anyone would recognize her as the princess of Saillune so far form home. But it seemed that the hardest part would be getting Gourry to go without Lina. He couldn’t be told she was already there, or else the surprise would be ruined, and when she said Miss Lina wasn’t feeling well it only made him want to stay and make sure she didn’t need anything.

But then, when they were finally on their way, she realized they were running late, and it wouldn’t do it Gourry missed the show. So she was trying, for six and half blocks, to get them to walk faster. When they finally made it to the club she heard the music start up while they were still waiting to get in. She almost swore, like Lina would have, but instead she did something she had hoped she would never do.

She reached into her tunic and pulled out the royal seal. “I am Amelia wil Tesla Saillune, and I need to get in there NOW!”

The line parted and the man at the door looked surprised, and shocked. She heard Zelgadiss make a startled noise behind her, but it didn’t matter. She had to get Gourry in there, before he missed Lina’s song. She grabbed his arm.

“Come on Mister Gourry!” she yelled as she pulled him towards the door. “We can’t miss the show!”

And as they entered she heard the music hit the note that was the beginning, and she smiled when she heard Gourry say one last thing behind her.

“I still wish Lina was here!”

But then Lina was singing, and she saw both Zelgadiss and Gourry snap their heads to the stage, where she stood, dressed in her beautiful gown, sending her heart to Gourry.

Where have all the good men gone
And where are all the gods?
Where’s the street-wise Hercules
To fight the rising odds?

Gourry was staring at her like she was a princess, his eyes following her every move as she moved to the music. Amelia sank into a chair and watched, her heart finally returning to normal after all the stress of arranging the night.

Isn’t there a white knight upon a fiery steed?
Late at night I toss and I turn and I dream of what I need

She heard the music escalate and her eyes turned to Zelgadiss, who was smiling at Lina. He turned to Amelia and sat down.

“I’ve heard this song before,” he said. “I remember someone singing it when I was little.”

Amelia giggled, “Sorry I couldn’t tell you, Mister Zelgadis.”

He just shrugged and watched the show.

0o0

Gourry was in heaven, watching Lina sing and dance on the stage. He saw her look at him, and saw her smile for him, just for him. His heart was hammering in his chest, wild and fluttery. He knew the song was for him, and he knew exactly what she was saying.

I need a hero
I'm holding out for at hero 'till the end of the night
He's gotta be strong
And he's gotta be fast
And he's gotta be fresh from the fight

I need a hero
I’m holding out for a hero 'till the morning light
He’s gotta be sure
And it’s gotta be soon
And he’s gotta be larger than life
Larger than life

She was spinning and twisting, dashing away from a man dressed in black armor. He was trying to catch her. Gourry stepped towards the stage, wearing his own armor.

Somewhere after midnight
In my wildest fantasy
Somewhere just beyond my reach
There’s someone reaching back for me

Racing on the thunder and rising with the heat
It’s gonna take a superman to sweep me off my feet

Gourry went to the stairs that would take him onto the stage and took them two at a time, his footsteps echoing oddly in his head. She need him.

Up where the mountains meet the heavens above
Out where the lightning splits the sea
I could swear there is someone somewhere
Watching me

Through the wind and the chill and the rain
And the storm and the flood
I can feel his approach
Like a fire in my blood

When the man dressed in black saw him coming he fled from the stage, knowing that this was what he needed to do. That man was her knight, her hero. Gourry stood behind her and she began spinning. Singing even as her hair came loose from its ties.

I need a hero
I'm holding out for a hero 'till the end of the night
He’s gotta be strong
And he's gotta be fast
And he's gotta be fresh from the fight

I need a hero
I'm holding out for a hero 'till the morning light
He's gotta be sure
And it's gotta be soon

She was spinning, spinning. Lina felt him close behind her when she lost her footing. And she felt him catch her when she began to fall. She looked up at his face, held tightly in his arms, and she sang the last verse. But it seemed to here like it meaned the most.

And he's gotta be larger than life

And then he leaned down and kissed her, as the crowd cheered wildly.