Chapter 2
Jenny, with her CD player in her hands, walked down the street, singing happily. She was listening to the song, Give a Reason, and though she did not speak Japanese, she managed to memorize the words and was able to sing along.
As she neared her house, she was surprised to see a group of people standing about a block away. She stopped her CD player and placed it in her bag, which already contained some Slayers manga and one of her Slayers plushies (the Xellos one) which she took wherever she went. She moved closer and closer to the group of people. She was constantly staring at them, and they were also staring at her.
The surprising thing about these people was that Jenny had seen them before, but she had never met them. There was a small, red-headed girl wearing a strange outfit and a long, black cape. Next to her, was another girl, who was slightly shorter with shoulder-length, black hair and in a white outfit. Next was a man who seemed to have blue skin that was covered in stones. The tallest was a man with long, blond hair, dressed in blue, and carrying a sword. To see if here suspicions were correct, Jenny took a quick glance at her manga. She was right: these people were the Slayers.
That's ridiculous, Jenny thought. These people can't be the Slayers. Slayers is just an anime series; it isn't real. Unlike some crazed fan who would be jumping at the opportunity to meet the Slayers, Jenny thought the situation through. She may have been obsessed with the series, but she could certainly tell the difference between fantasy and reality. And Slayers was, to her knowledge, not real at all.
While she thought of what to do, the red-haired girl, who seemed to be none other than Lina Inverse, came up to her. Jenny got a bit nervous and said nothing. The girl spoke first. "Where are we?" she asked, slowly.
Of course! Jenny thought. These people are just cosplayers. They must have gotten lost on their way to an anime convention. Though, she found it strange that there would be an anime convention in her small town, or that it would be anywhere near the suburban area in which she lived. Still, she felt that she should help these people out.
She began to speak in a quick and no longer nervous voice. "You're on the corner of Oak street and Wood street. You're probably looking for Main street, which is about two miles that way. Just go down Petersburg Dr. and turn left at Russel street. Then, turn right when you see the bowling alley and you're there."
The girl seemed very confused and a bit impatient. "Where is this place?" she asked. "Who are you?"
Now Jenny was worried again. These people didn't seem to be cosplayers. But they couldn't really be the Slayers. She tried a different approach. "My name is Jenny Sanders. Who are you?"
"I'm the beautiful sorcery genius, Lina Inverse."
Jenny tried to look for possible explanations. Her first thought was that these people were just pretending. That's it! My friends are probably playing a joke on me. They know about my obsession with Slayers and now they're trying to make me believe that these people really are the Slayers. Rather than admitting that she knows who Lina Inverse is, Jenny said, "If you're a sorceress, then you can use magic. Show me some."
The girl who claimed to be Lina seemed a bit surprised. But then, she put out her hand and concentrated a little. "Lighting!" she said. A small ball of light appeared in her hand. Jenny was amazed.
"Wow!" Jenny said. "You really are Li-- I mean, how did you do that?" Jenny found it very hard to believe that this girl was anything other than who she said she was. She decided not to worry about being tricked into believing her. Instead, she decided to go along with Lina's story and see what she could do to help. "Never mind that," she said. "How did you get here?"
At this point, the other three came up to her and Gourry said, "Hey Lina. What's going on?"
Lina ignored him and answered Jenny's question instead. "We were sucked into a portal that took us here. We need to get back."
"I see," Jenny said, quietly. "So they came from there world here by a portal. So that means that our world must be one of the four worlds created by the Lord of Nightmares. Which means that..."
"What did you say?" asked Lina.
"Nothing. Don't worry about it. Well, if you came here through a portal, then you're probably on a different world than your own." Jenny thought it best not to let them know that she knew who they were. Explaining it to them would be difficult and might cause problems. Jenny also felt that it would be a bad idea to get involved in all of this, so she said, "Well, I have to go home. I hope you find your way. Good luck."
Jenny walked away while Lina and the others were talking amongst themselves. She walked a bit to her house and stopped by the front door. She was greeted by the four Slayers, who had just flown down onto her doorstep. Lina spoke immediately. "We've reached a decision."
"A decision? About what?" Jenny asked.
This time, Zelgadis spoke. "We've decided to stay with you while we're here in your world. We don't know anything about this place, so we'll need your help. You'll help us find our way back to our world."
"Isn't this a decision where you're supposed to ask my permission first? You can't just say that I'm going to help you without my approval."
"Please," said Amelia. "We're completely confused about this place. You're the only one who can help us."
This was true. Being one of the few people in the area who knew who they were, she was the best candidate for the job. Though she knew that wherever the Slayers went, trouble would always follow. But, then again, this was her world, and nothing dangerous ever happened in her small town. She felt very bad about abandoning these people. If they were telling the truth, which she now believed that they were, then they truly did need help.
"Fine. I'll help you out." She took her key and opened the door. "Come on in," she said with a smile.