| Slayers |
| Episode 16: Passion! Shall We Give Our Lives for the Stage? |
| During a peaceful sunny day, a loud groaning sound is heard coming through the trees. The source? Lina, Gourry, and Amelia are resting beneath a large tree. While Gourry and Amelia sort of rest against the tree, Lina is sprawled on the ground, looking helpless. "There goes Lina's stomach again," Gourry muttered, also mentioning that he had suggested getting food from a group of bandits. Lina replied sharply that there were no bandits around, so they were stuck. She then grabbed Gourry by the collar, hitching him up close to her face, him with a worried expression on his face. "What do you suggest, Gourry? Maybe go into a town and get arrested?' she asked sarcastically. Gourry managed an awkward grin, sweatdropping. "Uh, not really..." he replied. "Your stomach may be empty, but your mouth never is," Amelia commented. Lina yelled fiercely at her to shut up, but then apologized by saying that she was just too hungry to think. Suddenly, everyone smelled something at the same time. "FOOD!" they yelled in triumph. They took off through the forest as fast as they could, and quickly found a clearing, in which there was a large pot of delicious-looking stew waiting for them. "There it is!" they said. Amelia clasped her hands together, saying how supporters of justice always got their reward in the end. However, Lina and Gourry had already started eating happily, to Amelia's sudden surprise. "Hey, save some for me!" Amelia protested. Everyone seemed to be enjoying the meal, when Gourry brought up the obvious question. "But who's stew is this?" Gourry asked. "Aw, don't sweat the details," Lina replied with an air of one who doesn't care. "Amelia! Quit taking all the meat for yourself!" The three heard a rustle of grass nearby, turning and wondering who it was. As a gigantic green foot stomped down onto the ground, they all cringed back a little in apprehension. However, as the scene pans up, it's seen that it wasn't any monster, merely a guy who was dressed as a dragon on his lower half. "Hey, that's our stew!" he protested. He was pushed aside by another man with a green bandana, and a bushy black connected beard and mustache. "Hm? Who are you?!" he demanded. Lina, Amelia and Gourry all grinned sheepishly and guiltily behind the completely empty bowl of stew. "It was really good," the three of them said. In some kind of trailer park, there was a large tent sent up. Inside, Lina, Gourry, and Amelia were eating opposite of the guy in the dragon suit. "You're THIS hungry?" he asked in disbelief as dozen upon dozen of empty dishes piled up. "You must be really down on your luck!" "You could say that," replied Lina. "So, you 'Rossburg Players' are a theater company?" Amelia asked, obviously bringing up a bit of the conversation they'd been having. "Yeah," the guy replied. "The art capital of the world, Mosquita, is holding a big theater competition." He explained that they were on the road to Mosquita to enter. He was interrupted by the voice of the other man from before, yelling for "Liena"; he was looking for the actress. "Liena's gone. Know where she is?" They deduced that she must have run from the theater. "Oh no, that's the tenth one!" the guy in the dragon suit proclaimed in distress. "We don't have enough actors!" "We've got actors now!" the loud man replied. "Here. Here. Here." As he said "here", he handed out a script each to Lina, Gourry, and Amelia. He told them to study their scripts carefully. "Rehearsal's this afternoon. Don't be late!" he ordered, and then left abruptly, leaving surprised and dumbfounded new actors behind. the guy in the dragon suit was sweatdropping along with them. "I really pity you guys. You've caught the director's eye," the guy commented. "That's the director?" Lina asked in disbelief. "Yup. Mr. Rossburg," he replied. Rossburg is seen knocking a guy off the ladder painting a set, and hammering the piece until it broke apart. "Either he's nuts for the stage or just plain nuts." After the structure completely collapsed, a tiny question mark appeared above Rossburg's head. "Well, do your best," the guy finished, leaving. Lina sweatdropped. "Wha...?! Hey! We're actors now?!" she protested. "Wait, maybe we're in luck," she said. She explained to Gourry, who also looked distressed, that Mosquita was on the way to Sairaag, and that they could hitch a free ride on the way there this way. "And they don't seem to recognize us!" Lina finished, referring to the fact that they were wanted. "No way!" Amelia exclaimed, interrupted Lina and Gourry's thoughts. "What is this?!" "What's wrong?" Lina asked. Amelia asked Lina to look at the title of the play with a strange urgency. "Hmm...?" Lina muttered, then began to read: "'Bring Us Justice and Peace: The Death of the Abominable Fiend Lina Inverse.'" With a sudden double-take, Lina blurted out the last part of the title again, and then snatched the script from Amelia's hands to take a look herself. Immediately, Lina's mind is filled with images of a giant, evil version of herself destroying cities. According to the storyline, the peace of the entire world is threatened by Lina Inverse, but a hero will thwart the abominable monster. "'Smite the evil Lina with the hammer of justice?!'" Lina read in disbelief. "THEY'RE GOTTA BE KIDDING!" She announced that she would go complain about the script, and Lina and Amelia ran after her, telling her to wait. "If you do that, they'll figure out who we are," Gourry explained. "But..." Lina protested, and her eyes got all watery. "I'm not an abominable fiend!" "It's a play. Just a play," Amelia reassured her, which she thought was "neat". She then had a short vision of herself reading lines of the play into a microphone with passion, with Lina and Gourry at the recording studio for some reason. As the vision merged with reality, Mr. Rossburg was right next to Amelia. "Mr. Rossburg?" inquired Amelia. "Come with me," he said, and led Amelia away. They all sweatdropped, and though Lina wondered if they had blown their cover, it turned out that it was a completely different matter. "Huh? No way!" Amelia exclaimed inside a tent. It turned out, unexpectedly, that she had gotten the lead role in the play. She admired herself in the mirror with her full costume on. A blue-haired man was standing net to Mr. Rossburg with a pained expression on his face. "Mmm... I really can pick 'em, can't I?" Mr. Rossburg commented. The man next to him protested, but Rossburg merely pushed him aside. "Seeing you now reminds me of my sister," Rossburg mentioned, walking up next to Amelia. He explained that he and his sister had been separated since childhood, and that he hadn't heard from her since. Naturally, Amelia got emotional over this, her eyes misting up. Lina and Gourry watched the scene from the side. "Everyone's got a story," Gourry muttered. The man who was in the dragon suit before walked up behind them. "He's lying," he stated, which caught Lina and Gourry's attention. To the two's disbelief and frustration, the man explained that Rossburg frequently mixes up plays and reality, having too much imagination. "Don't take him too seriously," the guy finished. "You can't do this to me!" the blue-haired man protested, waving his arms and legs in all directions. He ran from the tent, shouting that Rossburg would "pay for this". Obviously, he had been the original lead role of "hero" in the play. Amelia, with tears streaming from her eyes, and then fire blazing from her, said that she saw that "this also is a part of my destiny". Taking her role as the lead actress very seriously, she asked immediately what she should do. Lina and Gourry watched, pained, from the side. Lina, to Gourry's continued disbelief, commented that, "You can't just ignore a gorgeous gal like me." "You're trying to outdo her?!" Gourry asked. Rossburg, in response, dropped a heavy-looking bag onto the ground. "You two will play this," he stated. Lina, thinking of the big role she was going to get, joyfully replied, "I dunno what it is, but we'll take it!" Gourry continued to sweatdrop. The scene switches to the stage, where the members of the play were now rehearsing. "OK, let's take it from the top," Rossburg orders. A goofy-looking big-headed version of Lina is apparently being played by someone else, who starts off, "My name is Lina, the embodiment of evil!" in an annoying voice. "The source of misfortune! The fiendish Lina who brings fear and destruction to this world! Come forth, my lovely dragon slave!" What looked like a rock on the other side of the set sort of opened up, sliding to reveal the dragon - Lina and Gourry in a corny costume. They argued incessantly about who was supposed to step where as the lazy dragon swerve around uncontrollably. Finally, the dragon got near the "abominable Lina", and promptly swerved so much that it simply fell over with a crash. Rossburg ordered everyone to stop, complaining that they needed to "get into their roles". "For one thing, dragons are supposed to breathe fire!" he ordered. Lina protested, demanding to know how they were supposed to do that, and why she was playing that stupid role. Different scene. The lights are turned on again, and Amelia is standing atop a prop rock, making a big speech in her hero costume. "The sun that shines in the heavens may forgive your evil, but I will not!" she vowed, looking very proud. The fake Lina orders the dragon to go forth to destroy the hero, and Lina and Gourry struggle along pathetically once again. The arguing is heard clearly all through the stage, but the scene continues. Amelia "attacks", being both lowered and moved forward with the rope so that she descends slowly toward the target, and then strikes with her sword, which appears to be made of plastic. There's a bonking sound, and then Gourry's face is seen in the dragon's mouth, tears streaming. "Ow!" he shouted. "Hold it! This is a battle!" Rossburg stops the scene. He jumps up onto the stage, complaining that there needed to be more "realism". So saying, he whips out another sword, which looks quite real, and chases around the terrified dragon, slicing the air. Amelia can only watch from the side at the crazy fiasco. Suddenly, there's the sound of a sword slashing through something. Amelia sheaths her sword, and the dragon falls over behind her. "I have slain the dragon!" she announces triumphantly. Inside the dragon's lower half, Lina mutters, "He can't complain. We were perfect!" "Hmm, it just doesn't have any 'oomph'," Rossburg is heard from outside, which causes Lina to grimace. Standing beside the dragon, he's seen with a torch in one hand and a bomb in the other, with a semi-crazed look in his eye. "What this play needs is a little flash!" He brought the torch to the explosive, lighting it. The crew of the play rushes forward, picking up Rossburg and running from the stage, yelling for someone to stop him. Just as they reach the side of the stage, the bomb explodes. Gourry mutters that Mr. Rossburg certainly goes overboard, while Lina accuses the guy of trying to kill them all. Outside in the night, Zangulus exits a restaurant. He and Vrumugun have a small argument as Vrumugun also steps out. Zangulus doesn't want to take orders from Vrumugun, so the sorcerer just reminds him, "They're to be captured alive. Is that clear?" Zangulus mutters a "tsk", and then goes out on his way. The next day is beautiful as always, and there's a large guarded area seen from above. Many caravans and horses are going through the entrance. Rossburg is driving one of them, and after he gets admittance from the guards, goes inside, with Lina, Gourry, and the rest of the play's cast and crew within the caravan. The dragon costume can be half-seen as the scene zooms in on the caravan, and suddenly a blurry-looking scene is viewed. Lina is running from gigantic versions of the dragon costume and the evil fiendish version of herself. She screams that she doesn't want to play the role. Almost immediately, a huge version of Rossburg erupts out of the ground. "You call that acting?!" he boomed. "NO MORE!!!" Lina protested, holding her head. Lina wakes up, gasping, inside the caravan. "No way... I can't take this life anymore!" she mutters. "Right guys?" However, Amelia is only seen swinging the practice sword, and Gourry appears to be admiring the dragon costume. "They're gotten used to it..." Lina sighed. "Come on, let's ditch this work and get to Sairaag!" she offered. Gourry and Amelia, however, have a different view. While Gourry says the job's easy, loves getting free food, and has grown "rather attached" to the dragon costume, Amelia emotionally states that she may have found her "true calling". "Oh. Great," Lina mutters. From afar, Zangulus and a whole army of beastmen watch the area. It's not a dome, but it's rounded, looking more like a smaller version of a coliseum. "They're definitely in that city, right? The three that stole your part?" Zangulus asked. The blue-haired man that had ran before is seen tied to a tree, obviously having been taken captive by Zangulus. "Y-Yes! That's right!" he exclaimed. "Really," replied Zangulus coldly. "Thanks for showing us the way." He sort of waved as he walked past the man with his beastmen, and ignored the man when he asked if he was going to be set free. A brown-furred wolf walked behind Zangulus, inquiring how they were all going to get in. The beast knew that Mosquita was a big, well-guarded city. "Don't worry," Zangulus replied confidently. "I've the situation all under control." With that, he held up a copy of the script that Lina and the others also had. The mood changes to that of much more peaceful, and the coliseum-place is seen from outside. All of the caravans that had come in were parked in a small area. Lina is seen sneaking out from the caravan, looking around, and then just decided to walk openly along the street. "Why should I have to take orders from that crazy old guy?" she said aloud. Suddenly, she stops, seeing the familiar wanted poster of herself on the wall in front of her. As she looks around her, she sees that she's come unwittingly to a dead end, and posters of herself, Gourry, and Zelgadis are everywhere. She backs away cautiously, but then instead is noticed by a group of knights. They ask her to stop, and Lina knows that she's now, in her words, "screwed". A hand grabs onto a wrist, and as Lina looks, she sees that it's Rossburg. "Hey, what are you doing here?" he demanded. "Sorry about my daughter," he says to the knights. Lina, though confused, doesn't speak up. One of the knights comment, "But you don't look anything alike." Lina smiles and sort of giggles awkwardly, putting all the more suspicion on her. Suddenly, Rossburg punches her square in the face, sending her flying, and then breaking apart a bunch of crates. "All you do is cause me trouble!" he thundered, causing even more confusion to Lina. He goes on with a continued made-up story about how she was causing her dead mother to worry about her. At this point, he winks visibly at her, letting Lina know that it was all just a charade. "Daughter, I know the path for you is a hard one," he continued. "But can't we walk it together?" In a brilliantly emotional way, Lina runs forward to Rossburg's outstretched arms, saying how she was so sorry, and how it was all her fault. With a loud bang, Lina slams her head into Rossburg's chin, making up for when he had punched her. "I'll do what you say and be a good girl!" Lina mocks, clenching her teeth. They got on each other's nerves a bit more, which ended with each punching the other square in the face. "Daughter...!" Rossburg muttered. "Daddy...!" Lina replied. The knights, who by now were utterly bewildered, told them to stop. "All right, all right! Just try to get along!" the lead one shouted. As Lina and Rossburg walked back, they had a small discussion. Rossburg complained about Lina running off, and how she would never be a real actor. "You know who I am, don't you?" Lina accused. Rossburg announced that it didn't matter who she was, as long as she was a "precious actor". He congratulated her, however, on putting on her performance for the knights previously. "It was like having my dear, dead daughter back again," Rossburg said emotionally. "Oh, a dead daughter now?" Lina asked. "Can't you ever tell..." as she walked up next to him, but then abruptly stopped and sweatdropped when she saw that there really was a tiny tear welled up in Rossburg's eye. Rossburg sniffed a little, and then said, "C-C'mon. The show's about to start." Pulling himself together, he strode proudly toward the coliseum-like theater. Lina stood with an odd expression mixed of guiltiness, disbelief, and apprehensiveness. "Oh, forget it," she finally said, and ran off after Rossburg inside. The place was huge, and absolutely packed. Two judges sat in the front of the audience, with pen and pad at the ready. The top-rate stage was all set, as well. And the cast was ready backstage. Except, of course, for Lina. While Amelia continued wondering where Lina was, the red-headed sorceress suddenly showed up. "You're late!" Gourry complained. Rossburg had a last minute pep-talk, and then ordered the curtain to be raised. The scene opened on the rehearsed spot, with Amelia standing atop the rock, and the evil Lina standing tall. Amelia made her speech again, and Lina summoned forth the dragon. This time, there was no cheesy arguing, though there was certainly a cheesy roar as Gourry made one come out of the dragon's mouth. The audience, though, was excited at the amazing sound effect. Rossburg watched from the side, satisfied. All of a sudden, one of the doors in the back opened, and a certain cloaked man with a hat came rushing in with a bunch of beastmen, each one having a sword at the ready. Zangulus, however, was wearing a mask of what looked like a little girl's face. "Oh, good, more animal costumes," one of the judges said, unaware the beastmen were real. "Excellent jobs." Gourry and Lina, of course, had no idea what was happening. The masked Zangulus announced, in a girly voice, that "We have come to help kill this villain!" "What?! Who's messing up the play?" Rossburg blurted, before being taken from behind by a scaly hand. Zangulus didn't know who was who, but he decided to go for everyone as he gave the order to attack. In two swipes, the dragon's head was chopped off, and also the middle, exposing both Lina and Gourry inside. "A real sword!" gasped Lina. Chaos had erupted, and below the stage, Rossburg was struggling as the lizardman held his hand tight over the director's mouth. Rossburg fumbled for anything to grab onto, and he happened to pull on the rope which opened the trapdoor on the stage. Lina and Gourry both fell through just as one of the beastmen took a swipe with his sword at them. After they fell to the ground, Lina saw the kidnapped Rossburg, and immediately knocked out the lizardman to free him. "Damn it! I dunno who they are, but they're here after us!" Lina cursed. Rossburg, however, had bigger things to worry about - at least, to him. "Leaving in the middle! You guys are the worst actors ever!" he complained, referring to the play. Lina suddenly got a burst of inspiration, and actually decided to continue the play. Gourry started to protest, but Lina's eyes had alighted in determination. "This is a play, and nobody ever stops a play," Lina stated. "Right! That's right!" Rossburg agreed. Back on stage, Zangulus chopped off the head of "Lina Inverse", revealing the man who had before been in the dragon costume. "Stop it!" he protested, making a run for it. "Not them," Zangulus cursed. Still using his girly voice, he began to advance on Amelia, who continued to protest. The judges were unfazed, still assuming the play was continuing its natural course. "Unusual play. I can't tell where it's going," one of them muttered, scribbling some notes down. Suddenly, the area beneath Zangulus lit up brilliantly, and then exploded, sending him flying. A new platform was raised, and on it, bathed in light, were Lina and Gourry, standing proud. "Ms. Lina! Mr. Gourry!" Amelia exclaimed in delight. "At last we meet," Zangulus smirked, his mask falling to the ground, cut in half. "Zangulus!" Amelia exclaimed. Lina raised her finger to the sky, and then pointed to Zangulus, proclaiming how the "Devil King Zangulus" had finally appeared, which in turn caused confusion to Zangulus. Lina continued with her made-up storyline, ranting about how he had imprisoned her and Gourry into an evil dragon. Then, after having done that, Zangulus had made an evil impostor of her, then lured the brave heroine (Amelia) into killing the evil Lina. "Oh, a new motivation!" one of the judges commented, scribbling down more notes. "One twist after another," the other one agreed. "But now, your evil scheme ends here!" Lina exclaimed, pointing at Zangulus. The crowd cheered at this new development, caught up in the plot. "Holy Warrior Gourry" feebly mumbled something like "now you will die" at Zangulus, which roused a new cheer. Amelia, realizing that Lina and Gourry for once were getting more attention than her, the heroine, ran up next to the two, shouting about joining forces to vanquish the real villain. Rossburg, watching from the side, muttered, "Great play!" "Defeat me?!" Zangulus smirked. "We'll beat you first!" However, with one shot the whole horde of beastmen was defeated, and Lina muttered her another corny line of victory. However, with the snap of his fingers, Zangulus summoned forth far, far more of his army, with beastmen and berserkers coming in from many doors. Even as Lina and Gourry complained about bringing in more reinforcements, a huge fireball from the sky shot down, which brought the judges to admiring the "Class A special effects". Lina, Gourry, and Amelia all landed neatly, and as Gourry got into a fight with Zangulus, and Amelia destroyed one beastman after another, a familiar enemy appeared - Vrumugun. Lina turned to face the sorcerer, and though she fired a Freeze Arrow, it had absolutely no effect. Vrumgun knew that she couldn't use any of her powerful spells with so many people. Suddenly, a barrel with a lit fuse rolled next to Vrumugun, and it exploded with a bang. Lina looked to the side, and Rossburg, holding dynamite, gave her a thumbs-up. "Damn it..." muttered a slightly burnt Vrumugun, humiliated. "Fireball!" Lina shouted, firing the spell at Vrumugun, to his disbelief. The huge explosive caused smoke to dissipate all over the stage, with the judges admiring how it truly looked like the guy had died. The beastmen, seeing how serious the situation was getting, all fled. Gourry and Zangulus still faced each other, but then Zangulus realized that luck was against him now. "Very well. That's all I'll do to you today," Zangulus decided, sheathing his sword. However, very unceremoniously, Lina fired a Diem Wing in his direction, blowing him sky-high and away. In closing, Amelia shouted yet another made-up line: "This one battle is ended, and the three warriors have joined together! But until Zangulus, the true villain, has been defeated, this war is not over!" The theater was thrown into an uproar, and the judges both agreed that this play was definitely the year's winner. Rossburg, also pleased, commented about what great actors the Slayers were. Still on the stage in the midst of thunderous applause, Amelia complained about Lina and Gourry stealing the role, and Gourry talked of something he was interested in - the dragon. "I think we can make the dragon part ever better!" he exclaimed. "Do it yourself!" Lina replied. "I will!" Gourry decided, and roared pathetically once again. And so the theater escapade is ended. |
| Overall Episode: 16 |
| Episode 3 of Video 5 |
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