Disclaimer: I do not own anything in the Slayers franchise, and am making no money from this fic. I am simply doing this for fun.

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A/N: Thank you everyone who's been reading and reviewing! You guys are awesome! XD And if you haven't reviewed yet, please do! I do in fact allow anonymous reviews, so don't be shy! XD Please note that all flamers will be struck down with the Hammer of Justice! Sorry for the delay, but I just haven't had the inspiration to write lately because of another death in my family...



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"Hey, big brother!"

"Ryann?" Gourry's eyes widened when he saw his sibling at the breakfast table the next morning with a giggling Amelia. "Is that really you?"

"The one and only," Ryann said with a grin as he stood and pulled Gourry into a hug, thumping him on the back. "It's good to see you."

"It's good to see you too, kiddo," Gourry said with a happy smile. "How long's it been?"

"A little over three years," Ryann answered.

"Hey, you chopped off your hair," Gourry observed. "I remember when it used to be as long as mine."

"Oh, I wasn't the one that chopped it off," Ryann said with a chuckle. "Some dark knight tried to take my head off, but I decided I liked my head right where it was. I was quick, but not quick enough."

"Hair can always grow back, Ryann," Amelia said with a smile. "Besides, the length you have looks good on you."

Ryann grinned and winked at the princess. "Then I guess I'll keep it this way."

Amelia giggled and blushed softly.

Lina blinked as she looked over the newcomer that was a smaller, leaner and more androgynous version of Gourry. "Wow, so Gourry's your big brother?"

"Yep, and who might you be?" Ryann asked with a friendly smile.

"Lina. Lina Inverse."

Ryann's eyes widened. "Not the Lina Inverse?"

Lina grinned. "The one and only."

"Lina Inverse the dragon spooker?"

"Yep, that's the one," Gourry said with a grin and a chuckle.

"Lina Inverse the bandit killer?"

"Yep," Gourry said with a grin as he slid his arm around Lina's shoulders.

"Boy...you sure know how to pick 'em," Ryann said with a small shake of his head while grinning--all the while eying Lina warily. "I always knew you liked an element of danger in your life, but...wow."

Lina sighed and her right eye developed the smallest of twitches.

"So, Mister Gourry...why didn't you ever tell us you had a brother?" Amelia asked hurriedly as she came to stand beside Ryann.

Gourry blinked. "I didn't think of it, I guess."

Ryann chuckled. "That's my brother for ya...mind like a sieve."

Lina threw back her head and laughed. "Yeah, don't I know it," she said with a playful shove to the handsome swordsman's arm. "So how did you and Amelia meet?" Lina asked as she took her place at the table. "Hey waitress, five breakfast specials over here! Triple portions!"

"Yeah, same for me," Gourry called out as he sat down beside Lina.

"Well, I'd gotten into town late and was walking around looking for an inn and I saw Amelia here walking the streets by herself," Ryann began while sitting back down. "Well, our dad used to always say that nothing good ever comes from a girl walking alone after dark, so I followed her...just in case." It was a playful, lop-sided grin that tugged on Ryann's mouth. "Good thing I did, right Amelia?"

"Uh...right," Amelia said with a nervous giggle as she blushed.

"Get into trouble, Amelia?" Lina asked wryly.

"Just a little bit," the princess admitted sheepishly as she averted her eyes.

"So, Ry...what's next for you?" Gourry asked.

"Well, actually I was--" Ryann began.

"Oh, Miss Lina...Mister Gourry...can Ryann come with us? Please?" Amelia begged.

"Uh...sure, Amelia," Lina said with wide eyes. "It's fine with me so long as it's okay with Ryann."

"Oh, it's more than fine with me," Ryann said with a smile. "Being a mercenary is fun and all, but it gets lonely when you're by yourself."

"Yay!" Amelia cheered while clapping her hands excitedly.

"What are you so happy about this early in the morning?" Zelgadis asked as he and Rii came down to the breakfast table. The chimera stopped in his tracks. "Who's this?"

"Ryann, Ryann Gabriev," Ryann said with a smile as he stood and held out his hand to the chimera.

"Zelgadis." The chimera said before blinking. "Gabriev?" Zelgadis asked as he shook Ryann's hand. "Are you and Gourry...?"

"Mister Gourry is Ryann's big brother, Mister Zelgadis," Amelia said with a smile.

Rii smiled warmly. "Oh, it's great to meet you, Ryann. I'm Rii. It's always nice to meet family of friends."

"And guess what?" Amelia chirped. "Ryann's going to be traveling with us!" She was all but bouncing on the balls of her feet in excitement.

"Who's going to be traveling with us?" Nell asked as she and Xellos phased in.

"Whoa!" Ryann exclaimed in surprise as the two figures suddenly appeared. "How'd you do that?"

"They're mazoku," Zelgadis said dismissively as he sat down at the table after pulling a chair out for Rii. "It's how they get around."

Nell sighed and held out her hand for Ryann to take. "Hello, I'm Nell, and you are?"

"Ryann Gabriev," Ryann said as he took Nell's hand. "And yes, before you ask, Gourry's my big brother."

"Well, it's nice to meet you," Nell said with a smile. "This is Xellos."

Xellos gave a small, polite bow of his head while wearing his usual, friendly smile. "It's very nice to meet you," he said before pulling a chair out for Nell and taking his own seat at the table.

"Nice to meet you too," Ryann said with a smile. "All of you."

Lina grinned and her eyes widened when she saw her and Gourry's orders approaching. "Okay, now that everyone's acquainted...LET'S EAT!"


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...Local magic shop; two hours later...

"So...what're we doing here again, Lina?"

Lina heaved a long-suffering sigh. "I told you, Gourry...I wanted to check out this magic shop before we headed out of town...see if there's anything useful."

"And how long d'ya think that'll take?" Gourry asked as he yawned and stretched.

"However long it takes," Lina said with a roll of her eyes.

Overhearing the exchange between his brother and Lina from the other side of the shop, Ryann chuckled softly. "So Amelia," he asked softly while peering over the princess' shoulder she examined a talisman. "Are you a sorceress too?"

Amelia smiled up at the beautifully handsome swordsman. "Yes, my specialty is white magic...healing, protection, exorcisms...that sort of thing."

"Well, that must come in handy," Ryann said with a smile.

"Like you wouldn't believe," Amelia said with a giggle. "I can do some offensive spells too, but nothing like Miss Lina or Mister Zelgadis."

Ryann gave a small shrug. "Everyone has their strengths and weaknesses...there's no shame in that. So, if you don't mind my asking, how does a princess end up in your situation? Traveling around in a group like this, I mean..."

"It's all for the sake of justice!"

Ryann blinked. "Er...justice?"

"Yes!" Amelia's sapphire eyes gleamed. "I cannot stand idly by while injustice races through this world. So I, Amelia Wil Tesla Seyruun took it upon myself to become a warrior for justice!" She raised her fist into the air and struck a heroic pose. Upon seeing the bemused expression on Ryann's face, Amelia blushed furiously and giggled nervously. "Sorry...sometimes I get carried away."

Ryann chuckled softly . "So I see, but don't worry. You're just passionate." He grinned. "I like that in a girl," he said with a playful wink.

Amelia's blush deepened and her heart beat like the wings of a hummingbird. "Well, I--"

"Aiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiieeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!"

All eyes turned in the direction of the scream just in time to see Nell shrink and disappear within her clothing which fell limply to the floor without a body to support it.

"NELL!" Xellos' eyes flew open and he dropped to his knees beside his mistress. "NELL!" He was rewarded by a small, furry head emerging from within his lover's clothing.

"Mrew?" the small, sandy-colored cat mewed plaintively as she crawled onto the trickster priest's lap.

"Nell?!" Xellos looked down in disbelief, but could not deny the familiarity of the cat's familiar, violet eyes. "Oh, Nell...what happened to you?"

"What happened?" Lina and Amelia ran over and their eyes widened.

"Is that...?"

"Miss Nell?!"

"What's goin' on?" Gourry asked as he came up behind. "Hey, where'd Nell go? What's with the cat?"

"I think it's Nell," Ryann said with wide eyes.

"Mister Xellos, what happened?" Amelia asked.

"I don't know," the mazoku answered. "One moment everything was fine, and the next...this happened."

"What happened?" Zelgadis asked as he approached. "Oh..."

"Um, guys?"

All eyes turned to Rii who was partially hiding behind the chimera.

"I think I know what happened," the small thief said meekly.

"Mraw?"

Xellos' eyes narrowed. "What? What did you do?"

Zelgadis narrowed his eyes at the mazoku and blocked Rii from his view. "Rii?"

"Well, I..." The small thief held up a piece of parchment. "I was just reading some random words from this...I didn't think anything would happen."

"Mrow?!" The fur on Nell's back stood up in agitation.

Xellos growled. "You didn't think anything would happen?! You idiot! Why I ought to--"

"Back the Hell off, Xellos," Zelgadis growled. "You even breath in Rii's direction, I'll--"

"MROW!" Nell's ears laid flat against her head, and her coat and tail poofed up as she hissed and showed her fangs--her violet eyes flashing as they narrowed into slits. Spitting and hissing as she arched her back, she jumped from Xellos' lap and glared up at Zelgadis, her tail swishing angrily.

Ryann took that opportunity to step between the two warring men and angry feline before things could get any worse. "Okay, break it up, you two. This isn't helping anyone. Rii made a mistake, that's not a reason to kill each other."

Amelia sighed dreamily and smiled. "Oh, Ryann...you're so brave and fair."

Nell growled softly and crawled back into Xellos' lap.

Lina rolled her eyes. "Okay, look...Ryann's right. Calm down. We can fix this. Amelia...use the spell you used on Gourry to make him stop quacking."

Ryann blinked. "Quacking?"

"Don't ask," Gourry said with a groan.

Amelia giggled before kneeling down in front of Xellos. "Don't worry, Miss Nell," she said as she gently caressed the cat's head. "I'll have you back to normal in a jiffy."

It was then that the whole group heard the sound of several low, meows. Looking up, they saw several, large tomcats eyeing Nell's small, feline form. Nell's violet eyes widened and before anyone could do anything, she leapt from Xellos' lap and sprinted from the shop with the leering male cats hot on her tail.

Xellos jumped to his feet. "Nell! NO!" He turned his murderous gaze to Rii who had by then emerged from behind Zelgadis. "If anything happens to her, so help me...I will vaporize you from existence." His amethyst eyes glowed and he growled menacingly before phasing out of the shop.

Rii whimpered and shrank back against Zelgadis. "I didn't mean for this to happen...I swear."

Zelgadis held his lover close. "Don't worry. I won't let him touch you."

Lina sighed. "C'mon, guys. Let's go save Nell...before she gets pregnant with kittens."


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...An hour later...

"Nell? Miss Nell?"

"Nell? Here, kitty, kitty, kitty!"

"Ryann...should you really be calling her 'kitty'?" Amelia asked with a soft giggle as she and Ryann walked through the streets of the town, searching for their transformed friend. They walked close enough to each other to almost be touching, but yet they did not.

Ryann shrugged and grinned impishly. "Why not? She's a cat isn't she? At least for now, she is."

Amelia giggled. "I suppose."

"So...does this kind of thing happen often?" Ryann asked.

"Not as much as you'd think," Amelia answered. "I mean, there was the time we got turned into dolls, but that's about it."

"Dolls?" Ryann blinked then quirked an eyebrow.

"Yup," Amelia said with a nod. "Oh, and then there was the time when we all started speaking Octopii because of a spell that this particular sea-faring town was under."

"So it's never a dull moment with you guys, huh?" Ryann asked with a grin.

"Nope, not at all." The princess grinned. "Oh, and don't even get me started on all the times we've had to dress your brother up like a girl."

Ryann snorted in laughter and almost fell over. "E...excuse me?"

Amelia was beside herself with giggles. "Yes...there were two times when we had to disguise ourselves...so we dressed Gourry up like a girl." She managed to catch her breath. "He actually made a pretty girl...this one bounty hunter actually proposed to him."

It was at that point that Ryann fell over and rolled on the ground in stitches--tears of laughter and mirth rolling down his cheeks. "Oh...oh, my poor brother...! Oh, how I wish I could've seen that...!"

Amelia giggled madly. "Yeah...it was pretty funny...it happened during our first year of traveling together. The second time we had to do it, we also disguised Mister Xellos and Mister Zelgadis as girls too."

Still chortling, but with his laughter now relatively under control, Ryann wiped the tears from his eyes as he stood. "I can't remember the last time I laughed that hard," he said with a smile.

Amelia giggled. "Well, if we ever have to dress you up like a girl, I'm sure you'll make a beautiful one," she said with a shy smile and soft blush.

Ryann chuckled softly. "Yeah, well...we'll see."

"Hey guys!"

"Hi, Miss Lina!" Amelia called with a wave as Lina and Gourry approached.

"Any luck?" Gourry asked.

"None," Ryann answered while sniggering softly as he looked at his brother.

"What's so funny?" Lina asked.

"Oh, nothing...nothing at all," Ryann said with a soft snort before getting back under control. "But no, we haven't found any--"

"MROW!"

Nell raced past them with at least ten cats in full chase behind her.

"There she is!" Amelia cried.

"After her!" Lina barked as she took off after the cat. "RAYWING!" The petite sorceress closed in on the small cat. "Almost there..." She reached out her hands to grab a hold of the fleeing feline. "Almost there..." Suddenly, Nell was lifted into the air by and invisible force and Lina just barely managed to avoid crashing into a pile of trash before she pulled herself to a halt. "What the?!"

"There you are, my dear," Xellos' disembodied voice said before he appeared--securely holding Nell in his arms. "You were most difficult to track and pin down."

"Damn it, Xellos," Lina grouched. "Warn me next time, will you?!"

"Forgive me, Lina," Xellos said with a small bow of his head. "But I seized the opportunity when it presented itself to me." He glared down at the yowling tomcats trying to climb up his legs so they could get to a still panicked Nell. "If you don't turn tail and run right now, I will vaporize you where you stand," he growled.

Immediately sensing the mazoku to be a being of greater power and dominance, all the male cats turned tail and ran as fast as their four legs could carry them.

"Is she all right?" Amelia asked as she hurried over with Ryann and Gourry hot on her trail.

Xellos gently stroked Nell's back in attempts to sooth her. She was still panting, and her small body quivered--exhausted from her mad dash through the city. "Other than tired, she seems fine."

"Come on," Ryann said. "Her clothes are still back in the shop."

Lina nodded. "Yeah...hold off on changing her back until she's got clothing to change back into, Amelia," she said as she began leading the way back to the magic shop with Gourry falling into step beside her.

"You got it, Miss Lina," Amelia said as she fell into step behind her friend--smiling up at Ryann as he fell into step beside her.

"Mrew..." Nell mewed softly.

"I know, my darling," Xellos crooned softly as he cradled Nell's small, feline form in his arms as walked along behind the group. "I know you've had a very trying experience...but it's all over now." He gently nuzzled the top of her head and smiled when he heard the unmistakable sound of the small cat's purr as she began relaxing into his embrace--comforted in the knowledge that she was now out of harm's way. "You're safe now."

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