Slayers Hollow Phibrizio: Slayers Hollow? Viv: Yep! Dynast: Another crossover? Viv: Yep! Xellos: Everyone run for you lives!!!! Viv's writing a crossover!!!! *Viv smacks Xellos over the head with her shoe* Xellos: *whines* Ouchies!!! You're so mean Viv-chan! Valgarv: So what are you doing to us now? Viv: Sore wa himitsu desu! Sasinak: *as she enters the room* I'm here for the fic, Viv! Gaav: Sas is joining us too? Viv: Of course! ^_^ She helped me come up with this idea! Sas: No, I just gave you suggestions! You're the one who likes the- Viv: Shush! I'm not telling them what I've got planned! This one is going to be a surprise! Phibrizio: Oh boy. . . L-Sama help us. Sas: *rolls her eyes* Has she EVER helped you in these stories? Dynast: No, but- Sas: And you expect her to help you NOW? Gaav: Actually. . . Viv: Give it up. She isn't going to help you now, and she NEVER will! *everyone but Sas and Viv whimper* Val: So besides myself, yourself, Sas, the Lords and Xellos, who else are you sucking into this black hole of insanity that you call "fan fiction"? Viv: *pouts* People happen to like my stuff, you know! And Sas's too! *Viv waves to everyone who reads her fics* Val: You didn't answer my question. Viv: Oh, um. . . Lina, Gourry, Phibby, PJ, Valterria, Tallen and Genie. Zelas: Phibby and PJ are always fun. . . they put off enough negative emotions to feed the whole Mazoku race! *Phibrizio Hell Blasts Zelas* PJ: *as he and the others Viv mentioned appear* Why are you frying Aunt Zelas, Dad? Phibrizio: No reason! Tallen: I take it you are going to stick us into one of your infamous 'short stories' Viv-kun? Viv: Of course! Now, without further ado, I present to all of you, 'Slayers Hollow'! ^_^ Valgarv: Also know as 'Viv's latest black hole of insanity that Sas has helped fuel'! *Val gets clobbered by Viv's shoe and Sas's fist.* Phibrizio was bored. . . Viv was bored. . . Sas was bored. . . even XELLOS was bored. (You know things are bad when Xellos gets bored) Everyone who was at Viv's house was bored out of their skulls, and it was raining so hard outside, no one that could drive (or Viv permitted to drive, that is) wanted to risk it, and no one else want to go anywhere. " I'm bored and I'm hungry!," Lina whined. " Me too," Gourry sighed. " We could always watch some anime!" " We've watched Slayers, Slayers Next, and Slayers Try five times through this week, and we've watched the good Sorcerer Hunters tapes more then that, and all of us with a decent amount of brain power know Lodoss by heart!," Dynast snorted. " And Viv doesn't have any Pokémon tapes." Phibrizio sighed and began to juggle five of his trademark 'soul orbs'. " Whose souls are you literally throwing around?," Tallen asked. " Amelia's, Naga's, Martina's, Prince Phil's and Filia's." " HEY!," Viv said. " Don't mess with Filia!" Everyone else in the room sweat-dropped. " Heh. . . or any of the others!," Viv added. Phibrizio sighed and the orbs vanished. " Let's go play in the rain," Deep Sea said. A split second later, lighting flashed and thunder rumbled. " Why don't we just skip the going outside and waiting to fried by lightning and let Lina fireball us instead?," Valgarv grumbled. " FIREBALL!" " See, it's much faster!," a now charred Val said. " Leave my Dad alone, Lina-san," Valterria sighed. " At least the electricity is still on!," PJ said. The lights blinked out all over the house. " The neighbors lights are out too," Gaav said from his spot by the window. " BAKA!," Phibby yelled and clobbered her little brother. " If you hadn't said anything, nothing would have happened!" " You don't know that!," PJ said. " Actually, she's probably right. It's one of those bizarre laws of the universe," Sas said. " Well, it can't get worse," Gourry grinned. " And there goes law of the universe number two!," Sas sighed. " What do you think will happen?," Viv wondered aloud. " Viv, did you know there is a broken action figure on your dresser? The guy is missing a head," Phibrizio said. " It's-," Viv started. " You should chunk it," Dynast said as he picked it up. " Uh oh. . . ," Sas sighed. " Now you've gone and done it, Dynast." " PUT THAT DOWN!!!," Viv yelled. Dynast obeyed and backed up a few paces after setting the figure back where he had got it. " Anyway, what are we supposed to do?," Xellos asked from the chair he was currently tied too. He had tried to break out of his boredom by annoying the others, and they caught him *let* Lina beat him, and proceeded to tie him to a chair with Mazoku-proof rope so he couldn't escape. " The power is out, and thanks to Gourry, things are going to take a turn for the worse any second now." " Well, at least we're here at Viv's and not in some other dimension," Gaav chuckled. Everyone stared at him. " Oh shit!," Gaav said, realizing his mistake. For a minute, no one moved. " Maybe L-Sama wasn't listing. . . ," Genie shrugged. Everyone sighed with relief. Then there was a flash and Viv's house was empty. A moment later. . . " I'm free!," Xellos sang happily as he bounced around a clearing. " Where the hell are we?," Zelas asked. " I have no clue. . . ," Viv sighed. " Well, we're in the woods, and someone has taken the liberty of changing our clothes as well," Sas said. Everyone looked at everyone else, then at their own clothes. " What *is* this outfit!," Genie cried. All the girls were in late 1700s American style dresses, and the guys were in men's clothing of the same period. . . this meant that Genie didn't have her trench coat, and she was not happy about it. " So where are we?," Valgarv asked. Everyone shrugged. " I want my trench coat!!!," Genie yelled. " And my sword!!!" " From our clothes, I'm guessing were in the late 1700s in America. I wonder if the Revolutionary War has taken place yet?," Viv wondered. " War?," Gaav asked, perking up considerably. " I hate this dress," Sas muttered. " I'm betting the war is over. I don't think L-Sama hates us enough to throw us into the middle of a war." " Damn it," Gaav and Genie said at the same time. " So what are we supposed to do while we're here?," Tallen asked, " and Genie, I'm missing my mace if it makes you feel any better." " I don't know," Valterria shrugged. " But obviously we're going to be here for a while since our clothing has changed." There came a bombardment of "I hate this dress," from all the girls. " So are we just going to stand here all night, or are we going to look for a town?," Dynast asked. Viv looked up, and saw a full moon in the sky. She hadn't even noticed it was night. " Dynast-kun is right," Phibby said. " We should do something more then just stand here!" " These woods are kind of creepy," Lina said. " I have no complaint against that," Zelas said. " I actually like these woods." " Be quite, all of you," PJ said. " I hear something." After a minute or so of being quite, the group heard the sound of hoof beats ringing in the night. After another minute, everyone could tell the horse was coming their way, and a light fog began to swirl, covering the ground. The fog was thick and came up to just above Val's ankles, but didn't go up any farther. " How strange. . . ," Deep Sea muttered. After another few minutes of silence, the hoof beats rang out loudly, and a soft rumbling noise could be heard. Suddenly, a huge jet black stallion leapt out of the woods, he reared up when he saw the group and let out a screaming neigh. " Oh! Look at the cute little horse!!!," Sas squealed like a child would over a puppy they had just gotten for Christmas. She pulled a bundle of carrots out of nowhere and ran over to the horse and began to pet its massive neck. She totally ignored the rider, and happily petted the horse and feed it carrot after carrot. " Uh. . . Sas?," Gourry said. " Hmmm?," Sas said. A huge smile was still on her face and she was now brushing the horse's mane with a brush she had produced from L-Sama knows where with one hand and was still feeding the horse and endless stream of carrots with the other. She still hadn't looked up at the horse's rider. " Is it possible for a human to survive without a head?," Gourry asked. Sas looked up and saw Gourry was the only one looking at the horse and presumably the rider as well. Everyone else was giving Viv an odd look. Viv looked like a star-struck fan girl who had just saw the star she was in obsessed/in love with for the first time in person. Sas gave her friend an odd look, but turned back to Gourry. " Of course not. . . why?," Sasinak asked. When Gourry asked stupid questions, he usually had a reason. . . and usually the reason was as asinine as the question. " Then how come the guy on the horse is alive?," he asked and pointed. Sas turned around and screamed at the top of her lungs. A man without a head was seated in the horse's saddle. He was in leather armor, and had a sword strapped to his side. A long cloak flapped slightly in the breeze behind him. Sasinak screamed again and scrambled backwards. When the man got off his horse, Sas ran and buried her head in Val's chest. " Who is this guy!?," Phibby yelled. " Isn't he great?," Genie said in a dreamy voice. " Well, Genie's gone," PJ sighed. " It's the Headless Horseman!!!!," Viv squealed like a fan girl. " He is so cool! He's almost cooler then Phibrizio!!!!" Phibrizio flinched and glared at this 'Headless Horseman'. " The what?," Valgarv asked his little sister as he wrapped his arms around Sas protectively. " The Headless Horseman!," Viv squealed again and ran up to him. " You are so cool! Where did you learn to use a sword like that? I bet you could hold your own against Gaav!" " What *are* you babbling about Viv?," Dynast asked. " Haven't you people ever read the book 'The Legend of Sleepy Hollow'!? Or seen the new movie, 'Sleepy Hollow'!?," Viv demanded. Everyone shook their heads simultaneously. " Must I always inform you people of everything!," Viv rolled her eyes. " This is the Headless Horseman. He used to be a Hessian soldier that came over during the Revolutionary War to help the British keep control of the American colonies. He used to ride his horse into battle and cut people's heads off!" " Cool!," PJ grinned. " I could get to like this guy!" " Anyway, one day six American soldiers shoot poor Daredevil-" " Daredevil?," Genie asked. " The kawaii horse!," Viv said, " and chased the Horseman into the woods. They cornered him and he killed two of them before the soldiers over whelmed him and cut of his head with his own sword. . . then they buried him. Twenty years later, someone stole his skull and used it to control him." " Control him how?," Tallen asked. Genie was slowly working her way towards Daredevil. " They command him to come and kill people," Viv said. " So let me get this straight. . . not only is this guy dead, someone is controlling him and telling him who to kill?," Deep Sea asked. " Hai," Viv nodded. " Let me guess, he decapitates people, right?," Zelas asked. Viv nodded again. " Viv, you have the strangest taste in men," Sas's muffled voice came from somewhere in Val's chest. " HEY!," Phibrizio snapped. " You're one to talk, Sasinak!," Lina snickered. " Valgarv is more messed up then the Horseman and Phibrizio put together!" " Yeah, well, at least I have a brain bigger then a rat's!," Valgarv roared. Before Lina could retaliate, Viv turned back to the Horseman and began to gush some more. " So, Horseman-kun, can I have your autograph?," Viv asked. Phibrizio growled, glared at the Horseman, grabbed Viv's wrist, and proceeded to drag her off into the woods. " Phibrizio! I wanna talk to him some more!!!!," Viv whined as she disappeared into the woods. Everyone just started after them. Genie took the chance to jump up on Daredevil's back. The Horseman turned around, and jumped up on Daredevil's back as well, and rode off into the woods. . . in the opposite direction. If he noticed Genie was there, he didn't say, nor do, anything about it. " GENIE!," Valterria yelled. She turned around, gave her best friend a triumphant smirk, and waved. " Oh great!," Tallen sighed. " Why are you still standing there?," PJ asked as he ran after the Headless Horseman. Phibby, Tallen, and Valterria bolted after him. " Now what?," Dynast asked as he watched his girlfriend disappear into the woods. " Viv?," Valgarv called, picked Sas up, and went the direction Phibrizio had dragged his sister. The others shrugged and followed. Soon. . . Genie giggled to herself as she wrapped her arms around the Horseman's waist. " So, where are we going?," she asked. Daredevil stopped dead in his tracks. " Why did you stop?" ~ Who are you? ~," a voice asked Genie in her mind. " Was that you?," Genie asked the Horseman. ~ No, it was Daredevil. ~ " You've got a dry sense of humor," Genie snapped. " My name is Genie. I'm the daughter of the Chaos Dragon Gaav, the second most powerful of the Five Mazoku Lords." ~ Mazoku? ~ Genie sighed. " I'll explain it to you as we go." " Hey Genie! Wait up!!!!," PJ's voice rang out. " Go! Now!," Genie said and kicked Daredevil in the sides. The massive horse shot forward. ~ You were saying about Mazoku? ~ Meanwhile. . . As the rest of the group neared a new clearing, they heard Viv screaming at Phibrizio in Ancient Dragon. When they entered the clearing, they saw Phibrizio shielding his head with his arms as Viv beat him relentlessly with her shoe. Phibrizio, meanwhile, was yelling, " I'msorry!I'msorry!I'msorry!" " He is so whooped," Xellos snickered. " Am not!," Phibrizio managed to yell between being hit with Viv's shoe. " Viv, why are you so mad?," Gourry asked. " I wanted to talk to the Horseman!," Viv wailed as she stopped beating Phibrizio and sat down on the ground with a thud. " He's so cool and I was gonna see if he would fight Gaav just to see which one of them can fight better!!!! And I wanted to go for a ride on Daredevil and see the Tree of the Dead!!!!! And I wanted to help him get his skull back so I could talk with him and drag him back with us!!!!" " So why are you beating Phibrizio?," Lina asked. " Because he dragged me away!!!," Viv screamed as she jumped up and began to chase Phibrizio around the clearing. Phibrizio proceeded to scream and run. Valgarv shook his head, and sighed. " Hey, where are Genie and the others?," Gourry asked as he looked around. Everyone turned to look, and the 'kids' were no where to be found. " Now look what you've gone and done! Not only have you ruined my chance of making friends with one of the most famous and coolest villains in history, you've lost your own kids too!!!!," Viv yelled and smacked Phibrizio with her shoe again before marching off in the direction they came. " Where are you going?," Zelas asked as everyone, even Phibrizio, ran after Viv. " I'm going to find the others! Genie probably followed the Horseman, and the others probably followed her, and he went this direction, so we'll go this direction!," Viv said. Meanwhile. . . " Genie!!! Wait up! I know you're up there! Get you're boyfriend to stop that horse!!!!," PJ half whined half yelled. " He's not my boyfriend!," Genie yelled from up ahead. " We're never going to catch her at this rate," Tallen sighed. " This dress isn't helping. . . ," Phibby mumbled. " I look like an old fashioned porcelain doll!" " Then go to adult form," Valterria shrugged as he pulled off his jacket and shirt. A second later, his wings appeared on his back and he took to the air. " I'll catch them faster this way. The rest of you follow me with your Mazoku speed." The others nodded and Phibby went to her adult form, only to pout because in her adult form she was also in an old fashioned dress. PJ grabbed Tallen's arm, and they all speed after Valterria. A minute or so later, Valterria smiled as he saw Genie and the Headless Horseman. They seemed to be heading for an old, huge gnarled tree. The tree began to lean to the left at about half way up its trunk, and its bark was black. A huge clearing surrounded it, and it was barren of all life, not even weeds grew around it. Valterria could sense a huge evil force coming off the tree, and it reminded him of going down to Phibrizio's palace after hanging around at Ceifeed's Temple for a long time. . . " Hey Genie!," Valterria yelled down to her. " What do you want now, Valterria?," Genie asked as she looked up at him. ~ Friends of yours? ~ " Who said that?," Valterria blinked. " I heard it. . . but then again I didn't." " It's the Horseman! He can talk to you telepathically," Genie said. " That's my best friend, Valterria." ~ Didn't you say you had a group of four friends? ~ " Where are PJ, Phibby, and Tallen, anyway?" " Right here, Genie-kun!," PJ giggled as he suddenly appeared in next to Daredevil. . . he was hovering in mid air. " I left Phibs and Tallen behind. They're being slow today. So, Horseman- san, where are we headed?" PJ asked, then he giggled. " No offense! I guess I should ask where we're going!" Genie rolled her eyes and hit the Hellprince over the head with her shoe. ~ The Tree of the Dead ~ " Oh. . . I like the name!," PJ smiled. Then he got a curious look on his face. " What?," Genie asked and raised an eyebrow at him. " Ne, how long do you think it will take Viv-chan and the others to find us?," PJ asked. Valterria laughed from above. " If she still wants to talk to the Horseman, it shouldn't take her to long to track us down, and the others will tag along. . . as usual!" " You know, Horseman-san, you may just be as cool as all the Lords but my Dad!," PJ laughed. " PJ!!!!," Phibby screamed from somewhere behind them. " No one is cooler then Dynast-kun!!!!" " In your deranged mind, maybe," PJ snickered as they reached the clearing Valterria had seen from above. Daredevil stopped and PJ and Valterria landed. Tallen and Phibby emerged from the woods a few moments later. " Genie, the others are going to go ballistic when they notice we're gone," Tallen sighed. " He's right you know. Poor Sasinak-chan!," Valterria said. " What's wrong with Sas?," Genie asked as she jumped off Daredevil's back and began to take a closer look at the tree. " The Horseman scared the living daylights out of her!," Phibby said. " She still had a death grip on Val when we left." ~ Are all of you just going to follow me around? ~ " Yep," Phibby and PJ grinned at the same time. " OH!!! Look at the nifty sword!!!," Genie said as she ran over to a sword that was sticking up out of the ground. ~ Don't touch that! ~ " Why not?," Genie asked as she reached for it. ~ BECAUSE!!!!~ The Horseman walked over to Genie and literally picked her up and carried her away from the sword. Tallen sighed as Genie and the Horseman began to fight over the sword. In the woods. . . " We are *SO* lost!!!!!!," Lina screamed at the top of her lungs. " Um. . . I'm confused," Gourry said. " How can a guy survive if he doesn't have a head? How can he see? Or breathe? Or talk?," the swords man of light asked. Then a horrified look passed over Gourry's face, then he yelled, " HOW CAN HE EAT!?!?!?!?!" Everyone sweat-dropped and Viv fell on her face. " Gourry!!!!," Viv yelled as she jumped up and grabbed him around the neck and began to strangle him. " He is DEAD!!! He doesn't need to do any of those things!" " Oh," Gourry said. Then he blinked. " Um. . . how does he think?" " UHG!!!!," Viv screamed. " How do YOU think!!!!!" She hit Gourry over the head with her shoe and stormed off. " Viv!," Valgarv yelled and ran off after her sister. Sas went with him. (Mostly because she was still clinging to Val, but she was worried about her friend too) " That's two people that Viv's mad at," Gaav said. " What is this? Make Viv so mad that she'll kill us *all* in her fics day?" " Let's hope not," Xellos said. " Ne, Viv-chan! Are you okay?" *In the Sea of Chaos, L-Sama wondered how Phibrizio was going to get out of THIS mess. . . * At the Tree of the Dead. . . The Horseman had Genie in a headlock, and her dress looked more like rags then the elegant gown it had been twenty minutes ago. Phibby had lost interest in fight, and was petting Daredevil, PJ and Valterria were trying to figure out the deal with the tree, and Tallen was drawing magic runes in the dirt just to make sure he could remember them. (So far he had half the story of Ceifeed and Shabrangido's battle written.) " Hey!," Tallen whined when the Horseman stepped on his 'writing'. The Horseman didn't respond, and Genie flipped him over her shoulder, and he landed in the middle of the runes. " Now you've just erased the part where Ceifeed gives his speech!" " What is with this tree?!," PJ screamed and glared at the Tree of the Dead. ~ Glaring at it is not going to help you, child. ~ " I'm not a child," PJ growled and began to circle around the tree. " Do you give up?," Genie asked the Horseman as he stood up. In response, he tackled her. " You guys!!!!," Tallen yelled as more of his writing was erased. Then he looked down at what was left and sweat-dropped. " Nani?," Phibby asked. " They erased everything that has to do with Ceifeed, but everything that has to do with Shabranigdo is perfectly fine. . . ," Tallen said. " Yare, yare! Genie-chan, what have you done to your dress!," a voice giggled from high above. Everyone looked up (okay, so technically the Horseman *can't* look up, but you get the idea!) and saw Xellos sitting in the branches. " Xellos? Where is everyone else?," Valterria asked. " Well, all of the Mazoku can sense this tree, and I think Viv can too, because she's stomping her way though the woods towards us as we speak." " Is she mad at Dad?," Phibby asked. " Of course," Xellos smirked as he jumped out of the tree. " This is an *odd* tree. . . " " Well, it's called the Tree of the Dead," Tallen sighed. " I wonder why Viv wanted to see it?," Xellos mused. " Viv wants to see the tree?," Genie asked as she tried to steal the Horseman's axe from him. " Yes. Do you know anything about it, Horseman-san?" ~ Why do all of you keep adding '-san' or '-kun' to the end of my name? ~ " It's nothing you need to worry about," PJ grinned. " Now what's so special about this tree? It feels like home." ~ Home? ~ " Yeah. My baka of a little brother is right. It does feel like home," Phibby said. ~ I don't understand. . . ~ " Phibby and I live in Hell. And I'm not a baka." ~ I see. The tree is a portal between this world and Hell. ~ " Oh really?," PJ said and raised an eyebrow. Phibby walked over and began to look at the Tree of the Dead more closely. After a moment or two, she tentatively reached her hand out towards the tree. Just as her fingertips brushed the bark, the ground around the tree began to shake, and a scar like wound in the tree's bark began to seethe. Phibby removed her hand, and everything went back to normal. Slowly, Phibby reached out and touched the tree again, and the tree's scar began to seethe. With a giggle, she pulled her hand away. ~ When you touch the tree, the portal begins to open. ~ PJ gave the tree a look, and reached out and touched it. As soon as his hand made contact with the bark it, the scar began to open. After taking his had away, PJ muttered, " It's like an on off switch." " That's one way of putting it, I suppose," Valterria mused. " I wonder if it will respond to all Mazoku like that?," Tallen wondered. " Let's see," Genie giggled and walked over to the Tree of the Dead. She tripped the Horseman on the way over, and grinned at him over her shoulder. " We'll call it a draw this time, ne?" ~ I suppose. ~ With a smirk, Genie put her hand on the tree trunk. Nothing happened. She shrugged and her grin widened. " How much you want to bet that when Phibrizio touches this thing, that portal flies open?" " I bet it will start reacting to his presence right away," Xellos said. ~ Phibrizio? ~ " Phibby and PJ's dad," Tallen said. " He's the most powerful of the Five Mazoku Lords, and he's the Hellmaster." ~ Hellmaster. . . I wonder. . . ~ " What are you mumbling about?," Genie asked. " Well. . . you can't exactly mumble, but you get my point!" The Horseman didn't answer her, he just walked over to Daredevil and began to undo the braids Phibby had put in his mane. " Hey! He looked cute like that!," she yelled. " I don't think 'cute' is the look the Headless Horseman is going after," Xellos giggled. ~ Not exactly. ~ As soon as the Horseman had 'said' those words, everyone else came storming out of the forest. " Cool tree," all five Mazoku Lords said at the same time. " Hey! It's the headless guy again!," Gourry smiled and walked over to the Horseman and began to wave his hand over the Horseman's neck. " Wow! He really doesn't have a head!" ~ You are an idiot. ~ " He's a jellyfish for brains swordsman," Lina grumbled. " I'm surprised he even remembers how to fight at times." Gourry, meanwhile, as ignoring Lina and the Horseman, and continued to wave his hand over the Horseman's neck. " This is fun," he laughed. " You know, Lina, he does *kill* people that annoy him," Viv said to Lina. Lina face-faulted and ran over and dragged Gourry away. " So, now what?," Valterria asked. " I have a feeling we're here to *do* something. . . " " Maybe we're supposed to help Horseman-kun?," Genie said. " That's it!," Viv said as a smirk appeared on her face. " What?," everyone asked at the same time, even Daredevil gave her a curious look. " We have to help him find his skull!," Viv said. " Huh?," everyone but the Horseman asked. ~ You know about that? ~ " Yep! And I also know who is in control of you!," Viv grinned. " You just leave everything to us!" ~ Is that really a good idea? ~ " No," Valgarv said. " Run. . . run far away while you still can." " VALGARV!," Viv yelled and hit her older brother. " See what I mean?," Valgarv said. ~ Anything is better then listening to some stupid human who is using me to get petty revenge. ~ " What is the deal with this tree?," Phibrizio asked as he walked over to the Tree of the Dead. " It has 'evil' written all over it and it's practically screaming 'I came from Hell!!!'. . . " " It's the Tree of the Dead," Viv said. " It's a portal between this world and Hell. It's how the Horseman travels between worlds." ~ Speaking of Hell, I need to be returning. . . I take it I will see all of you tonight? ~ " Yep! Hopefully we'll have your skull by then, since it seems to be so important," Tallen nodded. ~ You have no idea. . . Viv, since you seem to know who-and what-I am, please keep them away from the sword. ~ " Will do!," Viv nodded as the Horseman got up onto Daredevil's back. Genie grinned and walked over by the tree. Her father gave her an odd look, but didn't say anything. Suddenly, Daredevil shot forward towards the tree, and the scar burst open, and a fire red opening appeared in the tree. " Cool! I can see the palace!," PJ giggled, and Phibby hit him. As Daredevil shot forward, Genie grabbed on to the Horseman's arm and swung herself up behind him. A split second later, Daredevil, the Horseman, and Genie were gone. " I can't believe she just did that!!!!," Valterria yelled. Phibby walked over to the tree and put her hand on it. Nothing happened. " Why isn't it working!," she whined. " Maybe it only works when Horseman-san is out. . . I think he's in charge of the portal," Tallen said. " Viv, care to explain about his skull? And what sword is he talking about?," Dynast asked. Gaav was starting at the tree with an odd look on his face. " I can't believe she just ran off with a guy!," Gaav mumbled, " And a guy without a *head* for that matter!!!!" " It had to happen some time, Gaav," Zelas snorted. " She is a girl, you know!" " At least Viv-chan likes him," Deep Sea added. " Anyways! About the sword, he's talking about that one," Viv said and pointed to the sword Genie had gone after earlier. " That's where he's buried, and that's his grave marker. As for the skull, someone is using it to magically control him. If we find it and return it to him, he can do what he wants." " And after you get his skull back, you're going to insist he return home with us, right?," Phibrizio grumbled. Viv glared at him. " No! I'm going to ask him." Sas giggled. " Oh well. . . I suppose I can get used to him once he has a head. . . " Viv smiled at her friend. " Are you going to let my brother go, anytime soon?" Sas blushed and let go of Valgarv. " Where is this skull, anyway?" " I have a few ideas, come on," Viv said as she headed away from the Tree of the Dead. Phibrizio followed, and did not look happy. Soon. . . " So are we just supposed to break into this woman's house?," Phibby asked. " Yep," Viv nodded. " If it's not here, I have an idea about one other place." " Let's go then," Gaav grinned evilly and swung the door of the house open. As the group stepped inside, a servant girl screamed. " Hey, we're just here looking for the Headless Horseman's skull," Dynast grinned. " Do you happen to know where it is?" " Yeah. . . he's been in a really bad mood lately. . . of course, who can blame him. I'd be mad if someone stole my skull too," Xellos giggled. The servant girl promptly fainted. " Well, that was boring," Phibby yawned. " Let's all spread out. It could be anywhere. We're going to tear this house apart if we have too!," Viv giggled. " Joy," Phibrizio muttered and didn't even enter the house. Soon. . . " No one found it?," Viv sighed. " Nope," Dynast shook his head. " I found a really neat skull, though!," Gourry piped up. Everyone turned to him. " Don't worry, it couldn't have been the Horseman's. It looked human, but its teeth were all pointy." " Gourry," Viv said in a calm voice, "where did you find this skull?" " Um. . . I don't remember!," Gourry grinned. Viv fell flat on her face. " I take it that was Horseman-san's skull?," Deep Sea asked Viv, who was still lying on the floor. " Hai. . . he filed his teeth down to points to make his appearance more terrifying." " Cool," Zelas said. " Come on then. At least we know it's in the house." An hour later. . . " Found it!," Lina sang and came down stairs into the parlor. " Can we go now?" " Sure," Viv said as Lina handed her the skull. " We still have almost the whole entire day to burn." " Now what?," Gaav asked. " I am kind of hungry. . . ," Gourry said. " Me too," Tallen and Lina said simultaneously. " I think there is an inn in the town. Come on," Viv said and the group filled out of the house. Phibrizio stood up as he saw them come out. " Took you long enough," he said. " Well, if you would have helped, maybe it would have gone by faster," Sasinak snapped. " Viv's already mad at you! You're just going to make it worse!" Phibrizio just grumbled and followed the group into town. In town. . . Viv was right, and there was an inn at the edge of town. It was small, and cheep too. (Which was good because the only money the group had was some that Gaav has taken from the house) After everyone finished eating and were on their way out, the servant girl ran in with several other people, and pointed to the group. " They're the ones who said they knew the Headless Horseman!," the girl yelled. " We do know him, and he's going to be rather pleased that we found his skull!," Xellos giggled. " What!?," everyone in the inn but the group yelled. Viv smiled and held up the Horseman's skull. " Here it is. You see, someone in this town was using it to control the Horseman, and that person ordered him to kill everyone that's dead," Viv said. " We got tired of *mortals* using our friend for their own petty revenge, and decided to help him out." " And now that we have his skull, it's up to all of you to find out who was in charge of him!," Xellos giggled. Then he walked out of the inn. Everyone else followed. The townspeople were to busy staring to even try and stop them as they entered the woods. Meanwhile. . . " So this is where you hang out all day?," Genie asked as she petted Daredevil. ~ Yes. Do you think you're friends can really get my skull? ~ " Viv-chan said she knew where it was, Horseman-kun!," Genie giggled. " You should have more faith in her." ~ I feel strange. . . ~ " What do you mean?," Genie asked. ~ It's like I'm hungry. . . but then again, I'm not. ~ " Uh. . . you're dead, right? So you don't eat anyway. . . so how *can* you be hungry at all?," Genie blinked. ~ Why do you think I'm confused! ~ " You don't have to get all snippy! I'm sure it's no big deal!," Genie rolled her eyes. Then she sighed. " Now you've done it! I'm hungry too, and PJ and Phibby aren't here to argue!" ~ How would their arguing help you any? ~ " We Mazoku feed of negative emotions," Genie whined. " Like fear, anger, and when people get upset. . . " ~ Since you've begun to whine, I'm not hungry. . . ~ " L-Sama! I think you're turning into a Mazoku!!!," Genie giggled. " It suits you, actually!" ~ Joy. . . ~ That night. . . As soon as dusk began to fall, the Tree of the Dead burst open, and Daredevil leapt out. The Horseman and Genie were both on his back. " Guess what!," Genie yelled as she jumped down. " Nani?," Valterria asked. " Horseman-kun is turning into a Mazoku!," Genie giggled. " Really?," Viv asked. " So since you're going to get Astral Vision in a little bit, I suppose you don't want this back. . . ," she giggled as she held up the Horseman's skull. ~ You are not very funny, Viv-chan. ~ " '-chan-?," Phibrizio asked and raised an eyebrow. " I told him all about being a Mazoku, and explained why we add '-chan' '-kun' and so on to the end of names," Genie grinned. Viv handed the Horseman his skull, and he placed it on his neck. There was a flash of lightning, and in a flash, the Horseman looked like a 'normal' human being. He had blue eyes and black hair. His skin was rather pale too. " This is much better," he grinned. " It's weird actually hearing you talk," Genie giggled. " Sas, how come Daredevil is following you around?," Valgarv asked as he watched Sasinak walk around the clearing with the huge black horse following her like a lost little puppy. " I think he wants more carrots. . . ," Sas giggled. " Not only has your presence turned me into a Mazoku, you've corrupted my horse as well," the Horseman rolled his eyes. " Now how am I supposed to keep a horse in my backyard. . . ," Viv mused aloud. " That's if you're coming back with us, Horseman-kun?" " I might as well. . . I have nothing better to do, after all," the Horseman smiled. Suddenly, PJ burst out laughing. " Nani?," Phibby asked him. " L-Sama says to get back to Viv's, just to go back though the Tree of the Dead. . . she fixed it so it would take us home," PJ grinned. " What's so funny about that?," Zelas asked. A second later, Deep Sea Dolphin started to laugh too. " What is with you two?," Dynast asked. " Nothing. . . just a little joke from L-Sama, that's all," PJ smiled. Deep Sea shook her head, but smiled too. " Let's go home then!," Viv grinned and the group headed back to Viv's. . . *In the Sea of Chaos, L-Sama laughed, " Phibrizio better get over the fact that the Horseman is there to stay, or he's not going to be in a good mood!*