EP06 (Slayers NEXT)

'''You Can't Escape! The Return of the Obsessive Martina! (Japanese: がさない! のマルチナふたたび!', lit. Nigasanai! Shūnen no Maruchina Futatabi!'') is the sixth episode of Slayers NEXT. It was first broadcast in Japan on May 10, 1996.

= Synopsis = In a quiet village near the mountains, where birds sing in the trees, Lina Inverse and Amelia Wil Tesla Saillune have finally found what they've been searching for: The All-You-Can-Eat-For-A-Silver-Piece Restaurant! They are about to enter when Zelgadiss Graywords grabs Lina and throws her to the ground. He's in a hurry to get to Saillune to continue his search for a spell that will return him to normal, and doesn't appreciate taking a detour just so Lina and Amelia can have a big meal. Xelloss pops out of nowhere to observe that Saillune will still be there when they finish eating. The priest has his own business in Saillune, ostensibly related to the Claire Bible manuscripts, and intends to follow the group there. He disappears. Lina and Amelia try again to enter the restaurant, but a suspicious blonde woman with huge sunglasses and a mask grabs Lina and offers her a rare coin in trade. Lina can't resist, but before she can think of something to trade, the woman takes one of the jewels from Lina's shoulder guards, hands her the coin, and runs away. Gourry Gabriev chases her into an alley, where follows an explosion. Lina explains that the jewels are fake and explode if someone removes them. Meanwhile, Gourry has cornered the woman, whom he believes to be a thief. He doesn't recognize her, but she is Martina Zoana Mel Navratilova, and his strength seems to make an impression on her. By the time the others arrive though, she has escaped.

Afterwards, Martina wanders the countryside and divulges her plot. In vengeance for the destruction of Zoana and all of her subsequent misery, she has lain the foundation for a curse using the powers of Zoamelgustar and a cursed dagger of her own creation. All she needs to complete it is a possession of Lina's. This train of thought leads her to a flashback of the encounter with Gourry in the alley, and it's evident that she is infatuated with him. But she shakes it off, since he's one of Lina's friends.

It's evening back in the town, and the quartet are spending it at a hot spring/inn. Lina's in the changing room gleefully examining her proportions in the mirror, convinced that her breasts have grown at least slightly. She joins Amelia in the bath, it's called to our attention that yes, Amelia is younger but has much larger breasts, to Lina's chagrin. The girls soak and take joking potshots at each other's appearance while, in the men's bath, Zelgadis drinks wine and addresses various grooming concerns (exfoliation and split-ends, specifically).

Inside, Martina snoops around for Lina's discarded clothes and runs into Gourry on his way to the bath. Flustered, she introduces herself as the maid and asks for laundry, which prompts him to strip and hand her all of his clothes. She collapses at the sight and runs through a mental list of his assets. Martina is convinced that Gourry would be the perfect companion, and is more determined than ever to succeed. With Lina out of the way, Gourry could be hers! However, it takes her so long to deliberate this point that Lina and Amelia have already left the bath with their things.

Martina sneaks in on Lina and Amelia while they sleep, tangled in an uncomfortable heap. She manages to get a hold of Lina's bandana just as Amelia sits up and gives justice speech... in her sleep. Lina responds by shouting a defense and chucking Martina out of the window... also in her sleep. Martina wastes no time in chanting the curse and piercing the bandana with her cursed dagger. She wins!

The next morning, Lina finds Amelia with a black eye. Amelia explains that Lina tosses and turns too much in her sleep, and at one point had to be tied down to the bed. Lina takes offense and gets Amelia in a kind of stranglehold. Suddenly, she collapses in pain, and is very confused as to why. At breakfast, Gourry takes the meat that Lina was eyeing, so she deals him a blow to the back of the head. Moments later, she receives a similar invisible blow and is slammed into the table. Lina performs a series of experiments: tugging on Gourry's cheek and jump-kicking Zel in the chest, and feels the same effects they do. Xelloss appears and observes that she must be under a curse. He demonstrates the effects placing Gourry's hand on Lina's breasts. Gourry can't help but note that they're small, and Lina kicks him viciously in the crotch. He collapses in pain and, shortly after, so does she. Seems as though any pain Lina inflicts upon anyone is strengthened and inflicted upon her as well.

Martina makes her grand entrance, but sadly, Lina doesn't remember her at all. Anyways, she reveals that she is the architect behind the curse. Amelia questions how, since Zoamelgustar is a made-up mazoku and Zelgadiss supposes that the power must actually come from Martina's obsession. The plot thickens when Martina summons a bunch of goons to draw Lina into a fight. Battle ensues, which ends up involving only Zelgadis and Amelia, since the goons refuse to fight Gourry, and Lina and Xelloss are dangling from the ceiling to avoid injury. Xelloss disappears.

The others cease the fight and run out the door to where Martina is waiting for them with an ambush. When she calls Gourry her fiance, the others turn on him to demand an explanation. Of course, he has no idea what's going on, and asks what "fiance" means. As he ticks through possible definitions, Martina realizes that he's not so bright, and her fantasies crumble. She renews her threat, but drops the cursed dagger, burying it in her boot. Xelloss appears and observes that now she's cursed too, and she realizes that she can't remove the curse without freeing Lina as well.Martina decides to kill Lina first and remove the curse second and sets out to do it... by grabbing and pulling Lina's cheek. In the girl-fight that follows, there's a lot of name-calling that ends when Martina makes fun of Lina's chest size. Incensed, Lina throws a Fireball, incinerating them both. And the curse is lifted...

The companions, minus Xelloss, retreat to the hot springs for the night. Lina is covered in burns and other scars, still lamenting the slight made to her chest. Amelia suggests that they find a hot spring that increases breast size, and is presumably attacked. Zelgadis and Gourry listen to the girls spashing and screaming from the tranquility of the men's bath and prepare to enjoy some wine.

Martina, for her part, is hobbling through a generic wasteland, still swearing revenge. Her ravings cause some nearby rocks to tumble, and they fall, naturally, right onto her head.

= Major events =

Debuts
= Characters = = Spells = = Trivia =
 * Lina Inverse
 * Gourry Gabriev
 * Zelgadiss Graywords
 * Amelia Wil Tesla Saillune
 * Xelloss
 * Martina Zoana Mel Navratilova
 * Fireball (Lina)