Choice!

Can Gourry make the

right decision?

Sylphiel was terrified, "Wh... what are you going to do with me?"

"Well, as long as you don't annoy me too much and Gourry shows up to save you on time, nothing. Of course, if either of those things aren't satisfied I've got a new test subject for my hexes." Replied the woman with a fiendish grin, she was of average height and had long black hair with a gold circlet on. She had a black cloak on but the most noticeable part of her was her nails, which were long and painted black. They looked sharp, as sharp as any sword Sylphiel had seen. Then she realised they weren't quite the most noticeable thing: that award went to the day old, boot shaped bruise on her face, which sort of spoilt how intimidating she looked. "Now shut up for a minute, I need to concentrate." She picked up a book and started reading out some incantations under her breath. Sylphiel took this opportunity to examine her surroundings: She was in a dimly lit room underground. There were bones and stone tablets scattered across the floor and several pillars holding up the ceiling. A man in a dark robe with bleach white hair was chasing a crow around whilst giggling cheerfully and a white haired girl was slumped over a table in a corner. The woman finished her spell and closed her eyes. They opened a few seconds later but were entirely black. Her breathing was heavy and she stood perfectly still as if in a trance.

"WAAAH!" Gourry spun round as he felt a hand on his shoulder, only to see nothing behind him. He was about to pass it off as nothing when he heard a somewhat familiar voice.

"Hey Gourry."

"What the- where are you?"

"Oh god damn it I didn't think this one through. Would you mind standing between the nearest vertical surface and the nearest light source?"

"That's an interesting request for a disembodied voice."

"Just shut up and do it."

Gourry found a large boulder and stood with his back to the sun. Suddenly, he saw a shadow step out from his own. "Hey."

"AAAH!"

"Hee hee hee hee. Sorry."

"Wh... why am I talking to a shadow?"

"I don't know; maybe you're insane."

"Really?"

"Oh gods... why are you so stupid? Just listen and keep your mouth shut for a bit okay? I've got some girl hostage, apparently she knows you, name's Sylphiel."

Gourry gasped, he'd been searching for Sylphiel non-stop in the time he'd been in Ylisse since they had been together when they appeared here.

"Bastard! What have you done with her!?"

"Nothing yet, just hurry up and follow me, or my shadow at least."

Gourry ran down the cracked staircase into the darkness, "Light come forth!" the Sword of Light's blade illuminated the darkness and Gourry found himself in a circular room filled with coffins. "Hmm, doesn't look like anything too bad here." He went to the door and pushed, then he pulled, then he kicked it. It didn't budge. Just then; the coffins started to open and skeletons began creeping out. This would be a lot more intimidating if it wasn't so cliché. "Welp; guess I'm fightin' these guys." The skeletons, two dozen in all, assembled around the room, they were armed with low quality swords, spears and bows. As they charged Gourry leapt over the front line and into the centre and began swinging wildly in all directions cutting down six of the monsters in a matter of seconds. The next few moments were a blur of sword swings, spear thrusts and arrows until all the skeletons lay dead, well, deader, on the ground: along with a few locks of Gourry's hair where a sword swing had narrowly missed him. The door slid open. Gourry went on, deeper into the dungeon.

Gourry hadn't met much resistance since the coffin room. There had been a few low level monsters here and there but nothing actually posing a threat. There had been treasure, keys, puzzles and maps, but it looked as though he was finally at the last room where Sylphiel was being held. He ran full pelt towards the door and flung it open. "So he finally arrives. I must say I was beginning to think you'd gone and died already. Hee hee hee." Gourry saw a familiar face, a black robed necromanceress.

"Hey, you look familiar, who are you?"

Her expression was priceless. "Oh. My. God. I tried to kill you, like... a day ago! Ring any bells!?"

"Oh yeah! You were gonna experiment on Lina!" He then noticed Sylphiel, Tharja's creepy minion with the white hair was holding an ornate dagger to her throat. What was his name again? Henry, that was it. "Sylphiel!"

"Gourry!"

"If you've harmed a hair on her head I swear to Sifi..."

"Oh don't worry," Grinned Tharja, "We're not going to hurt her as long as you co-operate, now usually for humiliating me like that and causing all my research to get destroyed I'd just kill them. But fortunately I was able to find a scapegoat for that." She motioned to Noire's unconscious body on the other side of the room. "So, if you don't want Henry to do his favourite thing in the world to your friend here then you'll join our little gang, we could use some extra muscle, help us get subjects for my experiments and research. Eventually we'll find the perfect hex and we can sell it to whichever warlord or ruffian leader pays the most for it. If the shepards show up then you'll help us fight them off."

Sylphiel screamed, "Don't do it Gourry! Nothing is worth abandoning the path of righteousness!"

"So what'll it be Gourry? Your friend? Or justice?

Evil or Sylphiel dies? What choice will he make? Guess you'll have to watch the next episode to find out!