The day was perfectly clear, with no wind to speak of in the little outcropping. It was a little warmer than expected, although not hot enough to be considered unpleasant. A bird chirped somewhere nearby.

"Hmm... The center pentagram is a little crooked, Zel. Move the bottom right a little back– There! Perfect!"

"Technically, it's a hexagram, Lina." Zelgadis said, stepping out of the array to admire the group's handiwork.

It was quite an impressive job. Traced painstakingly in the dirt were three concentric circles, a series of runes running between them. At each of the cardinal directions there was a large, unfamiliar symbol, and in the center was a six-pointed star. Various objects were placed at each corner of the hexagram, and at its very center was an image of the sun.

Gourry whistled. "Wow. This thing looks complicated."

"Just wait until you see the ritual..." Lina made a face. "This spell's a nightmare, Zel. It's archaic as hell, and there are like three full pages of incantation!"

"Speaking of which," said Amelia, "who's reading the spell, me or Miss Lina?"

"Even though the spell needs a white mage present, it's formulated more like black magic." Lina sighed. "It'll probably be easier if I just read it. Go stand on the other side of the array."

Gourry turned. "We're starting it now?"

Lina shrugged. "Might as well. Zel, you should probably go stand on the sun."

Zelgadis nodded excitedly, and headed to the center of the hexagram.

Lina glanced up briefly at the sky; there was not a cloud to be seen. They really couldn't have asked for a better day.

She sighed again.

"I know it's probably silly of me to ask this, but... You sure you want to go through with this, Zel?"

Zelgadis almost laughed. "Of course I'm sure. Why wouldn't I be?"

"Well..."

"What if something goes wrong, Mr. Zelgadis?" Amelia fidgeted nervously on her side of the array.

"Yeah," Gourry chimed in. "If it doesn't work at all, that's one thing, but what if it works part way? Like, what if this spell gets rid of your human side instead of the other one? Or what if it separates out the golem and brau demon, but you wind up stuck together like conjoined twins?"

"That's a little much, Mr. Gourry..."

"I'm grateful for your concern, but I really don't think there's anything to worry about. Not only was this book Rezo's, but I'm fairly sure I even found the spell he used to turn me into a chimera. If there is a cure at all, it's got to be this." Zelgadis smiled. "Besides, this spell was listed as 'A ritual to restore a chimera, in body, mind, and spirit.' That's about as straightforward as they come."

"Well, alright then!" Lina positioned herself in front of the array, the leather-bound book held firmly in her left hand. "Let's get this show on the road!"

"All ready over here!"

Lina took a deep breath, eyeing the weathered pages carefully. Well, she thought, here goes...

The air seemed to still as she began the incantation.

"Lady of the darkness,

Lonely beyond measure,

We call upon thee asking of thy power.

Lord of the light

Awash upon the sea,

We call upon thee asking of thy mercy."

There was a slight intake of breath from Amelia; her side of the array had begun to glow slightly with white magic. Lina stepped forwards into the first circle, her own magic coiling around her ankles.

"We stand before thee two,

Opposite and yet one,

Born out of thy essence.

Let our power flow together,

And call upon thee as in the beginning."

She stepped into the second circle carefully, as the magic energy surrounding them increased.

"Golden lord who has suffered silently for all eternity,

We swear before thee,

And offer to thee our tribute."

As she stepped into the third circle, the objects placed around the hexagram vanished. The energy within the circle increased yet again, and suddenly Lina was worried. The ritual was no where near complete; it was bizarre that the magic level within the array was this high already.

"Before us stands one who is made of more than one,

One who wishes to become what he once was yet again."

She stepped into the center portion of the array, facing Zelgadis.

"We ask that thou restorest him to what he once was,

And takest from him what he no longer desires,

And in return, we will give to thee what he does not want.

Let the aspects of his being which he rejects leave him,

And let them instead flow into thee,

Thou who art always alone,

And let them remain at thy side

For all eternity."

This was the part Lina was unsure about. The next piece of the ritual required a fresh drop of the chimera's blood, which, due to Zelgadis' body, might be rather difficult to obtain. Luckily, Zel had been thinking ahead of her. Using the enchantment on his sword, he made a small cut on his palm, and held his hand out to her. Lina nodded in silent thanks, continuing the incantation without a pause.

"With this blood, he signifies his true desire,

Upon his own flesh he has marked his commitment.

Let this be a sign between all present that he does this willingly,

And gives up part of his being unto thee

Without force or coercion,

His gift complete and permanent."

A drop of Zelgadis' blood rolled off of his hand, hitting the array with a frightening hiss.

"Let the chimera which stands before you become one once again;

Take from us the power needed,

And restore him in body, mind, and spirit!"

The array flared into life, shining brightly even through the mist of magically energy surrounding them. Lina felt the familiar drain, and waited expectantly for the spell the come to an end.

But the magic wasn't winding down. The power swirled around them, growing faster and faster with each passing moment. Lina's breaths came harder as she felt her magic being pulled out of her. At the other side of the array Amelia wobbled a little.

The energy surrounding them whirled chaotically, and with a new underlying violence. It was all Lina could do to remain standing, and she gasped as still more of her power was syphoned away from her and into the spell. Zelgadis dropped hard to one knee, his face pale.

It's too much, she realized suddenly. The spell was draining everything they had and it hadn't even reached its peak. The magic was too thick to see through now, and it whipped around with no sign of slowing.

There was a thump as Amelia hit the ground. Lina tried to call her, but the words were wrenched out of her throat as still more of her magic was pulled into the spell.

She can't keep this up! This level of magic drain will kill her!

Lina turned around her, looking vainly for some sort of support. The spell was too far gone to stop now; if she tried, Lina would probably do more harm than good.

But if I don't do something...

A stone hand closed firmly on her arm. Looking down, she saw Zel, his breathing harsh and irregular, his teeth gritted in pain.

"Lina! We have to stop this; Amelia can't take it!"

Lina shook her head. "I can't! The spell has too much momentum!"

They were practically screaming over the maelstrom, the magic tearing at their bodies and clothes.

"We have to do something!"

"I know that!" Lina's thoughts churned frantically. They couldn't stop the spell, meaning whatever magic it required would be taken from them no matter what they did. But maybe if the total magic was the same...

"Lord of Darkness of the Four Worlds

I call upon you

Grant me all the power that you possess!"

The Talismans glowed brightly, and Lina felt the pull of magic shift slightly, pulling from her instead of from Amelia.

Zelgadis' death-grip on her arm loosened, then fell away altogether.

"Zel!"

The magic was too thick now for her to even see her own hands, much less him. Every breath she drew tore at her throat; the magic in the air cracked hard around her. The spell tore still more magic from her chest. And more. And more. Lina lurched.

Even with the Talismans?

The world spun. She staggered, the wind whipping her around like a doll. It was all she could do to stay conscious as yet more magic wrenched it's way out of her and into the storm.

Her breathing was ragged, her sight dim.

We can't go on like this!

And suddenly, the wind was slowing. Slowly, ever so slowly, the magic in the circle faded. Light seemed to return as the world stopped spinning, the clouds of magic dissipating in the midday sun.

A bird chirped overhead.

"Lina!" shouted Gourry, running over to her. "Lina, what happened? Are you okay?"

Lina got to her feet shakily, almost giddy with relief. "Yeah... I think I'm fine, now."

Amelia was already getting up.

Thank the gods... Lina thought, and practically collapsed in Gourry's arms.

"Miss Lina! What happened to you Miss Lina?"

"Hmm..?" Lina was confused for a moment. With exhaustion setting in like this, it was entirely possible she was mistaken, but shouldn't she be more worried about Amelia?

"Miss Lina, your hair's white!"

That got her attention. Looking down, she saw that Amelia was right; her hair had indeed turned white.

"Wow... Was that spell suppose to use up that much of your power?

"I didn't think so. Zel seemed pretty surprised too..." She jolted up suddenly. "That's right, Zel! We have to go make sure he's okay!"

She tried to get up, but both Gourry and Amelia stopped her.

"Hold on Lina. You're in no shape to go running around."

"That's right. We'll all go check on him together!"

With Gourry's and Amelia's help, Lina made her way over to the center of the clearing. The array was gone; only the faintest outline of the innermost circle remained. Zelgadis lay in the center, his form twisted in the dust.

"Zel? Zel!" Lina moved to him, then drew back with a startled gasp. Instead of bluish rocky flesh, his face was pinkish and pale. Where there had once been razor sharp wires, there was now nothing but soft black hair. His eyes fluttered once, then opened, revealing not the hard steely eyes she had grown accustomed to, but something undefinably softer.

"You're..."

He looked at her, then Gourry, then Amelia, his gaze not quite focusing on any of them as he got to his feet.

"Mr. Zelgadis... You're human..."

Something flashed across his face. Surprise, relief, disbelief? It was impossible to place.

Suddenly, he fell, his body collapsing out from under him as he tumbled into the dust.

"Mr. Zelgadis!"

Amelia rushed towards him, barely catching his shoulders before his head hit the ground.

He looked at her again, confused.

"Who... are you..?"

And with that, he passed out.