The darkness enveloped the forest and village like a blanket. The crickets chirped their songs, urging spring into summer. The moon, half full, gave off a chilly light whenever the clouds let it see the earth below. Zelgadis, lost in shock, noticed nothing of this. When he finally did come to his senses, his first thought was to get home. But then he realized this new body would stop his poor mother's heart quicker then her sickness. No, his mother couldn't know.

But I can't go into the village like this either... Maybe I can sneak into the house to grab a cloak or something.

He stood, rather stiffly. The new body was difficult to move at first; the stone skin didn't want to cooperate. After a few tries, Zel managed to walk to his house. The place was dark. Mother must have gone to bed early, he surmised. She had to be worried about him by now, seeming he didn't come home like he said he would. But there wasn't much he could do about it. Sighing, Zel opened the door quietly and entered, trying to lighten up his now-heavy footsteps.

Once in his room, he grabbed a beige cover up and put the hood over his head ad covered his face. Then he wrapped his hands up to cover the stone-like blisters. There, that solved that problem. He put together a pack to hold his books and food, wishing he had taken the time to learn proper hunting skills. Finally, when everything was ready, he wrote a note to his mother, apologizing for leaving so suddenly. He left it on the kitchen table.

Halfway out to the forest where he could disappear, Zel stopped. He couldn't leave Jasmine and Asa like this. A moment of hesitation came and went before Zel hurried to the outskirts of the village in an alley, dropping his bag. Judging by the moon, it was about time for Jasmine to go for a stroll before going to sleep. He waited patiently, almost fearing that someone would catch him. Finally, he spotted Jasmine.

"Psst! Jasmine!"

Jasmine stopped, drawing a shawl over her shoulders and looking around. "Zel? Where are you?"

"I...I'm over here."

Laughing, Jasmine walked over. "Why are you whispering? And why are you back here?"

Zelgadis waited until she was in the alley. "Jas... I have to leave. Take care of mother for me, will you?"

Jasmine's happy face gave into one of worry and concern. "Leave? But why?"

He shook his head. "Don't ask. Please. Just take care of mother." He hated seeing Jasmine's face like that. It tore at his heart.

She took a step towards him, arms reaching for Zel, but Zel took a step back. "Jas, please. J-just go. I'll be back soon." He picked up the pack he had put down quickly, but not quick enough. Jasmine spotted the strange color to his skin.

"Zel, what happened to you?" Again she took a step towards him and Zelgadis retreated. But this time Zel tripped and fell backwards. Jasmine walked over to him and placed a hand on his arm. She let out a gasp. "You're skin- it's like rock!"

Trying to keep his head bowed, Zel made a move to get up. But a cruel trick of the wind blew his hood back. He flinched as he heard Jasmine scream and called him monster, demanding to know what he did with the real Zelgadis. Not being able to answer, Zel grabbed his pack and raced for the woods. He stumbled several times and finally just threw himself against a tree, sinking to the ground. He felt tears well up in his eyes. Unable to choke down the sob that threatened to suffocate him, he cried.

After a while Zel calmed down enough to think. He still had to see Asa. Asa might be able to help him. Then he thought of Jasmine's reaction and shook his head. No, He didn't think he could handle another reaction like that. He sighed. There was only one thing he could do: go to Rezo and ask him to cure this... curse.

Zel got up, shouldering his pack, and started walking away from the village. He could hear the people of the village yelling out warnings for keeping the wives and kids inside. But Zel didn't look back. He had chosen his path, and he didn't plan to return until he was back to normal.

************

Zel hesitated outside the town. The last few days haven't been easy and he was running low on supplies. But he couldn't stand the way people looked at him, as if he was suspicious of something or worse yet, a freak. Sighing, he made his feet move into the town, making sure that his face was completely covered.

With money he had taken from bandits that tried to rob him, Zelgadis purchased a room at an inn He placed his sword against the wall and collapsed onto the bed, not bothering to take off his cloak. Closing his eyes, Zel tried to banish everything that his mind tried to come up with: Jasmine, Asa, his mother, what he had become...

What was he anyway? He figured part Golem, that wasn't hard. He thought he felt some of his humanity still left in his veins, but he couldn't make out the other part. That was another thing nagging on the edges of his mind. Whatever it was, this whole new makeup disgusted him. If he hadn't been so foolish....

Zelgadis suddenly sat up, hearing something at his door. What was going on? It was still early evening, the sun was setting but there was still light. Frowning, he reached for his sword. But instead of the door getting busted down as expected, there was a knock instead. Uneasy, Zel asked who was there.

"The name's Dilgear... If you open the door then I can explain why I'm here." The voice was deep and almost a growl. What kind of creature makes that kind of vocalization?

Zel gripped his sword, not trusting the words of the voice. The people of the village could be setting a trap against him.

"I promise you I won't do any harm. You and I have a mutual ally. He has sent me to guide you to the place where you're supposed to meet him."

He walked over to the door and opened it. In the doorway a werewolf was leaning casually against the doorframe. He straightened and walked into Zel's room. "Hmph, so you're the grandson of Rezo." He said as Zelgadis closed the door.

"Why did Rezo send you to guide me?" Zel asked, glad that he hadn't take off the cloak.

"Because he felt that you might.... get lost. Besides, you and I are going to be partners, once you get trained up a little."