Author's Note: For those of you who read 'For Ameria': SORRY! I don't know what got into me. But now I'm happy and giggling at everything. So, yeah. For those of you who read my profile: I updated today just like I promised I would! This is a lot quicker then my other updates because the rough draft of chapter 12 slid onto the paper like... slidey snakes! So with further ado, here's the next chappy of Stone Cold:

Chapter 9: What? Could this be a Cure?

Disclaimer: Fa la la laaaa! I'm going to try an opera today:

'Slaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaayersssss...

Is not mine.' DU-DU-DUN! (Yes, I'm sickeningly happy right now)

Ameria flipped through the pages of a book about white magic, depression showing in her eyes. Her eyes stared blankly at the book, but they were out of focus as she thought about other things. It was her fifth time flipping through the book as she tried to cheer herself up. She loved the atmosphere of her enormous library full of smooth tables, the scent of fresh paper, and too many books to count. She was trying to continue Zelgadiss's research for a cure, but was having no luck since her mind was elsewhere.

She propped her head up lazily with one arm, looking blindly at the pages. She could faintly make out jumble of fuzzy black writing. But only the shallow front of her mind was on the book; the rest of her mind was churning with thoughts about everything that had happened just a few days ago. This was the first time she was able to think about the one who meant so much to her without crying.

As Ameria continued to numbly skim through the pages, she thought of Zelgadiss. The familiar, rocky face that she had grown to love. The tangled hair that had once gotten stuck in a table. His voice, soothing and (usually) calm. Zelgadiss looked as if he belonged in a hero book himself. This was one of the things that Ameria had loved about him.

In fact, she loved nearly everything about him. She could remember the times they had spent together; how much their relationship had grown over the short piece of their lives that they had spent together. He was the most important person in the world to Ameria, even more important then the father she had always looked up to. Deep feelings had quickly risen into Ameria's heart after traveling with him for just awhile. A certain 'something' that Zelgadiss had to him that was different from anything else. Something about him that made Ameria love him.

Ameria had thought that he had felt the same- or almost the same- about her. But she had obviously been wrong. Zelgadiss liked her as a companion, but she was no different from Lina or Gourry to him. Ameria had thought that if SHE liked Zelgadiss just the way he was, that maybe- maybe he wouldn't care about the others.

But it seemed as if Zelgadiss would never be satisfied with his life until he was human once again. That was why Ameria had to help him. She wanted him to stay in Seyruun with-

Ameria jolted out of her thoughts, shaking her head in surprise. In the mass of words she had been reading, Ameria had thought she had seen 'Chimera'. It might just be a false alarm, but this was the first time Ameria had ever seen the word 'Chimera' in one of the books she was reading.

Ameria flipped the book over so she could see the front cover. The book was faded red in color and looked extremely ancient. It was just a simple book about white magic, though. Ameria had actually read it a couple times before she met Zelgadiss. It was dull and overly-descriptive, and had had nothing about the spells that Ameria had wanted to learn at the time. It was more on the historical side.

Which probably meant that the passage about chimeras was just explaining experiments that people sometimes did. But there was still a bit of hope. Ameria turned back to the page she had been saving with her finger and stared intently at the page. The more Ameria read, the more she could hardly believe that she wasn't dreaming.

After finishing the page, she quickly flipped to the next one, to see if the passage continued, which it didn't. But that didn't matter. She had read enough. Ameria wasn't one hundred percent positive, but she might just have found a way to cure Zelgadiss. Oooh... If only he hadn't left. Ameria wished that she could talk to him right now, tell him what she had read. But that was impossible.

Which meant that Ameria would have to leave immediately and find Zelgadiss herself. Ameria rose and was almost ready to dash out of the library to prepare for a trip, when she froze. Zelgadiss wouldn't want to see her. His words echoed through Ameria's head, making tears well up in her eyes. 'Ameria... Get away from me. Please...' He had sounded more serious then Ameria had ever heard him before.

Zelgadiss wanted Ameria to STAY away from him, not follow him around. And Ameria wasn't too sure that she wanted to see Zelgadiss either. I mean, he had just left her, after all that she had done to try and get him to stay. Zelgadiss had left her to pursue the never-ending search for a cure. Ameria wanted to give him the information... but what would she say? What COULD she say?

Ameria wasn't sure that she could gather up the courage to speak to Zelgadiss again. Ah! That was it! Ameria could find Lina and Gourry and have THEM pass on the information to Zelgadiss. That way she wouldn't have to talk with Zelgadiss, but he could still get the important information she had just read.

That was it! Ameria dashed out of the room, leaving the book open to the page that she left it on. Ameria would get it after she had lightly packed for a trip. Lina and Gourry could be pretty far away by now, so Ameria had no idea how many days to pack for, or how much money to bring.

Whatever. She could figure this stuff out later. What mattered now was that Zelgadiss got the information. Ameria sighed with pleasure, but also felt a bit of fear deep in her heart. This was the first trip that she was going to take completely alone. Ameria felt strongly that no one could come with her. Slamming the door behind her, Ameria raced down the hallway to begin preparations.

OOOOO

Just seconds after the door to the library had slammed shut, Xelloss teleported into the room. He smiled wickedly, glad that he had finally managed to settle Firia down in a comfortable inn room. Everything was going perfect. The inn that Xelloss and Firia were staying at was so close to the town Lina was staying at that Xelloss could WALK there in less then half a day if he wanted to.

And now, to top it off, it turned out that Zelgadiss had, in fact, left Ameria. That didn't really affect his plans in any way; it was the book that Ameria had been reading that mattered to him. Xelloss walked calmly to the wooden table, keeping his senses alert for any sound that signaled Ameria's return.

He picked up the book from its place on the table, and scanned over the page. Xelloss's grin widened as he read through the words. Well. This certainly was interesting. It appeared that Zelgadiss and Ameria would be coming along for the ride as well. Not that Xelloss minded. Sure, there was the justice speeches, but Xelloss had learned to deal with those (by giving Ameria her way).

Besides, when Xelloss was finished using them, he could easily lose them. Except for Firia, he didn't have much use for anyone else. But this book... well, it certainly made things easier- and more interesting. This whole plan was at first just a stab in the dark, but it certainly seemed that Xelloss would now definitely find what he was looking for.

Deciding that it would be best to return to the inn before Firia woke up, Xelloss decided to leave. Xelloss returned the book to his original spot and then transported away. He was just in time, to, for Ameria returned to the room seconds later with a bag of supplies that were just itching to go on a journey.

OOOOO

"So, you left her didn't you?"

Zelgadiss looked up from his coffee, startled that Lina had brought up this topic already. He was sitting on one of the beds in the room they were staying in (the room had three beds). Gourry had generously offered to do his 'pick up and bring back' routine for dinner. Lina had hurriedly agreed. Too hurriedly. Zelgadiss had been suspicious that she might try to push him into something like this, but he was still startled.

"What are you talking about, Lina?" Zelgadiss asked calmly, deciding it was best to take the innocent approach to this conversation. He knew that Lina was talking about Ameria, and that she was angry, so he decided it would be best not to turn this into an argument.

"You know exactly what I'm talking about! You left Ameria when she needed you most, right?" Lina shot back at him, refusing to even consider believing his innocent act. Zelgadiss could tell by the look on her face that she was not kidding around. Lina must have bottled up these feelings for quite a long time, and had probably been waiting for the perfect opportunity to start this conversation.

"Would you stop that? Ameria doesn't need me. And you know I have to find my cure," Zelgadiss, despite the warnings that were screaming in his brain, found himself becoming a little angry as well. He was frustrated that he had made the wrong choice by leaving Seyruun, and didn't want Lina snapping at him.

"You HAVE to find a cure, huh?" Lina spat, disgust weighing down her tone. Zelgadiss opened his mouth but found that no words came out. This last comment had really caught him off guard. He emotionally felt that he HAD to find his cure. That he couldn't live a peaceful life without it. So why did Lina make him feel like his choice had been so easy to make that a five year old could have done it without much thought!

"Of course I do!" Zelgadiss finally answered, making sure to make his tone completely confident. Lina was very good at sensing weaknesses and any stammering in his voice would give away how unsure he truly was.

"What about after you find your cure? What then? Who will be left to even care how you look? You wanna lose everyone important to you!" Lina questioned, her voice losing some of the snapping tone and being replaced with something more like... sadness?

Zelgadiss stared dumbly at Lina. She was so sickeningly... right! If he finally was able to turn back into his human form, who would be there to even care about the difference? Everyone he was close to would be sick of... waiting for him. Waiting for him to succeed in something nearly impossible. Why! Why did no one else think it was important for him to once again have his original body? They all seemed to think it didn't matter, but it mattered so much to him.

"No one is important to me," Zelgadiss answered, turning his face away from Lina. He was unable to hide the quavering in his voice this time; it was horribly obvious.

"Would you stop pretending!" Lina's tone had soared back up to furiously snappy. Zelgadiss rubbed his forehead with one of his hands in irritation. It was true he was pretending, but did she have to make him sound like such a little kid! It was better to hide your emotions instead of making them a weakness! Wasn't it?

"Look, Lina. Are you saying that I made the wrong choice in going after my only hopes? Are you saying it was wrong for me not to give up on the only purpose I have of living?" Zelgadiss asked, turning his face back towards Lina and looking her seriously in the eye.

"Yeah. You did," Lina answered with no hesitation, glaring back at him seriously. Before Zelgadiss could reply to this, Lina rose from her seat on the bed. Zelgadiss flinched, bracing himself for a painful spell to come his way. But none came (yet).

"Gourry and I will be staying in another inn. Pay for this room yourself, 'heartless swordsman'! Since you like being lonely so much," Lina concluded, storming out of the door without even giving Zelgaidss a last look. The door forcefully banged shut, leaving a very shaken chimera sitting on one of the beds by himself.

"I'm doing the right thing," Zelgadiss muttered, staring across the room at his face in the mirror. But although he said these words, he no longer could force himself to believe them. Lina was right. He had really messed up. And now after he had put on that stupid heartless swordsman act, he no longer had Lina to turn to for advice of what to do.

Zelgadiss's eyes slipped out of focus as his thoughts continued. He had an ugly body, but at least his mind and personality had been turning out to be okay. But now... now Zelgadiss didn't know what to think. He didn't know if there was anything outside or inside his body that was positive. He was stupid. And not in the same way as Gourry. In a much worse way. Sure, he knew who Shabranigdu was and how to cast a fair amount of magic, but what else did he have? The answer was nothing. Nothing until he shaped up, at least. Zelgadiss knew that if he wanted to keep his friends he would have to give up the search for his cure. But he wasn't quite sure that he wanted to let it go yet...

OOOOOOO

Lina stood with her back to the door, quivering with rage. That...that guy was so...so... FULL OF HIMSELF! Lina could control her anger no longer and whirled around to face Zelgadiss's inn door, a sphere of light hovering in her hands.

"THAT LITTLE- DRAGON SLAAAAAAAAAVE!"

"DRAGON SLAVE! DRAGON SLAVE! DRAGON SLAVE! DRAGON SLAAAAAAAAVE!"

Lina watched with satisfaction as the entire inn burst into flames, hovering over the wreckage in a wind barrier. Hmmmph! Maybe that would teach that stubborn little rat not to be so selfish! But those spells had really worn her out. The last time she had cast that many Dragon Slaves was who knows when! Now all she had to do was find Gourry before he went back to the inn which was now just a pile of rubble. Aaaaaah, she felt so much better now!

End Note: Hee hee hee! That was fun! I took all my anger out on Zel. But he deserved it. Leaving Ameria like that... hmph! Okay, now to happy the day with the response to the reviewers:

Response to Happy Friends:

Yexis Metallium: Yexis is a meanie! AGAIN! Making me write a depressing fic... :grumble grumble: ANYWAYS, Xelloss's plans ain't coming for a while. Like maybe six chapters. Sorry! Actually not sorry, it's payback!

Mistress DragonFlame: No, they didn't destroy his guitar. It survived the dragon slaves (somehow) I think I MIGHT have mentioned it in other chapters- but I really don't know. There will be more guitar! If they wrecked his guitar...I'd be sad too!

vampire cuttlefish: I'm glad that Gourry's in character because I HATE WRITING Gourry. Every sentence with Gourry is agony! And this is the same with Xelloss too, except not as bad. Yay! You don't care what Xelloss's plans are! Yay! That means I can be lazy. I hope you didn't die since I updated this pretty fast.

Gerao-A: Zel sure got it. And lived for some reason... Why did he live? Oh well. He'll have to pay for the damage done to the inn (and that was a lot of damage). Poor Zel... kind of.

Maddy02: The gang isn't all together until... I don't know- chapter fourteen? They keep on being ALMOST together with one person missing until then... oh well. I WISH you would post the AZ chapter NOW! But I will be patient. And i don't think that Zel will ever get so depressed again. Eh, Maybe once. The story is going to be NICE to him from now on since I feel guilty.

Motokonobaka: Yes, that is the whole point. If it didn't hurt, then people would get no satisfaction from it. Besides, I'm used to pain! :punches self in the head: I've got a violent little brother who just LOVES to punch me. Zel actually got :counts the story: FIVE Dragon Slaves of sense. Wow.

Ichiban Victory: Yay! I think that Zel will be a good boy now. Or at least, Lina will MAKE him be a good boy. Poor Zelly-Welly...Oh well! At least he can cheer up Ameria next time he sees her. But when will that be? Oooooh, I wonder.

So, when will the next update be? The correct answer is: As soon as I finish the rough draft of chapter thirteen. And who knows how long THAT will take. Coming up next: "Hey, watch where you- What?" Lina broke off her sentence into a startled gasp as she met eyes with the last person she expected to see. Taken straight from chapter ten! See ya guys later!