Episode 028: What? Expect the Unexpected
After all the explanations about spells were out of the way and Lina expressed her understanding, Celo nodded his approval at her conclusions. He smiled in a similar way to that of a nerd after spotting a collector's edition of a famous book of his favorite subject on sale at his most frequented shop. "The difference between the spells is that young Phythan's spell focuses on the positive side of chance, while Miss Martina's spell attempts to control both the positive and the negative, to attack and defend, all at once, thus making it a more difficult spell. If the two titans of mastering chance collided, then surely the boy would have been driven to the edge. Yet he retreated as if he did not wish to be freed from his prison, that which was stolen."
"Which is what?" Lina growled impatiently. "What was it that was stolen?" Other than a history lesson in spells, all that they knew so far was that something was apparently stolen from the monster race. Phythan seemingly had that something, which Celo attempted to draw out by pushing Phythan to use more of his dragon energy. Yet Phythan seemed to be unaware of what he possessed.
"There was a monster who served Lord Beast Master," Celo revealed. "It was an average monster in the lower end of the middle class. That monster went on a suicidal mission to steal the Genie's Lamp, rumored by humans to be able to grant wishes, but in reality possessing no such power. There are many versions of these events which contradict each other. One version says that the dragons allowed the monster to run away with the lamp, blaming its incompetent guard for the loss, since he fell asleep on the job. The dragon guarding the lamp pursued the monster and was in turn pursued by the dragons. The dragons then slew them both and took back the lamp."
Phythan tried to recall what really happened, his memories were still a confusing mess in need of interpretation, but somehow that sounded kind of familiar. "I suppose something like that might have happened. I don't quite remember, but there was a battle and a monster."
"What came next was the key element," Celo continued. "The dragon boy and the monster were left for dead; however, a small breath of life was still in them. According to my information gathering, it was the mysterious Green Alchemist, or someone working for him, who took the dragon and the monster and fused them together. The dragon was the strongest out of the two, thus he prevailed over the monster and mostly retained his form. He also resisted the fusion, making it incomplete. As a result, rather than a chimera capable of using fusion magic, which was the goal of the experiment, they ended up with a dragon boy possessed by a monster. This was not a complete failure, as in some occasions the subject was able to produce fusion magic when the dragon boy was weak and the monster became his equal. Yet the dragon would eventually repress the monster, though he was unable to expel it and the balance required for fusion magic would be lost."
Phythan stared at Celo in shock, "is that what really happened? Is that what I am?"
"The monster was a servant of Lord Beast Master, thus her property," Celo stated. "The Green Alchemist has no right to use her property, thus I was given the mission to recover it. Of course, the monster would be killed for its betrayal unwilling or not. It seems the monster has more awareness than I thought and hid deeper within you when I tried to push you to throw him out by overwhelming him with a concentration of magic from within, via the use of your good luck spell."
"If the monster has already been sentenced to death, wouldn't it be easier to just kill Phythan along with him?" Xellos cheerfully inquired.
"No!" Filia loudly exclaimed. "I won't let you!"
"Me either!" Amelia joined in.
"Neither will I. Even if the golden dragons condemn me to death themselves, I refuse to give up!" Phythan added.
"Calm down," Celo requested in his tranquil respectful voice. "Killing this young man is not in my plans, I'm afraid she will be quite upset if I do."
"She?" Xellos questioned curiously. The she in question couldn't possibly refer to "Zelas?"
"Master Zelas has left it up to me to decide how I go about this mission," Celo explained. "She doesn't mind if the boy lives, thus I have decided to keep him alive, for her sake."
"Who is she?" Xellos inquired insistently, with a warning tone that let Celo know he shouldn't go on any more circles.
"She is-" The wooden clock tower suddenly shook with the origin of the vibrations coming from above. "She is here." A few more minutes passed as the heavy steps turned so light that they were hardly perceptible in the creaking wood. "Dear, we have guests!"
The nearly inaudible steps became faster and clearer as they drew closer, until an old woman Filia knew she had seen somewhere before, joined them in the tea room. "Not just any guests, I see. Although I never thought I would see sweet Filia and general Xellos sitting around the same table."
Filia's memory fell into place as she recognized the woman. "You're the one who bought that vase from my shop. It's the vase I saw in the north dome!"
"Ah yes, it's a lovely vase," the woman smiled. "Well, since you are not in disguise," she glanced at Celo, "I take it that means I don't need one either?"
"That will not be necessary," Celo confirmed.
"Good," the old woman transformed into a younger shape with long blond hair and pointed ears. She looked like she was in her middle twenties, albeit she was actually a little over six hundred.
Filia recognized her instantly, "Tiffany!" The reason why Celo looked so familiar in his true form also surfaced in her mind. "You're that human... No, you didn't make a pact with a monster that time, you were a monster all along and those others were your underlings. You only disguised yourself as a human. The that means that Tiffany's human lover was... a monster?" Filia felt her eye twitch in shock.
"Okay, you lost me," Lina frowned; she had been understanding things so far up until this point. Filia apparently knew the old woman who turned out to be a young woman. Then again, judging by her ears she was probably a dragon, and the shaking of the tower from before was most likely her landing on top in dragon form before changing into a human form. "I have a feeling that I'm missing a large chunk of information here."
"Tifa, you're alive!" Phythan ran to his cousin who hugged him and ruffled his hair as if he was a little boy.
"My little Phythan, look how much you've grown, my little cousin. I'm glad to see you well and you've made friends with sweet Filia." Tiffany held his face, examining his eyes. "That monster is still in you, I see. My dear Celo does seem to take his time in getting things done, it appears. Don't worry, I'm back from my little vacation, so I can take care of you now, I'll get that nasty monster infection out."
Xellos looked back and forth between Tiffany and Celo, the wheels in his head spinning wildly. "You two are together?"
"Indeed," Celo replied with respectful cheer, as if it was not an unusual situation at all.
"And Lord Beast Master knows?" Xellos continued.
"Of course," Celo nodded firmly. "Getting close to a dragon was part of my research mission, yet things turned out differently in the end. Nonetheless, thanks to this resort, I am able to observe humans and come up with methods to train monsters into being more resistant to positive feelings. Although Lord Beast Master usually only sends those who have failed her and they tend to refer to the training as torture, but that's not the point. I keep my research flowing smoothly and Master Zelas allows me to live here with my beloved." Xellos twitched at the word beloved and was suddenly very thankful that he was a full breed monster and not some weird monster human chimera freak like Celo.
At the same time, Filia was struggling to recover her ability to speak. She finally managed to find her voice as tears rolled down her face. "Tiffany, I'm so sorry! I shouldn't have turned you in, that was terrible of me. I was supposed to be your best friend, but I betrayed you."
"It's alright, sweetie," Tiffany forgave her all too easily. "I don't bare a grudge against you. She pulled both Filia and Phythan into a bone crushing group hug. "The ways of our people were outdated and close minded, for that we all had to suffer, but don't worry, it's all in the past. You have no idea how happy I was when I saw that you had left the temple and were running your own business. You broke free of the erroneous ways of the golden dragons and I knew then, that after what you had accomplished, after gathering the strength to leave your own kind in search of a better life, I could not stay angry at you. I'm sorry I did not reveal myself at the time, I thought it might be troublesome for both of us if I did."
"It's such a touching story!" Amelia watched on with a dreamy expression.
"You mean you know what's going on?" Zelgadis inquired in surprised. Even if she appeared to be justice obsessed and quick to get carried away, Amelia could be very perceptive at times.
"It's Romeo and Juliet all over again!" Amelia declared with an enamored sigh. "A monster human chimera in love with a dragon. Her family wouldn't accept him and love was not common in his. Yet against all odds they realized their love and lived happily ever after!"
Zelgadis blinked, he didn't get why Amelia was so into their story. "Romeo and Juliet died," he pointed out, "those two are still alive."
"It's a better version of Romeo and Juliet!" Amelia cheered contently.
"Right," Lina spoke in impatience. "So, to clarify, Tiffany was Filia's friend when she lived with the dragons, but she ran off with Celo, which was forbidden. Now Filia and Tiffany have been reunited and rekindled their friendship. Additionally, Phythan is Tiffany's cousin." Lina placed her hand on her head. "Talk about twisted family ties. You're a real freak, old man. Furthermore, the part about taking back what was stolen isn't even about recovering an item; it sounds more like performing an exorcism."
"Indeed," Celo nodded calmly. "However, even if the union between Phythan and the monster turned out to be similar to possession, the methods use were more so those of creating a chimera. Therefore, an exorcism by traditional means will not work, especially since the monster is so deeply hidden. I can tell by the color of his eyes."
"I was wondering about that," Lina prompted for further information.
"Phythan's natural color is violet, while the monster in him had bright red eyes in a fully powered state and dark redish-brown in a low power state. When they are balanced, his eyes are a wine color, when the monster is in control his eyes are red, when the monster is dormant his eyes are brown. All of this influences his personality as well," Celo explained. "The fact that one of Phythan's eyes returned to his natural color, while the other is brown, means that the monster is hiding deep within."
"What?" Filia explained suddenly, all eyes immediately landing on her. So the charming Phythan was the version of him that was influenced by a monster, the sly tricky version? Monsters were not supposed to be even remotely charming! Although that explained why she was kind of reminded of Xellos, there was a monster involved. Realizing that everyone was staring at her, Filia cleared her throat in embarrassment and tried to act natural. "What a terrible thing, we must cure Phythan of the horrible monster in him!"
"Yes, we must!" Amelia joined in affirming the declaration.
"Then I could probably get cured by the same method." Zelgadis had a hint of hope in his eyes that he had not so strongly felt for a long time.
"I cannot assure that," Celo warned. "Phythan and the monster have not fully united, the dragon keeps resisting constantly. If you have already fully integrated your chimera parts to your being, the situation might be different for you. Even so, I suppose it wouldn't hurt to recreate the conditions used for Phythan and use them on you as well."
"It's worth a try," Zelgadis settled.
"So is this why you wanted to hire me?" Lina asked in disappointment. "Exorcism isn't really my strong point," she admitted, but was quick to add, "even so, if the pay is good I'll still give it a try!"
"I'll help," Amelia immediately offered, "and you don't need to reward me because I'm doing this to help Mr. Phythan."
Lina frowned; there went her chances of cashing in some coins. "I guess you don't need me for anything then," she pouted.
"There is another job I have in mind that will better fit your skills, Miss Lina." Celo's respectful tone had a clear hint of secrecy that made it extra suspicious. "However, I will not require your services right away, nor do I guarantee that I will, but it seems very likely. If I do offer you the job, the pay will be considerable."
"Then quit doubting and hire me!" Lina exclaimed.
"Not yet," Celo shook his head meaningfully. "The task would make no sense at this point."
Not wanting to further jeopardize her future earnings, Lina decided to leave it at that. "Fine, just let me know when you're ready to share the details." She noticed that Xellos was giving both her and Celo a suspicious look, with an eyebrow raised and one eye open, but ignored it.
"It's late and I'm sure you're all tired," Tiffany finally concluded. "Why don't you all get some rest, there are plenty of rooms here at the clock tower. It's a bit rickety, but cozy once you get used to it. We can talk about our plans tomorrow." She smiled, "and before we go to bed we should... make smores!"
Filia laughed, "you still love making smores."
Tiffany nodded cheerfully, "some things never change. I can't sleep without having some good smores."
"Count me in!" Lina couldn't be happier with the suggestion.
"Me too, I like smores!" Gourry woke up from his staring blankly at the walls hibernation at the mention of delicious food.
"We should all go," Amelia happily declared and the group went off to make classic campfire smores in the forest near the tower.
xoxox xox xoxox
The next day, the group was glad to find some boxes that had been left in front of the doors to their respective rooms. The boxes contained clothes identical to their classic traveling outfits, except they were clearly new and of very high quality. Glad to be out of the costumes and wearing something that felt familiar, Lina and her friends went off to the tea room to have some breakfast. They were all there, Lina, Gourry, Amelia, Zelgadis, Filia, Xellos, Phythan, Celo and Tiffany. A feast was already waiting for the guests, which they happily enjoyed, especially Lina and Gourry.
"This is great!" Lina exclaimed between bites. The pancakes, the toast, the eggs, the bacon, the cinnamon rolls, the mixture of juices, it was all perfect. "My compliments to the chef!"
An obnoxious laughter filled the air as Martina entered the room. "Then you admit that I am the best? For it was I who cooked this delicious meal for Master Celo's guests. Although at first I didn't realize his guests included you. This is indeed far too good for you."
"Martina!" Lina felt her stomach turn. "You cooked all this? Suddenly it's less tasty." The unthinkable had happened, Lina stopped eating. Nevertheless, the order of the world was restored soon enough when Gourry made a move on the last cinnamon roll. "That's mine!" Then their battle of gluttony continued as if it had never paused.
"Such a lack of table manners," Martina huffed.
"Miss Martina, I'm glad to see you're feeling better." Phythan smiled, he still had one brown eye and one violet.
Martina did a double take; that young man didn't have eyes like that before. But she soon shrugged it off, it was probably a trick of the light or something. "I feel as good as new today. Lady Tiffany, Master Celo's kind hearted wife stopped by to see me yesterday night and used her healing magic."
"I'm glad everything worked out," Amelia good naturedly smiled.
Zangulus soon entered the room with a letter in his hand. "I see you're all enjoying my Martina's delicious cooking. Lina, you have a letter for when you're done."
"Really?" Lina inquired between big bites of food. "Who's it from?"
Zangulus read from the envelope, "it's from... Luna Inverse... Inverse, huh? So it's a relative of yours?"
Lina had stopped eating and grown terribly pale. Gourry took the opportunity to steal her last piece of pancake and she couldn't even react to stop him. "Lu... Lu... Lu... Luna?" An ear splitting wail followed. "Hide me! Hide me!"
"Calm down, Miss Lina, it's just a letter!" Amelia tried to console her.
"She might be there; she might be hiding in the envelope!" Lina screamed nonsensically.
"How can a person fit inside such a small envelope?" Zelgadis tried to reason with her to no avail.
"Give me the letter," Martina took the letter from her husband and opened it.
"Hey, what are you doing reading other people's mail!" Lina snapped.
Martina held out the letter to Lina, "I thought you didn't want it."
Lina looked terrified and hid behind Gourry, "get that thing away from me!"
"Oh, stop it! It can't possibly be that bad!" Filia took the letter from Martina and read it aloud. "Dear Lina, I heard that you got married without even telling me or our family about it. I am very upset to have missed the happy occasion of my sister's wedding. You better have a good explanation for this. Love, Luna." Filia finished reading. "It's a short letter and to the point," she commented.
Lina let out another ear splitting wail. "Pen and paper, give me pen and paper!" Celo, who was getting a headache from all of this, hurried to fetch the requested materials by teleporting away and back, he brought an envelope too. Lina snatched away the materials and began to write desperately. "Dear Luna, It was all a misunderstanding, I did not get married, so there's nothing to be angry about. Love, Lina."
"Aren't you going to tell her you're engaged?" Gourry gave Lina his best sad look, which was more convincing than a kicked puppy and a kitten in the rain put together.
"I... ah... um..." Lina felt her face heat up as her blood rushed to it. "Sure..." She added to the letter, "PS: I'm engaged to Gourry Gabriev, but don't worry, I won't get married without inviting you and our family." Lina sealed the letter inside the envelope, which fortunately already had a stamp, and hastily scribbled in the address of her home town on it. "I need this letter to be sent right away, my life depends on it!" Lina dramatized.
"Oh, don't worry sweetie, we have the fastest courier pigeons in the land," Tiffany assured. That Luna person must be a truly fearsome being.
To be Continued
