"It's too dangerous." Zelgadis said in a tone that did not invite argument.
Ace argued anyway. "Whatever we do it's going to be risky. And I don't think our typical strategy of finding uncorrupted human material and grafting it until the foreign elements are minuscule will work in this case."
Zelgadis opened his mouth to shut her down, but Gourry cut in before he could, "Why do you think that?"
"Because the miasma is so corrupting. It would be like trying to hold water in a funnel."
"We don't know that. We've never worked with something with miasma before." Zelgadis shot back, "And until we know that we should stick to the tried and tested methods."
"That work for chimeras created in a lab! This is a different beast. And while we're trying tried and true methods we will be losing time. Who knows how long we'll be able to keep her knocked out for one thing." Ace said.
"What are you wanting to do?" Gourry asked.
"Humu Sepat." Ace said.
Before she had even finished speaking Zel said, "It's too reckless."
"What does it do?" Gourry asked.
"It's a spell that causes any non-human material to separate from what is human. It just draws it out like a magnet, leaving the human body and everything else behind. It would also drive the miasma out from her system. Her sanity won't survive if we don't expel it." Ace explained.
"It would be a brutal shock to anyone's system! It could kill her." Zelgadis countered.
"I don't think it will." Ace said. "And we don't have time. This isn't a beast that can be knocked out while we dally with traditional methods!"
"Which are based on so many hypotheticals…"
"What do you think, Lina?" Gourry whispered as Zelgadis and Ace continued to argue.
"It's really out of my field." Lina said as she scanned the entrance into Zefiel City, which was fast approaching. If Gertrude had attacked there was no sign of it. It seemed like an ordinary winter day. "But I sort of think they both have a point. We're just not going to know until we find Trudy and get a feel for what is needed."
A merchant riding a wagon filled with supplies exited the gate and waved at them, "Inverse!" he said cheerfully as he spied Han.
"Marro!" Han replied.
"Congrats on the double surprise."
"Thanks! Everything okay in Zefiel City?" Han asked.
"Just a typical day."
"Be careful on these roads. Our wagon was attacked and whatever it is is still roaming these woods as far as we know. You may want to postpone your trip until we track it down." Han said.
"Thanks for the heads up." Marro said as they approached the city gates and entered the city proper.
"Well, at least it seems as though Zefiel City is safe for now." Gourry said.
"Don't you know by now not to say stuff like that!?" Lina shouted.
"That voice!" Someone in the crowd ahead exclaimed, "Look! It's her! It's Lina Inverse!"
For a moment Lina thought that she was going to be handed a request for help, but instead she found herself needing help as they were mobbed by a crowd of people. "And she brought the babies who will save us from the evil Mazoku!" Another cried as she reached a hand out to touch Aurelia and Lina instinctively put her arms around her daughter and pulled away, only to find another person in the direction she turned reaching out to touch Aurelia.
"Back off!" Lina yelled as she took the burping blanket she'd slung over her shoulder and brought it down to cover Aurelia's head.
"He's so cute!" Someone else said, and Lina looked beside her to find that Gourry was fending off a similar crowd who wanted to ogle Midas. Oh, but this couldn't be good for a brand new baby!
"In the name of Ceiphied, clear the way!" Luna thundered as the sky seemed to darken with her displeasure.
Just like that, the crowd dissipated, clearing a path to the palace. Lina exhaled as she rubbed Aurelia's back. She couldn't be too grateful to Luna though. "What sort of stories have you been telling these people!?" Lina asked Luna.
"The truth." Luna replied. "Which is incredible enough on its own."
Lina had to grant her that. Not many infants had felled a Mazoku lord or two. But still. "Those stories, true or not, just paint a bigger target on our backs."
"Do you want to live in comfort or poverty?" Luna asked. "Besides, we still have the matter of the Empress Gertrude. Or whatever it was that attacked our wagon."
"I guess we should start to organize a search for her." Gourry said, his voice heavy as his shoulders stooped.
"First let's ascertain if she's at the palace first. For all we know she's at the dining table sipping champagne and eating caviar." Lina said, "And if she isn't then we need to put ears out and see if anyone has seen or heard about anything. Gather some information first."
"First, let's get everyone settled in properly." Luna countered, "I don't want you to have another episode where your life energy is exhausted. Let's take a break."
"When something is hunting innocent wagons in the woods!?" Lina shot back.
Ace, meanwhile, mouthed to herself, "A break." And then a gleam formed in her eye. She smiled as she looked at the students walking behind her for the one who stood a bit taller than the rest. It didn't take long to find a flash of red hair and she made her way over to him as she called, "Hey, Cuckoo!"
"Don't call me that!" Cuchulain yelled as his hair stood up and his hands clenched into fists, and then he lowered his voice as he added, "Or would you like to be called Dorothy?"
Uncharacteristically Ace blushed as she said in a shouted whisper, "Who told you about that?"
"I have my sources." He said as he folded his arms across his chest.
"Fine, Cuchulain. Anyway, I was thinking. With all these Mazoku attacking and now with this stuff going on with Sir Gourry's sister, Dame Lina, Sir Gourry, Duke Zelgadis, Princess Amelia, none of them have had a break to just enjoy their babies since they were born."
"So?" Cuchulain said.
"So, you're the best hunter in the school. If anyone can track the Empress through the woods, it's you! And I've been working with Duke Zelgadis on separating chimeras and I have some ideas on how to do it. How about once we get to the palace we ditch the place, find where she's at, bag her and separate her from that coat so the adults don't have to worry about it and can just enjoy being parents for once?"
Cuchulain shrugged, "Sounds like more fun than a naming ceremony."
"I agree!" Dave said as he came in between the two of them, "I'll tag along, if you don't mind."
"Actually, I do." Ace and Cuchulain both said at the same time.
"Why?"
"You're too loud." Cuchulain said. "Tracking prey requires quiet."
"I can be quiet!" Dave said, "Just give me a chance. I'm dying for some action!"
"Dolphin's attack wasn't enough action?" Ace asked incredulously.
"Just a teaser. It got me wanting more excitement!" Dave said.
"I want to help, too!" Pippi said.
"Look…" Ace said.
"I'm strong, super strong. I can hold the Empress down while you separate her." Pippi said. "You need me."
"You need us both." Dave said, "If only for the reason that we'll tell Duke Zelgadis about this endeavor if you don't let us come."
Ace went white as she said, "Fine, just don't make me regret it!"
"It's Maeve!" Someone cried as they reached the foyer of the palace and Maeve came into view, sitting on an oversized settee with several other royals. "And Adam and Adora!" Someone else added.
As the kids made exuberant cries of greeting, Lina kept her eyes on Marlena as she unobtrusively moved so she could look at Adam and Adora while she remained in the shadows. Lina breathed a sigh of relief. While she had hoped that Marlena's declaration that she only wanted to see them would not be tested so soon after arriving in Zefiel City, it was just as well that they get it over with. And so far so good. Meanwhile, Luna walked up to the royals and, cutting through the reunion, asked Maeve, "Has anyone seen Empress Gertrude?"
"No." Maeve said, "Why?"
"There was an attack on the roads leading to town. And she is a prime suspect."
"Where's the nursery?" Gourry asked, "Once we get these two settled in we should probably track her down."
"Rest first. Get settled. We'll send our guards out with a Ceiphied Knight and try to subdue her." Maeve said as she stood up and walked over to them.
"Maeve is right. Do rest from your journey first. We will order that traffic outside of the city is to cease immediately and put sentries on the road." A woman who was sitting on the settee with Adam and Adora said. She wore a fine dress made of purple silk and a small tiara set on her head. Lina's stomach twisted in anxiety as a suspicion about who she was rose.
"Dame Lina! Sir Gourry, this is our mother, Princess Safyr." Adora said as she stood up to introduce her. And Lina's first thought was that this settled it. Both Adam and Adora were fair with blonde hair and blue eyes, while Safyr's hair was brown and she had an olive complexion. It went beyond the coloring though. Safyr's facial features were distinctly different from Adam and Adora's and not a trace of either children could be found within. Meanwhile, their physical resemblance to Marlena was overwhelming! Safyr was undoubtably their mother in the fact that she had raised them, but there was no doubt in Lina's mind that Marlena was their blood mother.
"It's good to meet you." Lina said as her back itched as she worried about Marlena crying from the shadows. Still, she remembered her manners, "And thank you for your offer of rest. We greatly appreciate it and will take some time to freshen up. We don't want to get too comfortable while something this dangerous is prowling our countryside though."
Something smacked against the tiles, and Lina turned to see a ball bounce, followed by Marlena's son chasing after it. Marlena reached her arms out to grab him but he slipped out of her grasp and she froze, as if scared to move forward while he ran after the ball, giggling and laughing and drawing all manner of attention to himself as the ball rolled over to where Adora was standing. If that wasn't enough, Lina saw how Safyr's eyes fell on Marlena, and princess stood up as she went white and the atmosphere in the foyer, which had been warm and hospitable, went cold.
No one noticed as Ace grabbed Cuchulain's arm and gestured for the door. Everyone did notice as Adora grabbed the ball and held it out to Marlena's son. "Here you go. Hm. That's funny, Adam. He looks just like you when you were at that age…"
But what was a curiosity for Adora was an instinctive dislike for Adam. Fear flashed through his eyes as he backed away and snapped, "You need to get your eyes checked! He doesn't look a thing like me!"
The boy took the ball and ran back over to Marlena, and as Adora's eyes fell on her they widened in surprise. Lina thought that from Adora's vantage point it must have been like seeing an older version of herself in the mirror. An uncomfortable silence fell across the room as Safyr glared at Lina as she demanded to know, "What do you think you are doing, bringing her here?"
"She's our wet nurse." Lina said as she decided that the best thing to do would be to pretend she never suspected a thing, "I didn't know there was anything prohibiting her from being here."
"What are you even doing here?" Safyr demanded to know of Marlena.
Maeve put a hand on Safyr's arm, "Auntie Safyr, let us retreat to some place private. We don't want to cause a scene."
"Too late for that." Lina muttered to Gourry, who nodded as the royals retreated to their own private apartments, leaving the group to look around the foyer.
Aurelia started grabbing at Lina's shirt as she rooted, obviously ready for a feeding. "Does anyone happen to know where the nursery is?"
"So, like, what's the plan when we find this thing?" Dave asked as he grabbed a stick and started hitting the trees that they passed.
"Let me handle it." Ace snapped as she grabbed his stick and let it fall to the ground, "And shut up until then."
"Oh, yeah, we're supposed to be quiet." Dave said as he smiled and nodded his head, "I can be quiet!"
Ace put her hand over her forehead and bit back a retort. Why had she agreed to let him tag along? Meanwhile, Dave continued, "Perhaps it'd be a good thing, you know? Let her know where the prey is at! Yo, Sir Gourry's sister! We're right here! Come find us!"
"Are you mad!?" Ace yelled as Cuchulain hissed, "Shut up!"
Cuchulain drew close to Dave and said, "We don't know what we're dealing with. So until we have the advantage, stay quiet and don't draw attention to us!"
Pippi grabbed Ace's sleeve and pointed to the wreckage of the wagon. Ace gestured exaggeratedly at Pippi and hoped Dave would pick up that he needed to take a page from her book. And then she stood back with Dave and Pippi as Cuchulain crouched down to look at the tangle of footprints to find any trace of Trudy.
"Well, I'm not master tracker, but I bet it would have been better if we'd scouted for footprints before the whole school trudged around this…" Dave said, and he was cut off as Pippi put her hand over his mouth.
After scrutinizing the ground for some time, Cuchulain pointed towards a place off trail, and Ace, Dave ad Pippi followed him. Ace braced herself for the moment Dave would start yammering again, but fortunately the trail got a bit more difficult to navigate as the trees and foliage became denser. But even Ace could see that someone, or something, had torn through it recently. Blades of grass were bent and small trees were still regaining their ability to stand straight. All told it was very easy to follow the path that the Empress must have made.
Pippi cried out, and Ace glared at her. Pippi held out her hand, which had been scratched by a thorny bush, and then put the wound to her mouth. Ace sighed. Dave was also having difficulty going off trail, jumping awkwardly at every thorn and batting noisily at the low hanging branches. Useless city boy. Granted, Ace couldn't exactly claim this as her specialty either, but at least she dealt with the cuts the forest inflicted in silence.
"Spider!" Dave cried loudly as he walked through a web, "A huge giant spider with an eye the size of a meatball!"
"No one cares!" Ace yelled.
"Get down!" Cuchulain yelled. It was barely gave them enough time to dodge the fire breath that tore through the air.
The heat roared above Ace, singing her hair, and finally it was followed by the coolness of the winter air. But then she heard a cackle and hiss and turned to see that the foliage behind her had caught fire!
"Moth varim!" Dave called, and a ball of light appeared and drew the flames within it and extinguished them.
At least he's good for something! Ace thought as she looked around to try to find where their attacker was. Another round of fire breath followed, and Ace looked in its direction and finally laid eyes on the Empress. Or what had been then Empress. She didn't appear human anymore, though she still walked upright. And she was covered from head to toe in black fur with reddish highlights as her mouth hung open as she breathed flames out of it.
"Sleeping!" Ace called, hoping that it would be that easy as Dave cast another Moth Varim spell. And while Ace's spell hit the Empress, it had no discernable effect as she started walking towards them! Ace glanced around her to get a visual on where Cuchulain and Pippi were, only to realize that they had disappeared!
Ace sucked in a breath as she moved erratically as she tried to find them. Had they been caught in the flames or otherwise harmed? Dave moved in front of her, a huge stick in his hand, which he used to club the Empress over the head with. She retreated a few steps and opened her mouth once more, and Ace started chanting a wind barrier just as Cuchulain dropped from a tree that he must have climbed up and onto Gertude's back. Pippi followed a moment later, and she grabbed Gertude's legs and bound them in her arms as Cuchulain pinned down her upper body. Ace breathed a sigh of relief that they were okay as Gertrude went slack. "Is she unconscious?" Ace asked.
Cuchulain moved his hand and hit a point on the back of Gertrude's neck that they had been taught could be used to knock someone cold. "I think so." Cuchulain said as he stood up a little.
And then Gertrude snarled as she pushed against him and started to thrash wildly as she managed to throw Cuchulain into a tree. Pippi managed to hold on more tightly to her legs, anchoring them to the ground. "Windy Shield!" Ace cried, and she barely got it up in time as Gertrude looked up at her and released another round of fire breath.
Dave came from the west and raised his stick high and brought it down to club over her head again. Ace was quite sure that he had hit her with such force that were she still mere human it would have cracked her skull. But she turned to face Dave, who hurriedly raced into the thick cover of the trees as she released another volley of fire breath.
Pippi, who was much stronger than she looked, suddenly picked her up from her feet and started to swing her around. Gertrude screamed in protest as Pippi swung her around in a circle that made Ace dizzy watching them as Ace debated their options. As she had suspected, if there was a way to render Gertrude unconscious to do it the Duke's way, she was damned if she could find it. She had to use the Humu Sepat spell.
"Pin her down again!" Ace ordered.
Pippi stopped spinning, and Ace hoped that Gertrude would be nauseous from it all as Cuchulain managed to get up and help Pippi, making sure to put his hand on Gertrude's head so she could no longer spew fire. Ace squared her shoulders. It was now or never! She came up and knelt by Gertrude and chanted, "Humu Sepat!"
There was a horrible squelching sound, followed by an eardrum shattering scream as the fur peeled off Gertrude just as Ace had anticipated it would and fell to a puddle by her feet. But what Ace had not anticipated was that it would have taken Gertrude's skin with her! Ace stared in horror at the bloody body on the forest floor which continued screaming in agony. Pippi and Cuchulain both cried out as they jumped off of her and backed away, looking at their bloody hands in terror as Dave came out from the forest to watch.
For a moment Ace thought that there wasn't anything worse than listening to Gertrude screaming. That was until she stopped screaming and went very still. Pippi's mouth dropped as she asked, "Is she dead?"