If you're reading this, I want to thank you for sticking with me. It's been far too long since I've updated this fanfiction, and for that, I sincerely apologize. When I began this fanfiction, I didn't outline it as thoroughly as I usually do with my stories. Because of that, I lost track of some subplots and character motivations, and was dissatisfied with the story as a whole. I didn't have the energy to rewrite it from the beginning and didn't want to upload a story that wasn't up to my standards. But after giving it a lot of thought, I decided that I shouldn't let my perfectionism keep me from finishing what I'd started. An "imperfect" story is better than an unfinished story, and therefore I've finished it according to my original outline. I really appreciate all the support that everyone has given me, and I hope that reading about the characters and families reunited will give you as much satisfaction as it gave me to write.


19-

Holly glanced back in the direction she'd come from. "My friend… h-he's hurt," she explained. "He got hurt because of me. He was trying to protect me. And now it's gotten worse… it's infected… and he has a fever… and he can't move… a-and…" By this point, she was on the brink of tears. "Please, Mister, you've gotta help him!"

"Show me where your friend is," the man replied, creating a Lighting spell in one hand. "I'll see what I can do. My wife is a healer. She went off towards the other side of the mine, but if we can find her, we might be able to help more."

Holly was going to nod in agreement, but she stopped short as the spell illuminated the man's face. It was familiar. It almost looked like she could be talking to Michael- that is, if Michael were younger... and clean-shaven... and had shorter hair… maybe a thinner nose… no, this man wasn't Michael. But he had that same face and those same kind eyes.

"Are you-" Holly stammered, unsure of what she was saying even as she was saying it. "-are you Jaime?"

"What?"

At the sound of the name, the light died from his hand and the little boy who was perched on his shoulders looked up. "Wha?" the little boy asked. "Are w' there yet? Who's this?"

"Ah, Jaime-" The man reached up to place a hand against the boy's head. "-it's okay. She's a friend. You should keep resting." He looked down at Holly again, his reassuring expression falling slightly as he rekindled his spell. "How did you know Jaime's name?"

"...that's Jaime? Mister Michael's son?" Holly turned around on her toes and pointed back towards the cave. "Mister Michael is hurt! You've gotta save him! He's over here- hurry!"

"...Dad is…?" she heard the man gasp before the sound of his footsteps following her drowned out his voice. So he was Michael's son after all. But Michael had said that his older son was... dead, right? Was this some kind of trick? Was she being deceived by some other Mazoku or member of AVA? If so, it was an awfully elaborate trick, considering both the man and the little boy seemed human. The probability that AVA would go to such lengths for someone who was already so hurt and powerless was extremely low.

And considering that, did she really have a choice?


The quiet walk toward Senagra had left Zelgadis with plenty of time to think about what he might say when he met his parents again. His mind had raced with a myriad of potential situations in which he might meet them, and what he should say in each case. But for all his overthinking, he hadn't imagined this being the circumstances under which he'd finally see his father again.

He wouldn't have wanted to imagine this.

It was even worse in reality than the girl had made it out to be- Michael was splayed out along the rocky floor of a crevice that had been hollowed out in the side of the mine, likely to house currently unused equipment, and definitely no place for an injured man to be for any length of time. On top of that, his face was flushed a deep red, and the rapid rise and fall of his chest made it visible at just a glance that his breathing was quick and shallow. Having expected this at least somewhat, Zelgadis had shifted Jaime so that the boy was sitting in his arms, his face pressed against Zelgadis' chest so that he wouldn't see the situation immediately. Jaime heard Zelgadis' horrified gasp and tried to turn around to look, but Zelgadis squeezed him close to prevent that.

"…P-Papa? Is he here-?"

"Shh. It's okay. He's here, but he's very sick. You have to promise me you'll keep calm, alright, Jaime?"

"But…" Jaime finally turned around, and his gasp of surprise was fast and high-pitched. "Papa!"

Zelgadis took his bag off of his shoulder and placed it beside him as he knelt down next to Michael. Jaime hopped down onto the ground, and Zelgadis stretched out an arm to keep Jaime from getting too close.

"I'm gonna need you to stay back, alright, Jaime? You're sick too, and I don't want to risk the two of you infecting each other."

"Wh-wha's wrong with him?" Jaime pleaded, grabbing onto the back of Zelgadis' shirt. Holly pressed closer from the other side, and Zelgadis picked up Michael's wrist to check his pulse.

"…his pulse and respiration rate are both elevated, and he's got a high fever. That, paired with the likelihood of infection, is more than enough to diagnose him with sepsis. He needs medical attention immediately."

Jaime's grip on Zelgadis' shirt tightened. "What's sep-sess?"

"It means that there's bacteria in his blood," Zelgadis replied, placing Michael's hand back against his chest. "His immune system is trying to get rid of the bacteria, but it's hurting him in the process."

"Bac-ter-ya? You mean like the one that made th' plant sick?"

"Yes. Well, not the same one, but-"

Jaime threw his arms around Zelgadis' waist, burying his face in the back of his shirt.

"Then why can't you use a healing spell an' make him better! You've gotta! Nii-nii, please!"

Zelgadis bit his lip, looking back and forth between Jaime and Michael. He had never been good at hiding strong emotions, and he knew that his panic would only make Jaime's anxiety worse. But his panic must have been noticeable to the girl too because she spoke up before he could.
"It's too dangerous, Jaime! If you use a healing spell on somebody with an infection, it'll make the bacteria stronger and he'll only get sicker. You don't want him to get sicker, do you?"

Jaime sat up straight again, pulling his face away from Zelgadis' back. "N-no…" he sniffled.

"Then we need to get Mister Michael to a doctor right away."

"Mister…?"

"I mean, your dad. We need to get your dad to a doctor right away."

Zelgadis, meanwhile, had shifted Michael so that he could easily hoist him up and carry him on his back. "Jaime, I need to carry Dad right now. Can you walk with… sorry, I didn't catch your name-"

"Holly," she offered. "Jaime, will you walk with me?"

Jaime sniffled and wiped his nose on his sleeve. "So long as Nii-nii an' Papa aren't far away."

"We'll be right behind you," Zelgadis assured him. "Holly, can you lead us out of the mine area? However you got in here, it's probably the fastest route."

"Uh…" Holly froze, her mouth hanging open for a moment. "…we were kidnapped by a Mazoku and teleported here…"

"You were what?!"

Jaime pressed closer to Holly's side. "Wha's a ma-zo-coo?"

"A monster," Zelgadis responded before Holly could. "A terrible kind of monster that you don't want to meet. And if it kidnapped Holly and Dad, it's likely to come back for them-"

"Uh, well, actually I hurt it pretty bad. It's not coming back any time soon."

The statement gave Zelgadis pause. He had sensed that Holly had a sizeable magical capacity when she'd first spoken to him, but that wasn't necessarily an indicator of magical talent- after all, Gourry had one of the highest capacities he'd ever encountered, but it was put to little actual use. A girl her age wouldn't necessarily have had the training to develop her magical abilities, but she could have. So when she said she'd fought off the Mazoku, he decided after a short consideration not to ask any questions.

"Good. That'll buy us some time, but it isn't a guarantee that we're in the clear. If you don't know where we are, then I'll lead the way back to the route I was taking to Senagra. Hopefully, we'll meet my wife along the way, and she can help."

"Okay! I'm sure my Mama is looking for me with Lady Adelaide and the prince. If we find them, they can help too!"

Zelgadis made a mental note that now Adelaide and Pokota were involved too. With Lina and Gourry around, it felt inevitable that they'd all run into each other somehow. And…

I hate to admit it, but when our group runs into each other like this, it always means trouble. And with Mazoku hanging around, that's already guaranteed.

No matter what happened, Zelgadis wasn't going to let any further harm come to his brother and father. That was the only thing he could promise himself.

"Holly, could you or Jaime carry my bag for me?" he asked once he'd made sure that Michael was stable. "It's over there by the cave entrance."

"I got it for you, Nii-nii!" Jaime squealed, dashing over to pick it up. The strap was too long for him to put over his shoulder, so he hoisted the body of the bag up in his arms, squeezing it as he did so. Zelgadis didn't mind the rough handling since there wasn't anything fragile inside as far as he knew- but a sudden, high pitched hiss from within the bag showed that there was someone who did mind Jaime's grip.

Jaime flinched and dropped the bag onto the floor, scurrying back to hide behind Holly who had already taken up a defensive stance. However, the bag rustled for a moment before a little grey tabby peeked her head out from under the flap. Holly dropped her composure in surprise, and Jaime jumped back again.

"Pickles!"

Zelgadis mentally slapped himself. He'd known that the kitten loved to hide in his bag- it was small, dark, warm, and the only thing in that unfamiliar place that had smelled like home to her. He'd known from accidentally bringing her to work one morning that she didn't always stir if the bag was picked up gently. She wasn't like Amelia's fat cat either, whose extra weight would instantly tip someone off that they had a stowaway. But in his surprise at everything that was happening with Jaime, he hadn't even considered checking the bag to make sure.

Even if Zelgadis hadn't been supporting Michael's weight, he wouldn't have had time to react. As soon as Jaime yelled the kitten's name, her fur bristled and she made a dash towards the cave entrance. Jaime followed after her, despite Zelgadis calling out for him to stop.

"Jaime, wait-!"


"How did you know my brother?"

Gourry's question gave the men pause. The one who'd spoken looked over at his companions as if asking them to help him make sense of the situation. "Brother?" he finally asked, turning back to Gourry.

"Yes. Arthur Bedivere was my brother. So how did you know him?"

The man took a step back. "Easy there. It's not like I really knew him. I just saw him around Sairaag back when I first got recruited by AVA. He was that hot-shot whiz kid that everyone wanted to get a glimpse of. You're the right age and you look so much like him, I just assumed…" The man looked back at his companions. "If this guy's anywhere near as strong as his brother, we should let him go."

"But if he interferes with the mine work, even accidentally, it'll be our heads on the chopping block for not reporting him-"

"If we try to pick a fight with him here, it'll be our heads on his chopping block!"

"Y-you guys…" Gourry had let go of Lucan, who whimpered and hid behind his legs. The group of men turned around to listen, intrigued by the concern in Gourry's voice. "...are you okay? What has AVA done to you?"

They were humans, that much was obvious. But obscured in the darkness, they had seemed so much more threatening. Now that they were actually holding a conversation with him, Gourry's instincts were getting a better picture of what was going on, and these guys suddenly looked more like victims than enemies. For once, he was glad that Lina had taken off without him- if she'd blown these guys up before asking questions, he might not have been able to help them.

"Look, buddy, we don't wanna stir up trouble." The man who'd spoken first stepped forward, waving his hands. "We worked for the mine company here before AVA came in. They took it over slowly, so by the time we realized what was really goin' on, we were too deeply involved. When we finally realized it was being run by a bunch of Mazoku, they already had all our information. They knew everything…"

Gourry looked over the expressions of the men one by one. They all had builds similar to his own- tall and muscular- but the fear and pain in their eyes made them look so small. Was that how he had looked? Was that why Lina was so scared for his sake?

"So you didn't even know you were working for Mazoku until it was too late?" Gourry asked, pausing to give it some serious thought. "Hm… Lina says that, when humans choose to work for Mazoku, they know they're going to be bound for life. But you guys didn't even get to make that choice. That's awful."

"Lina?" one of the men asked.

"My wife. She's a sorceress who's been kinda, uh, studying Mazoku over the past few years. We've seen a lot together. We know what they're capable of."

There was a moment of silence, the men all glancing at one another. They seemed to be assessing the situation, still not completely trusting of Gourry or the information he was giving them. But the one in front finally let out a sigh and continued.

"My wife… and my son too. AVA won't let me even see them. I have no guarantee that they're safe other than the fact that AVA is still using them as a bargaining chip to keep my loyalty. If I do anything against the company, they'll…"

Another one of the men stepped forward, placing a hand on his companion's shoulder as his voice trailed off. "Same for me too," he said, "with my mother."

The others chimed in as well. "My grandfather." "My boyfriend." "My daughter."

Gourry looked them all over again and closed his eyes. "You guys may not trust me, but I want to help you. I already lost my brother to these Mazoku. I can't stand by and watch the same thing happen to others."

"But if these Mazoku killed Arthur the Grey, what chance do we have against them? You know better than anyone the kind of skill he had-"

"I don't, actually," Gourry interrupted. "I wish I could've. But if I'd known, maybe I could've done something. We know now. So we have to do something now."

There was one of the men, the youngest-looking of the bunch, who had been hiding behind the others. He hadn't spoken yet, but he finally stepped forward.

"Let's do it."

"K-kid, you-"

The young man ran out in front, taking a spot beside Gourry. "I don't know anything about this Arthur person, but from what you're saying, he was strong. If this guy is his brother, he must be strong too. And a sorceress who studies Mazoku will know what we can do to fight them."

Another one of the men scoffed. "AVA isn't just a bunch of Mazoku, it's a company. She'd have to be more than a Mazoku expert, she'd have to be a businesswoman too-"

"Gourryyyyy! What's taking you so long?!"

The whole group of mine workers flinched simultaneously as Lina's voice broke in. She leaped down from the ledge above them, coming to rest in front of Gourry with her back turned to the others as if she didn't even see them. She immediately knelt down, holding her arms out for Lucan as he scurried around Gourry's legs and snuggled into her arms, his tail wagging.

"What's got you so spooked, sweetie? It's just a little gunpowder. Not nearly as powerful as mommy's spells. It's okay."

Gourry loved watching Lina play with the dog, but he had to admit, now wasn't exactly the time. "Um, hey... Lina…"

She seemed to suddenly realize what was going on and stood up to face the mine workers who were still staring. Lina surveyed them and then spoke up, cracking her knuckles.

"Alright, which of you wise guys was scaring my doggies over here? I'll teach you to mess wi-"

"No, no, no, that's not it!" Gourry grabbed Lina's arm before she could blindly toss a spell. "These guys need our help!"

She stopped, looked back at him, and then back at the others.

"...oh. Why didn't you say that from the start?"

The men all seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, but the first one was wide-eyed and pointed toward her with a shaky hand.

"You… you're… Lina Inverse, the infamous bandit killer!"

The others all turned to look at him, then back at Lina. A few of them stepped back and one flinched, but the younger man who was still standing near Gourry looked puzzled. "Bandit killer?"

"Aw, don't tell me that my reputation is fizzling out already." Lina crossed her arms and pouted. "Just because I've moved on to Mazoku doesn't mean I don't still love giving some low-life bandits a good thrashing every now and again." She sighed, straightened out, and held out a hand to the group. "Whether or not you want to work with the bandit killer, Gourry here wants to help you. So I'm here to offer my support too."

The younger man next to Gourry glanced around and then spoke to Lina. "What do you know about AVA as a business? It's one thing just to blindly fight Mazoku, but-"

Lina held up a finger to stop him. "Calm down there. AVA, as best we know, is an offshoot of a Mazoku sect known as Abaddon. They have pretty controversial views as far as Mazoku are concerned, but for a time, they were backed by a Mazoku lord who… also was a little controversial himself. Under his control, they expanded their interests to research their goal of destroying the world using human vessels. They were the ones who killed Gourry's brother in an attempt to steal the Sword of Light from him. From what our friend Adelaide was able to gather, they must be using this mine to supply their own interests. Though what they're using the copper for, I'm still not sure…"

"Doesn't matter what they're using it for, does it?" Gourry asked. "If we can defeat the Mazoku, that's all that matters."

"Yes, but if the copper is being kept for internal use like Adelaide said, then we could be dealing with farther-reaching effects that might not be resolved just by reclaiming the mine. These pesky Mazoku don't give up that easily."

There was a pause as the group considered her words. Lina, meanwhile, shot a glance back up the side of the mine terraces and spoke up again.

"We can't leave Carmen out of this either. We'll need her skill as a white mage."

"So you have a plan?" Gourry asked.

"Sure do." Lina turned and motioned toward the equipment and explosives that the workers had been using. "We are going to blow this place sky-high!"

"Wh-wha-?!"

One of the workers stepped forward. "Lady, I don't think you're taking this seriously at all! This is an open-pit mine! You can't burn it down!"

Lina just grinned.

"Not with that attitude."