Naga huffed as she watched as Amelia clung to Zelgadis and Justina and she wondered how much longer her sister would drag this out. But she was determined to bite her tongue for once. Since her mother couldn't be here to see all this, Naga had decided to try to honor her memory by doing what her mother would have wanted. And her mother would have wanted her to take care of Amelia. And she couldn't do that if she was always picking at her. But sometimes, it was hard not to, and this was one of them. Lina, Gourry, and the others had already given up on Amelia ever leaving and had gone back inside. It was all Naga could do to not yell at Amelia to hurry!

Amelia finally heaved a deep breath, gave Zel and Justina a kiss and turned to the carriage. For a moment Naga thought that after delaying leaving for an hour for another goodbye that she would finally be on her way. But her shoulders slumped and she ran back to Zelgadis and Justina as she exclaimed, "But what if I don't come back?!"

Zelgadis looked pained as he held Amelia and stuttered as he stumbled to find the right thing to say. And then he looked at her with such desperation that Naga sighed and patted Amelia on the back. Naga knew what she needed to say, but her stomach turned at the thought of it. She never understood why her father and sister were so blinded by their ideology here. Still, desperate times called for desperate measures. So somehow, Naga managed to say, "Now, now, Amelia. Would justice allow that to happen?"

Naga didn't understand why it comforted her sister. Justice allowed them to lose their mother too soon. But Amelia started to relax as she relaxed her grip on Zelgadis and said, "Of course, yes, you're right, justice wouldn't allow it! I will be back, and soon! Don't grow too much without me, Jus!"

And then Amelia turned and ran into the carriage before she could change her mind. Naga breathed a sigh of relief as the door closed, and Amelia stuck her head out to wave. She looked over at Zelgadis, who smiled but looked as though he had just lost a fight with a troll as he held Justina up so Amelia could see her and raised her little hand with his to wave it. But finally the carriage moved forward, and Amelia blew a kiss and vanished from view.

"Do you think she'll make them turn around?" Zelgadis said nervously.

"I slipped the driver a hundred coins so he wouldn't." Naga muttered, and Zelgadis's mouth dropped. She reached her arms out and said, "Do you need me to take Jus up to the nursery?"

"I'd appreciate it." Zelgadis said as he handed her over, "I had planned to get those tests graded. The kids are going to have my hide if I don't have them ready to return."

Naga laughed, and Zelgadis raced into the manor as Justina laughed and reached for her. Naga smiled at her and said, "Well, my cherubic little niece, what trouble shall we get into now that your parents are working?"

"Dame Lina!" Jean-Luc yelled as he ran up with Indy to Lina and Gourry in the foyer.

Jean-Luc and Indy were both flushed with excitement as they caught up to them, their eyes bright with barely concealed mirth. But for some reason, Gourry felt the hair on the back of his neck stand up as he became alert for signs of trouble. But why did he feel this way? Nothing seemed out of the ordinary as Lina smiled as she asked, "Did you two finally find treasure?"

"No!" Jean-Luc said, "But we found a tunnel. We were exploring it and…"

Indy cut in, "We came to this wall, and we heard voices. We didn't recognize the language. And there was no door or way in…"

"Well, let's check it out." Lina said, and Gourry recognized the half smile that pulled at her lips. She was excited about a new part of Maninstit to explore.

But Gourry could not shake the feeling of foreboding as he said, "I'm coming with you."

"Of course you're coming with me." Lina said as she clasped him on the shoulder, "Joined at the hip whether we like it or not."

Gourry was momentarily comforted, but then Sylphiel walked over to them and said, "I'm sorry, I don't mean to intrude, but I couldn't help but to overhear. How sturdy are the tunnels? Are they safe?"

Gourry's throat swelled as Jean-Luc said, "They're sturdy and they seem safe. A human definitely made them."

"But if they heard voices who knows what's on the other side of that wall." Lina mused contemplatively. "Hopefully it's just some sort of illusion, but if not…"

Sylphiel sighed as she cradled her belly, "You're right. I just love exploring tunnels, but I guess this can wait until we know more about them."

Gourry relaxed a bit as Lina looked at him and said, "You ready?"

"Yes." He said.

Lina turned to Indy and Jean-Luc and said, "Lead the way!"

"Right through here." Jean-Luc said as he walked to the basement, and Indy, Lina and Gourry followed.

"Where did you find them?" Lina asked as they reached the door and opened it.

"They were hidden behind a bookcase on the southern wall. Not terribly original, but it was buried behind so much junk that it took Indy and me days to clear a path." Jean-Luc replied as they walked down the stairs.

A sense of déjà vu flooded Gourry as they reached the basement and he saw the path they had cleared. While he had been in the basement before, the path was new. And it should have felt new. But instead, it felt as though it was tied to his worse memory.

It soon became apparent that he was the only one affected as Lina tsked and said, "We're just going to have to throw some of this out. We don't need all these broken chairs!"

Indy lead the way through the path with Lina and Gourry taking the rear. Jean-Luc pointed out a few items of interest as Gourry kept alert for any sign of danger. Finally Indy stopped, but there wasn't a lot of room to look at the bookshelf. But fortunately Gourry, as the tallest, could easily look over the other three to get a good visual. And the sight filled him with dread. He didn't know how, but he had seen that bookshelf before.

"Do any of those books give a clue as to who built this?" Lina asked.

"Several of the books said 'property of Hypatia.'" Indy said.

"Hypatia. Hm. I seem to recall that five hundred years ago there was a sorceress by that name who was involved in some research so secret that not many records survive. If this is her lair, then you may have made a major find!" Lina said.

"Really?" Jean-Luc said.

"Yes, and be careful to document everything from here on out!" Lina said, "You need to make a note of every book on this shelf and…"

"Could this wait until after we've checked out what those voices are?" Gourry asked.

"Right," Lina said, "We'll check it out, but don't touch anything until you've documented it from here on it. This will be your project for the rest of the year."

"What do we get for it?" Indy asked.

"I'll bump you up a letter grade." Lina said, "Not that Jean-Luc needs it."

"Fine." Indiana said as he reached for something from within the shelf. "There's a lever hidden here."

With the groaning of stone rubbing against stone, the bookshelf turned in a half circle, revealing a tunnel within. Jean-Luc and Indy walked on through, and Lina started to walk in, but Gourry gently tapped her on her shoulder.

"What?" she asked as she stopped to look at him.

"I love you, you know." He said.

"Um, yes. I love you too." She said, "You okay?"

"I just have a bad feeling. Please be extra careful."

"Right." Lina said, and then she continued into the tunnel.

The sense of having been there before grew as they walked through the tunnels. Gourry kept telling himself it was impossible, but it felt like a memory nonetheless! But then, don't all tunnels look alike? That had to be it. This tunnel was reminding him of another tunnel he'd been in. But then, he'd never experienced something traumatic in a tunnel So why was this affecting him? Other than his dream…

Gourry nearly stopped in his tracks as he remembered the scenes he'd seen in his dream of hearing a woman scream as he tried to move but couldn't. He looked at the pattern of stone. Yes, that had to be where he'd seen it before! But how could he dream of a place he'd never been?

This is all in your head, Gourry! He silently yelled at himself as they navigated the tunnel, You're just seeing connections when there are none!

"Here." Indy said as they reached a dead end.

Gourry kept his hand on his sword as he listened and became alert as he realized that Indy and Jean-Luc were right about the voices. They were muffled, but definitely discernable, and he didn't think it was likely to be dripping water or some other sound that was distorted to sound like voices. In fact, there was something familiar about the language even if he couldn't place it. Beside him Lina moved to walk up and put her ear to the wall and Gourry felt his stomach turn somersaults as for a moment he was convinced she would trigger some mechanism to release an ancient evil into their lives. But then she laughed.

"What?" Jean-Luc said.

"Do either of you speak Goblin?" she asked as she pulled away.

"No." they said.

"I'll have to add it to the list of courses we need to offer." Lina mused as she shook her head, "There are goblins behind this tunnel. Most likely they found a cave that happened to butt against this wall and are sheltering in it. I wouldn't worry about it."

"But what if they get into Maninstit?" Indy asked.

"If any student in this school can't handle a group of goblins then they don't deserve to be in this school!" Lina said. "Besides, as soon as they realize this place was built by humans they'll scramble. When you build underground it's not uncommon to find underground caverns. Unless Hypatia deliberately connected this with the cave system it's doubtful they even join up, and goblins can't exactly Dil Brand their way in here. Come on, let's go back up and I'll give you a crash course in investigating hidden lairs."

Gourry was relieved when Lina turned back the way that they had came, ignoring the places where the tunnels forked off in other directions. And by the time they got back up to the foyer he was giddy with relief that nothing bad had happened as he once again wondered whether or not he was losing his mind

It was becoming his usual nightmare torment. A barrage of images and voices that moved too quickly for him to decipher. But then a woman's voice grew louder and louder as it started to echo, "Do not trust…do not trust…do not trust…."

Gourry's eyes shot open. Beside him Lina was pulling her clothes on, and he jumped as he caught a good view of the pasty white burn scars that marred her body. Her long hair was gone, unable to grow in patches, and where it was she kept it short. She turned to look at him as she buttoned up her shirt and rolled her eyes, "Lost your memories again?"

"A-again?" Gourry stuttered.

"Ever since that damn accident you've not been able to retain memories for longer than a year or two of anything that happened after it." Lina explained as, to Gourry's surprise, she put a cigarette in her mouth and lit it up.

"Lina…you hate cigarettes. Your dad told me about all the hijinks you and Luna pulled to make him stop." Gourry said. This had to be a dream. It had to all be nothing but a horrible product of his imagination. He couldn't see any future where Lina would pick up that habit!

"Well, Dad picked it up again after the Demon King of the North was revived and I figured why the hell not!? We're all going to die anyway." She said as she blew the smoke in his face and jumped out of bed as he gaped at her as he tried to process what she was saying. "Let me give you the rundown of every damn tragedy that has befallen us since you lost your memories. Sylphiel and I triggered a booby trap in the tunnels beneath Maninstit. Some contraption with purple flames, damned if I ever managed to figure it out. Sylphiel and I both had severe burns and she gave birth to her son in that tunnel only for him to cry once and die. Probably better for him that way given all that shit that's happened since."

Gourry looked at her in horror at how callously she described what happened as she continued, "And those flames did something to your head. How? I'm not sure. Physically you were mostly unscathed so I'm at a loss to explain why it affected you and only you mentally." She laughed hollowly, "Well, everyone talks about how it affected my head! That's bullshit. My memory is just fine. Yours! Well, I just thought you drove me crazy before the accident. Now you actually forget and it's all I can do not to strangle you!"

Gourry gaped at her as she put a scarf on over her head and said so quickly that he didn't have time to interrupt, "Damn, but I look hideous. I don't know how you sleep beside me anymore. What are you doing, looking at me like that? Do you want more news? More horrors? Well, here it is. Maeve was mortally wounded in the battle to reclaim Dils. And it's been one loss after another since. Saving the twins from Xellos was our last victory. I think that's all you need to know. Is there anything else? I need to see those no good brats before I see the queen."

Finally he managed to stutter. "The Demon King of the North!? B…but how."

Lina looked at him squarely in the eyes and said, "We should have known not to trust M…"

A baby's cry pierced the air and pulled him from the dream, and Gourry woke to find himself in his bedroom with Lina, who was already by Midas's crib. Gourry started silently cursing to himself as she picked him up and brought him to the rocking chair for his late night feeding and collapsed into it. There was silence for a moment as Gourry tried to get back to sleep and reconnect with the dream, but it was gone. Who were they not supposed to trust? Midas? But then, there were plenty of people whose names began with M!

Please don't let it be Midas!

But then, hadn't Midas been the one who prevented him from receiving the warning? Heat flooded him and he threw the sheets off of him, causing Lina to become alert as she asked, "What's wrong?"

"Nothing." He said tensely as he approached the door.

"Wait a minute! Where are you going?" she asked.

"I need to take a walk." He said.

"It's three in the morning!"

"He woke me up from a…a weird dream. I need to walk it off." Gourry said as he ran a hand through his hair.

Lina's voice was sharp as she said, "Then go walk then."

He froze for a moment as he tried to reign in his anger. In that moment it was hard to believe that Midas hadn't deliberately woken him up to prevent him from hearing the warning. Was it because Midas was the one he was being warned about? It suddenly seemed clear to Gourry that he couldn't afford to let the twins sleep in their room anymore. He was about to get critical information about who not to trust! Gourry turned to Lina and argued, "Look, they're starting to sleep well overall, I mean, they only wake up once a night now. Maybe they should both start sleeping in the nursery, that way they won't wake us up anymore."

Lina looked at him, horrified, "I need to keep my milk supply up! And that means having to get up in the middle of the night, well, so be it!"

"But we have enough wet nurses." Gourry pointed out. "And I think the Mazoku have given up for now."

"I don't care!" Lina yelled as she pulled Midas closer, "And if this is too hard for you, well, you have your own room!"

Gourry felt as though he had been smacked as Midas moved his head to glance at him as much as he could even as he continued to nurse. Then Gourry felt fear wash through him as he looked at Lina and Midas, the two people who were strangely absent from the future Maninstit he'd seen in his first dream. What if he was receiving messages about the future? And what if it wasn't events like purple flamed booby traps that ruptured their family, but incidents like this?

How had he and Lina gotten to a point where she looked at him so coldly and callously as she did in the dream? And how could he stop it?

If any of this is even real!

That thought continued to sober him. No matter what happened, he couldn't see Lina taking up smoking. He couldn't see Sylphiel suffering something so horrible as a stillbirth and Lina brushing it off as for the best! He couldn't see Lina so broken and defeated. The woman he knew and loved, who was getting up every night even though she was bone exhausted to take care of their children would have never referred to them with the vehemence that the woman in the dream did. That could not be a future version of Lina!

Further, Midas was a baby, not an evil mastermind. Babies wake up in the night. It wasn't as if he was doing anything that ordinary babies don't do. Why was he letting a bunch of dreams, a manifestation of his worst fears affect him so?

"What's with you lately?" Lina asked.

"Let me talk to your dad. He's helping me with this." Gourry said as he sat up. The only thing that continued to disturb him was that they had just found a bunch of tunnels under Maninstit. But then, had he dreamt about an accident in those tunnels because they had found them he had found them unnerving? It wasn't as though he had dreamt about them before Indy and Jean-Luc had found them.

"You can talk to me!" Lina snapped.

"I know." Gourry said. And if it was a warning it was becoming rapidly apparent that he would have to tell her. But if it wasn't, he couldn't bear the thought of burdening her with this. Not yet. Not when she was still getting up every night to nurse their children while putting in long days at work. She was being so strong and working so hard for them. He needed to do the same. "I'm sorry, Lina. And no, it's not too hard for me to let them continue sleeping here. That dream rattled me, but I should be thanking Midas for pulling me from it. Is there anything I can do for you? Rub your feet? Get you some water?"

Lina looked at him searchingly for a moment, and he could tell she was weighing whether or not to press or to let it go. But then she lifted her foot and smiled, "Well, if you're going to ask."

Gourry walked over to her and gave her a peck on the lips and then took a moment to kiss Midas. Midas was an innocent baby. He couldn't have known he was interrupting something that was potentially important. And he shouldn't lose sight of it! Gourry then set at the edge of the bed and grabbed Lina's foot and started to work on repairing any damage he had done.