Disclaimer: Slayers is the property of Kadokawa Shoten. I own only
the writing. Special thanks go out to Cavis for coming up with more
jokes in this chapter than I could have alone. Thanks, Cav. More
thanks go out to WillZ, STRIKESTWICE, Little Masa Ouki, J,and Meg chan.
Please review or send your comments to doscher009@hotmail.com.
Thanks a lot.

Now, without further ado...

Slayers: Faces Part 2.
Doppelganger!
The Amazing Slight of Sorceress Trick!




"SYLPHIEL!!!!"

Thirteen year old Sylphiel, novice at the local shrine,
quickly grabbed another handful of scrolls and tried to keep them
from falling from her arms in her haste to escape the inferno
around her.

She had to save them! Thousands of years of knowledge was
going up in flames before her eyes! She had to save it! She tried
to grab hold of another scroll, but lost hold of the others and
dropped them. Her father was not far away, making his way toward
her to drag her forcefully from the burning shrine if he had to.

Sylphiel knelt down on the floor and began to pick up the
parchments again. Some of them had caught fire and were beginning
to burn. She slapped at them with the palm of her hand. She looked
up and saw her father coming toward her. He jumped back as one of
the burning rafters collapsed and landed in front of him in flames.

"Sylphiel! Get out! Hurry!"

(Just a few more! Just a few more!) she kept repeating in
her head. She finally had a hold of most of the scrolls and
struggled to her feet. She started to run for the door.

"SYLPHIEL! LOOK OUT!"

She heard a sickening crunch and looked up to see a burning
rafter falling towards her...



Sylphiel gasped as she woke up, sitting bolt upright and
gasping for breath. Her hands went to her face as if searching for
something. When she didn't find whatever she was looking for, she
sighed in relief.

"Unpleasant dream?" someone asked from her right. Turning,
she saw Xellos there, sitting on a boulder not far away.

"Yes," she said simply. She pulled her knees to her chest and
took an unsteady breath.

"Dreams are funny things," he told her. "Never before and
never again will something that isn't even real have such power over
people."

Sylphiel looked over to the campfire. Naga was sleeping,
splayed out all over her bedroll. Zelgadis was...

Zelgadis' bedroll was empty.

"Ah, yes," Xellos said. "He said there was something he had
to do and left a little while ago."

"Do you know where?"

"Down that path," Xellos said, pointing.

She got up and donned her cape.

"You know, if the entire campsite is leaving, then there's no
point in my standing watch," Xellos pointed out.

"I'm sure Miss Naga would appreciate your efforts," Sylphiel
pointed out.

"Something makes me doubt that," he told her with a smug smile.

Sylphiel left the trickster priest to watch the campsite alone
and took the path he had pointed out. She walked for about five
minutes before finding the object of her search.

Zelgadis was sitting on top of a boulder, looking out over the
forested valley below them. It was easy to make out his sillouhette
in the moonlight.

"Zelgadis?" she called out softly.

He turned and looked down at her. "What's wrong?" he asked.

"Nothing, I was just wondering where you had disappeared to,"
she told him.

He turned back to the valley. "I don't sleep very well with
*him* around."

Sylphiel walked closer to the boulder and hugged her cape
tighter around herself. It was cold out, and she was once again
reminded that winter was coming.

"Why do you dislike him so much?" she asked seriously.

"He's a Mazoku," he told her simply.

"So?" she asked. "You're a chimera."

"I don't mean it like that," he growled. "I mean that he
doesn't care one bit about what happens to us as long as he gets what
he wants. He's using us for something, Sylphiel, and when he gets
whatever it is he's searching for, he won't need us anymore. After
that, he's as good as gone, no matter what kind of pinch we might
be in."

"I find that hard to believe," she told him curtly. "He
seems like a good person, whatever his motives."

He chuckled under his breath. "The only thing he cares
about is himself."

"And you?" she asked. "What do you care about?"

He looked down at her and blinked. "What do you mean?"

"You're looking for a cure to your curse, aren't you?" she
asked. "What will you do once your goal is met?"

"I...I don't know," he said honestly.

"Perhaps Xellos does have his own motive," she told him quietly,
"But if he does, it's a motive for the Mazoku, for his people.
Depending on how you look at it, his motivation could be less
selfish than yours."

She was shocked as Zelgadis landed right in front of her, a
scowl on his face. She backed away a step.

"How...dare you?" he asked quietly, just above a whisper.
"I've had to live with this form for *years*!" he hissed. "I can't
tell you the number of times I've had to put finding my cure on
hold for one reason or another. Perhaps being around Lina, Gourry,
and Amelia has warped my perspective. Part of the reason I left
them was so I *could* be selfish! Just long enough to find what
I'm looking for! Maybe my motives aren't good and noble, but don't
you *ever* equate *me* with *him* ever again!"

She looked away from him in embarrassment. "I'm sorry," she
whispered, then started back the way she came.

Zelgadis was surprised by this. He almost called her back, to
apologize, but before he could, she was out of sight. He was used
to Lina. She would always take a stand and fight back, regardless
of whether she was right or wrong, so usually Zelgadis has to fight
her harder and faster. Old habits died hard, it seemed.

"Dammit," he muttered. He rested against the boulder. "Why
can't this be easy just once," he asked.



"Oh, Mister Xellos," Naga began flirtatiously, walking up next
to him and lightly brushing up against him. "I couldn't help but
notice the other day that you said Sylphiel could get back the money
she paid me...plus thousands more..." She stepped in front of him
and smiled. "How?"

Xellos stopped and smiled. Zelgadis and Sylphiel continued
past them. "Now, now, Miss Naga..." He waved a finger at her. "I
told you, it's a secret."

"Oh," Naga replied with a pout. She placed her finger on his
chest and made little circles with it. "You can tell me."

Zelgadis just shook his head at this spectacle and turned back
to his own mission. Sylphiel was walking next to him with her head
turned slightly away from him. (She's still mad, I guess.) He sighed
mentally and decided he had to apologize. After all, Sylphiel was
trying to help him, and he *had* been rather harsh with her last
night. "Syphiel," he began, "About last night. I'm.......sorry," he
said finally. He didn't apologize often. It was a very different
feeling.

Sylphiel sighed. "No, Mister Zelgadis. I'm sorry. I..."

"I told you. It's just Zelgadis," he interrupted. "And you
have no reason to be sorry. I was the one who snapped at you."

"Yes, but I should've been more sympathetic to your
situation," she told him.

She was interrupted for a moment as Naga, behind them, cried
out, "Well why not?!"

"Because," Xellos told her, "It's not something for your ears."

"As I was saying," she went on, "I should've been more
sympathetic. I know better than to make light of something like this."

"What do you mean?" Zelgadis asked, unsure of where Sylphiel
was going with this.

"Zelgadis, I..."

Before she could finish, Naga had reached her limit.
"FIREBALL!!!"

Zelgadis and Sylphiel were thrown forward by the explosion,
hitting the gravel road hard as fiery debris flew over them. Without
thinking, Zelgadis threw himself on Sylphiel, shielding her from
the flames with his body. He felt Sylphiel tense up beneath him. As
the last of the debris hit the ground around them, he opened his
eyes and saw her staring up at him. "Th..Thank you, Mister Zelgadis,"
she said haltingly.

Zelgadis blushed a little and quickly got to his feet. "Are
you all right?" he asked as he helped the shrine maiden to her feet.
Before she could answer one way or the other, he was turning towards
Naga and Xellos.

Naga stood over a large, burnt out crater almost ten meters
across, clapping the dust off her hands. "Oh, where could the smiling
Xellos be?!" she asked humorously. She wagged a finger at the crater.
"That's a secret! OOOOOHOHOHO!!!"

She felt someone tap her shoulder and turned to find Xellos
there. She gasped in shock. "Now, now," he whispered to her so that
only she could hear him. "Is that any way for a princess of Seyruun
to behave?"

Naga turned dead white. "How...how did..." she whispered
fearfully.

"We all do have our little secrets, don't we?" he asked with
a smile. "They're no one's business but ours. Don't you agree?" Naga
gulped and nodded fearfully. Xellos' smile widened. "Then we have
an understanding."

"Are you all right back there?" Sylphiel called out.

"Perfectly fine, Miss Sylphiel," Xellos called out. "Miss
Naga was just demonstrating some of her magic for me."

Zelgadis shook his head. "He seems to inspire that kind of
reaction from sorceresses."



Not far up the road, six bandits were staring down at their
employer as she gave them their assignments.

"Simple as pie," she told them. "Just look like you're
roughing me up, and when they get here, run away. You don't need to
know any more than that."

"And what about our payment?" the bandit leader asked.

The employer smiled and waved her hand in front of his eyes.
"This one's on the house."

"This one's on the house," he repeated groggily.

The employer squealed in delight and hugged him. "Oh, thank
you! You're so kind-hearted!"

"Yes...kind hearted," he repeated in a daze.

"Okay, let's get ready," the employer told them.

"Yes...ready..."



"I never knew this country was so lovely," Sylphiel commented as
they continued onward.

"Every land seems to have its own brand of appearance," Zelgadis
told her.

"Well, I su..." She broke off as she heard a shrill scream from
ahead of them.

"AIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

They paused for a second. "Come on!" Sylphiel cried, running
ahead of them. Zelgadis followed a moment later.

Naga stood there for a moment, then noticed Xellos smiling at
her. "Wait for me!" she cried, following after them.

Xellos stood there and put a finger to his lips. "What could
this be?"



Sylphiel, Zelgadis, and Naga cleared a hill and looked down to
see six bandits standing over a young girl, injured and looking up
at them fearfully. "FIRE..." Zelgadis began, gathering energy into
his hands.

Sylphiel grabbed his arm and stopped him. "NO! You'll hit the
girl!"

"FREEEEEEEEEEZE...ARROW!" Naga shouted as she let loose an ice
arrow at the bandits. The Serpent's aim was as good as ever, and the
shaft of ice struck two of the bandits dead on, freezing them to the
spot. The remaining four turned to them, brandishing clubs and
swords. They started towards them. This time, Zelgadis was ready
and now that the bandits were running towards them, unburdened by
having to think of the safety of their victim.

"DILL BRAND!"

The ground beneath two of the bandits exploded right under
their feet. They cried out fearfully as dust, debris, and smoke
covered them.

The last two were smarter than their predecessors and began
to run... Right back towards the girl. Sylphiel gasped when she saw
this. "LEVITATION!" She began to float into the air and towards
the girl, right over the heads of the bandits. She landed between
them and the girl, barring their way. "FLARE ARROW!" she cried.

A three inch fire dart floated from her hands and struck one
of the bandits on the chest, where it went out. They were so shocked
at this, they stopped and blinked. Sylphiel only sighed. "Still need
more practice," she said to herself.

"DILL BRAND!" she heard Naga cry out. The ground beneath the
bandits exploded, throwing them into the sky. They ended up landing,
burnt and unconscious, sixty feet away.

Sylphiel sighed in relief and turned to the girl. She was
sitting on her knees, staring at them in fear. She appeared no older
than twelve years old. She had light purple hair worn straight down
her back, almost in the same style as Sylphiel's, and wore a simple
dress, white with tiny, purple bunny designs on it.

"It's okay," Sylphiel said softly, kneeling down next to her.
"Are you okay?" The girl sniffled and began to cry. "Oh! It's okay,
little girl!" Sylphiel cried. She reached out and hugged her.

"It was...It was...so...*sniffle*...scary!" the girl cried.

"Shhh...It's okay."

Naga, meanwhile was rooting through the bandits' bodies,
relieving them of their gold and valuables. She found a shiny gold
clasp with a ruby in it and grinned.

Zelgadis walked up to Sylphiel and girl and knelt next to them.
"Are you all right?" he asked to neither one in particular.

The girl saw him and squeaked. "A monster!"

"No, he's not a monster," Sylphiel told her quietly. "This
is my friend, Zelgadis."

"Monster," Zelgadis commented with a snort.

The girl resumed crying into Sylphiel's cloak. "Oneechan!
I was so scared!"

"It's okay," Sylphiel repeated, holding the young girl as
she cried. "What's your name."

*Sniffle* "Achi..."

"Where are your parents, Achi?" Zelgadis asked.

"They...they..." she sniffled. "There was a fire, and they...
they..." She began to cry again.

"How horrible!" Sylphiel cried and hugged her tighter. "You
poor thing!"

Behind them, they could hear Naga crying, "LUCKY!" as she
rooted through the bodies of the six bandits.

"What should we do, Zelgadis?" Sylphiel asked.

"Well," he said after some thought, "We can't bring her with
us. It would be too dangerous. We'll take her to the nearest town.
I'm sure the temple there will take her in."

Sylphiel looked a little saddened by this, but nodded.

Zelgadis turned as he heard footsteps approaching. "Well,
there you are. Enjoy the show?" he asked with disdain.

"It was a wonderful demonstration, actually," Xellos told him.
He saw the girl and froze where he stood.

The girl looked up at him and grinned before burying her face
in Sylphiel's cloak again.

"And..er...Who is your friend?" Xellos asked.

Zelgadis blinked. He had never heard Xellos so off-step before.
"She was attacked by bandits. We're taking her to the next town."

"I...I see..." He stared at the girl almost fearfully.

"Well, we should be going if we're going to make it to a town
before nightfall. Unless, that is, you'd rather camp out again
instead of staying at an inn."

Naga walked up, six new purses hanging from her belt and a
jewled clasp on her cloak. "I'm ready when you are."

"Come on, Little Achi," Sylphiel said, picking the girl up and
carrying her. "Let's go."

Achi smiled over Sylphiel's shoulder at Xellos and winked.

Xellos scowled.



Hours passed uneventfully for the group as they walked. Naga
yawned loudly, and her stomach grumbled. "Hey, how about a break?"
she called out.

Sylphiel turned to Zelgadis. "I think that would be a good idea.
Achi looks tired."

"All right," Zelgadis relented. "We'll stop for lunch."

"How does that sound, Achi?" Sylphiel asked the young girl
who was holding her hand as she walked. "Would you like me to make
you something?"

"Thank you, Oneechan," Achi said with a slight smile.

They found a clearing near a river not far away and started a
fire. A grove of apple trees grew nearby. Sylphiel made use of the
meager supplies they had and some fish Naga and Zelgadis caught to
make their meal, and true to form, her cooking outclassed anything
any of the others could make.

Achi watched each of them as they rested. Her eyes tracked
over to Naga, who was admiring some of the loot she had found earlier.
Achi went ahead and did a shallow scan of her mind. She had to be
careful. No matter how skilled she was, she knew sorceresses could
sense deep or prolonged scans. She smiled. Naga the Serpent's
motivations for being here were obvious just from empathic scans she
was conducting. She was a mercenary. The end.

She turned towards Zelgadis and scowled. Whatever spell that
had turned him into a chimera had another affect. It made it
impossible for any of her mental magic to work. His mind was closed
to her.

Sylphiel, on the other hand...

The shrine maiden was young and inexperienced. Achi went a
little deeper into her mind, searching for clues. She knew what
they were after, but she wasn't sure how they knew where to find it.
That's why her master had sent her and not one of the others. Her
abilities made her the ideal choice.

Sylphiel continued to cook, oblivious to the fact that the
little girl was probing her mind, her thoughts, and her feelings,
searching through it like an archive.

(Hmmm...) Achi thought as an image of a tall, handsome,
blonde man with a sword appeared in her mind. (Cute,) she thought.
(But irrelevant.) She continued on, searching for anything
connected to the elves' island, Zarak Tor.

For some reason, images of fire kept leaping to the fore. Achi
pushed those aside. She backed off a bit as she saw Sylphiel tense.
After a moment, though, the shrine maiden went back to cooking.

More fire, sadness. This girl had a lot of baggage. Yet it
was all connected to Zarak Tor. She was just about to move deeper
when she felt a dark curtain fall over the shrine maiden's mind.

"Hello there!"

Achi blinked suddenly and looked up at Xellos' smiling face.
"Hello," she said looking away haughtily.

"May I ask what you're doing with Miss Sylphiel's thoughts?"

"You may not," she whispered arrogantly.

The Mazoku smiled. "Well, it's all right now. I doubt even
you can break through the curtain I put up. Even with your singular
talents."

Achi hissed under her breath. "Still holding onto the title
of Eternal Pain in the Ass, I see," she whispered.

"And you're still sticking your mind where it doesn't belong,"
he whispered back with just a touch of menace. "By the way," he
asked, "How is the Wind Dragon King?"

"What makes you think *he* sent me?" Achi asked.

"Because, Zarak Tor was *his* foul-up," Xellos reminded her
with a taunt.

Achi bristled. "Word of advice, *Mazoku*," she hissed. "We
know why you're here. If you get in my way, you'll be sorry."

"Achi? Xellos? What are you two talking about?" Sylphiel
asked from the fireside.

Xellos stood up and turned. "I was just inquiring about
Achi's home and people, that's all."

"It's...it's so sad," Achi whimpered. "They're all..." She
sniffled and began to cry again.

"Oh, it'll be all right, Little Achi!" Sylphiel cried and
went to her, hugging her. "It'll be okay."

Xellos watched this and arched an eyebrow. (Same old Achi,)
he thought.

"Here," Sylphiel said with a smile, reaching into her pouch.
She handed the girl a piece of candy. "There you go." Achi munched
on the candy and smiled sadly. Sylphiel stood up and faced Xellos.
"Mister Xellos, if you have a minute." She led the Mazoku to one
side. "Mister Xellos, I must ask that you not remind her of her
family right now. She's been through a terrible ordeal. You
understand, don't you?"

"Er...of course," he said.

Content that Xellos saw her point, Sylphiel picked up a pan of
her latest culinary creation and walked over to where Zelgadis and
Naga were sitting.

"Not even *once*?" Naga asked him.

Zelgadis sighed. "No," he said, exasperated. "Lina has
*never* mentioned you."

Naga growled and sniffed.

"I brought you lunch," Sylphiel told them, sitting down
between them. Naga grabbed the pan and began devouring the meal.
Sylphiel watched in amazement. "The more things change," she
whispered, "The more they stay the same." She shrugged it off and
turned to Zelgadis. "Zelgadis, I have a favor I would like to ask
of you."

"Oh?"

"I am, by training, a white mage. However, we are entering
into areas where I will need to fight, and I was hoping you could
help me."

Zelgadis thought on this. "I specialize in Shamanistic magic.
I could teach you one or two things. You already know the Dragon
Slave, and that's hard to master, so it shouldn't be too difficult
for you to learn a few Shamanistic spells."

"Thank you, Zelgadis."

He stood up and faced her. "Well?"

"You want to start now?" she asked.

He nodded. She stood up. "The backbone of Shamanistic magic
is the astral plane," he told her. "The attack spells do damage
to an enemy's astral form, not the physical form. Do you
understand?" She nodded. "Good. Before you can use astral attacks,
you have to be able to see what you're attacking. Every life form
has an astral form as well as a physical form."

She nodded in understanding.

"Turn around."

She obeyed and waited for him to continue. She felt cold
fingers touch her temples from behind. "What are you doing?" she
asked.

"You can't just decide to see the astral plane," he explained.
"The first time, someone has to help you."

"Oh," she said uncertainly.

"That tree there," he said quietly. "See it?" She nodded.
"Now, look *into* it. As if you can see through it. And concentrate
your powers toward that task."

Sylphiel stared at the tree, focusing her powers and
concentration there. She could feel Zelgadis standing behind her,
doing the same thing, guiding her. She blinked as a blue haze began
to appear around the tree.

"Do you see that?" he asked.

She turned slightly and saw the blue haze around Naga as well
as around Zelgadis' fingers. She nodded.

"That's what you would attack with a Shamanistic spell like
the Ra Tilt," he told her. "Without that blue haze, life can't
exist. When one goes, so does the other."

"Ra Tilt?" she asked.

"The most powerful spell in Shamanistic magic. Think of the
Dragon Slave, only instead of destroying physical things, it destroys
the astral form."

"I..see."

"You're wasting your time!"

Sylphiel's concentration broke at Naga's outburst. She turned
and saw Naga striding toward her. "A real sorceress doesn't need
such overkill. Think, child. A woman, by her very nature, makes
use of men. Sorceresses...such as myself...use this concept as
well. Observe." She pointed at a rock outcropping. "VU VRAIMER!"
A bolt of lightning leapt from her fingers and struck the rock.
There was a deep rumble, and suddenly, something walked *out of*
the rock face!

It was a golem nearly ten meters high and in the shape of a
half human, half horse centaur. It even wore a helmet on its head.
It roared up at the sky.

Naga posed coquettishly and addressed it. "Oh, you big,
strong golem," she said, "That apple tree is being so mean! Would
you be a good golem and crush it for me?"

Without another word, the golem lumbered towards the offending
tree and grabbed hold of it, pulling it out of the ground roots and
all. It smashed it against the ground, the collapsed on top of it,
reverting back to rocks and dirt.

Naga dusted her hands off and turned. "Impressed yet?"

Sylphiel only nodded.

"Golems are powerful, but difficult to control," Zelgadis
noted. "Just ask Martina."

"Only for an *amateur*!" Naga sniffed.

"Only for anyone," Zelgadis replied calmly. "I've seen golems
go out of control before. Usually, the damage is extensive, and
unlike the Ra Tilt, you don't dare use it in a city or town."

Sylphiel went back to the fire as the debate between the two
mages continued. She saw Achi staring up at her. "Is something
wrong, Achi?"

"No, Oneechan," Achi told her simply. (Dammit, I need to
break Xellos' curtain or I'm never going to find out what's going on,)
she thought. She looked into her vast experience with mental magic
and searched for a solution. Mental curtains, she knew, were like
tossing a blanket over a sleeping bear. If the bear woke up or
turned in his sleep....

Achi smiled.

"I think he likes you," she told Sylphiel conspiritorially,
using her powers to observe the curtain at the same time.

Sylphiel blinked and turned to her. "What do you mean?"

Achi's smile widened. "Mister Zelgadis. I think he likes
you....you know...Like that."

Sylphiel blushed a little. "What...what makes you think that?"
The curtain was undulating as Sylphiel's mental distress and surprise
began to increase.

"He just seems very...you know...protective of you." She
smiled. Sylphiel looked over at where Zelgadis and Naga were still
arguing the merits of their magic fields. "I bet he'd like to kiss
you," Achi told her. Sylphiel gasped.

The curtain fell.

(Score!) Achi cried, mentally. She went in and resumed her
search....

She felt someone place their hand on her shoulder. She looked
up. Xellos stood there. "Ah, Achi chan! Why don't you come with me,
and we'll explore a little."

"I don't want to explore," she growled.

"Of course you do," Xellos told her, stepping between her
and Sylphiel. "I found a waterfall nearby. Let me show it to you."

"I..."

"It's okay, Achi," Sylphiel told her. "You go with Xellos.
Have fun. Be back soon. We have to keep moving."

The curtain was back up.

(SHIT!)

She sighed. "Yes, Oneechan." She got up and started after
Xellos. Xellos led her down a small path not far from camp.

"I would've thought better of a servant of the Wind Dragon King,"
Xellos told her. Achi growled and began searching the ground. "Then
again, Achi, subtlety was never your strong..."

*THA-WHACK!*

Xellos cried out and rubbed the back of his head. A fist sized
rock fell and hit the ground near him. Achi stood not far away, her
hands on her hips.

"How's that for subtle, Xellos?!" She cried.

Xellos growled.

"Is this why you brought me out here?" she asked. "You wanna
have it out?! Fine!" She adopted a combat pose, her magical energy
began flowing around her.

Xellos raised his staff, his own energy amassing to himself.
"It's not nice to play with people's emotions, Achi chan," he said
with more good humor than he actually felt. "Especially with this
group. Trust me, they take it personally."

"Hmmph!" she sniffed. Her combat aura disappeared.

Xellos' eyes narrowed.

"Well?" she asked. "Go ahead. Blast me," she told him. "But
just remember this, you, yourself, don't have the power over mental
magic to get what you want out of them. You have to do it the old
fashioned way and follow them, and if you show back up at that camp,
and I'm not with you, how likely is it do you think they'll let you
tag along?"

Xellos paused.

"It's obvious the chimera doesn't trust you, and 'Oneechan'
seems to think I'm the cutest thing since Piko Piko Lina Chan. Face
it, you're stuck."

Xellos growled. She was right. Until he figured out how it
is that Sylphiel knew the way to Zarak Tor, he couldn't alienate them.

Achi picked up another rock. "So there!" She stuck out her
tongue and let the rock fly. Xellos barely managed to block it with
his staff.

"Achi! Xellos!" they heard Sylphiel shout from the camp site.
"We're leaving now!"

"Coming, Oneechan!" Achi shouted back. She threw a glare at
Xellos and ran back to the camp.

Xellos sighed. "Now I know how Lina feels..."



The sign on the wall at the outskirts of the city identified
it as the city of Inverse. Aside from finding this coincidence odd,
no one thought much about it. It wasn't until they saw what was in
the city that they began to wonder...

"'Lina Inverse says pick up your litter,'" Sylphiel read from
a life size cardboard cut out of Lina with a speech bubble over her
head. The cutout had a fairly decent image of Lina winking and
flashing the victory sign.

"'Lina Inverse invites you to join the winter solstice
festivities this weekend,'" Zelgadis read from a poster featuring
another image of Lina.

Naga was looking fearfully from one poster, cut-out, or
billboard of Lina to another. "MY GOD! SHE'S EVERYWHERE!"

Xellos put a finger to his lips in thought. "I wonder if she's
getting royalties..."

"Oneechan, who's this flat-chested girl?"

"Now, now, Achi," Sylphiel corrected her. "She's not
flat-chested. This just happens to be a two-dimensional picture."

"No, she had it right the first time," Naga told her.

Zelgadis unfolded the map Sylphiel had given him and studied
it. "It appears that this is the last town to the Sirian Sea. The
good news is that we can take a ship up the river straight to it."

"Yay!" Achi shouted her support. "A boat ride!"

Sylphiel and Zelgadis shared a look. The shrine maiden knelt
down and placed her hands on Achi's shoulders. "Achi...you're
going to stay here. It's too dangerous to come with us."

Achi turned on the waterworks and began to sniffle.
"But...Oneechan..."

"It's for the best, Achi chan," Xellos told her with a smile.

Achi grit her teeth and growled slightly.

"Why don't the rest of you find a ship for us?" Sylphiel asked.
"I'll take Achi to the local shrine and make arrangements for her to
stay there."

Zelgadis nodded. "Good idea. We'll meet at that inn across
the street in a couple of hours."

"I'll come with you, Miss Sylphiel," Xellos told her. "As a
priest, I may be of some use as a go between."

(SCREW YOU, XELLOS!)

The strength of the mental send nearly made him flinch. He
looked down and saw Achi glaring at him in hatred. He smiled.

"I think that would be a splendid, idea," Sylphiel agreed.
"Come along, Achi chan," she said, taking Achi's hand. Achi relented
and allowed the shrine maiden to lead her towards the nearest shrine.
She'd figure a way out of this one.

She guaranteed it.



"Sorry, can't help you."

"Well why not?!" Naga asked the ship captain. This was the
third one they've tried, and all of them had given them the same
answer.

"Look," the captain told them, "If it was up to me, I'd take
you. I can always use the money. But the mayor says that none our
ships are allowed to go that far down the river. The Sirian Sea is
dangerous. It's got that eerie fog all over it. We've lost ships
before. So the mayor says no. If you want a ship, you have to go
to him."

Naga grit her teeth. "DIIIIIIILLLLLLLLL....."

Zelgadis clapped a hand over her mouth before she could finish
the spell. "Where can we find the mayor of this town?"

The captain pointed. "Back that way, about three blocks.
The building with the statue of Lina Inverse in front of it."

"Yes...of course," Zelgadis said. He turned and started
walking away. Naga followed him.

"What do you suppose is with this town's fascination with
Lina Inverse?" she asked.

Zelgadis shrugged. "It's always surprised me that she's not
*more* famous. Shabranigdo, Rezo, Phibrizzo...She's taken on *gods*
and won."

Naga seemed surprised to hear those names. "I had no idea that
Lina had made herself so...busy."

"Not by choice, I assure you," he told her. "Come on, this
way."



Achi did a quick scan and found that the curtain Xellos had
put around Sylphiel's mind was still in place. The shrine maiden
had a hold of her hand and led her up the steps into the Inverse
Shrine, Xellos not far behind.

An aging, bearded man met them inside, dressed in the regalia
of a white priest. "Good day to you," he greeted them. "How may I
be of service?"

Sylphiel smiled and gestured to Achi. "Father, we found this
little girl on the road not far from here. She says that her parents
have been lost to a fire. I was hoping that you might find a place
for her in your shrine."

The priest looked over Achi and smiled. "Of course. Lost
children are always welcome here."

Achi scolwed, then smiled as an idea occurred to her. She
looked up at the priest and mouthed the words, "We can always use
help in the mines."

"We can always use help in the mines," the priest echoed out
loud.

Sylphiel blinked in shock. "Excuse me?"

"The coal mines nearby," Achi mouthed.

"The coal mines nearby," the priest told her. Achi mouthed
a few more words. "They're wonderful for crawling into those tight,
confined spaces in the mine shafts."

Sylphiel's mouth dropped open in horror. "FATHER!"

Achi sniffled and looked up at Sylphiel. "Oneechan, I don't
want to work in the mines."

Behind them, Xellos grit his teeth. He couldn't erect another
curtain around the priest without dropping the one around Sylphiel.
He was stuck.

"Surely you're joking!" Sylphiel told the priest.

Achi turned her gaze back to the priest and mouthed another
sentence.

"Well," the priest said, unknowingly echoing Achi, "She's
very pretty." Achi continued speaking silently. "Perhaps in a few
years she'll earn money for this shrine at the brothel down the
street..."

*CRACK!*

The priest blinked in honest surprise as his face reddened
from Sylphiel's slap.

Sylphiel looked at him in insulted horror. "How....DARE YOU!?"
She turned and pulled Achi with her. "Come along, Achi! We're
leaving!"

"Bye, Mister Priest," Achi said with a smile. Xellos only
sighed to himself and followed.

Sylphiel had never felt so angry in all her life. Not even
when she fought Phibrizzo had she ever felt such rage towards
someone. "I have *never* in all my life have *ever* heard a priest
speak so despicably!" she told Achi and Xellos as they walked out.

"Oneechan, does this mean I'm going to go with you?"

"Yes, Achi! You most certainly are!"

Achi looked back at Xellos and grinned.

"Yareyare...I need a transfer," Xellos muttered.



"His Honor will see you now," a pink-haired secretary told
them. Zelgadis and Naga stood up and walked through the door to
the mayor's office. What they saw shocked them.

It was a Lina Inverse temple.

Her face was all over the walls in several different posters,
paintings, and murals. A fountain in one corner had a statue of Lina,
unclothed, spraying water from her mouth into a pool below. In
another corner, there was a Lina Inverse shrine featuring small Lina
statuettes and Lina candlestick holders.

Naga whistled in amazement. Zelgadis just walked towards the
man sitting behind the ornate oak desk.

The mayor of Inverse looked up and smiled. "Hello there."
He was a balding man, but young, the hair around his ears was still
black. His face could only be described as "jolly," meaning mostly
that it was round and smiley. "My secretary tells me you would
like to hire a ship to take you to the Sirian Sea."

"That's right," Zelgadis told him. "We're prepared to pay
whatever tariffs are nece..."

"Sorry, can't help you," the mayor told him.

"Why not?" Zelgadis asked.

"The Sirian Sea is too dangerous. No ship is allowed that
far up."

"Excuse me," Naga said, holding a hand up. "Danger isn't a
problem. *I'm* with them."

"And you are?"

Naga smiled. "Given your taste in decoration, I'm sure you've
heard of me...I'm....NAGA THE SERPENT!" She finished this off by
posing theatrically.

The mayor looked at her. "Um...Who?"

Naga hit the ground. She quickly shot to her feet and slammed
the palms of her hands down on his desk facing off with him. "HOW
CAN SOMEONE WITH A LINA INVERSE OBSESSION NOT HAVE HEARD OF NAGA
THE SERPENT, HER GREATEST RIVAL!!??"

The mayor stuttered. "I'm sorry, but I've never..."

Naga screamed.

"As for the danger, it'd be different if you did have Lina
Inverse with you," he said with genuine admiration. "She's
wonderful..."

Naga made a lunge for the mayor's throat, but Zelgadis managed
to catch her.

"She's the idol of every man, woman, and child in this town,"
the mayor explained. "Why, if she were here, she'd be able to take
care of any danger the Sirian Sea threw at her!"

Naga suddenly stopped struggling and grinned. "Well then," she
said, "Isn't this fortunate?"

"What?" Zelgadis asked.

"What?" the mayor echoed him.

"It just so happens that Lina Inverse is a member of our party.
She sent us to take care of a ship. She's busy elsewhere right now."

"What?!" Zelgadis hissed.

The mayor brightened. "REALLY?! LINA INVERSE IS HERE!? IN
THIS TOWN?! IN PERSON?!"

Naga nodded. "That's right. So, how about that ship?"

"Well, yes of course!" the mayor said excitedly.

Naga grinned.

"As soon as I meet her and make sure that she has everything
she needs for the trip."

Naga's grin disappeared. "Um..."

"Please?!" the mayor begged. "I am her *BIGGEST* fan! I'm
not only the mayor of Inverse, I'm the president of her fan club!"

"She has...a *fan club*?" Zelgadis asked.

"You let me meet her," the mayor whispered conspiritorially,
"And I'll get you that ship, a crew, supplies, whatever you need."

Naga smiled. "And while we're here, we'll need proper
accomodations..."

The mayor took out a paper and pen and began to scribble madly.
"Take this to the Juraia Inn. My brother runs it. He'll give you
the best rooms in the house, food, the whole bit!"

Naga took the note and stuffed it between her breasts. "We'll
bring her by tomorrow."

Zelgadis nearly had a heart attack.

"WONDERFUL! WONDERFUL!" the mayor cried. "Oh, thank you, Miss
Nags..."

"'NAGA!' IT'S 'NAGA!'"

"Right, of course! Thank you!"

"Then we'll be on our way." With that, Naga turned and started
for the door. Zelgadis followed, trying to contain his rage.

From behind them, they heard the mayor scribbling on a piece
of paper. "HA! EVIL TAX CUT! DRAGON SLAVE!!"

The doors closed behind them.

"OOOOOHOHOHOHO!!!"

Zelgadis crossed his arms over his chest. "And just how are
we going to introduce Lina to her biggest fan when Lina is in Krenek?"

Naga leaned forward until her face was only an inch from his.
"I haven't the faintest idea," she whispered.

Zelgadis grit his teeth and struggled to speak as Naga walked
away.



The inn on the mayor's note was a well-to-do establishment
with three floors, the first floor containing what everyone was most
concerned about right then...

A restauraunt.

"'Welcome to McInverse,'" Sylphiel read off her menu as she
opened it. "My, I didn't realize that Lina was this popular."

"No one realizes it. I'm surprised she doesn't live here,"
Zelgadis commented.

A waitress, her hair dyed fiery red like Lina's, and even
dressed like the short sorceress, walked up to them. "Hello,
there!"

Naga jumped and ducked. "Sorry...reflex," she said,
getting up again.

"This is a theme restauraunt?" Zelgadis asked.

"That's right!" the waitress said with a smile. "Dedicated to
the life of Lina Inverse! We have memorabilia, floor shows, and
delicious food in honor of Lina Inverse!" She handed Achi a
children's menu. "Here you go, Sweetie. What would you Lina-ites
like to drink?"

"Hemlock," Naga muttered.

"Wine for now," Zelgadis told her.

"Tea for me and Achi," Sylphiel told her.

"Okay, be right back," the waitress said, flashing them a
smile and victory sign.

They looked over the menues as they waited. "Ragna Roast,
Giga Spare Ribs..." Zelgadis remarked as he read.

"Look!" Sylphiel cried, pointing to one part of the menu.
"I'm a salad!"

Xellos ooh'd at his menu and read out loud, "'Xellos, the
Mysterious Pie. What's inside? That's a secret.'" He smiled.
"I'm intrigued."

"What are you, Zelgadis?" Sylphiel asked. "A steak? Something
bloody, I bet."

Zelgadis just stared at his menu.

"What is it?"

He sighed and read, "The Zelgadis Chimera Shortcake," he said
with difficulty. "Available with three different types of frosting,
served with ice cream or Shabrinigdo Sherbert."

Sylphiel sweatdropped. "Well...that's not bad..."

"I think...I'm going to cry," Zelgadis muttered.

Naga slammed her fist on the table. Achi looked up angrily.
She had been working on the "Amelia's Amazing Maze of Justice" on
the back of her menu. "Hey! What's the big deal?!"

"There's no Naga the Serpent Surprise!" Naga cried out.
"Where am I?!"

"Luckier than me, that's where you are," Zelgadis pointed out.

"I WILL NOT BE DENIED MY PLACE IN HISTORY!" Naga cried. "I
demand to speak to the manager about this!"

"What's this?" Zelgadis asked a passing waitress. He pointed
at his menu. "The Inverse Special?"

The waitress nodded. "In honor of Lina Inverse..."

"So I gathered," Zelgadis told her.

"It's items A through double Z on the menu, five servings of
each. It's specially designed for if the real Lina Inverse ever
comes to eat here. Anyone who can finish the whole thing is made
an Honorary McInverse Sorceress and gets a free Lina Inverse plushie!"

"Hmmmm..." Zelgadis replied.

Naga handed the waitress the menu. "One side, little boy,
leave it to the professional. I'll take one of those."

They all ordered and waited for their food. As they waited,
Zelgadis brought up their newest problem.

"The question is, how do we get a boat if we don't have Lina
with us?"

"Perhaps if we explain that we're friends of her's, he'll let
us have one anyway," Sylphiel suggested.

"Then we have to tell him we lied to him today," Zelgadis
said, throwing a look to Naga.

Naga blinked. "Don't look at me! I saw an opening and I took
it! Besides," she said with a grin, "I have a plan ready."

"You do?" Sylphiel asked.

"Yep," Naga assured her. "I call it..." She stood up and
posed theatrically. "NAGA THE SERPENT'S AMAZING SLIGHT OF SORCERESS
TRICK!!!"

"Who does she remind me of?" Zelgadis asked in frustration,
racking his brain for an answer. Meanwhile, Achi was showing
Sylphiel the connect the dots picture of Amelia she had just finished.

"What does this plan entail?" Xellos asked.

"Simple," Naga told him. "I, someone intimately familiar with
Lina's habits, dresses up like her and plays Lina for the mayor. He's
never actually met her. How would he know the difference?"

At this, everyone at the table except Naga and Achi laughed.

"What?! WHAT'S SO FUNNY?!"

Sylphiel blushed at being caught laughing at her friend. "Well,
Miss Naga...It's just that...well...we're not sure you'd make the best
Lina..."

"Why not?!"

Xellos had the answer to this one. "Let's just say you're
underqualified in some areas and um..." He reached out and poked
Naga's breasts with his staff. "...*Overqualified* in others," he
finished.

Naga growled at Xellos' bold move and stood up. "FLAAAAARE..."

"Who ordered the special?" the waitress asked, holding a
rather large tray as she walked up to their table.

"ME!" Naga cried, sitting back down and grabbing her knife and
fork.

"Oh, my," Xellos commented as Naga began to eat. "Perhaps she
*could* imitate Lina..."

"No," Zelgadis said, "There's one thing, and one thing alone
that has always set Lina apart from anyone else..."

"Her temper?" Naga asked between bites.

"Her hair?" Sylphiel questioned.

"Her impeccable sense of fashion?" Xellos threw in.

"No," Zelgadis told them. "If the mayor wants to know if
someone is really Lina, he'll ask her to do the Dragon Slave...and
there's only one person here who can do it." He turned to
Sylphiel...

So did Xellos and Naga.

Achi was busy making golems with her mashed potatoes.

"Um...I'm sorry?" Sylphiel said, unsure.

"You want *her* to be Lina?!" Naga asked incredulously, pointing
at Sylphiel.

"Can *you* do the Dragon Slave?" Zelgadis asked.

"Well...no, but..."

"Then we haven't much choice, now, do we?"

They all looked to Sylphiel again, who sighed. "I suppose
there isn't much choice, is there? All right, I'll do it."

"We'll have to coach her," Naga said through a mouthful of
roast beef.

Zelgadis nodded.

"Oneechan, can I go watch the floor show?" Achi asked.

"Sure, Achi chan. Let's go together." Sylphiel took the girl's
hand and walked her towards the door marked, "stage."

"There's no way *she* can pull this off," Naga told Zelgadis.

"Give her a chance," Zelgadis replied, "Sylphiel has surprised
us, more than once, I might add."

Xellos stood up. "If you'll excuse me, I wouldn't mind catching
the floor show, myself." He walked in the direction Sylphiel and Achi
had.

Zelgadis watched while Naga continued to eat. "One question,
Naga," he said, "If you and Lina were such a great team, how come
you're not still together?"

Naga took a long swig of wine before answering. "A good
question. You see, it all started with..."

"LOOK! It him!"

They both blinked and turned to the source of the disturbance.
Zelgadis blinked and hit the ground.

Two purple-haired twins in familiar outfits stood near the
stage door.

"It that chimera from before!" one twin remarked.

Zelgadis gasped as he lived through a flashback....Lina and
Amelia in tight, leggy outfits, singing a sappy love song while he
fed them lines.

"Hey you!" the other twin cried. "We remember you!"

"Excuse me, I have to go," he said quickly and took off
towards another part of the restauraunt.

The twins chased after him. "Wait! We get bonus if we add
real life Lina Inverse lackey to act!"

Naga shrugged and continued her meal.



Zelgadis ducked through a doorway and stood stock still,
listening.

"I think he go this way!" he heard, then the sound of two
sets of feet running past the door. He took a relieved breath and
turned. He was in some kind of exhibit hallway. Either wall was
lined with pictures, paintings, statues, or artifacts....all of
them having something to do with Lina.

He walked further down the hall, passing one of Lina's capes,
a lock of her hair, and a few other pieces of what this town
preferred to call 'history.'

He turned a corner and paused. Sylphiel was standing there,
looking at a painting on the wall. "Sylphiel?"

She turned and smiled. "Zelgadis."

"Where's Achi?"

"Xellos is watching her. I wanted to see what kind of
memorabilia they had here."

"Ah." He walked forward until he was standing next to her.

"There are little portraits of us here," she told him. "With
captions next to each one, talking about us." She smiled. "You'll
be happy to know that despite your menu item, you're known as the
gruff, yet kind-hearted chimera with a heart of gold."

Zelgadis snorted. "I prefered it when they thought of me as
a heartless swordsman."

"I don't know," she said, "I think their description fits you
rather well."

"And you?" he asked. "The pure shrine maiden who comes to
Lina's aid in her hour of need?"

She smiled. "Actually, the caption next to my picture is
very short."

"I find that hard to believe," he told her, and meant it.

She looked down at her feet and blushed slightly. "Thank you,
Zelgadis. See? You *are* kind-hearted."

Zelgadis paused suddenly. "Just don't let it get out," he
growled, trying to regain his composure.

Sylphiel only smiled, not buying into his act. "Of course
not." She turned back to the painting. It was a picture of the
entire group: Lina, Gourry, Zelgadis, Amelia, and Sylphiel. Looking
closer, Zelgadis noticed that Lina and Gourry were holding hands.

He looked back at her and found that it was that part of the
painting she was staring at.

"Have you decided yet what you'll do after you cure your curse?"
she asked quietly.

He looked away from her, at the painting. "Go home," he said,
just as quietly.

She looked at him with some surprise. "Home?"

He nodded. "I...I have a mother and sister there."

"I didn't know," she said.

"They...don't know about this. When Rezo did this to me...I
couldn't go back. I couldn't face them like this."

"Zelgadis..."

"How does a boy face his mother with the body of a monster?"
he whispered.

He felt her hand take his. He looked at her in surprise.

"You're not alone," she said.

He smiled. "Thank you, Sylphiel, but you have no idea what
it's been like." He sighed. "And I hope you never do."

She squeezed his hand. "I *do* know," she told him. "And I
know that a face doesn't make a person who they are."

He looked down at her quizzically. For a moment, he could
swear he saw something there.

"We should go back to your room," he said.

She looked up in shock.

"We'll have to dye your hair and train you to act like Lina,"
he reminded her.

"Oh," she said with another blush.

"Um..." But he didn't get any farther.

"Yes, of course. Let's get the others." She started for the
door back to the dining hall.

Zelgadis paused and looked up at the painting again. It was a
good likeness. He smiled, turned, and walked out.



A crowd had gathered around Naga by the time they found her.
They watched in amazement as she lifted one last forkful of noodles
and shoved it into her mouth. The crowd applauded as Naga stood up
and bowed, her table covered by a tower of empty plates and dishes.

A waitress came out carrying a paper hat and a Lina plushie.
"McInverse is proud to make you our newest honorary sorceress!"

Naga posed and gave them the victory sign, a paper crown on
her head, and a Lina plushie in her arms.

"Naga, if you're done with dinner, we have work to do,"
Zelgadis told her.

Naga grinned and followed them.



Naga tipped Sylphiel's head back until all of her hair was
immersed in the sink. "Just relax," the sorceress told her. "I
asked the waitress what kind of dye they use. She said this should
only take a few hours or so."

Sylphiel sighed and tried to relax.

"Now then, for your Lina training," Zelgadis began. "First,
let's see what you know. What is the most precious thing in the
world to Lina?"

"Oh, that's easy," Sylphiel replied. "Gourry Dear."

Zelgadis sweatdropped. "Um...No. The correct answer is,
'her next meal.'"

"Oh..."

"Question two: How long will Lina wait during an argument
before resorting to using magic?"

Sylphiel gave it some thought. "I don't think Lina would
use magic just to win an argument."

Now Zegladis *and* Naga had sweatdrops.

"Er..." Zelgadis checked a flash card. "The correct answer is,
'seventeen seconds.'"

"Oh my..."

"This is hopeless," Naga commented.

"It's the only hope we have," Zelgadis reminded her.

"Now, then, child!" Naga began her portion of the lesson.
"Lina Inverse has an *extensive* argumentative vocabulary!"

"Um...A what?" Sylphiel asked.

Naga sighed. "Let me put it this way: She can swear in six
different languages. Now how many curses do you know?"

Sylphiel gave the question honest thought. "Well...I know
the 'B' word."

"'B' word?" Naga asked, blinking.

"You know," Sylphiel whispered. "'Butt.'"

"I CAN'T WORK LIKE THIS!" Naga cried, throwing her hands into
the air and walking out of the room.

Sylphiel sighed. "Maybe it is hopeless."

"Perhaps so, but that's no reason to give up," Zelgadis told
her. "You just need to get into the Lina mindset."

"How do I do that?"

"It can't be too hard," Zelgadis joked, "Lina lives there."

She smiled at this.

Zelgadis regarded her for a moment, then smiled as an idea came
to him. "Maybe Naga's right. Perhaps this is too much for you."

"Huh?" Sylphiel said, blinking in surprise.

"After all, one can't expect a shrine maiden to be able to do
much of anything."

"Now wait just a second!" Sylphiel cried in response.

"Perhaps you should just hide here in your room until it's over.
We'll get Achi to play Lina..."

"Zelgadis! What are you talking about?!"

Zelgadis faced her and scowled. "I'm talking about you. If
you can't do something as simple as this, perhaps you should just go
home."

Sylphiel stood up, her hair dripping red dye onto the carpet.
"Why would you say something like that!?" she cried. "Haven't I
done enough already?!"

"Ha!" Zelgadis laughed in her face. "So far you've done
nothing but pine after Gourry and coddle that little girl!"

Sylphiel balled her hands into fists. "That's not true! I
pull my weight!"

"What do you weigh? Ten pounds?" Zelgadis asked her harshly.

"I've cooked for you! Looked after Achi! I've even
volunteered for this stupid idea!"

Zelgadis smiled. She was almost there.

"Volunteered? We practically had to twist your arm. If we
hadn't, you would've run off to find your precious Gourry Dear and
begged for help."

Sylphiel grit her teeth. "You....you.....you...."

Zelgadis waited.

"YOU JERK!"

Zelgadis sighed. "I guess it'll have to do."

Sylphiel stared at him quizzically, her anger temporarily
forgotten. "You mean...you..."

"It's like water trying to imitate fire," Zelgadis told her.
"You're slower to boil than Lina is."

"Ah!" Xellos said, appearing at the door. "A fine trick,
Mister Zelgadis. It always worked with Filia."

"That's where I got the idea."

Sylphiel blinked. "You mean...you were *trying* to get me to
lose my temper?"

"You don't honestly believe I think so little of you, do you?"

Sylphiel looked away in embarrassment. "No, of course not."

"Good. You're just going to have to try to fake it, I guess."

Sylphiel took a breath and nodded.

"I'm going back to my room. I'll see you tomorrow. And one
more thing..." He turned and looked at Sylphiel. "Try to go to
sleep in a bad mood. Trust me, it'll help." With that, he walked
out the door.

Sylphiel sighed. "I'm not sure I can do this," she said
quietly, sitting on her bed.

"Oh?" Xellos asked. "Why not?"

"I've never been comfortable with deceiving people, even when
it's a good cause."

"It should be easy for you, Miss Sylphiel," Xellos told her.
She looked up at him in confusion. "After all," he went on, "You
already have two faces. A third should be easy."

Sylphiel went pale. "Wh...What do you mean?"

Xellos smiled. "That's a secret...Yours," he told her. He
walked out, leaving Sylphiel there, eyes wide and terrified.



"How did you sleep?" Zelgadis asked as they walked down the
street the next morning.

"Horribly," Sylphiel complained, tossing her newly dyed mane
of red hair. "Someone in the room above mine insisted on singing
the most disgusting limericks all night long. It kept me up for
hours."

Behind her back, Zelgadis and Naga high fived.

Sylphiel rubbed the back of her neck. "And I have this
awful crick in my neck. Someone replaced my pillow with a log
from the woodshed."

Xellos scratched his head. "How awful." A few pieces of sawdust
fell from his sleeve...

"Does this mean you're in a bad mood, Oneechan?" Achi asked
with just a slight glimmer of hope.

Sylphiel smiled down at her. "Of course not, Achi chan! I
wouldn't let something like that bug me!"

Everyone but Sylphiel hit the ground. Sylphiel only smiled
and continued to walk towards the mayor's mansion.



"Oh....my.........GOD!!!" The mayor of Inverse exclaimed when
he saw the red head with Naga and Zelgadis. "I can't believe it! I
cannot believe it! Ethel! Grace! Come out here!" he called to
his secretaries. "It's *THE* Lina Inverse!"

Sylphiel smiled warmly. "How do you do?"

The mayor took her hand and shook it. "As I live and breathe.
If someone had told me a week ago that I would be shaking hands with
Lina Inverse...I would have laughed." He laughed to prove this, but
stopped suddenly, his eyes narrowing. "Odd..." he said, "I would've
thought you'd be shorter."

Sylphiel stuttered. "Er...Yes...well...Not everything you hear
about me is true..."

"Oh, yes, don't worry, Miss Inverse. I know a real truth from
a fake. Believe you me!"

The entire gang sweat dropped at this.

"Please, call me Lina," Sylphiel told him.

"Really?! I can really call you Lina!?"

"Um...sure?"

"I cannot believe this," the mayor said, practically weeping
in joy. "Please! Sit! Can I get you something?!"

"I'd love some tea," Sylphiel said as she took a seat.
Sitting behind her, Naga kicked the back of her chair. "I mean ale!"
Sylphiel corrected herself. "Ale," she repeated, trying to sound
menacing and Lina-like. "Lots of it," she went on. "And food too."

"Of course!" the mayor practically to the door. "Ethel! Run
down to the pub and get some ale and something for *Lina* to eat!
Hurry!" He returned a moment later. "Now, then," he said, taking
his seat behind his desk. "Your two friends told me that you need
a ship to take you to the Sirian Sea."

"That's right," Sylphiel told him. "Please?" Naga scowled and
kicked her chair again. Sylphiel jumped. "I mean! Yes! Give us a
ship...or...or I'll burn your whole damn town to the ground! And
um...and um....Blow up your temples too!"

Naga groaned and shook her head.

The mayor laughed and put his hands up in mock surrender.
"Of course! Of course! You'll get your ship just like I promised....
but first..." His eyes narrowed. "You have to do two things for
me..."

Sylphiel blinked. "Um....I do?" Naga kicked her chair. "I
mean! Like what?!" she corrected in a somewhat harsher tone.

"First..." He reached under his desk and pulled out a picture
of Lina. "Could you sign this for me?!"

Sylphiel laughed nervously. "Of course!" she took the picture
and a pen and scribbled Lina's name on it. The others sighed in
relief that it was this easy. She handed the picture back to the
mayor and smiled.

The mayor took the picture and blinked. "Um...isn't there an
'e' on the end of 'Inverse?'"

Sylphiel's eyes widened in fearful shock. So did everyone
else's. "Yes of course! My fault! My fault!" She took the picture
back and quickly added the 'e.'

"Thank you, Lina!" the mayor said gratefully with a huge grin.

The others sighed in relief.

"And two?" Sylphiel asked.

"Just one...teeny...weeny...tiny...thing..." He smiled.



"YOU WANT ME TO KILL A DRAGON?!" Sylphiel cried, backing away
from the telescope at the mayor's window.

The mayor nodded excitedly. "We've been waiting for this day
for a long time!" he cried. Meanwhile, Zelgadis was looking through
the telescope at the dark blue dragon sleeping near a mountain a few
miles away. "This thing attacks us about once a month, then goes off
to sleep. When it wakes up, it's hungry, and we're the nearest town
to it!"

"Hmmm...Looks like your everyday, run of the mill, wild dragon,"
Zelgadis noted as he peered through the scope.

"Yes, but very powerful," the mayor noted. "Every warrior we've
sent after it has been eaten."

"And you want to send Oneechan out there to deal with it?!"
Achi asked.

"This wasn't part of the deal, buddy!" Naga growled, picking
up the mayor by the front of his shirt.

"Please!" the mayor cried. "I have no choice! Lina Inverse
is our only hope!"

"Heh, forget it," Zelgadis told him. "You tricked us into
meeting you under a false pretense. Let's go." He started for the
door. Naga followed him. He stopped when he realized that Sylphiel
wasn't following along. "Syl..er...Lina?"

Sylphiel didn't turn to them as she said, "I'll do it."

"WHAT?!" the rest of the party, minus Xellos, cried.

Sylphiel turned to them. "I said I'll do it. I'll kill the
dragon."

Zelgadis walked up to her and took her by the shoulders. He
leaned forward and whispered harshly. "This isn't a game, Sylphiel."

"I know it's not," she said. "But how can I turn my back on
people who need my help and leave them to be attacked at will?" She
turned to the mayor. "I'll slay your dragon."

"Yes!"

"I...I guess I'll need a guide to take me out there,"
Sylphiel said dejectedly.

"No need, Lina," the mayor assured her. "Tomorrow is the
thirtieth."

"So?" she asked.

"The dragon attacked us exactly twenty-nine days ago.
Tomorrow it'll wake up and come here. He'll come to you, Lina."



Sylphiel calmly walked into her room, shut the door behind her,
and sat down on her bed. She was shocked when Zelgadis opened the
door and stormed in after her, slamming it behind him. He stared at
her for a second.

"What the hell was that?" he asked quietly.

She looked away from him. "Mister Zelgadis, I..."

"Stop," he hissed. "You always do that. Every time you feel
sorry about something, you go back to formality. Just drop it. All
I want to know is why. You didn't have to volunteer."

She looked at him, the beginnings of tears in her eyes. "I
just had to."

"Bull shit!" he growled. He walked up to her until he was
standing over her. She looked down at the blanket of her bed and
refused to face his glare. "No one, not even Lina, decides to face
off with a dragon on a whim! Why?!"

She finally faced him, and for the first time he saw the tears
running down her face. "Because if I don't," she whispered, "More
people are going to get hurt."

"It's not your problem," he told her gently.

"It is!" she cried, shooting to her feet. "It is..." She
went to the window. "I watched," she whispered, "Powerless...while
Sairaag burned..."

Zelgadis said nothing.

"I watched...because I wasn't powerful enough to stop it....and
hundreds of people died because I wasn't strong enough to protect
them..." She faced him again. "I won't have it happen again! I
won't! I..."

She stopped, her hand going to her face as sobs overtook her.
Zelgadis watched, stock still, unsure of what to do. Finally, he
reached out and placed a hand on her shoulder. She responded by
throwing herself into him, hugging him. Zelgadis oomph'd and looked
down in shock. After a moment, he reached around and held her.

"You're more like Lina than you think," he said quietly.



Sylphiel walked out the door into the street the next morning
and blinked in shock. There must have been five hundred people there
holding signs that said, "We're behind you, Lina!"

Zelgadis walked up from behind and sighed. "Well, they've done
it. This town has officially beaten Femille out as 'Weirdest Town
I've Ever Been To.'" He turned to her. "How do you feel?"

"Frightened," she told him.

He smiled. "You helped Lina face down Phibrizzo, and a little
*dragon* frightens you?"

She smiled. "Well...Yes..."

Naga yawned loudly as she stepped out the door with them. "It's
a dragon! Stop making it sound like it's a *real* problem!"

Achi bounded out the door holding the Lina plushie Naga had won
for her. "Wow, you mean a real life dragon?!"

Sylphiel knelt next to her. "No, Achi. You have to stay here."

"Awwww! But I want to see you beat the dragon, Oneechan!" (And
if you happen to get emotionally excited enough for that curtain to
drop, so much the better...)

"It's too dangerous for you, Achi chan," Xellos told her,
smiling. "You should stay here where it's nice and safe."

"Hmmph!"

"I'm sorry, Achi," Sylphiel told her, "But if anything
happened to you, I could never forgive myself."

Achi sighed. "Yes, Oneechan..." She threw an acidic look to
Xellos.

Naga eyed the plushie Achi was holding and suddenly snatched
it from her.

"Hey!" Achi cried.

"Don't worry, child, it'll go to a good cause." The sorceress
hung the plushie on her belt.

"Well, let's go," Sylphiel said, taking a deep breath. She
started down the street, Zelgadis and Naga behind her.

The crowd around them cheered. "LI-NA! LI-NA! LI-NA!"

Naga looked around and hmmph'd. "NA-GA! NA-GA!" she shouted
back at the crowd. She sighed. "Always a bridesmaid, never a bride."
She looked around and blinked. "Hey, what happened to Xellos?"

Zelgadis growled. "What did you expect? For him to hang
around and do some work?"

Sylphiel said nothing. She continued to walk through town until
she was outside the city's wall, facing the river.

So far, nothing.

They all turned as the doors to the city closed behind them,
effectively trapping them outside.

"Well, how's that for support?!" Naga asked in disdain.

"Maybe he won't come today," Sylphiel suggested nervously.

"Sylphiel, remember the plan," Zelgadis told her. "Naga and I
will distract it long enough for you to cast the Dragon Slave. We
may only get one shot, so make it count."

Sylphiel nodded and grit her teeth in determination.

That's when they heard it.

A roar.

The three of them turned to the river. They could hear its
footsteps as it approached, watched as it cleared a nearby hill.

Naga smiled. "Distraction time..."



Xellos appeared next to Achi on the inn's roof.

"You're just going to let them face that dragon alone?" Achi
asked.

"They can handle it," Xellos assured her.

"And if they can't?"

He smiled.



The dragon roared as it spotted the town. Standing along the
top of the wall, the towns people of Inverse cheered Sylphiel on.

Sylphiel froze for a moment. She had never actually seen a
real dragon this close before.

"Sylphiel!" Zelgadis prompted.

She gasped and closed her eyes, beginning her chant. "Darkness
beyond twilight...Crimson beyond blood that flows..."

Before she could finish, the dragon roared, a light forming
in its mouth.

"Laser Breath!" Zelgadis cried.

Sylphiel gasped and opened her eyes in shock, breaking the
incantation just as the dragon fired!

She shut her eyes and braced herself for oblivion, then...

"BALUS WALL!"

Sylphiel opened her eyes and found Zelgadis standing in front
of her, his back to her. The dragon's laser breath was being
deflected by his spell, but just barely. She watched as Zelgadis
fell to one knee, his hands up and still struggling to deflect the
spell.

"Zelgadis!"

"Finish it!" he shouted back at her.

Behind her, Naga pulled the plushie from her belt...

Zelgadis grit his teeth. His stone hands were beginning to
burn from the power of the spell. He saw a flash beside him, and
suddenly his Balus Wall strengthened almost ten times.

He looked to his right and almost gasped in shock. Xellos
was standing there, holding his staff before him.

"What are you doing here?" Zelgadis asked disdainfully.

Xellos smiled in that way the chimera found annoying beyond
belief. "Just trying to help," he said. "I have a vested interest
in keeping Miss Sylphiel alive. After all, if she dies, we have to
eat *my* cooking for the rest of this trip. Can't have that, now,
can we?"

Zelgadis actually smiled. Before he could say anything, he
heard Naga's voice behind them.

"VU VRAIMER!"

Zelgadis watched as the dragon suddenly stopped and blinked at
something. He turned his head and gasped.

An eighty foot Lina plushie was suddenly standing behind them.
Naga grinned and pointed at the dragon. "GO, MEGA PIKO PIKO LINA
CHAN!!"

Zelgadis stared and sweatdropped.

Sylphiel stared and sweatdropped.

The dragon stared and sweatdropped.

Xellos paused and hmm'd...

"Oh my..."

Mega Piko Piko Lina Chan bellowed mightily and pounded her
chest with her fists!

"LI-NA! LI-NA! LI-NA!" the crowd on the wall chanted.

"KAWAII!!!" several of the smaller girls on the wall cried
at the sight.

Mega Piko Piko Lina Chan howled and charged the dragon! The
dragon's eyes went wide as it tried to back-pedal away. The Lina
plushie golem, however, was not about to let it get away. It
rushed forward, it's plushie feet squeaking adorably, and stuck its
arm out, executing a perfect haymaker on the dragon. The dragon
fell to the ground, dazed.

Naga checked her nails and smiled. "There are times I amaze
even myself..."

The dragon got up and swiped at the golem with its tail.
Mega Piko Piko Lina Chan caught the tail and turned, tossing the
dragon over her shoulder into the river.

Zelgadis shook his head and sighed as Piko Piko Lina Chan
jumped up and down on the dragon's head.

*SQUEAK! SQUEAK! SQUEAK!*

"Sylphiel! Do it now!" he cried.

Sylphiel closed her eyes and began again. "Darkness beyond
twilight..."

The dragon roared one more time and tried to knock the golem
away, but Mega Piko Piko Lina Chan was ready. She dropped her entire
body onto the dragon, pinning it like a wrestler.

"Crimson beyond the blood that flows..."

Xellos appeared next to the golem and dragon, wearing a black
and white striped shirt. "One!" he counted.

"Buried in the flow of time..."

"Two!"

"In thy great name...I pledge myself to darkness..."

The dragon roared hatefully.

"Let all the fools who stand in our way be destroyed..."

"THREE!"

"By the power you and I possess..."

Xellos waved his arms. "Fair pin!" He disappeared in a flash.

Naga smiled and held out two fingers. "Victory," she whispered.

"DRAGON SLAAAAAAVE!" Sylphiel cried, holding her arms out. A
ball of hellfire formed a foot from her outstretched hands and
coalesced, gathering power to itself, before streaking out across the
river and striking the dragon and golem dead on. There was a white
flash as the ball of fire detonated. Zelgadis shut his eyes and
braced himself as the shockwave hit.

"WHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!" He heard as he felt someone grab onto him
for dear life. He opened his eyes and saw Naga holding his arm.
"Been awhile since I saw one of these go off!" she cried with a grin.

Finally, the explosion dissipated. Where the dragon had been,
there was only a crater. Naga blinked as a charred and burned Lina
plushie hit the ground near her feet. She smiled and picked it up.

She felt a hand on her shoulder and turned to see Zelgadis
there. "I believe you now when you say you're Lina's *greatest*
rival," he told her in genuine admiration.

She grinned. "You're not so bad yourself, stone man."

Sylphiel closed her eyes and fell to the ground exhausted.

"Sylphiel!"

Zelgadis rushed to her and knelt down, checking her pulse. "I
guess it wore her out more than we thought it would," he said. He
picked her up. "Come on, let's get her back to the inn."

They turned and found the crowd on the wall cheering
ecstatically. Naga gave them the victory sign and waved. The crowd
went wild.

Zelgadis walked toward the gate as it opened, letting them
back into the city.



From the inn roof, Achi stared on, wide-eyed.

"The Wind Dragon King was right," she breathed as she watched
the explosion dissipate. "They *can* find Zarak Tor."

She stood there watching the orange glow from the Dragon Slave
fade for a moment longer, then disappeared in a flash of light.



Zelgadis was shocked by the silence of it all as he carried
Sylphiel down the street. The crowd on either side of the street
was watching quietly as the red head in his arms slept. It was if
they were deathly afraid of waking her.

"She makes a better Lina than I thought," Naga whispered to
him.

He looked down as Sylphiel sighed in her sleep and cuddled up
in his arms, making herself comfortable.

"I have to admit, she's more than I could've hoped for," he
whispered back.

Naga grinned. "Is that admiration I hear in your voice,
stoney?"

"There's nothing wrong with admiring someone worthy of
respect," he shot back quietly.

"'Respect?'" Naga asked with a smile.

"Yes, respect." At that moment, Sylphiel murmurred sleepily
and squirmed around until her head was resting in the crook of the
chimera's arm. She sighed again and continued to sleep.

Naga giggled. "Awww! Isn't that cute?! She's drooling!"

Zelgadis sighed and shook his head as the two walked down the
street towards the Juraia Inn. Unknown to them, a certain
purple-haired priest was floating high above them, watching their
procession walk down the street.

"Yareyare..." he intoned. "Perhaps there's hope for them,
after all." He smiled, and disappeared. He had work to do and
telepaths to watch.



To Be Continued...