Slayers is the property of Kadokawa Shoten.
LINA: Holy crap! This guy has a cure for Zel's curse!? Yeah, like I buy THAT load of crap!
AMELIA: It's kind of hard to ignore, Miss Lina, when you're surrounded and outnumbered…
GOURRY: (Unsheathing his sword.) Outnumbered…NOT outclassed!
AMELIA: How does Mister Zelgadis feel about it?
LINA: Hey, where IS Zel?
SYLPHIEL: Zelgadis dear! Don't!
Faces: After!
Part 16
Confusion!
The Trap Is Sprung!
"Please? Trust me?"
Slowly, Zelgadis reached out to Scarrin. The man before him smiled and reached for his
hand.
"Zelgadis dear!" Sylphiel cried urgently.
The others watched quietly, unsure of what they should do. Sylphiel started to push her
way past Lina.
Suddenly, Scarrin's smile slipped. Zelgadis' hand was an inch from his, and the chimera
was staring into his yellow eyes.
"No."
Scarrin blinked.
Suddenly, Zelgadis slammed his hand down onto the ground between them. "DUG
HAUT!"
The ground shook as spires of stone shot out from the ground! Berserkers not agile enough
to avoid them were impaled on them, screaming and writhing in agony.
"WAY TO GO, ZEL!" Lina shouted, turning to the berserkers behind them. "FIREBALL!"
A fiery explosion engulfed four of the berserkers.
Zelgadis stumbled backwards as a rock spire surfaced between himself and Scarrin. The
other chimera was likewise thrown back. He fell onto his butt and glared at Zelgadis, rising to his
feet and drawing his sword.
Greysword drew her katana and started down the side of the gully. She hadn't heard any of
the conversation, but the chimera's spell was enough of a signal that something had gone wrong for
her. "Showtime, Zero!" she called out. The red priest lookalike disappeared. The
swordswoman maneuvered quickly, but carefully down the angular incline of the wall, trying very
hard not to trip.
She hit the gully floor and saw her target rising to his feet and drawing a sword. She
raised her katana and darted forward, leaping into the air at him.
"STONE CLEAVE!" she screamed as she swung her sword at the chimera. Zelgadis saw
her at the last second and rolled out of the way! Greysword's katana sliced into the rocky ground
where he had been standing, a plume of dust and debris flying up from the gash.
She blinked the dust out of her eyes just in time to see Gourry charging her. She brought
her katana up and blocked his first two slashes and hopped nimbly backwards to evade a third.
"VIS FARANK!" Amelia cried, the word "JUSTICE" appearing on her knuckles as she
knocked another three berserkers back with fast punches.
Lina lowered her hand as another explosion threw three more berserkers skyward. She
sensed something behind her and hit the ground just in time.
"FREEZE ARROW!"
The ice bolt shot right over her head and struck another hapless berserker. She shot to her
feet and turned to find Zero floating not far away. She grinned ferally. "Round three," she
whispered. "FIREBALL!" The ball of flame shot from her hand and landed at the sorcerer's feet,
exploding. However, the red priest wannabe suddenly appeared to her right.
Lina readied another spell.
Sylphiel saw a berserker get around Amelia's back and raise his sword. "MISS
AMELIA!" She raised her hands. "FLARE ARROW!" Her attack spells might only be good for
distractions, but right now it would do.
She wasn't expecting a three meter shaft of flame to shoot from her hand and strike the
berserker dead in the chest, knocking him back ten meters. Amelia turned, saw the shot, then
turned back and gave Sylphiel the victory sign.
The priestess blinked. That had been odd…
Before she could give it any more thought, furry arms wrapped around her from behind.
She started to scream, cast a spell, but a hairy paw covered her mouth. The priestess kicked
against her assailant. She could feel the thing's breath on her neck.
"MISS SYLPHIEL!" Amelia cried, rushing to help.
Sylphiel continued to struggle, making things very difficult for Gandrav. Suddenly, the
werewolf paused. She heard him sniff several times. Suddenly, he shoved her away. Sylphiel hit
the ground hard.
"ELEMEKIA LANCE!" she heard from behind her. A bolt of just barely missed the wolf
creature, who leapt out of the way. Sylphiel suddenly found Amelia standing over her. "Are you
okay, Miss Sylphiel?!"
"Yes," she said, rising to her feet. "I'm okay." But why did the werewolf suddenly shove
her away?
Zelgadis saw Scarrin draw a sword and raised his. "ASTRAL VINE!" The sword in his
hand glowed red.
Scarrin only smiled and held his own sword up. "ASTRAL VINE!" His sword also began
glowing. Zelgadis took an unsteady breath at this. "You forget," Scarrin told him with a smile.
"We are students of the same school." With a cry he launched himself forward, far faster than
Zelgadis would have believed possible! He brought his sword up to block. The two blades
locked together amidst a storm of astral energy.
Zelgadis shoved forward and went on the offensive, slashing at the chimera, but Scarrin
was much faster than he was. Each of the stone man's blows fell either on the tiger man's blade or
bit nothing but air.
Scarrin's blade seemed to come out of nowhere a second later, and Zelgadis just barely
brought his sword up in time. He grit his teeth against the strain being placed upon him.
"We're not so different you and I," Scarrin whispered. "We're both trapped in bodies we
despise, both unable to go home…"
Zelgadis growled and continued to struggle.
"Both of us wishing for a way out…The difference is, Greywords, I can have MY wish!"
Scarrin shoved Zelgadis back and charged again.
"FLARE ARROW!" Zelgadis cried, throwing his hand out at the other chimera. A bolt of
flame shot forward and struck the ground near Scarrin's feet. Smoke and dust rose into the sky,
and a second later, Scarrin had emerged from it, leaping at Zelgadis.
Zelgadis brought his sword up again…
Lina dived out of the way of two more Flare Arrows and cursed as she looked up at the
sky. Zero was floating up there hurling spells down on her.
The sorceress dived to her right as she heard him call out another Flare Arrow. She dived
and rolled, coming to rest on her back. She pointed up at him. "FREEZE BRID!" A blue bolt shot
from her hands and flew upwards, but Zero floated nimbly out of the way.
This wasn't going to work at all…
She saw Gourry and Greysword fighting not far away. A plan formed. She drew her short
sword. "Gourry! Trade!" Lina reached back and flung her sword towards the two fighting
duelists.
Her sword landed blade-first in the dirt. Gourry saw it and used his own sword to slash
upwards. Greysword's katana locked with his blade, but suddenly the swordsman lashed out with
the pommel and struck the woman in the face. Greysword stumbled backwards.
Gourry took his chance. He raced towards Lina's sword and threw his in her general
direction. The blade hit the ground and skidded to a halt only a few yards from the sorceress, who
ran straight to it.
Greysword, however, had recovered and was racing towards him. She caught up to the
man quickly and slashed at his back, but Gourry dived forward and rolled, grabbing Lina's sword
and coming to a stop in a crouch. He turned quickly and brought the short sword up just in time to
deflect a blow from Greysword's katana.
Meanwhile, Lina ducked under another fire blast and dived for Gourry's sword. She felt
her hand hit the handle and clutched at it desperately. The sword firmly in hand, she rose to her
feet, turned upward, and…
"RAYWING!"
The redhead shot into the air towards the red priest. Zero lashed out at her.
"FIREBALL!"
The ball of fire struck Lina dead on and exploded in a smoky eruption.
A second later, she exploded out of the cloud of smoke and continued to climb higher.
Zero, forgetting the significance of the sword she carried for a fatal instant, gasped.
Lina screamed as she swung the sword upward, the tip slicing into the red priest and
nicking his eye. Zero screamed and clutched at his face as Lina shot past him. Blood seeped
between his fingers. He began to stagger in mid-air.
"Astral…Phase…"
A second later, the sorcerer was gone.
Lina floated above the battle and looked down to see Gourry try to block another swing
from Greysword. The katana went right through the short sword's blade. The swordsman growled
in irritation, but before he could take any other action, Greysword's boot had connected with his
face. The blond flew back several feet and landed on his back.
"GOURRY!" Lina shouted down at him. She flung the sword downward towards him, and
it landed blade first in the ground a few feet away.
He saw it and rolled right toward it just as Greysword's katana struck the ground where he
had been laying. Grasping the sword he brought it up and blocked another downward swing
before lashing out with his foot and striking the woman in the face. The swordswoman cried out
and dropped to one knee as Gourry shot to his feet.
Greysword rose, and the duel continued.
The two astrally charged blades were a blur of red as they danced together. Zelgadis
smiled tightly as he recognized some of the sword techniques Scarrin was using as the same ones
taught to HIM by Rodimus.
The blades locked together again, but this time, Scarrin had something else planned.
Before Zelgadis realized what was happening, Scarring had removed one hand from his sword and
placed his palm against the chimera's midsection.
"BOMB DE WIND!"
At such a close range, it was like being kicked in the stomach by one of Naga's golems.
Zelgadis was thrown back almost a hundred feet, striking the wall of the gully and falling to the
ground. He coughed and spat blood. The chimera blinked, dazed, and tried to rise to his feet. He
managed to stand for a moment, but ended up falling to his knees again.
"ZELGADIS DEAR!" Sylphiel screamed as she saw this. "RAYWING!" In a flash, the
priestess had flown over to him, kneeling next to him. "Oh, dear Cepheid," she whispered as she
prepared to chant a healing spell.
"This is the end, Greywords," Scarrin called out as he walked casually towards them.
"Come along peacefully, and I'll let your friends go."
Sylphiel was murmuring a healing spell, her hands going to Zelgadis' chest. She paused
and opened her eyes as she felt him take her hand. He stared straight into her eyes, the looked
skyward. Then, his eyes looked down and to his right. She followed his gaze and found his right
hand touching the ground, this fingers glowing a soft green.
He was preparing a spell.
His eyes went skyward again, then gave her a questioning look. She nodded quickly and
got a good hold of him. She stayed perfectly still as she heard Scarrin's footfalls move closer.
She gulped as she felt the flat of his blade rest on her shoulder.
"It's over," he said quietly.
Her fingers tightened around Zelgadis' arm. She nodded to him.
"BEPHIS BRING!"
The ground beneath them disintegrated!
"LEVITATION!" Sylphiel cried. They rose into the air as Scarrin fell into the pit formed
by the chimera's spell.
The man screamed as he fell. The Bephis Bring spell caused earth to disappear, and in this
case the spell had burrowed far enough to hit an underground river far below them. There was a
splash far below.
Sylphiel and Zelgadis continued to rise into the air.
Greysword heard the commotion and turned. "Shit!" she cried.
"Gourry!"
She turned back just in time to see Lina fly down and grab the swordsman under his arms
and start to climb again. A second later and she heard the other sorceress cast her own levitation
spell. She growled.
"Zero! Where the fuck are you!?" she cursed to herself as she ran to the pit. Looking
down over the edge, she searched for some sign of Scarrin in the rapids below. "FUCK!" she
cried, slamming her palm against the ground.
"Zelgadis dear! Are you okay?!" Sylphiel cried to the man hanging precarious in her grip.
There was no answer. "Zelgadis dear?! ZELGADIS DEAR!?"
"Is he okay!?"
Sylphiel turned and found Lina flying nearby on her right, Gourry dangling beneath her and
watching the ground fearfully.
"I can't tell!" Sylphiel cried, tears in her eyes.
"I'll check!" she heard from her left. Amelia dipped beneath her and floated up the
chimera. Zelgadis' eyes were closed, and blood seeped from the corners of his mouth. "Mister
Zelgadis?" Amelia asked. "Are you okay? Can you hear me?"
"Is he okay?!" Sylphiel called down frantically.
"He's out cold!" Amelia shouted back. "But I think he's still breathing!"
"We have to set down somewhere," Sylphiel told them.
"Not yet," Lina said.
"Miss Lina!"
"Not until we're a little farther away," the redhead explained. "Otherwise we might end
up getting caught on the ground."
Sylphiel bit her lip and started downward.
"Sylphiel!" Lina cried after her. "Dammit!" She started down after her.
The shrine maiden found a spot on the bank of a nearby river and gently set the chimera
down. She knelt over his unmoving form and placed her hands on his chest, chanting a recovery
spell.
Gourry landed with a cry not far away and sat up just as Lina and Amelia landed nimbly on
their feet.
"Is he okay?" Amelia asked worriedly.
Sylphiel didn't answer. She was concentrating on the energy in her hands flowing
downward into her lover, repairing torn tissue and bone.
Lina watched the trees warily, ready for anything. Sure, Zero and Scarrin might be out of
the fight right now, but Greysword and that werewolf were still out there along with however
many berserkers managed to hide from Lina's fireballs.
After five minutes of work, Zelgadis' eyes finally opened. "Syl…chan?"
She smiled down at him. "How do you feel?"
"Forget how he feels," Lina interrupted. "Can you walk?"
"I think so," he said, rising to his feet.
"Okay," Lina murmured. "Then let's get moving." She pointed downstream. "Carvalho
is this way." With that, she started marching.
Sylphiel helped Zelgadis and threw his arm over her shoulder, supporting his weight.
Gourry took the other side.
Slowly, the group started out again.
Greysword maneuvered her way up the bank of the river and looked out at the water. By
her reckoning, the underground river emerged from the cliffs here. She looked up at the sun and
growled. It was starting to go down. Waving to the figure on the other side of the water, she
called out.
"Gandrav! Do you see anything?!"
The werewolf paused for a moment, then started into the water. Greysword watched as he
climbed back onto the bank a minute later with a black-clad figure being carried over his shoulder.
"Alive!? Dead?! What?!" she called out.
The werewolf held up two fingers, giving her the victory sign. She nodded. A second
later, she felt something appear to her right. Turning, she found Zero standing there, looking out at
the water just as she was.
"You stupid piece of shit!" she hissed at him. "If you had been covering us from the air,
we would have had…" She broke off as he turned to her, and for the first time she saw the bloody
bandage covering his right eye. His expression was one of muted fury.
"You can have the chimera," he said quietly. "But I WANT the redhead."
"Deal," Greysword said quietly. She turned back to the water and watched Gandrav carry
their employer across the river.
Zelgadis winced as he lowered himself into the hot water of the inn's onsen. Sylphiel's
healing spell had done its job, but it did little for the soreness he felt up and down his back.
Perhaps a good soak would help. He could only hope.
Besides, he needed some time to digest what Scarrin had told him. There were pieces of a
puzzle he had to fit together, but what pieces fit the puzzle he was working on? What was lie and
what was truth?
Was he REALLY part Mazoku?
He took an unsteady breath and tried to make sense of it. From what Scarrin had said
during the battle, he had implied that they shared a problem, but was that a lie as well? How much
of what he said could be taken at face value?
Until he knew more, none of it…
("You will always be lied to, Zelgadis,") Rezo's voice came back to him. The Red Priest
had been his teacher in almost everything he knew. Though he didn't like it, Zelgadis often found
himself applying those lessons to his life. ("Friend, enemy, it makes no difference. The only
things you can trust as fact are the things YOU create, say, or do. Everything else…is suspect.")
He sighed and reached for the steel wool sponge he used to bathe with. Running the steel
up and down his arm, he continued to contemplate his next move.
That Scarrin knew Rezo, he had no doubt. There were too many signs pointing to it. And
he was definitely a chimera. The eyes, agility, and strength made it obvious.
Perhaps he was searching for a cure as well?
Then why try to abduct him? Why not just ask for his help?
Were there really other chimeras like him out there?
So wrapped up in his thoughts was he that he didn't notice the disturbance in the water
behind him until the creator of that disturbance laid her hands on his shoulders. "Zelgadis dear?"
He jumped and blushed, covering himself out of reflex. "Sylphiel?!" The chimera turned
his head to look at her and found her sitting just behind him.
She took the steel wool pad from his hand and started to gently scrub his back. "Syl chan,"
she corrected. "Are you feeling better?"
"A little sore," he confessed as she continued to scrub his back. He winced slightly as
even that gentle action prompted pain.
She said nothing.
"Are you okay?" he asked.
"It was him," she whispered. "The one from my dream. The one I told you about."
He took a breath. "So I gathered."
The priestess' arms wrapped around him and pulled him to her. He covered a wince and
took a breath. Suddenly, his eyes went wide and he blushed. With the shrine maiden pressed
against his back, he suddenly realized something.
Sylphiel wasn't wearing a towel…
"Why does this have to happen?" she whimpered. "Why now? Rezo and Phibrizzo
weren't enough? The gods had to throw another one into the mix?"
He took her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. "Hey," he said, "What would my life be
like if stuff like this didn't happen?" he asked her.
"Peaceful," she replied quietly.
"Yeah," he sighed. "But there's no point in crying about it."
"Zelgadis dear?"
He turned to look into her green eyes. "If the gods like making me a toy for them to play
with, fine," he said. "I'm used to that. And if they want to dangle a cure in front of me, let them."
"I don't understand."
Zelgadis smiled tightly. "Scarrin MIGHT have been lying about having a cure, but if he
was, then what he said to me during out fight wouldn't make any sense. I think he DOES have a
cure, and for some reason he needs ME to make it work."
She shook her head frantically. "No, don't say what I think…"
"I think it's time I used some of the things Rezo taught me," he continued. "So the next time
we meet with Scarrin, Greysword, or Zero, it's not going to end with me running away. I'm going
to grab one of them." He clenched a fist in front of him. "And then they're going to tell me where I
can find this cure."
Sylphiel moved in front of him and took him by the shoulders. "Don't," she begged
frantically. "Please! There are other cures out there! Other ways! Don't risk yourself like this!"
"I'm at risk anyway," he told her. "If they want me, they'll come after me. No reason I
shouldn't take what I can get."
"You'd do anything for your cure," she whispered almost bitterly.
"No," he said quietly. "Not anything…but a lot."
Thunder clapped overhead. They looked up at the sky and saw black rain clouds
silhouetted against the moonlight.
Sylphiel squeezed his shoulder, and he winced again. Seeing his pain, she blinked and
took his hand. "Come on," she said. "Let's get you to bed. You've had a long day."
"Sylphiel." She stopped and looked at him. Zelgadis stared into her green eyes. "I
WANT a peaceful life," he told her. "I want it with you." She smiled. "But as long as Scarrin's
out there, it's not going to happen. One way or the other, I have to end it."
She nodded and sighed. "I understand." The shrine maiden tugged his arm. "Now come
on. I'll tuck you in."
He chuckled and followed her to the edge of the bath.
Gourry was lying on his bed, reading the latest issue of "Swords and Swording," when he
heard it.
Something was tapping against his window.
He turned his head and looked at it, but couldn't make out the figure on the other side of the
glass. Rising from his bed, he put the magazine down and walked to the window. Slowly opening
it, he looked out and blinked.
Lina, arrayed in white diaphanous robes that flapped and floated in the breeze, was
levitating there.
"Oi, Lina," he said. "What are you doing out there?"
The redhead smiled at him. "Gourry, my dearest, I've come for you."
He blinked. "Come for me?"
"Yes," she said, her voice caressing his ears like fine silk. "I've come to show you the
depths of my love for you."
Gourry thought on this for a moment, remembering the last time he had heard that. But that
had just been a dream…
He stood back, and Lina floated inside, landing nimbly on her feet. She turned to him and
smiled peacefully…
Then tore the white gown from her body, and threw it to the floor, revealing the leather and
chains outfit from his dream!
*whi-CRACK!*
He gasped as he woke up, sitting up in bed and clutching at his blanket. The room was
dark, and the only sounds in the room were from the rain pelting against the glass of his window.
(Relax, doofus!) his brain shouted at him. (Lina wouldn't do that.)
There was a knock at his door.
"DON'T COME IN HERE!" he screamed. "I HAVE A SWORD! DON'T COME IN
HERE!"
"Gourry?! Are you okay?!" Lina's voice asked from the other side of the door.
"I HAVE A SWORD!!!" Gourry repeated from the other side of the door.
Lina blinked in puzzlement, then sighed. This wasn't going to happen tonight. Not while
Gourry was having a psychotic episode. She turned and started down the hall. She was passing
Zelgadis and Sylphiel's room just as the door opened, and the shrine maiden stepped out.
"Oh! Miss Lina!"
"Hey, Sylphiel," she muttered. "I thought you were turning in."
"Well, I thought I'd go down to the kitchen and make our lunches for tomorrow. We're
going to be on the road again, right?"
"Yeah," the redhead said deadpan.
"Are you all right, Miss Lina?" Sylphiel asked.
"C'mon, Sylphiel," the sorceress ordered, walking past her. "I need a drink, and so do
you."
"I do?"
"Yes. You do. C'mon."
"Okay," Lina said, taking a deep draught of ale and slamming her mug down on the bar.
"One of us is doing something wrong, and that one is GOURRY!" She looked to the shrine maiden
sitting next to her, who was staring down into her own glass. "He's such a moron!" Lina
complained. "Doesn't he get the hint YET?! What am I doing wrong?!"
"Um…Miss Lina…" Sylphiel began meekly. "Perhaps it's your approach."
"What about it?" the redhead asked.
"Well," the shrine maiden went on, "It just seems to me that you're being
rather…well…aggressive."
"What's wrong with aggressive!?"
"Nothing! Nothing at all!" Sylphiel cried, waving her hands in front of her. "It's just
that…well…Maybe Gourry doesn't WANT you to be aggressive about this."
Lina blinked as she thought on this. "Then…What?"
"Well…Gourry once told me…that…um…He kind of wished that you were more like
m…um…that you were more girlish…more feminine," she corrected hastily.
Suddenly, Lina had a hold of the front of Sylphiel's blouse with one hand and was breaking
a bottle on the bar with the other, holding the broken, glass neck shard to the priestess' throat.
"ARE YOU SAY'N I AIN'T *FEMININE*?!"
"Th…That's not what I'm saying at all!" Sylphiel cried.
Lina let her go and turned back to the bar in a huff. "Good," she muttered.
"All I'm saying is that maybe you should let Gourry know that you can be…" Lina shot her
an evil look and reached for her broken bottle. "Feminine….er…" the shrine maiden finished.
"More feminine, huh?" Lina muttered. "I can do that." She stood up and clenched her fist
before her. "I'll give him all the feminine he can handle!"
"Oh dear," Sylphiel sighed. "I've caused trouble again…"
Garak the tailor grumbled as he walked out of his bedroom and to the front of his shop. It
was one in the morning! Couldn't this wait?!
But no. The pounding at his door came again.
"I'm coming! I'm coming!" he cried, holding the candle up to the door window and trying
to make out who it was behind the door. All he could see was a flash of red. "Who's there?!" he
called.
"A customer! Open the door!" came the angry reply.
"It's one in the morning!"
"OPEN THE DOOR!"
Shocked into submission, Garak unlocked the door and opened it, revealing a young,
teenaged girl. "Um…Hello there…"
Lina Inverse pointed a finger at his nose. "Here's the deal!" she said. "Make me pretty,
or I'll kill you! Got it?!"
"How is he?" Zero asked as he entered the tent.
Before Greysword could reply, Scarrin turned to him, holding a cup of hot broth to his lips.
He saw the bandage on the sorcerer's eye and paused. "Trying a new look, are we?" he asked.
Zero took an annoyed breath. He hardly found the loss of his eye funny. "Gandrav wishes
to speak to you," he said, getting to the point of his visit. "He says it's important."
"Very well, very well," Scarrin muttered angrily. He was still frustrated that after coming
so close, he had lost Greywords again. "Send him in."
Zero turned and opened the flap. The werewolf ducked his head as he entered and gave a
short bow to his employer.
"I'm cold, hurt, wet, and exhausted, Gandrav," Scarrin told him. "Not to mention angry
and rather disappointed in my choice of associates." All three of the lackeys bristled at that
comment. "What is it?"
"You told me that the one carrying the Mazoku scent, Greywords, was not to be harmed,"
Gandrav told him.
"Yes, yes, what about it?!" Scarrin replied in annoyance.
"During the battle, I encountered a second who carried that scent."
Scarrin looked up at him in shock. "You're sure?" he asked.
The werewolf nodded. "You are certain the chimera is…"
"Yes! Of course I'm sure!"
"Then there is a second carrier of this astral scent."
Scarrin took a step forward and smiled. "Who?"
Sylphiel descended the stairs and yawned as she started towards their table. Lina had just
enough money left over to pay for a night at the inn and breakfast, but they'd have to find money
somewhere before they arrived at the next town. She took a seat next to Amelia, who was just
opening a newspaper.
"Miss Amelia?" Sylphiel asked as Gourry and Zelgadis sat down, "What is that? I've
never seen you read the news before."
Amelia smiled and held the paper up like a trophy. "Carvalho is a Seyruunian outpost, so
they get the Royal Newsletter, even if it IS a week or two old."
The shrine maiden smiled. "Ah. It must be nice to be able to hear about your home."
The princess nodded and turned back to the paper.
"Gourry?" Zelgadis asked. "Are you okay? There was screaming from your room last
night."
"Oh! That!" Gourry replied, scratching the back of his head. "I just had a bad dream."
"Has anyone seen Miss Lina this morning?" Sylphiel asked. "She was kind of depressed
last night."
The rest of the gang shook their heads.
"Good morning, everyone!"
They all turned their heads at the sound of the greeting…
Then did a double take.
Then, just to be sure, did a triple take.
Lina Inverse stood there arrayed in green, frilly dress, stockings, and…
"Oh my God, are those HEELS?!" Amelia cried.
The redhead smiled brightly, holding her purse in both hands. "How is everyone this
morning?" she asked in a friendly manner.
"Oh dear!" Sylphiel cried, her hand going to her mouth. "Miss Lina's finally cracked!"
"WHADDYA MEAN 'FINALLY?!'" Lina demanded angrily, then paused and smiled
again. "I mean…" she giggled. "I mean, no, I'm feeling fine. I just thought I'd try a new look,
that's all."
Silence.
"Um…Lina?" Gourry began. "Are you sure you're feeling okay? You look different for
some reason."
Lina's eyebrow twitched, but she quickly concealed it. "Why, no, Gourry…dear…" she
said, adding Sylphiel's old endearment to his name. "I just thought it'd be nice to dress up."
"Dress up as what?" Gourry asked. Lina hit the floor.
"I think she looks cute!" Sylphiel cried, clasping her hands together. Lina, meanwhile, had
picked herself up and was hobbling over to the table on unsteady heels.
A waiter approached her and asked what she would like. "I'll have everything in triple
portions from A to…" She suddenly broke off, bit her lip, and grimaced. "I'll have….a salad,"
she finished.
The table gasped.
For a second, the world stopped spinning.
And Gourry Gabriev knew there was something wrong. "Oi, Lina. Is it that time of the
month or something? You NEVER eat salad!"
Lina growled and raised her black leather purse over her head, preparing to bring it down
on Gourry's skull, but stopped. "No…Gourry…dear," she bit out. "Thank you for being
concerned."
They all ate in silence, all of them keeping an eye on Lina as she ate her salad with tiny
nibbles.
"Mister Zelgadis," Amelia whispered. "I'm scared."
Lina overheard this and twitched. She turned to the princess and smiled demurely. "Why,
Miss Amelia, there's no reason to be concerned." The sorceress grit her teeth. "After all…a less
FEMININE young lady might take offense at your comment and reduce you and this entire inn to a
pile of ash, but luckily, I'm more FEMININE than that…"
Amelia hid behind Zelgadis and cowered, nodding quickly at Lina.
"You're not really going to hike all day dressed like that, are you?" Zelgadis asked her.
Amelia had retaken her seat and was perusing her newspaper again.
"Why, don't all FEMININE, proper young ladies dress this way?" Lina asked.
Before anyone could answer, Amelia spit out a mouthful of tea. "WHAT!?" she screamed
at the newspaper. "HOW COULD…WHAT THE…WHERE THE…HOW THE…."
"Miss Amelia?" Sylphiel asked in concern.
Amelia just shook her head at the paper. Suddenly, she rose to feet and started for the exit.
"Amelia?!" Lina called out after her.
"Home!" Amelia cried, not turning back. "I have to go home!"
"Amelia!" Lina cried, trying to catch up to the princess in the what were probably the most
uncomfortable shoes she had ever worn. "Wait up!"
"I can't!" Amelia told her as the others caught up. "An INCREDIBLE injustice is taking
place back home! I have to go! I'll meet the rest of you somewhere, okay?!"
"What is it, Amelia?" Zelgadis asked.
"You can tell us," Sylphiel assured her.
"Did anyone remember to pay the check?" Gourry asked.
"So spill!" Lina ordered.
Amelia stopped in her tracks and held the newspaper up. She opened it to the second page
and cleared her throat. "'In other news,'" she read, "'Preparations for the Princess's wedding are
proceeding smoothly. In a recent interview with Prince Philoniel, the ecstatic father of the bride
was quoted as saying, 'I've never been so happy in my entire life! Ever since my little girl came
home from her travels with Miss Lina and announced her engagement, my entire life has come into
focus. It's as if new life has been breathed into the palace.''" She put the paper down.
The others blinked in shock.
"You're getting married?!" Gourry asked in surprise.
Lina raised her purse again, but paused and growled, lowering it slowly.
"No…Gourry…dearest," she growled. "That's the problem…"
"SOMEONE IS PRETENDING TO BE ME!!" Amelia cried. "And now they've duped
my poor father and are probably planning on taking the kingdom right out from under him!"
"That's horrible!" Sylphiel cried.
Lina growled inwardly. She could tolerate a lot, but this was too much. "I say we go to
Seyruun and waste 'em," she announced coldly.
The others looked at her.
"I mean," she corrected, "We should go to Seyruun and get to the bottom of this mess. I'm
sure it's just a…um…mistake…or something…"
"I liked the first answer better," Zelgadis noted.
"I have to find my father and let him know he's being conned!" Amelia continued.
"Miss Amelia is right!" Sylphiel exclaimed. "Pretending to be the poor man's daughter
like that is simply cold!"
"Seyruun is a week from here," Zelgadis reminded them.
"But this paper is already two weeks old!" Amelia cried in despair. "By the time we get
there we might be too late!"
"Then we should start out now!" Lina told them. She paused again. "That is…if YOU
think so, Gourry dear!" She giggled girlishly and tried to keep from retching at her own behavior.
The blond man scratched his head. "Well…yeah!" he said. "We can't let someone do that
to Phil!"
Amelia posed and pointed at the road to Seyruun. "Evil doer," she began, "I know you're
out there. I know what you're trying to do. Before, I fought for justice. Then I fought for my
friends. Now I fight for my father…and so help me when I finally catch you, justice will be the
only hope in the world you'll have that I don't fry you!"
It was by far the most serious "Justice Speech," Amelia had ever made.
"Then off we go!" Lina cried.
As a group, they set off for the distant city of Seyruun.
To Be Continued…
LINA: Holy crap! This guy has a cure for Zel's curse!? Yeah, like I buy THAT load of crap!
AMELIA: It's kind of hard to ignore, Miss Lina, when you're surrounded and outnumbered…
GOURRY: (Unsheathing his sword.) Outnumbered…NOT outclassed!
AMELIA: How does Mister Zelgadis feel about it?
LINA: Hey, where IS Zel?
SYLPHIEL: Zelgadis dear! Don't!
Faces: After!
Part 16
Confusion!
The Trap Is Sprung!
"Please? Trust me?"
Slowly, Zelgadis reached out to Scarrin. The man before him smiled and reached for his
hand.
"Zelgadis dear!" Sylphiel cried urgently.
The others watched quietly, unsure of what they should do. Sylphiel started to push her
way past Lina.
Suddenly, Scarrin's smile slipped. Zelgadis' hand was an inch from his, and the chimera
was staring into his yellow eyes.
"No."
Scarrin blinked.
Suddenly, Zelgadis slammed his hand down onto the ground between them. "DUG
HAUT!"
The ground shook as spires of stone shot out from the ground! Berserkers not agile enough
to avoid them were impaled on them, screaming and writhing in agony.
"WAY TO GO, ZEL!" Lina shouted, turning to the berserkers behind them. "FIREBALL!"
A fiery explosion engulfed four of the berserkers.
Zelgadis stumbled backwards as a rock spire surfaced between himself and Scarrin. The
other chimera was likewise thrown back. He fell onto his butt and glared at Zelgadis, rising to his
feet and drawing his sword.
Greysword drew her katana and started down the side of the gully. She hadn't heard any of
the conversation, but the chimera's spell was enough of a signal that something had gone wrong for
her. "Showtime, Zero!" she called out. The red priest lookalike disappeared. The
swordswoman maneuvered quickly, but carefully down the angular incline of the wall, trying very
hard not to trip.
She hit the gully floor and saw her target rising to his feet and drawing a sword. She
raised her katana and darted forward, leaping into the air at him.
"STONE CLEAVE!" she screamed as she swung her sword at the chimera. Zelgadis saw
her at the last second and rolled out of the way! Greysword's katana sliced into the rocky ground
where he had been standing, a plume of dust and debris flying up from the gash.
She blinked the dust out of her eyes just in time to see Gourry charging her. She brought
her katana up and blocked his first two slashes and hopped nimbly backwards to evade a third.
"VIS FARANK!" Amelia cried, the word "JUSTICE" appearing on her knuckles as she
knocked another three berserkers back with fast punches.
Lina lowered her hand as another explosion threw three more berserkers skyward. She
sensed something behind her and hit the ground just in time.
"FREEZE ARROW!"
The ice bolt shot right over her head and struck another hapless berserker. She shot to her
feet and turned to find Zero floating not far away. She grinned ferally. "Round three," she
whispered. "FIREBALL!" The ball of flame shot from her hand and landed at the sorcerer's feet,
exploding. However, the red priest wannabe suddenly appeared to her right.
Lina readied another spell.
Sylphiel saw a berserker get around Amelia's back and raise his sword. "MISS
AMELIA!" She raised her hands. "FLARE ARROW!" Her attack spells might only be good for
distractions, but right now it would do.
She wasn't expecting a three meter shaft of flame to shoot from her hand and strike the
berserker dead in the chest, knocking him back ten meters. Amelia turned, saw the shot, then
turned back and gave Sylphiel the victory sign.
The priestess blinked. That had been odd…
Before she could give it any more thought, furry arms wrapped around her from behind.
She started to scream, cast a spell, but a hairy paw covered her mouth. The priestess kicked
against her assailant. She could feel the thing's breath on her neck.
"MISS SYLPHIEL!" Amelia cried, rushing to help.
Sylphiel continued to struggle, making things very difficult for Gandrav. Suddenly, the
werewolf paused. She heard him sniff several times. Suddenly, he shoved her away. Sylphiel hit
the ground hard.
"ELEMEKIA LANCE!" she heard from behind her. A bolt of just barely missed the wolf
creature, who leapt out of the way. Sylphiel suddenly found Amelia standing over her. "Are you
okay, Miss Sylphiel?!"
"Yes," she said, rising to her feet. "I'm okay." But why did the werewolf suddenly shove
her away?
Zelgadis saw Scarrin draw a sword and raised his. "ASTRAL VINE!" The sword in his
hand glowed red.
Scarrin only smiled and held his own sword up. "ASTRAL VINE!" His sword also began
glowing. Zelgadis took an unsteady breath at this. "You forget," Scarrin told him with a smile.
"We are students of the same school." With a cry he launched himself forward, far faster than
Zelgadis would have believed possible! He brought his sword up to block. The two blades
locked together amidst a storm of astral energy.
Zelgadis shoved forward and went on the offensive, slashing at the chimera, but Scarrin
was much faster than he was. Each of the stone man's blows fell either on the tiger man's blade or
bit nothing but air.
Scarrin's blade seemed to come out of nowhere a second later, and Zelgadis just barely
brought his sword up in time. He grit his teeth against the strain being placed upon him.
"We're not so different you and I," Scarrin whispered. "We're both trapped in bodies we
despise, both unable to go home…"
Zelgadis growled and continued to struggle.
"Both of us wishing for a way out…The difference is, Greywords, I can have MY wish!"
Scarrin shoved Zelgadis back and charged again.
"FLARE ARROW!" Zelgadis cried, throwing his hand out at the other chimera. A bolt of
flame shot forward and struck the ground near Scarrin's feet. Smoke and dust rose into the sky,
and a second later, Scarrin had emerged from it, leaping at Zelgadis.
Zelgadis brought his sword up again…
Lina dived out of the way of two more Flare Arrows and cursed as she looked up at the
sky. Zero was floating up there hurling spells down on her.
The sorceress dived to her right as she heard him call out another Flare Arrow. She dived
and rolled, coming to rest on her back. She pointed up at him. "FREEZE BRID!" A blue bolt shot
from her hands and flew upwards, but Zero floated nimbly out of the way.
This wasn't going to work at all…
She saw Gourry and Greysword fighting not far away. A plan formed. She drew her short
sword. "Gourry! Trade!" Lina reached back and flung her sword towards the two fighting
duelists.
Her sword landed blade-first in the dirt. Gourry saw it and used his own sword to slash
upwards. Greysword's katana locked with his blade, but suddenly the swordsman lashed out with
the pommel and struck the woman in the face. Greysword stumbled backwards.
Gourry took his chance. He raced towards Lina's sword and threw his in her general
direction. The blade hit the ground and skidded to a halt only a few yards from the sorceress, who
ran straight to it.
Greysword, however, had recovered and was racing towards him. She caught up to the
man quickly and slashed at his back, but Gourry dived forward and rolled, grabbing Lina's sword
and coming to a stop in a crouch. He turned quickly and brought the short sword up just in time to
deflect a blow from Greysword's katana.
Meanwhile, Lina ducked under another fire blast and dived for Gourry's sword. She felt
her hand hit the handle and clutched at it desperately. The sword firmly in hand, she rose to her
feet, turned upward, and…
"RAYWING!"
The redhead shot into the air towards the red priest. Zero lashed out at her.
"FIREBALL!"
The ball of fire struck Lina dead on and exploded in a smoky eruption.
A second later, she exploded out of the cloud of smoke and continued to climb higher.
Zero, forgetting the significance of the sword she carried for a fatal instant, gasped.
Lina screamed as she swung the sword upward, the tip slicing into the red priest and
nicking his eye. Zero screamed and clutched at his face as Lina shot past him. Blood seeped
between his fingers. He began to stagger in mid-air.
"Astral…Phase…"
A second later, the sorcerer was gone.
Lina floated above the battle and looked down to see Gourry try to block another swing
from Greysword. The katana went right through the short sword's blade. The swordsman growled
in irritation, but before he could take any other action, Greysword's boot had connected with his
face. The blond flew back several feet and landed on his back.
"GOURRY!" Lina shouted down at him. She flung the sword downward towards him, and
it landed blade first in the ground a few feet away.
He saw it and rolled right toward it just as Greysword's katana struck the ground where he
had been laying. Grasping the sword he brought it up and blocked another downward swing
before lashing out with his foot and striking the woman in the face. The swordswoman cried out
and dropped to one knee as Gourry shot to his feet.
Greysword rose, and the duel continued.
The two astrally charged blades were a blur of red as they danced together. Zelgadis
smiled tightly as he recognized some of the sword techniques Scarrin was using as the same ones
taught to HIM by Rodimus.
The blades locked together again, but this time, Scarrin had something else planned.
Before Zelgadis realized what was happening, Scarring had removed one hand from his sword and
placed his palm against the chimera's midsection.
"BOMB DE WIND!"
At such a close range, it was like being kicked in the stomach by one of Naga's golems.
Zelgadis was thrown back almost a hundred feet, striking the wall of the gully and falling to the
ground. He coughed and spat blood. The chimera blinked, dazed, and tried to rise to his feet. He
managed to stand for a moment, but ended up falling to his knees again.
"ZELGADIS DEAR!" Sylphiel screamed as she saw this. "RAYWING!" In a flash, the
priestess had flown over to him, kneeling next to him. "Oh, dear Cepheid," she whispered as she
prepared to chant a healing spell.
"This is the end, Greywords," Scarrin called out as he walked casually towards them.
"Come along peacefully, and I'll let your friends go."
Sylphiel was murmuring a healing spell, her hands going to Zelgadis' chest. She paused
and opened her eyes as she felt him take her hand. He stared straight into her eyes, the looked
skyward. Then, his eyes looked down and to his right. She followed his gaze and found his right
hand touching the ground, this fingers glowing a soft green.
He was preparing a spell.
His eyes went skyward again, then gave her a questioning look. She nodded quickly and
got a good hold of him. She stayed perfectly still as she heard Scarrin's footfalls move closer.
She gulped as she felt the flat of his blade rest on her shoulder.
"It's over," he said quietly.
Her fingers tightened around Zelgadis' arm. She nodded to him.
"BEPHIS BRING!"
The ground beneath them disintegrated!
"LEVITATION!" Sylphiel cried. They rose into the air as Scarrin fell into the pit formed
by the chimera's spell.
The man screamed as he fell. The Bephis Bring spell caused earth to disappear, and in this
case the spell had burrowed far enough to hit an underground river far below them. There was a
splash far below.
Sylphiel and Zelgadis continued to rise into the air.
Greysword heard the commotion and turned. "Shit!" she cried.
"Gourry!"
She turned back just in time to see Lina fly down and grab the swordsman under his arms
and start to climb again. A second later and she heard the other sorceress cast her own levitation
spell. She growled.
"Zero! Where the fuck are you!?" she cursed to herself as she ran to the pit. Looking
down over the edge, she searched for some sign of Scarrin in the rapids below. "FUCK!" she
cried, slamming her palm against the ground.
"Zelgadis dear! Are you okay?!" Sylphiel cried to the man hanging precarious in her grip.
There was no answer. "Zelgadis dear?! ZELGADIS DEAR!?"
"Is he okay!?"
Sylphiel turned and found Lina flying nearby on her right, Gourry dangling beneath her and
watching the ground fearfully.
"I can't tell!" Sylphiel cried, tears in her eyes.
"I'll check!" she heard from her left. Amelia dipped beneath her and floated up the
chimera. Zelgadis' eyes were closed, and blood seeped from the corners of his mouth. "Mister
Zelgadis?" Amelia asked. "Are you okay? Can you hear me?"
"Is he okay?!" Sylphiel called down frantically.
"He's out cold!" Amelia shouted back. "But I think he's still breathing!"
"We have to set down somewhere," Sylphiel told them.
"Not yet," Lina said.
"Miss Lina!"
"Not until we're a little farther away," the redhead explained. "Otherwise we might end
up getting caught on the ground."
Sylphiel bit her lip and started downward.
"Sylphiel!" Lina cried after her. "Dammit!" She started down after her.
The shrine maiden found a spot on the bank of a nearby river and gently set the chimera
down. She knelt over his unmoving form and placed her hands on his chest, chanting a recovery
spell.
Gourry landed with a cry not far away and sat up just as Lina and Amelia landed nimbly on
their feet.
"Is he okay?" Amelia asked worriedly.
Sylphiel didn't answer. She was concentrating on the energy in her hands flowing
downward into her lover, repairing torn tissue and bone.
Lina watched the trees warily, ready for anything. Sure, Zero and Scarrin might be out of
the fight right now, but Greysword and that werewolf were still out there along with however
many berserkers managed to hide from Lina's fireballs.
After five minutes of work, Zelgadis' eyes finally opened. "Syl…chan?"
She smiled down at him. "How do you feel?"
"Forget how he feels," Lina interrupted. "Can you walk?"
"I think so," he said, rising to his feet.
"Okay," Lina murmured. "Then let's get moving." She pointed downstream. "Carvalho
is this way." With that, she started marching.
Sylphiel helped Zelgadis and threw his arm over her shoulder, supporting his weight.
Gourry took the other side.
Slowly, the group started out again.
Greysword maneuvered her way up the bank of the river and looked out at the water. By
her reckoning, the underground river emerged from the cliffs here. She looked up at the sun and
growled. It was starting to go down. Waving to the figure on the other side of the water, she
called out.
"Gandrav! Do you see anything?!"
The werewolf paused for a moment, then started into the water. Greysword watched as he
climbed back onto the bank a minute later with a black-clad figure being carried over his shoulder.
"Alive!? Dead?! What?!" she called out.
The werewolf held up two fingers, giving her the victory sign. She nodded. A second
later, she felt something appear to her right. Turning, she found Zero standing there, looking out at
the water just as she was.
"You stupid piece of shit!" she hissed at him. "If you had been covering us from the air,
we would have had…" She broke off as he turned to her, and for the first time she saw the bloody
bandage covering his right eye. His expression was one of muted fury.
"You can have the chimera," he said quietly. "But I WANT the redhead."
"Deal," Greysword said quietly. She turned back to the water and watched Gandrav carry
their employer across the river.
Zelgadis winced as he lowered himself into the hot water of the inn's onsen. Sylphiel's
healing spell had done its job, but it did little for the soreness he felt up and down his back.
Perhaps a good soak would help. He could only hope.
Besides, he needed some time to digest what Scarrin had told him. There were pieces of a
puzzle he had to fit together, but what pieces fit the puzzle he was working on? What was lie and
what was truth?
Was he REALLY part Mazoku?
He took an unsteady breath and tried to make sense of it. From what Scarrin had said
during the battle, he had implied that they shared a problem, but was that a lie as well? How much
of what he said could be taken at face value?
Until he knew more, none of it…
("You will always be lied to, Zelgadis,") Rezo's voice came back to him. The Red Priest
had been his teacher in almost everything he knew. Though he didn't like it, Zelgadis often found
himself applying those lessons to his life. ("Friend, enemy, it makes no difference. The only
things you can trust as fact are the things YOU create, say, or do. Everything else…is suspect.")
He sighed and reached for the steel wool sponge he used to bathe with. Running the steel
up and down his arm, he continued to contemplate his next move.
That Scarrin knew Rezo, he had no doubt. There were too many signs pointing to it. And
he was definitely a chimera. The eyes, agility, and strength made it obvious.
Perhaps he was searching for a cure as well?
Then why try to abduct him? Why not just ask for his help?
Were there really other chimeras like him out there?
So wrapped up in his thoughts was he that he didn't notice the disturbance in the water
behind him until the creator of that disturbance laid her hands on his shoulders. "Zelgadis dear?"
He jumped and blushed, covering himself out of reflex. "Sylphiel?!" The chimera turned
his head to look at her and found her sitting just behind him.
She took the steel wool pad from his hand and started to gently scrub his back. "Syl chan,"
she corrected. "Are you feeling better?"
"A little sore," he confessed as she continued to scrub his back. He winced slightly as
even that gentle action prompted pain.
She said nothing.
"Are you okay?" he asked.
"It was him," she whispered. "The one from my dream. The one I told you about."
He took a breath. "So I gathered."
The priestess' arms wrapped around him and pulled him to her. He covered a wince and
took a breath. Suddenly, his eyes went wide and he blushed. With the shrine maiden pressed
against his back, he suddenly realized something.
Sylphiel wasn't wearing a towel…
"Why does this have to happen?" she whimpered. "Why now? Rezo and Phibrizzo
weren't enough? The gods had to throw another one into the mix?"
He took her hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. "Hey," he said, "What would my life be
like if stuff like this didn't happen?" he asked her.
"Peaceful," she replied quietly.
"Yeah," he sighed. "But there's no point in crying about it."
"Zelgadis dear?"
He turned to look into her green eyes. "If the gods like making me a toy for them to play
with, fine," he said. "I'm used to that. And if they want to dangle a cure in front of me, let them."
"I don't understand."
Zelgadis smiled tightly. "Scarrin MIGHT have been lying about having a cure, but if he
was, then what he said to me during out fight wouldn't make any sense. I think he DOES have a
cure, and for some reason he needs ME to make it work."
She shook her head frantically. "No, don't say what I think…"
"I think it's time I used some of the things Rezo taught me," he continued. "So the next time
we meet with Scarrin, Greysword, or Zero, it's not going to end with me running away. I'm going
to grab one of them." He clenched a fist in front of him. "And then they're going to tell me where I
can find this cure."
Sylphiel moved in front of him and took him by the shoulders. "Don't," she begged
frantically. "Please! There are other cures out there! Other ways! Don't risk yourself like this!"
"I'm at risk anyway," he told her. "If they want me, they'll come after me. No reason I
shouldn't take what I can get."
"You'd do anything for your cure," she whispered almost bitterly.
"No," he said quietly. "Not anything…but a lot."
Thunder clapped overhead. They looked up at the sky and saw black rain clouds
silhouetted against the moonlight.
Sylphiel squeezed his shoulder, and he winced again. Seeing his pain, she blinked and
took his hand. "Come on," she said. "Let's get you to bed. You've had a long day."
"Sylphiel." She stopped and looked at him. Zelgadis stared into her green eyes. "I
WANT a peaceful life," he told her. "I want it with you." She smiled. "But as long as Scarrin's
out there, it's not going to happen. One way or the other, I have to end it."
She nodded and sighed. "I understand." The shrine maiden tugged his arm. "Now come
on. I'll tuck you in."
He chuckled and followed her to the edge of the bath.
Gourry was lying on his bed, reading the latest issue of "Swords and Swording," when he
heard it.
Something was tapping against his window.
He turned his head and looked at it, but couldn't make out the figure on the other side of the
glass. Rising from his bed, he put the magazine down and walked to the window. Slowly opening
it, he looked out and blinked.
Lina, arrayed in white diaphanous robes that flapped and floated in the breeze, was
levitating there.
"Oi, Lina," he said. "What are you doing out there?"
The redhead smiled at him. "Gourry, my dearest, I've come for you."
He blinked. "Come for me?"
"Yes," she said, her voice caressing his ears like fine silk. "I've come to show you the
depths of my love for you."
Gourry thought on this for a moment, remembering the last time he had heard that. But that
had just been a dream…
He stood back, and Lina floated inside, landing nimbly on her feet. She turned to him and
smiled peacefully…
Then tore the white gown from her body, and threw it to the floor, revealing the leather and
chains outfit from his dream!
*whi-CRACK!*
He gasped as he woke up, sitting up in bed and clutching at his blanket. The room was
dark, and the only sounds in the room were from the rain pelting against the glass of his window.
(Relax, doofus!) his brain shouted at him. (Lina wouldn't do that.)
There was a knock at his door.
"DON'T COME IN HERE!" he screamed. "I HAVE A SWORD! DON'T COME IN
HERE!"
"Gourry?! Are you okay?!" Lina's voice asked from the other side of the door.
"I HAVE A SWORD!!!" Gourry repeated from the other side of the door.
Lina blinked in puzzlement, then sighed. This wasn't going to happen tonight. Not while
Gourry was having a psychotic episode. She turned and started down the hall. She was passing
Zelgadis and Sylphiel's room just as the door opened, and the shrine maiden stepped out.
"Oh! Miss Lina!"
"Hey, Sylphiel," she muttered. "I thought you were turning in."
"Well, I thought I'd go down to the kitchen and make our lunches for tomorrow. We're
going to be on the road again, right?"
"Yeah," the redhead said deadpan.
"Are you all right, Miss Lina?" Sylphiel asked.
"C'mon, Sylphiel," the sorceress ordered, walking past her. "I need a drink, and so do
you."
"I do?"
"Yes. You do. C'mon."
"Okay," Lina said, taking a deep draught of ale and slamming her mug down on the bar.
"One of us is doing something wrong, and that one is GOURRY!" She looked to the shrine maiden
sitting next to her, who was staring down into her own glass. "He's such a moron!" Lina
complained. "Doesn't he get the hint YET?! What am I doing wrong?!"
"Um…Miss Lina…" Sylphiel began meekly. "Perhaps it's your approach."
"What about it?" the redhead asked.
"Well," the shrine maiden went on, "It just seems to me that you're being
rather…well…aggressive."
"What's wrong with aggressive!?"
"Nothing! Nothing at all!" Sylphiel cried, waving her hands in front of her. "It's just
that…well…Maybe Gourry doesn't WANT you to be aggressive about this."
Lina blinked as she thought on this. "Then…What?"
"Well…Gourry once told me…that…um…He kind of wished that you were more like
m…um…that you were more girlish…more feminine," she corrected hastily.
Suddenly, Lina had a hold of the front of Sylphiel's blouse with one hand and was breaking
a bottle on the bar with the other, holding the broken, glass neck shard to the priestess' throat.
"ARE YOU SAY'N I AIN'T *FEMININE*?!"
"Th…That's not what I'm saying at all!" Sylphiel cried.
Lina let her go and turned back to the bar in a huff. "Good," she muttered.
"All I'm saying is that maybe you should let Gourry know that you can be…" Lina shot her
an evil look and reached for her broken bottle. "Feminine….er…" the shrine maiden finished.
"More feminine, huh?" Lina muttered. "I can do that." She stood up and clenched her fist
before her. "I'll give him all the feminine he can handle!"
"Oh dear," Sylphiel sighed. "I've caused trouble again…"
Garak the tailor grumbled as he walked out of his bedroom and to the front of his shop. It
was one in the morning! Couldn't this wait?!
But no. The pounding at his door came again.
"I'm coming! I'm coming!" he cried, holding the candle up to the door window and trying
to make out who it was behind the door. All he could see was a flash of red. "Who's there?!" he
called.
"A customer! Open the door!" came the angry reply.
"It's one in the morning!"
"OPEN THE DOOR!"
Shocked into submission, Garak unlocked the door and opened it, revealing a young,
teenaged girl. "Um…Hello there…"
Lina Inverse pointed a finger at his nose. "Here's the deal!" she said. "Make me pretty,
or I'll kill you! Got it?!"
"How is he?" Zero asked as he entered the tent.
Before Greysword could reply, Scarrin turned to him, holding a cup of hot broth to his lips.
He saw the bandage on the sorcerer's eye and paused. "Trying a new look, are we?" he asked.
Zero took an annoyed breath. He hardly found the loss of his eye funny. "Gandrav wishes
to speak to you," he said, getting to the point of his visit. "He says it's important."
"Very well, very well," Scarrin muttered angrily. He was still frustrated that after coming
so close, he had lost Greywords again. "Send him in."
Zero turned and opened the flap. The werewolf ducked his head as he entered and gave a
short bow to his employer.
"I'm cold, hurt, wet, and exhausted, Gandrav," Scarrin told him. "Not to mention angry
and rather disappointed in my choice of associates." All three of the lackeys bristled at that
comment. "What is it?"
"You told me that the one carrying the Mazoku scent, Greywords, was not to be harmed,"
Gandrav told him.
"Yes, yes, what about it?!" Scarrin replied in annoyance.
"During the battle, I encountered a second who carried that scent."
Scarrin looked up at him in shock. "You're sure?" he asked.
The werewolf nodded. "You are certain the chimera is…"
"Yes! Of course I'm sure!"
"Then there is a second carrier of this astral scent."
Scarrin took a step forward and smiled. "Who?"
Sylphiel descended the stairs and yawned as she started towards their table. Lina had just
enough money left over to pay for a night at the inn and breakfast, but they'd have to find money
somewhere before they arrived at the next town. She took a seat next to Amelia, who was just
opening a newspaper.
"Miss Amelia?" Sylphiel asked as Gourry and Zelgadis sat down, "What is that? I've
never seen you read the news before."
Amelia smiled and held the paper up like a trophy. "Carvalho is a Seyruunian outpost, so
they get the Royal Newsletter, even if it IS a week or two old."
The shrine maiden smiled. "Ah. It must be nice to be able to hear about your home."
The princess nodded and turned back to the paper.
"Gourry?" Zelgadis asked. "Are you okay? There was screaming from your room last
night."
"Oh! That!" Gourry replied, scratching the back of his head. "I just had a bad dream."
"Has anyone seen Miss Lina this morning?" Sylphiel asked. "She was kind of depressed
last night."
The rest of the gang shook their heads.
"Good morning, everyone!"
They all turned their heads at the sound of the greeting…
Then did a double take.
Then, just to be sure, did a triple take.
Lina Inverse stood there arrayed in green, frilly dress, stockings, and…
"Oh my God, are those HEELS?!" Amelia cried.
The redhead smiled brightly, holding her purse in both hands. "How is everyone this
morning?" she asked in a friendly manner.
"Oh dear!" Sylphiel cried, her hand going to her mouth. "Miss Lina's finally cracked!"
"WHADDYA MEAN 'FINALLY?!'" Lina demanded angrily, then paused and smiled
again. "I mean…" she giggled. "I mean, no, I'm feeling fine. I just thought I'd try a new look,
that's all."
Silence.
"Um…Lina?" Gourry began. "Are you sure you're feeling okay? You look different for
some reason."
Lina's eyebrow twitched, but she quickly concealed it. "Why, no, Gourry…dear…" she
said, adding Sylphiel's old endearment to his name. "I just thought it'd be nice to dress up."
"Dress up as what?" Gourry asked. Lina hit the floor.
"I think she looks cute!" Sylphiel cried, clasping her hands together. Lina, meanwhile, had
picked herself up and was hobbling over to the table on unsteady heels.
A waiter approached her and asked what she would like. "I'll have everything in triple
portions from A to…" She suddenly broke off, bit her lip, and grimaced. "I'll have….a salad,"
she finished.
The table gasped.
For a second, the world stopped spinning.
And Gourry Gabriev knew there was something wrong. "Oi, Lina. Is it that time of the
month or something? You NEVER eat salad!"
Lina growled and raised her black leather purse over her head, preparing to bring it down
on Gourry's skull, but stopped. "No…Gourry…dear," she bit out. "Thank you for being
concerned."
They all ate in silence, all of them keeping an eye on Lina as she ate her salad with tiny
nibbles.
"Mister Zelgadis," Amelia whispered. "I'm scared."
Lina overheard this and twitched. She turned to the princess and smiled demurely. "Why,
Miss Amelia, there's no reason to be concerned." The sorceress grit her teeth. "After all…a less
FEMININE young lady might take offense at your comment and reduce you and this entire inn to a
pile of ash, but luckily, I'm more FEMININE than that…"
Amelia hid behind Zelgadis and cowered, nodding quickly at Lina.
"You're not really going to hike all day dressed like that, are you?" Zelgadis asked her.
Amelia had retaken her seat and was perusing her newspaper again.
"Why, don't all FEMININE, proper young ladies dress this way?" Lina asked.
Before anyone could answer, Amelia spit out a mouthful of tea. "WHAT!?" she screamed
at the newspaper. "HOW COULD…WHAT THE…WHERE THE…HOW THE…."
"Miss Amelia?" Sylphiel asked in concern.
Amelia just shook her head at the paper. Suddenly, she rose to feet and started for the exit.
"Amelia?!" Lina called out after her.
"Home!" Amelia cried, not turning back. "I have to go home!"
"Amelia!" Lina cried, trying to catch up to the princess in the what were probably the most
uncomfortable shoes she had ever worn. "Wait up!"
"I can't!" Amelia told her as the others caught up. "An INCREDIBLE injustice is taking
place back home! I have to go! I'll meet the rest of you somewhere, okay?!"
"What is it, Amelia?" Zelgadis asked.
"You can tell us," Sylphiel assured her.
"Did anyone remember to pay the check?" Gourry asked.
"So spill!" Lina ordered.
Amelia stopped in her tracks and held the newspaper up. She opened it to the second page
and cleared her throat. "'In other news,'" she read, "'Preparations for the Princess's wedding are
proceeding smoothly. In a recent interview with Prince Philoniel, the ecstatic father of the bride
was quoted as saying, 'I've never been so happy in my entire life! Ever since my little girl came
home from her travels with Miss Lina and announced her engagement, my entire life has come into
focus. It's as if new life has been breathed into the palace.''" She put the paper down.
The others blinked in shock.
"You're getting married?!" Gourry asked in surprise.
Lina raised her purse again, but paused and growled, lowering it slowly.
"No…Gourry…dearest," she growled. "That's the problem…"
"SOMEONE IS PRETENDING TO BE ME!!" Amelia cried. "And now they've duped
my poor father and are probably planning on taking the kingdom right out from under him!"
"That's horrible!" Sylphiel cried.
Lina growled inwardly. She could tolerate a lot, but this was too much. "I say we go to
Seyruun and waste 'em," she announced coldly.
The others looked at her.
"I mean," she corrected, "We should go to Seyruun and get to the bottom of this mess. I'm
sure it's just a…um…mistake…or something…"
"I liked the first answer better," Zelgadis noted.
"I have to find my father and let him know he's being conned!" Amelia continued.
"Miss Amelia is right!" Sylphiel exclaimed. "Pretending to be the poor man's daughter
like that is simply cold!"
"Seyruun is a week from here," Zelgadis reminded them.
"But this paper is already two weeks old!" Amelia cried in despair. "By the time we get
there we might be too late!"
"Then we should start out now!" Lina told them. She paused again. "That is…if YOU
think so, Gourry dear!" She giggled girlishly and tried to keep from retching at her own behavior.
The blond man scratched his head. "Well…yeah!" he said. "We can't let someone do that
to Phil!"
Amelia posed and pointed at the road to Seyruun. "Evil doer," she began, "I know you're
out there. I know what you're trying to do. Before, I fought for justice. Then I fought for my
friends. Now I fight for my father…and so help me when I finally catch you, justice will be the
only hope in the world you'll have that I don't fry you!"
It was by far the most serious "Justice Speech," Amelia had ever made.
"Then off we go!" Lina cried.
As a group, they set off for the distant city of Seyruun.
To Be Continued…