What Happened? The Spell is Ineffective?
"Sonjia-san..." Amelia sighed for the millionth time as the disgruntled goddess still hung to the pole. Gourry had given up yanking on her arm, which just served to allow her to wrap another appendage around the bar, making her look like some sort of over-protective collector clutching her most prized possession. Although infinitely less elegant.
"I already told you, I'm not going out there," Sonjia reiterated, also for the millionth time. "I don't have to take orders from you, and I don't feel like getting dragged into your petty affairs."
"Lina's having an affair?" Gourry asked, shocked. He had no idea what the word meant, but had heard it used in distasteful context a number of times, so he supposed it wasn't a good thing.
"But, isn't this whole thing your business, too? I mean, this is your sister's spell," reasoned Amelia. "At least she'll probably rest easier knowing that no one is using it for injustice."
Sonjia looked away and sniffed. "She can rest any way she wants, for all I care. I'm not getting caught up in this again. It was hell enough the first time, and I don't need any more."
"I'm confused," said Gourry.
Sonjia gave him a flat look. "The revelation of the century," she said, dryly. Amelia had actually been thinking about the same thing, but had kept her mouth shut.
"Well, it's just that you had nice things to say about your sister when we first met, and as you kept talking about her, you just kept getting meaner and meaner," Gourry explained. "Why don't you like her anymore?"
"Call it a difference of opinion," grumbled Sonjia. "Before I was sealed away, I had no choice but to agree with her ideals, so there really wasn't much conflict. But now that she's gone, I have the opportunity to look at this from my own vantage point... and her ideals were seriously cracked."
"Well, even though you think differently, you can't blame her for everything!" said Amelia, cheerily. She then paused on that thought. "Hey, if you think differently, then maybe you've thought of a way to beat that spell! Didn't you mention something before about it...?"
Sonjia slid down the pole a ways. "You mean about physical attacks?"
"If that's what you were gonna say before in that house, yeah," replied Amelia.
Sonjia shrugged. "Hey, I thought it was easy enough to figure out. I mean, the spell disables and absorbs all magic. It can't do a thing about physical attacks. Heck, it even makes Mazoku and Gods susceptible to physical attacks by blocking them from their astral body, thus confining them to a physical one."
Amelia leapt up, eyes aglow. "That's great, Sonjia-san! Gourry-san!" she exclaimed, turning to him, "This guy's for you, then! He's weak against you sword!"
Sonjia waved her hand halfheartedly. "I think you're forgetting something, Little Miss Spunky. Don't forget that the last time Gourry tried hitting that Mazoku with a sword, it didn't work. Yes, the shield makes him susceptible to physical attacks. But it's not a permanent shield. He can take it down whenever it's to his advantage to do so."
Gourry didn't quite understand that, so asked, "What about the Sword of Light?"
Sonjia sighed. "Even if you people had a Light Weapon, it wouldn't do you much good. Those things are made out of pure energy, and would be interpreted by the shield as a magical attack."
"Oh," said Gourry, taking his hand off the hilt of his sword. No point in showing her now.
"How about itself?" asked Amelia. "Will the spell defend against itself? Can you use the shield to... shield against the... shield...?" Her brain started hurting after she said that.
Sonjia blinked at the somewhat creative idea. She thought a moment, then concluded, "Probably. Since it absorbs all energy, the next time the spell is cast, it won't have any energy to absorb. However, if you get it cast on you, it won't really matter if you can get it cast on you again. Once is enough." She then motioned to the town around them. "And if you feel like locking yourself in one of these houses for eternity, be my guest. You won't have to worry about the spell anymore, unless he decides to break down the door."
"But at least we're happy that we figured out something the spell won't work on!" said Amelia, perkily.
Sonjia twirled a finger in the air. "Woo hoo. And see how much better off we are with this knowledge? Yay, it doesn't work on itself. Does anyone here happen to embody that spell? Didn't think so." She awaited any other bone-headed ideas.
"So what's the big deal?" wondered Gourry. "If this spell thing works on everything, doesn't that mean it'll work on that Mazoku guy, too? Sonjia knows the spell, so--"
"Are you out of your mind?!" she shot at him, half losing her grip as the force of her exclamation spun her around the pole. "I would never cast that spell for the purpose of killing anyone! Not even on someone as despicable as him!"
Sonjia suddenly found a little black-haired princess latched to her waist. "Ahhh, Sonjia-san, I was almost starting to think you were a bad guy, but now you have shown that you do have the fire of Justice burning in your heart!"
"Don't hug me, I'll get human germs!" said Sonjia, releasing her grip on the pole in an attempt to pry the princess off her. In the end, they both ended up in an ungraceful heap on the ground. Sonjia sat up and continued, "And of course I'm not a bad guy! For one, I'm a God. For another, I'm not a guy! I'm a..." She was interrupted by a brick falling on her head. Everyone looked up and saw a dark figure floating overhead.
"Aaah! The Mazoku came after us!" Amelia shouted. "What did you do to Lina-san and Zelgadis-san?"
The Mazoku floated downwards, thinking. "Well, nothing recently. Or are you referring to the numerous other times I've played games with them?"
Amelia sighed in relief. "Oh, it's just Xellos-san… What are you doing here?"
Xellos shrugged. "Well, I am still on a seek and destroy mission. And since I'm here, and she's here, I've already sought her, so that just leaves..." He grinned happily and pointed his staff at Sonjia. "Destroy!"
"Oh, bite me," sighed Sonjia, leaning against the wall.
Xellos's smirk dropped slightly as he lowered his staff. "Oh foo. I was hoping for a slightly more entertaining reaction than that. You've gotten so delightfully worked up the last few times, I couldn't spare myself the amusement."
Sonjia glared back at him. "So, if you're not trying to destroy me anymore, why exactly do you feel the need to grace us with your presence?" she spat sarcastically.
Xellos grinned mischievously and held a finger to his lips. "All will become apparent in due time." He then touched the end of his staff against Sonjia's arm and vanished.
Amelia and Gourry blinked in confusion, while Sonjia just stared flatly at the empty space Xellos had just occupied. "I think that was just an attempted kidnapping." She then glanced back at the wall, which her hand was against. "What a moron."
Xellos reappeared a second later, clutching the back of his head in embarrassment. "Oh dear, that didn't go nearly as well as I had planned."
"Next time read up on your opponent, Smirk Boy," Sonjia shot back at him. "Doesn't you superior debrief you on anything?"
A silent grin was her only answer, and Sonjia took that as a "no". True, she figured having one's underlings know as little as possible was a good way to keep them in line. And Xellos's master probably had a good judge of his intelligence, and didn't bother going over the details of a mission, trusting him to figure it out himself. But... even for something this counter-intuitive? He obviously still didn't have a clue what he was really up against. At least this appeared to be advantageous at the moment.
"So, you're trying to capture me, huh?" she concluded. "Gee, I feel honored. I get to be a hostage of both sides! Which is really great, since the person you're trying to negotiate with is dead! So, holding me hostage will do a whole lotta nothing. And if you think I mean anything to your Mazoku buddy..."
"Which you must, if he's been seeking you out," interrupted Xellos, getting slightly annoyed at her sarcastic tirade. "Now, if you'll come quietly..."
Sonjia removed her hand from the wall and pointed at him. "I'm not going anywhere with any Mazo... ku...?" she finished, hesitantly, confused. She placed her hand back on the wall and looked at Xellos again, then removed it while still eyeing him. "Wait a minute, you are a Mazoku, right?"
Xellos scratched his chin. "Last time I checked."
Sonjia replaced, removed, and replaced her hand on the wall again, all while still scrutinizing him. "Then why do I see you as a human whether I can see through magic or not? Did you used to be human? Is that your true form?"
And to that, Xellos's reply was so painfully obvious that I won't even bother repeating it here.
"Ah, figures," said Sonjia, sulking. "Anyway, don't bother trying to capture me. Any qualms you have with that Jadarin fellow you can take up with him. He has nothing to do with me."
"Actually, while I was gone, I found out something interesting about him," said Xellos. "But I'm afraid that it's a secret."
Amelia sweatdropped. "Then why did you even bother bringing it up?"
Xellos grinned. "Oh, just to keep you curious."
"Oh, what's the harm in telling that one little secret, Xellos?" Jadarin called from atop a nearby roof. "An ironic twist always makes things more interesting!"
"See?" said Sonjia, pointing up towards Jadarin. "Get him, not me. He's annoying." She looked up at the cat Mazoku, then did a double-take. "What the…?" She looked behind her and realized her hand was still in contact with the wall. Tentatively, she removed it and looked back up at him. "Mazoku…" she commented to herself, then put her hand back on the wall. The image in front of her shifted slightly, showing everything as it truly was, unaffected by magic. "Well, that explains a lot."
Jadarin shifted his weight and smiled. "Well, looks like two of you understand now. Would the rest of you care to try?"
"Care to try what?" asked Gourry.
"I dunno, touching the wall maybe," said Amelia, placing her hand against it and looking back up at Jadarin. "Hey, he looks different!" she observed. "He's got feathered wings now!" She looked at Sonjia. "But, I don't understand what the big deal is about--ack!" Amelia blinked and gasped, realizing what she was seeing. "Sonjia-san…! Is that… is that your true form?" she asked. She looked up at Jadarin, then back down at Sonjia. "Um, you two look a lot alike…"
Sonjia smacked her forehead. "'The Mazoku got him', huh? Jeez, sis, now I've gotta go back and reinterpret everything you've ever said! Thanks a lot! Could answer a couple other things, I guess..."
"Your revelations are all very touching, but in the end, it really makes no difference," Jadarin called to them. He leapt down from the roof and grabbed Sonjia roughly by the wrist. "Jeez, I can't take my eyes off you for a second, and you go off and mess things up."
Sonjia smacked his arm. "The pot calling the kettle black! You think you're not messing things up? What the heck do you think you're doing?!"
Jadarin grinned. "Fixing things." He yanked her away from the wall and snapped his fingers, producing a silver thread. "Ah, wonderful. It works again."
"So, you're going to kill me with that to make sure I don't mess things up again, huh?" wondered Sonjia, dryly.
Jadarin laughed. "Oh, heavens no! If I were to kill you, it wouldn't be with this little thing. However," he said, turning to Amelia, Gourry, and Xellos, "I won't spare such liberties with the likes of them."
Sonjia's eyes widened as she realized what he was planning to do. Although she really didn't care if he killed them, he most certainly wasn't killing them with that. Without even thinking, she reached out and snatched the string from his fingertips. Her thought process caught up with her about a second later. And then realization slammed into her like a brick wall.
"I am such an idiot," she whispered to herself as she looked down at her hand and watched the silver thread absorb into her skin. She cringed, waiting for what she assumed would be immense pain. The pain of having her very essence ripped from her. And being a creature of magic, there was quite a bit to rip away. She waited to feel the strands multiply and engulf her body, to penetrate every piece of her until there was nothing left.
Oddly, nothing ever happened. After a moment, she gingerly opened one eye and noticed she still existed, and none the worse for wear.
"Why?" she whispered, flexing her hand. "Why didn't it do anything to me?" She looked up at Jadarin. "What did you do to counter that spell?"
Jadarin chuckled. "I did nothing. But like I said, if I wished to kill you, it wouldn't be with that."
"Then why?" Sonjia demanded, grabbing him by the front of his shirt. "Why the hell didn't it work on me?"
Jadarin held up a warning finger. "Watch your mouth, young lady. And you needn't worry yourself about it, as your purpose will be fulfilled shortly." With that, he pinned both of Sonjia's arms behind her back and levitated into the air with her.
"What 'purpose'?" growled Sonjia, struggling in his grip. "I do not have, nor have I ever had, anything to do with the Magic Lock!"
"That you know about," Jadarin added. Sonjia's eyes widened, as he said, "You must have figured out by now how your sister had quite a way with obscuring the truth."
Sonjia wrenched her head around and glared at him. "But she's dead!" she reminded him, forcefully.
Jadarin smirked. "She wasn't as careless as you might have thought. Come now. Let's end this charade promptly. It's been going on far too long." He then teleported away, Sonjia in tow.
"Sonjia-san!" Amelia shouted. "What's he going to do to her?"
"Maybe he's gonna use that evil silver string thingy!" suggested Gourry. "That means she's in a lot of trouble!"
Amelia looked at the empty space Sonjia and Jadarin had just occupied. "But, it didn't look like it worked on her. I wonder why?"
Xellos opened one eye slightly. This was unusual. They seemed to know more about what was going on than he did. Gourry and Amelia knew more about it than he did. That was just downright pathetic. How did they get so far ahead of him?
"Well, looks like at least they're together now, so apprehending them won't be too much trouble," said Xellos, preparing to leave.
"Are you actually going to try and fight him?" asked Amelia. "He could kill you just like everyone else in this town! And really easily, too!"
Xellos raised an eyebrow. He hated to admit it, but that statement had him curious, although he assumed it was quite overblown. "How so?"
At that point, both Amelia and Gourry fell silent, completely blanking as to what to say to him, as they didn't understand the spell at all themselves. "Um, he's got this sort of killer shield thing," Amelia tried to explain. "It sucks up magic, I think."
"Oh, didn't she say some things about how it makes you see weird stuff?" said Gourry. "And there was that part about not being able to swim or something." He scratched his head. "And don't you lock stuff up with it? And then there was all that stuff with the circle in the dirt. I didn't get that."
Xellos realized that the two had absolutely no idea what they were talking about. No surprise there, really. But if they couldn't remember it, it couldn't have been that important.
"You two say some pretty interesting things," said Xellos, sweatdropping. "Anyway, I'll be off, now. Tell Lina-san I said 'hi'!" And with that he vanished.
However, his comment had suddenly turned Amelia's attention from Xellos's predicament to Lina and Zelgadis's. "Aaahhhh! That's right! Where are Lina-san and Zelgadis-san?!" Amelia shouted, frantically.
"Well, that Mazoku isn't chasing them anymore, which is a good thing," observed Gourry.
"Gourry-san, that probably means he did something awful to them!" Amelia was about to run off down the street, but paused. Xellos was going after Jadarin, which meant he was in trouble, too, although he didn't seem aware of it. And Sonjia was obviously in trouble as well. And going to help one would probably mean certain death for the others. Amelia clutched her head. Aaaahhh, she hated having to make decisions like this! And being an active member of the Royal family meant that she had to make these kinds of political decisions quite often.
That's right! She was the princess of Seyruun! Seyruun always did what was best for everyone! And no one was going to die because she made the wrong decision.
Amelia spun around and faced Gourry, her cheeks puffed out and eyes blazing with determination. "Gourry-san! I'm going to go find Lina-san and Zelgadis-san. In the meantime, you should go find Sonjia-san and that Mazoku. And Xellos-san is probably following them. You need to make sure no one dies! Got that?"
Gourry saluted. "Aye-aye, ma'am!"
They nodded to each other and took off in opposite directions. Gourry stopped after a few hundred feet and poked his finger to his head.
"So, uh, where do I look for them?" They'd just disappeared into thin air, so he had no idea even of which direction they went. He wondered if Mazoku even knew which direction they were headed when they disappeared.
Gourry plopped down on the ground and tilted his head in deep concentration. "So, did they go that way? Or maybe this way? Maybe Sonjia went to Sweden. She talked about that a while ago. Hmm... how do I tell?" This was turning out to be problematic.
Suddenly, a little lightbulb turned on over Gourry's head. He'd just remembered something he saw someone do in a small theater play that he happened to catch a couple minutes of. Gourry pulled out his sword and got down on one knee, his sword pointed in the air. He couldn't remember the exact lines the guy used, but he thought he remembered the basic gist of them.
"Please, guide my sword," said Gourry, trying to remember the lines. "I need to find... those guys... So, uh, please guide my sword to them. Guide my sword!"
Gourry stood up and looked at his sword. In the play, the guy's sword started dragging him around a grove and eventually pointed at a tree with a secret door. Gourry's sword wasn't moving. Maybe it was broken.
Gourry shrugged and figured that if he just started walking, he could trick his sword into thinking it was leading him. So, he stuck out his sword in front of him and just started walking down the road. Yeah, he'd find them for sure this way! Hey, it worked in the play.
"Lina-saaaan! Zelgadis-saaaan!" Amelia had been frantically searching the town for any sign of her two missing comrades. She started at the house that they'd hid in, and from there had found a place where it looked like there was a battle, as the walls of the buildings were in shambles, and there was the remnants of a Vlave Howl protruding from the ground. She'd also come across blood, which was not a good sign.
Amelia decided she'd be able to search much more quickly from the air, so Raywinged over the city to broaden her search. They couldn't have gone too far. She'd spot them eventually.
Unless Jadarin cast the Magic Lock on them, in which case they would have turned silver and blended in with the rest of the town. No, she wouldn't think like that. They had to be alive! They just had to be!
"Lina-saaan! Zelgadis-saaan!" This wasn't looking good. She was reaching the edge of town, and there was still no sign of either of them. What if the Mazoku had killed them? No, that was impossible! Everyone she ever travelled with had to be burning with the fires of Justice, and Justice never lost!
Amelia landed just outside of town, and gave another good "Lina-saaaan! Zelgadis-saaaan!" for good measure. Where were they?
"Amelia?" came a faint choke from below her. Amelia looked down into the ditch that she was standing near, and caught sight of both Lina and Zelgadis. And, thankfully, neither were silver.
"Zelgadis-saan! Thank goodness!" Amelia cried, bounding down the hill. She caught her foot on a loose stone about halfway and came tumbling down the rest of the way, ending up in a heap at Zelgadis's feet. "Heh heh..." she grinned, looking up from the dirt.
Zelgadis sighed and sweatdropped. "Well, it's a good thing you're here, at any rate."
Amelia picked herself up, eyes sparkling. "I'm always here to help! I'm just glad you two are safe! That Mazoku is bad news, right Lina-san?" Amelia glanced over at Lina's prone form, and only now noticed that she hadn't moved since Amelia had arrived.
"Lina-san!" Amelia gasped, shaking Lina's shoulders. "She won't wake up! Zelgadis-san, what happened to her? Lina-san! Lina-san!"
"It was Jadarin," explained Zelgadis, holding his shoulder. "He's fast, and he's very well aware of any weaknesses he has, and won't ever allow them to be exploited. And he's not afraid to turn to physical abuse if he can't use his magic." Zelgadis pounded his fist into the ground. "Che... We could hardly scratch him."
Amelia held her hands over Lina's body and charged up a Recovery spell. "And now he's kidnapped Sonjia-san. Gourry-san went off to look for them."
"He went off alone against him?" Zelgadis said, bewildered.
"Someone's gotta keep Sonjia-san and Xellos-san from getting hurt!" Amelia countered. "Although Gourry-san probably won't be able to find them..." she admitted.
Zelgadis shrugged. "I could care less what happens to those two. Jadarin can beat Xellos to a pulp for all I care. And I've had enough 'goddess' crap to last me a lifetime. He would be doing the world a favor by shutting her up with that spell of his."
"Actually, it doesn't work on her," commented Amelia, still giving the Recovery spell to Lina, who had yet to regain consciousness. "She touched one of Jadarin's silver threads, but it didn't do anything."
Zelgadis smirked. "Hmph, I thought she was exaggerating it quite a bit. Looks like it can't kill everything and anything."
"Maybe..." said Amelia, lowering her head. "But Sonjia-san said that the only thing it doesn't work against is itself."
Lina coughed and took a ragged breath. "How could I be so stupid…?" she muttered to herself, quietly.
"Lina-san! You're okay!" said Amelia. "It's okay that you got beat up. We won't tell anyone."
Lina opened her eyes partially and tried to look at Amelia, but her vision was still so blurred, she had trouble making anything out. "No... I was just listening... to what you said. If the spell doesn't work on Sonjia... then it all makes sense now..."
"Sense is a good thing," agreed Zelgadis, although he really had no idea why the spell's not working on Sonjia suddenly cleared everything up.
Lina smirked weakly. "Being unconscious has its advantages. It gives you time to think." Zelgadis was about to ask how someone could think while unconscious, when Lina continued, "And I had a really weird idea, although it seemed to make sense. It would explain why Jadarin, even though he's such a low-ranking Mazoku, knows so much about Sonjia and the spell when the higher-ups don't seem to have a clue. I think... he's her brother that she sometimes mentioned. Who was held hostage by the Mazoku."
Amelia scratched her head. "Ohh, so maybe that's why he and Sonjia-san looked the same. And why she suddenly recognized him."
Lina furrowed her brow in contemplation. "But of all things, it explains why he told me he doesn't like pain. If he was a God before, he'd have a natural aversion to such things."
Zelgadis clutched his injured arm and snorted. "Yeah, he sure convinced me that he hates pain."
Lina sat up and immediately clutched her side in pain. Apparently she wasn't as healed as much as she thought she was. "By the way, where's Gourry?"
"Oh, I thought you heard that part of the conversation, too," said Amelia. "He's gone off to find that Mazoku to keep him from hurting anyone else. And once you two are all better, we can help him smash Jadarin with the Hammer of Justice!"
Lina sat all the way up, ignoring the pain in her side. "He what?!"
"I'm sure he's... fine," assured Amelia, although she wasn't entirely confident about her statement.
"Jadarin will kill him without a thought! And he's too dumb to know to be wary of that spell!" Lina tried to stand up, but was having a hard time supporting her weight.
"Lina-san, you shouldn't move yet! You're not fully healed!"
"We don't have time for a full healing right now, Amelia!" said Lina, trying to steady herself. "Even though that Mazoku's dangerous, he deserves a little payback for beating up a poor, defenseless girl! Besides," she added, winking, "I can't let Gourry have all the fun!"
Amelia stood up as well. "That's right, Lina-san! We need to show that Mazoku justice, and help Gourry-san out! And this way, no one else will get hurt by the forces of evil!"
Zelgadis sighed from the ground. "I'm not all that into a rescue mission." He had begun a minor healing spell of his own, but wasn't making much progress. "I'm certainly in no rush to get beat down again, but if you two want to go out there and get killed, be my guest."
"Your pessimism always inspires me!" said Lina, giving Zel a thumbs-up. "But we're not forcing you to come. If you want to stay here, I don't blame you. But, if you DO come help out, Sonjia will be indebted to you."
Tempting. Maybe it would wipe that stuck-up expression of her face for at least a few minutes. And Gourry was his friend, after all. And Lina was right about giving Jadarin some payback. And if Jadarin beat Xellos to a pulp, he'd kinda like to see that. Ah, what the hell.
"Okay, I'll go," sighed Zelgadis in defeat.
"Yay! Zelgadis-san resumes his fight for Justice!" cheered Amelia, dancing in circles.
"Okay, Amelia, lead the way!" commanded Lina. "Let's go find Gourry and beat that Mazoku's sorry butt into the ground!"
"Right!" said Amelia, taking a dramatic step forward.
She then stopped and sweatdropped. "Um, I have no idea where he went," she admitted. She pointed randomly back into town. "Somewhere that way."
Lina sweatdropped as well. "Well... good enough for me! C'mon, Zel!" She limped triumphantly up the hill, leaning on a stick she had swiped from some unknown place. Yes, she would have her showdown with that Mazoku, all right. And it would be somewhere... that way.