Disclaimers and Useless/Useful Stuff To Know:

I don't own Slayers. Never will. Wish I did.

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Slayers SILENCE
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Episode Nine:
"To Rahns! We're There At Last!!"



Sylphiel hugged her legs, her eyes looking out the window. It was morning already...

It was the break of dawn, and she could see the sun rising while the snow reflected its light gently, glistening. As pretty as the sight was, Sylphiel was far less than happy. She was, in all honesty, scared like crazy.

The thought of being left in Rahns didn't appeal to her at all. She didn't want to be left there alone. To be alone again... Sylphiel was tired of that. Tired of loneliness. That was why she loved her friends dearly. Would Zangulus just leave her there...?

Sylphiel also wondered what would she find in Rahns? What happened to her aunt?

She might be gone, too. Sylphiel's family... totally dropping like flies around her, leaving her by herself. First that fire, her father and Sairaag, now...

She choked a little. She needed to get her thoughts elsewhere.

Sylphiel stepped away from the window, rushing to get out of the bedroom while not wanting to wake up either Amelia or Lina. She silently closed the door behind her, starting to dash for the stairs to go down for breakfast, but had managed to run into someone along the way, literally.

"O-oh my! I'm sorry, I wasn't..." she stammered to apologize, but reddened slightly at who she ran into. "Sorry, Mr. Zangulus."

"I told you not to be sorry all the time," he reminded half-teasingly. "Don't worry about it." Zangulus, strangely enough wasn't wearing his cape, gloves, or his hat. He probably had just gotten up not long before.

Sylphiel smiled a little at the remembrance. "Ah, okay..." She looked up, blinking a little in realization. "What are you doing up so early?"

Zangulus grew a small sweatdrop. "I couldn't sleep for about half the night, then I woke up early anyway."

"Was something bothering you?" Sylphiel was concerned; it wasn't that often, as far as she knew, that he wouldn't be capable of sleeping unless something was on his mind.

"Sorta. I was thinking too much about Zefilia, I guess. It was on my mind all night." Zangulus shrugged it off. "It'll be all right. What's gotten you up?"

"Rahns," she replied quietly, green eyes lowering to focus on the floor. And a little more than that.

Zangulus scowled a little. "Look, don't worry about it until we do get there. I know it's probably bugging you a lot, but it's no good to feel that way. You know that."

She nodded a bit. "Yes, I know. I can't help it... I'm worried about Aunt Clara and... I'm not sure what to think if I find out." Sylphiel did her best to hold back her tears. "I know I should be ready, but I can't help it..."

"I'm not saying you shouldn't feel anything. That's inhuman, practically the last thing you are, but I'll support you all the way," Zangulus told her. However, she looked no happier, which frustrated him a little. What to do... "What do you want to do right now, Sylphiel?"

She looked up, blinking back tears. "I... um..." Sylphiel flushed quickly as she looked at him. "I... Mr. Zangulus, would you mind if..." She squirmed a bit. "Can I... can I brush your hair?"

He almost fell over. Now THAT was unexpected! "Brush my hair?! Why??"

"Father used to brush my hair and it cheered me up. When I was younger, I used to comb his, too. No matter how sad I was, it made me happy," she admitted, still blushing. "Please?"

"F-fine," Zangulus stammered out. As long as it makes her happy, I guess...

Practically dragged off, Sylphiel led him back to her room, having either forgotten that the other girls were still there (and thankfully sleeping) or simply that wasn't quite as important. "Go ahead and sit down. I'll get my brush," she told him, sounding a little too over joyous.

Zangulus sighed heavily and flopped into his chair, crossing his arms. Just as long as Lina doesn't wake up or she'll never leave me alone about this. Then again, she might accuse me of being a pervert for being in the girls' room...

Sylphiel undid the king's loose ponytail, which he almost protested about. She started to stroke his hair with her brush, somehow not feeling very surprised how tangled it was. "You should really take better care of your hair, Mr. Zangulus..."

"I'm not very vain," he replied simply.

"I know, but... you've got nice hair," Sylphiel said honestly.

Zangulus wrinkled his nose. "Mother always told me that and always suggested to me that I grow it out. I normally kept it short, but... well, after she died, I just kind of let it do what it wanted."

"I don't blame her. A lot of girls would give up a limb to have hair like this," Sylphiel told him, although slightly teasing him all the while.

He felt incredibly embarrassed, even if only Sylphiel and himself were actually the only ones there. "Are you calling me a girl?"

"Oh, no. Not at all, Ms. Zangulus."

"I think you have a bit of pent up mischief behind that whole 'nice girl' act," Zangulus accused.

Sylphiel giggled softly. "Ms. Lina said something similar when we were in Flagoon."

"Yeah? Did you call her a boy?"

"No! Of course not! I... um..." Sylphiel reddened. "It was something I did as a kid, so it really isn't that important..."

"Put sap in someone's hair? I know the girl down the street from where I lived in Zefilia was pretty pissed off when I did that..." Zangulus grinned at the memory.

"Maybe I'll tell you later," Sylphiel mumbled, still brushing her friend's hair. "Um, if Ms. Lina and you both lived in Zefilia, did you ever meet?"

"Not sure. Maybe. I do remember an annoying girl saying she'd be the best wizard in the world..."

"And?"

"I threw mud in her eye."

"Mr. Zangulus!" Sylphiel squeaked.

He laughed. "What? I was having fun. Besides, I'm not sure whether or not it was her. Coulda been anyone; a lot of kids there wanted to be a sorcerer or something magic-related. Zefilia's a big magic place. Probably why I was the oddball and wanted to be a swordsman rather than a sorcerer."

"I see," Sylphiel mused. "Sairaag was a bit different from Zefilia. More often we had clerics."

"Yeah, I remember... I think," Zangulus recalled quietly. "Nevermind." Could have been anytime I was there.

Sylphiel stopped brushing, looking at him curiously. "What is it?"

"When I was working for Eris and I was in Sairaag, it was like I knew the place. Knew every street. But that was the first time I think I was ever there when I went for the job to track down Lina and Gourry. Yet I knew where to go." Zangulus shrugged. "I dunno. Doesn't really matter..."

"It's a bit extreme to say that. Sairaag was a big place, and there's Ancient Sairaag, as well."

Zangulus frowned. "Not sure if I should say... I know you probably don't wanna talk about it..."

Sylphiel pouted a little. "Mr. Zangulus, I've accepted what happened. It makes me sad, but I've accepted it. What is it?"

"Well..." He paused for a moment. "You know when Copy Rezo... blew it up. It was the weirdest thing in my life, maybe. Not the weirdest; that's an exaggeration, but you understand... Point is, it was odd. Afterwards and I was looking at it, I was actually kind of scared. The fire bothered me for really no good reason. Second of all..." Zangulus scowled at the memory. "I don't know why, but I cried. And I don't... you know, I'm not much for feelings and all, and with death I can deal with, but for some reason when I looked at Sairaag like that, I just cried with no explanation."

Sylphiel nodded slowly, looking concerned. "I see... I don't know what to tell you. Maybe you lived in Sairaag for a short while when you were younger? I can't tell you."

"Don't worry about it. It was just odd is all." He paused for a moment, then smiled a little. "You feeling better?"

"Oh! Oh, yes I am. Thanks, Mr. Zangulus."

He waved his hand a little. "It's all right. Just let me know if something's bothering you." Zangulus stood up and tied his hair back again.

Zangulus started to leave, but Sylphiel spoke up, "Um... you know..."

He turned back to look at her. "Yeah?"

"I-it's nothing. I'll see you in a bit for breakfast," she told him with a weak smile. Zangulus didn't look convinced, but he shrugged and exited the room.


"I hate snow."

"That's discrimination against weather," Lina accused Zangulus. "And I love snow, for the record."

He grumbled, shaking some of the vile substance off of his boot. "Yeah, well, after you climb the Mountain of Tears, you grow bitter about winter."

Lina stared at Zangulus, eyes wide. "You climbed the Mountain of Tears?!"

He blushed angrily and looked aside. "Wasn't my fault." Zangulus glared at Vrumugun accusingly.

"You cannot blame it on me," the mage muttered. "I did not have anything to do with the job."

"You let Eris copy you," Zangulus grumbled. "I'd say it's indirectly your fault that I hate snow. I used to love it, especially those white washes I gave back in Zefilia..."

Vrumugun frowned. "It was her, after all, who controlled them. Besides, you agreed to climb it and I helped you down afterwards, did I not?" Zangulus replied by sticking out his tongue at his friend.

"What were you doing up... OHHH!" Lina realized with a grin. "You thought I'd climb up there to get to Sairaag?!"

"Shut up! It was Vrumugun's idea!" Zangulus defended himself.

"I told you..." the mage began.

"Hah! You can sure be an idiot sometimes!" Lina laughed.

Gourry held up an index finger. "But I thought it'd been easier to climb the Mountain of Tears." He sweatdropped. "And I wish we did since that Volun guy..."

"Gourry, how many times do I have to tell you that--" Lina started, but got a snowball in her face. She looked around wildly for the offender. "Who--?!"

"EEEEEYAAAAH!" Amelia cried out, getting one in her face as well. She fell backwards into the snowed road.

Lina glared at the first suspect. "Xellos!" she yelled at the mazoku.

He smiled at her. "It wasn't me, but... well..." The Trickster Priest pointed at a certain priestess.

"Ms. Lina! You said you loved the snow!" Sylphiel called out, holding a snowball in her hands. Somehow, she still looked too innocent in what she was doing.

Zangulus almost fell over. "Oops. Ah ha ha..." he laughed nervously.

Lina grabbed him by the front of his cape. "What'd you do?!"

"I think I released her inner child..."

"Ya THINK?!" A snowball landed against the side of both their faces, but Lina managed to melt hers by pure temper.

"I think she'd better stop before snowballs are parried with fireballs," Zelgadis muttered.

"I say fight fire with fire! ...In a sense," Amelia suggested, picking up some snow and tossing it at Sylphiel. "Taste the frost of JUSTICE!"

The other cleric squealed as the ball hit her in the arm as she guarded her face protectively. She scooped up more snow, throwing it at her friends with a small giggle as she made an attempt to run by them and get ahead of the road.

"HEY! Sylphiel!" Lina called after her. The sorceress grew a devilish grin, using a small wind spell to blow snow onto the running priestess.

SPLAT! Another snowball onto Lina's face. She glared at the next opponent, eyes immediately settling on her first suspect.

"It wasn't me, Ms. Lina!" Xellos said innocently.

She looked again.

"Still not me."

Lina coughed. "Right." She tried again and peered at the not-so-innocent Zangulus, who decided that he should be running because his hat was probably the target.

"Oh. Huh. Yeah. Well, you remember: hate the snow and all, so I'll be off. ...YAHHH!" He took off, running down the path and nabbing Sylphiel along the way.

"You two get back here!" Lina yelled after them, following. Amelia cried out as well and ran with her sisterly companion.

"I almost find it almost depressing that my fate rests in these hands," Vrumugun murmured before he calmly went after Lina and Amelia. The other three travelers followed, either amused or annoyed by the whole snowfight.


The play and childish actions were cut quickly when the next town was immediately recognized by the entire group. Sylphiel's expression had taken a total change compared to how she apparently felt just a few moments ago.

Lina looked on to the town, concerned. Maybe she was just trying her best to postpone going here. I know the results that we might find won't be pretty, but there's no way to evade this...

"Sylphiel?" Zangulus called quietly. "You ready?"

She only nodded to him.

Lina was surprised. She hadn't really paid attention much to his tone lately, but around the priestess, Zangulus just seemed a little deeper than he normally was. I know I tease those two a lot, but they do seem really close now...

"My job continues here. It is certainly dangerous for most of you. I advise that you watch your backs," Vrumugun said as he walked past the others, heading for Rahns. Xellos was happily behind the mage without much of a care in the world.

"Your job?" Zelgadis prompted the mage to elaborate.

"I spend most of my time destroying works from Halcyform, as I have said before. Recently, there has been too many. When Zangulus barely began his journey, he and Sylphiel were attacked by these beings as I was not fast enough to get there. My destination has been to Rahns, as it seems to be filled with them," Vrumugun explained. Lina took a moment to nudge Gourry awake.

Lina looked over Rahns again. "I don't think we can really find anybody there. It seems totally deserted of people, anyway. Probably a bunch of creepy stuff there."

"I'd like to say we should split up to search, but this place has 'suspicious' written all over," Zelgadis commented dryly. "It's not that we're incapable of defending ourselves, but from the rumors there must be a sheer number of these creatures."

"Let's just go in; if we don't find anything, we'll break into smaller groups," Lina suggested. "Well, aside from Xellos and Vrumugun. Vrummy's got his own thing to do and Xellos couldn't care less what we do."

There was a brief round of nods before the group of travelers went on into the town. They walked on for awhile before Amelia gave out a loud shiver, carefully eyeing around the place.

"It's so empty and... scary..." Amelia murmured. "Do you think anyone survived?"

Zangulus narrowed his eyes at her. "You never know until you look every inch." He turned to Sylphiel. "Where did your aunt stay? That's the most practical place to look."

"Up the street to the right," Sylphiel replied quietly, her eyes drifting up to the corner of the road.

"That's where we'll start," Zangulus announced. "Hopefully the monsters here won't be as difficult as that dragon we faced."

Lina nodded. "I'd rather not fire off Dragon Slaves in the middle of a city myself."

Then, a quick shriek filled the air before Amelia disappeared.

Not disappeared... she fell into the ground?! Quicksand? Lina tried to organize her thoughts, but not before Zelgadis jumped in after her.

"Zel!" Lina called out to the chimera. "Idiot! He's heavier than any of us!"

"Can't you make a spell that'll let you breathe in there?" Gourry tried to suggest, being no expert in magic.

"Only for water; there aren't any dirt-breathing spells!" Lina clarified for him angrily. "Damn it! ZEL! AMELIA!!"

Zangulus swore loudly, jumping away from the group as a stalagmite generated out of the ground. Sylphiel cried out and followed him to evade more of the spikes.

"Looks like we have to split up for now!" Zangulus shouted over to Lina, avoiding another stalagmite. "Come on, Sylphiel!" The swordsman grabbed the priestess's wrist, running down an alleyway as the earth tore after them.

Erupting out of the ground was Zelgadis in a Ray Wing spell, carrying Amelia. The princess coughed out mud, wiping the same substance from her eyes. The chimera cursed as rocks were forming like arms, trying to swipe the two of them out of the air. Holding out a free hand, he summoned up a Damu Brass to wipe out the magically formed stones. Zelgadis landed on the ground, Amelia still recovering in his arms.

"The lead monster of this town apparently has the earth under their control for their ability," Lina concluded quietly to herself. "Damn; this just gets to me!"

"Where'd Sylphiel and Zangulus go?" Zelgadis wanted to know, standing up and supporting Amelia.

"Whoever is behind this is after them, too, so they had to take off. We should do the same," Lina replied, darting down the road. Gourry quickly followed.

Zelgadis cursed quietly. "Just what we needed; the very dirt being our enemy now!" He picked up Amelia again and dashed after Lina.

"Lina, what're we gonna do now?" Gourry asked the sorceress. "We can't just keep running!"

"What do you want me to do? Keep throwing spells at the ground??" Lina snapped a little. "There's one person that comes to mind who should know who's controlling this town, and that's Vrumugun. Damn, even now that creepy wizard is keeping to himself!"

Zelgadis growled, "So we're going to go looking for him?! That's like a needle in a haystack; as unpopulated as this place is, Vrumugun isn't exactly lively!"

"I know that, but if my instinct is right, there should be some monsters lurking around. If Vrumugun is true to his words, he'll be killing those too! Just sense for magic!" Lina ordered the chimera. "If we have to, we fly to keep the ground from hating us."

"I guess this is what we get for walking all over the dirt," Gourry mentioned mournfully.

Lina scolded him, "This is no time to be feeling sorry for it!" She turned around and cast another Damu Brass at oncoming stalagmites. "Why did I just let them walk off ahead of us?!"

"Do you think Sylphiel and Zangulus will be all right?" Gourry asked Lina, glancing over his shoulder to look at his companion.

"Even though Sylphiel doesn't know a chunkload of spells, with that Howling Blast Zang has they should be all right until we find them," Lina assured him, then glowered. "Those spikes are catching up!" she noticed, about to cast a Ray Wing when...

"AAAHHH! LINA! It's on my face!" Gourry cried out, flailing his arms after the ground projected a gopher onto his head. "Help me!! Helphelphelphelp--"

Lina smacked the gopher with a fist, sending it into the stratosphere. In the process, she hit Gourry in the jaw on accident, leaving the swordsman with swirly eyes. "Sorry about that," she apologized quickly. "Anyway, c'mon! RAY WING!" The sorceress grabbed him by the arm, taking to the sky. Zelgadis did the same, still carrying Amelia as she recovered.


"Looks like it's stopped following us for now," Zangulus mentioned aside. "You all right?"

Sylphiel nodded a bit, giving herself a moment to catch her breath. "I-I'm fine... Just tired."

"We did kind of run a long ways..." He looked around for a moment. "Any idea where we are?"

She looked up at the buildings wearily. "It seems like we went further away..."

"You wanna go on?"

Sylphiel's eyes went down. "I'm not sure..."

Zangulus paused for a moment, glancing to an open and rather empty stable. "We can take a break if you want." Her energy must be knocked down quite a few notches from thinking about her aunt too much...

"It's all right?"

He nodded. "If you're drained, I won't force you to go on. We'll take a breather for a few minutes."

Sylphiel forced a little smile. "Thank you..." She wandered into the stable, sitting down in the hay. Zangulus followed, sitting across from her.

"Better hope that Lina and the others are all right," he muttered quietly. Feeling just disturbing silence for a moment, he glanced up to say something to Sylphiel, but noticed that she had dozed off.

More tired than I figured. Guess I'll just keep watch. The swordsman took off his cloak, placing it around the priestess's shoulders. Afterwards, Zangulus sat and leaned back a bit against a pole, glancing out of the stable toward the road. Even though we were told what's going on, I still feel like something's always being left out of my reach... Something I don't know. What else is there to know?

He attempted to ignore his frustration and continued to keep an eye on what was going on.


Sylphiel didn't have particularly nice dreams. She wasn't writhing in her sleep, but it was still an unwanted nightmare hanging in her head. First, a memory, then... just something that made her feel uneasy.

Her memory...

Well, it was more like several moments of memories. They were jumbled puzzle pieces. The first...

"Big brother," little Sylphiel sniffled to her older sibling. She was stuck high up above in the tree,
clutching the trunk.

"How'd you get stuck up there?" he wondered, looking up. He pushed away some dark strands of
his hair from his eyes, smiling a little. "Hold on. If you're gonna be stuck up there, don't be alone,
'kay?"

Like a nice big brother, he was stuck in the tree with her. How old was she then? Three? Four?

Another puzzle piece appeared. Sylphiel had to be two years old here.

"Doll!" the little Sylphiel cried out the key word, waving her hand to her stuffed horsey. Her older brother gave her a back ride, but she managed to drop her doll in the process.

"Sis," he muttered. "Hang on, 'kay?" She did. "Ack. Not so... hard... Better."

Little Sylphiel got her doll back, hugging her brother and giggling his name.

What was his name?

Another piece was assembled. The last piece.

It was hot, so many flames. Sylphiel cried her eyes out. Where was Father? Mother? Big brother?

Stop, Sylphiel commanded her mind.

It obeyed, turning to a whole new ordeal. Sylphiel, as she was now, was seated at a table hanging in
a colorful starry space with her father. She blinked a little, confused.

Eruk sighed a little. "Sylphiel... Why are you doing this?"

"Father?"

"You know you'll never find a replacement for who you have lost," Eruk told her. "Master Gourry
could never replace your brother. Mr. Zangulus can't do the same."

Sylphiel shuddered a little. "They don't replace anyone. I love Gourry dear, and I love Mr. Zangulus.
It's not the same."

"They're there for you, but they'll never replace who you have lost."

"I know that..."

Eruk repeated. And repeated. He didn't stop.

Sylphiel cried softly in where there was reality. Even if they were replacements for her big brother, it
only made her feel worse. Cephied, she couldn't even remember her own brother's name.

"Sylphiel! Jeez, get up! Now!"

She stirred a little, blinking her eyes open. "Mr. Zangulus...?"

He pulled Sylphiel to her feet, glowering at whatever was outside. She grabbed at a cloth around herself, taking a moment to realize that it was Zangulus's cloak.

"Those creatures we first met before we got to Seyruun? They're here too," Zangulus told her in a hushed voice, glaring out the stable. "I got rid of a few of them. You must have been sleeping pretty hard there, Sylphiel..."

She blushed a little. "I'm sorry..."

"Don't worry about it. Just get yourself awake. I wanna try to make a run for it somewhere else."

Sylphiel rubbed her eyes a few times before Zangulus pulled her forward. "More are coming and I doubt I can blow them all away without attracting more. I don't wanna risk you getting Garnia again, either. We won't luck out again," he said quietly. "Get ready to run and stay close."

They stayed for a moment before Zangulus ran outside, hacking one of the unsteady beasts in half with his sword. Sylphiel ran after him, a bit slower than usual due to her grogginess. The priestess had cast a Recovery spell on a monster when passing by, keeping up with her friend to another building.

And almost immediately regretted it.

The air held a horrible stench. Zangulus wrinkled his nose and pushed away some overturned furniture. It was a horrible mix of urine and blood in the air.

Sylphiel coughed quietly and held her mouth. "What is it?"

"More like what caused it? No idea, though..." Zangulus replied, holding his mouth also.

"An unwelcomed visitor, unfortunately."

The two turned, facing a pair of what looked to be normal looking people. Gut instinct told Zangulus otherwise, keeping on guard.

One of them was apparently a sorcerer, having dark turquoise hair and beard. The other looked to be older, but seemed fit for his age and looked to be a warrior.

"And you two are causing this town to be a mess?" Zangulus assumed, glaring at both of them.

"The opposite. We're trying to cure it," the older one replied, frowning.

"What we weren't aware of at first is that we can't do anything about it," the sorcerer informed, looking sour about his situation. "We've been here since this town was overtaken by those monsters out there."

"Are you residents?" Zangulus asked.

The sorcerer shook his head sadly. "On the contrary..."

"We're the same as those monsters out there," the old man explained.

Zangulus shook his head a little. "For some reason, I figured all the same..."

"E-excuse me..." Sylphiel spoke. "Did a woman named Clara Lahda escape?"

"You wouldn't want to hear her fate. All we suggest is that you two and anyone else who hasn't been maimed or destroyed by the ground itself to get out of here as soon as you can," the sorcerer responded.

"Please, you must tell me!" she begged.

The sorcerer hesitated before frowning. "You can find her at her residence. I can't do anything about her, though. I'm sorry."

"I'd like to help her get there, but those monsters are far too many. I wouldn't be able to destroy them even on my best day," Zangulus said.

"We can't do anything about her, but we can destroy those monsters. We'll help you two get there," the old man assured.

Zangulus nodded appreciatively, guiding Sylphiel out of the building. "What're your names, anyway?" he asked.

"I'm Rodimus, and this is Zolf."


"I suppose Halcyform must be catching on. Don't you agree, Mr. Vrumugun?" Xellos noted boredly as a few beasts exploded in front of him after turning into ice.

"I would prefer if you did not distract me," Vrumugun suggested coldly, letting loose a Demona Crystal on another group. "I do agree, unfortunately. I cannot sense who is leading them..."

"Monster!" Xellos helpfully pointed out behind the mage. Vrumugun muttered to himself before impaling it onto an icicle.

"Wind which blows across eternity, gather in my hands and become my strength! BLAM GUSH!"

The landscape and a few houses were torn to pieces by air as Lina and her little group came running toward Vrumugun and Xellos. Letting out what steam had built up over time, the sorceress grabbed Vrumugun by the front of his cloak and fumed with her enlarged temper.

"Where's the ringleader of this entire thing?!" she demanded.

"I am afraid I do not know," Vrumugun replied very calmly.

Lina swore mentally, letting go of the mage as she stormed her way to Xellos, kicking him in the knee. He winced, but still smiled. "Ms. Lina, what was that for?" he asked curiously. "Not that I minded or anything."

"Because you're happy!" she grumped. "Gotta keep looking... ground attacks us... Zang and Sylphiel are who-knows-where..."

Vrumugun frowned. "Where is Zangulus?"

"I dunno! I just said that! He and Sylphiel got separated from us a little while ago," Lina replied. "Unless Sylphiel shoots off a Dragon Slave, I can't find them."

"Lina. Ground," Gourry mentioned the key words.

Screaming in outrage, Lina threw a "BURST ROND!!" at the incoming earth magic. She yanked at her hair irritably. "There's no end! ARRGH!!"

"Something is keeping us away from the directions Sylphiel mentioned where her aunt is. It's possible to destroy what comes at us, but it keeps on regenerating so quickly that we can't keep up," Zelgadis said much more calmly than Lina was taking the entire thing.

"Where is it?" Vrumugun asked the chimera, idly using a Vice Freeze on a monster a bit of a distance away.

Zelgadis pointed down the street. "A few blocks down to the left. I'd imagine that's where they're headed first."

"Very well then. Enjoy yourselves here," Vrumugun stated blandly as he walked down the street. The earth began to attack him, but his disappeared into the Astral Plane immediately. Xellos knitted his eyebrows, following the mage.

"Where does he think he's going?!" Lina snapped.

Amelia paused for a moment, thinking. "Well..."

"Well what?"

Remembering something unpleasant, Amelia frowned. "I think the same destination of Mr. Vrumugun's is Ms. Sylphiel's. The same person."

There was a moment of silence before Lina sighed. "Damn. Come on. As much as a pain in the ass it's being, we should be there, too. As painful as it's gonna be, Sylphiel should know what happened here to everyone and her aunt."


"This is it!" Sylphiel confirmed as they stopped before a tall house. She turned to Zolf and Rodimus, briefly bowing. "Thank you for your help."

"Just be careful in there. You won't like it," Zolf told her seriously.

Sylphiel stood there for a moment, frowning. She turned and went inside of the house. Zangulus shook his head a little, going in after her.

"Damn! They just got in!" Lina cursed as she ran up to the house.

"Ms. Sylphiel! Wait!" Amelia cried after her friend, running inside.

Lina wondered, "D'ya think Vrumugun already got inside?" There was a moment of silence as she waited for someone's opinion. "Guys...?" She turned and grew wide eyes. "Holy...!!"

"Master Zelgadis!" Rodimus went to his knee immediately. Zolf just smiled a little.

"Of course," Zelgadis sighed, hanging his head. "You two..."

Zolf waved his hand a little. "Don't bother blaming yourself, Master Zelgadis."

"It was all Zolf's fault," Rodimus confirmed, although it seemed a little more teasingly as Zolf shot the other a glare.

"Still... I'm sorry that happened to you two..." Zelgadis apologized quietly. "It just felt like there was more I could have done..."

"Could have, who knows? It was a few years ago, Master Zelgadis. We'd just like this entire thing to stop," Zolf said.

Lina smiled slightly. "You seem to be taking it pretty well, though," she noted.

"A third-rate better be good at something," Zolf smirked.

"Um... Lina..." Gourry began, but Lina slapped his shoulder immediately.

"Don't bother asking! These two are Rodimus and Zolf, but they were killed by Shabranigdo, the monster that came out of Rezo when he opened his eyes, and before you even ask that Rezo was the guy who turned Zel into a chimera!" Lina spilled out for Gourry.

"...Oh. Um, but my biggest question is shouldn't we go after Amelia to go find Sylphiel and Zangulus?" Gourry wondered outloud.

Lina paused, then cursed. "Jeez! Come on, Gourry. Zel, you can do whatever. I don't know what you want to do about Zolf and Rodimus, but it's up to them and you, okay?" She motioned Gourry to follow her upstairs.

There was a period of silence before Zelgadis let out another sigh. "Well? What do you want me to do?" he asked.

"For it to stop if you can, Master Zelgadis. Zolf and I can't do anything about it," Rodimus replied woefully. "We weren't brought back to stop Halcyform. We couldn't even go inside here to stop her. If we could have, we would and there wouldn't have been so much death. We're sorry."

Zelgadis smiled a bit. "Don't worry. You did what you could. I know that. I'd use a white magic spell, but it's not that strong."

"An Elmekia Flame should work," Zolf told him. "I'd do it myself, but suicide's a sin and all..."

The chimera chuckled sadly. "Thanks, you two. For being there. And I promise I'll stop this no matter what."

The Elmekia Flames were cast. It was as painless as Zelgadis could deliver.


"Aunt Clara!" Sylphiel cried out, running up the stairs. "I'm coming! Aunt Clara!!"

She shoved away a chair as she ran inside, throwing open doors as she searched. Zangulus ran after her, unfamiliar with the house and stumbling every now and again. As they seemed to get deeper, the hallways and rooms were darker. His stomach didn't seem to agree with the place.

It was silent, other than a quiet mumbling, almost like a chant...

The last room. Sylphiel shook as she grasped the handle of the door. It's louder. So disturbing... She closed her eyes tightly for a moment before shoving the door open.

Sylphiel stood there for a moment, not sure what to do, what to say, should she cry, should she run, should she laugh, why her, why Aunt Clara, why Father, why Mother, why...

Why. Why. Why.

Her aunt was not quite as recognizable. The only thing that told her who it was had to be the mumbling, the long brown hair, the familiar yellow dress... Otherwise, it was hardly anything left there that could be regarded as a human being. Earth clung to her body, her skin... it was too much to say that it was melting, too much in humor to say stretched. It was a blend. The parched lips of Clara Lahda moved, a gasping chant going on and on and...

Sylphiel let out a loud wail, unable to take it. She turned around, throwing herself onto the floor and just let everything out.

"Sylphiel! What..." There was a moment of silence before a loud sigh of "Gods..."

"It's not fair! It's not fair!" the priestess sobbed. "Why did I think she'd be all right?! What did I ever do?? What did she do?!"

Zangulus pulled Sylphiel into his arms. My turn, I guess... "No, it's not fair. Nothing really fair has happened here in this trip..."

"Ms. Sylphiel! Mr. Zangulus!" Amelia called out, running up behind them. Taking just a single glance ahead, her expression changed from relief to sorrow. "I... Ms. Sylphiel..."

The priestess cried on. "It's not fair! Father... Big brother... Mother..."

Appearing finally, Vrumugun held out his hands for a moment, but stopped after a moment's thought. "Perhaps you should do this, Amelia..."

The princess looked up, looking concerned. "Me...?"

"As painless as possible. Cast a Resurrection and let us be done with this once and for all."

Amelia nodded slowly, walking up beside the mage. She closed her eyes shut and murmured a few words before the spell was cast. Clara and the earth around her crumbled.

"Let us be off. Zangulus, we will be outside," Vrumugun instructed quietly. He walked past them, pausing briefly in the hallway to hold up his hand and stop the incoming of Lina and Gourry. They looked at him, confused, but he just continued on.

Amelia crouched down for a moment, looking at Sylphiel sadly. "I'm sorry, Ms. Sylphiel... I'm so sorry..." she whispered before going on to catch up with Lina and Gourry to inform them what had just happened.

"I don't want to be alone... it's not fair..." the priestess mumbled, calming down a little. "Don't leave me alone..."

"I promise that I won't." Zangulus opened his mouth to say more. Hell, what more could he say, really? "Sylphiel... I... What do you want to do...?"

"Stop..."

Zangulus felt a little twist in his stomach. "You wanna stop coming?"

Sylphiel shook her head slowly. "I want this to stop!" She buried her head into his chest. "It's got to stop... please... I have to stop it... it's not fair. I have to stop him... Don't leave me here... don't leave me behind..."

"If you're scared of me leaving you, then don't worry. There's no way I could, especially right now..." Zangulus idly wondered what became of his mother, then. He put that aside. He needed to focus on Sylphiel. "I promise I won't leave you. You won't be alone on this."

The priestess sniffed softly, wiping her eyes. "I-I'm sorry... I'm no use like this..."

"You have every right to be upset, y'know. You don't deserve any of this." Zangulus helped her slowly to her feet. "If that's what you want, I'll bring you with me."

"And..." She shifted a little, still sniffling.

"Yeah?"

Sylphiel blushed with a weak smile. "Can I brush your hair again?"


"Ms. Lina! Are we just going to leave the town the way it is?" Amelia asked, frowning as they were at the city limits.

The sorceress turned around and shrugged. "What else can we do? Do you want me to blow it up?" She scowled. "I don't like the way it's turned out, either, but there's really nothing else we can do other than hope it picks up where it left off. I know it sounds cruel, but that's the best thing. I can't just toss a Dragon Slave and be done with it."

"We'll decide when we're done with this entire journey. The best thing right now is to rest some ways from it," Zelgadis said quietly, moving on ahead.

"Zel..." Lina sighed a little. Not just Sylphiel. Zel's a bit run down, too. Everyone is, really... The sorceress shook her head and walked on as well.

Zangulus paused, turning his head over his shoulder to look at Rahns. It wasn't fair. Not at all. Why did everything have to happen to Sylphiel? She led a good life, and look what happened.

When everything was done, what would he do with her? It didn't seem right to just leave her alone after they took care of what was needed. It wasn't right. It wasn't fair. It was like... he would lose a part of himself, almost.

The journey wasn't fair in most ways. If it wasn't for the letter, though, he probably wouldn't have started caring about anyone but three people: Martina, Vrumugun, and himself. Now he was afraid of having to leave Sylphiel.

...try to make some room for Sylphiel even when this is all over, okay? Zangulus recalled Gourry telling him at Sai Sanctuary.

"I'll do my best to make room," he said.

For now? A camp was to be made, and Zangulus had promised to let Sylphiel brush his hair.

He smiled weakly and turned to catch up with the others. She's waiting, and so is Mother.

-=-=-

As any good hearted series, this is to be continued in...

"A Sibling, a Parent, a Promise! To Zefilia, City of Memories."
...where at last Zangulus makes it to his destination rather reluctantly. Lina freaks out, as do Zang and Sylphiel at a revelation. Lesson: do not throw mud in people's eyes.

---
Alba Aulbath
berry@adelphia.net