(Oh, I really do need to go back and read my reviews more often. Winged Dancer, if you're reading, feel free to do a picture of Xaina. I've done several of my own but I don't currently have a scanner so I can't put her up anywhere on my web page. Lauren-sama, you're a great writer and thanks for being so loyal. Minimerc, I personally think Lina is PMSing most of the time. Yeah, she was mean and yelled at everyone, but she's been having a bad day. We all have those sometimes and every little thing sets us off. And to everyone else who has reviewed, thank you. I love all of you for reading. You help keep this story/series/fafic/whatever going. Well, I'm off to write then next chapter.)

Gourry moaned as he hit the tree. He had no idea why Lina had hit him. He was pretty sure he hadn't said anything about her body. "What'd I do?" the swordsman groaned.

"Everything!" the little red head cried.

Filia leaned in close to Amelia and whispered, "What does the translation say?"

"That Lina is not the one the prophecy is talking about," Amelia replied.

"She's not?" Amelia shook her head.

Destiny took a sip of her tea. "Her child is," the cold mage stated.

"But they don't have a child," Filia tried to protest.

"Not yet, anyway," Zel sighed as he watched Lina yell at Gourry. "I can picture it now; Gourry's brain, Lina's temper, and all the power and abilities both of them posses."

The ex-priestess stared at him, horrified. "The world is doomed."

"That's what the prophecy says," Destiny put in.

"Well, it couldn't come true if they never had any children," Amelia interjected, trying to be at least a little optimistic.

Lina heard the comment and stopped her yelling and beating of Gourry. "Hey, that's right," the sorceress said with a new sense of understanding. An evil smile spread across her face as she glared at Gourry. "And I think I know how to be sure of that." She pulled out her short sword. "Co'mere Gourry." The blond yelped and hurriedly scooted away from her. He back up against a tree and began to panic.

"That will do nothing but hurt him," Destiny suddenly broke in. Lina stopped and looked over her shoulder at the woman in black. "You are already pregnant."

"What!?!?!" everyone except Gourry cried.

"No I'm not!" Lina shouted.

"You are approximately four months in, actually."

"That might explain the sudden mood swing this afternoon," Zelgadiss commented before even thinking about.

The red head suddenly pounded her fist in to the top of the chimera's head. She instantly regretted it as pain went shooting through her fist. She clutched the hand close the her chest until the pain started to subside. Zel rubbed the top of his head. "I was just having a bad day, ok? That giant frog was a pain. I can't be pregnant," Lina protested further. "I don't even like kids."

"You seem to like Xaina," Filia pointed out.

"The monster child can also unconsciously manipulate emotions of any living creature," Destiny responded. "Just because the child is not yet aware of the full extent of her abilities does not mean that they can not work, even if not under her control. It matters not how much you may or may not like children when you are around her since she can make you like her anyway."

"I'm not pregnant!" the red head cried.

Everyone was quiet for a moment. Amelia was the first to speak up. "Well, um, Miss Lina...when...when was the last time...you...um, well had that time of the month?" A huge blush spread across the princess' face. Gourry in the back ground scratched his head. He still had no idea what she was so upset about.

Lina stood completely still. Her mind went in to shock. Now that she thought about it, she couldn't really remember the last time she had menstruated. "Hey wait a second. If I were, then how come I'm not sick in the mornings or eating more?!" she demanded.

"How would you know if you were eating more?" Filia inquired.

"My mother never got sick when she was pregnant with me," Amelia supplied.

Lina groaned. This day was just getting worse and worse. "Um...guys?" Gourry said suddenly. Everyone stared at him. As usual, the swordsman looked completely lost.

"Oh good gods, you have no idea want's going on, do you?" Lina whined. Her husband shook his head. Lina dropped to her knees and sat on her feet. She wanted to cry. "Why did I have to marry an idiot?" she asked rhetorically.

"Cuz you like me," the blond man tried to answer.

"That's a rhetorical question, jellyfish! It means your not suppose to answer!" she yelled. He flinched, afraid she was about to go in to another tirade. She sighed, trying to let off some of her anger. "Gourry, co'mere and sit," she ordered calmly while pointing at the ground in front of her. He hesitated but finally decided it might be safe and went to sit.

"Maybe we should give them some privacy," Amelia whispered to the others. They nodded and scuttled quietly away.

Gourry sat down in front of his small wife who seemed even smaller now. She was hunched over so her hair covered her face. They were both quiet. When she didn't say anything for a while, he figured he should do something. His mind pointed him back to what usually worked when she got really mad. "Lina, I'm sorry. I don't know what I did, but..." He was cut off as she suddenly threw her arms around his neck and buried her face in his shoulder. He wrapped his arms tenderly around her in an attempt to comfort the small woman. She rarely hugged him, and usually she was upset when she did. He gently rocked her back and forth. Lina's body shook slightly and he could tell she was crying. Of all the things she had ever done, this scared him the most. Gourry had never seen her cry and it hurt so badly to see it now. He kissed the side of her head, trying to ease her pain. "It's alright Lina. It'll be alright," he whispered.

"It's not alright," she sniffled.

"Why? What's wrong?"

"Everything." She slid down in his arms so her head leaned against his chest and she could hear his heartbeat. Gourry didn't stop rocking her. He squeezed her a little tighter, trying to make her feel more secure. "I'm pregnant...it means I'm having a baby," she explained before he could ask.

"Your having a baby?" She nodded weakly. "Isn't that a good thing?"

Lina pushed back from him so she could look him in the eyes. He reached up and gently brushed away some of her tears. "Usually, but...oh gods, please tell me you know where babies come from, and if you mention anything about a stork, I'll kill you!" she snapped harsher then she had meant to.

"A stork? What does a stork have to do with babies? What's a stork?"

"A bird. What do you know about where babies come from?" Gourry stopped to think about this. He knew he had heard about that somewhere, he just couldn't remember it. "Don't hurt yourself," she commented dryly when he didn't respond right away.

Suddenly, an image of his family came in the swordsman's mind. Hadn't his aunt had lots of children. Now where had they come from... "From... um... inside their mommy, I think. I think that's what my mother told me... maybe it was my aunt..."

"Good, you know a little bit at least," the young woman sighed in relief.

"Well, my aunt had lots of children and that's where they came from. But she got really fat when they were growing inside her." He reached down and poked Lina's belly. "Are you sure there's a baby in there?"

She glanced down. "No, but everyone else says there is," she responded honestly. "It's your baby too, ya know."

"I know," he said as he rubbed a hand over her stomach, now fascinated with that part of her. "There has to be a mommy and a daddy before there can be a baby. I'm your husband, so I have to be the daddy."

Lina weakly smiled. At least he understood enough that she didn't really need to explain anything. Now that she thought about it, her clothes did seem a little tight around her stomach lately. Maybe she really was expecting. 'Why didn't I notice?' she wondered. 'Great, some of Gourry's idiocy is rubbing on to me. This child had better not be stupid.'

~*~*~

Filia paced anxiously. "Are you sure it's her child?" "That's what the book says," Zelgadiss sighed. He was leaned against a tree. "From what I have been translating, this prophecy came true in another world. The man who wrote it describes the four people involved in the beginning."

"There are four?"

"A human black mage who is the child of one who has been a vessel for the mother of all things, a monster of white who exists of both good and evil, a partial demon white mage, and a black dragon," Destiny said. "Her child shall be the black mage."

"And Xaina's the monster, isn't she?" Amelia asked. Destiny nodded. "What about the dragon and demon?"

"I am not at liberty to share such information. I have simple told you what Zelgadiss has already translated."

"No, telling us would make things too easy for us," Zelgadiss grumbled sarcastically. "I bet you don't even know who the other two are." Destiny ignored his comment and glanced over at the rising moon.

The group fell quiet again. "So what have you found out from translating, Mr. Zelgadiss?" Amelia inquired.

"So far, I've only gotten a little information about the four people involved. The first one was the dragon, who was the son of the man who wrote the book. The second was the monster, who he described as being dark and evil. She sounds like a typical monster, except that she is very strong for being so young. Xaina will probably be like that when she grows up..."

"She's half human, so there is some redeeming qualities in her," Filia tried to argue. "I'm sure she can be..."

"She's still a monster," Zelgadiss interrupted. "She may not act like it now, but she will if you give her time."

"Not if I have anything to say about it," the dragon woman muttered.

Zelgadiss sighed. "Anyway, the third one he described was the demon. He was a priest to some dark lord I've never heard of from their world. From what the man describes, the demon was very angry at the world. He had been an outcast from all of society all of his life.

"The last one was the son of the destroyer of dark lords. He was supposedly the most powerful, but he never really learned a lot of control over the magic he knew. He was a small child when his parents died. Many things seem to be the same for both worlds..."

"Even about being a vessel for the Lord of Nightmares?" Amelia interrupted.

The chimera nodded. "He described her using a powerful spell that she lost control of, which sounds like the giga slave while fighting a monster lord. She was lost in the fight but the world was spared. Obviously, events in this world are not quite the same. A lot of it will most likely be different in this world, I expect. The main elements, however, seem to all be the same."

"I don't think we should mention any of this to Miss Lina," Filia sighed.

"That would probably be best...for now," the shamanist confirmed.

"What do we do when he's born?" the dragon continued. "I know this may sound a little cruel, but we can't let him live, can we? He is going to be a destroyer of the world, after all."

"Good question," Zel sighed. "Something tells me Lina isn't going to give up her child so easily. I do agree with you, though. Letting the child live is probably not a good idea."

"Mr. Zelgadiss! Miss Filia! You can't be serious!" Amelia cried.

"Oh, and what would you propose we do? Let it live and destroy everything?"

They fell silent again, listening to the sounds of crickets and frogs near by. The princess didn't have an answer for him. The truth was, she didn't know what to do either. She was certain that killing Lina's baby was not right, though. Killing a child just didn't seem just. Amelia shuddered as she felt some of the cold creeping in. "Do you think they're done?" she inquired.

"I haven't heard any explosions," Filia replied.

"Or Gourry screaming in pain," Zelgadiss added. "It might be safe."

The group trekked back to the warmth of the fire. When they came to the small clearing, they found Lina curled up in Gourry's arms. The blond was leaned up against a tree with her sitting on his lap. She looked like she had been crying but seemed to be better now. She hurriedly wiped her eyes to make sure there were no tears left when she saw them coming. None of them could ever recall a time when they had seen her cry before.

"Are you alright, Miss Lina?" Amelia asked in concern.

Lina smiled brightly. "Yeah, sure. Just got some dirt in my eyes, that's all. Is there anything let to eat?"