Nocturnal Insight
By DragonTeenager
The Slayers Vault- http://www.purple-gizmo.com/zelink14/
Chapter 5
"Alright, Zel. You can come out now."
In response to the exclamation a small grayish cat slunk out from beneath a nearby bed, his head hanging low in front of himself. He raised his head somewhat as his nostrils caught the sweet scent of freshly prepared food.
Lina, Gourry, and Amelia sat at a rectangular table now piled high with edibles. One spot that just moments before had been submerged in dishes of food had been cleared to make room for the feline to sit.
"Sorry you had to hide, Zel," Lina said, chuckling to herself, "but if they'd caught us with a cat in the inn they would've thrown us out, for sure. And we would've missed out on this!" Her eyes glinted as she gazed at the food, and without trying to resist the temptation she dove right in. Gourry was soon to follow.
Typical Lina . . . Zelgadis sighed.
Upon opening his eyes it occurred to him that if he didn't snag something for himself now, he'd miss his chance to eat. And he was hungry.
Zelgadis took advantage of the first opening in the three-way battle. He reached out swiftly with his nearly razor-sharp claws and snagged the skin of a chicken drumstick. Rolling it clumsily off the plate, the moment it was within range he dug his teeth deep into the meat to keep anyone from stealing his meal. After all, no one here, he knew, was stupid enough to steal this cat's meal without expecting severe punishment.
Well, 'survival of the fittest', right? he mused.
***********************************
In only a matter of minutes the table towered high with stacks of empty dishes. Luckily, with this much food, everyone had gotten plenty to eat - even Zelgadis. Lina performed her common ritual after large meals by leaning far back into her seat.
"Ahh! That really hit the spot!" She sighed. "Now that that's accomplished it's time to get down to business."
"Definitely," Amelia nodded in approval. "What are we going to do about that wizard?"
"I guess that's one way to jump into things . . ." Lina humored in a mumble. "Well, obviously failure isn't an option here."
"Is it ever?" Gourry asked, cocking his eyebrows.
"Mmm . . . no, I guess not," Lina replied, placing her arms behind her head.
Everyone else sweatdropped.
"Anyway," Lina continued, ignoring their reaction, "we don't know what he has in mind yet or when he'll strike next, much less how to get rid of him."
"Mra -"
Zelgadis cut himself short at having been reminded of his inability to speak human. As the eyes fell on him he felt extremely embarrassed.
"Got something on your mind, 'kitty'?" Lina smirked.
"Lina-san . . ." Amelia groaned, shaking her head.
Ignoring Lina's taunt, Zelgadis jumped from the table to fetch some tools.
"What is it, Zelgadis-san?" Amelia blinked.
Jumping up onto the desk, he fished a quill pen out from a cup and ripped a sheet of paper from a writing tablet, both of which had been placed on the desk for the visitors' use. He carried both between his teeth back to the table.
"Hey, great idea!" Amelia exclaimed.
"Aah, I see," Lina smiled.
They watched with interest as Zelgadis attempted to correctly position the pen between his two front paws. Keeping the feather part of it stationary in his mouth, he then attempted to write.
It was harder to write, he realized, without opposable thumbs. Not only that, but the taste of the feather tip was very distracting. It tasted absolutely awful. The more he tasted of it the more he swore that it had been stored in an old musty closet for too long, being coated in dust, and had only recently been snatched out to replace into this room.
With one last stroke, he immediately spit the thing out from his mouth. A more subtle sour flavor of the feather stuck to his taste buds. It made him gag.
Ignoring 'kitty', Lina snatched up the paper from under one paw. Loosing on time, she immediately began the attempt to interpret.
"Ok, then . . ."
"'Might fell' . . ." Lina read. She blinked at her comrades, then again returned to the paper. "'Might fell'? What the heck is that supposed to mean?!"
"Who's might fell?" Gourry asked, working off the original statement.
Zelgadis facefaulted, his foot twitching.
"Well, jeez, Zel!" Lina fumed, "Maybe you should write a bit neater!"
Zelgadis growled as he got to his feet. Sitting on his hunches he held up his two front paws to Lina, trying to prove a point.
"Nevermind," Lina waved her hand with apparent frustration. "That's not the point."
"Well, if it doesn't say 'might fell', then what does it say?" Gourry asked.
"Heck if I know," she grumbled.
"Let me see it," Amelia requested. Eyeing the scribble, which at first glance did look like 'might fell', she realized that it really wasn't 'might fell', after all.
"Lina-san? I think that's an 'n' . . ."
"Huh? Where?" she pulled the paper closer to her to get a closer look, then took it from Amelia's grasp.
"'Night fell'? 'Night' . . ." Suddenly it hit her.
She looked to Zelgadis. "Is that 'night fall'?"
"Rah!" he nodded his head enthusiastically.
It almost feels like I'm playing a guessing game or something!
"So . . . what does that imply?"
Zelgadis sighed.
"Wait a minute . . ." Lina lowered her eyebrows. "That dragon . . . and the lesser demons."
"Of course!" Amelia gasped. "They only attacked after dark!"
"Exactly. So that's what it is . . ."
"But now that we know that, how will we find him?"
"Oh, no need to worry," Lina spoke sarcastically, "he always seems to finds us."
Oh, that's comforting, Zelgadis thought.
"Well, with that all figured out, how do we beat him?" Gourry wondered.
Lina intertwined her fingers and stretch out her arms. "Well, I presume the usual means will work - your sword and our spells - but this time we can't get distracted from him if he tries a summoning again.
"And considering that dragon was less dragon than Mazoku . . . I have a feeling the Ra-Tilt will come in handy," Lina added, looking over at Amelia and the cat.
"No problem!" Amelia exclaimed enthusiastically, holding up a fist of determination.
"But wait a minute," she instantly calmed. "Zelgadis-san can't use his spells! What are we going to do about him?"
"It looks like we'll have to depend on you for that, Amelia. And as for Zelgadis, here . . ." she said, glancing over at him, "we'll have to find a way to change you back. You couldn't possibly fight like that."
Zelgadis dropped his ears with a short grumble.
"What? You mean you're going to make him sit this one out?"
"Amelia!" Lina cried. "You've gotta be kidding! Just look at him!" (This made Zelgadis cringe.) "He'd be just as vulnerable as if he'd walked right into a bandit gang!" (Zelgadis cringed again.) "It's too risky."
"I see . . ." Amelia spoke softly, feeling very sheepish at her foolishness.
Calm down! Zelgadis exclaimed with an upraised paw, although it was apparent no one understood him.
"I'm sorry, Zel," she lectured, placing her arms across her chest, "but I mean it. And you can complain to me later when you can actually speak again."
***********************************
It feels like being a child again . . . Zelgadis grumbled.
By now it was high noon, and Lina and Gourry had already once again been claimed by hunger (or maybe just the urge to dine). Amelia had decided to stay behind, though; one, to make sure their room didn't get rented out to someone else, and two, to make sure no one discover "their cat" in the inn.
Amelia looked over at the cat sitting on the window sill. By the twitching of his tail she could tell he was incredibly restless. She wanted to speak with him, but she knew it would only be a one-way conversation . . .
Oh, well, Amelia thought. It couldn't hurt any.
"It's actually quite nice today . . . isn't it, Zelgadis-san?" she started as she walked over to the window sill and stood beside him. She'd figured that had been the best way to begin the "conversation"; however, his reaction, tail twitching and the tip curling and uncurling in apparent agitation, all but enticed additional conversation.
She chose to ignore this.
"Oh, Zelgadis," she spoke, shaking her hand as if to dismiss something, "don't let it get to you. We'll find a way to change you back!"
Let's hope so, Zelgadis thought.
"Of course we will . . ." she repeated unconsciously. "I wonder . . . what's going to happen tonight - with our upcoming face-off and all . . ."
Zelgadis mumbled under his breath and shrugged his shoulders.
"I wonder if Lina-san and Gourry-san are feeling any anxiety at all. I mean, for us it's not the norm waiting for someone to find us first. It's almost like doing a stage production or something."
Memories flooded back into Amelia's mind.
She laughed nervously. "Of course, that's a whole other story!"
She stopped suddenly as she could feel someone's eyes on her. She turned to find Zelgadis blinking at her.
Her cheeks reddened in embarrassment. "Uh . . . I'm sorry, Zelgadis-san! I'm rambling . . . That's bound to happen if I'm talking to someone . . . who . . . well, can't reply.
"Of course, that's not your fault, Zelgadis-san!"
Zelgadis lowered his head with a sigh.
"Yeah . . ." she, too, sighed. "Strange past couple days we've had. Or night, rather . . . right?" she finished, glancing over at him.
He nodded.
With a sudden change of mood, Amelia threw her fist into the air. "Yeah! We can't let that cold-hearted wizard get away with attacking these innocent villagers! Justice must be wrought upon him, for I will not allow it!!"
Zelgadis, surprised by her sudden outburst, leaned away with a defensive paw upraised. Getting caught in the middle of one of her fiery Justice spiels was one of the last things he wanted to do right now.
"Oh, that reminds me . . ." Without reacting to his gesture, she lowered her fist and smiled gently. She looked over at the cat, who was now peering back curiously (and with somewhat nervousness, as well), and began to speak again.
"I never got to thank you, Zelgadis-san."
Huh? The whiskers on Zelgadis' brow twitched in confusion.
"I don't know what would've happened if you hadn't shown up and helped me . . . both before and after Lina-san found me."
Oh. That . . . Zelgadis sweatdropped at the remembrance of Lina's attempts to fry him.
"So . . . thank you, Zelgadis-san," she finished.
Without thinking about it she reached out to touch his head (out of habit, since he was still in a cat's body). Before she realized just what she'd done, Zelgadis abruptly pulled away out of her range. He heard her quick intake of breath but she spoke no more.
He glanced over at her through the corner of his eye.
People won't be so inclined to do that anymore once I get changed back.
That is . . . if I ever change back.
***********************************
"Well, this is it."
Nightfall was fast approaching. Once again the sun began to recede from the sky, chorusing a farewell of brilliant colors before it next appearance, and before the moon took its place.
Lina, Gourry, Amelia, and Zelgadis had traveled out into the forest once more upon Lina and Gourry's return. They all knew that the setting of the forest would make a better arena where people wouldn't be as likely to get caught in the midst of a raging battle.
Zelgadis had perched himself upon one of Gourry's shoulder guards on the journey out, both so he wouldn't have the tendency to fall behind, and also so he'd be safe from certain small villagers.
Once Gourry had leaned down most of the way, Zelgadis jumped down to the firm forest floor.
"But Lina-san," Amelia replied to her previous statement, "no one's even here yet."
"I know that," Lina groaned. "But all we have to do at this point is wait."
Ha! Who's ever heard of such a thing! Waiting for a battle?
"He'd better find us soon. Now that I've had my snack I'm prepared and ready for anything! . . . but I don't want to be sitting around here all day - er, night!"
"Well, we'll just have to wait till the moon comes out, at least . . ."
Lina's head fell forward and she grumbled a protest.
A moment passed. A gentle breeze stirred the leaves, causing a chorus of rustlings.
"Well, I'm definitely not going to hold my breath for him!" She huffed. "Hey, Gourry!"
"What, Lina?"
"When he shows up fire up the Sword of Light right away. If we can avoid an involved fight it'd be best to finish it off quickly."
"You mean you want me to just charge him right when he shows up?"
"Uh . . . Well, no. Not exactly," she scratched the back of her head. "I'll give you a signal - like a 'hand-flick' or something."
"Uh . . . okay."
Amelia jumped up eagerly. "What about Zelgadis-san and me, Lina-san? Can we do anything?"
"Not right off the bat, no. For the meantime you keep Zel out of trouble." She stated, eying the cat sternly.
Zelgadis looked away, grumbling.
"I'll try distracting him with conversation while Gourry gets ready."
"Lina-san, the sun has set . . ."
Lina, heeding Amelia's response, glanced over to see that the sun had, indeed, set. The brilliant colors previously visible in the sky were beginning to fade.
"Yes . . ." Lina smirked, crossing her arms over her chest. "It's only a matter of minutes now until that coward shows himself."
The birds were still singing in the trees by this time before it was time for them to cease and rest. Once shadow engulfed the forest, who knew what would be about?
Zelgadis was beginning to feel extremely uneasy. In his state he was unbelievably vulnerable - quite a different feeling than he was used to, that was for sure. Even the weakest of attack spells could cause serious damage to his small body . . .
Along with that, other discomforting thoughts clouded his mind. What if the wizard was watching right at this moment? What if he had been listening in on their conversations all along?
What if he was preparing an ambush?
The tranquility of the forest was suddenly interrupted by a deep rumbling.
Amelia's heart began to pound. "Wh - What's that?!"
With a load cracking three pillars of earth shot up from about Amelia's feet.
"Amelia!!"
"Mra!!"
The pillars seemed vine-like in their behavior, for they immediately wrapped themselves about her, constricting her and preventing her from speaking, much less breathing.
"Amelia! Hold on!" Lina cried. "Damu Bras!"
The spell shot from her outstretched hand and struck the ground from which the pillars had sprung. Just as the earth began to crumble away two more pillars shot up from the ground. But this time, their target was Lina.
They were coming too fast. Dodging, or even being able to, was out of the question.
"Lina!!" Gourry jumped in from seemingly nowhere and struck the pillars with the Sword of Light. He immediately snatched Lina up from among them - all in a single bound.
The two pillars had been cleanly cleaved, and the tops fell to the ground. Upon impact, they crumbled to mere rubble.
"Go - Gourry!" Through her adrenaline rush Lina suddenly realized Gourry holding her. To hide her embarrassment, she switched gears all together. "Gourry! I never gave you the signal!"
Gourry's countenance was completely solemn. "I don't think that's going to work anymore, Lina."
Heart still pounding, Lina looked up to see none other than the cloaked wizard levitating before them and waiting.
Climbing down from Gourry's defensive grasp she planted her feet on the ground, making sure they were entirely secure.
Amelia was fine, as well. She had gotten back to her feet and, along with Zelgadis, joined Lina at her side.
Lina averted her gaze from the two. "You know," she spoke loudly, addressing the wizard, "when it comes to battles you're not very honorable."
"And by who's standards do I have to be?" he rasped.
Lina quickly changed the subject. " Are you going to change our friend back, or do we have to do this the hard way?" She threw her arms back as a warning, showing her readiness to cast a spell.
"By all means, I am," the wizard spoke again, raising his arms gradually before himself. He brought his hands together in an instant, and performed a gesture that made it appear that he was crushing something in his grasp.
A fit of noise suddenly erupted.
The three were horrified to discover that the inhuman cries they were hearing were coming from Zelgadis, their friend trapped in the body of a cat. His small form writhed about on the forest floor as if he were in great pain.
"Zelgadis!!"
"Zelgadis-san!!"
They ran over to his side, having forgotten the wizard's presence. His face was distorted with creases and his teeth were clenched together tightly.
"Zelgadis-san! . . ."
His face suddenly calmed and his body grew still . . . and limp.
"Zelgadis . . . !" Lina hissed with horror.
"What have you done?!" Gourry cried with rage. He jumped up and drew his sword.
"He is merely unconscious," the rasping stated.
Amelia and Lina hung over the cat's body like a pair of vultures, only not for the same reason. Amelia reached over and took it up in her arms. The stillness of his body frightened her.
"Zelgadis-san . . . Hang on."
"As I said," the voice said with exasperation, "he is merely unconscious. He has been afflicted with no harm."
"Ha!" Lina mocked him. "Easy for you to say! What did you do to him?!"
A glint of red shown from beneath the his shadow-casting hood. "I'm merely putting to use." He raised his hands into the air.
The three comrades flinched.
"'Use'? What do you mean?"
Ignoring the question at hand the wizard, after having held his hands high for a moment, brought them together in a clap.
Amelia suddenly felt life pulse through the small furry body in her arms, and saw the eyelids flash open. She was horrified to see that all-too- familiar blood-red glow resonating from his eyes.
She drew back abruptly. "Ze - Zelgadis-san?"
The cat wasted on time to escape. Jumping up, he launched himself from her head and bound to where the wizard levitated.
"Zelgadis!!"
He stopped at the wizard's feet and turned his head about . . . and glared at them.
" I've sensed a strength in your friend I can't decipher. I contained it into this body so he couldn't do any harm . . . but now I see I can put it to good use - to destroy your destructive power!"
"He's definitely talking about Lina!" Gourry whispered to Amelia.
"Hey!" she cried, causing them both to jump. "You shut up! This is serious!!"
Amelia suddenly gasped. "Look!"
Swirls of energy rose up from the ground and overtook the cat. Twisting around him, they grew taller until they finally died away to reveal a larger form.
In place of the cat stood the chimera known as Zelgadis. He was as he'd been before - fully clothed in his usual garb with his sword strapped loosely to his side; however, his expression was blank, and his eyes gleamed a bright tint of blood red.
Lina's mouth hung open. She couldn't believe what was happening.
"He's under mind-control! He's . . . a puppet."
"What?!" Amelia and Gourry gasped.
"That's a dirty trick!" Gourry cried, taking up the Sword of Light.
"Wait!" Lina grabbed the hilt to keep it down. "There's on way you're using the Sword of Light if he plans on fighting us with Zel!"
"Really?" Gourry looked disappointed. "Alright . . . "
Slipping the light blade back into its sheath he plopped down on the ground and pulled out the needle he always used to switch the blades. After pricking in the right spot he stood back up and drew his sword once more to reveal a shiny, metal blade.
"But, Lina," Gourry commented, "I thought normal blades wouldn't work against Zelgadis . . ."
"Just remember, Gourry," Lina replied, pleased that he'd recalled the information, "we're not trying to kill him."
"Of course not!" Amelia fumed.
Lina noticed the fires of Justice burning brightly in Amelia's eyes again, so she quickly interrupted to avoid another speech. "Like I said, Zelgadis isn't the enemy. He is," she stated, pointing at the wizard.
Lina blinked. Wait a minute . . .
"Hey! What are you waiting for?!" she demanded of him, but he gave no reply.
Man, I hate this guy! Lina fumed in her mind.
"Lina-san!" Amelia interrupted. "Where's Zelgadis-san?"
"Ah - " Lina was cut off by a nearby rustling of foliage.
"Look out!!"
The three scattered just as a beam of energy shot amidst where they'd been standing. Lina looked up to see none other than Zelgadis standing at the source.
Gourry was right . . . This is a dirty trick!
Memory flooded Lina's mind as she eyed the red glowing of his eyes. "I can't believe this is happening again," she mumbled.
"Lina-san, what do we do?" Amelia demanded with little confidence in her voice. "We couldn't possibly fight him . . ."
Lina nodded. "But right now we have not choice. We have to wait for an opening, or incapacitate Zel somehow . . ."
Zelgadis promptly cut their conversing short as he charged at them with sword in hand.
"Not so fast!" Gourry cut in, meeting swords with Zelgadis in defense. Zelgadis pushed away and made continuing attempts to strike Gourry, but to no avail. Gourry was too experienced to have such happen to him by now.
Man, he's fast! Gourry thought with wonder.
With Zelgadis temporarily distracted, Lina looked to discover the wizard in the usual routine - levitating solemnly a short distance from the site of battle.
"Why, you useless piece of . . ." Lina growled under her breath, preparing a spell. "I'll show you! Elmekia Flame!"
The wizard glanced up to see the fast approaching beam of energy, but, much to Lina's curiosity, instead of allowing it to strike the shield he seemed to always have up, he took the time to dodge.
Lina blinked.
He . . . dodged?
The two swordsman were still at it. Zelgadis suddenly took a different plan and slammed his hand to the ground, causing several earthen spikes to burst up from the ground. As Gourry now dodged them, Zelgadis broke away in an instant and charged for Lina.
He dodged . . . Lina continued her musing. That must mean he isn't immune to Shamanist spells. Could that mean . . . ?
A smirk formed on her face, but she immediately wiped it away when she saw Zelgadis running for her madly. She couldn't help but notice the reddish glow that was now emitted from his blade.
"Lina-san! Look out!!"
Lina jumped out of the way just in time. She didn't dare meet swords with him like this.
He turned abruptly in recoil, but before he could react further, Amelia broke in.
"Flow Break!"
The spell completely surrounded him, but Zelgadis was able to shatter it like glass. It had no effect.
He turned on Lina and glared squarely at Amelia. His glare seemed to pierce straight through her.
Amelia tried her hardest to swallow down the fear she felt. "Ze - Zelgadis- san . . . !"
Lina raced over and snagged her. "Amelia, I don't think that'll work until those stoned are destroyed," she spoke, looking up at the wizard. "But I wonder where the other two are . . . They must be hidden under his cloak somewhere."
"How are we going to destroy them, Lina-san?" Amelia questioned. "Will spells actually work?"
"If not, we'll have to depend on the Sword of Light."
Lina suddenly pushed Amelia away as an attack spell zoomed toward them. The two each dodged behind a pillar, and the spell struck the base of another. It crumpled from the force and suddenly tumbled, scattering a thick, impenetrable fog of dust and debris every which way.
Lina coughed. "Gourry! Amelia! Be on your guard!"
Not much later than she spoke Zelgadis shot out from the cloud, prepared to slice her in two.
Lina yanked her sword from its sheath, immediately feeling weighted down under Zelgadis' blade.
She looked into his glowing red eyes and spoke, "Zelgadis! Snap out of it! Zel!"
Other than the flinching of his eyelid, he made no response.
Lina noticed threads of electricity beginning to erupt from the hilt of Zelgadis' sword.
Oh no, Lina's eye's grew wide.
The moment the spell touched the metal, it followed the path up his blade and down Lina's . . .
She cried out but immediately clenched her teeth and prevented it to continue.
"Lina-san!"
Zelgadis was suddenly shoved aside and struck against a pillar of earth.
As she struggled to stay conscious, she heard a voice speak, "Lina! Are you okay?"
"Gourry . . ."
Lina's weakness finally caused her legs to crumple under her.
"Lina!" Gourry caught her before she could fall any further. "Hey! Wake up!"
Amelia rushed over. "Lina-san! Are you alright?"
Lina's eyes cracked open. She released a weak chuckle. "I'll be fine . . . but we . . . have to stop that wizard. We can't get through to Zelgadis . . . as long as he's under his control.
Gourry nodded, eyeing Zelgadis, who was beginning to recover from the bash.
"But how?" Amelia worried. "We don't know what spells will work!"
"He dodged my Elmekia Flame before . . . so I think he might be susceptible to shamanist spells."
"Really?" Amelia blinked. "But . . . then that means . . ."
"Some sort of horrible joke," Lina stood up, "involving Mazoku."
"A Mazoku?!" Gourry gulped.
Lina clenched her teeth. "Try your hardest to get past Zelgadis and get that wizard! But Gourry, as long as you have your normal blade out, you may as well distract Zelgadis for us."
Gourry nodded. "Then get to it."
"Let's go, Amelia! Fireball!"
Lina tossed the spell in the wizard's general direction. He, glancing up to see it, noticed it past by.
"You can't be serious . . ." the voice growled.
"Quite, actually," Lina smirked, throwing her hands apart. "Ha!"
The fireball instantly exploded, causing a great brilliant flash that blinded the wizard. He immediately concealed his eyes with his cloak.
"And that's not all!" Lina announced. "Get 'im, Amelia!"
"Elmekia Flame!!" Amelia cast.
The wizard cringed, but was unable to see. The spell struck him squarely in the chest.
Gourry, blade-to-blade with Zelgadis, noticed his red eyes flickering.
The wizard landed flat on the ground. His enormous cloak settled all around his form. Crippled and mangled, he tried to get back up.
"Finish it, Amelia! Quickly!" Lina hissed.
"Right!" she nodded and began to chant. "Source of all souls which dwells . . ."
"No!!" the voice snarled, reaching up a shaky hand. His eyes suddenly lit up even more brightly than ever before.
" . . . in the eternal and the infinite!"
In correspondence with the wizard, Zelgadis' eyes lit up, making Gourry draw back. Zelgadis immediately withdrew his sword from their lock and performed a quick slash and stab consecutively.
". . . Everlasting flame of blue . . ."
Gourry jumped back, dropping his sword from it's defense. Zelgadis took advantage of the opening, and kicked Gourry squarely in the side.
Gourry grunted in pain, and, clutching his side, fell to his knees.
"Gourry!!"
". . . Let the power hidden in my soul . . ."
Zelgadis dashed away, straight for Amelia.
"Amelia! Look out!!"
". . . be called forth . . . !!"
The spell came to a halt as Amelia gasped at Zelgadis' inhumane speed. He made no attempt to stop, and crashed into her.
She fell to the ground, feeling as if every rib in her chest had been either cracked or broken. She peered up in her aching, horrified to see the tip of his blade aimed at her throat.
"Amelia!!"
His eyes seemed to be looking straight through her very being.
"Ze - Zelgadis-san! I - It's me - Amelia!" she spoke once she found her voice. "You have to remember! Snap out of it!"
The glowing of his eyes hardly wavered.
"Please, Zelgadis-san! Please - please snap out of it!!"
The wizard threw his hand to one side.
Zelgadis raised the sword over his head.
"Zelgadis-san! No!!" she screamed, throwing her arms over her head.
"Amelia!!" Lina cried out. She and Gourry ran as fast as their legs would allow.
But it was too late.
The blade came down.
They heard a striking sound.
Lina wrenched her eyes open, horrified at what she might see.
She gasped at the sight.
Zelgadis' blade hung harmlessly over Amelia's head. She had not been harmed in the least. He was hunched over the hilt that had found its way to his stomach.
"Zelgadis . . ."
Amelia, realizing she wasn't yet dead, released her breath and peered up with fear in her heart. She gasped at Zelgadis' state. His eyes still glowed, but she realized his pupils were suddenly visible.
Zelgadis clenched his teeth as he fell to his knees, releasing the sword from his grasp. It clinked to the ground.
"Zelgadis-san . . ."
Remembering the situation, Amelia reached forward and placed her hand on his wiry hair.
". . . Sleeping."
The spell seeped into Zelgadis' mind, clouding his senses. His eyes began to droop, and he fell to the ground beside his sword, asleep.
Amelia withdrew her hand and let out a breath.
Lina blinked in awe, all the while supporting Gourry. "Great idea, Amelia!"
Amelia glanced over to where Zelgadis was lying. He seemed so peaceful now - after all he'd been through till now, he really deserved to rest, whether invoked by spell or not. She smiled slightly at how innocent he looked.
Amelia turned her attention to herself and began a healing spell, watching as Lina ad Gourry approached the helpless wizard.
Lina sighed. "Sorry buddy, but it appears you've lost."
"Yes . . ." the wizard mumbled. "I was wrong about you, girl."
"Oh? How so?"
He paused. "I mistook your emotions for destructive energy."
A slight blush began to flood Lina's cheeks. "Hu - huh?"
"There seem to be special bonds between you and your comrades . . . I sensed it early on, but deciphered it incorrectly. What a fool . . ."
"Hey, now look!" Lina butted in, but she was quickly intercepted.
"Silence," his voice seemed to be getting softer with each sentence he spoke. "That spell your companion had begun casting before . . . once more . . . perform it . . . end my misery . . ."
"What?" Lina hissed, eyes wide. Amelia glanced up.
"You heard . . . me . . ." he whispered. "Commence . . ."
The wizard lowered his head to the ground, prepared for the inevitable end.
Lina opened her mouth, but closed it again, knowing it was useless. Glancing over at Amelia, she signaled to her.
Amelia stood from where she sat, still achy even after the applied healing spell, and hesitated. After Lina gave her a face, she repeated the chant.
"Source of all souls which dwells in the eternal and the infinite!
Everlasting flame of blue . . .
Let the power hidden in my soul be called forth here from the infinite!
. . .
. . . Ra - Tilt!"
The moment the words were spoken a pillar of pure light arose from where the wizard lay, concealing every artifact of his being - even his strikingly dark cloak. Within the light a spirit arose and splintered until it was no more.
The light finally flickered to nothing, leaving behind a cold, empty body.
Lina was dumbfounded.
***********************************
"So that's what it was . . ." Lina spoke, disgusted at the dead body that lay before them. A shiver ran down her spine.
"What, Lina?" Gourry blinked.
"That man . . . " she pointed, "was never alive from the start."
"What?" Amelia and Gourry spoke in unison.
"This body was possessed the whole time . . . by a vengeful spirit."
"'Vengeful' . . . you mean . . ." Amelia frowned. "The wizard?"
Lina nodded.
"But," Gourry broke in, "how did it get in there?"
Lina, rather than offering a verbal reply, pointed at the wizards sprawling arms. Gourry glanced down to where she was pointing. What could possibly be the deal about his arms?
He realized after a brief moment that it wasn't the arms that were important, but the hands.
Barers of two of the four Soul Stones.
"Are those . . . ?!" Gourry gasped.
"The Souls Stones?" Amelia breathed. "That's what they were for?!"
Lina's eyes became cast in shadow. "No wonder they were said to make one powerful . . . Whoever equipped them would become possessed by the wizard's spirit . . . but most often the presence of an extra spirit might kill the original one . . ." Lina clenched her teeth. "And to think if I'd actually fallen through with my search . . ."
"Oh, Lina-san!" Amelia ran over and threw her arms about her neck.
Gourry stood silently and gaped at what could've been.
"Nevermind," Lina said, pulling away slightly. "Now we have to dispose of these things, and deal with the body."
Amelia suddenly gasped as remembrance came to her.
"Zelgadis-san!"
They all looked over to find Zelgadis still sleeping.
Lina smirked. "He'll be just fine. He may be a bit baffled when he wakes up, though."
***********************************
The body was buried at the site of the battle. All four Soul Stones had fallen from the pale, dead flesh, and now lay among the moss on the forest floor.
Each stone (each of which looked more like a jewel) had one flat and blunt end, while the opposite came to a sharp point - giving it the ability to pierce easily.
The red Soul Stone, with the elemental power of fire, was the main stone - assumably so by the location it took in the body: the forehead. Therefore, it was the controller of the mind. The yellow, with the power of wind, was discovered piercing through the chest; it controlled the heart. The blue and green, with the elemental powers of water and earth, were the controllers of the hands, and controlled by the mind's and heart's stones.
What disturbed them most of all was the bodies' clothes. Under the foreboding cloak were dressed the average clothes of a traveler or adventurer. The yellow stone had been pierced directly through the shirt.
This man had been almost completely innocent.
So now, the four stones lay before Lina, Gourry, and Amelia, waiting to be dealt with.
Lina wasted no time. Casting a Bom Spreed, she shaped a small chest from soft earth, which quickly hardened into solid stone. It suddenly became very heavy. Lina rested it against the ground, and using a stick carefully pushed each stone into it. Upon dropping the lid snugly onto the container, she held it out to Amelia.
"Amelia, think you could cast a magical ward on this?"
"Uh, sure," she replied, taking the box with both hands. She placed it on the ground, and, kneeling in front of it, cast the ward. In an instant a hexagram, the symbol of Seyruun, glowed blue on the lid, but faded after only a moment.
It's done, Lina-san," she spoke, lowering her hands.
Lina leaned down and snatched up the box. After attempting to pry off the lid and failing, she smirked. "Perfect! Now we just have to hide it somewhere . . ."
"What are you guys doing?" they heard from a short distance off.
Without a second thought they recognized the voice of their friend, who was now sitting up and clutching his irritated stomach.
"Zelgadis-san! You're back!" Amelia beamed.
"Yes, thank goodness," he mumbled, "What the heck happened?"
By DragonTeenager
The Slayers Vault- http://www.purple-gizmo.com/zelink14/
Chapter 5
"Alright, Zel. You can come out now."
In response to the exclamation a small grayish cat slunk out from beneath a nearby bed, his head hanging low in front of himself. He raised his head somewhat as his nostrils caught the sweet scent of freshly prepared food.
Lina, Gourry, and Amelia sat at a rectangular table now piled high with edibles. One spot that just moments before had been submerged in dishes of food had been cleared to make room for the feline to sit.
"Sorry you had to hide, Zel," Lina said, chuckling to herself, "but if they'd caught us with a cat in the inn they would've thrown us out, for sure. And we would've missed out on this!" Her eyes glinted as she gazed at the food, and without trying to resist the temptation she dove right in. Gourry was soon to follow.
Typical Lina . . . Zelgadis sighed.
Upon opening his eyes it occurred to him that if he didn't snag something for himself now, he'd miss his chance to eat. And he was hungry.
Zelgadis took advantage of the first opening in the three-way battle. He reached out swiftly with his nearly razor-sharp claws and snagged the skin of a chicken drumstick. Rolling it clumsily off the plate, the moment it was within range he dug his teeth deep into the meat to keep anyone from stealing his meal. After all, no one here, he knew, was stupid enough to steal this cat's meal without expecting severe punishment.
Well, 'survival of the fittest', right? he mused.
***********************************
In only a matter of minutes the table towered high with stacks of empty dishes. Luckily, with this much food, everyone had gotten plenty to eat - even Zelgadis. Lina performed her common ritual after large meals by leaning far back into her seat.
"Ahh! That really hit the spot!" She sighed. "Now that that's accomplished it's time to get down to business."
"Definitely," Amelia nodded in approval. "What are we going to do about that wizard?"
"I guess that's one way to jump into things . . ." Lina humored in a mumble. "Well, obviously failure isn't an option here."
"Is it ever?" Gourry asked, cocking his eyebrows.
"Mmm . . . no, I guess not," Lina replied, placing her arms behind her head.
Everyone else sweatdropped.
"Anyway," Lina continued, ignoring their reaction, "we don't know what he has in mind yet or when he'll strike next, much less how to get rid of him."
"Mra -"
Zelgadis cut himself short at having been reminded of his inability to speak human. As the eyes fell on him he felt extremely embarrassed.
"Got something on your mind, 'kitty'?" Lina smirked.
"Lina-san . . ." Amelia groaned, shaking her head.
Ignoring Lina's taunt, Zelgadis jumped from the table to fetch some tools.
"What is it, Zelgadis-san?" Amelia blinked.
Jumping up onto the desk, he fished a quill pen out from a cup and ripped a sheet of paper from a writing tablet, both of which had been placed on the desk for the visitors' use. He carried both between his teeth back to the table.
"Hey, great idea!" Amelia exclaimed.
"Aah, I see," Lina smiled.
They watched with interest as Zelgadis attempted to correctly position the pen between his two front paws. Keeping the feather part of it stationary in his mouth, he then attempted to write.
It was harder to write, he realized, without opposable thumbs. Not only that, but the taste of the feather tip was very distracting. It tasted absolutely awful. The more he tasted of it the more he swore that it had been stored in an old musty closet for too long, being coated in dust, and had only recently been snatched out to replace into this room.
With one last stroke, he immediately spit the thing out from his mouth. A more subtle sour flavor of the feather stuck to his taste buds. It made him gag.
Ignoring 'kitty', Lina snatched up the paper from under one paw. Loosing on time, she immediately began the attempt to interpret.
"Ok, then . . ."
"'Might fell' . . ." Lina read. She blinked at her comrades, then again returned to the paper. "'Might fell'? What the heck is that supposed to mean?!"
"Who's might fell?" Gourry asked, working off the original statement.
Zelgadis facefaulted, his foot twitching.
"Well, jeez, Zel!" Lina fumed, "Maybe you should write a bit neater!"
Zelgadis growled as he got to his feet. Sitting on his hunches he held up his two front paws to Lina, trying to prove a point.
"Nevermind," Lina waved her hand with apparent frustration. "That's not the point."
"Well, if it doesn't say 'might fell', then what does it say?" Gourry asked.
"Heck if I know," she grumbled.
"Let me see it," Amelia requested. Eyeing the scribble, which at first glance did look like 'might fell', she realized that it really wasn't 'might fell', after all.
"Lina-san? I think that's an 'n' . . ."
"Huh? Where?" she pulled the paper closer to her to get a closer look, then took it from Amelia's grasp.
"'Night fell'? 'Night' . . ." Suddenly it hit her.
She looked to Zelgadis. "Is that 'night fall'?"
"Rah!" he nodded his head enthusiastically.
It almost feels like I'm playing a guessing game or something!
"So . . . what does that imply?"
Zelgadis sighed.
"Wait a minute . . ." Lina lowered her eyebrows. "That dragon . . . and the lesser demons."
"Of course!" Amelia gasped. "They only attacked after dark!"
"Exactly. So that's what it is . . ."
"But now that we know that, how will we find him?"
"Oh, no need to worry," Lina spoke sarcastically, "he always seems to finds us."
Oh, that's comforting, Zelgadis thought.
"Well, with that all figured out, how do we beat him?" Gourry wondered.
Lina intertwined her fingers and stretch out her arms. "Well, I presume the usual means will work - your sword and our spells - but this time we can't get distracted from him if he tries a summoning again.
"And considering that dragon was less dragon than Mazoku . . . I have a feeling the Ra-Tilt will come in handy," Lina added, looking over at Amelia and the cat.
"No problem!" Amelia exclaimed enthusiastically, holding up a fist of determination.
"But wait a minute," she instantly calmed. "Zelgadis-san can't use his spells! What are we going to do about him?"
"It looks like we'll have to depend on you for that, Amelia. And as for Zelgadis, here . . ." she said, glancing over at him, "we'll have to find a way to change you back. You couldn't possibly fight like that."
Zelgadis dropped his ears with a short grumble.
"What? You mean you're going to make him sit this one out?"
"Amelia!" Lina cried. "You've gotta be kidding! Just look at him!" (This made Zelgadis cringe.) "He'd be just as vulnerable as if he'd walked right into a bandit gang!" (Zelgadis cringed again.) "It's too risky."
"I see . . ." Amelia spoke softly, feeling very sheepish at her foolishness.
Calm down! Zelgadis exclaimed with an upraised paw, although it was apparent no one understood him.
"I'm sorry, Zel," she lectured, placing her arms across her chest, "but I mean it. And you can complain to me later when you can actually speak again."
***********************************
It feels like being a child again . . . Zelgadis grumbled.
By now it was high noon, and Lina and Gourry had already once again been claimed by hunger (or maybe just the urge to dine). Amelia had decided to stay behind, though; one, to make sure their room didn't get rented out to someone else, and two, to make sure no one discover "their cat" in the inn.
Amelia looked over at the cat sitting on the window sill. By the twitching of his tail she could tell he was incredibly restless. She wanted to speak with him, but she knew it would only be a one-way conversation . . .
Oh, well, Amelia thought. It couldn't hurt any.
"It's actually quite nice today . . . isn't it, Zelgadis-san?" she started as she walked over to the window sill and stood beside him. She'd figured that had been the best way to begin the "conversation"; however, his reaction, tail twitching and the tip curling and uncurling in apparent agitation, all but enticed additional conversation.
She chose to ignore this.
"Oh, Zelgadis," she spoke, shaking her hand as if to dismiss something, "don't let it get to you. We'll find a way to change you back!"
Let's hope so, Zelgadis thought.
"Of course we will . . ." she repeated unconsciously. "I wonder . . . what's going to happen tonight - with our upcoming face-off and all . . ."
Zelgadis mumbled under his breath and shrugged his shoulders.
"I wonder if Lina-san and Gourry-san are feeling any anxiety at all. I mean, for us it's not the norm waiting for someone to find us first. It's almost like doing a stage production or something."
Memories flooded back into Amelia's mind.
She laughed nervously. "Of course, that's a whole other story!"
She stopped suddenly as she could feel someone's eyes on her. She turned to find Zelgadis blinking at her.
Her cheeks reddened in embarrassment. "Uh . . . I'm sorry, Zelgadis-san! I'm rambling . . . That's bound to happen if I'm talking to someone . . . who . . . well, can't reply.
"Of course, that's not your fault, Zelgadis-san!"
Zelgadis lowered his head with a sigh.
"Yeah . . ." she, too, sighed. "Strange past couple days we've had. Or night, rather . . . right?" she finished, glancing over at him.
He nodded.
With a sudden change of mood, Amelia threw her fist into the air. "Yeah! We can't let that cold-hearted wizard get away with attacking these innocent villagers! Justice must be wrought upon him, for I will not allow it!!"
Zelgadis, surprised by her sudden outburst, leaned away with a defensive paw upraised. Getting caught in the middle of one of her fiery Justice spiels was one of the last things he wanted to do right now.
"Oh, that reminds me . . ." Without reacting to his gesture, she lowered her fist and smiled gently. She looked over at the cat, who was now peering back curiously (and with somewhat nervousness, as well), and began to speak again.
"I never got to thank you, Zelgadis-san."
Huh? The whiskers on Zelgadis' brow twitched in confusion.
"I don't know what would've happened if you hadn't shown up and helped me . . . both before and after Lina-san found me."
Oh. That . . . Zelgadis sweatdropped at the remembrance of Lina's attempts to fry him.
"So . . . thank you, Zelgadis-san," she finished.
Without thinking about it she reached out to touch his head (out of habit, since he was still in a cat's body). Before she realized just what she'd done, Zelgadis abruptly pulled away out of her range. He heard her quick intake of breath but she spoke no more.
He glanced over at her through the corner of his eye.
People won't be so inclined to do that anymore once I get changed back.
That is . . . if I ever change back.
***********************************
"Well, this is it."
Nightfall was fast approaching. Once again the sun began to recede from the sky, chorusing a farewell of brilliant colors before it next appearance, and before the moon took its place.
Lina, Gourry, Amelia, and Zelgadis had traveled out into the forest once more upon Lina and Gourry's return. They all knew that the setting of the forest would make a better arena where people wouldn't be as likely to get caught in the midst of a raging battle.
Zelgadis had perched himself upon one of Gourry's shoulder guards on the journey out, both so he wouldn't have the tendency to fall behind, and also so he'd be safe from certain small villagers.
Once Gourry had leaned down most of the way, Zelgadis jumped down to the firm forest floor.
"But Lina-san," Amelia replied to her previous statement, "no one's even here yet."
"I know that," Lina groaned. "But all we have to do at this point is wait."
Ha! Who's ever heard of such a thing! Waiting for a battle?
"He'd better find us soon. Now that I've had my snack I'm prepared and ready for anything! . . . but I don't want to be sitting around here all day - er, night!"
"Well, we'll just have to wait till the moon comes out, at least . . ."
Lina's head fell forward and she grumbled a protest.
A moment passed. A gentle breeze stirred the leaves, causing a chorus of rustlings.
"Well, I'm definitely not going to hold my breath for him!" She huffed. "Hey, Gourry!"
"What, Lina?"
"When he shows up fire up the Sword of Light right away. If we can avoid an involved fight it'd be best to finish it off quickly."
"You mean you want me to just charge him right when he shows up?"
"Uh . . . Well, no. Not exactly," she scratched the back of her head. "I'll give you a signal - like a 'hand-flick' or something."
"Uh . . . okay."
Amelia jumped up eagerly. "What about Zelgadis-san and me, Lina-san? Can we do anything?"
"Not right off the bat, no. For the meantime you keep Zel out of trouble." She stated, eying the cat sternly.
Zelgadis looked away, grumbling.
"I'll try distracting him with conversation while Gourry gets ready."
"Lina-san, the sun has set . . ."
Lina, heeding Amelia's response, glanced over to see that the sun had, indeed, set. The brilliant colors previously visible in the sky were beginning to fade.
"Yes . . ." Lina smirked, crossing her arms over her chest. "It's only a matter of minutes now until that coward shows himself."
The birds were still singing in the trees by this time before it was time for them to cease and rest. Once shadow engulfed the forest, who knew what would be about?
Zelgadis was beginning to feel extremely uneasy. In his state he was unbelievably vulnerable - quite a different feeling than he was used to, that was for sure. Even the weakest of attack spells could cause serious damage to his small body . . .
Along with that, other discomforting thoughts clouded his mind. What if the wizard was watching right at this moment? What if he had been listening in on their conversations all along?
What if he was preparing an ambush?
The tranquility of the forest was suddenly interrupted by a deep rumbling.
Amelia's heart began to pound. "Wh - What's that?!"
With a load cracking three pillars of earth shot up from about Amelia's feet.
"Amelia!!"
"Mra!!"
The pillars seemed vine-like in their behavior, for they immediately wrapped themselves about her, constricting her and preventing her from speaking, much less breathing.
"Amelia! Hold on!" Lina cried. "Damu Bras!"
The spell shot from her outstretched hand and struck the ground from which the pillars had sprung. Just as the earth began to crumble away two more pillars shot up from the ground. But this time, their target was Lina.
They were coming too fast. Dodging, or even being able to, was out of the question.
"Lina!!" Gourry jumped in from seemingly nowhere and struck the pillars with the Sword of Light. He immediately snatched Lina up from among them - all in a single bound.
The two pillars had been cleanly cleaved, and the tops fell to the ground. Upon impact, they crumbled to mere rubble.
"Go - Gourry!" Through her adrenaline rush Lina suddenly realized Gourry holding her. To hide her embarrassment, she switched gears all together. "Gourry! I never gave you the signal!"
Gourry's countenance was completely solemn. "I don't think that's going to work anymore, Lina."
Heart still pounding, Lina looked up to see none other than the cloaked wizard levitating before them and waiting.
Climbing down from Gourry's defensive grasp she planted her feet on the ground, making sure they were entirely secure.
Amelia was fine, as well. She had gotten back to her feet and, along with Zelgadis, joined Lina at her side.
Lina averted her gaze from the two. "You know," she spoke loudly, addressing the wizard, "when it comes to battles you're not very honorable."
"And by who's standards do I have to be?" he rasped.
Lina quickly changed the subject. " Are you going to change our friend back, or do we have to do this the hard way?" She threw her arms back as a warning, showing her readiness to cast a spell.
"By all means, I am," the wizard spoke again, raising his arms gradually before himself. He brought his hands together in an instant, and performed a gesture that made it appear that he was crushing something in his grasp.
A fit of noise suddenly erupted.
The three were horrified to discover that the inhuman cries they were hearing were coming from Zelgadis, their friend trapped in the body of a cat. His small form writhed about on the forest floor as if he were in great pain.
"Zelgadis!!"
"Zelgadis-san!!"
They ran over to his side, having forgotten the wizard's presence. His face was distorted with creases and his teeth were clenched together tightly.
"Zelgadis-san! . . ."
His face suddenly calmed and his body grew still . . . and limp.
"Zelgadis . . . !" Lina hissed with horror.
"What have you done?!" Gourry cried with rage. He jumped up and drew his sword.
"He is merely unconscious," the rasping stated.
Amelia and Lina hung over the cat's body like a pair of vultures, only not for the same reason. Amelia reached over and took it up in her arms. The stillness of his body frightened her.
"Zelgadis-san . . . Hang on."
"As I said," the voice said with exasperation, "he is merely unconscious. He has been afflicted with no harm."
"Ha!" Lina mocked him. "Easy for you to say! What did you do to him?!"
A glint of red shown from beneath the his shadow-casting hood. "I'm merely putting to use." He raised his hands into the air.
The three comrades flinched.
"'Use'? What do you mean?"
Ignoring the question at hand the wizard, after having held his hands high for a moment, brought them together in a clap.
Amelia suddenly felt life pulse through the small furry body in her arms, and saw the eyelids flash open. She was horrified to see that all-too- familiar blood-red glow resonating from his eyes.
She drew back abruptly. "Ze - Zelgadis-san?"
The cat wasted on time to escape. Jumping up, he launched himself from her head and bound to where the wizard levitated.
"Zelgadis!!"
He stopped at the wizard's feet and turned his head about . . . and glared at them.
" I've sensed a strength in your friend I can't decipher. I contained it into this body so he couldn't do any harm . . . but now I see I can put it to good use - to destroy your destructive power!"
"He's definitely talking about Lina!" Gourry whispered to Amelia.
"Hey!" she cried, causing them both to jump. "You shut up! This is serious!!"
Amelia suddenly gasped. "Look!"
Swirls of energy rose up from the ground and overtook the cat. Twisting around him, they grew taller until they finally died away to reveal a larger form.
In place of the cat stood the chimera known as Zelgadis. He was as he'd been before - fully clothed in his usual garb with his sword strapped loosely to his side; however, his expression was blank, and his eyes gleamed a bright tint of blood red.
Lina's mouth hung open. She couldn't believe what was happening.
"He's under mind-control! He's . . . a puppet."
"What?!" Amelia and Gourry gasped.
"That's a dirty trick!" Gourry cried, taking up the Sword of Light.
"Wait!" Lina grabbed the hilt to keep it down. "There's on way you're using the Sword of Light if he plans on fighting us with Zel!"
"Really?" Gourry looked disappointed. "Alright . . . "
Slipping the light blade back into its sheath he plopped down on the ground and pulled out the needle he always used to switch the blades. After pricking in the right spot he stood back up and drew his sword once more to reveal a shiny, metal blade.
"But, Lina," Gourry commented, "I thought normal blades wouldn't work against Zelgadis . . ."
"Just remember, Gourry," Lina replied, pleased that he'd recalled the information, "we're not trying to kill him."
"Of course not!" Amelia fumed.
Lina noticed the fires of Justice burning brightly in Amelia's eyes again, so she quickly interrupted to avoid another speech. "Like I said, Zelgadis isn't the enemy. He is," she stated, pointing at the wizard.
Lina blinked. Wait a minute . . .
"Hey! What are you waiting for?!" she demanded of him, but he gave no reply.
Man, I hate this guy! Lina fumed in her mind.
"Lina-san!" Amelia interrupted. "Where's Zelgadis-san?"
"Ah - " Lina was cut off by a nearby rustling of foliage.
"Look out!!"
The three scattered just as a beam of energy shot amidst where they'd been standing. Lina looked up to see none other than Zelgadis standing at the source.
Gourry was right . . . This is a dirty trick!
Memory flooded Lina's mind as she eyed the red glowing of his eyes. "I can't believe this is happening again," she mumbled.
"Lina-san, what do we do?" Amelia demanded with little confidence in her voice. "We couldn't possibly fight him . . ."
Lina nodded. "But right now we have not choice. We have to wait for an opening, or incapacitate Zel somehow . . ."
Zelgadis promptly cut their conversing short as he charged at them with sword in hand.
"Not so fast!" Gourry cut in, meeting swords with Zelgadis in defense. Zelgadis pushed away and made continuing attempts to strike Gourry, but to no avail. Gourry was too experienced to have such happen to him by now.
Man, he's fast! Gourry thought with wonder.
With Zelgadis temporarily distracted, Lina looked to discover the wizard in the usual routine - levitating solemnly a short distance from the site of battle.
"Why, you useless piece of . . ." Lina growled under her breath, preparing a spell. "I'll show you! Elmekia Flame!"
The wizard glanced up to see the fast approaching beam of energy, but, much to Lina's curiosity, instead of allowing it to strike the shield he seemed to always have up, he took the time to dodge.
Lina blinked.
He . . . dodged?
The two swordsman were still at it. Zelgadis suddenly took a different plan and slammed his hand to the ground, causing several earthen spikes to burst up from the ground. As Gourry now dodged them, Zelgadis broke away in an instant and charged for Lina.
He dodged . . . Lina continued her musing. That must mean he isn't immune to Shamanist spells. Could that mean . . . ?
A smirk formed on her face, but she immediately wiped it away when she saw Zelgadis running for her madly. She couldn't help but notice the reddish glow that was now emitted from his blade.
"Lina-san! Look out!!"
Lina jumped out of the way just in time. She didn't dare meet swords with him like this.
He turned abruptly in recoil, but before he could react further, Amelia broke in.
"Flow Break!"
The spell completely surrounded him, but Zelgadis was able to shatter it like glass. It had no effect.
He turned on Lina and glared squarely at Amelia. His glare seemed to pierce straight through her.
Amelia tried her hardest to swallow down the fear she felt. "Ze - Zelgadis- san . . . !"
Lina raced over and snagged her. "Amelia, I don't think that'll work until those stoned are destroyed," she spoke, looking up at the wizard. "But I wonder where the other two are . . . They must be hidden under his cloak somewhere."
"How are we going to destroy them, Lina-san?" Amelia questioned. "Will spells actually work?"
"If not, we'll have to depend on the Sword of Light."
Lina suddenly pushed Amelia away as an attack spell zoomed toward them. The two each dodged behind a pillar, and the spell struck the base of another. It crumpled from the force and suddenly tumbled, scattering a thick, impenetrable fog of dust and debris every which way.
Lina coughed. "Gourry! Amelia! Be on your guard!"
Not much later than she spoke Zelgadis shot out from the cloud, prepared to slice her in two.
Lina yanked her sword from its sheath, immediately feeling weighted down under Zelgadis' blade.
She looked into his glowing red eyes and spoke, "Zelgadis! Snap out of it! Zel!"
Other than the flinching of his eyelid, he made no response.
Lina noticed threads of electricity beginning to erupt from the hilt of Zelgadis' sword.
Oh no, Lina's eye's grew wide.
The moment the spell touched the metal, it followed the path up his blade and down Lina's . . .
She cried out but immediately clenched her teeth and prevented it to continue.
"Lina-san!"
Zelgadis was suddenly shoved aside and struck against a pillar of earth.
As she struggled to stay conscious, she heard a voice speak, "Lina! Are you okay?"
"Gourry . . ."
Lina's weakness finally caused her legs to crumple under her.
"Lina!" Gourry caught her before she could fall any further. "Hey! Wake up!"
Amelia rushed over. "Lina-san! Are you alright?"
Lina's eyes cracked open. She released a weak chuckle. "I'll be fine . . . but we . . . have to stop that wizard. We can't get through to Zelgadis . . . as long as he's under his control.
Gourry nodded, eyeing Zelgadis, who was beginning to recover from the bash.
"But how?" Amelia worried. "We don't know what spells will work!"
"He dodged my Elmekia Flame before . . . so I think he might be susceptible to shamanist spells."
"Really?" Amelia blinked. "But . . . then that means . . ."
"Some sort of horrible joke," Lina stood up, "involving Mazoku."
"A Mazoku?!" Gourry gulped.
Lina clenched her teeth. "Try your hardest to get past Zelgadis and get that wizard! But Gourry, as long as you have your normal blade out, you may as well distract Zelgadis for us."
Gourry nodded. "Then get to it."
"Let's go, Amelia! Fireball!"
Lina tossed the spell in the wizard's general direction. He, glancing up to see it, noticed it past by.
"You can't be serious . . ." the voice growled.
"Quite, actually," Lina smirked, throwing her hands apart. "Ha!"
The fireball instantly exploded, causing a great brilliant flash that blinded the wizard. He immediately concealed his eyes with his cloak.
"And that's not all!" Lina announced. "Get 'im, Amelia!"
"Elmekia Flame!!" Amelia cast.
The wizard cringed, but was unable to see. The spell struck him squarely in the chest.
Gourry, blade-to-blade with Zelgadis, noticed his red eyes flickering.
The wizard landed flat on the ground. His enormous cloak settled all around his form. Crippled and mangled, he tried to get back up.
"Finish it, Amelia! Quickly!" Lina hissed.
"Right!" she nodded and began to chant. "Source of all souls which dwells . . ."
"No!!" the voice snarled, reaching up a shaky hand. His eyes suddenly lit up even more brightly than ever before.
" . . . in the eternal and the infinite!"
In correspondence with the wizard, Zelgadis' eyes lit up, making Gourry draw back. Zelgadis immediately withdrew his sword from their lock and performed a quick slash and stab consecutively.
". . . Everlasting flame of blue . . ."
Gourry jumped back, dropping his sword from it's defense. Zelgadis took advantage of the opening, and kicked Gourry squarely in the side.
Gourry grunted in pain, and, clutching his side, fell to his knees.
"Gourry!!"
". . . Let the power hidden in my soul . . ."
Zelgadis dashed away, straight for Amelia.
"Amelia! Look out!!"
". . . be called forth . . . !!"
The spell came to a halt as Amelia gasped at Zelgadis' inhumane speed. He made no attempt to stop, and crashed into her.
She fell to the ground, feeling as if every rib in her chest had been either cracked or broken. She peered up in her aching, horrified to see the tip of his blade aimed at her throat.
"Amelia!!"
His eyes seemed to be looking straight through her very being.
"Ze - Zelgadis-san! I - It's me - Amelia!" she spoke once she found her voice. "You have to remember! Snap out of it!"
The glowing of his eyes hardly wavered.
"Please, Zelgadis-san! Please - please snap out of it!!"
The wizard threw his hand to one side.
Zelgadis raised the sword over his head.
"Zelgadis-san! No!!" she screamed, throwing her arms over her head.
"Amelia!!" Lina cried out. She and Gourry ran as fast as their legs would allow.
But it was too late.
The blade came down.
They heard a striking sound.
Lina wrenched her eyes open, horrified at what she might see.
She gasped at the sight.
Zelgadis' blade hung harmlessly over Amelia's head. She had not been harmed in the least. He was hunched over the hilt that had found its way to his stomach.
"Zelgadis . . ."
Amelia, realizing she wasn't yet dead, released her breath and peered up with fear in her heart. She gasped at Zelgadis' state. His eyes still glowed, but she realized his pupils were suddenly visible.
Zelgadis clenched his teeth as he fell to his knees, releasing the sword from his grasp. It clinked to the ground.
"Zelgadis-san . . ."
Remembering the situation, Amelia reached forward and placed her hand on his wiry hair.
". . . Sleeping."
The spell seeped into Zelgadis' mind, clouding his senses. His eyes began to droop, and he fell to the ground beside his sword, asleep.
Amelia withdrew her hand and let out a breath.
Lina blinked in awe, all the while supporting Gourry. "Great idea, Amelia!"
Amelia glanced over to where Zelgadis was lying. He seemed so peaceful now - after all he'd been through till now, he really deserved to rest, whether invoked by spell or not. She smiled slightly at how innocent he looked.
Amelia turned her attention to herself and began a healing spell, watching as Lina ad Gourry approached the helpless wizard.
Lina sighed. "Sorry buddy, but it appears you've lost."
"Yes . . ." the wizard mumbled. "I was wrong about you, girl."
"Oh? How so?"
He paused. "I mistook your emotions for destructive energy."
A slight blush began to flood Lina's cheeks. "Hu - huh?"
"There seem to be special bonds between you and your comrades . . . I sensed it early on, but deciphered it incorrectly. What a fool . . ."
"Hey, now look!" Lina butted in, but she was quickly intercepted.
"Silence," his voice seemed to be getting softer with each sentence he spoke. "That spell your companion had begun casting before . . . once more . . . perform it . . . end my misery . . ."
"What?" Lina hissed, eyes wide. Amelia glanced up.
"You heard . . . me . . ." he whispered. "Commence . . ."
The wizard lowered his head to the ground, prepared for the inevitable end.
Lina opened her mouth, but closed it again, knowing it was useless. Glancing over at Amelia, she signaled to her.
Amelia stood from where she sat, still achy even after the applied healing spell, and hesitated. After Lina gave her a face, she repeated the chant.
"Source of all souls which dwells in the eternal and the infinite!
Everlasting flame of blue . . .
Let the power hidden in my soul be called forth here from the infinite!
. . .
. . . Ra - Tilt!"
The moment the words were spoken a pillar of pure light arose from where the wizard lay, concealing every artifact of his being - even his strikingly dark cloak. Within the light a spirit arose and splintered until it was no more.
The light finally flickered to nothing, leaving behind a cold, empty body.
Lina was dumbfounded.
***********************************
"So that's what it was . . ." Lina spoke, disgusted at the dead body that lay before them. A shiver ran down her spine.
"What, Lina?" Gourry blinked.
"That man . . . " she pointed, "was never alive from the start."
"What?" Amelia and Gourry spoke in unison.
"This body was possessed the whole time . . . by a vengeful spirit."
"'Vengeful' . . . you mean . . ." Amelia frowned. "The wizard?"
Lina nodded.
"But," Gourry broke in, "how did it get in there?"
Lina, rather than offering a verbal reply, pointed at the wizards sprawling arms. Gourry glanced down to where she was pointing. What could possibly be the deal about his arms?
He realized after a brief moment that it wasn't the arms that were important, but the hands.
Barers of two of the four Soul Stones.
"Are those . . . ?!" Gourry gasped.
"The Souls Stones?" Amelia breathed. "That's what they were for?!"
Lina's eyes became cast in shadow. "No wonder they were said to make one powerful . . . Whoever equipped them would become possessed by the wizard's spirit . . . but most often the presence of an extra spirit might kill the original one . . ." Lina clenched her teeth. "And to think if I'd actually fallen through with my search . . ."
"Oh, Lina-san!" Amelia ran over and threw her arms about her neck.
Gourry stood silently and gaped at what could've been.
"Nevermind," Lina said, pulling away slightly. "Now we have to dispose of these things, and deal with the body."
Amelia suddenly gasped as remembrance came to her.
"Zelgadis-san!"
They all looked over to find Zelgadis still sleeping.
Lina smirked. "He'll be just fine. He may be a bit baffled when he wakes up, though."
***********************************
The body was buried at the site of the battle. All four Soul Stones had fallen from the pale, dead flesh, and now lay among the moss on the forest floor.
Each stone (each of which looked more like a jewel) had one flat and blunt end, while the opposite came to a sharp point - giving it the ability to pierce easily.
The red Soul Stone, with the elemental power of fire, was the main stone - assumably so by the location it took in the body: the forehead. Therefore, it was the controller of the mind. The yellow, with the power of wind, was discovered piercing through the chest; it controlled the heart. The blue and green, with the elemental powers of water and earth, were the controllers of the hands, and controlled by the mind's and heart's stones.
What disturbed them most of all was the bodies' clothes. Under the foreboding cloak were dressed the average clothes of a traveler or adventurer. The yellow stone had been pierced directly through the shirt.
This man had been almost completely innocent.
So now, the four stones lay before Lina, Gourry, and Amelia, waiting to be dealt with.
Lina wasted no time. Casting a Bom Spreed, she shaped a small chest from soft earth, which quickly hardened into solid stone. It suddenly became very heavy. Lina rested it against the ground, and using a stick carefully pushed each stone into it. Upon dropping the lid snugly onto the container, she held it out to Amelia.
"Amelia, think you could cast a magical ward on this?"
"Uh, sure," she replied, taking the box with both hands. She placed it on the ground, and, kneeling in front of it, cast the ward. In an instant a hexagram, the symbol of Seyruun, glowed blue on the lid, but faded after only a moment.
It's done, Lina-san," she spoke, lowering her hands.
Lina leaned down and snatched up the box. After attempting to pry off the lid and failing, she smirked. "Perfect! Now we just have to hide it somewhere . . ."
"What are you guys doing?" they heard from a short distance off.
Without a second thought they recognized the voice of their friend, who was now sitting up and clutching his irritated stomach.
"Zelgadis-san! You're back!" Amelia beamed.
"Yes, thank goodness," he mumbled, "What the heck happened?"