Author's Note: I don't own Slayers, and I don't get money for this story. Anyways, I hope you're enjoying this ^_^ I kinda tried to show everyon'es thoughts and feelings, but I purposely left some thoughts and reactions out for smoothness in the story and for other reasons. You'll see, everything comes clear in the end (which is getting closer...this isn't last chapter lol)

Lina let go of Xellos's hand once inside. "I've got to do this alone," she whispered to Xellos. He nodded as he fell into step behind her. "Not that you can't be backing me, I just don't want your help unless I need it." Xellos didn't comment, so Lina assumed he would do as she asked.

Lina walked up to the innkeeper and asked about Zel and Gourry while Xellos looked around. Most of the people weren't up yet it seemed, for the dining room was empty. Lina thanked the innkeeper and batted her eyelashes at him as payment for the information.

"Let's go Xellos," she said as she lead the way up the stairs. "She looks so determined," Xellos thought and again felt a flash of pity for what lay in store for Gourry and Zelgadis. The pity was destroyed when the memory of Gourry and Zelgadis holding Lina down, wanting to take her, came back to mind. The rage Xellos felt threatened to blot out all sanity. At that moment, Lina had reached the top of the stairs and turned around toward him. Whatever she had been about to say died on her lips when she saw his expression. His face was twisted into such an expression of fury that Lina gasped and took a step back.

Xellos immediately snapped out of it and took on an expression of concern. "Lina, are you alright?" Xellos asked quickly. The expression had disappeared so fast that Lina wasn't sure if she'd really seen it or not. She looked at Xellos warily as he reached out a hand toward her, but allowed him to squeeze her hand gently. "I know this is hard on you Lina, but you'll get throught it. You always do." Xellos stood next to her, relaxed and perfectly normal. "Maybe I'm seeing things...even if I wasn't, he wouldn't tell me what he was thinking about anyway." Lina shuddered slightly and tried to shrug it off. She continued on toward Zel's room, not making any comment on Xellos's support.

They reached the door and listened for sounds within. They could hear Zelgadis and Gourry talking, but couldn't decipher the words. Xellos and Lina looked at each other and nodded, making sure they were both ready for any trouble. Lina raised her hand and rapped on the door. Instantly the voices within ceased. Lina called out through the door in a fully hostile voice, "Let's go meet somewhere private, shall we? The hot springs, right now." She knew that some big magics were going to be used in the encounter and preferred not to have an irate innkeeper breathing down her neck. Lina held her breath as she waited for a response. A few seconds later she heard Zelgadis curse and agree to meet them. Xellos quickly grabbed her hand and teleported them to the hot springs.

"They'll have to use Leviation," Xellos said when they arrived, "so we have a few moments before they get here. Are you absolutely sure-"

"Yes, damn it! I'm sure!" Lina yelled impatiently. Xellos let go of her hand and wandered over to the trees. Lina sighed because she'd snapped at Xellos, who'd shown her nothing but support and concern. "Look, Xellos, my nerves are shot, I'm sorry for-"

"It's alright Lina, there's alot on your mind. Do you need me out in the open or can I just sit in the shadows?" Xellos leaned against a tree with his eyes closed, hiding his thoughts and feelings. His words had been crisp, making Lina wonder what was going on with him.

"I'll be fine, I can handle this myself," Lina said relieved that he would still be there without interfering. "I can handle this myself, can't I? I mean, Zel and Gourry won't really want to hurt me now...it was all just a bad dream. Just a bad dream..." Lina forced herself to crush the hope and face facts. Her best friends had just become her worst, and deadliest, enemies.

Xellos teleported himself onto a tree and proceeded to calmly wait to see what would happen. He watched as Lina paced back and forth in front of the hot springs, the steam swirling as she briskly paced back and forth. "The place really is quite beautiful," Xellos contemplated, "It's a shame that such terrible events have to take place here." [A/N: I never did describe this place did I?... ]

Thick forest surrounded all four sides of the clearing around the hot springs. The forest was dense enough to make reaching it on foot almost impossible. The hot springs consisted of two pools, one a little more elevated than the other. The one on higher ground trickled down into the one in the depression, cooling as it went, leaving one pool almost unbearably hot while the other was only pleasantly so. Both pools of water weren't very deep, a person of average height could touch the bottom in both. The grass around the pools was a bright shade of green, obviously flourishing because of the springs. It was quite peaceful, the sun trickled in throught the trees in a few spots, giving the place a nice glow.

Just then, Zelgadis appeared, with Gourry holding on to his leg, and they landed in the middle of the clearing. Lina stopped pacing and looked up, her face totally blank of all emotion. Zelgadis and Gourry looked around warily, obviously suspecting a trap from Xellos. "Don't worry," Lina said in a cold voice, "you're only facing me. This isn't Xellos's fight. But you do have two choices for your actions. One, you can give me information right now, and then we fight. Or two, we can fight, and then when you're begging me for your pathetic life, you'll talk. Either way, I'm going to get what I want. It's your choice." Lina walked over and leaned against a tree.

Zelgadis and Gourry were standing ready for an attack, but relaxed a little at her words. "What do you think, Zel, should we talk first?" Gourry asked with a grim smile.

Zelgadis whispered, "Maybe we can provoke her into being reckless if we talk first." He raised his voice to be heard, "Sure, why not?" Zelgadis and Gourry walked over to stand by the springs. "What do you want to know?"

Lina silently fumed at their apparent ease in the present situation. She wanted them to be quaking with fear. She wanted them on their knees begging for the mercy she'd never give. "All in due time, just be patient," Lina thought, trying to console herself. She knew she had to keep a tight rein on her emotions in order to be alert enough to dodge any attack. "Alright, why are you doing this?"

Zelgadis smiled grimly and replied in a cold voice, "I did it in hopes that you would blame Xellos and kill him. I believe you would have done so if your memory had been a little slower in coming back. We didn't realize the drug's side effect on you would be more sleep." At the flicker of dawning comprehension in Lina's eyes, Zel's smile grew into a sneer. "Yes, we drugged you to hold your memory at bay."

Lina's mask of indifference stayed in place, as her thoughts whirled. "They've had this planned! For how long? How much will they tell before they attack?" Lina decided to ask a question that she'd been puzzling over for quite some time. "Why didn't you kill me in the hospital?"

Zelgadis looked amused at her question. "You still don't know? We gave you the drug to block your memories so we could get you to go after Xellos. By the time we'd decided you were remembering too much, Xellos already had you. We had hoped one of you had killed the other. But I see you are quick to forget who made you into something you've hated and sworn to never join with, a Mazoku." Lina knew logically that he was baiting her, that it was a weakness to get emotions involved. Despite this, she couldn't help but feel anger at what Zel had said. She thought to herself, "At least Xellos had good intentions!" Lina was surprised to discover that the angrier she got, the more power she had. "Ah, the one blessing of being a Mazoku. I can now feed off anger and other negative emotions." Lina made sure to stay angry as she thought about her next question.

"I understand why you would want Xellos dead, Zel. But why did you do this, Gourry?" Lina knew it was dangerous ground for she had had feelings for the blond swordsman for a long time.

Gourry stared at Lina, his eyes roving along her body as he wet his lips unconsciously. "All this time we've been together Lina, I've wanted you. I waited patiently for so long, but there's only so long a man can wait. I couldn't wait any longer. I wanted to be the first and last man to ever have you, whether you were willing or not. Zelgadis came to me with his plan, and I decided I would take the opportunity to have you. Besides, Xellos could have killed you quite easily if Zel's plan had worked. I couldn't pass up what could be my last and only chance to have you before you died." Gourry's hands were twitching slightly and his arousal was obvious.

Something inside Lina died when she heard this. All she felt for Gourry now was pure revulsion. "We could have been beautiful together, we had something special," Lina's mind cried out to Gourry, but she refused to say the words. Lina hardened her heart and turned toward Zelgadis. Before she could utter a word, Zelgadis chose that moment to act.

"Watching Gourry toy with your body was," Zel paused as if relishing the memory, "an unexpected bonus to my plan. Such a pity it got cut short. I was looking forward to more of your screams."

Lina's anger boiled over when she heard this, and she screamed in rage. Still sitting in a tree, witnessing the events, Xellos smiled and slowly opened his eyes to watch. Lina's sanity was gone, she began chanting one of her most powerful spells.

Gourry brought out his sword saying, "Light come forth!" The sword of light appeared and he ran towards Lina. Zelgadis had also drawn his sword, knowing that they couldn't defeat her with magic. They were depending on the sword of light to hurt, if not kill, her.

Lina's eyes opened and she quit her spell. She cast Levitation quickly, leaving Gourry to slash at empty air. Zelgadis quickly followed her into the sky, wondering what he was going to do next. Lina drew her sword, knowing it was useless against Zel's stone skin. Zel flew at her, charging through the air. Lina let him get close before she used a simple yet clever spell. "Lighting!" The ball of light blinded Zel for only a moment, but that was all she needed. She quickly kneed him in the groin and smiled viciously as he began to plummet back towards the ground holding his groin.

Lina began chanting quickly. At that same moment, Gourry was staring intently into the trees, having heard a noise. The noise had been Xellos, standing up before he teleported into the air beside Lina. Zelgadis had caught himself and recast Levitation right before hitting the ground. Everything seemed still as Lina's words rang out. Her spell was cast.

Xellos was smiling shamelessly as he and Lina slowly floated back to the ground. The blast had eradicated everything within a mile on all sides. Lina's face was empty of all emotion as she walked carefully along the charcoaled ground. A few moments later, Lina and Xellos looked up at a noise.

Zelgadis groaned again, his pain evident in his voice. Gourry was a few feet away obviously in better shape, barely. He was trying to crawl over to Zel. He looked over to Xellos and Lina with a pitiful expression on his face. Lina rushed over to Zel, who was making choking sounds that sounded like sobs. "Something's not right here," Lina thought to herself.

Zel began to move his lips, trying to form words. It took a few moments, but he finally managed a few words. "Lina, sorry for...what happened...mind control spell was...too strong to break...don't know who..." Zel closed his eyes and his labored breathing stopped.

Lina's blood ran cold at Zel's words and at the scream that ripped from Gourry's throat. She looked over at Gourry, and saw the truth in his eyes. He hadn't meant to do it. Gourry hurried as fast as he could to Zel's side, and felt his wrist and he began to sob. Zel was dead.

A/N: To be continued! But, I'm wondering if Lina should be able to save Zel or not...*shrugs* We'll see, won't we? =) Hope you liked this long chapter, I think it was worth the wait.