Disclaimer: I'd like to refer you to the previous 18 chapters. If you see
a disclaimer joke that you particularly liked, pretend that it's in this
chapter.
Zelgadis stared into the fire lost in thought. The events of the last couple weeks ran through his head. Lina's nightmares, caused by the artifact that he was seeking. Gourry's death, which was entirely his fault. And now, Amelia and Phil's lives had been totally wrecked because of his actions.
"Maybe this is a fitting form for me." Zelgadis looked at his hand for a moment before shoving it into the fire. There was no pain. "Monsters do nothing but cause grief to those around them. Just as I do." He pulled his hand from the flames and examined it. Not a mark on it. It really was getting worse then. Before, he could at least feel a little warmth. Now his flesh was as cold as it had ever been.
Zelgadis smiled as he flexed his hand. "You did keep your promise, didn't you Rezo?" He picked up a small stone and squeezed it briefly. When he opened his hand all that remained was a small pile of dust. "I have more power than I ever could have imagined." He placed his hands together and muttered a small incantation. When he opened his hands again he was holding a flawless diamond. He concentrated and the diamond began to melt. In a moment, there was a small amount of water in his hand. "Such amazing and useless power." He flicked his wrist flinging the water into the fire. It hissed for a moment.
"Mr. Zelgadis? Want some company?"
Zelgadis jumped a little when he heard the voice. Amelia had surprised him. That wouldn't do while he was supposed to be on watch. He looked up to see Amelia sitting down next to him with two cups of tea.
"Tea?" Amelia offered Zelgadis a cup.
Zelgadis took the cup from Amelia and nodded. "Thanks."
They sat together by the fire for a few moments. The silence was broken only by the crackle of the fire and a wolf howling in the distance.
"Mr. Zelgadis?"
"Hmm?"
Amelia cleared her throat. "There's something that I've been wanting to ask you since you came back." She looked at Zelgadis. His features were concealed by the darkness. She wished that she could see his face.
Zelgadis was a little surprised when Amelia scooted closer to him. She seemed to be searching his face for something. He cleared his throat. "Well?"
Amelia smiled sadly. "You never change, do you?" She sighed. "After all these years, we're finally traveling together again and you're just as cold as you ever were. I know you don't want to hear it, but sometimes I pity you Mr. Zelgadis."
Zelgadis twitched. "Amelia. . ."
"I know. You always hated pity didn't you? But, I never pitied you because of your physical condition. I pity you because you won't let anyone get close to you." Amelia reached out and touched his hand.
Zelgadis jerked his hand away as if he had been burned. "Amelia, you don't understand. I can't. . .I won't let you get close to me. I don't want to see you hurt."
Amelia shook her head. "Don't pretend that you're protecting me. A part of me died when you didn't come back. That's hardly keeping me from harm is it?" She grabbed his hand and held it tight. "Tell me the truth. Please?"
Zelgadis looked at Amelia and sighed. She was already showing signs of approaching old age. She was a far cry from the girl that he had left behind so many years ago. A few fine lines around her eyes. Her hair not quite as bright as it used to be. He muttered to himself, "Time takes us all eventually".
Amelia frowned. "What did you say Mr. Zelgadis?"
"Amelia, how old are you now?"
Amelia looked angry. "Is that it? Are you really that shallow?"
Zelgadis quickly shook his head. "No, no! I'm serious. You must be about forty five right?"
"Forty four."
Zelgadis nodded. "Take a good look at me. What do you see?"
"You haven't changed a bit."
"That's right. Do you remember what I told you when I left you?"
Amelia nodded. "You said that you would come back to me when you found your cure."
"Do you know why I left you Amelia?"
"Because you were a heartless jerk." Amelia crossed her arms and glared at Zelgadis. "Right?"
"Amelia, I loved you more than life itself."
"Oh really?"
Zelgadis pulled something out of his cloak and put it in her hand. "Really."
Amelia looked down to see a tattered pink ribbon attached to a dull blue jewel. Her eyes widened. "This is. . ."
Zelgadis nodded. "I never let it out of my sight. Even on my darkest days, I could look at that and know that someone cared about me. It gave me the strength to continue my search."
"But, why? If you loved me, why didn't you stay with me?"
Zelgadis sighed and looked into Amelia's eyes. "Because. . .I couldn't stand the thought of seeing you grow old and sick while I retained my youth. I left you because I was a coward Amelia."
"You're not a coward." Amelia threw her arms around Zelgadis and held him tightly. "You came back to me."
Zelgadis put his arms around Amelia and held her silently. He thought of all his sins. All the death because of him. Associating with Xellos for all those years. He wasn't worthy of Amelia's love.
"Zelgadis? Promise me that you'll never leave me again?" Amelia looked at him hopefully.
Zelgadis nodded. He could at least try to make her happy. Staying with her until the very end. Maybe that would begin to make up for his mistakes.
Amelia smiled and kissed Zelgadis.
After a moment, Zelgadis pulled her close and returned her kiss. A wave of utter hopelessness washed over him. He had dreamt of this moment for years, but he couldn't even feel the pressure of her lips on his. He thought to himself, "Damn you Rezo. Can't I even have this?"
Still, Zelgadis held Amelia. She was happy and that was enough. It would have to be.
Edward leaned back in his chair and looked at Xellos skeptically. "Sairaag?"
Xellos spoke from the shadows. "Quite right. I followed Lina when she left the city. She visited a sorcery doctor and now she's on her way to Sairaag."
Edward sighed. "Very well. As soon as Vance returns I'll dispatch him to deal with Inverse once and for all."
Xellos chuckled as he stepped out into the light. "Your bounty hunter has already tracked Inverse down."
Edward smiled. "So she's finally dead?"
Xellos took a seat on the other side of Edward's desk. "Hardly. Let's just say that your extraordinary bounty hunter isn't quite so extraordinary any more." He grinned wickedly. "Or breathing for that matter."
"Damn it!" Edward brought his fist down on the corner of the desk. "Why can't I find reliable help?"
"Too true. Well, you know what they say, right?"
"What?"
"If you want it done right you have to do it yourself."
Edward stood up and walked over to the window overlooking the gardens. "You know I can't do that. I have other problems to attend to right now."
Xellos nodded. "You've had a bad couple of days. First, Lina shows up and then Zelgadis steals your fragments. To say nothing of your wife and son."
Edward sighed. "I have to find them before I can deal with Inverse."
"Concerned about your family Edward? How very noble of you."
Edward shook his head. "No, just my property. Everything rests on recovering those fragments. Once we have them all, King Phillionel will have an unfortunate accident. Then when I become king we will begin our conquest."
Xellos clapped. "Such ambition is truly admirable." He stood and walked over to Edward. "However, you do have a very good reason to catch up to Lina Inverse."
Edward looked at the priest warily. "What's that?"
"She knows where the fragment is. If she finds it first, she will most certainly destroy it. Then your plan is ruined."
"What would you have me do?"
"Mobilize the army under the pretext that you are trying to find Amelia and your son. Follow Lina to Sairaag. When she finds the fragment for us, kill her and take it."
"And what of the chimera?"
Xellos smiled. "I'm sure he knows where Lina is headed. We'll catch up to him on the way."
Edward sneered. "We wouldn't have this problem if you had killed the chimera when you had the chance."
Xellos glared at the prince. "I. . .underestimated him. The wound I gave him would have killed anyone else." He smiled. "However, I don't make mistakes twice. When I find him, I'll show him no mercy."
Edward frowned. "I've heard this speech before."
"Oh?" Xellos cocked his head.
"Vance said the same thing after he failed to eliminate Inverse." Edward grinned at Xellos. "And look at what happened to him."
Xellos opened his eyes and glared darkly at Edward. "I must say I'm not terribly pleased with the insinuation that you're making."
Edward sighed. "Never mind. I'll mobilize my forces immediately and track Inverse down."
Xellos's cheery expression returned immediately. "Excellent! I'm sure that she won't escape us this time!"
Emily lay quietly in the tent next to Lina. Unlike her mother, she was unable to sleep. Lina's words kept running through her head.
"I don't think that I'll be coming back from this trip."
Emily shook her head. It wasn't like her mom to be so pessimistic. Even though Lina had seemed happy enough these last few days, Emily wondered how much of it was legitimate and how much of it was just an act to ease her concerns.
Emily looked over at Lina. She was still holding that book. The book that Emily had gotten her at that old bookstore.
"Artifacts of the Four Worlds".
Lina had been reading it constantly every time that they had stopped. There must be something important in it.
Emily quietly leaned over until she was right next to Lina. She gritted her teeth and carefully tried to remove the book from Lina's grasp. Inch by inch, she slowly pulled the book out of Lina's hands. She whispered, "Come on. Almost got it."
Lina yawned and rolled onto her side facing away from Emily still clutching the book.
Emily sighed and massaged her temples. "Okay. Not a problem." She cautiously reached over Lina and grabbed the book. "Let's try this again."
Lina clutched the book tightly to her chest while snoring loudly.
Emily muttered too herself, "Don't do this to me, mom. Come on."
The book didn't budge.
"Give me the damn book!" Throwing all subtlety to the wind, Emily grabbed the book with both hands and braced her foot against Lina's chest. She pulled with all her might. "You're asleep and you still can't make anything easy for me!"
Lina's retained her iron grip on the book while she slumbered blissfully.
Emily released the book and glared at Lina. She briefly considered crushing Lina's head with a rock but dismissed the idea. Her death grip would probably be that much more difficult to break.
Emily took a couple deep breaths. "Okay Emily, calm down. She's sleeping. She's not intentionally trying to piss you off." She noticed Lina smiling sweetly as she slept. "You aren't are you?!"
Lina slept on, oblivious to her daughter's distress. Yawning, she rolled onto her back and released her hold on the book.
Emily sighed. She quickly snatched the book of Lina's stomach. "If I didn't know better, I'd say you really did do that on purpose."
Lina giggled in her sleep.
Emily twitched.
Moments later, Emily sat down next to the fire. She paged through the book. "Okay, let's see. . .Blessed blade of Flagoon, Darkstar weapons, Philosopher's stone. . .Ah! Here it is. Soul Render. Hmm." She began to read. "This is absolutely amazing! I'll bet this stuff would be really interesting. . .if I could understand it!" She threw the book down in disgust.
"Yeah, I guess it could be kind of confusing for someone who doesn't know anything about magic." Lina sat down next to Emily and picked the book up off the ground. "Where'd you get this again?"
"A bookstore in Seyruun. It's really weird. The book practically fell into my lap almost like I was supposed to find it. On top of that, the owner said that he had never even seen the book before."
Lina nodded. "I suspect that you found the book because of me."
Emily shrugged. "Uh, okay. Why would you think something like that? You were in the castle when I found it. That was a couple miles away at least."
Lina sighed and took Emily's hand. "Are you sure you want to know? You'll probably be sorry that you asked."
Emily rolled her eyes. "Yes, I want to know! How can I help you if you won't tell me what's wrong?"
Lina closed her eyes. "You can't help me Emily. But thanks anyway."
"Just tell me, okay?"
Lina opened her eyes and looked at Emily. "I'm not who everyone thinks I am."
"What? Mom, I'm confused."
"I'm not Lina Inverse." Lina thought for a moment. "Well, not entirely anyway."
"You're not making any sense. Are you feeling okay?" Emily put her hand on Lina's forehead.
Lina shook her head. "I haven't been myself for twenty-nine years. Do you remember the story that Amelia told back at the castle?"
Emily nodded. "Yeah. The story about how you saved dad from Hellmaster, right? What's that have to do with anything?"
"Everything. Emily, let me tell you about my last dream. . ."
Next Chapter: Lina reveals the truth and the end of the journey is near.
Notes: Gotta keep this brief. Liked the Z/A bit. Wasn't too pleased with the X/Ed part. Felt forced. Kind of indifferent to the L/E part. Once again, felt forced. Ended on a cliffhanger of sorts. It's all good though.
Matakishi, I thought that I shooed you out of here? But here you are making more strange comments. Who is this L-sama that you speak of? ;)
Now for the exciting news. The story is totally done. Well, not really. The ending lacks a lot of punch at this point and I'm sure that I'm going to have to rewrite a couple times before I post it. But it's there people! The end is really in sight! Huzzah!
Zelgadis stared into the fire lost in thought. The events of the last couple weeks ran through his head. Lina's nightmares, caused by the artifact that he was seeking. Gourry's death, which was entirely his fault. And now, Amelia and Phil's lives had been totally wrecked because of his actions.
"Maybe this is a fitting form for me." Zelgadis looked at his hand for a moment before shoving it into the fire. There was no pain. "Monsters do nothing but cause grief to those around them. Just as I do." He pulled his hand from the flames and examined it. Not a mark on it. It really was getting worse then. Before, he could at least feel a little warmth. Now his flesh was as cold as it had ever been.
Zelgadis smiled as he flexed his hand. "You did keep your promise, didn't you Rezo?" He picked up a small stone and squeezed it briefly. When he opened his hand all that remained was a small pile of dust. "I have more power than I ever could have imagined." He placed his hands together and muttered a small incantation. When he opened his hands again he was holding a flawless diamond. He concentrated and the diamond began to melt. In a moment, there was a small amount of water in his hand. "Such amazing and useless power." He flicked his wrist flinging the water into the fire. It hissed for a moment.
"Mr. Zelgadis? Want some company?"
Zelgadis jumped a little when he heard the voice. Amelia had surprised him. That wouldn't do while he was supposed to be on watch. He looked up to see Amelia sitting down next to him with two cups of tea.
"Tea?" Amelia offered Zelgadis a cup.
Zelgadis took the cup from Amelia and nodded. "Thanks."
They sat together by the fire for a few moments. The silence was broken only by the crackle of the fire and a wolf howling in the distance.
"Mr. Zelgadis?"
"Hmm?"
Amelia cleared her throat. "There's something that I've been wanting to ask you since you came back." She looked at Zelgadis. His features were concealed by the darkness. She wished that she could see his face.
Zelgadis was a little surprised when Amelia scooted closer to him. She seemed to be searching his face for something. He cleared his throat. "Well?"
Amelia smiled sadly. "You never change, do you?" She sighed. "After all these years, we're finally traveling together again and you're just as cold as you ever were. I know you don't want to hear it, but sometimes I pity you Mr. Zelgadis."
Zelgadis twitched. "Amelia. . ."
"I know. You always hated pity didn't you? But, I never pitied you because of your physical condition. I pity you because you won't let anyone get close to you." Amelia reached out and touched his hand.
Zelgadis jerked his hand away as if he had been burned. "Amelia, you don't understand. I can't. . .I won't let you get close to me. I don't want to see you hurt."
Amelia shook her head. "Don't pretend that you're protecting me. A part of me died when you didn't come back. That's hardly keeping me from harm is it?" She grabbed his hand and held it tight. "Tell me the truth. Please?"
Zelgadis looked at Amelia and sighed. She was already showing signs of approaching old age. She was a far cry from the girl that he had left behind so many years ago. A few fine lines around her eyes. Her hair not quite as bright as it used to be. He muttered to himself, "Time takes us all eventually".
Amelia frowned. "What did you say Mr. Zelgadis?"
"Amelia, how old are you now?"
Amelia looked angry. "Is that it? Are you really that shallow?"
Zelgadis quickly shook his head. "No, no! I'm serious. You must be about forty five right?"
"Forty four."
Zelgadis nodded. "Take a good look at me. What do you see?"
"You haven't changed a bit."
"That's right. Do you remember what I told you when I left you?"
Amelia nodded. "You said that you would come back to me when you found your cure."
"Do you know why I left you Amelia?"
"Because you were a heartless jerk." Amelia crossed her arms and glared at Zelgadis. "Right?"
"Amelia, I loved you more than life itself."
"Oh really?"
Zelgadis pulled something out of his cloak and put it in her hand. "Really."
Amelia looked down to see a tattered pink ribbon attached to a dull blue jewel. Her eyes widened. "This is. . ."
Zelgadis nodded. "I never let it out of my sight. Even on my darkest days, I could look at that and know that someone cared about me. It gave me the strength to continue my search."
"But, why? If you loved me, why didn't you stay with me?"
Zelgadis sighed and looked into Amelia's eyes. "Because. . .I couldn't stand the thought of seeing you grow old and sick while I retained my youth. I left you because I was a coward Amelia."
"You're not a coward." Amelia threw her arms around Zelgadis and held him tightly. "You came back to me."
Zelgadis put his arms around Amelia and held her silently. He thought of all his sins. All the death because of him. Associating with Xellos for all those years. He wasn't worthy of Amelia's love.
"Zelgadis? Promise me that you'll never leave me again?" Amelia looked at him hopefully.
Zelgadis nodded. He could at least try to make her happy. Staying with her until the very end. Maybe that would begin to make up for his mistakes.
Amelia smiled and kissed Zelgadis.
After a moment, Zelgadis pulled her close and returned her kiss. A wave of utter hopelessness washed over him. He had dreamt of this moment for years, but he couldn't even feel the pressure of her lips on his. He thought to himself, "Damn you Rezo. Can't I even have this?"
Still, Zelgadis held Amelia. She was happy and that was enough. It would have to be.
Edward leaned back in his chair and looked at Xellos skeptically. "Sairaag?"
Xellos spoke from the shadows. "Quite right. I followed Lina when she left the city. She visited a sorcery doctor and now she's on her way to Sairaag."
Edward sighed. "Very well. As soon as Vance returns I'll dispatch him to deal with Inverse once and for all."
Xellos chuckled as he stepped out into the light. "Your bounty hunter has already tracked Inverse down."
Edward smiled. "So she's finally dead?"
Xellos took a seat on the other side of Edward's desk. "Hardly. Let's just say that your extraordinary bounty hunter isn't quite so extraordinary any more." He grinned wickedly. "Or breathing for that matter."
"Damn it!" Edward brought his fist down on the corner of the desk. "Why can't I find reliable help?"
"Too true. Well, you know what they say, right?"
"What?"
"If you want it done right you have to do it yourself."
Edward stood up and walked over to the window overlooking the gardens. "You know I can't do that. I have other problems to attend to right now."
Xellos nodded. "You've had a bad couple of days. First, Lina shows up and then Zelgadis steals your fragments. To say nothing of your wife and son."
Edward sighed. "I have to find them before I can deal with Inverse."
"Concerned about your family Edward? How very noble of you."
Edward shook his head. "No, just my property. Everything rests on recovering those fragments. Once we have them all, King Phillionel will have an unfortunate accident. Then when I become king we will begin our conquest."
Xellos clapped. "Such ambition is truly admirable." He stood and walked over to Edward. "However, you do have a very good reason to catch up to Lina Inverse."
Edward looked at the priest warily. "What's that?"
"She knows where the fragment is. If she finds it first, she will most certainly destroy it. Then your plan is ruined."
"What would you have me do?"
"Mobilize the army under the pretext that you are trying to find Amelia and your son. Follow Lina to Sairaag. When she finds the fragment for us, kill her and take it."
"And what of the chimera?"
Xellos smiled. "I'm sure he knows where Lina is headed. We'll catch up to him on the way."
Edward sneered. "We wouldn't have this problem if you had killed the chimera when you had the chance."
Xellos glared at the prince. "I. . .underestimated him. The wound I gave him would have killed anyone else." He smiled. "However, I don't make mistakes twice. When I find him, I'll show him no mercy."
Edward frowned. "I've heard this speech before."
"Oh?" Xellos cocked his head.
"Vance said the same thing after he failed to eliminate Inverse." Edward grinned at Xellos. "And look at what happened to him."
Xellos opened his eyes and glared darkly at Edward. "I must say I'm not terribly pleased with the insinuation that you're making."
Edward sighed. "Never mind. I'll mobilize my forces immediately and track Inverse down."
Xellos's cheery expression returned immediately. "Excellent! I'm sure that she won't escape us this time!"
Emily lay quietly in the tent next to Lina. Unlike her mother, she was unable to sleep. Lina's words kept running through her head.
"I don't think that I'll be coming back from this trip."
Emily shook her head. It wasn't like her mom to be so pessimistic. Even though Lina had seemed happy enough these last few days, Emily wondered how much of it was legitimate and how much of it was just an act to ease her concerns.
Emily looked over at Lina. She was still holding that book. The book that Emily had gotten her at that old bookstore.
"Artifacts of the Four Worlds".
Lina had been reading it constantly every time that they had stopped. There must be something important in it.
Emily quietly leaned over until she was right next to Lina. She gritted her teeth and carefully tried to remove the book from Lina's grasp. Inch by inch, she slowly pulled the book out of Lina's hands. She whispered, "Come on. Almost got it."
Lina yawned and rolled onto her side facing away from Emily still clutching the book.
Emily sighed and massaged her temples. "Okay. Not a problem." She cautiously reached over Lina and grabbed the book. "Let's try this again."
Lina clutched the book tightly to her chest while snoring loudly.
Emily muttered too herself, "Don't do this to me, mom. Come on."
The book didn't budge.
"Give me the damn book!" Throwing all subtlety to the wind, Emily grabbed the book with both hands and braced her foot against Lina's chest. She pulled with all her might. "You're asleep and you still can't make anything easy for me!"
Lina's retained her iron grip on the book while she slumbered blissfully.
Emily released the book and glared at Lina. She briefly considered crushing Lina's head with a rock but dismissed the idea. Her death grip would probably be that much more difficult to break.
Emily took a couple deep breaths. "Okay Emily, calm down. She's sleeping. She's not intentionally trying to piss you off." She noticed Lina smiling sweetly as she slept. "You aren't are you?!"
Lina slept on, oblivious to her daughter's distress. Yawning, she rolled onto her back and released her hold on the book.
Emily sighed. She quickly snatched the book of Lina's stomach. "If I didn't know better, I'd say you really did do that on purpose."
Lina giggled in her sleep.
Emily twitched.
Moments later, Emily sat down next to the fire. She paged through the book. "Okay, let's see. . .Blessed blade of Flagoon, Darkstar weapons, Philosopher's stone. . .Ah! Here it is. Soul Render. Hmm." She began to read. "This is absolutely amazing! I'll bet this stuff would be really interesting. . .if I could understand it!" She threw the book down in disgust.
"Yeah, I guess it could be kind of confusing for someone who doesn't know anything about magic." Lina sat down next to Emily and picked the book up off the ground. "Where'd you get this again?"
"A bookstore in Seyruun. It's really weird. The book practically fell into my lap almost like I was supposed to find it. On top of that, the owner said that he had never even seen the book before."
Lina nodded. "I suspect that you found the book because of me."
Emily shrugged. "Uh, okay. Why would you think something like that? You were in the castle when I found it. That was a couple miles away at least."
Lina sighed and took Emily's hand. "Are you sure you want to know? You'll probably be sorry that you asked."
Emily rolled her eyes. "Yes, I want to know! How can I help you if you won't tell me what's wrong?"
Lina closed her eyes. "You can't help me Emily. But thanks anyway."
"Just tell me, okay?"
Lina opened her eyes and looked at Emily. "I'm not who everyone thinks I am."
"What? Mom, I'm confused."
"I'm not Lina Inverse." Lina thought for a moment. "Well, not entirely anyway."
"You're not making any sense. Are you feeling okay?" Emily put her hand on Lina's forehead.
Lina shook her head. "I haven't been myself for twenty-nine years. Do you remember the story that Amelia told back at the castle?"
Emily nodded. "Yeah. The story about how you saved dad from Hellmaster, right? What's that have to do with anything?"
"Everything. Emily, let me tell you about my last dream. . ."
Next Chapter: Lina reveals the truth and the end of the journey is near.
Notes: Gotta keep this brief. Liked the Z/A bit. Wasn't too pleased with the X/Ed part. Felt forced. Kind of indifferent to the L/E part. Once again, felt forced. Ended on a cliffhanger of sorts. It's all good though.
Matakishi, I thought that I shooed you out of here? But here you are making more strange comments. Who is this L-sama that you speak of? ;)
Now for the exciting news. The story is totally done. Well, not really. The ending lacks a lot of punch at this point and I'm sure that I'm going to have to rewrite a couple times before I post it. But it's there people! The end is really in sight! Huzzah!
