NoV: This chapter is dedicated to Teefa85 who always believed in me and stuck by me no matter what!!

Zelgadis: Gee, what an honor.

NoV: (glare) Anyway, you were all probably wondering why it took me so long to get this chapter up—

Zelgadis: Nope.

NoV: (ignoring him) It's actually a funny story! You see, I started school this week....(dies) And I had so much to read and write in biology!!!!!! (dies again)

Xelloss: (floating upside-down) How was that a funny story?

NoV: Not funny as in "Heehee," by funny as in, "Oh, goodness..."

Xelloss: Nope. It wasn't funny by any definition of the word.

NoV: (sigh) Anyway, here's part five for your enjoyment!

Lina: I'm impressed! You called it the right part this time.

NoV: Although....

Lina: What?

NoV: It's only chapter four. The first part was the prologue.....

Lina: .....

NoV: But, it's not like it matters or anything!

Lina: Oh, no. Of course not....-.-0

NoV: -.- Without further ado—

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Quote of the chapter:

James: (Screaming at a hobo from his car window) DO A LITTLE DANCE! MAKE A LITTLE LOVE!!

Hobo: What the f---??

--

Finally making it into her cozy bedroom as the sun was beginning to set, Filia collapsed onto her sympathetic bed, the stresses of the day immediately weighing down on her. She rolled onto her back, staring at the designs in the ceiling. Normally, she would only see uninspired patterns, but for some reason, she was beginning to see objects. One corner of the ceiling looked exactly like a somewhat distorted shoe. To her left, she could see the outline of an owl or some other similarly shaped bird. There was a teacup dangling over her feet, and a cone hovering above her head.....!!

Filia would have sat up, but calmed herself when she realized that the culprit cone was merely another design bathed in shadow. And, yet, there it was, as plain as day, fluttering overhead as if taunting her.....reminding her of what she had lost control over. The cruel, three-dimensional pattern popped out of the ceiling more so than any of the other less crude designs.

Sighing and tasting a defeat delicacy, she rolled over onto her stomach, and prayed her more earnest prayer that she would wake up and find out that the whole day had been a disturbing nightmare.

--

At that moment, the real cone himself was floating around in the astral plane, resting and reflecting on his venturesome day. What a character that Filia was! What exactly had gotten into her? She had taken all the fun out of teasing her by acting so....frisky. Didn't she understand the god-awful feeling her new lovey-dovey nature caused in the pit of his stomach?

"Xelloss!" a voice boomed inside his "head." "You will see me now."

The cone immediately disappeared, and Xelloss appeared in his human form before his master on Wolfpack Island.

"Yes?" he wondered of her. "What did you need?"

Zelas crossed one tanned leg over the other, taking a swig of her blood-red wine. "What's the matter, Xelloss?" she asked, with all the sympathy and motherly stature she could conjure. "You seem distracted. I noticed that you've neglected to kill anything today."

Xelloss mentally sighed. He should have known he couldn't keep anything from her forever. "Oh, I'm sure that it's nothing!" he lied. "If it makes you feel better, I'll go kill someone right now!"

"Is it that dragon girl?" Zelas wondered. "Is she causing you to be out of sorts?"

Xelloss blanched. Yep, she was reading his mind again. Darn those metaphysical powers of hers! "Well, you might say that," he said, softly, studying his feet. "She's acting very peculiar....."

"Lovestruck, I know," she murmured. The greater beastmaster pushed a golden lock behind her ear. "But, I say, when life hands you dirt, grow yourself a garden!"

Xelloss' interest was perked. "What are you proposing, Zelas-sama?"

Zelas smiled her most feral grin. "I've never changed a dragon into a mazoku. I hear the results are quite.....spectacular."

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NoV: Short, I know, but there wasn't much I wanted to cover in this chapter.

Amelia: (Sigh) At least I'm being spared from having to be in this fic.

NoV: -.-0 You guys all make me feel sooooo confident.