They ambled down the road at an excrutiatingly slow pace. Chibis hidden in the bushes kept bursting into chorus, and everytime this happened, Gourry crouched down and looked for the cause. This retarded their progress greatly.

Zelgadis, however, didn't mind as he was deep in thought. If the wizard could get him home, and give Gourry the yogurt-brain some common sense, then wouldn't this Wizard guy be able to change him back to normal? Sylphiel had seemed to think a lot of the Wizard, but then again, she was head over heels in love with Gourry.

Zel glanced over at the swordsman/part-time scarecrow. He was currently staring at the cloudless sky, mouth gaping open.

"Probably wondering why it's blue." Zel murmured.

"Pardon?"

"Uhhh... ♫ If ya knew Peggy Sue... ♫ " Zelgadis pretended to sing. He had always been terrible with thinking on his feet. He prefered to sit in a dark room full of books and ponder agonizingly over every detail.

"Ooooh I love that song! Buddy Holly, right?" Gourry continued blahblahing about Buddy and his major achievements, and had proceded to launch into a long speach about how The Beatles were overrated, when Zelgadis noticed there hadn't been any Chibi-song attacks lately. He looked up, and noted the cloudless sky was now less cloudless, and more leaning toward cloudful. He scratched his head and again longed for that dark room of books.

"Ternbach." said Gourry.

"What?" said Zelgadis distractedly.

"Ternbach. It's on that sign right there, see?" Gourry pointed at a wooden picket sign at the opening to a forest.

TURN BACK

After recovering from the fact that Gourry couldn't read two simple single-syllable words, Zelgadis realized what the words were telling him to do. Looking at the ominous woods with bats and bugs and shining red eyes glaring from behind a tree...

Wait...WHAT!

Zel prepared to cast a Ra Tilt at the monster. White light glowing in his palm hidden behind his back, Zel creeped toward the crimson gaze. Slowly, he concentrated the power, started the incantation...

"FIREBALL!"

Zelgadis, not expecting the sudden attack, flew backward several feet, burnt to a crisp. He gaped in horror and surprise as a firey-tressed figure stepped out from behind the tree.

"WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING? YOU THINK A RA TILT'S GONNA BEAT ME! I DON'T THINK SO!" Lina screamed inches from his face. She was clad in a metal suit, with a queer, strangely-shaped hat sitting on top of her wavy hair.

"Oh hiya Lina! How've you been?" Gourry waved jovially, still smoking slightly.

"Hey Gourry. As I was saying, YOU BETTER NOT TRY THAT AGAIN, BAKA! OR ELSE I'LL PULL A DRAGON SLAVE ON YA!" Lina shook Zel back and forth to make sure he paid attention.

"Yes—yes ma'am!" He whimpered. Lina was not someone he wanted to cross. Sighing, Lina dropped Zel to the ground.

"Hey, so where ya going, you two?" she asked quietly, calming down at last.

"We're off to see the wizard!" said Gourry.

Zelgadis yelled, "GOURRY, NOOOO!" but it was too late.

Weeeeeeer'e off to see the wizard! The wonder—

"Fireball." Lina muttered. The chibis went up in a poof of smoke with a faint squeak! "That's better. So you're going to see the wizard? Would you uh, would you mind if I..."

"Yes?" Gourry prompted.

"Could I, um, join you?" Lina blushed.

"Sure you can!" Zelgadis said hastily, not wanting to get on the sorceress's bad side. "If you don't mind me asking, what do you want to ask him for?"

Lina mumbled incoherently.

"Come again?" Gourry cupped his ear.

"I need...a...I need a heart." Lina stared intently at the ground.

Zelgadis laughed, without thinking. He had assumed she would ask for a larger chest! He voiced this. Big mistake.

"YOU WHAAAAAT! OH I AUGHTA BURN YOU ALIVE!"

Meanwhile, Gourry gawked at the sky, oblivious to the spells whizzing past him. "Blue...blue..."