Divergent Theories

by Aloria

At his death, Kopii's shoved into yet another identity that's not his, meanwhile Lina's investigating Sairaag for the source of strange disturbances. Can Lina & Co. forgive Sairaag's Destroyer to save both sides of the mirror? KS, LG, AZ

7. Different Paths

Just because she wouldn't get a day off till next Tuesday didn't mean David couldn't call her. He sprawled on his stomach on the couch. It was Friday, about eight-o'clock, and David dearly hoped she would be home by now. The phone rang again. A man answered, "Raada Residence, how may I be of service?"

David was a little taken aback by that, but cleared his throat and replied, "Hi, is Miss. Sylphiel Raada there?"

"May I ask who is calling?" The voice was ...very nasal and sophisticated. Probably the butler.

Sitting up slightly, David scratched his bare stomach, having removed his clothes down to the boxers upon getting home. "David Graywords," he answered.

There was a slow sniff on the other end of the line, "Yes," the man said, "I was informed that Miss Raada would receive your calls. Just a moment."

Before David could say anything, the phone went on hold, another set of soft ringing, and Sylphiel answered, "Hello?"

"Yo, Kitten!"

He could hear her smile, "David! I thought you'd forgotten me."

Laughing softly, he lounged back on his couch and glanced around the room. It was still messy, but at least he'd cleaned out the fridge. "I had to get bills straightened out," he admitted, "Took a bit longer than I thought it would. Sorry, Syl, I'll call more often if you like?"

She laughed, "Only if you want to, I won't complain. Other than bills, how have you been?"

Stretching, David turned to stare up at the ceiling, "I figured out a lot of stuff, about my powers and how I got them."

"...David...I- I wasn't going to tell you about this but... I saw something... strange. You mentioned Flagoon a lot before, and me being upset you destroyed it, so I ...took an hour off and went to the park," she sounded nervous, as if she'd done something wrong, or that he wouldn't believe her.

David quickly reassured her, "Hey, hon, my news is pretty strange too, I won't think anything less of you. Go on."

A sigh whispered across the line and Sylphiel lowered her voice, "I went to the center, where that lake is, around Flagoon's main trunk... and as I knelt down at the water, it flashed, and... instead of reflecting Flagoon, the image in the water was of clear sky and... me. I was sitting on the other side, but I wasn't dressed the same, and my reflection wasn't moving in sync with me. I offered my hand to her when she started crying- she looked so sad, David... our palms touched, then that redhead... that ran you over showed up and they talked, but I couldn't hear what they were saying, but then the lake flashed and the image was gone again."

"What were they wearing?" Rasmus asked.

On the other end, Sylphiel paused for a long second, "I was wearing a dark purple shirt with gold edging that turned into a pair of shorts at the bottom and some lighter purple leggings. The redheaded woman was wearing a dark pink shirt with white edges on the hems and a yellow sash across her breasts."

"And matching legging," Rasmus finished. "With gray boots. Your other self had a large gem set in silver at her throat, with a ribbon attached to it, didn't she?"

Silence met this statement, "How did you know?" Sylphiel asked softly, awed.

"Because it ties in with what David was going to tell you. What you saw was my world, I'm another version of David, he picked up my soul when he died and brought me back with him. I'm the one who knows how to use magic, and have unlocked David's powers as well. Just... call me Rasmus- you can tell it's me talking when his left eye is yellow."

David took over again, "Eh... Ras is also why I kept saying weird things, knowing people I shouldn't and knowing more about people than I should have... It's cause he met them in his world."

They got no answer for a long time, and David fretted that he'd just freaked her out, "Sylphiel- I... is there sometime when I can talk to you after work? In person? I think this is a see-to-believe issue..."

"Yes," she said faintly, "I- it's just...so strange, it's frightening. Tomorrow, at seven thirty?"

David nodded to himself, "Where do I meet you?"

There was a thump on the other end, "Uh- oh darn... Uhm, do you know the coffee shop Latette? Out on Ganbaer Street and Sullivan?"

"Yeah. Alright, seven thirty then. You mind if I'm still wearing work clothes?"

She managed a soft laugh, "As long as you don't mind mine," she replied.

"Not at all. You look real cute in that skirt," Rasmus informed her.

Sylphiel laughed with embarrassment, "Terrible flirt!" she accused him, and Rasmus preened silently as David shook his head. "Okay, I'll see you then."

"Hey," David said before she could hang up.

"hmm?"

"Sweet dreams," he wished her, and hoped they'd be of him. Together, they hung up, and David sighed, staring up at the ceiling once again. "She's sexy even on the phone!"

---

She was already waiting for him by the time he fought his way through traffic. Sylphiel stood as he came in hands holding her short uniform jacket and a smile on her lips. Striding across the clean, but small coffee shop, David embraced her, giving a smile of his own in return. Pulling her chair back out, he handed her down into the seat and took a seat of his own at the small round table.

"David... you sure we should be talking here?" she whispered, leaning forward.

Giving another smile, David clasped her hand, "Relax," he lifted her hands and kissed her fingers lightly, "Tell me about your day?"

Her lips pressed together, but she couldn't remain upset at him for long and sighed, clapping his hand between hers once, twice. "My day was alright, no new patients today, Kyle asked me out," she added with a sigh, "I think he already knew about... us."

Rasmus shook his head, "He's rather uncharacteristically persistent this time."

Sylphiel stared at his eyes. "Oh my..."

Giving a nod Rasmus smiled faintly at her and squeezed her hand, leaning closer, he whispered into her ear, "Hello, it's me Rasmus." Sitting back, he continued, "Don't worry about Kyle, he's got a chronic crush problem. It's something about the girls he can't have that gets him. I believe... Cindy Muller is interested in him, but hey, I'm no matchmaker." He shrugged slightly. "Do you want something to drink before we go?"

Looking at his face for another long moment, Sylphiel finally nodded. "Where are we going?"

"For a walk," he returned, "You've the time, right?" the nurse nodded. "I'll show you a neat trick too," he winked at her. Leaning closer once more, he whispered, "Ever wanted to fly?" Her eyes widened. "We'll just have to do it where no one will see. David says it'd frighten people, and I've no experience with a world where people don't know magic, so I'll take his word for it."

Licking her lips, Sylphiel laced her fingers with his, "So... how?" she whispered, "How is it possible?"

Coyly, he placed a finger across her lips and winked again. "What do you want to drink?"

Sighing and tipping her head to the side, Sylphiel's loose hair fell forward over one shoulder and she lifted a hand to brush it back as she said, "I'll take a tall mocha."

Nodding, David stood and headed over to the counter, ordering two and carried them back to Sylphiel, reclaiming his seat after setting her drink in front of her. Since they were dining in, they had been given actual cups to drink from. "You look very handsome in a suit and tie," Sylphiel remarked once he'd removed his jacket and laid it on the back of his chair.

Grinning, David looked down at himself, "Hm, no one's ever told me that before," he said, honestly. "Thanks."

"The shoes could be more comfortable though," Rasmus added a tad sourly, "but at least there's no draft like robes and those paper things in the hospital."

Sylphiel nearly sputtered her drink out her nose. Hastily finding a napkin, she managed to control herself without making a mess. "Robes?" she asked.

"I was a mage and a priest," Rasmus replied, "Don't worry about anyone overhearing us, I've used a spell to make our voices nothing but a soft murmur to anyone nearby." He flashed a smile at her quick glance around, "Besides, why would they think us so strange and want to listen in? We're just a couple of people, meeting at a café." He lifted her hand and kissed her fingertips lightly.

Blushing, Sylphiel glanced down, "I guess you're right... I just... feel nervous. Like I'm going crazy. That... when I saw that reflection under Flagoon... That was the day before you showed me your healing powers. I really... really thought you were a little disturbed when you talked about destroying Sairaag, to tell the truth. I wasn't sure what to do about it- I didn't want to tell the psychiatrists because you seemed so upset about doing it and ...something about you. I don't know. I just feel more ...alive when I'm near you."

Rasmus smiled faintly and took a sip of his drink, staring at the table for a long moment, "What you saw was my world," he told her. "The ruins... that was... the Sairaag I destroyed." He took a breath and closed his eyes briefly, "I can't say I didn't partially want to do it on my own, but the one who was controlling me wanted me to kill Lina and her friends, and she'd... pushed me too far. I was so ... angry with Eris. I wanted to catch her in the blast too. But she got away. I killed her later- of my own free will." He opened his eyes to look at her, "Sylphiel... I just want you to know that... it was me. Me, Rasmus, not David. If you still love him but can't stand me, that's alright. I'll stay in the background and won't say anything to you-" her hand covered his mouth, then she leaned forward, replacing it with her lips. He closed his eyes again, savoring the kiss.

"Rasmus," Sylphiel said softly, "You're really very sweet," she told him. "I can tell that you've had a pretty hard time of it. How did she control you?"

Looking down once more, Rasmus shuffled in his pocket briefly and pulled out a small red gem, "Blood Gem," he stated, "It has the caster's blood in it, and controls the mind of whoever it's put on. Very hard to break, unless you're more powerful than the caster who made it." He put the stone away, "I'd demonstrate, but that would be very cruel."

Sylphiel nodded agreement to that and settled into silence a moment while she thought of another question. Taking her cup into her hands, she leaned her elbows on the table and sipped, eyes not really seeing what she was staring at. "What do you think... of a warm fire, and hot coco on a cold winter's day?"

Giving a hmm, Rasmus smiled at her, "I think, it'd only be perfect if it were with you, after a day of playing in the snow."

"Have you ever played in the snow?" she asked him.

Rasmus shook his head, "But David has memories of it. It seems fun. I'm... looking forward to getting to actually live this time, instead of being someone's tool."

Tipping her chin slightly, Sylphiel turned her head to look at him, "Even if you're still stuck in someone else's body?"

He shook his head, "With David... I don't mind. It's not so bad. We think enough alike that anything I want to do, he does too. But he knows the proper rules of behavior, so he'll stop me when I want to do something I shouldn't. You know... it was me who kissed you in the hospital," he blushed slightly, "that first time. You just... looked so beautiful at that moment and then you hugged us and I couldn't help it. So if you were mad at him, it's me who's to blame."

Instead, she laughed, "You say the sweetest things," she told him, "and sound so charming when you do it. I think, even without your eye changing color, I'd still know who was talking. You pitch your voice differently than David does."

David blinked at her, "Really? Hn. He does use a slightly different vocabulary, but I didn't notice he talked different too."

"It's a little bit deeper, more mature sounding," Sylphiel touched his nose lightly, "Not that you're not mature too, but Rasmus sounds like he's never gotten to have –any- fun."

The Kopii pouted slightly, "I haven't," he admitted, "Eris was mean and never let me do anything. She thought it was undignified." He sighed and lifted his mug to sip.

Setting her own mug down, Sylphiel laced her fingers together and rested her chin on them, "Your posture is different too," she added. "Like my uncle's. Very refined." Rasmus seemed to consider this for a long moment, then smiled, apparently coming to some decision. "So tell me about yourself? Tell me what happened?"

Taking a breath, Rasmus's fingers played with the mug, and he closed his eyes briefly. "I think, this is why David and I were so confused at first... The people are all the same, but the events are completely different, but still, everyone's ended up with whom they ended up with in my world- except for us. However, I digress... In my world, Eris was Rezo's assistant, she kept his house clean and picked up after him, as well as lent him power in his experiments. He was doing ... exactly the same thing he's doing here, searching for a way to fix his eyes. The fool was blind in more ways than one, and eventually went mad, particularly nasty in the last few years of his life. He turned Zelgadis, his loving and very devoted grandson, into a Chimera."

Sylphiel leaned forward slightly, "What's a Chimera? ...other than that mythical beast with four heads of different animals..."

He looked towards her, "A Chimera is what we call anything living that has been magically transformed into a blend of something else. It can be human or animal. Zelgadis was one of the few successful human transformations, a mix of human, rock, and demon. He doesn't appear particularly normal anymore, and so, his depression issues are a lot more serious than this world's version of him."

"Alright," the nurse said, sipping her drink, her eyes on him still.

Pausing for another sip of his drink and a lick of the whipped cream on top, Rasmus collected his thoughts and continued, looking down to find the hand that had been resting on the table had just been taken by Sylphiel, her other hand free to clasp her own mug. "In any case, Rezo found a cure for his eyes, but it killed him, and what he'd summoned to cure his eyes started rampaging across the landscape. Lina Inverse, the redhead that ran David down with her ...motorcycle..." he shook his head slightly, "She destroyed the Demon Lord, Ruby Eyes Shabranigdu, which had been sealed behind Rezo's eyes."

"That sounds like a rather bad place to put something like a Demon Lord. Are they very dangerous?" Sylphiel asked, concerned.

Rasmus winced, "Ah, yes, Shabranigdu is the highest power in the hierarchy of the Mazoku. What Lina fought was only a seventh of his full power, and to kill it, she had to use a spell that could destroy the world if cast wrong. One death or the other, I guess. At least her losing control of the spell would be instant, rather than lingering as Shabranigdu would be inclined towards."

Biting her lip lightly, Sylphiel thought on that, "I suppose if that was the only way to destroy that Demon Lord... but it's a little frightening that she has the ability to destroy the world if she wanted. Would that destroy this world too, you think?"

Thinking on that briefly, Rasmus had to nod, "Probably... In any case, Lina saved the world, Rezo was dead, and Eris was pissed. At one point, Rezo had created a copy of himself... a clone as you would call it. That clone is David and I. He used us for testing a cure for his eyes, it worked, but then, it was given that it would on us. Here's where things differ between David and I."

Setting down her mug, Sylphiel interrupted again, "Shouldn't you be the same age as David then? You talk as if Rezo's death happened recently- and that redhead looked hardly older than twenty."

"On your world, you don't have the magical capability to create a copy of someone as they are at the moment of whatever sample you use. Meaning, when I was created, I was Rezo's physical age, I have his exact amount of power and potential, and all his memories. Maybe I could have functioned as Rezo... truly, but... Eris was obsessed. She used a gem on me to control me... make me into the Rezo she thought he was, which went completely against the memories I had and my own instincts of how he would react.

Again, Rasmus paused, taking a breath and some of his cooling coffee, swallowing several gulps quickly in an attempt to actually work on drinking it before it went stone cold. Licking his lips, he continued, "When I fought her compulsions, she punished me, when she realized what she was doing, she tried to kill me... She never could though. She made me create copies of myself, but they were all horribly flawed: physically, mentally. She killed most of them, but one... I saved one. He wasn't pretty to look at, but he was sane, and I did what I could for him."

Sylphiel squeezed his hand tightly, "That was very kind of you, Rasmus. How did you help him?"

"I stabilized his form, healed the wounds Eris had given him, gave him money, clothes, and sent him out the back door and told him to run... as far from Sairaag as he could get."

David frowned slightly, "Makes me wonder if Rezo made copies of me? Everyone else seems to be doubled."

Rasmus shrugged, "Undoubtedly he did. He may act it well, but he's not that sane. He might be better now, though... possibly why he called that family reunion, might want to confess what he's done to you and Zel."

Giving a nod, David stated, "If he does, I'll forgive him. It could have been a hell of a lot worse." Sylphiel smiled at that, still quietly listening. David leaned close and kissed her cheek, "thank you for listening to him," he said, "He's been through a lot, and your just accepting this is going a long way towards making him feel better about the whole thing."

Sylphiel gazed up at him, "It's alright," she said softly, "I... actually think he's quite brave, to have lived through that."

Rasmus shook his head, "I didn't..." he pointed out, "Or I wouldn't be here. But, David is infecting me with his attitude about life. I guess I've gained more out of dying than I lost, but I wouldn't want to do it again."

She laughed and patted his hand, "Go on with your story," she told him.

Closing his eyes, Rasmus continued to smile slightly, "Oh, right, well... Eris never figured it out about my clone, so I didn't tell her."

Pausing again, Rasmus toyed with his cup one-handed. Sylphiel squeezed his other hand to get his attention, "How did Eris get Lina to come to Sairaag?" she asked.

"Eris put out a reward for Lina and her friends who had helped defeat Shabranigdu," Rasmus explained slowly, "and lured her to Sairaag where they met you." He took a long slow breath, closing his eyes partially as if he were reliving that time through his retelling of the story, "Eris forced me to fight them, drive them towards Rezo's lab, where the pieces of Rezo's last project were waiting to be completed. We ended up meeting them in the streets, and Eris forced me to fight them."

He fell silent again, fingers cold in her grip, Sylphiel squeezed his hand, "Then what happened?"

"They tried to run, and she wanted me to kill them, it didn't matter what kind of damage I did to the city. She wanted them dead, and I wanted to catch her in the blast. I missed on both, but turned half the city into a hot-spring."

Rasmus fell silent here, bowing his head, "I killed your father in that blast too, Syl... Your other self... hated me for that."

Sylphiel reached over and tipped his chin up, turned his face towards her, and kissed his lips. "You haven't done that here," she told him. "Do you plan to?" he shook his head slightly, but not enough to dislodge her hand. "Good. Promise me something. Promise me that from now on, you'll never use your power to hurt someone. Ever, ever again."

His eyes softened as he gazed at her, "I promise," he said softly, "May you use Bless Blade on me if I ever break it."

"Bless Blade?"

Smiling slightly, Rasmus replied, "I'm getting to that."

In return, Sylphiel smiled, "Then get to it," she urged him.

Clearing his throat, Rasmus took up his tale again, "Eris didn't realize how intelligent I was, didn't know that she didn't need Gourry's Sword of Light to open the door to the lab, I could have done it, if she'd asked me to. I think that all the powerful weapons I know of are located on my world only," he added, "Since I've done some searches on the internet, looking for ... the people I killed, and various other things that I'd like to know the whereabouts of. This... Internet thing is amazing! It would be so convenient if there was something like that on my world for spells and stuff, so you'd only have to go to your local library to learn how to cast a healing spell or something. However, I've gotten off topic..."

Sylphiel laughed softly at his enthusiasm as Rasmus swigged more of his drink, "So we chased them into Rezo's lab, all the way to the bottom- taking the longest route there was, the stupid bitch." Rasmus sighed and soothed his temper with a sip of coffee. "And," he stopped here, staring down at the table.

"And?" Sylphiel prompted when he didn't continue for a long time. David was still sitting back from the controls, giving Rasmus the choice of whether to continue or not.

He took a breath, and let it out, closing his eyes. "And while Lina and her friends...and you... fought Eris, I completed the spell to summon the demonbeast Zanafaar and combine it with my soul. I shot her in the back... and then she called me ... she said 'He's still nothing but a copy'. That ...hurt. It hurt a lot, and though I'd gotten the gem off- I had no reason to... I wanted... to never have to hear her –ever- again. I killed her. I set her on fire and turned her to ash almost instantly."

Rasmus stared at the table, "It didn't make me feel any better," he admitted, "I felt sick. That was the first kill I'd done on my own... and then Zanafaar took over, grabbed my obsession of being better than Rezo and twisted it out of proportion. I attacked Lina and her friends... and you."

"Why?" Sylphiel asked gently when he fell silent again, "what did you want out of them?"

Taking another breath, he answered slowly, "What I wanted Lina to do was cast that spell that she'd used on Shabranigdu, because... if I could survive it when Rezo hadn't... so ... I played with her."

Sliding her chair closer, Sylphiel wrapped her arms around his, hand still holding onto Rasmus's cold clammy fingers. "How did she defeat you?"

"She couldn't touch me using any other magic but that spell so long as I had Zanafaar. But Zanafaar had a weakness. It was afraid of Flagoon- it was planted to absorb the demonbeast's miasma of fear and death, and at the moment, Zanafaar was still technically dead- about as dead as I am now..."

Finishing his drink, Rasmus pushed the cup away and clasped Sylphiel's hand in both of his, falling silent for a long moment once again, but this time, the nurse waited patiently for him to speak, having the feeling that this was the part she wasn't going to like. "Zanafaar started destroying Flagoon, it couldn't get close to the tree without starting to get drained out of me. The demonbeast's hold on me wasn't that strong as of yet. I managed to nearly kill Lina, but you swept her away into the roots of Flagoon where I couldn't go and healed her... and it was there, that you found the Bless Blade. It's the holy sword of Sairaag, I don't know the exact legend, except that it was something about the sword being linked to the land and should Sairaag ever need help, the sword would be the weapon."

Again, he stopped and closed his eyes tightly, fingers squeezing Sylphiel's hand. Sylphiel gently chafed his fingers, trying to bring some warmth back into them.

"They drove me towards Flagoon, and then, Lina shot towards me, holding the Bless Blade while her friends threw spells at me, and you cast a resurrection on the tree the moment Lina pinned me to it with the sword. Zanafaar was drained out instantly, leaving me... dying."

He kept his eyes closed, head bowed as Sylphiel absorbed this information. So, his swearing by the Bless Blade was something incredibly serious to him. She felt... touched that he would go so far for such a simple promise to her. It was a promise Sylphiel was glad she'd asked him to make, though.

Rasmus drew a slow deep breath, and spoke again, apparently not quite finished, "At least they stayed with me till the end, and... actually bothered to bury me afterwards. Then I saw David. He was upset and grabbed me, told me to stick with him and we'd both be alright. I had nothing better to do but sit on my lonesome in the Sea of Chaos and so I grabbed him back and we woke up in the hospital."

Silence fell then, Sylphiel's hand clutched between Rasmus's. Sylphiel wasn't sure... what to do, or think, except that she was glad that the same thing hadn't happened here. Her home was still standing, the city, Flagoon. It took a long moment to find her way out of the world of his words, though, and take a breath to calm her swiftly beating heart. Lifting her hand, she touched his face once again, tipped his chin towards her and watched as he opened his eyes, one blue, the other was yellow. "Rasmus," she said softly, slowly, "If you do ever do something like that again, I will take Bless Blade to you," she said firmly, pinching his jaw between her fingers, "But since you promised not to hurt anyone ever again- and swore on Bless Blade," she relaxed her grip, and leaned forward to slide her arm around his neck and kissed him deeply.

For a moment, Ras didn't respond, but it didn't take long for him to recover from his shock and return her kiss. They parted slowly, and Sylphiel settled back into her chair. "I still think you're sweet. I think that Eris woman was very stupid to do what she did. You can't replace people, no matter how hard you try. They'll never be a perfect replica." She twirled her fingers in the hair at the back of his neck, keeping his attention, keeping him from taking offense to her words, "But Rasmus, I think you're a very fine individual. No matter how you came into being or for what reason. You may not be Rezo, but you're perfect the way you are."

"That's why I love you," Rasmus stated, a look of pure happiness in his eyes. Sylphiel couldn't help but smile and kiss him again. He was so cute and charming, and David was fun-loving and confident, two in one, and an absolutely wonderful combination. He was her dream come true, a knight in shining armor to whisk her away on his white horse to the shores of love. "I promised you flight," Rasmus said after the kiss, "Are you done with that?" Sylphiel nodded and he stood, helping her up from her seat with the grace and courtesy of a true gentleman and even helped her with her coat.

Together, they left the café, heading over to David's car, where he opened the door for her, then got in on the other side. David returned then and cast her a smile. "You really are a wonderful person, Syl, truly. Both Rasmus and I would do anything for you." With that, he backed out of the parking space and turned out onto the road. It was eight by then, and traffic had died down somewhat and the sky was dark except for the city lights. David drove out to Flagoon Park, and parked at the locked front gate. "I doubt anyone'll steal it," he said and took her into his arms. "Ready?"

Sylphiel nodded and yelped as she suddenly realized that the ground had dropped out from beneath them. Rasmus shifted his grip on her, holding her securely against his chest and grinned down at her. They rose higher, and flew over the dark park, heading towards Flagoon. Up they went, higher and higher until they floated above the Holy Tree. Looking down, Sylphiel's grip on him tightened, though she knew he would never drop her, and pulled her eyes away from the dizzying sight to look towards the city.

"It's beautiful," she whispered, staring at the lights.

Nuzzling her hair lightly, Rasmus murmured, "The lights wash out the stars, I wish I could show you the stars. This time of year, they light up the sky in a river of white diamonds, reaching from east to west in an unbroken band."

Closing her eyes, Sylphiel snuggled against him, easily imagining what he described. How easily his words conjured images in her mind, as if he'd always had to deal with mere words to describe sight to someone who'd never seen it. "You're romantic too," she told Rasmus, lifting her face to kiss him.

---

The stadium was packed. People crowded the entrance, stood several deep in front of the concession stands, and meandered around the seating. Sylphiel was clinging to his arm, and David couldn't help but grin. "I can't believe you got tickets for this!" Paul's date shouted over the crowd noise, "They were sold out six months in advance!"

"I've got connections," Paul replied and nudged David with his elbow conspiratorially.

David winked back at him; where he'd been tired before from his long day at work, David had revived to a second wind from the prospect of getting to see Sylphiel for the first time in a week. Rasmus's recovery spell had helped a lot too, but mostly it was Sylphiel. She was wearing a little yellow sundress, prepared for the heat of the press of bodies and the humidity of the night. The air was hot and heavy at the end of summer and the sky crystal clear. If it hadn't been for the blazing stage lights, the stars would have been visible. The moon wouldn't be rising for a while yet, as it was only just getting dark. Sylphiel turned her head to look up at David with a bright smile, her beautiful eyes sparkling with excitement. "How -did- you get tickets?" she asked.

Flushing slightly, David leaned down and told her, "Zel called me last week, and I asked for some tickets since the concert was on your day off."

Her face went red, "He- ... called you!"

This caught the attention of Paul's date and she looked towards David with curiosity. Scratching the back of his neck, David gave a humble laugh, "Yeah, he's my cousin. Graywords isn't a common last name, y'know."

Paul's date looked David over and snorted, "You don't look a thing like him," she stated, deciding not to believe him. She latched onto Paul's arm again to drag him towards the concessions line.

David laughed, "You want something to drink or should we go find our seats?" he asked her.

"Seats," Sylphiel replied after looking at the incredibly long concession line. She hadn't seen the seat numbers on the tickets yet, he and Paul had kept them, even through the line to get in. "The security was rather tight tonight," she added.

Lifting a hand to his mouth, David whistled sharply and waved to Paul, then made one of their hand signs. He copied it, and David nodded. "Yeah. You sure you don't want anything?"

"Uh, water?" Sylphiel blinked and watched as David added another hand sign, then dropped his arm around her shoulders and turned, guiding her towards the seats. "Zel's pretty famous," he said, and looking at the tickets briefly, he headed down to the front row, then all the way to the center. Sylphiel looked up at the stage, which was currently covered with a curtain, blocking view of the setup going on behind. "And Prince Phillionel is in town, so maybe they don't want anything happening, to make a fuss while he's here," he continued. "It'd look bad."

Sylphiel nodded slightly, then looked towards him as she realized where he'd led them, "You're... sure these are our seats?"

Grinning, David pulled out the tickets again and showed her. She sat down slowly. "Wow. Front row center. Is he –really- your cousin?" she asked.

Taking a seat beside her, he stretched out, "Sure is," David replied, folding his hands behind his head, "He wanted to talk to me after the show too, said I could bring you and Paul... and that ditz he invited." Sylphiel blushed and laughed softly.

"She is a bit brainless," she admitted, "but she seems nice." They both stared up at the stage as the opening band filed on to set up. "You're full of surprises, David," she added.

He grinned again, "Of course!" he replied. "But only for you." Dropping an arm around her shoulders, he leaned around and kissed her cheek. Laughing, Sylphiel blushed and turned her face towards him to kiss his lips.

"Woah! Get a room," Paul called, making his way along the front row, carrying two beers, his date carrying two more and a bottle of water. Hurriedly, Sylphiel pulled away, her face bright pink, and clasped her hands in her lap. The water was handed to Sylphiel and Paul's date- who's name David hadn't caught but thought that it started with an M- sat beside the nurse with Paul on the other side.

Laughing, David took one of the beers and sipped it, "You're just jealous, Paul! I've got a fine young lady who actually owns a nurse outfit legitimately." He put his arm around Sylphiel's shoulders again and hugged her lightly, to let her know he was teasing Paul, not her.

"Damn straight I'm jealous," Paul agreed heartily and swigged some of his beer.

"Hey! What about me?" the blonde woman Paul had invited whined.

Smiling at her, Paul replied gently, "We're just joking."

The opening band started playing then, merely background noise that no one was really listening to. David stretched out in his chair again.

"Do people do this often?" Rasmus asked quietly, "Go to... events like this...?"

A smile tugged at the corner of David's lips and he silently replied, "Some do. They don't have concerts on your world?"

"No. We have plays that we use stages like this for, but we don't have people gathered just to listen to music, unless it's a fair."

His fingers tightened on Sylphiel's shoulder as she took a sip of her water and looked up at him with a slight smile. Paul and his date were chatting loudly- or more, Paul's date was babbling about Zelgadis, Paul was just listening. "I hope you enjoy this then, Ras. I don't usually have the money to go to stuff like this, and really wouldn't have been able to afford tickets this close to the concert."

"Thanks for inviting me," Sylphiel said, "You didn't have to..."

Grinning, David replied, "I got the tickets for free, and who else was I going to invite? Really, I think Zel had some ulterior motive in giving them to me. He agreed too quickly. And giving us front and center..."

Paul's date leaned around abruptly, "I'd heard that he'd saved the entire front row from being sold until just a week ago."

"Ah! I knew it," David stated, "He was going to foist the damn things off on me whether I wanted them or not! Sneaky bastard."

The woman, whatever her name was, snorted, "I heard that he has something special planned for tonight."

Interested now, David looked towards her, "Any idea what?" but she shrugged.

"A lot of speculation on the net about someone special that he wanted to come, and considering that it's nearly his birthday- which is July twenty-first, it might be something special for that," she said, as if to impress him with her knowledge.

"Look, I saw him in diapers; I know when his birthday is and what his favorite ice cream flavor is," David interrupted before she could go on.

Huffing, the blonde flipped her hair and said, "Alright, fine, what is his favorite flavor?"

Sniggering, David replied, "Vanilla, and when he was six he used to throw temper tantrums if he didn't get a cherry on top." Her eyes grew wide.

"Wow! You're a real fan, aren't you?"

"He's sorta like my little brother, chika," David replied, "I grew up with him. We used to write songs together, I learned to play the guitar so he could have someone to practice with." Absently, he rubbed Sylphiel's shoulder. She had been quiet for some time now and he glanced down at her after taking a sip of his beer. She smiled up at him, reassuringly and leaned against his side despite the heat.

The blonde laughed at David's words, choosing to disbelieve them once more. David hardly cared, he had the feeling that Zel had indeed intended to give his cousin the entire front row. Of course, the rest of the front row seats suddenly going on sale at nearly the last moment had been enough to get some pretty high prices, most of which had gone to the fund for the hospital. If Zelgadis hadn't planned it out that way, he'd gone pretty far in the way of making himself popular with the hospital and anyone else willing to pay the price for booking him.

Abruptly, a young woman took the seat beside David in a white tank top and pink slacks. Matching pink flowers were embroidered down the edge of the slit collar of her top. Her dark hair was cut short, just past chin length, and her sapphire eyes were bright as she glanced towards David and gave a grin.

"Amelia?" he blurted before thinking.

The young woman blinked and blushed, "Hi!" she said cheerfully.

Looking forward again, David shook a mental finger at Rasmus, who merely shrugged.

"So that's why the security's tight tonight," David continued, then shook his head, shifting to offer his hand to her, "Hi, I'm David Graywords, I talked with your father this afternoon about the unmanned space lab contract."

Amelia grinned and took his hand, "Daddy's said a lot about you!" she beamed, "He was very impressed with your professionalism and he really thinks that the program has an excellent chance with you working on the project!"

Sylphiel, as well as Paul and his date leaned around to peer at David and his latest companion. "I'll do my best," he replied, "after all, being able to have a lab in space would make growing medicine a lot cheaper and also give us some more mining options."

Perking, Amelia bounced in her seat, "And thus, saving the planet from utter depletion!" she clasped her fist and pumped it. "It's so Wonderful to have someone of like mind working on such a vital part of the project!"

He heard the blonde turn towards Paul with a soft murmur, "He's talking to Princess Amelia as if she were just someone he met on the street!"

Paul laughed softly, "That's David for you, everyone's just a person in his view."

Shifting, David pulled Sylphiel around, "Sylphiel, this is Amelia," he introduced, "Sylphiel's a nurse over at Holy Flagoon," he said and traded seats with her to put the two together, watching with amusement as they immediately hit it off, talking about medicine and migrating to gardening by some convoluted path he couldn't follow.

"So, Mr. Graywords," Amelia said, abruptly bringing David back into the conversation as he finished half his beer, "Are you a fan of Zelgadis?"

Laughing, David replied easily, "He's my cousin, but this is actually my first time to one of his concerts."

"Oh, wow!" Amelia beamed at him. "That's so cool!"

Glancing up towards the stage as the opening band began packing up he spoke, "If you want, I can get you backstage to meet him," he offered at Rasmus's prodding.

Now Amelia's eyes practically turned to stars, "You- WOULD?" she gasped, "You're so Kind, Mr. Graywords!" she squealed excitedly.

Taking a moment, David glanced around and found that the seats had filled on either end of the row, as well as all the seats behind them. There were certainly a lot of scantily clad teenage females flailing and screaming back there, but not enough to outnumber the young men who liked Zelgadis's style. There was a camera crew in the back, recording the concert for the DVD, the general media hadn't been allowed in.

Finally, the curtain rose to reveal a cloud of mist, and the shrieks and brandished banners rose with it. Amidst the noise, the band started playing the intro to a song. Zelgadis leapt down to center stage from somewhere within the lighted mist and took up the lead. Amelia and the blonde jumped to their feet shrieking at the tops of their lungs, waving their hands as the Rockstar traveled across the stage, singing and playing. Sylphiel pulled David to his feet. Lifting a hand, he waved at Zel, who gave a nod. Of course, the girls all thought it was for them and screamed all the louder.

"I like this!" Rasmus said, "It's loud and noisy, but he's good."

David laughed out loud at that and took a swig of his beer once more, feeling pleasantly buzzed. Sylphiel was bouncing along to the music too, which was doing nice things to her chest, waving her arms and grinning broadly.

"I'm glad Zel gave us the tickets, even if he probably did have ulterior motives for it," David replied to Rasmus.

The song drew to a close and Zelgadis gave a bow, letting his crowd settle down a bit before he started speaking. "Welcome," he murmured and the girls screamed, "And thanks for coming," he shifted his weight back and forth from one foot to the other, always moving, meandering across the stage restlessly. His hair was dark purple with a hint of red in it, the color David's hair was when wet, his bangs spiked out near the top, but falling into his face on the left side; the sides were cut short enough to do that freaky poof effect David hated in his hair. His ears were pierced from top edge to lobe with a multitude of mismatched hoops and spikes, but he'd refrained from poking holes in his face except for a single eyebrow ring. His clothes continued the punk look, starting with a ripped-sleeves black jacket that was zipped up partially from the bottom. No shirt underneath, showing the muscles he'd been working on for years, and his pants were tight enough to show off the shape of his legs and tucked into knee high black boots with silver buckles and steel across the toes. Around his forearms were black leather wristbands.

"And thanks for helping to fund the Holy Flagoon Children's Hospital, which is where half your ticket prices went to," Zelgadis continued casually, still moving while the rest of his band members took it easy behind him. His fingers tapped absently on the cherry-red guitar he had hanging from a strap over his shoulder. He didn't have a microphone to stand at, he wore one of the wireless ones, just as his guitar was hooked to a wireless amp. Cords just got in his way too easily and he'd always had problems with tripping over them. "This is my first time in Sairaag," he added to the excited wailings of his fans, "I've been meaning to come for some time, just hadn't had the opportunity. Wonderful city you've got here, but I think I like the people the best," he flashed one of his rare smiles, which was visible on the large screen over the stage, bouncing slightly as if the cameraman was having a difficult time tracking his movements. "So this one goes out to you!" he raised a hand and waved a victory sign as he turned around to face his band, walking a slow circle as they started up another song, which he joined once he was facing the crowd again.

The girls squealed, the guys hooted and shouted, and David grinned, drinking his beer. "Showoff," he muttered to himself, giving a shake of his head. Admittedly, David had bought Zelgadis's CD's and did listen to them often enough to know the words, and did sing along with his favorites as the concert progressed.

Four more songs and Zelgadis paused again to get a drink and meander around the stage again. "My best friend's in the audience tonight," he said after swallowing a sip of something clear. It may have been water, or not. "I was worried he wouldn't come, cause he's rather lazy," there was a few hollers from the crowd. David finished his beer and shook his head, laughing. Zelgadis continued, completely serious, as he usually was, even when telling a joke, which made them all the funnier. "He had a good excuse this time, but I'll forgive him since he made it here anyway." More howling from the audience and Zelgadis moved to the front of the stage and pointed, "Git up here."

David covered his face, feeling his it burn as the camera sought through the front row and found him. "Bastard!" David shouted up at Zel and shook a fist.

"Stupid coder," Zel replied coolly, "Get up here, before my fans mob you."

Laughing anyway, David climbed over the rail in front of him and headed up the stairs at the side of the stage as the cameras followed him. Zelgadis paced across to meet him and grabbed his arm, "This's my cousin," he introduced, "Say hello, David."

Rolling his eyes, David laughed and waved at the crowd. "I knew you had some ulterior motive, Zel, I really did."

"If you'd come to one of my concerts before this, I wouldn't have to embarrass you now," Zelgadis replied evenly. "Besides, you've got a promise to keep."

Putting his fists on his hips, David cocked his head to the side, "Promise? I don't remember promising anything like this."

Stepping back a bit, Zel wagged a finger, "You promised to play a song with me when I got famous." He turned towards the crowd, "Am I famous yet?" he asked them and the stadium erupted. "There, see?"

David covered his face with his hand again, laughing, "Alright- alright, fine!"

"Consider it a birthday present, since I know you're too poor to buy me a card," Zelgadis replied and paced back and took the guitar and wireless microphone one of his stage crew handed over. He held them out to David and raised one eyebrow in challenge.

Taking the guitar, David pouted at his cousin, "That's not true." He pulled the strap over his head and adjusted it slightly.

Zel quirked a brow and handed over the microphone, "Oh really? Money was your excuse to not come see me before this." There were shouts and squeals from the audience.

"Oh, fine, so I'm lazy," David admitted with a grin.

Giving a smirk, Zelgadis turned towards the audience once more, holding his hands out, "There, see, he admits it."

"And what song are we going to play, oh God of Rock-n-roll," David asked facetiously.

"Harder to Breathe," was Zelgadis's immediate answer. "Since I've never had it recorded before, and it was the one you helped with the most. You remember it, right?"

Looking up briefly, David ran his fingers over a quick set of chords without playing, then nodded, "Yep." Of course, it had been Rasmus who'd pulled the memory out for him; he was thoroughly enjoying this. "Hit it."

As one, they struck a chord and the audience screamed and brandished their banners and bounced as he and Zel went through the intro of the song and the band behind them took up the beat.

David started the first stanza, "How dare you say that my behavior is unacceptable, So condescending, unnecessarily critical, I have the tendency of getting very physical, So watch your step cause if I do you'll need a miracle!"

Here, Zelgadis took up, "You drain me dry and make me wonder why I'm even here, This Double Vision I was seeing is finally clear, You want to stay but you know very well I want you gone, Not fit to funkin' tread the ground that I'm walking on!"

Giving a shake of his head, David flipped his bangs from his face and paced a bit, closing his eyes and reconstructing Rezo's garage out in the country where they'd used to practice, quite loudly and to Eris's annoyance. Opening his eyes again, he held the image and firmly ignored the audience as he started moving, joining Zel in the center of the stage in time to sing the chorus with him. "When it gets cold outside and you got nobody to love, You'll understand what I mean when I say, There's no way we're gonna give up, And like a little girl cries in the face of a monster that lives in her dreams, Is there anyone out there cause it's getting harder and harder to breathe,"

Zelgadis stopped singing and let David take the next line on his own as he breathed heavily as accent to the beat, "Is there anyone out there cause it's getting harder and harder to breathe." The audience went wild.

"What you are doing is screwing things up inside my head, You should know better you never listened to what I've said, Clutching your pillow and writhing in a naked sweat, Hoping somebody someday will do you like I did," David continued, and Zelgadis joined in once more for the chorus.

"When it gets cold outside and you got nobody to love, (Woah!) You'll understand what I mean when I say, There's no way we're gonna give up, (Yeah, yeah, yeah!), And like a little girl cries in the face of a monster that lives in her dreams, Is there anyone out there cause it's getting harder and harder to breathe."

This time, David took the panting part as Zelgadis sang the last line, "Is there anyone out there cause it's getting harder and harder to breathe." Here they began a guitar duet, call and answer, David taking first to show off a bit of fingering, Zelgadis leering at him and easily outdoing it. Accepting the challenge, David played something more complicated, which Zelgadis expanded upon to the shrieks and wails of his audience. David squealed his guitar through another riff and Zelgadis picked up the end and they played together once more as Zel started to sing again.

"Does it kill, Does it burn, Is it painful to learn, That it's me that has all the control?"

David took up, "Does it thrill, Does it sting, When you feel what I bring, And you wish that you had me to hold!"

From there, they went into the chorus again, singing unison, as if they'd rehearsed the performance just the other night instead of nearly eight years ago, "When it gets cold outside and you got nobody to love, You'll understand what I mean when I say, There's no way we're gonna give up. And like a little girl cries in the face of a monster that lives in her dreams, Is there anyone out there cause it's getting harder and harder to breathe."

Again, Zelgadis panted as David sang, "Is there anyone out there cause it's getting harder and harder to breathe."

They switched parts again, "Is there anyone out there cuz it's gettin harder and harder to breathe." With that, they hit the last chord and the crowd screamed for nearly a full five minutes.

Lifting a hand, Zel turned off his microphone, which was attached to a headband hidden in his hair, and David did the same. "You sure don't look like you got hit by a car," Zel commented, holding out his hand for their 'secret' handshake, which David returned.

"I had the greatest of care. I'll introduce you to her after the show," David replied, grinning, "They really liked that, didn't they?" he looked towards the audience.

Laughing, Zelgadis replied, "You're not as bad as you claim, Dave! I always said you should've joined me, right from the beginning."

Giving a shrug, David shoved his sweaty hair back from his face. "Can't join now either."

"You and that coding job," Zel lightly punched David's shoulder, "You owe me another song. Your call, cause that was the only one I was saving."

Another shake of his head and David grinned, "Fine, you haven't played 'See You Sandy' yet. As I recall, that was top on the charts for months."

Zelgadis rolled his eyes, "That one's so old!" he complained, "Alright, a little nostalgia's good for publicity." By now, the crowd had settled a little and Zelgadis turned his microphone back on. "Since you all like him so much, my cousin's graciously acquiesced to play another song with me." The audience screamed.

David laughed, his microphone still turned off, and said, "I can see why you like it up here!" just as several pairs of lacy black panties hit the edge of the stage. "Pervert," he continued with a grin.

Looking over at David, Zelgadis waggled one brow. Lifting his hand, David turned his own microphone on. "Zel said it was my choice, so I pick 'See You Sandy'." This got a lot of wails and shrills from the audience, they apparently approved of the choice. This time, David started the song, working the complicated introduction to it's fullest, Zelgadis grinning at him the whole time, then the drums picked up and the star of the show joined.

When the song ended, Zelgadis turned his microphone off again, "I do appreciate your coming, what with being just out of the hospital. You're alright, right? You look a little pale."

Turning off his own microphone, David pulled it off and shook his hair out, "Nah, I'm alright. This's been fun, Zel, really. You were right, I should have come before this. See ya after the show- oh, see those four, the three girls and the guy, I'm bringing them too." He shot Zelgadis a look, "Be polite, the girl in the white is Princess Amelia."

Zel peered down at them, "Oh, I'd heard she'd bought a ticket."

"Zelgadis, I swear, you are completely oblivious of anything outside of your books and music," David fluffed his cousin's hair and handed over the guitar to the stage hand that came to take it and the microphone. Once again, the audience took the opportunity to make lots of noise as David made his way down off the stage and climbed back over the rail to his seat. Paul handed him the extra beer, and he chugged it, despite it being more than a little warm.

Paul's date stared at him, "I... doubted you," she said meekly, "Forgive me!" she begged, as if he was somehow holy now.

Amelia laughed brightly, "You're really good!" she called, and David was now thankful for the princess being seated with him. Her bodyguards weren't going to let the screaming fans anywhere close to her, or the people she was seated next to. Zelgadis started up a new song, catching the attention of his fans once more, which distracted them from his poor cousin, who wasn't used to having people panting on him.

"You having fun?" David silently asked his other self.

Rasmus immediately replied, "More than ever in my life."

Grinning, David shoved his hands through his hair, "I'm glad. Fun is good!" Rasmus agreed completely, but didn't say anything further. Blinking, David looked down at Sylphiel, "Whad' you say?" he yelled, as she tried to tell him something.

Sylphiel pushed her own bangs back, the rest of it still mostly in the pony tail she'd arrived in. "This is really great!" she repeated and stood on her toes to give him a kiss. "Thank you so much for bringing me!"

"Are you kidding? Zel will kick my ass if I don't introduce you to him," David slipped an arm around her waist and pulled her in for another kiss, which she cheerfully gave him, sliding her arms around his neck, despite the heat of the night and the crowd. Closing his eyes, David drowned in her scent, nearly overtaken with the urge to pull her clothes off and make love to her right there. He broke the kiss and set her down again. She laughed lightly and after taking a moment more to smile at him, she turned her attention back to the concert and David did the same.

The intermission rolled around and Paul slipped off to get some more drinks. David flopped into his seat, sliding down in it and fanning himself with his hand while Paul's date, Sylphiel, and Amelia went off to the bathroom, leaving him to himself for the moment.

A moment was all he got. "What the hell are you doing here!" came a shout and David opened his eyes, peering down the row to where a familiar short redhead was making her way over. "I thought you were still in the hospital!"

Lina, too, was dressed for the event, in a green tube top that merely covered her breasts and a pair of shorts that barely covered her ass. Sitting forward, David grinned at her, "They kicked me out cause I was healthy, you know, they don't seem to like healthy people there. They take up space."

She folded her arms and shifted her weight from one small foot to the other, "Why didn't you mention that you were famous?" she asked, "I ran down a famous person!"

Laughing, David shook his head, "I'm hardly famous, Lina, my family is. I'm just a programmer."

"Lina! Where'd you go Lina?" David looked up to spot Gourry, wearing a light blue tee shirt and jean shorts, his hair braided for the event. Rasmus laughed softly in his head.

"What's so funny?" David asked while Lina was distracted, waving Gourry over.

Rasmus continued laughing, but still managed to say, "The whole gang's here. Lina, Gourry, Amelia, Zelgadis, and Sylphiel. I just find it rather funny that my old enemies... aren't, but I'm still the reason they've all met... mostly."

Smiling slightly, David shook his head, "I told you. They've got no problem with you here. They don't know what you did, they don't care. So just don't do it again, take it as a mistake, and move on to do better things in the future."

Lina spun back around to face David now, "So you're really better now?" she asked, "no hard feelings about the whole thing?"

Giving a wave of his hand, David replied, "Nah, I got a promotion out of it, as well as a new girlfriend and some free tickets." Mentally, he added, "And a new little brother," and continued, "So, everything's okay. Don't worry about it, Lina."

"Gourry?" Leaning back, David spotted Sylphiel working her way down the row. She hesitated, one hand lifting to her mouth, her eyes wide and the new bottle of water she held in her other hand on the verge of falling. Upon seeing David, her lips pressed together and her fingers took a better hold on the bottle. Behind her, Amelia and... what's her face returned from wherever they'd gone, still chatting.

Amelia looked up and beamed a smile at the group. "Hiya!" she said cheerfully, "Are you friends of Mr. Graywords?"

David grinned a bit as the group shuffled and arranged themselves in the narrow space, David himself refusing to get up, as his feet hurt and he was really hot and tired. Sylphiel took a seat beside David and took his hand, defiantly looking up at Gourry who... was completely oblivious. Lina caught the look though, and eyed Gourry too. Paul returned then, and handed out his bounty of beers, which David claimed a couple of.

"You keep that up and you won't be able to drive," Sylphiel admonished.

Grinning at her, David kissed her cheek, "The concert's not over for a while yet, and we've got an audience with his Holiness Zelgadis after that. I'll be sober by then, promise." She sighed. "Besides, if I'm not, you can drive us home."

Reluctantly, she agreed, "Alright," and kissed him back.

"Gourrry..." Lina growled and grabbed his hair, "You know her?" she demanded.

Flailing his arms and tipping backwards dangerously, Gourry yelped, "Yeah- she's Ms. Sylphiel! We went to the same high school!" Lina let go of his hair. Straightening, Gourry rubbed the back of his head and peered down at Lina, "She's a really good cook," he added. "She always gave me what she made in home-ec class." Cheerfully, he smiled and David sighed.

Leaning over to Sylphiel, David whispered, "See? Brainless. He hangs out with Lina because she makes it impossible for him to forget who she is." Sylphiel lowered her eyes and David put his arm around her shoulders, "However, I'm interested in this cooking of yours." Shifting, he flicked his tongue across the edge of her ear. She started, face turning bright red.

Amelia firmly planted her fists on her hips, "Mr. Graywords! Introduce your friends," she demanded and David laughed and left off teasing Sylphiel.

"That's Gourry, obviously," he pointed, "And that's the chick who ran me over." He grinned at Lina as she huffed. He took a sip of one of his beers and added, "Her name's Lina."

Paul looked the short redhead over and nodded, "Yep, you were right, Dave."

He smirked at his friend in reply. Lina steamed, "Right about what!"

Paul and David exchanged glances and laughed, "Definitely not my type," Paul repeated then smiled at Lina, "Hi, I'm Paul Garris."

Amelia gasped, hands going to her mouth, "You're the lawyer who just defended the animal rights activists against the Moore Company!" She jabbed her hands out, clasping Paul's free hand in both of hers, "It's a Pleasure to meet you! Your closing speech was fantastic!" she gushed, "Such EMOTION! I cried when I heard it!" Lina pursed her lips, and Gourry stared around the area in confusion.

Laughing, Paul shook her hand, "Yeah, that's me. I have to say, that was one of my harder cases, but a satisfying challenge."

Folding her arms, Lina tossed her hair back with a flip of her head, "SO, I ran over a guy who's cousin to a Rockstar, first name basis with a princess, and best friends with a hotshot lawyer, anything else you haven't mentioned?"

"Uh... my grandfather's the only blind Nobel Prize winning scientist in the world?" David replied. Four out of the seven gathered gaped at him.

Paul's date was the first to comment, "You mean... Dr... Dr. Graywords?"

"Like I said, it's not a common last name."

Amelia's eyes sparkled, "Dr. Graywords is amazing! Overcoming obstacles that would turn back any other man, becoming what he was told he couldn't be and researching cures for the benefit of so many others in the world! And he doesn't use animals as test subjects! A Truly Wonderful person!"

"If she knew who he used instead of animals, I don't think she'd say that about him," Rasmus muttered sourly.

"I agree, but we don't need to tell her that," David replied.

Lina slapped a hand to her face, "Oh god, I'm in deep water..."

Shaking his head, David interrupted before she could get much further, "If I held a grudge, yes, you would be, but my insurance paid for most of the bill and I ...somehow doubt you've got enough money to pay for court costs let alone damages when you lose the case. So consider it settled. I'm fine, you're fine, and everyone's happy. Or if you're not, you haven't had enough alcohol," he held his extra beer out to her, "Here, drink up and be happy. Wait, are you driving?"

Laughing, Amelia pumped a fist, "Yes!" she agreed, "We should all be happy!"

"You're serious about introducing her to Zelgadis?" David asked doubtfully.

Rasmus laughed softly, "They worked fairly well together in my world, and I think she had a crush on him from the first time she saw him."

"Playing matchmaker..." David mentally muttered.

Thankfully, further conversation was shelved as the stage lit up again, and the band began to reassemble. Lina grabbed Gourry's hair and hauled him off to their seats, to Sylphiel's obvious relief. David lounged with his arm around her shoulders still, and leaned over to kiss her cheek.

"Hey," he said softly, "Relax," and rubbed her shoulder, "Please? Just because he's here doesn't mean you can't have fun."

Sylphiel dropped her eyes and took a breath, then nodded, "You're right. He only sees me as a good cook and nothing more."

"He's a fool," David added, "You're a wonderful woman and deserve to be recognized as one," he touched his finger to her nose lightly and smiled. After a moment, she smiled as well and took a swig of water from her bottle.

Amelia reclaimed her seat and fanned herself with her hand, grinning, "Wow! This has been an exciting night!"

Once again, Zelgadis made a dramatic entrance to deafening screams and squeals as his audience jumped to their feet again. David got to his feet as well and did that silly jumping dance along with everyone else in the audience.

Finally, the finale song played, with explosions of silly string and confetti included, and Zelgadis, sweaty and panting, gave a bow and waved, "Thank you all!" he called and blew a few kisses. "You guys make life worth living."

With that, he left the stage. David reached over and caught Amelia's arm as she made to get up, "Zel'll send someone to escort us to him," he told her. "So just sit tight a second." He smiled and she grinned back at him.

Not more than a moment after he said that a man showed up, his long black wavy hair tied back at the nape of his neck. "Follow me," he told them.

"Zangulus...?" Rasmus murmured curiously, "Now all we need is Vrumagun."

"Friends of yours?" David replied, amused.

Rasmus paused briefly, then admitted, "Vrumagun was as close to a friend as I'd ever had. He... just kept dying though, and anything I'd told one of them wasn't known by the rest, so eventually I just gave up. Zangulus didn't much like me, he only liked the swords I made for him."

Together, they climbed over the bar separating the seating from the apron of concrete in front of the stage. Various amps, speakers and lights were set up for the show there and they wound around and between them as they followed Zangulus up onto the stage and into the wings. This area was also filled with speakers and rigging for the various lights, and the smoke machines and the curtain. It was a bit dark when compared to the stage and they stumbled frequently as they moved along through the maze of equipment and around behind the stage to a line of doors. Stopping at one, Zangulus knocked with the back of his knuckles.

"Come in!" came the call from within and Zangulus opened the door.

Zelgadis, now wearing loose floppy jeans and a loose black tee shirt and no shoes, was combing his hair, minus his multitude of earrings and face washed clean of makeup. The room was small and the six of them were a bit crowded, but it wasn't too bad. At least it was air conditioned in the room, which wasn't the case outside the door. Across from the door was a small sink and the vanity with bright lights all around the mirror. To the left was a couch and on the wall next to the door a clothes rack, from which hung a garment bag.

Immediately, the Rockstar grinned and stuck the comb into his hair, pacing forward to clasp David's hand, then pulled him in for an embrace, "Damn it, Dave, you stop playing in the streets. I about had a heart attack when I heard on the news!" He thumped his fist into David's arm, but lightly and the coder laughed.

"Sorry, it really wasn't something I'd planned. At least I dodged the car, it was the motorcycle that hit me," he explained and found a place to flop on the couch. Behind him, the rest of the troop entered and Zel closed the door behind them. Amelia's security took up places outside of the door.

Turning, he leaned against the door and settled his gaze upon Sylphiel, "This isn't Samantha," he observed, "I'm glad you ditched that slut."

Laughing nervously, David scratched his sweaty neck and shrugged slightly, "Actually... I haven't told her yet. But then, she hasn't called me, nor did she bother showing up at the hospital, so I consider it over. This is Sylphiel Raada."

Coming forward, Zelgadis offered his hand to her, and she shyly placed it in his, smirking slightly, he bowed over her fingers in a very courtly gesture, kissing the back of her hand and cutting his eyes at David slyly.

"The mayor's daughter, I believe?" Blushing brightly, Sylphiel nodded. "My pleasure entirely," Zelgadis straightened and released her hand. "Now, who're the rest of your friends?"

"This is Paul Garris, you've heard of him, and his friend-"

"Maggy!" she gushed, "I've got all your CD's and DVD's and T-shirts, and posters, and I'm member three hundred and fourteen of your fanclub!"

Zelgadis paused briefly and smiled at her, "Lovely," he said.

"He's not impressed but she's too stupid to realize it," Rasmus observed with amusement. David hid his smile behind his hand.

Reaching over to his vanity, Zelgadis picked up a marker, "Got anything you want signed?" he asked urbanely and she stretched out her shirt, which was an official 'Zelgadis Fanclub' baby doll tee-shirt. Obediently, he signed it and capped the marker, then turned towards Amelia.

"And you," he said smoothly, "are Princess Amelia," he gave a bow, and smiled with genuine interest. "Definitely my pleasure."

This time it was David's turn to play the peanut gallery, "He wasn't expecting her to be quite so cute."

"Undoubtedly," Rasmus agreed cheerfully. "Match made."

Amelia stood from where she'd perched on the edge of the couch and curtsied to him with a slight blush, "I wasn't expecting to be invited to meet you," she tittered a mite nervously, "It was really a surprise. Your cousin is working on a project for my father- and Daddy was here anyway, so I bought a ticket."

Zelgadis smiled slightly, "I was going to offer him the whole front row if he'd come, but he asked first, and for only four tickets." He glanced towards David, "Stupid coder could've made a fortune."

"Thanks, Zel, but scalping tickets takes work, and I am lazy, after all," David replied, Zelgadis stuck his tongue out.

Amelia laughed, "Well, I'm glad he didn't take them, since I would've missed a wonderful concert! You two are really good together!"

Maggy nodded excitedly in agreement, "You are! How come you're not playing together regularly?" she asked.

David gave a shrug and shifted over on the couch he'd taken a seat on and tugged Sylphiel's hand. She took a seat beside him and leaned against his shoulder. Zelgadis eyed David, "Cause he wanted to go to college and become an architect, which he didn't do anyway." Folding his arms, Zel leaned against the door again, "But thanks for getting up there with me."

Laughing softly, David shook his head, "You were right, I had promised and it was fun. You'll probably make a killing off the CD."

"Of course," Zelgadis replied and waved a hand dismissively. "And everyone's going to want me to play that song again, and when I don't, it'll be your fault because I refuse to play it with anyone but you."

David rolled his eyes, "Going sentimental on me?" he replied, "Or just trying to drag me kicking and screaming into the show business?" Zelgadis didn't answer, but did grin. Maggy swooned against Paul.

A knock on the door interrupted anything that would have been said and Zangulus called in, "Costume, Zel!"

Pushing off the door, Zelgadis grabbed the garment bag and opened the door, handing it out to the man waiting outside. Taking it, the man turned and headed on to the next door. Zelgadis closed the door again with a shake of his head.

Amelia filled the silence then, "Mr. Zelgadis," she said, "Do you have any plans for December fourth?"

Chewing on his cheek briefly, Zelgadis stared up at the ceiling, "Hm, no," he answered, "Tour ends in September," he answered, then eyed her.

Blushing, Amelia clasped her hands together, "Daddy's throwing a really big party for me this year," she said shyly, "And a lot of people will be there..."

"And you'd like if I came too?" Zelgadis's eyes slid to the side as he caught David's smirk and urging nod. "Uh, alright," he agreed, sounding a bit confused. "December fourth- in Seyruun?"

Amelia nodded, "Yep! At the palace- as a guest!" she agreed cheerfully, shyness forgotten immediately. "You don't have to bring anything, just yourself!"

Shrugging, Zelgadis folded his arms and gave a slight smile, "Alright," he agreed again, a bit more willingly this time.

Turning her eyes towards David, Amelia smiled brightly, "You can come too, Mr. Graywords, and you too, Ms. Sylphiel."

Blushing, Sylphiel touched her cheeks lightly, "Oh- I'll have to see if I can get a few days off," she replied, "It sounds very fun."

David laughed softly, "Ah, by December we'll be in regression testing on the project software and I'll probably need a break. Alright, I'll come." Zelgadis quirked a brow, but didn't comment.

Again, they were interrupted, "Zel!" Zangulus shouted from outside, "need to pack up."

Sighing, Zelgadis shrugged, "Sorry to cut the chat short," he said and smiled slightly. "It was nice meeting you all," he added and opened the door. Paul grinned and steered Maggy out with Amelia and Sylphiel trailing after. Reaching out, Zel caught David's arm, "Hey," he said, lowering his voice. "Can I crash at your place till the thirtieth? Hotels are great and all, but practically everyone in town knows which one I'm supposed to be staying at."

David gave a soft laugh and nodded. "Sure," he replied, "You want to ride home with me?"

Glancing aside, Zelgadis eyed his dressing room. "Yeah, I've got my suitcase here. Can you wait a bit?"

Nodding, David smiled, "Sure, lil bro, I'll hang out near where we were sitting. Meet you there."

Letting go of David's arm, Zelgadis closed the door and David moved to catch up with the others, looping his arm with Sylphiel's.

"Hey Babe."

Blushing, Sylphiel looked up at him, "So who's Samantha?"

Wincing, David took a breath and sighed softly, "She used to be my girlfriend, but she's been... in and out of my life rather unpredictably for years, like she expects me to be there when she gets tired of wandering. I'm tired of it. I want someone more stable." He squeezed her hand gently, "Besides, you're prettier than her. Especially when you smile."

This caused the nurse to blush again. "See you later, David!" Paul called as he hauled the giggling and bouncing Maggy away. David waved to him and pulled Sylphiel back towards their seats. The place had about cleared by then and David took a seat.

Hesitating briefly, Sylphiel sat beside him, "What're we waiting for?"

"Gonna give Zel a ride to my place," David replied, "He wants some time away from all the fanmail and stuff. We're going to visit grandpa at his place in a few days. He gets weird sometimes and calls us in for a family reunion, though mostly it seems as if he just wants to give us full physicals and that's all." He sighed softly and shook his head, "No, that was a bit mean," he admitted, "He does care for us in his way, I think, he just isn't quite sure how to relate to us. He's pretty old and didn't really get along with his kids."

"I guess... I could restrain myself around him," Rasmus murmured.

Smiling slightly, David muttered, "Don't worry about it Ras, you won't go through that again."

Sylphiel tipped her head to the side. "What?"

Blinking, David shook his head, "Was just talking to Ras."

She hmmed and settled back in her chair, then leaned her head against his shoulder with a slight smile on her lips. "It was really amazing, what you did to that woman. She's really improving now. She woke up yesterday. Her family was so happy. Thank you, Rasmus, it was very kind of you to heal her."

Rasmus blushed faintly and replied, "Hm, it wasn't anything special, really. I didn't have access to my full power at that point, but I've fixed my connections now."

Looking up at him, Sylphiel smiled, "But thank you anyway," she tapped his nose, "It's nice to know that you're changing your ways." Rasmus blushed deeply and fled into the back of David's mind. David laughed softly and shook his head at his Other Self.

Onstage, the lights had been turned out, and the massive amount of equipment was slowly being packed away. A figure in baggy pants and loose shirt slipped out of the wings, a suitcase in hand, and dropped down off the front of the stage to wind his way through the stacked equipment to David and Sylphiel. "Thanks for waiting," Zelgadis panted slightly, and hoisted his suitcase up over the rail to climb after it.

David got to his feet and pulled Sylphiel up. "No problem," he replied, "Let's get on out of here, the majority of the traffic should be gone by now."

Sylphiel shook her head, "David, I don't think you should drive."

Looping his arm around Sylphiel's waist, he leaned down and whispered to her, "I'm not drunk anymore, another one of Ras's handy spells. Promise, it's fine."

Pressing her lips into a line, Sylphiel stared up at him for a long moment, then he kissed her, and she sighed. "Alright, I can't take your car back to my house anyway."

Squeezing gently, David smiled and straightened. "C'mon, Zel," he said to his younger cousin and turned, heading down the row of seats, stepping over plastic cups and other trash. "That was a really great concert, ya know," he said over his shoulder, "You've gotten that Rockstar attitude down pat."

Snorting, Zelgadis looked shocked, then shook his head and replied, "What attitude? I'm just being myself."

"Exactly," David replied and grinned. They reached the end of the row and headed up the steps to the break between the 'good' seats and the 'nosebleed' section and then followed the sidewalk around to the exit gates. "So what'd you think of Amelia?"

It was a second before Zelgadis replied, "Huh- ...the princess? Uh, she's okay."

"Translation: She's real cute and I'm too embarrassed to admit it." David grinned to himself. Rasmus's only comment was a grunt of agreement. The parking lot was nearly dark from inadequate lighting, and about empty as David led the way to his beat up piece of junk and unlocked the doors. He opened the front passenger side for Sylphiel first, then climbed in.

"Please god, let it start," Zelgadis muttered from the backseat, kicking enough garbage out of the way to set down his suitcase. "Please don't let it fall apart around us while we're on the road!"

Sylphiel giggled and pulled her seatbelt on. "It's a good car," she said back to Zelgadis as he clipped on his seatbelt.

David snorted, but Zel spoke before he could, "David's had this thing since high school, which was nearly ten years ago, and it was old then. -He- says it's an antique, as if that's a good thing!"

Laughing, David put the car into gear and backed out of the parking space and turning, headed towards the entrance of the parking lot. "Whatever, Zel, seriously, its in even better shape than it ever was." The engine gave a cough. Silence fell in the car, and David sighed, "Don't say a word..."

They made it another good mile, with Zelgadis sniggering softly behind his hand as the car continued to sputter. Sylphiel lounged in her seat, yawning occasionally, leaning her head against the window as they wound their way out of Flagoon Park and finally got to one of the main roads. Thankfully there was no one behind them when the car finally did die. David guided it over to the side of the road with a groan.

"Alright, I can fix it," he stated, "just give me a second." He opened the door and reached under his seat, pulling out a flashlight, then pulling the lever to release the hood. Turning on the flashlight, he walked around to the front of the car, opened the hood and propped it up. Shining the light down across the smoking engine, David waved a hand to clear some of the acrid smell from his face and frowned.

"Looks about dead..." he muttered to Rasmus.

"Nothing we can't fix. As long as those two stay in the car, we can claim the flash from the spell is from the light shorting out."

David gave a nod and leaned under the hood, making a couple bangs with the end of the flashlight, then let Rasmus take over and cast the time reverse spell. It took a bit longer to build up than the first time he'd cast it, but David held his other hand ready, and turned the light off the moment the spell popped.

"Damn it," he cursed, as one of the windows rolled down.

"What happened?" Zelgadis asked.

"My light shorted out," David lied smoothly and returned to the driver's side to toss the flashlight under his seat. He returned to the front of the car and dropped the hood. "I think I fixed it though," he said as he got back in. Closing his eyes, he prayed as he turned the key. The car coughed once, then started.

"Yes! Good job, Ras."

"A regular car mechanic now, am I?" his other self replied with the barest hint of amusement mixed with sarcasm. Mostly, he was deadpan.

Pulling out onto the road again, the car behaved itself all the way to Sylphiel's place, which was her father's house, but thankfully, David didn't have to meet her father. She got out, and went to the driver's side to steal a kiss through the window, then dashed inside. Zelgadis climbed into the front seat without bothering to get out while they waited to see that she got there safely.

"So where'd you meet her?" Zelgadis asked, clipping his seatbelt.

Grinning, David turned around and headed out of the estate, "At the hospital. She was my nurse. We didn't do anything in the hospital, against policy for her to date patients, so I got better as fast as I could."

Leaning his seat back, Zelgadis snorted and closed his eyes, "Good incentive," he agreed. "So... you're not mad that I pulled you onstage?"

"Nah, it was fun." David flicked his eyes to the rearview mirror as they passed a cop car, then towards his speedometer. "So how've you been? I hadn't heard anything from you since the Miwan incident."

Zelgadis covered his face and shoved his hands back into his hair, "How the hell was I supposed to know she was in drag! She- he! Sure didn't act like a man. God! I'm glad that didn't get out to the media. They'd have had a field day and all the fangirls would have... ugh. I've been avoiding the romantic scene since. Amelia's really a girl, right?"

Laughing, David nodded and risked a glance over at his companion. "Yep. So, you said you were going to bring someone to the reunion. Who is it?"

"Zangulus actually, he's the guy who showed you guys up. He's pretty cool. He's got a sword collection, even knows how to use them. I've been taking lessons from him."

"Got tired of karate?" David asked as they passed into the first buildings of the city.

Zelgadis resettled in his seat and tucked his hands under his arms, "No, still doing that, but I've gotten to sixth degree and I can't really start a school of my own to teach right now, so I'm finding new things to learn."

Again, David nodded, "That's good though, I haven't had much time for anything other than work, and the occasional hospital visit," he grinned, "I haven't gotten the chance to read a book for fun in a year. God. I need a real break. I told the boss about the trip, and he said it was fine if I took a week off before I really started the Seyruun space lab project. I met with the prince this afternoon and talked with him about it."

"Is that were you met the princess?" Zelgadis rolled his head slightly, then lifted it to run his fingers through his hair.

David shook his head, "No, she just happened to have the seat next to mine at the concert, so I started talking to her. She and Sylphiel sure hit it off well."

Zelgadis fell silent.

Looking over at him as they pulled up to a red light, David frowned slightly at the brooding expression he could see on his cousin's face. "Hey," he reached over and slapped Zel's leg. "Rule!" he reminded. "No brooding in my car without explaining."

Blinking, Zelgadis rolled his head on the rest and looked at David, brows raising. "Light's green." He pointed out, then sighed, "I just... can't help but think that our family is cursed. I mean... I'm kind of... afraid to settle down with anyone. What if ... what if what happened to mom and dad happens to me?"

"What, you think that the moment you have offspring you're gonna die?" David asked.

"Same thing happened to your dad," Zelgadis pointed out sourly. "If only the curse had taken your mother with him." David's father had supposedly died in a lab explosion, but no body was ever found. "Sorry. I shouldn't have said that."

"That wasn't proven," David reminded. "He could've just taken the opportunity to move off to another country." Giving a soft laugh, David shrugged slightly and pulled into the parking garage of his apartment building, "I told you before, whatever you say about her, I've said worse. I don't care anymore, Zel. I realize what she did to me now, and find no reason to defend her from what she deserves." He pulled into a parking space and turned off the car. He pulled the keys out, but made no move to get out. "If I had to choose between her or you, I'd pick you, hands down, Zel."

Looking over at Zelgadis in the dull light of the parking garage, David gave a smile. "You've changed, Dave," Zelgadis stated.

Softly, he hummed and got out of the car. Zel followed his example as he fished his luggage out of the backseat and locked both the doors before closing them and following David as he headed towards the gate that gave access to a short sidewalk that was the alternate entrance to the building David lived in. "I think it was dying, Zel," he said finally as he unlocked the door. "I was... so scared, and mad that I was being taken before I was ready and... then the blackness." He paused and closed the door behind Zelgadis, making sure it locked, then headed into the lobby where he pressed the button for the elevator. "My place is a bit messy still, but I've been working on it. You mind sharing the couch-bed with me?"

"I don't, if you don't" Zelgadis replied, stepping into the elevator and leaning against the back wall. "I thought about killing myself... before. Plenty of times. I couldn't do it though. I was too scared."

Pressing the button for his floor, David turned to put his back against the wall as well. "It's a good thing you were, Zel, I'd be upset. We've got so little family that's really trustworthy in this world, so if you promise not to go and make that number smaller, I'll do my best not to die again. ...Easy promise, really. It's not something I want to go through again."

"What was it like?"

Taking a deep breath, David held it, his eyes going distant as he stared at the opposite wall. "At first it hurt. When she hit me. And then, I got cold. Really cold. As if I was laying in snow. The edges got dark, and then it crept in and took over. I was so ...mad, I was reaching for something, anything... and that's when... I saw myself." He stopped and shook his head.

Leaning forward, Zelgadis reached over and prodded him, "Saw yourself? Your body? You were floating over it?"

David closed his eyes, "No, that came later, when I returned but... no, I saw another version of myself. You know that theory of alternate dimensions? I think I met a version of myself that had died at the same moment. I was scared, and I grabbed him. He grabbed me, and then I was spiraling back down. Then the blackness again. I heard voices, Sylphiel's, but I don't remember what she said. She said I was sedated for a while and that she visited me. She said that people did better when they had someone come talk to them. I think she's right. When I woke up I was confused as hell." Again, he fell silent.

"I didn't hear the full story until I got here," Zelgadis looked down at the floor and scuffed his dirty sneaker into the tile. The elevator pinged and the door opened. Picking up his luggage again, the Rockstar followed his cousin out and down the hall. "I would have come if I'd known how bad it really was."

David grinned, "I know," he stated and unlocked his door, "You would've sat at my side till they kicked you out, and they would've had to fight to budge you."

"Damn straight," Zelgadis agreed, "So who's the bitch that ran you over? You going to press charges?"

Stepping in, David dropped his keys into the dish that was set on top of the TV and kicked his shoes off. Zelgadis kicked the door shut behind him as David replied, "No. I really don't care. It was an accident. My insurance paid for most of the stay and my boss was kind enough to apply my raise to my back pay, so that's taken care of, as well as the bills I missed paying. So, it's fine, and I'm a lot better off for it. Like I told her: I got a new girlfriend, a promotion, and free tickets to a cool concert. She met Paul, she knew who he was, knows you're my cousin, knows Rezo's our granddad, and knows what new hole I could have ripped her, and that's really enough, Zel. Revenge... is the most pointless of things. It only leads to more revenge, and it goes back and forth. So just let it go."

Heading over to the flashing light of the answering machine, David pressed the button and listened to the message Sylphiel had left while he'd been out earlier in the day. He smiled at that. Zelgadis said nothing, just dropped his suitcase over by the couch. Turning, the coder peered at his cousin, "Hey."

Straightening from his slouch after dropping his suitcase, Zel lifted his head and looked towards David, "It just... burns me, how close I came to losing you, and ... you say it doesn't matter."

"No," David stated, "She'll look before trying to beat a red light from now on, she's learned her lesson, I've learned mine. I should have waited a second. The part that doesn't matter is the getting revenge." Shaking his head, David strode across the room and grabbed his cousin's shoulders, turning him. "Listen, Zel," he pressed his fingers in and gently shook the younger man, "Leave her alone. I don't care about that. I just care about making the best of this second chance I've got. I think... though... if I had to die, I think it'd be worse if I had to die knowing that you were mad at me. If I had to die, knowing I was really all alone, that would be the worst thing in the world. So I'd rather just get on with living than tie up the courts and waste a lot of money in fighting a stupid case in which I'd lose just as much as I gained from winning the case."

Zelgadis blinked and looked away, "I don't want to lose you, either," he admitted. David smiled slightly and pulled him in, squishing him in a tight hug. Flailing, Zelgadis tried to free himself as David caught him around the head and noogied him. When the younger man got free, his hair was standing out wildly around his head. "Hey!"

David grinned, "Now, enough with the angst. Go get a real shower, I'll set up the bed. I've got some pizza left over, ham and pepperoni."

"I'll take it cold," Zelgadis huffed and shuffled in his suitcase to pull out some fresh clothes, then headed to the bathroom.