Wind... lots of it, whistling past his ears. He was still falling, but... hadn't he set off the spell? Opening his eyes, he saw two specks flying towards him. People... Flying? Both of them were wearing white, in clothing cuts he recognized, and smiled slightly.

"RASMUS! We're FAAALLLLIING!" David's wail of terror shocked him from his daze.

"Oh..." he blinked and looked around, "So we are." Closing his eyes against the pain in his body, he concentrated and created a barrier around himself. Not a moment too soon, for he went below the level of the buildings and crashed into the ground, gouging a furrow in the dirt of the park just a short ways from Flagoon's self-spawned forest.

For a long moment, he lay where he was, his shield spell cracked and falling apart around him, and finally, he let it go- only to have the half-cave he'd created bury him. Terror gave him the strength he needed to burst free of the relatively thin layer of dirt and he held on to the adrenaline rush long enough to dust himself off a bit.

"David!" a familiar voice called and Rasmus turned, spotting Zelgadis and Sylphiel running towards him. Zelgadis held his hands together as he ran, drawing a massive ball of light between them and throwing it ahead of himself, "Recovery!" he shouted, followed by Sylphiel's shout of the same spell.

Drawing an easier breath, he shook himself off. "Get back under cover," he told them, then looked up just in time to see another Dragon Slave go off, followed by a second explosion just behind it. "Who the-" he started, but the question was answered a second later.

"Rezo!"

A shiver ran down his back and Rasmus turned his eyes lower as Amelia and Zelgadis landed- the ones from his world. The ones with a serious grudge against him. "No time for personal vendettas," he stated flatly, "I'm not Rezo." Tipping his chin up, he smirked, "I'm better than Rezo," he added, to give them a hint as to who exactly he was, if his eyes hadn't already given him away. Turning, he looked at Sylphiel and his cousin. "Go," he told them, "Things'll get taken care of. Syl, I'll keep my promise to you."

Pressing her lips together, she reluctantly nodded, her hair having fallen from its bun, her shoes missing as was his coat, but she was still wearing his tie. Zelgadis had removed the earrings and who knew what he'd done with them. "See if you two can't tap into Flagoon and put up a barrier. The tree'll work with you Sylphiel. Go!"

Swallowing, she gave a shake of her head and staggered forward, closing the distance between them to throw her arms around his shoulders, and closing her eyes tightly. "You promised!" she gasped, "Don't you dare break your promise!" Lifting her head, she pressed salty tasting lips to his and Rasmus kissed her back while David held her tightly. Breaking the kiss, she stared into his eyes, tears cascading from her own, "You come back to me! Both of you!" she hissed, voice giving out.

Zelgadis stared at the strange stone creature and princess that stood gaping at the white-clad sorcerer and nurse. Turning, Amelia grabbed her companion's sleeve. "But that's ... Sylphiel! And..."

"I know," the Chimera murmured, shock staying his blade. Otherwise he would have cut the copy of Rezo down long before this, except, it wasn't just that Sylphiel was kissing the Destroyer of Sairaag, but his unchanged self was scowling belligerently back at him.

Sylphiel slowly let go of David, then turned and, after a long, confused look at Amelia and the other Zelgadis she ran, going full speed back towards the shadows of the tree. Zelgadis hadn't budged. "You idiot! I said run! Don't make me kick your ass back there!" David surged forth and threatened.

"I want to help," he stated calmly, "I can't just sit back and watch you get the shit beaten out of you."

Fuming, David stomped his foot, "I've GOT help!" he gestured towards Amelia and the Chimera.

"What can AMELIA do?" Zel snapped, "She's just a-" Amelia bristled, puffing up in a way that indicated that she was going to Say something Meaningful. The Chimera reached out and grabbed her wrist, silencing her with a gesture as Rasmus interrupted Zelgadis.

"She can do a hell of a lot more than you can right now. That's not the tree-hugging princess Amelia you know, that..." he stopped, "That's the Amelia I know, Zel, and that's the You that I knew. I'm not just David anymore, not since we died, not fully, it's a long story, and we don't have the time to argue about it. So please, go help Sylphiel protect the people of Sairaag."

Zelgadis slowly shook his head, "David, you were always there for me, why can't I back you up for once? What do you think I've been training for? Am I just not good enough to help you or do you plan on dying..."

Rasmus sighed, "I don't plan on it, but it's definitely a possibility. I don't want you hurt doing something you can't handle."

Stomping his foot, Zelgadis's temper flared, "You always prattle on about sticking together and now you're-"

Turning his back on Zel, he turned to face his past, and though his heart beat itself sore against his ribcage, he stood firmly. "I'll explain on the way," he told the white mage and Chimera and took off into the air.

"DAVID!" Zelgadis wailed, "Don't you leave me behind!"

Firmly ignoring him, Rasmus shot further up into the air, followed by Amelia and the Chimera, who had no choice but to follow him. Zelgadis's voice faded into the distance. That didn't stop the Chimera from giving a sympathetic wince. That tone... those words...Rezo! Don't leave me behind! The name had changed, but it was still the same face and still the same tone and still the same pain. Grinding his teeth, the Chimera changed that old aching pain into fury. Anger was useful; depression was not.

"Now," Zelgadis snarled, "Explain!"

Flying at a level just above the buildings, Rasmus glanced from one side to the other, finding himself bracketed by the two. "You killed me on your world, just as the me on this world died, only here, he died by accident," Rasmus stated, "Somehow we met in the void, and he grabbed me and pulled me back into his body."

Abruptly, Rasmus let David take over speaking, "Wow, he'd told me that Rezo really screwed you up, but I hadn't expected this much..." he shook his head, "I'm sorry, Zel. I really am, but," his expression became stern, "This isn't your world, things haven't gone the same here. You're all mirrored, or we're mirrored, but in either case, though the people are the same, the history isn't. Rasmus has changed, he's learned from what he did. God," he looked ahead, "Why're you throwing this on me? Why do I have to be the one explaining this over and over! Gyah!" he scrubbed his hair in frustration.

Ahead, the building Lina, Gourry, and Sylphiel stood on loomed into view. Gourry waved excitedly and shouted. Lina looked back as Rasmus deftly landed on the building- out of Lina's reach. Amelia and Zelgadis on either side, the Chimera in a sour mood, and Amelia pensive, "Ms. Lina," she said, and opted for the simplest explanation, "It's Kopii Rezo." She hesitated, "sort of..."

"Call me Rasmus, or David." The clone of Rezo flicked a hand across his shirt and firmly took hold of the situation, deciding to run over Lina before she could put her thoughts together and get any momentum. "What happened in the past is over and done with, we've got bigger problems right now. If you want to kill me, then do it later, but right now there're still people in the city, so we can't fight here," Rasmus snapped, feeling stabbed in the heart by the frightened look Sylphiel gave him. Her lips trembled, and she backed up a step, then another, clasping her scepter in one hand, eyes watering. Firmly, he dragged his eyes from her to look towards the demonbeast, and began outlining the situation, "Flagoon called practically anything living that could move on its own to it. They're camped under the tree right now."

Lina folded her arms, "Easy targets."

Grinding his teeth, Rasmus's eyes flashed with fury, but firmly, he held onto his temper. "If I wanted to kill them, I would have before this. Back to the subject that matters right now, Lina. I've tried a doubled Rah Tilt and it didn't work. Doubled Dragon Slaves seem to have a bit of an effect, but were nothing more than an annoyance." He stalked forward, brushing past Lina, his heart pounding as he got close to her, but like David had faced crossing the street, Rasmus forced himself to move past and hopped up onto the low wall edging the roof.

"I think it's lost some altitude," David observed, taking over briefly while Rasmus backed into a corner and wailed in terror for a moment or two before taking a few deep breaths and gathering his courage again, "Maybe we can pester it enough to get it out from over the city and ground it. Then at least, we can get close enough to throw bigger spells at it."

Lifting a hand, Rasmus shifted his weight, "Sounds good," he stated, "Except there's not much cleared land, except over in the park," he said, pointing. "We'll have to be careful it doesn't get too close to the tree."

David gave a soft grunt of agreement, "God," he muttered, "This sucks." Blinking, he peeked back over his shoulder at the group arranged behind him, "We're talking out loud again," he told Rasmus. "Your turn to explain, I've done it enough, maybe they'll listen to you."

"Unlikely," Rasmus muttered then spun to face the assembled group as they stood there, staring at him, mouths open. "Yes, I am talking to myself, in the most literal sense of the word. Two souls, one body, and both aware of each other. I died, met David, he grabbed me and yanked me in with him. So I've been here since you killed me, trying to figure out what you meant when you said the future was a flower and learning what I did wrong. Okay? Get over it. There's a demonbeast in MY CITY!" he fumed, "And it's not allowed because I didn't invite it." His attempt at humor fell rather flat, so Rasmus turned his back towards them.

David shook his head, "That was a really bad joke, Ras..." he muttered, "and I thought programmers were the worst at telling jokes. Turns out its sorcerers. I suppose I'll just have to take second place in that department."

"Oh, wow, thanks Dave," Rasmus sneered with sarcasm. "Number one at last." With that, he took off again, glancing back down towards them, well aware that they were talking about him. "I don't need their help anyway," he muttered. David merely sighed. "What? We can do it on our own. If we stick together, everything'll turn out just fine!"

Again, David sighed, "Sometimes, Rasmus, you are far too trusting. I'm not a miracle worker."

Smirking to himself, Rasmus replied, "Neither am I, but together we've got a better chance. Let's annoy it." Heading higher, Rasmus paused, "Hey, try casting Levitation, Dave." Letting go of his spell, Rasmus waited while David panicked for a few moments, then finally shouted the spell out. Once more, they gained altitude and Rasmus chuckled softly, "Evasion maneuvers, David, and head us off in that direction while I fling annoying spells at this bugger."

"Right-o... just... don't do that to me again?" David whimpered.

Gathering a breath, Rasmus twisted the energies in the area, "Flare Arrow!" he shouted, and cast forth the spell, watching as it split apart and spattered like rain against the demonbeast's hide.

Lina stared after the copy as he sailed off, then turned towards Zelgadis and Amelia. "He's nuts! Insane! Absolutely crazy!" Lina flung her hands into the air, then dropped them. "But at least he's not trying to kill us." Lifting her head again, the sorceress folded her arms.

"Ms. Lina," Amelia started, glancing towards the shrine maiden who stood at the edge of the roof, staring off towards Flagoon, "there was another Ms. Sylphiel, and another Mr. Zelgadis! Over by Flagoon. They seemed to know..." she looked up as copy Rezo's levitation spell failed and he plummeted like a stone for a few seconds before taking off upwards again. "They seemed to know him..."

Taking a breath, Zelgadis folded his arms, staring off after the copy as he got further away, and took up the story. "They seemed to know him quite well. The other me called him 'David', and Kopii said that we had indeed killed him and that this world was like a mirror of ours, with the same people but things had turned out differently..." He paused, then added, "This obviously isn't our world, Lina. Sylphiel kissed Rezo and the other me wasn't a Chimera."

A moment of silence fell and Sylphiel looked back over her shoulder, expression the essence of horror and revulsion. "Never," she whispered, "Never!"

Amelia took up again, "He seems to be on our side, and there's something strange with his eyes!" she shivered, "They're creepy! His left keeps changing from blue to yellow, and I can feel a shift in his energies every time that happens, as if..."

"As if his body was just a doll and the two of them were sharing it," Zelgadis finished, "I think Kopii is speaking whenever his left eye is yellow and ... that David is blue-eyed."

Lina shook her head, "That sounds too crazy to be true, but this place is..." Turning, Lina looked down towards the street, "This place is certainly strange. I don't recognize the landscape except faintly, but this place does feel the same as Sairaag." She turned, peering towards Sylphiel, who'd not said anything more since the revelation of her relationship with the copy. "Sylphiel. Now's not the time," the sorceress stated and dropped her hands to her hips, and looked back up towards the Kopii just in time to see him begin casting flare arrows. "What?" Starting forward, Lina peered intently towards the demonbeast watching as it swatted at Kopii, he dodged aside, casting more flare arrows as he did so. "He's levitating AND casting other spells! How is that possible?"

"Why... with two souls." Xelloss deftly landed on the roof beside her with a proud smile. "Oh my, he seems to be annoying Garadaar... Perhaps he can kill it by himself," he smiled again.

One of the demonbeast's swats connected with the pesky clone and sent him sailing downwards to disappear in a wisp of fog. Scowling, Lina pushed her sleeves up, "Oh no he doesn't! NO ONE shows up Lina Inverse! Especially not enemies I've already defeated!"

Rasmus shot upwards from below and Lina dived back from the side of the building, Gourry catching her, though more by accident than any design on his part. "I nearly had you!" Rasmus shouted back, "If it wasn't for that bloody Bless Blade, you wouldn't have gotten me! Fireball!" The air sizzled for a moment and his shot flew off towards the demonbeast and puffed against its side, like a child throwing peas at its mother.

Lina howled, pushing off Gourry and launching back to the edge of the building, clutching the knee-height wall hard enough to crack the bricks, "You deserved what you got!" she shouted back at him. Taking off after him, she drew her sword, though she wasn't sure exactly what she'd use it for, other than maybe cutting Kopii a new one.

Cackling a bit hysterically, Rasmus shouted back, "I never said I didn't! I deserved far more than that, but your ego was getting on my nerves! Bust Rondo!" he sailed past the demonbeast, firing off his spells.

The demonbeast thrashed and glided forward as the others of Lina's group took to the air, tossing spells but concentrating on the side closest to the direction they wanted it to go. Lina landed again, this time on another roof a bit farther away and started flinging fireballs, regardless of whether anyone was in the way of them or not. "Ohh! He makes me so mad!" she shouted.

Again, Rasmus appeared beside her, "It got you moving," he stated evenly, "I thought you were going to just stand there and talk all night about my motives." He sighed, "You can discuss that afterwards, over tea if you like. I might even buy you lunch. There's a place downtown that has the most wonderful pot roast... but it'll only be there if this lovely darling doesn't crash in the city." He waved a hand at the demonbeast.

Fuming, Lina turned to face him, "Alright! Fine! I'll work with you, but only as long as it takes to kill that thing, and then you're gonna get it!"

"Whatever," Rasmus muttered.

David took over abruptly, "Look Lina, I haven't done anything to you, and this happens to be my body, so I'd appreciate it if you didn't damage it? You've already killed him once... and in this world you killed me by accident and the experience isn't one I'm looking to repeat, I only just got out of the hospital!"

Shivering, the redhead stared at his face, "that... eye-thing is creepy," she muttered.

Softly giving a laugh, David shrugged, "Sorry, it happens when Ras takes over." He glanced towards the demonbeast, finding that Sylphiel, Amelia, and Zelgadis had joined the fight. "Er, right, no time for chitchat, got a city to save. And I used to be a harmless programmer! Now I'm a superhero," he took off again and began flinging spells once more.

Lina shook her head slightly, taking another few moments to breathe. This was strange, fighting along side one of her old enemies, except this time, he was a lot more sane, and balanced by another personality that was quite a bit more mature. Sad to say, he was right about needing to get this lobster on the ground and out from over the city. She didn't want another 'Sairaag Lake' on her hands. Taking a breath, she went back to flinging spells that pattered against the demon's side, about as effective as throwing peas at a bull. Her stomach growled.

"Aww! And I STILL haven't gotten to eat Dragon Cuisine!" she wailed. "OR dinner for that matter!"

Zelgadis tried desperately to ignore the way Amelia's breasts squished against his arm every time she flung a spell. That damn copy was right. They couldn't fight this beast while it was in the air so high off the ground. Gourry was about useless, and currently being carried by Sylphiel off towards their destination, and Zel... Zelgadis was left with levitating Amelia so that she could cast other spells. She had no hope of carrying him around, so this was the best solution he could see.

Oh, fine! So he was enjoying getting to hold her too. Just so long as he was the only one who knew that, it was okay, Zelgadis supposed.

"Mr. Zelgadis," Amelia said, taking a moment to breathe when Kopii and Lina rejoined the harassment, "You're not still mad at him, are you?" she asked.

Blinking, Zel looked down at her, "Him? Oh..." he looked towards the clone. "...A little," he had to admit, "His face brings back too many memories."

She looked down, "What about that other version of you?" she asked.

Zelgadis winced, she'd had to ask that. "What about him?" he asked evasively instead.

Turning her head, Amelia smiled up at him, "I still think you look cooler."

Odd... how her innocent comment made his heart rate double. Zelgadis sighed, "I still want to be human again," he shifted his grip on her, moving his hold from around her waist to carry her bridal style, figuring that would be less painful on her ribs.

Amelia blushed slightly, "Being human isn't just looking like one," she said softly, almost too softly for him to hear, but then she returned to casting spells.

Sylphiel set Gourry down in the center of their intended battlefield, her eyes unerringly glued on Flagoon. How healthy it looked here! Beneath its branches, she could see movement, people and animals, all hiding within Flagoon's embrace while the battle raged beyond them. "Hey, Sylphiel," Gourry said, "Uh... who's this Ramsus guy?"

Wincing, the shrine maiden shook her head, "He's Rezo," she replied, "Or, the copy of him that destroyed Sairaag. ...You remember that, don't you?"

Gourry looked up at the sky for a long moment, hand resting on the hilt of his new sword as he contemplated this, then finally nodded, "Oh yeah! He killed that uh. Aerith chick, right?"

"Eris," Sylphiel supplied with a sigh.

Again, the blonde looked around, and after a second, leaned down slightly, "So, what're we doing here? The battle's up there..."

Shaking her head, Sylphiel patted Gourry's hand, "You stay here, Gourry Dear," she told him, and found the strength to smile, "We're going to try and bring it down where you can reach it too."

Pondering that one, Gourry nodded, "Sounds good!" he agreed. Of course he agreed, he liked using his sword. Sylphiel stepped back from him and took off again, leaving him to just stand there, looking useless. It didn't bother him, though, but it bothered Sylphiel. "He looks as useless as I feel," she whispered, clutching the rod that her father had given her, tears stinging her eyes. So many years after... and she still wasn't healed yet. She'd thought she was, but seeing that copy again... "He escaped punishment before, but he won't this time!"

"Hey! Where's she taking Gourry?" Rasmus called, "Why don't you use the Sword of Light?" Again, Lina was on the move, heading towards a better spot to herd the demonbeast along.

Glowering, she shouted back, "We don't have it! We gave it back to the Overworlders." She had to admit though, the expression on the Kopii's face was quite worth it. He stared at her in shock, then shook his head and shot ahead of her, then pulled up and dived down to do a strafing run with more spells. "Showoff," she muttered, "Just cause you can cast two spells at once..."

Finding a place to land, Lina began gathering energy again. "If this takes much longer though, we're going to be worthless for the next round!" At least by now, they were at the edge of the city. Lina had never seen buildings so tall before. The streets were a confusing web, littered with debris and strange contraptions that blocked any possibility of pedestrians walking around. Shaking her head, she left off her curiosity, perhaps she could get David to explain later, he seemed the more reasonable of the two, and she had to admit, seeing the switch for herself, it was indeed two people in one body.

She shivered, imagining having another one of herself talking to her in her head. "I'd go crazy," Lina admitted and lifted her hands, "Fireball!"

The demonbeast moved, slowly at first, but as the group became more annoying, it picked up speed, chasing them as they led it towards the fields near the open-air concert hall. David sighed softly as he rocketed across the city, Lina and co. only a hair behind them, and the demonbeast not more than a breath after. The movement of the creature kicked up dust and debris, windows shattered in its wake and Rasmus winced.

"It could be worse, Ras. It could be whole buildings collapsing."

"Or just vaporizing," Rasmus muttered. "I'm not the direct cause this time, though... not...really, am I?"

David shook his head slightly, "I don't blame you. If you'd been calling this thing, I would have known, anyway."

Rasmus curled up some, taking a break from spell casting for the time being. "But Lina won't accept your word for it, or mine. She hates me!"

Smiling slightly, David soothed, "She'll take Sylphiel's, though. And Zelgadis's."

Glowering, Rasmus uncurled, "that's if he didn't do something stupid..."

"Hey," Lina shouted. "We've pissed it off, now what!"

Blinking back to the present, David pointed, "Land down there."

Changing his angle, David dived, cutting through the air like a bird, Lina following close behind. Gourry stood below them, waving his arms excitedly, or in terror, David couldn't tell in the moment between heading towards him and reaching his destination. Hitting the ground, David rolled to take his momentum, then reached out and caught Lina's cloak as she landed nearby, Gourry running to join her. "Stick close," he said, marveling at how big the demonbeast was as it barreled down from above, obviously intending to squish the gnats that had been bothering it.

Reaching out, David caught Sylphiel as she landed, Zelgadis and Amelia dashed in and snagged his sleeve, and Rasmus triggered the teleport.

Sylphiel stared in awe, along with everyone else, watching as the giant insect-looking creature crashed into the ground. Closing her eyes, she winced away. "David..." she whispered, feeling cold inside. Opening her eyes, she spotted Zelgadis as he began slipping away, a fire in his eyes that could only be named Rage. Swallowing her pain, she took off after him, finally catching the back of his shirt. "No- Zelgadis- Don't throw your life away!"

"It- it just killed my cousin!" Zelgadis fumed, voice low and dangerous.

Shaking her head, she held on, and grabbed his arm, "And what are you going to do? Kill it with your bare fists?" she asked, "There's a better way."

This shocked him, and he stopped trying to pull away from her, "What do you mean?"

Licking her lips, Sylphiel took a breath, "Follow me," turning, she began pushing through the crowd of gawkers who were too fearful to even realize that a celebrity was roughly shoving his way through them. Deeper into the forest, Sylphiel went, following something that she didn't quite understand, except that it was pulling her in towards the central trunk of the Holy tree.

The further in they went, the darker it got, the heavier the air. Even the animals and bugs that had fled the city hadn't penetrated this far. They were packed into the outer edges, along with the frightened people of Sairaag. Shaking his head somewhat, Zelgadis lifted a hand and pulled upon his power, creating one of those little balls of energy that David had shown him how to make. Left unchanged, it gave off a faint glow, but that was better than nothing in the pitch darkness that surrounded them. Sylphiel walked on unerringly and finally came to a stop at the edge of a large circular pond from which the central trunk of Flagoon grew.

Light flared up.

Zelgadis stared around in shock, losing hold of the power he'd gathered and gasping softly as he looked down at the lake. In it wasn't a reflection of the trees above them, but of an empty sky with a shockingly bright swath of stars running through the center, rimmed with rubble. "Sairaag..." Sylphiel whispered. "Rasmus's Sairaag." Her eyes stung and she knelt at the edge of the lake.

"What... do you mean?" Zelgadis asked, crouching beside her, his eyes wide. "We're wasting time," he added.

Swallowing, Sylphiel pushed her hair back from her face and nodded. "It's in there. On the other side. I have to pass through and get it, Zelgadis," she looked up at him. "..." she hesitated, then spoke, "Flagoon... says you're to wield it this time."

"Wield what?"

She sat there for a long moment, her face pale, but then she stood, and Zelgadis gazed at her in awe. She was no longer just a nurse at the hospital, she was no longer just the mayor's daughter, she wasn't even one of the last nobles of the city, owner of the few legitimate titles left in the country.

She was a priestess.

Taking a breath, Sylphiel turned and stepped out onto the water, leaving a little ripple effect beneath her feet, but she was definitely walking on the water. "You must wield..." she whispered reverently.

"The Bless Blade."

Holding her hands out at her sides, she paced slowly across the lake, then stopped. Taking a deep breath, she tipped her head back, and fell forward.

Zelgadis surged to his feet, expecting her to splash, but she didn't. The water shimmered, and she stood upside down on the other side and continued her trek across the surface of the water. "Oh my ...god," the performer whispered and fell to his knees again.