AN: Chapter title from "Lemon Tree" by Will Holt, though I think of the Peter, Paul and Mary version my parents played a lot when I was growing up.

And those of you who follow this series knows it gets dark. Read at your own risk from here on out.

Lina looked at the cake recipe and moaned, and then she wondered just how badly Luna would chew her out for asking her to bake a cake for Attie's birthday party. As she debated whether or not it would be a greater pain to do it herself or to ask her sister when she came over for dinner that evening, the door opened, and Dianna waltzed in holding a bouquet of orange marigolds, and as Lina looked at her, it became apparent that she was glowing with the rush of an early love affair.

"Good, you're both here." Dianna said as she went up and hugged Gourry and then walked over to hug her. "I've got news."

"Oh?" Lina asked.

Dianna grabbed a vase to put the flowers in and announced. "I'm engaged!"

Lina and Gourry looked at each other. "Wait." Lina said. "What do you mean?"

"Kenneth asked me. I said yes."

"But you barely know each other!" Lina protested.

"That's rich." Dianna said as she filled the vase with a water spell, "How long after you two met did you start practically living together?"

Lina yelled, "We didn't get married until three years after we met!"

"But you started traveling with each other, sharing rooms…"

"Oh for Pete's sake." Lina exclaimed as she threw her hands up in the air and looked at Gourry for support, "Two different things!"

"When you have that connection, you know." Dianna said as she placed the marigolds in the vase and started to arrange them. "And we have that connection!"

"It's more than about connection." Gourry said quietly, "And Dianna, everyone wants to want to find love and companionship. But there's a third person in your relationship."

Dianna's eyes flashed as she turned on him, "I've got him under control in ways I never have before! Becoming a midwife, it's been the key to keeping him down."

"You can't afford to let your guard down with this, Di!" Lina said, "The consequences are too dire!"

"And I don't want to live my life too scared of what happens if he gets control that I don't get to do the things that everyone else gets to do!" Di yelled as tears started to stream down her face. "Honestly, why can't you just be happy for me?"

Lina opened her mouth to protest, but Gourry put a hand on her arm. Lina threw her arms up and turned around, and Gourry ran a hand through his hair. "Dianna, what happened the last time you were overconfident?"

"It's different this time!" Dianna insisted.

"That may be. But help us feel more comfortable with this. For one thing you know we can't risk telling Kenneth."

"I've already told him that there are things he will never know about me!" Dianna shot back, "He's okay with it. Look, I've got old Ruby Eyes under control! I won't slip again!"

"That's a dangerous attitude." Gourry said, "That's how Drake ended up getting hurt."

Dianna stiffened. "It's different now."

"And what if something bad happens? Just humor me. What if Kenneth has a wandering eye. You haven't known him that long." Lina said.

"He would never!" Dianna protested, "He's a good man! He's got a good job, he loves me, and the sex is incredible..."

"I don't need to know that!" Lina yelled as Gourry buried his face in his hands.

Dianna smiled in her disconcerting manner, and Lina felt her temper boil and she folded her arms across her stomach and said, "I think it's time we brought Aunt Luna in on this discussion."

As if on cue, Min and Attie walked in, laughing and giggling with their aunt. When they saw that their parents were obviously having a row with Dianna their mirth vanished, "What is it?" Luna asked.

Dianna smiled widely as she walked up to Luna and hugged her, "Kenneth and I are engaged!"

Min gasped as Attie's jaw dropped while Luna stiffened as Dianna pulled away, and then she raised her fists, "I love him. There's nothing you can do to stop me! I will fight you and slay you to prove how serious I am."

Luna slapped her, "You silly little lovesick fool! Do you really think he's going to let you have a happy family? That he'll let you have such a vested interested in seeing the world continue? You're leaving the door wide open for him to get control!"

"But I've never had more control over him!" Dianna shot back.

"He's lulling you into a false sense of security!"

"You're wrong. I'm stronger than him now!"

"I'm starting to think I've been too easy on you!" Luna said as she grabbed Dianna by the arm.

"What are you going to do? Lock me away? You can't stop me!" Dianna yelled as she pulled back to punch her. Luna blocked the blow and grabbed her arm and pulled her forward until she had her pinned to the wall.

Dianna kicked her away as everyone started screaming. But then Attie moved so she was in between them, holding both of them at arm's length from each other before she turned to Luna, "If you're going to fight her you'll have to fight me too!"

"What?" Luna said, mystified as Lina and Gourry looked at each other in shock.

"You heard me!" Attie said defiantly, "You act like you own us! And you don't! You're not even our mother! We don't have to listen to you!"

Dianna looked stunned at the fact that she had people on her side as Min joined Attie to stand beside her. "Attie's right." Min said, "You'll have to fight me, too."

"I'm surprised at you Min, after what happened with Drake." Luna said.

"The times I've been safer have been when Dianna is happy and has what she wants." Min explained, "Keeping her from Kenneth won't make her happy. It will just give her reasons to be jealous whenever I decide to get married, or when Attie gets married. I'm sorry Aunt Luna, but I think you're wrong here."

"And what about when Shabranigdu forces her to destroy everything she has?" Luna asked as Lina collapsed into a chair and started cradling her head in her hands, "Because he will. Letting her have a happy family would go against his goals."

"Well, maybe then rather than telling me that I'm going to fail before I've had a chance, you should help me succeed here!" Dianna said as her voice wavered.

"You're thinking like a naïve child." Luna said. "And there's too much at stake here! If he gains control…"

"What are you going to do, rule her life forever?" Attie asked.

"It's not just me." Luna said, as she looked at Lina and Gourry. "I hardly think your mother approves of this match, Dianna."

"I don't. I think it's a mistake and I think Di is being reckless." Lina said as she raised her head, "That said, when I really think about it, not even Hellmaster Phibrizo could keep me from Gourry. We're not going to win this one, Sis. And the girls do have a point. Dianna will be eighteen in four months. She can move out on her own, get married. If we force her to stay under our control she's just going to run away and then we'd lose her. Ultimately this is her choice to make, even if we don't agree with it."

Luna's widened as Gourry put an arm around Lina's shoulders in support, and then she looked at her nieces and realized that she was gravely outnumbered. Dianna smiled sardonically. Gourry added softly, "We can't stop her from growing up. We don't have the right."

"We have the right because the world is at stake!"

"Just because your Ceiphied's favorite doesn't mean you know how to live my life!" Dianna said. "I know what I'm doing!"

"Luna," Gourry said softly, "Any plan we come up with is going to work a lot better if Di likes it. If we fight with her it just drives her to him, doesn't it?"

Luna was silent, and Min quietly added, "Dianna has already lost so much because of Shabranigdu, because she was cursed by the god you serve so devotedly. It wouldn't be fair for her to lose this as well."

"So be it then." Luna cursed as she stormed to the door, threw it open and then slammed it behind her.

Lina put her hands to her temples as she said, "Well I guess I'm going to have to bake the damn cake myself now."

"Huh?"

"Nothing." Lina said, "You three, get somewhere that isn't here."

"Right, Mom." They said as they went into Dianna's room. Dianna stopped to grab the vase before she left and they closed the door behind them.

As soon as they did, they could hear Lina yelling at Gourry, "I warned you! I warned you that this would happen if you kept bringing young men home!"

Dianna sat down on her bed and set the flowers on her nightstand as they tried to ignore their parents' fight as Min said, "They are beautiful. He was asking about your favorite flowers."

Attie sat down beside Dianna as she said, "I didn't think you'd stand up for me."

"Aunt Luna meddles too much." Min said, "I don't know how you stand to spend as much time with her as you do."

"I sure wish Mom would tell her to piss off sometimes. She's the only person I see her bow down to." Attie added, "But I can't say I wasn't thinking about all of our interests. If she can tell you who you can and can't marry then she'll think she can tell me the same!"

Dianna wrapped an arm around her as she smiled, "It felt good to know that I wasn't alone. I thought everyone would tell me it was a bad idea!"

"If he gives you some happiness then I'm happy for you." Min said as they all tensed for a moment as their parents' fight grew louder.

They could hear the front door open and Lina yell, "Oh don't you dare walk out on me! Not when I'm winning! Dammit!"

It slammed shut again, and a few minutes later they could hear Lina throwing things around in the kitchen as she vented. The sisters flinched, and then Dianna smiled awkwardly, "So, slumber party in my room tonight?"

Attie and Min nodded as Attie said, "Yeah, there's no way in hell I'm chancing going out there tonight. Not even to go to my room!"

After Dianna and Kenneth's small wedding ceremony, they moved into a cottage close to where Lina and Gourry lived. They had strongly insisted to Dianna that they only be a block away just in case. While Dianna chaffed a bit, given that she had grown up being locked in her room every night, moving to her own place still offered considerably more freedom than she had ever had before, and it more than made up for the restrictions. At first Lina and Gourry were terrified of what Dianna would do without them keeping such a close eye on her. But she was so preoccupied with her job and new marriage that as the first month faded they slowly started to relax. That was until Dianna and Kenneth came over one morning and excitedly announced that she was pregnant, and to say it was a test of Lina's resolve to be supportive of Dianna's adult life choices was an understatement. Somehow she and Gourry managed to offer their congratulations even if a pit formed in Lina's stomach. While there was a part of Lina that was excited about getting a grandchild, it was vastly overwhelmed by her fear of what Dianna would do to a helpless child if her rage was provoked.

As soon as Dianna left Lina hoped that her lack of enthusiasm didn't show. Dianna had been hurt that they'd been too scared to be genuinely happy for her when she'd gotten married, and now that she was having a baby Lina didn't want her to feel her hesitancy. Still, as soon as the door had shut behind them Lina smacked Gourry upside the head, "This just keeps getting worse and worse! What are we going to do?"

"Well, Di has been more stable since she got this job." Gourry said. "Perhaps it will be alright?"

"Rezo was also a healer." Lina countered. "It wasn't enough for him."

"But he couldn't let go of trying to cure his blindness." Gourry said, "Dianna can see. She has everything that she wants. She'd have no reason to conduct such horrible experiments and maim her children or grandchildren."

Lina scowled, "Gourry, you are the most patient person I have ever met, but back when we had three kids under the age of six, even you would lose it and snap sometimes!"

Gourry exhaled, "Okay, I see your point."

"I wish you'd seen it before you brought Kenneth home." Lina snarked.

Gourry shook his head as he got up and muttered, "I'm going for a walk."

Dianna pulled her nightgown over her head, and debated between waiting up a little bit longer and just going to bed. Kenneth often picked up extra shifts at work. Now that he had a roof over his head he was terrified of losing it and could never refuse extra work. They also wanted to set aside as much money as possible once the baby arrived, meaning she often wasn't sure when he would be home. It could be any minute, or it could be hours. All the same, while the morning sickness was getting better, between the energy drain that came from growing a child and the frequent late nights her job required, she was simply exhausted. As she brushed her hair out she decided she should get what sleep she could. She didn't sense that anyone would pop that night, and she knew she needed to get what rest she could when she could.

A cramp built within her, and she gasped as she grabbed the vanity. At first she'd hoped it was just a sign that the baby was growing, but then she felt something tear within her as blood started to course down her thighs as the pain grew in intensity. The realization of what was happening morphed at the edge of her mind but she couldn't bear to face it. She'd seen it happen to other women and she couldn't stand the thought of walking that path. Her conscious mind retreated as she stood up, her expression blank, as she started to walk to the door.

Before she reached it Kenneth opened it and came in, "Hey honey." He said, and then his face morphed into horror as he saw the blood staining her nightdress. "Dianna, we've got to get you to bed!"

Dianna didn't acknowledge him as she continued to walk mechanically to the door, and he felt sick as he saw that the blood was trailing on the floor where she walked. He grabbed her arm but she pulled away as Kenneth felt panic rise within him at the amount of blood there was and the sense that if he didn't get her help soon he would risk losing her as well. He moved to pick her up, but she evaded him as she grabbed his arm and snapped it back until it broke. He cried out as she let him go, and then without a trace of emotion on her face she walked out of the house and towards the woods. He shook his head as he realized that whatever was happening he was way in over his head, and he ran to Lina and Gourry's house.

"Help!" he cried as he opened the door with his good arm. His in-laws were seated around their table playing cards, and they turned to look at him in alarm.

"What's wrong?" Gourry asked.

"It's Di. I think she's losing the baby, but she's walking to the woods, I tried to get her to go to bed but she attacked me and then she just kept walking." He said as he indicated his arm, and Min came over to look at it as he added desperately, "I couldn't stop her!"

Gourry and Lina both lost the color to their faces as they glanced at each other and then bolted from the house.

"I'll fetch a midwife." Attie said, and then she followed them out of the house.

"I should go with them." Kenneth said, the frustration unconcealed in his voice.

Min calmly said, "You're injured. You're not going anywhere, I'll give you a healing spell."

"But Dianna…"

"You can't do anything for her now. Especially since you're injured." She said as she started chanting.

"But why can't I help?" he asked desperately, but she gave him no answer as she continued to work on healing him.

There was a faint red aura surrounding Dianna when Gourry and Lina caught up to her, and he felt his stomach turn as he watched as she tended to her altar. "Dianna?" he said.

"She no longer resides here." She said in a cold voice that Gourry had never heard her use before. "She couldn't bear to face life without her baby. Her consciousness crumbled the moment she realized what was happening and now she isn't here to fight me."

"Dianna, please!" Gourry begged, hoping that there was a shred of her left in there somewhere. Already the energy was changing as it formed in her hands. With a sinking feeling in his stomach, Gourry unsheathed his sword and resolved to defend only. He couldn't fathom actually killing her. But could he leave Lina to carry the burden? Was this really something that they could do?

"Dianna please, you can have another baby, you're so young."

She hurled a beam of energy at him, and he bisected it, and his heart raced as he noticed that her nightdress was soaked in blood. It was even starting to pool at her feet. Lina cried. "Dianna, Dianna please!" she said.

But Dianna hurled another spell at them. Gourry got in front of Lina to defend her, and tried to not think about how he was giving Lina time to chant so she could kill Dianna. Lina herself was hesitating. Usually she chanted as soon as she could, but now she wasn't.

Dianna moved towards them, impossibly fast. Lina finally started chanting. But before she could reach them Dianna pitched forward as she cried out in pain, and Lina and Gourry froze as she collapsed onto the ground. They stared at her cautiously, but it was easy to see that her skirts were drenched in blood and sticking to her leg. There was a moment of fear that it could have been a tactic to lull them into a false sense of security, but it was drowned under the weight of the knowledge that if she had lost such a severe amount of blood that it would knock her out at the moment when Shabranigdu was gaining power, then she was terribly ill.

Lina raced forward and felt her forehead. "She's cold." Lina exclaimed, and then she looked at the blood. Lina had never had a miscarriage and wasn't sure what was normal, but it looked like way too much.

Gourry picked Dianna up. She didn't budge. And then they raced to her house, and were relieved that Attie was already waiting there with one of the midwives.

"But why did this happen?" Kenneth asked as Dianna slept in the next room.

"Sometimes it just doesn't work out." Lina said lifelessly as Attie, who had been cuddled up to her, got up and walked to the bathroom.

"Barbara said she had never seen a uterine rupture like this for a first time pregnancy, especially in the second trimester!" Kenneth said, his voice frantic as he paced the living room. "And then how was she so strong? She broke my arm like it was a twig!"

"When people are stressed they can develop super strength." Gourry said.

"There's something more going on here." Kenneth said as he paced the room angrily, but Lina and Gourry were both too tired to say much as they leaned against each other for support while Min held Gourry's hand. The worst had happened, and they had nearly had to kill Dianna. Or be killed by her. And when she woke up, they had no idea if she would be in control or Shabranigdu.

Eventually Kenneth collapsed in a chair and buried his face in his hands. Lina stood up and said, "I'm going to make some tea."

As she walked to the kitchen, Attie came back and grabbed Min's arm, "I need to talk to you!"

"What?" Min asked.

"Follow me."

"Everything okay?" Gourry asked.

"Fine." Attie said as she blushed and then rushed back into the bathroom.

Gourry looked at Min, and Min chuckled, "I think she just became a woman. Nothing to worry about, Dad, I'll deal with this."

"Thank you." He said as Min got up and followed Attie.

As soon as they left Lina came in with a tray set with tea cups on it and handed one to Kenneth, who took a good sip. Once the girls came out, Lina glanced at them and said, "I want you two to go home and get some rest."

Lina did not want them there if Dianna woke up and had merged with Shabranigdu, and thankfully neither of them protested and they said their goodbyes and left. As soon as they left, Kenneth started snoring as he slept upright in his chair. Lina relaxed a little as Gourry looked as her suspiciously. "You didn't?"

"We can't risk him finding out."

"What did you give him?"

"Just a bit of something to make him sleepy." Lina explained. "Come on. Let's go into the bedroom. She should be waking soon."

And when they went into the bedroom, Gourry glanced at Dianna and noted that her eyes were open. Gourry touched Lina's arm, and she straightened. There was no red aura, but no sign that they could really relax. "Di?" Gourry asked.

She said nothing as she stared at him. Tentatively Gourry asked, "How are you feeling?"

Dianna still said nothing as she stared at them blankly. Gourry looked a Lina, and Lina moved to sit on the bed and put a hand on her knee as she explained, "Dianna, you have to pull yourself together! Barbara said she'd never seen anything like it. Your uterus ruptured, like mine did when I was giving birth to you. She said she'd never seen something like this happen so early in a pregnancy. There's one explanation. Dianna, Shabranigdu killed your baby so he would force you to usher in the world's destruction. And if you stop fighting him now, you let him get away with it!"

At first Dianna showed no sign of reaction. But then tears started to slide down her cheeks, and Lina felt relief wash through her as she realized that they had pulled her back. Suddenly she cried, "Daddy!"

Gourry went over to hug her as she started to sob as Lina nearly collapsed bonelessly onto the bed. They had staved off her worse nightmare for another day. But she felt far from victorious.

Lina lay on the couch, exhausted, as she tried not to think about how close they had come. Gourry was staying with Dianna and Kenneth so she could get some rest before they switched. Kenneth had yet to wake up, and Dianna, exhausted from her ordeal, had quickly cried herself to sleep. Lina knew she should rest, but the adrenaline was still pounding through her system and she couldn't.

Attie came in, and Lina managed to give her a tired smile as she patted the couch beside her, "Come and sit down."

Attie did, "How are you doing?"

"I'll live." Lina said.

"How's Di?"

Lina shook her head, "Heartbroken."

"Let me know if there is any way I can help." Attie said.

Lina looked at her and ran a hand through her hair. "Min told me your period started."

Attie blushed, "I don't want to make a big deal out of it."

"Hey, I don't ever want to be so caught up in other things that what is happening to you isn't a big deal!" Lina said. "Once your father gets home we'll take you to the temple, and then for some ice cream afterwards."

"It's not a big deal. Taking care of Dianna right now is more important."

"It is a big deal!" Lina said. "It's not every day you become a woman. Besides, these silly little rituals seem more relevant now. The world could have ended today, you know?"

"I guess I can see that." Attie said with a small smile. "Still, I don't see the point of celebrating the event that heralds in the loss of my powers for a few days each month."

Lina laughed dryly, "Well, when you put it like that. If you're that set against it we can continue as always."

"No, it's fine." Attie said. "I'm not going to turn down the chance for ice cream."

The room that the priestess had shown Attie to was small and dark, lit only by some ceremonial candles and heavily scented with incense. In all, it was an intense sensory experience, and as Attie sat there she couldn't wait for it to be over.

As she wondered how much longer she would have to sit there she started to focus on the patterns that the smoke was making, and she nearly cried out as she saw a young girl in the room with her. Attie's heart lurched as the knowledge settled within her that she was seeing into the future and getting a glimpse of her own daughter, at around the same age that Attie was then! The name Corentina seemed to ring through the air. She felt a rush of love shoot through her as she reached her hand out, mesmerized by the brilliant blue shade of Corentina's eyes, but then she froze as the sun moved and revealed a long red shadow behind Corentina. Attie placed her hand over her mouth as she nearly cried out, and suddenly the vision vanished.

Attie moved to the door, desperate to get out of the cramped room and to breath in fresh air as she tried to figure out what she had seen. A prophecy? Had it been a genuine prophecy? And if it was a prophecy, did it mean that she was doomed to have a daughter, cursed like Dianna with a shard of Shrabranigdu in her soul?

Attie thought about what Dianna had been through just in the past twenty-four hours, and suddenly felt as though she was going to throw up. How could she expect a child to go through that? How could she bring her into the world knowing what she would suffer? Tears started to leak from her eyes as she felt torn between the desire to give life to the beautiful girl she had seen and her fear of what she would be forcing her to endure if she did.

Attie took a deep breath, but it was hardly calming thanks to all of the incense. And then she reminded herself that just because a prophecy is made doesn't mean it will come to pass. She had to remember that. She had to get it together before the door opened and her parents sensed something was wrong. She couldn't bother them with this, not now. Dianna was still so sick and weak. For all she knew there could have been something very potent in the damn incense and she was just hallucinating. What she had seen had to be a result of the incense and nothing more.

She hoped.