The mood was anxious at best. Gourry's eyes traced randomly over some fascinating bit of the inn wall. Amelia fidgeted first with her bracelet, then her hair, then her bracelet again. The clock on the wall ticked mechanically.

The inn quite nice, to be honest. The rooms were cheap, the food was above average, and, as of yet, no one had tried to chase them out. The plan had originally been to camp in the woods and hike into town the following day; given the short notice, they had done fairly well in finding a place for the night.

Needless to say, no one present had their minds on the living arrangements.

Lina drummed her fingers on the dinning table.

"...Miss Lina?" Amelia asked hesitantly, breaking the silence. "What... should we do about..."

"About Zel?"

Amelia nodded, and switched to fiddling with her choker.

"Wait for him to wake up; what else?"

"What if Mr. Zelgadis, you know... doesn't wake up?" Amelia's eyes were fixed firmly on the floor.

"Come on! It's Zel; he'll be fine." Lina forced a look she hoped seemed more confident than she felt.

"...I guess."

The room drifted back into a tense silence. Gourry scratched at the table absentmindedly. Amelia went back to fiddling with her bracelet.

The clock chimed dully, the metallic sound echoing in the quiet of the room. Dong. Dong dong dong. Dong dong dong. Dong dong dong dong dong. Midnight.

Lina yawned. "Alright... I'm gonna go hit the sack. Amelia? Gourry?"

Gourry nodded. "Yeah, I guess we should all be getting to bed..."Amelia didn't say anything.

He stretched, then stood with a yawn and headed off to his room. "'Night, guys. I'll see you in the morning."

"G'night."

Lina started after Gourry, then paused.

"...Amelia?"

Amelia started. "...Hmm?"

"Do you want to check up on Zel? He's got his own room; you could peak in there for a while if you want. I won't tell."

"I–... Are you sure that's okay, Miss Lina?"

Lina smiled. "Sure. But that means I get first choice of beds, got it?"

Amelia nodded. "Thank you, Miss Lina."

"No prob. See you in the morning!"

"Goodnight."

Lina yawned again and started off. In the morning, this will all look ridiculous, she thought, vaguely. Zel'll wake up, and probably make fun of us for making such a big fuss, and then we'll all head off to Saillune together... maybe pick off a few bandits on the way. Oh, and get some food...

She opened the door to her room with another yawn.

Because really, that's what it always is. Kill some bandits, cast some spells, eat some food... save the world now and again...

As long as it all blows over in the morning. And it always does, so really, we're just fine.

We're just fine...

Zelgadis blinked, turning his head away from the blinding streams of morning sunlight.

Too early... he thought, and, closing his eyes again, rolled over and used his pillow to block out the sun. ...the girl there's still sleeping, anyways...

His eyes shot open.

Where was he?

Zelgadis sat up cautiously, glancing around him. The room he was in was small and unfamiliar. Wooden walls, a bed, a dresser in the corner: an inn, probably. There was a girl asleep nearby, her head resting on the bed.

Why was he in an inn? He fumbled momentarily for his sword, then stopped, confused. He thought he remembered having his sword with him... No; he was certain that he had had it just moments before. But he had just woken up; why on earth would his sword be in his bed?

Nothing ever makes sense in the morning, does it? he mused, massaging his temples. He had a pounding headache.

Carefully, so as not to wake the sleeping girl, Zelgadis got up.

He was already fully dressed, he noticed, and in travelers' clothes.

Hmm...

The girl on the bed stirred, and Zelgadis, curious, walked around to her. Her sleeping position looked rather uncomfortable, and her eyes were red and puffy from crying.

Should I move her? Zelgadis wondered. No, that would probably wake her up. And if she wakes up in my bed she might think...

She might... think...

Honestly, he had no clue what she'd think. The girl, like the rest of the room, was completely strange to him. It was more than a little disconcerting, actually, and Zelgadis was beginning to feel unnerved by the whole situation.

Well, first thing's first: I better figure out where I am and how I got here.

He took a breath, then made his way out of the the inn room, closing the door behind him with a gentle click.

The hall, which was empty and virtually silent, forked a few rooms down. Zelgadis chose a direction at random, and headed off without much of a plan. If he found someone, he could ask them where he was and (hopefully) get a straight answer. If not, well... at worst, he would wander around aimlessly and have some time to mentally retrace his steps and figure out what was going on.

There was a sudden crash from a room to his right. Zelgadis cracked the door open and peeked in curiously. It was a kitchen, and a girl (who he took to be another lodger) had apparently gotten into a rather heated argument with the cook. The cook, a portly man with a greying beard, gestured wildly to a number of empty pots overturned on the floor, shouting incoherently at the girl. The girl, meanwhile, shouted right back at him, and a good deal louder. Zelgadis decided it would be best not to get involved and closed the door again, wincing slightly as something else hit the floor with a clang.

No help there... he thought as he started off again.

He didn't see anyone else up and about, and it wasn't long before the hall ended and he found himself alone in the entranceway. Light filtered into the room from the front window; it looked like a beautiful day. Zelgadis opened the wooden door and stepped confidently outside, but hesitated at the doorstep.

Really, he supposed, it would be best if he stayed put. It didn't seem like he was in any danger at the inn; that much might not be true if he went blindly wandering around. Besides, what could he do if he did go out? He had no idea where he was, why he was there, or how he should go about getting back to wherever it was he should have been. If he waited around inside he'd at least have the crying girl to ask when she woke up. Certainly, that was the sensible thing to do.

Laughter drifted about; a small group of children was playing in the street as the square came alive around them. The smell of fresh bread mixed with the cool, crispness of morning air, and the sky was cloudless and bright.

Oh, screw it, Zelgadis thought. I never was one to just wait around.

Amelia came barreling into the dining hall, out of breath and talking far to fast to be coherent. Ordinarily Lina would have found this annoying, but Amelia had also come barreling into Gourry, meaning that Lina had a chance to snatch up the rest of his potatoes.

"Oh, hey Amelia! You're up."

"Miss Lina! Miss Lina, bad news!"

"Ehnm?" she asked, through a mouthful of potatoes.

"It's Mr. Zelgadis!"

"Zel?"

It was at about this point that Gourry noticed his sudden lack of potatoes.

"Lina! I was going to eat those!"

"Well, too late now. I guess you'll just have to– HEY!"

Gourry neatly skewered two of Lina's sausages, and popped them into his mouth.

"You give those back!"

"Tu laat noow."

"Why you–!"

Conversation quickly gave way to an assorted mix of fighting, food-grabbing, eating, fighting while eating, eating while food-grabbing, food-grabbing while fighting, food fighting, and threats of imminent magical destruction.

"Miss Lina!"

"Hm?" Lina looked up, allowing Gourry to gobble up what was left of her eggs.

"It's Mr. Zelgadis!"

"What about Zel? Is he up?"

"I don't know!"

"What do you mean you don't know?" demanded Lina. "Either he's up or he's not; which is it?"

"B-but Miss Lina," sputtered Amelia, "He's gone!"

"Gone?"

"I woke up this morning, and he wasn't there!"

"...Was he in the bathroom?" asked Gourry, pausing in his devouring of Lina's food for just long enough to speak clearly.

"No! He wasn't!"

"You went into the men's room?"

"No!" yelled Amelia. Then, quieter and a little sheepishly, "I waited around for half an hour. When he didn't come back, I knocked on the bathroom door and asked if he was in there."

"Was he?"

"Of course not, Gourry; if he was, she wouldn't have said he was missing."

"Ah... You gonna eat that?"

"Mr. Gourry, this is serious! What if Mr. Zelgadis was kidnapped?"

"Zel?" Lina snorted. "I'd feel bad for the kidnappers."

"Well... But he's not a chimera anymore! And the spell might have drained his strength!"

"I think you're reading too much into this, Amelia," said Lina.

Gourry shrugged. "Yeah, he's probably just out on a walk, enjoying his new body or something."

"But..." Amelia bit her lip, and sank deflatedly into a nearby chair. "B-but..."

Lina sighed. "Alright, alright! We'll go look for Zel! Just gimme a second to finish my eggs."

"...About that."

"GOURRY!"

Zelgadis wandered aimlessly through the bizarre, taking in the sights and smells and sounds. The streets were draped in color and noise. Men and women called out their goods and prices to anyone passing by; here was a fishmonger:

"Fresh trout, cheap and fresh! Crabs and scallops! Just caught this morning!"

Here, a draper and haberdasher:

"New silks from the east! Buttons and thread! Wools of all colors; cottons of all shades!"

Here, a confectioner:

"Fudge! Liquorice and drageé! Would you like a chocolate, lady? Sweet like you~"

And here, a piper, his simple tunes dancing round the crowds and stalls.

Zelgadis tossed a coin into the man's hat, earning a smile, and a nod of thanks. He had always loved open-air markets, and it was a gorgeous day to be out and about.

Now if I can just figure out where I am and how I got here...

"Excuse me," he said, tapping the shoulder of a passerby. "Do you know where this is?"

"Eh?" The shopper, a very elderly gentleman, turned, and looked him up and down suspiciously. "You makin' fun o' me, boy? Think I don't know where I am?"

"Oh–" Zelgadis inwardly chided himself for the ambiguous phrasing. "No, sir, not at all. I'm just not sure where this is, exactly, and I was hoping you could tell me–"

"Same place it always been. Now bug off!"

The man shrugged past him and disappeared into the crowd. Zelgadis sighed.

"Honestly, how hard would it have been to point me to a map?"

There was shouting to his left, and Zelgadis turned to see what the commotion was about. A girl (he recognized her vaguely as the same one who had been yelling at the inn cook) was pushing her way past the crowd, much to the annoyance of the other shoppers.

"Hey! People are walking here!"

"You better pay for that flour you made me spill!"

"Yeah, yeah; whatever. Walk a little faster, would ya'? Coming through!"

"Watch it lady!"

"My foot!"

...Is she always that antagonistic? Zelgadis wondered, stepping carefully to the side of the road. He certainly didn't want to cross paths with her if he could help it.

As the girl got closer, he noticed two other people trailing behind her. One, a confident looking young man, seemed to be a mercenary, or some kind of armed escort.

Which explains how she can get away with pushing past people like that, he thought with a grimace. Honestly, some people.

The other, though...

She was shorter, and at first it was hard to see her through the crowd. While the first girl and her hired muscle pushed confidently through the other shoppers, this girl tread more carefully, and seemed acutely aware of the people around her.

"Hey! Try looking where you're walking!"

"I'm sorry. We're just in a bit of a hurry right now; if I could please just get past..."

"That chick pushed me!"

"I'm sorry, sir! I'm sure she didn't mean it. We're just–"

"Look, I'm not gonna just let some flat-che–"

"No! P-please don't say that! She's very sensitive about–"

"I'm very sensitive about what?"

"N-nothing!"

Something about her seemed familiar, although Zelgadis was sure he didn't recognize her voice. He craned his neck to see as the group got closer, but he couldn't quite get a clear view.

"Jeez, where is he?" asked the bodyguard, skimming the crowd.

"He can't have gone too far," declared the pushy girl in front. "It's only been an hour or so."

"It's only been an hour since we started looking, you mean," said the other girl. "Who knows how long he's been gone? Oh, just think what terrible things might be happening as we speak! We must find him and put his evil kidnappers to justice!"

The girl turned slightly as she said this, and Zelgadis finally caught a glimpse of her face. So that was how he recognized her; she was the crying girl he had seem that morning.

Zelgadis sighed. He was probably going to regret this, but if anyone could tell him what was going on, it was probably her.

"You know, we don't know he was kidnapped."

"Yeah... No offense, but I think you're way overreacting here. Coming through; step aside!"

"But–!"

Zelgadis tapped her on the shoulder. "Excuse me..."

She turned slightly, then whirled around to face him.

"Mr. Zelgadis!"

"Well look at that, problem solved. I'll be getting back to the inn now..." The pushy girl turned and started to go; her bodyguard trailed after her.

The crying girl grabbed his wrist, and made to drag him along.

"Mr. Zelgadis, where were you? You had us all worried sick!"

The pushy girl coughed. "Some of us worried sicker than others..."

"Miss Lina! Don't try to say you weren't worried too!"

The pushy girl rolled her eyes.

The crying girl tried to drag him forwards again, and Zelgadis stopped her, although he decided not to pull his wrist free. "Um... I'm sorry, but I'm just a little lost. Have you seen Rezo around here, by any chance?"

The pushy girl stopped cold and turned sharply to face him.

"Rezo?"

Zelgadis nodded.

"As in Rezo, the Red Priest."

Zelgadis nodded again, this time more self-consciously. Something was suddenly very off with the group. Everyone had stopped, and was looking at him strangely. The crying girl had let go of his wrist.

"What's the matter with you, Zel? Don't you remember?" The pushy girl said it like a joke, but it sounded a little too flippant. Her grin looked forced.

There was a sinking feeling in Zelgadis's gut. Something was wrong here. The way the bodyguard was looking at him... The way the crying girl wasn't looking at him... That strange, stilted smile the other girl wore for some sort of joke he didn't understand...

And when she spoke again, his blood ran cold.

"...We killed Rezo."