Suds rose as Lina relaxed into the bathtub, sighing. What a day. She lifted one hand and stared at it, remembering how many Fireballs she had drawn to her hand and thrown. Good thing she was the great and beautiful sorcery genius Lina Inverse. That would have exhausted her otherwise.

Speaking of exhausted… she made a face. Hopefully Gourry was actually washing up as well and didn't just pass out on his bed. He wasn't a slob like that, but today had been that kind of day. Lina honestly wanted to just crawl under the covers and sleep as well, but she knew she wouldn't be able to until she got clean. She lowered her hand, and shifted slightly against the tub. Hot water felt so good…

"You look rather comfortable, Lina-san."

Instantly, Lina sat up, water cascading over the sides of the tub as she glared up at a familiar Mazoku priest. "Xellos! What are you doing here?" He didn't just appear for no good reason. He was after something. She glared at him, waiting for an answer.

That damn smile just remained fixed on his face as Xellos said, "Am I not allowed to visit friends?"

Suddenly remembering her state of dress, Lina wrapped her arms around her chest, thankful for the mound of bubbles. "Do so when I'm not naked! Or do you want to be Fireballed all the way back to Wolf Pack Island?"

"I suppose not." Lina watched as he turned his back, letting out a long breath. He must have understood- wait, what was he doing? That was her pack of loot!

"Hey!" She instinctively made to stand and protect her goods, but the rush of the water around her reminded her of her state of dress. Did she get out and chase Xellos away from her stuff, butt naked… or did she keep some semblance of dignity during this entire- no, she was getting out and rushing for him. That was her gold, damn it!

Xellos only disappeared as soon as she came near. With sharp, fierce motions, she grabbed her towel and wrapped it around her body. Lina turned around slowly, knowing she'd have to fire at him something a little more aimed at the Astral plane to hit him. She held her free hand out, ready to throw at him an Elmekia Lance for taking her stuff while she was bathing.

But Xellos didn't return, and Lina huffed. She turned back to the tub, and glared at it. The mood was ruined. She wasn't going to be able to relax after that.

What did Xellos steal, anyway? Lina picked up her pack, looking through it. It wasn't her actual gold. The gems were left untouched. That statuette was left alone too, which relieved her in many ways. The last time she had something like that, it ended up housing the Philosopher's Stone. So what was it?

… what happened to that stupid little trinket she had bought in Aldahi? That dumb little smiling sun?

Lina groaned suddenly, holding her hand to her head. "What did I buy?"

Xellos didn't reappear, so she supposed she should be thankful. Or pissed. That damned thing probably held a secret to defeating Mazoku and he just took it from her so she wouldn't figure it out. Or maybe he was just messing with her and he was having the feast of his life with all the frustration and anger she was putting out.

Whatever. Next time she saw Xellos, she'd Fireball him on sight. No questions asked.

He'd understand why.

Instead, she finished up, drained the tub, and pulled on her pajamas, laying down in the bed. What a day. She looked at her hand, stretching it up to the ceiling.

Gold. Blinding her, keeping her near, nothingness, emptiness-

Lina gasped, clenching her fist. That damned dream. It even snuck into her waking moments. She sat up, panting slightly. What was the gold? Why did she feel that way when-

… no, she knew that feeling. The last time she had used the Giga Slave, it had touched her. She had forgotten. Lina shivered. So was that it? She was remembering touching the Lord of Nightmares?

She shivered again, pulling her knees to her chest. And either Xellos had been messing with her and wanting to see her angry, or he had taken something from her. That could be good - that trinket was going to wake something up that even the Mazoku didn't want awake - or bad because it was something the Mazoku shouldn't have and now Xellos had it.

Damn it.

"Lina!" Gourry waved as she came down the stairs, already sitting at a table. "I ordered us breakfast."

"Triple portions on the sausage?"

Gourry nodded, smiling.

"Good. I knew I kept you around for some reason," she teased, sitting down.

He only laughed at that, knowing she was teasing. The food came, and the two of them instantly worked on destroying the immense spread of food set on their table. A little war over the last sausage, because Lina was not going to lose over something as silly as this, but soon enough they were done and Lina sat back, sighing happily.

"Hey, Lina, don't take this the wrong way, but… should I be taking lead these next few days?"

"Hm?" Lina looked at Gourry, confused. "What do you mean?"

"Well…" Gourry looked up slightly as he counted on his fingers. "I mean, you haven't lost your powers to That Time of The Month since we left Taforashia, but it has to happen, right? It'd usually be around this time. I figured it would happening again soon."

Lina felt her hand rising to smack Gourry about talking so openly and loudly about her period in public when she realized what he just said. She lowered her hand, feeling her face drain of blood. She and Gourry- Lina liked Gourry. A lot. Maybe really a lot. But they had never been- she was still a virgin! What other reasons could she have stopped having her period other than getting pregnant, though? What would have stopped that monthly cycle?

"Hey, Lina." Gourry waved a hand in front of her face. "Something wrong?"

She shook her head. "I don't know."

She needed to see the town's doctor before they left. Just… to rule out any physical reasons she might not be having her period. How could she have not noticed? Or had she just been so happy to continue adventuring without losing any power that she didn't care?

… had Xellos taken the thing that had interfered with it? Aldahi had been after they helped Pokota, but it still could have been before she was due her next period.

Damn it. Now she wished she had stopped Xellos and asked what was going on.

Xellos dropped the stupid smiling sun trinket into the nearest river. He watched it drift away, frowning.

Lina stank of Chaos magic. The same magic she would use when casting the Ragna Blade, or what he had seen when she cast the Giga Slave. There was no doubt she had used the Golden Lord's power, and recently.

But she didn't use it against him, so either she didn't feel it was necessary against him, or…

No. Lina knew how to control her own magical power. She would never cast a spell without realizing she had.

Xellos phased out of the physical realm.