Hello everyone! As per the usual disclaimer, I don't own anything- I'm just a fan writing some fiction. Please enjoy!

26- Under No Illusion

Lina followed Auntie Aqua down a corridor in the cave until they reached a large room at the end. It seemed as though they had left the strange dimension and returned to reality. The room was well-lit, showing off the elaborate stalactites and stalagmites that decorated the ceilings and floors.

"Why did you bring me back here?" Lina asked curiously. "Why'd we return to the cave?"

"You have not physically moved at all." Auntie Aqua replied. "You are still standing beside all of your friends. But your mind has travelled into some of the inner realms of the Claire bible, in search of human memory."

Lina blinked and looked around in shock. "It… felt so much like we'd moved…"

"You have come to question one human's knowledge." Auntie Aqua continued, not paying much attention to Lina. "The Claire bible will see to it that you have a reasonable amount of time to question what remains of his knowledge. Do not let emotions get in the way of your search for information. As real as the entity to whom you speak may seem, he is merely a construct created by the Claire bible out of the knowledge that was stored in the human's mind."

"So… he may look like Luke and speak like Luke, but he isn't really Luke?"

"Yes, precisely."

"But he'll say exactly what Luke would say, given the situation?"

"Yes. That is why you must be careful not to lose your goal in the emotional turmoil of reconnecting with a lost friend. There is no benefit in playing 'catch-up' with him, however much he would like to. Ask him your questions and bid him farewell."

"Alright. I will." Lina nodded solemnly.

"Good, then. You may proceed."

Lina was about to ask what she should do next, but she didn't really have to do anything. The whole scene around her suddenly seemed to change, and she found herself in darkness.

But she wasn't alone.

The figure she saw across from her was so familiar, there was a sense of shock that passed through her body. He was just as she remembered him and that scared her a little. She tried to steel her nerves, remembering what Auntie Aqua had told her. It wasn't really him. It was a fake. A construct. An illusion.

"L-Luke…" she stammered.

His eyes jolted up and he seemed to see her for the first time. "Lina?!" he gasped. "Is that you? Lina?"

"Yes. It's me." Lina choked. The warnings that Auntie Aqua had given her suddenly seemed to disappear. His gaze was so sincere, so truly happy, as though seeing her was the greatest joy he'd had in a long time. He didn't look like a construct or an illusion. He looked like a human.

"L-Lina…" Luke breathed again, seeming content just to hear the sound of her name. "I'm sorry, it's just… it's been a while."

"Yeah, it has." Lina nodded. "Things have changed a lot."

"How are you now? How's Gourry? Are you two still getting into trouble wherever you go?"

"…yeah." Lina thought about it for a second and shrugged. "I suppose that hasn't changed."

"What in the world are you doing here, anyway?"

"Oh! That's important!" Lina stiffened, suddenly remembering everything. "I'm here to ask you about something! I don't know if you'll know about it but I really hope you do because we've looked everywhere else and no one knows anything, and everyone's scared because there's a Mazoku trying to reawaken the Demon King, and Gourry and I are terrified because she's taken our son as a hostage, and, and… do you see why I need your help?"

Luke didn't answer right away. He stared at her in mute horror.

"…the Demon King…"

"Luke, I know how you must feel, but we need your help. Your connection with Shabranigdo is the only way we may be able to get this information-"

"What's the point? If I couldn't do anything then, what could I do now?"

From Auntie Aqua's warnings, Lina had expected the search for knowledge to be a very rational experience. She hadn't thought that she might encounter emotional turmoil of this nature.

"But you did do something, Luke! If it wasn't for you, the Demon King might've destroyed the world! Gourry and I could have gotten killed! You saved us, Luke. And we need you to do it again."

Luke seemed unsure, but took a deep breath and continued. "…how so?"

Lina clasped her hands together, looking up at him with a pleading expression.

"Please, search all the knowledge given to you by the Demon King. Search his memories. We need to know about a magical vessel known as the Key of the Aqualord."

"Key… of the Aqualord…" Luke murmured, a look of vague recognition passing over his features for a split second.

"Yes. Didn't the Demon King ever say anything about it?"

Luke paused for another few moments, and then answered gravely.

"No. He told me nothing."

It was such a simple statement, but Lina could feel her spirit sink. She'd banked everything on this assumption, and suddenly it was proven wrong. If a spirit who had been connected to the Demon King knew nothing about this vessel, who would? The Claire Bible had forbidden the knowledge. There was nowhere left to go. How was she going to tell the others that she didn't find it? What were they going to do?

"…Shabranigdo told me nothing, but… I know about it."

"What?" Lina's head snapped up suddenly. "Y-You do? You know where it is?"

"Well, I know who has it." Luke replied.

"Y-you know…" Lina almost laughed. "You know who has it?"

"Yes, yes! I do! I met her- it was a long time ago, back when I was working as an assassin. It was actually one of the last assassin jobs I ever took- I was given an order to kill the woman who held in her possession the Key of the Aqualord." Luke grew more excited as he spoke. "I mean, I had no idea what it was, but I took the job anyway, and-"

"Wait! So you killed her?" Lina asked.

"N-No, no. I didn't. It's… a long story…" he admitted, scratching the back of his head sheepishly.

"I don't have a lot of time." Lina responded quickly. "So start talking!"

I started doing my research like I always did when given an assignment, but this one was obviously different right from the get-go. It was a noblewoman- no surprise there- and a very wealthy one at that. She was a member of the powerful Hayze family, but… she was young. She was only twenty-three, and her parents were still alive, so she hadn't really inherited any of their wealth yet. The young Miss Hayze was a collector in her own right, and her taste was eccentric. She had a love for power, or at least the illusion of power, and her collection contained powerful relics of both the gods and demons. The Key of the Aqualord was just one of the items that my employer said that he envied.

It's not like I thought too much about why I was being hired. It's best not for assassins to get too roped up in their jobs. I found that she had departed the country of Kunan on a boat, returning from a visit to a piece of her father's land. She had been supervising some sort of mining operation and was returning home to report back to her parents, so that was the time I readied myself to strike. I rented a little dinghy for myself, and rowed about to meet the boat under the guise that I was a messenger from the mine. I climbed aboard the ship and it wasn't long before I'd managed to kill every crew member.

It was just… collateral damage. I'd been authorized by my employer to kill anyone I needed to in order to make my job easier. That's a thing that must be specified- if not otherwise stated, an assassin assumes that the order is kill no one but the target. But getting rid of the crew was easier than I'd thought, and I figured that the rest of the job would be an easy one too. I slipped into the target's chambers, expecting to find her sleeping. She was actually wide awake with her nose in a book, and when I snuck in, she must have heard me, because she turned around and looked at me like she'd been expecting me.

She bowed and said "Good evening." like it was nothing- like I hadn't just slaughtered all of her crew members, and for a second I thought that she might not know. But that wasn't it. She knew exactly what was happening. The thing was, she knew how to deal with assassins. And she knew how to deal with me.

"It's nice to meet you. I'm Soi Ren, but you're welcome to just call me Ren. What's your name?"

I didn't answer her, and drew my sword instead. The last thing any assassin should do is get into a conversation with their target.

"Hah. Tell that to some of the assassins I've faced." Lina scoffed.

"How much is your employer paying you?" was the next thing she asked, and she pulled out several bags of coins, setting them on the desk. "I can triple it if money is what you want."

In a normal circumstance, I wouldn't have dared to take the bribe. My honour as an assassin would've been completely destroyed. But clearly money was no object for this woman, and the employer for this job had presented me with a very considerable sum to begin with, so there was an allure to the idea of a better payment. I'd done so much work in killing the crew members on the ship, I figured that a proper extra payment was due. But there was still the problem of the target being alive. I made a quick plan to accept her offer, take the money, and then turn around and kill her at the last minute. Then I'd get her money, and still be paid by my employ- d-don't look at me like that! You know I turned my life around after that! Just listen to me, Lina; I didn't kill her. What she said next caught me so off-guard, I couldn't.

"I see your hesitation, and I understand. I have another idea that might just benefit both of us- how would you like four times your original pay and a clear conscience?"

"I just killed all of your crew members, and you're talking to me about consciences?" That was the first thing I said to her.

"I wouldn't speak of consciences if I thought you didn't have one."

That one sentence was all that she said back to me, and it made me wonder just how she was trying to play me. With every passing second, I knew that the chances of me actually killing her were dropping, and I'd need to make a decision right away.

"What did you have in mind, anyway?"

She turned around and started talking to me with her back turned. It was really strange, 'cause in any other situation, I'd think that was a rude thing to do- but not right then.

"I've had multiple people tracking me for a long time. One or more are probably in league with whoever employed you. Clearly, if an assassin has been dispatched, the situation has become dire, and I need to take myself out of the equation to prevent harm from coming to myself or my family. So I need your help."

"Help with what?" I was pretty sceptical at this point, but her reply was very clear.

"I need you to pretend to kill me."

"C'mon, Zelgadis! Don't you want any cocoa?" Amelia eagerly offered him a mug, but he declined- for the fourth time.

"I don't need any."

"Don't say that! A growing boy like you needs to keep his strength up!" Frederick had returned after a few minutes just like he'd promised.. Amelia and Shizuri were grateful for his kindness, but Zelgadis ignored them and continued pacing around the entrance of the cave.

"I'm fine." he shot back.

"Don't worry Mister Frederick. He can be very stubborn sometimes." Amelia assured the old man. "We really do appreciate your generosity."

"Oh, it's no problem, I assure you! I'm just sorry I couldn't find any pictures of my son to show you- I was sure that they were in the third drawer of the right side of my desk. I can't see how they would have just vanished."

"It's really okay, sir." Shizuri assured him. "Anyway, talking about children isn't the easiest for people who aren't- uh- who haven't really- um…" She stopped herself from saying anything, staring back and forth at Amelia and Zelgadis, trying to read their expressions and prevent upsetting either of them. Zelgadis was completely ignoring the whole conversation, but Amelia gave Shizuri a pained smile.

Frederick didn't seem to get it, but at least he was kind enough to change the subject. "I understand. A lot of people choose to focus on their careers instead- and that's a fine decision. What do you all do for a living anyway?"

Amelia was the first one to speak up. "I have a, uh, government position in the country of Seyruun, and I perform some clerical duties as well. I end up taking on more work than I can handle sometimes, but I couldn't give up either job."

"I'm the assistant to the High Priest at the Temple of the Aqualord in Ti Toh." Shizuri explained. "Because the emperor is still too young to rule over the country, the High Priest is also one of the country's regents at the moment. The emperor is almost thirteen years old now, so it shouldn't be long before we can relinquish the responsibilities, but we're still busy having to worry about the well-being of the temple as well as the country of Kunan."

Frederick seemed completely amazed by the stories. "I had no idea you girls were so important! Government and clerical duties at the same time- I must admit, I'm impressed!" Amelia and Shizuri both beamed at the compliments, though Frederick turned his attention to Zelgadis. "What about you?"

"Historian. Seyruun national archives." Zelgadis tried to make it clear that he did not want to speak to the man.

"What? No position in the government? It must be difficult for you, travelling surrounded by all these politicians."

"We're not-" Both Amelia and Shizuri spoke up at the same time, but they decided against trying to argue with the man and just let their voices trail off.

"But Zelgadis is the smartest one of all of us!" Amelia protested. "Our group relies on him- we couldn't get very far without him."

"You don't have to say all that. I understand that I'm not quite as important as you are." Zelgadis waved one hand dismissively.

"But you are!" Both girls cried at the same time. The old man laughed at the scene as though it were a comedy routine.

"Wow, Zelgadis! You ought to acknowledge your fan club over here! Won't you at least come have some hot cocoa with us?"

Zelgadis' scowl made his answer quite clear, and he turned his back on the group.

Amelia bowed her head apologetically. "Please excuse his behaviour. We're in the midst of recovering from some family issues and so there's a lot of stress on this group right now."

"That's a pretty sorry excuse. You don't have to apologize for me- I'm just doing my job." Zelgadis replied curtly, despite the fact that the rest of the group weren't listening.

"I'm sorry about that. I hope everything works out for you, I really do." Frederick replied, though his casual tone of voice seemed to indicate otherwise. "I've been through family troubles myself, too. Terrible, terrible things. It's a pity that bad thing happen to good people."

Amelia just shrugged and handed her empty bowl back to the man. "Can we discuss something else?"

"You were the one who brought it up."

"I was, wasn't I?"

"Well, speaking of other things, what about the weather?" Shizuri quickly interrupted. "It's been two months, and this strange weather hasn't let up at all."

"It's a problem, that's for sure." Frederick nodded. "Scares me to think that a lot of people might starve."

"They won't!" Amelia chimed in. "The country of Seyruun is prepared in case of some natural disaster were to-" She cut off her sentence abruptly.

Shizuri moved closer. "Amelia, are you okay?"

The princess had stopped, placing a hand on her forehead as though to steady herself. "Y-yes, I just… I'm sorry. I felt for a moment like I was going to faint."

The sentence caught Zelgadis' attention, and he moved back toward the group, looking around warily.

"That's so strange. Is it the cold, maybe?"

"I don't think so… my head just feels… fuzzy somehow…" Amelia was beginning to run words together, leaning on Shizuri's shoulder. Within a few moments, she had slumped over, unconscious.

"Amelia! Hey! Wake up!" Shizuri stood up, supporting Amelia, and looked around for some sort of unseen enemy. It was clear that, whatever had caused Amelia to faint, it wasn't natural.

"Stay on your guard." Zelgadis had unsheathed his sword and had taken on a defensive position. He put a hand on the old man's shoulder and pulled him back toward the group. "You're going to want to stand back."

The man didn't move, seeming to ignore Zelgadis' orders.

"Are you listening to me? I said, stand back!"

Once again, there was no response from the man, and Zelgadis was seriously considering threats now that simple asking was not going to work. However, the sound of a thud behind him startled him into turning around.

"Shizuri! Wh-what in the world-?"

The illusionist had crumpled to the ground beside her unconscious companion, both of them completely unresponsive. It was clear now that whatever had caused Amelia to faint had done it intentionally.

"Alright, you dirty Mazoku! Quit being a coward and fight me outright!" Zelgadis yelled. A voice finally answered back, but it wasn't the voice he'd been expecting.

"You're an awfully stubborn brat, you know that? It's a pity that you didn't want to drink anything. Now I'll have to get rid of you some other way."

Zelgadis flinched instinctively and held out his sword. He berated himself for not being more persuasive in his argument against the man's seemingly generous act. "I should've known you weren't a kindly old man."

"But you didn't." The Mazoku grinned, standing up straighter. "I know you're smarter than that. What's got you so distracted lately?"

"That's not your business to know."

"Oh, is it? I guess not." The Mazoku sighed and glanced over at Amelia and Shizuri. "But, with those two out of the way, you and I can fight one-on-one. I came here with the intention not to hurt any of you, but Professor Nisery really messed up my physical form last night and I'd say that some payback is in order. Wouldn't you?"

"If you want to fight Pestis, you'll have to defeat me first." Zelgadis stood firmly at the entrance of the cave.

Azarel chuckled. "Gladly."

(A/N: All the information that Luke is giving is completely made up by me and not really supported by the canon, I don't think... I just… spend too much time thinking about how the manga, anime, and novels could be interwoven into one big story, and it ends up getting too elaborate. However, this imagining of what happened to Soi Ren Hayze is important for this story's sake, so we'll go with it from here. Thank you very much for reading!)