As usual, I don't own anything. I'm just a fan writing some fiction. Please enjoy!

59- Plead Guilty

"What are we hiding from?"

Enrique had not expected a voice to join him- he'd thought he was in an empty room- and when he heard Lorelei's voice, he jumped. It tipped over the chair he was sitting in, and he toppled onto the floor.

"You love to do that to me, don't you?"

Lorelei shrugged. "Yeah, kinda."

"Don't you ever say hello? Or knock?"

"Not really. I like surprises." She grabbed his hand and pulled him back to his feet. "Are you hiding, or do you just like locking yourself in rooms for no reason?"

"I'm, uh, hiding. But I guess there's not much point in locking doors with people like you around, right?"

Lorelei twirled around and sat down in one of the chairs across the room. "I feel honoured to be given that distinction. Would you mind it if I asked you a few questions?"

"Not if you'll mind if I ask you a couple myself."

"Ooh. A negotiator. I like." Her eyes glinted eagerly. "Ask what you like. I may not be able to give information on certain aspects of Lord Beastmaster's methodology or-"

"Don't you have a boyfriend? Zara?"

"Oh." Lorelei's expression quickly changed. "What about Zara?"

"H-he's your… I mean, you and he…"

"Yes?"

"Er, you two are…"

"Yes?"

"I-I mean that… I guess…"

"Are you going to ask me a question, or just keep stammering unintelligible words? I have a timetable to keep."

"Is he your boyfriend, or not?"

Lorelei pressed her lips together. "I haven't been allowed to speak with him in months. Pending promotions, Lord Beastmaster keeps her subordinates on a strict leash for one year. I don't know what he thinks of me at this point."

"…" Enrique paused. "…your eyes are pained. You love him."

She cleared her throat. "I have some questions for you, y'know."

"Right. Yeah. Sorry. …it's just that I-"

"Has Lord Pathosmaster made a decision about his answer to the question I posed last week?"

"Yes, he has." Enrique nodded his head. "He refuses to make an alliance with any Mazoku Lord, be it Beastmaster or Azarel."

"He told you this himself?"

"Those were his words exactly."

Lorelei shut her eyes tightly. "I'm not sure how Lord Beastmaster will react to that. On one hand, her main goal in gaining his allegiance was to prevent him from forming any sort of alliance with Azarel… but, on the other hand, even independently, he could be a problem."

"He'll only be a problem for you if he feels that you're doing something wrong."

"We know. That's the point."

Enrique looked down at the floor again. He waited for a while, waiting to see if she was going to clarify her point, but she didn't. "…is it safe for me to ask another question now?"

"Oh, there's more? Ask away."

He straightened up to look her in the eye. "If you didn't have the freedom to spend time with your own boyfriend for the past few months, how did you have all this time to flirt with me?"

Enrique was a little disappointed that Lorelei didn't even take time to think before answering. He'd wanted the question to hit her hard, but clearly it wasn't hard enough.

"You're Lord Pathosmaster's only subordinate at this point. To speak to him, I have to go through you. I had to make that fun somehow. I'm dying of boredom most days."

"S-so," Enrique ventured in disappointment. "you were just playing with me because you were bored?"

"What of it?"

"Nothing. I just… needed to know."

"You look upset. Does that bother you?"

He stared out the window to avoid eye contact. "Not really, no."

Lorelei closed her eyes and sighed. "Just between you and me, what exactly is Pathosmaster planning?"

"Excuse me?"

"What's his angle on all of this? If he's not siding with us or Azarel, what's his take?"

The question was enough to get Enrique's mind off the former topic. He had to think about it for a while. "Well… he doesn't want anyone meddling with the Demon King or the Aqualord's Barrier. It's not that he's against the Mazoku as a whole, he's just concerned about the potential changes that releasing the Demon King might cause. It's an effort to keep the race secure in its traditions and habits."

Lorelei nodded. "I see. A preservationist perspective. That's good to hear. I know I said between you and me, but do you mind if I relay this information to Lord Beastmaster? She's not explicitly working against Pathosmaster's goals-"

"Tell her. I don't think it's a big secret."

There was a pause. Lorelei looked as though she were thinking hard about something, but Enrique couldn't figure out what it was. He decided to take a wild guess.

"…I love him too, you know."

She looked up in surprise. "Who? Lord Pathosmaster?"

"N-no! Zara!" Enrique spluttered, embarrassed to think that he might had read her thoughts incorrectly.

"Oh." Lorelei's voice quieted some. "I knew that already."

"You-"

"You saved his life, didn't you? Xellos told me about it. You openly betrayed your master- a Mazoku lord- just so that you could save Zara. That's something even I could never do for him. You deserve him far more than I do."

"Wh… wh… what do you mean, I deserve him? how could you say something like that?" Enrique started, looking offended. "You can deserve an award, or a promotion, or a punishment maybe… but Zara is a person. You can't deserve a person. Whoever Zara loves is the one who should be with him."

"…"Lorelei's mouth hung open for a moment. She started shaking her head, floored by his sudden, fervent response. "I was trying to compliment you, but you're right, that did come out sounding a little sociopathic. You're one hell of a Mazoku, y'know that?"

Enrique looked down to hide his face. "I… hadn't heard that before, no."

"Hide your cheeks all you want. Your ears are still red."

He jerked his head up in embarrassment. His hands flew to his ears. Lorelei laughed in response.

"Gotcha."

"That's not fair, you-"

The conversation was suddenly interrupted by a loud knocking on the door. Someone was calling from the hallway.

"Enrique! Are you in here? It's just Zara- I think I left my book in here. Can you get it for me?"

Lorelei scrambled to her feet. "I'd better go!" she hissed quickly. "I don't have time for apologies and explanations-"

Enrique grabbed her arm. "You're not going anywhere. He's been waiting months. He deserves answers."

"But-"

"As the general to Lord Pathosmaster, I outrank you. I demand that you stay and explain yourself to Zara. You owe him that."

Lorelei froze. She knew that she couldn't refuse Enrique's demand when he put it that way. He could vouch for her if she got in trouble with Beastmaster. But…

"Enrique? Are you there?"

"J-just a second, Zara!" Enrique called, rushing to unlock the door. "I don't see your book, but I think I've found something better."

"Huh?" Zara peeked around the door into the room and stared. Lorelei gave a small, embarrassed wave, though for a while, it was as though Zara didn't see her. He seemed to come to the realization of his surroundings all at once. "LORELEI!"

"Hey-" She began, but she first turned her attention to returning Zara's excited hug. He didn't sound angry or upset or any of the emotions that she'd feared. He just seemed happy.

"Where've you been? I've missed you so much! Have you been working hard? I hope Lord Beastmaster is treating you well!"

"She is, she is." Lorelei nodded, breaking away from the hug. "I have been working hard… I'm so sorry to have left you all alone-"

"It's okay." Zara kept a big smile on his face. "I was just worried I wouldn't see you anymore. As long as you visit once in a while, you don't have to apologize."

"Thank you." Lorelei replied softly. "Really- thanks. It means a lot to me that you'd say that."

Enrique cleared his throat and stepped beside them. "I told you it would all work out." he spoke to no one in particular.

"Enrique, where did you find her?" Zara asked eagerly.

"We met through work." Lorelei answered for him. "As Xellos' assistant, I've been assigned to the communications between Lord Beastmaster and Pathosmaster. Xellos is working with Hellmaster in the meantime."

"You mean Azarel?" Enrique questioned. "What does Xellos want with Azarel?"

"I'm not authorized to give out that information." She responded sheepishly. "What I can tell you is that Xellos is studying Hellmaster and the data that he's collecting is important to our current mission."

"Does Azarel know that Xellos is studying them?" Zara asked.

"No. That's something that needs to be kept a secret. So don't tell."

"You can trust us."

"As long as Pathosmaster isn't aware, I'm not worried. He's the one I doubt could keep a secret well."

Zara clapped his hands together. "Actually, Mister Pestis is kinda preoccupied at the moment. Apparently he has a girlfriend now…"

"Girlfriend?" Enrique and Lorelei both spoke up at the same time.

"Yeah. Didn't you-"

"Who?" Lorelei demanded.

"N-not Filia…" Enrique stammered in disbelief. Lorelei looked at him in shock.

"Filia? Filia Ul Copt?"

"Y-yeah." Zara nodded. "I was confused when I first heard too. I thought that Filia and Xellos were-"

"They are." Lorelei answered. "Or… I thought so. Maybe Filia has been charmed by Pathosmaster's charisma? You can't argue that the guy makes a good speech. But in all my time spying on him, I never got the impression that he was interested in Filia."

"I was joking about him and Filia earlier this afternoon." Enrique was shaking his head in disbelief. "He was teasing me, so I tried to tease him back. I never really meant it."

"How did he respond? Was he enthusiastic?" Lorelei demanded.

"He wasn't! He assured me that the bond between Filia and him was purely platonic. Though Lina interrupted and said something-"

"Lina!" Zara and Lorelei gasped at the same time.

"This whole thing feels like something Lina could have cooked up." she muttered. "Xellos is going to be very angry with her if that's the case."

"Don't jump to conclusions. Perhaps we just need to ask some more questions." Zara suggested timidly. "I doubt that anyone is making rash decisions. There's a purpose to all of this, we just have to find it."

Lorelei waved at Zara and Enrique. "You two can do that. I need to take all the information I've just gotten back to Xellos… not that I'm looking forward to it."

"Will you come back soon?" Zara asked eagerly.

"It's likely that I'll be back to have more discussions about Pathosmaster, if what you're saying is true." she replied with a nod of her head. "Stick around Enrique. That'll give me a reason to talk to you, so I won't get in trouble."

Zara and Enrique both nodded. Lorelei elbowed Enrique and spoke to him softly. "You know, I don't waste my time flirting with people who aren't worth it."

Enrique visibly stiffened, but Lorelei grinned and disappeared. Zara waved her off, and once she was gone, he grabbed ahold of Enrique's arm.

"So, so! Do you like her?"

Enrique's face turned red. "What?"

"Do you like her?"

"…well, yeah. I kinda do. There's something different about her that I just can't place. Don't get the wrong idea, or anything, I just think that she-"

"Wrong idea? What do you mean? I'm so glad." Zara sighed with a smile.

"You are?"

"Of course! I love you and Lorelei so much, if you two didn't like each other, I'd be very sad."

"Gee, that's…" Enrique's voice trailed off and he shifted his gaze to the floor. "…er, do you know where Lord Pathosmaster is? I want to talk to him."

"Mister Pestis left a little while ago with Lina and Amelia." Zara replied.

"To do what?"

"Talk to Azarel."

Enrique nodded. "I see. Then, is Filia still around?"

"Yeah. Do you want to talk to her?"

"I'd like to. Even if she has good intentions, I think she might be getting in over her head." Enrique finally worked up the courage to meet Zara's eyes again. "Azarel is in love with Professor Nisery, you know."

"You think?" Zara asked.

"Even if Azarel doesn't recognize it for what it is, yes… and that's why I'm worried about Filia."

"I'm confused." Lina spoke up. "If you didn't put the barrier around the magical beast, then who did?"

"You expect me to know?" Azarel shot back. "It was probably the same person who tried to frame me for kidnapping your son!"

"…Xellos…" Amelia and Lina murmured together. Lina shook her head and continued on her own. "But when Xellos kidnapped Luke, he had an ulterior motive, and framing you was just a back-up to keep us from discovering him before his mission was complete. What would he get from the increased damage on Seyruun City?"

"Maybe the damage wasn't his aim." Amelia suggested. "Perhaps it has something to do with the interaction between the beast's barrier and the White Magic barrier."

"When I spoke with Xellos last, he said that he was working on an experiment that involved the Aqualord's barrier." Pestis offered. "I wonder if he might've been conducting some sort of small-scale test."

"And he used my magical beast to do it?!" Azarel fumed. "That's not even a petty act! That's a declaration of war!"

"Don't throw words like war around so easily." Pestis murmured. "This is not-"

"But that's what this is shaping up to be, isn't it?" Lina interrupted. "The Mazoku are taking sides. It's Beastmaster versus Hellmaster, and Pathosmaster is being tugged back and forth."

"What about Lord Dynast and Lord Dolphin?" Pestis asked. "I haven't noticed any activity from them lately."

"I wouldn't be surprised if Beastmaster paid them off, or at least Dolphin." Azarel suggested. "Dynast was always disdainful of conflicts between Shabranigdo's retainers and might not want to lower himself into getting involved, but Dolphin is a shrewd businesswoman who will pick the side that will pay her the most."

"I like Dolphin's style." Lina chuckled.

"If Beastmaster has Dolphin and possibly Dynast on her side, is it wise to challenge her?" Amelia asked.

"I'm not challenging her. I'm not challenging anyone." Pestis asserted. "All I want is for us to find peace and leave the Aqualord's barrier alone."

Lina stepped forward and cleared her throat. "I hate to break this to you, Pestis, but if your intention is protecting the barrier from any form of tampering, you are, in fact, challenging both Beastmaster and Azarel."

"That's Hellmaster to you." Azarel hissed.

"Yes, Azarel." Lina replied curtly.

"Lina is right. You can't get around the fact that your intentions directly conflict with those of the other Mazoku, Mister Pestis." Amelia continued. "Just because you haven't sided with one or the other doesn't automatically make you neutral. It means that you have your own side."

Pestis looked down at his feet sadly. "…you heard them, Azarel. There's no need to summon any more magical beasts on my account. I'm officially your enemy. You can leave me in peace."

"Wait, wait, wait!" Amelia exclaimed. "Whether or not Azarel intended the magical beast to cause as much damage as it did, we need someone to pay for these damages! Mazoku can't just use the city of Seyruun as a playground for their own motives and think they can get away with it! That's unjust-"

"Mazoku in Seyruun already pay a heavy price in putting up with that White Magic barrier." Azarel defended.

"But that doesn't help the citizens!"

"Now, now, perhaps we can reach a compromise." Pestis stepped in between them, holding his hands out.

"If you want someone to pay for damages, ask Xellos. It's his fault that the beast did more damage than I'd intended."

"That's no excuse. It was your magical beast to begin with." Lina pointed out.

Azarel scowled. "Is no one getting the fact that I'm the victim here? My original plan was hijacked by someone else for their own personal goals and now I'm getting pinned with the blame-"

"You are in no way a victim." Amelia interrupted. "I recognize your type. People like you are skilled at victimizing yourselves, when you're really the one at fault."

"This argument is getting us nowhere, and I don't want to deal with this." Pestis broke in. "I can't keep putting up with all of these attacks from other Mazoku. I've got a lot on my mind now, my one subordinate is dealing with emotional turmoil, my girlfriend has a baby dragon to care for, my friends are-"

"Back up." Azarel commanded. "What did you say about a dragon? Since when do you have a girlfriend?"

"Since… quite a while." Pestis lied. "You can talk to Filia. She knows what I'm talking about."

"Filia? But doesn't she belong to Xellos-?"

"Filia is a strong, independent Golden Dragon who does not belong to anyone."

"But she-"

"She needs someone who will treat her right. Not someone who's going to stab her in the back- or the front- whenever a capricious Mazoku Lord gives the word."

"You are a capricious Mazoku Lord!"

"But I'm never going to stab her!"

"EXCUSE ME."

Amelia's voice broke through the argument, and both Pestis and Azarel took a moment before they could find the source.

"Amelia, how'd you get all the way up there-?"

"HELLMASTER AZAREL, as the princess of Seyruun, I hereby charge you with destruction of property, arson, and malicious crimes against the people of this city. Your presence is therefore required in a court of law which will be held tomorrow at noon, where you will receive the same trial by jury as any other criminal."

"Wh-what?" Pestis spluttered. Azarel didn't seem as taken aback, however.

"And what if I don't appear?"

"We have ways of tracking you down. Both you and Xellos will be expected to appear for trial, and will be punished to the fullest extent of the law should you refuse to do so."

"You hear that, Xellos? That means you!" Lina called loudly.

There was a brief moment of silence.

"This is an unexpected surprise. I wasn't planning on being addressed by name." Xellos appeared suddenly, seated on what remained of a bench outside a storefront. "My kudos goes to you for your perspicacity, Miss Lina."

"I figured that you'd be hanging around." Lina shrugged. "And, judging by your lack of interruption earlier, I assume the magical barrier around the beast was indeed your doing?"

"I would've corrected you if it wasn't." Xellos affirmed.

"X-Xellos," Pestis began nervously. "um, about what I said earlier… y'know, the whole stabbing-in-the-back thing, I was just-"

"I'm not angry." Xellos waved one hand dismissively.

"You're not?"

"Of course not. Your point is absolutely correct. Filia should be in the relationship that provides the most benefit to her."

"And… you're… okay with that?"

"Why wouldn't I be? I only want the best for her."

Lina narrowed her eyes. There was an undertone of condescension that she didn't like. Xellos clearly had something else in mind.

"I appreciate the fair trial, princess." he continued. "You humans in Seyruun really do take the mission of Justice to heart. If I plead guilty, is there a chance that I may be offered a reduced fine?"

"We can discuss plea bargains with the judge tomorrow." Amelia replied cautiously.

"Happy to hear it. I look forward to seeing you all at noon tomorrow- especially you, Lord Hellmaster." Xellos waved and suddenly disappeared.

There was an eerie silence after he left that the group was reluctant to break. Pestis finally took a deep breath and spoke up.

"Azarel, I-"

He turned around, but the Mazoku had disappeared as well.