Slayers Fan Fiction ❯ Slayers For the Future: The Prophecy of Inverse ❯ Heavens! Lina and Zelgadis Reunited! ( Chapter 1 )

Disclaimer: I do not own anything of "The Slayers."

Chapter 1

Oh Heavens! Lina and Zelgadis Reunited!

"Fireball!! Hah….hah! Chew on that, bandits!" Lina Inverse shouted proudly, launching a large fireball at the few remaining bandits that stood in her way. Treasure, as always, is what she craved and bandits were the best way to get it and a few extra items that could be worth more if sold to the right person, or sucker. The bandits she hit with her spell fell over quickly, charred and dumbstruck from the small woman's actions.

She'd looked like the perfect score to them, all alone, fancy clothes, and short. Their leader had threatened her, calling her a child. When Lina had said she was well over 15 years of age, he made a comment on how small her breasts were and laughed. He'd gotten a fireball in the face for it and had been the first of the bandit group to topple over burnt and bleeding.

Now they didn't think much of anything except about the great pain they were in, vaguely aware of the young, flat-chested woman robbing them. All of their treasure was hers, and a few artifacts they'd pilfered from an elderly couple traveling to years back. They were dead now, so none of the thieves really cared about having the statues and the pendants. Secretly, they regretted it now that all that stalking the couple had gone to waste in under a minute by insulting some girl. The bandits just hoped she'd get caught with the items and get blamed for what they did.

"Villains have no rights, boys….you'd do well to remember that. No one makes fun of Lina Inverse and gets away with it." She told the twitching bodies, giving them a sad victory sign as one of them moaned. She didn't feel like enjoying this, sure they had insulted her, but her heart wasn't in it. She was alone, all alone, no one to tell her she fought a good fight. No Gourry to pound for agreeing that she was flat-chested, no Amelia to speak of the justice she had done in stopping the bandits. No one….not even the pain in the ass trickster priest Xellos to smile constantly and talk of secrets, his closed eyes mocking them all in their silent grace.

"Being alone sucks. L-sama, no offense, but this lone wolf crap that a practitioner of Nightmare magic lives really bites. You made this world, why do people think that those that can wield your great magic are evil?" she said aloud, leaving the charred bandits behind as she walked back towards the path they chased her off of," No, Gourry and Amelia didn't leave because of my power. They left because of me….the immature Lina Inverse, the violent Chaos child. I can't help being the way I am, is it so wrong to be me? To be around me….hell, even Zelgadis left, but that's to be expected. The chimera wants his cure bad, we'd only slow him down, his exact words I believe. The outside world holds a lot of possibilities for him. I hope he found his cure, not that he needs it. But, if it makes him happy….oh shut up Lina, you're being crazy now, talking to yourself. Just walk!"

She shivered as she scolded herself, knowing how insane she might have looked to a normal person, someone not affiliated with L-sama's powers, with Lina Inverse who could summon them. She missed her comrades, her friends. It had been terrible being all alone. It had been five long years without Gourry to attempt to talk to.

He never really had anything intelligent to say, having jellyfish for brains, but having someone around was nice. It comforted Lina to have the stupid lug around, even the hyper active princess Amelia was missed by her. The long speeches about truth and justice were gone since Amelia went back home, never to return to where Lina roamed. She didn't follow Amelia back to the place where it all began for them or Gourry. He was with Sylphiel now, content she gathered.

They'd sent her a letter by carrier pigeon to tell her he was healed up, but he wanted to stay and protect the land he was born on, not the confusing outside world. "Its too far from Sylphiel's wonderful cooking and besides, you can take care of yourself, Lina. I can get fireballed by evil sorceresses and stuff here. Being famous right here works for me. I want to start off where I'm familiar being….the outside world is confusing." Were the words scribbled onto the parchment, in Sylphiel's handwriting and Gourry's idiotic ramblings.

It was bit painful to read at first, Gourry actually admitting he didn't want to be around her because she fireballed him occasionally, but it wasn't her fault he was so dense, repeating her obvious lack of a supple chest and height over and over again. He never learned, so she retaliated. He was stout, that's all she could give him, but even getting kicked in the groin, hit, punched, slapped, and burned never lit anything up in that empty head of his that she was really hurt by his words. He didn't get it, he didn't think enough to understand how much his words, true as they were, hurt.

She proved how insulting the letter was to her by setting it on fire and stomping on the ashes. It had been childish, but it made her feel better for a day or two, then loneliness set in once more, when Amelia never sent her a letter. She never got anything from Little Miss Justice, and that hurt worse.

At least Gourry and Zel had the common decency to tell her that they were leaving, though Zel had done the best job. He left for his cure, not because of Lina. She respected him for going out gracefully. If the blue-skinned chimera had gone back to their homeland, she wouldn't know. She suspected he would once the outside world was fully searched, but then he'd be even more depressed. He'd already searched their homeland as well, and this would crush his hopes.

'Bet that fruitcake Xellos would love that. He's the one that kept ruining Zel's chances at getting the Claire Bible for his cure. I hope Zel has found one, for the sake of his sanity. That guy doesn't deserve to suffer anymore….none of us do, but we manage, don't we L-sama? We always manage to be hurt.' Lina thought with a baneful expression, her frown deepening.

Her thoughts were blown away when she heard a snapping sound, like someone had stepped on a branch. She whirled towards it, readying a fireball, then froze, the spell fading back into her fingertips. "ZEL!? Zelgadis, is that you?" she piped, seeing the familiar beige cloaked figure, wearing the gloves with blue fingers sticking out, the cloak clip of red a ways under his masked chin and mouth. The figure nodded and she thought that his right hand had moved. It had, he was holding his sword stiffly, looking at her with his sparkling, blue slit eyes. The expression they held was guarded for a moment, then it softened to his usual pensive expression.

"Hello Lina. Funny meeting you here, but I should have expected it. Those bandits back there, I might have known that it was your handiwork. I was tracking them myself." He said, his husky tone drab with seriousness. 'His cure again. They must have had a cure lead he's been tracking. Well, if it'll keep me from being alone, let him look. You're friends, right? Right…..ack, there I go again.' She thought, shaking herself mentally to focus on him again. His sword was away and he was just standing there across from her, arms crossed over his chest.

"Cure stuff, right? Well, I guess it'd be ok if I showed you what those jerks had. Hmm, you liked my work, Zel?" she put towards him, watching him with a sudden smile as he approached. He shrugged and gave off a slight nod. She knelt down with him on the path dumping the contents. He inspected the pendants and statue, tapping the statue lightly with his stone fingers, then shook his head.

"No magic, its just a plain silver statue, normal as anything….except me. The pendant registers some power….but its only for magic amplification, healing and the like. Nothing to undo my curse. I've hit another false lead, Lina. I'm getting good at this bad habit of mine." He mumbled, no emotion whatsoever in any of the words. He sat back on heels, pushing off his mask and hood to let out a breath. His eyes were shut, the dark scale-like pebbles on his face glittering slightly in the sunlight.

Lina just watched him, trying to think up something to make him smile, laugh, anything. She'd succeeded when they were alone for the first time as allies, just over slapping him on the back and hurting her hand. Maybe it was her giggling afterwards, she'd never asked him, but he had laughed, a very nice sounding one. He looked even better when he was smiling, even if it smug. She sighed peacefully at the memory, then realized she was staring right into Zelgadis' eyes, and he was staring right back with a puzzled expression.

"What?" she said dumbly, blushing as she found she'd been leaning on her hand and staring at him for five long minutes. "Gourry and Amelia? I asked you where they are. It's not like you to be all alone slaying bandits. You feel all right? You…uh, drifted off for a second." He said, his expression never changing.

"Oh, me? No, I just, was thinking about something else. Its….private really. Um, Gourry and Amelia went home. They….had better things to do than rob bandits out here. Amelia got homesick after Gourry did. Gourry got hurt five years back by a big nasty dragon we were trying to get some ancient treasure from. We only got out with our lives, a few gold coins and burnt rear ends, but not Gourry. He got batted out of the cave by the dragon real hard. Me and Amelia healed him as best we could, but Amelia said he should be taken back to Saillune for proper treatment…." Lina told him, then her voice faltered, her eyes growing sad as she looked away. Zelgadis kept looking at her trying to look into her eyes. "And?" he asked.

"Ah Zel….can't we talk about this in the next town? Those bandits won't twitch forever. I'd rather not have to fight them all over again. Please." She asked, her voice cracking a bit, but she was sure he hadn't heard it. She was thankful when he nodded, helping her put all the items back in her sack. He put his hood and mask back on as they started walking, never uttering a word the entire trip.

~ Blanden Village ~

"Sorry." Lina piped as they sat down in the inn room. Zelgadis had been deep in thought at the time, but one would never actually pick up on it. He casually raised his now unmasked face towards her, puzzled. "Why are you apologizing? The inn isn't that bad." He said. She shook her head, raising her hand as if to hit him, but it didn't fall through. She just rubbed her forehead and tried smiling, failing miserably.

"Sorry that the lead didn't meet to your expectations. I know how bad you want that cure of yours. Its gotta be out there somewhere, Zel. Where there's a curse, there's always a cure. Hmph, like where there's a Dragon Slave, there's just Lina Inverse." She mumbled out, Zelgadis catching it. He looked at her thoughtfully before speaking.

"They ditched you, didn't they? Amelia and Gourry….is that why you got so sad when I asked? I'm used to you being a lot more energetic and temperamental, not like me. I know, I am a bit of a serious person, so I'd know how I look to others and when they resemble me." He said lightly, all too knowingly.

'Zel….you always have to be so damn smart. Such a stick in the mud sometimes, but still you know me better than most people.' She thought, nodding. "Yeah, after the dragon thing….Amelia and Gourry headed back for our homeland and never came back. I waited for a year, maybe a little less, but I waited. I finally got a carrier pigeon with a letter from jellyfish for brains. He said Amelia was home safe and sound, being princess-like and all and he was with Sylphiel, making a name for himself back home. He kept saying this outside world was too confusing for him. He said he'd rather get fireballed by evil mages than be fireballed for speaking. Like I'm the bad guy, he never learned to stop making fun of my chest, my height, everything. I know he was too dense to know he was being truthful, but it still hurt, Zel. The letter was worse than him telling me himself. He didn't have enough balls to say it to my face. And Amelia….she….she never even wrote….absolutely nothing. It really hurt Zel….you know?" she said quietly, fighting back the pain filled tears.

Zelgadis was just looking at her, looking a little pained by what she'd told him. Amelia, she'd always had a huge and loud crush on Zelgadis and he'd always told her to stop it, yet the princess persisted. Perhaps hearing that she'd cut and run back home hurt him too. Like the crush was just for attention or a phase Amelia was going through.

'Don't see it that way, I don't need to hear the "I'm a freak" speech….You're not a freak. She left because of me. You left for your cure, Zel….' She thought, pleading at him with her ruby-red eyes.

"So we're alone here….our friends abandoned us. Typical." he said quietly, sneering. "They left because of me…."she blurted rather loudly, making Zel 's eyes widen a bit," Gourry….he was sick of being around an immature and old brat with no chest. He's probably helping some 'babe' sorceress like Naga or some shit and Amelia is living the high and safe life of always being right and just in her private princess world with all her servants and riches and stuff. They just didn't want to be around me anymore. I guess I yelled and fireballed them one time to many. Heh, all powerful and I can't even hold onto a few friends. People I trusted with my life just ditch me the first chance they get."

Zelgadis' face soured a bit, his eyes narrowing. 'Oops…he's my friend too. Dammit, I was so pissed off I forgot he might take it the wrong way, him being so sensitive.' Her mind screamed.

"No Zel, you're a good friend, you left because of your cure. I know that, we all did. Its what keeps you going. I know you didn't ditch me because you think I'm a rude, flat kid….they did. Not you, don't look at me like that." She balked, crossing her own arms across her slight chest.

"Ah, sorry, I….I just misunderstood, Lina, my being an ugly monster and all. And you're not a rude flat kid, a brat, or even a bitch. Maybe you have a bit of a temper and have a tendency to show your distaste with painful spells, but you're not any of those things you seem to think you are. You're a very smart young woman, powerful as well. You're selling yourself short, Lina, so did our so-called friends. If they were your real friends, they would have told you they wanted to stop traveling to your face, taken the consequences bravely and walked off with some dignity. What they did to you…that was an act of cowardice." Zel stated, his features starting to relax a bit.

"You're selling yourself short as well, Zelgadis Greywords. You're not a monster or a freak. You look just fine to me….even Amelia didn't say that when she first met you, then she gets a crush on you suddenly. She was weird, but….to get back on the subject, thanks, Zel. Thanks for….well, you know, being honest. You always seem to do that." She told him, getting a cute pink blush to form on his blue, stony cheeks.

"Well….I….well, that is to say, uh, yeah, your welcome. And thank you for being honest too. Uh, heh….so um….you still exploring the outside world? You're not going back home?" he asked, deliberately trying to change the subject and still blushing.

"Yeah….why would I want to go back to that grubby place now when I'm just getting started here? There are so few mages and stuff around, I'm like a dark avenger, well, when things go my way. I think I might stay here, its kind of nice….lots of variety in food, treasure, and the weather too. Good escape….from other things," She said, faltering on her last words," What about you, Zel? You going to head back when you get your cure? See your family? Anyone in particular?"

She knew she sounded a bit corny asking him that, he was very private about his past to everyone. He probably wouldn't answer her about all that and whether there was someone special, she wondered if deep down, behind all that shoving Amelia away, if it hadn't interested him at all.

"No….I'll probably stay here. There's nothing back there I'd be interested in. Just a lot of bad memories….the evil chimera that worked for the nutcase Rezo. Forget it, I'll stay where no one will know me, well, aside from you. At least we'd….um, eh heh, we'd have each other…..I mean we'd be near each other, geographically speaking. You need someone to keep you out of trouble since Gourry isn't around. Right?" he said, stuttering briefly, then rubbed the back of his neck and ducked his head slightly.

It had been to hide his blushing from her, now bright red staining his cheeks, but she'd seen it. He was still cute, blushing or not, he was the cutest guy she'd ever known. For a chimera, that was a first she had to conclude. Zel pulled it off with style, his angelic face taking her and Amelia in, his voice doing a number their hearts. He sounded so smooth and cool, Mr. Calm and Collected all the way, calling himself a freak and a monster. Lina had never voiced how cute she thought he was, but he had called her cute. It had been a nice thing to hear.

"Ok, Zel, I guess its official. We're going cure and treasure hunting again. Hooray….now it won't be so lonely for use to be traveling in the outside world. Isn't that great, Zel?" she said, giving him a light pat on the shoulder. He nodded rather rapidly, looking up slightly as the blushing had begun to cease. "Yeah, just wonderful Lina, two heads are better than one….right? We can check around town for new leads tomorrow. It's pretty late already. I'll just head for my room, just promise not to fireball me when I come to wake you up." He chuckled, his rare and heart melting smile appearing on his face. She smiled back, giving him a big hug as he stood up.

"I'll try….just no stealing the sheets or dropping water on me like Gourry used to. Then I will not be responsible for what happens to you. Deal?" she laughed lightly, noting he had begun blushing again in the hug. He hugged her back nonetheless, nodding to her as she let him go. "No water and no stealing sheets. I think the conventional shaking your shoulder will be tolerated. Huh, Lina?" he replied, backing politely out of her room.

"Sounds good, see you in the morning, Zel. Pleasant dreams!" she chirped, giving him a perky victory sign as he waved to her. Then he left her room, shutting the door quietly. Lina plopped onto her bed, shucking her clothing off swiftly before burrowing under her covers. 'Yes….I won't be alone anymore, neither of us will be. Thank you, L-sama, thank you for proving me wrong. I can have people near me….I can.' She silently prayed, her smile staying planted on her face as she drifted to sleep.

~ Four Weeks Later ~

"This lead had better work, that guy seemed a bit slimy back Blanden, but he had some authentic knowledge, Zel. If he was lying just so he could get away with that statue and the pendant I'm Dragon Slaving his wrinkled butt to L-sama herself." Lina said harshly, her face scrunched up determined and tough. Zel nodded, his mask now off since they'd left the village three days ago.

He smiled slightly, casting Lina a sidelong glance. 'The sun makes her hair look like liquid ruby….so pretty. I'm glad she's staying here, I thought I'd go crazy going this alone all over again. No Amelia to bother me….Gourry wasn't so bad, but talking to him was like talking to a bag of sticks. Nothing really intelligent. At least with Lina we can have intelligent conversations, even though she talks non-stop about bandit killing and treasure. So carefree, except when we met up again. She looked about ready to cry, what I wouldn't give to have been able to hold her and tell her….Ah, no, not me. I'm a freak, no matter what she says. I'm still a freakish monster who doesn't deserve love, let alone Lina's friendship. I should have said I was going elsewhere, to save myself the agony of being with her. She's so pretty….and I'm so ugly. What could she ever see in me?' he thought. As much as Lina said he wasn't a monster, he never quite believed it. He thought she was sparing his feelings. Amelia had called him strange and evil looking at first, then quickly fell in love. He still found that disturbing.

Lina had never done that, she was only miffed that he defeated her and had been smart enough to realize it was "that time of the month" for her when they'd first clashed. He really hadn't wanted to hurt her too badly or keep her prisoner for very long. He just wanted that damn Philosopher's Stone so he could kill Rezo. Now Rezo was dead, and he kept bumping into pretty, little Lina and friends, now it was just Lina. It was quiet actually, without Gourry to antagonize her or Amelia to make her ill, she was happier looking now than he'd ever seen her, but just as sassy and tough talking as always.

It was always easy to talk to Lina, the one who never judged him for his looks, only yelling at him when he was too serious or later on she'd be teasing him or praising him about his skills. He'd do it right back at her, getting her cute little giggle in response. Amelia didn't have that effect on him, as good a friend the young princess became to him, she was just too pushy and loud, more hyper than a sugar sucking Mazuko.

Amelia was always way too cheerful and always thinking her ways were the only ways, like some energetic preacher jamming justice and faith in your face, whether you liked it or not. He didn't like that at all, and Lina could be pushy as well, but she knew when to leave Zelgadis alone and when he needed to talk. Amelia never let up, she was always doing or saying something when she felt like it.

"Hey Zel?" Lina's voice finally piped, making him turn his head a bit. "Yes?" he asked, cringing a bit at the evil grin on her face. "I think we're here….get down." She commanded, dragging him into the forest beside them. "I don't see anything up ahead….Lina?" he asked, but she shushed him.

"Its not ahead of the path, silly Zel, its next to us. Look hard into the forest across from us. Don't you see it?" she said, more quietly now. Zelgadis shrugged and did so, his eyes widening as he saw some kind of structure deep within the dark, emerald depths of the forest. "It looks like ruins….then why are you whispering, Lina?" Zel put to her and watched her point a ways to the left of the ruins, at a bunch of men approaching it.

"Bandits….I'd know their lousy odor anywhere. They must be using the ruins as a hideout or something. They're not the same ones I beat a month ago, these guys look really buff." Lina told him quietly, and he nodded in unison. The last bandits had been mostly skinny, young guys. These bandits were very muscular and dirty looking, no hair on their heads. He couldn't tell if they were human or not, the forest was too dark where the bandits were moving.

"They could be ogres, Lina, or trolls. There's no telling. From the size of them, they might be just very strong humans, but then again, ogres can be that size too….I say we wait until nightfall, until they are asleep. Its better to survey the situation, that way you won't….I mean we won't get hurt." He whispered back, cursing himself for his slip of the tongue.

Lina didn't seem to notice, her brow furrowing at the now grunting bandits. "Whatever Zel….I'd rather go in and blow them to smithereens, but one of them might know if your cure is in there or they know where it is and how to get to it, or all of the above. I wouldn't want to send your chances smoldering with those creeps. What kind of friend would I be then?" she replied quietly, placing her hand on his unconsciously. He tensed under the sudden warmth of her skin.

'Soft, like sakura blossoms, like the way she smells, so sweet. She's so close…..Ack, wake up, Zel-boy, she'd never want you. She's so pretty and talented, why would she want a freak job like you? Focus, your cure could be in there!' he silently screamed, slipping his shaking hand out from under hers.

"Then its agreed, we wait here until nightfall, then we take them by surprise." Zel stated coolly hearing a "yes" come from Lina's mouth as then pushed themselves down further behind the brush.

~

Night came quickly, the only light for Zelgadis and Lina being the moon high above glistening down on them. It made Zelgadis' hair sparkle pure silver, and it made Lina sad that Zel put his mask and hood back on. He wanted to be inconspicuous and if his head was a living light spell in the moonlight now, the bandits would see them coming. She half-heartedly agreed, keeping the image of his silver-blue head in her mind as they crept out of their hiding place and ventured into the opposing forest.

The bandits weren't outside, they had long since entered the ruins. It all looked rather small upon inspection, crumbling every few minutes, but the doorway on them lead down. That meant the ruins were actually underground, a good hiding place for wonderful treasures and spells, and even dirty thieves as she had put it.

"Those chimera ears of yours hear anything? Even them breaking wind might be a good sign…."Lina half-chuckled, but she was actually pretty nervous. Dark, underground placed usually had a lot of gross things in them, maybe even slimy, putrid slugs. How she hated those things, she prayed that there weren't any down there as they quietly walked down the dark stairway.

"I hear snoring….someone sniffling, or sniffing something. I don't smell much but decay and mold. This must be tomb or something. Shush now, Lina, even whispers carry in places like these." He whispered back, taking the lead with soundless steps. Lina didn't say anything, then he looked back at her and she mouthed a silent "Ok" to him, nodding. He smiled, holding in a laugh. She had listened to him, and she could see in his eyes that he was appreciative. It was as if he found it amusing that she got his own words to haunt him.

Their decent continued, quiet as a pair of mice as they moved. When they reached the bottom, Lina shivered. It was so cold so deep down in the ground. Zelgadis didn't look cold, he was made of stone so it was understandable. Lina just kept following him, now down a torch lit hallway, wrapping her cloak about her tightly to keep in her warmth. She ducked her head down, forcing her chattering teeth down against her hands.

Then she felt something wrap about her, like silk draping about her. She looked up to see Zelgadis' face inches from her own. He looked startled at her movement, blushing. She looked about herself and found he was wrapping his hooded cloak about her shoulders, his slender stone fingers in the middle of fastening the ruby clasp.

"You….Uh, I heard you shivering, its not hard with my hearing. I don't need it….stone body and all. Sorry if I scared you." He whispered, backing up as he fastened the ruby clip.

"No….I was just shocked. I wasn't really paying attention, the cold and all. Thanks, Zel, you're sweet." She whispered back, seeing him blush another shade of red, bringing his finger up to his chin and closing his eyes gently before turning around again.

'And cute….I can actually see his body when he doesn't have this nasty thing on, covering himself up with this ugly hood and his mask. He doesn't need it. Why won't he ever listen to me? Stubborn….so stubborn.' She thought, following him yet again with his soft cloak, smelling only of Zel, a perfect smell, keeping her body warm.

When Zelgadis stopped short, she thought to question it, but recalled he had said no talking. 'They must be around the bend….damn, don't poke your head around the corner….you might get a face full of bullets or spells, or worse, boulders!' She thought, quietly getting up behind him as he peered around the corner.

He pulled back a few minutes later, nothing happening all the while. He made a pointing motion for her to do the same and she obeyed, peering around to corner to see a shoddy wooden door at the end of the shorter hallway, light coming out from under it. She looked up at him and gave a nod, which he returned, then show her three fingers counting down. 'The old "on three" bit. Well, have to start somewhere….' She thought, following him around the corner to creep up to the door.

There was nothing to peer through, so Zelgadis opened the door slightly, pulling as gently and slowly as possible on the handle. Lina looked inside with him, grimacing. 'Drunks….they're all over the top drunk and drooling ogres!' she thought, wanting to laugh at how terrible the group actually looked, also wanting to puke her guts up at the horrendous odor the room gave off.

It had to be killing Zel by now, his senses far more acute than hers. She could swear she heard him heave. All of the ogres were passed out on the floors, snoring and sleeping in their own vomit or the other's vomit. The entire place wreaked of their own terrible odor and their half-digested food and ale.

Zelgadis walked inside, Lina following in tow close behind, both of them pinching their noses closed to keep the smell out. It wasn't helping Lina one bit, she herself felt like throwing up from the terrible stench, and she'd eaten a lot the day before. She was sure she'd be sick for hours if she couldn't hold it down.

'Yeah that'll get Zel to stick around. Throwing up all over his back is real ladylike. Yuck, why'd these guys have to have so much to drink? Not that I'm ungrateful, I'd rather these dorks be sleeping and drunk rather than awake and coherent about what we're doing here. This stink aside, we're actually pretty lucky.' She thought, smiling to herself as another wave of nausea was forced back.

Zelgadis had successfully maneuvered them around the sleeping drunks, but their boots were pretty soaked with puke and ale, so they would probably smell bad until they got them cleaned in the next town. She doubted Zel would really care until they were outside again, right now he was in seriousness overdrive, nothing would deter him from going on until he found a his cure or this turned out to be another wild goose chase. Lina just followed quietly, pretty sure her nose would be bruised by the time they left.

Zelgadis got them to the other side of the room, where an another door was, sealed tight with very large lock. "Not a problem…."he whispered, almost inaudible as he knelt down slight and pulls something out from his cloak. 'Thieves' tools, picks and pins, all for picking locks and keyholes, treasure chests, I wonder how long he was stealing before he became a chimera, or if he started after. Like you'll get much of an answer. It'd be like asking Xellos pretty much anything at all. So many secrets, Zel, why won't you let me in? I can help….I'll show you.' She thought, watching him quietly pick the lock.

Then it hit her, if he made a noise, something loud enough to wake up any one of the sleeping, drunken ogres, that one would awake the others and they'd be surrounded. She turned around and faced the vomit stained drunks, still laying in hazardous ways all over the floor. She lifted her hands up, just in case any of them decided waking up was something they had to do.

She heard a click a few minutes later, then the low creak of a door. 'Fast at everything, I bet….Oh, don't think that. Not now. Jeez, Lina, you're trying to help Zel, not fantasize about him.' She thought.

"You go on ahead, Zel, I'll watch your back up here….just try to keep quiet. I can't Dragon Slave this place with us in it. Who knows how far down we really are, we might get buried alive with this stink. That's not a good thing." She whispered to him. She felt his hand grip her should slightly, then it slipped away with a soft," I promise, Lina." Then all she heard were his light footsteps fading away, and then there was nothing but the snoring ogres to hear.

~

'Jeez Zel, how long can it possibly take to search these ruins? Its been over three hours since you left….hurry up. These guys might actually wake up before too long." Lina thought, a small fireball forming in her hand as one of the ogres twitched. Even though the thing didn't wake up, she kept the fireball up, ready for anything.

She nearly burned her hand off when a hand clamped down on her shoulder, getting her close to screaming. Then another hand came down on her mouth, a stone one.

"Vel….Mmmph!" she muffled out, his name coming out all funny, but she knew it was him. "Yeah….its me, now let's get out of this disease encrusted slime pit. We wasted a lot of our time listening to that old bastard. It was probably Xellos toying with me again. Let's go already." He whispered, anger apparent in his voice. He also smelled of ashes, even his hands did as they let go of her, Zel stalking out in front of her to the exit.

His right sleeve had been burned away, some ash caked on his stone skin. There was some stuck to his silvery blue hair as well. She hadn't heard any fire spells go off down there or any battles, but then again she'd been too focused on getting ready to roast any ogres that dared open its beady little eyes.

Zel didn't seem very focused on much of anything but his anger, yet another lead that led to nothing. She never liked seeing him angry, but right now him throwing a silent tantrum in a room filled with sleeping ogres was worse. It got worse when Zel stepped on one of their large, green, and beefy hands as he reach the exit.

The thing woke up with loud yowl, smacking Zelgadis in the back as he leapt up. His hand turned red as he hit the chimera, who went sailing through the door face first and the ogre yowled in pain once more. He was hopping up and down like crazy, drunk, but still aware he was supposed to be in pain by being stomped on by a stone person. Sadly, he was hopping all over the room, landing his huge feet on his fellow ogres and waking them up.

"Dammit! You idiot, stop that!! Damn!!" she yelled at it, not really thinking about what became of Zelgadis and began to prepare a full fledged fireball in her hands," Source of all power, light which burns beyond crimson, let thy power gather in my hand! FIREBALL!"

The flames shot from her hand in a ball of fiery energy and slammed into the screaming ogre, burning him into nothing. Not that it would have made a difference, Lina thought, for all of his drunken and sore friends were already up, scowling at her. "Oops, well, I did stop him from ruining your nice naps, didn't I? Eh, heh, heh….ohhh…damn." she tried, but they all growled at her, lifting up clubs and sword from their backs and belts.

"Well, so much for being nice….it sucks anyway. Come on boys, I dare you to take on the great sorceress Lina Inverse! Bring it on!" she yelled, getting them all to yell back their anger at her as they rushed forth. It was more a tripping charge, complete with drool and misjudged swings. They were coming at her, but in the dopiest fashion ever. One of them managed to get near Lina as she tried not to laugh at the display, catching her off guard for a few seconds.

"Lina!!! Get down! Rune Flare!!" Zelgadis' voice rang out, and Lina readily obeyed when she heard the spell that was being cast from his hands. She briefly saw a few dozen of speeding flare arrows heading towards the ogre above her, the dumb creature still ready to bring his club down on her head. He jerked slightly as the flare arrows ripped through his chest, exploding blood and sinew all over Lina and she tried to cover herself up.

If she'd bothered looking up, she would have seen the club fall loose from its hands, the spiked club, and fall towards her. She was aware of the stabbing pain in her back before everything went black, the pain stuck inside her as a scream ripped through the room.

~

"LINAAAAAAAAA!!!!" Zelgadis screamed. He'd never been an emotional person, far from it. It had taken a lot of solitude and training to be able to shield his emotions from others. Lina had always been able to break through his barriers, ever since he'd met her she'd made him blush, laugh, be embarrassed, silly, all sorts of emotions he'd pushed down to become the strongest and the best there ever was at everything.

Now here he was, with Lina again and he'd tried to save her, only to cause her injury. It wasn't as if he'd planned it that way, he thought there would have been well enough time to stop the ogre from striking her, but he'd been very wrong.

The ogre never struck, but he was about to when Zel's Rune Flare hit the thing, sending the spiked club crashing into Lina's body. His stone heart broke, he swore he heard it when he saw the club land on her, the blood gushing from the spikes against her flesh. Or it could have been his last shred of mercy he had in his mind, just as it snapped across his face with hatred overtaking him. 'The Mazuko….the one inside me, its doing this. Ha, what do I care? Lina….this is for you!! I will make them all pay!' his mind screamed, his eyes glowing blood red.

"Ray Wing!" he shouted, the protective sphere surrounding his body, taking him safely past the still growling and tripping ogres. He got to Lina quickly and pulled her inside, tossing the club away. Then he looked at the ogres hatefully, clenching his teeth and showing off the small fangs he had. "Source of all power, crimson fire burning bright! Gather together in my hand and become an inferno.…BURST FLARE!" he shouted, a ball of light appearing in the center of the remaining dumbstruck ogres.

They only had a few seconds to acknowledge that they were about to be burned into nothing by the bursting ball. Then the mighty tongue of blue white flame began searing their very flesh off their bones into hell, but they never considered how painful the trip was going to be as the first of their howls began, the circle of flames incinerating them all into ashes.

When the screaming stopped, Zel's eyes were sapphire once more, and used his mind to get the sphere to get him and Lina to safety. "All for a false lead, damn it! Lina, hold on, we're almost outside….please don't die….don't….don't leave me alone. You can't die…." He whispered to her, wishing she could hear his pleas. She was out cold, her ruby eyes closed tight with pain as the blood leaked from her back and onto him, down his tunic and pants. He didn't care about the stains, what he cared about was Lina surviving.

When Zel was sure they were far enough away from the ruins, he set Lina down and canceled his levitation spell, kneeling beside her as he prepared to cast recovery. He steeled himself as he lifted up the back of her shirt carefully, grimacing at her blood soaked back. It got all over his hands as he did this, then more stuck to his fingers and he put them to her wounds.

"Blessed, humble hand of God, Life and breath of Mother Earth. I pray thee. Come before me and show thy great compassion to deliver us! RECOVERY!!" he chanted, a soft glow of energy surrounding his hands as the spell took hold, the wounds starting to heal. He waited a minute, pulling down her shirt when he was satisfied with the spell, the wounds now only small red pockmarks across her fair, sleek skin.

'She'd fireball me straight to L-sama and back if she knew I pulled up her clothes, but better that than watching her bleed to death over having to strip her a little. Its not like I looked at her naked or something….why am I so worried?' he thought, picking her up in his still bloodstained hands.

He didn't take the time as he started walking again to take his cloak back from her or put on his mask. It was far from his mind, very far. Until Lina actually woke up, he wouldn't be able to think straight.

'I hope there's a town nearby….she'll need her rest. I know she'd ask me to stop if she was awake anyway. Its so Lina, not that it bothers me. Bathing and a little something to eat wouldn't hurt so bad after the rotten week we had, all wasted for a stupid little broken idol that was someone's ancient artwork, nothing magical about it. Lina almost died for another dead end….died for his obsession.

'I could leave her in the next town….but then what would she think of me? I'd be no better than Amelia or Gourry, which is a frightening thought. She's been ditched by two of her friends for selfish reasons already. I don't want to join that hated group, no, I'll stay with her, she needs someone to be around, like I do. It won't hurt to stay….if this had happened without me around….who would look out for her, appreciate her? Maybe, maybe when she wakes up I could tell her why I joined, the real reason. No, stop torturing yourself, Zel. You're a freak….she'd never, not her. She's better than you, so much more….but maybe. Hell, I don't know….I'll think about it….later.' he thought, a crystalline tear shattering across his stone cheek, landing softly onto the ground as he went on. It glistened in its place, sparkling like a star as Zelgadis disappeared from the forest.

To be Continued…..