"Lina Inverse is alive?" Sylphiel
"Don't be ridiculuous, the bitch" Martina sneered at the last word, after all, she knew just how it could fit Lina now. "has been dead for more than a year."
"What, when did Lina die?" Gourry asked. "I thought we were looking for her."
"We are looking for her," Amelia answered him, rolling her eyes. "She's not dead."
"But no one has heard from her in all that time," Sylphiel noted. "There were the rumors about how she lost her power, and then her death in a bandit ambush or something. Are you saying they aren't true? She's been hiding all this time?"
"They're half-right," Zelgadis said. He dismounted and walked over to Martina's horse.
"What do you want?" the girl asked him snidely. Her green roots were just now starting to show.
"Lina lost her magic," he reached up and grabbed a hold of the dress Martina was wearing, a rather conservative one compared to other things she had worn. "And this one knows how!" He pulled her off the horse and threw her to the side of the road.
"She deserved it," Martina snarled, standing up and watching chimera warily. "She took my kingdom from me, made me a destitute wanderer. I merely repaid the favor."
"What did you do?" Sylphiel asked quietly.
"The bitch really is a bitch now. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!" Zelgadis reared back his hand and was surprised to find it restrained, he looked to see Gourry holding his arm. The swordsman could never hope to actually hold the chimera, but the gesture stopped him well enough.
"You shouldn't hit women." Gourry lectured.
"You didn't show much..." Martina's comment was interrupted by Amelia's punch. The purple-black haired princess flexed her hand and shook it. Martina was unconscious again.
"That hurts," Amelia whispered. "I don't see how you people can keep doing that."
"What does she mean by that?" Sylphiel asked.
"Lina's a werefox," Gourry said as he let go of Zelgadis's hand.
"She's a what?"
"A werefox," Amelia confirmed. "I've seen her...change. But none of us have seen her since shortly after it happened."
"B..but why would you want to find her," Sylphiel asked.
"We had to go through this with Amelia already," Zelgadis grumbled. "She's still Lina. We've left her behind one too many times already." Amelia blushed and looked away, though neither of the men said anything blaming her.
"Lina's been hunting bounties, and we haven't heard anything about rampaging werecreatures along her path," Amelia said. "But aside from waiting another month or so for her to collect her armor, I don't see how we're going to find her."
"Find Xellos and we'll find Lina," Zelgadis said.
"Then why not pay Filia a visit?" Gourry asked. "Who's always fairly close to her and umm....uh...that dragon guy who's a baby now?"
"Val Garv."
"That's him."
"Lets get off the road. Now." Zelgadis said.
"Who's this Filia person again?" Sylphiel asked. "Do I know her?"
"I think you left before we met her. She's a gold dragon."
"Oh."
"Well, something is going on here," Xellos mused as he watched the excited state of affairs down in the camp. The mazoku stayed close to them, teleporting from concealing shadow to concealing shadow. He had always loved the forest, the deep forest where the shadows were almost as thick as the night. He assumed that might be the infulence of his master, but at the very least the forest was a good deal cleaner and more dignified than a dungeon.
He had already been to Lina's cave, it was in shambles, the few items of monetary value looted. That had been more than a little upsetting, on the other hand he was glad that Lina had called when she did. A couple days' delay would have been devestating.
Xellos's head lifted at the sound of an approaching horse, he watched the rider stop in front of the two commanders. The man's dismount was more like a tumble. The fear wafting off of him was delicious, in fact Xellos doubted that he could form much in the way of coherent thought.
"What is it? Stand up and give your report," the man stumbled to his feet.
"Red....blood....blood....torn to pieces."
"They found him," Xellos smiled, remembering the one bandit that had still been in the cave when he showed up. There was now a small clearing near Lina's cave that was seemingly painted red and strung with guts and body pieces of that unfortunate man.
"See what he's babbling about," the obvious leader told his second. "If it's Lady R'Lyeh we'll wish it had been us."
"Lady R'Lyeh?" Xellos mumbled, the frowned. He was pondering this when the portal opened and a quite ordinary man stepped out. Xellos's eyes widened and then narrowed.
A little more than a thousand years ago a small group of medium level ryuzoku, mazoku, and a single human that had stumbled upon the gathering by accident, had taken it upon themselves to take a break from the building conflict and put down a rogue mazoku. It hadn't been a clear victory, the mazoku in question had managed to seal himself away before he could finish the freak off. Only one of the group survived, and by the time it was over, Xellos had attracted the attention of the Beastmaster.
"What was it he was babbling," Xellos asked himself. "First to come, first to go? What was shall be?"
"Do you have any useful news," the man, mazoku, asked flatly.
"We found the thief's trail and lost it again when they hit the road," he seemed about to say more when there was a flash of black light and the man's body fell to the ground seperate of its head.
"You are now in command," the mazoku informed the second. "But do see what this poor fellow here was jabbering about."
"Yes," the mazoku fixed him with a glare. "Master." The bandit left half running, leaving the broken minded bandit behind to stare up at their master. The other mazoku paused and started casting his eyes about the camp. Xellos sweated and tried to pull his aura into himself. He did not want to be seen by this one quite yet, unfortunately he wasn't successful.
"Don't get in my way, Xellos," he whispered, the sound still carrying to Xellos's ears. "You can't win without all five, and Inverse is dead."
"That was your doing then?" Xellos stepped out into light the bandit must have been sensitive, seeing Xellos immediately called to mind the carnage he had just seen. He began jabbering incessantly until he erupted into flames with a gesture from Xellos. Nobody came running at his cries, they knew their master was there after all.
"Such anger, she was a good friend then, maybe more?"
"That is of no concern to you."
"True, it doesn't matter any more does it. I'm giving you one chance, the other three have already proved themselves too much of a nuisance. Consider it professional courtesy."
"When last we met, Regin, I was the greater."
"But things have changed again, haven't they?" Xellos shifted uncertainly. "You don't have destiny on your side any more."
"Perhaps I'll give you time to consider how I'm going to kill you later," Xellos smiled as he faded away. Regin frowned.
"He was afraid for someone else," the mazoku frowned. "How very human of him. I'm going to have to kill him after all. Or maybe just seal him away for thousand years." He smiled with the last thought.
Xellos popped into existence next Lina, who smiled up at him, unsurprised. Then she blinked. Xellos could hear Filia trying to teach Val Garv some more elvish a few rooms away.
"Are you okay?" she asked. "You look like you've seen a ghost." He considered trying to keep things secret, but decided against it. Regin had his prophecies, and crackpot as they might be he believed them. He would be coming eventually, especially if he learned about Lina's preganancy. They were going to have to fight eventually.
"Martina's not the end of the chain," Xellos told her.
"Then who is?" Her face had taken on that cast it had when she was solving a problem. "And don't you dare 'sore wa himitsu desu' me on this."
"Fighting him the first time is reason I became mazoku," Xellos admitted after a pause. "He's strong."
"How strong?"
"We'll need to be careful."
"Stronger than you?" Xellos didn't answer. That gave her pause, but she had faced powers greater than Xellos before. When she had her magic. Lina's face became determined "I don't care how powerful he is. He and Martina aren't going to get a chance to ruin our life." Xellos smiled.
"Our life." He bent down kissed her lovingly. Then Lina gasped and grabbed his hand placing it on her growing belly.
"Can you feel it?" she asked, troubles forgotten for the moment. Xellos also pushed worries back as he waited for the motion come again.
"I won't let him hurt you," he whispered cuddling against Lina on the soft couch she was sitting on. "I'll never let anything hurt you again."
"I know that," she answered, and he could feel the truth of the statement in her emotions.