Sylphiel sat dejectedly at the table, picking listlessly at the food in front of her.
"Sylli-chan, don't let him get to you." Gourry reassured her, patting her shoulder, "He just loves shocking people."
"Does he ever lie?" she whispered.
"No...at least, I don't think he does...I mean, I don't remember him ever lying, but I don't always remember stuff, so maybe he did lie once or twice...but I don't think so... Yeah, I'm pretty sure I remember Lina saying he doesn't lie."
"So I am evil then."
Gourry was confused. "Sylli-chan, you're the best, sweetest girl I know, how could you be evil?"
Sylphiel sighed. "If he's telling the truth, then I'm half Mazoku...and even half a creature of darkness is still evil beyond any human."
Gourry still didn't quite understand, but what he did know was that she needed comfort and reassurance, and he knew how to fix that. He reached over and bundled her into his arms.
It doesn't make any sense." Sylphiel sobbed, "Father always said Mother was sweet and kind and wonderful, how can she have been a Mazoku?"
"Just because she was a Mazoku doesn't mean she can't have been al those thigs you said too." Gourry assured her.
Sylphiel just shook her head. There was no point in trying to explain it to him, Gourry, she knew, made his own decisions about how the world worked, and selfish though it might be, she didn't want to try to make him distrust her...his recently-admitted love for her was far too precious to her.
"You still don't believe me, do you Sylli-chan?" Gourry said, "I guess I'll have to prove how I feel about you all over again, won't I?" He shifted his hold on her and scooped her up into his arms, then carried her up the stairs and into their room.
The next morning found Lina and Zelgadis speeding along beside the road after a breakfast of one cup of coffee apiece. Lina was amazed how, even after a VERY busy night, she still felt full of energy and ready to run all day.
Even so, they kept to a pace only slightly faster than a normal human running speed. Zel didn't want to tax Lina too much, and after all, it wasn't as though Gourry and Sylphiel couldn't likely handle Xellos most of the time; and Sylphiel might be upset for some totally unrelated reason...but then again, probably not.
As before, Lina found running exhilarating, the rush of sounds and smells and sights not in the least distracting to her. She could sense Zel's own exhileration as she ran beside him, and she grinned over at him.
"I could run beside you forever." she said softly, confident that he would hear her.
"I just wish the circumstances were less worrisome. I don't trust Xellos as far as an infant cold throw him." Zelgadis muttered.
They skirted a small town a couple of hours later, but just continued running. Neither one of them was hungry, and Lina now knew towns were more trouble than they were worth.
In the town, in a small but busy taproom, one of the waitresses looked up suddenly. "So...that's why I was sent here." She turned to the barkeep, "I'm taking my break now, I should be back in a couple of hours at the most." The barkeep just nodded...he had already learned that her wrath was not to be tempted
Borrowing a small amount of power, the waitress teleported a little distance in front of the person she wished to speak to, then sat down on a folding chair which she pulled out of nowhere to wait.
As she ran, Lina caught a whiff of a familiar scent on the breeze, but she couldn't identify it. Soon enough it became apparent though. Up ahead she could see a buxom, purple-haired waitress sitting on a folding deckchair, and looking for al the world as though she was simply enjoying a break. Lina stopped dead in her tracks.
"Neechan? Oh Gods..." her hands started to shake, "She's going to be furious with me!"
Zel stopped soon after Lina did and hurried back to her. "Lina, what's wrong?" he asked her, taking her shoulders in his hands.
"Over there...Neechan..." Lina gestured.
Zel was shocked. From what he could sense, Lina wasn't just scared, she was flat-out terrified! Of her sister? Well, now was not the time to reason why. He slipped his arm around her and gripped her shoulder, giving it a bit of a squeeze. "It'll be okay." He reassured her.
"Zel, I appreciate the vote of confidence, but it will most definitely NOT be okay." Lina said, shaking her head, "This is my sister we're talking about...she's...No, if I tell you THAT she'll kill me for SURE!" Lina took a deep breath and looked at Zel. "Alright, let's go." she said, trying not to look scared.
Zel slid his arm down until he was holding her hand, and Lina gripped it so tightly he could hear something crunch.
When they reached her, Luna was leaning casually back in her chair. "Hello Lina," she said, "I was wondering if I would run into..." She sat up straighter in her chair and Lina took a couple of steps backward. "N...Neechan...I can explain...I..."
"Her present appearance is my fault." Zelgadis interrupted.
"Zel, I told you, it's not your fault." Lina contradicted him just as Luna said, "And who are you?"
"Neechan, this is Zelgadis Greywords...Zel, this is my older sister, Luna Inverse."
"Zelgadis hmm? So Zelgadis, tell me; just how exactly is my sister's present condition your fault? You don't have some sort of a transference curse, do you?"
"No, but let me explain..."
"Zel, how many times do I have to tell you it's not your fault?"
"Lina, how many times do I have to tell you not to interrupt? I'm talking to Zelgadis right now, you'll get your chance to explain in a minute, when I'm done with him."
"Yes Neechan." Lina said with a bowed head.
Zel was once again shocked at how much power Luna seemed to have over the normally carefree woman he loved. He resolved to tread carefully...if she could scare LINA, she was most likely a force to be reckoned with.
"So, you were going to explain this condition to me..." Luna prompted Zelgadis.
"Well, to start off, I wasn't born looking the way I do now. Through my own pride and vanity, I accepted an offer which, had I been thinking, I should have immediately refused. The words 'You will be completely transformed' should have given me a clue, but I was too eager for the promised power to really listen to what he was saying." Zel explained, "The result of that deal was the body you see now."
"Well and good," Lina said, "But what about Lina? She knows better than to make such a foolish bargain." Luna glared at her sister, who cowered before her.
"Since Lina has known me, I've been constantly searching for a cure to my condition. Almost a week ago, Lina heard of a possible cure for me, and went on her own to check it out, since I was away."
"And this is why you say this is your fault?" Luna asked.
"If I hadn't been so obsessed with finding a cure, Lina wouldn't have gone to that 'Ura no Shinden' looking for it for me." Zel said.
Luna nodded slightly. "Alright then. Lina," she turned to her imouto, "Why exactly, when you heard about this possible cure, did you not simply wait until Zelgadis returned and tell him about it? Why did you choose to go yourself?"
"Because Zel's tried so many possible cures and been disappointed. I simply wanted to spare him yet another false cure."
"that' the whole reason? It's not like you to be so altruistic Lina, there must be more to it than that." Luna said incredulously.
Lina nodded reluctantly. "the reason why I went looking for a cure for Zel is that I love him very much, and even though I don't think he needs a cure, he thinks hi does, and that's reason enough for me." she said firmly.
Luna smiled. "Seems like a good reason to me," she agreed, "but you still haven't explained exactly how you came to share this curse you were trying to remo...wait, you said the name of the temple was Ura no Shinden, the temple of reversal, right?"
Lina nodded warily.
"Well that explains everything then." Luna nodded knowingly. She looked up at the sky. " Time for me to get back to work." she said as she stood and banished the folding chair to whichever pocket dimension she had pulled it from originally. "I expect to see you home in a month or two...bring a few friends." Luna said as she herself disappeared.