Xellos grimaced as he anticipated his master's reaction to this latest development. Zelas was NOT going to be pleased. With a heavy heart he went to make his report.
"Master." he said.
"Ah, Xellos. So, is Lina Inverse now weakened?"
"Actually, the result of her trip to Ura no Shinden was not quite what we expected." he said hesitatingly. "Instead of seeking power and knowledge, she wanted something a bit more specific."
"What?" Zelas growled.
"It seems Lina was looking for a way to turn a chimera human." he said.
"So I can imply from this that she has become a chimera?" Zelas asked with a hint of ice in her voice.
"Yes." Xellos agreed.
"So instead of decreasing, her powers have increased." she stated.
"Yes."
"That's not all, is it?"
"No," he admitted, "it's not...Zelgadis is with her, and they seem to have let each other know their feelings."
"So you failed in not one, but TWO missions." Zelas said, her voice so cold Xellos was sure he could feel icicles forming.
He dropped his head. "It would seem so, yes."
Without any further warning, Xellos was slammed into the back wall. "Did I not stress the importance of keeping the Chimera from accepting his condition in any way? Did I not tell you that the fastest way this would happen would be if he were to love and be loved? Did I not tell you to IN ALL CIRCUMSTACES keep him and Lina especially from getting together?!" she raged, "I thought I had impressed upon you the dangers of mixed blood, the unpredictable ways in which powers combine! Have you any IDEA what a danger the two of them could be to us? Go." She ordered curtly, "And I had better hear more encouraging news in your next report."
Xellos bowed stiffly and phased out.
"So, what do you want to do now?" Zel asked Lina as they stood together after Xellos disappeared.
Lina sighed. "I don't know." she admitted.
"Lina, whatever happens I'm staying with you, you know that, don't you?"
"Oh Gods Zel, do you have any idea how long I've wanted to hear you say that?" Lina almost sobbed.
"Lina, I'm so sorry. I never knew...I never thought it would be possible for someone to love me." He turned her in his arms so he could hug her, "That's why I was always off looking for a cure. I thought maybe if I was human I might have a chance with you."
"As if that ever mattered to me." she said, "But I didn't want to bother you, you seemed so focussed..."
"If I had been able to feel you then the way I can feel you now, I swear I never would have left you so lonely."
"Speaking of which..." Lina pondered, "How is it that we can sense each other's emotions?"
"I don't know." Zel admitted. He drew back fractionally to look at her. "I have a theory though."
"Why don't we sit down and try to figure this out."
Zel nodded and sat back against a tree, and Lina sat leaning against him. She snuggled into a position where she could look at him, and sighed contentedly when he wrapped his arms around her.
"So, what's this theory of yours?" she asked.
"Well, for as long as I've been in this body, I've tried very hard to repress most of the Mazoku elements...the Golem is mostly manifest in the body itself, although a little of it carries over into connecting me with the earth to boost my shamanist magick. The Mazoku gives me my speed and my enhanced senses, but there is much of the Mazoku nature which I repressed. I wasn't able to deal with it, and I didn't want to become even more of an outcast and less human...additionally, I'm pretty sure Rezo blocked some of it soon after creating this form...he didn't want me strong enough to challenge him." Zel explained.
"And Mazoku feed off of negative emotions." Lina guessed where this was heading.
"Indeed," he gave her a squeeze, "so if that were combined with the inborn psychic talent I did possess, it would make sense that I would be able to sense emotions."
"But why would those skills suddenly appear?" Lina asked, confused.
Zel blushed a little. "I have a companion now, someone else to understand me. I must have unconsciously let some of the barriers down when I realised that."
"Oh Zel." Lina smiled, blushing a bit herself, "You can let anything out around me, and I'll help you figure it out and tame it, we'll do it together, I promise."
Zelgadis' response to this suggestion was to kiss her ardently, and Lina was almost bowled over by the love and trust he projected to her.
"Come on." he said a couple of minutes later, "Much though I'd like to, we can't stay here forever, the others will worry."
"I suppose you're right." Lina agreed.