Nothing like a good meal to keep your mind off your troubles. Lina thought as she stretched lazily in her chair. Speaking of which, here has Zelgadis wandered off to now?
"Has anyone seen Zel?" She asked aloud.
"No, not since yesterday's lunch." Gourry paused, a half-eaten sausage skewered on the end of his fork.
"Lina-san, do you think he could be in some kind of trouble?" Ameria asked.
"Little mind reader." The sorceress muttered to herself. "I don't know, maybe we should ask Sedal." She tried to formulate the worst possible scenario, but all she saw was Zelgadis doing some extremely erotic things with Elena.
"Sedal-san!" The young princess waved to the white robed elder as he stooped to take away the dirty dishes that had accumulated.
"Seyroon-hime, how may I be of service?" He grinned.
"Do you know where Zelgadis-san is at the moment?" She inquired, and the old man looked thoughtful for a while.
"I believe he is currently in his chambers, Seyroon-hime." He handed a moderately sized stack of plates to a passer-by, who was more than happy to accompany it to the kitchen. "Will there be anything else? Shall I bring out dessert?"
"Yeah, that would be great." She thanked him politely, then turned to find Lina staring out the window. "Lina-san, don't you want any dessert?"
"Look at the sky." The red-head murmured. "No clouds." Indeed, the cerulean spans was bare of all clouds, and yet the light was fading.
"What's happening?" Ameria whimpered.
"LINA!!!" The cry echoed through the large room as the giant doors crashed open violently, sending dust and broken wall everywhere.
"What the - ?!" Said sorceress turned to the disturbance.
Amidst the debris stood a battle ravaged chimera. His clothes were torn and stained with a thick greenish substance, and the black nothing-matter that was the blood of Mazoku. Soot and ash stained his face and hands, and a few burn marks marred the edges of his larger wounds.
There was a thud as something blunt and heavy hit the ground.
"It's not real." He growled, kicking the lump at his feet to them. "Idan is a lie!" A violet scaled head came to rest at Lina's feet, and she pulled back in disgust.
"Elena!" Sedal hissed from behind her. Both she and Zelgadis were on him in a minute. Lina threw question after question at him, shaking him belligerently by the collar when he didn't answer.
"Enough." The chimera snarled, hate in his eyes and death on his voice. "Show your true form, Idan. You're not fooling us any longer."
In the spans of a heartbeat, elderly Sedal transformed into a reptilian demon with magenta scales, violet wings, and three poisonous barbs on his tail.
"Insolent mortals!" He roared, overturning the table so that Gourry and Ameria were pinned under it. "You challenge me? Prepare to suffer the consequences!"
"There's that stock dialogue again." Lina groaned.
"Pay attention to the current emergency." Zelgadis darted out of the way f the demon's sharp claws, increasing the distance as the talons easily sliced through the stone floor.
"Die!" Idan's tail lashed out and wound around Lina so that the poisonous barbs were at her throat her arms were immobile at her sides.
"Lina!" Gourry cried, struggling to free himself and Ameria from the table's weight.
"Idan, stop!" Zelgadis yelled. "Leave her alone!"
"You are in no position to be making demands, stone-boy." Idan snarled, tightening his grip.
"Your fight is with me, not her." The chimera lifted Elena's severed head. "Take my life for your vengeance, but let her go."
"He's just going to finish us off once you're gone anyway!" Lina squirmed. She glanced back to her blue skinned friend, and his eyes spoke volumes. Gratitude, appreciation, kindness, and sorrow, his eyes seemed to say what he could not.
Let me buy you some time. He smiled sadly. Let me go, I know your feelings. Let me do this for you.
"Zel..." She struggled to free her hands, knowing if only she could, the monster would be toast.
Before Lina could react, or even scream, Idan's claws had pierced the chimera's stone skin. His blood shone with dying light on the sharp edges, but his smirk did not fade. In one swift movement, he flung his sword at her. The blade sliced neatly through Idan's tail, and she fell to the floor, free at last. The monster roared in pain over his disjoined appendage, preparing to attack Zelgadis with maddened fervor. But Zelgadis' eyes were glowing with his own pride and power, and Lina barely had time to scramble out of the way of her comrade's spiritual attack.
"RA TILT!" Blue-white light erupted in a solid pillar around Idan, shredding his astral form. As parts of the monster's preternatural anatomy were torn apart, the illusionary paradise around them flickered in and out of focus. Zelgadis concentrated harder, forcing more energy into the empyreal attack. Blood trickled from his mouth as his own chi began to seep into the column
"Zel!" Lina placed her hand on his shoulder, wishing she knew how to share power like he did. He smiled to her over his shoulder, his eyes softening even as the level of the spell continued to increase.
With one final screech, the chimera's spell tore the legendary beast to nothing from the inside out. Zelgadis' glowing blue eyes closed as he exhaled slowly, slumping in exhaustion. The red-head caught him as he fell, staring in shock at the bloody lacerations that ran across his chest.
"Ameria!" She cried, and the small princess skidded to a halt in front of them. "You're better at healing, help Zel before... before..." The Seyroon noble nodded quickly, quietly chanting the spell for:
"RE - "
"No." Glacial eyes snapped open with the simple phrase. "Poisoned." Behind the icy colored gaze, fear shone thick like blood.
"DICLEARY!" Ameria prayed for Zelgadis to be strong enough to survive the exhaustion that would accompany Recovery.
The cerulean skinned youth nearly screamed as he felt unknown venom being burned from his system. Lina grasped his hand tightly for reassurance, and Gourry hovered over her protectively.
"Hang on, Zel." She whispered. "It's almost finished."
"RECOVERY!" Ameria shouted, channeling the holy power into his injured body. She wished they had the time to use Resurrection, but every second was vital to saving his life. Tears rolled down her face as she watched the bleeding cease, but did not find any traces of stone skin regenerating.