Zel had been quiet and broody all day. And when Lina tried to cheer him up, he just cheered down. And her headache was making her feel very down herself. That's it, she thought. No more alcohol. Ever.
She had a full recollection of what she told him, but she wasn't thinking about it. She'd never said a name.
Suddenly Zel stopped short, and Lina plowed right into him, mashing her nose. "Owww!" She yelped, rubbing her injured nose. "Warn me before you stop!"
"I think we've found it."
Lina took another step, coming up even with Zel, and nausea hit her. The magic she was so used to running through everything was just...gone. Sucked away. Any spells she used at this point would come straight from her very life force.
"I thought you'd come."
Lina crammed her fright, uncertainty and pain beneath a hard shell of flippancy, and grinned up at the tall, dark, cloaked figure. "How cliché." She sniffed. "I suppose now you're going to offer to duel for my friends?"
"Actually yes. Very insightful, Lina Inverse."
"No, you're just unimaginative. So, what evil plot are you planning for all this power?" She asked, feigning indifference.
"Since you're not going anywhere, I'll tell you. I want to get my love back."
"Another of those, ‘She dies, I'm gonna turn her into a walking zombie filled with magic'? Didn't we just do one of these a few years ago?" She asked Zel, who nodded. "Man, no imagination. At least, a different plot..."
"You misunderstand." It said in an amused voice. "She's not dead. In fact, she's very much alive. But..." It grinned from beneath the cowl. "You have no idea how much power is required for a love spell. To completely change a single part of a person. To gain the ability requires unimaginable amounts of power. However, once gained, I can do I over and over again."
Lina knew. She had looked it up in a fit of fancy. And she could have gathered the power. But as soon as she found the spell she had ripped it into tiny pieces and thrown it in the fire. It was evil.
"It's wrong." She glared at the figure. "It's wrong, and you know it. Do you want her to love you because of a spell? Knowing that she would hate you otherwise?" She snorted. "What kind of love is that?"
"Shut up!" It yelled. Gourry and Amelia appeared unconscious in a tree. "There's the stake. Now, come at me!"
Lina shrugged, running at him. "FLARE ARROW!!" She yelled, sending it straight to him.
He moved back.
"DAM BLAZER!"
Dodge.
"FREEZE ARROW!"
Leap.
What was wrong? He was reading all her moves!
"GARV FLARE!" Zel yelled, then jumped to lash at him with his sword.
Lina started chanting something.
"Yaaa!" Zel zipped over to Gourry and Amelia, grabbed them, and took off as fast as possible.
"Huh?"
The cowled figure turned in surprise to Lina.
"DRAGU SLAVE!!!!"
Lina woke up in the castle, with Zel staring intently into her face. "Lina? Lina! Say something!"
She smiled. "Don't worry, I'm fine. I just used a little too much power. Gimme time to charge up, I'll be okay." She smiled a sweet smile, totally unguarded.
"LINA-SAAAAN!" Lina's smile froze. "Lina-san! You saved us!! We're gonna have to celebrate!" Amelia smiled happily. Maybe if Zelgadis saw her in a dress...
Lina's smile cracked. "Um, I'm really not feeling all that well..." She began.
"Ne, Lina-san! You have to come! I'm depending on you! You saved us, you have to go!"
Lina sighed. No way around it. "Okay, okay." She winced. "I'll go."
"YAY!!" Amelia cheered, and ran off to prepare.
Lina groaned. "I hate these things."
Zel grinned. "You can join my club. Meetings are usually held wherever people aren't."
Lina smiled. "I'll be there."