Lina yawned and stretched. She had to admit, she felt great. Wonder if I could get Xelos to do that again. I can't remember being so relaxed! She looked down. Waitasec...I was wearing a towel, last time I checked! How come I'm in my pjs? A thought crept across her mind and she shooed it away, blushing.
The gang hit the road as soon as Lina was done scarfing down all the food she could (and then some). Amelia hugged her Daddy good bye, while Zel and Lina both wondered what kind of woman had decided Prince Phil was a good catch, good enough to have a kid with.
Xelos popped into the middle of their procession. "Hi! And how is everyone this fine chipper morning?"
Zel glared at him.
"Well, Zel-buddy here is as usual. Excited, little princess?"
Amelia jumped up and down. "Oh yes oh yes oh yes!!!"
"Gourry?"
"Um..." Gourry took his time."So we're basically going to defeat the bad guys, right?"
Xelos nodded, smiling."Brilliant! Who told you that?"
"I figured it out by myself!" Gourry said proudly.
"...Very nice, Gourry. Lina-chan?"
"I feel like I could take on the world!" Lina grinned happily."'Course, that's pretty much what I'm doing, but anyway..." She eyed Xelos."Do you know where we're going?"
"Actually, yes. But there's one part of the journey where we may have to break up into two groups. There's two roads to that river, and we need things from both roads, since they both go through different villages."
Lina looked at him suspiciously. "What do we need?"
"Your Angel wings, what else?"
"But I've already ingested the Egg..."
:Lina, listen to him. I know this too. You need a nurturing environment, suitable for the Wings to grow in. I can only allow you so many powers before you get your wings. And you'll need them.:
"Okay, Crysanth says I need to go to some place where I can grow my Angel Wings. What do we need from the other village?"
Xelos smiled."Why, the Wishing Amulet!"
Zel froze."It exists?"
Xelos smiled."Of course! You've heard of it, I suppose?"
Zel said, as though reciting,"The Wishing Amulet grants one wish per person. Any effort to coerce someone to wish for you results in your own violent death. It is kept in a unnamed village near an icy volcano..."
Xelos beamed."Exactly! See, the island in the frozen river where the Twelve have made their base was formerly a volcano!"
Zel looked stunned."It can grant any wish?"
"Pretty much! But you have to get past its guardians first, and tell them truthfully what your wish is, or they won't let you use. Like, say, oh I wanted to wish for Mazoku to rule the earth. They'd never let me, and the Amulet is protected by a dozen different systems, each with its own unique code, password, and entering method. If I spent my entire lifetime trying I wouldn't be able to steal it."
"So it's almost as well protected as the Angel Egg you gave me?"
Xelos looked at Lina, somewhat startled."No. It's much better protected."
Amelia lept to the logical conclusion."So Zel can get his cure!"
"Can it save me from Crysanth?" Lina asked, hope creeping into her countenance.
Xelos looked at her."Ask her."
:No...it can't. The Amulet has fixed properties. It deals only with the physical world, not the spiritual.:
What if someone died and I wanted to bring them back?
:It would depend on how long ago the person died. If the person's been dead too long he or she might come back from the dead all right...as a zombie or something else.:
Oh...
Lina gathered her senses and smiled at Zel. "Well, you'll get your cure anyway, Zel!" But I probably won't be around to share in your celebration.
Xelos smiled. "Well then! Zel-buddy has a cure! And Lina-chan?"
Lina's lips tightened. Softly, "Not for me."
She walked ahead, leaving the group behind her staring.
Zel opened his mouth to say something, then shut it. Then he pointed out to Xelos, "You need to learn some tact."
"I don't think there was a tactful way to ask that." was the response.
Lina talked with Crysanth. Is there really no way I can get rid of you?
:None that I can think of, love.:
Lina sighed.
:If I may be so bold, how was last night's experience?:
Can't you read my mind?
:I can only read what is uppermost in your mind. So how was it?:
nicecomfywarmtrickydon'twanttothinkabouthimtrickstertrickster
:Slow down, love! From what I gather, you enjoyed it, right?: Affirmation. :You enjoyed it, and you feel physically great. However, you're wondering if he has plans, which he always seems to have, right?: Another affirmation. :Well then, why not ask him his intentions?:
He'll most likely lie, chances are.
:Well, yes, he is Mazoku after all...So you feel it's all an act?:
What's all an act? All I know is that he's getting really fresh and generally more annoying than usual.
Crysanth paused, then ventured, :Does this have anything to do with the fact that, because of a deal you made on the spur of the moment, he owns every bit of you, or has first claim to such parts?:
I'm just a toy to him. He's enjoying seeing me in pain. He freely admits that he enjoys watching others suffer. And if I accept all he offers, he only has to say a few things and do some others to make me suffer totally and completely.
:I see...:
Lina paused slightly. What was that in the air...?
She whirled around and found that she couldn't see more than a foot in front of her. Let's see... she mused detachedly. It's a nice sunny day. We're walking on a road that goes through big wide plains. Fog, therefore, is not possible. So we have two possibilities: This is a really freak occurence of nature, or, on the more dark side, someone is using magic to put this around us.
"Hey! Can anybody hear me?" she yelled, not really expecting an answer. When no response came she shrugged. Crysanth, is there any spell you've got that can get rid of this fog without possibly killing my friends?
:...You could always try...:
Wha - I can't hear you... Lina grabbed her head and stumbled. She was feeling dizzy and her eyes were closing. Wha...
She sank in her memories.
Bad ones.
There was Gourry, rescuing her but then insulting her every chance his brain was working right enough to make one.
There was Zelgadis, kidnapping her, rescuing her, and then turning traitor in hopes of a cure from Shaburingo (Or however you spell it).
There was Amelia, always interfering with her work with her dreadful speeches.
There was Xelos, friendly ally, turning traitor again and again, evil smile replacing the friendly one.
There was Crysanth, who would soon cause the nonexistence of Lina.
More memories mixed together. Coming close to bringing destruction of the world over and over again. Accidentally killing bystanders. Accidentally breaking things. Losing money so hard won.
Earlier memories surfaced. Stories about her sister's abilities, scaring little Lina wide awake instead of asleep like a good little girl. Her father, drinking endlessly and never a kind word for anyone, but always plenty of punches to go around. Her mother, a disreputable woman who disappeared into so many different houses late at night. Children from the neighborhood beating her up and calling her names. Finally, Lina at the onset of puberty, listening to vague stories about what her mother actually did. Lina being horrified, shutting herself and her heart away from the world with her magic. Never wanting anything to do with what those girls laughed about behind her back. Growing indifferent to such matters. Running away from home. Trying to survive.
:That's it, Lina...think of all those who have caused you pain. Wouldn't you love revenge?: An unknown voice entered her mind.
Yes... There was a vague yelling, a female voice. Familiar, yet she she couldn't hear...
:Lina, who would you like to start with first?:
She thought about it. All these bad memories...all these bad memories... Who had hurt her the most? Bad memories...she didn't want to remember any more. She didn't want any more memories!
Old wounds...I'd pushed them far out of my mind...
:I helped you remember, Lina. Those who hurt you must be punished, not forgotten. So who has hurt you the most? Do you know?:
Yes...
:Cast a spell, and I shall watch you destroy your hated enemies!:
Before I do that, who are you?
:I am a friend, Lina.:
I thought so.
She regained some mobility in her arms and began casting Dragu Slav.
know who to aim for now...
:Very goo - wha?!:
"Dragu Slav!"
Her mind grew increasingly clear. She opened her eyes and saw the others in a drowsy state, excepting Xelos. He was wide awake.
"What happened?" Zel asked, his hand on his forehead as if trying to ward off anything else happening to his head.
Fortunately Xelos seemed ready to answer. "We were ambushed by yet another Darkness. This was Dark Thought. That fog of his makes the worst memories in a person's life surface. I assume he was trying to play each of us off on one another."
"So what stopped him?" Lina asked. She swore she could hear Crysanth chuckling.
Xelos glanced at her and flashed her a smile. "Why, you did, of course." He snapped his fingers. "You killed him just like that."
"And you didn't help us?" Amelia whined.
Xelos smiled. "Princess, I have no control over what people remember. The best I could do was not let the fog affect me. Though I am surprised. Lina, what made you destroy him instead of one of us?"
Lina looked startled. "Well, ah, that is...he asked me, after bringing up dozens of bad memories, who had hurt me the most. I figured that it was him."
Amelia looked confused. "Why?"
"Because he was the one who brought up all my bad memories at once. That equals more total pain that each individual person who's ever done me wrong. So..."
"So you destroyed him." Zel stated.
Lina nodded.
"Good for you. I was getting ready to, if you'll excuse me, Lina, kill all of you."
Amelia nodded. "Same here."
They paused, then looked at Gourry.
Gourry smiled and put a hand behind his head. "Actually, I was thinking of stealing all of Lina's food for the rest of her life. And maybe kicking Zel in the face once or twice. And Amelia..." he thought hard. "Oh yeah! I was going to tickle her for 24 hours!"
Xelos summed it up for the group. "Only you, Gourry."
Gourry beamed. "Thank you!"