"Anyone can become angry. That is easy. But to be angry with the right person, to the right degree, at the right time, for the right purpose and in the right way - that is not easy." - Aristotle
Darkness.
Sitting up, Gourry put a hand to his head and tried opening his eyes.
They were already open.
Still dark.
Maybe he only thought he'd opened them the first time. It'd happened before - usually after having had a little too much to drink. So he tried again.
Still dark.
Damn.
This was not good. How was he going to tell where he was if he couldn't see?
He rubbed his head; there was a slight ache behind his eyes. He put the other hand on the floor to lever himself up and it brushed against something cold and hard. Looking down, he saw a soft glow from the sword under his hand. His sword.
No, not his sword. Graeswandyr. That would never be his sword. Graeswandyr belonged to no one. It just went along for the ride occasionally.
Where'd that come from? he wondered. Weird way to think of a sword, even this sword. He shook his head. "Whatever," he said aloud as he wrapped his hand around the hilt. The glow strengthened and danced incandescently along the blade until it pushed back the darkness enough to show him what lay beyond. And that was -
More darkness.
"Shit. I'm getting tired of this," he muttered as he picked himself up. Brushing himself off, he held up his sword and looked around for something, anything.
Nothing.
"Lina?" he called.
Still nothing.
Picking a direction at random, he struck off, keeping count of his paces. He got to ten before he ran into something. Not literally, but felt the tip of his sword scrape against something solid. Reaching forward, he laid his hand upon a wall of black stone, nearly indistinguishable from the darkness around him. At least it was something. Turning to put the wall on his left and keeping his sword ready and keeping close to the wall, he started walking.
He walked for what he figured to be about ten minutes before he came to set of double doors. As he reached for the handles, they opened of their own accord. Stepping back and looking in suspiciously, he kept his sword at the ready for any sign of trouble. Light, soft and warm, spilled out of the doors and into the dark corridor to form a bright path on the black stone floor.
The room looked like a dining room: Long black table with lighted candled burning along it's length, high-backed chairs set around it at perfectly spaced intervals. A large black marble mantle framed a fireplace that gaped like a void along the wall to the right. Opposite the double doors behind him were another set of doors; these were set with windows that looked onto more darkness. Draped over the back of the chair nearest the door was a long red runner that most likely should run down the length of the table. Someone had gathered it up and dumped it on the chair however. He picked it up idly before letting it drop back to the chair.
On the floor by the chair was a candlestick that someone had also dropped; the candle that had been in it was still burning despite lying on its side. There was no wax on the floor, either.
He stooped and picked up the candlestick, set it on the table, then gathered up the candle and one-handedly put it in the stick. Picking up the candlestick, he approached the glassed-in doors. They stood slightly ajar; using the tip of his sword, he pushed them open.
The tall swordsman had to duck to go through the short tunnel that let onto the balcony beyond, so his eyes were focused on the pavement in front of him instead of up. As a result, when he stepped through and straightened, he got the full impact of the crazy sky and space. His heart leapt with both joy and terror at the sight of the kaleidoscope sky; this is what Lina had been trying to show him that time he'd contacted her! He was in the right place now, at least! Now, just to find her.
He made a quick inspection of the balcony carefully keeping his eyes off the sky and on the stone. Obviously, she wasn't on the balcony. Backing into the tunnel, Gourry gladly made his escape from that frightening vista. He resolutely turned his back on the sight and went back inside. Spotting a door he had missed on his initial inspection of the room, he headed towards it. It was standing open and as he moved into its frame, bringing the double pool of candle and swordlight with him, a pool of red stood out brilliantly against the black stone floor.
"Lina!" he shouted, sheathing his sword and kneeling by her unconscious form. He set the candlestick on the floor and gathered her into his arms. "Oh, gods, Lina," he murmured over and over, tears springing to his eyes as he held her close. Her tangled red locks tumbled over his hands as he gathered it up. "Please, Lina," he said. "Please wake up." Tilting her head back, he kissed her.
Lina's eyes fluttered open to find herself being kissed by someone. Expecting it to be Xellos, she pushed away from him. "I told you not to tou - " She froze as she looked into those blue eyes she'd seen so many times in her mind, and the yellow hair that spilled over the handsome face that framed them. "Gourry...?" she asked, not quite sure if he was real or not.
"It's me, Lina!" he said, a smile curving his lips upwards. He leaned forward to kiss her and she stretched up to meet him - only to find herself pulling backwards. She put one hand on his chest and pushed him away.
"No..." she said, looking into his face and shaking her head. Something wasn't right. This looked like Gourry, but... "You're not Gourry," she said, voice becoming harsh.
Ice stabbed through the swordsman. "Of course I'm me," he said, letting her go from arms gone numb. "Who else would I be?"
She scrambled away, holding her skirts close around her. "I don't know," she said. "But you're not Gourry. Who are you?" she demanded. "Why do you look like him? Where's the real Gourry?"
"Lina," he pleaded with her. "I am the real Gourry!" He sat forward, reaching for her, only to have her scuttle out of his reach. "It's me!" Everything inside him drained away, leaving him empty and lost.
She shook her head. "No. You're cold and hard - like ice. Gourry was warm like the sun." She got to her feet and loomed over him. "What have you done with him, Xellos?" she shouted at him, her face twisted with anger.
"What's he done to you, Lina?" he asked, the empty feeling inside him filling up with anger. The swordsman climbed to his feet and whirled around. "Xellos! What have you done to her, you fucking bastard!?" The anger and hatred on his face made Lina scuttle backwards in fear. "Come out here and fight me, damn you!"
"You don't have to shout, you know." Both Gourry and Lina whipped around to face the Mazoku standing behind them. There was a feral smile on his face. "So, it seems the happy reunion between lovers isn't as happy as expected."
There was a low growl from Gourry, but Lina forstalled his response by stepping forward. "What have you done with Gourry?" she demanded, her voice harsh and threatening.
"He's right behind you, Lina-san," the Trickster Priest replied calmly, gesturing with one lavender-gloved hand.
"That's not what I meant," she shouted as Gourry came to stand behind her, glaring at Xellos. "Where's the real Gourry?"
"That is the real Gourry, Lina-san," was his quiet, amused reply. His amethyst eyes traveled from ruby to sapphire then back to ruby to relish her reaction to his words.
"You mean - " She turned and looked up at the taller swordsman, who's eyes were still locked on Xellos. "No," she said, seeing the sudden flash of pain register in those midnight-sky eyes but did not leave the Trickster's face. She turned back to Xellos. "Then what have you done to him? He's changed somehow."
"My dear Lina-san," Xellos began.
"I told you no to call me that," she snapped.
He inclined his head. "Indeed you have. Very well. I've done nothing to Gourry-san." His mouth twisted and he looked from her to the swordsman. "You might ask him what he's done to himself."
"What have you done to Lina?" came the other man's rasping question.
"I don't know what you mean, Gourry-san," Xellos said.
"Why doesn't she recognize me? You've done something to her, I know it." The swordsman's hand clenched around the hilt of his sword until the fingers turned white.
"Oh...That might be because she's lost her memories, you see. Do you think that has something to do with it, Lina-san?"
Gourry's eyes went wide with disbelief and he looked at Lina. "Lina? Is this true?"
"Partly," she said with a glare at Xellos.
"That explains it then!" He turned to her and reached out to take her hand. "Please try to remember; it's me, Gourry. Your husband. I love you, Lina! You've got to remember me!"
She pulled her hand out of his grasp. "I remember Gourry," she said. "And if you're the real Gourry then something's changed..." Lina felt tears welling up in her eyes. "You're not my Gourry. I'm sorry..."
Something broke within the swordsman. He remained staring at her a moment longer then turned to face the Mazoku. Hate darkened his eyes to nearly black. "You should have killed me when you had the chance," he said in a low, steely voice. He advanced on the Mazoku, driving him backward before him, leaving Lina standing alone and looking confused and angry because of it. Xellos retreated, but his smile never wavered - except for some reason when he frowned slightly and waved his hand in an odd manner. Then his attention was completely Gourry's again. The swordsman loomed over the shorter man, and in a voice like murder, he said, "Because I'm going to kill you now."
Amelia heard someone groaning and opened her eyes. She was lying on the floor in the Temple with her arm hanging over the edge of the stairwell. Groggily, she sat up; the last thing she remembered was the portal exploding -
"Zelgadis-san!" she cried, looking around desperately. She spotted him caught up against the wall nearby. Scrambling up, she was by his side in an instant. "Zelgadis-san!" Rolling him over, she shook him until he opened his eyes. "Thank Ceiphied you're all right."
"Yeah, I'm all right. I think, anyway." He put his hand to his head and shut his eyes. "I feel like there's someone inside my head trying to hammer his way out."
Someone nearby groaned again. They both looked around and found Jarix across the chamber. He was the one groaning. Zel pushed Amelia towards the Priest. "Go see to Jarix," he said. She nodded and hurried across the chamber.
"Jarix-san! Are you all right?"
"No," the Priest said with a groan. "I think I'm dead."
"You're not dead," Amelia said with a grin.
"You seem pretty sure of that."
"Well, I'm not dead so you're not dead."
"How can you be sure you're not dead?" He opened his eyes and stared ahead. "We could all be dead and not know it yet."
"Jarix-san, you're not dead. Trust me." She leaned forward and touched the dark, wet substance on the floor near his head. It was sticky and when she raised her hand her fingers were red. "You're bleeding. Sit up." He pushed himself up and faced her. Sticky red blood coated his face from a gash on his forehead. "Here, let me heal that," Amelia said softly.
"Thanks, Princess."
"How is he?" Zelgadis asked from behind Amelia as she started the healing spell.
"It's a just a scratch; I'll have it healed in a minute."
"Just a scratch, she says. It hurts like hell." Jarix winced as the magic glow touched his head.
"You'll live," Zel said, straightening and walking over to the circle. "Damn," he muttered under his breath. "This is bad. Very bad."
Amelia looked over as she finished up with Jarix and got to her feet. "What is it - Oh, no..." She covered her mouth with her hand as she saw the bunt and smudge lines that were all that remained of the circle.
"Zelgadis, you have a gift for understatement," Jarix said as he, too, stared at the floor. He leaned forward and wiped through the soot smudged on the glass walls leaving behind pale streaks and his fingers coated with the black substance. "Can you recreate it?"
"Of course," Zel said, squatting down and using the corner of his cloak to clean away the soot. "But Gourry's gone and he had the lock of Lina's hair. There's nothing to establish a link now."
"You've done the spell enough times you shouldn't need a physical object to establish a link any more," Jarix snapped. "You're a highly skilled Shaman; the fact that you were able to adapt this sort of spell to do what you wanted it to do proves that. Gourry's soulbond with Lina and her hair weren't really needed this last time you performed it - especially not with the dimensional conjunction. Both Gourry and the hair were boosters, no more."
Zelgadis wasn't about to argue. "All right, all right. I'll re-create the circle and we'll do the spell again. Let's get this cleaned up." He got to working at erasing the smudged soot lines vigorously.
"What about Gourry-san?" Amelia asked. "Where did he go?"
Jarix sighed. "I don't know. Right now our priority should be trying to rescue Lina. After she's back with you, we can work on locating Gourry. We have things of his, after all." He set his staff against the wall and knelt next to Zelgadis and used a corner of his robes to start clearing away the soot. "It's possible he's in the same place Lina is, anyway."
"Jarix-san!" Amelia cried. "Don't - "
"There's no time for that, Princess. Each moment we waste, the dimensions shift further apart. I can always get my robes cleaned; your friends are still trapped where ever it is they went. They'll need some way to get back."
"You're right," Amelia said softly. She also knelt and used her cloak to remove the smudged, black lines from the marble floor.
It wasn't long before most of the old lines had been cleared away and the three of them stood. Zelgadis pulled his chalk from his pocket and proceeded to redraw the circle.
With the last sigil chalked in, Zelgadis made a final walk of the circle, checking and double-checking the lines and markings. He stepped into the center of the circle and motioned for the others to join him. "This time we're doing this from here - so we don't get locked out like last time."
Both Amelia and Jarix nodded. They stepped into the center of the circle and stood with their backs together and facing outwards. The rings on Jarix's staff jingled softly as he set the tip of it on the floor at his feet. "Ready," he said. Amelia echoed him and Zelgadis closed his eyes and readied himself to cast the spell.
In perfect unison, the three of them recited the words and made the hand gestures that would channel their power into the energy circuit Zel was creating. The words bound the magical energy into the lines, which began to glow with a steady blue light. As the spell proceeded, Zelgadis raised his voice and the power in the chalked lines shot upwards to form a glowing pillar around them. The energy displacement caused a small gale around them, lifting their cloaks and hair and tugging at them mercilessly. Unfazed, Zelgadis continued with the spell. Jarix and Amelia were sweating as they tried to keep up with him, giving him everything they dared give and still be able to stand on their own should they meet up with Xellos.
Just as it seemed they could give no more, the walls of light flickered, dimmed, then glowed more brightly than ever. The Temple beyond became overlaid with shifting images of a dark, endless castle framed against a kaleidoscope sky, long dark corridors with seemingly no end, then, inconspicuously, a dining room complete with a black table and burning candles.
"Zelgadis-san!" Amelia shouted and put her hand on his arm. He opened his eyes and looked around in the direction where she was so rudely pointing. "It's Lina-san!" The red-haired sorceress stood nearby, intently watching something. She didn't seem to realize they were there. Her eyes were large and round and full of fright.
Relief flooded through him. "Lina!" he shouted, then looked around. "But where's Gourry?"
A hand fell on his shoulder. "You'd better look at this," Jarix said. Zelgadis whirled to look out of the circle opposite Lina.
"Gourry!" he shouted.
"And Xellos!"
Beyond the portal walls, the two men faced one another. Gourry's body was coiled tense as a mainspring and his hand gripped the hilt of Graeswandyr tightly. They could tell he was yelling at the grinning Mazoku in front of him but they couldn't tell what he was yelling. Whatever it was, it made Xellos smirk even more. His amethyst eyes were open and glinting dangerously in the dark.
Zelgadis drew his sword. "Amelia, go to Lina. I'm going to help Gourry." He stepped forward, foot coming down on the glowing lines of force beneath him. The walls flickered in response. Xellos' eyes darted towards them and his mouth turned down in a frown. He raised a hand and the walls took on a purplish color.
"Zelgadis, no!" Jarix said, grabbing the Chimera's arm and pulling him backward. "Don't touch the walls!"
"What the hell are you doing, Jarix?" Zel yelled at him. "I'm going out there!" He jerked his arm out of the Priest's hold and turned again.
"Do that and you're dead." Jarix voice, hard and commanding, made the other man freeze in his tracks. Slowly he turned around and faced the Priest of the Temple of Light and Shadow.
"What are you talking about?" he demanded, his own voice harsh and grating.
"Watch." Jarix reached into the pocket of his robe and took out a piece of chalk. Snapping it in two, he tossed it towards the glowing purple walls. When it hit, instead of passing through, there was a sparking discharge that rebounded around the portal and forced the three of them to the floor to avoid being electrocuted.
"What the hell - ?" Zelgadis wondered aloud.
"Xellos has sealed us in here. We're helpless to do anything until he either releases us or..."
Both Amelia and Zelgadis looked at the Priest. "Or what?"
He spread his hands in defeat. "Don't ask me. I don't have all the answers you know."
Zelgadis climbed to his feet and sheathed his sword. "Great. This is just great. We've found our friends and we can't help them."
As one they turned and looked beyond the walls that formed their prison, wanting to help their friends, and yet helpless to do anything but watch.