Lina stood at an intersection of the main street and an alley, "Dangit, where'd that stupid Gourry get off to now!"
Gourry jumped out of a trash can next to Lina in the alley. "HEY LINA!"
"AHHHH!!!!" Lina instinctively swung around and kicked Gourry, HARD. "Damn-IT, don't do that!" She yelled at Gourry, who was now face down on the pavement.
"Owww. Well I was just looking for YOU!"
"Whatever, come on, let's get back to the tavern before Zel has a chance to wander off one his own again." Gourry stood up to follow Lina, brushing himself off the whole time.....pulling banana peel from his hair...
Zelgadiss and Amelia approached from behind Lina while she was distracted...Amelia chirped cheerfully, "There you are, Miss Lina!!"
Lina whirled around, knowing who was there this time, but yelled anyhow, "DON'T sneak up on me!" She growled at the bouncy girl.
^_^ "Hi guys!"
O_O;;; "Sorry, Miss Lina!"
"*sigh* So, now that we're all together, where are we off too?"
"We're going to visit a laboratory where there may be a key to my transformation...."
"A Lab?!"
Lina turned to look at Zel, becoming more serious, "Are you sure...?"
"When do we get started?"
Zelgadiss turned to Lina, "No.... but it's worth a try."
Amelia nodded. "After you left this other woman came in...she said she was a chimaera too and was working on a cure... But I still don't trust her..."
"Neither do I, but I can't let the chance pass my by. What if she means it? She's Rezo's work..... that much I'm sure of."
"Reza, the red priest. But isn't he...?"
"How can you tell, Mr. Zelgadiss?"
Lina raised one brow, "If she does, that's great, if she doesn't, she won't be anything we can't handle." She said with a slight smile.
Zelgadiss muttered darkly, to Amelia, "I can tell."
Amelia looked slightly worried.
Lina walked up to Zel, "If it really might help you, it's definitely worth checking out! Did she say anything else?"
"She said she's close to a cure...but it's untested...."
"So Zelgadis, are we gonna go to this lab so she can test on you?"
*sweatdrop* "NO."
Lina crossed her arms, "Untested, huh? I have a bad feeling about this..."
"*I just need to...... have a look for myself."
Amelia nodded in agreement with Lina.
"uuuh oh okay" ^_^
Lina kept her eyes on Zel, "We'll all come with you, you never know what else she might have in her lab..." *slightly greedy look*
Zelgadiss tried to ignore the dollar signs in Lina's eyes a moment, "I wasn't planning to go alone, that would be foolish."
Lina snorted, "Wouldn't be the first time."
"She said it's on the outskirts of town..."
Lina "Alright, Zel'll never find out if we keep standing around here! Let's go!""
"Alright Lina!"
"*Just one condition...."
"What's that Zelgadis?"
Zelgadiss experiences a super-deformed moment, his head and screaming mouth looming over the rest of them. "*DON'T SCREW THIS UP FOR ME!!!!!!!!!"
Lina poinged in the air at the scream before falling down and muttering sheepishly, "Uh, wouldn't dream of it Zelly!"
@_@;;;
^_^
"Of course not, Mr. Zelgadiss!" ^_^;
"*Right....let's go then...."
Lina nodded and followed Zel, who led the way, following his map to the outskirts of town.... Gourry followed behind the others wondering what was gonna happen now and Amelia tagged along afterward. Lina watched their surroundings carefully, quiet for once.
About a quarter mile from the boundaries of the town an enormous tree sprouted out of a small dell. Built directly up against the tree was a small cottage with a thatched roof, white walls, and dark brown beams.
"Is that it, Zel?"
Manzi stood just outside the cottage, a slender figure cloaked and hooded in a cream-colored garment. Her face was shadowed.
Amelia pointed. "That's her.."
"Whoa."
Lina narrowed her eyes, ever suspicious of everyone. Zelgadiss nodded a bit grimly, adjusted his cloak self-consciously, and approached Manzi, who looked up enough to show the glimmer of her eyes, then took a few steps out to meet them. "Zelgadiss...Amelia. Welcome. And your friends?"
"This is Lina Inverse, and Gourry Gabriev."
"You mean you don't recognize the beautiful, talented sorceress, Lina Inverse who defeated the dark lords?!"
"I'm Gourry....SHE's Lina."
^_^;
"..." Manzi pushed her hood back to peer at Lina with slightly narrowed yellow eyes. "I didn't realize when he mentioned a friend named Lina he meant Lina *Inverse*..."
"WHAT?! *sigh* Geniuses like myself are never recognized in their own time..."
Manzi smiled faintly.
Lina brightened slightly, a contrary smile on her face, "Yeah, and what of it?"
"I recognize you enough to know I wouldn't want to have to fight you." ^_~ Manzi nodded politely to Gourry. "Shall we go inside?"
^_^
Zelgadiss nodded, still sweating nervously.
Lina looked proud at that comment, but quickly sobered up again, "So, you say you have an *untested* cure that might help Zel?"
"Yeah! You gonna turn Zelgadis back to the way he used to be?"
Manzi started to lead the way inside, looking back to keep track of them. "Yes....I'm developing one. It *seems* to work on more simple chimaeras, which is to say, non human ones."
Amelia folded her arms and followed. Lina crossed her arms, her eyes taking in everything, "*SEEMS* to?"
Zelgadiss nodded slowly, nervousness rapidly replaced by intense curiosity. "How does this process work?"
Manzi smiled. "You really are suspicious...I can't determine what effect it might have had on their brain or spirit patterns, but they are physically fine..." She glanced at Zel, "By separating the components one by one...it will take time to explain..."
Gourry looked at all the stuff around the lab...
Lina's eyes darted to Zel, her eyebrows raised high.
Manzi led the way into a small, bare room with a bunk on one wall, a stove, a bookshelf, and a table. There was a kettle of tea on the stove, which she picked up and began to pour in cups. "Please sit down...tea?"
Zelgadiss spoke softly, "After what Rezo did..... how could you trust anyone the same again...."
Manzi froze, the tea she was pouring spilling over one of the brims of the cups. Her hands shook for a moment, then she replied expressionlessly, "I don't. Sugar or cream?"
"both please!" ^_^
Lina took a seat, silent except for answering, "Sugar."
"Sugar, please..."
Manzi placed a cup before each of them, dropping sugar cubes in all the teacups and dolloping cream into Gourry's. "You, Zelgadiss?"
"I'll..just take it as it is....." Zelgadiss showed a moment of veiled concern, but he made no move to help Manzi. "How long does this process take?"
Gourry flopped down by Lina hitting her arm on accident. Lina snarled as coffee spilled down her front, "Dammit, GOURRY, that's the third shirt you've wrecked this week!" She thwacked him, then calmed again. "You were saying?" Gourry grinned at Lina and drank out of his cup.
Manzi handed the cup and saucer directly to Zel, then retrieved a dish towel to wipe up her spill. She paused to blink at Lina and offered the towel to her. "Ah...need a refill?"
Zelgadiss strove valiantly to ignore Lina and Gourry, another sweatdrop hovering over his head.
"Thanks to this big idiot, yes, I do."
"Sorry Lina." He pushed his cup in front of her face. "want some of mine?"
Lina shoved Gourry's cup away, making sure it spilled on him, "No!"
Amelia sipped her tea quietly.
^_^
Zelgadiss repeated patiently, "So how long does this process take?"
Manzi glanced at Zel again. "The preparation time is longer than the actual...erm..." She appeared slightly distracted by Lina and Gourry's bickering.
"oh yuk..." Gourry wiped his tea off himself with his hand and went back to finishing his cup.
Lina grinned before taking her first sip of tea.
"Oh, sorry. Heh. Lina spilled tea on me."
Manzi offered Gourry another towel and refilled Lina's cup carefully.
"Thanks."
Gourry grabbed the towel. "Hey, thanks"
"You're welcome..."
"Is this magical? Alchemaical?"
Gourry clumsily returned to wiping off the tea, oblivious to the whole conversation.
"Magical...the final spell is based off of spirit shamanism, in fact."
Lina listened closely, despite all the bickering, alert for anything that seemed off... ignoring the slightest sleepy feeling.
Zelgadiss nodded... "I'm very familiar with that school of magic myself..."
Amelia yawned.
*YAAAAWN*
"I thought you might be."
Lina took a few more sips before sitting forward and shaking her head, her eyes narrowing.
Manzi glanced at the others. "Would the three of you like to finish your tea while I show Zelgadiss the lab? It's in a downstairs chamber..." She gestured toward a wall and door appeared and opened.
Gourry tried to listen to the conversation, but couldn't help but want to shut his eyes and not care about anything..... ...
"Sleepy..."
"What spells is this cure based off of? You said you were close.... what's the part that isn't working?"
Lina looked at Zel, her eyelids flickering slightly, "Zel.. don't go alone...."
"um...zel.....zZzZz"
"It isn't far. Within earshot."
Zelgadiss rose, his tea barely touched. "Do you want to come Lina?"
Manzi smiled at Zel. "The physical aspect is easy enough...it's the spiritual aspect that's more difficult. Especially when Mazoku are involved."
"..."
Lina sat back in her chair, her mind fogging.. "Noo.. I guess if we can hear you that's alright." She shook her head again, not believing she just said that.
"Right behind you...*yawn* Mr. Zelgadiss...." Amelia settled her chin on her arms and shut her eyes.
"Oh dear. I didn't realize I was that boring."
Zelgadiss raised both rocky eyebrows, watching all his companions lazily lounging in Manzi's sitting room. Gourry fell onto Lina and then onto the floor....sound asleep. Lina managed to kick Gourry for falling on her before her own head fell on to the table, her voice trailing off, "Just... yell... Zelgadis...*snore*"
Manzi took a few steps toward the lab and looked back at Zel. "Is it too warm in here, maybe? I prefer the heat myself, but it tends to make human guests drowsy..."
"zzzz ... ... ow.. ... lina... .. zzz zzz ..."
Manzi raised an eyebrow and smiled slightly. "Well, are you coming?"
"Mhm." Zelgadiss turned back to her, his eyes narrowing in skepticism. "What did you do?"
Lina suddenly half muttered, half yelled in her sleep, "Bandits have NO rights!" before flinging her arm around to hit Amelia and falling back into a deeper sleep.
"Owwwwww...Miss...zzzzz...Linaaaa..."
"I hear tea makes some humans sleepy as well..."
Zelgadiss looked *extremely* skeptical.
"So suspicious...alright, I put a soporific in the sugar cubes. This business doesn't concern them."
"And I suppose you expect me to trust you now??"
"I never expected you to trust me. Why should you? To be honest, I hoped you'd fall asleep, too."
Zelgadiss crossed his arms. "I brought them here as safeguard against any...suspicious behaviour on your part. What do you really want?"
Manzi sighed and looked almost appealingly at Zel. "I'm truly sorry, but I brought you here to kill you..."
*piku* Zelgadiss stared at her a moment, then muttered, "This is just doing wonders for my confidence in people."
"I didn't entirely lie to you, either...I have developed a cure of sorts...it just kills the subject in the process..."
Zelgadiss scowled. "Why?"
"I don't blame you for being angry. I can promise I won't hurt your friends, although I expect they'll come after me to avenge you... Ahh...What Rezo did not only shattered our lives, it upset a delicate natural balance that I am only too aware of since my transformation...I have to put that balance right..."
Zelgadiss raised a rocky eyebrow. "Finding a cure would be a perfect way to right what Rezo's done, destroying everyone who he's hurt will only create more of the same imbalance."
"I've worked for a cure for a long time. I don't have the knowledge...and I saw what searching for a cure did to Rezo himself."
"Just because you don't have the knowledge now is no reason to take away my chance of finding a cure."
"And what would you do for a cure? Would you risk your life? Your friends? Would you do what Rezo did? Evil begets evil. The cycle has to end somewhere."
"No. My search is my own... I just can't usually shake Lina and the others... I don't see how what you're trying to do is any better than what Rezo did."
Manzi smiled bitterly. "I don't either. But a creation can hardly expect to be greater than its creator, can it?"
"I have no wish to be greater than him. I just want to find a way to return myself to my original form...."
"Well. It seems we can't come to an agreement. I am sorry for this..."
"As am I. But I can't let you put an end to my search, particularly not this way. I do appreciate that you mean no harm to lina and the others."
Manzi nodded wistfully and gestured sharply toward the dirt floor and half a dozen thick roots burst through it, lashing toward Zel and seeking to wrap around his limbs.
"GRAY BUSTER!" Zelgadiss aimed the freeze spell at the vines...
Manzi winced as the roots freeze solid. "Poor oak...forgive me..." She gestured toward Zel, and cried out, "WIND BRID!"
"RAY WING!" Zelgadiss braced his own shield of wind against the air, planting his feet.
"That won't get you far...there's nowhere to fly in here..." The vines in her hair untangled and whipped out to tangle around the shield.
Zelgadiss broke off the ray wing, aiming both hands at Manzi. "ELMEKIA LANCE!"
"VAS GLUUDO!" She held up the small magic shield to deflect the Lance, at the same time wrapping a vine around one of Zel's wrists.
Zelgadiss cast Gray Buster on the vine again, backing away...
Manzi gasped and withdrew the vines, pausing to break off the one he just froze.
"MONO VOLT!" He aimed at Manzi...
Xelloss fizzled in, and yawned. He walked over and poked Lina and Gourry with his staff, "Missing the action for once, I see?"
"Oh no....."
"REYWING!" Manzi paused to stare at Xelloss as the lightning crackled over the spherical shield. "What the hell?!"
Lina shifted in her sleep and muttered, "Fireball!" but as she wasn't really concentrating on casting, nothing happened.
Xelloss smiled at Manzi and waved.
Gourry giggled in his sleep.
Manzi raised a brow at Zelgadiss. "Friend of yours?"
"FLARE ARROW!" Zelgadiss distractedly cast at Manzi.
Xelloss tapped his chin in thought, "Are you two done with your lover's quarrel yet? It's really boring watching spells get thrown about with no one getting...hurt." He opened one eye for a mazoku's emphasis.
"What's *your* part in this Xelloss?!"
Xelloss floated up a bit, sitting cross-legged in the air, "I *always* have a part! I'm part of the comic relief, you know."
"If it's so boring to you, why don't you just knock her unconscious for me and put and end to it that way...." Zelgadiss glowered distractedly at Xelloss while trying to keep on the defensive from Manzi.
Manzi left the Reywing up, deflecting the flare arrow. "How did you get in? I locked the doors and windows..." She dropped the reywing, aimed at Zel and shouted, ""RAZA KLOUVA!"
"Well, that wouldn't be *hurting* her, now would it...? And I thought you wanted to do it, Mr. Zelgadis." Xelloss smiled, then considered Manzi. "Now *that* is a secret."
Zelgaddis 'acked' and dodged narrowly... "I don't want to hurt her..I just want to get out of here with the others..."
"Lovely." She tossed another Wind Brid at Zel while she had him on the run.
Gourry kicked Lina in his sleep. Lina rolled over and managed to fling her fist right into Gourry's eye...
Zelgadiss dropped to the floor to dodge...
Xelloss smiled, "Aren't you getting tired yet...?"
Gourry grumbled and threw his elbow into Lina's stomach...."zZZzzZz ...."
Xelloss shrugged, "Ah well, I live to make things...interesting."
"Me or him?" Manzi frowned as the wind arrow gouged a hole in her wall and called more tree roots up from the ground to entangle Zel's legs.
"Both."
Zelgadiss aimed at Manzi "FREEZE ARROW!"
Lina muttered something about, "NO! Don't make me drink that..." before lashing out with one leg and kicking Gourry.
Xelloss floated over to the rest of the MIA group, and wisked his staff over them. A light dust appeared, "Well, they can't do much leaving if they're asleep, can't they...?"
Zelgadiss cast Gray Buster on the vines again hastily, considering pulling out his sword to deal with any more vines...
"... ... ooow... ..." Gourry rolled to the other side and whopped Amelia.
Amelia kicked out in her sleep at Gourry, "Stopppit Miss Linaaaa..."
Manzi dropped to the ground and rolled away from the arrow, settling on one knee and scowling at Zel in concentration.
"FREEZE ARROW!"
Gourry mumbled in his sleep...."freeze arrow......z zzz z... ..."
Zelgadiss pulled the frozen vines off his legs one handed, trying to keep her dodging as he cast with his free hand...
"AERO BOMB!" Manzi deflected the freeze arrow.
"FREEZE ARROW!"
Amelia shivered, "Cooooooolld..."
Xelloss's head started to nod as he floated...
"AERO BOMB! Now cut that out!"
"ELMEKIA FLAME!"
"Zzzz---! Ah! Zzzz..."
"Either get out or help Xelloss!"
Xelloss smacked his lips groggily and and waved at Zelgadis, "MmHmm....*yawn*...but you've been at it for so long now, figure you might as well finish it."
"I don't want to HURT her damnit...."
Manzi dodged and slipped on the ice from one of the freeze arrows, skidding into the wall. "Ouch! DAMN it! FEHLZAREID!"
Xelloss quirked an eyebrow, "Then...why don't you just use a variant of one of your ice spells, and encase her...?"
Zelgadiss dodged the spiraling light a few times, then backed towards Amelia, reaching behind himself to prod at her.
"Shut up!" Manzi glared at Xellos from the ground but didn't dare throw a spell at him.
Zelgadiss aimed at Manzi with his other hand. "FREEZE ARROW!"
"Ennnnnnhhhh..." Amelia squirmed as she got prodded. Zelgadiss gave Amelia a last poke and aimed with both hands again. "ELMEKIA LANCE!"
Xelloss looked a tad surprised at Manzi.
"REYWING!" Manzi struggled to regain her feet behind the sheild.
Zelgadiss took the opportunity to grab Amelia's shoulder and shake her a bit.
"Liiiiinaaaaa!"
Amelia lashed out drowsily. Lemmme 'lone..."
Xelloss shook his head, "Well, you asked for it." He floated up behind Manzi and grabbed her by the collar. "Play nice." He smiled.
Gourry mumbled, "Lina... ... ..."
Lina heard her name through a sleepy haze and, as she had been having a nightmare about her sister, assumed it was her. She managed to lash out and smack Amelia in the face before becoming still again, snoring...
"Argh! Wake UP!"
Gourry mumbled, "wake up... .... ..."
Manzi refrained from wondering how Xell got through the reywing. "BRAM FANG!" She cut her collar loose and dodged away from Xelloss, leaving a bit of cloth in his hand. She darted across the room and crouched, aiming her hands at Zelgadiss. "Wind which blows across eternity, gather in my hands and become my strength! BRAM GUSH!"
Xelloss sighed and propped his head in his hand. He refrained from commenting on how annoying mortals can be sometimes.
Gourry fumbled with his hair in his sleep saying something about "windy today isn't it... ... ..."
Zelgadiss aimed back, eyes widening. "Wind which blows across eternity, gather in my hands and become my strength! BRAM GUSH!"
Amelia whimpered in her sleep.
Zelgadiss tried to brace his own spell against hers...
Alexys 's brown eyes widened as she finally got through all the locks and saw the scene before her, without hesitation, she yelled, "FLAARRE ARROW!!!" Aiming it for one of Manzi's unprotected legs.
Xelloss blinked.
Manzi shrieked and dropped her guard as the arrow hit her and burst into flame. She dropped to the ground, clutching her leg, and stammered, "mos varim...agghh..."
Zelgadiss stumbled slightly and ended his own spell, blinking at Lex in confusion.
Alexys dropped her hands from the cast, glaring at the shrieking Manzi, "Are you alright, Zel? And the others...?"
"*snore*
"They're fine, just asleep..."
Xelloss pulled a watch out of his bag and checked the time.
Zelgadiss continued to blink in confusion, sparing a look for Manzi...
Manzi relaxed as the counterspell absorbed the flames along her body. She pulled herself into a crouch, favoring the uninjured leg, and watched the others silently. Alexys tensed as the spell absorbed, her hands raised to cast another should the chimera prove to be more powerful than she was last time.
Zelgadiss moved back to try and shake the others awake again...
Manzi cringed, and backed away, then turned and darted through the doorway into the underground chamber.
Alexys dropped her hands and sighed, "She came to my village around a month ago... she underestimated me and attacked openly. She's part plant, so I fought with fire. I escaped and set out to find all of, I figured it wouldn't be too long before she found you. Looks like I got here just in time, eh?"
Xelloss smirked, "Could have been sooner."
Zelgadiss scowled, still trying to awaken the others. "I could have handled it..."
Amelia batted at Zel and rolled away, then opened her eyes, blinked and sat up.
Alexys shot a look his way, "I didn't see YOU helping, Xelloss! I would have been disappointed if you hadn't been here though, being useless." She shook her head as she knelt beside Lina and shook her, carefully dodging flying hands. "I'm sure you could have."
Xelloss smiled in his annoying way, "I don't help, I....prod."
Amelia blinked. "Miss Alexys?? When did you get here?" Amelia then glanced up. "And Mr. Xellos...and why am I on the floor?"
Lina woke up with a jerk, "I didn't do it, I sw... Lex!... Where did YOU come from?"
Zelgadiss sighed in an exasperated fashion and shook Gourry.
Alexys grinned, "I'm trying to be like Xelloss and just POP up." she winked before adding, "I've been trying to locate you guys for a few weeks to warn you about her."
"huh? wha?!"
Xelloss floated down beside Lex, "Oh, Miss Alexys? Thinking of becoming my apprentice?" He smiled. Gourry sat up looking at the crowd.
Alexys brushed one wiry strand of blue hair out of her face, "In your dreams, Xelloss."
"What happened?"
Xelloss smiled, "I only have nightmares, but I'll take you up on your offer if I ever have dreams.""
"Lina, are you alright?"
Zelgadiss crossed his arms and stood back, waiting for everyone to right themselves.
Lina winced as she stood and noted a forming bruise on her arm, "Damnit, Gourry! You fell asleep and hit me again!" *THWACK!* *glare*
"ow! I am sore, don't hit me like that."
Lina muttered, "Drugging me! That deserves a Dragon Slave! Hmmph... Well, I'm at least going to find out if she had anything of value stashed around this place."
Lina began poking around.
Zelgadiss groaned faintly at Lina's words and sat down where he was, a sweatdrop forming as he watched her rummage.
Gourry stood up totally feeling much more revived.
Alexys ignored Xelloss' comment and laughed at Lina, "Well, she obviously hasn't changed. Besides this cute little incident, how have the rest of you been?"
^_^ "Alseep."
Lina grinned as she found the door Manzi had opened before, "I'm so lucky.." She murmured before casting a light spell and heading down the stairs into the REAL lab.
"Hey Lina, wait up." Gourry walked over to Lina and tripped...
Alexys 's ears perked up in interest at Lina's discovery.
Lina heard the trip behind her and her eyes widened just as Gourry slammed into her and the two tumbled down the stairs. They landed at the bottom in a pile.. "Oowww.." Lina SHOVED Gourry off.
"Sorry Lina. I was trying to protect you form what might be down here."
Xelloss followed....like usual.
Zelgadiss got up and followed them down the stairs more carefully. "She's down here. and she's injured."
Amelia followed slowly.
Alexys winced at the crash "*sweatdrop* and cast a lightspell to quickly go down the stairs, "Coming Zel."
"Who's down here?"
The room looked like an ordinary lab except for a row of cages behind a heavy magical shield, a few old chests, and a case of thick glass inside which rested a large green gem.
Zelgadiss went over to the cages first....
Lina 's eyes instantly fell on the jewel and became all round and shiny. "That should be worth plenty!"
"O_O
Alexys looked around the place, shivering slightly before shaking it off and following Lina.
There was obviously a spell on the glass case. As Zel approached the cages, something very large threw itelf against the bars of one cage.
Gourry walked to one of the cages "heeeere kitty kitty kitty..."
"This is really creepy..."
Lina reached out with her magic and tested that obvious spell, "Hmm.. well, at least she's creative, if extremely twisted." The spell is white magic of the protection variety and seemed to be more for the sake of keeping the stone in than keeping people out.
Alexys came up behind Lina, "That's the strangest looking gem I've ever seen... I wonder if it was part of her so called cure."
On one of the higher cages, a creature that looked to be part mouse and part lizard tried to sniff Gourry through the shield, unsuccessfully. "Ewww...Lina, look at this one."
Lina muttered, "Like I care what it's for, I care about what it might be worth!" Without much effort, the master sorceress got around the spell and carefully lifted the gem out of it's case. The gem vibrated faintly to the touch and gave off an aura of black magic.
"Lina, do you think that's a good thing to do?"
Lina turned to look at what Gourry was pointing at and winced, "It looks like my sister."
^_^
Alexys shook her head at Gourry, "You know she could care less if it's a good thing to do, it's shiny!"
"It IS shiny." O_O \$_$ "Hey Lina, can I hold it?"
Xelloss eyed the jewel.
"Miss Lina...I don't know if you should..." Amelia stared at the animals.
Zelgadiss studied the larger animal throwing itself against the bars... The creature snarled at zelgadiss. It appeared to be part insect, part vampire, and part golem, and extremely angry.
Lina saw all the eyes resting on her gem and shoved it inside her cloak, "It's MINE!"
Gourry walked over to Lina. "I will protect it. er...I will protect YOU." ^_^
Lina blushed and quickly hid it by becoming preoccupied with the rest of the lab.
Alexys wandered over to Zel, knowing there was no convincing Lina of anything and murmured, "What are we going to do about all of them...?"
Xelloss frowned slightly, "Lina...that gem..." He trailed off, only willing to tell her anything if she was truly interested. Either way could be interesting enough for him.
"I want to keep one of em! That one over there that looks like Lina's sister maybe."
Lina yelled, "We are absolutely NOT bringing that THING with us!" She shuddered before turning to look and Xelloss. "What about it, Xelloss? Let me guess, it's a secret?"
Xelloss smiled, "You know me too well, Lina. However, I just thought I might mention that you should be particularly careful about that gem."
"Well we can't exactly just let them all loose..."
"Let me have one! "^_^
"I'm not even going to waste my breath to ask you why." Lina muttered dryly, eyes narrowed at the impossible Mazoku.
Xelloss glanced over at Gourry. "*sweatdrop* "Like...not letting anyone handle it who might...drop it." Not that he really expected her to part with it for less than gold.
"No, but we can't leave them here to die either..."
Gourry smiled dumbly at the animals.
"You see, that gem....well, seems to contain a bit of mazoku in it that might be a little nasty if set free. I'm sure you can imagine." Xelloss smiled to make his point.
Something vaguely birdlike pecked at the bars of its cage and squawked at Gourry.
"No..certainly not."
Gourry stuck his finger in the cage and the bird thing bit him. "OUCH!"
Lina raised her brows and wondered how much truth there was in Xelloss' words, "Thanks, I'll remember that Xelloss." She muttered. "Don't do that, Mr Gourry! They might be poisonous!"
"Some of them may be harmless... those could be set free..."
Xelloss shrugged and laughed, "Oh, well, always here to help, Lina." He smiled to himself.
Alexys pulled Gourry back from the cages, "If you keep doing that, you're going to have to give Lina that sword because you won't have a hand to use it!"
Gourry looked at his finger and put his hands behind his back and wandered around some more.
Amelia approached Lex and Zel. "But how do you know which ones are harmless?"
"SHE CANNOT HAVE MY SWORD."
"Whichever ones don't bite Gourry when he sticks his hand in the cage?" Zelgadiss shrugged.
Lina eyed the hovering monster, "Whatever you say, Xelloss." She turned around at the mention of the sword, "Gourry! Did you say I could have The sword?!"
-_-;
"No, Lina. Family heirloom!"
"Awwww..." "Besides, what would I protect you with if you took it?"
Lina blushed again and quickly walked over to join Zel, Amelia, and Lex.
"What do we do with them, Miss Lina?" Amelia gestured at the animals.
Alexys looked away from the animals who had to share her fate and looked to Lina as well.
Zelgadiss muttered darkly. "Well we certainly can't cure them..."
The bundle of frozen roots sticking up from the dirt and through the ceiling into the main room suddenly quivered and hummed briefly with white magic, then thawed and returned to a healthy state.
Lina looked at the animals for a moment, "I don't know, wildlife isn't exactly my specialty, any ideas Zel? You're good with animals."
Alexys 's ears swiveled towards the hum before murmuring, "No, definitely can't do that..." she looked back down, "Hey Xelloss, for once do you think could possibly come up with a useful suggestion?!"
"Well, Lexie..."
Alexys bristled.
"I am?" He held out a hand for the large creature to smell, just out of biting range. The creature snarled and drooled and clawed at the bars of the cage.
Lina shrugged, "You always seem to be." She turned to look at Xelloss, expecting the standard answer, arms crossed.
Amelia tugged on Zel's sleeve, trying to get him to move back.
"He can't bite me from here..."
...know of any zoos around here?" Xellos smiled and put a hand behind his head.
"I said I wanted one."
"Ahem. I'm sure Lina could get quite a price for such....rarities."
"How do you know?" O_O;;
Zelgadiss turned abruptly to glower at Xelloss. "And can you imagine what someone willing to pay that much for them would *do* to them?"
"Shuttup, Gourry! And I said I don't deal in wildlife!"
"Actually, the bird is kind of pretty..."
^_^
Alexys shook her head, "Well, that was about as worthless as I figured it would be. We have to figure out something soon, we can't stay here too long.. she will come back."
"why don't we just leave them here? they are hers after all."
Zelgadiss looked thoughtful. "You're right...she will......"
Xelloss rubbed the back of his head, "Would you rather have a pet, Zelgadis? I don't specialize in animals either..."
"How do you know so much about her, Miss Alexis?"
Zelgadiss ignored or didn't hear Xelloss, lost in thought with a hand to his chin.
"She came after me much more openly because she didn't realize that Rezo.. perfected, so to speak, his methods a bit after making her. She told me more. Do you even know her name?"
"No... she...didn't really say."
Amelia shook her head.
Alexys answered simply, "It's Manzi." As she cautiously reached towards one of the birds, when it DIDN'T peck at her, she absently stroked it's feathers. The bird made an odd, burbling, chirping sound and settled on the floor of the cage in a feathery ball. Alexys smiled at the bird, trying to find the bright side, as always, "This one is alright anyhow."

And so our journey continues...