The prophecy of destruction has been fulfilled. Spreading from the wings of a creature created from a fusion of Shinzoku and Mazoku, purification has swept the world, leaving only dust in its wake.
And the world is reformed, but not without a price. Magic has been lost to this world with the sealing of the powers of Cephied and Shabranigido. The purification which should have stamped out all pain and hurt has only amplified these, as strange creatures, crippled Mazoku and strange, sick Ryuzoku, roam the land, leaving pain and destruction in their wake. A swollen sun hangs in the sky, and the people stare out at the land with hopelessness in their eyes. As they begin to mete out a living on this unfamiliar territory, they wonder...was it better before?
The first generation live out their lives and manage to give rise to a second generation. But it is in the third generation where odd children are born, children unlike any others since before the Purification. Children who were born with a strange sadness in their eyes. These children begin to grow, and the rest of the world ignores them, the people living out their lives as best they can. But somewhere...
....a little red-haired girl learns how to make light burst from her fingertips...
....a young boy is able to wield a sword perfectly without any training....
....a blue-eyed girl preaches about hope in a world that has lost all hope...
.....a strange, silent boy crouches in the dirt and forms a ball of fire in his hands...
And the entire world waits.
Approximately 85 years after the Purification
“Ririka! Ririka!” The purple-haired young woman stood on the steps of the dirty farmhouse, holding a wooden spoon in her hand. She shook her head, smiling slightly. “That girl... Does she think she’s hiding? Ririka! It’s dinner time! Get in here or you’re in big trouble!”
Out in the forest just beyond the wheat field, a red-haired girl flinched at the sound of her sister’s voice. Ririka had green eyes and long red hair which was bound up over her head in a ponytail. She wore a plain brown dress with a beige smock.
“Sollex...I really have to go,” Ririka said nervously, looking up from where she knelt in the grass. “My onee-san, Ruruka, is calling me, and you know how she gets...”
“Just one more spell, Ririka-san,” Sollex urged from his spot beside her. He was an odd young man with long brown hair, who always had closed eyes and a perpetual smile. Ririka had met him once when she was walking in the forest. There was something about him that she didn’t trust, yet she kept coming to see him. He was the only one able to recite the words that Ririka always felt hovering in the back of her mind, just out of reach. Just before she had met him, she had managed to uncover one of those incantations hidden in her memory. Reciting it had caused a ball of light to be created from her fingers.
The day after that momentous event, she had met Sollex. There was something strangely familiar about him, though she had never seen him before. He knew the words that Ririka was always seeking. On that first meeting he had shown her how to create a fireball. She was learning more spells every day, and Sollex always had another one for her to master when she had gotten the last one.
She had asked him, during that first meeting, why she could do magic when it was lost to the world. His only reply was that that was a secret.
“I have a very special spell for you this time, Ririka-san,” Sollex told her.
“But...onee-san...she’ll kill me if I’m late,” Ririka objected. “I mean really. She’s scary.”
“Onee-san will understand,” Sollex promised.
“I doubt that,” Ririka muttered, though part of her mind thought he had a point. When Ruruka and a few of the neighbors had caught her casting a Lighting spell in the forest, the neighbors had gotten angry, proclaiming her possessed by a demon. But Ruruka had just smiled and told her that breakfast was ready. “And anyway, I’m hungry!”
“Just this last one,” Sollex said, staring at her from closed eyes. “Then you’ll be ready.”
Ririka wanted to ask ‘Ready for what?’ but she already knew the answer. She sighed and nodded.
“Very good.” Sollex’s smile turned strangely intent. “Repeat after me. ‘Darkness beyond twilight, crimson beyond blood that flows...”
“Darkness beyond twilight,” Ririka repeated, feeling something catch in her mind, as if something that she had been searching for had been found. “Crimson beyond blood that flows...”
“Buried in the flow of time...”
“Buried in the flow of time..”
“In thy great name, I pledge myself to darkness...”
“I-in thy great name, I--I--”
“In thy great name, I pledge myself to darkness,” Sollex repeated.
“I-in thy g-g-great name, I....”
“I pledge myself to darkness.”
“I--I--” For a moment, Ririka had a mental image of herself standing on the edge of a cliff. Instinctively she recoiled. “I can’t!”
“Come now, Ririka-san, this spell shouldn’t be too hard for you,” Sollex told her. ‘Try again.”
“N-no! I won’t!” Ririka leapt to her feet. “I don’t know what you’re trying to do, Sollex, but I won’t pledge myself to--to darkness! Why are you trying to make me cast a spell that--that--”
“That pledges your soul to darkness?” Sollex regarded her for once without a trace of a smile. “Now, now, Ririka-san, why so frightened? It’s only a simple spell.” He stood and took a step closer to her. “You recognized it, didn’t you? I saw it in your face. You know the words, you’ve said them before--”
“I haven’t!” Ririka interrupted him. She took a step back. “I....I’m going to go eat.” She turned and ran back towards her house. Sollex smiled once from behind her and disappeared.
Ririka was running so fast that she nearly bowled her sister over upon reaching the house. To her surprise, Ruruka only said,
“Dinner time.” The older girl led her sister inside, ignoring the haunted look on the other girl’s face.
The two ate dinner in silence. Or rather, Ruruka ate in silence. For the first time in her life, Ririka wasn’t hungry. She sat still in her chair, staring intently at her plate, not moving even when Ruruka finished eating and began cleaning the table.
“So when are you going?” Ruruka asked conversationally.
“Going where?” Ririka started in surprise. “I’m not going anywhere.”
Ruruka gave her sister the same smile she had given the girl when Ririka had been five and claiming that she was going to run away and live with wolves. Ririka felt strangely uncomfortable and rose.
“I’m going to bed,” she announced and walked, somewhat shakily, to her room.
That night, she had strange dreams. There were people with her who she didn’t recognize, all looking at her, expecting her to do something. She waved a hand and power gathered in her fingertips, but it was too late; the dark thing that had been hovering before her had already let loose a blast of power. She heard screams and watched helplessly as those with her were burnt away to the bones, and she felt tears running down her cheeks. Through it all, she heard a ghostly voice say,
“Do not fear. You will be reborn.”
Then there was fire and pain...and then there was nothing at all.
Ririka woke in a cold sweat, gasping for breath. Something was wrong. Something was very wrong. She ran to the mirror hanging in her room and stared in. In the moonlight that lit her room, she could see her reflection clearly. What she saw made her gasp.
Her blue eyes had turned red.
Though it was still dark out, Ririka ran outside, sprinting for the woods. She still wore her dress and smock; she hadn’t bothered taking them off before she went to bed. Her only thought was to find Sollex. He had to know what was happening to her.
As she had expected, he was waiting for her at the edge of the forest. But instead of his usual purple tunic and dark purple pants, he was wearing a strange cloak, yellow shirt, and dark pants. He carried in one hand a strange-looking staff.
“Sollex!” she gasped, stumbling up to him. Ririka fell to the ground, strangely exhausted. Sollex reached down and put a hand under her chin, lifting her head. He opened his eyes and stared at her. Ririka’s eyes widened in shock. Sollex’s eyes were slitted and purple.
“So it’s begun at last,” Sollex said in satisfaction. “About time. Do you remember now, Ririka-san? Or, should I say, Lina-san?”
At that name, Ririka froze. Something in her memory began to spark to life. Desperately, she fought it.
“No! No, my name is Ririka,” she said obstinately. “I don’t know what you’re--”
“Listen to me, Lina-san,” Sollex said in cool tones. As she watched, he transformed slightly, his hair becoming shorter and purple. “Listen to me. Darkness beyond twilight, crimson beyond blood that flows...”
“NO!” Ririka screamed, clutching her head as sudden memories began to assault her. In her mind’s eye she saw a blond man with a glowing sword, trying to shield her from the dark power coming to envelope her.
“Buried in the flow of time...”
Another memory. A strange young man with stone skin, shouting a curse to the sky as the darkness reached for them all.
“In thy great name I pledge myself to darkness...”
And another memory, of a bright-eyed young girl crying out something about life, trying desperately to make herself heard over the wind.
“May those who stand before use be destroyed...”
“By the power you and I possess,” Ririka finished softly as the floodgates broke and the rest of the trapped memories washed over her. A single tear rolled down her cheek.
“Are you ready now, Lina-san?” Sollex--or, rather, Xellos--asked her quietly.
“Flare arrow!” The attack was so unexpected that Xellos was fried in an instant. Coughing up a bit of smoke, he gave the girl a bright smile.
“That’s you all right, Lina-san. What was that for?”
“For knocking me out and stealing Galvayra,” replied Lina. She gave him a sorrowful smile. “And for Ririka.”
“You understand that that was necessary,” Xellos replied. “I’ll explain more on the way.”
“The way where?” Lina questioned.
“To get the others of course!” Xellos touched her nose with a finger.
“Are they...like I was?”
“Naturally.”
“Hmm. I’ll have to tell onee-chan before I go,” Lina said, somewhat sadly.
“She knows.” Xellos pointed over her. Lina turned to see Ruruka standing off in the distance, waving.
“Good luck, Lina,” she called to her sister. “Lose again and I’ll have to punish you severely!”
That was all the encouragement Lina needed to get going. Grabbing Xellos, she sprinted off into the distance, crying,
“I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m SORRY!”
“So...” Lina sat on the opposite side of the fire from Xellos. She was still wearing her old dress and her hair was still in a ponytail. Her eyes were sad. “How’d you survive? I remember...I remember that we died. Zel, Amelia....Gourry. we all died. So how did you survive?”
“The better question is, how did we survive,” Xellos told her.
“It had better not be a secret,” Lina grumbled.
“It’s not,” Xellos told her. His eyes were open and his face was serious. “When Valgaav began purifying the world, I knew that we were about to die, as did Sirius. He opened up a dimensional gateway, only small enough for a few of us. Knowing that you humans would be reborn, Sirius and I tried to escape. Sirius wanted to bring Filia along as well. We need the power of a Ryuzoku and a Mazoku to defeat Valgaav, you see. He tried to take her along, but something went wrong. When we ended up in the other world, somehow her life force was turned back in on itself and she reverted to an egg.”
“An egg? You didn’t raise her, did you?” Lina had a sudden fearful vision of a Filia raised by Xellos.
“No need to worry, Lina-san,” Xellos told her, smiling. “When we took Filia, Jilias managed to come with her. Sirius and I gave him the egg for safe-keeping, then started trying to formulate a new plan to defeat Valgaav. We figured out the meaning of Filia’s prophecy. To defeat Valgaav, we need to call upon the power of Lord Ruby-Eye and Cephied, and then channel that power through a human. The only problem, of course, is that Cephied and Lord Ruby-Eye have had their power sealed by Valgaav. We needed some way to free them, and the only way I knew of was to wait for you to be reborn. That’s why you can call on powers no one else can, Lina-san, because you called upon them last. I came here to retrieve you and the others. Then we must find the five Darkstar weapons, which were scattered in the purification. Once we have those, Sirius, Jilias, and Filia will meet us and we can try to defeat Valgaav once and for all.”
“Jilias? Shouldn’t he be dead? It’s been over eighty years since the Purification.”
“According to Sirius, by going constantly between the two other worlds created by L-sama, one can remain young. Every year or so Jilias and Filia change worlds, and it’s kept Jilias fairly young. He’s quite the devoted father,” Xellos added with a wink.
“I see...” Lina poked at the fire with a stick. “How long were you watching me?”
“Since you were born,” Xellos reported cheerfully. “Lord Beastmaster, as well as the other two generals, was not destroyed in the Purification as Valgaav hoped, but her power has dwindled to almost nothing and she’s been in a coma since Lord Ruby-Eye was sealed. The rest of the Mazoku and Ryuzoku were not destroyed, but rather perverted into different forms which now roam the land, sucking the life from it and attacking the populace. With them causing terror in the cities for me, I didn’t really have much to do. Of course, I looked in on Gourry, Amelia, and Zelgadis as well. Zel was rather cute as a baby, you know. I snuck into his room when no one was looking and scratched him under the chin. He bit my finger.” Xellos smiled even more, and Lina sweatdropped.
“You’re as fruity as ever,” she groaned. “So...how are the others doing?”
“Amelia is the daughter of the village head in a large village called Lucreta,” Xellos reported dutifully. “She’s called Lessa. Gourry goes by the name Keru, and he lives on a farm where he practices swordsmanship. His parents are training him to be a knight. As for Zelgadis....he lives with his grandfather about two miles away in a tiny village called Meter.”
“Grandfather? Not...”
“Rezo,” Xellos confirmed, nodding. “Reincarnation is a tricky thing, Lina-san. Rezo can see in this life. After all, Lord Ruby-Eye is sealed, and besides, you destroyed the piece sealed within Rezo.”
“I see. So we’re going to get Zel tomorrow, then?”
Xellos nodded.
“He’ll probably be more stubborn than I was,” Lina commented with a slight smile. “Does he know any spells?”
“I’ve managed to help him learn some,” Xellos said. “But I had to be subtle about it. I know he wouldn’t trust me if I came to him in person.”
“Why should he?” Lina said grimly. Xellos ignored her and continued.
“He’s learned a lot on his own though. I think his past personality, more so than yours or any of the others, has been seeping through lately.”
“Hmm.” Lina made a noncommittal noise, still staring into the fire.
“Get some sleep, Lina-san,” Xellos suggested. “You’ll need your strength for tomorrow.”
“I suppose you’re right...” Lina rose as if to go lie on the ground. However, instead she walked over to Xellos and grabbed him by the collar. “And what are you planning to do while I’m asleep?”
“Lina-san! You wound me.” Xellos gave her his best innocent look, which, naturally, only made Lina distrust him more. “I was just going to float here and watch you sleep.”
“You’d better only be watching,” Lina warned him, moving away to lie down and sleep. “Or else I’m going to hurt you very badly.”
Xellos looked somewhat excited at this prospect, so Lina decided to quit while she was ahead. Rolling over on her side, she closed her eyes and tried to sleep.
Xellos waited until her breathing had become even and then disappeared.
“Good morning, Lina-san.”
Lina rolled over at the sound of the too-cheerful voice. She briefly considered telling Xellos to go away, then decided against it. The last thing she needed was for him to go off and cause trouble. Sighing, she opened her eyes....and screamed.
“Aaaah!”
“Good morning!” Xellos stood before her. His hair was up in pink curlers and he had a mud pack on his face. He was wearing a pink fuzzy robe and cute pink bunny slippers.
“Xellos! Are you trying to scare me or something?” Lina growled, hitting him in the head.
“Yes, actually. Did it work?” With a wave of his hand, Xellos returned to his normal attire, sans mud and curlers. “I thought that it might help you wake up. We need to get going soon, you know.”
Lina gave him a mournful look.
“But...but...I haven’t had breakfast yet!”
“Would you like me to kill something for you?” Xellos suggested.
“Forget I said anything.”
After a little more pouting from a hungry Lina, the two set off to retrieve Zelgadis. They walked for the good part of the morning before Xellos stopped.
“Zel’s village is just over that hill,” he told Lina. “You go on ahead. I’ll wait here.”
“Why?” Lina looked at him suspiciously, then grabbed him by the cape and started to drag him along behind her. “There’s no way I’m leaving you alone. Come on.”
As the two descended towards the village, the first thing Lina noticed was the huge group of people crowded in front of the town, near the woods.
“I wonder what the trouble is,” Xellos said with calculated innocence. “Maybe you should go check, Lina-san.”
Lina nodded, finally releasing Xellos. As she made her way towards the crowd, the Mazoku added,
“And remember, you are not Lina Inverse, you’re Ririka. We don’t want any of Valgaav’s agents hearing that you’ve been reborn, do we?”
Lina glanced back at him once, then turned back towards the crowd. She walked up to a young woman standing near the edge of the group and touched her shoulder to get her attention.
“What happened?” Lina questioned. “What’s with the mob?”
“Oh, it’s horrible!” the woman said. “Eric’s grandson Territhas has been possessed by some foul demon!”
“Demon?” Lina raised an eyebrow and made a conscious effort not to look back at Xellos.
“Yes,” the woman confirmed. “Late last night, his skin turned blue, and stones sprouted from it. His hair became like wire, and he gained incredible strength. He ran out into the middle of the town, trying to get to the woods. One of the village protectors saw him and tried to apprehend him, but he cast some type of demonic magic and escaped. We’ve been combing the woods to be sure that he’s gone.” She shook her head sadly. “That poor boy. Territhas was always a sweet child, if rather sickly. No doubt that is why the foul demon was able to possess him. His grandfather’s been inconsolable ever since.”
“I see....” Lina glanced back towards Xellos, who was looking away from her and whistling cheerfully. She turned back to the woman. “Thanks for the information!” Then Lina sprinted back to Xellos, grabbed him by the collar, and dragged him behind a tree, where she started happily strangling him.
“W-why, Lina-san, what’s wrong?” Xellos asked cheerfully.
“You did it, didn’t you?!” Lina demanded. “You transformed Zel back into a chimera!”
“Well, yes,” Xellos admitted. “It was the best thing, Lina-san. Even reborn, Zelgadis is still weak even for a human. We have a long journey ahead of us, and as a human he wouldn’t be able to keep up.” He gave her his best innocent look. “I just made sure that he would be strong enough to handle the trip.”
“Can you change him back when this is over?” Lina questioned.
“Um...Lina-san?”
“Answer the question!”
“I can’t breathe, Lina-san.” Reluctantly, Lina released the Mazoku.
“Can you change him back?” Lina repeated.
“Well....that’s a secret.”
“WHAT?!” Lina reached for him as if to strangle him again, then changed her mind. “No. I’ll let Zel beat you up when we find him.”
“Of-of course, Lina-san,” Xellos replied.
“Now, do you know where Zel is?”
“In the woods, of course. Follow me.” Xellos grabbed Lina and teleported away.
The two reappeared inside the woods. Lina shoved one elbow in Xellos’s face.
“Watch where you’re grabbing, fruitcake!”
“Oh! How did my hands get there?” Xellos let go of her, obviously enjoying her anger.
“Hmmph. So where’s Zel?” Lina scanned the forest as if she expected the chimera to pop up in front of her any minute.
“Shh. Be quiet and follow me.” Xellos tip-toed towards a clump of bushes, looking sneaky. Brushing them apart, he pointed to a figure kneeling in the center of a clearing.
Lina peered in. It was Zel, all right, blue skin and all. His face and hairstyle were the same, but he wore a dirty green tunic and pants. There was a beat-up sword at his side. He was muttering something. Lina leaned in to hear better.
“FIREBALL!” The attack took her by surprise and she barely jumped out of the way in time.
“Hey! What was that for?!” Lina yelped indignantly as the chimera advanced on her.
“Leave me alone or I’ll kill you,” he threatened. Despite his words, however, there was uncertainty in his eyes and voice. Lina was surprised for a moment at the amount of emotion Zelgadis was showing, then remembered suddenly that this was not Zelgadis. Not yet, anyway.
“I just want to talk to you.” Lina raised her hands in what she hoped was a ‘don’t- kill-me-I’m-pathetic’ gesture. “Put down the sword and we’ll talk, okay?”
“Not okay.” Zelgadis--no, Lina reminded herself, Territhas--continued advancing. “I know what you want to do. Make me put down my sword, then call in the rest of the village to kill me somehow. Poison me, maybe. Anything to purge the ‘demon’ from my body. Well, I’ll tell you something. There is no demon! I’m still Territhas, and I can cast magic spells quite well without the help of any crappy demon!”
“I know, I know,” Lina hastened to assure him. “That’s why I want to talk to you. I can cast spells too.”
“I don’t believe you.” He sounded hoarse. “You’re--you’re just like the rest. Come to kill me. You think that because I know magic, I’ve been turned into a demon as punishment. Well you’re wrong!”
“I never said anything about that,” Lina said slowly. Her face was calm, though inwardly she was cursing Xellos. Territhas obviously believed that his transformation was the penalty for his magical ability in a world where only monsters knew magic.
“Just...leave me alone!” Territhas turned away from her, though he was shaking slightly.
“Wait!” Lina held out a hand. Territhas turned slightly to look at her and Lina whispered. “Lighting!”
The ball of light burst from her fingers. Territhas stared.
“You--you really can--” His voice caught. “Are you a witch?”
“No more than you are a demon,” Lina told him earnestly. “Come on, think for a moment. You know me.”
For a moment, Territhas thought that he did know her. Then he shook his head vehemently.
“No I don’t. I’ve never seen you before.”
“Yes you have,” Lina said slowly. This was going to be harder than she had thought. “My name is Lina Inverse. We were friends, before...” A lump rose in her throat, and she swallowed hard. “Before we died.”
“You’re insane!” Territhas began retreating from her again.
“She’s not insane.” Xellos suddenly phased in beside her. Territhas started in shock.
“Who are you? How--how did you--”
“Is that any way to treat an old friend, Zelgadis?” At the sound of the name, Territhas flinched slightly.
“That--that name,” he said slowly. “I’ve heard it before....in my dreams....” He shuddered. “What are you creatures?”
“Lina-san is human,” Xellos assured him. Lina noted that the Mazoku said nothing about himself. “Now, don’t be difficult, Zelgadis. You have memories of your past life locked in your mind. Let them out and we can be one happy family!” He smiled brightly.
“Not exactly the best way to encourage him, Xellos,” Lina grumbled. She turned back to Territhas, who was staring at them with haunted eyes. “Zel, listen to me. You have to remember. Just think. Remember Amelia?” There was a spark of recognition in the chimera’s eyes. “Remember Gourry? Filia? Sylphiel? Rezo?”
“I....I think I remember...” His voice trailed off and he shook his head. “No! You’re some sort of evil demon, trying to--trying to play with my head! Leave me alone!”
“Zel!” Lina tried the last thing she could think of. “Don’t you remember when we fought Valgaav? You said you didn’t want to lose the person you were. And unless you stop fighting it, you will have!”
“I--I said that?” Territhas whispered.
“Yes,” Lina told him earnestly. “Try to remember.”
“I don’t want to!” Territhas burst out. “Why would I want to let loose such horrible memories? Every night since I was five, I’ve dreamt of people who I don’t know but who I care about for reasons I’m not even sure of. I dream of a girl who looks like you, but with her hair down. I dream of a brown-haired girl in white and a man with long blond hair and a glowing sword. And do you know what happens in those dreams? They all die. All those people I care about die screaming in pain...and I’m helpless to save them.” He clenched a fist, his eyes glowing with unshed tears. “Sometimes I’m afraid to go to sleep because I know I’ll have the dream again. But I go to sleep anyway, and every time I dream, I hope that maybe this time I’ll be able to save them. Maybe this time no one will die...and maybe this time I won’t wake up feeling like I’ve failed them. So you see, I don’t want to remember. That dream can’t be real.” He glanced over at Lina, his eyes pleading. “Don’t make it real. Please...just let me live believing that I haven’t let them down.”
“I’m sorry, Zel.” Lina couldn’t meet his tortured gaze. “I can’t do that. There’s too much at stake here.”
“Don’t call me by that name!” Territhas snapped. “Just--just leave me alone!” He turned to leave.
“Zelgadis, stop!” At Xellos’s sharp command, Territhas stiffened. The Mazoku’s eyes were open, and his tone was cold. He glared darkly at the chimera, who quailed under his gaze. “I can’t let you leave. Lina-san tried to do this the gentle way, now it’s my turn.” His slitted purple eyes met Territhas’s blue ones and the chimera froze, seemingly rooted to the spot. “Source of all souls which dwell in eternal and infinite...”
Lina immediately recognized what he was trying to do. Just as the incantation for the Dragon Slave had awakened her sleeping mind, Xellos was attempting to awaken Zel’s memories using the incantation for the Ra Tilt. And from the way Territhas was beginning to tremble, Lina suspected that it was working.
“Everlasting flame of blue, let the power hidden in my soul be--”
“SHUT UP!” Territhas cut Xellos off. Lina could see a turmoil of emotions behind those blue eyes as the chimera backed away. “Shut up. I don’t want to hear that, I don’t want to--I don’t--”
“I don’t care what you want,” Xellos said coldly, for once acting like the Mazoku he was. “I have more important things on my mind than what you want. Now, where was I before you so rudely interrupted me? Oh, yes, I remember. ‘Let the power hidden in my soul be called--”
“NO!” Territhas suddenly turned and fled.
“Zel!” Lina called after him, but it was too late. He was gone. She turned to glare at Xellos. “Nice going, fruitcake.”
“Well, it wasn’t working the easy way,” Xellos told her brightly. “Don’t look so worried, Lina-san. He’ll be back.”
“And if he’s not?” Lina asked darkly.
“We’ll go tie him up and drag him along behind us!” the Mazoku proclaimed. Lina sweatdropped.
About ten minutes later, Lina was seated on a log, with Xellos floating languidly above her. Lina rubbed the dirt with a foot.
“He still hasn’t come back,” Lina muttered, glaring up at Xellos. “Great plan you’ve made. We’ll be lucky if we ever see Zel again.”
“I wouldn’t say that,” Xellos said.
“Why not?” Lina glanced up at him and the fruitcake pointed behind her. Lina whirled to see Territhas stepping up behind them. The chimera’s face was impassive, stony...just the way Lina remembered it.
“Zelgadis?” she asked hopefully. He nodded.
“I remember,” he said in a strangely detached voice. “I remember saying that I didn’t want to lose the person I was. I remember all that...”
“Zel?” Lina stood and took a step towards him. “You okay?”
“As much as can be expected,” Zelgadis admitted. “All those dreams....” He sighed. “We failed, didn’t we?”
”Yup.” Lina nodded sadly. “But we have a second chance now. We can change things.”