You shouldn’t have left me alone…

"I do."
Lina watched silently from the window as Sylphiel and Gourry exchanged vows, and then a kiss. She fought the cry that had been forming in her throat and turned around. "I’m ready now," she said.
Xelloss emerged smiling from the shadows and replied, "Let’s go then," taking her hand in his and disappearing from sight.

Lina sat in front of a table in a dark room with her gloves off. She traced the lines of her hand with her index finger, sighing to herself as she did so. She shivered as a cool breeze blew through the window but relaxed as soon as she felt a pair of arms surround her.
"Are you sure about this?"
Lina closed her eyes as if she were debating her answer one last time, then reopened them and nodded slowly. "Stop asking me before I change my mind."
He chuckled, kissing her gently on the cheek. He lifted her hand slowly and kissed her palm, releasing it only when she had fully relaxed. He then placed a dagger in her hand and closed her fingers securely but loosely around it.
Lina looked at Xelloss for confirmation and received a nod in response. Gripping the fine leather with her right hand, she ran the blade across her left wrist causing blood to flow out in great quantity. She flinched slightly and continued by slitting her right wrist. Then she placed the dagger down in her lap and whispered, "Done…"
Xelloss smiled at her and kneeled before her, taking her left wrist and sucking at it gently. Lina at first had braced herself for obvious pain, but had found the act to be quite pleasurable instead. After a short while, Xelloss had moved to the right wrist and had given it the same treatment. Lina found herself weakening with every second that passed by.
"Xelloss…"
He silenced her by placing a finger to her mouth, only to be replaced by his own lips. "Do not worry dearest Lina-chan…you’ll see me again in a short while…" he whispered against her cold lips just before she passed away.

Lina awoke in a different room in a large red colored bed. After her eyes focused to the dim lighting, she sat up and looked around. She saw black candles, red candles, Xelloss, silver candles…
"Xelloss?!" she screamed half in surprise and half in relief.
He smiled and teleported so that he was on top of her in bed. After giving her a good morning kiss he asked her, "So what does Lina-chan want to do on her first day as a mazoku?"
Lina pondered for a while before her eyes lit up. "What’s it like to feed?" she asked, a wicked and yet playful tone coming into her voice.
Xelloss chuckled, kissing her once again. "Would you like to find out?" he asked.
Lina wrapped her arms around his neck as he lifted her up from the bed. "Of course!" she chirped, leaning her head into his shoulder.
"Let’s go pay a visit to your ‘friends’ then," he suggested before vanishing with her in his arms.

Sylphiel and Gourry were riding on a horse to her cottage. Just as they could see it in the distance, a ball of energy was fired at them.
"What was that?" Sylphiel asked, holding on to Gourry as the horse frantically tried to back up.
Gourry looked up to find Xelloss hovering above them. "Xelloss! What are you trying to do?!" he asked, reaching for his sword out of habit but not finding one there.
"Sore wa himitsu desu," Xelloss replied. "Oh Lina-chan!"
Lina appeared wrapped around Xelloss possessively. "Hai?"
"Your friends are here," he said, setting Lina down on the ground.
"Lina!" Gourry yelled out happily. His expression soon changed to shock. "What happened to your eyes?" he asked.
Sylphiel gasped in fear. "Oh dear kami-sama…"
Lina smirked at Sylphiel. She felt a sudden pleasurable sensation running through her. "So this is what it’s like for mazoku to feed on human negative emotions…" she thought to herself. Out loud she said, "That’s right Sylphiel. I’m a mazoku now," she said, closing her eyes in the same way Xelloss did.
The horse began to freak out and tossed both Gourry and Sylphiel off its back. A crack was heard as Gourry hit the ground.
"Gourry-sama!" Sylphiel screamed, quickly casting a recovery spell on Gourry while he clenched his teeth in pain.
Lina and Xelloss were both thoroughly enjoying this. Xelloss walked up to Lina and wrapped his arms around her waist. "Lina-chan, do you think they’d like their present now?" he asked.
Lina’s slitted eyes lit up again. "I almost forgot!" she squealed, taking out a dagger. Lina walked over to the paralyzed Sylphiel and lifted up her right hand, palm side up. She placed one side of the blade down and pushed it into her skin causing Sylphiel to shriek in pain. Then she took Gourry’s left hand and pressed the other side of the blade into his palm. "May you two always be together," she said, standing up satisfied.
The bleeding stopped, but the pain didn’t. Sylphiel bit her bottom lip and asked, "What happened to you Lina-san?" while trying unsuccessfully to pull her hand away from the dagger.
Lina laughed lightly and replied, "Sore wa himitsu desu," before disappearing along with Xelloss.

They reappeared back in their room, and Lina fell onto the bed gasping of delight. Xelloss fell on top of her, pinning her down. "So what do you want to do next?" he asked her, tickling her playfully.
Lina giggled and tried to push him away but ended up rolling on top of him instead. "I dunno. What do you have in mind?" she asked him, her now blood-red hair falling over both of them.
He smiled and said, "Why not pay your chimera ‘friend’ a visit? He’s become suicidal from all the dead end cures. If we wait too long he might kill himself before you can play with him one last time."
"Sounds good to me!" Lina said, giving him a peck on the lips and dragging him off the bed. "Let’s go!"

Zelgadis cut down another branch of the tree to relieve stress. "Kuso…" he cursed over and over again. "My cure has to be out there somewhere," he thought. As if he were seeking pleasure in the pain, he stuck his hand into the burning fire and let it burn, slowly but painfully. He smiled coldly.
"Zel!"
Zelgadis looked up at the source of the voice to find Lina standing over him with a huge grin plastered onto her face. "Long time no see!" she chirped.
He immediately took his hand out of the fire and tried to hide it from her. "Lina? What are you doing way out here?" he asked.
Lina giggled and teleported to the other side of him, taking his burnt hand in hers. "I’m here to make sure you never forget me, Zel," she said, caressing his hand. She lifted it and placed it against her cheek. "You know, I really did love you for a time…" she murmured, closing her eyes as if allowing a memory to surface.
Zelgadis stared at her in shock. There was something…different about her. It was unexplainable… "Lina are you sure you’re ok?" he asked, looking into her eyes for the first time that evening.
Two things clicked in his mind then. One, Lina had slitted eyes, and two, Lina had obviously become a mazoku. He backed away from her whispering, "Dear Ceiphied…"
Lina giggled again and lunged forward causing him to fall backwards with her on top of him. She wrapped her arms around his neck and whispered into his ear, "It’s true Zelly-chan, I’ve become a mazoku because you all left me alone."
"Left you alone?" he echoed, staring at the red hair that covered half of his face.
"That’s right, but now I’m here to make sure you never forget me," she continued, getting up into a sitting position. She took a small vial from inside her breastband and held it in front of him. "Here’s the cure you so wished for," she said, opening it and holding it above his mouth. "Drink."
Zelgadis opened his mouth obediently and allowed the bitter liquid to slide down his throat. Lina backed away as his body went through the transformation. "See? It worked," she said proudly.
Zelgadis looked down at his hands, which were a pale, normal skin color. He then touched his hands to his face and ran them through his hair. Thoroughly satisfied, he looked at Lina happily and said, "Thank you."
Lina smiled and said, "Don’t thank me, thank Xelloss!"
As if on cue, Xelloss appeared beside Lina. "Oya oya! It looks like Zelgadis-san got what he wanted!" he said, putting an arm around Lina’s waist and pulling her body to his. Lina put her hand against his chest by instinct and giggled.
Zelgadis looked at them both in confusion, then snapped at Xelloss, "If that cure was from you then what’s the catch behind it?"
Xelloss put a hand up to defend himself and replied, "Oh there is no catch. You’d only lose the things that you had gained from being part golem and part mazoku. That means that you’ll die easier, your magic is now weaker, and any other benefits from being a chimera have been lost."
Zelgadis stared at him, dumbfounded. "Meaning…"
"You searched for a cure for most of your life when happiness was right in front of you. Stupid chimera, did you really not see it?" Xelloss asked, pulling the smiling Lina closer to him. "We’ll leave you alone now so sayonara Zelgadis-san."
Lina gave him a genuine grin and said, "Mata ne," before they both disappeared into the night.

Xelloss and Lina appeared in their room again but fell over kissing before they could reach the bed.
"One person left right?" Xelloss asked when they took a breath.
"Hai, Amelia. I don’t have anything to give her though…" Lina trailed off as Xelloss moved down to her neck.
"You’ll think of something…" he assured her.

Amelia went to her bedroom after saying goodnight to her father. She got into her silk pajamas, said a small prayer, and got into bed. After she finally dozed off, Lina appeared in the room along with an unconscious Naga.
She smiled. "I found your sister, Amelia," she said, placing Naga’s body beside Amelia’s on the bed. Then she kissed Amelia on the forehead and whispered, "Goodnight little princess of justice." She turned to Naga. "As for my present to you…" A tiny black glow formed on the end of Lina’s index finger and she pressed it into Naga’s skull necklace. "This will keep your breasts from getting too big and in the way," she said, giggling softly. "Sayonara, little princesses," Lina whispered just before dissipating.

Xelloss sat on the bed waiting for his Lina-chan to return. She appeared in the room a while later and ran towards him squealing, "Xelly-chan!" before tackling him into the bed.
"So did my Lina-chan have fun on her first day as a mazoku?" he asked her, running his hand through her hair.
Lina nodded and laid her head down on his chest, listening to his hollow heartbeat. She sighed and whispered, "Can I meet your master?"
Xelloss stared down at her through open eyes. "Beastmaster-sama?"
Lina nodded and ran a finger across his chest.
Xelloss chuckled at her and asked, "What do you need to see her for? You’re my special pet, not hers. Besides, I think she’s busy at the moment."
"Hmm…mm’kay. So what are we gonna do for now?" she asked him.
A mischievous grin appeared on his face as he pulled the covers over both of them. "Do you want to test out your new bed with me?" he asked, kissing her.
Lina found the corners of her mouth curving upward into a wide grin. "Sounds like fun to me," she replied, rolling on top of him. "But I’m in control!" she announced, giggling at him.
Xelloss fake frowned and whined playfully, "Aww that’s no fair. How about…" He teleported on top of her and tickled her. "Whoever yells ‘uncle’ first gets the better position!"
Lina struggled and giggled uncontrollably. "That’s…hehe…no fair!" she gasped, trying to roll over so she could tickle him back.
"Say uncle!" he yelled over her squeals.
"Alright alright! Uncle! Uncle!" she screamed. He got off of her back so she could roll over and breathe. "That…was very…unfair," she whined between gasps.
Xelloss laughed at her and asked jokingly, "Who said I was fair?" Then he got on top of her and gave her another kiss, allowing his hands to wander beneath her clothes…

Owari