"Uh, Lina? Shouldn't it be Zel's decision?" Gourry asked.
Zelgadis, standing nearby, gave the big swordsman a small smile. "It's an easy decision, Gourry. Try this, or else start looking again. I've tried everything I've come across so far, looking for a cure."
"But, I thought this really wasn't a cure?"
"It's not, Gourry," LIna explained, "But it will cure PART of the problem. Aoife can make things a little easier on Zel, so he won't be racing against time."
"Oh," said Gourry. Then he got a confused look again. "But I though you could see the whole curse. Can't Aoife break it?"
"GOURRY! Weren't you listening?!? You...!"
"Lina, he was asleep, remember?"
"Oh, right." Lina looked around. "So where's Aoife?"
"Downstairs." Zelgadis's one word was loaded with implications. Lina gave him a questioning look. In responce, Zelgadis just turned and headed for the lab. Lina and Gourry followed.
In the basement lab, Aoife had re-chalked the magic circle, adding even more protections. She wore her purple tunic and black trews again, but no cloak, no sword, not even her dagger. Her expression was grim as the others entered
"Yer ready to try then?" she asked Zelgadis.
"Yes, was all Zelgadis needed to say. Aoife nodded, and began placing the candles.
"Lina, Gourry, I'll be needing yer help. I'll be in the circle with Zelgadis to restrain him. I'm the only one who can," she said quickly, to forestall Gourry. "Gourry, I'll need ya to stand by lest the circle break. Lina, ye'll be the one breaking the spell."
"WHAT?"
Aoife sighed. "I'll tell ya when. Ya just have to reach into the spell and pull out the beserker thread. Tis not so hard for ya. T'will be hardest on Zelgadis. But, I think perhaps should the circle break, and I and Gourry fail to stop him, there's a chance Zelgadis WON'T kill ya, so ye've got to be the one."
"Kill Lina?" Zelgadis asked, hiding his fear of that possibility.
"Aye," replied Aoife, "ya may be beserked." Lina and Gourry gave a small gulp at the thought of Zelgadis mad and murderous.
Aoife continued setting up while Gourry and Zelgadis voluntarily searched the room for possible weapons and took them upstairs. Lina watched Aoife closely, and while the men were upstairs, she asked, "You aren't your usual cocky self about this, are you?"
Aoife laughed without humor. "Now, doesn't herself have a good set of eyes? I canna be cocky. I don't know if we're right. I canna say that all will be well. I don't ken...." She sighed. "I would like to be of help to yer friend. T'will be better for ya both if I can."
Lina frowned. "You too. Gourry said something about it would be good for Zelgadis, AND me. What do you all know that I don't? Did Zelgadis say something about me?"
Aoife looked at her for a moment, then said, "Ya know, me Master once said that when I found it in me to be a healer as much as a sorceress, when I found I could be as serious as silly, I'd ken what it meant to be a mage. Tis you and yer friends that taught me that, and I find that it's no small thing. And I find that I'm loath to speak of things said and things done that I canna be sure would be right to say. So, I say nothing."
Lina growled and grumbled a bit. Then Gourry and Zelgadis returned, so she didn't have time to press Aoife further.
"Right, let's begin," Aoife announced, motioning for Zelgadis to join her in the circle. As soon as he did, the magic circle flared to life, creating a shimmering dome. "Lina, I'll tell ye when to pull. Then I'll try and bend the golem. After ya pull out the strand, TOUCH NOTHING! All the rest is on me." She looked at Zelgadis.
With a deep breath, Zelgadis nodded and said simply, "Begin."
Aoife closed her eyes and began a chant in her liquid native tongue. Immediately, the crytals containing the simulacrum of Zelgadis's curse flared to life in front of Lina on the table. As Aoife continued to chant, the image of the curse pulsated a rainbow of colors, eventually settling into the pattern familliar from last night.
Lina stared at the strand of beserker. She stared until it became the whole world.
"Lina..." Gourry's whisper drew her attention to the circle. Zelgadis was on his knees holding his head, Aoife's hands on his shoulders. Her eyes were open again, but her chant went on and on. Soon, Zelgadis began shaking. THe power building in the room became thick. As it grew, the shimmering in the curse-image steadied and sparkled. Lina sudenly realized she was seeing images of Zelgadis within the sparkling structure. She peered harder, and to her amazement she saw pictures. The most fascinating one was an image of a young man, dressed in pieced-together clothing, practicing with a sword in the woods. He froze, and looked off towards something Lina couldn't see. Compelled by something she couldn't define, Lina reached out and lightly brushed the image of young Zelgadis with her fingertips.
Inside the circle, Zelgadis let out a sudden groan. Startled, Lina looked at him. He was staring at her with the most unguarded, unexplainable expression she'd ever seen. Did he see that? she thought wildly, unable to look away from his eyes. Aoife's voice rose even louder. The magic in the room swirled like a storm wind, roaring. Shivering, Zelgadis crept to the edge of the circle. Hoarsely, he called out, "Lina.... help.....me....."
"Zel..." whispered Lina. She watched as he reached out to the circle's barrier. Aoife grabbed him and pulled him back. In that instant, his eyes turned a glowing red. "Ruby Eye! No!" gasped Lina.
Howling, Zelgadis shook off Aoife's hands. He spun and cast a Flare Arrow at her, point blank, but it dissipated as soon as it was summoned. Snarling with frustration, he tried again. This time, Aoife leaped and tackled him. Her voice never stopped it's even chant, but now she and Zelgadis fought in the circle. Gourry edged closer, hand on his sword, but the magic barrier never wavered. The two combatants seemed to fight like animals. Lina couldn't even see them at moments, they moved so fast, landing lightening blows on each other, using all of the chimeric strength at their disposal. At one point, Zelgadis seemed to be focussed on Aoife's throat, as if to stop the chant. Noticing this, Lina checked the spell-image, and saw that the thread of beserker was vibrating fast. Loosening or tightening, Lina couldn't guess.
Suddenly, Aoife yelled, "NOW, LINA, NOW!"
Wincing, Lina reached out and grabbed the strand between her thumb and forefinger. Screaming, Zelgadis threw himself at the barrier, but though it shivered, it held. The winds of magic seemed to swirl tightly around Lina and the spell's projection.
"STOP, Lina! Stop! You're killing me!" screamed Zelgadis, lost to all reason as he clawed at the barrier. Aoife wrapped her arms around him, pulling him back, trying to restrain him.
"PULL IT OUT, DAMN IT!" she yelled.
Lina sucked in a quick breath and yanked out the strand. An almost subliminal sound of tearing echoed in her ears, as Zelgadis's screams choked off. The strand flickered once in her hand, then dissipated into nothingness. She turned to the circle, where Zelgadis's unconscious form again lay in Aoife's arms. Aoife chanted again.
The power in the room tightened even further, into a funnel, a miniature cyclone centered on the image of Zelgadis's curse. Lina watched as minute changes were made, balancing the emptiness left by the missing beserker. A tiny, tiny branch formed from the golem-thread, wavered, sought, then merged very slightly with the central thread where Lina had seen the afterimage of Zelgadis before the curse. Almost simultaneously, the winds died down. Aoife's chant slowed, then switched into the common tongue, in the Recovery spell. As she finished, she let Zelgadis down on the floor, then stood. Another word cancelled the protection circle. In the silence, Lina's ears roared.
"It is finished," Aoife gasped. Then she fainted.
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