Disclaimer: Standard disclaimer here, I wish I owned Slayers and everything with it, but I don't. If I was making money off this, I'd be rich...but I'm not. I'm just a poor college student with too much free time.

Finally, a new chapter! (A quick warning now: this chapter is not for Amelia lovers...you have been warned!) This is not the final chapter, so don't worry about the ending too much. As always, C&C is welcome...hope you enjoy!

"Move!"

The vendor, fresh produce in hand, struggled to cross the road in time, a sad attempt at avoiding the blur of crimson rushing headlong at him. Cursing at his speed, Lina met him in the middle of the street, shouldering him aside even as she ran past. Shouting a brief apology, she didn't bother to see if he'd heard her or not. Some things were more important than courtesy. The man would certainly recover from a bit of bruising…but a delay on her part might just rob someone else of their very survival.

Further down the street, people were already moving aside. They lined the sides of the road, marveling at such strange behavior from anyone…even a mage, people known for being eccentric. For a moment Lina was almost tempted to laugh at the gawking men and women. If any of them had known her real name…well, it wouldn't have been the first time she'd seen a town evacuate in fear. If something was important enough for Lina Inverse to blindly run at it, destruction on a huge scale was sure to follow.

"This is all rather pointless, you know."

The comment, whispered in her ear, sent a chill through her. It was a voice she hadn't heard in at least a decade, but she wasn't too surprised at the sudden return. With a skill acquired over the past few years, she hid any reaction on her part, any tiny signal that might imply he'd startled her. There were some people that were more dangerous if they knew they'd caught you off guard.

Sparing him only the briefest of glances, she smoothly delivered a casual reply. "You're late."

There was a chuckle off to one side, the sound keeping perfect pace with her. "Typical Lina. I should know by now to give you more credit than most."

She smirked, dodging a woman and child. "Damn right you should."

Looking to her right, she waited for another sarcastic remark. When none came, her eyes snapped forward, just in time to see Xelloss appear directly in her path, arms open to catch her if necessary.

"Out of my way!" She snapped, easily levitating over the Mazoku.

As soon as she was over him, she cursed at the slip. Now he would know how ruffled she was, how important the destination. Given enough time, she could have fooled the others; buried Gourry or Sylphiel in explanations and distractions, flattered Amelia with compliments or gossip…even Zelgadis, or rather the old Zel, could be subjected to an artful dodge now and then. The right lead on a cure, a strong show of hunger or greed, or mentioning one of the millions of things that left him in a blushing, stammering retreat…she'd used them all over the years. He would always return to the original issue eventually, but then he had that constant suspicion about him.

Now Xelloss…Xelloss was different. A self-proclaimed 'Trickster Priest', he seemed to live for misdirection and twisted explanations. Capable of adapting to almost any strategy - or at least the ones she, or others, had tried during their travels - he was quick to retreat behind his usual 'that is a secret' explanation whenever someone attempted to turn the tables on him. Xelloss never revealed information unless he wanted to, but he certainly had a knack for tricking others into showing their hands early.

Noticing that he was pacing her again, she donned her best flippant attitude, favoring him with a lopsided grin. "I've been expecting you for some time now. Zel's…unusual entrance seemed a bit overly dramatic to come from him alone."

He frowned slightly, enough that she would have missed it if she hadn't been specifically looking for a reaction on his part. "Why Lina, are you implying that I'm getting predictable?"

"Old age has made you very cliché, Xelloss."

He opened his eyes slightly at that, but disappeared before saying anything. Expecting another stall, Lina dipped low enough that she could take to the ground again if needed. Flying was faster, but she had greater spell access when her attention wasn't divided.

Suddenly arms surrounded her from behind, dragging her upward. She struggled a bit for show, though she knew a bit of movement on her part would hardly stop a Mazoku like Xelloss. Settling down a bit, she tensed when he rested his head on her shoulder, pulling her closer.

"Believe me Lina, you never want to meet an old Mazoku…you would certainly never survive the encounter."

"What of Hellmaster, or Gaav?"

"Children. Age alone does not make one old…they must have the experience and wisdom to back up a simple number. You of all people should know the difference, Lina." He paused, his tone turning dismissive. "Then again, a mortal is still a mortal…some lessons are beyond you. Only so much can be done in such a small lifetime, only so many bits of knowledge absorbed. You are all such fragile creatures."

It was Lina's turn to be smug. "You forget who I've been touched by."

"Touché."

Pulling back a bit, he forcibly turned her around to face him. "What good will reaching him do, Lina? What do you actually hope to accomplish? By the time you arrive, she will either be dead or on the verge of dying. You will be forced to confront him…and the only outcome will be another death."

"A surprisingly narrow view on your part, Xelloss. Don't you pride yourself in preparing for all possible outcomes?"

"So you honestly believe you can kill him then?"

"Shut up!" Lina snapped, abruptly resuming her earlier struggle.

Xelloss turned her loose with a contemptuous snort. Pacing a bit in front of her, an odd sight in the air, he finally met her gaze directly, eyes opened to mere slits.

"They say that the truth hurts."

She held her anger in check with ease, distantly proud of herself for the unspoken point of victory. Xelloss wasn't dealing with the old Lina; she wouldn't waste time flinging spells over an implied insult, squander energy over some minor argument. But by the same token, she wasn't going to use her sudden freedom to run. Xelloss would only chase her down again…it was obvious he wanted to make a point.

"You're making a fairly big assumption, Xelloss. Very sloppy if you ask me."

Frowning a bit, he had his smiling persona back in place a moment later. "Am I now?"

She nodded, crossing her arms. "You keep talking as if that man were Zel…but he isn't, not anymore."

"So you still hope to save him, is that it?"

Shrugging a bit, she sighed. "I'm not Amelia; I don't expect to launch some noble crusade for Zel's soul, or resurrect his mortality with the power of justice. If he made his choice, I have to respect it…even if it puts us at odds."

'It's not as if it would be the first time for something like that to happen. That man changed sides on us more than once when it suited him.'

Before Xelloss could interrupt, she continued. "However! I have also seen him controlled…and I know it can be broken."

The resulting bout of laughter on his part startled her, enough that her levitation spell faltered a bit. Dipping slightly in the air, she stabilized herself a moment later, favoring the trickster priest with one of her stronger glares.

"Lina…poor little Lina. And here I was starting to think you had grown. When did such naïve thoughts worm their way back into your thinking?"

"Get to the point, Xelloss. You've been stalling more than long enough."

Delivering a flourished bow, he looked up at her from his new position. "There will be a time to tell my secrets, Lina…but today is not that day."

Swearing softly, she watched the Mazoku vanish. "Fruitcake."

Turning, she resumed her earlier flight. Xelloss had already wasted more than enough of her time.

'Knowing my luck, he only left because he already knows Zelgadis is there…or maybe that he's completed his little assignment.'

On the other hand, their meeting hadn't been completely without merit. She had learned the gender of Zel's target. Added to several earlier clues, she knew it was someone from their little group, most likely Amelia or Sylphiel. The priestess hadn't done much beyond marrying Gourry in the last few years, certainly nothing to ruffle some Mazoku's feathers. The princess on the other hand…

'Amelia has been throwing herself at every major prince or king she's crossed paths with. She even convinced me to go along on that fake kidnapping scheme last year, all to test the 'love and devotion' of some poor prince.'

The more she thought about it, the more things fell into place. Amelia herself wasn't a threat, but as a princess of Seyruun, joining her kingdom with another could prove powerful enough to be quite a thorn in someone's side in the long run, depending on who she ended up marrying. If that second kingdom devoted itself to white magic as well…yes, that might prove extremely inconvenient to the right Mazoku.

She cut off her train of thought there. Thinking about it too much would start to affect her…and if she hoped to best Zel in battle, she had to be in top form. Distraction could easily lead to an early grave on her part.

'Not that fighting Zel isn't hard enough. Our track record doesn't exactly weigh in my favor. I can't count on surprise, he's too sharp for that. Big spells are out too, he knows me well enough to cut off any attempt at using them. Maybe if I had Gourry for backup, or Sylphiel for a Dragon Slave-caliber distraction…but in a one on one fight, Zel has a definite advantage. That isn't even taking his new status into account.'

Before she could dwell on the problem much longer, she caught sight of the inn they'd chosen. Even as she touched down a short distance away, a beige figure stood just outside the door.

'Either Zelgadis has slowed down considerably, or I'm too late.' She shook her head at the thought, forcing herself to think positive. 'No, I won't give him an early victory! Either I made it in time; through delay on his part, or outright waiting…or I'm too late, and I can only try to make him pay for it.'

At her approach, Zelgadis regarded her with a twisted smile. "Even given our differences in speed, you're arriving rather late, Lina. Did you encounter some sort of trouble along the way?"

"As if you didn't know already. Yes, I encountered your little partner on my way over. We stopped to have a nice chat in the sky. So, care to tell me where Amelia is?" With a sigh of disgust, she drew her sword. Fitting that it should be a gift from Amelia for her last birthday.

He watched her a moment, a look of amused surprise on his face. "Blades, Lina? You've never come close to besting me with weaponry, even Gourry has admitted my skill over the years."

She shrugged, falling back into a defensive stance. "Times change, Zel…we're hardly the same people we were back then." She looked him over briefly. "Some more than others it seems."

"Even more reason for you to reconsider your choice."

Flashing him a confident grin, her eyes practically sparked at the challenge. "You know me…I never give up, no matter what."

"Even if your opponent is me?" As he spoke, he drew his own sword, invoking his standard Astral Vine spell. The red blade seemed appropriate for his new image.

'I'd almost swear that red is darker than it used to be. Then again, everything about him seems darker now.'

Instead of voicing her thoughts, she nodded softly. "Especially if it's you. You're too dangerous the way you are now, we both know that."

"You've always been too dangerous for this world."

"Enough!" She snapped. "First Xelloss, now you. We've talked more than enough, had our little verbal dance before the main show. I'm a soul of action…you above anyone else should know that."

He met her before she'd taken more than a single step, blades crossing with a sharp sound. She knew he outclassed her in strength and speed; that left the sneakier end of the spectrum for her to work with.

In a flash of memory, she thought back to one of the more intelligent moments between her and Gourry. They'd just finished clearing out a fairly nasty bandit hideout, and at one point in the fight someone had chased after her with a sword. Fed up with relying on spells alone - or worse, Gourry for those certain days of each month - she'd demanded at least one lesson in swordplay. It'd taken twelve promises against casting anything at him - Gourry kept forgetting from one minute to the next - but eventually he'd agreed.

'If you're ever facing someone and they press you into a bind, here's what you need to do. Just turn the blade like this, winding to one side. If you're really lucky, you'll not only surprise them and break free, you might set them off-balance enough to get in the next attack.'

'And if I'm not lucky?'

Gourry gave her one of his big-brother style grins. 'Don't worry Lina, I'll be there to help you! You just keep taking out bandits with your fireballs…and I'll handle the sword stuff.'

'Somehow I don't find that very reassuring, Gourry…'

Stuck in a bind, she let Zel test the mid-strength of her sword. Shifting her stance a bit, she waited for him to test the edge before winding to the right. When a look of surprise appeared on Zel's face, Lina thanked the Lord of Nightmares Herself at such luck. She stepped back instantly, out of his immediate sword reach. Even as he recovered from the slight delay, she was switching to spells instead.

"Burst Rond!"

"Windy Shield." Zel countered smoothly, his tone one of boredom. When he fixed her with a look of disappointment, Lina almost cheered internally.

"Haven't we been through this in the past? Next thing I know, you'll start casting fireballs, or try running past me to check on Amelia."

Moving forward a bit, she attempted to do just that, casting a Balus Rod along the way. Passing him on the left, she struck with the whip of light, hoping to distract him again. By the time she'd put herself between him and the building, he'd nonchalantly dropped his shield and grabbed the whip, seemingly oblivious to any damage it might do.

She dismissed the spell a moment later, switching to a Flare Bit. Ignoring the resulting smoke, she dodged low for a moment, deciding to try her sword again. Readying herself, she stood again, trying out a downward strike to the shoulder. It would hardly be fatal for someone like Zelgadis, but if he really was being controlled, she had to try wearing him down first.

A yell of pain proved her successful. As the last of her spell faded, she was left staring at her sword, the blade neatly piercing his entire shoulder. Zelgadis noticed it too, gaze narrowed in fury.

"I see you've been practicing…" He hissed.

"You doubt the great Lina Inverse?"

Smirking, he moved his left arm with inhuman speed, backhanding her hard enough that she was sent flying. She met the outer wall of the inn with a harsh sound, sliding down against it, before falling into an ungraceful heap on the ground.

"Doubt you? Never."

Wiping a trail of blood from the side of her mouth, Lina watched as he reached for her sword, easily drawing it free from the wound. When he snapped it in two a moment later, she almost missed it, eyes on his wound instead of his hands.

Noticing her gaze, Zelgadis managed a thin smile. "Ah, I was wondering if you'd catch that. It seems there are many perks to being a Mazoku. I'm cured of that hideous old form, yet I retain most of its advantages…plus a few new ones such as this."

As the weight of his words sunk in, Lina folded in on herself, slumping against the wall limply. It was obvious that Zel wasn't being controlled; he'd finally reached a point where a possible cure, no matter the cost, had been too much to resist. It certainly explained his change in behavior…Mazoku fed on fear and misery, so what did betrayal or death matter?

A soft thud next to her caught Lina's attention, snapping her out of her growing gloom.

"You were asking after Amelia's welfare earlier…I thought you deserved some reassurance on that score."

She tensed at the obvious false concern in his tone. Taking a few breaths to steady herself, she prepared for the worst before looking to her left.

To her surprise, there was no blood, not a single mark of violence. Eyes closed, the princess looked like she was simply sleeping, transported from her bed by Zel's whim alone. But no one living would have such a blue-grey tinge to their skin; a taunt, frozen cast to their features.

When she didn't respond, Zelgadis chuckled lightly. "I expected some kind of reaction from you; a scream of anger, some tears of grief, several spells flung my way…then again, you were always stronger than that. It was one of the things I liked about you."

"…bastard."

As she struggled to her feet, he took a step backward. She almost laughed at the surprised look on his face, but only managed a bloody cough instead.

"Lina Inverse, remember? You'll have to try a hell of a lot harder than that to keep me down."

She stumbled forward a few steps, regaining her footing as she went. Looking up, she watched as he vanished before she could reach him, reappearing behind her instead. Before she could turn - especially given his speed and her present condition - he placed a hand securely on her shoulder, holding her in place.

With the other hand, he moved to hook the chain of her necklace around his middle finger. Giving the chain a sharp spin, he waited until the pendant had caught on the chain, sliding up with it until it rested against the back of her neck. Briefly he fingered the bit of metal, tracing the intricate loops and twists.

"I seem to remember Amelia mocking your choice in jewelry earlier today. It's a pity she couldn't see the real worth of the things around her. Rather fitting that another bit of jewelry; pretty to the casual eye, deadly to those that cared to look deeper, should be her undoing."

Pulling both back and upward, he drew the chain against the front of her neck sharply, choking her only a moment before it break. He let her go then, stepping backward even as she turned to glare balefully at him.

"I think I'll just be holding onto this for now. I'd rather you didn't come calling again just yet…or for quite some time. There are still many things you need to learn about the world, Lina…and about others." Tossing the broken chain aside, he conjured a new one. After attaching her pendant to it, he slipped the necklace on. "When you do manage to finally reach me again, maybe we'll see about getting this troublesome bauble back to you."

Before she could say anything to the contrary, he vanished. For a moment Lina looked at the spot he'd previously occupied, then made her way over to Amelia. There would be a lot of things to handle in the upcoming weeks and months…and many people she would need to support. Gathering the Princess into her arms, Lina took one last look behind her.

"Yes, I will hunt you down again. You should know that I never abandon a good treasure…or a good friend."

Even as a few silent tears made their way down her face, she made her way inside. 'Trickster Priest you may be…but you don't make a convincing Zelgadis. I know he was the one that responded to my spell the first time, but for some reason you pretended to be him after that little show of yours in the air. Wait for my return Xelloss…not even Zelas herself will stand in my way.'