Night fell rapidly, as though human hands themselves were speeding up the hands of time. The stage was set, the mood was right; the atmosphere remained eerie...
          It was quiet – almost too quiet. Lina would have liked to imagine that all the villagers were simply sleeping, but her intuition said otherwise. The people hadn’t fallen asleep, no. Rather, they had all just...disappeared.
          Chills ran up and down her spine. She felt that same distinct feeling of fear she had felt back in the village of Sairaag when Hellmaster was toying with all the souls there, and she inevitably felt nauseous from the remembrance of cold, bony hands reaching out in attempts to restrain her.
          Paying no further heed to the anti-sorcerer law of the village since she no longer had anything to do with them (and honestly, at this point in time she could send honestly them all up in a shower of Dil Brand if she wanted to), Lina opened the metal trunk, provided by Amelia-hime of course, and removed her usual set of garments she had grown so accustomed to wearing...
          Slipping out of the silky pajamas she had been wearing and slipping into her sorceress outfit, she finally realized how much she appreciated the feeling of the soft, stretchy fabric and the freedom of movement it allowed. Even that heavy cape felt good to have back on – the boots, gloves, and shoulder guards, too.
          At last, she came to the final accessories. She stared at the pile of talismans she held in the palm of her hand, and, for the first time since she received them, admired the brilliance of the burning power held inside...
          "Lina-san?" It was Xelloss’s voice from outside the door.
          "Just a second!" she shouted back, quickly clasping each talisman to their respectful places. She rushed over to the door and turned the knob, then jokingly asked, "How do I look?"
          Xelloss smirked. "As hot as ever." Lina looked surprised at first, then realized the true meaning behind the words and tossed them aside to burn in a fireball later.
          "Let’s get going," she muttered precariously, stomping ahead of the mazoku. He merely shrugged and tagged along behind her...from a safe distance.

          "WAH! I don’t want to be fish food!" Ameria whined from her spot in the air, hanging on by an iron chain that suppressed magic (think back to the episode in season one where Zangulus and that sorcerer chained Lina). She struggled, swinging her legs feverishly like a child would.
          "Ameria calm down! You’re making us drop lower," Zelgadiss noted wryly. He glanced over to his right, directly at Rosa. "Hey, are you okay over there?"
          She lifted her head and replied snottily, "Do I look okay to you?" Rosa appeared to be in the worst position out of the bunch – her chains were jagged and rusty, and blood from an open wound on her leg dripped down into the mouths of the hungry meat-eating fish that inhabited the tank below the four, much to her disgust. Her hair and clothes were mostly wet, which made her wonder what exactly happened during her period of unconsciousness...
          Zelgadiss winced slightly at the remark. Of course she wasn’t okay. It was stupid of him to even ask. "Sorry..."
          "Anou na Zel... this isn’t a good time to be doing that..." Gourry noted loudly, glancing down at the leaping fish that came close enough to bite their ankles. Ameria shrieked as she kicked one off her foot in panic.
          "I would advise against that. You’ll only anger the fish further," came a voice from the shadows. It was purely feminine, even with an air of grace and serenity flowing out with it.
          All four heads turned in the direction the voice had come from (except Gourry, whose back faced that direction). "Who is it?" Rosa called out.
          The figure emerged from the shadows and bowed politely. Her beautiful shining cerulean hair seemingly decorated by jewels but not, cascaded down over her shoulders, creating an image of a waterfall. Her dress was a plain light blue, made of the lightest, softest material one wouldn’t find anywhere else. Her intricate jewelry and high-heels finished the overall touch, and a familiar seashell hung from a thread around her neck.
          "My name is Tsurugi, named after the sword that kills." She kept her eyes closed as she straightened and tapped her staff against the stony ground in a very Rezo-like manner. The staff itself was pearly white and held a dark blue orb that flashed white when the staff touched the ground. The design was similar to Xelloss’s, except hers looked to be made out of steel and was much more detailed. She then opened her eyes slowly, revealing light gray eyes that lacked pupils and made one feel as though he or she was being pulled into the endless void...
          Now back to her usual loud self, Ameria yelled, "What are you going to do with us?"
          Tsurugi’s remorseful expression did not waver even once. "It is not I that has business with you, but rather my master, Deep Sea Dolphin-sama..."
          The three faces were filled with horror and shock simultaneously.
          "Deep..." Ameria began.
          "Sea..." Zelgadiss continued.
          Rosa’s look of horror transcended all others as she shakily finished, "Dolphin...?!"
          Gourry managed to sandwich a clueless "Huh?" amidst the terror.

          Lina glanced right and left as she walked on in the streets. Her alertness was fleeting, she whipped around at every sound...well, almost every sound.
          Finally ticked off, she whirled around to face the grinning mazoku, fangs bared, ready to strike at any given moment. "WOULD YOU STOP WHISTLING?!"
          He held his hands up defensively. "But Lina-san! I was just trying to loosen the ten-!" His eyes suddenly flitted open, and he leapt forward, pulling the all-too-caught-off-guard Lina down with him just seconds before a Fuuma Shuriken (4-bladed large throwing weapon used by ninjas) whizzed by over their heads.
          "Hmm, I see Xelloss still has his touch," a voice rang out as a presence made itself noticeable near a tree. She smirked at them as Xelloss picked himself off Lina, dusting his clothes and helping her up, not once shifting his eyes from the sorceress even to determine whom their attacker was.
          Lina, on the other hand, got straight down to business. "Who’s there?" she inquired to the darkness, senses keen once more.
          "Just an old friend," the being replied mockingly as she emerged from the shadows. She crossed her arms and created a suave look about herself in the way she let some of her hair fall over her eyes.
          Lina was unprepared to see this woman step out of the shadows and nearly toppled over backwards from the shock. "Tsunami?!"
          Xelloss’s eyes flew open again at that instant in recognition of the assaulter’s name. He smirked crookedly and stepped forward, blocking Lina’s view of Tsunami and vice-versa.
          His human eye he received from Lina was tightly shut.
          "Well, well, what have we here..." he commented, gazing at Tsunami with that calm, amused expression he almost always wore when facing those lower than he. Lina was unsuccessfully trying to see around him, obviously annoyed by his strange course of action. "I do hope you weren’t intending on fighting me...or her for that matter," he continued, indicating the sorceress standing behind him.
          Tsunami grinned back. Her eyes matched those of Tsurugi’s while she took this form – eyes that displayed no emotions. The lack of fear made Xelloss uneasier than usual, but he reminded himself that this was something he would have no problem dealing with.
          Tsunami pushed her hair back, then placed both hands on her hips. "Of course not. I wouldn’t want to dirty my hands on the likes of you." Though her tone of voice hid it skillfully, she was ready to escape from the scene.
          Xelloss chuckled lightly. "It’s more like you wouldn’t have a chance against me. If you had wanted to fight, you should have brought Tsurugi along with you."
          Lina was slowly processing the words in her mind. "Tsurugi? A sword? No, they speak of it as though it’s a person..." she thought silently. Looking to Xelloss with a suspicious glare in her eyes, she inquired, "What’s this all about?"
          He blinked. "You still haven’t figured it out yet? She’s-." He had only turned around for a second before Tsunami turned tail and ran, leaving a note pinned down to the ground by a single kunai (knife used by ninjas).
          Xelloss glanced over his shoulder briefly, and, sure that she was out of sight, allowed his left eye to close. Continuing where he left off just seconds ago, he stated, "She’s Dolphin-sama’s general."

          Falling out of her temporary trance, Rosa turned around and shouted, "Ameria! Gourry! Close your eyes and don’t open them no matter what!"
          "Wha?" they both answered at the same time.
          "Just do it!" she snapped viciously, displaying some of her mother’s temper.
          Obediently (though more because they were frightened what the consequences of not obeying would be), they shut their eyes tightly. Zelgadiss glanced quizzically at Rosa, unable to determine the reason for the command.
          She caught his gaze and explained, "Listen to me, Stone boy. We should be safe since we both have mazoku blood flowing through our veins, but if you begin to feel your soul drift from your body, close your eyes immediately. Got that?"
          Though he didn’t quite understand the situation before them, he nodded in compliance since she seemed to know more than he did. Inwardly, he hoped she didn’t take after her father’s sense of deception...
          Tsurugi was astonished that the girl knew their secret. Walking up to Rosa in order to inspect her more carefully, she commented, " I see...so you’re the daughter of-."
          "Shut up!" Rosa snapped at her, shouting at the top of her lungs. Gourry, Ameria, and Zelgadiss all wore surprised expressions due to her sudden outburst and were equally curious to know why she dodged the subject so often.
          Only Tsurugi was able to see the immense pain deep within Rosa’s crimson eyes, and she decided not to provoke the girl any further. Backing away, she informed them, "The girl is smart. She knew and recognized our Sign."
          "Sign?" Zelgadiss repeated. His attention was focused on Rosa, however, whose body had suddenly seemed to fall lifeless.
          "Yes," Tsurugi replied calmly, closing her eyes. "You may open your eyes as long as mine are closed."
          Ameria cautiously began to open her eyes when Zelgadiss scolded her. "Don’t. It’s probably a trap."
          "Believe what you will," Tsurugi said, only to receive a scoff from the chimera. Her tone of voice and flow of words sounded so gentle, it was hard to believe that she was their enemy...or was she?
          "Care to explain what this Sign is?" Zelgadiss asked not-so-kindly.
          "It’s the sign...of a mazoku driven to insanity..." she answered.
          He cocked an eyebrow. "And?"
          "Any non-mazoku eye that gazes into the eyes of those with the Sign will find their souls irreversibly lost to them forever..."
          "Zel...do you understand anything she’s saying?" Gourry asked too seriously.
          Ameria looked thoughtful, or at least, as thoughtful as one could look with their eyes closed. "So that explains why Rosa-san told us to shut our eyes..."
          Tsurugi nodded. "Be careful, all three of us carry the Sign."
          Zelgadiss and Ameria spoke up simultaneously. "Three?"
          "Yes." She paused. "The other two who carry the Sign are, of course, my master and sister."

          "She’s Dolphin-sama’s general?!" Lina screeched, verbatim. Xelloss had his back turned to her, for he was busy examining the note. "How...?!"
          "Odd."
          Lina blinked. "Odd?"
          Xelloss turned around and handed the note to her. "Look."
          She snatched the note from his fingers and brought it before her eyes, studying it carefully. Raising her eyebrow and scratching her head in frustration, she tossed the small piece of paper over her shoulder with a single comment – "Odd."
          Xelloss chuckled at her shrewdness. In return, she glared at him and retorted, "What?! Like a picture of an eye is going to help me."
          He smiled amusedly at her, then turned serious. "Lina-san, when we go up against Dolphin-sama, Tsunami, and Tsurugi, keep your right eye closed. Their Sign will not affect mazoku eyes.
          "What? Oh." That’s right, her left eye belonged to Xelloss. "Why?"
          He shook his head. "Don’t ask, just do as I say." He saw her frown and quickly added, "That is, if you don’t plan on losing your soul."
          Her expression lightened as she realized that Xelloss was indeed telling the truth for once. "All right," she agreed, deciding to figure out what exactly the Sign was while they continued walking. They were wasting too much time here after all...
          Behind them, the picture of the eye looked right and left, then folded itself up and shredded to pieces.

          "I can’t find it!" Lina declared about a half-hour later. They had searched the entire town, up and down, and had found absolutely nothing. They didn’t find an entrance to where the others were being held, nor any hints on its whereabouts.
          Lina sighed and sat down on the water fountain’s edge, watching the water flow from over her shoulder. The moon was still very bright that night, and she soon found herself languidly staring down at its reflection.
          Xelloss sauntered over and took a seat beside Lina. Something about this fountain bothered him, but he wasn’t exactly sure what it was, nor did he show any signs of it.
          "Ne, Xelloss?"
          "Hmm?" he replied, still lost in his own thoughts.
          "Have you ever...stopped to think about why things happen the way they do?"
          This snapped him back to reality. The question was definitely not a Lina-like question. "Are you feeling all right, Lina-san?"
          Rather than answering his question, she reiterated, "Have you?"
          He paused, gazing deeply at her and trying to decipher the hidden meaning to her words, but there wasn’t any. "On occasion..." he answered slowly.
          "Really?" Though she said that, her voice didn’t sound one bit surprised. A few more moments passed as he stared intently at her, and she stared intently into the fountain. "You know, for the past few days, without any use of my magic, I felt like...a normal girl for once."
          "Interesting...I didn’t know Lina’s desire to be normal was this great..." Xelloss mused to himself. Aloud, he interrogated, "Did you like it?"
          She moved her point of gaze up to where the water shot out of the fountain. "I started to think the other night, during the festival I mean, what if I had been born a princess? What if this was my grand ball where I would finally meet Prince Charming?"
          He chuckled softly. "Sounds like the average girl’s fantasy."
          "Yeah, well..." She looked down again, as though reluctant to continue. "Then I thought, if I had been born a princess that had a ball and found a Prince Charming..." She paused briefly, then concluded, "I wouldn’t have found any of you."
          Xelloss’s smile faded and an all-due serious look fell upon his features. What was she trying to say? What was this new human emotion he was feeling? Why couldn’t he come up with a snide remark like he always would?
          Surprising both her ears and his own, he solemnly responded...
          "Even if you had been born a princess, lived in a castle, had a ball for your fifteenth birthday, and met your Prince Charming... I would have found you."
          Her eyes widened at the comment, and she looked directly into his eyes for the first time that night. What she saw from his face shocked her thoroughly...
          For the very first time, Xelloss had removed his mask before her; she was able to read his eyes. Eyes full of loneliness and sadness. Eyes that were those of a solitary wolf, clad in white, running through a snowstorm without family or shelter to take place in. Eyes that clearly showed a strong desire, no, a plea for someone to accept him as he was...
          Eyes that reflected everything you would find in a human...
          Lina blushed furiously and looked back down into the watery depths of the fountain...depths?
          She gasped. "This is it! This is the entrance we’ve been looking for!"
          Xelloss let out a soft sigh and put his usual facade back on, masking any previous emotions he may have felt. "Well, shall we go?"
          Lina nodded, seeming to already have completely forgotten the previous events.
          "Ray wing!"

---

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