Disclaimer: I do not own anything in the Slayers franchise, and am making no money from this fic. I am simply doing this for fun.

Thank you everyone who's been reading! You guys are awesome! XD And if you haven't reviewed yet, please do! XD

Sorry for the delay in posting, but writer's block is a cruel and heartless bitch!


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"Hey, Lina...Nell's been really quiet these past couple days," Gourry said softly to the short red head as they walked along in front of the group. "It's like she's gone into some kind of shell or something."

"She's scared, Gourry," Lina answered with a sigh as she looked over her shoulder to see the forlorn necromancer walking at the back of the group with Xellos by her side. "And with good reason."

The blond swordsman sighed softly. "The poor thing. She looks like she's got the weight of the world on her shoulders."

Lina nodded as she turned her gaze back to the path ahead. "I know...it's not fair. It's a double-edged sword...on the one hand, what she did saved Amelia, Xellos and herself...but on the other hand, it's put her soul at risk." She sighed. "If she wasn't a ticking bomb before, she sure as Hell is one now."

"I wish there was something we could do," Gourry said softly. "Especially after all the times she's helped us."

"You and me both. I hate feeling helpless like this." Lina said with a sigh.

"You think if she does become that silver-haired lady that she'll try and destroy the world or go on a killing spree?"

Lina sighed again. "You're guess is as good as mine, Gourry. I mean...when the Lord of Nightmares took over my body, it was like I was completely gone. I still don't remember what happened. But then again, I've only had one life. Nell's had...sheesh, I can't even begin to figure out how many live's she's lived...and she's remembered everything from every single one of her pasts. Even though it was part of her punishment from Cefieed, it's possible that it might work both ways...that she'll remember everything from her human lives if she becomes Nellistras again. If that happens, then she might not be as bad as Nell said she was before her imprisonment. But like I said, I'm not sure."

"Sounds like a big gamble."

"You have no idea," Lina said softly. "One I'm not sure I want to take." She was both surprised and glad at Gourry's interest in the situation. Surprised on one hand by the fact that the swordsman actually seemed to grasp the situation, and glad because it meant she could talk to him about it. She was able to open up to him and express her worries and fears instead of keeping them bottled up inside.

"How long do you think she'll be able to not use her powers?" Gourry asked softly.

"I have no idea," Lina said as she slightly hung her head. "I mean, I use mine without even thinking. I've come to depend on them so much for everything in my day to day life...I learned that the hard way when Mazenda bound my powers." She groaned softly in frustration. "But what really makes me mad about the whole situation is that Nell wasn't even using her powers for evil. She was using them for good. She was using them to help others...and she's still getting the raw end of the deal. No matter how much good she does, she still gets punished in the end."

"But why is this happening now?" Gourry asked. "I mean...if she was going from town to town and helping people the way she did on the night we first met her, wouldn't that make the silver-haired lady come out?"

"Not necessarily," Lina said with a small shake of her head. "If you really think about it, Gourry...how big of a deal is it to put restless souls to rest when you've got all the powers of Hell and the Underworld at your disposal? Things like that are probably as easy as breathing for Nell and she wouldn't have to put much effort into it, but when Bianca used the spell that drew directly upon Nellistras' powers, Nell knew that she had to draw more upon her demonic self in order to survive the attack."

"You mean like with that Shadrabingo guy and your Dragon Slave spell?"

Lina's eyes widened a little in shock. "Exactly," she said with a nod before smiling. "You actually remembered, good job, Gourry."

Gourry grinned, obviously proud of himself.

Lina sighed softly. "I just...I just wish I knew what happens now..."

Gourry did not know what to say to that, so he simply ran a hand lightly over Lina's hair in a way of comforting her. He loved how that golden, red hair felt against his fingertips...like finely-spun thread.

Lina found herself smiling at the small show of affection, and her heart fluttered. She knew Gourry had meant it when he told her that he loved her. Gourry was too honest to lie about anything, but more to the point, Lina could see the truth in the swordsman's baby-blue eyes. "Thanks, Gourry," she said softly as she reach out and lightly patted the swordsman's back. Gourry was all muscle, and Lina could not stop herself from thinking what it would be like to have him on top of her...

Gourry smiled down at Lina and slowly brought his hand away from that silken, red hair and tentatively brushed the backs of his knuckles over the sorceress' cheek. "Anytime," he said softly. "I mean it, you know? I might not always understand what you're talking about, but you can still talk to me about it."

"Gourry..." Lina's voice was soft. Gourry was so genuine and sincere, it made the sorceress' heart ache with longing to tell him how she felt about him.

Gourry simply smiled down at Lina--knowing better than to try and force anything out of her. "It's okay," he said softly. "You might not be able to say it yet, but I can see it in your eyes."

Lina's heart leapt into her throat, and she managed to hold Gourry's gaze for two heartbeats before blushing and looking over her shoulder. "Hey guys," she called to the others. "I hear water up ahead. We can rest there for a bit until we figure out our next move." She led the way further down the road and pointed to the stream off to the right before setting off of the path. Upon reaching the stream, she knelt down and took off her gloves before cupping her hands in the water and raising them to her mouth to take a sip of the cool, refreshing liquid. "Oh, that hits the spot."

"It's gonna be nightfall in a couple hours, Lina...and there aren't any towns or villages around here for miles," Gourry observed. "We gonna camp out here?"

"We might as well," Lina said with a shrug. "There's fish here so we'll have food."

"Hey, Lina...we should really be careful around here," Rii said as she cautiously knelt beside the stream.

The red haired sorceress blinked in slight confusion. "Why? What's up?"

The small thief fidgeted nervously with her fingers. "Well...the main hideout for my dad's bandit gang isn't far from here."

Realization dawned on Lina's face. "And I'm thinking he won't be happy that you ran away, right?"

"Exactly," Rii said with a nod. "Or that I'm traveling with the ones who turned some of his cronies into crispy critters." She cupped her small hands in the water and drank the cool liquid.

Gourry chuckled and sat down with his back against a tree. "Yeah...I'm thinking he'd be pretty ticked, but don't worry. We won't let 'im hurt ya...right, Zel?" he asked with a grin.

Zelgadis' cheeks darkened a little as he blushed and sat down not two feet away from Rii. "That's right," he said softly. "We'll keep you safe," he said with a small smile.

Rii beamed happily, her eyes twinkling like twin sapphires as she threw her arms around the chimera's neck. "Oh, Zelga-poo! You're my hero!"

At first, Lina simply stared at the pair. "'Zelga-poo'?" she asked. She managed to keep a straight face for all of two seconds before falling over and rolling around on the ground in a hysterical fit of laughter and giggles. "Zelga-poo!"

"What's so funny?" Amelia asked as she, Xellos and Nell finally approached.

"Zel...Zel...ZELGA-POO!" Lina managed to choke out as she guffawed--holding her sides as they began aching.

Try as she might, Amelia could not stop herself from giggling, though to her credit, she covered her mouth to keep her giggles from slipping out.

Xellos chuckled softly, and his grin only widened when he saw Nell smile and giggle in spite of her melancholy.

Zelgadis blushed furiously and hid his face in Rii's hair.

Rii's eyes widened when she realized her mistake. "Oopsie...I'm sorry," she whispered into her lover's ear.

From his current position, Zelgadis was able to deeply breathe in his small lover's sweet scent, and he found his embarrassment fading. "It's okay," he said with a smile as he wrapped his arms around Rii and held her to him.

Gourry blinked. "Zelgapoo? Hey, I know what that is," he said with a proud smile.

Xellos raised an eyebrow. "Oh, do you now, Mister Gourry?"

"Yup," Gourry said with a nod. It's one of those little, expensive poodles that old ladies carry around, right?"

Everyone in the group fell over, and Lina by this time was laughing so hard that tears were rolling down her cheeks and sound no longer came out of her mouth.

"I am not now, nor have I ever been a poodle!" A flustered Zelgadis exclaimed.

"No...just a bunny!" The words were out of Amelia's mouth before she could even stop them and she curled up in the fetal position as she giggled hysterically.

After several minutes had passed, Lina wiped her eyes and managed to sit up. Her body still trembled occasionally with aftershocks of laughter, but at least she was able to form sentences now. "So, Rii...this main hideout of your dad's...does it have a lot of treasure?"

Rii nodded as she made herself comfortable in Zelgadis' lap. "This main hideout of his has the biggest treasure chamber I've ever seen. It's filled with mountains and mountains of gold and precious jewels...but there's also lots and lots of weapons and magical artifacts too."

"Mountains and mountains of gold and precious jewels?" Lina's eyes glazed over as she drifted off into a fantasy of rolling around naked amongst all the treasure.

"Weapons?" Gourry asked, his interest piqued.

"Maybe you can find a sword better than the one you have, Mister Gourry," Amelia suggested hopefully. "I mean...it may not be your sword of light, but maybe you'll find another kind of magical blade."

"Ya really think so?" Gourry asked.

"It wouldn't surprise me," Rii said with a smile.

"Magical artifacts?" Zelgadis asked softly.

Rii nodded. "Yep...and manuscripts." She smiled gently at her lover. "Maybe something along the lines you've been looking for..." While she had been honest when she told Zelgadis that she did not care how he looked, the small thief knew how much it mattered to the chimera to find a cure for his condition.

"Um...is Lina alright?" Nell asked softly from her place nestled against Xellos' body.

All eyes turned to the red haired sorceress.

"Oh, boy...I know that look," Gourry said with a chuckle. "Lina? Hey, Lina..." he said as he gently shook the girl's shoulder.

Lina shook herself out of her reverie. "Okay, here's the plan. Rii, you are going to tell us how to get to your dad's hideout. While Gourry, Zel, Amelia and me go to check it out, you'll stay here with Nell and Xellos."

"But--" Rii started.

"It's the only way for us to take a look around and help ourselves to some of your dad's extra loot and keep you safe from him," Lina interjected.

Zelgadis nodded in agreement. "Not to mention, it's a sure fire way to keep Nell from using her powers."

"You'll keep them safe won't you, Mister Xellos?" Amelia asked.

"Of course I will," the mazoku answered with his usual, charming smile.

Lina nodded. "All right then, it's all settled." Her eyes glittered with excitement. "Rii, go ahead and draw us a map."


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...Two hours later; nightfall...

Rii's farewell kiss still burned on Zelgadis' lips as he ducked behind a crumbling wall with Lina, Gourry and Amelia.

"Miss Lina, do you really think it's alright to split up like this?" Amelia asked in a whisper.

"Well, we don't have much of a choice, do we?" Lina whispered back as she slowly peered over the edge of the wall and took in the sight of the mountain face.

At first glance, it did not look like much of anything. There were not even any guards posted outside, but Rii had assured them all that there would be an abundance of guards, sentinels and bandits on the inside along with countless traps of every kind. Caution was of the essence if Lina and the others hoped to get in and out alive.

"Don't worry, Amelia," Gourry assured with a smile. "They'll be fine."

Zelgadis nodded as he surveyed the scene in front of him. "Any thief worth his or her salt knows how to fight with swords or knives."

"Besides, even with Nell not using her powers, they've got Xellos to protect them," Lina said. "They'll be fine. Now come on..." She spread the map Rii had drawn for them out on the ground. "Let's try to think of a way to get inside this place."


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...Campsite...

"Hey, Mister Xellos...did you hear that?" Rii asked as she looked out worriedly into the growing shadows surrounding the area. Though normally not afraid of the dark, the fact that she was so close to her father's main lair had Rii on edge. She jumped at the smallest sound or shadow.

"I will go investigate," the trickster priest said before phasing out.

As she nervously poked the campfire with a stick, Rii watched Nell carefully. The blond girl had been quiet the entire time--opting to simply gaze into the flames as she hugged her knees to her chest. "You okay, Nell?" she asked at last. She was genuinely worried about her companion.

"Not really," was the soft reply.

Rii watched as Nell absently ran her long lock of silver hair through her fingers. "You still worried about what happened?"

"How did you guess?" Nell asked dryly.

Rii sighed softly. "Nell..."

"Look, Rii...I understand what you're trying to do, and I appreciate your efforts, I really do...but there is nothing that you could possibly say that could make me feel better." In her frustration, Nell tossed several dry twigs in the fire and was rewarded with loud pops and crackles as the flames swelled and grew. "I'm living on borrowed time...in a world that I don't belong in...that I never really belonged in." Her bottom lip quivered. "It's only a matter of time before my darker nature becomes too strong for me to hold back. I should just make it easier on myself...end my suffering and just give up and let the Nell you see simply fade away into nothingness...but I can't." A tear rolled down her cheek. "I can't bring myself to let go..."

Rii crawled over from where she was sitting and moved so she was sitting beside the morose blond. "Because for better or worse, you're a part of this world," she said gently as she slid a comforting arm around her friend's shoulders. "Not all of you...but definitely half of you. On the one hand, there's Nellistras, who doesn't belong to this world...and on the other hand, there's 'Nell' who does belong. You can't bring yourself to give up and let go because you know what it's like to live...and that matters to you. It matters somewhere deep down inside where Nellistras can't reach."

Nell sighed softly. "Maybe you're right...but that still doesn't change things. That still doesn't change the truth...that there's serious darkness inside of me."

"But you've dealt with it before, haven't you?" Rii asked gently. "I mean...all those lives that you've lived..."

"Yes, I've dealt with the knowledge before. I always knew she was there. I could feel her...a constant presence inside of me, but now..." She wrapped her arms tightly around herself. "Now I can hear her...I was never able to hear her before, but now I can. She's always whispering on the edge of my mind...trying to get me to listen..."

"Nell..."

"Every time I close my eyes...I see her. I haven't slept in two days because I know she'll be waiting for me in my dreams." Nell bit down on her lower lip to keep it from trembling. "And as though that wasn't bad enough, now I'm dead weight to the group. I'm completely useless because I can't use my powers."

Rii wrapped her arms around Nell and pulled her into a gentle hug. Though the necromancer was taller than the small thief, at that moment, she seemed so much smaller. "You're not useless," she said softly as she let her head fall onto Nell's shoulder.

"Yes, I am," Nell said ruefully. "I'm not bringing anything to the team anymore. I can't even use a sword."

"Really?" Rii asked with a blink.

Nell nodded ashamedly. "I never saw the point since I could use magic...but I can't use it anymore."

Rii smiled warmly. "Well, don't worry. I'll teach you how to fight."

"Really?"

"Sure!" Rii beamed encouragingly. "Between Zel, Gourry and me, we'll have you trained up in no time."

Nell managed a small smile as her spirits lifted a little. "Well...maybe then I'll at least feel like I'm contributing somewhat."

"See? Things are never as bad as they seem," Rii said as she poked the fire.

Suddenly large, meaty hands were clamped over the mouths of both girls. "I wouldn't say that little lovelies," the bandit growled into their ears. "Gento's gonna be pleased with us, laddies," he grunted over his shoulder before turning his attention back to the two girls. "The boss has a thing fer lovely young girls like you...and no doubt he'll share ya with us when he's done with ya," he hissed lecherously before slowly running his tongue up both graceful columns of neck.

Nell thought she was going to be sick. She felt dirty and violated, and the thought of being passed around by the drunkards currently jeering at her from the shadows made her want to bite off her own tongue. She immediately struggled for all she was worth--kicking, punching and clawing as she fought to free herself.

The bandit had obviously not recognized Rii in the dim light, but she knew that would be amended once they were inside her father's lair. Even if she would not be 'given' to her father or the bandits, she would still have to face her father's wrath while Nell was undoubtedly brutalized. Neither was something she wished either upon her friend or herself and she struggled violently to free herself, even sinking her teeth deep into the man's hand.

The bandit simply chuckled. "Go ahead and fight me, little lady...I love it when girls fight. Come on boys, let's tie 'em up."

Both Rii and Nell tried to scream, but to no avail. Gags were shoved brutally into their mouths, and though they both struggled valiantly, their arms and legs were soon bound. Moments later, they were both lifted and hoisted over the shoulders of the large thief that had caught them and carried away to meet their fates.


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"All right, is everyone clear on the plan?" Lina asked as she looked to Zelgadis, Gourry and Amelia in turn. When she was met by nods and a chorus of 'yeses', she rolled up the map and tucked it away. "All right then. Here we--"

At that moment, a seething and frazzled Xellos phased in amongst them.

"Xellos!" Lina hissed. "What're you doing here?"

The mazoku's eyes were open, and when he spoke it was through gritted teeth. "I thought it would interest all of you to know that Rii and Nell have been taken prisoner."

"WHAT?!" Zelgadis flew into a rage and he grabbed the trickster priest by the throat. "Are you completely useless?!"

Xellos' eyes glowed and he sent the chimera flying back. "Your behavior simply will not do, Zelgadis," he snarled.

Amelia jumped between the demon and the chimera. "Stop it, you two!"

"So what happened?" Gourry asked.

"I was patrolling...investigating a noise the girls heard in the woods, and when I came back they were gone. There were obvious signs of a struggle and I followed the pull of Nell's essence to this point."

"So they must have been abducted by Rii's dad's gang," Gourry supplied, catching on.

"Okay, well...this changes the plan," Lina said. "Alright...now we--"

"Screw the plan!" Zelgadis leapt over the wall and charged the mountain face. His thoughts were filled with nothing but Rii and getting her to safety. He had been given a second chance. Rii was his second chance and he was not about to lose her now.

"ZEL, WAIT!" Lina growled in annoyance when she was ignored. "Oh, for Pete's sake!" She leapt over the wall and chased after the chimera, knowing Gourry and Amelia would be right behind her.

Gritting his teeth, Zelgadis focused all his energy into one spell. "DAM BRASS!" A red ball of light shot from his hand and landed on the rock face--shattering it into countless pieces. It was not the quiet approach that was originally planned, but circumstances had changed. It was now no longer about the treasure. The possibility of finding a cure for his condition could not have been further from Zelgadis' mind. All he could think of was Rii--the small thief who had exploded into his life, turned his life upside down and stolen his heart.

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