"Liiiiinnnnaaaaaa!!!!!! Gourry cried as his side was split open on a sharp stone. As he began to lost consciousness, he could see clearly his love laying comatose on a couch with Xellos standing menacingly over her. With his last conscious thought, he cried out, "Lina! Wake up!"

Lina opened her eyes.

Lina’s eyes popped open. "NO!" she screamed as she sat bolt upright. She blinked a few times. Xellos stood at the foot of the couch. In his hand had appeared a strange dagger with runic symbols on it. His shirt was off and he had cut an "X" across his chest. His black blood roiled and fought to get free of his body.

Xellos was moving with eerie grace as he came to her side and pushed her back down. He began to unclasp her blouse and she struggled against him. His eyes snapped open and she was forced to stare into his enrapturing, purple eyes. Under those eyes, she could resist nothing. Her body was like jelly, though her mind screamed out. He gently picked up her limp body and removed her shirt. He brought the dagger down to her chest and slowly began to cut her with an "X". His eyes watched his work, which freed Lina to struggle.

As Lina’s blood trickled down her breasts she began to formulate a plan of escape. She found her voice and whispered, "Why are you doing this to me?" Xellos grunted, but gave no answer. Lina realized quite suddenly that this was not truly the Xellos she knew, but the strange doppelganger Xellos who was even more evil than the original. Xellos finished his work with the dagger and threw it away. It disappeared into the "wall" where it hit. As he straddled her, positioning his chest directly above hers, Lina brought her knee up.

Xellos doubled up in pain and Lina took the chance to escape. She whispered a summoning spell to break through the dimensional portal. Sure enough, the barrier shattered like glass and Lina levitated to safety…or so she thought. As the portal closed behind her, she surveyed her surroundings. This was NOT Seyruun castle. She heard sounds of battle coming from some distance away and realized where she was. "Gourry," she whispered. As she flew toward the battle, an overwhelming sense of dread filled her body.

Jarred fought with the energy of an army. His claws flew with lightning fury, slashing through Lina’s clothes and cutting the skin underneath. Gourry and Amelia had fallen already and Zelgadis was quickly losing strength. How could one Monster be so difficult to defeat. He knew the answer, but he did not like it at all. "Zelgadis! Go heal your friends! I’ll hold her for now!" Silently, Jarred continued to fight. He was old, even for a Monster, and knew that he would probably die today. Perhaps he would see his wife again after all these years.

Lina reached the battleground just in time to see Zelgadis heal Amelia. Gourry was nowhere to be found. "Gourry?" she whispered. Her head was fuzzy for some reason. All she could think about was him, his warmth, his hands, his kisses. She surveyed the battlefield. Someone was fighting against her doppelganger and losing. The evil Lina fought mechanically, almost as if she didn’t really want to fight. On top of a large rock sat Xellos, calmly watching the battle. Lina heard a sound behind her and spun around.

The doppelganger Xellos had appeared behind her. "Clever girl…but it won’t work. You just make me hungry for more. You are MINE. I claim you as I claimed her." He pointed to the other Lina. He grabbed Lina’s arm and pulled her toward him. Lina closed her eyes and whispered again, "Gourry!"

"LINA!!!" Gourry cried as he tried to rise. Zelgadis had healed him, but he was still weak. He forced his legs to work. He had heard her. Lina had called him. He was her guardian, her lover, her husband…she needed him. The sword of light in hand, he sprinted in the direction he knew she was.

Up ahead, he could see two figures slowly floating toward the ground. As he drew near, he could see that it was Lina and Xellos. But this was not Xellos at all, he knew. "LIIIINAAA!!!!" he screamed as he flew at the evil one, sword out and teeth bared.

Xellos never knew what hit him.

Xellos’ head whipped around. Had that cry come from Gourry? He teleported to the origin of the sound. As it turned out, Xellos was right. He saw Gourry from the back, dried blood on his side from the wound he had taken earlier, crouched over another figure. It was Lina.

"Mr. Gourry! What happened to her?" Xellos asked, worry tugging at the back of his mind. Gourry didn’t turn around, and his voice was thick with tears.

"He…I think he killed her," Gourry said simply. Xellos walked to the other side of Lina and crouched next to her limp body. His eyes widened in astonishment. He looked up at Gourry, who still held the blazing Sword of Light in his hand. A few feet away, a puddle of black blood, still wet, proved Xellos’ theory.

"She isn’t dead, Gourry. But she’s very close," he said softly, brushing a hair away from Lina’s face. Xellos knew now, by the bloody "X" on her chest that Lina was about to become like him…a Monster. That had been the doppelganger’s purpose from the start, but now he was dead. The other Lina had no reason to fight anymore. Xellos continued to speak to Gourry. "There is only one way to stop the process of becoming a Monster…and I am not sure it’s ever been tried. The Monster blood now runs in her veins…it must be cleansed."

Lina fought on, though she fought mechanically, dodging and weaving constantly. Her power was beginning to ebb, but she must not die. At least, not until her master’s plan was completed. She had no choice. She was bound by blood to obey Xellos’ commands. Things were not going well, however. Lina frowned and wondered why she had ever agreed to become a Monster in the first place. It had been a terrible bargain. Delicious love from Xellos in exchange for a hundred lifetimes or more of slavery. But, Lina recalled with a smirk, she always had been a little foolish.

Gourry’s heart raced. He did not trust Xellos, doppelganger or no. But the look Xellos gave Lina had driven any doubts from Gourry’s mind that Xellos would not let anything happen to her. And so Gourry would give her his blood.

Xellos drew a small, curved dagger across Gourry’s bare chest in an "X" pattern that marked the already healing one on Lina. Gourry clenched his fists against the pain and watched calmly as Xellos re-opened Lina’s wound. Lina let out a shriek and she began to thrash about as though her body had been possessed.

"Quickly Gourry, she’s almost gone to us. Hurry!" Xellos urged as he held Lina down. Gourry’s eyes hardened and he flung himself on top of his wife, feeling their blood mingle. The weight of his body and Xellos’ strength were enough to hold Lina down. Xellos waited a few moments after she was still before releasing her arms and drawing away. He closed his eerie purple eyes and turned away. Gourry was kissing Lina’s face now and sobbing into her hair and Xellos did not want to see. He decided to tell the other Lina that her master had been destroyed.

Xellos materialized between the doppelganger Lina and the struggling Zelgadis. He held out his hands for each to stop fighting. His appearance was so sudden that they did exactly that. Xellos cleared his throat.

"Lina, you do not have to fight anymore. The deed has been done, your master is dead," Xellos said softly.

Lina threw herself at his feet and started weeping. "Oh, Master! Thank you! I was--I was so scared for my baby." She looked up at him with sorrowful eyes and put her hand on her stomach. "Don’t you care, love?" she asked when she saw his face was cold.

"Did you not hear me, woman? Your lover is dead," Xellos repeated sharply. Lina flinched as he opened his eyes. Her head dropped in shame. Xellos’ black heart softened. He knew he could not have the real Lina. Perhaps this wasted out double would do.

"My dear, I am sorry. I would help you any way I could, if you would let me." Xellos held his hand out to the ruined girl. Lina looked up and smiled.

"Are you the same as him? Are you truly the same? He said the same to me when my friends died and he made me into…this." She took his hand and got to her feet. The two of them disappeared.

Gourry cradled Lina’s still limp body in his lap. He had pulled his blue shirt over her head to give her some decent covering and a little warmth, but still she did not stir. Gourry suddenly cursed aloud.

"Xellos! This is your doing! WHY!" then softer, "I thought you knew what loving her was like." Gourry lowered his head again and softly began to cry. Soon, the others caught up to him. Amelia and Zelgadis attempted a joint healing spell, but Lina did not react at all, save the quickening of her breathing. The Monster Jarred told them all that she was merely sleeping and that once she had a chance to rest she would recover.

"Trust me, former pupil, I am a Monster, and I have seen this happen before…she cannot die once the blood is cleansed…It HAS been cleansed, has it not?" Jarred said. Gourry nodded numbly. Zelgadis said a spell of summoning to break the pocket dimension. He picked up Amelia and carried the still-weak princess through the hole. He motioned the others to follow once he and Amelia were safely on the other side. Gourry lifted Lina gently into his arms and walked slowly toward Zelgadis. Jarred followed last, slowly returning to his human body. All had fought well this day.

Gourry struggled to stay awake. He had been laying at Lina’s side for the better part of the day and now, night had fallen. His eyes were getting heavy. Just as he began to drift off, however, Zelgadis came silently through the door and shook him awake.

"Gourry, would you like me to watch her? I’ll sit right over there by the window and you can get some sleep," Zel said softly.

Gourry nodded and sleep overtook him at last.

Lina swam through an ocean of blood, some red, some black. She came to a wall made of vines and stopped. She could go no further. Suddenly a huge black dragon loomed above the wall and tried to devour her. She cried out and ducked her head, fearing the worst. But just as suddenly, a giant red dragon appeared, blocking the black dragon’s attack. The black dragon reared up and roared. It swelled to twice its original size and crushed the vine wall beneath its feet. The red dragon did the same…it was slightly larger. The dragons battled for what seemed to Lina an eternity. Finally, in a final fury of blows from the red dragon, the black one fell…and Lina opened her eyes.

Gourry could hear talking, but did not want to wake up. Zelgadis was there to handle any problems…but what if something was wrong with Lina?! Gourry opened his eyes just as Zelgadis went out of the room. Gourry sat up.

He turned to the side and saw Lina, awake and smiling. She sat up, too, and the blanket fell away from her naked body. She threw her arms about Gourry’s neck and rained kisses on his face.

"Lina! Oh, thank god you’re okay! I—I was really worried about you!" he whispered between kisses. He pushed her out a little and looked longingly at her. She smiled broader.

"Gourry, I know what you did for me, Zelgadis told me everything. Thank you," she said. She brushed a hair from his face. Gourry’s eyes became teary. He smiled at his beautiful wife.

"Lina…I…" he began. Her fiery kiss silenced anything else that he would have said. He took his cue and pushed her back on the blanket. Gourry wasn’t tired anymore.

Gourry stretched. Several weeks had passed without event and Gourry was ready to believe that things were back to normal…well, almost.

"*Urk!*" Lina covered her mouth with both hands as she bolted out of bed and into the bathroom. Well, Gourry mused, that’s what his grandmother always said happened to pregnant women. Gourry shook his head and called out. "Lina, I’m going to go ahead and get breakfast…want some?"

A muffled reply came from the bathroom, "Of course I do! I’m not sick or anything!"

Gourry smiled again. Yes, things were definitely back to normal.

END~~~