That day was even worse than the one before. Lina’s mood took a plunge, and everyone else just stayed away from her. It was surprising--even to the young soreceress herself--how much her mood was affected by those around her, even Filia and Xelloss. She noticed the convenient lack of constant bickering between the two and was upset by it. She thought she would enjoy a few quiet days of no fighting, but she realized that in its consistency, the arguments had grown to be the norm. She didn’t like it when the norm suddenly turned irregular and changed.

            So, Lina walked by herself, shunning anyone who tried to come near her. She looked at Filia and sorted through a few things in her mind.

            <<Overly quiet and mopey>> she thought, <<She won’t carry out normal conversations with anyone--even Amelia. She hasn’t fought with Xelloss, not even pausing to glare at him. It started when she had that nightmare, although nightmares have never stopped her before. Why is she acting so strangely?!>>

            When she finished frustrating over Filia, she looked at Xelloss. His eyes were closed, as usual, but his expression was serious. He hadn’t smiled much in the past day. Even Gourry noticed how distracted he seemed.

            <<Started at the same time Filia started acting so weird>> she mused, <<No taunts to the dragon priestess--not even when the boys passed her in the hall last night, and she was wearing nothing but a towel. THAT’s strangeness for you. It started when he fell out of that tree. Could he just be that embarrassed? No... Xelloss can make a complete fool out of himself and not be embarrassed in the slightest. Aaargh! They’re BOTH acting so strangely. It’s going to drive me insane!>>

            Fortunately, it was getting late, and they decided to set up camp in the next clearing they found. Before darkness fell, they had a fire going and the tents set up. This time, Lina and Amelia were sharing a tent--decided by a persistent Filia. That was just fine with Lina. She didn’t want to be anywhere near the touchy dragon. As usual, Gourry and Zelgadis shared a tent. Xelloss never slept in tents--preferred to spend his nights L-sama knows where.

            As they ate dinner that night, things were almost feeling like normal. Filia and Xelloss turned their noses up at each other, and the rest of the group conversed happily while they ate. Well, after they ate.

            “So, Filia,” Lina said after swallowing some water. “You going to tell us what our next destination is? I mean, we’ve been walking for days, but we still have no idea where it is that we’re going.”

            “That’s because Filia doesn’t KNOW where we’re going,” Xelloss said dryly.

            “Shut up, Xelloss,” Filia growled, “Lina, I DON’T know where we’re going. I’m just pointing out possible routes. We travel until YOU feel we’ve reached where we should be.”

            “Oh,” Lina sighed, “okay.”

            “You seem to be of such little use on this trip, Filia,” Xelloss mocked her, “Why are you here again?”

            “You good-for-nothing mazoku!” she shot back, “When have YOU ever helped?”

            “I’ve saved Lina and her friends--not to mention you--several times on this journey,” he snapped, “If not for me, you’d have died long ago.”

            “Namagomi!”

            Twitch.

            “Stooping to name-calling, Filia?”

            “Anything to get you to leave me alone!”

            “I’ll leave when I FEEL like leaving!”

            Lina and the others winced as the voices rose. It only took a few seconds for the dragon and mazoku’s argument to escalate to a shouting match. They were both getting angry, even the imperturbable Xelloss. Filia’s eyes glowed an angry red, fire shooting up behind her. Xelloss’s violet eyes glittered furiously, and a shimmery purple-black aura swirled around him as they glared at each other.

            “Then at least shut up!” Filia shouted.

            “Why should I be quiet if you can keep shooting your mouth off?” Xelloss demanded.

            “Because I’m helping save the world! You’re doing this for your own personal benefit!”

            “Hah!” Xelloss sneered at her, “And saving the world isn’t to your benefit? I hate to remind you, Filia dear. But if the world ends, so do I. If saving myself means saving the world, I-”

            “Evil-”

            “Selfish-”

            “Rotten-”

            “Ugly-”

            “Namagomi!”

            “Lizard!”

            They practically growled at each other, staring the other one down. Lina, Zel, Amelia and Gourry had long since retreated, wondering when things would start to explode. So much for a normal, peaceful night.

            “LIZARD!” Filia screeched, “LIZARD?! Why you... SLEEP!”

            Xelloss staggered back in surprise as the spell hit him. He crumpled to the ground, sleeping. Filia stood over him, fuming. A dark smile tilted up her lips. <<Gotcha!>>

            “Um... Filia?” Amelia said hesitantly, “Perhaps now would be a good time for all of us to go to bed.”

            “Fine,” the dragon priestess snapped. She stalked off to her tent and disappeared.

            Amelia looked back at her traveling companions and shrugged. Zel smiled. Gourry looked confused. And Lina just shook her head and pulled on her hair in frustration.

            “I’m never going to survive this trip,” she moaned.

            “I’ll take the first watch,” Zelgadis said, “I’m not tired anyway.”

            “Sure,” Lina sighed, “‘Night guys.”

            “Goodnight, Lina,” Gourry smiled. “Goodnight, Amelia.”

            “Good night, Mr. Gourry.”

            Lina volunteered to take the second watch. She pushed another piece of wood into the fire and basked in the warmth it radiated. Glancing over a few feet, she saw Xelloss still curled up on the ground, sleeping restlessly. She was a little surprised that the sleep spell even worked on him. He would be mad when he woke up, she knew. Oh well. For now, she just wondered why he was having such trouble sleeping--even with the spell. Whenever used on herself, Lina found that she slept solidly through the night, not even aware of dreaming.

            Xelloss let out a soft whimper and curled into a tighter ball. Lina wondered if he was used to sleeping. She hadn’t ever seen him sleep before. Did mazoku even need sleep? She didn’t know.

            Suddenly, he jerked and sat up. Lina hopped back, not wanting him to see her until he got that startled expression off his face. Xelloss scrambled to his feet, panting heavily. His eyes snapped over to Lina, sensing her presence. Lina just stared up at him with wide eyes.

            “Um... good evening?” she asked hesitantly.

            “Is it?” he asked in return. He sighed and sank back down to his knees. He shivered a bit and hugged himself. “I’m going to kill her.”

            “Please, Xelloss,” Lina crawled over to him and shook her head, realizing how dangerous that threat might be. “Calm down.”

            He snorted impatiently.

            “Calm down?” he looked at her with dangerous violet eyes. Lina let her gaze harden and meet his. After a moment, he closed his eyes and looked away. He mumbled under his breath, “Right.”

            “No killing Filia,” Lina added.

            “Can I hurt her?”

            “NO!”

            “Drat.”

            Lina giggled and shook her head at him. He just shivered again and pulled his arms more tightly across his chest.

            “You cold?” Lina asked in surprise.

            He shook his head and hunched forward.

            “Fine,” he whispered, “I’m fine.”

            Lina didn’t like the way he was shutting her out. It wasn’t his usual, carefree method--‘that’s a secret’ and all that jargon. He was closing into himself. It was just too weird for her to see him like this. If it had been Filia--that seemed more possible.

            “Something is wrong, Xelloss,” she pressed, “What’s wrong?”

            He flared out angrily, his black energy swirling out toward Lina. Stumbling back in shock, Lina watched him with horror. But he caught himself in time and jerked the power back into himself. He glared down at her.

            “I SAID, I’m fine!” he snapped.

            Lina watched with amazement as the black, crackling energy that had been moving toward her swirled around him, transforming him. His body shrank, then expanded. Fur rustled in to replace his clothes, and sharp, deadly claws replaced his hands and feet. Dangerous-looking fangs gleamed in the moonlight. Glowing, violet eyes peered at the fire from behind a large muzzle. Before Lina was the largest wolf she had ever seen. It--Xelloss, she told herself, it’s Xelloss--loped past her into the woods. A minute after he disappeared into the shadows, she heard a long, forlorn howl.

            Lina shivered and moved closer to the fire. She couldn’t wait to finish this quest.

            Lina startled awake the next morning to find that the fire had gone out. She scolded herself for letting herself fall asleep and started to get up. But it was then that she realized she was still warm. And she was having difficulty moving. Frowning, she lifted her hand and felt coarse fur brush against her arm.

            FUR?

            Looking up, Lina suddenly found herself staring at a huge paw with viscous-looking claws. She gasped and jerked her head away--and hit something else. A soft snort and a growl alerted her to what it was. A huge animal was wrapped around her.

            “Oh, my God,” she whispered.

            Then, the wolf rolled away. Lina scrambled to her feet and backed away, preparing to defend herself against the wild animal. Not thinking twice, she slammed out a quick spell.

            “FIREBALL!” she declared. The flame spouted forward from her hands toward the dangerous animal. And dissipated harmlessly against a black, transparent barrier. The wolf sat back, it’s small eyes shadowed by thick, shaggy fur. A tongue lolled out of its mouth, and Lina heard familiar laughter in her head.

            Oh my, Lina. Have you forgotten so quickly? What would you do if that had hit me?

            “Xelloss?” she stared incredulously at the wolf. It licked its nose in an almost adorable movement, then tilted its head at her and lifted its nose so she could see its eyes. Violet.

            You were expecting Gourry?

            “But you- you-” she stammered and kept a close eye on the creature. She glowered suddenly, “What were you doing?”

            You let the fire go out.

            “That doesn’t explain-”

            You were cold.

            Lina blinked and then frowned. She shook her head.

            “I can’t believe I’m talking to a wolf,” she muttered.

            If possible, the wolf appeared indignant. Xelloss growled playfully.

            Is it so odd? You’ve spoken to dragons. Why not a wolf?

            “But, I’ve never thought of wolves as...” she trailed off and looked at him. He just panted at her. He barked at her.

            Does it make you uncomfortable?

            “Not really,” she admitted, “It’s just... weird.”

            “Lina, who are you talking to?” Amelia asked curiously, crawling out of her tent.

            The young princess let out a startled yelp and practically leapt into Lina’s arms.

            “A wolf!” she cried.

            Lina pushed Amelia away and scowled at her.

            “It’s Xelloss, Amelia,” she explained.

            “Mr. Xelloss?” Amelia looked back at the wolf. Xelloss--the wolf--just panted with his tongue hanging out lazily. His violet eyes caught Amelia’s attention. “Wow!”

            Xelloss’s eyes caught on something behind the two girls. He let out a hair-raising growl and allowed his fur to bristle.

            “How did this wolf get into our camp?” Filia yelped. “Lina! Kill it!”

            “I can’t, Filia,” Lina smirked. “Besides, he wasn’t causing any trouble until you came out.”

            A feral snarl escaped Xelloss’s throat, and he got to all four feet. He bared his teeth at the frightened dragon priestess and growled dangerously.

            “Why can’t you kill it?” Filia asked. She pulled out her mace and wielded it furiously.

            Xelloss snarled again and pranced out of range. He barked at Filia.

            “What’s going on?” Zelgadis and Gourry were out now, watching the scene play out with surprise. “What’s this wolf doing in our camp?”

            “Want me to dispose of it, Lina?” Gourry asked, pulling out his sword.

            “Good luck trying,” Lina laughed. “He’s still mad at Filia for placing that sleeping spell on him last night.”

            “Sleeping spell?” Filia stammered.

            “Xelloss?” Zel realized. They stared at the angry wolf in shock.

            As if to prove his anger, Xelloss sat back back on his haunches and howled. Filia dropped her mace in surprise and staggered back. The wolf snarled in satisfaction and sat down normally. If possible, a smirk crossed his wolf features.

            If Lina hadn’t requested I refrain from doing so, I would have torn you apart, Filia.

            Filia gasped and groped for her mace as Xelloss’s furious voice echoed in her head.

            Don’t bother. I won’t hurt you. Try another stunt like last night, though, and even Lina won’t be able to stop me from killing you.

            With that, Xelloss stood and loped into the woods. A moment later, he reappeared--in human form--in a dark flash. He smirked at the group.

            “Well,” he said with false cheer, “Let’s eat, shall we?”

            Blood. Sticky, flowing, congealing. Sick. She felt so sick. Laughter taunted her, echoing through the desert valley.

            She turned and stared. Black cloak, purple hair, blowing in the wind. Shadowed eyes. It was death. She was staring into the face of death. The same death which had taken the lives of so many others.

            Laughing again.

            He lifted his hand and pointed at her with one long finger. Filia watched with horror as his chin rose and his eyes became unshadowed. She stared straight into a pair of empty, violet eyes. The violet faded and was replaced by black, swirling chaos. A smile.

            She screamed.

            Dragons. Countless golden dragons, swooping, taunting, hurting him. He staggered back against the barrage of wings, battering him down. A single dragon landed before him, holding something bloody in its jaws. He watched, horrified as the figure dropped to the ground with a thud. The dragon transformed to human form.

            Blond hair. Pink ribbons and dress. Startling blue eyes. She smirked at him, daring him to try anything. He stared at her, then down at the dead wolf.

            Xelloss let out an anguished howl and fell.

            “What the hell is going on?”

            It had been almost a week since Filia and Xelloss had started acting so strangely. And it was steadily getting worse. Now, the two were sleeping restlessly in the middle of the afternoon. The group had taken a break to eat lunch, and the dragon and mazoku had both promptly dropped into sleep. Lina and her friends were baffled.

            “Why can’t they just sleep at night like normal people?” she demanded, stalking across the meadow toward Xelloss and Filia. Zelgadis and Amelia took the task of waking Filia while Lina and Gourry tried to wake Xelloss.

            “Filia,” Amelia murmured, shaking the pretty priestess. “Filia, wake up.”

            Filia snorted in a very un-ladylike sound. Her eyes flew open, and she sat straight up. Her eyes flashed furiously.

            “XELLOSS!”

            Gourry and Lina fell back as Xelloss suddenly woke with a violent crackle of energy. He growled angrily and climbed to his feet. He met Filia’s raging eyes with his own impassive ones.

            “Xelloss, I’ll KILL you!” Filia screamed.

            “Hey!” Lina yelped, jumping toward Xelloss and grabbing his arm. Gourry grabbed his other arm. Amelia and Zelgadis did the same with Filia. “Stop this!”

            “Let go!” Filia howled. She let out a primal scream and flung the two humans away from her. Not thinking twice, she reverted into dragon form.

            Lina and Gourry went flying as electricity crackled through them. Xelloss launched himself from the ground and let loose with a bolt of deadly black energy. The humans took cover. They had to stop this battle, but they weren’t sure how.

            “You killed them all, you murderer!” Filia shouted.

            Xelloss let out a malicious growl and attacked again. The battle raged on for several minutes until it was clear that Xelloss would win. He was the stronger of the two, and his rage was equal to Filia’s. It was nearing an end. Xelloss held out his hands in a final effort to kill Filia. Filia hit him with all she had--but his fury was so intense he barely felt it. The energy blasted outward.

            “NO!”

            Lina and her friends watched with morbid fascination as black tendrils of energy suddenly wrapped around Xelloss’s attack and pulled it back. The same tendrils wrapped themselves around Xelloss and pulled him back as well.

            Filia hit the ground, injured but alive. Lina, Zel, Gourry, and Amelia ran to her and struggled to hold her down while she fought to get free.

            Xelloss struggled against the black tendrils as he was dragged to the ground. Warm arms wrapped around him, holding him in place. He screamed with rage and twisted in the grip.

            “XELLOSS, STOP!”

            “FILIA, THAT’S ENOUGH!”

            They froze. Filia glowed a glamorous gold and transformed back to her human self as she regained control of her emotions. Amelia held her in her arms, soothing the sobbing priestess. Xelloss stopped struggling and fell limp in the unknown person’s arms. He turned and looked up into the person’s face.

            “Lord Beastmaster,” he whispered hoarsely. He shrank against her like a child in his mother’s arms, and she just stroked his hair and cradled him. In a dark flash, bringing Xelloss with her, she teleported to the others in the clearing.

            “Lina Inverse,” the woman said authoritatively. “I apologize for this mess. I did not realize how severe the situation had become.”

            “Beastmaster Zelas!” Lina realized. “What do you mean?”

            “Xelloss came to me awhile ago in a panic,” she explained. “I dismissed his worry as nothing more than a bad dream.”

            “Like Miss Filia’s nightmares?” Amelia asked.

            “That wouldn’t be the time when Xelloss fell out of the tree, would it?” Zelgadis wondered.

            “The same,” Zelas nodded, “But as time passed, the dreams grew more frequent and severe. Xelloss did not tell me about them after the first one.”

            The mazoku priest shuddered and let out a soft sob. Zelas spared a glance down at him and pulled him closer. Looking back at Lina, she smiled apologetically.

            “It would not do for Xelloss to kill the priestess of the Fire Dragon King,” she said, “so I had to interfere. Now, you must find the source of these dreams.”

            “Uh... the source?” Lina repeated intelligently.

            “Only an outside source could force such nightmares onto them,” Zelas nodded, “You must find the source and destroy it before they can no longer distinguish dreams from reality. This display was nothing. Should they lose complete control--especially Xelloss--they will destroy everything that gets in their way. Filia will die, make no mistake about that. Xelloss is strong and will kill her. But he will then not hesitate to kill you and your friends and anyone else who has the misfortune to be in his path.”

            “He’s that strong?” Lina said in wonderment. “But you can stop him.”

            “Only to an extent,” Zelas smiled ruefully, “He has the potential to overpower even me should his rage escalate that high. Keep them awake. Do not let them out of your sight until you have destroyed this menace.”

            “... Sure,” Lina nodded, “Thanks for your help.”

            Zelas smiled and nodded.

            “Don’t get used to it,” her smile grew malevolent, “I’m a mazoku. I don’t often help mortals like this.”

            Amelia looked up at Lina over Filia’s head. The dragon priestess had fallen silent.

            “I think she fainted, Miss Lina,” she said worriedly.

            “Wake her,” Zelas advised. “And, although I hate to do this, I will prevent Xelloss from causing too much harm for now.”

            Xelloss pulled back as Zelas dropped her arms. The mazoku priest dropped to one knee and bowed his head in resignation. Zelas touched his head and shook her own with sadness.

            “Sorry, Xelloss,” she murmured, “You know it’s for the best.”

            He remained silent, eyes open and blank. Tears still ran down his face, but he had stopped shivering so visibly. Soft, black energy surged from Beastmaster and into her servant. As Lina had seen before, Xelloss transformed before their eyes into a huge wolf. Once in wolf form, he sat back and looked up at Zelas, a high whine raising in his throat.

            “You’ll be released in time, Xelloss dear,” Zelas said sadly. “Take care.”

            She disappeared.

            “Um... Xelloss?” Lina asked hesitantly.

            Yes, Lina?

            “You okay now?”

            Not really. But I do feel better, thank you.

            “Good,” Lina smiled and looked at Filia. “Let’s get her up and about and we can find out what the hell is going on!”