Lina was, of course, right. None of them liked it. Well, to be entirely honest, neither did Lina… but it wasn’t like she had much of a choice in the matter. She was the Chaos Knight, and when L-Sama Spoke… well… the Chaos Knight went.
        Zelgadis put down his coffee, folded his arms and looked at Lina. “I don’t like it at all, Lina.”
        “Well, to tell the honest truth, Zel… I’m not particularly fond of it either. For a number of reasons, none of which we need to go into right now as they would only cloud the issue. But I don’t have a choice. And so neither do you,” Lina returned with a sigh, pushing around the last of her breakfast on the plate in front of her.
        Zelgadis looked at his coffee cup, then back up to Lina. “So we’re just supposed to let you walk out of here and go off somewhere that you’ve never been? Off on some great unknown quest on your own?”
        “Gosh, Zel... it’s not like I’m some little kid or anything. I did travel on my own for a while before I met you guys,” Lina sighed over her cup of cinnamon cocoa, then took a sip.
        “But, Lina… I’m supposed to be your bodyguard. How can I be your bodyguard if I can’t go with you?” Gourry said, looking unhappy.
        Lina hung her head and sighed. How could she possibly explain to the blonde that she was completely capable of taking care of herself… even more so now that she had the position of Chaos Knight. “Gourry, I’m asking you to stay here. You have to act like Kira is me, okay?” She set down her cup and glanced to Kira. I have serious doubts about this plot now. Lina thought.
        Kira smiled faintly. I know, Lina. But don’t worry. Gourry will be… fine. After Lina shot her a mildly startled look, Kira grinned. “So then are we in agreement?”
        Amelia shook her head slowly. “I may not like this, Miss Lina, but in the name of Good and Justice, I cannot let anyone get the upper hand on you! I will do my best to convince the world that Lina Inverse is right here with us!”
        Almost everyone seated at the kitchen table facefaulted. Gourry just looked around, confused. “But… she is right here, Amelia.”
        You know, I’m going to miss this, Kira… Lina thought at her elder.
        Kira smiled to Lina, replying in kind. I know, Lina. But keep bright the thought that soon you’ll return to it.
        Lina nodded slowly, rising from the table. “Well… I’m going to go pack…”
        Amelia sighed unhappily. “Miss Lina…? You won’t be able to take your talismans, will you?”
        Lina paused, and then shook her head. “No… Kira will have to keep them. We can’t do anything that might hint at her not being me. Trust me, I’ll be fine, Amelia.” And before she could hear another argument, she left the kitchen and the unhappy little group of friends that she was leaving behind.

        It was afternoon all too soon and even Lina had to admit that Kira was a near-exact image of Lina. In fact, Lina felt as if she were looking into a mirror when she looked at Kira now. And no doubt Kira felt the same.
        For the hundredth time, Lina resisted the urge to yank out the braid in her hair. It felt funny, and she didn’t like it very much. The first few times she’d actually reached up to undo it, Kira had swatted her. Shortly it would be up to Lina herself to keep from pulling it out.
        The two redheads stepped into the living area, assuming the roles that they were to play, and the group of friends looked up at them. Lina turned to Kira. “Now, promise me that you won’t do anything rash.”
        “Rash!?” Kira shot back, flipping her loose hair. “I never do anything rash. If I fireball them, then they deserved it.”
        Lina smirked. “At least try not to destroy the village while I’m gone. I’m counting on you, Lina.”
        Kira shot the group a look and then looked back to Lina, eyes wide with innocence. “As long as they don’t provoke me…”
        Zelgadis unfolded his arms. “Now, look here, Lina…”
        Amelia shivered, looking to the one who at least looked like Lina but was actually Kira. “That’s scary, Miss Kira…”
        Zelgadis blinked. He looked at the two redheads for a moment, blinked again, and then shook his head. “Damn.”
        Gourry had no idea what was going on. “But Lina! It’s hard to know what won’t provoke you!”
        Kira sighed. “Never mind, Gourry. You’d better get moving, Kira. You have a long journey ahead of you.” Older ruby eyes looked to nearly identical but younger ones.
        Lina nodded. “I know.” She turned and walked over to Amelia, giving the girl a hug. Quietly, she whispered to the girl. “Be careful, Amelia. Try not to wander too far from Kira’s wards here… the house has some protections of its own, okay? And Kira may have some knowledge you want to learn.”
        Amelia nodded, trying not to cry. She hated goodbyes, and especially now because she couldn’t really even say goodbye properly. “Be careful…”
        Lina slipped out of the girl’s grasp and looked at Zelgadis. She considered for a moment, and then figured she could only die once, and hugged the startled chimera. “Zel… take care of Amelia for me. You promise?”
        Zelgadis, still mostly startled from the sudden embrace, nodded. “I… promise.”
        Lina smiled at him, and turned to Gourry. She fidgeted for a moment, and then simply hugged him. “Take care of yourself,”
        Gourry nodded in confusion, looking over to Kira. “Why is Kira hugging me?”
        Amelia and Zelgadis hit the floor. Lina looked at Gourry in amazement, and Kira thought briefly of trying to explain it one more time, then gave up. Gourry obviously didn’t know the two had swapped roles. “She’s leaving, Gourry.”
        Gourry considered this. “Okay…” He grabbed up Lina and hugged her with great enthusiasm. Lina stiffened, and then decided that Kira probably wouldn’t beat the ever-loving stuffing out of him. So instead, she laughed. “Okay, big boy… you make it pretty clear. So you take care of everyone for me, okay?”
        Gourry set Lina on her feet and nodded. “I will, Miss Kira.”
        Lina looked at Kira. “You’ve got your hands full with this one. Good luck.”
        Kira smiled. “Trust me, I know. You be careful… Kira.”
        Lina Inverse stepped out the front door as Kira Inverse and walked away without looking back.
        Kira would not have looked back.
        Therefore, Lina couldn’t look back.

        Inside the house, life moved on as best it could. Kira fully assumed the role of Lina, and all too soon a fireball went ripping through the living room to detonate on Gourry. “Jellyfish for brains! Didn’t I just say that we were staying here?”
        “But Lina, I just asked if it would be safer for us to leave Kira’s house. I mean… do you really want to damage your Great-great grandmother’s things? We all know your temper…”
        Despite the fact that Amelia knew that it wasn’t really Lina, she found herself cringing. Sure enough, Kira came blasting out of the kitchen to tackle Gourry.
        “What are you saying about my temper, Gourry?” Kira fussed, and Amelia could have sworn that Kira was enjoying it.
        “Well… we know that you have one… and sometimes it gets away from you and buildings fall down,” Gourry replied.
        Kira kicked him through the open window.
        Zelgadis looked to Amelia. “I think she has Lina down to a fine art.”
        Amelia nodded slowly, eyes wide as she watched Kira stalk back into the kitchen. “Are we sure that isn’t Miss Lina?”
        “I heard that, Amelia,” Kira retorted with a wink. “And I’m not.”

        Lina Inverse stood at the crossroads just outside of town and tried to decide where she was supposed to go. Usually she had a general idea. But today…
        Reality shifted, and she felt a decided tug within some part of her mind. She blinked, and when she opened her eyes again, a vast expanse of blackness surrounded her.
        I’ve been here before… the Sea of Chaos. I’ve stood here twice before… Lina turned, looking for the reason that she was there.
        A blonde woman in gold stood there, an almost brilliant figure against the immense blackness. Without understanding how she knew, Lina knew that this was not only the Lord of Nightmares, but L-Sama’s own form. Lina instinctively kneeled, and a chuckle escaped the woman.
        Stand, Lina Inverse. Stand and claim your Self as Power.
        Self as Power? Lina wondered as she stood and looked to the Lord of Nightmares. She gasped as the golden eyes of the Golden One herself opened to reveal a beautiful brilliance. The light spilled around Lina, and before the sorceress understood what had happened, she was caught up in a wash of power that swirled around her. She felt something, as if some part of her were just now waking up, an awareness that she hadn’t used before.
        Awaken the Chaos within you, Lina Inverse.
        Lina knew what the Lord of Nightmares was telling her, knew the way to take… but for a moment, she hesitated.

        Amelia put the book that she was reading down as Anya came in with her lunch. She smiled and thanked the shade, then picked up a carrot stick and looked at the cover of the book.
        It was one of the few books that she had heard of but never dreamed of seeing, and she couldn’t believe that she’d found this in the library. She never had expected that she’d find a copy of Luo Glaon’s writings. He was one of the Five Sages, devoted to the study of White Magic. And here she was, reading his spells. She shook her head and picked the book back up, intent on discovering if there was a spell capable of removing the curse on Zelgadis in the book.
        Granted, a good deal of what it covered drew on the Sealed Magics, but something within the fragile pages of this ancient tome might reveal a clue to unraveling the secret.
        Since meeting Zelgadis, Amelia had become quite well read on chimeras in general, but in all of her knowledge, she could find no other reference on a human being turned into a chimera. All of the chimeric texts referred to beings that were made as chimeras from the beginning… none that were originally human.
        Taking a bite of carrot, Amelia continued on her own personal quest.

        Zelgadis was sitting on a bench in the small vegetable garden, watching a bee fly busily from flower to flower on a row of plants. Actually, he was sulking, but he didn’t want to admit it.
        A shadow fell over the garden, and he looked up to see Kira standing there watching the same bee. It was eerie how much she looked like Lina in the sorceress’ clothing and with her hair bound only with a ribbon like Lina’s. But to think that Kira was so much older than any of them…
        “Zelgadis, why do you seek a cure?” Kira asked without taking her eyes off of the bee.
        “Who would want to be a monster?” He replied, looking back at the garden. “My skin is stone, my hair wire. How can I possibly be anything more than a freak?”
        “I am over a hundred years old, Zelgadis. And yet, I look no older than Lina. Is that not also freakish? A near-immortal human? Sure, the townspeople talk, but they don’t bother me about it.” Kira shook her head, her red hair flipping about her shoulders. “If you weren’t a chimera, Zelgadis… do you think that you would have survived some of your adventures? Would you have been able to live through the risks that you take every day?”
        He looked at her, startled. “Risks? What are you talking about?”
        She sighed and sat down. “Zelgadis, your body is made of stone, and you count on that whether you know it consciously or not. I know your adventures… The Chaos Knight has shared some of them with me.” She had to be careful not to name Lina directly, in case they were being watched. “You took a cannonball to your head… even though it knocked you cold for half an hour. A human would have been killed. You took that attack for Amelia, and even that was almost too much for your stone body.”
        He looked away. Those had just been things he’d done without thinking.
        “And I know that you can bleed. You need to eat, even though you prefer not to be seen doing so. Think about it, Zelgadis. How long would you have survived?” Kira asked.
        He shook his head slowly as he thought over those things that she had mentioned, and others that she had not. He hated to admit it, even to himself. He had been relying on the stone body without even being aware that he was. “I… concede your point.”
        Kira smiled faintly. “And I can say with clear knowledge that none of your friends think that you are a monster or a freak.” She paused. “Amelia… is young. Youth often goes hand-in-hand with impetuousness,” Kira amended after a moment’s recollection.
        Zelgadis offered her a wry smile. “That comment might well have been applied to me that day.”
        Kira grinned at him, once again reminding him so cleanly of Lina that he had to forcibly remind himself that it was Kira Inverse and not Lina Inverse beside him. “We all make mistakes in life, Zelgadis. I’ve made my share.”
        Zelgadis looked up and frowned as he noticed the blonde swordsman staring into the forest on the far edge of Kira’s back yard. Nodding his head to indicate Gourry, he asked, “What is he doing?”
        Kira looked up and over to follow Zelgadis’ line of sight. “Oh. I would imagine that they have come to see him.”
        “They?” Zelgadis repeated.
        Kira nodded. “Yes. The elves.”
        Zelgadis frowned, looking at Kira. “What would elves want to have to do with him? I thought the elves didn’t care for humans.”
        “Normally, that’s the case,” Kira smiled. “But a long time ago an elf loved a human. Gourry is their descendant.”