"So what do you want to talk to me about?"
        "Lara Sorez," Zhara replied as she took a test sip of her tea. She decided it wasn’t sweet enough and spooned more honey into it, making Urlich want to retch. Where had she gotten her sweet tooth, he wondered with an involuntary grimace. "You’ve spent more time with her than I have. What are your impressions?" She asked him after tasting her honey with a little tea in it and deeming it good.
        Urlich was quite put off his tea at this point, so he sat back to consider his response to her question. "I don’t know what to make of her," he said after a while. "She was Lita when I met her, then she got a scare and suddenly she’s somebody else. One could call that suspicious, if one could prove it was an intentional deception. I think she has a serious medical problem, myself: A real, honest-to-goodness dual personality." He held up a finger to cut off Zhara’s response. "However, considering what she claimed to have done as Lita—namely, painting some of the most amazing trance art I’ve ever seen, including L-Sama’s long-lost creation spell—I don’t think we can just shrug our shoulders and say ‘oh well, she has a disorder, not our problem’. And let’s not forget the monster Lita said was trying to kill her—a story verified by none other than our own father."
        "And Lara?" Zhara prompted him. "What are your feelings about her?"
        "Aside from not liking her?" Urlich replied with a wry smirk and got a chuckle out of his sister. "I don’t know. I can feel power in her, but I can't place it's source. I don't think she's as powerful as her Lita personality. Other than that, I just don’t trust her. I know I don’t like her politics on the subject of copies. How can you trust someone who can create copies of herself for the sole purpose of letting them be murdered in her place, saying they’re not people because they’re copies? If she didn’t view them as individual people, why would she go to the trouble of injecting other material into them to give them variety, as Lita claimed was done to her?"
        "So you think Lara’s lying to you?"
        Urlich nodded. "Lying about what? Her identity? Lita? The copies she made? Her research?"
        "All of the above?" Zhara cut in.
        Urlich sighed thoughtfully. "She’s just another person in this affair that I don’t trust. Add her name to Zelgadis’, Xellos’ and the Lord of Nightmares’."
        Zhara agreed with a sarcastic snort. "But do you…feel anything strange about her?"
        "Like…?"
        She set down her teacup to give her brother her full attention. "I mean, do you sense anything about her that’s not human?"
        Url narrowed his eyes suspiciously. "Like what? Mazoku? Beast? When she was Lita, she said Lara had put additional material into her to give her variety, but she didn’t know what kind of material. Could’ve been Mazoku, though the only one twisted enough to volunteer is Dad, and he didn’t seem to know anything about it. For whatever that’s worth. Why? Do you sense something?"
        Zhara bowed her head, seeming to contemplate her fingers for a time, then she said: "I’m not sure. When she crossed my threshold, I thought I detected trace amounts of Mazoku, but the sensation was gone before I could pin it down. I should have reset the spell to scan outgoing visitors but didn’t finish casting the spell before she left the house again. It’s set up to scan in both directions now, so I hope to get a better reading when she comes back."
        "Meanwhile, you’ve sent out a search party?" Urlich asked skeptically. "Did you think she’d try to leave the city on her own?"
        Zhara shrugged. "Amelia was worried about Zelgadis, then Lina wondered where Lara had gotten to and decided she needed finding. I sent Jessica with them so they wouldn’t get lost. Lina seemed to think the citizenry had more to worry about from Lara than Lara did from them. Isn’t that peculiar?" The sharp look she gave Urlich told him she thought it was very peculiar, indeed. "I’ve put the word out about that monster of Lita’s, as well, just in case it decides to make an appearance."
        Urlich raised an eyebrow. "How did you put the word out about a monster you don’t even have a description of?"
        "I figured it would be seen in the company of someone meeting Lara Sorez’ description," Zhara explained with a smile, "and we know what she looks like. Maybe someone will see it following her—"
        "More likely, they’ll see it killing her," Urlich interrupted grimly. "I suggest you advise your contacts accordingly."
        Zhara bit her lip. "I don’t know if I want my people trying to get between an unknown monster and its prey…"
        Url shrugged. "Your call. But if she dies, it might ruin Zelgadis’ chances of finding his cure, since Sorez is part of it, according to Melfinius."
        "Since when do you care about Zelgadis finding his cure?" Zhara shot back sourly.
        "Ok, you caught me," Urlich replied with a sigh and rolled his eyes. "I don’t care about Zelgadis. I’m just dying to know what the hell is up with this Sorez woman that she can have a monster after her life for more than a year and still be alive—a monster even our own father can’t identify, I might add. That’s a bit weird, don’t you think? And why is Dad so determined to know what’s in Lara’s tomb? Why did he put a piece of himself into Zelgadis’ new body? Why’s he so interested in Princess Amelia?" He picked up his teacup and finally took a drink, then added: "That’s what I care about: All those unanswered questions that, according to Melfinius, seem to involve you and me. Unless Melfinius is full of shit, which wouldn’t be a first, though he usually doesn’t pull that kind of crap with those of us who bankroll his operation."
        Zhara nodded with a deep frown. "I agree with you about the questions. If they had nothing to do with us, I’d leave it to Zelgadis and stay out of it, but as you said, L-Sama allegedly told Melfinius you and I are part of this quest somehow. I’m inclined to believe him at this point, since he’s never lied to me before and isn’t one to court the wrath of the people holding his purse strings, much less the ire of the Lord of Nightmares. Well!" She sighed and put down her teacup. "I guess we’ll just have to play along and keep our senses sharp until we figure this thing out. If I feel anything weird when Lara steps over my threshold again, I’ll let you know."
        Urlich nodded. "I take it Sylph and Zelgadis still haven’t returned? I don’t feel her in the house."
        "They’re not back yet, no," Zhara told him, "but I don’t sense any distress on her part."
        "No, she seems to be enjoying herself, from what I can tell," Url added in a dejected tone. Why was she chumming around with Zelgadis? The guy had almost killed her with his recklessness a week ago, but Sylph seemed to think he was just the neatest guy ever. He was a maladjusted, whiny chimera with a boring personality—definitely not Sylph’s type. Sylph liked clever, witty guys like himself.
        Zhara’s teasing elbow in his ribs snapped him out of his funk. "You’re jealous!"
        "Am not," Urlich grumbled.
        Zhara watched him pout for a little while, then poked him again. "You are jealous! I don’t believe it! Url, he’s not her type, and you know it."
        "I know he’s not!" Urlich snapped back. "And I’m not jealous!"
        "Uh-huh…"
        "I don’t have to sit here and take this kind of abuse," he complained, pushed himself off the couch and headed for the door. "I can get this kind of abuse anywhere!"
        Zhara chuckled at his discomfort. "Where are you going, Url?"
        "We were supposed to leave on our respective missions this afternoon, if you recall," Urlich snapped back irritably as he opened the front door. "I’m going to ask Mr. Popularity why he’s suddenly so cool on going to find his precious cure, when he was all about ditching us to speed up his trip before. Expect me when you see me." With that, he stomped out the door and slammed it behind him but not fast enough to miss Zhara’s parting shot:
        "You just want to make sure he’s not making any moves on Sylph, and you know it!"
        *grumble-grumble-grumble*

        At a fancy restaurant in downtown Marrigan, the afore-mentioned Mr. Popularity and the object of Urlich’s jealousy were having their tete-a-tete broken up by an unwanted guest.
        "Zelgadis? Do you mind if I join you?"
        Zelgadis and Sylph looked up in the middle of sharing a joke, and their expressions got suddenly stiff. "Lara," Zelgadis said, "uh…" he looked to Sylph, who shrugged.
        "We’re just waiting for our check, actually," she told Lara coldly, "then we were going to head back to Zhara’s."
        "If you wait a few minutes, you can walk with us," Zelgadis added, suddenly remembering his plan to make friends with Dr. Sorez. He offered her a chair with a smile. "Here, have a seat while we wait for the check. Were you looking for us?"
        She took the offered chair, smiling warmly at Zelgadis, then exchanging a catty look-of-death with Sylph. "No, not really," she told Zelgadis. "I felt like taking a walk after lunch and wound up exploring until I saw the two of you through the window and decided to see what you were up to. I thought we were supposed to have left by now."
        "Then why were you still wandering around?" Sylph growled suspiciously.
        Lara smiled unpleasantly and shrugged. "I guess I just lost track of time. You?"
        Zelgadis chuckled. "I guess we did. Oh well, I don’t mind traveling at night if you girls don’t!"
        "Aren’t you forgetting someone?" Sylph asked him meaningfully.
        Zelgadis looked confused for a moment, then shrugged. "Urlich the babysitter? I didn’t forget him, why?"
        Sylph sighed and shook her head. "Never mind." She flagged down the waiter and asked for their check, then just stared off into space while Zelgadis chatted amiably with Lara about his previous visit to the ancient battleground and how he’d heroically saved the world from Darkstar (with help from Lina, Amelia, Gourry, Xellos and a dragon maiden named Filia, he mentioned as a sort of footnote). Sylph checked Lara’s reaction out of the corner of her eye and wrinkled her nose in disgust. "You could at least look a little impressed!" She thought bitterly. Lara just seemed to be humoring Zelgadis, if her expression was any indication, and the stony idiot just kept right on bragging. What had gotten into him? Two hours ago, he didn’t trust Lara Sorez as far as he could spit, now she was his new best friend. What was up with that?
        "How did you destroy a creature like Darkstar?" Lara asked when Zelgadis paused for the sole purpose of having her ask him that.
        "Well, actually," Zelgadis admitted a little sheepishly, "it was Lina, Xellos and Filia who destroyed Darkstar by combining the powers of light and dark through someone who was both: A human. That was Lina. It was really amazing to see. I wonder how much of the gate is left? We didn’t go back after we blew away Darkstar. Should be interesting."
        "Yeah, I can’t wait," Sylph muttered and gave the waiter money to settle their bill. "The sooner we get going, the sooner we can get the answer to that question and find that clue you need." She stood up and gave her companions meaningful glares until they got up, too, and followed her towards the door.
        That’s when Urlich showed up, appearing in the middle of the restaurant, right in Sylph’s path. She jumped back with a startled yip, prepared to fight, then realized it was just Url and relaxed. "What are you doing here?" She started to ask, then Lina’s party showed up, with Jessica in the lead.
        "There she is!" Jessica exclaimed and pointed at Lara, who gave her an innocent look.
        "We’ve been looking all over for you!" Lina added in irritation. She pushed past Jessica and shook a finger in Lara’s face, then turned her temper on Zelgadis: "And you! I thought you were in such a big hurry to get started, and here you are in an expensive restaurant—without me! Zel! How could you?! Well, I guess we’re just gonna have to order another round, then, since it’s too late to get started now!"
        She started toward a table, only be caught by Zelgadis. "It’s not too late to start, and you can eat on the way to Zefilia."
        "What’s road food compared to the classy spread a place like this can put out?" Lina argued, fighting against Zelgadis’ hands. "Come on, Zel, you can buy me dinner!"
        "What?!"
        Lina chuckled self-consciously. "Just kidding!"
        "Sure you were," Gourry muttered and rolled his eyes. He couldn’t remember the last time Lina had paid for anybody’s dinner, even her own. As long as someone else was along, Lina always found a way to make them foot the bill. "Come on, Lina. We’ve found them. Let’s get back to Zhara’s so we can get going before dark, ok?"
        "But—"
        Everyone else frowned at her until she eventually backed down and followed them out of the restaurant. "Doesn’t your sister run a restaurant in Zefilia?" Urlich asked her as she plodded discontentedly beside him.
        *mutter-mutter* "Last time I checked."
        Urlich grinned, realizing he’d found a sensitive spot. "Is it any good?"
        "Hell if I know," Lina snarled back, "I’ve never eaten there."
        Pause.
        "You’re really scared of her, aren’t you?" Urlich asked in amusement.
        "Shut up."
        Url giggled. "What did you do to her, anyway?"
        Lina stopped in her tracks to glare at him. Urlich grinned, which only infuriated her more. "Who says it was my fault?!"
        "Ok," Urlich rephrased his question, "what did she do to you?"
        Lina paled, open her mouth to say something, then changed her mind and started walking again. "I don’t want to talk about it, ok?"
        "You can tell us, Lina," Urlich persisted. He ignored the dirty looks he was getting from Sylph and Gourry.
        Lina cackled wickedly. "Sure, Url, but first you tell us that story about you and Dolgen Feitt that you didn’t want to talk about."
        Gulp. Urlich backed off with a sour grumble. "That’s different." He picked up his pace and broke away from the others, his fists dug into his pockets and his eyes firmly on the cobblestones beneath his boots.
        Sylph hurried to catch him up with a pained sigh and hooked her arm through his, rubbing her cheek against his shoulder. "You don’t know how it is with Lina and her sister, Url," she said softly, "anymore than she understands your feelings about Dolgen. Leave it alone."
        Urlich sighed and freed his arm from hers so he could put it around her shoulders and feel her warmth against him. He relished every little bit of affection she was willing to give him and stored it up for those times she treated him as just a friend. Though his relationship with Jessica had been incredibly hot, it hadn’t been as gratifying as the one he’d had with her sister. Now that was gone, as well, since Jessica was herself again and remembered she preferred females and was in love with Zhara. It left Urlich feeling like a castoff. Sylph smelled delightfully of the forest, and her voice still gave him happy shivers, just as it always had. Urlich silently begged her not to let go.
        Zelgadis walked behind Urlich and Sylph and watched their backs with a jealous frown, his hands balled into tight fists. Just when he thought a woman actually liked him, it turned out she still had a thing for her ex. Well, Url and Sylph had been together for centuries, as Zelgadis understood it, so if he wanted to horn in on that action, he’d have a hard road ahead of him. Better to make a play for Lara Sorez, even if she wasn’t the woman he’d loved when Xellos had performed her. He forced himself not to think of Amelia in that context, then wondered why, since she’d always been attracted to him and had never made a secret of it. Why not give in, take the path of least resistance? He could have the Princess in a second if he could just keep his Xellos part in check long enough to make her believe he was her good old Zelgadis. That old Zelgadis cringed at the thought of using her like that, and he quickly steered his thoughts clear of it and returned his attention to the cuddly Url and Sylph. Gods, was he going to have to watch them get all lovey-dovey for the entire trip? He thought they were old news, and there they were snuggling up to each other like they were still a hot item. What about Jessica? Zel snuck a glance at the kitsune Queen out of the corner of his eye and was astonished to see her smiling affectionately at the couple. She was happy her boyfriend was hanging all over his ex right in front of her? He looked to his left, where Lara was watching the happy pair with a smug little smirk on her face. She noticed Zelgadis staring at her and grinned at him. He quickly looked away. Did she think there was something between him and Sylph?
        "No, Lina, you can eat on the way!" Gourry sighed, and Zelgadis realized the argument had been going on since they’d left the restaurant. Gourry’s tone sounded a little forced, as if he was trying to distract Lina from something other than the issue of food. Zel didn’t dare look behind him to see if he was the thing Gourry was trying to take Lina’s attention off of. Did they think he was jealous of Urlich and Sylph? His cheeks turned red with embarrassment, then anger with himself for even caring what they thought.
        "Hey, you guys," he spoke up suddenly, "how come Amelia’s not with you?"
        "She’s nursing Naga," Gourry told him.
        "She had a little too much to drink," Lina added derisively, "per usual. We’ll have to keep her off the sauce if we want to get anything done."
        Gourry nodded. "Right. I let you handle that."
        "ME?!" Lina stopped to glare at him, but he pushed her into motion again.
        "She’s your friend!"
        Zelgadis smiled to himself. At least something was normal these days. As long as Lina still argued with Gourry, all was right with the world.