*~Part 5~*

Plunged it right back into the sword from whence it came.

He ignored the increasingly loud protests coming from the sword as he stalked towards the exit. He'd come in search of his cure – once upon a human memory, he'd have been easily seduced by the temptation of power befitting heroes and kings. But power was what had caused all this trouble in the first place.

In the time he'd been there, Zelgadis knew without a shadow of a doubt that the Holy Sword Excalibur could not cure him. and even if it could have, there was no way in the Nine Hells that Zelgadis would have take the abomination anywhere with him.

…

Zelgadis considered himself lucky to have escaped with his sanity afterwards, days following his march out of the cavern. For whatever reason that abominable weapon had been created, he was certain that the mage either hadn't full use of his mental facilities or the damned thing was most assuredly a mistake.

The only sobering issue at hand was that, yet again, this had been a false lead, and now he was forced to continue his search in the scorching sands of the Desert of Destruction. But given what all had transpired… Zel was perfectly happy just to have his mind intact for the time being. Even if he was getting dehydrated again.

So long as he didn't have nightmares afterwards, that is. If that were to happen… Ceipheid help him.

The sooner he forgot about this encounter… the better.

…

On the Astral Plane, where no human eyes may pry nor sense what danger may be lurking near, Xellos the Trickster Priest sat back and smiled, amethyst shard-like eyes glittering happily as the cavern holding the legendary Holy Sword Excalibur fizzled and vanished from the Desert of Destruction without even leaving a trace on either plane.

"Well, that takes care of that nuisance," he remarked to himself pleasantly. "Lord Beastmaster will pleased that the Holy Sword has begun its winding path back to its origin." He nodded with satisfaction, then snickered at the sight of Zelgadis storming off.

"Of course, I would apologize, Zelgadis," said the Trickster Priest, still grinning like the Cheshire Cat and remaining unseen by the shaman. "But, you see, it was a necessity that I use you. After all, the Holy Sword would never let me near him. I wonder how your time with him went."

He cringed a little at the memory of the Holy Sword, and then laughed.

"Ah, well. There are other things on Lord Beastmaster's to-do list," he mused, walking along the path of the Astral Plane and consulting the small scroll that he held in his hand. "Now, what is this about a marquess?"

…

It wasn't long after that the cavern reappeared, this time in the mist-enshrouded country somewhere in the Alliance of Coastal States. It was only by chance that the small figure's nightly ruminations were interrupted by the eerie glow that suddenly came off to the side as he moped along the deserted outer streets of his hometown.

A sewn-on eyebrow rose, and his head cocked to the side, one hand-like ear raised in suspicion and curiosity. Without any further thought other than the pondering of this strange phenomenon, he stepped into the cavern.

Not even half an hour later there was a loud blast, followed by shrill wailing as the tiny stuffed animal went shooting out of the cavern, which promptly disappeared shortly thereafter.

…

3 Months Later…

"C'mon, Gourry! Get the lead out of it!" The fiery sorceress tapped one white-booted foot impatiently as she stood at the top of the precipice with her hands on her hips. Long and wild red hair whipped about her face as the wind blew, only enhancing the frightening aura she was giving off. She was a beauty in her own mind, and a right terror to all those unfortunate to cross her path.

That was the thought going through the oft-thought empty mind of the blond swordsman who desperately grasped the edge and hauled himself up, wheezing as he did so.

"Honestly, Lina," he panted, giving her a long-suffered look past his long bangs. "If you could Levitate all the way up here, why couldn't you have carried me?"

Lina Inverse tossed her hair back, affronted. "Would you quit complaining? You're a big and tough guy. Besides, I thought you liked all that muscle work."

"Yeah, but not when it comes to rock-climbing," he muttered to himself, and shuddered inwardly. There were days when he wondered why he ever decided to protect the girl in the first place. She wasn't any ordinary teen – she was Lina Inverse! The Bandit Killer, the Enemy of All Who Live!

And the Eventual Death of Gourry Gabriev, if she continued to drag him to all four corners of the former Mazoku Barrier, he thought bitterly.

"Put a lid on it and get a move-on, will you? If this place is as unstable as everybody thinks it is, then I don't want to be here when it disappears again!"

It was in this command that Lina Inverse sounded most authoritative, but it was used mostly to conceal her nearly bursting excitement. How could anyone not be, she rationalized. If a vast and mysterious cavern suddenly materialized high above a local mountain community on the border of Elmekia, who wouldn't want to go exploring?

Perhaps she ought to have been more cautious, she would think later in retrospect. With the Mazoku Barrier gone and the many outside elements now free to venture forth on nothing more than a whim, it was a logical assumption that there would be a great many mysterious things happening as time progressed.

But forethought was not the Bandit Killer's specialty, and as she dragged her blond companion mercilessly by the hair into the mysterious cavern, she never even gave a single thought to what may be there in the darkness.

*~The End~*

A/N: And that concludes Zelgadis and the Holy Sword. Special thanks to all of you who took to the time to read this little fic! Sayonara!