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He sat in a chair in a long stark hallway, rocking slightly looking anxiously every few seconds at a door a few feet down the way.
"How long have I been here?" The chimera wondered vaguely as minutes felt like hours and hours like eternity. He offset his fits of sitting with frantic pacing up and down the hall.
Lina and Gourry sat quietly with solemn expressions and waited. Not too far away Bubbles consoled Daisy who felt just as anxious as Zelgadis acted.
The staff of the medical center came to the remains of Nephillo's fortress as quickly as Daisy could ferry them. As fast as they had gotten there, they had the princess ready for transport and brought back to town. Once in Briseral she was taken to the Medical center where she was examined. Soon members of the Sorcerer's Guild were called for consultation due to the high levels of Liquid Nightmare on the princess.
Lina watched as a steady flow of traffic came in and out of the princess's room when they first arrived and how it gradually dwindled to a few members of the center staff. She and the others had been asked all kinds of questions about the princess's injuries and the condition she had been first found in. They answered as best they could, hoping it would help. Gourry also gave them the sources of information he had found in the Sorcerer Guild's library on Liquid Nightmare.
Another nurse came out of Amelia's room and Lina got up and stopped her.
"What's going on in there? How is she?" The redhead asked.
"Is Amelia going to be okay?" Daisy asked.
"Your friend is still in serious condition," the nurse answered. Which resulted in worried looks all around. "I'll get Odayaka Hinode to come speak with you."
"Who's that?" Zelgadis asked.
"He's a doctor as well as a member of the Sorcerer Guild. Due to the nature of your friend's condition he's been put in charge of overseeing her care. He'll have more details for you. I'll go get him," the nurse smiled and headed back into the princess's room. A few minutes later a tall young man with silvery-aqua colored hair came out.
"I'm Odayaka Hinode," he smiled, offering his hand to Lina.
"What's happening?" Zelgadis interrupted curtly. "We've been here for hours and all we've seen are people going in and out."
"We've been asked some questions but no one's told us how she is," Bubbles added.
"I'm sorry about that I didn't mean to have you sitting out here all this time fearing the worse. Amelia's heart rate and breathing have improved slightly but they're still very poor. She has some bruised ribs, mild fractures in on of her arms and a leg and she's still unconscious."
"Is there anything you can do?"
"The Trialcon's the answer. You already know we can't use magic so we've been primarily trying to get her stabilized. Her fractures and ribs have been bandaged as well as her cuts. We had a few volunteers go out and see if they could find any more Trialcon around the area where you found her. We fused most of the pieces you found together into one piece that has been strapped to her chest to keep the Liquid Nightmare at bay. Which is an even bigger problem," the doctor sighed and took a seat.
"It sounds like you've assessed the situation," Zelgadis said.
"But you sound like you're concerned about something else though," the redhead said.
"I am. We don't know how much miasma she has inside her system. Not to mention all the stuff that's surrounding her body. We need more Trialcon, a lot more and this Liquid Nightmare appears to be, contagious." The group looked at each other surprised.
"Does that mean we're sick too?" Gourry asked.
"No, we realized it was contagious a little while after the princess was brought in. When we had you examined; we used some Trialcon to evaporate any traces of it on you. Your exposure was very minimal fortunately. This section had been closed off to the rest of the center. It's started to cling to the members of my crew and I've cut things down to essential personnel only."
"That's why there weren't as many people around here a little bit after we arrived," Lina realized and Odayaka nodded.
"Are your nurses going to be all right?" Gourry asked
"We have small pieces of Trialcon for the staff to keep themselves clear."
"That's good to hear. We wouldn't want anyone else to be infected," Daisy said.
"I know my knowledge of healing spells isn't that extensive but you can't use any kind of healing spell on her at all?" The chimera asked.
"No and we've tried a good variety. A few of her cuts have early signs of infection and she also has a low fever that has me concerned."
"So the sooner we get more Trialcon the less Liquid Nightmare and the better Amelia will respond to treatment?" Lina asked.
"Exactly."
"But she is stable?"
"Right, we've been giving her medicine and using ointments on her wounds along with the Trialcon. She's fighting the good fight in there. We're going to keep a close eye on her tonight. We may have her stable but her condition is very serious."
"I'd like to do that if you don't mind," Zelgadis said quietly, but loud enough that it garnered looks of surprise from everyone. "I don't need as much sleep as everyone else does," he started to explain, "And I figure some of that time the nurses and doctors could use to work on her treatment."
"I'll arrange for a bedroll and a pillow so you'll be comfortable," Odayaka said.
"I'm going to start working on a search plan for more Trialcon in the morning at first light," Lina said.
"Bubbles and I can fly over the are a get a better look at the wreckage," Daisy added.
"It sounds like you two are onto something already," the doctor said. If you need anything from the Sorcerer's Guild feel free to ask," Odayaka smiled.
"We may have to take you up on that," Lina said.
Odayaka stood up and did a light stretch. "I'll go see about that bedroll for you. Since you've all been cleared of Liquid Nightmare you can go back to the tavern whenever you're ready, " he said and headed down the hall.
The others looked after him as he left then turned their attention to each other.
"It seems like he knows what he's doing," the swordsman said.
"I think Amelia's going to be in good hands," Bubbles added. "Zelgadis, are you going to be all right here tonight?"
"I'll be fine. Its Amelia we need to worry about," he said looking at the door of her room again.
"How about I find you something to eat like a sandwich?" Daisy offered, standing up. "It's been a long day and if you're going to stay you'll need something in your system."
"I'll go with you," Gourry said, also getting out of his chair.
"Me too," Lina added, "I need to stretch my legs a little. Do you guys want to come?" She asked looking at Bubbles and Zelgadis.
"No thanks, I think we'll just wait here for Odayaka," Bubbles said.
The redhead nodded and the three went down the hall in search of something to eat.
"You want to talk about it now that they're gone or are you going to sit on this?" The muzuko asked bluntly, taking the now empty seat by the chimera.
"This wasn't supposed to happen," Zelgadis whispered, "Why did this happen to her?"
"I don't know. I think we've all been asking ourselves that question. Right now we need to focus on helping her get better, like you said."
"We also need to find out for certain whether or not Nephillo is dead."
"I think that's a definite."
"How can you be so sure?"
"She would have shown up by now to gloat and her fortress is lying in ruins. I think those are pretty good indications. But I'll do some checking on the dream scape and the rest of the astral plane, now that its back open for business and thanks to that spell she used on you and Amelia I have an idea of how her magic works now."
"The only person who knows if that psycho is alive is unconscious," Zelgadis sighed, "What happened between them up there?"
"A fight unlike anything I could imagine and hopefully our lovely princess will live to tell the tale," Bubbles sighed, patting the chimera's shoulder, who bristled slightly.
"What is with you? Do you enjoy watching me stew?"
"What do you mean?"
"That comment about our lovely princess. She's in there fighting to stay alive and you pick now to . . ."
"Okay so she's your lovely princess. I won't make any excuses for thinking fondly of her she's a sweet person. I don't like seeing her hurt anymore then you do. Are you going to turn into one of those neurotic jackass boyfriends on me because I think she's cute?"
"I'm not a jack ass or her boyfriend."
"So you're just neurotic then," the muzuko laughed.
"No," he smirked, " I haven't really been myself lately, especially concerning . . ."
"Hey relax, I have a thing for complimenting pretty girls," Bubbles shrugged, "Attached or not and besides love makes everybody nuts."
"I never said I was in love," Zelgadis whispered to himself as the last of the nurses left Amelia's room and Odayaka made his return.
"Things are being brought over for you," the healer said nodding to the retreating nurses.
"Thank you," the chimera said.
"If you'll come with me we can give you a place to clean up and change into some of the staff's attire."
"That's really not necessary."
"I'm afraid it is, we're trying to keep the room as sterile as possible. Everyone who enters has to be scrubbed down. That's why most of us look like we're wearing pajamas," he laughed.
Zelgadis looked at the man's clothes, noticing them for the first time. The shirt and pants were a simple cut and a slid color light gray with soft-shoes and a light colored lab coat with deep pockets.
"And no offense," Odayaka added," but you could use a bath to scrub all that dirt from the crash site off."
The chimera looked down at his dirt stained clothes and hands and gave a small chuckle.
"I guess you need to lead the way then."
Lina and the others returned with Daisy carrying a medium sized bag.
"We were in luck, this place has a dining hall and we got you some soup and a sandwich," Daisy smiled, handing Zelgadis the food.
"Is it okay if I take this in?" Zelgadis asked turning to Odayaka.
"I'll have it out inside with the bedroll when the nurse gets here."
"I guess that's our cue to get some rest too," Lina said.
"Especially if you're planning such a early start tomorrow."
"We'll see you tomorrow okay Zel?"
"Yeah," he nodded as they started to leave.
"Everything's going to be fine, you'll see," Lina whispered before she too left.
The room was about the same size as the one's they had at the tavern. The sheets were a crisp white, the walls plain. The only things that stood out were a small vase of sunflowers in the corner and a bright yellow comforter tucked around the princess. Zelgadis looked between the bed and the corner vase curiously.
"You're wondering about the flowers and the blanket I take it?" Odayaka asked.
"They seem a little out of place in a hospital room," he answered.
"We hadn't finished decorating the rooms to make them feel more at home when we started getting patients. One of the nurses brought them in. She said it looked like a color your friend would like."
"Amelia would appreciate the thought."
"How do they fit, the clothes?"
"Good. I didn't realize how dirty I was till I got all cleaned up."
"Here you go," Odayaka said handing Zelgadis a small cube with a round indentation on the top. "If anything happens press the top and someone will be here in moments." Zelgadis took the cube and nodded.
"You normally wouldn't allow someone to do what I'm doing would you?
"Honestly no, but I also have the feeling that nothing I say would have kept you from being here."
"And you'd be right."
"I'll see you in the morning then. Roll your bed out anywhere you like and remember press the cube if anything changes."
When Odayaka left Zelgadis got the bedroll by the door and unrolled it beside the princess's bed.
He sat down on the bedroll and opened the bag of food Daisy had given him and began to eat. Though he didn't feel like food he knew he needed to eat something.
He drank down the soup quickly, noting briefly it was a cream of some vegetable or other but not really caring. Next, he unwrapped the sandwich and took a large bite. As he chewed he looked over at Amelia and felt reminded of his purpose for being there all too clearly. He re-wrapped the remains of his sandwich and rested his arms on the edge of her bed and continued to look on.
She lay still, dressed in a simple nightgown that peaked out from under the blankets. A sheen of sweat glistened on her skin from the low fever that she had developed. He couldn't see the Trialcon plate on her chest or any bandages aside from the few on her neck. But could make them out by the buck that outlined itself from under the sheets.
"It looks like they thought of everything," he whispered, noticing the hairpins that held back her dark locks. The Liquid Nightmare peaked out from the sheets on occasion, being sure not to be forgotten.
He touched her face lightly, all too aware of the feverish warmth her skin radiated onto his fingers. Then touched a few strands of her hair and saw a pitcher of water and a group of neatly folded small towels on the bedside table that had been left in order to refresh her compresses. The whole scene painted a picture of how severely hurt she was, making Zelgadis look away.
"I won't let this happen," he said turning back to her sleeping form. "I won't let you die. Odayaka said you were fighting this as hard as you could. I'm going to do everything I can to help you. This is one battle I won't let you fight alone," he vowed in low whisper that echoed his determination. "And if Nephillo is still alive I will make her pay."
The rest of the night Zelgadis spent checking Amelia's pulse and changing the compress on her forehead. He also used the wet towels to wipe down her face and neck when needed, taking extra care with her neck bandages.
Every once in a while he noticed the muscles in her face twitch and slight movement in her eyelids. At first Zelgadis thought it was the possibility of her waking, then realized these were only the involuntary movements of sleep.
When the early morning hours around dawn came he was relieved of his post by the nurse from the night before; who showed him to an extra room where he fell into an exhausted sleep. The nurse went back to the princess's room and found Odayaka there checking on his patient.
"Morning Aya, how is Zelgadis doing?" he asked as she took her position beside him.
"Asleep in one of the vacant rooms across the hall. He was really exhausted, maybe you should have a look at him when he wakes up?"
"Did you use your Trialcon stone on him?"
"Yes, but it turned out I didn't need to. Not a trace of Liquid Nightmare's been on him since they were brought in," Aya said.
"I see," the healer answered thoughtfully as he continued checking the princess. "She's still stable on the overall. The fever has gotten a little higher since last night and the infections in some of the wounds has developed at an accelerated pace."
"The Liquid Nightmare might be feeding the infections growth rate," The nurse said.
Odayaka nodded. "I was thinking the same thing. Start having her bandages and ointments reapplied in regular intervals as well as something for her fever ever few hours. I was thinking of Norani since its good for both fever and infection."
"Xanbia is good for both also and stronger."
"Then lets use that. It's a good thing we have a medicine specialist around." Aya smiled and began taking notes for the prescriptions.
"Hopefully her friends will have some luck today finding more Trialcon for us. I'll be over at the Guild's library for a few hours if anything changes.
"The library?"
"I want to have a look at those books that the swordsman mentioned he found on Liquid Nightmare. There may be something in them that could help us with the princess's treatment.
A pot of coffee sat in the center of the table wafting its strong aroma throughout the small room. Lina and Daisy sat across from Gourry and Bubbles at a small dinette set inside Daisy's room. Outside, the sun was in the early stages of rising and Bubbles began pouring steaming mugs for everyone.
"I didn't sleep very well last night," Gourry said, moving his neck about to work out the kinks.
"I don't think any of us did," Daisy said taking a stretch. "A lot's happened and we're all feeling a bit stressed."
"Hopefully the coffee will help wake us up," Bubbles said, taking a sip.
"Now that we've got our coffee we can get down to business," Lina said.
"I'd still like to fly over the area," Daisy started, "That way we know how much ground we'll have to cover."
"And I think making a map of the wreck and dividing into sections would be good also.
"Well have to block of the area we found Amelia in. Some of the sorcerers went for a closer look at the Liquid Nightmare while we were at the center and said it seemed pretty localized," Bubbles added.
"Won't we need supplies to dig through all that rubble?" Gourry asked.
"We'll have to find a place to get them but no one's going to be open for a few more hours," Lina said.
"We can use that time to do a survey of the fortress to map out," Daisy said.
"I got a map of the forests in that area," Lina said and rolled it out on the table. " All we really need to do is mark the boundaries of the fortress and go from there."
"It's going to be a lot of area to cover," Bubbles said looking at the map.
"Not with two dragons on the team," Lina smiled at the muzuko siblings.
"We can do it, for Amelia's sake," Daisy said.
"Then we'd better get started if we're going to get to the stores when they first open," Gourry said. "If the fortress is really big maybe we should ask for some help?"
Lina got up and headed for the door as the others stood up from the little table.
"I don't think we'd get a lot of people. They have businesses and other responsibilities. We might get a few folks but not a lot. Get together anything you'll need a lets meet out front in five minutes," She ended and left.
"I've got some mapping tools I think we'll need, Bubbles said and then went to his room.
The sun climbed higher in the sky, its rays reflecting off of blue-grey scales making them shimmer. Bubble's tail curled in spirals as he flew over the remains of Nephillo's fortress, drawing Lina's attention.
"Lina, have you finished marking this section yet? Lina?"
"Umm yeah, I got it marked," she said quickly.
"Are you okay up there?"
"Yeah I was just . . . how do you get your tail to do that?"
"Do what?"
"Curl around like that?"
"I don't know," Bubbles laughed, "I've always done it."
They flew over to another section of the wreck for the sorceress to map. In the distance Lina spotted the glistening of lavender dragon scales.
"We should be done soon since Daisy and Gourry are working from the other end to meet us in the center," Lina said looking at the ground and matching the landmarks to those on her map.
Meanwhile Daisy flew along the other end of the fortress with Gourry on her back.
"Okay there should be a big boulder with a flat slopping top somewhere on the map. That's where the fortress stops in this part, did you find it?"
"Yeah I got it," Gourry said, marking his map. "Hey isn't that Bubbles over there?"
"Yep, that's my brother's scales all right," Daisy laughed and flew a little ways further.
"Daisy, how much Trialcon do you think we'll need to find for Amelia?"
"I don't know. Hinode-san said he wasn't sure how much Liquid Nightmare was in Amelia's system, he said a lot would be needed. Giant oak on the left," She called.
"Marked it," the swordsman noted, "I don't want Amelia to die. She's my friend, I can't imagine not having her around."
"Don't worry Gourry, Odayaka seems like a good doctor and with us looking for more Trialcon she'll pull through. She's a strong person this won't get the best of her."
"I guess you're right," Gourry said and made more marks on his map. Despite Daisy's hopefulness the swordsman still worried about the fate of his friend as they continued to survey the wreckage.
The two teams worked effectively from each side of the fortress, converging in the center. They mapped out the borders and marked the high and low points within the fortress ruins. By the early morning hours after dawn the two groups meet each other at the edge of the wreck's center and compared findings.
They laid their halves of the map side by side to get a full view of the wreckage.
"Well this it is, the whole thing," Lina said.
"It doesn't seem as big as it did in the astral plane," Gourry said.
"That's probably because of the mists around the fortress helped give the illusions that it was massive," Daisy said.
"In any case it's still pretty big," Bubbles said. "It'll be easier for us to comb through if we divide it up into sections."
"We'll need something to mark them off with like flags," Gourry added.
The section we found Amelia in is here," Daisy said pointing to the map. "This is the biggest section of Liquid Nightmare in the whole place. It must be where they fought. We didn't see any other masses of miasma in the areas we mapped."
"There could be more buried underneath in the surrounding debris. We should mark that area off too," Lina said.
"The stores should be opening up so we can get supplies," Daisy said.
"I'm going to see how Zel's holding up," Lina said, "Hopefully he was able to get some sleep."
"Are you going to wake him up to help us?" Gourry asked.
"No, but I want to make sure he's resting. You know how Zel is." The others nodded knowingly.
Zelgadis rolled over onto his side and felt something soft being pulled over his shoulders. He half opened his eyes and saw the nurse from the night before tucking a blanket under his chin.
"What's going on?" He murmured.
"You're in a empty room at the center. You've had a long night."
"Amelia?" He asked, waking up a bit more.
"Hinode examined her after I brought you here. She's still stable. You did a good job watching her," The nurse said.
"What's your name?" He asked, trying to sit up.
"I'm Aya Bressman. I'm assisting with your friends care."
"So you're a nurse?"
"Yes and no. I'm the resident medicine specialist. I mix the medicines we use here and also come up with new ways of treatment in special cases," she explained.
"Like Amelia's?"
"Yes. Now you need to rest."
"I'm fine," he said trying again to get up only to fall back down in the bed. "What's wrong with me?"
"It's called exhaustion. You need rest, no arguing."
"I think I'm too tired to argue," the chimera yawned and closed his eyes.
"Good now sleep," Aya whispered and left. As she closed the door she ran into Lina coming down the hall.
"You're the girl from yesterday right?" The sorceress asked.
"Yes, I'm Aya. You've come to see about your friends?"
"Um yeah."
"Amelia's still the same and your friend Zelgadis is sleeping in a vacant room. He's really exhausted."
"Don't worry I wasn't planning on waking him. When he does wake up let him know that we're at the site digging. And let Odayaka know too, as soon as we get some Trialcon we'll bring it to him."
"I'll be sure to tell him," Aya nodded as the sorceress left.
"Pick axes!"
"Check!"
"Wheel barrels!"
"Check!"
"What about a wagon to load all this stuff in?" Daisy asked.
"I can go get one while you guys finish up," Gourry said.
"Okay, Lina should be here soon to help," Bubbles said.
"All right, I'll be back," Gourry waved and ran out of the store. Bubbles turned his attention back to Daisy and the list.
"Maybe we could think of a way to use magic to get a lot of the work done?" Daisy said, browsing through the shelves of the store.
"Blasting won't work, that would just create more rubble for us to dig through," Bubbles said.
"We could us levitation to move the bigger pieces around," Daisy thought aloud. "I think this is going to take a lot more thought."
"Yeah," he nodded. "I think we should get a barrel to put the pieces we find in. It looks like Gourry got a wagon," he said, seeing the swordsman through the store window.
"And he brought some company too," Daisy said as she followed Bubbles outside.
"Hey, I got a wagon," Gourry said, pointing to the two horse affair he'd pulled up in.
"But what's with all the people?"
"We want to help," a man said, stepping forward. " We heard about your friend's condition and we want to lend a hand in searching the wreckage.
"Some of us use to be miners outside of Atlas city," Someone shouted.
"We'd appreciate all the help you could spare," Daisy smiled.
"Good," the man nodded, "The swordsman's guild is already at the site getting started. We found out what Trialcon looks like from some people at the center and . . ."
"What's going on?" Someone interrupted. When some of the crowd stepped aside, Bubbles and Daisy found Lina looking at everyone confused.
"We just got volunteers," Bubbles smiled.
Zelgadis sat up in bed and stretched out his arms as the door opened.
"I'm glad you're awake," Aya said entering. "We washed your clothes," she added, setting down the folded bundle.
"How's Amelia? Has there been any changes?"
"Her fever's gotten higher and the budding infections in some of her wounds has increased," she answered sitting down.
"And the Liquid Nightmare?"
"It's started closing in tighter around her even more then before. We think its accelerating the rate of infection."
"I thought of calling last night but didn't. I should have known."
"What do you mean?"
"Her heart and breathing were constant through the night, but her skin was warm. I thought she gotten a little warmer but figured it was just the change between me working with her compresses then touching her."
"How were you able to check her breathing and temperature?" Aya asked.
"I could hear them. As a chimera I have heighten senses," he explained. "I would figure working in medicine you'd be familiar with that."
"It didn't occur to me. We all think of you and your friends just like anybody else who lives in town," Aya smiled. The comment made Zelgadis's ears perk up a bit. "Besides," she continued, "There was nothing you could do about the fever increasing. Even with your senses a degree or two would have slipped by you, especially with so many other injuries Amelia's dealing with. Don't worry, she's on medications and we're monitoring her closely."
"Where's Odayaka now?"
"He went to the guild library in hopes of finding more info on the Liquid Nightmare that might help with treatment. Your friends are also at the wreckage sight looking for more Trialcon."
"Why didn't they come and get me?" Zelgadis asked, pulling back the covers and swinging out of bed.
"Actually, Lina did come, but you were still sleeping. I told her you needed to rest," Aya explained.
"I don't need to sleep I need to get out there."
"To help your friend, I understand," Aya nodded, "But when I got you this morning you were practically dead tired. As soon as you were on the bed you fell asleep."
"I'd better get going," he said, getting up and grabbing his clothes.
"I still think you should rest some more," she called as the chimera went into the bathroom. After a few minutes Zelgadis reemerged with his clothes on and sat down on the bed to put on his boots.
"I want to talk to Odayaka as soon as he's back from the library. Could you have someone send me a message or something?"
"Yes."
"Thanks," the chimera nodded then ran out f the center toward the crash site at high speed.
The morning had flown by quickly as the volunteers worked through the crash site. The site had been marked into sections with small groups of workers in them. Along with volunteers supplies were donated from various stores in town including food.
Inside one large tent Lina and the others stood around a table with a map of the site laid out in front of them.
"I guess you were right Gourry," the redhead started, "Volunteers was the way to go."
"I still can't believe all these people are here," Daisy said.
"I don't see why not, everybody in this town seems to work together great," Gourry said.
"But we still have a long way to go," Bubbles sighed, and resumed his study of the map with the others.
Zelgadis arrived at the site and was surprised by all activity. It was a brim with people digging through piles of rubble and carrying loads of rock. A girl carrying shovels passed by and the chimera quickly stopped her.
"Excuse me, I need to find my friends, a sorceress and a swordsman."
"Sure Mr. Zelgadis, they're in that tent over there," she pointed left. "Oh and congratulations on winning and don't worry, we're going to find enough Trialcon to help your friend."
"Um thanks," he nodded and headed quickly for the tent.
When he arrived, he heard low chattering. He entered the tent and found everyone standing around a table with a map in heavy discussion.
"You guys have gotten off to a good start," he said, gaining their attention.
"Zelgadis," Daisy smiled and went over to him, "How's Amelia?"
"Her fevers gone up and her infections have increased. Odayaka's at the guild library doing more research on Liquid Nightmare. They've increased her medication, but . . ."
"Trialcon's the main thing that will turn the tide," Lina said. Zelgadis nodded.
"Well come here and we'll get you caught up," the sorceress continued, waving him over.
"As you saw we have help," Bubbles said.
"And a food tent if you get hungry," Gourry added.
"I'm fine," Zelgadis said and looked at the map. "So you've marked off the area of the fortress?"
"And divided in sections that people are digging in," Lina said. "We've blocked off the area where we found Amelia. It's still loaded with Liquid Nightmare. We have enough volunteers to work a third of the site. So far we're working on other ways to more effectively search."
"How much Trialcon have you found so far?"
"Not a lot," Bubbles said, "The pieces we've found are small so about a pounds worth I think."
"We need to find a large amount somewhere in the rubble," Daisy sighed.
Zelgadis looked at the map closely and thought.
"The walls of the room I was held in were lined with Trialcon," he started suddenly. "If we could find that room there should be enough Trialcon there for Amelia."
"But do you have any idea where in the fortress you were being held?" Bubbles said.
"No, but maybe you do. What happened you were outside waiting for Amelia?"
"We were able to get in contact with Amelia through the crystal I had given her to act as a catalyst into your astral space," Bubbles said.
"My astral space?" The chimera asked confused.
"I'll explain a little later," Bubbles assured him. "She said she was heading up."
"But we broke contact when some wave pulses started coming from the fortress," Lina said, "And we don't know where she was taken after we were locked out of the astral plane."
"We had to get close enough to the fortress to use the crystal. We circled as much of the place as we could see," Bubbles added.
"About where do you think you were over the fortress when they had the first talk with Amelia, Daisy?" The chimera asked.
Daisy looked at the map, studying the crude shape of the ruins had fallen in.
"I think I came in from this side here," she said and pointed to a western section of the map. "We were somewhere over theses sections in the middle when we first heard from Amelia."
"Then we should concentrate our efforts there and let the volunteers continue to work from where they are now."
"But we don't know for sure if the room you were in was there," Gourry said.
"We're close though. The small pieces might be debris from the outer-edge of a blast, which means the closer in we get the larger pieces might be. A few calculations and I might have the area better pinpointed," Zelgadis said. "But I'll need a copy of the map."
"Are you planning on going somewhere?" Lina asked.
"To take the Trialcon you've found to the center. Hopefully Odayaka will be back and we'll have the chance to talk."
"Actually I came here so wouldn't have to make the trip."
Everyone turned around and saw Odayaka at the tent entrance.
"How's Amelia?' Gourry asked.
"It's too soon to tell if the medication is making improvements, but the same."
"Aya mentioned you went to the library to research," Zelgadis said.
"Yes. I have a sorcerer friend working on a way to gauge the Liquid Nightmare."
"Gauge it?" Daisy asked.
"If we can figure out how much miasma is in Amelia's body it would help tell us exactly how much we're dealing with. Right now we're not sure," Odayaka explained.
"We were telling Zel that so far we've only found small pieces of Trialcon," Lina said, walking over to another part of the tent and picked up a small sack ad gave it to Odayaka.
"We can fuse this to make new splints for her fractured leg," Odayaka smiled, opening the bag and marveling at the shiny stones. The group smiled at the prospect of the first fruits of labor helping their friend.
"Why not just make one large stone like you did with the other pieces we found?"
"Because I think the wound in her leg was the entry point of the Liquid Nightmare. Some Trialcon directly on her leg might improve things especially since that wound his worse then the others."
"Amelia did mention that she went through a trap that had grazed her leg with a beam of the mess," Bubbles said.
"And she said she healed it with a healing spell," Daisy added.
"But a stronger one then what would have normally been used for that kind of wound."
"Amelia must have sealed some of the miasma inside her during the healing spell and Nephillo was able to agitate it enough to reopen and expand the wound, letting more of it enter her body," Odayaka said. "In the meantime I'll take this back and get to work. I'll tell you if they're any changes."
"We'd appreciate that," Daisy smiled as the doctor left.
"I'll get to work on pinpointing those coordinates," Zelgadis said.
"How about you start looking around in that section Lina?" Gourry asked.
"We'll need a few things before we go," Lina said.
"Can we stop at the food tent before we head out too?"
"Sure, we'll get something to go," the redhead smiled as they left.
"I guess I'm checking on the volunteers progress," Bubbles shrugged. "Are you coming Daisy? Daisy?"
Daisy stood at the table staring at a small stone in her hand and looked up at Bubbles.
"I want to go meet with the sorcerer who's working on that project for Odayaka," She said.
"I know that look sis, what do you have in mind?"
"Nothing . . .yet. I'll know once I get the chance to talk to the sorcerer and run some tests."
Aya finished changing the bandages on Amelia and pulled up a chair to rest. She wiped her brow with a napkin from lab coat pocket and sighed.
"Well I'm finished for now," she said to her unconscious patient. "Changing your bandages and applying your ointments is getting to be a big job. I guess that means I'm going to have to get an assistant."
Aya gave a light stretch as the door opened.
"I seem to be making a lot of entrances," Odayaka said, coming in with his supplies.
"Doctor, here let me help," Aya said ready to get up.
"How is she?"
"The same, I increased the dosage of Xanbia and I just finished with her ointment and bandages."
"I went to the crash site. People have volunteered to search for Trialcon. They've even found some pieces that I had fused into splints."
"Because of the entry point wound?" Odayaka nodded.
"To be honest this is all going rather slowly," Aya said and started removing the old splint. "I know I'm in charge of medicine and treatment advisory for her, but I feel we need to figure a more effective way to administer her medications and use the Trialcon we get."
"I agree," the doctor nodded assisting with the bandages and new splints. "I've been working on a few theories since I started my research."
"Good so have I," Aya said.
"And soon we'll be able to tell how much is in her system," he added, securing the splints.
"That sounds good," Aya said, studying their work. "If things don't turn around for her soon."
"I don't want to think about it," Odayaka said, staring at the bedridden princess.