New Skin, New Mission

A Slayers Fanfiction by ErekLich

Standard Disclaimer: I do not own Slayers, and am making no money from this work of fanfiction.

A/N: Takes place after Try, minor spoilers. Also, the rating may go up later.

SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

There are many places in the world, filled with a variety of things both wondrous and terrible. But this story is primarily about only one of those places. That place is Seyrune, the White Magic Kingdom. Seyrune was a fantastic city; the streets themselves were laid out in the pattern of a circle of protection. The kingdom was renowned far and wide as having the absolute best of two things, anywhere: White Magic users, and Ice Cream.

Currently, several people were enjoying the aforementioned refreshment, as it was a rather hot day. But this story is primarily about only one of those people. That person is Amelia wil Tesla Seyrune, princess of the kingdom. She was a beautiful young girl of nineteen, sporting black hair that almost reached her shoulder and determined blue eyes. She was neither exceptionally short nor tall for a girl of her age and heritage, though she was occasionally notably clumsy. At the moment of time this story begins, she was sitting around a table at a cafe, eating a double scoop of vanilla. Across from her sat two of her best friends, Lina Inverse and Gourry Gabriev.

Lina Inverse, Sorcery Genius, Bandit Killer, Dragon Spooker, Enemy of All Who Live, ... well, you get the idea. Lina was short, with fiery hair, fiery eyes, and a fiery temper to match. She sported an eclectic assortment of gems and trinkets on her traveling clothes, most of which served some minor magical function. Gourry, sitting beside her, was by far the tallest of the three. His long blonde hair fell well below his waist, and his armor was adorned by no cloak. A pitifully non-impressive sword hung from his scabbard.

Though the conversation had been ongoing for some time, this story begins as Lina swallowed the last bite of her chocolate fudge cone.

"So you still haven't found Mr. Gourry a new sword?" The princess asked.

The swordsman in question opted to reply, as his companion's mouth was still half-full. "Not one nearly as good as the Sword of Light was, anyway. I mean, sure, this can cut stuff, but against Mazoku it's practically worthless."

Lina chose this moment to chime in. "But enough about us, and your boring diplomatic missions! Have you heard from Zel recently?"

At this, the heir to Seyrune's throne let her face fall somewhat. "Not for a month, Miss Lina. He said he'd found a lead, but didn't say anything else about it."

Gourry's face grew a curious look. "Does he usually tell you about that stuff? Zel didn't seem the type to talk much before..."

"Well, sometimes... And usually I get a letter a few days later, complaining about how it was a waste of time! I'm starting to get a little worried, to tell you the truth."

Lina leaned over and gave Amelia a hearty slap on the shoulder. "Ah, don't you worry about him. I think Zel could survive just about anything with that body of his."

The princess smiled again. "I know. I think his body is really cool." Realizing how that sounded, she blushed. "I mean, er..."

"I know what you mean," Lina winked, "but he probably just can't reach a town for some reason. I'm sure he'll contact you as soon as he can."

"I hope so." Staring at the empty place on her wrist where one of her protective bracelets used to be, Amelia missed the expression of shock on Gourry's face. Nor did she have time to react before a pair of unfamiliar hands found themselves over her eyes. Her gasp was cut short by a voice behind her.

"Guess who?"

That voice, Amelia thought, it can't be! But these hands are... She slowly grasped and took the very human hands off of her face, and slowly turned around. She was greeted by the sight of a young man, perhaps in his early twenties, with dark lavender hair that stuck out from his head. His eyes, his smile, the shape of his face... All of his features came together into the unmistakable identity of

"Mr. Zelgadis?" It came out more as a question, a hope of hope, than a greeting.

For a long moment, Lina, Gourry, and Amelia stood there, unsure how to react. The Zelgadis-like figure slowly raised his hand into a feeble wave, and softly spoke the word "Hi," in a voice that could only belong to the object of Amelia's affections.

"Mr Zelgadis!" This time her voice was bursting with enough joy, relief, and love to make Xellos drop dead of an acute upper resperatory infection on the spot.

What happened next was perhaps the single greatest attack in history. Sages and scholars world over would look back on it as the finest example of strategy and tactics known to mankind. Sun Tzu truly spoke of it when he said, "Attack so as to be irresistable." The recipient of that attack was caught completely defenseless by its ferocity.

Yes, in that moment Amelia truly mastered the Joyful Reunion Bear Hug attack.

SSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS

A Month earlier...

The noonday sun shone mercilessly upon the cafe. The lone, hooded figure sitting at it didn't bother to learn its name, nor did he much care. All he knew was that it was in a town near the Outer World, near where the Barrier used to be. The figure's name was Zelgadis Greywyrds.

Zelgadis was a troubled man. In his impetuous youth, he had asked his grandfather, Rezo the Red Priest, to make him more powerful. And his wish had been granted indeed, but at a terrible cost. The very source of that power was now his terrible curse, for Rezo had made Zelgadis into a chimera. He was a third Mazoku and a third Golem. The result was that his skin was made of blue stone, with small darker blue pebbles mottling its surface. His hair had been stiff before, but no human hair could truly compare in stiffness to the wires he now sported from his head. He wore fingerless gloves, and a very covering hood, cloak, and facemask, all of an onobtrusive beige color.

Because of his curse, he had grown used to the people of the world treating him harshly; a freak at best and a monster at worst. He in return had hardened himself, and now his stony heart matched his skin. He was tough, almost invulnerable, but at the cost of not truly feeling.

As he sat in the bar, slowly sipping his coffee and pondering what to do next, one of the most annoying possible things that could have happened to Zelgadis did.

Xellos showed up.

Xellos appeared to be an eternally smiling man of average height and purple hair, his eyes ever closed. His only distinctive gear was his staff, as tall as he was, with a red gem half-circled by the wood. But in reality, Xellos was one of the most powerful Mazoku in existence short of the Lords. A creature of pure evil who fed on negative emotions, Xellos nevertheless had a twisted sense of honor. He never lied or betrayed his word, but no being walking the earth could twist the truth better than he. He always had an agenda, always an ulterior motive behind everything he did.

And what he was doing at that moment was approaching Zelgadis.

"Why, its Zelgadis! Fancy meeting you here."

"Save it, Xellos. You and I both know that if you've come here then the timing is no coincidence."

"Ah, you're quite right of course." Xellos dismissivlely waved his hand. "Old habits, really. Most don't know who and what I am, after all."

"Yes, I know what you are. Which is exactly why I can't trust anything you're about to say."

"That's not a very nice thing to say." Xellos' smile fell into a concerned frown.

Zelgadis sighed. Though he was loath to admit it, Xellos was more powerful than he was. The simplest way to get rid of him would probably be to hear him out. "... What do you want?"

The Mazoku's smile perked up once again as he sat down next to Zelgadis. "Well, I want your help."

Zelgadis scoffed. "You need my help?"

"Well, I need the help of a powerful shamanic mage... and in the past, when our interests have coincided like this, you've been reasonable."

"Our interests?"

"Oh yes, I'm not so foolish as to think that you'd help me for nothing! You see, I've found your cure."

There was a moment of silence.

"WHAT! Xellos, I swear, if you're lying to me again - "

"Hey! I never lied to you!"

"That's such a load of - "

"Now, I'll be the first to admit that I misled you, left out information in the past, but when have I ever actually lied?"

Zel, even in his fury, had to admit that Xellos had a point. "... and what are you getting out of this?"

"Now that is a secret!"

"Then why should I help you?"

"I had hoped the knowledge of your cure would be sufficient inducement. After all, even that princess whose bracelet you're wearing worked with me when our goals coincided."

At Amelia's mention, Zelgadis bristled. "... How do I know that this is for real?"

"A very long time ago, just after the war between the Dragons and the Mazoku, there was a cache of artifacts. Some very powerful Shamanic mages controlled them, and didn't want us Mazoku to get our hands on them. So they put all of the artifacts in a temple and erected a powerful barrier that only a potent shaman could lower. Not to be outdone, the Mazoku chose to put up a similar barrier of our own, so that the shamans couldn't get at them either." Xellos leaned in closer. "Now, most of the items in there are as trinkets to beings such as us. But a few of the peices are truly something special. One such is the Circlet of Animalia."

Zelgadis' interest was piqued. Xellos sounded dead serious, an indication that he might not be leading a wild goose chase.

"The Circlet is a powerful magic item that allows the user to shapeshift at will."

"So it's not a cure at all."

"On the contrary, it is. You see, the magic of the circlet actively restores the wearer to his original form as it is removed."

"... so all I have to do is put this thing on for a bit and take it off again?"

"Essentially, yes. You might have to use it first, I'm not entirely sure."

"And what do you gain by this?"

"Isn't it obvious? I want one of the other pieces in the collection."

There's no way he'll tell me what it is... "How did you discover this if it's behind an impenetrable barrier?"

Xellos' smile widened. "Because, dear Zelgadis, I put the Mazoku barrier up myself."

At this, Zelgadis raged, flipping the table over. "You knew? You knew this all along?"

Xellos backed away and put his hands up as if to ward Zelgadis back. "Now, now! There's a lot of information running about in my head, and I didn't stand to gain by it until now."

Zelgadis struggled to regain control, breathing heavily. After a full minute of silence, he turned to Xellos. "One condtion." At Xellos' patient silence and neutral expression he continued. "Swear to me that this won't harm Am- me or my friends."

Xellos' smile returned. "I swear that I will not use the power of the item I seek to gain in this temple to directly harm you, Amelia Seyrune, Lina Inverse, or Gourry Gabriev."

"Directly?"

"Even I can't account for the butterfly effect, and I won't make an oath I can't keep."

Zelgadis stared at Xellos for a long time, searching for any trace of deceit. Finally, he spoke four fateful words.

"All right, let's go."