This story started off as a discussion about what might have to happen for Fila and Xellos to become a couple. Of course, it was conceeded that it was likely impossible for that to ever happen in the canon world of the Slayers, but this was a discussion based on "What if..." So, if you can suspend strict adherence to the canon for this story and treat it as a sort of Alternate Universe story, then I hope it entertains you.
A quick note. Since it has Filia in it, I have to work from the canon laid down in Try. In Try, Lina is very afraid of Luna. I know that in the mangas and novels she is respectful, but not very afraid of Luna, but in the mangas and novels a note that said "Just do it. Sis" wouldn't have sent her into a paniced building of her own tomb either. So, I'm trying to make Luna rather not nice in this story, atleast at first, to allow for a scared Lina. My apologies to fans of a kinder, gentler Luna. I will get to a story for her one day.
I also apologise to strict canon fans for adding a few quirks that I thought had to be there to allow for this story to work. Again I plead AU...
And one more apology to strict canon fans. Since this is meant to be AU to allow for the Filia X Xellos pairing, I decided to experiment with another alternate pairing as well, just to see how it would work. I will write a story for the canon pair after this is done. Indeed it is already starting to percolate through the wasteland of greymatter I use for a brain already...
A quick warning, then I'm done. I have used some adult themes in this story. I have tried to keep them at the level popularly (though somewhat incorrectly) known as Ecchi and avoid the level called Hentai. Please be warned, and use your discression if you don't like this sort of thing.
Now, ENJOY!!
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Xellos looked on at the scene in front of him and thought about how, just when you thought you had seen it all, there was always something new waiting in the wings. The two blonde women having a conversation in front of him was certainly proof of that!
One of them was, of course, his creator, and his mistress, Beastmaster Zellas-Metallium. She lounged on her dias, looking sleek and sexy, as usual, her trademark cigarette holder in her hand. But it had been an amazingly long time since she had taken a puff. In fact, she had been so busy paying attention to the other woman in front of her that her cigarette seemed to have gone out. Xellos couldn't remember a time when that had ever happened.
And he had several thousand years of memories to draw upon.
Of course, he couldn't remember a time when someone like the other woman had come to see her ladyship either...
The other woman was just a girl really. To look at her she was a distraught, tall blonde, about sixteen years of age or so. She was beautiful, almost as beautiful as Beastmaster. Almost...
Anyway, as with Xellos and Zellas, appearances were deceiving, for this girl, though she was indeed a girl by the standards of her own race, was a bit over six hundred years old, and although she was currently appearing in more or less human form, except for the shapely tail, she was actually a golden dragon. And not just any golden dragon! Xellos shook his head in amazement. In the first place, he never would have believed he would ever bring any dragon to the Beasmaster's lair on Wolfpack island so that the dragon could ask for help! But to bring this dragon?? Xellos had trouble believing it even though she was right there in front of him.
Of all the dragons to bring home to mama, Filia Ul Copt!!
As if that wasn't shocking enough, it was what she was asking for that was the real gem. Xellos reviewed the story yet again in his mind, it was so unbelievable.
He had been out and about, walking up and down and to and fro over the face of the earth, seeking to make trouble and carry out various missions, as usual. A major disturbance in the astral plane had alerted him to the fact that there might be something interesting happening in a nearby village, and also that there might be lots of free negative, evil emotions available to snack on. In a mazoku minute he had flashed to the site of the disturbance. It was apparent that there had been some sort of battle, the way the villagers were still running around in a panic confirmed that. On further investigation he found the ruined heap of a vaguely familiar building, clearly the center of the disturbance. Something had blown up the building and from what the villagers were saying it had been a "swarm" of dragons.
Dragons! Now the penny dropped, and Xellos realised what was so familiar about this place. This was supposed to be a shop...
One that sold Vases and Maces!
Kicking a small fire aside Xellos entered the smouldering ruin. There he saw Filia. She was bloodied, beaten, and thoroughly dishevelled, and in her human form. She was on her knees, trembling like a leaf, and holding what looked like a sharp crystal shard.
"Holla, Filia!" he said in a cheery voice, coming up to her. "What's the story here, somebody dropped a priceless vase did they?" He smiled at her, waiting for the usual smart remark about garbage...
Instead what he got was silence. She didn't even seem to know he was there. Xellos looked closer, and recognition dawned. The crystal shard was not part of a vase.
It was part of an egg...
In an instant Xellos now realised the gist of what had happened. Dragons had, for some reason, attacked Filia and destroyed the egg that held little Val in the process. Val, formerly known as ValGaav, had been an ancient dragon, the last surviving member of the race after the golden dragons of Filia's clan had attacked them out of fear that they had a super weapon of magic which they would use to enslave the races of dragonkind. They accidentally left one survivor, a little child, young Val. Without his parents Val was condemned to a slow death, but help had come from the most unlikely of sources. The mazoku lord, Gaav, met him on the ruins of the battlefield. In ancient times Gaav took for himself the form of a three headed dragon, before he was cursed to live trapped in a human body. Because of this he had a strange affinity for dragonkind and a strange pity on little Val. He offered him a chance at life, as his servant, and when Val accepted he stabbed the boy with his monstrous sword, killing him to dragonkind, and mixing him with Mazoku power to become the strange hybrid creature ValGaav.
ValGaav had been Gaav's most loyal and devoted, if rather insane, servant, and when Gaav had been killed by HellMaster Phibrizzo, an even more powerful mazoku lord, ValGaav's insanity had turned murderous and he set out to destroy the world by bringing a strange and evil being called Darkstar through from the dimension known as the Overworld. He nearly succeeded too, but in the end a brave band of adventurers, of which both Xellos and Filia had been part of, defeated him and prevented the destruction. In the process, ValGaav had died, but the Val part of him had been sealed into a crystal egg, possibly by the Goddess of Life, or, maybe just possibly, by the supreme deity of all, the ever capracious Lord of Nightmares herself! Filia had taken him, intending to be his mother and start again.
She had, by this time, learned enough about her own people and the murder of the ancient dragons to sever all ties with them. She had lived alone, making a living with this little shop, selling vases of exquisite beauty, and maces of extrordinarly quality, as Xellos knew only too well...
The hard way...
Oh well, they were traditional enemies after all...
Filia made her way in life with the help of Gavos and Jilas, her two assistants. Xellos scanned the area, but he couldn't pick up either of them. They might be dead, or they might have run far away, or been captured somehow...
Xellos was at a loss. Even he didn't understand what had happened. Why would dragons attack Filia and destroy her egg? But now he understood her strange state. Then a movement caught his eye. Filia had turned the shard...
Xellos was quick, inhumanly quick, and also inhumanly strong, but even with that he almost didn't stop the girl from stabbing herself to death with the shard. Val had not yet been ready to hatch, it takes years for that to happen, so the pointed shard, being made of crystaline dragon's egg, was still hard, almost like steel, a perfect dagger. And in her grief Filia was unusually strong. It was a very near thing, but finally Xellos overpowered her and prevented Filia's death.
It was then that she finally made a sound. She started to scream, then to cry hysterically, finally settling into sobs of grief so deep that even Xellos' heart would have broken...
If, of course, he had had one...
Finally she rested limply in his arms. It was then he spoke to her again. Trusting his hunch to be right he whispered to her "Do you really want death, or revenge?"
Now, for the first time, she turned and looked straight at him. The empty sorrow in her tear flooded eyes slowly filled with what could only be called...
Hope?
But it was an evil hope...
"How?" was all she asked.
He had explained, she had consented, he had lifted her into his arms and carried her the short hop through the astral plain to Wolfpack Island, and, well, now here they were, in the presence of the Beastmaster, herself. Filia told her story, and the blanks were filled in.
Filia's day had started as usual, she got up, said "Good Morning!" to little Val in his egg, and went about the business of breakfast and opening up shop. And it seemed like just another typical day.
Until...
Three men arrived. Filia instantly knew they were dragons in human form, and felt uneasy. Still, she suspected nothing of their mission until they silently presented her with a paper bearing the great seal of the "Great Council of All Dragons". Her hands shook as she opened the seal. What she read inside caused her very soul to go black with horror.
It said, in very terse language, that it had been determined that Val might be hatched still loyal to Gaav and try to destroy the world again. She was to surrender the egg for immediate destruction and to come with the agents who bore the letter she was reading as their prisoner. She would be brought before the Great Council where her own fate would be decided. Filia had looked into the faces of the agents and had seen the guilt they felt about their mission. She had also seen that a little thing like that wasn't about to stop them.
With nothing to lose, Fila had attacked. The battle was fierce, but brief. Filia didn't remember much of what happened but the pain in her head left her in no doubt she had been struck down hard, and probably was thought to be dead. Otherwise, her attackers wouldn't have left her behind.
When she awoke she was alone. Her attackers had left the shard of the smashed egg in front of her, whether by accident or cruel design she did not know, and little Val's unborn body she found burned to a crisp. In her shock she had tried to pick it up. It had crumpled to ash in her hand, she didn't even have a body to bury. Her first feeling had been profound grief, and a raging desire for revenge. But alas, she had not the means of bringing her vengeance home upon those who had wrecked her life and ripped her beating heart from her living chest. She was overwhelmed by black grief and despairing hopelessnes and the desire to die overwhelmed her. She hadn't even been aware of Xellos until he had stopped her suicide. At first, she thought he intended to have his gloat, but then he had whispered of how she might attain her impossible desire...
So now they were back to the present. Filia prostrated herself before Zellas and pleaded with her. "Great Majesty. I am dead to myself already. I can only offer myself to you, to serve you forever, however you want, if you will grant me my revenge. If you won't, then I beg you to kill me however it pleases you. Or let me go, that I may kill myself." She went silent, there was no more to say.
Beastmaster stared down at the girl for a long time. Even Xellos wasn't able to read her thoughts. Finally, she replied. "Well, little one, you are the most amazing surprise I have had in a very long time, a very long time indeed. Perhaps ever."
She was silent again, then she asked "Upon whom will you seek this revenge you desire so strongly? The Great Dragon Council thingy?"
Filia looked up at Zellas with a strange stare. Slowly she got up onto her knees and looked Beastmaster straight in the eyes. Then, finally, she answered in a quiet, eerie voice "On them all..."
By now, Xellos' eyes were open, with astonishment, not evil. A very rare occurance. "All?" he asked quietly, to himself really, but Filia heard, and answered.
"I thought about it as you flew me over." she said, her voice little more than a whisper. "I asked myself what kind of beings could kill a whole race of their own kind off, then kill an unborn baby just because there was an unproven, slender chance that there might be a threat? There was only one answer."
She paused, trembling. Then, holding her face in her hand she cried out in anguish. "An evil one!"
She went on "The... truth... once you see it, it is so simple... but getting to the point of believing in it is impossible sometimes..." With this she folded over and fresh tears flowed as great sobs filled the room.
Now it was Beastmaster's turn to astonish Xellos. She jumped up off the dias and gathered the weeping dragon into her arms, whispering motherly words of comfort and soothing. "You poor child..." she soothed in a kindly voice that was so gentle it could still the raging waves. "You have been through too, too much, little one. Here, cry on my shoulder and let your tears ease the pressure of your pain..." Her cigarette holder was nowhere to be seen.
Filia couldn't help but cry, and for a time she just wept, taking comfort from one who was supposed to be her mortal enemy. Finally the weeping slowed. "I-I'm sorry..." she gulped to Zellas. "I just couldn't stop the tears..."
Zellas stroked her face and kissed her forehead. "Little Filia, do not worry. Such outbursts are part of mourning. This will happen again. Let it. Do not be ashamed of your grief for Val, it only shows how much you loved him. It is a strength, not a weakness..."
"Th-thank you..." whispered Filia, still choked with her emotions.
"Now, please carry on and tell me what you started to say about a simple truth that cannot be believed. I think you are verging on something important." coaxed Zellas gently.
Filia gave a brave, sad smile. "Yes. I don't weep only for Val, but also because I now know that everything I was taught to value and believe is based on a lie. The lie that we are good..."
A pause, then she went on. "Wh-, begging your pardon Lady, but, when Lord Ceiphied defeated Lord Ruby Eye we were always told it was the triumph of good over evil. Of course that meant that we dragons were also good as a result. So good we murder our own kind rather than seek a peaceful end to our fears. No, what it really is, is that the winners write the history books, and no one ever questions. But, what if Lord Ceiphied wasn't good? What if this whole world wasn't good, but rather corrupt and evil? And Lord Ceiphied was the High Lord of that corruption? Wouldn't it be more likely that he was deluded and believed himself to be good? But, he wasn't..."
Filia took a deep breath and went on. "What if what really happened was that Lord Ruby Eye saw the truth, that the world was corrupt, flawed, and needed to be destroyed? Of course he, and those of his decendants who tried to carry on that mission, would seem evil to those who didn't want to die, but in reality, he was carrying out the higher good! Perhaps ValGaav saw this because of Lord Gaav. And now I think he had the right idea, that the world had to be destroyed, but he just used the wrong method. Now I see why he had to die again today. It was the only way to pass the torch. Oh, if only it had passed to someone worthy, not this dishonourable little girl..."
Zellas smiled kindly. "Filia, the torch passes to whom it must. You are the worthy one. You will only be dishonorable if you refuse this and make a mockery of Val's unfortunate death. Do you understand that?"
Filia thought then looked at Beastmaster with timid wonder in her eyes. She nodded.
Zellas hugged her and soothed her and said "I want you to do something for me. I will send for my servants and they will bathe you, tend your wounds, give you food and drink, and put you to bed. I want you to go with them and let them minister to you. I want you to drink of the nepenthe they will give you, and sleep. We will talk again after you wake up. Will you do that for me?" she asked.
Filia nodded. "Thank you, lady..." she said quietly.
Xellos clapped his hands and three elf maids appeared quickly. They were clearly slaves, and cringed before Zellas. Beastmaster was obviously a Mistress to be obeyed. Xellos quietly ordered what Zellas had wanted and they ran off to prepare everything. While they were gone Zellas continued to talk quietly with Filia about little things. Pleasant things. She even coaxed a reluctant smile from the distraught dragon girl. Soon the slaves returned and Filia was lead away to rest.
Only when Filia was safely out of hearing range did Zellas let go. She lay down on the floor and giggled and giggled for the longest time. Not knowing what to do, Xellos stood there and waited. Zellas finally got up, walked straight over to Xellos and threw a big hug around him as she laughed in evil delight, which relieved Xellos no end. It wouldn't do for Beasmaster to have gone soft, after all.
"Oh, what a delight you are my precious boy!" she said, dancing around with him. "What a present to bring home to mama!" Xellos smiled. Beastmaster only ever called herself his "mother" when she was delighted with him, and only used the term "mama" when she was in ecstacy.
"She's perfect!" Zellas went on. "Oh what shall I make with this lump of clay? Something wonderously evil!" She released Xellos and danced her way back to her dias. As she sat down her cigarette lighter reappeared and a lit cigarette was in it. Zellas inhaled deeply and sent a big cloud of blue smoke into the room. "We must talk..." she said, indicating a chair for Xellos to sit in.
