Surpression Cure
Chapter 1:Who are we? What's wrong with you, Zelgadiss?
By Sailor Dragonslave
Disclaimer:Gah, I WISH I owned The Slayers(and Zelgadiss ^^), but I don't...it belongs to Kanzaka-san and Araizumi-san, and also other peoples...but not me. But this fic DOES belong to me, and if you steal it, I'll hunt you down and beat you with my kendo sword.^_^ No, really...
Yay! One of my first Slayers ficcies!!! Sorry, not much Zel+Lina in this chapter, but more'll come!
"Zzz...ZzZ..Hey Lina...if you're not gonna-*snore*-eat your chirashi...ZZz...then lemme 'ave it...zzz..."
It kinda went on like that for the last couple of days...Zelgadiss lay awake, thinking, while Gourry snored on, sleeptalking about eating every now and then. At least the rocks mostly covered up the otherwise visible bags that were probably under his eyes.I'd give anything just to have my own, human flesh back, even if it ment the common unnatractive imperfections of the human face, He thought, Anything's better than THIS face. But the others don't seem to notice or care...why is that? Well, who knows. Lina and the others where currently on a quest with him to find a cure, and hopefully they'd get some leads. He was happy to have friends helping him in his seemingly ever-present search for the unknown remedy. He lay there untill his thoughts of an impossible cure faded away, and he alowed himself to drift to sleep.
* * *
"HEY!!! ZEL!!!Don't make me go get Lina to wake you up!!!"
Gourry's boyish voice rang through Zegadiss's ears, suddenly waking him from his restless sleep. This was one of the rare mornings when he wanted to sleep till noon, but he knew that when you're on an adventure, especially with other people, it's almost impossible.
"Okay, okay, I'm up, I'm up..." he said with a bit of a tone of irritableness.
"Good! You missed breakfast 'cause Lina told me to leave you alone for a while. She said that you could get a cup of coffee on our way out, or something." Gourry said. Thank you, Lina!
Gourry gave a "See ya" and exited then room as Zelgadiss stifly got out of Zelgadiss walked down the stairs, where Lina, Gourry, Amelia, and...Xelloss awaited them.
"It's about time!" Lina said, with a big smile on her face. He smiled slightly, and nodded.
"Well, now that everyone's here," Xelloss started,"We should get going. Although it's directly
south, it'll take about a day or two for us to get there."
Zelgadiss was puzzled."Where?"
"Oh," Lina said."You wheren't here when we where discussing a shrine that a person told us about...for a REALLY unfair amount of money." She pulled out a map slovenly rolled-up and tied together with an aged ribbon. She handed to him."This just better not be a fake." Zelgadiss untied the ribbon, and unraveled the parchement. It was a map of an area in the southern Outer World, but what really caught his attention was the red dot that indicated big temple."Hm. I see."
"Yeah." Lina replied."We'll travel directly south, thankfully not having anything that hazardous to our heath."
"Allright," he said,"Let's get going, then."
The journey south was an unexpectantly unpleasant one...the weather was hot and dry, and by the time they finally saw the temple, everyone was ready to die, especially, it seemed, Lina. And, as usual, Xellos had teleported away, most likely to reappear when they were in the temple.
She fell to her knees."Maybe we should camp here for the night and have a bite to eat," she suggested."It's getting late anyways."
"Definately!" Gourry chimed in.
"Yeah I guess," Amelia added.
"Mm." Zelgadiss sounded, as he nodded, his usaual, quiet response.
They had set up camp, and had finished the little food that they could carry with them. It was soon nightfall, and "Say,Lina," he started,"I was jus wondering...Do you know if there are any...well, side affects that accompany this curse?"
"Hmm," she said,"Good question. Probably not, though, but hope that it won't just cure ONE of your sides insted of turning you completely back to human." She folded her hands behind her head. and leaned up against a fallen log, and yawned."Anyways, I'm going to sleep. Don't stay up too late, Zel. G'night."
"'Night, Lina." he answered back.
As the time passed and Zelgadiss could hear Lina quitely snoring, he sat there and just stared
blankly at the brilliant blaze of the fire.With my luck, this "cure" is just a lie made up by some greedy jackass merchent looking to fill his pokets. He dimly realized that he may be becoming a bit too comsumed with finding a cure, and maybe he wasn't focusing enough on his feelings.He looked over at Lina.Hey! A voice inside him cried, Are you crazy?! There's no girl in this world who'd care for a chimera any further than a friend. But, what if Lina's feelings towards me isn't friendship but...pity maybe? Pity me because everyone else deems me a monster at first glance? Because I have no one? No, that can't be true. I mustn't think that way. Mine and the group's relationship isn't like that...hopefuly. He sighed. He'd love to have a companion, a lover but...There was no way anyone would love HIM. Even though Lina seemed to flirt with him a bit, it was impossible. But those thoughts were brushed away, along with his feelings for Lina, cleared for the path of finding a cure.
* * *
After yet another sleepless night, Zelgadiss awoke to a light shaking of his shoulder."Hey! Hey, Zel, wake up!!" It was Lina.
He moaned."Just five more minutes...please..." He rolled over onto his side, his back to Lina.
"Not this time!" she said."C'mon, get up! We're near the shrine! You can rest AFTER we've gotten our hands on that cure of yours."
"All right, all right..." He shakily stood up, and grabbed his cloak.
"We'll take the path that leads straight up to the shrine, and it shoudn't take more than a half an hour." Lina explained as Zelgadiss fastened on his cloak, and Lina took out the other map that portrayed the inside of the sanctum."Says here that there are a bunch of traps inside."
"Guess we better be careful." Gourry said, trying to sound smart.
They walked up the trail to the consecrated building, arriving soon thereafter.
"Can't say it's the biggest temple I've ran into, but it's pretty big." Lina remarked.
Zelgadiss, obviously eager to enter the temple to retrieve the item, walked up to the door."It
doesn't seem to be locked...I'm sure it's been entered and looted by treasure hunters."
"Well, there's no harm in looking, just to make sure." Amelia said. Boy, was she wrong.
As soon as they entered and walked a few meters, the area lit by a Lighting spell of Lina's, they found that the ground before them was some kind of grid, each with a symbol on it. It was seven one meter squares across, and the same for length. They all had some symbols that were etched into the stone, and a deeper color than the floor.
"Huh." Lina glanced at the tile."Strange floor plan. Oh well..." The second(okay, well, the second AFTER that) she steped onto the square before her, it just vanished!! As soon as she, as well as the others, could manage a startled cary, Lina leaped up into the air off of the tile to avoid falling, she was immediatly caught by...
"You got your wish, Lina-san!! Never fear, for I am her, my dear..."
Lina looked up at her supposed savior."Just shut up and put me down, Xellos."
He sighed."You know, Lina, I just saved you from a potential--"
"PUT. ME. DOWN." Lina said forcefully. Xellos sighed again and obeyed, setting Lina down in fron of the others and the large hole.
"You'll just have to compinsate me later, Lina." he said to her slyly with a rather sadistic smirk, and winked.
"I'm going to choose to ignore that, since you saved me..." Lina muttered dryly."Anyways, you know how to read this stuff, right?"
"Hmmm..." Xellos peered at the scrip that littered asphalt."I might."
Lina grabbed Xellos be the collar pulled him down(wayyy down ^__^) to her highth so that thier
noses were only a few centimeters away from eachother."I KNOW you know what it means, Xellos, so SPILL IT!!"
"Lina, Lina!" Xellos said in a tone that suggested hurt as he put up his hands in defense,"I was GOING to tell you...eventually." Lina let go of him roughly, and he looked closer at the tiles."Well, it looks to me like these tiles are some magical ward. Meaning, anyone with magical capabillities, humans that is--oh, and human-like people(Zelgadiss glared darkly at Xellos for using an unwanted tone of voice with "human-like")--, cannot cross."
"GREAT!!" Lina blared,"We can't just have Gourry going! This is a DISASTER!!"
Xellos sighed melodramaticly."Oh, you didn't forget ME, did you? This is just a sort of warning
trap; it can't harm you if you TELEPORT there..."*
"That's right!" Lina exclaimed."Xellos can telport us there!"
Zelgadiss snorted."He just better not try anything funny."
"Zelly-kun!" Xellos said."Get your mind out of the gutter! I wouldn't do that!"
"I doubt that..." Lina muttered.
"That's NOT what I meant..." Zelgadiss said darkly."And don't EVER call me "Zelly-kun"."
"Mr. Xellos, could you please just transport us to the next room?" Amelia said impatiently. She no doubtedly wanted to see her crush's human form.
"All right, all right." he said."Here we go!" In a flash, they were teleported to an immense room, the only visible sorce of light being a kind of altar which held an object too far away to make out. The room itself wasn't anything special; although, there were a pair of suits of armor
on either side of the steps that led to the altar.
"That must be it..." Zelgadis said in a near wisper,"That must be it!!" This was the happiest
they'd ever see the usually dark chimera. He started to run up to the steps, Lina, Gourry and Amelia on his heals, and Xellos dissapearing once more, most assuredly to come again.
"Hey, wait up, Zel!!" Lina said, a giggle threatening to break into the sentence. She was glad to see her friend so happy; maybe the cure would change his gloomy attitude!And hey, maybe he'll be really cute!! Lina frowned at her thoughts.Where'd THAT come from?She shrugged it off; there were too many things happening at once, she didn't have time to think about that right now.But maybe later. She smiled slightly to herself.
Zelgadis had almost reached the beggining of the stairway, when there was a CLANG! of metal.
Zelgadis stopped suddenly. The two suits of armor the were motionless before had formed an X between them with thier spears, preventing the chimera from proceeding any further.
"Speak thy name, intruder." The left suit of armor ordered. It spoke in an emotionless monotone voice, malice crackeling within it.
Zelgadis was quite irritated, but said simply,"Let me pass."
"If thou doest not speaketh thy name..." It pointed its spear at Zelgadis, who did not flinch nor show any visible sign of pain.
"Listen, buddy," Lina broke in,"We've been through hell to get here, and I have a feeling that even if we DO tell you our names, you'll--" Lina was cut off by the thrust of the armor's javaline. There was a loud THUD! as the metal pole was caught by Zelgadis. He struggled with it for a moment, his inhuman strength not even enough to overpower the knight. Accepting this, Zelgadis jumped back, the spear slamming into the ground, damaging the concrete.
"Goz'Vrow!" Zelgadis shouted as he touched the ground. It split open a large rip in the floor,
rocks and boulders hurling at the armor. It tryed to deflect it, but to no avail. The rocks piled up on it, pinning it to the ground, only its hand visible. The glove twitched, but the fell motionless. Now it was the other gaurd's turn, Gourry, Amelia, and Lina deciding to take this one on.
"Haaa!" Amelia cried as she flipped it onto its side.
Gourry drew the Sword of Light."Light come forth!!" He sliced the armor throught its shoulder, but as soon as it was punctured, it put itself back together."Agh! That's not fair!!"
"Aqua Freeze!" Lina's spell hit its target, freezing it totally. Lina walked up to it, and nonchalantly pushed it over. The block of ice that held the gaurd crashed on the floor into millions or icy pieces and splinters.
She dusted her hands off, and gestured to the stairs."Shall we?"
They all nodded and hurried up the stairs, and approached the altar, the item that they had been searching for the whole time, just laying there on a cusion. It just looked like a mass energy until Zelgadis picked it up Zelgadis watched in aw as the ball shapedshifted into a strage rune.This is it, He said to himself.It's here. In my hands. I've found it. Could this be a dream? Even if it is, I don't want to wake up! He instictively thought and wished to be human; he invisioned himself as a human, as he was before Rezo, tan colored flesh, alert to temperature, his dark violet hair, in soft strands insted of the wirey unkemp hair that he currently posessed...But then, something happened. His mind went blank.Hey...where am I..?
Lina, Gourry, and Amelia looked on in awe. Zel was human, and a looker at that! Amelia stared at him dreamily, while Lina just looked at him quietly.Wow, Zel sure does look different...I don't know...I am falling for Zelgadis? It sems that was...but he probably isn't interested in me..."Hey ,Zel! Turn aroung so we can see the rest of you!" Gourry called cheerfully. Zelgadis jumped a bit, and spun around.Wha-what the..
"Hey...who are you guys?!"
"What?! Who are we?" Lina cried in shock."Zel, have you lost it?!"
"What the hell are you talking about?!" he asked."I don't know any of you!!"
* * *
"As I feared ..." Xellos said."I turned him ALL the way back to the way he was before he was a chimera...meaning he has no memory of you, or anything else that happened to him after that."
"WELL, HOW DO WE CHANGE HIM BACK?!?!?!" Lina asked, shaking with anger,"And why didn't you tell us this before?!"
"Well, there is ONE way..." he answered, ignoring the last question.
Join us next time for Chapter Two: There's Something We Can Do? Love Always Seems to Interfere!
You'd better read, or else I'll REALLY cause some trouble!
Oooh! The plot thickens!^_^ Not really...but whatever! I couldn't resist that last part..^^ Thanks for reading, I'll have the next chapter done soon...sorry I switched to "Zelgadis" insted of "Zelgadis" at the last part...oh well. Arigato! Ja ne!=)
* = Plot hole! If you don't know what was wrong, then I won't tell you!=P Sore wa, himitsu desu!!^____^Next Time: