Author's
Notes: Xellos/Lina songfic to "Don't Speak" by No Doubt. Don't sue me. I is a
poor student. ^_^ C&C please!
~~~
Time seemed to slow.
Zelas Metallium, one of the most ancient Mazoku Lords, fired a blast of
darkness toward Lina; all knew the reason.
Lina Inverse, favored by
the Lord of Nightmares, "beautiful sorceress genius", was who Xellos Metallium
had fallen in love with. He was a mazoku, a monster – and his Mistress, Zelas,
had not approved of it.
Lina steeled herself and
began to recite the Giga Slave.
But the impact of the
blast never came.
You and me
We used to be together
Every day together always
I really feel
That I'm losing my best friend
I can't believe
This could be the end
"Xellos?" Both Zelas and
Lina stopped. Lina opened her eyes to see Xellos in front of her, wavering
slightly before falling back. Darkness sparked through him – his violet eyes
were fluttering closed.
She rushed to him,
catching him clumsily. His breathing was spidery-thin.
No, he can't die, he
can live through this… the fruitcake's going to get up and smile even though
he's wounded, like he's done before…
It looks as though
you're letting go
And if it's real,
Well I don't want to know
"…L-lina…"
The syllables were pained.
"Xellos,
what were you thinking? You put yourself in the way… for what?" Lina felt tears
mist her eyes and immediately yelled at herself for asking such dumb questions.
She knew the reason. The mazoku, the forever-fruitcake, secretive mazoku
Xellos, did not want her hurt. Didn't want her killed.
Don't speak
I know just what you're saying
So please stop explaining
Don't tell me 'cause it hurts
Don't speak
I know what you're thinking
I don't need your reasons
Don't tell me 'cause it hurts
Xellos
gingerly touched her with a gloved hand. It was still warm, but the warmth was
only an illusion. Images began to form in Lina's mind; that of a
amethyst-haired young man, clad not in the attire of a happy-go-lucky traveling
priest, but in a tunic and slacks much like any standard townsperson. Obviously
a magic-user; she could see him go to the shrine of the Claire Bible and
attempt to decode the lithographs of the manuscript littered within the shrine.
Another
series of images. The War of the Monsters' Fall. The sky glittering gold and
black, the dragons flying gracefully through the expanse of sky only to come
plummeting down in crimson. All due to one figure standing casually on a piece
of rock. One motion, that was all it took to utterly destroy an entire swarm of
dragons.
A
third series. Fire reflected in those violet eyes, yet with none of the warmth;
she remembered well their first meeting.
Our memories
They can be inviting
But some are altogether
Mighty frightening
And now, a fourth. This
time, a very recent memory. The entire group was walking; she was yelling at
Gourry for taking some of her food that morning, Zelgadis was quietly treading
on, Amelia was humming to herself, and Xellos was at the rear of the group
observing through closed eyes. His expression was not the usual I-know-what's-going-on-and-you-don't
look; it was a mixture of fear and hope, a combination Lina never thought to
see in a mazoku.
She heard a faint
whisper. A thought.
"My love runs through my fingers like sand spilling out of a broken
hourglass…"
The
images ended, and she let the tears fall.
As we die, both you
and I
With my head in my hands
I sit and cry
It all made sense now.
The times he had chosen to keep her out of trouble. But it was surprising… had
Xellos seen how she had tried to say the same thing? That he was the only one
with such zest for living, with even more knowledge of the world than herself?
That she had loved him?
Don't speak
I know just what you're saying
So please stop explaining
Don't tell me 'cause it hurts no no no
Don't speak
I know what you're thinking
And I don't need your reasons
Don't tell me 'cause it hurts
"I… I love you too,
Xellos…"
But the hand was getting
colder, and his eyes didn't flitter slightly open.
Lina glared at Zelas, her
voice steel.
"There's nothing keeping
me from Giga Slave-ing you to oblivion, Beastmaster."
It took a moment before
the Mazoku Lord responded.
"I know."
"What are you going to do
about it?"
"Hm. I doubt you'd want
to replace him." Zelas waved a hand airily. "I'll make a deal with you. You're
a businesswoman, Lina Inverse, aren't you?"
Lina figured that
"businesswoman" was a nice way of saying "takes from bandits and gets odd jobs
now and then", so she grumbled acceptance. She couldn't believe the dark lord
was bargaining when her most trusted second-in-command was dying.
"I'll revive Xellos. Both
of you are stubborn; you deserve each other. But he will not have the luxuries
of his powers. He will not be my second-in-command, or even a mazoku."
That earned Zelas a
suspicious look. "In return for what?"
"Not casting the Giga
Slave at me for destroying him and nearly you."
It's all ending,
I gotta stop pretending who we are...
It didn't take long for
Lina to accept the offer.
Zelas smiled and bowed,
leaving them. Gray clouds formed in the sky, and soon a gentle rain fell.
Xellos leaned in Lina's arms, his wounds healing slowly.
Everything had returned
to white.
You and me
I can see us dying... are we?
~~~
