"You summoned me, my lord?" Xelloss appeared and bowed before his creator, Greater Beast Zelas Metallium.
The ruler of Wolfpack Island drummed her long, slender fingers on her throne as she smirked at her favorite servant. "Yes Xelloss, I have a task for you. I need you to protect a certain person…"
"A bodyguard mission my lord?" Xelloss raised his eyebrow. "Is another one like Lina Inverse showing the interest of Lord Dolphin or Lord Dynast?"
"No, nothing like that Xelloss." Zelas chuckled, waving her hand. "This person and her attribute that makes her special is… A secret, one that I'd like to keep under the radar and keep her protected until she is needed." She smirked.
"Who is she?" the violet haired priest asked.
"Her name is Katiana Rozencrants Metallium." Zelas answered. "She is a special creature that myself, Almace, and Water Dragon King Ragradia created to help keep balance in our world. You see when Phibrizzo asked to borrow you I had plenty of time to myself and devised this, as the Overworlder had contacted me through the barrier with a little help of those two Darkstar weapons, Almace had to open the gateway to come here, he informed me that Volfeed and Darkstar were in the mist of battle, possibly ready to destroy their world and come to ours… Thus how I found out about the need for the weapons a year later as I knew once the barrier came down from Phibrizzo's death that Darkstar would move in." she leaned back in her chair, shrugging her shoulders. "So we created a little 'insurance' as it were in the event our powers weren't enough, after all balance must be maintained in this world. Almace must had been cloaking her whereabouts as after his demise I've recently spotted her, I had no idea she had survived. He probably figured I'd betray him as Ragradia was already dead so he didn't have that ace up his sleeve anymore."
"Does she know what she is my lord?" Xelloss asked.
"Yes, to my knowledge Almace was to inform her about everything." Zelas said, crossing her arms. "Granted I have no idea what Ragradia might have told her, but seeing as Ragradia didn't take any hostile action towards you, hell she didn't even out you when she discovered you with Lina Inverse, she must not have told her anything harmful."
"But what exactly shall I tell her when I find her?" Xelloss asked. "That I'm merely to protect her until her powers are needed?"
"Pretty much my boy, we never know when another foolish human plays with our powers and creates something dangerous, like that foolish Rezo did with the Hellmaster's Jar last year." Zelas pointed out. "Or if Dynast or Dolphin do something as foolish as Phibrizzo did. Or in worse case scenario, that blasted Cepheid tips his hand in finally…" She reached forward, her fingers cupping her servant's chin. "And Kati is human after all, granted I'm sure she's been alright all this time, but she might need some protection with Almace's cloak gone. That's where you come in. Mazoku and Shinzoku alike might see her as an abomination, and want her destroyed. After all you've seen what the Golden Dragons did to anything they saw as a threat, they murdered their own brethren the Ancient Dragons."
Xelloss took all this in as he opened his amethyst eyes. "… So you're saying if she's still alive she might be in danger, due to her level of magic and creation history?"
"Let's just say in a human shell her powers are like a walking time bomb." Zelas explained, releasing his chin.. "I'm sure she's had to fight over many threats even before Almace died, and if she hasn't gotten a break from that her powers could explode, possibly to the extent of the level of the Giga Slave."
"… Now I see why you want me to watch over her my lord." Xelloss nodded. "Very well then. I will locate her immediately. What shall I do then my lord? Bring her back here for protection?"
"I highly doubt she'd sit still here my boy, best to just follow her and report back from time to time." Zelas chuckled. "I will tell you when her powers are needed to help keep the balance in the world."
"Alright my lord. Where shall I go to locate this girl?" Xelloss asked, tilting his head.
"Seeing as Almace was hiding out with Valgaav just outside the barrier, it makes sense where I just noticed her around the area of that pet dragon of yours." Zelas replied with a chuckle.
"Filia?" Xelloss's eyebrows creased. "Why would she be there?"
"Perhaps she was in need of healing, that or just wandering." Zelas shrugged. "The best option would be to go there at once, correct?"
"Yes my lord." Xelloss vanished and traveled through the Astral Plane, eventually arriving at the Mace & Vase Shop. "It's been a while since I was last here…" he muttered, stepping inside.
Filia smiled as she poked her head up from behind the counter. "Hello welcome to Mace & Vase how can I-" her eyes widened when she saw who it was. "YOU!?" she drew her mace right away. "Didn't I tell you the last time you came here to never come here ever again you Namagomi?!"
"Not true." Xelloss held up a single finger, wagging it in fashion. "You said to never just randomly teleport in here anymore on you, which I didn't, I used the door. Must you always prove what an ill-tempered dragon you are?"
"Hey boss what's goin' on?" Jilias came running in after hearing the dragon's scream. "Oh hey it's the monster guy again."
"Hello Mr. Jilias, pleased to see you again." Xelloss smiled.
"Enough already what are you doing here you demon?!" Filia snapped, her tail showing now.
Xelloss chuckled. "Your temper is a wonderful breakfast I must say, but I'm not here to feast, I'm actually here to see your guest."
"Guest?" Filia's eyebrows creased, but she jumped just a bit at the mention of a guest. "What guest?"
"Now, now Miss Filia, I felt that jolt in your emotions." Xelloss turned to her with a sly smirk. "Someone recently came to you and I am here to meet up with her."
"You mean you know Miss Katiana?" Jilias asked, which Filia quickly tried to shut him up by grabbing at his snout.
"JILIAS!" she shouted.
"Ah so she is here, then my information was correct." Xelloss chuckled. "Now is she in the shop or at your house with little Valgaav? How fairs the boy by the way?"
"None of your business and you stay away from him!" Filia growled.
Xelloss sighed, this was getting nowhere. "Fine Miss Filia, how about you accompany me back while Jilias watches the store?" he opened one violet eye. "You know you can't stop me from going, at least I'm offering for you to… Supervise me."
"You…. You monster, what are you up to?" Filia balled her fists. "I swear if your people are out for that woman I won't help you in anyway possible! What do you want with her?"
"Now that…" Xelloss chuckled, wagging his finger once more. "Is a secret."
Filia growled as her hair now was standing up on end, magic fluctuating all around her.
"B-boss! Don't remember how long it took to rebuild from the last time!" Jilias cried, hurrying to grab a few things and rush out of the store.
Xelloss just laughed as Filia transformed into her dragon form, taking the roof of the shop with it as she lifted her leg, bringing it back down hard to attempt to smash the Mazoku below her. Xelloss of course disappeared, he then appeared in front of her face.
"As always, the dragon race resorts to violence for answer." Xelloss laughed. "You haven't changed a bit."
"I'LL KILL YOU!" Filia growled, firing her laser breath but Xelloss just dodged by disappearing again.
Xelloss lead Filia on this chase for a while until he finally lost her, making his way to her house which he appeared inside, looking around. "…. Well I sense that some sort of piece of Lord Zelas has been here, but I don't sense it anymore…"
"Uncle Xelloss?" a small green haired child looked up at him. "Are you here to play?"
"Ah Valgaav." Xelloss chuckled, smiling at the boy. "Where's your mother's friend that she's keeping here? Miss Kati?" he bent down to his level.
"You mean the nice lady that came here for a few days?" Valgaav asked. "She said something about having to go."
"Hey boss is that you?" Gravos poked his head into the room. "Oh it's you. Hey the boss told me never to let you in here so you's better get out before she gets back."
Xelloss stood up smiling. "Do not worry Mr. Gravos, I won't be staying. It turns out the person I was looking for isn't here. Did Miss Kati say where she was going?"
"No, but she was in an awful hurry." Gravos answered. "Hey wait, you's know her?"
"Not exactly." Xelloss chuckled. "But I am sent to find her. Thank you for the infor-" he groaned as he heard Filia's dragon roar fill the air. "… Stubborn dragon isn't she? She must had figured I gave her the slip…"
"Hey that's the boss's roar." Gravos said, looking out the window. "You make her angry again?"
"Well now that… Is a secret." Xelloss chuckled as he vanished.
"WHERE IS HE?!" Filia growled as she burst into the room in her human form.
"Uncle Xelloss left." Valgaav piped up.
"Dammit!" Filia stomped her foot on the ground. She then looked around. "Where's Miss Katiana?"
"She said something about having a bad feeling and needed to be on her way boss." Gravos said. "She said to say thanks for thanking care of that nasty Mazoku wound she got."
Filia frowned. "I just hope she's ok, knowing Xelloss he won't give up until he finds her if he's under orders."
"Should we try to go find her boss?" Gravos asked.
Filia shook her head. "No… I've seen already once what her powers can do. I think if anyone can handle that Namagomi, it's her."
Xelloss followed the path until he spotted something on the astral side, a signature that for sure wasn't human, well at least not 100% human that is, but he sensed a piece of his master on this woman so he knew this had to be the one. He appeared back on the physical plane and watched her from above.
She was small, very much like Lina in a way he thought. Her height was 5'3", and pushing a large A cup. With her curly lilac hair and blue eyes she made a near perfect doll, but for some reason she was covering her perfection under a long, brown cloak. Xelloss smirked, of course a product of his lord and master would have to look perfect, but he couldn't understand why she didn't take pride in such.
While he was still looking her over… The next thing he knew something was coming at him fast, he didn't have enough time to dodge and was hit by a magical attack. "What in the…?" he rubbed his head and looked down… The girl was gone! "Where did she?"
A high pitched voice answered him. "…. Looking for someone?" the cloaked woman was now floating in the air effortlessly next to him, bouncing an enhanced Fireball in her hand.
"My, my…. Are you accustom to attacking random strangers?" Xelloss chuckled.
"Only Mazoku." The girl replied. "Because I've learned not to wait for you guys to attack me over the past few years."
"I'm sure you've been attacked many times since Almace died." Xelloss pointed out, crossing his arms. "I assure you, that's not what I'm here for."
"You knew Almace?" her features softened at that.
"Yes Miss Katiana." Xelloss smiled, opening his amethyst eyes. "I knew all your 'parents' as they were. You see you and I have something in common, being created by one of them."
"You know my name…?" she narrowed her eyes, looking him over. "… You're Zelas's General Priest, aren't you? I sensed her on you. Filia told me your name is Xelloss."
"Correct." Xelloss smiled. "Now can we talk civilized on the ground before some humans pass and panic?"
"…." Katiana nodded, slowly descending to the ground where she made the Fireball in her hand vanish. "Alright…" she lifted the hood of her cloak, allowing him to fully see her face now. With the cloak a bit more open he saw the outfit she had on under it, a lilac dress with some pink trim to it, and a pink bow in the center. There were a few gems on a necklace around her neck.
Xelloss chuckled, grabbing her shoulder. "Good, now let's head towards-" She suddenly had grabbed his arm and lifted him over her head, smashing him down onto the ground.
"… I said we can talk on the ground, that doesn't mean I trust you completely yet." Katiana explained. "I'm not going to be taken to be locked up in a cage or something. And your emotions tell that you're in a hurry to get me out of here."
"… Hrphm, your empathy is strong." Xelloss muttered, slowly pulling himself to his feet. "Just you need to work on that temper of yours."
"I do not have a temper." She retorted, crossing her arms. "I just don't take well to being attacked constantly for the past couple of days…"
"Oh so you immediately flip over every single person that merely touches your shoulder?" Xelloss teased. "With your immense beauty I'm sure there's a pile of male bodies around somewhere for each one that tried to comment you."
"Only the ones that call me an abomination…" Katiana mumbled.
"Do try to rest those powers though Miss Katiana." Xelloss chuckled. "If what I heard is true and you were injured recently we'd hate for you to exhaust yourself. You see that's why I'm here."
"To annoy me?" Katiana joked with shrug.
"To protect you." Xelloss replied. "Lord Zelas knows your human form makes you a target for most Mazoku, even the Shinzoku because of the mixture of your powers." He winked at her. "Your powers will be needed eventually and it would be terribly bothersome if you were to die before then."
"I've lasted this long." Katiana said, placing her hands on her hips. "Do I really need a babysitter? Especially one that's an egotistical jerk?"
"You got that terrible impression of me from five seconds?" Xelloss faked a hurt expression.
"No actually Filia told me all about you… Or rather I heard her growl about you when her son mentioned you once." Katiana explained.
"Well you can't believe everything that comes out of a stubborn dragon's mouth." Xelloss replied, twisting his mouth. Damn that Filia for making his mission harder! "How about you judge me for yourself, Miss Katiana?"
"Alright, I guess there must be a reason you've just suddenly dropped in." Katiana didn't look too convinced from his words. "Just remember I'm watching you, the first sign of something funny I'm blasting you back to 'our' creator as it were."
"Don't you mean our mother?" Xelloss chuckled.
"Ragradia I considered to be my mother, Zelas just contributed to my creation." Katiana shrugged. "Which is why I will never call you brother, got it?"
"Understood then." Xelloss smirked at her. "I'll just be known as your bodyguard from here forward then."
"Just what I need, a guard dog that can speak…" Katiana said sarcastically.
"At least this way you won't be bored?" Xelloss chuckled.
"I wasn't before you came." She replied. "Now I'm just annoyed."
"Yes I sensed that." The priest snickered. "Your emotions taste quite well at that."
"I didn't give you permission to feed off me." Katiana glared at him.
"I need to recover from that sudden attack you did before Miss Katiana." Xelloss countered.
"I should have hit you with a harder spell…" she grumbled, crossing her arms firmly.
"So where exactly are you headed, Miss Katiana?" Xelloss asked as she turned to walk down the road, he followed beside her.
"To the harbor for a ship, I was born outside the Mazoku Barrier so I'd like to explore the inside of it now that the barrier is no more." Katiana explained. "I want to see for instance this grand country of Seyruun I hear so much about, I want to explore the Kingdom of Dils, see the Kataart Mountains where my mother lived even after her first demise, and I'd like to explore this place I heard about called Zephilia."
Xelloss twisted his mouth at that. Well Katiana did just explain that she saw Ragradia as her mother and not Zelas, so he figured that made sense. But one of those places puzzled him. "Why Zehpilia?"
"I want to meet the Knight of Cepheid, she lives there doesn't she?" Katiana asked.
"Why do you want to meet with her?" now Xelloss was REALLY curious. "I understand you were created to be a balance keeper but could it be you know more than you're letting on?"
"I won't know for sure until I see her." Katiana said, turning to face him. "But there are rumors that with all the pieces of Shabranigdo popping up all over that Cepheid's knight might eventually start reacting to it."
'Just like Lord Zelas pointed out…' Xelloss thought to himself. "So you're heading in that direction first to confirm the rumor, thus the sightseeing trip on the way for the fun of it?"
"Well I might as well make it worth my wild, right?" Katiana chuckled, winking at him.
"I suppose, I must admit even after traveling this world on missions for over 1,000 years I still find something new or changed." Xelloss shrugged. "I try to keep up with the times as human customs change rapidly."
"Oh really now?" Katiana raised an eyebrow at him, and before she could make a remark, Xelloss grabbed her pulled her back, before she could growl in protest an explosion hit just where she had been walking towards. "What the?!"
"Well blast and here I thought that would be easy." Chuckled a voice ahead of them. Appearing before them was a large creature with elf ears and green skin, a bit of orange hair on his sides but no hair on the top of his head, he was in dark robes with a purple cloak, he also floated above the ground, cross-legged and his hands resting on his knees.
"Vandal your cheap parlor tricks are far too easy to spot." Xelloss said with a shrug. "Might I ask what business you have with the young lady here?"
"Oh checking out a rumor I've heard of a very powerful human mixture appearing recently." The creature answered with a low snicker. "And seeing that you're hanging around said person the rumor must be true." He held out a brown staff and pointed right at Katiana. "That the abomination that proves Zelas's act of betrayal towards the Mazoku Race does exist!"
"….. What did you call me?" Katiana growled.
Xelloss blinked, picking up on an overwhelming anger coming from her. 'What in the world…?'
"I'm just calling it as it is my dear." Vandal shook his head. "Normally never would a Mazoku mix with a Shinzoku, thus the reason for being an abomination that should not be of-" he was cut off with an Astral Break knocking him nearly to the ground. "HEY!" he snarled, and then his eyes widened as Katiana's fists were coming at him like mad, enchanted with Visfarank.
Xelloss's own eyes had widened at the display before him. '…. Wow, it kind of reminds me of the outbursts Miss Lina has when people call her flat chested…' he thought to himself, sweatdropping.
"I'LL SHOW YOU AN ABOMBANATION!" Katiana growled, she even enchanted her legs as she kicked him square in the face. She then seemed to be chanting right after that another spell, one Xelloss knew very well. "Darkness beyond twilight, crimson beyond blood that flows…"
"The Dragon Slave?" Xelloss knew now was a good time to run for a bit, he knew the kind of damage Lina did with that spell as he vanished off to the Astral Plane to hide as Katiana finished her spell.
"Buried in the stream of time is where your power grows. I pledge myself to conquer, all the foes who stand, before the mighty gift bestowed in my unworthy hands…" Katiana channeled the energy while still hurling off a series of almighty kicks to keep Vandal down and in firing range. "Let the fools who stand before me be destroyed by the power you and I possess! DRAGON SLAVE!" She unleashed the building power she had which destroyed the Mazoku, and left a large crater in his wake… There wasn't anything left of the road nor the trees that used to surround the area.
Katiana panted a bit, sighing as she collected her strength. "Damn… I shouldn't be expelling this much after taking on that Mazoku before… I'm supposed to be resting my energy…"
"My, my, what a display!" Xelloss suddenly reappeared behind her, clapping his hands. "You're even more than I expected quite a show!"
"…. Says the one who cowered in fear the minute I started chanting my spell." Katiana stated flatly, not even turning to face him as she waked ahead.
"Ouch, low blow there Miss Katiana." Xelloss said in a mock hurt voice. "But you see you're not the first person I've seen recklessly throw around that spell." He though mentally added, 'But for it to make this amount of damage Miss Lina has to magically amplify it with the Demon's Blood Talismans…'
"Who said it was reckless?" Katiana snapped. "He was another Mazoku that planned to take me on because he sensed my powers. As you pointed out before, without Almace's cloak on me they've been coming out of the woodwork. Also." She finally turned to face him, hands on her hips. "Some bodyguard you are! You should have fought him off instead of yakking to him!"
"Unlike you Miss Katiana, I myself prefer to avoid violence." Xelloss shrugged. "I merely was trying to find out his means and purpose, you're the one that started attacking the minute he called you- Errr I mean the moment he angered you."
"… A monster that likes to avoid violence?" Katiana just stared at him in shock, blinking rapidly. "… Great, of all the Mazoku that get assigned to me I get the reject that can't even fight."
Xelloss pouted as he crossed his arms. "I beg your pardon. I myself destroyed hundreds of dragons in the War of the Monster's Fall."
"Suuuure you did." Katiana didn't sound convinced. "I've heard how stories like that can get exaggerated."
Xelloss's eyebrow twitched at that. "… I do not lie Miss Katiana, that is lesson number one."
"What's number two? That you're a mommy's boy and basically just do what you're told?" Katiana teased with a smirk.
"Well now the answer to that is lesson number three." Xelloss winked. "When I can't tell you something, it's a secret."
"I'm starting to have a bad feeling about this." Katiana mumbled, rolling her eyes. "Let's just find the nearest town so I can rest for the night. I've expelled too much over the past few days with attacks so I'm tired."
"Well then I can assist with that." Xelloss smirked, suddenly picking her up.
"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING?!" Katiana cried, rather frantic as he had lifted her into his arms bridal style.
"Simple Miss Katiana, body weight means nothing to me so I can carry you." Xelloss chuckled, winking once more at her. "As I told you part of my mission is to make sure those powers of yours don't go out of control from too much use. This way you can get your rest." He floated off the ground and started heading in the general direction.
Katiana folded her arms across her chest, her cheeks turning just a hint of red. "… Alright, but don't make a habit out of this."
Author's Notes: Katiana belongs to TheCutieKitsune, the person who commissioned this story