Morning came too soon. The persistent drumming in his head never really stopped. It continued through his sleep, pulsing in his haunted dreams. Zelos wasn't one to sleep through nightmares, but he needed to be unconscious for a while. He could at least pretend that he wasn't responsible for last night.
A pale thought crossed his mind. How many people had died?
There was a clatter on the coffee table in front of him. He opened one eye and smiled. Pancakes. Sebastian must have heard what happened last night. He didn't think he'd even woken up the butler. His staff had gotten used to him coming in at all hours of the night, so unless something broke, they didn't fret too much. It was a little lax in security, but that wasn't a problem he was going to deal with today.
"Sebastian, you are golden," Zelos smiled.
"I'll tell him that."
Zelos bolted upright. That was a woman's voice! Sure enough, there was a lady sitting across from him on a cushy chair. She had her legs crossed, arms folded around her well-endowed chest. He smirked. Zelos knew that voice and those boobs. He was very well acquainted with both, although he wished to know the latter more.
He raised an eyebrow, laughing. "Is it my birthday?"
The woman growled at him, "No. Shut up and eat your breakfast."
"Touchy, touchy," Zelos beamed. He ran his fingers across the cold silverware, trying to hide his grin. "Did you get breakfast? This is pretty big. We could split it. Maybe go into the kitchen, find some whipped cream or bananas or—"
"Don't even try," The woman cut him down.
Zelos shrugged, "Fine, your loss." He wasn't ready to give up quite yet. Drumming his fingers across the tray in front of him, he found another tactic. "There's a second fork here. I know it's a salad fork, but you don't exactly have the breeding to care about that sort of thing."
His guest slapped her forehead. "If I help you eat, will you shut up?"
"You've got a harsh tongue, Miss Fujibayashi," Zelos patted a couch cushion next to him. His guest sighed, but she rose to her feet. She flopped down next to the redhead, reluctantly taking the second fork. Zelos tried to hide his grin, but it didn't work. She nudged him in the shoulder, trying to get him to knock it off. He couldn't help but notice just a crack of a smile on her face.
They settled down and had breakfast.
/***/
It retreated for now. The sun was baking the earth, and it cooked the creature's flesh. It slunk over the protective walls of the city, dripping into the channel below it. This was supposed to be treated sewage water, but it was hardly appealing now. The water shimmered with an oily film. The trash compactors were failing again. With any luck, somebody would complain about it, and then the creature would have itself another meal.
The monster had grown in size. Some of its victims were still conscious, struggling from within, but their attempts were weakening. Their blood congealed, adding to the creature's bulk. It took long to digest their flesh. It had been a magnificent hunt, but its satisfaction wouldn't last for very long. The urge to feed was gnawing at it again. Still, those surface people couldn't resist its power now. How long could Meltokio last? A week? A month? It would all be gone, soon enough.
It gushed through the sewer passageways, stopping by mouse holes along its way home. Parts of it broke off, taking tiny bones with it. The vermin along the path ran in sheer terror. The smaller piles of slime dashed after the unfortunate creatures. The monster could grow larger in pieces, and then combine when it was time to attack again. It had a wonderful, filthy existence. It was its own society and identity, coexisting at once.
Slow movements inside the creature stilled. The struggling creatures were gone now, save for one final human. Its pulse beat inside the monster like a heart of its own. It could feel the lone human shudder and cry. The terror in that human's mind must have been greater than anything it ever knew.
A calculating thought dawned on the creature. What did the human know? It had to know what other humans would do, now that the monster had emerged from its months of slumbering in the sewers. Maybe it knew where to find more humans to feast on. The creature could live off of other creatures, of course, but it felt right to destroy the humans. They had killed it before. It only seemed natural to return the favor. It was only through their stones that it lived again.
Another thought crossed its mind. Maybe this one knew where to find more shiny pebbles.
The hulking ooze split down the middle, tearing itself into two large chunks. A pellet of flesh and skeletons wrapped around the survivor. The humans wanted this one safe, sacrificing their lives to keep it protected. How odd. The monster recognized her, but didn't understand why she was worth an entire group of humans. It picked her out, peeling the corpses away and absorbing their parts again.
The girl screamed at it.
The creature wasn't surprised. Its skeletons turned towards her, empty sockets glowing red. The monster asked, "Heh-heh…hexsssphere?"
"What?" The girl asked.
What hadn't the monster been clear about? This girl was a silly creature. She had very intriguing hair, though. It looked like corded gold. The monster wondered if that was why the humans saved her. They valued pretty things. They liked the shimmering stones and those strange costumes they wore. They even liked those strange red plants, the ones that the men and women kept giving each other last night.
This human was pretty enough. Maybe that was why she was worth saving.
The blob repeated itself. "Hexsssphere?"
The golden lady shook her head, shivering from the atmosphere. "I cannot understand you. Please be clearer."
That redheaded human hadn't understood him either. The human language was complicated for it to speak. It was difficult to sync up the skulls of the creatures and give them a semblance of breath. It had no other way to communicate with the humans, other than crude body language. It used to know how to speak. That was a long time ago, back when it only had one body.
The monster dug within itself. It pulled a glowing orb out of the socket of one of its oldest skeletons. The stone was covered in tissues. It had grown into the creature, like a tumor or a pimple. It reached out to the girl and dumped its contents at her feet. She knelt down, picking up the object slowly. The stone wasn't something she recognized it. At least, not immediately.
A slow look of horror crossed her face as she finally understood the monster's request. "An exsphere?"
"Hexsssphere," the monster laughed. It was a strange squelching noise that rippled across its skin, air bubbling out its sides. It smacked against its flesh, regaining its full size. The monster tried talking with the golden girl again, "Want."
The girl's blonde hair bounced against her pale neck. The poor, pretty thing looked like she had been hurt. She was repulse by its suggestion, "I cannot help you. These stones are outlawed by my father. They are being recovered and destroyed en masse by Lloyd Irving and his companions." She regained some strength, spitting at the monster, "You do not want to meet them. They will destroy you."
Lloyd Irving. That name was familiar. It could remember just the slightest details about the boy. He had striking hair, too—it wasn't a bright shade, but it waved in the breeze like a downy crown. Maybe attraction to distinguishing hair was how humans picked leaders. It couldn't remember that much about Lloyd Irving, but it knew he existed. He had friends, the lady said? It could recall them easier. The boy traveled with that girl. The monster recoiled at the memory of her. That girl!
The monster roared at the lady, "Pu-Re-Se-Aaa!"
"Stay away from me!" The golden girl shrieked, curling into a ball in the corner of its lair. She was too frail to fight it. Still, she didn't give up much information. Maybe keeping quiet was the only thing she could do to keep it on guard. The monster did have her cornered, though. It was worth the monster's time to interrogate her one more time.
"Where go? Hexsssphere?" The creature asked.
The girl shivered, glancing away from the monster. A troubled expression broke her beautiful features. She cried, but she wiped away the tears from her face. It was hard for her to look at the creature. "Most exspheres are now destroyed at the Lezareno Company headquarters."
The monster was pleased. It remembered this place. "Le-za-re-no." It had visited Lezareno in the past so many times. The building lay next to the ocean, mere meters away from the coastline. It smelt like popcorn, salt, and freedom. The smell of happy humans. Many tasty things.
"So, it still lives, too." The creature shook with laughter. "Find it…"
Flesh squelched as the creature separated once more into two equal halves. One dove into the water, slinking its way out into the hot sunlight. It would be protected by the ocean, once it got out far enough. The other half peeled itself around the scared lady. The girl tried to run, but there was nowhere to go. She was trapped in the corner of the sewer complex.
This girl was very useful. It would have to try and remember her name sometime.
/***/
Sheena stood outside of Zelos's room, waiting for him to clean up. She might as well have picked up a book and finished it in the time it was taking him. Half a dozen shampoo and cologne scents passed through his door. She was going to choke on the noxious fumes before he even got dressed. Brushing and drying his hair alone was going to take roughly half a decade.
"You sure you don't want to help me pick out something to wear?" Zelos asked her, his voice muffled.
Sheena blew him off. "You're old enough to dress yourself."
He laughed, "Fine. You're missing out, though."
"Something tells me that if I really ever wanted to see you naked, that's not going to be a problem." Sheena couldn't believe his attitude. He never really changed.
The door to his bedroom opened, and blue eyes peeked out. "Oh, I see. It's more fun in the chase?" He waggled one eyebrow, taunting her with it.
Sheena pushed the door shut. The redhead whined something about his nose, but she knew it was just a ploy. There was a part of her that couldn't believe he was so jovial, especially if what she heard about last night was true. The streets of Meltokio were alive with terror and rumors. People around the castle were especially jittery, and stories were easy to pick up. Some swore it was a living ghost. Others made up dramatic stories about a plague or a foul magician. Every person had their own variation, and most embellished their roles. There were several universal details, though—people were dead, the princess was missing, and Zelos had failed to fight the creature off.
"Do you want to talk about last night yet?" Sheena asked.
Zelos was pretty simple with his response. "Nope." He jumped off the topic as fast as possible. "You know, I think I've got some clothes that might fit you. We could have a couple day. What do you think about that?"
"No. Forget it. I am not dressing up like you," Sheena couldn't believe his audacity. "Do your normal bimbos do that?"
"Don't call them my bimbos." Zelos blew a raspberry at her. "It just so happens that you're my most special hunny, so you get the best privileges. Like access to my personal closet, for one!"
Sheena cringed at where this topic was heading. "Are you dressed yet?"
"Just a second. Gotta admire myself in the buff," he stalled.
Sheena punched his door. She'd had enough of his narcissistic preening. She didn't care if it was an act or not. There was work to be done. She couldn't spend all day waiting for him to get dressed.
"Okay, okay! Cool it, would you?" He paused for a moment, and then put on his underwear and white pants. Couldn't go wrong with the white pants. After a second, he added, "By the way—what brings you into town?"
"What do you mean?" Sheena asked.
"Ah...don't bother. Probably secret ninja stuff." Zelos retracted his question. It was risky, trying to get information out of her. His black undershirt went on next. "Got work to do. The king's jumping down my throat. Pretty sure I'm dead meat if I don't help him out."
Sheena murmured, "Like the king can afford to kill you."
"I know, right? Man, I wish you could have—wait a second," Zelos rambled on for half a moment, but stopped. He threw on his pink duster and stepped outside of his bedroom. His mind started whirling. "Did you hear something about last night?"
Sheena nodded. She folded her arms across her chest, trying to get Zelos to maintain eye contact. "You could say that. I stopped by the castle today, just to drop off my diplomatic report. The castle was empty. I have never seen that place so ...you know. Dead."
Zelos winced at the word, but tried to hide his concern. He smiled, throwing an arm around Sheena's shoulders. "So, you saw the king? I didn't think he would be in the mood to talk about diplomacy."
"We didn't talk for long. He's pretty devastated." An uncomfortable wave swept over Sheena. She tried slipping away from Zelos's grasp, but it wasn't working. He was up to something, and it wasn't his usual tricks. If he was himself, he would have already found her bra strap or goosed her. He wanted her in place for something else. She didn't want to know what.
The redhead smirked, tightening his grip just slightly. "I would think he'd have his entire staff looking for the princess. You heard about that, right? Being the sly ninja that you are?" He added the tiniest of winks to his statement.
Sheena agreed, slipping her hands under Zelos's arms as she explained, "It came up." She didn't like it when he tried using his charms against her. It just made her frustrated and uncomfortable. She could deal with his physical side. His mental state was something that frequently threw her for a loop. She tried to get him off the topic, "Say, where are you gloves? Aren't you, you know—"
He sensed the ninja's cool demeanor slip. He flashed a smile again, "You know, you never really visit me unless something's up. Why are you here?"
"What? Can't I just stop by?" Sheena backed away from the redhead. "I just had the day to myself. I figured, I was in the area, and—"
Zelos backed her into a corner. He threw his arms around her, pinning her next to the wall. He hated when Sheena was hiding secrets. He smirked again, stroking her bangs. Softly, he whispered, "Sheena, babe, I've got to know. Tell me why you're here."
The idiot would have figured it out, sooner or later. Sheena looked away from the redhead and sighed. "The king asked me to help you, okay?" She crossed her arms, blowing off smoke. "I couldn't turn him down. He was pretty disturbed by the whole ordeal."
"Oh, my hunny!" Zelos wrapped himself around Sheena. He nuzzled into her collarbone, "You're so sentimental! My passionate ninja warrior coming to the rescue of her beloved and the kingdom, all for altruistic and romantic reasons!"
Sheena pushed the redhead off of her before he could make any perverted moves. "Knock it off! I only did it because the king offered me compensation."
Zelos dusted himself off, not at all put off by her backlash. If anything, the struggle made it better. He continued beaming, now determined to get to work. "So, my lovely geisha, should we start investigating the mysterious disappearance of our cute princess?"
"You call me your geisha again, and I'll throw your body off the cliffs of Flanoir," Sheena growled. She wondered if anyone would notice. It would probably take a couple of days for his body to wash up, if he wasn't frozen in a block of ice by then. She shook off her murderous desires and decided to get back on track. Somebody else could kill Zelos. It was her duty to make sure that didn't happen. Still, if he was going to keep it up…
The ninja sighed. This was going to be more arduous than she previously thought.
/***/
Author's Note:
The first major clean-up I did with this second was remove the extreme nature of the monster's previous dialogue. Just get it to a point where it was still eerie, but a bit more legible. I also removed a subplot about Zelos having an shock device on his arm because…well, I could figure out other ways to keep him around without cosmetics.
Other than that…old Shelos flames still burn.
