Between Two Fires
Original Plot from a comic by Rinoaebastel/Rinoax
Fanfiction version by: MoonStarDutchess
Chapter 1: Happiness is a Pissed Off Xellos
Note: I wrote this fanfiction adaptation with permission from Rinoaebastel/Rinoax. I am not in any way plagiarizing. We claim no ownership of Slayers and are just fans but we do own the ideas in this.
Xellos twitched his nose when a couple snowflakes landed upon it. When they melted, he took his hand and ran it over his nose to get rid of the moisture only to find more replace it. His purple hair was dotted with the little ice particles as if trying to decorate him. The land was covered in snow, several inches of it, deep enough if he didn't have the fabric bind between his pants and shoes, it would find a way to sneak itself inside and attempt to make his feet uncomfortable. He tended to avoid this type of weather but not for the cold or moisture but because…
His eyebrow twitched and nearly fell over when he heard children giggling beyond the hillside.
Because of that.
Winter weather with plenty of snow brought out happy children with oh so happy thoughts. It was disgusting. He envisioned a huge ball of snow rolling over all the children, a giant ball of snow with a hulking rock concealed within the icy cover.
He regretted not just popping in her house as kids ran by yelling, "Hi mister", and "happy holidays" while laughing. I'd better get inside before I throw up. He didn't think he had the capability to throw up but one never knew what a demon was capable of when too much happiness was involved.
He was about to transport to her house but then thought of the nice spark of anger, an extra one that came out when he walked there and showed up at her door like a normal guest. He could be a great deal away and she'd still sense him, then his aura would be like a slowly building dread until he arrived. He heard her describe it to Jillas like "being about to die". How pleasant.
He relaxed when he no longer heard the giggles—though the concealed rock in the snowball idea was still lingering in his mind— and saw Filia's house in the distance. His excitement sped up at the soon to consume taste of her rage. In the time he'd been conveniently popping in on her, she'd happen to have extra tea, and he'd grown fond of those tiny dragon shaped cookies she sat out with it. He would deliberately bite the head off one of them and make fun of them to get her cheeks flushed with anger. Then to get her to take a few swings at him with her mace, he'd always mention Lina finally having her dragon cuisine.
The view of her grabbing her weapon wasn't so bad either, he did appreciate a good leg when he saw one; but of course, he wouldn't admit it to her.
It'd been two years since he'd actually been able to drop by to see her and he actually missed those outbursts (yet another thing he'd never admit to her). If he felt the need to give an excuse, not that she'd ask for one, he certainly had an excellent one.
"My dear, Filia," he'd say. "I don't know how you could expect me to come to tea and hold a teacup when I possessed no limbs of which to hold my hands." He grinned. "Unless you wanted my head and torso there and lots of demon blood leaking all over your immaculate kitchen.
His grin widened and eyes opened into their typical narrow slits. He was going to give her that excuse whether she wanted one or not. It was just too good a chance to send her into a rage; maybe it would make her turn into a dragon and cause her entire house to explode.
He shook the snow off his head and his hair fluffed out like a lion's mane. He used his powers to turn it back to his normal style before he checked her aura in the house to see what her mood was and to ascertain how to ruin it.
He stiffened and furrowed his eyebrows when he felt nothing coming from her living room or kitchen. He searched out her aura in other rooms and her shop. She wasn't there.
When he placed his hand on the doorknob, it cracked and fell to the ground. He kicked open the door and stalked inside to an area that looked more like a junkyard than the tidy home he knew almost as well as his place in the demon realm. He stepped further inside and saw nothing had escaped the torture of whatever occurred there. But did she? He walked around all the rubble and smelled a mix of her blood and another familiar scene he couldn't place.
He walked over to a wall and saw her mace embedded there, thick blood coating its spikes—not Filia's blood—and the place she gripped it that did have her blood on it. He followed the other scent into the kitchen and saw its destruction was just as worse as the living room. He walked over to what was left of the counter and saw her favorite teapot, shattered and coated with . . . his favorite tea. That was the other smell.
He pushed back his reasoning for why she fixed it when he hadn't been there for two years and didn't care much for the tea at all. He remembered her face cringing every time she took a tiny sip but refused to admit such weakness when he teased her about it. Something he couldn't do right now. His eyes opened wide and flashed with anger. He slammed his hand onto the shards. "Who in the hell touched my dragon!" He slammed his hand down again. The shards from the teapot shot in various directions and plunged into the wall like knives.
His muscles tensed and he had to push down the urge to destroy everything around him. Only his common sense coming to the forefront prevented him from doing so.
Destroying this place will be of no good. If you do, you can't find clues to find her.
"They'll pay," Xellos said into the empty room as if conveying it into the cosmos in hopes the perpetrators would hear him. "Whoever did this will burn in the pits of hell and I'm not talking about the fun pits."
He stormed back into the living room, his cape billowing behind him as if afraid of being too close to the raging demon. He'd have to look for some sort of—his sense perked as he felt a familiar aura flashing in his mind.
He twisted around the corner and made his way up the stairs. He walked into her bedroom, imagining for a moment how angry she'd be that he infiltrated her private area, and over to a small wardrobe. He opened the two doors and saw the egg nestled among baby pink blankets and a dark pink velvet pillow.
Note to self: give her something not pink.
"Your mother hid you well you ugly thing. Either that or the ignoramus that took her didn't give a shit about you." He sighed and picked it up. "You're going to have to come with me until I find her."
He thought he felt the egg throb slightly in his grasp.
"Now now, I know your mother won't like it but she wouldn't like it if I left you here either. You don't know yet but your mother just can't be pleased in any way. She quite the queen bitch most of the time. She rivals Zelas for the title." Zelas wouldn't like having a rival for the title of the biggest bitch and Filia wouldn't be thrilled at being a contender.
He looked out the window. You had better not die you stupid dragon. I refuse to take care of this stupid helminth for very long.
He lowered his hand. Why in the hell was he worried about the dragon and this stupid egg anyway? It wasn't his problem and he had better things to do. No matter how much he told himself that, the nagging feeling of responsibility for them wouldn't leave. He'd even been tense over not being able to drop in on her for so long.
"Xellos! Get your ass here now."
His eyes widened. Damn. She knows.
"Damn right I do!"
When Xellos appeared before Beastmaster, he was already kneeling with his staff resting at his side and his head bowed. "You called Beastmaster?"He realized how dumb it was to say that after such a harsh summoning.
He heard her footsteps as she walked around him several times; as if preparing to strike him down like any prey she came across. She grabbed a handful of his hair and yanked, moving him into an upright position. Leaning over, she moved her face in front of his.
"Open your eyes."
Xellos did as she instructed and looked into the most fearsome gaze he knew. "You're my priest. My highest ranking demon."
"Yes, Beastmaster."
"That wasn't a question!" She growled and let go of his head. She stalked up to her throne, which was more like a large pile of pillows, but didn't sit down. She took a long draw off her cigarette before continuing. "You're the demon who undertakes the bloodiest missions, you kill without regret, and you practically wiped out the golden dragons."
She jerked around, her eyes open and cracking like fire. "So tell me what in wolf's name unhinged you back in that filthy dragon's home!"
Xellos swallowed the saliva in his mouth. It was only once every few thousand years that his master used that tone and her eyes threatened to turn him into a demon candle. "Someone attacked her. Not long ago because the blood in her home smelled fresh."
"And why do you care?"
"I…I'm not sure Beastmaster."
She pursed her lips and moved her cigarette holder up and down with her tongue. Her left eyebrow arched and the glow in her eyes powered down to just a small ember. Xellos had never seen such an expression upon her face and a rare tinge of fear rushed through him. "And what about the glowing ball of dragon shit?"
"I'm reasoning they weren't looking for it because if they'd put in the slightest bit of effort they would've found it."
"Your interest has been focused on the golden dragon for quite a while. All during your recent missions." She moved to sit atop a red silk pillow and flicked the ashes from her cigarette into a tray beside her. "Perhaps it's best she be disposed of."
An unfamiliar feeling flickered in his stomach and his mind clawed desperately for something to say. The foreign emotions going on inside him were getting on his nerves worse than that slurping sound Goury made when eating noodles. "My interest only goes as far as her usefulness in the future like she was with Darkstar."
"Oh really . . . and why is that?"
"Well, we might need her power again."
A small smile flickered on Zelas' face. "Perhaps."
"Beastmaster, will you let me take action to discover who took her and retrieve her if found?"
She sat back and lit another cigarette before placing it into her holder. She licked her lips and placed it in her mouth. "Stop blowing hot air up my ass. You have no missions so go find your little plaything. I don't care what in the hell you do on your own time as long as you don't waste mine!"
Xellos stood, relieved that she hadn't saw fit to destroy him. He turned to go but stopped when he heard her voice speak his name. He turned back around.
"Bring me back something deliciously bloody. It's been a while since we've had a good piece of corpse."
"Yes Beastmaster."
Xellos transported to his room, secured the egg in a safe place, and left to begin his hunt for Filia.
AN: My apologies if the formatting is screwed up. This site has been a pain in the butt recently.