Devil's Advocate
Chapter One:
Part Two
A Slayers fanfiction
By kitsuneonna
Flying low over the beach, Lina saw piles of white bones lying half-buried in the sand. This was certainly the right place. Even without seeing the bones, there was still that feeling of submerged power she got faint whiffs of from time to time. The sudden attack she was expecting hadn't come yet. She looked back suspiciously at the departing ship. She sensed danger but if it wasn't aimed at her then—
She spied a long, black octopus-like arm shooting out along the water towards the retreating ship. "Oh, no you don't!" She powered up a Dil Brand and sent it flying at the attacker. She nodded with satisfaction when the spell hit, sending an explosion of water and steam up into the air.
Lina knew she probably didn't destroy it and she was proved right. It lay in the water, having stopped its attack on the ship. Suddenly the arm shot out of the sea, coming out of the water fast. It arced up high then curved down towards Lina. In the time she had before her dodge she got a good look at her attacker. She was right, this was no natural creature, but was a Mazoku indeed. No sunlight glinted on the limb diving at her. Evil miasma swirled within, much like she'd seen of Seygram's last moments or Dark Star's, for that matter.
Crap! Move it Lina, she chastised herself as she darted out of the thing's way.
At least she had gotten the brute's attention and now it would leave the ship alone. Well, as long as certain people stuck to the plan. She grumbled under her breath, "Get yer ass moving, Gerad!"
She sent more spells flying at her attacker and yelled, "That's right! You're fighting with me, pal! Bring it on!" She swooped to the side and suddenly was outracing a host of the grabbing arms. That's right boys—eyes on me, she thought to herself grimly. As long as she could keep all of this thing's attention, the ship was safe. Now all she had to do was keep it busy until the ship was also out of range.
She darted into the forest, hoping to avoid the reaching arms in the trees. She dodged and taunted as she went, shouting at her pursuer. Tree limbs thrashed wildly in the wake she left.
She was angry but confused as well as she zigzagged through the forest, flying steadily uphill. The thought that this attack was nothing special kept playing in her mind.
"How could something low-level like you take out Xelloss?" She snarled, "Now, he was a real Mazoku, not a second-rater like yourself!" She didn't understand how this thing could be here—what the hell had happened? The island surely would have been obliterated in a fight. As she dodged and dove, avoiding the arms, her glimpse of the island itself showed this fight was the first devastation this place had known in ages. Trees were being uprooted and tossed aside by the frenzied, nameless Mazoku. Still, this was the only action this place had seen in just about forever. Those were some big old trees the thing was knocking over. It just didn't add up.
Lina began to realize she had no hope of winning this fight when all she could do was try to avoid getting snagged. She had to find the thing's head, so to speak, before she could cut it off. Surely there was a lair the creature hid out in and most likely it was the fortress. Her only problem was that nothing she had seen so far called her attention. There were no signs pointing her way helpfully, stating 'Fortress of Dark Lord Xelas this way please,' damn it all. She twitched to the side as an arm shot out of the trees ahead of her. "Whew, that was too close—whoa!"
As Lina skimmed past the arm, a smaller arm erupted from the main one and made a grab for her. It caught her cloak and she released the clasp just in time. It fluttered away and was out of sight in seconds.
Lina sighed at the loss of her cloak thinking, Damn! I didn't know it could do that! Waitaminute! My pack was in that cloak! MY MONEY WAS IN THAT CLOAK! Angry beyond reason, Lina drew more power to her.
"Fireball!" She screamed. "Fireball-Fireball-FIREBALL!"
oOo
Besides this being the most excitement he ever recalled having, he was exhilarated—she did know him! She KNEW his name! He remembered as she spoke it that it was true. I am Xelloss! …However, she is mistaken in thinking I'm some other Mazoku, he thought. Maybe I didn't look quite like this when she knew me. He kept up his attack but he tried to relearn how to be careful. He also listened to her taunts and was strangely touched. She knew I was powerful too. If this girl knows so much about me, maybe she could help me regain my other form. In his excitement at the thought of capturing her, he started working on growing secondary arms from the ones he already had. That interesting experiment gained him a cloak and a volley of fireballs for his trouble. An arm dropped her cloak off next to him and six purple eyes examined it. Hmmm, he thought as he prodded it. It is awfully heavy, but now my little prey can fly faster without it. Despite such an obvious advantage, she was even angrier now for some reason. Had he ever understood humans at all?
So the human was mad about her cloak and he felt this little charade had gone on for far too long. Xelloss had paused in his attack while puzzling over the cloak and apparently, she had made good use of the time. She was closer now, walking now and mumbling under her breath. Well, I'll have a much better time catching her on the ground—she's such a slippery little thing! he thought admiringly and sent a few questing arms out again. Getting closer to her, the vibrations of her voice—and now wasn't that familiar too?—were felt along his sinuous limbs. Now he could finally hear her again, he paused. What's that she's saying?
"…let the fools who stand before me… be destroyed by the power you and I possess."
Eh? Isn't that…
"GIVE ME BACK MY MONEY! DRAGON SLAVE!"
Shit! A hundred violet eyes appeared to open wide in surprise as the explosion caught most of the arms the newly-renamed Xelloss had sent after her. The aftermath of the spell left a smoking crater on his island. It also drove home the point that his learning things shouldn't have to be painful. The loss of those arms had stung, damn it. I didn't know she could do that though—how deliciously destructive! Best to get her before she lays complete waste to this place! More arms shot out lightening-quick from the ground around the human and snared her before she could do it again. She didn't have time to act as his coils tightened around her, and the crushing pressure made her body slump limply in his grasp.
Regrettably, Xelloss had also forgotten humans were so fragile…
oOo
The return of consciousness was not welcome, and Lina groaned as she became aware of the dull agony in her ribs. "Recovery," she croaked. Casting a few of those might get her by, but it would be days before she was ready to— "Uh, where the hell am I?" She opened her eyes and regretted it instantly.
"Eeeeyaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!" She tried to scoot away, but the monstrosity had a hold of her.
Several dozens of eyes peered curiously back at her—from far too close a range. Not only is it ugly beyond reason, it has no concept of personal space, her fright-filled mind told her. It filled the room, towering over her. As she reacted to it, black swirls and eddies formed and rotated. It started to hunch and wiggle and the sight of it gyrating with eyes popping up and disappearing all the time filled her with the need to laugh. She would do no such thing however; this weird critter was a Mazoku and the murderer of so many people.
A sighing, broken whisper breathed through the room, resolving into words. "I know you."
She stared incredulously at the thing. "I don't think so, I'm sure I would remember you."
The whispering began again. "You do know me. You called my name, human." Lina didn't reply as she was too confused. She hadn't noticed while it was talking, but the odd twisting and wiggling dance had had a purpose after all. It was contracting its tenebrous, wraithlike form to something more compact. As it did so, it kept getting closer.
She still tried to back away again. "Okay then. Tell me how you know me."
"I don't remember. I have been chained to this island for such a long time that I have lost myself."
"Chained?" She looked around, confused still. "I don't see anything."
"They were chains of my own making, when my Master disappeared long ago. I have been vigilantly protecting her lair for so long; I do not remember who I am. You gave me back my name—tell me more!"
It had gotten too close. Lina struggled against its grip. Pain shooting through her ribs, she grated, "I'm not saying a word 'til you back the hell off, buddy! And I don't know what the hell you're talking about with the 'name' thing!"
The Mazoku backed off, and if it was possible something like that could look confused, it did manage to. "You gave me my name back—I am Xelloss."
Before she knew what she was saying, she quipped, "Are you nuts?" When instantaneous death failed to arrive, she peered cautiously at the thing.
"Well, that's what I'm trying to tell you—I actually am." A note of peevishness had crept into the Mazoku's murmuring voice. "I thought if you saw me, you'd remember me."
She looked doubtfully at the creature. "If you're Xelloss—which I'm not ready to concede, you haven't aged well."
"Alright then, what was Xelloss like?" It eagerly leaned closer and while she felt a twinge of discomfort from that, she started thinking. How could she be having such a fairly normal conversation with the same Mazoku who had carelessly slaughtered so many? And seeing as how it had, why wasn't it killing her? Could it be? Maybe she should just play along and see where that got her.
"Well, he was pretty damned cute, not scary like you." She glanced up at it. Well, it hadn't killed her yet and did seem eager to hear her talk, so she began. "If you want to know everything, I can start at the beginning. It was a really long time ago and will take at least all day to tell. Don't you have something comfortable I can sit on?"
In lieu of reply, an arm whipped out and through an open door. Shortly, it came back bearing a chair. The Mazoku sighed, "I even swatted some of the dust off. Please continue."
Lina slowly and stiffly sat down. Kinda plush! Nice! "Alright, since you're behaving so well, I guess it's only fair to fill you in." She relaxed and began to speak.
"This was back when I was only fifteen but naturally, as a sorcery genius, I have a good memory." The Mazoku snorted in amusement as she said this but leaned back. "The first time I met Xelloss…."
oOo
Xelloss could barely contain his excitement as she spoke; he remembered everything and more besides. All the little anecdotes she told him brought more bubbling to the surface. The ragged hole in his self was closing. He knew she thought him a liar only claiming to be Xelloss, but he remembered her when he first brought her into the audience chamber. As soon as the sight of her reached his many eyes, memories of her laughing, of her terrorizing bandits and even a few memories of himself being throttled by her emerged. She was the same Lina Inverse with whom he'd had an odd relationship over the course of many long years. The thought that she'd come all this way, after so many years surprised him. He realized as she spoke, her emotions were changing to something else as she warmed to her subject. He recognized that too.
She missed him. She cared very much for him—so much that she'd come all this way to risk her life fighting a strange Mazoku. A Mazoku that, for all she knew, had been powerful enough to overcome him and his Master. She must have felt she might die, but she still came. The emotions were nothing he normally enjoyed but they warmed him in a way. For the first time since before his Master vanished, Lina was making him feel solid and real, his nightmarish half-life melting away. She was giving him back his precious former self. Lina continued speaking but he could hear the sorrow and longing in her voice too. She was giving up so much in her retelling of their stories but he knew how to repay her.
His sighing speech, strengthened to something more like his old self broke into her long oratory. "And then, since I wouldn't give you the book, you chased me through your house and I cheated, remember?" She stopped talking and gawped at him.
"…Xel?" She stared up at him, shock and realization plain on her face.
Xelloss said smugly, "I told you it was me."
Lina recovered from her shock to quirk an eyebrow at him and point. "…Then is your Mazoku form really this ugly?"
Slightly taken aback, his newly recalled pride was stung. "I beg your pardon—I've had a really rough hundred years and now you're here and all you can say is 'you're so ugly, Xelloss!'" He spun wildly for a moment; it was so hard to really coalesce after so long. "I'm trying here… it would help if I could only remember what I looked like."
"Oh! That's easily done." Lina got out of her chair carefully. He watched as she walked over to the door and knelt to get her pack. "You might not remember, but we had a portrait done of us after we came back from one of my big loot runs."
"Uh, now that you mention it, I seem to recall you forcing me into it."
Lina stopped pawing through her pack to turn and gaze at him threateningly. "It was a good idea, no matter what you said at the time! I was happy to be home safe and I wanted to commemorate the first all-profit human-Mazoku venture ever!"
"And you still carry it with you after all this time? Oh Lina dear, you still care!" Xelloss laughed at her slight blush.
Flapping a hand at him as if she could wave his comment away she screeched, "Will you cut it out?!" She held up a rectangular board, which on closer inspection was actually two pieces of wood tied together. She backed away towards the door and said "You've gotta see it in the light, since it faded over the years."
He started to follow her but he stopped at the door. Sensing his hesitation, Lina paused and looked behind her. A few rays of sunlight streaming boldly in behind her struck fire in her red hair. "Well, are you coming? Don't you want to see it?"
"I haven't left this room… in over eighty-five years." He whispered hesitantly.
"Well, there's only an hour left of daylight. We could go back inside but then you'd have to wait 'til tomorrow. Do you really wanna do that?"
"You're right." He sighed as he spun slowly through the doorway. Once out, he paused as if expecting to be struck down. When that didn't happen, a dozen eyes opened and looked at Lina.
She grinned at him and continued walking away. "Of course I am! Lina Inverse is always right!"
"So you've always said." He followed her into the waning daylight.
oOo
Eugh, poor Xel. He always was so proud of his looks. It must be awful for him, Lina thought as she turned to see Xelloss following her out of the cave. He wasn't simply a black, cloudy form half-seen in the darkness anymore. Daylight revealed him to be truly revolting. It was like looking at a tornado on a really bad day. Where wisps of his ragged wraithlike form parted, some sort of putrescent-looking, black ropy substance gleamed through. Rather than dwell on what her friend had become, she dropped her eyes back to what she was carrying. She hadn't looked at it in over twenty years. Yet she carried it with her, since it was an important part of her history. She wished she'd thought to do the same with Gourry and Zelgadis, because the truth was, her memories of what their faces looked like were blurry after a hundred years or so. If she ever wanted to see Amelia's portraits, they were still hanging everywhere in Seyruun. But this was hers, a memory of a much happier time in her life.
She began untying the knots holding the pieces of wood together.
"Here." She shook out the delicate canvas, and held it out for him to see. A slender limb carefully lifted it from her hands. She watched Xelloss as several eyes opened to intently study the image of two friends sitting for a long-dead artist. She was astonished to see finally in the last light of the day that they were the same eyes—Xelloss's beautiful violet eyes—gazing down at her picture. That was all the remaining proof she needed. He may look purely awful right now, but this is my friend, without a doubt.
Two eyes out of a dozen tore themselves away from the canvas and rested on her. "Thank you, Lina. I have to ask that you go elsewhere for a while. The recreation of my form is… not pleasant to look upon."
"Well, suit yourself." Lina squinted up at him. "The ship that brought me… the people on it were expecting me to kill the demon on this island. I want to let them know I'm alright."
An arm waved at her absently as Xelloss continued to study the canvas. "Do what you have to."
Lina took one last look at him before heading downhill. His whirling form had contracted to a neat black conical structure, and only two eyes peered down at the illustration held before him. Maybe he'll get there… it would be nice to see the face I'm used to, but I guess it's not as important as the fact we're still alive and maybe friends again.
oOo
Xelloss continued to study the drawing. He recalled the day Lina had dragged him into the small shop she had decided on. He had protested stridently to her that Mazoku just absolutely and unequivocally did not have their portraits drawn. He was putting his foot down, and there was nothing she was going to be able to do about it.
Having so flatly refused her, it was no wonder when she dragged him into the shop anyway. Lina always got her way, he thought with a chuckle.
They'd sat in front of an artist for two hours while the man drew. The finished result was something he'd vocally decried to Lina as the work of a total hack. She'd just told him in her not-so ladylike way to piss off and hung it over her desk in her study. Later, he'd snuck in to admire the skillful way the artist had captured his devilish grin and overall handsomeness. The picture's colors weren't as vibrant as they had been one-hundred and thirty years ago, but he could recall it clearly: the two of them together on a gray couch, Lina grinning happily, kneeling next to him and holding him still with a friendly headlock. Her arm was supposed to have been draped over his shoulders in a comradely fashion, but it had wrapped around his neck instead. Probably an ingrained habit after so long, he mused. Xelloss had been grinning as well, but whereas Lina's smile was sunny, his had been rather dark and mischievous. His staff lay across his lap and he slyly winked at the artist.
It was time to see if he could manage the change. Xelloss gently placed the canvas on the wooden board she'd kept it in and moved well away from it. He took the mental image of himself as he had been and made it as solid-seeming as he could. Contracting his form even tighter he held it steady. He tried a few times to get approximately the right shape and was unsuccessful. Thankfully, Lina wasn't there to see the half-finished gruesome results. Those attempts were teaching him a few things, though. He tried again and got it right, popping into his old form so suddenly he startled himself.
He smiled as he held up his hands and felt his face. Good, everything is where it is supposed to be—oops! He chuckled as he looked down. Certainly Lina might be looking forward to seeing him, but clothing was most definitely in order.
A quarter of an hour later, Xelloss strolled down to the beach. He was enjoying his first walk immensely but he still wanted to hurry. He didn't trust his skill at retaining his shape, so he decided to forego levitation until he was sure he wouldn't lose control. Finally, he came to the edge of the trees and stopped, gazing out to the ship moored by the beach. The sight of a ship so close to his island nearly sent him tumbling back into his old habit of seek and destroy. He wrestled with himself to try and keep his form solid. It shimmered but held. Once he got that under control, he started walking again.
Lina was standing in the midst of a small group of sailors. She was talking excitedly to an old man and Xelloss realized he must be the captain of the ship which brought Lina to him. That certainly deserves thanks… Within a few feet of Lina, the sudden memory of why these men were here stopped him in his tracks.
Lina was rubbing the back of her neck and looking out to the horizon. "Heh heh heh, you saw the Dragon Slave from that far out?"
"Yes, it was very impressive and what's better is I was so far away from it when it happened!" The old man smiled at her, and saw Xelloss just behind her. "Oh, who's this?"
Lina turned, a wide-eyed look of astonishment on her face as she saw Xelloss. "Eh? He's my friend… that lived here." She trailed off, uncertain how to tell them the murderer of their loved ones stood before them.
Xelloss took up where she left off without blinking. "Yes, Lina saved me. I'm glad you brought her."
The old man glanced doubtfully back at Lina. "So… the monster?"
"Is dead, yes." Xelloss finished for him. "Lina obliterated it." He smiled at her.
"Well, that's fine to hear. I guess you two will need a ride back to the mainland?"
"Ah, no thank you." Lina still watched silently as Xelloss spoke. "I have a lot of cleaning to do." He looked down the beach at the piles of bones. "What would you like to do about them?"
"Well, I suppose we should take them home with us." The man gazed sorrowfully down at the remains. "There's no way of telling who's who in that mess, but I'm sure folks would like to have them back."
oOo
Later, after they had helped the men stow the bones on their ship, Xelloss stood with Lina on the beach as they watched the ship sail away. Xelloss peered surreptitiously at Lina out of the corner of his eye. Twilight had passed and a full moon was climbing into the sky. Its silver light bathed her features with its cool, calm beauty and he marveled again at what she had done for him.
He had been totally lost to the world, caught under the shadow of madness and loss. It had been a half-life at best and he realized Lord Xelas would not have approved. His Lord's absence still distracted and pained him horribly, but maybe with Lina's help, he might now be in a position to do something about it. Before, he had not even had that hope—hadn't even known it existed, until Lina returned.
Lina had come and she had risked throwing her life away for his sake. That was what human friendship was, he understood that now. He'd always professed to be her friend, but hadn't grasped its meaning until today. So many years he'd been around her and he had never tried to comprehend it. In those days, he'd viewed their so-called friendship as something of a joke, or used it to serve his purposes. Now he owed everything to this strange human woman who could care about a Mazoku. The best he could do in return was to attempt to figure it out.
Lina caught his eye and tilted her head back to smile warmly at him. "Glad to have you back, Xel."
"Glad to be back, Lina dearest," he said brightly, his customary smile settling into place. He leaned closer to her and clasped his hands to his chest. "Is this where I declare, 'My Hero,' and swoon into your arms?" Xelloss laid it on thick and batted his eyelashes at her.
Lina burst into delighted giggles and gleefully clapped him on the arm a few times. Finally she said, "No, you don't have to do that Xel. I did it 'cause we're old friends, you know that."
There was that word again, and the warmth of her feelings proved her heart was in the saying of it. Xelloss thought, Friendship with a human, eh? I'm already a Masterless abomination, so this is just a drop in the bucket. Besides, Lina deserves that I try it for real this time.
"Well," he paused awkwardly as Lina watched him curiously. He pulled her to his chest and hugged her. "You can't really expect me to make a habit of this but…" He felt Lina tense up in surprise, but she then relaxed, putting her arms around him to hug him back. Resting his chin on Lina's shoulder, he said softly, "This is a common practice between friends, isn't it?"
When they finally broke apart, he saw her face was wet with tears. Lina's eyes glistened as she smiled up at him and Xelloss felt he had done the right thing. Observing human interaction had taught him a few things, at least.
oOo
Having Xelloss back and whole was better than she could have dreamed, but—Lina yawned. "Ok, I've had it for the day, let's go."
Xelloss hefted the pack full of food the sailors had left for them. "Shall I bring this back for you?"
Lina appreciated his gesture, but she couldn't resist a little dig. "Sure, since somebody cracked my rib, that'd be a real help."
Xelloss narrowed his eyes and looked at her with concern as he protested, "But Lina dearest, I had no idea at the time you were so delicate!"
At least someone thinks 'The Enemy of all Who Live' is delicate. Lina mused, of course I'm being graded on a Mazoku's scale, but it's something at least. As they started back uphill, she said cheerfully, "Well, I forgive you then!"
He grinned at her and continued to lug the pack along. As they got within sight of Xelloss's former prison, he glanced at her sidelong. "If I am forgiven, will you share some of your food with me then? You know I don't need it but I smell tea, and that's something I've missed, too."
Nothing could bust her good mood, even if it meant she had to share her food. "Well, since I'm starving, normally I would say no, but I guess in light of the situation I can be lenient over a few things."
"Is that so?" Xellos chirped.
Lina got a sinking feeling as she turned to look at him. He had stopped next to her wearing his typical smile. He balanced the pack on his back and abruptly leaned forward to kiss her. Just as Lina was still trying to register the shock of his warm lips on hers, they were gone. Xelloss jumped back and darted giggling for the cave, running like his ass was on fire. She grimaced and thought, Oh, it will be…
"Damn it, Xelloss! Give a Mazoku an inch and he takes a league!" Lina stomped through the door after the giggling Mazoku.
oOo
(cue dramatic music of your choice)
TBC…
oOo
How in the WORLD could you leave without reading the all-important… AUTHOR'S NOTES?!?
---Just as a general sort of announcement to the 'nets: Thekiwithatflew is forever welcome to wreak her Froot Loop Ninja™ havoc at my place because she encouraged me (with the most creative death threats if I didn't) to write this after I blathered on about this cool idea I had. And also, thank you Lina Gabriev for pointing out a ton of inconsistencies that I've tried to fix. The way I look at it, you must've liked this story a lot to go into such depth and I really appreciate it!
So finally after waiting over one year, I finally get around to the much needed re-edit. My eternal adoration and praise go to the Prime Minister for being the most thorough and exacting beta, not to mention her sense of humor regarding my particular writing foibles... Last but certainly not least, thank you to the linaxelloss Yahoo gang! I would have stuttered out somewhere in the sixth chapter of AFIA if it weren't for them!
Sweet Cthulthu! Is this starting to sound like the friggin' Oscars or what? I just really feel like I've accomplished something with the re-edit! SHARE IN MY JOY DAMN IT!! SHARE IT! XD Thanks!