Lina just stood with her eyes wide. "… W-when did this happen?"
"Oh I'd say it was around the time Luna was discovered to be the Cepheid Knight." Aqua giggled. "Milgasia was one of the dragons that saw to her training, his connection happened back then."
The crimson haired sorceress rubbed her head. "She never mentioned it then. Funny though we both end up being Soul Touches to ancients from the War of the Monster's fall." She teased.
Milgasia just closed his eyes with a sigh. "That might be my fault as… I never told her."
"YOU WHAT?" Lina cried, her eyes wide. "Milgasia are you nuts? Do you have any idea how much I thought this idiot was a fruitcake for the way he was acting which only just now some of his damn actions made sense finding this out!" she jolted her finger to point at Xelloss. "At least this dumbass had a gag order, what was your excuse?"
"Well, due to her struggles with Cepheid I didn't want to pressure her knowing." The Golden Dragon shrugged his shoulders. "My Soul Touch conforms me to what she needs most, and a lover wasn't what she has needed. It will let me know when she is ready."
Lina blinked twice. "Oh yeah, the dragon version makes you be what is best for them at the time… Still it would be better if she knew." She crossed her arms.
"Where is Valgaav anyway, Aqua Lord?" Xelloss spoke up after a moment.
"I believe he was with Memphis…" Milgasia answered, looking around. "… Actually, where is she?"
Aqua rubbed her chin. "Good question, usually she would have sensed…"
"MAZOKU YOU HAVE MET YOUR END!" a high pitched voice cried from a higher point of the mountaintop. "Memphis Linesword is here to see you are stopped!"
Lina sweatdropped. "The hell?" she looked up.
Standing above them on a cliff with a female with long blonde hair and pointed elf ears. She had a purple headband with a leopard pattern, wearing a blue dress with an odd design of white armor across her chest. Lina recognized the armor right away, it was Zanaffar Armor!
"Ahhh, I see you've put the knowledge of the Clair Bible to use." Xelloss mused, opening his eyes. "Giving Zanaffar Armor to an elf hmm? She must be quite capable."
Just then a bit of the rock from the cliff giveaway, causing Memphis to crash to the ground at Lina's feet. Everyone sweatdropped as the elf quickly jumped up.
"Memphis, this Mazoku is the one I told you about, Xelloss." Aqua chuckled slightly. "And this is…"
"Lina Inverse, I've heard about you." Memphis turned her head with her arms crossed. "You're the sister of the Cepheid Knight, correct? Funny how such opposite sides the sisters are on, one being pledged to a monster while the other a warrior for the gods. Even your Soul Touches are polar enemies."
"Hey I didn't get any Soul Touch with this fruitcake, he's the one that attached to me!" Lina snapped. "I'm just using his ass because I nearly died! Most of the time he's forcing his damn sexual harassment on me!"
"Ouch, that hurts Lina-chan." Xelloss faked a pout. "Funny how you didn't seem to protest so badly last night when…"
"SHUT UP YOU ASS!" Lina tossed a Digger Volt at him.
Memphis turned to glare at Xelloss then. "And you. You're the dreaded Xelloss that Master Milgasia fears so much." She wagged a finger. "I have my eyes on you, don't think I can't hold against you, the armor will see that I can."
"Quite a temper for an elf." The priest looked at her with one eye open.
"Memphis you were supposed to be looking after little Val." Aqua sighed, crossing her arms.
"I was, but the little brat ran off!" the elf rubbed her head. "Besides the situation with Cepheid is extremely important! I thought you might need my help!"
"Oh, he was probably playing with you." Xelloss chuckled. "He often does that with Filia, while he doesn't retain his mixture from Gaav I wouldn't be surprised if he can still work some magic on the Astral Plane." He waved his forefinger. "I can find him though." He cleared his throat and suddenly shouted in a perfect imitation of Filia's voice. "VAL COME OUT FROM HIDING RIGHT THIS MOMENT."
Lina blinked, well that figured Xelloss could change his voice easily. It struck her further into surprise as a little boy suddenly emerged from behind some of the boulders. He looked about the size of a 5 year old human, with elf ears and mid length green hair. He had golden eyes and was wearing a simple blue shirt with red pants. The boy pursed his lips when he looked around. "Uncle Xelloss? What are you doing here? Where's Filia?"
Lina just stared. So Val didn't call Filia mom huh? Well guess that would make things easier for later, maybe that's part of the Soul Touch. Of course she did worry as she never asked Xelloss or Filia if Val remembered his past life…
"She isn't here right now, Val." Xelloss chuckled, his voice returned to normal. "But she's worried about you and I'm sure she'd like it if we surprised her yes? I want you to meet someone by the way, you might remember her from your dreams." He placed his gloved hands on the boy's shoulders, turning him to face Lina.
Val's face softened and his eyes watered a bit. "H-hello Miss Lina…" he shivered a bit.
Lina took in a sharp gasp. "… Y-you… Remember me Valgaav?"
"Well…" the Ancient Dragon's head lowered.
"Val has dreams of his past life, it started happening a year ago so Filia and I took turns explaining to him his past life." Xelloss explained. "He told me first, much to Filia's detest, and I chose not to lie to the child as she would have tried to avoid it. He was actually afraid of me at first, worried I came to kill him. Oh and he prefers to go by his original name, just Val."
"I was a bad person before, I did a lot of things to hurt you so that's why I think Filia never let me meet you." Val lowered his head further.
"N-no I'm sure that's not it." Lina bent down to eye level the child. "You were confused kid, and all alone. I can't fully blame you for turning on everyone after what happened." She reached out and rubbed the back of his head. "But that was your old life, now you have a new one with Filia so make the best of it."
Val smiled a bit. "Filia is great, she's just like a momma to me but she likes it better if I call her by her name."
"She told you that?" the crimson haired sorceress chuckled, guess it would be weird for your future mate to call you 'mom' she figured.
"Actually no, I never asked her. I just know for some reason." Val shrugged. "I just wanna be with Filia forever and ever." He smiled slightly.
Lina blinked, it must have been another part of the Soul Touch she figured that gave him that knowledge. "I see."
"So are you Uncle Xelloss's girlfriend?" Val suddenly asked.
"HUH?" Lina cried, a massive blush on her face appeared.
"Well when I started having those dreams and Uncle Xelloss explained everything, he always told me so much more about you than anyone else." Val giggled a bit. "Whenever I asked he said it was because you're very important to him."
Lina's face turned scarlet, glaring at Xelloss. "Did you freaking have to make your Soul Touch so god damn obvious to everyone but me for the longest time?"
The Mazoku shrugged. "As I explained before Lina-chan, I was under orders to not let you know, but anyone else was fair game. Needless to say now you know why Filia freaked out so much before that time I made that little offer..."
Her face turned pale. "Filia knew the whole time?"
"She was suspicious of it, but she never outright asked me until she noticed me speaking to little Val about you, something he said set her off and she confronted me on it." Xelloss shrugged.
"Oh that's because I was asking her about Miss Lina, I said it sounds like you love her." Val chuckled, rubbing his head. "That was a few months ago."
"No wonder she was flipping out when she found out I took the pledge…" Lina rubbed her temple with a groan.
"Well if you're coming along with us Milgasia we might as well bring Val with to Filia, as I assume you were looking after him for her." Xelloss shrugged. "Besides it might not hurt to have him along, recently he was starting to come into some of his powers."
"How old are you anyway kid?" Lina asked, tilting her head. After all the last time she saw him he was inside an egg.
"I just turned two recently." Val answered.
"Dragons grow very quickly, his mental capability is quite advanced." Milgasia explained before she could ask. "I think part of that is because he's retained some things from his past life, so it helped him mature quicker. We don't have much to go by as there are no other Ancient Dragons, though I do recall from the past they were very advanced due to their immense power."
"He is a splendid boy at that." Aqua giggled.
"Well if we're all done with the small talk here, don't we have a mission on hand?" Memphis crossed her arms over her chest.
'This one's a real killjoy here, sure is big on staying on business above everything else…'Lina thought to herself. She then turned to Xelloss. "Fine then, we'd best go to Filia first as I'd rather keep Val with her and this way we can see if her and Sylphiel discovered anything."
"To Tarforashia then." Xelloss smirked, lifting her onto his back.
"T-the hell are you doing, fruitcake?" she snapped, whapping him upside the head.
"I told you before I will not have you expelling your energy more than necessary with the curse after all." He chuckled. "I can easily transport you while Milgasia sees to them." Just as he said that, Milgasia had transformed into his large Golden Dragon form, Val & Memphis had climbed onto his back.
"Good luck to you." Auntie Aqua smiled. "And I hope you keep in mind what I told you once before, Beast General Priest Xelloss."
"Of course, Water Dragon King." Xelloss smiled, opening both eyes. "I have no plans on letting go of Miss Lina. Ever. Even if it means crossing the Sea of Chaos together with her."
Lina tilted her head, but before she could ask suddenly Xelloss and Milgasia took off into the air, flying towards Tarforashia.
Auntie Aqua stood, just watching them head off, her mind wandering back to that day just a few years ago…
"Everyone, use Martina as a shield and run!" Lina declared, having taken a tight grip on the green haired woman as she took off running. In the group's hurry they had left Xelloss & Auntie Aqua behind.
"… I see Gaav isn't the only one that has changed looks over the years, Water Dragon King." Xelloss spoke, turning to Aqua who had a green aura around her. "Quite interesting just there how you channeled your energy into Martina's little charm."
"You've changed yourself in the past thousand years, back then you would have left easily before Gaav ever got the chance to get his hands on you to wound you like that." Aqua chuckled. "A Soul Touch apparently can even change the most loyal of Mazoku it seems, you even have the look of positive emotions affecting you already."
Xelloss rubbed his head. "Yes, I thought this assignment was rather below me at first, but then I met Lina and…" his amethyst orbs went wide. "… Wait." He stared at the old woman in shock. "Oh LoN, if you figured it out then…"
"Calm down, Beast Priest." Aqua laughed, shaking her head. "I highly doubt Gaav figured it out fully, and obviously Miss Lina didn't even know what you are until just now. Does Zelas know?"
"I… Haven't told her yet…" Xelloss clutched his staff. "… I fear she'll remove me from the assignment if I let her know, thinking it will cloud my judgment. I was merely supposed to watch Miss Lina from a distance and find a way to lure her here, not interact much with her group unless absolutely necessary…"
"But your Soul Touch had other plans the moment you first set your eyes on her, didn't it?" Aqua giggled. "I knew that was the reason why you were so close you easily scooped her up out of danger. No Mazoku puts themselves on the line for a human, no matter the assignment. I don't know what HellMaster is planning, but obviously Gaav is the threat to deal with for now."
Xelloss lowered his head, his hair covering his eyes. "I think Lord HellMaster is suspicious though, as he never would answer me when I did inquire what his intentions were for Miss Lina... As he knows I do not have to follow his direct orders completely, the only one I must obey fully is my Mistress."
"And even then a Soul Touch gives a loophole, after all while they differ how Soul Touches work between our races, that fact remains." Aqua chuckled. "That is if she's a strong enough bond?"
Xelloss smirked, waving his forefinger. "That is a secret, Ragradia."
Aqua smiled at him. "Miss Lina appears to be an interesting, intelligent girl. In the event you do embrace your Soul Touch I hope you never let go of her, she might just become the most precious thing in this world to you, even to a monster a Soul Touch can go that deep." She then vanished, to protect Lina and the rest from Gaav's attack.
Xelloss lowered his head though, staring ahead. "… But if my suspicion about Lord HellMaster is right, Miss Lina will not be of this world much longer… If she casts the Giga Slave…" he muttered. "All the more reason for now, my Soul Touch is best kept a secret…" But then he lifted his head when he heard Auntie Aqua tell Lina to go to the Kataart Mountains. Now there was a place he hadn't been in a long time, but wouldn't showing Lina the original Clair Bible tell her what the Giga Slave is? It would be far more direct on the subject than a mere manuscript which is what originally he was supposed to guide Lina to… That would mean he could both follow his orders and yet throw a wrench into Phibrizzo's plans possibly, as if Lina finds out the truth behind the Giga Slave she'll be much less likely to use it… "Thank you. I owe you for this, Water Dragon King." In more ways than one…