Shattered Reflections
Amelia's brow furrowed at some uncomfortable thought, known only to her, passed through her mind. Xellos brushed the bangs from her forehead carefully, trying not to wake her. The princess had caught some magically resistant bug a couple of days ago, and their quest for Zel's cure was stalled to wait for the girl to recover. She had spent most of this day in a half-aware fevered daze, and the other slayers were worried. Xellos had spent most of the time in her room, watching for any change.
"It's bad enough she's being stalked by a copy of herself," Xellos whispered shifting the blankets she had kicked off to cover her again. The mazoku laid a hand on her forehead to check the fever.
"Let go...me," she mumbled desperately in her sleep. Xellos removed his hand and shook his head angrily. She'd been returning to the same theme off and on the entire day. As he backed off she tossed the covers again, he sighed and replaced them. Surprisingly this time her eyes snapped open and she clutched at the mazoku.
"Ame...lia," he stopped short of using the old nick name. Amelia's shadow, Tes, had ruined that term. "You're still sick, lie back down."
"Doin't go again!" she pleaded.
"I haven't left, I've stayed here," Xellos said.
"Gracia don't leave me alone! Mom won't wake up!" Xellos sighed again, she didn't recognize him. At least the fever was breaking, so this should have been the worst of it.
"I won't leave, I promise," Xellos said quietly. Amelia smiled and huggled close to him. Then her forehead crinkled again.
"I'm not a villian," she whined, pushing off Xellos and falling back on her bed. She slept noiselessly for a while then, with only the occaisional outburst. As the moon reached its xenith outside the fever finally broke and the tossing, turning, and fevered mutterings ended completely.
"Xellos?" she was awake again, though he knew she was exhausted. He removed a glove to check her forehead. The heavy fever was definitely gone, though she was still a little hot. She grabbed his hand and pulled at him. "I'm cold...could you, hold me?" Xellos smiled at the shy request, relieved that she wasn't hallucinating again. There was also the other hint of desire behind the simple request, but she wasn't really ready to admit that yet, and he wasn't going to force the issue.
"Of course," he chuckled quietly. Amelia smiled tiredly and moved over to let him lie on the bed next to her. Then she let herself drift off again as he wrapped her up in his arms. Xellos relaxed as she settled into a normal pattern of breath, he nuzzled the back of her head and fell asleep himself, though he didn't really need sleep. He never noticed they had an audience.
"This isn't at all what I expected," Zelas sighed exasperatedly. "Not that its a bad thing really. I wonder if...no, she's a better ally if she keeps her white magic." The woman hmphed. Sometimes Xellos could be a frustratingly unpredictable child. Now this left the problem of achieving her original goal.
The home-coming of Princess Amelia Wil Tesla Sailoon had been a happy occaision, for Philoniel and the people anyway. Shadow Zelgadis thoroughly enjoyed himself as well, taking in the huge celebration that had followed. The Filia and Xellos shadows, on the other hand, had vanished into the teeming masses of the city. Tes, meanwhile, found herself having to suffer through listening to and making justice speeches.
The scar was certainly easy to explain, what with the road life the original Amelia led. Gourry and Lina's absences were equally simple to explain. Tes would have liked to smear the whole prudish lot of them, but that would bring attention to the fact that there were two Amelias. She and Ame-chan were too different, if it was known there were two of them, finding the imposter would be pretty easy.
Then she announced her engagement to Zelgadis Greywords, which produced another round of celebrations and irritating justice speeches. Of course there was some concern about her father's health these days, but everybody was sure he'd be fine. All told, she was making excellent headway at taking over Ame-chan's little country.
Tes would have liked to know where her other two inhuman companions had vanished to. If the two of them bothered to pay attention to what was going on they would know what she was up to. Then it was just a matter of whether they could come up with enough guts to do anything about it.
That was a secondary concern, though having some time alone with that dragon would have been enjoyable. The shadow Xellos had managed to keep any opportunities from developing in that regard. There was her Zelgadis, of course, she thought about that and frowned. That hadn't been a seduction the way she prefered, that was a business arrangement. The golddigger was getting money and power out of this, but she was going to have to talk to him about who had the real power.
Amelia checked herself in the mirror as she considered these events, these conservative white outfits were getting quite tiresome. Though she had been slowly altering her public fashion to something closer to her real tastes. When she was fully in power it wouldn't matter any more, then she could turn her attentions to letting Ame-chan and friends in on her revenge.
"You summoned me, milady?" she turned to look at a young guardsman and smiled sweetly. He wasn't much older than her and was married to a young woman with deep brown hair. Once she got started, his wife had been fairly imaginative and responsive. Tes hoped that he could live up to the expectations his spouse had set.
~Dismiss the meat.~ A voice spoke in her mind. She frowned and then sighed expressively.
"I did, but I suddenly have other matters to attend to," the guardsman bowed and left, unaware of what he had missed out on. "Well, well, well. A mazoku interferring in Sailoon's matters."
~I can offer you the...~
"The throne? I'm already arranging that, thank you," she smiled and scanned about the room find a deeper shadow in the corner.
~I see. Then perhaps there is something else...~
"Oh, there is," she smiled. "Perhaps you can show your form and we can discuss a pledge. Then perhaps Dynast can succeed where Garv has failed?" A girl bearing a sword walked out into the light with a false smile, she didn't like being found out. This new Amelia was dangerous, unpredictable and vindictive, Sherra wasn't certain what had happened to make her this way, but she approved of the change. It did mean that she had to tread carefully, however.
Zelas frowned as she watched from the shadows. Dynast seemed to have beaten her to the punch with this copy. Well Zelas could use this as well. She had been building power in preparation of this point since she had finished the creation of Xellos, and she wouldn't let her opportunity die out now. The Beastmaster quietly whispered a spell, a magical suggestion as the sorceress and mazoku general discussed terms of her soon to be pledge of immortality.
Lina stretched and yawned as she walked through the street next to Gourry. Life was good. Amelia was fine again, though she had been tired for a couple of days after recovering. She was spending a lot of time with Xellos, but there didn't seem to be any problem there. Zelgadis and Filia were definitely getting together, and thinking that nobody else knew. Zelgadis had even suggested this stop, showing he wasn't quite as dogged in his pursuit for a cure as he once was. In fact, over the last half-year the only really disturbing event had been the shadow reflector fiasco. Lina counted off the days and decided that they had sent away the shadows a couple of months ago now.
Meanwhile, Lina had been shopping. Not looking for anything specific, just shopping. It had been so long since she had simply taken the time to browse through a bunch of shops. Well, she hadn't really limited herself to browsing. After all the best part of shopping to her mind was the bargaining. And she had found lots of opportunities today.
"Hey, Lina," Gourry's muffled voice called out from under what looked like a moving pile of bags. "Did you really have to buy all this stuff?"
"No, but we have no reall adventure going on and this is so relaxing." She played with a silky, green scarf she had purchased for perhaps half of its real value.
"But where are we going to put it all?"
"I'll rig up a dimensional pocket once I have the time," she explained.
"Excuse me," Lina looked down to see a beggar to her left. "But can you spare a few coins to help a cripple like me?" There was something Lina didn't like about the man.
Gourry struggled to a stop at her side and she could hear him panting as he stood there with the bags and packages. He couldn't put them down just yet, that would mean having to re-pile them all up again when he had to carry them again.
"Sure," she said slowly, keeping an eye on him. "Just give me a moment."
"Whoah, Lina's actually handing out money, this is new." Lina rolled her eyes.
"Oh leave me alone Gourry," she retorted. She wanted a better look at the guy, and the coin would give her that. "Here you go sir, and I hope you have good lu..." Lina's eyes widened as the beggar caught the coin. She coughed and a trickle of blood flowed out of her surprised mouth.
"We have all the luck we need, Lina Inverse," a voice whispered behind her. She winced again as the knife was pulled out of her through previously undamaged flesh.
"Gou...rry..." Lina managed to say before the beggar she had stopped paying attention to stabbed upward with his own knife. So far there had been little noise, and most people were simply walking around them, unaware that someone was being killed within ten feet of them. "He...lp...".
"What's wrong, Li..." the swordsman dropped the packages obscuring his sight, and immediately saw Lina's stricken expression and the two men with bloody daggers. Lina hit the ground, a blood pool growing out of her wounds. The last thing she saw was a slim blonde woman kneeling down to examine her wounds.
"What do you want namagomi?" Filia demanded, keeping the door behind her closed and standing between it and Xellos.
"It isn't what I want, its what Juou-sama wants," Xellos informed her pleasantly.
"Ever so much more wonderful," Filia grumbled. "And what does a dark lord want with me?" She managed to make it sound as if Zelas was entirely unworthy of her attention.
"Why Filia-san, your sense of humility astounds me."
"Stop dancing around the issue, you conniving little creature."
"Patience, patience, Filia-san. These are not things to be rushed through like...."
"Xellos," Amelia chided him playfully as she past. "Try not to be too injust."
He smiled at her, pleased to see that she had fully recovered from whatever that illness had been. It pleased him further that she seemed much more like her old self than before. Though she still hadn't gotten past the cuddling stage of their relationship, he had plenty of time. Zelas wanted him to offer her the pledge, but he felt she might bolt when faced with such an extreme option.
A wordless scream from out in the street froze all three of them in their tracks. A moment later Zelgadis came out of Filia's door, a concerned expression on his face over ruling the chagrin.
"LINA!!!!" the second voice was undoubtably Gourry's and everybody moved. Xellos and Filia arrived first, targeting in on the scream and teleporting there. There was a crowd of people in the street some watching as Gourry was attacking two disreputable looking men with daggers, and one or two were huddled over a form lying crumpled in a pool of blood.
"Shimatta!" Xellos shouted and immediately teleported behind one of the men Gourry was about to kill and grabbed the assassin by the back of the neck. "We'll need one of them alive for information." He told the swordsman, who nodded grimmly as his swing took the second man's head.
"You'll get nothing out of me," the man blared. Xellos restrained himself from lipping the man's head off and settled for "tapping" his head into a wall and stunning him for a moment. Both looked back to where Filia had fought her way to the body and was trying to heal Lina's torn form. Zelgadis and Amelia weren't far behind, and when they saw what had happened their faces paled tremendously.
"Oh Cephieed, Lina!" Amelia gasped, and kneeled down to help Filia,
"How did this," Zelgadis looked to the huge pile of packages and grabbed someone trying to loot from the pile. Zelgadis tossed the offender into the crowd and turned angrily to face the peasants. "EVERYBODY GET AWAY FROM HER NOW!!" The villagers took a step back and then retreated fully when Xellos and Gourry backed him up, forming a small perimeter. That taken care of, Zelgadis joined in the healing effort.
"Its no use," Filia said suddenly.
"What do you mean," Amelia shouted. "The wounds are closing!"
"She's right," Zelgadis sighed. "Look at her eyes." Amelia reluctantly looked into the glazed over, shock filled eyes of the sorceress, her spirit was no longer there. It might have already been gone before any of them had reached her. The green scarf was still twirled around her limp hand, but now it was stained red with Lina's blood.
Gourry broke free from his position, letting Xellos hold the people at bay. He was certainly qualified at radiating fear. He lifted the corpse that had just minutes ago been his friend and lover.
"No!" he wailed. "She's not dead! She's not here, but she's not dead!""
"Gourry," Zelgadis laid a hand on the swordsman's shoulder.
"I should have been more aware," he weeped. "I just didn't think anybody was after us anymore."
Amelia angrily whirled to face the man that was still in Xellos's rather angry hands. The assassin's eyes grew wide as the princess turned to face him.
"Your majesty!" Amelia and Xellos froze in sudden realization of who was behind this. Xellos looked at Amelia questionably and she shook her head.
"Somebody get this trash to the magistrate!" Xellos growled as he tossed the assassin to the ground. A pair of town constables nervously obeyed the order. The mazoku turned to face Amelia. "From here we go back to Sailoon." He said, knowing the thought was in her mind too. Behind them Gourry was cradling Lina's limp body.
She woke up with a start, remembering the pain just before she had passed out. Then there had been a series of strange dreams of being carried away, darkness and an incredible burning sensation that had torn through her body and soul.
"Filia must have gotten to me in time," Lina concluded.
The room about her was dark, but she could see fine. As she stood up, Lina realized that she felt taller somehow. Looking about she found a mirror and began walking over to it. Her wings snapped once reflexively and folded to her back.
"Wait, wings?" She paused and hurried to the mirror, shocked at what she saw. "This isn't my body," she gasped. Lina stood about four inches taller, her hair seemed to be black in the low light, but Lina could tell it was really a sort of midnight blue. Her skin was a pale, alabaster white, and she now walked with an attractive, athletic figure.
These weren't the changes that most shocked her though. From her forehead two small horns curved up about half a foot. Folded at her back, and shifting nervously, were a pair of great black-feathered wings. Given all this she was hardly surprised at the lengthened canines and slit pupiled eyes. Suddenly she felt someone behind her, and was struck with a sense of loyalty and devotion.
"Good evening, Xenith Metallium," Zelas said smiling as her new servant turned around. "I hope you like your mazoku form."
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