Due to all the nice reviews I got for "Wolf Moon," I've have decided to do
another song fic! And guess who the leads are? Yep, that's right: Lina n' Xellos again. It was all written out
on Rail-kun, my 'puter, so the plot maybe incredibly warped or clichéd (take
you pick here, folks). There also is mild OCC-ing (mostly Lina), and I not too sure if some of the details
will fit well with the canon. If I've made any grievous or annoying mistakes,
be nice enough to POLITELY tell me about them. The songs are by Type O
Negative and Alice In Chains. Gotta love them angsty tunes…
Dedicated to all the wonderful
people on the Xellos Lovers mailing list. Thanks you guys. ^_^
"Down in a Hole"
Lina
walked slowly by the riverside, feeling unbearably depressed.
'God, this is so not like me!' She thought angrily.
'What the hell do I have to be moping around about anyway? It's not like
I haven't kept in touch with everybody. Gourry's been sending letters, albeit
nearly illegible letters…' Lina giggled a bit, thinking of the last one he had
sent, covered by badly drawn pictures of his big brother and the Gabriev
ranch. 'And I can always go over to Seiruun to visit Amelia if I felt
like it. As for Zel,' She snorted. "Like he'd care if someone misses him!"
'Filia sent that vase about a month ago along with a card saying that she and
lil' Val were fine, so it can't be about them. Could it be…' The scar that
night had left upon her leg throbbed with a dull pain.
"No!" she snapped aloud. "I refuse to even
mention that…that….that mazoku's name!"
"So,"
Someone behind her spoke up softly. "You're still angry about that,
Lina?"
She stiffened in fury. "Yes! Now leave me alone."
"Why?"
"Because…" She thought for a moment, then growled.
"Because I don't appreciate being used cheap feed for you!"
"Huh?!"
Xellos blinked in surprise. "I don't know what you're talking about!"
Lina's
eyes narrowed at him. "Oh, give it a rest! I know the only reason you keep
following me around is because of the itty-bitty problem with my temper. After
all, don't mazokus feed off of negative emotions?"
"You're correct as usual, Lina-chan." Xellos sighed. "We do 'feed,' as you so politely
put it, off the negativity of humans. But that's not the reason why I follow
you."
"Well,"
She was getting really annoyed now. "Why are you constantly stalking me then?"
"I'm
not sure how to put this, but…well…" He looked down at his feet, blushing
slightly. The priest took a breath, gathering his courage. "I love you."
Lina
doubled over in laughter. "You…in LOVE? That's the funniest thing
I've ever heard!"
"I fail to see the humor in this." He grumbled
dryly.
Red-faced, she straightened up and, with more than
healthy glee, stated, "It's funny because mazoku can't actual feel any positive
emotions of their own."
"Are you sure of that, Lina?"
"I damn sure!" She snarled. "I know
you're kind can't stand even hearing something optimistic, let alone survive
the mental onslaught of having to experience such emotions like love and hope."
"Oh, I assure you, it does hurt like hell," Xellos
grinned. "But you seem to forget that I enjoy pain. Maybe too much, in fact."
"Then why
don't you bother Amelia." She jeered spitefully. "I'm sure with all those
justice speeches, you'll be up to your little masochistic neck in suffering!"
"Do you think I do this just for the pain of it?"
"No-duh! That's just way you are, Xellos." Lina turned away from him, sneering. "You've
always been the type jerk who thoroughly enjoys pain and suffering in any form.
That's the way you were when we first ran into you during the search for the
Clair Bible, that's the way you acted after Gav beat the living hell out of
you, the way you were during that whole mess with Vlagav summoning Dark Star to
annihilate the universe, and that's always going to be the way I will think of
an asshole like you!" Feeling a rush of anger and just outright meanness, she
whirled around, jabbing him in the chest as hard as she could, punctuating each
word. "Face it! All you have ever done for me is make my life a living HELL! You're always pissing me off, you're never
around when I need your help, you use me with impunity, without ever once
being concerned about what the
consequences are going to be for ME…but I expect that from you. You know why?
Because you're a MAZOKU! You are nothing more than a lying, cheating,
obnoxious bastard who's only capable of following his master's orders! A
damned puppet who is incapable of do anything more than what he is told to do!
I bet you don't even remember what it was like that have a free will or a soul
your own! Actually, come to think about it, I don't even think you ever had
either one to began with! But that really doesn't matter, does it? Oh-ho no!
You're Xellos, the trickster priest! Juu-ou ever faithful little dog, doing
whatever he wants you to do! And you just positively LOOOOOOVE your job,
don't you Xellos? Now just stop with
all the love crap because I am sick and tired of hearing it! All
I want to you to do is tell me exactly what the hell you're planning this time,
before I get really mad!"
He stood there silent,
his entire face blank.
"Well, aren't you going to say anything,
fruitcake?" She grinned cruelly. "Or am I right once again?"
"No." The reply rang out hollowly. "This time, you
happen to be very, very wrong…"
A strong gust of wind suddenly blew across the
water, kicking up clouds of sand. Lina instinctively closed her eyes against
the grit, bring a hand to her face. When she opened them again, Lina
discovered she was no longer standing on the shore. Now, she was standing in
what looked like a cathedral. 'What
the…Where am I?'
[* "Down in A
Hole" by Alice in Chains *]
'Bury me softly in this womb
I give this part of me for you
Sand rains down, and here I sit
Holding rare flowers
In her tomb…in bloom'
"Huh?" She
turned toward the sound.
Slumped
against a massive coffin on the altar was a young man. His long, purple
hair was drawn back into a ponytail but there were strands that had come loose
and hung haphazardly in him face. By the way he was dressed, the man looked
like he had just been in a tavern brawl, the pale gold of his shirt was torn in
places and stained with blood, and the pair of loose dark slacks he had on were
stuffed into leather boots, both worn and splattered with mud. He would have looked
downright handsome if it weren't for the fact that he had been beaten half-to
death. One of his eyes was swollen shut by the horrendously bruised cheek, his
lip was spilt and bleeding. There was something oddly familiar about him… Lina
shook it off, glancing at the floor. Scattered all around him were the ruined
blooms of flowers the likes of which she had never seen before. He clenched the
remains of them in his hands, rocking back and forth, singing quietly to
himself. The man was completely unaware of her presence.
'This guy's a total fruitcake….' Lina thought,
shaking her head.
'Down in a hole and I don't know
If I can be saved!
See my heart
I decorate it like a grave
You don't understand who they though
I was suppose to be
Look at me now,
A man who won't let himself be!'
The
man stood up shakily, and started walking toward her. Lina was about to speak
to him when, unexpectedly, he walked straight through her.
"What
the…?!" 'He just went through me like he was a ghost or something!' Turning
around, she watched him stagger down the hall.
'Down in a hole,
Let me put all the stones in their place
I've eaten sun so my tongue
Has been burned of the taste
I have been guilty
Of kicking myself in the teeth
I will speak no more
Of my feelings beneath…'
The
man stopped at a window. He leaned upon the sill, staring at the fading red
horizon. Shaking, he drew a dagger for his belt and started to twirl it lightly
in his fingers, watching the way the light tinted the shining blade a bloody
red.
'Down in a hole, Feeling so small!
Down in a hole, Losing my soul!
I'd like to fly…
But my wings have been so denied…'
He
turned away from the window and slide down to his knees, singing the words
madly to himself. Carefully, the man began rolling back his sleeves. Looking at
dagger, he ran his finger over to edge to make sure it was sharp enough. The
blade had slashed open his finger, causing a thin trickle of blood to ooze out
and stain the metal. He smiled happily.
'Bury me softly in this womb Ooooh, I want to be inside of you…
I give this part of me for you Ooooh, I want to be beside of you…
Sand rains down, and here I sit Ooooh, I want to be inside of you…
Holding rare flowers Ooooh,
I want to be beside of you…
In her tomb…in bloom Ooooh,
I want to be inside of you…'
Laughing
uncontrollably, he pressed the dagger to his wrist and started to slowly pull
it across the exposed flesh.
"DON'T!"
Lina lunged forward to stop him. As her fingers wrapped around his slashed,
bleeding wrist, the scene shattered like a pane of glass, sending her plunging
into darkness. She floated in a free-fall for what seemed like an eternity
before landing on a cold floor of black stone. "Nani?!" Lina rubbed the bump on
her forehead.
"Damn you all to hell!"
Whirling around, Lina saw
the same young man, this time with he was full healed but with bandages around
his wrist, and his clothes repaired. He was angrily staring down the massive
lupine form of…
"Xellos?!" She blinked,
staring closely at it. It was the same beast that she had encountered about a
month earlier alright, but there was something different. The red carbuncle
wasn't there anymore. And the wolf beast now was wearing a heavy collar of
spikes hooked to the coils upon coils of iron chains hanging across it's body
which ended in spiked shackles at each of it's gigantic paws.
"Otooto, please listen to
me." The wolf growled hurriedly. "You can't kill him! He has become the general
under Hellmaster himself! Only a fool would go through with this sort of
madness!"
"Than grant me the power to
kill both him and Hellmaster!"
"I can't do that."
"Why not?! You are Juu-ou's
general! Can't you at least help me kill them?!"
"No, I cannot." The wolf
sat on his haunches, sighing. "Hellmaster is higher up on the hierarchy than I
am…and he also happens to be much more powerful than Juu-ou. If I was to aid
you in any way, both mother and I would suffer dearly for it. Hellmaster
has no qualms whatsoever about slaying any who dare to make him angry. And I
personally do not want to be on the receiving end when he gets
pissed!"
"You're a coward, Fenris! A
pathetic, sniveling coward!"
"No, otooto, I'm not a
coward." He snapped, bringing his immense jaws inches from the youth's face.
"I'm being realistic! Even without Hellmaster's assistance, your brother could,
and WOULD, kill you just as easily as a child squashes a bug!"
"You…you don't honestly
expect me to let him get away with what he did to her unpunished!" Tears
streamed down his pale face. "Everything that I ever wanted…that I ever loved!…
he's taken away form me! He killed her in cold blood, just because she loved
me! And now you're telling me to just forget about it! To act like this never
happened!"
"Yes…that's exactly what I'm
saying."
"Whoa!" Lina quipped,
digesting Fenris remark. "That's really cold…even for a mazoku."
"How can you just sit there
and say something like that!" He shrieked hysterically.
Lina trots up beside the
guy. "Yeah, fleabag! You ought to…Hey, what a second…Phibrizo is already DEAD!
I blew him up with the Giga Slave! Xellos, how could you forget something like that!
Geez, you're starting to get as bad as Gourry…"
Apparently, neither of them
heard her. Fenris shook his head. "Xellos-kun, you don't understand…"
Lina promptly falls over in
shock. "Th-this guy is Xellos?!" She stared at him in amazement, noting every
minute detail. Now she realized why he had looked so familiar. The same outfit,
the cruel, jeering arc of his mouth, the vivid hue of his hair… But the eyes
weren't Xellos'. They were a perfect ice blue, lacking all the glimmer of lighthearted humor she had reluctantly grown
fond of in him. 'What's going on here?'
"She was mortal. All
mortals die eventually, Xellos-kun…some more violently than others. That's
life, and you won't change by stupidly challenging fate. That kind of
foolishness gets little boys killed. Besides, there are plenty of other women
out there for you to have. Just forget that girl and get yourself another one."
"Argh! You heartless bas…" She lashed out to slap
Fenris' face, but her hand passed right through him. "NANI?!?!?!" Stunned, Lina
glanced back and forth form Fenris to Xellos before their nature fully dawned
on her. 'They aren't real…they're just shadows! But when did all this happen?
It has to have all happened way before the War of the Resurrection of
the Demon King because Phibrizo still has his general…but why isn't Xellos
Juu-ou's priest-general instead of Wolfie? It doesn't make sense!'
Xellos stepped back slowly, ominously silent as he
turned away from the mazoku wolf.
"What the hell do you think you are doing,
otooto?!"
"Something I should have done years ago…" He took
off at a run, rushing headlong into the creeping shadows.
"Otooto! Stop!!" Fenris bounded after him, dragging
his heavy chains behind him.
[* "Green Man" by
Type O Negative *]
Spring won't come, the need of strife
To struggle to be free from hard ground
The evening mists that creep and crawl
Will drench me in dew and so drown…
I'm the Green man…
The Green man…
Sol in prime Sweet Summertime
Cast shadows of doubt on my face
A midday sun, its caustic hues
Refracting within the still lake
Left alone in the blackness, Lina watched this specters
of the past vanish from her sight. Slowly, the room began to waver and shift
like fine mist, changing to a vibrant backdrop of autumn trees in the light of
a fiery midday sun. She could see Xellos marching down the shore of a vast,
glassy lake toward a tall, powerfully built man with pitch black hair. The guy
cocked his head at slight angle as he looked down on Xellos.
'So, this must be the big brother, Hellmaster's
general.' She shrugged. "They sure don't look like brothers to me."
"Ahh… you've finally decided to show up." He
laughed coldly. "You shouldn't have kept me waiting so long. I was starting to
think you had run away again.
"Shut up, you
bastard."
"Watch your tongue, boy,
or else I'll cut it out of your foul little mouth." He pointed his sword
threateningly, waving its point in his face.
"Is that so, nii-kun?"
Drawing his own blade, Xellos smiled mockingly at the larger man. "Than go
ahead and try."
With that, they lunged for
each other, clashing with a heavy clang of steel upon steel. They broke apart
and began visiciously hacking and slashing one another. After a few brutal
rounds of this, it quickly became clear who would win the battle if it
continued.
Xellos was shaking, gushing blood from wounds across
his face and body. Each breath came out as a ragged hiss or a cough of gore. He
slumped down to his knees gasping for air, supporting himself with his sword.
His brother, on the other hand, barely had a scratch on him.
Causally, he walked over to his wounded younger
brother. "Pathetic." He hissed and with a gesture, he sent Xellos flying
backwards into a boulder. "I thought you'd at least put up more a fight than
this. You did last time." He laughed. "But this time, I won't be so generous."
Staggering to his feet, the bloody faced trickster
merely smiled as he lurched forward.
Autumn in her flaming dress
Of orange, brown, and gold fallen leaves
My mistress of the frigid night
I worship, pray to… On my knees
"Darkness beyond
blackest pitch,/Deeper than the deepest night…"
'The Giga Slave?!'
Lina felt her blood run cold. "How could he have learned this spell?!"
"Well, isn't this cute? The
little shit's going to try to blast me with some sort of a Dragu Slave."
"Lord of Darkness,
shining like gold upon the Sea of Chaos…"
She ran forward, amid the
crackling energies bursting up from the ground. "STOP IT! IF YOU LOSE CONTROL
OF IT, YOU'LL DESTROY EVERYTHING, YOU DAMN FRUITCAKE!!!!!"
The Hell general's eyes
widened in terror a he realized what Xellos was doing. He stumbled back,
trembling as the glowing figure advanced on him, passing harmlessly through the
unseen figure of a red haired girl.
Winter's breath of filthy snow,
Befrosted paths to the unknown
Have my lips turned purple yet?
Life is coming to an end,
So says me, me Wiccan friend
Nature coming full circle
"I call upon thee,
swear myself to…" With a croak of blood, his body jerked back as if he
had been struck. The power that had been gathering within Xellos' body surged
and dissipated in brilliant streamers of gold and black. "N-n-no…" He fell onto his knees, his eyes
now glassy with death. Still, Xellos gasped and shook, clinging to life in
desperation.
Perched atop the boulder
was a young boy, about seventeen, clad in blue. Pressed tightly between
Phibrizo's pale fingers, the small golden orb representing Xellos' essence was
slowly shattering.
"Lord…lord Hellmaster!" The
general's eyes glittered with thanks as he smiled with relief.
"Fool," Hellmaster's voice
was just as lilting and pure as it had been when Lina-tachi had faced him.
"You've ruined my perfectly laid plans by making me have to kill him too soon.
Now, I am going to have to make you pay the price for your stupidity."
Before he could even beg
for forgiveness, a column of darkness engulfed the screaming general, rending
him asunder in a ghastly display of shredded blackness and flesh.
Lina stared at the scene
before her in horror and disgust.
Phibrizo sighed unhappily.
"Now where am I going to find a replacement for him." He glanced at the
writhing body of Xellos. "Hmm…that's odd. Shouldn't you be dead by now?"
Convulsing and frothing at
the mouth with bloody foam, his hand grasped at the hilt of his sword.
"Oh, poor thing," Phibrizo
cooed, kneeling down beside him. "Are you trying to reach for your sword?"
Callously, he kicked it away. "It's not going to be much help to you anyway."
Xellos forced himself to
reach up and claw at him, smearing gore across Hellmaster's face and clothes.
"Well, well, such a
persistent little fuck, aren't we?" He brushed the grasping hands away
effortlessly. "You should feel very proud of yourself right now. Not many
mortals last this long. Most buy it in the first minute or so, but you've made
it to a good ten or eleven." Phibrizo grinned with childish glee. "Personally,
I find this to be at once incredibly frustrating and yet very amusing. You
truly are a stubborn fellow." He giggled softly. "If I didn't know any better,
I'd say you were mazoku, but that's impossible. If you were one of us, this
sphere would be black instead of…" Opening his palm, Phibrizo gaped in
astonishment.
Lina watched a fine, black
powder run out between his fingers and spread across Xellos. As it did, he
started laughing madly, coughing up black ochre now instead of blood. The
powder finally enveloped him and was blasted away in a whirlwind of shadowy
fragments. The cyclone that had formed twisted around Lina, swallowing her up
its violent dance of wind and sand. After buffeting her around like a rag-doll,
she was finally deposited on the bank of the river that she had been walking
along earlier. Swearing, she sat up and coughed out the grit that had gotten in
her mouth.
"Well, well," Xellos
sneered, reforming into his human shape. "Wasn't that educational, Lina?"
"Just what the hell did you
show me that for? Trying to make me feel sorry for you?"
"No, I don't want any
of your pity." He half-opened
his eyes and fixed her with a frigid glare. "I did that just to prove you
wrong, Lina Inverse."
She gaped and started to
say something, but nothing came out. In one of those rare moments in her
seventeen years of life, Lina found herself completely speechless.
Xellos simpered with
bittersweet satisfaction. "I suppose I've bothered you enough today.
Good bye, Miss Lina Inverse." Wavering like a heat mirage, he vanished.
"Grrrrroooowrrr!!" Lina
slammed a fist into the gravelly sand, seething with frustration. "I'm really
starting to hate that man!"
~*~*~ Owarri ~*~*~