Slayers is the property of Kadokawa Shoten.
LINA: I can't believe this crap! Did you hear what Zel just said?!
AMELIA: This must be a joke…He…He couldn't have meant that…
GOURRY: I missed something, didn't I? I hate it when that happens…
LINA: I refuse to believe it…I refuse to believe it can end this way! ZELGADIS! GET
YOUR ROCKY CHIMERA ASS BACK HERE!!!
Faces: After!
Part 22
The Last Goodbye?!
The Reinvention of a Monster…
"If this is some kind of joke," Zelgadis whispered, "It's in poor taste."
Sylphiel Nels Lahda, or at least what he THOUGHT was Sylphiel Nels Lahda, only
smiled. "It's no joke, Zelgadis dear," she said. "Try anything and I assure you she'll
know pain the likes of which no mortal on earth has ever encountered before."
Zelgadis rose from the bed and started for the door.
"Call for help and I'll induce an aneurysm in her brain the size of a brass racquets
ball," she warned. He stopped in his tracks, but didn't turn. "Before we continue this
conversation, let me just assure you of one thing. *I* am in charge."
The chimera turned to face the woman, who was now standing before him, looking
straight into him. "Who…or what…are you?" he growled out.
She smiled again. "You and part of myself met once," she told him. "Albeit briefly
and not quite as amicably as this."
Zelgadis' eyes narrowed as he tried to work through the riddle.
Sylphiel smiled. Her eyes flashed for a second, turning red before returning to the
soft emerald color he knew. The chimera gasped.
"Yes," she commented as she saw his change of expression. "You DO remember.
Good. Then you know I have no qualms whatsoever about carrying out my threat. Now sit
down," she ordered cruelly.
"I prefer to stand," he ground out between clenched teeth. The woman before him
shrugged and sat down on the edge of the bed. She smiled at him. "What do you want?"
Zelgadis asked, trying to get to the point of things quickly and get this over with as soon as
possible.
Her smile widened. "In short, I find myself in need of your assistance, Zelgadis
dear. This is very embarrassing," she admitted, "But it seems that my release from my
prison was not the end of my troubles. I need you to help eliminate them."
"What are you talking about?" Zelgadis asked darkly. "I know what kind of power
you have. I've seen it up close. Why could you possibly need ME?"
"I see I'm going to have to start at the beginning," Sylphiel said with a smile. She
stood up and raised her arms over her head. She lowered her voice to a dull boom and
announced, "IN THE BEGINNING, THE LORD OF NIGHTMARES CREATED
HEAVEN AND EARTH!!!" She grinned and lowered her hands. "Of course, being the
capricious woman she is, she changed her mind three seconds later and decided that
Heaven and Earth should go back to being a small part of her mind reserved for thinking of
dirty things. So she created us."
"Get to the point," Zelgadis bit out.
She smiled. "The city of Seyruun is one big giant magical seal," she reminded him.
"Ever think to ask yourself WHAT they were sealed against?"
Realization dawned on the chimera's face. "You. One of the seven pieces Cepheid
divided you into was placed here."
"Excellent," she applauded, clapping her hands together softly. "You're just as
smart as Sylphiel makes you out to be."
"Where is she?!" he growled. "I want to talk to her!"
The woman frowned darkly. "Let's not get ahead of ourselves," she warned. "The
fact of the matter is that even though I'm free…sort of…I find myself locked inside this
city, unable to leave the seal into the outside world." She smiled. "That's where you
come in…Zelgadis dear."
"Feh!" Zelgadis spat. "I don't know what kind of information you got from
Sylphiel, but if she really thinks I can bring down the seal around Seyruun, she's
overestimating me."
"Oh, don't worry, Zelgadis dear!" the woman waved aside his complaint.
"Sylphiel has a high opinion of your abilities, but being the priestess she is, she realizes
that bringing down the barrier is something best suited to others. THAT is what I need you
for."
"Get to the deal," he growled.
"Due south of here…and about six hundred miles away…is Wolfpack Island." She
looked at him. "I want you to deliver a message to Lady Xelas Metallium, a message I will
prepare for you. Once that is done, I will have no further need of you or Miss Lahda, and
I'll set her free."
"And I'm supposed to just believe you?" Zelgadis asked.
She shrugged. "No. I am not a Mazoku without a sense of fair play, Zelgadis dear.
I believe the other piece of me you encountered before offered you and your friends eternal
life in thanks for resurrecting him. Just because you declined the offer, doesn't make it any
less genuine."
Zelgadis said nothing.
"Oh, think of this way!" she said playfully. "Do as I say and you get at least a few
months of a stand off to try to figure out some way to rescue your woman on your own.
Can't beat that!" The chimera was still silent. "I must warn you, however," she continued,
"That any attempt to move against me will result in quite a bit of pain for Syl chan."
"I want to talk to her."
"No," she said firmly. "You don't give the orders here."
"Let me talk to her," Zelgadis growled, leaning down until her face was an inch
from his. "Or I use a Ra Tilt to separate you from her by force."
The woman smiled. Suddenly, her eyes rolled back into her head and her chest
heaved. She started shaking uncontrollably, convulsing in a violent seizure.
"Sylphiel!" he gasped, grabbing her by the shoulders. "Sylphiel!"
Her fists pounded against the bed as she gasped for air. If she was physically able
to scream, Zelgadis imagined his eardrums would be bursting by now, but the only sound
she made was a silent gasp as she continued convulsing.
Zelgadis cursed inwardly and made a decision. "All right! All right, dammit! You
win! Just stop it! Stop it!"
She gasped twice more, and her breath came back to her slowly. Opening her eyes,
she looked up at him. "Do we have a deal?"
Zelgadis Greywords looked down at the Mazoku inhabiting his lover's body. The
horror of their situation was written all over his face as he whispered,
"We have a deal."
A birdcage.
That's what she was trapped in, believe it or not. A giant, iron birdcage, complete
with a swing in the center, and two little compartments for food and water. However,
Sylphiel's mind was not hungry, or thirsty, and she sure as hell didn't want to sit on the
swing…
So she sat there, her back against the bars, waiting.
The shrine maiden had tried to fight him. She had tried so hard, but in the end, the
Dark Lord had overwhelmed her, taking control of her mind and body. All that was left
was a small piece of herself, and instead of destroying it, he had locked it away in a corner
of her own mind where she couldn't get out. She could still see and hear, though. Looking
out the bars of the cage had the same affect as a bird looking out at the world from its own
prison. She could see everything going on around her.
She saw how that piece of astral filth had strong-armed Zelgadis dear into helping
him, using HER as a crowbar. But now there was nothing to see. He had ordered Zelgadis
to sleep, telling him he needed his rest for his journey. And though the Dark Lord was a
Mazoku, as long as he inhabited HER human body, he had to abide by its restrictions. In
short, her body was sleeping soundly in bed, and Zelgadis was asleep on the floor next to it
with the warning that if he made things seem out of the ordinary to the others, SHE would
be punished.
So she sat there, her head bowed, trying to think of some way to help Zelgadis dear,
to throw off the demon holding her, but the more she thought about it, the more hopeless her
situation seemed.
"What's wrong, little bird?" she heard from all around her. "You're not singing."
She looked up and saw a pair of red eyes appear in the darkness through the bars.
Her eyes narrowed at him hatefully. "Zelgadis dear will never help you," she told
him. "He'll die before letting YOU run loose through the world."
A chuckled boomed all around her. "Zelgadis DEAR is ruled by a type of greed.
He doesn't mind if the world burns down as long as it doesn't affect him, his cure, or you."
"You're wrong," she told him spitefully. "And saying something like that just
proves you don't really know anything about him."
"I know enough, little bird," he growled. "I know he won't risk your death."
"You're wrong there too," she hissed. "Zelgadis dear knows me. And he knows
I'd rather die than let my body be used as a host by filth like you!"
She was suddenly knocked to the other side of the cage, her head striking the bars
causing her to yelp in pain. It was as if the demon's hand had struck the side of her cage in
anger.
Her hand went to her head as tears of pain ran down her cheeks. She stood up and
steadied herself on the bars of her cage. "You know I'm right!" she cried at him.
"What you think is irrelevant," he told her. "I could care less. As long as he does
what he's told, there won't be a problem, and if he doesn't, you'll be the first to pay. Then
him."
She glared hatefully at the crimson eyes. "Do you take me for a fool?" she spat.
"As soon as you get what you want, I'm dead anyway!"
The eyes ignored her. Suddenly, a window to the outside opened up. "Time to
wake up and face the day!" the voice boomed. A view from Sylphiel's eyes appeared
before her as her body awoke from its slumber. Her head turned and looked down at the
floor where Zelgadis had been sleeping.
It was empty.
"Now this is interesting," the voice chuckled.
Sylphiel took a nervous breath. "Zelgadis dear…"
Zelgadis descended the long marble staircase that lead into the palace garden
quickly, not stopping to admire the natural beauty of the surrounding area even for a
second. He had to move fast. He might be in a pinch, but Lina might have an idea of what
to do, and even if she didn't, she'd be able to help out SOMEHOW.
Now if he could only find her before that damn Mazoku wakes up and starts to
suspect something…
Lina was walking on air…literally. She had woken up this morning in such a state
of euphoric contentment, that walking seemed to be a bother somehow. So, she just cast a
levitation spell and started floating through the palace a foot off the ground. Maids and
house servants had arched eyebrows as she floated by, and questions directed to the
redhead were met with, "Isn't it such a lovely morning?" rather than, "GET THE HELL
OUT OF MY WAY OR I'LL SEND YOU HOME IN A FREAK'N BOX!" like she might
normally greet people.
Lina was not usually a morning person…
She giggled softly as she descended the staircase into the garden. So this is what
being a woman felt like… Giggling again she paused to smell the roses blooming nearby.
Her thoughts traveled to the unconscious swordsman she had left snoring in his bedroom.
She was reasonably sure he'd recover eventually.
This thought caused her to giggle again. Life was so grand! Life was wonderful!
Life was…
"Oi, Lina."
The greeting caused her line of thought and concentration both to go off-track. With
a sharp cry, she fell to the ground.
Jumping to her feet, she parted the hair that had fallen over her eyes and found
Zelgadis there. "Zel? Good morning!" she said brightly.
The chimera arched an eyebrow. Normally, he'd question her bright disposition,
suspecting the worst, but today he had another problem. "Lina, we need to talk. It's pretty
urgent."
Lina smiled knowingly. "I see…Sylphiel…"
Zelgadis interrupted her. "Then you know."
She nodded and grinned at him. "You sly dog…"
His eyes narrowed. "Um…I think we're talking about two different things here,"
he noted.
"We are?" she asked, scratching her head. "Oh…well…you tell me your news,
and I'll tell you mine."
Zelgadis took a breath and began. "It's Sylphiel. I'm not sure how yet, but…"
"Zelgadis dear!"
He gasped and turned at the sound of her voice. Sylphiel was standing on top of the
marble steps near the doorway to the palace. She was smiling and waving at them.
"Oh, no," he whispered.
Lina waved to the woman. "Good morning, Sylphiel!"
Sylphiel took a step forward to the edge of the steps, then started to wobble on her
feet. "Oh, my," she said, the back of her hand going to her head as her eyelids fluttered.
She sighed and fell forward in a faint.
"SYLPHIEL!" Zelgadis shouted. "RAYWING!" In a second, he was flying at top
speed towards the shrine maiden. Sylphiel was tumbling down the hard marble steps,
bouncing like a ball tossed by a child. The chimera could actually hear bones breaking as
he tried desperately to put on more speed.
Finally, he felt the familiar weight of the priestess strike his arms, and he slowly
lowered himself to the ground. He heard Lina's boots strike the stone floor next to him and
her gasp. "Oh my god!"
Sylphiel was a bloody and battered mess. Her left arm was twisted in a way that
the human arm was simply not meant to be. Blood ran from her mouth and nose, and her
outfit was cut and bloody all over her body.
"Lina! Healing spell!" Zelgadis ordered.
The redhead nodded her agreement, and the two of them began chanting the
strongest healing spells they knew, placing their hands over the shrine maiden's body.
(Damn you! Damn you! Damn you! Damn you!) he kept screaming in his mind.
Zelgadis looked down at his possessed lover as she opened her eyes and smiled.
"They're finally gone," she noted, sitting up. Her injuries were healed thanks to several
healing spells, not only from him and and Lina, but from Amelia and Gracia as well.
Afterwards, they had left the room to let her sleep. Zelgadis stayed with her. He knew that
the Mazoku was aware of what was happening around him, and who knew what would
happen if Zelgadis left?
He glared hatefully at her.
"Oh, don't look so angry," she cooed. "She's alive, after all." She stood up and
stretched. "Do you see now?" she asked him. He turned away from her in disgust. "I can
kill her any time I want, any way I want." She smiled at his back as he began shaking with
rage at his own impotence. "It's really an interesting idea, isn't it?" she asked. "I can kill
your woman any way I wish. I should be creative!" she announced. "I mean, yes, an
aneurysm will do the job, but why do that when I can make her death SPECTACULAR!?"
She threw her hands in the air and posed dramatically.
Zelgadis tried to quell the rage he was feeling.
"Or maybe I'll trash her reputation at the same time," the demon continued to taunt.
She leaned over and whispered into his ear. "Maybe I'll dress up in the most whorish
outfit I can find and just wander the seedy neighborhoods until I get lucky and some drunk
bandit finds m…"
Zelgadis screamed and turned on her, holding up his hand. "FIRE…"
He paused as he saw her standing there, smiling cruelly at him. "Well?" she
asked. "Go ahead, Zelgadis dear. Burn me."
The chimera grit his teeth in rage and threw the fireball out the window to explode
harmlessly. "You bastard," he hissed quietly at her.
She took a step towards him and looked him in the eye. "Last warning," she
whispered. "You try ANYTHING like that again, and I'll kill Sylphiel Nels Lahda in as
many ways as I can think of." She stepped away and looked out the window. "The
message I'll give you to Metallium is going to be an astral essence keyed to a certain
vibration. It can only be carried by Mazoku which is why I need you."
Zelgadis tensed.
"Yes…Syl chan told me about Scarrin," the demon said with a smile. "You leave
tonight," she told him. "I'll be sure to give Lina and the others a believable story. Don't
worry," she assured him. "I'm sure they won't want to chase after you THIS time."
He stood there enraged.
"You can go now," she told him, almost as an afterthought. "I know you won't try
that again. If you do and I find out…" She snapped her fingers. "Just like that."
Zelgadis started for the door and paused there to say one final thing.
"Shabranigdo," he hissed cruelly. "One day soon…I'm going to kill you…." He
turned to the demon. "And the rest of your FUCKING RACE!" he spat.
The demon grinned and wiggled her fingers at him in goodbye. "Gambatte!"
Zelgadis walked out the door and slammed it behind him.
Sylphiel's hand reached up slowly and grasped one of the bars of her cage.
Shaking, she pulled herself up to a standing position. Her breath came in ragged, painful
gasps as she rested against the bars.
"Finally recovered, have you?" the red eyes asked her.
The priestess glared out at the smirking eyes. He might have been able to just shrug
off the injuries, but she had felt every painful impact of flesh against stone as her body had
been thrown down the marble steps.
"You'll be happy to know that your mate has finally realized the futility of
opposition and is going to assist us."
"You," she corrected quietly. "Assist YOU."
"Semantics," he dismissed.
She glared tiredly at him. "You're despicable," she whispered.
"Yes," he agreed with a chuckle. "But in the end, I WILL win…"
Sylphiel was still trying to catch her breath after the injuries she had endured.
"No," she told him quietly. "Zelgadis dear will stop you. He did it before."
The eyes laughed at her. "Ah yes!" he agreed. "That tiny part of me in the priest's
eyes. Let me let you in on a dirty little secret, Sylphiel dear. I was broken into parts of
varying strengths and make-ups. Destroying the part of me in Rezo isn't THAT big of an
achievement." He chuckled. "As a matter of fact, if I were to classify the part of me that
your friends destroyed, I'd have to call it 'my knee.'"
"And what are you?" she asked, a knot forming in her stomach.
Another chuckle. "My dear shrine maiden, I'm the part that was considered so
dangerous, a magical seal the size of a city had to be constructed to insure I wouldn't
escape."
Sylphiel took another breath as ice clutched her.
"You see, Sylphiel dear," he went on, "Any idiot can have power. Lina Inverse
has power. Your mate has power. Rezo the Red Priest had power. But that's not what
makes them dangerous."
The shrine maiden listened as the Dark Lord lectured.
"No, what makes them dangerous is the knowledge they accumulated with it. A
man with power is nothing to fear if he doesn't have the intelligence to direct that power."
"And that's what you are," she concluded.
"Correct," he affirmed for her. "I…am the intellect."
"Poor Miss Sylphiel," Amelia noted at the lunch table as she looked up in the
direction of the stairway that led to the guest room where the shrine maiden was
recovering. "That must have really hurt."
Lina nodded as she gobbled down her food. She paused suddenly, a sausage
perched precariously on her fork only an inch from the sorceress' mouth. "Amelia," she
began. "Have you talked to Zel today?"
Amelia shook her head. "No. Well, not really. He stormed out not too long ago
and said he had to take care of something. He looked really mad."
"He was acting strange earlier," Lina mused thoughtfully. "He was going to tell
me something about Sylphiel before she fell. Afterwards, he pretended it was nothing and
wouldn't speak up."
"Do…do you think maybe…they're fighting again?" Amelia asked timidly.
Lina blinked. "'Again?'" she asked. "I wasn't aware they had ever fought."
"Well," Amelia confessed quietly. "They had a big fight back in Borden. For
awhile…I thought they were going to separate."
"Hmmm…" Lina thought to herself.
Before the conversation could continue, a blond man about an inch from death
stumbled down the stairs. He leaned against the wall in exhaustion and looked at his
surroundings.
"Gourry!" Lina squealed happily. A second later she caught herself and cleared
her throat and said, "'Bout time you got up! Too bad there's no food left for you!"
The swordsman was blinking in confusion. "Th…There was…these little people,"
he muttered. "Then I was tied up….Something red….And then…nothing…What happened
to me?"
"Hey! Lazy ass!" Lina called out. "Are you going to stand there all day asking
stupid questions or are you going to kiss me good morning?!"
Amelia took no notice of Lina's flirting with Gourry and continued to look up at the
stairwell in thought. "Something's not right," she muttered. Rising to her feet, she started
up the stairs to Sylphiel's room.
Shabranigdo stared out the window at the city that made up his prison. It was full
of happy, smiling people. White mages and priests, bustling about, unknowingly
strengthening the bars of his cell with their uplifting thoughts and practices.
He was looking forward to the day when he could raze this city to the ground…
A knock on the door prompted the Mazoku to turn. "Yes?" he asked, still just a bit
surprised to hear the shrine maiden's voice as his own.
"Miss Sylphiel? It's me. Amelia. Can I come in?"
The Dark Lord smiled. "Of course, Miss Amelia. Come right in."
"What are you doing?" Sylphiel asked in alarm, her hands wrapping around two of
the bars of her cell as she peered out between them.
"Setting the stage, of course," Shabranigdo answered her. "After all, we cannot
have Lina Inverse and the others follow their usual habit of following after Zelgadis dear,
can we?"
Sylphiel could only watch and worry.
"Miss Sylphiel?" Amelia asked as she entered the room. "There's something
wrong, isn't there?"
She watched as her fellow shrine maiden sat demurely on the bed and looked away.
"Miss Amelia…I appreciate your concern…but I'm afraid there's nothing you can do this
time."
Amelia sighed. "I was afraid it was something like this," she said. She sat down
next to Sylphiel and took her hand. "I'm so sorry, Miss Sylphiel."
Sylphiel sighed dramatically. "I…I think it may be for the best, Miss Amelia."
"What happened?" the princess asked, wondering how all of her plans and efforts
could have fallen apart so quickly.
The shrine maiden smiled and squeezed her hand. "Miss Amelia, thank you for
everything you've done…but…Zelgadis dear wants his cure…and…well…" She took a
breath. "Apparently, there isn't enough room in his life for both me and finding the cure to
his curse…"
"You…cold…heartless…" Sylphiel growled, squeezing her eyes shut.
"You'll like this next bit," the eyes told her.
The shrine maiden took a breath. "It…It's my own fault, really," she told Amelia.
"I…I guess I just pushed too hard…" Tears started to flow down her cheeks. "I know…I
know I shouldn't have asked him to stay with me, but…" She broke down and began to cry
in earnest.
Amelia bit her lip and hugged the woman. "I'm so sorry, Miss Sylphiel! He
shouldn't be like that! I know he loves you! I know he does!"
Sylphiel wiped at her eyes and collected herself. "Maybe, Miss Amelia. But he
wants his cure more. And…And I can't stand in his way this time…"
"Miss Sylphiel…You mustn't give up!"
The priestess shook her head. "No! It's over! He's leaving tonight to follow up a
lead on his cure!"
"Talk to him, Miss Sylphiel!" Amelia cried.
"I tried!" she replied in tears. "I tried, but he just told me that…that…that I was in
the way!"
Amelia gasped under her breath. "He…he really said that?"
Sylphiel nodded frantically. "He said…" She broke off and sniffled. "…That if I
really loved him, I'd leave him alone and let him find what he really wants!"
"That's so cold!" Amelia declared hotly.
"Please, Miss Amelia! You mustn't blame him! He was only being honest!"
"That's no excuse to treat you like that!" Amelia turned for the door. "I'm going to
go give him a piece of my mind!"
Sylphiel grabbed her arm. "No! Please, Miss Amelia! This is so humiliating as it
is! Just…just please….Don't let anyone know what I told you! Please!"
Amelia's expression softened. "Miss Sylphiel…"
"Please?" she begged.
The princess sighed. "All right, Miss Sylphiel," she said. "If that's what you
want…"
"Thank you, Miss Amelia."
"And that should take care of that," the eyes told Sylphiel mockingly. "All that's
left is Lina Inverse, and what I have planned will make her so angry, it'll be a surprise if
she doesn't kill Zelgadis dear right there on the spot."
"I hate you," Sylphiel whispered hauntingly. The words surprised her. She didn't
hate anyone. She didn't even really hate Copii Rezo. But this man…this thing…she hated
him. She hated him for what he was doing to her, for what he was doing to Zelgadis dear,
and for what he was doing to Zelgadis dear's reputation.
She hated him.
"I may weep openly," Shabranigdo told her in a bored voice, rolling his crimson
eyes. "Now, then, I have a few things to do, so you just sit down and wait like a good little
bird." With that, the eyes disappeared.
Sylphiel turned and leaned against the bars of her cage, sliding down them until she
was sitting against them. What was she going to do? There had to be SOME way for her
to fight back…
As the hopelessness of her situation continued to crash against her, she started to
cry. The more she thought about it, the less options she found available.
"Forgive me, Zelgadis dear," she whimpered. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry for all of it."
Tears fell from her green eyes and struck her leg as she continued to cry.
As she wept, she nearly failed to notice a new source of light. Turning to her left,
she saw it. A tiny pinprick of light had popped up from the floor and was floating before
her. She blinked as the light hovered there, and fearing another attack from Shabranigdo,
started to push herself away from it. The light, however, only followed. It moved until it
was directly in front of her eyes. The brightness increased in intensity, and she smiled.
The light shining down from the tiny star seemed to fill her with renewed hope.
Reaching up, she cupped the tiny star in her hands and brought it closer. It
continued to glow softly, giving her warmth. The shrine maiden sniffled and held it to her
chest.
Before long, she was asleep.
"You were gone a long time," the Dark Lord noted as Zelgadis entered the room
and unceremoniously deposited a heavy rucksack on the bed.
Zelgadis growled. "If I'm going to travel a thousand miles into the heart of Mazoku
territory, I'm going prepared. Is that okay with YOU?" he asked snidely.
"Temper temper, Zelgadis dear," the demon smiled.
"Yeah, fuck you too," the chimera muttered under his breath as he went through his
supplies. Some dried meat and vegetables, travel bread, a few vials of bluish liquid…
"What is this?" Sylphiel/Shabranigdo asked, holding up one of the vials.
"Cepheid's Water," Zelgadis answered, not bothering to look at the demon in his
lover's body. "Mazoku are 'allergic' to it, for lack of a better word. It eats away at their
astral essence."
"I see," Shabranigdo commented, studying the liquid.
"Why don't you have a sip?" Zelgadis sneered.
She smiled. "No, thank you. Not thirsty."
He paused as he was rearranging his supplies. "What guarantee do I have that after
I leave, Sylphiel will be safe?"
"You don't have one," she answered simply.
"Feh….Figures," he muttered. He returned to packing his supplies.
"Oh, enough grumbling," she chastised. "Time to give you the message. Stand up."
Zelgadis rose to his full height and turned around, facing the demon. She raised her
palm to him. "So what is…" Before he could finish his inquiry, he was struck by a pulse
of red light that knocked him across the room and into the far wall. The breath knocked out
of him, Zelgadis slid down the wall onto the floor.
Sylphiel/Shabranigdo smiled and nodded in satisfaction. "That should do nicely!"
She watched as the chimera started to struggle to his feet. "In case you're curious, that was
the message. It's kind of an astral encoding. Metallium will know how to decrypt it. Oh,
and I went ahead and gave you a Mazoku-friendly astral essence." She smiled.
"Metallium's wolves probably won't eat you now when you show up."
"'Probably?'" Zelgadis grunted as he finally managed to climb to his feet.
"Shit happens," the demon told him with a smile.
"So it seems," the chimera agreed with a growl. Taking a breath to steady himself,
he picked up his rucksack from the bed and started for the door. "I'll leave tonight,
quietly," he told her.
"Of course," she agreed.
Gourry yawned and smiled as he stepped onto the palace roof. Since he and Lina
had become intimate, his chibi self conscious hadn't bothered him again, which was fine
with him. He was seriously beginning to wonder if there was something wrong with his
mind.
Oh well…whatever.
Stepping onto the roof, he saw a familiar figure gazing out at the setting sun. He
brightened and waved. "Oi, Zelgadis!" The chimera didn't answer him, so Gourry walked
up and stood beside him. He wasn't offended or anything. Zelgadis sometimes entered into
really contemplative moods like this.
"Hmm," Zelgadis finally said in greeting.
The swordsman scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "Hey, Zelgadis…About
what you were talking about last night. I'm sorry I kind of zoned out there. I had a lot on
my mind."
"No problem, Gourry," Zelgadis told him, staring at the sun.
"You know, I was kind of thinking about it this morning….You see…um…stuff kind
of happened last night that…well…made me think…"
He waited for a joke or comment from Zelgadis about his intelligence. None came.
"Anyway," he said softly. "Last night I really knew what you were talking about.
And I figured that I should be the one thanking you."
This statement got the chimera's attention, and he finally turned to the blond. "What
do you mean?" he asked quietly.
"Well," Gourry began, trying to think of the best way to say it without sounding like
a moron. "I used to worry about Sylphiel a lot. Like after that whole Rezo thing and her
town was destroyed. She just seemed so…alone."
Zelgadis went back to looking at the sunset.
Gourry smiled. "But now that she has you, I know she won't have to feel that way
anymore!" He patted the stone man on the back. "So thanks!"
His message delivered, Gourry turned to go.
"What would you do for Lina?" the chimera suddenly asked him.
The swordsman paused in his tracks and turned. "Eh?"
"How far would you go?" Zelgadis asked quietly. "What would you do for
her…for her safety?"
Gourry smiled. "Oh, that's easy! Anything!"
Zelgadis didn't say anything else. Gourry took that as a cue and left him there with
his thoughts.
The castle was dark at this time of night. But it was never too dark for a midnight
snack! Lina told herself this as she put on her robe and gave one last look at the
unconscious swordsman sprawled out on the bed. She was sure he'd recover eventually.
She was already getting the hang of this intimacy thing, but it sure left her hungry.
Just as she was reaching for the doorknob, there was a knock. She blinked and
opened the door. "Sylphiel?" she asked, surprised to see the shrine maiden there. "What's
wrong?"
"Zelgadis dear has disappeared," the violet-haired woman told her. "Have you
seen him?"
Lina shook her head in disbelief. "Disappeared? Maybe he went for a snack or…"
"Please, Miss Lina! Help me look for him!" Sylphiel begged.
"Um…Yeah…Yeah, sure. Of course." Being careful not to wake yogurt brain, she
stepped into the hallway with the priestess and shut the door behind her.
"What are you doing?!" Sylphiel asked in alarm, grabbing hold of the bars of her
cage and looking out at the image of her friend as she set out to help find Zelgadis.
"Just covering the possibilities, little bird," Shabranigdo told her.
Zelgadis was used to lurking in the shadows, so moving through the palace at night
was more comfortable for him than if it had been filled with people. The rucksack on his
back was heavy, yet thanks to the chimera's demon strength, Zelgadis barely felt it. He
paused for a moment and asked himself again if he was doing the right thing. To leave
Sylphiel like this for who knows how many months was a frightening idea, but if he didn't
do as Shabranigdo demanded, he'd kill her…terribly.
He thought about some of the taunts the demon had used as it rattled off the best
ways to kill her. Thinking of those things made him almost consider going upstairs and
giving the demon a Ra Tilt. Even if the spell or the demon killed Sylphiel, it would have to
be a faster and less painful death than some of the things Shabranigdo had laughingly listed.
Zelgadis started walking again. No. As long as she was alive, there was hope.
She taught him that. SHE taught him that life begets hope.
If there was a way to free her from Shabranigdo, he'd find it.
"LIGHTING!"
He looked up in surprise as white light filled the room.
Amelia stood before him, a lighting spell in her hand. "Mister Zelgadis?" she
asked, blinking in surprise. "What are you doing here?"
"Zelgadis dear!"
He whirled around and saw Sylphiel and Lina standing behind him, having come up
the same hallway he had.
(What the…)
"Whatever you're doing, stop it, please!" Sylphiel begged the demon.
"Do you play chess, little bird?" the demon asked casually.
"No! No, I don't play chess, but what does that have to do with anything?!" she
cried.
"In chess, little bird, strategy is everything. It's not enough to react to a move the
opponent just made, you must react to the move he WILL make ten moves from now."
"Please stop," she begged. "Please."
"Not quite yet," he told her.
"Hey, Zel," Lina asked, pointing at his rucksack. "Where are you going?"
"Zelgadis dear?" Sylphiel asked fearfully. "Is something wrong? Where are you
going, sneaking out in the middle of the night?" She stepped forward.
Zelgadis only blinked in surprise. What was Shabranigdo up to now?
"I…I know we fought, but…" the priestess said, stepping towards him. "But
please…don't just leave…"
"Is there something going on, Zel?" Lina asked, just a touch of fire in her voice.
Amelia only looked on sadly. Sylphiel had hinted that something like this might happen.
Zelgadis grit his teeth. If Shabranigdo wanted to make him look like a jerk in front
of his friends as some kind of insult, let him. Saving Sylphiel was more important now.
(All right,) he thought. (You want to play a game, fine. Let's play and get it over
with.) "I'm leaving," he said. "I have a new lead on my cure. I'm going to investigate it,"
he said, bringing out the oldest excuse in the book. He turned and started walking again.
"Zelgadis dear! You know that's a lie!" the demon in Sylphiel's body cried after
him. "How could you do this to me?!"
He could feel Lina's gaze boring into his back as he continued walking without a
word. If looks could kill, he imagined the entire kingdom of Seyruun would be one giant
crater right now.
It didn't matter. Lina could think whatever she wanted. Amelia could believe what
she liked. It didn't matter right now.
He continued walking.
"How could you do this to me?!" the shrine maiden screamed at his back. "WHEN
I'M CARRYING YOUR CHILD?!"
The world stopped spinning.
Amelia, standing right next to him now, gasped in complete shock. Zelgadis was
standing there, his eyes wide, haunted. He turned slowly. It had to be a lie. Just another
lie to cause him pain. It…it had to be, right?
As he turned, he saw their faces. Amelia was in complete shock, actually pale.
Sylphiel's face was buried in her hands, weeping. And Lina…
Lina was staring right at him, glaring as if she would like nothing more than to
Dragon Slave him right there, but that's not what caught his attention…
Lina Inverse looked in no way, shape, or form, the slightest bit surprised by what
Sylphiel had just said.
Everything fell into place. Sylphiel's mysterious illness…
He had asked Lina to take her to a doctor…
And she wasn't surprised by the announcement because she already knew it was the
truth…
"STOP IT! STOP IT!" Sylphiel cried as she pulled on the bars of the cage.
"YOU'VE WON! HE'S GOING! STOP DOING THIS TO HIM!" She released the bars a
moment later and fell to the floor, tears running down her cheeks. "You won," she
whispered. "Why? Why did you do that?! YOU HAD ALREADY WON!" she screamed
at the demon.
"You were wrong about many things, little bird," Shabranigdo taunted her from
outside the cage. "But there was one thing you were right about. He really would kill you
if he thought there was no other way to free you. If it came to that, he'd kill you and me
without a second's thought. But now…." The demon snickered. "Not a chance."
Sylphiel looked up at the smiling eyes hovering outside the cage. She screamed
and rushed forward, slamming her body into the bars, reaching through them as if she could
grab them and choke the life from them. "YOU SLIMY FILTH!" she screamed at him.
"YOU DISGUSTING, FILTHY, SADISTIC PIECE OF DIRT!" She continued to scream,
tears running down her face as she tried to reach the eyes that were torturing her and her
Zelgadis dear.
Shabranigdo laughed at her and gave her cage a push, causing it to sway from side
to side. The eyes faded from her sight.
Sylphiel screamed in grief and fell to the floor again, weeping uncontrollably.
"ZELGADIS DEEEEEAAAAR!!!"
Zelgadis met each of their glares, not saying anything as he digested this new piece
of information. He knew what he had to do now. He knew it was going to hurt. He knew
he didn't want to do it. And he knew that he wanted very much to kill Shabranigdo right
now.
He knew what he had to say…
So he took a breath…
And said it.
"I don't care."
It came out as a whisper, and at the same time it seemed as loud as a thunderclap in
his ears.
Amelia actually turned a new shade of white. Sylphiel cried harder and fell to her
knees, weeping.
Zelgadis turned and started for the door again, cursing himself and the demon with
every step.
"That's it!?" Lina shouted at his back. "That's ALL you have to say?!"
Zelgadis ignored her. It was the only thing he could do.
"You bastard," Lina whispered at his back. "You cold, uncaring bastard…"
Before she could even think enough through her shock to consider fireballing him, he was
out the door and gone.
"You bastard," she whispered again.
"Zelgadis dear," Sylphiel wept next to her. "How could you?"
Lina knelt next to her friend and hugged her. "Shhhh," she cooed. "It'll be okay,
Sylphiel. It'll be okay. Come on. Let's put you to bed." She helped the woman to her feet.
"Help me out, Ame…" she said, turning…
But Amelia was gone.
Zelgadis fought back the anger and grief he was feeling right now. Anger and grief
wasn't going to help Sylphiel. It wasn't going to make this any easier. So he walked. He
pushed those emotions as far down into his soul as he could. There would be another time.
Another place. But not here, and not now.
The streets of Seyruun were very quiet, almost a reflection of the palace. Very few
people were out and about.
Zelgadis was fine with that. He didn't want to be near people now. He continued
walking.
"Mister Zelgadis!"
Stopping, he looked up and saw Amelia standing on a nearby roof, pointing down at
him angrily. He sighed. "Amelia, go away…"
She responded by jumping into the air, flipping, and landing nimbly on her feet for
once. Pointing at him again, she seemed to falter for a second. Then, "What you did to
Miss Sylphiel….Was…was…." She shook her head and tried again. "Was the most cruel
thing I had ever seen ANYONE in this world do! And in the name of Justice, I will not let
you just walk out as if it were nothing," she hissed.
Zelgadis regarded her almost warily. An angry Amelia wasn't something to laugh
at.
She changed her pose and pointed again. "I don't know what kind of fight you and
Miss Sylphiel had," she cried, "But I DO know that you have a responsibility to her and the
child she's bearing!"
He started walking past her. "Amelia, you don't understand what's happening. Just
let it go."
She backflipped until she was in front of him again. "No! I won't stand for you
abandoning her and your unborn child this way! You're going to come back with me,
apologize to her, and do whatever you have to to MAKE THINGS RIGHT!"
For a second, Zelgadis considered telling her what was really going on, but he
knew that it was simply too dangerous. One slip of the tongue, something Amelia had a
bad habit of, and Sylphiel was dead.
He simply couldn't risk it. He simply could not trust ANYONE with this.
"Go back to the palace, Amelia," he said again, starting past her.
"No way," Amelia breathed, raising her hands. "LAFAS SH…."
The chimera reacted quickly, lunging forward and burying his knee in the pit of
Amelia's stomach before she could finish the imprisonment spell!
Amelia gasped as the breath was knocked forcibly from her body. Pain ran up and
down her small form, and she dropped to her hands and knees, trying desperately to
breathe.
Zelgadis bit his lip as he looked down at her. He had reacted without thinking and
honestly didn't mean to hit her that hard. Kneeling beside her, he rested a hand on her
shoulder. "Amelia…"
The princess looked up at him, furious, and lashed out!
Zelgadis felt a slight tickling in the left side of his face and heard a sickening
cracking sound.
Amelia cried out in pain and held her broken hand. She had slapped him so hard,
her fingers had broken against his stone skin. Tears of pain and disappointment ran down
her face.
"Amelia," he said softly.
She looked up at him, fire in her eyes. "Get out," she whispered through the sob
forming in her throat.
Zelgadis blinked in surprise. This wasn't the usual Amelia.
"I said GET OUT!" she screamed at him. "GET OUT OF MY KINGDOM! GET
OUT OF MY SIGHT! GET OUT!"
The chimera stood up and grit his teeth before walking past her. He was alone
now. Totally alone.
That's the way it would have to be until he figured out some way to expel
Shabranigdo from Sylphiel.
He paused. Amelia was sobbing behind him. The sounds of her crying echoed in
his ears. That's when he realized it.
Just as Rezo had done by changing him into a chimera, Shabranigdo had made
Zelgadis a monster again.
To Be Continued…
Ending Theme: "Half the World," by Belinda Carlisle
Only one shadow on the wall
Just one candle burning bright
I hold your picture to my heart
I'm alone inside the night.
The sun comes up in China…
The lights go on in Rome
Half the world is waiting for someone they can hold
Half the world is praying they'll never be alone.
Every time you leave me a part of me goes too.
And half the world is waiting here for you.
I reach across an empty bed.
I hear you whisper in my ear.
But like the sun without the moon
It's half a dream without you here.
The train that takes you from me
Brings somebody home.
Half the world is waiting for someone they can hold.
Half the world is praying they'll never be alone.
Every time you leave me a part of me goes too.
And half the world is waiting here for you.
Baby the earth stands still
When I'm lying next to you.
No matter where you go
Our whole world's inside this room.
The sun comes up in China…
The lights go on in Rome…
Half the world is waiting for someone they can hold.
Half the world is praying they'll never be alone.
And every time you leave me
My heart breaks in two…
Half the world is waiting here for you.
I'm waiting here for you…
Author's Notes:
Due to an incredible change in my life, Faces: After will not be updated for at least a few
months. I have recently enlisted in the military and will be leaving for basic training
within the next week. However, I assure you, once I am settled into my new life, I will
continue this saga. I love writing this story too much to give up on it.
Faces: Finale!, the next series in the Faces Cycle, will wrap up the saga of Zelgadis and
Sylphiel. Be on the lookout for it. It'll be published here first. ^_^
The following people are to be thanked and groveled because without their help, this fic
would never have even happened. Fish and Sethra, my kawaii prereaders; Will and Cav,
my not so kawaii prereaders. ^_^ Without you guys, there'd be no Faces. A special
thanks goes out to a reader named "t" who reminded me of something I neglected to
mention. A part of this chapter was inspired by an episode of Deep Space Nine. That's
right. Once again, Star Trek shows us the way. ^_^
Davner
LINA: I can't believe this crap! Did you hear what Zel just said?!
AMELIA: This must be a joke…He…He couldn't have meant that…
GOURRY: I missed something, didn't I? I hate it when that happens…
LINA: I refuse to believe it…I refuse to believe it can end this way! ZELGADIS! GET
YOUR ROCKY CHIMERA ASS BACK HERE!!!
Faces: After!
Part 22
The Last Goodbye?!
The Reinvention of a Monster…
"If this is some kind of joke," Zelgadis whispered, "It's in poor taste."
Sylphiel Nels Lahda, or at least what he THOUGHT was Sylphiel Nels Lahda, only
smiled. "It's no joke, Zelgadis dear," she said. "Try anything and I assure you she'll
know pain the likes of which no mortal on earth has ever encountered before."
Zelgadis rose from the bed and started for the door.
"Call for help and I'll induce an aneurysm in her brain the size of a brass racquets
ball," she warned. He stopped in his tracks, but didn't turn. "Before we continue this
conversation, let me just assure you of one thing. *I* am in charge."
The chimera turned to face the woman, who was now standing before him, looking
straight into him. "Who…or what…are you?" he growled out.
She smiled again. "You and part of myself met once," she told him. "Albeit briefly
and not quite as amicably as this."
Zelgadis' eyes narrowed as he tried to work through the riddle.
Sylphiel smiled. Her eyes flashed for a second, turning red before returning to the
soft emerald color he knew. The chimera gasped.
"Yes," she commented as she saw his change of expression. "You DO remember.
Good. Then you know I have no qualms whatsoever about carrying out my threat. Now sit
down," she ordered cruelly.
"I prefer to stand," he ground out between clenched teeth. The woman before him
shrugged and sat down on the edge of the bed. She smiled at him. "What do you want?"
Zelgadis asked, trying to get to the point of things quickly and get this over with as soon as
possible.
Her smile widened. "In short, I find myself in need of your assistance, Zelgadis
dear. This is very embarrassing," she admitted, "But it seems that my release from my
prison was not the end of my troubles. I need you to help eliminate them."
"What are you talking about?" Zelgadis asked darkly. "I know what kind of power
you have. I've seen it up close. Why could you possibly need ME?"
"I see I'm going to have to start at the beginning," Sylphiel said with a smile. She
stood up and raised her arms over her head. She lowered her voice to a dull boom and
announced, "IN THE BEGINNING, THE LORD OF NIGHTMARES CREATED
HEAVEN AND EARTH!!!" She grinned and lowered her hands. "Of course, being the
capricious woman she is, she changed her mind three seconds later and decided that
Heaven and Earth should go back to being a small part of her mind reserved for thinking of
dirty things. So she created us."
"Get to the point," Zelgadis bit out.
She smiled. "The city of Seyruun is one big giant magical seal," she reminded him.
"Ever think to ask yourself WHAT they were sealed against?"
Realization dawned on the chimera's face. "You. One of the seven pieces Cepheid
divided you into was placed here."
"Excellent," she applauded, clapping her hands together softly. "You're just as
smart as Sylphiel makes you out to be."
"Where is she?!" he growled. "I want to talk to her!"
The woman frowned darkly. "Let's not get ahead of ourselves," she warned. "The
fact of the matter is that even though I'm free…sort of…I find myself locked inside this
city, unable to leave the seal into the outside world." She smiled. "That's where you
come in…Zelgadis dear."
"Feh!" Zelgadis spat. "I don't know what kind of information you got from
Sylphiel, but if she really thinks I can bring down the seal around Seyruun, she's
overestimating me."
"Oh, don't worry, Zelgadis dear!" the woman waved aside his complaint.
"Sylphiel has a high opinion of your abilities, but being the priestess she is, she realizes
that bringing down the barrier is something best suited to others. THAT is what I need you
for."
"Get to the deal," he growled.
"Due south of here…and about six hundred miles away…is Wolfpack Island." She
looked at him. "I want you to deliver a message to Lady Xelas Metallium, a message I will
prepare for you. Once that is done, I will have no further need of you or Miss Lahda, and
I'll set her free."
"And I'm supposed to just believe you?" Zelgadis asked.
She shrugged. "No. I am not a Mazoku without a sense of fair play, Zelgadis dear.
I believe the other piece of me you encountered before offered you and your friends eternal
life in thanks for resurrecting him. Just because you declined the offer, doesn't make it any
less genuine."
Zelgadis said nothing.
"Oh, think of this way!" she said playfully. "Do as I say and you get at least a few
months of a stand off to try to figure out some way to rescue your woman on your own.
Can't beat that!" The chimera was still silent. "I must warn you, however," she continued,
"That any attempt to move against me will result in quite a bit of pain for Syl chan."
"I want to talk to her."
"No," she said firmly. "You don't give the orders here."
"Let me talk to her," Zelgadis growled, leaning down until her face was an inch
from his. "Or I use a Ra Tilt to separate you from her by force."
The woman smiled. Suddenly, her eyes rolled back into her head and her chest
heaved. She started shaking uncontrollably, convulsing in a violent seizure.
"Sylphiel!" he gasped, grabbing her by the shoulders. "Sylphiel!"
Her fists pounded against the bed as she gasped for air. If she was physically able
to scream, Zelgadis imagined his eardrums would be bursting by now, but the only sound
she made was a silent gasp as she continued convulsing.
Zelgadis cursed inwardly and made a decision. "All right! All right, dammit! You
win! Just stop it! Stop it!"
She gasped twice more, and her breath came back to her slowly. Opening her eyes,
she looked up at him. "Do we have a deal?"
Zelgadis Greywords looked down at the Mazoku inhabiting his lover's body. The
horror of their situation was written all over his face as he whispered,
"We have a deal."
A birdcage.
That's what she was trapped in, believe it or not. A giant, iron birdcage, complete
with a swing in the center, and two little compartments for food and water. However,
Sylphiel's mind was not hungry, or thirsty, and she sure as hell didn't want to sit on the
swing…
So she sat there, her back against the bars, waiting.
The shrine maiden had tried to fight him. She had tried so hard, but in the end, the
Dark Lord had overwhelmed her, taking control of her mind and body. All that was left
was a small piece of herself, and instead of destroying it, he had locked it away in a corner
of her own mind where she couldn't get out. She could still see and hear, though. Looking
out the bars of the cage had the same affect as a bird looking out at the world from its own
prison. She could see everything going on around her.
She saw how that piece of astral filth had strong-armed Zelgadis dear into helping
him, using HER as a crowbar. But now there was nothing to see. He had ordered Zelgadis
to sleep, telling him he needed his rest for his journey. And though the Dark Lord was a
Mazoku, as long as he inhabited HER human body, he had to abide by its restrictions. In
short, her body was sleeping soundly in bed, and Zelgadis was asleep on the floor next to it
with the warning that if he made things seem out of the ordinary to the others, SHE would
be punished.
So she sat there, her head bowed, trying to think of some way to help Zelgadis dear,
to throw off the demon holding her, but the more she thought about it, the more hopeless her
situation seemed.
"What's wrong, little bird?" she heard from all around her. "You're not singing."
She looked up and saw a pair of red eyes appear in the darkness through the bars.
Her eyes narrowed at him hatefully. "Zelgadis dear will never help you," she told
him. "He'll die before letting YOU run loose through the world."
A chuckled boomed all around her. "Zelgadis DEAR is ruled by a type of greed.
He doesn't mind if the world burns down as long as it doesn't affect him, his cure, or you."
"You're wrong," she told him spitefully. "And saying something like that just
proves you don't really know anything about him."
"I know enough, little bird," he growled. "I know he won't risk your death."
"You're wrong there too," she hissed. "Zelgadis dear knows me. And he knows
I'd rather die than let my body be used as a host by filth like you!"
She was suddenly knocked to the other side of the cage, her head striking the bars
causing her to yelp in pain. It was as if the demon's hand had struck the side of her cage in
anger.
Her hand went to her head as tears of pain ran down her cheeks. She stood up and
steadied herself on the bars of her cage. "You know I'm right!" she cried at him.
"What you think is irrelevant," he told her. "I could care less. As long as he does
what he's told, there won't be a problem, and if he doesn't, you'll be the first to pay. Then
him."
She glared hatefully at the crimson eyes. "Do you take me for a fool?" she spat.
"As soon as you get what you want, I'm dead anyway!"
The eyes ignored her. Suddenly, a window to the outside opened up. "Time to
wake up and face the day!" the voice boomed. A view from Sylphiel's eyes appeared
before her as her body awoke from its slumber. Her head turned and looked down at the
floor where Zelgadis had been sleeping.
It was empty.
"Now this is interesting," the voice chuckled.
Sylphiel took a nervous breath. "Zelgadis dear…"
Zelgadis descended the long marble staircase that lead into the palace garden
quickly, not stopping to admire the natural beauty of the surrounding area even for a
second. He had to move fast. He might be in a pinch, but Lina might have an idea of what
to do, and even if she didn't, she'd be able to help out SOMEHOW.
Now if he could only find her before that damn Mazoku wakes up and starts to
suspect something…
Lina was walking on air…literally. She had woken up this morning in such a state
of euphoric contentment, that walking seemed to be a bother somehow. So, she just cast a
levitation spell and started floating through the palace a foot off the ground. Maids and
house servants had arched eyebrows as she floated by, and questions directed to the
redhead were met with, "Isn't it such a lovely morning?" rather than, "GET THE HELL
OUT OF MY WAY OR I'LL SEND YOU HOME IN A FREAK'N BOX!" like she might
normally greet people.
Lina was not usually a morning person…
She giggled softly as she descended the staircase into the garden. So this is what
being a woman felt like… Giggling again she paused to smell the roses blooming nearby.
Her thoughts traveled to the unconscious swordsman she had left snoring in his bedroom.
She was reasonably sure he'd recover eventually.
This thought caused her to giggle again. Life was so grand! Life was wonderful!
Life was…
"Oi, Lina."
The greeting caused her line of thought and concentration both to go off-track. With
a sharp cry, she fell to the ground.
Jumping to her feet, she parted the hair that had fallen over her eyes and found
Zelgadis there. "Zel? Good morning!" she said brightly.
The chimera arched an eyebrow. Normally, he'd question her bright disposition,
suspecting the worst, but today he had another problem. "Lina, we need to talk. It's pretty
urgent."
Lina smiled knowingly. "I see…Sylphiel…"
Zelgadis interrupted her. "Then you know."
She nodded and grinned at him. "You sly dog…"
His eyes narrowed. "Um…I think we're talking about two different things here,"
he noted.
"We are?" she asked, scratching her head. "Oh…well…you tell me your news,
and I'll tell you mine."
Zelgadis took a breath and began. "It's Sylphiel. I'm not sure how yet, but…"
"Zelgadis dear!"
He gasped and turned at the sound of her voice. Sylphiel was standing on top of the
marble steps near the doorway to the palace. She was smiling and waving at them.
"Oh, no," he whispered.
Lina waved to the woman. "Good morning, Sylphiel!"
Sylphiel took a step forward to the edge of the steps, then started to wobble on her
feet. "Oh, my," she said, the back of her hand going to her head as her eyelids fluttered.
She sighed and fell forward in a faint.
"SYLPHIEL!" Zelgadis shouted. "RAYWING!" In a second, he was flying at top
speed towards the shrine maiden. Sylphiel was tumbling down the hard marble steps,
bouncing like a ball tossed by a child. The chimera could actually hear bones breaking as
he tried desperately to put on more speed.
Finally, he felt the familiar weight of the priestess strike his arms, and he slowly
lowered himself to the ground. He heard Lina's boots strike the stone floor next to him and
her gasp. "Oh my god!"
Sylphiel was a bloody and battered mess. Her left arm was twisted in a way that
the human arm was simply not meant to be. Blood ran from her mouth and nose, and her
outfit was cut and bloody all over her body.
"Lina! Healing spell!" Zelgadis ordered.
The redhead nodded her agreement, and the two of them began chanting the
strongest healing spells they knew, placing their hands over the shrine maiden's body.
(Damn you! Damn you! Damn you! Damn you!) he kept screaming in his mind.
Zelgadis looked down at his possessed lover as she opened her eyes and smiled.
"They're finally gone," she noted, sitting up. Her injuries were healed thanks to several
healing spells, not only from him and and Lina, but from Amelia and Gracia as well.
Afterwards, they had left the room to let her sleep. Zelgadis stayed with her. He knew that
the Mazoku was aware of what was happening around him, and who knew what would
happen if Zelgadis left?
He glared hatefully at her.
"Oh, don't look so angry," she cooed. "She's alive, after all." She stood up and
stretched. "Do you see now?" she asked him. He turned away from her in disgust. "I can
kill her any time I want, any way I want." She smiled at his back as he began shaking with
rage at his own impotence. "It's really an interesting idea, isn't it?" she asked. "I can kill
your woman any way I wish. I should be creative!" she announced. "I mean, yes, an
aneurysm will do the job, but why do that when I can make her death SPECTACULAR!?"
She threw her hands in the air and posed dramatically.
Zelgadis tried to quell the rage he was feeling.
"Or maybe I'll trash her reputation at the same time," the demon continued to taunt.
She leaned over and whispered into his ear. "Maybe I'll dress up in the most whorish
outfit I can find and just wander the seedy neighborhoods until I get lucky and some drunk
bandit finds m…"
Zelgadis screamed and turned on her, holding up his hand. "FIRE…"
He paused as he saw her standing there, smiling cruelly at him. "Well?" she
asked. "Go ahead, Zelgadis dear. Burn me."
The chimera grit his teeth in rage and threw the fireball out the window to explode
harmlessly. "You bastard," he hissed quietly at her.
She took a step towards him and looked him in the eye. "Last warning," she
whispered. "You try ANYTHING like that again, and I'll kill Sylphiel Nels Lahda in as
many ways as I can think of." She stepped away and looked out the window. "The
message I'll give you to Metallium is going to be an astral essence keyed to a certain
vibration. It can only be carried by Mazoku which is why I need you."
Zelgadis tensed.
"Yes…Syl chan told me about Scarrin," the demon said with a smile. "You leave
tonight," she told him. "I'll be sure to give Lina and the others a believable story. Don't
worry," she assured him. "I'm sure they won't want to chase after you THIS time."
He stood there enraged.
"You can go now," she told him, almost as an afterthought. "I know you won't try
that again. If you do and I find out…" She snapped her fingers. "Just like that."
Zelgadis started for the door and paused there to say one final thing.
"Shabranigdo," he hissed cruelly. "One day soon…I'm going to kill you…." He
turned to the demon. "And the rest of your FUCKING RACE!" he spat.
The demon grinned and wiggled her fingers at him in goodbye. "Gambatte!"
Zelgadis walked out the door and slammed it behind him.
Sylphiel's hand reached up slowly and grasped one of the bars of her cage.
Shaking, she pulled herself up to a standing position. Her breath came in ragged, painful
gasps as she rested against the bars.
"Finally recovered, have you?" the red eyes asked her.
The priestess glared out at the smirking eyes. He might have been able to just shrug
off the injuries, but she had felt every painful impact of flesh against stone as her body had
been thrown down the marble steps.
"You'll be happy to know that your mate has finally realized the futility of
opposition and is going to assist us."
"You," she corrected quietly. "Assist YOU."
"Semantics," he dismissed.
She glared tiredly at him. "You're despicable," she whispered.
"Yes," he agreed with a chuckle. "But in the end, I WILL win…"
Sylphiel was still trying to catch her breath after the injuries she had endured.
"No," she told him quietly. "Zelgadis dear will stop you. He did it before."
The eyes laughed at her. "Ah yes!" he agreed. "That tiny part of me in the priest's
eyes. Let me let you in on a dirty little secret, Sylphiel dear. I was broken into parts of
varying strengths and make-ups. Destroying the part of me in Rezo isn't THAT big of an
achievement." He chuckled. "As a matter of fact, if I were to classify the part of me that
your friends destroyed, I'd have to call it 'my knee.'"
"And what are you?" she asked, a knot forming in her stomach.
Another chuckle. "My dear shrine maiden, I'm the part that was considered so
dangerous, a magical seal the size of a city had to be constructed to insure I wouldn't
escape."
Sylphiel took another breath as ice clutched her.
"You see, Sylphiel dear," he went on, "Any idiot can have power. Lina Inverse
has power. Your mate has power. Rezo the Red Priest had power. But that's not what
makes them dangerous."
The shrine maiden listened as the Dark Lord lectured.
"No, what makes them dangerous is the knowledge they accumulated with it. A
man with power is nothing to fear if he doesn't have the intelligence to direct that power."
"And that's what you are," she concluded.
"Correct," he affirmed for her. "I…am the intellect."
"Poor Miss Sylphiel," Amelia noted at the lunch table as she looked up in the
direction of the stairway that led to the guest room where the shrine maiden was
recovering. "That must have really hurt."
Lina nodded as she gobbled down her food. She paused suddenly, a sausage
perched precariously on her fork only an inch from the sorceress' mouth. "Amelia," she
began. "Have you talked to Zel today?"
Amelia shook her head. "No. Well, not really. He stormed out not too long ago
and said he had to take care of something. He looked really mad."
"He was acting strange earlier," Lina mused thoughtfully. "He was going to tell
me something about Sylphiel before she fell. Afterwards, he pretended it was nothing and
wouldn't speak up."
"Do…do you think maybe…they're fighting again?" Amelia asked timidly.
Lina blinked. "'Again?'" she asked. "I wasn't aware they had ever fought."
"Well," Amelia confessed quietly. "They had a big fight back in Borden. For
awhile…I thought they were going to separate."
"Hmmm…" Lina thought to herself.
Before the conversation could continue, a blond man about an inch from death
stumbled down the stairs. He leaned against the wall in exhaustion and looked at his
surroundings.
"Gourry!" Lina squealed happily. A second later she caught herself and cleared
her throat and said, "'Bout time you got up! Too bad there's no food left for you!"
The swordsman was blinking in confusion. "Th…There was…these little people,"
he muttered. "Then I was tied up….Something red….And then…nothing…What happened
to me?"
"Hey! Lazy ass!" Lina called out. "Are you going to stand there all day asking
stupid questions or are you going to kiss me good morning?!"
Amelia took no notice of Lina's flirting with Gourry and continued to look up at the
stairwell in thought. "Something's not right," she muttered. Rising to her feet, she started
up the stairs to Sylphiel's room.
Shabranigdo stared out the window at the city that made up his prison. It was full
of happy, smiling people. White mages and priests, bustling about, unknowingly
strengthening the bars of his cell with their uplifting thoughts and practices.
He was looking forward to the day when he could raze this city to the ground…
A knock on the door prompted the Mazoku to turn. "Yes?" he asked, still just a bit
surprised to hear the shrine maiden's voice as his own.
"Miss Sylphiel? It's me. Amelia. Can I come in?"
The Dark Lord smiled. "Of course, Miss Amelia. Come right in."
"What are you doing?" Sylphiel asked in alarm, her hands wrapping around two of
the bars of her cell as she peered out between them.
"Setting the stage, of course," Shabranigdo answered her. "After all, we cannot
have Lina Inverse and the others follow their usual habit of following after Zelgadis dear,
can we?"
Sylphiel could only watch and worry.
"Miss Sylphiel?" Amelia asked as she entered the room. "There's something
wrong, isn't there?"
She watched as her fellow shrine maiden sat demurely on the bed and looked away.
"Miss Amelia…I appreciate your concern…but I'm afraid there's nothing you can do this
time."
Amelia sighed. "I was afraid it was something like this," she said. She sat down
next to Sylphiel and took her hand. "I'm so sorry, Miss Sylphiel."
Sylphiel sighed dramatically. "I…I think it may be for the best, Miss Amelia."
"What happened?" the princess asked, wondering how all of her plans and efforts
could have fallen apart so quickly.
The shrine maiden smiled and squeezed her hand. "Miss Amelia, thank you for
everything you've done…but…Zelgadis dear wants his cure…and…well…" She took a
breath. "Apparently, there isn't enough room in his life for both me and finding the cure to
his curse…"
"You…cold…heartless…" Sylphiel growled, squeezing her eyes shut.
"You'll like this next bit," the eyes told her.
The shrine maiden took a breath. "It…It's my own fault, really," she told Amelia.
"I…I guess I just pushed too hard…" Tears started to flow down her cheeks. "I know…I
know I shouldn't have asked him to stay with me, but…" She broke down and began to cry
in earnest.
Amelia bit her lip and hugged the woman. "I'm so sorry, Miss Sylphiel! He
shouldn't be like that! I know he loves you! I know he does!"
Sylphiel wiped at her eyes and collected herself. "Maybe, Miss Amelia. But he
wants his cure more. And…And I can't stand in his way this time…"
"Miss Sylphiel…You mustn't give up!"
The priestess shook her head. "No! It's over! He's leaving tonight to follow up a
lead on his cure!"
"Talk to him, Miss Sylphiel!" Amelia cried.
"I tried!" she replied in tears. "I tried, but he just told me that…that…that I was in
the way!"
Amelia gasped under her breath. "He…he really said that?"
Sylphiel nodded frantically. "He said…" She broke off and sniffled. "…That if I
really loved him, I'd leave him alone and let him find what he really wants!"
"That's so cold!" Amelia declared hotly.
"Please, Miss Amelia! You mustn't blame him! He was only being honest!"
"That's no excuse to treat you like that!" Amelia turned for the door. "I'm going to
go give him a piece of my mind!"
Sylphiel grabbed her arm. "No! Please, Miss Amelia! This is so humiliating as it
is! Just…just please….Don't let anyone know what I told you! Please!"
Amelia's expression softened. "Miss Sylphiel…"
"Please?" she begged.
The princess sighed. "All right, Miss Sylphiel," she said. "If that's what you
want…"
"Thank you, Miss Amelia."
"And that should take care of that," the eyes told Sylphiel mockingly. "All that's
left is Lina Inverse, and what I have planned will make her so angry, it'll be a surprise if
she doesn't kill Zelgadis dear right there on the spot."
"I hate you," Sylphiel whispered hauntingly. The words surprised her. She didn't
hate anyone. She didn't even really hate Copii Rezo. But this man…this thing…she hated
him. She hated him for what he was doing to her, for what he was doing to Zelgadis dear,
and for what he was doing to Zelgadis dear's reputation.
She hated him.
"I may weep openly," Shabranigdo told her in a bored voice, rolling his crimson
eyes. "Now, then, I have a few things to do, so you just sit down and wait like a good little
bird." With that, the eyes disappeared.
Sylphiel turned and leaned against the bars of her cage, sliding down them until she
was sitting against them. What was she going to do? There had to be SOME way for her
to fight back…
As the hopelessness of her situation continued to crash against her, she started to
cry. The more she thought about it, the less options she found available.
"Forgive me, Zelgadis dear," she whimpered. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry for all of it."
Tears fell from her green eyes and struck her leg as she continued to cry.
As she wept, she nearly failed to notice a new source of light. Turning to her left,
she saw it. A tiny pinprick of light had popped up from the floor and was floating before
her. She blinked as the light hovered there, and fearing another attack from Shabranigdo,
started to push herself away from it. The light, however, only followed. It moved until it
was directly in front of her eyes. The brightness increased in intensity, and she smiled.
The light shining down from the tiny star seemed to fill her with renewed hope.
Reaching up, she cupped the tiny star in her hands and brought it closer. It
continued to glow softly, giving her warmth. The shrine maiden sniffled and held it to her
chest.
Before long, she was asleep.
"You were gone a long time," the Dark Lord noted as Zelgadis entered the room
and unceremoniously deposited a heavy rucksack on the bed.
Zelgadis growled. "If I'm going to travel a thousand miles into the heart of Mazoku
territory, I'm going prepared. Is that okay with YOU?" he asked snidely.
"Temper temper, Zelgadis dear," the demon smiled.
"Yeah, fuck you too," the chimera muttered under his breath as he went through his
supplies. Some dried meat and vegetables, travel bread, a few vials of bluish liquid…
"What is this?" Sylphiel/Shabranigdo asked, holding up one of the vials.
"Cepheid's Water," Zelgadis answered, not bothering to look at the demon in his
lover's body. "Mazoku are 'allergic' to it, for lack of a better word. It eats away at their
astral essence."
"I see," Shabranigdo commented, studying the liquid.
"Why don't you have a sip?" Zelgadis sneered.
She smiled. "No, thank you. Not thirsty."
He paused as he was rearranging his supplies. "What guarantee do I have that after
I leave, Sylphiel will be safe?"
"You don't have one," she answered simply.
"Feh….Figures," he muttered. He returned to packing his supplies.
"Oh, enough grumbling," she chastised. "Time to give you the message. Stand up."
Zelgadis rose to his full height and turned around, facing the demon. She raised her
palm to him. "So what is…" Before he could finish his inquiry, he was struck by a pulse
of red light that knocked him across the room and into the far wall. The breath knocked out
of him, Zelgadis slid down the wall onto the floor.
Sylphiel/Shabranigdo smiled and nodded in satisfaction. "That should do nicely!"
She watched as the chimera started to struggle to his feet. "In case you're curious, that was
the message. It's kind of an astral encoding. Metallium will know how to decrypt it. Oh,
and I went ahead and gave you a Mazoku-friendly astral essence." She smiled.
"Metallium's wolves probably won't eat you now when you show up."
"'Probably?'" Zelgadis grunted as he finally managed to climb to his feet.
"Shit happens," the demon told him with a smile.
"So it seems," the chimera agreed with a growl. Taking a breath to steady himself,
he picked up his rucksack from the bed and started for the door. "I'll leave tonight,
quietly," he told her.
"Of course," she agreed.
Gourry yawned and smiled as he stepped onto the palace roof. Since he and Lina
had become intimate, his chibi self conscious hadn't bothered him again, which was fine
with him. He was seriously beginning to wonder if there was something wrong with his
mind.
Oh well…whatever.
Stepping onto the roof, he saw a familiar figure gazing out at the setting sun. He
brightened and waved. "Oi, Zelgadis!" The chimera didn't answer him, so Gourry walked
up and stood beside him. He wasn't offended or anything. Zelgadis sometimes entered into
really contemplative moods like this.
"Hmm," Zelgadis finally said in greeting.
The swordsman scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "Hey, Zelgadis…About
what you were talking about last night. I'm sorry I kind of zoned out there. I had a lot on
my mind."
"No problem, Gourry," Zelgadis told him, staring at the sun.
"You know, I was kind of thinking about it this morning….You see…um…stuff kind
of happened last night that…well…made me think…"
He waited for a joke or comment from Zelgadis about his intelligence. None came.
"Anyway," he said softly. "Last night I really knew what you were talking about.
And I figured that I should be the one thanking you."
This statement got the chimera's attention, and he finally turned to the blond. "What
do you mean?" he asked quietly.
"Well," Gourry began, trying to think of the best way to say it without sounding like
a moron. "I used to worry about Sylphiel a lot. Like after that whole Rezo thing and her
town was destroyed. She just seemed so…alone."
Zelgadis went back to looking at the sunset.
Gourry smiled. "But now that she has you, I know she won't have to feel that way
anymore!" He patted the stone man on the back. "So thanks!"
His message delivered, Gourry turned to go.
"What would you do for Lina?" the chimera suddenly asked him.
The swordsman paused in his tracks and turned. "Eh?"
"How far would you go?" Zelgadis asked quietly. "What would you do for
her…for her safety?"
Gourry smiled. "Oh, that's easy! Anything!"
Zelgadis didn't say anything else. Gourry took that as a cue and left him there with
his thoughts.
The castle was dark at this time of night. But it was never too dark for a midnight
snack! Lina told herself this as she put on her robe and gave one last look at the
unconscious swordsman sprawled out on the bed. She was sure he'd recover eventually.
She was already getting the hang of this intimacy thing, but it sure left her hungry.
Just as she was reaching for the doorknob, there was a knock. She blinked and
opened the door. "Sylphiel?" she asked, surprised to see the shrine maiden there. "What's
wrong?"
"Zelgadis dear has disappeared," the violet-haired woman told her. "Have you
seen him?"
Lina shook her head in disbelief. "Disappeared? Maybe he went for a snack or…"
"Please, Miss Lina! Help me look for him!" Sylphiel begged.
"Um…Yeah…Yeah, sure. Of course." Being careful not to wake yogurt brain, she
stepped into the hallway with the priestess and shut the door behind her.
"What are you doing?!" Sylphiel asked in alarm, grabbing hold of the bars of her
cage and looking out at the image of her friend as she set out to help find Zelgadis.
"Just covering the possibilities, little bird," Shabranigdo told her.
Zelgadis was used to lurking in the shadows, so moving through the palace at night
was more comfortable for him than if it had been filled with people. The rucksack on his
back was heavy, yet thanks to the chimera's demon strength, Zelgadis barely felt it. He
paused for a moment and asked himself again if he was doing the right thing. To leave
Sylphiel like this for who knows how many months was a frightening idea, but if he didn't
do as Shabranigdo demanded, he'd kill her…terribly.
He thought about some of the taunts the demon had used as it rattled off the best
ways to kill her. Thinking of those things made him almost consider going upstairs and
giving the demon a Ra Tilt. Even if the spell or the demon killed Sylphiel, it would have to
be a faster and less painful death than some of the things Shabranigdo had laughingly listed.
Zelgadis started walking again. No. As long as she was alive, there was hope.
She taught him that. SHE taught him that life begets hope.
If there was a way to free her from Shabranigdo, he'd find it.
"LIGHTING!"
He looked up in surprise as white light filled the room.
Amelia stood before him, a lighting spell in her hand. "Mister Zelgadis?" she
asked, blinking in surprise. "What are you doing here?"
"Zelgadis dear!"
He whirled around and saw Sylphiel and Lina standing behind him, having come up
the same hallway he had.
(What the…)
"Whatever you're doing, stop it, please!" Sylphiel begged the demon.
"Do you play chess, little bird?" the demon asked casually.
"No! No, I don't play chess, but what does that have to do with anything?!" she
cried.
"In chess, little bird, strategy is everything. It's not enough to react to a move the
opponent just made, you must react to the move he WILL make ten moves from now."
"Please stop," she begged. "Please."
"Not quite yet," he told her.
"Hey, Zel," Lina asked, pointing at his rucksack. "Where are you going?"
"Zelgadis dear?" Sylphiel asked fearfully. "Is something wrong? Where are you
going, sneaking out in the middle of the night?" She stepped forward.
Zelgadis only blinked in surprise. What was Shabranigdo up to now?
"I…I know we fought, but…" the priestess said, stepping towards him. "But
please…don't just leave…"
"Is there something going on, Zel?" Lina asked, just a touch of fire in her voice.
Amelia only looked on sadly. Sylphiel had hinted that something like this might happen.
Zelgadis grit his teeth. If Shabranigdo wanted to make him look like a jerk in front
of his friends as some kind of insult, let him. Saving Sylphiel was more important now.
(All right,) he thought. (You want to play a game, fine. Let's play and get it over
with.) "I'm leaving," he said. "I have a new lead on my cure. I'm going to investigate it,"
he said, bringing out the oldest excuse in the book. He turned and started walking again.
"Zelgadis dear! You know that's a lie!" the demon in Sylphiel's body cried after
him. "How could you do this to me?!"
He could feel Lina's gaze boring into his back as he continued walking without a
word. If looks could kill, he imagined the entire kingdom of Seyruun would be one giant
crater right now.
It didn't matter. Lina could think whatever she wanted. Amelia could believe what
she liked. It didn't matter right now.
He continued walking.
"How could you do this to me?!" the shrine maiden screamed at his back. "WHEN
I'M CARRYING YOUR CHILD?!"
The world stopped spinning.
Amelia, standing right next to him now, gasped in complete shock. Zelgadis was
standing there, his eyes wide, haunted. He turned slowly. It had to be a lie. Just another
lie to cause him pain. It…it had to be, right?
As he turned, he saw their faces. Amelia was in complete shock, actually pale.
Sylphiel's face was buried in her hands, weeping. And Lina…
Lina was staring right at him, glaring as if she would like nothing more than to
Dragon Slave him right there, but that's not what caught his attention…
Lina Inverse looked in no way, shape, or form, the slightest bit surprised by what
Sylphiel had just said.
Everything fell into place. Sylphiel's mysterious illness…
He had asked Lina to take her to a doctor…
And she wasn't surprised by the announcement because she already knew it was the
truth…
"STOP IT! STOP IT!" Sylphiel cried as she pulled on the bars of the cage.
"YOU'VE WON! HE'S GOING! STOP DOING THIS TO HIM!" She released the bars a
moment later and fell to the floor, tears running down her cheeks. "You won," she
whispered. "Why? Why did you do that?! YOU HAD ALREADY WON!" she screamed
at the demon.
"You were wrong about many things, little bird," Shabranigdo taunted her from
outside the cage. "But there was one thing you were right about. He really would kill you
if he thought there was no other way to free you. If it came to that, he'd kill you and me
without a second's thought. But now…." The demon snickered. "Not a chance."
Sylphiel looked up at the smiling eyes hovering outside the cage. She screamed
and rushed forward, slamming her body into the bars, reaching through them as if she could
grab them and choke the life from them. "YOU SLIMY FILTH!" she screamed at him.
"YOU DISGUSTING, FILTHY, SADISTIC PIECE OF DIRT!" She continued to scream,
tears running down her face as she tried to reach the eyes that were torturing her and her
Zelgadis dear.
Shabranigdo laughed at her and gave her cage a push, causing it to sway from side
to side. The eyes faded from her sight.
Sylphiel screamed in grief and fell to the floor again, weeping uncontrollably.
"ZELGADIS DEEEEEAAAAR!!!"
Zelgadis met each of their glares, not saying anything as he digested this new piece
of information. He knew what he had to do now. He knew it was going to hurt. He knew
he didn't want to do it. And he knew that he wanted very much to kill Shabranigdo right
now.
He knew what he had to say…
So he took a breath…
And said it.
"I don't care."
It came out as a whisper, and at the same time it seemed as loud as a thunderclap in
his ears.
Amelia actually turned a new shade of white. Sylphiel cried harder and fell to her
knees, weeping.
Zelgadis turned and started for the door again, cursing himself and the demon with
every step.
"That's it!?" Lina shouted at his back. "That's ALL you have to say?!"
Zelgadis ignored her. It was the only thing he could do.
"You bastard," Lina whispered at his back. "You cold, uncaring bastard…"
Before she could even think enough through her shock to consider fireballing him, he was
out the door and gone.
"You bastard," she whispered again.
"Zelgadis dear," Sylphiel wept next to her. "How could you?"
Lina knelt next to her friend and hugged her. "Shhhh," she cooed. "It'll be okay,
Sylphiel. It'll be okay. Come on. Let's put you to bed." She helped the woman to her feet.
"Help me out, Ame…" she said, turning…
But Amelia was gone.
Zelgadis fought back the anger and grief he was feeling right now. Anger and grief
wasn't going to help Sylphiel. It wasn't going to make this any easier. So he walked. He
pushed those emotions as far down into his soul as he could. There would be another time.
Another place. But not here, and not now.
The streets of Seyruun were very quiet, almost a reflection of the palace. Very few
people were out and about.
Zelgadis was fine with that. He didn't want to be near people now. He continued
walking.
"Mister Zelgadis!"
Stopping, he looked up and saw Amelia standing on a nearby roof, pointing down at
him angrily. He sighed. "Amelia, go away…"
She responded by jumping into the air, flipping, and landing nimbly on her feet for
once. Pointing at him again, she seemed to falter for a second. Then, "What you did to
Miss Sylphiel….Was…was…." She shook her head and tried again. "Was the most cruel
thing I had ever seen ANYONE in this world do! And in the name of Justice, I will not let
you just walk out as if it were nothing," she hissed.
Zelgadis regarded her almost warily. An angry Amelia wasn't something to laugh
at.
She changed her pose and pointed again. "I don't know what kind of fight you and
Miss Sylphiel had," she cried, "But I DO know that you have a responsibility to her and the
child she's bearing!"
He started walking past her. "Amelia, you don't understand what's happening. Just
let it go."
She backflipped until she was in front of him again. "No! I won't stand for you
abandoning her and your unborn child this way! You're going to come back with me,
apologize to her, and do whatever you have to to MAKE THINGS RIGHT!"
For a second, Zelgadis considered telling her what was really going on, but he
knew that it was simply too dangerous. One slip of the tongue, something Amelia had a
bad habit of, and Sylphiel was dead.
He simply couldn't risk it. He simply could not trust ANYONE with this.
"Go back to the palace, Amelia," he said again, starting past her.
"No way," Amelia breathed, raising her hands. "LAFAS SH…."
The chimera reacted quickly, lunging forward and burying his knee in the pit of
Amelia's stomach before she could finish the imprisonment spell!
Amelia gasped as the breath was knocked forcibly from her body. Pain ran up and
down her small form, and she dropped to her hands and knees, trying desperately to
breathe.
Zelgadis bit his lip as he looked down at her. He had reacted without thinking and
honestly didn't mean to hit her that hard. Kneeling beside her, he rested a hand on her
shoulder. "Amelia…"
The princess looked up at him, furious, and lashed out!
Zelgadis felt a slight tickling in the left side of his face and heard a sickening
cracking sound.
Amelia cried out in pain and held her broken hand. She had slapped him so hard,
her fingers had broken against his stone skin. Tears of pain and disappointment ran down
her face.
"Amelia," he said softly.
She looked up at him, fire in her eyes. "Get out," she whispered through the sob
forming in her throat.
Zelgadis blinked in surprise. This wasn't the usual Amelia.
"I said GET OUT!" she screamed at him. "GET OUT OF MY KINGDOM! GET
OUT OF MY SIGHT! GET OUT!"
The chimera stood up and grit his teeth before walking past her. He was alone
now. Totally alone.
That's the way it would have to be until he figured out some way to expel
Shabranigdo from Sylphiel.
He paused. Amelia was sobbing behind him. The sounds of her crying echoed in
his ears. That's when he realized it.
Just as Rezo had done by changing him into a chimera, Shabranigdo had made
Zelgadis a monster again.
To Be Continued…
Ending Theme: "Half the World," by Belinda Carlisle
Only one shadow on the wall
Just one candle burning bright
I hold your picture to my heart
I'm alone inside the night.
The sun comes up in China…
The lights go on in Rome
Half the world is waiting for someone they can hold
Half the world is praying they'll never be alone.
Every time you leave me a part of me goes too.
And half the world is waiting here for you.
I reach across an empty bed.
I hear you whisper in my ear.
But like the sun without the moon
It's half a dream without you here.
The train that takes you from me
Brings somebody home.
Half the world is waiting for someone they can hold.
Half the world is praying they'll never be alone.
Every time you leave me a part of me goes too.
And half the world is waiting here for you.
Baby the earth stands still
When I'm lying next to you.
No matter where you go
Our whole world's inside this room.
The sun comes up in China…
The lights go on in Rome…
Half the world is waiting for someone they can hold.
Half the world is praying they'll never be alone.
And every time you leave me
My heart breaks in two…
Half the world is waiting here for you.
I'm waiting here for you…
Author's Notes:
Due to an incredible change in my life, Faces: After will not be updated for at least a few
months. I have recently enlisted in the military and will be leaving for basic training
within the next week. However, I assure you, once I am settled into my new life, I will
continue this saga. I love writing this story too much to give up on it.
Faces: Finale!, the next series in the Faces Cycle, will wrap up the saga of Zelgadis and
Sylphiel. Be on the lookout for it. It'll be published here first. ^_^
The following people are to be thanked and groveled because without their help, this fic
would never have even happened. Fish and Sethra, my kawaii prereaders; Will and Cav,
my not so kawaii prereaders. ^_^ Without you guys, there'd be no Faces. A special
thanks goes out to a reader named "t" who reminded me of something I neglected to
mention. A part of this chapter was inspired by an episode of Deep Space Nine. That's
right. Once again, Star Trek shows us the way. ^_^
Davner