Chapter 22

'Oh for Ceifeed's sake, I'm back here again!?' Filia thought. Looking around in the now familiar grey mist landscape. "When will this dream end?" she questioned aloud, kicking at the ground in frustration.

"It will all end very soon traitor. One way or the other, this will be the last time," a voice spoke back to her. She looked all around but couldn't find the origin of the voice. "Over here". Filia whipped around to spot a shadowy figure lurking behind her.

"Who are you? What do you want from me? Why am I always being brought to this place in my dreams?" Filia questioned angrily. She was getting quite sick of these confusing dreams of beings calling her a traitor and then trying to kill her.

The figure before her chuckled. "Who I am does not matter, at least not anymore. You've had more than your fair share of final chances golden dragon. But now that the Beastmaster has left his favourite plaything alone and unguarded, it is time to exact your punishment. And this will be your final resting place". The figure gestured to their surroundings, "neither here nor there. This is the one place that everyone is vulnerable, their very heart and soul exposed". The figure began to grow taller, she could make out the shape of an arm stretching out to the side with claws extended. "And now without further ado, die!" The strike was so fast Filia barely had time to leap to the side with a yelp before it whizzed through the space that she just occupied, rolling and landing in a kneeling position. "Oh-ho. I see you still have some fight in you," the shadow commented as it swiped at Filia again, and again she dodged to the side.

"I think you'll find that there's still a lot more than just some fight left in me," Filia said with snark, pulling out her mace from the folds of her dress and rising to point the weapon at the figure "I will not lose to the likes of YOU!" she exclaimed, opening her mouth and firing a laser breath at the figure. The shadow managed to barely dodge the attack, and came face to face with the charging dragoness bearing down on it with her mace. It moved out of the objects path, but a portion of its being was caught in its blow, taking a chuck of its form with it with a hiss as the figure screeched and whizzed away a distance.

'Strange, how is she able to possess a weapon in this domain?' the figure thought to itself as it eyed the dragon's mace. "No matter," the figure said aloud "it won't make a difference in the end," it stated as it swooped in for another attack.

This time, Filia held her ground. Holding her mace like a baseball bat, lining up her shot…WHOOSH! Straight through where the creatures head would be, the chunk disappearing in an evil hiss as the thing screeched horribly.

"eeeyaaAAAAAAAAAHHHH! You stupid wench! I'll make you pay for that yet!" it screeched at her.

"Oh yeah? I'd like to see you try!" Filia baited. Just holding her mace in her hand gave her a sense of boundless confidence in herself, power rushing through her body, giving her the strength she needed to fight this foe. To fight for herself, to fight for her son, to fight for the ones she loved…

"This is for Val!" The one who she would devote her life to. Her adoptive son. Who had suffered so much in his past life. Who deserved a loving family, and a safe place to call home. She leapt and swung her mace at the figure, taking another chunk of its body with a scream. "This is for Xellos!" The man, no, the monster who, despite all that she should think and know, she fell in love with, and despite every conceivable fact against the notion, who cared for her as well. She charged and ducked under a swiping arm as she swung again, and again it connected with a hiss, the figure diminishing with every connecting swipe. "This is for my family!" Jilas and Gravos, even Miss Lina and the others, they were all her family, and although she will probably outlive them, they will forever hold a place in her heart, and she will fight with them and for them until time itself has stopped. Her strike connected and sliced the figure through the middle. It was now nothing but a hissing, screaming mass of blackness on the ground. "And this, this is for me!" She has been through much. Lost her entire clan and gained a whole new family. She has had her life shattered and started anew. Her view on the world challenged and broadened. Gone was the submissive shrine maiden, devoting herself and her life for what she was told by holier than thou elders as justice and true peace. Now here stood Filia. Shop owner, mother, lover, fighter, care giver, protector, healer and most importantly right now, "Not going to succumb to a worthless, formless, spineless, shadow of my OWN MIND!" She exclaimed as she bought her mace down on the dark mass on the ground. There was an ear-splitting scream that wracked Filias brain as she clenched her teeth against the sound. The mass sizzling where the mace was still embedded in its form as it slowly disappeared into nothingness.

She stood there for a moment, panting as she held her pose from the finishing blow, watching to make sure that the figure was gone for good. "Well done. Very well done my Filia," she heard a blissfully familiar voice whisper. Looking to her mace she noticed it turn pitch black in her hand. Letting go of it and taking a step back she watched as the mace reformed itself into Xellos, his features showing his trademark smile, eyes staring appreciatively at her. She was still breathing heavily as he walked towards her, reaching out his hand and bringing it up to cup her cheek. "I am so proud of you lizard lips," he said to her.

She smiled and slightly nuzzled her head into his hand, "hehe, filthy trash, only you can insult me and compliment me in the same sentence," she said softly.

"Hmm, yes. But you wouldn't have it any other way". It was a statement, one that she honestly had to agree with. He just wouldn't be Xellos otherwise.

"Were you helping me the whole time?" she questioned, wondering how much of that was his own power and how much she actually contributed.

"Actually Fi-chan, all I provided was a presence and a weapon. The rest was all you and your own determination. Your will to live," he replied, slowly bringing himself closer to her. "And I must say Filia, I found it rather exhilarating watching you fight, watching you defeat it," he was looming over her now, their bodies flush as his hand went from her cheek to the back of her neck. His face lowering to hers, lips a breath away from her own, "I'd love to see that fire in your eyes in the bedroom," he diverted his mouth to her ear and whispered, "time to wake up Filia".

/

Filias eyes shot open and she sat up with a gasp. Eyes darting frantically around trying to get a sense of her bearings. She quickly found that she was back in her room, a wash cloth had fallen from her face into her lap. She looked to her left and saw Xellos sitting beside the play pen that contained Val and a couple of stuffed animals. Xellos pulling some faces at the giggling dragon before turning to her and smiling. "Good afternoon Filia, glad to see you're finally awake. You almost had me worried for a time there," he commented as he rose from his seat to instead sit beside her on the bed.

Filia wiped the sleep from her eyes and stretched her aching muscles, "how long was I out this time?" she questioned, noticing her habit lately of sleeping for long periods of time.

"Just one day this time. But I think I can forgive you this once. Even I will admit what you went through was no easy ordeal. In fact, I expected you to be out for at least another day. Are you sure you're ok to be awake right now?" He questioned as he made a show of checking her temperature.

"I'm fine Xellos. In fact, I think I've slept more than enough for a while," she stated as she threw the covers off herself and swung her legs over the other side of the bed. Then a thought struck her. "Wait. I've been out for over a whole day?" her head snapped to Val. "Has Val eaten? He must be starving!" She exclaimed as she made to dash over to the infant. Xellos grabbed her hand in a firm but gentle manner. "It's ok Filia, Miss Kerry has seen to his food, he's been well looked after," Xellos reassured the worrying mother as he gently tugged on her hand, bringing her around to sit on the bed facing the youngling playing in his little pen. "Just rest a moment, I'll grab him for you," he said as he stood up and walked over to the pen. Val finally looked over towards his mother. His eyes lit up like two little golden stars as he saw her awake, calling out for her in his baby language as he all but leapt into the lowering arms of Xellos. In his opinion Xellos couldn't get him to his mother fast enough as he wriggled and squirmed in the monster's arms to get to her.

Filia took her offered infant and held him close to her, "hello my child. Oh, I love you so much," she said as the baby placed its long neck over her shoulder. "It's ok little one, mommy's here, I'm not going anywhere, I promise," she soothed her youngling as he rumbled contentedly in his throat. She looked up at Xellos, who was facing slightly away from her, but she could still see the green tinge to his form, along with his tongue sticking out in a sick matter. Filia could feel her little cheeky side wanting to make an appearance. "Aww what's the matter Xelly? Feeling a little sicky with motherly love?" she said with a small grin.

"Oh I'm fine, I'm just thinking about the type of adult that's going to be raised under such coddling. It's quite a disturbing creature that has a fascination with the colour pink and makes those 'awkward for everyone watching' air smooching faces at people," he said as he turned to face her, "to some up into one word, blegh".

"Oh whatever Xellos," she retorted as Val disengaged the hug and now wanted to start playing with his mother, bounding around her on the bed. "Besides, that'll never happen," she said with confidence as she watched her child with a smile. "To think I was missing all this while sleeping. I'm glad that's over".

"As am I," Xellos said as he walked over and picked up the youngling mid-jump. He then knelt and put the squirming Val on the ground, the baby dragon happily bounded away as Xellos rested his arm on his bent knee and regarded her. "Well then, since we are agreed that you're done sleeping your life away, how about we all get out of this stuffy castle for a day?"

"Well that does sound appealing," replied Filia, albeit hesitantly. "But can we go somewhere safe that I can bring Val along to? It may be the mother hen in me talking, but I feel that I need to keep him with me for a while," she confessed as her eyes found her adoptive son, belly and head low to the ground as he slowly crawled along, gold eyes fixed to Xellos's back. 'Is he…he can't seriously be…oh my Elders he is…' It took all of Filia's self-control to not let the smirk show on her face as her attention was brought back to Xellos, watching the mischievous infant from her peripherals.

"It so happens I've already got a place in mind. It's relatively secluded as well. You won't have to worry about any fearful towns-people shooting at you with flaming arrows just for having a tail either," he said with a cheeky wink.

Filia narrowed her eyes and scowled at the monster. "Don't you even dare! That entire fiasco was your fault, and I am still mad at you about that you stupid piece of-" Filia bit her bottom lip and closed her eyes, taking a long deep breath, trying to calm herself down.

"Well well well. Look who's learning self-control. Well done Fi-chan. It makes for great character development".

She let out her breath and opened her eyes to glare at him. "Well it's more than what I can say for you. You're still the same sleazy, corrupting, infuriating monster as the day I had the misfortune to meet you".

Xellos's lips curled into a smirk as he winked at her again. "What can I say? You don't mess with perfection," Filia -hmphed- and turned her head away. "Besides," Xellos reached forward and gently took one of her hands in his, raising it towards his lips, "even you wont deny keeping company with me does lead to all kinds of…entertainment". She felt his breath ghost across her fingers as his lips brushed her knuckles…

-THWAMP- A heavy black mass collided with his shoulders and latched onto his hair. Pushing him violently into the floor at Filia's feet. Val had gotten a clump of the purple locks in his jaws and was shaking his head, trying to tear out a chunk of his 'prey'. Xellos heard a chuckle coming from above him over the little growls of his Ancient attacker. "It's sweet that you think so highly of me Xellos. But I think Zelas might have something to say if she saw you grovelling at my feet," Filia teased as she reached down and removed the vicous predator from his scalp, cooing at him all the while. "Who's my sweet little boy? You are! Yes you are. But you shouldn't eat such rotten garbage sweetie, it'll give you a tummy ache," she lightly chastised, kissing his little snout. "Awe but you're so adorable, I love you so much my baby boy".

Xellos lifted his head, a smile in place with a slight twitch at the eye. "As viscous and violent as his mother it seems".

"Oh hush you. It's just how a baby dragon plays," Filia retorted, turning her attention back to her playful hatchling.

"But Fi-chan! He ruined the moment we were having," Xellos's voice took on a whining tone.

"We were NOT having a moment Xellos. I was annoyed and you were infuriating," she growled at the now smug looking priest.

"For us, that is a moment my little gold," he chuckled as he arose from the floor.

"Excuse-" She stopped mid tell-off. Sighing heavily, but not really trying to hide the small smile creeping onto her face. 'He does have a point there'. She looked up to his face, which was now contorted as he stuck his tongue out at the baby ancient. 'Hehe, and honestly, I don't think I would have it any other way'.

/

"Where the heck is it?... I know I packed it somewhere…" Filia scrambled from draw to draw, items being thrown this way and that. Clothes, shoes, hair brush,…was that an octopus?...

Val was getting fussy, wailing as he stomped around the room, tail flinging around, knocking over baskets of food and nosing around the scattered clothing.

Xellos stood to the side with no small measure of amusement as he watched the chaos before him. 'And this is why I love family outings,' he mused to himself. "May I ask exactly what it is you are destroying the room for?" Xellos enquired as he moved towards the centre of the room.

"My sun ointment," she replied distractedly as she dived head first into a large trunk.

Xellos knelt next to the up-ended food basket. "Oh? I never realised dragon scales could burn. Exactly how human is that form of yours?" he queried while placing items into the basket. Filia's head popped up for a moment to glare at the monster, and Xellos wasn't entirely convinced the redness to her face was solely from being upside down. "One, that's none of your business. Two, it's not to protect from sun burn. It's to stop areas from drying out. Besides it's for Val mostly anyway. He's only in his baby plumage and I don't want the sun irritating his exposed flesh".

"Hmm. Logical I suppose," Xellos replied as he rescued a doomed cupcake from the hatchlings attack mid-pounce, only to boop some of its frosting on the tip of his muzzle, sending the dragon cross-eyed as he tried to lick it off with his just-too-short tongue. "To think that these little sprouts grow to be armoured feathers. What would you even call them anyway? They have the toughness of scales, but look and act like giant bird feathers".

"I'm pretty sure they're called duraplumes. Aha! Found it," she proclaimed as she raised the guilty bottle into the air and turning to face the beast priest. "Why is there frosting on Val's face?"

"Oh no reason in particular. So are you both ready now?" Xellos asked as he loaded the remainder of the food into the small basket.

"Uh-huh. All set now. Come here sweetie, it's time to go". Filia picked up the hatchling and cleaned off the frosting from his snout. Xellos picked up the supplies and walked over to the pair, placing his hand on the small of her back. He felt her tense slightly at the contact but paid it no mind as he teleported them away.