Disclaimer: No, I don't own Slayers.
AN: … mean thoughts, *…* mean dreams, and '…' mean mind-speech.
Slayers: The Betrayal
Ups and Downs
Zelgadis, Gourry, and Amelia were making good time. They were on the hill overlooking Seyruun already.
"Come on, you two! The royal libraries are near the Temple of Ceipheed, in the center of the city!" Amelia shouted as she started towards the gates.
Lina, Zelgadis thought, Please stay safe for me, for us.
Lina thought she heard a plea for her safety, but when she listened again, she heard nothing. "Oh well, must have been my imagination." Dismissing it as such, she looked towards the window, only to see a shadow flit across the space. "Who's there?" Staring into the space, she tried to see if someone was there, but there was nothing. Closing her eyes, she sighed, and moved into a more comfortable position. Or rather, she tried to do so. But Lina soon found that she could do no such thing, as she was tied down to the bed she was laying on.
In a flash, the previous day's events came back to her. Scared, and knowing that she was in a Dark Lord's domain, she struggled to break free. Hearing the wind whistle past her ear, she turned her head, trying to see if somewhere was there. Sighing when she saw no one and heard no more, Lina faced the ceiling again. But the person she saw was not someone she wanted to see.
Xelloss raised his staff above him and slammed it through her chest. Lina screamed once, and collapsed, still, onto the bed. Untying her from the bed, Xelloss picked her up and teleported into his mistress's throne room. Speaking while he laid Lina down on the ground, he told of the past event.
"Thank you, Xelloss. You may go now." Stepping down from her dais, she called on her own power and that of the Ruby-eyed lord in order to change Lina from human to Mazoku.
Lina awoke with a hurricane-sized headache.
"So Lina-chan, how do you feel?"
"How do you think I feel, you imbecile! I feel horrible, I have a headache the size of a wrecking ball, and" Pausing as her stomach growled, she blushed. "I'm really really hungry."
Smirking, he hid his joy with false concern. "Well, let's see if we can do something about that." Grabbing her hand, he transported her to the town he had taken her from.
"What are we doing here?"
"Didn't you just say that you were hungry? So-"
"Oh." Spotting the tavern across the street, she started towards it. Remembering Xelloss, she turned back only to find him gone. "Oh well." Entering the establishment, she waved a waitress over. Placing the order, she started to add something else, and so looked up at the waitress. Suddenly, she was met with screams of "Mazoku!" and "Demon!" Standing up, she slapped her hands onto the flat of the table. "What do you mean? I'm not a Mazoku, I'm a killer of Dark Lords!"
"Oh, this is horrible! Lina Inverse has become a Mazoku!"
"What did you just say? Darkness beyond twilight, crimson beyond blood that flows, buried in the flow of time…"
"Run, she's casting the Dragon Slave!"
"…me be destroyed by the power you and I possess. Dragon Slave!" A gigantic ball of red energy flew out of Lina's hands and expanded, consuming everything. All that could be seen once the smoke had blown away was a shaking girl. "How dare they? Serves them right for daring to call me a Mazoku! I may be the Chaos Child, but I'm not a Mazoku!" Spotting a shattered piece of glass, she raised her boot to step on it and screamed.
Lina collapsed, sobbing. "Why are my eyes slitted? I'm human, not Mazoku! My eyes should be normal!" Suddenly, the memories came flooding back to the forefront of her mind, and she screamed again. "No, noooooo! I thought that it was a very bad dream. I- I can't be a Mazoku. I just can't."
"Why Lina-chan! You look positively disturbed! Whatever is the matter?"
Lina slowly looked up at Xelloss, a malicious glint in her eyes. "You. You bastard! You sick, sadistic bastard! You knew what I was and you still let me go into that human establishment! How could you?!" Rising, she ran at him, a fireball built in her hands.
Xelloss was grinning like an idiot, until a fire-version of the Dynast Bras hit him fully. Snarling, he broke the spell and clenched his fists. Shaking his finger at Lina, he spoke in a pitying voice. "Lina, Lina, Lina. You really shouldn't have done that. It was a big mistake." Approaching her, he cast a low-voltage Mono Bolt and grabbed her shoulder.
Lina collapsed in a writhing mass. Finally, she stopped and shakily rose to her knees. Glancing up at him with teary eyes, she muttered, "I thought you loved me."
"Ah, my poor Lina-chan. I do love you, but you must understand that you belong to me."
"Excuse me? Belong to you? I don't think so." Rising to her feet, she cast a mental magical amplification and started right into the Ragna Blade. "Lord of the Dreams that terrify, Sword of the cold and darkness. Free yourself from the heaven's bonds. Become one with my power, one with my body, and let us walk the path of destruction together. Power that can smash even the souls of the gods! Ragna Blade!" Steadying her shaking legs, she snarled and ran at him.
Xelloss side-stepped out of Lina's way, disappearing as he moved. Teleporting directly behind her, he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her to his chest. Lina was surprised and therefore let the Blade dissipate. Leaning down, Xelloss whispered into her ear. "I do love you, more than anything, but my priorities are obeying my mistress and doing as she asks." Sighing, he continued. "We're going to go back to the Island now, so that you can be properly introduced to your new master."
Appearing inside the throne room, he and Lina kneeled and waited to be acknowledged. 'Xelloss, I am sorry. I don't want to do this, but you did not obey my orders, and instead killed Lina quickly and without pain. Due to this disobedience, I must demote you to priest only.' Opening the link to Lina too, she added, 'Lina, as my new general, you must cooperate with Xelloss to carry out my wishes. Whatever grudges you hold against him, must NOT interfere with my orders. Understood?'
'Yes, mistress.'
'Now then, I have an assignment for you both. You will go to Seyruun's Royal Libraries, where the chimera, princess, and swordsman are now. Lina, you must communicate to them that you are still human. Xelloss, your job is to find the Claire Bible manuscript about the Dark Lords and destroy. You'll know it when you see it. Also, there is a map. It's destruction is not necessary, but Lina's friends must not find it. Understood?' They both nodded. 'Good. Dismissed.'
Appearing outside the libraries, Xelloss told Lina the plan, and where to go to find her friends. 'They're in the ancient texts section, at the center of this particular library. I know you've sensed Amelia because your face is green. Remember, leave the Bible for me.'
The travelers had come to Seyruun, hoping to find a clue to Lina's whereabouts. Zelgadis was searching the portion on Mazoku and their hierarchy. Due to the evil aura in the area, Amelia had taken Gourry and gone to search through the scripts on the Claire Bible. However, Zelgadis believed that information on Xelas' domain would be found in this section. Suddenly, he held still and listened. A cry of joy could be heard nearby. "Oh, is he going to be jealous. And this must be the map she was talking about, which means that I can keep it." Hoping to jump the person, Zelgadis crept around the corner, but to his surprise, no one was there.
Lina had heard movement, seen an aura approaching and had teleported to a position above her past one. She almost cried out when she saw who it was. Zel! About to teleport to him, she was stopped by a hand around her mouth. Suddenly, she was whipped around, and was face-to-face with a very upset Xelloss. His eyes flashing, he mentally yelled at her. 'What do you're doing? The Bible is my job. Mistress told you not to interfere. Your target is below us, so I suggest you give me the Bible and do your job.'
'Fine.' About to disappear, she was stopped by an iron grip on her arm.
'The Bible.' Snarling, she thrust it at him, flinching when his eyes glowed and the Bible turned to ash. 'Good. Now have fun. And don't try anything funny, because I'm going to be watching.'
'Stupid fruitcake. Now, to find Zelgadis.' Spotting him, she teleported behind and started to speak, only to find herself on the wrong end of his sword. "Zel? It's me, Lina. Ah, could you move your sword?"
"Lina? Lina!" Sheathing the sword, he hugged her. "Where have you been, and how did you get away from Xelloss?"
"Zelgadis, I have something to tell you." Glancing around, she couldn't sense Xelloss and sighed. "I'm not-" Suddenly she screamed, lightning surrounding her.
Well, that's it for Part 4. I'm so sorry that it took me so long to post. It's been written for about a week and a half, as I finished it on my trip in Costa Rica, but it needed to be typed, and I didn't get around to it. Thanks for all the encouraging reviews. The epilogue to Betrayal, The Aftermath, will be out shortly.
-Xelena
AN: … mean thoughts, *…* mean dreams, and '…' mean mind-speech.
Slayers: The Betrayal
Ups and Downs
Zelgadis, Gourry, and Amelia were making good time. They were on the hill overlooking Seyruun already.
"Come on, you two! The royal libraries are near the Temple of Ceipheed, in the center of the city!" Amelia shouted as she started towards the gates.
Lina, Zelgadis thought, Please stay safe for me, for us.
Lina thought she heard a plea for her safety, but when she listened again, she heard nothing. "Oh well, must have been my imagination." Dismissing it as such, she looked towards the window, only to see a shadow flit across the space. "Who's there?" Staring into the space, she tried to see if someone was there, but there was nothing. Closing her eyes, she sighed, and moved into a more comfortable position. Or rather, she tried to do so. But Lina soon found that she could do no such thing, as she was tied down to the bed she was laying on.
In a flash, the previous day's events came back to her. Scared, and knowing that she was in a Dark Lord's domain, she struggled to break free. Hearing the wind whistle past her ear, she turned her head, trying to see if somewhere was there. Sighing when she saw no one and heard no more, Lina faced the ceiling again. But the person she saw was not someone she wanted to see.
Xelloss raised his staff above him and slammed it through her chest. Lina screamed once, and collapsed, still, onto the bed. Untying her from the bed, Xelloss picked her up and teleported into his mistress's throne room. Speaking while he laid Lina down on the ground, he told of the past event.
"Thank you, Xelloss. You may go now." Stepping down from her dais, she called on her own power and that of the Ruby-eyed lord in order to change Lina from human to Mazoku.
Lina awoke with a hurricane-sized headache.
"So Lina-chan, how do you feel?"
"How do you think I feel, you imbecile! I feel horrible, I have a headache the size of a wrecking ball, and" Pausing as her stomach growled, she blushed. "I'm really really hungry."
Smirking, he hid his joy with false concern. "Well, let's see if we can do something about that." Grabbing her hand, he transported her to the town he had taken her from.
"What are we doing here?"
"Didn't you just say that you were hungry? So-"
"Oh." Spotting the tavern across the street, she started towards it. Remembering Xelloss, she turned back only to find him gone. "Oh well." Entering the establishment, she waved a waitress over. Placing the order, she started to add something else, and so looked up at the waitress. Suddenly, she was met with screams of "Mazoku!" and "Demon!" Standing up, she slapped her hands onto the flat of the table. "What do you mean? I'm not a Mazoku, I'm a killer of Dark Lords!"
"Oh, this is horrible! Lina Inverse has become a Mazoku!"
"What did you just say? Darkness beyond twilight, crimson beyond blood that flows, buried in the flow of time…"
"Run, she's casting the Dragon Slave!"
"…me be destroyed by the power you and I possess. Dragon Slave!" A gigantic ball of red energy flew out of Lina's hands and expanded, consuming everything. All that could be seen once the smoke had blown away was a shaking girl. "How dare they? Serves them right for daring to call me a Mazoku! I may be the Chaos Child, but I'm not a Mazoku!" Spotting a shattered piece of glass, she raised her boot to step on it and screamed.
Lina collapsed, sobbing. "Why are my eyes slitted? I'm human, not Mazoku! My eyes should be normal!" Suddenly, the memories came flooding back to the forefront of her mind, and she screamed again. "No, noooooo! I thought that it was a very bad dream. I- I can't be a Mazoku. I just can't."
"Why Lina-chan! You look positively disturbed! Whatever is the matter?"
Lina slowly looked up at Xelloss, a malicious glint in her eyes. "You. You bastard! You sick, sadistic bastard! You knew what I was and you still let me go into that human establishment! How could you?!" Rising, she ran at him, a fireball built in her hands.
Xelloss was grinning like an idiot, until a fire-version of the Dynast Bras hit him fully. Snarling, he broke the spell and clenched his fists. Shaking his finger at Lina, he spoke in a pitying voice. "Lina, Lina, Lina. You really shouldn't have done that. It was a big mistake." Approaching her, he cast a low-voltage Mono Bolt and grabbed her shoulder.
Lina collapsed in a writhing mass. Finally, she stopped and shakily rose to her knees. Glancing up at him with teary eyes, she muttered, "I thought you loved me."
"Ah, my poor Lina-chan. I do love you, but you must understand that you belong to me."
"Excuse me? Belong to you? I don't think so." Rising to her feet, she cast a mental magical amplification and started right into the Ragna Blade. "Lord of the Dreams that terrify, Sword of the cold and darkness. Free yourself from the heaven's bonds. Become one with my power, one with my body, and let us walk the path of destruction together. Power that can smash even the souls of the gods! Ragna Blade!" Steadying her shaking legs, she snarled and ran at him.
Xelloss side-stepped out of Lina's way, disappearing as he moved. Teleporting directly behind her, he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her to his chest. Lina was surprised and therefore let the Blade dissipate. Leaning down, Xelloss whispered into her ear. "I do love you, more than anything, but my priorities are obeying my mistress and doing as she asks." Sighing, he continued. "We're going to go back to the Island now, so that you can be properly introduced to your new master."
Appearing inside the throne room, he and Lina kneeled and waited to be acknowledged. 'Xelloss, I am sorry. I don't want to do this, but you did not obey my orders, and instead killed Lina quickly and without pain. Due to this disobedience, I must demote you to priest only.' Opening the link to Lina too, she added, 'Lina, as my new general, you must cooperate with Xelloss to carry out my wishes. Whatever grudges you hold against him, must NOT interfere with my orders. Understood?'
'Yes, mistress.'
'Now then, I have an assignment for you both. You will go to Seyruun's Royal Libraries, where the chimera, princess, and swordsman are now. Lina, you must communicate to them that you are still human. Xelloss, your job is to find the Claire Bible manuscript about the Dark Lords and destroy. You'll know it when you see it. Also, there is a map. It's destruction is not necessary, but Lina's friends must not find it. Understood?' They both nodded. 'Good. Dismissed.'
Appearing outside the libraries, Xelloss told Lina the plan, and where to go to find her friends. 'They're in the ancient texts section, at the center of this particular library. I know you've sensed Amelia because your face is green. Remember, leave the Bible for me.'
The travelers had come to Seyruun, hoping to find a clue to Lina's whereabouts. Zelgadis was searching the portion on Mazoku and their hierarchy. Due to the evil aura in the area, Amelia had taken Gourry and gone to search through the scripts on the Claire Bible. However, Zelgadis believed that information on Xelas' domain would be found in this section. Suddenly, he held still and listened. A cry of joy could be heard nearby. "Oh, is he going to be jealous. And this must be the map she was talking about, which means that I can keep it." Hoping to jump the person, Zelgadis crept around the corner, but to his surprise, no one was there.
Lina had heard movement, seen an aura approaching and had teleported to a position above her past one. She almost cried out when she saw who it was. Zel! About to teleport to him, she was stopped by a hand around her mouth. Suddenly, she was whipped around, and was face-to-face with a very upset Xelloss. His eyes flashing, he mentally yelled at her. 'What do you're doing? The Bible is my job. Mistress told you not to interfere. Your target is below us, so I suggest you give me the Bible and do your job.'
'Fine.' About to disappear, she was stopped by an iron grip on her arm.
'The Bible.' Snarling, she thrust it at him, flinching when his eyes glowed and the Bible turned to ash. 'Good. Now have fun. And don't try anything funny, because I'm going to be watching.'
'Stupid fruitcake. Now, to find Zelgadis.' Spotting him, she teleported behind and started to speak, only to find herself on the wrong end of his sword. "Zel? It's me, Lina. Ah, could you move your sword?"
"Lina? Lina!" Sheathing the sword, he hugged her. "Where have you been, and how did you get away from Xelloss?"
"Zelgadis, I have something to tell you." Glancing around, she couldn't sense Xelloss and sighed. "I'm not-" Suddenly she screamed, lightning surrounding her.
Well, that's it for Part 4. I'm so sorry that it took me so long to post. It's been written for about a week and a half, as I finished it on my trip in Costa Rica, but it needed to be typed, and I didn't get around to it. Thanks for all the encouraging reviews. The epilogue to Betrayal, The Aftermath, will be out shortly.
-Xelena
