Chapter 9: Immolation! Geez, just look it up, you bums!
Xelloss was drifting in and out of consciousness..
*So.. This is what it's like to be dying, eh? Interesting.. I hope I don't have to see it through to a conclusion, though..* He felt himself being carried at a steady pace, but at another level, he felt a presence, one that had nothing to do with his mazoku feelings.. He felt a mind in his dreams, thoughts that weren't meshing with his own, but similar. He heard a voice that was very similar to his own whisper in his ear..
"You are dying, aren't you?" He jumped, reacting to this unseen voice. Some part of his being was conscious of Lana's hand on his shoulder. He opened his eyes to see her face marred with shock that her touch had not injured him. He closed them again. The voice came, once more, "Good. You were the only barrier between me and their murders. You shouldn't care. I don't. I hope to see you. Die. It would be a learning experience for me. Until we meet again, Former Priest/General of Beastmaster Zellas Metallium." The voice fled his mind and he relaxed. His mind drifted. He vaguely felt his body being placed on the ground.
"His breathing has become very shallow, Miss Lina.." Gracia said, a tremor of fear in her voice. Lina looked down, and Zel put a hand on her shoulder. She walked forward. Silphiel joined her. Lina's face looked down into his, worry fleeing over her beautiful features to make way for solemn determination.
*Ah.. Lina.. Zelgadis.. Even Gourry and Amelia.. It's amazing how much I have realized now that they are my friends.. My wonderful friends..* he thought, sighing mentally. A tinge of extreme worry made its presence known at the very back of his mind, but he ignored it. Soon, everything would be perfect.. He would be finished.
Lina bit her lip, this was the hardest decision she had ever made. She looked up at Lana.
"Lana, are you ready?" she asked. Lana looked at Lina, eyes sad.
"Yes, Miss Lina.. I am." She said, her voice as determined as Lina's was. Lina smiled in spite of herself. Her shadow kopii was doing very well for being the exact opposite of her. Lana sighed, and raised her arms to the sky.
"Power of the flowing golden light.. Your servant I, command thee.. Let the evil entity which has plagued this demon race, be purged from this man, in thy great holy name..." She turned tear stained eyes to the sky, "I forfeit my life for his! HOLY CLEANSING!" She shouted in a strangled sob. A flash of goldish light more intense than before flooded the room. To Xelloss, he was going home.. In the very last seconds before he lost consciousness for the last time.. A woman with golden flowing hair smiled down on him.
"Silly monster you are. my son. You cannot die. You must live to appreciate the endless sacrifice my chosen has given you. Would the Priest/General of a Dark Lord do any worse?" The deity said with a smile. Xelloss nodded, drowning in the golden light. When the light faded.. Lina stood up.
"Lana?" she said. Zel got up, and looked around. Gourry helped Silphiel up, and Amelia and Nahga shuddered. Gracia held in her hands a limp Lana. Her eyes were stained with tears.
"Miss Lina.." she said, "Is she?" Lina kneeled. Tentatively, she reached out a hand and placed it on Lana's arm. Lana jolted, and opened her eyes.
"Lina?" she said, hoarsely. Lina blinked.
"What is it?" she said. Lana smiled.
"I saw her. I saw the mother." She said, eyes happy. Lina shook her head.
"Lana.. You can't.." she said.
"Die, Miss Lina? No. I will not die." She said, in a stronger voice. She pushed herself up, "The Lord.. of Nightmares has killed the symbiote. However. We have to figure out who sent it. That will be our quest. The Lord herself has told me this. Miss Silphiel. Please heal Mr. Xelloss." She said. Silphiel looked up, confused.
"But Miss Lana, I cannot heal a mazoku?" she said questioningly. Gourry shook his head.
"Silphiel. He.. He's not." he said. Lina shook her head.
"He's human." She said. Silphiel's eyes widened, but she nodded, and walked over to him. Her hands lit with the white glow of Resurrection. Amelia stood back, eyes wide, and Nahga stood with her, façade dropped in the face of impending tragedy. Amelia blinked at the prostrate Xelloss and buried her face in her hands. Nahga, looking down at her, placed her hands on her shoulders and sighed. Amelia looked up with a start and smiled.
"Thank you, onee-chan.." she whispered. Nahga patted her on the head.
"It's okay, onee-chan.." She whispered back. Silphiel stood up and stepped back. She turned to the others, noting the worried looks on their faces. She sighed, and looked down.
"I don't know if it will work." She said. Lina's lip firmed. She smiled weakly.
"He can't die. We don't want another dark lord out to get us." She said, a quaver in her voice. Zel glanced at her, eyes dark. Gourry shook his head faintly. Suddenly, Xelloss opened his eyes. He sat up.
"Too late, Lina-chan." He said weakly, "It seems we already have that problem." He blinked and shook his head to clear it. As he shook his head, his body reeled, and his arms wheeled back to catch himself. His face betrayed, for once, exactly what he felt inside. The four people who knew him best were unnerved to see the combined expressions of confusion, fear, shock, and daze on his normally so cheery face. His eyes were open, and Lina flinched to see, not the slitted pupil of a mazoku, but very wide frightened eyes that belonged to a very human man. She stepped forward lightly,
"Xelloss?" she said. He glanced at her, and a momentary vacant smile flashed over his face.
"So.. this is what mortality is like.." he said dreamily, "I. I'm going to die." He said. Lina bit her lip. Gracia, who had been blending into the background for the last few days, stepped forward mutely, and handed Xelloss a twisted length of wood. The gem in the upper portion of the staff glowed no longer, and now was an onyx-esque black. As the staff was placed in Xelloss' lap, the gem momentarily sparkled with red, as if recognizing its owner, but weakly. Xelloss picked it up, and stared blankly at it. Lana stepped forward, her demeanor much changed. She leaned down and put one hand forward, reaching out to Xelloss.
"Xelloss-san.. come now. You are safe." She said. Xelloss blinked, and reached out his own hand, allowing himself to be helped up. He stood, seeming less dazed now, but still shaken. Halfheartedly, he wiped the dust and sweat from his robes. And stood. Zel and Gourry exchanged glances. Amelia bit her lip. Xelloss, now a human man, was being led to the road, stumbling a bit, but still conscious, still living. Everyone noticed something missing, especially Silphiel. Lina stood, eyes dark, but body and voice not betraying the fear she felt inside. Everyone else knew this fear. You see, the one thing everyone had counted on was that secret. Xelloss. They always knew that he was hiding something from them, and it shook them to their deepest cores to see the state he was now in. Yet, that was not of consequence. They could mention none of that now. Lina smiled, albeit falsely.
"Well, everyone, let's go find an inn, and get some food.. JEEZ, I'm starving!" she said. Gourry nodded.
"Yeah. Come on Silphiel." He said. Silphiel smiled, and nodded, waving to all the rest, who followed. Lightly, Xelloss shook Lana off of his arm. He smiled at her gratefully.
"Lana.. Thank you. You have paid me a greater debt than any person has ever done me. Even my master in creating me. I shall, forever be grateful to you. Forever." He said, his voice betraying more emotion than it had in a long time. Lana blushed with the force of his voice. She smiled, eyes watering,
"Oh.. Xelloss-san.. No one. No one has ever, ever thanked me before. For anything I ever did. You are the one who has helped me.. Think no more of it." She said. Xelloss shook his head. He brought her forward, and softly, tenderly, kissed her on the forehead. She smiled, and then, looked to the right. Lina, Gourry, Zel, Silphiel, Amelia, Nahga, and Gracia, were staring at them with expressions ranging from amusement to confusion to dry humor to pride back to confusion twice, and then on to lightly contained jealousy. Lana smiled briefly at Xelloss, then went to stand with Gracia. She put a hand on her lover's cheek, and shushed her. Lina shrugged, and walked, and the others followed her. Xelloss blinked for a moment. Why had he done that? He had thought about that for no longer than he could have before Lina came up to him and smiled.
"Hey Xelloss," she said with a sly smile, "Enjoying those human emotions a little too much, are we?" she asked. Xelloss blinked, wide-eyed, and cleared his throat.
"Yes.. well, ahem.. um.. er." Before he could finish this fruitful train of thought, Lina clapped him on the back and walked past him, snickering softly. As she passed the rest, and they walked single-file off into the waning sunlight, Lina's face set. For some reason, she didn't think that this was over yet, and she didn't want to think about what it would end with.
Xelloss was drifting in and out of consciousness..
*So.. This is what it's like to be dying, eh? Interesting.. I hope I don't have to see it through to a conclusion, though..* He felt himself being carried at a steady pace, but at another level, he felt a presence, one that had nothing to do with his mazoku feelings.. He felt a mind in his dreams, thoughts that weren't meshing with his own, but similar. He heard a voice that was very similar to his own whisper in his ear..
"You are dying, aren't you?" He jumped, reacting to this unseen voice. Some part of his being was conscious of Lana's hand on his shoulder. He opened his eyes to see her face marred with shock that her touch had not injured him. He closed them again. The voice came, once more, "Good. You were the only barrier between me and their murders. You shouldn't care. I don't. I hope to see you. Die. It would be a learning experience for me. Until we meet again, Former Priest/General of Beastmaster Zellas Metallium." The voice fled his mind and he relaxed. His mind drifted. He vaguely felt his body being placed on the ground.
"His breathing has become very shallow, Miss Lina.." Gracia said, a tremor of fear in her voice. Lina looked down, and Zel put a hand on her shoulder. She walked forward. Silphiel joined her. Lina's face looked down into his, worry fleeing over her beautiful features to make way for solemn determination.
*Ah.. Lina.. Zelgadis.. Even Gourry and Amelia.. It's amazing how much I have realized now that they are my friends.. My wonderful friends..* he thought, sighing mentally. A tinge of extreme worry made its presence known at the very back of his mind, but he ignored it. Soon, everything would be perfect.. He would be finished.
Lina bit her lip, this was the hardest decision she had ever made. She looked up at Lana.
"Lana, are you ready?" she asked. Lana looked at Lina, eyes sad.
"Yes, Miss Lina.. I am." She said, her voice as determined as Lina's was. Lina smiled in spite of herself. Her shadow kopii was doing very well for being the exact opposite of her. Lana sighed, and raised her arms to the sky.
"Power of the flowing golden light.. Your servant I, command thee.. Let the evil entity which has plagued this demon race, be purged from this man, in thy great holy name..." She turned tear stained eyes to the sky, "I forfeit my life for his! HOLY CLEANSING!" She shouted in a strangled sob. A flash of goldish light more intense than before flooded the room. To Xelloss, he was going home.. In the very last seconds before he lost consciousness for the last time.. A woman with golden flowing hair smiled down on him.
"Silly monster you are. my son. You cannot die. You must live to appreciate the endless sacrifice my chosen has given you. Would the Priest/General of a Dark Lord do any worse?" The deity said with a smile. Xelloss nodded, drowning in the golden light. When the light faded.. Lina stood up.
"Lana?" she said. Zel got up, and looked around. Gourry helped Silphiel up, and Amelia and Nahga shuddered. Gracia held in her hands a limp Lana. Her eyes were stained with tears.
"Miss Lina.." she said, "Is she?" Lina kneeled. Tentatively, she reached out a hand and placed it on Lana's arm. Lana jolted, and opened her eyes.
"Lina?" she said, hoarsely. Lina blinked.
"What is it?" she said. Lana smiled.
"I saw her. I saw the mother." She said, eyes happy. Lina shook her head.
"Lana.. You can't.." she said.
"Die, Miss Lina? No. I will not die." She said, in a stronger voice. She pushed herself up, "The Lord.. of Nightmares has killed the symbiote. However. We have to figure out who sent it. That will be our quest. The Lord herself has told me this. Miss Silphiel. Please heal Mr. Xelloss." She said. Silphiel looked up, confused.
"But Miss Lana, I cannot heal a mazoku?" she said questioningly. Gourry shook his head.
"Silphiel. He.. He's not." he said. Lina shook her head.
"He's human." She said. Silphiel's eyes widened, but she nodded, and walked over to him. Her hands lit with the white glow of Resurrection. Amelia stood back, eyes wide, and Nahga stood with her, façade dropped in the face of impending tragedy. Amelia blinked at the prostrate Xelloss and buried her face in her hands. Nahga, looking down at her, placed her hands on her shoulders and sighed. Amelia looked up with a start and smiled.
"Thank you, onee-chan.." she whispered. Nahga patted her on the head.
"It's okay, onee-chan.." She whispered back. Silphiel stood up and stepped back. She turned to the others, noting the worried looks on their faces. She sighed, and looked down.
"I don't know if it will work." She said. Lina's lip firmed. She smiled weakly.
"He can't die. We don't want another dark lord out to get us." She said, a quaver in her voice. Zel glanced at her, eyes dark. Gourry shook his head faintly. Suddenly, Xelloss opened his eyes. He sat up.
"Too late, Lina-chan." He said weakly, "It seems we already have that problem." He blinked and shook his head to clear it. As he shook his head, his body reeled, and his arms wheeled back to catch himself. His face betrayed, for once, exactly what he felt inside. The four people who knew him best were unnerved to see the combined expressions of confusion, fear, shock, and daze on his normally so cheery face. His eyes were open, and Lina flinched to see, not the slitted pupil of a mazoku, but very wide frightened eyes that belonged to a very human man. She stepped forward lightly,
"Xelloss?" she said. He glanced at her, and a momentary vacant smile flashed over his face.
"So.. this is what mortality is like.." he said dreamily, "I. I'm going to die." He said. Lina bit her lip. Gracia, who had been blending into the background for the last few days, stepped forward mutely, and handed Xelloss a twisted length of wood. The gem in the upper portion of the staff glowed no longer, and now was an onyx-esque black. As the staff was placed in Xelloss' lap, the gem momentarily sparkled with red, as if recognizing its owner, but weakly. Xelloss picked it up, and stared blankly at it. Lana stepped forward, her demeanor much changed. She leaned down and put one hand forward, reaching out to Xelloss.
"Xelloss-san.. come now. You are safe." She said. Xelloss blinked, and reached out his own hand, allowing himself to be helped up. He stood, seeming less dazed now, but still shaken. Halfheartedly, he wiped the dust and sweat from his robes. And stood. Zel and Gourry exchanged glances. Amelia bit her lip. Xelloss, now a human man, was being led to the road, stumbling a bit, but still conscious, still living. Everyone noticed something missing, especially Silphiel. Lina stood, eyes dark, but body and voice not betraying the fear she felt inside. Everyone else knew this fear. You see, the one thing everyone had counted on was that secret. Xelloss. They always knew that he was hiding something from them, and it shook them to their deepest cores to see the state he was now in. Yet, that was not of consequence. They could mention none of that now. Lina smiled, albeit falsely.
"Well, everyone, let's go find an inn, and get some food.. JEEZ, I'm starving!" she said. Gourry nodded.
"Yeah. Come on Silphiel." He said. Silphiel smiled, and nodded, waving to all the rest, who followed. Lightly, Xelloss shook Lana off of his arm. He smiled at her gratefully.
"Lana.. Thank you. You have paid me a greater debt than any person has ever done me. Even my master in creating me. I shall, forever be grateful to you. Forever." He said, his voice betraying more emotion than it had in a long time. Lana blushed with the force of his voice. She smiled, eyes watering,
"Oh.. Xelloss-san.. No one. No one has ever, ever thanked me before. For anything I ever did. You are the one who has helped me.. Think no more of it." She said. Xelloss shook his head. He brought her forward, and softly, tenderly, kissed her on the forehead. She smiled, and then, looked to the right. Lina, Gourry, Zel, Silphiel, Amelia, Nahga, and Gracia, were staring at them with expressions ranging from amusement to confusion to dry humor to pride back to confusion twice, and then on to lightly contained jealousy. Lana smiled briefly at Xelloss, then went to stand with Gracia. She put a hand on her lover's cheek, and shushed her. Lina shrugged, and walked, and the others followed her. Xelloss blinked for a moment. Why had he done that? He had thought about that for no longer than he could have before Lina came up to him and smiled.
"Hey Xelloss," she said with a sly smile, "Enjoying those human emotions a little too much, are we?" she asked. Xelloss blinked, wide-eyed, and cleared his throat.
"Yes.. well, ahem.. um.. er." Before he could finish this fruitful train of thought, Lina clapped him on the back and walked past him, snickering softly. As she passed the rest, and they walked single-file off into the waning sunlight, Lina's face set. For some reason, she didn't think that this was over yet, and she didn't want to think about what it would end with.
