Slayers: FOAM
by
Nin Tendo
Chapter 2 ~ Once Upon a (Tea) Time
~Disclaimer~ Once upon a time, Nin Tendo owned Slayers. And the world exploded because the dimension in which it resided was extremely unstable. And the little bits of matter lived happily ever after. Until the dimension itself collapsed, of course. n_n
NOTE: Come on, everyone! You can't let Dee Jay win the credit by default! I mean, all she could come up with was Fic Of Absolute Monstrosity!!! What do YOU think F.O.A.M. should stand for? Maybe I'll even change the title if I enjoy your ideas too much! lol
MORE IMPORTANT NOTE: I accidently typed 'hold dagger' instead of 'holy dagger' in the first chapter. Thank you for noticing something strange, Digi_riven!
A NOTE ON AMELIA: I thought I had her all figured out, but once I had to write something about her, I came up with a huge blank! I mean, I love her and everything, but now I can see why some people resort to a stereotype! It's so much easier that way! However, I'll try to stick it out until next chapter--maybe I'll understand her better by then (does anyone know any really great Amelia fanpages?). For now, though, forgive me for making her stay unconscious! (Well, she is awake for a little while in this chap...)
===============================================================
Filia Ul Copt stared up at the ceiling from her bed, finding herself unable to gather the will to close her eyes and sleep. Terror ate at her nerves, and fear-sweat mixed with salty tears as they streaked across the surface of her face.
It had started just a few days ago, she reflected.
Bit by bit, she was losing her power.
She'd first noticed it when she began to find it increasingly difficult to change forms. At nights she would always fly before bed--the serene feeling put her at ease and the wispy sound of wind against her body was almost a lullaby.
Today she hadn't been able to transform at all. She was trapped in her human form.
And it wasn't only transforming that worried her. No, it was also her diminishing magic. That afternoon, a crazed monster had attacked the village. It was even a low-level monster, and yet, she'd had the greatest difficulty in destroying it. Her spells weren't as...powerful as before...
What was happening? What was she going to do?
Her magic was weakening. Magic sustained her life. If her magic continued to decrease, she was going to....
She was going to die, wasn't she?
With a muffled cry, Filia turned onto her side, drew her knees to her chest, and closed her eyes in a vain attempt to sleep.
===============================================================
It wasn't the fresh, bird-chirping dawn of fairy-tales that greeted the travel-worn adventurers this morn. No, today even the sun appeared to droop low in the sky in mourning.
Initially, they'd taken the much faster route of flight, but now they had no other choice but to travel by land. Transporting four people (not to mention herself) by Raywing was a serious drain on Lina's magic, and she felt that she should conserve at least a fraction of her strength just in case they were attacked along the way.
Zelgadis and Amelia had woken, but they were pretty exhaughsted, not to mention a tad confused by recent events.
Now that he had plenty of time to ponder, Zelgadis had to concentrate hard to force his hazy brain to rationalize Xellos' actions. Had he simply been lying about the Lord of Nightmares? He certainly wasn't above that--but then why had he saved their lives, endangering his own. It was completely out of character...wasn't it? Well, whatever the truth was, he was most definitely up to something yet again, and, yet again, it involved them.
But the million gold piece question was: Will Xellos survive long enough for the truth to be revealed?
Right beside the chimera walked Amelia. While she was just as exhaughsted as Zelgadis, it was much more evident. Unlike Zelgadiss, though, her initial confusion had been resolved completely.
Mr. Xellos had finally turned from his evil monsterous nature in order to fight beside justice in the war between good and evil! Although, it was so bitterly ironic that he should fall in battle so soon after his redemption, as justice must always prevail, there is no doubt that we will be able to save him in time!
Well, that is what Amelia would have said, but the weariness had overcome her and all she could manage was an overly contagious yawn.
Holding his hand in front of his mouth to hide his own yawn, Gourry, who walked a half-pace behind Amelia and Zelgadis, kept his eyes focused on the solitary girl leading them.
Or, perhaps not so solitary, considering the injured man she carried.
With a startled cry, Amelia's foot sunk into an unnoticed pothole, sending her crashing into Zelgadis. They would have both fell if it hadn't been for Gourry's quick reflexes.
Biting his lip, Gourry turned back to the girl ahead of them, continuing on despite the trouble behind her.
"Hey, Lina, don't you think we should have a quick rest? I mean, we've already travelled straight through the night."
She stopped, but didn't turn. Her monotone voice sent chills down Gourry's spine.
"No, Gourry. He's fading fast. We have to keep going. Otherwise, we'll never make it in time. We're almost there, anyway."
With a slight hum of concern, Gourry nodded to her back and helped his two tired companions to their feet.
They continued on, and Gourry's eyes once again settled upon Lina in worry. Breaking the silence once more, he said, "Maybe I should carry him, Lina-- he looks heavy and you said that you needed to save your strength."
Lina's arms tightened around the fallen priest, and she replied, "No, he's...light. Lighter than yesterday."
Gourry wrung his hands, then hugged himself, a feeling of helplessness overcoming him. A friend was in trouble and he could do nothing--Lina just wouldn't let him do anything to help. She...she wasn't telling him what to do anymore...
Amelia turned to see the suffering look on Gourry's face, realizing in a moment of clarity that he felt insecure without any orders to fulfill in this type of situation.
"Mr. Gourry," she murmured sleepily, rubbing her eyes, "my feet are so tired and I can barely keep my eyes open. Would you mind if I asked you to carry me?"
Within moments, Amelia was off the ground and resting in Gourry's arms. He smiled down at her with an almost sibling affection and she replied in kind before closing her eyes to get some much needed rest.
Zelgadiss was initially surprised by this, but soon after a paranoid frown of jealousy broke free when he witnessed the mutual smiles.
"Uh..." said Gourry, when he saw the jealous expression on his friend's face. "I'm sorry, Zel, but I don't think I'll be able to carry BOTH of you!"
Zelgadis barely managed to keep himself from falling flat on his face. He really should have known--Gourry was a much too simple man to even consider having a romantic relationship with someone other than Lina (even though he didn't know it himself).
Or, perhaps he was just smart enough to realize what Lina would do to him if he ever even thought about 'dumping' her for another (even though she would most likely think up some excuse to mask her half-realized feelings for him).
Zelgadiss sighed and rubbed his forehead. He could ponder the degree of Gourry's intelligence some other time.
Looking ahead at the red-headed sorceress, Zelgadis wondered why Lina was reacting this way over Xellos' condition. Sure, the monster had saved their lives yesterday (or was it the day before? He couldn't remember...), but how could she forget all the lies, deception, and betrayl? He had manipulated them every step of the way.
And Lina knew that, and yet, now she accepted him.
When had friendship blossomed?
And, as Zelgadis' eyes lowered, focusing on the face of a dying man hanging limply in the arms of Lina Inverse, thoughts of forgiveness, apologies, and a more important question flooded his slowly healing heart.
When had Xellos become HIS friend?
And Xellos lay limp in Lina's arms, so pale he was nearly transparent and even his hair seemed to have withered into a dull gray, as the holy dagger continued to consume all that he was.
===============================================================
A slightly disturbed Jillas climbed up the stairs and knocked on Filia's bedroom door. In all the time that they'd lived together, she had never before slept so late.
"Sis?" he called out when she didn't reply. "Oi! SIS!" he cried, starting to worry.
After failing to respond once more, Jillas began to reach for the doornob, but the door chose that moment to swing open, revealing a dishelved and weary Filia. She looked as if she hadn't gotten a wink of sleep all night.
"Ah," Jillas said, awkwardly, "boss Gravos has breakfast o' th' table an' you're always in th' kitchen b' now. I come'd up ta see if'n somethin' wrong."
Filia nodded with a huge yawn and stepped past him, wearily pulling herself down the flight of stairs.
Jillas could only follow as he stared at her slouched back, wondering what in heaven's name was wrong with her.
Perhaps she's caught a bug, the fox-man pondered. O' maybe she's been workin' much too hard. I should tell th' boss 'bout this.
And tell the boss he did, right after watching his surrogate sister pick at her food after only eating a portion of the meal.
But Gravos had already noticed the problem--long before Jillas had, in fact. He'd tried to ignore it, but when Jillas had approached him after breakfast, he had no other choice but to tell Filia to get some rest. After all, if a blockhead like Jillas noticed that their was someything wrong, then the problem was very critical indeed.
"But what about the shop?" Filia protested. "And the egg? And the shopping?"
Gravos gently picked up the small egg from the basket on the counter and gently placed it in Filia's arms.
"Well," he replied, "since Lord Valgaav hasn't quite hatched yet, I'm sure that you'll be able to watch over him with no problems--you just have to keep him warm."
"Th' boss an' I c'n do th' shoppin'!" Jillas jumped in.
"But what about the shop?" Filia said again.
"'Tis Sunday, Sis!" Jillas exclaimed, staring at her strangely.
"Oh," said a bewildered Filia as the two beastmen hauled her up the stairs and tucked her in.
Gravos left the room and returned a moment later with a tray full of the breakfast leftovers. "Now, Miss Filia, you will get some sleep. When you wake up, I want you to eat something, alright?"
"I'll try," Filia replied, "but...I'm just not...hungry at all..."
She produced a large yawk and was asleep before Jillas and Gravos even left the room.
She'll be fine in a few hours, Gravos decided.
===============================================================
At the first sight of the town before them, Lina had tossed aside her decision to conserve energy and began to sprint toward her goal.
"Lina!" Gourry and Zelgadis exclaimed, then sighed, speeding up their pace. Not by much, though, considering that Zelgadis still wasn't as alert as he'd like to be and Gourry didn't want to jar awake the dozing Amelia.
However, despite Lina's head start, they both managed to find her kicking the door to a shop furiously, still holding onto Xellos' body, and getting strange looks from passer-by.
"'Vases and Maces'?" Gourry asked, reading the sign. "Where have I heard that before?"
"It's Filia's shop, Gourry," Zelgadis clarified. "I wasn't sure where we were headed, but I did have my suspicions. The question we should ask, however, is: Will Filia WANT to save Xellos?"
Hearing the conversation behind her, Lina growled, "She was the closest user of holy magic that I knew of, alright?!"
"Oh, come on!" Gourry chuckled. "Filia wouldn't let Xellos die like this! She IS a human being, after all!"
Zelgadis sweatdropped. "No she isn't, Gourry."
"Oh, yeeeaaah..." Gourry replied, remembering. Then he shrugged. "But she still helped him out when he was in trouble, didn't she? I think that, deep down there somewhere, she must care about him at least a little bit!"
Zelgadis frowned when the comment hit just a little too close to home. He didn't want to care, but, nevertheless, felt something clench beyond his stone exterior when he looked upon the monster in such horrible condition.
Meanwhile, Lina was getting pretty mad at having to knock the door with her foot, so she started screaming at the top of her lungs. "DAMN IT, FILIA! WAKE UP YOU STUPID DRAGON! GET DOWN HERE BEFORE I DRAGON SLAVE THE ENTIRE FREAKING TOWN!"
"I'm coming," replied a weary yet completely annoyed voice from inside the store. Lina bit her tongue to keep from shouting even more as it took much too long (in her opinion, anyway) for Filia to unlock and open the door.
Lina immediately pushed her way inside, wincing when she accidently slammed Xellos' face into the doorframe in her haste. Gourry followed, being much more careful with his cargo, and Zelgadis took up the rear, wanting nothing more than a little rest.
"What are all of you doing here?" Filia questioned, apprehensive, holding the egg a little closer to her chest. "What is going on? What's happened to you all?"
She recognized Lina's voice and she knew that Gourry would probably be with her, but she was surprised to see Amelia and Zelgadis, too. And who was that person Lina was holding?
After leaning in for a closer look, Filia screeched, "XELLOS?! OH, CEIPIED, I CAN'T SENSE HIM ANYMORE! NOW HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO KEEP HIM FROM KILLING ME AND TAKING VAL AWAY?!" Wailing, she cried, "THAT DIRTY SCUMBAG!"
Shifting Xellos in her arms, Lina smartly slapped the overreacting, paranoia driven, sleep-deprived dragon across the face, causing her to drop Val's egg. Gourry managed to catch the egg, but not before dropping Amelia into Zelgadis' unready arms.
"Thanks a lot, Gourry," Zelgadis grumbled from the floor, beneath Amelia, who somehow managed to stay unconcious throughout the entire situation thus far.
"Filia," Lina growled, keeping her voice low and threatening, "Xellos got stabbed by a holy dagger and now his life force is slowly and painfully being torn from his body. He allowed this to happen in order to save us. If you don't help him because of your own personal feelings, then Xellos was right about you all along. You really are selfish."
Startled, Filia could only stare at the young woman before her carrying a monster in the fading guise of a man.
Finally, she whispered, "I...I don't know if I can do this..."
Lina took a deep, shaky breath and turned to leave.
"Wait!" Filia exclaimed. "Wait, Lina! That wasn't what I meant!"
Pausing, Lina asked, "Well, what did you mean, then?"
Filia swallowed against her dry throat. "I'm...not sure if I'll have the...strength to save him..."
Lina walked back up to her, carefully placing the priest in Filia's hesitantly extended arms. "All I ask," she whispered, "is that you try."
Filia simply nodded in reply, then turned to the others. "Gourry, can you please give Val to Lina for a moment and pick up Amelia again? Zelgadis, will you be able to make it up the stairs?"
Gourry, who had been carefully searching the egg for any cracks, looked up when his name was mentioned and readily complied.
Slowly getting to his feet, Zelgadis groaned and said, "I guess so."
Leading them up the stairway, Filia said, "I can't have any distractions, so you four will have to wait in the other rooms. You all look like you need some rest, anyway. But there are only two other beds, so two of you will have to take the floor."
"We'll let the girls have the beds," Gourry announced. Zelgadis nodded in agreement.
Stopping at the first door, Filia informed them all that it was Jillas' room. "The next door leads to the bathroom, and the one after is Gravos' room. My room is at the end of the hall if you need me, though please don't interrupt me for a few hours at least. I don't know how long this is going to take."
Gourry walked into Jillas' room and gently lay Amelia on the bed. Turning back to the door, he asked, "Hey, Zel, did you want to stay here instead of me?"
Stepping inside, Zelgadis replied, "Sure, Gourry." Then he smirked a little, looking at Lina. "Have fun, you two."
A quick-as-lightening Gourry prevented Lina from beating her own fists into a pulp while attempting to damage the chimera.
Exhaughsted chuckles could be heard as the door swung shut.
Lina removed Gourry's hands from her shoulders and gave up on vengence, staring at the wall as Filia led them to Gravos' room. She would have rathered keeping Xellos within her sight, but she understood and respected Filia's need for concentration so she tried to surpress her concern.
It wasn't like she would be leaving him in immediate danger.
In truth, Lina really had no idea why she was being so...protective of Xellos. Sure, she might consider him a friend (sometimes), but didn't his vices outnumber his virtues a hundred-fold? Why was she trying to save his life when all he ever did was endanger her's?
Thinking about it rationally, the smarter thing to do would have been to simply leave him to die.
But...that look in his eyes before consciousness was lost...she'd seen something in them... something that promised more than 'the trickster priest'. Something that...that...
...Something that told her that he genuinelly cared for her...
...And an untold ocean of apology...
Now, she wanted nothing more than to look him straight in the eye and say, "I forgive you, Xellos."
Lina followed Gourry into Gravos' room, frowning at the bed. It wasn't like she would be able to catch any sleep, anyway.
"Gourry, you might as well take the bed."
"Uh?" Gourry replied from the corner, where he was removing his armor. "What are you talking about, Lina? You're the one always going on about your beauty sleep."
Lina turned her head to give Gourry more privacy. "I'm just not tired at all."
Gourry chuckled. "Oh, come on, Lina! You have those big black baggy things under your eyes, I saw you stumble a few times on the road, and I'm not even going to TRY to count how many times you're yawned!"
"You have bags under your eyes, too, Gourry!" Lina retorted, finding her pride actually teaming up with her nearly non-existant generousity.
She heard Gourry yawn. "I sleep better on the floor, anyway. Just take the bed, Lina. I'm trying to sleep."
"WHAT DID YOU SAY?!" Lina screamed, whirling around, forgetting for a moment that Gourry might still be changing.
But Gourry had long finished undressing and, in fact, was already asleep on the floor in his pajamas, the blankets only half covering him.
Lina heaved a great sigh, moving to pull the disshelved blankets over her protector for more efficiency, but then remembered that her hands were already full and sat on the bed.
Looking at the dragon egg, Lina whispered, "So, Valgaav, when you hatch will you try to kill me again? LoN knows that everyone else wants my head. Will you, too?"
The unannounced opening of the door startled Lina.
"Oh, I'm sorry," Filia whispered, noting that Gourry was asleep. "I just thought I should take Val off your hands so you can get some rest."
She stepped forward and reached for the egg, but Lina held it back for a moment.
"How is he?" she asked, intensely, wondering if she should Dragon Slave her for leaving him all by himself.
"Well," replied Filia, "the easy part is done--I managed to temporarily seal the dagger's power, so it won't be able to spread any further for a while. The hard part--well, is removing the dagger itself."
Finding the answer acceptable--for the moment, at least--, Lina handed the egg back to its adoptive mother. "You better get started, then."
Filia hesitated. "But..."
"'But'?" Lina repeated.
Filia swallowed and looked at the floor. "I don't know if I'll be strong enough to do this."
"Didn't we go over this already?" Lina asked. "I told you that all you have to do is TRY."
"I'll...I'll try Miss Lina," Filia replied, lifting her head. "Meanwhile, you should try to get some sleep."
"But-"
"Sleep."
"But..." Lina said again, but the spell soon overcame her and she slipped into unconsciousness, falling backwards onto the bed.
Filia gently rested Val's egg on the desk and proceeded to tuck the two humans in.
"Sweet dreams," she whispered, retrieving Val and exiting the room.
===============================================================
The sight that greeted Filia in her room was an unexpected one.
On her bed, Xellos was already showing signs of recovery. He seemed slightly less transparent, color beginning to return to his form, his limbs moved every so often, and he seemed to be...sweating--purging the contaminated essense from his body. She hadn't known that monsters could do that.
The dagger's power must have done something to hinder the immune response, Filia rationalized, placing Val in his basket with care.
Moving closer to the monster, Filia noticed that his lips were moving, forming words, but not uttering a sound. She attempted to read his lips, but found it impossible, as he seemed to be using a different dialect then the ones she was familiar with.
Wiping away some of the dark liquid with an already soiled sheet, Filia wondered why she had decided to help him, the monster who had singlehandedly destroyed much of her race. The one who taunted her relentlessly. The one who, she suspected, had something to do with her present state.
You always called me selfish, Xellos, Filia thought, silently. If you were correct before, surely I've changed now, or I wouldn't be trying to save your life right now.
Her hands moved forth to grasp the hilt of the holy blade, surprised when Xellos responded with a muffled shout. Shaking away her uncertainty, Filia closed her eyes and concentrated deeply. Slowly, she felt her awareness become one with the dagger, and she was able to sense how far the magic had spread. Without a second thought, she removed the seal and set to work.
Frowning at the damage, but brightened by Xellos' strengthened defense pushing back the invading magic, Filia put all her concentration into severing the fused strands of energy, willing the holiness back into the blade, and preventing the dagger from unleashing more of its power. It was a slow, tiring process, and small mistakes sprouted everywhere--she would cut the ties in the wrong place, leaving some holy energy behind, and some strands were overlooked altogether.
Starting to feel exhaustion take its toll, Filia began to panic and her work became that much more sloppier. If she didn't finish this, she wouldn't be able to remove the dagger without wounding him further. If she fainted before completing the process, the dagger would be able to regenerate its severed tendrils of energy in no time at all. And, if she stopped now to try again later, her strength might even be less than it was now.
Feeling her mind begin to slow with weariness, Filia finally submitted to fear, and she tore the dagger from his chest in a single panicked pull, tossing it to the floor.
Vaguely, she heard Xellos cry out in pain before her awareness retreated into darkness, leaving her body to collapse onto the bed, her head resting on the monster's midsection, arms draped over his body.
The unconscious dragon girl whimpered at the beginnings of a nightmare.
The ill monster priest felt distress nearby and desperately shifted closer to the source in order to digest it better, only to succeed in offering comfort instead.
In Filia Ul Copt's room that morning, a dragon and monster held hands for the first time in over one thousand years.
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A short distance away from the town, air rippled and a woman fell through the opening, landing on the ground hard.
She folded into the fetal position, gasping in exertion. Soon, the agony lessened and she managed to sit up.
Her eyes were immediately drawn to the jewelery decorating her arms and legs.
I thought these would disappear completely, she pondered. I guess he must have crafted these ones to seal my power, since I seem to have broken the ones keeping me on Wolf Pack Island.
Shrugging, she stood, and, picking up the weakened presence of her priest, began her journey toward him.
Let it be known that Zelas Metallium never breaks a promise, she thought, triumphantly.
===============================================================
In another place, a young woman wept silently at the fiery remains of what was once her home.
Wiping her eyes and turning from the sight, she pondered the prophecy she'd dreamed a few days previous, and the unpredicted monster movement against the town.
So, it's already begun, she thought. The end of everything as we know it. The realization of our creator's true intentions and the materialization of her wishes. They attack because they've finally noticed their power fading and in desperation and fear, they attempt to destroy what is weakening them so.
She took a deep breath and began the trek from her past, to her future, whatever that may be.
It was time that her little sister received an explaination.
Author's Notes:
1. Sorry this took so long to be posted. A lot of stuff has been going on up here in Alberta--namely, the education dispute. Actually, I had this written up for quite a while, but I've been working really hard on my entry for this year's story contest (the things I do for $30 -_-() ). I finally got it ready for it's final revision, so I decided to take a break from all the heavy symbolism and finally type this up. n_n I hope you all enjoyed it. (For reference, if you'd like to read my contest entry, it will probably be up on Monday, and it's title is "Amara and Calla: Eternal Scream")
2. I'd just like to remind everyone that Xellos is going to be paired up with Filia, not Lina or Zel--they're just big buckets of angst right now! :p (I'm only trying to enforce this because my sister started commenting that the way I wrote the emotions pointed towards these alternate pairings. Eh...whateva--if it weirds you out a lot, just remember that I'm also a fan of non-romantic love!)
3. I'd like to apologize again for Amelia--I REALLY need some inspiration for her character! Do you guys know of any really great Amelia-centric fics that may be able to help me? (puppy-dog eyes) I promise that she'll wake up and STAY awake for the entire 3rd chapter! n_n
4. Gee, I wonder who that mystery character is...eh heh hehhhh... (geez, I knew I should've made it harder to figure out! Oh, well...n.n)
by
Nin Tendo
Chapter 2 ~ Once Upon a (Tea) Time
~Disclaimer~ Once upon a time, Nin Tendo owned Slayers. And the world exploded because the dimension in which it resided was extremely unstable. And the little bits of matter lived happily ever after. Until the dimension itself collapsed, of course. n_n
NOTE: Come on, everyone! You can't let Dee Jay win the credit by default! I mean, all she could come up with was Fic Of Absolute Monstrosity!!! What do YOU think F.O.A.M. should stand for? Maybe I'll even change the title if I enjoy your ideas too much! lol
MORE IMPORTANT NOTE: I accidently typed 'hold dagger' instead of 'holy dagger' in the first chapter. Thank you for noticing something strange, Digi_riven!
A NOTE ON AMELIA: I thought I had her all figured out, but once I had to write something about her, I came up with a huge blank! I mean, I love her and everything, but now I can see why some people resort to a stereotype! It's so much easier that way! However, I'll try to stick it out until next chapter--maybe I'll understand her better by then (does anyone know any really great Amelia fanpages?). For now, though, forgive me for making her stay unconscious! (Well, she is awake for a little while in this chap...)
===============================================================
Filia Ul Copt stared up at the ceiling from her bed, finding herself unable to gather the will to close her eyes and sleep. Terror ate at her nerves, and fear-sweat mixed with salty tears as they streaked across the surface of her face.
It had started just a few days ago, she reflected.
Bit by bit, she was losing her power.
She'd first noticed it when she began to find it increasingly difficult to change forms. At nights she would always fly before bed--the serene feeling put her at ease and the wispy sound of wind against her body was almost a lullaby.
Today she hadn't been able to transform at all. She was trapped in her human form.
And it wasn't only transforming that worried her. No, it was also her diminishing magic. That afternoon, a crazed monster had attacked the village. It was even a low-level monster, and yet, she'd had the greatest difficulty in destroying it. Her spells weren't as...powerful as before...
What was happening? What was she going to do?
Her magic was weakening. Magic sustained her life. If her magic continued to decrease, she was going to....
She was going to die, wasn't she?
With a muffled cry, Filia turned onto her side, drew her knees to her chest, and closed her eyes in a vain attempt to sleep.
===============================================================
It wasn't the fresh, bird-chirping dawn of fairy-tales that greeted the travel-worn adventurers this morn. No, today even the sun appeared to droop low in the sky in mourning.
Initially, they'd taken the much faster route of flight, but now they had no other choice but to travel by land. Transporting four people (not to mention herself) by Raywing was a serious drain on Lina's magic, and she felt that she should conserve at least a fraction of her strength just in case they were attacked along the way.
Zelgadis and Amelia had woken, but they were pretty exhaughsted, not to mention a tad confused by recent events.
Now that he had plenty of time to ponder, Zelgadis had to concentrate hard to force his hazy brain to rationalize Xellos' actions. Had he simply been lying about the Lord of Nightmares? He certainly wasn't above that--but then why had he saved their lives, endangering his own. It was completely out of character...wasn't it? Well, whatever the truth was, he was most definitely up to something yet again, and, yet again, it involved them.
But the million gold piece question was: Will Xellos survive long enough for the truth to be revealed?
Right beside the chimera walked Amelia. While she was just as exhaughsted as Zelgadis, it was much more evident. Unlike Zelgadiss, though, her initial confusion had been resolved completely.
Mr. Xellos had finally turned from his evil monsterous nature in order to fight beside justice in the war between good and evil! Although, it was so bitterly ironic that he should fall in battle so soon after his redemption, as justice must always prevail, there is no doubt that we will be able to save him in time!
Well, that is what Amelia would have said, but the weariness had overcome her and all she could manage was an overly contagious yawn.
Holding his hand in front of his mouth to hide his own yawn, Gourry, who walked a half-pace behind Amelia and Zelgadis, kept his eyes focused on the solitary girl leading them.
Or, perhaps not so solitary, considering the injured man she carried.
With a startled cry, Amelia's foot sunk into an unnoticed pothole, sending her crashing into Zelgadis. They would have both fell if it hadn't been for Gourry's quick reflexes.
Biting his lip, Gourry turned back to the girl ahead of them, continuing on despite the trouble behind her.
"Hey, Lina, don't you think we should have a quick rest? I mean, we've already travelled straight through the night."
She stopped, but didn't turn. Her monotone voice sent chills down Gourry's spine.
"No, Gourry. He's fading fast. We have to keep going. Otherwise, we'll never make it in time. We're almost there, anyway."
With a slight hum of concern, Gourry nodded to her back and helped his two tired companions to their feet.
They continued on, and Gourry's eyes once again settled upon Lina in worry. Breaking the silence once more, he said, "Maybe I should carry him, Lina-- he looks heavy and you said that you needed to save your strength."
Lina's arms tightened around the fallen priest, and she replied, "No, he's...light. Lighter than yesterday."
Gourry wrung his hands, then hugged himself, a feeling of helplessness overcoming him. A friend was in trouble and he could do nothing--Lina just wouldn't let him do anything to help. She...she wasn't telling him what to do anymore...
Amelia turned to see the suffering look on Gourry's face, realizing in a moment of clarity that he felt insecure without any orders to fulfill in this type of situation.
"Mr. Gourry," she murmured sleepily, rubbing her eyes, "my feet are so tired and I can barely keep my eyes open. Would you mind if I asked you to carry me?"
Within moments, Amelia was off the ground and resting in Gourry's arms. He smiled down at her with an almost sibling affection and she replied in kind before closing her eyes to get some much needed rest.
Zelgadiss was initially surprised by this, but soon after a paranoid frown of jealousy broke free when he witnessed the mutual smiles.
"Uh..." said Gourry, when he saw the jealous expression on his friend's face. "I'm sorry, Zel, but I don't think I'll be able to carry BOTH of you!"
Zelgadis barely managed to keep himself from falling flat on his face. He really should have known--Gourry was a much too simple man to even consider having a romantic relationship with someone other than Lina (even though he didn't know it himself).
Or, perhaps he was just smart enough to realize what Lina would do to him if he ever even thought about 'dumping' her for another (even though she would most likely think up some excuse to mask her half-realized feelings for him).
Zelgadiss sighed and rubbed his forehead. He could ponder the degree of Gourry's intelligence some other time.
Looking ahead at the red-headed sorceress, Zelgadis wondered why Lina was reacting this way over Xellos' condition. Sure, the monster had saved their lives yesterday (or was it the day before? He couldn't remember...), but how could she forget all the lies, deception, and betrayl? He had manipulated them every step of the way.
And Lina knew that, and yet, now she accepted him.
When had friendship blossomed?
And, as Zelgadis' eyes lowered, focusing on the face of a dying man hanging limply in the arms of Lina Inverse, thoughts of forgiveness, apologies, and a more important question flooded his slowly healing heart.
When had Xellos become HIS friend?
And Xellos lay limp in Lina's arms, so pale he was nearly transparent and even his hair seemed to have withered into a dull gray, as the holy dagger continued to consume all that he was.
===============================================================
A slightly disturbed Jillas climbed up the stairs and knocked on Filia's bedroom door. In all the time that they'd lived together, she had never before slept so late.
"Sis?" he called out when she didn't reply. "Oi! SIS!" he cried, starting to worry.
After failing to respond once more, Jillas began to reach for the doornob, but the door chose that moment to swing open, revealing a dishelved and weary Filia. She looked as if she hadn't gotten a wink of sleep all night.
"Ah," Jillas said, awkwardly, "boss Gravos has breakfast o' th' table an' you're always in th' kitchen b' now. I come'd up ta see if'n somethin' wrong."
Filia nodded with a huge yawn and stepped past him, wearily pulling herself down the flight of stairs.
Jillas could only follow as he stared at her slouched back, wondering what in heaven's name was wrong with her.
Perhaps she's caught a bug, the fox-man pondered. O' maybe she's been workin' much too hard. I should tell th' boss 'bout this.
And tell the boss he did, right after watching his surrogate sister pick at her food after only eating a portion of the meal.
But Gravos had already noticed the problem--long before Jillas had, in fact. He'd tried to ignore it, but when Jillas had approached him after breakfast, he had no other choice but to tell Filia to get some rest. After all, if a blockhead like Jillas noticed that their was someything wrong, then the problem was very critical indeed.
"But what about the shop?" Filia protested. "And the egg? And the shopping?"
Gravos gently picked up the small egg from the basket on the counter and gently placed it in Filia's arms.
"Well," he replied, "since Lord Valgaav hasn't quite hatched yet, I'm sure that you'll be able to watch over him with no problems--you just have to keep him warm."
"Th' boss an' I c'n do th' shoppin'!" Jillas jumped in.
"But what about the shop?" Filia said again.
"'Tis Sunday, Sis!" Jillas exclaimed, staring at her strangely.
"Oh," said a bewildered Filia as the two beastmen hauled her up the stairs and tucked her in.
Gravos left the room and returned a moment later with a tray full of the breakfast leftovers. "Now, Miss Filia, you will get some sleep. When you wake up, I want you to eat something, alright?"
"I'll try," Filia replied, "but...I'm just not...hungry at all..."
She produced a large yawk and was asleep before Jillas and Gravos even left the room.
She'll be fine in a few hours, Gravos decided.
===============================================================
At the first sight of the town before them, Lina had tossed aside her decision to conserve energy and began to sprint toward her goal.
"Lina!" Gourry and Zelgadis exclaimed, then sighed, speeding up their pace. Not by much, though, considering that Zelgadis still wasn't as alert as he'd like to be and Gourry didn't want to jar awake the dozing Amelia.
However, despite Lina's head start, they both managed to find her kicking the door to a shop furiously, still holding onto Xellos' body, and getting strange looks from passer-by.
"'Vases and Maces'?" Gourry asked, reading the sign. "Where have I heard that before?"
"It's Filia's shop, Gourry," Zelgadis clarified. "I wasn't sure where we were headed, but I did have my suspicions. The question we should ask, however, is: Will Filia WANT to save Xellos?"
Hearing the conversation behind her, Lina growled, "She was the closest user of holy magic that I knew of, alright?!"
"Oh, come on!" Gourry chuckled. "Filia wouldn't let Xellos die like this! She IS a human being, after all!"
Zelgadis sweatdropped. "No she isn't, Gourry."
"Oh, yeeeaaah..." Gourry replied, remembering. Then he shrugged. "But she still helped him out when he was in trouble, didn't she? I think that, deep down there somewhere, she must care about him at least a little bit!"
Zelgadis frowned when the comment hit just a little too close to home. He didn't want to care, but, nevertheless, felt something clench beyond his stone exterior when he looked upon the monster in such horrible condition.
Meanwhile, Lina was getting pretty mad at having to knock the door with her foot, so she started screaming at the top of her lungs. "DAMN IT, FILIA! WAKE UP YOU STUPID DRAGON! GET DOWN HERE BEFORE I DRAGON SLAVE THE ENTIRE FREAKING TOWN!"
"I'm coming," replied a weary yet completely annoyed voice from inside the store. Lina bit her tongue to keep from shouting even more as it took much too long (in her opinion, anyway) for Filia to unlock and open the door.
Lina immediately pushed her way inside, wincing when she accidently slammed Xellos' face into the doorframe in her haste. Gourry followed, being much more careful with his cargo, and Zelgadis took up the rear, wanting nothing more than a little rest.
"What are all of you doing here?" Filia questioned, apprehensive, holding the egg a little closer to her chest. "What is going on? What's happened to you all?"
She recognized Lina's voice and she knew that Gourry would probably be with her, but she was surprised to see Amelia and Zelgadis, too. And who was that person Lina was holding?
After leaning in for a closer look, Filia screeched, "XELLOS?! OH, CEIPIED, I CAN'T SENSE HIM ANYMORE! NOW HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO KEEP HIM FROM KILLING ME AND TAKING VAL AWAY?!" Wailing, she cried, "THAT DIRTY SCUMBAG!"
Shifting Xellos in her arms, Lina smartly slapped the overreacting, paranoia driven, sleep-deprived dragon across the face, causing her to drop Val's egg. Gourry managed to catch the egg, but not before dropping Amelia into Zelgadis' unready arms.
"Thanks a lot, Gourry," Zelgadis grumbled from the floor, beneath Amelia, who somehow managed to stay unconcious throughout the entire situation thus far.
"Filia," Lina growled, keeping her voice low and threatening, "Xellos got stabbed by a holy dagger and now his life force is slowly and painfully being torn from his body. He allowed this to happen in order to save us. If you don't help him because of your own personal feelings, then Xellos was right about you all along. You really are selfish."
Startled, Filia could only stare at the young woman before her carrying a monster in the fading guise of a man.
Finally, she whispered, "I...I don't know if I can do this..."
Lina took a deep, shaky breath and turned to leave.
"Wait!" Filia exclaimed. "Wait, Lina! That wasn't what I meant!"
Pausing, Lina asked, "Well, what did you mean, then?"
Filia swallowed against her dry throat. "I'm...not sure if I'll have the...strength to save him..."
Lina walked back up to her, carefully placing the priest in Filia's hesitantly extended arms. "All I ask," she whispered, "is that you try."
Filia simply nodded in reply, then turned to the others. "Gourry, can you please give Val to Lina for a moment and pick up Amelia again? Zelgadis, will you be able to make it up the stairs?"
Gourry, who had been carefully searching the egg for any cracks, looked up when his name was mentioned and readily complied.
Slowly getting to his feet, Zelgadis groaned and said, "I guess so."
Leading them up the stairway, Filia said, "I can't have any distractions, so you four will have to wait in the other rooms. You all look like you need some rest, anyway. But there are only two other beds, so two of you will have to take the floor."
"We'll let the girls have the beds," Gourry announced. Zelgadis nodded in agreement.
Stopping at the first door, Filia informed them all that it was Jillas' room. "The next door leads to the bathroom, and the one after is Gravos' room. My room is at the end of the hall if you need me, though please don't interrupt me for a few hours at least. I don't know how long this is going to take."
Gourry walked into Jillas' room and gently lay Amelia on the bed. Turning back to the door, he asked, "Hey, Zel, did you want to stay here instead of me?"
Stepping inside, Zelgadis replied, "Sure, Gourry." Then he smirked a little, looking at Lina. "Have fun, you two."
A quick-as-lightening Gourry prevented Lina from beating her own fists into a pulp while attempting to damage the chimera.
Exhaughsted chuckles could be heard as the door swung shut.
Lina removed Gourry's hands from her shoulders and gave up on vengence, staring at the wall as Filia led them to Gravos' room. She would have rathered keeping Xellos within her sight, but she understood and respected Filia's need for concentration so she tried to surpress her concern.
It wasn't like she would be leaving him in immediate danger.
In truth, Lina really had no idea why she was being so...protective of Xellos. Sure, she might consider him a friend (sometimes), but didn't his vices outnumber his virtues a hundred-fold? Why was she trying to save his life when all he ever did was endanger her's?
Thinking about it rationally, the smarter thing to do would have been to simply leave him to die.
But...that look in his eyes before consciousness was lost...she'd seen something in them... something that promised more than 'the trickster priest'. Something that...that...
...Something that told her that he genuinelly cared for her...
...And an untold ocean of apology...
Now, she wanted nothing more than to look him straight in the eye and say, "I forgive you, Xellos."
Lina followed Gourry into Gravos' room, frowning at the bed. It wasn't like she would be able to catch any sleep, anyway.
"Gourry, you might as well take the bed."
"Uh?" Gourry replied from the corner, where he was removing his armor. "What are you talking about, Lina? You're the one always going on about your beauty sleep."
Lina turned her head to give Gourry more privacy. "I'm just not tired at all."
Gourry chuckled. "Oh, come on, Lina! You have those big black baggy things under your eyes, I saw you stumble a few times on the road, and I'm not even going to TRY to count how many times you're yawned!"
"You have bags under your eyes, too, Gourry!" Lina retorted, finding her pride actually teaming up with her nearly non-existant generousity.
She heard Gourry yawn. "I sleep better on the floor, anyway. Just take the bed, Lina. I'm trying to sleep."
"WHAT DID YOU SAY?!" Lina screamed, whirling around, forgetting for a moment that Gourry might still be changing.
But Gourry had long finished undressing and, in fact, was already asleep on the floor in his pajamas, the blankets only half covering him.
Lina heaved a great sigh, moving to pull the disshelved blankets over her protector for more efficiency, but then remembered that her hands were already full and sat on the bed.
Looking at the dragon egg, Lina whispered, "So, Valgaav, when you hatch will you try to kill me again? LoN knows that everyone else wants my head. Will you, too?"
The unannounced opening of the door startled Lina.
"Oh, I'm sorry," Filia whispered, noting that Gourry was asleep. "I just thought I should take Val off your hands so you can get some rest."
She stepped forward and reached for the egg, but Lina held it back for a moment.
"How is he?" she asked, intensely, wondering if she should Dragon Slave her for leaving him all by himself.
"Well," replied Filia, "the easy part is done--I managed to temporarily seal the dagger's power, so it won't be able to spread any further for a while. The hard part--well, is removing the dagger itself."
Finding the answer acceptable--for the moment, at least--, Lina handed the egg back to its adoptive mother. "You better get started, then."
Filia hesitated. "But..."
"'But'?" Lina repeated.
Filia swallowed and looked at the floor. "I don't know if I'll be strong enough to do this."
"Didn't we go over this already?" Lina asked. "I told you that all you have to do is TRY."
"I'll...I'll try Miss Lina," Filia replied, lifting her head. "Meanwhile, you should try to get some sleep."
"But-"
"Sleep."
"But..." Lina said again, but the spell soon overcame her and she slipped into unconsciousness, falling backwards onto the bed.
Filia gently rested Val's egg on the desk and proceeded to tuck the two humans in.
"Sweet dreams," she whispered, retrieving Val and exiting the room.
===============================================================
The sight that greeted Filia in her room was an unexpected one.
On her bed, Xellos was already showing signs of recovery. He seemed slightly less transparent, color beginning to return to his form, his limbs moved every so often, and he seemed to be...sweating--purging the contaminated essense from his body. She hadn't known that monsters could do that.
The dagger's power must have done something to hinder the immune response, Filia rationalized, placing Val in his basket with care.
Moving closer to the monster, Filia noticed that his lips were moving, forming words, but not uttering a sound. She attempted to read his lips, but found it impossible, as he seemed to be using a different dialect then the ones she was familiar with.
Wiping away some of the dark liquid with an already soiled sheet, Filia wondered why she had decided to help him, the monster who had singlehandedly destroyed much of her race. The one who taunted her relentlessly. The one who, she suspected, had something to do with her present state.
You always called me selfish, Xellos, Filia thought, silently. If you were correct before, surely I've changed now, or I wouldn't be trying to save your life right now.
Her hands moved forth to grasp the hilt of the holy blade, surprised when Xellos responded with a muffled shout. Shaking away her uncertainty, Filia closed her eyes and concentrated deeply. Slowly, she felt her awareness become one with the dagger, and she was able to sense how far the magic had spread. Without a second thought, she removed the seal and set to work.
Frowning at the damage, but brightened by Xellos' strengthened defense pushing back the invading magic, Filia put all her concentration into severing the fused strands of energy, willing the holiness back into the blade, and preventing the dagger from unleashing more of its power. It was a slow, tiring process, and small mistakes sprouted everywhere--she would cut the ties in the wrong place, leaving some holy energy behind, and some strands were overlooked altogether.
Starting to feel exhaustion take its toll, Filia began to panic and her work became that much more sloppier. If she didn't finish this, she wouldn't be able to remove the dagger without wounding him further. If she fainted before completing the process, the dagger would be able to regenerate its severed tendrils of energy in no time at all. And, if she stopped now to try again later, her strength might even be less than it was now.
Feeling her mind begin to slow with weariness, Filia finally submitted to fear, and she tore the dagger from his chest in a single panicked pull, tossing it to the floor.
Vaguely, she heard Xellos cry out in pain before her awareness retreated into darkness, leaving her body to collapse onto the bed, her head resting on the monster's midsection, arms draped over his body.
The unconscious dragon girl whimpered at the beginnings of a nightmare.
The ill monster priest felt distress nearby and desperately shifted closer to the source in order to digest it better, only to succeed in offering comfort instead.
In Filia Ul Copt's room that morning, a dragon and monster held hands for the first time in over one thousand years.
===============================================================
A short distance away from the town, air rippled and a woman fell through the opening, landing on the ground hard.
She folded into the fetal position, gasping in exertion. Soon, the agony lessened and she managed to sit up.
Her eyes were immediately drawn to the jewelery decorating her arms and legs.
I thought these would disappear completely, she pondered. I guess he must have crafted these ones to seal my power, since I seem to have broken the ones keeping me on Wolf Pack Island.
Shrugging, she stood, and, picking up the weakened presence of her priest, began her journey toward him.
Let it be known that Zelas Metallium never breaks a promise, she thought, triumphantly.
===============================================================
In another place, a young woman wept silently at the fiery remains of what was once her home.
Wiping her eyes and turning from the sight, she pondered the prophecy she'd dreamed a few days previous, and the unpredicted monster movement against the town.
So, it's already begun, she thought. The end of everything as we know it. The realization of our creator's true intentions and the materialization of her wishes. They attack because they've finally noticed their power fading and in desperation and fear, they attempt to destroy what is weakening them so.
She took a deep breath and began the trek from her past, to her future, whatever that may be.
It was time that her little sister received an explaination.
Author's Notes:
1. Sorry this took so long to be posted. A lot of stuff has been going on up here in Alberta--namely, the education dispute. Actually, I had this written up for quite a while, but I've been working really hard on my entry for this year's story contest (the things I do for $30 -_-() ). I finally got it ready for it's final revision, so I decided to take a break from all the heavy symbolism and finally type this up. n_n I hope you all enjoyed it. (For reference, if you'd like to read my contest entry, it will probably be up on Monday, and it's title is "Amara and Calla: Eternal Scream")
2. I'd just like to remind everyone that Xellos is going to be paired up with Filia, not Lina or Zel--they're just big buckets of angst right now! :p (I'm only trying to enforce this because my sister started commenting that the way I wrote the emotions pointed towards these alternate pairings. Eh...whateva--if it weirds you out a lot, just remember that I'm also a fan of non-romantic love!)
3. I'd like to apologize again for Amelia--I REALLY need some inspiration for her character! Do you guys know of any really great Amelia-centric fics that may be able to help me? (puppy-dog eyes) I promise that she'll wake up and STAY awake for the entire 3rd chapter! n_n
4. Gee, I wonder who that mystery character is...eh heh hehhhh... (geez, I knew I should've made it harder to figure out! Oh, well...n.n)
