Author's Note: Congrats to all who guessed correctly! I knew that line would give it away but I wanted to hint there so...oh well. But I don't want you thinking that this is all, there's still more twists to it. hehe! Anyways, I don't own Slayers, and don't recieve any money from this. Enjoy all! Btw, Xellos may not be acting exactly like Xellos in your opinions, but I'm one of those fic writers that things that fan fiction is about what we want to happen, not what happened in the series. So, I took the liberty to make him soften up and more open about things. So sue me. Like I have any money lol! :) ...man this chapter is alot longer than I thought ^_^ Sorry it took so long, had to kick my parents off the computer...eh...harder than it sounds lol!
"The men who hurt you were," Xellos paused dramatically (as did the evil little fic writer Mwahaha!), "Zelgadis and Gourry." Lina knew that if she wasn't already sitting in Xellos's chair then she would have dropped like a rock.
"No, you're lying!" Lina shook her head in disbelief. "They wouldn't do such a thing. They would have no reason to do that to me." Her temper began to flare as she thought, "How dare he accuse my friends of this!"
Xellos slowly rose and walked over to Lina. He realized he'd have to be plain and straightforward to escape from being burnt to a crisp again. "I don't know why they did it, and I wouldn't have believed it myself either. All I know is that they did do it. I know because I saw them Lina. I saw Zelgadis throw you against the tree and I saw how Gourry touched you! It took all of my will power to not kill them on the spot. I had to get you out of there, where they couldn't hurt you anymore." Xellos was pacing as he said this. Lina took a deep breath and forced herself to remain calm and think about what mattered, Xellos could be just trying to distract her. Lina stared at the floor, because watching Xellos pace was too distracting.
Lina's brow puckered as she remembered something that didn't fit. "How did they know I was going to the hot springs in the first place?" Lina asked. Xellos stopped pacing and thought for a moment. He'd been reliving that nightmarish scene in his mind and had to clamp down on his emotions to be able to think.
"My guess is that they followed you," Xellos said after a small pause. Lina agreed to herself that it was probable. She knew Gourry couldn't have done it without Zel to cast Levitation though. She still remained very skeptical about Zel and Gourry doing those things. Slowly she began to remember other small things. "Why were you late?" Lina watched Xellos closely, trying to catch any emotions that would betray him if he lied. He sighed and his shoulders slumped.
"To tell the truth, I was getting up my nerve to see you. I had planned everything out that I wanted to say, I had even told you where to meet me, and then I found I was totally unprepared for whatever you might say to me. So I was here actually," Xellos had rushed through it all nervously until the last sentence. Lina was trying to figure out exactly what Xellos had been going to say to her when she forced herself to put it in the back of her mind. Lina thought to herself, "Focus Lina! This is a dangerous game everyone's playing. Everything depends on how you act from here on out. Don't let feelings in the way right now."
She began to go back over people's actions since she'd first woke up after the attack. Gourry was always pestering her about how much she'd remembered, which went along with Xellos's story. "But he also could have just been concerned," Lina argued in her mind. Gourry was with her almost all the time, which also went along with what Xellos had said. "But Gourry's always been protective of me," Lina grinned a little at this thought. Then she remembered that Gourry and Zelgadis had both become extremely uncomfortable at the mention of Xellos's name. "Everytime Zelgadis came around, my head did start to hurt, trying to make me remember..." Lina grin faded as she slowly started to consider the fact they they could have done it.
"There's one thing that doesn't fit though, Xellos," Lina said. Xellos looked over at her with an eyebrow raised. "If Gourry and Zelgadis wanted to kill me, they had plenty of opportunities to do it earlier!" Xellos reached up and scratched his head.
"I must admit, that's one thing I don't understand either. They must have had a very important reason though. I think that's something that they'll have to tell us." Lina stood up when she heard this.
"I'm not going to accuse my friends of anything until I know for sure. Besides, I'm still not sure I trust you." Xellos stepped back from where Lina was standing as if she had struck him. Then he sighed and went back to the hammock.
"I had hoped... I understand why you don't," Xellos said. He paused before asking, "Is there anything else you wish to discuss?" Lina started to shake her head, but remembered something else.
"After you left me, how did you get me back? And then back to people again after you'd turned me into a Mazoku?" Xellos smiled at her persistance. She knew he didn't want to talk about the other reasons why he'd brought her back as a Mazoku, so she'd demanded to know everything else about it. "I don't blame her," Xellos thought, "she's got a right to know. Besides, she's caught me in an open mood and is using it to the fullest it seems."
"The villager took you to town, even though you were dead. They put you in that room where you stayed during your recovery. They were going to keep you there until they found your relatives or friends to take care of your burial. I teleported there, brought you back as a Mazoku, and teleported out. They heard your scream and came running, but I was gone before they reached your room. I knew they'd take care of you. Besides, I kept an eye out for you at all times." Xellos laid back in the hammock and relaxed.
"Why did you make me a Mazoku?" Lina whispered her question. Xellos looked up and saw the raw pain in her eyes that was quickly masked with her anger.
"Lina," Xellos hesitated, "I promise to tell you, but only after everything is over. Okay?" Lina realized that knowing eventually was better than not at all.
"Alright. But the minute this is cleared up, you have alot more explaining to do!" Xellos chuckled and agreed with her.
"Well, Lina, come on over and get some sleep." Xellos patted the edge of the swaying hammock. Lina immediately bristled. "You didn't think I'd let you leave here before you're ready to confront Zelgadis and Gourry, did you? And I'm not about to leave you alone in my place."
Lina stood up stiffly and moved the chair back to the desk. She didn't look at Xellos, but he knew she was mentally staring daggers his way. Then she took off her cloak, bundled it up and put it neatly on the floor. She went to the chair and took Xellos's cloak off the back. He'd taken it off earlier and draped in on the chair when she was sleeping before. She removed her boots and put them under the desk and walked back to where she'd put her bundled cloak on the floor. She laid down, using her cloak as a pillow and Xellos's cloak as a blanket. She'd kept her gloves on because she always felt naked without them.
"This is ridiculous, Lina! You'll never go to sleep on the floor!" He got out of the hammock and picked her up. She kicked and punched and protested that she'd slept on the floor countless times. He deposited her into the hammock. Seeing that she was about to fall flat on her face again because of her struggling, Xellos said to her, "I'm not going to sleep with you Lina. You'll have the hammock to yourself. And I won't tolerate you sleeping on the floor when there's a perfectly good hammock right there." He went and picked up the cloaks off the floor. He laughed when he turned back around. She had indeed fallen flat on her face again. He quickly smothered his laugh when she glared at him. "This time she might acutally aim for my books!" Xellos thought and tried to control his smile. Lina picked herself up with all the dignity she could muster and hopped back into the hammock.
She peeked out at Xellos through the holes and he felt his heart speed up. "She looks so sexy like that," Xellos thought. Her hair was all mussed from her tumble and her cheeks were pink from embarrassment. The glow from the lightspell brought out highlights in her feiry red hair. "She always looks so vulnerable without her cloak on," Xellos thought with a small smile, wondering if he too looked vulnerable without his on. Xellos walked over to the hammock and stood looking down at her. Lina was a little frightened by the strong emotion in Xellos's eyes, but she boldly held his gaze. He brought up both the cloaks and laid them over her. Then he reluctantly turned away, walked over and sat in the chair at his desk and didn't look at Lina again.
Lina was trying to analyze what exactly had just happened between them. All she knew was that her heart was beating awfully fast and with every breath, Xellos's scent intoxicated her from his cloak. Lina reminded herself that he had just accused her friends of those horrible things. Somehow, she was actually beginning to believe him. She debated it in her head all night until she finally drifted off to sleep.
"The men who hurt you were," Xellos paused dramatically (as did the evil little fic writer Mwahaha!), "Zelgadis and Gourry." Lina knew that if she wasn't already sitting in Xellos's chair then she would have dropped like a rock.
"No, you're lying!" Lina shook her head in disbelief. "They wouldn't do such a thing. They would have no reason to do that to me." Her temper began to flare as she thought, "How dare he accuse my friends of this!"
Xellos slowly rose and walked over to Lina. He realized he'd have to be plain and straightforward to escape from being burnt to a crisp again. "I don't know why they did it, and I wouldn't have believed it myself either. All I know is that they did do it. I know because I saw them Lina. I saw Zelgadis throw you against the tree and I saw how Gourry touched you! It took all of my will power to not kill them on the spot. I had to get you out of there, where they couldn't hurt you anymore." Xellos was pacing as he said this. Lina took a deep breath and forced herself to remain calm and think about what mattered, Xellos could be just trying to distract her. Lina stared at the floor, because watching Xellos pace was too distracting.
Lina's brow puckered as she remembered something that didn't fit. "How did they know I was going to the hot springs in the first place?" Lina asked. Xellos stopped pacing and thought for a moment. He'd been reliving that nightmarish scene in his mind and had to clamp down on his emotions to be able to think.
"My guess is that they followed you," Xellos said after a small pause. Lina agreed to herself that it was probable. She knew Gourry couldn't have done it without Zel to cast Levitation though. She still remained very skeptical about Zel and Gourry doing those things. Slowly she began to remember other small things. "Why were you late?" Lina watched Xellos closely, trying to catch any emotions that would betray him if he lied. He sighed and his shoulders slumped.
"To tell the truth, I was getting up my nerve to see you. I had planned everything out that I wanted to say, I had even told you where to meet me, and then I found I was totally unprepared for whatever you might say to me. So I was here actually," Xellos had rushed through it all nervously until the last sentence. Lina was trying to figure out exactly what Xellos had been going to say to her when she forced herself to put it in the back of her mind. Lina thought to herself, "Focus Lina! This is a dangerous game everyone's playing. Everything depends on how you act from here on out. Don't let feelings in the way right now."
She began to go back over people's actions since she'd first woke up after the attack. Gourry was always pestering her about how much she'd remembered, which went along with Xellos's story. "But he also could have just been concerned," Lina argued in her mind. Gourry was with her almost all the time, which also went along with what Xellos had said. "But Gourry's always been protective of me," Lina grinned a little at this thought. Then she remembered that Gourry and Zelgadis had both become extremely uncomfortable at the mention of Xellos's name. "Everytime Zelgadis came around, my head did start to hurt, trying to make me remember..." Lina grin faded as she slowly started to consider the fact they they could have done it.
"There's one thing that doesn't fit though, Xellos," Lina said. Xellos looked over at her with an eyebrow raised. "If Gourry and Zelgadis wanted to kill me, they had plenty of opportunities to do it earlier!" Xellos reached up and scratched his head.
"I must admit, that's one thing I don't understand either. They must have had a very important reason though. I think that's something that they'll have to tell us." Lina stood up when she heard this.
"I'm not going to accuse my friends of anything until I know for sure. Besides, I'm still not sure I trust you." Xellos stepped back from where Lina was standing as if she had struck him. Then he sighed and went back to the hammock.
"I had hoped... I understand why you don't," Xellos said. He paused before asking, "Is there anything else you wish to discuss?" Lina started to shake her head, but remembered something else.
"After you left me, how did you get me back? And then back to people again after you'd turned me into a Mazoku?" Xellos smiled at her persistance. She knew he didn't want to talk about the other reasons why he'd brought her back as a Mazoku, so she'd demanded to know everything else about it. "I don't blame her," Xellos thought, "she's got a right to know. Besides, she's caught me in an open mood and is using it to the fullest it seems."
"The villager took you to town, even though you were dead. They put you in that room where you stayed during your recovery. They were going to keep you there until they found your relatives or friends to take care of your burial. I teleported there, brought you back as a Mazoku, and teleported out. They heard your scream and came running, but I was gone before they reached your room. I knew they'd take care of you. Besides, I kept an eye out for you at all times." Xellos laid back in the hammock and relaxed.
"Why did you make me a Mazoku?" Lina whispered her question. Xellos looked up and saw the raw pain in her eyes that was quickly masked with her anger.
"Lina," Xellos hesitated, "I promise to tell you, but only after everything is over. Okay?" Lina realized that knowing eventually was better than not at all.
"Alright. But the minute this is cleared up, you have alot more explaining to do!" Xellos chuckled and agreed with her.
"Well, Lina, come on over and get some sleep." Xellos patted the edge of the swaying hammock. Lina immediately bristled. "You didn't think I'd let you leave here before you're ready to confront Zelgadis and Gourry, did you? And I'm not about to leave you alone in my place."
Lina stood up stiffly and moved the chair back to the desk. She didn't look at Xellos, but he knew she was mentally staring daggers his way. Then she took off her cloak, bundled it up and put it neatly on the floor. She went to the chair and took Xellos's cloak off the back. He'd taken it off earlier and draped in on the chair when she was sleeping before. She removed her boots and put them under the desk and walked back to where she'd put her bundled cloak on the floor. She laid down, using her cloak as a pillow and Xellos's cloak as a blanket. She'd kept her gloves on because she always felt naked without them.
"This is ridiculous, Lina! You'll never go to sleep on the floor!" He got out of the hammock and picked her up. She kicked and punched and protested that she'd slept on the floor countless times. He deposited her into the hammock. Seeing that she was about to fall flat on her face again because of her struggling, Xellos said to her, "I'm not going to sleep with you Lina. You'll have the hammock to yourself. And I won't tolerate you sleeping on the floor when there's a perfectly good hammock right there." He went and picked up the cloaks off the floor. He laughed when he turned back around. She had indeed fallen flat on her face again. He quickly smothered his laugh when she glared at him. "This time she might acutally aim for my books!" Xellos thought and tried to control his smile. Lina picked herself up with all the dignity she could muster and hopped back into the hammock.
She peeked out at Xellos through the holes and he felt his heart speed up. "She looks so sexy like that," Xellos thought. Her hair was all mussed from her tumble and her cheeks were pink from embarrassment. The glow from the lightspell brought out highlights in her feiry red hair. "She always looks so vulnerable without her cloak on," Xellos thought with a small smile, wondering if he too looked vulnerable without his on. Xellos walked over to the hammock and stood looking down at her. Lina was a little frightened by the strong emotion in Xellos's eyes, but she boldly held his gaze. He brought up both the cloaks and laid them over her. Then he reluctantly turned away, walked over and sat in the chair at his desk and didn't look at Lina again.
Lina was trying to analyze what exactly had just happened between them. All she knew was that her heart was beating awfully fast and with every breath, Xellos's scent intoxicated her from his cloak. Lina reminded herself that he had just accused her friends of those horrible things. Somehow, she was actually beginning to believe him. She debated it in her head all night until she finally drifted off to sleep.