Rain-
The sky rumbled underneath another thunderclap. Fiercely, the wind rocked back and forth the tops of the trees. Branches creaked and groaned against the heavy winds forcing them to subdue to their strenght. Inside a cave such scenere was not welcomed by a certain petite redhead. The rain had not let up for the past hour and a-half and a very cold, very wet, pissed off Lina Inverse cursed for the millionth time, language that would make a sailor proud.
"Is that fire done yet?! I swear, you take longer than Gourry here takes to compute a simple math problem."
"But Lina..."
"Shut up Gourry, I don't have the patience to deal with you right now!"
"But Lina..."
"I said, shut!"
"But..."
"I'm counting to three Gourry, so either shut up or get Fireballed!"
"But..."
"123! FIREBALL!" Lina extended her hand to let the fire magic leave her hand and into her victim, however, the promised fireball never came. She gave an embarrassed laugh, "sorry, I forgot." With that she took out a notebook and pen wrote down 'Gourry IIIII III', closed it and tucked it into the dimentional pocket inside her cape.
"Oh, you started the fire. Great, why didn't you tell me earlier?"
"That's what I was..." Zelgadis stopped Gourry from talking, fearing he would become the object that would be roasting over the fire instead of the fish they had caught before the rain started.
Dinner, strangely enough, was silent, everybody kept to themselves and only talked when it was necessary.
Being a man of logic and intellect, Zelgadis Greywords, surveyed the group's current status over his second cup of coffee. Forced by a sudden storm, the slayers group resorted to using a nearby cave as shelter. Lina was currently suffering from a 'deprived from magic usage' stage due to the fact that it had been a month since it's last appeared (Oh hell, she was on her period I'm not a female so I don't know how to put it down delicately). Her current 'handicap' was making her a little bit more violent than usual. Gourry being Gourry, enjoyed his meal with gusto, laughing at small jokes Sylphiel made and grinning his usual carefree smile without a care in the world. Amelia (who did not complain or became nearly as violent as Lina when it was that time of the month) was very much enjoying a conversation with Xellos about love, happiness and the pursuit of justice. Xellos on the other hand was going green from all the positive emotions radiating from Amelia.
'Maybe I should've warned him about her speeches' Zelgadis thougth for about a nano second, 'Nah! It's nice to see Xellos in that shade of green.'
Two things bothered him, why did the surrounding landscape seemed familiar? And, why couln't he use his magic!
He first noticed the absence of his magic when they stepped into the forest at the edge of town. It was no big deal, it had happened before, Rezo explained about magic automatically switching 'off' because the demon side would try to pull apart from the assimilated human and golem sides. Without enough magic to support it's living state, the demon side would become weak and surrender under the human psyche. Call it a fail switch device when demon inside him would become too reckless or powerful. However, his power would come back within ten to twenty minutes of the 'uprise'. It had been over an hour now. It's not as if 'He' was on a period, but something strange was going on. He had a few theories and was not happy if they were to be proven true.
"While we're waiting for the storm to subside, I know a game we could play!" Sylphiel cheerfully offered, bringing Zelgadis back from his trance. Lina and Amelia echoed Gourry's thoughts, "A game?" Amelia forgetting about her conversation with Xellos, made herself comfortable in front of the fire and across from Sylphiel. "Without magic of course! Haven't you played a game where magic was not involved?" Sylphiel giggled as solemn heads shook all round the group, minus a stoic chimera, clueless swordsman and trickster priest.
"It's simple really," Sylphiel continued, "one person starts a story, then someone has to take over adding a little bit to it."
Lina looked confused, "So how do you know who wins?"
Sylphiel smiled warmly to Lina, "no one wins, no one loses it's just for fun Ms. Lina"
Lina scratched her head, "I don't get it..."
Zelgadis wanted to dismissed the whole idea as childish and a waste of time, however... He realized he was going to regret this but it would be all for the best. Closing his eyes he calmly said, "Alright, let's try it." Five heads immediately turned where the stoic chimera sat. "Might as well do something to keep us busy while we wait out this storm," he simply replied to their stares.
"Well, let's try it..." Sylphiel suggested.
Lina shrugged and sat to the left of Sylphiel. "Sure, why not?"
The blonde swordsman who wisely knew to agree with Lina, or get hurt, sat across from the redhead. Xellos took to the air and was currently sitting upside-down floating next to Sylphiel. Zelgadis being true to his isolated characterism, crossed his arms and closed his eyes as he reclined against one of the cave walls to behind Lina.
"I'll start with one of my favorites. It'll be easy, don't look so worried," Sylphiel and Amelia were obviously anxious to start while Lina was still confused about the whole 'no winner' thing.
"Okay, once upon a time, there was a princess. She had long black hair and green eyes." Lina rolled her eyes but kept her mouth shut. "The princess was gentle and kind, but she had one definative problem. She was deathly afraid of-" Sylphiel nodded to Lina. "Your turn, Miss Lina. Just pick up where I left off."
The red-head tapped her fingers on the side of her head and thought throughly throughout her vast knowledge about childrens' fairy tales. "The princess was deathly afraid of..." Lina thought about vampires, the living dead, werewolfs, mummies and the occasional fairy, but none of those seem to suffice the petite sorceress. Well you know what they say, 'When in doubt, tell the truth' Lina thought, so she said, "Slugs!"
"Ewwww!!!" chorused the other two girls.
Lina was very proud of herself, she might like this game after all. "The princess was also very rich," Lina continued her part of the story, "she had everything she ever wanted like clothes and food. In fact, she was famous for the feasts she hosted! She would serve baked hams, roasted turkeys, venison in currant sauce, fresh lobster, crab legs, baked potatoes, mashed potatoes, marinated mushrooms, beef stews-"
"Lina-san!" Amelia whined.
Lina giggled, "Sorry, got a little carried away there. Where was I? Oh yeah she was rich, she lived in a castle bigger than anyone else in the country! And just next door was a-" Lina nodded to Amelia.
"Prince! A prince with a curse on him!" Lina smiled to herself as Zelgadis made a face at a grinning Xellos. 'But wait... was he sticking his tongue out at Xellos? Nah, must've been a trick of the light, haha that's rich, Zel being childish. Keep it together Lina, the storm is getting to you.'
"He had been cursed as a child by a witch jealous of his mother and father. So he went through life with his burden, though that didn't stop the princess in falling in love with the him, but he never acknowledged her." Lina fought a cackle from hearing Zelgadis gag in the background. Amelia however, was turning pink while telling her part of the story. "One day she ran into him in the forest and said -" Amelia turned to Sylphiel.
"Hello!" Lina interrupted, "The prince's curse was silence. He couldn't speak so she expected no answer. Every girl that met him thought he was mysterious because he didn't talk." Lina caught Zelgadis returning Xellos' earlier smirk while the priest definetly stuck his tongue out at the chimera. "So they always followed him-"
"Hey! That's not fair!" Amelia announced, leaping onto her feet.
Lina shot the little brunette an annoyed look, "Why not?"
"I made him up! I should get to pick his curse!"
"But you forgot to say what the curse was before you passed on the story." Xellos jumped in.
"You're not even playing! Your opinion shouldn't count."
"That's not very 'just' of you. Besides, it's just a game." Zelgadis added trying to erase the hurt look on Amelia's face.
"Well, so much for that idea..." Lina muttered sarcastically, surveying the room. Gourry was passed out in front of the dying fire, little plump sugary fairies danced on his head while he dreamed.
Xellos moved to sit next to Sylphiel who was getting depressed at her idea of fun being turned into a verbal spat between Amelia and Lina. Trying to give small comfort to Sylphiel, he raised his hand to touch her shoulder, she turned and he gave her an unusual happy smile, she smiled back.
Amelia volunteered herself to build the fire back up. Lina decided to give the chimera some company and sat to his right.
"I have an idea..." Xellos broke the tense silence that had been brewing for the past ten minutes or so.
Xellos had everyone's attention, with the exception of the snoring big blonde passed out on the ground. Amelia gave a big yawn, but blinked at the mazuko in excpectation. Xellos waited a few seconds longer, just to draw out the suspense. "What would you do if you had all the money in the world? Don't answer right away. Think about it for a few minutes first."
The crackling fire and the snores coming from Gourry, were the only sounds for the next five minutes. Amelia fell asleep curled up in her cape not even bothering with such a frivolous question, after all, she almost had all the money in the world.
Sylphiel, Lina and Zelgadis really focused on the question and gave it serious contemplation. Lina's eyes were glazed. Zelgadis knew his answer from the beginning, he didn't need to think about it. The shaman took advantage of Lina's preoccupation to study her. The hair on the back of his neck stood up when he realized she was returning his gaze instead of just staring towards him.
Sylphiel fell into sadness with her thoughts. Xellos feasted on her.
"What is it, Sylphiel-san?" Xellos asked the brunette shrine maiden in a fit of a nice gesture.
"I have my answer..." she said, fighting tears. "I'd rebuild Sairaag..."
"Ah, The Unfortunate City. It's been rebuilt several times. It can be done again."
"It has?" Sylphiel's unhappiness disappeared as curiosity took it's place.
"Probably five times in my lifetime."
"I don't understand..." Xellos grinned, he liked holding her attention. The other two awake people were forgotten as Xellos and Sylphiel launched into discussion on the tragic magical history of Sairaag.
"So, what's your answer, Zel?"
"You can't guess?"
"How utterly disappointing and predictable of you..."
"What's yours?"
"I'd give it to whoever needed it."
"You'd give it away?"
"If I had all the money in the world, who would I steal from?"
"Good point. So, if you had all the money and I needed it, you'd give it to me?" Lina didn't trust her voice at this point so she nodded. Things were a little too close, too confined, too serious for her.
"And if I had all the money in the world, you'd steal it from me?" Lina tried to smile but it came out weak. The conversation was making her very uncomfortable, flattering, but uncomfortable. Was he actually flirting with her? She tried to lighten the atmosphere and focus on something besides the man she admired staring at her, "So you'd use all the money in the world to find your cure?"
"I never said that."
"But-" Zel shook his head.
"So what would you do with it?" Zelgadis gave an infuriating grin and took another sip of his coffee.
"I'm going to put you on my 'fireball' list and when I'm healthy tomorrow I have some major catching up." Zelgadis laughed.
"C'mon, Zel! What would you do with all the money in the world?"
"Can you keep a secret?"
"Sure!"
"Good. So can I."
Lina blinked, "You know you're dead tomorrow..."
"Then, I have to make tonight worth it."
The sorceress chewed her lip. Zel was up to something... he looked... he looked relaxed. AND he was smiling... smiling at her!
Warmth flooded her cheeks. She couldn't relax let alone smile. What was with him? They had always been able to share a conversation easily; but Zel had never been flirtatious before... Lina mentally shrugged, it was better than being called flat-chested by a certain blond swordsman.
"The question is just a double-edged sword, it's just used to find out what type of person you are."
"Oh." Sylphiel responded quietly.
She felt a little embarassed at wanting to rebuild a city that had been the center of Gods and Monsters wars for centuries. Xellos sensed her uncomfort and tried to reassure her, "there's nothing wrong with your answer. The question is purely hypothetical." Sylphiel smiled, she knew Xellos was just trying to make her feel better.
"Here." Zelgadis handed lina a penny. "for your thoughts."
Lina shrugged, "I hardly know you Zel." The shaman raised a stony eyebrow as she continued to talk. "I mean, I know you have a past with Rezo, I've gotten to know who you are and you've become someone that I can trust my life with. But, I don't know before anything before Rezo, like do you have a family, do you look like your mom or dad, or even if you had a girlfriend when you were human?" The last question was barely audible, but he had heard it. "I know i'm being silly, but it's sometimes what I think about. Now, you can laugh if you want-"
Zelgadis began his story. "As a child, I was always ill. One day, I started to cough up of mucus and sputum, a fever then hit me, then I started to loose weight following that were the chest pains. Healers, Shamans and even Doctors could not find the source of my illness. Knowing I was going to die, my mother took me to see my Grandfather/Great-Grandfather. He explained about a rare disease in people, not very well known due to lack of 'patients'. As a last desperate attempt to recover my health, my mother left me under the care of Rezo hoping he would somehow cure me. I was around ten years of age. Time passed, mother was killed from an attack to my village from bandits. She was one of the lucky ones. The older women and the teenage males were used as slaves, while the young women were sold to brothels. All the adult males were killed. They were undesirable to the bandits or their employers. I learned about the attack a few years back when we were traveling together, before dealing with Darkstar and Valgaav."
"So then what happened to the bandits?" Lina interrupted.
"Ever hear of the Emerald Dragon Gang?"
"No, not that I recall."
He gave a small smile.
Lina gave an understanding 'Oh' before going silent again.
"Going back to Rezo. In time he was able to stabilize my health, though I was in constant supervision. Eris was my nurse/baby-sitter," he smiled at the memory of Eris before creating 'Koppi Rezo'. The way they talked and laughed and even shared some secrets together. Ever since his own mother left him with Rezo, she was the closest thing to an older sister he had .
"I idolized Rezo for what he did for me, thus I took interest in all the hobbies he had, Science and Magic. I read as much as i could in the early morning, then were the experiments and treatments that kept me from being sick again. They would take from minutes to hours. Then in the early evening, I would have lessons with Eris about Shamanistic and White magic. I took up swordmanship because I needed the exercise. Almost every day was the same repetitive routine, except when Rezo would travel abroad for something or other. That was when I would look into his books that held stronger magic and incantations. He did not know that I wanted to be stronger to prove myself to him. To prove that that child he rescued was not going to grow-up and live a very mundane life and then die. Thus my thirst for more power and goal to be someone as strong and intelligent as he was.
"When he realized what I wanted, he assumed that I was greedy and just wanted to feel powerful. By that time, Shabranigdo had more or less had taken over his mind. I didn't notice the change until after we separated and I joined you for our first adventure." He again smiled at the slight blush that crept her cheeks.
She remembered their first meeting, the deal that had started that adventure and their friendship. She knew he wasn't going to give in and agree to such a ridiculous amount. But by the time he left, she was very intrigued on who this person was. He was a mistery wrapped in an enigma, a person that was meant to be isolated from others, therefore it intrigued her even more to find out what made this person tick.
"Years passed by," Zelgadis resumed his story,"and during that time I focused on my magic and studies, Eris and I started to drift apart until we stopped talking altogether. The most we talked was when we had to talk, and even then sentences were limited to a few words.
"Rezo proposed to make me stronger when I was 15. I wanted to prove myself to him still and thought that I was going nowhere with my pathetic training sessions alone. A helping hand was welcomed at that point, and aid from 'The Red Priest' himself was a sight for sore eyes. Excuse the pun, I did not think it would transform me into the freakishly looking beast you see today."
"But you're not..." Lina tried to contradict him but he ignored her outburst.
"When Rezo 'recreated' my body, there were certain procedures, experiments and spells that created this outcome. It was not all done in one session, the entire process took about a year to complete. He thought long and hard as to what kind of 'body' he would give me in the end. A mixture of human, golem and mazuko was an idea he planed for a few years now. Experiment after experiment, trial after trial, Rezo was not one to be sloopy, he wanted his 'creation' to be perfect Well, I was perfect, to a degree, the only thing he failed was to keep me controlled for long periods of time. So he accepted me as one of his lackey's and the rest is history."
"Why?" automatically came out of Lina's lips.
"Why what?" He stated before sitting down next to Lina.
"Why tell me all of this now? Why not some other time when I asked?"
"An eye for an eye. Tonight, you let down your guard, it was only appropriate for me to do the same."
"Bullshit."
"No, it's not bullshit. It's a rock, see. But I was lying though, Rezo did not like having loose ends. When he failed to morph an ordinary steel cup into gold, Rezo destroyed all of his data, anything remotely connected to the experiment was disposed of, whether it'd be paper, an animal or another alchemist. Everything was completely destroyed. Even if some of his experiments succeded, he was always weary that someone would copy his work and take the credit for themselves. Thus most of his work would be either destroyed or hidden away from daylight. I managed to collect most of his hidden..." Zelgadis coughed for a few minutes before continuing, "Excuse me, like I was saying, I managed to collect most of his experiments."
"What!? And you kept this from me how?!"
"Since the destruction of Koppi Rezo, I knew there was no cure."
"So you used your cure as an excuse as to get leads on the remains of Rezo's work?"
Zelgadis smirked. "Why do you think, Xellos would destroy as much as the Claire Bible or any other type of document when I was close to my 'cure'? Some of Rezo's inventions could very easily kill an average mazuko."
"But why didn't..."
"Another night Lina" He said this as he leaned against the wall, and closed his eyes.
"But..." Lina was almost in hysterics.
"Everybody else has gone to bed." He said this as he pointed out to a Gourry who was still in lala land with the plump fairies. Amelia was close to the warmth of the fire inside her sleeping bag, while Sylphiel was resting her head on what appeared a very sleepy, very content Xellos. A smiled decorated her angelic face.
"Another night Lina, I promise." He said this turning to the redhead and in a swift move taking her lips in his. 'I told you I was going to make tonight worth it Lina.' he thougth as he broke apart their connection and returned to his previous position as closed his eyes for a night's rest.
It took thirty minutes for Lina to get back from the shock she received by Zel's actions. One second they were talking about his 'cure' and the next he was kissing her! Could it be possible that he had found out that she had feelings for him? Impossible, she was sure no one had found out about them. But with Xellos one could never tell. What if he was controlling Zel with some mazuko trick and was now making fun of her feelings by making Zel do all these crazy things. But Xellos seemed rather occupied with Sylphiel at the moment.
Lina did not know what to do now, true that she was delighted that Zelgadis was finally opening up. But he was just devoting too much information tonight, it was as if he was running out of time... but that was just silly wasn't it? Some side effect to her period that made her think all these crazy things. 'By tomorrow everything would be back to normal, Zel would be as adamant as always. The ominous feeling would be gone and I would be back to fireballing Gourry.' Now if she only would believe her own words.
She growled in frustration. What was really going on with Zel tonight? Laying out his entire past for her to know. Previous times he had not once divulged as much information about his past as he had done tonight. So maybe what she saw earlier on wasn't as far fetched as she originally thought, Zel had actually stuck out his tongue at Xellos! She giggled to the now vague memory.
Zelgadis interrupted Lina's train of thought as he coughed for the third time in the past twenty minutes.
'Damn it Zel, can't you let me enjoy this for a few more minutes. Always coughing at... wait a minute! When was the last time Zel coughed or showed any sign of sickness? Well he did say when he was a kid he was always sick, but I've never seen him sick as a chimera.' She thought as she walked back towards where he layed against the hard rock of the cave. Lina took off her glove from her right hand and held it up against his forehead. "Damn it Zel! You're burning up, why didn't you tell me you were sick!" She scolded in a low whisper in order not to wake up the rest of the group.
"Sorry mom, didn't want to miss school today." Zel joked
"Not funny Zel, now c'mon let me wake up Amelia or Sylphiel and see if they can do something about this." Zelgadis held his chest tight as he started to cough up a mixture of saliva and blood into the brown soil.
"It's useless, no matter how much they try, I'm not going to get better." He exclaimed before he started to regurgitate the two fish he had eaten earlier that night. "Crap, here comes the bread and jerky."
"Sheesh Zel, you're making a mess here. Let's go outside so you won't make a bigger mess, it's not as raining as hard now. Here give me your arm." Lina helped Zelgadis walk out of the cave. He supported himself to a tree and began his ritual once again.
"There's a stream nearby, about ten minutes west from here." Zelgadis' rough, grating voice alerted Lina of his actions.
"I take it you want to go there to clean up." Zel nodded and began to walk towards said area.
"How did you know there was a stream?"
"I was born here." Was Zel's curt reply as he tried not to trip with the roots and muddy ground. Lina moved in to help out Zel move with much better ease.
"I was born in a cabin not too far from here," the shaman continued. "If you follow the cave straight and take the left path at the fork, you're going to see an exit leading to a clearing, cross that and you'll find the village where my mother gave birth to me. The village is too small to be given a name, the most you'll find is a destroyed watch tower and burned and torn huts.
"It's funny because, the golem components were taken from that very same cave we were just a few minutes ago. As for the demon, when the bandits attacked the village, a mazuko senced all of the dispair, sadness and murder, it was an all out buffet for him I guess. Surprisingly enough it was overpowered by the mages in the bandits' gang and captured. It was sold to Rezo for a prize to continue some of his experiments. They did not think the demon would come back to kill them all, albeit as a chimera.
"The experiments took ten miles south of here, since I was isolated from the real world the news of the attack to my village did not reach me there. And then I 'died' and was 'reborn' as a chimera. Call it fate I guess, don't know how many times I'll go through that again though."
This left Lina to contemplate on his story.
The stream was by no means out of the ordinary, it was just a body of flowing water that was supported by a lake upstream. Zelgadis sighed as he took a big gulp of water to clear his throat from the vile taste of vomit. Enjoying the cold air of the night, he inhaled a long intake of air, gently closed his eyes and tilted his head upwards to the stars. Little by little he opened his eyes as he exhaled and watched with great joy as his breath became visible and began to float away.
Lina observed him from a distance, he looked different yet he was the same. The stoic mask he wore during their adventures was not placed on tonight. Tonight, the emotion that radiated from his face was content.
"It's rude to stare you know?" Zel brought her back from her thoughts.
"It's also rude to kiss and run Zel." She retaliated. "And it's also rude if you don't mean it."
"What makes you think I didn't mean it?" Lina blushed ten shades of red, but she wasn't going to let a blush stop her. Too much information, inuendos and hints were dropped and said tonight that the next question was bound to be asked.
"Do you... I mean what would you call your relationship with Amelia?"
The chimera looked dissappointed at her question but answered none the less. "What I feel for her, it's more of a brotherly affection than anything else. Honestly Lina, by all the hints I've given you tonight you'd realize that I'm in love with you."
"What did you-" For the second time tonight, Lina was taken by surprise. 'DamnDamnDamnDamn he's kissing me! he's kissing me! Stupid what are you doing talking to yourself, kiss back!' And so she did.
Lost in the passion of their kiss, all reason and logic were overpowered by their urges and hormones. Lina pushed Zel to his recline on the trunk of a tree, as she began to attack his neck, throat and lips with her mouth. He let a low moan escape from his lips as he held her close to him. The next attack came as sudden as the first, however, the results were not the same. As she kissed him, she could taste the copper taste of blood from his mouth.
Without warning Zel slump over Lina and began to throw up wads of blood. Weak in the knees, he collapsed and gave in to the immense migrane going inside his head. Muscles seemed to tear apart from each other as another mixture of the red liquid escaped his insides. Damn it, it hurt to even breathe!
Half opened bright sapphire eyes locked with dark ruby red ones.
"NO! Don't you dare Zelgadis Graywords! Don't you dare do this to me!"
"Can't help it." A coughing once again spasm overtook Zel's chest and throat.
"Bastard, you make me fall in love with you and now you're going to leave me! I'm not going to accept it. Not now, not ever!"
"Ah, the ludicrous rants of a woman in love." Xellos exclaimed as he emerged from the early twilight.
"What do you want Xellos." Lina aired Zelgadis' thoughts.
"Five golden rings, four calling birds, three french hens, two turtle doves, and a Partridge in a pear tree. But that's neither here nor there. I'm a little concerned over our," he kicked Zelgadis's leg to emphasize his point. "little chimera friend here." Another chest spasm overtook him, his own body liquids seeped into his lungs, choking and drowning the life out of him.
"Stop it! Xellos tell me, what's happening to him?"
"Yes, but you're a smart woman, you can guess what's going on with him."
"He's dieing isn't he?" He nodded.
"As you've noticed he hasn't used magic in the past day or so. That's because he has lost any magic ability he had. Withoug any magic, the spells that held his body together will break. The demon and golem part of his are almost dead, the human part is what's keeping Zelgadis alive at this moment, but in a few minutes he'll completely die. Like he said, Rezo was not one to leave loose ends lying around. His creations and experiments were either destroyed or hidden. Since our friend here is not buried in an underground laboratory, you are safe to conclude he will soon expire." Xellos crouched to get a closer look at the chimera's face. "I can save him you know, all you have to do is ask. Think of it as our thank you present for getting rid of Darkstar and Valgaav for us. Now what do you want me to do, save the chimera or help you bury him?"
The proposition was made, it was all left for the sorceress to answer. 'Zel, please tell me this is what you wanted. And remember that I love you so much.' She leaned closer to him to kiss his forehead. Tears accumulated on the corner of her eyes, she would not let Xellos see her that weak. Then Lina began to give her answer, her voice a little higher than Zel's ragged breathing...
***
This answer is based more on the heart than logic. If Xellos were to help him, Zelgadis would definetly be turned into one of them. He would become a mazuko, a parasite that would feed upon the dark emotions of the human psyche., the enemy of the golden dragons, a mortal enemy to Amelia and Felia. If she were to ask for his rebirth, he would literally become a monster. But in the other hand, she would be able to be with him. Now those lonely nights pondering if tomorrow would be the day he would look into her eyes and say 'I love you Lina, I've always loved you. Will you marry me?' would be a reality. Those deep and tender feelings would be returned and both would have that 'happily ever-after' ending that leave us with a warm and fuzzy feeling inside but at the price of him being a demon.
Would she damn him in a life with the mazuko, or would she let him that long awaited peace he fought for so long.
You, the reader, decide on the outcome.
***
Disclaimers: Slayers or any of it's characters do not belong to me, I'm just having a little fun with them, so don't sue. As for the end of the fic (that was not the end that I wanted but I couldn't help myself) I got the idea from "The Lady and the Tiger." It's a short story that I read a long, long time ago. "The Lady and the Tiger" does not belong to me either it belongs to some author who I don't recall right now. Feedback really will be apreciated. Thank you.
Comments can be sent to - Baka_baka60@hotmail.com
The sky rumbled underneath another thunderclap. Fiercely, the wind rocked back and forth the tops of the trees. Branches creaked and groaned against the heavy winds forcing them to subdue to their strenght. Inside a cave such scenere was not welcomed by a certain petite redhead. The rain had not let up for the past hour and a-half and a very cold, very wet, pissed off Lina Inverse cursed for the millionth time, language that would make a sailor proud.
"Is that fire done yet?! I swear, you take longer than Gourry here takes to compute a simple math problem."
"But Lina..."
"Shut up Gourry, I don't have the patience to deal with you right now!"
"But Lina..."
"I said, shut!"
"But..."
"I'm counting to three Gourry, so either shut up or get Fireballed!"
"But..."
"123! FIREBALL!" Lina extended her hand to let the fire magic leave her hand and into her victim, however, the promised fireball never came. She gave an embarrassed laugh, "sorry, I forgot." With that she took out a notebook and pen wrote down 'Gourry IIIII III', closed it and tucked it into the dimentional pocket inside her cape.
"Oh, you started the fire. Great, why didn't you tell me earlier?"
"That's what I was..." Zelgadis stopped Gourry from talking, fearing he would become the object that would be roasting over the fire instead of the fish they had caught before the rain started.
Dinner, strangely enough, was silent, everybody kept to themselves and only talked when it was necessary.
Being a man of logic and intellect, Zelgadis Greywords, surveyed the group's current status over his second cup of coffee. Forced by a sudden storm, the slayers group resorted to using a nearby cave as shelter. Lina was currently suffering from a 'deprived from magic usage' stage due to the fact that it had been a month since it's last appeared (Oh hell, she was on her period I'm not a female so I don't know how to put it down delicately). Her current 'handicap' was making her a little bit more violent than usual. Gourry being Gourry, enjoyed his meal with gusto, laughing at small jokes Sylphiel made and grinning his usual carefree smile without a care in the world. Amelia (who did not complain or became nearly as violent as Lina when it was that time of the month) was very much enjoying a conversation with Xellos about love, happiness and the pursuit of justice. Xellos on the other hand was going green from all the positive emotions radiating from Amelia.
'Maybe I should've warned him about her speeches' Zelgadis thougth for about a nano second, 'Nah! It's nice to see Xellos in that shade of green.'
Two things bothered him, why did the surrounding landscape seemed familiar? And, why couln't he use his magic!
He first noticed the absence of his magic when they stepped into the forest at the edge of town. It was no big deal, it had happened before, Rezo explained about magic automatically switching 'off' because the demon side would try to pull apart from the assimilated human and golem sides. Without enough magic to support it's living state, the demon side would become weak and surrender under the human psyche. Call it a fail switch device when demon inside him would become too reckless or powerful. However, his power would come back within ten to twenty minutes of the 'uprise'. It had been over an hour now. It's not as if 'He' was on a period, but something strange was going on. He had a few theories and was not happy if they were to be proven true.
"While we're waiting for the storm to subside, I know a game we could play!" Sylphiel cheerfully offered, bringing Zelgadis back from his trance. Lina and Amelia echoed Gourry's thoughts, "A game?" Amelia forgetting about her conversation with Xellos, made herself comfortable in front of the fire and across from Sylphiel. "Without magic of course! Haven't you played a game where magic was not involved?" Sylphiel giggled as solemn heads shook all round the group, minus a stoic chimera, clueless swordsman and trickster priest.
"It's simple really," Sylphiel continued, "one person starts a story, then someone has to take over adding a little bit to it."
Lina looked confused, "So how do you know who wins?"
Sylphiel smiled warmly to Lina, "no one wins, no one loses it's just for fun Ms. Lina"
Lina scratched her head, "I don't get it..."
Zelgadis wanted to dismissed the whole idea as childish and a waste of time, however... He realized he was going to regret this but it would be all for the best. Closing his eyes he calmly said, "Alright, let's try it." Five heads immediately turned where the stoic chimera sat. "Might as well do something to keep us busy while we wait out this storm," he simply replied to their stares.
"Well, let's try it..." Sylphiel suggested.
Lina shrugged and sat to the left of Sylphiel. "Sure, why not?"
The blonde swordsman who wisely knew to agree with Lina, or get hurt, sat across from the redhead. Xellos took to the air and was currently sitting upside-down floating next to Sylphiel. Zelgadis being true to his isolated characterism, crossed his arms and closed his eyes as he reclined against one of the cave walls to behind Lina.
"I'll start with one of my favorites. It'll be easy, don't look so worried," Sylphiel and Amelia were obviously anxious to start while Lina was still confused about the whole 'no winner' thing.
"Okay, once upon a time, there was a princess. She had long black hair and green eyes." Lina rolled her eyes but kept her mouth shut. "The princess was gentle and kind, but she had one definative problem. She was deathly afraid of-" Sylphiel nodded to Lina. "Your turn, Miss Lina. Just pick up where I left off."
The red-head tapped her fingers on the side of her head and thought throughly throughout her vast knowledge about childrens' fairy tales. "The princess was deathly afraid of..." Lina thought about vampires, the living dead, werewolfs, mummies and the occasional fairy, but none of those seem to suffice the petite sorceress. Well you know what they say, 'When in doubt, tell the truth' Lina thought, so she said, "Slugs!"
"Ewwww!!!" chorused the other two girls.
Lina was very proud of herself, she might like this game after all. "The princess was also very rich," Lina continued her part of the story, "she had everything she ever wanted like clothes and food. In fact, she was famous for the feasts she hosted! She would serve baked hams, roasted turkeys, venison in currant sauce, fresh lobster, crab legs, baked potatoes, mashed potatoes, marinated mushrooms, beef stews-"
"Lina-san!" Amelia whined.
Lina giggled, "Sorry, got a little carried away there. Where was I? Oh yeah she was rich, she lived in a castle bigger than anyone else in the country! And just next door was a-" Lina nodded to Amelia.
"Prince! A prince with a curse on him!" Lina smiled to herself as Zelgadis made a face at a grinning Xellos. 'But wait... was he sticking his tongue out at Xellos? Nah, must've been a trick of the light, haha that's rich, Zel being childish. Keep it together Lina, the storm is getting to you.'
"He had been cursed as a child by a witch jealous of his mother and father. So he went through life with his burden, though that didn't stop the princess in falling in love with the him, but he never acknowledged her." Lina fought a cackle from hearing Zelgadis gag in the background. Amelia however, was turning pink while telling her part of the story. "One day she ran into him in the forest and said -" Amelia turned to Sylphiel.
"Hello!" Lina interrupted, "The prince's curse was silence. He couldn't speak so she expected no answer. Every girl that met him thought he was mysterious because he didn't talk." Lina caught Zelgadis returning Xellos' earlier smirk while the priest definetly stuck his tongue out at the chimera. "So they always followed him-"
"Hey! That's not fair!" Amelia announced, leaping onto her feet.
Lina shot the little brunette an annoyed look, "Why not?"
"I made him up! I should get to pick his curse!"
"But you forgot to say what the curse was before you passed on the story." Xellos jumped in.
"You're not even playing! Your opinion shouldn't count."
"That's not very 'just' of you. Besides, it's just a game." Zelgadis added trying to erase the hurt look on Amelia's face.
"Well, so much for that idea..." Lina muttered sarcastically, surveying the room. Gourry was passed out in front of the dying fire, little plump sugary fairies danced on his head while he dreamed.
Xellos moved to sit next to Sylphiel who was getting depressed at her idea of fun being turned into a verbal spat between Amelia and Lina. Trying to give small comfort to Sylphiel, he raised his hand to touch her shoulder, she turned and he gave her an unusual happy smile, she smiled back.
Amelia volunteered herself to build the fire back up. Lina decided to give the chimera some company and sat to his right.
"I have an idea..." Xellos broke the tense silence that had been brewing for the past ten minutes or so.
Xellos had everyone's attention, with the exception of the snoring big blonde passed out on the ground. Amelia gave a big yawn, but blinked at the mazuko in excpectation. Xellos waited a few seconds longer, just to draw out the suspense. "What would you do if you had all the money in the world? Don't answer right away. Think about it for a few minutes first."
The crackling fire and the snores coming from Gourry, were the only sounds for the next five minutes. Amelia fell asleep curled up in her cape not even bothering with such a frivolous question, after all, she almost had all the money in the world.
Sylphiel, Lina and Zelgadis really focused on the question and gave it serious contemplation. Lina's eyes were glazed. Zelgadis knew his answer from the beginning, he didn't need to think about it. The shaman took advantage of Lina's preoccupation to study her. The hair on the back of his neck stood up when he realized she was returning his gaze instead of just staring towards him.
Sylphiel fell into sadness with her thoughts. Xellos feasted on her.
"What is it, Sylphiel-san?" Xellos asked the brunette shrine maiden in a fit of a nice gesture.
"I have my answer..." she said, fighting tears. "I'd rebuild Sairaag..."
"Ah, The Unfortunate City. It's been rebuilt several times. It can be done again."
"It has?" Sylphiel's unhappiness disappeared as curiosity took it's place.
"Probably five times in my lifetime."
"I don't understand..." Xellos grinned, he liked holding her attention. The other two awake people were forgotten as Xellos and Sylphiel launched into discussion on the tragic magical history of Sairaag.
"So, what's your answer, Zel?"
"You can't guess?"
"How utterly disappointing and predictable of you..."
"What's yours?"
"I'd give it to whoever needed it."
"You'd give it away?"
"If I had all the money in the world, who would I steal from?"
"Good point. So, if you had all the money and I needed it, you'd give it to me?" Lina didn't trust her voice at this point so she nodded. Things were a little too close, too confined, too serious for her.
"And if I had all the money in the world, you'd steal it from me?" Lina tried to smile but it came out weak. The conversation was making her very uncomfortable, flattering, but uncomfortable. Was he actually flirting with her? She tried to lighten the atmosphere and focus on something besides the man she admired staring at her, "So you'd use all the money in the world to find your cure?"
"I never said that."
"But-" Zel shook his head.
"So what would you do with it?" Zelgadis gave an infuriating grin and took another sip of his coffee.
"I'm going to put you on my 'fireball' list and when I'm healthy tomorrow I have some major catching up." Zelgadis laughed.
"C'mon, Zel! What would you do with all the money in the world?"
"Can you keep a secret?"
"Sure!"
"Good. So can I."
Lina blinked, "You know you're dead tomorrow..."
"Then, I have to make tonight worth it."
The sorceress chewed her lip. Zel was up to something... he looked... he looked relaxed. AND he was smiling... smiling at her!
Warmth flooded her cheeks. She couldn't relax let alone smile. What was with him? They had always been able to share a conversation easily; but Zel had never been flirtatious before... Lina mentally shrugged, it was better than being called flat-chested by a certain blond swordsman.
"The question is just a double-edged sword, it's just used to find out what type of person you are."
"Oh." Sylphiel responded quietly.
She felt a little embarassed at wanting to rebuild a city that had been the center of Gods and Monsters wars for centuries. Xellos sensed her uncomfort and tried to reassure her, "there's nothing wrong with your answer. The question is purely hypothetical." Sylphiel smiled, she knew Xellos was just trying to make her feel better.
"Here." Zelgadis handed lina a penny. "for your thoughts."
Lina shrugged, "I hardly know you Zel." The shaman raised a stony eyebrow as she continued to talk. "I mean, I know you have a past with Rezo, I've gotten to know who you are and you've become someone that I can trust my life with. But, I don't know before anything before Rezo, like do you have a family, do you look like your mom or dad, or even if you had a girlfriend when you were human?" The last question was barely audible, but he had heard it. "I know i'm being silly, but it's sometimes what I think about. Now, you can laugh if you want-"
Zelgadis began his story. "As a child, I was always ill. One day, I started to cough up of mucus and sputum, a fever then hit me, then I started to loose weight following that were the chest pains. Healers, Shamans and even Doctors could not find the source of my illness. Knowing I was going to die, my mother took me to see my Grandfather/Great-Grandfather. He explained about a rare disease in people, not very well known due to lack of 'patients'. As a last desperate attempt to recover my health, my mother left me under the care of Rezo hoping he would somehow cure me. I was around ten years of age. Time passed, mother was killed from an attack to my village from bandits. She was one of the lucky ones. The older women and the teenage males were used as slaves, while the young women were sold to brothels. All the adult males were killed. They were undesirable to the bandits or their employers. I learned about the attack a few years back when we were traveling together, before dealing with Darkstar and Valgaav."
"So then what happened to the bandits?" Lina interrupted.
"Ever hear of the Emerald Dragon Gang?"
"No, not that I recall."
He gave a small smile.
Lina gave an understanding 'Oh' before going silent again.
"Going back to Rezo. In time he was able to stabilize my health, though I was in constant supervision. Eris was my nurse/baby-sitter," he smiled at the memory of Eris before creating 'Koppi Rezo'. The way they talked and laughed and even shared some secrets together. Ever since his own mother left him with Rezo, she was the closest thing to an older sister he had .
"I idolized Rezo for what he did for me, thus I took interest in all the hobbies he had, Science and Magic. I read as much as i could in the early morning, then were the experiments and treatments that kept me from being sick again. They would take from minutes to hours. Then in the early evening, I would have lessons with Eris about Shamanistic and White magic. I took up swordmanship because I needed the exercise. Almost every day was the same repetitive routine, except when Rezo would travel abroad for something or other. That was when I would look into his books that held stronger magic and incantations. He did not know that I wanted to be stronger to prove myself to him. To prove that that child he rescued was not going to grow-up and live a very mundane life and then die. Thus my thirst for more power and goal to be someone as strong and intelligent as he was.
"When he realized what I wanted, he assumed that I was greedy and just wanted to feel powerful. By that time, Shabranigdo had more or less had taken over his mind. I didn't notice the change until after we separated and I joined you for our first adventure." He again smiled at the slight blush that crept her cheeks.
She remembered their first meeting, the deal that had started that adventure and their friendship. She knew he wasn't going to give in and agree to such a ridiculous amount. But by the time he left, she was very intrigued on who this person was. He was a mistery wrapped in an enigma, a person that was meant to be isolated from others, therefore it intrigued her even more to find out what made this person tick.
"Years passed by," Zelgadis resumed his story,"and during that time I focused on my magic and studies, Eris and I started to drift apart until we stopped talking altogether. The most we talked was when we had to talk, and even then sentences were limited to a few words.
"Rezo proposed to make me stronger when I was 15. I wanted to prove myself to him still and thought that I was going nowhere with my pathetic training sessions alone. A helping hand was welcomed at that point, and aid from 'The Red Priest' himself was a sight for sore eyes. Excuse the pun, I did not think it would transform me into the freakishly looking beast you see today."
"But you're not..." Lina tried to contradict him but he ignored her outburst.
"When Rezo 'recreated' my body, there were certain procedures, experiments and spells that created this outcome. It was not all done in one session, the entire process took about a year to complete. He thought long and hard as to what kind of 'body' he would give me in the end. A mixture of human, golem and mazuko was an idea he planed for a few years now. Experiment after experiment, trial after trial, Rezo was not one to be sloopy, he wanted his 'creation' to be perfect Well, I was perfect, to a degree, the only thing he failed was to keep me controlled for long periods of time. So he accepted me as one of his lackey's and the rest is history."
"Why?" automatically came out of Lina's lips.
"Why what?" He stated before sitting down next to Lina.
"Why tell me all of this now? Why not some other time when I asked?"
"An eye for an eye. Tonight, you let down your guard, it was only appropriate for me to do the same."
"Bullshit."
"No, it's not bullshit. It's a rock, see. But I was lying though, Rezo did not like having loose ends. When he failed to morph an ordinary steel cup into gold, Rezo destroyed all of his data, anything remotely connected to the experiment was disposed of, whether it'd be paper, an animal or another alchemist. Everything was completely destroyed. Even if some of his experiments succeded, he was always weary that someone would copy his work and take the credit for themselves. Thus most of his work would be either destroyed or hidden away from daylight. I managed to collect most of his hidden..." Zelgadis coughed for a few minutes before continuing, "Excuse me, like I was saying, I managed to collect most of his experiments."
"What!? And you kept this from me how?!"
"Since the destruction of Koppi Rezo, I knew there was no cure."
"So you used your cure as an excuse as to get leads on the remains of Rezo's work?"
Zelgadis smirked. "Why do you think, Xellos would destroy as much as the Claire Bible or any other type of document when I was close to my 'cure'? Some of Rezo's inventions could very easily kill an average mazuko."
"But why didn't..."
"Another night Lina" He said this as he leaned against the wall, and closed his eyes.
"But..." Lina was almost in hysterics.
"Everybody else has gone to bed." He said this as he pointed out to a Gourry who was still in lala land with the plump fairies. Amelia was close to the warmth of the fire inside her sleeping bag, while Sylphiel was resting her head on what appeared a very sleepy, very content Xellos. A smiled decorated her angelic face.
"Another night Lina, I promise." He said this turning to the redhead and in a swift move taking her lips in his. 'I told you I was going to make tonight worth it Lina.' he thougth as he broke apart their connection and returned to his previous position as closed his eyes for a night's rest.
It took thirty minutes for Lina to get back from the shock she received by Zel's actions. One second they were talking about his 'cure' and the next he was kissing her! Could it be possible that he had found out that she had feelings for him? Impossible, she was sure no one had found out about them. But with Xellos one could never tell. What if he was controlling Zel with some mazuko trick and was now making fun of her feelings by making Zel do all these crazy things. But Xellos seemed rather occupied with Sylphiel at the moment.
Lina did not know what to do now, true that she was delighted that Zelgadis was finally opening up. But he was just devoting too much information tonight, it was as if he was running out of time... but that was just silly wasn't it? Some side effect to her period that made her think all these crazy things. 'By tomorrow everything would be back to normal, Zel would be as adamant as always. The ominous feeling would be gone and I would be back to fireballing Gourry.' Now if she only would believe her own words.
She growled in frustration. What was really going on with Zel tonight? Laying out his entire past for her to know. Previous times he had not once divulged as much information about his past as he had done tonight. So maybe what she saw earlier on wasn't as far fetched as she originally thought, Zel had actually stuck out his tongue at Xellos! She giggled to the now vague memory.
Zelgadis interrupted Lina's train of thought as he coughed for the third time in the past twenty minutes.
'Damn it Zel, can't you let me enjoy this for a few more minutes. Always coughing at... wait a minute! When was the last time Zel coughed or showed any sign of sickness? Well he did say when he was a kid he was always sick, but I've never seen him sick as a chimera.' She thought as she walked back towards where he layed against the hard rock of the cave. Lina took off her glove from her right hand and held it up against his forehead. "Damn it Zel! You're burning up, why didn't you tell me you were sick!" She scolded in a low whisper in order not to wake up the rest of the group.
"Sorry mom, didn't want to miss school today." Zel joked
"Not funny Zel, now c'mon let me wake up Amelia or Sylphiel and see if they can do something about this." Zelgadis held his chest tight as he started to cough up a mixture of saliva and blood into the brown soil.
"It's useless, no matter how much they try, I'm not going to get better." He exclaimed before he started to regurgitate the two fish he had eaten earlier that night. "Crap, here comes the bread and jerky."
"Sheesh Zel, you're making a mess here. Let's go outside so you won't make a bigger mess, it's not as raining as hard now. Here give me your arm." Lina helped Zelgadis walk out of the cave. He supported himself to a tree and began his ritual once again.
"There's a stream nearby, about ten minutes west from here." Zelgadis' rough, grating voice alerted Lina of his actions.
"I take it you want to go there to clean up." Zel nodded and began to walk towards said area.
"How did you know there was a stream?"
"I was born here." Was Zel's curt reply as he tried not to trip with the roots and muddy ground. Lina moved in to help out Zel move with much better ease.
"I was born in a cabin not too far from here," the shaman continued. "If you follow the cave straight and take the left path at the fork, you're going to see an exit leading to a clearing, cross that and you'll find the village where my mother gave birth to me. The village is too small to be given a name, the most you'll find is a destroyed watch tower and burned and torn huts.
"It's funny because, the golem components were taken from that very same cave we were just a few minutes ago. As for the demon, when the bandits attacked the village, a mazuko senced all of the dispair, sadness and murder, it was an all out buffet for him I guess. Surprisingly enough it was overpowered by the mages in the bandits' gang and captured. It was sold to Rezo for a prize to continue some of his experiments. They did not think the demon would come back to kill them all, albeit as a chimera.
"The experiments took ten miles south of here, since I was isolated from the real world the news of the attack to my village did not reach me there. And then I 'died' and was 'reborn' as a chimera. Call it fate I guess, don't know how many times I'll go through that again though."
This left Lina to contemplate on his story.
The stream was by no means out of the ordinary, it was just a body of flowing water that was supported by a lake upstream. Zelgadis sighed as he took a big gulp of water to clear his throat from the vile taste of vomit. Enjoying the cold air of the night, he inhaled a long intake of air, gently closed his eyes and tilted his head upwards to the stars. Little by little he opened his eyes as he exhaled and watched with great joy as his breath became visible and began to float away.
Lina observed him from a distance, he looked different yet he was the same. The stoic mask he wore during their adventures was not placed on tonight. Tonight, the emotion that radiated from his face was content.
"It's rude to stare you know?" Zel brought her back from her thoughts.
"It's also rude to kiss and run Zel." She retaliated. "And it's also rude if you don't mean it."
"What makes you think I didn't mean it?" Lina blushed ten shades of red, but she wasn't going to let a blush stop her. Too much information, inuendos and hints were dropped and said tonight that the next question was bound to be asked.
"Do you... I mean what would you call your relationship with Amelia?"
The chimera looked dissappointed at her question but answered none the less. "What I feel for her, it's more of a brotherly affection than anything else. Honestly Lina, by all the hints I've given you tonight you'd realize that I'm in love with you."
"What did you-" For the second time tonight, Lina was taken by surprise. 'DamnDamnDamnDamn he's kissing me! he's kissing me! Stupid what are you doing talking to yourself, kiss back!' And so she did.
Lost in the passion of their kiss, all reason and logic were overpowered by their urges and hormones. Lina pushed Zel to his recline on the trunk of a tree, as she began to attack his neck, throat and lips with her mouth. He let a low moan escape from his lips as he held her close to him. The next attack came as sudden as the first, however, the results were not the same. As she kissed him, she could taste the copper taste of blood from his mouth.
Without warning Zel slump over Lina and began to throw up wads of blood. Weak in the knees, he collapsed and gave in to the immense migrane going inside his head. Muscles seemed to tear apart from each other as another mixture of the red liquid escaped his insides. Damn it, it hurt to even breathe!
Half opened bright sapphire eyes locked with dark ruby red ones.
"NO! Don't you dare Zelgadis Graywords! Don't you dare do this to me!"
"Can't help it." A coughing once again spasm overtook Zel's chest and throat.
"Bastard, you make me fall in love with you and now you're going to leave me! I'm not going to accept it. Not now, not ever!"
"Ah, the ludicrous rants of a woman in love." Xellos exclaimed as he emerged from the early twilight.
"What do you want Xellos." Lina aired Zelgadis' thoughts.
"Five golden rings, four calling birds, three french hens, two turtle doves, and a Partridge in a pear tree. But that's neither here nor there. I'm a little concerned over our," he kicked Zelgadis's leg to emphasize his point. "little chimera friend here." Another chest spasm overtook him, his own body liquids seeped into his lungs, choking and drowning the life out of him.
"Stop it! Xellos tell me, what's happening to him?"
"Yes, but you're a smart woman, you can guess what's going on with him."
"He's dieing isn't he?" He nodded.
"As you've noticed he hasn't used magic in the past day or so. That's because he has lost any magic ability he had. Withoug any magic, the spells that held his body together will break. The demon and golem part of his are almost dead, the human part is what's keeping Zelgadis alive at this moment, but in a few minutes he'll completely die. Like he said, Rezo was not one to leave loose ends lying around. His creations and experiments were either destroyed or hidden. Since our friend here is not buried in an underground laboratory, you are safe to conclude he will soon expire." Xellos crouched to get a closer look at the chimera's face. "I can save him you know, all you have to do is ask. Think of it as our thank you present for getting rid of Darkstar and Valgaav for us. Now what do you want me to do, save the chimera or help you bury him?"
The proposition was made, it was all left for the sorceress to answer. 'Zel, please tell me this is what you wanted. And remember that I love you so much.' She leaned closer to him to kiss his forehead. Tears accumulated on the corner of her eyes, she would not let Xellos see her that weak. Then Lina began to give her answer, her voice a little higher than Zel's ragged breathing...
***
This answer is based more on the heart than logic. If Xellos were to help him, Zelgadis would definetly be turned into one of them. He would become a mazuko, a parasite that would feed upon the dark emotions of the human psyche., the enemy of the golden dragons, a mortal enemy to Amelia and Felia. If she were to ask for his rebirth, he would literally become a monster. But in the other hand, she would be able to be with him. Now those lonely nights pondering if tomorrow would be the day he would look into her eyes and say 'I love you Lina, I've always loved you. Will you marry me?' would be a reality. Those deep and tender feelings would be returned and both would have that 'happily ever-after' ending that leave us with a warm and fuzzy feeling inside but at the price of him being a demon.
Would she damn him in a life with the mazuko, or would she let him that long awaited peace he fought for so long.
You, the reader, decide on the outcome.
***
Disclaimers: Slayers or any of it's characters do not belong to me, I'm just having a little fun with them, so don't sue. As for the end of the fic (that was not the end that I wanted but I couldn't help myself) I got the idea from "The Lady and the Tiger." It's a short story that I read a long, long time ago. "The Lady and the Tiger" does not belong to me either it belongs to some author who I don't recall right now. Feedback really will be apreciated. Thank you.
Comments can be sent to - Baka_baka60@hotmail.com