Slayers: To the End...
by Hotaru Kimiko Lai
^_^ ^_^ ^_^ ^_^ ^_^ ^_^ ^_^ ^_^ ^_^ ^_^ ^_^ ^_^ ^ ^_^ ^_^ ^ ^_^ ^_^ ^ ^_^ ^_^ ^_^ ^ ^_^ ^_^
one note before beginning...
This takes place after Slayers, Next and Try... Guess what.... new enemy coming up!!! And it's
an A/U...
disclaimer...
I do not own Slayers, I am not making monetary profit or gain from them. The only thing I can
even half way claim to be mine are the Tarzokus... (wow!!) Slayers belongs to some really great
people with a great imagination... But you all knew that already, right?
^_^ ^_^ ^_^ ^_^ ^_^ ^_^ ^_^ ^_^ ^_^ ^_^ ^_^ ^_^ ^ ^_^ ^_^ ^ ^_^ ^_^ ^ ^_^ ^_^ ^_^ ^ ^_^ ^_^
Mini Prologue...
(many, many, many, many, many eons ago...)
The room is dark, very dark. But although it's so amazingly dark, you can distinguish two figures. They seemed to be floating in empty space, for the room does not have room qualities, that is, it doesn't have walls, no floor, and no ceiling. OK, so maybe it isn't a room, but they are there. The two beings had immense power radiating from their corporal bodies. They were speaking to each other in very serious tones. Slowly, the room lightened up, but only slightly. Enough to see small details. Like the fact that they were sitting down and talking to each other while reading some papers.
"You know, this could get very ugly." This one was the male voice.
"No really, I hadn't noticed." answered the other sarcastically.
"What do you plan to do?"
"Obviously, the prophecies should never get to her."
"Her? You are so sure the Chosen One will be a girl?"
"Her, Him, I could care less. They could be an It, for all I care."
"But you do care, a lot."
"Of course, you idiot. Who wouldn't?"
"So what are you planning to do?"
"First of all, I have to hide you, again."
"It's not my fault you have weak minions."
"But I have a new plan. One of my newest recruits, one named Xellos."
"What's so special about him?"
"He is one of my favorites. Very loyal, and great potential."
"How can you guarantee that it will work. The last one died."
"But this time, you will share your power with him. That way, he won't explode."
"Perhaps. It could work. Have you tried it before?"
"Does it look like I would try something like that?"
"Point taken. I will go into him. But that doesn't solve our problem with It."
"It seems like It will be able to defeat part of our master. It will be a hard opponent."
"But I have an idea..."
"Really? That's new, an idea coming from you."
"I appreciate your sarcasm, dear sister of mine."
"So what's your idea?"
"The Chosen One will read the prophecies. It says so here that It will be
unwilling, but that It will do what they have to do."
"So?"
"So, we change the prophecies."
"As if Fate will listen to us."
"Not that way. We will hide all the real ones and write some special ones for her
and her friends."
"Very interesting, do go on..."
"We can end up controlling It. We could use her as our pawn."
"But where will we get the prophecies from?"
"Ah... the one here talks about It defeating part of our master. Yet our master has
not been split... yet."
"So that means we have time to write our own?"
"Yes... and by the time the Chosen One gets them, they will indeed be old..."
"Wonderful plan."
"Let's do it."
With that, the two beings phased out of the room, leaving behind their coffee table.
A few years later, Zelas looked into her crystal ball. She watched her minion, Xellos. Well, not really her minion, her Priest. I mean, her General/Priest. Her General had died in the battle. He had been brave, but stupid. But she was worried about Xellos. His power was amazing, his fusion with her brother, Xerxes, had been complete. Yet she wondered, how much of her brother would affect Xellos? Her thoughts were interrupted by a polite knock.
"Come in," she said. A Mazoku with teal eyes came in.
"Zelas-sama," she said as she knelt.
"Yes, Madabar?" asked Zelas. Madabar was a new "recruit", who like Xellos, also
had much potential.
"Your plans are ready."
"Perfect!" said Zelas, a smile on her face. Today, the dragons would die.
Chapter 1 (Version 1.2)
Yet another prophecy to be unraveled!!!
Entry #1
Hi! I feel dumb now, writing hi to a journal. Well, anyway, I decided to start a journal. A week ago, our group finally disbanded. After a few years of sticking together like glue, we finally split. They took it rather well... I think we all knew it was coming, just that we... sort of didn't want it to come. Oh well, it was time for us. We spent the last night at the inn, calling back memories of what we had done. Looking back, I can't believe how silly we were. Aaah, good times! It was a farewell type of party. We promised to write to each other... I'm writing the addresses at the back of the journal. Anyway, you wonder what will happen to the rest? Well, let's start with Gourry. He's going with Amelia. No, not as a couple. Gourry will become the trainer and part of the royal guard in the city of Seyruun to Amelia's family. I can't think of a better job for him. Amelia, is going back to Seyruun. She says it's about time she took the crown more seriously anyway. Presently, she's a foreign emissary to other lands beyond the shield to establish trade or some such between their cities. Gourry's her personal guard, since they've been together through so many things. Well, Zel is... why don't you take a guess... he's still searching for a cure. I personally don't see why. His chimera form is extremely useful. I'm afraid that once Zel becomes human, he won't be able to protect himself as well, since his body won't be made of stone anymore. But he doesn't exactly want to hear that. According to what little I know about chimeras, I don't think Zel will be that strong with magic. So, basically, now, I'm traveling to Seerin. It's a small town close to the actual shield. It's a place where people like yours truly can go to rest and get some work. Work?, you wonder... yes, truth be told, I'm not just some uncultured tomboy. I happen to be a good artist, and researcher as well as sorceress. Many researchers and wizards live in Seerin... You wonder about Xellos? Well, Xellos is a Mazoku. We didn't have to worry about him, since I'm sure Zelas is more than happy giving them orders. Well, he disappeared some days earlier, like always, and I haven't heard of him yet. For all I know, he might not know we've disbanded. I'm silently glad that it's over, not that I would ever tell them given the chance... There is no need to fear anymore... I hope. Well, it's getting late. I've set up traps everywhere around camp. You can't be too careful, night!!!
With that, sorceress extraordinaire, Lina Inverse, closed her journal and went to sleep with a sad smile on her face.
Seven months later...
"Extra! Extra! Read all about it! Sorceress Lina Inverse passes away due to mysterious ailment!! Princess Amelia Wil Tesla de Seyruun returns today from trip to Juna!!!!! Prince Phil speaks to the people on banditry!!! Extra! Extra! Read all about it here!!" People looked up with surprised faces as they heard the news. Lina Inverse, dead????? Impossible!... or was it?
Two years later...
Madabar looked at the lady across from her. The lady was her boss, at least, a manifestation of her boss. She was also speaking.
"Madabar, you know what to do." said the lady with golden hair. Teal eyes on a pale face nodded. The one with golden hair continued. "Make it realistic, but don't hurt Xellos. He is still my special... "pet". You only have on objective, kill the Chosen One. You know who she is." Madabar nodded once more.
"Your plans are perfect, Zelas-sama." she said. "Count on me, I will not let all the work we have done to become a failure."
"Good," said Zelas. "Make sure you do. And remember, kill her. I've already taken care of preliminary details. Xellos will convince her to play into your hands." Zelas phased out and Madabar was left alone. Like all Mazoku, she could change her appearance. Right now, her and her group of specially trained Mazoku were ready for battle. *And after killing the Chosen One, we will kill you, Zelas-sama.* she thought sarcastically. Unknown to her, Zelas was thinking along the same lines. Zelas thought. And then, her brother was going down. So simple it was beautiful.
*****
Xellos smiled to himself as he carefully fingered the scrolls that were found in the cave. They were a beautiful set indeed. It was amazing how well preserved they were. He put them into his rucksack of holding, with a protective spell around it so that the fragile scrolls wouldn't break. He stood up and smiled again. His work was done. Now, to take them to Beastmaster... He looked up suddenly. For a minute, he thought he had felt the presence of... Xellos shook his head... but the feeling of unease still plagued him. He suddenly felt the need to hurry, and he did exactly that.
As he traversed the gates of time and space, he mused about what had been happening in the last few years. He had started out as a vigil for Beastmaster and had kept an eye on Lina. After their three million and one adventures though, the group had disbanded. Surprising, wasn't it. Even to him. Not that he had much time to brood over it. Lord Beastmaster had immediately put him to work searching the whole of the planet looking for scrolls. These were the last ones on his list... He really wondered what they were about, but Beastmaster had forbidden him to open them. His musings where cut short as he appeared in Wolf Pack Island, and to his surprise, found most of the wood burned black. Xellos stood stunned for a few seconds before his gears got moving. Around him lay destruction, and for once, he wasn't the cause of it. Heat permeated from the burnt trees. He suddenly felt a sudden movement from his right. An arrow whizzed from out of nowhere, it seemed, and had Xellos not moved, would have hit him in the chest.
"Who's there?!" shouted Xellos. He gasped, and his normally happy face turned severe as he saw someone jump out of a tree that had not been burnt too badly. The creature had short black hair that fell over a pair of pale pink eyes. A pair of fluffy white ears peeked from the sides of their head. And from the back sprouted a long sleek cat like tail covered with white fur. On her shoulder was slung a quiver of arrows and she was holding a bow in her hands. Their power signature was slightly familiar, but hard to place.
"Hello, General and Priest of the late Lord Beastmaster!" said the creature with a happy grin on her face.
"Late?" asked Xellos, caught off guard.
"Oh, had you not heard the news?" she asked with a cute grin. "Why just recently, I think, we killed her!" She giggled madly. Xellos just stared at her with a look of shock on his face before he got moving. He fired a quick ball of lightning in her direction, which she casually dodged with cat like grace. As quick as a wink, she back flipped right next to him and whispered sultrily into his ear.
"I'm to... 'entertain' you while the rest tie up the loose ends..." Xellos pushed her away. She once again flipped in the air and held out her hands, her bow slung over her shoulder.
"Brahm Flare!!!" she shouted as a rod of black light was hurled at Xellos. Xellos rolled out of the way. The rod ran into the tree behind him, turning it into ashes. Xellos was about to attack her when he felt a quick message. 'Xellos, hurry! They're still looking for me. Find me you know where...' Xellos smiled cheerfully again as he pointed his staff, the red orb glowing darkly.
"Sayonara, dear. I think we'll finish this fight later." With that, a small sphere of golden energy shot out from his hand and flew up and above the girl, to knock of a branch that promptly fell on her.
"Hey!" she shouted, before she realized that she was talking to empty air. "Darn it!!!!" she shouted. With that, she phased out of there.
*****
Meanwhile, Xellos ported to a city close to the island. The city was called Jinnia. It was a small city, hardly known in the world. The only thing that was moderately good was that it had a relatively low crime rate. But that was because hardly anyone knew about it. He walked casually to a small house that seemed so average nobody paid attention to it. As soon as he went in, he sensed that there was something wrong. He ran to the bedroom where he weakly felt Beastmaster's presence.
"Zelas!" he said as he burst into the room. Zelas was resting against the bed post, her face pale and bruised. Xellos could sense a lot of magic in the room. As if Zelas had just done some major healing on her mundane form.
"Sit, Xellos." She offered him a seat which he took. From his rucksack of keeping, Xellos took out the last scrolls on the list that Zelas had asked him for.
"Here are your scrolls, Lord Beastmaster," he said.
"Keep them Xellos." said Zelas. "Now, listen carefully. I'm too weak right now. The Tarzokus got me by surprise."
"So that's who they are!" said Xellos, pretending to know what Zelas was talking about. After all, he was the Trickster Priest, and he knew everything,... supposedly.
"Be quiet! Now, I'll give you a rough run down. For the past two years, I have been carefully monitoring a fountain of incredible power due to its location near many mines of orihalcon and another metal that I haven't identified yet. The fountain has very... how shall I put it.... very unusual side effects. Because of the magic in the area, plants, animals, or rocks gathered from there contain some dilute form of magic from it. This magic is more commonly known as chaos magic, drawing on the power or L-sama herself, with out as much risk to the user. Repercussions happen rarely when using these artifacts, but when they do happen, the consequences are greater than before. Now, Xellos, you know that L-sama is the Mother of all, and whoever got a hold of such power would ultimately be a threat, such as the Inverse girl. Yet the Lina has been Chosen by L-sama herself, to have a special affinity with her. You have seen that for yourself. She was born with the mark of L-sama on her forehead. And it's time for her to embrace her destiny. Get all the scrolls for me, Xellos, the ones you got for me." Xellos nodded and carefully took all five sets of scrolls from a hidden panel in the wall. Zelas smiled and set a protective spell around them.
"Fate has decided that the time has come. These scrolls, the prophecies in them, were created by Fate herself, to make sure that Lina and only Lina, the Chosen One would receive that magic. Unfortunately, there is a group out there that is power hungry, and would take the power from her. They are called the Tarzokus, the ones who sneaked up on me. Their name is a crude imitation of our race as well as the dragons" said Zelas.
"How did they find you, though?" asked Xellos. "Wouldn't you be strong enough to kill them?"
"You have forgotten one important thing," said Zelas gravely. "They already posses an extensive amount of magic, of chaotic, dark and light."
"But didn't you say that only Lina was supposed to have the magic?" asked Xellos, extremely confused. Something just didn't seem right...
"You still don't get it, my little Priest." said Zelas, trying hard to be patient. "They have not gone into the full potential of chaotic magic. As you know, chaotic magic can hurt us, badly. Slowly, but surely, they are absorbing the power of the fountain, through use of stones and magical plants. There is only a certain amount of chaos magic there, and it is slowly being absorbed by them. Before long, the magic will be absorbed into them, and the Chosen One will not be able to rise and ward of an even greater threat that is to come. The Tarzokus must be stopped, and for that to happen, Lina has to fight for her birthright. Find her, my loyal Priest and General, for the fate of the world and Lina rest in your hands."
"But, didn't Lina die about a two years ago?" asked a confused Xellos. But Zelas had closed her eyes and was leaning against the headboard. With a start, Xellos realized that she looked extremely tired. Well, to turn to his task... How in the world was he going to find someone who supposedly had died about two years ago?
*****
Princess Amelia Wil Tesla de Seyruun looked up from her papers. Her father was taking care of the affairs of Seyruun. She was in charge of the foreign diplomacy between cities from within and out of the shield. She got to travel a lot with Gourry. It was pretty fun. They were great friends.
She took her quill up. She was writing a letter to the Seyruunian embassy in a city from out of the shield. But she didn't feel like it. 'It's at times like these that I wish I was still adventuring with Ms. Lina...' Thinking that, she put down her quill and went over to the window. It was raining. How dreary. She sighed.
"Hello Amelia!" said a cheery voice. Amelia turned around with a gasp.
"Xellos!" she said with a worried look in her eyes. "What are you doing here?" she asked.
"Hello to you too, Amelia!" said Xellos with a tired smile. He had to be careful with how he ported from place to place, since Madabar's people were on the look out for him and Beastmaster. The result, he was tired. "Do you mind if I crash here for the night? I promise I'll behave." added Xellos with a smile.
"Um... sure, Mr. Xellos." said Amelia hesitantly. "But you promise you won't... um.. you know..."
"Of course, Princess." said Xellos. "I'll be a good boy!" Amelia rang for a servant that promptly led Xellos to a guest room.
The next morning, Amelia sent a note to Xellos. He opened the door and took the note with a smile and the frightened servant. Over night, the rumors had grown and spread like an annoying weed. The most outrageous one included Xellos being the princesses secret lover that was know planning to overthrow the royal family. These rumors, were of course, started by him. All the fear the silly servants had generated were a delightful snack to the Mazoku. Xellos went into his room to read the note that Amelia had written. He had a nice room. It was navy blue with silver trimmings. The curtains were blue with silver tassels, the sheets were blue with silver trim, the walls were blue, although they had a silver stripe running across the middle. Nice room. He sat down in a chair on which was slung his rucksack of keeping. The princess was inviting him to breakfast with her and Gourry. Sure. He took his bag and brushed his purple hair so that he looked presentable.
At the table, Xellos greeted the princess and Gourry.
"Good morning princess, Gourry," said Xellos as he sat down at the table with the other two.
"How are you doing, Xellos?" asked Gourry with a smile. "It's been some time since we last saw each other!"
"I hope you had a good night's rest," said Amelia. The servants came out and put a huge pile of plates in front of the three. Gourry immediately started to wolf down all the food in sight, although he did it at a slower speed, since Lina wasn't there. Thinking about her...
"So, Amelia," said Xellos. "How's everything in the kingdom so far?"
"Fine, Xellos," she answered, wondering what the priest was up to. After the breakfast was over, the servants came in to clear away the dishes and served some tea. Gourry left since he had to do some errands around the castle. Xellos picked up his cup and took a small sip.
"I'm here to inquire about Lina." said Xellos. He decided to play dumb for a bit. "How's she doing?" Amelia almost choked on her tea.
"You mean, you don't know?" she asked, amazed.
"Know what?" asked Xellos.
"Lina died... about two years ago." said Amelia with a sad face. "She died of an unknown sickness." At this moment, there were almost tears coming out of her eyes.
"Oh... I'm sorry," said Xellos as he looked into his cup. "Could you tell me about it?" Amelia wiped her eyes and sniffed. Xellos offered her his handkerchief.
"Thanks, Xellos," she said as she struggled with her tears. "It's just that, I'm not quite used to thinking her as... dead." Xellos nodded. "Well, we don't really know much about it. Zelgadis said, in a letter, that she got really sick. He had been near there at the time and he tried to help her, but by the time he got the doctor... it was too late..." Here, Amelia trailed off. "I should have been there. It was only a few months after we disbanded. I might have been able to do something... but I was away, playing a diplomat..."
"Now, now," said Xellos. "Don't cry."
"Thanks Xellos," she said after a while. "If you want to know more, Zelgadis can tell you more, probably. He's supposed to come today or tomorrow."
"Really? How fortunate I am!" said Xellos, for once sincerely. Something didn't sound quite right. "What for?"
"Oh, he's going to use the library to find a lead to his cure." said Amelia. She was more composed now. "He's been doing that for some time now." Xellos nodded. He spent the rest of the day studying the scrolls he had gotten for Zelas. Sure, she had told him not to look, but that was before the Tarzokus had come. Now, he needed every bit of information he could get. Which is why he had supper in the royal libraries of Seyruun. The next day, Zelgadis came. Xellos cornered him in the library and started an extensive question and answer session with him.
"So, how are you doing, Zelgadis?" asked Xellos as he took a sip of his cup of tea. Zelgadis took a draught from the mug of coffee he had.
"Fine," he said. Silence.
"I heard some interesting news from Amelia the other day." said Xellos as he took another sip.
"Really?" said Zel. There was an insinuated "And what does that have to do with me?"
"And the princess thinks I can get some more details from you," said Xellos with a smile.
"About?" asked Zel with a frown.
"Lina's death." said Xellos. Zelgadis looked surprised for a while before he once again put on a stoic face.
"Oh," he said. "What of it?"
"Where did she die?" asked Xellos.
"In a small village close to the border." said Zelgadis.
"Do you remember the name of the town?" asked Xellos.
"What is it to you?" asked Zelgadis.
"What would you say, if I said that Lina's death never happened?" asked Xellos before taking a sip of his tea. Zelgadis looked surprised at that.
"I would say that you're crazy." said Zel simply. "Not that that's anything new."
"Ouch, Zel," said Xellos still smiling. "That hurts. Still, I'm serious about this. Tell me about what happened. For some reason, I'm not convinced."
"And why should I tell you anything?" said Zelgadis, annoyed.
"If I tell you, will you tell me where Lina is?" asked Xellos, his smile had turned into a serious and pensive frown.
"Like Amelia told you, Lina is dead." said Zel. "But do go on."
"What I'm about to tell you cannot be repeated to anyone else, do you understand, Zelgadis?" asked Xellos.
"Of course," said Zelgadis. He took another drink of his coffee.
"Basically, It's time for Lina to arise to her birthright as Chosen One of L-sama but others are trying their hardest to get their hands on it. If they succeed in usurping her power, the world will meet up with a Fate worse than death," said Xellos. "And that's it!"
"And that's it," said Zelgadis with thinly veiled sarcasm.
"Yes," said Xellos with a smile. "Of course, that's the condensed version of it. So, will you please do me the honor of telling me where Lina is. As you can see, we are in dire need of her if we don't want the world to fall apart."
"I thought you Mazoku's wanted that." said Xellos.
"Not really," said Xellos. "Most of your average Mazoku just want to take over the world. What's the use of unleashing a super horrible Fate on us that even we, the Mazokus, will not be able to handle? After all, that will kill of our main form of sustenance. Back to my question,... where is Lina-san?"
"Like Amelia said," said Zel.
"I know what Amelia said." said Xellos. "I want to know what you have to say." Zelgadis thought it over. Xellos was never known to outright lie. Of course, his ulterior motives anyone was welcome to guessing. But he had heard rumors about the fall of the Mazoku. There were rumors of strange beasts appearing everywhere. What Xellos said seemed true. He would take the risk.
"You, are an idiot," said Zelgadis as he took another sip of coffee. "Why didn't you say that earlier!"
"Well, I thought you'd be nice enough to tell me with out having to know all the details." said Xellos with a smile. "So, I take Lina really is alive, huh?" Zelgadis nodded.
"I'll take you to her." he said. "No one knows she's alive except for you and I. Amelia and Gourry don't know. I trust you'll keep the information a secret..."
"Why of course," said Xellos. "What I don't understand is why she chose to fake her death?"
"She hasn't told me that either." said Zelgadis. The two simultaneously took another sip and stared at each other.
The DAN... (dreaded author's notes... *shudder*)
Well, what do you think? This is one of my first Slayer's fic... be gentle, please????? Well, what else, Comments and Criticisms welcome, as usual, but no flames... I don't deal too kindly with them. Any ideas you might want me to consider?? BTW, please put a subject in your e-mail. I have a habit of deleting mails with no subject if they are from people I don't know. Thanx!!! What else... tell me what you think... I'd greatly appreciate the feedback. And a huge and grateful thank you to the awesome and wonderful people who reviewed the fic!!! You guys are cool!!!!!!!!!!!!! (I know, you're all like, "Wow, she thinks we're cool!!!" ^o^;;
Anywho... about the Version 1.2 thing. It means chapter one, second revision. This chapter has gone to a major revision, due to a few comments a reviewer made. After reading their mail, I realized that they were right. So, thank you!!! To the one brave soul who dared criticize my work. (Sorry, I accidentally deleted your message. Could you send me your alias again so I can give ya credit???) Hopefully, it has made the first chapter even better... tell me your opinions. And I'm very, very, extremely and truly sorry for this... forgive me?... please??? don't be mean?...
Hotaru Kimiko Lai ^_^
Dec. 18, 2001
"Ganar no es importante, sino hacer perder al otro." -Cindy Wong
"It's not winning that matters, but making the other loose." (rough translation from the quote above by me!)
by Hotaru Kimiko Lai
^_^ ^_^ ^_^ ^_^ ^_^ ^_^ ^_^ ^_^ ^_^ ^_^ ^_^ ^_^ ^ ^_^ ^_^ ^ ^_^ ^_^ ^ ^_^ ^_^ ^_^ ^ ^_^ ^_^
one note before beginning...
This takes place after Slayers, Next and Try... Guess what.... new enemy coming up!!! And it's
an A/U...
disclaimer...
I do not own Slayers, I am not making monetary profit or gain from them. The only thing I can
even half way claim to be mine are the Tarzokus... (wow!!) Slayers belongs to some really great
people with a great imagination... But you all knew that already, right?
^_^ ^_^ ^_^ ^_^ ^_^ ^_^ ^_^ ^_^ ^_^ ^_^ ^_^ ^_^ ^ ^_^ ^_^ ^ ^_^ ^_^ ^ ^_^ ^_^ ^_^ ^ ^_^ ^_^
Mini Prologue...
(many, many, many, many, many eons ago...)
The room is dark, very dark. But although it's so amazingly dark, you can distinguish two figures. They seemed to be floating in empty space, for the room does not have room qualities, that is, it doesn't have walls, no floor, and no ceiling. OK, so maybe it isn't a room, but they are there. The two beings had immense power radiating from their corporal bodies. They were speaking to each other in very serious tones. Slowly, the room lightened up, but only slightly. Enough to see small details. Like the fact that they were sitting down and talking to each other while reading some papers.
"You know, this could get very ugly." This one was the male voice.
"No really, I hadn't noticed." answered the other sarcastically.
"What do you plan to do?"
"Obviously, the prophecies should never get to her."
"Her? You are so sure the Chosen One will be a girl?"
"Her, Him, I could care less. They could be an It, for all I care."
"But you do care, a lot."
"Of course, you idiot. Who wouldn't?"
"So what are you planning to do?"
"First of all, I have to hide you, again."
"It's not my fault you have weak minions."
"But I have a new plan. One of my newest recruits, one named Xellos."
"What's so special about him?"
"He is one of my favorites. Very loyal, and great potential."
"How can you guarantee that it will work. The last one died."
"But this time, you will share your power with him. That way, he won't explode."
"Perhaps. It could work. Have you tried it before?"
"Does it look like I would try something like that?"
"Point taken. I will go into him. But that doesn't solve our problem with It."
"It seems like It will be able to defeat part of our master. It will be a hard opponent."
"But I have an idea..."
"Really? That's new, an idea coming from you."
"I appreciate your sarcasm, dear sister of mine."
"So what's your idea?"
"The Chosen One will read the prophecies. It says so here that It will be
unwilling, but that It will do what they have to do."
"So?"
"So, we change the prophecies."
"As if Fate will listen to us."
"Not that way. We will hide all the real ones and write some special ones for her
and her friends."
"Very interesting, do go on..."
"We can end up controlling It. We could use her as our pawn."
"But where will we get the prophecies from?"
"Ah... the one here talks about It defeating part of our master. Yet our master has
not been split... yet."
"So that means we have time to write our own?"
"Yes... and by the time the Chosen One gets them, they will indeed be old..."
"Wonderful plan."
"Let's do it."
With that, the two beings phased out of the room, leaving behind their coffee table.
A few years later, Zelas looked into her crystal ball. She watched her minion, Xellos. Well, not really her minion, her Priest. I mean, her General/Priest. Her General had died in the battle. He had been brave, but stupid. But she was worried about Xellos. His power was amazing, his fusion with her brother, Xerxes, had been complete. Yet she wondered, how much of her brother would affect Xellos? Her thoughts were interrupted by a polite knock.
"Come in," she said. A Mazoku with teal eyes came in.
"Zelas-sama," she said as she knelt.
"Yes, Madabar?" asked Zelas. Madabar was a new "recruit", who like Xellos, also
had much potential.
"Your plans are ready."
"Perfect!" said Zelas, a smile on her face. Today, the dragons would die.
Chapter 1 (Version 1.2)
Yet another prophecy to be unraveled!!!
Entry #1
Hi! I feel dumb now, writing hi to a journal. Well, anyway, I decided to start a journal. A week ago, our group finally disbanded. After a few years of sticking together like glue, we finally split. They took it rather well... I think we all knew it was coming, just that we... sort of didn't want it to come. Oh well, it was time for us. We spent the last night at the inn, calling back memories of what we had done. Looking back, I can't believe how silly we were. Aaah, good times! It was a farewell type of party. We promised to write to each other... I'm writing the addresses at the back of the journal. Anyway, you wonder what will happen to the rest? Well, let's start with Gourry. He's going with Amelia. No, not as a couple. Gourry will become the trainer and part of the royal guard in the city of Seyruun to Amelia's family. I can't think of a better job for him. Amelia, is going back to Seyruun. She says it's about time she took the crown more seriously anyway. Presently, she's a foreign emissary to other lands beyond the shield to establish trade or some such between their cities. Gourry's her personal guard, since they've been together through so many things. Well, Zel is... why don't you take a guess... he's still searching for a cure. I personally don't see why. His chimera form is extremely useful. I'm afraid that once Zel becomes human, he won't be able to protect himself as well, since his body won't be made of stone anymore. But he doesn't exactly want to hear that. According to what little I know about chimeras, I don't think Zel will be that strong with magic. So, basically, now, I'm traveling to Seerin. It's a small town close to the actual shield. It's a place where people like yours truly can go to rest and get some work. Work?, you wonder... yes, truth be told, I'm not just some uncultured tomboy. I happen to be a good artist, and researcher as well as sorceress. Many researchers and wizards live in Seerin... You wonder about Xellos? Well, Xellos is a Mazoku. We didn't have to worry about him, since I'm sure Zelas is more than happy giving them orders. Well, he disappeared some days earlier, like always, and I haven't heard of him yet. For all I know, he might not know we've disbanded. I'm silently glad that it's over, not that I would ever tell them given the chance... There is no need to fear anymore... I hope. Well, it's getting late. I've set up traps everywhere around camp. You can't be too careful, night!!!
With that, sorceress extraordinaire, Lina Inverse, closed her journal and went to sleep with a sad smile on her face.
Seven months later...
"Extra! Extra! Read all about it! Sorceress Lina Inverse passes away due to mysterious ailment!! Princess Amelia Wil Tesla de Seyruun returns today from trip to Juna!!!!! Prince Phil speaks to the people on banditry!!! Extra! Extra! Read all about it here!!" People looked up with surprised faces as they heard the news. Lina Inverse, dead????? Impossible!... or was it?
Two years later...
Madabar looked at the lady across from her. The lady was her boss, at least, a manifestation of her boss. She was also speaking.
"Madabar, you know what to do." said the lady with golden hair. Teal eyes on a pale face nodded. The one with golden hair continued. "Make it realistic, but don't hurt Xellos. He is still my special... "pet". You only have on objective, kill the Chosen One. You know who she is." Madabar nodded once more.
"Your plans are perfect, Zelas-sama." she said. "Count on me, I will not let all the work we have done to become a failure."
"Good," said Zelas. "Make sure you do. And remember, kill her. I've already taken care of preliminary details. Xellos will convince her to play into your hands." Zelas phased out and Madabar was left alone. Like all Mazoku, she could change her appearance. Right now, her and her group of specially trained Mazoku were ready for battle. *And after killing the Chosen One, we will kill you, Zelas-sama.* she thought sarcastically. Unknown to her, Zelas was thinking along the same lines. Zelas thought. And then, her brother was going down. So simple it was beautiful.
*****
Xellos smiled to himself as he carefully fingered the scrolls that were found in the cave. They were a beautiful set indeed. It was amazing how well preserved they were. He put them into his rucksack of holding, with a protective spell around it so that the fragile scrolls wouldn't break. He stood up and smiled again. His work was done. Now, to take them to Beastmaster... He looked up suddenly. For a minute, he thought he had felt the presence of... Xellos shook his head... but the feeling of unease still plagued him. He suddenly felt the need to hurry, and he did exactly that.
As he traversed the gates of time and space, he mused about what had been happening in the last few years. He had started out as a vigil for Beastmaster and had kept an eye on Lina. After their three million and one adventures though, the group had disbanded. Surprising, wasn't it. Even to him. Not that he had much time to brood over it. Lord Beastmaster had immediately put him to work searching the whole of the planet looking for scrolls. These were the last ones on his list... He really wondered what they were about, but Beastmaster had forbidden him to open them. His musings where cut short as he appeared in Wolf Pack Island, and to his surprise, found most of the wood burned black. Xellos stood stunned for a few seconds before his gears got moving. Around him lay destruction, and for once, he wasn't the cause of it. Heat permeated from the burnt trees. He suddenly felt a sudden movement from his right. An arrow whizzed from out of nowhere, it seemed, and had Xellos not moved, would have hit him in the chest.
"Who's there?!" shouted Xellos. He gasped, and his normally happy face turned severe as he saw someone jump out of a tree that had not been burnt too badly. The creature had short black hair that fell over a pair of pale pink eyes. A pair of fluffy white ears peeked from the sides of their head. And from the back sprouted a long sleek cat like tail covered with white fur. On her shoulder was slung a quiver of arrows and she was holding a bow in her hands. Their power signature was slightly familiar, but hard to place.
"Hello, General and Priest of the late Lord Beastmaster!" said the creature with a happy grin on her face.
"Late?" asked Xellos, caught off guard.
"Oh, had you not heard the news?" she asked with a cute grin. "Why just recently, I think, we killed her!" She giggled madly. Xellos just stared at her with a look of shock on his face before he got moving. He fired a quick ball of lightning in her direction, which she casually dodged with cat like grace. As quick as a wink, she back flipped right next to him and whispered sultrily into his ear.
"I'm to... 'entertain' you while the rest tie up the loose ends..." Xellos pushed her away. She once again flipped in the air and held out her hands, her bow slung over her shoulder.
"Brahm Flare!!!" she shouted as a rod of black light was hurled at Xellos. Xellos rolled out of the way. The rod ran into the tree behind him, turning it into ashes. Xellos was about to attack her when he felt a quick message. 'Xellos, hurry! They're still looking for me. Find me you know where...' Xellos smiled cheerfully again as he pointed his staff, the red orb glowing darkly.
"Sayonara, dear. I think we'll finish this fight later." With that, a small sphere of golden energy shot out from his hand and flew up and above the girl, to knock of a branch that promptly fell on her.
"Hey!" she shouted, before she realized that she was talking to empty air. "Darn it!!!!" she shouted. With that, she phased out of there.
*****
Meanwhile, Xellos ported to a city close to the island. The city was called Jinnia. It was a small city, hardly known in the world. The only thing that was moderately good was that it had a relatively low crime rate. But that was because hardly anyone knew about it. He walked casually to a small house that seemed so average nobody paid attention to it. As soon as he went in, he sensed that there was something wrong. He ran to the bedroom where he weakly felt Beastmaster's presence.
"Zelas!" he said as he burst into the room. Zelas was resting against the bed post, her face pale and bruised. Xellos could sense a lot of magic in the room. As if Zelas had just done some major healing on her mundane form.
"Sit, Xellos." She offered him a seat which he took. From his rucksack of keeping, Xellos took out the last scrolls on the list that Zelas had asked him for.
"Here are your scrolls, Lord Beastmaster," he said.
"Keep them Xellos." said Zelas. "Now, listen carefully. I'm too weak right now. The Tarzokus got me by surprise."
"So that's who they are!" said Xellos, pretending to know what Zelas was talking about. After all, he was the Trickster Priest, and he knew everything,... supposedly.
"Be quiet! Now, I'll give you a rough run down. For the past two years, I have been carefully monitoring a fountain of incredible power due to its location near many mines of orihalcon and another metal that I haven't identified yet. The fountain has very... how shall I put it.... very unusual side effects. Because of the magic in the area, plants, animals, or rocks gathered from there contain some dilute form of magic from it. This magic is more commonly known as chaos magic, drawing on the power or L-sama herself, with out as much risk to the user. Repercussions happen rarely when using these artifacts, but when they do happen, the consequences are greater than before. Now, Xellos, you know that L-sama is the Mother of all, and whoever got a hold of such power would ultimately be a threat, such as the Inverse girl. Yet the Lina has been Chosen by L-sama herself, to have a special affinity with her. You have seen that for yourself. She was born with the mark of L-sama on her forehead. And it's time for her to embrace her destiny. Get all the scrolls for me, Xellos, the ones you got for me." Xellos nodded and carefully took all five sets of scrolls from a hidden panel in the wall. Zelas smiled and set a protective spell around them.
"Fate has decided that the time has come. These scrolls, the prophecies in them, were created by Fate herself, to make sure that Lina and only Lina, the Chosen One would receive that magic. Unfortunately, there is a group out there that is power hungry, and would take the power from her. They are called the Tarzokus, the ones who sneaked up on me. Their name is a crude imitation of our race as well as the dragons" said Zelas.
"How did they find you, though?" asked Xellos. "Wouldn't you be strong enough to kill them?"
"You have forgotten one important thing," said Zelas gravely. "They already posses an extensive amount of magic, of chaotic, dark and light."
"But didn't you say that only Lina was supposed to have the magic?" asked Xellos, extremely confused. Something just didn't seem right...
"You still don't get it, my little Priest." said Zelas, trying hard to be patient. "They have not gone into the full potential of chaotic magic. As you know, chaotic magic can hurt us, badly. Slowly, but surely, they are absorbing the power of the fountain, through use of stones and magical plants. There is only a certain amount of chaos magic there, and it is slowly being absorbed by them. Before long, the magic will be absorbed into them, and the Chosen One will not be able to rise and ward of an even greater threat that is to come. The Tarzokus must be stopped, and for that to happen, Lina has to fight for her birthright. Find her, my loyal Priest and General, for the fate of the world and Lina rest in your hands."
"But, didn't Lina die about a two years ago?" asked a confused Xellos. But Zelas had closed her eyes and was leaning against the headboard. With a start, Xellos realized that she looked extremely tired. Well, to turn to his task... How in the world was he going to find someone who supposedly had died about two years ago?
*****
Princess Amelia Wil Tesla de Seyruun looked up from her papers. Her father was taking care of the affairs of Seyruun. She was in charge of the foreign diplomacy between cities from within and out of the shield. She got to travel a lot with Gourry. It was pretty fun. They were great friends.
She took her quill up. She was writing a letter to the Seyruunian embassy in a city from out of the shield. But she didn't feel like it. 'It's at times like these that I wish I was still adventuring with Ms. Lina...' Thinking that, she put down her quill and went over to the window. It was raining. How dreary. She sighed.
"Hello Amelia!" said a cheery voice. Amelia turned around with a gasp.
"Xellos!" she said with a worried look in her eyes. "What are you doing here?" she asked.
"Hello to you too, Amelia!" said Xellos with a tired smile. He had to be careful with how he ported from place to place, since Madabar's people were on the look out for him and Beastmaster. The result, he was tired. "Do you mind if I crash here for the night? I promise I'll behave." added Xellos with a smile.
"Um... sure, Mr. Xellos." said Amelia hesitantly. "But you promise you won't... um.. you know..."
"Of course, Princess." said Xellos. "I'll be a good boy!" Amelia rang for a servant that promptly led Xellos to a guest room.
The next morning, Amelia sent a note to Xellos. He opened the door and took the note with a smile and the frightened servant. Over night, the rumors had grown and spread like an annoying weed. The most outrageous one included Xellos being the princesses secret lover that was know planning to overthrow the royal family. These rumors, were of course, started by him. All the fear the silly servants had generated were a delightful snack to the Mazoku. Xellos went into his room to read the note that Amelia had written. He had a nice room. It was navy blue with silver trimmings. The curtains were blue with silver tassels, the sheets were blue with silver trim, the walls were blue, although they had a silver stripe running across the middle. Nice room. He sat down in a chair on which was slung his rucksack of keeping. The princess was inviting him to breakfast with her and Gourry. Sure. He took his bag and brushed his purple hair so that he looked presentable.
At the table, Xellos greeted the princess and Gourry.
"Good morning princess, Gourry," said Xellos as he sat down at the table with the other two.
"How are you doing, Xellos?" asked Gourry with a smile. "It's been some time since we last saw each other!"
"I hope you had a good night's rest," said Amelia. The servants came out and put a huge pile of plates in front of the three. Gourry immediately started to wolf down all the food in sight, although he did it at a slower speed, since Lina wasn't there. Thinking about her...
"So, Amelia," said Xellos. "How's everything in the kingdom so far?"
"Fine, Xellos," she answered, wondering what the priest was up to. After the breakfast was over, the servants came in to clear away the dishes and served some tea. Gourry left since he had to do some errands around the castle. Xellos picked up his cup and took a small sip.
"I'm here to inquire about Lina." said Xellos. He decided to play dumb for a bit. "How's she doing?" Amelia almost choked on her tea.
"You mean, you don't know?" she asked, amazed.
"Know what?" asked Xellos.
"Lina died... about two years ago." said Amelia with a sad face. "She died of an unknown sickness." At this moment, there were almost tears coming out of her eyes.
"Oh... I'm sorry," said Xellos as he looked into his cup. "Could you tell me about it?" Amelia wiped her eyes and sniffed. Xellos offered her his handkerchief.
"Thanks, Xellos," she said as she struggled with her tears. "It's just that, I'm not quite used to thinking her as... dead." Xellos nodded. "Well, we don't really know much about it. Zelgadis said, in a letter, that she got really sick. He had been near there at the time and he tried to help her, but by the time he got the doctor... it was too late..." Here, Amelia trailed off. "I should have been there. It was only a few months after we disbanded. I might have been able to do something... but I was away, playing a diplomat..."
"Now, now," said Xellos. "Don't cry."
"Thanks Xellos," she said after a while. "If you want to know more, Zelgadis can tell you more, probably. He's supposed to come today or tomorrow."
"Really? How fortunate I am!" said Xellos, for once sincerely. Something didn't sound quite right. "What for?"
"Oh, he's going to use the library to find a lead to his cure." said Amelia. She was more composed now. "He's been doing that for some time now." Xellos nodded. He spent the rest of the day studying the scrolls he had gotten for Zelas. Sure, she had told him not to look, but that was before the Tarzokus had come. Now, he needed every bit of information he could get. Which is why he had supper in the royal libraries of Seyruun. The next day, Zelgadis came. Xellos cornered him in the library and started an extensive question and answer session with him.
"So, how are you doing, Zelgadis?" asked Xellos as he took a sip of his cup of tea. Zelgadis took a draught from the mug of coffee he had.
"Fine," he said. Silence.
"I heard some interesting news from Amelia the other day." said Xellos as he took another sip.
"Really?" said Zel. There was an insinuated "And what does that have to do with me?"
"And the princess thinks I can get some more details from you," said Xellos with a smile.
"About?" asked Zel with a frown.
"Lina's death." said Xellos. Zelgadis looked surprised for a while before he once again put on a stoic face.
"Oh," he said. "What of it?"
"Where did she die?" asked Xellos.
"In a small village close to the border." said Zelgadis.
"Do you remember the name of the town?" asked Xellos.
"What is it to you?" asked Zelgadis.
"What would you say, if I said that Lina's death never happened?" asked Xellos before taking a sip of his tea. Zelgadis looked surprised at that.
"I would say that you're crazy." said Zel simply. "Not that that's anything new."
"Ouch, Zel," said Xellos still smiling. "That hurts. Still, I'm serious about this. Tell me about what happened. For some reason, I'm not convinced."
"And why should I tell you anything?" said Zelgadis, annoyed.
"If I tell you, will you tell me where Lina is?" asked Xellos, his smile had turned into a serious and pensive frown.
"Like Amelia told you, Lina is dead." said Zel. "But do go on."
"What I'm about to tell you cannot be repeated to anyone else, do you understand, Zelgadis?" asked Xellos.
"Of course," said Zelgadis. He took another drink of his coffee.
"Basically, It's time for Lina to arise to her birthright as Chosen One of L-sama but others are trying their hardest to get their hands on it. If they succeed in usurping her power, the world will meet up with a Fate worse than death," said Xellos. "And that's it!"
"And that's it," said Zelgadis with thinly veiled sarcasm.
"Yes," said Xellos with a smile. "Of course, that's the condensed version of it. So, will you please do me the honor of telling me where Lina is. As you can see, we are in dire need of her if we don't want the world to fall apart."
"I thought you Mazoku's wanted that." said Xellos.
"Not really," said Xellos. "Most of your average Mazoku just want to take over the world. What's the use of unleashing a super horrible Fate on us that even we, the Mazokus, will not be able to handle? After all, that will kill of our main form of sustenance. Back to my question,... where is Lina-san?"
"Like Amelia said," said Zel.
"I know what Amelia said." said Xellos. "I want to know what you have to say." Zelgadis thought it over. Xellos was never known to outright lie. Of course, his ulterior motives anyone was welcome to guessing. But he had heard rumors about the fall of the Mazoku. There were rumors of strange beasts appearing everywhere. What Xellos said seemed true. He would take the risk.
"You, are an idiot," said Zelgadis as he took another sip of coffee. "Why didn't you say that earlier!"
"Well, I thought you'd be nice enough to tell me with out having to know all the details." said Xellos with a smile. "So, I take Lina really is alive, huh?" Zelgadis nodded.
"I'll take you to her." he said. "No one knows she's alive except for you and I. Amelia and Gourry don't know. I trust you'll keep the information a secret..."
"Why of course," said Xellos. "What I don't understand is why she chose to fake her death?"
"She hasn't told me that either." said Zelgadis. The two simultaneously took another sip and stared at each other.
The DAN... (dreaded author's notes... *shudder*)
Well, what do you think? This is one of my first Slayer's fic... be gentle, please????? Well, what else, Comments and Criticisms welcome, as usual, but no flames... I don't deal too kindly with them. Any ideas you might want me to consider?? BTW, please put a subject in your e-mail. I have a habit of deleting mails with no subject if they are from people I don't know. Thanx!!! What else... tell me what you think... I'd greatly appreciate the feedback. And a huge and grateful thank you to the awesome and wonderful people who reviewed the fic!!! You guys are cool!!!!!!!!!!!!! (I know, you're all like, "Wow, she thinks we're cool!!!" ^o^;;
Anywho... about the Version 1.2 thing. It means chapter one, second revision. This chapter has gone to a major revision, due to a few comments a reviewer made. After reading their mail, I realized that they were right. So, thank you!!! To the one brave soul who dared criticize my work. (Sorry, I accidentally deleted your message. Could you send me your alias again so I can give ya credit???) Hopefully, it has made the first chapter even better... tell me your opinions. And I'm very, very, extremely and truly sorry for this... forgive me?... please??? don't be mean?...
Hotaru Kimiko Lai ^_^
Dec. 18, 2001
"Ganar no es importante, sino hacer perder al otro." -Cindy Wong
"It's not winning that matters, but making the other loose." (rough translation from the quote above by me!)