The Slayers: Lina Zelgadiss Xelloss Gourry Amelia Val Filia Sylphiel
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~*~ Seyruun Summer High Jinx Special! ~*~
Part Nine
"This is ridiculous! There are no signs of the Ancient's relics here in Seyruun!" the short-tempered, blue-haired Erulogos growled.
"This time I must agree with you. I have bruises in places I don't even care to know about, and not a sign… not one! I just hate to be the one to tell Almayce. He won't be pleased if we return empty handed," Sirius groused, passing a hand through his pink spiky hair.
Erulogos glared at him as he punched in his cellphone code. "He'll be less forgiving if we waste more time," he muttered to his accomplice. "Hello? Erulogos here. No. No. Very well, Mr. Almayce. We are on our way."
He closed up his phone and grabbed Sirius by the arm. "This way. He wants us back immediately. Apparently he has need of us still."
"Let's hope so," Sirius said in a worried voice. "Or our careers will be cut short."
~*~
"So why hasn't that young fool called me?" the Cephied Supreme Elder bellowed to his assistant. "Call whoever it is he left in charge in his absence back at his clan and tell them that I have gotten no communiqué from Milgasia. Someone there will know something!"
"Y-yes sir!" his fidgety assistant shuddered and escaped to the relative safety of her desk.
A few minutes later she returned to the inner office of her superior. "I have the information you inquired about, Sir."
"'Bout time! Well?"
"Mr. Ul Copt informed me that a code orange is in effect for their clan. Apparently, Mr. Milgasia and Val Gaav are missing, and a clan alert's been called to send help to the ancient lands. A young man named Julian has organized a search party and left." The woman hesitated a moment, waiting for her elder's next command.
"Arrange for my transport immediately. I will be visiting that wasteland personally!"
"As you wish, Sir."
~*~
"All right. Does this suit you, Lina?" Zel asked sarcastically. He had parked the Suburban in a semi-hidden spot not far from both a hardware store and a grocery store.
Ignoring Mr. Attitude, Lina hopped out, "Come on, Gourry. Let's get some eats for this excursion."
"Okay, Lina…"
"I guess I'd better supervise them so we can get out of here in under an hour," Filia sighed.
Amelia agreed. Of course, that meant she'd have Zel all to herself while they shopped for a few items he thought they might need.
"We'll need lunch and probably dinner and… OH! Lookie, Gourry! SAMPLES!" Lina shouted.
"Oh, Lina for Cephied's sake! Zel and Amelia will be waiting for us! Here, just give me the cart and I'll by the food while you two gorge then…" Filia said disgustedly.
Not far away, an extremely cheerful Amelia bounced alongside a more cautious Zelgadiss. Just inside the hardware store, a crying child glommed onto Zel's leg.
"What the…? Hey, kid, what's the matter? Amelia?" he looked desperately for her assistance.
"Oh, are you lost little boy?" she asked cleverly. She thought it was cute that he'd chosen Zel for sanctuary from the scary world. The child nodded, swiping at his snotty nose with a sleeve.
"I'll help you find her. My name's Amelia, by the way. What's yours?" she smiled up at Zelgadiss as she took the boy's dry hand. "Go on and do your shopping and we'll meet at the checkout counter, okay?"
Zel nodded, mouthing a 'thank you', and hurried on to look at ropes. He chose two, one longer but both with a soft cottony touch and with strong nylon cores. Next, he picked up an emergency first-aid kit. Great progress. He hoped Amelia was done with her 'Good Samaritan' act and would meet him at the … Who, what have we here? As mature a young man that he was, Zel still had a lot of the little boy, sword-slinger-magical-dark-sorcery-wizard inside of him. As he passed a bucket displaying mop and broom handles, he couldn't resist. He quickly chose his 'weapon' and withdrew a 'sword', giving it a couple swipes and lunges. Ah, yes! The sessions with Himura Kenshin were coming back to him now!
Swish! Swoosh! Crash! Bang! Crash! Bang-gety, bang, bang!
One false step and he'd fallen backwards into the already unfortunately-rickety display of paint cans on sale. Luckily, or not, he hadn't been knocked senseless…
Meanwhile, Amelia's kind act had met with success.
"Oh, thank you dear for returning my little boy to me. It's so hard to pick out nails and watch him at the same time," the flustered mother said. Her son clung to her like glue and watched Amelia out of the corner of one eye.
"I bet it is! It's hard enough to contain the bigger ones," Amelia grinned.
Crash! Bang! Crash! Bang-gety, bang, bang!
"Oh! I wonder what that was?" Amelia cried out and hurried away in search of another calamity requiring an act of goodness to bring justice and honor to… "Oh!"
Not only was he in the midst of hundreds of paint cans, but Zel was surrounded by people staring at him, both curious customers and concerned store personnel.
"My Gods! What is he?"
"Is that a girl? She's got earrings!"
"You call those EARS? He's a demon!"
"Look at the skin? It's a monster for sure!"
"Oh! Mr. Zelgadiss!"
Back at the grocery, Filia was angry. "Lina! We must hurry! You and Gourry are wasting precious time! Val could be bleeding to death out there! Xelloss could be…something! Come on. I'll pay for what we've got and lets go!"
"Okay," Lina agreed, having settled the money issue. She even kicked Gourry into the checkout line to move him along a little faster. An excited exchange between their cashier and two kids just coming into the store, caught Lina's attention.
"What did you say?" Lina yelled at the kids.
"There's a fight between an angel and a demon over at the hardware store!" they repeated then dashed back out to go watch it themselves.
Gourry seized the bags of groceries and Filia was putting away her change, when Lina grabbed her by the arm and cried out, "We'd better hurry, like you said!"
They raced down the street to where a crowd was gathering. Using Gourry like a shield, Lina pushed her way past the crowd to the center of the disturbance. As she had suspected, Amelia and Zelgadiss were there, Zel straightening out his clothes and hair.
Amelia-sweet-angel helped pick up the ropes and first aid kit. Handing them over to Gourry with some cash she said by way of observation, "Why does this always seem to happen?"
Zel-heartless-demon appeared nonplussed about the whole mess he made. He simply shrugged as Lina pushed him toward the door and said only slightly apologetically, "I must have been a little over excited…"
Outside, Filia was fuming mad. She was worried about Val and frantic about the delays her friends seemed to encounter purposefully. Zelgadiss was actually proud of being such a standout in the conservative community, grinning and spouting all kinds of nonsense that she wasn't paying attention to or cared about. She had had enough! As soon as the car was in sight, she screamed, "I will end his now!" and smacked Zel hard enough to nearly knock him out.
Gourry had kindly paid for Zel's bag of supplies and quickly caught his friend as he was propelled to the ground by Filia's strike. "Whoa, there Zel. Why don't you let me drive for a bit while you sit in the back seat?"
Zel was too stunned to refuse and so, handed over the keys and climbed into the back seat. Amelia slid in next to him and slipped Zel's head with it's throbbing bump onto her lap.
Gourry started the engine and sorted through the sack he'd carried to the car. Finding what he was looking for, he tossed a packet to Amelia, and laughing said, "Good thing ya got these ice packs, Zel. Who'da thought you'd be needing them first, huh?"
Zel answered with a groan.
"How did such a mess get started?" Gourry asked him, since Lina was busy scanning the map Milgasia had made for them in the hospital.
Zel muttered, "I guess the people in this town aren't used to non-clan sorts and we stand out like sore thumbs."
Filia tensed up. Lina, sitting beside her in the middle seats, noticed Filia's hostile reaction and looked up from her reading.
"So… what's wrong? You're not letting old nerd Zel-bob get to you now, are you?" Lina asked.
Filia strained to get a better look out of her window. "No! It's more like I just felt a wave of inexplicable anger is flowing through my body."
Lina snorted, "Yeah, I get that feeling all the time around these guys…"
Gourry had watched where Filia was scanning the horizon. "Ah, um… I think I see a helicopter in the distance."
Lina squinted, "Oh, yeah? Where?"
"Over by those lower hills… that gray line. Goin' down over there," he pointed toward the right.
"Yeah, mebbe. That's where we're headin'. Hey, maybe Xelloss called in a helicopter for the search, or Julian… or maybe your dad, Amelia!" Lina suggested.
Zelgadiss groaned, "Gods…please not him…"
~*~
Deep underground, Almayce had chased away Jillas and Gravos. He wanted to speak to the Ancient Clan survivor alone. He could see that Val was unwell and in need of medical attention. He regretted that he was not able to assist him at all, but that he was to interrogate him instead. Carefully.
"Hello, young man. I understand you're Val Gaav and this," raising an arm to indicate a wide area, "is your inheritance. Am I correct?" Almayce asked.
"Who the f*#^&@ are you?" Val growled in a husky voice riddled with pain.
Wincing at the verbal assault, Almayce continued, "You may call me Almayce. I am from… overseas. I can use your help looking for some very old weapons, like this one." The older man pointed to the Red Priest's staff. "Have you seen any others like them?"
"No. But…if I had one I'd shove it through yer fat, ugly gut. I don't know ya or wanna. Now get the hell outta my face," Val spat. He sat down, leaning his head back against the stone wall, and groaned at the effort it took to remain conscious.
Almayce stood his ground and waited. This kid knew something; of that, he was certain. How to extract the information would be a task more fitting for his two minions en-route from Seyruun.
Overhead, the sky was alive with the noisy activity of a pair of buzzing helicopters. Xelloss, Sirius and Erulogos arrived at the Ancient Clan temple at the same time.
"Well, this is embarrassing, "Xelloss giggled. "It appears you have the same plans that I do!"
Erulogos frowned, "You have the advantage… priest. WE do not know YOU."
Sirius' eyes remained locked on Xelloss' ruby-orbed staff.
Xelloss turned to him and smiled. "Cool, eh? Can't have it!" he giggled, adding to the tall, blue-haired man's torment. "Besides, it's definitely NOT what you're looking for."
Sirius was interested in the origins of his most interesting looking symbol of power. "This is your priest's staff? It's nothing like that of the Red Priest."
Erulogos growled, "Fool! Don't tell him about that!"
Xelloss smiled, "So… you ARE the guys that stole it, huh? Then it's here? How many more have you recovered then?"
Xelloss was worried about his friends and whether or not they'd encountered these two flakes… and lost. It was clear, however, that to get more information from these two, he would need to share some of his own. "I am also looking for these same relics, but for a different master."
He revealed his syndicate pendant. "I'm sorry. I haven't introduced myself. I am Xelloss Metallium, General and Priest to Mistress Zelas Metallium of the Syndicate under Shabrinigdo. YOU are Volphied followers reporting to Almayce, correct?"
Sirius wore the expression of one who had looked his mortal enemy in the eye and was now frozen in horror. His compatriot was a heartbeat ahead of him, removing a gun from under his denim jacket. Expecting nothing less from the men, Xelloss whipped around his staff like a bo, knocked the gun into the air, and sent it skittering behind him.
"We will not let you turn the relics over to DARKSTAR!" Erulogos howled as he gripped his stinging hand in pain.
"Ah! You misunderstand me. I have NO intentions of providing him with inroads into syndicate territory. If your plans include destroying him, then I think we can work together," Xelloss smiled at first Erulogos then the calmer Sirius man.
They looked at each other and nodded in silent communication. "Perhaps we have found a common ground, Mr. Metallium," Sirius bowed slightly.
"Yes, indeedy!" Xelloss winked conspiratorially. "I know about the other relics, all but one and it must be here, hidden. What can you tell me?"
Erulogos frowned, "We'll take you to Almayce and let him decide how to manage this…alliance."
"Fine. Take me to your leader!" he commanded seriously, then Xelloss laughed aloud, "I've always wanted to use that line!"
Almayce watched Val until he succumbed to his fever and passed out. There was nothing more to be gained from standing there, so Almayce took the concealed passageway to the surface to meet his two subordinates. They had failed him in Seyruun, but there was another chance for them to salvage their careers. Yes, he was an understanding man…
Halfway to the surface, me met Sirius, Erulogos, and, much to his surprise, Xelloss. Sirius made the introductions short, rapidly summarizing the situation presented to them—a collaboration as the lesser of two evils.
Almayce decided that Xelloss would be easy to dispose of in the end, if he got in his way, but that in the meantime, he could offer them assistance he could use. "All right, Xelloss of the Syndicate. I believe we can agree to work together to find the lost Ancient weapon. Collecting all the relics will most certainly draw DARKSTAR away from our territories in Europe and attract him to your lands here. If you provide us with those other weapons, then we will work with you to assure his destruction, solving all of our problems. Do you accept?"
Xelloss nodded and smiled, "I think that will do nicely."
"I have a troublesome young man who passes in and out of consciousness, but who I believe holds the key to the whereabouts of the final Ancient relic. Perhaps you can help with the interrogation?" Almayce asked Xelloss.
Hoping that this could be his Val, Xelloss nodded, "Lead on!"
They found Val crumpled up on a blanket on the damp ground. Xelloss held back a gasp with difficulty. He was alive. At LEAST he was alive, but he was hurt. That was one awful head injury too, Xelloss noticed. That explained the passing-out problem. Feverish, from the pale damp skin… "This man is injured and ill. He needs fresh air and medical attention. If you want to get him to be contributive, he must be alert enough to speak. Isn't there someplace protected from the elements, but above ground where we can take him?" Xelloss asked.
"Yes. The temple is intact, if we can find the correct passage. Sirius, find those young punks and have one of them lead us to the temple!" Almayce ordered.
~*~
"Gods this place is a mess!" Lina said with disgust.
Lina and company were walking through the acres of wreckage towards the temple path up into the mountains. Fila hardly spoke at all. It was a scene of complete and total destruction of every structure that the young woman was unprepared for. Clearly, no one in the settlement could have survived such an attack. So, where had Val and his mother been? She wondered how they could have lived through such a horrendous attack.
"Who could have done such a thing?" Amelia cried out in anguish what was on everyone else's minds as well. There was nothing 'right' about such total disregard of life; no just cause could excuse the violent assault upon these people, now wiped from existence.
"Would the syndicate do something like this?" Gourry wondered aloud.
Lina shrugged, "Who knows? Maybe, but the question is why would they? Which makes me think about Xelloss. I've been trying to figure out what Xelloss might be up to. I've got this stinking feeling that the Syndicate must be involved in some way."
"I agree, but I think you mean 'sinking' feeling, Lina," Zel agreed.
"No, Zel, I meant what I said! When it come to the syndicate, it stinks!"
"That's enough! I don't want to hear another word about that…that messed up, annoying little creep or his shitty little den of thieves and thugs!" Filia screamed. "I'll go ballistic at the mention of Xelloss again. DO YOU HEAR ME?!"
"Yeah, yeah, Filia. Don't have kittens, all right?" Lina grumbled.
"Hey! Look up there, Gourry! Isn't that the temple Milgasia marked on the map?"
"Um…yeah and some guys are movin' around up there too,' he answered as he held his hand up over his eyes to block the sun rays.
"Too far away for me. Can you tell if they're Syndicate or clan?" Lina asked.
"Ah, I can't tell if they're guys or girls. I just see movin' specks'" Gourry said.
Filia ran her hand along a street marker, long fallen by the wayside. On closer examination, she could recognize the Ancient clan markings as well as signs of battle and blasts from merciless bombs. "I will climb to the temple, but I may not be able to enter," she whispered with an effort.
"That's one hell of a climb, guys," Lina said, reluctant to move in the hot sun. "Before we risk getting caught in another landslide, why don't we scout around for a lower entry point."
Filia moved as if in a daze, not really seeing or trying not to see any more of the horror around her. Lina decided that she wold be totally useless and didn't bother asking her to help her rearrange the sacks of food into two canvas totebags. Lina cast a worried look Filia's way, then determinedly hefted one from each arm, plucking her way carefully around the ragged stones and cursing under her breath.
Amelia had a difficult time climbing over the larger obstacles, but tried crawling into a couple promising cave openings when asked. As it turned out, it was Gourry who noticed the unusual clan markings over a hidden archway. He and Zel had been carrying the wrapped up relics and a dufflebag of assorted 'tools' and Zel's hardware store purchases. Gourry grunted something over his shoulder and dropped the heavy weapons.
"Looking interesting," Zel agreed. For several minutes he and Gourry worked a tree limb loose and used it to get some leverage under a boulder blocking the entrance, and roll it far enough that they could see inside what surely was a underground chamber. At last, they had a resting place out of the hot sun, a cool cave beneath the Ancient clan temple.
Naturally, Lina wanted a bit of refreshment as well. While she, Gourry, and Amelia had a snack, Filia and Zel wandered around the cave. Zel flicked on his lighter to see how far back the cave actually went into the mountain.
"Lina! Didn't you say you checked back here and saw nothing?" His muffled voice barely registered with the others, he was so deep in the cave.
"Yeah, I looked, saw nothing and came back. What?" she sputtered through the crumbs of an oatmeal cookie.
"Amelia, can I have your pocket flashlight?" Zel asked instead.
"Where are you?" Amelia asked cautiously as she crept into the darkness.
Thunk!
"Ah, that's me. Thanks," Zel said and removed the light from her hand. "I think this just keeps on going. It must be a subterranean passage. I've been hoping that Val was swallowed up by some underground cave and we'd be able to locate him with enough people and ropes."
Zel knelt beside the dufflebag he'd wrestled into the cave and hauled out several lengths of rope. "You still here Amelia? Good, you can start tying everyone together so we can't get lost!" Zel tossed some rope to Gourry, whose taller outline was visible against the bright cave entrance, and handed the rest to Amelia.
Filia sniffled and clumsily stumbled over to Zelgadiss. Groping for him in the near-dark, she sent delightful, and unexpected, thrills along his skin. "AHH! What's that? Oh, Filia…" he muttered thoroughly embarrassed and glad for the darkness to hide his hot blush.
"Oh, Zel…thank you…" she whispered in his ear. She was an inch or more taller than him and it felt very strange to have her so close. He had no idea what to do or say, so he patted her reassuringly on the back and didn't move or say a word.
"Since… since I heard about V-Val. No one has wanted to say anything…everyone thinks he's dead. I know they do! They just say it! But…he's not! I don't believe it! And what you just said, that's the first time anyone's said anything hopeful! Thank you, Zel-bob, You're the sweetest!" she burbled a bit and sobbed into his shoulder.
"Mr. Zelgadiss? I need to tie this to you now, then we'll be ready. Miss Lina's leaving most of the food behind. Miss Filia?" Amelia said gently.
"It's okay, Amelia. I'm not trying to steal this hunk away from you," Filia said lightly, pushing apart from Zel. Before she moved away, however, she purred in his ear, "You know, these loose clothes hide a really nice build, Zel-bob!"
He choked and sputtered, "Filia…" and was really thankful for the concealing darkness now. What was it with girls and hugging anyway? Not to mention the…other stuff…Did she call me a 'hunk'? Well, fencing has a few good points. "What were you saying Gourry?" Zel asked, coming out of his head and up for air.
While Amelia tied herself to Zel, Gourry and Zelgadiss discussed various 'boy scout' methods for marking trails. They finally settled on a stone piling arrangement that would work, as long as the batteries held out on the flashlights.
"We'll only use two lights at a time," Zel began. "We have to conserve power, since we don't know how long we'll be in the dark. Anyway, the batteries should last for a couple days that way. I'll take the lead and one light, and Gourry will bring up the rear with the other. Oh, right, Lina, pass me my sword."
"Hey, shine that flashlight on me," Lina demanded. "So, how do I look?" She settled the heavy axe on one shoulder, cocked her head to the side and grinned, or at least bared her teeth.
Zel shuddered, "Um…scary, Lina. I'm going to have nightmares now about you coming at me with that axe…"
"Or Filia coming at ya…" Gourry started to say, but was silenced by a punch to the gut.
~*~
From high above the valley of destruction, Xelloss once again stood at the temple overlook, the warm summer wind blowing his loose hair at the sides. "I will attend to him for awhile. If he has anything to say, I'll let you know," Xelloss said, dismissing Almayce's people. Jillas and Gravos were allowed to stay or go at their own discretion.
When Almayce, Sirius, and Erulogos departed to another section of the temple grounds for their own deliberations, Xelloss knelt down by the scarcely ambulatory Val.
Xelloss greeted Val jauntily, "You're a mess, but alive at least!"
"Close enough!" Val managed to smirk, recognizing the voice of a friend.
"I see Lina and the others down below. All the players are in place!" Xelloss smiled.
"Now, I'm going to give you a quick examination to see what's going on with you," Xelloss explained as he unbuttoned Val's torn and bloody shirt.
Val's groans as he reached the limp arm signaled Xelloss to be more careful. "Apart from some bad scrapes, I can't see what's wrong with your arm…oh…your shoulder is really swollen. No wonder. Shit, you're burning up, Val! Open your eyes…dammit! Jillas, Gravos! What did you give this guy?"
Xelloss lanced them both with a killer stare that brought Gravos to his knees. "Uh, just these as-per-ins," the big dumb lug said, extending his hand and showing him a bottle.
"Are you some kind of an idiot?" Xelloss sneered. "This doesn't read 'aspirin'! This is a combination hallucinogen and depressant! With this head trauma, you could kill him! Crap, he stinks too! I thought you'd be taking car of this guy you call you friend?! You let him vomit and soil himself, give him mind-altering drugs, and barely clean his wounds? I wouldn't treat my worst enemy that bad!" Xelloss was shaking with anger. He had Gravos ready to piss in his pants and Jillas was trembling.
"Listen to me and do what I say. I came prepared with a few first aid tricks, but YOU will bring me the rest of what I need, understand?" Xelloss waited until they agreed intelligently.
"Good. First, you, Gravos. You got some clean sweat pants? Bring them here, and a shirt and socks. Jillas, bring me water and a way to heat it and some towels, blankets…NOW!" Xelloss ordered.
When they'd nearly run one another down in order to get away from him, Xelloss continued with his ministrations. "Val, can you understand what I'm saying to you? I'm helping you sit up and I have something I want you to drink. It won't cure you, but your mind will clear up for a few minutes."
Val nodded, then sipped at the contents Xelloss poured between his lips from a small unmarked vial. Xelloss gently cradled his friend's head, then stroked his matted hair, removing chunks of rock and blood clots. As if a veil was pulled from his face, Val's eyes opened and he looked at Xelloss and knew him.
"You came," Val whispered from cracked lips.
"Sorry it took so long. I had some trouble getting here. Milgasia is in the hospital, but I think only his legs were hurt," Xelloss added guessing what questions Val wanted answered first. "Those tall foreigners are after those old weapons of Zelgadiss and Gourry. What's more, they think you know something about another one hidden here. Um, they're not the only ones. I, ah, have orders to collect them all as well, but… I'm not here to hurt you, Val, or my friends…ever, understand?"
Val nodded then cleared his throat to speak. He spoke haltingly, obviously in great pain, but Xelloss let him take his time without interrupting him. "I've been thinkin'…dreamin'. I remember this place. It was my home. Gaav took me and my mother from here. I remember… He wanted somethin'. He wanted my mother to give him somethin'. He'd beat her, but I don't think she ever knew what he meant. She didn't tell him nothin'. But I knew. Father told me."
So Val told him about a diagram on a removable panel of a trunk that his mother took from the temple when he was child. Gaav tried to get information from her, but she was unable to tell him what he wanted to know or help him find what he was searching for. Once, he dumped contents of Val's mother's trunk and searched, but never found what he was looking for. Something of great purpose and value.
"I think it's a map of tunnels to finding a secret place." Val smiled slightly and patted his front jean pocket. "I brought it along to see if it really was a treasure map, but the rock slide stopped me. Now, I'm thinkin' that it may lead to another of those relics. Here, take it while I'm awake to see that it's safe."
Xelloss agreed. "When I find Zelgadiss and Lina, I'll be sure they get it, Val." He stared to say more, but Val was slipping away under the spell of the drugs and fever coursing through his system.
Jillas and Gravos returned dumping the stuff and heating the water. Gravos excused himself to go get more water and another blanket. Xelloss removed Val's shoes and socks, then waited for the water to heat before removing his shredded jeans. With another blanket to work with, Xelloss had Gravos help him stretch Val out on one while the other blanket Xelloss ordered them to lay out in some sun to chase out the bugs.
"Water's boilin'," Jillas said, then switched the hot pot with another one brimming with cold, fresh water.
"I'll need this towel ripped into smaller piece that I'll clean him with, then just burn. Can you do that? Good." Xelloss removed the make-shift bandage form Val's forehead and winced at the gash and bump protruding from the center. He withdrew a packet of unmarked envelopes and bottles from his small shoulder satchel and delicately cleaned the wound.
Val moaned and the antiseptic sizzled over the infected flesh. "I'm going to have to have lots more water to wash his hair so more dirt doesn't get into this," Xelloss said. Both punks took off without another word. Val's condition was scaring them. What if he died? They might be held accountable! But it wasn't the authorities that they were concerned about, rather that kid out there, Xelloss. He was a leader in the syndicate? Almayce's people said so! So with Gaav dead, Xelloss was… their next leader? Jillas and Gravos had a lot to worry about.
Xelloss washed Val's face and shoulders, turned him on his unhurt side and washed his back, removing embedded rock slivers and applying antibiotic salve as needed. He other side was more difficult to reach without moving the painful arm. He pressed around the back shoulder blades and decided that nothing was broken, but that with a good hard shove, he could relocate the shoulder and relieve the worst problem.
"Argh!" Val groaned in agony following Xelloss' well-placed karate punch.
"Whaaaat?!" Jillas croaked as he and Gravos stumbled onto the nightmarish scene.
Xelloss ignored them for the most part. He took a towel out of the boiling water and gingerly squeezed out the water, then wrapped it in a dry one and placed it on the swelling. He gently lowered Val onto his back, letting the warmth soak into the wounded area.
Next, Xelloss washed Val's hair and wrapped it in a towel. Val barely moaned this time. "Hey…that feels nice…" he whispered.
Jillas switched pots again and ripped up another towel, awaiting his next orders from Xelloss.
"Unless you two get off on looking at naked guys, then get out. Guard the passageway and keep those other…clansmen from disturbing us."
"Yes, boss!" both Jillas and Gravos answered in unison.
Xelloss smiled faintly after them then returned to business. "Just relax, Val. This is the last I have to do for a while, then I can let you sleep, okay?"
Val may have nodded while Xelloss slipped off the blood and dirt-spattered, tattered jeans and sticky underwear. "Ugh…" Xelloss shrank back, repelled by the smell. He was a finicky person himself, but knew that if Val was to recover, it was all up to him, his only friend. With quick, sure touches, Xelloss cleaned him (thinking, inadvertently about Filia changing baby Quinny). He covered him with a towel and snatched up the pale gray sweatpants from Gravos. "They look long enough, but they are huge around the waist. Ah, some rope…that will do for a belt," Xelloss muttered to the silent Val.
"You're gorgeous…"
"Huh?" Xelloss snapped to attention. "Val?"
Val stretched out his well arm, snagging Xelloss long purple hair in his fingers, and tightened them into a fist.
"AH, Val? That hurts. Could you just open up your hand and…there that's better…" Xelloss said calmly as he tried to extricate himself from his friend's firm grasp. One look into those glassy golden eyes, and Xelloss knew he was talking to a very out-of-it Val. "Um, I sure hope you don't remember ANY of this later. I, ah…promise never to mention it myself… OH!"
~*~
"This is where we'll have to separate for awhile," Zel sighed.
"Yeah," Lina agreed. "But there are three paths…"
"I'll go alone," Filia announced. "Val's this way. I can see shafts of light too." No one else did.
Despite all their objections, Filia over-ruled them all. The small group, then, lay out the ground-rules, path marking, when to turn back, all of it until they agreed. Twenty minutes, then turn back. If everyone wasn't back in one hour, then a search party of the remaining guys would go after them.
Gourry and Lina set out on one path, Zelgadiss and Amelia another, and Filia up the third. She'd find him; she knew it!
As it turned out, Gourry and Zel's paths intersected fifteen minutes later. They decided to continue as a group for the remaining five minutes, when they rounded a corner and saw an unexpected sight-- Jillas and Gravos complaining about their bad luck on a pair of boulders not far from a surface opening.
~*~
"Yer skin's soft…"
"Va-al, that's the drug talking. Try and focus on who I am while I get these pants on you. Better yet, pass out. I think I like you better that way," Xelloss smiled and worked the leg holes over Val's feet.
"I like you…this way…"
"Uh, huh… Thanks Val. I sure wish you were smaller and lighter about now," Xelloss panted at the effort of moving the guy who was nearly a foot taller and at least thirty pounds heavier than him.
"Come back here…" Val murmured and tugged at Xelloss upwards from under his arm.
"Ah, geez, Val… You and I just barely get along on a good day, and besides…" Xelloss grinned hoping to break through the drug-induced fog to Val's reality-brain, "What would Lina think?"
Filia chose that moment to step out onto the lookout of the temple. Her eyes had been used to the dimness of the tunnels, so when she emerged form the narrow opening between the rocks and into the bright light, she was stunned.
"Val?" she narrowed her eyes and shaded them with a hand. "Val?! Xelloss?"
"Wonderful…" Xelloss thought. "I'm having a Zelgadiss moment. I could probably explain why my hand is down his pants while I'm sitting on his lap, but I don't know what would clarify the his-hands-in-my-hair part." He did notice that Filia wasn't moving too fast being blinded temporarily by the sunlight, so used that to extricate himself from Val's grip and finish pulling up the loose sweatpants.
"At least it wasn't Lina," he murmured aloud. He turned back to Filia just in time to see her snag a foot in a crevasse. "Watch it, Filia!" he shouted and jumped to her aid. He caught her in his arms and smiled, "Nice of you to drop by, Filia-dear."
She ignored it all. "Val…?" she couldn't get past that one word. Xelloss let go of her carefully.
She dropped to one knee by Val's side and stroked his chest. He opened a glazed-over eye and growled.
"I've been administering first aid to him. Don't try to make sense of him, Filia, he's drugged and irrational right now. In fact pull that blanket over him a bit and let him sleep. I gave him some…antibiotics and something to lower his temperature. What he needs now is some sleep, then food and water."
Filia sat back and reached for the light cotton quilt. She planted a soft kiss on Val's cheek, then drew the quilt up to his neck. "What happened to his clothes?"
"They're over there, what's left of them. I was about to burn them to keep away the flies and all," Xelloss said. He stood and prodded the pile with a stick, then flung them piece by piece into the fire.
"You…bathed him?" Filia said.
Xelloss nodded. "He's got some bad bruising and cuts, some were infected. It was the only way..."
Filia stood and joined Xelloss by the fire. She gave him a little hug, saying, "You're a good person, Xelloss."
Then she stepped back and asked, "What drugs? Where did you get the medical supplies? How did you get treated? I felt bandages under your shirt, Xelly-boy."
He blanched and flung up his hands in defense, "You sure get a lot out of a hug, Filia."
"You can't imagine how much," she frowned. "You're wearing a pendant too. Is it that pendant? Did the syndicate help you out, Xelloss? Are you one of THEM again? Are you the enemy now?"
"Well… I'm…beholden to them, yes, but as for the rest, well… that's a secret!" he shrugged.
He heard a disturbance from the larger opening Jillas and Gravos were supposed to be guarding. "Listen, before you go nuts here…" he began.
"Careful who you're calling 'nuts', Xelly," she said, glancing at Val with a worried expression. "I want to get him out of here."
"Me too, but we can't move him right now. There are other serious dangers to you right now. I want you out of here with this fellow Almayce and his two armed cronies around. If they find out that you're clan, they might kill you without a thought!"
"Are they syndicate murderers?" she paled in fright.
"Worse, because we don't kill innocent Cephied members. Now, I don't have time to explain everything right this minute. I hear Lina's voice and I've got to stop her from attracting too much unwanted attention, okay? Come with me, Val's not going anywhere for now."
Filia gave Val a heartfelt last look, then took Xelloss' outstretched hand and followed him into the darkness. He'd said 'we'. He's one of them now. Filia shuddered and prayed for his salvation.
~*~
Once Xelloss found the noisemakers. He rapidly set to quieting down the entire group, reminding Jillas and Gravos of the extreme danger they would all be in if Almayce encountered them. Lina took a little more convincing. She wanted a full and complete explanation of what had happened to him, but something in his desperate expression and Filia's haunted look stopped her short.
"Come here, Filia. Tell me what's going on," Lina urged.
Xelloss surreptitiously pulled Zelgadiss aside, while Filia told the others about finding Val.
"Zelgadiss, take this quickly and use it. It's from Val. A map to a hidden relic, he thinks."
Zel looked at Xelloss in wonder, "You're both alive…"
Xelloss smiled and nodded then whispered rapidly, "Three guys, dangerous and armed and NOT syndicate but clan-related are here. They stole the staff and have it here too. Remember what we said in secret one time, little brother? From now on, you won't know what side I'm playing, but…trust me, okay? No matter what? Now, look mad and don't let them see that map until you are far away, please…"
Zel fought off tears, then nodded and yelled, "Xelloss, you traitor! You've chosen your side. Now let us go and keep your nasty thugs off us. We'll be back for Val, you have my word! Oh, and I always keep my word."
Xelloss smarted at the verbal assault. Even knowing that this time it was insincere, it wasn't that long ago that Zel had said and meant similar biting remarks.
Jillas and Gravos, impressed by the turn of events, watched Lina and company back off and retreat into the shadows. "Wow, boss, you really have turned against them. I thought you guys were tight, man."
Xelloss gave him an unreadable look then smiled. "I'm going to check on Val a moment."
Lina scampered to keep up with Zel in the semi darkness. "Hey, slow down! We're not all attached, or are you trying to lose us!" she shouted.
He stopped abruptly and mashed his hand over her mouth, "Shhhhh! Hold hands, then and hurry a little farther."
He led them back to the cavern where they had separated less than an hour ago. Once they were all gathered around, he asked Filia what had happened. She explained finding Val and Xelloss. Val was alive and unconscious, but it appeared that Xelloss was taking care of him. Lastly, she told them what they all had feared, that Xelloss was acing under orders to the syndicate. "But there are some other guys he claimed were worse and looking for your heirlooms."
Zel withdrew the map, "It's Val's. He wants us to find his lost heirloom."
Lina snatched it out of his hand, "How did you get a hold of this?" She looked deeply into his blue eyes, determined to wrestle the information out of him.
"Well, Lina, it's… a secret!" he smirked, nabbed the map back, and dashed off.
Unfortunately, Amelia had just finished re-uniting the team with rope ties. Zel reached the end of HIS rope after about ten paces.
ARGH! PLUNK!
Lina chuckled, eyes gleaming in the darkness, "That's what happens to smart asses who try and pull one over on me! Now, I'll lead us through this maze…"
~*~
Meanwhile, Sirius and Erulogos sought out Xelloss. "Is that young Ancient clan man going to survive do you think?" Sirius asked.
Xelloss nodded, "it looks that way, though I'd prefer to have him transported out of this place and under a doctor's care."
Erulogos snarled, "We don't have TIME for that. WE need a plan for getting those weapons before…" he hesitated a second, "We must hurry!"
Xelloss smiled. He had to buy time for Lina to locate that last relic and get to safety. Then there was Val to think of… "Well, gentlemen, I have a few ideas. If you'd like to bring us some refreshments… tea perhaps?"
~*~
Sometime later, deep in the silent, cool, tomb-like bowels of the mountain, Zel, Lina, Gourry, Amelia, and Filia came to a great chamber of records. Filing cabinets covered one end of the room, while rows of bookcases crammed the other end. Tables with inoperative lights lined the center. Aside from the dark and the dust, the room looked orderly and well maintained.
Lina was immediately drawn to a giant book lying half open on a raised dais. She turned a page or two, scanning the books, while Zel began a cursory examination of the files.
"Hey, this is weird. It's some kind of journal kept by the head clan guy. It says here that the Ancients were not in fights with the syndicate. Ah…they would not share wealth and secrets with 'Golds', whoever they were, so they hid info."
Zelgadiss and Filia were looking over her shoulder now. Lina continued as Amelia and Gourry joined and listened attentively. "It goes on… the Ancients feared attack by 'Golds' any day…"Zel, you ever hear Xelloss talk about some syndicate bunch called the 'Golds'?
Zel shook his head. He didn't want to think or talk about his close friend.
Filia was aghast. Speechless.
"Oh, how awful for them!" Amelia cried. "To know an attack was coming and still not be able to defend themselves. Who could have done such an unjust and…absolutely dreadful thing to these poor people?"
Who indeed?
Outside, not far from the valley that once was home to the Ancient Clan, a young man named Julian lead his golden-haired search party to an unknown future.
~*~ End, Seyruun Summer High Jinx Special, Part Nine. ~*~
