Disclaimer: I don't own Slayers. Unless you do, I don't think that it's a
big deal, eh?
Xellos stepped out of astral space into a dark chamber lit only by a few small candles. The air was heavily scented with incense. At one end of the room stood a large crimson sofa stacked with many pillows. Sitting in the middle of this was a feminine figure, her features hidden by the shadows. On one side of the sofa a small impish creature was slowly fanning the woman.
Xellos walked forward until he was a few feet from the woman. He kneeled before her and waited for her to address him. It wouldn't do to speak to her until she had acknowledged him.
A sensual voice purred at Xellos from the gloom. "You may stand my child."
Xellos nodded and rose to his feet. "My Lord Beastmaster, the plan moves along faster than expected. All the pieces are falling into place."
Beastmaster Zelas sighed. "Xellos, I hope that you aren't wasting my time. This is hardly what I would call news."
"I've made a few adjustments to the plan."
Zelas nodded. "As expected. You've always been very creative when following my instructions. I tolerate your little adjustments because you have never failed me."
"My Lord flatters me. I've taken the liberty of using Lina Inverse to help collect the fragments of the Soul Render."
Zelas shifted on the mound of cushions. Her voice had a dangerous tone. "Xellos, I told you to kill her for a reason. This human has an annoying habit of meddling in our affairs. For her transgressions against Fabrizzo and Lord Ruby Eyes, she should have been dealt with years ago."
Xellos smiled. "Too true. However, she seems to have a special gift for this sort of work." He shrugged. "I saw no reason to waste a perfectly useful resource. Besides, she is suffering as we speak. I killed her lover, blamed her former friend for it, and set her on the trail of the Soul Render. When I'm done using her, she will die by my hand."
Zelas chuckled as she lay down on the pillows. "As usual, you justify your creation with your cunning and cruelty. Just make sure that you do not fail. You are dismissed."
Xellos knelt with his head down. "There is something that concerns me Lord."
Zelas sat back up annoyed.
"The Soul Render fragments. We assumed that they were scattered across the land. Therefore, it was no surprise that they started appearing when they did." He looked up at Zelas as he continued. "I found it to be a little too convenient. Two fragments of an ancient artifact appearing at the same time? And now a third? Too perfect to be a coincidence."
Zelas growled. "Is there a point to this Xellos?"
"Of course. After doing some research in Seyruun, I discovered an interesting fact. The fragments weren't scattered across our world." He paused for a moment and opened one violet eye. "They were scattered across all four worlds."
Zelas reached down to where Xellos was kneeling and lifted his chin until her face was inches from his. "Then how, pray tell, are they all in this world?"
Xellos scowled. "I believe that there is someone or something pulling them into our world. And we have no idea of who or what it is. I find this to be somewhat. . . upsetting."
Zelas lovingly caressed her servant's face. "I will look into the matter. For now, the only thing that you need to concern yourself with is the completion of your mission. Go." She kissed his forehead and released him.
Xellos stepped back and bowed before disappearing.
Twilight had settled across the land and the Inverses had finished traveling for the day. They had stopped on the top of a hill overlooking the capital city of Seyruun. Though darkness covered the land, the capital city shone brighter than any star in the sky. All around the buildings in the city lights were shining. If she didn't know better, Lina would have thought that the city was being invaded by giant fireflies.
"Wow." Emily stared in awe at the spectacle before her.
"Yeah. It's something huh? Every night hundreds of Lighting spells are cast around the city. If criminals aren't concealed by darkness then they are far less likely to commit crimes." She shrugged. "Well, that's their logic anyways." Lina unrolled their tent in preparation for camp.
"Does it work?" Emily was still looking at the city.
"Seems to." Lina looked up at Emily and smiled. She had forgotten that Emily hadn't been here in fifteen years. Neither had she for that matter. She stood up and walked over to where Emily was enjoying the view. It really was beautiful.
They stood silently for a moment admiring the city before Lina slapped Emily on the back.
"Ow! What was that for?" Emily rubbed her back.
"No time to be goofing off. We need to get a fire started before it's too dark to see."
Emily sighed and began looking for firewood. Why'd mom always have to be so rough?
"Hey Val! Go tell your mum that there's some other travelers up ahead." The elderly fox man pointed to a campfire at the top of the hill.
"Okay Uncle Jillas!" Val, a boy who looked to be about six years old went running back down the road towards a woman walking with what looked like a painfully overburdened mule. "Mom! There's people camped up ahead! Let's go see them!" The boy grabbed the woman's hand trying to make her go faster.
The woman stopped walking and brushed the blond hair out of her face. "Calm down Val! We'll get there when we get there." She continued to walk calmly up the road. "Some of us are too tired to go sprinting up a hill you know."
"Awww." Val looked disappointed for a moment, but then his face brightened. He addressed the mule that apparently wasn't a mule. "How about you Uncle Gravos?"
Gravos was a rather large and fierce looking beast man. He appeared somewhat menacing until he looked down at Val and smiled. "Kid, you've got to be joking." He gestured to the dozens of parcels perilously perched on his back. "I can hardly walk with your mom's entire store on my back."
Filia gave Gravos a reproachful look and was about to say something.
Suddenly Jillas came running back down the hill with a horrified expression on his face. He was trying to shout and whisper at the same time. "Turn around!"
Filia looked up. "What's wrong Jillas? Bandits?" He looked like he had seen a ghost.
Jillas grabbed Filia's head and whispered something in her ear. Her expression went from annoyed to terrified in an instant. She turned to Gravos and screamed at him. "You heard him! Turn around!"
Gravos just stood there with an incredulous look on his face. "Uh, Miss Filia?"
Filia snarled at him. "NOW!
That got Gravos moving.
"Where's Val?" Filia looked around realizing that the boy was nowhere to be seen.
Emily went into the second tent to tuck the kids in for the night. She was somewhat surprised to see that instead of the two children they had before, there were now three. A handsome little boy with long green hair was talking happily with the other children.
Emily shook her head and grinned. "By Cepheid, I think that they're multiplying." She tapped the newcomer on the shoulder. "Hello there!"
Val looked at her and grinned. "Hi! I'm Val!"
Emily smiled. He seemed nice enough. "Where are your mom and dad?"
Val thought for a minute. "Well, mom's coming up in a minute. I don't think I have a dad. Do you mean Uncle Jillas?"
Just then, Lina poked her head into the tent. "What's going on here? Some of us are trying to sleep!" She noticed something was amiss. One. Two. Yes there were definitely three kids in the tent now. She sighed. "What now?"
Emily pointed at Val. "Mom, this is Val. Val this is my mom Lina."
Lina thought for a moment. Val? Hmm. She looked the boy over. Green hair. Familiar face. Could it be? She leaned down next to him until they were nose to nose. "You're Filia's boy aren't you?"
Val quietly nodded. He was a little nervous being scrutinized by Lina.
Lina clapped her hands. "Ha! I knew it! Where is she?" She climbed out of the tent looking around. Standing in front of her was Filia Ul Copt.
Filia swallowed nervously and tried to smile. She had dreaded this day for twenty-eight years. Maybe Lina wouldn't remember. "Hello Miss Lina!" She hoped that she sounded cheerier than she felt.
Lina wrapped her arms around Filia. "Filia! How long has it been?"
"Almost thirty years Miss Lina. How are you?" Good. Maybe Lina had forgotten about it after all.
"Wow! Thirty years huh?" Lina looked distracted for a minute. "Multiply thirty years by twenty percent interest." She was mumbling to herself now. "Carry the five. Multiply that by the thirty five percent late fee."
Filia felt faint. Lina hadn't forgotten. She sat down and began to prepare some tea. Maybe it would help settle her stomach. She poured a cup for herself with shaky hands.
"Oh whatever!" Lina looked exceptionally happy. "We'll just round it off to the nearest million. What do you say Filia?"
Filia nodded weakly. She had never paid Lina her promised fee for helping with the Darkstar incident. Lina had said that she could pay next time, but she had never expected next time to be twenty-eight years later.
Filia's gaze settled on Emily. "Oh, Miss Lina. Who is this lovely young lady?"
"Oh her? That's my little girl Emily. Emily this is Filia."
Emily blushed. "Mother, I'm eighteen. I'm not a 'little girl' you know."
Lina pinched Emily's cheek. "Silly. You'll always be my little girl."
Emily's face was crimson by this point. "Mom! Why are you trying to embarrass me in front of total strangers?"
Filia watched this with an amused expression on her face. "So it must be Mrs. Lina now huh?"
Lina and Emily stopped bickering when they heard this.
Emily sighed. "I'm going to bed. Good night mom. Miss Filia." She climbed into her tent.
Filia smiled. "Oh, she's absolutely beautiful Lina. Just like her mother."
Lina smiled sadly. She sat by the fire next to Filia. There was a moment of silence before she spoke. "She's Gourry's child."
"I assumed so. I saw the way you would look at him when we traveled together." Filia looked around. "Where is Mr. Gourry? I haven't said hello to him yet."
Lina cleared her throat. "Um, he passed away recently."
"Oh dear. I'm sorry to hear that." Filia bowed her head.
"It's been really tough you know? I thought that we would be together forever. It's not right."
Lina and Filia heard sniffling and sobbing behind them. They turned to see Jillas and Gravos sitting a few feet away.
Jillas blew his nose and wiped away a tear. "That's the saddest thing I've ever heard. You poor woman!" He wrapped his arms around Lina and buried his face in her chest.
Lina stared at him for a second before shouting. "Damn it! Let go of me! If I'd wanted your opinion I would've asked for it! Do you know what a private conversation is?!" She readied a spell.
Jillas and Gravos immediately disappeared into the foliage lining the road.
Lina sighed and turned back to Filia. "Anyway, it's not really something I like to dwell on."
"I see, but you can't hide from your feelings Lina." Filia sipped her tea.
"Yeah, but I can't just cry about it either. If I don't do something, I'll go nuts."
"Do something about it?" Filia raised an eyebrow. "Miss Lina, what happened to Gourry?"
"Zelgadis killed him." Lina sounded angry.
Filia gasped and dropped her cup. "Mr. Zelgadis? But he was your friend wasn't he?"
Lina nodded.
"What are you going to do?"
"When it happened, I was ready to kill him." Lina thought for a moment. "Something doesn't seem right though. The more I think about it the more I feel like I'm missing something. I guess now I just want to ask him why he did it."
Filia nodded. "It's always better to get the facts straight before you do something you might regret. You must be mellowing out a bit in your middle age."
Lina gave Filia a stern look.
Emily called out from the tent. "Yeah right! She's still as crazy as she ever was."
Lina freaked out. "Damn it! Is there anyone who isn't listening in on my conversation?" She looked over at the other tent and saw Val and the other kids peeking out. "I knew it!" She sighed. "Let's talk about something else okay?"
"Sure. Tea?" Filia handed Lina a cup.
"How's business?" Lina pointed to the pile of vases.
Filia began to chat excitedly about her work. "Business has been wonderful! In fact, I've branched out from vases to all sorts of antiquities. See?" She grabbed a box from the pile and opened it to reveal a pendant. "I sell jewelry, both magical and mundane." She grabbed another box containing what looked to be a very old scroll. "Ancient literature from lost civilizations." She shook her head when Lina raised an eyebrow. "Sorry, no spell books or anything like that." She reached back into the pile and grabbed a large box. Thinking better of it, she put it back down. "That's about it!"
Lina noticed the box Filia had shoved back into the pile. She nodded at it. "What's that one?"
Filia started to sweat. "Oh, nothing. Just another little worthless trinket." She laughed nervously. There was no way she was going to show such a powerful magical artifact to Lina. Besides, the royal family was paying top coin for it.
Lina shrugged. "Whatever."
Inside the box, a crimson stone began to emit a soft golden glow.
Next chapter: Forces are beginning to move against Lina and the others and searching for the Soul Render is becoming dangerous.
Notes: I really like this chapter. From the interaction between Xellos and Zelas to the introduction of the TRY gang (I love Jillas), it was all a lot of fun to write. I hope that you had fun reading it.
I'd like to thank Dynast Grauscherra for reviewing the story. I'm glad you're enjoying it. You know, when I first started conceptualizing this story, Zelgadis was going to be the big baddie. But when I started to write, I couldn't bring myself to have him be totally evil (I know, I'm a wimp). The way it's panning out now, Zel's story is becoming one of redemption. It's pretty interesting to write him that way.
Also, I'm glad you like Emily. I tried to give her a softer personality than Lina. The way I picture her is kind of like Lina's intelligence with a little of Gourry's understanding nature.
Thank you all! Once again, if you missed it on the other six chapters, please read and review!
Xellos stepped out of astral space into a dark chamber lit only by a few small candles. The air was heavily scented with incense. At one end of the room stood a large crimson sofa stacked with many pillows. Sitting in the middle of this was a feminine figure, her features hidden by the shadows. On one side of the sofa a small impish creature was slowly fanning the woman.
Xellos walked forward until he was a few feet from the woman. He kneeled before her and waited for her to address him. It wouldn't do to speak to her until she had acknowledged him.
A sensual voice purred at Xellos from the gloom. "You may stand my child."
Xellos nodded and rose to his feet. "My Lord Beastmaster, the plan moves along faster than expected. All the pieces are falling into place."
Beastmaster Zelas sighed. "Xellos, I hope that you aren't wasting my time. This is hardly what I would call news."
"I've made a few adjustments to the plan."
Zelas nodded. "As expected. You've always been very creative when following my instructions. I tolerate your little adjustments because you have never failed me."
"My Lord flatters me. I've taken the liberty of using Lina Inverse to help collect the fragments of the Soul Render."
Zelas shifted on the mound of cushions. Her voice had a dangerous tone. "Xellos, I told you to kill her for a reason. This human has an annoying habit of meddling in our affairs. For her transgressions against Fabrizzo and Lord Ruby Eyes, she should have been dealt with years ago."
Xellos smiled. "Too true. However, she seems to have a special gift for this sort of work." He shrugged. "I saw no reason to waste a perfectly useful resource. Besides, she is suffering as we speak. I killed her lover, blamed her former friend for it, and set her on the trail of the Soul Render. When I'm done using her, she will die by my hand."
Zelas chuckled as she lay down on the pillows. "As usual, you justify your creation with your cunning and cruelty. Just make sure that you do not fail. You are dismissed."
Xellos knelt with his head down. "There is something that concerns me Lord."
Zelas sat back up annoyed.
"The Soul Render fragments. We assumed that they were scattered across the land. Therefore, it was no surprise that they started appearing when they did." He looked up at Zelas as he continued. "I found it to be a little too convenient. Two fragments of an ancient artifact appearing at the same time? And now a third? Too perfect to be a coincidence."
Zelas growled. "Is there a point to this Xellos?"
"Of course. After doing some research in Seyruun, I discovered an interesting fact. The fragments weren't scattered across our world." He paused for a moment and opened one violet eye. "They were scattered across all four worlds."
Zelas reached down to where Xellos was kneeling and lifted his chin until her face was inches from his. "Then how, pray tell, are they all in this world?"
Xellos scowled. "I believe that there is someone or something pulling them into our world. And we have no idea of who or what it is. I find this to be somewhat. . . upsetting."
Zelas lovingly caressed her servant's face. "I will look into the matter. For now, the only thing that you need to concern yourself with is the completion of your mission. Go." She kissed his forehead and released him.
Xellos stepped back and bowed before disappearing.
Twilight had settled across the land and the Inverses had finished traveling for the day. They had stopped on the top of a hill overlooking the capital city of Seyruun. Though darkness covered the land, the capital city shone brighter than any star in the sky. All around the buildings in the city lights were shining. If she didn't know better, Lina would have thought that the city was being invaded by giant fireflies.
"Wow." Emily stared in awe at the spectacle before her.
"Yeah. It's something huh? Every night hundreds of Lighting spells are cast around the city. If criminals aren't concealed by darkness then they are far less likely to commit crimes." She shrugged. "Well, that's their logic anyways." Lina unrolled their tent in preparation for camp.
"Does it work?" Emily was still looking at the city.
"Seems to." Lina looked up at Emily and smiled. She had forgotten that Emily hadn't been here in fifteen years. Neither had she for that matter. She stood up and walked over to where Emily was enjoying the view. It really was beautiful.
They stood silently for a moment admiring the city before Lina slapped Emily on the back.
"Ow! What was that for?" Emily rubbed her back.
"No time to be goofing off. We need to get a fire started before it's too dark to see."
Emily sighed and began looking for firewood. Why'd mom always have to be so rough?
"Hey Val! Go tell your mum that there's some other travelers up ahead." The elderly fox man pointed to a campfire at the top of the hill.
"Okay Uncle Jillas!" Val, a boy who looked to be about six years old went running back down the road towards a woman walking with what looked like a painfully overburdened mule. "Mom! There's people camped up ahead! Let's go see them!" The boy grabbed the woman's hand trying to make her go faster.
The woman stopped walking and brushed the blond hair out of her face. "Calm down Val! We'll get there when we get there." She continued to walk calmly up the road. "Some of us are too tired to go sprinting up a hill you know."
"Awww." Val looked disappointed for a moment, but then his face brightened. He addressed the mule that apparently wasn't a mule. "How about you Uncle Gravos?"
Gravos was a rather large and fierce looking beast man. He appeared somewhat menacing until he looked down at Val and smiled. "Kid, you've got to be joking." He gestured to the dozens of parcels perilously perched on his back. "I can hardly walk with your mom's entire store on my back."
Filia gave Gravos a reproachful look and was about to say something.
Suddenly Jillas came running back down the hill with a horrified expression on his face. He was trying to shout and whisper at the same time. "Turn around!"
Filia looked up. "What's wrong Jillas? Bandits?" He looked like he had seen a ghost.
Jillas grabbed Filia's head and whispered something in her ear. Her expression went from annoyed to terrified in an instant. She turned to Gravos and screamed at him. "You heard him! Turn around!"
Gravos just stood there with an incredulous look on his face. "Uh, Miss Filia?"
Filia snarled at him. "NOW!
That got Gravos moving.
"Where's Val?" Filia looked around realizing that the boy was nowhere to be seen.
Emily went into the second tent to tuck the kids in for the night. She was somewhat surprised to see that instead of the two children they had before, there were now three. A handsome little boy with long green hair was talking happily with the other children.
Emily shook her head and grinned. "By Cepheid, I think that they're multiplying." She tapped the newcomer on the shoulder. "Hello there!"
Val looked at her and grinned. "Hi! I'm Val!"
Emily smiled. He seemed nice enough. "Where are your mom and dad?"
Val thought for a minute. "Well, mom's coming up in a minute. I don't think I have a dad. Do you mean Uncle Jillas?"
Just then, Lina poked her head into the tent. "What's going on here? Some of us are trying to sleep!" She noticed something was amiss. One. Two. Yes there were definitely three kids in the tent now. She sighed. "What now?"
Emily pointed at Val. "Mom, this is Val. Val this is my mom Lina."
Lina thought for a moment. Val? Hmm. She looked the boy over. Green hair. Familiar face. Could it be? She leaned down next to him until they were nose to nose. "You're Filia's boy aren't you?"
Val quietly nodded. He was a little nervous being scrutinized by Lina.
Lina clapped her hands. "Ha! I knew it! Where is she?" She climbed out of the tent looking around. Standing in front of her was Filia Ul Copt.
Filia swallowed nervously and tried to smile. She had dreaded this day for twenty-eight years. Maybe Lina wouldn't remember. "Hello Miss Lina!" She hoped that she sounded cheerier than she felt.
Lina wrapped her arms around Filia. "Filia! How long has it been?"
"Almost thirty years Miss Lina. How are you?" Good. Maybe Lina had forgotten about it after all.
"Wow! Thirty years huh?" Lina looked distracted for a minute. "Multiply thirty years by twenty percent interest." She was mumbling to herself now. "Carry the five. Multiply that by the thirty five percent late fee."
Filia felt faint. Lina hadn't forgotten. She sat down and began to prepare some tea. Maybe it would help settle her stomach. She poured a cup for herself with shaky hands.
"Oh whatever!" Lina looked exceptionally happy. "We'll just round it off to the nearest million. What do you say Filia?"
Filia nodded weakly. She had never paid Lina her promised fee for helping with the Darkstar incident. Lina had said that she could pay next time, but she had never expected next time to be twenty-eight years later.
Filia's gaze settled on Emily. "Oh, Miss Lina. Who is this lovely young lady?"
"Oh her? That's my little girl Emily. Emily this is Filia."
Emily blushed. "Mother, I'm eighteen. I'm not a 'little girl' you know."
Lina pinched Emily's cheek. "Silly. You'll always be my little girl."
Emily's face was crimson by this point. "Mom! Why are you trying to embarrass me in front of total strangers?"
Filia watched this with an amused expression on her face. "So it must be Mrs. Lina now huh?"
Lina and Emily stopped bickering when they heard this.
Emily sighed. "I'm going to bed. Good night mom. Miss Filia." She climbed into her tent.
Filia smiled. "Oh, she's absolutely beautiful Lina. Just like her mother."
Lina smiled sadly. She sat by the fire next to Filia. There was a moment of silence before she spoke. "She's Gourry's child."
"I assumed so. I saw the way you would look at him when we traveled together." Filia looked around. "Where is Mr. Gourry? I haven't said hello to him yet."
Lina cleared her throat. "Um, he passed away recently."
"Oh dear. I'm sorry to hear that." Filia bowed her head.
"It's been really tough you know? I thought that we would be together forever. It's not right."
Lina and Filia heard sniffling and sobbing behind them. They turned to see Jillas and Gravos sitting a few feet away.
Jillas blew his nose and wiped away a tear. "That's the saddest thing I've ever heard. You poor woman!" He wrapped his arms around Lina and buried his face in her chest.
Lina stared at him for a second before shouting. "Damn it! Let go of me! If I'd wanted your opinion I would've asked for it! Do you know what a private conversation is?!" She readied a spell.
Jillas and Gravos immediately disappeared into the foliage lining the road.
Lina sighed and turned back to Filia. "Anyway, it's not really something I like to dwell on."
"I see, but you can't hide from your feelings Lina." Filia sipped her tea.
"Yeah, but I can't just cry about it either. If I don't do something, I'll go nuts."
"Do something about it?" Filia raised an eyebrow. "Miss Lina, what happened to Gourry?"
"Zelgadis killed him." Lina sounded angry.
Filia gasped and dropped her cup. "Mr. Zelgadis? But he was your friend wasn't he?"
Lina nodded.
"What are you going to do?"
"When it happened, I was ready to kill him." Lina thought for a moment. "Something doesn't seem right though. The more I think about it the more I feel like I'm missing something. I guess now I just want to ask him why he did it."
Filia nodded. "It's always better to get the facts straight before you do something you might regret. You must be mellowing out a bit in your middle age."
Lina gave Filia a stern look.
Emily called out from the tent. "Yeah right! She's still as crazy as she ever was."
Lina freaked out. "Damn it! Is there anyone who isn't listening in on my conversation?" She looked over at the other tent and saw Val and the other kids peeking out. "I knew it!" She sighed. "Let's talk about something else okay?"
"Sure. Tea?" Filia handed Lina a cup.
"How's business?" Lina pointed to the pile of vases.
Filia began to chat excitedly about her work. "Business has been wonderful! In fact, I've branched out from vases to all sorts of antiquities. See?" She grabbed a box from the pile and opened it to reveal a pendant. "I sell jewelry, both magical and mundane." She grabbed another box containing what looked to be a very old scroll. "Ancient literature from lost civilizations." She shook her head when Lina raised an eyebrow. "Sorry, no spell books or anything like that." She reached back into the pile and grabbed a large box. Thinking better of it, she put it back down. "That's about it!"
Lina noticed the box Filia had shoved back into the pile. She nodded at it. "What's that one?"
Filia started to sweat. "Oh, nothing. Just another little worthless trinket." She laughed nervously. There was no way she was going to show such a powerful magical artifact to Lina. Besides, the royal family was paying top coin for it.
Lina shrugged. "Whatever."
Inside the box, a crimson stone began to emit a soft golden glow.
Next chapter: Forces are beginning to move against Lina and the others and searching for the Soul Render is becoming dangerous.
Notes: I really like this chapter. From the interaction between Xellos and Zelas to the introduction of the TRY gang (I love Jillas), it was all a lot of fun to write. I hope that you had fun reading it.
I'd like to thank Dynast Grauscherra for reviewing the story. I'm glad you're enjoying it. You know, when I first started conceptualizing this story, Zelgadis was going to be the big baddie. But when I started to write, I couldn't bring myself to have him be totally evil (I know, I'm a wimp). The way it's panning out now, Zel's story is becoming one of redemption. It's pretty interesting to write him that way.
Also, I'm glad you like Emily. I tried to give her a softer personality than Lina. The way I picture her is kind of like Lina's intelligence with a little of Gourry's understanding nature.
Thank you all! Once again, if you missed it on the other six chapters, please read and review!
