Once Upon a Time

by Hotaru

Disclaimer: You guys know the drill. Characters don't belong to me. Have fun!

Chapter 15: The End of the Beginning

The two teens looked around them warily. Merlina concentrated some more. She knew that Merlin was around, but she couldn't tell from which direction he would come from. Suddenly, a black blur appeared before them. Immediately, the two teens attacked, easily covering the others weaknesses and enforcing each other's strengths. However, Merlin still flowed in between them with grace born from years of fighting.

"You two are good," said Merlin. He ducked a lightning blast and brought around his own staff to block his daughter's sword strike. Xellos brought his own staff into play, the ruby red orb going through the place where Merlin's head was supposed to be. Merlin flipped around in mid-air and shot two bolts of energy at the two.

"Gaaah!" screamed Merlina as she hurriedly twisted out of the way, her defenses down. Merlin took advantage of it and hit her undefended back with his staff, sending her down to earth.

"Merlina!" shouted Xellos. He spun around and twirled the staff in his hands trying to knock the staff out of Merlin's staff. Merlin just laughed at his weak attempts and knocked Xellos's staff away instead. The staff flew down to the earth, but a flying Merlina caught it before it hit the ground.

"Oh well," said Xellos. "I fight better hand to hand." He launched himself at the Mazoku and tried to fight him. He managed to block Merlin's staff and used his hands and feet to try to get a hit in. Merlina flew into the fray once more, still brandishing her Sword of Light. If she could only knick him. She knew that the Sword of Light could harm him. As she passed by Xellos, she deposited the staff again in his hands. Xellos smiled and brought it around to hit Merlin, who hadn't expected Xellos's reach to increase.

From the ground, all that could be seen was a blur. Kyuzan looked up with a scowl, her bow pulled tight, the arrow ready to be launched.

"What are you doing?" asked one of the lesser priests.

"I'm going to shoot one of them down." she said, grimly.

"But your son is up there!"

"There are two Mazoku and my son." she said. "Chances are, one of them will get hit instead of my son." She powered up her bow, calling upon Ceipheed's magic to bless her arrow, and let it fly loose. The bow flew threw the skies amazingly fast and zipped towards the fighters.

The two teenagers didn't see it flying towards them. More specifically, Merlina didn't see it flying towards her. They were too busy fighting someone who not only was fast, but could teleport. And Merlina was beginning to tire.

Merlin, though did see it. He danced around them and then vanished for two seconds before appearing in front of Merlina. He smiled at her in a gentle manner before he slumped over as the arrow impacted him. The arrow was not normally enough to seriously take out such a strong Mazoku as he was. The Sword of Light that flashed through the air and embedded itself into his chest was. Merlina, totally surprised by Merlin's appereance had let instinct take over and she stared horrified at her sword.

"No...." she said to herself. Xellos froze as he saw Merlin start falling. "No!!!!" screamed Merlina as she flew after him, catching his body with her lithe one. She set him down gently on the ground. "No...."

Merlin looked up and smiled at his daughter. His hand went up to gently caress her face.

"You look so like your mother." he said softly. Merlina tried to get the sword out of him, but he stopped her with a hand. "No, it will just worsen it."

"But.... dad..." said Merlina as her eyes teared up.

"Now, listen..." he coughed out. Some blood came out, landing on her shirt and his also.

"What can I do?" she asked. She hadn't wanted to kill him. Beat him up badly, yes. Not stab him, and definately not like this. Her tears leaked out faster as she tried to figure out something to do. She sucked at white healing, and it would just harm him.

"Lina-chan... I'm so proud of you..." he said softly.

"No, rest..." she started again but Merlin kept on.

"I always wanted the best for you, you know. I knew the Mazoku... although not.... your best of companions," he said. His eyes looked peacefully at her. "They would accept you... not like... humans. But you are human also... and you have... a good... human friend." He nodded toward the figure behind her. Merlina felt a hand rest on her shoulder.

"Dad,... don't die..." she said sorrowfully. "I'm so sorry! I didn't mean,... please...come back..."

"Don't say sorry... Mazoku never say... sorry, nor do they beg," he said weakly and started coughing up blood. "But you are your mother's daughter too.... and I'm glad. Find your place, between the humans,.. and us..." He started to cough again. Merlina used her sleeve to wipe the dark red, almost black, Mazoku blood. "I know I wasn't the best...." He smiled at that and laughed a bit. "But I always wanted the best for you." His eyes lowered a bit. "You know... orders are orders. But I still love you. And your mother... I will always love your mother and you."

Merlina looked stricken as he fingered her hair and then closed his eyes. "Take care of her, boy......."

"Dad..." she said softly. She lifted up the head and hugged it to her as she cried softly. Xellos stood behind her, not knowing what to do. He looked at Merlin's Mazoku form. It started to disappear softly, the human form melting into his real form, a black flame. And soon, even that vanished.

Xellos felt a being behind him and turned around, spinning the red crystal tipped staff into a defensive position. He saw Mesphisel before him, his eyes burning with anger. However, the eyes were not turned to either Merlina or him, but focused further away. He turned around, dreading what he would see.

Before them stood his mother, her hair a wild mess. There was a glowing bow in her hands, but that wasn't what grabbed his attention. What did grab his attention, was her smile. A smile full of satisfaction and glee. She didn't seem to be paying attention to anything, just smiling at herself, as if she had a huge secret that totally filled her with rapture. She was smiling, smiling,...

He turned suddenly, hearing a loud roar of anger from behind him. He watched as an angered Mesphisel summoned up the largest spear of black magic he had seen and launched it right at her. He forced himself to watch as the black spear pierced right through her human body, and then imploded. He could hear her scream of pain, but he then looked at the weeping form of Merlina at his feet. There were other things to worry about. His eyes narrowed, trying to block the smile from his mind.

By now, Merlina had finished weeping and was just shaking as she tried to compose herself. Xellos turned towards Mesphisel, being ready for a fight should the Mazoku initiate it.

"He would not have died, you know," said Mesphisel as he walked up to them.

"What?" asked Merlina as she looked up. Nothing mattered to her right now. She had lost both of her parents, to the same woman. She looked up at her uncle, her eyes empty.

"The wound, while given by the Sword of Light, could have been healed by our mistress." said Mesphisel. He looked at the two coldly.

"How..." started Xellos.

"Silence, mortal." said Mesphisel to him. Then he turned to look at Merlina. "He knew that too. All he had to do was to go back. But he didn't. He stayed with you." Merlina looked up, her eyes beginning to be filled with questions. "He chose you, despite Zelas's orders."

"He.... could have lived...?" she asked. She stood up and rubbed the tears from her eyes. "Why tell us this?" she asked.

"Because, I wanted his..... daughter... to know the... importance... of his decision." said Mesphisel. "And because... in a warped way, you are my niece. So that when Zelas wants to see you dead, you'll understand." With that, he vanished. And the only people left in the field where the two children.

*****

The two had made it back to Zephyria by themselves. None of them talked and they didn't touch each other, each one lost in their own thoughts. Merlina looke fatigued. It wasn't just a physical fatigue though. She looked more than tired. She looked... beaten, gone, haunted.

Xellos was just quiet, taking it as stoically as he could. He didn't say a thing after the Mazoku left. He had taken the Sword of Light and handed it to Merlina. Then he led her to Zephyria until she got the point and walked mechanically. They turned down a street. The others in the town looked at them weirdly and one or two glared at them. But finally, they reached Merlina's home. He escorted her to her room and then went to the guest room. This was the first time that both of them slept under the same roof but in different rooms. Both dropped off into an uneasy sleep.

*****

Zelas frowned on listening to the report brought back to her by Mesphisel. One of her best minions was dead, due to his foolishness. He shouldn't have died. She replayed the battle scene in her crystal ball again. Her eyes narrowed as she saw him cradled by his.... daughter. Merlina.

She understood his reasons for bringing her to them. He was right. Among Mazoku, even though tainted, she was respected. Respected because of her power. Even untrained, she was powerful. The Mazoku were not very kind, but even they knew some respect, something humans were sorely lacking in. Humans would have just pushed her away, and they had. And yet... Merlina had left them for the humans. Just like that, with no backward glance. If she had not been involved in this, then Merlin wouldn't have died. She didn't even know why she had allowed Merlin to play with his human pets to such an extreme. She didn't know why she had let him get so attached...

No, it was a lie. She really knew even though she feigned ignorance. He had been curious, just as she was. They both wanted to know why... What made humans tick, what made humans stay together... What made them so foolish that they'd give up their lives for people who didn't understand them... What made them such good martyrs...Her experiment was ruined. It had backfired into her face. Her eyes hardened.

"Bring back the girl to me, Mesphisel. And the boy too." She then turned her eyes to the other crystal in her hands. All of Merlin's power was refined into the glowing red orb. Such a pity. She would not waste him.

*****

The two children where brought to her. It was easy for Mesphisel to find them. The closest town was Zephyria. And they had the strongest auras in town. They had also been asleep and had put up absolutely no resistance. Zelas doubted that even awake, they would have put up much of a fight in the first place.

Zelas sighed, dissappointed. The girl, so full of life before, so full of vivacity and anger, was empty. There was no anger nor any other emotion in her. It was as if she had been sucked dry. It would have been lovely to use the girl. It would have been... ironic. And she loved ironic. He had too... Well, at least the girl still had strength. She had even more strength than the boy, all wild and untamed. She'd deal with her later, though. She then turned her sight on the boy. To her surprise, she saw a hidden anger and disgust in him. His outward demeanor was cool, almost like Mesphisel. However, his inward self, that was so tightly controlled, was full of life. He was delightfully angry, even in his sleep. She thought about it a bit. This would be ironic too. It was such a pity though... had the two joined, or fused, it would have been the perfect minion...

"Place her in her old room." she said as she ordered for her minions to take her away. "And be careful with her. I will not have her harmed." She then summoned Mesphisel.

"I want you to train the boy." she said. He looked at her quizzically. "You will train him, elsewhere. You will turn him strong and turn him to our side. In one years time, he will be ready to take up the mantle as my Priest."

"But if he chooses not to pledge to you, my mistress?" asked Mesphisel.

"He will. When you complete the training I have in mind, he will pledge to us."

*****

One year passed quickly. For Mazoku, time was nearly non-existant. One year was nothing for Mazoku, who would life for hundreds of years if no one killed them. Zelas had done some tampering in Xellos's mind and had carefully undone one link that Xellos had with Merlina. She smiled evilly as she snipped it. Now, he wouldn't love the girl. And with no one in the way, with no purpose in life and with no family tying him down, he was easy prey for the mind bending tricks that were used by Mesphisel and Zelas. However, she couldn't remove Merlina from his thoughts completely. So she cut out what she could and then burried it deep inside his psyche. There would be no reason for him to delve that deep into himself for a long time. By that time, she might have been able to delete her completely. She accepted no mistake this time. She kept Merlina away from Xellos, having them work in separate areas.

Merlina. The girl had awoken, but had no reaction or recollection to what had happened. Zelas had started her training again, and this time, with no ties to her old life, she made progress. Quick progress. The fire in her life was gone, but was replaced by her eagerness to learn all she could. She was still useful. She was the only Mazoku who had so much control over the Sword of Light. It was wonderful, seeing her almost completely shun her human side.

He was her Priest, a Trickster, a grin. She was her Weapon, a being with one track in mind, to become stronger and know more. An exotic blend of human, mazoku and dragon. It was perfect.

*****

One day, they met up. Merlina carried her Sword around her everywhere. She was the third strongest Mazoku under Zelas. The first being Mesphisel and then, her Mysterious Priest. She had never seen him, and she didn't mind. He was the Mysterious Priest, seen by hardly anyone, since Zelas would not show him to almost anyone. Not that she cared. She may not be one of the two, but she was a favorite of Zelas's also, for some reason. Besides, she was unique among the Mazoku, being the sole wielder of the Sword of Light. Quite ironic. But Zelas loved irony.

She hurried to her conference with Zelas. Her vibrant red hair glinted in the dimly lit corridors of Zelas's home. She entered a hallway, and ran into someone else which caused her to fall down. Her insult reamined unspoken as she looked up into amethyst eyes, and she shivered. She knew those eyes...

Xellos was just leaving from an audience with Zelas and wasn't paying attention to where he was going. He knew it was probably his fault for runnng into whoever it was.

"Ah, I am very sorry." said the Trickster Priest. In his left hand he held his staff. It was the staff that had used to belong to Merlin, then Merlina and was now his. The crystal clear gem was gone, replaced by a red one. He extended his hand to the Mazoku he had bumped into. To his surprise, his hand was actually taken. He opened his eyes and looked at the Mazoku before him. Red eyes stared into his.

"No, it's my fault." she said. She looked at him critically. "You are... the Mysterious Priest?" He put on his trademark smile and closed his eyes, looking sickeningly innocent.

"Xellos, the Mysterious Priest of our Mistress, Zelas Metallium." he formally bowed. Merlina actually smiled for a bit and bowed back.

"Merlina, her Weapon." she said simply. The two nodded at each other and parted ways.

*****

Xellos thought carefully about his encounter with Merlina. Of course he recognized her name. And he had to be careful around her. The Mazoku way to climb up the power ladder was to beat the guy ahead of you, and he was ahead of her. He had been surprised when she had accepted his hand, though.

Being a powerful Mazoku, he was able to delight in a few quirks. Mainly, of being polite to everyone. It always threw them off, and left them open, for they never knew what to expect. But she had called his bluff, whether she had meant to or not. Curiously, he felt some sort of kinship with her. Knowing that in this business, emotions would get you killed, he kept his thoughts to himself. Mesphisel always dissapproved of emotions anyway.

*****

Merlina thought. That was the Mysterious Priest. Zelas would not want her to know him. She knew since Zelas never spoke of him. So she wouldn't tell Zelas. Besides, she had other things to worry about. For one, Zelas had told her a small interesting tidbit the other day... The Mazoku and Ryuzoku war would begin very soon. She had to gather more strength.

*****

The war was fun. It was painfully beautiful. All the death, the sick the dying really made the Mazoku relax. And amidst all the fun, there was work. After all, the dragons had to be taken down.

They thought that the battle would have been easy. To their surprise, the Dragons were willing to fight back. And they fought back hard.

And in the first ambush set up by the dragons, there were casualties. To Zelas's satisfaction, Mesphisel's death was not going unavenged. Xellos had all of a sudden appeared in the battle field and leveled all the dragons in the ambush. After all, Mesphisel was his teacher. Let it never be said that Mazoku have no sense of honor.

The next ambush was just as strong and but twice as long as the first. The dragons had learned to anticipate where her Mazoku would be all by themselves. And when they were alone, they would attack. The next ambush, to her surprise, was on Merlina.

To her credit, she had fought back very hard. She had taken almost all of the dragons that fought against her. However, she wasn't all powerful, and died. Her last blast, was brilliant and gold in color, unlike her normal red bursts. There was a tingling of another magic in the air, but it vanished in less than a second so that Zelas thought she had imagined it. Merlina's death saddened her. She hated to see so many wasted deaths. But she was proud of her... granddaughter of sorts. More and more dragons had flown to the ambush to help their lizard brothers and sisters, and she had killed most of them. However, even more were coming, and Merlina had been in charge of the defenses. With her gone, the Dragons expected easy pickings.

She made ready to send more of her minions but watched, her eyes filled with surprise, as Xellos suddenly appeared on one of the rocks where the battle had taken place. His eyes glowed with repressed anger before he closed his eyes and smiled at the hordes of incoming dragons. They thought it would be easy. The did not know that this one Mazoku... that this lone priest... could stop them all. He drew a line in between the dragon hordes with his finger and watched with satisfaction as they all died, exploding from the inside out. He opened his eyes. The anger was gone and he smiled.

Zelas summoned him to her and he appeared before her.

"Yes?" he asked.

"Why?" she asked.

"Why what?" asked Xellos. He smiled up at her.

"Why did you kill them all like that?" she asked.

"Sore wa himitsu desu." he said after giving it some thought. But as he said it, an odd expression crossed his face. However, it was for a short time and was soon replaced by his ever present smile.

"I see." said Zelas. She knew a little about Merlina and Merlin. Both had a thing for secrets. And Merlina had loved that phrase. How Xellos knew it... Zelas rolled in her palm the two orbs of power left from Mesphisel and Merlina, fusing them as one. But something was wrong. There was something missing. And she remembered the flash of gold. Mazoku don't flash gold. Neither do dragons, for they flash white. And she paled.

"Is there anything the matter, Zelas?" asked Xellos.

"No." she said. "Now go out, and make our race proud, Xellos." And he did. There never was a better Priest than he.

*****

Somewhere far away, a girl slept peacefully at last as golden eyes glittered while watching over her. She looked at the girl asleep in an astral void. She looked so peaceful, young, innocent. It would help her in life one day. No one would expect her to have the power she would be granted. Through that girl, she'd be able to finally act in her world. And she smiled. She would not be alone anymore. Never, never, never anymore.

End Chapter 15

End Once Upon a Time

Author's Notes:

Finished. Totally. I think. *smile* So, tell me what you think. It's the first Slayers fic I've finished, and I like it. It's my first try in attempting to write a fic in the past that tries to explain the present. I hope I did well. Thanks for reading and for sticking to it, despite all my sporadic updates. See ya in my next fic!

Hotaru

July 2003