Disclaimer: I don't own Slayers or its characters. So leave me alone, lawyers!
Author's Note: Rejoice, Zel comes in now! More Rezo, Kopii, and Eris as usual. You may be able to tell that this is becoming a Kopii story more than a Rezo story. But that doesn't mean he's going to leave completely or anything. The idea of Kopii being nice to Zel appeals to me too. But in the series, Zelgadis didn't know that Kopii even existed, did he? Hmm… I might do something with that, but he would have to think that Kopii was Rezo. I don't know if that would work, but I'll consider it. I'm bringing Vrumugun in in a while, and if I can think of a good way to do it, I'll try to get Zangulus in too. For now, lots of Rezo angsting and Eris acting weird. And more Xellos! Thanks for the reviews so far! I live on reviews! Please give me more!
Ramblings of the Doomed
Chapter 7: Insanity and Chimera
Since it was getting harder and harder to control his own actions, and even thoughts these days, Rezo had decided to take Xellos's advice and set up his will right away. He hated to be so morbid, but the way things were going, he felt it would be a good idea. He had left his lab and property to Eris. This included all of the kopiis, which he was sure she wouldn't want. However, she was the only one who might take care of them, if only for his sake. It never occurred to him to leave anything to Kopii. The legacy he was making would be sealed away though. It was probably too dangerous to entrust to anyone. He split up his money and arranged for half of it to go to charities. The other half he had set up to be deposited into his great-grandson Zelgadis's bank account on the boy's 18th birthday with a note of explanation about what was happening, apologizing for anything he might do between now and then that he would have no control over. The one thing he did leave Kopii with was the decision as to when all this would come into effect, since he was likely to lose control before he died. He trusted Kopii to make any decisions as he himself would have made them, had he been completely sane.
Eris was too distraught over Rezo's mortality and impending insanity to be pleased with what she had inherited. Kopii had mixed feelings about it, most of them bad. On one hand, Rezo had trusted him enough to give him a bit of responsibility. But on the other hand, he didn't actually GET anything. And although Rezo had been acting strange and mean lately, he had been nice to Kopii at first. Kopii knew from Rezo's memories that he had been wonderfully nice up until just recently.
As for Rezo himself, he'd been doing some traveling lately. He had been visiting Zelgadis a lot, watching him from the shadows. The boy often went off alone to practice his skills with a sword. From what Rezo could tell, his great-granddson was really quite good for his age.
Rezo had also been looking for cures elsewhere. He was also doing some intense experimentation in his secret lab deep in the ruined city of Old Sairaag. He was making his legacy there with the help of a bird-like low-level mazoku he had summoned and bound to the place. In fact, he had not been back to his home on the outskirts of the far side of town for a while. Before he left, he had gotten Eris to show him how to make chimeras. It was a rather complicated process, but after much practice, Rezo could do it well on his own. He was particularly interested in combining a human with something really powerful, like a mazoku or ryuuzoku. And if he could add something like a rock golem to the mix, the result would be unstoppable. He was pretty sure he could do that, although it would take some of his own life force to bind it all together. And it might take his mind off of his eyes for a while. He was having much better luck experimenting on difficult stuff away from all the little kopiis. A few had managed to follow him, riding along in his robes, but at least there weren't hundreds. Just a few were nice to have around for company and experimentation. Although his frightening condition kept him from enjoying much of a social life, when he was himself he wouldn't have survived without them around sometimes.
* * *
Today Rezo planned to go listen to Zelgadis's sword practice in a deeply forested swamp. He hadn't been feeling very well all week, so he hoped that it would calm the presence in his mind and make him feel a bit better. So he cloaked himself in an invisibility spell and stood by a tree well away from his young relative. The mist that always followed him around was there as usual, but the swamp itself was rather cloudy, so it was hard to notice. He heard grunts and swishes coming from Zelgadis as he sliced the air with his sword.
Suddenly Rezo felt a 'blinding' flash of pain behind his eyelids. Just as suddenly, he realized that he was no longer in control of his own body. He began to move foreward against his own will. He couldn't turn back, stop, say anything, or even show fear on his face. His expression had twisted into a cruel, smug smirk. He was a prisoner in his own body! He was still fairly far away from Zelgadis, but in the distance he heard the boy say, "I want to be strong!"
* * *
Zelgadis was busy trying to remedy his own weaknesses when he heard a familiar 'ka-ching.' He hadn't heard it for years, but he remembered that it was the sound of his great-grandfather's staff. It had been so long that he didn't know what to think. He stepped back, in cautious respect. He saw Rezo coming towards him, seeming to disappear from one place and reappear in a closer one.
"You want to be strong, Zelgadis?" Rezo asked him. Zelgadis wasn't sure how, or if, he should reply. But before he could think of anything to say, Rezo's hair and robes seemed to stretch out into long jagged tentacle-like things that wrapped around his body, arms, and legs. He gasped in shock as he tried to struggle. But it was no use. He felt like cold liquid metal, stone, or wax was being poured on him, spreading from the points he was being held by. He watched in horror as his skin turned blue. He felt the hair on his head grow hard and stiff. Any hair on the rest of his body just dissolved. He screamed as dark blue bumps grew all over his skin. Finally, Rezo let him go and he dropped to the ground on his hands and knees. He stayed there for a minute, breathing hard.
Rezo was absolutely horrified at what he had apparently done. He couldn't stop smirking, although he felt like screaming and crying. Against his will, his mouth opened to say, "Well, Zelgadis-kun. It seems you owe me for this. Now that you are strong, you can finally be of some use to me."
"N -- no!" Zelgadis exclaimed. He struggled to his feet and tried to run away, but Rezo mumbled a short spell and Zelgadis blacked out.
As he cast the manipulation on Zelgadis's body, Rezo felt that Zelgadis's consciousness was no longer there. He also felt the dark presence in him trying to push his own mind out of existence. He realized that he couldn't fight it anymore. So he pulled the last shreds of himself together and hid himself away, cloaking himself in the far recesses of his mind. He could pay attention to the world around him without being detected, or he could shut everything out so he wouldn't have to witness what he was doing. For now, he shut himself in, sank into his own misery, and tried to conserve power. Perhaps if he could build up enough power, he could do something to stop this some day. Until then, he could only wait.
'Rezo' commanded Zelgadis to return to one of his many buildings scattered across the world. This one was a forbidding-looking tower near Atlas City. It dated back to the War of the Monsters' Fall, and the top floor made a wonderful practice area for new spells and summonings. Eris didn't know about this place, so he would have time to work with Zelgadis for a while before she could meddle with him. And she couldn't bother him with all those annoying attempts to use white magic on his eyes. So Rezo, or rather, the evil force inside of Rezo, went to do some work with (and on) Zelgadis.
* * *
Meanwhile, Eris was frantic with worry for her dear Rezo-sama. He was always either cold and distant or frightened lately. He had been gone a lot, also. She had tried to help him with things as much as she could, but he didn't seem to even want help. The stress this caused her had made her very unreasonable. She had been immersing herself in her chimeras and the kopiis, among other projects.
Kopii was almost as unhappy as Eris was, but she was the cause of his unhappiness. Lately, she was always either treating him as if he were Rezo himself, or getting frustrated and screaming that he would never be as good as Rezo. He was really growing to resent her. He also resented Rezo for being so great, and so hard to live up to. But at least he had the little kopiis. He didn't know what he'd do without them. He had gotten plenty of opportunities to learn some new things from watching Eris. She was doing a bit more work with her chimeras. She had also fixed the Copy Machine and was creating small jewels that attached onto the forehead that could control every action of the people they were attached to. In her stranger moments, she was making a chair-like structure that would revitalize a person, human or kopii, and allow him or her to have greater power for a short period of time, although after that, the person would be completely exhausted. This kind of worried Kopii, because it was just his size. He knew that Eris must have some weird plan for him. He had no intention of helping her scheme, whatever it might be, but he also had a feeling that Eris's control gems were made to make him cooperate.
Though he didn't know what Eris's plan might be, Kopii was doing his best to develop a counter-plan of his own. He had learned how to pick a lock with the help of the little kopiis, who were expert mischief-makers, and he had been trying to break the binding spells on the cage. No magic could pass THROUGH the cage, but maybe he could find something strong enough to break through it from the inside.
As he was contemplating ways to break Eris's wards, an idea struck him. What about asking someone else for help? He remembered the way Xellos had simply stepped across a much stronger barrier. "Of course!" he exclaimed to the little kopiis. "Why didn't I think of that earlier! I'm sure Xellos could help me. But he might no tdo it even if he could… Oh well. At least he'll be someone different to talk to for a minute if he won't help me. I have nothing to lose. But I think I'll try to invite him instead of summoning him. He might get mad."
Kopii used an astral projection spell to reach his mind out to find Xellos's mind. After a while, he found it. He felt surprise, then recognition. Then Xellos was standing beside the cage with a bemused smile on his face.
"Ah, Kopii Rezo!" Xellos said cheerfully. "Hello again! It's been a while. The lab looks nice! The chimeras are starting to look better." The little kopiis, hearing his voice, ran over to investigate. They laughed, happy to see him again. He grinned at them, and knelt down to let some climb up onto his arms. Then he straightened up, with kopiis climbing all over him. "Now, Kopii-san. Is there something you wanted?"
"Err…yes," Kopii said. Much as he had been starting to like the purple-haired mazoku, he was still unnerved by him. Kopii proceeded to tell Xellos what had been happening lately with Rezo and Eris, although he had a feeling that the general-priest already knew. "I know Eris is planning to do something involving me, and I want no part of it. I want to be able to escape quickly if I need to. Could you take down Eris's spells around this cage?"
"Oh, what horrible things have been happening!" Xellos said, looking positively thrilled. "It's really too bad." The little kopiis exploded with giggles. Xellos's grin widened. "I suppose I can help you. But only if you don't try to leave. It's very important that you stick around for a while."
"Well, all right," Kopii said, slightly confused. "I suppose you wouldn't tell me why, would you?"
Xellos laughed, looking slightly embarrassed. "Well, no. I'm afraid not. It won't be for a while yet, but just stay with Eris until the time is right. I think you'll know."
Xellos touched the cage, and it glowed and gave a faint ringing sound. "All right, you can pass through it now," he said, smiling at Kopii. Kopii stepped out of the cage carefully and stood in front of Xellos.
"Arigato, Xellos-san," Kopii said sincerely.
"Oh, don't mention it," Xellos said. "Now if you'll excuse me, it's getting late and Juuou-sama would be very angry if I came back past my bedtime. Ja!" He grinned and vanished. The little kopiis who had been climbing on him all fell to the floor.
Kopii knelt down to check on the kopiis. A few rubbed their heads, but they all giggled and ran off to play tag, just as happily as ever. "He's a weird one," Kopii said to a kopii who was standing on his shoulder guard. "But he seems nice enough."
The little kopii giggled and grabbed onto his earlobe, climbing up onto his head. Kopii lifted an eyebrow at this, but he let the kopii stay in his hair as he re-entered the cage. Secure in the knowledge that he could now come and go as he pleased, Kopii fell asleep happily.
Upstairs in her attic room, Eris was laughing in her sleep as a little kopii licked her nose and giggled.
*Japanese for beginners*
You'd better know what a kopii is by now.
Mazoku – demon race
Ryuuzoku – dragon race
-kun – familiar term added to a male's name
-san – a title, like Mr. Mrs. or Ms.
-sama – lord, master, or dear. You decide what Eris means by it.
Arigato – thank you
Juuou – Beast(master?)
Ja – bye (as in goodbye)
Endnote: Oh no! Is Rezo already gone? Will Kopii get to leave? Will Eris get Rezo-sama back, or will she have to make her own? Or will she swallow a kopii in her sleep? Has Xellos wormed his way permanently into the plotline? Sore wa himitsu desu! Keep reading, and in order for me to post more, you must review! Arigato!!!
Author's Note: Rejoice, Zel comes in now! More Rezo, Kopii, and Eris as usual. You may be able to tell that this is becoming a Kopii story more than a Rezo story. But that doesn't mean he's going to leave completely or anything. The idea of Kopii being nice to Zel appeals to me too. But in the series, Zelgadis didn't know that Kopii even existed, did he? Hmm… I might do something with that, but he would have to think that Kopii was Rezo. I don't know if that would work, but I'll consider it. I'm bringing Vrumugun in in a while, and if I can think of a good way to do it, I'll try to get Zangulus in too. For now, lots of Rezo angsting and Eris acting weird. And more Xellos! Thanks for the reviews so far! I live on reviews! Please give me more!
Ramblings of the Doomed
Chapter 7: Insanity and Chimera
Since it was getting harder and harder to control his own actions, and even thoughts these days, Rezo had decided to take Xellos's advice and set up his will right away. He hated to be so morbid, but the way things were going, he felt it would be a good idea. He had left his lab and property to Eris. This included all of the kopiis, which he was sure she wouldn't want. However, she was the only one who might take care of them, if only for his sake. It never occurred to him to leave anything to Kopii. The legacy he was making would be sealed away though. It was probably too dangerous to entrust to anyone. He split up his money and arranged for half of it to go to charities. The other half he had set up to be deposited into his great-grandson Zelgadis's bank account on the boy's 18th birthday with a note of explanation about what was happening, apologizing for anything he might do between now and then that he would have no control over. The one thing he did leave Kopii with was the decision as to when all this would come into effect, since he was likely to lose control before he died. He trusted Kopii to make any decisions as he himself would have made them, had he been completely sane.
Eris was too distraught over Rezo's mortality and impending insanity to be pleased with what she had inherited. Kopii had mixed feelings about it, most of them bad. On one hand, Rezo had trusted him enough to give him a bit of responsibility. But on the other hand, he didn't actually GET anything. And although Rezo had been acting strange and mean lately, he had been nice to Kopii at first. Kopii knew from Rezo's memories that he had been wonderfully nice up until just recently.
As for Rezo himself, he'd been doing some traveling lately. He had been visiting Zelgadis a lot, watching him from the shadows. The boy often went off alone to practice his skills with a sword. From what Rezo could tell, his great-granddson was really quite good for his age.
Rezo had also been looking for cures elsewhere. He was also doing some intense experimentation in his secret lab deep in the ruined city of Old Sairaag. He was making his legacy there with the help of a bird-like low-level mazoku he had summoned and bound to the place. In fact, he had not been back to his home on the outskirts of the far side of town for a while. Before he left, he had gotten Eris to show him how to make chimeras. It was a rather complicated process, but after much practice, Rezo could do it well on his own. He was particularly interested in combining a human with something really powerful, like a mazoku or ryuuzoku. And if he could add something like a rock golem to the mix, the result would be unstoppable. He was pretty sure he could do that, although it would take some of his own life force to bind it all together. And it might take his mind off of his eyes for a while. He was having much better luck experimenting on difficult stuff away from all the little kopiis. A few had managed to follow him, riding along in his robes, but at least there weren't hundreds. Just a few were nice to have around for company and experimentation. Although his frightening condition kept him from enjoying much of a social life, when he was himself he wouldn't have survived without them around sometimes.
* * *
Today Rezo planned to go listen to Zelgadis's sword practice in a deeply forested swamp. He hadn't been feeling very well all week, so he hoped that it would calm the presence in his mind and make him feel a bit better. So he cloaked himself in an invisibility spell and stood by a tree well away from his young relative. The mist that always followed him around was there as usual, but the swamp itself was rather cloudy, so it was hard to notice. He heard grunts and swishes coming from Zelgadis as he sliced the air with his sword.
Suddenly Rezo felt a 'blinding' flash of pain behind his eyelids. Just as suddenly, he realized that he was no longer in control of his own body. He began to move foreward against his own will. He couldn't turn back, stop, say anything, or even show fear on his face. His expression had twisted into a cruel, smug smirk. He was a prisoner in his own body! He was still fairly far away from Zelgadis, but in the distance he heard the boy say, "I want to be strong!"
* * *
Zelgadis was busy trying to remedy his own weaknesses when he heard a familiar 'ka-ching.' He hadn't heard it for years, but he remembered that it was the sound of his great-grandfather's staff. It had been so long that he didn't know what to think. He stepped back, in cautious respect. He saw Rezo coming towards him, seeming to disappear from one place and reappear in a closer one.
"You want to be strong, Zelgadis?" Rezo asked him. Zelgadis wasn't sure how, or if, he should reply. But before he could think of anything to say, Rezo's hair and robes seemed to stretch out into long jagged tentacle-like things that wrapped around his body, arms, and legs. He gasped in shock as he tried to struggle. But it was no use. He felt like cold liquid metal, stone, or wax was being poured on him, spreading from the points he was being held by. He watched in horror as his skin turned blue. He felt the hair on his head grow hard and stiff. Any hair on the rest of his body just dissolved. He screamed as dark blue bumps grew all over his skin. Finally, Rezo let him go and he dropped to the ground on his hands and knees. He stayed there for a minute, breathing hard.
Rezo was absolutely horrified at what he had apparently done. He couldn't stop smirking, although he felt like screaming and crying. Against his will, his mouth opened to say, "Well, Zelgadis-kun. It seems you owe me for this. Now that you are strong, you can finally be of some use to me."
"N -- no!" Zelgadis exclaimed. He struggled to his feet and tried to run away, but Rezo mumbled a short spell and Zelgadis blacked out.
As he cast the manipulation on Zelgadis's body, Rezo felt that Zelgadis's consciousness was no longer there. He also felt the dark presence in him trying to push his own mind out of existence. He realized that he couldn't fight it anymore. So he pulled the last shreds of himself together and hid himself away, cloaking himself in the far recesses of his mind. He could pay attention to the world around him without being detected, or he could shut everything out so he wouldn't have to witness what he was doing. For now, he shut himself in, sank into his own misery, and tried to conserve power. Perhaps if he could build up enough power, he could do something to stop this some day. Until then, he could only wait.
'Rezo' commanded Zelgadis to return to one of his many buildings scattered across the world. This one was a forbidding-looking tower near Atlas City. It dated back to the War of the Monsters' Fall, and the top floor made a wonderful practice area for new spells and summonings. Eris didn't know about this place, so he would have time to work with Zelgadis for a while before she could meddle with him. And she couldn't bother him with all those annoying attempts to use white magic on his eyes. So Rezo, or rather, the evil force inside of Rezo, went to do some work with (and on) Zelgadis.
* * *
Meanwhile, Eris was frantic with worry for her dear Rezo-sama. He was always either cold and distant or frightened lately. He had been gone a lot, also. She had tried to help him with things as much as she could, but he didn't seem to even want help. The stress this caused her had made her very unreasonable. She had been immersing herself in her chimeras and the kopiis, among other projects.
Kopii was almost as unhappy as Eris was, but she was the cause of his unhappiness. Lately, she was always either treating him as if he were Rezo himself, or getting frustrated and screaming that he would never be as good as Rezo. He was really growing to resent her. He also resented Rezo for being so great, and so hard to live up to. But at least he had the little kopiis. He didn't know what he'd do without them. He had gotten plenty of opportunities to learn some new things from watching Eris. She was doing a bit more work with her chimeras. She had also fixed the Copy Machine and was creating small jewels that attached onto the forehead that could control every action of the people they were attached to. In her stranger moments, she was making a chair-like structure that would revitalize a person, human or kopii, and allow him or her to have greater power for a short period of time, although after that, the person would be completely exhausted. This kind of worried Kopii, because it was just his size. He knew that Eris must have some weird plan for him. He had no intention of helping her scheme, whatever it might be, but he also had a feeling that Eris's control gems were made to make him cooperate.
Though he didn't know what Eris's plan might be, Kopii was doing his best to develop a counter-plan of his own. He had learned how to pick a lock with the help of the little kopiis, who were expert mischief-makers, and he had been trying to break the binding spells on the cage. No magic could pass THROUGH the cage, but maybe he could find something strong enough to break through it from the inside.
As he was contemplating ways to break Eris's wards, an idea struck him. What about asking someone else for help? He remembered the way Xellos had simply stepped across a much stronger barrier. "Of course!" he exclaimed to the little kopiis. "Why didn't I think of that earlier! I'm sure Xellos could help me. But he might no tdo it even if he could… Oh well. At least he'll be someone different to talk to for a minute if he won't help me. I have nothing to lose. But I think I'll try to invite him instead of summoning him. He might get mad."
Kopii used an astral projection spell to reach his mind out to find Xellos's mind. After a while, he found it. He felt surprise, then recognition. Then Xellos was standing beside the cage with a bemused smile on his face.
"Ah, Kopii Rezo!" Xellos said cheerfully. "Hello again! It's been a while. The lab looks nice! The chimeras are starting to look better." The little kopiis, hearing his voice, ran over to investigate. They laughed, happy to see him again. He grinned at them, and knelt down to let some climb up onto his arms. Then he straightened up, with kopiis climbing all over him. "Now, Kopii-san. Is there something you wanted?"
"Err…yes," Kopii said. Much as he had been starting to like the purple-haired mazoku, he was still unnerved by him. Kopii proceeded to tell Xellos what had been happening lately with Rezo and Eris, although he had a feeling that the general-priest already knew. "I know Eris is planning to do something involving me, and I want no part of it. I want to be able to escape quickly if I need to. Could you take down Eris's spells around this cage?"
"Oh, what horrible things have been happening!" Xellos said, looking positively thrilled. "It's really too bad." The little kopiis exploded with giggles. Xellos's grin widened. "I suppose I can help you. But only if you don't try to leave. It's very important that you stick around for a while."
"Well, all right," Kopii said, slightly confused. "I suppose you wouldn't tell me why, would you?"
Xellos laughed, looking slightly embarrassed. "Well, no. I'm afraid not. It won't be for a while yet, but just stay with Eris until the time is right. I think you'll know."
Xellos touched the cage, and it glowed and gave a faint ringing sound. "All right, you can pass through it now," he said, smiling at Kopii. Kopii stepped out of the cage carefully and stood in front of Xellos.
"Arigato, Xellos-san," Kopii said sincerely.
"Oh, don't mention it," Xellos said. "Now if you'll excuse me, it's getting late and Juuou-sama would be very angry if I came back past my bedtime. Ja!" He grinned and vanished. The little kopiis who had been climbing on him all fell to the floor.
Kopii knelt down to check on the kopiis. A few rubbed their heads, but they all giggled and ran off to play tag, just as happily as ever. "He's a weird one," Kopii said to a kopii who was standing on his shoulder guard. "But he seems nice enough."
The little kopii giggled and grabbed onto his earlobe, climbing up onto his head. Kopii lifted an eyebrow at this, but he let the kopii stay in his hair as he re-entered the cage. Secure in the knowledge that he could now come and go as he pleased, Kopii fell asleep happily.
Upstairs in her attic room, Eris was laughing in her sleep as a little kopii licked her nose and giggled.
*Japanese for beginners*
You'd better know what a kopii is by now.
Mazoku – demon race
Ryuuzoku – dragon race
-kun – familiar term added to a male's name
-san – a title, like Mr. Mrs. or Ms.
-sama – lord, master, or dear. You decide what Eris means by it.
Arigato – thank you
Juuou – Beast(master?)
Ja – bye (as in goodbye)
Endnote: Oh no! Is Rezo already gone? Will Kopii get to leave? Will Eris get Rezo-sama back, or will she have to make her own? Or will she swallow a kopii in her sleep? Has Xellos wormed his way permanently into the plotline? Sore wa himitsu desu! Keep reading, and in order for me to post more, you must review! Arigato!!!