Author's Note: Here we have the end of all happiness. Just to warn you. Don't let that scare you away this far into the story, though! And I don't remember exactly what happened around this time because I haven't seen it in a while, but if you're that picky, too bad. This will be finished by Tuesday, if not before. Thanks for all the great support in your reviews and such!
Ramblings of the Doomed
Chapter 15: Ripped from Contentment
Zelgadis had had a strange handful of days recently. Instead of taking Lina's statue and leaving her, he had ended up joining her. After a brief near run-in with Rezo, her bodyguard Gourry had joined them. Rezo had sent Dilgear, the animal men, numerous berserkers, and plenty of other things after them. When they finally got to Atlas City, they had found not only Dilgear and the animal men waiting to ambush them, but a real mazoku! It was a low-level mazoku, but even the weakest of the demons was no laughing matter. Zelgadis had been grateful to have his astral attacks and Gourry's Hikari no Ken to combat the creature with.
After defeating all of Rezo's lackeys, they had gone to a small but crowded tavern to eat. Zelgadis had been very uncomfortable with all the people around. He was sure they were all staring at his freakish body. Even with his hood and face mask covering him, he felt very self-conscious about his appearance.
As Lina and Gourry had inhaled platter upon platter of food, Zelgadis had watched with morbid curiosity bordering on open disgust. They seemed so frivolous about what was happening! They didn't have a hope of standing up to Rezo if these two couldn't get more serious about it.
But now he found himself back in the tower where he had lived for months. Rezo had cast a spell on him to make him fight his companions while the insidious red priest got away. Upon regaining control, he had to wonder if he himself was the liability who would slow down the group. But Lina wouldn't give him time to wallow in his own self-pity. Shouting for him and Gourry to follow, she charged through the door after Rezo. Lina was all ready to cast a big spell. Zelgadis was ready to do the same, and he and Gourry ran after her with their swords drawn.
They were too late, of course. By the time they broke into the top floor's huge magic chamber, Rezo had the Philosopher's Stone out of the Orihalcon statue. He was chanting a mighty summoning spell. The magic circles and mystic symbols that took up the whole room were beginning to glow under him. Zelgadis had no doubt what was being summoned. To his surprise, he thought he heard Rezo's voice in his mind say a very faint, "No." He was sure Lina had heard it too. Rezo screamed and clutched his eyes as brilliant red light poured out of them.
Then he stopped suddenly. He opened his eyes… They were pure red. No cornea, iris, or pupil could be seen, just that horrible red. Rezo started cackling madly, ranting that he could see. But then Shabranigdu took root in his body as well as his mind. Zelgadis tried to cast a spell, to stop this horrible thing happening before him. But it was too late….
* * *
Eris was making Kopii walk through the very crowded living room without tripping when he let out an anguished scream and fell on the sofa, clutching his eyes. "What is it? What's wrong?" she asked.
Kopii felt like a Dragon Slave had been cast on his eyes. He couldn't stop screaming in pain. Then suddenly, the pain turned to numbness. He gasped, but kept his eyes tightly closed. He distantly heard Eris asking him over and over what was wrong, saying that his eyes were bleeding. Then suddenly, just like his dream, he had a vision. Through a red haze, he saw the top room of Rezo's tower near Atlas City. There were the people he had seen, also. A short girl with long rather curly hair. Lina Inverse, he'd heard of her. A short young man with speckled blue skin and shiny hair like wire. A tall blond man with a glowing blue sword. That had to be the famous Hikari no Ken. And the two men he had seen in the bar, Rodimus and Zolf.
Pain exploded again, not just in his eyes, but everywhere. By this time he realized that it was Rezo who was actually experiencing this. He quickly dragged himself out of the red priest's mind with one final scream. He sat panting on the sofa in Rezo's living room, with Eris beside him.
"What the hell is going on, Kopii!?" Eris demanded. Now that his hands were away from his eyes she could heal him. But to her surprise, she found that the blood had disappeared without a trace.
Kopii tried to breathe. Finally, he managed to say, "Rezo… I don't know… His eyes hurt and then he could see. And people were there fighting him. Lina Inverse and some others. Then there was pain all over and… I don't know!" He was almost wailing. So much fear and pain! It was Rezo, but NOT Rezo! In a different way than he was not Rezo. It was so confusing! He didn't understand. He put his head in his hands, overwhelmed.
Eris didn't know what to do. She was surprised to hear a small voice ask weakly, "Could I have some tea?" Kopii looked to pathetic. So she went to make him some tea.
Kopii was using every ounce of energy he had to keep Rezo's anguish out of him mind. When Eris came back with the tea he took it gratefully and drank it in small sips. Then he handed the cup back to her with a small "Thank you" and put his head back in his hands. He didn't know what to make of this at all. Should he be doing something? What could he do?
"Do you see anything else? What's happening to Rezo-sama now?" Eris asked, prompting him eagerly. Kopii shook his head.
"I don't know. I think he's fighting," he said. He didn't really want to know what was going on, but even blocking it as he was, he could feel a bit seeping through.
"Who's he fighting?" Eris asked. "Those people you mentioned? Lina Inverse?"
"Yes… and… himself, I think. It's so hard to tell," Kopii said, looking up in confusion.
Finally, Kopii was able to calm down. His breathing returned to normal. He could vaguely feel Rezo winning, or so Rezo seemed to think.
Then suddenly he felt an enormous spell, stronger than anything he had ever used, though Rezo had cast spells just as powerful before. It was tearing Rezo apart. But Rezo seemed to feel no pain. It was as if he had no pain left to feel, and no way to feel it. Kopii couldn't make a sound. He was caught between how horrible Rezo's death felt and the red priest's apparent contentment with it. But Eris noticed his panicked state.
"What's happening?" she asked quickly.
"He's gone…" Kopii said, in a state of shock.
"You… you mean he left, right? Teleported away?" Eris said shakily, forcing herself to believe it.
Kopii looked at her with pain in his strange eyes. "No," he said. "Dead." He was in no condition to be tactful.
"Dead? Rezo-sama? NO!!!!" Eris cried, distraught. "You're lying!"
"Can't you tell I'm not?" Kopii said tiredly.
Eris had no choice but to accept it. Fighting to hold back her tears, Eris ran out to the kitchen. She returned with a pad of unlined paper and a pencil.
"Draw the faces of those monsters who killed Rezo-sama! We'll get them!" she said, already crying.
Kopii was exhausted, but he managed to make a pretty good likeness of each of them. He somehow knew that Zolf and Rodimus were dead, so he left them out. He felt completely numb. Not caring that he wasn't allowed to sleep there, Kopii flumped over fast asleep right there on the couch.
* * *
After attaining some temporary control over her emotions, Eris came back downstairs. She saw Kopii sound asleep on the sofa and he looked so much like Rezo-sama that she had to fight to keep from crying again. When she was reasonably sure she had stopped, she considered making him go back to the basement. But she was so emotionally numb that she just couldn't bring herself to care. It was just as well, because Kopii was so deeply asleep it would be impossible to wake him now. She picked up the drawings to look at them. They were all wrong!
The first one, Lina Inverse, looked young and cute. The man with a lot of hair looked determined but innocent. She was surprised to recognize the last one. Zelgadis!? Kopii had drawn him well, but even he had a human look about his eyes. She seethed with anger. She took the pencil and erased all the eyes and mouths. She drew slanting, evil-looking eyes and wide, cruel smirks where the mouths had been. And every eyebrow in the group was pointed down. The result was three smugly evil smirks, making the fighters look truly fiendish. Tomorrow she would take them down to the newspaper's printing press and make enough copies of each to hang all over every town inside the mazoku barrier.
Eris looked at Kopii again. He looked so tired… and so much like Rezo-sama. Just then, Eris remembered what Rezo had told her in her dream. He said something along the lines of treating Kopii as if he were Rezo. Of course! It all fit into place now. Eris could make Kopii into Rezo! Even if he wasn't the brightest creature, he was already learning to act more like Rezo. But his training would have to intensify.
Eris leaned over Kopii. She lightly brushed the band she had put around his head and cast a spell. Now as long as he wore this headband, Kopii could never act against Eris. If he was to be Rezo-sama, she had to be able to trust him completely, after all.
In the basement, Vrumugun and his kopiis had also felt the great priest's passing, though much more faintly. They had never known him, but it gave them a general feeling of sadness.
The little kopiis had been especially quiet today. As Eris went up the stairs again to cry herself to sleep, the 50 or so kopiis gathered around Kopii. They sniffled and whimpered as they snuggled into him, needing his warmth for comfort. Kopii, though fast asleep and utterly dreamless, had a general feeling of misery in him. The whole house mourned the passing of aka houshi Rezo tonight.
……..
Ramblings of the Doomed
Chapter 15: Ripped from Contentment
Zelgadis had had a strange handful of days recently. Instead of taking Lina's statue and leaving her, he had ended up joining her. After a brief near run-in with Rezo, her bodyguard Gourry had joined them. Rezo had sent Dilgear, the animal men, numerous berserkers, and plenty of other things after them. When they finally got to Atlas City, they had found not only Dilgear and the animal men waiting to ambush them, but a real mazoku! It was a low-level mazoku, but even the weakest of the demons was no laughing matter. Zelgadis had been grateful to have his astral attacks and Gourry's Hikari no Ken to combat the creature with.
After defeating all of Rezo's lackeys, they had gone to a small but crowded tavern to eat. Zelgadis had been very uncomfortable with all the people around. He was sure they were all staring at his freakish body. Even with his hood and face mask covering him, he felt very self-conscious about his appearance.
As Lina and Gourry had inhaled platter upon platter of food, Zelgadis had watched with morbid curiosity bordering on open disgust. They seemed so frivolous about what was happening! They didn't have a hope of standing up to Rezo if these two couldn't get more serious about it.
But now he found himself back in the tower where he had lived for months. Rezo had cast a spell on him to make him fight his companions while the insidious red priest got away. Upon regaining control, he had to wonder if he himself was the liability who would slow down the group. But Lina wouldn't give him time to wallow in his own self-pity. Shouting for him and Gourry to follow, she charged through the door after Rezo. Lina was all ready to cast a big spell. Zelgadis was ready to do the same, and he and Gourry ran after her with their swords drawn.
They were too late, of course. By the time they broke into the top floor's huge magic chamber, Rezo had the Philosopher's Stone out of the Orihalcon statue. He was chanting a mighty summoning spell. The magic circles and mystic symbols that took up the whole room were beginning to glow under him. Zelgadis had no doubt what was being summoned. To his surprise, he thought he heard Rezo's voice in his mind say a very faint, "No." He was sure Lina had heard it too. Rezo screamed and clutched his eyes as brilliant red light poured out of them.
Then he stopped suddenly. He opened his eyes… They were pure red. No cornea, iris, or pupil could be seen, just that horrible red. Rezo started cackling madly, ranting that he could see. But then Shabranigdu took root in his body as well as his mind. Zelgadis tried to cast a spell, to stop this horrible thing happening before him. But it was too late….
* * *
Eris was making Kopii walk through the very crowded living room without tripping when he let out an anguished scream and fell on the sofa, clutching his eyes. "What is it? What's wrong?" she asked.
Kopii felt like a Dragon Slave had been cast on his eyes. He couldn't stop screaming in pain. Then suddenly, the pain turned to numbness. He gasped, but kept his eyes tightly closed. He distantly heard Eris asking him over and over what was wrong, saying that his eyes were bleeding. Then suddenly, just like his dream, he had a vision. Through a red haze, he saw the top room of Rezo's tower near Atlas City. There were the people he had seen, also. A short girl with long rather curly hair. Lina Inverse, he'd heard of her. A short young man with speckled blue skin and shiny hair like wire. A tall blond man with a glowing blue sword. That had to be the famous Hikari no Ken. And the two men he had seen in the bar, Rodimus and Zolf.
Pain exploded again, not just in his eyes, but everywhere. By this time he realized that it was Rezo who was actually experiencing this. He quickly dragged himself out of the red priest's mind with one final scream. He sat panting on the sofa in Rezo's living room, with Eris beside him.
"What the hell is going on, Kopii!?" Eris demanded. Now that his hands were away from his eyes she could heal him. But to her surprise, she found that the blood had disappeared without a trace.
Kopii tried to breathe. Finally, he managed to say, "Rezo… I don't know… His eyes hurt and then he could see. And people were there fighting him. Lina Inverse and some others. Then there was pain all over and… I don't know!" He was almost wailing. So much fear and pain! It was Rezo, but NOT Rezo! In a different way than he was not Rezo. It was so confusing! He didn't understand. He put his head in his hands, overwhelmed.
Eris didn't know what to do. She was surprised to hear a small voice ask weakly, "Could I have some tea?" Kopii looked to pathetic. So she went to make him some tea.
Kopii was using every ounce of energy he had to keep Rezo's anguish out of him mind. When Eris came back with the tea he took it gratefully and drank it in small sips. Then he handed the cup back to her with a small "Thank you" and put his head back in his hands. He didn't know what to make of this at all. Should he be doing something? What could he do?
"Do you see anything else? What's happening to Rezo-sama now?" Eris asked, prompting him eagerly. Kopii shook his head.
"I don't know. I think he's fighting," he said. He didn't really want to know what was going on, but even blocking it as he was, he could feel a bit seeping through.
"Who's he fighting?" Eris asked. "Those people you mentioned? Lina Inverse?"
"Yes… and… himself, I think. It's so hard to tell," Kopii said, looking up in confusion.
Finally, Kopii was able to calm down. His breathing returned to normal. He could vaguely feel Rezo winning, or so Rezo seemed to think.
Then suddenly he felt an enormous spell, stronger than anything he had ever used, though Rezo had cast spells just as powerful before. It was tearing Rezo apart. But Rezo seemed to feel no pain. It was as if he had no pain left to feel, and no way to feel it. Kopii couldn't make a sound. He was caught between how horrible Rezo's death felt and the red priest's apparent contentment with it. But Eris noticed his panicked state.
"What's happening?" she asked quickly.
"He's gone…" Kopii said, in a state of shock.
"You… you mean he left, right? Teleported away?" Eris said shakily, forcing herself to believe it.
Kopii looked at her with pain in his strange eyes. "No," he said. "Dead." He was in no condition to be tactful.
"Dead? Rezo-sama? NO!!!!" Eris cried, distraught. "You're lying!"
"Can't you tell I'm not?" Kopii said tiredly.
Eris had no choice but to accept it. Fighting to hold back her tears, Eris ran out to the kitchen. She returned with a pad of unlined paper and a pencil.
"Draw the faces of those monsters who killed Rezo-sama! We'll get them!" she said, already crying.
Kopii was exhausted, but he managed to make a pretty good likeness of each of them. He somehow knew that Zolf and Rodimus were dead, so he left them out. He felt completely numb. Not caring that he wasn't allowed to sleep there, Kopii flumped over fast asleep right there on the couch.
* * *
After attaining some temporary control over her emotions, Eris came back downstairs. She saw Kopii sound asleep on the sofa and he looked so much like Rezo-sama that she had to fight to keep from crying again. When she was reasonably sure she had stopped, she considered making him go back to the basement. But she was so emotionally numb that she just couldn't bring herself to care. It was just as well, because Kopii was so deeply asleep it would be impossible to wake him now. She picked up the drawings to look at them. They were all wrong!
The first one, Lina Inverse, looked young and cute. The man with a lot of hair looked determined but innocent. She was surprised to recognize the last one. Zelgadis!? Kopii had drawn him well, but even he had a human look about his eyes. She seethed with anger. She took the pencil and erased all the eyes and mouths. She drew slanting, evil-looking eyes and wide, cruel smirks where the mouths had been. And every eyebrow in the group was pointed down. The result was three smugly evil smirks, making the fighters look truly fiendish. Tomorrow she would take them down to the newspaper's printing press and make enough copies of each to hang all over every town inside the mazoku barrier.
Eris looked at Kopii again. He looked so tired… and so much like Rezo-sama. Just then, Eris remembered what Rezo had told her in her dream. He said something along the lines of treating Kopii as if he were Rezo. Of course! It all fit into place now. Eris could make Kopii into Rezo! Even if he wasn't the brightest creature, he was already learning to act more like Rezo. But his training would have to intensify.
Eris leaned over Kopii. She lightly brushed the band she had put around his head and cast a spell. Now as long as he wore this headband, Kopii could never act against Eris. If he was to be Rezo-sama, she had to be able to trust him completely, after all.
In the basement, Vrumugun and his kopiis had also felt the great priest's passing, though much more faintly. They had never known him, but it gave them a general feeling of sadness.
The little kopiis had been especially quiet today. As Eris went up the stairs again to cry herself to sleep, the 50 or so kopiis gathered around Kopii. They sniffled and whimpered as they snuggled into him, needing his warmth for comfort. Kopii, though fast asleep and utterly dreamless, had a general feeling of misery in him. The whole house mourned the passing of aka houshi Rezo tonight.
……..