At first glance, the day started off much like any other. The sun rose, the birds sang, and the city slowly came to life. But, upon closer inspection, everything was slightly off kilter. The mist never burned off that morning, giving the sun a dull muddied look. Birds sang, but their songs were few and far between. Most had sensed that something was amiss and fled the area. Finally, the people of Seyruun, happy again after the Queen had come out of her self imposed exile, were nervous and quite jumpy. One would think that the marketplace was a graveyard, given the dark mood of the people.
Zelgadis had noted all these things on his morning stroll through the city, but dismissed them out of hand. Everyone had off days, so why should the kingdom of Seyruun be any different? He would later hate himself for his inattention, but now he was focused on something far more important.
He was busy killing Emily's grandson. Well not literally, but it would have been terribly easy.
The boy, an overeager lad who let his impulses control his actions, swung his blade at Zelgadis's throat with reckless abandon. Had the chimera not stepped back, it would have surely been a lethal blow.
"That was foolish Michael," Zelgadis chided as he watched the boy overbalance, leaving his side exposed. In the blink of an eye, he had swept his opponent's legs out from under him. "Never overextend yourself. You leave yourself open to all sorts of trouble."
Emily and Gourry winced sympathetically as Michael slammed into the ground, getting the wind knocked out of him.
"Oh man," Gourry muttered, covering his face embarrassedly. His son had greatly improved under Zelgadis's tutelage but he was still making amateur mistakes.
Clapping, Emily called out some words of encouragement. "That's okay, Michael! You'll get him next time!"
Zelgadis scowled at the queen and said, "Not if he keeps making mistakes like that."
Emily responded in a mature and tactful way. She stuck her tongue out at the chimera.
Zelgadis was unable to hide his smile as he reached down to help his 'nephew' up. "That was better though," he said with a nod. "Your form is improving. You've been practicing." He shot Emily a look of mock scorn and leaned down to whisper to the boy, "Another couple of years and you might be able to beat your grandma."
Michael grinned sheepishly and rubbed the back of his head. "Gee, do you think so?"
Zelgadis nodded. "Oh yeah. The old woman won't have a chance. Now let's do it again." They both assumed a defensive position and began the exercise for what felt like the hundredth time.
Emily watched Zelgadis with a warm smile on her face. He'd taken so well to palace life that she could scarcely believe it. She had originally expected a volatile period of adjustment with Zel grumbling about not being able to satisfy his wanderlust. As she watched him practice swordplay with her grandchild though, she realized something. He'd never wanted to wander. He was just looking for somewhere to belong. Since he'd started instructing the children in everything from reading to fencing, she had seen an incredible change come over him. He was actually happy. He had something to work towards and it pleased him immensely.
The only minor disappointment for Zelgadis had been the lack of magical talent in the children. Christopher had been the last of the Inverse line to show more than a marginal talent for spell craft. It wasn't the fault of the family though. Since the breaking of Hellmaster's barrier over seventy years ago, spell casters had become more and more rare. It was like the magic had begun to seep out of the world then.
Emily and Phil had been some of the last true sorcerers. Well, Phil had anyway. Emily had shown a good deal of talent, being Lina Inverse's daughter it was hard not to, but had been far more interested in swordplay, a fact that upset Lina to no end.
"Don't waste your life, Emily. Nobody's going to respect you for swinging a sword." Lina had told her repeatedly, before Emily had finally taken enough and left home.
But now, swords were all that were left. Even a simple lighting spell was over most so-called sorcerers' heads. Hell, even Emily could do that one. Just to prove it, she held up her hand and whispered, "Lighting," calling upon magical energies that she hadn't tapped in decades. A faint light sprang into existence in her palm. "Still got it," she whispered tiredly. Even this small an exertion was exhausting.
Aside from Christopher, who Emily hadn't seen in over a year now, magic was pretty much dead. It was sad, really. With magic, dragons, and even most of the demons gone, life was quickly becoming mundane.
Emily sighed, feeling a wave of nostalgia. She felt so old. Old and depressed. Old she could deal with. She loved her family and wouldn't trade a day with them for an eternity of youth, but depressed? That wouldn't do at all. She was Emily Inverse Seyruun, damn it! She wouldn't stand for it. Now she just needed a scapegoat to get her spirits up.
"Hey Zel!" Emily called out, as she held up the orb of light she had summoned. "Take a look at this!"
Zelgadis turned and gasped in surprise when he saw Emily's spell. "Emily?! When did you-"
The chimera was cut off by the impact of Michael's blade against the back of his head. The clang of metal on stone rang out clearly in the courtyard and Zelgadis fell slowly to his knees and then onto his face.
"Jeez mom! Why'd you do that?" Gourry yelled as he jumped to his feet and ran over to check on Zelgadis. "He might be hurt!"
For her part, Emily was laughing hysterically with tears of mirth streaming down her face. "I'm sorry!" she managed to squeak through her giggles. "I'm so sorry, but it was too easy to pass up!"
Michael looked down at his instructor nervously and gently nudged the unmoving chimera with his foot. A moment later, he hesitantly grinned and muttered, "Um, victory?"
"Yeah, that's right," Zelgadis muttered, as he climbed to his feet, quite unhurt. "Nice work, Michael." He rubbed the back of his head, wincing in pain. The mark, if there had been one to begin with, was already healed, but the memory of the pain remained. His eyes narrowed dangerously as he glared at Emily. "You…"
Emily covered her mouth with a hand in a vain attempt to stifle her laughter. "Zel, I'm sorry!" Her smile faded as he advanced on her menacingly. "Zel? Zel, it was a joke."
Zelgadis snorted and said, "You'll forgive me if I fail to see the humor in your attempt to get my head knocked off." He picked Emily up, slung her over his shoulder, and began to walk.
Emily saw where the chimera was headed and yelled, "You wouldn't!" Smiling in spite of her irritation, she shrieked, "Zel, I swear I'll never talk to you again if you do that!"
Zelgadis chuckled dryly. "Promises, promises." His pace never slowed.
Pounding uselessly on his back, Emily whined, "I'm royalty, damn it! You can't do this to me!" She turned to see her son grinning at her plight and said, "Gourry, don't you dare let him do this! I'll… I'll… I'll cut you out of the will!"
Gourry just waved.
Zelgadis sighed and shook his head in mock sadness. "Sorry Emily, but when you play, you have to pay." A second later, he tossed her into the ornate fountain that stood in the center of the courtyard.
Emily sat up and shrieked, "By Ceiphied, that's cold!" She hugged herself tightly, shivering in the icy pool. One of the innumerable spouts, this one in the shape of a fish, sprayed cold water onto her head. "I'll g-get you f-for this," she stammered through chattering teeth.
"I thought that this made us even?" Zelgadis said as he extended a hand to help the queen out of the fountain.
"No, I owe you for this one," Emily said with a haughty sniff. "You're not allowed to lay a hand on me. I, on the other hand, am the queen and I'm allowed to torture the subjects." She began to wring out her ruined dressed and grinned. "That's one of the perks of the job, you know?"
Zelgadis smiled and was about to say something, when he was interrupted by the arrival of a messenger.
The man all but shoved Zelgadis out of the way in his haste to get to the queen. He didn't even pay any heed to the fact that Emily looked like a drowned rat. "My queen," he said breathlessly, "I have news."
"So?" Emily said, fruitlessly trying to straighten her dress, "Spill it already."
The messenger looked at Zelgadis distrustfully. "Here, my queen?"
Emily scowled at the messenger's rudeness. She nodded at Zelgadis and tersely said, "I trust him with my life. You can tell him anything that you would tell me."
The messenger bowed low. "My apologies. My queen, it's just that…" He looked up at Emily trying to muster the courage to speak his message. "It's Christopher. Your son has come home."
Emily didn't look like she could be any happier. "Well, show him in!"
"Begging your pardon, your majesty, but I don't think that'd be prudent."
Emily frowned, noting for the first time that the man seemed incredibly troubled. She dropped to one knee and put her hands on the messenger's shoulders. "Is… is something wrong with my son?" she hesitantly asked.
"No." The messenger swallowed hard and found himself unable to meet Emily's gaze. "He's brought an army with him. He means to conquer the city."
"No. You're lying," Emily said flatly. She looked to Zelgadis for support, but he had his head cocked, as if listening to something beyond the reach of normal ears.
After a moment of silence, Zelgadis fetched a sigh and said, "He's right. I can hear them coming."
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The halls were a mass of confusion with guards running to and fro in hasty preparation for battle.
"How could this happen?" Emily said on the verge of tears. "How could Christopher betray me like this?"
Zelgadis gasped as the image of a horrible husk of a man, bearing the clothes of a priest and wearing a grin that was both cruel and insane came unbidden to his mind. "It can't be," he whispered. And it couldn't, could it? He was dead. Surely the demon had to be dead by now. He had been on his last legs so many years ago.
"Zel?" Emily said, fear evident in her voice. "Zel? What's wrong?!" The chimera's expression was a mask of terror, which frightened her all the more. Nothing scared Zelgadis. But now he wouldn't answer her. He just muttered to himself, lost in his own horrible thoughts. "Zel!" she yelled, slapping him hard across the face. "Answer me!"
Zelgadis blinked as if waking up from a nightmare. "What?"
"You're scaring me!" Emily yelled as they pushed their way through a throng of guards. "I'm already scared enough as it is without you getting weird on me!"
"Sorry," Zelgadis muttered as they hit a wall of bodies. He growled, "This isn't getting us anywhere." Scooping Emily up in his arms, he muttered, "Levitation." Now unhindered by gravity or the mob of palace guards, they made their way easily to the parapet overlooking the entryway to the palace.
Just as Zelgadis had feared, Christopher sat astride a soot gray horse at the head of a large column of infantry. He wore a circlet of wrought iron atop his head. The young man's face lit up with a cruel smile when he saw Zelgadis and Emily. He extended a hand in mock greeting. "Mother! Uncle Zelgadis! I have returned! Did you miss me?"
Zelgadis ignored the dark prince for the moment in favor of scanning the horde of troops behind him. Ogres, trolls, the most unsavory looking mercenaries, all were present, but the man he had been dreading was nowhere to be seen. He breathed a sigh of relief. This was bad, but if the demon wasn't here it could be fixed. Somehow, it could be fixed.
"What do you want?" Emily called out, her voice cracking with emotion.
Christopher smirked. "It's time for a changing of the guard mother! You've held onto that throne for long enough, I believe."
Zelgadis called down to the prince, "Why are you doing this, Christopher?"
The smile on Christopher's face faded and he replied, "Because I deserve it. And I mean to have it. But, I don't want to see any bloodshed." He gestured to the buildings around him and said, "This is my city, too. My people would suffer should this come to violence. So please mother, open the gates and nobody has to die today."
Emily sighed shakily, tears flowing freely. She opened her mouth to answer, but was suddenly interrupted by the neighing of a single horse.
Zelgadis watched, not wanting to believe, but unable to deny what his eyes were telling him. "No, no, no," he repeated endlessly, as if he could ward off the approaching evil.
A man, withered and bent, sitting atop an evil looking ebony stallion, was quickly making his way through the throng. Suddenly, he burst through the front lines, scattering the trolls like so much rubbish. His steed came to a stop next to Christopher and the grinning skull that was Xellos's face turned upwards to face Zelgadis.
Zelgadis recoiled at the sight of the demon. He felt a sense of impending doom as he gazed into those purple eyes. "By Ceiphied," he whispered.
Xellos wore his familiar smirk in addition to new robes signifying his rank as Christopher's general. He smiled darkly as he held Zelgadis's gaze with his own.
Staring into those amethyst chips, Zelgadis felt his knees buckle. Evil. There was nothing but cruel, unyielding evil in those eyes. When he had traveled with Lina and the others in their youth, Xellos had hidden that darkness behind a smile and a chuckle. Now all the masks were cast aside to reveal his true nature, and seeing him for what he really was stunned the chimera.
Maybe that was why Zelgadis didn't move when he heard the musical sound of a single bowstring snapping. He watched, his chimeric senses making everything move in slow motion, as a single black arrow, barbed and cruel, streaked through the sky. He could have reached out and easily plucked it from the air, but his body refused to obey his command.
Emily, about to tell Christopher that he could have what he wanted, was suddenly struck in the throat by the feathered shaft. The impact threw her back and Zelgadis had the distinct impression that several voices screamed "Mother!" as she fell. Lina, her eldest child, Gourry her first son, Claire her youngest, and even Christopher called out for her.
Zelgadis caught the fatally wounded queen, saving her from the cruel impact on the stone floor. He was useful enough to manage that at least. He sat with her cradled in his arms as she struggled for breath. There was a look of such sadness in her eyes, such pain at this betrayal by her child.
A moment later, Zelgadis was joined by Lina Seyruun. She'd just arrived a few days ago from her home at the outskirts of the kingdom. She and Emily had been so happy to see one another. Despite the fact that Emily was a warm and cheerful person and Lina was somewhat cooler in disposition, they had shared an incredibly deep bond. Now, Lina suffered just as much as if she had been the arrow's target. Mother and daughter shared their agony in silence.
Claire, the child who most closely resembled her grandmother Lina Inverse, was the last to reach the scene. Far less reserved than her sister, she wept openly, desperately clutching at her mother in a vain attempt to keep her with the living.
Zelgadis slowly became aware that the sounds of fighting had erupted around them. The sound of arrows being loosed and the smell of smoke as the city began to burn forced their way into his consciousness. He looked up to see Gourry, sword drawn and raw fury etched on his face, ordering the archers to loose another volley of arrows on the horde below. The battle had begun.
This was Xellos's fault. Somehow, the demon had caused this. He felt something begin to well up inside of him. Something dark and cruel. Leaving the dying Emily to her daughters, he stood and began to make his way down to the gate where the fighting was heaviest. Despite the mass of guards choking the staircase, none touched the chimera. There was murder in his expression and nobody dared to bar his path.
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"Stop! I command you to stop!" Christopher yelled. His words were immediately swallowed by the din of battle. He glanced around the battleground, a mixture of disbelief and horror on his face. "This isn't right," he whispered.
Xellos rode up beside the dark prince, a wicked grin on his face. "Congratulations sire! Your ascension is at hand!" he said in a cheerful tone. He laughed, a horrible sound amidst the screams of the wounded and dying.
"Xellos!" Christopher sighed in relief. "They won't listen to me!" He gestured to the soldiers burning the city and murdering its citizens. "You have to stop them! Make them stop, Xellos!"
"Stop, sire? But they're doing such a wonderful job!" Xellos grinned and pointed at something over the would be king's shoulder. "Look at how efficiently they're handling those enemy soldiers!"
Christopher looked over his shoulder to see a pair of trolls dismembering a group of children. "Oh god," he whispered, horrified. "You have to stop this! This isn't what I wanted! I never meant for mother…"
Xellos snorted. "Your mother? But don't you see Christopher? Your crowning will be that much quicker with your family out of the way."
"My family…?"
"But of course!" Xellos said with a chuckle. "Every man in the army has been instructed to take no prisoners, not even the women and children. As your general, I thought that this would be more efficient. You don't want to start your reign having to tie up loose ends, do you?"
Christopher just stared at his general with his mouth agape. "Stop them," he whispered.
"Say again, sire?" Xellos cupped a hand around his ear. "I'm quite old and can't hear as well as I used to."
"Make them stop!" Christopher screamed.
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At that very instant, in the tower a mere twenty-five feet over the battle, Emily ceased her feeble attempts to breathe and she slipped away into oblivion. As she had long feared, her mother was not waiting there to greet her.
Claire and her sister hugged each other tightly, sharing their grief. Lina wanted to go to her own children who were on the far side of the castle, but they were cut off from the stairs. The woefully unprepared guards had already been all by overwhelmed by Christopher's army and it was only a matter of time before the enemy broke through the last desperate defenders.
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Xellos cocked his head in feigned confusion. "I don't understand, sire. Didn't you want to be king?" Every time he had said, "sire," he grinned as if knowing that it was some kind of sick joke.
"King?" Christopher said confusedly. He was no king. He was nothing at all.
Xellos watched as a troll was suddenly flung out of the horde by some unseen force. The half-ton creature flew twenty feet into the air before slamming violently against the unyielding stone of the palace wall. A moment later, another followed, and then another. He nodded resignedly and said, "If you'll excuse me, sire. Destiny awaits me."
"What?" Christopher muttered. He shook his head uselessly, trying to understand how things had come to this.
"My death, sire. My work here is done. Do enjoy your reign. You've earned it." Before Christopher could say anything else, Xellos spurred his horse on, charging into the thickest part of the fighting.
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Up on the parapet, Lina and Claire looked on sadly as a group of enemy troops shattered the last line of defenders. They didn't speak a word as they were surrounded. Instead they hugged each other all the tighter just before the swords fell upon them.
A moment later, Emily's daughters lay with her in death.
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Zelgadis effortlessly flung his foes away as he made his way to the point where he had last seen Xellos. He roared the demon's name over and over as he advanced through the myriad foes.
Atop his ebony steed, Xellos erupted through the line of mercenaries, laughing madly all the while. "Oh, Zelgadis? Were you looking for me?"
Zelgadis didn't even bother to look at Xellos. He simply reached up and, almost gingerly, plucked the demon priest from his horse. A moment later, he slammed him down on the ground, splintering the frail old man's bones.
Xellos laughed in spite of the pain. "Oh dear! A little upset, are we?" He was unable to stifle a grunt of agony as the chimera lifted his broken body from the ground by the front of his robes. He and Zelgadis stared into each other's eyes for a moment before he chuckled and said, "You know, we never talk anymore. How have you been?"
Zelgadis smiled evilly just before smashing the priest back into the ground face first.
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Michael hastily moved about the chamber, trying to find anything that he could use to bar the door to the playroom. The room was horribly empty, with a few toys scattered on the floor to amuse the children and little else. There wasn't even a decent sized chair to brace the door with.
With a heavy heart, the boy realized that they probably weren't going to survive the next few minutes. The battle raged just outside the door and he knew that the guards were terribly outnumbered. But still there was a chance to do something worthwhile. He still had his sword and…
"That's it!" Michael exclaimed, as he looked at his cousins, three of them older than he and the other two younger. Lily was the youngest child, barely six months in age. He ran over and gingerly plucked her out of her older sister's arms. "It's okay," he whispered, trying to calm the child down. If she cried out, this wasn't going to work. Carefully wrapping her in a blanket, he placed her on the floor in a dark corner of the room. After a moment of consideration, he unfastened his cloak and laid it atop her, concealing her quite well.
A moment later, the door burst open and death flooded in. "Don't overextend yourself," Michael whispered, recalling Uncle Zel's words as he turned to face the attackers.
All in all, Gourry would have been immensely proud of his son's skill that day. Michael felled four opponents before losing his head to a troll.
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"Oh," Xellos said as he sniffed. The latest impact had broken his nose and jarred loose the last of his teeth. Oh well, he wouldn't be eating anymore anyway. He struggled to look up at the chimera and grinned. Blood dribbled from the corner of his mouth as he said, "So all in all, you've been doing pretty well?"
Zelgadis grabbed a fistful of Xellos's thin hair and yanked him up to a kneeling position. "I'm going to kill you," he hissed.
Xellos was about to reply when he felt a sharp pain in his chest. Could it be? A repeated jolt confirmed his suspicions. Oh, this was too good! It appeared that the chimera wasn't going to get to kill him after all. "Don't you at least want to know why I did this Zelgadis?" His heart hammered more and more irregularly as he spoke.
"Not really," Zelgadis muttered as he dragged Xellos by his hair through the battlefield. He wanted to get the demon somewhere slightly more private so that he could take his time killing him.
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"Chris!"
Christopher cringed at the sound of that voice and instinctively reached for his sword. In all the years that they'd been together, he'd never heard Gourry sound that furious. He turned just in time to catch his brother's blade on his own. The impact jarred him loose from the saddle and he fell roughly to the ground.
His head. Gourry had been swinging for his head, Christopher thought. His brother was actually trying to kill him. He quickly scrabbled to his feet, trying to keep his horse between himself and Gourry. "Wait a second!" he pleaded, narrowly avoiding another of his brother's strikes.
"Shut up!" Gourry snarled.
For a moment, all conversation ceased as the brothers' blades clashed time and again.
Christopher panted in exhaustion and fear. He'd never been the fighter that Gourry was. He wasn't built for it. He'd been a weak child, always in bed with some illness or other. Even now, he was slight of frame compared to Gourry. The only reason he knew how to fight at all was because his older brother had taught him.
"You killed mom!" Gourry swung with all of his considerably strength sending his younger brother sprawling again.
"I… I didn't…" Christopher stammered, trying to find the words to tell Gourry that he hadn't wanted this to happen. He'd loved his mother. Sure, he was more than a little bitter that she'd given her sword to Gourry instead of him, but he didn't want to see her dead. He just wanted what was rightfully his. Gourry had received everything else, so why should he get the throne as well?
Gourry glared down at his cowering brother and asked, "Did you kill dad too?" A gasp from Christopher betrayed the fact that he had. "Stand up," Gourry said, his voice deadly serious. "Show some spine for once in your life."
Christopher glared at Gourry, fury replacing the fear that he had felt before. Father had always looked down on him; always taken Gourry's side in every disagreement, every quarrel. Now, he was going to pay his brother back for everything. Trembling in anticipation, he climbed to his feet and assuming a defensive stance snarled, "Defend yourself, brother."
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"This really has nothing to do with you, you know," Xellos said, as if it made any difference. "I'm doing this to get back at her." Another bolt of agony shot through his chest as he spoke. Oh, how he wished that he could see Zelgadis's expression when he found out that righteous revenge had been denied him.
"You killed Emily. I remember you promising Lina that you were going to all those years ago. You sick twisted creature. You just couldn't leave well enough alone, could you?!"
"Well," Xellos said thoughtfully, his voice faltering, "I am a monster, after all. Cruelty and chaos were my life. They still are." He chuckled quietly as he slipped away to a place where Zelgadis could no longer reach him.
Zelgadis pulled the priest up by the hair and slammed him against the wall. "If you have some sort of beef with Lina, sort it out with her! You'll be meeting her shortly." His breath caught in his throat as he felt the priest's dead weight. "No," he whispered. The glazed expression in Xellos's eyes confirmed his fears. The priest had escaped his punishment. Xellos was dead.
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"Fireball!" Christopher yelled, pulling the chaotic energies into himself and hurling a sphere of blazing destruction at Gourry.
Gourry muttered the words to activate the enchantment on his sword. The runes along the blade glowed faintly and his brother's fireball dissipated harmlessly on impact. "Still have to cheat to win, do you?"
"Elitist bastard," Christopher muttered. He wasn't a match for Gourry physically, so of course his brother mocked him for using what he knew. How typical. How infuriatingly typical of the golden boy.
Blades clashed yet again the foes found themselves face to face, their noses a mere inch from one another. It was a strange sight, almost appearing as if one was a twisted reflection of the other. Gourry with his long blond hair, tall muscular frame, and handsome appearance was on one side contrasting to Christopher's mop of unruly dark hair, lesser stature, and more modest features on the other. They might have stayed frozen in that position forever had something not exploded behind them, flinging both combatants to the ground.
Gourry was the first to recover. He looked up and was horrified to note that the palace was in flames. Christopher's army had torched most of the city and now their childhood home was being destroyed as well. Scowling, he turned back to see Christopher cowering before him, his sword lost in the explosion.
Christopher watched calmly as Gourry raised his sword. He knew that there was no time to work a spell, but he did so anyway. He was out of options. Drawing his hand back, he began to utter, "Flare-"
The sword fell in what should have been a lethal blow, but either fate or luck intervened. The sound of metal striking metal split the air and Christopher's circlet of iron fell to the ground, sliced neatly in two. The skin of the prince's forehead was rent open, releasing a stream of blood that instantly dyed his hair red, but for the most part, the blow had been turned aside.
Gourry staggered, never considering the possibility that his strike would not have finished the fight. The recoil of the blade striking the circlet flung his arms up, leaving his abdomen totally exposed.
"Arrow!" Christopher finished. A shaft of flame in the shape of a javelin, the technique Zelgadis had taught him, sprang into being in his hand. Without a moment's hesitation, he flung the spell into Gourry's stomach. The ensuing blast flung the combatants apart and Christopher's world went dark for a time when he struck the ground.
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"Stop laughing, Xellos." Zelgadis hissed angrily. Despite being dead, the demon still wore that infuriating smile that had graced his countenance for as long as the chimera had known him. "Damn it," he growled flinging the corpse face down on the ground. Let him grin at that for a while.
Xellos actually had plenty to laugh about. Lina Inverse's bloodline was being extinguished by one of her own descendants. On top of that, the kingdom of Seyruun was going to fall. Without a leader, how could it not? Death and chaos would reign. And who was to say that the rest of the continent would not follow? The fall of a powerful kingdom like Seyruun would have catastrophic effects for decades to come. All in all, it was a fairly grand accomplishment for a demon that had been laid as low as Xellos.
Sparing the fallen priest one last kick in the ribs, Zelgadis turned, meaning to see if there was anything left to be done. Someone in the royal family had to be alive. Drawing his sword, he began to cut his way through his foes, back to where he had left Emily and her daughters. Innumerable blades, clubs, and arrows struck his hide. One particularly zealous mercenary doused him with burning pitch. He didn't even blink. Nothing hindered him. Despite his foes best attempts, the chimera easily made his way through the enemy. Wreathed in flames, he began to climb the stairs to the parapet overlooking the city. They had to be alive, he thought. Lina and Claire had to have survived.
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In the throne room Gouren and his twin sister Lana sat, lost in thought. To think that they would live to see the end of Seyruun. The fall of a kingdom that had stood for a thousand years.
Gouren looked up at his loyal guards, fighting on even in the face of hopelessness to hold the doors and protect the new king. As the doors began to buckle under the onslaught of the invaders Gouren spoke to his men for the last time. "Leave us," he commanded, pointing at a little known emergency exit through the back of the throne room. "They will follow us, but you men have a chance to escape and live."
Not a single man gave Gouren's order a second thought. They immediately turned back to continue their valiant struggle to stem the tide of darkness trying to press into the chamber.
Gouren chuckled dryly and sat down on the throne. A moment later he began to weep quietly. Not for fear of death, but because of his good fortune. What had he done to deserve such loyalty?
When the end came a few moments later, Gouren and Lana were smiling. They had seen the best that Seyruun had to offer and were humbled by it.
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Slowly, Christopher came back to some semblance of consciousness. He absentmindedly wiped the blood out of his eyes as he surveyed his surroundings. He was alive? That meant that Gourry had to be…
"Yes," the prince hissed, a dark smile splitting his face. "Yes!" There was his brother, lying a few feet away, quite dead. "I win, dear brother." he said as he staggered to his feet and shambled over to where Gourry lay. "And this… is mine," he gasped, yanking Emily's blade from Gourry's unmoving fingers.
Sparing a moment to spit on his accursed brother, Christopher turned and watched as the palace burned. Gourry had told him to show some spine. It had been one of the last things he had ever said. And Christopher would. The least that he could do was honor Gourry's last request. He'd see this through to the end. He wouldn't have wished for things to turn out this way, not in a million years, but what was done was done. This kingdom would be his. Things had gone way to far for him to stop now.
Leaning on the sword for support, Christopher haltingly made his way into the palace. There was still blood to shed before the day was won. Zelgadis was still a threat and would have to be dealt with. He smiled at the rune-etched blade he carried. He knew how to kill the chimera and would succeed where so many others had failed.
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The acrid smoke was thick and even Zelgadis coughed, as it seemed to cling to his lungs. They couldn't be alive, he realized. If Lina and Claire hadn't gotten out of the tower, they were already dead.
The chimera himself was still ablaze, presenting a strange and frightening sight to the castle's defenders and its attackers. Nobody quite knew what to make of the flaming demon that stalked the halls of the dying palace.
"Lina! Claire!" Zelgadis called out, his voice barely a croak. Until he saw their bodies, he wouldn't give up, even if he had to walk through hell itself. He paused for a moment, his sensitive ears twitching. Crying. He heard a woman crying. Someone was still alive. "Claire? Lina?" he called out again, encouraged by the sound.
Zelgadis leapt through a wall of flame, finally reaching the place that he had left the fallen queen. He was greeted by an incredibly strange sight. "What the hell?" he whispered.
Lying on the floor he recognized the form of Lina Seyruun, her dark hair a stark contrast against her mother and sister's fiery locks. The strange thing was that there were three redheads on the floor. In addition to Claire and Emily, there was a third woman sitting on her knees beside the others.
The woman's features were partially obscured by the smoke, but it was obvious that she was upset. She cradled Emily's head in her lap and was lovingly stroking her hair. Her petite body was wracked by violent sobs and it seemed as if she might actually die of grief.
Zelgadis frowned. Who was this person? She seemed to be totally unaffected by the flames and smoke. Over the roar of the flames he heard her whispering to Emily.
"Why'd this have to happen? She promised me that you'd be happy. She promised! I'm so sorry, baby." The woman leaned down and tenderly kissed Emily's forehead. "I'm so sorry!"
"Baby?" Zelgadis whispered. He suddenly felt as if his stomach had turned a somersault. It couldn't be. "Hey!" he called out.
The woman slowly looked up, as if just realizing that Zelgadis was there. She smiled sadly and said, "Zel." Her ruby eyes practically glowed in the firelight. There was something else in her gaze besides the tears and the fire. Behind those crimson eyes danced flecks of gold.
Slivers of Chaos.
The woman wiped her face with the back of a hand and sniffed. "There's still one left. You have to save her, Zel. I can't do it."
Zelgadis shook his head hardly daring to believe. "Are you her? Are you Li-"
"Zelgadis!"
Zelgadis glanced over his shoulder to see Christopher burst through the flames, his enchanted blade glowing brightly. He picked up his own sword and turned to face the dark prince. Looking back at the woman one last time, he wasn't the least bit surprised to see that she was gone. Maybe she'd never been there to begin with.
Christopher swung wildly at Zelgadis, barely missing the chimera's head. "Die!"
Zelgadis took a step back, almost tripping over Claire's body. He felt horrible about it. She'd been the sweetest of Emily's children, never thinking of herself and now she was so much refuse on the floor. Infuriated by that thought, he focused on killing the man that had caused this. Xellos might have escaped his wrath, but Christopher wouldn't.
Roaring in inhuman fury, Zelgadis swung his sword in an overhand slash, fully intending to split the traitorous prince in half.
His sword practically ablaze with magical energy, Christopher deftly blocked the chimera's blow. He smiled wickedly and said, "Weak."
Zelgadis's burning cloak whipped through the air as he spun, bringing his blade around at chest level. This strike was also easily blocked. For some reason, his opponent seemed remarkably fast. On top of that, his sword felt heavy in his hand. Something was terribly wrong.
Wearing a knowing smile, Christopher slashed at Zelgadis faster than the chimera could have ever expected. His face appeared to be blue in the light of the sword. Knocking away another of the chimera's clumsy strikes, the prince quickly slashed him across the chest.
Instead of being turned aside like almost any other weapon, the sword slid easily through Zelgadis's enchanted flesh, wounding him deeply. For the first time in many years, he bled. The wound stubbornly refused to close.
"Do you understand now, uncle?" Christopher asked, casually twirling the sword as he advanced. "Your strength, your speed, nothing can save you. Mother's sword has seen to that." He held the blade up at eye level and chuckled. "Your body's very nature is magical. And seeing as the sword consumes magic, well…"
Zelgadis smiled in spite of himself. "That's very clever Christopher." He clutched at the seeping wound in his chest and smirked. "I'm sure that your parents would be proud." He gave ground to Christopher as he spoke. He needed room to maneuver, and a narrow walkway wasn't going to cut it.
Christopher's smile faded instantly and he hissed, "Don't you dare talk to me about them!" He drew his hand back and formed a fireball within it. "Die uncle! Fireball!" He flung the orb at the weakened Zelgadis, but it dissipated before moving two feet. "What the hell?" he muttered, looking at his hand.
Unnoticed, the sword glowed brighter for a moment, absorbing the chaos energies of Christopher's spell.
Zelgadis saw his chance and bolted for the staircase. He'd like to get down to the courtyard where he could beat Christopher with his superior skill, but the stairs only lead up. Up into a watchtower that rose a hundred feet above the palace. It would have to do. He turned to see the prince sprinting after him. To his horror and fury, Christopher stepped on Emily's body as he passed. Didn't he care about anything anymore?
Quashing the rage, Zelgadis ran up the staircase as fast as his wounded body would allow. If he turned to fight Christopher now, there was no way that he would win. Even going to the top of the tower was probably only delaying the inevitable. Still, living another few moments was preferable to dying immediately, so he ran.
The prince caught up to Zelgadis just as he reached the door leading out onto the battlement. Bellowing like an animal, he tackled the chimera from behind, flinging them both through the doorway and out onto the narrow platform. He struck Zelgadis on the back of the head with the hilt of his sword, opening an angry wound.
Zelgadis squirmed around under the prince and brought his fist up in a vicious hook to the young man's jaw.
Jagged knuckles ripped away part of his cheek, only managing to further infuriate Christopher. Straddling Zelgadis's body, he brought the hilt of the sword down again, this time splitting the chimera's forehead. Dark blood flew and he laughed maniacally.
Tossing his sword aside, Zelgadis reached up and grabbed the front of Christopher's cloak. He pulled him down, thrusting his own head upwards at the same time. The impact sent a bolt of agony through his skull, but it had the desired effect.
Christopher stood and staggered back, looking quite dazed. He reached the edge of the platform and just for a moment, teetered on the edge of nothingness. Then he returned to his senses and dropped to one knee to steady himself. "Nice… one… uncle…" he whispered between gasps for air.
Zelgadis scowled and slowly climbed to his feet. His sword. Where had his sword gone? He looked up to see it under Christopher's foot.
Grinning, the prince knelt and picked it up. I don't think… that you'll be needing this… anymore, uncle." He flung the sword over the edge of the platform.
Zelgadis thought that he heard it shatter against the stones a hundred feet below. It was over then. Without a sword, there was no way that he could win. His magic was useless and… "Magic," he whispered to himself, thoughtfully eyeing Emily's glowing sword. He staggered backwards as a sudden wave of dizziness overcame him and now it was his turn to stand on the edge of death.
"Goodbye uncle," Christopher said with a smile. Expecting his foe to recoil and fall to his death, he charged Zelgadis with his sword raised over his head.
"Goodbye Christopher," Zelgadis replied. He did the unexpected and stepped forward into Christopher's blow, allowing the sword bite into his shoulder instead of his head. Ignoring the pain, he pivoted on his heel and using Christopher's own momentum against him, flung the prince over the edge of the wall.
Christopher briefly struggled to comprehend what had happened. He was flying. No, he realized a moment later. He was falling, but that could be easily remedied. "Ray Wing!" he said, summoning the magic that would free him from gravity's hold. He continued to fall. He glanced over at the glowing sword he still clutched in his hand. "No!" he shrieked, finally realizing what had happened.
Zelgadis tried to block out the sound of Amelia's grandson striking the ground far below as he lay on the floor, exhausted. In a way, it felt as if he had betrayed his friends. He had killed the last of Lina and Amelia's descendants and he hated himself for it. "Not the last," he mused. The mysterious woman's words came back to him.
"There's still one left. You have to save her, Zel. I can't do it."
Groaning in pain, Zelgadis climbed to his feet. Now that he was out from under that accursed sword's influence, he felt his strength and speed return. His wounds quickly began to close and after a moment, he was whole once again. Now there was work to do.
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A child's cries could be heard in the playroom. Everyone in the room had been killed, save Lily. Michael had hidden her well and she had escaped the fate of her family. The flames that threatened to consume the palace licked at the edge of Michael's cloak, threatening to devour it and the child.
A blast of wind fanned the flames briefly and Zelgadis was suddenly standing over the precious bundle in the corner. He smiled tiredly as he bent down to scoop Lily up in his arms. "Ray Wing," he whispered, creating a pocket of fresh air around himself and the young princess.
For a brief moment, Lily looked up at the chimera questioningly. Then a smile lit up her face and she laughed happily.
Zelgadis returned Lily's smile as he carried her through the flames. "Think I'm funny looking do you?" he asked. The child gurgled happily in response, eliciting a laugh from the chimera.
Lily was a beautiful child and Zelgadis eagerly took in her appearance. She had Amelia's beautiful blue eyes and dark hair, Lina's cocky smile, and Gourry's honest and loving expression. Of course, he was reading into it too much. She was unique, special in her own way.
Zelgadis shook his head sadly. Gone. Everyone that he had loved had been snatched away. But, despite all the dark happenings of the day, there was still hope. There was always hope, he realized. The child in his arms was proof of that.
Comforted by that thought, Zelgadis walked through the ruins of the palace with his young companion. He'd seen so much in his long life. The death of his friends, the fall of a kingdom he'd once thought eternal, the rebirth of his hope. So much he had seen. And still, there was so much left to see. Eternity stretched out before him, but instead of a world of loneliness, he saw opportunity. A chance to know his friends over and over again through their children. It would be a good life. Good enough.
And with that thought, Zelgadis Greywords walked out of the inferno and into legend.
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Next Chapter: *sniff* There isn't another chapter! I will begin working on the final story in the series sooner or later though.
Notes: Wow, um, I really hope that everyone enjoyed this. Even if you didn't find the ending to be a happy one, I hope that you at least found it satisfying.
I hated the fact that Emily had to die. I loved Emily and her entire family and it was extremely difficult to write their deaths. Despite the fact that this was Zelgadis's story and he overshadowed the other characters, I have pages of information that I've written out for each of them. A question. Would anyone be interested in reading Christopher and Gourry's story? I only ask because the original Slayers cast would have a very minor role in it and I wonder if my original characters are interesting enough to carry a story on their own.
I know that this isn't one of the readers' favorite stories, but quite honestly, it's mine. Despite the fact that it was upsetting at times (especially for me), I've never enjoyed writing another story as much as I've enjoyed this one. Thank you all so very much for taking the time to read it.
Reviewer Response:
Miss Gabriev, Zel didn't think that Gourry was Gourry. Hmm, I'm starting to second-guess myself with the giving the same names to different characters thing. As for the sequel, it's already a work in progress.
Raven, thanks for being there through the entire story, even after I took that, um, kinda long break from it. I hope you liked the ending. Not really happy, but good enough I hope.
Pogo, it's your own fault you know. I didn't twist your arm to get you to read the story. Okay, I kinda did, but that's beside the point. Thanks for the comments on the characters. It meant a lot to me.
Thank you again for reading, everyone!