A/N: Whoo, five reviews for the newbie! Kudos to, in chronological order, Ichiban Victory (fear not, the theme of 'sad' never lasts long in a Slayers fic ^_~), Sunoko (my faithful beta-reader..;_; thankees! As to where I'm from, here's a hint; check my LJ at my profile. ^^), Cookie (ya ain't seen nothin' yet ^_^), Destructive Sorceress (Hook, line and sinker ^_^;; well, I was watching NEXT for the Nth time and I thought, hey, since ol' Halcy ain't used much, why not? Besides, it's a good example of one of Zel's power-less times ^^) and The Narrator (salute to you too ^_^)!
Thanks for your comments on Zel and Amelia's angsty bits. I was nervous at first because I'd never written angst before, but now I'm a bit more satisfied ^_^ Once again, huggles to Sunoko for all the betaing done and burning stakes stuck up my backside. Whoo.
A/N on the Story: And now, as no Slayers fic can have long-lasting angst, I give you… something different. ^_~ Be warned of slightly adult themes, and keep those mental images to yourself.
I can't tell how much time I spent in a foetal position, shaking involuntarily, curled up on my knees and arms with my forehead resting on the ground. It was a while before I composed myself and stood, assessing the situation with as little emotion as possible; I needed a clear head.
The first thought that came to mind was to examine what I had. As I was oddly invisible in the darkness, touch was the only sense I could rely on.
However, said sense was telling me that I was, to put it crudely, butt naked.
There was a brief pause.
I checked again.
Definitely naked.
… I suppose the only consolation is the fact that in the dark, no one can see you blush.
Not the most important point to consider at that moment. The question was: What was I supposed to do now?
Premise 1: I'm dead.
Premise 2: Amelia is dead.
Premise 3: I'm in a dark place, and I'm currently lacking in the clothing department.
Conclusion: Amelia might also be in this place, and currently lacking in-
… I am NOT finishing that thought.
I gave myself a sharp thwack on the head. Now is NOT the time to let five years of suppressed hormones act up. Get a GRIP.
But whyyy? It's fun!
… Shut up.
Then I remembered that having a conversation with oneself was considered an early sign of dementia, so I cut off the annoying little voice and contemplated my next move.
Does magic work, I wonder?
"Lighting," I chanted.
A brilliantly shining ball of light energy did not appear.
No magic. Right, I thought wryly. So if something big and ugly comes this way, I could try punching it to death. Not a very tempting prospect.
There was something prodding me at a corner of my mind. I was forgetting something, but what? Something about my earlier discovery.
A third check confirmed that I had absolutely nothing except the attached body parts. For some reason, though, the skin felt softer than usual, and there was some kind of fuzzy, hairy sensation to it--
Fuzzy? Hairy?
I pulled the hairs.
"… Ow."
… I can feel pain? But that's impossible! That could only happen if I were…
"… human?" I breathed aloud.
"Indeed you are," a man's voice sounded through the darkness.
Instinctively, I swung a fist at the voice. Knuckles connected with bone, and the sound of stumbling footsteps and a grunt indicated that the speaker had staggered backward.
I paid no attention to him. I was rubbing my fist, amazed; it had hurt. I actually felt pain from the simple action of punching. I could feel again, for the first time in years.
I was human. After so long, so much frustration and misery… I was no longer a freak. For a moment, I felt like weeping in pure joy.
The moment was very brief as the voice interrupted my exultation.
"Aye, lad, 'tis a wonderful thing indeed, for ye to be your true bodily self again…but is the exchange worth it?"
There was a sudden glow, which illuminated the speaker; and for the first time since I'd died, I saw another face.
My jaw dropped.
Rodimus stood before me with a frown, rubbing his reddening chin.
"Some things, Master Zelgadis, just aren't worth the price."
Walking in total darkness isn't easy. You have to tread really carefully, stick your arm out and sort of sweep your foot ahead of you to check for any uneven area of ground, since you can't tell when you might accidentally step into a hole or walk into a wall, or something.
It took several minutes of sweep-walking to confirm that the ground was perfectly even and I could walk freely without falling on my face.
Now what? I frowned. There doesn't seem to be anything here... or anyone else.
There was a rasping sound.
... I had to say it, didn't I?
"Is there anyone there?" I called out. There was no reply. A faint trace of fear slowly crept up on the corners of my mind.
What am I going to do if something attacks? I don't even have clothes! It might do something really unpleasant to me…
Something cold tapped me on the shoulder.
"GYAAAAAH!!!!" Screaming, I launched a kick behind me and planted it into the something, shoving it away from me. I leapt back, raised my fists and stared at the ambusher. It looked a lot like a giant snake, if snakes came with bluish skin, pointed ears and sharp amber eyes...
Is that…a Brau Demon? The head looks like it, but…I thought Brau Demons were sorta human-shaped…Wait. This is the Astral Plane…so it might have a different form.
At any rate, I'm in very big trouble.
The demon was glowing a soft blue that penetrated the darkness, in a way that light spells could not. It seemed to eye me quizzically as it raised its head, and I wondered if it was, perhaps, contemplating how edible I would be. Shivering slightly, I gulped.
Then it spoke.
"Hello, little Amelia."
I stiffened. How did it know my name? It slithered closer as I backed away.
"W-who are you? What are you planning to do to me?" I managed to ask. It paused, raising its tail to its chin in a weird parody of a thinking pose.
"What do you think I'm planning to do?" it replied.
I took a deep breath.
"W-well, I think that you're going to eat me, since Brau Demons like you are lesser demons that are closely tied to the Astral Plane and generally like to eat human souls, and if you're planning to eat me I won't let you because I don't want you to, and eating people who don't want to be eaten is unjust! And if you try to do something unjust, as a warrior of Justice I will have to stop your evil plan!!"
The demon blinked, apparently stunned by the truth and force of my speech.
Then it started guffawing, rolling on the floor and shaking with wheezing laughter.
... Well, it was worth a shot.
Huffing indignantly, I folded my arms.
"It's not nice to laugh at someone else's speeches," I rebuked. It gave one last chuckle before rising onto its haunches (well, its rear end. I wonder if 'haunches' is applicable for big serpents…but that's beside the point.) and reminding me that yes, I was in a life-or-death situation here. Well, maybe not life-or-death, more like, being-eaten-or-not-being-eaten. Or something like that.
"Sorry," it apologized, which was pretty amazing since Mazoku weren't well-known for their remorse… though the creepy sharp-toothed grin it gave me was not too reassuring. "It's just that I can't control myself whenever you go into your Little Miss Justice mode--" he snickered slightly, "--so... eheh… I'm sorry."
"Apology accepted. So... um..." I eyed it cautiously. "Are you going to eat me?"
Much to my relief, it shook its head. Pleased at this turn of events, I walked closer and touched it curiously. The skin felt smooth, not scaly like a snake, and the colour of it reminded me of someone…
Zelgadis... he's part Brau Demon, isn't he?
"Do you mind? I'm not fond of being molested, y'know," it drawled. Blushing, I withdrew my hand.
"Sorry, Mr. Brau Demon."
"Nah, it's okay. I scared you earlier, so we're sorta even."
There was a pause, during which I shuffled my feet nervously.
"Mr. Brau Demon? Can I ask you a question?"
"Sure."
"Where are we? I think we're sort of in the Astral Plane, but that's about it... and how did you know my name?"
It raised an eyebrow. "That's two questions."
"Um... okay, just the first one, then. If you don't really mind me asking..."
"Not really... we've got time to kill."
"We do? What are we waiting for?"
"Now that, little Amelia, is a secret."
"... Are you Mr. Xelloss in disguise?"
"Let's just say I know him and leave it at that. Sit down; this'll take a while."
"Okay, Mr. Brau Demon."
" Call me Bob. It's a lot easier."
"Bob? I thought demons usually had fancy names and stuff..."
"I do. My real name's Veathradionukumnanîndub, but since that gets badly garbled in the human language, just call me Bob."
"... Okay, Mr. Bob."
~TBC
A/N: This is what a Brau Demon is in the Slightly Odd Slayers Universe Of Mine, with reference to QP's Slayers Page and my own experience fighting them in the Slayers SNES game.
Brau Demon: A lesser demon that, although not a pure Mazoku itself, can access the Astral Plane in a more serpentine form of its physical self. This 'snake' form is due to the fact that Brau Demons are more closely tied to the real world than Mazoku (who take on very different forms in the Ast. P) but are not the equivalent of humans, who are from the real world itself and thus, if present in the Ast. P, retain their human forms. Brau Demons are able to utilize Shamanism better than most humans due to this tie to the Ast. P.
BDs that are in the Ast. P enjoy consuming wayward souls/spirits. Whether this is a necessity for energy regeneration, or merely a cruel hobby of these creatures, is unknown, as no one has actually found out the reasons behind it.
In the real world, BDs are sentient goblin-like creatures that are usually solitary and keep away from humans, preferring forests and caves. However, evil wizards occasionally capture them for the purpose of having evil minions (The demons usually get their revenge after said wizard is defeated by a stronger one, e.g.: the Dra-mata.)
… And there you have it. ^_^;; *skips off*