A/N: Chapter 6, the final one… then the Epilogue, of course. T_T Alas, to all things must come an end… sometimes. (cackles) As usual, the reviews of the reviews follow:
Delta VT: Oh, Zelgadis is going to lose it a lot more. ^_~
Earth Star: "It wasn't me! It was the evil mind-warping thoughts of Bob!!!" screams our favourite chimera. Sure, Zel; we all believe ya ^_^ I love sap. However, I like my sap to come in gradual, small doses at a time, unless it's a Really Drama/Romantic occasion (and even so with a nice dash of humor ^_^)
Ichiban Victory: I really wasn't thinking of the game when I thought of the color-plot-device, it hey, it worked subliminally X3 I'm pretty much screwing around with Zel here; it's like saying to someone in Hell, 'Hey, I'm giving you a taste of Heaven for 5 seconds, then you're back here for the rest of your godforsaken life'. Sometimes ignorance IS bliss. (And though Ame might be mortified, Zel would probably commit the image to memory; that sly dog! ^_~)
Phizzy-chan: Creepy? You ain't seen creepy yet ^_____^
Sunoko: I still want those betas, missy! ^_~ It'll do me good to revise these chappies, anyhoo…
The Narrator: Crud, if that was the best chapter, I'm afraid this one won't be up to snuff _ I like freaking Zel out. I think everyone does too. His character, as stated before, just lends itself to being the butt of jokes ^_^ And I think that every Zel fangirl, at one point, has probably thought about grabbing Zel and slamming The Point into his head with a nice hammer.
DSD: The end of the red thread is each other (Zel-Ame, Ame-Zel). Or maybe I didn't describe enough _ I was never good at description…never liked long paragraphs of adjectives…. (sneaks off)
Mossygirl: Sore wa… fill in the blanks. ^_^
J. Rhaye: (griiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinclamp) Ahem. ^_^;; Need to stop grinning when I get nice reviews. Anyhoo, a theme in this story is how Amelia and Zelgadis are so unlike each other in personality, outlook and general attitude; note how Amelia tends to think more of others, voices her thoughts out loud and is trusting of others, whereas Zel focuses more on himself, thinks to himself (as in internal conversation) and is more apt to be cynical. More on plot points (including on the humanity issue) later in the Major Author's Note in the Epilogue. ^_^ Remember, it ain't Slayers if there isn't a pinch of humor in every episode or two. And your suspicions are probably correct ^_^ I love Z/A.
Gaaah. J. Rhaye-sama, you've just made it mandatory for me to write a big chunk of Opinions On The Protoganists for the Epilogue. _
A/N On The Story: This chapter's short, but pretty much wraps it all up. I hope it's satisfactory -_- The protoganists meet their companions, and it's outta Limbo they go… but it won't be the last time this little alternate universe appears… ^___^
"I saw my mother again, you know."
After I'd sufficiently composed myself, Amelia had released me from her embrace and, blushing, we stood and began to follow the trail. We were walking together, comfortably side by side, on a single path through the darkness. I did not want to talk further on my 'breakdown', and Amelia had respected that, so the walk had been silent.
Her sudden statement caught me by surprise, though.
Her mother? The Queen of Seyruun…I remember now. She passed away years ago, didn't she? And her elder daughter --Amelia's sister-- went missing after that…
`"I hadn't seen her for ten years." Amelia had a wistful, sad look. "We talked…she told me a lot of stuff, and I met--" she hesitated, which raised an eyebrow on my part, "—an old friend of hers. They told me about the threads and all, and Mommy gave me these."
I noted the 'bracelets' of light she indicated, wrapped around her wrists. Curious, I asked, "Did she say what they were meant for?"
"Yup! You know those talismans I have? Well, they're apparently magic amplifiers meant only for people in my family. They have to be activated by someone of the same blood, and they're supposed to be astral locators too."
"Hmm… but that would mean that Mazoku could trace you as well, wouldn't it?" I frowned.
"No, no, it's not like that; my mother wouldn't give me a bad gift like that!" She glared at me. I was instantly contrite; and thankfully, she grinned and faced front again. "She said that the two locate each other, so if I left one somewhere, I could find it again."
"I see… it would be a great help in enhancing the power of your spells, wouldn't it?"
"Mmm! And she also told me that… she'd always watch over me and Daddy. I really think that it's great to have someone taking care of you, even when they're gone… like a guardian angel, don't you think? They're always there even if you don't see them…" Her voice grew soft once more. The walk lapsed into silence.
And back to melancholy again. Her moods sure change fast.
Why DID she share this with me, anyway?
Perhaps she's trying to tell me that I'm not alone. That there's another I know who has gone through pain in her life, too.
It must have been traumatic for her; she, barely five years old, and her mother assassinated in another power play by some corrupt politician or relative. I'd never really thought about it, but after all she's gone through—betrayal by trusted family members, the loss of even more-- she's still so naive, so cheerful and optimistic. She has so much inner strength, even though her past was as horrible as mine…in different ways, but no less intense.
And yet… we turned out to be complete opposites. I suppose that it's because she had the love and support of her father, and a duty to her people, whereas I had no one to turn to. Rezo… he effectively cut me off from human companionship.
But, the second voice interjected, you had Zolf and Rodimus. They were friends to you, yet you chose to remain detached and wallow in your own misery. It came down to attitude, in the end; Amelia chose to channel her grief outward, into a motivation for bringing justice to the world, whereas you turned the point against yourself. You've been slowly killing yourself, all this while.
…
In the end…it all came down to how you chose to take it. To see the empty half of the glass, spending your days angsting about your accursed fate… or to see the full half, using that 'curse' for a greater good?
I took her right hand in my left and squeezed it lightly. She looked up, startled. I gave her a smile, then began to speak.
"I met two old friends of mine… Zolf and Rodimus. You don't know them, but if Lina told you about our previous adventures, then maybe you've heard their names before…"
~*~
[Zel's POV, once more]
The trail eventually led to a large, glowing circle on the floor with several runes inscribed on the border. Gourry was seated on the edge of the circle with Zangulus beside him; the former napping peacefully, the latter fiddling with his hands. Both of them had their backs to the circle.
On the other side, I could see the reason why; Sylphiel was there, hugging her knees to her chest, with Martina a few feet away. The Xoanan princess was sneaking a few not-so-innocent looks at the male side of the circle.
Good grief, we're ALL naked. My hands automatically moved to block my privates from being seen (particularly by the aforementioned princess). I could feel the blood slowly inching up my face again…
"Don't worry, Mr. Zelgadis," Amelia chirped, patting me on the arm. "It'll be all right."
I sighed. Zangulus looked up and noticed us.
"It's about time you two showed up." He grinned. "I was beginning to wonder what you were doing in the dark…"
"Mr. Zangulus!!" Amelia glared at him, a blush tinting her cheeks.
"What was it you were saying about it 'being all right'?" I drawled.
Martina had observed my presence, and was currently eyeing me with an interest that was a little disturbing. Hurriedly turning away from her, I went to the other males. I could feel Amelia walk away to the girls.
"The portal hasn't opened yet," Zangulus said, answering my question. "We've been waiting for everyone to get here to see if it does. Nothing to do but wait, I suppose."
So I stared at my human hands and waited.
This thread connection… I examined my fingers and traced the lines to the other five people. It links us, somehow. But it's stronger with different people, like Amelia and Gourry… is it an indication of the depth of our relationships with each other? I don't know the other three that well, so the threads that connect me to them are weaker…
And Amelia? She and I are tied with the strongest bond of the three colours.
I smiled fondly. I guess it's good to know that at least, somewhere in the world, I have people I can call true friends. And one, maybe more than friend…
There was a bright flash of light behind me.
As one, we turned to see that the circle was now glowing intensely red, and I could feel the waves of energy emanating from it. Gourry jerked awake and looked.
"Oh, hi Zel. Is the portal thing open already?"
"Yes… yes, it is."
"Oh? Alright, then. Time to go." And without further ado, the blond swordsman stepped into the circle and disappeared. Sylphiel quietly followed suit.
Zangulus nodded at me. "Meet you back there."
I nodded. He walked to the girls' side, took a surprised Martina by the arm and warped with her.
Only Amelia and I were left. I hesitantly approached her as she stood on the edge, gazing into the light. She faced me with a smile.
"Let's go back, then. To where we belong."
I closed my eyes.
"Where we belong…"
We crossed the edge, and all was darkness.
~TBC
A/N: And it's…. The End!! Bye, all. Thanks for reading. (lights off)
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…Just kidding, of course. There's still an epilogue, so you can put those swords down now ^_^ On this chapter; I deliberately left some ends open on what Gourry, Sylphiel, Martina and Zangulus did during their time in Limbo. Would anyone like to try a side story? ^_~
And now… as the author has blank space to fill… we present a preview of the wonderful finale known as "The Epilogue"! Featuring:
Cast interviews!
Xelloss: So, Zelgadis-san, how did you feel about having to act with your bum to the breeze for two months? snicker I'm sure our audience would love your opinion to go with the 'behind-the-scenes' footage…
Zelgadis: What the?!! XELLOSS!!! 'Source of all power…'
crashtinklefritzweapologizefortechnicaldifficultiespleasestandby
Author interviews!
Xelloss: Sano-san, is it true that you deliberately plagiarized the concept of ths fic from another author?
Sano: Sore wa himitsu desu! ^_~
Opinions!
Sano: And so, the answer to all of Zelgadis's problems with his self-esteem, inferiority complex, ego and love life can be summed up in two words…
audience leans closer
Sano: …green cheese.
Reviewer awards!
Xelloss: And the award for Best Reviewer Of The Whole Bloody Fic goes to… Me!
mazoku pulp. The hamburger condiment of choice for all enraged fangirls.
Annnd of course…the actual Epilogue.
'…Well, whatever it is, we'll know about it someday. If it's important.'