Rae the WolfGirl: I appologize for the staggering ammount of time it has been since my last review. I'm usually not to bad about that. However my computer crashed and it took me a while to get everything running properly again. Thankfully, however I had this story saved on a disk. yay good for me. thinking a head.

Xelloss: ahem Stop praising yourself and get on with the story.

Rae:you sound touchy

Xelloss: What do you think? I came this close places hands very close together in mid-air to getting to sleep with Filia last time and then you ruin it and don't update for nearly two months!

Rae: Patience is a virtue, but on with the story anyway.

Xelloss: FYI, because Ms. Forgettful here never says this, Rae doesn't own Slayers or the characters.

Xelloss was dreaming. He was dreaming a memory, playing out events he'd long since tried to forget. In his dream it was a very long time ago. More than a thousand years. But in his dream everything was very vivid, it was exactly as if it had happened only yesterday.

It was dusk as Xelloss emerged from the large pavillion tent set up in the clearing of a forrest. He was the last to leave, he had been sitting for a while, pondering the day's negotiations. If you could call them that. It had really just been endless argument between the dragon tribes' elders. A war was beginning and there was no way that they would be able to avoid it. However, they refused to see this.

"You make more sence than they do, mazoku," Xelloss whirled around. Standing by the tent flap was possibly the most beautiful creature he had ever seen. She was a young golden dragon, she had deep blue eyes and shoulderlength curly blonde hair. She had a very defiant look about her. Lost in his thoughts, Xelloss had not sensed her.

"Your race likes to complicate things, ryozoku."

"Yes. They will never agree with you."

"Nor shall they persuade me to advise my masters that they should give up their land. I propose a compromise, however your race will not budge. They are foolish and will pay dearly for it."

"We are stubborn. My name is Alexia, but I am no fool," the dragon said. "This argueing seems pointless to me. Neither side is going to just roll over and die and that is what the other wants, ultamitely is it not? Why do we fight? Our race does not even remember the cause."

"Nor does ours."

"Than we are both foolish. Continuing a pointless grudge."

"Part of me agrees with you, Alexia. But the rest of me is too loyal and too proud to back down. No matter the origonal cause of the enimosity between us, we want chaos and you want peace-how can we ever get along?"

"I suppose you're right...But the chaos your race speaks of seems more sane than what my race calls peace."

"You're very smart, for a dragon," Xelloss smiled. "What temple do you serve?"

"The Temple of the Fire Dragon King."

"Maybe I shall see you again, Alexia, Priestess of the Fire Dragon King."

Xelloss turned in his bed. He moaned and Cheesecake jumped up on the bed abd nudged his side with her nose. However the mazoku would not wake. He was trapped in a dream that would soon turn into a nightmare.

In the darkest corner of the Blue Dragon's tavern Jet sat across from "Sue" the girl who was really a wolf, known as Snow on a hidden island in the demon sea. They were discussing Jet's behavior.

"You have to be nice to her, you idiot!" Snow hissed at him. "You need to be someone she can trust!"

"I know, I know," Jet sighed. "But just thinking about Xelloss makes me mad. It's his fault Alexia..."

"That's not the way he sees it," Snow said under her breath.

"Well, I don't care how he sees things!"

"Okay, Okay. Let's not fight. We need to get things done. We need to do something that will make Filia hate Xelloss and love you."

"But really," Jet interrupted her scheming. "We only need to make sure she doesn't fall in love with him for the next ten days, that's all he's got left, right?"

"True, but if we don't do something Xellas will have Filia killed, and you don't want that. And also..." Snow trailed off into thoughtful silence.

"Also?" Jet prompted.

"Juu-Ou-sama has a-a soft spot when Xelloss is concerned. She cares for him far too much. I believe that if things came down to it; she would give him more time."

"Oh."

"I'm thinking, if you were baby-sitting Val, I could take him and you could blame it on Xelloss. You could tell her he-he had killed Val. Then she wouldn't come looking. She would hate Xelloss, there would be no changing her mind and he would have to give up on her. "

"I've got a better idea," Jet said. "It runs along the same lines, but...what if Xelloss actually did kill Val-and Filia saw him do it?"

"You're not thinking-"

"Possesion is my special ability, Snow. I could do it-even to Xelloss."

"But afterwards, he would kill you-"

"I can make it so he wouldn't even remember doing it. He'll be horrified," this was a lie. Jet had no reason to keep that murderous mazoku alive. Xelloss would die. And if Snow would not believe it had been an accident, he could kill her, too. He would look like the hero to Filia. He would have his revenge on Xelloss and get take away his love like Xelloss took his.

"Fine," Snow agreed, though she still felt unsure about this. "I have places to be." and the wolf-woman disappeared.

Filia awoke to a pounding headache. The sun was just now rising, but the minimal light seemed to be blinding her. She pulled the covers up over her head. She tried to remember just what had driven her to have so much wine, that she felt so awful. Then she remembered Xelloss. Xelloss had shown up and-and...She shut her eyes and tried to remember; it made her head worse. Xelloss had...given her more wine...then....Oh, God! he'd kissed her, she suddenly remembered. But it had been more than a kiss. Oh, no! What did I do? she frantically tried to remember. She was fully dressed...that was a good sign. But, why would he come here? Especially after their fight... Just to take advantage of her, that lying bastard! She'd kill him if she ever saw him again. But something felt...off. What was it. Oh if only she could remember. But her attepmts were cut short. Val began to cry and she got up, ignoring her headache, to tend to him.

Xelloss was dreaming of a different day now. One far from the last. He was much involved with Alexia now and was waiting for her in an abandoned temple near the Fire Dragon King's sanctuary where they would meet often. He began to grow impatient, she was late. And so much he wanted to see her again. From the back of his mind came a voice screaming at him to leave. However this voice, this almost entire other self, could do nothing. Then Alexia teleported in to the room. Xelloss pulled her into a kiss. The taste of peppermint. The smell of flowers. Almost too much 'happy' for the mazoku to take. Then he sensed something odd. But before he could wrap his befudled mind around it he felt a searing pain in his stomach. He pulled away, quickly glancing down at the hole just above his navel. In shock he looked at the dragoness, who only smiled cruely.

"Alexia-why-"he gasped.

"Stupid mazoku," she said, not sounding at all like herself, "You honestly believed I loved you. Ha! You are beneath me! And now you shall die!"

The dragon shot several blades of magical energy at Xelloss. In his shocked state, Xelloss was slowed in putting up his shield and as a consequence got his palms sliced open.

She prepared another attack, but an amazing rage had built up in the mazoku and , without thinking, Xelloss shot a blast of energy at her. It was so powerful it nocked her against the far wall. She crumpled to a heap as her blood poured out onto the floor. She was as good as dead, no spell would save her now. But as Xelloss turned to leave, rage and an overwhelming sense of loss spinning in his head, he felt a wave of sorrow rush from her. He spun, the dragon was struggling to push herself up from the floor.

"Xelloss!" she tried to call out to him, but the sound was barely more than a whisper, then she coughed violently, spitting up blood. Xelloss teleported to her side as she once more collapsed to the floor.

"Xelloss, I'm so...sorry," she whispered. "It wasn't-wasn't me. I...tried to fight....him."

"Him?" Xelloss asked, gathering in the dying dragon in his arms, he knew there was nothing he could do to save her life, but at least he could find out who had done this, get revenge. "Who? Who did this."

"I-I'm sorry Xelloss. I love you," she struggled to get the words out. Her breathing was ragged now and Xelloss realized in a moment she would be gone. His thoughts of revenged were shoved away as grief, fear, and self-hatred swelled inside him.

"No! Alexia. I'm sorry! I'm so sorry. Please. Please don't leave me." In this instant, he realized that he loved her. It was unlike anything he'd ever experienced before. If he hadn't been about to lose the dragon, it would have felt wonderful, but now it only hurt more deeply. Her blood ran into the wounds in his palms, scarring them forever, a painful reminder. "I love you, too, Alexia. I love you." He held her as he felt her life force fade. And then she was gone. "Goodbye, pretty dragon," he whispered. Suddenly he sensed three more dragon's behind him. He gently laid Alexia's lifeless body on the stone floor and turned to face them as he stood. They were male dragon's of Alexia's age.

"You," Xelloss growled so deeply the word was almost lost. "You're the one's who did this!"

"You could say that," one of them replied snidely. "And you screwed up our plans. But it's allright, the girl wasn't too important. Now you'll have to die by our ha-"

The young dragon was shocked to silence. The mazoku he had just been threatening was surrounded be a pitch black aura, so deadly a lesser demon would have been slain if it had only touched it. Xelloss face was twisted into an expression of pure hatred he was growling mennacingly. He formed a deadly ball of swirling violet and black energy and hurled it at the two dragons who hadn't spoken; they died instantly, no trace of them left. Xelloss then summoned his staff and walked toward the remaining dragon. The dragon backed into the wall behind him. Xelloss thrust his staff through the dragon's chest, pinning him to the wall. The mazoku smiled cruely as he pulled the dagger he wore from its sheath.

"No...please," the young dragon pleaded. "This wasn't even my idea...I wasn' the one...It was Kaphala. He-he was--AAAAAHHH!"

Xelloss cut his sentence short as he cut his chest open. Xelloss then proceeded to rip the poor boy's heart out. He slumped to the floor after Xelloss pulled his staff from his lifeless body. Xelloss removed the Ruby-Eye jewel from the crook of his staff and fused the golden's heart with it. Exhilarated and, well, basically high off the pain from the golden and his own grief he looked at his blood smeared hands and could think of nothing to do, but finish off the rest of the Golden Dragons.

Cheesecake tore from the room as Xelloss awoke with a howl of terror. And ten minutes later, when Xellas came walking in with his harrassed cat, Xelloss was still sitting in bed, sheets clenched in his fists, covered in sweat, and starring blankly at the wall. His mistress set the feline down and sat herself beside her priest. Several strands of his violet hair had been loosened from the ribon with which he had tied his hair back as a result of all his tossing and turning. She tucked them behind his ear, then pushed his perfectly cut bangs up and gently kissed his forhead.

"Bad dream?" she whispered.

"Bad memory," Xelloss replied his voice hoarse.

"Alexia?" Xellas said, momentarily suprised by it. These drems had not plagued him for centuries. Though for decades before he would not sleep because of them.

"Yes," Xelloss answered. Cheesecake wlked behind his curtains and let a strip of bright mid-morning light in. "Mistress?"

"Yes, love?"

"Is there something you need for me to do for you. I would rather not sit idle today," Xelloss asked revrently, desperate for something to take his mind of things; past and present.

"Hmm...I believe so. I would like for you to go to the library in Straeta to look somethging up for me."

Hours later, as Xelloss sat in the dusty library going through the musty tomes, he began to feel the strangest sensation. It was like all concious thought was just drifting away. It was rather nice at first, but then he began to hear another voice in his head, and not the mean little one he was accostomed to, one that Filia-or Alexia-could have identified for him.

As Jet walked out from behind the nearest shelf, Xelloss did nothing but gaze at him. Ammused the dragon, with a mere thought, made the mazoku stand so that he could look at him.

"Too bad Xelloss, you'll lose another girl today. Did you enjoy the show last night? I hope so, better to prepare you for tonight. See you soon," and with that Jet vanished, leaving Xelloss to wait for his next command.

Rae: Oh, no! What will happen now? This was a depressing chapter. I promise it won't take to long to update, unless my computer decides to go all senile on me again. Which may very well happen, it keeps telling me I'm dangerously low on resources, and I only have MS Works open. So if anyone that knows computer has suggestions on what to do... And of course please review. It makes me happy.