Author's Note: "Valteria" is a sissy's name, anybody who thinks otherwise . . . I bet you're a girl. Stupid bishonen fans. ;-P Also, in chapter one Zelgadis' last name was spelled Greywers. I meant for it to be Greywords. I don't know why it was like that (I think it was the Pixie Stick IV drip that I'm on), but that's the reason it's different.
Gourry: "Gourry, here! I'm doing the recap today, so everyone just sit back and enjoy!"
Five minutes later.
Gourry: " . . . so on that day, my fifth birthday, I received the Sword of Light. That was really cool! On my sixth birthday I got a top! On my seventh birthday-"
Ten hours later.
Gourry: " . . . and that pretty much brings us up to date!"
Sighing contentedly, Zelgadis took another gulp of the coffee that the palace servants had brought. Wonderful brew, he said to himself, I'll have to see if Amelia will let me have a few samples when we leave.
A tinge of sadness passed through him when he thought that this might be the last time he would see the Seyruunian princess. I've had less than half a dozen friends in my life . . . Looking around the room, he turned his eyes to the faces of everyone else in the room. But, he reminded himself, I could not have had better ones.
Grinning broadly, the redhead slid her gaze over to the smiling chimera. "Geez, Zel, you sure got more friendly after you got your 'fix'."
Zelgadis' only response was to roll his eyes and take another drink of his Ambrosia.
Sipping the tea once more for politeness' sake, Amelia set the cup down and broached the subject. "Mister Zelgadis, what did you mean when you said that you were being possessed? Possessed by what?"
"Huh?" Gourry's confused voice broke in, "Repossessed? Zel, you're a rental? Did you skip out on last month's payment?"
With a growl, Lina surged forward and slammed her fist into the swordsman's head. "You jellyfish brain! You don't listen at all, do you?" Looking back at Amelia, she sat down and raised her now folded hands up to her chin. "It all started about a month ago. Gourry and me were out trashing bandit gangs like normal, when we came across Zel by chance, at one of their hideouts. Apparently, he ran out of leads digging through tombs and abandoned laboratories, and turned, in desperation, to the larger bandit gangs."
Glancing over at Zelgadis, Amelia gave him a worried look. Miss Lina always does this. I wanted to hear Zelgadis tell me what happened.
He glanced up while Amelia was looking at him, expression as stoic as ever. Tilting her head towards Lina a little, she frowned slightly. He rolled his eyes and gave her a faint flicker of a smile. He seems like himself again . . . I wonder what's going on inside him . . .
Her thoughts were interrupted by Miss Lina's shrill voice calling her name. "Amelia! I'm trying to talk to you here!"
"Sorry, Miss Lina, I was just thinking." Amelia took another sip of her tea nervously, Miss Lina is even more unstable than usual. Zelgadis' problem must have her really worried . . . Setting down her cup again Amelia spoke more calmly than she felt, "Mr. Zelgadis was searching through bandit fortresses, trying to find more leads on his cure, right?"
"Well . . . 'searching' isn't exactly the word I'd use. The first time we saw Zel again, he was fireballing a castle ruin just for the fun of it. When we called out to him he nearly blasted us! After we got him calmed down he told us that lately he'd been getting more and more aggressive."
Pausing to wet her throat a moment, Lina noticed the fearful look that Amelia was giving the distant blue-skinned man. "Anyways, me and Gourry took him to a sorcery doctor. From his divinations he was able to find out that Zel was fighting off a possession by a "particularly nasty demon". Weird thing was he couldn't find any external source for the possession, meaning . . . "
"Meaning," Zelgadis interrupted quietly, "I'm being possessed by myself. It seems that the body that Rezo gave me had a yet another hidden drawback. Apparently, in order to keep the different parts of my new body from deteriorating, each part needed to remain animated."
Another draw from his coffee was all the time the chimera gave himself before launching back into the explanation, "A Stone Golem is nothing more than an animated construct, the little intelligence it does possess is limited to it following its master's orders. The demon, on the other hand . . ."
The now familiar anger welled up when Zelgadis thought about the path that had taken him to this end. I was such a fool, to want only power.
A quiet cracking noise tore the silence apart. Eyes searching for the disturbance, Amelia found that Zelgadis was clenching his hands so tightly that his knuckles had begun to pop and snap. Without thinking, she reached for his clenched fist. "Mr. Zelgadis . . ." she whispered sadly.
"Stay away from me!" The tortured man whipped his hand away before the shrine maiden could take it. "You can't help. There's nothing anyone could do," he continued in a dangerously quiet tone.
The red haired sorceress slammed her hand on the table. "Zel! Stop it! Stop it right now!" She fixed both her gaze and an accusing finger on him. "I'm getting sick of how you've been acting lately. You know that there's no better shrine maiden in all of Seyruun. You know that she's worried about you and just wants to help. And she's got connections that even I can't compete with!"
"Come on, Zel," Gourry called from his chair, "it's not like Amelia's a stranger or anything."
Leaning over the table, Lina whispered quietly to the despondent girl. "Don't take it personally, Amelia, he's been like this towards everyone. Actually, he's been more rude to Gourry and me than to any random person. It's more likely that the demon wants to push Zel's friends away so that he's more vulnerable to being taken over. Tha- Amelia?"
With a loud cry, Amelia's anguished voice rang out. Pointing viciously at Zelgadis, she prepared to give a rarely performed Justice Speech. "Foul demon that has taken hold of my friend's heart, your days of terror are numbered! I, Amelia Wil Tesla Seyruun, cannot and will not allow your evil to diminish the light of Mr. Zelgadis' Justice!" Leaping to stand on the back of the chair, the princess raised her hands and in a single powerful motion, tumbled violently to the floor. Moaning softly, Amelia ended her speech with one forceful statement: "Owwww . . . "
"Heh," a strange double voice emerged from Zelgadis, "just try to stop me, human." The voice that emerged from the chimera's throat was both his own and an extra one that sounded more like the screech of branches across a windowpane.
A deadly silence engulfed the room as Zelgadis' friends stared at him. "Uh, wha-?" Lina's voice dropped as her eyes narrowed dangerously, "Who are you?"
"Me?" The strange double voice scratched its way out of the sorcerer's throat, "I'm the one that always got ignored no matter how much I accomplished."
"Heh, you'd better start making sense, I don't do well with riddles," the redhead backed her hand towards her sword. Behind her, Amelia got to her feet, ready to fight if she needed to, the blonde swordsman's hand on his hilt.
"Certainly, I provide 'Mr. Zelgadis' with the vast majority of his physical strength, speed and magical aptitude. I am the very reason that he's capable of the tremendous feats that he accomplishes. I've helped him out long enough, it's time for my payment."
Eyes brimming with tears, Amelia fixed her gaze upon the visage of her old friend. "I don't care what you say that you're responsible for! Mr. Zelgadis would still have been a great man, even if he wasn't a chimera! Your claims are baseless, and I demand that you leave Mr. Zelgadis alone!" Back-flipping, she came up in a fighting position and finished her speech with an ultimatum, "Either leave Mr. Zelgadis in peace, or face . . . my Righteous Retribution!"
The stranger in familiar guise continued to sit calmly during the rising tension. "What 'retribution'? First off, anything you do to me would only hurt your friend's body, secondly even if you do feel up to fighting, in spite of that, it would only make me retreat where none of you could follo-"
The double voice cut off as the small indigo-haired girl raised her hands for a spell. Laughing, the demon threw back the chair to expose himself to the spell, "Go ahead, any physical trauma this body suffers will only strengthen my hold on it!"
"Sleeping!" Amelia cried out and threw her hands forward. Her possessed friend's eyes opened wide as the flare of energy rushed towards his stolen body. Zelgadis backpedaled a few steps, then narrowed his eyes and snarled at the tiny priestess. "Ha! Go ahead, my willpower is more than stron-"
With a heavy breath the stone man collapsed onto the floor.
A sigh of relief shuddered through the shrine maiden. Thank Cepheid . . . she thought to herself. Quietly, Amelia crossed the distance between her and Zelgadis and knelt down at his side. I haven't seen him in almost a year . . . and when he finally comes back, it's just because he needs my help to rid a demon possessing him.
Her thoughts were interrupted by a small hand on her shoulder. "Amelia. . .don't worry, we're not gonna' leave him like this."
Smiling sadly the younger girl looked up at her friend, "I know Miss Lina, it's just . . . "
"You know, I've been thinking . . ." Gourry interrupted in a considering tone.
Lina's eye twitched slightly at that phrase, I swear to Cepheid, if this isn't important. . . In a calm tone of voice she replied to her idiot friend, "What were you thinking Gourry?"
"Well, it's just that . . . if that seaman-" he began quietly, hand on his chin.
"Demon, Gourry, demon not seaman!" Lina yelled at him edging forward, advancing on the oblivious swordsman.
Gourry's eyes opened just in time to see the redhead viciously closing in. Yelling nervously he called out his epiphany, while raising his arms to cover his face, "If-he's-the-reason-that-Zel-was-so-powerful-couldn't-he-have-dodged-or-blocked-the-spel l?!?"
Jerking to a halt Lina stared at her blonde friend. "You- . . . You're right . . ." Oh. . .my . . . God, Lina shouted to herself, not only was Gourry right about something, but it was important to boot . . . that usually spells trouble.
"Miss Lina," Amelia grunted from nearby their sleeping comrade. Turning, Lina saw that she was trying to lift the limp body of Zelgadis' back towards his chair. "Mr. Zelgadis is really heavy, help me get him into his chair."
Waking up in a much preferable state to the first time, Zelgadis slowly pulled his eyes open to be greeted with the vision of a smiling Amelia. "Wha- What happened?" he murmured. "Was it a dream?"
"Miss Lina, he's awake!" Excitedly, Amelia reached for a cup sitting on the edge of the table. "Here, Mr. Zelgadis, I've got a fresh cup of coffee for you." She held it up for him to take.
Dimly, as if from another room, Zelgadis heard Lina's voice call out, "Amelia! Settle down, he just woke up. He's bound to be more than a little disorientated, give him a chance to straighten himself out. We'll be right back, okay?"
Shaking his head, the chimera looked around the room. Still in the conference room. . .looks like Lina and Gourry are in the adjoining sitting area . . .
"No, it's alright, Amelia," he mumbled as the princess shakily started to retract the steaming cup. "I could use a good cup of coffee." Weakly he reached out for the cup, instead encountering warm flesh. Glancing down he saw that in his grogginess he had grabbed Amelia's hand by accident. Dammit. Zelgadis cursed inwardly. Feeling a slight warmth in his face, he shifted his grasp to the saucer that had been his original target.
Glancing up quickly, the chimera noticed the blush on the princess's face as well. "Sorry," he muttered quietly, not paying attention to her response. He stared into the cup of soothing ebony liquid. At least she made it right, it's about the only good thing to happen lately . . .
"Uh . . . M- Mr. Zelgadis?" the tiny girl began, eyes avoiding his.
Taking a long soothing pull from the cup, Zelgadis sighed contentedly. "Yes?"
"Mr. Zelgadis, there's uh . . . another guest here," she continued nervously.
"And?" He took another sip while the shrine maiden fidgeted. Another excellent brew. Palace life has definite advantages . . . Glancing up, he saw her wringing her hands. "Amelia, what's wrong? Why are you nervous about this guest?"
As the young woman continued to rub her hands, he stood shakily and started for the adjoining room. I wish she'd just tell me who it is. . .I'm not in the mood for games right now. He finished that thought with a low growl.
Shakily Amelia rushed in front of him, arms outstretched slightly. Laughing timidly she reached for the coffee pot standing on the table. "Mr. Zelgadis . . . you should probably sit down still. You've been through a lot, lately." Backing up to stay in front of him, she held the coffee in front of her as a shield. "Why don't I fill your cup again? You could-"
Her offer was cut short as the handsome blue-skinned man placed his hands on her shoulders. The girl's eyes widened as she felt his hands through her royal dress. He- he's never touched me . . . not outside of combat . . .
Lifting her vision from his chest she looked up past his angry expression to the eyes that were almost hidden by wiry hair. I never noticed before . . . his eyes are the same color as his ski-
Her thoughts were cut short by the chimera lifting her by the arms and setting her aside.
About time that damn crush of hers worked to my advantage . . . Guilt washed over Zelgadis at using her poorly hidden feelings for him against her. But, as I said, I'm in no mood for games.
Sighing inwardly at the monster that he was becoming, Zelgadis started for the adjoining room, eyes closing in shame. I should never have let Lina talk me into coming here.
He reached for the doorknob, only to find softness in his grasp. The chimera's eyes flicked open. Huh? What?! Standing in front of him was the princess, eyes wide and face flushed, his hand on her breast.
Zelgadis stared down at her as he realized exactly what his hand had ended up grasping, but in his shock he was unable to move his hand. "Uh-"
The door swung back, and three very familiar people appeared, their smiles falling.
"Xellos?!" the chimera gaped, "What the hell are you-" The heartless swordsman flinched rigidly as he realized that he was still holding onto the increasingly reddening princess. Snapping his hand back, Zelgadis retreated from the tiny girl as if she were a Dark Lord.
"Ohhhhh . . . my . . ." The redhead sorceress slowly brought her hands up to her face, mouth twitching madly.
"Well!" the Trickster Priest began jovially, clapping his hands together, "Maybe we should come back later, it appears we have interrupted something far more important than what I was going to bring up." His mouth opened as if to say more, then formed a Cheshire-cat grin.
"Hey Lina," Gourry asked when Amelia's face grew even more red, "Amelia looks pretty mad, does this mean that she's going to 'bite the hand that feels her'?" His bright blue eyes blinked questioningly.
Barking out a laugh, Xellos tossed his purple head back as the petite girl next to him stumbled forward from shock. "No, Gourry," the Mazoku chuckled, "I think they'll save that for a more . . . private forum."
Cheeks brightening luridly, the indigo haired girl staggered over to the oak tea table and collapsed into a chair. Dimly she heard Zelgadis sputter loudly.
"It's not what it looks like!" The chimera raised his fists in protest, "And what is that doing here anyways?!" he growled accusingly. His cobalt eyes narrowed dangerously, "Know your enemy, is that it? You need a monster to keep control of another one, right?"
Surging upright, the petite redhead strode towards her chimera friend and shoved her finger into his chest. "Yeah, that's exactly it, Zel! Nobody knows more about beating monsters than other monsters, and Xellos is the only one we could even come close to fully trusting."
Her eyes softened as she continued, "I know you don't trust Xellos, I know he's done a lot to torture you in the past, but . . ." She paused for a moment to set her hand on his stone shoulder, "it's worth it, right?"
Standing on her toes, she whispered quietly into his elven ear, "Come on Zel, give him a chance, he's a decent guy deep down underneath all that evil." Smiling cheerfully, she clapped his shoulder.
Brushing her hand off, Zelgadis sighed deeply, "Look, Lina. I know you're trying to help, but every time he shows up, trouble follows."
Taking a slow step back, Zelgadis felt his mouth twist downward as he turned towards the exit of the conference room. "Do what you want. You don't need me around to fill him in." Opening the door much more calmly than he felt, the chimera called back to the others, "I'll be in my guest room when you're done with him."
As she turned to watch the man stalk down the hallway, Amelia's eyes widened and began to shimmer slightly. Zelgadis . . . her mind called out as she stood from the chair. He's already been through so much, and now, just when he wants to be left alone, he's pushed into a crowded city.
Involuntarily, she took a half step forward, in the direction she knew where his room lay. What's worse is that he knows he needs to be around people . . . he doesn't want to be, though . . . he doesn't want to be around anybody . . . even me . . .
"Dammit, he's ditching us again!" The small redhead growled as she tugged her hair in frustration. "Oh well, nothing we can do about it now, I guess."
Starting to turn back towards the remaining group, Lina winced when her gaze passed over the distraught princess. Laughing nervously, the sorceress waved dismissively at her friend, "Don't worry about him Amelia, Zel's always done stuff like this," she forced a lighthearted tone into her voice, "it's not like he means anything by it."
Behind her, the demon lowered his chin slightly, hiding his eyes beneath his purple hair. By his side, Gourry's hand gripped his sword hilt tightly, a look of helplessness and guilt filling his blue eyes.
Amelia's slight form shook as she turned to face the sorceress. "No, Miss Lina. This isn't like him. Before, he went off by himself because he was so angry. . . but now it's different, he . . . he feels . . ."
The dark priest lifted his head, eyes locking onto the shrine maiden. "Afraid."
Amelia gazed up at him, eyes full of uncertainty and brimming with tears. Nodding jerkily, the young monarch wrung her hands. "Maybe . . . maybe one of us should go after him?"
Sighing softly, Lina gently laid her hands on her friend's shoulders. "Come on Amelia," she said quietly, "he's not going far, it's not like we'll have to track him down or anything." With a light touch she tried to lead the brunette back to the long table.
"Actually, Lina," Gourry piped up, hand on his chin, "knowing Zelgadis, he could be out of the city by now, and we wouldn't find him until we got into a real tight jam and he dramatically threw himself through a window!"
The sorceress turned to growl at her protector, but Xellos raised a hand, silencing her. "He's quite correct. There's no telling what he might be planning." Winking at the young princess he continued, "If anything, he should have someone watching him constantly. Especially," his eyes closed happily, "someone well versed in defense and healing spells . . . just in case."
Catching on to his meaning, Amelia's face brightened, "Right! Miss Lina, Mr. Zelgadis needs someone to keep him from unknowingly putting himself and others in danger!" She raised her clenched fists, "He can't be left alone in this state, who knows what could happen?"
With an annoyed growl, Lina whipped her head back and forth, glaring at each of her friends. "What is with you guys? We need Amelia to plan our next move." Her scarlet eyes locked onto the princess, low voice biting. "Didn't you always say that we should think first?"
"Miss Lina," she glowered, "our best plan won't mean a thing if Mr. Zelgadis goes on a RAMPAGE!"
A deep oppressive silence slid over the room. With a quiet laugh, Lina broke the stillness. "Amelia . . . you're growing up way too fast." Shaking her head ruefully, she gave the monarch a sad smile. "You're right, he needs a guard . . . I just wish you didn't have to be the one to suffer along with him."
A sad smile formed onto the shrine maiden's lips. "Thank you." A quick glance for everyone and she was out the door, yelling at the top of her lungs, "Sarah, Mary, get me a pot of each of our best eight coffees!"
"Mr. Zelgadis!" Struggling with the heavily laden tray, the princess called through the guest room door. "I've brought a little coffee, I thought it might cheer you up." Shifting the tray to one hand, she adjusted the two pots in her other hand.
"Go away." A gruff voice said from the interior. "I don't want any, Amelia." She could hear him moving inside, quickly and loudly.
"What's going on in there, Mr. Zelgadis?" The young girl thought about getting one of the servants to alert the guards on the nearest outer wall. No, if he tried to leave, they wouldn't be able to stop him.
"I'm leaving, Amelia. If a solution with this problem lies with Xellos, then I'd rather go this one alone." A loud bang told her that he had slammed the closet door closed.
With a sharp intake of breath, Amelia decided on her course of action, There's only one way to make him stay. Out loud she said softly, "Mr. Zelgadis, please don't go." Guilt trip, she thought ashamedly.
Letting the feelings of worry and fear rise to the surface, the princess began to cry, "I don't want you out there, alone, not when you've got friends who want to help you." Her sobbing grew louder with anguish, "I want to help you."
For many long moments, the only sound in the long hallway was the shrine maiden's crying. Then, loud enough to cause her jump in shock, the bolt on the door clicked. From the inside came a single word. "Alright."
Setting the tray down on the low table, Amelia picked the other coffee pots up form their place on the floor and moved them to the table slowly.
"This is a little coffee?" Sighing the swordsman laid down two cups, "That was very underhanded of you Amelia, manipulating me that way."
Smiling brightly the princess cheerfully asked, "Is it really truly unjust if I meant it?" Reaching for one of the brown mugs, she chose a pot at random and began to fill it. "I don't know what any of these are, but I'm sure they're all good!"
Ignoring her retort he glanced at the label on the side of the pot she was pouring, "Morning Justice Blend?" he asked, "Amelia, are you sure this is a good idea?" Cautiously he took the cup from her outstretched hand, trying to ignore her grinning face. "I don't like it when my coffee has a moral code."
Slowly he raised the steaming cup to his mouth, a slight smile crossing his face as the rich aroma swept over his nose, 'Smells excellent, almost like there's a spice or two added.'
As Zelgadis smiled over the mug, Amelia began to relax. They say the way to a man's heart is through his stomach; maybe he'll stay if I keep bribing him with coffee. A sad feeling swept over her as she realized that while he might stay because of coffee, he wouldn't stay for any of their friends. Or me. her mind finished sadly. A loud spewing noise jolted her, causing her to nearly drop the pot.
Zelgadis gasped for air, his eyes squeezed shut as a intense wave of pain washed over him. He shook convulsively as a cough shuddered its way through his mouth.
"Mr. Zelgadis! What's wrong?! What's happening?!"
The chimera felt her shake his shoulders violently.
A tight choking sound emerged from her friend's mouth, followed by a quiet request, "Wa-ter."
Shocked, Amelia paused for a moment, pondering why her friend needed water. A bare second passed before she recovered her senses and rushed to a pitcher of water beside the bed. An instant later Zelgadis was downing the entire pitcher fast enough that water flowed from the corners of his mouth, drenching his shirt.
"Mr. Zelgadis, what wrong?" The tiny girl clenched her hands in front of her, fighting the urge to wrap her arms around him in relief at the lack of coughing and gasping.
"What was that stuff?!" the normally subdued man yelled, pointing at the 'Seyruun Morning Justice'. "Like drinking acid!"
"Huh?" the princess exclaimed, "But daddy drinks a cup of this every morning!"
Giving another cough, the stone man sighed and muttered, "You have no idea how many questions that clears up. . ."