NoV: (panting) Oh-kay, I started writing this one just as soon as I uploaded the last one, so maybe it'll be up quicker.....I hope.

Lina: I convinced Nahga to make a house call. She should be here anytime.

NoV: You WHAT??

Lina: I told you that you needed to talk to her about your "issues," so that's what you're gonna do. Oh, and by the way, it's a hundred bucks a pop.

NoV: A pop? Whaddyou mean "a pop"?

Lina: -.- I mean $100 per session.

NoV: Oh....hey, geez, Lina! Where am I gonna get that kind of money?? I'm a fanfic writer for cryin' out loud!!

Lina: Not my problem.

Zelgadis: She still owes me a session. And I'm going to finally get it!!

NoV: Hmm....that gives me an idea.

--

Quote of the chapter:

NoV: I command you to eat that burro!! BWAHAHA!!!

--

The next day, Filia was walking down a dirt road that connected her home town to the next, in which she bought her sewing supplies. She had decided that in order to get her mind off of certain things, she would have to do something to occupy her spare time. And, whenever Val was reborn (again), he would need clothes.

So, her mind filled with footie pajamas and palm-sized shoes, she walked merrily down the path, her egg tucked into a wicker basket, never knowing the danger that lurked just ahead.

The moment she passed by a clump of trees in a dense area of the forest, she heard the rustling of leaves and footsteps. Filia gasped when she suddenly found herself surrounded by whom she perceived to be bandits, dressed in black from head to toe.

"You're a golden dragon, aren't you, lady?" one of them asked, stepping forward, presumably the leader.

"Why.....yes, I am," she answered, hoping that they were merely lost travelers. "If you're looking for the golden dragon city, it's about half a mile that way." She pointed over her shoulder.

The confident one chuckled. "Oh, we've already found what we're looking for," he said, grinning venomously. "You see, we're followers of the Great Tyrra, and He has sent us a divine message to sacrifice a golden dragon in His honor." He began to move in on a confused Filia, as did the rest of his gang.

Filia had had enough of these crackpots and their stupid "god" when they began to chant a hymn of praise to the "Great Tyrra." She raised a hand to the orb holding her cloak together and began to transform.

Before she could complete her metamorphosis, however, she was knocked forward by a blast of magic, undoubtedly from one of the thugs behind her. It was so fast, she was on her face before she ever felt the blow to her back. As she lay on the ground, she felt a stinging sensation where she had been hit.

The priestess slowly rose to her feet, gasping for the air that she had recently lost. Just as she was about to blast them all to kingdom come with her laser breath, they hit her all at once with a great barrage of attacks. Some of the hits made her skin pinch and sting, while others seemed to burn right through her skin. Filia was lost in a sea of anguish and color. She could hardly tell whether she was standing or laying on the ground. The world around her was moving and so was she.

And then, suddenly, she knew she was on the ground, because she could feel her body hitting it. Delusional, she looked around to see what had become of her basket, but it was nowhere in sight.

Though the poor priestess was rolling in and out of consciousness, still the attacks upon her continued.

--

Xelloss' instructions had been simple and open to interpretation: See if the dragon girl would like to join us for some fun this evening. He knew fully what his master's intentions were. He was no fool. Also, he wasn't senseless enough to go against her orders. If the dragon girl she wanted, the dragon girl she got.

Although, she did only tell him to see if Filia wanted to come with him.....

Once he searched for a brief moment for Filia's life signature, he materialized in the air a few dozen feet above where she would be.

Xelloss' eyes opened with bafflement, and then anger. Those stupid bandits dare attack his plaything? Not today!

The gang of Tyrra worshipers couldn't even utter a prayer to their "god" before they were all swept away by a mighty wave of black, leaving only a crumpled Filia in their place.

Xelloss reappeared standing beside Filia's lifeless body. He bent beside her and rolled her onto her side. "Filia?" he wondered, staring at her beautiful face, scrunched in pain.

Resolution written across his face, the mazoku picked her up into his arms. Filia lolled her head toward him, moaning in agony. She opened her once bright blue eyes, now a dull grey caused by a dull pain pulsing through her body. Xelloss thought he saw a faint flicker of light shoot across her sedated eyes when she said, "Xel....loss....where's.....my basket?"

"What basket, Filia?" he asked her, trying to decide if he should take her to be healed, or look for something that may have been conceived by her delusional mind.

"Where....is it?" she asked, her eyes glazing over feverishly. "You have to.....find it.....Val....."

Xelloss, hoping he wouldn't regret doing so later, walked to the edge of the road and peered into a ditch, searching for her lost basket. "I don't see it, Filia," he told her, wondering if she could even hear him.

"I dropped it," she said.

He walked to the other side of the road. "Are you sure you had it with you?" he asked.

She didn't answer. Her eyes still open, she took in a ragged breath and stared into nothingness.

Xelloss nearly panicked. Had Val's egg been in the basket? Surely, that would cause her to worry so about it. At least she had gotten over being so playful toward him. Of course, that could have to do with the fact that she was slowly dying in his arms.

He was running out of time. He had to get her to her shrine quick before she was too far gone! But, if she did recover, she'd never forgive him for leaving Val's egg out in the middle of nowhere.

Then, suddenly, as if the gods chose to solve his dilemma, he spotted the basket. It blended in with a shrub very well, looking like a stick or piece of stripped bark from a neighboring tree. Xelloss grasped the handle with one hand, balancing Filia with one arm, and pulled the basket free. Inside, he saw knitting needles, a brooch, a ball of string, and the egg, all intact.

Sighing with relief, Xelloss teleported into the city.

--

Filia: MORE A/U?? Who, may I ask, is Tyrra?

NoV: I'm sorry, I'm sorry! That town that hated dragons didn't have a name.....not that I know of anyway....and, besides, it got destroyed. I needed it for the plot, guys!!

Xelloss: What was with the part about, 'Oh, my god! Val's egg!'?

NoV: Well, she dropped it, and you can't leave it there....what do you want from me?? I'm trying to make a living here!!

Minna: :p

NoV: -.-0 .... Join us nexties!!