Firefly Magic presents...
Another Weird Anime Fanfic Production
Written by Jru
Slayers: Reality
AKA Last Quest
Part I: Soul Mirror
Timeline: After Slayers Try
Since the dawn of time, Dragons and Mazoku have been at war. They are opposites of each other, incapable of pretending a like. Since the beginning of ages, they have fought, and have fought hard. Striving to push the other down, to forever beat their enemy... And they almost did. Annihilate each other like the silly single track beings they were...
That is not how the story is supposed to go though. The Lord of Nightmares, the Chaos Queen, L-sama, Creator of this World, had not planned on that. The Dragons were weak, and so were the Mazoku. But the Mazoku were not as weak. Seeing how things were going, something had to be done. She would not let her world be broken. It was not supposed to have one power, either good or bad. There were supposed to be two, two for balance, two for progress, two: to keep loneliness at bay.
And so she created a third being. The humans were suffering badly from the wars of the two more powerful races. To even better balance things out, she needed three. A three legged stool is the most balanced. A coven of three witches runs to perfection. A three leafed clover pointed to the gods. And three was what she needed. So she had formed another being, the third being. A smaller being. Small to be sufficiently insignificant, yet small enough to make a difference. For after all, does not a butterfly's wings create waves in the world? This would be her butterfly, her third leg, herself incarnate. And she sent the being into the world, knowing that her creation would grow up just in time to save her worlds. It hurt, to let her go like that. It hurt to have to instill a fear of her Creator in her. It hurt to force her to hate Nightmares. But it was for her own good. They would notice her power, but not much else, because she would hate it and that would be perfect for the situation.
And after that was over.... Well, let Chaos run its way and then it'll end. Somehow. And it'll work fine. Because after all, it always worked out just fine for her.
*****
The Mazoku were not dumb. When they had felt the ripples coming from her birth, they were confused. Who was this tiny tot who created such waves in the Astral Plane? What power had she been blessed with? What was her function in life? Zelas, as well as the other Mazoku Lords still active, had set up spies around her. Trying to figure her out. If only they could control her, use her, she had so much power. Just there for the taking. Her first dabbles into black magic brought even more excitement. Zelas was left with the sole responsibility of keeping an eye on her. Of making sure that she would be controlled.
She had sent out her best. Xellos, her Trickster Priest. Her buffoon. Her best spy. Lina Inverse had played along, not really caring. To her, Xellos was a commodity she could use. They had let her think that. Xellos's job was to stick around and keep an eye on her. To know everything he could about her. To uncover her darkest secrets. To uncover her biggest secret: Who she was.
"Why such importance in such a mortal?" had asked once a younger Priest. He had not understood.
"I will give you three hints." Zelas, Lady Beastmaster had said. "Her birth caused ripples in the astral plane. She channels Nightmare magic. She hates Nightmare magic. Who is she? Why such importance? That's what we are trying to figure out, pet." And Xellos had understood. He had watched her, like a cat eyeing its unaware prey. And he started to get an inkling of what may be so important about Lina Inverse, Sorceress Extraordinaire, Bane of Dragons and Restaurants, and Mazoku Slayer.
*****
Ceipheed was not dumb. Weak, perhaps, but not dumb. He had needed a Knight and had found one, marking a young girl at birth. Luna Inverse was never given a normal childhood. Ever since she had been small, she had been taken to train with the Dragons. So that she could one day become the Knight of Ceipheed. So that she, one day, would be the powerful and wise right hand of the forces of light, truth and justice, their way. But a child is still a child and at times, her parents called for her. One such time was during the birth of her younger sister, Lina.
She had felt it. Or rather, she knew that the Knight felt it. She had been waiting outside the door, trying to get in despite her father's protests about it. She wanted to SEE. But she was left outside, left to listening to her mother's groans of pain. But soon, a high pitched wail was heard, and Luna's reality fell through.
She gasped as she felt her Knight powers become active, shoving her own consciousness to the back of her mind. It hurt so much, but the Knight was too strong for a girl of four years to stand up to. The Knight's eyes blazed as she went in and took a look at the girl who had just been born. She had felt it. Ceipheed had felt it and told her to investigate. This child... her sister of sorts.... was powerful.
She will need watching. You must keep an eye on her. I feel something from her. She is not white as you are. But she is not black either. L-sama had something to do with it. Keep an eye on her. And if need be, make sure she will always obey the Knight of Ceipheed. I fear the Mazoku may try to get their claws into her.
She had kept an eye on Lina. She obeyed her commands and as soon as Lina was able to understand her older sister, she learned to fear her also. She learned to fear the power that was in her, that flared to life whenever she angered Luna. And she had fled. But not before the damage had been done.
*****
Now, it was making more sense. Lina Inverse. She was a sort of immune system for the humans. She became strong, so much stronger than a normal human was allowed. She had defeated a piece of Ruby Eye, and had called on the Lord of Nightmares to defeat Phibrizzio. She had fought against Dark Star and won. She had channeled Chaos magic through her and suffered no obvious side effects. Or perhaps she did...
*****
Xellos thought. He thought hard. So many years of watching over her. And he had an idea. He had a suspicion of this Lina Inverse, of this World Savior, or so it seemed. A human girl, with affinity to the Lord of Nightmares. A mortal with a spectacular birth. An adult in the body of a forever young slip of a girl...
He carefully hid the manuscript in Amelia's library. Putting things into action was always fun, and he wanted to be along for this ride. He knew how to figure out who Lina was. And then, Zelas would be happy. Once they knew who she was, she would be so much easier to mold to their liking. He heard Amelia coming and he teleported away. Now, to sit back and watch.
*****
Amelia walked cheerfully into the library. It had been a few months since the ordeal with Darkstar. She had gone back to her kingdom of Seyruun and had worked hard on finding a cure for Zelgadis. Seyruun, the capital of white magic, the capital of curative magic MUST have a cure of some sorts for her dear Zelgadis. She would endeavor to find it. Her huge library was turned into a research center where librarians and mages were looking for a cure. For a spell to turn rock into skin. And with no luck.
She absentmindedly thought back to all that had happened. After Darkstar, Lina had just disbanded their group. Just like that. No explanation. She was here one day and left the next, saying that she would adventure on her own once more. That if they ever needed her, well, she had a crystal ball, one of those new-fangled inventions. I'll be around, she had said. And left. She hadn't even taken Gourry along, and he had been hurt. But he bounced easily and in no time, was on route to his home to visit his parents. Zelgadis had left also, heading off by himself in search of a cure. He had a crystal ball too. Should Amelia find anything, she could contact him.
And then her fingers brushed against one manuscript. She looked down and then read it. And then reread it. She broke out into a big grin. Lucky! She had found it! She had found something that would work, she was sure of it.
*****
"...what?" asked Zelgadis, looking at the little image of Amelia in his crystal ball.
"I found it!" she said happily. "Well, I'm pretty sure it will work!"
"What is it?" asked Zelgadis. He was trying hard to not let his hopes rise.
"It's called the Mirror of Reality." said Amelia. "Come to Seyruun! I'll call everyone else!"
*****
Lina looked up from her dinner. It was comparatively smaller than her normal meals, but that was because she was tired. Ever since Darkstar... ever since she had once more tapped into Nightmare Magic, she had been... tired. She didn't know what to do. She just walked about and trashed bandits. But it wasn't as fun. She hadn't brought any of them along. She wanted to be by herself. She had no purpose. She needed a quest badly. Even a last quest. Anything.
She had been having dreams also. Almost every night, she'd have horrific dreams of the Lord of Nightmares coming down on her once more, taking away her self, taking away her identity, taking away her life. She would wake up, cold sweat running down her face, and would swear to never, EVER again, use Nigthmare magic. A glow at the edge of her vision woke her out of her reverie. Her crystal ball was calling.
"Yes?" she asked as she looked into it. A small fuzzy picture of Amelia appeared in the depths of the crystal.
"Miss Lina! We found it!" said Amelia.
*****
So, they wanted to use the Mirror of Reality, huh? Well, that was OK with her. Lina's job was done. She had no more purpose in her life. All the threats had been eliminated. And it would provide a nice way for Lina to come back to her. Silly children. They had no idea, did they, of what would happen should the Mirror of Reality be used wrong...
*****
"Amelia! You need the Soul Mirror for this to work!" said Lina as she looked again over the manuscripts. Amelia's discovery seemed right. It looked like it would work. But they didn't have all the necessary ingredients.
"I'm sure that will be easy to find, Ms. Lina!" said Amelia. "I already have people searching all over Seyruun for it." Lina sighed. Zelgadis was looking through the incantation again. Gourry sat in a corner eating chicken while Sylphiel was looking even more information up.
It was so simple. The Soul Mirror showed who you truly where on the inside. And she was sure that for Zelgadis's case, it would be a human. Because although Zel had a body of stone, he was a human with human thoughts, feelings and cares. Just a bit stoic. They needed to obtain that... and then... cast an incantation over it. To change it into the Mirror of Reality. So that whatever was reflected in the mirror, became what they really where. It was good. Too good to be true. How come they had never come across it? It was as if someone were planning the route ahead. Nonetheless, it was a quest, and she loved quests.
"Well, who is going to have a Soul Mirror lying around in their purse, Amelia?" asked Lina. "There must be a way that we could make one."
"We can!" said Sylphiel. Everyone looked up, excitement on their faces. "Actually, we could."
"Could?" asked Zelgadis
"If we had the ingredients. We need special water, special silver, special many things. Many that have died off or are extinct or that we know nothing off." said Sylphiel. She smiled apologetically at them. "Sorry guys."
Back to Square One.
"I have a mirror!" said Gourry. "Can't we use that?"
"No, jellyfish brains!" shouted Lina as she smashed him on the head. "Pay attention. You need a SPECIAL mirror. Not any mirror."
"But I don't see the difference." said Gourry. "Any mirror will give you a reflection, right?" Lina sighed and motioned for Sylphiel to try and explain something. Amelia, seeing that everyone's nerves were already on the edge went to order some food for her friends.
*****
"OK, this is too much!" shouted Lina Inverse as she threw another book at the wall. They had waited for a week, to see if anyone would answer Amelia's summons on finding the Soul Mirror. It should have reacted to the incantation placed over the city. It was supposed to respond specifically to the Soul Mirror. So far, no one had come up with the mirror. It was futile. None of the manuscripts they had looked through had anything else about the Soul Mirror. And she was starting to get ticked off. Very badly. "I've had it up to here!"
"Please calm down, Ms. Lina." said Amelia as she tried to calm the irate sorceress. "I'm sure that something will turn up."
"It will when I get through with this!" said Lina. She grabbed her crystal ball.
"What are you going to do, Lina?" asked Zelgadis. He had been itching to do something also, and the fact that nothing was happening was driving him nuts. It was, after all, so unlike him. What was he doing here anyway? Sitting in the library, reading through books, staying for a week in one place... he needed to do something. Go out. Search. Find.
"This is for you, so you had better appreciate it." said Lina in a warning tone. She went out of the room and into an adjacent one. Then, she turned on her crystal ball. She knew he was around. He always was and was always spying on them. The stupid fruitcake....
"Xellos! Get here right this instant!" she screamed into her crystal ball.
"Ouch Lina! You don't have to yell!" said Xellos as he materialized into the room. Lina shrieked and then smashed his head with her elbow. Xellos grinned at her and winked saucily. "I see you missed me, love."
"Wha??????" asked Lina before she began to earnestly pummel him. Xellos just smiled.
*****
"You summoned that... thing?" asked Zelgadis, a look of disgust on his face. Xellos pouted.
"Really, Zel-kun! I have a name just like you!" he said chirpily. Lina had dragged him in to everyone's surprise.
"Don't bring me down to your level, Mazoku." said Zelgadis.
"Well, that's a little better." said Xellos approvingly. Zelgadis glared.
"Guys, we don't need this now." said Lina. "Look, if anyone would know about what we're looking for, it would be Xellos."
"Thank you Lina-chan for standing up for me! You do care!" said Xellos.
"Shut up." said Lina as she bashed him with a pillow. "Stop bothering me."
"You were the one who summoned me, Lina-chan!" said Xellos.
"And I'm regretting it already. So tell me where we can find the Soul Mirror before I decide we don't need you and blast you with a Laguna Blade." said Lina. Then she paled and hastily added. "Or perhaps a Dragon Slave." Xellos was the only one who caught her pale look.
"The Soul Mirror? Well, that's a pretty good idea if you're planning to reverse Zel-kun's curse." said Xellos. "Yeah, that's a good idea!"
"You mean you knew about this before?" asked Amelia.
"Sore wa himitsu desu." said Xellos with a wink.
"Just tell us where we can get one, OK?" asked Lina as she glared at him.
"Yes, I know someone who owes me a favor and has a Soul Mirror. He lives three days trip from here if I remember correctly." said Xellos.
"What, you're just telling us? No strings attached?" asked Zelgadis, sounding very suspicious.
"Now that, is a secret." said Xellos.
"Gosh, that's very nice of you Xellos!" said Gourry.
"It's nice of you to think that." said Xellos.
"I don't trust him." said Zelgadis.
"Like it or not, Mr. Zelgadis, I happen to be your only lead at the present moment." said Xellos while smirking at him. "I haven't asked anything in return and since you think I will, then I will do so, just for you."
"What do you want, Xellos?" asked Lina.
"I want..." started Xellos as he looked at Lina. Lina stepped back from him as he opened his eyes, turning his slit gaze upon her. She had the strongest urge to just... Then his eyes turned normally. "...to accompany you for the rest of this quest. That is all."
"No." said Zelgadis.
"Now, that's too bad, then." said Xellos. "I mean, it was, after all, you're decision to want me to ask something in return."
"I did not." said Zelgadis.
"Guys, grow up." said Lina as she got in between them. "Look. Xellos is right. He's our only lead. Zelgadis, the quest probably won't take too long. A few days to get there, and then two more days to get the mirror and you. That's all. It's not even a week. Are you willing to pass up your cure just because of your dislike for him?" Zelgadis just glared at her. He hated it when she made sense. After all, he was supposed to be the calm and rational person in their group.
"OK," said Zelgadis. "When can we start?"
"I can call for servants to get our packs ready and they'd have it done by tomorrow morning!" said Amelia, all excited for their quest. The rest agreed. They were more than glad to get things going. One week of sitting around in a castle, while fun at first, turned pretty old after a while.
*****
"There it is," said Xellos as he pointed at the small, decrepit looking shack before them. "Here, you will find the answer to a few questions, and uncover even more questions. Are you willing to brave this..."
"Oh, stuff a sock into it, Xellos," said Lina dismissively as she looked the shack over. She could tell that Zelgadis really wanted to strangulate Xellos, but when was that not normal? She sighed and tried to scan the house magically. It didn't seem to have anything worth importance in it. She detected no illusion spell or anything faintly magical, i.e.: a Magic Mirror. "Are you sure this is the right place?" she asked suspiciously.
"Of course, Lina-chan!" he said, looking hurt. "Have I ever lied to you?"
"I won't even try to answer that," muttered Lina as she got off her horse. She looked at the other people meaningfully and started to stride towards the shack before them.
"Lina is so brave!" said Amelia as she twirled off her horse and tripped in the process, landing on her face. She quickly got up and laughed nervously. "Let us go onward and find the cure for Mr. Zelgadis!" She ran after Lina.
Zelgadis sighed as he got off his. He took his horse and tried to lead the three horses (his, Amelia's and Lina's) and failed miserably. Gourry, seeing his predicament, quickly got off his horse and helped him lead the horses. Sylphiel got off hers and led it herself and followed the men to tether the horses. Xellos got off his and let it stand outside the shack. His horse wouldn't dare escape from him. It wasn't a magical horse. Of course not. But he could magically restrain it, which was just as good as a cord to tether.
He smiled in excitement as he watched the people near the shack. He couldn't wait until everything started rolling. He just loved it when everything worked together, like a well oiled machine. And he was the originator of this... he loved it. Grinning, he followed Lina and Amelia into the shack.
*****
Lina smirked confidently to herself as she stopped at the door. She waited for the rest of her group to get up to the door before she actually knocked on the door. The whole group waited anxiously for whoever it was that Xellos had led them too. They were all curious as to who Xellos knew. And there was some trepidation too.
Which was why no one knew how to react when the door actually opened and the saw the figure at the door. There was a humanoid looking figure, with no extra limbs or wings or horns. He was slightly taller than Lina, which is to say that he was slightly on the short side. His hair was white as snow and looked like a bird had tried to make a nest with it. His clothes were ragged and faded and looked like they hadn't seen a wash in a few weeks. In his right hand, he held a sword in an extremely threatening way. His flat gray eyes looked at them suspiciously.
"What do you want?" he asked when he saw them. His eyes traveled over all of them, inspecting them carefully as one would do to an enemy. Then they rested on Xellos's purple gaze. Xellos gazed at him in a challenging way, his slit eyes glinting darkly from behind his purple bangs. "You..." he said dangerously.
"Hello, Andreys," said Xellos in a very friendly way, although the Slayers group suddenly realized just how thick the tension was.
"Get out of here, Mazoku." said Andreys as he glared at the Mazoku.
"Now, now, now..." said Xellos with a smile. "What... after 383 years and you don't have anything nice to say to me?"
"383 years?" asked Gourry, who had been quiet until then. "Hey! You look very well preserved! Just like Xellos here!"
"Don't compare me with him." said Andreys with a glare.
"383?" asked Lina. "Are you two serious?"
"Lina, I asked you before... do I lie to you?" asked Xellos with a smirk. Lina grumbled.
"I don't know how you all got involved with Xellos," said Andreys. "But any friend of his is an enemy of mine. However, due to circumstances beyond my control, you may come in to do your business. However, you are all to leave when you are done." said Andreys.
He walked into the house and left them at the door, the door open.
"Nice pal you got there, Xellos..." said Gourry. Lina sighed and led her group inside.
*****
The group sat in what passed as a sorry excuse of a sitting room. Popular convention had it that sitting rooms had places for people to sit in, so it had one. There was a rather dingy sofa on one side of the room and was faced by a few chairs that had obviously seen better days. Despite all the dust and the tear in the furniture, though, one could tell that it was not as bad as first sight may entail.
Amelia carefully wiped away the dust of a chair and looked at the delicate design that appeared underneath the dust, it's gold thread catching light from the candles on the holders all around the room.
"You have very exquisite furniture," said Amelia, despite the fact that it was extremely dusty and not very well cared after. "The... Henan era?"
Andreys, who had been glaring at the group ever since they had come in widened his for a second before they resumed their glare once more.
"Yes." he said. Andreys wasn't the only one who was surprised, though. Xellos was too. As were Zelgadis and Lina. Gourry had already sat down and his knowledge of history within the shield was minimal apart from the lineage of the Sword of Light. And Sylphiel hadn't seemed to be the type of person who knew much about furniture. However, both Lina and Zelgadis were scholars, despite their mercenary attitude and their views of the princess went up by a notch.
"What do you want?" asked Andreys gruffly after they all sat down. He leaned against the fireplace in the room and glared at them all, as if daring them to even go forward with their request. His challenging slate-grey eyes met Lina's fiery ones. She smiled at him and spoke.
"We have heard that you have in your possession a certain rare and magical artifact. We are looking for the Soul Mirror." To his credit, Andrey did not bat an eyelash. There was an uncomfortable silence.
"So?" asked Andrey finally.
"We would like to obtain it." said Lina as she kept her composure. Her respect for him went up by a tiny bit when she saw that he wasn't reacting at all to her cool demeanor mixed with her fiery spirit. She knew she intimidated people when she got into her magically negotiating mood. He was a cool figure, that one. And there was something else about him...
"What for?" asked Andreys. Xellos, sensing a warning, quickly spoke, interrupting Lina as she began to speak.
"Andreys. You are to do as you are told. Nothing more, nothing less." He gave him a cool smile and challenged him to disobey. Andrey just glared and using a minor teleportation spell, brought up the object at hand.
"I do not see why you want to do this. The Soul Mirror will just bring delusion and grief." said Andreys as he held in his hand a small silver mirror with black iron casting and a silver base. He tossed it up and down in his hands, watching them watch his mirror twirl in the air. Lina's eyes glittered as soon as Andreys lifted the sealing spell off the mirror. Immediately, the small room was crackling with the magic the mirror emitted.
Zelgadis frowned intelligently. He was this close to obtaining it. Everything was going right: Xellos had not lied about the man, and he had not lied about the mirror. He was with his group and if anyone could, they would grab the artifact. Therefore, something must be wrong. And his ears heard the phrase he had been dreading.
"...delusion and grief?..." he asked, not quite sure.
"Yes." said Andreys stoically. His gray eyes stared coolly into Zelgadis's blue ones. Zelgadis glared back and then turned to look at Xellos.
"What are you hiding from us, Mazoku?" he asked suspiciously. Xellos just smirked at him, his purple slit gaze, open for once, looking more than amused.
"Moi? Poor little innocent moi?" Zelgadis glared at the purple haired fiend. "Sore wa himitsu desu." And with that, he vanished. His disappearance seemed to cause action to flow throughout the room. Lina made a lunge for the mirror, only to have it levitated higher above her reach.
"Hey!" she said as she glared at Andreys. "Why won't you give it to me?"
"The Mirror itself requires three tests." said Andreys. "And only if you pass, you can keep the Mirror, if you still wish to." Lina's eyes hardened on hearing that. No, she was not totally gaga over the Mirror. It was still cool though. However, one must always keep a sharp eye for specific phrases such as "however", "or else" and such. Just because she loved shiny things didn't mean she was dumb when seeing one. Shiny things were often guarded by huge freaking beasts who had nothing better to do than to threaten lovely and beautiful fragile flowers of womanhood such as herself.
"What about the Mirror causes such warnings to accompany it's giving?" asked Lina.
"You shall see." said Andreys.
"Whatever," said Lina. "You said tests. What type?"
"Oh, quite simple." said Andreys with a smile. "All you have to do is look in the Mirror. The Mirror will deal with the details. And after you have passed, I shall explain to the mystery behind the Mirror. Then we shall see what happens."
"OK, OK, whatever." said Lina in a dismissing manner. "Who goes?"
"First, tell me why you want the Mirror." said Andreys. Lina frowned. Whether Zelgadis wanted this complete stranger to know or not was up to him. She looked over at the stoic chimera and shrugged.
"I don't mind. Others in the group may." said Lina. Zelgadis thought about it a bit.
Xellos had taken them to this place and told them that it would work. Amelia had poured over the manuscript looking for hidden meanings and tiny clauses that would get him messed up and came with nothing. It seemed like it would actually work. Now, though... it seemed as if the Mirror had some secret with it. Something that marred it's white innocence. Andreys may actually know enough to warn them. Speaking of which...
"How about we exchange stories?" said Zelgadis. "We tell you ours. You tell us yours. Like why you're mixed up with the fruitcake." Any friend of Xellos would put Zelgadis on the edge. He was wary and wasn't going to be tricked. Not this time: he was so close...
"Sounds fair. I will tell you my story tonight. After all, I would do anything possible under the circumstances to not only mess up Xellos's plans but to put an end to them as well." he said. And for a moment, his gray eyes stopped being stony with a hint of something else in them. Zel caught it. Everyone else missed it. "You will tell me yours first, though."
*****
Dinner time finally arrived. Everyone was around the dining table that Andreys had. No one asked out loud why a hermit like Andrey would have a dining table from three centuries behind, but Amelia was drooling over the furniture, and almost fearful of actually eating in the table lest she accidentally spill on it. She finally sat next to Zelgadis and made sure that she would not spill or drop anything on the table or chair. And once that was done, she smiled at her Mr. Zelgadis.
He was just so smart and cool! She was glad that they had found the scroll about the Mirror. Now, though they had to be alert. Her face changed from nervousness to happiness to her princess mode. Sure, she couldn't help but look cute and vacant, but it did cover the fact that she was analyzing what was around her. Great in those political meetings she and dad had to go through as royalty of Seyruun.
Beside Zelgadis sat Sylphiel, and beside Sylphiel sat Gourry who looked very excited. After all, they were going to eat soon and from seeing the size of the table, he had not worries that it would be a big feast. At least, he hoped so. He looked to one side and saw Sylphiel smiling gently at him as she carefully eased herself into her chair, looking pure, polite and demure.
"Aren't you excited, Gourry? Mr. Andreys is going to tell us more about the Mirror." she said.
"Yeah, Sylphiel." said Gourry. Then he frowned. "But why do we have to wait for the story? Can't we just, like, grab it or something?"
"Stupid jellyfish," said Lina, who was sitting right next to Gourry. "We need to know more about the Mirror. Make sure that it works right and that it's not another trap set up by Xellos!" She glared at the other guy next to her, the trickster priest himself.
"Why, Lina-chan. You do hurt me with your sharp tongue." said Xellos with a smile. "But trust me, this is not a game or a trick. The Mirror will do just as the manuscript said. Besides, it's not me who suggested it. Amelia found the scroll, right?"
"That's true! I found the scroll for Mr. Zelgadis, and deep down in my heart, I know that this will be the item we are looking for! I know that truth, love and justice are on our side and that we will triumph!" said Amelia. Xellos winced while Zelgadis sighed.
Between Amelia and Xellos was an empty seat that would be occupied by Andreys, should he ever decide to show up. Having told him already the reason behind Zelgadis wanting to use the Soul Mirror, the Slayers crew were more than ready to hear what Andrey had to say about the story. Xellos smiled off in the corner and relaxed. He knew what the Soul Mirror would show Zelgadis. And he was certain that Zelgadis would be one of the ones being tested. He wondered who the rest would be. Maybe him... after all, Andreys was still pretty angry at him. He smiled in anticipation.
*****
"So I'll start my story." said Andreys after they ate a simple meal of chicken, some beef broth and some bread. It was a modest fare, but for people like Lina and Gourry, quality over quantity was sometimes overrated.
"The Soul Mirror has the power to show the person looking who they really are on the inside." he started. "Made of extremely strong magic, not quite black, white nor shaman, no one really knows who came up with the spell and why. It's use is limited and not usually used. For your current mission, I believe that it will suffice. As you may know or imagine or not know, should that be the case, the Soul Mirror will show the soul to the person. If you are satisfied with what you see, then go ahead, by all means, and turn it into the Mirror of Reality. What you saw in the Soul Mirror will be what you get after the Mirror of Reality's spell is done. That is assured. There is no mistake. So, Mr. Zelgadis, should you go ahead in your pursuit of curing your skin condition, you can go in assured that you will get what you see, to put it vulgarly."
Zelgadis seethed at the term "skin condition". It was like calling a chimeric curse that put blue stones on your body a case of acne and maybe a rash. Which is what Andreys what doing. Wisely, he kept his mouth shut as Andreys finally began telling the story that they were all curious about.
"I was born, quite a long time ago. During the era of the furniture you are sitting on. Yes, Miss Amelia. These are all originals of the Henan period. I was born about 400 years ago. I was quite the magician and sorcerer in my time, I can assure you and could have stood up even to you, Lina Inverse." Lina glared at him but he continued as if he hadn't noticed a thing. "Not only was I as powerful as you are now, Lina Inverse, I was also as rash as you were in your younger days. I have heard about you, Miss Lina, and how you used to throw around Nightmare magic as if you could live forever and never suffer a consequence. I'm glad you have wizened up and have stayed away from that. I hope you will stay away also." He looked at Lina closely. Lina glared back at him, hating herself for letting his words get at her. Of course she knew that there were consequences. What was worrying her was that she wasn't showing any. So far, despite all the summons on the Lord of Nightmares, nothing had happened. She had been manipulated once but she had been given back. Nothing permanent... but the clock was ticking: her good luck could NOT last forever.
"As a reckless magician who believed in mortality, I went forward to search for a cure that would end all my worries. I felt that I had a lot of magical potential. I would NOT let it all go to waste. Realize that only because of Xellos's instructions that I am even telling you this. Believe me, this is not my crowning achievement in life. I decided that I would outsmart everyone, including the dragons. Including the mazoku. And so I struck a deal that would give me immortality. I struck it with the wrong demon." Here, he glared at Xellos who only smiled and waved at him. "Any other demon would have offered it to me and then killed me when I gave them what they wanted. Any other demon would have removed my consciousness and used me as a puppet to wreak havoc and destruction. I was ready for any sort of demon except Xellos. You see, just like now a days, Xellos is not well known outside of the Mazoku realm. Sure, some may know of him, see him as Zelas's priest. But they don't know his deviousness, his trickery, his cunning..."
"Now, now, you're going to embarrass me in front of my friends!" said Xellos with a smile. Zelgadis seethed at the word 'friends' but once again remained silent. Ever since Andreys had said the word 'cure' he knew that something bad would happen. It was experience that told him that.
"I was young and did not know my Mazoku hierarchy well enough. I did not know that this Xellos that I spoke with was not only Zelas's right hand. He was the Trickster Priest that played fools out of humans. I went to him and said that I was willing to pay any price for immortality apart from selling my soul to the devil himself. As it is, I had planned many safeguards against mind controlling spells and had protected myself adequately, or so I had thought. I had wanted a higher level Mazoku for they had more power and would be able to offer more."
"It didn't turn out though, did it?" asked Zelgadis. He knew what was coming next. It was like a repeat of his story. He had wanted to get stronger, to be actually able to cast magic other than a pathetic light spell that sent him sweating buckets. And Rezo had promised it. And in the process of accomplishing it...
"I got changed into half a demon. I almost became a full demon but my safeguards kicked up. However, not even that was enough. And then, he left me not only as a hybrid of two races that were never meant to mix, but also as a being torn between two worlds, experiencing advantages from neither. Half mazoku and half human. I get the weaknesses of both and only eternal longevity keep me going today. And I owed him a favor. And you are here today to reclaim it."
There was some silence. Xellos smiled. Sure, Andreys had put out a pretty little tale that would instill fear in the hearts of Lina and Co. But it would not be enough to detract them from the Mirror. Especially since it was so close. He knew that Zelgadis was imagining having real pliable skin and soft hair. He knew that he had Lina hooked with a treasure of rare importance. And the followers of the group. Whatever their fearless leader did, they would follow. Amelia would follow Zelgadis. Sylphiel would follow Gourry who would follow Lina. Suckers...
"Fine. But from what we gather, it's not going to be detrimental to our health, right?" asked Lina.
"Detriwhat?" asked Gourry. He had been trying hard to keep up and had basically gotten up to the fact that the furniture was original. On, and that the dude thought he could be an equal to Lina in magic.
"Don't worry about it, Jellyfish brains." said Lina in an annoyed voice. She turned back to Andreys. "We can still go through with our plan, right?"
"It would work." said Andreys. "Are you willing to go through with a plan put by the Trickster Priest himself?"
"It will work." said Zelgadis. "That is all that matters. The rest, we will be able to deal with." Andreys sighed.
"You are asking for it. And I even went through the trouble of explaining to you the danger. So be it. The ones tested are three. You Zelgadis for you must see how you will be effected by the mirror. You, Lina Inverse as leader of the team. And you, Xellos, in hopes that what you see may be able to be used against you somehow, someway."
Xellos smiled to himself. Perfect, Lina was getting the Mirror treatment. However, he didn't really want to look in the mirror. But he knew that if he didn't, then Andreys would not give it up and there went all his lovely plans.
"With pleasure," said Xellos. "I always wanted to know how I was seen by others, after all." Lina just smiled with excitement. Had Andreys not put her on the 'guinea pig' list, she would have fought for her right to be included. This was going to be great. After all, she was a sorcery genius and she had to experience all types of magic. How else could one improve?
*****
They were ready. The three guinea pigs, volunteers or whatever it was you wanted to call them were ready for the big day. Amelia looked on with a worried smile on her face, trying to keep her demeanor cheerful while trying to calm herself and force herself to believe that all would be well. It was going to be her first encounter with Mirror Magic, and she suddenly realized that she had doubts. She had never seen Mirror Magic in action, and what happened if something wrong happened during the spell? Say the mirror cracked? What happened if the mirror was marred, scratched, chipped...? She stood beside Zelgadis and tentatively gave him a pat on the shoulder to try to reassure him. Zelgadis looked up at her and smiled at her. She smiled back and all her butterflies were gone. She beamed.
Sylphiel and Gourry took it upon themselves to keep guard beside the mirror to make sure that no one would accidentally push it and break it during the actual spell. Actually, Sylphiel was chosen but she dragged Gourry along. Hopefully, between the two of them, they would be able to handle any problems.
Lina smiled with anticipation as she sat relaxed on a couch. She had had a big breakfast and was ready to take this on. She would be able to handle this new-fangled Mirror Magic and she'd incorporate it into her magical repertoire.
Xellos just smiled at himself as he sat on one of the dining chairs, calmly sipping a cup of tea that Andreys had been forced to give him. This would be very interesting. Curiously, he wondered if the mirror would react differently to Mazoku? Hm....
*****
Xellos was unanimously declared the first to try the Mirror.
"Why me!?" asked Xellos in a petulant voice as he made eyes at Lina. Lina raised an eyebrow and resisted the urge to blast him away.
"Because in case something goes wrong, it goes wrong to you, not to us." said Lina.
"You should be proud to help in this cause in the way only you can!" said Amelia from her place beside Zelgadis. This time Xellos raised and eyebrow and resisted the urge to turn Amelia into a sugary cream puddle on the floor.
"Chicken?" asked Zelgadis as he crossed his arms across his front and smirked at the Mazoku. He would feel slightly more secure after seeing Xellos try it first. And if for some reason, he had to recuperate, then he would be able to try the mirror in peace, knowing that Xellos was too knocked out to try anything funny.
"Yes, I'm hungry!" said Gourry. Everyone sweat-dropped and Sylphiel hurriedly rushed over to Gourry's side to try to explain what was going on to him. Lina sighed. At least she didn't have to be sicked with the task of explaining facts to Gourry...
Xellos sighed and resolutely looked into the Mirror which Andreys held up with a smirk. Suddenly,... he didn't feel too sure about.... He blacked out.
*****
He awoke to seeing a black and empty void around him. He chuckled to himself. It seemed as if the mirror worked. He knew he was an big black scary monster of nothingness. He was a Mazoku after all. Satisfied with the fact that all was fine, he got up and tried to find the way out. However, the blackness had no intention of letting him out yet. Slowly, the void shaped itself around him and pictures grew from the black miasma. Xellos just smiled and brought himself into a sitting position to watch the show.
*****
As soon as Xellos's legs became limp and fell to the floor, the whole room quieted down.
"Um,... shouldn't someone pick Mr. Xellos up and put him on the sofa or something?" asked Amelia when no one moved. Three pairs of eyes turned to look at her with amazement. Sylphiel was frying some chicken for Gourry in the kitchen and ere, therefore, not there to hear her statement. "Oh,... oops." she said with some embarrassment. The mirror stood unguarded on its little stand on the table, its face a swirl of black and gold.
*****
Xellos twitched at some of the figures shown. Had he really looked like that when he had just begun working for Zelas so long ago? He was glad he toned down on the jewels and gaudy jewelry. He looked infinitely better looking just like a simple priest.
*****
"He's still smiling, the fruitcake," said Lina with perplexity.
"He looks content," said Amelia.
"He's probably feeding off the negative emotions the Mirror is showing him." said Zelgadis. They wondered at what the mirror was showing Xellos. It was a good thing that they didn't know...
*****
Xellos frowned slightly when the slide show finished. That was it? That was all the mirror had to show him? After all this excitement? It had shown all the steps that he had taken, all the actions he had done during his whole life. Even actions he hadn't remembered and histories he had forgotten about. It showed everything. He was about to just go away disappointed when he realized that it was not done yet. The next few slides were blurry, and he realized they were future actions. He strained his eyes, trying to figure out what would happen. He saw flashes of red mixed in with speckles of gold. Red? Could that be Lina? How about Gold? Suddenly, the flashing lights stopped, as if it had just run into an invisible wall. And off in the distance was a speck. A speck that seemed to be getting bigger and bigger.
As it got closer and closer, Xellos could see some defining features. It was curled in a fetal position, with a long black cloak covering it. It was also shaking uncontrollably. It got even closer and Xellos began backing away from it, all of a sudden not really wanting to know what it was. But it got closer and closer...
Purple hair covered a head that seemed to be cowering in the arms of a little child. And as the child got closer, sobs and weeping could be heard. He tried to turn and run away but his legs seemed to be made of lead, making it so hard for him to run. The child came nearer, and stopped before him. Xellos resolutely braced himself for a collision with what appeared to be a miniature him. But no collision occurred. He opened his eyes and saw that the little boy had opened his own violet eyes.
"Mister?" he asked in a small voice of a small 7 year old. Xellos didn't speak. "Mister? Are you here to help me?" At this, Xellos broke loose from his leaded shoes, it seemed, and he ran in the direction opposite from which the child came. As he ran, he heard the child's voice ring softly in the silence. "Please... don't leave me. I'm so lonely. Don't go away..." He braced his legs and ran even faster, running even further away from the little boy, an exact replica of that little child that he used to be so long ago... And still the child's voice called over his shoulder.
*****
Lina watched anxiously, a small frown on her face. He had stiffened suddenly. His expression was tense, and even scared for a bit.
"Worried?" asked a voice behind her. She turned around and faced Andreys slate gray eyes.
"No," denied Lina as she tore away from Xellos's face which seemed to be clenching.
"I, myself, went through the mirror." said Andreys softly.
"And what happened? What did you see?" asked Lina.
"Reality. How things really are. It did not stop me from becoming who I was, though," said Andreys. "Xellos, is experiencing the same agony I faced."
"Agony?" asked Lina, not liking the sound of that.
"He is not a good person, Lina." said Andreys. "Neither was I. The mirror shows you the real you, and if you happen to not have been a decent person, it will show you that, without your own clouded illusions coloring it. You see what is really there."
"And Xellos..." started Lina.
"Is seeing who he really is and what it really means." said Andreys simply. "That's how the Mirror works. It's Nightmare magic, did you know?" He did not see Lina's blanched face. "It's simple magic too. Like a mirror, it will just show. It will do nothing to you right now. Not until it becomes the Mirror of Reality. Then it can change the world. Now, it will only show."
With those helpful words, Andreys left her to ponder her own thoughts. Nightmare magic..... It called on the Lord of Nightmares.... and she wanted absolutely nothing to do with it. But she had said she would already. She was stuck... Fine, after this, she would never ever use the LoN's magic again. Never.
*****
Xellos woke up to a pair of vibrant red eyes staring at him in a half concerned manner.
"Hey, Xellos... you OK?" asked Lina as she stood beside him, looking down with curiosity in her eyes. He groggily blinked his eyes and half wondered what he was doing on the floor.
"I'm... ok," he said. He slowly got up and shook his head. That had been... weird. Very. Especially the last part. Worriedly, he wondered if Lina or any of the others had known what he had seen.
"So, what did you see?" she asked as Xellos got up.
"Sore wa himitsu desu," he answered automatically. It had always been like that. He always had answered that. Thinking back, he quickly rethought. No, he hadn't always answered that. Just that once he had entered Zelas's side, he needed to keep his secrets from others.
"Oh, I know," said Lina wisely as she nodded her head understandingly. It seemed as if what Andreys said was right. Even Xellos would have had his view coloring his actions.
"You know?" asked Xellos, his eyes widening slightly. How did she know? Had he mumbled something while he was out? He could have... Or maybe she was bluffing... "Of course not." he said.
"It probably IS a shock, seeing what all your actions really are and what they really mean." said Lina. "Probably more if all this time you've been just treating it as the way you do things."
Xellos's eyes narrowed. Did she know, or did she not? She was dropping hints, that he was pretty sure, but he wasn't sure exactly how much... His thoughts were interrupted by Zelgadis coming in.
"Hey Zelgadis!" said Lina. She pointed at Xellos. "He's awake. It's your turn now."
"Oh, joy," he said, keeping up his sarcastic demeanor even though he was excited. He was so close. So close. Secretly, he was glad he was next; the curiosity was killing him.
Lina silently blew a sigh of relief. She was glad Zelgadis had been so willing to accept being next. Not now... she didn't want to go yet. She needed to calm herself first. Her mouth tightened slightly as she tried to control her trembling.
Xellos looked at her face and was puzzled. What to assume? That she was thinking about what he thought she knew about him...
Zelgadis called in Andreys and he performed the incantation and Zelgadis looked in. Lina looked on and suddenly remembered that Zelgadis would loose consciousness.
"Amelia! Come help me!" she shouted, knowing that Amelia would like nothing better than to be able to hold Zelgadis in some form or another. And she did. The two girls, along with the help of a reluctant Xellos dragged Zelgadis's form onto a couch.
"Why didn't I get a couch?" whined Xellos, back to his slightly perky self.
"Because no one wanted to touch you," said Lina with a glare. Xellos just smiled.
*****
Zelgadis awoke in the same darkness that had engulfed Xellos, not that he knew. And once more, the black miasma seemed to swirl around him and began the story of his life.
In the images, Zelgadis actually found himself enjoying the first few moments. It had been a long time since he had even thought about his own parents. And he finally saw himself human, after so many years. It was almost like seeing a different person with their own family, but he knew it was him. He knew that beneath all his layers of rock, a human boy was still in there. There must be.
*****
"He looks so peaceful," commented Amelia as she sat on the armrest of the couch and reverently stroked his wire hair.
"I guess he really did have some happy times instead of always having been the serious Zelgadis we all knew." said Lina.
"Makes me wonder... do you think he'll ever tell us about them?" asked Amelia.
"I don't know," said Lina. She looked pensively at Zelgadis's peaceful sleeping form. "He'll tell if he is comfortable. I know... with me. I'd cherish my own moments. And I would be hard-pressed to let others know about it. Unless I knew them very well."
Amelia nodded and kept on. She looked down and smiled at Zelgadis. Lina mentally sighed. Amelia was smitten, that was for sure.
*****
Zelgadis watched, and if he were sitting in a sofa, he would have been gripping the armrests in such a way as to leave an indentation in the material. Rock fingers make that very easy.
This was the crucial part. Before him, he saw the red billowy cape of Rezo with his silver, jangly staff and his past figure, still human. What would happen?
*****
In the room, Amelia saw Zelgadis tense up. Her smile wavered. What happened?
*****
He sighed... the transformation had occurred... just like he remembered it. He sighed and let himself watch the rest of his life as a chimera. Was that what the mirror was trying to tell him? That he was turned into a chimera and a chimera he would remain? He wanted to know the answer to his question, but the blackness seemed to reign him in and not let him move. As if saying, 'Relax... watch... learn'. Fine, he would watch, and he would try to relax...
Watching his life roll before him was interesting. Now that his last hope for a cure had been dashed, he had the chance to watch his life. As he watched, he realized just how much he had overreacted. It was funny how while you're living life, everything seemed so much urgent. His quest for Rezo. Even his first meeting with Lina... he had been frantic. All his worries were huge and he had made a mountain out of a molehill. Albeit, the molehill had been bigger than your average molehill, but essentially, that is what it was.
But once he had met Lina, although his problems stayed the same, everything became slightly more bearable. At times, even quite fun and entertaining. Of course, he wouldn't call meeting that fruitcake of a priest entertaining, but it hadn't been the same as before. Where as before, his only thought was for revenge and a desperation for becoming human, it was now toned down. It was more in control. It was its real size again.
So deep was he in his thoughts that he didn't realize when it had started. Suddenly, he noticed a bright light out of the scene and he looked up. To his surprise, he saw Lina when she had been possessed by the Lord of Nightmares. It was a still picture, frozen in time. It was as if someone had stopped the moment and then quickly drew it out. There was Lina, who was not Lina then. But it was her at the same time. It was Lina and L-sama. And all around her... were them. Amelia, Gourry, Sylphiel, even Xellos in the corner and Phibrizio terrified at the petite girl's feet. And he was there...in skin and bone, with natural hair. No more chips on his face or rocks on his elbows.
"Lina knows how to?" asked Zelgadis.
"She does not know yet. But she will." said the voice. "Let her pass through the mirror. And do not let her know. For knowledge of what is to come to the very one that will do it will jinx your only hope." And suddenly there was no more black and he found himself looking up into Amelia's worried eyes.
*****
"You're next, Miss Lina!" shouted Amelia excitedly after everyone had calmed down from hearing all the information that Zelgadis had given them. Which, to be truthful, hadn't been much. Zelgadis was absolutely radiant. He wasn't telling them yet, he said. But by tomorrow, he was sure it would work out. She had taken the good news the best and was positively beaming. Lina was very excited about Zelgadis, but soon found her excitement diminishing.
It was simple, after all. Zelgadis had finished his experience with the Mirror. And from his numerous recountings, she knew that nothing bad would happen to her. However... she didn't know... she did NOT want to experience Nightmare magic again...
"Um... I'll do it tomorrow." said Lina nervously. It was afternoon now, and she needed the time to psych up to deal with the Mirror.
"But Miss Lina!" said Amelia. "We can't do the incantation to turn it into the Mirror of Reality without you first passing the test. I'm sure you'll pass the test with flying colors!"
"Come on, Lina!" said Gourry. "It's going to be OK! It's just a mirror after all."
"Gourry dearest is right, Miss Lina," said Sylphiel backing him up. Xellos did not comment but just smiled at her and neither did Andreys speak. Lina bit her bottom lip. None of them knew just how much she hated Nightmare magic. Heck, no one even knew it was Nightmare magic they had been dealing with. No one knew that when you looked into the Mirror, you were helping in the summoning of the Lord of Nightmares. No one...
"Lina!" Someone shouted her name. Surprised, she blinked and looked up to see her reflection in the surface of the Mirror. Her eyes widened as she realized she had just been tricked. Her legs gave away under her and she fell, just to be caught by two arms, one of them still holding the Mirror.
"Hey, someone had to do it." said Xellos with a cheerful smile. He looked down at Lina. Now, that Lina was 'in' the Mirror, his plan would once again get moving. Zelgadis just looked relieved. Had Xellos not done it, he would have tricked her. After waiting so long for this chance, his patience was limited. And despite his recent lesson, he thought Lina should just grow up and deal with the Mirror. She had been so excited about it before anyway.
*****
Lina's eyes were clenched shut. She was definitely, absolutely, totally NOT going to look and see what was happening. If she didn't see anything, she'd hopefully be kicked out of the spell. And if Andreys said anything like that she hadn't finished her test and had not passed it, she'd just dragon slave him and then steal the mirror from him. Simple as that. So she waited... and she waited... and nothing was happening... She sighed... so the darkness or whatever it was outside would just wait her out, huh? Well, she could be very patient when she needed to be, despite popular opinion. So she waited...
Nothing was happening.... She strained her ears... Was nothing going to happen?
*****
Xellos laid her down on the sofa that had, minutes ago, held Zelgadis's still form. Unlike the two before her, her face showed absolutely no emotion and she was not moving or doing anything. Zelgadis looked a bit worried. He could tell that Amelia and Xellos were. They had seen how Zel had reacted and he was definitely showing much more emotion than Lina was presently showing.
"Do you think Miss Lina is OK?" asked Amelia to no one in particular. Andreys stood more in the back and just watched the proceedings.
"I don't know." said Zelgadis. Amelia had told him that they expected some sort of movement or reaction. Some emotion on her face would have been nice.
"Maybe what you did was not such a good idea, Mr. Xellos," ventured Amelia when she looked up and saw Xellos looking at Lina's inert form.
"Maybe, maybe not," answered Xellos cryptically. With that, he left the room, only to return a few minutes later with a chair to sit in. And with that, he settled himself to watch her reaction, should she ever show any. And he honestly hoped she did. He needed that information.
*****
Lina squeezed her eyes tighter. She could feel 'something' trying to open them, to force her to look. So they thought they could just boss Lina Inverse around, eh? Well, think again! She shut them even tighter, and clenched her fists. She was NOT going to be won over by...by...by whoever it was out there.
She heard a sigh in the distance like the whisper of a soothing wind. Lina felt her curiosity aroused, but the logical part of her mind staunchly refused to give up.
"Daughter..." said the voice, gentle, like the whooshing of the wind as it flew by her. Her eyes opened up in surprise as her ruby red eyes met a pair that shined just as brightly as hers, with hair that flew and danced in the wind of the suddenly filled room.
*****
"She's relaxing." said Amelia as she noted the tenseness in the forehead go away. "I'm glad."
"Me too," said Zelgadis who felt silently relieved. Lina's non-response had been worrying him.
Xellos looked on in the distance, not sure if it was a good thing or a bad thing that Lina had all of a sudden adapted to the Mirror. What did it mean? Or better yet,... did it mean what he thought it meant?
End Part 1: Soul Mirror
Author's Notes: It's been a loooooooooooooooooooooooooong time since I've written. Hopefully, I still know how to write something readable. Hope you like it. This is the first part of a two part story. The next part...hm... look for it in about a month or two...lol. It depends how much time I have. Life as a Biochem major is not easy. ^^ Take care. C and C most definately welcome. Thanks!
Another Weird Anime Fanfic Production
Written by Jru
Slayers: Reality
AKA Last Quest
Part I: Soul Mirror
Timeline: After Slayers Try
Since the dawn of time, Dragons and Mazoku have been at war. They are opposites of each other, incapable of pretending a like. Since the beginning of ages, they have fought, and have fought hard. Striving to push the other down, to forever beat their enemy... And they almost did. Annihilate each other like the silly single track beings they were...
That is not how the story is supposed to go though. The Lord of Nightmares, the Chaos Queen, L-sama, Creator of this World, had not planned on that. The Dragons were weak, and so were the Mazoku. But the Mazoku were not as weak. Seeing how things were going, something had to be done. She would not let her world be broken. It was not supposed to have one power, either good or bad. There were supposed to be two, two for balance, two for progress, two: to keep loneliness at bay.
And so she created a third being. The humans were suffering badly from the wars of the two more powerful races. To even better balance things out, she needed three. A three legged stool is the most balanced. A coven of three witches runs to perfection. A three leafed clover pointed to the gods. And three was what she needed. So she had formed another being, the third being. A smaller being. Small to be sufficiently insignificant, yet small enough to make a difference. For after all, does not a butterfly's wings create waves in the world? This would be her butterfly, her third leg, herself incarnate. And she sent the being into the world, knowing that her creation would grow up just in time to save her worlds. It hurt, to let her go like that. It hurt to have to instill a fear of her Creator in her. It hurt to force her to hate Nightmares. But it was for her own good. They would notice her power, but not much else, because she would hate it and that would be perfect for the situation.
And after that was over.... Well, let Chaos run its way and then it'll end. Somehow. And it'll work fine. Because after all, it always worked out just fine for her.
*****
The Mazoku were not dumb. When they had felt the ripples coming from her birth, they were confused. Who was this tiny tot who created such waves in the Astral Plane? What power had she been blessed with? What was her function in life? Zelas, as well as the other Mazoku Lords still active, had set up spies around her. Trying to figure her out. If only they could control her, use her, she had so much power. Just there for the taking. Her first dabbles into black magic brought even more excitement. Zelas was left with the sole responsibility of keeping an eye on her. Of making sure that she would be controlled.
She had sent out her best. Xellos, her Trickster Priest. Her buffoon. Her best spy. Lina Inverse had played along, not really caring. To her, Xellos was a commodity she could use. They had let her think that. Xellos's job was to stick around and keep an eye on her. To know everything he could about her. To uncover her darkest secrets. To uncover her biggest secret: Who she was.
"Why such importance in such a mortal?" had asked once a younger Priest. He had not understood.
"I will give you three hints." Zelas, Lady Beastmaster had said. "Her birth caused ripples in the astral plane. She channels Nightmare magic. She hates Nightmare magic. Who is she? Why such importance? That's what we are trying to figure out, pet." And Xellos had understood. He had watched her, like a cat eyeing its unaware prey. And he started to get an inkling of what may be so important about Lina Inverse, Sorceress Extraordinaire, Bane of Dragons and Restaurants, and Mazoku Slayer.
*****
Ceipheed was not dumb. Weak, perhaps, but not dumb. He had needed a Knight and had found one, marking a young girl at birth. Luna Inverse was never given a normal childhood. Ever since she had been small, she had been taken to train with the Dragons. So that she could one day become the Knight of Ceipheed. So that she, one day, would be the powerful and wise right hand of the forces of light, truth and justice, their way. But a child is still a child and at times, her parents called for her. One such time was during the birth of her younger sister, Lina.
She had felt it. Or rather, she knew that the Knight felt it. She had been waiting outside the door, trying to get in despite her father's protests about it. She wanted to SEE. But she was left outside, left to listening to her mother's groans of pain. But soon, a high pitched wail was heard, and Luna's reality fell through.
She gasped as she felt her Knight powers become active, shoving her own consciousness to the back of her mind. It hurt so much, but the Knight was too strong for a girl of four years to stand up to. The Knight's eyes blazed as she went in and took a look at the girl who had just been born. She had felt it. Ceipheed had felt it and told her to investigate. This child... her sister of sorts.... was powerful.
She will need watching. You must keep an eye on her. I feel something from her. She is not white as you are. But she is not black either. L-sama had something to do with it. Keep an eye on her. And if need be, make sure she will always obey the Knight of Ceipheed. I fear the Mazoku may try to get their claws into her.
She had kept an eye on Lina. She obeyed her commands and as soon as Lina was able to understand her older sister, she learned to fear her also. She learned to fear the power that was in her, that flared to life whenever she angered Luna. And she had fled. But not before the damage had been done.
*****
Now, it was making more sense. Lina Inverse. She was a sort of immune system for the humans. She became strong, so much stronger than a normal human was allowed. She had defeated a piece of Ruby Eye, and had called on the Lord of Nightmares to defeat Phibrizzio. She had fought against Dark Star and won. She had channeled Chaos magic through her and suffered no obvious side effects. Or perhaps she did...
*****
Xellos thought. He thought hard. So many years of watching over her. And he had an idea. He had a suspicion of this Lina Inverse, of this World Savior, or so it seemed. A human girl, with affinity to the Lord of Nightmares. A mortal with a spectacular birth. An adult in the body of a forever young slip of a girl...
He carefully hid the manuscript in Amelia's library. Putting things into action was always fun, and he wanted to be along for this ride. He knew how to figure out who Lina was. And then, Zelas would be happy. Once they knew who she was, she would be so much easier to mold to their liking. He heard Amelia coming and he teleported away. Now, to sit back and watch.
*****
Amelia walked cheerfully into the library. It had been a few months since the ordeal with Darkstar. She had gone back to her kingdom of Seyruun and had worked hard on finding a cure for Zelgadis. Seyruun, the capital of white magic, the capital of curative magic MUST have a cure of some sorts for her dear Zelgadis. She would endeavor to find it. Her huge library was turned into a research center where librarians and mages were looking for a cure. For a spell to turn rock into skin. And with no luck.
She absentmindedly thought back to all that had happened. After Darkstar, Lina had just disbanded their group. Just like that. No explanation. She was here one day and left the next, saying that she would adventure on her own once more. That if they ever needed her, well, she had a crystal ball, one of those new-fangled inventions. I'll be around, she had said. And left. She hadn't even taken Gourry along, and he had been hurt. But he bounced easily and in no time, was on route to his home to visit his parents. Zelgadis had left also, heading off by himself in search of a cure. He had a crystal ball too. Should Amelia find anything, she could contact him.
And then her fingers brushed against one manuscript. She looked down and then read it. And then reread it. She broke out into a big grin. Lucky! She had found it! She had found something that would work, she was sure of it.
*****
"...what?" asked Zelgadis, looking at the little image of Amelia in his crystal ball.
"I found it!" she said happily. "Well, I'm pretty sure it will work!"
"What is it?" asked Zelgadis. He was trying hard to not let his hopes rise.
"It's called the Mirror of Reality." said Amelia. "Come to Seyruun! I'll call everyone else!"
*****
Lina looked up from her dinner. It was comparatively smaller than her normal meals, but that was because she was tired. Ever since Darkstar... ever since she had once more tapped into Nightmare Magic, she had been... tired. She didn't know what to do. She just walked about and trashed bandits. But it wasn't as fun. She hadn't brought any of them along. She wanted to be by herself. She had no purpose. She needed a quest badly. Even a last quest. Anything.
She had been having dreams also. Almost every night, she'd have horrific dreams of the Lord of Nightmares coming down on her once more, taking away her self, taking away her identity, taking away her life. She would wake up, cold sweat running down her face, and would swear to never, EVER again, use Nigthmare magic. A glow at the edge of her vision woke her out of her reverie. Her crystal ball was calling.
"Yes?" she asked as she looked into it. A small fuzzy picture of Amelia appeared in the depths of the crystal.
"Miss Lina! We found it!" said Amelia.
*****
So, they wanted to use the Mirror of Reality, huh? Well, that was OK with her. Lina's job was done. She had no more purpose in her life. All the threats had been eliminated. And it would provide a nice way for Lina to come back to her. Silly children. They had no idea, did they, of what would happen should the Mirror of Reality be used wrong...
*****
"Amelia! You need the Soul Mirror for this to work!" said Lina as she looked again over the manuscripts. Amelia's discovery seemed right. It looked like it would work. But they didn't have all the necessary ingredients.
"I'm sure that will be easy to find, Ms. Lina!" said Amelia. "I already have people searching all over Seyruun for it." Lina sighed. Zelgadis was looking through the incantation again. Gourry sat in a corner eating chicken while Sylphiel was looking even more information up.
It was so simple. The Soul Mirror showed who you truly where on the inside. And she was sure that for Zelgadis's case, it would be a human. Because although Zel had a body of stone, he was a human with human thoughts, feelings and cares. Just a bit stoic. They needed to obtain that... and then... cast an incantation over it. To change it into the Mirror of Reality. So that whatever was reflected in the mirror, became what they really where. It was good. Too good to be true. How come they had never come across it? It was as if someone were planning the route ahead. Nonetheless, it was a quest, and she loved quests.
"Well, who is going to have a Soul Mirror lying around in their purse, Amelia?" asked Lina. "There must be a way that we could make one."
"We can!" said Sylphiel. Everyone looked up, excitement on their faces. "Actually, we could."
"Could?" asked Zelgadis
"If we had the ingredients. We need special water, special silver, special many things. Many that have died off or are extinct or that we know nothing off." said Sylphiel. She smiled apologetically at them. "Sorry guys."
Back to Square One.
"I have a mirror!" said Gourry. "Can't we use that?"
"No, jellyfish brains!" shouted Lina as she smashed him on the head. "Pay attention. You need a SPECIAL mirror. Not any mirror."
"But I don't see the difference." said Gourry. "Any mirror will give you a reflection, right?" Lina sighed and motioned for Sylphiel to try and explain something. Amelia, seeing that everyone's nerves were already on the edge went to order some food for her friends.
*****
"OK, this is too much!" shouted Lina Inverse as she threw another book at the wall. They had waited for a week, to see if anyone would answer Amelia's summons on finding the Soul Mirror. It should have reacted to the incantation placed over the city. It was supposed to respond specifically to the Soul Mirror. So far, no one had come up with the mirror. It was futile. None of the manuscripts they had looked through had anything else about the Soul Mirror. And she was starting to get ticked off. Very badly. "I've had it up to here!"
"Please calm down, Ms. Lina." said Amelia as she tried to calm the irate sorceress. "I'm sure that something will turn up."
"It will when I get through with this!" said Lina. She grabbed her crystal ball.
"What are you going to do, Lina?" asked Zelgadis. He had been itching to do something also, and the fact that nothing was happening was driving him nuts. It was, after all, so unlike him. What was he doing here anyway? Sitting in the library, reading through books, staying for a week in one place... he needed to do something. Go out. Search. Find.
"This is for you, so you had better appreciate it." said Lina in a warning tone. She went out of the room and into an adjacent one. Then, she turned on her crystal ball. She knew he was around. He always was and was always spying on them. The stupid fruitcake....
"Xellos! Get here right this instant!" she screamed into her crystal ball.
"Ouch Lina! You don't have to yell!" said Xellos as he materialized into the room. Lina shrieked and then smashed his head with her elbow. Xellos grinned at her and winked saucily. "I see you missed me, love."
"Wha??????" asked Lina before she began to earnestly pummel him. Xellos just smiled.
*****
"You summoned that... thing?" asked Zelgadis, a look of disgust on his face. Xellos pouted.
"Really, Zel-kun! I have a name just like you!" he said chirpily. Lina had dragged him in to everyone's surprise.
"Don't bring me down to your level, Mazoku." said Zelgadis.
"Well, that's a little better." said Xellos approvingly. Zelgadis glared.
"Guys, we don't need this now." said Lina. "Look, if anyone would know about what we're looking for, it would be Xellos."
"Thank you Lina-chan for standing up for me! You do care!" said Xellos.
"Shut up." said Lina as she bashed him with a pillow. "Stop bothering me."
"You were the one who summoned me, Lina-chan!" said Xellos.
"And I'm regretting it already. So tell me where we can find the Soul Mirror before I decide we don't need you and blast you with a Laguna Blade." said Lina. Then she paled and hastily added. "Or perhaps a Dragon Slave." Xellos was the only one who caught her pale look.
"The Soul Mirror? Well, that's a pretty good idea if you're planning to reverse Zel-kun's curse." said Xellos. "Yeah, that's a good idea!"
"You mean you knew about this before?" asked Amelia.
"Sore wa himitsu desu." said Xellos with a wink.
"Just tell us where we can get one, OK?" asked Lina as she glared at him.
"Yes, I know someone who owes me a favor and has a Soul Mirror. He lives three days trip from here if I remember correctly." said Xellos.
"What, you're just telling us? No strings attached?" asked Zelgadis, sounding very suspicious.
"Now that, is a secret." said Xellos.
"Gosh, that's very nice of you Xellos!" said Gourry.
"It's nice of you to think that." said Xellos.
"I don't trust him." said Zelgadis.
"Like it or not, Mr. Zelgadis, I happen to be your only lead at the present moment." said Xellos while smirking at him. "I haven't asked anything in return and since you think I will, then I will do so, just for you."
"What do you want, Xellos?" asked Lina.
"I want..." started Xellos as he looked at Lina. Lina stepped back from him as he opened his eyes, turning his slit gaze upon her. She had the strongest urge to just... Then his eyes turned normally. "...to accompany you for the rest of this quest. That is all."
"No." said Zelgadis.
"Now, that's too bad, then." said Xellos. "I mean, it was, after all, you're decision to want me to ask something in return."
"I did not." said Zelgadis.
"Guys, grow up." said Lina as she got in between them. "Look. Xellos is right. He's our only lead. Zelgadis, the quest probably won't take too long. A few days to get there, and then two more days to get the mirror and you. That's all. It's not even a week. Are you willing to pass up your cure just because of your dislike for him?" Zelgadis just glared at her. He hated it when she made sense. After all, he was supposed to be the calm and rational person in their group.
"OK," said Zelgadis. "When can we start?"
"I can call for servants to get our packs ready and they'd have it done by tomorrow morning!" said Amelia, all excited for their quest. The rest agreed. They were more than glad to get things going. One week of sitting around in a castle, while fun at first, turned pretty old after a while.
*****
"There it is," said Xellos as he pointed at the small, decrepit looking shack before them. "Here, you will find the answer to a few questions, and uncover even more questions. Are you willing to brave this..."
"Oh, stuff a sock into it, Xellos," said Lina dismissively as she looked the shack over. She could tell that Zelgadis really wanted to strangulate Xellos, but when was that not normal? She sighed and tried to scan the house magically. It didn't seem to have anything worth importance in it. She detected no illusion spell or anything faintly magical, i.e.: a Magic Mirror. "Are you sure this is the right place?" she asked suspiciously.
"Of course, Lina-chan!" he said, looking hurt. "Have I ever lied to you?"
"I won't even try to answer that," muttered Lina as she got off her horse. She looked at the other people meaningfully and started to stride towards the shack before them.
"Lina is so brave!" said Amelia as she twirled off her horse and tripped in the process, landing on her face. She quickly got up and laughed nervously. "Let us go onward and find the cure for Mr. Zelgadis!" She ran after Lina.
Zelgadis sighed as he got off his. He took his horse and tried to lead the three horses (his, Amelia's and Lina's) and failed miserably. Gourry, seeing his predicament, quickly got off his horse and helped him lead the horses. Sylphiel got off hers and led it herself and followed the men to tether the horses. Xellos got off his and let it stand outside the shack. His horse wouldn't dare escape from him. It wasn't a magical horse. Of course not. But he could magically restrain it, which was just as good as a cord to tether.
He smiled in excitement as he watched the people near the shack. He couldn't wait until everything started rolling. He just loved it when everything worked together, like a well oiled machine. And he was the originator of this... he loved it. Grinning, he followed Lina and Amelia into the shack.
*****
Lina smirked confidently to herself as she stopped at the door. She waited for the rest of her group to get up to the door before she actually knocked on the door. The whole group waited anxiously for whoever it was that Xellos had led them too. They were all curious as to who Xellos knew. And there was some trepidation too.
Which was why no one knew how to react when the door actually opened and the saw the figure at the door. There was a humanoid looking figure, with no extra limbs or wings or horns. He was slightly taller than Lina, which is to say that he was slightly on the short side. His hair was white as snow and looked like a bird had tried to make a nest with it. His clothes were ragged and faded and looked like they hadn't seen a wash in a few weeks. In his right hand, he held a sword in an extremely threatening way. His flat gray eyes looked at them suspiciously.
"What do you want?" he asked when he saw them. His eyes traveled over all of them, inspecting them carefully as one would do to an enemy. Then they rested on Xellos's purple gaze. Xellos gazed at him in a challenging way, his slit eyes glinting darkly from behind his purple bangs. "You..." he said dangerously.
"Hello, Andreys," said Xellos in a very friendly way, although the Slayers group suddenly realized just how thick the tension was.
"Get out of here, Mazoku." said Andreys as he glared at the Mazoku.
"Now, now, now..." said Xellos with a smile. "What... after 383 years and you don't have anything nice to say to me?"
"383 years?" asked Gourry, who had been quiet until then. "Hey! You look very well preserved! Just like Xellos here!"
"Don't compare me with him." said Andreys with a glare.
"383?" asked Lina. "Are you two serious?"
"Lina, I asked you before... do I lie to you?" asked Xellos with a smirk. Lina grumbled.
"I don't know how you all got involved with Xellos," said Andreys. "But any friend of his is an enemy of mine. However, due to circumstances beyond my control, you may come in to do your business. However, you are all to leave when you are done." said Andreys.
He walked into the house and left them at the door, the door open.
"Nice pal you got there, Xellos..." said Gourry. Lina sighed and led her group inside.
*****
The group sat in what passed as a sorry excuse of a sitting room. Popular convention had it that sitting rooms had places for people to sit in, so it had one. There was a rather dingy sofa on one side of the room and was faced by a few chairs that had obviously seen better days. Despite all the dust and the tear in the furniture, though, one could tell that it was not as bad as first sight may entail.
Amelia carefully wiped away the dust of a chair and looked at the delicate design that appeared underneath the dust, it's gold thread catching light from the candles on the holders all around the room.
"You have very exquisite furniture," said Amelia, despite the fact that it was extremely dusty and not very well cared after. "The... Henan era?"
Andreys, who had been glaring at the group ever since they had come in widened his for a second before they resumed their glare once more.
"Yes." he said. Andreys wasn't the only one who was surprised, though. Xellos was too. As were Zelgadis and Lina. Gourry had already sat down and his knowledge of history within the shield was minimal apart from the lineage of the Sword of Light. And Sylphiel hadn't seemed to be the type of person who knew much about furniture. However, both Lina and Zelgadis were scholars, despite their mercenary attitude and their views of the princess went up by a notch.
"What do you want?" asked Andreys gruffly after they all sat down. He leaned against the fireplace in the room and glared at them all, as if daring them to even go forward with their request. His challenging slate-grey eyes met Lina's fiery ones. She smiled at him and spoke.
"We have heard that you have in your possession a certain rare and magical artifact. We are looking for the Soul Mirror." To his credit, Andrey did not bat an eyelash. There was an uncomfortable silence.
"So?" asked Andrey finally.
"We would like to obtain it." said Lina as she kept her composure. Her respect for him went up by a tiny bit when she saw that he wasn't reacting at all to her cool demeanor mixed with her fiery spirit. She knew she intimidated people when she got into her magically negotiating mood. He was a cool figure, that one. And there was something else about him...
"What for?" asked Andreys. Xellos, sensing a warning, quickly spoke, interrupting Lina as she began to speak.
"Andreys. You are to do as you are told. Nothing more, nothing less." He gave him a cool smile and challenged him to disobey. Andrey just glared and using a minor teleportation spell, brought up the object at hand.
"I do not see why you want to do this. The Soul Mirror will just bring delusion and grief." said Andreys as he held in his hand a small silver mirror with black iron casting and a silver base. He tossed it up and down in his hands, watching them watch his mirror twirl in the air. Lina's eyes glittered as soon as Andreys lifted the sealing spell off the mirror. Immediately, the small room was crackling with the magic the mirror emitted.
Zelgadis frowned intelligently. He was this close to obtaining it. Everything was going right: Xellos had not lied about the man, and he had not lied about the mirror. He was with his group and if anyone could, they would grab the artifact. Therefore, something must be wrong. And his ears heard the phrase he had been dreading.
"...delusion and grief?..." he asked, not quite sure.
"Yes." said Andreys stoically. His gray eyes stared coolly into Zelgadis's blue ones. Zelgadis glared back and then turned to look at Xellos.
"What are you hiding from us, Mazoku?" he asked suspiciously. Xellos just smirked at him, his purple slit gaze, open for once, looking more than amused.
"Moi? Poor little innocent moi?" Zelgadis glared at the purple haired fiend. "Sore wa himitsu desu." And with that, he vanished. His disappearance seemed to cause action to flow throughout the room. Lina made a lunge for the mirror, only to have it levitated higher above her reach.
"Hey!" she said as she glared at Andreys. "Why won't you give it to me?"
"The Mirror itself requires three tests." said Andreys. "And only if you pass, you can keep the Mirror, if you still wish to." Lina's eyes hardened on hearing that. No, she was not totally gaga over the Mirror. It was still cool though. However, one must always keep a sharp eye for specific phrases such as "however", "or else" and such. Just because she loved shiny things didn't mean she was dumb when seeing one. Shiny things were often guarded by huge freaking beasts who had nothing better to do than to threaten lovely and beautiful fragile flowers of womanhood such as herself.
"What about the Mirror causes such warnings to accompany it's giving?" asked Lina.
"You shall see." said Andreys.
"Whatever," said Lina. "You said tests. What type?"
"Oh, quite simple." said Andreys with a smile. "All you have to do is look in the Mirror. The Mirror will deal with the details. And after you have passed, I shall explain to the mystery behind the Mirror. Then we shall see what happens."
"OK, OK, whatever." said Lina in a dismissing manner. "Who goes?"
"First, tell me why you want the Mirror." said Andreys. Lina frowned. Whether Zelgadis wanted this complete stranger to know or not was up to him. She looked over at the stoic chimera and shrugged.
"I don't mind. Others in the group may." said Lina. Zelgadis thought about it a bit.
Xellos had taken them to this place and told them that it would work. Amelia had poured over the manuscript looking for hidden meanings and tiny clauses that would get him messed up and came with nothing. It seemed like it would actually work. Now, though... it seemed as if the Mirror had some secret with it. Something that marred it's white innocence. Andreys may actually know enough to warn them. Speaking of which...
"How about we exchange stories?" said Zelgadis. "We tell you ours. You tell us yours. Like why you're mixed up with the fruitcake." Any friend of Xellos would put Zelgadis on the edge. He was wary and wasn't going to be tricked. Not this time: he was so close...
"Sounds fair. I will tell you my story tonight. After all, I would do anything possible under the circumstances to not only mess up Xellos's plans but to put an end to them as well." he said. And for a moment, his gray eyes stopped being stony with a hint of something else in them. Zel caught it. Everyone else missed it. "You will tell me yours first, though."
*****
Dinner time finally arrived. Everyone was around the dining table that Andreys had. No one asked out loud why a hermit like Andrey would have a dining table from three centuries behind, but Amelia was drooling over the furniture, and almost fearful of actually eating in the table lest she accidentally spill on it. She finally sat next to Zelgadis and made sure that she would not spill or drop anything on the table or chair. And once that was done, she smiled at her Mr. Zelgadis.
He was just so smart and cool! She was glad that they had found the scroll about the Mirror. Now, though they had to be alert. Her face changed from nervousness to happiness to her princess mode. Sure, she couldn't help but look cute and vacant, but it did cover the fact that she was analyzing what was around her. Great in those political meetings she and dad had to go through as royalty of Seyruun.
Beside Zelgadis sat Sylphiel, and beside Sylphiel sat Gourry who looked very excited. After all, they were going to eat soon and from seeing the size of the table, he had not worries that it would be a big feast. At least, he hoped so. He looked to one side and saw Sylphiel smiling gently at him as she carefully eased herself into her chair, looking pure, polite and demure.
"Aren't you excited, Gourry? Mr. Andreys is going to tell us more about the Mirror." she said.
"Yeah, Sylphiel." said Gourry. Then he frowned. "But why do we have to wait for the story? Can't we just, like, grab it or something?"
"Stupid jellyfish," said Lina, who was sitting right next to Gourry. "We need to know more about the Mirror. Make sure that it works right and that it's not another trap set up by Xellos!" She glared at the other guy next to her, the trickster priest himself.
"Why, Lina-chan. You do hurt me with your sharp tongue." said Xellos with a smile. "But trust me, this is not a game or a trick. The Mirror will do just as the manuscript said. Besides, it's not me who suggested it. Amelia found the scroll, right?"
"That's true! I found the scroll for Mr. Zelgadis, and deep down in my heart, I know that this will be the item we are looking for! I know that truth, love and justice are on our side and that we will triumph!" said Amelia. Xellos winced while Zelgadis sighed.
Between Amelia and Xellos was an empty seat that would be occupied by Andreys, should he ever decide to show up. Having told him already the reason behind Zelgadis wanting to use the Soul Mirror, the Slayers crew were more than ready to hear what Andrey had to say about the story. Xellos smiled off in the corner and relaxed. He knew what the Soul Mirror would show Zelgadis. And he was certain that Zelgadis would be one of the ones being tested. He wondered who the rest would be. Maybe him... after all, Andreys was still pretty angry at him. He smiled in anticipation.
*****
"So I'll start my story." said Andreys after they ate a simple meal of chicken, some beef broth and some bread. It was a modest fare, but for people like Lina and Gourry, quality over quantity was sometimes overrated.
"The Soul Mirror has the power to show the person looking who they really are on the inside." he started. "Made of extremely strong magic, not quite black, white nor shaman, no one really knows who came up with the spell and why. It's use is limited and not usually used. For your current mission, I believe that it will suffice. As you may know or imagine or not know, should that be the case, the Soul Mirror will show the soul to the person. If you are satisfied with what you see, then go ahead, by all means, and turn it into the Mirror of Reality. What you saw in the Soul Mirror will be what you get after the Mirror of Reality's spell is done. That is assured. There is no mistake. So, Mr. Zelgadis, should you go ahead in your pursuit of curing your skin condition, you can go in assured that you will get what you see, to put it vulgarly."
Zelgadis seethed at the term "skin condition". It was like calling a chimeric curse that put blue stones on your body a case of acne and maybe a rash. Which is what Andreys what doing. Wisely, he kept his mouth shut as Andreys finally began telling the story that they were all curious about.
"I was born, quite a long time ago. During the era of the furniture you are sitting on. Yes, Miss Amelia. These are all originals of the Henan period. I was born about 400 years ago. I was quite the magician and sorcerer in my time, I can assure you and could have stood up even to you, Lina Inverse." Lina glared at him but he continued as if he hadn't noticed a thing. "Not only was I as powerful as you are now, Lina Inverse, I was also as rash as you were in your younger days. I have heard about you, Miss Lina, and how you used to throw around Nightmare magic as if you could live forever and never suffer a consequence. I'm glad you have wizened up and have stayed away from that. I hope you will stay away also." He looked at Lina closely. Lina glared back at him, hating herself for letting his words get at her. Of course she knew that there were consequences. What was worrying her was that she wasn't showing any. So far, despite all the summons on the Lord of Nightmares, nothing had happened. She had been manipulated once but she had been given back. Nothing permanent... but the clock was ticking: her good luck could NOT last forever.
"As a reckless magician who believed in mortality, I went forward to search for a cure that would end all my worries. I felt that I had a lot of magical potential. I would NOT let it all go to waste. Realize that only because of Xellos's instructions that I am even telling you this. Believe me, this is not my crowning achievement in life. I decided that I would outsmart everyone, including the dragons. Including the mazoku. And so I struck a deal that would give me immortality. I struck it with the wrong demon." Here, he glared at Xellos who only smiled and waved at him. "Any other demon would have offered it to me and then killed me when I gave them what they wanted. Any other demon would have removed my consciousness and used me as a puppet to wreak havoc and destruction. I was ready for any sort of demon except Xellos. You see, just like now a days, Xellos is not well known outside of the Mazoku realm. Sure, some may know of him, see him as Zelas's priest. But they don't know his deviousness, his trickery, his cunning..."
"Now, now, you're going to embarrass me in front of my friends!" said Xellos with a smile. Zelgadis seethed at the word 'friends' but once again remained silent. Ever since Andreys had said the word 'cure' he knew that something bad would happen. It was experience that told him that.
"I was young and did not know my Mazoku hierarchy well enough. I did not know that this Xellos that I spoke with was not only Zelas's right hand. He was the Trickster Priest that played fools out of humans. I went to him and said that I was willing to pay any price for immortality apart from selling my soul to the devil himself. As it is, I had planned many safeguards against mind controlling spells and had protected myself adequately, or so I had thought. I had wanted a higher level Mazoku for they had more power and would be able to offer more."
"It didn't turn out though, did it?" asked Zelgadis. He knew what was coming next. It was like a repeat of his story. He had wanted to get stronger, to be actually able to cast magic other than a pathetic light spell that sent him sweating buckets. And Rezo had promised it. And in the process of accomplishing it...
"I got changed into half a demon. I almost became a full demon but my safeguards kicked up. However, not even that was enough. And then, he left me not only as a hybrid of two races that were never meant to mix, but also as a being torn between two worlds, experiencing advantages from neither. Half mazoku and half human. I get the weaknesses of both and only eternal longevity keep me going today. And I owed him a favor. And you are here today to reclaim it."
There was some silence. Xellos smiled. Sure, Andreys had put out a pretty little tale that would instill fear in the hearts of Lina and Co. But it would not be enough to detract them from the Mirror. Especially since it was so close. He knew that Zelgadis was imagining having real pliable skin and soft hair. He knew that he had Lina hooked with a treasure of rare importance. And the followers of the group. Whatever their fearless leader did, they would follow. Amelia would follow Zelgadis. Sylphiel would follow Gourry who would follow Lina. Suckers...
"Fine. But from what we gather, it's not going to be detrimental to our health, right?" asked Lina.
"Detriwhat?" asked Gourry. He had been trying hard to keep up and had basically gotten up to the fact that the furniture was original. On, and that the dude thought he could be an equal to Lina in magic.
"Don't worry about it, Jellyfish brains." said Lina in an annoyed voice. She turned back to Andreys. "We can still go through with our plan, right?"
"It would work." said Andreys. "Are you willing to go through with a plan put by the Trickster Priest himself?"
"It will work." said Zelgadis. "That is all that matters. The rest, we will be able to deal with." Andreys sighed.
"You are asking for it. And I even went through the trouble of explaining to you the danger. So be it. The ones tested are three. You Zelgadis for you must see how you will be effected by the mirror. You, Lina Inverse as leader of the team. And you, Xellos, in hopes that what you see may be able to be used against you somehow, someway."
Xellos smiled to himself. Perfect, Lina was getting the Mirror treatment. However, he didn't really want to look in the mirror. But he knew that if he didn't, then Andreys would not give it up and there went all his lovely plans.
"With pleasure," said Xellos. "I always wanted to know how I was seen by others, after all." Lina just smiled with excitement. Had Andreys not put her on the 'guinea pig' list, she would have fought for her right to be included. This was going to be great. After all, she was a sorcery genius and she had to experience all types of magic. How else could one improve?
*****
They were ready. The three guinea pigs, volunteers or whatever it was you wanted to call them were ready for the big day. Amelia looked on with a worried smile on her face, trying to keep her demeanor cheerful while trying to calm herself and force herself to believe that all would be well. It was going to be her first encounter with Mirror Magic, and she suddenly realized that she had doubts. She had never seen Mirror Magic in action, and what happened if something wrong happened during the spell? Say the mirror cracked? What happened if the mirror was marred, scratched, chipped...? She stood beside Zelgadis and tentatively gave him a pat on the shoulder to try to reassure him. Zelgadis looked up at her and smiled at her. She smiled back and all her butterflies were gone. She beamed.
Sylphiel and Gourry took it upon themselves to keep guard beside the mirror to make sure that no one would accidentally push it and break it during the actual spell. Actually, Sylphiel was chosen but she dragged Gourry along. Hopefully, between the two of them, they would be able to handle any problems.
Lina smiled with anticipation as she sat relaxed on a couch. She had had a big breakfast and was ready to take this on. She would be able to handle this new-fangled Mirror Magic and she'd incorporate it into her magical repertoire.
Xellos just smiled at himself as he sat on one of the dining chairs, calmly sipping a cup of tea that Andreys had been forced to give him. This would be very interesting. Curiously, he wondered if the mirror would react differently to Mazoku? Hm....
*****
Xellos was unanimously declared the first to try the Mirror.
"Why me!?" asked Xellos in a petulant voice as he made eyes at Lina. Lina raised an eyebrow and resisted the urge to blast him away.
"Because in case something goes wrong, it goes wrong to you, not to us." said Lina.
"You should be proud to help in this cause in the way only you can!" said Amelia from her place beside Zelgadis. This time Xellos raised and eyebrow and resisted the urge to turn Amelia into a sugary cream puddle on the floor.
"Chicken?" asked Zelgadis as he crossed his arms across his front and smirked at the Mazoku. He would feel slightly more secure after seeing Xellos try it first. And if for some reason, he had to recuperate, then he would be able to try the mirror in peace, knowing that Xellos was too knocked out to try anything funny.
"Yes, I'm hungry!" said Gourry. Everyone sweat-dropped and Sylphiel hurriedly rushed over to Gourry's side to try to explain what was going on to him. Lina sighed. At least she didn't have to be sicked with the task of explaining facts to Gourry...
Xellos sighed and resolutely looked into the Mirror which Andreys held up with a smirk. Suddenly,... he didn't feel too sure about.... He blacked out.
*****
He awoke to seeing a black and empty void around him. He chuckled to himself. It seemed as if the mirror worked. He knew he was an big black scary monster of nothingness. He was a Mazoku after all. Satisfied with the fact that all was fine, he got up and tried to find the way out. However, the blackness had no intention of letting him out yet. Slowly, the void shaped itself around him and pictures grew from the black miasma. Xellos just smiled and brought himself into a sitting position to watch the show.
*****
As soon as Xellos's legs became limp and fell to the floor, the whole room quieted down.
"Um,... shouldn't someone pick Mr. Xellos up and put him on the sofa or something?" asked Amelia when no one moved. Three pairs of eyes turned to look at her with amazement. Sylphiel was frying some chicken for Gourry in the kitchen and ere, therefore, not there to hear her statement. "Oh,... oops." she said with some embarrassment. The mirror stood unguarded on its little stand on the table, its face a swirl of black and gold.
*****
Xellos twitched at some of the figures shown. Had he really looked like that when he had just begun working for Zelas so long ago? He was glad he toned down on the jewels and gaudy jewelry. He looked infinitely better looking just like a simple priest.
*****
"He's still smiling, the fruitcake," said Lina with perplexity.
"He looks content," said Amelia.
"He's probably feeding off the negative emotions the Mirror is showing him." said Zelgadis. They wondered at what the mirror was showing Xellos. It was a good thing that they didn't know...
*****
Xellos frowned slightly when the slide show finished. That was it? That was all the mirror had to show him? After all this excitement? It had shown all the steps that he had taken, all the actions he had done during his whole life. Even actions he hadn't remembered and histories he had forgotten about. It showed everything. He was about to just go away disappointed when he realized that it was not done yet. The next few slides were blurry, and he realized they were future actions. He strained his eyes, trying to figure out what would happen. He saw flashes of red mixed in with speckles of gold. Red? Could that be Lina? How about Gold? Suddenly, the flashing lights stopped, as if it had just run into an invisible wall. And off in the distance was a speck. A speck that seemed to be getting bigger and bigger.
As it got closer and closer, Xellos could see some defining features. It was curled in a fetal position, with a long black cloak covering it. It was also shaking uncontrollably. It got even closer and Xellos began backing away from it, all of a sudden not really wanting to know what it was. But it got closer and closer...
Purple hair covered a head that seemed to be cowering in the arms of a little child. And as the child got closer, sobs and weeping could be heard. He tried to turn and run away but his legs seemed to be made of lead, making it so hard for him to run. The child came nearer, and stopped before him. Xellos resolutely braced himself for a collision with what appeared to be a miniature him. But no collision occurred. He opened his eyes and saw that the little boy had opened his own violet eyes.
"Mister?" he asked in a small voice of a small 7 year old. Xellos didn't speak. "Mister? Are you here to help me?" At this, Xellos broke loose from his leaded shoes, it seemed, and he ran in the direction opposite from which the child came. As he ran, he heard the child's voice ring softly in the silence. "Please... don't leave me. I'm so lonely. Don't go away..." He braced his legs and ran even faster, running even further away from the little boy, an exact replica of that little child that he used to be so long ago... And still the child's voice called over his shoulder.
*****
Lina watched anxiously, a small frown on her face. He had stiffened suddenly. His expression was tense, and even scared for a bit.
"Worried?" asked a voice behind her. She turned around and faced Andreys slate gray eyes.
"No," denied Lina as she tore away from Xellos's face which seemed to be clenching.
"I, myself, went through the mirror." said Andreys softly.
"And what happened? What did you see?" asked Lina.
"Reality. How things really are. It did not stop me from becoming who I was, though," said Andreys. "Xellos, is experiencing the same agony I faced."
"Agony?" asked Lina, not liking the sound of that.
"He is not a good person, Lina." said Andreys. "Neither was I. The mirror shows you the real you, and if you happen to not have been a decent person, it will show you that, without your own clouded illusions coloring it. You see what is really there."
"And Xellos..." started Lina.
"Is seeing who he really is and what it really means." said Andreys simply. "That's how the Mirror works. It's Nightmare magic, did you know?" He did not see Lina's blanched face. "It's simple magic too. Like a mirror, it will just show. It will do nothing to you right now. Not until it becomes the Mirror of Reality. Then it can change the world. Now, it will only show."
With those helpful words, Andreys left her to ponder her own thoughts. Nightmare magic..... It called on the Lord of Nightmares.... and she wanted absolutely nothing to do with it. But she had said she would already. She was stuck... Fine, after this, she would never ever use the LoN's magic again. Never.
*****
Xellos woke up to a pair of vibrant red eyes staring at him in a half concerned manner.
"Hey, Xellos... you OK?" asked Lina as she stood beside him, looking down with curiosity in her eyes. He groggily blinked his eyes and half wondered what he was doing on the floor.
"I'm... ok," he said. He slowly got up and shook his head. That had been... weird. Very. Especially the last part. Worriedly, he wondered if Lina or any of the others had known what he had seen.
"So, what did you see?" she asked as Xellos got up.
"Sore wa himitsu desu," he answered automatically. It had always been like that. He always had answered that. Thinking back, he quickly rethought. No, he hadn't always answered that. Just that once he had entered Zelas's side, he needed to keep his secrets from others.
"Oh, I know," said Lina wisely as she nodded her head understandingly. It seemed as if what Andreys said was right. Even Xellos would have had his view coloring his actions.
"You know?" asked Xellos, his eyes widening slightly. How did she know? Had he mumbled something while he was out? He could have... Or maybe she was bluffing... "Of course not." he said.
"It probably IS a shock, seeing what all your actions really are and what they really mean." said Lina. "Probably more if all this time you've been just treating it as the way you do things."
Xellos's eyes narrowed. Did she know, or did she not? She was dropping hints, that he was pretty sure, but he wasn't sure exactly how much... His thoughts were interrupted by Zelgadis coming in.
"Hey Zelgadis!" said Lina. She pointed at Xellos. "He's awake. It's your turn now."
"Oh, joy," he said, keeping up his sarcastic demeanor even though he was excited. He was so close. So close. Secretly, he was glad he was next; the curiosity was killing him.
Lina silently blew a sigh of relief. She was glad Zelgadis had been so willing to accept being next. Not now... she didn't want to go yet. She needed to calm herself first. Her mouth tightened slightly as she tried to control her trembling.
Xellos looked at her face and was puzzled. What to assume? That she was thinking about what he thought she knew about him...
Zelgadis called in Andreys and he performed the incantation and Zelgadis looked in. Lina looked on and suddenly remembered that Zelgadis would loose consciousness.
"Amelia! Come help me!" she shouted, knowing that Amelia would like nothing better than to be able to hold Zelgadis in some form or another. And she did. The two girls, along with the help of a reluctant Xellos dragged Zelgadis's form onto a couch.
"Why didn't I get a couch?" whined Xellos, back to his slightly perky self.
"Because no one wanted to touch you," said Lina with a glare. Xellos just smiled.
*****
Zelgadis awoke in the same darkness that had engulfed Xellos, not that he knew. And once more, the black miasma seemed to swirl around him and began the story of his life.
In the images, Zelgadis actually found himself enjoying the first few moments. It had been a long time since he had even thought about his own parents. And he finally saw himself human, after so many years. It was almost like seeing a different person with their own family, but he knew it was him. He knew that beneath all his layers of rock, a human boy was still in there. There must be.
*****
"He looks so peaceful," commented Amelia as she sat on the armrest of the couch and reverently stroked his wire hair.
"I guess he really did have some happy times instead of always having been the serious Zelgadis we all knew." said Lina.
"Makes me wonder... do you think he'll ever tell us about them?" asked Amelia.
"I don't know," said Lina. She looked pensively at Zelgadis's peaceful sleeping form. "He'll tell if he is comfortable. I know... with me. I'd cherish my own moments. And I would be hard-pressed to let others know about it. Unless I knew them very well."
Amelia nodded and kept on. She looked down and smiled at Zelgadis. Lina mentally sighed. Amelia was smitten, that was for sure.
*****
Zelgadis watched, and if he were sitting in a sofa, he would have been gripping the armrests in such a way as to leave an indentation in the material. Rock fingers make that very easy.
This was the crucial part. Before him, he saw the red billowy cape of Rezo with his silver, jangly staff and his past figure, still human. What would happen?
*****
In the room, Amelia saw Zelgadis tense up. Her smile wavered. What happened?
*****
He sighed... the transformation had occurred... just like he remembered it. He sighed and let himself watch the rest of his life as a chimera. Was that what the mirror was trying to tell him? That he was turned into a chimera and a chimera he would remain? He wanted to know the answer to his question, but the blackness seemed to reign him in and not let him move. As if saying, 'Relax... watch... learn'. Fine, he would watch, and he would try to relax...
Watching his life roll before him was interesting. Now that his last hope for a cure had been dashed, he had the chance to watch his life. As he watched, he realized just how much he had overreacted. It was funny how while you're living life, everything seemed so much urgent. His quest for Rezo. Even his first meeting with Lina... he had been frantic. All his worries were huge and he had made a mountain out of a molehill. Albeit, the molehill had been bigger than your average molehill, but essentially, that is what it was.
But once he had met Lina, although his problems stayed the same, everything became slightly more bearable. At times, even quite fun and entertaining. Of course, he wouldn't call meeting that fruitcake of a priest entertaining, but it hadn't been the same as before. Where as before, his only thought was for revenge and a desperation for becoming human, it was now toned down. It was more in control. It was its real size again.
So deep was he in his thoughts that he didn't realize when it had started. Suddenly, he noticed a bright light out of the scene and he looked up. To his surprise, he saw Lina when she had been possessed by the Lord of Nightmares. It was a still picture, frozen in time. It was as if someone had stopped the moment and then quickly drew it out. There was Lina, who was not Lina then. But it was her at the same time. It was Lina and L-sama. And all around her... were them. Amelia, Gourry, Sylphiel, even Xellos in the corner and Phibrizio terrified at the petite girl's feet. And he was there...in skin and bone, with natural hair. No more chips on his face or rocks on his elbows.
"Lina knows how to?" asked Zelgadis.
"She does not know yet. But she will." said the voice. "Let her pass through the mirror. And do not let her know. For knowledge of what is to come to the very one that will do it will jinx your only hope." And suddenly there was no more black and he found himself looking up into Amelia's worried eyes.
*****
"You're next, Miss Lina!" shouted Amelia excitedly after everyone had calmed down from hearing all the information that Zelgadis had given them. Which, to be truthful, hadn't been much. Zelgadis was absolutely radiant. He wasn't telling them yet, he said. But by tomorrow, he was sure it would work out. She had taken the good news the best and was positively beaming. Lina was very excited about Zelgadis, but soon found her excitement diminishing.
It was simple, after all. Zelgadis had finished his experience with the Mirror. And from his numerous recountings, she knew that nothing bad would happen to her. However... she didn't know... she did NOT want to experience Nightmare magic again...
"Um... I'll do it tomorrow." said Lina nervously. It was afternoon now, and she needed the time to psych up to deal with the Mirror.
"But Miss Lina!" said Amelia. "We can't do the incantation to turn it into the Mirror of Reality without you first passing the test. I'm sure you'll pass the test with flying colors!"
"Come on, Lina!" said Gourry. "It's going to be OK! It's just a mirror after all."
"Gourry dearest is right, Miss Lina," said Sylphiel backing him up. Xellos did not comment but just smiled at her and neither did Andreys speak. Lina bit her bottom lip. None of them knew just how much she hated Nightmare magic. Heck, no one even knew it was Nightmare magic they had been dealing with. No one knew that when you looked into the Mirror, you were helping in the summoning of the Lord of Nightmares. No one...
"Lina!" Someone shouted her name. Surprised, she blinked and looked up to see her reflection in the surface of the Mirror. Her eyes widened as she realized she had just been tricked. Her legs gave away under her and she fell, just to be caught by two arms, one of them still holding the Mirror.
"Hey, someone had to do it." said Xellos with a cheerful smile. He looked down at Lina. Now, that Lina was 'in' the Mirror, his plan would once again get moving. Zelgadis just looked relieved. Had Xellos not done it, he would have tricked her. After waiting so long for this chance, his patience was limited. And despite his recent lesson, he thought Lina should just grow up and deal with the Mirror. She had been so excited about it before anyway.
*****
Lina's eyes were clenched shut. She was definitely, absolutely, totally NOT going to look and see what was happening. If she didn't see anything, she'd hopefully be kicked out of the spell. And if Andreys said anything like that she hadn't finished her test and had not passed it, she'd just dragon slave him and then steal the mirror from him. Simple as that. So she waited... and she waited... and nothing was happening... She sighed... so the darkness or whatever it was outside would just wait her out, huh? Well, she could be very patient when she needed to be, despite popular opinion. So she waited...
Nothing was happening.... She strained her ears... Was nothing going to happen?
*****
Xellos laid her down on the sofa that had, minutes ago, held Zelgadis's still form. Unlike the two before her, her face showed absolutely no emotion and she was not moving or doing anything. Zelgadis looked a bit worried. He could tell that Amelia and Xellos were. They had seen how Zel had reacted and he was definitely showing much more emotion than Lina was presently showing.
"Do you think Miss Lina is OK?" asked Amelia to no one in particular. Andreys stood more in the back and just watched the proceedings.
"I don't know." said Zelgadis. Amelia had told him that they expected some sort of movement or reaction. Some emotion on her face would have been nice.
"Maybe what you did was not such a good idea, Mr. Xellos," ventured Amelia when she looked up and saw Xellos looking at Lina's inert form.
"Maybe, maybe not," answered Xellos cryptically. With that, he left the room, only to return a few minutes later with a chair to sit in. And with that, he settled himself to watch her reaction, should she ever show any. And he honestly hoped she did. He needed that information.
*****
Lina squeezed her eyes tighter. She could feel 'something' trying to open them, to force her to look. So they thought they could just boss Lina Inverse around, eh? Well, think again! She shut them even tighter, and clenched her fists. She was NOT going to be won over by...by...by whoever it was out there.
She heard a sigh in the distance like the whisper of a soothing wind. Lina felt her curiosity aroused, but the logical part of her mind staunchly refused to give up.
"Daughter..." said the voice, gentle, like the whooshing of the wind as it flew by her. Her eyes opened up in surprise as her ruby red eyes met a pair that shined just as brightly as hers, with hair that flew and danced in the wind of the suddenly filled room.
*****
"She's relaxing." said Amelia as she noted the tenseness in the forehead go away. "I'm glad."
"Me too," said Zelgadis who felt silently relieved. Lina's non-response had been worrying him.
Xellos looked on in the distance, not sure if it was a good thing or a bad thing that Lina had all of a sudden adapted to the Mirror. What did it mean? Or better yet,... did it mean what he thought it meant?
End Part 1: Soul Mirror
Author's Notes: It's been a loooooooooooooooooooooooooong time since I've written. Hopefully, I still know how to write something readable. Hope you like it. This is the first part of a two part story. The next part...hm... look for it in about a month or two...lol. It depends how much time I have. Life as a Biochem major is not easy. ^^ Take care. C and C most definately welcome. Thanks!