Slayers Labyrinth

Chapter Two: Into the Labyrinth

When Zel awoke, the first thing he noticed was that his head felt heavy. Then that his arms felt heavy. And his legs. And his entire body.With some struggling, he managed to get to his feet, though he had a pounding headache and he thought he was going to vomit at any given moment. He managed to fight his pain and discomfort and open his eyes (he was momentarily overwhelmed by blind spots) to find himself sitting in a wide field.

He could feel the wind blowing through his hair, and he brought a hand up to brush the ever-so-messy strand behind his ear-only to realize that for some reason, that strand - the strandthatalways needed to be brushed back - wasn't moving. He glanced at the hand hovering inches from his face, and nearly screamed with terror. If is hand had been an object, he would've dropped it and tried to get as far away from it as possible.

His skin, which had always been a soft, pale color, was now an iron-blue, with dark blue bumps popping out all over the place. Feeling the bile rise in his throat, he inspected his other hand, and saw that it, too, was blue. In a state of panic, he started looking at his arms and legs, only to come up with the same facts. Zel fell back down on the soft grass, whimpering.

"If you think that's neat, just wait until you FEEL it." A soft voice said from behind him. Zel quickly got up again, fighting back a head-rush, and whirled around. He recognized the man before him as the figure he saw before he passed out, the memorysuddenly rushingback to him.

The man was tall and had the same sharp jaw-line and velvety hair that Zel had, but Zel's was a light blue-blond, and the other's was violet-black. He was wearing flowing red robes, ('Like a priest,' Zel noted) and he held a long staff in his hand.

"What?!" Zel asked, regaining himself and immediately trying to get on top of the situation.

"I said," the man smiled gently, as if repeating himself to a child who couldn't understand adult sentences. "Just wait until you feel it."

Zel blinked at him in confusion, then brought his right hand up to his left arm and brushed his fingers against his new skin. His eyes widened in horror at the feeling of cold stone beneath his fingertips.

"Yes ..." the Priest said giddily to himself. "I've certainly outdone myself this time! Look at you!"

"Look at me ..." Zel said, making a meek echo of the person in red. "What have you done?!" he demanded. The man looked momentarily hurt.

"What have I done? I've only given you what you asked for! 'A complete transformation' is what you said, right? Well, this is pretty complete! Human's soul, demon's strength, golem's body! Pretty impressive, if I could say so myself." He chattered lightly, completely oblivious to the negative expressions on Zel's face.

"Asked for? What are you-" his eyes widened in comprehension. "You're the Goblin King." His voice was a hushed whisper. The Goblin King grinned and nodded.

"That I am." He said. Zel recovered from his shock and shook his head.

"Well, I was just joking, so turn me back." He said. The Goblin King frowned.

"Back?" He asked. Zel nodded. "I'm sorry, I can't do that." His tone was matter-of-fact, as if he was reporting the weather.

"You can't. What do youmean you can't?" Zel felt anger boiling inside of him. In an instant, he had his hand on the Red King's throat. "You did this to me, so you can turn me back, I think."

"My, my! You should learn to control your temper, boy." The King said, trying to wriggle from Zel's grasp. "What I meant was that the other two thirds of your human self are already in my kingdom." He pointed off in the horizon, and Zel followed his extended finger to see that he was no longer standing in a field, but on the edge of a cliff in a barren desert. Before him was a huge Labyrinth which looked like it extended for miles, and a mammoth castle at the other side.

"If you want your human form back, then you'll have to go there." He pried Zel's fingers away from his neck and inched back. "But it won't be easy. You have 13 hours. After that, your body will be stuck that way forever."

"What?" Zel yelled, advancing on the red-clad man again, "That's not fair!Give me my body back now!" He lunged at the other, butthe Goblin Kingwas already disappearing.

"I'm sorry!" he laughed, "You'll just have to get there on your own. But if I were you, I'd turn back and save myself the trouble." His laughter echoed around Zel long after he'd vanished, leaving Zel to think about the situation.

"Well, this is just fantastic." He muttered bitterly. He started to shove his hands in his khaki pockets when he looked down and realized he didn'thave any pockets. He was wearing a white tunic and pants with a long, white, flowing cape that was held together at the front by a ruby clasp. A sword with a simple golden hilt was at his side.

"Well, well ..." He said, allowing himself a smirk, "Maybe this isn't so bad after all." He looked down at his hands again. "Or, maybe it is." He shrugged, "Better get going."

He started making his way towards the entrance, when he saw a group of bandits pounding on the Labyrinth doors. Suddenly, the doors opened to reveal a short red-head in black mage attire. She grinned sweetly at the bandits before muttering a few choice words, blasting them sky high.

My kind of lady. Zel was making a mental note to stay out of her when he realized that shewas guarding the only way (that he could see) in. Steeling his will, he used his cloak to cover his face and walked up to her. When she saw him, she immediately started chanting her spell again, but he grabbed her hand and stopped her. She looked surprised by his touch, and he too was shocked by his forwardness.

"Umm ..." He immediately jerked his hand away and he could feel himself blush under his hood.

"Excuse me, but is it okay for me to enter the labyrinth?" he asked. The young woman looked at him for a moment before smiling.

"Oh, sure. Sorry about that, I thought you were one of the bandits that I stole from earlier." She gestured to the pile of bruised and burned thugs that were laying by the entrance. "Those guys never learn their lesson. What's a defender-of-justice such as myself to do?" She sighed dramatically, and Zel raised an eyebrow at her.

"Do defenders-of-justice often steal?" He asked. He had no time to react as she knocked him on the head.

"Ow!"She cried out, rubbing her hand. "What are you made of, buddy?" She asked,before remembering the cause of heranger. "And it's notstealing if you're taking it from bandits. What do you take me for, a petty thief?"

"No, just a petty defender-of-justice. Now are you going to let me through?" He asked. She huffed angrily at him but stepped out of the way.

"Thank you." He walked through the entrance way and sighed.He turned his head in both directions, taking in the unchanging, long, straight passageways on either side.

"Strange." He muttered, shrugging and turning right.

"Hey - hey wait!" The girl's voice cried out from behind him. He sighed again, turning to face her.

"You're notreally going to do it, are you?" She asked, placing a hand on his arm to hold him back. He glanced down at it, reaching up to pluck it off.

"Yes." He said, coolly, then turned again.

"Well, wait, will you?" She shouted, then grinned slyly. "This is a dangerous area. You need someone who knows it well. For a cheap, cheap price of only 10 gold pieces, I would be willing to -" Zel cut her off with a wave of his hand.

"Forget it." He said, "I don't need anyone's help, and I've already lost precious time talking to you. Good bye." He walked off, leaving her standing there.

"Well, fine!" She yelled after him. "But don't say I didn't warn you!" she turned angrily back in the direction of the entrance way, but stopped suddenly. She whirled around.

"Wait! Watch out for the--"

Zel disappeared through a hole in the ground, screaming. The girl winced.

"Ohhh, shoulda remembered earlier ... that's gonna make him sore." She grinned, "Bet he'll be wanting those services now." And she skipped off happily towards the hole.