Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters. They are the property of Hajime Kanzaka and Shoko Yoshinaka.

Author's Notes: Hiya! Anyone who has been following this story knows that I abandoned it some time ago, kinda hoping (and advertising) that someone could finish it for me if they felt so inclined. Well, the offer is still open, but for some reason my obsessive-compulsive nature won't let me leave an unfinished novella in my wake. It was really bothering me that this story did not have a conclusive ending - so I'm gonna be working on that. Sorry to anyone who was following it that I behaved like such a jerk. I'll behave myself better in the future

Chapter Nine

The morning was bright and shiny. Things had not gone so badly with Val or Xellos, Filia considered. It was going to be a wonderful day. Filia got dressed and went down stairs to make breakfast. She was sure Xellos would want something to eat and Val would be there. There was really something to celebrate. She had people in her life again and she wasn't alone, not at all.

She put a kettle on her little wood oven as she went about her other tasks. When it whistled, she thought it was about time to go wake up Xellos and Val as breakfast would soon be ready. She went and knocked on their doors telling them to get up, and went back to the kitchen.

It wasn't long before she heard footsteps down the stairs.

"Good morning Xellos," she said to the sleepy eyed priest.

"Xellos? Filia – do I have to tell you a hundred times? My name is Lex."

Filia stopped dead in her tracks, and dropped the mixing bowl she was holding on the floor. "What did you just say?" she asked, not paying attention to the splattered batter on the floor.

"My name's not Xellos," he said pleasantly, picking up a dishcloth and kneeling on the floor to help her clean up the mess. "You seem like a pretty smart girl Filia, but the way you just keep on calling me Xellos is . . . well . . . sort of pathetic. Can you at least try to remember?"

"Didn't you just come out of the bedroom?" she asked frantically.

"Yeah," he said.

Filia got to her feet and ran to the bedroom she had put Xellos in the night before. The door was wide open and the inside deserted. The bed looked slept in, but there was no Xellos anywhere. What was going on?

Lex walked up behind her at this point and said, "Yep, I slept here last night. So?"

"Why did you sleep here?" Filia asked. "Did you switch places with Xellos last night? Where did he go?"

Lex scoffed. "Are you sure this Xellos person is not just a figment of your imagination? I remember you walking me to this bedroom last night and telling me that this was where I could sleep as long as I stayed here. Don't you remember?"

"I did not take you to this bedroom last night. I took Xellos. This is getting ridiculous," she said, suddenly getting an idea. "Come with me into the living room and I'll invite Xellos back. I'll call him on the Astral Plane." She grabbed his hand and pulled him down the stairs and into the living room.

"What are you going to do?" he questioned.

She knelt down on the dusty carpet and then crossed her legs. "I'm just going to call him on the Astral Plane so that he'll come back and explain why you were in his bed instead of him – you'll meet him too, and everything will make sense. Got it?"

"Whatever," Lex said, as he crossed his legs too and sat in front of Filia.

"Those who sail the Astral Plain, reveal these shadows to me," she said, closing her eyes. "Please bring Xellos-san to visit me," she asked politely.

Then all of a sudden, Lex was shaking his head, and holding onto his temples. Filia thought for a moment that he was going to fall on the floor, when he unexpectedly straightened himself and looked at Filia. He looked around himself for a second, like his surroundings were new.

"Ah hell," he said and got up. "So, it finally happened in a place where someone had to see me."

"What happened?" Filia said, jumping after him, and not quite understanding what just happened. "Wait just a second – Xellos should be here right away."

"I'm right here Filia," Xellos said as he stood by the stove in the kitchen and poured himself a cup of tea. "You don't have coffee, do you?" he asked, taking a drink. "No – you wouldn't have coffee – only tea."

"What's happening? Why are you Lex or Lex you or . . . what's going on!" she bellowed.

"Try not to scream too much dear. You'll wake Val, and even though I'm not really the type to let sleeping dragons lie, I'd rather explain this to you without an audience."

"Well, explain faster," she said, taking the cup of tea he poured for her.

"Do you remember when you were in Sayruun and you dueled with someone whose face was concealed?"

"Of course. I thought it was you."

"It was me," Xellos said. "Do you also remember that charming little silencing spell you sent towards me?"

"Yes," she answered, wondering where this was going.

"Well . . ." Xellos said slowly. "I haven't exactly been myself since. I've been myself and this character you call Lex, and well, I don't know if there is anyone else hanging out inside my brain that I don't know about. It's a rare case . . ." he said even more slowly, like he didn't want to admit what he was about to say ". . . of insanity."

"I don't understand," Filia said, sitting down at her kitchen table.

"It's called a multiple personality disorder. I've seen it a couple of times among humans, but never with a mazoku. When I've had my wits about me – which honestly hasn't been very much time at all since I fought you – I have tried to figure out how it has been cured."

"So, Lex is you?" she asked.

"Filia, smarten up. Yes, Lex is me. Probably a much denied part of my psyche that I never paid much attention to, which is why I'm so worried as to what he does in my body when I'm not in it. I'm surprised you're not latching onto this concept much faster."

She huffed.

"I honestly wouldn't be explaining any of this to you if I hadn't been caught. I would never have admitted any of this to you except that now that you know what's wrong with me . . . I was hoping you'd help me get better," he said, not looking at Filia at all, but looking out the window.

"What can I do?"

"I'm not sure," Xellos said. "You'll just have to watch me, and take notes."

Filia considered this for a moment, wondering why she was so happy that Xellos was (in a round about indirect way) proposing that he stay with her. Maybe it was because he was at a disadvantage and actually had to ask for help. She could also use him. She could think of a hundred ways she could use him.

"Okay Xellos," she said cheerfully. "Will you help me clean?"

"Hai," he said dully.

"Will you help me take care of Val?"

He looked like he was expecting that one and answered vaguely, "Hai."

"Will you be like his daddy?" she asked.

His head shot around and he looked at her, "Who the hell do you think I am?"

"I'm sure Lex would do it!" she said with a flourish.

"Then let him do it," Xellos said nearly getting up. "Wait, would he really do it?"

"I'm sure he would. You see, Lex has a teeny crush on me," she giggled, and immediately, with lightning speed, she found herself pressed up against the wall with Xellos pinning both her shoulders.

"Listen to me Filia," he said, his eyes looking most vicious, and his incisors suddenly appearing very sharp and animal like. "I don't want him making love to you – in any sense of the words! Do you understand? Absolutely nothing! I don't care what he does to win you over; you are not to let him lay a finger on you. If anyone if going to touch you – it's not going to be me when I'm not myself. Understand?"

She nodded, and he calmly let her down.

"Sorry about that," he said uneasily as he walked to the window to look out. "I just don't like the idea of my body doing things without me in command."

"I understand," she said softly, walking up behind him and putting her hand reassuringly on his shoulder.

He didn't move away.