Here is a shocker chapter for everyone! Since I have not said it in a while... I HAVE FAILED IN THE FACT THAT I DO NOT OWN RIGHTS TO SLAYERS! Yes, I do not own them... just write about them. Also remember: I love triangles. -rambles on about geometry-
Roku
The shrill buzzer on the alarm clock awoke Zelgadis suddenly. He bolted upright in bed, smashing his skull on the bottom of the bunk bed above him. Nursing his throbbing head, he got up and stretched as he walked over to the door which had a note attached to it.
"Hockey players report to the ice rinks at three in the afternoon. See you then," Zelgadis read out loud.
Oh... nice. So they left me to fend for myself. What lovely friends they are, he thought. Zelgadis remembered that Frederick had told him that the skeleton team was facing the qualifying rounds at ten in the morning and asked if he could come. Like a good friend, he promised to be there early and cursed when he saw that it was already 9:15.
Zelgadis rushed to put on some fresh clothes and ran out the door. He made his way over to the outdoor competition grounds. His jaw nearly dropped when he saw how enormous the facility was. It was so massive that it probably could have swallowed the Winter Sporting Grounds in Seiryuun. As he walked through the throng of visitors, he could hear the symphony that the many languages created; see the nationalism displayed in flags and banners; he could feel the Olympic Spirit surging through the air.
Damn it all, he thought. Why can I never find them when I need them?
"Zelgadis!" Frederick's voice called out. Zelgadis's head shot towards the sound of his voice, where he found exactly what he wanted.
Now not a soul could look at any number of the Yerbinski siblings and say that they are not related. All seven brothers were there from Carson to Jacob. Their hair was all the same mousy color, their eyes all pale green and they usually shared the same goofy smile. It usually takes one a short while to tell the brothers apart, but Zelgadis knew their differences down pat. Frederick was usually hidden behind his glasses, was slightly built and had a nervous air to him. Carson and Daniel were near identical with the exception of Carson's four extra inches of height. Gabriel, who had never once shaved his scrappy beard, frequently took the liberty to shave and polish his bald scalp. Harry and Ian were most often covered in bruises from boxing bare-knuckle with each other and Ian was stockier than Harry. Jacob, being the youngest at fourteen, still had to loose the last of his childish features and wore his hair long enough to tease his eyes with it. These seven were like brothers to Zelgadis, since he had no brothers of his own.
"Where have you been?" Jacob asked, his voice cracking and squeaking due to the introduction of puberty.
"Sleeping," Frederick sighed. "I swear, he needs to sleep whenever he takes a single step."
"You should have gotten me up," Zelgadis argued, pointing accusingly at Frederick.
"You are the one who should not be out until one in the morning!"
"Now Zelgadis," Daniel said, resting an arm on Zelgadis's shoulder. "We all know your little secret. Why don't you just come out and say it?"
"Say what?" Zelgadis said, sweating bullets. He had no idea to what Daniel was saying. What did he have to hide? Did Daniel or one of his siblings see him talking to Amelia last night and assumed things happened later?
"We know about you being a vampire. You just had to recharge in the moonlight, didn't you?" Harry laughed. Zelgadis's worry ran away as the brothers all roared with laughter. He was the butt of a few of these kind of jokes, yet always took them with grace. He knew that none of them would say anything hurtful on purpose. Instead of getting mad, he took Daniel and gave him a sharp jab in the side. Laughing with each other, they passed the time well until an undistinguished amount of time passed and it was time for Carson and Daniel to go report for the qualifications.
Now skeleton is quite the dangerous sport. Instead of sledding down the hill like one would in a bobsled, there is one person on a sort of low sled and is going head first, making it highly risky and more common than wanted to have spinal and neck injuries. Carson and Daniel would be the only people from Seiryuun competing in the sport, mainly because they were the only ones nutters enough to try out.
The voice on the intercom announced out both Yerbinski brothers in succession and each time, a green-and-black blur whipped past Zelgadis's spot next to the track. Their times were put up and Zelgadis and the rest of the Yerbinski siblings cheered. They had the best times in the trials at that point.
"That is just awesome!" Ian yelled excitedly. "They have not been that fast yet!"
"Yeah, I know," Frederick said. "I think it must be the new gear that they just acquired."
"Whatever it is, I think it's freakin' sweet!" Jacob cheered. He and Harry ran down to near the bottom of the slope to meet up with their brothers. After laughing and joking some more, Zelgadis looked at his watch and swore.
"What is it?" Frederick asked.
"We have to be at the rink in an hour! I haven't even eaten lunch yet!"
"That's right!" Frederick squeaked. Without even saying goodbye to his siblings, he dragged Zelgadis off to find some food that they could eat quickly. After wandering around, they found a ramen cart and stopped there. Afterwards, they had to hurry to get to the ice rink and arrived with barely enough time to spare.
"Where have you two been?" Elena scolded. "We have been looking for you!"
"We were watching Carson and Daniel! It was not our fault it ran behind!" Frederick replied, getting ready to hide behind Zelgadis if his sister chose to attack.
"They had their run two hours ago," Elena said, unimpressed with the excuse.
"Really?" Zelgadis said. "Well, time sure does fly."
"Whatever," Elena sighed. "Come on you two. We need to report our team members first, then you can practice."
So she dragged Zelgadis and Frederick to a large room that had all of the other members of the team, including Coach Inverse, Coach Metallium and Amelia. There were three men and a woman there too that were new faces to Zelgadis's memory. The three newcomers were seated in chairs behind a desk and there were various other chairs for the players and coaches to sit in. Right in front of the table was a podium where Amelia stood.
"Is everybody here?" the woman asked. She had a British accent, a clipboard in her hand and looked very stern.
"Yes," Amelia said, noticing the trio that just entered.
"Then we would like the twenty-four man roster you have decided on," the woman said. Amelia took a deep breath before reading off the list.
"The forwards are: Gourry Gabriev, Nathaniel Cor, Volker Ton, Sam Penn, Jules McInnon, Jean Biope, Sander River, Constantine Michev, Jaques Monreal, Vladimir Sarionov, Sean Axel, Igor Parov and Barry Jenkins. The defensemen are: William Jones, Edward Daiyo, Max Brothers, Lyman Van Dyne, Frank Van Dyne, Josef Kiernov, Alexandre Tierski, Zach Zimmerman and Edwin Cay. The goalies are Zelgadis Graywords and Goran Nerski. The coaches shall be Lina Inverse, Frederick Yerbinski, Frederick Yerbinski and Xellos Metallium."
"Yerbinski," one of the men thought out loud. "Haven't I heard that name before?"
"Yes sir," Amelia replied. "Seven out of eight siblings are some how competing in the Games for Seiryuun. We so happen to have the twins on our coaching staff."
"Right," the woman said, scribbling on her clipboard. "These men right here are the team members and their coaches?"
"Yes they are," Amelia replied.
"I'm not a freakin' guy," Lina muttered under her breath. Elena nudged her a little bit.
"Hold your tongue until we get out of here, alright?"
"Whatever."
"You are dismissed. Your practice time is at nine o'clock this evening at rink three," the woman said. She left and so did the three men, even though none of them said a word.
"That was pretty pointless. Why did I have to be here for this?" Zelgadis grumped.
"Because that was similar to a roll call, that's what!" Amelia scolded. "I swear Zelgadis-san, you are just too grumpy!"
"Shut up and get a room you two," Lina muttered on her way out. The rest of the team had left as well and so it was only Amelia, Zelgadis, Frederick and Elena left.
"She's so rude!" Amelia grouched. "I just don't get it!"
"None of us do Amelia-chan," Frederick sighed. He walked over to the door and started to open it. "Are you guys coming?" he asked.
"Yes!" Amelia said happily as she nearly skipped over to the door.
"Be there in a minute!" Elena laughed. "I want to talk to Zelgadis-kun for a moment."
"Be quick! Harry has his trials in a half hour!" Amelia said as she disappeared behind the door. Elena carefully watched the door for a short while and then turned around to look at Zelgadis.
"So what did you want to talk to me about?" Zelgadis asked, leaning casually on the back of a chair.
"Something I wanted to tell you for a long time."
"How long?"
"Since we stopped dating."
"Am I going to regret listening?"
"I really like you Zelgadis."
"We've been friends since childhood. I would have to think that you like me somewhere in there."
"No, I mean, like... like I'm falling in love with you."
Zelgadis lost his grip on the chair and fell to the floor. His skin flushed a purple-red color and his heart skipped a few beats.
"What...?" he said, trying to stay calm. He got up and looked Elena sternly in the eye. "You can't be serious."
"Yes, I am," Elena said softly. "About three days after we broke up I realized it. I kept on trying to tell myself to get over it, but I just couldn't. It nearly crushed me when you started seeing the Princess."
Zelgadis did not know what to say. This was his good friend; the one who stood up to all of those bullies and made him feel wanted all those years ago. Even when they had been "dating" they never referred to each other as anything other than friend. Where did this come from?
"Elena, you knew I have been dating Amelia," Zelgadis said. "Why do you bring this up now?"
"I just could not keep it in anymore," she cried, unexpectedly clinging onto Zelgadis. "Keeping things in only make it worse."
"Maybe you should have told me after the Olympics. That might have been better," Zelgadis sighed. He uncomfortably patted Elena on the back, wishing he was somewhere else.
"I love you Zelgadis."
"...and you are my friend, nothing more."
"Why?" Elena asked, tears now forming in her eyes. She looked up at Zelgadis and sniffled.
"That is just the way I feel," he said, trying not to show emotion himself. He heard a soft squeak from somewhere, but forgot it in an instant. "You of all people can understand that."
"Yeah, but..."
"You know that no matter what, I will always be there for you, got it?"
"Yes... but Zelgadis...!"
"Don't cry," Zelgadis said softly, reluctantly hugging Elena. She cried into his chest and did not let go of him for what felt like forever. When she did let go however, it was because Zelgadis shoved her away.
"What is it?" she asked.
"I think we should try to catch up with Frederick and Amelia. They are going to be worrying where we went," he smiled.
Elena forced a smile too and they walked over to the door of the room. As they approached the door, Zelgadis hear a set of footsteps rushing down the hall. He quickly opened the door and caught just a fleeting glimpse of Amelia running down the hallway to get outside.
Zelgadis followed her in a rush. He did not know what Amelia heard or did not hear. What if she had mistaken something? Zelgadis knew that he had to tell her what was going on. He ran around the grounds and down a deserted bench-lined path.
"Amelia!" he cried out as he found her on the bench they had sat on together the previous night. She was crying and shifted away as Zelgadis sat down in the seat next to her.
"Go away," she said through a distinct sniffle.
"I don't know what you had heard Amelia," Zelgadis said, "but whatever it was, I can explain it."
"You do not have to explain it, I heard the whole thing," Amelia sniffled.
"Then you know how I feel about Elena," Zelgadis said cautiously. Amelia's head snapped to the side so her face, red from crying, was looking cruelly at Zelgadis.
"It's just the way you feel, that you will always be there for her. What is the matter with you Zelgadis-san? Why did you go and turn on me like that? I thought we were a couple? How could you do that?"
"Do what?" Zelgadis asked. He was a slight bit perplexed at Amelia's tears, not knowing if he could handle both his good friend and girlfriend breaking down and crying within such a short period of time.
"Cheat on me Zelgadis-san, that's what! You are so mean! I hate you! I never want to see you again you... you freak!" Amelia yelled. She ran off, leaving Zelgadis alone on the bench to wonder what part of his conversation with Elena she had heard to make her think he was cheating on her.
"Zelgadis?" Elena asked, running down the vacant pathway. "What happened?" She stopped to catch her breath next to Zelgadis's bench.
"She hates me," Zelgadis half-whispered. He briskly stood up and spun around so he faced Elena. "Thanks to you, she hates me!"
"What?" Elena asked, a bit of shock coming from her tired voice.
"Amelia thinks I was cheating on her! She called me a freak! She truly hates me now!" Zelgadis roared. "She heard only a part of our conversation and assumed things!"
"Then we have to go talk to her..."
"Go ahead," Zelgadis snapped. "You talk to her. See if it gets through. Probably won't. This is great, just great." He went and started to stomp off towards the building his room was in.
"Zel..."
"Stay away from me!"
Zelgadis's curt snap froze Elena in place. She watched him as he stomped off towards a cluster of buildings and disappeared into one of them. When he was finally out of sight, she collapsed onto the cobblestone path, holding herself up with shaking arms as it rained on the stone beneath her face.
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Zelgadis stormed into the small room he shared with Gourry, Frederick and a covered-in-potato-chip-and-still-sleeping Xellos. To his dismay, all three men were there when he arrived and looked at him as he walked in.
"What's the matter?" Gourry asked. He and Frederick were playing a game of cards before Zelgadis's foul mood disrupted them.
"Leave me alone," Zelgadis muttered as he slunk into his bunk. Frederick put down his cards and went over to his friend.
"Come on," he pleaded. "Tell us what is wrong."
"Why don't you ask your damned sister!" Zelgadis yelled. "She was the one who started all of this!"
"What?" Frederick asked, feeling severely left out. "What did she do?"
"She cost me Amelia, that's what," Zelgadis grumbled. "I am so pissed off at her right now I could kill her."
"Zelgadis, it can't be that bad..." Gourry said.
"It is," Zelgadis interrupted. "She confessed some strange, newly discovered love for me, cried, made me hug her and stuff, then Amelia only took in part of the conversation and now doesn't want to be near me!"
"Let her cool off," Gourry said.
"She called me a freak," Zelgadis said sadly. "She was the one who always told others to not call me that. She truly hates me now."
Gourry looked from his best friend to Frederick, sitting down on the bunk opposite Zelgadis. He had a look on his face of pure confusion, wondering if what Zelgadis said was true or not. The room was very tense. No one could speak, until Xellos broke the silence.
"Violence is not an answer, it's a solution!"
Parodies/References I Do Not Own So Please Do Not Feed Me To the Fiction Nazis
"Oh, nice...": Yes, that was actually a reference. Onslow from the British sitcom Keeping Up Appearances says this. A lot.
The Yerbinski Brothers: Yup, definitely thinking Seven Wives For Seven Brothers cast here.
Skeleton: That sport just always freaked me out.
Roll Call: I just wanted to list the roster I came up with. -grins-
The Elena/Zelgadis/Amelia Thing: I think I saw this in a movie once. Which movie... I don't remember. It is a spiffy plot device though. Triangles are a fiction-ka's best friend.
"Violence is not an answer, it's a solution!": One of my favorite quotes of all time. It was just too random not to put in. Besides, he's being prophetic here. Trust the Nehszriah on that.