Zelgadis's life was nothing but pain for a few moments. First, there had been the horrible sensation of pressure as he was skewered on the demon's whips. Then there had been the agony of his ribs snapping when he had been flung against the brick wall. Finally, there was the secondary impact of hitting the cobblestone street, which fractured his collarbone.
At this point, all semblances of logic and reason mercifully deserted Zelgadis, leaving him as the wildest of animals. He thrashed about on the ground, wanting nothing more than to inflict pain on anything within reach. In his fury, he clawed at the wall that had so cruelly broken him, leaving deep furrows in the brick and mortar.
Zelgadis hissed at the sound of conflict coming from behind him. He quickly turned to see two figures locked in a life or death struggle. His lips curled back in a snarl exposing long fangs as he recognized the figures.
Zelgadis dropped to all fours like a jungle cat and moved stealthily through the growing shadows of the late afternoon as he stalked his prey. His breath wheezed loudly through the ragged hole in his throat. As he maneuvered around the two creatures locked in combat before him and considered his options.
The small one with the red hair was breathing hard. The scent of old blood reached his nostrils and he growled hungrily. She had old wounds that would hinder her movements, should he choose to attack her. All in all, she would be an easy meal.
He turned his attention to the other and snarled. The other had hurt him badly. He eyed the flailing tendrils of blood with a confused mixture of longing and apprehension. Here there was abundance of food, but with it the probability of pain.
Zelgadis crouched low and prepared to pounce on his chosen prey.
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Luckily for Amelia, she had been watching the battle between Gourry and Grau when Zelgadis fell. If she had seen what had happened to Zelgadis she would have certainly tried to help him. Most likely, he would have repaid her concern by killing her.
Amelia yelped in surprise as the roof beneath her began to give way under Grau's assault. She quickly scrambled back from the edge to more sturdy footing. The last thing she saw before both combatants were concealed under an avalanche of rubble and dust was Gourry taking a hard blow to the head.
Standing atop a chimney, which she assumed would be a little more stable than the rest of the roof; Amelia listened for sounds of life from the alley below. Noting that there was only silence, she carefully made her way over to the edge of the roof on her hands and knees. "Hello?" she cautiously called out. "Mr. Gourry, are you alright?" She remembered Zelgadis's command to run if anything happened, but quickly shoved it aside. Gourry might need her help.
A thick cloud of dust concealed any signs of life in the alley below.
Taking a calculated risk, Amelia hopped down into the darkness. She immediately regretted doing so when she landed. She coughed violently, trying to clear the powder from her lungs. She looked around and saw Gourry laying half buried under a wall.
Blood was flowing freely from a wound in the swordsman's forehead, and he looked like he might still be breathing.
"Mr. Gourry," Amelia whispered as she crawled over to him. There was no sign of Grau, but she didn't want to draw attention to herself. She reached out with a trembling hand and shook Gourry's shoulder.
Gourry groaned in pain so at the very least, he was still alive.
"Thank goodness," Amelia sighed. She quickly began to move the rubble away from him as best she could. She looked around again, noting how quickly the once populous area of the city had become abandoned almost immediately after the trouble started. "Where are the guards?" she wondered aloud. "They should have been here by now."
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Down at the guard station, the troops were under siege, barely able to defend themselves, much less the rest of the city.
Gaav stood atop his desk, which had been made into a makeshift barricade. He barked orders at the rest of the troops coolly as if there was nothing at all unusual about being attacked by a horde of dead men.
A particularly wiry corpse darted through the throng and launched itself at the captain. It latched onto his broad chest and attempted to claw his eyes out.
"Ha! Is that the best you can do?" Gaav snarled contemptuously as he ripped the beast's head from its shoulders with his bare hands. He shot Zangulus a scornful look and bellowed, "Damn it Zangladus! Where'd you learn to fight?! Quit sandbagging boy!"
"Right sir, sorry sir!" Zangulus shouted while struggling to fend off a half dozen dead men. He yelped in surprise when one of them tried to chew his ear off. He whirled around and took its head off with a flick of his sword.
Its body fell to the ground, dead once again. The guard station had gotten the worst of the assault since Hellmaster had woken the dead in Sairaag. Plenty of criminals had been executed and buried in anonymous graves behind the building. Now they were back for revenge.
Gaav tore into his foes with barely contained enthusiasm. Towering above the rest of the combatants, both living and dead, he fought with a fervor that had earned him the nickname of "Demon Dragon King" in the last war. Every time he swung his broadsword a half dozen dead men fell. Invariably they were replaced by a dozen more.
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Lina shrieked in pain as one of Grou's tendrils pierced her defenses and slammed through her shoulder. A second later, she was being dragged painfully along the ground towards the demon like a fish on a hook.
Grou dragged her incredibly slowly towards him, savoring her groans of pain. "Little one," he hissed as he pulled Lina up face to face with him. "Why do you struggle?" He plucked her sword from her hand and flung it into the night. "Beg for mercy and you shall have it." A bloody tendril positioned itself inches from Lina's eye. "Otherwise…" he muttered cheerfully as he expanded the barb that had pierced her shoulder.
Lina gritted her teeth and glared defiantly at Grou. She wouldn't give him the satisfaction of seeing her beg. "Go back to Hell," she snarled angrily.
Grou laughed and shook his head. "And why would I do that mortal when we're on the verge of bringing Hell to your world?"
Lina gasped in surprise and was about to ask what the demon meant when Zelgadis pounced. She found herself flung free of the Grou's grasp as he turned to face the new threat.
Zelgadis's mind had been made up. The larger one had hurt him, so even if he attacked the smaller target he was still in danger. Therefore, the other would have to die first. There was fresh pain as the demon's whips pierced his body in dozens of places. He roared in unrestrained fury and pressed on.
Grou grinned confidently. This foolish little man, resilient as he was, was no match for a demon of Grou's caliber. His smile quickly faded as he saw Zelgadis press on towards him despite wounds that should have killed him. "No," he hissed nervously, taking a step back.
Zelgadis looked down at the barbs piercing his body and grinned. He grabbed a handful of them and tore them free of his flesh. He then ripped them out of Grou's body, eliciting a terrified scream of agony. "Your tricks can't save you," he chuckled darkly as he slowly advanced on the demon.
Grou looked into Zelgadis's feral eyes and for the first time in its long existence, knew fear. This thing should have been soft, an easy kill. Mortals had always been easy kills. But this was different. This one was something different. In desperation, he conjured more barbs and whipped them into his opponent's flesh.
Zelgadis grunted in pain but continued his murderous advance. "Your blood can't save you," he muttered as he tore into another of the barbs with his fangs.
Grou fell to his knees and held up a hand, gibbering helplessly.
Zelgadis reached out and grabbed the demon's wrist. There was a loud snap as Grou's wrist broke, and a moment later he had easily plucked Grou's arm from its socket. He looked at it curiously for a moment before tossing it aside like rubbish. He turned his attention back to the demon's terrified eyes and whispered, "Nothing can save you," before setting to work on the demon in earnest.
Lina tried to resist the urge to vomit as she watched Zelgadis, quite literally, take Grou apart. She hastily scrabbled backwards clutching her wounded shoulder and snatched her sword off the ground. Zelgadis was obviously not himself.
"You don't need these, right?" Zelgadis sneered as he ripped Grou's intestines free of his body.
Grou screamed over and over as he desperately tried to fend off Zelgadis's assault. He stabbed his attacker over and over to no avail. He grabbed Zelgadis's throat with his remaining hand only to have it pulled free from his body.
Zelgadis growled and opened his mouth to reveal bloody fangs before plunging them into Grou's neck.
Lina shrieked, "Zel, stop it!" She covered her eyes and sobbed uncontrollably, the memory of Luna's death pulled to the forefront of her mind by Zelgadis's barbaric actions. Her hands shook uncontrollably and she found herself wishing that she were anywhere else, preferably with a nice stiff drink. She sobbed, "This isn't happening," as she listened to the disgusting slurping noises. She heard Grou whimper one last time before he fell silent. Not wanting to see, but unable to resist, she uncovered her eyes and took in the carnage.
Zelgadis climbed to his feet, his wounds rapidly closing. He was caked from head to toe in gore and his outfit was in tatters. He looked like something out of a nightmare. He paused momentarily and sniffed the air, as if catching some new scent. He turned slowly to face Lina and grinned wickedly. He ran his tongue along his lips, licking them clean in anticipation.
Lina climbed painfully to her feet and slipped a stake into her hand from within her cloak. She looked into Zelgadis's eyes hoping to find some sign of recognition. There was none. Martina's words ran through her mind over and over.
"Lina Inverse, soon the death that you so freely mete out will fall upon one of your own. A beloved companion will die by your hand."
Lina grabbed the medallion around her neck and whispered, "Help me Sis. I don't want to kill him." She turned her attention back to Zelgadis. "Zel!" she shouted, hoping that she sounded more confident than she felt. "Zel, you don't want to do this!"
Zelgadis looked at her quizzically for a moment, as if sensing something familiar, but the murderous expression quickly slipped back onto his face. Snarling one last time, he pounced.
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"Mr. Gourry?" Amelia panted as she struggled to move some of the heavier pieces of debris off of him. For a moment, she thought she felt the pile shudder, but quickly chalked it up to her nervousness. She glanced at the mound of rubble that concealed Grau. He'd gotten the worst of it when the buildings came down. So, he couldn't have survived right?
As if on cue, one of Grau's hands exploded from the pile. He was pulling himself free of the pile when he noticed Amelia and grinned. "A little toy," he rumbled happily. "I'll pop your head like a grape."
Amelia stared at Grau for a moment before turning back to Gourry and shaking him violently. She shrieked in his ear. "Mr. Gourry, wake up! I don't know what to do!"
"Ow… What?" Gourry mumbled as he opened his eyes. "Calm down Amelia. You're going to deafen me." He glanced over his shoulder at the demon emerging from the rubble behind him for a moment before turning back to the frightened acrobat. "Don't panic. Get me my sword," he commanded calmly, pointing to the Sword of Light laying a few feet away.
Amelia nodded and hastily scampered down the pile and snatched up the sword. She turned to throw it to Gourry, but the Grau had reached him first.
Grau cackled evilly as he pulled Gourry free of the debris by his right leg. He held him upside down at eye level and rumbled, "What can you do now, my stupid friend?" He playfully batted at the swordsman with his other hand, knocking the wind out of him.
"Well," Gourry gasped, "I was thinking that you'd let me go, I'd get the Sword of Light, and then I'd finish you off."
Grau's laughter echoed through the alley. He growled, "And why would I let you go?"
"Because of her," Gourry said, nodding in Amelia's direction.
"The little one?" Grau mumbled as he turned to look at the acrobat. "What can she possibly-?"
In one fluid motion, Amelia drew Alfred's dagger from her belt and flung it into Grau's eye.
Grau howled in agony, and just as predicted, dropped Gourry in favor of clutching his wounded face.
Gourry rolled to his feet and winked at Amelia. "Thanks."
Amelia breathed a sight of relief and quickly handed Gourry the Sword of Light. "What are you going to do now?"
Gourry blinked at Amelia in surprise and asked, "Isn't it obvious? I'm going to kill him." He turned and walked towards Grau, the unlit Sword of Light in his hand.
"Mr. Gourry!" Amelia yelled. There were so many things she wanted to bring up. How was he going to kill the demon? The Sword of Light couldn't pierce its hide. Why was he so calm? Maybe he had a concussion or something. Most importantly, had he forgotten to activate the sword?
Grau groaned as he pulled the dagger free of his eye socket with an audible pop. "I'm going to crush your bones to powder," he growled. "Hmm?" he muttered when he felt a sudden pressure on the side of his head. He looked up to see Gourry standing over him. The Sword of Light was pressed against his skull.
Gourry grinned and muttered, "Light come forth."
The blade sprang into existence, easily piercing armor, bone, and gray matter, before exploding violently from the far side of the demon's skull.
Grau stiffened up, pained surprise registering in his one remaining eye. A moment later, he slid off the end of the blade and hit the alley floor with a crash.
Gourry stepped over Grau's body and swept the sword down, decapitating the demon. He sighed and sheathed his blade before turning to Amelia. "You were a big help," he said gratefully. "Thanks." He sat down atop the demon's corpse to catch his breath.
Amelia glanced at Grau's body distrustfully as she snatched up Alfred's dagger. She grimaced at the gore coating it distastefully. "Eeew," she groaned.
"Just flick it," Gourry suggested helpfully. "That gets most of the stuff off if you do it before it dries."
Amelia squeezed her eyes shut and whipped the dagger through the air. She hesitantly opened one sapphire eye and grinned. It had worked! There were a couple of dark streaks left on the blade, but other than that, it was clean. As she tucked the blade back in her belt she said, "Thanks Mr. Gourry! That was a big… oh, sorry."
Gourry was looked at Amelia irritably, the blood from her blade dripping down the front of his shirt. "Usually you'd flick it away from other people," he grumbled.
Amelia grinned sheepishly.
For a moment there was silence as they both rested, until Gourry remembered something important.
"Lina!" Gourry yelled as he leapt to his feet and ran toward the mouth of the alley. A moment later, Amelia followed.
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Hellmaster gasped in shock. He'd gone into Sylphiel's mind and found nothing. It was as if she was dead. He looked down at her incredulously, noting the fierce determination in her eyes. No, she certainly wasn't dead by any means. She was blocking him. Somehow, she was blocking his access to her mind.
"How are you doing this?!" Hellmaster snarled as he grabbed Sylphiel by the throat. "Tell me!" he snarled threateningly. He held his hand up to her face and extended his talons.
Suddenly, an image from Sylphiel slammed forcefully into Hellmaster's mind causing him to loosen his grip on her and stagger back a step. He saw her lying dead on the floor at his hands. His months of work crumbled around him, all because he had killed the central piece of the tapestry prematurely.
Hellmaster sank to his knees next to Sylphiel and whispered, "How? How do you know about that? Why do you know things that I haven't told you?" He was far too confused to be angry with Sylphiel at this point. "Please," he requested, almost pleadingly, "Tell me what I'm missing."
Sylphiel stared into Phibrizzo's eyes and opened her mouth as if to speak.
Hellmaster leaned forward and smiled hopefully. "Yes?" he said eagerly.
Sylphiel laughed a happy and hopeful sound in the gloom and despair of the chamber.
The smile on Hellmaster's face was replaced with a look of utter hatred. He sputtered, "You… you… you MEANIE!!" and jumped to his feet. He stormed around the room kicking things here, throwing things there. All the while, he was huffing angrily on the verge of tears. The great and powerful Hellmaster was throwing the most childish of temper tantrums.
Sylphiel watched him rage with a hopeful smile on her face.
Hellmaster finally sat down, buried his face in his hands, and wept. It wasn't fair. Why couldn't Sylphiel understand how hard he had worked to do what he had done? Didn't she understand that even though he was immortal, a thousand years was still a long time to wait to finish a task? He'd come so close to completing it and now…
Hellmaster looked up at Sylphiel, intending to hurl all sorts of vulgarities at her but found himself settling on, "You're a mean lady!" He continued to weep and covered his eyes again. Why should he bother going on? Everyone just wanted to mess up his stuff. So why should he even try to finish? They were all bullies. Xellos, Lina, Gourry, and now even Sylphy, he thought as he glanced up at Sylphiel.
Hellmaster's eyes widened and he mouthed the nickname again. "Sylphy." He glared at Sylphiel as he finally began to put the puzzle together. "Sylphy," he said loud enough for her to hear him.
Sylphiel jumped when she heard Hellmaster say that name. Her smile had disappeared instantly and was replaced with an uncertain expression as she backed away from him.
Hellmaster threw his head back and laughed shrilly and wildly. He climbed to his feet, the tears in his eyes replaced by malice. He began to walk towards Sylphiel, waggling a finger in admonishment the entire time. "Oh, that was good," he chuckled triumphantly. "No, I take that back. That little ploy was brilliant. Even Lei Magnus never thought to try something like that. I underestimated you two."
Hellmaster loomed over the cowering Sylphiel and smirked. He closed his eyes and concentrated, but instead of going into Sylphiel's mind, he dove into his own.
Phibrizzo screamed in terror as he sensed the Hellmaster approaching.
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"Damn it Zel!" Lina bellowed as she struggled to keep Zelgadis's gnashing fangs from her throat.
Zelgadis shoved Lina to the ground and straddled her, snapping at her neck the entire time. He quickly began to overpower the much weaker and wounded girl.
Lina held onto the wooden stake tightly and positioned it between her body and Zelgadis's. After a bit of maneuvering, the point was pressed into his skin just over the heart. "Don't make me do this!" she pleaded to no avail.
Zelgadis put a hand on Lina's wounded shoulder causing her to shriek in pain. The stake slipped away from his chest and he was finally able to lean in close enough to bite.
Lina snarled and shifted her grip on the stake so that she was holding it like a club. With all the strength she could muster, she smashed it into Zelgadis's cheek just before his teeth reached her neck.
Zelgadis reared back and blinked. What had happened? He looked at himself and saw that he was covered in blood. Movement below him caught his attention and he glanced down to see Lina lying on the ground beneath him. She was staring at him furiously. "Oh god," he stammered while glancing around guiltily, "Amelia! Did Amelia see?"
Lina snarled, "You son of a bitch!" and brought her knee up hard into Zelgadis's groin.
Zelgadis grunted and rolled off of the redhead clutching himself in complete and utter agony. His breath hissed in and out through clenched teeth as he prayed for mercy or death, anything but this horrible feeling of being crushed. "Lina," he squeaked inaudibly, trying to tell her that she wasn't in danger anymore.
Lina fought her way to her feet and clutched her bleeding shoulder. She glared at Zelgadis before taking a quick step and kicking him in the ribs.
Zelgadis gasped as the air was driven from his lungs and he was flipped painfully onto his back. Okay, he thought trying to keep calm. He'd deserved all of this. It was understandable that Lina was mad. He'd probably tried to kill her, right? He looked up at Lina, intending to explain himself when he saw her stake positioned over his heart.
"Make one move, and I will kill you. Do you understand me?" Lina muttered angrily.
Zelgadis nodded.
Lina sighed in relief. Zelgadis seemed to have gotten himself back under control. Better to be sure though. She asked, "Are you going to try to kill me again?"
Zelgadis shook his head.
"Good enough," Lina said as she flopped off of Zelgadis and lay on her back panting. "Never ever do that again, Zel," she muttered tiredly. "I don't think I could handle the stress."
"Okay," Zelgadis managed to squeak while giving Lina a halfhearted thumbs up.
The two exhausted Slayers lay there trying to recuperate for the final push. Hellmaster was still waiting for them somewhere ahead.
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Within Phibrizzo's mind, Hellmaster didn't have the appearance of a small child. He had the form of whatever Phibrizzo saw him as. In this particular instance, he was a monstrous troll with huge fangs. "All the better to eat you with, my boy," Hellmaster muttered as he strode purposefully down a hallway in Phibrizzo's mind. Seeing what he was after, he grinned.
Standing at the end of the hall was a huge oak door, reinforced with steel. Phibrizzo was obviously trying to defend himself, feeble as the attempt was.
Hellmaster chuckled, "Knock, knock," before easily battering down the steel banded door blocking his way to the child. He snickered wickedly when he saw what was in the room beyond. "Now, isn't this a lovely scene?"
Cowering in the middle of the floor, Sylphiel and Phibrizzo hugged each other fearfully.
Hellmaster laughed long and loud as he stepped into the room. He took a seat next to the two and said, "I believe that it's about time that we all had a little chat…"
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"Lina!" Gourry yelled as he ran to her side. He knelt down beside her and gingerly helped her up to a sitting position. "You're wounded," he said in a grave tone.
"Oh that?" Lina muttered as she glanced at the bloody mess that was her shoulder. She chuckled, "It's only a scratch. I'm fine. At least he didn't get my sword arm." She leaned heavily on Gourry as she struggled to her feet. She looked up at his face and frowned. "Gourry, you're bleeding." She reached down and ripped a strip of cloth off her cape. "Here," she said pressing it to his head.
Gourry protested, "Lina, you don't have to- ow! Are you trying to make it worse?!"
"Oh, quit whining you big baby," Lina muttered as she clumsily bound Gourry's wound. She smiled as she looked over her handiwork. "Perfect," she said with a nod. "Isn't that better Gourry?"
Gourry grimaced and nodded, deciding that it would be best to tough it out rather than have her try to fix her handiwork. The loosely tied strip of cloth was barely covering the gash and was obscuring his vision on top of that.
"Mr. Zelgadis?" Amelia said as she took in the sight of the bloodstained rags that had once been his clothes. "Are you hurt?"
"No," Zelgadis said with a vehement shake of his head. He said a quick prayer of thanks that Amelia apparently hadn't seen what he had done. He stood gingerly, trying not to betray the pain he was feeling from the blows that Lina had given him. "It's all that thing's blood," he muttered in explanation of his state.
"By Ceiphied," Amelia said looking somewhat pale. She had just caught sight of Grou's remains. The demon was pretty much scattered over twenty feet of ground. "What monster did that?" she whispered, leaning up against Zelgadis.
Zelgadis twitched, visibly shaken by her question. He coughed and muttered, "It was-"
"Me," Lina said quickly as she shot Zelgadis a look commanding him to be silent.
Zelgadis nodded gratefully and sighed in relief.
Gourry watched the interplay between Zelgadis and Lina with a raised eyebrow.
"It's not pretty work Amelia," Lina said turning back to the acrobat. "You have to do whatever it takes to get the job done. If you can't handle it, I suggest you go back to the circus. This isn't a game and I don't have time to baby-sit."
Amelia swallowed nervously before nodding to Lina. "I… I understand, Miss Lina. You can count on me."
Lina smiled tiredly. "Good. I think that I'm going to need all the help I can get." She looked intently at the abandoned tenement standing before them.
The building seemed to extinguish what little light there was in the street. A cold wind whistled through the area causing Lina to shiver and huddle closer to Gourry. In the distance the faint sounds of screams split the night. Based on the orange glow in the sky, fires were raging throughout Sairaag.
"What's going on, Mr. Zelgadis?" Amelia asked nervously.
"The city is under siege," Zelgadis muttered darkly. "The dead live again."
Lina sighed and muttered, "Yeah, and you know who's causing it. Let's get this over with," before limping towards the foreboding building, still being supported by Gourry.
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Next Chapter: Pursuit into darkness
Notes: Hope everyone enjoyed the chapter. I think the action was nice and , uh, actiony. My favorite part was Lina trying to bandage Gourry's head for him. I also really liked the Gaav part. It's the little things that I love.
Reader Response:
Pogo, I didn't make up the names Grau and Grou you know. In Slayers canon, they're the twin priests of Dynast Grauscherra. And the spider bit reminded you of a nightmare? Good! I must have written it well.
Miss Gabriev, are you saying that I can't kill anyone? Where's the drama in that?
Otaku girl, that's a lot of questions. Sylphiel's secret will be revealed in detail in the next chapter. She's not really a mind reader. Filia won't be in this story, but might be in the follow up I'm thinking about. Val MIGHT make an appearance near the end of the story. He'll definitely be in the sequel. Regarding X/F, I can't in good conscience support a couple in which one of the members honestly threatens to kill the other. Call me crazy. Too many questions? Not really. I had just as many answers.
*pulls out a can of raid* Keep your spiders to yourself if you please, Zaber.
Hmm, I couldn't fool you huh, Stara? Zel the vampire. It might be true, but how do you explain the fact that he doesn't die in sunlight and has a reflection?
CT, you made it easy that time. All your questions were answered in the chapter.
Thanks for the kind words Sai. And yes Zelly does have a reflection. What about it? Most normal people do you know…
Slash, um, I'll keep your suggestions in mind… Zel isn't clumsy enough to fall off a building, don't you think?
Aw, don't cry Xelena! See? Zel is fine.
As always, thanks to Boo-san for her betaing.