disc 5: I don't own Slayers, but I wouldn't mind if I did, of course '

CarolinaWhiteRose meep! thankies!

kimonoprincess thankies too! Yes, Danver's an oc. I just needed a name for a random warrior, he's not really a major character. Maybe he'll return, but I'm not sure. BTW, I might not really be into Inuyasha, but I DO like Kouga, too. But I'm way too much of a sadist, so it's good he's under your care ;p

I've written more than usual this time, but I needed to get everything I wantedin this chapter. I just start and write until the point I see as the end.

chapter 5: punishment

In the castle of Kvalser a trial was held. Without Valgaav of course. Devils didn't deserve to get the chance to defend themselves. Besides, he was still unconscious (they had ordered their guards to knock him out again every time he appeared to be waking up).

Anyway, the trial was just a formality. They had invited the whole town to the plaza, where they were all shouting and jeering. They wanted vengeance for their beloved Goldens, their gods now! He should be killed, right now, right here. But the elders had something else on their mind. They had been working on it for ages, and now was the time to convince the townsfolk that it would be more of a punishment to keep Valgaav alive. Death would mean freedom, so the better option would be to keep him in captivity. That way, their revenge would last longer.

The elders ensured the people that the special prison was absolutely safe, and that they'd make sure that Valgaav's guards didn't treat him too carefully. In fact, they wouldn't need any guards at all. The only thing guards did was making sure no one escaped (that wouldn't happen anyway), to prevent anyone from getting in (no one would want to get in), and to hand out food to the prisoners. They assumed that Valgaav didn't need food, maybe they hadn't thought of that, or maybe they knew he did need to eat and thought letting him starve to death 'd be funny. Anyway, they told the crowd that devils don't need food, so Valgaav wouldn't get any.

And thus, it was decided. The unconscious Valgaav was moved to his prison, under the castle.

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There, the guards had a little problem. Valgaav would be held fixed in one place, sitting on a mythril bench, tied to the wall with metal clasps around his arms and chains around his legs.

Now, the problem was that the clasps wouldn't fit around Valgaav's transformed left arm. Some of the older magicians and elders were called. They hadn't thought about this while building the cell. After a little discussion (it woke Valgaav, so he got whacked on the head again), they decided to remove the clasps from his normal right arm and use magic to forge the clasps of both arms together. Then they magically enhanced them to prevent Valgaav from braking them. They were about to leave when the guards asked them what to do next.

The magicians rolled their eyes and told them to just go get a hammer, nail the clasps into the wall and close the locks around the arm. His right arm would be left untied until they had some more clasps. They handed the guard some huge nails and a hammer. When the guard just stood there, flabbergasted and scared (He'd get the chance to nail the devil to a wall!), the mage rolled his eyes once more. 'Now why are you looking at me like that? They're nails, and they're not going to hammer themselves into that wall. I'm not a magician, you know.' The guard was about to give a remark, when the annoyed mage teleported away.

With a sigh, the guard dismissed the other guards, ordering them to keep watch at the entrance, and turned around to face the prisoner. Valgaav, who was leaning against the cold wall, groaned. He seemed to be waking up again. The guard sadly shook his head and hit him against his horn with his hammer. Immediately, the dragon-mazoku fell silent again. His upper body fell to the side, and the guard had to rush and steady him. While trying to get Valgaav upright again, he noticed the many scars the crossbreed had obtained in his long life. Scars on his cheeks, on his side and upper body. The wound on his shoulder would probably result in another scar, and maybe the clean cut on his arm, too if not treated. Again, the guard shook his head and sighed. Then, he took a deep breath and started 'nailing' Valgaav to the wall.

No matter how pitiful the knock-out 'devil' looked, the black claw appalled and frightened him. He resisted the urge to pass on the task to another guard and positioned the claw horizontally against the wall. First, he nailed a clasp around the wrist, then one around Valgaav's upper arm, avoiding the spikes on his shoulder. Then he started to secure the elbow, one clasp around his lower arm, as close as he could get to the elbow-spikes, and one on the other side of the joint. The guard only had one more nail left when the massive claw suddenly twitched, scaring the wits out of the poor man. The already frightened guard had to summon all his nerve not to run out of the room and regain his composure.

When he had calmed down a little, he could hear Valgaav muttering something under his breath. His eyes were barely opened, his nothing-seeing gaze downcast. 'No...' In surprise, the guard blinked. 'No, not again...' Curious, he came closer again, crouching down to look in the injured and beaten half-mazoku's face.

There was no one else in the cell, only the guard and the delirious Valgaav. The guard was completely captivated by the prisoner's barely audible voice. 'What?...' the guard whispered '...what is it you don't want to happen again?'. 'Leave me alone...don't come back...for me...' Now the guard was confused. There was something strange in the tone in which the words were spoken. Something sad, and something angry. 'I don't want to hurt you...don't come back...' Now it was pleading, full of concern. 'I don't...want it, I don't...' the guard's face was now mere inches from Valgaav's...

'...Deserve it!' Valgaav's eyes shot open, shouting against an invisible person. The guard jumped up and backed off at the sight of the narrowed cat-like pupils and the shining gold of the irises. Eyes of a demon... The still delirious Valgaav had used all his remaining strength to throw his upper body forward and shout as loud as he could. Now he fell forward, eyes closed again, but the clasps around his arm held him more or less upright. Minutes passed. The guard stood in the corner, shaking like a leaf, anxiously eyeing the now silent Valgaav. He couldn't see his face, aqua bangs covered it, and the horn was aimed at an imaginary fiend in front of it.

The guard couldn't see that the fallen Ancient was silently crying bitter tears of anguish and regret about what he had done. He was tired, he wanted nothing more tan to find peace, and regardless of what he had done and not done, Lina Inverse, Filia and her team had wanted to grant him his last wish. Filia had even tried to give him back his life, but he had been stubborn, blinded by rage and hatred, full of himself . He had wanted power, had actually felt superior to them who wanted to protect it from abuse. He had become the kind of person he hated, he had become like the Goldens in the past. He was a complete failure. He had gotten his revenge on the Golden dragons, but at what cost?

An image of the last Golden flashed past his inner eye. Filia. He was the reason her family was destroyed. Filia, the kind-hearted Filia who had felt pity for him on the battlefield. He had thought she wanted to avoid unnecessary bloodshed. Well, she had, but now he saw that she didn't want to protect only her friends, but that she was concerned about him, too. Filia...I'm sorry...don't come back for me again...I don't deserve your pity, your concern. Valgaav cried without knowing himself. Every defence he had was shattered, every thought about revenge and anger banished from his heart. They were replaced by yearning for love, for a meaning, and the agonizing realisation that once again, he had screwed up and that he didn't deserve to be released from the pain he felt. Guilt filled him, it was too much to hold. Everyone had a good reason to hate him.

Slowly, Valgaav forgave the Goldens for what they had done to him. Now it was his turn to be punished, and Filia should do it. That would be his new purpose in life. There was nothing left of the pride he had before Dark star. Maybe he'd recover, maybe he wouldn't. But for now, it was enough to say that he wasn't himself anymore.

When he hadn't budged an inch for at least ten minutes, the guard dared to move again. He couldn't forget those eyes. He couldn't believe that such alien, evil eyes could contain and express such pain. That look made him feel bad. Really bad. Shaking, he approached the unconscious Valgaav. From this view, he could see that the demon's eyes were red and swollen. Had he cried?...This thought confused the guard even more. He grabbed the last nail he had and the hammer and started nailing. Inside, his mind was one giant turmoil. He was starting to feel pity for the devil, and that feeling was against every aspect of his religion. He tried to set his mind on other things, and when that didn't work, he became angry.

In frustration, he took a good swing with is hammer, but instead of hitting the nail square on, the hammer slipped and came down on Valgaav's elbow. The impact crushed the joint, bone splintered, sending out a wave of pain. Now, Valgaav was really awake. He opened his eyes in a flash, trying not to let a sound escape through clenched teeth. His fangs were clearly visible. His whole body tensed, but he remained silent, not completely aware of what was going on. In pain, he squeezed his eyes shut and groaned quietly. He clenched his right fist.

When the first pain had ebbed away, Valgaav turned his head around to his left side, and looked at the shocked guard with a mix of surprise and distrust. He tried to raise his right arm, but he didn't have the energy to do so. Slowly, his ears began picking up sounds again. He heard the frightened guard stammer apologies, tripping over his own words. Valgaav didn't understand a word of it, and he understood even less about the situation. He felt pain in both his arms and his shoulder, he had a serious headache, he couldn't move his body, and there was strange man saying sorry to him. He felt fucking miserable, to say the least.

Suddenly, something hit him on the head and everything went black again.

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'Now what's this all about? The bastard didn't hurt you, did he?' a voice spoke.

The poor guard was finally released from his paralysis, and looked up to his fellow guard.

'Just came to check up on you. You've been in here for like twenty minutes now, and we're getting worried...'

Finally, the guard could speak again. 'No, it's nothing, I slipped with my hammer and I hit him.' He nudged his head over to Valgaav.

'Ooh, I understand.' the other guard winked with a malicious grin. 'You're right. Serves the bastard right. I'd have done the same if I'd gotten the chance, you know.' He turned around to leave.

'But I didn't...'the guard tried to retort, but he was interrupted. 'Don't worry mate, I won't tell the superiors if you don't want me to. But I doubt they'll punish you for not being careful with our guest.' With a grin, the second guard walked around the corner and left his comrade alone with Valgaav.

After a few moments of silence, the guard turned to Val again and took his hammer. This time, he was careful not to touch Valgaav's elbow. For some odd reason he really didn't want to cause him pain anymore. When he accidentally hurt him again, Valgaav groaned. But this time, the guard didn't lose his head. He patted the half-demon on his shoulder and spoke some comforting words to him. 'I'm sorry, but this is my job. I'll try not to hurt you, just hold still and everything'll be OK. Don't worry...'

Valgaav fell asleep. No dreams haunted him, no thoughts disturbed his weary mind. Finally, his heart got some rest.

When he was done, the guard left the cell. Before locking the magical door, he looked at Valgaav one last time. Sadly, he shook his head and turned around. He closed the door and turned the key.

Click.

TBC