Hell's Breaking Point
Chapter V – Meeting The Shapeshifter
Disclaimer: I do not own Slayers, if I did, I would have gone to school by riding my own Pico Pico Lina-chan's golem (from Slayers Great) instead of walking there....
Xellos was assigned a perculiar errand by the Lord Of Nightmare. At first, it was just a simple taunting game but as time goes by, the errand became more extreme until............. (L/G and Z/A) - Takes place after Next and before Try.
Japanese Words:
Oka-sama : Mother aka L.O.N.
Yare yare : Oh boy....(something like that)
Mazoku : Evil race/Monster
Minna : Everyone
"Mmmm...." Gourry mumbled groggily as he awakens from his sleep. To his surprise, he found himself lying on the floor instead on the chair where he had unconsciously nod off. Slowly, he got up to his feet but was confused to find Lina's bed nowhere or Lina's room as a matter of fact.
"Eh, where am I?" he asked to no one in particular as he analyzes his surrounding. It seems that he was in a never ending void of darkness. Everything was pitch black but amazingly he could see his body clearly. Confused by his current situation, Gourry started walking aimlessly in the darkness while calling out for his friends.
"Lina? Zel? Amelia? Sylphiel?" he called out but was dissapointed when neither of them answered back.
"They can't hear you, you know," a childish voice suddenly fills the air and as reflex Gourry searched for the source of the voice but found only the never ending darkness.
"Who are you?" Gourry asked suspiciously. But an idea quickly strikes his thought.
"Ah, you must be the disembodied voice in my dream!" he stated with a smile, pleased with his conclusion. There was a long pause as if whoever the voice was was dumbfounded with the blonde swordsman's simplicity.
"Ahem, I'll ignore that statement.....Anyway, your friends can't hear you, you know," the voice suddenly spoked back.
"Of course they can't. This is my dream," Gourry simply replied, still searching for the so called 'disembodied voice'.
"Well.....That's true.......What's wrong with this human?," the voice stuttered, not knowing how else to respond to the clueless sworsdman. "But! This is not your average dream," it quickly added.
"Hmm, it sure is. Usually there would be food in my dream," Gourry said as he glances at the dark surrounding hoping to see a glimpse of food. Finding nothing, he turned his attention back to the voice. "So, what's up?" he casually asked the 'voice' as if it was his friend.
"I never notice before but you're an interesting human. Actually, I'm here to thank you, for your negative emotions. Thanks to that last battle, I could now communicate with you in your dream," the voice spoked with a hint of mockery. "But I'm still counting on you for more. Until 'that' time, Gourry Gabriev..........." the voice became more quiet with each word it spoke until eventually Gourry couldn't hear the voice anymore.
"Eh......?" Gourry's confused voice echoed in the dark void as the darkness started to swirl dizzingly around him.
"Gah!" Gourry yelped as he bolted up from his chair. Looking at his surrounding properly, he was surprised to find himself back in Lina's room. It WAS a dream.......Gourry thought to himself as he slowly went back to sit on his chair. Closing his eyes, he tried to remember his conversation with the 'disembodied voice' in his dream. What did he mean.....? Ummmmmmmmmmmm, maybe my dream was trying to tell me something.....But no matter how hard he tried to find the dream's meaning, he was only wasting his time.
"Maybe I'll ask Lina in the morning..................But knowing Lina, I'll bet she'll just say 'It was probably nothing'," Speaking of the sorceress, Gourry turned his attention from his dream to the sleeping figure on the bed. He sighed in relief as he saw her sleeping in an unladylike pose with the blanket halfway on the floor. The only sound that he could hear were the pitter-patter of the rain and Lina's soft snores. But on the other hand, Gourry noticed that now he's probably more exhausted than Lina even though he hadtaken his nap on the chair.
Ignoring his tiredness, he picked up the fallen blanket and gently placed it back on the sleeping sorceress before moving quietly towards the room's window.
I wonder what time it is.......?
He silently thought to himself as he gazes at the dark clouds obviously not noticing the clock hanging on the opposite wall due to his tiredness. 'Until 'that' time, Gourry Gabriev...' the disembodied voice's suddenly echoed clearly in his head. "Now I know I need to talk to someone about this!" He quickly clamped his mouth shut as he heard Lina tossing and turning in her bed.
In the morning then......And with that, he forced his tired body back on his sleeping quarter; his chair, to claim back the rest of his sleep.
"Good morning!" Lina chirply greeted her friends as she merrily walked down the stairs, fully in her sorceress attire. Zel and the others were sitting near a table currently having a quiet breakfast but her cheery greeting had lifted up their mood as smiles fleeted on their faces at the sight of her.
"Lina-san! How are you feeling?" Sylphiel asked worriedly, putting aside her plate while the others just looked at her before stiffling a yawn. Lina looked at her companions, confuse, before batting her hand in respond as she took a seat next to them.
"Man, you guys worry too much. The pain is gone and I'm fully recharge. I would have thought that after all we've been through, you guys would know that it will take more than that to finish off the sorceress supreme Lina Inverse. Heh, what about you guys? Couldn't sleep because of little 'ol me?" She directed the question towards the princess and the chimera for their earlier yawning with a sly smile as she called for the waiter.
Amelia and Zelgadis looked at each other for a second before turning the other direction, mumbling a silent '....not exactly...', a hint of pink visible on their faces while Sylphiel just giggled at their reaction. Fortunately for the two of them, they were spared from Lina's crude remark as her attention was still glued to the waiter.
"Waiter, bring me two Special Morning Set. For now!" The same waiter who had served them yesterday cursed at his luck when hearing Lina's 'For now' words, recieving a sympathy pat on the back from the innkeeper.
Remembering the innkeeper's generosity for lending them the first aid kit, Amelia took the chance to thank him again. Glancing at the innkeeper, Lina spoked, "Ah, did he help too? In that case, I owe you a thanks too, mister!" The innkeeper smiles at Lina's gratitude.
"Haha, you can thank me by having a big breakfast!" he replied in laughter while the waiter just gawked in disbelief before sobbing his way towards the kitchen.
Lina put a hand behind her head as she answered him, "Oh, you can bet on that once Gourry is here!" And then it hit Zel and the others, Gourry was not with Lina.....
"Umm, speaking of Gourry-sama, where is he?" Sylphiel was the first to ask..
"Oh, don't worry. That jellyfish is still in the room sleeping," she replied with the same happy expression.
Zelgadis looked at her funny, "And you didn't wake him up why?"
Lina turned to look at the kitchen as she waited for her breakfast and because she was hiding her blush because apparently Zel and the others knew that she and Gourry had shared the same room, "Well I did. But, his face was pale when I tried to wake him up. I figure that he was still exhausted from yesterday. So I levitated him on the bed and went downstairs,"
"Hmmm,"
Confused by the chimera's respond, Lina asked, "What is it, Zel?"
Zel's trained of thoughts were interrupted and he turned his attention to the curious sorceress, "Oh, it's probably nothing but I remember that yesterday after Gourry defeated those two Mazoku, I saw him wearing this weird expression......" he trailed off, eyes on the table.
"What do you mean 'weird'?" Lina asked as she quirked an eyebrow.
Zel looked at her with the swordsman's weird behaviour still fresh in his mind, "Well, I know this might sound strange but his eyes were blank and expressionless," He described with a serious expression.
Amelia stood up as she gave them her opinion, "Maybe he was just furious. It was Lina-san who got hurt,"
What's that suppose to mean!? Lina mentally yelled as she felt the blushing coming back again. But Sylphiel knew that Amelia's opinion was reasonable, but the chimera didn't buy it.
Zel shook his head, "No, this is disturbingly blank and expressionless. A very uncharacteristic like of Gourry,"
Somehow, the way Zel described it brought a sudden cold feeling in the pit of her stomach, "Did you see anything else?" Lina quietly asked after a long silence.
Even Sylphiel felt somehow depressed with Zel's words, "Gourry-sama.......Maybe it has something to do with those Mazoku," she tried to reason with Zelgadis as the thought of her Gourry-sama becoming like what Zel had described was impossible for her to believe.
"I don't think so. They were too keen on killing Lina," Zel stated his point again which kinda annoys the Sairaag shrine maiden a little.
"But they missed Lina-san's vital organ. Unforgivable! Not only did they hurt you, Lina-san! They insult you with unjust words too! But alas, justice has truimph!" Amelia spoked in her usual justice self as she pointed a finger towards the ceiling, eyes shining with love.....for justice of course.
"Wait a minute! Amelia, did you say they insult me?" the sorceress' voice broked the justice mood. Amelia and Sylphiel peered at her in disbelieving eyes.
But only Zelgadis had a blank expression on his face, "....if you're trying to get your revenge, you're already too late," he stated in an emotionless tone.
BONK! Came the sound as the chimera's face violently connected to the table.
"Ow.." the muffled sound was heard making the shrine maidens sweatdropped.
"No, no, my lovely sweet dear Zelgabunny," Lina sweetly said although her words were dripping with sarcasm, recieving a muffled 'Hei' from him as she was still pushing his head down on the table, "What I'm trying to say is. If they were, as you say it, 'keen' on killing me, they should have finish me off rather than mocking me! Changing the topic, what did they say exactly!!!!!" her tone change to her usual loudness and Zel had to pay the price as he felt the pressure on his head increases.
Sylphiel and the unmoving chimera thanked Amelia mentally as she diverted the topic, "Maybe they didn't notice that their attack miss......?"
Lina removed her hand from Zel's head as she huffed, feeling displease for two reason. One because of the fact that the princess was changing the subject and the other reason was because of her statement, "Yeah right! As if the Lord Of Nightmare would be dumb enough to create idiotic Mazokus,"
"Achoo!"
"I didn't know you could sneeze, oka-sama?" the Beastmaster's priest, who was currently kneeling in front of the Golden Lord asked in confusion while casting secret glances towards her.
"Neither do I..........Anyway, where was I?" she asked herself but quickly continue, giving Xellos no chance to answer her, "Ah, yes. So what's your report,"
"Aha, it seems that provoking large amount of negative emotions from Gourry-san is harder that I thought," Xellos sheepishly answered while getting back on his feet. The Lord Of Nightmare merely shook her head in disbelief at him.
"You have been living with humans for more than a thousand years now. So you must have learn about their nature," she spoked with a hint of exasperation.
"I do know about their nature and I already know the ways to invoke negative emotions from them," Xellos told her sternly as he tried to defend his pride.
"Amuse me,"
"Anger, grief, sadness, all of these can be drawn out from the humans by either hurting them physically or emotionally. But, between the two, emotional pain is harder for them to recover which is why I choose that pain to invoke negative energy from Gourry-san. First, I had tried to attack his emotion directly using those crude rambling of mine," Xellos smiled sinisterly to himself as he remembered how delighted he was to see the Slayers' reaction.
"But it failed," her simple respond shook away the smile on his face instantly and once again the thought of still unable to complete his task brought frustrationto Xellos.
"...yes. The next attack I directed to his most imprtant person," he continued, this time using a more serious tone.
"Well then. You already now what to do,"
Xellos was confused with the Lord Of Nightmare's words, "But, Lina Inverse is already injured, oka-sama. And still the sworsdman's negative energy was not enough," he explained to her but still her expression never changed. There was a long pause before she let out a sigh.
"Let me get straight to my point. What is the most frightening thing to a normal human being?"
"....death.....But surely you don't suggest that I kill Lina Inverse?" Xellos' eyes widen at the thought.
"No I never said that. I merely suggest faking her death,"
Xellos put a hand on his chin as he ponders at her suggestion, "That could work. I've seen Gourry-san went emotionally unstable when he thought Lina-san was dead.....But the question is how.......Asking Lina-san to fake her death is out of the question. So, that means I have to found someone that looks similar to her," he stopped as he tried to think of a candidate suitable for the job.
"or a monster,"
Xellos arched an eyebrow at her statement, "Oh, do you know someone right for the job?" He unconsciously smiled as he saw the grin on her face.
"Who is it?" a low voice menacingly spoked as it sense a present nearby.
Xellos revealed himself behind a large tree, "Ah, don't worry. I'm just a friend," he stated with a smile.
A few minutes ago, the Lord Of Nightmare had told him of a certain man-eating being who had the ability to change it's appearance which lives deep in a vast forest. The being who was called the 'Mimic' by the humans used this ability to lure unexpected people who carelessly ventured in the forest into their doom by shapeshifting into it's victim's most beloved person. But, what special about this being is that he could see the victim's memories. This allows it to act perfectly as the real person. That is why until now, no one can seem to destroy the creature. The only way to survive him was to avoid using the forest path and using the longer path around it instead.
The creature looked at the him suspiciously, "Mazoku is no friend of mine......" the Mimic spoked in a threatening voice, disrupting Xellos' thought.
"Well, yes. Mazoku are troublesome fellows, aren't they. But, I'm here on business," the smile on his face never fading.
"...not interested," the Mimic started to move away but abruptly stopped when Xellos teleported right in front of him with one eye slit open.
"I see. Hmm, you have such a special abilty but too bad you don't have to use it anymore in the place where I'm going to send you now," Xellos threatened cheerfully as he lifted his staff closer to the Mimic's neck. There was a short silence before it started to speak again.
"...What do you want with me?" the Mimic's voice was slightly less menacing as he submit defeat to the mysterious priest's power. Xellos smiles wider as he lowers his staff down.
"I want you to help me in my plan by shapeshifting into a certain sorceress,"
"Achoooo!"
"Lina-san, did you catch a cold?"
To Be Continue...
Ranting :
Kaeru Soyokaze : Good for you! No one can resist Xellos' charm XP
BlueJellyFish : Ohoho! I really appreciate that you put my story under your favs!
Lina: Look what you have done! You made her ego as big as Naga's!
Naga: Ohohoho! We meet again Lina Inverse!
Lina: .....................I must be dreaming........Yeah....That must be it.....
Thanks for the compliment. I'll try to update faster!
Zel: Impossible.....
Anee : I'm glad you like my story.
Gerao-A No, no Ramon. Xellos did get Gourry's negative energy, but it was still not enough. Sorry if I didn't describe it properly....
Xellos: Hehe, I'm really showing my Mazoku side in this story! And I enjoy it!!
CT : They are nosie, aren't they? Glad you like it!
ethereal-tenshi : So, you like Zelgabunny, eh?
Zel: Please stop calling me that!
I'll make sure he'll get Amelia's love!
Zel/Amelia: ::Blush::
But then, your quote 'But glad you are against Z/L'.....::sniff sniff:: it's like you don't know me. With my Lina Pink comic you and Safuraa read at school, I thought I clearly stated that I really, REALLY love the L/G pairing. I only support the canon couples but......I don't know....I've been wondering towards L/X pairing fanfics recently.....I think I'm- What the hell am I saying!!! Just for that I'm going to put more L/G mushyness in this story!!
Lina: ::mentally squeels in delight while maintaning a disgust expression::
Xellos: .............I don't mind if there were no pairings at all............
Kristall : Hehe, glad you find it amusing! I aim to please!
Author's Note :
Yumekage: Uhhmm, I know that my exams is not over yet but I need something to do beside studying (and playing PS2).......So here I am!
Lina: Oh no. She's back! That means that our fanfic-free holiday is over!
Zel: What a dissapointment. ::sips coffee::
Amelia: Yes, how true Zellykins. ::sips Coke::
Gourry: You damn right, fool! ::smokes cigar::
Yumekage: Oh my god! What the hell have you all been doing in this past few weeks!!! ::snatch Coke from Amelia and the cigar from Gourry:: C'mon, C'mon!! Be IC again!! ::punches all of them::
Lina & Zel: HEI!!! I'm still sane you know!!!!!!
Gourry: W-What....happened......? Ugh, why does my breath stinks.....?
Amelia: Aaah! W-What is this aftertaste on my tongue......?
Yumekage: Hurry both of you! Wash that evil taste in your mouth with this!!! Lina and Zel too!!!! ::hands over four mugs of outrageously, overly, pure, dark, bitter coffee::
Lina: What!? Sorry but I don't dr-umph!! ::forced to drink::
Zel: Don't mind if I do. ::drinks the coffee::
Gourry & Amelia: ::chugs down the coffee::
Minna: ::spits it back out:: YECH!!!! Ptui! Ptui!!!!
Yumekage: Ahahahaha! Well that's your punishment for now since I don't have that much free time in my hand at the time being.....
Xellos: Ahahaha!
Minna: ::while still spitting out the bitter taste in their mouths:: Hei! What about he's punishment!!!! Ptui! Ptui!!!!
Yumekage: Well because he's in my story, I can make him able to taste it too. So..... ::force the coffee into Xellos' mouth::
Xellos: ::instantly fell unconscious with the coffee pouring out of his mouth::
Yumekage: .......umm, you happy now? Now you can go ptui-ing together! To all the readers, please don't forget to review and if you like, you can give any suggestions to spice up this story! Bye!