AN: As promised, Moro, chapter 11. I think I shall dedicate this chapter to you, my lovely reader most dedicated to the cause of torturing Zelly-kun. ^_^
///.O\\ Be afraid. Be very afraid.
*ahem* Anyhoo, I'll let y'all just read now.

Disclaimer: If I owned Slayers, the world would be a far more frightening place than it is today. *sigh* Hey, I can dream, ne?

* Chapter * 11 *

Amelia's eyes snapped open and she gasped as awareness flooded back to her. And what she became aware of was something very heavy on her back. Something heavy, and soft and warm. And not moving.

Fighting the twinge of panic that wrapped around her chest as an unyielding band, Amelia began to wriggle her way out from under the weight on top of her. Finally pulling her upper body free, she twisted around so that she could see what had been pinning her.

For a moment, her heart stopped cold.

Zelgadis was lying face down, still pinning her legs to the stone floor of the cave. Amelia shoved aside her worry and made herself focus. Pulling her legs free, she scrambled to roll Zelgadis onto his back. The shaman was exceedingly pale, but still breathing, and Amelia heaved a sigh of relief.

Reluctantly turning her back to the unconscious shaman, Amelia focused her attention on checking on her other friends. Apparently, whatever Koutero had done had affected everyone else more than her. Lina and Gourry were crumpled on the floor, and Amelia hurried over to them to at least get them settled into less awkward positions. Quickly, the princess made the rounds, checking to make sure everyone was still alive and get them settled. But still, no one else woke up.

Amelia made her way back to Zelgadis to see if she could figure out what was wrong with him. Kneeling down to check him over, she saw no obvious wounds, so the young cleric decided to cast a healing spell to see if that helped. Before she could cast the spell, though, Zelgadis' eyes suddenly flew open wide and he gasped for air, his back arching as if he were in pain. Amelia drew back, startled.

Zelgadis-san, are you ok? she asked, staring at the young man before her. But he didn't respond. Amelia's heart grew sick, her throat clenching with the feeling that something was terribly wrong. What did that Mazoku do? she asked, fear filling her eyes as her hands began to quake.

Then came the blood.

Zelgadis coughed, his body spasming as great heaves wracked him. His eyes were wide, his pupils small and unfocused. A gush of blood spattered out of his mouth, spraying his clothes and Amelia's face with crimson droplets. He heaved again, blood streaming out of his mouth, staining his pale cheeks, and pooling on the floor. Amelia stared, unable to move, transfixed and horrified by the red river that was now flowing freely from Zel's mouth. She was trembling, trying desperately to regain her composure. She had almost succeeded, too, when she heard another heaving noise from behind her.

She spun around, to see another river of red streaming down Lina's pale face. Then Gourry began to cough, blood spattering up in a fountain, dotting his golden hair with drips of scarlet. Then Faith coughed, crimson staining her white tunic. Then Filia, sending a shower of blood raining down. Then Amber. Then Raven. Even Xellos had some sickening black substance gushing from his mouth.

Blood was everywhere. It pooled on the floor of the cave as Amelia's friends poured their lives out onto the cold stone. Amelia shook uncontrollably, staring around, not knowing what to do, unable to think straight as the flood of crimson life inched towards her.

So much blood. So much. It reached out in trickling tendrils, as if stretching and straining to reach her. She stared, unable to move. Finally, one trickle of the flood reached her, seeping into the white fabric of her pants, crawling upwards, carried by the fibers of the cloth.

Her friends were soaked in blood. Their faces were stained, the red contrasting sharply with their unnaturally pale color. Dried blood caked in their hair, red-black where it should have been gold, raven, or fire. The world was no longer visible in shades of blue and white and yellow. Everything was painted in shades of bloody red.

Amelia looked down at herself. Her hands were covered in blood, sticky and still almost unnaturally hot as it poured from the bodies of her friends. Her pants and boots were stained scarlet. Her face was deathly white as she stared around at the scene of gore that surrounded her. Her body was wracked by shivers, her legs trembling under her as she kneeled, and soon she lost her tentative hold on balance, slipping to the side and falling into the still-deepening pool of blood that surrounded her. A small crimson tidal wave extended out in slow motion from where her shoulder impacted the floor.

Her mind retreated into itself.


* * *


The battle was almost a blur as it raged around Raven. Spells flew through the air, most of them directed at Koutero, but a few coming from the Mazoku, aimed at whoever happened to be closest to him at the time. Lina was a bit burnt, and that Amelia girl was getting pretty well bruised and battered. Gourry was doing his best, but with his steel blade, there was little he could do against a Mazoku, no matter how many enchantments (short of Astral Vine) were on it. Zelgadis was doing his best and seemed unscathed for the moment. Faith and Amber were in fair shape, as was that dragon woman. That blasted purple haired Mazoku was nowhere to be seen.

The traitor has probably abandoned us. Damned Mazoku,' she thought, as she prepared an Icicle Lance to throw at Koutero. The spell launched through the air, shattering off of some strange shield the Mazoku had. Suddenly, the pint-sized Mazoku began laughing hysterically, as if he were being tickled. The troupe halted in shock at the unexpected and out of place sound.

I didn't realize how pathetic you all really were! he said through his laughter, gasping for air. Raven felt her temper rise as she stared at the arrogant little snot. Her fists clenched in fury, her muscles screamed as she longed to reach over and tear the wretched creature limb from limb. Her fingers twitched, wanting to rip out his throat and see how well he laughed then. But the white-haired creature was speaking again.

This pathetic crew is hardly worth my time. I'll go see to the next phase of the plan, my friend here can finish you children off, he said with a laugh before he disappeared.

What does he mean, My friend here,'? Amelia asked, looking around in confusion.

I believe my lord was referring to me, whispered a smooth bass voice from behind Amber and Raven. The two women spun around and found themselves face to face with something Raven had seen only once, almost thirteen years ago, and had hoped never to see again.

He was black, like a living shadow given substance. He moved with an impossible fluid grace that no physical being could have. His features were feline, though he stood and walked like a human. And he stalked in a circle around Raven and Amber, his unearthly green eyes sizing them up as a panther would it's prey.

Well well well, if it isn't my flighty little bird, all grown up. I knew I tasted a familiar fear and anger, the living shadow said, giving a distorted version of a smile that displayed jagged rows of bright white teeth. Raven felt her throat tighten as she stared into the eyes of her worst nightmare.

It's you, she whispered, unable to control the quaver that slipped into her voice.

Indeed it is! And it seems that again I shall be in charge of destroying a pathetically weak bunch of humans, he said with a hungry grin at the troupe, and at Raven in particular. The red-blonde blanched as unbidden memories flooded back to her.

Her village was burning. She was seven years old; a terrified, determined child with a dagger clutched in her grip. She ran through the streets illuminated by the houses as they burned, casting ominous, unfamiliar shadows everywhere. She had to find her father and brother. She ran down an alley where she and her brother had built a fort, hoping they were there. Young lavender-blue eyes widened in horror at the nightmarish vision before her, holding her father in it's grip.

cried her father, his eyes filling with fear for his daughter, But she was frozen to the spot, held by terror. The living-shadow turned glowing green eyes on the child, and gave her a feral grin. It broke her father's neck, then quick as lightning, grabbed her brother. She tried to move, but was helpless. Helpless. Her brother screamed. She was helpless. The dagger slipped from her grip. It killed her brother. She was helpless. She was terrified. Then the nightmarish creature stalked over to her, and leered over her. She began to cry, but was helpless even to move, to run, to save herself. It laughed at her.

Pathetic child, it growled. Raven, he called you. Little tattered bird. What a wretched creature you are. Worthless. It paused to laugh. Not even worth killing. Live, little bird. Live in fear, I shall feed off of you for years to come! With that, the nightmare dissolved, leaving her with only the corpses of her father and brother. She cried, alone in the night. Alone and helpless.

Not again, never again! Raven cried, fear and anger thick in her voice as she moved to attack; but the shadow just laughed and knocked her back against the wall.

Yes, again, little bird. All over again. I think I might let you live again, too. This should be entertaining, it said with a laugh. Raven knew it was too powerful. It would kill the others.

And she was helpless.


* * *


Zelgadis looked up to see a spear of green energy surging towards him. He dodged the spell Koutero had launched, then burst into action along with his friends, moving in familiar formations, each anticipating the other's moves as they closed in on the insane Mazoku.

Rah Tilt! he and Amelia cried simultaneously, not wanting to pull any punches against such a supposedly powerful opponent. Blue-white light shot forward, enveloping Koutero in a flash of brilliance. In a moment, though, the white haired Mazoku let out a sharp howl that not only dissipated the spell, but made the troupe cover their ears for fear the shriek would pierce their eardrums as well.

When Zelgadis was able to look up at Koutero again, the tiny man was panting heavily and seemed to have taken some damage from the attack. Zelgadis smiled a tiny, grim, inward smile at the creature's pain. Then the white-haired Mazoku looked up and directly into Zel's eyes; and what the shaman saw there chilled him to the core. He had never seen such a look of pure, blinding rage and hatred, combined with a dangerous glazed over look that could only be a glimmer from the true depths of insanity into which the creature had fallen. Zelgadis was so shocked by the sight that for a moment, his reflexes were dulled. And a moment was all it took.

With a bellow like that of a wounded animal, Koutero loosed a dangerous wave of black energy. Zelgadis recovered his wits in time to realize that Amelia wasn't going to be able to get out of the way of the attack in time. Without pausing to think (there was no time for that), Zelgadis dove in front of the princess, taking the blow.

His body erupted into waves of pain. His nerves were on fire. He couldn't breathe. Everything was happening so quickly, yet in slow motion, like a rapid series of freeze-frames. Amelia screamed. Zelgadis was thrown back against the wall of the cave for the second time that day. But this time, something gave. A burning flash of agony caused him to scream, as he felt the small of his back and the base of his neck slam into protrusions in the rock face. With a sickening cracking, crunching sound, bone yielded to stone.

Zelgadis dropped to the floor, lost in a world of torment. And then there was nothing. No pain. He opened his eyes, seeing Amelia lying on the floor...unconscious? Lina and Gourry were battling desperately with the enraged Koutero. The others all seemed to have been knocked out.

He tried to sit up, he had to help his friends, even if it meant enduring that pain...

Nothing happened.

A wave of nausea washed over him as he realized that his limbs no longer responded to his commands. His stomach twisted in knots as his chest tightened in panic. He was paralyzed.

Once, when he had been a child, Zelgadis had awoke from a nightmare to find that he couldn't move, his body paralyzed by sleep and terror. The deadness of his limbs had sent the child into a panic, screaming hysterically. Within a minute, of course, his body had come out of it's paralysis; however, that sick, dead sensation of not being able to feel or control your own body was a memory that had haunted Zelgadis since that night.

And now, here it was again. Only worse. He didn't have the energy or mobility necessary to cast spells, not even a healing spell on himself, or levitation. He was powerless and defenseless, unable to protect himself or his friends. And on top of all that, he was haunted by the knowledge that had his body still been stone, this would not be happening.

Zelgadis had never been one to give up, to succumb to fear or adversity. He was stubborn, with a single-minded determination that made him almost ruthless at times. But even heartless sorcerer-swordsmen have their limits. And as he lay on the floor, his eyes open wide, staring at the scene before him, he realized that being powerless and paralyzed as his friends battled for their lives was his limit. Fear and frustration built up in his chest, threatening to choke him with bitterness.

One by one, he watched his friends fall...defeated or dead, he didn't know. He couldn't even go to check on them. Amelia still had not moved from her spot, crumpled on the floor. He needed to go to them, to go to her. They needed him. But he couldn't move, could barely breathe as his throat threatened to close up entirely.

His body had betrayed him. His frailty had defeated him. His had almost killed him now, and possibly his companions too. He was alone and afraid, numb and hurting and powerless. His vision blurred as it all became too much, even for the cold, heartless shaman. He heard a small, strangled noise break from his throat as the tears began to fall.


End Notes: I hope that was satisfactory, Moro. ^_^ Ok everyone, I want feedback!
///. -\\;; I hated it.
||^_^|| I believe she meant from everyone BUT you, Zel-kun.
///. -\\ You are evil.
||^_^|| and ^_^ C'mon everyone, review!! Pweeze? Even if it's just to tell me that you like it....or that I'm evil.