AN: Ok, apparently my muse is being kind, and I managed to write this chapter in only 2 days. Huzzah! Though I'm not quite sure what my muse is DOING with the story.... but as long as he lets me keep writing, it's all good by me. The end of this chapter gets a little... odd... Please bear with the crazy author, I'm doin me best. ^_^
Disclaimer: If I owned Slayers, the plot of the series NEVER would have stayed on track. That's not saying MUCH... but trust me, I don't own Slayers.
* Chapter * 14 *
Xellos! Namagomi! How dare you just up and do that! Filia screeched, clutching Val to herself with a dangerously tight grip. At the sound of his mother's' voice, the baby dragon finally awoke, and began to make a bleating noise. Xellos twitched slightly, but grinned brightly anyway.
Would you rather I send you back there? he asked, only the slightest hint of a dangerous edge to his sugary tones. Filia didn't respond, only glowered at him before pointedly turning her back on him and tossing her golden hair.
Faith, ignoring Filia and Xellos, had immediately turned her attention to her human companions. Zelgadis was groaning slightly, and Faith moved to his side, placing a cool hand against his forehead, smoothing his dark brown hair away from his face. A shiver passed through his body as his pale blue eyes fluttered open, and his entire body tensed up, his muscles clenched so tightly that it seemed as though his flesh were stone again. He gasped raggedly for air, his eyes wild with panic as he looked about, trying to get his bearings.
Hey there, take it easy, Faith murmured, trying her best to calm him, It's ok, we got out of there, you're safe now. Whatever horrible thing you thought happened, it was just a dream. The shaman blinked at her, and finally his eyes focused and Faith's words seemed to sink in. He drew a shaky breath.
A dream? he whispered to himself. His body was still rigid, muscles clenched painfully tight.
A dream, just a dream. Koutero set us up to each face our own worst fear. Whatever it was, it can't hurt you anymore. The look on the shaman's face seemed to say that he couldn't quite believe what Faith was saying. The half-breed shook her head slightly and sighed. Will you at least relax a bit? You're going to make your muscles cramp up if you keep them tensed much longer. As she spoke, the young woman was gently trying to move one of Zel's rigid arms in hopes of forcing his muscles to relax, or at least unclench somewhat. The young shaman gasped in surprise when he fully realized that he could feel Faith's hands on his arm, rather than the cold, heavy numbness of paralysis. Slowly, Zel glanced down at his right hand (which Faith was still wrestling with), and willed his muscles to relax. In a moment, his arm had gone limp. He took a deep breath, and stared down at his fingers, willing them to move. To his amazement, they responded perfectly. Staring at his hand as if it were a new and strange creature, he clenched his fist and moved his wrist experimentally.
Faith watched Zel rediscovering his limbs for a moment before she decided it would be best to leave him to himself and begin to wake the others. Filia and Xellos were being no help at the moment, as they seemed to be having a glowering contest, with poor baby Val looking rather crushed and none-too-pleased as Filia clasped him to her chest.
Faith made her way over to Lina, who was crumpled on the ground a little further away, with Gourry passed out close by her. Faith knelt and gently shook the redhead's shoulder.
Lina-san, wake up, Faith muttered, and Lina's ruby-colored eyes slowly fluttered open, a glassy glaze across them. Come on Lina, back to reality, Faith muttered, waving a hand in front of the sorceress' face, snapping her fingers once trying to get Lina to focus. Slowly, the distant look did leave Lina's eyes, to be replaced by a growing look of terror. Then, with a sudden jolt, Lina's eyes snapped into focus and she sat bolt upright and started scrambling backwards in a crab-like manner, looking around wildly, as if searching for some invisible foe.
I'm sorry, Omaesan, I'm sorry!! Lina was gasping, still looking around wildly, her breathing coming in short gasps, as if the young woman was on the verge of hyperventilating.
Lina, calm down! Faith gasped, shocked to see the fiery sorceress panicking like this. While Faith fully understood that they had all just faced their worst fears, there were few people who had ever seen Lina Inverse try to cower behind the scrubby brush at the edge of a clearing.
When Lina had cried out, Gourry had started to stir, and now the blonde swordsman was slowly blinking himself back to reality. His breathing was ragged and he seemed confused.
he whispered, not moving from the ground. he said again, a little louder, and this time, the sorceress cowering in the nearby bushes heard him.
Do you see her around here, Gourry? Lina whispered, Is she still here? But Gourry didn't think to ask who Lina was talking about. In fact, he didn't seem to have noticed any of what she had said, only that she had spoken. His eyes focused on the gently shaking bushes and he could make out the figure of the petite sorceress cowering on the ground behind them. Slowly, he got to his feet, walked over to the bushes, and stared down at Lina for a long moment, blinking as though he wasn't sure if he could believe what he was seeing. Without a word, he knelt on the ground by Lina, barely daring to breathe. His heart was beating so hard that it felt like his chest would burst. He reached out one of his strong hands, which he didn't even notice was shaking, and gently gripped Lina's shoulder.
he whispered, his voice thick. Slowly, Lina looked up into his eyes, blinking a few times as if trying to figure out what was going on. She didn't understand why he was looking at her with such wide, unbelieving eyes so full of relief.
What's wrong, Gourry? she asked, tilting her head to the side slightly. The swordsman kneeling in front of her didn't respond, he only wrapped his arms around her and held her tight. Her first reflex was to knock his head off his shoulders and tell him off... but she stopped herself, thinking again about the strange look she'd seen in his eyes... and decided that a hug wasn't so unforgivable under these circumstances.... Whatever these circumstances were. Besides, though she would never admit it, having Gourry's arms wrapped around her made Lina feel safer than most anything else, and right at the moment, she NEEDED to feel safe. But after a minute, her desire to know what had happened to her overpowered her desire to stay wrapped in Gourry's warm arms. She repressed a shiver as she remembered the slugs back at the cave... and then Luna....
What in the hells happened back there? she asked, breaking away from Gourry. The swordsman's face fell slightly when Lina pulled away; but he was so happy that she was alive and had let him hold her for a little while that his disappointment was quickly chased away.
I don't know, he said, shrugging. He decided against telling her what he had seen... he wasn't sure how she'd react, and he didn't really want to think about it himself, so he turned to look for answers from someone else. He and Lina stood to take stock of the situation.
We're back in the clearing from last night, Lina said.
Are you sure? Gourry asked, scratching his head. Last night seemed a very long time ago, and after sleeping in the woods so often in his life, all clearings looked pretty much the same to Gourry.
Of course I'm sure, Jellyfish, Lina snapped, giving him a withering look. She wanted to get things back to normal as quickly as possible. Quickly, Lina looked around to see what was going on. Filia and Xellos seemed to be having another fight about something, Filia clutching Val protectively. Zelgadis was sitting up on the ground not far from Lina and Gourry, seeming very dazed and rather unaware of the world around him, staring at his hands and arms, shaking very slightly with a distant look in his eyes. Faith was across the clearing with her arms around Raven, who was just sitting up and seemed quite upset. Amelia and Amber were both slumped over on the ground a short way from where Faith was comforting Raven. Lina walked over to Zel and stood over him, looking down at the brown haired shaman. Zel looked up at her and blinked.
Do you know what happened to us? Lina asked him, hoping that talking to him might chase the distant look from her friend's eyes. To her relief, Zel did lose his rather glazed look as he thought for a moment before responding.
Between what Faith said and my own thoughts about it, the best I can figure is that we were all trapped inside some sort of dream world, probably created by Koutero, that made us all face our own worst fears, Zel said, his voice surprisingly calm considering that he was still shaking slightly, Gourry noticed. Lina shivered.
Well, that wold make sense, I guess, the sorceress said. She turned back to look at where Amelia still lay crumpled on the ground. She paused for a second before walking over to the young princess and kneeling on the ground next to the dark haired girl. In a moment, both Gourry and Zelgadis were kneeling on either side of Lina. Gourry picked up a stick from the ground and poked Amelia in the side with it.
Gourry, what do you think you're doing!? Lina asked, swatting the stick out of his hand.
Uh, trying to wake Amelia up? Gourry said, as if very unsure himself of exactly what he'd been doing.
Lina snapped before turning her attention back to the princess lying prone before them. Zelgadis was gently shaking Amelia's shoulder, but all the response the princess gave was to flinch away from the touch and shiver. Faith and Raven walked over to them at that moment and knelt down on the other side of Amelia. Raven was looking quite shaken, but in spite of that, she still seemed very alert, her eyes darting nervously all around the clearing, especially pausing to glare over that Xellos where he was still keeping Filia occupied with what now seemed to be an argument wherein each of them was telling the other how immature they were. Faith sighed as she looked at them and shook her head in exasperation.
Why won't she wake up? Gourry asked looking down at Amelia, concern in his kind blue eyes. Zelgadis was holding on to the young woman's shoulder gently, as if he were trying to protect her but was at the same time afraid that he might break her.
I'm not sure, Faith said, furrowing her brow as she looked down at the strained expression on Amelia's face. Zel gave the princess' shoulder a gentle squeeze to try and wake her up, and this time, Amelia did something other than flinch away. She opened her eyes... and Zelgadis instantly wished she had kept them closed. If the distant, glazed look that had haunted his own face before Lina had come to talk to him had been unnerving, then the glassy stare that Amelia now wore was downright terrifying. Her eyes were wide, emotionless and unseeing, and her breathing was rapid and shallow.
What's wrong with her? Zel asked, half panicked.
Whatever she saw made her retreat completely into herself, Faith whispered.
Well, how do we get her back out? Lina demanded. Faith thought for a moment.
She might come out of it on her own, though I don't know how long that would take, Faith said, but from the sharp glances she got from Lina and Zel, just waiting around for Amelia to wake up wasn't their preferred course of action. Or, I can try a version of the Calming spell I used on Filia, it might help her come around. Lina nodded curtly.
Try it, the redhead told Faith. The half-breed took a deep breath and muttered under her breath for a moment.
A soft blue glow enveloped Amelia for a moment then faded.
Did it work? Raven asked, looking at her friend then back at Amelia.
I think so, Faith said, Look at her eyes. Sure enough, though Amelia was still not aware of what was going on around her, her eyes were no longer painfully wide; and while they were still unfocused, they were relaxed rather than wide and staring. She'll probably be coming around in a minute, Faith said, standing and brushing off her knees, I'm going to go see to Amber. Lina, Zel, and Gourry nodded as Faith and Raven walked over to where their black haired friend lay sprawled on the ground.
Faith couldn't chase away a sense of nervousness as she drew near to her friend. The half-breed knew that her human friend was an empath, and Amber had once told her that the idea of being overwhelmed by the emotions of others terrified her... and if that flood of emotion was what Amber had been confronted with in the nightmare world of Koutero, then Faith had a nasty feeling that Amber would be much worse off than Amelia was.
Raven and Faith reached Amber and knelt down by their friend's side, and reluctantly, Faith reached out her hand to grip Amber's shoulder. The half-breed's outstretched fingers had barely brushed against her unconscious friend when suddenly,the screaming began. Not any kind of screaming that Raven could hear, but an endless, wordless scream of pain and terror. Faith recoiled, pulling her hand back as though she'd been burned and feeling as though she were going to be sick.
Oh this is not good, she whispered, shivering.
Raven asked, looking quite alarmed.
I'm going to need help, I don't think I'm going to be able to reach her otherwise, Faith whispered, not looking at Raven, but staring blankly into the space in front of her. And... even with help, I don't know if we'll be able to find Amber... and even if we manage to find her, I don't know if her sanity will be salvageable. Raven's eyes grew wide.
I'll go get Lina--
Don't bother. Lina Inverse is a powerful sorceress, but she's not a cleric, nor does she know how to get into other people's minds, Faith whispered.
Well, then who's going to help you? I'm no cleric...
I know.
Well, then who?
You're not going to like it, Raven.
You don't mean...
With that, Faith stood up and walked over to where Filia and Xellos were back to glowering silently at each other. Xellos-san. Filia-san. I need your help. Both of you. At that, the two of them looked up at Faith's deadened expression in mild surprise.
What for? Filia asked, seeming to forget that she was supposed to be angry right now.
Amber. I need to find her in a sea of chaotic emotions, then bring her back and heal her mind. I can't do that by myself, even if I taxed both my Mazoku and Ryuuzoku halves to their limits. I need both of you to help me.
Chaotic emotions? Filia wasn't sure what Faith was talking about.
Amber is an empath. I think that what she faced in Koutero's realm was the loss of her ability to filter out the emotions of others, and so emotions crashed in around her and she was swept away by them.
I see, said Xellos, his cheerful mask back in place, You want me to help find the essence of Amber's personality within the chaos of a raped mind, then Filia to help you to heal her and help her to put her shielding back up?
Filia looked as though she were about to protest having to work with Xellos, but the look on Faith's face made her hold her tongue. Amber was one of the half-breed's oldest friends in a world where someone like Faith could find only a few friends in a lifetime... and considering how long a lifetime Faith would have, that was saying something.
Ok, let's go, Filia said, standing abruptly and walking over to where Amber was laying. The golden dragon handed Val to Raven, then knelt down by Amber's side. Faith followed Filia, and Xellos followed after Faith, a look of bemused surprise on his face at how quickly Filia had consented.
In a moment, the three of them were kneeling around Amber, with Filia on one side of the young human, Xellos on the other side, and Faith kneeling right by her friend's head. Faith placed her hands on either side of Amber's head, cringing at the waves of emotion that assaulted her. Faith was fighting to remain focused as the emotions threatened to overwhelm her, when suddenly it was as if the emotional overflow was being drained away from her and Amber. Xellos had placed his hand over Faith's left hand, and was now helping to clear the way into Amber's mind. Faith then felt the warmth of Filia's hand covering her right hand, and she knew that when they found Amber, Filia would be able to help as well.
Faith pressed forward through the clouds of fear and anger that hung thickly around her. She could feel Xellos by her side, searching, peering through the mists in order to find the core of the being known as Amber. Faith could feel Filia hanging back behind them, watching and waiting for her turn to help.
For a stretch of time that could have been a few moments, or perhaps an hour, or more, Faith sifted through the misty clouds of pain and confusion searching with Xellos by her side, devouring as much of the emotion as he could, clearing the way, searching with sharp, violet Mazoku eyes. Faith reached out desperately, groping with her mind, until she felt something familiar. A wisp of fear that tasted different than the rest, less distant, more defined. Xellos tasted it too, and he turned towards it, following the trickle of emotion deeper into the labyrinth... until there, curled so tightly that Faith nearly didn't see her, was Amber, withdrawn into herself, clinging so tightly to a single shred of solid thought that Faith wondered if it would be possible to get Amber away from this spot where she had anchored herself.
Gingerly, Faith approached her huddled friend, and reached out a hand to touch her. Amber didn't move, except for a slight, constant tremble all over. Faith wrapped her arms around her friend, and whispered gently to her.
Come on Amber, it's safe now, time to come back. Amber still didn't move, but Faith could hear her response quite clearly.
Come on, you can't stay here forever.
Yes I can. I don't want to go back.
What about me, and Raven? Amber didn't respond. Come on, please. We still need you. I promise, it's safe to come out now. Still no response. Faith sighed and shifted her arms around Amber... and as she did so, she brushed against the white thread of solid thought that Amber was clinging to. In a flash, she saw a man, very handsome, with dark hair and kind blue eyes like sapphires. Faith didn't know who he was, but she had a few guesses.
Who is he? Faith asked.
No one.
Oh. Too bad, Faith said, half sadly. He seems like he'd be a wonderful person. Amber stayed quiet. He seems kind. I wonder, would he want you to sit here, crouched in the mist, clinging onto a thought, a memory, rather than living your life?
This memory was all that kept me alive! Amber snapped, still not moving, but Faith could feel the anger and resentment rolling off of her.
So he's saved you. You are alive. Would he have wanted to save you only to have you decide to go on living trapped in your own mind until your body dies in a few days? Would he want you to waste the chance to save yourself?
You have no idea what he would want!
No, I don't. But I think you do. Neither of them spoke for a time. Then, slowly, Amber moved. She sat up, still holding the thought of the dark haired man close to her. Her icy blue eyes were haunted, but she reached out her hand to Faith, who took it. They began to wind their way back out of the maze, towards the surface of Amber's mind, Xellos leading the way. When they had nearly reached the forefront, Filia stepped forward.
Here is where we need to heal you, Amber, and where we need to put your shields back up. If we go any further without doing that... I don't want to know what would happen, Faith told her friend, squeezing her hand gently. Amber nodded. Filia reached out towards Amber, as if to ask for her other hand. Amber paused, torn between knowing what she had to do and her desire to hold on to the shred of memory that had saved her life.
I can't let go, Amber whispered under her breath. She closed her eyes as the battle raged within her. She knew she had to let go, but she just couldn't. Then, a soft tenor voice whispered in her ear.
It's ok to let go. I'm always with you, he breathed. Amber smiled sadly, and heaved a deep breath. Closing her eyes, she let go of the shred of memory and watched it float away back on to the confusion of her mind. Filia reached out and grabbed Amber's now free hand, and Faith reached out to hold Filia's other hand as well. Faith and Filia focused all their power on mending the mental wounds that had been inflicted by the emotions that had torn through Amber's mind, and it felt as though a balm were being applied. The pain and confusion seemed to distance themselves, and the three women were left in a area of relative emotional calm, with Xellos standing off to the side, watching with interest.
Now, we have to get the shields back up. Amber said. And the three women began to weave a web of cottony fibers that filtered out the emotions of the outside world. The web grew thicker and thicker until nothing could get through unless it was allowed through willingly. The women pushed the net out, stretching it until it expanded and protected Amber completely.
The shields back in place, the women dropped hands, and Faith, Filia, and Xellos began to pull away, out of Amber's mind.
Then something that none of them expected happened. When they reached the shielding, and the three of them passed through it, a sudden spark linked four minds together. For a split second, Faith, Amber, Xellos, and Filia were almost a part of each other, minds all brushing against each other. As quickly as it had happened, Filia, Xellos, and Faith had passed through the shield and the link was broken; but as the three of them broke their hands away from Amber, and Amber's eyes fluttered open, much to the delight of Raven who gave a small whoop of happiness... none of them could shake away the memory, or the sensation, of having the other three minds touching their own, and were all rather unnerved by that.
End Notes: Ok, the thing with Amber went on longer than planned, but oh well.... Now the real life Amber thoroughly wants to KILL me, of course, but I guess this chapter amused me enough to warrant dying for. And yes, there IS a story behind the dark-haired man, but that truly is a story unto itself. So, please read and review, I really would like to know that someone besides Riven and Amber is reading my story! ^_^