Hooray! Chapter 7 already! (hands out Phibrizzo's Death Orbs) …I recommend holding those gently, folks…they're fragile. (clears throat) ANYWAY, onward to chapter 7!
Disclaimer: Okay, okay, I don't own Slayers, only the Pradadise-ade drink. Happy? Good!
Chapter 7: -Insert Chappie Title Here-
Xellos and Zelgadis wearily glanced around them as they entered Sandoria. They knew that Amelia and Naga were probably waiting for them to make a move. "I wonder…do you think they've disguised themselves? Naga's no bad shake with cloaking spells." Zelgadis asked his friend as they looked at the faces running past. "Possibly. Speaking of which, we'd better change." Xellos replied as he dragged the Chimera into an alleyway. "What do you mean, 'change'?" Zelgadis hissed as the Mazoku positioned his staff. Xellos winked.
"What the--? Hey, no, wait a MINUTE! Are you CRAZY!" Zelgadis blushed crimson.
"No. Remember: Mazoku can change their looks, including—how shall I put this?— their shape." Xellos said with a smirk, suddenly growing ridiculously long eyelashes and batting them in a seductive way.
"NO."
"Think of it as a masquerade. After all, we know all too well how woman act."
There was silence for a few moments. Finally, Zelgadis groaned "Fine, let's get this over with…" Xellos grinned.
Later…
Xellos couldn't stop himself from laughing. In front of him was a blond-haired, seductive-eyed, bimbo-oid lady who had once been Zelgadis. "Oh, shut up. You should see yourself." The Chimera muttered. Xellos had chosen to look like a purple-haired version of "Alice in Wonderland", complete with bloomers. "Well, c'mon, at least no one will recognize us. And you're not a Chimera at the moment. Think of that and smile!" Xellos…giggled…picking a daisy out of thin air and sniffing it daintily. "Stop that, you pansy. You're overdoing it." Zelgadis growled, trying to make himself look less like a seductress. "C'mon, I wanna see you try, 'Zellie'!" Xellos chirped. Zelgadis—er, "Zellie" cleared his throat, embarrassed. "I can't just say ANYTHING, you know. Give me some lines to use or something." His (or her, bwahaha) Mazoku companion produced two slips of paper from thin air. Taking it, the former-Chimera nearly fainted away. "WHAT IS THIS!" he screamed. "No-o-o-thi-i-i-ing!" chanted Xellos is a sing-song voice. "Zellie" cleared his throat again, and muttered:
"Heeeeey sugar! You're just my type! Now c'mere and…HEY! XELLOS!"
Xellos cracked up, and said mock-innocently, in a high-pitched voice "What is it, dearest sister Zellie? Do you want to make daisy-chains?" Zelgadis (I'm just going to call everyone by their regular names, it gets confusing) put on a sly smile, and said "Okay…Xellie!" The Mazoku fell over in surprise, squealing "NYA!" at the top of his lungs. Laughing like a lunatic, Zelgadis walked out into the street, his friend muttering darkly behind him.
"You know, maybe we should've chosen better disguises." Zelgadis whispered to Xellos. "Nah. This is the whole point of it: nobody will suspect girls." His friend replied. Looking up from their conversation, they noticed two males approaching them. One had a tan, masculine body with only a loincloth as clothing, and a doe-eyed pageboy. "Hmm. Could be trouble. Or"—Xellos smirked at his Chimera friend—"a chance to prove your FEMININE SIDE." "Oh, shut up. Let's just get this over with…" Zelgadis snarled, and tugged on his sleeves. The muscle-man reached them first. "My name is…uh, Nim, and this is…Jim. Say hello to the nice lady, Jim." The man introduced himself and the boy. Jim, the boy, peeked out from underneath his overly-large hat. "Oh, hello. Erm, my name is Xellinda, and this is…er, this is Zellinda." Xellos piped up, curtsying to the two men. Zelgadis' eyebrow twitched, but he curtsied to Nim and Jim as well. "We're siblings." The four chorused. Nim and Jim blinked and took Zelgadis and Xellos by the hand. "Are you two thirsty? We could get you a great drink at the Pink Dragon Inn!" Nim asked them. Xellos shrugged. "Sure, mister!" he chirped.
An hour later, at the Pink Dragon Inn…
Zelgadis had finished off his seventh serving of the drink folk in Sandaria called "Paradise-ade". It was basically a cordial with the flavor of peaches, grapes, and peppermint. "Mmmm, this stuff'sh great! Mo' pleash!" the Chimera garbled, slamming down the empty glass. Xellos, meanwhile, was sipping some orange juice on ice. "I thought you liked coffee, Zel?" he asked, signaling the bartender for a refill. Zelgadis shrugged shakily. "Well, I cold get used t' thish stuff. Try some, Zellosh!" (Xellos) he practically screamed at his friend. The Mazoku ignored Zelgadis completely. Meanwhile, Zim and Jim were playing poker with a fat lady. Jim didn't really play, he just re-read the rules. Xellos hopped off his chair and walked towards the young boy. "Oh, hi Xellinda!" Jim squeaked. "This is no fun. Wanna go 'n play?" the Mazoku asked, going back to what he and Zelgadis called "Child Lingo". The boy nodded, and the two of them ran around the tables pretending to be a king and queen having a lover's spat. "How DARE you call me fat!" Xellos cried, waving a "scepter" in the air. Jim yelled "I'm sorry, my love!" and "fell dead in sorrow". Xellos cried again, this time with "anguish". "Oh, my darling, my darling, you MUST get UP!" He then sat on top of Jim, and stared at his forehead where his cap had been (it had fallen off during his "death-scene"). "Huh, I've never seen THAT mark on any boy before." The Mazoku muttered. It was a scar that was shaped like a circle, with a tiny dot in the center. "Where have I seen this mark before…?" he wondered to himself.
Suddenly, Nim's muscled face and body popped up next to Xellos. "How're ya, lil' miss?" the man garbled. "Ah've been sharin' the glory wi' yer sister. She's up t' fifteen glasses o' Paradise–ade, and 's goin' for fifteen bottles! Oh, yeah, her lips are totally cool." Staring in shock, Xellos leaped up, and ran towards the table where he had last seen his friend. There he was, slumped on the chair, chugging down bottles like there was no tomorrow. "Oh, my God…"
Zelgadis felt the world spinning. "M-m-m-more pleash…lots more…" he muttered. His Chimera body had deflected most of the drink's effects, but now he was on his own. He and Nim had, blinded by the drink, shared a passionate embrace and kiss a few seconds before, to which the bartender had cheered. Everyone around him was shocked. Nobody in Sandaria had seen someone drink sixteen glasses and three bottles of their famous drink. Most had passed out after the sixth. Many began cheering the Chimera on. He obeyed their requests, now downing two bottles at a time. Twenty…twenty-one…twenty-two…twenty-three… Zelgadis suddenly felt that he had to puke. However, he kept going, oblivious now to the crowd cheering and calling out bets. He began to notice that his heart-rate was slowing. Why was that? Shrugging it off, he pulled out the stopper on another bottle. Suddenly, he heard something in the back of his head…
Zelgadis. It was Xellos.
Go 'way, I wanna finish this one.
No. Look at yourself! Some powerful Chimera YOU are! Downing this stupid cordial like this!
Oh, shut up. I'm tired. Go away.
No…no! Don't fall asleep Zel! DON'T!
Why? The Chimera's eyelids began to droop.
You…IDIOT! You absolute, bumbling idiot! GET UP!
Suddenly, it felt as though a thousand hammers were banging away in Zelgadis' head. "OW!" he screamed. The crowd stopped to stare at him.
I'm sorry, Zelgadis, but this is the only way… Xellos sounded depressed. A birage of images came unbidden to the Chimera's head…
Amelia and Naga were writhing in pain, while Phibrizzo laughed mockingly…
His grandfather was lying in bed, tossing and turning fitfully. His head was beaded in sweat…
Xellos was sitting in a dark cell, stripped of his clothing and staff, chained to the wall, scars covering his back…
And, lastly, the red-haired girl, Lina, saying "I love you, Phibrizzo." With a skimpy toga made entirely out of Death Orbs…many of them cracked and broken…
"NOOOOOO!" Zelgadis screamed in rage and horror. Leaping up, he grabbed Xellos around the waist, along with Nim and Jim, and pelted through the Inn door, not looking back. His eyes were bloodshot. Xellos was beaming with joy, tears coursing down his face. When the Chimera finally stopped running, and dumped his passengers in a worn-down shack, Xellos said "I'm sorry I had to do that, but that was what I imagined could happen in the future. It was difficult. Forgive me." Zelgadis flopped onto the ground, the Paradise-ade's affects completely gone from him. "Those…weren't…real?" he gasped out. The Mazoku nodded. Zelgadis relaxed. Nim and Jim gaped at the two friends in disbelief, then grinned at each other. Nim hugged Zelgadis, while Jim latched onto Xellos. "You two were great! Wicked powerful!" Jim chirped, his voice muffled by Xellos' apron. The Chimera and Mazoku blushed—they knew that their true gender was hugging them. Speaking of which… "Oh. My. GOD. I just remembered…you KISSED ME!" Zelgadis screamed in horror, and pointed accusingly at Nim. "I did…?" he mumbled. "Guess I did." Xellos nearly busted a gut laughing, as did Jim. Suddenly, Xellos found himself face to face with the boy. "Please?" Jim pleaded, and pointed at his nose. "Uh…okay?" the Mazoku shrugged, and gave the boy a quick peck on the nose. Jim blushed and giggled. "Now it's my turn!" he squeaked. "B-but wait a minutem why are—?" Xellos cried, confused, as Jim's lips met his forehead. "AAAH! NO DON'T TOUCH—!" he screamed in panic. Suddenly, with a pop, Xellos was back in his normal clothes and height, and in front of him was…
"AMELIA!" Xellos yelled.
"XELLOS!" Jim—er, Amelia, yelled.
Zelgadis stared in disbelief, then turned to face the man that was lying on top of him, grinning broadly. "I-if that's Amelia, then this must be…" he stuttered. Nim gave the Chimera a huge, sloppy kiss on the forehead, and laughed "OHOHOHOHOHO!" in an all-too-familiar way… Pop! Instead of a muscle-rippling man, Zelgadis was faced with Naga, in all her random glory. The Chimera was also back to normal. "I…you…I…you?" he spluttered. Naga grinned. "Yes, I kissed you. C'mon, it was a once-in-a-lifetime chance! Besides, nobody noticed the difference. Xellos is a pretty good disguise-creator, I have to admit." Amelia nodded, and let go of Xellos. The two sisters faced him, anger written in their eyes. The Mazoku prepared himself for a fight to the death. Suddenly, Naga and Amelia relaxed. "You know, even if you are a Mazoku, you're still our friend. We're back with you two." Amelia said with a grin. Xellos and Zelgadis jumped for joy, and hugged their old friends. "Okay, now to find a boat that'll take us to Phibrizzo's Temple!"
Later, at the Harbor…
Amelia and Zelgadis sat waiting for their awaited boat, the Jolly Penguin, to arrive. Kicking rocks in a bored way, they sat in silence. "Amelia…after Naga kissed me…what did she mean by 'it was a once-in-a-lifetime chance'?" Zelgadis asked. Amelia shrugged. "Well, we all know how sensitive you are to your skin and such, so Naga guessed that you would take on a disguise. She's good a sensing you out. Anyway, she always thought it'd be funny to give you a big, sloppy kiss when you were asleep, or something. She likes messing with people. She got her wish." She replied, chucking a rock into the shallows. The Chimera nodded absently. "Still thinking about what Xellos made you see, are you?" Amelia chuckled drily. Zelgadis nodded again. "Yeah. It makes you think…what if what we see of him is what he WANTS us to see?" he pondered. His companion shrugged again. "I think what we see of him is what he is inside. But, that's just my opinion." The Chimera nodded once more. "Yeah. That makes sense." Suddenly, Xellos and Naga came walking up, laden with fresh supplies. "We ran out a while back. Like last time: one bag, blanket, ecetera each." Xellos instructed. He turned to Zelgadis. "Oh, yes. I brought you ONE bottle of Paradise-ade. Note the expression on the 'one'." The Mazoku chuckled. The Chimera laughed. "I don't think I want to lose my money and pride again. I only have so much." He grinned. The four friends laughed as the ship came into view.
Is it good? R&R! A drop of Paradise-ade to reviewers! BUT REMEMBER: JUST ONE DROP. ;)