Disclaimer in Prologue.
Chapter One: Darkness Taking Control
Xelloss was sitting at the campfire with the others when Zelgadiss stumbled into the clearing. The others looked up at him, but didn't notice anything different about his appearance. Zel touched his face and felt the hated pebbles and metallic hair. He could've wept.
'Had it just been a dream? No, it couldn't have been. I feel different, and I can feel what the others are feeling.'
Lina was angry, and kept giving Gourry dirty looks. Amelia was depressed, and sat looking into the fire. Gourry was content, siting polishing one of his many replaceable blades for the Hikari no Ken. Zel loved it. It tasted so good, like the best wine he had ever tasted. He wanted more. He went and sat between Amelia and Lina at the fire.
"Where have you been Zelgadiss-san? We were worried about you." Amelia spoke up as he sat.
Zel wanted to tell them that he had been out trying to kill himself, just to see their reaction, but decided against that. He still had much to discuss with Xelloss before he let the others know everything.
"I just needed to be alone for a while." He responded instead. This made Amelia even more depressed. Zel liked the taste even more.
'It's bittersweet . . . . . and I think a hint of almond.' He turned to Lina, eager to find out how much he could push the little sorceress.
"Why are you so angry, Lina? Did Gourry call you flat-chested again?" Lina's anger spiked. She instinctively punched Zelgadiss in the face. That made her hand hurt.
'It's so sweet, like honey.'
"No, that's not it at all . . . " she said as she rubbed her hand. "I'm tired. I'm going to bed." So saying, she did just that with Amelia following close behind.
Gourry was supposed to be on first watch, but Zel said he wasn't tired and would cover for him. So Gourry also headed off to bed. Now Zelgadiss and Xelloss were the only ones up.
Xelloss had watched the little events from this evening and was very pleased. Zelgadiss wasn't hiding himself. He was building up negative energy, storing it for later use. Xelloss could see little changes in Zelgadiss already. Zel was sitting in a different way, his expression wasn't nearly as sour as it used to be, and his eyes . . . that was the best part . . . his eyes had gone a darker shade of blue. Xelloss continued to study Zelgadiss, letting the silence surround them.
Zel couldn't stand it anymore. 'What's taking him so long? Why doesn't he start talking? The others won't hear. They're long asleep now.' Xelloss continued to sit there . . . staring at him. It was unnerving, especially because his eyes weren't open. Zel hated it when Xelloss did that.
"What have you done to me?" hissed Zelgadiss.
"Quite Zel-chan, you wouldn't want to wake the others, would you?" was the reply. "Let's go somewhere more private."
One second they were sitting across from each other at the low fire, the next they were nowhere. That's the only way Zel could describe it. They were sitting next to each other on nothing. Only blackness surrounded them.
"That's better. Now I can explain without being disturbed."
Zelgadiss was suddenly nervous. He wanted to be alone to talk with Xelloss, but not somewhere Xelloss had all the control. He felt trapped, and there didn't seem to be any door out.
End Chapter One
