Chapter Eighteen: To the Aqualord Shrine!
"Boy, am I glad to get away from that last village!" Lina stretched her arms above her as she walked. "Freaky people."
That morning, though no bill was asked for, it was clear that the villagers wanted them to leave. The only ones happy on the street had been the children, who ran around playing as though they had been unable to in a long time (which, all too likely, they hadn't).
"A little too interested in cross-dressing," Zel grumbled. He was still upset at being used by the villagers, put under a sleeping spell, and for Xellos getting upset. At least he and Gourry had had time to look over his new sword that morning, while on the road.
"I would not have minded being the princess," Xellos remarked.
"You're fulfilling Lina's sick fantasies, you know."
"Who says Lina-san will be around when I'm the princess?" Xellos asked coyly.
Zelgadis blushed deeply, but before he could even formulate a reply or remind Xellos to keep that kind of talk quiet until later, but Lina just kept the banter going.
"I could make you into a princess for real, you know," she said, throwing a dangerous glower his way.
The chimera felt himself wincing, but his lover just frowned at Lina.
Then redhead stuck her tongue out at him. Xellos returned the gesture. Zelgadis saw they were both trying not to smile at each other and relaxed.
Just like that, things were back to normal. Lina had accepted them, Xellos had forgiven her (or at least stopped imagining ways to get back at her).
"Are we babysitting again?" Gourry asked Amelia.
"I hope not," Amelia responded, lips twitching.
Xellos overheard. "Oh, my. Lina-san was such a terror. Still is, really."
"What was that?" Lina growled.
"You were pretty bad." Zel shrugged. He wasn't happy by the reminder of little Lina, or of all the things she said. "At least you're not running Amelia ragged now."
Amelia sighed and mumbled, too softly for anyone but Zelgadis with his heightened senses to hear, "No, but she's tiring me out in different ways."
Zel blushed and stayed silent. It figured that Lina could do nothing in moderation.
The path they followed was shaded by trees on either side, and as it was still cool, there was a gentle breeze. Xellos walked close to him, staff tapping lightly on the ground, and there was a happy smile on his face. Part of Zelgadis still kept a lookout for attacking Mazoku, but he couldn't help but also partly pay attention to the banter and how peaceful Xellos seemed.
The night before, they had talked about an actual future. Not just the general idea of staying together, but tentative plans about what they would do after this. Zelgadis felt pretty happy himself just remembering it.
They spotted the next village after a little over an hour and Lina went on ahead with Amelia. Zel, lost in thought and already mentally designing the layout of the cottage, almost missed Xellos' teasing comment.
"Oh my. It's hard to tell whether Lina-san is more interested in food or spending time with Amelia-san, now."
"FIRE BALL!"
Having been prepared for an attack, though not friendly fire, Zel immediately put up a magical shield. The attack bounced off the shield harmlessly and the chimera frowned at Lina. He had been about to forgive her for before, but this was going too far.
"Lina! In case you forgot, that would actually hurt Xellos now. He's not your Mazoku punching bag anymore."
Xellos pouted and muttered, "I was not a punching bag," the same time Lina grumbled, "Well, he should stop with the teasing!"
Zelgadis felt his brow twitch. "Xellos teases everyone, Lina. It's not new. Xellos, you teased Lina all the time just so she'd react violently. Don't deny it."
Lina huffed and continued walking while Xellos laughed softly. "I suppose that's true," he admitted. "However, she truly did overreact this time."
Zel sighed. He could hear Amelia scolding Lina softly ahead of them. "Just be careful."
His violet haired lover rubbed his arm soothingly. "I apologize, Zelgadis-san. Lina-san and I need to work on how my new state has changed our interaction, I suppose."
The shaman nodded and let it pass without further argument. He was aware that Xellos did not actually promise to work on their 'interaction' but Zel thought his lover wouldn't jeopardize his life on purpose.
Their fearless, self-proclaimed leader took them into the newest village, finding a restaurant with that discerning way she always did. (Lina claimed she could "sense" which restaurant was best, but Zel thought she just picked the ones that she saw first.)
Zelgadis sat at one of the small tables. Their group had to be divided between two and Zel wasn't at all surprised when only Xellos chose to sit beside him. Smiling softly from behind his mask, he ordered coffee and a light lunch when the waitress arrived. Xellos ordered similarly, with tea.
Their drinks arrived first. Zelgadis was talking quietly about other ideas for the cottage he'd gotten during the walk, not wanting the others to overhear just yet, when Xellos suddenly frowned at his tea.
"Oh dear."
"Hm?"
Xellos hissed, emitting an uncharacteristic snarl. "Everyone, stop now!"
Lina's mouth was full of complimentary crackers. "Whash?"
The purple-haired man sat his teacup down, the china clinking softly. "This is getting ridiculous, even for us. We must start preparing our own meals." He looked at Zel, eyes hooded and angry. "Poison."
Zel frowned down at his mug of coffee. "I don't feel anything. What kind of poison?"
"Mazoku." Xellos looked around the restaurant, as if he could find their unknown assailant, but they were ignored by the villagers. "It won't take long before we are under its control."
The shaman stood. "Control? How is that possible?" What kind of poison could do that?
At this point, many of the other patrons began to chuckle or moan. Some fell out of their seats.
"It's in the water; our drinks, the food it was cooked in… Deep Sea Dolphin…" Xellos frowned deeper and clenched his fists. Zelgadis had rarely seen him so angry and it was frightening all on its own. "My goodness. I didn't drink much, but it's already taking effect…"
Amelia held her head, looking alarmed and a little pale. "I don't feel so good." Lina touched her shoulder worriedly. Gourry tried to stand and slumped to one knee instead.
"I had some coffee," Zel noted, "but I don't feel it." All he felt was worry for his friends. There had to be something they could do.
Xellos seemed to be struggling with words. "Your constitution is… unique, so… perhaps…"
Zel touched his shoulder. The only thing keeping him from pulling Xellos into his arms outright was them being in public, and just barely. "Xellos, is there an antidote?"
His lover blinked at him slowly. "Time. It's… not fatal… to the person who ingested it…"
To the person who ingested it? Zelgadis was about to ask for clarification, when Lina stood abruptly, knocking her chair over as she began chanting a Fireball spell.
"I'm not going down without a fight!" she snapped, pink eyes darting around the restaurant.
Zel glanced around for any sign, something to reveal their assailants, but there was nothing. "I don't sense them."
"They won't show themselves until we're com—completely taken over," Xellos struggled to say. He didn't look as sick as the others. He was pale and sweating, but moreover, he looked so angry. Positively infuriated. "Zelgadis, quickly, you must…"
He trailed off and went completely silent, lowering his head and his hair falling in his eyes.
Zel, still holding his shoulder, squeezed gently. "Xellos? Xellos!"
Xellos moved abruptly, with some of his former preternatural speed, and grabbed a fork from the table. Zelgadis didn't even have time to react before his lover tried to stab him. The utensil, of course, bended against his skin and did no harm whatsoever, but the action was enough to shock Zel away from him.
"Xellos!"
Dropping the fork, the man leapt, somehow managing to tackle Zel to the ground (mostly because it was so surprising). His hair in disarray, eyes wild, he hissed through clenched teeth, "Sleeping! Now!"
He wanted Zel to cast Sleeping on him? "But-!" he gasped, horrified. He didn't understand what was happening, why Xellos was so angry and attacking him.
"NOW!" Xellos shouted.
He gathered the power around him and cast Sleeping over all those around him. Immediately, the manic and hateful expression on Xellos' face melted away, and the former priest slumped limply on top of him as he, like the others, fell under the Sleeping spell. Zelgadis gathered him into his arms and held him close, confused and worried.
What the fuck was going on?
All was silent around him, until mocking laughter broke the stillness. Finally, he felt the bloodlust that he associated with most Mazoku encounters. (Even, periodically, with Xellos in his former state.)
Zelgadis realized belatedly what Xellos had struggled to tell him, before falling under the strange control of the poison. This Mazoku 'poison' worked as some sort of mind control, once it was inside a human's system. The human body was made up of a large percentage of water. It made sense for a Mazoku based in water to somehow find a way to control humans because of it. That was likely how the creation of this strange poison came about.
Of course, as Xellos had tried to say, Zel was different. He was not entirely human.
It made him angry, and not just at their attackers. To be once again saved by the physiology, his curse, that he so hated—it was intolerable! He hated to be so dependent on his stone skin and supernatural strength, speed, and agility. In the end, it had been almost exactly what he had asked for, the wish that his grandfather had granted (though it was only to further his chimera research).
The price had only been his humanity.
Until now. Zel caressed Xellos' face briefly before his sat his lover gently on the ground. He took out his new dragon sword, on his guard.
The Mazoku would pay for hurting Xellos.
It was still not visible when it spoke again. "Poor little Xellos. He was always so stubborn. It would have been very amusing if he'd just given in. He could have woken up to find he'd killed you!" This was added with a maniacal giggle.
"Coward!" Zel snarled angrily, giving the appearance of having little control over it. Meanwhile, he kept searching, trying to pinpoint where it—or they—were.
More laughter. "Tell me, chimera. Will you put the whole town to sleep?"
That was all the warning he got as more villagers began stiffly walking into the restaurant, trying to squeeze and often crawl over each other to do so. Men, women, children—and their movements were strange, as if they were all marionettes. Or zombies. Thankfully, they didn't smell like zombies.
"If I have to, I will." He waited until they surrounded him, swaying unnaturally, all but grasping at him, before casting, "Sleeping!" again.
"Then this could get rather tedious," said the faceless Mazoku. "We'll have to go after you ourselves..."
Suddenly, three Mazoku appeared and blasted him out of the building. He flew through the air, making his own exit through the wall, and landed in a fruit stand across the street. Zel struggled to his feet, waiting for them to draw near and keeping hold of his sword. He pulled a stray bit of fruit out of his hair.
He ran at them, having speed of his own, and swung at one with his sword. The Mazoku, unsuspecting, didn't bother to dodge. He thought the sword was just an ordinary sword. Zel only had a moment to fear the Mazoku had nothing to be afraid of anyway when a cut appeared on the monster's body.
"Wha-What?" it gasped, clutching at itself.
Zelgadis grinned ruthlessly, swinging again, making another cut. Simultaneously, he sent a Ra Tilt toward another of the three Mazoku.
This one was smarter. It dodged, disappearing into the Astral Plane, reappearing to send a blast of chaotic energy toward him. It was quick, he barely had time to dodge, but as he rolled away he was already casting another spell.
"Elmekia Lance!"
This time, when it dodged, it didn't notice it was right in front of the Mazoku that Zel had previously cut. It just stood there, bemoaning its pain, and didn't see the arc of white light before it was too late. Already weakened, it could only cry out as it died, fading away.
Zel had tried to keep all three in his line of sight, but when he looked up again he noticed the one that had yet to move was gone. There was no warning as sharp talon-like appendages slashed through the rough skin of his back.
"Argh!" he cried, swinging at the attacking Mazoku blindly.
The third dodged easily. It was a thin, wispy sort of Mazoku, with long black hair that hung in its eyes, wet and slimy. Its arms were also long, so long the sharp talons reached the ground. The talons, of course, were now dripping with his blood.
"Poor little chimera," it crooned. "It seems that that's all you've got. A pity, we would have liked to toy with you more, to see just how strong you are. But I suppose that won't be necessary. We'll just be taking that interesting little sword you have."
Zelgadis tightened his grip on his sword, despite the pain. "Try it."
It was reckless, but he had to beat them. The others—Xellos—were depending on him.
The third motioned at the second, which came after him. It was less humanoid than its leader, so that was in Zel's favor, at least. The less human-shaped they were, the weaker the Mazoku.
He bent over, as if he were in a lot of pain—which he was—and the Mazoku didn't come after him as quickly as it should.
It giggled and paused, tilting Zel's face up by his chin. The touch was cold and burned, making Zel feel dizzy. "Are you sure we cannot play with this one first?"
Zel swung fast. It tried to get away, but it wasn't fast enough to avoid getting sliced clean through the middle. It disappeared with an inhuman cry of pain.
This only made Zelgadis feel dizzier and he fell to his knee. His vision swam, but he forced his mind to stay focused. One more left. It was smarter than the other two, but Zel just had to be even better. He had to.
Xellos. Their cottage, their future. He had to.
The remaining Mazoku snarled. "Little pest. You'll pay."
"No," said another voice. "But you will."
"What?" It whirled in surprise, or tried to, but the movement was already too late.
Xellos stood in what remained of the restaurant's entrance, after Zel had smashed through the wall. He had a ball of red energy in his hands, and the rest of his body glowed from some sort of amplification spell.
"Ra Tilt!"
The Ra Tilt was faster and stronger than usual, hitting the Mazoku before it had fully turned toward him.
"Y-You!" it gasped.
Xellos leaned heavily against what remained of the doorway, panting. "Begone. We are bored with you."
The Mazoku faded and died like its brethren. Only then did Zel relax, but as he slumped, the pain in his back increased. "Xellos…"
He wanted to stand and go to his lover, who was awake and seemed to be of his own mind once more. But his exhausted and hurt body just didn't want to respond. Instead of rising, he just slumped further to the ground.
He thought he heard someone yell his name, and then a cooling sensation along his back, before he lost consciousness completely.
When he woke, it was in bed and he was staring up at an unfamiliar ceiling. There was only a lingering pain in his back and he could hear Lina and Gourry talking softly to one another.
Zelgadis sluggishly forced his head to move so that he could take in his surroundings. He was in a small room, where he and his friends were all cramped inside. Lina sat at the desk, fiddling with the three Ryuzoku weapons they had found. Gourry was sitting near the table, sharpening his new sword. Zel's own was hung on Gourry's chair, as if the blond was looking after it for him. Amelia sat slumped over his bed, her head on the mattress as she slept. Xellos was slumped similarly to her, closer to Zel's elbow. It looked as though he had both of them to thank for his relative good health.
"Ishev—" Zel cleared his throat before trying again. "Is everyone okay?"
Lina grinned. She looked tired, but no longer pale. "Yup. We're fine now."
Amelia woke instantly. Her short hair was in disarray. "Zelgadis-san, you're awake! Can I get you anything?"
"Water," he croaked. "Preferably not poisoned."
Amelia smiled as she reached for a pitcher. "Don't worry, Xellos-san showed us how to clean the water."
"And he knew a nifty spell for countering that stupid poison," Lina put in. "You just have to be asleep when its cast. I guess he cast it on himself just before you put him to sleep. Tricky little bastard, isn't he?" She grinned wider. "I'm glad he's on our side."
That was probably as close as Lina would get to saying Xellos being human was a good thing.
The man in question whimpered, their voices waking him. "Zelgadis…?"
Zel reached out, touching his hand. "I'm awake."
"Zelgadis!" he gasped, reaching for his hand immediately, their fingers twining. "I'm so sorry I attacked you. I tried to fight it..."
The shaman offered his lover a tired smile, squeezing their fingers. "I know. You probably saved my life when you killed the last Mazoku. I don't think I could've." Maybe he could have, if he had managed to pull a rabbit out of his hat. He was almost as lucky as Lina. But in this case, he was glad that he hadn't had to find out.
Xellos pressed his head to Zel's stomach. "I was so worried. You lost a lot of blood."
Zel petted his hair was his free hand, feeling the soft purple locks. "How long was I out?"
"It's about an hour from sunup now," Lina said around a yawn.
"That long?" Zel was surprised. "It was lunch when they attacked."
She nodded. "Yeah. You were pretty bad off. If Xellos hadn't started healing you immediately, well… Sylphiel isn't here to cast a Resurrection, you know."
"I didn't realize I was that badly hurt," Zel mumbled. He had slept for hours and was still tired, so it made sense now. It was because of his wounds.
"Probably the adrenaline rush," Lina agreed. "Don't worry about it. Amelia and Xellos got the worst of it, and your normal preternatural healing should take care of the rest. The villagers are letting us stay here for free since you saved them too. But if the Mazoku know where we're heading now, we shouldn't stay too long. Rest while you can."
Zel nodded. He finally took the cup Amelia was holding out for him and sipped gratefully, the cool water going down his dry throat. "They wanted to toy with us, to make Xellos kill me."
"I would have gone mad with grief," Xellos murmured and Zelgadis resumed petting his hair.
"That's what they were hoping for, I think. But you resisted. They only attacked when they realized I was just going to cast sleeping on the townspeople they sent after me."
"And with three against one, the odds were in their favor."
Yes. Way too close for his comfort. "On the bright side, the sword works well," Zel told them softly. "It'd have been worse if I hadn't had it." He described how easily the sword cut through the Mazoku, much like the lost Sword of Light in a lot of ways.
It was then that he noticed he wore a pajama top that did not belong to him—likely provided by the inn's managers—and sighed.
"I'm going to have to get a new shirt, aren't I?"
"You still have the one we got in the other village," Amelia reassured.
"Right." That was something at least. Zel shifted slightly, but his back didn't even twinge. He was very tired still. "Need more sleep." And likely would until he fully healed.
Zel tugged lightly on Xellos' hand. "C'mere," he said, not caring that the others were in the room with them. He wanted the former priest close.
Xellos smiled softly and climbed into the bed with him, not getting too close—obviously still worried about his injuries. Zelgadis tugged him closer stubbornly, not caring about any pain, and Xellos obeyed. Only then was he able to relax and fall back to sleep.
Lina rolled her eyes as the two grown men snuggled together and her—girlfriend?—Amelia pulled a blanket over them.
She still wasn't completely sure about Xellos' motives, but she was a little surer today than yesterday. Tricky bastard or not, he'd saved her life once again. More importantly he had saved Amelia and Zel. She owed Xellos big time for that one.
"They gonna be okay?" Gourry whispered after a time.
"They just need to rest," Lina told him just as softly. She was grateful that she and Gourry had escaped yet another near death experience, though it was a little odd that neither of them had actually been directly involved in the outcome.
Amelia fussed with the blankets covering Zel and Xellos for a few minutes before finally moving away from the bed. She stretched her arms above her head. "How are you coming along with those weapons, Lina-san?"
"Eh." She shrugged. "I think they were meant to amplify magic in some way." Apart from that, she really couldn't say much about how they worked. The trouble was, as clever as she was and as many unusual magical devices she had seen in her life, this was way out of her league. She didn't want to admit that, of course.
Amelia came over to rub her arm gently. "I'm sure you'll figure it out."
Lina blushed at the touch. What they had was different than the boys and she still wasn't sure about the future. Lina was, however, willing to see where it would go and not run away. Amelia deserved better than that.
The princess went on. "The shrine here was destroyed sometime ago, but the next one will definitely be the real one."
Lina nodded, assuming like Amelia did that the real shrine would not, or could not, be destroyed. "That's a relief. I hope we find something useful."
"I'm sure we will."
"I hope so." Lina couldn't help but glance at the bed. "This trip better be worth it, after all this."
Amelia kissed her cheek, making her blush more. "You should rest too, Lina-san."
Lina sighed. "I know. I just wanted to make sure…" And she couldn't help but want to work harder on the weapons. She really thought they would be the key to saving their hides this time.
Amelia smiled. "They're fine. Gourry-san and I can stay up, just in case, if that makes you feel better. Now, sleep."
There was no arguing with that tone. Lina sighed again and unrolled her bedroll on the floor. It wasn't strictly very comfortable, but she was used to sleeping on the ground, and fell asleep quickly.
It was hot the next day, and they did not start early, waiting for Zel to be fit for travel. The heat had drawn out bugs, particularly mosquitoes. They especially seemed to be attacking Xellos and Zel often chased them away with small wind spells.
Xellos smiled wanly, the wind also relieving the heat for a moment. "Thank you, my dear."
"There's probably some sort of standing water around here for them to be this bad," Zelgadis sighed. With his skin, he did not have this problem, but that didn't mean he felt no sympathy for his lover. Not only that, but mosquitoes were known to spread all sorts of nasty diseases that he wouldn't like to see Xellos getting. "Like a swamp of some kind."
"I'm glad we'll be living further north of here," Xellos murmured, eyes shining briefly.
Zel smiled and cast another wind spell, this time a version he had seen Lina use on occasion that combined with elements of a water spell to create a cool breeze. He sent this at the former priest.
"Ohh." Xellos smiled wider, the created wind fluttering his hair. "You're so sweet."
"No need for you to feel uncomfortable," Zelgadis told him, a little smugly. He really enjoyed making the other man feel good.
Xellos pressed closer to kiss his cheek and Lina, walking a few paces in front of them, cleared her throat.
"No sex in the bushes," she said with an impish grin. "They look like they're poison ivy anyway."
Zel glared but steered Xellos away from the bushes regardless. He knew the former priest would be miserable with poison ivy.
Despite exchanges like these, their journey down the long abandoned path had gone quiet, the easy companionship that their group normally had replaced by watchfulness. None of them wanted to be taken unawares again. The faster they reached the real Aqualord shrine, the better.
Unless Xellos was wrong and there was really nothing in these hills. In that case, they were in bigger trouble than they knew. But none of them wanted to think about that outcome just yet.
So instead of talking, Zelgadis kept his lover close with an arm around his waist, swatting the mosquitoes away with spells, until Lina called from ahead once more.
"Hey, I think we're here."
Zel looked up the path. Through the foliage, he could make out the shape of an old and neglected building. Though its outer walls had probably once been white and pristine, the surrounding forest had encroached upon it, aging the color and architecture. It was crumbling in places, the roof entirely caved in. His heart began to sink until they got closer and he saw that the shrine had been built partly into a hillside. It was possible that some of the inside was still intact. If so, perhaps the Claire Bible was still there…
Beside him, Xellos shivered. It was surprising because it was so hot.
"Oh my. I think this is definitely the one."
Zel glanced at him, trying not to feel hopeful. "Oh?"
Xellos nodded. "I can sense the Water Dragon Lord's presence. It's not something you forget easily."
Lina stepped closer to them. "Wait. Here?"
"It felt the same around the tablets and the real Claire Bible," Xellos explained.
"But you said presence."
"The Claire Bible is what remains of the Aqualord. It feels like him."
"Aqua-baachan was in both places," Lina murmured in a considering tone. Zel looked at her curiously but she only shook her head. "Let's go."
Xellos pulled away from him as they approached the door, and Zel let him go, though unwillingly. Lina proceeded inside with them just behind her. The inside did not look much better than the outside. A musty smell permuted the space, and vines grew up the walls, which were also crumbling and cracked. He was pretty sure he saw a rat or squirrel scurry along the floor before it hid out of sight.
The further they went inside, the darker it got, and they had to use Lighting spells to see. They were underground as soon as they left the entrance hall, walking deep into the hillside. Passageways were tight in places, often making them crawl through, and Zel began to worry about a possible cave in. The stones along the passage did not fill him with confidence.
"Lina, duck!" Gourry shouted abruptly.
Lina dived and rolled, narrowly missing arrows that shot from panels in the walls. Zel moved just as fast, tackling Xellos to the ground and protected him with his body, but was almost immediately off of him, afraid he had accidentally hurt his lover.
"You okay?" Zel asked, helping Xellos sit up.
Xellos was flushed but he didn't wince in pain, which was a relief. "Yes, I'm fine," he confirmed and kissed his cheek.
"Good. Lina?"
"Fine," the redhead grumbled, standing and dusting her pants and mantle off. "Thanks, Gourry."
"Sure." The swordsman looked around dubiously. "So, this is booby trapped too, huh?"
"Looks that way. I can't even tell what set it off. Motion sensors, maybe…" Lina rubbed her chin, frowning. "If so, there's no way to avoid it; just be ready and watch each other's backs."
The next one was a trap door that Amelia somehow triggered, after Zel, Xellos, and Lina had already walked over it. She would have fallen in if Gourry had not grabbed her in time. Zel turned back to help Gourry haul her back up.
"Amelia!" Lina gasped, running back.
Amelia forced a smile once she was back on her feet. "I'm fine. That just gave me an idea though." She reached into her coin purse and brought out a handful of gold coins, which she began tossing along the floor. They rolled down the hall in loud clatters.
"Amelia," Lina hissed, looking pained. "Stop wasting money!"
"Then find me something else to toss, Lina-san," Amelia responded in a perfectly reasonable tone.
In order to avoid an argument, Zel searched the floor until he found some pebbles to use instead. The others followed his example, carrying handfuls of rock and crumbled mortar as they proceeded.
Nothing happened for a long time, and that began to worry them in a different way. Lina called them to another stop.
"The rocks may not be heavy enough," she said.
Zel nodded. "We could set off something anyway."
"What do we do?" Gourry asked.
"We could use wind or water spells to set them off instead," Xellos suggested. "It'll waste energy, though. If the Claire Bible isn't here, then we are unprotected against Mazoku and it would not be wise to meet them while weakened."
Zel cursed softly and tried to think. His heel only shifted a little, but when he felt the stone under him move, he realized his mistake.
He fell to the floor and knew only pain as some mysterious force tore through his entire being. All he could do was scream and writhe.
"Zelgadis!" Xellos tried to step toward him but almost as soon as the chimera had begun screaming, he felt the magic go over him as well. There was no pain, but he felt his body changing. Into what, he was not sure, but it was not human. He was vaguely aware of this being much like when they had switched genders and when Zelgadis and Lina had become children.
He wasn't sure how much time had passed before the sensation was gone and he was staring up at a familiar, wizened face.
"Aqua-baachan!" Lina gasped somewhere near him.
Aqua, the physical respresentation of the Claire Bible's knowledge, smiled. "Hello, Lina-san."
For some reason, Aqua had interfered and stopped the transformation, Xellos realized dimly. It was only a small comfort, and he wondered what took her so long, or if she had not known they were in the shrine until now-
Zelgadis. He remembered Zelgadis screaming! Xellos forced his limbs to move, grateful to find them once again normal after the brief transformation. He crawled quickly to Zelgadis' side.
The chimera was on the floor, unconscious, and gave no response other than a pained whimper as Xellos checked him over. He didn't seem injured, but would not wake up. Lost for explanation, he looked at Aqua. "What is wrong with him?"
"The spell attempted to change his physiology," said the visage of an old woman. "It would have succeeded but for the power behind the spell that created him."
"That again." Xellos sighed. If it was exactly like last time, Zelgadis would need rest. He asked Aqua for somewhere comfortable for them to rest and she pointed them down the hall. Gourry helped him carry Zelgadis down the darkened passage.
At least they would not need to be worrying about the Mazoku for the time being.
They came upon a large room with an ornate, domed ceiling. Aqua pointed to a curtained alcove, which had a bed inside along with some provisions. Xellos and Gourry set Zelgadis' substantial weight down upon the bed. The bed had fresh sheets and not one speck of dust nor signs of age.
Aqua spoke again. "My power cannot undo what the Red Priest did with the power of Shabranigdu."
Xellos closed his eyes, fists clenching. So it was true, this was why Zelgadis had been reacting so severely to the transformations. "I see. But, tell me... Is there any part of Shabranigdu in his soul? Is that why these transformations cause him pain?"
She shook her head. "No. He was exposed to the power through Rezo, but he is not a shard."
Relieved, Xellos sagged until he was sitting on the edge of the bed. "Then the rest will be bearable." As long as he could keep Zelgadis from losing his sanity, at any rate. His reaction to Rezo's trapped soul telling him that there was no cure for his chimeric form had not been very good.
Because Aqua was not a person, merely a form that the Claire Bible took. If she said that she had no way to heal Zelgadis, she meant as the Claire Bible.
And, just for a dose of personal irony, if he had still been a Mazoku, he could not have stopped the others from seeing the Claire Bible because of the nature of the shrine's protective wards. True, the structure was decrepit and falling apart, but he doubted that even a priest of his former caliber could have destroyed the shrine.
"Will he be okay?" Amelia asked.
"He will be fine after a long rest," Aqua assured with a smile. "Lina-san, I believe you have some questions for me?"
Lina nodded. "Yeah." She looked at Xellos. "Goes without saying that you'll take care of him."
Xellos nodded firmly and he was left alone with his chimera, keeping a silent vigil until he woke up.
When he regained awareness, it was slowly, and for a few moments all he was aware of was how his body ached.
Mental note: Must stop passing out. Twice in as many days was not fun and kind of embarrassing for the 'heartless sorcerer swordsman.'
"Awake, dear?"
Turning toward that familiar voice, Zelgadis was relieved to see that Xellos was well. He was lounging beside him on the bed, reading a book, the title of which he couldn't make out from his angle laying down.
"Xellos?" he croaked groggily and winced. He sounded terrible.
Xellos emitted a sympathetic noise and handed him a cup of water. "Here, drink."
He did, all too happily, and weakly tried to sit up against the pillows piled under his head. They were inside a little domed alcove where the bed took up most of the room. There were small shelves filled with books, canned goods, and the water.
"What happened?" he asked.
"It seems another spell was triggered, similar to the ones before but stronger. It reacted to Rezo's spell rather severely. Aqua-san was able to heal you, however, and set us to rights as well. You'll likely be feeling weak for another day."
"Aqua," Zel echoed blankly. "She's here?"
"Oh, yes. She and Lina-san are conversing now with the Claire Bible."
Yes! Zel felt his lips curl up into an elated smile. "I actually found it."
At last, he would get a shot at learning the Claire Bible's secrets. He could learn how to shed his stone skin and become human again. He and Xellos could be together without fear that he would hurt him.
"Zelgadis…" Xellos paused whatever he was going to say, eyes downcast.
The chimera smiled gently and touched his hand, assuming his lover was just feeling guilty about earlier. "I'm okay, Xellos. Just really weak." And as soon as he felt better, he was going to seek out Aqua.
Xellos reached up and touched his cheek, his palm warm. "I'm glad, but that's not it. You see, Aqua-san said... She said the reason you've been reacting so badly to these spells is that they have been trying to cure you."
"They were?"
Xellos nodded. He took a deep breath and looked strangely frightened. "She also said... that there was no way for her to undo what Rezo did with the Dark Lord's power."
It took a moment for the words to sink in, and he stared into Xellos' sad eyes as he took in the words. It didn't seem real. There was never a time, since his transformation, that he had truly given up. Even after what Rezo had told him there was no way, however unlikely, he had still wanted to keep searching. Hoping that Rezo was wrong.
But if the wise and powerful remnants of the Water Dragon Lord of the North said there was no way to undo it—that was it. It was over. The Claire Bible was his last lead, his last option.
"No." His throat felt thick, his eyes hot, and he put all his focus into trying not to cry.
Xellos caressed his cheek, making soothing noises, and Zelgadis shifted closer to hide his face in Xellos' chest.
His lover wrapped him in his arms, holding him tight. "I'm sorry, Zelgadis."
He was shaking, breathing in short gasps as he struggled with his grief, to keep it inside and be strong. Just like he always tried to do. "I'm stuck like this. Rezo was right." Gods, it hurt so much.
Xellos rubbed his back firmly enough that he felt it. "It will be alright."
And something about hearing that broke through Zelgadis' reserves. He sobbed as quietly as he could into Xellos' chest, his entire body shaking, and his lover held him through it all. He occasionally murmured something soothing, but otherwise just let him cry it out. Xellos stayed and held him, no complaints, just accepting his pain.
Xellos. Xellos. Zel sagged against him and felt the pain inside begin to lessen into something duller and weirdly recognizable.
He couldn't be human again and that hurt, it hurt so much. But it wasn't the end. It wasn't a death sentence, it only changed their plans a little bit. There was still a happy ending waiting for him, because Xellos wasn't going anywhere. Xellos was there, alive and human and holding him. Everything else would work out eventually.
"At least I have a future... with you..."
He could hear a smile in Xellos' voice. "Yes, dearest. I promised, remember? I will always be here with you."
"Then I haven't lost everything."
And it was true.
TBC. Not sure the deadline will be met after all, but Chrissy promises to keep writing.