Yay! This fic is finally done! I was so giddy that I just had to post the last chapter today!
Disclaimer: I don't own Slayers
Chapter 7: Epilogue
The first thing that Thila registered was an extremely annoying, high-pitched beeping. The second thing was the soft bed she was on, and the third was that she was alive. She groaned and tried to sit up.
A blue-gloved hand gently pushed her back down. "You still need your rest, Thila," a voice said from beside her bed. "How do you feel?" he asked.
Thila turned her head and saw a concerned Xellos, sitting in a chair next to her. "I won't lie, Xellos, I feel like I got ran over by a run-away dragon," she said.
"Oh good! So it's not that bad, then!" he said with cheerful sarcasm.
Thila laughed and took in her surroundings. She was in a white-washed room, and had numerous machines around her. She saw her heart-rate monitor, which was the source of the beeping she heard earlier. She had a tube sticking out of her wrist, connected to a bag of miasma above her bed. She looked at Xellos, and raised an eyebrow. "A miasma IV?" she asked.
"Correct!" Xellos answered. "Lord Beastmaster uses this hospital to heal monsters without wasting any energy!"
"Wow, your mistress sure is lazy," Thila commented.
"Now, now, is that any way to treat someone who saved your life?" a new voice said from the foot of Thila's bed. Thila raised her head slightly to see Zelas standing there.
Xellos kneeled down, and then stood when Zelas commanded him. "Mistress, what brings you here?" he asked.
"That's a secret, Xellos dear!" Zelas said, imitating Xellos's signature pose.
Thila burst out laughing at the peeved look on Xellos's face. "I see where Xellos gets his sense of humor," she said.
"That's not fair, Mistress, that's my line!" Xellos whined.
"But who created you?" Zelas asked. "Oh right, me!" she answered herself. "Which means it was my line before it was ever yours, Xellos!"
Xellos muttered something about liking her better when she was drunk, and sulked in his chair.
"I wanted to ask you something, Thila," Zelas said, ignoring Xellos's response.
"What is it?" Thila asked, already knowing what it would be.
"I would like you to join up with the monster race again," Zelas said.
Thila had already made up her mind. "No," she said.
"Why not?" Zelas asked.
Thila sat up, and looked Zelas right in the eyes. "I like my life the way it is," she explained. "Though killing is quite fun, when I was with the monster race, it as way too easy, and I grew bored. Soon it was just orders." She sighed. "Being an assassin takes cunning and cleverness, and is so much more rewarding. I feel like I have purpose, now that I'm not some expendable slave."
"But, I'm not an expendable slave," Xellos said. "Am I, mistress?" he asked, looking at Zelas.
"Eh, not yet at least," Zelas said, shrugging her shoulders. After teasing Xellos, who was sulking once again, she thought about what Thila said. "I understand your reason; I will not ask you again. However, the monster race will lose a valuable ally."
"You know where I am, you can look me up if you have any more trouble," Thila said, lying back down again.
"And you can feel free to visit whenever you want, Thila," Zelas offered. "We can annoy Xellos together!" she added.
"I have a feeling that I'd rather be at the receiving end of Lina's Dragon Slave, than go through that," Xellos said, sweat-dropping.
Thila and Zelas laughed. "As long as you keep Dolphin out of the way, I'd be happy to visit!" Thila said.
"Oh, but it's so much fun when you two fight," Xellos said cheerfully.
Thila narrowed her eyes. "Oh, life is so wonderful!" she said with fake cheerfulness.
Xellos sweat-dropped. "Oh crap, I thought I was free of that when Amelia passed away!"
"I love living!" Thila continued. "Rainbows, birds and butterflies are all marvelous!"
"Mercy! Mercy!" Xellos screamed, and cowered on the floor. "I take it back! I take it back!"
Zelas just cringed a little, at the onslaught of happy emotions. Thila stopped, and gave Xellos, and herself, time to recover. He stood up, walked over to his chair and sat down. "How did you learn that?" he demanded.
"When I went to the Kingdom Of Sailune, I heard a young girl ranting off that stuff to a couple of monsters. Poor things didn't stand a chance!" Thila explained.
"Horrible way to die," Zelas said.
"Yeah," Thila agreed. "Anyway, how long will I be here?" she asked.
"A few days at most," Zelas answered. "Your body is still recovering from that spell."
"I still don't know how you managed to do that, and not get knocked out immediately," Xellos said.
"Well, to tell you the truth, my human fourth is the only thing that keeps me alive when I cast it," Thila confessed. "It was my first time using it, and I can only use it once, judging by my current condition."
"That spell is quite powerful, from what Xellos told me. It calls upon the Ancient Gods of Light," Zelas said.
"Yeah, Rezo taught me a long time ago," Thila said.
"Well, I won't bother you any longer," Zelas said and phased away.
"I should probably go too. I have to take care of a couple of things," Xellos said and phased out, leaving Thila alone with her thoughts.
"I would like you to join up with the monster race again," Zelas had said.
I do love what I do, Thila thought, thinking about what Zelas said. So why do I feel empty inside? Zelas is very nice to me, and so is everyone else. Maybe because I'm lonely. I'm constantly on the run, because friends of my targets always vow revenge. Perhaps I could take Zelas up on her offer. But, I'm afraid that if I do that, I'll lose my freedom completely. No, I am an assassin, and always shall be an assassin. Mind made up, she fell into a deep sleep.
A few days later:
Thila said good-bye to Xellos and went into her house. Everything was just how she left it. This is where I belong, she thought.
Xellos phased into his house after saying good-bye to Thila. Filia came running up to him, and hugged him. "Xellos! You're okay. I was so worried!" He took in the earthy smell of clay. She had obviously been making pottery, and rearranging furniture. Xellos raised an eyebrow as he embraced Filia.
"You missed me so much that you rearranged furniture?" he asked, stroking her soft hair. "You know that I would never let anything harm you, and I would never leave you."
Filia was crying. "If you died, I wouldn't know what to do. Every time you go on a mission, I fear that you will never make it back."
"Filia, look at me," Xellos said. Filia looked up at him and he wiped her tears. "I am a very strong monster; you know that I won't die easily."
"I know. But what if…"
"I have part of myself residing in my staff's jewel," he confessed. "If I do die, find a dead body, break the jewel, and we can be together again," he said casually, as if discussing the weather.
"Where is your staff, anyway?" Filia asked, stepping away from him.
Xellos looked down to see his staff had vanished. "Um…good question…I don't know." He was cut off by an explosion, leaving them both puzzled.
Val timidly crept into the room holding Xellos's staff. "Mom… Dad…"
"What is it, Val?" Filia said nervously.
"The kitchen's gone now."
Stay tuned for the alternate endings! This was so fun to write and thank you to you people out there for sticking with this Fic!