As usual, I don't own anything, I'm just a fan writing some fiction. Please enjoy!

60- Strike A Deal

Since the whole fiasco with Azarel and Xellos had taken less time than they'd expected, Lina, Amelia, and Pestis treated themselves to dinner and spent a long time socializing with the restaurant patrons who were happy to see the princess out and about. It was late when they finally returned to the palace, but they were in high spirits. The court summons that Amelia had issued seemed now like a distant, unpleasant memory.

Lina felt guilty, however, when she returned to her room. Her husband had been waiting for her, or so it looked the way he was propped up in bed. He'd dozed off and was sleeping soundly enough to be snoring, but it was clear that he had at least made an effort to greet her.

The twins, like their father, were asleep in their own corner of the room. Lina passed by the crib to make sure that the infants were comfortable and safe, and then began settling into bed herself. She kept trying to focus on the positivity she'd been surrounded by just an hour earlier, but it was difficult.

Something about tonight's conversation didn't sit right with her.

Xellos had seemed far too contrite. That wasn't his style at all, and it certainly wouldn't be like him to "plead guilty." His desire to avoid conflict with the Seyruun government meant that he had an ulterior motive hidden somewhere deep within all his secrecy, and Lina figured that it had something to do with the barrier studies that he'd conducted with Azarel's magical beast. His offer to pay whatever fee the government might issue- seeing as the property destruction had been so great, it surely would be an outlandish amount- was a sign that the data he'd collected was of more value than anything that Seyruun could take from him. The scary part was not knowing what that data was.

It was possible that his barrier research had a similar basis to Amelia and Zelgadis' work with the Seyruun barrier. The ability to track Mazoku through mathematical calculations had already proven useful for them- just imagine what it could do for Xellos and his master. But Lina had the sneaking suspicion that tracking petty Mazoku was not Beastmaster's objective. What was it, then? Did it have to do with Luke's kidnapping? Were the twins in any further danger? Was the world in any danger?

The latter questions were both the same to Lina, of course, but she figured there might be others with different priorities.

As though sensing that his mother was thinking of him, Enrico began making noise. He was quiet at first, and only steadily increased his volume to a scream. He wasn't crying quite so much as he was squealing for attention, and Lina had been told that it was important to let infants learn to return to sleep on their own. If he was hungry or needed something else, his cries would be more urgent, but this was more of an "I'm-bored-so-please-pay-attention-to-me" cry.

Within a few minutes, Luke started up too, likely cranky about having been woken up by his brother. Again, his cries were more "my-brother-is-crying-please-make-him-stop" than anything else.

Gourry stirred, hearing the twins' cries. "Don't worry, I'm right here-"

Lina touched his hand to stop him. "Give them some space."

"Lina!" Gourry rubbed his eyes and checked again to make sure he was really seeing her. "You're back! What happened? What took so long? Are you okay? Did Azarel-"

"Shh." Lina pressed a finger to her lips and motioned toward the crib where Enrico was still crying. Luke had given up for now.

"Sorry." Gourry whispered back. "Did Azarel attack you? I got so worried waiting for you to return. I'm really sorry that I decided not to come. I feel bad-"

"No, no, no." Lina waved a hand dismissively. "Azarel didn't give us any trouble. We all went out for dinner."

All the tense muscles in Gourry's face relaxed. "Dinner? But you ate dinner before you left."

"It was… y'know, dinner number two." Lina shrugged.

"Are you pregnant again?"

"NO!" Lina yelled and then cringed before lowering her voice again. "Pestis suggested it. There was a little dive near the damaged area that he used to frequent, and he wanted to celebrate. We had a few drinks and an appetizer or five."

"What were you celebrating?" Gourry asked with a hint of nervousness in his voice.

"It turns out that Azarel was the one who set the heat beast upon Seyruun, but Xellos placed the high level barrier around it without Azarel's knowledge. Amelia charged them both with arson and destruction of property, and gave them a verbal court summons."

"…" Gourry's mouth hung open for a few seconds. "Court summons? You mean that Azarel and Xellos are going to appear before a judge? They'd never agree to that."

"Xellos did."

"He'll never show up."

Enrico had quieted down finally, and Lina got out of bed to approach the cradle and check on the twins. "We'll see tomorrow." She spoke to Gourry without looking at him. "They're to appear in court at noon. I feel like Xellos is really trying to avoid a fight with the Seyruun government. Whatever he gained from that barrier, it's worth more than the fines that the government is likely to impose."

"Do you think the judge will give them jail time?"

"Not if the judge knows they're Mazoku." Lina kissed each of the twins on the forehead, satisfied that they were safe and content. "That would never work, and I know for a fact that neither would allow themselves to be incarcerated."

"So… does this mean that Xellos and Azarel are working together again? If they both contributed to the damage, I mean-"

"No." Lina slipped into bed beside her husband. "In fact… I think they're on the brink of declaring war."

"War?" Gourry's voice cracked slightly as he spoke.

"The Mazoku as a race is being torn between three major powers right now. Beastmaster, Hellmaster, and Pathosmaster all have conflicting goals and intentions, and not one of them is willing to step down. They're each trying to make alliances against one another- we think Beastmaster may have even paid off Deep Sea to keep her out of the conflict."

Gourry leaned in closer. "Does this mean another war like that one a thousand years ago?"

"It won't be like that. The Mazoku have always been a united front. Now they're divided. This will be like nothing the world has ever seen before."

"Wasn't there one Mazoku Lord that turned against them?"

"Are you talking about Gaav, or Vireas?" Lina asked. "Vireas turned against the Mazoku when the power structure was far different from what it is today. Gaav, on the other hand, was stuck in a human's body, so his mentality changed. He was no longer a true Mazoku."

Gourry pressed his lips together for a moment, thinking it over. "Is war unavoidable? Can't we find some way to stop it?"

"I'm doing my best to think something up." Lina stared at the ceiling. "All I know is that we've got to depose Pestis."

"That's the best idea I've heard in a while."

Lina elbowed Gourry. "What I mean is, we have to make sure that he's no longer our front for dealing with Xellos and Azarel. He talks about peace, but it's only to further his own agenda. That's not the peace that we as humans want, and Xellos and Azarel will never accept it anyway."

"Does that mean Mister Nisery is our enemy now?"

"It's not that." Lina shook her head. "His goals aren't going to hurt us the way Azarel's and Xellos' likely will, but if his stubbornness lands us in the middle of a Mazoku war, we probably won't survive either. One of us has to take the reins from here on out."

"Who do you suggest?"

"…probably Amelia and Zelgadis. They're both politically-minded, and while Amelia has ideals and drive, Zel has the knowledge to support her while keeping her grounded. If we want to negotiate our survival, those two would be the ones I'd trust my life with."

"Not yourself?" Gourry asked.

"Why me?"

"You're a good leader. You think things through just as well as Zelgadis or Amelia, and you're realistic. Plus, you've got an undefeatable attitude. You don't ever give up, and when there's a goal you seek, you stop at nothing to reach it. That's got to count for something. I think you're great."

Lina hid her face under the blankets, and he wondered if she was trying to cover the fact that she was blushing or tearing up. "Gourry, you're too good to me."

Gourry settled down in bed again, pulling the blankets around him. "Think about it for a while, would you?"

"Okay, okay. I'll think about it."

Filia awoke the next morning to the sound of Val chirping and cooing loudly. She yawned and stretched her arms. "Val, sweetie, what is it? What's got you up so early?"

"Oh, don't mind me, Filia dear. I'm just stopping by to say hello." A voice answered casually. "Isn't that right, Val~? Whoosa good little dragon? You are! Yes you a-are~"

"Xellos!" Filia instinctively threw a pillow at him.

"Oh, dear!" Xellos picked up Val and held him close. "Your mommy's not being very nice, is she? Don't worry. Uncle Xellos will protect you."

"You are not his uncle!"

Xellos gasped. "Filia! I don't think I'm ready for the challenge of fathering such a special creature!"

"That's not what I meant and you know it."

Xellos gently placed Val back into his basket, and the baby dragon immediately curled up and went back to sleep. "You'll have to excuse my frankness, Filia dear, but I'm surprised to see you sleeping alone."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"Did you forget that you're pretending to be in a relationship with Pathosmaster?"

There was a pause and the two looked at one another. Xellos clapped his hands together.

"Oops! Did I say pretending? What an unfortunate slip of the tongue. You'd never do something so dramatic as faking a relationship, would you, Filia?"

She narrowed her eyes. "Get out."

"Fine, fine. I suppose even you require some privacy in the mornings."

Xellos exited through the door for once, closing it gently so as not to spook Val. Filia groaned and fell back onto her pillows in annoyance. "Even me? What's that supposed to mean, exactly?"

It was earlier than she'd planned to get out of bed, but having to deal with Xellos meant that Filia couldn't get back to sleep. She reluctantly rolled out of bed and by the time she had put on her clothes and brushed her hair, Val was squeaking loudly, asking to be fed. Filia always fed Val at the same table where everyone else ate, so she picked him up and carried him with her out of the room and into the hallway.

She didn't expect someone to be waiting for them.

"Ah! You're finally awake! Going to get breakfast, I assume."

Filia rolled her eyes. "Xellos, did you really wait outside of my room all that time?"

"What of it? It's not like your boyfriend was present to feel threatened. Besides that, Val likes me well enough."

"Val is too young to know better." Filia walked past Xellos with the intention of leaving him behind. She had no such luck, however.

"Hey, slow down! Wait for me!" Xellos caught up to her and matched her stride. "I just wanted to talk to you."

"What is there to talk about?"

"Oh, there's plenty. First and foremost, I wanted to ask about you and Professor Nisery."

Filia's face took on a look of indignance. "I'll have you know, Professor Nisery and I are involved in a long-running love affair."

"Right. I assume you have just as much sincerity saying that as I did when I said it to you before."

"What room do you have to question it?" Filia snapped. She reached the door to the main dining room and opened it with her free hand. "Are you some sort of love expert?"

"No. But I am an expert on Mazoku tactics and political alliances." Xellos closed the door behind them and sat down next to Filia at the table. "The convenience of your sudden affiliation with Lord Pathosmaster is just too obvious not to be a political ploy, and I'm afraid I can't just sit around and let this alliance happen. I have goals too, you know."

"Are you sure that you're not just jealous?" Filia asked pointedly.

"Quite sure." Xellos replied. "I have no reason to be jealous. There's no romance in your relationship with Professor Nisery. It's a ploy, and I know exactly why you're doing it."

Filia could feel her breath catch in her throat. Xellos wasn't supposed to know about the plot to make him and Azarel jealous. If he did, it would make the whole plan useless. What could she possibly say to convince him that she was serious?

"If you're so sure that you know why, please tell me." Filia tried to feign confidence.

"Obviously it's all for little Val."

There was a pause. That was not what Filia had expected to hear, and she couldn't form the words to respond.

"Did I hit the nail on the head?" Xellos smiled at her dumbstruck expression. "Val being the last of the Ancient Dragon Race puts him in horrible danger. There are many groups that would like to kill that poor, defenceless creature- or get their hands on him for sinister purposes. You could never hope to protect him all by yourself."

Val was still chirping for his breakfast, but Filia didn't seem to hear him. The information Xellos was giving her was not anything new and not anything she hadn't considered before, but to be presented with it like this was sudden. It put her on the spot, and she didn't know what to say.

"Naturally, there would also be Mazoku who have an interest in keeping the Ancient Dragon race alive. Being able to claim alliance to the last of such a race is an honour that many Mazoku might covet. Pathosmaster has therefore likely made you an offer in return for your allegiance and the allegiance of the last remaining Ancient Dragon. Your feigned romantic relationship with him is the outward sign of such an alliance… or am I wrong?"

Filia was silent.

"As someone who loves to shop, you probably understand the importance of knowing that you're getting the best deal on something. Therefore, I feel that it's in your best interest to let you know that Lord Beastmaster is also interested in making an offer for Val's protection."

Val gave an interested squeak at the sound of his name. Filia gently stroked his head to quiet him. "What does Beastmaster want with him?"

"While some Mazoku might view Val as a prize to be won, Lord Beastmaster views him and his allegiance as an investment for the future. There is a lot of potential within this tiny dragon, and he must be kept safe to allow him to reach said potential. Lord Beastmaster wants the very best for him, and that is to be reflected in her offer." Xellos began counting on his fingers for show. "Should you allow Lord Beastmaster to take over Val's protection, you will receive complete freedom to raise him as you wish- no unwanted interference from 'Uncle Xellos,' I assure you. On top of that, Lord Beastmaster will also personally fund his upbringing, education, and enrichment. You can take care of him- send him to the most prestigious private academies and institutions without worrying about how to pay for it."

Filia frowned. "There's got to be a catch. I'm going to pay for this one way or another."

"Absolutely not." Xellos shook his head. "You'll simply be expected to present him to Lord Beastmaster for annual check-ups and to remain loyal to Lord Beastmaster if presented with an issue on which you might… waver. You'll also be expected not to engage in any activity that might hinder any of Beastmaster's objectives, blah-blah, fine print and whatnot-"

"See? See?" Filia jumped to her feet. Val, startled, scurried out onto the table, his claws ripping a few holes in the tablecloth. "Any activity that might hinder Beastmaster's objectives? So, if you start hatching some massive evil plan, I can't do anything about it."

"Well, you could." Xellos shrugged, standing up to continue speaking to her face-to-face. "But then we'd have to take Val away from you, and you know that I'd hate to do that."

Filia's expression darkened at the very thought. "You liar. You'd love to do that to me. Just like you surely enjoyed stabbing me when you-"

"Filia, please. I'm only partially heartless. There's a part of me that genuinely wants to see you happy."

"…really?"

"Of course." Xellos waved one hand back and forth. "Lord Beastmaster and I have been trying to get rid of that part of me for years."

"Oh, you-! Now you're just teasing me!" That was exactly what Xellos was here to do, wasn't he? He was just toying with her instead of actually trying to convince her to accept Beastmaster's offer. He'd given his canned spiel and was waiting for her to agree. Of course the jerk knew he was making her an offer she couldn't refuse. His face said it all.

After it was all said and done, Filia was angry at herself for what she did next, but clearly it had seemed like a good idea at the time. Anything that would wipe that smug grin off his face would've been fine, but she was determined to kiss him and catch him off guard.

She didn't make it that far, however.

"Excuse me, Xellos. You might be here to recruit Val, but I think it's clear that Filia is the real prize you're after."

Xellos covered Filia's mouth- only centimetres away from his at this point- with one hand and turned around. "Lord Pathosmaster! What a completely unexpected surprise!"

Filia tensed up. How much of that conversation had Pestis overheard?