Chapter 8

Giza, Ejypt
June 3rd, 2002

The fast song stopped and a slow one began to play. "THIS IS FOR ALL THE LOVERS OUT THERE," the D.J. announced over it. "ENJOY YO-SELVES."

Filia and the teenager looked at each other, then said in sync, "I love this song."

Blushing, the blonde dragoness smiled shyly. "I know how to dance to this kind of song," she squeaked hopefully.

"Good," he smiled back, closing his eyes again before she could catch the color. "C'mon, then, you did promise me a dance."

She nodded and put her arms on his neck, trying to ignore that his hands were on her hips. Why do young people have to dance so close and so touchy? she complained in her mind.

"What's your name?" he asked her.

Filia blushed at the heat traveling up her from just his voice. Why is some young human affecting me so much? "F-Fabrice." His fingers were rubbing her skin up and down. Uhh . . . this isn't good!

"That's a lovely name. It's French, isn't it?"

"Um," she piped, "yes, it is!"

She turned her head away slightly to avoid his gaze, but he just placed his cheek against her own.

"You're French then?" he asked, voice sultry, and she nodded quickly, too nervous to protest his audacity. "I've always thought French women were the most beautiful on the earth. You've certainly proven my theory."

0

From the fear and anxiety he sensed, Xellos thought he might be acting too forward, but it was quite tempting.

The blonde seemed ready to bolt, however, so he backed off a little and pulled away slightly to look through his eyelids at her face. "So," he asked cheerily, "what is a gorgeous French girl doing in Giza, Ejypt?"

She studied the floor, which let him study her bosom. "Um," she spoke over the loud slow song, "I'm here for my Uncle's funeral. He was an anthropologist."

"That's too bad," he said, desire roughening his voice. "Will you be leaving soon?"

"Probably."

He let his water-darkened bangs fall over his eyes, not wanting to scare her with the lust he was having trouble hiding. "Where do you live when you're not in Giza?"

0

"This is better than a movie," Valgaav chuckled from the astral plane.

Val stood not much more than four feet from the dancing couple, and while Xellos' obvious hunger was disturbing and the way he was holding Filia pissed him off, both of them deserved it.

And it was funny.

Valgaav continued to watch, eyes peeled.

0

"I, I live in Amerika." I think he's hitting on me, Filia thought, a wave of confusion struggling to incapacitate her. What should I do? Maybe when the song is over, I can leave . . . Oh, I wish I hadn't bought this bikini!

"Um," she tittered nervously, "So, why are you here?"

"I'm here on a college trip," he smiled and tightened his hold on her waist. "But I never expected to meet such a beautiful girl."

"Uh, thanks." Filia desperately tried to think of another question, then realized something and thought aloud. "You, you're pretty mature, the way you speak, for a college student." He nodded, and she continued with a blush. "So, h-how old are you?"

He smiled. "My dear, I'm afraid that is—"

0

"NO!" Valgaav cried, invisible, "don't say it, she'll know for sure!"

"—a secret!"

Filia's eyes widened. Val watched, horrified, as she dropped her hands, lifelessly, from his neck.

"X-Xellos?"

The Mazoku blanched. Wow, Valgaav thought as he got ready to flee, his eyes are wider than I've ever seen them.

0

Time seemed to hang, suspended, in air.

"Filia?"

The sound barely passed his lips, not that he could feel them anymore. His arms fell to hang listlessly at his sides.

She must have been in shock as well, because she stood there, skin paling further than life should allow, sapphire eyes large and staring.

Music played on as they stood still.

And then she took a deep breath.


Hearts, flowers and glitter danced across the bright sky.

"Xellos," Filia called out happily, running through a field towards him.

"Filia!"

She embraced him, then pulled back and smiled beatifically. "You know, I have to kill you now."

He beamed, euphoric. "Yes, Filia."

And the carnage commenced.


"XELLOS!!"

The music screeched to a halt. So did the party.

Cringing, the demon stepped back, sweat breaking out as he slowly began to revert to adult form. "Oh, my, how did this happen?"

Aura blazing, a red-faced Filia screamed into the resulting quiet, "YOU KNOW VERY WELL HOW THIS HAPPENED!"

"But, but . . ." Xellos squeezed his eyes shut, trying to block out the image. "Filia, this wasn't my intention . . ."

"Yeah RIGHT!" she bellowed in his face, "I bet this is just another of your STUPID JOKES!" The worried muttering of the milling crowd grew louder. "You disgusting, lecherous PERVERT!"

Blinking, Xellos glared at her and cried, "YOU'RE the one out trying to pick up YOUNG MEN! Look at that bikini, there's hardly anything there AT ALL!!"

"First of all," she sputtered, "that's beside the point! Second, your insinuation is preposterous, YOU asked ME to dance!"

Snarling, he spat, "Only because Valgaav asked—"

In the sudden silence, their eyes met, and they spoke as one.

"Valgaav."

0

"Shit."

Val choked down a laugh and smiled painfully. "I am SO grounded. If they don't kill me first."

With another half-crazed chuckle, he disappeared.

0

Xellos began to race walk out of the recreation area, Filia running behind.

"Where are you going?!" she yelled after him.

"He's in his room."

"How do you know?"

"Don't ask. Oh, wait." He stopped so suddenly that Filia ran into him, then he turned with a cackle, amethyst cat-eyes narrowing. "I've always wanted to do this."

"What—"

He flicked a finger towards the crowd and grinned.

"AIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEE!!"

Horrified, Filia watched as every girl's bikini top fell to the ground, backs unclasped and straps broken. Except for her own, of course.

The resulting display of half-naked women running around screaming made her blood boil, but, as expected, Xellos was cackling gleefully.

Along with the rest of the men present.

"COME ON!" Filia growled, dragging him by his hair, "You filthy pervert!"

"Ow, hahaha! C'mon, Filia, you're just jealous I didn't do that to YOUR bikini."

The blonde smacked him soundly as he laughed. "Does the sight of breasts make you INSANE?" she screamed.

People they passed in the halls stopped and clung to the walls fearfully, but Filia ignored them.

"HAHAHA, maybe!"

"I'll kill you later. Valgaav is FIRST!"

(-(-o-)-)

Filia stormed into the suite, Xellos close behind her. "VALGAAV!" she cried as she stomped towards his room, "You have a lot of EXPLAINING TO DO!!"

How DARE he set us up like this, how dare he, how DARE HE?!

Eyes glowing white, the blond flung the door open, and only Xellos catching it could keep it from being ripped from the hinges. "VALGAAV UL COPT, materialize RIGHT THIS INSTANT, young man!"

There was a pause, and then Val appeared, crouching in the far corner of the room. "Uh. Hi."

0

Keeping to the far side of the bedroom, Xellos watched as the fair-haired woman approached her son, burning with anger.

"Valgaav," she began, voice sweet and eyes burning crimson fire, "what EXACTLY did you think you were doing?"

Val covered his head with his hands. "I'm sorry, Mom," he blurted quickly. "I was angry because I thought you weren't allowing me to be independent."

"So," she towered over him, still crackling with rage, "you decided to get even, is that it?"

The aquamarine-haired teenager nodded and hid his face in his knees, squeaking, "Yes. Please don't hit me, Ma. I'm really sorry."

Filia shook with her anger, but those words dampened the flames in her eyes. "I won't hurt you, Valgaav, though you should be spanked like a child for this! Instead, you're grounded for life!"

"Ma!"

"Filia!" Xellos decided to put his two cents in, though that meant receiving her inferno early. "Calm down first," he replied to her once-again glowing eyes, "before you decide on a punishment."

Clenching and unclenching her fists, the beautiful dragoness bared her fangs at him and spat, "Don't you tell me how to be a mother, you pervert! You have no right after what you did!"

"Which part?" Xellos asked dryly, folding his arms.

"All of it!" Filia narrowed her eyes and stepped closer. "I can't believe that, that . . ." Speechless, she blinked at his bored expression, then flinched. "You don't even care, do you?"

Suddenly alarmed at her tired tone and drop in anger, Xellos straightened and stared at her. "What?" Inside, he began to panic at the emotions she now emitted.

Wearily, the blonde turned away and slowly walked out, calling behind her, "It's late, and I'm tired. I'm going to bed."

Xellos shot a purple glance to Valgaav. "Val. What just happened?"

The young man wrapped his arms around his knees and sadly stared at the empty doorway. "You would know better than I, Xellos. But . . . I think I messed up something really big this time. I'm sorry that she blamed you."

"Past tense?" Xellos asked, eyes distant.

Val shook his turquoise head. "She's not mad anymore, right? You can feel it."

"No, she's not. She's . . . I'm not sure how to describe it. Listless. Despondent."

"I've never seen her like this before," Val began, then stopped. "No, I have." His deep voice was soft and roughened.

The Mazoku looked down at him. "When? Why does that worry you so much?"

"It's not the same, but it's familiar," the boy sighed and stood. "I'm surprised you don't remember."

Xellos thought back, and retraced the past. The demon closed his eyes. "Lina."

"I was only a child then," Valgaav said, "But I remember. Her death made Mother feel this way, only worse."

"Unfortunately," Xellos frowned slightly, "We have little time to deal with unusual mood swings." In his mind, he spoke to the powerful teenager. -I have a hypothesis that if we look to other powerful sites across the world that we might find more pieces of the stone.—

Val went to his bathroom and grabbed a towel, then hung it up nearby. —You think he might be spying on us. How many are left again?—

One. He has three and we have one.—

Shedding his clothes, Valgaav got into the shower. —So how can we beat him even with two?— He turned on the water.

Xellos sat down on Val's bed and stared at the walls. —With the three of us, we should have an even fight. He has no allies as far as I know and we do. And I'd rate his power level to be about equal to Filia's without the stones.—

We shouldn't bother with pretense from now on,— the green-haired youth pointed out from the shower. —If he got the last stone, we'd have no chance of beating him.—

True. I guess we'll leave tomorrow and disappear, then?—

But to where?— Val asked as he bathed. —There must be thousands of sites of power in the world. And what if he tries to attack us before we get a hold of the second fragment?—

We have to search every site until we find it. It's a game, in a way. And if he attacks us, we teleport to Wolf Pack Island and use our fragment to enhance the shield over the Island if he attacks it. It's the safest place we could be.—

He might be able to break the shield. What then?—

He won't.— Xellos' mind-voice was firm.

(-(-o-)-)

Giza, Ejypt
June 4th, 2002

As soon as Filia awoke, she showered quickly and dragged Valgaav out of bed, announcing, "We're going to visit the Ejyptian Library of History . . . C'mon, we may find something!"

"Mom . . ."

Xellos, still awake due to his almost limitless energy, and, at the moment, sipping a cup of tea, was largely ignored by the blonde dragon. As she pulled her son out the door, she merely snapped a quick, "Meet us their in an hour and a half. Oh, and I have IT." She glared meaningfully.

He shrugged and watched them go, eyes narrowed.

(-(-o-)-)

Xellos absently wandered the marketplace, a white robe shielding his face more from curious eyes than the molten sun.

Color and form moved all around him in the humans as the hot star of the world beat down upon them, casting sharp shadows. His orchid-colored eyes unfocused as he let the humans' feelings flow into him, each with a different mental flavor and strength.

But feeding off the inadequate emotions of the place was not why he had come.

He frowned at having to confront his own foible, and his eyes narrowed. There has to be a solution to this.

Finding an empty space, he leaned against the clay wall and let out a deep breath, then let his thoughts return to the immediate problem . . . his own emotions.

Xellos let himself feel, and fear and concern were the first to rise to the surface. Would it be possible to find the last fragment before Telgaln? If they didn't, could they ever hope to win the final battle with him? And even if they did . . . who would survive?

Zelas should have never taught me to feel these things . . . Even as a pure Mazoku, I cannot hide from them, it seems. Frowning, he closed his eyes and tried to close his mind, but the images still flashed . . . red blood on golden hair.

For the first time since his creation, he felt physically ill.

"Too much sun?" a familiar sultry voice chuckled.

Gaping, Xellos looked up as the robed figure turned to him, feral feminine eyes grinning from within the folds. His voice left him, so he simply dropped to one knee.

"Get up, idiot," Zelas Metallium barked, taking a drag from her cigarette and adjusting the brightly colored cloth that covered her head. "I'm not here to attract a crowd, you know."

Standing quickly, Xellos laughed faintly and put a hand behind his head. "Of course, Mistress! Uh, so . . ." he looked around nervously, "what ARE you doing here? I haven't displeased you, have I?"

She glared at him with a hurt expression. "It's been almost a century since you saw your Master and all you care about is that, eh?"

"Um . . ." he flushed and looked away. "Please forgive me."

She thwacked him hard on the back, then embraced him in a rough hug. "You bastard!"

"Mistress?!" He tentatively put his arms around her and even more tentatively tasted of the emotions she was allowing him access to. "You . . . missed me?"

"Of course I did!" she shoved him away and wiped her emerald eyes. "Cretin. Do you think I spent so much time training you and talking with you because I was bored?"

Xellos smiled sheepishly. "Not exactly . . ."

"You know I can sense your feelings," she said dully, crouching on the sand to take another puff of the cigarette. "Spit it out."

Not wanting to be higher than his Master, Xellos sat down next to her in the dirt and studied her worriedly. "I . . . I'm glad," he began, then stopped. "I . . ." Fear, pain, affection, worry, guilt, doubt, sadness . . . they spun madly inside him.

"My," Zelas cackled, pretty mouth grinning at him. "You've certainly changed over the centuries, my boy. Such a wide variety of emotions . . . too bad you still haven't learned how to verbalize."

He pulled his knees to his chest, eyes avoiding her with shame. "It's not easy, Mistress."

The platinum haired woman punched his shoulder, "I love you, too," and laughed at his shock. "Don't look so surprised. You must have suspected that of all my 'children', you were my favorite."

Xellos let his confusion show on his face. "Why now, Mistress? Why choose this moment to confirm my suspicions and avert my fears?"

Expression darkening, Zelas looked out upon the sea of people. "Because. I may not get to see you again for a while, Xellos."

They sat in silence, Xellos too worried to break it.

Finally, she began again. "You tried for so many years after Telgaln began his rebellion . . . tried to win people to your side. Since then, all the Mazoku have been melting into the background, too scared of him. I know of your recent success . . . " She smiled sadly at him. "And your fears."

Taking another drag, she continued. "There haven't been many missions to give you since technology began to take precedence over magic. It's not the same world, anymore. The Mazoku don't even have to fight for dominance . . . we rule this world through the human's ignorance. The violence and pain has only grown over the centuries . . . the fear of having no God and no purpose is a great initiator."

Xellos nodded, listening closely to her words.

"Now, however," she smiled, "you have the most important mission of all, Child." Her expression suddenly changed as she grimaced and spat, "The others are hiding, fearful, despondent. They think it is too late. I will be helping you as best I can, but I cannot do so out in the open. Scared beings attack others out of desperation . . . I can't afford to sacrifice my position if I'm going to help you later."

"Later?" He frowned.

Grinning, the light blonde laid her hand on his knee. "Xellos, Xellos. You didn't think you'd go this road with only your godchild and your lover at your side, did you?"

He blushed a dark red and glared at her. "Mistress! Your insinuations are ridiculous!"

"Whatever," she breathed, rolling her eyes.

Taking her hand nervously from his knee, Xellos said, "I . . . I really appreciate your support. Thank you."

Zelas shrugged, "Only trying to save our society," but she smiled and let him feel her affection towards him as she dropped his hand. "Anyway, Xellos, there's a few other things I was wondering about." She stood up and dusted herself off. "Yuck."

"Yes, Mistress?" he followed her lead.

"Your emotions were so turbulent when I arrived," she began, slipping through the crowd and looking over the wares. "But you have rarely been so worried even when your likelihood of wining was lower. I'm curious as to the origin of your fears."

Feeling a little more bold, Xellos opened his mouth—

"And if you say, 'that is a secret'," Zelas mocked, "I'll make you introduce me to the charming little Golden Dragon you spend so much time with!"

Gulping, Xellos changed his mind. "Uh . . . I'm not really sure why I was more afraid."

"You must have SOME clue," she mused, studying an onyx necklace with her free hand and smoking the cigarette in the other.

"Well . . ." he looked up at the sun and let the heat flow into him. "I was thinking about the final battle we'll have to fight with Telgaln. But I didn't think I was feeling more afraid than any other time."

"You were. Actually, towards the end, there was a bleak, nauseated taint to it . . ." Her ice green eyes studied him suddenly, brows rising. "Very unusual for a being so previously certain of his own power."

He smiled weakly. "I wasn't that bad, was I?"

Laughing, Zelas shook her head. "Egoism is natural for creatures so advanced. Why do you think the Dragons were so prideful? Except Miss Filia, I've noticed." She smiled at the stony mask his expression became. "But her presence seems to have tempered you. I think she's had a good influence on you . . . made you more aware of your weaknesses."

"Why is that a good thing?" he frowned petulantly.

"My, my," she laughed. "Mentioning her certainly does have a notable affect on you! Idiot! When you are realistically aware of your true abilities, you don't arrogantly rush into things out of your own foolishness. You used to really have that problem . . . though you were lucky enough to be correct about your own superiority most of the time." She began walking towards an empty alley, leading him behind her.

Thoroughly embarrassed, Xellos bent his head to hide his blush in the ivory shroud. "I suppose everyone has their childhood."

"You've grown much since then," she agreed as they stepped into the privacy of darkness, green eyes peering into his own. "I must go now," she admitted, and he nodded. "Remember, Xellos," she hugged him tightly, "You are my favorite, gifted with my name."

He nodded again, not risking speech. Returning her embrace, Xellos rested his head in the curve of her shoulder and neck, sensing affection and . . . tenderness . . . radiating from her.

Is this what it feels like when someone loves you?

Zelas spoke once more. "Though I will probably not be able to see or even contact you for a long time, perhaps decades . . ." She looked deep into his plum-colored eyes and smiled. "I love you."

He returned her gaze and smiled sadly . . .

And she was gone, the wind blowing away her footprints in the dust.

(-(-o-)-)

"Where is Xellos?" Filia growled into her book. "He was supposed to be here an hour ago! It's already eleven!"

"Mom," Valgaav whispered, "don't yell . . ."

"I'm not yelling!" she screamed, turning the heads of everyone in the library.

Groaning, Val hid his face in the magazine he was looking through. "Mom! People are starting to look at us! He'll be here, maybe he just got held up or something."

With a blush, the blonde ducked around a tall bookcase and glared at the rows of books everywhere, arms crossed across her shell-pink blouse. "We're doing all the work while he goes off and does who knows what . . ."

"DOUGHNUTS!" a happy voice stage-whispered in her ear.

"Yee!" Filia jumped into the air, flinging the book to the ground. "Xellos!!"

Before her stood the smiling purple-haired bane of her existence, with a box of doughnuts in his hands. "Shh, Filia," he beamed at her, "this is a library, do try to keep a level and calm voice."

"Where were you?!" She swung at him with her bare fists, suddenly very angry at his audacity.

"I already told you. Have you had breakfast yet?" Xellos asked politely as he ducked her blows, the sleeves of his white silk shirt billowing. "You'll be hungry after exerting yourself so much!"

Her sapphire eyes narrowed and she growled, "Why you! You should have been helping us!"

Filia followed him around a bookshelf, fingers ready to grab him and shake some sense into him.

"Here!" Xellos tossed the box to Val, who caught it with one absentminded grab. "Filia's not hungry yet!"

"Ooh," Val commented as they flew by, "jelly."

"We need to research," Xellos reminded her as he dodged a punch, violet locks dancing. "Shouldn't you be looking at books?"

"I was!" Filia grabbed at him but he swung her around by her arm, then began backing up in the opposite direction. "But then you showed up!"

"How sweet!" he chuckled. "It's so flattering to know that you'd put off important research to spend time with me, Filia!"

"You egomaniac!" she cried, grabbing a nearby book and launching it at him violently, "you broke my concentration!"

He caught the book expertly and his orchid eyes latched onto the cover. "Hmm," he mused, blocking her attacks with his free hand, "Interesting. 'Forgotten Realms and Ancient Myths'. Thanks, Filia."

Filia stopped in place and let out a deep breath. "What's WRONG with you?!"

Leaning against a shelf, Xellos paged through the book, and the movement of worn pages caught her eye. "Old, isn't it?" he murmured to her.

"That shouldn't be in this section . . ." she told him and came nearer, until they were rather close, both gazing at the manuscript. "It's far too old. At least a hundred years. The library has slides of the old books here, but doesn't allow access to anyone not affiliated with the library officially."

He nodded his amethyst head. "Looks like they're missing one. It's unmarred by a stamp or library sticker . . ."

"Unless," a low, soft voice behind them made Filia jump, "it appeared magically, meant only for the three of us to glean its secrets! Want a doughnut?"

Filia sighed and glared at her lanky son. "Don't DO that."

Valgaav snickered, then glanced at Xellos. "Don't bother with the slides. I looked; a lot of pages are missing from the old book slides. It's because there was a cleansing done here maybe ten to twenty years ago, and most books about magic and mysticism were destroyed, while others had pages or even whole sections removed." His golden eyes looked at them both very seriously. "The government ordered it as an attempt to curb the then-recent resurgence of polytheistic religions in this country. It happened at many libraries across the nation."

Blue eyes wide, Filia closed her mouth. "How do you know that, I've never heard of that happening."

The tall young man looked suddenly nervous and smiled weakly at Xellos. "Uh . . . watchdog groups?" She rolled her eyes, so he tried again, one hand running over his spiky hair warily. "Internet sites?"

"Ahem," Xellos interrupted, "we can discuss this later. Right now we should gather as much information as we can before we leave."

"And when ARE we leaving?" Filia demanded, turning from Valgaav and allowing him a quick escape. "What's going on now?"

"Well, the soonest and fastest flight is the three-fifteen Lear jet - this afternoon - that I so kindly got us tickets for." He smiled and winked at her. "First class!"

She raised her brows at him and crossed her arms. "Not 'Royal class' or 'Ultra class' or 'Ludicrously Expensive class'?"

Rolling his eyes, Xellos sighed melodramatically and announced, "Though it pains me to not buy the very best for you, we shouldn't be too conspicuous. Having the captain talk to us and let you fly the jet would not only draw attention, but it could seriously affect my health in a bad way."

Her eyes narrowed and she grabbed his ivory lapels. "Just what are you insinuating NOW?"

Xellos placed the old book into the pocket of his black slacks and reached for a nearby volume. "Oh, my, Filia, look! Religions of the Northern Isles! Isn't this the romance novel you were reading on the plane earlier? Same scantily clad woman and everything!"

"ARR," she gnashed her teeth, "first of all, it's NOT a romance novel! Second of all," she glanced at the book, "that is the native dress of . . ." she paused and blinked, cerulean eyes large. "Wow. That's pretty weird, it IS the same book."

Xellos handed it to her and she flipped it open to peruse through the pages. "Amazing. It's so similar. I wonder if it's the same year, too," she mused, looking at the inside cover. "Hey!" she cried out as her eyes fell upon a familiar signature on the page, "This IS my book!"

She looked up, but he was gone. "Xellos, you jerk," the blonde mumbled, stuffing the paperback under her arm. "You'd better be looking for clues somewhere in this library." Sighing, Filia returned to searching the shelves for anything useful.