Part

1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9  10  11

NOTES: This one was going to be rather short, but that would’ve meant I would have to stop at a moderately depressing point. There’s been too much morbid stuff in this already, so I thought, damn it, I couldn’t end this chapter there.
Oh, and for those who wondered: I don’t consider a brau demon to be a Mazoku. Maybe it is, maybe it ain’t, but I don’t consider it to be. So, now Zel’s part brau demon, part golem, part human, and about half Mazoku. Gee, he’s only a sixth human, isn’t he?

“Zelgadiss,” Xelloss said. “It is you. Oh no, Ruby-eye, I hurt you! I hurt you again. No! Zelgadiss, please forgive me, please, please forgive me.” The Mazoku held the gory chimera close, and his tears mingled with blood. He backed up for a moment, just enough to examine his chimera. “But, but what happened? You’re part Mazoku.” He gasped. “Who did this to you?” He paused, waiting for a response, but it was obvious Zelgadiss was in no condition to make one. “No, don’t say anything. I need to get you healed. Let me get Amelia.” With that, he phased out and back, the Seyruun princess in his arms.

“Huh? What? Xelloss-san,” Amelia pleaded, “You have to help. Lina-san…” then she saw Zelgadiss’ broken figure. “Oh, no!” She rushed to his side and began a healing spell.

“Don’t worry about Lina-san,” Xelloss said, and entered the room of Gourry’s deathbed once more.

Looking at the picture in front of him almost made the so-called heartless Mazoku weep. The flame had been snuffed out, and all it had taken was the death of her best friend. She had been weaker than she seemed. Seeing her there, kneeling by Gourry’s deathbed, actually moved his heart to pity. Zelgadiss’ fault, no doubt. He shook his head. “Lina-san,” he said, quietly but firmly.

For once, it caught her attention. “X-xelloss?” She jerked up, and then turned to him. Xelloss winced; she was covered in Gourry’s remains, from her neck up. Her face was covered in his blood. “Xelloss! I’m so glad you’re here.” She stood. With those empty eyes and the blood dripping off her face, it was obvious the demon called madness hakenaken over.

“You are?” Xelloss asked.

Lina nodded fervently. “Gourry’s hurt,” she said. “But it’s all right, because I know you can save him. You can change him into a Mazoku, right?” Xelloss hung his head. Lina’s tone changed dramatically, and she fell to her knees begging. “Please! Xelloss, save him. He won’t mind that he’s a Mazoku. I don’t care. I don’t care, as long as he’s there.”

“As long as he’s by your side?” Xelloss asked.

Lina nodded. “Yes! Yes, as long as he’s by my side! I’ll—I’ll make the Pledge, too, if you want me to. Or I could become a Mazoku. I’ll do anything!” She bowed her head. “Just…as long as he’s there.”

Xelloss shook his head. “All I can do is send you to him,” he said. He opened his eyes to look into hers. His evil purple, world-wise eyes met red soulless, lost ones.

“Yes! Please, please send me to him!” Lina grinned, cracking the drying blood on her face.

It was a simple matter for Xelloss to destroy her then. No, the flame had already been destroyed. He was simply sending the body to join it.

KABOOM.

[Xelloss,] came the message from his master, [Is the girl dead?]

[Yes master,] Xelloss responded. [She is dead, and will no longer pose any sort of threat to the Mazoku race.]

[Well done,] Zelas responded. [Now go see your lover. Thanks to my—suggestion—Dolphin has released her hold on Zelgadiss entirely. Not that she could have held on very long, with all those strange changes in you, Xelloss.]

[Strange changes?] Xelloss asked.

[This human thing called ‘love.’ Be careful, my general, that it doesn’t take control.]

[Yes, master. Thank you, master.]

[Welcome. Nowsee see your lover.]



Amelia arranged Zelgadiss on thoor,oor, careful not to move him too much, and began her healing spell. It “sputtered” a bit before she got it right; it took more concentration than she could give it at the moment. But, well, healing a person was much easier than trying to sort out the mess her life had just become. So she managed to heal the chimera, slowly, focusing all her energy on one task.

But then Zelgadiss spoke. “Amelia,” he whispered.

“Yes?” Amelia spoke in a calm, quiet, even tone. “What is it?”
“Wha“What just happened?” the chimera asked. “Did I really just…?”

“Yes,” Amelia said. “I think so. Zelgadiss-san, are you all right?” She finished her healing spell and backed up a bit.

KABOOM. “What the—” Zel started and attempted to stand, but Xelloss had appeared in
front of him, catching and holding his gaze. Xelloss seemed somehow—broken, sad, world-weary, but a moment in Zel’s gaze and that evaporated.

“Zelgadiss…” Xelloss surprised even himself as he leaped into Zelgadiss’ arms, holding him close, drawing him in, becoming one once more with his love. “Zelgadiss, I promise you, everything will be all right from now on. I just received news that Zelas-sama—” he paused to chuckle—“talked with Dolphin. She figured it out, and convinced Dolphin to release her hold on you.”

Zelgadiss didn’t respond for a moment. Xelloss, curious, examined Zelgadiss’ emotions, along with his wide-eyed expression. Bewildered. He was bewildered by it all. Did he have any idea what was going on? Xelloss took it as a hint. Maybe he shouldn’t be holding him so close, as much as it hurt to be separated. He broke the hug and stepped away a little, closing his eyes. “That’s why you’re part Mazoku, Zel,” Xelloss explained. Dolphin had a minion of hers merge with you.” Zelgadiss, Zelgadiss, Xelloss thought. I want you. I love you. Do you love me?

“Zelgadiss-san is part Mazoku?!” the princess eeped. Xelloss nodded; he would have responded with a snide comment, but he didn’t have the heart to at the moment.

“Oh,” Zelgadiaid.aid. “What’s the Mazoku part doing now?”

“Nothing,” Xelloss said. He cracked a bit of a smile. Good, Zel thought, that smile belongs on your face. “I think you managed to subdue it. Or I did with my presence, something of the sort.” Zel nodded. He opened his mouth to speak, but screams and exclamations from the other room ended the conversation. Someone had found the bodies. “Ah, perhaps we’d better go,” Xelloss suggested. He opened a window and leaped out.

He didn’t hop, Zelgadiss noticed with a sigh. He just leaped. Zelgadiss frowned and Ray Winged out of there, Amelia following. Xelloss didn’t hop.



The silent party let down about a few miles away, beside a large stream in the middle of a forest. It was going on midnight, and it was obvious the human member of the party wasn’t going to be able to last much longer. “Good place to make camp?” Xelloss suggested. The other members of the party—a human and a part-human—nodded in agreement.

“But, gee,” Amelia realized, “We left all our camping equipment and food in the inn.”

Xelloss shrugged. “That’s all right,” he said. “Food shouldn’t be a problem with this stream here, and we can probably create some sort of makeshift tent.”

“For three people?” Amelia asked. Then a light dawned. “Ohh, for me.”

“That’s right,” Xelloss said, patting the golem/brau demon/human/Mazoku on the back. “Zelgadiss doesn’t need nearly as much sleep anymore.” Zelgadiss watched in interested silence as Xelloss unclasped his cape and allowed it to fall to the ground. “It’s a big cape, you should be able to make some kind of tent. Put it on a tree branch or something. Zelgadiss and I need to talk.” He placed a hand on Zelgadiss’ shoulder, just barely more than brushing it. He didn’t want to make Zelgadiss uncomfortable.

“Oh…uh…all right,” Amelia said. She plucked the cape up from the ground and looked at it skeptically, then up at the treanchanches above her. High above her. Apparently, these trees didn’t have any branches anywhere near the ground. “Hey, wait, they’re all…” She turned to look, but Zelgadiss and Xelloss had disappeared. “Xelloss-san!!!” Hmph. That Mazoku hadn’t been very affected by all this after all.



Xelloss and his charge phased in on the other side of the stream. Here Xelloss could still watch Amelia, but they were hidden in the shadow. And Amelia wouldn’t hear them—now he could talk with Zelgadiss astrally. [Zelgadiss?] he called. The chimera was just sitting there, hidden. Xelloss couldn’t feel much emotion from Zel; only quiet. Strained quiet.

[Huh? What?] Zel’s eyes opened wide as he looked around. “Xelloss, I think the Mazoku is back. I can hear it in my mind.” Eeee! Xelloss could feel Zel’s fear gripping his very soul. Possession. He was going to be re-possessed, and he was going to kill more friends, and he might even be forced to kill Xelloss. No. No!

“No, no, calm down,” Xelloss whispered, placing his hands on Zel’s shoulders and looking into his eyes. “That’s me.” [See? We can talk astrally now.]

“Oh,” Zel squeaked. “Can we…not?” Astrally meant Mazoku. He didn’t really want to be Mazoku. Mazoku were evil, fiendish, and did horrible, sadistic things with one’s heart. Not to mention took control of people, and killed one’s friends with one’s own body, and merged with one’s soul and—

“Sure,” Xelloss whispered, breaking through Zel’s thoughts. “But we’ll have to be quiet. Amelia’s right across the stream.”

“DAMN YOU XELLOSS-SAN!” Amelia could be heard screaming.

“What language,” Xelloss chuckled lowly. How out of character as well; the princess was changing too. For the better, in his opinion.

“What did you do?” Zel blinked.

“There aren’t any tree branches for Amelia to place my cape on. No matter, she’ll figure something out,” Xelloss commented. For a moment, he seemed to be ordinary, mischievous Xelloss again. Then he reverted back to new, depressed Xelloss. “More importantly, Zel, I really need to know some things.”

“Sure, Xelloss, anything,” Zel said. “Ca “Can we…” He bowed his head. He could sense his subservience shocking Zel. Just as well. “Actually, I first want to start by saying I’m sorry. I’m really, really sorry. For all that I’ve done, for all that has happened, for anything that will happen… I can’t atone for it. But if there is a way for me to, I will. Gladly. I love you Zelgadiss, and I want you to be happy.” Zel’s head jerked back with surprise. “Yes, happy. Maybe that’s not in my nature, but well, my nature’s changing, Zel. I mean, after all, I love you, and that alone…”

“Hey, hey,” Zel said, stopping him. “No need for a big, long speech. I love you too, and I mean, I did some horrible things to you too—I think. While I was possessed or whatever.”

“But you were under Dolphin’s control! That’s different!”

“Not as different as you’d think. I probably had to bmewhmewhat willing for it to happen.”

“But…”

“XELLOSS! Where in hell are you?!” Amelia squealed, interrupting the overly sappy moment. “Ohhhhhhh… FUCK YOU XELLOSS!”

“No thank you!” Xelloss called back. “I’m too in love with Zelgadiss at the moment to fuck anyone else…but thanks for the offer!”

Amelia eeped. “Xelloss? Uh…uh…are you out there?”

“What a delicious dish of displaced anger,” Xelloss chuckled to Zel.

Zel shrugged. Denial, Xelloss could tell. “Anyway, where’s Lina? What happened to her?”

“Ah…she’s dead, along with Gourry,” Xelloss said. He shook his head. “But let’s leave that in the past, all right?”

“Oh…it’s my fault, isn’t it?” Zel mumbled.

“No, it’s not,” Xelloss said. “Neither of their deaths are. Um, but Zel, are we back together?”
Zelgadiss nodded. “Yeah. We’re back together.” He smirked a little, painfully. “It seems like you’ve learned your lesson.”

Xelloss smiled, a real smile, his smile just for Zelgadiss. “I love you,” he whispered. He moved his hands from Zel’s shoulders down to his sides and pulled him close. They were one again. He lifted Zel’s chin with a finger. “Let’s kiss and make it a pact, all right?”

Zelgadiss surprised himself and Xelloss by being the one to dive into a particularly lusty kiss.
“Mmmmmm….” Xelloss moaned as they broke apart, looking deep into those blue sapphires, and then he met Zel’s lips in another lengthy kiss. This time, it was Zel’s turn to moan.

“Xelloss-san? Zelgadiss-san?” Amelia whimpered. She hoped that wasn’t a wild animal she’d just heard…

More Notes: A bit rough, but well… ^^;;; I rushed to get this one out, too.  

Previous                         Next