Poison Chapter 7

Author: Tsutsuji Title: Poison

Poison

Chapter
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Title: Poison (ch. 7 of 11 or so)
Author: Tsutsuji
Date written: June-July, 2005
Rating: PG13 - T (safe for teenagers, for one more chapter!)
Pairings: Zelgadis/Xelloss
Type: yaoi/slash, adventure
Warnings: hurt/comfort, angst
Disclaimer: I do not own the copyright to these characters and I'm making no profit from this fic and intend no copyright infringement.
Summary: Xelloss-sensei explains it all! No, really, I mean it! Yeah, I know... Zelgadis doesn't quite believe it either.
AN: Once again, thanks for wonderful reviews. I'm hugely flattered that anyone's even reading this at all considering Half-Blood Prince just came out this weekend!
I forgot to mention that Chapter 6 is dedicated to "Shade" and "Uri" because they got me hooked on Slayers in the first place, and because gaming has taught me a lot about storytelling.
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Poison, chapter 7
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Zelgadis searched for another glimpse of the soldiers through twisting back streets, jogging past laundries and workshops that served the inns in town. Before long the sounds from the main street were cut off by buildings and the streets were silent. The few shops he passed were closed and there was no one else around.
He was about to give up and head back to the inn, if he could find it from here, when he heard a familiar sound. He stopped and listened until he heard it again: the jingle of the Relics of Shimer. He followed the sound around a corner into a wider street, then he stopped short and drew back to peer cautiously around again.
Some distance away along the otherwise empty street, a group of three men stood facing a fourth. Zelgadis couldn't see the lone man's face, but from the robes and the staff he carried, it could only be Xelloss. What he could see plainly was the strange gleam of the weapons carried by the three grey-robed men. Two held swords and one carried a bright-tipped spear.
They had already blocked his path, and Xelloss was braced for a fight with his back to a wall. He raised his staff and they raised their three weapons. They were all smiling, and he heard one of the soldiers hiss the familiar words, "Die, Mazoku!"
I knew you knew more about them than you would admit, Zelgadis thought, You damn, lying Mazoku. That attack was no random band of mercenary demon-hunters!
He still wondered why Xelloss had put on such a show of being injured after that attack, and what it all had to do with his quest here in Shimeria, so he waited out of sight to see what would happen. Surely Xelloss could deal with the three of them easily. Zelgadis wasn't feeling very fond of Shimer and his rabid Followers at the moment, so he didn't much care what happened to them if they were stupid enough to attack a powerful Mazoku, anyway. Maybe Xelloss would reveal something of his purpose here before he destroyed them.
The three surged forward all at once, as if pulled by the same string. Xelloss gripped the middle of his staff and whirled it side to side. With a quick double thrust, he knocked the swords out of the hands of the two men on either side of him. He raised it straight across in front of his chest to block a blow from the spear, but the spearman pulled back on his thrust at the last second. Rather than knocking the shaft of the spear aside, Xelloss' staff met the knife-like blade. It looked to Zel like the blade passed right through the wood, but the staff didn't break. Even so, Xelloss screamed and staggered back. The grin on the spearman's face grew wider.
Zelgadis remembered that Xelloss' staff was not merely an ornament or a tool to focus his power; it was a part of the form he took on this plane - an actual part of himself. Even so, the spear didn't seem to have harmed it, as far as Zel could see. But Xelloss dropped to one knee, and for a moment he looked as if he was clenched in pain.
It had to be a feint, an effort to draw their attack closer so Xelloss could take them all out at once. That must be why he'd faked being injured before, to lure the soldiers to the ruins. Then he'd let Zelgadis do his dirty work for him and reaped the benefits of Zel's violence from a safe distance. Zelgadis wasn't going to be drawn into his battle this time. The Mazoku could play his own little game with them and leave him out of it.
The swordsmen recovered their weapons and closed in again. Xelloss struggled backward, still down on one knee, but he was being backed into a corner where the street took a sharp turn. Soon he could go no further with the walls behind him.
The swordsmen positioned themselves at either side, so that he couldn't dart away when the spearman took his shot. Their Mazoku prey was pinned like a hunted animal. He raised his head to face them, but he didn't stand. He held his staff in both hands, braced against his body, pointing at the spearman's face. The spear drew back to strike.
Xelloss glowed for an instant, then light shot from his hand and his staff. The spearman didn't even have time to scream before he burst into flames.
The others barely even turned their heads to shield their faces from the blinding flash of energy. When the burning soldier disintegrated into a smudge of soot on the ground a second later, they simply turned back to face Xelloss, still smiling.
Zel saw Xelloss' arm tremble and then fall to his side. The end of his staff clattered on the pavestones, and as Zel watched in shock, he sank to the ground, groaning. Still, he stared up at the soldiers as they raised their weapons. Zelgadis waited for Xelloss to raise his staff and strike again, but as the sword sliced through the air, suddenly he knew it wasn't going to happen. Even from this distance, Zelgadis recognized the look of a proud fighter facing his last defeat.
He stopped thinking and ran. As swiftly as he'd ever moved since his escape from Rezzo, he dashed in under the noses of the soldiers and scooped Xelloss up in his arms. He heard the thunk of their blades hitting the dirt inches behind his heels.
He half turned as he ran, looking back at them. They were already running after him, and they were as unnaturally quick as they were strong. Shifting Xelloss' limp body to his shoulder, he cupped both hands in front of him and drew power with a quick chant. All of his pent up frustration and anger went into that spell when it burst from his fingertips. There wasn't much more left of the swordsmen than Xelloss had left of the first soldier.
Zelgadis turned before their dust had settled and didn't look back. He dodged around the first corner he came to, then another, and again, before he finally had to pause to get his bearings. There was no sound of pursuit, no sign that anyone else had noticed the battle at all.
Xelloss hung over his shoulder as limp and nearly as light as a great feather pillow. His grip on his staff was the only sign that he was alive at all. With no signs of pursuit, Zel did the only thing he could think of: he headed back to the Drover's Road and Kari's Inn.
Lights gleamed golden in the windows, and as soon as he came near he heard voices spilling out from the taproom. He slipped in through the city-side door, avoiding the dining room and bar, and crept up the stairs with his burden.
He unloaded Xelloss onto the bed with some care. The priest flopped onto his back and lay there unmoving, eyes closed. The fingers gripping his staff went limp. If he'd been human, Zel would have thought he was dead.
"Xelloss!" He shook the seemingly lifeless body by the shoulders, and then brushed aside his cloak to look for injuries. There didn't seem to be any, but he couldn't know for certain what their weapons would do. He hadn't seen an actual injury when Xelloss had been attacked before, either. There wasn't even a mark on his staff as far as Zelgadis could see
He was about to remove Xelloss' shirt to look for a wound when the violet eyes flickered open. Zel drew his hands away quickly and waited, sitting still on the edge of the bed. At first, Xelloss looked past him, staring at nothing. Then he turned his eyes to Zel and smiled a little. It was a grim smile.
"You saved me," he said, his voice cracking with weariness. "You are a fool, aren't you?"
"What happened? Are you injured again as you were before?"
"Why, what makes you think so? Do I look like I'm injured?" His attempt at his usual, cheerful innocence was remarkably unconvincing.
"No, you look like you're half dead! Just as you did the last time we were attacked by these Followers of Shimer."
"Ah, so you realized who they are?"
"I saw a group of them in town earlier," Zel said. "I finally recognized the talismans that I saw on the soldiers who attacked us on the ridge. They all wear the Relics of Shimer."
"Actually, these men are properly referred to as the Soldiers of Shimer. I did hope I wouldn't run into them again so soon," Xelloss said, as if he was musing to himself. "Oh well. It was to be expected, I suppose."
He sounded resigned, with the same odd tone of regret that he'd had when he'd said he couldn't stand on their flight up the hillside.
"You knew all about them already, of course," Zel said. He was frustrated with Xelloss' secretiveness, as usual, but under his anger was a glimmer of dread of these soldiers with their weapons that could harm someone as powerful as Xelloss.
"Oh yes, I knew of them," Xelloss admitted. "There were many of them at Demonend, as you might expect."
Of course, Zelgadis thought. Xelloss had mentioned he'd been at Demonend recently, but he wouldn't say why.
"What happened there? What's going on with these Soldiers? Why didn't you blast them all, or just disappear? Surely you aren't that weak just from being around a lot of happy people all day."
Xelloss faced him and smiled. Zelgadis realized that his eyes were so pale they were almost clear.
"Ah, that. Well you see, Zelgadis-san, I'm weak because I'm dying."
Zel stared at him. A strange chill was starting to climb his spine, but he snorted with angry laughter.
"That's nonsense, Xelloss! Mazoku don't die. You can hardly even be harmed by anyone but a few higher-ranking Mazoku, or maybe by someone wielding a great amount of power, like Lina. How can you possibly be dying?"
"I don't know what else I should call it, then," Xelloss said reasonably. "Soon this human form will disappear, and I'll no longer be able to appear at all on this plane. All that will be left will be my astral body, and that will also weaken, totally cut off from this world as well as my own. At least, that's what has happened to the others."
"Others?"
Xelloss studied Zel for several seconds, searching his face, it seemed, before dropping his head so his expression was hidden.
"Why shouldn't I tell you?" he said, as if asking himself.
Zelgadis forced himself to wait, fighting the urge to shake him for answers - even though, for once, he wasn't sure he wanted to know Xelloss' secrets.
"Some time ago," Xelloss began abruptly, "we became aware that Mazoku were being defeated, killed or ruined, at an alarming rate. Strong, high-ranking Mazoku were defeated in battle when they should not have been. Do you remember Mazenda? I was certain Lina could defeat her eventually, even though she had once been more powerful than Kanzel. Yet she fell before he did. It was quite unexpected, although at the time I had more important things to worry about and didn't take much notice.
"But around the same time, many Mazoku of less power simply began to weaken until they could not take form in this world at all, for no apparent reason at all. And then, to our shock, their astral bodies began to waste away as well, as if their power was being drawn out of them as leeches draw blood from humans.
"The information we were able to gather revealed that all of those affected had crossed paths with either the Soldiers of Shimer or his Followers. Many lesser Mazoku had been superficially injured by the enchanted weapons of these soldiers, but they faded away the fastest. But even if a Mazoku destroyed those soldiers without being injured by them, he began to weaken as well, but only a little more slowly.
"But it wasn't just the soldiers. It eventually became clear that any contact with the Followers was enough to affect our kind, especially in the case of the lesser monsters who usually encountered them, and much more slowly in those more powerful to begin with. But we didn't know why, so I was sent to investigate further."
Xelloss sighed. He pushed himself up to lean back against the wall. His eyes were closed as he continued speaking.
"I found an army of Followers at Demonend. This didn't surprise me, nor did their zealousness. But I was surprised by their ability to recognize me as Mazoku even in human form. At least, some of them could. Others couldn't, and until today, I didn't know how they knew. Now I've seen that some of them wear a talisman that changes color in the presence of my kind. Simple, really; I should have seen it sooner.
"They attacked me, and I was surprised and careless, just as I was again tonight, unfortunately. Their blades actually cut right through to my astral body. At first it didn't seem like much, and I thought they were merely using a spell like that Astral Vine you have mastered so completely. I retreated to heal, having found nothing there that could explain the situation anyway. Shimer's bones had no special magic in them. I discovered only that the Relics were all purified here at the Shrine. Later, I found out that the Soldiers are all dedicated here as well and given their weapons before they go to Demonend."
"So whatever this enchantment is, it originates here?" Zelgadis prompted.
"The Curse of Shimer, we call it," Xelloss said with an ironic smile. "Yes, apparently it all starts here. I was sent to find out what it is, how these weapons are made and how they can be destroyed, and the effect of them seems to be growing steadily more powerful. By then it had become a rather personal quest as well, because although my small injuries had healed as rapidly as I expected, I started to loose my powers."
"You would still recover more quickly on the astral plane, wouldn't you?" Zelgadis asked. "Why don't you just go back there?"
"I believe that I'm too weak already to do that. If I reverted to my true form now, I doubt I could ever take human form again. Unless this curse is broken somehow, that is. Even then, I'm not sure I would gain my power back."
"Why not?" Zelgadis asked. He had the feeling there was still something missing in Xelloss' tale.
Xelloss smiled at him again and reached to touch his hand. Zel drew it away quickly, angrily, and felt his face flush.
"Stop trying to distract me like that!" he hissed. "What are you still hiding?"
Xelloss laughed quietly. "It is all too easy to piss you off," he said.
"I said before, you don't need to try so hard. Remind me of the time you sent the Claire Bible manuscript up in flames in my hands, and you'll have plenty of my anger."
"Yes..." Xelloss closed his eyes for a moment, looking pleased as Zel snarled at him. But then he opened them again and smiled without humor.
"Unfortunately, your anger doesn't do me much good in the long run. This is what the Curse of Shimer has done to the Mazoku: the source of our power has become like poison. While the darker human emotions still give us pleasure and some strength, the power we get from them is eventually drawn off to the to the astral plane, where it is sealed somehow."
He grinned wickedly at Zelgadis. "As for the more positive emotions; well, let's just say that an hour in a room with Amelia-san would probably be my last hour on this earth! She's even worse than a village full of these Followers, and that's saying a lot. A horrible death for one of my kind, don't you think?"
Zel gaped at his terrible joke and his exaggerated shiver of dread. Xelloss sat back and gazed at him with his slitted eyes gleaming. They were darker now; their purple color had started to return.
"You're joking about all of this! I don't believe you," Zelgadis said flatly. "You're trying to tell me a fraud like Shimer invented some curse that is killing all of your kind? You're lying, Xelloss. You must be."
"Well," Xelloss said, suddenly brightening up to something near his old annoying cheeriness. "That's fine if you don't believe me! After all, I wouldn't want you to think you now know the secret that is destroying the Mazoku forever!"
He beamed at Zelgadis and leaned back with his hands behind his head. Zelgadis stared at him for a long moment, remembering and putting pieces together.
"That's why you've been using my anger and pain to heal yourself ever since we met again," he said. "Even when you saved me from those villagers, you needed my pain. I thought it was by accident, but it wasn't, was it? You pushed that sword deeper into my shoulder, because you needed the extra strength it gave you right at that moment."
"Did I do that to you?" Xelloss said, sounding surprised. "Well, perhaps it was as you say. The sad truth is, I probably couldn't have saved you otherwise. I know you won't believe this, but it was truly coincidental that I found you on your way to Shimeria. I've been glad to have your company since then. That's not a lie, either."
Zelgadis stared at him, trying to convince himself that every single thing he'd said was a lie with some hidden meaning. If it was, it was far more convincing than most of his lies in the past. There was always some sense of mischief in Xelloss when he was manipulating someone, but in spite of his jokes, it was missing here.
"You're saying that your plan all along has been to find and destroy the source of the Curse, even though you can't be sure it's within the Shrine, which will probably be protected anyway by these soldiers whose weapons can actually wound you? And being around the Relics makes you even weaker? And on top of that, you don't know if destroying the source of Shimer's Curse will restore your power?" He laughed grimly. "In other words, you're on a suicide mission!"
Xelloss smiled a strange smile. "Suicide is a concept for mortals, Zelgadis-san."
"You're the one who said you were dying, Xelloss. It sounds like you've grasped the concept of mortality pretty well."
Xelloss looked away again. "I suppose that's what it is, isn't it? Feeling your strength ebbing away with each passing second? Finally becoming aware of time itself? No wonder you're all so grumpy most of the time."
Zel shook his head at Xelloss' black humor.
"Why send just you on this mission? If you only need to destroy the shrine, wouldn't a horde of lesser monsters have done just as well?"
"I'm afraid not. The lower ranking Mazoku have fallen much more quickly to this Curse. The mere presence of Shimer's Relics weakens them beyond use, we've found. It's slightly possible that a great army of them could storm the place if they took it by surprise. But many would fall, and we couldn't afford such great losses, especially if the Dragons hear of it. And if we still failed to destroy the source of the Curse after a battle like that, it would be known far and wide how desperate our situation has become."
He smiled with that same black humor. "Imagine how excited the Dragon Elders would be to hear of it! The irony is, as far as we can tell, Shimer's curse will eventually affect them as well. The Great Cause of Humanity, you see."
"They mean to wipe out both gods and demons!" Zel said disbelievingly. "But that... it can't be possible!"
"It is possible. Not all of the Soldiers of Shimer go to Demonend or wander the world hunting Mazoku. They're becoming quite popular among common folk as dragon hunters, but they make no distinction between the more primitive, destructive types of dragons and the peaceful ones. They've been seen in the area of the Kataart Mountains, no doubt seeking the lost road to Dragon's Peak."
"The Golden Dragons, Milgasia's tribe? They're even bold enough to attack them?"
"It's quite an audacious plan, I agree. However, so far, it seems to be working."
"So rather than risk exposing their plan, you're going in alone, undercover, on this suicide mission. Wouldn't one of the more powerful Mazoku Lords stand a better chance of survival?"
Xelloss gaped at him, as if this was incomprehensible. "We would never consider such a thing! That's what those of my rank, the Priests and Generals of our Masters, exist for! But the others of my rank, those few that are still able to take form in this dimension, are not as powerful as I am, since Zelas-sama gave me power equal to two of them together. Aside from that, I'm the only one who has masqueraded as human so successfully. They would have exposed themselves long before this."
"I see. You're the only Mazoku who is powerful enough, clever enough, and expendable," Zelgadis said. He was surprised at the bitterness that came through in his voice.
Xelloss looked at him quizzically. "I think expendability is another human concept," he said. "I have no choice in the matter, but even if I did... Tell me, Zelgadis-san, how much would you risk to save your entire race from annihilation?"
Zelgadis stared at him, and finally believed that it what he said true. At that moment he felt he understood Xelloss more completely than he ever had before. He wished his link with his own Human race were as strong.
"What race would I save?" he asked even more bitterness. "The race of rock golems, or the race of Brow Demons?"
Xelloss laughed softly. "You are so much more Human than you give yourself credit for. You have already risked death to save the human race several times! I simply can't understand why you wish to be anything other than what you are, Zelgadis-san."
Zelgadis shook his head again, this time in frustration. "You could never understand..." he said, but he spoke softly, more to himself than to Xelloss. "...how it feels to have an alien skin, a demon soul living inside you. You can choose your appearance, I suppose, but I can't. My own kind rejects me as I am. I don't imagine you've ever had that problem."
"No, of course not. But do you remember what I told Tambor? That the ones I serve no longer hear my prayers? As long as I'm on this mission, I can't return to my true form, and I can't commune with my mistress or any other Mazoku. I'm trapped inside this human shell as you are in your body of stone, Zelgadis-san. I don't find it particularly pleasant, either."
He paused and looked past Zelgadis at nothing, thinking his own thoughts. Something else was falling into place in Zel's mind, scattered questions fitting together like the pieces of a puzzle.
"You said human emotions don't give you strength anymore... but I'm not fully human, am I?" he said. "That's why you've been so glad to have me along me along on this mission of yours. That's why you goaded me, even hurt me, to get the power you need. Somehow, the demon part of me makes my human emotions more useful to you, in spite of Shimer's curse, doesn't it?"
Xelloss faced him. "Yes," he said simply. He reached to touch the stone flesh of Zel's arm, but Zel jerked his hand away again.
"That's why you don't want me to find a cure and become human again. I'll be no more use to you then," he snarled.
He stood up quickly, but Xelloss caught his wrist and pulled him back until they were face to face. Startled by the intensity of Xelloss' gaze and the pressure of his grip, Zelgadis could only stare back at him.
"That is not the reason," Xelloss said.
Zelgadis felt pinned by the gaze of those inhuman eyes, as if they were staring into his soul... searching for something. After a few seconds, Xelloss let him go and fell back on the pillow. His eyes closed and he sighed. Zelgadis sat back, rubbing his wrist. His flesh tingled where Xelloss had gripped it.
"It doesn't matter," Xelloss said, sounding tired. "As soon as we arrived in the valley, that side of you started to fade. You see, the power of Shimer to restore humanity to the cursed is not all a sham."
Xelloss turned to him again with his smile back in place.
"Those bracelets Tambor gave you actually work, whether you believe it or not. I was truly surprised that Shimer's marvelous jewelry didn't cure you on the spot!" he said in a more lighthearted voice. "I was hoping so, in fact. As I said before, I really didn't want you to discover that my entire race is on the verge of being destroyed. I admit I took advantage of your unique nature as long as I could, but in spite of what you think... It would have suited me if you had been cured by the Relics and gone on your way. I still think it's foolish of you to give up being a Chimera, but obviously my opinion on the matter doesn't count for much. I'm in no position to stop you if you choose to go on to the Shrine and find your cure there. However, I'm absolutely certain, without a doubt, that when you enter the Shrine, you will no longer be the Chimera we all know and love, but a plain, old Human."
Irritated by this last flippant comment, Zelgadis stood and began to pace. He rubbed his wrist where Xelloss had gripped him. It felt... good, actually. The touch left a pleasant warmth of the kind that usually didn't penetrate through his stone skin.
He studied the place on his wrist curiously, then looked at his other wrist, where the spell on the bracelet had tried to wind its way into his flesh. There was still a faint tingle there as well, but it was irritating rather than pleasant. He remembered once when he was young he'd accidentally stuck his hand into a patch of nettles. The stinging, crawling itch that remained from Shimer's Relic reminded him of that, but it went deeper. He definitely preferred the sensation from the Mazoku's touch.
He stood there looking at his arms, feeling like a wall had been building up around him while he hadn't noticed - a wall built of gaudy gems and shimmering strings of beads.
"I know exactly how well the Relics work. There is healing magic in them, but Shimer's fabulous Relics are a fraud and a lie. You must have known it all along, Xelloss."
Xelloss had been lying back with his arm over his eyes, but he peered up at Zelgadis curiously.
"Truthfully, I have no idea what you're talking about! You said you sensed a great deal of power in the Relics, and I certainly don't find them pleasant to be around, especially not in my current condition. Are you saying that's all an illusion?"
Zelgadis decided to believe him this time. "You've probably been too preoccupied with the effect of Shimer's Curse on your own kind to worry about what those things are doing to humans. I suppose that's reasonable enough. Since you're not wearing the damn things, there's no reason you should worry about it, is there?"
"Why, Zelgadis, you sound quite disgruntled! A lot like the folks here at the inn, in fact. They don't seem to think much of the fabulous Relics of Shimer, either!"
Zelgadis laughed with very little humor. "I'm glad to hear that not everyone has fallen under their spell. It is a unique spell, but it's woven of common magic, and its main purpose is to bring more people to the Valley of Shimeria to spend their money on yet more Relics."
Zelgadis described the enchantment woven of several spells that he'd discovered on the bracelet, and told him what Zuller had said about the reason for it. Xelloss found it interesting that the Shrine Keepers used the White Magic that Shimer had denounced, but he wasn't surprised.
"Yet Zuller still insists the power at the Shrine itself is something different," Xelloss mused. "You're not willing to take him at his word, are you? I'm inclined to agree with him. Something there empowers the Soldiers of Shimer with much more than ordinary White, Black or Shamanist Magic, even if the Relics are nothing but a clever deception."
"I would have killed him just for deceiving so many people," Zelgadis said grimly. "Even if his explanation does make sense, I still don't trust him. I think his only motive is profit. It's no wonder the people in this part of the Valley don't care for the Relic sellers. The Shrine Keepers are no better than Mazoku, as far as I'm concerned."
Zelgadis was startled when Xelloss laughed out loud at this comment.
"My, we are everywhere, aren't we?" he chuckled.
He pushed himself up again to a sitting position. Leaning back against the pillows, he regarded Zelgadis silently for a minute.
"Knowing all of this," he said finally, "what do you intend to do?"
The hint of a smile at the corner of his mouth told Zelgadis that he already guessed the answer, but Zel said it out loud anyway.
"I'm going to visit the Shrine of Shimer, since both you and Zuller continue to insist it can cure me. If it does, I don't care what you do after that. If it doesn't, I'll destroy it myself."
Xelloss smiled.
"Then I guess we're traveling together a little longer," he said.
Zelgadis nodded once, smiling as well. It was a grim smile, but it was his own, not one created by some spell.
"Yes," he said. "I guess we are."
(to be continued!)
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Next: This story is labeled "hurt/comfort" and "angst" for a reason. Because how else do you comfort a Mazoku when he's hurt, hm? Oh, and the rating is definitely "R" in chapter 8!

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