Obligatory Disclaimers:
Slayers characters are owned by a set of people, not me, and
this is a work of fan-fiction, a derivative work, not intended to
infringe for profit on the copyright of those who own Slayers.

**********************************************************************
This is a longer fiction piece, that is largely focussed on romance
and drama, but I'm trying to keep to the original flavor of Slayers which
is definitely light on those two elements and stronger on comedy and
adventure. So, it'll definitely have comedic and adventurous scenes
along with the "mush". I've avoided writing anything that gets too
sensual, let alone anything explicit, but this story, if it were
a movie,might be rated R. Its way milder
than your average romance novel, but it is named "Slayers Romance"
for a reason. Mostly it focusses on Lina, but Gourry, Zelgaddis
and Xellos all appear, with lesser roles thrown to Ameria and
a cameo Sylpheel role, and one or two others.

Hope you like it! AND NOW<> THE STORY <>
***************************************************
***************************************************
You stare at the old man in front of you, impatiently wondering what
he wants. He keeps sipping his beer and looking
at you, trying to catch your eyes and attention. You studiously avoid him.
It's not that its crowded, here in this bar just off the crossroads, in
the heart of New New New Saiiraag. You just know his type.

Finally, he resorts to the traditional cough, and jumps in anyway.
"You know, you're awfully quiet as a bartender." He mumbles loudly.

You shrug. You don't like to say anything when you have nothing to say.
The tips are much better that way.

But the old man doesn't like the silence. So he opens his mouth again,
and you sadly note, does not finnish the ale he's been nursing the last hour.

"Most barkeeps have great stories...
Don't you have any?" He tries again to get you to talk. You stare blankly at him.

He sighs resignedly. "Well then, I have one for you...Now, I'm no storycrafter, and I'm not a bard. In fact, I'm a pretty ordinary traveller, but I've got an extraordinary story to tell you.
You probably won't believe me, but that's ok. If I don't
tell someone, I'll go mad. So just listen to me, and maybe
you'll think its just an entertaining story...but if you do believe
me...well, maybe you can tell me what to make of it because I sure
as L-sama don't know."

You shrug again, one hand rubbing a little rag to shine the brass taps. They
never shine because the room is so dark. Its a useless gesture,
but it makes you feel useful. So, settled into your little ritual,
you give the funny old man your attention. You like his voice anyway,
it crackles a little, and burrs at places, running deep with a low welcome hum like the sound of a heater. You can't place his accent, but you think maybe
its Fushillian, but you can't be sure. You've never been there, or really,
ever met anyone from there.

"I was sitting in a tavern, kind of like the one we're in now. Maybe
a little darker, definitely a little damper, cause it was the rainy season.
That was why, in the middle of the day, I entered the tavern. It was pretty
empty of village folk, cause as I said, it was raining heavily.
And as I sipped my ale, I had nothing to think about except what bad luck
I was having on my trade route....er, I won't bore you with that. So here's
the interesting part. I heard a kid being called by the strangest name I've ever heard a kid being called." He pauses, judging that you are about to
find something else to polish, and jumps into pitching his voice higher,
imitating a woman.

"Hey--Shabby...Shabby Inverse...don't you dare jump out in that rain--"
That's what she said. I could hear her voice echoing down the stairs from the
inn rooms above the tavern."

He does the voice pattern perfectly, just enough
that you can hear the country accent and the youth of a young girl despite
it still being an old man in front of you speaking. He continues in
his normal voice, shifting out of it effortlessly to mimic the characters.

"A splash preceded the sound of a slightly suppressed curse, and then
a young woman ran down the stairs, two at a time and into the rain. "That
boy'll be the death of me." She muttered, but I think to herself, not to
me, and she threw the door open and dashed outside, letting all the wet weather inside.

I don't remember what the girl looked like, I think she was fair, but she may
have been dark. I do remember, that she had
a rather large chest. Don't look at me like that...I'm not some
dirty old man. It *was* the most remarkable thing about the girl...
And of course, I wasn't paying that much attention to her--when she dragged
in the boy, I looked up out of curiosity. He was a cute kid, with very straight red hair cut in a traditional page-boy cut, and eyes like gold coins. Kind of cherubic really, and certainly not the kind of boy you
name after the Dark Lord...

"Shabranigdo, if I told you once, I told you a thousand times not to
jump into the rain bucket. One day you'll break your neck." The girl
swore.

The boy just smiled contentedly at her. "I wanted to play with my sword."

"And put that away." She swore, confiscating the small sword, which,
as far as I could tell did not have a blade.

"Give it back. That's mine." He complained. "That's my Sword of Light!"

"Don't call it that in public! If your mother heard you!" She threatened. "Lina would---"

I didn't really catch what she said. Who could, when my mind was leaping to conclusions like a frog that's learned how to ray-wing. Someone had named that kid after the highest Mazokou lord--Shabranigdo. And Inverse--that suggested that the one who'd done the unusual naming was Lina Inverse. That's right. Lina Inverse, as in the "enemy of all who live" or the "girl that gives Dragon's nightmares." Yes, the one, the only the odd, Lina Inverse. If she heard me say that...it would probably be the last thing I ever said.

But she's not here. No, quite likely she's still in the sleepy little village
that I passed through, where I first learned this story. Or maybe not,
because I was never really sure that she was there when I passed through."
He pauses then, and clears his throat.

"Oh dear, I can see I'm losing you already. Its just so hard for someone
like me to tell a good story...and my throat is so dry....Oh? More ale? I couldn't possibly" He makes a very half-hearted show of protesting the drink you grudgingly offer him, so half-hearted that the glass is half-way to his lips by the time the syllables are said. In fact, he drains it in one large
swish.

He looks up at you, as you take his tankard and absentmindedly, refill it. Lina Inverse and a child? That was one rumor you hadn't heard in all your days as a barkeep in a fairly busy tavern, in the heart of New New New
Sairaag. You ignore the other customers who trickle in and lean down on your elbows looking into the old man's blue eyes, prompting him to continue.

He grins, somewhat ferally and continues, now that his throat is nice
and loosened. "So, I'm sitting there, my mouth so wide open that my jaw
hurt. Before I can say anything, the bartender there,of course not as good as you my quiet friend, says "Nice day isn't it?"

In fact, you look more like a barkeep to me than he did. You've got
a good solid quality about you. Maybe that's why you're quiet. Now he
wasn't exactly talkative. Just conversational like, you know? He practically
read the questions on my tongue and he delighted in answering them without
even waiting for me to ask. Real polite guy, is what...

His voice seemed too educated to be a barkeep, er, no offense, but he
just had this manner about him. Its important, cause you see, he's the one what told me the story. So if you're going to believe me, you've got
to know why I believed him.

So I look up at him, shake my head, and he leans forward and says "
Well, rain isn't everyone's favorite, and the days can't all be sunny,
can they?"

I had to agree with that bit of homespun wisdom, but I didn't let it distract me from the question I wanted to ask. "So why is that kid named Shabranigdo
Inverse?"

"Ah...sort of suits him it does." The barkeep replied. I think that
is what he said, but for a second my translation spell broke, and his
words warbled and I had to guess.

"But its odd" I protested. "...and Inverse...he couldn't possibly be...." I hesitated to ask that question. I knew it was a leap of logic, but I had to know. Was she his mother?

The barkeep smiled. I'm not sure why the translation spell broke, but
when the barkeep spoke next, the spell came back better than it ever worked
before. I could understand him as clear as I understand people from my native land in our own language. "So you want to know about Shabranigdo? How
he came to be named that do you?"

I think I said something unintelligent despite the enhanced translations
, and he sat down, and started telling me this tale:
************************************************************************
In the beginning of time, there was nothing. Oh, maybe there was
something, but it was so small compared to what exists now that it
might as well have been nothing. And in time, the nothing became
the Lord of Nightmares. Then, the Lord brought forward Ceipheed and
Shabranigdo, who to put it mildly, did not get along. Of course, in all that fighting, they didn't bother asking
L-sama what she thought of that. Probably the only one who knows is
Lina Inverse.

Why is one small girl so important to the fate of the world? Well, maybe
Lina asked that of L-sama too, but she never shared the answer. History says its because she destroyed part of Shabranigdo, rejected demons from
other dimensions, stomped a great many bandits,saved Mypross island, and
generally makes both Mazokou and Dragons cower in fear.

The real truth is that ultimately she is the one human being in all of existence who appealed to the Lord of Nightmares directly for help and survived the experience.

And the creator of all had only one real problem
which could possibly be solved by a human, even a powerful one like Lina.

The Lord, to put it simply, was tired of the pleas by Shabranigdo to let
Shabranigdo regain its form. Ceipheed pleaded to prevent this. Century after century they or their followers pestered L-sama with their thoughts and prayers.

Shabranigdo, hacked into seven parts, one of which Lina herself completely
destroyed, wanted his remaining parts to be reunited. Ceipheed not surprisingly
opposed any such thing from happening. Ceipheed also anted to return
to the material world, being now an amorphous entity locked in the
planes beyond even the astral planes.

So, the Lord of Nightmares, who could not choose which of the two lesser Gods
to please, pushed that decision to the one human strong enough
to work the Giga Slave. Strong enough to work it more than once,
and to really understand the spell. She the two were told, would
solve that question. Even a god needs to take form somewhere or somehow.
And a human strong enough to cast the Giga Slave would be the one to
be the conduit for a rebirth....of course, even that powerful a human could
do it only once. That meant either God could reenter, but not both.

The Mazokou Lords knew of this legend. The Gold Dragons knew of this legend.
And when Lina Inverse learned the spell of the Giga Slave, the Dragons
and the Mazokou became very interested in knowing about her. When she used the Giga Slave against Shabranigdo, they decided to do more than just know her.

So which one, Ceipheed or Shabranigdo? That, ordered the
Lord, would be up to Lina Inverse. The sneaky Mazokou and the clever Dragons,
of course, had already anticipated that situation the minute the young
girl learned the spell. Their representatives
were already in place. Because by "choose" the Lord had meant that
literally. If Lina were forced into giving herself to one side,
or tricked, it would not work. Instead, by choosing who she would
love, she would choose the fate of the world. That feeling would
be the magical force to pull the spell into place.

If a Mazokou representative could win her heart, Shabranigdo
would be reborn. If the Dragon's servant won her, then the child
would be Ceipheed. And that was all the two races knew.

The Mazokou of course, were not happy. At first they contemplated
killing Lina Inverse off, because as they fumed, there was no way
any human would fall in love with a Mazokou, or an agent of one,
no matter how tricky he might be.

The Dragon's on the other hand, complained there was no way any human
would fall in love with Lina Inverse, no matter how unfinicky he might be. She was far too destructive and chaotic, and (though they didn't say it)
underdeveloped.

But the Dragons went to great lengths to protect Lina anyway. Perhaps its
because even before Lina showed signs of learning the Giga Slave, the
Dragons had chosen her sister to be the Knight of Ceipheed. Of course,
they'd thought Luna would be the one to bring Ceipheed back, but the Dragons
could adapt. At least this way, they were one step ahead of the Mazokou
spies trying to figure Lina Inverse out. Who would know her better than
a sister?

Apparently and somewhat discouragingly, the Dragons learned that whatever
Luna knew about Lina, they could have guessed for themselves.
"She likes to eat. Likes to roam. Likes to yell." That was about all the advice Luna gave them.

So the Dragons set off to find their delegate among the humans (because
no Dragon could bear to even think of taking human form for the sole purpose
of fathering a child with Lina Inverse).

They needed someone filled with goodness, courage and hunger. Someone
who wouldn't question the subliminal mental orders the Dragons would send
to make him follow the sorceress around. It wouldn't hurt if he could
help protect her from the Mazokou forces while he was at it. Oh, and
they also made sure he was good looking. Humans being humans, the
Dragons realized that might matter, even to a girl as unromantic as
Lina Inverse.

**********************************************************************
Lina Inverse turned the gold coins over in her hand. Victory was hers.
She allowed herself a small smile, before turning and smashing a fireball
into the body of the thief who'd been hiding behind a rock while she'd been pursuing her newly acquired treasure.

She felt satisfied, but not quite as happy as she ought. The thought troubled her. After all, she'd been through a rather harrowing adventure, being possessed by the Lord of Nightmares, and nearly destroying the world with the Giga Slave. Mentally,she vowed never to cast *that* particular spell again.
Not that she had much choice the last couple of times. Yet somehow, she felt
bored by wiping out a simple bandit enclave all by herself.

Of course, it was a good way to kill some time, and she'd promised
Sylpheel to let the Shrine Maiden talk privately to Gourry for awhile.

Lina still didn't exactly understand why Sylpheel had wanted to do that.
Why did Sylpheel need privacy to ask him to go with her to Saiiraag?
Even weirder, Lina thought, was that Sylpheel had first asked Lina's permission to do ask him, before she dared approach Gourry.
Lina had laughed at the girl. "I don't
answer for Gourry...if he wants to go with you, he can. Tell him I'm
going for a bath in that river, and then I'm leaving at sunset to get
to the next village. I've had enough camping out."

The Shrine Maiden had just nodded, looking grateful for the chance to
speak her mind to Gourry. "If you're sure you don't mind."

Lina was still marvelling at the Shrine Maiden's odd behavior when
she returned to the camp, leaving a cave of squashed bandits behind
her.

She caught her name in their conversation,
and heard the end of Gourry's reply. "I'd like to travel with you
Sylpheel, like you asked, because I know you'd be nice to travel with. Lina yells, and she's loud, and she eats too much, and she's flat as a board.."

And Lina had turned and ray-winged herself off. That had been
two days ago.

She could still see him, standing so close to Sylpheel, as the two of
them talked in hushed voices.
Why hadn't he come after her? She might have been the one to sneak off,
but he could easily have followed her if he had wanted to do that.
He wasn't even a tenth as bright as his sword, but he could always manage to find her before.

So maybe he hadn't even tried. Her feet pounded the unhappy thoughts
into the forrest.

If Lina Inverse had stayed, maybe she would have heard the rest of the scene.

"I don't know what to do. " Gourry said. "I'd like to travel with you
Sylpheel, like you asked, because I know you'd be nice to travel with. Lina yells, and she's loud and she eats too much, and she's flat as a board...but I can't leave her. I don't want to travel with anybody else. I mean even the
things I don't like about her, I like about her cause its her. "

"So you're in love with her?

"I didn't say that!"He said, his whole face going as pink as uncooked beef.

"But you did." She was pale as snow over ice.

"I just have to be with her. I feel right when I'm with her. I don't know
how to explain it. But love?! Lina'd blast me if I
even said something like that to her."

"Are you sure?" Sylpheel asked quietly her heart straining against the words.

"Well...I'm too afraid to find out. I mean, it'd just get so
awkward if I said anything. Its awkward enough with just me thinking
about her all the time...if she knew I was thinking of her--I mean,
this is Lina. She's really protective of herself you know? I mean,
like this one time, this rich guy asked her to marry him, and she
didn't even want to kiss him though he was paying her money. And
I don't have near that kind of cash...she'd probably kill me."

"Not if she likes you too. Gourry-chan, most girls don't want to kiss men for
money. I wouldn't."

"Then why do you kiss somebody?"

Sylpheel blushed. "Because you love them."

"Oh...Well...I love Lina, but I don't know if I want to kiss her!" He
said matter of factly. "Its hard to think of Lina that way. I
mean, I can't stop thinking about her, but I can't think of her
like that either, not unless---"

"How do you think of me, Gourry-chan?"

"Oh..gosh...Sylpheel..." He paused, then stumbled, "Well, you're a good cook" He smiled encouragingly.

She lowered her eyes from his, her question answered. "I think you'd better
go with her, Gourry-chan. And maybe, you should ask her how she
feels about you?"

He smiled. "Yeah...cause maybe it'll be ok that I think about her
if she's thinking about me back, right? If I knew that..." He
paused. "Where is Lina anyway?" He peered at Sylpheel through the
dim light.

"She said she was leaving before sunset, Gourry-chan." Sylpheel said, her
voice catching a little as she stared up at the handsome warrior.

"Then I'd better catch up with her. Maybe we'll see you
in Saiiraag next time we're there, ne?" He called as he
disappeared into the forrest.

But he couldn't find a single trace of Lina. Not surprising, because
one Mazokou, though he hadn't set up the little scene, was smart
enough to take advantage of it and had already blurred Lina's trail.

And that Mazokou found the opportunity to approach Lina
irresistible, and as perfect as if he had planned the whole thing.

******************************************
Lina had been flying so long, making herself so tired, that she honestly
didn't know which way was up. She crashed unspectacularly into a forrest,
a ball of nerves, and hunger. She wanted to eat, sleep and yell and
she didn't know what to do first. In frustration, she realized
there was nothing to eat around her, and since she'd avoided stopping in
the nearest village, she'd bypassed the best sources for food.

"Damn Gourry." She muttered, even though she knew it really wasn't his fault that she'd overused her magic and tired herself out. Nor was it really
his fault that she'd skipped the villages where he could have caught
up with her. She wanted to see him, but she also didn't want to see him.
So she'd run. And she knew, when she thought about it, unless she
waited for him somewhere like a village he would never find her.
At least, he was unlikely to find her way out in the forrest, for even
Gourry was not stupid enough to think Lina would sacrifice the comfort
of an Inn for the canopy of a forrest (when she didn't have to do so). Though, of course, she'd done exactly that.

"Ah! Hello!" A calm cheery voice called out. "Well...fancy meeting you here!?"

She looked up, realizing the day had gone from worse to...she couldn't
think of something suitably bad. She rolled over and pretended to go to
sleep.

"Ne...Lina-chan, are you that tired?" Xellos said floating down. When she
didn't respond, he lifted her head, almost tenderly, and stared into her
half closed eyes, bringing his face a bit too close for Lina's comfort.

She squirmed away, moving back and somehow ramming her head into a tree.
"I was trying to sleep."She growled. "Get out of my way, so I can lie down."

"Ah...mind if I join you?" He asked his eyes half shut
with the perpetual smile on his face, as he shifted from kneeling over
where she'd been to sitting on the side of her makeshift bed roll.

She slid down the tree as she screamed "WHAT!?" Her face flushed scarlet.

He laughed melodiously, with a wink. "As long as you are awake that is."

"I don't want any company. Asleep or Awake."

"AH...I see, I see. Is that why you left your friend Gourry?"
Xellos pried, still smiling, and still sitting on her "bed".

"I didn't leave him...he's just not here yet." Lina lied, tugging the
cloak and leaves she'd used for cushioning out from under him. At least,
trying to tug them, because they didn't move an inch.

Nor did Xellos's smile move at all. "OHHHHH. Of course. Of course. Then,
should I tell him not to come? If you don't want company?"

"I don't want *your* company, got it Mazokou?" Lina said gaining her
usual vigor. Xellos always managed to throw her off her paces, but
she should have been used to his tricks by now. He just acted so...
different than anyone else...so annoyingly different.

"And you want Gourry?" The Mazokou priest asked innocently, yet somehow
conveying a not so innocent meaning to the words. At least, Lina
thought he might be implying something beyond what he said.

"Leave me alone." She answered. "Or I'll Dragon Slave your "Its a
secret-behind, got it?" With a violent tug she rescued her cloak, sending
the pile of leaves fluttering into the air like confetti in a parade.

He held up his free hand, the other calmly resting on the
staff that appeared from nowhere. "No need for violence Lina-chan." He sat
down, dusted the leaves off his shoulders, and pulled out a thick cluster of
grapes. They were small and purple, but
the kind that packed the most potent flavor of the vine.

Lina stared at the amethyst grapes, as Xelloss calmly began to pop
them one by one into his mouth. "Ah...." He smiled. "Would
you like one?"

Distracted by the food, Lina leaned forward. "Gimmeee"
She said as he effortlessly phased out of her grasp.

"AH...I went all the way to your hometown of Zephellia for these.
And, even for a Mazokou, taking these was no easy task. I think I'd
like to enjoy them." He popped another grape into his mouth, his lips
closing around it slowly, as it slid into his smile. "Zephellia
is such a lovely country! Such powerful mages...Don't you miss it?" He said conversationally.

"No! HEY..." She jumped at the priest hovering in mid-air. And missed.
"Fine..." she said, too weak for magic as she fell back to the small
huddle of her belongings where she'd tried to bed down for the night.
"Play your games by yourself."

"Oh, but its no fun by myself." Xelloss said materializing by her
head, as his hand touched one of the small sweet fruits against her lips.
She opened her mouth to say something, anything, and he used the
chance to feed her. The taste overwhelmed her with memories of home, as
her teeth crushed the grape. She'd steal armfulls of this fruit right of
the vine, just before wine harvesting season. This grape was right at
the peak of its flavor, the sweet and tart flavor tingling her tongue
as it slid down her throat.

He fed her again, as she sipped the memories in her mind. Memories of
the vine crushing festival where the older girls danced to smash the
juice out of the harvest. He slipped her another one, and the
taste prompted her to recall the time she'd gotten drunk and how she'd
"accidently" told the village boys where her sister was taking a bath
that afternoon. Actually, Lina frequently sold tickets to her sister's
bathing sites, but that day she'd gotten drunk she'd gotten caught. Boy
had Luna been mad! She grinned, forgetting all about the enigmatic Mazokou in
front of her. Those had been some wild times, at the Zephellian festivals. And the food! Her stomach gurgled.

Xellos pouted slightly, realizing that Lina seemed completely unaware
of him. Not what he had in mind at all. He stopped feeding her, to
regain her attention.

She groaned in hunger, thinking of all the traditional dishes she
missed, and Xellos tapped her shoulder. Greedily she grabbed for another
piece, but he shook his head, and again, insisted on feeding it to her.
This time she bit his fingers to teach him a lesson. As his
smile grew wider, she realized he probably enjoyed it. "Damn..."
She thought remembering his weird Mazokou attitude towards pleasure
and pain. The two were mixed in his twisted mind. The only thing
that *would* displease him would be if she ignored him, for everything
else produced a sensation, and that was what he wanted.

Yet hunger clouded her mind, and the pieces of fruit were addictive. She
wanted more, and not just of the grapes. She wanted something more solid,
and vast quantities of it. The grapes teased her appetite, rather than
appeasing it. "I'm too hungry to deal with you right now." She
said sitting up. If she didn't get some food fast....

And suddenly, there was food. Not a lot of it, just a whole
roast turkey delicately garnished on a silver platter, on a table
clothed with soft linen. Two long white candles glowed above
it all, and out of nowhere the soft sounds of violins caressed the
air.

Not that Lina noticed, as she yelled "FOOD" as she pounced, grasping and tearing into the meal. She'd devoured
the whole thing before Xellos could even manage to sit opposite her
in the romantic rendevouz he'd planned. He smiled at his own foolishness.

Such finery really went to waste on a girl like Lina, but somehow,
he'd been unable to resist trying. As she licked clean the last bone,
he flicked his hands making the rest of the spread disappear.

"SO...what do you want this time?" She said, now that her mind was
able to focus.

"Ah! That is a secret." He said, his one eye winking open, as the
finger warned her off prying too deeply. She'd expected that taunt,
and even had a response ready--but she swallowed it as he
he added something to her surprise, twisting the old phrase. "A secret just between you and I."

"Between us?" She said completely astounded. "What do you mean?"

"Ah...in time, in time." Xelloss almost purred. "If I told you now,
it wouldn't be any fun, now would it?"

"Xellos, either you tell me what you want, or I'm going to..."
She paused, trying to think of something suitably threatening to the
someone as powerful as the Mazokou. She really couldn't use the
Dragon Slave on him--it took too long to build the power, and he could
easily dodge in the meantime.

"What Lina-chan?" he said smilingly, knowing her threats could not harm him.

"Going to...."

He smiled as he put a finger to her lips, stilling the speech. "Ne, don't
worry. Lina. I'll tell you what I want. Of course, when I do, you're
probably going to want to do whatever it was that you were struggling to
think you would do."

She blushed at the touch, and growled "Fireball"

A slightly smoked Mazokou sighed happily. "Ne Lina, don't be so mean! I didn't even tell you why I was here."

She wanted to shout "I don't care." But curiosity, and the rarity of Xellos revealing a secret got to her. "Spit it out." She ordered. "What do you
want?"

He put his hands on the fist she shook at him. He opened his eyes,
and stared into hers His tone took on an almost sing-song quality as he
replied "You."

Chaos twirled in Lina's mind. Her face began to match her hair.
"Me?" She repeated. "What do you want with me?!" She said, half
afraid of drowning into the dark purple eyes boring into her. "Explain
yourself right now!"

He smiled, the eyes-closed-smile again, giving her a small measure of
relief from his strange behavior. "Ah, Lina-chan, it would be so
much more fun to demonstrate what I want with you, than to explain it!"

He put his arms around her, and lowered his face towards hers. The straight
edges of his fine hair tickled her face as he moved closer. The movement
brought Lina to herself and she shoved him rather violently away.

"Oh, Lina-chan!" He exclaimed a bit too happily for Lina's comfort.

"What game are you playing this time, Mazokou?" She muttered.

"No game...no game. I just came to tell you something." He said
sobering up, the giddiness vanishing from his manner.

"Then tell me and get the hell away from me, got it?" She said, her breath
barely able to form the words against the rapid beat of her pulse. He
was getting to her and she just didn't understand why.

"OH Lina....." He pouted. "You are so hard to please... But I do try, you know." He resumed the cat's smile he always wore. "Do you remember your friend the Chimera?"

"Zelgaddis--what about Zelgaddis...? "She asked, worry creeping into the
words. If the Mazokou General Priest came to warn her about her friend, nothing good could come of it.

"Ah...well! He is soon not to be a chimera anymore." Xellos paused,
his tone hinting at danger.

Lina frowned, puzzled. "That's good news, but---"
She trailed off to prompt him.

"Good news to the Mazokou." Xellos said. "He's carrying a piece of
Shabranigdo, and when he "cures" himself, he will free the last bit
of the dark lord."

"And Shabranigdo will be reborn!" Lina exclaimed

"Er...no, not entirely. But you saw what happened the last time one piece
revived itself, did you not?"

A cold feeling washed over Lina. "Just like Rezzo..."

"Lovely bit of irony isn't it?" Xellos mused. "He curses his grandfather
and father, for condemning him to the hideous Chimera form. He hates him more
than anything, and yet, he is just like him. Must be that inbreeding, ne? So off he goes, blindly searching for a cure for his condition, no matter the cost to those around him. And as with Rezzo, the cost will be high, very high." Xellos' eyes flew open as Lina shoved him against a tree, her hands around his neck.

"WHERE IS HE! I'VE GOT TO STOP HIM!" She shouted.

"AH...but the Mazokou are very interested in seeing Shabranigdo's rebirth!"
Xellos wheezed through what little air made it to his lungs. "Oh...
Lina-chan, would you mind!?"

She let go of him and he regained his smile, "Ah...over too soon!" He
sighed.

"Tell me Xellos." She said in a serious tone.

He leaned forward, lowering his voice to a whisper. "He's at the fountain of light."

"The Fountain of Light?!" Lina groaned. "But that's a legendary place that
has been lost for centuries...No one knows where *that* is!"

"No one? Zelgaddis found it." Xellos smiled.

Lina frowned. "Why should I believe you? Why would you tell me so I could
stop him??" Was this some sort of trap? Xellos never told her the full
story, did he?

Xellos smiled like a cat stealing cream, and kissed her cheek. He ducked
her fist, and grinned when she shook her hand to ease the pain of hitting the
tree behind him instead. "Ne, Lina-chan, Why would I lie to you!?"

She didn't say anything but stood there in some shock at the absurdity of that question. "Wha Wha What?"

"Bad question?" He teased. "Oh..then let me show you that I'm speaking
the truth." He put his hands on her head.

IMAGES they swarmed into Lina's mind like reflections off a disco ball. All
around her, dancing and darting too quick to catch. He'd thrown his whole
mind open to her, all the secrets revealed. Whatever she wanted she could see.

No games, no tricks, just Xellos unadulterated, and uploaded straight into her
brain. Lina felt as if she would gag. She couldn't separate him from her at
this rate. This Lina-Xellos brain swayed losing its mind. What did she
want to know? Focus. She thought. So much to see, so much to learn, too
many secrets and intrigues in the streaming thoughts.

[Zelgaddis.] She Thought. [Was that true?] {Yes it is} He answered.
[So where was the Fountain of Light.] A map appeared in her mind. [Can I trust this?] {Of course.} [Why? As a Mazokou, why do you help me like this?]
{AH! That is a Secret.} [If its a secret, why open your mind like this? I can find all your secrets if I want. Why even bother saying "its a secret!" when I'm in your mind!?] {True...true, but I didn't have to open my mind to you} [so why did you?!] {Ah....Same reason, and I don't think you'll like the answer.} [I don't care. Damn it, tell me.] {Are you sure? You probably will wish you didn't know. }[XELLOS STOP THE GAMES AND TELL ME THE 'SECRET' RIGHT NOW]{If you insist....Why am I helping you? Why did I open my mind to you? Why am I telling you my secrets? Because I love you.} [Dammit, don't lie--]

Lina slammed shut the link, realizing he couldn't lie to her, that he
hadn't lied to her. That she'd just been inside his head and seen
more than she could possibly process.

"I told you, you may not want to know." He said sighing as he looked at the
slightly fried sorceress. Her eye twitched as she desperately tried to shake
the strange feeling twisting in her. She didn't feel the same as when
she'd been deep kissed by fish-man Noonsa, but right now her stomach felt
much the same. Her pulse raced though, in a way it had not that time.

"AH...my innocent little Lina-sama." He said pushing a small stray red curl
on her cheek. "Did you believe me?" He said, his tone implying she shouldn't.
"Do you really think I would let you in my mind?"

"You...you...." She blinked, and took off running for the Fountain of
Light, leaving a highly amused Xellos behind.

A voice behind him caught his attention. He turned and the dimensions
opened revealing a wisp of a girl/woman, and the whiff of wolf in the air.
Beast-Master. He greeted her without words, bowing slightly.

"Well? How does it go, Xellos?"

"As planned. As planned." He said, his voice serious for once.

"Do not fail me. I created you out of an arrogant human for just this
purpose. Over 1000 years, and even for me that is a long time to wait to
see a plan come to its conclusion. If you fail, I will take great pleasure in
separating the Mazokou from you, and feed myself on the pain your human remains experience in the process. You will find no joy in that suffering."

He bowed lower. "Of course, Xelas-Mettallum-sama"

"The other Dark Lords expect this plan of mine to fail. They seek to
resurrect the pieces of Shabranigdo, to attack the world below and
glory in the darkness it would bring" She growled, the words crawling with
her irritation. Smoke trailed into the air around him. "They do not
understand. They never understood."

"I do." He said nodding. "I understand. Of course, that's why you chose
me." He winked.

"You were always a strange thing." She replied, her eyes shining briefly.
"I said it then, when you were human, that you amuse me.
You still do." It was the highest praise she offered to anything or anyone.

"Ah....I try, I try."He bowed.

"You just try to amuse yourself." She remarked dryly. "You don't think of me."

He opened both eyes, and looked up at her. "But that's why I amuse you
isn't it? If I acted according to what you like, I wouldn't surprise you, ne?"

She smiled briefly. "Predictable you're not, Xelloss. But in this matter
I need to predict your success. I must have you succeed."

"You gave me the goal. And how I complete it is up to me, is it not?"
He said. "I've made a lot of progress."

She shrugged as a puff of smoke batted his head. "I don't care about
progress. I want results." With that, she was gone.

END PART ONE.