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Search for the Aqualord	By : RoseThorne Category: +S to Z > Slayers Views: 1532 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
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Title: Search for the Aqualord

By: Chrissy Sky and Rose Thorne

Summary: A sacrifice from an unlikely source brings new changes to Zelgadis� life.

Warnings: YAOI. Zelgadis/Xellos. Slight spoilers for Rev-Evo.

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1. Metamorphosis

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It wasn�t long after their last adventure before Zelgadis found himself once again with his long-time travel companions. The day was clear and warm, full of endless possibilities.

At least, he could hope so, if he allowed himself to. As it was, Zelgadis had been unable to stand being alone. After finding some scant information on a certain magical text, he had enlisted the help of Lina Inverse. It hadn�t taken much convincing on his part; Lina was as much of a nut about finding new spells as he was.

The road they walked was well traveled, used mainly as a trading route for carts and the occasional traveler on foot, such as themselves. Dense trees surrounded the path on either side, with hills and small mountains behind those.. Insects and birds were the prevalent wildlife this close to the road, though there were occasionally signs of deer that had crossed it recently.

Lina fell back from her usual position of leading their unlikely foursome down the road, walking beside him. �Okay, Zel. Give us some details on this Claire Bible manuscript you heard about.�

Zelgadis shook his head. �It�s really vague, Lina. Something about an old temple in these foothills. I�m afraid there wasn�t much on it.�

�Well considering a certain priest we all know and find irritating,� Lina said, �the copies available are probably scarce.� She had removed small bits of her clothing, like her gloves and cape, to ward off the late summer heat. Amelia and Gourry were in similar states, the heat wearing on them more than it did Zelgadis. His chimera body insulated him for the most part, though he would gladly take the inconvenience of sunburn if it meant being human again.

�I thought Rezo-san said there was no cure, Zelgadis-san,� Amelia said delicately from behind them, not wanting to offend but also confused.

�Do you think he lied?� Gourry wondered, having none of the princess� caution.

Zelgadis was grateful for the blond�s straightforwardness, even if he did not always understand. The chimera shrugged. �He could be right, but I'm not going to stop searching on his say-so. He wasn't all-powerful.�

Lina smiled, obviously pleased. She was always on the �never give up� stance, of course. �Atta boy, Zel!� She smacked him on the back, hard, which only hurt her. �Ouch��

Zelgadis sighed, ignoring the sorceress� enthusiasm. �Anyway. It'll take some searching, but there are some nice towns in this area. We can set up a sort of base camp.� He smirked slightly at the redhead. �And I've heard they have some pretty good restaurants, Lina.�

Her eyes lit up eagerly. �Great!�

�Good thinking, Zel,� Gourry murmured close to Zelgadis� ear, smiling fondly.

Amelia brightened. �It's so nice of you to think of us, Zelgadis-san. You don�t usually like stopping.�

Zelgadis sighed. �If Rezo was right, I might as well enjoy the journey.�

Amelia saddened in concern immediately. �Zelgadis-san��

The chimera smiled at her. �I might never find it. I can accept that now.� And it wasn�t a lie. He felt that, if this was his reality, he truly could live with his stone body and its limitations.

The princess, studying him for a moment, seemed to see the truth in his words. Her expression brightened once more, concern gone. �Okay! I�m so happy you were able to come to terms with it.�

�It was either that or let it drive me crazy. I might never be human, but I can at least try to lead a normal life. Well, as normal as possible traveling with Lina.�

Amelia giggled. �That�s true!�

Lina�s brow twitched. �Oi��

Gourry nodded sagely. �Lina makes life exciting.�

Zelgadis smiled fondly, the group�s usual antics comforting. �It was either this or become a hermit,� he admitted. �That got boring pretty quickly.�

Lina glared, though she wasn�t truly irritated. He was used to seeing those warning signs. �Watch it, or you'll have to join a shrine after I'm through with you.�

Both swordsmen winced at the implication.

�Lina-san,� Amelia broke in chidingly, �you could try not being so violent. That�s how all those rumors about you start, you know��

�Oi! I'm plenty nice until people provoke me!� the redhead complained.

The familiar, companionable air was interrupted as a blast of dark energy came out of nowhere. They scrambled in opposite directions, dodging the attack.

A disembodied voice chuckled. �Consider yourself provoked.�

Lina looked around, a fireball already in her hand. �What?!�

Above them, a Mazoku appeared in thin air. She looked almost human, but her eyes gave away her true nature.

�Ah, hell,� Lina groaned. �One trip without Mazoku � is that too much to ask for?�

Zelgadis smiled grimly, his sword out and already glowing from Astral Vine. �For you? Yes.�

Lina�s retort was cut off as the Mazoku attacked again. �Damn!� she cursed, dodging again. �Fireball!�

Zelgadis had joined in to help her attack when another Mazoku appeared right in front of him, slashing. He flipped back just in time, narrowly missing having his stone chest ripped open by sharp demonic claws. He dodged as the Mazoku leapt forward, swinging his sword, but it evaded his blow.

Several more monsters appeared on the road, all looking very smug. Most were obviously lower demons, for they had less humanoid shapes.

Not good! �Who�d you piss off this time?� he yelled at Lina.

The sorceress growled. �I lost count already. Flare Arrow!�

The four Mazoku attacked them at once, partially splitting up. Two went after Amelia at once. Zelgadis left Gourry to help Lina and rushed over to the princess.

�It is unjust to gang up on�!� Amelia�s normal repertoire was cut off as Zel pulled her out of the way as one monster unleashed its attack. The blast of dark energy barely missed them. �Eep!�

Gourry could not contend with a Mazoku with an ordinary sword despite his skills. He was knocked away into the surrounding trees.

�Gourry!� Looking pissed, Lina started the unmistakable chant for the Dragon Slave.

Zelgadis quickly tugged Amelia to her feet. �Move!�

But the chanting was cut off. He turned back just in time to see another Mazoku surge up from the ground beneath Lina�s feet, sending the petite sorceress into the air. Amelia cast Ray Wing and caught Lina, pulling her out of range. Zelgadis blasted the Mazoku with a Ra Tilt, grinning smugly as he scored a hit.

The triumph was short lived when the smoke cleared. Another Mazoku had appeared.. This one was male and wore heavy battle armor along with a smirk filled with contempt.

�Sorry, little boy,� said the Mazoku. �You�ll have to do better than that.�

He sent a blast of energy at Zel. He managed to dodge. Amelia cast Ra Tilt from the air, but the attack dissipated before hitting the Mazoku, ineffective.

�Who the hell are you?� Lina demanded angrily from where she had landed.

The Mazoku leered at the short sorceress with an air of superiority. �I am Dynast Grausherra.�

As the redhead stared in shock, the Mazoku Lord blasted at her. Gourry reappeared suddenly. He looked a little cut and bruised from his flight, but managed to tackle Lina out of the way.

To offer them some cover, Zelgadis sent another Ra Tilt, though it would do no good against a Lord. He hoped it would slow Dynast down at the very least. Dynast, however, did not even flinch. In a flash he sent several large blasts of his energy at the chimera.

Zelgadis braced himself; there was no way he could dodge in time. He�d be lucky if he survived.

Nothing happened.

He opened his eyes slowly to see a familiar dark cape and cropped purple hair.

�Xellos!� Zel cried out in surprised. The priest had materialized and formed a protective shield, blocking Dynast�s attack, and likely saving his life.

Xellos� voice sounded a little pained when he answered. �That could have been disastrous.�

Zelgadis stared at his back, unable to respond. He couldn�t understand why Xellos would protect him.

Before he could think much further than that, Dynast�s voice rang out eagerly.

�Now!� yelled the Lord. �Surround and contain Xellos!�

Xellos flinched back, and Zel could sense his surprise even though he couldn�t see the priest�s face. �What?�

Zelgadis found himself blasted out of the way before he could get to his feet. He landed painfully near Amelia, his back impacting a tree and uprooting it.. When his head stopped buzzing and he looked up again, the lower Mazoku had all surrounded Xellos. The servants began to chant, and a magical circle appeared beneath Xellos.

The priest tried to escape the astral plane, but bounced off of an invisible barrier. He was appeared to be trapped.

Zelgadis grunted, struggling to his feet. It became very obviously, very quickly what had happened. They had been attacked only to lure Xellos out, who was following them again for whatever reason. They, and Xellos, had been tricked.

�Dynast-sama!� Xellos looked surprised, his eyes open. �What is the meaning of this?�

Dynast gathered energy into his palm. �A little punishment for Zelas. She actually thought I wouldn't notice her little plot against Hellmaster, set into motion by you.�

�Xellos!� Lina started chanting the incantation for Ragna Blade.

The Lord smirked. �What�s this? Xellos, the little girl means to protect you.�

Lina glared. �No, I just don�t like your face.�

�Charming.� Dynast sent a blast her way, hovering protectively over the circle his servants had formed around Xellos. Gourry pulled the sorceress out of the way.

Though he rarely used black magic, Zelgadis cast Zelas Brid at the Lord. If Dynast was anything like Gaav or Phibrizo had been, they couldn�t possibly handle this. He�d have to pull all his tricks out if they were going to survive and save Xellos.

He�d be damned if he owed the damn priest anything. For whatever manipulative reasons the priest had, he�d saved Zel�s life, and the chimera was going to repay that debt. There were other reasons too, but there was no time to think about that now.

Amelia backed up his spell with a Ra Tilt of her own. Neither spell caused even a scratch and Dynast only laughed, knocking both Zel and the princess down with a blast of energy that stung, but didn�t cause any damage.

�Stay back, mortals. This has nothing to do with you.�

Lina struggled to her feet. �It does. He may be annoying as hell, but Xellos is a part of our group.�

Xellos appeared truly shocked. �Lina-san��

Zelgadis tried not to look at him trapped there helplessly. �Lina, we�ll cover you!� He, Amelia, and Gourry ran toward Dynast from different directions.

Lina nodded and began to chant.

As she did, the magic circle began to glow brightly. Xellos emitted a blood-curdling scream, his body writhing as if some unseen force were ripping at his spirit. For all Zel knew, it was.

They didn�t get within ten yards of the Lord before he blew them away without effort. Lina was blasted at again, her chanting interrupted as she dodged. Dynast seemed to know them well enough not to let Lina use her big attacks, which seemed strange � Zel couldn�t remember a Mazoku being overly cautious like that. He also didn�t seem to be taking the battle overly seriously � he hadn�t, after all, killed them yet. The only potentially lethal attacks that had been thrown at them since Xellos� appearance had been easily dodged.

Zelgadis sent another Ra Tilt toward one of the lesser Mazoku holding Xellos, to no avail. Dynast continued to protect his servants. He blasted them away again, but still didn�t deliver a killing blow. It seemed that the Lord was merely holding them off.

�What are they doing to him?� Zel asked. He could barely stand after being flung against another tree.

Lina, still recovering from the last attack, forced herself into a sitting position. �I don�t know. I�ve never seen a circle like that before.�

Zel nodded. The designs were strange, like nothing he had seen before.

�How do we stop them?� Gourry asked, just as tired as they were.

Before he could even begin to form a plan, Dynast stepped forward and placed his hand on Xellos� chest. His screams grew louder and inhuman, piercing the air and hurting Zel�s ears.

Tears filled Amelia�s eyes. �Lina-san, they�re killing him��

Determined, Lina started chanting Ragna Blade yet again, but Dynast cut her off with another blast, sending all of them scrambling again. He didn�t even pause with whatever he was doing to Xellos.

The priest scrambled against Dynast�s hold wildly, clawing at his arm uselessly, the power ripping and shredding his surprisingly substantial clothes.

Finally, the Lord removed his hand. Xellos crashed to the ground and lay still, apparently unconscious. He was free but he did not disappear into the Astral Plane.

Dynast looked even smugger than before, if it were possible. �I curse you to humanity, Xellos,� he hissed with delight before disappearing with his minions.

Lina stared at the scene, weakly falling to her knees. Her brow furrowed in confusion. �What did he say�?�

Zelgadis forced himself to his feet, moving toward Xellos� form hesitantly. He was as troubled as Lina was. By rights, they should all be dead. Instead, the Mazoku Lord had come to put a mysterious curse on one of his own kind? It made no sense, especially Dynast�s parting words. �To� humanity? What did they do to him?�

From behind him, he heard Amelia give a gasp before she rushed forward ahead of him to Xellos. Zelgadis thought nothing of it at first � he was still in some shock himself and assumed Amelia had just gotten over hers by giving into the instinct to check on their Mazoku friend. Not that there was much they could do for a being made of evil. On the bright side, Xellos hadn�t faded away so he was still alive�

He knelt down on the road beside the slumped form and said as much to the princess, hoping it would reassure her.

He noted then that her hands were shaking. She reached out and hesitantly touched Xellos� throat. �It can�t be,� Amelia murmured, gasping again.

Gourry walked up behind her and uttered the words that would change their lives.. �Oh, wow. He�s breathing.�

Lina held onto Gourry�s arm, obviously using the tall blond to keep herself upright. �He�s what?!�

Startled, Zel�s hand quickly darted out, checking Xellos� neck as Amelia had. He felt the steady pulse, the pumping of a heart that should not be there. �They cursed him� to humanity. They made him human!�

TBC.
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Search for the Aqualord