----------------------------------------------------------------------
by: lupinewraith
Author: Wow! I wrote a fan fic!

Zel: Yeah, great.

Xel: Don't be so mean Zel-kun, she put a lot of work into it!

Zel: Get away from me you fruitcake!

Author: Have you even read the fic, Zel?

Zel: I don't want to.

Xel: Come one Zelly, live a little.

Zel: Fireball!

Author: Um, well, while those two are fighting ... I hope you enjoy my fan
fic! If you have any comments please e-mail me at lupinewraith@hotmail.com ,
I would love to hear what you think. Also, I would really appreciate being
encouraged to write the next part in the series. So basically I'm pretty
insecure about this work, and Zelgadis isn't helping.

Zel: Get this psycho off of me!

Xel: Oh come on, Zelga-bunny, we were just starting to have some fun!

Zel: Ra tilt!

Xel: Touchy, isn't he?

Author: Anyway, read on and enjoy!

----------------------------------------------------------------------
 

Part One
 

The five adventurers sat round the wooden table of an inn, enjoying their
meal. At least Amelia was enjoying her meal. Lina and Gourry were fighting
over the last drumstick, Zelgadis was depressively staring out of the
window, nursing a cup of coffee and Xelloss ... well, Xelloss was Xelloss.
"Yet another Claire Bible disappointment," thought Zelgadis. "Damn that
Xelloss! I'll never find my cure with him destroying every book, parchment
or leaf that seems connected to the Claire Bible!"
"Mr. Zelgadis looks so depressed," thought Amelia, her head on her hand, her
plate discarded. "I wish he could see a Claire Bible, it's all he ever
thinks of these days." Then she sighed.
"I don't understand all these frequent attacks," thought Lina. "It seems
that all I have to do is stick my head out of the door and a monster tries
to blast it … what is it that they want?" She too stared out of the window,
wondering whether a monster was lying in wait for her out there.
"My, my, don't they all look depressed," thought Xelloss, cheerfully. "I
wonder what Xelas-sama has brutally slaughtered for dinner tonight?" And he
smiled, although it was hard to see any difference because, lets face it,
it's Xelloss, he always smiles.
" ..." thought Gourry.
"Well, where to next guys?" Lina piped up, feeling she had to break the
rather stagnant mood that was enveloping the group.
"What does it matter?" said Zelgadis. "Personally I don't care at all where
we go, so long as that ... Mazuko doesn't accompany us."
"Oh! Mr. Zelgadis, I'm hurt!" Xelloss said in a faked pained voice.
"Zel, cool down, it's not Xelloss' fault he has to follow orders ..." she
trailed off, looking at Xelloss. "Whatever those orders may be," she
concluded. Xelloss, eyes closed, his permanently happy demeanor firmly fixed
across his face, seemed not to be in an information-giving mood. (But when
is he?) "Well someone must have an idea!"
"We should follow our hearts because wherever they lead us we will seek out
evil and bring justice to the world!" Amelia said, banging her fist down on
the table.
"Miss Amelia is right," Xelloss nasally intoned. "Why don't we keep going
north?"
"Oh, is that where you want us to go?" Zelgadis spoke, daggers imbedded in
every word.
"Why don't we head for the next restaurant!" Gourry volunteered.
"Mr. Gourry! You just ate!" a surprised Amelia said.
"When has that ever stopped him," Lina muttered.
"Hey! You're just as bad!" Gourry retorted.
"Really, there's no reason to fight!" Xelloss, ever the peace-keeper (hah!)
intervened.
"You're one to talk! Why don't you tell us what you're up to Xelloss? I'm
sick of all this mystery! If you want us to go North just come out and tell
us where to go!" Zelgadis fumed, rising from his seat.
"Mr. Xelloss is only trying to restore peace, and be just!" Amelia said,
trying to stop a fight developing. Zelgadis just ignored her. Just then a
different intervention presented itself. A fight actually broke out in the
corner of the inn.
"I tell you whatever is hiding in those hills can't be all that bad!" one
man shouted.
"They say it'll strip your bones and eat you alive! Nothing can even scratch
it!"
"And some say they saw it destroy a whole town!"
"It's been living there for millennia!"
"I tell you I need that treasure!" Then the fists started flying. Our
beloved group shrugged and turned back to their table. Zelgadis dropped into
a chair, his moment of anger having passed, he had regained control of
himself.
"Did they say treasure ... ?" Lina asked, a smile spreading across her face
and her red eyes sparkling.
"Lina, what are you thinking?" asked Gourry, genuinely puzzled.
"It sounds evil and dangerous to me," joined in Amelia. "Therefore we must
stamp it out!"
"It does sound powerful, she's right," Lina was thinking out loud.
"Something that powerful is either a high level monster or ..."
"It's powered by a high level magic object," Zelgadis finished her sentence,
a rare smile creeping across his face.
"Oh, of course! Zonokou-Kan!" Xelloss said happily, like usual!
"MY NAME IS ..." Zelgadis started, infuriated, but Xelloss cut him off.
"No, no, not you Mr. Zelgadis, I remember the name of the being in the
hills. Yes, it is an old tale. She is supposed to guard something very
important, but for whom she works or what that object is, I forget. Anyway,
it seems we have found a destination for our next journey!"
"Why you!" Zelgadis shouted, leaping from his chair and grabbing Xelloss by
the neck of his beautifully tailored priest-garb. "You mean you knew about
this the whole time and you didn't tell us! You scheming, secretive ..." But
Gourry was prying the two apart. Zelgadis grappled with himself to regain
self-control. "Why didn't you tell us?" He finally managed to say.
"Well, now, that is a ..." But Zelgadis at this point stuffed a bread roll
from the table into Xelloss' mouth. As the priest spluttered and choked he
stalked off upstairs.
"Mr. Zelgadis ..." Amelia said, staring after him.
"Leave him Amelia, he needs to pout. Right! Tomorrow we go after this
Zonokou!" Lina said, thoroughly cheered up, at least this time she knew she
was going up against a monster, and she could prepare for a battle. When she
looked back round, the group had diminished even more. Xelloss had
disappeared.

Zelgadis leant his head on his arm against the wall of the corridor, at the
top of the stairs. He controlled his breathing, and tried to calm down. It
was just that Xelloss infuriated him so much! And if they hadn't heard the
argument in the corner then that Mazuko would never have even told them
about the possible existence of the Claire Bible in the nearby hills. He was
sure that Xelloss didn't want him to find his cure. It was as if Xelloss had
a personal vendetta against just him ...
"... Secret." Xelloss finished, materializing and wagging his finger in
front of Zelgadis. All the anger the chimera had just lost came rushing back
to the surface and his hand went instinctively to his sword hilt.
"Don't try and cut me off again, Mr. Zelgadis," Xellos said, sounding
amazingly serious for him.
"Damn you," hissed Zelgadis, but the Mazuko had already disappeared.
Zelgadis walked the rest of the way to his room, a red aura surrounding his
whole body. The door slammed behind him.
"Poor Mr. Zelgadis," whispered Amelia who had accidentally witnessed the
whole thing on her way to her own room.

Zelgadis lay on his bed, his arms folded behind his head, staring at the
ceiling. "What is the meaning of my life?" he thought. "Just to aimlessly
and uselessly wander, vainly searching for a Claire Bible manuscript. But
whenever we find one, Xelloss destroys it. I want so much to throttle the
life out of him! Except it wouldn't work. He would heal before my fingers
even broke the skin. I loathe him. At the beginning it was ok, he seemed to
help us, but now all he does is purposefully aggravate me. Every tactic he
knows he seems to use, all to stop me finding the Claire Bible. It's all I
have left, I must find my cure! Which means getting Xelloss out of the way!
Was there ever a more impossible task? He's staying with us more and more,
even sleeping at the same inn, walking beside us, fighting beside us. He
always gets in my way in battles. That's another thing I hate him for. One
of the few pleasures I have left is fighting, I suppose it is my Mazuko
side, which I curse, finding pleasure in others' pain. But whenever I take a
swing with my sword he seems to be in the way, I can't get a clean shot, and
when I try and cast a spell he always materializes in front of me and kills
the creature himself! That can't be accidental, he only does it to anger me.
And sometimes I can't stop my spell in time and I fire it anyway and it hits
him! Does it even hurt him? Does he even feel it? Sometimes I finish the
spell just to try and make him feel pain! And then he just looks at me and
smiles. I hate his smile. I hate his eyes when he lets us see them! The
others don't even seem to notice. Why would they? It's in the heat of the
battle and they're busy fighting. I hate him! And tomorrow, when we got to
fight that Zanokou thing, I know he'll do the same again. Ugh! Why am I even
thinking about that demon?" With that the chimera rolled over and pulled the
pillow over his head, but sleep didn't come to him for a long time that
night.

Xelloss prowled the extents of his domain, angrily searching for something
to take his temper out on. Beastmaster Xelas heard the screaming of his
unfortunate victim through the link that connected them.
"What is wrong with my servant tonight?" she wondered. "Isn't my assignment
giving him pleasure anymore? I thought he liked those human creatures. Maybe
I should talk to him ... but after the hunt." Xelloss, a Mazuko of course,
enjoyed the anger he was feeling, but it perturbed him. Nothing used to be
able to rile him before he joined up with Lina's band, and now ... something
was getting to him. Why was he so intent on aggravating the chimera? Why did
his anger please him in particular? Why did spells from Zelgadis pierce his
body with more gratification than other forms of pain? And why was he even
thinking about this! "I'm hundreds of years old, I know more than that
chimera could even dream of knowing. I have served Hellmaster, I have
watched Lina perform the Giga Slave, I am the only General-Priest and I have
more power than that pitiful little half-breed could ever conceive of! And
still he tries to hurt me, as if his enchanted sword could damage me! And
why is he so intent on finding his cure? Doesn't he realize what it means if
he does find it? Is he so blind to have never thought of the results?"
Xelloss threw himself down on his bed, which was not at all necessary, but
he liked to keep up appearances, and it amused the Beastmaster when she saw
him imitating humans. "But am I just imitating them? Why don't I just kill
the chimera and get him out of my thoughts? He is not part of the plans, we
only need Lina for them, although she wouldn't allow me to lay one finger on
any of her friends, especially that stone body …" Xelloss trailed off,
smiling. "Maybe I'll break him and then kill him. Teach him real pain and
punish him properly. Punish him for his insolence, for what he is doing to
my mind!" Xelloss teleported to a place where he could work out his anger on
some innocents, but somehow he couldn't take his usual amount of pleasure in
the torture.

The chimera's bedclothes were a tangled mess and half of them were on the
floor as he tossed and turned because of his dreams.

* He was held captive in some sort of chamber. His arms and legs were
chained to a bed and his clothes were ripped, his shirt hanging down in
shreds, revealing his chest. He tried to free his hands so he could cover up
his disgusting stone chest, he couldn't bare anyone to see that.
"Where am I? Who put me here?" he thought as he struggled harder and harder.
Then he heard footsteps approaching, and heard a voice he knew all too well.
"Well Mr. Zelgadis, so nice of you to visit me here!" It was Xelloss.
"Let me go!" He shouted. "Let me out of here you damn Mazuko!"
"Really Mr. Zelgadis, that's not very nice, don't you like my house?"
"I don't like your hospitality."
"Oh, you mean the chains, a nice little touch, don't you think? They add an
air of ... suffering to the décor. Anyway, I plan to keep you here for a
while."
"Why don't you just kill me now Xelloss, why else would you have brought me
here?"
"To have some fun of course, don't you want to play?"
"You twisted ... Get off me!" But he could feel Xelloss' hands on his chest,
running his fingers over the rough protruding stones. "Don't look at my
skin! It's hideous. Don't look at it!"
"Oh, I rather like it! Don't be embarrassed ... at least, not yet," Xelloss
smiled as the chimera blushed bright red. Then Xelloss opened his eyes. "I
would unchain you, but I know you would run away. If you promise to stay
then I can take those things off, although it would decrease the fun," he
added as an afterthought. Then he swung a leg over Zelgadis' body and sat
straddling him.
"What would be the use in running away, you would just hunt me down and
capture me again. I can't beat you, I can't hurt you and you know that."
"So does that mean I can unchain you and you won't put up a fight?"
"I'll fight you until you're forced to kill me."
"Good! A challenge! But I promise I will win, and I promise I won't kill
you." With this the Mazuko leaned over, he deep eyes closing as he
approached Zelgadis' face, the chimera found his own eyes closing as their
lips touched and ... *

"AAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!" Zelgadis screamed, waking up with a start from his dream.
Morning light was flooding through the window. "What the hell was that all
about? Xelloss ... he was ... Oh my God! How could I even have dreamed that!
How could I have ..."
"Isn't Zelgadis up yet?" Lina asked. "Are we going to have to wait all day
for that lazy-bones?"
"Miss Lina, Xelloss isn't here yet either."
"Yeah, I checked his room, but he's not there," Gourry added.
"You mean he left without us! That's just like him!" Lina said angrily.
"I don't think Mr. Xelloss would have just left us here, the justice in his
heart would prevent him from just leaving without telling us … even if he is
a Mazuko ..." Amelia trailed off, unsure if she had made her point or not.
"Well go kick Zel out of his bed, or I'll go do it myself!"
"I'm here," Zelgadis said, appearing on the stairs.
"At last! But Zel, you look like you haven't slept at all, what's wrong?"
"I just ... had some problems getting to sleep, that's all. I was ...
worried about the trip today."
"Oh," said Gourry. "I see. You're worried about finding the Clar Bibble, or
whatever, and loosing your cool wire hair!" Zelgadis face faulted, and Lina
put her head in her hands.
"Anyway, do you guys want to just leave without Xelloss, or should we wait
for him?" said Lina.
"Where's Xelloss?" Zelgadis said, trying to sound unconcerned.
"That's just it, we don't know," replied Lina.
"Lets leave him behind, he never helps us anyway." Zelgadis said, relieved
that he had the blessing of not seeing Xelloss that day after the ...
nightmare he had had last night. The longer he could keep away from him, the
better. Anyway, without Xelloss interfering he might actually be able to
read the Claire Bible.
"But isn't Zanokou supposed to be really powerful?" asked Amelia.
"Yes," answered Lina. "According to the research I did last night she has
been around for millennia. She is a monster ..."
"A monster!" squealed Amelia.
"Yes, Amelia, a monster. As I was saying, she works for some higher up who
keeps her on this plane in order to guard something that cannot be moved
from its place in a temple in the mountains near here. I couldn't find out
where in the mountains, apparently nobody ever goes near them because of
what Zanokou does to trespassers."
"So what you're saying is that we are going up against a really powerful
monster, when our own really powerful monster isn't with us, and we don't
actually know where we're going?" Gourry asked. The rest stared.
"He's right, you know," Zelgadis admitted, grudgingly. "Even if we can
defeat this creature by ourselves we could be wandering for days before we
find her, without Xelloss' help. I bet he knows where she is."
"Oh! We have to delay finding treasure even longer!" Lina shouted.
"But Miss Lina it would be mean to leave without Xelloss anyway, I'm sure he
would be hurt if he thought we had forgotten him!"
"Monsters don't have feelings, Amelia," Zelgadis said.
"Yes they do, you're part monster and you have feelings ..." but she
stopped, blushing.
"But Amelia, it's the human part of Zelgadis that allows him to have
feelings, when monsters have no human in them all they can feel is pleasure
in pain. I don't think Xelloss would feel particularly hurt if we left him
behind. But we can't do that because ... Oh! That stupid Xelloss, why did he
have to pick today to leave?" Lina, annoyed, naturally turned to thoughts of
food and ordered a lot of it. Soon the others were all eating, but Zelgadis
sat in a chair by the window, staring out at the town, and the mountains
beyond.
"Where is Xelloss?" He thought, then hated himself for even wanting to know.

"Xellos, I need to speak to you,"
"What is it my dear Beastmaster?" Xelloss said, mentally genuflecting in
front of his master, because she was speaking to him through their
mind-link, while he lay on his bed and she lay ... well, whatever she was
doing she was taking the time to tell him something.
"You're not your usual self at the moment, is there something that you
desire?" Xelloss thought about this for a moment, then discarded his
possible answer as silly.
"No, I am perfectly content, I am sorry I don't appear fine."
"You spend no time at the island for weeks, then all of a sudden you leave
the little band of adventurers and storm back to your domain. Did something
happen that I did not see? Is something wrong with the Lina girl? Have my
plans gone awry?"
"No, no, nothing so serious. Of course I would have informed you of anything
like that, really you do jump to conclusions, Xelas-sama."
"Don't patronize me Xelloss. Just tell me what you want and I'll get it for
you, a little present to cheer you up." Xelloss went quiet. What did he
want? What was bothering him? That chimera obviously, but what about him?
What did he want from him? Why was he troubling him? He became so engaged in
his thoughts that he allowed an image of the chimera to slip across the
mind-link to Xelas, but couldn't snatch it back before she saw it.
"Interesting. Try and find something constructive to do today, or return to
your assignment, I can feel that they are waiting for you. I'll see what I
can do about getting your gift." Then she left him with his own thoughts.

"Mr. Zelgadis?" Amelia asked tentatively, holding a plate of food and a cup
of coffee in her hands. "You haven't eaten all day, why don't you try this?"
"No, thank you Amelia, I'm fine."
"I know you're worried about finding the Claire Bible, but you must keep
your strength up for when Mr. Xelloss comes back ..." she was going to
continue but noticed the chimera wince at the mention of the Mazuko's name.
She thought carefully about what she was about to say, but decided that
friends didn't keep secrets from each other, it wasn't just. "I saw what
happened between you and Mr. Xelloss last night."
"You what!" he said, staring at her in disbelief. How could she know about
his dream? Did he talk in his sleep? Would she tell Xelloss? Oh God!
"I'm sorry," Amelia said, startled by his outburst. "I was going to bed and
I heard the conversation you two had on the stairs. I didn't mean to listen
in."
"Oh, you mean that," Zelgadis relaxed.
"Did something else happen between you two?"
"No, nothing. Nothing at all."
"I know he aggravates you Mr. Zelgadis, but you mustn't let him, don't let
him get under your skin," once again the chimera winced, this time at the
mention of skin. "I know he wouldn't destroy manuscripts that actually have
your cure in them, he may be a monster, but he's not like that."
"How can you know that Amelia? All monsters are like that."
"But how do you know that Mr. Zelgadis? You are just judging based on
prejudice, you aren't carefully examining the truly just nature that Mr.
Xelloss conceals."
"Amelia, I am a monster, I know how they act."
"You are not a monster!" Amelia said vehemently. "You're part human, and
once you find your cure you will be totally human!"
"Why are you so set against me being a monster when you were just defending
Mr. Xelloss?"
"Well I ... I ... Mr. Xelloss is different, he's not at all like you. You're
..." Amelia stopped herself, unsure of what was safe to say next.
"I think it's time we went to bed Amelia, it's getting late."
"Right, we want to be up early to fight for the cause of justice!" Amelia
said, regaining safe ground. Zelgadis let her leave, but stayed at the
window a little longer. Waiting, but he didn't want to admit what for.

* He was held captive in some sort of chamber. His arms and legs were
chained to a bed and his clothes were ripped, his shirt hanging down in
shreds, revealing his chest.
"Oh God, I'm here again," he thought, but this time he didn't struggle, he
was almost waiting for Xelloss to arrive, hoping he would come ..."But
that's ridiculous! I don't want him here ... I don't want him to ..." *

"Xelloss-Kun, I think I know what you want for your present, and I can get
it for you soon, if I'm right," the Beastmaster told her servant through the
mind-link, he had been avoiding going to see her after she found out about
Zelgadis. "This chimera creature is something you want. You want to take his
mind, take his Mazuko side and let it devour the rest of him. You want to
break his soul, scar his very being ..." Xelloss listened, trying to enjoy
the sound of the pain she was describing, but unable to find any pleasure in
it, he forced himself to laugh ...

* The scene unfolded almost the same as before, he couldn't get free
and he couldn't stop Xellos, but this time the ending changed ...
The Mazuko leaned over, his deep eyes closing as he approached Zelgadis'
face, the chimera found his own eyes closing as their lips touched and ...
Xelloss was sharply pulled away from him, both their eyes shot open and
Zelgadis saw a giant wolf with it's jaws clamped into Xelloss' flesh! Xellos
screamed a heart-rending scream, as Zelgadis shouted too. He frantically
tried to break free of his chains.
"Xelloss! Xelloss! No!" The beast seemed to be too strong even for the
powerful Mazuko, its teeth were tearing at the Mazuko's body, and Zelgadis
couldn't get free to help him. "I want to help him?" He thought. "Why don't
I let him die?" But then Xelloss screamed again and Zelgadis forgot it was
only a dream ... *

"... and you can torture him. Keep him for as long as you like so long as
it doesn't interfere with my plans. You can scar that beautiful face, chip
that stone body of his, make the human part of him scream in such pain as he
has never felt, even when he was changed into his present form. Twist his
thoughts, break his spirit, make him dependent on you for life and
sustenance, then deny him even that. Keep him lingering on the edge of
death, his body deformed ..."

* The creature was killing Xelloss! The chains carved channels in Zelgadis'
skin but he didn't care as he writhed to free himself.
"I have to save him!" he desperately thought. Xelloss' cries conveyed his
pain only too clearly, as the beast took away his life. His eyes were gouged
out, his hair torn from his head, his smile permanently disfigured, his
robes in tatters ... *

"... and then, when you have taken the last shred of hope from his body …
you can let him ..."

* ... Xelloss screamed in agony, then the wolf leaned and Zelgadis
watched in horror ... *

"NOOOOO!!!!!!!!!"
* "NOOOOO!!!!!!!!!" *
 

End of Part One.