(Please give me your two-cents: I'm practically broke!)
SLAYERS FOREVER
by the crazed individuals of Giga-Works
*We can take credit for none of the characters or elements presented below.
All of them are copyright H. Kanzaka / R. Araizumi: Even the dead ones!
Episode 2: Zelgadi
Friar Mikshann bounced about the Temple of Restoration with the
air of a bumble-bee (and with the shape to match.) He stroked his short
beard in between large bites from a buttered scone. Pausing for a moment
at one of the collection boxes, he carefully looked over either shoulder...
before helping himself to a gracious handful from the box's contents. His
eyes darted once more to either side and he drew the scone close to his
corny grin.
"I am not very pleased by the way you manage funds," a calm voice rang
menacingly from the shadows.
"Do you know who you're talkin' to, buddy?!" the fat priest yelled angrily
at
the intruder.
"Not quite," the voice admitted, "but perhaps you know me."
The scone fell to the floor as the stranger stepped into the light.
The Friar's chins sank, his knees instinctively dropping to the floor.
"F-f-f-f-fu-founding Father!" he stammered. His hands flew from his
pockets into a praying clasp (and in doing so, several coins fell out of the
robes.) A look of guilt and terror flooded over him.
The founder smiled at the display, but he motioned for the wretch
to stand. He continued to speak, the twinge of urgency in his tone.
"I can easily overlook this... snag. I do, however, have very pressing
business to attend to. Have you carried out my instructions in the letter?
To
the letter?"
A bead of sweat trickled down the groveling priest's face, stopped
only by his goatee. He desperately opened his mouth in his defense, but
only boggy air escaped. Wiping off his palms, he finally mustered the
courage to look the visitor in the face.
"Well, N-no, but we have our best man on it."
"And who would that-"
The stranger stopped himself, immediately realizing who their "best man"
was.
"Splendid."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The only thing keeping the jaws of Lina, Filia, and Gourry from
hitting the floor was the table they sat at. Moments ago, Zelgadis had been
thrown into the inn ... by another Zelgadis! After seconds of scuffling,
one
Zelgadis dragged the other out a colossal hole in the wall.
A completely confused Lina stared blankly at the breach in the
wall. Now she KNEW she wasn't seeing things. Before, on the rooftop, she
thought it was just Xellos up to his usual dirty tricks. But this... this
was the
truth of it now.
Jumping up, she put one hand on her hip and the other with a
single index finger pointing to the sky.
"C'mon Gourry, Filia! We have to go and help, Zelgadis (which ever one he
is...)"
She jumped over the dented table and ran to the door, her black cape
fluttering behind her. A dry cough from back at the table caught her
attention.
Gourry was pointing subtly at an empty space on the table,
specifically the area between his fork and knife. Lina trembled slightly as
her stomach snarled.
"Then again," Lina said as she slid back into her sit, "We don't want to
rush
into things."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Brother Rimmour's lips pursed and his face was almost serious.
With each second that he was subject to Xellos's overly smug grin, another
involuntary spasm contorted his face.
"The cockatrice blood....... ah... well.... we don't have it any more...at
the
present."
Xellos's happy, cheerful eyes slowly opened, revealing two dark
cesspools of violet.
"That would be bad news for you indeed." The tone in his voice had
changed from Xellos's normal genkiness to a cold and metallic one.
Br. Rimmour, rather than being frightened, drew him self up,
nostrils flaring. He stood up indignantly, taking Xellos completely by
surprise for the second time that afternoon.
"Well, sorry to disrupt your hunt for an exotic lubricant, but I'm afraid
it's
not my problem, you Satan's-little-helper! It has been stolen by the Temple
of Restoration (ugly goits), AND, according to Alchemy Temple Block
Directive 4912, is no longer my jurisdiction and/or concern. Now go pester
them! I'm sure they'd enjoy your little S & M show much better than I
would. Now... Smeg off!"
The Honorable Brother Rimmour sat down with a huff and
continued processing inventory for the newly arrived dragon rectums.
Xellos was frozen between complete and utter surprise, and the desire to
turn the Honorable Brother Rimmour's face inside out. Instead, he
remembered his orders just in time and tried to collect himself (not without
twitching violently.)
"mustn't be harmed..." Xellos muttered to himself over and over again.....
Br. Rimmour looked up from his paperwork. "You still
here?...They sell fuzzy hand cuffs and whips at the gift store, 'Father
Frootloop.' Now get out before I transmute your hair into prawn curry!
Tah-tah!"
Xellos cursed audibly and "shah"ed himself away... "accidentally" setting
fire to Brother Rimmour's wallpaper.
Reappearing in the dusty street, Xellos desperately needed to vent
some anger... by tormenting his favorite playmates, of course.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Hanging limp from the severe beating that the look-alike chimera
had inflicted, Zelgadis looked at the ground and wondered where he was
being taken. Suddenly tossed to the cobblestone road, he could vaguely see
the shadow of yet another person standing over him. All Zelgadis could
verify about this third person (from the vantage point of the cobblestones)
was that he was clothed in a deep red robe.
"Did you do what I requested?" the robed figure asked. Try as he might,
Zelgadis couldn't place the voice amongst the jackhammers in his head. His
voice was, however, young but deep.
"Yes, and I even got a little extra." The chimera kicked Zelgadis in the
side.
The double even sounded like Zelgadis.
"Very good, now give it to me,"
The doppleganger revealed a glass bottle to the young man, only to recoil it
from his associates reach.
"So tell me," the double asked with a grin, "What's so special about this
blood? It has no power to change me back, and we both know what that
means. I keep it until you provide your part."
"What?! Cross me, and you will not see this HOUR through! NOW GIVE
IT TO ME!!"
The chimera nonchalantly put the bottle back in his cloak and turned away
from the man. "NO." Starting to walk away, he paused for a moment and
swiveled around.
"Oh," he chuckled, motioning to the immobile Zelgadis, "and you can keep
him. Just place him in a sunny window and water him periodically." He
promptly dashed away and faded out of Zelgadis's sight.
"Damn that arrogant fool, I'll have him flayed." The volume of the young
man's voice lowered. "But how?"
Starting to pace, the Anonymous nearly tripped over Zelgadis, who had
been attempting to stand up.
"That's IT! You, on your feet." He lightly kicked Zel, obtaining the
opposite effect by tipping Zelgadis over.
"My, he did do a number on you, didn't he? Well, next time you will be
prepared."
The young man heaved Zel's arm across his shoulder. The last thing
Zelgadis noticed before he swirled into unconsciousness was that he was
being lugged towards Temple Row.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Finally!" Gourry and Lina said in unison as the gargantuan trays of food
were brought to the table. Puddle of drool had begun to accumulate on the
floor.
Considering Gourry was devouring the entrees in before the
waiters could place them on the table, he was not in his most observant of
modes. He did not notice the miniature ripple in Filia's cup of tea. He
did
not notice a faint rumbling, crescendoing with every second. But Gourry,
even while trying to shove a 2 foot side of ribs, 2 four inch pork chops,
and
an 8 inch chicken breast into his 5 inch mouth, couldn't miss this.
A crowd of four dozen screaming teenage girls gushed through the hole in
the wall towards Lina & company. Each wearing red clothes striped white,
yellow tube-tops, black headbands, dark shoulder pads, and billowing black
capes, of all body shapes and sizes, blondes and brunettes (though half were
red-heads, natural or not), and of various young ages, they all screamed
with ecstasy at the site of Lina Inverse. They swarmed around her, praising
her, asking for her autograph, trying to steal her boots. Lina was engulfed
by her fan club.
Yes, even Gourry noticed.
Lina screamed as the mob of other Lina's surrounded her, begging for
autographs and pulling on her clothes. Since when did I have a fan club?
Filia, who had escaped trampling by dodging under the over-laden table,
calmly continued sipping her tea as if occurrences like this happened
everyday (which they did.) I do wish that they would hurry up with their
eating and all, she thought, sighing. We'll never manage to get anything
done at this rate.
Jumping up into the rafters, Lina stared down at the ravenous fans.
Nearby she could see a whimpering Gourry and, under the table, an
unusually calm Filia.
"Gourry! Filia!" she called out. "We need to go and help Zel!"
Jumping to the floor just beyond the Lina-ettes' reach, Lina bolted for the
door. She glanced back over her shoulder and past her black cape to yell,
"C'MON, GOURRY! FILIA!"
Lina's exit was suddenly blocked off by a Purple-haired figure who
"shah"ed directly in front of her, thus giving the Lina-ettes a chance to
maul
her again. Xellos, of course, had appeared in Lina's way, and was now
laughing his ass off. His shrill nasal laughter echoed throughout the
building at the sight of the throng fighting over Lina's sweatband.
"Why Lina, you don't seem to be enjoying your fame," he managed to say
through his obnoxious hooting. He tried to say something else but was cut
off by another fit of giggles. He eventually had trouble standing and
resorted to hanging/rocking back and forth in the air, laughing
hysterically.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Just as Friar Mikshann felt despair and anguish grip him by his
large neck, who should enter the Temple of Restoration but the young
robed man, his "best man" so to speak. He hitched up his robe slightly and
waddled to where the young man was standing, completely ignoring the
unconscious Zelgadis on the marble floor. His smile dimmed as he heard
the chanting of monks in the neighboring rooms.
"Welcome to the Temple Of Restoration," Mikshann said in to the young
man, all the while holding a finger to his lips so that he'd know they
weren't
safe to talk. "How may I be of Service?"
The young man looked at him calmly and then gestured towards Zel on the
floor.
"Not me, it's for him."
The clergyman took one look at the unconscious Zelgadis and became
furious. He picked Zel up off the floor and held him at eye level
(surprising
what you can do when you're mad.)
"GIVE IT BACK THIS INSTANT, BUB!" he shouted at Zelgadis, who just
wobbled about in his hands like a noodle. Friar Mikshann turned to the
anonymous young man and Zelgadis sank to the floor.
"I refuse to treat this-this... monstrosity!"
"Well, why not?"
"Because he stole a very unique item that, until most recently, had been in
my possession."
The young man stirred slightly. "And what would that be?"
"A bottle of Cockatrice Blood."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Lina, drowning in the mass of Lina-ettes, glared at the laughing
Xellos. She should have known better- of course it was Xellos, causing this
amount of trouble. And I'm almost sure HE'S the one in charge of these
double Zels.
It had been at that point when she noticed that someone had taken
her sweatband. That ticked her off. Nobody, and I mean NOBODY,
touched the sweatband of Lina Inverse, the sorcery genius.
"Gray Bomb!"
The Lina-ettes in her immediate vicinity froze where they stood,
her spiffy little spell having blasted them to the core. Snatching her
sweatband, Lina crawled out of the statues and glared at Xellos.
"I bet you found that funny, didn't you, Xellos? Well, let's see how you
like
this!"
With her speed and agility (my, my, such an ego Lina-san ^.^) she
grabbed Xellos into a headlock. "Now, tell me what you know!" She
emphasized her point by clamping down hard on his neck.
Gourry, meanwhile, felt it more pressing that they track down and
rescue Zelgadis (from... Zelgadis.) Gourry sprang into action- literally.
His
powerful legs bounced him along the ground, sending Lina-ettes flying like
ten-pins. His lunge took him under the table to scoop up Filia, bouncing
off
the far inn wall, and landing him next to Lina. He grabbed Lina around her
slim waist and jumped past Xellos, over the crowd, and out the hole in the
wall. His hair blowing majestically, he shouted into the night air: "Wetssh
Shayve Zewl!"
Apparently, Gourry had been able to perform such a feat of agility
with a turkey leg in his mouth.
A block down from the restaurant, Gourry slowed to a halt,
breathing deeply through a smile and a drumstick. The dragoness Filia, you
see, is a lot heavier than you would expect (and Lina only looks petite.)
Gourry's smile faded when he heard a low rumbling behind him. Over his
shoulder he barely made out a dust cloud, caused by a swarm of screaming
Lina fans. Xellos floated above the crowd, laughing.
"Oh Shyth," he said through the turkey leg.
Filia glared angrily at the laughing Xellos and at the howling mob of Lina-
ettes. The growl within her crescendoed while she struggled out of Gourry's
grip.
"I've had enough of this!! Mazoku namagomi!!"
Holding her hands in front of her, she closed her eyes and
concentrated. Lina, meanwhile, was about to beat Gourry's head in for
holding her by the waist, but the thought quickly fled her mind when she
saw Filia become infused with a golden light, transforming into her dragon-
form. Lina's fiery eyes widened in what could easily have been fear.
Dragon-Filia turned towards Xellos and smirked. "Flame breath!!"
Pushing from Gourry, Lina picked Gourry up over her own head
and started running for her life. She didn't want to bother with either her
fans or an angry golden dragon.
"Hurry, Gourry! Go! Go! Go!"
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The impostor Zelgadis dropped from the skylight onto the black
marble floor of the Temple of Restoration. He loosened his bite on the
slender dagger in his teeth, withdrawing it slowly. At the other end of the
chamber were the young man in red and the slug Mikshann, both bickering
childishly about something. It was too perfect, easier than killing fish in
a
... small container.
Not-Zelgadis crept behind a closer column and quivered slightly with
anticipation.
A giant sound like the tearing of sheet metal rent Not-Zel's ears,
followed by earth-shaking explosions. He took a step back and from the
cover of a column peered at his two targets. The young man and Friar
Mikshann had felt the explosive force too, and they looked about
frantically. While the young man had also taken a single step back, the
Friar seemed to have a different strategy, which he presented by falling on
his face (not to mention on top of the unconscious Zelgadis.)
Even though he couldn't see his face, Not-Zelgadis could feel the
young man's intensity. The anonymous young man barked a final word to
Mikshann before the youth ran further into the temple. Not-Zelgadis
stopped himself from intercepting- his target had too great a head start and
knew the temple much better.
Mikshann looked up from the limp Zel (OUR Zel) as another blast
shook the temple. He didn't seem to notice Not-Zelgadis in the same room,
his fist imbedded into a pillar.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Lina (never one to pay attention to where she was going) had
wound up on the Temple Row, and, thanks to her amazing luck with chance
and game, ran into the exact temple where Zel (both of them, mind you-
there isn't just one unhappy chimera anymore,) was. She was clearly
confused.
"Eeeeeh????"
Gourry followed shortly after her with a similar response
imprinted on his face.
Xellos was having his first bad day in what must have been
centuries. Between the cockatrice blood, the double Zels, the Honorable
Brother Rimmour and the misconceptions of Lina Inverse, it had been a
pretty crappy day thus far. Mind you, he had been cut in half, crushed,
folded, spindled and mutilated before, but that had all been according to
plan!
Xellos appeared in front of Lina in the Temple. Over the not too-
distant shouting of the Lina-ettes and the rampage of Filia, Xellos still
managed to say something sarcastic.
"So you didn't like your little fan club? I can't figure you sometimes.
What
I wouldn't give to have girls crawling over me," he added, the last part
with
a wicked grin. "Well, I suppose I have to give you some hints or this damn
day might never end!"
He was getting rather weary of the whole idea, so he massaged his
temples and began his explanation, all the while too frazzled to notice the
'Zelgadi' behind him. He paused for a moment and started his explanation.
"I was sent by the Mistress Zelas-Metallium to retrieve an item of great
power, and upon arriving at its station, I found it had been stolen and is
now
at the Restorative Temple. I need you, Lina Inverse, to help me get it
back."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
After randomly casting Flame Breath a few dozen times, Filia
looked around her and realized that Xellos, Lina and Gourry had
disappeared. The only people left were the somewhat toasted members of
the Lina fan club.
"Lina-san?! Gourry-san?! Hmm... I wonder where they went to..."
Shrugging, Filia flapped her great wings and took to the air. She
found her way to the Temple Row and happened to see Gourry as he dashed
into the Temple of Restoration. She changed back to her human form and
hastily stepped into the temple.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Lina blinked several times, surprised at Xellos's words. Then
again, she knew better, and immediately crossed her arms over her chest.
"You... need MY help?" Her gaze narrowed. "Just WHAT do you need my
help with? But whatever it is, you know its going to cost you."
Xellos was about to say yes, but his pride got the better of him.
"No, I don't NEED your help, but I'm pretty sure your friend Zelgadis (or
one of him anyway) has something to do with this... he may not be on your
side this time."
Xellos paused for a moment so Lina could absorb this. She
blinked, not quite sure what to think.
Xellos waved his staff around at the red tapestries and obsidian
doorways inside the ziggurat. He stated that somewhere inside that
structure was his objective, and he had to find out where it was and how to
get it back. His face suddenly split into a cheerful grin.
"I'll give you a reward when we're done!"
Filia had stepped into the temple just in time to see Xellos asking
Lina to help him. She quickly set herself between the two and glared at
Lina.
"Lina-san! Don't do it! I'm very sure he's up to no good!"
Xellos was getting very pissed off. He started to mentally count to
ten, but he then recognized a perfect target to vent his steam upon. He
already started to feel better.
"Filia, Lina already knows I'm up to no good; I'm just asking if she
wants in or out. And, if we're gonna start pointing fingers, I'm sure Lina
would love to know why a Dragon Priestess would come so far to see the
Temple of Alchemy... I'm sure it wasn't just the tasteless decor that drew
you inside."
Xellos waggled his finger accusingly at Filia and clucked his tongue.
Bit by bit, Not-Zelgadis had become overwhelmingly furious-
particularly at Xellos, so cocky, so high and mighty. Stealthy as a cat,
Not-
Zel sidestepped across the marble floor... straight into a pillar. He
quickly
climbed to his feet and his eyes focused yet again on Xellos's back.
"That's it," Not-Zel roared. "Get your purple hair out of my sight or bite
the
dust!"
Until that point, most of those present had completely forgotten either
Zelgadis.
"Combat Rule #1:" Gourry mentally recalled, "Observation is key!"
Surveying the surroundings, Gourry quickly saw the temple had
been built entirely of black and white marble, though mostly black. Red
banners were strung throughout, hanging at multiple levels. Though the
room was quite large, it seemed to lead upwards to an even larger or equally
important room. Meanwhile, smaller doorways were on the sides of the
room and the entrance was to Gourry's back. Eight pillars supported the
roof, four in each of two rows, the rows twenty or so feet apart.
People: Just to the right of Gourry was Lina, who was staring
intently at Not-Zelgadis (and rightfully so.) The angry doppleganger had
just finished casting an enchantment on his sword and was starting his
charge towards Xellos. Filia and the Mazoku Priest, however, didn't seem
to notice and/or care as they were locked in a heated argument. Last of
all,
Gourry spied the other Zelgadis unconscious in the corner. Hunched over
him was Friar Mikshann, red with rage. The friar exclaimed curious
comments like, "Give me back what I rightfully stole," while trying to
punch Zel's face without hurting his hand.
"So why were you at the Alchemy temple huh?" Xellos asked, continuing
his taunting. "If the Ryuzoku are so hard up for cash that they need to
transmute things," sigh, "Well, you are a pitiable race after all."
Xellos took a handful of coins from his pouch and let them drop on
the floor.
"Here... spend it in good health." He could hardly contain his glee.
Lina's eyes shifted from Xellos to Filia to Xellos to Filia again.
She was getting rather dizzy. When will those two EVER get along long
enough for me to get some food? Her attention then went to Gourry, who
was staring at their surroundings. Lina had a nice comment about his
studious gaze, but something else had caught her attention... namely an
incoming chimera with intent to kill.
Her right eyebrow twitching, Filia stared angrily at the coins that
Xellos offered her and clenched her fists in fury.
"For your information, Mazoku namagomi, what I was doing this afternoon
is none of your business whatsoever. And... here's what I think of your
pathetic coins... FLAME BREATH!!"
Xellos grinned again and "shah"ed out of the projected path of
Filia's Flame Breath. The bright flames shot past and managed to hit the
advancing Not-Zelgadis, engulfing him in flames.
Xellos reappeared next to Filia. "AGAIN with the dragon
violence. You really can't help it, can you? Hmm... I wonder if Golems
burn... I guess we'll find out."
One Zel was clearly burnt extra well and the other being bullied by
a portly priest. Lina was slowly getting irritated. Filia's shouts towards
Xellos were becoming annoying.
"OKAY!!" Lina said, turning to Xellos. "Fine, I'll help you, but only if it
helps Zelgadis out. And the Zel being OUR Zelgadis."
Before Filia could start up, Lina put her hand up in silence and
dragged the smoking Zelgadis over to a corner. With a look of sheer
determination and, presumably, craziness, she dropped the Zel next to his
twin.
"Start explaining and start right now or I'm Dragon Slave-ing you to L-sama
herself," Lina exclaimed with her usual subtle approach.
"He's a Copy," a voice rang calmly from the neighboring room. Lina could
hear the footsteps of the speaker drawing closer and closer, in addition to
hard wooden clicking.
"Zelgadis, the you know and love (don't ask me how), is only a
50% chimera. Even with that meager amount, he has become bitter and
impatient- no doubt you have noticed.
"The other is a copy made from Zelgadis's blood. I turned him into
a 100% Full Fledged Chimera, with more power than he could possible
control. Soon he will become physically and psychologically unstable.
He's already started to degrade."
Walking into the room was none other than Rezo the Red Priest.
His eyes were closed, but he was looking directly at Lina Inverse. His
robes were red, purple, and black, the same color as the temple.
"Now, once I get the Cockatrice Blood, we will be unstoppable."
"Your eminence!" a voice broke out from the corner. Everyone turned to see
Friar Mikshann attempting to stand up for himself. "T-the blood... I can
s-still get-"
"Leave, Mikshann," Rezo said without turning his head.
"W-what do you want me-"
"Collect alms, go on a pilgrimage, I don't care! Just leave."
"Of course, founding father."
Despite the fact he was too large to miss, the Friar's exit went unnoticed.
Lina looked from Zel, to Zel, to Rezo, and then back to the Zels,
and finally back to Rezo. Now her day was complete. Xellos was being a
pain, there were two (no, not just one, TWO!) Zels, Rezo was back for the,
what is it now, THIRD time, and she STILL hadn't eaten. What did I do to
deserve this?
"Curse those unoriginal writers," she muttered to herself.
Rezo smiled smugly. "If it ain't broke, don't fix it."
Lina put her hands on her hips, staring at Rezo with increasing
temper.
"Let me get this straight- You make a copy of Zelgadis, thinking you can
control him better than the original, and then realized that you can't FULLY
control him only after you sent him after this Cockatrice Blood you so
dearly want. Seems very foolish to me. Besides, why make an even
stronger version of a vengeful Zelgadis? He could rise against you and kill
you, you know. He does have quite a hunger for revenge."
Lina grinned smugly at her ability to put an entire situation in just
a few sentences. It almost faltered when she remembered Xellos's request
for her help.
Uh-oh, she thought, don't tell me we're going to have a whole 'nother "Clair
Bible" hunt...
The young man from earlier appeared from behind Rezo. The
deep red rope he wore was not unlike Rezo's. The figure stepped next to the
Red Priest and took a long look at the people gathered before him. With a
swift motion, the young man threw back his hood to revel himself. Our
heroes stared in awe at an un-transformed Zelgadis!
Xellos's hand scratched his head, thoughtfully. His eyebrows arched
terrifically high and a bead of sweat graced his brow.
"Uhh...this was unexpected."
"Well," the human Zelgadis said at the site of Lina and company, "I see the
gang's all here." He then looked at the two other Zel's.
"And you two are here also here. Good. Now then," he asked, turning to
Rezo, "shall we get started?"
Lina's jaw touched the floor at the human Zel's entrance. She had
only dealt with a chimeric Zel, so seeing him in his uncorrupted form was a
total shock. A slight blush graced her cheeks, but it quickly faded. He
obviously wasn't her Zel. He would never dress as the man he hated.
NEVER.
"So... there are three now. Great... that's just great. Gimmee a break!"
she
said, throwing her hands in the air with frustration. Now what am I going
to
do? She looked to Xellos.
"What do you mean you didn't expect this? You are supposed to know
what's going on!" Little steam trails lifted off her head. This was NOT her
ideal day...
Xellos reared his head around irritably at Lina.
"What do you mean I'm supposed to know what's going on??? I'm not
Omniscient!"
" yet." he added, thoughtfully.
Filia, now utterly confused, looked from Lina to Xellos to the two
new arrivals (Gourry merely stood there with his chin resting on the floor.)
Filia leaned close to Lina and whispered,
"Isn't that guy in the red robes the Red Priest Rezo? He seems to know you
guys... And who's that Zel-lookalike with him? What's going on here, Lina-
san??"
Xellos tried desperately to regain his cool. He was thoroughly
confused, but not overly concerned. This was a setback to his mission, but
not one to worry about. Then again, there were four powerful entities
there,
one of them definitely not a force to underestimate. Word also had it that
Rezo was not the most cooperative of guys. If he stood in Xellos's way...
well... that bridge would be crossed when it was arrived at.
What intrigued Xellos was who Rezo was... he definitely was a
copy....but who would make another copy?
"damn..." Xellos muttered, "this is getting annoying."
Rezo was turned to the human Zelgadis beside him, completely
ignoring the bickering and questions of the insects.
"Who do YOU think we should start-"
Rezo cut himself off with a laugh, his hand moving to the back of his head.
"I keep forgetting, you've never met most of them. Allow me to introduce
them to you."
His staff pointed to Gourry, whose jaw was STILL touching the
ground. "He is Gourry Gabriev, the above-average wielder of the famous
Sword of Light."
The staff moved to Filia. "I've never heard her voice before, but
judging by her elocution and flame breath, she's likely to be a Golden
Dragon."
His staff then pointed to the unconscious Zelgadis. "This was the
original Copy, the exact same as you, except with Chimeric form and
attitude."
Speaking to the Human Zel behind him, he tried to emphasize the
irony of the situation. "For the past few years, this Copy has been
wandering over this entire continent, all the while believing he was the
original."
He then turned to the charred Zelgadis. "This is the more recent
Copy, the one I created shortly after you made me. He has been obedient
thus far, but that may quickly change as he degrades."
The tone in Rezo's voice turned from playful to deadly serious.
"Lastly, we have the juvenile Lina Inverse..." She could hear his grip on
the
staff tighten.
His voice changed to contain a mix of concern and curiosity.
"... and what appears to be the Mazoku priest Xellos..."
For the first time, Rezo addressed Lina and her friends, his staff
pointing to the Human Zelgadis.
"Allow me to introduce.....
the One and Only Zelgadis."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
END OF EPISODE 2
Join us next time for
THREE CERTAINLY IS A CROWD
or
ABSOLUT ZELGADIS
*************************************************************
GIGA-WORKS is
ReganVSage: "Voice" of Lina Inverse, Moderator
Paper Tiger: "Voice" of Gourry Gabriev, Editor
Mo-chan: "Voice" of Xellos and Rimmour, Illustrator (and all-around
Smart-ass)
Jason-san: "Voice" of Zelgadis 1&2 (&3), Website Designer
Moonhawk: "Voice" of Filia, (And Voice of Reason)
_________________________________________________________________
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