navy = flashback
blue = Astral/telepathic speech
Zelgadis sighed into his teacup as Lina Inverse smashed a bowl of ramen over the purple hared Mazoku's head.
"Arigato!" Xellos Metalluim chirped, slurping up one of the noodles. "Mmm. Beef."
"Fruitcake." Zelgadis muttered, drinking in the aroma of his ginger-root tea. Somewhere in the back of his mind, the Shaman remembered that it was the same flavored beverage that had been Rezo's favorite.
"Zelgadis."
"Rezo-sama?"
"Do you know what today is?"
"No, Rezo-sama."
"Come with me."
"Where are we going, gran - ... Rezo-sama?" Fear. Rezo would surely
hurt him for the slip-up.
"It's a secret." Confusion. No blow ever came. Curiosity. Zelgadis
followed meekly.
"Rezo-sama?"
"What do you see, Zelgadis?"
"I see... I see a table set for tea, and a package." More confusion.
What was going on?
"Do you remember now?"
"Is... could..." Hope. Joy. Love. Grandfather had remembered, and had
set all this up?
"Happy tenth birthday, Zelgadis."
"Thank you Grandfather!" The boy leapt up and embraced his
grandfather, forgetting all formalities. He recoiled as if burned when
he remembered what happened whenever he called his teacher by that
name. Rezo merely chuckled and patted him on the head.
"My gift to you." He smiled. "I'll share a cup of my favorite tea
with you just this once. But tomorrow, I expect you to behave as you
always have before."
"Yessir, Grandfather." Zelgadis beamed.
That had been the best birthday in his memory. It was the only one he could recall that someone had loved him. That he felt loved, and accepted.
His fingers deftly brushed against the crimson brooch at his collar. That gem had been the gift Rezo had given him; and no matter how much he claimed to hate his grandfather, he couldn't bring himself to part with the token. It was, after, the very same jewel he had saved from the Wastelanders, the stone he had stolen from his mother's corpse.
"Ne, Zel-kun, what's going on in that thick stone skull of yours?" Xellos rapped on the chimera's head, effectively de-railing his train of thought. The Mazoku, still sporting a few noodles, grinned as the Shaman fell off his chair.
"Fruitcake..." He snarled, eyes blazing. The Trickster continued to smile annoyingly as Zelgadis dusted himself off and tried to regain his composure, sipping his tea.
"What, not going to hit me?" Xellos pouted.
"I'm going to bed." The chimera set down his empty tea cup and stood, making sure to stay clear of the Mazoku.
"Do you feel okay?" Lina asked, snagging him by the sleeve.
"I'm fine." He replied coldly. "Just tired."
"You sure?"
"I'm sure." He jerked free, and headed up the stairs.
He collapsed on the bed, images of events long gone playing on the insides of his eyelids.
"Master Zelgadis, do you feel all right?" Zolf; loyal caring friend.
"Master Zelgadis?" Rodimus; teacher, father figure.
"I... I... I'm fine." Exhaustion was overwhelming, causing Zelgadis to
collapse to the ground. His now-stone hand fell out to his to
companions, the blue skin visable where the youth's clothing and cloak
did not cover.
"Master Zelgadis!" Blackout. Total Darkness.
Zelgadis hissed violently as he turned, wiping the memories from his view.
"Monster!" People
"Mazoku!" hated
"Demon!" him,
"Damnable creature!" wanted
"Die!" him
"Killer!" gone,
"Mistake of nature!" unbearable
"Sir?" loneliness...
"Mister, would you like a flower? Mommy says flowers cheer up sad
people, and you look sad."
A child... not afraid?
"I... I would, thank you." He accepted the flower from a person who
couldn't judge evil by appearance.
The chimera relaxed in his sleep at the comfort of someone trusting him on first sight.
"... I'd rather die..."
"... he's so evil looking..."
"... not mine by choice..."
"... completely transformed..."
"... grandfather and great grandfather..."
...Grandfather!
"Gran - !" He shot up in bed, the cry dying on his lips as tears filled his eyes and went unshed once more. He registered a second pressence in the room, and hunted for the source with narrow eyes.
"Who's there?" He demanded, expression glacial. "Stop hiding, I know you're there." His hand went to his hip for his sword, but it was not there.
Zelgadis Azrael Greywers, what on earth do you think you're doing? A voice haunted him. Only one person knew his full name, a person gone long ago and far away.
"...Mother?"