He was human again.
Years of searching for some clue, years of bitterness and frustration, of cursing his grandfather and his fate...and the cure was practically handed to him.
By Xelloss.
Now that had been a shock.
Zel almost hadn't gone after the cure. It was only he and Lina travelling at that point, and to leave would mean leaving Lina alone with the Trickster Priest. That would be a bad thing.
"I know where your cure is, Zelgadiss-san." Xelloss had appeared from nowhere, as was his wont, and those were the first words he spoke after making his presence known. He had tossed Zel a map, a temple's location marked in what Zel hoped was red ink.
Zel had glared at the map, then at the Mozoku. "What are you not telling me?"
"Aww, Zel-kun, I'm cut to the quick. You think I - "
"Of course I do."
"You have to go alone. The wisemen at the temple will not speak with you unless you are alone."
"And leave you alone with Lina?"
"I can protect myself!" Lina had interjected, throwing a small fireball at the Chimera to prove her point.
After sidestepping the fireball, Zel had protested, "I know, but - "
She'd silenced him with a look, not one of anger or annoyance but one of understanding. "I know how important it is to you to find a cure, Zel. I'll be fine, you know I will. Don't let me keep you from what you've been looking for all these years."
So he'd gone.
It had taken over a month to reach the temple where the wisemen lived. Three weeks doing various mundane tasks to prove his dedication. Two minutes for the wisemen to reverse his condition.
Two minutes!
He was nearly back to the town where Lina said she'd wait for him before he realized that a cure wasn't what he'd been looking for at all; it was acceptance, friendship, companionship. Love. The first three he had already. The last...well, now that he was human, he could try to win Lina's heart, as he'd wanted to do for so very long.
Zel, who had been wondering if Lina would Dragu Slave him if he hugged her, gasped when he saw the town. Or, rather, a charred pile of ash and more unpleasant things where the town should have been; the town was gone. Destroyed! The remains had "Lina" written all over them. But why did she blow up the town? Had that damned priest tried something? He shouldn't have gone...
"You know, you're quite the fool." Xelloss' voice was quiet, amused.
Zel whirled and saw the priest floating behind him. Zel cursed mentally. Without his Chimeric abilities, he would be severly handicapped should it come to a fight.
"She loved you, you know," Xelloss continued gleefully. "And don't ask who; you know who I mean."
"Did you hurt her?" Zel's voice shook with fury and fear.
"She's not dead, if that's what you're asking."
"I'm asking if you hurt her."
"Oh yes, I did, quite often. But she likes that."
Zel froze. "What are you talking about?"
The priest's eyes opened, violet slits sending a sliver of fear down Zel's spine and into his stomach.
"I'm sure you've heard how Mozoku can be created. From 'scratch,' so to speak, is one way. Another - and this is the fun one - is to kill a human and resurrect her."
"No." Zel mouthed the word, unable to make a sound. "Oh, please, no." Panic seized him. That thrice-cursed Mozoku couldn't be telling the truth!...could he?
Zel was convinced he was looking at Evil Incarnate when Xelloss smiled evilly and cheerfully said, "Oh, yes. But you'll want proof, I'm sure, and I'm happy to oblige. Lina! Oh Lina-chan! Come out and play."
Lina appeared out of nowhere, floating cross-legged next to Xelloss. She wore all black, the only other color the red coming from the Bloodstones of Demonkind, her hair, her eyes. One look at Lina's eyes and Zelgadiss knew the Trickster Priest had spoken the truth. Lina's eyes now had something hard behind them, something dark and twisted and - oh, gods! - evil.
"Hey Zel. 'Bout time you came back. I missed you." Her smile seemed genuine, but there was an almost predatory look in her eyes.
"Oh, Lina...I'm so sorry, I never should have left you - "
"Don't worry about it. It all turned out just fine." With that last sentence, she shared a look with Xelloss that somehow was the most frightening thing Zel had ever seen.
"It is soooo annoying, being forced to take orders," Lina said suddenly, floating so that she was face-to-face with Zelgadiss. "At least it was Juuou-sama who resurrected me and not Dynast. Any way, that's why I torched the town: Juuou-sama wanted to test my loyalties, and what better way than blowing up the town where my former best friend is staying?"
Zel swallowed hard. "You...killed Gourry?"
Lina nodded, looking frighteningly cheerful. "Juuou-sama arranged for Gourry to come here, and she told me to kill him. When Juuou-sama says do something, I have to do it, you see." A look akin to sadness washed over Lina's face for a moment. "I was allowed to drop hints, warning him, but you know Gourry..." The look faded, replaced by the bright grin again.
"And Juuou-sama gave me a new mission: wait for you. When you return, I either convince you to join us, or I have to kill you."
Zel stared at her in mute shock.
"I really don't want to kill you, Zel. I did love you...and, well...just say you'll join us."
Xelloss, who had been watching the exchange with amusement, was suddenly at Lina's side. "Don't get any ideas, now, once-and-former Chimera. Lina is mine." Xelloss pulled Lina to him and kissed her posessively.
All at once, everything he'd seen in the past few hellish minutes, everything he'd heard, everything that had happened, sank in, the shock and unreality giving way to harsh realization, and something deep inside Zel shattered into a thousand sharp shards, cutting as it did so. He was half-surprised when he saw no blood.
After an eternity and a half, Xelloss released Lina. "Mozoku emotions aren't quite the same as human feelings," Xelloss informed the stunned Zelgadiss. "Buuuuut, we do have something very close to love - well, it's more a combination of things, but let's not get technical - so, for want of a better word," the Trickster Priest paused, prolonging Zel's torment, "Lina loves me now. Isn't that right, Lina-chan?"
Lina looked at Zel, shrugged, and said lightly, "Sorry."
When had his legs given way? Zel suddenly noticed he had fallen to the ground, legs tucked uselessly underneath him. Lina dropped down next to him and he stared at her dully.
"I kinda need an answer," she said, almost apologetic.
And what could he do? Without his Chimeric form, he had no hope of surviving a battle, assuming he could bring himself to harm Lina at all. Zelgadiss cursed himself mentally. Xelloss had been right: Zel was a fool. He'd had everything he'd really wanted, and he'd left it to find a cure that now left him vulnerable. Xelloss was evil, to say nothing of his master. And Lina? Oh gods, there wasn't really a choice at all, was there?
"I'll join you."
The last thing Zelgadiss saw as the world disappeared in an ocean of darkness was Lina's ruby eyes.
(Author: I'd actually wanted to end it here, but (1) I'm not sure how accurate the Mozoku stuff is and (2) it really creeped me out. So ... )
Zel sat up, breathing heavily. He looked around frantically. He was outside. It was night. He was lying on his mundane bedroll.
He looked at his hands. Blue, covered with rocky proturbances.
Trembling slightly, he got up and walked over to his companion. Gently shaking her shoulder, he whispered hesitantly, "Lina? Lina, please, wake up."
"Zel?" she croaked, stifling the urge to fireball him and go back to sleep. "What's wrong?"
Lina blinked at him sleepily as she sat up. He peered intently at her face and sighed in relief: her eyes were as they should be, sunny and smiling, even now in her sleepy annoyance. Unable to help himself, he embraced her.
"ZEL?!" she screeched, but she didn't fight him.
Zel tried to speak, to find the words to explain the icy fear, the utter dispair, the numbing horror...
He could not. Instead, he pulled back and looked at her face again.
Lina returned the look, and with obvious concern asked, "What's wrong, Zel?"
He closed his eyes briefly, somewhat surprised that he had to surpress tears of relief. Then, looking into her eyes and smiling, he answered, "Nothing. Everything's just fine."