"It's not a dream, this time!" Rina raged to herself as she ran accress the open field behind Hotohori's palace. Several paces back she could hear Tasuki yell his deadly incantation, sending flames racing at the purple haired devil with deadly precision and a large explosion echoed through the silent city. Rina cover her ears and risking a glace over her shoulder she saw no sign of her fiancee. She skidded to a stop and doubled back, searching for Tasuki.
She found him lying face down under a snarled tree, broken and bleeding. Rina's breath hcaught in her throat as she knelt near him.
"Tas... Tasuki-sama..." Rina screamed out in rage and sorrow as she checked for any sign of life. The familiar haze appeared and disspersed above her head as the tormenter made his presence known.
"Mmmm..." the form cooed above her.
Lifting her heavy head, she ws unsurprised to see the purple haired man smiling down at her. Shaking with utter hatred she glared at him.
"You fuckin' sonovabithch! How could you do this!"
Ignoring the name and question for the time being, he looked down at Tasuki. "He put up quite the challenge. Guess you musst'a been reall important to him. Oh well." He shrugged still smiling and turned his attention to the girl. "Now as for you..."
Rina's eyes filled with horror as she realized his intent. "No... You couldn't, you wouldn't!" She heaved to her feet, head still spinning from the nights events and bolted across the field, leaving her tormenter behind.
"Oh goody! FUN!" his ever-cheerful; voice exclaimed aloud.
Despite her good head start, within seconds she could hear and feel his breath on the back of her neck. Realizing the evil man was right behind her she stopped and spun, swinging one well trained fist at her assialant, only to discover the lack of his presence. Rina jogged a couple steps back and turned to flee again, but his tall staff slid across her path and she sprawled onto her chest, twigs and rocks bitting into her figure. She dodged left as he swung down at her but was too slow for his second attack and the slender base of his staff connected with her skull.
Blinding white lights flashed through her vision fallowed by immediat darkness.
"To easy," the evil man stated aloud to the open feild, stooping to gather his prize.
Tasuki made it to the top of the rise just in time to see Rina fall. The final swing ended her fight and the blue smoke begane to swirl into existance. In the purple haired mans arms was his Rina. The haze condensed and the image of the two begane to fade when the man spun and smiling at Tasuki, waved. Silence.
"NOOOOO!!!" Tasuki screamed before slumping into an unconcious heep at the top of the rise.
WHOMP! "Lina!" Gourry whined while holding his throbing hand to his chest. Zell looked up from his usual coffee. They were at it again. Never had he seen two people fight so viciously over food. He thanked L-sama for his small, almost non-existant eating habbits.
Lina picked up the new chicken leg she'd so galantly won and walked over to Zel, plopping down next to his side. Zel put his arm around her and kissed her rose smelling hair as she chomped on her treat.
Just then a twig snapped to the East of their overnight camp. Forgetting the food and sore body parts, Zelgaddiss, Lina, and Gourry sprang to their feet just as a small blonde haired girl stumbled out of the trees, collapsing upon entry. Using his incredible speed, Zel rushed to her falling form and caught it before it had a chance to reach to ground. Craddling her against a tree, he begane to cast a healing spell only to find her to be in perfect health.
Gourry had dashed off into the woods to try and locate here origin but only found low trees and bushes with no sign of a path. As he returned he found Lina sitting white faced near the camp fire. He approached her and looked into her face.
"Lina-chan? Are you alright?"
Just then Zelgaddiss gave a surprised yelp from where the girl was lying. Gourry rushed over to see what the commotion was all about. Fallowing Zelgaddisses gaze, Gourry looked down at the sleeping girls features for a closer look. The brain-less swords man was no fool when it came to resemblances, although it took him a good five minutes of examination to finally notice what had his companions so worked up.
"Oh my Gods! She looks just like Lina!?!"
"It must be some sort of illusion," Zelgaddiss added recovering from his shock as Lina wandered back over.
"No illusion, I assure you," Xellos smirked from a tree limb above them.
"Great, the fruitcake...What the hell do you want!" Zel yelled at him, unable to contain his sheer annoyance at the Mazuku's presence.
"Sore wa - "
"Don't even say it, Xellos," Lina sneered.
"Fine, fine, Lina-chan. I want my toy back."
"Your toy..." Lina's thought was interrupted by a slight moan her look-a-like emmited, finally beginnig to rise from unconciousness. Lina rushed to her side but did not make it in time.
Xellos shifted his presence before her first step had even been taken, and had the girl over one shoulder and begane his ever to common dissappearing act just as Lina was opening her mouth to yell at him.
"DAMN YOU, XELLOS! Shit, I knew he was gonna' do that," she cursed.
"Do you think he's up to some thing?" Gourry asked, still a little confused about the events.
"Knowing that fruitcake, definitely. And I bet that girl has nothing to do with it."
"Well... what do we do now?"
"Well, Gourry," Lina said, slamming an elbow down on his already damaged head, "we'll have to go find out what he is planning on doing."
"And hope she's not dead," Zel noted.
Lina glared at him for the last comment, but deep in her heart was hoping the same. Lina begane to wonder about the girl's origional where abouts when a thought struck her, causing her ruby eyes to pop open.
"You don't think..." The look in Zelgaddiss' eyes proved he did.
"..Interdimensional travel."
Rina was strapped down to a long block of wood and awoke to find herself inches away from her purple haired tormented who floated above her.
"Hello, beautiful," he said cheerfully, kissing her little nose. Her eyes widened further as she took in the situation. Rina was completely defenseless and couldn't move more than six inches in each direction.
"Who... who are you?" Rina somehow managed to stammer in her angered and semi-concious state. "Where am I? Where is Tas..." her voice trailed off as the memory of Tasuki's lifeless body sprawled across the grass, and her grasp of consiousness begane to drift.
"Now, now," he tisked. "We can't have you leaving so soon..." Waving a hand over her forehead, Rina's thoughts immediately cleared.
"Much better!" he exclaimed, clearly satisfied with the result.
Although her mind was clear, Rina's eyes still held a vacant stare, which drifted past the purple haired man as if starring at some far off place.
"Xellos."
"Wha - ?" Rina's attention was jarred back to the present.
"Xellos. It's who I am. My name. You wanted to know, didn't you?"
"Yes... I mean no! I mean I don't care!!!" Rina begane to struggle against to leather restraints, causing her wrists and ankles to rub raw, a steady flow of blood oozing from them, as Xellos put a finger to her lips. She was suddenly overwhelmed with a feeling of calmness and her muscles relaxed.
Xellos's smile widened.
Rina opened her mouth to speak, but Xellos replaced the finger. "Shhh... My turn."
Starring at him with wide eyes, she closed her mouth inorder to signal for his continuance.
"You, my Rina-chan..." Rina's eyes welled with tears at the soung of Tasuki's pet name for her "...are some-what of a consollation prize for me. You see... you are an exact duplicate of Lina Inverse, although the hair and eyes are slightly different, as well as your build, but I guess that's from your lack of magic use, besides, I think I like you better like this. In fact I know I like you better like this..." Xellos was starring at Rina's well developed chest, which caused her to stir uncomfortably.
"Anyways... Lina fell for the awful blue chimera leaving me with nothing," Xellos sighed, looking up from her chest to meet Rina's confused eyes, "so I took the next berst thing... you. Although I will admit that if proved to be a bit more difficult than I origionally planned, your Tasuki was a hinderance I hadn't expected." Rina's hard edge fadded into oblivion with Xellos's use of Tasuki's name, and a small whimper escaped herd lips.
Xellos continued, "then jealousy took hold. A human emotion, I admit, that I wasn't really preparred for. And now your here!"
"Wait, you mean your not human?" she whispered cautiously, unsure of what his answer might lead to.
"Oh no! Far from it!" He exclaimed jovially. "I am a Mazuko! or a demon, for those who are not familiar with the term."
"Demon..." That was it, Rina had reached her limit of emotional chaos for one day. She screamed out in a fit of rage as her body renched in a hopeless effort of freedom, rebreaking the barely healed wounds.
Her screams echoed through the corridors of Beast Master Xelas's palace sanctuary on Wolf Pack Island and Xellos opened his eyes, smiling inwardly to himself. This should be fun... lot's of fun...
Much to Gourry and Zelgaddiss's surprise, Lina had taken to finding her double with the furror she normally reserved for large amounts of treasure.
"Lina," Gourry had questioned her, "why are you going out of your way to help that girl?"
"I'm not really going out of the way to help her, becauseshe is me... so, I'm really only helping myself!" That comment had caused both Zel and Gourry to face drop in the huge puddle created by their combined tears.
Oh well, Zelgaddis mussed, if she wants to push it off as selfishness it's fine by me.
"Would you two slowpokes hurry up! Xellos could die of natural causes by the time we get there at the rate you're moving!" Lina barked while cluking both in the head with hurled stones.
"Oww! Lina!" Gourry whined. But instead of snaping a return to his remark, Lina turned, trotted a few steps before shouting ‘Ray Wing' and lifted of into the air, leaving her companions to fallow.
Zelgaddiss turned to Gourry, "We'll meet you in Zephilia at Amelia's palace." Without waiting for an answer, Zel turned, cast the spell himself and took off after Lina.
meanwhile...
Xellos held tight to Rina's petite body, limp from lack of consciousness. Walking through his master's corridor's he paused briefly to shift the burden.
So pretty, he thought to himself, taking a left at a crossing. She'll come around soon enough, and then... The trickster smiled at the thought.
"Now why'd you have to go get all upset, my Rina-chan?" he asked aloud. "Time will not pass so quickly now that I must wait." Stopping in the hall again he licked a trickle of blood that was slowly running from a cut just above her left temple.
"Silly Rina-chan," Xellos cooed at the taste of sweet human blood. "Well atleast I'm full."
later that day...
Arriving on Wolf Pack Island, the lair of a Mazuko Lord, was enough to make anyone a little nervous, but it was the only logical place Xellos would retreat to, so... that's exactly where Lina and Zelgaddiss went.
Odd? Lina thought. She'd been expecting this island to be crawling with bad demonie things. Walking up to the large palace, the duo stopped. No door, which is a problem for two people who can't teleport. Could it be a trap? No it was too late for that, and there had been many more opportune time for ambush than just now.
"Boo!"
Lina spun around in time to redirect the Fire Ball she had aimed at an all too familiar face.
"Xellos," she scowled just as Zelgaddis walked up behind her and glared so viciously at the priest that death would have been proud.
"Wher is she?" he fumed.
"Who?" Xellos replied, a look of innocence slapped across his cheery face.
"Kisama Xellos! You know damn well who I'm talking about!"
"You mean my little friend who so precisely matches your own dear Lina, ne?"
"YES!" Zel was developing a rapidly excelerating tweek in his left eye, when Lina decided to step in. She took a step forward and faced Xellos who appeared to bee in deep thought.
Suddenly pulling himself out of it, Xellos threw back his head, "Oh, her!"
"Spit it out Xellos, or I'll have you spitting out teeth!" Lina seethed.
"You always knew how to get me excited, Lina-chan!"
Zel face dropped.
"Xellossss..." Lina hissed. Now he was getting to her too.
"Oh yes, the girl. That was what we were talking about, wasn't it?"
"Go on..."
"Sore wa himitzu desu!"
Zelgaddis who had just recovered from the first, replanted his face in the ground.
"GODS DAMN YOU, YOU LITTLE BASTARD!!! WHY IF YOU DON'T START EXPLAINING, I'LL... I'LL!!!" Lina had the Mazuko in a headlock, intent on shaking the answers out of him. However Xellos only seemed to get a great deal of happiness from it, so she released her grip and managed to calm her nerves.
Straightening his clothes, Xellos turned to face the sorceress and the just recovered chimera. "Well if that's all you've come to ask, I'll be leaving now! After all, I don't want to keep my company waiting!" And with those words, Xellos phased out leaving Lina to curse into empty air.
Xellos reappeared in one of his personnel quarters, only to find his new toy still asleep. He walked over to her streched form and playfully nibbled on her ear before whispering something ino it.
Rina's head shoot up to find, much to her discomfort, that her feet dangled centimeters above the ground for her body was suspended by her bound wrists from a tall cross beam.
He nibbled her ear again, and received the response he'd been waiting for. Rina kicked him hard in the gut. Staggering back slightly from the impact, he mocked her.
"Owchie, Rina-chan! One should not hurt their beloved!"
"I don't love you!" Rina spat back.
"But you will, though, don't you see? You won't beable to help it!" Xellos gloated, then added, "besides... Who will love you now?"
The memory of Tasuki was enough for the fight to leave her, and tears begane to streak her dry face.
Taking advantage of the situation, Xellos reapproached her and touched the button of her uniform. Rina lashed out, but barely. Her feet felt as though they were made of lead. Xellos touched the button again and undid it, moving slowly to the next, untill her shirt and vest hung open.
"Stop please!" she pleaded to Xellos, but he did not even glance into her eyes.
Brushing a tear from her face, Xellos revelled in the pain she was emmiting as he pulled her down, slicing the rope, but leaving her wrists bound together. Not that he was afraid she would try anything... but just in case.
He gently laid her onto his bed, himself directly on top, to ensure she did not attempt escape. Xellos removed the rest of her clothing and his own in a few deft movements and begane kissing Rina's neck. She whimpered and her body arched as he cupped her breasts and pushed into the small girl.