#1 Crush belongs to Garbage. It can be found on the first Romeo + Juliet soundtrack. (Both cd's are highly recommended, BTW! ^_^)
Forever? What is forever? What do mortals know of "forever"? Nothing. Forever is a long, long, impossibly long time. It is eternity. And I pledged Eternity to you, my lord...
And there you stand, unmoving and unaware.
For eternity.
I would die for you
I would die for you
Such thoughts have no place in the minds of servants. At least, they have no place in their actions. So she did as always had done at the end of her pilgrimage, the only proper thing to do...
She knelt on the bare stone, kowtowing before her frozen idol and kissing the barren ground at his feet. And there she stayed for what could have been hours, gold hair pooling among the ice, tanned skin scantly clothed and never absorbing the cold...
It was only proper to treat her creator as such.
I've been dying just to feel you by my side:
To know that you're mine.
Copper irises flared in the darkness, and the magnificent and massive area was alit with unholy light - showing the cavern in all its glory; a man's figure trapped in a tomb of ice, surrounded by candles that would never die.
Zelas rose from her knees, daring to fully stand before her creator in the smallest of rebellions. She was different, after all.
I will cry for you
I will cry for you
"Lei-sama," she murmured, breaking the silence. Her voice danced in thought, instinct, and emotion - wavering in awe, in loathing, in respect, in disgust and something else all together. Ever so slowly, the Dark Lord of Nature glided across the rough cavern floor, sidestepping the candles to stand on the cursed altar.
She was different.
She was his.
I will wash away your pain with all my tears.
And drown your fears.
Silently and humbly, she pressed her body against the frozen mass, again showing no real discomfort at its temperature. Gold bracelets chimed as her arms encircled as much of the prison as they could, and her face only winced from the... purity of the seal.
Energy slowly flickered and flared, picking up momentum and power with each passing moment. Zelas' black power penetrated to pure cage of Cephied, reaching the prisoner in a red glow.
I will pray for you
I will pray for you
Finally, the limit was drawn, and Zelas cried out in pain, pulling her own energy back to her form. She fell from her embrace, disappearing onto the ground before the immortal candle could singe her equally immortal skin.
The scarlet light flickered and died. He was still not free.
But she had stopped striving for his release years ago.
I will sell my soul for something pure and true.
Someone like you.
She lay prone on the floor. Her form flickered. She-Wolf, Beast, Energy, Woman, She-Wolf to Energy, Energy to Beast and finally back to Woman. Zelas laughed weakly, letting her being recharge from its recent loss of power. "Have you figured out my game, Lei-sama?" her wild, silver voice teased. "It's all for you..."
So saying, she again pressed her head against the cool floor. "All for you."
See your face every place that I walk in
Hear your voice every time that I'm talking
The memories plagued. The memories ravaged. Memories were her hell. But she would not succumb, she would never bow to them. She would not go insane like Dolphin. She would be careful about becoming prideful like Garv. She would avoid the mistakes of Phibrizo and Dynast.
Because he was imprinted upon everything. He branded what was left of her soul.
Silent laughter shook her shoulders as she observed the Astral Plane of the cave - the one she worked so hard to ingrain into Wolf Pack Island as a link. A dangerous act, considering the physical area was that of the Ice King.
But the Greater Beast had a mind and memory of freewill.
She was different.
She knew she was a piece in a larger game.
You will believe in me
And there was a specific reason she was the weakest of the Dark Lords.
Well, there was more than one... but the fact remained, she did not covet her power. Zelas poured her energy into her realm, her pack, her servant...
Into her lord.
And I will never be ignored
And lo, she was still kicking. Her servant was still intact and in perfect working order.
The other Dark Lords didn't understand the game...
So they lost.
I will burn for you
Feel pain for you
"I once tried to capture a Queen, and I lost. But now, she is ready, the Queen I could never be..." Shadows fled as a truly terrible smile curled upon her lips. "The Other is reborn, success has been achieved thus far."
The Queen she could have never been...
Because he had his own plots.
Zelas belonged to him now. And she had insight.
She had secrets.
She had plans.
She understood more than he ever did.
I will twist a knife and bleed my aching heart.
And tear it apart
Zelas looked around again, wondering (as she so often did) if this was the cave in which she lost herself. Perhaps... but the memory was imperfect - the act was clear, but the place forgotten.
She laughed again, wishing desperately to have a drink, but not wanting to waste her energy. Zelas shifted till she lay on her back, seeing the room upside down.
"I'd follow you anywhere..."
And she did - she had. Time was relative - eternity meant nothing to the immortal...
But it meant everything to those who remembered being Death's subject.
I will lie for you
"She looks like you, y'know." Sharp fangs glittered in the light as she talked. "Must have been a shock to poor Luna-chan."
Of course it was a shock...
It got Dynast a Holy Sword through the stomach, ne?
Beg and steal for you
Zelas flipped over yet again, her hair wildly scattering down her back and in her face, covering a few of her delicate scars.
The key to stop being a Pawn?
Understand that all are Pawns - the Bishops, the Kings...
The Queens...
I will crawl on hands and knees until you see-
You're just like me
So how much of the Knight's cousin was in that shell of his, anyway? Was Ruby Eye all that inhabited that beautiful body?
Zelas giggled, deciding she'd never know. This was her revenge, after all. She was just fulfilling his fondest wish.
All are Pawns.
And all are Fools.
Violate all the love that I'm missing
Throw away all the pain that I'm living
Mazoku knew wrath. (But never to their masters.)
Mazoku knew revenge. (But not against their lords.)
Mazoku didn't know tender emotion...
Zelas grit her teeth and shut her eyes as her 'heart' clenched and contracted with desperate frequency.
Mazoku had a damn good memory. Zelas staggered to her feet, drawing herself to her full height, heels and all, despite the pain.
You will believe in me
"The time nears," she again promised. "All that you asked of me may soon be fulfilled."
Greater Beast Zelas would succeed where Hellmaster Phibrizo failed. Because she was patient. Because she was 'weak'.
She was still alive and active.
And I can never be ignored
"But first..." Zelas trailed off, eying a previously unlit crevice of the cave. A young woman, no older than nineteen, sobbed with her head against the wall, dried blood marking her struggle against her chains. Her frozen tears and blue lips testified that her clothing and surroundings were just so she wouldn't freeze to death in the extreme cold...
It was her fear and terror and loathing and pure senselessness that sustained the Beastmaster, having just transferred power to Lei-sama. A reward was in order. Zelas sashayed to her prey, the light doing wicked things to her slit eyes.
I would die for you
"Please," the weak creature squeaked, shrinking away from the woman with the wolf's smile.
Zelas simply placed a hand on either side of the girl's shoulders, gold bracelets clinking death's melody. Pleading always fell on deaf ears - Zelas had been performing this 'ritual' for a millennium.
I would kill for you
"Please what?," she chided, laughing. The girl's tribe would not save her - they had practically thrown the poor thing at her! Centuries of Hunting had made Zelas a legend of sorts in this area - the chimeric beast who stole young girls to be his bride...
It was rather amusing.
"Your pain ends here," the Lupine Devil assured, claws drawing blood.
I will steal for you
"Please no!" the girl shrieked, sobbing with renewed vigor. "GET AWAY FROM ME!!"
Annoyed, Zelas struck the girl with all her inhuman strength - bruising her skin and crushing the jawbone. But it shut her and that Ruby Eye awful crying up. "Show some dignity. Lambs die prouder than you."
I'd do time for you
Staring at the Beast King through swollen eyes, the maiden pleaded no more.
"Good girl." Zelas gently placed both hands on either side of the battered child's head, bestowing the tenderest of kisses upon her brow. "Give my regards to L-sama."
And the wolf ripped out the mortal's throat, drinking deep the blood of the innocent and ruined.
I will wait for you
Zelas released the lifeless corpse and fell back against the floor, thrilling at the sensations of another's blood in her body - she had no blood of her own, after all. The sweet-coppery scent filled the cavern, exciting all her senses into a frenzy.
But strong arms swept her off of the chilled ground, cradling her small form. "Are you done, here, Zelas-sama?"
Bronze shards smiled into broken amethyst. "Yes, Xelloss, I am."
I'd make room for you
"Hai. What shall I do with the body?"
"Feed the Pack," she dismissed, waving her hand. She smiled again, raising her hand to the Trickster's cheek. Her hand left a crimson trail down his alabaster flesh. "Soon. Soon I'll be able to give you the toy you've always wanted."
"You spoil me, Mistress."
Zelas frowned over his shoulder, staring at the frozen figure of Lei Magnus. "Xelloss."
He stopped his brisk retreat. "Hai?"
"Bow before your lord."
I'd sail ships for you
Xelloss did as he was bade - bowing as low as he could without dropping his mistress. Zelas smirked. Here was one she owned and had no 'control' over
She had learned from her predecessor's mistakes.
Lei-sama...
"Take me back now," the beastmaster commanded, her voice betraying none of her longing.
To be close to you...
"I am the Keeper of Secrets, Zelas-sama. I do wish you'd tell me what you're planning with all this," Xelloss sighed as he crossed the threshold back into Wolf Pack's throne room.
"Don't question me," Zelas somewhat sleepily snapped.
"Of course, m'lady."
She peered at her most trusted and only servant. You wouldn't understand anyway... she would though. Because her path is the same as mine - you'll make sure of that, ne, Xel-kun?
To be a part of you...
Xelloss placed her upon her lavish couch, stepping back to draw his mistress a glass of wine. He frowned to himself, considering what little he knew. He knew his mistress spent quite a bit of energy securing Lei Magnus' prison as a sort of pocket dimension of Wolf Pack Island, and that she visited once a year, always returning weakened...
"You still here?" Zelas questioned, sipping her wine and lighting a cigarette. "Go watch your little sorceress."
"But Zelas-sama - "
" - I said go."
'Cause I believe in you...
Zelas saw his eyes in the wine. The shadows flowed like his hair. His face burned in her eyelids. He was everywhere.
She would win in the end. She would win because she understood...
She would win for him.
Her revenge.
Her purpose.
Memories flowed, burned, sliced...
And Zelas slept in the past.
'Cause I believe in you;
I would die for you
Part 1 | Fanfiction