Slayers Fan Fiction ❯ Slayers: Knightfall Interlude One ❯ Chapter 1

Slayers: Knightfall Interlude

                On their Own Again

Disclaimer: I don't own Slayers, but I do like playing in their yard and digging up their flower garden and salting the earth so nothing grows again

Author's Note: This one shot takes place immediately after Lina joins Valgaav in Slayers: Knightfall, Chapter 20.

    The rain came heavily now, much like the tears in eyes of the young Princess of Seyruun, thought Zelgadis Greywords, who was not in a cheery mood. He knew that there wasn't much he could do for her at that dark moment. He was practically in the same place himself, though not as deep as Amelia.

    But for him, it was familiar territory.

    The princess stopped in her tracks, causing Mil and the Knights that had accompanied him to pause as well.  Turning around, Amelia looked into the distance from whence they had came. She was probably hoping to see someone coming back to them. The only thing there was the diminishing rumble of the misguided Zephillian refugees being led away by that horned freak Valgaav, who apparently was a demon. Go figure.

    The scene was more than enough to put another crack in Zel's normally stone-cold heart, though he'd not easily admit it.

    Amelia was good at that. In fact the only one had ever tried hard enough to be able to crack his heart on a regular basis was the young Princess.  Seeing her heartbroken like this was enough to make him want to drag out the one who'd done this to her and beat the living daylights out of her. 

    Zel wasn't about to abandon Milgasia though. He wasn't entirely sure why he and Lina had had a falling out, but he suspected it was a huge misunderstanding. Mil was just trying to keep the world from falling apart, much as he'd done some thousand years ago during the War of the Demon's Resurrection. He didn't need Lina running amok, making things worse in ways only she knew how to create. Zel wished she would come back, if only so she would have the support of her friends.  It was obvious even to him, hardly the most empathetic of beings, that something was very wrong with Lina.

    But, of course she won't come back, Zel thought dourly. Why would she? She was erroneously but utterly convinced that Milgasia and the various Knights of the Dragon Gods were out to get her.  It was unknown whether she truly believed that by joining with Valgaav she would be able to save the world. She'd never shirked that responsibility before, no matter how inconvenient for her. But the way she'd been acting up to this day ... We can only hope that Lina will be killed by Valgaav before she becomes something truly evil and unstoppable.

  Of course, Zel didn't tell Amelia those dark thoughts. While logic told him it would never happen, Zel also sincerely hoped that Gourry would help Lina see the error of her ways and convince her to come back to them. But Gourry would follow Lina to the depths of Shabranigdo's toilet itself, always believing that she would never lead him astray.

    Amelia sighed heavily and went back to marching in the sticky mire that was once a road. Her once pure white attire was fast becoming brown with mud. Zel looked down to his own feet and found, to his annoyance, that he was covered in mud halfway up his shins. Just something else to compound their misery.

      They couldn't fly to Dragon's Peak. It was much too dangerous these days, even for a Dragon Lord like Milgasia. The demon had already conquered most of the major kingdoms, empires and duchies, and their spies and patrols were everywhere.

    Gracia playfully skipped by, completely unconcerned with getting dirty. In fact a trail of mud golems chased after her, all shaped like bees for some reason or other. It was a brief distraction from Zel's brooding. . .made longer still by the blur of motion trailing from Naga's wrist and extending to Amelia's own.

    Oh, boy. . .

    Naga zoomed a good 10 feet ahead of her sister . . .and promptly dragged her along for the ride.

    Yep, this is a great day, Zel could tell. Oh well, back to brooding. He would probably catch hell for not helping Amelia, but he needed to sort things out in his head.

    While Zel could appreciate not being under anyone's command, he did not understand why anyone would just abandon her friends as Lina had. Her power could prove to be critical to any hope of victory and very well save everyone's life … something she'd seemed very keen on doing immediately following her family's death. You'd think maybe she'd stick by the only family she had left and let them help her.

    Hmph. A small wry grin creased Zel's features. It wasn't so long ago that I was just as selfish as she was. That was something else he owed to Amelia. Indeed Zel had changed enormously from the arrogant, depressed, and slightly evil sorcerer that he'd been when he met Lina. In fact, it was Lina who'd first helped show Zel the friendship he'd secretly craved due to the isolation caused by his body's appearance. Sure, Zolph and Rodimus had been his companions in service to Rezo the Red Priest, but they were more lackeys than true friends.

    It was back then, on that very stressful night when Zel had decided to free Lina from Rezo's clutches so she would lead him to the Philosopher's Stone, that things began to change for the better. Lina had never once derided him or seemed even the slightest bit frightened or repulsed by his stone-like skin and wire-like hair.  It had caught him off guard, initially. Maybe Lina was just afraid to say anything as she was without the use of her magical powers at that time.

    But, as it turned out, she had been genuinely unconcerned with Zel's appearance. Even more surprisingly, she was his intellectual equal. (Another point against Zolph and Rod.)  But, despite those similarities, Lina and Gourry liked to travel to and inside big cities and towns, places in which Zel was less than comfortable. So he left them in search for a cure to his cursed body that would allow him fit in once again with normal people. Lina had given him a taste of the humanity he'd once had but lost, and he would not let anything get in the way of his goal of possessing it again in its entirety. 

    But those journeys filled with empty leads and false hopes took more a toll on his psyche than he liked to admit.

    Zel ran into Lina and Gourry from time to time, but it was during his search for the Claire Bible that he met Amelia. She saved him from sure impalement by a Shadow Master's spell with a well- timed Flow Break incantation. Little did he know that that was when his whole life would be turned upside down.

    It was rocky going at first. Amelia had seemed little more than a justice-obsessed child to Zel at that point, though they were only a few years different in age. He remembered the day she'd said he had no “Justice in his heart.” Amelia had seemed so put out then.

    Even more so than Lina, Amelia was completely unafraid of Zel's body, figuring that if Lina was friends with him, why couldn't she be as well? Soon the questions came, annoying the very self-conscious Zelgadis. Who are you? Where did you come from? Why is your skin like that? Why are you so grumpy all the time? Why do you like coffee so much?

    At first he tried to ignore her. She'd get bored with his studied indifference sooner or later. But she pressed on, determined to get to know the self-styled mysterious loner. One day, as an experiment (he told himself), he decided to humor her and was completely surprised by the complete and total empathy she exhibited towards him.

    “I wouldn't be much of a friend if I didn't care about what you must be going through. It wouldn't be just to let you bear your burden all by yourself.” She'd told him that not long after Lina and Gourry had left to find the empty-headed swordsman a new weapon, after the Sword of Light was lost to them. They'd left for Seyruun soon afterwards, partners in what may yet prove to be a fruitless quest.

    But Amelia and Zel's relationship truly began that day. It was all thanks to Lina that Zel had a wonderful woman with whom to share his life. It was thanks to Lina that his life was now so much more than brooding about his chimerical body. It pained Zel in a way he'd never thought possible to think that the crazy firebrand sorceress and the brain-dead but companionable swordsman could be forever lost to them. 

    Naga had finally finished helping Amelia dye her clothes an earthy brown. Zel helped her up, and untangled her from the leash Naga kept in case her sister decided to run off, further staining his own once-white clothing. Then Zel looked at his lover, momentarily shocked by what he saw.

    Amelia was a vision of pure defeat. Her shoulders slumped, her eyes brimming with tears, her breath coming in short shallow gasps and her fists clenched, shaking. The strongest person he knew was struggling to keep herself under control. He embraced her gently, telling her in his still clumsy way that it would be all right. She hugged him back fully, choking back a pitiful-sounding sob. 

    Pray you find the Vale of Shadows and reach your true potential, Lina Inverse.  That may be the only way you survive your next encounter with me. I beat you once before, I can do it again….

    They walked on, Zel wondering what else he could possibly say to her considering the only thing on his mind was getting even. Those thoughts were unworthy of her.

    The Princess looked over her shoulder, a misplaced frown still on her otherwise perfect lips. She wrapped her arms around his and leaned her head on his shoulder.  

    “What didn't we do?” she cried plaintively.

    Nothing.

    “I don't know,” Zel replied. “Lina was not the same Lina we used to know. Especially after Seyruun.”

    “She was just stressed out,” Amelia countered, attempting to simplify the problem.

    “That she was, but it seemed more than just that. Keep in mind that immediately after her family was murdered, a terrible destiny was forced upon her.” Amelia nodded, having dealt with the loss of more than a few members of her own family.

    Zel sighed. He was starting to wonder how he'd suddenly become Lina's defender. “Maybe we should've been more supportive, more attentive to what was going on in her mind. But we had -- and still have -- our own problems to worry about.”

  “Gracia,” Amelia softly agreed. But Zel was sure she was also thinking of Seyruun itself, still under siege by a demonic horde.

    I don't blame her for forgetting about the cure to my body. And I can't bring that up now. It would be beyond contempt.

    Indeed, the Crown Princess of Seyruun was still at the top of Amelia and Zel's priority list. They had hoped that Lina, once she had attained the full extent of her Knightmare abilities, would destroy the xenasphyr, the evil and semi-sentient talisman that had ravaged Gracia's mind. Hopefully that mind wasn't beyond saving.

     Milgasia, gracious that at least Amelia and Zel had not forsaken him, had promised them that the Golden Dragons would do everything within their power to help rid the world of such an object. But not until the current crisis was taken care of.

    Whenever that might be …

    Amelia and Zelgadis didn't talk much throughout the remainder of the journey. Neither of them felt much like talking anyway. They were too lost in their personal brooding to be decent conversationalists. Naga occasionally tried to make things better, according to her current capacity, by making odd but cute golems out of rocks she found along the road. Too bad they tended to stage rebellions and make off with the caravan's underwear for reasons unknown.

    The air was cold and damp that night, making Zel's skin pop and flake in thin layers, a sure reminder that autumn was indeed on its way. The thick canvas tent that he, Naga and Amelia were offered did little to ward off the chill, so they sat around one of the many bonfires with Milgasia, Stridus the Knight of the Earth Lord, Memphis the Elf, Lyos the Knight of the Aqua Lord … and Xellos, who was reclining in a lawn chair and sipping ice tea, his latest quirk.

    Stridus was arguing softly with Mil, while Memphis played the mediator. Lyos was half-heartedly paying attention; he seemed more interested in his lamb stew.

    Xellos was joining them for the evening, it seemed. It was someone Zel was never happy to see, more so than ever after the revelation that the demon had known all along how to cure his condition but had withheld the information for his own purposes. Neither Milgasia nor any of the others who knew what Xellos was were particularly thrilled to see him either, but at the same time they knew that no one, either alone or all together, could force him to leave.

    Amelia sat staring at the dancing flames for a moment before saying bitterly, “Why did you agree with Lina, Xellos? Why did you make her leave?” Gracia, who was sleeping at Amelia's feet like a dog, stirred a bit at the sudden noise.

    “Stop being so cheery. I merely acted to save Ms. Lina's life by threatening Mr. Valgaav to agree with her request. She's the one who made the decision, without my intervention, I assure you,” Xellos chirped, then took a long slurp through his straw. But despite the facade, even Zel could tell that something was amiss with the demon Priest.

    It was the smile.

    A friendly smile was plastered on his face as usual. It was still as creepy as all get out. But …
   
    It was missing the ambiguity … the sense that you got when Xellos talked to you, that while he may have been telling the truth, he was leaving out something vitally important. It was completely gone. 

    Maybe Zel could finally get some straight answers out of him.

    “You, or your master, obviously has an agenda in keeping Lina alive,” Zelgadis said, eyes not leaving the flames. “Once when Lina faced off against Zephillia's former king, next when we all fought against Riksfalto, and now, to an extent. You saved her life.”

    “Oh, you don't have to thank me.”
   
    “I'm not,” Zel assured him, wondering if the world would indeed be better off without Lina Inverse messing it up all the time. “I'm questioning you. There were times when Lina could've really used you, like during her final battle with Lohi, the assassin. But you were nowhere to be seen.”

    “Regrettably, I was tied up at that particular moment, but trust me, I would've stepped in if things started to go badly, if I'd been there.”

    “Busy with what?” Amelia snapped, accidently kicking Gracia in the ribs a little, which prompted a considerable belch from the still-sleeping, wayward princess. “And don't you dare say your catch phrase or I'll force you to do charity work in an orphanage for blind amputees.”

    “My, putting me in a bind here, aren't we? But despite your `threats' as they were, I'm afraid I cannot divulge anything major.” Xellos sipped more of his tea, looking a little miffed.

    “Of course not,” Milgasia piped in, breaking off his conversation with Stridus. “To know the mind of Xellos is to know the mind of the Greater Beast. Her greatest joy is manipulation and intrigue. All the world is a game to her, and Xellos is her most favored piece on the board.”

    “We can only do what we can do and hope that we won't suffer greatly for it.” It was a dark comment at that particular moment.

    “Mr. Milgasia,” Amelia murmured, sounding worried.

    “Master?” Memphis questioned, sounding equally concerned. 

    The two knights looked at each other darkly.

    “I- I realize now, in retrospect, that I pushed Lina too hard. I tried to drag her down a path that wouldn't had been easy for her to begin with. I was so worried that Lina would fall into evil once I realized that she was the Knightmare. I wanted to guide her down the right path, but in my clumsy way, I fear I may have ended up pushing her too far away from the gods.”

    “I still think we should've dealt with her permanently after we realized she wouldn't be going along with us,” Stridus said.

    “You certainly weren't helpful with convincing Lina, but I suppose it was my fault for bringing you with me.”

    “Don't say that!” Surprisingly, it was Amelia who admonished the Gold Dragon. “You can't blame yourself for someone else's actions! You can figure out a lot of things in hindsight, and wind it up to the point where you believe you are entirely responsible! But, in the end, the person who made the decision made the decision. 

    “No matter who the person is, it is she, in the end, who must face the consequences.”

     Zel noted Amelia's slip in using the word “she.” The princess still hadn't forgiven Lina, but then again, the wounds were still fresh.

    “Maybe you're right, or maybe I'm still truly the one to blame. Whatever the case, Lina is still allied, willingly, with a demon.” Mil's eyes seemed to be involved somewhere else entirely as he spoke. Zel had a pretty good idea in what.

    And it wasn't about Lina this time.

    “That demon, Valgaav. What he said bothers you doesn't it?” Zel was putting as much as he could on the table, trying to figure out whatever he could, because everyone seemed to be in as vulnerable a state as he'd ever seen them.

    “Indeed it does,” Mil confirmed. “I was completely and totally caught off guard by that revelation, or more precisely, what it could mean for the validity of the title of Dragon Lord for all Golden Dragons.”

    “Indeed, one wonders what cause the Golden Dragons would have to slaughter another dragon race,” Xellos put in. “As far as I know, it's never been done.”

    “And as far as I know, it still hasn't,” Milgasia countered, eyes flaring a bit. “Valgaav could've been lying to me. But. . .but I had never felt such sheer, unmitigated hatred, even coming from a demon. Also, but more disturbingly, I could feel the presence of a dragon within the demon. Something may well have happened to his race, as Ancient Dragons do exist in legend, so his claim to that lineage is not entirely without precedent.”

    “He may be an Ancient Dragon and maybe something did wipe out his race,” Zelgadis began. “But perhaps it was Gaav, whom Valgaav seems to hold in such high regard, who planted the idea that it was the Golden Dragons that killed off his people.”
   
    “It's possible,” Xellos conceded. “Gaav may have been desperate for more subordinates after he was defeated by the Water Dragon God. He probably saw young Valgaav as a prime and powerful addition to his band of demons and told him whatever it took for dragon to join him.”

    “Has anything like that happened before?” Amelia asked.

    “Not that I'm aware of, though demons have been known to share power with those who are willing. The only way I know that one can become a demon to the degree that Valgaav has is for the host demon to willingly give an individual a significant amount of his own power.  Now, I can't think of a single demon that would do that, as it would permanently diminish him.  Unlike Mr. Valgaav who is his own person, the half-demons you've run into before have been hybrids of two separate entities, fused as one and never to be two again.”

“But then again,” Mil reasoned, “Gaav was not entirely a demon by that point, was he?”

    “No, I suppose he wasn't. The Water Dragon God saw to that, didn't he? He probably let some human sentiment get in the way of his decision making.”

    “So it is possible that what Valgaav said was true,” Zel concluded.

    “It's more than a possibility,” Mil said, emotionless. “Whether or not my people are responsible for genocide of the Ancient Dragons, Valgaav is a perfect combination of demon and dragon --the power of both and possibly the weakness of neither.”

    “Either can be too much for even one of us, not that I wouldn't love to try and smash that freak's face in,” Lyos said.

    “So getting Ms. Lina back by force would be tough at best,” Amelia said pensively.

Zelgadis groaned. “If you're thinking of going after her, forget it,” he said, softly but forcefully.

    “B-but-!”

    “Think. We can't abandon Mil, and I know you wouldn't want to leave Gracia's side until she's well again. And we are certainly no match for Valgaav.”

    “I can't believe you're just abandoning her!”

    “I'm not!” Zel said sharply. He then made a conscious effort to soften his tone. “What I am saying is that there is little we can do for her now. I'm not so sure she'd accept our help, especially if it meant breaking her contract with Valgaav. She's like an animal who thinks it's been cornered. She's going to do reckless and incredibly stupid things to stay alive. Rational thought isn't a partner of desperation.”

    “I don't want to do nothing.” Amelia sounded very close to utter dejection. Zel didn't want to see her like she'd been earlier that day ever again.

    “Then pray.” He felt strange giving Amelia that particular piece of advice. She was the High Priestess of Seyruun, not he. “Pray that Lina will find her way back to us, safe and uncorrupted. Pray that Gourry will not let her fall.”

    Amelia stared at the ground for a moment, her fists clenched so tight that they turned stark white. She nodded her agreement and visibly relaxed, blowing out her frustrations and worries with a long sigh and a quick but heartfelt prayer.
   
    “I'll do that, with all my heart,” she said. “But I still won't stop looking for any opportunity to save her.”

    “Hmm . . .” Xellos stood up, and the lawn chair and iced tea mysteriously vanished.
   
    “What is it?” Zel asked, suspicious of anything the demon might offer.

    “Well, it's a long shot, but there may be a way for you to meet up with Lina without having to confront Valgaav.”

    “You mean the Vale of Shadows,” said Mil.

    “Yes.” Xellos seemed to be staring off into the distance, focusing on something only he could see. Zel wondered what could possibly be on the demon's mind. (Well, about as much as he had ever wanted to know the mind of that particular and oft infuriating demon.)

    “It may work, but only if Lina survives to get there herself.”

    “If there's any chance at all, I'll take it!” cried Amelia.
   
    “Amelia!” Zel started to admonish her. Hadn't he just warned her against such reckless action?

    “Think, Zel! If we go to the Vale of Shadows, not only can we possibly meet and save Ms. Lina, but we might find a way to save my sister!”

    Despite his misgivings, Zel had to admit she had a point. The Vale was a mysterious and powerful place. But there was another reason why he gave in so easily: the fire that had been rekindled in Amelia's eyes. He couldn't justify seeing that doused again.

    “Very well then. I don't think I could stop you even if I really wanted to, which I no longer do. But Mil? Is it really ok for us to go? I know you have your own plans.”

    “You seem to forget that we have two Knights in our company, and more are on their way.  I think we can spare a pair of sorcerers, even ones as powerful as you. As for my plans , they aren't time sensitive yet.” So Mil wasn't adverse to the idea, which eradicated all doubts from Zel's mind.

    Except one.

    Wouldl he be able to keep his cool if Lina actually showed up?

    “But,” the dragon continued. “It won't be an easy wait. Not one of us can guarantee exactly when Lina will come to the Vale. And the Vale, while rumored to be a gorgeous place, is incredibly dangerous, even for the most experienced adventurers.”

    “Actually,” Xellos countered, “I think I can promise to have Lina inside the Vale in a month, give or take a week.”
   
    “How?” asked Zel.
   
    “That's a secret.”

    “Of course.”

    Amelia pondered that for a moment, then said, “Well, I know this is asking a bit too much, but can't you or another dragon come with us?”

    “No, I'm afraid that would be impossible, but not for lack of wanting,” Mil said gravely. “The Vale of Shadows is a forbidden place, to both us Dragon Lords and to demons.”

    “Well how come?” Amelia whined.

    “We will explode,” Mil said, shaming the term “deadpan” with his own brand of perfect emotionlessness. “Explode spectactularly.”

    “No way!”

    “You're right,” Mil said. “That we would explode was a joke on my part, but that place is still forbidden to us.”

    “So what will really happen?” Zel sighed, already tired of Mil's jokes after the opening shot.

    “It is unknown, but I recall a rumor that if either dragon or demon enters that place, they will go mad. I'm not sure what would happen to a human who ventured there, but somebody obviously mapped it.  Remember though, that place was made solely for the Agent of Chaos. Namely Lina.”

    “Do you still wish to go?” Xellos asked. “I'd be willing to take you as far as the outskirts of the Vale.”

    “Of course we do!” Amelia cried, shocked that anyone would doubt her resolve.

    “I suppose it can't be helped,” Zel grinned. Amelia's resolve was infectious. “We will need at least two months' worth of supplies for three people. Anything else I'm sure we can forage or hunt.”

    “It's yours,” Mil said, and gestured to one of his men to fetch a supply wagon. “I wouldn't wander around much in that place. Stick to the copy of the map Lina gave to you, and pray you don't run into anything beyond your skill. If you are not back within two months, I will send someone to the borders of the Vale to look for you.”

    Amelia wrapped Mil in a hug. “You have no idea what this means to us,” she said. “I'll be sure to tell Lina what you said. I will bring her back, count on it.”

    “I hope you do, I . . . I have much for which to apologize to her.”

    “Why is that girl so important, anyway?” Lyos piped in. “Why go through all of this trouble? Knightmare or not, she can't be much more powerful than any of us Knights, much less all of us combined.”

    “If that were the case, I wouldn't have pressed her so hard,” Mil told the young Knight of the Aqua Lord. “Hers will be the power to both destroy and create.  I'm afraid we will need that creative power to a horrible extent by the time this is all over.”

    The servant returned with a hand wagon fully loaded with supplies.

    “I'm ready when you are,” Xellos said.

    “I'm more than ready!” Amelia thumped her hand to her chest and then pulled on Gracia's leash, waking the poor women from her bee-filled dreams.

    “Rice soup. . .hallelujah,” mumbled the princess.

    Zel wasn't sure what would happen at the Vale, and secretly thought it would end in disaster. But he was glad to have Amelia back to her old self. Together, he thought, they could overcome any trial, no matter how dark and difficult. They would find a way to destroy the xenasphyr. Lina would come back with them, or . . . well, Zel wasn't exactly sure about the alternative.

   One hand still holding Gracia's leash, Amelia grabbed hold of Xellos's outstretched arm with the other, and Zel held onto them both. In an instant they were in a foreign landscape.

    Is this really in northern Zephillia? wondered Zel, in complete and utter awe of the natural beauty surrounding them.

    “Look at it, Zel!” Amelia gasped, no less astonished. The Vale was alight with Fairy Souls. Thousands, perhaps millions of them floated and danced, like little stars descended from heaven to bask in the glory of the Vale's splendor.  Even without the fairy souls, the Vale of Shadows was a masterpiece of untouched woodland. There was a pristine quality about the place, a feeling that it was as old as the world itself, and that Zel and Amelia were the first to see it in a very, very long time.

    Even Gracia abandoned her eccentricities to admire the landscape.

    “Quite the view isn't it?” was Xellos' appraisal. “It's no Wolf Pack Island, but not bad at all. Speaking of which, I've got to return to my mistress to figure out what we are going to do with our Lina problem. Toodles!”  And with that, the demon vanished back into the Astral Plane, to scheme whatever schemes his mistress had in store.

    “Think you can stand to stay here for a couple months?” Zel said, finally breaking the silence.

    “A year and more,” Amelia answered. “An entire lifetime and the beauty of this place still wouldn't be lost to me.”

    “Come on,” Zel prodded her. “We'd better set up camp for the night.”

    “Yeah.” Amelia finally dragged herself away from the vista.

    Around dawn, Zel was awakened by a sound he had never heard before.

    He grasped the sword lying at his side and gently jostled Amelia awake.

    “Mmm. . .,” she groaned. “Is it time for pancakes already?” Then her voice trailed off as she sensed that something was wrong.

    “No, I think something has come and spoiled the mood,” Zel whispered.

    “Socks can't be kings!” Gracia scolded.

    A bizarre and disturbing howl split the air, its raspy warbling filling Zel and Amelia with extreme dread.

    Well, thought Zelgadis Greywords as he mentally prepared himself for what would become the most harrowing fight of his life. At least this will distract me from thinking about what I am going to do to Lina if she ever comes.
   
   Something was approaching.

    Thud . . .

    Thud. . .

    Thud. . .


                To Be Continued


Tom the Mighty's Mighty Notes.

Here it is, the first-ever side story to Slayers: Knightfall. This piece actually made me pretty depressed while writing it. I designed it to be a heavy fic because I wanted the reader to feel for Zel and Amelia at that point in the story. I've been avoiding writing about the xenasphyr and Zel and Amelia and Naga, because they were getting in the way of the main plot, Lina's plot line.  But, I knew I had to finish their subplot or I'd have to rewrite the entire story, again. And I know that nobody, least of all me, wants that.

So, I decided to write this interlude to explain what everyone's favorite pair of Princesses and Loner Chimeras have been up to since Lina left with Valgaav.

Since I left the story at a cliffhanger, obviously Z, N and A's adventure is not over. But I'm not sure whether to incorporate the conclusion with the Main Slayers: Knightfall story or finish it with another interlude.

You guys decide!

 

   

  &n bsp;



   
   

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