Slayers Fan Fiction ❯ Slayers-Quest ❯ Ups and Downs - The perils of Babysitting Xellos ( Chapter 5 )

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Ups and Downs -



Ups and Downs -
The perils of baby sitting Xellos

Xellos had calmed down quite a bit by now and was sitting quietly by the fire staring into the flames. As Lina desperately ran round the campsite trying to catch up to the elusive fairy, she wondered what she was supposed to do with her charge now. He was able to control his sense of humour, and feed on positive emotions without going into overload, but he still seemed so callous. In the past, he was able to counterfeit caring but he seem to have lost that ability. He simply responded to the ambient emotions now.

"How does a child learn empathy?" she thought and grimaced as she remembered the sessions with her mother. "Great now I have to tell bedtime stories to a monster."

Giving up on Melee, she walked over to Xellos. "Think of him as a child" she told herself. "Not a monster, a child."

Xellos looked at her quizzically, "What now Lina? You feel really weird?"

Placing a rucksack against a rock and making a comfortable seat for the two of them Lina answered. "Xellos you are supposed to be concentrating on your own emotions, it is impolite to read me all the time, I do like some privacy. In fact for this session I want you to concentrate only on your feelings and my voice. Do you understand me? I want you to block my aura out completely."

"But you feel so good." Xellos whined. "I like your taste"

Lina sweatdropped glad that the rest of the gang were gone. "I can just hear Zel's comments, at least Gourry and Amelia wouldn't understand enough to snicker." She thought to herself.

"Xellos stop that and do what I tell you?" Lina said sharply.

"Okay." He answered in a downcast voice.

Settling down, she motioned to Xellos to sit beside her, he flinched as she placed an arm around his shoulders. "Don't get any ideas. This is how my mother told me stories when I was a kid." she then added grumpily, "You can snuggle in if you feel like it just watch where you touch or its mallet time."

Lina began the story, "Once upon a time there was a prince who didn't laugh..."

As the story progressed, Xellos snuggled into Lina's shoulder. He found the sound of her voice and the warmth of her body reassuring, he wished for a second that he could taste what she was feeling but was soon lost in the story finding himself following the adventures of the little prince.

Three fairy tales later Xellos was sobbing into Lina's shoulder, "That poor wolf, how could those mean pigs do that to him, all he wanted was something to eat and they burned him with water and set fire to him, that is so unfair."

"Trust Xellos to emphasis with the bad guys" Lina thought "I am so glad no one can see this"

"How can you live with these feeling? How do you survive?" Xellos demanded anxiously, "Will I have to live with this all the time now?"

"No Xellos, link into my emotions now." His face took on a look of wonder.

Lina continued flushing, "Right now I'm feeling embarrassed of course, I really don't like opening up like this but I also care about you what you're feeling from me is friendship. I'm going to think about my mother telling me these stories now, can you feel that?" Xellos nodded. "I loved her very much the sadness with it is because of how much I miss her but I couldn't have the love without the sadness. That is part of what Melee meant by balance."

"I'm starting to understand Lina. Thank you for this, I can feel how hard it is for you. I've never cared before and I've done so many awful things..."Xellos started to sob, rough, anguished sobs. "My hands are so bloody, how can you stand to be around me." Lina held him silently, stoically looking forward.

"That is the last step" Melee informed Lina. " He has to come to terms with what he has done and what he has been. This should have taken much longer but I guess the Mother had other plans, she does have a capricious nature."

"Xellos said that once" Lina answered.

"He understand more than he realises. "Melee agreed. "Let him cry it out, then I'll place a sleep spell on him. He needs the rest and you should talk to your friends and warn them about what is going on. Zel has a lot of anger that he needs to redirect. Xellos can not take on any extra guilt, at this point he blame himself for a hangnail on the other side of the country."

Lina nodded and stroked Xellos's hair gently, as if he was a child. A protective feeling flooded though her, he may have agreed to the change for power but she'd not let anyone else hurt the person that he was becoming.

Later hearing noises from the cavern opening she nodded to Melee who cast a sleep spell on Xellos. Letting go of the former monster, Lina arranged him gently, using the rucksack for a pillow she spread her blanket over his body tucking it in. Satisfied that he would sleep conformably she waited as she saw the other exit the cave.

"Lina, I got it , isn't she beautiful" Gourry exclaimed waving his sword in the air.

Melee rushed over to Gourry and glommed onto him, spreading tiny kisses all over his face. "Did you get me a present? Come on! Did you? Did you?"

Zel looked at her warily and handed over the satchel with the manuscripts. He then backed away quickly as she tried to glomp on him in turn then hid behind Amelia using her for a shield.

Amelia looked at him in surprise, "Mr Zelgadis, have you become a coward?" she asked.
"Yes! "he answered forthrightly.

"The search seems to have gone well" Lina observed.

Zel told Lina about their adventures quickly, using Amelia as a shield as Melee tried to get to him. Lina nodded without being too surprised, she knew Zelas would send someone after them though it was a bit quicker than expected the word of other ally concerned her but Lina had enough immediate worries with Xellos.

"Okay, I we'll deal with Zelas and her allies when they show up, I've had a rough time and we need to talk before any of you confront Xellos.

"What do you mean Lina?" Amelia asked. "Isn't Mr Xellos a good guy now?"

"He's learning to feel right now he's just learned to feel guilt and his past is tearing him apart, he can't deal with blame and hatred, he has enough self-hatred as it is "

"You're worried about me aren't you?" Zel asked.

"Frankly, yes. You associate Xellos with Rezo and you've never hidden your dislike. He can not handle that. Can you put that hatred away and look at Xellos as a completely different person as the one you knew in the past? If you can't I'll have to take him away for a few days."

Lina looked over to Melee for confirmation and realised that she had left them and was frantically going though the manuscripts.

"I don't know if I can do that. "Zel answered honestly.

" You have until tomorrow morning." Lina informed him. "We had to put another sleep spell on Xellos after he realised what his past meant."

"He really is suffering isn't he?" Zel asked.

"Oh Zel, you don't know the half of it." Lina turned quickly but Zel still caught sight of the tears in her eyes.

"Let me think, it may not be as hard as I thought" he informed Lina quietly.