by Nightfall
"Hey," he said. "If I get up for a minute, will you promise not to do anything stupid?"
"I never do," Xellos scowled. "Besides, I think you've given me a concussion."
"Just stay there," he said.
"You're going to be kicking yourself when you realize you've thrown away your only chance to kill me," Xellos said, with a poor approximation of his usual light tones.
"I doubt it," he said, patted an extremely tense shoulder, nearly got bitten for his efforts, and stood up. He wasn't especially surprised about any of this; Xellos's constant smiles screamed swallowed affliction with every flourish and chuckle; but he was curious about why Xellos had been in the water if he knew what the signs had said.
He could tell the moment he laid eyes on the first one that they hadn't been written anytime recently, because they were quite straightforward. The first one read,
'WARNING! DO NOT FISH! DO NOT DRINK THE WATER!
'You have reached the DEMON SEA. The water at this
beach is NOT WATER. It is AETHER, and if it enters
your body you will be CORRUPTED or POSSESSED if you
are LUCKY. You are also advised to leave AS SOON AS
POSSIBLE.
This beach is regularly patrolled by mazoku, and WE RECRUIT.'
Gourry paled. He was pretty sure he hadn't felt the sting of salt in a wound. But then, if it wasn't water at all, would he have known? In any case, he definitely hadn't been possessed. He was sure he would have noticed. And he was fortunate enough to have Zel and Amelia nearby, either of whom could cast Elemekia lance on him, or even Ra Tilt. That was all right, then. He went to the second sign.
'These are the rules of the game,' it read, its calligraphy smaller and more deliberate than the other's.
'Stage one: Recruitment.
'The water is power.
'Once the water enters your body, you belong to us.
'Stage two: Maintainance.
'Your chance to win free will come every century as the
aether wanes.
'Once the water enters your body, you belong to us.
'The water is power.
'Disqualification results in repeat entry and penalties
at the discretion of your sponser.
'Entrance while conscious is grounds for disqualification.
'Stage Three: Escape.
'Running away is grounds for disqualification.
'Getting caught is grounds for disqualification.
'Negativity at the border is grounds for disqualification.
'Once the water enters your body, you belong to us.
'This is your only warning.'
With a mind numb with horror, the only thing Gourry could think was, 'Every century?'
Gourry Gabriev was nineteen years old.
He turned to look at Xellos. His sometime traveling companion had tried to sit up and then found out what a bad idea that was. His fingers were pressed to his temples, his eyes tightly closed, and he looked slightly nauseous and about fifteen. As usual, seeing someone else in distress punched Gourry's protect-everybody buttons, and calmed him down enough that he was able to think clearly, if not exactly calmly.
'We're in big trouble,' he thought. 'Is he? I am, anyway. I have to get off. Maybe he's okay. I should take him with me. He might throw me in. If he wrote the signs, did they have signs when he came? Negativity means being angry or scared. He can't cross like that or they'll get us both. I can't just leave him here. Am I scared? No, I have my sword. Is it running away if I go? No, I'm going to find Amelia and Zel and take care of Lina like I always do. I'd better take him with me. He's scared. And angry. I'd better do something."
He walked silently over to Xellos and clonked him on the head again. As he slumped, Gourry caught him and slung him over his shoulder. He was a light little thing; no wonder everyone tossed him around so easily. The cape stayed where it was; Gourry only had so many hands. Drawing his sword, he walked unhurriedly up to the dunes. Two mazoku did appear when he was halfway there, but they were low-ranked, and he and the Sword of Light had little difficulty with them.
He snuck into camp, grateful that Amelia had started insisting that they separate by gender into tents after her last visit home. He suspected that someone had had a little talk with the princess about Respectibility and Acceptable Behavior For A Young Lady. It didn't matter. He was just glad to be able to deal with Xellos himself for a little longer, as he wouldn't have been if they were still in 'bedrolls around a campfire under the stars' mode.
He stretched his sort-of-but-not-really friend out on his bedroll, and tucked him in securely. Very securely, with his wrists crossed under the small of his back.
Everybody was eating dinner around the fire. No fish, he was relieved to see. Lina waved at him, and called, "Hey, Gourry! How was the beach?"
"It was a beach," he said, with one of the blank, cheerful grins he'd gotten so good at. "The water was dirty and cold. You're gonna leave me a sandwich, right?" he asked, pleased to see that she'd lost interest.
"Not a chance," Lina said, grinning.
"Miss Lina, you're so mean!" Amelia exclaimed. "Don't worry, Mr. Gourry. I'll rescue something for you."
"That's really nice of you, Amelia!" he grinned. "Hey, would you do something else for me?"
"Sure! What is it?"
He took a deep breath. "Well, I saw this mazoku on the beach and I killed it so that was all right but it bit at me so I think maybe I have monster germs and maybe you could cast an El-micky lance so they'd go away?"
Zel looked up from his food, which was a pity. He liked watching Zel eat. He reminded Gourry of a mannerly baby shark, only needing food once every week or so and then tearing into it neatly with great enthusiasm and little fangs that Gourry would never call adorable out loud, since he valued his life. "Monster germs?" he asked, the stony patches above his eyes rising in disbelief.
Amelia was frowning. "Mr. Gourry, Elemekia Lance is a powerful spell. I don't think I should--"
"Please?" he said, making his eyes big and enjoying the way Zel choked. "I'd feel a lot better."
"Well," she said doubtfully, "do you think I should, Miss Lina?"
"Won't hurt jellyfish-brains," she shrugged around a mouthful of food.
"All right." Amelia stood up, moved her arms around in the magic-making way, and pointed at him, crying, "Elemekia Lance! There," she added as the bolt of pure light faded away. "Do you feel better now?"
He blinked. The world was a mess of afterimages. "Yeah..." he said, dizzy. "Thanks. Think I'm gonna go lie down now..."
"Idiot," Zel muttered, and got up, food in hand. He took Gourry's arm and guided him into their tent. A minute later, he started, and demanded, "What the hell is he doing here?"
"I don't know yet," Gourry answered, dropping his smile. "He's going to tell me a few things before I let him out, though. I think he's more likely to tell me when we're alone."
"It's not that I can't take a hint, but you know Xellos is dangerous."
"Yeah, but there are some signs on the beach I want you to read, too."
"Anything else?" Zel asked sarcastically.
"Yeah. Stay away from the water. And switch swords with me until you get back."
Zel frowned. "Switch swords? Gourry, what's going on?"
"You'll see. Just be careful. Oh, and bring some food when you get back, okay? I'm hungry, and I really hope Xellos will be, too."
"You owe me an explanation, Gabriev," Zel sighed, and handed over his sword.
"You'll get it," Gourry assured him, handing over his own. "Just really, be careful. And you tap it there to detatch the metal blade."
"Got it. See you."
"Right."
He watched Zel saunter away, trying not to look excited about the powerful sword at his belt. The man was such a power-addict that it would have been funny if his search for it hadn't gotten him an unwanted species-change. He'd tried to get over it since then, but Gourry thought he probably wouldn't put up with the overexuberant and uncultivated personality attached to the girl who was the Bandit Killer if he really had.
He sat on Xellos's chest again, and poked him in the forehead until he opened his eyes. "Hey, Xel," he said conversationally after Xellos panicked again, tried once more to go for his throat, and inevitably failed. "How long does it usually take to be a monster again?"
"Not long," Xellos answered, his unfamiliar surly expression turning sick and resigned.
"But how long is 'not long'? Because it's already been about twenty minutes since I got you out of the water."
Xellos froze. Not that he could move anyway, but there was a definite extra stillness to him. Then he squirmed, trying to free his hands, until his headache made him stop. "What shape," he asked carefully, "are my eyes?"
"No," Gourry said thoughtfully, "I think you're going to answer my questions first."
"Does Miss Lina know what an unscrupulous mercenary you are?"
"How many times have you tried to bite me now?"
"You may have a point," Xellos admitted wryly. "But it wasn't you I was trying to bite."
"Glad to hear it. It would still have been me being bitten."
"True. Well, I suppose I can hardly stop you from asking questions when you're on top of me, can I? You're still fairly damp, by the way."
That's what happens when you go swimming with clothes on, Gourry was about to answer, but then he realized what Xellos was really asking. "Amelia did one of her spells for me while you were sleeping."
"How fortunate for you," he said without much enthusiasm, but closed his eyes and lay back as though relieved.
"Why did you write those signs?" Making Xellos admit to a generous motive was probably a cruel and Amelia-like impulse. He gave into it anyway, mostly because Xellos wouldn't have hesitated to take advantage of him.
Xellos shrugged. "They stop the new recruits whinging on about unfairness. They also screen for risk-takers and the desperate."
"That's not why."
"Yes, it is."
"Is that how you..."
"Were turned? Yes."
"But the first sign said corruption and possession, not, um, turning."
"For humans. Or dragons."
"Oh. What were you?"
"Dying."
"...oh." He waited for more, and realized that the silent-waiting technique of information gathering didn't work on a being ten centuries his senior. "What happened?"
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