Chapter 7:

Freedom  

An Ex-Soldier's Wish Promised! 



       Xellos didn't know where else to go so he decided to go back 
to the Beastmaster. He teleported in front of her and bowed, his eyes 
shadowed out. "So, did you find the girl?" Zelas asked impatiently without 
turning to face him. 'Shimmatta! Why did she have to ask that?! All 
right, judgement moment... I just pray that she doesn't look into 
my aura.' "Iie," he lied. "Oh... Is that so? Why did you return then?" 
"Ano... Just to tell of my progress. That's all." "If you're lying, I 
wouldn't care as long as you told me of your true progress. Is there 
anything else you would like to tell me?" she asked. Xellos' heart 
sunk. 'Iie! Does she know?!' "Iie... There's nothing more." "You lie, 
YOU CHIISAI OMARE!! You did meet that little bitch and you didn't tell me 
or bring her here! Not only that, oh no! Not only that, but you 
KISSED the little whore! You kissed that imbreed!" she screamed as she 
turned to face him. 

    Xellos felt himself fill with fear as she began to levitate above the 
ground and her hair started to billow. "I watched you! I watched your 
every step." She shot forward and grabbed him by the neck and levitated 
higher. " You do as I say! Never to do what you want! You are MY servant, 
my slave! My very order was to tell me when you saw that girl to tell 
me that you did, you were supposed to, but instead you disobey. You can't 
be trusted! You forget what I do for you!" Xellos, with all his might, 
forced out the words, "I never forgot. You make my life miserable!" 
In such disgust and surprise, she dropped him. He started to get 
up, but she flew down and began beating him ruthlessly.

    After he was all bloody and barely breathing, she ceased. "How dare 
you!" she snarled. Then she shot him with a violet strike of thunder. 
After he stopped shaking, she said, "You ungrateful fool, just to 
show you how merciful I am to you, I'll let you live. However, not 
without being trully punished." She picked him up by the collar of 
his shirt and said, "You are no longer the general I had always sent 
out anymore. Instead, now you're more like a pet. A true slave. At 
my command, you will immediatly go down on your knees and lick the dirt, 
shit, and blood from the heel of my boot. When I am in, you shall wear 
a collar and leash so I may whip you when you have not done it to my 
satisfaction. Now, get out of my sight, you fleebag!" Then she gave him 
a final kick to his ribs and left him alone in the darkness crying 
in tremendous pain.

    When he awoke, he realized he was in a pool of his own midnight 
blood. He forced himself up, and felt his knee snap. Quickly, he 
reached down to keep it in from tearing out the skin. He felt a few 
tears fall as he did this. He teleported, to where, he didn't know, just 
as long as he was out of there. He saw before him a large lake, so 
he crawled out to the surface and took a small sip. Then he shed his 
clothes, which was a very painful process that involved nearly 
cracking a few more bones. He inserted himself slowly into the water, to 
help the pain subside slightly and bathe. As he was watching the blood 
flow off his body, he felt a presence that told him he was no longer alone.

    "I don't know what happened to you, but let me help," a soft 
voice called from the trees behind him. She walked up to the water's 
edge and looked at him. "Aw man. You're an utter mess." Suddenly, 
he reconized her voice. Mystrivious. She walked into the water and 
stood next to him. He gave a puzzling look. "Don't worry. I just want 
to help you clean yourself off. Stay still as I'll do this." She took her 
shirt and tore the bottom off and made a wash rag from it. She looked at 
his scratches and noticed what color the blood was. For some reason, she 
didn't feel she needed to care. She knew he was a mazuko now, and 
still, she felt she didn't need to fear him. She took his arm and was 
about to start washing his arm, but he tugged away. 

    He gave her a glare but she ignored it and took his arm again. 
"Relax. I'm not going to hurt you." At her voice and kind look she gave 
him, he loosened up a bit. She washed all the blood from every part from 
his body (she stayed away from his genitals) with a type of gentleness he 
had never expierienced before. As she began to wash his hair, he didn't 
fight it and he let her feeling himself beginning to relax. The pain 
started to wash away along with his fear, lonliness, and filth. After 
she had finished, she did something that most surprised Xellos: 
she picked him up and took him to shore and helped him get dressed. "Lie 
down," she ordered, with a kind tone. He didn't know what she was going 
to do but he did obeidiently. She put a hand on his forehead and began 
chanting some famuliar language. 

    He suddenly reconized the words she spoke. Mazuko language! 

"(My lords above me, 

hear my cry. 

I begeth you to reap the earth

of its own purity 

to bring back upon

unto my own strength.)"

    What she had said was a spell mazukos used for recovery. He 
felt his bones tighten then knead themselves back together, his 
skin reseal itself, and his mucsles slightly grow stronger then 
close up and grow back to their ligiments. Slowly he sat up. He 
looked at his hands and marveled that the pain was gone. He raised 
his sights to Mystrivious. "Do mo arigatou,(Thank you very much,)" he 
said breathlessly. "Don't worry about it. Here, let me help you back to 
the inn and I suggest that you rest a bit," she replied grabbing 
his hand and pulling him up. "So what happened to you anyway?" she 
asked as they began walking into the woods. 

    "Actually, I'd prefer not to talk about it," Xellos replied. 
"Now, I'm not going to act dumb about this. I saw your blood and I know 
what that color means." Xellos looked at her but she kept her eyes 
foreward. "So, how hard is Zelas on you?" ". . . How do you know that? 
You're a free mazuko and that's why Zelas wants-... Nevermind." "Nani? 
What does Zelas want? She's after me, isn't she? Do shite? My power 
and because I'm the only mazuko not under her power? Hmph, if that's the 
case, tell her I give her the bird and she can shove her f***ed-up 
attitude up her ass!" Xellos smiled and began to giggle. Mystrivious 
looked at him. "Well, that's the truth! I'm not gonna be kissing her 
ass and beg for my life just so I kick someone's ass. Come on, the world 
doesn't work that way... Well, mine doesn't anyway."

    Xellos' smile widened. 'Wow, she's free. I wish I could be so too.' 
"You can be," Mystrivious said. "Nan?!" "He he... You're not the 
only one who can read minds, Xellos. Anyway, you can also be free, only 
if you choose to be, that is. If you want to be free bad enough, then 
you'll do whatever you have to do. The spirit can go a long way, whether 
it be mazuko, human, dragon, animal, whatever. If your spirit is strong 
enough, you'll be free, or you'll die trying." Xellos began thinking of 
what she had said. 'If my spirit's strong enough, I can be free... Well, 
I'm getting sick of working for Zelas. She insists upon my being her 
mongruel. I know I haven't been particually loyal to her lately, however, 
I'm just tired of being her servant. She killed my mother and Dominious. 
I can't do this anymore. I'm going to be free at last and Mystrivious will 
be the key. She'll help set me free.' 

    "Um... Excuse me for listening to that, but I couldn't help it. 
I just want to say this much, I would be honored to help you be free 
if.... If you do two things for me..." she said, her voice suddenly 
becoming a little unsteady. "What's that?" "One, if I ever get in a 
fight you'll be there to help me so I won't have to go overboard," 
"All right. I promise on that. I give you my word. So, what's the other 
exception?" She stopped, and started blushing. She looked down at 
the ground modestly and with a smile she said, "Kiss me again." 

    Xellos was a little taken aback from what her price was. 
Something inside him looked her over. 'Beautiful,' he couldn't help 
but think. Her golden eyes met his amethsist ones. For some reason 
unknown, her modest smile said everything was alright. He smiled and 
gratified her with another heated kiss that overloaded her senses and 
sent chills up and down her body. He was about to pull away but she 
took his lips back to hers and then deepened the kiss. After they 
finished both blushed and began walking next to again next to each 
other. However, no regrets or complaints were said as they walked when 
Xellos took Mystrivious' hand into his, completely unaware of that 
he was going the path of that he was leaving his world of pain and fear 
behind him forever as black feathers glided galiently in the air then 
landing softly in the lake filthied with his forever forgotten midnight 
blood. 



                      To My Best Friend and Brother:

                                     o

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                               Aqua Tenshi

                                   by 



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                                   \O/

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                               Weir Tenshi