Filia was bouncing happily around the room while her companions stared in shock. “I'm so happy! Xelloss-dear!!! We're going to be parents! Look!” she held out the eggs. “Our children. I could kiss you!” which she promptly did. It was a small kiss, but it was enough to knock Xelloss the rest of the way over, till he lay sprawled on the floor. Filia was oblivious. “Do you think they will be boys or a girls? What'll we name them? Ooooohhhh!!!! I'm so excited!!” she cuddled the new eggs up to her face shaking her whole body back and forth with her enthusiasm. Then she froze. “Oh no!! I bet you're cold aren't you!” she said to the eggs with concern. “We need to get you a blanket! And a basket, and a crib. We'll put you next to your adoptive brother, little Valteria-chan where you can all hatch safely and comfortably and then I'm sure you'll become the best of friends.”
Lina stared in shock at the very though that those two were breeding. Xelloss and Filia had already proven how much trouble they could cause and now they were multiplying?? And Filia's hyperness was beginning to get to her. If that's what having kids does to your brain she was NEVER getting pregnant...
Zelgadis simply closed his eyes and tried to shut it out. Maybe if he tried really hard he'd wake up for real and find that this whole thing was a bad dream.
Gourry blinked, looking somewhat confused. He wasn't really that confused about what was happening, but he didn't know how to react. So he just stood there blinking and waited to see how this turned out.
Amelia, on the other hand, wasn't at all dismayed. “Oh, Filia-san! I'm so happy for you! Kawaiiii!!! Can I see? They're so pretty!” she went all starry-eyed seeing the shining eggs. “Look! They're purple just like the father! Xelloss-san! ….Xelloss-san?
They turned to the spot where Xelloss had been lying and saw only a tangled sheet on the floor.
“Xelloss?” Filia glanced around for her husband. “This is just like that irresponsible mazoku! Well we don't need him anyway![1] Amelia, can you come shopping with me? There is so much I need to get ready!”
Amelia's eyes shone again, “Shopping for baby things? How Fun!!!” With that the two of them hurried out the door to look for sickeningly cute little blankets with ruffles and teddy bears and bunnies on them. The others watched them go until Amelia turned around, “Hey! Aren't you coming?” and she grabbed Zel and Lina to drag them along with Gourry following behind.
Xelloss rematerialized in the wine cellar on Wolfpack Island[2]. He slumped against the wall and pulled out the bottle the strongest wine he could find. How did this happen?? He took a swig right from the bottle as he slid further down the wall. He didn't even know it was possible for Ryuzoku and Mazoku to breed. Of course he didn't know of any who had tried and failed. Apparently it hadn't happened before only for lack of trying. Great! He thought as he finished his first bottle and reached for a second.
He should have known something was up with Filia's behavior lately. Her appetite had skyrocketed and then tapered off as she developed a recurring case of upset stomach. She was restless and had strange mood swings. He was used to her temper, but recently she'd go from unusually laid back to extremely irritated at a moments notice. He rubbed his head remembering the dents he'd earned when Filia's temper proved too unpredictable even for him to avoid.
The important question was “What now? Zelas would want to know about this immediately. There was no way to predict just what the combination of Mazoku and Ryuzoku blood would do to the children. Xelloss grabbed another bottle and took a generous drink. If Valgarv were any indication the babies could be powerful indeed. But these children would be born that way instead of reformed like Valgarv, so both powers would be natural to them. Xelloss' mind was spinning as he thought about the possibilities.
Yes Zelas would most definitely want to know about this! The chilren might prove most useful if handled properly. He felt oddly uncomfortable at the thought of using his own children, but he pushed it aside. There would be plenty of time to worry about that later. Right now he had to tell Zelas. She'd be annoyed that he'd stopped first to drink himself silly before bringing the news, but he decided he didn't care. He glanced at the growing pile of empty bottles. She'd be angry enough at him for being so careless, being late wouldn't make much difference. He wanted to be good and drunk before the torture started. It was too bad he had such a high alcohol tolerance!
How had this happened anyway? He tried to think back to when Filia first showed signs of being pregnant (How could he have been so blind as to not realize what it was???) He sorted through his memories week by week finally coming to the day they had fought those ridiculous Crimson-Singham bandits. That had been quite an event! He remembered how many bandits Filia had flattened after one of them accidentally bumped into her in his hurry to escape Lina's fireball. Unfortunately the bandit had knocked Filia over and landed in a very compromising position. When she noticed his hands somewhere only Xelloss' hands belonged she'd gone berserk. She flattened him along with any other bandit that stumbled her way. Getting upset at the first bandit was normal enough, but the added destruction was the sort of thing only he could usually provoke. Xelloss continued back in time and remembered how surprised he'd been that same morning by Filia's appetite. That was it! He'd been so surprised because that was the first day! So that meant….. “Zelas!!!!” he shot up from the floor scattering empty bottles across the floor. “She tricked me!” and with that he disappeared.
“Ohhhh! Amelia! Look at this one. Don't the little clown remind you of Xelloss?” Filia held out a piece of fabric with chibi clowns on it. The clowns had purple hair and large smiles, but that's about as far as the resemblance went. Amelia obligingly inspected the pattern and nodded before holding up another selection.
“That is cute! But what about this one?” she pointed at the brightly colored stars all over her cloth. “Don't they make you think of Stars of Justice!? And with so many evil will surely be defeated!
Lina rolled her eyes at the display her friends were putting on. Didn't they realize how foolish they looked? Even the shop-owner, who must have been used to all sorts of silly customers, didn't know what to make of the woman carrying around large purple eggs and shopping for baby things. Lina looked around to see how many other customers were starring at them when her eye was caught by one of the brightly colored fabrics. This one was covered with little ice cream cones. “Yummmy….. Filia, how about this one?” She held up the cloth for the others and soon found herself pulled into the shopping spree. As they looked over the various fabrics, Lina realized that she was actually having fun. Maybe this whole baby thing wasn't so bad after all. She knew she wouldn't be ready for a long, long time, but maybe, someday, she might have a family after all.
“Lina-san, how do you like this one?” Amelia asked, “Aren't these penguins so cute!!”
Lina started realizing that her gaze had somehow strayed to Gourry who was standing in the corner with Zel (where Zel was trying very hard to disappear). What was wrong with her? She quickly turned back toward the cloth, only to see lines of little penguins marching across it. Uggg…Lina winced. Those penguins looked just like those in that strange fantasy park. “NO!! Well, I mean I don't think those penguins will really match the others. Let's look for something else."
“Um, Ok.” Amelia wondered what that was all about, but decided not to ask her friend as she continued to rummage through the wares.
Zelas was comfortably lounged in her favorite settee trying to decide whether to eat or torture her latest captive when her highest ranking servant appeared before her. And nearly fell over before catching himself by leaning heavily on his staff. The various wolves in the room turned to look at him, before smelling the alcohol and deciding to resume their naps. Zelas, however, scrutinized him very carefully. It was unusual for her finest servant to appear drunk before her. She watched as he regained his balance and raised his head to look at her. “You tricked me!!!!!” There was a shocked tone to his voice, obvious even through the drunken quaver. “You knew that would happen didn't you??"
Zelas looked at him curiously. “Knew what would happen? How can I answer if you don't tell me what you're referring to?” “Oh you knew all right! Back when you asked how Filia was doing. Then you started suggesting those all 'interesting things' you've always wondered about. I thought you were drunk but I should have known better!”
Zelas' eyes glinted as she realized what he was most likely talking about. But she wasn't jumping to conclusions until she was certain. “What's wrong? You didn't have a fight with Filia-dear did you?”
“No! Filia and I always fight. Why would I be upset about that? But you tricked me and you know it! You never told me that if I took your advice she'd get pregnant!!! You were counting on that from the start weren't you?” Xelloss was just drunk enough to turn his shock into righteous anger at being betrayed by his own mother. He faced her down defiantly, the wine giving him the courage (or perhaps stupidity is a better word) to challenge the Demon Lord about her actions. Still he wasn't prepared for her reaction.
“Really?” Zelas leapt up and gleefully pounced on her son. “Pregnant? I'm going to be a grandmother? How exciting!” So her source had been correct. This was wonderful! The wolves, who had been napping, were startled by their master's uncharacteristic display as Xelloss found himself knocked over by an enthusiastic female for the second time that day. “But just look at you! How disgraceful… You should be happy! You're a father! Here, have another drink.”
Notes:
[1] You've already got what you needed of him. Just like the female preying mantis, after mating the male is pretty much worthless… He he.. Ok I'm not THAT evil. Anyway he can still be good for another go later.
[2] Ok, there've been some questions here. If you want to imagina a naked Xelloss in the basement *snicker* .. *drool* ... that's fine. Otherwise he materialized clothes during the teleport.