Gankutsuou Fan Fiction ❯ The Dollmaker ❯ Chapter Six ( Chapter 6 )
Anime/Manga: Gankutsuou Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Fantasy / Hentai / Drama | Type: Crossover | Uploaded On: 12.05.2005 | Pages: 3 | Words: 6.3K | Visits: 413 | Status: Completed
THE DOLLMAKER
© December 6, 2005 By Rory V. Pascual
CHAPTER SIX
Albert had an inkling that this day was going to be different from previous days, as he got ready for work. Edmond never joined him for breakfast. He hoped that the older man would go down before he left to eat the simple repast of bacon and eggs he had set out on the table and bid him goodbye. However, even when he was about to leave, the door to the attic remained closed.
"Edmond…" Albert said in sorrow as he stole one last look at the attic door. With a sad shake of his head, he went off to work.
It was midday when Edmond, at last, emerged from his sanctuary. The breakfast that Albert had made sat on the tabletop, cold and forgotten.
Edmond picked up the fork, only to have it fall from his hand. He looked at his fingertips that were swollen and painful and dotted with pinpricks. Instead, he picked a piece of bacon up with his fingers and nibbled on it. It tasted bitter in his mouth.
"You don't look happy, Edmond." It was Desire. The sly immortal was decked up in a blood red dress. The skirt was obscenely short that it revealed a thong bikini underneath.
"I don't want to talk to you anymore," Edmond said dully. "Leave me alone."
"Awww! Don't tell me that things didn't work out for you!" Desire clucked its tongue. "It's either you pushed him too hard or Albert's one tough cookie." Clenching its fist in determination, the immortal declared, "All right then! There's only one option left. You must woo Albert."
A frown furrowed Edmond's brow as he looked at Desire with obvious distrust. " 'Woo'?"
"You know! Give him flowers, chocolates… That kind of stuff."
"Don't you do that for girls?"
"It works just as well with guys. Listen. Why don't you prepare a nice surprise for Albert? There are lovely wild flowers in the woods at Auteuil. You could make a nice bouquet for him. There's also a small confectionary shop along the way. You can get him a box of Belgian chocolates." Desire rummaged through its purse and plucked out a gold coin, pressing it into his hand. "Here you go! Buy the most expensive chocolate they have. It's on me."
Edmond gazed at the shiny coin in his palm dubiously. "But I still have to clean up the house and prepare dinner. Besides, I thought I'd just make Albert a doll instead. I was planning to save the best doll for last, after I finish with Franz here…" He glanced down at his jacket pocket from which the tiny head of a doll of Franz d'Epinay peeked out.
"Nonsense! It'll take you forever to finish that doll. Go on and get those flowers and chocolates!" Before Edmond could argue, Desire was shoving him out the door. "Don't worry about the housework. I'll take care of everything here."
"But…but…"
A hard push, and Edmond stumbled outside the house. He turned to the red-clad figure that had assumed a sultry pose at the doorway, with graceful arms propped on the doorframe and a curvaceous thigh crossing over a long leg.
"Why are you so desperate to get rid of me?" the mortal asked suspiciously. "You're up to something, aren't you?"
"Of course not!" Desire exclaimed in shock. "I'm your friend, Edmond! It is my fervent wish to see you happy. Come now! Trust me!"
Edmond stared at Desire for a long time, fathoming its sincerity. Innocence and the blind belief in the goodness residing in every heart prompted him to grant his trust to the cunning immortal.
"Okay! I'll trust you," said Edmond, smiling. "I'll be back as soon as I can."
With a smirk on its face, Desire waited patiently until Edmond had disappeared down the road. Closing the door, it went up to the attic, where its two sisters awaited. Desire, Despair and Delirium formed a circle around the four dolls sitting on the floor that Edmond had finished earlier.
Despair reached for the doll closest to it with a fat, clawed hand. Raising her hooked ring towards the doll's belly, she hissed in undisguised anticipation and glee, "Well, sisters? Shall we play?"
~~~~~~~~~~
"Monsieur Herrera! MONSIEUR HERRERA!"
Albert nearly jumped out of his skin as his secretary barged inside his office without bothering to knock. "What is it, Alicia?" he asked the portly woman. "What's with that racket?"
The secretary gestured, trembling, to the console on his desk. "You should watch the news, sir."
Frowning, Albert saved the draft he was finalizing and switched to the news channel. The image that appeared on the screen was the gray façade of the Paris asylum.
"Tragedy struck the Paris Institute of Mental Health a mere hour ago," the reporter announced in the bombastic manner characteristic of all broadcast journalists. "Former Chief Justice Gerard de Villefort was killed in a freak accident. According to eyewitnesses, Justice Villefort was in the recreation room with other patients when a large window broke off from its frame and fell right on top of him. A sharp shard decapitated the judge, killing him instantly. Chief Justice Villefort had been a patient at the Institute for five years, following that much publicized trial wherein he was tried and convicted for the attempted assassination of the Count of Monte Cristo and…."
Albert felt his blood run cold at that news report. Before he could even recover from his shock, his computer alerted him to an incoming transmission from the Interior Ministry. It was Lucien.
"Lucien!" Albert was happy to see his friend's handsome face. "Did you see the news about Villefort?"
"Yes, I'm afraid I did." There was an expression of dread on Lucien's features, as though he were debating on whether or not he should inform the younger man of what he knew. "Albert, there's something else you should know."
"Huh? What is it?"
"I just received a report from one of our agents." Lucien took a deep breath. "After five years, Baron Danglars was finally found."
"Eugenie's father? Where did you find him? Is he all right?"
"He's dead, Albert. His body was found in an abandoned spaceship drifting at the border of our solar system. Space pirates seized the ship. Our agents had to fight them off before the vessel could be secured. The whole ship was loaded with gold. Just tear off the cushions from the seats and you'll find more gold bars."
"Oh my God!" Albert was stunned. This was clearly the Count's handiwork!
Lucien continued with great reluctance, "Albert, I want you to contact Eugenie. Despite all our efforts, a few media people were at the spaceport when the vessel was towed in. Some of our new recruits unwittingly spilled some…details…that we would rather not have made public. If Eugenie should find out…."
"What? Tell me what it is. Does this have something to do with the Baron?"
"The circumstances of Baron Danglars' death… Apparently, the man was abandoned without any provisions. The Baron, surrounded by all that wealth, was left to starve to death. The poor man must have been so hungry that…"
"What? What?"
Lucien looked grimly at his young friend. "It seems the Baron had found a stash of pain-killing drugs on the ship. He doped himself up so that he could…chop off…his own leg with a cleaver and… He died from severe blood loss. The floor of the ship and the gold on which his decomposing body lay was covered with dried blood."
Albert's face assumed a sickly green color. For the Baron to resort to such a gruesome, desperate act to sate his hunger was just too horrible to comprehend.
"I'll talk to Eugenie, Lucien," he promised, his voice shaking. "I'll call her up in New York right now."
Relief shone on Lucien's face. "Thank you, Albert. Beauchamp and I are going to try to impose a news blackout on this."
"Good luck, you two."
Just as the transmission ended, Alicia called out his name, the telephone receiver in her hand. He had not noticed that his secretary had answered a phone call while he was speaking with Lucien.
"Monsieur Herrera…" Alicia looked pale. "It's your mother."
"Try to get Eugenie in New York for me. The number is in my address book." As Alicia hastened to do what her employer asked her on the computer, Albert snatched the phone and answered, "Hello, Mother? I'm really sorry if I can't talk to you long, but an emergency has come up and I must speak to Eugenie."
There were sobs on the other line, and Albert felt the hairs at the back of his neck stand on end. "Oh, Albert!" he heard Mercedes cry out.
"Mother, what's wrong? Are you all right? Oh, please tell me you're not hurt or anything!"
"No, no! I'm just fine! But your father's grave…"
"What about his grave? Mother, what happened?"
"I told you that one of the prominent families here in Marseilles is having a mausoleum made near our family plot. There's been an accident at the construction site."
"What kind of accident?"
"I don't know exactly what happened! According to the workers, iron bars were delivered to the site. Just as they were unloading them, the side of the truck just cracked open, probably from the weight of those bars." Mercedes burst into a wail. "Albert, it was horrible! Those iron bars plunged into your father's grave like spears! They are trying to remove those bars right now but they seem to be wedged tight. I can't even look! I don't want to imagine what state your father's remains will be in after they're done!"
Albert found himself dropping the phone in his shock, his mind numb that his mother's frantic voice on the other end no longer registered to him.
"I have Monsieur d'Armilly on the line. But I'm afraid there's a lot of interference."
It was Alicia who turned the monitor so that it was facing him. "Louis, are you there?" Albert called up, his heart pounding like thunder in his ears. "Louis, I must speak with Eugenie."
Then, the violinist's tear-filled face appeared on the screen for a moment and a few choked words were uttered before the transmission was completely cut off. "God, Albert! Eugenie...Our baby…."
Albert rushed out the door, ignoring Alicia's cries. There was only one thing on his mind – to go straight home.
"I'm jealous of all the people to whom you can easily say 'I love you' when you can't say it to me!" Those words raced through his mind again and again as he dashed down the stairs, through the Embassy lobby, heading for his motorcycle.
How could I be so stupid? Albert cursed under his breath as he leaped onto his motorcycle. As the bike roared to life and zoomed onto the street, he thought in fury, If anything should happen to Eugenie and her child, Edmond, I won't forgive you! Heaven help you, I might kill you myself!
~~~~~~~~~~
At that moment, Edmond was picking out some chocolates in the confectionary shop when he felt his heart suddenly begin to pound like a jackhammer.
Clutching his aching chest, Edmond fell down to one knee. What is going on? Why do I feel like something…terrible…has just happened?
Something tugged on his jacket. Glancing down, he was surprised to see the Franz doll clinging tightly to his jacket.
"Hurry home, Edmond!" a voice spoke beside him. "Eugenie's in grave danger!"
Edmond's eyes flew wide, seeing the spirit of Franz d'Epinay at his side. There was grave concern on Franz's handsome face. Dropping the flowers he had gathered, much to the shock of the shop owner, Edmond dashed out into the street. He did not stop running until he finally arrived at Albert's home. As he pushed the front door open, he was horrified to see blood seeping through the crack of the attic door. Racing up the stairs, he entered the attic, gasping in horror at the sight that greeted him.
"Welcome home, Edmond!" Despair cackled in glee.
"Hi, Edmond!" Desire greeted in turn. "We thought we'd play with your dolls for a bit."
"Sorry but I got carried away." Delirium tossed the headless doll of Chief Justice Villefort into his shaking hands. At her feet, the leg of Baron Danglars' doll had been torn off. "Anyway, I know you can fix them."
Desire pushed in a few more pins deep into the doll of Fernand de Morcerf. "I'm sure he could. Our Edmond's quite an expert dollmaker."
"I doubt if he could fix this though." Despair raised the Eugenie doll by one arm, revealing its belly that was ripped open by a sharp barbed hook. It was from this doll that blood poured.
Rage, like Edmond had never known before, surged up inside his heart, causing him to emit an aura of red flames. The marks on his forehead flared up, but they were no longer pink, but blood red to match his fury.
"Looks like we made Edmond angry," Desire clucked to its sisters. "We'd better go."
The younger siblings of the Endless attempted to fade out the way they usually did, but to their shock, they found that they could not leave at all. Some strange force was keeping them in the attic. They gaped at the furious mortal in growing terror. It was impossible for this man to possess such power as to confine the Endless.
"DAMN YOU! DAMN YOU ALL!" Edmond roared as he attacked the three immortals with all the power that was in his possession.
Desire, Despair and Delirium shrieked in agony as their bodies were mercilessly stabbed and torn to shreds, just like the dolls they had mutilated. Any attempts to fight back or to defend themselves were futile. They who did not fear death realized that their end was near, and to die at the hands of a mere mortal was a shame that was truly incomprehensible.
"STOP IT, EDMOND!"
Edmond would have ignored that strong command, if cold fingers had not stayed his hand from delivering the final blow. Turning, he found himself gazing into the twilight orbs of the Dream King.
"They are bad, Dream!" Edmond cried, his cheeks wet with his tears. "Look at what they did to my friends! Let me kill them!"
"It is not your task to punish them, little brother," Dream told the anguished mortal as gently as he could. "Let we, the elders of the Endless, give them the punishment that they deserve."
"But…but…."
Desire, Despair and Delirium took advantage of Edmond's indecision to flee.
Dream took the bleeding doll of Eugenie in his hands. "Forget about your anger. Only you can save Eugenie now." Saying this, he laid the doll into Edmond's open palms, before disappearing to pursue his wayward siblings.
Edmond hastened to his sewing kit and picked up a needle and fine silk thread. As he began to sew up the tear with meticulous care, he sobbed, "I'm so sorry this happened to you, Eugenie. Please be strong. Have faith in me. I promise I'll save you and your baby."
~~~~~~~~~~
Eugenie was fighting for her life in the operating room of a New York hospital.
"Please, God," she mumbled under the gas mask, a tear trickling from the corner of her right eye. "You may take my life, but please spare my baby."
"Don't say that, Eugenie!"
That panicked cry caused the pretty pianist to open her eyes. Even though her vision was blurry, she readily recognized that handsome face that was looking down at her.
"Count…"
"Go to sleep, Eugenie. I swear nothing's going to happen to you and your babies."
"My…babies…?"
Soon, the anesthetic began to take effect on her. As the Count's visage slowly faded from her sight, Eugenie smiled and whispered, "To you we entrust our lives…Edmond Dantes."
~~~~~~~~~~
Edmond bent his head down to repairing the ravaged doll, pouring all his heart and power into the effort. Time was of the essence. Precious lives were at stake. He was only halfway through when the attic door banged open and Albert stormed inside. The sight of the blood and the doll in Edmond's hands was confirmation enough for the enraged young man, more so when he saw those telltale pink marks on his brow.
"I was right!" Albert snarled, his face a mask of pure fury. "You did it! All those terrible things that happened today – Justice Villefort, Baron Danglars, Father's grave, and Eugenie… It was you and these infernal dolls!"
"No, Albert! It wasn't me! I swear I…" Edmond's head whipped to the side as a hard punch was driven into his face. As he dropped to the floor, blood trickling from a cut at the corner of his mouth, Eugenie's doll fell out of his hands. So too did Franz's doll drop out of his pocket. Albert made to seize those dolls, but Edmond grabbed them at once. He tried to crawl away, but Albert twisted his tresses in an iron grip and yanked his head up.
"What are you going to do with those dolls?" Albert demanded. "Are you going to mutilate Franz's body, the same way you did to my father's? Are you going to kill Eugenie and her unborn child?"
"NO!" Edmond gasped out, the tears streaming down his face. "I'm trying to save Eugenie, protect her from those bad people who have hurt her!"
"Don't lie to me!" Another rough pull and strands of dark hair were painfully yanked by the roots from the older man's scalp. "All the men who had wronged you are dead! Why do you still persist in seeking vengeance upon us?"
"I don't know what you're talking about! I…don't…remember…"
"You asked me to remember everything that happened five years ago, while you conveniently forgot! Or did you, really? Is this your plan, Edmond? Is it your intention to destroy my life completely?"
"No, Albert! I wanted to make you happy! All I wanted was for you to love me!"
"Well, I don't love you!" Albert roared at the older man, breaking his heart into a thousand pieces. "I cannot love a man like you whose heart has been warped by hatred and the desire for revenge!" He bent down to grab the dolls. "Now, give those dolls to me!"
Edmond shook his head, wincing as more hair strands were pulled from his head by that desperate gesture. "No, I won't! I must save Eugenie and her baby!"
"The only way they could be saved is by taking those accursed dolls away from you! Give them to me, you demon!"
"NEVER!"
The obstinacy of the older man only served to stoke the fires of rage that were consuming Albert's heart. He shoved Edmond face down on the bedroll, and started pummeling the helpless man with heavy blows to the head and body, believing that Edmond would surrender the dolls to him to end the beating. But this Edmond did not do. While the punches rained down upon him non-stop, he held the two dolls protectively close to his chest, shielding them with his crossed arms.
This infuriated Albert even more. Reaching down, he tore Edmond's trousers from waist to ankle, jerking the ruined garment off his long legs. Roughly, he spread Edmond's legs and positioned himself in between them.
An anguished scream was torn from Edmond's lips as he was brutally entered. The thrusts that followed were hard and relentless, and all the child man could do was whimper and weep at the torture the man he loved was putting him through.
"Why do you cry, Edmond?" Albert growled in his ear. "Isn't this what you wanted? I thought you wanted me to love you."
Edmond did not give the younger man any response. He endured the abuse with the helpless acceptance of one resigned to his punishment.
A low grunt rumbled from Albert's throat, and then Edmond felt warm fluid gush inside his belly. As if waking from a bad dream, Albert was horrified to see what he had done to his ward. He pulled away with a painful jerk, blanching at the blood and semen that trickled from Edmond's battered bottom. Albert was stricken by what he had done, as he leaned his back against the wall and buried his face in his hands.
"Damn you, Edmond! Look what you made me do!" Albert's voice was heavy with bitterness. "You turned me into a monster, just like you!" Slowly, he got to his feet, fixing his trousers. "I'm taking you back to the monastery first thing tomorrow morning. You can't stay with me any longer. Just the mere sight of you makes me sick!" At this cruel announcement, Albert descended the stairs.
Despite the pain, Edmond forced himself to a sitting position. Pulling his sewing kit to his side, he continued sewing up the tear in the Eugenie doll's belly. The Franz doll, sitting with its back to the leather bag, was looking at the poor child man. A crystal drop formed at the corner of the doll's button eye.
"I'm all right, Franz," Edmond soothed the doll, although he himself was crying. "Please don't cry! I'm…just…fine."
~~~~~~~~~~
It was half-past midnight when Edmond went down from the attic. His backpack was strapped behind him, the sewing kit slung over his right shoulder. Quietly, he opened the doors of the alcove, placing two small figures beside Albert's pillow. His guardian's brow was etched with deep lines, as he slumbered in troubled sleep.
The marks of Edmond's forehead cast a soft pink glow upon the sleeping figure, as he bent down to give Albert one last kiss.
"I love you, Albert," Edmond whispered, closing the alcove doors. "Goodbye!"
One final look at his temporary home, and Edmond Dantes strode out the front door, closing it behind him with an irrevocable click.
~~~~~~~~~~
"Franz? Is that you?"
Albert was back in their childhood hideout, an old room at the top floor of an abandoned building. It was indeed Franz d'Epinay sitting at his work desk.
There was an expression of deep sorrow and disappointment on Franz's face as he asked in a condemning tone, "What have you done, Albert? Good lord! What…have you…done?"
"I love you, Albert. Goodbye."
Albert whirled to see Edmond standing at the bottom of the stairs with bags in hand. Giving him a sad, little smile, the older man started to walk away.
"No, Edmond! Wait!" he cried, as he realized in growing horror that his ward was going to leave him.
By the time Albert burst through the door, Edmond had already disappeared into the darkness.
"EDMOND!"
Albert sat bolt upright from his bed, his body cold and clammy with sweat. Rubbing his face with his hands, he mumbled, "It was just a bad dream, thank goodness!"
As he lowered his left hand, his fingers touched something that was lying beside his pillow. His bright blue eyes widened at the sight of the dolls of Franz and Eugenie. The Eugenie doll was as good as new, wearing a pretty red dress. In its arms, the doll carried two smiling baby dolls.
At that moment, Albert's phone began to ring. As he hastened to answer it, he saw that his computer was alerting him to a message with a bulky attachment coming from Janina.
"Hello? Albert Herrera speaking."
"Albert, is that you?" Albert recognized Louis d'Armilly's voice in an instant. "Sorry for calling you up this early, but there's someone here who wants to talk to you."
There was the sound of the phone being passed on to someone. Then, the weary voice on the other end brought a relieved sigh to Albert's lips. "Albert…"
"Eugenie!" Albert exclaimed in joy. "You have no idea how worried I was about you! How are you…and the baby?"
"We're fine, although at first, no one believed that we would survive." Eugenie then revealed, "A reporter called me up yesterday in New York. He told me about my father, and he was asking for a statement. The shock was too much for me."
"I could just imagine. I couldn't believe it when Lucien told me the details. I was about to contact you, but…"
"I heard that Judge Villefort passed away as well."
Albert's jaw hardened at the memory of the former judge's gruesome death. He did not tell his childhood friend what had happened to his father's grave. "The Count is to blame for all this. He and his insatiable desire for revenge…"
"I thought you had forgiven him. Lucien said that he was living with you," Eugenie asked in surprise. "All this time, you're still harboring a grudge against him?"
"Can you forgive him, Eugenie, knowing the terrible fate that your father had suffered?"
"Yes, Albert, I could, for it was my father who instigated the ruination of Edmond Dantes' life. If it were not the Count, it would've been someone else who would take revenge upon him. My father was an evil, greedy man. If he wasn't, he would never have forced his daughter into a marriage she never wanted."
There was a moment's pause. Eugenie then continued, "I owe the Count my life, and that of my child's. No, not just one child, but two. I have twins, Albert. All the doctors had given up on us, saying that we would die. But Edmond came to me in a vision. He told me that he would not let anything happen to me and my babies."
"You were under anesthesia, Eugenie," Albert argued. "It couldn't have been the Count. In fact, it was he who destroyed the doll that was made in your image. He has been using dolls, like a voodoo priest, to hurt those I care for."
"If he had destroyed my doll, then why am I still alive? Tell me, Albert. He repaired my doll, didn't he?"
Albert felt his skin crawl. If it was indeed Edmond's intention to kill Eugenie, he would never have fixed the doll.
"It wasn't me, Albert! I swear!" he remembered Edmond's words. "I was protecting Eugenie from the bad people who were trying to hurt her!"
Eugenie must have been troubled by Albert's sudden silence that she inquired, "Albert? Please tell me you did not do anything to the Count!"
"I'll call you back later, Eugenie," was all Albert could say as he put down the phone and went up to the attic. He was crestfallen to see the attic empty, the bedroll rolled up in the corner.
The dolls that Edmond had made sat primly on top of a box. Even the dolls of Baron Danglars, Justice Villefort and his father had been restored. The Fernand doll was holding a small note, on which was written, "I'm sorry, Albert. Goodbye."
Albert crushed the note in his right hand as he fell to his knees, weeping in remorse. "Heaven forgive me! What have I done to poor Edmond?"
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