Vision Of Escaflowne Fan Fiction ❯ Mark of a Goddess ❯ The Dragon vs. The Sorcerer ( Chapter 14 )

Chapter Fourteen

The Dragon vs. The Sorcerer

 

Featuring `Give me a Reason' by Endanger

 

The drive to the stadium was really lonely for Hitomi. She turned on the radio, but she couldn't focus; it all just sounded like blaring noise to her. However, no matter how it rattled her nerves, she couldn't turn it off. If she turned it off, she would be alone with her own thoughts and feelings. She'd remember Van's voice screaming for her and then she might start to think that she'd made the wrong decision by choosing to do this.

She drove Van's black convertible to the stadium, because there was nothing else for her to take. Yeah, just like she'd taken his clothes, coat, hat, sunglasses - she'd even snatched his underwear. Normally, when she wore Van's clothing, she felt his love for her bubbling up through the fabric, but this time she felt like she'd really betrayed him, and so his clothes weren't performing their regular magic trick for her.

When Hitomi arrived at the stadium it was seven-forty-five, and there was a huge lineup to get in the front doors. She parked the car and locked the doors before she pulled her ball cap a little further down over her forehead. Then she got in line. There were bouncers at the doors. Hitomi was looking at them furiously hoping that neither of the guards were bouncers that had previously questioned her at The Voltage Room. She couldn't transform into Folken until she was able to look him in the eye. She didn't want to be mistaken for him and called off somewhere. That wouldn't work at all.

It was a cold night, and there were rare snowflakes falling from the sky like tiny white stars. Her breath was chilly and the members of the Dragon Slayers were standing too close to her. They probably thought that she was one of them.

When it was her turn to pass the guards, she slipped in without any trouble. She was so small compared to the noisy half-drunk teenage boys that she went in with. The corridor that led into the seating area was one she had seen before. She knew the doors to the left led to the hallway that she had personally destroyed. When she entered the main hall, she saw that there was balcony seating as well as the seats on the main level. The place was very full, but the seats closest to the floor were not taken. That seemed strange to Hitomi. Shouldn't they want to be as close to the action as possible? That was what she thought as she moved to get a seat close to the podium.

When Hitomi got closer, she saw that Dilandau wasn't the man MCing the night's festivities. Instead, it was Folken. A couple of guys were standing near him and wearing obvious guns, but other than that, Naria and Eriya were no where to be seen. For some reason, Hitomi thought that there was a chance that she might meet them here. Folken was sitting on a wooden crate on the stage. He looked exhausted. Even from that distance, Hitomi could see blue/black circles under his eyes and, it might have been her imagination, but his usually spiky hair looked like it almost drooped. His shoulders hung heavy as if he was very tired and his back was sloping. He took a flask from behind the crate and took a drink. What was wrong with him?

Then Hitomi saw band members carrying machinery up to the stage and setting up. It looked like there was going to be a concert that night.

The rest of the stadium was done up like they were planning on having motorcycle races. The piles of dirt were high. Hitomi looked at them and wondered if they would be hard to walk on when the time came for her to confront Folken … in front of all these people. She caught herself looking at his feet and wondering if his shoe size was the same as Van's. She hoped so, or else this might be uncomfortable, like it had been uncomfortable for her to drive and walk in Van's shoes. Big shoes to fill and Hitomi's little girl feet didn't have a chance.

The events weren't going to start until eight-thirty, so Hitomi had a chance to look around the room at the Dragon Slayers. Mostly, they just looked like kids from her high school who were clearly misguided. They drank too much, and smoked too much, and from the smell of them, got too excited when there was something more expensive to experiment with. They smelled ghastly.

Finally, the lights went out and Folken was standing in a spot light talking to the crowd.

“Thank you all for coming tonight, even though it's cold out,” he started. Then he outlined the program. They'd start with motorcycles.

Now was Hitomi's chance to transform into Folken and confront him. The usually noisy Dragon Slayers were quiet while listening to Folken. He clearly had more of their respect than Dilandau.

She closed her eyes and focused on transforming into Folken. She thought about Folken's eyes; reddish brown. His hair - getting longer in the back. His age - thirty two. His tattoo - The Crow. His voice - majestic and gorgeous. His magic - trickery. His body was coming into focus for her. She could feel it, but she could also feel that something was terribly wrong. When she completed the transformation, she was coughing and even in the blackness of the stadium, she could taste the copper flavour of blood in her mouth. She didn't need to see the blood. Folken was hurt! His body was broken! His back felt like it had been torn through the shoulder blades. It felt like all the ribs in his body were broken and bruised. The man was a mess! Such pain! No wonder he slumped his shoulders and looked miserable and was drinking something mysterious. He was coping marvelously … but unfortunately, Hitomi was not. She was coughing uncontrollably and her eyes were blurring. She couldn't detach herself enough from the pain to decipher Folken's feelings. The only thing she could feel was the pain.

Hadn't they given him Van's blood to cure him? This pain she felt had to be leftover wounds from the time he had grown crow wings. If they had given him Van's blood, wouldn't that have cured him? Didn't Van tell her that Folken was all healed? Had Folken sprouted his wings again since the first time? Or did Van's blood not work? Why was he hurt?

By this point, only one thing was clear to Hitomi and that was that she could not face Folken bearing his pain. It was impossible. It was too much for her.

She crushed her eyelids together and tried to think of what she could do instead. She could approach him as Van. Van couldn't be broken. He was undefeatable, and if she spoke with Van's mouth and offered Folken forgiveness and a chance at redemption, she knew that would work. It had to work.

Not only that, but Van was in perfect health. He was always in perfect health.

She closed her eyes and became The Dragon. It came to her easily, almost like the Van inside of her was dying to have his chance. Once she gave her body the go, Van came alive in her and she stood up and yelled to Folken across the crowded room, “Brother!”

Folken's eyes narrowed as he looked towards Hitomi, then he indicated for another spot light to find Van in the midst of the Dragon Slayers.

“I've come to have it out with you!” Hitomi found herself yelling. She meant for it to sound differently - kindly, but instead it sounded like a challenge to do battle.

Folken clutched the microphone in his hand like he couldn't stand the sight of his younger brother. It was like he was looking Death in the eyes. He nodded with his weary, broken body and said strongly to the assembly, “Change of plans. We'll start with the concert and then do the motorcycle challenge afterwards. You're all in for a fantastic treat. Along with the concert, you'll also get to witness the all out battle of The Dragon and The Sorcerer. I hope you all came sober, because this isn't something you're going to want to miss. Come down, Van - let's fight!” Folken dropped the microphone and it made a horrible sound as it hit the stage floor. It was almost deafening to everyone in the stadium.

Hitomi covered Van's ears. She was about to yell something back to Folken about how they weren't going to fight each other, they were just going to talk, when suddenly, the Dragon Slayers around her all gathered together and pounced on her.

They grabbed Van's body and lifted him up all together above their shoulders. There were not enough people in the front rows to body surf, but the people who picked her up carried her to the edge of the stadium walls and threw her over in one swift motion into the dirt.

Hitomi had screamed and had got a mouthful of dirt - very humiliating.

Folken ordered half of the lights on - the ones for the motorcycle tournament, so that the arena was lit while the bleachers were drenched in darkness.

Hitomi got up and spat the dirt out of her mouth as she imagined Van would have done, but she knew that he wouldn't have landed on his face in the first place. He would have landed on his feet. She needed to take advantage of his differences from herself. She needed to take advantage of his speed and strength and his way of speaking that made everyone bow to his logic. Even Folken couldn't help but bow to Van's logic when properly applied … right?

Folken was getting ready to fight her. One of his men was strapping a microphone to the back of his pants and running a wire up to his ear. The microphone and earpiece were taped to his cheek. Apparently, he didn't want to risk it coming off. He was also drinking whatever was left in his flask and asking one of his minions to fill it up again.

Looking at him through Van's eyes, Hitomi could feel Van's hate for Folken rising up in her. He wanted to spill his blood. He wanted to break his bones. He wanted to tear him limb from limb so that there was nothing left for even the birds to eat. Hitomi had never felt such hate, but she had to control the Van inside her if she was going to settle everything the way she dreamed. She breathed deeply to try to relax him, but instead it felt like it only prepared him for what he wanted to do.

Finally, Folken stepped onto the dirt. He was taping his wrists like a boxer and stretching his arms and back. Hitomi knew how much that probably hurt him and watching him made her wince.

“I didn't come here to fight with you,” Hitomi forced herself to say as she approached him. “I came here to talk to you.” She tried to say it nicely, but again, Van's will was too strong in her and it came out all wrong.

Folken looked at Van and then gave the signal for the band to start. “Van, you don't have to pretend that you're here for something other than an all-out fight. I know you've wanted at my throat for a long time, but if you hesitate because of pleasantries, you'll lose to me.”

Then without any further warning, Folken started singing, and the band started playing.

Oh crap! If he sang, Hitomi didn't know what sort of magic he would be able to call up. Not even Dryden knew what he was capable of.

 

Give me a reason
Give me the power to survive
Make me believing
Everything will be all right

 

Folken suddenly jabbed at her, and if it weren't for Van's reflexes she would have gotten it in the face.

Hitomi pulled off her sunglasses and ball cap and threw them aside. “No, Folken, you're not listening to me. I really didn't come here to fight. I want to talk to you about what happened with Mom and Dad. We don't have to be enemies!” Hitomi panted, jumping out of the way of another of Folken's swings. “Look, I know you're hurt,” Hitomi continued. “You shouldn't fight if you're hurt. Have a little consideration for you body! You're a mess!”

Folken looked at her funny, but continued singing to the ecstasy of all the little Dragon Slayers listening. They were all Folken fans through to the bone. They loved his voice and loved to hear him sing anything. They were screaming at the pleasure of watching him fight and sing at the same time. For them, it was like the ultimate form of entertainment.

 

Turn out the light
Don't see me worry
I never wanted to decide

 

With Folken's words, the lights in the stadium flicked out to perfect darkness. Did the lights really turn out or was this darkness one of the things Folken could do with his element? It somehow seemed different, because not only did the lights turn out, but the Dragon Slayers were silent, also. He couldn't have ordered them to be quiet; they were losing their minds for him. He was their hero.

Then Folken's singing voice came perfectly through the pitch. His steps were soft on the dirt as he walked evenly towards Hitomi. He sang:

But we both know this endless story
We've seen it all the black and white

Hitomi couldn't see him, but Van seemed to be able to feel his movements. When the verse was over, Folken kicked the dirt between them so that it flew up into Van's eyes. Even with Van's reflexes, she hadn't expected it and didn't protect herself at all.

Then she got one fist in the face. His lip split against his teeth and she tasted Van's blood instead of Folken's. The impact knocked her brain against the walls of her skull and the Van in her retaliated. He snapped his fingers before Hitomi could think and called up a globe of fire by which to see and to attack. Van's fingers sent it flying in Folken's direction - like he was the center of a target used for practice, but Hitomi interceded at the last moment and forced him to miss Folken by a hair.

“Folken! It doesn't have to be like this!” Hitomi persisted. Then she used Van's left hand and called up a flame like a torch. She wanted to be able to see Folken's face. “We don't have to be enemies. You don't have to be part of the Zaibach group. I know it's impossible for us to go home together all happy like nothing has happened, but I know there's a chance for things to be different. You could quit being a mafia bastard and I could stop trying to kill you. There has to be a way for us to be friends again.”

The darkness was thick, almost like black fog. It surrounded Folken's face, and the yellow flame flickered in his eyes and made them appear gold. The look she got from Folken was one of utter bewilderment. The expression on his face was a perfect, “What the fuck?” Then he attacked again. “You're talking nonsense!” he muttered between set teeth, but he couldn't say much because his next lines in the song were coming up.

Tell me what is to come that I should be waiting
Yes, what is to come that I should stay
Now is the time I am awakened
Now is the time I'm letting go

Hitomi listened to his words, trying to understand what spell he was weaving, but it wasn't coming to her easily. Hitomi was trying to do too much in this fight, and she couldn't keep everything together. It was becoming too much. She had to remember her goal. She had to convince Folken that there was a chance for him and Van to be reconciled, if not best friends, or loving brothers. She had to avoid his punches. She had to stop Van from fighting back. She had to figure out what magical advantage Folken was getting out of the song he was singing.

Fine, that came first. What the hell was he getting out of the song?

Folken put his hands forward and heightened the darkness, extinguishing her flame. In the darkness he sang again and this time Hitomi could hear the crowd and see the tinges of the lights above. The sound of the crowd was soft, almost like their screaming was very far away.

Hitomi started running. It was a pity that Van hadn't learned how to use light. If he had, then this darkness would be nothing. She would send it scattering, but instead, she had only Van's fire to turn it aside, and frankly - it was not enough - without going too far. Her only consolation was that Folken's other element, air, could not be used without summoning his wings.

 

Give me a reason
Give me the power to survive
Make me believing
Everything will be all right

Just give me a reason

I try to hold my head up high
Although I'm feeling
This story will never turn out fine

 

Hitomi opened her eyes and tried to find Folken in the dark fog. She understood now. The song was giving him the power to fight Van. Hitomi didn't need to change into Folken to learn that he was terrified of Van's power, and that this was the only way he knew how to keep his fear in check. Could this have been the reason why he wanted Van locked up?

In this moment of understanding, Folken took complete advantage of Hitomi's hesitation. He appeared out of what seemed like the middle of nowhere and kicked her in the stomach. Hitomi doubled over, but the Van in her - his pride was too much to allow himself to be defeated so easily, so he made her stand. But, no matter how strong his will, he couldn't force her to stop cradling his stomach with his arms.

“Folken, you're my brother,” she started to say. “I know there's something good in you.”

Turn out the light
Don't see me worry
I never wanted to decide
But we both know this endless story
We've seen it all the black and white

“I know there's some good left in you!” Hitomi hollered. She tried to snap Van's fingers to call up another flame, but his fingers were too sweaty. “You are `The Crow', you are supposed to understand the balance of life. That is supposed to mean that you can't be a hundred percent evil. You've been misguided and racked with guilt for so long that you think you don't deserve to have that kind of life, but you can't go on this way. You'll die!” Hitomi yelled again, Van's voice sounding strong and confident as Hitomi snapped his fingers wildly trying to call up more fire.

A second ticked on the clock. Why wasn't Folken attacking?

Hitomi's own anger was raging now, and she snapped Van's fingers hard enough to call up a fireball between his hands. It was bright enough now that she could see Folken. He was standing by the stage, taking another drink from his canteen.

“I couldn't hear you, Van,” Folken said gloatingly. “You'll have to try again if you want to reach me.”

He was laughing. The bastard was laughing and Van inside her was biting his bleeding lip and steaming with rage.

“Then, come on!” Hitomi yelled, getting caught up by Van's overwhelming feelings.

Folken waved his hand at her and the most impossible thing happened, a gust of wind rolled along the dirt piles across the space between them and blew Hitomi's fireball out of her hands and onto the ground. Hitomi wasn't sure what was burning, but the light from the fire lit the room enough for her to see Folken.

He was cracking his knuckles and coming towards her.

If there's something to say
Don't keep me waiting
If there's something to say
Please let me know
Now is the time I am awakened
Now is the time I'm letting go

“You'll have to tell me something real in order to get my attention,” he said harshly.

Hitomi wanted to repeat what Folken said he hadn't heard, but she wasn't sure that he hadn't heard it. Was that just a way for him to make fun of Van or had he honestly not been listening to her? The fog was deep and sound wasn't travelling well. Hitomi was wracking her brain thinking of what only Van would know to be a true reason why things should change. She was searching for something she had not already said. Van's logic … that was what she was searching for, but it wasn't coming. The Van inside her was too angry for him to give counsel. She wasn't Van and Van wasn't going to forgive Folken.

Then Folken's voice came again. This time it was stronger. He seemed to be gaining energy and accumulating power. The song was giving him the strength to do things that would normally be impossible for him. He was wounded and weakened, but the words and magic of the song gave him the ability to run, to punch, to kick and to not be hindered by the pain in his back or in his heart. The song was giving him the ability to call up wind - the element that Van wouldn't let her summon when she transformed into him just in case it made wings come out.

Give me a reason
Give me the power to survive
Make me believing
Everything will be all right
Just give me a reason
I try to hold my head up high
Although I'm feeling
This story will never turn out fine

 

Hitomi was trying to find the answer he was looking for … something real she could say to him that would stop their fight, but instead the song suddenly ended and the only sounds in the stadium were those of the chanting Dragon Slayers.

“Kill him! Kill him! Kill him!”

Had the Dragon Slayer spectators been watching the whole thing? Hadn't they seen the fog? Wasn't the stage just a blurry black ball for them as it had been for her?

Hitomi was still thinking when Folken went in for the kill. He kneed her in the stomach, and as she was bent over him, he elbowed her in the back. She fell to the ground and he kicked her twice more in the ribs.

The pain!

The tears were coming and the world was blacking out, and just as she covered Van's body with her hands to protect herself from another kick Folken stopped. He was standing over her staring.

“Holy shit!” he exclaimed, pulling his earpiece clean off his face. “Hitomi!”

She moaned in pain. Her cover was blown. She hadn't been able to maintain Van's appearance after those excruciating kicks. Folken saw her!

Folken dropped to his knees in the dirt beside her. “Hitomi, what the hell are you doing here? What did you think you could accomplish? Bloody Hell! What would Akira say if she saw what I did to you? Get up!”

Hitomi tried, but the pain in her body was a little much for her.

Folken called one of his men over, “Dallet. Pick up this girl and take her to my upstairs office. I need to talk to her. Don't lay one unnecessary finger on her or that'll be the end of you. You're lucky I'm letting you touch her.”

“Is she like Naria and Eriya?” the boy called Dallet asked. “Is that why she's special?”

“You just saw the trick she pulled, didn't you? It wasn't me that made Van appear in the stadium. Now get moving!” Folken ordered. Hitomi saw him walk in long heavy strides, like he was totally revitalized by their fight and take the stage again. He picked up his fallen microphone and started explaining to the crowd that it was a mistake.

Hitomi felt Dallet's arms around her. He was clumsy. Hopefully, he wouldn't drop her on the way to the office. She still believed that Folken was not a terrible man, even though he had just beaten the crap out of her. He looked genuinely sorry when he saw the real her. She believed that now that he knew she was there, she would be safe and they would still be able to work things out rationally. Maybe she should have been direct, like he had told her it was okay for her to be before. Maybe she should have just shown up at The Voltage Room by herself one night and asked to speak with him … but then he'd removed her name from his guest list. The bouncers probably wouldn't let her in.

Folken sure was a confusing guy, or maybe her brain was still a little rattled.