Vision Of Escaflowne Fan Fiction ❯ Mark of a Goddess ❯ The Scream that Broke Everything ( Chapter 22 )

Chapter Twenty-Two

The Scream that Broke Everything

 

Featuring `Until the End of the World' by Apoptygma Berzerk

 

Hitomi ran like there was a demon after her through the labyrinth of the basement beneath the Dragon Slayer stadium. She ran, leaping over lazy kids who lay semiconscious in the hallways. She ran, kicking empty liquor bottles out of her way and stomping on cigarette butts. There was no way she'd get lost. Her left eye stopped her from making a mistake as long as she covered it with her hand as she ran. She merely had to take her fingers away and look around with it to make sure she was still on track. If she was pointed the right way, everything looked clear. If she was pointed the wrong way, everything looked fuzzy. It was a really simple system.

Finally, she came to the stairwell that led her up to the main level. As she took the stairs two at a time, she looked at her watch. It was eleven o' seven already. She ran into the atrium and grabbed the main doors that led into the arena.

Rattle. Rattle.

Damn it! They were locked! And there was no one around on the main level. She stared down two empty corridors. Everyone was wasted on the lower level. Well, one of these doors had to be open. She ran to the next set of doors and grappled the handles viciously to see if they would give.

Rattle. Rattle.

The frustration Hitomi felt was indescribable, but she told herself that she wasn't allowed to give up. Her husband's future was at stake as well as Folken's. She had to get inside and find out what happened. Her vision told her that Van hadn't slain Folken yet. She still had a chance to save them both. With that thought on her mind, she made herself run to the next entrance and the next one. Even though they were all locked, she made herself keep going. Maybe there was one of them that had accidentally been left unlocked.

It turned out that none of them had been.

She looked at her watch again. It was eleven twenty now. She'd spent thirteen minutes running around. The sweat was pouring down her face and her lungs were feeling tight. How could she get in there? Would she have to break down the doors? But her own powers weren't good for that sort of thing. She had darkness, ice, and water. She couldn't break down doors like Mamoru or Van. Just then, Hitomi suffered an instant where she desperately wanted to transform into Van, just to break the door down. But Mamoru had forbidden her. She crushed her fists into her forehead. What was she going to do?

She'd have to try the balcony, but what good would the balcony do her? She wouldn't be on the same level. She wouldn't be able to reach Van. He was in there with Folken. She knew it.

She rolled her shoulders and ran for the stairs. It couldn't be helped. Her breath was coming hard from the running and her brain was nearly breaking in anticipation of what she would find.

At the top, she ran between the seats down to the railing and then she saw what she had worked so hard to see - Van - deep wounds - blood - Van.

She fainted.

The world went black and she was lying on her back. Her hands felt like they were restrained, and her head was cradled by a damp pillow. Where was she? Was she having another kind of vision? Was she having a dream? She forced her eyelids to split open and she tried to focus until the world around her became clear. Then she saw it. Directly above her was a huge black spider. She wanted to jump, but for some reason her body didn't seem surprised at what it saw. It wasn't a spider. She was wrong. It was just so close to her eyes that she hadn't been able to see what it was clearly. It was a scorpion.

What? A scorpion? Why?

Then her vision went black again and she felt only a mild ache through her shoulders and hips. She wasn't lying in a bed after all, but lying on the floor of the balcony of the Dragon Slayer stadium. It took a moment for it to register in her head what exactly had happened. A Tarot user had just died and someone had received his or her powers. She had blacked out and fallen on the stiff concrete floor.

“Get up, Van!” a shrill feminine voice echoed through the air.

It roused Hitomi to full consciousness. Who was talking? She could only think of Van. Was he okay?

Hitomi pulled herself up using the balcony railing for support. Van was standing in the dirt. He had summoned a fireball and was holding it almost as a shield against Naria, was holding a whip of lightning.

Hitomi swallowed. It had to have been Dornkirk who had just been killed - not Van. It wasn't Van. Thank goodness! Besides, it couldn't have been Van who passed on his abilities. He didn't have an heir.

“Van!” she cried, trying to let him know that she was there.

Van didn't budge. He was staring Naria in the face, and Eriya was approaching as well - also cracking an electrical whip between her capable fingers. None of them showed that they were recovering from a Tarot vision. It seemed that they hardly saw it as a distraction.

Van was hurt. Hitomi hadn't imagined the blood. Four vertical stripes had been ripped across both of his cheeks. They were clearly scratches made by those two catty females. Van said he didn't like to be scratched back then when they fought him in the training gym in Dryden's mansion. He said that he would deal with it no matter what they did, as long as they didn't scratch him. Now they had taken his weakness and turned it on him so that he was livid. Not only that, but his clothes were ripped and he was bleeding from similar scratches across his back, his forearms and shoulders. His hair was wet and his chest was heaving from the exertion. It wasn't easy for him to fight two of them at the same time now that they apparently knew how to use their Tarot abilities.

Folken was standing at the other end of the room. Hitomi couldn't figure out why he wasn't interfering. What was happening?

“Folken!” Van shouted to his brother. “Order your little tigresses off me, or I might really hurt one of them.”

“You couldn't be responsible for that, could you, dear Van,” Naria said mockingly. She was circling around him, looking for the perfect place to pounce. “Taking responsibility isn't something the Dragon does, is it? You just play at being the hero while doing whatever you think is right. You execute your own judgment. Isn't that right?”

“How many buildings have you burned down in the name of the Abaharaki? How many people have suffered because of your selfish actions?” Eriya said tauntingly.

“Folken!” Van yelled again, refusing to take notice of them. But even though he did that, Hitomi knew that their words were hurting him. Van didn't want to involve other people in his personal struggles. That was what he had learned and what he had been saying for months. However, even Hitomi could see that he didn't care what Naria and Eriya thought of him. He wasn't going to take the time to explain his philosophy to them - not now. “Order them off!”

“I can't do anything about this, Van,” Folken said, his chin resting in his palm. He had massive violet rings below his eyes. Hitomi could almost feel how tired and sick he was, even at this distance. “I didn't ask them to do this. It's not my will they're following, but their own. They're not my servants.”

“Fine!” Van said between gritted teeth. Then he turned and addressed the two women, “Naria, Eriya, this is your last chance. I don't have time to screw around with you. I have no time left. You have to let me have it out with Folken. Now is my only chance!”

Hitomi looked at her watch. It was eleven twenty eight. Chid would be here at any moment! And Van wanted to fight Folken!

“Van!” Hitomi hollered at him a second time, but he didn't act like he heard her.

He was waiting for Naria and Eriya's answer.

“I can't let you kill Folken!” Naria scowled, moving in to attack Van.

“Do whatever you want,” Van growled. He narrowed his eyes coldly and extended his arms. Then without any further warning, he instantly summoned air like a sand storm. The dirt piles flew up in front of him like violent steam from a smoke stack, blowing Naria and Eriya away from him.

Hitomi turned away and covered her eyes. The sand was coming towards her too, and it was getting in her face. It was burning. She turned away to find a place to hide, but there was nothing. Hitomi's heart started to pound like she was in an emergency. Would the stadium be ripped to shreds over them? Would Van pull the roof down?

And then the storm died; just that quickly. It had been there and then it was gone.

Hitomi looked over the railing to see that Naria and Eriya had both been smashed against the ceiling of the arena and were now lying unconscious on the ground. At least, they looked unconscious - they might be dead.

Apparently, Van had the same idea, because he went up to each of them and checked their pulse.

“Van! What are you doing?” Folken said, actually getting angry enough to approach him. “Why did you do something reckless like that? You could have killed them both! And you aren't supposed to use air. It could trigger your wings.”

“Could it?” Van challenged as Folken menacingly covered the ground between them. Indeed, his wings had not sprung out of his back.

Folken paused.

“Why do you care what happens to me?” Van said coldly. “How dare you act like it matters when you made me an orphan … when you've tortured me! How could you possibly expect me to believe that you care for me? You just don't want me to hurt your last chance to pass on your Tarot abilities to an heir. Why should I protect what's important to you when you've worked so hard to take everything from me - even Hitomi? How dare you!”

Folken bent down and put his fingers to Naria's throat. “No. I don't expect anything from you. You're right. You don't owe me anything. I just don't want to see these girls get hurt. I didn't want them to fight you, but they wouldn't listen to me. They were so determined … like Hitomi last night and I couldn't bring myself to deny them. But you're right. Just take your vengeance out on me instead of them.”

“Don't be stupid. They had to move out the way. I had to remove them from the equation,” Van said grimly. He wiped the sand that was sticking to his wounds and rubbed his neck. “Are you ready? Do you have anything you want to say to me?”

Folken stood up and looked Van in the eye. “I thought the gun was empty--” he stammered.

“Save it!” Van said shortly. “I've heard that before.”

Hitomi's heart was in her throat. What was Van going to do? Was it truly Van's intention to murder his own brother? Did he seriously spend all that time soaking in water and not gain anything? What time was it? Would Mamoru be here soon? Hitomi bit her lip. This was terrifying and Van wasn't acknowledging her. She couldn't do anything!

“You were only a child back then,” Folken said. “Does it really hurt so much? Haven't you got over the pain of losing them yet? It's been almost twenty years,” Folken stuttered. Apparently, Folken wasn't able to keep his cool at a time like this, even when he believed that this was something he deserved.

Van stood with his fists clenched. “Shut up,” he said coarsely. “I guess I didn't come here to hear what you have to say about this. What you say and what you think hardly matter. Why did I even give you a chance to talk? I'm an idiot … However; I came here to do something … something that will set me free from hating you forever. Whether you appreciate what I've come to do for you or not is another matter. Frankly, I don't care. But you owe me the privilege of giving me this,” Van said, keeping his eyes steadily on Folken and not wavering. “Listen to me.”

Folken didn't nod, but simply stared.

Hitomi stood there and waited for what Van would say or do. What?

Van cleared his throat and all of a sudden, he began to do the most amazing thing. He began to sing. His voice was unsteady at first and it cracked.

 

All the weights that keep me down
Seem heavier than before
They hit me in my face
Though you feel nothing

Hitomi listened very carefully. This was very important. Van was using his brother's skill. Van had received Folken's blood and was therefore able to use his brother's Tarot abilities. Folken could do anything with his song and Van was giving the magic a try.

Just like when Folken sang, Van had a reason for singing. There was something that he was getting out of this. What was it? Van was talking about the pain that he suffered at losing his parents. He was talking about how much it hurt him, and how it didn't matter to him whether or not Folken cared about the sorrow he felt over their loss.

Van continued, his voice gaining power and energy, even though it was untrained and completely different from Folken's smooth tone.

Only time will heal you say
Your word's not therapy
That half of me is gone
My dearest treasure torn away

He was saying that there was nothing that Folken could say or do in order to make the pain go away. Hitomi cringed. Was there really nothing he could do?

Half of him was gone? Hitomi covered her mouth with her fingers. Van never expressed his feelings on this subject. Sometimes it came out in violent spurts, but never did he show the pain in this way - show that the hurt ran so deep.

Van paused, and seemed to clear his head and heart before he sang with strong conviction:

I'll stick with you until the end of the world
I cry out loud but you hear nothing
I'll wait for you until the end of the world
My dearest treasure torn away

“Van!” Hitomi cried. Literal tears fell down her cheeks. He was going to forgive him! Van had decided to forgive him! Whether Folken cared or not didn't matter.

Folken was staring at Van as he sang. His face didn't become distorted with emotion, but pearl tears slid down his cheeks. Folken looked like the dead, so ill and tired, but as the tears touched his skin - the radiance of life almost seemed to return to his flesh. He clenched his hands together and stepped closer to Van.

They didn't touch, but Van was figuratively embracing Folken by choosing to use one of his Tarot abilities. Van said that even using darkness made him feel dirty, but now he was using something unique to Folken - and it was powerful.

 

I'll stick with you until the end of the world
I cry out loud but you hear nothing
I'll wait for you until the end of the world
My dearest treasure torn away

 

Then there was a sound. It was directly below Hitomi. It took a second for her to recognize the sound. It was like the whirring of a blowtorch. Hitomi looked at her watch. It was exactly eleven thirty and Mamoru was below them. He was sizzling the hinges and melting the locks on the door below her. He'd taken a short cut that had not been available to Hitomi who lacked fire as an element.

“Van! Chid's HERE!” Hitomi managed to yell. “He's going to kill Folken!” Hitomi shrieked.

The doors flew off and Van grabbed Folken with both arms. He put his back between Folken and Mamoru.

“I'll stick with you until the end of the world!” Van screamed. He threw both arms around Folken and light broke forth from all around him. Hitomi wanted to look away because the strength of it was so concentrated, but she couldn't look away and abandon Van like that. It was blinding. She couldn't see Van, Folken, or Mamoru. She couldn't see anything. There was wind, there was rain, there was flying sand, lightning, there was passion, control, and the brightest of all lights. Hitomi had never seen an explosion of power like this before. There were rainbows forming in the air. There were feathers - black feathers falling from the ceiling - and odd little silver discs that Hitomi didn't recognize. What was she looking at?

The black circles of the void were appearing in the air. She could see Mamoru now. He had come from beneath where she was standing and he was taking paced steps towards Van and Folken. Hitomi saw his black hair curling in the wind as he came closer to the white ball of light that Van was creating. His dark wings stopped moving and they folded against his bare back - his shirt had clearly been torn to oblivion. He was carrying a scythe in his arms, but he wasn't holding it like he was preparing to strike.

Then suddenly, Mamoru turned and found Hitomi standing stationary on the balcony ledge. As he turned, Hitomi saw his tattoo. It was a blazing fiery sun and it was located exactly overtop of his own heart.

“Hitomi,” he called to her over the noise. “Did you decide this?” The wind was blowing through his hair and making him appear flawless as Hitomi looked down on him. He didn't do anything, except what was right. “Did you ask the Dragon to defend the Sorcerer like this? Did you?”

Hitomi shook her head.

Mamoru dropped one end of the scythe in the dirt and pointing at Hitomi, he asked her, “You know what he's done, don't you?”

The wind blew around Hitomi. She hadn't seen what Mamoru had done to Dornkirk. She knew that she could have seen it if she wanted to through her left eye, but she didn't like to see someone suffer like that - even when it was deserved. It had been bad enough for her to see what Dornkirk had done in the past. It was enough to know that the blood was avenged. She couldn't handle seeing justice prevail though - something in her made that impossible.

He was right though. She knew what Folken had been doing, and it was sickening. He was a liar, a cheat, and a cruel person who had tortured his own brother and helped to build a syndicate with one of the most vicious Tarot users ever born. However, she saw that his heart longed for change. She saw that his soul screamed for a chance to make amends. Dryden talked to her about how it healed him to apologize and attempt to make things right - and the joy of living properly. These were the things Folken wanted. He wanted a chance to fix things and Hitomi longed to give it to him. She wanted it so much that her tears were coming again.

“Do you want to offer him mercy?” Mamoru asked.

“Yes!” Hitomi cried, feeling that giving Folken mercy was what she wanted more than anything else in the world.

“Then it's done,” Mamoru said, and immediately, his scythe vanished and the dark angel who had stood there on the dirt piles was gone and only sunny, blond-haired Chid remained.

Even Van seemed to recognize the difference; perhaps he could see Mamoru through the blinding light he created, because the light diminished. The wind slowed and faded, and the absolute detonation of all eight of Van's elements slowly ebbed and again there was clear air in the arena.

Chid beckoned to Hitomi and showed her an easy way down to the centre of the stadium, so that she could be beside Van when his elements cooled. She made it down before he was even completely visible. There was still steam around him when she finally approached him and Folken.

Folken had fainted and was now lying in Van's arms.

Van had not been able to keep his power at bay when he moved to protect Folken and not only had he used all eight elements at once, but he hadn't been able to stop his black wings from splitting through his back. His shirt was ruined before, but now it was only clinging to his body by a sleeve. As Hitomi got closer, she saw that wasn't the only thing about him that was different. There were two long stripes worth of silverfish blue dragon scales. They started at his cheekbones and ran down his chest to his rib cage. Van had become part dragon!

Van was clutching Folken and his eyes were shut very tight - like he wasn't going to let go.

“Van,” Hitomi said quietly. “You can let go now. Folken has been saved. Chid won't hurt him now. You can relax.”

Van's shoulders loosened and he opened his eyes to look at Hitomi. “Did I save him?”

Hitomi looked around nervously. She wasn't sure how to answer that.

Chid came up behind Hitomi, who was now crouching beside Van. He plopped down in the sand and crossed his legs.

“Did I save him?” Van asked again. He was either asking Chid or he was asking Hitomi. It didn't matter which.

Hitomi stammered. She still didn't know how to answer.

“You both did,” Chid answered pleasantly.