Vision Of Escaflowne Fan Fiction ❯ Mystic Wings ❯ Black Wings ( Epilogue )

Epilogue

Black Wings

 

Folken watched Dilandau run a hand through his now silver hair. His fingers weren't steady. He was trembling. The ashes from his cigarette were falling on the carpet and making burn marks. The late afternoon sun came in through the window blinds of Folken's private office in long yellow stripes. The clouds had parted and it had stopped snowing, just for long enough for the sun to set. It was almost the darkest time of year.

 

Folken shook his head. He always knew that Dilandau would be unstable if something like this ever happened concerning Celena. Dilandau was an excellent gopher, but without his woman neatly secured, he was likely to go off the deep end. Folken had kept him under tight control for over a week, but Dilandau's condition was quickly deteriorating. Folken thought he would be dead soon. It wasn't that Folken particularly wanted to save his life. If the teenager actually did die, it would probably hurt Folken's conscience later on, but at this moment, Folken cared so little about what happened to the fur ball that if he didn't stop coming unglued soon, Folken would take the matter into his own hands - and Folken didn't like getting his hands dirty.

 

Folken had held Dilandau at bay, but now that Hitomi had rejected him, there was no reason to restrain him another minute. Now, Folken felt confident setting Dilandau loose and giving him a chance to get his woman back.

 

“It's time,” Folken said, approaching the young man who was practically decomposing in Folken's armchair. “If you want to go after The Dragon and to get your woman back - go ahead.”

 

“You're not going to try to stop me?” Dilandau asked incredulously. He looked like he didn't believe that Folken meant it.

 

“Yeah, go ahead. Do whatever you want,” Folken said darkly, and at this second, he didn't care if Hitomi was caught in the crossfire. An unchecked Dilandau might end up doing anything. It was possible that she might get hurt. Well, if she was, it was her fault for sticking to Van so closely. Folken wouldn't do anything to protect her unless … well, he hadn't exactly given up on her. Dornkirk said that they had to get Van back, and Folken betted that Hitomi was the best person to lead them to him. Since she loved him so much! Folken felt something uncomfortable in his throat as he thought about it. How sick! She was a kid. She didn't know what love was. If she changed her mind and came back to him, he'd show her what Van never could. But things had to be done in order.

 

First, Van had to be returned to their treatment facility. The one he was in before was trashed, along with most of their research, but there was a new building being built now, made specifically to house him. Dornkirk said he was close to learning some things about Tarot genetics, and Folken had decided to help him. That's right - he decided. It wasn't something he could go back on now. The building would be built quickly. It was being built with syndicate money - so a lot of it. The Zaibach Group could pay for anything.

 

After Van was carefully tucked away again, Celena would have to be brought back to Dilandau. When they'd had Allen captured, Dilandau had been able to get what he wanted out of her. Getting Celena back would definitely bring Dilandau back down to earth, or back up from hell. Dilandau wouldn't be allowed to rampage out of control on a continual basis - just until Van was locked up again.

 

Van locked up? Folken liked the idea more and more as he thought about it. It had been nice to have The Dragon out of commission. Folken felt a lot freer knowing that they wouldn't cross paths. Van was always trying to kill him, and it made Folken uncomfortable to walk around unprotected. He might be The Sorcerer, but that didn't mean he had eyes in the back of his head. It was hard for him to admit the truth, but something happened to make him doubt himself. After Van's blood was put in him he was a lot different. Once, when he was angry with one of his subordinates he happened to snap his fingers and when realized that he summoned a flame - he realized something else - something else that he would only admit in one of his more honest moments. Van was more powerful than he was. Van's powers were fading from him more and more with each passing day. It was painful to admit, in more ways than one, but Folken wasn't as strong as Van and he knew it.

 

Folken was an unusual creature and he prided himself on it. He had his moments where he thought he'd like to hurt Van, but that was as destructive as he ever got towards his younger brother. Folken could never kill Van. There was just something there inside him that wouldn't allow it. He simply couldn't kill Van. Yet, Van didn't seem to have the same feelings and Folken knew that the next time they met, Van would kill him. Folken crushed his eyes together in sorrow at the thought. He wouldn't be able to fight Van and one blow from The Dragon might send him into the next world. Folken didn't want to die, and he didn't want to fight Van, so he was sending Dilandau to do his dirty work.

 

And there was Hitomi. Why had he pulled back? She had been completely under his power. He could just have easily started another song and taken her out of the school, back to his place and then he could have made her contract bound without another word on the subject. However, when he had her sitting in his lap … he couldn't do it, and he stopped singing. She was a child. She was so much like Akira, except Akira didn't look innocent and Hitomi did. No matter how much Hitomi tried to do the `I'm a rebel' act, she just looked like a frightened child to Folken.

 

“I'm not a rape artist,” was what he'd told Dornkirk when he asked Folken why he hesitated.

 

“There's no one else,” Dornkirk had reminded him.

 

“I know,” Folken admitted dryly.

“There may not be anyone else. Do you want The Dragon to get ahead of you?” Dornkirk asked.

 

Folken still remembered the distain in his master's voice, but Folken gritted his teeth and answered properly, “I must have her consent when she's awake and herself.”

 

“You still believe you can get that?”

 

Folken smiled and left the room, “If I can't then I won't have her. That's all there is to it. Like I said, I don't rape little girls.”

 

That's what Folken said, that he wanted her consent, but he didn't know how to approach Hitomi. It seemed so weird and stupid. He told her that the age difference didn't matter, but it did matter. She was from an entirely different generation. He was almost old enough to be her father, and he didn't know what to do for her. In his experience with women, a show of money was all it took to get what he wanted. Sometimes it took even less. There were always scores of women at his concerts who wanted to be with him. He had never perfected his `seduction act'. It hadn't been necessary. His only idea had been to use his song - which was a cop-out for him. That was what he used in desperate situations when he had to have his way. He would rather be smart, and having to use it with her was … well, pathetic. He first wanted to see if she'd fall for a Van look alike, but she hadn't. She knew the difference. The second try was for him to offer her knowledge about her gifts. Neither idea had worked. He had been at the school for a while watching Hitomi to see if he could figure out a way to get through to her romantically. As he watched her, she didn't even seem interested in the boys there. It was like she thought they weren't good enough for her. She was even friends with the two most popular boys, Dryden and Amano, but neither of them got anywhere with her, even though it looked like they were both trying in their own ways.

 

When Folken was at the school observing Hitomi, he didn't develop any feelings for her. It was almost the opposite. He didn't like where she was in her life. She was a high school student - a girl - a child. The list went on. In her defense she seemed far better than most of them intellectually. Physically, she looked too young. Her eyes were too tame. Folken couldn't envision her as his mate. He wanted a `woman'. He wanted someone curvy and tall and luscious, with an intellect like a razorblade and a way of holding a wine glass. He envisioned a woman who was not only the perfect thing for him to have on his arm, but also the perfect person to let into his head. He was an ordinary Tarot user, as in he wanted to have someone who was like him, but even though Hitomi was a Tarot user, she just wasn't it. When he thought about it more analytically, he knew that someone under the age of twenty-five just wouldn't cut it.

 

However, it was just as Dornkirk said - there was no one else. Hitomi was the only Tarot user who received her powers after Folken and Van.

 

Folken had deluded himself into believing that if he could get Hitomi to fall in love with him, then it would be different. At least if she was attracted to him, then it would be bearable for him to be with someone so raw and inexperienced. But, Hitomi said she was in love with Van - well wasn't that nice? For Van. Here Folken always sighed. The theory about Van having strong luck was definitely true. He did have all the luck.

 

Dilandau was getting up from his chair. “Then I'm going. I don't want them to wait too long for me. My son … I don't want him to wait.” Dilandau was lurching to the door like he was out of control, but Folken knew he wasn't drunk. He was entitled to go a little insane when his pregnant girlfriend was kidnapped by his archenemy.

 

“Don't forget to bring The Dragon back with you, or at least someone who will make him come visit us,” Folken reminded Dilandau.

 

“Keeping hostages worked last time, but do you think it will work again?” Dilandau asked, his voice scratched.

 

Folken balanced a long silver pen on the back of his hand, and answered smoothly, “I guess that depends who you get.”

 

“Hitomi?” Dilandau questioned, his eyes looking redder and more vicious than ever.

 

“I'll leave that up to you,” Folken said, turning away. He heard the door click shut after Dilandau left. The pen Folken had been playing with slid off his knuckles and rolled across the desk. When it fell on the floor, Folken didn't move to get it.

 

Folken would have to give Dilandau a chance and see if he could rein Van in. Folken doubted it, but he couldn't go himself. He might get into a fight with Van where they ended up using their powers against one other, and then it would be dangerous for him. If Folken used too much power and his wings broke through his back again - it would kill him. Van's blood or no - it would kill him.