Ollen70: Here it it at last. Sorry for the wait.

Disclaimer: I don't own Visions of Escaflowne or the characters therein. *sigh*


Chapter Fifteen - - These things we hold closest


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Brightest truth, purest trust in the universe - -
all were for me in the kiss of one girl. Robert Browning

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What it was that had happened in the dark void past the golden gate to the mystic valley, Folken couldn't have said. He could hear small bits of the conversations between Naria and Eriya, but it was so intermixed with static that it was unintelligible. All he could discern was that whatever was happening, it was not at all good.

Great cracks were starting to appear around the rim of the golden portal, while the light it housed was starting to flicker and pulsate, beating in distress like a heart in panic. The two tiering guymelefs he'd designed for the leopard twins exited, but he had no time to feel relief for that. As soon as they were clear of the portal, it shattered.


The hours it took to repair the Vione passed all in a moment for Folken. Somehow Naria and Eriya had survived the fall of the mystic valley with no injuries, but the greatest sense of abatement came when one of the sorcerers contacted him not thirty minutes later. The short, thickset man peered from the view screen, eyes impossibly wide.

He said in a stretched and breathless voice, We've captured the dragon.

Folken started, unable to form any other thoughts or to even finish
the sentence. The man wouldn't have let him anyway, he soon realized.

We don't know, really. It appeared here in the light, along with the girl, the prince, and the knight of Asturia. In a matter of moments, we'll begin dismantling the guymelef. The Vione is to be called back to the Fried, for it seems the Destiny Prognostication Device will be active by the setting of the sun. All our efforts have paid off, my lord. It's finally happening.

The man deactivated the screen then, which was just as well. Folken's reaction wouldn't have been what the other sorcerer would have expected anyway. If the destiny machine was ready, that was good, but it paled in comparison to this other revelation he'd come by inadvertently. Van was alive.

Heading through the dark veins of the fortress, he smiled wryly to himself. Van would not stay in the hands of the sorcerers for long. They may believe that he was under control, but they would be taken by surprise again. Even Dornkirk was underestimating the young king now, if he thought that Van would sit idly by and let them dismantle the Escaflowne. There was some connection between Van and the Draconians and the Escaflowne, and if they were not very, very careful from here on out, that connection could easily become the undoing of the Zaibach empire.

Not two days afterward, when everything Folken assumed had come to pass, the young sorcerer made for the higher reaches of the fortress. It was an important moment, now that he'd received an extensive briefing from the Emperor, and his spirits were high. He had an opportunity to fulfill his task at last, and all the while keep Van, Naria, and Eriya totally out of harm's way.

On the conference floor of the Vione, Folken soon found himself before General Adelfous, the hated Iron general, and the Platinum general, who cast Folken a friendly glance despite the air of seriousness all around them. The screen in the room displayed the Escaflowne and the strange girl that Folken had now grown very wary of. In her hands was an odd trinket, a pendant with a small, reddish stone that glittered even in the rendering of the screen. The picture was shown several times before Adelfous rose, every inch the authority in the chamber.

"Folken, did you know of this? Did you know that the dragon would be our greatest obstacle in the path of Zaibach's unification? Did you?" He didn't wait for an answer, nor did he pay any mind to Folken's expression of disdain. "Emperor Dornkirk's destiny machine has spoken. The dragons will gather and descend upon us." The destiny screen muted and changed, revealing hundreds of guymelefs that looked identical to the Escaflowne. Green shafts of light soared from the energists on their shoulders. Their targets were the fleets of Zaibach and the floating fortresses, which stood no chance against the coming dragons.

Emperor Dornkirk's vision still gives us time to act. Folken said, eliciting the attention of all three men at once. It has been proven time and again that the dragon cannot be captured by any means that we posses. Giving them a moment to process his words, he drummed his metal fingers idly on the table, enjoying the Iron general's obvious discomfort at the sound.

So then, he finished at last, Our only course of action would be to separate the dragon and the girl. If they are a part, neither will be a threat to us.

Are you sure that you are skilled enough to do what none of us have been able to, lad? It was the Iron general who'd said it. The animosity between them had by no means died away in ten years, and it must have worn on the older general to know that the man he hated was now his superior. In fact, Folken sometimes took pains to remind him of that.

Indeed I do, general. Now that we know the connection between the girl and the guymelef, success is within our reach.

Adelfous gave them both dark looks before he made his way to the door.

For all our sakes, I hope so.

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Are you ready?

Yes, Lord Folken.

Folken took the leopard girl in his arms, smiling benevolently down on them. The destiny device in Dornkirk's lab hummed almost pleasantly beneath their feet as they drew even closer together, surrounded by a faint light from the metal dias they stood on.

Eriya's eyes were brighter than Folken could remember them being as she looked up at him, a smile of her own forming.

T-minus thirty seconds to activation of the fate accelerator. A voice called from a console nearby. Folken nodded dimly, anxious for these things to be underway.

The stage is set. The cast assembled. Now's the time to change the vector of her heart. Commence alteration.

Altering fate. The voice echoed eerily through the room, rebounding off the walls and growing stronger for a moment before receding again. The light grew stronger and Folken stepped back for a moment.

Remember, focus on nothing but me. He said, his own thoughts totally fixed on the young girl before him. He stretched out his hands, watching as she took them in her own.

He said at last.

Was her reply, and he noticed that for a fleeting instant, there was something else in her eyes that largely resembled pain.

Target value's been reached. The voice called.

Folken said again, drawing Eriya back into his arms.

Come! Show me! This voice belonged to Dornkirk, his eyes fixed on the destiny screen. Show me the gravity of fate that draws one to another! Show me the fate, the principles and the precepts that so govern the choices of this world! Show me what I seek!

For a brief moment, the light began to waver and fade, and at once Folken brought Eriya far enough away that he could gaze down at her again.

Release your mind of all worldly thought, Eriya. He told her, with the sinking feeling that he knew exactly what worldly thoughts bound her.

But Lord Folken...

Think only of me, with all your heart. I know you can do it.

Lord Folken. This time, her words held no plea nor excuse. Her thoughts were on him, as fully and absolutely as they could ever be. Strange as it was, he suddenly found that he had to fight not to think of Delleva.

Fate accelerator's particles have reached critical. Now uniting elements. The voice was tinged with excitement.

He whispered plaintively.

Came her response, and their lips drew closer together. When they met, Folken felt it all the way through his body, felt Eriya, but thought of *her*. And, what was worse, he didn't know why. He heard Dornkirk say something, but it wasn't important to him just then. All that mattered was this closeness that he knew he had to make himself understand now, or it would be gone and he wouldn't ever be able to retrieve it.

Far away, deep inside of him, he admitted to himself that he'd just destroyed his brother's one chance at happiness. Maybe, the forefront of his mind replied coolly, but at least he's alive. That was more than what he would have if he were happy.


Leaving the sparring room of the Vione, Folken prepared himself for the final stage of the mission. He'd done all he could, given Naria and Eriya every edge that was scientifically or existentially possible, and now, ironically, all he could do was trust fate. The twins were in the process of receiving enhanced fortune blood, an innovation created by the biological knowledge of the other sorcerers, Folken's mechanical prowess, and Dornkirk's genius regarding the gravity of fate. Every other experiment, including Dilandau's creation, the destiny prognostication device and the conception of the guymelefs had in some way contributed to the process the two girls now underwent, though when Folken had first explained the procedure to them, they hadn't been particularly interested.

Not that he could necessarily blame them. He didn't deign to stay and watch the transfusions because they reminded him heavily of the similar tubes that had been run into his own flesh after the loss of his arm, and those were memories he relived often enough in the nights.

After their new blood was in place, the twins would be unstoppable. The girl would be in their custody, the destiny device would be activated, and the fate of the world would change. Returning to his quarters, Folken stopped for a moment and looked toward the rising sun. Once more, the future lay before him, separated from him by nothing other than time. All he could do was wait.


Ollen70: Yes, this took longer than I'd planned, and I don't think it turned out as well as I'd wanted it to. I'm so bogged down with my class schedule that I haven't even had time to proofread this, so - like always - if you find any horrible errors, feel free to let me know. I'd really appreciate it. Also, I've been spending some time on one of my other fics, Eye of the Beholder, just for a little change of pace. I'm having to rely so much on the episode summaries now that it takes me quite a while to write each chapter, and I feel like they aren't as good as they were when I started out. Oh well. I hope to be done by the end of the month, but I think I said that last month too. Thanks for putting up with me, and thanks again to my reviewers, who give my life purpose. =)