Title: One Legend, Two Destinies
Author: Grayswandir
Fandoms: Gundam Wing, Escaflowne
Pairings: past friendship Van/Hitomi
GW VoE
Chapter One: Disparate Times
December 27th, After Colony 194
Location: Unlabeled Rebel Base, L1 Colony Cluster
A constant tone rang through the air. A still body lay out on a clinical bed, tubes entering the mouth and leading to the arms. Wire leads spread out across the body.
"Damn it!" Dr. J slammed his clawed limb against the safety glass. "All that hard work for nothing!" The monitor continued to display no life signs, mocking the scientist's burgeoning outrage.
Dr. J's efforts to find the Perfect Soldier to spearhead his campaign in Operation Meteor continued to be inhibited by the faulty, inferior people that had been chosen to be candidates for Gundam Pilot. The broken body on the opposite side of the glass was the seventh to succumb to the weakness of their mind. I was certain this one would not fail. So young, a protégé to the legendary assassin Odin Lowe and nearly succeeding in assassinating that whelp Treize at a mere eight years. Seven years of training and his mind broke with the introduction of Zero to his regimen. Pathetic.
"Lansing! Report." Dr. J barked across the PA to one of the other doctors assisting him. Time to sort through the damages.
A frustrated male drew away from the corpse. A grumbling quality personified the curt reply. /Neural activity grew chaotic with prolonged exposure to the Zero system. Simulator data streams and video playback overlaid with neuroleptic response patterns suggest an inability to cope with the information received from Zero. The subject coped marginally longer than the last six candidates, most likely due to the early exposure to violent situations./
Dr. J growled. Disappointing. "Hook that carcass up to the Neural Emulator and extract every last bit of information from it. Perhaps 'Square One' will shift closer to the desired goal." J turned away from the glass as his lackey did as he was bade. Where am I to find someone to train and prepare for Operation Meteor in three months?
GW VoE
1st Cycle of Before Destiny, Gold the 27th Moon
Location: New Atlantis, Capital of Fanelia
^Folken? Are you awake?^ A tentative mental missive, 'unbecoming of a king' as Van's advisors would have said, brought Folken from his contemplative pre-doze state.
"You may enter, brother." Folken missed being a part of his brother's daily life. When Van was young, Folken was the center of his world. Since the end of the Destiny War, Folken returned to the once familiar position, the one wish he had made as he laid dying upon the floor in the Emperor's chambers. Damned Draconian blood. Folken mused. The energy of the Zone of Absolute Fortune in combination with his accursed blood prevented his death to fulfill Folken's deepest desire. Knowing Van as he did, Folken had procured a non-descript leviship and left the borders of Zaibach. He traveled to the ruins of Fanelia, picking up any of the many dislocated citizens of Fanelia he could and sending word of the coming reconstruction.
The door slid open and shut admitting Van, Folken's ten cycles younger brother and the reigning king of Fanelia. Van's naturally tanned skin had paled considerably since the construction of the castle had completed. His normally bright, blood red eyes were a dull muddy brown in nearly black, bloodless sockets. He wore only his sleep pants and the ever-present pendant gifted to him by that strange girl, Hitomi. Van stood still, as if uncertain as to why he was present in his brother's chambers. Fidgeting slightly, he locked eyes with Folken. A few moments passed. "Sorry." Turning, Van's hand was stretched out toward the door, ready to leave as swiftly as he came.
"Van." He froze, hand still poised in preparation to open the door.
"What's wrong?" Folken didn't dare to raise his voice above a soft calm. No reply. "Van. Look at me."
Van turned only his head, not enough to actually make contact with Folken's form. Close enough. "Can't sleep?"
Tears slid down his cheeks as Van closed his eyes. Dropping his hand to his side, he nodded slowly in response. The rustling of sheets opened his eyes. Turning, a wan smile lit Van's face as he saw that Folken had shuffled over, clearing off the left side of the bed.
"C'mon." Folken sighed as Van swiftly assumed his favored position of comfort, his right ear pressed against Folken's chest, directly over his heart. Tears dropped onto his chest and silent sobs shook through him as Folken pulled his brother's slight form closer, carding his fingers through Van's dark locks. Folken concentrated on taking deep breaths to lull his little brother to sleep. The cessation of the vibrating sobs, giving way to gentle puffs of hot breath, caused Folken to smile sadly. Slowly, so as not to rouse him, Folken rolled Van away from his chest and onto the other pillow on the bed. A frown formed upon Van's brow before he shifted into a more comfortable position.
Folken sat up as he ran his metal hand through his hair. Did I cause this? He slid out of bed, making sure the covers remained properly positioned about his brother's figure. Walking to his window, Folken peered up at the glittering stars in the night sky. He knew that his wish might possibly have been the cause of the instability within the energies that fed into Van's life. Folken also knew that he was not the only responsible party.
Hitomi's departure to the Mystic Moon, although well received by Van, tore through his defenses as a rejection of himself. Her unyielding acceptance of what Van was and why he was doing what he did had formed the basest of romantic feelings.
The connection Van had formed with Escaflowne, a connection forged of blood, bloodlust, and war, upon severance had torn through to his very core, ripping apart the foundation of his very essence as a king, the pounding heat of battle and bloodshed. Without the blood bond, Van's only connection to living outside of Folken was Merle, his best friend.
The oppression of the advisors, insisting that Van marry and produce an heir and cement alliances and address the problems of the increased population and the taxation of the people, forced Van to remain indoors throughout the hours of the moon.
Van's gentle soul and kind heart were slowly being crushed into a fine pulp. He needed to be outside, helping build the homes of the residents of a new Fanelia, a bigger, brighter, and more fruitful nation. He needed to be in the forest, hunting for food, gathering mushrooms and herbs. The sleepless nights and the pallor of his skin attested to the crumbling of Van's ability to remain in control. If only I had not suggested Merle be sent to request assistance from the villagers of Arzas. She may not be what Van needs but she does help to keep him grounded, stable.
A whimper turned Folken back to the bed. In his sleep, Van had managed to shift the blankets off of himself. A shiver ran through his body. The nights have been colder lately. I need to lecture him about wearing a tunic to bed. Folken smiled as he fixed the sheets back into place. A shiver ran through his own body. Laughing quietly to himself, Folken climbed back into bed. Should lecture myself at the same time.
Ten cycles Van was trained to defeat the dragon, spent a season at war, and peace was killing him.
Written June 23-24, 2012