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Gankutsuou Reborn	By : roryheadmav Category: +G to L > Gankutsuou Views: 5812 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Gankutsuou, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 17
- 18
DISCLAIMER: This story is a non-commercial work of fiction
based on the anime/manga Gankutsuou.
Original copyright of Gankutsuou belongs to Mahiro Maeda, Gonzo/Media
Factory, GDH. Absolutely no monetary gain has been made with this work.

AUTHOR'S NOTES: Those who are having difficulty
accessing the previous chapters of this story in the Read Only Archive are
advised to go to my Y! Gallery site at http://yaoi.y-gallery.net/user/roryheadmav
or at Writers Corner at http://writers-corner.net/writerDetails.cfm?userID=62.

GANKUTSUOU REBORN

� May 1, 2006 By
Rory V. Pascual

CHAPTER
SEVENTEEN: Torn Asunder

Gankutsuou
was not aware that he had fallen asleep until he heard the sound of singing,
those beautiful voices distant and echoing. He was about to sit up when he was
pushed back down on a lap clad in a soft cotton skirt, smelling of sweet
tobacco and incense. Gentle fingers glided through his hair.

:Be
still, little demon, and rest some more,: an uncharacteristically kind voice spoke inside his head. :There
is nothing of interest for you to see here.:

Despite that
warning, Gankutsuou dared to open his eyes, only to be horrified by the sight
of skeletons sitting on moss-covered blocks of stone with their backs against
the wall. In the light of the gas lamp, the entity could see that the skeletons
were that of a family � the parents holding their child in a loving embrace. It
was very obvious that the poor family simply sat down and waited for their end
to come.

Gankutsuou
quickly squeezed his eyes shut, clapping his hands over his ears, as images of
the distant past flashed before his eyes.

The
determined faces of two handsome young men� "We won't let you die,
Gankutsuou!"

There
was a sarcastic chuckle. :Unbelievable that so many would choose to die in order
to protect you. Don't they know the evil creature that you are?:

:STOP
IT!:

Gankutsuou
gasped as strong arms wrapped around his trembling form. Opening his eyes once
more, he found himself in the dark chamber of his mind, held by an angry Edmond
who was glaring at the woman who dared to intrude into the psyche they shared.

:Just
who the hell are you to judge him like this?: Edmond roared at the solemn figure of Marie Laveau.
:How do you know he is evil when you have not shared his mind and heart as I
have?:

:You
are right, I don't,: Marie
surprisingly agreed with him. :And what I have seen confuses me.
This�self-sacrifice�it contradicts the image of you that my ancestors have
impressed upon me.:

:Laveau�:
Gankutsuou called out to the
voodoo priestess. :Will there be�pain?:

:Perhaps
the most agonizing you will ever experience in your very long life.: Marie added thoughtfully, :But you seem prepared
for it. Strange. I must�observe further: With that last, she vanished from
their sight, although they could still feel her insidious presence close by.

:What
is the meaning of this, Gankutsuou?: Edmond
demanded, no longer caring that Laveau could hear his thoughts. :Why did you
contact Andrea? Please don't tell me that you're still thinking of separating
yourself from my body?:

:After
the things you've seen, all the unhappiness that I have caused you,: Gankutsuou asked in despair, :are you telling me
that you still wish for me to remain a part of you?:

:YES,
I DO!: Edmond emphasized this with
a desperate embrace that left the entity breathless. :You're part of me. I
would be bereft without you.:

:You
have Albert. You don't need me interfering in your life.:

:How
long are you going to continue making these sacrifices for others at the
expense of your happiness? I've seen your past, Gankutsuou. I know who you
truly are. Are you going to give up when the love you've long searched for is
within your reach? If you go through with this insanity, there is no coming
back for you! Your powers, your immortality, your soul� Your very existence
will be obliterated from this world!:

:I'VE
MADE MY DECISION! DON'T INTERFERE!:

"BE
QUIET!"

A
hard slap fell on Gankutsuou's cheek, jolting him back to consciousness. For a while,
Edmond struggled for control, but the entity pushed his presence back into a
dark corner of his mind and sealed him in.

Andrea
sneered down at Gankutsuou, who sat beside the voodoo priestess in the rowboat.
"Is Edmond being a pain in the ass again? Really! He should learn to stop
butting into other people's business."

"Where
are we?" the entity asked nervously, eyeing his dark surroundings. It
horrified him to see more skeletons and bones scattered around.

"The
catacombs, of course," Andrea answered in a matter-of-fact tone of voice.
"To be exact, we are right under the Paris Opera House."

Gankutsuou
winced, feeling Edmond pounding against the barrier inside his head.

The
rogue clucked his tongue at the sight of the entity's discomfort. "Oh, that
Edmond is really such a bother. Then again, it's your fault he's like that.
It's a trait he got from you after all. But of course, I guess you already know
that. Edmond was that part of you that you had released so that you could be
free to wreak vengeance upon those bastards who slaughtered your worshippers a
thousand years ago."

Gankutsuou
trained his startled eyes towards that maniacal figure. "What�do you
mean?"

In
answer, an ancient scroll was tossed onto the entity's lap. For a long while,
Gankutsuou just stared down at it, afraid to touch the faded parchment.

Andrea
ignored the entity's distress and waved to their surroundings. "Doesn't
this remind you of your old home, O Great Ruler of the Cavern? Did you know
that when the city was gripped by a terrible epidemic, those who could not
afford the expensive medicines came down here to die? It was like heaven to
them, these catacombs. Imagine dying to the voices of angels up above. Isn't
that what you did as well? I heard that you sang to comfort your worshippers as
they were being massacred by the King's soldiers."

Gankutsuou
hesitated for a moment and then he reached for the scroll on his lap. A mere
brush of his fingertips on the parchment and, at once, those unwanted memories
flooded into his mind with vivid clarity �

A
maze of caverns lit by the golden glow of torches.

Helpless
men, women and children screaming his name as they were brutally cut down by
soldiers.

Two
young men with very familiar faces, his blue hands held in their cold grip, as
they desperately tried to lead him away from the carnage.

"We
won't let them get you, Gankutsuou!" the man with Franz's kind features
said to him.

The
other man, who looked like Albert, gave him a reassuring smile. "Because
we love you!"

Gankutsuou
clapped his hands over his ears as his tears began to flow. Those two men had
died protecting him. He remembered the anger that rose up from the depths of
his being; an alien emotion that he was not permitted to feel. Since his very
nature forbade him from spilling blood, he had shed away that one thing that
prevented him from getting the vengeance he so craved.

:Yes,
Gankutsuou,: Edmond whispered to
him in confirmation. :I am your heart restored to you.:

The
entity was stunned by that revelation, and the repercussions that it implied.
"By the gods above! What have I done?" Gankutsuou exclaimed in
horror.

Andrea
saw the expression on the entity's face. "Yes, my poor friend. When you
were reunited with your heart-turned-human at the Chateau d'If, you have
allowed the darkness inside you to consume it, fueling Edmond's despair into a
raging blaze for revenge. With the blood of those who suffered at your hands,
you became a tainted being. Now the only way you can purge yourself of the
taint is to find a new shell to inhabit."

"What
are talking about?" Marie demanded, confused by what she was hearing.
"He is a demon! A creature of evil! My ancestors said so!"

The
rowboat gave a slight rock as it hit the bank. They found themselves in a
torch-lit domed amphitheater guarded by armed men. The voices of the singers in
the Paris Opera House above resonated throughout the chamber.

"Your
ancestors were fools!" Andrea spat at the bewildered voodoo priestess'
face. "They only listened to the rumors that originated from that lowly
asteroid. Your great great grandfather never knew what it was that he had
captured in Monte Cristo." The rogue reached down and dug his fingers into
Gankutsuou's tresses. "Here! Let me show you!"

Gankutsuou
stumbled as he was hauled out of the boat. As the rogue dragged him towards the
amphitheater, he was horrified to see the two circles drawn on the stone floor.
In the center of the circles were inverted pentagrams in which were written
ancient incantations.

"Andrea,
no!" the entity cried as he struggled to tear his hair free from that
fierce grip. "You don't know what you're doing!"

"Oh,
but I do know!" Andrea declared as he drew closer and closer towards the
circles. "No other person is more appropriate and more willing to be your
vessel than yours truly! Immortality, power and riches beyond my wildest dreams
shall be mine!"

"But
you're a tainted vessel yourself!" Gankutsuou argued. He gazed back at the
bewildered voodoo priestess following behind them. "Laveau, please listen
to me! The millennium of evil that is contained inside my heart and soul must
be purged first before my essence could be transferred into another body! You
don't know what it could do to him! He will become the very demon that you
fear!"

"Benedetto�"
Marie dared to approach the rogue. "I don't think we should go through
with this, not until we learn more and�"

"Say
no more, woman!" Andrea shouted as he slapped her in the face, sending her
sprawling to the floor. A most wicked smile formed on his lips. "I have
long been prepared to become the Devil himself, if it means attaining the power
that has long been denied me!" He looked down at the entity. "Now, go
and become a part of me!"

With
a powerful shove, Andrea forced Gankutsuou into one circle while taking his
place in the other. At once, red light rose from the circle underneath the
entity's feet, enveloping him in a fiery aura. A scream of agony was wrenched
from Gankutsuou's lips, as his essence was slowly being torn from his human
host and transferred into the laughing rogue's frame. Worse, he could sense the
evil he had absorbed surge up out of his heart, eager to be joined with the mad
soul that was to be their new vessel. With them, they took the entity's
immortality, and discarded the goodness that still remained together with his
used up mortal shell. Already, he could feel his life gradually ebbing.

Marie
Laveau watched in growing alarm as a many-eyed being glowing a malevolent pink was
pulled out of the poor human, leaping into Andrea's form. What stunned her more
was the most beautiful blue creature with wings of onyx that it was dragging
along with it.

"Oh
my God!" the voodoo priestess gasped out in her shock. "He is�an
angel?"

To
her shock, she saw that the poor creature was turning deathly pale, much whiter
than the mortal body he was being pulled out of. As Marie looked on, he was
gradually fading away.

"NO!
I WON'T LET YOU DIE!"

The
voodoo priestess gaped, aghast, as a sun-darkened hand closed around the winged
creature's wrist, refusing to let go. With her 'other' sight, Marie saw Edmond
sharing with the entity both living cells from his body and his life force to
prevent its dissipation.

"STOP
IT!" Marie could no longer stop herself from crying out in warning.
"IF YOU CONTINUE, THE TWO OF YOU WILL PERISH!"

"EDMOND,
LET ME GO!" Gankutsuou shouted, trying to get his hand free, but Edmond
would not release him.

It
was Marie who decided to act. Chanting a spell, she raised a glowing white
shell around the entity, cutting off the link between Gankutsuou and Andrea
first.

Edmond
saw the glowing barrier reaching up to their joined hands. Pulling a startled
Gankutsuou into his embrace, Edmond gave him a passionate kiss. For a brief
second, Marie thought she saw a tiny golden ball of light pass from Edmond's
lips into the entity's mouth.

"Protect
him," Edmond then whispered. To whom the human said it, Marie did not
know.

With
an anguished cry, Gankutsuou pushed Edmond from him, causing the human to
topple outside the circle. Marie noted that all trace of the entity's exotic
features had vanished from Edmond's face. He had returned to his original,
mortal form.

The
same could not be said for Andrea. The rogue's face had changed into a
grotesque pink mask with six glowing golden eyes. Their malevolent gaze was
focused on the human kneeling on the floor.

"RUN,
EDMOND! GO NOW!" Gankutsuou shouted, seeing pink tendrils exuding from
Andrea's fingertips.

Edmond
hesitated, gazing at the entity who remained trapped within the circle.
"No, I won't leave you!" he cried, shaking his head stubbornly.

Those
long tendrils snaked out and wrapped around Edmond's wrists. It was Marie who came
forward, cutting those arms with a ceremonial dagger.

"You
must escape!" the voodoo priestess roared at him. "There is nothing
you can do for him now!"

"But
I can't�"

Tears
were streaming down Gankutsuou's face. "Edmond�please tell Albert that I'm
so sorry for everything that I've done to him. And that�I will always love
him."

"GANKUTSUOU!"

Andrea
roared to his terrified henchmen. "GET HIM! DON'T LET HIM ESCAPE!"

Before
Edmond knew what was happening, Marie's hand whipped out, pushing him hard and
causing him to fall into the water behind him. The last thing he saw as he swam
beneath the lapping waves of the river was Andrea's hideous face gazing down
into the water.

~~~~~~~~~~

"I
have the entire Paris police force and my men combing the city," Lucien
reported to his worried friends who were gathered in the parlor. "So far,
no word. It seems like they disappeared without a trace."

"What
about the airport? The sea?" Beauchamp suggested. "They could escape
through those routes."

The
Interior Ministry Chief Secretary shook his head. "No one fitting Andrea's
or Edmond's description passed through the checkpoints. I have no doubt they're
still in the city. But where they are�"

"I've
also asked Bertuccio and Baptistin to join in the search, together with Vampa's
men and Maximilien's crew." Haydee could not stop her tears from falling.
"Oh, where could they be?"

Eugenie
drew the princess into her comforting embrace, although she too was crying.
"They'll find him. I know they will."

As
they talked, Albert sat silently on the couch, his hands clasped together as if
in prayer, forehead pressed on his thumbs. A tear trickled from his chin as his
lips parted to breath out a sob.

Hearing
her son's choked sob, Mercedes sat down beside him and put her arms around him.
"Things will be all right, son. You'll see."

"What
if Benedetto had already escaped from Paris with Edmond?" Albert's lips
trembled as he spoke. "How are we going to find him then? For all we know,
Edmond could be dead by now."

Mercedes
was stunned by her son's words. Cupping his face in her hands, she forced
Albert to look at her. "Don't you ever say that, Albert! I will not have
you make the same mistake that I had! Didn't Edmond tell you�'Wait and hope'?
You must believe that he will return to you." She strongly added, "I
believe in Gankutsuou. He will not let Edmond come to any harm. He helped
Edmond escape from the Chateau d'If. Gankutsuou will free him from Benedetto's
clutches."

"Gankutsuou�"
Albert whispered the name of the entity that shared his beloved's body.
"Can I truly trust him, Mother? After all the things you told me, I still
find it hard to believe that he could be�kind�"

"We
were all wrong about him, my son," Mercedes said with an approving nod.
"After speaking with him, I had no doubt that he is a gentle being. He is
not the evil creature that we thought him to be. And�he loved you so much that
he worked a miracle by allowing Edmond to be reborn as your precious
Nightingale."

"I'm
so confused, Mother, and afraid." Albert breathed in deeply as he
admitted, "If we find Edmond, he and Gankutsuou will still be sharing one
body. I don't know�if the person I had fallen in love with is Edmond. It might
be�Gankutsuou�"

"Did
you at any time feel that they were two separate beings inhabiting one
body?"

"No,
but�"

"Gankutsuou
revealed to me that there was a time when Edmond forced him to become the
dominant entity for several days. I believe it was during that period after you
had taken him to the opera house for the first time. Do you remember
that?"

Albert
nodded. "Yes. Edmond was very depressed back then, and I didn't know
why."

"That
was Gankutsuou, Albert. He and Edmond had a little disagreement, you see. And, yet,
you were worried about him."

"I
was worried about Edmond, Mother, not�" Albert stopped at once as he
realized what his mother was struggling to explain to him.

Mercedes
smiled. "You couldn't tell the difference, son, because Edmond and
Gankutsuou are one and the same person. Tell me, Albert. Why should it matter
who between the two of them you should love when they both share one heart that
loves you deeply?"

Valentine
was listening quietly to the exchange between mother and son, nodding in
approval with everything that Mercedes had said. After all, she had been the
first to know about the true nature of Gankutsuou. Somehow, she found herself
gazing outside the window, and she gasped, seeing the forlorn figure standing
in front of the gates.

Whirling,
Valentine cried out, "ALBERT!"

~~~~~~~~~~

Edmond
stood wet and shivering before the gates of Albert's estate. He slowly raised
his hand to the doorbell, but quickly drew it back, closing it into a fist.

"What
am I doing?" he asked in despair. "What right do I have to ask for
their help after all the things that I have done to them? And poor Gankutsuou!
They believe him to be a demon. I cannot impose upon their kindness to ask for
their aid to help free a creature that they believe is evil."

Feeling
miserable, Edmond turned around and started to walk away. He had taken several
steps away from the estate when the clanging of the gates caught his attention.

"Edmond�Gankutsuou�Please,
don't go!" It was Albert.

"It's
only me, Albert. Edmond. Gankutsuou�he�Andrea removed him from my body."
Edmond whirled to face his lover. "I made a mistake in coming here, but I
don't have anywhere else to go. No one to run to and ask for help. Albert, I
know you hate Gankutsuou. I know that you also hate me for ruining your
life." He dropped down to his knees as tears began to stream down his
cheeks. "I have no right to ask you this, but I'm begging you. Please help
me get Gankutsuou back. I feel so lost without him. I know that, without
Gankutsuou, I'm going to die and�"

Edmond's
breath was caught in his throat as Albert drew him into a possessive embrace.

"Say
no more, Edmond." Albert then said firmly, "I swear to you. I will do
everything in my power to bring you and Gankutsuou back together again."

* * * * * * * * * *
- 17
- 18
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Gankutsuou Reborn

GANKUTSUOU REBORN