Trap inside a cell, Dirkan still intimidates Lincoln as the shadows cast a towering presence in front of him. It does not help that he has the Renegade crest in the middle of his chest plate. Even worse, the mask he has on has a crack on its façade where Lincoln notices his eye gives him a head to toe scan.
The weight of the room is getting heavier the long both sides remain silent.
Stephan, on the other hand, looms in the background. Viktoria sends him as Lincoln's bodyguard in case the need arises.
Time passes and the tension remains in the air and Stephan's patience is wearing thin.
"Can you guys just get this over with and lift this uneasiness that is thick in the room's air?" Stephan nudges.
Dirkan responds with a cold stare, then quickly returning to Lincoln. This time, heavier than before.
"You wanted to speak to me?" whispers Lincoln, embarrassment clear in the way he acts. The way he avoids eye contact, how shaky every syllable of each word is, and the fact that his body looks stiff as a board even from the eyes of a spectator.
When Lincoln realizes the way he is acting, he realizes that he needs to show Dirkan his growth as a warrior, and so, he attempts to look up and stare him down, but the weight to which he is looking down at him is too strong for Lincoln to hold.
"This. Was. A. Mistake," Dirkan waving his hand in farewell to urge Lincoln to leave. He is about to succumb to this fate and give up, then, Stephan steps in grabbing Lincoln's shoulder. But he never bats an eyelash towards him but has his stare directly towards Dirkan.
"But you told your brother you wanted to have a word with me," speaks up Lincoln as he fills with courage with Stephan closer to him.
"And. As I. Said," Dirkan robot-like, "It. Was. A. Mistake. You. Can go. I. Do not. Have. Anything. For you."
He walks away from Lincoln, his back towards him, and he continues to choose to ignore him until Lincoln starts crying a river out of his eyes. Pleading and asking for his forgiveness.
"I am sorry Dirk," he apologizes, his hands grabbing the bars of the cell, snot coming out of his nose, "I am v-very s-so-sorry for being stubborn. I a-am very s-sorry for not being strong enough to protect you or to fight for myself."
Dirkan turns towards him. Surprise on his face.
"I know that if you did not defend me that day, you would have been free to roam around. Not trapped like this. Not become one of the enemies."
As he continues apologizing, Dirkan walks towards Lincoln with confusion in his eyes by the overwhelming amount of answers that Lincoln is giving him, but when Lincoln notices how close Dirkan is to him, he looks up. The teary eyes still coming causing a rush of pain to surge through Dirkan. He groans in agony and reverts to being distant, but angrier.
"Go. Away!" he warns Lincoln, but even when the fear takes over, Stephan does not allow it. He blocks Lincoln's only means of exit – through him.
"He wants me to go away Stephan," pleads Lincoln, "Just let me go."
He looks at him causing Lincoln to paralyze in a different kind of fear and falls to his knees.
Stephan directs Lincoln back to the cell, and Stephan follows, dropping in his own pair of knees, but has his head down.
"Dirkan," he starts, almost pleading, "If that is still how you go by these days."
Dirkan can only groan as the pain continues to agonize him.
"Please," pleads Stephan, a wide-eye Lincoln beside him, the shock of the sight of Stephan asking.
"I beg you," he repeats, "I care less of what this boy wants from you, or what you want from the boy. I am only here because Viktoria asked me to. However, if I was to plead, I plead for the sake of my sister, please tell us anything you know especially how they found this place."
Tears are forming at the corner of his eyes. Lincoln swears he sees small drops fall from them, watering the ground where they are kneeling.
(This is different.)
Watching, Dirkan's cries lessens until they come to a full stop. He considers Stephan closely, and very deeply. He takes one step in front of the other until he is close to them as the cell allows him to be.
"I. Remember. You."
Stephan chooses not to respond, or rather, he cannot. His sobs are heavy, and every inhale and exhale is taking so much effort already.
"You. Are. Never. Like this," Dirkan doubts, creasing the space between his eyebrows. Stephan sobs harder.
(Exactly.)
"What are you doing?" asks Lincoln in hush tones, but Stephan decides to ignore him.
(Great. Both are ignoring me now.)
"I just cannot fathom my sister dying," Stephan answers, his eyes stop to water, but he continues to act through heavy sobs. His head stays down.
Dirkan heeds his words with heavy consideration.
"Alright," Dirkan agrees after some time, "But. I cannot. Guarantee. That you. Will. Like. What you. Will find."
"What do you mean?" Lincoln asks, his attention back with Dirkan.
"It is. For. You. To. Find out."
------
"WHAT?!" Stephan asks, snapping at Lincoln who has been navigating the maze back to the Council room. Lincoln keeps on looking back at him, Stephan who has his agitation spill over from when Dirkan makes his last comment.
"What was that back there?" insensitively comments Lincoln, a cockiness in his tone, "With the tears and the breakdown?"
"Don't you know what acting is?" Stephan defends.
"Those tears were more than just acting," Lincoln retaliates, a cocky smile making its way on his lips, "Those were real."
"Didn't know you were capable of such emotions," adds Lincoln when Stephan does not respond.
"It was for my sister, and it got us results compared to your cowardice."
This hit Lincoln hard because it is one thing to know of the mistake you make, but it is far worse when someone else puts it in the spotlight.
Lincoln withdraws to himself.
"And if you don't shut up --" Stephan proceeds to threats, reaching for his scythe, but it isn't there and he groans in frustration as Lincoln sticks out his tongue, but with only half of his initial enthusiasm as he puts up an act to prove a point.
"What is all --," pops out Birch from the Council room as the noise coming the Lincoln and Stephan is making him curious of the goings-on from the hallway, "Oh, you're back."
"Come in," invites Birch.
"So?" Scoot starts, "What did you find out?"
"It better be good," Viktoria follows up, "Or else this becomes a huge waste of time," eyeing Dirkan as she says it, but Birch completely ignores this.
"So, what did my brother say?" Birch asks, after making sure that no one else could overhear them because with how things are, you can never be too cautious.
As Lincoln is gathering up the courage to start, Stephan steps in and does it himself.
"Where did the beacon come from?" Scoot inquires.
"He wouldn't say," Stephan responds, then Lincoln interjects about a suspicion that he received that was supposedly from his father.
Everyone looks at him as if he is crazy.
"It is not like him to be leaving a message," Viktoria suggests, "But he could make an exception if it was his son."
Everyone's heads are turning inside, pondering this new information.
"Who gave you the letter?" Birch inquires.
Lincoln pauses and thinks this through, "Dirkan did. Back when we were still in the village. He said to not open it until I think I was ready."
"Did you open it yet?"
Lincoln nods.
"What was in the letter?"
"Just an image of him, a hologram. It was still for the longest time, and then it startles before running off then exploding from a distance. Its ashes form a different message entirely."
"What was the message?" Viktoria asks, with a wild look in her eyes, she walks towards Lincoln, pressing harder than anyone else. Stephan only looks at him in confusion. The other two keep their dignified composure.
Lincoln tries to remember, boring a hole in the middle of his temple with his finger, snaps them as he remembers.
"It said 'Darkness is everything. It can be anything. If you set your mind right.'"
Everybody falls silent as each one tries to understand the message. Scoot breaks the silence first, "That does not make sense."
"When did it ever make sense when it comes to Shadow?" the faintest of Birch's warm smile appears on his face, "Anything else?"
"That was it, and I was left in the care of the moonlit sky."
"You mean you have a hole in your ceiling?" Viktoria laughs, going completely off-topic.
"Anyways," Scoot drawing the attention back to the matter, "We don't have anything to work on going with what Dirkan has shared."
Everyone looks towards Birch for guidance who is in a world of his own, pondering the information that comes from his brother.
"It's alright," Birch comments, "We knew that this might happen, and it did. We have other options."
He turns to Scoot and asks him if there are any updates coming from the others in the field.
"We haven't heard from them for a while."
"Strangely enough, I haven't."
"You better check on them soon," Viktoria orders.
"I was planning to when we mentioned that we needed other options to turn this around."
"Lincoln," Birch regards him, pulling him aside, a faint sign of his warm smile coming back, "I am very sorry, but you should sit this one out."
"Why?���
"You don't have control over your powers yet."
"But," Lincoln pleads, "I want to help."
"I know you want to boy, but not this mission. It is too dangerous if you go in half-assed."
"Besides," Birch continues, "Someone has to look after Shinyo. He is not well enough to protect himself yet. You two have been through a lot the past few days."
Lincoln still cannot accept this.
Birch gives out a heavy sigh, and adds, "Train and become stronger. Control your powers, then join us. We will be waiting," then Birch smiles reassuringly which eases Lincoln.
Then, an explosion startles the entire temple.
"Oh, what now?" Viktoria groans.
"It came from the direction of the dungeon," Scoot directs, and everyone rushes over. Lincoln follows.
(What is it now Dirk.)
"Dirkan's gone," says Stephan who is the first one in the scene.
Viktoria scoffs in frustration, "Again, what now?"
"That's alright," Birch, calm in the face of another problem, "Is everyone set?"
Each of the three gives Birch a no, and he adds, "Let's meet here in seven days," and a flash of bright lights illuminates the dark room, overpowering the one torch fire, and then it dies as quickly as the brightness disappears.
(What do I do now?)