Cowboy Bebop Fan Fiction / Trigun Fan Fiction ❯ Cowboy Bebop Meets Trigun ❯ Devil's Bargain ( Chapter 22 )

Disclaimer: Is this really necessary? Fine. I'll say it. I don't own Trigun or Cowboy Bebop.

 

A/N: I like the title to Chapter 22, don't you? It's self-explanatory, yah? Anyways, enough of my ramblings. On the the new chapter!

 

 

Chapter 22: Devil's Bargain

 

Vash watched with horror as the mother ship splintered, the flaming pieces scattering, as if dust in the wind. His hands clutched at the window of the escape pod. He could see the other Project SEEDS ships as they rapidly approached the atmosphere of the unknown planet. But he didn't care. Rem was gone.

“No, Rem! Please, you can't leave! Please come back, Rem!” The screams were torn from his throat. “Rem…” he cried.

He heard laughter, maniacal laughter, behind him. His brother Knives' laughter.

“I'll never understand humans. They're a total waste of life! To think they'd actually sacrifice themselves for foolish emotions. It's incomprehensible.”

Vash stared at Knives, completely nonplussed.

“I thought I'd let her live just because you were so attached to her. But now

I see how imperfect she really was. It's a good thing she died.”

“Don't say that!”

“Their imigration is out of the question. That'd be like spreading pathogenic organisms across our healthy universe.”

“You're saying you planned this?” Vash asked.

“That's right. But dont worry, you and I will be fine. I made sure that the plant ship will survive. After all, we'll need that to make our new home now, won't we, my dearest brother?”

“AHHHH! Bring her back! Bring Rem back you bastard!” Vash screamed, as he tried to punch Knives. Knives merely dodged them all and kicked Vash, knocking him over.

“All ships, now commencing orbital correction.”

“What? Reverse thrusters? That bitch actually did it!” Knives muttered.

“I'm sorry, Rem...” Vash whispered as the tears slid down his cheeks.

“Wake up, Needle Noggin!”

Vash felt someone smack his face. “Ow! Wolfwood, what'd you do that for?”

“I had to wake you up somehow. Besides, you kept on muttering something about how you were sorry to someone called Rem.”

Vash blinked. Everyone seemed to be hovering around him to see if he was ok. As he sat up, Vash flinched. He reached back with his right hand to feel the back of his head. There was a lump there. Whe Vash lifted his hand away, he could see the blood stainign his gloved fingertips.

Man, why did Legato have to it me so hard?

“Vash, what happened?” Meryl asked.

Vash sighed. Then, he explained what had transpired. The mind-controlled human, the conversation he and Vash had had (although certain parts were edited), and finally, Vash getting knocked out and his brother's escape. When he finished, everyonoe was silent for a moment.

“Damn! That bastard got the best of us,” Faye muttered. “Now what are we supposed to do?”

“I don't know,” Vash said solemnly.

“Wait a minute. Vash, didn't you say that you were in the escape pod room when you were knocked out?” Jet asked.

“Yeah. Why?”

“Well, when we found you, you weren't in that room. If you had been, your body would have been sucked out into space when the escape pods were jettisoned.”

“What are you saying?”

“I'm saying that your brother might not be the heartless bastard everyone thinks he is.”

Vash stared at Jet. Could it be possible that Knives had changed? Of course, Knives had never actively tried to kill Vash. Inflict bodily harm, yes. But kill, no. On the other hand, this could just be more of Knives's determination to make an Eden just for himself and Vash, as well as their plant siblings. Still, Vash wanted to believe that Knives was changing, slowly but surely.

“Hey, guys, where's Nightingale?”

Everyone looked solemn. “She's preparing an honorary service for the officer who died,” Spike told him.

Vash sighed. “And what about the other guy?”

“You mean the guy Legato used as his puppet?” Wolfwood asked.

Vash nodded.

“Well, considering the circumstances, they let him off easy. He's still disoriented. He has no idea what happened during the period when he was under Legato's mind control. He still doesn't know he killed someone although he seems to realice he's done something terrible.”

“I see.”

Suddenly, Vash found himself face to face with a very irate insurance girl. “Vash, do you have any idea how much you're bleeding?”

“Uh...”

Meryl dragged Vash to his feet. “You're making a mess! Now, come on! We have to get that wound taken care of!”

“Yes, ma'am,” Vash squeaked as he felt himself being dragged away. As he went, he could hear the sound of multiple snickers coming from behind him.

 

 

Knives sat calmly within his escape pod. After entering the pod, Knives had ordered Legato to drag his brother out of the room so he wouldn't be sucked into the void. After both Legato and Vash were clear, Knives had launched the pods.

Via mind speech, Legato had filled Knives in on current events. The Gung-Ho Guns were still intact. However, upon hearing of this deal between Legato and a human named Vicious, Knives had become irritable. It was bad enough that he had been a captive aboard a ship filled with humans (even if he hadn't seen any of them). Now, Knives was expected to repay this Vicious for his aid in bring about Knives freedom. (Knives refused to use the word “rescue.”)

Knives sneered. If Vicious really believed Knives would remain true to this bargain, he was sadly mistaken. No one could command him, especially not a lowly human such as him. Knives would work with Vicious, but only as long as it was benefitial to him. When Vicious had no further use, Knives would dispose of him.

Satisfied with that conclusion, Knives stared out into the void of space. Soon, Knives would arrive at the ship piloted by Vicious. Although Legato had said the Omega had come as well, Knives was certain that Vicious would indist upon meeting him in person. That suited Knives just fine. After all, what better way to plan the demise of a “partner” than to see how he operated?

Knives sat back in his seat and folded his arms across his chest. He had for so long sought the end of the human race. Yet, for the past few days, Knives had felt his confidence in the worthiness of that venture begin to weaken. It was happening slowly. At first, the change had been practically unnoticeable. After that one incident with Nightingale in the training room, everything had become more pronounced. That dark-haired woman with the mismatched eyes. He still couldn't rid himself of the image of her hair tumbling down past her shoulders during their sparring match.

Knives gritted his teeth. Why couldn't he get her out of his mind? An autonomous plant angel like himself, so much like himself in mannerisms and speech, yet different points of view. And at the same time, their viewpoints were the same. She believed humans were inferior. However, she also believed in the ability of humans to improve their condition. A paradox that refused to be solved.

Knives ushed all thoughts of her out of his mind. In the end, she would see. So would Vash. Both would finally see how disgusting humans were. Knives's logic behind the extinction of the human race was impeccable. Nothing would stand in his way.

And yet, why is it that my own logic, which for so long made me feel superior to Vash, no longer seems as flawless to me as it once did?

 

 

Meryl shoved Vash into the medical bay of the ship. At first, when a nurse saw them, she started to come over to them. However, upon seeing Vash and Meryl, she merely turned around, only to come back with a first aid kit. After showing them to a private room, she closed the door, leaving them alone.

“Sit,” Meryl ordered.

Vash sat. Meryl opened the first aid kit. After taking out some gauze and wetting it with some alcohol, Meryl softly dabbed it on Vash's head injury. She heard Vash suck in his breath at the sting, but she ignored it, intent upon cleaning his wound.

After cleaning it as well as she could, she scrutinized the injury closely. The bleeding had stopped, and the dried blood that had been caked around it was gone, thanks to Meryl. Oddly enough, it looked like the wound was already healing. But of course, Vash wasn't human. It was to be expected that he would heal faster than other people.

“Vash, I'm going to stitch this up. It might hurt a little.”

“Don't worry about it. I can take it.” He gave her a winsome smile.

“Ok, then.”

Meryl took out a thin needle threaded it. Then, she began to work. It was a long and tedious job. The first time Meryl pricked Vash with the needle, she felt his body tense, but it wasn't long bfore he grew accostumed to it. Finally, after working for what seemed like an eternity, she finished.

Meryl wiped her forehead. “I'm finished.”

Vash reached up to touch his wound before Meryl smacked his hand away. “You want to get an infection? Leave it alone!” she lectured.

Vash grinned. “Ok, then.”

Meryl huffed a little. Then, as she began to put the materials away, she felt a hand on hers. Meryl froze and looked up at Vash. He was smiling.

“Thank you, Meryl.”

Meryl blinked. “Your welcome. Uh...could you let go of me now? I rally have to put these things away.”

Vash let go, yet the warmth of his hand lingered. Meryl, who had been holding her breath, let it go silently. As she resumed the clean up, Meryl began to think about how much had trasnpired in the past few weeks. She had seen a city blow up, been kidnapped, become involved in a quest to save humanity, and so much more.

And then, of course, there was Vash the Stampede. It was true that she had been spending more time with him lately. However, contrary to common belief, most of the time, the time they spent together consisted of awkward silences. Of course, there was that time Vash had told her about Nightingale. Meryl knew she had reacted badly, but the question was why?

Meryl sighed, now finished cleaning up the room. It always seemed like her feelings regarding Vash became so mixed up. She cared for him. She knew that much. But, whether or not he felt the same was debateable. Sure, they had had tender moments, but did that really mean anything? Meryl didn't know. Not only that, but she wasn't even sur if a relationship with Vash was even a good idea. After all, he was over a century old already with no natural end to his life in sight. Then, of course, there was the matter of his brother Knives. It would be wrong to put Vash in a position where Knives could use her as leverage against Vash.

“Hey, anybody home?”

Meryl jumped at Vash shouting in her ear. Her eyes flashed as she smacked him upside the head.

“Ow! Hey, I'm injured, remember?” he whined.

“Hmph! If you were in any danger, you wouldn't be able to whine like that.”

“Aw,” Vash pouted.

“Come on, now. Stop acting like an idiot.”

“Hey, it takes skill to act like an idiot all the time!”

“Skill you are quite obviously NOT lacking.”

“That hurts.”

Meryl sighed. “Vash, I want to ask you something.”

Vash blinked. “What?”

Meryl hesitated. “Well...”

“Vash-person!”

A red-haired blur ran smack into Vash, tackling him with a hug. Meryl blinked. Vash was sprawled on the floor, a sheerful Ed bouncing up and down on him as her dog Ein raced around them in a circle on the floor, barking madly. As she watched the comical scene, Meryl began to laugh.

“Yay! Meryl-person is happy! Ed salutes Meryl-person!” Ed squealed, as she leapt of off Vash, who was still lying dazedly on the floor, and gave Meryl a goofy salute.

Meryl returned the salute with great amusement before asking, “So, Ed, what brings you here?”

“Ed is here to tell Vash-person and Meryl-person the Bird-Lady wants everyone to meet in the conference room thingy.”

“Nightingale?”

“Yes, Bird-Lady!” Ed chirped.

“Vash, we have to go! Come on!”

“Ugh, I can't get up, Meryl. Could the four of you help me?”

Meryl's eye twitched. Then, she bent down to smack him again.

“I'm up!” Vash squeaked as he leapt to his feet.

Meryl smirked. “Good. Lead the way, Ed.”

Ed nodded vigorously. “Okey-dokey!”

As Ed skipped out the door, Meryl and Vash followed dutifully after.

 

 

Knives stepped out of the escape pod into the ship, Vicious's ship. As Knives scrutinized his surroundings, he was aware of a group of men approaching. Legato was with them. The most striking of the humans was a tall man with with what appeared to be greyish-white hair and cold black eyes. He was dressed all in black and had a very sinister-looking bird on his shoulder. Not that Knives was intimidated. He was only human, after all.

Legato stepped forward, bowing. “My Master, it is good to have you back with us.”

Knives ignored the gesture, instead scrutinizing the other man. “Vicious, I presume.” It wasn't a question.

Vicious nodded. “Yes.”

The two men stared into each other's eyes, searching. Knives gave the human credit for not backing away in fear. Of course, he probably had no idea who he was dealing with. This particular spider was undoubtably used to giving orders. However, if he believed he could order Millions Knives, he was sadly mistaken.

“My servant tells me you two have made a contract.”

“Indeed. In exchange for my aid, he agreed you and your followers would serve me.”

Knives's eyes narrowed. “Do you really believe I will follow through with that?”

Vicious grinned. “Actually, no. I anticipated that once you were free, you would not accept these terms.”

“Then why, pray tell, did you set them in the first place?”

“Holding power over others is reward enough.”

“Well, it is quite apparent that you have another bargain in mind.”

“Of course. I know a great deal about you, Millions Knives. I know of your self-proclaimed crusade against my race. I know of your brother, Vash the Stampede. I know many things.”

Knives narrowed his eyes further. “I see.”

“You see, Knives, I make it my business to know what goes on in the underground channels of communication. In addition, knowing something about a possible partner is an asset. Don't you agree?”

“What do you propose?”

Vicious grinned again. “You seek the extermination of my race. I see no profit in that, unless of course, it is a selective extermination.”

“Explain.”

“Consider this: Threatening to destroy a city unless a certain sum of money is paid. If the authorities do not comply, you will have your opportunity to exterminate humans. That is what you want, correct?”

Knives didn't answer for a moment. This Vicious was the epitomy of human depravity. He wanted to use the suffering of his own race to make a profit. Knives was tempted to kill the man on the spot, but refrained from doing so. Despite his reservations about working with a human, of all things, eliminating humans was what Knives wanted. In any case, it did not matter if he worked with Vicious now. In the end, Knives would dispose of him.

“Tell me this: how will you destroy entire cities? A massive explosive?”

Vicious grinned. “Not exactly. Do you want to see it?”

“It?”

“The weapon my engineers have designed for just this purpose.”

Knives stared at the man. It was quite obvious that Vicious had been planning this little venture of his for some time now. However, it still didn't explain why Vicious wanted to make a deal with Knives. He did not need help in his quest for power through the blood of his own people. Knives sensed Vicious was not telling him something, but when he tried to gain access to Vicious's mind, he only found a lust for power. This man's mind was focused on one thing: domination. In a way, his singlemindedness blocked Knives from his mind.

Knives nodded. “Very well. Show me this weapon.”

“We will have to wait until we reach Mars. That is where the weapon is.”

Knives narrowed his artic gaze. “Why is it not here?”

“It is to large to fit on this ship.”

“I see.”

Vicious held out his hand. “So, do we have a deal?”

Knives stared at the hand with distaste for a moment before shaking hands. The devil's bargain had been struck.

 

 

Yep. This is the end of Chapter 22. Interesting, yah? Anyways, I hope you liked it.