Cowboy Bebop Fan Fiction / Trigun Fan Fiction ❯ Cowboy Bebop Meets Trigun ❯ Dirty Dealings ( Chapter 23 )

Disclaimer: I repeat, I do not own Trigun or Cowboy Bebop.

 

A/N: If you people like plot twists, this is a good chapter for you! Read and enjoy!

 

 

Chapter 23: Dirty Dealings

 

Nightingale waited patiently for everyone to arrive. She was currently in the conference room, the same place where she had revealed to them all the connection between GENE and the Red Dragon Syndicate. She resisted the urge to drum her fingers on the table's smooth surface.

Everything was spiraling out of control. Knives had escaped. She had allowed Vash out of his confinement, a breach in protocol. (Of course, she had breached protocol before in her sparring session with Knives, but no one had known about that.) She would now be forced to return to Mars instead of going on to GENE HQ. Tatsujin would not be pleased. Although it had been a long time since she had needed his approval, it was still an inconvenience.

Nightingale sighed. She no longer had any doubts. Vicious was involved. No one else could have tracked her ship through the solar system and gotten Knives out. Based on the testimony of the officer found outside the escape pod room, Legato was also involved. That meant an alliance between two very great threats.

She rubbed her brow. She had miscalculated and forgotten to consider too many factors in this. Millions Knives and Vicious together were to be feared. However, Nightingale knew that the alliance probably would not last. In the end, one of them would double-cross the other. Of that she had no doubt. The question remained, however, which one would betray the other first.

Nightingale looked at the time. It had been an hour since Knives's escape. By now, he would be on his way back to Mars. She had already informed the lieutenants that both ships would have to alter their courses immediately and head for Mars. Both had questioned, but neither had disobeyed. They trusted her, and it was her obligation to make sure that trust was not betrayed.

Still, even after everything Vash, Wolfwood, Meryl, Millie, Spike, Faye, Jet, and Ed knew, they still did not know that one thing. The one item of information that could sink this entire venture. If only Knives hadn't been a fool and left the safety of her ship. Nightingale had never told Knives anything about GENE or the Red Dragon Syndicate. She hadn't seen the point. Now, however, she was begining to regret her choice.

You are in more danger than you realize. In your haste to exterminate humans, you have left yourself vulnerable.

 

 

Spike strode into the conference room and looked around. So far, he was the first one here. Jet and Faye were doing who knows what. Vash was with Meryl, and Wolfwood was with Millie. Ed had gone off to find them all. Spike had no idea what had possessed Nightingale to send Ed to find them. That girl (at least Spike thought she was a girl) was so easily sidetracked.

As Spike walked in the room, he saw Nightingale sitting in a chair, hands folded in front of her face. She seemed deep in thought about something. Upon seeing him, she immediately sat up straight and greeted him formally. Spike said nothing and sat down across from her. The two were silent for what seemed like an eternity.

“So,” Spike began, “what's gonna happen to the guy who killed the officer?”

“He will be tried. I'm certain the verdict will be significantly less severe once the circumstances are explained.”

“I see. And, what are you going to do now?”

“Do?”

“Yeah. A man died on your watch. Doesn't that count against you in your organization, or whatever?”

Nightingale pursed her lips and looked down. “I'm sure it will.”

Spike looked at her incredulously. “You don't have a problem with that?”

“Of course, I have a problem with it. No matter how insignificant the job, each person assigned under me is my responsibility. I am willing to be held accountable for my mistakes. Are you, Spike Spiegel?”

Spike narrowed his eyes. “You're saying I'm irresponsible?”

“Not at all. As hard as you try to convince others with your carefree attitude that you are indeed irresponsible, you are not.”

“Lady, what makes you think you know so much about me?”

“I do not. I may know facts about your life, such as your involvement with the Red Dragon Syndicate, but does knowledge of another's life tell one everything about that person? The answer to that is no.”

“So, you're observing all of us, huh? Trying to judge us, are you? Think you know everything there is to know about me?”

“Mr. Spiegel, I am not playing judge and jury. I am merely pointing things out that may or may not be apparent to you. It is true that I watch and learn, but it is not for me to condemn. I have made my own mistakes,” she said, her voice distant, “and they cut me as deeply as anyone else's. What right do I, or anyone else for that matter, have to judge you?”

Spike stared at her. This woman was freely admitting to making mistakes in her life. Now that Spike stopped to think about it, he had never thought of his past decisions as mistakes. Not really. The more Spike thought about it, the more he wondered.

Was I wrong for leaving the Syndicate? Is it my fault that Vicious is still out there? My life ended a long time ago, but I'm still here. I wonder, am I alive or not?

As Spike sat there, he decided that when they reached Mars, he would find out for himself whether or not he was alive. No matter what the outcome, Spike would find the truth and live with it, come what may.

 

 

“Bird-Lady, Ed found Vash-person, Meryl-person, Wolfy-wood, Millie-person, Faye-Faye, and Jet-person!” Ed sang as she skipped into the conference room with Ein close at her heels.

Nightingale's lips twitched with amusement. “Thank you, Ed.”

“You're welcome, Bird-Lady!” Ed chirped!

“Now that everyone is here, please, sit down.”

Everyone sat. Vash looked around the room. He had noticed when he first came in that Spike was already here. He had looked deep in thought until the others had come in, after which he had the same bored look on his face he always did. Whatever Nightingale had said to him must have made him think.

“The reason I called this meeting was to discuss recent events. As you are all awre, Knives has escaped. He is undoubtably heading to Mars.”

“And how do you know that?” Jet asked.

Nightingale looked at him. “I know because of whom he is going there with.”

Wolfwood frowned. “Explain.”

“Each of the escape pods has a tracking device installed inside of it. However, once the device is inside another ship or a certain distance away from the ship, the signal is lost.”

“So?” Faye said.

“So, I am saying that we have lost contact with the escape pod.”

“Then, how do you know Knives is headed for Mars?” Vash asked.

“Before we lost the signal, our equipment detected another large ship in the area. It was only once the pod entered the ship that we lost contact.”

“That still doesn't explain whyKnives would be heading to Mars,” Meryl pointed out.

“This is true,” Nightingale replied. “However, the ship we detected is one we've come across before. It belongs to a certain individual named Vicious, leader of the red Dragon Syndicate.”

“Are you saying that my brother has teamed up with the same group of people that broke off with GENE about 100 years ago?” Vash asked incredulously.

“Yes,” Nightingale replied simply.

“Talk about irony,” Vash muttered.

“Forget irony!” Faye exclaimed. “Putting two maniacs like them together is bad news!”

“Well, that's a no-brainer,” Jet said. “The question is, what are we going to do about it?”

“If I know Vicious, he'll return to his headquarters on Mars,” Spike said softly. “I'm sure he has something planned. He always does.”

“There's something about this that doesn't fit,” Meryl said. “Why would Knives, hater of all things human-related, team up with a human, albeit an evil one?”

“The answer to that is really quite simple,” Nightingale began. “You see, after the Project SEEDS ships left Earth, they brought most of the plants with them. However, a few remained on Earth with what was left of GENE. One of them, as it would so happen, was my mother.”

The reactions around the room varied. While Vash, Wolfwood, and Meryl merely stared at Nightingale, the rest openly gaped at her in shock.

“So, you're a-” Faye began.

“Yes, I am like Vash and Knives, an autonomos plant angel. However, that is not the point. The point is that after I was born, incidentally around the same time as Vash and Knives, although I was not discovered until after GD broke off from GENE, GENE began to question the true nature of plants. In their studies, they discovered a trait inherent in all plants.” Nightingale paused. “The ability to not only supply energy, but to restore energy to those who have lost it.”

“Meaning?” Faye prompted.

“What it means is that plants are able to, in essence, heal.” Vash's whisper carried across the room.

Nightingale nodded. “Correct.”

“Wait, this is the same kind of thing that allowed you to save me that one time,” Spike exclaimed.

“Yes, it is indeed the same concept,” Nightingale agreed. “However, it often causes extreme stress to the plany in question. Without proper training, which is unavailable to all plants, except those like Vash, Knives, and myself, because of their inability to leave their bulbs, the plant will burn up thier energy and die.”

“That would also explain why Needle Noggin passed outafter healing Spike. The strain was too much for him.”

“Also, take into consideration that the more severe a wound, the more energy is needed to heal it,” Nightingale added.

“So, as interesting as this all is, can we get back to the main point?” Faye wanted to know/

“Yes, of course. As I was saying, after experimenting for many years, the plant engineers found a way to release a plant's healing energy into the land. Such technology might be useful in restoring Earth to its original state. However, as I stated before, using a normal plant angel was out of the question.”

“Why didn't they use you?” Meryl asked softly.

Nightingale gazed at her expressionlessly. “I do not know.”

There was a long pause before Nightingale continued. “In any case, as I'm sure you all know, the laws of physics state that for every reaction, there is an equal and opposite reaction. Therefore, it is theoretically possible to reverse the process, causing the energy to destroy instead of heal.”

“A weapon...” The color drained out of Vash's face.

“Yes, a weapon. Presumably, such a device would be capable of as much, or possibly more, damage than your Angel Arm.”

Vash's face went completely white as there was a collective intake of breath around the room. “But, no has ever made that weapon...right?” he asked, voice shaking.

Nightingale looked around the room solemnly. “Unfortunately, when Agent Julia betrayed GENE, she gave Vicious the plans to the Regenerator. It did not take much ingenuity to reverse the effect of the device, which brought about the creation of what GENE calls the Angel Annihilator.”

“Fortunately,” she continued, “until now, Vicious had lacked the final part neeeded to activate the Annihilator.”

“Until now?” Vash asked, his stomach twisted in knots.

“If my assumptions are correct, Vicious will enlist your brother's aid in this matter, whether he wants to or not.”

“Then what the hell are we waiting around here for? Let's go, damnit!” Faye exclaimed as she stood up abruptly.

“I have already reset our course for Mars. If we use the hyperspace gates, we should arrive there in a two to three days at most.”

“What about secrecy?” Jet inquired.

“There is no time for such luxuries, Mr. Black. We either find Knives and Vicious now, or we risk loosing everything.”

“I second that motion,” Spike said quietly.

“Then, it's settled. Prepare yourselves for battle. I am quite sure there will be a fight waiting for us upon our arrival.”

Vasg watched as Nightingale swept out of the room without another word. He looked down at his hands, which were clutched together so tightly that it hurt.

“Vash, are you alright?”

Vash smiled weakly. “I'm fine, Meryl. Don't worry about me.”

Knives, what have you gotten yourself into?

 

 

Three days after his escape, Knives found himself on the red planet called Mars. Knives recalled learning about Mars when he was younger. It had been uninhabitable, yet Mars was now a nest for human garbage.

Of course, the filthy humans will undoubtably abuse this planet to until they are forced to move elsewhere once again. Disgusting creatures, Knives thought darkly.

Still, Knives was interested in seeing this weapon that Vicious spoke of. If it was as powerful as he claimed, Knives would be able to wipe out humanity very quickly. Despite the slightest nudges that Knives felt in his mind, he was certain the extinction of the human race was a worthy goal. Since his separation from Nightingale, he was feeling more confident in his logic and methods again. It was refreshing, yet at the same time, oddly disappointing.

Is this what humans call a “conscience?” Ridiculous...

Knives brushed those thoughts away. Right now, he had to concentrate upon the task at hand. Vicious was currently leading Knives and Legato, who refused to leave his Master's side, to the weapon to inspect it. Knives felt a slight twinge of anticipation.

At last, after 130 years of waiting, the end of humanity is at hand.

“We're here,” Vicious announced.

The door slid open. As Knives stepped into the room, the lights automatically switched on. Knives stared at the monstrosity before him. The lower part of the device vaguely resembled a plant bulb. However, the top of the bulb appeared connected to a long, metallic cannon. It was sleek and gleamed wickedly in the light. Knives walked around the weapon and looked up. He could barely make out a large hole at the end of the cannon, presumably the area where an energy blast was released.

“Magnificent, isn't it?” Vicious said.

Knives ignored him. “A demonstration.”

Vicious grinned. “But of course.”

A few minutes later, standing off to a distance, nives watched the bulb beneath the cannon (apparently the power source) being to glow. The light moved slowly up the bulb to the metal, where it spread inot glowing silver veins that streaked up inot the middle of the cannon. Then, the light gathered in the center, and the glow began to pulsate furiously. Suddenly, the bulb flickered, and there was a sputtering noise as the light died.

“What happened?” Knives demanded.

“I'm sorry. I must have forgotten to mention that we are still missing one vital piece in this device.”

Knives narrowed his eyes. “What?”

Vicious grinned insanely. “A power source.”

Knives blinked as everything came together. The bargain, now revealed to be a ploy. The bulb. The missing power source. Knives saw it now. He turned on Vicious, ready to rip the treacherous human's head off.

Then, Knives was suddenly assaulted by a wall of sound. The noise screeched, grating on his nerves. As he collapsed to the floor, barely managing to keep himself on his knees, he vaguely heard Legato say, “Master, what is wrong?”

Then, Knives heard the gunshot. Legato fell to the ground heavily, a bullet in his skull. Knives gritted his teeth against the pain. Then, he heard a laugh. Vicious's laugh.

“I suppose you're wondering what is wrong with you? I'll tell you, then. You are currently being subjected to a sound device which plays on many different frequencies. Unfortunately for you, the frequency is pitched so only plants are affected.”

Knives glared murderously at Vicious, who merely laughed. “You're mine, my friend. How does it feel to know you will be used as a battery?”

“Mark my words,” Knives seethed, “no matter how long it takes, I will see your blood splatter the ground!”

Vicious kicked Knives in the head. “Learn your place, battery.”

As the world began to go black, Knives heard Vicious say, “All too easy.”

Then, another human said, “What shall I do about the other Gung-Ho Guns, sir?”

“Kill them.”

Then, as the kick to the head and constant bombardment of sound took its toll, Knives slipped into unconsciousness.

 

 

NO! Legato is DEAD! How could I have killed off such a hot character? And look at what I did to poor Knives (also a hot, sexy beast)! He's a BATTERY for crying out loud. That settles it. I am EVIL. Muahahahahahaha!

Ok, shuttingupnow. Anyways, I hope you liked this chapter.