Trigun Fan Fiction ❯ Forever Mine ❯ The Humanoid Typhoon Returns ( Chapter 41 )

 

Disclaimer: Hmmm... I own my kids (Because I made them) I own my husband, (Because the Marriage License says so) and I own a REALLY big mortgage. (Because I'm stupid and signed on the dotted line.) However I don't own Trigun. (Because if I did, I wouldn't have said mortgage.)

“blah blah” : talking

`blah blah' : thinking

“blah blah” : telepathic talking

blah blah : other misc. stuff.

 

*~*~*

 

Forever Mine

Chapter 41: The Humanoid Typhoon Returns

 

 

 

With a muttered curse, a masculine hand reached over to turn the alarm off that was signaling the hour of 6:00am. The morning came too early, yet again, and was severely cutting into his newly found quality sleeping time that he so greatly appreciated. Finally, finding the off button, he sighed in contentment before rolling back over and wrapping an arm around the smaller form sleeping in the bed next to him.

 

“Is it morning already?” the smaller figure mumbled groggily, right before rolling over and softly kissing the male on his bare chest.

 

“Shhh… you can sleep a little more, woman,” he huskily whispered back after kissing the top of her russet-colored head.

 

That was the fifteenth morning that Knives had woken up to see red hair in his line of sight and he knew that it was something that he would never tire of. McKenna had made the mornings pleasant and relaxing, while the nights were sultry and passionate. She helped make everything better, his outlook toward humans' rights, living on the barren planet, and his own issues with his past. All of it had all drastically changed, since meeting the shrew of a woman, who he now called his own.

 

Even the traumatic nightmares that had plagued him for the past 130 years had, for the most part, left him alone after sharing his visions with her (and Vash). As a matter of fact, since their new sleeping `arrangements,' Knives had only been jolted out of sleep once because of the horrific dream. He immediately reached out for her, seeking comfort, which resulted in a lovemaking session that had been so deep, so needy, that he actually wept over the sheer force of it all. Of course, in the afterglow, the arrogant Plant muttered that he wasn't actually shedding tears. It was just sweat, while wiping his eyes with one hand and pulling her infinitely closer with the other.

 

Knives was most definitely glad that he was able to cross the invisible line that was keeping him from claiming her. Hell, if he would have realized just how satisfying it was, he would have taken Vash's advice and done it long ago, especially now that the mutation theory was ringing true. And just the thought of knowing that he would have her with him forever, pleased him immensely.

 

Since their first encounter, Mac's PNc count had increased by seven percent. Almost catching up to Meryl's when they checked her count five days ago. He could feel that it had increased even more so over the past fives days and couldn't hardly wait to check her again in two. If the count continued to rise at the pace it was going, then he predicted that she would have mutated enough to bear children in a little over a year. However, the redhead wasn't really showing any Plant tendencies other than a higher metabolism and hair growth.

 

`Hmmm… I'm going to have to keep her calorie intake up to make sure she doesn't lose her soft curves,' Knives thought to himself as he absently started to caress her hip.

 

“So you actually like my roundness, hmmm?” McKenna replied with a sleepy smile.

 

“What did you just say?” Knives asked, with shock apparent, as he pulled away from the now confused redhead.

 

“What? I heard you say that you don't want me to lose my curves.”

 

“I didn't send that to you,” he breathed, realizing that either their bond was growing and she was picking up on his thoughts or it was just her mental abilities in general. Either way, he definitely knew it was a good sign. “I thought that to myself.”

 

“Really? You mean… I picked up on your thoughts?” she asked as the confused expression melted away and her face brightened with a big smile. “So, I will finally be able to seek revenge for all of those times you entered my mind!”

 

“No…” he started slowly before adding with a smirk, “I will simply shut you out.”

 

“Ugh… you are just no fun, Knives,” she groaned in mock annoyance as she lightly smacked him on the shoulder.

 

“Funny… I thought it looked as though you were having quite a bit of fun with me last night, woman,” Knives interjected right before grabbing her bottom and pulling closer. “And in case you don't remember... I would be more than happy to remind you.”

 

“Don't tempt me… I really need to get up,” McKenna said with a faint moan. “I have Tommy coming down at 7:30am for his check up and then I need to meet Jessica at her place by nine. She said something about having my new traveling clothes completed. Though, I really don't understand why she made them.”

 

“Vash asked her to,” he said, letting her go, knowing that he needed to get up as well.

 

“But why?” she asked, while rolling out of the bed and picking her robe up off of the floor. Sliding the cool material on, she added, “My clothes are perfectly fine.”

 

“You're clothes are practically falling off of you,” he replied back, getting out of bed as well. Then as he walked over to pull some clothing out of his bureau, he continued, “Besides, they are not suitable for travel. You need to wear something that will be durable.”

 

“Well… I was able to travel around in them before without any trouble. Besides, they weren't always so big,” she muttered sarcastically to herself while tying her robe.

 

“However, they are now and you will not wear them while traveling,” he exclaimed, in his normal autocratic tone, as he walked over to her. “As a matter of fact, you need to acquire a new wardrobe. You belong to me now and it is expected of you to dress according to your new status.”

 

“Ugh… whatever, you say Knives. I don't feel like arguing with you this morning, anyway,” the redhead mumbled, while heading over to the closet to pull out some of her `unsuitable' clothing that had migrated from her quarters to his. “What time are you meeting Vash?” She immediately asked to change the direction of their conversation.

 

“I want to check your count first and run a few tests. I'll contact Vash and have him meet me in the infirmary.”

 

“You are not giving me another biopsy, Knives!” Mac bit out as she remembered part of the tests five days ago. They discovered an interesting side effect when it came time for her menstrual cycle to start. She was `scheduled' to start ten days before, but ended up not starting until after she was three days late and it only last for two days. So, Knives decided to run a complete examination on her, which included collecting tissue samples from her uterus and the only way to do that was to give her endometrial biopsy. Of course, McKenna immediately refused when Knives informed her that he was going to perform the procedure.

 

Her complaints went unheeded…

 

“Fortunately for you, I am not planning on doing so. It will not be necessary to collect another tissue sample,” Knives simply stated. “The results from the first biopsy proved that the blood lining your uterine walls was breaking down because of the PNc. Then being absorbed into your body to initiate the mutation… just as I predicted, of course.”

 

“Then what do you want to do this time?”

 

“I want to see what mental capabilities you have acquired.”

 

 

 

*~*~*

 

 

 

“Christ Vash, how can you wear such restrictive attire,” Knives groused as he pulled against the brown body armor lying against his chest.

 

“You'll get used to it,” Vash said, with a laugh, as he walked up to his twin, wearing his matching body armor. “Besides, you will appreciate it all the more, once the bullets start flying your way. You don't wanna have scars like I do, do ya'?”

 

“I hardly believe that I will need to worry about that, dearest brother. I do not plan on acting like a complete buffoon, while trying to avoid a confrontation.”

 

“Hey, it takes extreme skill to act like a complete idiot, ya' know!”

 

“My thanks to all that is holy that I do not possess such a skill,” Knives replied with a smirk as he crossed his arms over his chest.

 

“Hey!”

 

“Anyway… Vash,” he continued, wanting to get back to training. Looking around the empty Plant chamber, he added, “Your mental abilities are improving, but we are going to need to work on manipulating energy. So…”

 

“No…” Vash cut in with a smile on his face.

 

“No?”

 

“No, I have something else I thought we could work on for the rest of the day,” he said right before jogging over to the control center that resided at the base of the now empty Plant platform. Once there, he slid open one of the lower cabinets and pulled out two brown leather holsters and set one of them on top of the panel before strapping the other on. Upon finishing, he picked up the other one and quickly headed back to his brother before handing it over.

 

“Why?” Knives quietly asked as he stared, meaningfully, at what the holster was carrying. It was his black long colt.

 

“Well… I thought it would be a good idea to also keep our combatant skills up. So…”

 

“No…” he interjected, right before looking up at his twin, showing a mixture of emotions playing across his face. He knew that the transuranic cylinder had been removed, thusly rendering the Angel-arm inoperable. But, that didn't hinder him from being extremely moved by his twin actually trusting him enough to give him his gun back. “I…I mean why did you give me this back?”

 

“It's time, Knives,” Vash said, still smiling, right before lifting his hand up and placing it on his brother's shoulder to give him a reassuring squeeze. Then lowering his hand, he shrugged his shoulders while adding, “Besides, I figured that you would prefer using it over anything else when we head out. And I… ummm… also had the best gunsmith in town do a complete overhaul on it. Although, I wish I would have had time to get it over to Frank.”

 

“Thank you…Vash,” Knives said with a small smile, prior to strapping the gun on. Once the holster was firmly in place, he pulled the gun out to inspected it. “Well, everything seems to be in working order,” he finally added as he spun the weapon around his right index finger for a moment before fluidly slipping it back into its cradle.

 

“Okay…” Vash said as he pulled his silver long colt out. Hitting the release, the gun snapped opened, showing a bullet in each chamber. Pulling one out, he advised, “These are rubber bullets, so, they won't cause any harm. However, they do sting a little.”

 

“Greaaat,” Knives muttered sarcastically, while watching as Vash put the bullet back and snapped the gun closed before slipping it back into his holster.

 

“Now, I have placed reload cartridges all around the space,” the golden blonde added, ignoring his brother's grumble about the `pain' right before sending images of their locations. Then with a big grin on his face, Vash asked, “Are you ready for a little one on one, brother?”

 

“Anything goes, right?”

 

“You got it.”

 

Knives smiled as his ice-blue orbs glinted dangerously. He was more than ready for anything that Vash could dish out and proved it by rushing up to his twin and instantly flipping him over his shoulder, tossing him a few feel away. Vash, showing his like a cat grace, landed on his feet and smiled before watching Knives fly by, while pulling his gun from his holster.

 

“Then be prepared,” Knives started telepathically before adding, “I believe that I still owe you a thorough ass kicking…”

 

 

 

*~*~*

 

 

 

McKenna just stood in the doorway and watched the Plants in battle. To say she was in awe would have been an understatement, since she had never seen anything so remarkable in all of her life. They were rushing about the cavernous room, shooting at one another, while dodging each others' bullets at the same time. Then before she knew it, they were flying up at one another with their guns back in their holsters to fight in hand to hand combat. Essentially, using their limbs to try and gain the upper hand. The speed and the accuracy of the blows and impeding blocks so incredible, that she wasn't sure what she was seeing or who was winning. The twins were so evenly matched.

 

Then she saw Vash make a risky move by slipping down on a knee before instantly sliding forward and grabbing the top of Knives' chest plate with his prosthetic hand and his waistband with the right. Getting thrown over his brother's head, Knives was rendered airborne, where he flipped himself to land on his feet before sliding a few feel backward. Then without pause, he rushed back up to Vash and attacked again. The platinum blonde jumped up while whipping his long left leg around in a roundhouse kick, which sent Vash to the ground in order to miss the blow. Kipping up, the younger sibling came back with a leg sweep. Knives barely dodged the attack by jumping in the air, flipping over and behind his twin. Immediately pulling out his long colt, the older twin aimed it at the back of his brother's head.

 

“Gotcha,” Knives stated triumphantly as he slipped his gun back into its cradle and stepped back. He immediately looked over to the doorway and acknowledged the auburn-haired woman, who he felt since before she entered the space. “Woman, why are you interrupting us?” he asked with irritation present in is tone. Then he looked his mate over. “And what in the hell do you have on?”

 

He had never seen her in anything other than baggy clothing (when she wasn't naked) and what she had on would be considered anything but. He assumed that she had on part of her new traveling attire and the form fitting pants, in a light brown suede, hugged her generous curves a little to snugly for his liking. Then there was the sleeveless lycra shirt, the color soft cream, that left little to the imagination with a high neck collar. It accentuated her ample chest and small waist as it rested on her hips a little too nicely, showing off her hourglass figure.

 

“This is what Jessica made for me,” McKenna answered, while glancing down at her own clothing before walking up to where Knives and Vash stood. Once she reached the two, she added, “And she has your duster completed. So, I thought I would come and get you so we can make sure it fits properly.”

 

“The little twit's incompetence never ceases to amaze me,” Knives bit out as he continued to take in McKenna's new clothing. Sure, she looked good, really good in fact. But, that didn't mean he wanted every biped male on the planet to ogle her voluptuous assets. They were only his to admire. “You are not wearing that. It isn't suitable for traveling.”

 

“Knives, what in the hell are you talking about?” the redhead incredulously asked as she placed her hands on her hips. “You're the one that insisted that I get new clothing and now that I have… you're still bitching.”

 

“Yeah Knives, I see nothing wrong with them,” Vash interjected with a big grin. “As a matter of fact, you look really good red!” he told Mac with a wink, which got him an elbow in the ribs and a withering glare from his brother.

 

“Shut up Vash!” Knives growled. “It shows too much skin, you will burn and it's too tight!”

 

“Well… I also have matching trench coat that goes almost to my ankles. So, I don't believe sunburn is an issue and the material will give a little,” red advised him, right before turning to leave the space. Then without looking back, she added, “Now, that that's settled, follow me and we can see about your new attire.”

 

Knives just stared at her retreating form and couldn't help but smile. `Such audacity,' he thought to himself until an idea came to mind. Without looking away from her, he sent his brother a message, “Vash, use your new skills and stop her.”

 

“Okie dokie,” Vash sent back, with a laugh, right before he entered her mind and stopped the retreating woman with just a thought.

 

“Knives, let me go,” she yelled from where she stood, not being able to even turn around to glare at the platinum blonde.

 

“Sorry woman, but if you would open your senses then you would realize that it isn't me who has you,” Knives sent to her, while referring to what they learned earlier that morning about her newly discovered mutation. They found out that their bond had strengthened and she was now able to pick up on his thoughts and senses. Therefore, she should have realized that it wasn't him who had her.

 

“Then… Vash, let me go… please,” McKenna pleaded as both Vash and Knives started to walk up to her.

 

“Oh I suppose…” Vash said, overdramatically, including a big sigh at the end of the sentence. Once he relinquished his hold on her mobility, the three headed out of the Plant chamber, making their way to Jessica's. So, Knives could try on is new attire and, hopefully, get some lunch since noon was fast approaching.

 

 

 

*~*~*

 

 

 

Thirty minutes later, the trio was in Jessica's quarters with Vash sitting at the kitchen table eating some salmon sandwiches, while Jessica and McKenna were watching as Knives finished buttoning up the high gloss black buttons on his new duster.

 

The coat itself was the basically the same cut as Vash's, only with four separate panels that reached from the tapered waist to Knives's ankles. However that's where the similarities ended, for this overcoat possessed both sleeves and was a pale taupe, almost the color of crushed limestone. The incredible build of the man filled its simple lines perfectly as the coat accentuated his broad shoulders and slender hips. The only adornments were the single row of buttons that started at the base of the high mandarin collar that descended vertically down to the hem. Used in order to close the trench coat and connect the two front panels together, if he decided to do so. 

 

“Well… ummm… what do you think, Mr. Knn…nives?” Jessica tentatively asked, since she was still leery of being around the maniacal Plant.

 

“It will suffice,” he simply stated as he walked around the main living area in order to get the feel of wearing the body armor and duster together. He even quickly drew his six-shooter several times to make sure the coat wouldn't hinder his reaction time. Then looking up to his brother, he called out his name in order to ask for his opinion.

 

“Those some pretty cool digs there, Knives,” Vash replied in between bites of sandwich. “But you're missing something…”

 

“Oh yeah… what?”

 

“I'll show ya' in just a sec,” Vash stated right before a knock was heard at the door. Then with an `I'll get it,' Vash walked up to the control panel and let the new person in. It was the Doc. “Hey Doc, is that package from Max?” Vash asked motioning to the smaller rectangular box in older looking man's left hand.

 

“Ahhh… yes,” he replied as he handed it over to the golden blonde before walking up to McKenna. Reaching into a pocket, he pulled out a letter and handed it to her. “And this came for you today, Mac.”

 

“Thank you, Doc,” McKenna said with a small smile as she absently read who the letter was from. “Hmmm… this is from Milly. I wonder why I got this so soon,” she added mostly to herself as she tore open the envelope to read the letter.

 

As the female doctor read, Vash stepped over to his twin and gave him the box. Accepting the package, Knives curiously opened it before pulling out the contents. It was a pair of black wire rimmed sunglasses with the equally dark lenses in the shape of rectangles. Slipping them on, he grinned and was about to say thank you until Mac cut him off.

 

“Ummm… guys,” she started with her eyes as big a saucers. “We have a problem.”

 

“What's wrong?” Knives asked as he took of the shades and slipped them into a hidden pocket on the right side of his coat.

 

“Well… we are going to have to change our plans a bit,” Mac stated, handing the letter over to Vash, who was next to her in an instant.

 

“Elaborate,” Knives pressed.

 

“It seems that Meryl and Milly won't be in December on our estimated arrival date,” she said before sighing, “They have accepted another assignment and, if going by the post mark on the letter, they left nine days ago.”

 

“Bloody hell…” Knives muttered as he ran a hand through his cropped locks. Then looking up to his twin, he watched as Vash read the rest of the letter. If the intense irritation flowing through the younger sibling was any indication, then he knew that Vash was severely pissed off at the moment. “Vash?” Knives called, trying to get his brother's attention.

 

Vash closed his eyes after reading the letter and took a deep breath. He just knew that something was going to throw a kink in their plans and it happened to come in the form of an outlaw dubbed the Bringer of Chaos. “Damn it,” he bit out to himself before opening his piercing aqua blues. Looking at his brother, he saw Knives' questioning gaze and knew that he wanted to know what the next step was. Taking another deep breath, the outlaw handed the letter back to Mac before commanding, “Get ready, we are leaving at the first sun rising tomorrow.”

 

“Tomorrow? Are you sure Vash?” Knives asked.

 

“Yes.”

 

“And where exactly are we heading?”

 

“Nothing has changed, Knives,” Vash ground out before adding, “We are still going to run my little errand first and then head over to New DC. We are just leaving about a week earlier than scheduled.”

 

“Well, let's go then,” Knives inputted as the two Plants headed toward the door, with a redhead following close behind.

 

 

 

*~*~*

 

 

 

With a tear running down his face, Vash tenderly caressed the pillow resting on the right side the bed he was laying on, Meryl's bed. He could still smell the faint scent of lavender lingering on the cream-colored sheets and when he closed his eyes and imagined hard enough, he could practically feel her slight form lying next to him. Since deciding to go after her, he had made it a habit to sleep in her unoccupied room. He needed to. It was the closest thing that he had to her and it helped ease the loneliness.

 

Today was the day. In an hour and a half, they were leaving New Oregon to start a new journey and, hopefully, reunite with his Angel. With a sigh escaping, he rolled over and looked at the digital clock, noting the hour of 5:00am before rolling out of bed to get ready. For the most part, all essentials had been packed and loaded onto the truck the night before. Leaving only a few items to be added, which included a couple of things the Doc said he would have ready by their departure, money for traveling expenses, and the trio themselves.

 

All he needed to was shower, get dressed, and eat a healthy breakfast before meeting Knives and Mac at the truck to go over the last minute check list prior to heading out. “Hmmm… might have enough time,” he said to himself, while running a hand through his hair that now dropped past his shoulders and walking over to the bathroom to get a shower in. Then as he turned the light on, he mumbled, “I wonder if Jessica's awake yet…”

 

Twenty five minutes later, a freshly showered and shaven golden blonde stepped into his own quarters to meet his brother and red to have breakfast. Looking into the kitchen, he saw that the couple had already finished up their breakfast and were in the process of putting their dishes away. However, there was an untouched third plate heaped full of eggs and a side of toast and a coffee cup sitting on the table waiting to be consumed. With a smile on his face, he walked into the kitchen and promptly sat down in front of the meal and started to eat. “Hey guys, thank you for the grub,” he said in between mouthfuls of egg.

 

“Could you please not talk with your mouth full, Vash,” Knives scolded out as he turned to look fully at his brother.

 

“Ummm… sure,” Vash replied after taking a sip of coffee. “Are you two ready to go?”

 

“I just need to head down to the infirmary to see Carla before we head out,” McKenna supplied before walking over to the living area and grabbing the new over coat that perfectly matched her pants. Slipping it on, she turned to the twin Plants and smiled before adding, “I'll meet you down at the truck within the hour.”

 

“I will come and get you at the infirmary, woman,” Knives advised as he walked over to inspect the coat more closely. Lifting the collar up, he gave her a small smile before adding. “The pants are still too tight, but at least the duster covers up your lovely backside. And keep the collar up, it will help shelter you from the sunlight.”

 

“Yes sir,” she replied smartly before moving up on her tippie toes to give him a quick kiss. Then with an `I'll see you shortly,' she left the quarters.

 

“I am going to go and put on that cumbersome body amour now,” Knives groused as he brought his right hand up to the high collar on the black form fitting undershirt and pulled on the material. “At least I can still wear my denim pants,” he muttered as an afterthought, referring to the black Levis had had on, as he strode into his room to finish preparing.

 

Alone again, Vash quickly finished breakfast and cleaned his dishes before walking back to his own room to grab a few necessities. First, he opened his closet and grabbed a small leather pouch, before heading over to his bed and kneeling in front of it. Reaching under the steel frame, he pulled out a silver suitcase and placed it on the mattress. With ever efficient fingers, his opened the case, revealing it contents. It was full of twenty double-dollar bills.

 

“Vash, shouldn't you be getting dressed?” Knives asked, a few minutes later, as he stood in his twin's doorway, noting that his twin was still only in his matching sleeveless black undershirt and Levis. Then he saw what Vash had before him. “Where in the hell did you get all of that?” he then asked, stepping up to look over his brother's shoulder.

 

“Well… a couple of years ago, I basically helped a young couple escape from slave traders and this was the reward,” Vash replied as he pulled out two stacks of bills and handed them to his brother. Then grabbing two more large stacks, he placed them in the pouch, while continuing, “I originally intended to give the reward to Moore and Julius, so they could start a new life together, but they declined it. So, I figured that it might come in handy one day and hid the case by the Demislad sprays with a homing beacon. Once we reached the next town, I sent the Doc a wire with the beacon's frequency and he picked it up for me.”

 

“How much is in there anyway?”

 

“Originally… twenty million double-dollars,” Vash answered, while closing the case. “I just pulled out two million.”

 

“What are you going to do with two million double-dollars, Vash?”

 

“This is our cut… I guess you could say,” he said with a chuckle before standing up. “I'm going to leave the rest to the Doc. He is going to see that five million is sent to Wolfwood's orphanage outside of December and the remainder is to help maintain the ship,” he supplied, while picking up his cut and motioning for Knives to place the rest of the money in the bag. Then they walked out of the bedroom, simply leaving the suitcase on the bed.

 

“Are you going to get ready now, Vash?” Knives asked once they were back in the main living area.

 

“I have one more thing I need to do,” the outlaw answered right before there was a knock at the door. Handing the pouch over to his twin, Vash opened the sliding door to let Jessica in. “Thank you for coming at the last minute, Jess.”

 

“You know I don't mind Vash,” she said with a giggle. “I told ya' I'd do anything to help out, remember?”

 

“Of course I do!” Vash said with a smile. Bringing his attention back to Knives, he said, “I'll meet you at the truck in thirty minutes. Could you put the pouch someplace secure, brother?”

 

“I'll take care of it,” he muttered before exiting the space to go and retrieve his mate.

 

Vash watched the platinum blonde, dressed in his new gear, head through the exit and smiled. They were almost ready to go. Looking back to the woman in braids, he ran his real hand through his long hair again, while asking, “Do you wanna to this in the kitchen or the bathroom?”

 

 

…

 

 

“He had better hurry his ass up,” Knives bit out, while waiting for Vash to show up from under the ship. It was thirty-five minutes later and they, including the Doc, were patiently waiting (Knives impatiently) for Vash's arrival. Everything was officially loaded, including the Doc's gifts, the truck had been pulled out from under the ship, and the energy cells recharged. Now they just needed a certain outlaw, who was late, and if they want to leave at the first sunrise, then he needed to show within the next five minutes.

 

“Have patience, brother,” Vash sent telepathically before adding, “I'll be there momentarily.”

 

True to his words, less than a minute later, a shadow could be seen emerging from the makeshift garage. In the very next instant, the brightening predawn light enveloped the figure as he walked up to the truck with purpose in his stride. His hair recently cut and defying gravity was in golden spikes, while his duster, a vibrant red, flowed about his legs in a fiery grace. Upon his nose lay a pair of circular shades that not only matched the twin balls of fire that were rising, but also glinted as their first rays of light signaled that it was dawn.

 

The figure walking toward them was none other than the Humanoid Typhoon, Vash the Stampede.