Trigun Fan Fiction ❯ I'm Free ❯ Chapter 10 ( Chapter 10 )

Trigun Fanfic

Summary:Why did it all go wrong? When did it all go wrong? He has a vague sense that he isn't where he's supposed to be, that he's being held by invisible bonds that he cannot see. Great sadness engulfs him as he looks upon the glowing bulbs and one thought reigns in his mind as he looks at the people looking back at him: You can't take me! I'm free!

 

Trigun © Yasuhiro Nightow * Shonen Gaho-sha * Tokuma Shoten * JVC * Pioneer Entertainment (USA) Inc.

The following fan fiction was written by me (Chiruken) and is intended for the sole purpose of shared entertainment and not intended for publication or sale.

 

I'm Free

 

By Chiruken

 

Chapter 10

 

On Board Project SEEDS, 132 Years Ago:

It's a nightmare…it has to be a nightmare! He repeated the desperate thought over and over in his mind as he stared through the open door into the room coated in dust. His eyes moved over the jars lining the shelves of the laboratory. I just have to wake up and it'll all go away. Even in his own mind the words sounded false and empty. He felt himself moving forward, against his own volition. He didn't want to go into the room that had previously been sealed, but he also found it impossible to stop himself from doing so. He looked back the way he'd come and shuddered. He could see his footprints. It wasn't a dream this time…everything was real…terrifyingly so.

“Wh-what is this place?” Vash's voice reflected the growing horror and sense of betrayal he felt yet was unable to voice. “Knives, what is this?” He reached out and grasped his brother's hand and held it tightly as they moved as one through the room filled with unimaginable horrors. He couldn't answer…he had no answers. He didn't know and he was afraid to find out, yet he also knew that he must in order to finally understand the dreams that had been plaguing him as well as what was happening to himself.

He moved as if in a trance, blue gaze flitting over the jars with their grotesque displays, feeling bile rising and threatening to overwhelm him. He was terrified, disgusted and angry all at once with no real outlet for any of the emotions currently roiling through him making him feel almost physically ill. Images kept superimposing themselves in his mind, making it difficult to know what was real and what wasn't. He paused in front of a sterile metal gurney and drew in a sharp breath as a young girl appeared briefly, tubes and wires stuck into her small body, blue eyes filled with despair and pain, pale blonde hair unkempt and matted where it hadn't been shaved to allow easier access for probes to be stuck into her tender flesh. He blinked and the girl was gone, but the horror of the vision wouldn't leave him, couldn't leave him.

“We shouldn't be here…” Vash whispered hoarsely, green eyes slightly glazed and darting around the lab fearfully. “We shouldn't be here, Knives…i-it's Off Limits…Rem said so.” He felt his twin tugging on his hand, urging him to leave the room of horrors behind. “Please…I don't want to be here any more!” He tried to ignore his brother's growing hysteria while also attempting to suppress his own.

He pulled his hand free from Vash's crushing grip, turned and placed his hands on his shoulders, shaking him slightly to get his attention focused on him rather than the room with its terrible displays lining the walls. “Vash…” He had to swallow before continuing, forcing his voice to remain calm and steady. “I need to know…I need to know why Steve hates us so much.” He couldn't stop the tremors that the name had caused. “I need to know why he…why he hurts us.”

Vash gave him a perplexed look. “Hurts us? What are you talking about?” He frowned uncertainly and gave him a penetrating stare. “What has he done to you, brother?”

He shook his head quickly, not wanting to relive the pain and fear that the retelling of his ordeals at the hands of the drunken crew member would bring. “I-it's not important.” He could tell that his twin wasn't convinced when his frown deepened.

“If he's hurting you, you should tell Rem.”

“I said it's not important!” As soon as the shouted words left his mouth he regretted them. Ashamed for having lost his temper with his brother, he turned away and approached the computer terminal. He didn't want to see what the files on the hard drive might contain, yet at the same time he was consumed with the need to know. Some how, deep down, he knew that the answers to his questions, the reasons behind the cold stares and the hatred, were contained in this room, this horrible, nightmarish room that haunted not only his dreams but now his waking hours as well. Casting an apologetic look over his shoulder he sighed heavily. “I'm sorry, Vash.”

“I know…and I meant what I said. You should tell Rem. She can stop whatever's happening.”

He shook his head sadly and turned back to the monitor as he switched the computer on, listening to the hum as the fan circulated air through the machine. “No…I don't think she can…I don't think anyone can…” He tried almost desperately to not see anything else in the room. This strange room, this laboratory that had been sealed off from the rest of the ship and seemingly abandoned both terrified him and disgusted him…left him with a horrible sinking feeling and a looming sense of dread. Doom, he knew, was hanging just over their heads, waiting for the right moment to lower the boom. It was very much like the story Rem had told them…the story of Damocles. Like the ancient mythological figure, they, too, were living a rich life seemingly filled with all of life's pleasures…yet, hanging over their heads was the sword hung by a thin thread…a sword that could fall at any moment. Only the sword hanging over their heads wasn't a steel blade, but rather hate. And instead of being hung aloft by a single thread, it was held in check by the thin veneer of civility. He hated it. The uncertainty, the fear. It was only a matter of time before the hate would override the politeness. He was already feeling the brunt of the full implications. He didn't want Vash to have to suffer it as well.

Vash leaned against him, peering over his shoulder at the screen as he worked around the passwords to bring up the files and the secrets contained within them. “Who do you think she is?” He whispered near his ear.

He shrugged. “I don't know…” He murmured softly, fingers flying over the keyboard as he typed in the commands and entered into the menu. “Tessla?” He blinked and stared at the name, his heart hammering painfully against his chest.

“Who's that?”

He shook his head, indicating that he was as clueless as his brother as he continued passed what appeared to be the opening screen and entered the directory listing the files under the heading of the strangely familiar…yet foreign…name. He stared with wide eyes at the list that seemed to go on forever. “There's so many!” He didn't know where to begin. His hands hovered over the console as he chewed his bottom lip in indecision. Vash took the choice from him by reaching forward and opening the earliest dated file. They went from there, reading as fast as they could, moving from file to file, until finally, with tears falling unchecked, he collapsed, his young mind unable to grasp all that he'd learned, his young heart unable to bear the grief that assailed it.

 

»»