Trigun Fan Fiction ❯ Life Thereafter ❯ Unnerving ( Chapter 17 )

Disclaimer: How I wish I owned Trigun. Sadly, I own it not.

 

A/N: No one guessed! O.O Well, it looks like everyone's gonna have to wait and see what the dream sequence meant. Hehe, all the more cookies for me!

Wait...that might not necessarily be a good thing. o.o

Ahem, anyway, here's the next chapter! XD

 

 

Unnerving

 

The harsh glare from the twin suns radiated down from the heavens, reflecting slightly off of the desert sands. Small gusts of wind lightly pushed up a cloud of golden grains which swirled gently in the warm breeze. They were shoved roughly out of the way when a truck sped past, kicking up sand behind its wheels as it roared by. The engine rumbled angrily, almost as if it was suffering from some deeply unsatisfactory problem that irritated it to no end, a disturbingly similar image to the one driving the vehicle.

How dare she! Knives growled. How dare she!

Those three words echoed inside of Knives's mind, a never-ending repetition, reminding him of what he did not have. Knives grinded his teeth together, his lips bared into a snarl. How he did detest her! That woman, that insignificant woman who had somehow managed to force her way into Vash's life and, by association, his own life. She thought Knives would not notice? She thought he would not see?

The fool! he hissed.

Yesterday was when it had happened. Vash had woken up, not for Knives, his own flesh and blood, but for that human, that disgusting creature, who's life would flicker for a time and fade long before the two Plant brothers ever ceased to exist. Knives knew that these thoughts were repetitive, but they would not leave him alone.

The human was supposed to fetch him when Vash awoke. He had told her that. Knives glared at the path in front of him. He had been a fool to tell her that. After all, their kind was untrustworthy, fitting for vermin of their status. Still, it grated on his last nerve.

Who had been the one who tried to save not only Vash but Plant Angels across Gunsmoke, not only in the Great Fall but afterwards? Who had been the one that took care of Vash until the idiot had run off on his own? Who had been the one that tried to help Vash see the truth? Who had saved Vash from those vile humans after Vash's bounty? Who was the one now who was trying to save Vash from his affliction?

There is one thing I do know, Knives seethed. The answer to those questions is not a human female who has lived less than one-third of our time on this planet!

Knives gripped the steering wheel tightly, so much so that it hurt. With great difficulty, he loosened his finger around the wheel. As he did so, Knives noticed hand prints indented into the object where he had been clutching it, a testament not only to his rage but the strength of his own kind, a race of superior beings, something that Vash, to Knives's consternation, could not see.

It was the humans' fault. Somehow, the blame was always on the shoulders of a human, first Rem, and now this Meryl. Would it never end?

No, Knives thought. It will never be over. Not until every last one of them is dead. Nothing less will stop this maddening cycle. Nothing less.

After seeing his brother and the human asleep in the backseat, Knives had had no doubts about what had just occurred. Rage had gripped him, and it had taken every iota of self control he had to prevent himself from dragging the female from the back of the truck and ripping her small form to shreds.

Knives grinned in spit of himself. Now that is a day I look forward to.

He would have to bide his time. One day soon, an opportunity would present itself. Knives could feel it. And when it did, well, nothing would save her, not even Vash.

Knives frowned. Of course, when he finally did get the human into a corner, he would have to make sure that Vash was not in the vicinity. After all, past experiences had already shown that Vash would defend his pet no matter what the consequences, a minor setback that could be easily avoided. Once they reached the old headquarters, Knives would be able to do what he deemed necessary. With the human out of the way, there was nothing that would be able to stand against him.

Glancing up at the two suns, their golden color changing gradually to a crimson hue, a stain of red creeping slightly into the sky. It looked like the suns would be setting soon. When they finally came close to sinking beneath the horizon, it would be time to stop the vehicle for the night. Yet another day had gone by. It would not be long now until they reached their destination. Judging by the current rate of speed and the distance covered, Knives estimated that they would be there by midday tomorrow.

He frowned. That was not fast enough. Vash might have awoken yesterday, but his condition was still deteriorating. Knives could feel it. Ever since the day when Knives had first discovered Vash's affliction, whatever it might be, there had been something extremely disconcerting going on.

Knives could sense his brother giving off energy, first in incremental amounts, but over time, the amount of energy being given off increased. Not only was it unnatural, but Knives knew that Plants could not give off energy for long periods of time with impunity. Even those pitifully inept humans called “Plant Engineers” knew that much about Plant physiology.

Of course they would know, Knives spat. They need my sisters to last as long as possible for their selfish needs. And when a Plant is no longer of any use, they preform the Last Run.

Just thinking of the Last Run made Knive's blood boil. Once one of his sister's had be exhausted, the humans would violently drain away what remained of her life energy. Knives still remembered.

A little over half a year before the battle with Vash, Knives had been contacted by a Plant sister. Before he could ask her what was wrong, she had screamed in anguish before the connection was lost. He had barely managed to ascertain her location before he lost her entirely.

When he finally tracked her down, all that remained of her was a blackened, mangled husk lying at the bottom of a bulb, blood splattering the inside of the confinement, as well as what had once been a Plant sister.

What happened afterwards was a blur. The next thing Knives knew, he was standing in the middle of a street, his left arm somehow transformed into blades, covered in bits of human flesh and blood. His gun barrel was smoking in his right hand, the scent of burnt gunpower wafting into his nostrils. Knives had stared at the transformed limb, blinking rapidly. He remembered as a his lips began to curve upward into an insane grin, mangled and bloody human corpses all around him. After that, he walked to the center of the town and wrote his own name in blood on the monument. Then, he had ordered the Gung-Ho Guns and Legato to clear the town of corpses and blood to make it seem as though nothing had occurred there.

Knives found out later that the name of the town was Carcasses. How ironic.

That had been months ago now, and since then, Knives had mastered the Angel Blades, as he called them. He had expected Vash to have a similar ability and was pleased to discover that he did when he had made his first attempt on the short female's life. Knives had expected that nothing less than a severe emotional shock could jarr Vash into tapping into his Plant abilities, besides those of the Colts, which regulated energy output. It had been Knives's intention to cause Vash to feel more of a kinship with his own kind, and therefore less with humans, by encouraging him to use the abilities he had been born with.

Unfortunately, that plan had backfired, and the situation Knives found himself in now was a result of that miscalculation. Apparently, Knives had underestimated the amount of emotional duress it would cause. And then, there was the human factor. Why was it that Knives was thwarted by humans, somehow, no matter what he tried?

Knives scowled. It could not be helped. All he could do now was make the best of the circumstances, no matter how much he detested them. Knives might be losing the battle right now, but he was going to win the war.

 

 

Dream Sequence

 

It was that same place again. Vash looked about nervously, his eyes shifting back and forth, taking in the surrounding area. He sighed with relief when he saw that everything was fine. Perhaps the last time had been all in his imagination.

Everything was as it had been. Leaves rustled gently in the light breeze, the grasses following suit. Wisps of clouds drifted overhead, exchanging smiles with the blooming flowers below. Vash breathed in the scent of a rich, loamy earth, relaxing as the smell wafted up his nose.

Then, a gurgling sound drew Vash's attention. Treading softly, Vash walked slowly down a small dirt path, his boots padding silently on the soft earth. Brushing a few stray strands of hair out of his face, Vash followed the sound until he reached a stream.

Vash frowned, a puzzled look on his face. The last time he had been here, he had seen the strange river that seemed to contain glowing white waters. At the time, he had been too occupied to think about how strange that was. But now, as he watched the glowing liquid flow past him, Vash had to admit that it was very strange indeed. He crouched down and crept closer until he was right next to the edge of the river. Then, Vash reached out in curiosity and dipped his finger into the glowing liquid.

A sudden flash of warmth rushed into his finger, which soon spread to his whole hand and his forearm. Vash blinked. The warmth was comforting. It felt...right, somehow. Also, Vash felt something he that could not explain. His instincts told him that this liquid could be harmful, but he did not understand how that could be possible.

Standing up slowly, Vash lifted his finger away. To his surprise, the liquid lingered on his skin, as if not wanting to leave. Then, it slowly dripped back into the stream, leaving no sign that it had been on Vash's finger, not even a little dampness. Vash stared at it, puzzled, before turning around and walking upstrem, thinking that he might get more answers from the origin of the river.

 

 

Meryl sighed, twirling a lock of black hair around her fingertip. The days were passing before her like a blur. Each new day blended with the one before, making them nearly indistinguishable from the the others. It could not be helped. Monotony was the reason for this, and as someone used to being active, Meryl could not stand it.

Shifting her weight slightly in an attempt to make the bumpy ride less uncomfortable, Meryl leaned back and found herself wondering how she had been dragged into this mess in the first place, something she seemed to be thinking about more and more now.

She had been an ordinary insurance agent sent on a mission with her partner to look after Vash the Stampede. It had been a standard job, the only non-standard part being Vash the Stampede himself. Everyone had suspected some hardship, mostly because of his terrible reputation, if for no other reason. Yet, it had not been Vash's reputation that caused problems, it was his own past, marked by sorrow and torment not of his own making.

Meryl pulled her legs up to chest and wrapped her arms around them, resting her chin on her knees. It was truly unfair. Yet, nothing could be done about it. Even though Vash had been proclaimed the mankind's first localized disaster, the bounty had not been dropped. The presence of Descartes and the two Nebraskas were proof of that.

But, once word gets back to the authorites about what happened to them, they might change their minds, and frankly, who could blame them?

Hugging her limbs closer to herself to ward of the chill that went down her spine, Meryl shivered slightly. It would not due to think about that. It would only make her feel worse. Forcing her thoughts away from bloody images of the carnage she had left behind in the town, she tried to just stare at the horizon, watching the different colors change as the suns set even lower.

She failed.

Meryl turned her head slightly, her eyes sweeping over Vash's prone form, not far away from her. He was sleeping peacefully at the moment from what she could see. She stared at him, a little unnerved by his right arm, which was sticking out from under the covers a little bit, covered in feathers. Meryl watched them, as if suspicious they would suddenly come to life and run amok, but no, they did nothing.

Vash being a Plant, a creature who had lived for more than a century and had abilities humans could not begin to comprehend or match, had taken some getting used to. Yet, Vash did not scare Meryl like he used to. She remembered how much fear of him she had had. While it still made her slightly uncomfortable, Meryl no longer had an irrational fear of Vash because she knew he would never purposely hurt her. Ironically, the fear had now shifted from Vash to Knives, the one she should have been fearing all along.

Meryl did not know how, but yesterday, when they had stopped for the night, there had been something different about Knives. He still refused to speak to her, but now he was openly glaring daggers at her. It was not just the “I detest you, you human scum!” look. No, it was the “I would like nothing better than to slit your throat!” look. Dinner had been such an uncomfortable affair that Meryl had left the small fire she had built and sat in the front seat of the truck.

The whole time, she had watched Knives closely to see if he was going to do anything, while at the same time trying to look like she was not watching him. Her folly had been dragged clearly into view when Knives had turned and stared directly at her, his arctic blue eyes, usually so cold, burning with some emotion Meryl could not describe. In that moment, Meryl thought he was going to kill her. Instead, he looked away, kicked some sand over the fire, set up his sleeping gear, and went to sleep, his back turned towards her.

Well, I knew what I was getting into when I decided to come. I can't back down now, she thought fiercely, not only because it would prove to Knives that humans are weak and leave Vash at his mercy, but because I would be a lesser person in my own eyes.

Meryl sighed. This was something she already knew, but it was hard to keep your head straight when your life was in danger every moment of every day. Meryl knew that she would probably never get used to it, but she hope it would get easier to deal with in time.

She glanced at the sky. The suns were about to set. A few moments later, as Meryl had expected, the truck began to slow down. As the truck stopped, Meryl stood up and climbed out of the back, stretching her stiff limbs. She was rubbing a crick in her neck when she heard the door to the driver's seat open and shut as Millions Knives stepped out of the vehicle.

Meryl held her breathe, but he did not even glance at her. Instead, he stalked a small distance away from the truck, knelt down, and began to build a fire. She watched him for a few moments until a spark flashed, lighting the tinder. When he looked at her pointedly, narrowing his eyes, Meryl nearly jumped out of her skin before she realized that she was supposed to be getting out the supplies.

Clambering back into the back of the truck, Meryl began to rummage around for their rations. She found a few dried pieces of meat, a loaf of bread, and cheese, grabbed them, as well as a pan and utensils, and carried them back to the fire. She set bread and meat on the pan over the fire to heat them up and then proceeded to slice a few pieces of cheese.

When the food was done heating up, Meryl put some meat, bread, and cheese on two plates and handed one to Knives while keeping one for herself. He accepted his without a word, those unnerving blue eyes scrutinizing her. She dipped her head, staring at her plate as her unnease rose, the silence entirely too loud to be natural.

Meryl ate quickly, ever-conscious of Knives staring at her. Scraping her plate clean, she looked up, expecting Knives to give the plate back for her to clean, just as he had before. However, he merely stared at her, a very strange look in his eyes. Meryl swallowed, unsure what to do as the shadows lengthened around her, darkness creeping closer, held at bay only by the fire's light.

They stared at each other for what seemed like an eternity as the minutes dragged slowly by, and the suns disappeared, taking the light of day with them. Meryl finally stood up, feeling like her heart was beating so loudly that Knives could hear it, and took the plate from him. He did not protest as the plate was lifted from his fingers.

Meryl walked away from the fire, trying not to appear completely frightened out of her wits. Meryl took a deep breathe, and then another, and another. She hoped she was not about to hyperventilate. That would basically tell Knives how unnerved she was.

When she had calmed down, Meryl went back to the fire, where Knives was still sitting. Quickly scooping up the few remaining items, Meryl went back to the truck and put them away. She paused briefly to check on Vash and tried to give him a little water. He accepted a little but not much, after which she also drank some. It worried her, though, especially when he refused to take any food.

Feeling slightly discouraged, Meryl took her blanket with her to the front seat and wrapped it about herself tightly. The days on a desert planet were hot and dry, but with the night came a chill. Pulling the blanket closer, Meryl watched as the burning coals began to cool until they looked like glowing orange clumps. Knives was staring at them, eyes unblinking.

Meryl watched him for a while. Then, her eyes began to droop, and she fell asleep.

 

 

Knives watched the human fall asleep, narrowing his eyes at her. When he was finally sure that she was indeed asleep, he kicked sand over the dying coals, a soft hiss coming from them as they were smothered. Then, he quietly got back into the driver's seat, turned the truck on, and began to drive.

He stared straight ahead, ignoring the human next to him to the best of his ability. Knives had expected her to sleep in the back with Vash. Of course, that would have irritated him to no end, but he would have preferred that to having to put up with her presence right next to him, especially in such a vulnerable state.

Knives locked his eyes on the path before him, determined not to look at the one human he desired to kill above all of the others yet could not now do so due to a bizarre twist of fate. In this, Knives succeeded as her continued to drive, not stopping and only pausing to take a swig of water from his canteen.

The suns had already been up for an hour or so when he finally heard the human stir beside him. Knives glanced at her, noting her sleep clogged features as she blinked him rapidly into focus. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw with some pleasure that she pulled back, her eyes wide, when she saw whom she was next to. She composed herself a few seconds later, but Knives had seen. She was afraid.

“Knives, what are you doing?”

He waved his hand dismissively, trying to hide his anger that she dared to address him on such familiar terms. “I am moving at a faster pace in order to reach my old headquarters. Time slips away.”

She blinked. “So, how close are we?”

He smirked. “Actually, it's just over that dune,” he stated, pointing in front of them.

And once we arrive, your days are numbered, Knives thought, the smirk widening into a grin as it spread across his features.

 

 

Heeheeheeee! Don't you guys love me?

Knives: No, they hate you.

-scowls- They do not! You're the only one who hates me, and that's just because your all wrapped in bandages after your encounter with Kuroneko-zilla!

Knives: Bandages! I'm in a bloody full-body cast!

Oh, yeah... -grins-

Knives: I hate you.

Yes, yes, I know. Thank you for stating the obvious.

Knives: -scowls-

-grins- Anyway, review for me now please!