Trigun Fan Fiction ❯ Life Thereafter ❯ What's Our Time? ( Chapter 21 )

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

 

A/N: Sorry about the late post, guys. I got bogged down in stuff today. However, I do have a brand, spankin' new chapter fresh off the presses for you! Took me forever to write it under less than favorable conditions (meaning I typed it in the middle of the night or morning, depending on your POV). Anyway, I hope you like it as I twist the plot some more. Hehe... XD

 

 

What's Our Time?

 

Multiple beams of differently colored neon lights began to flicker on, centered around one man, illuminating the enclosed space where so many dwelled in stolen comfort. Something was coming.

“What's our time?”

“22:53, boss!”

The “boss” grinned widely and began to chuckle loudly, the sound of his voice carrying across the encampment. No one moved or spoke as the giant's rumbling laughter began to subside.

“Alright, scumbags! It's showtime! Shine brightly tonight! Otherwise, what's the point?”

“YEAH!” a chorus of rough, masculine voices roared back, ready and willing to head out.

The boss stood, towering over his men as they looked up at him, moonlight glinting off of their slick uniforms, a fashion statement he had designed himself. It gave them a more legitimate look.

Heh, “legitimate.” I sound like a politician.

“HEAD OUT!” he bellowed above the sound of engines revving, and the men eagerly responded.

“YEAH!” came the collective cry of each man, rising in volume as the din resounded across the canyon.

A few moments later, the hideout had completely emptied of vehicles and men, both speeding towards their target in the distance, beacons of light revealing the path through the desert.

 

 

Knives frowned at the glowing screen before him, his eyes absorbing very little of the text before him as his mind focused on something else. Actually, it would be more accurate to say someone.

Leaning back in his mobile chair with a slight creak, Knives folded his arms over his chest, his gaze burning into the computer monitor. His face twisted into a characteristic scowl. In fact, that expression was becoming so common that Vash had not long before pointed out that Knives's face would likely get stuck that way if he did not stop. Needless to say, Vash's comment had not improved his elder twin's mood. Quite the opposite.

The past two days had been perhaps the longest in Knives's life, and considering he had lived for more than a century, that was saying a lot. Even after two days, he was still seething from the indignity he was being forced stomach. It infuriated him, but there was no other alternative, which only served to irritate Knives even more.

Damn that human filth! he grated.

At Vash's insistence, Knives had gone back to the scene of the near extermination of the small human his brother was so attached to. He had found her in a puddle of her own blood, soaked through with the crimson stain. Revulsion had contorted his features as he lifted her frail form into his arms, blood smearing his suit.

Walking back with her had been one of the most difficult things Knives had ever done, not only because he was disgusted that he was actually holding vermin but also because it was necessary to keep her alive. Up until that point, Knives had been confident, to some extent, that he would be able to cure Vash on his own, without assistance. He had only consented to allowing the human to accompany him in the first place due to her stubborn refusal to be left behind. The only way to force her to remain would have been to kill her, and that would have worsened Vash condition.

So, Knives had tolerated this spider's presence unil he felt the time was right to destroy her. His failure to carry out this plan for the fourth time, once again because of Vash, was growing unbearable. And now Vash's deterioration was accelerating, all because of this disgusting creature who resembled Rem. It was maddening.

Then, of course, there was Vash's reaction to the state of his pathetic pet...

 

Flashback

 

Knives walked through the door to the medical bay, disgust etched across his face, the wounded human in his arms. Upon seeing her, Vash nearly vaulted out of his bed in shock, restrained only by the straps preventing him from moving. The look on Vash's face said it all, though.

“Meryl!” Vash whispered hoarsely before glaring at Knives. “Look at what you've done to her!”

Knives set her down on a different stretcher, careful not to be too rough so his dear brother would not think he was attempting to inflict more damage upon his precious human even though Knives was itching to do exactly that. Glancing down at his now-ruined suit, Knives wrinkled his nose in distaste and turned to leave.

“Where are you going?” Vash demanded.

“To find a new pair of clothing. This one has been tainted beyond repair,” Knives said curtly.

Vash narrowed his eyes. “Knives, this is not the time for your hygienic concerns when Meryl is lying there dying!”

“Brother, do you have to be so dramatic? She is not dying,” Knives retorted. Although by all rights she deserves to wiped from the face of this planet.

“Knives, if you don't help her now, I swear I'm going to-”

As Vash was about to start his rant, something caught Knives's eyes. The wings draped over the side of his brother's bed began to twitch, the feathers waving slightly. Sensing that this reaction would likely end badly, Knives quickly cut Vash off in mid-sentence.

“Vash, you fool, look!” Knives snapped.

Vash shut up long enough to see what was happening, and his eyes grew very large and round.

“Stop upsetting yourself!” Knives hissed, his teeth clenched. “You're only making yourself worse!”

Vash scowled. “What was it you said about pointing the finger at someone prematurely, Knives? You did say something like that didn't you?”

Knives glowered at Vash, who had effectively thrown his own words in his face. “Fine!” he spat, marching back towards the woman's prone form.

Grimacing, Knives began to peel back some layers of the human's clothing in order to gain a better understanding of the severity of the woman's injuries. He smirked slightly, his back to Vash's suspicious gaze, as he silently admired his handiwork. The cuts had been clean and deep, perfectly executed to cause the most pain. Many of them still oozed fluid. However, while inflicting these had been relatively simple to one such as himself, healing them wuld be difficult. Had they been in any other facility, Knives doubted this impudent female would survive

Knives then proceeded to strip her of her tattered clothing, clamping down on the complete and utter revulsion rising within him as he forced himself to do it. He still remembered lessons about human anatomy from his early years when aboard the SEEDS ship, and since that time, Knives had expanded his knowledge. After all, knowing the anatomical structure of one's victims was extremely helpful in a torture session. Therefore, what he saw once he had completely removed the humans clothing was not a surprise.

“Kn-Knives? What are you doing?” Vash stuttered.

Knives shifted his stance to get a better look at his brother, who was staring wide-eyed at the human on the stretcher, his face gradually changing in hue until it was beet-red. In fact, he looked mortified.

“What is it, Vash?” Knives asked, his voice tense and irritable.

“Y-you j-just...took off Meryl's clothes!” Vash squeaked, even as he continued to stare.

Knives nodded stiffly. “Yes, it is the best way to fully gauge the severity of her wounds and to find a way to close them. Do you have a problem with that?”

“N-no, but we...we should have asked permission first!” Vash protested, sounding a little more high-pitched than before.

Knives came very close to rolling his eyes at that moment. “Brother, at this point, I don't think that is a possibility. Now, are you going to allow me to work or not?”

Vash nodded meekly before letting himself relax a bit. However, Knives could still feel Vash's eyes boring into the back of his skull, making sure that there would be no more foul play.

Knives gritted his teeth. As much as I hate to admit it, foul play is no longer an option.

After that, the long procedure had begun, beginning first with cleaning the injuries themselves. That had required much patience, as a simple error could have caused the blood to begin flowing again. That had been quite a quite delicate part of the operation. Knives became absorbed in his work, but the knowledge that he was saving a human continued to knaw at him from the back of his mind.

He wiped sweat from his brow and looked down at his handiwork. The human was now clean, for the most part. There were still some smudges of blood here and there, but now the hardest part could begin: sewing the wounds back together.

From what Knives had seen, the long cuts in the flesh mostly centered around the human's back, while there were lesser one along and around her other limbs. This was going to be extremely time-consuming and difficult.

“Um, Knives, are you done yet?”

Knives's eyes twitched. “No, I am not. I am nowhere near being done. Why do you ask?”

Vash shifted nervously under the ill-tempered glare of his twin. “I, er, I have to go to the bathroom.”

Knives stared. Oh hell no!

 

End Flashback

 

Knives felt affronted just remembering it. Plus, Vash had not exactly been the easiest patient to move, considering his feathery baggage. Not only that, but helping his brother to the bathroom had resulted in his own Angel Arm reacting. That had not been the least bit pleasant, which had made Knives even more incensed. Naturally, when what he wanted most was to vent, Knives had to give medical attention to that female. At least he had been able to clean himself off afterwards.

As far as Knives could tell, however, the procedure had been a success. Finding a way to close the edges of the carvings in the human's skin had been the most tedious part. And then, he had bandaged her. Knives took some sadistic pleasure in the fact that Vash's pet looked very much like a mummy, those creatures he and Vash had learned about when they were children. Truly humans possessed alien minds and logic.

Swivelling about in his chair, Knives surveyed the room. The fiery rage that burned within flared briefly as he took in the scene of his brother and the pet next to each other before forcing it back down again. At least they were not in the same bed. One had to be thankful for small blessings.

Of course, the female could not move anyway due to the sheer amount of dressing her injuries had needed. Also, there was the matter of the fluid IV injected into one vein in her arm near the elbow joint and a blood IV injected in the other. It had been fortunate for the human that this ship had a stock of human blood in one of the old, cryogenic compartments. It had been a simple matter to determine her blood type and then locate the needed replacement blood.

Knives narrowed his eyes. The fact that this human was necessary in order to save his brother made his blood boil. Yet, there was nothing that could be done. As long as Vash's arm remained in that state, Knives would have to put up with this indignity.

He checked the time displayed on the computer for a moment , blinking rapidly at the overly bright screen. I suppose the few days I went without sleep are catching up to me.

Knives felt angered by the weakness in his body, yet he knew that he would have to accept some limitations despite his superiority. Reclining in his chair, Knives closed his eyes, a nice feeling after the past few hellish days. After that, it did not take long for him to doze off.

 

 

Vash cracked open one eye, scouting the area for trouble. He widened his eye a bit more for a better view when he saw Knives asleep in front of the monitor, his brow creased in a frown. Oddly enough, he looked less...malicious when he was not awake. Sometimes Vash wished his brother would smile like he used to when on the SEEDS ship. Knives would not, though. He was too obsessed with his “mission.” It was a sobering thought.

Twisting around a bit to get more comfortable, Vash was a bit disappointed when it did not help much. After all, he could barely move his right arm due to the the wings and feathers, as well as the fact that they had been strapped down. At least Vash had gotten Knives to remove the other bonds, after much wheedling and whining while struggling towards the bathroom. Vash had to admit that the look on Knives face when he had told him he needed to use the restroom was priceless. On the other hand, Knives had seemed extremely uncomfortable while helping him due to the resonance, grimacing and wincing all the way while trying not to look like he was. When they got back, Knives was in such a terrible mood that Vash left him alone.

Vash turned his head around, his gaze resting on Meryl as he felt his cheeks grow warm. He had not been expecting to see her...ahem, in that state. Knives had not even given him any warning that he was going to take all of Meryl's clothes off. It did not matter that he had learned the basics of human anatomy from Rem. Looking at a naked, unconscious woman was...was...a “very bad thing.” Vash nervously wondered what Meryl would do if she knew what had happened.

Er...eheh...maybe I should let Knives explain that one. Eh, but that might not be such a good idea either...

Why did everything have to be so hard? When he had returned with Knives, Vash had known getting his brother to abandon his genocidal ways would be difficult, but he had never expected any of this other stuff to happen. None of it. First Knives tried to kill Meryl, resulting in her refusal to speak to him due to fear. Then Vash had developed the strange “feather effect,” as he called it. After that, everything went downhill: the bounty hunters, the killing, the trip through the desert, and finally Knives's most recent attempt on Meryl's life.

Sometimes, Vash could not help but ask himself, Why me?

Yet, watching Knives that day when he brought Meryl in, Vash wondered. Sure, he had been very jerky about helping her when they first came in, but when it came down to it, Knives had come through in the end. It would be too much to hope that Knives had done it for any other reason than the fact that Meryl was necessary if Vash was to be saved since Knives would not always be able to help to help his brother to the bathroom as Vash's Angel Arm became increasingly erratic. Still, Vash wanted to believe his brother might change, no matter how unlikely it was.

And somehow I always end up thinking about the same thing, he thought wryly. I guess it's because my whole life has revolved around “saving Knives.” It can't be helped, I guess.

Vash looked up at Meryl again. She had suffered so much, and it really was his fault. He wondered if she would forgive him for this. Then again, if he knew her as well as he thought he did, she would probably tell him that it was not his fault and that she had chosen to come on her own. He could picture it now: Meryl reassuring him everything is fine and then smacks him upside the head for good measure. Oh yeah, that sounded like the Meryl he knew.

But is she the woman I've known all this time?

Vash blinked. He had never thought about that before. Trauma like what she had just experienced could scar her emotionally, not just physically. Meryl had always appeared strong to him, especially when he had lost faith in himself before the battle with Knives. She had been there and supported him, as Millie had. Both of them were there, but Meryl was the one who had spoken the same words that Vash remembered Rem saying all those years ago. It had touched him deeply to say the least, giving him the strength to go on.

Watching her now, Vash was struck by how fragile Meryl was as a human. As soon as that thought crossed his mind, Vash drew a distinction. He had once accused Knives after they had crashed that he was not human, and Knives had interpretted it literally. However, that was not what Vash meant at all. To him, the term “human” meant the capacity to care about someone else besides yourself, to have emotions that allowed for empathic feeling, something Vash believed Knives lacked back then. In all honesty, he was not any more “human” now than he had been back then.

Vash sighed, leaning back against his padded resting place, staring at the smooth, metallic ceiling. So much had happened. It was hard to believe just how far they had all come since the first time Vash had met the pair of Insurance Girls. So much, yet Vash had a strange feeling that there was more to come. However, for good or for ill, he could not tell.

Well, whatever happens, I have to be ready for it. I hope Meryl is ready, too. And Knives, he's ready for everything usually. He always was one step ahead of everyone else. I guess that's why the Great Fall happened. We weren't looking for it.

Turning over again, face away from his afflicted arm, Vash closed his eyes, his breathing slowing. It was all in the past. The future was what mattered.

A few minutes later, Vash was asleep.

 

 

“So, did you bring me something beautiful and gorgeous?” the boss smirked, back at the hideout.

“We made a great haul, boss!” his second-in-command said enthusiastically.

“How much?”

“Look at it all!” his second exclaimed, indicating everything they had acquired on their raid: gold, silver, jewelry, and rare trinkets of all shapes and sizes.

“Hmph!” the boss growled. “This is chump change. Get rid of it.”

“B-but, boss! This stuff is worth hundreds of thousands! Maybe millons!”

The bossed turned, glaring down at his second, who gulped loudly. “I told you it's chump change. I ain't keepin' it here!”

“What are we supposed to do with it, then?”

The boss thought about it for a minute before slapping his thigh. “I got it. We'll just drop the stuff off at that old abandoned Plant facility.”

“Um, are you sure that's a good idea, boss?” the second-in-command asked nervously. “That place is creepy...”

He shut up when he saw the look on the boss's face. “SCUMBAGS!” he roared. “We're heading out again, this time for a field trip!”

“YEAH!”

 

 

Hmmm, who could these mysterious fellows be, I wonder? And what is their purpose in this fic?

Knives: Their purpose is to die by my hand so I do not explode with frustration over Vash's pet.

-ignores Knives- Stay tuned for the next episode of Life Thereafter!

Knives: Are you listening to me?

Next time in Life Thereafter, we shall learn what the authoress herself has not precisely planned out yet!

Knives: Hnnn...

Anyway, until next time, my friends! -pushes the review button towards the reader- XD