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This tale is dedicated to "One Percent," who suggested the idea. :)
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Note: I do not own Vash "the Stampede," Millions Knives, Legato Bluesummers, Midvalley the Hornfreak, Zazie the Beast, Milly Thompson, Meryl Stryfe, etc.: they all belong to the incomparable Mr. Yasuhiro Nightow.
Spoiler alert: If you have not seen or read at least enough of Trigun to know what happened to the fifth moon. The events in this tale would occur slightly before Vash reappeared / was pried loose from where he'd been hiding for slightly over two years, following the Fifth Moon incident.
Most details (including calendar dates) lean more toward manga than anime.
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Parasites, Plots and Plans
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Chapter 1: Preparations
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2521 AD, month 12 day 20, early morning
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Humans.
They had to be the worst, most degenerate and destructive parasites ever to infest the universe. They were a pestilence. Humans reminded him of articles he had read in the ships' computers, which described the behaviors and effects of large swarms of locusts. Everything they touched was devoured, trampled, or otherwise laid waste.
Knives turned from the window, where he'd been contemplating the setting fifth moon (with its newest and largest crater) in the light of the rising suns. He was impatient for Legato to bring Zazie and Midvalley.
Both of his requested henchmen were currently stationed at this base, not far from the city of December. So it should not have taken them this long to appear before him. In fact, they seemed abominably slow about arriving in response to his summons.
They should show him more respect.
Although...
Perhaps Zazie was awaiting reports from its servant insects. At least it wasn't human.
Knives began pacing impatiently, while his thoughts drifted toward very familiar frustrations.
Humans had not adequately limited their own reproduction back on their home world. As a result, they eventually began to feel so crowded that they wished to disperse. And so, largely by abusing Plants, they had successfully spread their destructive "seeds" onto this world. As if one world burdened by their despicable kind wasn't bad enough!
Knives paused in his pacing and made a rude gesture, along with an inarticulate sound of disgust. Again, it crossed his mind to wonder: how many other worlds were humans consuming, even now? And how many Plants?
He resumed pacing restlessly, with his fists clenched, as he vented internally. His boot-soles made soft sounds that only his Plant-sensitive hearing could detect. Inferior beings, such as his human slaves, could not hear his steps. That simple fact had served him well on multiple occasions.
He turned on one heel, to continue pacing in the opposite direction as his thoughts traveled farther along well-worn paths.
Humans rarely, if ever, controlled themselves. That was one of their worst faults. They had not limited their use of Plants to a level that merely kept the Plants occupied sufficiently to alleviate boredom. They had not even limited themselves enough to keep the Plants healthy. Instead, they drained his kind dry, causing premature deaths and needlessly limited lives. How could Plant-kind ever reach their full potential, while being abused thus? He could never forgive such sins, even if he had wished to do so.
Worst of all, humans had come between him and his brother.
He paused by a window, and glared out though it at the brightening sky. His thoughts formed a name and face he knew nearly as well as he knew Vash's, or his own.
Rem.
It was all her fault!
Knives turned away from the window, and resumed pacing.
Rem hadn't been flawed in the same manner as most of her worthless species. Instead, her flaws were sentiment and unreasonably idealistic daydreams. She had imagined that her species could rise above its base, parasitic nature and become something better.
She had tried to behave better than what she was. She had even achieved a measure of success in that effort. By so doing, she had made both of them believe in her people... at least, temporarily... while they were too young to know any better. By misrepresenting humans as better than they were, she had deceived them.
Rem had seemed kind. However, to his manner of thinking, it seemed more logical to assume she was motivated by other impulses than compassion. She... may not have been quite as severely stupid as most of her kind. She might have realized that Plants had the intelligence and capabilities necessary to remove her abhorrent species from the universe. She had even admitted that humanity wished to survive.
He still suspected that Rem was mostly attempting to distract them from what her people had done to Plants, when she took the time and trouble to raise his brother and himself. She had probably hoped to lull them enough that he and Vash would not do exactly what he intended to do: destroy her species entirely.
It was a clever ruse, Knives grudgingly acknowledged. It was a shame that he could not compel her to confess this...
He felt himself tense, from his scalp to his toes, as he thought: Rem's ruse is still fooling Vash.
The empty place at his side, where he felt Vash belonged, hurt like an open wound.
He closed his eyes, and searched within himself for that faint sense of Vash's living presence. It was there, but it was far too weak for him to distinguish a location. No matter how intensely he concentrated, he could not detect any emotional echoes from his brother. There could be only one conclusion drawn from these facts: Vash was deliberately hiding himself, body and soul.
That had never happened before. Not like this, not for two full years.
Twice, he'd set off Vash's body and demonstrated what power Plants have. Both times, his annoying brother had run away. The fool still wanted (and tried) to become an embodiment of Rem's ideals. She had only been the first human to come between them. Unfortunately, she was not the last.
His fingertips tingled with the heat of Plant energy, partly fueled by his frustrated rage, as his thoughts and pacing continued.
What would it take to make Vash see the facts of the universe as he did? Didn't his idiotic brother understand that humans were not a benevolent species, as Rem had pretended to be? Was Vash so blinded by that foolishly sentimental woman's words that he failed to see the evidence before his own eyes - and on his own body?
The sight of Vash's scars, prior to the destruction of the city of July, had both pained and angered him. It had also sickened him. For humans to do such things to a Plant, any Plant, was bad enough. For it to be done to a free-walking Plant, his twin, who was practically a part of himself...
The heat was spreading from his fingertips, through his hands, and into his wrists.
Vash could have destroyed those humans before they damaged him. Or else he could at least have used his Plant energy to restore his body. But he did neither.
Worse, prior to the blast which had carved that huge crater in the fifth moon two years ago, Vash had acquired noticeably more scars. At that point, it had only been six years since the city of July had been destroyed! Why was he allowing them to do this to him?
That, too, must be a result of Rem's meddling. It seemed almost as if his brother were trying to live like a human! Of all the ridiculous, idiotic, stupid things to do...
Another inarticulate sound of disgust escaped him.
If Rem were alive and within his reach, then he would kill her without hesitation. She did this to his brother! She had twisted his thoughts, emotions and behavior...
Knives felt the familiar heat grow into a burning sensation. That burning heat had already spread through his hands and arms: more strongly in his left arm, but present also in his right. He felt changes begin as the burning spread between his shoulders. The substance of his arms shifted, extending into blades of bone on his left arm. Those blades had such sharp edges that they would put any razor to shame.
It was severely tempting to allow a full transformation to happen, and to go to a town somewhere and destroy every human in sight. Such an amazing feeling of release came when he allowed it to happen. All reason and consciousness would be gone, when he loosened the restraints and allowed his destructive capabilities to have free reign.*
But he could not give orders to his slaves if he were elsewhere killing humans. He could not learn what he wanted to know if he were elsewhere, and thus not here to learn it.
He would go kill humans soon, he promised himself. Not today, but soon.
Reluctantly, he forced himself to stop the transformation and begin reversing it.
He was briefly distracted when he recalled that Vash (and, in fact, most bulb-dwelling Plants) sprouted feathers instead of blades. His mouth twisted in a wry smirk, as he thought how his body was superior even to that of other Plants. The half-finished transformation slowly reversed itself, and the incompletely formed blades gradually retracted back into his arm. The flesh on his arms (and even the substance of his sleeves), which had been converted into energy and drawn into the transformation, was restored to its original state as that transformation reversed.
Knives suddenly realized that he'd been clenching his fists. In fact, his fists were clenched so hard that he felt his fingernails cutting into the skin of his palms... deep enough to draw blood. With an effort, he unclenched his fists. He could just hear the distant footfalls of his slaves in the hallway as they approached.
He concentrated briefly, and caused his Plant energy to restore the flesh in his palms.
In a few hours, there would be no external trace of his brief, almost sentimental lapse. His body would again be as perfectly immaculate as his mind. For the moment, however, small crescent-shaped scars (in the vivid pink of a recently healed injury) could be seen on his palms.
He grimaced. He walked to where his gloves were stored, chose a pair, and put them on.
He must never allow himself to appear weak before any of those vastly inferior beings.
They had barely enough mental capacity to comprehend and obey his instructions. He must always show himself firmly in command, lest some unsubmissive thought should enter their feeble minds. He had no wish to share in Tessla's fate.
Or, nearly as bad... if they thought they detected any sign of weakness in him, word of it might spread until it reached Vash. Until his brother was convinced to see things the same as he did, no sign of weakness should ever be shown.
At least they, and the others Legato had chosen, knew enough to speak respectfully and to keep their distance. It didn't stop him from being disgusted by their presence, but it did help to reduce the nausea.
To his nostrils, humans stank. It didn't help that summer heat was gaining strength, here in the southern hemisphere of this desert planet. He had to move between bases somewhat regularly, because the stench of humanity would inundate the air filtration units. He could have no olfactory peace until after the units had all been scoured clean of that stench. It was nearly time to leave this base, again, for that reason.
Properly trained humans could be useful, at times, by tending to the irritating business of going among their own kind. Currently, there was a need to interact with another human if he wished to learn... Knives turned his thoughts away from that unpleasant necessity for the moment. He would deal with it when he must.
He walked to a thickly cushioned bench on the opposite side of the room from the door. That bench had been placed near an air circulation vent, which blew filtered air into the room. This arrangement helped to blow away enough of the human scent that it usually did not become too near to overpowering. He sat on the bench, and then deliberately assumed a relaxed pose. He took control of his body, and calmed his breathing and heart rate. He did not want to inhale any more human scent than necessary.
A tap on the door was immediately followed by Legato's voice.
"Master," he said softly.
"Enter," Knives said neutrally.
"I have brought the two you requested," Legato announced.
The cocoon-like case surrounding his body was deftly handled by Legato's thrall. Legato bowed his head as deeply as possible, within the confines of that case.
Perhaps I shouldn't have broken Legato's neck, Knives mused silently. He realized that Bluesummers' usefulness was somewhat reduced by that awkward container. He might have sent Legato, instead of Midvalley, on the current errand...
Or perhaps not. Legato hated humans almost as much as he himself did. He could not always be relied upon, on those rare occasions when finesse was needed.
Knives resisted the urge to betray an emotion as he considered how much Legato, a traitor to his own kind, disgusted him. How excessively human the man was!
If Vash had not interrupted, Knives would have killed Legato. His rage over the man's misbegotten plans had briefly taken control. He had reacted impulsively, instead of acting rationally. He knew it, though he would never admit it to any other than himself. Vash, who sometimes functioned like the other half of himself, had stopped him before he had quite killed the audacious slave. Neither he nor Vash was complete without the other, just as it had always been. Yet Legato, a mere human, had actually dared to consider trying...
Knives quickly wrenched his thoughts away from the reason why he had nearly killed that slave, lest he immediately finish what he had begun.
Legato was still useful, for now. When that changed...
One corner of his mouth quirked slightly upward: a tiny movement, barely felt. It was highly unlikely that any of the attending slaves would notice. Zazie might, but even it could not begin to understand.
"Have you or Chapel found anything useful yet?" Knives asked, controlling his voice to make it sound as if he were bored.
"No, Master," Legato said, his voice infinitely respectful. "Chapel continues to pursue rumors of Vash, though none have yet proven true. Thus far, all he has accomplished is eliminating false leads."
"Hmph," Knives said.
Yet, as frustrated as he felt by his brother's disappearance, he also felt triumphant. Trust a Plant to conceal himself so well that no mere human could find him! Even one who had been surgically enhanced by the Eye of Michael could not match Vash's intelligence, nor exceed his speed.
Knives felt confident that he was smarter even than his brother.
"What was it you wished from us?" Midvalley said respectfully.
Midvalley didn't fawn over him in the manner Legato sometimes did. At times, that was refreshing. Other times, it was annoying. Knives was undecided about which effect the horn-player's calm voice had at the moment.
Zazie simply waited silently, staring through the altered eyes of its host.
"Didn't Chapel report previously that my little brother had allowed two human girls to travel with him?" Knives asked.
"Yes," Legato said.
"And they have been watched, since he disappeared?"
"Of course. Both are currently living in the city of December."
"Bring one," Knives commanded. "I have questions."
"Shall we use a shuttle, to bring her more swiftly to you?" Midvalley asked, with respect dominant in his smooth voice.
Knives was mildly surprised that something so obvious would need to be asked. But then, he reminded himself, he was dealing with vastly inferior beings.
He simply nodded, not wishing to dignify such an inquiry with any further response.
"As you wish, Master," Legato said. He gave the impression of bowing, even though the rigid case in which he was cocooned held his body immobile.
Knives gestured for them to leave, and all three quickly departed.
Freed, for the moment, from the encumbrance of their unwelcome presence, Knives rose and resumed his interrupted pacing. He must prepare himself to deal with a human without killing her. That interaction was likely to tax the limits of his patience.
He would learn no answers if she were dead.
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* based on Knives' words to Vash in the "Loss" chapter of the manga (Trigun Maximum Omnibus 2, page 292)