Prerogative

Disclaimer: From here, till the end I own nothing related to Trigun, except maybe the original characters I create for necessary purposes.

AN: I'm so glad that everyone seems to like this idea! I cant believe that no one has done it before either, and I'm kind of nervous at how well I'll carry it through. So here is the full, chapter one, version of Prerogative. This is probably going to be the hardest thing I write since its not cliche, therefore updates can range from a few days to a few months. Anyway, read on!

Beautiful Disaster

Knives cracked his neck and his back before looking at the heap of flesh that was his brother. The final battle was over and he had triumphed. "As expected." He said out loud to himself.

Vash wasn't dead just unconscious, but Knives was contemplating the thought of truly doing his brother in.

'I'd be a nice change of pace not having to hear his love and peace crap any longer. But, then again.' He looked at the mess his brother was. Blood everywhere, his silver gun empty of its bullets and the cursed red coat torn to shreds. Knives sighed. 'I'm too nice to you brother. Not even I can kill my only family. And who knows, maybe you'll start to see things my way.'

Knives thought it, but he sure as hell didn't believe it. He knew defeating Vash wouldn't change how his twin felt about his darling spiders, but at least now Vash knew he could never stop Knives from what he meant to do.

Racing a hand through his hair Knives sat back down at the table under the tree that had not been disturbed from the fight between his other half. There was even a bit of red wine left in his glass. Giving it a swirl and small sniff he held it up towards his brother's motionless body.

"To new beginnings." He downed the last of it before smashing the glass at his side. He stretched and walked over to his brother, and picked up his gun. He inspected it and frowned. "You would let the only gift I've ever given you rot."

He slipped Vash's gun next to his own. "Cant have you try to turn on me again, can we?" He asked him. "Oh Vash." He started again, shaking his head. "Didn't Rem teach you its impolite not to answer someone when they ask you a question?"

Knives laughed as he erected himself to his full height. He looked around. Desert everywhere.

"I hate this planet. It's a waste hole now, but once I'm done with it, it'll be a lush Eden Vash. Of course I'll let you live and stay with me. We are brothers, even if you do always try to kill me. I don't hold it against you...too much."

"What's that?" Knives asked as a sudden image flashed through his brother's mind. Two females, one tall and brunette, the other short with raven colored hair.

"Ah, isn't that the human bitches who follow you like lost creatures? I've just shot you Vash and you're thinking of humans?ཀ It's always them before me isn't it? No matter. Since they seem to be a hot topic on your unconscious mind I see no reason not to pay them a visit, and let them know you've lost and I've won. What do you think of that Vash? Won't that be fun?"

Knives smirked and gathered his brother's body in his arms. "Yes, this will be fun. What will they say once they see your condition? And then what should I do? Terrorize them as I force you to watch? Ah, decisions, but one thing is certain."

Knives gave a malicious eerie smile. "I'll make sure you're the one that pulls the trigger on them."

-

The town in his brothers mind was clear. Knives knew exactly where to find it and knew the best route to get there. Vash's mind left no detail behind.

"I expect I'll get there by sundown at the latest Knives said aloud. "By sundown..." He repeated to himself. He gave an annoyed exhale before dropping his brother on the sandy turf. Carefully eyeing Vash to make sure he was still unconscious Knives turned his back on him and walked a few paces away. He stopped, then turned to glace at his brother again. Doing this a few more times before he approved of the distance between them he fell to his knees and began a series of deep breathing. Alternating between those and sharp intakes of breath.

Pain. Pain. Unbearable Pain.

"Noཀ" Knives cried out before clamping his mouth shut and whipping his head towards Vash. Still out of it.

Knives winced and drew his eyes to his left shoulder. Drenched in blood, he could still feel the bullet that had pierced his skin.

He had been trying to ignore it. Putting on a believable facade for himself. He had held back, bit his own lip when picking up Vash. The movement in his arms caused the bullet to shift uncomfortably. He could feel the small oval piece of metal shift with every step he had taken with his brother in his arms. And now his lip was swollen and bleeding from the pressure he had put on it trying to restrain himself from crying out.

Merely licking the blood on his lip away with his tongue, ignoring the sting the saliva caused he focused, or tried not to, focus on the open gash in his shoulder.

'You know how much I loathe pain Vash. How could you?' He thought with a twinge of hatred. He calmed himself.

"It has to come out," he said, referring to the bullet. It had to come out but he didn't want to be the one to take it out. 'It'll hurt.,' he thought.

Knives raised his head to the blue sky and closed his eyes. He felt around his side pocket and slowly put his hand in, at once feeling a sharp prick. Pulling out his hand he extracted a shard of glass. It had flown in when he had smashed his wine glass.

He lolled his head to the side to get a look, once again, at his other half. Unchanged, expect for a thin layer of sand covering his body. The winds were picking up. He ignored them.

Returning his gaze to the sky he examined the shard with his free hand. It was pretty sharp, dull on the other side. That part could be used as a handle. The whole piece was gritty. He hesitated for a moment over sanitation matters but quickly dropped it.

Fixing his eyes on his shoulder he looked at the bullet. It wasn't dug in too deep. It hadn't been a direct shot, but still...

Holding on tightly to the dull side of the glass shard, Knives took in a final shaky breath and thrust the sharp end into his open wound. He couldn't help but to let out a pained cry, but he made sure to muffle it as much as possible still faintly aware of Vash's presence.

He couldn't let Vash ever know of how much the pain weakened him. He couldn't. He could not.

Amongst the pain of cutting himself open he realized he wasn't getting the bullet. If anything he was shoving it further back into his shoulder. He started to retract the glass but willed it back in.

'I will not do this a second time.' He managed to think. After a lot of clumsy maneuvering he managed to flick the bullet out and flung the glass piece after it, letting it fall into the hot sand. He clutched his shoulder with his good arm moaning in pain. No longer caring if Vash heard or not. The bullet may have been out but he himself had created a bigger cut from thrashing after it with the glass fragment.

He scrunched his body together trying to suppress the rawness he felt.

'It will subside.' He thought to trying to soothe himself. 'It will subside.'

It wasn't subsiding.

"It will subside!" He yelled out loud.

After a long while when the pain hadn't subsided so much as he had gotten more adjusted to it, Knives staggered up and walked slowly towards his twin. He tore a piece of the garment Rem had made his brother, ripping it off and wrapping his shoulder as best as he could. Wincing all the while.

"Its not like you need it," he said to Vash at once seeing the shots he had fired at him. "As part of your punishment Vash, those bullets will stay in you for the time being. When you wake I hope it's a reminder of what you caused me." He bent over his brother brushing the sand off his face gently. "This'll be the least of your punishments Vash. I will forgive you in time, that is inevitable, but it will take time."

Images of the two women from before flashed in Vash's mind.

"Yes, that's right Vash. They will be a factor in your punishments. And I don't want to keep them waiting but...," Knives sat and leaned against his brothers body. "I couldn't carry you. Not in my condition. My shoulder... it hurts Vash. It hurts a lot."

Knives' eyes fluttered. "Just wait until I'm better, then you'll pay. Then we'll have fun with your spiders. Lots of fun..."

His voice lost its venom as he got weaker and his eyes failed in staying open and alert. When he awoke his shoulder was numb and the pain had finally subsided to a dull twinge. Night had fallen and he stood, disgusted brushing the sand off himself. Knives had always prided himself on his cleanliness.

"Now I'm no better than a human." He spat out. Remembering his brother he looked down.

"While I prefer you in this state Vash, part of me wishes you'd wake up. After all, we are in the middle of nowhere and I can't carry you. Sometimes you're more trouble than you're worth."

Knives took a look around. The scenery had not changed and he thought hard of what to do. His ears perked, something was coming. "Something man made." He said out loud. Then he saw it. An old Jeep was headed in his direction. Knives smiled. "Perfect." He quickly looked over himself then his brother. He frowned and bent down, quickly tearing the remains of the red cloak off his brother. "This will only bring us unnecessary trouble." He let the wind carry the remains away.

He remembered the bit of red that he had used as a bandage for his shoulder, but shrugged it off. "It's red and so is my blood, they wont think anything of it."

The loud roaring contraption must have seen Knives or at least the flaming red coat that was flying away in the wind because it slowed as it neared them. Coming to a complete stop in front of Knives. The door opened and out stepped a young woman from the passengers side and a young man from the drivers side.

The young woman had a short stature and long brunette hair that was tied back. With her piercing violet eyes she gave off a look of concern. The man was tall, but not as tall as Knives or Vash. His dark brown hair was cut short and his matching dark brown eyes were filled with suspicion as he gazed at the two plants. One unconscious and the other, while wounded, looked to be in far better condition.

"Oh my gosh, are you okay sir?" Asked the young woman. She began to look over Knives but her eyes caught Vash. "My goodness, is he okay? What's happened?"

"Keep your distanceཀ" The young man said to his companion. He at once didn't trust Knives, and Knives could see that easily enough.

"You will take my brother. I will pick him up from you in a few weeks time." Knives commanded.

Both the young man and woman raised a brow in surprise but found themselves nodding against their will. "Yes, Master." They replied in unison.

Knives watched them load his brother into the back of the Jeep carefully. They gave him a short bow before taking off with Vash, and with a rumble and spurt of the engine they left. Knives stood and watched them disappear into the sandy waste.

"I hate to part from you Vash, but this is best for now. They will look after you as my newest puppets while I take care of some business."

Turning in the opposite direction the Jeep went Knives walked off, heading for a very distant town that would be a few days walk.

-

Weeks later...

Vash yawned and stretched his muscles. He had been having a great dream but the smell of food woke him from his sleep. The bullet wounds caused from his brother was healing well, but Vash tended to rip them open when he thought he was "perfectly better."

It had been weeks since the final battle between Knives, and like all the other mornings before this one Vash wondered where his brother was, and when he would be back. He was more than aware that when he awoke for the first time after being hit unconscious that he had lost.

The first few thoughts of it were absolute fear. What was to happen now? He was supposed to win those fights, but he was so badly injured he couldn't even walk for the longest of times. He was scared for every person on Gunsmoke, and most worried about the Insurance Girls. He hadn't exactly promised he'd be back, but it was implied. It was also implied that he would be returning with a defeated sibling.

He did not know of what was going on in the outside world. Alex and Alicia had told him everything was as normal as could be, but Vash knew they weren't to be trusted. They were under Knives' influences. His brother had made sure that no ordinary humans were caring for him.

And yet, they were both so kind. There were moments in which he could have sworn they had been free from the brain washing down by his other half, but their eyes would quickly be glassed over with the fake facade.

"Morning Vash."

Vash jumped and turned his head to the open window. There was Knives leaning against the frame inside his room. 'When had he gotten in'? Vash thought to himself.

"Just now," his brother said reading his mind. "You would have heard but you were off day dreaming about where I've been and of the two humans."

Vash frowned. He didn't like Knives reading his mind, entering it without permission as if it was his own.

Something clicked in his head.

"Where are Alex and Alicia?" He asked Knives.

"Is that their names?" Knives paused. "I had not bothered to figure it out."

"Where are they Knives?" Vash chided his brother.

"At the moment they've decided to commit suicide."

Two loud shots rang out.

Vash gasped.

"Tragic isn't it?" Knives smiled, but his eyes relayed no emotion.

Vash started to pant, water forming in his eyes. "You didn't have to kill them Knives."

"No, I did. Now calm yourself, don't get so worked up." Knives walked further into the room looking over its furnishings and his brothers condition.

"They treated you with great respect and care. As I told them too."

Vash attempted to stand and lunge towards his brother in anger but he did not get an inch closer to him before Knives threw him back down with his left foot.

The equally magnified anger in Knives formed. "Hey, I kept you alive I could have killed youཀ Do not turn on me againཀ" Knives calmed. "Now come on. We're leaving."

Vash didn't move, but looked down at his hands. Watching the tears drop on them. "I don't want to go with you Knives. I want you to stop this, please." He looked up at him to see that his brothers eyes were fueled in disgust and that his hands were clenched tightly.

"After all we have been through, you still want to defy me?" Knives managed to seethe out. "Well I suppose you don't have to come with me, that can be your choice, but you also know there is no stopping me."

Still looking at his hands Vash's eyes widened. Knives was right. Vash now knew his brother was stronger than he was. That last fight had proved that. How could he stop him now?

Silence reigned between the two plants, and moments ticked on.

"Where have you been?" Vash finally asked.

Knives smiled. "I'm glad you have asked. But I would rather show you. I made sure the puppets never let you outside and see beyond the windows of this dwelling for a good reason."

Vash's heart tightened. 'What has he done?' He thought.

"If you are to see, that means you agree to go with me, and abide by my rules."

Vash shook his head immediately. "I'll go with you, but I wont abide by your rules."

Knives weighed his options. "Fine, let's go."

AN: This is already taking a different direction than I had planned. Oh well. Please review, and ideas are more than welcome. Any volunteers for writing the 2nd chapter? Any at all? No, I'm just kidding. ;)

Yours Truly,
Faery Goddyss :)