Overview: Enita the Shifter is told from the first-person perspective of, well, Enita the Shifter. Enita has immense psychic powers, and a very mysterious past. It has a little shoen-ai in it, please don't worry, it's not much. Another side of Knives-sama is shown here, he'd probably hate me for it but that's ok as long as he knows I exist ^--^!

Disclaimer: Trigun and its related characters aren't mine. However, the character Enita and this storyline is.

~Enita the Shifter~

He stumbled out of the bar, dead drunk. I watched him *walk* up the street, swaying from side to side.

"Well, if it isn't the little --"

I hit him. Hard. He stumbled and went down.

With my mental pressure, I squeezed his heart until it burst. His red life came pouring out of his mouth, his nose, his ears, and even his eyes shed blood. He was gagging on his own blood. I picked him up by his shoulders and kissed his lips. I could taste the coppery tang in my mouth. I was gripped by the sudden pleasure of the simple act of killing. What a horrible way to die.

That is, if I even cared. I let him drop. Now his death meant nothing to me.

My Master approached me from behind.

"You've done well, Enita. But you must learn to kill many at once, spread your powers out over a range, a distance."

I nodded. I stretched out my hands. I kept my face blissfully blank.

"I accept your teachings and understand, Master Knives."

I tried to erase the glee within my mind, of pleasing the Master.

Of course, he saw *right through* my disguise.

He smiled. "You should be happy; you've made me very proud."

I sighed, nodding and looking away. The breeze blew my hair over my face and into my eyes. Annoyance.

I looked at him out of the corner of my eye. I licked my lips, washing the blood off. Lovely.

I looked back at him. He looked tired, worn out. I turned back.

"Are you tired, Master Knives?" I asked innocently.

"World-weary," he said softly. "Walk with me."
We turned and started down the boulevard.

"How long have you been in my services, Enita the Shifter?"

"Full on five years, Master Knives."

"Stop that," he said casually. "I don't like being called that. It makes me sound…I don't know, I just don't like it."

"How shall I address you then?" I asked.

"Just call me *Friend*, please."

I stopped dead in my tracks. He paused, turning, with a look of confusion in his eyes.

"*Friend*? But you are to be served, to be --"

"Please, forget that. At least when no one else is around. I've never had anyone call me that, do you know?"

"No. I didn't…Friend." I said, testing the word out.

"*Friend* is a nice word," I continued. "It feels nice to say. I've never called anyone a…Friend. Will you call me…Friend?"

"Yes," he said smiling, "of course I will."

We continued to walk.

"I admire you." He said suddenly.

"How so, Friend?"

"You can kill on a whim. You can fly. You can shift into any form, male or female, human or not."

I nodded. "That is why I am called *Shifter*, Friend."

"I've…just never seen you do it, that's all."

"Would you like to see, Friend? It takes only a few moments to complete the shift."

"Yes, please."

I began to draw an image from his mind. He did not know yet I could read and transfer thoughts.

I began to shift from my usual form to one he knew. And knew well.

My hair slid from its natural position, layers down, to sharp and pointed. My face changed shapes. My eyes changed colour. I heard him gasp and saw him draw back in amazement. For I was finished and before him stood the very likeness of his brother…Vash the Stampede.

"Vash??"

"No, it is Enita." I said softly. "This is an image I have used. Yet I am physically Vash now in shape and form."

"Truly," Knives said in wonder, "this is the Miracle."

I laughed, an honest laugh.

"No, this might be merely…a tromp d'oeil. A trick of the eye, as they say. Only it is real."

I began to shift back.

"NO!" He said. "I mean, no, please stay like that for another moment or two."

"Of course," I said, "whatever you wish."

He stared at me, tears glistening in his eyes.

"May I…?"

"Anything you wish, Friend."

"Oh, to hear those words from his mouth…" he said. Not really to me, but I stood there, gazing at him all the same. He put out his hand, ran his fingertips along the jaw line, following it through the hair, over my eyelids, which I closed. I felt his fingers trail down my face onto my lips. I felt them go. Then I felt his lips on mine. It was a sweet, but intense kiss. He was pushing hard, when he suddenly realized what he was doing. He stopped sharply. Then he was gone.

I opened my eyes. He had pulled back, his eyes full of tears. He looked away. I shifted back to my own form. My hair lengthened, turned navy, and cascaded over my shoulders. I felt my face change, my eyes become silver. I was my natural form again, the being that I was. Pale, ivory skin and cool, smooth to the touch. Without gender.

He sighed. He was weeping hard, but with not a sound to be heard.

I reached out. When he made no move to stop me, I put my arm tentatively around his broad shoulders. He leaned against me.

"Take us home, Friend."

I began to walk slowly onwards towards the Hotel. He talked to me as we walked. Not any real conversation, just him telling me about his childhood and his struggles to come to grips with his brother and his quest to destroy humanity. I nodded, taking in all this. He was telling me…everything. I had made him think I wasn't worthy of him, but now maybe…maybe I could tell him the truth about me…my past…and him…

"Please, talk to me!" He said loudly, almost shouting.

"What of?"

"Anything. Oh, anything. Just don't leave me alone."

I knew not what to talk of, so I sang. A song I had heard a girl sing before I killed her. I had felt sad because of the pretty song, so I made her death quick and painless. One less star to shine in the Heavens, yet it did not go down in flames.

"Oich ù agus h-iù raibh éile,

Oich ù agus h-iù raibh éile,

H-iù raibh ò , agus hò ro éile,

'S mo chruinneag dhonn,

Gur a trom ad dheigh mi."

"Beautiful…what does it mean?"

I closed my eyes. "I know not, Friend. I believe it is in a language called *Gaelic*."

"A *Spider's* language can be so beautiful…it is hardly possible."

"Things on this planet are strange, Friend. Where I am from, I remember…" I paused, waiting for his obvious curiosity:

"No, please, go on…what do you remember?"

"It is painful, Friend."

"I know, my past is painful too. But I long to know. Perhaps I can help you to bear your burden."

"The planet I am from," I began, "was, in a word, beautiful. It was covered mostly by ocean."

"What is an ocean?" He asked.

"It is a great body of water. It is like a lake, but several millions times bigger. It is also composed of salty water, which was unusable to humans in its natural state, but could be altered to make it drinkable."

"Ahh. And what was in this ocean?"

"Millions of creatures, from the tiniest plant to the largest sea-faring beast, called a whale."

"Amazing. Go on, please do!"

"But the most amazing was not the waters, but the land itself. Some regions of the planet were as barren and as hot as Gunsmoke. Some were frozen, like the inside of a freezer. Snow covered them."

"Snow…what is snow?"

"Snow is frozen water. Some of the places on Earth were deserts of snow. But some…ahh, they were wonderful. Forests, all kinds of trees. Evergreens, in our winters, had snow, condensed water, frozen to their needles. Amazing to see, never to see again. Or the rainforests of the southern countries. Their hot, humid forests with trees reaching to the sky, hundreds of feet tall. The screech of birds, the calls of the animals, the heat and pure blackness of night."

I realized tears were running down my cheeks. Strange, I had never cried before. It gave me a very peaceful feeling.

"What was this planet called?" Asked Knives in reverence.

"Earth."

"And what happened to this *Earth*, with its amazing forests, and endless waters? How did you come to be on Gunsmoke?" He asked, full of hope.

Now was the time to share my secrets. Now was the time to make him realize what he had done. "I was a stow-away on a space mission by the name of *Project Seeds*. It was going so well, I was cultivating the plants. For eighty-two years we were safe and travelling on that ship. Then it went down. I landed on this planet. My psychic link to all aboard the ships was screaming with anxiety and pain. I then realized it was all of the humans on the ships, their collective consciousness. The worst had occurred to my beloved home Earth. Our sun had gone supernova, our planet had been swallowed up."

He stared at me in horror. I went on, knowing what would happen; "If only the ships had landed safely, all the remaining good people would have survived, helped the evil of this planet to change, to become peace and --"

He let out a moan of mortal terror.
"Noooooo…." It became a scream of horror. He fell to the ground, in his pain.

"NOOOOOO!!!!"

I jumped. "What is it?"

"I…I was the one who crashed that ship! I destroyed the goodness your people would have given this planet…I…wanted…only…to…kill…"

I froze. I had not expected this. I had expected…harshness. Cruelty. I had expected… heartless indifference. I could not move, could not breathe.

"Forgive…me…I…knew…not…what I did…"

"You killed my people. You killed the only remnants of our angelic race…" I said, neither in anger nor sorrow, but in disbelief of his reaction.

"But you have not destroyed us all. They live on…in me…" I said.

He looked up. His face was a pure red, tears poured down his cheeks. To match mine.

"Stand up, Friend. I do not blame you. I realize now that they would be the ones to fall to the evility of this planet. You possibly saved them all from an awful realization of death."

"Then…you…forgive me?"

"Yes."

He stood up. I took his hand. I pressed my cheek to his.

"Now our grief is one, our tears are one. We share this burden, this secret I have kept for 150 years."

We walked on.

"I again apologize, whatever good it will do."

"It will do little good for my people, but it sooths me to hear you say it.. Thank you for at least now, Friend."

We walked on. I looked at the stars.

"I remember the *constellations* of stars I could see from my Earth. This sky makes little sense to me, even after all these years."

"How old are you?"

"I am…I am…"I tried to pull dates out of my mind. "I am…I cannot remember exactly, but I am well over 100 million years old."

He gasped. "No offence meant, but is that why you're always talking so formally?"

I smiled. "None has been taken, Friend. And yes, *formally* is the word."

I continued. "The oldest thing I can remember is a Garden. Then it was no more…I will try and remember more for later. I also remember killing when we left…in the beginning…"

"It's like the first humans I saw on this planet. Their first movement was to lift the club to strike down their brother."

"Yes…" I said slowly, softly… "A brother…I remember having a brother. No, I never killed him. I saw him only once. He came to me when I was still on Earth. I was 2000, then, living in the southern jungles. He came to me and said *I am your brother.* In my mind. And I replied, *I know.* He vanished. And I never saw him again."

"Loneliness. I know what that's like." Knives said.

"Oh, no!" I said quickly. "No, it wasn't like that. My friends were the trees, the birds, the animals, the warm black night. I loved the planet in all her beauty. I was never alone. Never…until the humans came back."

"You mean, you're not a human?"

I laughed. "No, how could I be? I know not a term for what I am, only that which I am is not human. The humans came into my forest, cutting down the trees, and killing the animals. I could only kill one at a time directly, and I did not know I was immortal. In the jungle there was no passage of time. So I fled."

"Amazing."

"No matter where I went, the humans followed. In time, I developed a way to spread my power over a distance, calling it a *disease*.

"Of course, there were some good humans, like one woman I knew on *Project Seeds*. Her name was Rem Saverem. She was one who understood me, who understood why I wanted to come. But I looked too young, so she kept me a secret. I had always been good at growing plants, and I thrived within the bowels of the ship.

"I had always destroyed things without a thought of creation, so when I finally tended the plants one day, I had a thought. I wanted to make some creatures that were like me. Some who would help the plants grow. So I created a pair of twins, using the plants. Everyone thought they had come out of nowhere, but I told Rem the truth about the mysterious pair. The creatures, the twins, were like me in that they grew quickly, but aged slowly. They also could not fly, and could not shift. I know not what happened to the twins…" I hinted at what I already knew, in fact. This time I was prepared for his reaction.

His eyes opened.

"I and my brother are those twins of whom you speak! It is you who created me!"

I laughed, freely.

"How wonderful that my creation is to be as beautiful now as you were over one hundred fifty years ago…you are beautiful, do you know that?"

"Only now that you tell me, Friend."

I smiled again. We had returned to our Hotel. I led him up the stairs to my room.

"I have something to show you…you must hear this."

I pulled out my glockenspiel.

"This is the only thing I brought from my home planet, besides the clothes I wore. Please listen to this song."

I began to play *Eden*. He sank onto his knees, and then he began to cry after a few seconds.

"What is this beautiful thing you play for me?" He asked in wonder.

"It is called a glockenspiel…" I began.

"No, no, the piece of music you play! It's sad, haunting, yet the most peaceful and beautiful thing I've ever heard!"

I laughed, and continued to play. "It is called *Eden*, Friend. It took me a long time to learn, all five minutes of it. It is beautiful, no?"

"*Eden*…what does it mean? What is *Eden*?"

"Eden was a garden, specifically the Garden of God. My people lived in this Garden, alongside the humans, supposedly in the beginning. But soon after, the humans were banished from this sacred place. My people were allowed to stay, but we felt sorry for the humans; we had not known they were evil. We followed them out of the Garden. God called us back, but we said we did not want the humans to suffer alone. So God closed the gates, and left us on Earth. I was the last out of the gate. Yes, I was alive in the very beginning. I turned to God and said farewell. He kissed me, once. Softly. Yet living outside the Garden, the evil of the humans grew inside us all. Most learned it was right to kill, to smite each other. And so I am the way I am. Yet the being I was born to be shines through the evil I have become."

"Amazing."

"You say that a lot, at least you have tonight." I said, smiling.

"Tonight has been a night of discovery for me." Knives said.

"Indeed it has for both of us." I said.

I ended the song, on its minor chord.

"What? Is it over like that?"

"Yes, it was never finished."

"Oh." He said softly, sadly.

"I will finish it."

I played the next resounding chord that would harmonicize it.

"That is much better, no?"

"Yes, it is. Thank you for playing it for me."

"I enjoyed it, yes. I know more…"

"Oh, please play them for me!"

I played many pieces for him. I played several songs, the last I played was *Sound Life*. To my surprise, he began to sing along with it, at least the first line.

"So, on the first night…"

I laughed, continued.

"You know this song?"

"Rem used to sing it all the time!"

"I taught it to her. Do you want to know the whole song?"

"Oh, yes, please sing it for me!" He begged.

"So…On the first night,

A pebble falls to the earth from somewhere.

So…On the second night,

The pebble's children hold hands and sketch a waltz.

Sound Life.

So…On the third night,

The children of the waltz cause ripples on the face of the world.

So…On the fourth night,

The children of the wave spray the shore.

Sound Life.

So…On the fifth night,

Those shards strike the face of the Earth over and over.

So…On the sixth night,

Those signals bring travellers together.

Sound Life.

So…On the seventh night,

A weightless ship races to the sky.

So…On the eighth morning,

A song from somewhere reaches my ears.

Sound Life.

Well Then…A song that has recorded everything echoes to the new sky.

Sound Life.

Sound Life."

He sighed. I continued talking, even after I stopped playing.

"Wonderful girl. She was very dear to me. Yet when I returned to the shuttle years later, I found her only son had been brutally murdered. How could that have happened, Friend?"

"You must already know, why are you doing this?"

"To make you suffer." I said simply.

"Why?"

"I love you," I said, "but I can't lie to you. You have made me suffer for hundreds of years. Yet you know not what true suffering is. My first act was to sew seeds of discontent in your twin."

"You separated us! You made him think the way he does!"

"Yes."

"You knew…all along…everything!"

"Yes."

"You were just stringing me along!"

"Yes."

"You separated me from Vash! Vash, my other half, Vash my very self!"

"Yes."

"And from what you have told me, you could kill me at any moment!"

"Yes." He recoiled in horror from my monotony.

"But do remember what I told you earlier. I love you. I have grown to love you in all your twisted thoughts and mind."

He looked away, his eyes drying. Then he looked back in wonderment of what I had just said. I walked over to the window and looked out at the sky. After a moment or two, I heard him stand up. I heard him walk over to the window. Then I felt his arm come around my shoulders. I leaned onto him. He held me tighter. I felt his lips brush my hair. I sighed and put my head on his shoulder.

We watched the stars for a while.

************************************************************************************************************************

I awoke in the morning to find his arms around me. Lying in bed on his side, one arm under and one arm over me, protectively. I smiled. The blankets were swathed around my middle. I sat up, and Knives shifted. On his still-sleeping face was an expression of utter peace and happiness. Not wanting to disturb him, I arose quietly and dressed. Evidently I wasn't quiet enough. Hearing a creak, I paused, turned to see Knives sit up.

"Going so soon?" He asked quietly.

"It is morn," I said. "It is time."

"Time?" He asked. "Time for what?"

"For you to meet your destiny. Go to the bio-sphere you created. Vash will be there soon." I tried a little humour. "I suggest you put on some pants first before you go."

He blushed, hugging the blankets to him.

"Vash?" Knives asked blearily.

"He is coming."

I walked to the window. Knives followed, trailing the blankets behind him as he went.

He put his arm around me. We faced the open sky together.

It was dawn.

~The End~