Mort de les Couteau by Yma

Disclaimer: This world and its characters are not mine, I am merely lending them for a bit. Just to have fun with. Don't mind me!

This is a sequel to Le Mort de Papillion, but it is perfectly possible to read this by itself and still enjoy it.

This fic was partly inspired by Lady Shadowcat and her story Young Guns. Read it, it is fun and she's a great writer!

Mort de les Couteau.

elH

They faced each other, dark looks upon both their faces, their guns were pointed at one another, bodies tense with pent up tension.

'So,' said Knives at last, 'after all this time, you've found me.'

'Yes,' replied Vash, 'and I'm going to end this.'

'Are you?' asked his twin, a soft smile twisting his lips, 'what makes you think you're good enough?'

'I'm going to bring you do justice for all those people you've wronged!'

'So you say.'

'I'm going to take you down! You God damn son of a gun!'

Knives exploded into giggles.

Vash pouted and stamped his little foot, the sound echoed through out the SEEDS cargo hold. 'Knives!' he whined, 'you're doing it again!'

'I… I'm sorry,' laughed Knives, trying desperately to contain his hysterics, 'but… but it's so hard when you say stuff like that!'

'It's only pretending,' muttered Vash, 'cowboys and outlaws, right? The people on that video we watched said just the same thing!'

'Yeah,' gasped Knives at last, finally grasping some control over his mirth, 'but it sounds so funny when you say it. I can't help myself.'

Vash rolled his eyes; as much as he loved his brother he honestly thought he was hopeless at games like this. In almost everything else he looked up to Knives, he was always acting as the older twin after all, but when it came to games of pretend he was hopeless.

'Just remember, you're the evil bandit outlaw and I'm the sheriff, right? This is the final shoot out, it's not hard. Really Knives, you're so bad at this game!'

Now it was Knives turn to pout, 'I'm not,' he objected, 'it's just you keep inventing weird scenarios. I don't see why we have to play this anyway… it's not as if it's useful at all.'

'It's not about useful, it's about fun! Besides, what would you rather play? Have you got any better ideas?'

'Well…' said Knives, 'we could pretend something better. Like we're running the SEEDS ship. Yeah, I can be captain and you can be navigator and we could pretend we're looking for a planet to inhabit!'

Vash sighed, 'Knives, if I wanted that then I'd just go up on the bridge and watch Captain Joey and the others. That's boring! This is far more exciting! Now come on and play!'

Knives shrugged, admitting defeat and got himself into position again, pointing his gun at Vash.  

The guns, truth be known, were the main reason they were playing. They'd found them in a locker, which had come open at some point in the voyage. It was obviously the possessions of a colonist family and their children, for there were a few toys with the belongings, including the two pop guns the twins now held.

The first thing they had done, of course, was to tell Rem about he open locker. She'd checked it out and said she'd contact Steve about it; he'd fix it when they had time.

They'd asked her if they could play with some of the toys and she'd said yes, so long as they didn't damage them and returned them before Steve closed up the locker again.

She hadn't noticed the guns, or she probably would have said something, but as it was; fresh from watching an old Western movie with Rowan; they'd taken the pop-guns out of the locker and started a game of pretend.

Vash liked playing pretend, it meant he could be someone else for a bit and when he did something stupid he could always say, 'well, that's what the character would do,' or he could speak his mind better. Sometimes he thought the people he pretended to be were a lot better than the person he was. Pretend was a lot of fun.

So they stood there, those two little boys acting out the rolls of men.

'I'm going to fill you full of lead!' growled Vash, narrowing his eyes.

'You're going to have to learn to shoot straight first! Besides, no one can hit me; I'm the best shot in the west!'

'Then shoot!'

At this word both boys pulled the triggers of their guns.

'Bang!' they screamed in unison as the wooden corks popped out, imaginary bullets spun towards their targets.

Vash dived sideways, dodging the illusionary projectile, landing on the hard floor of the cargo bay with a thud. owH

He lay there for a few moments, wondering who had won. He looked over to see Knives, lying on his back, evidently taking on the role of looser.

Vash grinned and got up, blowing imaginary smoke from his pop gun.

'Got ya!' he laughed, and ran over to Knives, 'OK,' he said, 'now you can play sheriff for a bit if you want.'

Knives didn't move.

'Knives?' he prodded his brother gently, but Knives remained immobile.

Vash frowned, this was weird, 'Knives? Knives? It's over now, you can get up…'

Knives was still, he didn't even twitch, it was almost like… almost like…

'Knives!' yelled Vash, falling to his knees and shaking his brother, 'Knives, wake up! Knives! Knives!'

But Knives neither moved nor made a sound, he just hung limp in his brothers arms.

'Oh please Knives,' screamed Vash, almost hysterical now, 'Knives, please don't be dead! Please! I didn't mean to Knives! Please don't be dead!'

Fear gripped Vash's body; his heart seemed to be beating at double speed, his stomach felt all wobbly and dreadful. He'd never been this frightened, never been this sad. Had he really killed Knives? Was Knives really dead?

Dead.

He'd learned about that word a few months ago, in the recreation room when Knives had accidentally killed a butterfly. He'd been very upset about that, and so had Vash. Before that neither twin knew about the strange, terrifying concept of death.

Rem had hinted to it before, of course, she'd mentioned that she joined the SEEDS ship because she had lost someone very close to her, a man named Alex.

But before Vash had known about death, he'd just thought that Alex had been lost. Perhaps in some strange, adult version of hide and seek, where Rem had put him somewhere and forgotten where. Or perhaps Alex had just wandered away one day and not come back. Vash had always imagined that Rem was on the SEEDS ship so that she could find him. That she probably would find him eventually. He'd often had his own little fantasy that, one day, he'd be walking he corridors of the SEEDS ship, like normal, and he'd meet this man. And the man would say, "Hello, I'm Alex, I'm lost. Have you seen Rem?" and Vash would say yes, he had, and he'd take Alex to Rem and she'd be happy and very proud of him.

It wasn't much of a fantasy, but it was one he'd treasured. Then he'd learned more about death and had realized that, no matter how hard Rem looked, she'd never find Alex, because Alex was gone forever.

This seemed most unfair and such thoughts led him to wonder what it would be like if he lost Rem. If she died. If she went away and never came back. Then hot water had come out of his eyes and it hadn't stopped for a long time. He couldn't stand the thought of loosing her. He'd never felt so miserable until now, looking down upon his dead brother.

He hadn't even given thought to what would happen if Knives went away. Now he was almost sick with emotion. What was he going to do? He'd killed Knives!

Scenarios raced across his brain.

What would he do without Knives? Despite the fact they were twins, Knives always acted like his big brother, he was the one who always knew what to do, who always knew what to say. Knives was smarter than him, more logical, got on better with almost all the crew, he was always the one who looked after Vash. What was he going to do now that he was gone forever? How could he go on without Knives to look after him? And what about Rem? She'd said that taking a life, any life, was wrong. He'd killed his own brother! She'd never forgive him; she'd be mad and upset. She'd probably never want to talk to him ever again, and the crew would take him somewhere, and lock him up and he'd be alone for ever and ever without Knives or Rem or anyone! And it was all his fault! He'd killed Knives!

Suddenly his eyes itched, and the hot water spilled forth again, running down his cheeks in large droplets as he desperately shook his brother.

'Knives! Knives! Don't die! I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm so sorry! Please, please don't be dead! Please Knives! Please don't be dead!'

He was hysteric with fear now, crying and shaking and screaming in grief.

'Vash?'

That soft voice broke Vash out of his paroxysms of terror. He opened his tear rimmed eyes to see Knives looking up with him, his own blue orbs wide with shock and a little fear.

'Knives!' yelled Vash, lunging forward and taking his brother up in powerful hug, 'Knives! You're alive! I was so scared Knives! I really thought I'd killed you! That I'd lost you!'

'I was just playing pretend,' said Knives, his own voice shaking a little, 'I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you cry. I thought I was supposed to pretend.'

'Not that well, Knives! I really thought you were dead!'

'Silly Vash,' Knives chuckled, hugging Vash back and messing his long, blond hair up a little, 'it was only cork guns, we could never hurt each other.'

'Yeah but you looked so dead…'

'I'm sorry, Vash, I didn't mean to make you sad.'

Vash sniffed against Knives' shoulder, freeing one hand to wipe the drying tears from his face.

'That's OK,' he said at last, letting his brother go from the strangle hold, 'but Knives,' he said again, 'what if you did die! What if you died and left me all alone! Knives, promise you'll never leave me!'

Knives smiled and blue eyes fixed onto aqua, 'don't worry Vash,' he said solemnly, 'I promise, I'll never leave you. No matter where you go, I'll follow you and catch up. You'll never be alone. I promise.'

'Pinkie swear?' Vash proffered his little finger.

'Pinkie swear,' said Knives, locking his own little finger with Vash's, happy to indulge his twin.

Vash grinned, his smile erasing the last of his tears, 'I'm glad Knives! I don't ever want to loose you! But… what about Rem? What if she died and went away?'

Knives sighed, 'you know, Rem is right, you do worry too much.'

'Knives-'

Knives put a hand up, cutting Vash off, 'look, I said I'll always be with you, right? I can't promise for Rem, that's her choice. Besides, so long as I'm with you, so long as we're together, we don't really need anyone else.'

'I guess not…' said Vash, though it was evident from his tones that he did not entirely agree with Knives.

'So,' said Knives at last, 'do you want to play again? You said I could be the Sheriff this time.'

'Actually, I don't think I want to play this game any more,' said Vash, getting up, 'I'm not even sure I want to play pretend for a bit.'

'Oh…' muttered Knives, a little disappointed, 'well, maybe we could do something else with the guns?'

'No!' replied Vash, his voice oddly vehement, not a tone he often used, 'no, I don't want to play with those things ever again. I don't like them any more, they're horrible and useless!'

'I don't know,' pondered Knives, holding both guns in his hands, examining them carefully, his face rapt with interest 'I think they have their uses… but if you don't want to play with them for a bit then that's OK.'

'Good,' sighed Vash, moving towards the exit, 'let's find something else to do.'

'Alright, hey, Vash?'

'Yeah?' said Vash, looking back towards his brother.

'Bang!'

Fin

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