Chapter Two:
Origins
Dawn was breaking just over the horizon. After several days on the road, Little Oregon was just an hour or so away. Vash yawned hugely while still trying to keep his eyes on the road. His driving shift had been over hours ago, but since they were so near he saw no need to wake anyone. During the first while of the journey he had sat in the back with Knives and had let Meryl drive, all the while catching up on some well earned sleep. He had woke with a start in the early hours of the morning when she had nearly run them off the road by dozing off at the wheel. Furiously embarrassed, she had insisted that she was ok and could continue to drive. She didn't argue her point very well as she kept trying to drift off even while arguing with him. One thing was agreed though, was that the needed to keep on moving; but the only way he could take over the wheel was if she took his place in the back seat with Knives.
The memory of the issue prompted him to check them in the rearview mirror, as he did every thirty seconds or so whenever it was his turn to get behind the wheel (after the recount of Millie's driving record that he had been so curious about, it was unanimously agreed that the task of driving should be kept between him and Meryl). She was asleep with her face pressed up against the window, scrunching it up comically. She was snoring softly, completely oblivious to the figure resting on her lap. With such a small car and such a tall man it was unavoidable. Understandably she was hesitant about it at first (as was he), but she gracefully took it in stride. Now that they were on their fourth day and without so much as a stir from the heavily sedated Knives, it was old news that she was a makeshift pillow.
He smiled and looked back at the road before turning his attention to the figure in the passenger seat. Millie slept bent forward, using one of their bags as a pillow that had an ever widening drool spot growing on it. She had been full of chatter on the trip. Millie had made it her personal mission to keep everyone entertained on the journey and to try to keep everyone in high spirits. A thorough scolding would befall the one who fell into a brooding, or even a thoughtful silence. Some of the lighthearted show had been for her sake, he had noted. But for the most part it was just one hundred percent Millie.
The road wore on, the sun rose in the sky, the girls stirred from their sleep, and they had arrived. The city was a whole lot more active than it was when they had left, but that was no surprise. They drove slowly through town, avoiding the pedestrians that seemed to have doubled in number, and onwards towards the ship.
"Wow. It seems a lot bigger that I remember it." Millie said, leaning out the window craning her neck up to take in the entire sight. As they neared, the ship towered above them; blocking out the sun. On the ground there was plenty of activity to look at as well. The slow and tedious process of stripping down the ship had begun. The actual deconstruction of it was still some time away. Those working here were still preoccupied with removing personal effects, supplies, and the necessities of getting by in the world below. The task of handling the moving of the technology would be left until last...or perhaps not at all. It was not an entirely unheard of situation. Many of the ships and the knowledge inside had been abandoned as people struggled to life their life day by day, unwilling to put forth all the effort towards something that they could do without.
Several curious individuals stopped what they were doing and watched as the car pulled up and was turned off. Millie was out of the car stretching her stiff legs in an instant.
"Ohhh, that feels better. I'm sore from sitting in that seat for so long."
"Let's go find that doc, or whoever you were talking about. Personally I'm sick of this car too." Meryl said while gently trying to lift up Knives and scoot out from under him.
"Uh..."
"What's wrong?" She asked Vash, who hadn't moved.
"I don't know how happy the people here will be to see me considering that all this here is my fault."
"It is not your fault." Meryl said, lightly rapping him against the side of his head in an attempt to knock some sense into him.
"And besides...I can't just leave him here alone like this..."
She sighed. "What does he look like? I'll tell him you're here so he could come see you himself.
"Just go ask any of them where Doc is. They'll point you in the right direction."
"Alright. But don't you run off or go to sleep or anything like that." She chided.
"Scouts honor." He said smiling.
"Common Millie. Babysitting is a full time job." Millie laughed and trailed along.
Meryl approached the group of curious bystanders. They looked on with mild interest as the short woman marched right up to them.
"Were looking for the Doc. Could you please point out where he is?"
"And who are you missy?" A man with a gruff voice but open face asked her. "I don't recall seeing the two of you before. And who's in the car....?"
"Who I am is none of your concern. Do you know where he is or don't you?"
"No need to get like that. It was just a question. I'll take you to him. Follow me." The girls left the car and recovery crew behind and went right up to the metal behemoth before them. Instead of going inside like she had expected, the man took them to a series of monitors set up in a tent apart from the others.
"Knock knock." The man said, peering inside the open tent flap. A tired looking woman sat inside, fanning herself. She looked up from the monitors at the sound of mans voice.
"Oh, hey Jim. What can I do for you?"
"I have two lovely ladies here requesting to see the Doc."
"Really?" She said looking around Jim at the guests. "They know him?"
"It seems that way."
"We need to speak with him right away. It's urgent." Meryl said cutting through the banter. "If you could please take us to him already."
"Ok already. Sheesh, where's the fire? I'll get him on for you right now." The woman said then turned to a monitor off on her right. She entered something into the computer and moments later the image of a wizened old man appeared on screen.
"Yes? And what can I do for you Elsa?" He asked.
"I have a pair down here asking for you. Although they look like there outsiders."
"Now Elsa, that is no way to think. We are all in the same boat now. If anything we're the outsiders." Meryl took the opportunity and jumped in.
"Excuse me sir, but we have something very important to discuss with you. Alone." She said pointedly looking at Elsa and Jim who was still hovering by the tent entrance. Elsa gave her a skeptical look, which Meryl returned with one of scorn, then looked back at the monitor to the Doc. He gave a short nod. Elsa shrugged with defeat.
"I was dying for some fresh air anyway." She tiredly said and walked out. Meryl waited until Millie gave her the thumbs up to signify that they were free of eavesdroppers, then began.
"Mr. Doc, sir. We came to tell you that Vash is back. Although he's a little nervous that everyone here will be angry with him."
"He's here huh? I do not blame him for being concerned. But please let him know that most of those bearing ill will have already abandoned this poor ship and have moved on."
"There's more sir." The Doc seemed slightly taken aback but nodded anyway.
"Go on."
"He has Knives." The startled expression that swept over the doc face was quickly replaced by one of concern.
"Is he alight? And what of Knives? How did he manage...?"
"Vash is alight, asides from a few minor injuries. We have Knives with us now. He's injured and heavily sedated. We've lost no time in getting here. He really needs to talk with you. Can you please come down here?"
"I'm on my way down." The little old man said and the monitor immediately shut off.
"That's an awfully long way down." Millie said looking up at the ship. "I wonder how long it will take him?"
"I don't know. Let's get back to the car." She said.
Elsa and Jim approached them as they left the tent. "Well did you get to talk to him?"
"Yup! He said he's on his way down." Millie said. Elsa and Jim exchanged looks. This was getting more curious by the second.
"Did you find him?" Vash asked as they approached.
"He said that he would be down immediately." Meryl reported. "Although he seemed a little worried."
"Yeah. I would say so."
"What is it that you're not telling us? What is this 'plan' and why are you worried that it won't work anymore? Is it because the ship crashed?" She asked him, trying not to sound demanding. He sighed and looked down at his hands.
"It's kinda difficult to explain..."
"I'm sure it can't be any more difficult to explain than when you told me all about yourself and Knives."
"Yeah, I guess so." He laughed.
Restless murmuring among the crowd drew their attention. A small group was coming their way. Upon seeing a familiar face in the group, Vash hopped out of the car, looking relived.
"Is it true? You actually stopped him?" The old man asked him, nearly running up.
"Yeah, but I'm afraid Demitrihi doesn't exist anymore." Vash said, looking slightly embarrassed. Then he turned serious once more. "I know things have changed, but...'
"Not a word more of it my boy. After coming this far I'm positive that we will find a way to make it work. And you will not be turned away through a fault that is not your own. Not while I am here anyway. We're here to help." The Doc said indicating the cluster of assistance in lab uniform who nodded in agreement. Vash'es mood instantly brightened.
"Alright then! What are we waiting out here for? Let's get going." He pulled Knives from the back seat and held him over one shoulder. Several of the assistance took a step back upon seeing Knives, but nether Vash nor the Doc was fazed.
"You wouldn't believe how hard it was to beat him." He chattered on happily.
"I can imagine, my boy, I can imagine."
"Hey...Aren't you two coming?" Vash asked the girls when he noticed that they hadn't immediately began to follow.
"You mean we're invited to come?" Meryl asked, feeling out of place in the setting.
"Since when have you started asking for an invitation?" He asked, puzzled. She huffed at him. "Common. I'll explain everything. You deserve to know, after all, I couldn't have done it without you two."
"Let's go Meryl!" Millie said taking her by the hand and tugging her along.
"Hey!"
--L&P--
The ship that had once been so full of life and activity was dark, Vash sadly noted, and deathly quiet except for the omnipresent hum. To save on power many of the lights had been switched off as well as entire segments of the ship. As they rode the lift up he couldn't but smile at those two who where taking in every little detail in quiet wonder. He was sure they would be full of questions later but for now the awe left them speechless.
Once they had arrived at the appropriate level the Doc ordered several of the others to go check and prep a cold sleep chamber. "What's that?" Millie asked as soon as the assistants had run on ahead of them. That was fast, he noted with amusement.
"How much technical knowledge do you have my dear?" the Doc asked her.
"None whatsoever." She replied almost proudly. Meryl gave her a look.
"A cold sleep chamber is like a capsule that a person can enter and be put in sort of a hibernation so that they can sleep for decades without aging or the need for food or water. The temperature inside the chamber is close to freezing...giving it its name." Vash explained.
"You're going to put him to sleep forever?" She asked horrified.
"No, no. It's just going to be for awhile. He's too dangerous to be left as he is."
"But he can't even walk? How is he a threat?"
"He doesn't need to move to be able to kill everyone here. And we need to buy some time until we have everything ready."
"Ready for what exactly?" Meryl asked.
"Let's get him tucked in first."
"Ahh! Your trying to make us wait to death aren't you?" the Doc chuckled at her.
"I don't believe I ever got your name my dear." He said in a comforting grandfatherly way.
"Oh, my name's Meryl Stryfe."
"And I'm Millie Thompson. It's a pleasure to meet you Mr. Doc."
"You can skip on the mister part Millie."
"Its habit." Meryl, Millie, and Vash said at the same time, and then laughed about it.
"We're ready for him now sir." a voiced announced over the com.
"And here we are." the Doc said as they neared two thick double doors.
*COLDSLEEP ROOM* it read in faded white lettering. The girls looked on in wonder. There was row after row after row of the capsules, rising up to the high ceiling. Meryl peered through the dome of the nearest one. There was nothing to be seen inside, although she didn't know if she was relived or disappointed about the fact. A row over the assistants waited. They stepped away as Vash approached. He lowered Knives in and began studying over the console; double checking for any errors--accidental or intentional. Satisfied, he sealed it and stepped back as frost began to spider web on the edges of the glass. He turned and motioned for the girls to come over. After a second of hesitation they stepped up and looked in.
"It is cold." Meryl said touching the glass over Knives'es face.
"He looks...dead." Millis said content to simply look from where she stood.
"Trust me. He's not. All I have to do is hit a few hit a few keys and he would be out and back to normal in no time. Or normal as far as he goes." Millie chuckled weakly. It still looked too unnatural and abnormal in her opinion. She could imagine all of these things filled with people...like clear coffins. It gave her the creeps.
"Can we get out of here? I'm getting a chill."
"Ok." Vash said, understanding. He turned to the Doc. "Are you sure he'll be well guarded?"
"For both his safety and ours. I trust these men with my life." He assured. The assistants nodded, solemn and still somewhat intimidated. Vash turned and looked at Knives once more. After several quiet moments he turned and the four of them left the cold room and the sleeping man behind.
"Although it seemed unlikely at the time, the Doc and I came up with a plan of what to do with Knives if I ever did manage to stop him." Vash said as they walked down the dim halls, Meryl in step with him, Millie trailing behind Meryl, and the Doc several feet behind, watching and listening.
"But before you can really understand it, you've got to know a few things about plants. This is kinda awkward. Gee, where do I even start...?"
"How about the origins?" the Doc offered.
"Origins?" Meryl asked.
"How the begins we call plants came to be." He said. She looked from the Doc back up to Vash. He sighed, scratched his head, and began the story.
"This is so awkward...Well back when the human race was still on Earth they used the resources available too freely and irreparably damaged the environment (sheesh, I sound like him now...). As a result most of the Earths wildlife died away. But there was one species deep within the seemingly desolate ocean that was not only alive, but thriving. Its name was Bacterium Vitainfinitus-vis...(Heh, that's a mouthful, isn't it?). Bacteria with infinite life power. It was named so because without any opposing life forms to kill it off anymore...it wouldn't die. Unless a deliberate attempt to kill it was made, it just went on and on. Its lifespan seemingly stretched beyond any other organism that Earth has ever seen. In fact, the original sample outlived the first generation of researchers that studied it. That in itself was a biologist dream, but there was something more still to the bacteria...A single bacterium was capable of producing incredible amounts of energy, which was dangerous because the bacteria would cluster together (you can imagine what kind of mess they had to clean up). A biologist by the name of Richard Evans had a theory. If an organism that lived on the simplest level could produce so much energy, what would happen if a more advanced species had the same abilities? He began genetically engineering the bacteria with other species...uhhh...think of it as crossbreeding. His theory was right. The more advanced the organism, though not necessarily the bigger, the greater the power output. His research was inevitably heading in one direction, and eventually he took the step; he took the genes of Bacterium Vitainfinitus-vis and mixed it with that of Homo-sapiens...from his own DNA. I guess in an odd sort of way, if you look at it just right, Evans was my father...or at least grandfather. Hmm...whichever. Anyway...after some trial and error, plus some adjustments he had his result. What he got was an individual that would never die unless purposely killed, and that could produce enough power to fuel a city, or a..."
"Space ship." Meryl finished softly for him.
"Even a ship." He repeated, stopping in front of a door and pulling it partially open.
"What happened to that person...the first plant?" The question stopped him; he stared in the room for a moment then turned back to them.
"It was never allowed to wake up. They thought that it would be more humane if it just remained asleep. They thought the plant's power was infinite but as you know that's not true. Before they quiet got a handle on the technology, it was exhausted and died."
"That's awful!" Millie cried, tearing up.
"It is, but they quickly learned from their mistakes so they wouldn't kill anymore. In here, follow me." He said opening the door completely and motioning them inside. The inside of the elongated rectangular room was filled with computers, technology, and the like that Meryl had never even known existed, much less what they were for. But what really caught her eye was that down at the far end of the room were three, small-scale, functioning plants.
"For practical reasons, not all the plants could be the size of the ones you see powering cities." He said leading them on over to them.
"It makes sense." Meryl agreed. "Smaller craft would naturally need smaller plants; anything larger would just be in the way. But how would they control something like that?"
"By fixing the plant at a certain life stage they could control the size of it."
"Huh?" she asked. He smiled at her.
"Over here........Knives and I came from casings roughly this size." He said indicating one of the glowing orbs before them. "When we were broken loose, we were at the infant stage of life. Smaller plants are embryonic, while the larger ones are adult. Get it?"
"You mean inside this, right here..." She said putting her hands against the glass (it was so warm to the touch, she had never touched a plant before-or one that wasn't walking around eating doughnuts anyway), "there is a...baby? Why don't you let them out?" She asked, slightly mortified. He hadn't gone into this much detail when he was telling her about himself and Knives. It was a bit much to take in. Vash sighed and crossed his arms, troubled.
"We've tried. Knives and I, and even the Doc here. When we let them out...they don't wake up or...perhaps they just refuse to. I can usually get them to...react, but once they are out of the protective environment that they are cased in they are unresponsive and slowly began to waste away. We tried everything we could to keep them alive, but it never worked. Eventually we quit trying."
"But you...you're here." She said confused by the seeming contradiction, looking from him to the plant she was still touching. "Why did you and Knives begin to live while the other ones just died?"
"Honestly I don't know. The seeds crew couldn't figure it out either. Maybe it was just fate..." He trailed off, becoming lost in thought.
"Vash." Millie asked stepping up. "What did you mean 'get them to react'? I thought you said that they just stay asleep forever." He remained quiet, thinking, then with an idea he slowly broke out into wide grin.
"Just a few doors down the hall, there's something else I want to show you two."
They followed as he left the room, went past the few aforementioned doors and stopped in front of a pair of massive steel doors with '4' painted on them. "In here." He said entering something into the panel on the wall. The doors opened quickly with a whoosh. There at the far end of the room was a plant taking up most of the view at that end of the cavernous room. They automatically followed him inside; the Doc stepped in but stopped by the door and watched.
"Numbers one and two were destroyed in the attack, but three and four survived. They're not enough to make the ship fully operational, but its enough to keep it running for right now until they're carefully removed so they can power the city. Would you two like to see him?"
"Him?"
"Yeah, this ones a he."
"I...uh...I'd rather not. No offence or anything but I...uh...it's just that..." Millie stammered out, shying away.
"Aw common. How about you Meryl? Pleeeease?" He looked at her expectantly green eyes dancing, his hand held out for her. As if she could say no. Despite the fact he was asking her, she really wanted to see it anyway, to know and to...
She took his hand and they went up the stairs until they were close enough to touch the glass. Tentatively, she reached out and touched the glass. It was just as warm and soothing as the smaller one. She leaned in close and cupped her hands but she couldn't see much of anything through the white haze.
"Vash I can't..." She said turning to him.
"Just a second." He said. She watched as he placed both hands on the glass and rested his forehead between them and closed his eyes. She watched, puzzled, curious, and apprehensive all at the same time. Softly at first but gaining in strength, an unnatural but not unpleasant sound began to reverberate through the air. It was a sound, but she felt it more than anything. Meryl was about to ask what was happening, but movement caught her eye. Movement from behind the glass.
Hands, soon followed by a face, slowly came into view. It stretched out towards them, stopping only when it came in contact with the glass. Vash drew back a little bit so he could see better, keeping his hands placed on the glass where the plants hands rested on the other side. Number four observed him with bright undefined eyes. A faint buzzing in Meryl's head told her that she had been forgetting to breath. She took a few shaky breaths but froze again when the plant turned and looked at her. It moved away from Vash until it was directly in front of her, head slightly tilted to the side in the universal expression of confusion. The resonance in the air took on a different note. Shakily, she reached out and placed her hands on the glass as Vash had done. The plant hesitated for a moment then placed its hands directly across from hers. She splayed her fingers. So did he. She smiled and rested one hand against her cheek, and again it mimicked her.
"He likes you." Vash whispered to her, the smile evident in his voice. She didn't reply; she couldn't. The plant placed its hands together as if it was preparing to pray, then tilted its head at her expectantly. She followed its lead. Smiling, the plant turned away from her back to Vash.
"Ok." He said. "That's enough for now." He said, placing his hands on the glass and leaning forward again. Number four slowly retreated away and the room became silent once more.
Abruptly Meryl turned and began walking down the stairs, but she was shaking so hard the coordinated action was a little beyond her at the moment. So she just sat down half way down them. Out across the room Millie and the Doc stood, partially hid in the shadows. She almost burst out into laughter at the sight of her tall friend trying to hide behind the small man.
"Hey. Are you alright?" Vash said, sitting down beside her. She tried to give a thumbs up, but her shaking hand betrayed her so she settled for a quick nod instead.
"I'm sorry. I didn't think it would scare you. Nothing ever scares you."
"I wasn't scared." She huffed defensively. Ignoring the amused knowing look she went on. "Its just that I...I..." She struggled to find an appropriate excuse and was failing. "It's not what I expected. I don't know what I did expect but it wasn't that. That and I'm wondering why."
"Why what?"
"Why are you telling us all of this?" She said turning to him. "It was like pulling teeth to even find out your name. And then you were trying to get rid of us at every turn, always hiding things. Then...you actually came back instead of leaving us behind at that town. And now you're telling us all of...this! And I haven't had to threaten or hunt you down once." He just laughed away at this. She felt her temper begin to flair up but then he gave her a rather unexpected response.
"It's because I'm not afraid anymore."
"What?"
"When I first met you two I didn't know if you were after the bounty or not. Then I wanted to get away because you were always to mean to me." Ouch, she thought. "When the Gung-Ho Guns showed up I had to go or else they would have killed you two just for associating with me. After Wolfwood...when I told you everything...you didn't laugh at me or call me a liar, or runaway so I knew you would understand all of this. Then after L.R...Well I guess that it's just nice to have friends for once. I hate being alone, and I hate lying to people. That's why I wanted to show you two all of this, because you know the truth but still accept me anyway."
Before anything more could be said, Millie was in tears and giving him a bone crushing hug, her fear of the plant behind them forgotten. "Of course we care about you silly! That's so sad! How can anyone not care about you! Asides from Meryl you're my bestest friend in the world!" She rambled on, all teary.
"Can't...breathe..."
"Opps. Sorry!" She laughed releasing him.
"S'okay." He said, though he began rubbing his sides.
They left the plant room to find a more comfortable sitting room in one of the abandoned living quarters. The cushy chairs and well lit room made everything more comfortable and homey. The calm atmosphere of the apartment was dulled however by the serious nature of the conversation that was currently going on.
"Knives can be deadly enough with a gun but like Vash said before he doesn't need a weapon to cause a lot of damage." the Doc began.
"It's because he's a plant, isn't it?" Millie asked.
"That's right my dear." He confirmed. The girls knew first hand what that was like. His followers and the mind control he could inflict were pretty frightening.
"He could do anything from manipulating peoples minds to causing the plants like three and four to overload and destroy everything in the area." Vash said, picking up where the Doc left off.
"But I though his purpose was plant supremacy. Why would he kill them?"
"In his mind it would be a necessary sacrifice. Collateral damage."
"Noble. Is there anyway for you to block his power?" Meryl asked.
"I don't think I could. He's had a lot more practice at it than me. I've never really got the hang of it."
"Then what are you going to do? You can't keep him in coldsleep forever. Eventually something would go wrong, and he would get out. And be pissed off, I bet." Meryl said, fingers trailing up to the fading bruises on her neck.
"No. We're not keeping him there..." He sighed deeply and went on. "We're going to kill him."
"What?" The girls shouted in unison. Meryl couldn't believe what she had just heard; especially coming from this mans mouth.
"Not kill as in 'Bang! Your dead' but were going to pull so much energy from him so quickly he can't regenerate his power. A dead plant. But unlike the other plants he'll be able to live by his human physiology. No power, no funky mind control, just...normal."
They were speechless for a moment. Millie was the first to recover. "Wow. I'll bet he'll be ticked off by that."
"Yes but my dear there is no other way. As Ms. Meryl said, coldsleep will only last so long. The only other options is this...or to end his life."
"I don't want to hurt him. I don't. But he's left me no choice but to do this. Dammit Knives!"
Uncomfortable with Vash'es uncharacteristic display of anger, Meryl quickly turned to the Doc. "How are you going to accomplish this? And I gather that your plan has been compromised by the loss of plants one and two."
"Right you are my dear. Without the two plants we don't have enough power to perform the procedure. To do so now would only stress the remaining plants to their exhaustion point."
"Why can't you just use the little plants and the guns too? They have plants in them right?" Millie asked them. "If it was enough to destroy July and Augusta (no offence Vash), I'm sure it will be enough for what your trying to do."
The Doc and Vash just stared at her. "The guns..." He thought quickly, weighing the possibility of it.
"They draw their power from us when the angel arms are activated, but they do have some energy of their own..."
"It's a long shot, but combined, it just might be enough to go through with it...It's not a very likely possibility but it's the best we have at the moment." The Doc said, mulling over the possibilities himself. "We need to run some tests to see if the guns will produce an adequate amount of energy. I'll get started on it immediately." He said hopping down from his seat, and walked over to a visibly uncomfortable Vash. "Well, let's get going. Let's not dawdle when we are so close. Where are they?"
"Well...uh..." Vash mumbled, becoming increasingly interested in the arm of the chair. "I, uh...I kinda left them behind...at Demitrihi..." Meryl sighed, covering her face with her hand. Millie simply cheered.
"WooHoo! Another road trip! When are we going? Can we go now? It's cold in this place. Let's get this show on the road!"
--L&P--
They didn't set out immediately; they had just arrived and were exhausted from the trip. After dinner and a quick tour of the accessible areas, they each picked out and abandoned, but usable, living quarter and settled in. Millie and Meryl spent most of their time talking and working together to straighten up their rooms (it was only for now, but why stay in a wreck?). Vash, on the other hand, went off with the Doc to discuss what the girls assumed to be technical matters and the sort (and to stay in the coldsleep room, Meryl suspected), so they let him be.
The power in the ship was being used sparingly so it was pretty basic. A light, a small cooked meal (most of the supplies had already been toted off, it was a real hunt to find anything), and then bed. The ventilation was running but it was cold inside that huge steel structure, hidden from the warmth of the desert. They ransacked the surrounding quarters for more blankets then retreated back to try to catch some sleep. But considering all that had taken place, little sleep was to be found.
As the girls slept, two wakeful figures were quietly conversing between themselves elsewhere in the ship.
"Sorry to come back here asking all of this at once. And then I gotta take off again tomorrow too to beat it all."
"There's nothing to apologize about my boy. I'm just thankful that things have turned out the way that they have instead of the way that I feared." The Doc said, not looking up from his work on repairing the prosthetic arm that he had only completed yesterday it seemed. Vash lounged back in his chair on the other side of the lab, watching the old scientist as he worked. He had offered his help in repairing it, although his offer had been kindly turned down. He couldn't do too much with only one hand anyway. But still he felt bad for just sitting there while his friend did all the work.
"And I'm sorry that the arm got so damaged. You probably worked a long time on it too."
"It's no trouble. Besides, I'm glad that the damage was done to the steel and wires before me rather than its flesh and blood counterpart."
"Yeah, you got a point there." Vash laughed, thankful for that fact as well. The Doc didn't respond back. Little clinks and clicks punctuated the silence. Vash fidgeted around, trying to let the man work in peace but the quiet soon became too much for him.
"Do you think I did the right thing in telling them all I did today?"
"Hmm? What do you mean?" The Doc said, finally looking up from the tools and parts strewn over the table.
"Well it was a bit much to throw at them all at once. I mean, they knew some of it, the basic jist you know? But not that much, and not in so much detail."
"You believe that you shouldn't have told them? They're your friends, are they not?"
"They are, it's just that...you know...they seemed a little wearied out by it. Not that I blame them." He said with his head bowed. The Doc surprised him by chuckling.
"I think that their stunned reaction came not from what you were telling them but by the very fact that you were telling them."
"Huh?"
"You're a very secretive person Vash. There was not all that many here on the ship that knew your real story, much less anyone out on the planet. I myself am a little surprised that you disclosed so much to those two. The three of you must be close."
"They stuck by me when everyone else would have left long ago...or would have killed me one."
"That is what friends do after all."
"Yes but why would they? All I ever do is annoy them, or get them in trouble, or try to leave them behind. Why would they want to stick around? Bernardelli can't pay that good." The Doc laughed heartily at this.
"Have you ever bothered to ask them?"
"Uh, no...Not really."
"Why don't you give it a try? The answer may surprise you." The Doc asked, looking at him expectantly. When all he received in response was an uncomfortable silence he kindly changed the subject.
"And speaking of giving something a try, I do believe that I almost have this completed. Care to come take a look?"
"Sure." Vash said, glad to be off the hook for now, but the questions lingered unspoken. Why would they stay despite...everything? And why didn't he want to know? It was that question that bothered him the most. Why didn't he want to know? He only halfheartedly looked over the Doc's work. The arm was reattached, reloaded, and the little scientist declared that he was going to call it a night. It was a busy day today after all. Instead of going straight to his quarters Vash had one other stop to make first.
He received a curt nod from the two guards that stood on either side of the door that read COLDSLEEP. He stepped on through, both pleased and saddened by the fact that the guards were truly serious about watching over his unaware brother. He stepped up to the capsule that held Knives and looked on at his brother. Millie had said that he looked creepy, dead. But to him, Knives just looked peaceful. All the hate and rage that tore at his soul was, if only temporarily, pushed aside by the technology that mercifully didn't allow dreams. What would he dream, Vash wondered. Would they be dreams of murder, vengeance? Did he even have something to dream of that was happy? Did he even remember what it felt like to be happy? Vash leaned forward against the glass, much like he had with plant number four, except this time he didn't try to reach out. It wouldn't have made a difference, even if Knives could have heard him. A solitary tear slowly made its way down his face. His brother, his poor brother. Removing the danger that he posed to others was just the first step. The true trial would begin whenever Knives once again opened his eyes. Then Vash would see if he truly can save his brother or not.
--L&P--
In the morning, soon after the sun had risen, the three had loaded up into the car again. With fresh supplies, some money, and many farewells and assurances from Doc and the others they took off again towards the one spot on this sandy star they thought that they would never have to think of again.
Meryl dozed in the passengers seat, leaning heavily against the door. She had fought going to sleep as it was still early in the day, but lost to the hypnotic hum of the engine and the endless miles of repetitive scenery. Vash and Millie were quietly going on about something, and Meryl had a sneaking suspicion that it was about food, but she ignored them and let herself drift away. Soon though the soothing sound of the engine died and there was a hand on her shoulder shaking her gently awake.
"Meryl, Meryl...Wake up. Were here." Millie said whispering.
"Clause forty two?" She mumbled groggily.
"She even dreams in insurance? Wow that must be boring."
"Heh heh, she always does that. Common Meryl get up." Millie said, shaking her more roughly.
"Stop it." Meryl swatted irritably at her. "I'm up." She tugged at the hem of her skirt which had started to hike up and got out of the car. The others were stepping out as well.
Vash watched as the expressions on their faces turned from confusion to awe. The vast crater lay before them over what had once been a geo-plant.
"It's huge." Meryl whispered, looking over all of it.
"Oh my gosh...there's nothing left..." Millie said, shocked as well.
He grew a little uncomfortable at the sight of the destruction that he and Knives wrought, but decided to shrug it off. Something nagged him in the back of his mind though, something that he couldn't quite shake. "It's on foot from here on. We'll never get the car in and out of that. You ladies are welcome to stay here...if you don't mind waiting that is."
"No. Three pairs of eyes will get the job done faster." Meryl said, right as usual.
"Well, let's go!" Millie exclaimed, grabbing their hands and tugging them onward.
Once they had arrived at the center they separated and began to hunt. Millie immediately spotted some red amidst all the sand and went to fetch it. She pulled the red duster up from where it had been buried partially in the sand. She insisted that he put it back on once it was repaired, saying that Meryl had worked hard to fix it up and that it suited him. Knowing that it was useless to argue with her, he complied much to her contentment. But as the search dragged on all they had to show for it was some charred chunks of wood.
One hour turned into two, then into four, then they finally had to concede to the truth; the three guns were missing. Someone had beaten them here. The nagging feeling that he had turned out to be correct, although he hadn't wanted to admit it. He had sensed nothing of the little plants out here in the old battle field. Someone had taken the weapons. And whoever had them didn't know what they were dealing with.
"This is bad." He said mostly to himself, pacing. "We need to find out who took the guns before something serous happens."
"But what's wrong? I thought only you and Knives could use the angel arms. What's the danger if someone else has them?"
"In someone else's hands, there is no threat asides from a bullet. But they would have realized what was in the guns. What if some scientist tries to experiment with them and hooks them up to a plant?" The full implication of what he was talking about hit them then. If someone did decide to go poke around with the destructive technology that Knives had created the results would be...catastrophic.
"Let's hurry and get to town. Maybe they can tell us if anybody has passed by recently."
Agreed, they left the dusty war zone behind and made record time to their once surrogate home.
--L&P--
"I thought we had seen the last of you three. Why don't you just leave us the hell alone?" One of the five milling around outside of the bar shouted at them as they approached. The sudden outburst stopped the three in their tracks as well as terrifying the sleeping cat by the door.
"That wasn't a very nice hello." Mille chided, slightly hurt as the man was one of her former coworkers.
"It wasn't a hello. Why don't the three of you just turn around and go the way you came. Away from here." The man spat. There were murmurs of agreement from his friends. Another soon spoke up.
"We've had nothing but trouble since you showed up. So just move on."
"We have no intention of staying, thank you very much." Meryl said sharply, angry. "We just wanted to ask you a few questions. That is if it doesn't cut too far into happy hour."
One of the men in the back swore. "Questions? If you knew how stinking sick of damn questions we were you wouldn't come her asking us nothin'!" He said slurring heavily.
"Questions?" Vash asked. "Who's been asking you guys questions?"
"And about what?" Millie piped in.
"Oh somebody's been asking around all right." The first man said, grinning mischievously. "And about you none the less." He said pointing directly at the gunman.
"WHO has been asking about him?" Meryl demanded, patience gone.
"Just the Calvary that's all...it's a pity you missed them. They took off about a week ago back to January."
"The Calvary? They were here?"
"Damn right. Rumors spread fast. Especially when they have your name attached to it." Vash pulled the girls away and into a little huddle.
"This is even worse than I thought it would be. The Calvary was sure to find the guns and know exactly what they were used for."
"That would be obvious, considering the mess that you and Knives made."
"Well what are we going to do?" Millie asked. "It's not like they would just give them back if we asked."
"There are probably engineers poking around with them now."
"I think you two are jumping to conclusions. We're not even certain if the feds were the ones in Demitrihi. For all we know it could have been some drifter."
"You know we never get that lucky Meryl."
"Point taken." She conceded.
"And I thought I was doing the world a favor by leaving those things in the desert. Why does everything always have to come back and bite me on the..."
"There's no point in getting worked up. We need to go about this methodically."
"How do we do that?" Millie asked her.
"First, we need to know if there was anyone else around. A bounty hunter drawn in by the rumors for instance. If no, which I personally doubt as well, we need to find out for certain if the Calvary even has the guns."
"How do you suggest we do something like that? Something tells me that that wouldn't exactly be the kind of information that they just give out."
"One thing at a time. We'll figure it out when the time comes. But first we need to finish here, then we need to get to the fed HQ in January."
"Nothing can ever be easy, can it?"