HOLY CRAP! It's almost been a year since I updated! I always wondered how authors could let their stories go un-updated for so long. Now I know. Anyway, I hope that the new chapter is penance enough. Read and review!

"You made me a promise. Now show me you meant it."

Had he done the wrong thing? Had he betrayed everyone he'd ever cared about and sold his soul in the same process with two little words?

Vash lay on the cot with an arm draped over his forehead. All vitality had been drained from him hours ago -- ever since Knives had woken up…

He looked over to the bed. His brother lay peacefully unaware of the turmoil his twin was feeling. He had woken up yesterday afternoon. He had wanted water. Vash was ecstatic that Knives was alright. Vash had rushed downstairs and gotten a glass of water, spilling half of it by the time he'd gotten back to the room. All those sad and angry feelings lay dormant for the moment. His brother was alright, and his brother was here.

Despite everything that had happened in his long life, Vash felt a completeness he hadn't felt since he was a child.

The warm fuzzies, however, were fleeting, and in a matter of minutes Knives was down to business. He'd wanted to know how long he was out, where they were, who they were staying with, whether or not they were safe, what injuries he had sustained, whether or not this town had a plant, what Vash's relationship was to the humans who were helping him, where Vash's coat was. It threw Vash for a loop. He had expected anger, but not data collection.

When it came right down to it, Knives still saw himself as the superior being, but Vash had won fair and cross-shaped. As a superior being, he knew when he'd been beaten. He knew when it was time to cut his losses, and above all, he knew when to bargain for what he really wanted.

He wanted Vash. He wanted his brother to shed this human filth. He wanted to return to the way things had been when they were both little. This was a slight deviation from his original plan, but the cost was so much less than continued warfare with his brother. Vash was clearly quite serious about protecting these pests, and Knives had already accomplished his goal anyway. With his expert application of violence and friendship through the Gung Ho Guns, Vash would suffer for all eternity.

At that moment, this knowledge was enough for Knives.

Of course, Vash would whine about the humans. "What about the humans?" "Don't kill the humans!" "No one has the right to" blah blah blah… He'd heard it all before. He didn't need to hear it ever again. He thought up a compromise that would save Vash's precious pets and give him what he wanted as well.

"Vash. If you promise me something, I swear that no harm from me will ever befall your precious humans again."

Vash looked at him skeptically. What could he possibly promise that would make Knives end his genocidal wrath? "What do you want?" he asked suspiciously.

Knives took a deep breath and not even the faintest smile crossed his lips. "Promise me that when I can travel alone, we will leave these humans and go out into the desert to cultivate our own Eden."

Eden.

Vash had been thinking about that place for a long time, but he'd always pictured himself sharing it with everyone. What a strange prison it would make for two sinners.

He sat blankly for a moment. Was that really all it would take to end the killing, the anxiety, the loneliness? Was it the right thing to do? He was on his own these days. Rem couldn't help him anymore. She was the conscience of a child, and Vash was a grown man facing ever-increasingly complex problems of life and death and love and faith all rolled together. He felt like he was bargaining with the devil as he looked over at his brother's serious face. Could he do this? Could he just walk away from the humans after living with them for over a century?

But then again, how could he not do it? How could he let his selfishness take over and refuse a deal like this? How could he do that to all the humans who didn't even know they depended on him for their very lives?

"Well?" Knives said impatiently.

With his head hanging and his voice heavy and thick, Vash choked two words out of his dry throat.

"I promise."

But he hadn't expected the first human he would have to turn away would be the very one that was quickly becoming the most important person in his life.

At that instant, Vash could hear Meryl making her way up the stairs. He looked at his brother pleadingly. Was Knives going to do anything to her? Could he be trusted?

Knives just looked back at him sternly. "You made me a promise. Now show me you meant it."

Vash's heart tore in half at the prospect that lay before him: the total alienation of those he cared about. But it was worth it if they could go on with their lives free from the danger of his brother. It was even better if they thought he was the ass. Then they'd just forget about him even faster. He was trying to rationalize his decision with his heart breaking and his thoughts racing.

"Vash, show me."

His brother's voice pulled him out of his thoughts. He heard a soft knock on the door and all he could say was, "STAY OUT!" He hadn't spoken to Meryl like that since he'd fought Monev. He cringed as he heard a loud crash just outside the door and hated himself as he heard small footsteps moving quickly towards the girls' bedroom.

After a moment, he looked up at his brother. He was wearing a solemn expression. "I knew I could count on you."

That night, he lay on his cot and stared at the ceiling. He had to find a way to communicate with Meryl. Every once in a while, he found himself accidentally slipping into other peoples' dreams. Maybe he could do it on purpose. He could just tell her that he was sorry and that he would be leaving. Then she would know what to expect.

He cleared his mind and reached his consciousness out to Meryl. It was locked tight. That was a little unexpected. Maybe he could find another way in.

After searching for nearly half an hour, Vash finally found an emotion to ride in on. It was an intense sadness, the kind he had felt so many times. It was startling to feel such an emotional burst from Meryl, a person who never let the little stuff get her down and always had it together.

When he finally got inside, he found himself in a bleak landscape. It was dark. It was cold. By this time, his heart was breaking into fours. This was not the place he wanted Meryl to be. He had to find her and get her somewhere else.

He groaned as he rolled over in the cot and relived the "dream" again. He'd only meant to tell her that he was leaving soon, but somehow he'd spent the whole night just hanging out. He didn't want her to be alone. He didn't want her to wake up. Above all, he didn't want to leave.

Had he given away too much?

He sighed as he heard his brother stir. It didn't matter anymore. Nothing was too big a price to pay if it saved everyone…if it saved her…