http:// www. deviantart. com/ deviation/ 59819892/

I do not own Trigun

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-Eva's POV-

"Relax.. relax.. you are calm.. you are an untouched puddle of water...you are serene..."

"You know," I grumbled, keeping my eyes closed. "I'd be a lot more serene if you'd stop pacing back and forth and telling me to relax."

"Quiet, Eva-spider. Focus your mind."

"Relax, focus your mind, no wait relax again... Make up your mind man!"

"Eva..." His tone was warning.

"Fine, fine! I'm working on it already!"

I heard Knives resume his pacing.

We had come to something of a truce. He called me Eva-spider and I got to call him Knives. Or if I was feeling perky, Spork-san. But he wasn't as fond of that particular name. Using it usually earned me a death glare.

I was currently trying to unblock my mind. It had taken a while of vehement reassurance from Knives to convince me that I would not be experiencing the same levels of pain as before. The entire experience was exceedingly difficult because I had no idea what I was doing and Knives wasn't being particularly helpful.

Suddenly I felt something brush against my mind. I squeaked and felt myself tense up.

"No, no Eva-spider! Relax... It was just me.. you've started removing the barrier..."

I slowly relaxed. Again I felt something brush across my mind.

"I told you it wouldn't hurt..."

"Knives?"

"Speak with your mind, not with your mouth. Direct your thoughts to me..."

"Like this?"

"Yes, good."

"Umm... now what..."

"Now you finish taking down the barrier."

"Isn't this good enough?"

"..."

"I'll take that as a no..."

I sighed deeply and tried to relax more. We had already been working at this for 5 hours and I was tired of 'relaxing'. It was more tiring than relaxing had any right to be.

Ten minutes later I was thoroughly fed up with the whole operation. Knives' presence was still in my mind so I knew he hadn't withdrawn. Mentally I reached out and poked him. The response was immediate.

"Stop that."

I grinned and poked him again before withdrawing. I let my mind wander, For some reason I started thinking about an Olympic skating exhibition I had seen. In my minds eye, I could clearly see the skaters swaying and spinning with the music.

"Eva-spider.. whatever it is you are doing, I strongly suggest you stop it." Knives' voice sounded slightly strangled.

My eyes popped open and I looked over at him. He was still standing there, but his back was arched sharply, forcing him to bend backwards. He looked at me calmly, his face perfectly serene other than the fact it was upside down and there was a small anger vein pulsing on his forehead.

"Wow, did I do that?"

"Ghk.. Yes, you did... kindly let go..."

"Umm.. I don't know how..."

"Withdraw."

"I did!"

"Withdraw completely."

"I did!"

"Apparently not... no pressure.. but this isn't.. comfortable... it's a little.. hard to breathe..."

I concentrated hard, envisioning myself in a little cocoon with no access with the outside world... hanging in space... alone...

In a few moments I heard Knives straighten with a sigh of relief. I re-opened my eyes and looked over at him. He took his chin in one hand and popped his neck to the right and left with another sigh. I made a face at the sound of the tendons and ligaments re-alighning.

"If you don't like the sound, don't put me in those positions," said Knives, still very calm. I couldn't tell if he wasn't mad or if he was mad but trying to keep his temper in check.

"While I am gone you are to continue your training every day. Work on fully-"

"Gone? What do you mean gone?"

"Don't interrupt, it's rude- fully removing the barrier and become very-"

"Where are you going? How long will you be gone?"

"- very familiar with the workings of your mind. I expect progress when I return."

"Which would be when?"

"Don't take that snotty tone with me, spider..."

"Fine, Sporky."

"... I will return once my business is complete."

"Spiffy..."

"Legato will be here to make sure you do not run into any mischief."

"Oh wonderful... I'm going to be babysat by a guy hanging off the ceiling in a coffin... You know, I am 20 and pretty capable."

Knives gave me a lidded stare.

"What if he tries to kill me?"

He snorted in an undignified manner.

"He won't."

"But he doesn't like me!"

It was true. Legato seemed quite jealous of me, as I was almost always in 'Masters' presence and had a stronger psyche than him. He was half crazy already, and I shuddered to think what he would do without Knives protecting me. Not like Knives knew he was protecting me or anything...

"He knows he will be severely punished if he tries anything."

I sighed.

"Fine. But if I die, I'm so haunting you for all eternity."

"As you wish."

And that was the last I saw of Knives for two weeks.

-Knives POV-

I trudged wearily across the sand, Crimsonnails walking behind me. Every fiber of my being felt tired and angry. I had seen something I had never wanted to see, never thought was happening: the Last Run.

Right before my eyes I had seen one of my brethren brutally stripped of the last of her energy, forced into a cruel painful death. It had been horrifying, yet only served to strengthen my resolve against the verminous homo sapiens.

And Conrad... Moodily, I put a hand to the dark strip that now slashed through my hair. The fool had come to an end he deserved for withholding such important information like the darkening-hair effect. My power was not limitless, and I could no longer afford to waste it.

I paused and viewed my home for a moment as it came into view. Frowning more deeply, I surveyed the area. Something didn't feel right. I cautiously walked forward, scanning the entire area rapidly.

"What is it Knives-sama?" Crimsonnails asked.

I irritably made a shut up motion at the transvestite and continued.

Tire tracks covered the ground, relatively fresh as they had only been partially erased by the wind. As I drew closer, I saw a dark stain on the side of the ship. Alarmed, I ran forward. The door had been forced open by something, the metal crumpled like it was tinfoil. The shadowy interior of the ship was dead silent.

Cautiously, I stepped through the ruined doorway and made my way down the hall. Each door I passed had been blasted through. The hallway was scattered with debris. I forced myself to walk calmly and cautiously, even though my heart and brain were racing furiously. As I passed one door, I heard a weak call.

"Master..."

I turned and looked into the room. Legato was hanging from the ceiling, blood running down his face.

"Master..."

"What happened here," I asked coldly.

"Raiders. They hijacked the computers.. I didn't even know they were coming.. I held them off, but.. their numbers.. It was like a swarm of ants, Master... There were too many, I couldn't control them all...They shot me..." His tone was slightly whining,

"How long ago."

"A day I think."

I thought for a moment.

"Wait, where's Eva?"

Legato cowered down in his restraint.

"I...I... I think they took her, Master... Before I passed out, I heard something about.. booty..."

I didn't wait for him to finish his thought. Catapulting out of the room, I nearly ran into Crimsonnails.

"Clean up Legato," I barked at him, and ran down the hall without slowing.

I skidded to a stop in front of Eva's room, scrabbling to slow myself without falling. Bullet holes riddled the doorframe and the door was buckled in. Slowly, I walked into the room, dreading what I might see.

They room was actually relatively intact. Fragments of the doorframe crunched underfoot, and there were a few bullet holes in the wall above the bed. The wall light was broken, littering the floor underneath with broken glass.

I walked forward, trying to figure out what exactly had happened from what the room suggested. A skittering noise made me look down. A piece of wood bounced across the floor, propelled by my inadvertent kick. Nonplussed, I looked around for the source as there was nothing wooden in the room.

Not far from where I stood, lay the mangled body of her violin. It looked as though it had been stepped on and shot for good measure. Splinters of wood lay about on the floor. Quietly, I kneeled down and gathered the decimated instrument in my arms. I don't know how long I sat there, cradling it to my chest, but my legs were stiff by the time I stood up.

I made my way back to the entrance, walking with a determined stride. As I passed Legato's room, Crimsonnails stuck his head out.

"Sir? Where...?"

"I'm going to get her," I snapped coldly. "Or what is left of her. Stay here."

Crimsonnails murmured his understanding and warily disappeared back into the darkness of the room.

I quickly found the tracks leading away from the ship and proceeded to follow them.

"Vermin, you have just made your last mistake."

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:3