Disclaimer: Trigun is sadly enough not mine, or there would have been way more episodes!
Slightly longer chapter, hope everyone enjoys.
Chapter 9: Vash's POV
Dinner had gone fairly well, he had been happy to see. He had been startled by Milly's behavior, but shrugged it off since she had made it clear previously that she thought that they would make a good couple. What he had not realized was she had never verbally told him that, it was something that he had heard through telepathy. After dinner he had asked Knives if he wanted a shower.
Do I want a shower? Are you kidding? Of course I want a shower. I really do not want to meet one of our sisters smelling worse than a spider in the sun, comes his caustic reply.
"Alright, let's get you cleaned up then," he replies picking him up and taking him in the bathroom.
The two brothers get cleaned up, both getting into some of Vash's clothes, even though Milly had sewn Knives up, it still needed to be washed.
This feels odd, the material is different than I am used to, he hears his brother grumble at the feel of the clothing. It makes him chuckle at the tone used.
A little after midnight a soft brush of power touches his mind, Well, are you coming? Merra's bell like voice chimes in his mind.
Yes, I just got to get the girls, they have agreed to come but are suspicious of why I want to come to the plant with the Knives. He replies, connecting on the familiar path. Even though he rarely used telepathy, the communications with his sisters was a familiar path to him.
Good, you are expected. The guard is actually waiting to bring you to us, the one on duty today has a very minor mind-gift, occasionally we speak with her. She seeks to learn our care and become a tech in the future. Merra informs him before breaking the contact.
Shaking his head, he stands back up, most of the stiffness is gone after his shower. "Ready to go?" he asks Knives who he knows is not happy about the fact he is going to be carried.
Knives frowns at him but nods so he scoops him up, using is heel to open the room door. When he gets to the living room the girls are already waiting for him. Silently the four of them make their way to the plant. When they get there, a slender young lady with vibrant red hair greets them with a nod and leads them through the back part of the plant to the area directly below the three great bulbs that power it. Once the four are in the room, Vash heads to the one on the left side.
Shifting his weight he helps Knives to stand up, and is startled when Milly appears on his other side to help Knives as well. He can feel Meryl behind him watching him.
Welcome brothers, it is good to see you, Tala's voice greets the brothers in a basic broadcast that he knows the girls can hear. Welcome friends, it is pleasant to meet you. Please step closer, you're out of my range of clear vision. The last part of her greeting is directed at Meryl.
Vash raises his hands, touching them against the glass. Sister, he greets her, how are you Tala?
The fog that surrounds the bulb clears towards the bottom as she floats down to it. Fully materializing she presses her hand against the glass opposite of his. He can feel the power coming through it. Behind him he can hear Meryl gasp. Beside him he can see that Knives is trying to get his arms to cooperate, when he is just about ready to drop his hands to help him, he is startled to see Milly help Knives reach up.
Warmth spreads through the link, a soft pleasure as Tala greets him. It surprises him however when Knives slowly vanishes, reappearing in the bulb with their sister.
Meryl, will you please come to my bulb, he hears Merra say as he finds himself pulled up into the bulb alongside his twin. Oh dear, he is not sure what's going to happen next.
Meryl's POV
Shortly after midnight, Vash had left the boys room with Knives in his arms. Milly and her were already waiting in the living room area. The four of them make their way to the plant in silence. She is curious who it is that they are meeting with Knives in tow. It seems odd. When they get there she finds herself feeling jealous at the appreciative glance the auburn-red haired woman who meets them gives Vash. When the woman turns and walks into the plant without saying anything she is almost thankful for the mostly shadowed area because it hides her blushing face.
Walking through the plant is odd, she had never seen one so empty or quiet before. When they reach the room with the giant bulbs that power the plant she starts to get nervous. It startles her when Vash approaches one of the bulbs, shifting Knives so he is standing beside him, and lifting a hand to touch the large bulb.
Welcome brothers, it is good to see you, a soft female voice greets them. Welcome friends, it is pleasant to meet you. Please step closer, you're out of my range of clear vision. Despite the fact she cannot see who is talking, she has a feeling that the voice is coming from the bulb.
Hesitantly, she steps closer, up next to Milly who is helping to support Knives, only Knives seems to be vanishing. The next thing she knows, both Knives and Vash are gone from beside them, inside of the bulb above her she can see the form of beautiful pale woman with bright amethyst eyes. Before she is able to be shocked or make a noise, a different voice speaks to her.
Meryl, will you please come to my bulb, a different female voice inquires of her, a slight tug making her wish to come towards the second bulb in the group.
Nodding, she walks over to the bulb, looking up at it, she glances down at her hand and then decides to mimic what both boys had done and lifts her hand towards the bulb. Somehow she is able to touch it even though it should be farther away, the fog within the bulb clears and another beautiful silvery woman appears.
Greeting Meryl, I am Merra, Vash and Knives elder sister. With us is Tala and Yali, Tala is the one speaking with the boys right now, while Yali is speaking with Milly. I must ask a great favor of you, the soft voice says, the tones are similar to the sound of bells.
"What kind of favor?" she asks, as she looks up at the bulb and the woman within.
I wish to show you why those two are the way that they are, it will make things easier for you, I think, in the long run. Do you trust Vash?
"I do," she responds almost instantly, not needing to think about it. There was too many times where he had done everything in his power to save everyone, including her, for her not to trust him.
The impression of a smile brushes against her mind, That is good, it will make it easier I think for you to understand. Their tale actually begins two years before they were born. Let me show you.
The next thing Meryl knew her mind felt a slight pressure and everything around her seemed to move. She was now standing within one of the ancient ships that had brought them to the planet in the time before the Fall. A group of people surrounds a table where a small girl lays. The girl seems to be going through some type of surgery. Though it horrifies her to realize that the girl is not there for a surgery, she is being experimented on.
This is Tesla, our sister that the humans tortured to death, somewhat accidently, they had not realized that she was real person until it was too late. It was the discovery of her death that began Knives on the road to hating humans.
The image shifts and now it is a black haired woman of a similar build to her finding a pair of infants, those same to infants as they grow, and the affection felt between them. Then there are other people who seem to be there as well. Most of them seem to like the boys, but one hates them actively and she is angered as that man is allowed to be cruel to the boys. The images flash between them, sometimes it's the violence against Vash, other times it's the violence against Knives. Eventually it gets to the point where she can almost see Knives snapping.
The next several scenes that pass through her mind are from Knives perspective as he systematically destroys the humans on the ship. All of them except Rem, the mother-like human who had been the only truly affectionate human he had met. Rem he had wanted to save, partly for Vash and partly because she had been his mother as well. Only it did not work, she managed to save some of the other humans before being killed herself. This he saw as a betrayal because it seemed as if she had chosen them over him. Then after the crash when Vash had realized what had happened things had gone drastically downhill for Knives. In his mind everything he had done was to protect Vash and himself yet here Vash was as a traitor.
Of course the next set of images was the same situation from Vash's perspective along with the next several years. Eventually things have become so bad between the two of them that the depression and anger is evident in everything both of them do. Only it seems that neither realizes what type of pitfalls that they have fallen into. Instead of trying to talk to each other, both pull into their own minds.
It's at this point that the view begins to become slightly harder to follow as the various plants have a difficult time connecting with both of them but for different reasons. Eventually, one of the elder plants named Datsra manages to connect with Vash, helping to pull him out of the depression that he has fallen into. She also ends up talking him through one of the worst times of his life when a group of cruel humans had gotten their hands on him. Meryl watched in horror as some of the scars that she recognizes are put on him by so-called civilized people. Eventually it is with Datsra's help that his mind keeps from snapping while a rescue team of peace-loving humans manages to retrieve and patch him up. Unfortunately, it had cost Datsra too much energy to stay connected and she had ended up fading from life, a regret he never quite got past. The humans that had rescued Vash had helped him to learn to use the two guns that Knives had made, they had also helped him to come to grips with the fact that not everything worked out as he wanted even though it was a lesson that still stung.
Meanwhile some of the elder plants had tried to connect with Knives but found it impossible because the rage he felt. For him the rage was all consuming and they knew that he would not be reachable until the rage subsided or until they were able to get him to touch an elder, which was something he managed to never do. In the meanwhile he learned as much as he could about the powers that both brothers had without actually learning exactly how the powers related to them and their use.
Eventually it caught up to the point in time where she was somewhat familiar but she was still surprised by many of the events that happened. This included the fact that even as Knives ordered the Gung-Ho-Guns to terrorized and kill Vash, he had also ordered his protection, though the fact that Nicholas had been one of them surprised her. She was not certain if she should tell Milly or not. Finally they got to where the two brothers had went at it in the desert oasis, as presented when Tala had been snooping through their recovering heads.
At that point Meryl found herself swaying on her feet as she came back to attention. Before she had a chance to fall Vash caught her, a worried look on his face as she passed out.
