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I have no excuses, but I hope you like!! Surprises!! Yay! Enjoy!!

Gossamer Minds

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"Work is the best way to keep a mind busy", her father had told her and Milly Thompson lived by that rule. It was the simplest and greatest distraction from all of life's un-pleasantries. She kept herself busy for a very long time after Mr. Priest died, caring for the one directly responsible for his death. It served her purpose, and once he could care for himself, the pain she once felt was simply numb. It rarely ever bothered her anymore. So once again Milly looked to her father's words to take her mind off of the current problem in her life. Her partner, her mentor, her best friend was sick and there was nothing she could do. To make things worse, Mr. Knives was also unconscious. So she kept busy, listening intently, or at least trying to, to Mr. Arian.

"It's unbelievable how fresh the market is," he said, picking up a bag of overpriced vegetables.

Milly offered a smile, looking glumly over the list of ingredients they needed to get for dinner.

"What do we need next?" Mr. Arian asked, looking over Milly's shoulder, "Meat and butter. I'll get the meat; can you get the butter, please?"

Milly nodded, grateful that she had something to keep her mind occupied. She wandered around the store, blindly looking up and down the aisles for butter. She turned into the next isle and nearly dropped her basket. The entire section was filled with pudding! Milly desperately suppressed a squeal, her eyes wide. There were so many flavors, some she had never even heard of. They even had gourmet pudding! She clapped her hands as she walked down, tossing various packets into an already overflowing basket. This sounds delicious! Oh and this sounds scrumptious and oof…

She bumped into someone causing her to drop the various cups she was holding in her arms.

"You should really watch where you're going, Thompson."

"Oh, I'm so sorry, Mr. Knives, I wasn't…" Milly stopped and looked up. It was the humanoid, the one who was unconscious the last time she saw him. Milly wasn't quite sure if she was imagining things or if he really was there. Before she could stop herself Milly dived at the platinum blonde, illusion or not. She hit a solid chest as her arms encircled his neck. He was real, and he was ok. Milly could barely contain her tears; it was good to see Mr. Knives again. It wasn't pleasant to see him lying in bed. It brought back too many memories of what she had lost; she didn't want to lose him too.

"Thank goodness!" Milly cried, "Thank goodness, you're ok, Mr. Knives."

Milly felt his muscles stiffen up under her skin; Mr. Knives really didn't like being touched. Right now, though, he would have to put up with it. Everyone needed a hug, especially if they were missed. She held him tighter fearful that he would disappear. She didn't quite realize how much she had missed him. She missed his sarcastic comments that she never completely understood but laughed along with anyway. She missed his aloofness, and how nothing ever fazed him. Most of all she missed that uncharacteristic smile that would turn up the corner of his lips everything she handed him a pudding cup. It was so secretive, as if it were just for…

Milly pulled back, blushing fiercely, "I'm sorry, Mr. Knives."

She looked at him with the sweetest smile she could conjure up, trying to cool down her face. What in the world am I doing? she asked herself, quickly gathering up all of the fallen packets. Then she remembered,

"Sempai!" she shouted, "Is she…?" Milly trailed off, afraid to finish the sentence.

"Stryfe is awake, she alright" he said.

Without another word, Milly took off, a collection of pudding bouncing in her arms. She rushed out the door, ignoring people shouting for her to pay. She didn't care, her Sempai was awake. She was awake!

-

Milly was nothing but a blur of hair, tears, arms and pudding. She threw her arms around her Sempai's neck, dropping the various cups of pudding onto her mentor's lap. She sobbed into her shoulder, she had missed her so. Without her guidance Milly was so lost, even her pudding did not offer her any chances. People should never get hurt, never. She tightened her grip on her Sempai. Milly heard her voice comforting her, promising her she was alright. Why did people get hurt? Why did the people she cared about always get hurt? She remembered the last time someone she cared about was taken away. It hurt her so badly, but Sempai was there, that made it hurt a little less. But no one was there when she was going to be taken away. Mr. Arian tried his hardest to cheer her up, but he wasn't Sempai. Mr. Vash was there, but he was in pain too. Why did people do this to them? They all just wanted to be happy. They wanted to help people, and in return they were only hurt. She hoped that whoever did this would feel horrible and that whatever pudding he was going eat was simply rotten!

-

Meryl Stryfe eased her friend off her shoulders and into the chair that she had come to occupy so often. Milly had cried herself to sleep, refusing to let go of Meryl. Needless to say, Meryl was relieved when her friend dozed off. It's not she didn't appreciate her concern, but Meryl didn't like people making a big fuss over her. Besides, she had a feeling that her partner probably hadn't had a proper night's sleep in the last few days anyway.

Knives walked in, holding bags of groceries. Meryl raised an eyebrow, but the look on his face dared her to say a word. He looked so uncharacteristic. It seemed that Milly ran out with an arm full of pudding cups and he and Arian were forced to pay for them and the rest of the supplies. But how the great Millions Knives agreed to carry home bags of groceries baffled the raven haired woman. Arian was happy to see that Meryl was up, and he was even more pleased that Milly was asleep. He excused himself, clearly sensing that the trio had some catching up to do. Knives made a rude comment that he was not a thomas and that he was not carrying anymore grocery bags. He grabbed a nurse, who was unfortunate enough to be passing by, and shoved the bags into his hands. The man looked up at the half-plant confused and a little frightened. He opened his mouth to protest but quickly shut it after the daggers thrown his way. He quickly followed Arian out of the room and out of harm's way. Meryl couldn't help but smile, it was good to have familiarity in the situation, she wasn't quite sure what she would've done if Knives had taken the bags.

The short doctor walked in following Arian's exit, having been notified by one of the staff that Meryl was indeed no longer a plant. The short insurance agent let out a small sigh, more attention. However she still put on a brave face and hoped for no needles. The doctor ran some tests, checking her heart rate, her breathing and her vitals. He took a DNA sample to check that the blood had completely left her system. Once he was done, he demanded the brothers tell him how she was no longer a plant. The twins tried to resist, Vash trying to explain that they all needed rest and Knives simply stared biting his lips from saying something that he might regret later. Might, Meryl thought to herself. But the doctor was persistent and wouldn't have any of it. Meryl was glad because she knew that she would never win an argument against the Humanoid Typhoon and his older brother, especially his older brother. At least this man had some traction.

Eventually Vash gave in, followed by a rather annoyed grunt by his twin. Mr. Stampede cited his story for the second time that day, filling Meryl in all the details that she had missed. When it was Knives' turn he recalled his part of the tale since October, but all the while making it clear that he was not doing for anyone but his brother. Meryl flushed a little when she heard that he was one who healed her. She kept her professionalism in the forefront, but it stayed in the back of her head. He really did care for his brother and he healed her for his brother. Stryfe snapped at herself, this was not the time to be thinking of such things. Lives, especially theirs may be at stake. Knives finished and sat down at the chair that Vash had occupied and Vash sat at the edge of Meryl's bed. They all waited for the doctor to say something. He was deep in thought absorbing the ice berg of information that was hurled at him. Meryl was used to things like this, so she knew how to handle it, but she wasn't sure if the doctor could sort out all of which had been presented to him. Not much to her surprise, he sighed saying that indeed they needed their rest and that plans of their next move would have to wait. With that he left, not a look back. Knives grunted watching him leave. Meryl grabbed one of her many blankets off of her bed and tossed it on Milly. At least one of them would get a good night's rest.

She looked up at the brothers; there was still one thing she wasn't completely filled in on…

"I'm going to ask this again, what is Red October about?"

"I've told you already, Stryfe," Knives growled.

"I know, but you didn't tell me all of it, Knives," she said looking at him, "I think, at least now, I have the right to know."

Million Knives said nothing, and Meryl knew he wasn't going to tell her anymore than he already has. So she looked at the younger one on the other end of the bed, what was so great about this book anyway?

"Arian," Vash began looking down at his feet, "was an orphan in the middle of a war, like Knives said, but he was a spy. He wasn't aware of it though. His government experimented on him using sounds, music to be more precise. It would be almost like a trigger from when he switches from being a prisoner to a spy. It's a painful process because it's mind numbing. It makes the subject mad and sometimes even causes them to… to take their own lives. It was also used in other experiments which were never explained. However Arian survives but doesn't know he's a spy, whatever he does as his other self is forgotten.

"One day he gets a cell mate, an older boy, a rebel. He's never named," Vash said remembering Rem's words, "He plans many escapes for both of them, which all fail. Arian carries out his mission every night which was to kill all of the captured soldiers from his country. The government knew that if their soldiers were tortured enough that one of them would break and tell the enemy all of the secrets, so they sent in a spy which the other side would never suspect to take care of them. The other boy realizes what Arian is doing, but does nothing about it because he is the one who programmed him. The older boy is actually a scientist. By his father's orders he aids his government by creating people like Arian. However Arian is the only person who survives his experiments and the government uses him. During that time, he begins to lose his mind and his government shuns him. Angry, the older boy sabotages his own experiment without the government's knowledge. Once he leaves he begins to do experiments on his own, on himself and his sister. His laboratory gets raided and he is taken captive and put in the cell with Arian. During one of their attempts, the older boy gets caught and killed. While he dies, he tells Arian what he has been doing at nights. However, he assures him that he will no longer kill those soldiers because his once he dies Arian would no longer be a slave. He dies. A few months later the prison is raided, Arian is freed and that's the end."

But that wasn't the end, Meryl could tell,

"There's more."

Vash closed his eyes as if he, himself, were trying to figure out how to comprehend the bit of information.

"The book was never finished," he said finally.

"What do you mean?" the short insurance agent asked, her brows knitting together.

"There was more to the story, but the book was never finished, it still had almost two hundred pages that were blank," Vash said, meeting his twin's eyes.

"But… I don't understand," Meryl admitted.

"The copy Rem had was the only copy ever written," Knives said, "She said it a parting gift from someone before she left her planet."

Meryl sighed, "Isn't that convenient?"

There was a heavy silence in the room, occasionally interrupted by various machines that beeped or Milly's breathing. Then Meryl had a thought,

"Who was the author?"

The twins thought about it for a second before Knives answered,

"Akira."

-

He smiled… what impeccable memory the humanoids had. The name sounded so sinister on his lips, it was rather pleasing. And how deliciously his plans were moving along, no one could delight him like he could. However, he sighed, there was still work to do and errands to run. It wouldn't be too long now, though… oh he couldn't wait!

-

The Humanoid Typhoon lay in bed staring at the ceiling he had been staring at for the past few days. He had memorized every inch of those tiles so that he wouldn't burst out crying. Vash grinned, remembering that his brother and Meryl were sleeping in their own beds, rather than hospital ones. He finally had a chance to think about what was happening around him. Everything seemed to be out of control since he got there. He didn't have a chance to rest his racing mind, it was always one thing after another. Vash rolled over in his bed, soothing away the headache that he hadn't realized he had for the past few days. His body, as Vash brilliantly concluded, was not able to keep up with the various changes that were taking place. It seemed that Doc realized that too, because he had ordered Vash to rest several times, with no such luck, of course. What was really straining him during the mutation was the voices he heard. It had started out as blips of sounds that he would hear, but he had brushed it off. But every night the voices, got louder and louder.

Vash sat up, he hadn't had time to think about who's voices they were. He tried to listen again, intently to anything; he even closed his eyes and concentrated. Nothing, Vash sighed, only the occasional breeze that brushed past his window and his brother's uneventful slumber. He tried to remember the voices he heard. They were faint, but familiar. They were singing at first, he was sure of that, in a language that he could not comprehend. He let the songs play in his head and tried to enhance them. So familiar, it was as if he was born of them. Vash froze, born of them? Singing? He played the songs over in his head again, they songs of mourning and farewells. They were the voices of his sisters! He heard his sister's voices, they were communicating with each other. He did have the ability to commune with his siblings, but he was never truly able to speak to them, and neither was his brother. They could both only interpret the illusions and emotions in and of their minds. Knives could, much better than Vash, but now he could actually communicate with them. He had to tell his brother. He could talk to his sisters! He could talk to the plants! Vash stopped… he could talk to the plants… because he was becoming a plant.

Vash's shoulders' drooped, he was becoming a plant. He wasn't quite sure how he felt about that, how was he supposed to feel about that? Vash looked over at his brother across the room. This wasn't right… he shouldn't be happy about this, should he? The only reason Vash had this new ability was because whoever was killing the plants did something to them, manipulated them. He had the blood of one of his sister's running through his body, mutating him. It was his human half that was reacting to her blood, it was a virus. Vash buried his head in his hands, remembering that he had a pounding headache, why make them into plants? What was the point?

He's playing with us, trying to break us, he heard Knives growl. So his brother was awake. Vash sighed, it was true what Knives said. But there were still questions that needed to be answered.

Why is he even targeting us? Vash asked, It doesn't make any sense.

"I don't know," Knives said sitting up in his bed, his eyes narrow, "but I will kill him."

Vash sighed and opened his mouth to say something, but his brother cut him off.

"Don't. I know what you're going to say," he said, "But you can't blame me."

"I know," said the Humanoid Typhoon.

"I'm just angry," hissed the former genocide, glaring at a glass on a side table "He's playing us like pawns and we can't do anything about it."

The glass on the table shattered, making Vash jump. He looked at his brother glaring at nothing, ignoring the glass. His abilities were advancing rapidly, faster than Vash's. It wasn't surprising, he was more plant that Vash. But Knives was going have to learn to control them at a faster rate than Vash. He looked at his brother lost in a world that the Typhoon couldn't understand. Knives' breathing was hard and purposeful and his eyes were closed. Vash heard his sisters talking to his older twin, trying to calm him. He saw him press his lips to a thin line, biting his tongue. With a sharp breath he looked back at the spiky blonde.

"Goodnight, Vash."

With that Knives lay back down and shut himself off from his younger twin. Vash knew better and said nothing. His brother needed time, but they both knew that was one thing they didn't have.

Vash closed his eyes and listened to his singing again. They calmed Knives' mind, maybe they can so the same to his own. Their songs were beautiful, so sad, so heartfelt, so pure. Their voices were angelic, luring and sweet. He felt the weight on his eyelids. He needed a good night's rest so he let himself be taken away. He knew his brother was listening to them as well, he was probably asleep by now. Vash let his head fall onto his pillow and allowing his sisters to lull him to sleep.

-

"Come on, Vash!" a young boy called, "we have to catch them!"

A thin, white haired, boy waved in the distance against a bright blue sky. He stood on top of a low, green, hill. The air was fresh and smelled of flowers. Water was running somewhere not too far, and birds chatted away in the nearby trees. The boy on the hill top looked familiar, Vash knew that face from a long time ago. That eager face that was always ready for an adventure, before it was tarnished. Vash looked down at his hands. They were small, he felt shorter… he was young, he was dreaming.

Are you alright, Vash? A voice said from behind. Vash turned to see a tall Rem Saverem. She smiled that sweet smile that lifted anyone's spirits.

Go play with your brother, Vash, he's waiting. Vash looked back at his older brother who was impatiently waiting with his arms crossed and a scowl on his face.

"Will you be here?" he asked, "When I get back?"

Rem's smile widened, Of course, Vash.

"Vash!"

"I'm coming!"

Vash ran up the hill, watching his brother disappear behind it. He was chasing something. Once at the top, Vash looked down to see Knives standing at the bottom with his back turned to him. Vash dashed down calling to Knives. But he didn't respond. He up next to the boy calling his name again, still platinum blonde stood still. He was intently looking at something in his hands.

"Knives?"

Knives looked at his younger sibling, he body now mature, but his eyes were still frightened like a child's.

"What is it, Knives?"

"The butterfly," he began, opening his hands to reveal a dead butterfly, "I just wanted to save them."

Suddenly the crystal blue sky rolled in dark clouds. It began to rain and the butterflies fell from the sky. Vash stood, unable to move, unable to believe his eyes. They were falling, they were all dead. The lush landscape was covered in these fragile creatures. Vash tried to catch one, but it fell right through his hands.

Why? Vash begged his mentor, Why is this happening?

You must learn that you cannot save everyone, said Rem, all you can do is save the ones you can, and protect the people that matter to you the most.

But why? Knives screamed, Am I supposed to let my family die?

Rem's smile faded, You have a lot to learn, Knives, but I hope you keep your mind open. Your ticket to life has been renewed, please use it wisely and you will see that not everything is at a loss. You can still win.

Rem took the butterfly from Knives. It began to glow and as did the ones on the ground. She let it go and it flapped its wings. One by one, most of the butterflies flickered and flew away, but the rest crumpled away catching the wind and floating next to their flying friends.

Every choice you make has consequences, so you both must weigh them and make the choice that is right.

The landscape disappeared into a dark abyss. Rem was gone.

Rem? Vash called. The twins looked around called out to her, but their eyes only met inky blackness. Suddenly they heard footsteps. They looked towards the sound, their senses picking up nothing.

"Saverem's been called away, I'll be filling in for her for now," a voice said.

Vash's eyes narrowed, he knew that voice, a voice he hadn't heard for a very long time, but it couldn't be. Slowly, a figure came into view. Vash gasped, eyes wide.

"Who are you?" Knives asked, oblivious to Vash's reaction.

The man smirked.

"You didn't tell him about me, Tongari?" he asked, "But I don't expect you would remember me anyway, Knives. I'm Wolfwood, Nicholas D. Wolfwood."

Next Chapter: TBD

So this is chapter 11. Let me know what you think. The next one is going to more exciting than this one, I just had to get this stuff out of the way. So, please R&R and let me know of any mistakes that I need to correct!! Thank you much!!!