Trigun Fanfic

Trigun © Yasuhiro Nightow Shonen Gaho-sha Tokuma Shoten JVC Pioneer Entertainment (USA) Inc.

The following fanfiction was written by me (Chiruken) and is intended for the sole purpose of shared entertainment and not intended for publication

or sale.

Falcon's Blade

By Chiruken

Chapter 12

Meryl lay curled up on her side sleeping fitfully, plagued by nightmares of blue lights and windows interspersed with dancing skeletons singing in Legato's eerie voice. Occasionally she'd whimper and shift, throwing her blankets to the floor. "Mmmm..." The skeletons stared at her with their empty eyes, their fleshless mouths seeming to be laughing at her as she ran through tunnels filled with lost technology. "No..." She tossed her head and rolled to her back, a soft moan escaping her parted lips.

Knives sat up slowly and glared in Meryl's direction. Her moans and whimpers were keeping him awake and it was beginning to annoy him. He sighed and shook his head when he caught sight of her troubled expression. Obviously she wasn't having a restful sleep either. Running a hand through his hair he considered his options and finally shook his head again before standing and crossing over to her. Crouching down he poked her arm with one finger. "Hey." When she didn't respond, only mumbled something unintelligible he frowned and grasped her shoulder, shaking her lightly. "Wake up."

Awakening with a jolt she sat bolt upright with a scream, after images from her nightmare clouding her sleep fogged mind. Turning, she spotted Knives staring at her in surprise and, without thinking, she threw herself into his arms, sobbing fitfully. "It was horrible! Dancing skeletons were chasing me!"

"Uh..." Awkwardly he placed his arms around her, thinking that, despite the sobs shaking her slender form, it felt nice to hold her. He was, oddly enough, reminded of Vash when they'd been children and he'd awaken, terrified, from a nightmare. His brother had been susceptible to night terrors and often Knives had found himself consoling his twin through the irrational fears. "I-it was just a dream, little spider. Nothing will hurt you here, I promise. Dead things don't move."

She shook her head and sniffled loudly. "Yes they do." She whimpered pitifully and burrowed her face into his chest, muffling her voice and making it difficult for Knives to understand what she was saying. "Legato did it. He made the dead walk and talk."

"Puppets, nothing more." He frowned, thinking of his former follower. Vash had killed him, which had been a surprise. Knives hadn't expected his brother to throw away his beliefs to kill Legato, but he had...to save this woman he now held in his arms. Closing his eyes, he thought that, for a human, she was much more powerful than he'd previously given her credit for. Even now, terrified by imagined horrors, she was exerting her strength. He sighed and gently smoothed his hand over her back. "Legato was a freak talented at preying on the fears within the human mind...and completely insane. He's dead and he can't hurt you from the grave." He'd never liked the man but had found his talents useful in his plan to eradicate the humans he hated so much.

Sniffling, Meryl pulled back and looked up in surprise. "Knives?" She whispered softly, uncertainly.

Raising one eyebrow he regarded her archly. "Did you expect someone else to be here?" He doubted he'd ever understand humans, especially the females.

She shook her head slowly and blushed, suddenly aware that his arms were still around her and that it felt...nice, comforting, even. "I-I'm sorry." She murmured and tried to pull away from him. Slowly, with seeming reluctance, he allowed his arms to fall away. She cleared her throat and looked away, anywhere but at the man kneeling before her. "I'm sorry if I woke you. I didn't mean to."

He rolled his eyes. "Evidently." He stood and stared down at her for a moment. "Are you hungry?"

Surprised by the sudden question, she looked up. "A little." She admitted softly.

"Fine then. Come with me." He turned away and crossed to the door. Pausing, he glanced back at her. "Are you coming?"

Nodding quickly, she stood and hurried after him as he exited through the door. She wondered at his odd behavior. She never would've thought Knives capable of kindness, yet here he was trying to distract her from the remnants of her nightmare. He'd even held her in an attempt to comfort her. It was almost more than she could take in. There'd been too much happening lately for her mind to fully grasp it all. She longed for normalcy in her life again, but she knew that a wish like that was impossible. Ever since she'd met Vash the Stampede everything in her life had gone off kilter. Nothing was simple anymore, including her current relationship with Knives, a man she should both fear and hate. She sighed and shook her head. She didn't hate him, not by a long shot. Fear, though? Maybe just a little. After all, she'd have to be a complete idiot to not be afraid of the man who'd just a short time ago nearly completed his plans to kill off the entire human race. "Um...Knives...where are we going?"

"The galley. You said you were hungry, right?" Pausing before the door that he thought should lead to the galley he pushed the switch and it slid open. He halted and stared for a moment, blocking the entrance.

"What's wrong?" She tried to peer around him to no avail.

"Wrong room." He muttered and slowly backed away, bumping into her smaller form in the process. "Little spider, don't make any sudden moves if you want to live." He whispered softly, urgently.

"Huh? What's wrong?" She repeated her earlier question as she again tried to peek around his larger frame and gasped. "Oh no!" The room was filled with mechanical monstrosities. She'd seen similar machines before, when she'd first met Nicholas Wolfwood on a bus after the sand steamer she'd been traveling on had crashed. Now she found herself staring into hundreds of menacing glowing red eyes, the whirring of their internal mechanisms loud in the previous tomb-like silence of the ship. "C-close the door!" She gasped fearfully.

"Gladly." He muttered, carefully reaching to the side. The door slid shut with a whoosh of air. He breathed a sigh of relief and turned to stare at the door across the corridor. "Wonder what they were doing up here." He muttered as he crossed to the other door and opened it. The galley appeared before him much to his relief.

"What was that?"

"The Guardians. They should be in storage in the lower decks, not up here."

"Oh, so that's what they're called." She murmured softly as she followed him into the next room, peering around anxiously and breathing a little easier when she didn't see any mechanical monsters laying in wait for them. "I never thought going for a snack could be such an adventure."

He looked up, startled. A smile began to form and before he knew it he was leaning against one of the counters for support as he found himself caught up in his amusement. He couldn't remember how long it had been since he'd actually felt genuine amusement like this.

Meryl blinked in surprise and stared at Knives in amazement. He was laughing, truly laughing, a joyous sound that encouraged her join in. Smiling widely she closed her eyes and listened, enjoying the sound. He has a nice laugh. She thought happily. Opening her eyes slowly, she found his gaze on her, blue eyes soft and full of warmth, a smile softening his features. In that moment, she truly could believe that he was Vash's brother. The resemblance was uncanny. Mentally she smacked herself. Of course they look alike, Meryl. They're twins! But still, until now she'd never seen Knives with a genuine smile and she found she liked it very much indeed.