A/N: I own nothing in here except for the ones I DO own. Trigun, and all related suchness belong to Yasuhiro Nightow. Ok, done with that, lemme tell you that I have seen all the episodes, but only understood up to episode 10 ^-^; because all the rest are in Japanese. I couldn't get my hands on the dubs.

Dry Planet

~That Morning~

It's her. Meryl was dreaming. She was.naked, but yet, she doesn't feel it. She's panting, her lungs and muscles burning. She was running. Running across a field. The full moon in front of her, she was running towards it. It must be night, but everything was visible to her, like it was day. Kept on running, running faster and longer than she ever had. She was running towards the moon, because she wants to meet her. The one that Vash had believed in all this time. The one that saved Vash and Knives. Rem Saverem. In her dream, Meryl knew she was there, under the moon. It was an instinct. She ran for what seems like days, tearing through a field that rolls on forever. As she ran, she noticed that she was very close to the ground. She didn't look at herself. She didn't know why, but she didn't. All she looked at was the moon. She felt her arm and leg muscles bunching and unbunching under her skin. Then she slipped and fell into an ocean. She wanted to scream, but nothing came from her mouth. The water wasn't cold, she didn't need to hold her breath. She can breathe. She kept on running, sinking at the same time. One of her feet touched the bottom of the sea, and then she was on top of a hill under a large tree. She stopped running, looking around her. Wherever she was, it was beautiful. The ground was firm, and green grass felt good to her worn feet. The sky was blue, but that moon was still there. She sniffed the air. It was fresh, with a scent of apple and something sweet, yet pure. Also, a scent that was very familiar. It smelled like watermelon and morning dew. She saw a pond not too far. She blinked. Being from a dessert world, she never seen such a large puddle of fresh looking water from the earth. She walked towards it, slowly. She wanted to see herself, but when her reflection started to appear, the water jumped and wrapped around her. This time, she did make a sound. It was a yelp. The water disappeared, and where the pond was, is a giant germanium flower, all closed up. Then it opens, blossoming into a large flower. Meryl took a step back, blinking. There, sitting in the middle of the petals, was a woman. It's her. Rem uncurled from her seat, her hair flowing with unfelt winds. She stood on top of the flower and smiled down at Meryl. "Meryl Strife" she said as the petals around her became loose and began to swirl around her. "I leave my angels to you." Then she was gone. Everything was gone. Meryl stood in darkness. Fear began to creep up her spine. She closed her eyes, wanting to curl up, but something held her. She felt ground solidified beneath her. She was lying down on her side. She opened her eyes, and saw a wolf staring back at her.

A pair of eyes snapped open. Meryl blinked a couple of times, trying to figure out what that dream was, but as soon as she began to grasp some of it, all of it disappeared from her mind. She stared up at the ceiling. Then, a flashback just played in front of her eyes from the previous day. Meryl is sitting on Vash's bed, with Knives still unconscious in it. She was changing his bandages. Vash watches. "How long do you think he'll sleep?" Asked Vash. "I don't know, but his wounds are getting better." "That's good." Meryl just nodded, now tighten and tying the shoulder bandage. Out of the corner of her eyes she saw the wounded man's eyelids flickered. Then the blue eyes peered from under the partially opened eyelids at her, and then they closed again. She blinked, but kept quiet, continuing her work. At dinner that night, she told Vash about Knives, and he insisted to sleep in the same room with Knives for a night. Usually, he sleeps on the couch in the living room, gorging down on donuts and stuff. Meryl wondered what would happen if Knives woke up. From what Vash told her, it would be chaos. Sunlight seeped through the drawn curtains, lighting the room. That was when she realized something was against her stomach. She stiffened, balled her hands into a fists, ready smack who ever it was. She lifted her head slightly, right arm up in the air, and then she froze. Knives was sleeping, head on her belly. Meryl's eyes soften as she looked at his face. Like a sleeping boy. she thought. She sat up slowly, gently placing his head on her lap. There were tear stains on his face. She bit her lip. She hated it when guys cry. She never knows what to do. It makes her feel guilty and helpless to watch them cry. Milly was better at that job. Meryl glanced over to Milly, snoring away. She closed her eyes, thinking of what her mother would do. Her mother was very strong, and has a soft spot for children. She remembered when a cousin was over at their house, he tripped and scrapped a knee. He began to cry, and Meryl tried to comfort him, but he cried even more. She tried again, but he only began to thrash around. Being at the age of 7, she had little control on her temper. She was getting annoyed, and angry. "Shut up! You're a boy!! Boy's don't cry!!" she knew that was untrue, but she was too angry to know what flew out her mouth. "Tommy you're a cry baby!! Wimp!!" "Meryl!!" "What?!" she turned to find her aunt's red face glaring at her. "How dare you, you little horror!! Calling little Tommy those things! You should be ashamed of yourself!" "I won't be a little horror if Tommy would stop calling for attention!! He's a brat!!" she covered her mouth with her hands, knowing she was really into it now. "Y..y." her aunt's face was turning purple, and she was in front of Meryl in two angry strides and slapped her. She slapped Meryl hard, and the little girl was flung to the floor by the force. Meryl gritted her teeth, not crying out. Tears welled up in her eyes, but she didn't want to cry. She felt such anger and rage inside of her. She got up in a sitting position, staring hard at the ground. She could hear Tommy bawling, and her aunt comforting him. Her aunt never liked Meryl, for she believes men should lead. Meryl heard the door open and closed, the boy's cry muffled by walls. She got up, goes over to a corner, and hugged her knees. She rubbed her teary eyes so hard that they hurt. "Meryl?" Her mother. She heard footsteps, door opened and closed. She felt a shadow fall over her. She looked up at her mother's face. The woman bent down and scooped Meryl up and hugged her. Meryl couldn't stand it, and began to cry. She buried her face into her mother's shoulder. A snort brought Meryl back to the present. Milly turned in her sleep. Meryl blinked, thinking over what Vash told her about what Knives was like when he was young, and what her mother would do. Knives brow knitted together, his face cringed, as if in a nightmare. Meryl remembered about Zazie the Beast, and how she and Milly comforted all those children. How did they do that? By instincts, she believed. She began to stroke the soft blonde hair gently, keeping the other arm around his head protectively. She began to hum softly. Sound Life was an old song. Her own mother sang it to her whenever she feels sad. Knives face relaxed, and had a look of peace on him. Meryl smiled, feeling all warm inside. He's just like a little boy.

"Knives!! No!" Vash reached out to his brother, who's holding a knife. Knives didn't hear him, or if he did, he ignored him. Knives neared a sleeping Meryl, knife poised, and he went in for the kill. Vash threw himself at his brother, and- BUMP Tears welled up in his star spangled eyes as a bump the size of a baseball grew on his head. He rubbed it gingerly, sniffing. He had fallen out of his cot. Ouchie.that hurts. He thought. The morning light streamed in through the partly opened curtain and onto the empty bed. His pain was forgotten instantly. "Oh crap!" he scrambled to his feet, and tripped, his feet tangled up with his blankets. He quickly untangled himself and ran over to the girls' room. He swung open their door, only to find Meryl awake (and alive to Vash's relief) with Knives's head on her lap. Milly was still sleeping. Meryl gave a jump of surprised. "Meryl! You're OK!" Vash blinked. "Eh?" Meryl couldn't think of any reason for her to be not OK, and then she remembered Knives. She smiled inwardly; happy to know he cares about her. But she hid it, covering it with anger. "How rude! Have you ever heard of knocking? Barging into a ladies' room like that." "Huh?" Hurt flashed across his face, but quickly disappeared when he smiled "Oops, sorry." "Uhn." Knives had woken up when Meryl jumped. Meryl and Vash's eyes turned to the man. He blinked, puzzled, remembered last night, and jerked upright, but tumbled back. His eyes widened at Meryl. "Rem! I-I can explain! Please.don't.." Then he noticed that Meryl had short hair and blue- gray eyes. ".Rem?" Meryl said quietly, puzzled. "You're not Rem.you're just a human.a damn human." He raised a hand, and tried to gather power into that hand to blast destructive energy out, but he didn't have enough power. The usage of two angel arms and the pain drained him of power. He began to feel panicky; having no power makes him nervous. He scrambled back, away from Meryl, and bumped into Vash whom he didn't notice. He looked up into the clueless face of his brother. Now he felt fear. Getting to his feet and away from him, Knives reached for his gun. His hand grasped nothing. "Knives." Vash reached for his brother. "Stay away! Don't hurt me! Please!" Knives kept on backing up till he hit the bed Meryl is in. He fell onto it and onto Meryl's lap again. "Knives.I won't hurt you." Vash tried again. "That's what you said over 130 years ago! And since, you hurt me twice!" His back was against the wall, Meryl forgotten. "And you said that you won't hurt me either, over 130 years ago right after I said that." Vash said dryly. "And since then, you've beaten me up at least twice, killed those close to me, blasted my arm off, and made me suffer." "Then that gives you the more reason to hurt me!" he curled up, hugging his knees, fearing the worst. "Knives. That is what you would do. I am Vash, not you. I won't hurt you." "How would I know you won't?!" "Remember the good times, Knives, the time before the Steve incident. Think back." Whimpering, Knives did that. ((A/N: Yes, yes, this is a flash back. My, I'm a flash backy person, neh?)) Two toddlers rough housed, rolling down a grassy hill. Laughing, they both were having fun. Rem was watching from afar. At the foot of the hill, Knives accidentally smacked Vash too hard on his arm. Toddler Vash began to cry, Knives apologizing. Rem started to run to them, but stop when she heard Knives and hid behind a nearby tree. "Vash, I'm so sorry! Please don't cry! I'm really sorry I hurt you. Please don't be angry at me. If it makes you feel better, you can hurt me back." "I'm not angry at you." He said, sniffling, "I won't hurt you." "Really? I'm still really sorry. I won't hurt you again, never." "That's good. Right now I'm just angry at the ouchie." Vash said, laughing. "Hehe, I'm angry at it too." Knives replied, laughing as well. Behind the tree, Rem smiled. "And you broke your word." What? You again! Go away! "You broke your word." Leave me alone!! "You broke your damn word, and in the process, killed everything else." Shut up! I don't want to remember!! "Why not? You killed all you can, and that's a good thing" No!! Leave me alone!! Go away! "You still broke your word."