"It's better than making the wrong choices."
Knives glared at his brother, but abstained from picking up the old argument. He turned back to Ace, looked down at her scared blue eyes. He knew that his talk of disposing of Kiley worried the girl, but what was he supposed to do? Admit to Vash that he was growing soft? He would take any softening of his position on the vermin to be a weakening, as if he were admitting that since there were a few humans that didn't especially need killing that the entire race wouldn't need extermination. Of course, convincing Vash that a few humans had needed killing hadn't changed his mind, so why his brother had the temerity to believe that keeping a few humans as pets might mean that he wasn't still trying to kill off the species….
He realized that his scowl was scaring Ace, and that his thoughts were rambling. Abruptly tired of the entire situation, he gathered the girl in his arms and stalked into the shade. Vash and Meryl watched him go, and wondered just what they were supposed to do now.
"Does he seem a little strange to you?" asked Meryl.
"I don't entirely know what's going on," responded Vash, thoughtfully. "But I don't think that we can just leave. You don't have to stay if you don't…"
"After watching you and that woman? I'll stick around, buddy," she interrupted, showing more bravado than good sense.
Vash turned and got up on his knees. His arms snaked up and around Meryl's neck, and he held her close, feeling the trembles she couldn't completely suppress. "It's ok if you want to go."
"Not without you," she mumbled into his hair. "You get into too much trouble without me."
"Only a little. A few cities destroyed, a few towns annihilated."
"See?" she said, sniffing a little. "You do need me. Or at least they do. To keep you in check."
"Exactly," he said with a little smile. "Don't do it for me; do it for the countless innocents."
"Of course I do it for the countless innocents," she said, pushing him back a little. "Why would I do it for you?"
Vash looked up at her with his big, sad eyes, and she had to laugh. "I love you," he said simply.
"I love you, too. Forever." They hugged again.
Kiley, from her prone position at their feet, fought nausea. Not that they weren't being cute, in a cloyingly-attached couple sort of way, but this just wasn't a moment she wanted to be a part of. For one thing, it was obviously a personal moment. And for another… mushy stuff made her gag.
She reviewed what she had managed to catch of the conversation between the brothers, putting them out of her mind, or at least trying to. It was hard to follow when barely clinging to consciousness, but she was pretty sure she had the gist of it.
It was good to know she was useful to a psychopath, really. Nothing like hearing that your skills keep you alive. Nothing quite like the knowledge that your lifespan can be measured by how much you know and how fast you can teach it. Also a happy thought.
She tried to open her eyes, just to see what the world looked like from this vantage point, but it took too much energy. She couldn't feel her fingers or toes anymore, and would have liked to be able to look and see if they were still attached. Not that she thought anyone had been separating them from her body or anything, but she would have liked to have been able to make sure.
She wondered if anyone had noticed that she had stopped breathing. Well, she was still breathing, a little, but not with any regularity. She thought on that for a moment, then wondered if she would prefer no one noticing her at all to people noticing and not caring. On the one hand, she was being completely ignored. That's never a fun feeling. On the other, if she was noticed, then no one cared enough to do anything about it. Or maybe they did notice, but couldn't help at all and so just ignored her.
No, that didn't work…
She had to remind herself to take a breath again. As she struggled to fill her lungs with air, she had the passing thought to be grateful that at least her heart was beating without help. She hadn't been this tired in a long time. And she had never been this ignored while this tired. Had she the energy, she would have smiled at that. For all that she had hated her jobs, they did ensure that she got the best possible treatment after abusing her body like this. Now, basking in the dim light of obscurity, she found herself wishing for her support squad. Or a ventilator, at the very least. Anything that would help her out here.
Another breath. She didn't dwell on the irony of trying so hard to stay alive when she had been ready to let it all go a few minutes ago. She wouldn't have let herself drown. Probably. Most likely. Living was a habit too well ingrained to give over for a fit of depression. Even a big fit. A well-deserved fit. A depression that rivaled any that she had felt before. Even then, she would still try to live.
Just so she could come back and get her revenge… but how was she supposed to get her revenge now? Sorry, Knives. I'm pissed at you because you like me only because I'm a plant? That makes very little sense. I'm mad because you treat me like some sort of slave, or disposable toothbrush, or some other object you can use up and discard? Understandable, but would pointing something like that out make him change? No.
Breathe.
Strangely, she welcomed the weakness in her body. It have her an excuse to not have to think up any solutions to her problems. She could just dwell on them.
