Meryl walked up the steps to the plant. She was holding his hospital blanket in her hand.
"I thought you might be needing this."
She put the blanket around his shoulders. Vash lay down on his side facing away
from Meryl. He propped his head up with his hand.
"Maybe I'm finally getting tired."
Meryl adjusted the blanket over him.
"I'm sorry I hit you Vash. Milly was right. I lose my temper way too easily.
After I socked a few guys on the playground back home little me never got picked
on again though."
"I know all about getting picked on," said Vash, not attempting to hide the
sarcasm.
Meryl sat down next to him. Vash refused to look at her. Instead he looked up at
his brother's form in the plant.
Vash said, "Doc's going to banish them from ship. You might want to give them a
few tips on living on the outside world. Maybe you can sell them some
insurance."
"Vash! How can you say that?" she blurted, grabbing Vash's arm and
turning him towards her.
"I had no idea what they were planning on doing to Knives. Do you think I was in
on it? Is that what you're thinking? Then why the hell did I stop you from
killing yourself? Why did I do that?" she yelled.
She squeezed his arm tightly and ground her teeth together but didn't hit him.
"Did you think I wanted to see you groveling in a mess of bloody feathers,
begging to be killed? How many times have I saved your lousy butt? How many?
I've lost track. Do you think I wanted to see your brother like that?"
She didn't hit him, she slapped him.
"You deserved that, you dunce. Do you think I drugged Milly for cover and let
them in? Do you think I'd want to hurt her? Maybe you are really as stupid as I
though you we're when I first looked at your stupid spiky head."
Tears started to form in her eyes. She tried to slap him again but he caught her
arm.
"I'm sorry, Meryl," he said "I don't know who I can really trust anymore. This
place was the only place I could call home."
"You can trust Milly and me. Haven't you learned that yet you numbskull?"
"I'm sorry Meryl."
A tear dropped from his cheek and landed on the hand Meryl had slapped him with. He released her, pulled the blanket over himself, and lay face down on the ground, sobbing.
"I'm sorry, Meryl, I almost killed everybody here. I'm sorry."
Meryl put her hands on his shoulders and laid her head against his.
"I forgive you, Vash, we all do."
"Thank you for keeping me alive."
She stroked his hair as he lay his head down on his hands.
"You need rest, Vash."
Vash cried until he feel asleep. Meryl sighed and lay down crosswise from him
using his side as a pillow. She crossed her arms on her chest and fell asleep.
Early the next morning Doc and James entered the plant room.
"The power output is down to 19%, " James said as he looked at the controls.
"We'll have to get the other plant up as soon as possible."
Milly's voice came from a pen Doc was holding.
"They haven't been to the cafeteria, but I can get you a pastry if you like."
"No thank you, Milly. We'll keep looking," Doc said.
He put the pen back in his pocket and looked at the controls.
"The levels are set at 19%. Vash must know what he's doing."
The two men looked up at the plant.
"You can actually see them both in there," said Doc.
The men walked up the steps to the plant. They just saw Meryl's feet sticking
out from behind the cart. They walked over to her and saw her lying with her
head resting against Vash.
"Hmm ... I have no idea what's going on between these two but she definitely
takes her surveillance seriously" said Doc.
"After yesterday," said James, "I should write a letter to that insurance
company and start chipping in a bit extra for her wages. As long as she can keep
Augusta from happening I don't care what she does."
"You should write that letter. I think her boss might appreciate it."
The two men looked at Knives, his body slowly being reshaped back into its
normal form.
"Do you think Vash could do this, since the plants can?" asked James.
"These plants have been learning how to controlling their power for over a
hundred years. Vash didn't know he had power like that until 20 years ago.
Knives developed his power in other ways. I don't know what either of them have
the potential to do. Whatever their potential is, it must be developed safely.
We have to keep them both here. There's no doubt about it. Even though they've
harmed us we can't let this opportunity to learn so much about these life forms
be wasted."
Doc looked down at Vash.
"We'll leave the prisoners outside the ship today with a little bit of money.
Michael's little girl decided to go with them. She's only nine. It's a shame
both her parents decided to participate in a murder."
Doc looked at Meryl lying peacefully on the floor.
"We'll have to figure out some way of dealing with the government so the little
lady doesn't have to use her derringers any more."
Doc pulled the pen out of his pocket.
"Milly, we found them. They're in the plant room ... they're fine." A squeal of
glee emitted from the pen.
"I think we'd better let them sleep a little longer before they have some food,"
Doc said.
Doc and James left the room to prepare the prisoners for their expulsion.
A month later the prisoners were left outside the ship and were not heard from again.
The plant engineers got used to Milly or Meryl being in the room when Vash was
directing them with their plant work. The transfer of plant number one, Tori,
back to her bulb went smoothly. Milly insisted on being present with her stun
gun and Meryl had all 50 of her derringers loaded and ready. Vash and the
insurance girls stayed in plant room two in the evenings. There were three cots
set up and the trio often played cards in the evenings. Plant room two was
blocked off from all the other ship residents until Knives could be safely taken
out.
It took Vash about an hour one evening to figure out what code Knives had
used to seal off the fifty-seventh floor. Vash unlocked the elevator and the
three of them went up to retrieve their items. Vash had to go back to that room.
Both of the women accompanied him. He looked at his little pile of clothes in
the corner of the room; every piece had been ruined.
"We can make you some more, Vash," said Milly.
"It's not a problem at all. Let's get out of here," said Meryl as she tugged
Vash towards the mangled door.
They walked past the observation windows back to the elevator. A few of the
engineers had patched up the hole in the floor. The women packed their suitcases
and escorted Vash to the elevator.
"Thank you both for being here," he said to them as they took the elevator to
the cafeteria. "I do need you."
"You're welcome, Mr. Vash," said Milly.
Meryl smiled and looked at her feet. Since Meryl was escorting Vash full-time,
another resident had inherited the Mr. Happy Coffee apron and the job.