Chapter 4: Now and Then

Perhaps it was seeing Marlene, who reminded him so much of Milly, that triggered it, but Vash found himself facing one of his infrequent bouts with depression. He felt horribly, painfully alone, and he missed his friends of bygone days terribly.

Before meeting Milly, Wolfwood, and Meryl, Vash had tried never to get too close to anyone—they would only grow old and die before his eyes, and he didn't want to face the pain. The friendship and love he'd felt in those days, though, had made it worth the pain of living without them—it hurt sometimes, but the memories were beautiful.

He remembered getting married to Meryl after Milly had practically forced them into it. He was happy—he felt as if he had lived in a daze of happiness after that. They began to build their house, and two years later, Meryl gave birth to their first child, Daniel Nicholas. He remembered not knowing how to deal with a pregnant woman, his nervousness when she went into labor—until that time, Vash had no idea what happened during childbirth, but he soon found out—his joy and pride when he held his son for the first time.

When the baby was a week old, Vash took him to visit Knives, still recovering from injuries to mind and body. He thought for a moment that his brother looked upon his child with some sort of tenderness; he hadn't asked to hold the baby, but he made no disgusted remarks, either.

As Daniel grew, so did the house and garden. Knives concentrated on coaxing life out of the sand; it was something that brought him joy, and didn't hurt anyone else, so Vash had tried to help him. Knives, however, preferred to be alone with his thoughts, and although they lived in the same house, many days would pass when their paths did not cross.

Milly was a frequent visitor to their estate, but she didn't move in until after the birth of Vash and Meryl's second child, Mina Ann. Although Daniel was named after the man she loved, it was Mina who became Aunt Milly's darling. Both children had grown faster than normal—by the age of twelve, they were adults. No one knew what half-Plant children would be like, but Mina and Daniel were raised with so much love they never felt like outcasts.

Even when Meryl was growing old, Vash had been happy in her company. Their family grew—they had grandchildren, great-grandchildren. When the first great-great-grandchild was born, Meryl's hair was thin and white, and her hands too weak to hold the baby. She passed away in Vash's arms, telling him that it was all right, everything was all right, she was happy. She was eighty-nine years old. Milly died four years later, the same year Val was born.

Val had always been his little "Val the Stampede," and while most of the Stryfe-Stampede children played at being "Uncle Vash," Val had taken it seriously--especially after tragedy claimed her parents. She was the only one of the children that he would trust with the cross that had belonged to his best friend of a bygone era, and though he worried about her, he knew she was able to take care of herself.

*

Spike whistled to herself as she worked, chopping up vegetables. Val tried to ignore her, but she could have shown a little repentance. After all, Spike was the reason they were currently out of funds--and Val comforted herself by fantasizing about extracting her revenge, penny by penny. She was washing dishes, a chore she'd hated all her life, but especially hated now. The kitchen was intolerably hot, and for the millionth time she regretted bringing Spike along on this trip. At this rate, it would be years before they made it to June.

Spike seemed blissfully aware of Val's frustration. She pulled a tray out of the oven and walked out into the restaurant to serve it. The owner of the restaurant came into the kitchen just as Spike left it.

"Your friend is quite the charmer--I've never seen the dining room so full. I wish I could hire her full time!"

"Would you, please?" Val groaned, from her sudsy corner. Spike was cut out for this sort of work--cooking, waitressing. Fighting crime was just a game to her, but here she seemed in her element. Val, on the other hand would have been much happier serving as a bouncer, but the owner had been shocked by the idea. This was a "family establishment," he'd said, but if they had any trouble, they'd know whom to come to.

Val looked down at her pruned fingers and plunged her hands back into the suds. She was supposed to be helping solve the mysterious explosion in June, but instead she was tending to an ever-mounting pile of dishes. She couldn't keep up with all the dirty tableware that needed her attention, so the plates and glasses sat in growing mounds that loomed over her.

Spike returned to the kitchen, humming cheerfully. Val had to summon every molecule of maturity in her body to keep herself from sticking out a foot to trip the too-happy girl.

"Guess what, Vally?" Spike said, and didn't wait for a reply. "I just met a really nice guy who's going to drive us to June!"

Most guys were "really nice" to Spike--the way she dressed ensured that. Val had to admit, though, that Spike was capable of defending herself against unwanted affections.

"When?" Val grunted.

"After the restaurant closes for the night," Spike replied. "He's taking a shipment of frozen food to the city, and he says there's room for both of us in his truck!"

It always happened like this. Just when Val was ready to give up on Spike completely, she'd pull something useful out of her sleeve--or strap (Spike's shirt didn't have sleeves). She just couldn't bring herself to hate the girl--but I'm jealous, thought Val. Why does she get to have all the fun?

*

"I'm surprised Val isn't here yet," Vash said to Marlene.

"Val the Mini-Stampede?"

"I would have liked for you to meet her, Marlene. She's about the same age as you, I think you'd hit it off. I hoped she could come to dinner with us."

"I guess it's just as well--we already picked up an extra diner for tonight," Marlene said. "Brian picked up a girl in the library this morning. He claims that she's an expert on Earth and the second landing, but I'll believe that when I see it." Marlene rolled her eyes. "What is taking that boy so long?"

She found out when Brian descended the hotel staircase to the lobby where Vash and Marlene were waiting. Brian had always looked somewhat rumpled at best, even when they were working at home. When they went on the road, the little bit of grooming he bothered with went out the window, to the point that Marlene sometimes became embarrassed just for his sake.

Not tonight. Somehow he seemed to have ironed out both the wrinkles in his shirt and pants and the curls of his hair. He was clean-shaven for the first time in a week and smelled of cologne and hairspray.

Wow. When he works at it, the boy's not half-bad, Marlene thought in surprise. "Who are you trying to impress?" she asked him aloud.

"I was just trying to dress appropriately," Brian replied, on the defensive. He looked up at Vash. "Wow...um, I mean...um..."

"Vash, I'd like you to meet my partner, Brian Darrow. Brian, this is Vash."

Bryan shook the older man's hand, staring at him in awe. Vash also looked polished for the night out; his hair was combed back into a small ponytail at the back of his neck, and he wore a dress shirt and tie.

Marlene was almost the same height as he was, and her heels didn't seem to be very high. She was tall and broad-shouldered, as her great-great-aunt had been, but she carried herself with a great deal of grace for her size.

"Where's your date?" she asked Brian.

"Oh, we're meeting her there," he replied. "Um...what do we tell her about..." He looked up at Vash, who seemed to tower over him. Brian was the shortest of the bunch.

"Vash is just a name," the older man replied. "I'm not trying to hide from anyone."

"Except for the bars where you're running up huge tabs?" Marlene replied.

"He-ey! Just what are you insinuating?"

*

Sandhya waited in front of the restaurant, watching the sunset through tinted glasses. Her black jacket was unbuttoned, and she wore an embroidered, Chinese-style yellow shirt beneath it.

"You weren't waiting too long, were you?" Brian asked her, jogging ahead of his companions.

"I just got here," Sandhya replied, as Marlene and Vash caught up.

"Let me introduce everyone," Brian said. "Sandhya, this is my partner from Bernadelli, Marlene Thompson, and...her friend, Vash. Marlene, Vash, this is Sandhya, um..."

"Sandhya Nawar," she finished for him, and shook hands with Marlene. "It's a pleasure to meet--you--" Her voice went a bit odd as she shook hands with Vash. His eyes searched hers, but he said nothing.

"I hope you have a reservation," Sandhya said, looking over to Brian. "It's rather busy."

"Of course I do!" he replied. "Darrow, party of four," he told the host, with some pride at the reservation being made in his name. Marlene rolled her eyes.

"I like your shirt," she said to Sandhya, as the black-haired woman took off her coat.

"Thank you," she replied. Brian pulled out a chair for her, and Sandhya shrugged and sat down on it. Marlene pulled out her own chair.

"Brian tells me you're quite the expert on Earth," she continued, hoping to strike up a conversation.

"I don't think anyone can consider him or herself an expert on Earth," Sandhya replied. She spoke mechanically, disconnected from her words. "But I have tried to find out all I could about the planet upon which I was born." Now she was looking at Vash again, and he couldn't quite hide his surprise. Sandhya looked down at her menu. "I've never tried wine," she said. "Is it good?"

"Really? You've never had any kind of wine?" Brian said.

"I never had the money to spend on stuff like that."

"I'll buy you some, then," Brian said. Marlene rolled her eyes.

"You don't have the money to spend on that, either," she said.

"It's a business dinner, remember? It all goes down in company expenses." Brian grinned.

"You could at least act like it's a business dinner, then," Marlene groaned. "So...Sandhya. What do you think about the explosion at Dr. Fulton's laboratory? I assume you've heard all about it--everyone in the area knows."

"Well, obviously it's more than just an accident, or he wouldn't be here, right?" Sandhya replied, motioning towards Vash.

"Oh, I was just passing through," Vash said.

"According to what I've heard, you have a special sense when it comes to finding trouble," Sandhya said. "And you've found it in June City. Do you know about the sort of research Dr. Fulton was working on?"

"The reports were all very vague," Marlene said. "But I didn't think it was important."

"I don't know much about his current projects, but I know what he did when he still lived on Earth," Sandhya said. "He worked with weapons--weapons that looked and acted just like human beings, but had more destructive energy than an atomic bomb."

"A what?"

At that time, a waitress came to take their orders. Brian tried to order the most expensive wine on the menu, but Marlene interrupted him and made a more economical choice.

"What Fulton really wanted was attention--fame," Sandhya said. "The world feared him, but that wasn't enough for him. He created an army of weapons, and then he destroyed them, to 'save the world.' This wasn't until after they had created enough chaos than another generation was ready to board ships and follow Project Seeds to a new world.

"My guess is that this Twilight is another one of his weapons, a ploy to get fame in this world. He wants to create another Vash the Stampede."

"You have made a study of it," Marlene said. "And here I was, thinking Brian just needed an excuse to talk to a pretty girl."

"Would you cut that out?" Brian said. Drinks arrived, and Sandhya took a tentative sip of the wine. She made a face.

"It's something of an acquired taste," Vash told her.

"It's not bad, it's just...I don't know. At least now I can say I've tried it." She took another sip. "Um. That's about all I know about him."

"Thank you," Marlene said. "I will--"

"So does that mean that he's probably behind the ship that crashed twenty-five years ago?" Brian interrupted.

"A lot...can go wrong, on a ship," Sandhya said queasily. "He'd like us all to think his Twilight did it, but accidents happen."

"So is there actually a Twilight out there?" Vash asked her.

"Maybe, maybe not. I'll believe it when I see it. I wouldn't have believed in the Humanoid Typhoon, if I hadn't seen him face to face, however...maybe the Twilight story's not so farfetched after all."

"You don't have to say it so loudly," Vash said, but no one else seemed to have heard. Their dinners arrived, and they set about eating them.