*hums a happy AL song to herself* Here's some lame action.

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"Damn." The curse was uttered in a low voice from behind him and to his left, far enough away that he wondered if it had even come from within the square. Knives rolled forward and put the table between him and whoever had just shot at him. Vash conceived the same course of action, and the brothers' shoulders met as they huddled behind the faint cover and searched the shadows for their attackers.

"How did they know we were here?" asked Vash in a whisper.

"How should I know?" shot back Knives, his voice a low hiss. "I'm not the one who had my face plastered on reward posters, though."

"That was twenty years ago! These guys probably aren't old enough to have seen them!"

"I know that. They shot at me first, too, didn't they? I suppose they have cameras watching the square." Knives punched the ground, frustrated with himself. "And it isn't suspicious to have two men start watching the plant now, is it?"

Vash sighed and touched his brother's arm. "I guess the plan gets changed a little, huh?"

Knives nodded. "No choice. You go right, I'll go left. First one there takes them down," Knives ordered. Vash nodded, then threw himself to the right, nearly crashing into tables as he rolled away. Knives scrambled to his left, crouched low, creeping forward in a half-crawl. The tables were more of an obstacle than cover, but he did his best to use them as a mask to his movement.

All too soon, he ran out of tables. The café was circled by an ornamental fence, and when he vaulted it another dart was sent his way. This one got caught in the folds of his shirt. He plucked it out as he ran to the wall of a building and threw it away, glad that he was wearing something loose enough that the tip had gotten caught before it broke his skin.

Pressing himself against the building, he pulled his gun, the black of the weapon lost in the darkness of the night. He grinned, a frightening rictus, then dashed to where the last shot had come from. Finally, he was doing something about the vermin. Maybe they would live past tonight, but at least they would remember what it was like to be completely outclassed. Soon, they would know their place.

He caught up with the men as they were scrambling to find a new position. They were moving towards the mouth of an alley behind one of the buildings fronting the square, but couldn't reach cover before he found them. The man with the dart gun was still in the process of reloading, but the other two had him covered, guns drawn and pointing at Knives. He laughed when he saw the fear on their faces, laughed as he easily dodged their bullets. Did these fools thing that merely shooting at him would be enough to stop him? Would the humans never learn, he wondered as he reached out a hand to the first man, and then the second, sending them both into unconsciousness. They keep to the same tactics and wonder why they never achieve anything.

He shook his head, then turned to face the man with the dart gun. His hands were shaking so much he couldn't load it. Knives grinned at him mirthlessly, holstered his gun, and stalked forward. Mindlessly, the vermin threw the dart at him, but Knives batted it harmlessly out of the air.

"You are fools," he told him, reaching out and touching the side of his face gently. He laughed as the man hit the pavement, then leaned over and grabbed his right arm. Holding it over his leg, one hand on the wrist and the other at the elbow, he brought his hands down and snapped the bones.

"What did you do that for?" came the angry voice of his brother from behind him. "He was already unconscious! You… you… sadist!"

Knives stood and walked over to one of the other bodies and picked up the right arm, holding it over his leg. Vash grabbed his shoulder and pulled him back, causing his to lose his balance and drop the appendage.

"Don't!"

Knives looked up over his shoulder at his brother and reached for the arm again. "Do you know how long they are going to remain unconscious?" he asked pointedly. "I'm not going to leave them at our back to wake up and rejoin the fray."

"But you don't have to hurt them."

"You're right; I could kill them instead. But this way, no matter when they wake up, they won't be fighting anytime soon." He snapped the man's arm.

Vash swallowed visibly. "That's… you… I thought you weren't going to be a monster anymore," he said sadly.

"I'm not being a monster," he sighed as he went to the last man. "I'm just being practical. I would rather kill them; then I know that they wouldn't cause us any further trouble. But in regards to your… tender… sensibilities," crack went the remaining arm, "I'm refraining from the obvious solution."

Vash turned away, and Knives could see his shoulders shaking slightly. "Are you planning on doing this to everyone you knock out?"

"Well, yes," he said, sounding slightly surprised. "It's only logical."

Vash shook his head and slowly walked towards the square and the plant. Knives looked at the bodies at his feet and shook his head. The vermin would heal in six to eight weeks, and it wasn't as if they were going to die in the meantime. The humans might be savages, but they had progressed beyond cannibalism. Someone would take care of them.

Knives followed Vash to the square. They both faced the plant, then walked stoically towards the front door. Plan or no plan, knocking them out or keeping them out, it was time to fight.