You wonder why it takes me so long to get to the action? It's because I suck at action scenes. It's called… procrastination!
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The men turned the corners of the corridor at nearly the same instant, a well coordinated maneuver that impressed no one. Those who they might have tried to take unaware were too aware of their arrival, and on top of that the trap had been devised to take down one individual. No one had expected Knives to arrive. A few people had come to believe that Knives was a myth, or had died unmourned many years ago. It had been a command decision to continue the plan as conceived, and hope for the best, as there wasn't time to create a better one, and the thought of not challenging the enemy when he invaded their sanctum was too much to be borne.
Upon seeing them, Vash and Knives sprinted towards the groups, ready to take them out. A few shouts of "Stop!" and "Stay where you are or I'll shoot!" were heard from the mass of men, but neither plant slowed. The corridor that had been chosen for the trap was one hundred feels long. Both plants could cover a distance of fifty feel in under three seconds. The men never had a chance, and the smart ones knew it, knew it as soon as they saw that there were two plants.
Even with guns drawn, even with the knowledge that a threat was bearing down on them, few of these men had ever fired a weapon in anger or self defense. For them, there was a moment of hesitation, of needing to form a conclusion of threat before the finger could tighten on the trigger. This delay worked to the advantage of the plants, and was nothing the men could have overcome. They had been well trained, over trained perhaps, and no finger tightened on the trigger out of fear, or an adrenaline fueled twitch. And so the plants came close, and were then too close to comrades for an easy shot.
The six men who had actually been called to discharge their weapon in the line of duty were also, not coincidentally, the leaders of the expedition. It had been impressed upon them with rabid fervor that these men were not to be killed, save as a last resort. Just seeing a slight blonde man rushing towards them was not enough of a threat to make them fire against orders. Besides, there were twenty men to his one. Surely the odds were in their favor.
They had been told that plants were fast, but they had still expected something on the level of a very fast human, and had planned accordingly. They learned how wrong they were as the plants arrived before they were ready. They had not been told that the mere touch of their hand could knock a man out. Knives was the first to reach a group, and the leader was the first to fall. The man barely had time to try to comprehend that Knives had appeared in front him before he found himself falling into a deep black pit.
There was no real challenge to the brothers, save that the men were packed so closely in the hall that it was difficult to reach those at the rear once the bodies in the front started to fall. Only those at the very back of the group had enough time to witness what was happening and have time to even begin to worry. All they saw was a demon coming towards them, the bodies of their friends and comrades slumping lifelessly to the floor in less than a heartbeat. Most of these men were caught in a heartbeat of indecision, unsure whether to respond to the threat by attacking or running away as fast as they could. And, not given the time to choose, they fell.
Save one. Only one of these men had the presence of mind to fire. He didn't have time to aim, but leveled his gun at the chest of the oncoming monster and pulled the trigger. The retort was deafening, echoing in the confined space, seeming to stop time while the noise overwhelmed all other senses. Then it faded, and Knives looked up as the last body in his group slipped to the floor. He saw his brother falling backwards, body sliding through the air with the bonelessness that never heralded anything good.
"Vash!" he screamed, his voice sounding tinny in his ringing ears. The space between them disappeared in a fraction of a heartbeat, Knives arriving at his brother's side almost before he hit the floor. A heavy backhand knocked the human into the wall and into unconsciousness before he even had time to register his presence. Hitting the man was not even enough of a thought to be an afterthought, but was merely an instinctual response. Something had harmed his brother, and was harmed in return.
As soon as the man was falling, Knives was turning to survey the damage. His breath caught in his throat as he leaned down, one hand tentatively reaching out to his brother's face. He was pale, so pale, and he wasn't breathing. A quick glance at the body and the floor, and he noticed no blood.
Then Vash drew in one shuddering breath, his shoulders quavering with the effort. It was followed by a gasping exhalation as he tried to convince his diaphragm to work again. Slowly his breathing steadied, and then his eyes opened. His gaze was lifted over the top of his sunglasses, and he grinned sheepishly at Knives.
"This is why body armor is a good thing." he pointed out.
Knives rolled his eyes and gave his brother a hand up. "If you weren't so slow, they never would have touched you," he pointed out waspishly.
Vash attempted a shrug, but thought better of it as he pulled muscles forming bruises. "Someone has to be better," he pointed out.
"Try to not let it be one of the humans."