Look! Two days in a row!

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Anne flung the door to her apartment open and scowled at the poor occupant of the living room. Meryl had gone off to visit Millie and Vash and Alex were both working at a restaurant, so she felt fairly secure in showering her ire so blindly.

Knives looked up at the sound of the door closing. He was sitting on the couch, elbows resting on his thighs and his hands closing over something as they entered. His eyes showed a hint of confusion before suspicion clouded them. He stood in one smooth motion, hands tugging on the edges of his slacks to set them straight, and only Mark caught that he slipped something into one of his pockets, and he didn't think anything of it.

The air was filled with a pregnant pause, Anne content to just glare at him while Knives hurriedly tried to figure out what was going on. "Why are you all here?" he asked after Anne and her friends filed in and no ready explanation seemed forthcoming.

Anne narrowed her eyes a fraction and opened her mouth to speak, but let silence reign a moment more before she began. She wanted to see if he would fidget, but the man was too composed for that, so she quietly started. "I am very upset with you." Her voice was barely above a whisper, very calm and controlled, not hinting at the yelling she had planned. Knives had to listen closely to make out what she said, and was nonplussed when he heard her announcement.

"What have I done this time?" he asked with a hint of a sigh, sliding his hands into his pockets and moving so he could lean back against the wall. "Forget to put the toilet seat down?"

"No, nothing like that," Anne replied, still using that quiet voice. "I trusted you."

"As well you should."

"As well I shouldn't. Why didn't you tell me what Ace was planning?"

"Ace?" He looked shocked. "What about Ace?"

"Oh, let me think. Maybe I'm upset over her horticultural skills? Her bad taste in music? Oh, no, maybe it's the plot to kill off humanity that has me a bit irked."

"Oh. That." He shifted his weight against the wall but didn't seem inclined to apologize.

"Yes. That. One simple little fact that you obviously felt I didn't want to know."

"No, I knew you would want to." He looked at her calmly, ice blue eyes meeting her simmering brown ones. Mark and Effie flanked the door, neither looking at the arguing couple but both ready to help Anne if she needed it. Otherwise, they were content to pretend that they weren't witnessing this little spat.

Her voice was just a bit louder, but less distinct as it came from between clenched teeth. "Then why didn't you say anything?"

"I didn't think that it was your place to know."

"Oh?" She stepped forward a pace and raised an eyebrow. "I'm afraid you've lost me. Was there any logic that helped you to this asinine decision, or was it as half-assed a conclusion as it sounds?"

His gaze still didn't shift. "Who put you in charge of our lives?" he asked. "You barge in on us, change everything and then dash away. We spent more time without you than with you. What makes you think that you have the right to believe that just because we're keeping company again that you have any right to dictate the way we should live?"

"I'm not dictating the way you should live. I'm thinking about stopping genocide."

He shrugged. "Why do you think that you need to be the one to stop her?"

"I don't see you doing anything much. Sitting on your ass all day, staring at the walls and thinking deep thoughts. At least Vash and Alex got a job."

"Work for humans?" he mused rhetorically, then shuddered. "She hasn't done anything yet," he continued, dismissing the terrible thought. "Well, nothing too terrible."

"So it's best to wait until after bodies start dropping? Is this your great plan?" Her voice began to get louder. "But that would be just dandy with you, wouldn't it? I'm surprised that you aren't out there helping her. It would be easier with two, wouldn't it? Isn't that why you wanted Vash back? So you two could wipe the slate clean?" Her eyes narrowed. "Why aren't you with her? I'm sure she would love to have your help."

"I'm not with her because I don't want to be with her." He pushed off the wall and stepped forward until he was right in front of her. "She's not the one I want."

"But you won't stop her. And you won't tell me so I can stop her." Anne lifted her chin and looked Knives straight in the eye. "You'll just sit back and watch all the fun, won't you? If Ace starts killing that's no problem for you. You say that I have no right to tell you how to live? Fine. That's dandy. I don't. But I don't have the right to condone genocide, either, and trust me, I'm a whole lot more concerned with keeping people alive then staying on yours and Ace's good side, or even Vash and Alex's, for that matter. You guys can all go rot so far as I'm concerned, but I have a responsibility to protect those who can't protect themselves."

"A responsibility?" A sly smile slipped across his face. "Who gave you this responsibility, that it is so much more important that your family?"

"To hell with this family crap. I'm not related to any of you; I'm not even from this planet. You want to know what gives me responsibility? Power. I have it, others don't. It's very simple to me. If I don't stop Ace who else will? I can. Normal people can't. So I have to. Now you can sit back and watch all you want, play with the power that you have but feel no responsibility for, and you can get the hell out of my house. I can't trust you, and quite frankly, right now I can't stand you. I'm bringing Ace back, and when I do I want to see you packed. You two can go back to your damn ship and play at being superior. I'm tired of it, and I'm tired of you."

She spun on her heel and stormed to the door, yanking it open and nearly slamming it into Mark. He flung his hands up in time to keep it from clocking him in the face, then gently gripped the edge. They followed behind her, Mark relinquishing his grip only to close it, the soft sound echoing in the empty room.

Knives was left feeling as if he had been shot, that same terrible sensation of pain and losing something important, the blood rushing away and leaving him cold. His hand hovered by his waist as he stood there for a moment, indecisive. His eyes flashed between memory and the blank space that still felt of Anne's presence, his mind darting between the past few minutes and the sinking sensation in his stomach.

With faint resolve, he started towards the door. A step, a pause, two steps and a hand on the knob. He paused again to decide what he really wanted most, then he flung the door open and dashed after her.