The Descent of the Second Sun
CHAPTER 7
Vash woke with a slight groan, glad to be through with the night. After Legato had left, he couldn't get back to sleep for quite some time; and when he did, he kept waking up every hour or so. He slowly rose from the bed, and padded slowly to the bathroom, heading for the shower. He'd have a long day ahead of him. Knives was likely to want to begin his little "experiment" as soon as possible, and with Legato watching his every move, he had no idea as to how he'd manage getting out of the situation.
-----------------
Meryl was awoken with a sharp kick to the stomach. After she finished coughing from the blow, she weakly opened her eyes and looked up, greeted with Midvalley glaring down at her. She grimaced at him.
"Get up," he commanded coldly. She glanced over to Milly, who had already been awoken and was standing nearby, Dominique holding her firmly by the arm. Meryl struggled to her feet and Midvalley snatched her arm. The insurance girls were then dragged out of the cell and down the dark corridor.
From the other cell, Wolfwood watched through the vent solemnly, concern for the girls dominating his expression.
'Well.' he thought to himself, 'If Tongari plans on saving any of us, now might be a good time to leap in and do so.'
He reached into his jacket, grabbing for the inside pocket. His fingers latched onto a lone cigarette. It was his last one. He pulled it out and looked at it, considering for a moment that it may very well be the last cigarette he would ever smoke. After a moment of this consideration, he shrugged, lit up, set it between his lips, and leaned back against the wall.
-----------------
Knives sat in his chamber, alone. Or at least that's what he would refer to it as; Legato was there, but Legato didn't count. He was looking down, idly tracing a finger along a plug on one of his hands. He heard the door creak and he looked up. A small grin spread across his face.
"Ah, Hornfreak, Cyclops. Just who I was hoping to see," he stated as he stood, "And I see you've brought our guests, too."
He sauntered forward, narrowing his eyes at Meryl and Milly with a slight smirk. Milly looked terrified of him; Meryl looked like she wanted to rip his head off.
"And just who the hell do you think you are treating people like this!?" Meryl began ranting, "You think you can just push us around and-"
Her rant was cut off when a white-gloved hand backhanded her across the face, "Don't go off on me, you worthless vermin. That's a question I should be asking you; your kind has seen fit to do so to my people for countless years."
Meryl blinked a couple of times, but then began to growl at the blonde man, voicing snappishly, "Vermin!? I'll have you know that I am a human being and deserve to be treated as such!!"
A vicious grin spread across Knives' face at that point, "And that's exactly what I'm doing. so I don't see what you're so upset about."
The other door to the room, located directly behind Knives, opened, and Vash stepped in.
"Morning, Knives. I-" he froze in mid-sentence, staring wide-eyed at the captives Knives had with him. Knives turned towards him, smiling, and the girls did so as well, their expressions portraying complete shock.
"Mr. Vash!?" Milly questioned in disbelief.
"Hey, Vash! Good morning!" Knives greeted his brother.
"What are you doing, Vash?" Meryl asked, slack-jawed.
Vash opened his mouth, then closed it again. His glance traveled from Knives to the girls, then rested on Legato a few moments, and returned to Knives. He put on his best act as he replied.
"Why, I'm just taking my place," Vash voiced darkly, stalking towards the girls and Knives, "It's high time for this planet to be rid of your disgusting human species."
His brother turned back towards the girls with a wide grin. The girls blinked in disbelief, mouths hanging open.
"But Vash-" Meryl spoke softly, gazing at him with pleading eyes.
"Shut up," Vash met her with a false - but very convincing - glare, "You insect."
Meryl tried her absolute hardest to hide the hurt from her eyes, but it was useless. She looked to be on the verge of tears. Milly looked as if she wanted to comfort Meryl quite badly, but knew she was in no position to do so, considering she was surrounded by people she considered to be scary and not very nice at all. Her glance traveled to Vash a few times, incredulous and as angry as she dared to show, but she didn't speak.
'Very good, outlaw,' Legato's mental voice poured through Vash's mind, smooth and dark, 'Why, just look at her pain. She cares for you, you know. And quite deeply at that. I would, perhaps, go as far as to call it love. And here you've gone and shattered her heart. Really, though, a lowly human couldn't expect their love for a superior being to be reciprocated. After all, she'll be long dead and dissolved to dust before you get your first wrinkle.'
Vash kept his glare steady, carefully controlling his emotions and thoughts. He made no response to Legato; not verbal, physical or mental. As Legato had used quite careful mental shields to deliver his message solely to Vash, and the plant was occupied studying his captives, Knives didn't notice the mental words, and cut off what he perceived to be silence by turning to his brother with a question.
"Well then, Vash, shall we go ahead with our little experiment?" He asked, his eyes drifting sideways towards the females, who both responded to this question with fearful expressions.
Vash blinked very slowly, and voiced, "These. these are your 'guinea pigs'?"
"Sure are," Knives said, a smirk on his face, "They followed you, the idiots. I have you to thank, brother. You led them straight to our clutches."
Vash glanced at the girls, his eyes unclear what emotion he was feeling, and he spoke softly, yet pointedly, "Yeah, even after I told them countless times not to follow me. but what else would you expect from a couple of humans?" Vash hoped his last-minute cover-up tacked on to the end of his statement wasn't too sloppy.
CHAPTER 7
Vash woke with a slight groan, glad to be through with the night. After Legato had left, he couldn't get back to sleep for quite some time; and when he did, he kept waking up every hour or so. He slowly rose from the bed, and padded slowly to the bathroom, heading for the shower. He'd have a long day ahead of him. Knives was likely to want to begin his little "experiment" as soon as possible, and with Legato watching his every move, he had no idea as to how he'd manage getting out of the situation.
-----------------
Meryl was awoken with a sharp kick to the stomach. After she finished coughing from the blow, she weakly opened her eyes and looked up, greeted with Midvalley glaring down at her. She grimaced at him.
"Get up," he commanded coldly. She glanced over to Milly, who had already been awoken and was standing nearby, Dominique holding her firmly by the arm. Meryl struggled to her feet and Midvalley snatched her arm. The insurance girls were then dragged out of the cell and down the dark corridor.
From the other cell, Wolfwood watched through the vent solemnly, concern for the girls dominating his expression.
'Well.' he thought to himself, 'If Tongari plans on saving any of us, now might be a good time to leap in and do so.'
He reached into his jacket, grabbing for the inside pocket. His fingers latched onto a lone cigarette. It was his last one. He pulled it out and looked at it, considering for a moment that it may very well be the last cigarette he would ever smoke. After a moment of this consideration, he shrugged, lit up, set it between his lips, and leaned back against the wall.
-----------------
Knives sat in his chamber, alone. Or at least that's what he would refer to it as; Legato was there, but Legato didn't count. He was looking down, idly tracing a finger along a plug on one of his hands. He heard the door creak and he looked up. A small grin spread across his face.
"Ah, Hornfreak, Cyclops. Just who I was hoping to see," he stated as he stood, "And I see you've brought our guests, too."
He sauntered forward, narrowing his eyes at Meryl and Milly with a slight smirk. Milly looked terrified of him; Meryl looked like she wanted to rip his head off.
"And just who the hell do you think you are treating people like this!?" Meryl began ranting, "You think you can just push us around and-"
Her rant was cut off when a white-gloved hand backhanded her across the face, "Don't go off on me, you worthless vermin. That's a question I should be asking you; your kind has seen fit to do so to my people for countless years."
Meryl blinked a couple of times, but then began to growl at the blonde man, voicing snappishly, "Vermin!? I'll have you know that I am a human being and deserve to be treated as such!!"
A vicious grin spread across Knives' face at that point, "And that's exactly what I'm doing. so I don't see what you're so upset about."
The other door to the room, located directly behind Knives, opened, and Vash stepped in.
"Morning, Knives. I-" he froze in mid-sentence, staring wide-eyed at the captives Knives had with him. Knives turned towards him, smiling, and the girls did so as well, their expressions portraying complete shock.
"Mr. Vash!?" Milly questioned in disbelief.
"Hey, Vash! Good morning!" Knives greeted his brother.
"What are you doing, Vash?" Meryl asked, slack-jawed.
Vash opened his mouth, then closed it again. His glance traveled from Knives to the girls, then rested on Legato a few moments, and returned to Knives. He put on his best act as he replied.
"Why, I'm just taking my place," Vash voiced darkly, stalking towards the girls and Knives, "It's high time for this planet to be rid of your disgusting human species."
His brother turned back towards the girls with a wide grin. The girls blinked in disbelief, mouths hanging open.
"But Vash-" Meryl spoke softly, gazing at him with pleading eyes.
"Shut up," Vash met her with a false - but very convincing - glare, "You insect."
Meryl tried her absolute hardest to hide the hurt from her eyes, but it was useless. She looked to be on the verge of tears. Milly looked as if she wanted to comfort Meryl quite badly, but knew she was in no position to do so, considering she was surrounded by people she considered to be scary and not very nice at all. Her glance traveled to Vash a few times, incredulous and as angry as she dared to show, but she didn't speak.
'Very good, outlaw,' Legato's mental voice poured through Vash's mind, smooth and dark, 'Why, just look at her pain. She cares for you, you know. And quite deeply at that. I would, perhaps, go as far as to call it love. And here you've gone and shattered her heart. Really, though, a lowly human couldn't expect their love for a superior being to be reciprocated. After all, she'll be long dead and dissolved to dust before you get your first wrinkle.'
Vash kept his glare steady, carefully controlling his emotions and thoughts. He made no response to Legato; not verbal, physical or mental. As Legato had used quite careful mental shields to deliver his message solely to Vash, and the plant was occupied studying his captives, Knives didn't notice the mental words, and cut off what he perceived to be silence by turning to his brother with a question.
"Well then, Vash, shall we go ahead with our little experiment?" He asked, his eyes drifting sideways towards the females, who both responded to this question with fearful expressions.
Vash blinked very slowly, and voiced, "These. these are your 'guinea pigs'?"
"Sure are," Knives said, a smirk on his face, "They followed you, the idiots. I have you to thank, brother. You led them straight to our clutches."
Vash glanced at the girls, his eyes unclear what emotion he was feeling, and he spoke softly, yet pointedly, "Yeah, even after I told them countless times not to follow me. but what else would you expect from a couple of humans?" Vash hoped his last-minute cover-up tacked on to the end of his statement wasn't too sloppy.