GAH! Sorry for yet another long wait for this chapter! I have just one question for you people: What happened to reviewing on my fic!? I missed them. * sniff sniff* Anywho...I don't own Trigun as much as I would love too and the characters that are created for it are mine. Well, enjoy chapter 12!!!!

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Chapter 12: High Voltage

Captain Exsony sat in his room, writing up the report on the last town's destruction. He was frustrated with his job, especially when you have to follow and try to capture something that doesn't want to go. Exsony sighed and put his head in his hands and starred at the report he was working on.

Then someone knocked on his door. Exsony looked at the door. Probably one of my men. "Come in."

The door opened and one of his younger men came in. He was young, probably not even eighteen, with light brown hair and blue eyes. The young man snapped into attention in front of Exsony.

"You may relax. Do you have anything on 5201?"

He did relax, but not entirely. "Sir, the target has been located in the casino."

"Hm..." Exsony thought a moment. "Apparently it is started to run low on money."

Just then, his radio blared a burst of static and a voice of one of his other men came over the line. "Captain Exsony, there seems to be some activity at the town plant."

Exsony picked up the radio. "The plant? It must be those anti-plant people who want the plants destroyed for some reason. Go check it out."

"Yes, sir."

*****

The game that Devi joined lasted into the late night. The guys at the table soon dubbed her the 'Dark Queen of Hearts,' for her beauty and her card playing. Devi won many hands, even a few with the hardest kind of hand to get, a Royal Flush. People gathered around to watch the Dark Queen play professionally against amateurs. She had to admit, for playing only one time against a bunch of drunks, she was good, but she had two things going for her. One was that she wasn't drunk and two is that she knows how to read people and their expressions.

Devi took a sip of her non-alcoholic drink as she look over her new hand. She had an ace up to four of hearts and her fifth card was the queen of spades, letting her have a partial straight. She would let the hand pass and she betted a little bit of money. The guy across of her won that hand and was starting to shuffle the deck for a new hand when Devi felt something weird surged within her body. Then she heard something in the back of her mind.

~Help me.~

Devi looked around came with the conclusion that no one else heard that. Then she felt slight pain spread throughout her body, it made her nauseated but she fought back the feeling of sickness. I guess I better call it a night.

She placed her cards down and picked up her chips. "I'm going to call it a night."

The guys groaned. One of them asked, "Are you going to be here tomorrow, Dark Queen?"

"I highly doubt that, but thanks for the good time." Devi picked up her chips and headed to cash them in so she has money for a while. The total came out to be 110 billion double dollars. She couldn't believe that as she placed the money in various places of her trench coat and pack. Vash followed her the whole time, he seemed to be troubled by something.

When Devi left the casino building, she realized that Vash was gone. Hmm... Apparently he went and joined Milly and Meryl, too bad that I didn't get the chance to say 'bye' like all those last times.

To Devi's left, she saw a pulsing light that showed above the rooftops of the buildings. Something seemed to have called her in that direction. She shrugged and turned to the right to head to the inn, but it was the voice again that stopped her.

~Help me.~

Again, it seemed to be followed by a small wave of pain and nauseating feeling. She staggered as she faced in the opposite direction that she was heading.

*****

The officer that Captain Exsony told to go to the plant to see what's going on, got to the plant and showed the guard there that he was another guard from a different plant and told him his business. He headed straight for the control center, where he would be able to find out what is going on.

"What's going on with the plant," he asked a female technician.

The technician looked over her shoulder to see who was addressing her before she answered. "There's a small hole some where along the bulb's surface and that there's a small object inside. According the computers, the plant is going haywire because of it."

The officer sighed. "This is not good. We better warn the people of the town."

*****

As Devi walked through the streets of the town, following the feeling that filled her and compelled her in the direction of the pulsing light. Devi will never be able to tell what is making her go in this direction, the only thing she can say is that her feet have a mind of their own at the moment.

Beneath her feet, the ground started to shake slightly as she could feel the pain coming from the plant. People started to become curious as to what was happening when there was a stronger tremor that panicked the people, who started to scream and run in the opposite direction. Devi had to fight against the flow of people to get to her destination.

Frustrated with not getting very far, she made her way over to the side and leapt high onto the rooftop of a building. Then she ran on the rooftops, heading for the plant which she was able to see clearly, light pulsing and guiding the way.

*****

Vash slowly made his way against the rushing crowd, trying to get to the plant which he felt was in trouble. He could feel that she was hurt and scared, even though she doesn't know what they mean. Shortly after he felt the plant's pain, he snuck away from Milly and Meryl to try to help it.

As he was trying to get through the crowd, a shadow passed over him and the crowd and he looked up at its source. It was a dark, shadowy figure heading in the same direction as him, the only thing that was different was that he was on the rooftops and was getting way ahead of Vash.

Who could that be and why is he heading in that direction?

As he continued to fight against the flow of the crowd, Vash almost lost his footing a few times, but continued onward.

At this rate, I'll never make it in time.

*****

Devi finally reached the plant, which was pulsing brightly with light. The area was clear, so she leapt into the street. The pain was stronger, almost making her fall to her knees and lose her dinner. Fighting the feeling to puke, Devi dashed into the building and ran to the control center. She would never be able to tell anyone how she managed to go directly to that particular spot, for she didn't even know.

She looked at the computer screen that shows a diagnostic report. The only thing the report could tell her that it was going to blow. Devi turned and ran, looking for someway to enter the plant bulb. For some reason, she knows that she is able to enter, what'll happen, she doesn't know.

After running down various hallways and going through twists and turns, Devi found the chamber. She reached for the door, but the pain that she was feeling earlier intensified and almost made her scream. Pushing back the pain, she entered the chamber. A pulsing light filled the gray room that was doing so for a while. In the room, the ceiling curved in and there were circles all over the floor. There is also a platform underneath were the ceiling was lowest. The ceiling was also pulsing with the light.

Devi soon realized that the curved ceiling is actually a part of the plant. Discarding her boots and trench coat to the side, Devi padded to the platform and placed her hands on the bulb and her forehead against the surface.

I just hope this works.

*****

Vash was finally able to run through the streets with little problems. Most of the people decided to try to get as far away from this town as possible. The strange part had to be that the plant has yet to explode. Something must be holding the plant back from exploding.

He raced through the streets, skidding occasionally on the sand. Vash reached the outside of the plant. He sensed that there was something else there with the plant. Blinking in confusion, he wondered who else would be in there in the condition it is in.

*****

Devi felt odd a few moments, but for some reason she started to try to assure the plant that it was alright. No sooner did she start talking that poles started to come out from the floor. She could feel the surface of the bulb give way, allowing her to come in. Devi was a bit uneasy at first, but a voice came to her head.

~Are you here to help me?~

The voice was soft and melodious. It assured her in someway that it would be alright to come in. Devi bent her knees slightly and jumped into the bulb. She could feel herself float in the bulb, surrounded by a white light. Her skin crawled as she looked down and could see her skin change in color and texture, her outfit also changing with it. Devi then felt some pain towards her rear; she didn't look to see what it was that just happened to her.

~Hello, half-sister.~

Devi looked up to see a figure with wings. As it came closer, she realized that it was actually the plant. It skin shade was between green and white, seeming more botched with color. Its skin looked scaly. The eyes are big, and without pupils. The wings looked feathery and one of them was stretched out, the other one looked like it was wounded.

The figure stopped in front of her. It was the plant. It was strange to Devi to see a plant and yet, feel comfortable being there. It was as though a part of her came from a plant like this.

"What's wrong," she asked, but really didn't need to be answered. Devi turned and looked up to see where the problem was. She floated to the spot and inspected the area of damage. After a moment of checking the area, she spat a white sticky substance on the damaged area and smoothed the area out. This was the first time she did that, she was surprised that she even could do that.

Devi turned and floated back down to the plant. "Are you hurt?"

The plant looked confused, at least it seemed to Devi. ~Hurt?~

She closed her eyes and gave a small smile. Devi floated around, searching for a wound of some sort. She found one, on the plant's wing. She spat a little bit of the white substance and placed some of it on the wound. The plant winced, but Devi reassured the plant.

Devi started to feel fatigued from being in there and helping the plant. She wasn't used to such environment, and she was only in here for 10- 15 minutes. "I better be going."

The plant looked up at her. ~Alright, half-sister.~

Devi became suddenly confused as she headed out the same way she came in. Why did she call me 'half-sister?' It didn't take so long for her to get out, but in doing so apparently took up much of her energy. She could feel her skin crawl as it returned its natural state and she fell out of the bulb, rolling to the wall.

She doesn't know why she felt so tired like this, but she crawled toward her things and managed somehow to get her trench coat on and slip her boots on, but nothing else. Darkness entombed her into a deep sleep within seconds.