Double Helix

chapter seven
~ surrogate ~

"Meryl Stryfe is a match."

He felt the tension release its tight hold upon his heart when he heard those words. Everything was coming together. One piece at a time.

Since the day he first realized exactly what the seedling was, he was able to allow himself a sliver of relaxation. Floating in the timeless void of his plant chamber, Knives felt complacent. The final hurtle still needed to be overcome, but the free-born plant felt confident. The final preparations were being taken care of and all that remained was implantation. Ms. Stryfe was as uncooperative as expected, but her defiant behavior wasn't beyond his abilities. Legato certainly had no trouble subduing her.

Still, she attempted to escape on more than one occasion. Her courage fueled by the realization that she was too important to be harmed.

Therefore, creative ways to chastise her without causing her any physical harm had to be implemented. An easy task for Legato, a human with carefully honed talents and motivations. It had cost the human his freedom of mobility, but Legato finally learned how to torment without killing.

Ms. Stryfe was getting a taste of that talent.

All of Ms. Stryfe's punishments were swift and effective. The human psyche is weak and easily perverted. One twisted memory brought to the surface of her mind and she eventually crumbled under the emotional strain. Legato took great care to examine her mind fully and completely, seeking out all things with which to use to hurt her most. Regardless of the psychological assault that Legato pressed upon her every time she acted out, her independent and stubborn nature still refused to be subdued and she was starting to fight back again.

She was feisty, but not enough to prevent that which had to be done. Her refusal to be broken was a minor thorn and one that could be tolerated in order to achieve success. Today was the day that the seedling would be implanted into one Meryl Stryfe. Nothing she or anyone else could do would stop the procedure from being carried out and he had Rem to thank for that.

Ice-blue eyes slowly opened to regard the calm, a smile lifting his normally grim features. He felt wonderful. Everything was finally coming together.

Vash and his little friends were still wandering around blind, desperately seeking the petite brunette out. They only recently learned the truth about Knives' involvement in sending the two women to follow Vash. Bernardelli's unusual death and Ms. Stryfe's sudden disappearance forced the truth to be exposed far sooner than Knives had originally planned. Then again, Knives never planned to need Ms. Stryfe in quite this way before.

Zazie trailed Vash and his friends when they left November, watching the mismatched trio as they investigated Meryl's disappearance and tried to piece together what happened to her. In the end, they left Tober with fifty single-shot Derringers and a blood stained cloak. Not much to work with, but the carefully placed props served its purpose. The idea that the little human was already dead had been planted into all of their minds, thus allowing Knives additional control over the situation.

Still, not everything was proceeding as perfectly as the free-born plant would have liked. Vash's reaction to the realization that his brother's involvement regarding the 'Insurance Girls' had been most peculiar. Instead of lashing out in anger or grief, Knives was suprised to hear that Vash barely reacted at all.

A mixed feeling descended upon Knives when Zazie made his report. There was a moment of pride. Vash was still in tune with his environment and aware of everything that was going on around him. The free-born plant often feared that Vash had lost his edge in that respect, having surrounded himself with humans for so long and forsaking his heritage.

Then came discomfort.

Exactly how much did Vash know? Could it be that he suspects far more than he lets on? Or, was that his poker face, a tactic to distract his opponent? Could Vash be playing, too? If so, what game was he trying to win, exactly? That is, if he was truly playing a game to begin with. Knives certainly was, and it was a game he intended on winning, whatever the cost. The consequences of losing were far too dire to imagine. He was certain that if Vash truly understood all that was at stake, he would be standing beside him rather than against him. That thought alone brought some hope to Knives.

He enjoyed a battle of wits with his twin, he always had. However, this time the game was drastically different. Knives was certain that his brother would finally see the forest through the trees if he would simply listen. After all, if his brother truly loved and respected life as much as he claimed he would surely understand why Knives must do what was about to be done.

The free-born plant let his eyes drift shut in the floating darkness. Vash had to be made to understand...

...but everything seemed so obvious...

'Why does Vash refuse to see? Doesn't he hear their screams?'

The memory of his older sister's corpse shone in Knives mind, sending electric hot angry shooting through his nerves.

Rem was to blame. For everything. The other humans always acted like the monsters that they were, but Rem lied. She pretended to be something she wasn't. She played a role to ease her guilt. She was the worst one of them all; a liar to the very end.

Knives raised a hand to his head, rubbing a lock of dark, shortly cropped hair between his thumb and forefinger. Rem never told them about this. She had to have known. She was always too busy playing mother or lying about humanity or getting their hopes up about the future or trying to hide the truth about their origins to bother with such a mundane detail.

Bitch.

If Vash would only open his eyes, see the world for what it was, and come to him, there would be no need to keep secrets. Together they could help their family achieve the next level of their existence and ensure their own survival. It would be so much easier if they could work together.

Everything was easier when the two of them worked together.

Vash's mind was so polluted and misguided with her lies and naïve idealism that it was nothing short of a miracle that he was still alive. Humans were like vultures - they seek out the weak and take advantage of those who give too much. Vash gives too much. Fortunately, Vash was not weak. Otherwise, he would be long dead. Knives' muscles tensed, heart pounded hard in his chest as the images of the scars covering his twin's body filled his mind.

She was reason for all his pain and suffering. It was because of her that his body bore so much disfigurement and scaring. Her idealistic, childish philosophy caused more hurt and grief for his brother than it did peace and harmony.

He hated her.

His only regret was not killing her sooner. Perhaps if he had silenced her after learning the truth Vash would not be as misguided as he was, but by the time Knives' eyes were opened and he realized the flaws in her ideals it was already too late. The damage was already irreversible. She had thoroughly poisoned Vash's mind and finally interfered with Knives attempt to kill all of the colonists in the event now known as the Great Fall.

It was her fault that things were the way they were. It was her fault that his people were suffering and on the verge of extinction. By saving one life, she was destroying another. She was the source of everything. She should never have taken the two of them out of the plant bulb and raised them as her own, but her own guilt forced her to do what logic probably told her not to.

She was a prime example of everything wrong with sentimentalism. Indeed, the phrase, 'the road to hell is often paved with good intentions' was created to describe humans like her. Typical humans, always looking out for their own best interests. He was doing them a favor by putting them out of their misery. If left to their own devices, the humans would end up destroying this planet as they did their native one. They are a species doomed to fail.

Yet here he was, about to implant the very future of his kind into a Homo-sapien. A human.

The irony was not lost on him, he could see how repulsive it was... but there was no other choice. He had tried for years to get one of the plant angels to nurture it, but none of his sisters would take it. None of them would carry it to term; they were all terrified of it even through they knew that without it they were all facing extinction. The concept of reproduction, change, evolution and freedom was so foreign to them that many were afraid of it. The seedling represented the unknown to them and they were frightened of it.

Nevertheless, it had to live. The potential contained within it was too much to ignore. It was a miracle that it had survived this long; it would not survive much longer. If the seedling rejected Meryl's body or if Meryl's body rejected the seedling then both human and seedling would die, and with them, any hope for the future.

• • •

He was doing it again.

He was playing with her mind.

Poking and prodding at memories she would rather keep buried; he was there dredging them up and forcing her to look at them and see herself in an ugly light. There did not seem to be a waking moment when he was not invading her mind or subduing her attempts to defy them. She could even feel him sneering at her, though she could not see him with her own eyes.

Resistance was tiresome. If she simply complied with their wishes, ate the food they gave her and allowed them examine her body she would not be punished. If she was good, she did not have to relive past nightmares and watch helplessly as new ones were created.

He was trying to break her, she knew. The sooner she gave up on herself and succumbed to Knives' will, the sooner the torment would stop. She knew he was in there now, looking for ways to hurt her. She could feel the pressure of his presence like the echo of a growing migraine. It was a strange sensation, to watch him from the first and third person point-of-view as he moved over her memories. In the beginning, Meryl did not know how to completely stop him from rummaging through her memories like one would rummage through an old closet, but she knew enough to be afraid when he did it. It always ended with him toying with her, altering her memories and turning them into grotesque nightmares that made her blood run cold.

Fortunately, she had learned how to distract him, or at least temporarily satisfy him. She discovered that if she quickly provided him with something 'safe' to toy with before he forcefully broke through her emotional barriers, she would have a much less painful encounter. She didn't like it, but it was a way to survive and remain sane one more day. Lately though, she had come to believe that he was toying with her by letting her think she was distracting him.

It didn't matter, she was certain that it would not be long before Vash, Wolfwood and Milly would find her. She just had to give them more time. They would not abandon her. Her faith in her friends sustained her.

'They're going to find me and get me out of this God forsaken place,' Meryl told herself. 'I know they are.'

A chuckle resonated within her mind.

~I don't see them trying to tear down the door to get to you, do you?~ A mocking voice asked within her mind, ~I told you, they think you're dead.~

Meryl tried hard not to react, but her emotions betrayed her. She felt him smile within her.

~You only live because the Master has a use for you,~ Legato continued, ~That is the only reason we all live. You are worthless without Him. You are a waste of flesh... a perversion of creation. Once you are no longer useful, you will no longer exist.~

"You're the same as me then," she whispered, refusing to answer him with her thoughts. She was too tired emotionally to put up much of a fight. Besides, he wasn't saying anything she hadn't heard before. His litany was getting old.

Another laugh, ~We are family, you and I. Cousin by blood, Sister by service.~ He paused and pressed against her mind, testing her limits. ~You are truly blessed among women. It is not often vulgarity can be used to create something holy.~

"Is that so?" No one had told her why she was there, but she knew they planned on doing something to her body. Intuition whispered a suggestion as to what those plans could be, but it was so unbelievable that she constantly dismissed it. Thoughts of torturous procedures and operations filled her mind enough as it was.

~It would be wise for you to behave properly today.~ That never-ending smile impressed itself upon her mind again, rows of perfectly straight white teeth glistening in the darkness. ~I'm telling you this for your own good.~

"For my own good," Meryl scoffed, "Monster."

~You're a whore from a family of whores,~ Legato replied.

Meryl bristled. "I hate you. I will never cooperate."

His laugh echoed in her mind, filling her with scorn. As the sound faded from her consciousness, she felt her body go limp and gently collapse in upon itself against her will leaving her vulnerable and terrified.

Then the darkness engulfed her.

• • •

Meryl awoke strapped to her bed, an IV inserted into her right arm. She strained her eyes to focus on the bag filled with saline slowly dripping nutrients into her body and shivered. Something did not feel right inside. She didn't know how else to describe it, but it felt like something was quivering within her.

Squeezing her eyes tightly shut, Meryl tested her restraints hesitantly and found them to be as secure as she expected.

Something definitely felt wrong. Images of the multitude of medical tortures they could have done to her filled her mind, causing her to feel nauseous. Her instincts took over and she immediately began looking for an escape. Her eyes scanned the room, seeing everything in blocks of white devoid of detail. Turning her head to her left, she was met with the bright yellow-white glare of the morning suns as they rose to mark a new day.

Her heart pounded in her chest. That was wrong, too. It was still early in the afternoon when Legato took her, so it should be dark now but it wasn't. It was morning. She was missing a day, maybe more.

'How long have I been like this?'

The sound of the door opening and several sets of footfalls entering her room startled her. Her eyes still blurry, Meryl could barely recognize the people crowding around her bed, but she knew who they were even before they spoke.

A hand pressed down on her forehead and cheek, checking her temperature. Then that same hand grasped her wrist and felt her pulse. It was not until that hand pressed down on her belly, pushing against her insides and feeling her deeply that she cried out in pain.

"It has taken root."