Double Helix
chapter sixteen
~ to a baser nature ~
Muscles once tense from stress and worry began to relax. It was a wonderful sensation, even comforting. Sleep beckoned to her, seducing her with its calm but Meryl resisted stubbornly. As tired as she was she was not yet willing to fall asleep in such a strange environment. Fighting the temptation around her, she forced her mind to churn with thoughts of the free-born plant observing her from the shadows beyond the glass.
Knives was acting strangely. Even for him.
In the months since her capture, she had come to expect certain behaviors from him. For one, he avoided direct contact with her whenever possible. Verbally or physically. He would certainly observe her from afar, but actual contact was simply beneath him. If there was an occasion where he had to acknowledge her directly, he did so with as much contempt toward her as possible.
Granted, Zazie told her that she was granted far more freedoms and consideration than anyone - even among his own followers - but Meryl was no fool. He hated her. She was nothing more than an incubator to him.
When he had grabbed her wrists earlier, he did so with very little effort on his part, in spite of Meryl's attempt to pull herself out of his grip. Yet, when he was leading her to the plant core, he did nothing to stop her from attacking him. He certainly had the ability to do so. She knew that well enough. And it wasn't as though Meryl's attack was in any way organized so there was simply no way that she had caught him in an unguarded moment.
All she knew was that she simply wanted to hurt him and her body reacted to that desire. And he had allowed it to happen.
Watching him watch her, her mind repeated the question that plagued her the most. 'Why..?'
Then there was the way he reacted when Meryl asked him if Vash had arrived. She expected Knives to be agitated and concerned about the arrival of his twin. She expected him to radiate hatred and rage... instead his lips quirked up into a wry grin. At the mention of his brother's name, Knives' eyes seemed to light up with something akin to joy. The moment lasted but a second, but she saw it plainly. He was pleased about his brother's arrival. Excited even. It was almost child-like in its purity and the reaction reminded her of Vash.
Was there a time when Vash and Knives were not all that different?
The memory of Knives' words reared to the forefront of her mind.
"He's acting strangely," he said
"Strangely...? How?"
"That is not your concern," the tone of Knives' voice just beginning to reflect his impatience. "The necessary precautions have been taken."
"...That's why you're putting me in this thing...? Because of Vash?"
"I have no time for this. I will prepare you for entry into the core if you continue to stall. And I will not be gentle."
Meryl knew trying to continue the conversation would prove fruitless. Without a word, she quickly busied herself with scrubbing her body clean. The feeling of his eyes watching her was more than a little unnerving. He'd seen her naked more times than she'd like to remember, but... not like this. Not with eyes that were no longer cold and distant. His expression had changed. The weight of his stare felt different. It wasn't lustful. Nor did she feel contempt. What she felt in his gaze was curiosity. Wonder. Interest.
So heavy was his expression that Meryl her skin warm from embarrassment. No, Knives was not acting the way she had come to expect him to react. In fact, Meryl wasn't reacting the way she expected herself to react. Especially considering the rescue that she longed hoped for had finally arrived.
During her forced stay she had privately entertained plenty of scenarios of what her moment of liberation would be like. The first couple of months after Knives took her, it was that hope of being rescued that kept her going. Yet, as time marched on and no signs of any reprieve came, her aspirations began to diminish as she realized that she was on her own.
Still, in the recesses of her mind, she nursed a flicker of hope.
Secretly she dreamed Vash would find her and save her somehow. A drama had played out in her imagination of the Humanoid Typhoon swooping in and saving her as he exacted justice upon Knives for taking her to begin with... but now that the drama was unfolding, the reality of the situation seemed to dictate itself differently. Vash had finally come for her, but she didn't feel as relieved and joyful as she thought she would. Instead she felt afraid. She didn't want him to see her in her current condition. The jagged scar that ran up her arm felt suddenly shameful. Almost as shameful as the swelling of her mid-section.
No longer was she the confident and independent Meryl Stryfe she used to be. The arrival of the legendary Humanoid Typhoon seemed to only highlight her weakness and lack of self-reliance. Vash was a painful reminder of what she had let happen to her.
How could she explain this... pregnancy... to Vash and Milly?
What would she say to her family? Her father?
What would she do if Vash and Milly took her from here, back out into the real world? Milly and Vash would take her to a hospital. Meryl was certain of that. Then what?
The doctors would probably want to take the baby out of her and run tests on her to find out why she was able to carry such a thing inside of her. She would still feel like livestock, except then her shame would be exposed to everyone. Besides, the Body knew about her. They knew what she looked like and what was inside of her. They revered her as the mother of a god, a Madonna.
They'd never let her go.
She knew they were everywhere because Knives used them extensively. They were his eyes and ears all over the planet; she wouldn't be able to escape them. At least not for long. The minute she breathed freedom they would be trying to take it away from her again.
She was stuck. She couldn't physically flee from her situation, nor could she change it.
Her threats to kill the child were just threats. She knew days ago that she wouldn't be able to kill her. It wasn't her baby within her, but it was still innocent. It wasn't evil or malicious. At least not yet - not without Knives' interference and twisted teachings. But what the child could become wasn't what it was right now, and Meryl couldn't bring herself to hate it for crimes it may never commit. Within her womb grew a child, and she couldn't hate it for being that.
For as much as Meryl hated Knives for forcing her into this situation, she doubted she would be any better off as a "patient" under his care as she would under the care of strangers. After all, Conrad was human and she had come to learn that it was his idea to use her as a surrogate to begin with. How could she be certain that another doctor wouldn't look at her like Conrad did? The plant worshipers were everywhere. How would she know whom to trust? She didn't have the luxury of time to figure out who was genuine and who was not.
As the comforting warmth of the bulb soothed away the knots of tension and worry that tightened her muscles, Meryl felt a sense of resignation wash over her. No matter what happened, there was no easy way out, no simple solution. Even if he wanted to, Vash couldn't save her. No one could. Not any more. But accepting the situation didn't automatically mean defeat. After all, true defeat wasn't being pregnant, or giving birth or even death. All of those things were inconsequential to Knives' long-term plans.
No, true defeat would be giving Knives what he wanted: another plant just like him that he could shape and mold into his own image and use toward his own ends. If Meryl lived - if she survived - she could change that. She could be a mother. And in that role, she would be Knives' undoing.
• • •
Knives waited until Meryl appeared comfortable and drowsy before he departed to meet his brother. He was looking forward to seeing him again, but the safety of seedling and surrogate came first. Even if the situation took an unexpected turn for the worse, Meryl would survive and Zazie would take her into hiding until Knives could arrange to meet with them.
His mouth curved into a graceful smile. She was beginning to accept her fate; she had called it a baby, she even referred to it by using a feminine pronoun. Conrad had predicted that Meryl's maternal instincts would manifest itself by the second trimester and she was proving his hypothesis true. That certainly made the situation easier to manage if she was no longer bent on killing the seedling. Perhaps if she proved the doctor wrong and survived the birth, she could be used as an Eve for him again. He could use her to birth an army - an entire generation of plants that could exist outside the confines of their prison.
Such a prospect excited him to no end and he couldn't help but to grin. Everything was coming together. Hope was becoming a tangible thing. For the first time since Knives learned of Tessla, he found a reason not to loathe all humans. Indeed, their extinction was long overdue, but to think that a human could provide such hope - such promise - it was more than he ever dreamed possible. But still, there was the issue of his twin to deal with. Knives couldn't imagine Eden without his brother. If only Vash would accept the truth, everything would be perfect.
Squaring his shoulders, Knives cleared his mind of all distractions and sentiments as he made his way toward the upper levels of the compound. Vash was chaos that needed to be contained and Knives wasn't stupid enough to think that he could confront his brother without violence and pain. Words no longer seemed to reach him as they once did, not since Rem died. For Vash to fully grasp what Knives was trying to do, he would have to see it. Experience it.
Therefore, Vash needed to be captured. If not for his own sake, but for the safety of Meryl and the seedling.
• • •
Eleandra and Midvalley would not be half as troublesome to deal with if it were not for Legato's constant distractions. The cripple didn't use violence fight Vash. Their battle was more of a contest of wills that was quickly becoming both painful and draining. Every time Vash tried to bring forth his power, Legato countered him, blocked him or completely prevented him from exercising his natural abilities. And in between those moments of psychic force, the human spewed a seemingly endless line of psychobabble and religious overtures that made little to no sense. Everything from condemnation and salvation to apocalypse and betrayal seemed to flow from his mouth. Vash largely tried to ignore him, but found himself snapped back to his inane rants when Legato began to compare himself and Meryl to Rem.
Just the very idea of someone was completely insane and sadistic as Legato Bluesummers comparing himself to her was enough for Vash to attempt to draw upon his power with more effort than before. He didn't care how badly the fight was going for Milly and Chapel. He didn't care that Chapel was having an increasingly difficult time trying to protect Milly as both Eleandra and Midvalley closed in on them. They were a dead weight to him; slowing him down and causing him to lose focus on the task at hand. Knives was the only one that mattered. Vash didn't care about anyone else. He simply knew that his brother had to be stopped before he did to Meryl what he did to Rem.
Vash pressed his mind against Legato's, pushing his will into the human's skull. Surprisingly, the cripple pushed back with an almost equal amount of force. No human should have that much psychic ability. It simply couldn't be possible. Knives had to be helping him. Vash ground his teeth together at the thought. Somewhere in the bowls of his self-made sanctuary, Knives was acting like a coward and hiding from his twin.
There would be no more hiding, no more cowardice. Vash would force his brother to confront him, even if it meant destroying everything around him to do so. Decision made, the free-born plant let his irritation give way to rage and soon his body thrummed with power as his self-control began to slip and he was rewarded with the sight of blood.
"KNIVES!" Vash shouted, his anger pulsing through his body without any hindrance from Legato's psychic counters. Eyes closed and head slumped to the side, Vash watched as blood poured from the cripple's nose. It was with no small amount of disappointment that Vash realized that the human was still alive, but as least he was no longer an obstacle.
"Knives, where are you? COME OUT!"
'What are you doing, Vash'
A tremor of anger ran up Vash's spine. 'Knives...'
'You are going to kill all your little human friends if you let yourself go like this. They can't take much more. You don't want them to die, do you?'
Vash clenched his jaw, 'You've finally decided to show yourself.'
The younger twin felt his brother smile in his mind. 'Did you think that I was hiding from you, Vash?'
'I know you were.' Vash scanned the entrance to the geo-plant, searching for any sign of Knives, 'You still are.'
'I had business to take care of. You arrived much sooner than I expected.'
Vash made no response as he waited for his brother. He nursed the power resonating within him.
'Join me, Vash,' Knives said, his psychic voice felt deceptively soothing. 'It would be so much easier that way. You can be with her. We both can. We can be a family.'
'What are you talking about, Knives?'
'I'm saving us, all of us.' Knives stepped out of the building, his blades of flesh shinning unnaturally in the twin suns. He smiled warmly at his brother and pushed back against his mind, trying to calm him. 'We're dying Vash, can't you see that?'
Vash regarded him with eyes still wild from his struggle against the crippled plant worshiper.
'You'll hurt her, Vash, if you don't calm down.'
The younger plant clenched his jaw. 'Don't lie to me!'
'I'm not lying to you. She's here.'
'Bullshit! I can't sense her—'
'Vash, I haven't been able to read her mind or sense her presence in months,' Knives said, his tone almost warm as a smile graced his features. 'She's changing Vash... somehow she's changing. I think her body is producing dynamicytes.'
'Let me see her.'
Knives shook his head, 'No, not yet. Not when you are like this. I can't trust you, Vash. This is too important. Are you going to join with me?'
Vash regarded his brother for several long seconds, his expression reflecting his doubt. Knives was manipulative and crafty. He was deceptive and his motives were always self-serving. Vash knew Knives was lying about Meryl. He had to be...
'Dynamicytes! Is that the best you can do?'
The bastard was truly insane if he expected Vash to believe that.
'She is less human than you think,' Knives said, his psychic voice strangely patient. 'And that is what makes her so important.'
An image of Meryl suddenly filled Vash's mind and he knew that his twin was projecting a memory upon him. She looked different. Softer, rounder, but it was clearly her. Violet eyes framed with dark hair, expression bright and intelligent with just a hint of rebelliousness. Her expression reminded him of all the times that she refused to stop following him, to stay out of the way, to not get involved... And then he felt it. The emotion that Knives attached to the memory. It wasn't disgust or hate or malevolence. It was tender. Perhaps even somewhat affectionate... and hopeful.
That realization alone was enough to throw Vash off balance and he took two steps backward on reflex. Knives didn't seem to notice.
'It's almost poetic irony considering all they have done to us,' he said.
No.
No, no, no, no, no.
This wasn't right. Meryl wasn't important to Knives. She was another human to use as bait. Knives was planning to kill her just as he killed Rem... just as he killed everyone Vash ever cared for. Knives delighted in causing suffering because he could get away with it. Vash had always been too weak to stop him. This was a trick... a distraction. There was no way that she mattered to him. No way that he cared. Knives was playing upon Vash's weakness, his compassion. No more. He could not be the weaker brother any longer. Rem had to know that Knives needed to be stopped. Even if it meant killing him...
She would understand.
The expression on Knives' face suddenly changed as Vash called forth his power, his eyes glowing brightly in the daylight.
'Vash! What are you..!'
'Die, Knives.'
Knives screamed in agony and rage as Vash's power peaked, creating a bubble of energy around them. Fire seemed to lick their skin as an inky darkness spread through the hair of both twins in response.
• • •
Eleandra had long since abandoned the battle, disappearing in a cloud of dust and gun-smoke. A wounded Midvalley was suddenly left to face the pair alone. The saxophone player recognized the intent in Wolfwood's eyes when the priest stood before him.
Expression hardening into a stubborn resolve, Midvalley played his saxophone in earnest. The resulting cacophony of sound did little to thwart Wolfwood from his goal as he advanced on his already fatally wounded opponent.
Midvalley, in his rising panic, stumbled and lost his footing once during his attempt to retreat. A bullet from Milly's .45 slowed his movements and hampered his ability to play. Dark, panic-filled eyes rose to meet unearthly calm as Wolfwood pushed Milly behind him and held her there with one hand. Without blinking, Wolfwood leveled the cross punisher against Midvalley and pulled the trigger. Brain and fragments of skull burst out of the back of Midvalley's head, killing him instantly.
"Let's go," Wolfwood said gruffly as he pulled Milly with him toward the car.
"What are you doing?" she demanded. "We can't leave Vash and Meryl."
Wolfwood spared her a meaningful glance as he continued to drag her away from the carnage behind them. "They're trying to kill you. I can't let that happen."
"But, Meryl and Vash..."
"It's too late for her, but not for you. Vash will be fine," Wolfwood trailed off as he was suddenly aware of an odd electricity in the air. It was faint, but he knew it so well that it was unmistakable. Without looking, he knew Vash was loosing control.
"But Vash-"
"Milly!" He reached out to her with both hands, pulling her to him forcefully.
"What! What's happening?"
"Get down!" he screamed, pulling her with him and shielding her with his body.
She continued to protest until she felt it too, the odd tingling in the air as energy built up around them. She clung to him desperately, burying her face in his chest and muttering something Wolfwood could not understand. Arms tightened around her and he lowered his forehead to rest against the top of her head, waiting for the inevitable.
• • •
Knives felt a jolt move through him, his flesh burning as his energy was suddenly spent. He stared at Vash wide-eyed as the pain threatened to black-out his senses. His brother, his twin, was trying to kill him. Grinding his teeth together in stubborn rage, Knives fought to rise above his pain. He pulled at his inborn abilities, bringing them to the forefront of his mind and destroying the link between them. The torrent of energy dissipated into a fuzzy haze of confusion as both brothers dizzily collapsed in agony.
The opportunity was upon him. With all the effort he could muster, Knives weakly lifted his hand with two fingers raised. The sickening sound of flesh being penetrated by steel and the moans of pain that accompanied it caused Knives to wince, but he forced opened his eyes anyway.
He had to make sure Eleandra did his job properly.
A few yarz away lay his brother pinned face-down against the earth, a large nail protruding from his shoulder. The sniper, Eleandra, stood several hundred yarz away as he took aim with a second, much smaller weapon. In a flurry of motion, Vash's back was covered in spikes as Eleandra strategically placed each nail into his flesh, careful to prevent any major organs from being damaged while still rendering the plant immobile and helpless.
The humanoid typhoon groaned in pain as he fought to free his pinned shoulder, blood oozing from the wounds. Knives crawled toward Vash, his flesh still burning from the attempt to force the completion of the Hair Darkening Effect. Tears of anger and betrayal stung the eyes of the elder twin as he peered at his brother, his hair nearly completely black.
"I can't... I can't believe you did that, Vash," Knives whispered hoarsely, disgust and disappointment evident in his voice. "I can't believe you're willing to sacrifice all of us to avenge her! For Rem! Do you hate your heritage that much?"