Stormie called Vash at three in the morning after the little trauma with
their visitor's obvious nightmare. The first ring went unnoticed by him,
but not by Knives, and by the time he woke up, his brother had fallen out
of his bed across the room and was crawling blindly towards the night
stand. The third ring went by and Vash didn't move.
"Vash," Knives growled sleepily, "I swear, if you don't pick up that phone, I will kill you once I can get my eyes open!"
By this time, there had been five rings and he slammed his hand down upon the annoying noisemaker. It took him a while, but he was finally able to grasp and lift it from the cradle, bringing it to the side of his face not buried in the pillow. "Hello?" he croaked.
"V-Vash?" whispered a voice. Female. Deeper. Ah...it was Stormie. But her voice was shaking, and she sounded rather frightened.
"Something wrong, Stormie?" he drowsily mumbled.
"Y-yeah. I'm - I'm really scared!" she hissed, and he could just picture her curled up in her room, near the phone jack, blue eyes wide and full of terror. It melted his heart. Poor girl. She usually didn't call without good reason, so something must really be getting to her.
"What's wrong?" he asked.
"I think our friend has escaped... I heard this crash from downstairs, and then this horrible screaming! It was like someone was trying to kill him or something down there! I locked my door and I'm too scared to go check out what's going on in the basement. Will you and Knives come over?"
"Sure. Just hold tight - we'll hurry." He hung up quickly and jumped out of bed, commanding, "Knives, put some pants on! We're going over to Stormie's!"
"Why?" he demanded, watching with narrowed eyes as Vash, who slept in brown sweatpants and was therefore halfway dressed already, pulled on a white T- shirt with long, blue sleeves. "And can't you go alone?"
"No! She's really scared! And she asked for you, too."
That softened Knives' ice blue eyes, just a bit, and he frowned. Stormie had not requested to see him since - forever. "Alright," he said quietly, picking up a pair of blue jeans to pull on over his black boxers. "I'll go."
~~~~~~
When Stormie let them in at the front door, she greeted them with a sheepish grin and a baseball bat in hand. "Hey, guys, thanks for coming. He's quieted down a lot." She paused. "Hope he didn't kill himself down there."
Knives, who was eager to be the big hero, squared his shoulders and boldly declared, "I'll go downstairs to see what he is doing. Vash, stay here with Stormie, just in case something happens." And with a nod, he marched on over to the elevator, stepped inside, and punched in his destination. The doors slid shut and he disappeared.
Stormie batted her eyes girlishly, mock-swooning, "Oh, my hero!" She then giggled and elbowed Vash. "Hey, who is he trying to impress?"
"You, as odd as that seems."
"Hmm. Hope he comes back alive."
"Really?" Vash smiled. "Me too."
~~~~~
The basement was very dark, and it took Knives a while to locate the light switch, which, needless to say, made him a bit edgy. But, after several fumbling attempts, he was able to flip the switch and bring forth a brilliant light that almost blinded him after being in the dark so long. He grunted and took a good look around.
The bed, where the stranger had slept, was stripped of the sheets. The glass covering that had been above it had shattered, sending splinters of glass all over the floor, many tipped with blood, like he had smashed through with his own two hands. He probably had.
Many a thing was destroyed in that laboratory; vials had been shattered, liquids of assorted colors were spilt here and there...
Cautiously, Knives ventured further into the expanse of the room, looking this way and that for the man that shared Legato's appearance, but he was no where in sight. That made him even more nervous. Had he escaped? Was he hiding? Lying in wait for an ambush?
"Hello?" Knives called out gruffly, slowly turning this way and that, trying to keep a sharp lookout for any movement. "I'm not going to hurt you, stupid human. Where are you?" He waited, and upon receiving no reply, tried again, this time more impatiently. "Listen, if you're going to try to attack me, it will be of no use. I am stronger than you, without a doubt, and if you come out now, nothing bad will happen to you."
A slight whimper caught his attention and his eyes darted over to a little nook in the wall, something of where a closet was without the door and nothing inside. Except for the man. He was sitting with his back to the wall, knees drawn to his chest, and head bent. His fingers were laced around the back of his neck, cupping it gently, and bloody splotches were appearing on the thin sheet wrapped around his body.
"Don't hurt me," he pleaded in a whisper. "Don't let him get me..."
"What are you talking about?" spat Knives, striding over quickly now that he saw the creature was harmless. Just like Legato had been. That made his heart soften a little. He had....issues, thoughts, regrets...about Legato.
Grayfall looked up at him in surprise, and then sighed a sigh of relief. "Who are you?" he next demanded, though very softly.
"You may call me Knives. Who are you?"
"...Grayfall."
"Grayfall...?"
The man raised cold, golden eyes to meet Knives, and he recognized those honey-colored orbs. Remembered them from so long ago...twenty years, wasn't it?
The man smirked at him, but it was so sad. "Grayfall Bluesummers."
~~~~~
Twenty minutes later, Grayfall sat in Vash and Knives' kitchen, Stormie also present, drinking a cup of hot coffee and chowing down on all the donuts he could get his hands on. All watched with almost gaping mouths as he picked up one, took a giant bite out of it that devoured half of the pastry, then a sip of coffee, and then finished the rest of the donut only to pick up another. It was around his seventh donut that Stormie had to step in.
"You might wanna stop," she hesitantly informed him. "I don't think that's good for you."
Grayfall swallowed the bite he had been chewing and nodded obediently, resorting to just quietly drinking the rest of his coffee. His hands had been bandaged, for he had indeed broken through the glass with his fists, but he didn't seem to be showing any signs of pain.
Knives had been observing him the whole while, and could not help but comment, "You really are your father's son..."
"You knew my father, eh?" Grayfall grunted, shaking his head as if to clear it. "Legato. Yeah. You couldn't have been a friend of his. He didn't have any of those."
"I was his employer, for a time."
"Ah!" Grayfall's eyes lit up, and he lifted his gaze to Knives in a much more friendly manner. "You are Millions Knives! My father told my mother all about you! You made it possible for him to bring her all that money that kept us alive until she found a better job. He really thought a lot about you, ya' know?" Grayfall smiled more genuinely now, his long pointer finger tracing the rim of his coffee cup. "I guess...you were part of that other life he just couldn't stay away from."
Knives bit his lip. Grayfall had no idea of his cruelty AND he thought he had been giving Legato money. Truthfully, he had no idea where Legato had gotten any money from. Perhaps pick-pocketing the dead? Or stealing? Who knew? The possibilities were endless.
Vash lowered his head and did not say a thing.
Stormie wisely switched subjects. "So, Grayfall, what exactly happened to you?"
"Well," he started, winking at her in what would've been flirtatious had it not been for the sober expression he wore, the corners of his lips just curving up, "when I was thirteen, my mother contracted some sort of horrible disease and died within a matter of months. A man named Naoshi found me wandering the streets and took me in. It wasn't so bad at first, considering he was an assassin and all, but then he just got this psycho obsession with killing all the plants. I mean, it was out of control." Grayfall waved a hand in dismiss. "He wanted me to help him, but when it came time to kill my first plant...I just couldn't. It was a female, and she was so scared... I mean, I got down there and looked into her eyes and I knew that she was just like me, in a way, and I just refused. I said no. And Naoshi shot her and then beat me half to death. It was pretty routine from there. Wake up, eat breakfast, get beaten, do a few chores, get beaten, eat dinner, get beaten, and go to bed. So, what? Am I supposed to take that my whole life? No. I ran away." He shrugged.
"An assassin who stalks only plants?" mused Stormie, her brow furrowed in worry. From the way Grayfall was speaking so casually, he must not have figured out they were all plants yet. "How good is he...?"
"Ah, man, he's wonderful! You'll never see a more skilled killer. The plants he killed never saw it coming."
Vash gulped down a lump in his throat, and then gently asked, "Grayfall, have you realized that we're all plants here?"
Grayfall's eyes widened in shock, and then in horror. "No..." he breathed. And then louder, "NO! I hafta get out of here! I can't stay! I can't stay!" He moaned. "Oh, I have to leave this place! If Naoshi finds me...if he finds me..."
"Grayfall!" Vash exclaimed. "Please, calm down!"
"No! This is the least safest place on Gunsmoke right now! You don't understand! Three plants all under one roof?! It's insane!"
Knives raised an eyebrow. "Excuse me?"
"I gotta escape before he comes!" Grayfall was now at the door, struggling in his panic to get it open, trying to slide the dead bolt out of place. "I thought I'd be safe here," he whispered, and then burst outside.
Stormie, who had been following at his heels, paused at the doorway to see that Grayfall had suddenly and unexplainably drawn to a halt, standing stock still out in the sand, body rigidly straight. "Grayfall?" she weakly called out.
But Grayfall did not hear her voice. His breathing had become harsh and rapid. In his mind, he could hear the twinkling chimes of a music box, playing over and over again in the same eerie melody. "He's coming..." he murmured blankly. "Naoshi is coming..."
~~~~~
Yes! Finished with this chapter! What will poor Grayfall do? Will Naoshi get him? You'll have to wait and find out. Oh, and REVIEW!
"Vash," Knives growled sleepily, "I swear, if you don't pick up that phone, I will kill you once I can get my eyes open!"
By this time, there had been five rings and he slammed his hand down upon the annoying noisemaker. It took him a while, but he was finally able to grasp and lift it from the cradle, bringing it to the side of his face not buried in the pillow. "Hello?" he croaked.
"V-Vash?" whispered a voice. Female. Deeper. Ah...it was Stormie. But her voice was shaking, and she sounded rather frightened.
"Something wrong, Stormie?" he drowsily mumbled.
"Y-yeah. I'm - I'm really scared!" she hissed, and he could just picture her curled up in her room, near the phone jack, blue eyes wide and full of terror. It melted his heart. Poor girl. She usually didn't call without good reason, so something must really be getting to her.
"What's wrong?" he asked.
"I think our friend has escaped... I heard this crash from downstairs, and then this horrible screaming! It was like someone was trying to kill him or something down there! I locked my door and I'm too scared to go check out what's going on in the basement. Will you and Knives come over?"
"Sure. Just hold tight - we'll hurry." He hung up quickly and jumped out of bed, commanding, "Knives, put some pants on! We're going over to Stormie's!"
"Why?" he demanded, watching with narrowed eyes as Vash, who slept in brown sweatpants and was therefore halfway dressed already, pulled on a white T- shirt with long, blue sleeves. "And can't you go alone?"
"No! She's really scared! And she asked for you, too."
That softened Knives' ice blue eyes, just a bit, and he frowned. Stormie had not requested to see him since - forever. "Alright," he said quietly, picking up a pair of blue jeans to pull on over his black boxers. "I'll go."
~~~~~~
When Stormie let them in at the front door, she greeted them with a sheepish grin and a baseball bat in hand. "Hey, guys, thanks for coming. He's quieted down a lot." She paused. "Hope he didn't kill himself down there."
Knives, who was eager to be the big hero, squared his shoulders and boldly declared, "I'll go downstairs to see what he is doing. Vash, stay here with Stormie, just in case something happens." And with a nod, he marched on over to the elevator, stepped inside, and punched in his destination. The doors slid shut and he disappeared.
Stormie batted her eyes girlishly, mock-swooning, "Oh, my hero!" She then giggled and elbowed Vash. "Hey, who is he trying to impress?"
"You, as odd as that seems."
"Hmm. Hope he comes back alive."
"Really?" Vash smiled. "Me too."
~~~~~
The basement was very dark, and it took Knives a while to locate the light switch, which, needless to say, made him a bit edgy. But, after several fumbling attempts, he was able to flip the switch and bring forth a brilliant light that almost blinded him after being in the dark so long. He grunted and took a good look around.
The bed, where the stranger had slept, was stripped of the sheets. The glass covering that had been above it had shattered, sending splinters of glass all over the floor, many tipped with blood, like he had smashed through with his own two hands. He probably had.
Many a thing was destroyed in that laboratory; vials had been shattered, liquids of assorted colors were spilt here and there...
Cautiously, Knives ventured further into the expanse of the room, looking this way and that for the man that shared Legato's appearance, but he was no where in sight. That made him even more nervous. Had he escaped? Was he hiding? Lying in wait for an ambush?
"Hello?" Knives called out gruffly, slowly turning this way and that, trying to keep a sharp lookout for any movement. "I'm not going to hurt you, stupid human. Where are you?" He waited, and upon receiving no reply, tried again, this time more impatiently. "Listen, if you're going to try to attack me, it will be of no use. I am stronger than you, without a doubt, and if you come out now, nothing bad will happen to you."
A slight whimper caught his attention and his eyes darted over to a little nook in the wall, something of where a closet was without the door and nothing inside. Except for the man. He was sitting with his back to the wall, knees drawn to his chest, and head bent. His fingers were laced around the back of his neck, cupping it gently, and bloody splotches were appearing on the thin sheet wrapped around his body.
"Don't hurt me," he pleaded in a whisper. "Don't let him get me..."
"What are you talking about?" spat Knives, striding over quickly now that he saw the creature was harmless. Just like Legato had been. That made his heart soften a little. He had....issues, thoughts, regrets...about Legato.
Grayfall looked up at him in surprise, and then sighed a sigh of relief. "Who are you?" he next demanded, though very softly.
"You may call me Knives. Who are you?"
"...Grayfall."
"Grayfall...?"
The man raised cold, golden eyes to meet Knives, and he recognized those honey-colored orbs. Remembered them from so long ago...twenty years, wasn't it?
The man smirked at him, but it was so sad. "Grayfall Bluesummers."
~~~~~
Twenty minutes later, Grayfall sat in Vash and Knives' kitchen, Stormie also present, drinking a cup of hot coffee and chowing down on all the donuts he could get his hands on. All watched with almost gaping mouths as he picked up one, took a giant bite out of it that devoured half of the pastry, then a sip of coffee, and then finished the rest of the donut only to pick up another. It was around his seventh donut that Stormie had to step in.
"You might wanna stop," she hesitantly informed him. "I don't think that's good for you."
Grayfall swallowed the bite he had been chewing and nodded obediently, resorting to just quietly drinking the rest of his coffee. His hands had been bandaged, for he had indeed broken through the glass with his fists, but he didn't seem to be showing any signs of pain.
Knives had been observing him the whole while, and could not help but comment, "You really are your father's son..."
"You knew my father, eh?" Grayfall grunted, shaking his head as if to clear it. "Legato. Yeah. You couldn't have been a friend of his. He didn't have any of those."
"I was his employer, for a time."
"Ah!" Grayfall's eyes lit up, and he lifted his gaze to Knives in a much more friendly manner. "You are Millions Knives! My father told my mother all about you! You made it possible for him to bring her all that money that kept us alive until she found a better job. He really thought a lot about you, ya' know?" Grayfall smiled more genuinely now, his long pointer finger tracing the rim of his coffee cup. "I guess...you were part of that other life he just couldn't stay away from."
Knives bit his lip. Grayfall had no idea of his cruelty AND he thought he had been giving Legato money. Truthfully, he had no idea where Legato had gotten any money from. Perhaps pick-pocketing the dead? Or stealing? Who knew? The possibilities were endless.
Vash lowered his head and did not say a thing.
Stormie wisely switched subjects. "So, Grayfall, what exactly happened to you?"
"Well," he started, winking at her in what would've been flirtatious had it not been for the sober expression he wore, the corners of his lips just curving up, "when I was thirteen, my mother contracted some sort of horrible disease and died within a matter of months. A man named Naoshi found me wandering the streets and took me in. It wasn't so bad at first, considering he was an assassin and all, but then he just got this psycho obsession with killing all the plants. I mean, it was out of control." Grayfall waved a hand in dismiss. "He wanted me to help him, but when it came time to kill my first plant...I just couldn't. It was a female, and she was so scared... I mean, I got down there and looked into her eyes and I knew that she was just like me, in a way, and I just refused. I said no. And Naoshi shot her and then beat me half to death. It was pretty routine from there. Wake up, eat breakfast, get beaten, do a few chores, get beaten, eat dinner, get beaten, and go to bed. So, what? Am I supposed to take that my whole life? No. I ran away." He shrugged.
"An assassin who stalks only plants?" mused Stormie, her brow furrowed in worry. From the way Grayfall was speaking so casually, he must not have figured out they were all plants yet. "How good is he...?"
"Ah, man, he's wonderful! You'll never see a more skilled killer. The plants he killed never saw it coming."
Vash gulped down a lump in his throat, and then gently asked, "Grayfall, have you realized that we're all plants here?"
Grayfall's eyes widened in shock, and then in horror. "No..." he breathed. And then louder, "NO! I hafta get out of here! I can't stay! I can't stay!" He moaned. "Oh, I have to leave this place! If Naoshi finds me...if he finds me..."
"Grayfall!" Vash exclaimed. "Please, calm down!"
"No! This is the least safest place on Gunsmoke right now! You don't understand! Three plants all under one roof?! It's insane!"
Knives raised an eyebrow. "Excuse me?"
"I gotta escape before he comes!" Grayfall was now at the door, struggling in his panic to get it open, trying to slide the dead bolt out of place. "I thought I'd be safe here," he whispered, and then burst outside.
Stormie, who had been following at his heels, paused at the doorway to see that Grayfall had suddenly and unexplainably drawn to a halt, standing stock still out in the sand, body rigidly straight. "Grayfall?" she weakly called out.
But Grayfall did not hear her voice. His breathing had become harsh and rapid. In his mind, he could hear the twinkling chimes of a music box, playing over and over again in the same eerie melody. "He's coming..." he murmured blankly. "Naoshi is coming..."
~~~~~
Yes! Finished with this chapter! What will poor Grayfall do? Will Naoshi get him? You'll have to wait and find out. Oh, and REVIEW!
