Hey, guys, feeling down - but good news! School is out for me!! Sorry it
took so long to get this written out, and I didn't check it too thoroughly,
so sorry for the errors that are probably in here. Thanx to everyone who
reviewed, especially Rockerbaby - I hope this chapter won't disappoint you.
I've been feeling angsty lately.
~~~~~~
Dreaming of happier things, images rippling and slowly tripping along in water colored shades, Grayfall was unaware of the things around him. Asleep, sprawled out across his small cot in the basement of an acquaintance's house, he let the visions of his past and present and even future take him to places he had been, and wished to be.
He saw his mother, smiling and happy, talking without a sound leaving her mouth. These dreams were silent. A picture of Legato hidden in her drawer, one that he had glimpsed upon only once, and the way she would blush whenever she looked at, thinking her son couldn't see.
A little boy, himself as a child, chasing the few butterflies that flitted about outside the small restaurant his mother worked out. Then older, lounging outside of his school with eyes closed and face turned to the warm sun, smiling when he heard a friend approaching, calling out his name.
And then...thirteen. Just a boy. Sitting outside that hospital room. Waiting for his mom to come out so he could give her the belated birthday present - the heavy cross necklace. She never came. A doctor came instead and he took the boy by the hand and led him to another man without saying a word, and that man in turn took Grayfall to a strange home with strange people and he ran away. And he knew. She was dead.
Naoshi was what happened next, but those thoughts never entered his mind. Instead, he chose a different path.
Oriole was waiting tables, just as his mother had, her part-time job to pay her share of their rent. Black hair up in a ponytail, blue skirt and white blouse neatly pressed with her apron already stained with spilled soup. She was looking content nonetheless, smiling as she paused to call out to him from where he sat at the bar, sipping on coffee.
There was that one time they had been invited to go on a picnic with some of her friends, and somehow, she had gotten his mother's cross necklace away from him. Of course he tried to get back, which only provoked a mad dash across the desert. It was...fun. Chasing her and yelling out that he was going to kill her with no actual intention to carry out the threats, although she screamed in delight at every warning. Vaguely, the two of them had remembered doing this as a kid, a game of tag and keep away, running from a friend and just knowing that being caught would be about half the fun. He could've lost himself in that afternoon, just running after her like he had nothing more to worry about than getting back that necklace and hoping that she never tired so the game could last forever. But, eventually, she did slow down, panting for breath, and he tackled her just over a sand dune, the two rolling down the incline and laughing all the way, continuing to wrestle for possession of the necklace.
"I'm going to hurt you now, you little thief!" he growled, pinning her shoulders to the grainy sand beneath them.
A devilish glint was in her eye, but she broke into a fit of giggles all the same. "I - I - I don't - " she tried to speak, but was laughing too hard. "Stop! I'm really..."
"Sorry?"
"No."
"Ah..." A look of understanding passed over his face, and he then raised a hand, flexing his fingers like claws. "Ticklish, then?"
"Grayfall! NO!"
It really had ended much too soon.
He was just preparing to think of more happy thoughts when someone else's visions overshadowed his, the blotches slowly darkening and then turning into images that weren't his in any way, shape, or form. He saw a little girl with shaggy, black hair huddled in the corner, blood splattered across her pale face as her small frame shook with uncontrollable tremors. A dark shadow was approaching her, and without warning, white, searing pain flashed through Grayfall's mind, momentarily blinding him before fading away into shrieks and screams of anguish. He saw, through the flames of a blazing fire, a figure stumbling and running through the ashes. So many images interrupting...it just didn't make sense.
A wolf.
The swish of raven hair. Dark brown globes, laced with hazel - tear- filled.
Flowers, blooming purple and white in a field, consumed instantly by a rain of fire. Destroyed and leaving the field barren.
The barrel of a gun being brought down upon a hand, the fingers twitching and spasming in pain, and then the finger joints being crushed, smashed, ground into shattered pieces beyond repair.
Devilish smile. A sapphire and amethyst encased in porcelain.
Blood. Slow drops plopping into a puddle of water, wisping into red ribbons in the otherwise clear liquid. A woman facedown in the water, the blood flowing from her temple, eyes cracked open, clouded with pain.
Death in the dark skies...
Grayfall awoke with a start, the fluttering of eyelashes lifting from sun- kissed cheeks being his only movement. A deep gasp was consumed in his throat and he stared into the darkness, seeing a face instead of empty air. Oriole, very close.
She must've climbed into his bed after he had drifted off, and had made herself quite comfortable, lying on her side to face him, her forehead pressed lazily to his. One slightly damp palm was flat against his chest, the other hand lying between them, and her bare arms and calves and face were shiny with sweat, beads of perspiration gleaming like jewels in her raven tresses. Were the memories filtering into his mind from her? As an empath, she could sense others' emotions, and he had discovered that others' could sense hers while she slept. It seemed as if her nightmares were allowed to run rapid, unleashed and beyond her control.
Gently, he shook her awake, and she stirred with a little moan. "Grayfall..." she murmured. "Don't. It's too early."
"You were having nightmares."
She propped herself up on an elbow in surprise. "Did I scream?"
"No... Your thoughts bled into mine again."
"Hmm. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to wake you." She yawned as if it was no big deal, settling down beside him once more. "Goodnight, Grayfall," she murmured, her fingers toying with the heavy cross that lay against his collarbone, her lips pressing to the spot right beside where it rested.
He smiled ever so slightly, but the light didn't reach his golden eyes. It never did. He liked to find a sympathetic friend in Oriole. He enjoyed her company and was a fierce protector. But she could never make the past go away. Nor could he erase the memories of her father beating her, of her half-brother destroying her hand.
"Goodnight," he said, and kissed her forehead. He fell asleep to the feel of her fingers trailing over the scars that striped his torso. The feeling always lulled him to sleep, although if anyone besides her dared touch him there, they'd be dead within the second.
~~~~~
Everything was blurry... Mellow white colors swirling together and blending. Cracks and dots and indentations raced alone, swirled, and then came back into focus, falling still. Where was...?
"Knives...Knives...are you waking up?"
That concerned voice - it was familiar. Vash. Things were coming more easily now. Knives blinked glazed over ice blue eyes and parted his lips to moan, raw hurt and pain coming back over him in a slow, steady, surge. There was a throbbing in his temples, an unbearable headache, and he shivered in trying to shake himself out of his stupor. "Vash?" he croaked.
"Oh, good! I was so worried!"
He squinted at his brother, finding that he was now in a small bed, probably in some hotel from the looks of it, with Vash sitting diligently beside him, looking worried and anxious. "Hey...where's Naoshi?"
Vash's face went hard and stern. "Who cares?! How could you do something as stupid as go after him alone, Knives?! I was scared to death! And then I have to come and find you half dead with that killer standing over you, about to deliver the final blow..." Vash shook his head.
"What...happened?"
"He was already bored with you. When he saw me, he just grinned and took off. It was strange, really. But the real question is why? Why would you not tell me about this? Why would you even risk your life all the sudden? It's not like you! You're not impulsive! You plan!"
"He raped Stormie."
A heartbeat.
"...Naoshi?"
"Who else? They have a daughter." He moaned, covering his eyes with a hand in distress. "Vash, it's all my fault..."
"I don't believe it." Vash's eyes were widened to the point where there was more white than green visible. His hands were clutched into fists on his knees. "I just saw her...and she didn't say anything."
His twin immediately flew up in the bed, ignoring the nausea and pain. "You saw her?!"
"Yeah, she was with this other guy and they had these two kids with them... A little blonde boy and a girl. They seemed happy - well the guy was a bit uptight, but he didn't seem unhappy. Aw, man! I should've guessed! The girl looks NOTHING like Stormie or her other kid OR the man she was with. The only person she could belong to IS Naoshi."
Vash didn't see the way his brother's face paled to the point where it was ghost-like, wide, ice blue eyes glossy with pain. "She had a man with her...?"
"Uh-huh. His name was something like...Mitayo - yeah that was it. Mitayo. They seemed real happy!" Vash simply could not get over the fact that they had smiled and waved. "You should've seen their little boy. From the way both he and the girl were smiling you would've thought they were the perfect family."
"Perfect...family...?" Knives was horrified at the thought. "So, you're saying...that man she was with...they had a son?"
"I'm assuming it was theirs. They said they were going away...to visit Grayfall and Oriole, so..." And then Vash looked at his twin, saw the hurt expression in his eyes, and his heart sunk with confusion. Why did Knives seem more upset by the new information? Shouldn't he be happy that the woman was faring so well? Ok, yeah, Vash had teased them about liking each other - but Knives had raised his hand and sworn to him shortly after she had left that what he felt for her was only something of an older brother looking out for his sister. Knives wouldn't lie to him...would he?
He smacked his head. Of course Knives would lie! This is Knives!
He gathered up his broken brother in his arms as the man broke down crying, the pain and disappointment overwhelming him. "I'm so sorry, I didn't know," Vash whispered, stroking nimble fingers through the short blonde hair. "I'm so sorry..."
~~~~~
Stormie tried to hide her embarrassment from Mitayo and the children. Of all the stupid luck...meeting up with Vash? This was NOT her day. She had purposely clung to Mitayo's arm and acted all happy and giggly with him just so Vash would assume that nothing was wrong and the children were theirs - not an assassin's and some experimental plant's.
Now, pushing her hair out of her eyes and sighing, she locked tired blue eyes on her daughter and Eleven, standing before them in the doorway to the house. "Now, you two behave while we're gone at Grayfall and Oriole's, ok? Faith, don't start a fight, and make sure Eleven feels at home. We should be back by nightfall. Are you sure you guys are going to be ok?"
"Mom!" she whined. "You're acting like you're gonna be gone for ten months instead of ten hours! Me and Eleven are gonna have fun! You see, we're going to find him a new name cuz Eleven ain't too cool."
"Yeah...you do that." Mitayo grimaced. "Stormie - they are too young. We shouldn't be leaving them."
She waved a hand. "Don't worry about it! I have a neighbor next door in case anything happens and they need something. See, it's almost like they have a baby-sitter. Now, let us be off!" And with that she skipped out to the jeep, clapping her hands as she ran and singing out, "All aboard! All aboard! Here we go!"
Mitayo couldn't help but snort at her antics. Why did the woman have to be so childish at times? For goodness sake, it was no wonder Faith was such a little terror! With one last apologetic look at his son, Mitayo turned and followed the other plant out onto the hot desert sand, squinting in the morning sun.
Faith turned to Eleven and linked arms with him, causing the boy to blush brightly. "How do you feel about the name Xavier?"
~~~~~~
Dreaming of happier things, images rippling and slowly tripping along in water colored shades, Grayfall was unaware of the things around him. Asleep, sprawled out across his small cot in the basement of an acquaintance's house, he let the visions of his past and present and even future take him to places he had been, and wished to be.
He saw his mother, smiling and happy, talking without a sound leaving her mouth. These dreams were silent. A picture of Legato hidden in her drawer, one that he had glimpsed upon only once, and the way she would blush whenever she looked at, thinking her son couldn't see.
A little boy, himself as a child, chasing the few butterflies that flitted about outside the small restaurant his mother worked out. Then older, lounging outside of his school with eyes closed and face turned to the warm sun, smiling when he heard a friend approaching, calling out his name.
And then...thirteen. Just a boy. Sitting outside that hospital room. Waiting for his mom to come out so he could give her the belated birthday present - the heavy cross necklace. She never came. A doctor came instead and he took the boy by the hand and led him to another man without saying a word, and that man in turn took Grayfall to a strange home with strange people and he ran away. And he knew. She was dead.
Naoshi was what happened next, but those thoughts never entered his mind. Instead, he chose a different path.
Oriole was waiting tables, just as his mother had, her part-time job to pay her share of their rent. Black hair up in a ponytail, blue skirt and white blouse neatly pressed with her apron already stained with spilled soup. She was looking content nonetheless, smiling as she paused to call out to him from where he sat at the bar, sipping on coffee.
There was that one time they had been invited to go on a picnic with some of her friends, and somehow, she had gotten his mother's cross necklace away from him. Of course he tried to get back, which only provoked a mad dash across the desert. It was...fun. Chasing her and yelling out that he was going to kill her with no actual intention to carry out the threats, although she screamed in delight at every warning. Vaguely, the two of them had remembered doing this as a kid, a game of tag and keep away, running from a friend and just knowing that being caught would be about half the fun. He could've lost himself in that afternoon, just running after her like he had nothing more to worry about than getting back that necklace and hoping that she never tired so the game could last forever. But, eventually, she did slow down, panting for breath, and he tackled her just over a sand dune, the two rolling down the incline and laughing all the way, continuing to wrestle for possession of the necklace.
"I'm going to hurt you now, you little thief!" he growled, pinning her shoulders to the grainy sand beneath them.
A devilish glint was in her eye, but she broke into a fit of giggles all the same. "I - I - I don't - " she tried to speak, but was laughing too hard. "Stop! I'm really..."
"Sorry?"
"No."
"Ah..." A look of understanding passed over his face, and he then raised a hand, flexing his fingers like claws. "Ticklish, then?"
"Grayfall! NO!"
It really had ended much too soon.
He was just preparing to think of more happy thoughts when someone else's visions overshadowed his, the blotches slowly darkening and then turning into images that weren't his in any way, shape, or form. He saw a little girl with shaggy, black hair huddled in the corner, blood splattered across her pale face as her small frame shook with uncontrollable tremors. A dark shadow was approaching her, and without warning, white, searing pain flashed through Grayfall's mind, momentarily blinding him before fading away into shrieks and screams of anguish. He saw, through the flames of a blazing fire, a figure stumbling and running through the ashes. So many images interrupting...it just didn't make sense.
A wolf.
The swish of raven hair. Dark brown globes, laced with hazel - tear- filled.
Flowers, blooming purple and white in a field, consumed instantly by a rain of fire. Destroyed and leaving the field barren.
The barrel of a gun being brought down upon a hand, the fingers twitching and spasming in pain, and then the finger joints being crushed, smashed, ground into shattered pieces beyond repair.
Devilish smile. A sapphire and amethyst encased in porcelain.
Blood. Slow drops plopping into a puddle of water, wisping into red ribbons in the otherwise clear liquid. A woman facedown in the water, the blood flowing from her temple, eyes cracked open, clouded with pain.
Death in the dark skies...
Grayfall awoke with a start, the fluttering of eyelashes lifting from sun- kissed cheeks being his only movement. A deep gasp was consumed in his throat and he stared into the darkness, seeing a face instead of empty air. Oriole, very close.
She must've climbed into his bed after he had drifted off, and had made herself quite comfortable, lying on her side to face him, her forehead pressed lazily to his. One slightly damp palm was flat against his chest, the other hand lying between them, and her bare arms and calves and face were shiny with sweat, beads of perspiration gleaming like jewels in her raven tresses. Were the memories filtering into his mind from her? As an empath, she could sense others' emotions, and he had discovered that others' could sense hers while she slept. It seemed as if her nightmares were allowed to run rapid, unleashed and beyond her control.
Gently, he shook her awake, and she stirred with a little moan. "Grayfall..." she murmured. "Don't. It's too early."
"You were having nightmares."
She propped herself up on an elbow in surprise. "Did I scream?"
"No... Your thoughts bled into mine again."
"Hmm. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to wake you." She yawned as if it was no big deal, settling down beside him once more. "Goodnight, Grayfall," she murmured, her fingers toying with the heavy cross that lay against his collarbone, her lips pressing to the spot right beside where it rested.
He smiled ever so slightly, but the light didn't reach his golden eyes. It never did. He liked to find a sympathetic friend in Oriole. He enjoyed her company and was a fierce protector. But she could never make the past go away. Nor could he erase the memories of her father beating her, of her half-brother destroying her hand.
"Goodnight," he said, and kissed her forehead. He fell asleep to the feel of her fingers trailing over the scars that striped his torso. The feeling always lulled him to sleep, although if anyone besides her dared touch him there, they'd be dead within the second.
~~~~~
Everything was blurry... Mellow white colors swirling together and blending. Cracks and dots and indentations raced alone, swirled, and then came back into focus, falling still. Where was...?
"Knives...Knives...are you waking up?"
That concerned voice - it was familiar. Vash. Things were coming more easily now. Knives blinked glazed over ice blue eyes and parted his lips to moan, raw hurt and pain coming back over him in a slow, steady, surge. There was a throbbing in his temples, an unbearable headache, and he shivered in trying to shake himself out of his stupor. "Vash?" he croaked.
"Oh, good! I was so worried!"
He squinted at his brother, finding that he was now in a small bed, probably in some hotel from the looks of it, with Vash sitting diligently beside him, looking worried and anxious. "Hey...where's Naoshi?"
Vash's face went hard and stern. "Who cares?! How could you do something as stupid as go after him alone, Knives?! I was scared to death! And then I have to come and find you half dead with that killer standing over you, about to deliver the final blow..." Vash shook his head.
"What...happened?"
"He was already bored with you. When he saw me, he just grinned and took off. It was strange, really. But the real question is why? Why would you not tell me about this? Why would you even risk your life all the sudden? It's not like you! You're not impulsive! You plan!"
"He raped Stormie."
A heartbeat.
"...Naoshi?"
"Who else? They have a daughter." He moaned, covering his eyes with a hand in distress. "Vash, it's all my fault..."
"I don't believe it." Vash's eyes were widened to the point where there was more white than green visible. His hands were clutched into fists on his knees. "I just saw her...and she didn't say anything."
His twin immediately flew up in the bed, ignoring the nausea and pain. "You saw her?!"
"Yeah, she was with this other guy and they had these two kids with them... A little blonde boy and a girl. They seemed happy - well the guy was a bit uptight, but he didn't seem unhappy. Aw, man! I should've guessed! The girl looks NOTHING like Stormie or her other kid OR the man she was with. The only person she could belong to IS Naoshi."
Vash didn't see the way his brother's face paled to the point where it was ghost-like, wide, ice blue eyes glossy with pain. "She had a man with her...?"
"Uh-huh. His name was something like...Mitayo - yeah that was it. Mitayo. They seemed real happy!" Vash simply could not get over the fact that they had smiled and waved. "You should've seen their little boy. From the way both he and the girl were smiling you would've thought they were the perfect family."
"Perfect...family...?" Knives was horrified at the thought. "So, you're saying...that man she was with...they had a son?"
"I'm assuming it was theirs. They said they were going away...to visit Grayfall and Oriole, so..." And then Vash looked at his twin, saw the hurt expression in his eyes, and his heart sunk with confusion. Why did Knives seem more upset by the new information? Shouldn't he be happy that the woman was faring so well? Ok, yeah, Vash had teased them about liking each other - but Knives had raised his hand and sworn to him shortly after she had left that what he felt for her was only something of an older brother looking out for his sister. Knives wouldn't lie to him...would he?
He smacked his head. Of course Knives would lie! This is Knives!
He gathered up his broken brother in his arms as the man broke down crying, the pain and disappointment overwhelming him. "I'm so sorry, I didn't know," Vash whispered, stroking nimble fingers through the short blonde hair. "I'm so sorry..."
~~~~~
Stormie tried to hide her embarrassment from Mitayo and the children. Of all the stupid luck...meeting up with Vash? This was NOT her day. She had purposely clung to Mitayo's arm and acted all happy and giggly with him just so Vash would assume that nothing was wrong and the children were theirs - not an assassin's and some experimental plant's.
Now, pushing her hair out of her eyes and sighing, she locked tired blue eyes on her daughter and Eleven, standing before them in the doorway to the house. "Now, you two behave while we're gone at Grayfall and Oriole's, ok? Faith, don't start a fight, and make sure Eleven feels at home. We should be back by nightfall. Are you sure you guys are going to be ok?"
"Mom!" she whined. "You're acting like you're gonna be gone for ten months instead of ten hours! Me and Eleven are gonna have fun! You see, we're going to find him a new name cuz Eleven ain't too cool."
"Yeah...you do that." Mitayo grimaced. "Stormie - they are too young. We shouldn't be leaving them."
She waved a hand. "Don't worry about it! I have a neighbor next door in case anything happens and they need something. See, it's almost like they have a baby-sitter. Now, let us be off!" And with that she skipped out to the jeep, clapping her hands as she ran and singing out, "All aboard! All aboard! Here we go!"
Mitayo couldn't help but snort at her antics. Why did the woman have to be so childish at times? For goodness sake, it was no wonder Faith was such a little terror! With one last apologetic look at his son, Mitayo turned and followed the other plant out onto the hot desert sand, squinting in the morning sun.
Faith turned to Eleven and linked arms with him, causing the boy to blush brightly. "How do you feel about the name Xavier?"
