Disclaimer: LL: * looks up at a random balcony* Trigun, Trigun, wherefore art thou, Trigun? Why is it I may never claim you as my own? Why must I be forced to simply write a fanfic, rather than have your story to share with the world?

Thirty-One: Rhianne's Awakening

A/N: Blah, lot's of dialogue-ey goodness…

Crystalline tears welled up in the plant's eyes, spilling over his lids and streaking down the flushed apples of his cheeks. The image of his brother's face swam in his vision, but he could still make out the deep lines of disgust that etched themselves into his twin's gaze ever time he set eyes upon him. It hurt him so deeply, every time Knives looked at him like that. Because he could see that his brother wouldn't ever see the way he did; that he would continue relentlessly in hie genocide plans until his dying day. That the aqua-orbed plant would forever see an adversary in his brother; that they could never combine their efforts to make the planet a better place. Forever would they stand to oppose each other, obstacles in their-perhaps-eternal struggle. The only way they would ever resolve their feud, the only way to end it all, Vash had known all along: one must perish. He had known it, the bitter truth, all along, never admitting to it; never yielding to the truth that looked him in the eye every time the thought of his brother caught his eye. Knives would never relent, never allow himself to mingle with the 'spiders'. Vash could see it when he looked into his brother's eyes.

That was, unless Rhianne could change his mind.

The thought struck him like lightening, sending a jolt through him, sizzling like raw, unhampered electricity.

Blinking back his tears, Vash began to back away, keeping his gaze locked onto the ice orbs nestled in his brother's face like sapphires in the sand. Lines of rage lined his features as he backed away, bumping himself on the control panel as he did so.

"That's it Vash, go" Knives sneered icily, his tone mirroring the color of his eyes "run. Flee, as you always have. Run form your problems like the coward you are." His eyes narrowed at his brother, measuring his worth as a sibling in their icy interiors.

"Go" he hissed darkly, and Vash obeyed, backing out of the room and closing the door behind him, still in shock at his brother's words. The metal door clicked shut, and the tears fell. Leaning heavily against the door, the plant crumpled to the floor, his sobs overtaking him for the moment. He slid his gloved hands to cover his face, muffling the sobs. He knew Knives was watching him on the camera, but paid it no heed; he didn't care right now.

How could Knives have said that, he wondered, digging his gloved fingers into his hair follicles. He had always known that Knives despised the way he chose his morals, but to think that… It made him look at his life in a whole different perspective. Was it his fault? Could it be…was Knives right?

Vash rose, wiping his damp cheeks, and turned back the way he had come. He reached the plant room door, and flung it open melodramatically, but then paused when he was greeted with the sight of the bulb, that the angel floating within it.

Vash sighed at the sight of her; he couldn't help it. Rhianne looked so peaceful, so serene. She reminded him of a statue he'd once seen in the books on the Seeds ship, a statue of a Goddess, Diana, he seemed to remember her name being, standing behind a dais, her arms outstretched towards the heavens, her face placid and calm.

That's whom Rhianne resembled; her pale lids ending in dark lashes that fluttered like raven's wings against her ivory skin. Her overabundance of chestnut hair floated gently around her face, moving softly in the gravity-free interior of the bulb. The light in the room shone upon it, making it look like strands of silk, wrought with burgundy and gold that shimmered when reflected properly in the light, hidden otherwise beneath the dominant dark chocolate layers.

"I can see why Knives fell for you so hard. You have the beauty of a goddess" Vash sighed quietly, touching the bulb with the tips of his fingers and gazing up at her. His fingers moved over the smooth glass until they rested upon her lips, standing out against her skin like blood in fresh snow. He rose to his toes a little, and his lips touched the glass over her lips lightly.

Be happy with Knives; he deserves it…

He paused for a moment, reflecting on his thoughts, then moved over to the machine. Moving a person by binary code can be a lengthy process, but Vash had the data saved in the computer's hard drive, and accessed it easily. He paused for a moment, looking back at the bulb, then at the table set up by himself and Knives a few weeks ago to receive her when she was healed. He re-checked her physical data, making sure everything had healed as it should, and entered a complex series of numbers to initiate the binary transport sequence. The computer beeped, Vash waited with anticipation, watching the arrow turn into an hourglass and turn itself over. Countless times, millions and millions of times did that little thing turn itself over, it seemed, and Vash thought he would go mad with anticipation. And to his delight, a moment later the hourglass resumed its original form. Vash whirled, a smile mirroring the lighthearted feeling that blossomed within him.

On the table, set up to the side of the bulb lay Rhianne, unmarred and sleeping soundly.

Vash allowed his gaze to rest upon her for a long while. She looked so calm, so free of pain he barely dared to walk over and cup her cheek with a gloved hand. He could feel her skin, so soft and smooth beneath the buckles of his glove, as he ran his thumb over her cheek.

"It's called moisturizer, you can buy it at most stores" A mocking voice blossomed in his head, and Vash looked down at the woman on the table, and found she had opened her eyes and was smirking at him.

"Rhianne!' Vash gasped, smiling down at her. Rhianne's eyes were opened; the right one minus the hole that had pierced it before her recuperation inside the bulb. They were perfect, without a single mishap. The tiny red veins crawled around the whites of her eyes, their intricate lines unbroken and unflawed. They stretched across the whiteness to her irises, resplendent aquamarine, so much like the ones that bored into her.

"How are you Vash?" she asked quietly, rising to sit up.

For reasons he could not comprehend, tears welled themselves up again in the spiky-haired plant's eyes. The cascaded down his cheeks unchecked, and he threw himself into Rhianne's arms, sobbing.

"Knives said I really don't love anyone; that I only pretend I do to ease my conscience! It isn't true; I do love Meryl! I love her with all my heart, and I would never, ever fake that. All I ever tried to do was to help people! All I try to do is to make other's lives better! No one deserves to be unhappy, and I feel compassion for everyone I meet. I try to help them with their problems, enrich their lives so that they don't have to face the harsh reality of life. I never thought Knives would interpret my actions like that!"

He cried on her shoulder for a long while, letting Rhianne run her hands over his head and whisper little soothing words to him. His arms were wrapped around her neck, and feeling his warm body against hers, she missed Knives even more despite the grief he had caused his sibling. After a while, Vash's sobs started to recede, and she took his tear-stained head in her hands, cupping his cheeks with her palms.

"Vash" she started, wiping another tear away from his cheek "people get jerked around a lot, that much is obvious. But if you obsess about fixing other peoples lives, you'll forget your own. I'm not saying you should stop trying to help people, just done let their failures get to you; they're their failures, not yours, and you are in no way responsible for them.

"A wise man once said, 'guide not a person through life, for then they do not truly live; advise them henceforth, and let them find their own path, as shall you to find your"

"Who said that?" Vash asked

"My brother" Rhianne said quietly.

Vash's eyes bored into hers, awestruck "you had a brother?" he asked, dumbfounded.

"Yes" came the small reply "I had a brother once." Still the awestruck look and the eyes still boring into her own. "…Once?"

"Yes, once" Rhianne said with a sigh "Vash, you know about the other Seeds ships, don't you?" at his head-shake, she continued "there were three Seeds ships carrying the populace of Earth upon them, bound for different parts of the galaxy. On each, two plants were born: you and Knives, Aeris and Andan, and myself and…my brother Corrin. Our ship was the first to settle on our intended planet, which we christened Setsu, meaning 'snow' in an ancient language called Japanese. The populace grew over the years, and eventually we created a sister colony on Isis, Setsu's moon. During all this, the humans were looking for a way to rid themselves of their dependency on the plants, as it was very hard to grow plants in a near-constant sub-zero climate. We managed for a long time to survive without causing any problems for our sisters; it's much easier to live on a planet of ice and snow than sand. Eventually, we came upon a natural resource we named Norofin. It was combustible, provided a great deal of heat when added to a flame, and could be used to create electricity to heat and brighten the greenhouses where we grew food.

"Nearly a decade after the discovery of Norofin- which had been discovered on Setsu- a man named Philip Douglas went on vacation to Isis with his family of four. While there, he stumbled upon a huge amount of Norofin hidden beneath the ice of the moon while skating. The Setsuian government took immediate action, claiming the product was theirs by right of discovery. Isis, on the other hand, argued that it belonged to them, as it was found on their soil. As most situations like that do, the planet and its satellite erupted in war.

"My brother Corrin De LaTour, because of his heritage as a plant, was sent to the front lines almost immediately. But two years in…there was an explosion aboard his ship, and he perished within the cold void of space. My brother died there…" She trailed off, wiping at her tearing eyes with the back of her hand. Her head bowed, she gave way to the sobs that overtook her. A moment later, Vash's arms had encircled her in a tight embrace.

"Don't worry Rhianne, I'm sure he's very happy where he is, and I know he's proud of you."

"That may be so Vash, but now everyone I love is gone. Corrin died, Knives hates me-"

"When did he tell you that?" Vash asked, not releasing his grip on her. Rhianne sniffled "he's angry with me; he probably hates me now…"

"No no, shh." Vash patted her head lightly "he doesn't hate you. He's just upset you never told him…he'll forgive you, you'll see."

Rhianne pulled her head up from his shoulder "do you think so?" she asked, Vash smiled and nodded "just go talk to him, okay? He'll forgive you, he loves you too much to let you go like this."

The chestnut-haired plant sniffles a final time as the tears receded and nodded determinedly. Vash backed away from her, smiling. Within a moment, though, a flush came to his cheeks and he averted his eyes.

"Um Rhianne…. You're kind of…" he trailed off as the female looked down at herself and gasped. Swearing, she snatched a cloth covering a table to hide herself and her lack of clothing.

"I can't believe you didn't point that out! I poured my heart out to you and I was naked?" she fumed, shoving him lightly. Then she grinned as she danced away from him towards the door, still clutching the towel tightly around her.

"That's all right, you know you want me anyway" she joked, sticking out her tongue before sliding out the door.