"What are you going to do now, dear brother?" A sinister grin spread across Knives' face, as he gazed upon his twin struggling against his power. There was no way Vash could win, not with his purist ideals of non-killing. And his own brother at that; it was impossible. For years, he had been struggling with his past actions; albeit, they weren't intentional, but he was the sole being that all fingers fell on. How else would they relieve their grief? No! See, it wasn't me! My brother made me do it…That was not a story they would buy so easily. He had suffered himself, to atone for what he had 'done'; how would he deal with the fact of killing one of his own? His family?

Family? Hadn't Knives taken that same thing away from him? Wasn't it Knives who had taken away the one person who could see past his incredible growth rate, and see him as just another child? A confused child who yearned to learn about the world around him? Rem really was his light, the guiding hand to the knowledge about humans. And Knives, his dearly beloved 'brother' had plunged him into that darkness, leaving a naïve child, clinging on to the ideals of love. Peace. Tranquility. It was those same ideals that had consumed him wholly, to the point where hatred and anger could find no rungs to cling to.

Vash could feel himself draining away, fading into the nothingness within himself. There was nothing else to be done; Knives' own power was being fueled by sheer anger. His…..what else did he have to live for? To live among the people that hated and feared him.

But what about those who did care? Meryl, Millie and Wolfwood….hadn't they stuck by him through all the disasters that occurred? Hadn't they stood up for him, defending him from those that wanted to tear him apart? They would be gone too if he gave it all up for his own selfish 'happiness'. He could find happiness in living…

"I'm going to make sure you never hurt anyone again, 'brother'." Vash knew he was testing his limits, pushing himself to the edge. But if it would fulfill his wish, then…then he could at last smile. A true honest smile. Not a visage for the pain that he had carried with him for so many years.

He summoned whatever strength he had left, channeling it through his feathered appendage. I will live for you…A cold sweat broke on his back as his vision gradually blurred, his feet collapsing under his weight. I will live for you…Everything was enveloped in a white glow, and Vash noticed something extremely strange. Something he had never seen throughout his enduring existence. I will live for you…A minute sadness had crept into Knives' eyes; if one didn't know him as well as Vash did, one would not have noted this change. Were his lips moving? What was he trying to say? Only the faint hum of his arm filled his ears. I will live for you…Tired…so tired. He had to keep his eyes open. He couldn't give up. Not now. 'Please…I need to stay a bit longer…' I will live for you…Where was that voice coming from? It had started as a minute whisper, but grew steadily in his ears until he could no longer ignore it. Was it his own subconscious urging him on? Drained. There was nothing left. He fell onto his back from the sudden charge of his twin. Knives had found an opening. And Vash now considered himself dead. I will live for you...

"Knives! What are you…?"

"Giving you what you want, brother," he retorted sarcastically, as his face neared ever closer. Knives' own power was now exhausted, the ash blond from his hair fading to a dull, empty gray. A tiny warmth pinched at Vash's cold forehead where Knives' lips rested for only but a few minutes. I will...I will live…

Vash could no longer decipher what was real or not…was it becoming dark? Or was that his own fading vision? He looked up towards the sky, which had already begun bearing the first few stars of the freshly fallen night. He felt like he had been awake for over a week, his body drained. There was comfort, at last. Everything seemed so new. So fresh. As if his were opening his eyes for the first time. His mind felt….clear. At peace. Why had he never noticed how beautiful the stars were at night? How calming the cool breeze felt on his skin?

Beautiful? This wasn't beautiful. It was a desert wasteland where countless life forms had died. Worthless ones at that. Ah, the energy he had spent ridding the world of those insignificant pests. He released an annoyed sigh. If only those humans didn't stick to ideals of love and protection. Fending for one's self would have saved so many more.

~*~Elsewhere~*~

"He's not coming back, is he?" Meryl had been sulking by the window, looking overall very pathetic in her white button-up shirt. She had been staring at the same cup of black coffee since Vash had left earlier that day, which was now reduced to a cold mug of sludgy mud-coloured goo. Was he really going to come back? Or had he decided to alleviate their work by deserting them? If he turned up dead, she and Millie could return to a peaceful life, where pushing papers and worrying about their paychecks were the only concerns. Dead….she quickly pushed the thought out of her mind. When had she started caring what happened to this 7ft. tall, blond weirdo? How many times had she tried to keep him away from others, to prevent further destruction of the other towns? Or was she selfishly drawing him towards her more, without even realizing?

Millie had fallen asleep ages ago, leaving Meryl to the loneliness of the quiet, dark room. A black cat meandered on the window sill, peering in with its large yellow-green eyes. That cat…it seemed so familiar. She shrugged it off as late-night delusions; there must be tons of black cats on this entire planet.

Feeling irritated with herself, she grabbed her coat and slippers and went out for a fresh breath of air. It was already past 2 in the morning, and the suns would be coming up in a few hours. She drew her coat tighter to herself and the harsh wind tried to nab it off her shoulders. She found her eyes straying and remaining transfixed on the horizon, where only a few hours earlier, a miniscule dot of red had disappeared behind it. Would she see it again, coming back to her? With that ridiculous smile on his face? Even that, she would welcome with open arms.

An assortment of pastel hues radiated from the dark outline of the land, signaling the oncoming of the new day. A new day….filled with happiness or extreme depression. She had no choice but to wait. Two hours had gone by, and the first few rays were already beginning to warm her skin. If only that warmth was coming from something else. Someone else. A chill ran down her spine as she rid her mind of the thought.

How long can I wait? What if he never comes back? Will I lose the one thing that seemed to be a stability in my mind? A chaotic stability, at that. Please. Please. Please. Come back.

It was already 8, and the town was bustling with quiet activity. Naïve to what their 'hero' might be up to. Meryl stared at them angrily, screaming at them in her mind, wanting them to pick up their pitchforks and shotguns, to go and save the one that was fighting for them all. But no one heard, her mental screams of anguish falling upon deaf ears.

How long could she wait? How long could she stand there, being torn apart by her own mind? How long would she have to endure the pain that filled her entire being? The pain that swelled into her throat, forcing tears to rim on her lids? How long could she swallow back those tears to keep her front of bravery?

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Talk about angst! O_O Yeesh! Even I wanted to take the characters and shake em by their shirts: "Stop being so pitiful, stupid!" But at least I got around to writing again. Let's hope this one won't fall through like all my other fics. Hope you enjoyed reading and come back for more. ^_^x