CHAPTER 7: SURVIVING AND PLANTS
Vash the Stampede shot up like a bullet. He jumped out of his blankets so quickly that he lost his footing on the edge of the cliff and slid over with a high girlie screech, arms and legs flailing in all directions.
"Aiiiieeeeee!"
Landing on his head ten feet below...
THUD!
His body folded over in a crumpled headstand and his eyes rolled around like pin balls. Little winged Vashs fluttered and bounced around his head, giggling insanely, each with a doughnut in hand.
"Uughn...what a nightmare!" He slurred, picking himself up.
Shaking the stars out of his eyes, Vash climbed back up to the top of the cliff and flopped down on the ground, rubbing his sore head. "Maaann, it was such a good dream to!" He whined, "Yeah...great dream, right up until that part when we..." He stopped mid sentence, his eyes widening.
It wasn't me. He thought It's always been me, but this time...it was...
Vash's mouth hung open in disbelief as the last part of the dream came back to him. His heart wrenched with the realization of it. It was definitely Meryl, but the face she had looked into was not his. It was his brother. It was Knives. How was that possible?
"Meryl..." He breathed. "No...don't tell me I'm...?" Tears filled his vision as a terrible thought entered his mind. "Am I already...too late?"
Fifty iles east, Meryl also woke up with a start. Sweat stood out on her forehead and she was breathing quickly as she clutched the blankets.
What was that!?
Frantically, she felt for her clothes, breathing a sigh of relief when she found them still on her own body. Her eyes darted wildly around, searching for...
Whew, she thought when she saw her psychopathic companion still sound asleep on his mat, which he had placed as far away from her as he could. He was turned away from her and Meryl could see his breathing was slow and steady.
Good, he's still asleep. The last thing I need, she groaned, flopping back onto her mat, is that pain-in-my-ass plant reading my mind tonight. Meryl rubbed her eyes roughly and looked up at the stars. The cool night breeze chilled her damp skin and she shivered under her thin blanket.
What a nightmare. She thought to herself, Geez, now that stupid jerk is ruining my dreams too! Either that or I'm just going crazy.
She glanced over past the glowing embers of the fire to where Knives lay silent. Ghost sensations scurried up her bare arms and legs, causing goose bumps to pop up and her face to turn pink at the memory of the soft brushes of his hands. It was...so tender...caring...loving, so unlike him. She touched her burning cheek.
What's the matter with me?! It was just a stupid dream. Get a grip, Meryl! The only thing you have to worry about is keeping him from killing himself, you, and anyone else. You're doing this for Vash, remember! She smacked herself in the face several times before pulling the covers up over her head and snuggling down into the drafty material. Vash...hurry... She thought as her eyelids slowly closed and she fell asleep again.
The campsite settled under a heavy veil of stillness as the last burning embers faded away into charcoal. The stars twinkled over the peaceful scene and the three moons glowed with a serene light.
But one being in the camp was far from calm.
Knives lay on his side; eyes wide open, panting as quietly as he could. Beads of sweat quivered on his face and neck, and his chest tensed as he tried to keep his reaction to that extremely vivid dream a secret from that...that...infernal woman! Still, he couldn't stop the images from assaulting his vision for at least the next hour.
Back at the house...
The early morning suns were just starting to rise in the West, casting long shadows on the charred remains of the little farmhouse on the edge of town. Some folks might be a bit upset if their home suddenly blew itself up in a smoking heap, but in the little shed to the south two people were counting their blessings.
Milly leaned over the cot to check on the old bandages she wrapped around Nicholas' torso the night before. The bleeding had stopped and he seemed to be healing just fine. She sighed and rested her head on the edge of the bed.
"Nicholas..." She whispered, "can you hear me?"
"Mmmn..."
"How do you feel?"
Wolfwood squinted his eyes and tried to move, "Umgh...well, I'm no doctor, but I'd still have to give you a unqualified diagnosis of 'pretty shitty'."
"Well, I just made up some medicine for those wounds of yours," Milly chirped merrily, "so you just sit still while I take care of you, dear."
She cheerfully unwrapped the gauze and tended to Nicholas' bullet wounds, which luckily, had not hit any major organs. His old scars stood out vividly against his pale skin. The ointment Milly mixed up was cool and relaxing against his sore muscles and Wolfwood was just about to give a contended sigh when...
"Ugh! What's that smell?" His face turned a sick shade of green as he held his nose, "Don't tell me that stuff is suppose to smell like that!"
"Well, of course it is, silly," Milly sang as she glopped more of the foul smelling goop on his chest, "It's my own special blend of herbs. Like my middle big sister used to say, 'The worse it stinks the better it heals!'"
"Remind me to bring nose plugs when you take me to visit your folks." Wolfwood grumbled, taking gulps of air from behind his hand. "Ow!"
"Oh, stop complaining you big baby," Milly scolded, poking him in the gut. "You could be a lot worse off, you know. I'm just thankful this wasn't as serious as it looked. I don't know what I'd do if you died again..." She trailed off and looked down at her hands.
Nicholas bit his lower lip and lowered his hand from his face, doing his best to breathe the noxious air despite his watering eyes. Taking her hand up, he leaned in towards her and softly kissed her cheek. "I'm not planning on going anywhere for a long time, honey." He chuckled.
Milly smiled up into his face and planted a tender kiss on his lips. "Nicholas...how do you think Mr. Vash and Meryl are doing? I'm worried about them."
Wolfwood sat back on the bed, thinking about the events of the past couple of days. He remembered Vash's last words before he took off after Knives. They still worried him.
"Vash, what's this all about? Why did Knives suddenly up and explode, and what's Meryl got to do with all this?"
"My guess is that he took her for insurance. He knows I wouldn't go back to that place unless he has a hostage."
"What place? What are you talking about...what's this all about, Vash!"
Knives is after something...something we left behind one hundred and thirty years ago. Something no one remembers. If he finds it and uses it, none of us, not even I, will be able to survive. Take good care of yourself and Milly. See you later."
"I wouldn't worry too much, babe." Nicholas said, feigning calm, "Vash'll find them, I'd bet my life on that. Besides, I think Knives wants to be found, that's why he snatched Meryl instead of killing her."
"But," Milly frowned, "I still don't understand why he took her. He wouldn't hurt her, would he?"
Wolfwood smirked and stroked a finger along Milly's chin, "I hope not babe. He knows Vash will follow them for sure if he's got Meryl. Vash said there was a place he never wanted to go back to and I think this is how Knives planned to get him there. I hate to admit it, but he's actually pretty smart for a crazed lunatic. He's figured something out that even Vash hasn't realized yet."
"What's that?"
"Humph. That needle noggin is in love with her."
Milly opened her eyes as wide as she could, sparkling with joy. "Oh, I knew it!" She squeaked, grabbing Nicholas around the neck and hugging him with all her might.
"Heeeyy!" He wailed, "I'm injured here! Bleh! You're getting that goop all over me! Miilllyy!"
Knives stared out across the dead land, lost in thought.
How did it come to this? They should all have been destroyed by now. Filthy spiders...all of them. Spreading their poison over this wasted planet...sucking the life from his brothers and sisters...they should be dead.
But they weren't dead...and it was all his fault. No...not his...
Vash. It was his fault. His own brother...a plant like him. How could he ignore the pain of their brethren? He must be able to hear it still...late at night when nothing moved...the heart wrenching cries from the beings that lived outside of time as their souls were slowly squeezed dry by the greedy spiders and their plant machines. Did he really care more for these crawling bugs than for his own kind?
Yes. Especially that...that female.
That loud mouthed, arrogant, bitchy little chit had been very free in her words with him lately. The thought sickened him. He had watched them over the past two weeks whenever he snuck out of his room to spy...saw their quick glances and felt the quickening pulses...that night in the kitchen. He let her touch him. Actually let that dirty human hang all over him. And, the desires...as if merely being in their presence wasn't bad enough...Vash had to be soiled with "feelings" for that one. Knives could feel it as he lay in his room at night...and the dreams... God those damned dreams...disgusting...but...
But, it didn't matter anymore. No matter what she said, she would end up the same in the end...
Despite his best efforts, his cheeks still burned red at the memory of the dreams, because no matter how much he denied it, he had found her strangely...enticing. His lip curled with disdain. It was all so...mushy, so human.
Pathetic.
That's why he took her. She would be the link. He would kill her, and Vash would see it all. Maybe then, he would realize the truth. It didn't matter what she said anymore. Love is pain. If you don't love, there will be no pain, and they all die in the end, every one of them.
Knives had wanted his brother alive; they were both plants after all. All that planning, to get Vash to meet him, to break his spirit and make him forget the ramblings of that ridiculous woman he put so much faith in all those years ago. And still he failed. Vash should be wallowing in the deepest pits of despair right now, he had after all, killed of his own free will. It should have destroyed him, betraying Rem's memory.
It didn't make sense. He was getting as illogical as those damned spiders.
The other thing that bothered him was that reoccurring dream of his. Being trapped in the clear blue water that changed to a deep purple hue when he got closer to the surface. But he was never able to get past the edge. What was out there, really? Was it just nothing, maybe, just a silly dream, some neural connections firing? If so, why could he never get past the surface of the water? He remembered looking behind him and seeing himself. Did that mean he was holding himself back, that maybe he really didn't want to go beyond the edge of the water? It was all so baffling. But maybe...maybe he was mistaken. Maybe it hadn't been him holding onto his own legs, what if it was Vash?
They were supposed to be the saviors of their race, the ones born with free will. It was so clear that their mission was to annihilate the human species and save the plants, how could Vash not see that? That was it; Vash was the one holding him back, the one keeping him from realizing his true potential. Knives tried to give his brother a chance to change...to see that there was no alternative...he had to choose one or the other. Humans or plants...
...Well, he had made his choice. He had chosen to be human.
And now I make my choice...brother. When I activate the central plant I WILL kill them all...starting with her.
The next day, Meryl noticed that Knives was uncustomarily quiet, even for him. Not only that, but he didn't seem to want to look her in the eye.
What's with him? She frowned, He isn't even trying to piss me off. All this silence if driving me nuts.
It was hard enough riding this close to him as it was. Flashes of that crazy dream kept popping back into her memory, no matter how much she tried to forget them. She couldn't help it; she could feel his eyes boring into her back as they trotted along the red sand dunes. It was difficult going uphill, because gravity would take over, making her slide back. Meryl had to hold on the saddle horn to keep from leaning on Knives. A few times her grip failed her and her back brushed against him causing her pulse to jump and her skin to flush. The thought of contact with the dangerous plant had become frightening and enticing at the same time.
Meryl shook herself to clear her mind. That was simply ridiculous!
She was in love with Vash! She had waited for Vash. And yet, she found herself strangely drawn to his brother.
All right, maybe it was just a substitution complex. Perhaps a weird psychological quirk! They were almost the same, after all. But, the only similarity between the two brothers was their appearance, and otherwise they weren't completely identical anymore. Even so, she felt a strong desire to protect this maniac. He was Vash's brother after all, his only living relative. And she had made a promise to him and to herself to protect him. But, protecting him was as far as the emotion went. She definitely wasn't attracted to him...
A grunt came from the plant when the thomas hit a dip in the land. Meryl heard his sharp intake of breath. He hadn't let her properly attend to his wounds back when he had fallen off the thomas, and the loosely wound bandages were starting to unravel.
Knives felt his head throbbed with dull pain.
"Well, it serves you right." Meryl scolded, "I told you we should have stayed at the last campsite until you were healed enough to travel. This way you'll just make yourself worse!"
She had become bolder with him since he was choosing to ignore her. His silence actually scared her more than anything else, so she had been berating him for the past couple of hours, trying to get a rise out of him.
Uhg, why do I even care how he is? I should be glad he's not threatening to kill me anymore.
He reminded her of a coiled cobra.
Knives didn't respond.
The silence sat heavily in the air, making her fidgety.
"Knives?"
The throbbing pain in his head increased.
"Knives? Hello?"
His temples began to ache.
"Knives? Hey are you alive back there? I'd appreciate a response!"
The headache jack hammered against his skull, and he couldn't take it anymore. He had to say something if he wanted her to shut up.
"I'm fine," he muttered. "Once we get to our destination I'll be able to heal in a matter of hours, so just keep your annoying mouth shut and watch for the structure."
Meryl humped. Knives prayed that she would just let it go and stop talking.
No such luck.
"Fine. You know you still haven't told me what we're looking for. How am I suppose to know what it is when I see it? You could at least tell me that!"
He was barely aware of the heavy pounding again. "Tch. We're looking for the wreckage of a ship. Now will you shut the hell up!" He felt like he was barley hanging on to consciousness.
"A ship! What kind of ship?"
Knives had to restrain himself from strangling her with his mind.
"A big shiny metal one." he hissed sarcastically through clenched teeth, hiding his pain as best he could.
"You jerk, I'm just trying to get an idea of where we're going! I hope you don't think that I actually want to go anywhere with you! It wasn't my idea to go on this little vacation, and I'll have you know that...uh...are you alright?" Meryl stopped her tirade when she glared back at Knives and saw him teetering on the edge of his seat. His eyes were going in and out of focus and his breathing was erratic.
The pounding in his head gave a flash of light and Knives lost his balance, falling off the thomas and landing on the ground with a thud. Blurry visions swam in front of his eyes, unable to focus on anything.
Damnit... Meryl felt a rush of panic hit her.
"Hold still! Don't move or you'll make it worse." Meryl leapt off the thomas and propped Knives up carefully against a boulder. She checked the bandages and found them soaked with blood. Knives' vision slowly cleared, and he saw her huddling over him with a concerned expression on her face.
For a spit second, the world was wiped away, and he saw nothing except for her face. The concern and caring in her eyes shook him to his foundations. All Knives could do was stare, unbelieving, as she tended to him.
Why in hell's name is she looking at me like that? Why is she helping me?
It didn't make any sense. After years of observing the human creatures, he had discovered one consistent rule. People only "help" others when they want something in return, only selfish reasons existed. So what was her motivation? Devotion to his brother? She should have taken the opportunity to run away and leave him to die, if she was smart. So that must mean....she wanted something.
If he knew what she wanted, he could use it against her. Make her a willing participant in his plans.
But what?
"Almost done." Meryl said, readjusting the cloth around his right shoulder. Knives was quiet again, and it was rather unsettling. The blank look on his face told her nothing about what was going on inside his head. However, with the pure malice gone from his features, he did look a little more like Vash than before. Maybe this was a good time to plant a seed, so to speak, in the plants brain.
Meryl pulled at the collar of her shirt, nervously. The back of her neck felt strangely cold, like cool metal, but she decided to ignore it for now.
"You should rest for a little while. I hope you learned your lesson."
Knives fuzzy brain barely registered what she was saying, but he managed to catch a few random words.
"You should listen to me next time. I told you that you'd wear yourself out like that. Course I'd be dreaming if I thought you or Vash would ever listen to me!
DREAM
"Boy, you and Vash are just alike when it comes to using common sense."
ALIKE
"You're more alike than just your bodies, you know."
BODIES
Dream, alike, bodies. That cursed dream, his similarity to Vash, and their bodies.
Knives felt his brain click on...
...so that was it.
Meryl froze as she felt Knives' hand clamp over her wrist. His face came up uncomfortably close to hers.
"So, my brother and I are just alike...is that so..." He hissed in her ear.
Meryl didn't like the look she saw on his face as he tightened his grip on her arm. Something was defiantly wrong. "W-what, what are you talking about. I, uh, I think you need to lie down, you don't look so good."
But he didn't let go. He tightened his grip.
"Just alike..." He mumbled, "so...that's what you want. That's what you've been after..."
This wasn't making any sense, so Meryl decided she'd use the pissed off technique, "Look you crazy plant, I don't know what you're implying but...hhihhh! Hey! Knock it off!"
But his hands weren't stopping. They brushed down her bare arms and down her sides, resting on her hips. Meryl's cheeks flushed pink and she found she couldn't move. The dream flashed through her brain.
Did he know?
She let out a frightened shriek when he grabbed her roughly by the waist and spun her around, locking his arm around her neck in a strangle hold. His other hand slipped under the front of her shirt and began inching up the material.
Meryl's eyes widened in horror as she felt her body stiffen at the sudden assault.
"Stop." She choked.
"Why?" His voice was deadly still. "Now that I know what you've been after."
"What?" Her voice barely worked. Knives took the opportunity to slid his hand under the edge of her bra and run his fingers over the skin at the base of her breast. His voice was a knife in her brain.
"I know what you want now. No one ever does anything for free."
"Let me go." Meryl whispered. She tried to force her body to move, to escape, but she felt glued to the spot.
"I know why you've been so 'nice' to me now." His breath was warm against her neck as he lazily toyed with the straps of her bra. He was enjoying making her squirm; paying her back for all the hours of annoyance she had given him.
Make her a participant. Make her willing. Use it against her.
Meryl couldn't figure out what was going on. It was all happening so fast. Her muddled brain seized on the one person she could think of that could save her.
"Help...Vash..."
Knives smirked, iron faced. She wasn't going to fool him.
"Your thoughts betray him. This is what you wanted. It's what you dreamed!"
My god, the dream! Her mind screamed. He does know!
One of his hands slid down over the side of her right breast, so gently she could barely feel it.
"...n-no..." her heart raced in her chest, the blood pounding faster and faster.
Something was building inside her head.
"Yes. You think I don't know about it, that I've never...indulged." He cupped the breast firmly, and pressed himself up against her from behind.
"No..." She began to struggle, her head spinning.
"You thought to get me in your debt, didn't you." The bra lifted up from her body.
"No." Her brain screamed.
"This is what my brother does, isn't it?" He roughly grabbed her bare chest.
"No!" The screaming grew louder.
"My brother put his trust in a whore!" Knives thrust himself up behind her suddenly.
"NO!" Meryl's scream burst straight from her brain and into the cold night air. Instead of cold, the back of her neck was now burning with fire.
In an instant she was free.
Knives lay prostrate on the ground, hands clenched tightly over his ears, his eyes shut tightly. His mind was spinning from the mental blow. He was, after all, only trying to scare her, to use her weaknesses against her, like he had always done with humans. But something backfired again, just like before. Before Knives blacked out, he thought dumbly,
How? What is this woman? It's like she...was inside my head...
Over a hundred iles away, Vash the Stampede clamped his hands over his ears and fell to his knees in the dense hot sand.
"Ouch! What the...?"
It felt like two bright hot needles had been driven through his eyes into his brain. Vash checked his hands and face for any trace of blood, but there was none. It had been a phantom sensation.
"That felt like, like a mental attack!" He breathed, "But, I've only felt that when fighting Knives, or when he's been...hurt."
Instantly, Vash was on his feet again, piling down the sand dunes like a runaway train. He knew it could only mean one thing.
"Knives tried to hurt Meryl somehow and she sent his energy back at him."
Instead of being astounded by the fact that a human could have that kind of effect on a plant, Vash simply smiled to himself as he ran.
"Good. That means she hasn't found my little "gift" yet. I just hope it stays hidden until I get there. Gotta hurry!"
Even though he didn't want to admit it, Vash was feeling the fatigue of the journey catching up to him. His body was tough, sure, but everything needs to recharge itself, and he had not been sleeping at night. Afraid of what he would dream, or rather, what Meryl would dream again. He just looked at the stars and remembered a time when they both looked up at them together.
It was better than dreaming.
The first thing Knives saw when he opened his eyes again, was the dull gold glow of the rising sun. Some of the light made a path from the horizon to the small patch of ground where he lay, crossing itself over the pitted landscape like a living connect the dot game.
He blinked.
The small movement caused the dull pain in his head to resurface and he squinted his eyes. His hand came up to lift the thick blanket from his shoulders, but instead came in contact with a fresh layer of bandages, wrapped around his torso, arm, and shoulder.
Instantly, he remembered.
"So, you're conscious again I take it."
Quick as a flash, Knives sat up, and just as quickly, his head gave a violent throb of protest. He winced before he could stop himself.
"I wouldn't recommend that, Knives," Meryl sighed, "you'll just pass out again if you try to over exert yourself."
Knives tried to get his blurry eyes to focus on the source of her voice. Just in front of the rising sun, he made out her silhouette, sitting on a sizable boulder. Even without the full use of his eyes, he could see the gleam of the knife in her hand.
"Why...uhn...didn't you do it?" He rasped, "Why didn't you kill me when you had the chance? Were you waiting until I woke up so you could hear my screams? You humans, nothing but savages."
"Has anyone ever told you, Knives, that you need to get over yourself!"
The comment was unexpected, and left him open-mouthed for a moment.
Light from the morning's first rays cut across her face as she stood up, looking down on the befuddled plant. The effect made her look much taller than she really was, and Knives found once again that he was caught in the sight.
Meryl moved slowly toward him and sat down on the ground, looking him squarely in the eye. All of a sudden, Knives felt nervous. No one had ever been this bold with him, and lived.
I can't kill her, he thought, I haven't even been able to hurt her. It's like something stopped me each time I tried. So how do I control her? Every time I tried to use my mind, the power was reversed back on me. And scaring her only results in my own brain getting shocked. But, it's impossible for a human to have these kinds of abilities, isn't it? She'd have to be a plant to be able to control mental energy. What is she?
Meryl narrowed her eyes as she spoke, "Alright, Knives. I don't know what kind of agenda you've got out here in the wastelands. I don't know where you're taking me, or what we're looking for, or what you intend to do once we find it. Maybe you're right. Maybe I should have killed you while I had the chance. Lord knows it probably would have been the most sensible thing to do. But..." Her eyes focused directly above Knives head, on the last few stars in the western sky, "But I made a promise. A promise I can't break, because if I did, then I would break to. That's why I've been so "nice" to you? That's why I've been taking care of you. That's why I've been trying to keep you alive in spite of your self destructive behavior!"
The anger in her voice had raised it to a high pitch as she screamed at him with all her might, "Not because I want to screw you cause you look like Vash!"
Knives gritted his teeth against the accusation.
"Tch. I wasn't going to "screw" you as you so delicately put, human. The thought is repulsive. It was merely an attempt to scare you to shut you up. I thought using your painfully obvious affections for my brainless brother would be the best means to the end. After several incidences of redirected emotion came to my attention, I decided to use it against you, that's all. However, I seem to have been...mistaken."
Was it...disappointment he detected in his own voice?
She got up stiffly, flinging their saddlebags over the thomas' back and preparing to set off. Without looking at him she said, "I stand by my promise. Even though you're a deranged lunatic and a killer, even though you've attacked me more than once and kidnapped me...you are still Vash's brother, his only family. He cares about you, so I have to take care of you until he gets here. I have to keep patching you up every time you spring a leak. Even if it's the stupidest thing I'll ever do, I could never face him if I allowed you to die out here."
She finished packing and walked over to where Knives still lay. Pinching her lips together, she stretched out her hand to help him up to his feet.
"Keh," he spat, "I don't need help from a filthy spider."
"You keep saying that and then I keep helping you anyway, so why don't you give it a rest?" She leaned in farther, offering her arm. "Come on, I can't lift you by myself, your bandages could shift."
He ground his teeth until his whole jaw hurt, Shit, I don't have a choice. I'm too weak to do anything on my own right now. Like it or not, I have to accept her help. She won't live to tell about it anyway.
But, in the back of his mind, Knives found himself for the first time, doubting his decision to kill her.
Swallowing as much pride as he could muster, Knives reluctantly reached out for her arm, surprised when she grabbed it roughly and pulled him up to his feet with a lot of force for someone as small as she was. The result was sharp pain shooting through every injured limb.
"Hey!" He barked, "What happened to not shifting the bandages, woman?!"
"Just because I promised not to let you die on the way, does not mean I promised to get you there painlessly." Meryl hissed, and he could just make out the hint of a smirk on her lips. "Oh, and by the way, I don't care if you are a super powered plant thingy, if you so much as lay a finger on me again, you're going to lose more than your stems, plant boy."
Knives growled as he hoisted himself up into the back seat on the thomas.
"If I was in possession of my full strength and powers, believe me, I'd crush you like a bug. The only reason you're still alive is because I needed a hostage. But don't think that I will go easy on you when my mission is completed simply because I look like my brother."
Meryl stopped and looked behind her, her eyes were suddenly very sad.
"You're nothing like Vash." She said quietly, before turning around and kicking the thomas into motion.
Knives outwardly humped, dismissing her last comment. But inside...against his will, something about her simple statement...hurt.
The two odd companions journeyed in relative silence for the entire day, stopping only to eat and stretch. Well, Meryl ate and stretched. Knives refused to budge from his perch on the thomas and he insisted that plants didn't need common human food, which she assumed to be a lie due to his poorly hidden rumbling stomach.
Just as the sun was reaching the western horizon at the end of the day, Meryl caught a small twinkle to the south. As she gazed harder at the hurriedly darkening spot, the twinkle turned into a glimmer. Light was obviously reflecting off of a huge metal structure in the distance.
"Knives." She said quickly.
"What is it?" He responded grumpily as his head nodded toward his chest.
"On nothing, I guess," Meryl humped, "Just that ship you were so anxious to get to."
"The ship!" He was up in a flash, face pointed like a bloodhound toward the glowing chunk of metal.
With his superior eyesight, Knives instantly recognized the ancient plant ship wreckage, crash-landed over a hundred and thirty years ago. He felt the old power radiating from within and knew that his plans were only hours from completion. Once inside the ship he would be able to heal in no time, and then...and then...
The gnawing doubt resurfaced. When the time came, could he go through with it? The small woman had seriously shaken his mental foundations. Foundations four times as old as she was. She was just another wasteful spider, something to be exterminated. And yet, she had managed to surprise him at every turn. What was she really? Knives began to see why his brother had taken a very personal interest in this little human.
No. He thought, I'm not Vash. I'm not a pathetic wimp like him. These human spiders use us for their own selfish reasons. They drain our life like sand through a sieve, and when we are dying, they stamp us out. They are the real murderers. That is why I have to kill them. I have to kill her.
As the last beams of light from the west made their way across the broken land, it found itself touching the hull of a long abandoned ship. In front of that ship stood two figures, one tall and blonde, the other short and dark. The echo of grinding metal sounded against the rocky crags, which surrounded the ship as the makeshift doors of the structure, slid open, seemingly of their own accord.
And as the sun made it's final departure, the two figures disappeared into the dark mouth of the dead plant ship.
Next Time on Edge: Chapter 8 Flowers and Reasons
Vash the Stampede shot up like a bullet. He jumped out of his blankets so quickly that he lost his footing on the edge of the cliff and slid over with a high girlie screech, arms and legs flailing in all directions.
"Aiiiieeeeee!"
Landing on his head ten feet below...
THUD!
His body folded over in a crumpled headstand and his eyes rolled around like pin balls. Little winged Vashs fluttered and bounced around his head, giggling insanely, each with a doughnut in hand.
"Uughn...what a nightmare!" He slurred, picking himself up.
Shaking the stars out of his eyes, Vash climbed back up to the top of the cliff and flopped down on the ground, rubbing his sore head. "Maaann, it was such a good dream to!" He whined, "Yeah...great dream, right up until that part when we..." He stopped mid sentence, his eyes widening.
It wasn't me. He thought It's always been me, but this time...it was...
Vash's mouth hung open in disbelief as the last part of the dream came back to him. His heart wrenched with the realization of it. It was definitely Meryl, but the face she had looked into was not his. It was his brother. It was Knives. How was that possible?
"Meryl..." He breathed. "No...don't tell me I'm...?" Tears filled his vision as a terrible thought entered his mind. "Am I already...too late?"
Fifty iles east, Meryl also woke up with a start. Sweat stood out on her forehead and she was breathing quickly as she clutched the blankets.
What was that!?
Frantically, she felt for her clothes, breathing a sigh of relief when she found them still on her own body. Her eyes darted wildly around, searching for...
Whew, she thought when she saw her psychopathic companion still sound asleep on his mat, which he had placed as far away from her as he could. He was turned away from her and Meryl could see his breathing was slow and steady.
Good, he's still asleep. The last thing I need, she groaned, flopping back onto her mat, is that pain-in-my-ass plant reading my mind tonight. Meryl rubbed her eyes roughly and looked up at the stars. The cool night breeze chilled her damp skin and she shivered under her thin blanket.
What a nightmare. She thought to herself, Geez, now that stupid jerk is ruining my dreams too! Either that or I'm just going crazy.
She glanced over past the glowing embers of the fire to where Knives lay silent. Ghost sensations scurried up her bare arms and legs, causing goose bumps to pop up and her face to turn pink at the memory of the soft brushes of his hands. It was...so tender...caring...loving, so unlike him. She touched her burning cheek.
What's the matter with me?! It was just a stupid dream. Get a grip, Meryl! The only thing you have to worry about is keeping him from killing himself, you, and anyone else. You're doing this for Vash, remember! She smacked herself in the face several times before pulling the covers up over her head and snuggling down into the drafty material. Vash...hurry... She thought as her eyelids slowly closed and she fell asleep again.
The campsite settled under a heavy veil of stillness as the last burning embers faded away into charcoal. The stars twinkled over the peaceful scene and the three moons glowed with a serene light.
But one being in the camp was far from calm.
Knives lay on his side; eyes wide open, panting as quietly as he could. Beads of sweat quivered on his face and neck, and his chest tensed as he tried to keep his reaction to that extremely vivid dream a secret from that...that...infernal woman! Still, he couldn't stop the images from assaulting his vision for at least the next hour.
Back at the house...
The early morning suns were just starting to rise in the West, casting long shadows on the charred remains of the little farmhouse on the edge of town. Some folks might be a bit upset if their home suddenly blew itself up in a smoking heap, but in the little shed to the south two people were counting their blessings.
Milly leaned over the cot to check on the old bandages she wrapped around Nicholas' torso the night before. The bleeding had stopped and he seemed to be healing just fine. She sighed and rested her head on the edge of the bed.
"Nicholas..." She whispered, "can you hear me?"
"Mmmn..."
"How do you feel?"
Wolfwood squinted his eyes and tried to move, "Umgh...well, I'm no doctor, but I'd still have to give you a unqualified diagnosis of 'pretty shitty'."
"Well, I just made up some medicine for those wounds of yours," Milly chirped merrily, "so you just sit still while I take care of you, dear."
She cheerfully unwrapped the gauze and tended to Nicholas' bullet wounds, which luckily, had not hit any major organs. His old scars stood out vividly against his pale skin. The ointment Milly mixed up was cool and relaxing against his sore muscles and Wolfwood was just about to give a contended sigh when...
"Ugh! What's that smell?" His face turned a sick shade of green as he held his nose, "Don't tell me that stuff is suppose to smell like that!"
"Well, of course it is, silly," Milly sang as she glopped more of the foul smelling goop on his chest, "It's my own special blend of herbs. Like my middle big sister used to say, 'The worse it stinks the better it heals!'"
"Remind me to bring nose plugs when you take me to visit your folks." Wolfwood grumbled, taking gulps of air from behind his hand. "Ow!"
"Oh, stop complaining you big baby," Milly scolded, poking him in the gut. "You could be a lot worse off, you know. I'm just thankful this wasn't as serious as it looked. I don't know what I'd do if you died again..." She trailed off and looked down at her hands.
Nicholas bit his lower lip and lowered his hand from his face, doing his best to breathe the noxious air despite his watering eyes. Taking her hand up, he leaned in towards her and softly kissed her cheek. "I'm not planning on going anywhere for a long time, honey." He chuckled.
Milly smiled up into his face and planted a tender kiss on his lips. "Nicholas...how do you think Mr. Vash and Meryl are doing? I'm worried about them."
Wolfwood sat back on the bed, thinking about the events of the past couple of days. He remembered Vash's last words before he took off after Knives. They still worried him.
"Vash, what's this all about? Why did Knives suddenly up and explode, and what's Meryl got to do with all this?"
"My guess is that he took her for insurance. He knows I wouldn't go back to that place unless he has a hostage."
"What place? What are you talking about...what's this all about, Vash!"
Knives is after something...something we left behind one hundred and thirty years ago. Something no one remembers. If he finds it and uses it, none of us, not even I, will be able to survive. Take good care of yourself and Milly. See you later."
"I wouldn't worry too much, babe." Nicholas said, feigning calm, "Vash'll find them, I'd bet my life on that. Besides, I think Knives wants to be found, that's why he snatched Meryl instead of killing her."
"But," Milly frowned, "I still don't understand why he took her. He wouldn't hurt her, would he?"
Wolfwood smirked and stroked a finger along Milly's chin, "I hope not babe. He knows Vash will follow them for sure if he's got Meryl. Vash said there was a place he never wanted to go back to and I think this is how Knives planned to get him there. I hate to admit it, but he's actually pretty smart for a crazed lunatic. He's figured something out that even Vash hasn't realized yet."
"What's that?"
"Humph. That needle noggin is in love with her."
Milly opened her eyes as wide as she could, sparkling with joy. "Oh, I knew it!" She squeaked, grabbing Nicholas around the neck and hugging him with all her might.
"Heeeyy!" He wailed, "I'm injured here! Bleh! You're getting that goop all over me! Miilllyy!"
Knives stared out across the dead land, lost in thought.
How did it come to this? They should all have been destroyed by now. Filthy spiders...all of them. Spreading their poison over this wasted planet...sucking the life from his brothers and sisters...they should be dead.
But they weren't dead...and it was all his fault. No...not his...
Vash. It was his fault. His own brother...a plant like him. How could he ignore the pain of their brethren? He must be able to hear it still...late at night when nothing moved...the heart wrenching cries from the beings that lived outside of time as their souls were slowly squeezed dry by the greedy spiders and their plant machines. Did he really care more for these crawling bugs than for his own kind?
Yes. Especially that...that female.
That loud mouthed, arrogant, bitchy little chit had been very free in her words with him lately. The thought sickened him. He had watched them over the past two weeks whenever he snuck out of his room to spy...saw their quick glances and felt the quickening pulses...that night in the kitchen. He let her touch him. Actually let that dirty human hang all over him. And, the desires...as if merely being in their presence wasn't bad enough...Vash had to be soiled with "feelings" for that one. Knives could feel it as he lay in his room at night...and the dreams... God those damned dreams...disgusting...but...
But, it didn't matter anymore. No matter what she said, she would end up the same in the end...
Despite his best efforts, his cheeks still burned red at the memory of the dreams, because no matter how much he denied it, he had found her strangely...enticing. His lip curled with disdain. It was all so...mushy, so human.
Pathetic.
That's why he took her. She would be the link. He would kill her, and Vash would see it all. Maybe then, he would realize the truth. It didn't matter what she said anymore. Love is pain. If you don't love, there will be no pain, and they all die in the end, every one of them.
Knives had wanted his brother alive; they were both plants after all. All that planning, to get Vash to meet him, to break his spirit and make him forget the ramblings of that ridiculous woman he put so much faith in all those years ago. And still he failed. Vash should be wallowing in the deepest pits of despair right now, he had after all, killed of his own free will. It should have destroyed him, betraying Rem's memory.
It didn't make sense. He was getting as illogical as those damned spiders.
The other thing that bothered him was that reoccurring dream of his. Being trapped in the clear blue water that changed to a deep purple hue when he got closer to the surface. But he was never able to get past the edge. What was out there, really? Was it just nothing, maybe, just a silly dream, some neural connections firing? If so, why could he never get past the surface of the water? He remembered looking behind him and seeing himself. Did that mean he was holding himself back, that maybe he really didn't want to go beyond the edge of the water? It was all so baffling. But maybe...maybe he was mistaken. Maybe it hadn't been him holding onto his own legs, what if it was Vash?
They were supposed to be the saviors of their race, the ones born with free will. It was so clear that their mission was to annihilate the human species and save the plants, how could Vash not see that? That was it; Vash was the one holding him back, the one keeping him from realizing his true potential. Knives tried to give his brother a chance to change...to see that there was no alternative...he had to choose one or the other. Humans or plants...
...Well, he had made his choice. He had chosen to be human.
And now I make my choice...brother. When I activate the central plant I WILL kill them all...starting with her.
The next day, Meryl noticed that Knives was uncustomarily quiet, even for him. Not only that, but he didn't seem to want to look her in the eye.
What's with him? She frowned, He isn't even trying to piss me off. All this silence if driving me nuts.
It was hard enough riding this close to him as it was. Flashes of that crazy dream kept popping back into her memory, no matter how much she tried to forget them. She couldn't help it; she could feel his eyes boring into her back as they trotted along the red sand dunes. It was difficult going uphill, because gravity would take over, making her slide back. Meryl had to hold on the saddle horn to keep from leaning on Knives. A few times her grip failed her and her back brushed against him causing her pulse to jump and her skin to flush. The thought of contact with the dangerous plant had become frightening and enticing at the same time.
Meryl shook herself to clear her mind. That was simply ridiculous!
She was in love with Vash! She had waited for Vash. And yet, she found herself strangely drawn to his brother.
All right, maybe it was just a substitution complex. Perhaps a weird psychological quirk! They were almost the same, after all. But, the only similarity between the two brothers was their appearance, and otherwise they weren't completely identical anymore. Even so, she felt a strong desire to protect this maniac. He was Vash's brother after all, his only living relative. And she had made a promise to him and to herself to protect him. But, protecting him was as far as the emotion went. She definitely wasn't attracted to him...
A grunt came from the plant when the thomas hit a dip in the land. Meryl heard his sharp intake of breath. He hadn't let her properly attend to his wounds back when he had fallen off the thomas, and the loosely wound bandages were starting to unravel.
Knives felt his head throbbed with dull pain.
"Well, it serves you right." Meryl scolded, "I told you we should have stayed at the last campsite until you were healed enough to travel. This way you'll just make yourself worse!"
She had become bolder with him since he was choosing to ignore her. His silence actually scared her more than anything else, so she had been berating him for the past couple of hours, trying to get a rise out of him.
Uhg, why do I even care how he is? I should be glad he's not threatening to kill me anymore.
He reminded her of a coiled cobra.
Knives didn't respond.
The silence sat heavily in the air, making her fidgety.
"Knives?"
The throbbing pain in his head increased.
"Knives? Hello?"
His temples began to ache.
"Knives? Hey are you alive back there? I'd appreciate a response!"
The headache jack hammered against his skull, and he couldn't take it anymore. He had to say something if he wanted her to shut up.
"I'm fine," he muttered. "Once we get to our destination I'll be able to heal in a matter of hours, so just keep your annoying mouth shut and watch for the structure."
Meryl humped. Knives prayed that she would just let it go and stop talking.
No such luck.
"Fine. You know you still haven't told me what we're looking for. How am I suppose to know what it is when I see it? You could at least tell me that!"
He was barely aware of the heavy pounding again. "Tch. We're looking for the wreckage of a ship. Now will you shut the hell up!" He felt like he was barley hanging on to consciousness.
"A ship! What kind of ship?"
Knives had to restrain himself from strangling her with his mind.
"A big shiny metal one." he hissed sarcastically through clenched teeth, hiding his pain as best he could.
"You jerk, I'm just trying to get an idea of where we're going! I hope you don't think that I actually want to go anywhere with you! It wasn't my idea to go on this little vacation, and I'll have you know that...uh...are you alright?" Meryl stopped her tirade when she glared back at Knives and saw him teetering on the edge of his seat. His eyes were going in and out of focus and his breathing was erratic.
The pounding in his head gave a flash of light and Knives lost his balance, falling off the thomas and landing on the ground with a thud. Blurry visions swam in front of his eyes, unable to focus on anything.
Damnit... Meryl felt a rush of panic hit her.
"Hold still! Don't move or you'll make it worse." Meryl leapt off the thomas and propped Knives up carefully against a boulder. She checked the bandages and found them soaked with blood. Knives' vision slowly cleared, and he saw her huddling over him with a concerned expression on her face.
For a spit second, the world was wiped away, and he saw nothing except for her face. The concern and caring in her eyes shook him to his foundations. All Knives could do was stare, unbelieving, as she tended to him.
Why in hell's name is she looking at me like that? Why is she helping me?
It didn't make any sense. After years of observing the human creatures, he had discovered one consistent rule. People only "help" others when they want something in return, only selfish reasons existed. So what was her motivation? Devotion to his brother? She should have taken the opportunity to run away and leave him to die, if she was smart. So that must mean....she wanted something.
If he knew what she wanted, he could use it against her. Make her a willing participant in his plans.
But what?
"Almost done." Meryl said, readjusting the cloth around his right shoulder. Knives was quiet again, and it was rather unsettling. The blank look on his face told her nothing about what was going on inside his head. However, with the pure malice gone from his features, he did look a little more like Vash than before. Maybe this was a good time to plant a seed, so to speak, in the plants brain.
Meryl pulled at the collar of her shirt, nervously. The back of her neck felt strangely cold, like cool metal, but she decided to ignore it for now.
"You should rest for a little while. I hope you learned your lesson."
Knives fuzzy brain barely registered what she was saying, but he managed to catch a few random words.
"You should listen to me next time. I told you that you'd wear yourself out like that. Course I'd be dreaming if I thought you or Vash would ever listen to me!
DREAM
"Boy, you and Vash are just alike when it comes to using common sense."
ALIKE
"You're more alike than just your bodies, you know."
BODIES
Dream, alike, bodies. That cursed dream, his similarity to Vash, and their bodies.
Knives felt his brain click on...
...so that was it.
Meryl froze as she felt Knives' hand clamp over her wrist. His face came up uncomfortably close to hers.
"So, my brother and I are just alike...is that so..." He hissed in her ear.
Meryl didn't like the look she saw on his face as he tightened his grip on her arm. Something was defiantly wrong. "W-what, what are you talking about. I, uh, I think you need to lie down, you don't look so good."
But he didn't let go. He tightened his grip.
"Just alike..." He mumbled, "so...that's what you want. That's what you've been after..."
This wasn't making any sense, so Meryl decided she'd use the pissed off technique, "Look you crazy plant, I don't know what you're implying but...hhihhh! Hey! Knock it off!"
But his hands weren't stopping. They brushed down her bare arms and down her sides, resting on her hips. Meryl's cheeks flushed pink and she found she couldn't move. The dream flashed through her brain.
Did he know?
She let out a frightened shriek when he grabbed her roughly by the waist and spun her around, locking his arm around her neck in a strangle hold. His other hand slipped under the front of her shirt and began inching up the material.
Meryl's eyes widened in horror as she felt her body stiffen at the sudden assault.
"Stop." She choked.
"Why?" His voice was deadly still. "Now that I know what you've been after."
"What?" Her voice barely worked. Knives took the opportunity to slid his hand under the edge of her bra and run his fingers over the skin at the base of her breast. His voice was a knife in her brain.
"I know what you want now. No one ever does anything for free."
"Let me go." Meryl whispered. She tried to force her body to move, to escape, but she felt glued to the spot.
"I know why you've been so 'nice' to me now." His breath was warm against her neck as he lazily toyed with the straps of her bra. He was enjoying making her squirm; paying her back for all the hours of annoyance she had given him.
Make her a participant. Make her willing. Use it against her.
Meryl couldn't figure out what was going on. It was all happening so fast. Her muddled brain seized on the one person she could think of that could save her.
"Help...Vash..."
Knives smirked, iron faced. She wasn't going to fool him.
"Your thoughts betray him. This is what you wanted. It's what you dreamed!"
My god, the dream! Her mind screamed. He does know!
One of his hands slid down over the side of her right breast, so gently she could barely feel it.
"...n-no..." her heart raced in her chest, the blood pounding faster and faster.
Something was building inside her head.
"Yes. You think I don't know about it, that I've never...indulged." He cupped the breast firmly, and pressed himself up against her from behind.
"No..." She began to struggle, her head spinning.
"You thought to get me in your debt, didn't you." The bra lifted up from her body.
"No." Her brain screamed.
"This is what my brother does, isn't it?" He roughly grabbed her bare chest.
"No!" The screaming grew louder.
"My brother put his trust in a whore!" Knives thrust himself up behind her suddenly.
"NO!" Meryl's scream burst straight from her brain and into the cold night air. Instead of cold, the back of her neck was now burning with fire.
In an instant she was free.
Knives lay prostrate on the ground, hands clenched tightly over his ears, his eyes shut tightly. His mind was spinning from the mental blow. He was, after all, only trying to scare her, to use her weaknesses against her, like he had always done with humans. But something backfired again, just like before. Before Knives blacked out, he thought dumbly,
How? What is this woman? It's like she...was inside my head...
Over a hundred iles away, Vash the Stampede clamped his hands over his ears and fell to his knees in the dense hot sand.
"Ouch! What the...?"
It felt like two bright hot needles had been driven through his eyes into his brain. Vash checked his hands and face for any trace of blood, but there was none. It had been a phantom sensation.
"That felt like, like a mental attack!" He breathed, "But, I've only felt that when fighting Knives, or when he's been...hurt."
Instantly, Vash was on his feet again, piling down the sand dunes like a runaway train. He knew it could only mean one thing.
"Knives tried to hurt Meryl somehow and she sent his energy back at him."
Instead of being astounded by the fact that a human could have that kind of effect on a plant, Vash simply smiled to himself as he ran.
"Good. That means she hasn't found my little "gift" yet. I just hope it stays hidden until I get there. Gotta hurry!"
Even though he didn't want to admit it, Vash was feeling the fatigue of the journey catching up to him. His body was tough, sure, but everything needs to recharge itself, and he had not been sleeping at night. Afraid of what he would dream, or rather, what Meryl would dream again. He just looked at the stars and remembered a time when they both looked up at them together.
It was better than dreaming.
The first thing Knives saw when he opened his eyes again, was the dull gold glow of the rising sun. Some of the light made a path from the horizon to the small patch of ground where he lay, crossing itself over the pitted landscape like a living connect the dot game.
He blinked.
The small movement caused the dull pain in his head to resurface and he squinted his eyes. His hand came up to lift the thick blanket from his shoulders, but instead came in contact with a fresh layer of bandages, wrapped around his torso, arm, and shoulder.
Instantly, he remembered.
"So, you're conscious again I take it."
Quick as a flash, Knives sat up, and just as quickly, his head gave a violent throb of protest. He winced before he could stop himself.
"I wouldn't recommend that, Knives," Meryl sighed, "you'll just pass out again if you try to over exert yourself."
Knives tried to get his blurry eyes to focus on the source of her voice. Just in front of the rising sun, he made out her silhouette, sitting on a sizable boulder. Even without the full use of his eyes, he could see the gleam of the knife in her hand.
"Why...uhn...didn't you do it?" He rasped, "Why didn't you kill me when you had the chance? Were you waiting until I woke up so you could hear my screams? You humans, nothing but savages."
"Has anyone ever told you, Knives, that you need to get over yourself!"
The comment was unexpected, and left him open-mouthed for a moment.
Light from the morning's first rays cut across her face as she stood up, looking down on the befuddled plant. The effect made her look much taller than she really was, and Knives found once again that he was caught in the sight.
Meryl moved slowly toward him and sat down on the ground, looking him squarely in the eye. All of a sudden, Knives felt nervous. No one had ever been this bold with him, and lived.
I can't kill her, he thought, I haven't even been able to hurt her. It's like something stopped me each time I tried. So how do I control her? Every time I tried to use my mind, the power was reversed back on me. And scaring her only results in my own brain getting shocked. But, it's impossible for a human to have these kinds of abilities, isn't it? She'd have to be a plant to be able to control mental energy. What is she?
Meryl narrowed her eyes as she spoke, "Alright, Knives. I don't know what kind of agenda you've got out here in the wastelands. I don't know where you're taking me, or what we're looking for, or what you intend to do once we find it. Maybe you're right. Maybe I should have killed you while I had the chance. Lord knows it probably would have been the most sensible thing to do. But..." Her eyes focused directly above Knives head, on the last few stars in the western sky, "But I made a promise. A promise I can't break, because if I did, then I would break to. That's why I've been so "nice" to you? That's why I've been taking care of you. That's why I've been trying to keep you alive in spite of your self destructive behavior!"
The anger in her voice had raised it to a high pitch as she screamed at him with all her might, "Not because I want to screw you cause you look like Vash!"
Knives gritted his teeth against the accusation.
"Tch. I wasn't going to "screw" you as you so delicately put, human. The thought is repulsive. It was merely an attempt to scare you to shut you up. I thought using your painfully obvious affections for my brainless brother would be the best means to the end. After several incidences of redirected emotion came to my attention, I decided to use it against you, that's all. However, I seem to have been...mistaken."
Was it...disappointment he detected in his own voice?
She got up stiffly, flinging their saddlebags over the thomas' back and preparing to set off. Without looking at him she said, "I stand by my promise. Even though you're a deranged lunatic and a killer, even though you've attacked me more than once and kidnapped me...you are still Vash's brother, his only family. He cares about you, so I have to take care of you until he gets here. I have to keep patching you up every time you spring a leak. Even if it's the stupidest thing I'll ever do, I could never face him if I allowed you to die out here."
She finished packing and walked over to where Knives still lay. Pinching her lips together, she stretched out her hand to help him up to his feet.
"Keh," he spat, "I don't need help from a filthy spider."
"You keep saying that and then I keep helping you anyway, so why don't you give it a rest?" She leaned in farther, offering her arm. "Come on, I can't lift you by myself, your bandages could shift."
He ground his teeth until his whole jaw hurt, Shit, I don't have a choice. I'm too weak to do anything on my own right now. Like it or not, I have to accept her help. She won't live to tell about it anyway.
But, in the back of his mind, Knives found himself for the first time, doubting his decision to kill her.
Swallowing as much pride as he could muster, Knives reluctantly reached out for her arm, surprised when she grabbed it roughly and pulled him up to his feet with a lot of force for someone as small as she was. The result was sharp pain shooting through every injured limb.
"Hey!" He barked, "What happened to not shifting the bandages, woman?!"
"Just because I promised not to let you die on the way, does not mean I promised to get you there painlessly." Meryl hissed, and he could just make out the hint of a smirk on her lips. "Oh, and by the way, I don't care if you are a super powered plant thingy, if you so much as lay a finger on me again, you're going to lose more than your stems, plant boy."
Knives growled as he hoisted himself up into the back seat on the thomas.
"If I was in possession of my full strength and powers, believe me, I'd crush you like a bug. The only reason you're still alive is because I needed a hostage. But don't think that I will go easy on you when my mission is completed simply because I look like my brother."
Meryl stopped and looked behind her, her eyes were suddenly very sad.
"You're nothing like Vash." She said quietly, before turning around and kicking the thomas into motion.
Knives outwardly humped, dismissing her last comment. But inside...against his will, something about her simple statement...hurt.
The two odd companions journeyed in relative silence for the entire day, stopping only to eat and stretch. Well, Meryl ate and stretched. Knives refused to budge from his perch on the thomas and he insisted that plants didn't need common human food, which she assumed to be a lie due to his poorly hidden rumbling stomach.
Just as the sun was reaching the western horizon at the end of the day, Meryl caught a small twinkle to the south. As she gazed harder at the hurriedly darkening spot, the twinkle turned into a glimmer. Light was obviously reflecting off of a huge metal structure in the distance.
"Knives." She said quickly.
"What is it?" He responded grumpily as his head nodded toward his chest.
"On nothing, I guess," Meryl humped, "Just that ship you were so anxious to get to."
"The ship!" He was up in a flash, face pointed like a bloodhound toward the glowing chunk of metal.
With his superior eyesight, Knives instantly recognized the ancient plant ship wreckage, crash-landed over a hundred and thirty years ago. He felt the old power radiating from within and knew that his plans were only hours from completion. Once inside the ship he would be able to heal in no time, and then...and then...
The gnawing doubt resurfaced. When the time came, could he go through with it? The small woman had seriously shaken his mental foundations. Foundations four times as old as she was. She was just another wasteful spider, something to be exterminated. And yet, she had managed to surprise him at every turn. What was she really? Knives began to see why his brother had taken a very personal interest in this little human.
No. He thought, I'm not Vash. I'm not a pathetic wimp like him. These human spiders use us for their own selfish reasons. They drain our life like sand through a sieve, and when we are dying, they stamp us out. They are the real murderers. That is why I have to kill them. I have to kill her.
As the last beams of light from the west made their way across the broken land, it found itself touching the hull of a long abandoned ship. In front of that ship stood two figures, one tall and blonde, the other short and dark. The echo of grinding metal sounded against the rocky crags, which surrounded the ship as the makeshift doors of the structure, slid open, seemingly of their own accord.
And as the sun made it's final departure, the two figures disappeared into the dark mouth of the dead plant ship.
Next Time on Edge: Chapter 8 Flowers and Reasons