CHAPTER 12: CHOICE AND ATTONMENT
Again the dense blue world of his dreams encased him. Swirling color and muffled sound covered his senses as Knives looked around slack jawed. There was no denying it.
Impossible... He thought.
And yet, here it was. High above him, the control light on the central column spread out across the surface, blinding him to everything above and giving the liquid a sparkling ethereal quality. Like a dream.
Knives frowned into the murky blue.
This is no dream... He reminded himself.
Below him lay the wreckage of the metal walkway, lying where it fell at the bottom of the plant. High above to his left the LCL valve was steadily pouring its contents into the hollow chamber, making gentle waves within. Knives squinted his eyes upwards.
A rippling shadow fell from the central column high beyond the surface.
And a sense of foreboding filled him.
What does this mean?
Seven minutes...
The urgency came upon him and he pushed himself upwards. As he swam he tried to remember the order of events in those dreams. Each one had been slightly different, but always he had felt the overpowering need to reach the surface...the edge of the waters.
But, this time, I know what's there beyond the surface. I must get there or I'll lose everything I've sacrificed my life for.
Maybe it was simply an odd coincidence and the dream was simply a dream. Knives tried not to think about the last time the dream had come, and the pain that came with it. More than death, he feared the pain and what would happen to him if he couldn't stop it. This time he knew the human woman would not be able to save him.
Perhaps she didn't want to anymore, after what he'd done to her.
No regrets.... He thought and tried to focus his mind to reaching the surface. At this rate it would take a little under a minute. He must think of it as a dream...nothing more.
After all, the first thing that always happened in the dream was a giant whirlpool that tried to suck him down into the darkness.
Ridiculous. He thought. There is no way that could happen inside this machine.
Vash cocked his gun and aimed it directly at the bottom of the PTD where the glass met the unit's base. With enough precision, he would be able to drain the devices contents without exploding the entire bulb. It was too risky to destroy the whole plant with Meryl unconscious she had no way to defend herself against the flying glass and metal. Better to buy time by impeding the LCL flow.
The humanoid typhoon took aim where the twisted metal of the walkway rested peacefully across the bottom. With enough luck, he could pull himself up by grabbing onto it from inside.
BANG!!
Knives jerked his head around. He was halfway to the surface when he heard the sound echo through the chamber. For a second he thought the plant had activated early. But the sound had come from below. Right where...Vash...had been...
Tiny splintered cracks ran up the bottom of the plant. Grinding. High- pitched grating.
Knives sucked in his breath. Eyes budging in disbelief, That idiot! What does he think he's doing?!
Another gunshot and the thick glass exploded at the PTD base.
In an instant everything above the hole was being sucked downward. The walkway groaned as it became suctioned to the spot where the water was spilling out. Knives felt the vacuum of the whirlpool try to yank him down out of the plant as everything swirled around him like a tornado.
Knives pumped his strong muscles, pulling himself up. As strong as he was, he made little progress and began to fall farther and farther down into the darkening vortex.
Just like the dream...
It's not possible... He thought frantically, swimming with all his might, it's actually happening!
His tired body fell further. Desperately, Knives' eyes darted around the plant, searching for a way to stop his decent.
Does this mean...that...all the other parts of the dream...will happen to? Knives didn't want to think about the growing possibility. It must be only a strange coincidence. It had to be...
But something else caught his attention as he was struggling with the laws of physics.
The faster his arms stroked the waters to the surface, the farther away it seemed. And with the rapidly falling LCL levels, the plant would never become operational at this rate. Even if he reached the surface, there wouldn't be enough LCL to matter.
Must increase the output... Knives reached out his mind to the LCL valve high above.
The heavy metal release valve groaned in protest before it was suddenly ripped off its hinges, releasing the extra store of fluid at an astonishing rate. But even with the extra output, the plant was still draining almost as fast as it was filling. It surprised him how much his mental powers had escalated since he was last revived in the healing plant. They had never been so strong before, almost as if his mind and body were charging up for something.
But he turned his attention back to the crisis at hand. Knives' muscles screamed in protest as he violently slashed the water around him. Dimly, he wondered what else in his dream would come true.
What happens next? Remember! Remember damn it! If I can remember it, maybe I can beat it. His brain was racing.
The blue, the darkness, the whirlpool...
Before he could think, two strong hands latched onto his ankles and began pulling him back down.
Now he remembered..."NO..." Knives mouthed, cold with terror, Not possible...
Knives head whipped around and, for a second, he thought he was seeing himself just as he had in his dreams. The murky liquid swirled around him so much, it seemed like he was looking into an old smudged mirror.
I won't let you kill her, Knives. a voice echoed in his head. I won't let you kill any of them anymore!
I know that voice, Knives thought.
The smoke cleared and he saw his brother's face floating below him, hands latched like iron around his ankles, trying to pull him back down into the darkness below.
Vash! He growled.
I tried to reason with you, Knives, but you refused to listen, Vash sent his thoughts as forcefully as he could, You know it kills me to hurt you in any way, but I swear on Rem's sacrifice that I will do what ever it takes to stop you. I won't let you take her away from me again!
You idiot, Knives hissed, your Rem is dead. The human woman is not her, or do you believe in reincarnation now? He sneered mockingly.
I know who she is and who she isn't! Vash yelled, yanking his brother back farther and farther as they battled, But Meryl has the same spark of life that Rem had, they share the same soul! And I'll be damned if I'll let you do to her what you did to Rem! I won't let you anymore!
Knives felt his hand graze the thick glass of the plant as Vash pulled him lower. Don't tell me you have "feelings" for the human, brother? He teased menacingly, but deep down he felt a hot seed of jealousy begin to swell. Don't tell me you "love" the...
I do. Vash cut him off before he could finish his thought.
Knives gritted his teeth in anger as he felt the flames begin to grow. Again his brother was trying to stop him, trying to bring him down, trying to take what was his, besting him! The woman was part of his plan and that meant she belonged to him, body and soul. It didn't matter that Vash had found her first; HE would be the one to own her, even if it meant killing her.
The scarred and battered gunman pulled his brother down with all his strength, down toward the opening at the bottom of the plant. Knives clenched his fists together until the blood misted from his punctured palms.
I will not be beaten by you anymore! He roared. If he could get out of this in the dream, he could get out of it now!
Kicking madly, Knives felt his right foot connect with something. Instantly the hands fell away and Knives was free.
Below, Vash was holding his bloody nose and struggling against the pull of the vortex he had created. Trying to brace himself, he grabbed onto the metal railing of the fallen walkway. The structure ripped free and plummeted towards the hole.
Quickly Knives reached back with all the strength he had in his mind, causing the metal of the walkway to twist and contort enough to fill the hole at the bottom of the plant. The metal plunger hit the glass with a smack, making the cracked veins in the bulb grow frighteningly tall. The PTD, however much it groaned in protest, held.
The water around him calmed enough for him to see where he was going once more.
Six minutes...
Vash lay in a soaking wet heap outside the PTD machine. The metal walkway had pushed him out of the plant before plugging it tightly. The dazed gunman weakly sat up only to have the world spin before his eyes. As soon as the merry-go-round stopped, Vash saw that the entrance to the plant was hopelessly blocked.
"Where now..." He gasped clear air into his lungs.
Vash forced himself to his feet and stumbled to the plant. There was only one thing left to do.
"But, I need a clear shot," he thought biting back bitter tears, "I'm sorry, Rem. I have no choice."
Knives felt his muscles relax as the LCL around him ceased its vicious hold. The way was clear! Nothing stood in his way of reaching the surface and reconnecting the cables.
However...he didn't budge.
He was remembering the dream. What came next...
Knives already knew the answer, and he dreaded it.
If I move, he muttered, the pain will start. Knives stared blankly into the deepening blue. Maybe...there's some way to avoid it?
He looked down. Nothing but dark wreckage and death. To the side? No good, there was nothing there. Staying put? No. That would only mean his death when the plant exploded.
Up? It was the only unknown.
I have no choice, he thought, even if the pain means my death...I...I have no choice.
He began swimming up again, and for a short while nothing happened.
Then off in the distance, Knives began to hear a far away sound. A high keening sound, like the whir of a propeller. With each stroke of his arms the sound grew until if became a thin cry.
With shock, he realized what was making the awful sound.
The plants... he thought, but...why? He looked up.
Above him, the LCL was running out and the power of the other plants was rapidly draining. Knives could hear the other plants off in the distance, crying in confusion and fear.
The more the liquid was pumped into the PTD, the less there was for the other plants to sustain their vital functions in this plane of existence. At this rate, there would be just enough left for them to survive after the PTD was activated. In the meantime, it was as if the plant angels were being drained of their blood.
It wasn't suppose to happen this way. He tried to ignore the screams of his siblings, but his insides were being twisted into knots.
The last thing I wanted was to cause them pain, he grimaced.
Knives couldn't help but listen to the voices. The sound was heart wrenching, a mass of cries and moans, angry, sad, and filled with pain. He shut his eyes against the cacophony of his own making as he swam steadily upwards.
Slowly he realized that the voices were beginning to come together, to blend. In a steady pulse they began to chant something. Beyond all reason, Knives strained to make out the single shallow word...
With a heavy heart, he knew what it was seconds before it was clear enough to hear.
CHOOSE.
"Don't tell me..."
CHOOSE they chanted.
"NO!" Knives howled, grasping his body tightly against the steady thrumming of the word.
He'd already chosen! Why couldn't they just leave him alone? He was doing this for them after all, for the future of the plants! Didn't they see that? Didn't they understand?
Everything he'd ever done had always been for them, hadn't it...?
CHOOSE
"SHUT UP!" Knives cried, covering his head and folding his floating body into a fetal position just inches from the surface.
Why was this happening? Why were the other plants trying to stop him? Whose side were they on?
It was so hard to hang onto his will to fulfill his destiny. Now the plants filled him with even more doubt. No matter how hard he tried he could not rid himself of the gnawing sense that what he was doing was wrong somehow.
"Why...are you against me to..." He choked.
CHOOSE
"What do YOU want ME to do!" Knives screamed at the rippling blue world around him.
SEE
Just as suddenly, the voices stopped, and Knives opened his eyes wide in amazement.
Surrounding him were hundreds of pale forms, translucent against the shimmering waters. Each figure sprouting soft feathery wings as they gazed sadly at him through wide blue eyes. The creatures were all glowing in different colors of red, green, blue, violet, yellow, and every imaginable hue.
They were the flower garden.
They were the angels.
And they were raising their arms up over Knives, who could only stare in disbelief at his brothers and sisters.
"Are...are you ghosts..." He whispered.
The angels breathed in and out as one sentient being and began to move around him, slowly circling. As Knives watched their gentle movement he became lost in the eyes of each passing plant angel and began to see the world of memories behind them.
He felt himself falling into his own past as his ghost siblings swirled around him faster and faster, pulling him into the past, a place he did not wish to go. The images speed by, too fast to be measured.
He saw his own birth, he and his brother lying naked on the cold floor.
Rem saving them both by risking her own life.
Safety.
The first year in the SEEDS ship and his first real family.
Peace.
The happy hours spent in the Rec Room, planning their new lives on a perfect new world.
Falling asleep to the sounds of music and birds and the warmth of arms wrapped around him.
Love.
And then...pain.
The first pain of Steve beating him and Vash into bruised and bloody messes for some illogical unknown reason.
The petty dealings between the humans on the ship, their lies, their jealousy, their deception.
Learning of the debacle mankind made of their old home world.
The butterfly.
The spider.
The anger.
He saw the fissure begin between himself and his brother.
And yet, the love remained true. He still had his family, his brother, his mother, and his home.
And then one day, he had nothing.
Tessla.
The Planet Transformation Device.
Lies.
There was no love. No trust. All had betrayed him, all hated him, all abandoned him.
Well, he would abandon them as well.
Betray the crew. Reprogram the ships. Kill the captain.
Make the humans fall.
Kill his mother.
Hate them all.
"Why are you showing me this?" Knives cried as he clawed at the images before his eyes, trying insanely to rip them away, "There's nothing I can change now." The plants spun wickedly around him, making him dizzy with the visions as they came unmercifully hard and violent.
The Great Fall.
The hard dry planet.
Traveling with his brother in bitter silence. Years of silence.
Hating the humans for making Vash hate him.
Activating the PTD recharging unit.
Creating the guns.
Being shot.
Pain.
Never ending.
Then came the years he had shared with no one. Years of wandering aimlessly in the desert, no direction, no food, no water. Only the pain of his wounds and the mad spinning of his mind.
Finally, stumbling upon the fallen plant ship again.
Regaining his sanity and mission.
The Gung-Ho Guns.
Make Vash suffer.
Make him my brother again.
Make somebody love me again.
"No," he moaned, "I don't want to see it."
Pain.
The pain of every human who ever died through his hands.
Burning.
His brother's bullets ripped five times through his body.
Agony.
"I did it all for you," he hissed at the circling specters, clutching his body where the bullets had once gone through him. "Everything I did...was for you, my brothers and...sisters..."
LIAR
Knives felt his heart stop. Could it be certain?
Was everything he had done been for his own selfish reasons?
SEE
For the first time in his life, Knives saw the truth, unclouded by his own ego, his mind, forced open...exposed.
The plants had shown him.
His grudge against the humans was from his own sense of betrayal.
His anger against Rem, the crew, Vash, and the whole human race was the sole reason for his actions. They hurt him, and he hurt them back. In his mind, they had driven his brother from him, and anyone who could possibly care for him. As long as his brother hated him, as long as everyone hated him, he would do nothing but hate them back with all his strength and will.
Suspended in the unreal world of liquid blue, with the clock counting down on an entire race of humanity, Knives lost his centuries old will for destruction. His body sagged in the waters; suspended only by what little breath he had left in his body.
One hundred and thirty years of hate. Knives had hated for so long, he wasn't sure if he remembered what love felt like. Would he know it if he felt it.
"Does it even matter anymore...?" He sobbed.
The swirling waters around him abruptly slowed.
Then the plants showed him something he hadn't remembered. Waking up to the color of blue eyes and the soft press of a mouth against his own.
Love.
The face looked into his own for an instant with such warmth and care, he felt like he was back in the Rec Room breathing the light summer air and running his fingers through the cool green grass.
It was the woman...Meryl.
The one that looked so much like Rem. The one whom Vash said...shared her soul.
"Why...?" He breathed, tears lifting from his eyes into the blue sea around him.
Her face came closer and she smiled.
Because I wanted to...
The answer seemed to come from all around him, deeply intoned by the ghost like plant angels in their hypnotic chanting. The words reverberated in him, shaking his heart near to its breaking point.
But, she betrayed me too, didn't she?
All the while his mind kept coming back to when he found the blocker and lost all faith in her. But now...doubt plagued him. What if she hadn't known about it? That would mean she was only trying to help him, that she really did care about him, and that would also mean that he had betrayed her trust instead. He needed to know for sure. The angels stopped, as if waiting for him to make up his mind, their eyes shone brilliantly through the dusty liquid of the nearly filled PTD.
Tell me, he thought desperately, show me that time through her eyes.
Knives closed his eyes.
When he opened them, he was looking at himself through Meryl's mind. He saw himself find the blocker; saw her confusion at his sudden anger.
Her sense of betrayal and pain when he shot her in the hand.
Her sadness and fear for herself but also...for him. It was true, everything she had ever said, was true.
So, she didn't know about it...I was wrong...about her...about...
...everything...
His resolve, his plan, his mission...everything shattered.
The angels disappeared without a word.
Suddenly he was free, staring at the edge of the water just inches away.
Five minutes...
With a final heave, Knives broke through the surface directly in front of Meryl.
Vash gazed awestruck at the brilliant display of light from the PTD. A few seconds ago, all the lights from the surrounding plants had suddenly gone out only to appear all together inside the one giant plant.
"It can't have started already," he thought, "there are still five minutes left!"
The light swirled and pulsed inside the bulb, and for a moment Vash thought he almost saw shapes in the cloudy waters.
But, just as quickly as they had appeared, the light was gone, and the ship was plunged into darkness again.
"What was that?" Vash rasped, glancing around from his perch on the scaffolding next to the plant. He had climbed up the nearby railing and was now hanging directly over the hatch on the upper side of the enormous bulb.
Slowly, the lights in the other plants came back, and even though they were much dimmer than before, they still threw enough light on the central plant to make the two people inside visible to Vash.
"What the..."
The first thing Meryl was aware of was a gentle movement against her cheek. Groaning with the dull ache that throbbed in her pinned limbs and swelling face, she opened her eyes with difficulty.
She was spellbound. The figure in front of her was, at first, a shadow. An intense light shone behind him, making his body glow around the edges, like an...
"Angel..." she breathed.
The angel moved in closer and Meryl recognized him with a gasp. "Knives!"
She knew she should be frightened of him, of where she was, of the pain that he had so vividly described for her. But, there was something different about his eyes as he stared unmoving in front of her.
He has different eyes, she thought, they look like...Vash.
Knives placed a hand gently on the side of her face and looked sadly into her own eyes.
"Thank you," he said softly, "thank you, for believing in me...I..."
With his defenses completely torn away, Knives allowed himself to do something he had wanted to do the first day he saw her. He gently lowered his mouth to hers and kissed her.
Meryl did not move, but, as if she understood, softly returned his kiss.
And for the first time in a long time, Knives felt...loved.
The soft press of his lips on hers was slow to part, hovering centimeters from each other afterwards, as if he wanted to share the same breath a moment longer. His sad eyes looked into her questioning ones as he reached up for the cables over her head.
But Meryl's eyes widened in fear again when she realized what he was about to do.
"Goodbye." He whispered.
Vash clung to the side of the PTD; slack jawed at the sight of Meryl and his brother. She should be struggling, fighting, or at least biting his lip right now.
But it looked just like she was kissing him back? Vash felt his heart sink. It didn't make any sense.
"Meryl..."
Four minutes...
Vash watched as the two slowly parted. He saw Knives say something to Meryl before he reached for the cables over her head.
"He's reconnecting the cables!" Instantly, Vash sprang to action, scrambling up the slick side of the plant to the hatch. Below him he could see Knives hooking up the last of the cables to the metal grip over Meryl's shoulder.
"Damn it! If I don't get in there right now, he's going to kill her!"
With all his might, Vash yanked on the hatch, but it refused to budge.
"Meryl!" He pounded on the thick glass. "Knives!" It looked like the two of them were still talking inside. "Snap out of it!" He yelled at himself. "You've got to stop it, now!"
He trained his gun at the bolts that held the hatch in place. Even if the blast did send shards of broken glass and metal down on her, at least she'd have a better chance of surviving than when the plant was activated.
"I'm sorry, Meryl, I don't have a choice." He pleaded, aiming his gun and firing two precise shots.
The gun blasts echoed through the humming chamber, blowing away the restraints on the round hatch and making the spider like cracks in the glass reach farther out, almost to the breaking point. If he wasn't careful, the next shot could take out the whole thing and then Meryl would really be in danger from all the flying shards of glass. Only one more bullet and the door would fall. Vash took aim.
All of a sudden, there was a creaking, grinding sound, and the hatch began to move, and rattle, and slowly started to lift off the side of the plant, seemingly all by itself.
"What the...?"
What do you think you're trying to do, brother, kill her? A voice sounded in his head and Vash looked down in shock.
Below him he saw Knives, hanging onto the central column. His left hand was extended out towards the hatch, holding it up in the air by the strength of his mind. With a forceful wave of his hand, Knives sent the heavy steel door crashing to the ground far below. Vash looked back at his brother in disbelief.
Knives gave him a trademark smirk, And here I thought you said you were in love with her.
"Knives...what are you doing?" Vash stammered. There was something different about him, the way he was acting, his voice, his eyes.
With another wave of his hand, Knives made all the grips and bolts in the central column unlatch.
Meryl suddenly felt her body being released from its restraints. The metal hooks and locks that had bound her arms and legs loosened enough to let her scramble out of harms way. Her muscles felt sore, her head was pounding where it had smacked into the support, and her hand ached dully from being shot, but she was otherwise all right.
She turned back in time to see Knives climbing into her spot on the central column.
"Knives," she started, bewildered at his action, "you...you can't."
"I can and I will." He stated simply, not looking at her. "I've made my decision."
"You..you don't have to do this, Knives."
"I know." He turned his pale blue eyes to her and smiled sadly. "But...I want to."
"Knives..."
"You must go now. You have three minutes left. Go, get my fool of a brother out of here."
"But..."
"I said GO!" Knives reached out his hand and Meryl felt herself lift off the landing and hover in the air. For a few second she held his eyes as she floated up gracefully, then he flicked his wrist and she spun away until she was facing the opposite direction and the open hatch.
Stretching his arm out to grab hold of her was Vash.
"Vash!" Meryl cried out. He was really there! He had come to get her back. She felt her tears of joy and relief stick in her throat.
"Meryl! Grab onto my hand, I'll get you out of here."
She latched onto his arm and he pulled her up the rest of the way, holding her snuggly against his chest. Meryl clung to him, hardly believing he was really there.
"Vash...you came. For a while I didn't think that you...I'm so..." He tilted her face up, softly stroking her cheek.
"Meryl...I..."
He stopped when he caught a glimpse of his brother below them. Knives was calmly strapping himself into the central column of the PTD unit.
"Hold on to me," Vash said as he quickly swung Meryl behind him, letting her latch her arms around his neck. Whatever his brother was doing, he wouldn't make it out before the explosion at this rate.
Knives? What are you doing? He reached out with his mind.
Knives did not look at him, but continued adjusting the wires and restraints as he answered.
Vash. You must get yourself out of here. Use the old escape vessel. Number seven should still be operational.
The tall blonde gunman stood, too shocked to move. Knives was inside the PTD, hooked up the control unit, telling him to escape. But Knives...was staying. His brother was planning to use himself as a conduit. Why? Didn't he know it would kill him to? Right from the start, Knives had hated this machine and resented the humans for planning to use him in its activation. It was why he had killed the crew and countless others in his quest for revenge. It was why he'd killed Rem. Why was he inside it now, so willingly making himself into the one thing he had always fought against?
But, I don't understand Knives...why?
Time is running out! Knives thought angrily. If you want to save her, go now! There was a hitch in his voice, and he stopped moving. Vash clenched his hand against the glass.
But...you'll die. He said, tears quivering in his eyes.
Knives did not move. It's better this way.
Brother...I...I don't want you to die. Vash cried mentally, trying desperately to force the restraints off his brother from his high vantage. But his mind was too weak from years of neglect. The tears spilled down his face as he pleaded with his brother.
"Vash?" Meryl ventured, unable to hear anything the two brothers were thinking. But he didn't hear her. He only know he was losing his only brother, the only family he had left. His only link to the past.
Please, Knives. Don't leave me alone again...please.
Knives finally raised his face up to where Vash was perched on top of the plant. His expression was one of intangible regret.
You're not alone, Vash. There are many who care for you...She cares for you...and so do I.
Knives...
That is why you must GO! Knives thought forcefully, looking down again.
Brother... Vash made to climb down into the machine again. Knives free arm shot out toward his brother, stopping him in his tracks.
GO NOW!
With a sweep of his hand, Knives shoved the two of them off the PTD. Meryl screamed as they plummeted like rocks down toward the cement floor. Knives turned his palm over and stretched out his arm. Instantly Vash and Meryl found themselves suspended in midair, hovering a few feet from the ground. Vash gathered Meryl in his arms as they were lowered gently to the floor. He looked back over his shoulder at the immense plant behind him. The whole bulb was resonating with a powerful humming sound, and the dense blue LCL lapped against the sides of the glass that still creaked and splintered from the cracks that ran up and down it's length. It was amazing it was still holding together.
Inside, through the spray and mist of the plant, Vash saw his brother, strapped fully into the Planet Transformation Device, his head hung low as if in resignation. The light of the activation sequence made the inside of the plant glow, lighting up the blonde man inside like a beacon.
"Brother..."
Knives raised his steel blue eyes in the shining mist and met his brothers soft blue green. Then he did something that Vash had not seen in over one hundred years, not since they were children.
He smiled.
A true smile, at last. Vash smiled back through trembling lips and held his brother in his sight until he couldn't see him anymore due to the tears that blurred his own vision and the gradually increasing illumination inside the plant.
"Um...Vash?" Meryl pulled gently on his collar. The look on his face broke her heart. It was the same look he had after he'd killed Legato. But this time there was a grim determination behind it as well.
"We have to go." His voice broke making her heart wretch again.
"Do we have enough time to make it to safety? You're gonna have to let me down, you know? We can't run out of here like this," she indicated her small body gathered up in his arms, "we'll go faster if you put me down."
"We're not running out of here." Vash replied.
"What? Than how are we getting out?" Meryl questioned with a bit of her former testiness.
Moments later Vash stopped in front of a row of dusty old machines that resembled large overturned spittoons. Quickly, he set Meryl down in front of a ladder that lead straight up into the hollow of one of the escape pods.
Two minutes...
A loud low drumming sound could be heard from the middle of the ship as all the instruments and machines around them began to rattle and shake from the vibrations. Slowly, the shaking increased until the whole ship began to quake.
They scrambled up into the portal of pod number seven just as several large beams came crashing down behind them. The ceiling was falling, making huge chunks of metal sail down, and smashing some of the smaller plants to bits.
Vash raced to the front of the cramped pod and began punching a series of buttons. The pod clicked on, whirring like an old can opener.
"Vash?" Meryl shouted over the din, "are you sure this thing will fly?"
"It's got to!" He yelled back. "Hurry up and strap yourself in!"
Meryl shimmied in between the two front seats and fumbled with the complicated belt.
"I can't get it!" She shouted in a panic.
Vash checked the clock. One minute, thirty seconds...
"There's no time!" He yelled, hefting Meryl out of her seat and sitting her in between his legs. In a flash he unhooked his belt and wrapped it around the both of them, wrapping his arms tightly around her as well.
"Meryl! Hit the blue button in front of you!"
She mashed the button down and the both of them closed their eyes as the pod's thrusters boomed in response. The ancient machine groaned to life as it lifted heavily off the ground and prepared to make its bullet like exit from the escape tube that was positioned before it.
"Hold on!"
But just as suddenly, the pod sputtered and sparked. The blinking lights dimmed out and the old ship went dead. Meryl peeled open her tightly sealed eyes in shock.
Vash stared wide-eyed at the dark panel as he forcefully punched the blue button over and over.
"Shit!" He croaked. "It's dead!" His swiftly looked out the window at the other pods. "Come on, Meryl," he shouted, "if we hurry we can still make it out of here!"
Fifty seconds...
"Let's try number eight, I think it's to the...Meryl?" She had turned herself on his lap and was looking up at him with luminous eyes, her arms wound around his neck, pulling him close.
"Vash," she whispered, "I'm so happy I'm with you right now, so happy you came for me in the end."
"Meryl..."
Everything came screeching to a halt.
He realized in shock that she was trying to say goodbye to him.
"You are, and will always be, the one I believe in and trust with all my heart." She pressed her mouth close to his ear and hushed...
"I love you."
ILLUSTRATION: Telling You (http:ing intently into her face.
In the end, no words were necessary as he pressed his lips to hers, drinking the feel and taste of her for the first and last time. She leaned into him, opening hungrily. A lifetime of passion and love rushing out with less than a minute left to spend it in.
But Vash was happy for it. He finally found what he had been searching for, and he was happy for the time they had together, no matter how short it was. He chuckled at the irony of it. Here he was, a being that had enjoyed more time than any other life should be allowed to have, and in the end it was time that was his enemy after all. He smiled against her lips. At least I know she won't bean me in the head when it's over, he thought, and closed his eyes in preparation for the blast.
Ten seconds...
What are you waiting for, imbecile! GO!
Vash's eyes flew open at the sound of the voice and the immediate rumble of the pod.
Without warning the interior of the escape pod burst into life as all the panels lit up like fireworks. Before he could even punch the blue button again, the pod gave a tremendous heave and shot out of the rusty tube like a bullet, sailing out of the ship and into the clear blue sky.
Seconds later, a tremendous burst of light flashed out, covering the planet in its inhabitants in its brilliance...
And then...
...everything went dark.
Next time on Edge of the Sea, the final chapter Chapter 13 and Epilogue: The Edge of the Sea
Again the dense blue world of his dreams encased him. Swirling color and muffled sound covered his senses as Knives looked around slack jawed. There was no denying it.
Impossible... He thought.
And yet, here it was. High above him, the control light on the central column spread out across the surface, blinding him to everything above and giving the liquid a sparkling ethereal quality. Like a dream.
Knives frowned into the murky blue.
This is no dream... He reminded himself.
Below him lay the wreckage of the metal walkway, lying where it fell at the bottom of the plant. High above to his left the LCL valve was steadily pouring its contents into the hollow chamber, making gentle waves within. Knives squinted his eyes upwards.
A rippling shadow fell from the central column high beyond the surface.
And a sense of foreboding filled him.
What does this mean?
Seven minutes...
The urgency came upon him and he pushed himself upwards. As he swam he tried to remember the order of events in those dreams. Each one had been slightly different, but always he had felt the overpowering need to reach the surface...the edge of the waters.
But, this time, I know what's there beyond the surface. I must get there or I'll lose everything I've sacrificed my life for.
Maybe it was simply an odd coincidence and the dream was simply a dream. Knives tried not to think about the last time the dream had come, and the pain that came with it. More than death, he feared the pain and what would happen to him if he couldn't stop it. This time he knew the human woman would not be able to save him.
Perhaps she didn't want to anymore, after what he'd done to her.
No regrets.... He thought and tried to focus his mind to reaching the surface. At this rate it would take a little under a minute. He must think of it as a dream...nothing more.
After all, the first thing that always happened in the dream was a giant whirlpool that tried to suck him down into the darkness.
Ridiculous. He thought. There is no way that could happen inside this machine.
Vash cocked his gun and aimed it directly at the bottom of the PTD where the glass met the unit's base. With enough precision, he would be able to drain the devices contents without exploding the entire bulb. It was too risky to destroy the whole plant with Meryl unconscious she had no way to defend herself against the flying glass and metal. Better to buy time by impeding the LCL flow.
The humanoid typhoon took aim where the twisted metal of the walkway rested peacefully across the bottom. With enough luck, he could pull himself up by grabbing onto it from inside.
BANG!!
Knives jerked his head around. He was halfway to the surface when he heard the sound echo through the chamber. For a second he thought the plant had activated early. But the sound had come from below. Right where...Vash...had been...
Tiny splintered cracks ran up the bottom of the plant. Grinding. High- pitched grating.
Knives sucked in his breath. Eyes budging in disbelief, That idiot! What does he think he's doing?!
Another gunshot and the thick glass exploded at the PTD base.
In an instant everything above the hole was being sucked downward. The walkway groaned as it became suctioned to the spot where the water was spilling out. Knives felt the vacuum of the whirlpool try to yank him down out of the plant as everything swirled around him like a tornado.
Knives pumped his strong muscles, pulling himself up. As strong as he was, he made little progress and began to fall farther and farther down into the darkening vortex.
Just like the dream...
It's not possible... He thought frantically, swimming with all his might, it's actually happening!
His tired body fell further. Desperately, Knives' eyes darted around the plant, searching for a way to stop his decent.
Does this mean...that...all the other parts of the dream...will happen to? Knives didn't want to think about the growing possibility. It must be only a strange coincidence. It had to be...
But something else caught his attention as he was struggling with the laws of physics.
The faster his arms stroked the waters to the surface, the farther away it seemed. And with the rapidly falling LCL levels, the plant would never become operational at this rate. Even if he reached the surface, there wouldn't be enough LCL to matter.
Must increase the output... Knives reached out his mind to the LCL valve high above.
The heavy metal release valve groaned in protest before it was suddenly ripped off its hinges, releasing the extra store of fluid at an astonishing rate. But even with the extra output, the plant was still draining almost as fast as it was filling. It surprised him how much his mental powers had escalated since he was last revived in the healing plant. They had never been so strong before, almost as if his mind and body were charging up for something.
But he turned his attention back to the crisis at hand. Knives' muscles screamed in protest as he violently slashed the water around him. Dimly, he wondered what else in his dream would come true.
What happens next? Remember! Remember damn it! If I can remember it, maybe I can beat it. His brain was racing.
The blue, the darkness, the whirlpool...
Before he could think, two strong hands latched onto his ankles and began pulling him back down.
Now he remembered..."NO..." Knives mouthed, cold with terror, Not possible...
Knives head whipped around and, for a second, he thought he was seeing himself just as he had in his dreams. The murky liquid swirled around him so much, it seemed like he was looking into an old smudged mirror.
I won't let you kill her, Knives. a voice echoed in his head. I won't let you kill any of them anymore!
I know that voice, Knives thought.
The smoke cleared and he saw his brother's face floating below him, hands latched like iron around his ankles, trying to pull him back down into the darkness below.
Vash! He growled.
I tried to reason with you, Knives, but you refused to listen, Vash sent his thoughts as forcefully as he could, You know it kills me to hurt you in any way, but I swear on Rem's sacrifice that I will do what ever it takes to stop you. I won't let you take her away from me again!
You idiot, Knives hissed, your Rem is dead. The human woman is not her, or do you believe in reincarnation now? He sneered mockingly.
I know who she is and who she isn't! Vash yelled, yanking his brother back farther and farther as they battled, But Meryl has the same spark of life that Rem had, they share the same soul! And I'll be damned if I'll let you do to her what you did to Rem! I won't let you anymore!
Knives felt his hand graze the thick glass of the plant as Vash pulled him lower. Don't tell me you have "feelings" for the human, brother? He teased menacingly, but deep down he felt a hot seed of jealousy begin to swell. Don't tell me you "love" the...
I do. Vash cut him off before he could finish his thought.
Knives gritted his teeth in anger as he felt the flames begin to grow. Again his brother was trying to stop him, trying to bring him down, trying to take what was his, besting him! The woman was part of his plan and that meant she belonged to him, body and soul. It didn't matter that Vash had found her first; HE would be the one to own her, even if it meant killing her.
The scarred and battered gunman pulled his brother down with all his strength, down toward the opening at the bottom of the plant. Knives clenched his fists together until the blood misted from his punctured palms.
I will not be beaten by you anymore! He roared. If he could get out of this in the dream, he could get out of it now!
Kicking madly, Knives felt his right foot connect with something. Instantly the hands fell away and Knives was free.
Below, Vash was holding his bloody nose and struggling against the pull of the vortex he had created. Trying to brace himself, he grabbed onto the metal railing of the fallen walkway. The structure ripped free and plummeted towards the hole.
Quickly Knives reached back with all the strength he had in his mind, causing the metal of the walkway to twist and contort enough to fill the hole at the bottom of the plant. The metal plunger hit the glass with a smack, making the cracked veins in the bulb grow frighteningly tall. The PTD, however much it groaned in protest, held.
The water around him calmed enough for him to see where he was going once more.
Six minutes...
Vash lay in a soaking wet heap outside the PTD machine. The metal walkway had pushed him out of the plant before plugging it tightly. The dazed gunman weakly sat up only to have the world spin before his eyes. As soon as the merry-go-round stopped, Vash saw that the entrance to the plant was hopelessly blocked.
"Where now..." He gasped clear air into his lungs.
Vash forced himself to his feet and stumbled to the plant. There was only one thing left to do.
"But, I need a clear shot," he thought biting back bitter tears, "I'm sorry, Rem. I have no choice."
Knives felt his muscles relax as the LCL around him ceased its vicious hold. The way was clear! Nothing stood in his way of reaching the surface and reconnecting the cables.
However...he didn't budge.
He was remembering the dream. What came next...
Knives already knew the answer, and he dreaded it.
If I move, he muttered, the pain will start. Knives stared blankly into the deepening blue. Maybe...there's some way to avoid it?
He looked down. Nothing but dark wreckage and death. To the side? No good, there was nothing there. Staying put? No. That would only mean his death when the plant exploded.
Up? It was the only unknown.
I have no choice, he thought, even if the pain means my death...I...I have no choice.
He began swimming up again, and for a short while nothing happened.
Then off in the distance, Knives began to hear a far away sound. A high keening sound, like the whir of a propeller. With each stroke of his arms the sound grew until if became a thin cry.
With shock, he realized what was making the awful sound.
The plants... he thought, but...why? He looked up.
Above him, the LCL was running out and the power of the other plants was rapidly draining. Knives could hear the other plants off in the distance, crying in confusion and fear.
The more the liquid was pumped into the PTD, the less there was for the other plants to sustain their vital functions in this plane of existence. At this rate, there would be just enough left for them to survive after the PTD was activated. In the meantime, it was as if the plant angels were being drained of their blood.
It wasn't suppose to happen this way. He tried to ignore the screams of his siblings, but his insides were being twisted into knots.
The last thing I wanted was to cause them pain, he grimaced.
Knives couldn't help but listen to the voices. The sound was heart wrenching, a mass of cries and moans, angry, sad, and filled with pain. He shut his eyes against the cacophony of his own making as he swam steadily upwards.
Slowly he realized that the voices were beginning to come together, to blend. In a steady pulse they began to chant something. Beyond all reason, Knives strained to make out the single shallow word...
With a heavy heart, he knew what it was seconds before it was clear enough to hear.
CHOOSE.
"Don't tell me..."
CHOOSE they chanted.
"NO!" Knives howled, grasping his body tightly against the steady thrumming of the word.
He'd already chosen! Why couldn't they just leave him alone? He was doing this for them after all, for the future of the plants! Didn't they see that? Didn't they understand?
Everything he'd ever done had always been for them, hadn't it...?
CHOOSE
"SHUT UP!" Knives cried, covering his head and folding his floating body into a fetal position just inches from the surface.
Why was this happening? Why were the other plants trying to stop him? Whose side were they on?
It was so hard to hang onto his will to fulfill his destiny. Now the plants filled him with even more doubt. No matter how hard he tried he could not rid himself of the gnawing sense that what he was doing was wrong somehow.
"Why...are you against me to..." He choked.
CHOOSE
"What do YOU want ME to do!" Knives screamed at the rippling blue world around him.
SEE
Just as suddenly, the voices stopped, and Knives opened his eyes wide in amazement.
Surrounding him were hundreds of pale forms, translucent against the shimmering waters. Each figure sprouting soft feathery wings as they gazed sadly at him through wide blue eyes. The creatures were all glowing in different colors of red, green, blue, violet, yellow, and every imaginable hue.
They were the flower garden.
They were the angels.
And they were raising their arms up over Knives, who could only stare in disbelief at his brothers and sisters.
"Are...are you ghosts..." He whispered.
The angels breathed in and out as one sentient being and began to move around him, slowly circling. As Knives watched their gentle movement he became lost in the eyes of each passing plant angel and began to see the world of memories behind them.
He felt himself falling into his own past as his ghost siblings swirled around him faster and faster, pulling him into the past, a place he did not wish to go. The images speed by, too fast to be measured.
He saw his own birth, he and his brother lying naked on the cold floor.
Rem saving them both by risking her own life.
Safety.
The first year in the SEEDS ship and his first real family.
Peace.
The happy hours spent in the Rec Room, planning their new lives on a perfect new world.
Falling asleep to the sounds of music and birds and the warmth of arms wrapped around him.
Love.
And then...pain.
The first pain of Steve beating him and Vash into bruised and bloody messes for some illogical unknown reason.
The petty dealings between the humans on the ship, their lies, their jealousy, their deception.
Learning of the debacle mankind made of their old home world.
The butterfly.
The spider.
The anger.
He saw the fissure begin between himself and his brother.
And yet, the love remained true. He still had his family, his brother, his mother, and his home.
And then one day, he had nothing.
Tessla.
The Planet Transformation Device.
Lies.
There was no love. No trust. All had betrayed him, all hated him, all abandoned him.
Well, he would abandon them as well.
Betray the crew. Reprogram the ships. Kill the captain.
Make the humans fall.
Kill his mother.
Hate them all.
"Why are you showing me this?" Knives cried as he clawed at the images before his eyes, trying insanely to rip them away, "There's nothing I can change now." The plants spun wickedly around him, making him dizzy with the visions as they came unmercifully hard and violent.
The Great Fall.
The hard dry planet.
Traveling with his brother in bitter silence. Years of silence.
Hating the humans for making Vash hate him.
Activating the PTD recharging unit.
Creating the guns.
Being shot.
Pain.
Never ending.
Then came the years he had shared with no one. Years of wandering aimlessly in the desert, no direction, no food, no water. Only the pain of his wounds and the mad spinning of his mind.
Finally, stumbling upon the fallen plant ship again.
Regaining his sanity and mission.
The Gung-Ho Guns.
Make Vash suffer.
Make him my brother again.
Make somebody love me again.
"No," he moaned, "I don't want to see it."
Pain.
The pain of every human who ever died through his hands.
Burning.
His brother's bullets ripped five times through his body.
Agony.
"I did it all for you," he hissed at the circling specters, clutching his body where the bullets had once gone through him. "Everything I did...was for you, my brothers and...sisters..."
LIAR
Knives felt his heart stop. Could it be certain?
Was everything he had done been for his own selfish reasons?
SEE
For the first time in his life, Knives saw the truth, unclouded by his own ego, his mind, forced open...exposed.
The plants had shown him.
His grudge against the humans was from his own sense of betrayal.
His anger against Rem, the crew, Vash, and the whole human race was the sole reason for his actions. They hurt him, and he hurt them back. In his mind, they had driven his brother from him, and anyone who could possibly care for him. As long as his brother hated him, as long as everyone hated him, he would do nothing but hate them back with all his strength and will.
Suspended in the unreal world of liquid blue, with the clock counting down on an entire race of humanity, Knives lost his centuries old will for destruction. His body sagged in the waters; suspended only by what little breath he had left in his body.
One hundred and thirty years of hate. Knives had hated for so long, he wasn't sure if he remembered what love felt like. Would he know it if he felt it.
"Does it even matter anymore...?" He sobbed.
The swirling waters around him abruptly slowed.
Then the plants showed him something he hadn't remembered. Waking up to the color of blue eyes and the soft press of a mouth against his own.
Love.
The face looked into his own for an instant with such warmth and care, he felt like he was back in the Rec Room breathing the light summer air and running his fingers through the cool green grass.
It was the woman...Meryl.
The one that looked so much like Rem. The one whom Vash said...shared her soul.
"Why...?" He breathed, tears lifting from his eyes into the blue sea around him.
Her face came closer and she smiled.
Because I wanted to...
The answer seemed to come from all around him, deeply intoned by the ghost like plant angels in their hypnotic chanting. The words reverberated in him, shaking his heart near to its breaking point.
But, she betrayed me too, didn't she?
All the while his mind kept coming back to when he found the blocker and lost all faith in her. But now...doubt plagued him. What if she hadn't known about it? That would mean she was only trying to help him, that she really did care about him, and that would also mean that he had betrayed her trust instead. He needed to know for sure. The angels stopped, as if waiting for him to make up his mind, their eyes shone brilliantly through the dusty liquid of the nearly filled PTD.
Tell me, he thought desperately, show me that time through her eyes.
Knives closed his eyes.
When he opened them, he was looking at himself through Meryl's mind. He saw himself find the blocker; saw her confusion at his sudden anger.
Her sense of betrayal and pain when he shot her in the hand.
Her sadness and fear for herself but also...for him. It was true, everything she had ever said, was true.
So, she didn't know about it...I was wrong...about her...about...
...everything...
His resolve, his plan, his mission...everything shattered.
The angels disappeared without a word.
Suddenly he was free, staring at the edge of the water just inches away.
Five minutes...
With a final heave, Knives broke through the surface directly in front of Meryl.
Vash gazed awestruck at the brilliant display of light from the PTD. A few seconds ago, all the lights from the surrounding plants had suddenly gone out only to appear all together inside the one giant plant.
"It can't have started already," he thought, "there are still five minutes left!"
The light swirled and pulsed inside the bulb, and for a moment Vash thought he almost saw shapes in the cloudy waters.
But, just as quickly as they had appeared, the light was gone, and the ship was plunged into darkness again.
"What was that?" Vash rasped, glancing around from his perch on the scaffolding next to the plant. He had climbed up the nearby railing and was now hanging directly over the hatch on the upper side of the enormous bulb.
Slowly, the lights in the other plants came back, and even though they were much dimmer than before, they still threw enough light on the central plant to make the two people inside visible to Vash.
"What the..."
The first thing Meryl was aware of was a gentle movement against her cheek. Groaning with the dull ache that throbbed in her pinned limbs and swelling face, she opened her eyes with difficulty.
She was spellbound. The figure in front of her was, at first, a shadow. An intense light shone behind him, making his body glow around the edges, like an...
"Angel..." she breathed.
The angel moved in closer and Meryl recognized him with a gasp. "Knives!"
She knew she should be frightened of him, of where she was, of the pain that he had so vividly described for her. But, there was something different about his eyes as he stared unmoving in front of her.
He has different eyes, she thought, they look like...Vash.
Knives placed a hand gently on the side of her face and looked sadly into her own eyes.
"Thank you," he said softly, "thank you, for believing in me...I..."
With his defenses completely torn away, Knives allowed himself to do something he had wanted to do the first day he saw her. He gently lowered his mouth to hers and kissed her.
Meryl did not move, but, as if she understood, softly returned his kiss.
And for the first time in a long time, Knives felt...loved.
The soft press of his lips on hers was slow to part, hovering centimeters from each other afterwards, as if he wanted to share the same breath a moment longer. His sad eyes looked into her questioning ones as he reached up for the cables over her head.
But Meryl's eyes widened in fear again when she realized what he was about to do.
"Goodbye." He whispered.
Vash clung to the side of the PTD; slack jawed at the sight of Meryl and his brother. She should be struggling, fighting, or at least biting his lip right now.
But it looked just like she was kissing him back? Vash felt his heart sink. It didn't make any sense.
"Meryl..."
Four minutes...
Vash watched as the two slowly parted. He saw Knives say something to Meryl before he reached for the cables over her head.
"He's reconnecting the cables!" Instantly, Vash sprang to action, scrambling up the slick side of the plant to the hatch. Below him he could see Knives hooking up the last of the cables to the metal grip over Meryl's shoulder.
"Damn it! If I don't get in there right now, he's going to kill her!"
With all his might, Vash yanked on the hatch, but it refused to budge.
"Meryl!" He pounded on the thick glass. "Knives!" It looked like the two of them were still talking inside. "Snap out of it!" He yelled at himself. "You've got to stop it, now!"
He trained his gun at the bolts that held the hatch in place. Even if the blast did send shards of broken glass and metal down on her, at least she'd have a better chance of surviving than when the plant was activated.
"I'm sorry, Meryl, I don't have a choice." He pleaded, aiming his gun and firing two precise shots.
The gun blasts echoed through the humming chamber, blowing away the restraints on the round hatch and making the spider like cracks in the glass reach farther out, almost to the breaking point. If he wasn't careful, the next shot could take out the whole thing and then Meryl would really be in danger from all the flying shards of glass. Only one more bullet and the door would fall. Vash took aim.
All of a sudden, there was a creaking, grinding sound, and the hatch began to move, and rattle, and slowly started to lift off the side of the plant, seemingly all by itself.
"What the...?"
What do you think you're trying to do, brother, kill her? A voice sounded in his head and Vash looked down in shock.
Below him he saw Knives, hanging onto the central column. His left hand was extended out towards the hatch, holding it up in the air by the strength of his mind. With a forceful wave of his hand, Knives sent the heavy steel door crashing to the ground far below. Vash looked back at his brother in disbelief.
Knives gave him a trademark smirk, And here I thought you said you were in love with her.
"Knives...what are you doing?" Vash stammered. There was something different about him, the way he was acting, his voice, his eyes.
With another wave of his hand, Knives made all the grips and bolts in the central column unlatch.
Meryl suddenly felt her body being released from its restraints. The metal hooks and locks that had bound her arms and legs loosened enough to let her scramble out of harms way. Her muscles felt sore, her head was pounding where it had smacked into the support, and her hand ached dully from being shot, but she was otherwise all right.
She turned back in time to see Knives climbing into her spot on the central column.
"Knives," she started, bewildered at his action, "you...you can't."
"I can and I will." He stated simply, not looking at her. "I've made my decision."
"You..you don't have to do this, Knives."
"I know." He turned his pale blue eyes to her and smiled sadly. "But...I want to."
"Knives..."
"You must go now. You have three minutes left. Go, get my fool of a brother out of here."
"But..."
"I said GO!" Knives reached out his hand and Meryl felt herself lift off the landing and hover in the air. For a few second she held his eyes as she floated up gracefully, then he flicked his wrist and she spun away until she was facing the opposite direction and the open hatch.
Stretching his arm out to grab hold of her was Vash.
"Vash!" Meryl cried out. He was really there! He had come to get her back. She felt her tears of joy and relief stick in her throat.
"Meryl! Grab onto my hand, I'll get you out of here."
She latched onto his arm and he pulled her up the rest of the way, holding her snuggly against his chest. Meryl clung to him, hardly believing he was really there.
"Vash...you came. For a while I didn't think that you...I'm so..." He tilted her face up, softly stroking her cheek.
"Meryl...I..."
He stopped when he caught a glimpse of his brother below them. Knives was calmly strapping himself into the central column of the PTD unit.
"Hold on to me," Vash said as he quickly swung Meryl behind him, letting her latch her arms around his neck. Whatever his brother was doing, he wouldn't make it out before the explosion at this rate.
Knives? What are you doing? He reached out with his mind.
Knives did not look at him, but continued adjusting the wires and restraints as he answered.
Vash. You must get yourself out of here. Use the old escape vessel. Number seven should still be operational.
The tall blonde gunman stood, too shocked to move. Knives was inside the PTD, hooked up the control unit, telling him to escape. But Knives...was staying. His brother was planning to use himself as a conduit. Why? Didn't he know it would kill him to? Right from the start, Knives had hated this machine and resented the humans for planning to use him in its activation. It was why he had killed the crew and countless others in his quest for revenge. It was why he'd killed Rem. Why was he inside it now, so willingly making himself into the one thing he had always fought against?
But, I don't understand Knives...why?
Time is running out! Knives thought angrily. If you want to save her, go now! There was a hitch in his voice, and he stopped moving. Vash clenched his hand against the glass.
But...you'll die. He said, tears quivering in his eyes.
Knives did not move. It's better this way.
Brother...I...I don't want you to die. Vash cried mentally, trying desperately to force the restraints off his brother from his high vantage. But his mind was too weak from years of neglect. The tears spilled down his face as he pleaded with his brother.
"Vash?" Meryl ventured, unable to hear anything the two brothers were thinking. But he didn't hear her. He only know he was losing his only brother, the only family he had left. His only link to the past.
Please, Knives. Don't leave me alone again...please.
Knives finally raised his face up to where Vash was perched on top of the plant. His expression was one of intangible regret.
You're not alone, Vash. There are many who care for you...She cares for you...and so do I.
Knives...
That is why you must GO! Knives thought forcefully, looking down again.
Brother... Vash made to climb down into the machine again. Knives free arm shot out toward his brother, stopping him in his tracks.
GO NOW!
With a sweep of his hand, Knives shoved the two of them off the PTD. Meryl screamed as they plummeted like rocks down toward the cement floor. Knives turned his palm over and stretched out his arm. Instantly Vash and Meryl found themselves suspended in midair, hovering a few feet from the ground. Vash gathered Meryl in his arms as they were lowered gently to the floor. He looked back over his shoulder at the immense plant behind him. The whole bulb was resonating with a powerful humming sound, and the dense blue LCL lapped against the sides of the glass that still creaked and splintered from the cracks that ran up and down it's length. It was amazing it was still holding together.
Inside, through the spray and mist of the plant, Vash saw his brother, strapped fully into the Planet Transformation Device, his head hung low as if in resignation. The light of the activation sequence made the inside of the plant glow, lighting up the blonde man inside like a beacon.
"Brother..."
Knives raised his steel blue eyes in the shining mist and met his brothers soft blue green. Then he did something that Vash had not seen in over one hundred years, not since they were children.
He smiled.
A true smile, at last. Vash smiled back through trembling lips and held his brother in his sight until he couldn't see him anymore due to the tears that blurred his own vision and the gradually increasing illumination inside the plant.
"Um...Vash?" Meryl pulled gently on his collar. The look on his face broke her heart. It was the same look he had after he'd killed Legato. But this time there was a grim determination behind it as well.
"We have to go." His voice broke making her heart wretch again.
"Do we have enough time to make it to safety? You're gonna have to let me down, you know? We can't run out of here like this," she indicated her small body gathered up in his arms, "we'll go faster if you put me down."
"We're not running out of here." Vash replied.
"What? Than how are we getting out?" Meryl questioned with a bit of her former testiness.
Moments later Vash stopped in front of a row of dusty old machines that resembled large overturned spittoons. Quickly, he set Meryl down in front of a ladder that lead straight up into the hollow of one of the escape pods.
Two minutes...
A loud low drumming sound could be heard from the middle of the ship as all the instruments and machines around them began to rattle and shake from the vibrations. Slowly, the shaking increased until the whole ship began to quake.
They scrambled up into the portal of pod number seven just as several large beams came crashing down behind them. The ceiling was falling, making huge chunks of metal sail down, and smashing some of the smaller plants to bits.
Vash raced to the front of the cramped pod and began punching a series of buttons. The pod clicked on, whirring like an old can opener.
"Vash?" Meryl shouted over the din, "are you sure this thing will fly?"
"It's got to!" He yelled back. "Hurry up and strap yourself in!"
Meryl shimmied in between the two front seats and fumbled with the complicated belt.
"I can't get it!" She shouted in a panic.
Vash checked the clock. One minute, thirty seconds...
"There's no time!" He yelled, hefting Meryl out of her seat and sitting her in between his legs. In a flash he unhooked his belt and wrapped it around the both of them, wrapping his arms tightly around her as well.
"Meryl! Hit the blue button in front of you!"
She mashed the button down and the both of them closed their eyes as the pod's thrusters boomed in response. The ancient machine groaned to life as it lifted heavily off the ground and prepared to make its bullet like exit from the escape tube that was positioned before it.
"Hold on!"
But just as suddenly, the pod sputtered and sparked. The blinking lights dimmed out and the old ship went dead. Meryl peeled open her tightly sealed eyes in shock.
Vash stared wide-eyed at the dark panel as he forcefully punched the blue button over and over.
"Shit!" He croaked. "It's dead!" His swiftly looked out the window at the other pods. "Come on, Meryl," he shouted, "if we hurry we can still make it out of here!"
Fifty seconds...
"Let's try number eight, I think it's to the...Meryl?" She had turned herself on his lap and was looking up at him with luminous eyes, her arms wound around his neck, pulling him close.
"Vash," she whispered, "I'm so happy I'm with you right now, so happy you came for me in the end."
"Meryl..."
Everything came screeching to a halt.
He realized in shock that she was trying to say goodbye to him.
"You are, and will always be, the one I believe in and trust with all my heart." She pressed her mouth close to his ear and hushed...
"I love you."
ILLUSTRATION: Telling You (http:ing intently into her face.
In the end, no words were necessary as he pressed his lips to hers, drinking the feel and taste of her for the first and last time. She leaned into him, opening hungrily. A lifetime of passion and love rushing out with less than a minute left to spend it in.
But Vash was happy for it. He finally found what he had been searching for, and he was happy for the time they had together, no matter how short it was. He chuckled at the irony of it. Here he was, a being that had enjoyed more time than any other life should be allowed to have, and in the end it was time that was his enemy after all. He smiled against her lips. At least I know she won't bean me in the head when it's over, he thought, and closed his eyes in preparation for the blast.
Ten seconds...
What are you waiting for, imbecile! GO!
Vash's eyes flew open at the sound of the voice and the immediate rumble of the pod.
Without warning the interior of the escape pod burst into life as all the panels lit up like fireworks. Before he could even punch the blue button again, the pod gave a tremendous heave and shot out of the rusty tube like a bullet, sailing out of the ship and into the clear blue sky.
Seconds later, a tremendous burst of light flashed out, covering the planet in its inhabitants in its brilliance...
And then...
...everything went dark.
Next time on Edge of the Sea, the final chapter Chapter 13 and Epilogue: The Edge of the Sea