A/N: It seems that a few people have come up with ideas concerning Cherub and his father, but rest assured, it's going be quite a bit different than any of you think in future chapters.
Along Came A Spider
Chapter Four: GREAT POISON
The city of Inepril, in the many months that the city's plants have been worked on, had become much more thriving. People were no longer starving and much of the city that had once been buried in sand was restored to its original state. This was all thanks to a certain Humanoid typhoon.
Despite the destruction of Augusta, Vash the Stampede was still considered a local hero by many locals. Some others began to question his actions for saving their city, thinking that he had defeated the Nebraska Family and prevented the plant from melting down for his own benefit, instead of doing it out of generosity.
Whether the $$60,000,000 man saved the city for his own purposes or for the welfare of its citizens, they did not know. Many did not care; these of which were the children of Inepril who still believed that Vash the Stampede, the destroyer of July and Augusta, was a hero for what he had done and risked for them.
Tonis, who had become a small hero himself for befriending the Typhoon himself, was near the outskirts of town with his friends, reenacting the fight between the Nebraska Family and Vash the Stampede as best they could.
That was when a teenage blonde boy visitor came into the city.
The children rushed up to Cherub, excited to meet the strange visitor. "Hi, miss!" Tonis yelled.
Cherub shot the boy a glare, "I am not female! I am a male!"
"Oh, sorry," Tonis scratched his head in confusion, "Then why do you have such long hair?'
"Why do you seem to be lacking gray matter?" Cherub shot back.
A boy in the back of the group asked, "What's gray matter? Is it a kind of food?!" Not giving a verbal reaction to this, Cherub only stared at the children and shook his head in pity.
"What's your name, kid? You look kinda like I've seen you before…" Tonis asked. He was getting impatient with Cherub and, consequently, was also losing respect for the visitor.
"My name is of no importance to you…and do not call me 'kid', I am larger than you, so it would be in your best interest to naturally show me respect," Cherub stared down his nose at the group before him and scowled.
A girl stuck her tongue out, "You're no fun! You're just a big jerk!" Giving only a short look at the girl, Cherub continued his walk to enter the streets of Inepril.
One of the boys grabbed onto Cherub's arm, "Hey, we're not lettin' you go 'til you tell us your name!"
Writhing in anger at the contact, Cherub glared at the boy. His hand reached into a pocket to pull out the one weapon that still contained ammo left over from Jeneorarock. He would kill them all! How dare they touch him?!
"I know who you look like!" Tonis shouted out, "You look just like Vash!"
Turning with a look of surprise towards Tonis, Cherub shook out of the grip the other child had on him. "You know of Vash?!" He stepped forward so that he stood directly in front of Tonis.
Being only as high as the teen's abdomen, Tonis had to look up to see Cherub's face, "Well…yeah. Everybody knows about Vash the Stampede! Sheesh…how long have you been around?" Some of the other children giggled at this.
Ignoring the insult at his intelligence, Cherub grabbed onto Tonis's shirt with one hand and lifted the boy so that they were, literally, eye-to-eye with each other. "You spoke as if you had met Vash the Stampede! Tell me, is he here?" He brought his face close to the little boy's as he yelled this, intensifying the fear Cherub shot into the small boy, "Tell me!
"Is Vash the Stampede in Inepril?!"
Jaw wavering at being put through this interrogation, Tonis struggled to regain his bearings. "N-no…he-he isn't! we met him a long time ago when he saved all our lives…" his eyes began to water, "b-but we haven't seen him since! I'm telling the truth!"
"He saved your lives?" Cherub seemed more disappointed at this information than he was angry. Tonis nodded his head quickly. "Pathetic…" Cherub threw the boy onto the ground and made an about-face, walking past the other children who went to help the crying Tonis while shooting glares at the visitor.
~ * ~ * ~ * ~
Standing before the entrance to Inepril City's main plant, Cherub recalled the information he had gotten from people after leaving the sniveling brats. They had told him that their plant had once become close to useless and Vash, after earning a large sum of money, gave them the funds to fix the plant. He helped the very people that sought to kill him for his own bounty.
That was not what intrigued Cherub the most; he had learned that after technicians and engineers came to fix the plant, there was a risk of a meltdown and, once again, Vash came to their rescue. No one knew what he did to the plant. They didn't even know why the plant had been acting like that, but Cherub knew.
She was only a little tired…
Inepril was now a haven for Vash the Stampede, and he would undoubtedly return here in the future. All this new information was priceless to Cherub, and at that very moment he formulated a plan to ensure that, if Vash ever returned here, he would find what he had helped fix.
Death…drought…starvation…and a dying plant. Cherub hated what he was about to do, but he had no choice. After a few quick moments of hacking into the ship's computer, Cherub was able to unlock the entrance. He wandered through the maze that was the ship until he came to the room he was searching for, the room that Vash the Stampede himself had used to heal the plant and prevent the meltdown. It was filled with hundreds of pipes and the ceiling was littered with holes that let through an ominous light from the plant.
Using his mind, Cherub reached out to the being that resided in the structure, his thoughts flowing into the mind of the plant. Using reassuring thoughts, he ordered the creature to open up to him. The ceiling opened up and a cascade of rainbow energy appeared above him. Standing atop the pedestal-like projection in the center of the room, Cherub closed his eyes, focusing his mind into the plant. Poles rose from the floor, surrounding Cherub.
"I am sorry for this," Cherub called out with his mind. He reached out and grabbed onto a pair of the poles, his eyes shooting open as he released energy from his body into them. It followed up the path of the metal and his energy mixed with that of the plant. The screams of the plant dozens of yars above echoed through Cherub's head.
"This will be for the greater good…you will see…"Elizabeth, the chief of the plant engineers, walked towards Inepril's plant. Lately she had given up on her revealing dress that had been her mainstay in her apparel and was now wearing the normal gray outfit of the other engineers. Although she could have left Inepril many months ago after fixing the plant, she decided to stay instead. She didn't quite know why she wanted to. Maybe the fact that she had no actual home and her guilt for almost allowing a complete meltdown of the plant had something to do with it?
As she went to open the door to the plant, Elizabeth noticed that someone had already entered the code to unlock it, but had forgotten to secure it afterwards. Realizing that someone would have forgotten something that important in only an emergency, she rushed to the main control room of the plant.
Other engineers were rushing around frantically as she entered. "Germane!" Elizabeth called out to the secondary-chief engineer. The small man rushed up to her. "What is going on?!"
"Chief," the man began, "It seems that there is something wrong with one of the plants!"
"I can see that!" Her normally gentle face turned to a scowl that she directed towards the shaken man, "Be a little more specific!"
"Well, plant number three seems to be acting strangely. Its production has dropped to zero!"
"Zero?!" Elizabeth gasped. "Is it dead?"
The man shook his head quickly, "No…it's worse. For some reason it seems to be absorbing energy from the other plants!"
"What? That's impossible!" Instead of letting Germane finish, Elizabeth rushed to the control panel, and there was proof to what the man said. For some reason the plant, instead of producing energy, air, water, and everything else it was supposed to, was eating away at the other plants, absorbing their energy as if the it had become some sort of cannibalistic leech.
"Shut it down!" She called out desperately.
"We've already tried that," Germane said as he joined the woman before the panel. "But for some reason it won't respond," he seemed as if he was about to have an emotional breakdown. "I don't know what else we can do…if the plant keeps this up, it'll kill all the others in a matter of days!"
Steeped in thought, Elizabeth gave her desperate answer, "Shut all the plants down."
Mouth gaping, Germane stood in shock, "But if we do that…the city was in bad enough shape when only a third of its plants were down!"
"Do it! NOW!" Elizabeth yelled. She knew the consequences, but with any luck the city would be able to survive without the plants until she and the others found out what had turned the plant against the others.
Hopefully the city wouldn't wither away and die during that time.
~ * ~ * ~ * ~
I was getting quite annoyed. It was a day like any other; I would wake up, languish about my loss to Vash, then, once I grew bored of that, I wallowed in my hatred of the spiders. After that, the tall human woman would bring me my food.
Except this time she wouldn't leave!
I brought the spoonful of soup to my lips and, as I did with each other one, sniffed it to ensure that there was not some sort of poison in it, and half-heartedly swallowed the concoction. I had to admit that it was not entirely displeasing, despite the fact it had been prepared by, not one, but two spiders.
Without turning my head, I glanced at the woman out of the corner of my eye. She stood there smiling as if she somehow couldn't tell that I wished her gone…or better yet, dead. She was also holding a bag, the contents of which I had not a clue…not that I really gave a damn.
"How do you like it, Mr. Millions?" the cheerfulness of her voice made my skin crawl. "It's a recipe from Meryl's family and I know she'd be happy to hear if you are enjoying it."
Answering through clenched teeth, I spoke as unthreateningly as possible, "Yes, it is fairly good…even considering where it came from and who made it."
"Oh, that's wonderful!" her smile seemed to grow bigger. The subtle insult I made obviously went over her head; I had met some dense humans in my time, but this one was air-headed to a point that was almost amusing to observe, had it not been aggravating.
I finished the meal, which also included more of the chocolate pudding that she brought every day. After I placed the plate and utensils onto the end-table, I hoped the human would leave, but instead she stood there. I pushed the plate a little to her direction, hoping that she would get the hint.
"I know you must be lonely up here all alone,' she said. Obviously my hint was a little faint for her to notice. "So, how about a game?"
I did not try to show my rising hatred for her for sole fact that I didn't want to slip and do something that would scare her away permanently. Not that I would feel remorse for scaring such simple creature…in fact I would find it amusing. I just didn't want Vash to be the one to bring me food. Just the thought of my sentimental, childish brother—the same one that defeated me—caring for me like a wounded animal made my stomach churn.
Hearing the likely 'love and peace' speeches was not a very tempting scenario, either.
Swallowing my pride, I spoke to the cheerfully vile creature before me, "What type of game would you have in mind?" It would have to be something simplistic for her to be able to be able to play it.
"Chess!" she piped up happily as she pulled out one of the contents of the bag, a long rectangular box.
Chess?! That was definitely a surprise…I would have figured that the game of checkers was beyond her comprehension. A slight smirk crossed my face. Finally a way to show one of these humans my great intelligence!
"I wouldn't mind at least one game." I watched her as she moved the table over to the bed, placed the plates onto the floor and slid the chair from the corner over to the table and sat in it. The human opened the box and pulled out the game board and pieces. As she put the game pieces onto the correct spaces, I was amused by the fact that she knew where they belonged.
I had played many games of chess before, all of which had been against Legato Bluesummers, and, as would be expected, I had been the victor each and every time. Of course, I knew this game would be no exception.
In the living room of the home Vash and the others shared, Meryl sat in a cushioned chair, trying to relax. This was quite difficult, since Vash was slamming his fist over and over into the radio Meryl had recently bought. The small piece of second-hand electronics had not been working correctly and Vash decided to take the problem into his own hands.
Once the scrambled noises flowing out of the machine turned into the recognizable overly-energetic voice of the New Oregon satellite's DJ, Vash relented his attack/repair.
Meryl let out a sigh and shook her head. There was no doubt in her mind that that man was an over-the-top, sniveling, good-for-nothing man…but yet, despite all that she couldn't help but feel-
"Ahh!" Meryl's thoughts were cut short as Vash let out a yelp. He was searching frantically, or at least that's what he seemed to be trying to do, since he was only standing and jumping around in circles.
"What in the world are you doing?" Meryl asked.
"My…my…" He seemed to be on the verge of tears as he rushed up to woman, "My donut is missing! It's the last one from that dozen you bought earlier!" As a kind of ritual, Meryl had began to buy the man a box of donuts from the local baker everyday after she got off her shift at one of the town's bars. Not even she knew why she started doing it…maybe the childishly happy look of pure surprise Vash managed to put on each time she gave him the pastries had something to do with?
"You mean, that donut?" she pointed past the worried man towards a corner of the room. The spot was occupied by the stray black cat that they, due to Millie's persistence and whining, had taken in. The feline was busy licking Vash's final donut all the while letting out a content purr.
Letting out a gasp, Vash jumped up and pointed his finger dramatically at the tiny creature. "Revenge!!" he rushed over and snatched up the donut, which in turn scared the cat out if her wits and she latched onto his arm. "My donut!" he shook his arm quickly trying to get the cat to release, but she stayed in place.
As she massaged her temples, Meryl began to think that keeping that useless animal was a bad idea…and she didn't mean the cat. On the inside though, she smiled. Despite what the woman would say and rant about, she really did enjoy Vash's crazy antics, although she would never admit it to him.
After the furious battle between Vash the Stampede and a small cat (a battle that he lost, in Meryl's opinion), the Humanoid Typhoon flumped down into his chair and munched happily on his snack, seemingly oblivious to the wounds he received. The cat strolled towards Meryl and jumped up to her. The animal curled into a ball in the lap of the surprised insurance agent.
Meryl watched the man across the room, trying to get the courage to ask him a question that had been growing in her since the morning after Wolfwood's death, when she had learned of Vash's past, about his role in the marooning of the human race on Gunsmoke, of Millions Knives, human-hater and twin bother to kind gunman.
That was when she learned of Rem Saverem.
"V-vash…can I ask you a question?" she didn't normally stumble over words when she spoke to people, but due to the subject matter of the question and her fear of the answer, the normally strong woman seemed to falter.
Vash answered with a full mouth, "Shy, ob dourse, Mewle!" Even though she could barely understand him, Meryl still got a slight shiver whenever that man spoke her name.
After taking a deep breath and taking a moment to pet the cat as she collected her feelings into a question, Meryl spoke, "Who is Rem? I mean, you told me a little about how Knives killed her, but…"
The look of slight surprise on Vash's face prevented her from finishing. He swallowed the donut and seemed to squirm in his seat, "Well…um…why do you want to know?" He seemed to be avoiding the question.
"I was a just curious about your…" it took all her effort to push out the next word, "relationshipwith her." Meryl bit her lip as she waited for Vash's reaction to that.
With his eyes wide and mouth slightly open, Vash let out a sigh. "Well…she took care of me and I…" he stared at Meryl as he spoke the rest, "…loved her." Meryl tried not to react as a lump suddenly grew in her throat. "She gave her life to save everyone on this planet. Despite what I said or did, she always seemed to care about me." Meryl's face seemed to grow sadder and drooped as he spoke the rest. "Rem was perfect. She was smart…beautiful, caring, generous.
"You remind me a lot of her, Meryl."
The small woman's face shot up. It took her few moments to get her voice, "Really? You think so?" Vash smiled and nodded. Meryl looked away, not because of any sadness, but this time to prevent Vash from seeing her flushed face. "Vash…I need to say someth—"
The woman was suddenly cut off as the DJ's voice from the radio filled the room. The voice was dripping with surprise and shock as he read off the current news of Gunsmoke, "Ladies and gentlemen! I am sorry to inform you all, but I happen to have some uncool news for you to hear! Now, bear with me, as I try to explain the crazy events that have been sweeping our dusty little ball of a world!"
Vash and Meryl listened in surprise as the man listed off a string of horrible events that included the massacre of multiple towns, one of which was Jeneorarock, along with the strange problems with one of Inepril City's plants that lead to a complete shut-down of the entire facility.
What shocked them the most was that, at the end, the man spoke the words that Meryl had been expecting and feared:
"Unproven rumors have been spreading that these horrible events were the direct cause of one 'Vash the Stampede'. As you may be familiar, that man is the one responsible for July and Augusta going bye-bye and the big—and I mean huge!—hole in the Fifth Moon!"
Meryl's eyes shot to Vash. The man seemed like he had just gotten a boot to the groin as he tried to contain his fear. "Don't worry Vash…" she began to console him, but the man interrupted before she could finish.
"Who…who could have done all that? I'm here, Knives is upstairs and the Gung-Ho Guns and Legato are preoccupied with being dead and everything…" He tried smiling at his somewhat silly comment, but failed. He stared at his open palms as if to find the answer in them. "I had really hoped that, once I got Knives, all the 'Humanoid Typhoon' business would calm down…"
Not knowing what to say, Meryl just stared at the poor man. She didn't know what to say…what could she say? "I better check on Millie!" she said quickly and jumped up and made it out of the room. She didn't know how to deal with Vash…she wanted to help him, but she had never been good at getting herself to help people with emotional problems.
Swallowing the new lump that was in her throat, she walked away from the man who sat in a state of depression and deep reflection and towards the stairs to tell Millie of the news—and of possible move they may be forced to make if this continued as it had in ever other town.
My teeth were clenched to the point that my jaw was numb. Damn it, Legato! I screamed in me head over and over. That blue-haired yellow-eyed son of a…
Damn it! I screamed silently, interrupting my own thoughts. All those times I played chess against him, he must have let me win on purpose…either that, or that telepath had simply sucked horribly at the game.
I glared across the table at the woman who smiled happily at me. Ten games out of ten…I had lost ten games out often!! How could this seemingly brainless human manage to beat me, a plant far superior to her, in a game of strategy and wits?!
Maybe she was smarter than she acted…maybe it was all a sick ruse to send people into a false sense of security. She was just like all the other humans, throwing away dignity to defeat and destroy her opponents by making them think wrongly of her. Her intelligence must be much higher than I initially expected…
"I like the knights the most!" the tall woman poked one of the knights and giggled, "They look like little horsies!"
Okay, so that had completely destroyed my theory.
Before I could finish my turn, a short woman with black hair rushed into the room. I recognized her as the other woman that must have been living here. Although I had never seen her that closely, I had watched her leave the house early in the morning to do whatever sickening human thing she did when in town.
Her eyes widened when she saw me, and I smiled inwardly at the reaction. "Oh, hello…um, Mr. Knives…I am Meryl Stryfe of the Bern—"
"I know who you are." It was obvious from the sudden surprise and fear that she was a little more knowledgeable of my history.
"Millie, could I see you for a moment?" the short human said to the other. The tall one smiled and, after waving good-bye, left the room. I took a deep breath, trying with all my might to refrain from pushing the door down, rushing outside and killing everything in a ten-mile radius.
It wasn't working too well.
To distract myself, I got up and walked to the bag the woman had left. My legs and other wounds were, by that time, basically healed to their original state, so it was not too difficult a task. Not that I would have had the energy to run marathon, but I was becoming more relieved each day with the healing my body was doing.
Reaching into the bag, I grabbed the only item that was left in there and pulled it out. My eyes widened as I unfolded the item. "What in the world…"
It was my suit, but with the bullets holes patched up and the blood bleached out. It was roughly back to its original state. As I quickly put it on, I couldn't help but wonder why that human would do this. Was it a way to send me into a false sense of—
No, I thought. I had already came to the conclusion that she was not capable of a ruse such as that. But, if that was not the case, then why did she do this? Was it out of pity or caring?
I shook my head. No…NO! Humans were not capable of showing true compassion for others. They were all out to protect themselves and they did everything for only their own benefit, and that was all. This woman was no exception…
Or…was she?
As I pondered this, I could hear the voices of a worried mob of people at the front door demanding to see Vash the Stampede.
~ * ~ * ~ * ~
A/N: Well, that was long. I never have a real clue as to how long these chapters will turn out to be. Well, it is time to review again! And if you do, you will get a complimentary cookie…as soon as I find a way to send solid objects through the internet.