AN: This is rated PG-13 because of it's overall content. In this chapter, there will be some gorey and bloody scenes. If you are not good with sickening things like decapitated arms then skip 'Zeyla the Red' although it is suggested you read the entire thing, but as I have said skipping it will not matter.
Red Geranium
Third Child
Disclaimer: I do not own Trigun or any of its characters.
"Come on, Milly! We'll miss the last steamer to Rafron City! Vash is supposed to be on this steamer too!" The short woman shouted while she ran with a suitcase in hand and tickets in another.
"I'm coming!" The tall woman replied while lugging a heavy seeming suitcase.
"Wait! We're passengers!" Meryl shouted towards the man who began to close the door. The man stopped and opened the door to its fullest.
"Hurry up, you two. It's about to leave. Gimme your tickets by the way." He grumbled.
Meryl handed the two tickets for 3rd class to the man who glanced at them and ripped part of it off.
"Go on, get to where your room is. I don't have time to waste to give some girlies help with their luggage."
"Hn. Men." Meryl muttered.
"Thank you!" Milly said while waving towards the man who began to lock the door.
"I wonder where the idiot's staying." Meryl said aloud.
"Hey! Insurance girls!" The blonde broom-head called out while waving.
"Look it's Mr. Vash." Milly pointed towards Vash with a smile upon her face.
"Hopefully this steamer won't have any trouble." Meryl mumbled, recalling past encounters on steamers.
"Hey, Mr. Vash…Who's that behind you?" Milly asked while pointing to a girl in a wheelchair behind him.
"Oh, her? Well uh you see…" Vash trailed off.
"I am Zeyla…the Red." The girl in the wheelchair stated, obviously a timid one by the way she spoke.
"The Red? He-ey! You never told me you had that added to your name. Don't you trust your brother enough to tell him any secrets?" Vash turned around suddenly to look at Zeyla.
"BROTHER?! You have yet another sibling?! Why wasn't I told?!" Meryl shouted, which caused the people nearby to stare.
"Hey…I just found out…"
"Explain!" She demanded.
"Ah fine…Time for a flashback…" Vash mumbled. "Well…"
-=-Sibling Reunion-=-
"Who is she?" The blonde man asked.
"She is you sister, Vash the Stampede." The old man replied while staring at the girl.
The girl sat in a wheelchair looking pale and weak. Her right arm only reached to the area where her elbow should be and stopped. It was abnormally small and shriveled up like a prune. Her eyes were pale and milky, it was obvious the girl was blind and her hair was a golden blonde with strands of a lighter, whiter blonde.
"How do you know?" Vash questioned.
"I know many, many things. It would be too complicated to explain, but please take the poor girl with you. She belongs with family." The old man began to walk away.
Vash turned around and was about to grab the man by the shoulder, but he was nowhere in sight. For a moment all Vash could see was the dirt creating earthbound clouds, but then a familiar face looked back at him before disappearing completely. A face belonging to one he knew from when he was on the SEEDS ship in the beginning.
"Might as well return to Egerston City before I begin having more mirages." He said to himself as if trying to explain that the familiar figure was never there.
Vash ran over to his supposed lost sister. Her blank, sightless eyes stared into nothingness while her hands played with a wooden figurine. It was a flower with beautifully formed petals and a butterfly gracefully set on one of the larger petals.
"Hel-lo! My name's Vash the Stampede! The hunter of the elusive mayfly known as love! What's your name?" He introduced himself with the usual friendly demeanor that he often faked.
"Where's the old man? I don't hear him anymore." The girl said softly.
"Well...uh...he's taking a vacation. I'll be your uh...guardian for now. Don't worry, I'll take care of you." Vash reassured while grabbing the handles of the wheelchair. " Next stop, Egerston City!" He shouted.
With a sudden yelp and a shout, the unstable wheelchair was off with a natural disaster and his sibling. The two raced off into the horizon to the City of Egerston, the girl petrified from the most exciting and scariest experience she had ever encountered and a typhoon showing genuine happiness, trying to spread it to the crippled girl.
Behind them the mysterious ghostly figure appeared once more to observe them. It was none other then Rem Saverem. The guardian angel of all who she cared for. The savior of Vash and Knives, the savior of many, the symbol of all that was good. Rem Saverem.
-=- /.End./ -=-
"So she's your sister?" Meryl asked.
"I have lots of sisters. Big, big sister, big sister, big big small sister, big small sister, small big sister-"
"That's enough, Milly." Meryl interrupted.
"I'm not positive that she's my sister, but man is she good at getting charity. People have been handing her food and money all day long. She was even given these!" Vash took out a box of donuts, grinning widely. "They were really good."
"You just let them give her money? Vash, you shouldn't be using her for a way to get…donuts…" Meryl said, obviously disgusted.
"He-ey. The people were gone before I could give it back, okay?" Vash mumbled in his whiney voice.
"Ah, whatever." Meryl sighed.
"So why do they call you the Red?" Milly piped in.
"I don't really want to tell. It's a horrifying part of my life, but I like the sound of it when it's added to my name." Zeyla smiled slightly to expose a row of perfect, white teeth.
"Please? C'mon, you can't keep a secret from your very own oh so adorable and loveable brother forever."
"Oh fine, but you might not like it." Zeyla stayed in silence in moment before sighing. "This will be yet another flashback. One is enough for a day though."
-=- Zeyla the White -=-
"Hey Aaia! Aaia!" A smaller version of Zeyla called out from a wheelchair that was much too big. "Look!"
An elderly woman with graying brown hair watched from her location on the porch of a house. With a hand to block out the Sun, she turned to the direction Zeyla pointed at. "What is it?"
"A stray cat! Can we keep it?" Zeyla asked with excitement in her voice. She struggled to single-handedly move the wheelchair with her only good arm.
Despite being unable to see, Zeyla had amazing hearing. Her ears could catch the sounds even if she was faraway. The cat yelped weakly with each step it took. The front paw was obviously injured by the way it limped and there were various scratch marks on its lean black body.
"Zeyla, hold on dearie. He might be very sick and you know how easily you become ill." Aaia began as she walked towards Zeyla to help her with moving. "It might be best to just leave him alone."
"But Aaia! It's hurt! I can't it stand it! Whenever he yelps, it's like a scream in my ear! Aaia, please!" Zeyla gradually rose her voice until it was a high pitched yell. Her normally very pale face was now red from both the sun and the exhaustion of activity that seemed like nothing to someone who was normal.
"Fine, fine… Once I get you inside, I'll go get him. You can handle starting the tub, can't you? Make the water lukewarm and find an old towel for the cat." Aaia instructed as she pushed the wheelchair towards the house. Once next to the steps, Aaia picked up Zeyla and started to carry the frail girl into the house. "Get some soap and be ready to help me clean him up, alright?"
"Thank you, Aaia!" Zeyla began to hug Aaia before she was sent into a horrible coughing fit. Aaia paused in her steps to allow Zeyla to recover from all the coughing.
"But after we help the cat out, he'll have to leave the house and go on his own. And you, little missie, will have to take a nap. Either that or you'll get sicker." Aaia continued by going up the stairs carefully. "And you'll have to take your medications too. Remember don't waste them. We're lucky that Mr. Kefferson is generous with his abundant amount of money. He's been paying for all your medical treatment, y'know."
"Mr. Kefferson scares me though. His constant care for his prized gun bothers me. Every time we go all I hear is the enthusiastic rubbing of cloth on metal. There's also that disgusting smell of his cigars. Mr. Keferson is quite an eccentric man." Zeyla stated.
Aaia laughed heartily at this and shook her head. "Never say that in front of him, he'll certainly will break a vein."
They grew silent as they entered the bathroom. Aaia set Zeyla down on a humble little chair next to the sink and tub and began to leave.
"Now remember, don't do anything you think is too hard for you and when I'm coming, make sure to distance yourself away from the bathtub. You might get something from that animal." Aaia said and left.
As Zeyla worked with getting the water just right, she hummed softly to herself. It was a tune she had heard over the radio once. The tune had stuck in her head and now whenever she was busy with work, she would hum it. The song was supposed to be a very old one with a light, happy feeling surrounding it. The real lyrics were unknown to her unfortunately.
Zeyla reached for the bar of lavender scented soap that was always placed next to the sink. After feeling around for a moment, her fingers felt the new soap bar. It was a light violet in color with the company's logo imprinted on it. Her frail fingers traced the curvy letters that seemed more like a design then some letters.
Suddenly cries of pain and sounds of gunfire rang loud through the city's usually calm area. More gunfire and shrieks of utter pain that caused Zeyla to fall from her chair. Her only good hand clutched at her ears to try and block out the sounds of pain echoing in her head. Tears ran down her face as she hit her head against the bathtub. The tears were not of the pain the bathtub had caused, but by the new, but familiar sounds.
Memories of an earlier time rushed into her mind. Blood, corpses, the wretched scent of death. It was everywhere. She remembered only seeing red when the eyes used to work. Red everywhere, like the color of blood. Zeyla began to remember seeing the deaths. One by one they died. Zeyla began to remember the cries of agony. Zeyla began to remember that it was her who had caused it. The snow white gun shaking in her fragile hands. Each metal bullet meeting its target in deadly accuracy.
Back then she was a merely a young child that appeared to be the age of six or seven. Her body was normal, both arms reaching their should-be length, eyes seeing in perfect clarity, and legs strong enough to support her. Then it all changed with the massacre she had caused. The disability she had gained was the sacrifice to kill so many.
But why did she kill so many? Never had she been a violent person and disliked the thought of anyone dying. More tears slid down her face as more people died outside. The shrill scream of a person who had just been shot ringing painfully in her head. The sound, they just wouldn't leave!
Suddenly something odd began to happen. She felt the hatred, sorrow, and pain from the previous experience overflowing and consuming all sense of good inside of her. Bright light began to shine on the crippled parts of her body. Soon the half arm regenerated to match in size of its partner. The legs grew bigger with newfound muscles suddenly alive with a thirst for movement. Zeyla blinked as she felt the changes take place on her body. It was painful, but somehow exhilarating! Zeyla felt a rush of both excitement and a sense of power seizing her.
Something odd began to happen. As she blinked several more times, it seemed as the empty darkness she had always stared at beginning to fade. Slowly she saw outlines. The sink, the chair, the bathtub. It was all in black and white at first until splashes of color began to form. The bathtub and the sink were a sort of creamy white and the walls were brown. The chair was painted a lime-ish green with leaves decorating it. The sudden light brought pain to her eyes, but it was waved away with her amazement with the sudden vision.
"Amazing…My body is no longer disabled." Zeyla spoke in a quiet voice. The previously milky colored eyes were now a vicious seeming red. A sinister and sadistic expression had formed on her face.
But as quickly as her body was changed, she was thrown down to the floor in more pain. Her heart began to beat rapidly. She struggled for breath until she finally passed out. Her heart began to return to normal once Zeyla was out from the lack of oxygen.
-=- /.End./-=-
-=-Zeyla the White, Zeyla the Red-=-
A girl that seemed no older then perhaps fifteen walked out of a small house placed in the middle between two much larger buildings. In her hand was a knife used to skin animals and a pearly white gun in the other. She grinned a grin that belonged to someone that could only be ruthless and cruel.
People caught sight of the moving girl and gave shouts of surprise and alarm. They began to rush over to her while ignoring the weapons in her hands. The girl just grinned maliciously and raised her knife. The people backed away.
"What happened to you?"
"How are you walking?"
"Is that you?"
"What are you doing?"
"Put those down young lady!"
All of these were anonymously called from the crowd. Murmurs spread through the crowd as they voiced their opinion on who this girl was, so similar to their cherished crippled citizen, but so different.
"You insolent little inferiors! Dare talk to one who holds superiority to dirt like you!" The girl shouted which almost instantly quieted the crowd. "Everyone shall die!"
Before the people could react, the first bullets were fired. The gleaming metal bullets slicing through the air until plunging into the bodies of innocents. Six bullets found their target, the heart. Six citizens of Zanorfred Town died.
Zeyla began to move again, but this time with the knife. Her left arm moved with amazing speed, slashing marks all over the bodies. People began to react and some even pulled out guns. Bullets fired at the girl, but many missed. Three hit the girl. Twice in the leg, once in the arm. Despite this, the girl continued to move with more vicious anger.
Soon the crowd of people was dead by her feet. The white summer dress the girl wore was now stained with the blood of all of them. The various shades of blood soaked in blood and the pale skin vibrantly painted with the life liquid.
The girl stepped over previous friends of her's. Their faces frozen in a look of horror with blood from others splashing onto their faces. The girl placed a look of innocence upon her blood-splattered face for deceiving others.
She entered a gunsmith's shop. A cry of pain. Stealing bullets. Leaving a trail of blood. Armed with Innocence, a loaded gun, and a knife.
-=- / . End . / -=-
-=- Zeyla the Red -=-
The killing spree continued with the girl entering homes and leaving with bloody footprints. People banned together to stop the madwoman, but they all failed. It was as if she wasn't a true mortal being. Her movements and accuracy were beyond the level of anyone her age.
"Zeyla! What has happened to you?" Aaia screamed as she watched her half-sister being killed right in front of her eyes. The cat was cuddled in her arms and seemingly relaxed. Aaia was frantic, her eyes wide with shock and her mouth open in horror.
"Aaia, Aaia. You should learn to respect your superiors. I should spare you for all your kindness, but I think hearing you die slowly will be more appropriate." The girl now identified as Zeyla spoke with a calm, sadistic manner.
The hand with the knife in it raised slowly. Fresh blood rolled off the keen edge to form a little puddle on the ground. The hand began to tremble though. Droplets of red flew in various directions as the girl fell to the ground. Tears of red streamed down her face.
"Why does it so much? The gift of being able to see and to walk with others. Aaia, help. My heart feels as if it will explode from all this pain. It hurts." More streams of the bloody tears fell down her face as she clutched at her chest in pain.
"Do not worry, dearie. I will help." Aaia set down the cat and pulled Zeyla into a comforting hug. Slowly she pulled the knife from Zeyla's shaking arm and moved it aside.
Blood dripped out of a small cut caused by the knife while passing. Zeyla began to feel weak as she lost blood from the tears and the small cut. Her body trembled as the red vision began to fade. Her ability to see faded with the redness and she literally felt the power leaving and the weakness returning.
"Aaia. Aaai. I was so scared. I didn't know what was happening. It hurt. It hurt so bad…" Zeyla sobbed into Aaia's comforting shoulder.
"There, there, dearie. I'm here now…" Her voice trailed away as she got up abruptly. Zeyla fell back with the sudden movement. "Don't worry, it'll be over soon."
If Zeyla could see again, she would see the expression of one cold-hearted and insane. There was something different about Aaia that seemed oddly familiar in the psychotic version of Zeyla.
Aaia grabbed Zeyla by her hair and dragged the now crippled girl. A trail of blood followed the girl as she was dragged in the last home she had invaded. It was a house of a family of five. All of who were wonderful neighbors. The three children had often played with Zeyla when she wasn't so sick.
Zeyla had done a very dishonoring thing to the Smith family. Instead of the usual slash here and there and leaving, she had treated their bodies disrespectfully. One by one she dragged them to the bathroom and slashed their throats so the blood would fall in the bath. By now it was near overflowing with the blood and the bodies lay scattered on the ground.
"Aaia! Aaia!" She screamed as her head hit the stairs painfully.
"Shut up!" Aaia snapped and continued to drag the girl by the hair.
They reached the bathroom and Aaia grabbed Zeyla by the throat. She smiled viciously and pushed her head beneath the sea of red. The girl struggled for breath in the disgusting liquid that gave life. Suddenly a hand came down and knocked her head. From the surprise hit, Zeyla unintentionally opened her mouth.
Blood went into her mouth along with a severed ear and a tip of a finger. The two little body parts swam around her mouth and Zeyla panicked. She tried screaming, but the only reaction she received was another hit on the head.
The only good arm reached out and tried to hit Aaia to stop the drowning. The grip on her throat only grew tighter. Zeyla gently pushed the blood out of her mouth, tasting the metallic taste. Her attempts at being free from the drowning ceased.
Zeyla's blind eyes stared sadly at the ceiling. For her she could only see darkness. For most of her life, she lived in darkness. The darkness of being blind. The darkness that had always wrapped around her heart no matter how pure and innocent she was. The darkness, it was who she was. She was a born killer.
The left arm touched the fabric of her dress lovingly. Aaia had told her earlier that day that it was brand new white summer dress. It supposedly had pretty red flowers randomly placed on the edge of the dress. It was probably all red by now. All her fault too…
Her chest hurt a lot now. It felt as if it was burning. The lack of oxygen was bringing death closer and closer. Every heartbeat was a struggle and she was sure that each second, it went faster. Faster and faster. Buh-bump. Buh-bump. Buh-bump. Buh-bump.
Zeyla's mind began to drift away from the problem. Slowly it was engulfed in the endless abyss of unconsciousness, perhaps never to wake again. Everything was so peaceful when she slept. Sleep…that would be wonderful right about now. Going around the city was so tiring on her body and all she wanted to do was sleep. Sleep and maybe never wake up.
If I go to Eden…will I be normal? Perhaps I'll be able to walk normally and see the wondrous place… Nah, I did too many bad things. I'll probably go to Hell. Yesterday I didn't take my medicine. I've called Mr. Keferson bad names. I yelled at Aaia once. I didn't sleep when Aaia told me to. I k-killed. The thoughts drifted around her mind.
"Aaia! Stop this immediately!" A gunshot was the only sound Zeyla heard after that. The blood muffled the conversation.
A heavy body fell on top of her making her chest hurt even more. Zeyla's fragile body was forced deeper into the bath where more body parts floated leisurely around. She felt an entire hand on the back of her head, which reminded her of when she fell off her wheelchair…
"Quick! Get Zeyla out of there. Aaia's dead, she must be. I think the bullet hit her in head. There might be a chance that we can rescue Zeyla though." The leader of the small group shouted. The heavy body was pulled off of her and a pair of hands pulled her out of the water.
Zeyla gasped for air. Blood was consumed with each breath. She felt nausea come over her at the thought of all the parts that might have belonged to Joe, Teddy, Francis, Mrs. Smith, Mr. Smith… Someone began to dry her off with one of the towels. It wiped the blood from her face first then began on her arms.
The frail girl rescued from death vomited onto the green tiles of a bathroom. Several blood vessels and a lot of blood were identified in the vomit. The authorities took her to a temporary home as they began to sort things out with witnesses that were still alive.
All of them blamed Zeyla for the massacre. In total, three fourths of the town was dead. They didn't know what to do with her. She was harmless now that she had changed back to her former self, but what would happen if she transformed into that monster again? No one would take care of her after seeing the remains of the Smith family.
Finally an old man stepped up and volunteered to take the girl with him when he was traveling. She wouldn't cause any harm if she was out in the open and vast land away from the cities and towns. It might prove difficult with the wheelchair, but he didn't take no for an answer. That same night, the two of them left.
Zeyla was never the same person again after the whole murdering experience.
-=- / . End . /-=-
-=- New Beginnings -=-
Everyone remained silent after Zeyla told her bloody, gruesome tale. Sure they had heard about the murders, but no one believed it was Zeyla. People believed that Zeyla would grow up to be someone like Vash the Stampede so had already placed a bounty on her head. Luckily, no one suspected the innocent handicapped girl.
"No one has the right to take the life of another." Vash said quietly. His eyes were wet and it seemed like he allowed several tears to pass.
"I told you, you wouldn't like it. I'm sorry for what I've done if that'll help." Zeyla became silent with Vash.
"Don't worry, Zeyla. You're with us now and we'll make sure it never happens ever again. You'll be safe with us." Meryl reassured happily.
"I've always wanted a litte sister to take care of!" Milly said while happily hugging Zeyla.
"Thanks…but is it really safe?" Zeyla asked. "The old man told me about another brother I had. He goes by the name…Knives."
"Uhh…" Meryl began.
All of them had worried expressions. Milly seemed sad for a moment, but placed a smile on her face. Vash moved away quietly.
"I think that's enough for one day." Meryl said quietly. "Milly, could you take Zeyla somewhere? I might have to go see Vash."
"Alright!" Milly grabbed the handles of the wheelchair and directed it to one direction. "Let's go see if they have any pudding."
-=- / . End . / -=-
-=- Leave -=-
Meryl quickly followed the retreating figure of the Humanoid Typhoon. His head was lowered and his movements were slow.
"Meryl…" He started.
"Yeah, Vash?"
"I want you and Milly to stay in the next city."
"But why?"
"With Zeyla…it involves family matters. It's going to become very dangerous with her around and I don't want you to get hurt." Vash stated.
"It doesn't matter to me…"
"Anyways, who'll do buy the donuts if you're dead?" Vash asked with the fake goofy smile on his face.
"Ergh…" Meryl hit him on the head and stomped away.
-=- / . End . / -=-
AN: Let me explain some things.
Zeyla the White: She is the part of Zeyla that represents innocence, purity and everything good. Most of the time Zeyla is this pure version. This is when she's handicapped, a sacrifice for peace. You can view her as the angel opposed to the devil, the conscience. The White is like Vash, seeking peace and disliking killing.
Zeyla the Red: The evil part, the murderous one. The Red is like Knives, wants the humans to die and enjoying the thought of killing. She is strong, extremely powerful. The sacrifice for such power is the lost humanity and her true being. This one represents sadism, death, and a very sick sense of entertainment.
Aaia: Pronounced Aye-uh. An elderly woman who takes care of Zeyla in her younger days.
Red Vision: Red Vision is what happened to Zeyla and Aaia. Zeyla does not have Angel arms, but instead has Red Vision. It is a contagious thing, which temporarily makes the user extremely powerful. They can't stop killing until a certain amount of blood has been spilled. It can pass onto to someone from Zeyla by drawing the user's blood.
Old Man: A man who cares for Zeyla after the Zanorfred Tragedy. In one of the flashbacks, it turns out that he is actually Rem as a spirit.
Zanorfred Tragedy: This is the name for the murders caused by Zeyla. After Zeyla killed three fourths of the town, most of the people left since some of the people who ran the necessities were dead. It is currently abandoned.
The Gun: The gun that Zeyla carries while starting the murder is actually the wooden figurine. Although it is not made of metal or anything, it's like the guns for Vash and Knives. The wooden figurine changes when Zeyla changes.