Here's chapter 2! If you read Ch. 1 already, please go back and read it
again – I had to do some serious editing so I hope you'll forgive me for
changing it! I know you'll like it! grins More chapters to come!
Chapter 2
A Hundred Bullets
Four Years Later
It was dark beneath the thick glass. The round globe had a circumference of sixty feet, the glass three inches thick to hold in the precious cargo that dwelled there. For over fifty years that cargo remained buried on the dusty planet, silent, waiting, knowing that some day a rescuer might come to pull it out of the darkness. No one found this lonely being; the planet was too vast, the desert it landed in too dangerous to explore. The only creatures that could brave this place were its own kind; those they said 'lived outside of time.'
"You think she's going to make it?" A voice said tentatively, as green eyes turned to an identical face. The twins found a new home. It took them many trips through the sandy desert to dig out this ship, unbury what time and wind had covered. It took four years to unbury this piece of history from the sand, fighting winds and typhoons and empty stomachs.
"She's alive, you can feel it," Knives answered, bringing both hands to the glass, pressing his cheek against the cool smooth surface. "I can't believe our luck. Our sister was part of the advance party, I'd read about the smaller ships that came before ours, but I hadn't seen any sign of them until now." He closed his eyes and tapped a finger on the glass, making a small hollow thumping noise. "Would you like to come out and play?"
"Knives..." Vash spoke, setting a hand on his brother's shoulder, "You still can't hear her can you?"
Knives opened his eyes to reflect his brother's. His hair was lighter in color, shorter by choice, and he had a birthmark below his right eye. "Maybe not, but you can Vash. And now that we're with her, I'll learn to hear her again. It might take time, but I'll learn to hear her words."
Vash took a step back, putting a hand through his yellow hair as it fell around his eyes. For the last year he had grown tired of looking like his brother, the tall upright hair, the clean-shaven face, and the tailored space suits. Vash looked down at his t-shirt and jeans and sighed. "I guess you will..." He frowned. Knives was staring at him with that cold expression he got whenever they talked about their siblings. To Knives, they were the only ones that needed to survive this desert planet.
"You can feel her, even without touching the glass, can't you?" Knives closed his eyes again, his fingers playing against the surface of the globe. "But you can't go without eating... It's strange."
"It's like we're part human..." Vash replied quietly, but not enough that Knives hadn't heard. Knives sneered, pulled away from the glass and punched his twin in the face. Vash reeled back and fell against the railing. He put a hand to his throbbing cheek and lowered his eyes. "I'm sorry Knives, I didn't mean to..."
"Stop comparing us to them," Knives spit at him, rubbing his fist. He shook his head and returned to the glass, "I don't like to hurt you Vash, you know that right? But, sometimes you leave me no choice."
Vash slid down to the metal catwalk and pulled his knees up to his chest. "I... I'm sorry." He rubbed his cheek again and with a sigh looked up at the huge plant before him. "I'll wake her up, just, give me a minute. I told you I would as long as you helped the girl... I know it's been awhile, but I found one for you just like I said I would. Didn't I?"
He closed his eyes and concentrated. The tiny spark of life that breathed out from the glass surrounded him almost as if it were smoke. These creatures always annoyed Vash, their selfishness and sense of superiority, so much like his brother. These beings were not human; they had only vague human traits given to them by whatever created them. It was a cruel joke, Vash always thought, that he should come from something so unloving and yet feel love himself. Had humans created the plants in their own image to one day become like them? The religion on the planet told of a God who created the humans... Had man done the same thing? Did the humans ever consider that their creation could become just like them? Or even that they could be more powerful? He shuttered at the thought, Knives already thought they were superior. It made him sick.
"Vash, you're trying my patience," Knives said from the globe. Vash looked up at him, Knives hadn't moved, but he'd been trying to wake the plant up himself for the last little while. All of the power to talk to these beings disappeared into the sands of time and for that Vash was glad. Unfortunately he suffered none of the same effects, and to that end Knives continued to use him.
Getting to his feet again, Vash positioned himself next to his brother, mirroring him, hands against the glass. She was there, and she was awake. Wake up. Just two words, and warmth spread across the cool glass until it became light, and the plant within the globe started to glow internally. Knives laughed next to him, "Look at how beautiful she is."
The creature formed from the inner core, angels and cherubs, feet and hands, little bodies and feathery wings. They formed a crazy mess, a tangle, but she had a main form, a main face, and it stared at them through pupil-less eyes. If man had not made these creatures, then they were plucked from the sky and jammed together in order to give off a heavenly light and power that was too terrible to comprehend. Vash pulled away from the glass and sat back down on the walkway. "Yeah, she's pretty," he said sarcastically. "Beauty from madness and oddity. But she's awake now. Can you hear her? She's saying hello."
Knives nodded with a small, satisfied grunt, "She's quite powerful, not like the others..." Vash frowned and looked down to his hands. Why did he still have this gift and not his brother? What was it about him that was different? He'd have given anything to trade places with him, to be the one who could not hear the plants, who could not listen to this spoiled girl as she told Knives how much she hoped he would come. But even now he could hear his brother and sister conversing. It was the first time in years that they'd come in contact with a plant that was this strong. She'd been conserving her energy all of these years. Her power came over him and over Knives and he shivered.
"She will help us in our task," Knives said finally, pulling away from his sister, his own skin glowing slightly from the contact. "It might take us time, but we have finally found a place to call home!" He walked past Vash and to the lab tables scattered around the area. "We'll get started immediately. Now that our sister is awake, I should be able to bring up the computers again." Knives stopped when his brother made no remark. "What's wrong Vash?"
Vash got to his feet and stuck his hands in his pockets. "I'm worn out Knives. I think I'll go take a walk outside." He passed by Knives, never looking him in the eye, and went into the dark hallways leading to the surface. Knives didn't follow but got started on his mission, for whatever good it would do.
The suns were still up, although low on the horizon, as Vash stepped out into the desert. The ship they'd found was small, only one plant nestled in the confines of its hull. Four years they worked to unbury this ancient wreck, four years of hard labor, but still, after only a half hour inside it, he missed the sunshine. Vash climbed the small hill the ship created when it crashed, and sat down to watch the suns set. Twenty years ago he and Knives passed this place, and he had avoided telling Knives that he felt one of their sisters. This time, he did not have the same option; Knives wouldn't let him forget his promise of four years ago.
How many more years would this go on? Vash wondered to himself, eyes squinting against the sunlight. The humans were prospering now, cities were springing up around the larger ships, and anywhere a plant was found intact. He and Knives found many of these places, always careful to steer clear of them, avoid contact with the people. His brother despised them, day by day, but the same clear vision stayed with Knives: find a plant of their own and use it to destroy the humans. It was all he ever talked about, all he ever planned, for the last fifty years. The one idea grew into an obsession until Vash saw Knives changing into something not quite human any more. He was losing sight of sanity, and his brother enjoyed it.
Knives became violent. Even to the point of hurting himself. Vash put his face in his hands and rubbed a gentle finger against where Knives hit him. It stung still, but only when he thought about it. They weren't human in this way either. Maybe humans could learn to block the feeling of pain, but he had to choose to feel the pain. Already he had scars down his arms and legs from days that Knives chose not to avoid the humans, and fight them instead. The newest scar was only from a few weeks ago, it remained a red streak against Vash's upper left arm. A bullet grazed him as he tried to pull Knives off of a man.
Guns. Why they decided to create such monstrosities, Vash was unsure. He pulled up his sleeve and looked down at the red mark across his arm. At first they used weapons found in the ships, laser scopes and titanium bullets. But when the supplies ran out, the humans started fashioning older weapons, ones that did not need electric power, just gunpowder. For a time, Vash knew they created these guns in order to hunt the huge sandworms that lay beneath the surface of the sand. They battled the beasts and ate them. The guns were also used to capture the other various beasts roaming the planet.
He had learned to use one not long after landing. He didn't grow proficient, nor had he wanted to after accidentally shooting a man... Vash closed his eyes, buried his head in his arms, no... He hadn't touched a gun since then. When man started to use guns against one another... He thought this place was supposed to be different; paradise... Paradise didn't have murderers... His most recent encounter with this was burned in his memory as vividly as the scar was against his pale skin.
Knives thought it was fitting, mankind killing itself out. He talked about it often, and soon after the incident secured a gun for his own. The gun was of a basic design, room for six bullets and a wooden handle. Knives held it from time to time, studying its design, playing his fingers over the silver barrel. I'll make us better ones someday, he said. Vash had no doubt he would, but also doubted he would ever use one again. He didn't want to touch it. There was too much power in it. The destiny of a man could be ended with a single tiny pellet. Vash saw it happen right before his eyes as the bullet passed by his arm and into the man Knives fought.
The man died in Knives' arms, while Vash clutched his arm, even as he did now, blood trickling down his skin. He shivered, thinking about it, and swallowed heavily. How much more could he take? Knives loved to feel the life drain out of the man as he died, and Vash could only think about how he could have been saved... They could have stopped the bleeding, sewn him up again and sent him on his way. But instead he bled to death, and the killer shot himself in the head. It all ended in a matter of seconds, and Vash saw it again every time he closed his eyes.
"Vash!" His brother called, and Vash blinked, realizing the suns already set. How long was he out here? The moons were up already. Had he disappeared into his thoughts so far again? "Hey Vash, come back into the ship, I've made dinner."
Vash rubbed his eyes and stood, walking down the hill to where Knives stood. "What are we having?"
"Rations," Knives replied, looking at his brother curiously. "You've been out here for two hours, what were you doing?"
With a shrug, he passed Knives into the ship, "Thinking."
"Anything of use?" Knives fell into step behind him. "Probably not," he answered for himself, and put a hand on Vash's shoulder. "Are you still sore at me for hitting you?"
"No," Vash replied, "Why would I be?"
Knives squeezed his shoulder, "Good, then you'll be willing to help me get some of the files on the computers sorted out. Apparently our sister was created to power a small armament. Since it was an advanced ship..." He stopped talking as Vash turned to look at him.
"Guns?"
With a nod, Knives continued, "The advance ships... They were manned only during landing parties. But there is a whole arsenal here untouched by those filthy creatures." He pushed Vash into a walk again and pulled him into a room. "See?" The room was a twelve by twelve square, weapons hanging in displays that were flush with the walls. Dozens of guns, every kind imaginable. Knives pulled a case open and tossed Vash a long silver gun. It was an automatic, laser sight, stainless steel, black rubber grip. He looked at it disdainfully.
"I don't know how to use it," he said, holding it out for Knives to take back. But his brother already had another one in his hand that was all black.
"You'll learn," he said, examining the weapon. "Unfortunately they'll all have to be modified. The electricity to power these weapons will be hard to come by if we are away from this ship for any amount of time. It will probably be necessary to convert them to a more primitive weapon." He held up the gun, looking down the barrel and then his green eyes fell on Vash. "What's wrong?"
Vash set the gun back into the case and stepped back. "I don't like them, Knives." He set his hand on his arm again and turned away.
"Oh, that wound is still bugging you is it?" Knives set his own weapon away and shook his head. "You'll get over it. Learn how to fire one and you won't have to worry about being scared any more. They can't kill us."
"I didn't say I was scared," Vash replied hastily, "I just said I didn't like them."
"You will," Knives said. "I'll teach you."
Two weeks. The suns rose and fell fourteen times and Knives locked himself away in the armory, as if it were a holy place. Vash sat outside in the shade of the ship, wondering what he was doing within that room. He didn't ponder it too long, brushing his hair out of his eyes, and wiping the dust from his brow. It was hot, very hot, more so than before. The positions of the suns made it late spring, if it had been Earth the trees would be in green now. He crossed his arms in front of his chest, and looked out over the desert. "Rem," he whispered silently, knowing that Knives would get angry if he said her name too loudly. "The geraniums would be blooming right now, wouldn't they? The red flowers of your home, they'd be brilliant in the sunshine. If you'd been here, there would be flowers everywhere... I'm sorry there weren't flowers for your grave." He sniffled, and the tears mingled with the dust and slid down his cheek.
Vash closed his eyes, "Rem... Why couldn't you have saved yourself? Got to an escape ship? I know you wouldn't have thought to go to back to the sleep chamber..." The tears rolled down his cheeks unchecked. The sleepers survived. Except for the girl they all remained untouched within their pods, a single plant left to keep them running. He sobbed for a time, wishing he'd been stronger, so he could have stayed with Rem...
Vash wiped the tears from his face and sniffled, "Rem... He didn't kill them. I would have left him then and there if he hadn't... But I saw something within him; he's still good, isn't he? If he allowed them to survive, then maybe there is still hope, right Rem?" He shook his head and dropped his hand to the rock beside him where a gun sat, glistening even in the shade. Knives wanted him to take it with him, to learn to use it until he grew proficient. Vash carried it around with him, but hadn't pulled the trigger yet, just set his hands on it until he grew accustomed to the weight.
"This gun... If he doesn't let them live, I'll... I'll..." Vash picked it up and aimed it out into the desert. "I had hope after he let them survive, Rem. Especially Marissa. But now that he has found this place, found our sister, he might go back to the old ways of thinking. And if that happens... I'll stop him, it will be necessary, right Rem?" He looked down the gun barrel with one eye closed, looking at the target Knives placed over a week ago. It was pretty chewed up when Knives practiced, but the center of the target remained fairly untouched. Knives hadn't used guns very often until recently either. He never needed too... He had his knives, but he stopped using them after leaving his machete. Vash had no doubt he would go back to his knives someday...
Standing now, Vash closed both eyes, thinking back to the way he had first learned how to shoot a gun. It had been a long time. Slowly opening one green-blue eye he looked down the barrel and his eye focused on the target. One squeeze of his finger and the bullet ripped through the far edge of the target, barely skimming it. "Damn," Vash sighed, looking at it, feeling disappointed. It wasn't like riding a bicycle... One had to practice to remain any good at it. Sure, he and Knives could learn computers in a matter of hours, but training the body to act as the mind, that was going to be difficult.
He held the gun up again, fired again, and again, until all the bullets were spent. Only the first hit the target, the remainders spun off into the sand. Vash sunk back down on his rock and made to throw the offensive thing out into the sand when a hand appeared in front of his face. It held a long silver gun, much like the one Knives procured years ago, a six-shooter. It didn't have the laser sight as the one Vash held, no, this one was older. "Here, try this one," Knives said, bobbing it in front of Vash.
Taking the new gun, Vash looked at it, feeling the weight in his hand. It was exactly the same weight as the gun he carried, but different. He looked up at Knives, "How does it fire? The barrel isn't in direct relation to the plunger... Does it even work?"
"I modified it. You aim too high. You aimed too high back then too..." Vash knew he referred to the time he'd shot that man... It was on accident, he tried to shoot his leg, but hit his chest instead. Knives pointed toward the target again, "Aim it as you did just a moment ago."
Vash stood reluctantly, but the feel of the gun in his hand, and the fact that Knives had probably seen him miss the target so many times, made him want to try it again. He'd do this, he'd promised Rem to take care of his brother, and he would, even if that meant someday killing him with this very gun. With a sigh, Vash raised the gun, aimed down the barrel. Knives snorted behind him, but didn't say anything. He squeezed the trigger and the bullet pierced through a lower level of the target. The positioning helped. Vash looked over his shoulder, "Look at that Knives!"
"You hit it, but you still need more practice," Knives took a box from his pocket and tossed it to Vash. The twin caught it and looked at it curiously. "Once you can get an entire box of these through the center, then we'll talk." He walked back into the ship and out of sight.
Standing in silence as his brother disappeared, Vash looked back down at the box. On the side was marked a quantity of a hundred. He looked back at the target. The bullet was still so far away from the center... Vash set the box down on the rock beside his other gun and aimed again. "A hundred bullets eh?" He nodded, "I'll do better than that..." He fired again, five more times, and the last one skimmed the center of the target. Vash smiled slightly to himself and grabbed the box of ammo. "I will stop him next time."
"You're getting better," Knives said to Vash one afternoon as the smoke cleared. The new targets were chewed to pieces, bits of metal fell onto the ground. "I think you'll do just fine next trip." His gun was hot from firing, and he looked it over.
Vash glanced over at Knives, holstering his gun once again. His hair was starting to fall from the upright spikes Knives made him form to keep it out of his eyes. Vash had a problem with it getting in his eyes, but he refused to admit it to Knives. He wiped the gunpowder from his face before running fingers up through his hair to straighten it. "Are we going somewhere?" They'd been practicing all morning and it was getting time for lunch, at least, that's what Vash's stomach told him. He was starting to consider whether to get pizza toast or donuts from the food replicator. Knives turned to look at his brother after another moment of examining his gun, wiping the powder from it with an oiled rag.
"You are," came the reply.
"What?" Vash watched as Knives lowered his gun, returning to his side. "I want you to go into town for more ammo."
"By myself?" It was almost too good to be true, Knives suggesting he go on his own to see the humans! How wonderful! He was almost glowing inside, but he tried not to let it show, otherwise his brother might change his mind. "Of course I'll go, but I thought..."
Knives shrugged, turning back into the ship. "I want to try other calibers. These are good but I think that a .45 might be better." Vash followed Knives through the ship and into the storage room, then through it to the laboratory where Knives and he worked. The laboratory was fairly sparse but for the plant in one corner, two desks, each with a computer, two chairs, and various other scientific instruments lying on shelves. For obvious reasons he didn't like to be in the room very often, but he had his own workspace when he wanted to be around Knives. The plant didn't move very much, although from time to time she'd animate enough to peer at them through the glass. Originally this ship was used only for a supply shed, for the most part, so there were only minimal things to survive here, but to Vash, it was better that they lived here than the other ship.
Vash sat down at his desk and looked over at Knives. It didn't completely make sense that Knives would send him to buy bullets when he could just make them, but Vash knew better than open his mouth. As mellow as his brother was recently, time away from him would be good. Knives rummaged through a box on his desk, frowned and went over to the shelves. "I found something the other day I thought might come in handy."
"More weapons?"
Knives looked over his shoulder at Vash. "No. With as long as it's taken you to learn how to use your first weapon proficiently, another would not be very useful to you." He resumed his search and pulled out a small box. "It's quite clever."
Head on his hand, Vash just watched him set the case down on the desk. "Well, whatever it is..." Knives opened the box and turned it around for Vash to see. He leaned over in his chair, and then stood, coming to the desk to get a better look. "What is it?"
"A receiver."
Vash tilted his head to the side, "Looks more like a pen to me." To illustrate, he picked it up out of the box and looked it over, pressed down the end and with a click, the pen came out. He smiled, "It is a pen." Vash grinned, looked down at the desk, flipped over a piece of paper and drew a smiling face with spiked hair, tongue sticking out and wrote the name "Knives" underneath it. Vash held it up to his brother, "Look, it's you!"
Snatching the paper away, Knives moaned and tossed it to the side. He grabbed the pen out of Vash's head and clicked it shut. "It's a receiver and transmitter. Don't bust it."
"What does it receive and transmit?"
"Radio signals."
"Oh."
Knives was obviously not happy with Vash at the moment, and he took up the box in his hands and pulled up a false bottom. Looking over his brother's shoulder, Vash saw there were four metal hoops lying in the bottom. "And these?"
"Same thing. They're used for communication."
"Oh." Suddenly it became clear to Vash that Knives wasn't letting him go entirely on his own. If he had to have one of these transmitters on him, Knives could keep a track of him no matter where he went. The whole plan probably wasn't to go get ammo, but to test the range of these devices. And perhaps to get Vash off of his back too. Sure, he'd been a bit punchy lately, but they hadn't been around other people in so long that Vash was starting to grow incredibly bored. There was only so much he could look up on the computers; only so much solitaire one person could play... Especially when he could win every round. "So, how exactly do these things work?"
Taking one of the hoops from the box, a silver one, Knives put it up to Vash's ear. "You listen with these, they transmit too, but the on and off controls are in the pen." To demonstrate, he clicked the pen again and spoke clearly into it. A tinny echo came from the small silver hoop. Vash grabbed at it, fumbled for a second, and then smiled, holding it again to his ear and walking to the other side of the room. He looked up at the plant. She was looking at him, wondering what he was doing. He ignored her, holding the ring to his ear. "Okay Knives, whisper something."
"Vash get your ass back over here."
"Oh! I can hear you, these are cool." Vash said, looking over at Knives. His brother wasn't smiling, just rolling his eyes. Vash's smile faded, he couldn't help but act a little bit excited with something new. He'd been stuck in the same place for almost two months now. Perhaps, someday, he'd get to roam the planet, go somewhere new, move around a bit and it wouldn't get quite so boring. After a moment, Vash lowered the hoop from his ear and looked at it. "So, how do these attach?" He slipped it on his finger and looked at it briefly. It reminded him of the ring that Rem had in a box on her nightstand. So many nights he'd find Rem sitting looking at it, talking to someone long dead.
Slowly, Vash slipped it back off of his finger. It made him depressed to think of how sad Rem was when she lost someone she loved. His name was Alex, he could remember that much. He was pretty sure they were going to get married, but Alex was never able to give Rem the ring. She found it after his death and never wore it. Rem looked at it many times, telling Vash that if he ever found someone he loved, no matter how painful it was, to love her with all of his heart. Vash told Rem how much he loved her and she just laughed. Vash, you'll find someone else to love, you and Knives both. It will be a much different love than the one you have for me.
Vash tried not to cry as he thought about it. The plant had pressed up against the bulb, she was trying to tell him something, and Vash looked up at her. What are you trying to say? He was concentrating so hard that he didn't notice Knives when he pulled out a third layer of the small box and came over to him with a tool in his hand. He tilted his head to the side curiously, Knives is doing what? And opened his mouth to speak when a horrible pain shot through Vash's earlobe and he screamed. He jumped back and looked at Knives, "What in the hell did you just do? Ow!!" Vash clutched his ear and found another one of the hoops attached to his ear now. His fingers came away bloody, but the pain soon receded. "I just asked how they attached not..."
"You'll be able to take it out eventually," Knives replied slowly, wiping the remaining blood from Vash's ear. "But not right away. Otherwise it will get infected. But you won't want to get it too wet if at all possible." Knives licked the blood from his fingers and smiled.
"Ow," Vash repeated, still tentatively running his fingers over his earring. He eyed the plant, sorry, guess you tried to warn me... His eyes fell on Knives. "Got me on a tight enough leash now?"
Knives shrugged, "This will do for now." His eyes narrowed and he turned. "At least I'll know that you aren't fooling around with the humans. Go into town, get the supplies on this list," he handed Vash the piece of paper he'd drawn on earlier; on the opposite side was Knives' list. "Keep your mouth shut or I'll have to come after you, and I will use whatever means necessary to retrieve you."
Vash frowned, looking down at the list and sighed. "Okay Knives. Whatever you say." He slumped out of the laboratory and through the ship to his bedroom. Without a word he packed a bag, went to the galley to retrieve food, and passed by Knives on his way out. "Anything else?"
"Don't talk to yourself," Knives replied. "It's annoying."
Don't talk to yourself, it's annoying, Vash repeated inside of his head. He could hear his sister chuckle and Knives' frown deepened. Waving fingers at his brother, he stepped into the desert and away. "It's not that I talk to myself out loud that much," he mumbled.
"Yes you do," rang a tinny reply from his ear. Vash made the rest of the trip in almost intolerable silence.
Chapter 2
A Hundred Bullets
Four Years Later
It was dark beneath the thick glass. The round globe had a circumference of sixty feet, the glass three inches thick to hold in the precious cargo that dwelled there. For over fifty years that cargo remained buried on the dusty planet, silent, waiting, knowing that some day a rescuer might come to pull it out of the darkness. No one found this lonely being; the planet was too vast, the desert it landed in too dangerous to explore. The only creatures that could brave this place were its own kind; those they said 'lived outside of time.'
"You think she's going to make it?" A voice said tentatively, as green eyes turned to an identical face. The twins found a new home. It took them many trips through the sandy desert to dig out this ship, unbury what time and wind had covered. It took four years to unbury this piece of history from the sand, fighting winds and typhoons and empty stomachs.
"She's alive, you can feel it," Knives answered, bringing both hands to the glass, pressing his cheek against the cool smooth surface. "I can't believe our luck. Our sister was part of the advance party, I'd read about the smaller ships that came before ours, but I hadn't seen any sign of them until now." He closed his eyes and tapped a finger on the glass, making a small hollow thumping noise. "Would you like to come out and play?"
"Knives..." Vash spoke, setting a hand on his brother's shoulder, "You still can't hear her can you?"
Knives opened his eyes to reflect his brother's. His hair was lighter in color, shorter by choice, and he had a birthmark below his right eye. "Maybe not, but you can Vash. And now that we're with her, I'll learn to hear her again. It might take time, but I'll learn to hear her words."
Vash took a step back, putting a hand through his yellow hair as it fell around his eyes. For the last year he had grown tired of looking like his brother, the tall upright hair, the clean-shaven face, and the tailored space suits. Vash looked down at his t-shirt and jeans and sighed. "I guess you will..." He frowned. Knives was staring at him with that cold expression he got whenever they talked about their siblings. To Knives, they were the only ones that needed to survive this desert planet.
"You can feel her, even without touching the glass, can't you?" Knives closed his eyes again, his fingers playing against the surface of the globe. "But you can't go without eating... It's strange."
"It's like we're part human..." Vash replied quietly, but not enough that Knives hadn't heard. Knives sneered, pulled away from the glass and punched his twin in the face. Vash reeled back and fell against the railing. He put a hand to his throbbing cheek and lowered his eyes. "I'm sorry Knives, I didn't mean to..."
"Stop comparing us to them," Knives spit at him, rubbing his fist. He shook his head and returned to the glass, "I don't like to hurt you Vash, you know that right? But, sometimes you leave me no choice."
Vash slid down to the metal catwalk and pulled his knees up to his chest. "I... I'm sorry." He rubbed his cheek again and with a sigh looked up at the huge plant before him. "I'll wake her up, just, give me a minute. I told you I would as long as you helped the girl... I know it's been awhile, but I found one for you just like I said I would. Didn't I?"
He closed his eyes and concentrated. The tiny spark of life that breathed out from the glass surrounded him almost as if it were smoke. These creatures always annoyed Vash, their selfishness and sense of superiority, so much like his brother. These beings were not human; they had only vague human traits given to them by whatever created them. It was a cruel joke, Vash always thought, that he should come from something so unloving and yet feel love himself. Had humans created the plants in their own image to one day become like them? The religion on the planet told of a God who created the humans... Had man done the same thing? Did the humans ever consider that their creation could become just like them? Or even that they could be more powerful? He shuttered at the thought, Knives already thought they were superior. It made him sick.
"Vash, you're trying my patience," Knives said from the globe. Vash looked up at him, Knives hadn't moved, but he'd been trying to wake the plant up himself for the last little while. All of the power to talk to these beings disappeared into the sands of time and for that Vash was glad. Unfortunately he suffered none of the same effects, and to that end Knives continued to use him.
Getting to his feet again, Vash positioned himself next to his brother, mirroring him, hands against the glass. She was there, and she was awake. Wake up. Just two words, and warmth spread across the cool glass until it became light, and the plant within the globe started to glow internally. Knives laughed next to him, "Look at how beautiful she is."
The creature formed from the inner core, angels and cherubs, feet and hands, little bodies and feathery wings. They formed a crazy mess, a tangle, but she had a main form, a main face, and it stared at them through pupil-less eyes. If man had not made these creatures, then they were plucked from the sky and jammed together in order to give off a heavenly light and power that was too terrible to comprehend. Vash pulled away from the glass and sat back down on the walkway. "Yeah, she's pretty," he said sarcastically. "Beauty from madness and oddity. But she's awake now. Can you hear her? She's saying hello."
Knives nodded with a small, satisfied grunt, "She's quite powerful, not like the others..." Vash frowned and looked down to his hands. Why did he still have this gift and not his brother? What was it about him that was different? He'd have given anything to trade places with him, to be the one who could not hear the plants, who could not listen to this spoiled girl as she told Knives how much she hoped he would come. But even now he could hear his brother and sister conversing. It was the first time in years that they'd come in contact with a plant that was this strong. She'd been conserving her energy all of these years. Her power came over him and over Knives and he shivered.
"She will help us in our task," Knives said finally, pulling away from his sister, his own skin glowing slightly from the contact. "It might take us time, but we have finally found a place to call home!" He walked past Vash and to the lab tables scattered around the area. "We'll get started immediately. Now that our sister is awake, I should be able to bring up the computers again." Knives stopped when his brother made no remark. "What's wrong Vash?"
Vash got to his feet and stuck his hands in his pockets. "I'm worn out Knives. I think I'll go take a walk outside." He passed by Knives, never looking him in the eye, and went into the dark hallways leading to the surface. Knives didn't follow but got started on his mission, for whatever good it would do.
The suns were still up, although low on the horizon, as Vash stepped out into the desert. The ship they'd found was small, only one plant nestled in the confines of its hull. Four years they worked to unbury this ancient wreck, four years of hard labor, but still, after only a half hour inside it, he missed the sunshine. Vash climbed the small hill the ship created when it crashed, and sat down to watch the suns set. Twenty years ago he and Knives passed this place, and he had avoided telling Knives that he felt one of their sisters. This time, he did not have the same option; Knives wouldn't let him forget his promise of four years ago.
How many more years would this go on? Vash wondered to himself, eyes squinting against the sunlight. The humans were prospering now, cities were springing up around the larger ships, and anywhere a plant was found intact. He and Knives found many of these places, always careful to steer clear of them, avoid contact with the people. His brother despised them, day by day, but the same clear vision stayed with Knives: find a plant of their own and use it to destroy the humans. It was all he ever talked about, all he ever planned, for the last fifty years. The one idea grew into an obsession until Vash saw Knives changing into something not quite human any more. He was losing sight of sanity, and his brother enjoyed it.
Knives became violent. Even to the point of hurting himself. Vash put his face in his hands and rubbed a gentle finger against where Knives hit him. It stung still, but only when he thought about it. They weren't human in this way either. Maybe humans could learn to block the feeling of pain, but he had to choose to feel the pain. Already he had scars down his arms and legs from days that Knives chose not to avoid the humans, and fight them instead. The newest scar was only from a few weeks ago, it remained a red streak against Vash's upper left arm. A bullet grazed him as he tried to pull Knives off of a man.
Guns. Why they decided to create such monstrosities, Vash was unsure. He pulled up his sleeve and looked down at the red mark across his arm. At first they used weapons found in the ships, laser scopes and titanium bullets. But when the supplies ran out, the humans started fashioning older weapons, ones that did not need electric power, just gunpowder. For a time, Vash knew they created these guns in order to hunt the huge sandworms that lay beneath the surface of the sand. They battled the beasts and ate them. The guns were also used to capture the other various beasts roaming the planet.
He had learned to use one not long after landing. He didn't grow proficient, nor had he wanted to after accidentally shooting a man... Vash closed his eyes, buried his head in his arms, no... He hadn't touched a gun since then. When man started to use guns against one another... He thought this place was supposed to be different; paradise... Paradise didn't have murderers... His most recent encounter with this was burned in his memory as vividly as the scar was against his pale skin.
Knives thought it was fitting, mankind killing itself out. He talked about it often, and soon after the incident secured a gun for his own. The gun was of a basic design, room for six bullets and a wooden handle. Knives held it from time to time, studying its design, playing his fingers over the silver barrel. I'll make us better ones someday, he said. Vash had no doubt he would, but also doubted he would ever use one again. He didn't want to touch it. There was too much power in it. The destiny of a man could be ended with a single tiny pellet. Vash saw it happen right before his eyes as the bullet passed by his arm and into the man Knives fought.
The man died in Knives' arms, while Vash clutched his arm, even as he did now, blood trickling down his skin. He shivered, thinking about it, and swallowed heavily. How much more could he take? Knives loved to feel the life drain out of the man as he died, and Vash could only think about how he could have been saved... They could have stopped the bleeding, sewn him up again and sent him on his way. But instead he bled to death, and the killer shot himself in the head. It all ended in a matter of seconds, and Vash saw it again every time he closed his eyes.
"Vash!" His brother called, and Vash blinked, realizing the suns already set. How long was he out here? The moons were up already. Had he disappeared into his thoughts so far again? "Hey Vash, come back into the ship, I've made dinner."
Vash rubbed his eyes and stood, walking down the hill to where Knives stood. "What are we having?"
"Rations," Knives replied, looking at his brother curiously. "You've been out here for two hours, what were you doing?"
With a shrug, he passed Knives into the ship, "Thinking."
"Anything of use?" Knives fell into step behind him. "Probably not," he answered for himself, and put a hand on Vash's shoulder. "Are you still sore at me for hitting you?"
"No," Vash replied, "Why would I be?"
Knives squeezed his shoulder, "Good, then you'll be willing to help me get some of the files on the computers sorted out. Apparently our sister was created to power a small armament. Since it was an advanced ship..." He stopped talking as Vash turned to look at him.
"Guns?"
With a nod, Knives continued, "The advance ships... They were manned only during landing parties. But there is a whole arsenal here untouched by those filthy creatures." He pushed Vash into a walk again and pulled him into a room. "See?" The room was a twelve by twelve square, weapons hanging in displays that were flush with the walls. Dozens of guns, every kind imaginable. Knives pulled a case open and tossed Vash a long silver gun. It was an automatic, laser sight, stainless steel, black rubber grip. He looked at it disdainfully.
"I don't know how to use it," he said, holding it out for Knives to take back. But his brother already had another one in his hand that was all black.
"You'll learn," he said, examining the weapon. "Unfortunately they'll all have to be modified. The electricity to power these weapons will be hard to come by if we are away from this ship for any amount of time. It will probably be necessary to convert them to a more primitive weapon." He held up the gun, looking down the barrel and then his green eyes fell on Vash. "What's wrong?"
Vash set the gun back into the case and stepped back. "I don't like them, Knives." He set his hand on his arm again and turned away.
"Oh, that wound is still bugging you is it?" Knives set his own weapon away and shook his head. "You'll get over it. Learn how to fire one and you won't have to worry about being scared any more. They can't kill us."
"I didn't say I was scared," Vash replied hastily, "I just said I didn't like them."
"You will," Knives said. "I'll teach you."
Two weeks. The suns rose and fell fourteen times and Knives locked himself away in the armory, as if it were a holy place. Vash sat outside in the shade of the ship, wondering what he was doing within that room. He didn't ponder it too long, brushing his hair out of his eyes, and wiping the dust from his brow. It was hot, very hot, more so than before. The positions of the suns made it late spring, if it had been Earth the trees would be in green now. He crossed his arms in front of his chest, and looked out over the desert. "Rem," he whispered silently, knowing that Knives would get angry if he said her name too loudly. "The geraniums would be blooming right now, wouldn't they? The red flowers of your home, they'd be brilliant in the sunshine. If you'd been here, there would be flowers everywhere... I'm sorry there weren't flowers for your grave." He sniffled, and the tears mingled with the dust and slid down his cheek.
Vash closed his eyes, "Rem... Why couldn't you have saved yourself? Got to an escape ship? I know you wouldn't have thought to go to back to the sleep chamber..." The tears rolled down his cheeks unchecked. The sleepers survived. Except for the girl they all remained untouched within their pods, a single plant left to keep them running. He sobbed for a time, wishing he'd been stronger, so he could have stayed with Rem...
Vash wiped the tears from his face and sniffled, "Rem... He didn't kill them. I would have left him then and there if he hadn't... But I saw something within him; he's still good, isn't he? If he allowed them to survive, then maybe there is still hope, right Rem?" He shook his head and dropped his hand to the rock beside him where a gun sat, glistening even in the shade. Knives wanted him to take it with him, to learn to use it until he grew proficient. Vash carried it around with him, but hadn't pulled the trigger yet, just set his hands on it until he grew accustomed to the weight.
"This gun... If he doesn't let them live, I'll... I'll..." Vash picked it up and aimed it out into the desert. "I had hope after he let them survive, Rem. Especially Marissa. But now that he has found this place, found our sister, he might go back to the old ways of thinking. And if that happens... I'll stop him, it will be necessary, right Rem?" He looked down the gun barrel with one eye closed, looking at the target Knives placed over a week ago. It was pretty chewed up when Knives practiced, but the center of the target remained fairly untouched. Knives hadn't used guns very often until recently either. He never needed too... He had his knives, but he stopped using them after leaving his machete. Vash had no doubt he would go back to his knives someday...
Standing now, Vash closed both eyes, thinking back to the way he had first learned how to shoot a gun. It had been a long time. Slowly opening one green-blue eye he looked down the barrel and his eye focused on the target. One squeeze of his finger and the bullet ripped through the far edge of the target, barely skimming it. "Damn," Vash sighed, looking at it, feeling disappointed. It wasn't like riding a bicycle... One had to practice to remain any good at it. Sure, he and Knives could learn computers in a matter of hours, but training the body to act as the mind, that was going to be difficult.
He held the gun up again, fired again, and again, until all the bullets were spent. Only the first hit the target, the remainders spun off into the sand. Vash sunk back down on his rock and made to throw the offensive thing out into the sand when a hand appeared in front of his face. It held a long silver gun, much like the one Knives procured years ago, a six-shooter. It didn't have the laser sight as the one Vash held, no, this one was older. "Here, try this one," Knives said, bobbing it in front of Vash.
Taking the new gun, Vash looked at it, feeling the weight in his hand. It was exactly the same weight as the gun he carried, but different. He looked up at Knives, "How does it fire? The barrel isn't in direct relation to the plunger... Does it even work?"
"I modified it. You aim too high. You aimed too high back then too..." Vash knew he referred to the time he'd shot that man... It was on accident, he tried to shoot his leg, but hit his chest instead. Knives pointed toward the target again, "Aim it as you did just a moment ago."
Vash stood reluctantly, but the feel of the gun in his hand, and the fact that Knives had probably seen him miss the target so many times, made him want to try it again. He'd do this, he'd promised Rem to take care of his brother, and he would, even if that meant someday killing him with this very gun. With a sigh, Vash raised the gun, aimed down the barrel. Knives snorted behind him, but didn't say anything. He squeezed the trigger and the bullet pierced through a lower level of the target. The positioning helped. Vash looked over his shoulder, "Look at that Knives!"
"You hit it, but you still need more practice," Knives took a box from his pocket and tossed it to Vash. The twin caught it and looked at it curiously. "Once you can get an entire box of these through the center, then we'll talk." He walked back into the ship and out of sight.
Standing in silence as his brother disappeared, Vash looked back down at the box. On the side was marked a quantity of a hundred. He looked back at the target. The bullet was still so far away from the center... Vash set the box down on the rock beside his other gun and aimed again. "A hundred bullets eh?" He nodded, "I'll do better than that..." He fired again, five more times, and the last one skimmed the center of the target. Vash smiled slightly to himself and grabbed the box of ammo. "I will stop him next time."
"You're getting better," Knives said to Vash one afternoon as the smoke cleared. The new targets were chewed to pieces, bits of metal fell onto the ground. "I think you'll do just fine next trip." His gun was hot from firing, and he looked it over.
Vash glanced over at Knives, holstering his gun once again. His hair was starting to fall from the upright spikes Knives made him form to keep it out of his eyes. Vash had a problem with it getting in his eyes, but he refused to admit it to Knives. He wiped the gunpowder from his face before running fingers up through his hair to straighten it. "Are we going somewhere?" They'd been practicing all morning and it was getting time for lunch, at least, that's what Vash's stomach told him. He was starting to consider whether to get pizza toast or donuts from the food replicator. Knives turned to look at his brother after another moment of examining his gun, wiping the powder from it with an oiled rag.
"You are," came the reply.
"What?" Vash watched as Knives lowered his gun, returning to his side. "I want you to go into town for more ammo."
"By myself?" It was almost too good to be true, Knives suggesting he go on his own to see the humans! How wonderful! He was almost glowing inside, but he tried not to let it show, otherwise his brother might change his mind. "Of course I'll go, but I thought..."
Knives shrugged, turning back into the ship. "I want to try other calibers. These are good but I think that a .45 might be better." Vash followed Knives through the ship and into the storage room, then through it to the laboratory where Knives and he worked. The laboratory was fairly sparse but for the plant in one corner, two desks, each with a computer, two chairs, and various other scientific instruments lying on shelves. For obvious reasons he didn't like to be in the room very often, but he had his own workspace when he wanted to be around Knives. The plant didn't move very much, although from time to time she'd animate enough to peer at them through the glass. Originally this ship was used only for a supply shed, for the most part, so there were only minimal things to survive here, but to Vash, it was better that they lived here than the other ship.
Vash sat down at his desk and looked over at Knives. It didn't completely make sense that Knives would send him to buy bullets when he could just make them, but Vash knew better than open his mouth. As mellow as his brother was recently, time away from him would be good. Knives rummaged through a box on his desk, frowned and went over to the shelves. "I found something the other day I thought might come in handy."
"More weapons?"
Knives looked over his shoulder at Vash. "No. With as long as it's taken you to learn how to use your first weapon proficiently, another would not be very useful to you." He resumed his search and pulled out a small box. "It's quite clever."
Head on his hand, Vash just watched him set the case down on the desk. "Well, whatever it is..." Knives opened the box and turned it around for Vash to see. He leaned over in his chair, and then stood, coming to the desk to get a better look. "What is it?"
"A receiver."
Vash tilted his head to the side, "Looks more like a pen to me." To illustrate, he picked it up out of the box and looked it over, pressed down the end and with a click, the pen came out. He smiled, "It is a pen." Vash grinned, looked down at the desk, flipped over a piece of paper and drew a smiling face with spiked hair, tongue sticking out and wrote the name "Knives" underneath it. Vash held it up to his brother, "Look, it's you!"
Snatching the paper away, Knives moaned and tossed it to the side. He grabbed the pen out of Vash's head and clicked it shut. "It's a receiver and transmitter. Don't bust it."
"What does it receive and transmit?"
"Radio signals."
"Oh."
Knives was obviously not happy with Vash at the moment, and he took up the box in his hands and pulled up a false bottom. Looking over his brother's shoulder, Vash saw there were four metal hoops lying in the bottom. "And these?"
"Same thing. They're used for communication."
"Oh." Suddenly it became clear to Vash that Knives wasn't letting him go entirely on his own. If he had to have one of these transmitters on him, Knives could keep a track of him no matter where he went. The whole plan probably wasn't to go get ammo, but to test the range of these devices. And perhaps to get Vash off of his back too. Sure, he'd been a bit punchy lately, but they hadn't been around other people in so long that Vash was starting to grow incredibly bored. There was only so much he could look up on the computers; only so much solitaire one person could play... Especially when he could win every round. "So, how exactly do these things work?"
Taking one of the hoops from the box, a silver one, Knives put it up to Vash's ear. "You listen with these, they transmit too, but the on and off controls are in the pen." To demonstrate, he clicked the pen again and spoke clearly into it. A tinny echo came from the small silver hoop. Vash grabbed at it, fumbled for a second, and then smiled, holding it again to his ear and walking to the other side of the room. He looked up at the plant. She was looking at him, wondering what he was doing. He ignored her, holding the ring to his ear. "Okay Knives, whisper something."
"Vash get your ass back over here."
"Oh! I can hear you, these are cool." Vash said, looking over at Knives. His brother wasn't smiling, just rolling his eyes. Vash's smile faded, he couldn't help but act a little bit excited with something new. He'd been stuck in the same place for almost two months now. Perhaps, someday, he'd get to roam the planet, go somewhere new, move around a bit and it wouldn't get quite so boring. After a moment, Vash lowered the hoop from his ear and looked at it. "So, how do these attach?" He slipped it on his finger and looked at it briefly. It reminded him of the ring that Rem had in a box on her nightstand. So many nights he'd find Rem sitting looking at it, talking to someone long dead.
Slowly, Vash slipped it back off of his finger. It made him depressed to think of how sad Rem was when she lost someone she loved. His name was Alex, he could remember that much. He was pretty sure they were going to get married, but Alex was never able to give Rem the ring. She found it after his death and never wore it. Rem looked at it many times, telling Vash that if he ever found someone he loved, no matter how painful it was, to love her with all of his heart. Vash told Rem how much he loved her and she just laughed. Vash, you'll find someone else to love, you and Knives both. It will be a much different love than the one you have for me.
Vash tried not to cry as he thought about it. The plant had pressed up against the bulb, she was trying to tell him something, and Vash looked up at her. What are you trying to say? He was concentrating so hard that he didn't notice Knives when he pulled out a third layer of the small box and came over to him with a tool in his hand. He tilted his head to the side curiously, Knives is doing what? And opened his mouth to speak when a horrible pain shot through Vash's earlobe and he screamed. He jumped back and looked at Knives, "What in the hell did you just do? Ow!!" Vash clutched his ear and found another one of the hoops attached to his ear now. His fingers came away bloody, but the pain soon receded. "I just asked how they attached not..."
"You'll be able to take it out eventually," Knives replied slowly, wiping the remaining blood from Vash's ear. "But not right away. Otherwise it will get infected. But you won't want to get it too wet if at all possible." Knives licked the blood from his fingers and smiled.
"Ow," Vash repeated, still tentatively running his fingers over his earring. He eyed the plant, sorry, guess you tried to warn me... His eyes fell on Knives. "Got me on a tight enough leash now?"
Knives shrugged, "This will do for now." His eyes narrowed and he turned. "At least I'll know that you aren't fooling around with the humans. Go into town, get the supplies on this list," he handed Vash the piece of paper he'd drawn on earlier; on the opposite side was Knives' list. "Keep your mouth shut or I'll have to come after you, and I will use whatever means necessary to retrieve you."
Vash frowned, looking down at the list and sighed. "Okay Knives. Whatever you say." He slumped out of the laboratory and through the ship to his bedroom. Without a word he packed a bag, went to the galley to retrieve food, and passed by Knives on his way out. "Anything else?"
"Don't talk to yourself," Knives replied. "It's annoying."
Don't talk to yourself, it's annoying, Vash repeated inside of his head. He could hear his sister chuckle and Knives' frown deepened. Waving fingers at his brother, he stepped into the desert and away. "It's not that I talk to myself out loud that much," he mumbled.
"Yes you do," rang a tinny reply from his ear. Vash made the rest of the trip in almost intolerable silence.