T R I G U N
"I don't like this." Jess Parker said darkly. "I don't like this at all."
Her translator nodded as she spoke, not bothering to signal with her hands but using the voice that she had smartly hidden. "It's a government order. If you defy the law they'll take this land and they'll use Eden as a power plant."
"All the same, we just can't hand them over." Kyte argued, sitting down beside his wife. "We helped deliver their baby; they're building a home now."
"We don't have any choice. We have to allow the troops access to Eden, or they take it over."
"How do you know they won't kill us all, and not just them?" Jess asked, doubtful of an optomistic answer.
Her translator hesitated. "I don't know. But it's a chance we have to take, otherwise we lose everything."
Jess gripped her fists. "Fine then." She spat. "Do as you will."
Kyte leapt to his feet. "We can't do that!"
"Do you think I want this?" Jess shouted in return. "But it's either them or a life's work down the drain!"
"A few years ago you would've done the right thing." Kyte's eyes flamed. "You would've denied them access--you would've shot the hell out of each and every one of them. So why--"
"Shut up." Jess stalked away. "It's done already."
Kyte watched her leave and then slammed his fist against the wall, cursing. "DAMN IT!"
--------------
"That's it, steady now!" Vash called, his hands cupped over his mouth. Knives was lifting another wooden beam from his spot on the roof.
"Is that good?"
"Perfect!"
Vash put his hands on his hips and smiled proudly. He and Knives had been working for a good three months now on building them a house large enough to support their family. Knives and Eve had agreed to live with them in the far corner of Eden, where it was unlikely no one would ever find them.
Vash and Ellie's son Frey now looked like a two year old child by human age, and could now speak basic words. The house had to be large--not only to support the four adults and the baby but also another five on the way.
They had chosen the perfect spot to build a house, in a glade where the artificial sunlight could shine through golden meadows of wheat. Not far away was the lake that Ellie had given birth in, and nearby there was the sound of a gentle river.
"Mommy, uppie!" Frey said repeatedly, holding up his little arms to Ellie. Ellie smiled and lifted him up.
"Where's daddy?" She asked gently.
Frey pointed. "Right der."
"Go to daddy, I have to go with Eve to get some food."
"Okay!" Frey scampered off and pounced on Vash's leg.
---
Eve braided her long white gold hair as she and Ellie walked through the glades and forests, towards the river. They had woven baskets in their arms and were laughing and talking about those things that women normally talk about.
Eve tied up her skirt and waded into the cool water, her arms elbow deep. She hardly made a sound. Ellie sat upon the shore, gathering berries and fruits from the trees, as well as herbs from the ground. "You know," Ellie said after moment, "it is almost like we're starting over from the beginning."
"How so?"
"Well . . . here we are, gathering the old fashioned way. No drinking, no guns, no violence."
"A wonderful feeling, isn't it?" Eve agreed as she caught a fish and threw it into her basket. She wiped her forehead and turned around, only to freeze.
Ellie noticed her silence but did not bother to look at her. "Is there something wrong?"
"Ellie?"
"What?"
"Look there."
Ellie turned, her eyes upon the direction that Eve had pointed. "Wha . . . what in hell is that?"
A distance upstream, was a body.
"Oh my God." Ellie forgot what she was doing and sprinted towards it, grabbing it from the water and pulling it with all of her strength ashore.
Eve's hands flew to her mouth in horror. The corpse was mangled and mutilated in such a terrible way that they only way they could identify her was by the color of her hair. "Oh, dear God . . ." Ellie whispered. "It's Jess."
"Ellie?"
Ellie looked up at Eve, who was standing straight with her back turned to her. Her eyes were on the foliage up ahead. Eve's eyes widened and her words were breathless. "Run."
---
Shots fired and a cry rang out and echoed throughout the entirety of Eden. Vash whirled, Frey in his arms. "What was that?"
Knives leapt down from the rooftop, his eyes large with fear. "Eve!" He shouted, sprinting into the forest.
"Knives, wait!"
"EVE!"
---
Knives' heart pounded like a frantic drum as at last he came to the river, only to behold the broken body of his love, surrounded by her own blood. She had been shot several times in the chest and stomach. "Eve," Knives whispered, tears forming to his eyes as he knelt down and cradled her in disbelief. "Eve, no, you can't . . . you can't die, you just . . ."
She was already gone, her eyes open and her skin pale. Knives sobbed and buried his face in her hair. "No . . ."
Through blurred eyes he could see men, some balancing themselves on the limbs of sturdy branches, armed with sniper rifles. Others were hiding in the bushes, camouflaged. Knives' tears dried and he snarled; in that moment, he cared not whether he lived or died. His hatred of humans rekindled and flared like an angry fire from hell itself. His arms became sharp and his fingers like knives, his eyes red. His enemies stirred fearfully.
Before unleashing his rage, Knives smiled a wicked, maniacal grin.
---
When Vash arrived Knives was in the middle of a mass slaughter; hundreds of government troops' bodies lay sliced. His brother, though injured and dying from his gunwounds, still fought on, Eve's body lying limp on the other shore.
"KNIVES!" Vash cried in panic.
"VASH!" Knives shouted furiously through his killing frenzy, the last of his sanity speaking to his brother. "ELLIE IS STILL ALIVE! FIND ELLIE AND GET OUT OF HERE!"
"But--"
"GO!"
Vash felt Frey cling fearfully at his shirt; helpless to aid his dying brother, Vash dodged gunfire and dove through the trees until the sounds of battle became distant. "Ellie!" He called desperately. Memories plagued him of what had happened between them 160 years ago. "Ellie, answer me!"
"Vash!" She cried weakly from nearby.
He found her trembling near the shores of the lake where she had given birth; her arm was bleeding. He knelt down beside her and brought her into a hug. "Are you all right?"
"They're everywhere, Vash," Ellie whispered as he tore his shirt and bound her. "They . . . they killed . . ."
"I know."
The gunfire ceased; Vash's heart stopped, and Ellie sobbed. "Oh God . . . Knives . . ."
"I think I saw them over here--!"
"Load your weapons!"
"They're coming." Vash growled, tightening the cloth around her room. "Ellie, you need to get out of here."
Ellie stared at him in disbelief and shook her head vigorously. "N-no, I won't--"
"Ellie, listen to me!" Vash placed Frey in her arms. He fought his own tears. "We can't all die here. You have to take Frey and get as far away from this place as you can. Go somewhere safe."
"I-I can't leave you a second time," Ellie said, her once fair skin now dirty and stained with mud.
He touched her hair gently. "You have to take care of him."
He kissed her desperately for what would be the last time. "I love you."
"D-daddy . . ." Frey stammered as Ellie rose and began backing away. He held out his arms to Vash, crying. "Daddy!"
"There they are!"
Vash whirled. "GO!"
Ellie sobbed as Frey struggled. "Daddy!"
---
"Vash . . ."
Vash opened his eyes slowly, the smell of smoke and blood drifting on the air. The entirety of Eden had been destroyed by his hand, like he had done so many years ago to the city of July. Their enemies lay dead; some were alive and moaning in their pain, but they would not survive the next few minutes.
He recognized her voice as he lay amid the rubble that was once Eden, his body bleeding and broken. He smiled faintly. "Ellie . . ."
She crawled weakly to his side and rested against him, patches of her skin black from the blast. What bleeding she endured was from the inside. "Where is he?" Vash whispered, his breathing shallow.
"I gave him to Kyte."
Their eyes met. "Why did you stay?"
"I told you once . . . we would be together forever." Ellie tried to smile as she lay dying beside him, fighting for her last few moments of life.
Vash painfully rolled onto his side, wrapping his shaking arms around her. "I love you." He whispered, his voice raspy.
"I love you too . . ."
"Shh, just rest." A tear fell down his face. "It's almost over, my love . . . it's almost over . . ."
Her embrace went limp and she closed her eyes. He tried to smile, vivid memories rushing through his mind, bright and dazzling.
"Vash?"
"Yeah?"
"I really like you."
Vash's face turned red. "I-I really . . . um . . . yeah . . . I do, too."
"Really?"
"Yeah."
Ellie sat up and stared straight at him, her face close to his. Vash inched away nervously, his back to the tree. "Vash?"
"U-u-uh . . ."
"Do you think we'll be together forever?"
Vash swallowed, trying to look cool and calm. "I'm going to marry you someday." He blurted. His eyes widened and he covered his mouth.
Ellie squealed. "Really?"
Vash nodded in emberrassment.
"Oh Vash!" Ellie squeezed him so hard he could not breathe. Now he understood why Knives avoided girls--as much as he liked Ellie, he thought that she was very strange. "That means you and I will be together forever, and you'll be the dad and I'll be the mom and we'll have lots of children and we'll live happily ever after, just like in the stories!"
Vash closed his eyes, finally letting go. Just like in the stories . . .
"I don't like this." Jess Parker said darkly. "I don't like this at all."
Her translator nodded as she spoke, not bothering to signal with her hands but using the voice that she had smartly hidden. "It's a government order. If you defy the law they'll take this land and they'll use Eden as a power plant."
"All the same, we just can't hand them over." Kyte argued, sitting down beside his wife. "We helped deliver their baby; they're building a home now."
"We don't have any choice. We have to allow the troops access to Eden, or they take it over."
"How do you know they won't kill us all, and not just them?" Jess asked, doubtful of an optomistic answer.
Her translator hesitated. "I don't know. But it's a chance we have to take, otherwise we lose everything."
Jess gripped her fists. "Fine then." She spat. "Do as you will."
Kyte leapt to his feet. "We can't do that!"
"Do you think I want this?" Jess shouted in return. "But it's either them or a life's work down the drain!"
"A few years ago you would've done the right thing." Kyte's eyes flamed. "You would've denied them access--you would've shot the hell out of each and every one of them. So why--"
"Shut up." Jess stalked away. "It's done already."
Kyte watched her leave and then slammed his fist against the wall, cursing. "DAMN IT!"
--------------
"That's it, steady now!" Vash called, his hands cupped over his mouth. Knives was lifting another wooden beam from his spot on the roof.
"Is that good?"
"Perfect!"
Vash put his hands on his hips and smiled proudly. He and Knives had been working for a good three months now on building them a house large enough to support their family. Knives and Eve had agreed to live with them in the far corner of Eden, where it was unlikely no one would ever find them.
Vash and Ellie's son Frey now looked like a two year old child by human age, and could now speak basic words. The house had to be large--not only to support the four adults and the baby but also another five on the way.
They had chosen the perfect spot to build a house, in a glade where the artificial sunlight could shine through golden meadows of wheat. Not far away was the lake that Ellie had given birth in, and nearby there was the sound of a gentle river.
"Mommy, uppie!" Frey said repeatedly, holding up his little arms to Ellie. Ellie smiled and lifted him up.
"Where's daddy?" She asked gently.
Frey pointed. "Right der."
"Go to daddy, I have to go with Eve to get some food."
"Okay!" Frey scampered off and pounced on Vash's leg.
---
Eve braided her long white gold hair as she and Ellie walked through the glades and forests, towards the river. They had woven baskets in their arms and were laughing and talking about those things that women normally talk about.
Eve tied up her skirt and waded into the cool water, her arms elbow deep. She hardly made a sound. Ellie sat upon the shore, gathering berries and fruits from the trees, as well as herbs from the ground. "You know," Ellie said after moment, "it is almost like we're starting over from the beginning."
"How so?"
"Well . . . here we are, gathering the old fashioned way. No drinking, no guns, no violence."
"A wonderful feeling, isn't it?" Eve agreed as she caught a fish and threw it into her basket. She wiped her forehead and turned around, only to freeze.
Ellie noticed her silence but did not bother to look at her. "Is there something wrong?"
"Ellie?"
"What?"
"Look there."
Ellie turned, her eyes upon the direction that Eve had pointed. "Wha . . . what in hell is that?"
A distance upstream, was a body.
"Oh my God." Ellie forgot what she was doing and sprinted towards it, grabbing it from the water and pulling it with all of her strength ashore.
Eve's hands flew to her mouth in horror. The corpse was mangled and mutilated in such a terrible way that they only way they could identify her was by the color of her hair. "Oh, dear God . . ." Ellie whispered. "It's Jess."
"Ellie?"
Ellie looked up at Eve, who was standing straight with her back turned to her. Her eyes were on the foliage up ahead. Eve's eyes widened and her words were breathless. "Run."
---
Shots fired and a cry rang out and echoed throughout the entirety of Eden. Vash whirled, Frey in his arms. "What was that?"
Knives leapt down from the rooftop, his eyes large with fear. "Eve!" He shouted, sprinting into the forest.
"Knives, wait!"
"EVE!"
---
Knives' heart pounded like a frantic drum as at last he came to the river, only to behold the broken body of his love, surrounded by her own blood. She had been shot several times in the chest and stomach. "Eve," Knives whispered, tears forming to his eyes as he knelt down and cradled her in disbelief. "Eve, no, you can't . . . you can't die, you just . . ."
She was already gone, her eyes open and her skin pale. Knives sobbed and buried his face in her hair. "No . . ."
Through blurred eyes he could see men, some balancing themselves on the limbs of sturdy branches, armed with sniper rifles. Others were hiding in the bushes, camouflaged. Knives' tears dried and he snarled; in that moment, he cared not whether he lived or died. His hatred of humans rekindled and flared like an angry fire from hell itself. His arms became sharp and his fingers like knives, his eyes red. His enemies stirred fearfully.
Before unleashing his rage, Knives smiled a wicked, maniacal grin.
---
When Vash arrived Knives was in the middle of a mass slaughter; hundreds of government troops' bodies lay sliced. His brother, though injured and dying from his gunwounds, still fought on, Eve's body lying limp on the other shore.
"KNIVES!" Vash cried in panic.
"VASH!" Knives shouted furiously through his killing frenzy, the last of his sanity speaking to his brother. "ELLIE IS STILL ALIVE! FIND ELLIE AND GET OUT OF HERE!"
"But--"
"GO!"
Vash felt Frey cling fearfully at his shirt; helpless to aid his dying brother, Vash dodged gunfire and dove through the trees until the sounds of battle became distant. "Ellie!" He called desperately. Memories plagued him of what had happened between them 160 years ago. "Ellie, answer me!"
"Vash!" She cried weakly from nearby.
He found her trembling near the shores of the lake where she had given birth; her arm was bleeding. He knelt down beside her and brought her into a hug. "Are you all right?"
"They're everywhere, Vash," Ellie whispered as he tore his shirt and bound her. "They . . . they killed . . ."
"I know."
The gunfire ceased; Vash's heart stopped, and Ellie sobbed. "Oh God . . . Knives . . ."
"I think I saw them over here--!"
"Load your weapons!"
"They're coming." Vash growled, tightening the cloth around her room. "Ellie, you need to get out of here."
Ellie stared at him in disbelief and shook her head vigorously. "N-no, I won't--"
"Ellie, listen to me!" Vash placed Frey in her arms. He fought his own tears. "We can't all die here. You have to take Frey and get as far away from this place as you can. Go somewhere safe."
"I-I can't leave you a second time," Ellie said, her once fair skin now dirty and stained with mud.
He touched her hair gently. "You have to take care of him."
He kissed her desperately for what would be the last time. "I love you."
"D-daddy . . ." Frey stammered as Ellie rose and began backing away. He held out his arms to Vash, crying. "Daddy!"
"There they are!"
Vash whirled. "GO!"
Ellie sobbed as Frey struggled. "Daddy!"
---
"Vash . . ."
Vash opened his eyes slowly, the smell of smoke and blood drifting on the air. The entirety of Eden had been destroyed by his hand, like he had done so many years ago to the city of July. Their enemies lay dead; some were alive and moaning in their pain, but they would not survive the next few minutes.
He recognized her voice as he lay amid the rubble that was once Eden, his body bleeding and broken. He smiled faintly. "Ellie . . ."
She crawled weakly to his side and rested against him, patches of her skin black from the blast. What bleeding she endured was from the inside. "Where is he?" Vash whispered, his breathing shallow.
"I gave him to Kyte."
Their eyes met. "Why did you stay?"
"I told you once . . . we would be together forever." Ellie tried to smile as she lay dying beside him, fighting for her last few moments of life.
Vash painfully rolled onto his side, wrapping his shaking arms around her. "I love you." He whispered, his voice raspy.
"I love you too . . ."
"Shh, just rest." A tear fell down his face. "It's almost over, my love . . . it's almost over . . ."
Her embrace went limp and she closed her eyes. He tried to smile, vivid memories rushing through his mind, bright and dazzling.
"Vash?"
"Yeah?"
"I really like you."
Vash's face turned red. "I-I really . . . um . . . yeah . . . I do, too."
"Really?"
"Yeah."
Ellie sat up and stared straight at him, her face close to his. Vash inched away nervously, his back to the tree. "Vash?"
"U-u-uh . . ."
"Do you think we'll be together forever?"
Vash swallowed, trying to look cool and calm. "I'm going to marry you someday." He blurted. His eyes widened and he covered his mouth.
Ellie squealed. "Really?"
Vash nodded in emberrassment.
"Oh Vash!" Ellie squeezed him so hard he could not breathe. Now he understood why Knives avoided girls--as much as he liked Ellie, he thought that she was very strange. "That means you and I will be together forever, and you'll be the dad and I'll be the mom and we'll have lots of children and we'll live happily ever after, just like in the stories!"
Vash closed his eyes, finally letting go. Just like in the stories . . .