Longest chapter so far, and I cranked it right out. Must have to do with not being in school anymore. I have noticed I have not put up a disclaimer in the last few chapters, so in the interest of my continuing legal peace, here it is.
Disclaimer: I do not own Trigun, Twin Peaks, or the Cthulhu Mythos of H.P. Lovecraft. I just read a hell of a lot and watch too much weird stuff.
Chapter 6:
Revelations
1:45 PM
Knives's POV
"Many billions of years ago," Mike says, "before the beginning of time, this reality was ruled by a race of beings known as the Old Ones. They were immensely powerful, their abilities akin to magic, and eventually they gained the ability to alter the very fabric of time and space. Using these powers, they weaved together the universe as we know it, and took great care that the weave was upheld. But as the saying goes, absolute power corrupts absolutely and after a time a large faction of them began to believe their talents were being wasted with just protecting the balance, and they saw themselves as superior to such 'menial' tasks. Proclaiming themselves the Great Old Ones, this faction abused their powers wildly, with no care for maintaining the natural order. The remaining Old Ones, henceforth the Elder Ones, knew that eventually their former brethren would tug the weave too much, and all would unravel."
"Cut the fucking fairy tale."
"Don't be rude, Knives," Vash says in that infuriatingly sweet tone, "I'm sure Mikey here is going somewhere with this."
"Indeed. The Great Old Ones and the Elder Ones went to war. A great war fought between armies of equal power, shattering much of the cosmos in the process. Finally, after millennia of near-incessant death, the Elder Ones marshaled their forces and launched a final, devastating attack. Most of the Great Old Ones were rendered powerless, unable to take form, doomed to wander forever in an incorporeal state. Those who remained, being the most powerful, were not destroyed but severely weakened and could not escape. The Elder Ones took this opportunity to imprison their enemies into various alternate universes, which were then sealed. An outpost was created, with windows onto almost every prison dimension, and then disguised as a planet in order to fool the wandering ones."
He looks us all in the eye.
"That outpost was the Earth."
Meryl bolts upright and winces.
Vash almost drops his gun.
I bray laughter.
"Shut up, Knives," we say in unison.
I do.
"Continuing on, a wandering one who managed to keep some of his power finally discovered the watchpost and began slowly opening the doors of various prisons. Eventually the guards the Elder Ones had stationed caught up with it and destroyed it, but it had already ripped open enough holes that the imprisoned ones could talk to each other and to the then-developing human race. Most of the holes were only big enough for the Old Ones to speak through, but there was one named Ithaqua whose door was open enough for it to come through and actually possess people. However, Ithaqua was bonded to its cell and could only possess someone for a finite amount of time before it was sucked back into its restraining dimension. Eventually, it figured out a way in which to obtain a permanent host: a person had to come into its dimension by their own volition, and then it could manufacture a doppelganger of them, possess the duplicate and return in that person's place. So in order to achieve its goal, it tried to sway the indigenous folk to is charms, but unfortunately for Ithaqua, the locals wised up to its scheme and assigned it to a clearly unsavory place in their mythology: they saw how it could possess a person and blamed it for acts of cannibalism. They labeled it the Wendigo, its prison the 'Black Lodge', and wrapped clues as to how to avoid it and how to escape it in legends and tales. Supposedly, if a person shows perfect courage in Ithaqua's domain, they would be released into the White Lodge. As to how they came of this knowledge and what exactly the 'White Lodge' is are incredibly unclear, as reports differ considerably. At any rate, Ithaqua was undaunted and continued its periodic controllings for hundreds of years. However, it unknowingly triggered its own downfall in the late twentieth century when it made a man in the small nearby town of Twin Peaks named Palmer murder his own daughter. Laura Palmer's body was found the next day, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation – the precursor to your Bernardelli Insurance Company – sent a man named Cooper to investigate. Ithaqua, masquerading as a man named BOB, observed the oddball agent and decided it had found a perfect host. After nearly two weeks Cooper linked the murder to the father, who promptly killed himself both out of guilt and to make sure BOB could not hurt anyone again, as he had been BOB's periodic host nearly his entire life. Sadly, BOB had a backup plan and used an insane ex-friend of Cooper's in order to lure the agent into the Black Lodge. The plan succeeded, and BOB fled with a new – and, it hoped, permanent – host. However, during their brief encounter, Cooper displayed perfect courage and was transported back to Twin Peaks. He tracked down his false self, and the presence of two identical beings caused enough of a ripple effect to attract the attention of the Elder Ones, who returned to the Earth, shattered BOB's shell, and sent Ithaqua back to the Black Lodge for a temporary basis while they decided what to do about their former comrade."
"Yeah, that's nice, what's it gotta do with us?!"
"I'm getting there, Knives. Since they could not close the door entirely, they decided the Earth was grotesquely inadequate for containing such a destructive force, and built a new portal out in the far reaches of nowhere. They disguised it as a planet as well, and since Ithaqua had mastery over ice, they made it a desert planet. They called it B'Nhantza, but you know it as Gunsmoke."
"Oh, this just keeps getting better and better," Meryl groans.
"Oh, it will. I'm sure you two will find this next part incredibly interesting," he says, indicating Vash and I.
"When the watchmen destroyed Ithaqua's BOB incarnation, they failed to destroy it entirely. Most of the energy flew away and created a tangent universe, which the Elder Ones failed to notice because it sealed itself off from the rest of existence before it could be detected. Over a century later, during the last days of Earth's final war, a science team was testing a rudimentary matter transporter in hopes of turning the tides of the war. Instead of sending an object from point A to point B, however, they opened a door to the energy dimension."
"Okay," Vash says, "I think you just broke my head."
"Put it back together, then, because this concerns you. Rather than destroying the complex, the energy absorbed it instead. Now, since the complex was located beneath a wildlife preserve, the energy absorbed it as well, most notably the plant life. All was fused into a single entity, which was eventually discovered by the war-devastated human race. They analyzed it, and discovered it was the greatest source of power they had ever seen. Unbeknownst to them, however–"
"I think I know where this is going," I say.
"Oh, really?" Mike replies, clearly miffed. "In that case please enlighten us."
"The entities were the first Plants, weren't they?"
Mike doesn't reply.
"Weren't they, you bastard?"
"Yes."
"God, you humans amaze me." My voice steadily climbs. "You discover a new race of beings and you immediately exploit them. You never tried to comprehend them, or understand their sentience, or anything, never once did you consider their feelings over their enslavement or their –"
"That's enough, Knives!" Vash shouts. "Let him finish."
"Thank you. The introduction of the Plants was a boon to humanity, and gave rise to an era of peace and prosperity. But, all good things must come to an end, and after two millennia of this Golden Age, mankind eventually discovered that their planet was in its death throes. Reports are sketchy at best, but apparently, the use of the Plants had caused the magnetic field of the Earth to deteriorate beyond the point of no return. So, Project SEEDS was formed, and they took the Plants with them.
"Thousands of ships were launched, and were sent in eight separate clusters. I don't know what happened to the other seven, but Ithaqua sensed one in his general vicinity. Well, to be precise, he sensed the presence of his own power, and sent his essence to investigate. What he discovered was a Plant in the process of conceiving offspring. A plan formed in his mind, and he…" he trails off. "There's no easy way to say this. He raped the Plant. In the midst of this violation, the Plant fought back and he returned to his prison. Sadly, he had already sent events in motion. You see, the Elder Ones had placed a seal on his prison that could only be opened by his own power. His idea was that his child would seek him out and, using power similar enough to his, release him from his incarceration. Normally, Plants only reproduce one offspring, but four months later, the Plant gave birth to two children. One was the Plant's true child, the other…" he trails off again, and glances at me. "And since that eighth SEEDS cluster landed here, on Ithaqua's prison, I believe his plan worked."
Silence hangs heavy in the room as we digest this new information. Every fiber of my being wants to say no, to call Mike a liar, to deny the whole thing. But in the pit of my soul I know everything he said makes sense. Our power. My nightmares. My bloodlust.
And if it's all true, then this goes far deeper than I could have ever imagined. And it's far worse than I ever dared dream.
"So…" Vash stammers, "so where do you fit in all this?"
He chuckles. "I've exposed your secrets, I suppose it's only fair I share mine. My full name is Philip Michael Gerard. Once, on Earth, I was what you would call a warlock. I summoned spirits from the dead, and one day I was run out of my town; they believed I was consorting with Satan. In a way, they would be proven right. I settled in Twin Peaks, just after it was founded, and continued my work in secret. In solitude I got more and more adept at my craft and one day I summoned Ithaqua. I did not know what he truly was; I merely believed him to be another deceased spirit. I did, however, sense great power in him, and decided to make him my familiar." He chuckles again, bitterly this time. "I allowed him into my body, foolishly believing I could contain him. Shortly thereafter, he revealed himself for what he truly was and began to take control of me. I fought him with all my strength, but it was like trying to swim up a waterfall. Finally, in a frantic last-ditch effort, I cut off my arm; I had read that a bodily sacrifice was the only sure-fire way to rid your body of demonic possession and at that point I was willing to try anything. After that, he was gone, and I believed that it worked. However, he used the severed arm to create a body for himself, and he named that form BOB.
"It drove me almost insane with guilt, the knowledge that I had unleashed this evil upon the world, and I turned to drugs in order to forget. When Laura Palmer died, I immediately knew who the culprit was, but I was too scared, ashamed, and addled with drugs to do anything about it directly. I tried to help Cooper, but in the end I didn't do much good. When the Elder Ones returned and destroyed BOB, I realized I had to get over myself and do something about it myself. I took it upon myself to make sure that Ithaqua would never escape again. I slowly rebuilt my own powers, and through a long and draining spiritual process I managed to transport myself here mind, body and soul. I've spent the last few thousand years preventing Ithaqua's escape." He pauses. "And that's my personal story."
"What about that pit?" Meryl pipes up. "And what, exactly, are the cthonians?"
"That pit you were in was the corporeal exit point of Ithaqua's prison. Although he cannot escape physically, he can send out his spirit for limited amounts of time, which is how he impregnated the Plant. He has been gathering forces from across the cosmos, which wait on their own inside the pit for their master's release. You saw them in their cocoons, I believe. The cthonians are the indigenous race of this planet, as well as the ancestors of the sandworms. They have a hive mentality, and since Ithaqua gained control of their "queen", Shudde-Mell, he controls them as well."
"Some guardian you are!" Meryl screams. "Why the hell haven't you done anything to prevent all that?"
"I don't have enough power, and I can't do anything without gaining too much attention. Besides, the only way Ithaqua to be fully released is by his own power, or by that of his son."
"Is that why he had Milly kidnapped?" I ask. "As bait?"
"Yes. He believed you would attempt a rescue and in so doing, release him. That's why I sent you three into the pit: to get an idea of what you're up against so you wouldn't just charge blindly in. Unfortunately for all of us, by using your angel arm, you unleashed an enormous amount of energy, which I believe is just enough to break the seal."
Silence reigns once again. Vash looks over to me, apparently in a state of shock. The headache I've had all day seems to have just gotten much worse, and one thing circles in my mind: my last-ditch gambit may have doomed us all.
Mike reaches into his pocket and pulls out a small, flat stone. "All that's left is for me to ascertain who his son is." He turns the stone around and shows us the glyph on the back: a crude pentagram with rounded corners and a stylized leaf in the middle.
Something about it makes me uneasy. Very much so. As a matter of fact, if I didn't know better, I'd say I was scared of it. But why? It's a stupid star, and a badly drawn one at that.
He shows it to Vash, who cocks his head to one side quizzically. "What is that?"
"An Elder Sign. It is a reproduction of the glyph that seals all of their prisons. No Great Old One or its spawn can look upon it without a violent reaction."
He shows it again to me, and the feeling grows. I try to look away, but for some reason, my eyes are instinctively drawn to it. And the more I look, the more my fear grows.
"Put it away." He does nothing. "I said PUT IT AWAY, GODAMMIT!"
He places the stone on the table. "Just as I suspected." He looks up at Vash. "You might need this. I have no further use for it."
Vash looks at the stone, then at me. Though he doesn't think anything at me, I can see the shock in his eyes.
"Can I go now?" Mike asks. "I have some things to do before the world ends."
"Yeah," Vash murmurs, clearly not really hearing him, and the one-armed man gets up and heads for the door.
"One final question," Vash says.
Mike turns around. "What?"
"What's up with that weird little black cat that pops up wherever we go?"
Mike thinks for a minute. "I'm afraid that cat's something I can't explain." Then he leaves, leaving us to mull over everything we've just learned.
4:28 PM
Meryl's POV
I hear the front door open and close, and Vash walks in the room with a slightly worried expression on his face.
"How did it go? Did you and Knives talk?" I ask.
"No. No, we didn't."
"Oh."
"Yeah." He shakes his head sadly. "I'm worried about him, Meryl. I've never seen him this depressed before."
"I guess so. I mean, if I was told that my father was a supremely evil demigod and that I may have killed us all, I'd be bummed, too."
He chuckles. "Never thought I'd see the day when you'd stand up for him."
"I am not standing up for him. I only said he has a right to his depression."
He smiles. "Whatever you say, honey. Whatever you say."
"So where is he?"
"He went home. Said he thought working in his garden would help him get his mind around everything we learned."
He looks at me. "So, did the nap help your back at all?"
"Couldn't sleep. Things kept buzzing around in my head."
"Same here."
"Do you think everything Mike said is true?"
"Yes. I can sense it when people lie, and I didn't…" he pauses. "He was telling the truth, Meryl."
I sigh heavily. "That's what I was afraid of." I look him in the eye. "Vash, what are we going to do?"
He looks down. "I don't know, Meryl. I honestly just don't know. And in truth, everything hasn't really sunk in for me yet."
"I know what you mean. It's too big, too deep."
"Yeah."
Silence falls.
"Are you comfortable, Meryl? Do you need me to get you anything?"
"No, I'm fine."
He smiles sadly. "Remember when I said I can sense a fib?"
"Sorry. But at least the pain's down to a dull throb now."
He thinks for a minute, then says, "I think I know how to make it better."
I chuckle. "Are you going to kiss it?"
"No, but I can do that too, if you want."
I smile. "Well, what do you have in mind?"
"An old trick."
"I'll try anything."
He slowly picks me up and takes me to the bedroom. He gently sets me face down on the bed and takes the pillow out from under me, laying my head flat against the mattress. He unbuttons my torn blouse, and I feel his hands examine my wounded back. He unhooks my bra and raises me up ever so slightly to take both garments off.
"What are you thinking of doing?"
"A special type of chiropractic massage a doctor friend of mine taught me years ago. It's supposed to heal bruised muscles."
"Oh."
His fingertips gently brush the back of my neck. "Now just relax."
I nod and close my eyes. I hear him open the bedside drawer and take something out, then place whatever it is on the table and close the drawer. He spreads something gooey over the afflicted area of my back, and a bittersweet scent fills the air. Then he begins working and plunges me into an intense netherworld where pain and pleasure meet, tangle, and become inseparable. My rational mind leaves completely, time loses all meaning and I surrender to the fervent waves of exquisite agony that emanate from Vash's strong, skilled hands. The luxurious torment washes over me again and again, and my back burns and freezes and burns and freezes over and over.
After a limited eternity, he stops and I suddenly realize I'm gasping for air as though I were drowning.
I open my eyes, and for a minute I panic and think I'm blind. Then my eyes focus and the momentary surge passes. Then I realize something else: the pain in my back is gone. Ever so slowly, I turn over on my side and my back doesn't complain. I flip all the way over and see him sitting on the edge of the bed. I cautiously sit up and poke at my lower back. No pain.
I smile. "You are a miracle worker."
"Nah. I just know a few tricks."
He nods at the bedside table and I see an open jar of some sort of milky-white jelly.
"It helps to heal bruised and strained muscles. The guy who taught me that massage invented it as well."
"Sounds like he was quite a smart cookie."
"Yeah. Best in the business. Taught me a lot." He chuckles fondly. "Ol' Dr. Gaye. Good ol Dr. Benjamin Gaye."
I slide over next to him and take his hand in mine as I rest my head on his shoulder. I feel his head rest against mine, and I close my eyes and smile. The fact that I'm still bare-chested never even crosses my mind – hell, he's seen more of me. I concentrate on this feeling, and I clear my mind of everything else. And for the next twenty minutes, there aren't any Elder Ones or Great Old Ones or cthonians and Milly's not missing and Knives isn't a hellspawn and all there is si just Vash and I.
Finally I hear him whisper, "I should go check on Knives."
"Okay, but I'm coming with."
"What? Why?"
"Don't know. Just feel like I need to. Woman's intuition, I guess."
"All right."
We get up and he hands me my bra. I get another blouse out of the dresser and put it on; the cloth sticks to my still-gelled back. I look at my torn one lying on the back of the chair and feel a slight twinge of regret: once a good article of clothing, now going to be a rag. I follow Vash out to the jeep and get in. As we drive off I wonder why I'm so uneasy all of a sudden.
5:36 PM
Knives isn't in his garden. It shows signs of work, though, and I see foot- and kneeprints in the dirt, so he was here at least. The footprints lead back into the house, and his car's still in the driveway. Probably just went inside for a nap, is all.
So stop being so goddamn nervous, Meryl.
We walk up the steps to the front porch, and Vash unlocks the door. All is silent in the house, except for the sound of a dripping faucet coming from the back room.
Wait a sec…that doesn't sound like water. No, it's too heavy; it sounds more like…like -
Oh dear God.
I look at Vash; he's had the same idea. We rush into the back room and stop dead in our tracks at what we find.
Mike is hanging upside-down on the wall, held up by roofing nails through his feet, hand, and forehead. His throat, wrist, and stomach are slashed open, and blood has trickled down the wall and pooled on the floor. His glistening entrails are looped around his head like a grotesque turban.
In the corner sits Knives, huddled up in a fetal position, terrified, blood-soaked and gripping the chainsaw with his wounded hand. He rocks back and forth and chanting a single word over and over in a harsh whisper:
"Ithaqua. Ithaqua. Ithaqua."