Yume walked to daycare the next morning, her small feet dragging slowly. She was tired even though she had slept through the day before, only waking to eat. Recovering from sickness or injuries tends to take a lot out of people, especially children and the elderly. She had dreamt a lot throughout the day and night as she had slept.

One of her dreams was of a giant, golden-yellow bird that she had flown on the back of over the desert. With the wind running through her hair and the feeling of absolute freedom flying brought her, Yume had felt wonderful as all her worries melted away.

Then suddenly black storm clouds rolled in over the sky, catching her and the bird out in the open. Lightning flashed and thunder boomed as the bird frantically tried to fly ahead of the storm but its desperate efforts were in vain. A long line of lightning had cut across the bird's path and it panicked and swerved, dumping the child it bore.

Yume fell through the dark, cold sky as the now harsh and brutal wind ripped at her body and jerked tears out of her small eyes. She opened her mouth and screamed as she fell. Soon, the tears were not coming fast enough for the terrified child. She squeezed her eyes shut and wished futilely to be at the daycare, home—anywhere but there, falling down for what seemed like a never-ending period of time.

As her trembling lips mouthed words of hope and prayer, Yume noticed the wind and biting cold die away as she hit the ground on her side. Slowly, she sat up and dared to crack open an eye to see what had happened. Yume stood up and found a black nothingness surrounding her, a great void with a total absence of light. True night… she thought as fear began clouding her mind. She reached out to find something to grasp onto to steady both her body and mind but nothing was to be found in the great abyss.

"Mommy?" she called out to the darkness, looking for one who would bring her comfort. No one came to her aid however and, for a long time that seemed to exist for all eternity to the small girl, she was alone in the endless darkness.

Suddenly, she felt the light brush of a familiar mind against hers. Knives-sama? She called to his mind, drowning her fears in the hope that he was nearby.

You are ill? His short and to-the-point reply took a few moments to come back.

She paused. In a way, she was. Yes.

You lie. I can tell.

She smiled to herself weakly, although the dark gloom still surrounded her. It is part of the truth.

Tell me all of it.

Not now. I'm tired.

I will not let you rest until you tell me.

She thought quickly in order to escape having to tell him at that moment. Then you tell me first how you don't eat but still manage to live.

Damn you. She could hear his frustration leaking into his voice.

Yume giggled. I got you!

Tell me tomorrow then?

Maybe. Bye, Knives-sama. See you later. Then, as quick as he had come, his mind was gone from her reach. Yume smiled to the darkness. It did not seem so lonely anymore now that she knew someone could reach her here.

Yume blinked and noticed a change in her surroundings. The darkness was no longer as dark as before. It was getting lighter and new colors were fading into existence around her. Yume watched, captivated, as flowers sprung into existence under her feet and a blue, wide-open sky formed overhead. She smiled and flopped down in a patch of grass, stretching luxuriously. She had only heard of patches of fertile land like this and they usually happened around the Plant bulbs.

She sat up and looked around, then gasped in amazement. Flying towards her was a giant, multi-colored butterfly. Yume stared in awe at the beautiful, six-legged, winged insect as it landed gracefully next to her. Then the butterfly's shape and form warped and slurred, blurring around in a swirling circle of light and colors that traced its way in random directions and patterns in front of Yume. She watched, fascinated, by the twisting stream of color as it finally began to solidify into a new shape and form... that of Knives.

"Knives-sama!" Yume grinned.

"Come on, Yume!" Knives smiled at her and then ran off through the flowers.

Yume laughed and ran after him. "Come back, Knives-sama!"

"Catch me if you can!" he called back to her, a large, silly grin plastered on his face. Yume bounced through the yellow, red, blue and white colored flowers, enjoying one of the happiest moments of her life.

And that had been the point at which she had woken up to experience yet another day on the dreary desert planet that was her home.

Yume pushed open the daycare door and walked wearily in. She smiled at a few people who looked over at her as she made her way to her little table. She plopped down in a chair and put her lunch bag on the table. She folded her arms, placed them on the table, and then laid her head down to use them as a cushion. Within a few short minutes, she was fast asleep.

"If the child is not there today, brother, we are leaving as soon as we arrive," Knives told Vash as the Plant wheeled him down the street.

"But Knives, the kids will be so disappointed! I told them we'd continue our checkers tournament today!" Vash complained.

"Those human brats will have to wait then," Knives growled.

Vash stopped for a moment as he looked in the window of a pastry store. "Hang on a minute, Knives! I'll be right back!"

"No! Vash! Don't leav-" but Knives' twin had already disappeared inside to his wonderful world of confectionary sweets and pasties. Knives glared at the store and cursed humans for inventing the baked goods that were called 'donuts.' Vash! Knives mentally howled, Get out of that little hellhole and come back out here!

But Knives… they're too beautiful… and I'm so hungry… Vash's voice came back, drained of energy as if he was straining to stay in contact with his brother.

Don't you dare eat any of them, Vash!

I can't help it! I love them too much!! Vash's voice pumped up with energy as he fought his brother mentally. He would not give up his donuts at any cost!

Come back out here this instant or I'm coming in there after you! And believe you me; what I do to the humans in the vicinity will not be pretty!

Be out in a moment! Vash's mental voice called back in a singsong tone.

Knives ground his teeth together and made a mental note to shoot Vash next time he had the chance and his gun. The 'moment' turned into a long, unproductive, and quite boring, half hour. When Vash finally came out, Knives was shooting death glares at a group of giggling, teenage girls across the street. They kept pointing at him and then bursting out into a fresh fit of giggles.

"Vash, I demand for you to take me over there so I may kill that accumulation of human scum."

"Knives, I don't think they have deserved anything even remotely close to death…"

"Take me over there now!"

"Okay, okay…" Vash slid a large, brown bag into an even larger pocket under Knives' chair.

"Vash, what is in that bag?" Knives asked as they began to cross the street.

"Um, nothing?"

"Vash…"

"Just a few donuts…"

"'Just a few'?"

"Awh, okay, okay. A lot. But they're not for me! I bought them for the children!"

"You're wasting your money on those disgusting beasts?"

"Yes, I want to do something for them and it is my money. I can do whatever I want with it. I have more than enough, that is for sure."

"Just don't eat any yourself. You are going to get fat."

"I thought we were superior beings," Vash teased, "How can I get fat? Besides, I tried once, just for the hell of it. No matter how much I ate, I did not gain a pound."

"Why hello, handsome." Knives looked up and into the eyes of a pretty, brunette woman. Her shapely curves caught his eyes as he ran them over her and she smiled sultry at him. "What are you doing tonight, hun?"

Knives blinked. Was this human female trying to invite him to spend the night with her? He felt his stomach rebel. That was one of the most disturbing things he had ever thought of. A human wanting him in such a way… Erg… "I am plotting the destruction of the human race tonight, whore, and have no time for one such as you."

"Ooo, a feisty boy." A blond haired woman winked at Knives, "I bet you like to give it rough, huh?"

"The term 'give it rough' has no meaning to me whatsoever, unless it means that I will kill you. If that is it, then yes, I do."

The brunette made a purring noise and she slid herself into Knives' lap. "You and me, hun. We could go places…"

Vash had been standing behind his brother's chair the entire time with a jaw hanging wide open. Damn him! He gets all the luck… the twin thought jealously.

Knives pushed the brunette off his lap harshly. "Touch me again, bitch, and I will break every bone in your body."

"Sounds like fun." The brunette ran her tongue over her upper lip sensuously as she sat up on the ground.

Vash laughed nervously and grabbed the handles of his brother's wheelchair, "We really have to be leaving."

"Hey, why is he that chair anyway?" the blond asked.

"Eh, he's paralyzed from the waist down…" Vash answered.

"Oh," the brunette's face fell, "Well, then he wouldn't be any fun even if he was willing." She looked at Vash and then smirked. Vash gulped. "How about you, boy? You, heh, up for anything?"

Vash grinned at the girls, "Maybe…"

"Vash. Let us go. Now," Knives snapped.

"Vash? As in the Vash the Stampede?" the brunette's eyes widened and she got to her feet.

"Yeah, that's me." Vash winked at the girls.

"Ooo, you sexy man beast, you…" the blond sidled over and rubbed her back against Vash's side.

"Heh, yeah. That's definitely me."

"Have you no pride, Vash? Stop this behavior at once!" Knives snarled.

The blond stood up on her tiptoes so she could lick Vash's ear and then she smirked down at Knives. "Now that you're getting no attention, you're jealous. Just like a man."

Knives' hand shot out like a bullet from a gun and he grabbed the throat of the brunette who stood by his chair. He turn to glare at Vash as he tightened his grip on the brunette's windpipe. Her hands clawed frantically at his as she struggled to breathe. "We leave now, or I dispose of this garbage as it should be," Knives said calmly.

"Uh, sorry girl, but I have to go," Vash lightly pushed the girl away and looked at Knives, "Let her go and we will leave."

Knives complied and threw the brunette down. "Let us depart. I grow exceedingly weary of these spiders."

As the twins moved away from the two girls, the blond helped up her hurt friend. She called out after the Plants, "We'll report you!"

"Yeah, after all, we know your name, Vash the Stampede!"

Vash froze. "Shit… if they report me… it would mean that the Bernardelli Insurance Agency would stop paying me… I'll be right back." He left Knives and went back to the girls. After a few minutes of heated arguing and short trip to a nearby bank, he finally returned.

"What did you do?"

"I paid them off."

Knives raised an eyebrow. "Was it a large sum?"

"Yeah, I guess but I don't need the money."

"What is your guarantee that they will stay silent?"

Vash smiled a bit. "I told the girls we would hunt them down and made sure they died a long and horribly brutal death. I think they believed me."

Knives looked up at his brother and grinned. "There might yet be hope for you, Vash!"

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jeril: I was expecting to get a lot more done in this chapter then what actually ended up happening but I had too much fun writing about the dreams, donuts, and the two whores!! ^_^;; I think the chapter was overall pretty good though.

Also, I didn't get the chance to run this through my beta-reader before I posted it. She is out on a trip and couldn't read this over. So I apologize for any errors or OOCness that might have occurred, especially in the part where Knives was interacting with the two girls. _ As soon as she can beta this and send it back, errors corrected, I'll post the revised version up. ^_^

And just to clarify things: Yes, Knives-sama was OOC in Yume's dream, but that was because it was a dream and that's the way she envisions Knives-sama. Anyway… O.o;; Can you imagine Knives-sama grinning as he ran through a field of flowers? Frankly, the very thought scares me… Yume, you are one warped child…

Yume: I love you too, Author-sama! *huggles Jeril*

Jeril: Garg… let go… @_@

Yume: But Author-sama, I love you too much!

Jeril: *eyes tear* Awh, precious Yume! Child of my heart! *huggles Yume back, then realizes what she is doing* Gack! *drops the girl* Do you know you could corrupt the most hardened criminal?

Yume: Isn't that what I'm doing with Knives-sama? *innocent grin*

Jeril: o.o;; Perceptive brat, isn't she?

Yume: Brat? *begins crying*

Jeril: Awh, for Christ's sake, kid! _ I'm kidding! You are far from bratty! But you do get a little too emotional, a little too often… Here. Have a donut. *gives Yume a donut*

Yume: *grins and takes the donut* Thank you, Author-sama! ^_^ *eats the donut happily*