Chapter 7.

After a full day of just laying in bed, Vash was ready to do something! He figured finding out more about himself would be the best place to start, but Knives had other ideas. After breakfast, he practically dragged his brother out of the house and back to the desert.

"Won't we need water and food supplies?" Vash queried.

"No," Knives said in a bored manner. He smiled to himself. By the time we're through today, there won't be anyone left to share the stuff with anyway, so we've got plenty of time to be thirsty and hungry.

"Can we stop by a couple of towns? I want to find Whitney."

"No,"

"Just a house then? I want to remember who I am."

"No." Knives answered in a low growl.

Vash stuck out his lower lip in a pout. Did I always have to put up with him? He won't let me do anything!

"Fine, you wish to know about yourself then here..." Knives ripped off a piece of paper off a post. "You're going to regret ever remembering."

Vash stared at sheet of paper. It was a horrible picture! Did he look like that? At the top it stated in huge bold black letters: WANTED: The Humanoid Typhoon. At the bottom, it read: REWARD: $$60,000,000,00. The face looked extremely angry and he was holding a gun.

He gave a nervous laugh and started walking once again. "Th-this can't be me. I'm not the kind of person who'd walk around showing off my gun. I don't even have a gun!"

"That's because..." Knives stopped. He didn't want to reveal much of his past life until he completed his plan.

"You know don't you? You know and you don't want to tell me. Won't you at least explain to me why you don't like me?"

Knives cringed. He could sense the hurt in Vash's tone and he could almost hear his thoughts, but didn't make an effort to listen in. I admire you and I don't even remember who you are!

"Vash, here's one thing you should always remember. This world is made of hate and cruelty! Especially for you. The only person who really cares about you is your family, and I'm the only family you got, so take it or leave it!"

"Don't we have relatives?"

Knives sighed and caught sight of a flower shop. "Those are our relatives." He gestured towards the plants. "Don't bother asking me to explain, because I'm not going to."

"Are you always angry?" Vash wondered.

His brother chuckled and looked at him with a glint in his eye. "You haven't seen me angry." Vash's expression faltered for a moment and it made Knives laugh all the more.

Finally reaching his destination point, Knives cracked his knuckles and began to explain the process of Vash's angel arm all over again. To accomplish his goal he would either his or Vash's weapon. It had occurred to him that Vash might put up a fight, but he had come prepared.

"So...what does this do exactly?" Vash asked nervously.

"Now is the best time to tell you, Vash. The humans mean nothing to us. We are the superior race and they are meaningless." He could see his brother tense up. "You and I were sent here to demolish the human race, and demolish it we will."

Vash seemed confused. "Is that why I'm wanted? Was I...trying to destroy people before?"

Knives wasn't prepared for that, but he ignored it and continued talking. Unfortunately, a loud scream interrupted him. "VASH!" They turned to see who was making such a fuss and saw Meryl and Milly running up at full speed.

"Am I this popular?" Vash wondered out loud.

"Vash, you have to stop and get away from him. He doesn't look dangerous until it's too late. He's trying to destroy the people and cities and towns--everything! What if we were in the town when you blow it up?" Meryl tried to make him understand.

"Yes, Mr. Vash," Milly took a stab at it also. "You wouldn't want to destroy everything. That would mean no more people like us and Whitney and my family. No more donuts and...no more pudding! I'm sorry, Mr. Vash, but I won't allow you to be involved in this!"

Meryl shook her head. It was about time the girl got serious! "Who said I was going to blow up the towns?" Vash smiled. "I'm out here trying to learn my past to help me remember who I am...and to spend some quality time with my only living family! Isn't that right, Knives?" He went to hug him, but Knives shoved him away.

"Vash, if you really want to spend time with me, you'd be helping me and not listening to them." He folded his arms across his chest. "If you don't pick, I will."

Vash looked at Knives and then at the girls and back and forth. His head felt like it was going to explode! No, I will not pass out a second time! That is way too humiliating for me to stand. This decision was tougher than he thought. How could they do this to him? He didn't really know any of them. Who was right?

Knives sighed and pulled a gun out of almost nowhere. He aimed it straight towards Meryl. Vash ran forward as fast as he could. "Look out!" He cried, shoving Knives' arm to the left.

Meryl stood stock-still. It felt like her feet were super-glued to the ground, not letting her go anywhere. Knives shot anyway and although it missed where he intended it to go, the bullet nicked her left arm. Meryl cringed and let out a yelp.

"Meryl!" Milly's eyes grew as wide as saucers.

Vash socked Knives in the face. "That was totally unnecessary, Knives! I don't care who you are, you have no right to decide who lives or dies!" He was flooded with adrenaline and yanked the gun out of Knives' grip. He ran to Meryl's side and picked her up.

"Point me in the direction to get her some help, will you, Big Girl?" He asked Milly. He really couldn't remember her name, but that title seemed to suit her well.

She smiled. "Go back the way we came and it's located near our house. I'll catch up with you in a minute if you want to run ahead."

"Thanks," he called over his shoulder. He jogged ahead for a while, not looking back.

"Darn it! How does he do that?" Knives held his cheek while still laying on the ground. He watched Vash go...and he kept going...and he didn't come back to help his brother up like before.

Vash hadn't known it, but Knives was really awake most of the time he was being carried. He couldn't protest until he was at the church though. Why did he even bother with me? He shot me, so why didn't he leave me to die? I would have done that to him. I'd have made sure he was dead. We're so different, yet he treats me like he would a...best friend.

"Mr. Knives--"

"Stop calling me that!" Knives screamed in frustration.

Milly ignored him yet again. He hated being ignored, especially by an insignificant human! He stood up in a rage and started walking back. "You don't need any help then? Mr. Vash did punch you pretty hard. I'll go home and prepare some ice for you if you'd like."

She skipped ahead. Knives thought for a moment. Every time he yelled at her, she always returned a smile or something. How wrong! A grin spread across his aching face. Now he knew how to get revenge on Vash. You like the humans, do you? One of them is already six feet under, so I guess another one won't make a bit of difference.

The sound of Vash's breathing echoed through Meryl's ears. It was so weird to have him run with her like this. It wasn't as if she were incapable of walking! "I'm fine, Vash; you don't have to carry me all the way there. It's just a scrape, nothing more. Put me down so I can walk."

Vash did as he was told. "Okay, but we need to cover up that wound before it gets infected. Here, I'll use my glove..."

"Not your glove! That thing is almost irreplaceable. I can rip off my shirt sleeve where it's already torn." She tried to do it without touching the bleeding wound, but didn't do a good job.

Vash stood in front of her and gestured for her arm. "Hold still so I won't hurt you." He concentrated on what he was doing and tore it off ever so gently. "Was that okay?"

"Just fine, now we need to tie it around my arm."

He proceeded to do so until he heard a small gasp come from her throat. He looked up at once and saw her cringing and her chest heaving while she breathed heavily. "What is it?"

"T-too tight! It hurts...it's too tight!" A tear came to her eye and her right hand shook as she went to loosen the knot.

"Okay, hang on.... There, is that better?" He asked cautiously.

Meryl sighed from the relief of the pain. "Yes, much better." Then she turned on him. "What's the big idea, huh? Don't you know how to tie without suffocating one's arm?"

He laughed nervously and scratched at an invisible itch on the top of his head. "I guess I'm a lot stronger than I thought I was. You can't have it any looser than that, or else it will defeat the purpose of having it around your arm." He said the last part seriously.

She glanced at him with a curious expression. "How do you know that?"

"Hm, I don't know. At least, I think that's correct." He frowned slightly and stopped walking.

"What's wrong? We kinda' have to hurry because we're going to meet Milly at the hospital and anyway, this is already soaked with blood."

"I thought you said it was only a scratch."

She blushed from being caught. "Uh, well, er...you didn't answer my question yet!"

He looked down and then straight into her eyes. "I was hoping you'd tell me more about myself so I can remember who I am."

"Sure, name it and I'll see what I can do."

Vash smiled and started walking once again. That wasn't as hard as he thought it would be. "Knives showed me a picture of a wanted man and said that was me. I thought we were twins though. Do I really look that ugly?"

Meryl sighed. "Ignore those stupid posters. And Knives; ignore him too. Even though you are twins, your facial looks and personalities are different. You're not ugly; in fact, you look far better than Knives!" She observed maybe for the first time.

"Thanks, I think."

"Anything else?" She wanted to move on really fast.

Vash wiggled his left fingers and balled them into a fist. "Do you know what happened to my arm?"

She shook her head. "No, I have no clue what happened! I'll bet Knives does, though." She said wryly.

"Geez, I figured you'd know since we've, and I quote, 'known each other for a long time now.'"

Meryl got defensive. "Look, Vash, just because we've known you doesn't mean you chose to tell us everything! I honestly can't help you with much at all 'cause you kept it a secret from Milly and me."

"Why would I do that? What do I have to hide from my friends?"

"I don't know; that's what I've been trying to figure out about forever!"

They fell silent just thinking until Vash came up with another question. "Am--was I--a dangerous man?"

Meryl laughed at that until she noticed the hurt look in Vash's features. She looked away and then glanced over at him. "Everyone called you the first human disaster, more commonly known as the Humanoid Typhoon. We just know you as Vash the Stampede.

"The people believe that you blew up two cities and you put a hole in the fifth moon. You claim that your brother made you do it, but no one buys it."

They stepped into town just then and Vash turned to the left. "What are you doing? It's this way." Meryl said.

"No, it's this way," Vash argued.

"Our house is this way and since the hospital is behind it, it's naturally this way also."

Vash held his ground. "Milly was mixed up when she told me. I've been there before; I know where it is."

Meryl groaned and followed him. She walked up behind him and slapped him over the head. "Are you sure you lost your memory? It doesn't seem like it to me."

"Please don't hit me. That really hurts," he held his head.

"You deserved it anyway." She muttered.

They walked around a few streets and came up to the hospital doors. Vash stayed outside while Meryl went in. After hearing what people thought of him, he felt too upset to go in. He went over it in his mind.

"And just what do you think you're doing?" Meryl demanded, interrupting his thoughts.

"You go on ahead; I'll wait out here for you."

"Don't give me that! Come on," she pulled him and shoved him in through the door.

A nurse saw them and dropped what she was doing straightway. "Mr. Ericks, good to see you again. What happened this time? Oh, you have an injury on your head? We can fix that right up, so come this way..."

Vash stayed where he was. He grew nervous from the way she talked to him-- like she knew who he was. He looked to the woman next to him for an answer.

Meryl frowned and her face tightened. "Do you know her, Vash?"

His face distorted into utter confusion. "I don't know if I do or not."

The lady's smile disappeared from her face. "You come in here all the time, Mr. Ericks, so how can you not remember me?"

Vash backed up. I should have stayed outside instead of let this woman drag me in here. I'm not a slave! He decided to drop it. "In either case, ma'am, she needs help. She got shot and..."

The lady, who's name was Sandy, turned to look at Meryl's left arm. Blood had seeped through her torn shirt and had fallen a ways down her arm. "Oh, dear, say no more! I'll go call the doctor."

She paged the doctor and came back. "Did you say this was Vash? The Vash? As in Vash the Stampede?" A look of utter contempt and disgust shown across her small face.

Meryl mentally kicked herself. She had blown Vash's cover and it would be tough to make up for it. "No, I didn't mean that. It's just a silly nickname I use. He can be like Vash, but he certainly is not Vash."

It seemed to work and she shook her head. "Why anyone would use that for a nickname is way over my head."

Vash stared at her. It bothered him the way she acted when she talked about him like that. This world is made of hate and cruelty. "Do you...hate Vash the Stampede?"

Meryl's head shot up and she looked at him and back at the nurse. Don't answer that, please do not answer that question! She begged with her eyes.

Sandy rolled her eyes and threw up her hands. "Well, wouldn't you since he's caused so much trouble around here?" She would have kept going if not for the doctor coming up and taking her and Meryl to another room.

Meryl turned around quickly, her dark hair flying into her eyes, and stole a look at Vash to see his reaction. The man hadn't moved from where he stood and had become as still as a statue. The corner of his lip twitched once, but nothing more.

I don't understand. She wanted to see me, to take care of the wound on my head. When she heard my name though, everything changed. Did I really cause so much trouble? I thought the nurse knew me. Is 'Ericks' my last name? Vash had a flashback just then about when he told Whitney his name was Mr. Ericks.

"And this is my brother, Mr. Derricks."

That didn't seem to fit, however. Why was I carrying Knives on my shoulder and giving him a different name too? Is he as dangerous as well? He certainly acts that way. Vash did an about face and walked out the door. He hadn't realized people were giving him odd looks as he stood there thinking for a solid three minutes.

A tear fell onto his cheek and he brushed it away. It was just too frustrating not knowing who he was or where he was or what he had been doing! His head pounded as he tried to think back and recall everything. I was lying in the desert; I couldn't see a thing...no, no. I need to remember the stuff before that. Whitney. I need to ask Whitney or Knives...or both!

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Thank you for bearing with me on this one! My computer is messing with me and has not let me post anything!!!!! Thanks for the reviews and everything! I was gettin' concerned for a while that people had lost interest....
The next chapter is already written, I just have to post it. Please review!