--Thinkingpleasereviewthinking--: Means peoples' thoughts.
(Talkingpleasereviewtalking): Means the twins are talking in their minds.
Disclaimer: see last chapter(s)
Chapter 14.
Knives walked down the hall to the bathroom and closed the door. He stood in front of it so no one would come in. The doctor and Milly most likely wouldn't, but Meryl wouldn't let up on him! She watched him like a hawk.
It was true: Vash had shot him. In fact, Knives knew Vash had taken the numerous bullets out from their first battle. He hadn't thought about it the second time around though. He took his shirt off and ripped away the bandage, tossing it on the ground. He knew how to tell where the bullets were.
He frowned slightly and went to his leg next. Rrrrip! He drew back in thought and stood upright. –It can't be, can it? That's just like him though. –
--"F-forgive me, Knives. I'm sorry," – Vash had said. It made Knives grin a little. Vash had shot him, but hadn't really hurt him that much. In fact there were no bullets in him! Vash had planned to end the battle without killing his brother.
"He even acts like himself when he doesn't know who he is," he mused to himself.
As he walked towards the room, he could hear an argument underway. What was it about this time? Did he really want to go back in there? No, but if he didn't, that little pest would come looking for him as if she were his babysitter. Luckily, he knew he could shut them up.
WHAM! He flung the door loudly into the wall and a hush came over Meryl and Cotcher. Milly was actually being quiet, but it was due to the fact that she was stuffing her face with that brown substance she ate day after day.
"Are you done yet?" He shifted his eyes to Cotcher.
Cotcher grew nervous with each passing second. Knives, the weirdest name he'd heard in a while, made him paranoid and uneasy. He fumbled with what to say and then just decided to come out with it. Either he'd face torture and death, or they'd let him live.
"Well, the bullets are out and I patched everything up, but I'm not done. He requires attention everyday—"
Knives got bored. "That's covered. They can do that. You can leave now and tell them to get lost while you're at it."
Cotcher didn't expect that. "Aw, do I hafta' face them again?" He whined. "I'll just go through the back—"
"Get out before I lose my temper!"
"Okay, okay, I can see when I'm not wanted. I can take a hint."
"I'll go with you. You must be hungry after all that work, so how about a snack on the way out?" Milly suggested and walked out the door with Cotcher tailing her.
"Hey, hold on there, Milly..." Meryl followed closely behind the two.
"Say, this is really nice of you, Milly. That's your name, right?" Milly bobbed her head up and down. "I never knew how good women's cooking could be." He smiled in a joking manner, although it was the truth.
Meryl narrowed her eyes. "What's that supposed to mean?"
In order to keep from getting into heated discussion with the woman who wouldn't give in, he asked Milly to tell another joke. She almost made it to the punch line when Knives stepped up.
"Oh, did you want me to bring you something? I didn't even think about it."
He ignored her and eyed Cotcher. "Do you have a weapon?"
Cotcher cringed. Why'd he want to know that little detail? --I should've left it with Abby! She warned me to leave it home, but do I ever listen to her? No-o! – "Okay, I'll leave. I get the picture." He tried to scoot past the peculiar man, but Knives wouldn't budge.
He lifted him off his feet. "Answer me!" He growled.
"Yeah, I have a gun," he sighed.
Meryl put her head in her hands. –It's going to start all over again, isn't it? Now that Vash is awake and well, Knives will continue his massacre. –
"Give it to me."
"Aw, come on, it's the only one I got! My mom gave this to me when I was fifteen." He moaned and pulled the gun out of the inside of his light jacket.
Meryl made a face. "Why would your mom give you a gun at that age?!"
Cotcher smiled oddly. "I knew I'd eventually become a cop, and I guess my parents did too, so they just gave me this gun to get me started." He paused and sighed. "Unfortunately, it wasn't the kind of job I was looking for. Searching for one wanted criminal and never seeing him bored me, so bad I couldn't do my job like I wanted and my boss fired me."
Milly gave him a sympathetic look. "Oh, that's too bad. I hope they are able to catch the criminal. Maybe you should be a doctor."
Knives reveled in the feeling of holding a gun once more and grinned wickedly. He lifted Cotcher a little higher and then dropped him on the ground before heading towards the front door. No one else was capable of hearing the shouting from outside like he could.
"The next person I hear will get his head blown off! My brother is trying to sleep, so SHUT UP!"
That got their attention and they looked to each other for something to say back. The chief dared to raise his hand. Knives shook his head. These humans were just too stupid for words! "Make it good; you're wasting my time."
"Where's Cotcher and when are you leaving?"
"The doctor does not wish to leave and we're staying with him." He shut the door and stalked back to the room.
Meryl stared on in disbelief. She then shrugged it off. Maybe she could finally concentrate well enough to finish her work. That night, she actually got to sleep at her normal time—at midnight.
Knives wouldn't tolerate Meryl's and Cotcher's bickering so he practically threw the man out the door and for once, Meryl was thankful to him. She could tell Milly saw something in him that reminded her of Wolfwood. Maybe that's why she didn't like him: she didn't want her friend getting hurt again.
In the morning, Knives was counting the bullets in his gun. One person was all he needed to kill to silence them all with their own weapons. They had dared to make noise—in the middle of the night even! Knives didn't care if Vash was awakened, but HE was trying to sleep and they foolishly disobeyed his order.
Everyone had left for breakfast. Meryl was out of his hair and in Cotcher's. Knives didn't know whom he hated more! He gripped the gun in his hand and fingered its shiny black exterior. "I'm going to enjoy every minute of this."
"Enjoy what?" Knives about dropped the gun when he heard Vash speak. "What are you going to do with that?" Vash propped himself up.
"Are you trying to hurt yourself? Stay still!"
Vash smiled. "Just like old times, right, Knives?"
"Sure," but he didn't mean it.
"You gonna' tell me why you're holding that gun? A spider's none the less?"
Vash wouldn't lay off that subject for long. Knives moistened his lips with his tongue. "The people outside won't cease in hassling me. I'm going to make them."
"What people??" He didn't get an answer and Knives left the room. "Knives!" Vash called after him. He could hear some voices outside—some angry, some annoyed. Thinking he might be able to stop his brother yet again, Vash tried to get out of bed.
---------------------- ----------------------- ---------------------- -------------- Well now, I'm pleased to say I have only 2 chapters to go. I'd have done this yesterday, but I dup potatoes w/ my grandparents. It's a lot of fun! Yay, I think Cotcher rocks! Um, anyway, don't mind the subliminal messages at the top...(hums)