Disclaimer:I'm not going to dignify this with a statement.
Nova
Chapter 39: Endgame
(Knives)
The darkness clouding my vision finally cleared. But I was no longer in the torture chamber.
This place was nowhere on Gunsmoke.
I stood on a small floating island among thousands upon thousands of others spread as far as the eye could see, in a strange black void lit only by snake-like lightning that jumped from cloud to cloud above.
Small smoke-like wisps floated ghostily around and through the floating islands. The only sounds to be heard were that of millions of whispers that faded in and out in with the ghostly apparitions.
"Interesting sight, no?" A familiar voice said from behind me.
I whipped around and saw... myself.
He stood on an island 100 yarz away and he was literally a mirror image. But it was no mirror that I was looking at. He had on a sneer/smirk that I know was not on my face. His hair was also strange like it couldn't seem to decide if it wanted to be black or blonde. His eyes were the same way, flickering between my blue and deep endless black.
"Who are you?" I demanded.
"Why... I'm you." My double sneered.
"Impossible."
"Anything is possible."
"Not this." I said through my teeth, "Where am I? Where is Kestrel?"
"She is here." He said, waving his hand out at the eternal void.
I looked around again but saw nothing but floating islands, clouds and lightning.
"As for where we are... this is the realm between life... and death. A bridge. A way point."
"Who are you really?" I asked, looking at my odd double in the eye.
"I am the one who is going to annihilate you and every Vriisimaki in the universe." Ripples began appearing in his skin flowing up and down his skin, which began to tear, releasing something bigger than its skin could hold.
In seconds it had grown over nine feels tall. Its eyes were completely black now, and dark black scales shimmered across his body. He looked like the Saskanocs that had been chasing us. Only more... evil.
"Seldokas." I hissed backing up to the edge of the small island I stood on.
"Very good, simaki." Seldokas hissed back, "Now fight. Or you will die."
Suddenly he was flying across the reaches, before I could even think of moving, and landed right on my island making it shake
Seldokas bared his sharp teeth and lunged for me. I jumped back automatically, forgetting that I was already on the edge of the island.
Then I was falling. Away from the islands, away from Seldokas, and into a dark never-ending abyss.
But... something wasn't right. I wasn't moving at the right speed. This wasn't how physics worked; I should be falling at four times this speed.
/Those rules don't apply here. / I heard her the moment I saw her. She was like one of those smoky wisps that floated above. But I knew it was she. Her aura and presence were the same as they had been back on Gunsmoke.
Before I could think of anything to say Kestrel's ghost-like form wrapped itself around me and lifted me back up. Up past the islands up into the lightning ridden clouds. There were more islands above the clouds only these sported grass and flowers and were almost ten times the size of the ones below.
Kestrel set me on one of these, and then floated a few feels from me. I looked up at the sunset-colored sky, occupied no longer by clouds, but by billions of the wisps.
They rose above the clouds and began an ascending cyclone around a crystalline obelisk in the center of a very large island. The cyclone of wisps got smaller as it climbed the obelisk and as it reached the very top of it the wisps joined together in a roaring ball of energy.
"What is this place?" I asked unsure of what to say to her.
/It is as Seldokas said. The bridge between life and death. / Kestrels wisp-like state shifted to give her a more human shape and now she was able to show expressions.
"How did I get here? Better yet-- how do I get out of here? "
/Seldokas was the one to bring us here. Only when he releases us will we be able to rejoin our physical bodies. /
"So... that means..."
/You will have to fight him, Knives. /
"Well, that won't be too hard."
/Don't be naïve, Knives. He has had access to this word for thousands of years; he knows the rules of this place. You do not. /
"I can learn."
/It will take to long. /
"Then what do you suggest, Kes? My people depend on-- on--" I suddenly didn't want to say what exactly they were depending on.
/I can help you. I've been here long enough to know a lot of the rules. /
"How--"
/Let me join with you. We must join together our souls. If we don't rejoin our physical bodies... well... look there, at your hand. /
I looked down at my hand; it was beginning to fade into a gray smoke.
/Soon you will look like me. And not long from now I will have to join them. / She looked up at the cyclone of wisps.
"I can't let that happen. My people depend on me."
/I know. /
"How do we..."
She moved forward and put up her palm; I lifted my hand and touched hers. Suddenly there was jolt and something akin to a severe electric shock.
Kestrel's form in front of me was gone but I felt her essence joined to me. Tied to my very being. I also felt a connection between the two of us that provided me with the knowledge I would need to fight Seldokas in this world.
"Lets go." The word came out of my mouth but it came from the both of us.
I took a running leap off the grassy island and fell straight down into the clouds. In this world I was equipped with powers, very much like that of my own plant powers, only on a different level entirely.
I slowed my decent down to the rocky islands and landed softly on one right next to Seldokas who hadn't moved the entire time.
"Decided to come back I see." Seldokas hissed and gave his version of a laugh.
"Enough talk." I growled.
"Very well." Seldokas raised his arm in front of himself. Abruptly it morphed into a gigantic crystal blade.
/Form your Angel Arm. It's the only way to fight him. / Kestrel said quickly.
I don't have my gun.
/You don't need it here! Quickly! /
I did as she asked and concentrated on the formation. It sprouted immediately. But it was far shorter than my real one. It was only the length of my arm.
Seldokas didn't give me time to use it. He hopped from island to island traversing the space between us rapidly.
I jumped backward just in time to avoid the blade as it and Seldokas soared down on us.
I jumped once more propelling myself up into the air above Seldokas and pointed my Arm at him, firing.
He used the blade as a shield and the blast fizzled out in seconds, sucked into the core of the crystalline blade.
Wasting no time he pointed the blade at me, firing my own blast back at me.
Kestrel's spirit unexpectedly broke free of my body and she used herself very soul to shield me.
She absorbed the energy and fell back into my body. I immediately knew that saving me had injured her.
Damn.
/Keep moving Knives! / She said weakly.
I began jumping from island to island gathering speed, and running a circle around him. I had no idea what I was doing. But I had to think up something fast.
Seldokas didn't let me circle him like a pack of wolves for long. He soon was running along side me, taking any chance he got at slashing out.
I repeatedly tried to fire at him, but he either dodged or sucked them in.
He could easily absorb any energy I threw at him into that blade. I had to get him from the back.
It was almost impossible to get any target on his back.
Kestrel?
There was no answer. She was far worse that I had originally thought. A searing hot anger welled up inside my chest, I growled and with a sudden burst of psychic strength I sped up, shocking, both myself, and Seldokas.
I ran headlong up to him, dodged the outstretched blade and shoved the barrel of my Arm into Seldokas' open mouth, pouring every last bit of explosive energy into him.
The force of the surge sent me flaying backwards.
I regained my control and slowed to a stop on an island not far away from Seldokas.
Seldokas was staring up at the sky with a very strange expression on his face. I didn't understand... that blast should have killed him.
Without warning, crack glowing with yellow light began tearing through his black scales.
He let out a tremendous roar and suddenly an arc of yellow light ejected out of his open mouth and disappeared into the dark abyss below.
Then the body that was left behind exploded.
(Vash)
We'd finally managed to shake off the Saskanocs. But we were now running.
A scream had resonated through the ship on a psychic level as well as in sound. We'd been trying to locate the source of the scream.
"There!" I shouted, pointing to a large glass window.
The both of us plastered ourselves against the window. We were in luck! I saw both Knives and Kestrel down through the window in a room filled with... torture devices.
I gasped when I actually got a good look at the two of them.
Knives was hunched over Kestrel, who lay in his lap bloody, both were unconscious.
I pounded on the window hoping that is would wake Knives or Kestrel, "Knives! Kestrel!"
Wolfwood began pounding as well, and then stopped, "We have to get down there!"
"Yeah--" Suddenly Knives jerked like he'd been electrocuted.
He lifted his up and looked up at us groggily. He shook his head just as a voice in another language began to speak over the ship wide speakers.
Knives' eyes widened like he just realized something.
/Vash! /
/Knives? What--/
/Vash get out of here! /
/What? Why--/
/Just listen to me. Seldokas has initiated a self-destruct. You have to get out of here now! /
/But what about you?! I can't leave you! /
/You have to! Don't worry about me. Just leave! /
/But--/
/Wolfwood! If you ever want to see your wife and children again then leave! And take Vash with you. /
Nick looked surprised at the telepathic message.
/There's nothing you can do for us! The self -destruct will go in minutes! Minutes you have to use to get back to the ship! Now go! /
/But--/
/GO!!/
Nick grabbed me around the waist and dragged me away from the window.
"No! Knives! Nick, let me go back! Let go!"
"I'm not going to lose Milly again! And think about Meryl, Vash!" Nick argued, never letting go.
"Dammit, no! KNIVES! NO!!"
/You have a resposibility to our people now, Vash. Take care of them./ Knives' last telepathic message resounded in my brain. I kept struggling with Nick to let me go.
Nick hit me in the back of the head with the butt of his gun, sending me into a daze.
In what seemed like a lot quicker leaving than we had arrived Nick had placed both of our helmet on and got the both of us out of Seldokas' ship and into our own.
Nick grabbed the steering console and in seconds we were rising rapidly above the surface.
"Knives!"
I looked out a side window just as a huge supernova exploded across the surface of the moon enveloping the entire thing in seconds and scorching it with white flame.
"KNIVES!"
And seconds after that... the moon was dead.
Burnt black.
The next few days passed in a haze for me. I couldn't sleep, I sat at a small desk in the Bluesummers home staring at nothing. My mouth felt dry and no amount of water could seem to ease it. I found myslef wandering sometimes. Wanderign the house or the streets of Lanoth.
My brother was gone. Dead. His life snuffed out in a single instant. For what? He had in effect sacrificed himself for every person on the planet. If only for the plants.
There would be no more fighting between us. There would be no more of anything.
Meryl did her best to try and comfort me. She spoke to me quietly and held me in her arms, soothing away the sorrow only momentarily.
Silver and purple ribbons littered the valley in honor of Knives and Kestrel, tied to trees and lamp posts, pinned over the hearts on peoples shirts.
Three days after The Nova, Lanoth held a memorial service for both Kestrel and Knives. I barely heard the words of Marian as she stood before the crowd of people, "....Though they are gone now, we must honor thier memories..."
I kept wondering what Knives would do if it had me who died. I wasn't really sure. He seemed to be changing. His behavior after Kestrel's kidnapping was shocking in it he least.
"...together they saved all of us. Together they died..."
He probably wouldn't grieve in the way I was. He would probably blame the humans and... Then again...
Knives' last message to suddenly can back full force, You have a resposibility to our people now... Take care of them.
Is this waht Knives wanted me to do? Save out people? He didn't specify how.
...you have a responsibility...
I smiled. Alright Knives. I will. I will save our people. But I'm going to do it my way.
..........................................