FIFTY: eternity

"So what're you going to do with us?" Spike asked, hands stuffed into his pockets. He had listened quietly as Knives explained the situation, how he, Faye, Jet, and Ed had been pinpointed across time and space through use of the Millennium Arc, and duplicated in flesh and blood in a world they had never even known to exist. It seemed enough of a stretch that they had thought done that much, but to know that Faye had a link with the people here was mind-boggling in of itself. He hadn't questioned the truth of it. What was there to question? It seemed easier to accept the impossible as truth.

"Nothing that we can do," Knives replied, peering to him out of the corner of his eye. "You are your own person, Spike. But there is something that makes your presence here all the more difficult."

"And what's that?" Jet asked.

"You may not be the flesh and blood Spike Spiegel and Jet Black, but your brain patterns are identical. A permanent cross-dimensional link is required between the Millennium Arc and the point of origin for sufficient neurological functions to sustain life."

Jet peered over to the plant-spawn, frowning. "What does that mean?"

"We brought you here only partially through cloning," Knives said quietly. "Your brain patterns were difficult. You see, its impossible to duplicate brain patterns, but you can transfer them from one place to another."

Spike blinked. "You're saying that physically these aren't our bodies, but they are our brains."

"Yes," Knives replied with a nod. "The matter is cloned, of course, but the pattern of the brain-waves is genuine. And somewhere across time and space your four bodies lie in comatose. Luckily, Rem thought to alter your genetics just enough to make you immune to the trilithium wave. She didn't even tell me she'd done it, but apparently she had."

"So, can you send us back to our real bodies?"

The plant-spawn grinned. "Ah, very good. As a matter of fact, I can." They turned a corner and came, finally, to engineering. Knives held up a hand to silence them. "Quinn is inside. Your lady-friend and the kid, too, Spike. Vash, after you?" He reached out to press the release. Vash drew his sidearm as the door hissed open, and slipped on inside ahead of the others.

What he saw made him freeze in place.

There was Quinn, in the middle of the room, on his hands and knees, slumped down on his face as an enthusiastic and thin red-headed girl of about thirteen years bounced about on his back, throwing her hands wildly into the air and giggling full force. Faye was slumped over in a chair nearby, her face in her hand, twisted in a look of frustratingly painful boredom.

"Ride 'em cowgirl! Edward likes this game, Fossil-person! You can do it!"

Faye groaned, burying her face deeper into her hand. "Somebody shut that dingbat up!"

Vash lowered his gun, grinning ear-to-ear. Quinn didn't look like he was having much fun. At least Edward had things under control. With a shake of his head, he slipped his side-arm into the holster at his hip.

Knives slid over to Quinn, lowering to a knee. "Seems you are under complete control. Impressive."

Edward grinned. "Trilithium wave! Knocked him on his butt!"

Spike frowned. "What does that mean?"

"It means," Vash said gently, that he was weakened by the trilithium."

Knives nodded. "The plant knew what it was doing." He drew a slow breath and grinned over to Vash. "I have a few things to prepare for," he said, interlocking his fingers behind his back. "It'll take time, but I can get you home."

Spike nodded. "All right. You don't have to explain it, just do it."

"So it's over."

Vash swivelled in his chair, looking up from the viewscreen and saw her. His shoulders sagged with relief at seeing that she had come to him, and that he hadn't had to ask her. He drew a slow breath and gazed up to the image awaiting him, slowly shaking his head. "It's been a long time, Rem. I didn't think it would be possible that I could ever see you again. You know, I mean in more than just my dreams."

"Rem really isn't here," she said, "but I think I know what you mean. Knives gave his all in programming me."

"She is here," Vash replied, touching his heart. "And in my memory. She'll always be inside me. But it's different, having something visual. She really was a pretty woman."

The hologram smiled. "That feels like a compliment."

He grinned. "Well, yeah, for you too."

His heart raced as he watched her, wishing for the billionth time over that he had had just one more chance to have her arms around him in that protective way that he had found so comforting. But that was an impossible dream. It seemed even more distant now, even having her image here next to him. "What are you thinking about?" she asked softly, gazing down at him.

"Eternity," Vash replied, and turned back to the viewscreen.

The two sat there for a time, gazing to the viewscreen. A series of constellations filled the growing darkness as the night drew slowly on. Vash had been in here alone for a long time, away from the others, bringing with him the newfound peace. Already he knew where his life would lead. New Hope seemed a fitting place to start over, a place where no one knew him for the disaster that Knives had shaped his existence.

New Hope was brought peace in more than just its name, Vash thought with a smile.

A hand lay on his shoulder after a time. Vash flinched, turning toward Rem. He hadn't thought that a hologram could be solid, but here she was, touching his arm.

His eyes softened with understanding as he saw that Meryl was standing over him. He hadn't heard her enter the command center, but that didn't matter. Trust, he decided. He decided he was grateful that she could do that to him. It aided in the suspense, the surprise, that a love like they shared deserved. He rested a hand on hers, peering up to her. She looked from him to Rem, and then shook her head slowly. "I can see why she meant so much to you."

He smiled. "You mean just as much to me, you know that. Rem was a special woman, but you are her equal in my heart. You are here, and that means so much to me. I lost her, but I promise, we'll be together forever."

Meryl peered down to him. "Vash, we don't even know if you can die."

He grinned. "Well, if anyone can kill me, it'd be you."

"That's not funny, Vash."

He cupped her hands about her bottom and drew her close, and then into his lap as he kissed her gently. He turned the chair toward the viewscreen. Rem lingered close, watching down on them.

"She would be so proud of you," the hologram said gently.

And then she faded away, leaving the lovers alone.

A little while later the door hissed open. This time Vash heard and they turned from the viewscreen to look at Morgante as he peered into the room.

"It's time."

July 29, Year 131, 3:36 a.m. – They no longer exist in this universe. At least, not as they did when they entered our world. It seems maybe they deserved better than the end as it was. Maybe their real lives will have some sort of closure that they couldn't possibly have had in their fourteen days on Gunsmoke. It was quite the scene there, in the Renaissance room. Knives lay them out naked on steel platforms, with metallic headbands that were connected to the plant, and from there Vash and I watched as their lives were slowly zapped away.

Knives explained it all, I think. I don't know if it made much sense. He said that he had to cut the flow of the brain-waves and then return them to the point of origin, meaning the real Faye, Jet, Spike, and Ed, back in a world that I've never known, but a world that was the home of my ancestors. I know that much because Earth was the origin of Project SEEDS. Supposedly their brain-waves will return to

I think maybe I'll miss them. I didn't know them well, but Jet seemed a good man, and Spike had a ruthless humor about him I think maybe I can relate to. But Faye, I think maybe she was a lot like me. Headstrong, determined. Ruthless in a more subtle, delicate way. For a long time I was dead set on duty. I wrapped myself up in it like a blanket, followed Vash wherever he went, because duty demanded it. Maybe Faye's a lot like that. Faye sought identity. I could see it in her eyes. Maybe that's what I sought, too. In the end, I don't think we really could have anticipated what we eventually found on the other side.

Maybe Faye will continue to search. I think, though, my search has come to an end. What matters now is Vash and the life he has given me. A fresh start. Meryl has Stryker, too, and I think maybe that'll be enough for her, a missing piece to a broken heart to mend what she lost when Nicholas died.

What an amazing turn of events. Just a day ago, eternity seemed to be fading to mere hours, with the possibility of ending at a moment's notice. But now eternity has become as it is meant to be.

The possibilities are boundless, and they begin at New Hope.

Knives. What of Knives?

I think maybe he will find his own peace. He has the Millennium Arc, and he seemed happy there. I don't know what path will decide his fate. I only hope he can find the peace he so deserves. Knowing now how Quinn twisted his life from the very beginning…

"Do you have to keep doing that? Watching you write is making my head spin."

She lifted her pen from the pages of her journal and cast Vash a sidelong glance. They sat in the back of Quinn's jeep. Stryker drove up front, Milly sleeping soundly as she cuddled close. "I'm putting my thoughts down on paper," she said, slightly peeved at his intrusion.

"And why's that?"

"Because I might not remember what I was thinking a few days down the road. That's what a journal is for, so you can remember moments like these later on. Since I'm not writing reports for Bernardelli anymore, I keep a journal. It keeps me sane."

Vash smiled and looked away. "Well, I think I'd just love to read some of it. You're always writing, but I never know exactly what you're thinking."

"Vash, what could you possibly want to find out from reading my…"

His grin was mischievous. Lowering his voice, he whispered in her ear. "'July 26, Year 131, 6:13 a.m. If looks could burn, this is a man who sends fire through my loins…'"

"Vash!" She gave him a swat with the little book, her face crimson. "Shut up! What are you doing reading my diary, anyway?"

He leaned forward, his smile teasing. "Oh, it's a diary now, is it?"

She flinched when she felt his hand on her. He was stroking her thigh lightly. She was still glowing bright red as she leaned her head against his shoulder. "Well, whatever it is, you can just stop reading it."

"You really think I'm an ox?" he whispered into her ear.

"Well, I'm not entirely sure what an ox is," she whispered back, "but if you don't shut up I'm going to start writing about how everything about you is big except your…"

"Hey! That's an outright lie!"

She grinned. "Vash, we both know the truth. But just so you know, a lot of times journals are used to record history, and their words are generally regarded as fact. So just think about that the next time you get it in your head to go through my things, okay?"

He gave her a look and pulled his hand from her thigh with a slow nod. They sat there for nearly a minute, listening to each other as they breathed softly in the night, listening to the roar of the engine as they headed north and the wind as it rolled gently over the desert. Finally, she reached out and took his hand gently, returning it to her lap. Her eyes sparkled up at him. "When we get back, you and I are going to have to take a very long vacation. Milly and Sean need it too."

"I can think of a few places I'd like to visit," he said, arching his brow.

"Me too," she said gently, rolling her thumbs slowly against his knuckles. She realized her heart was pounding and, as her choice words from the morning of July 26, that he was sending "fire through her loins." She moved his arm up so that he was hugging her and buried herself into his side.

He held her close for a time. His thoughts churned with wonderment at how this girl had come into his life, and now here she was, that she belonged to him and that, in turn, he would always be hers. It lifted his heart up and beyond the stars.

He kissed her head gently. "Meryl?"

"Yeah?"

He wet his lips, shifting so that he was peering down into her eyes as they shimmered back up to him. "Do you really think it's that big?"

Her eyes widened, at first in fear, and then she put her head in a trembling hand and started laughing. She laughed harder than he had seen her laugh in ages, probably harder than he had ever seen her laugh in all the time he had known her. He watched her, puzzled, and waited for her to calm herself. He could see Stryker's eyes in the rearview mirror, saw the cunning smirk on his lips as he peered back. Vash just shrugged and held her tighter.

"Meryl?" he said gently, coaxing her.

She lay against him for the longest time, grinning ear-to-ear as she clung to him. "It's a tough call," she said finally as she dried the tears from her eyes and patted his stomach lightly, "but I think maybe your heart is bigger."