Sorry for the lack of updates! Been excrutiatingly busy. This might be a tad short, but I'll add to it later. Just wanted to get something out for you hungry, ravenouse fans...so here ya go!!! First though, my responses:
Missa Chan: Thanks sooo much for your support! ::blushies:: Love ya lots buddie!
Puffin: Thank you lots and lots! I'm glad you enjoyed it! teehee
Z.A.G.: Yeah, buddie, gotta watch those onions...but yes, onions and steak is very scrumptious...::drools:: Poor Knives, being tortured so...you're evil! just kidding...but then again, you did say you want to be just like Knives...A Homocidal Maniac (Like Johnny...::snort::) and biting people's eyes out...which is definitely possible....i've done it before....except not....
AS OF 7-25-04!!!
I am back! With more story! ::thunderous applause...then crickets...:: I know, I know, I'm a bit of a slacker, but I just got back from vacation so nyaa!! Not a new chapter yet, more on this one, but I'm working on it as we speak. I did go back and I do want to change a few things in the story, but I'll be doing that once I'm done with it otherwise I'd never get to the end! Now for my replies!
angelarms: Thanks! I'm very proud to be on your favorites! ::blushies::
puffin: of course Vash-san can draw! and who said she was? o.O ....dun dun dunnn!!
Madam Midnight: HA! that's what you think....sweet? I think not! lol well I guess it is right now so you're right heheh, but! I plan on bringing out the dark cobweb-laden corners of Vash out into the light! mwahahhaahar!
TheHomicidalManiac777: Thankies! I try to update as much as I can!
The next week was harsh for the three of them. Milly went to Doc's for testing and advice every few days while Meryl was at work, leaving Vash at home with Knives. Knives seemed to grow a bit stronger everyday though he was still unconscious most of the time. But when he did show some signs of life, they were subtle and his face twitched slightly as if his eyelids were made of lead and refused to open. Vash tried to get some food in his stomach and one day succeeded in getting Knives to swallow a spoonful of applesauce, but that was it. Vash propped Knives up into a sitting position against some pillows and tried to talk to him, but his head just hung there as if he were a rag doll. In the end, Vash decided it was best to just leave Knives alone most of the time and ended up drawing on a sketchpad most of the day. He was getting much better at drawing and ended up creating hilarious pictures of Milly, himself, and even Meryl who he found was also fun to draw.
One day, Vash found himself staring at the last page on the sketchpad. He also found himself without any ideas. His eyebrows knitted together as he rested his head against his prosthetic arm and he traced a circle over and over again. He absentmindedly added lines and more circles to the doodle. Then he added details and was about to begin shading when he realized what he had done. Without knowing it, he had drawn a picture that looked extraordinarily like the short insurance girl. "You are a piece of work," he spoke to the drawing. "You know that, right? Leave me here without you and you just have to pop up again somewhere else!" He laughed softly and stood up to grab some of Milly's famous pudding when he stopped. Picking up his pencil once more, he leaned over the picture and drew a heart. Inside the heart he wrote ALWAYS in flowing letters. He then tore the picture out of the sketchpad, folded it in half, and stuck it under his mattress on the floor.
A soft, weak moan came from behind him. Vash turned quickly and saw Knives' face scrunch slightly. "Knives?" Vash said softly. Knives' hand twitched. "Knives, can you hear me?" Knives stopped moving and his face relaxed. Vash sighed and turned around.
"V-Vash?" The sound was so quiet that it could have been mistaken for a gentle breeze flowing through the open window. However, Vash's sharp ears caught the soft sound and slowly turned around. He gasped as he watched his brother struggle to move. Beads of sweat formed on Knives' forehead as he reached with a shaking hand toward his brother. "Vash…it hurts…."
Vash was there by his side in a split second, just as Knives lost consciousness once again. He was limp in Vash's arms, his breathing gradually slowing back to normal. Vash sat there, his tears flowing slowly down his face and onto his brother's. He cradled his brother's thinning body, hoping for a day when his Knives would be able to be happy and laugh and be a renewed brother, hoping that a day like that could come soon. Instead, Vash found himself hating himself for ruining his brother's life. Hating the way Knives was treated on the SEEDS ship all those years ago and the way he grew to hate all humans. Hating his own life knowing there were even better options to get through everything that happened and knowing that the scars on his body and in his mind may never fully heal. Hating…hating the way he hated so much at the moment.
And yet…deep down inside, Vash knew that he had so much to be thankful for. He saved so many lives, he saved his brother's life, and he saved the girls' lives. He even saved Nick's life a few times. And even though he died in the end, Vash knew that Nick was thankful for the friendship they had. "I can't save everyone from death," Vash said softly. "But I can help make this world a better place. And as long as I live, I will."
Vash carefully placed Knives back onto the bed and covered him with the wrinkled sheets. He stood up and walked over to the large bowl of pudding, grabbed a spoon, and ate in silence.
That night Meryl, Milly and Vash were sitting around the table playing a game of poker. Their dirty dishes were piled neatly in the sink, forgotten at the moment. Vash had been almost unusually quiet, but the girls decided to let it rest. They both knew that he had a right to act that way as much as they did from time to time. Milly was doing exceptionally well and had won twelve rounds in a row. Finally, they got bored of the game and ended up talking about random things, rumors and joking about this and that.
"You know what? I think I have a few names I could name my child when it's born!" Milly declared at a rather random moment. Vash flashed a true smile and said, "Really? That's great! What names were you thinking of?"
"Well, if it's a boy, I think I would name him Nicholas, after my Nick. I think he would be honored," she said with a misty look. Both Meryl and Vash nodded in agreement. "What if it's a girl?" Meryl asked.
"Well, I was thinking Nicole at first, but I think I like Dokora better, in honor of Nick's middle name."
Vash made a strange face and said, "I hope that's not a nickname and she'll really be called his whole name! Could you imagine her trying to introduce herself? 'Hi, I'm Dokonokuminomonjawaresumakinishiteshizumetarokakora, but you can call me Dokora!'" The girls laughed hysterically as Vash made a horrified face. He couldn't hold the face for long and ended up on the floor with them hiccupping.
That night Vash laid curled upon his mattress on the floor. He couldn't sleep; thoughts kept swirling around in his head. Some happy, others ones he didn't want to think about but couldn't easily push away. He was beginning to remember parts of his past that he couldn't remember for the longest time. The thoughts that he lost when his angel arm was used. In these renewed thoughts he could clearly remember the many things that impacted him throughout his long life. Surfacing visions of when he wandered aimlessly along the sandy planet with Knives before he was given his upside-down .45 Long Colt. So much time taken to create a gun that at that moment Vash saw as nothing more or less than a simple weapon. Yet even though Knives created the bane that destroyed so much on the planet on which innocent and guilty people alike tried to survive, Vash knew that Knives also had a sense of reasoning even though Vash didn't agree with him.
Vash remembered their conversations from after the fall and could remember every single detail from the way the wind was blowing at the particular moment to the way the horizon played tricks on his mind as the heat made ripples in the sky. He remembered one memory in particular, and as he sleepily closed his eyes, it replayed in his mind…
-125 years ago-
"Knives, where are we going? We've been walking for days."
"Does it matter, dear brother? This world is rightfully ours; it's our home so why should it matter at all? However, whatever way we go now, there is filth in our way that needs to be disposed of," Knives said, frowning. "We'll just have to destroy them all one by one and it's not our problem if they get in our way. It's not our decision of who dies first because we didn't tell those spiders where to live and if they get in our path, it's their destiny to die. Don't you agree, brother?"
Vash stopped and glared at Knives. "No, Knives, you know I don't agree! You know it. It's not our decision of who dies and who lives! Remember? Rem was right about this, Knives! You're big ego is blinding you from the truth!"
Knives grabbed Vash's collar, positively seething. "You can't learn everything you need to know to live from one insignificant person, Vash! I learned things from Rem, yes, but living with the rest of the crew on that stupid ship made me realize so much more! I found out so much more just by watching them. They were vile, reeking, dumb animals and that's all! We're nothing like them! We are superior to all spiders! That dumb crew, including Rem, tried to make plants seem equal to them! And do you know why, Vash?"
Vash was frozen to the spot and didn't move, because he knew that if he did, Knives might realize that Vash was completely frightened by his brother's insane eyes.
"Because they are afraid," Knives hissed, dragging out each word.
"Vash! Vash wake up! Vash! Oh, god…. VASH!"
He bolted from his mattress on the floor, entangling himself in the thin sheet. "Whaizid?" he asked stupidly. Meryl was backed up against the wall, her eyes full of fright. Milly was sitting in between Vash's mattress and Knives' bed and was nearly in tears. Knives was screaming like a banshee and his arms were nearly ripping the sheets in half.
"Knives? Knives, wake up!" Vash cried, trying to hold down his brother's arms that were tearing at the bed. His eyes were wide open and tears flowed from them onto the sheets. He lurched forward and made a grab toward his legs but Vash held him back.
"VASH! MAKE IT STOP! MAKE THE PAIN STOP!! THERE'S SO MUCH PAIN!! GAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!!"
"Meryl!" Vash yelled and the insurance girl jumped. "Meryl, go and get Doc! HURRY!" Meryl nodded and sprinted out the door. "Milly, do we have anything to numb him at the moment?"
"We only have one try of ice cubes left, will they work?" she said, tears still flowing from her own eyes.
"They'll have to. Put them in a bag, we'll numb his legs until Doc gets here..."
