Chapter 2

Sympathy for the Devil

A man walked through the desert, his steps were slow and steady, his gaze, hidden beneath dark, sharp, sunglasses,(1) was directed determinedly towards the horizon. Occasionally he shifted the sack slung across his back to a more comfortable position, but other than that his stride was regular and continuous.

After a while he paused, spying something in the distance. He stood still, watching the object come closer, when it came within shouting distance he called to it.

'Hey, you! Stop!'

His voice, deep and even, held a commanding tone which made the figure, a woman clad in black leather and various weapons, to do as she was bidden.

'What?' she asked, he noticed that her voice held an edge of terror about it.

'I was wondering, there's a town up ahead, correct?'

'Y-Yes.'

'Do you know if Vash the Stampede lives there?'

The woman nodded violently, her entire body trembling with the force of her bobbing head, 'yes he does,' she said, 'but if I were you, I'd stay well away from him. The man's a monster! Not human! No amount of money is worth it, friend.'

'Oh really?' sneered the man.

'Definitely, he-' the woman paused, her eyes narrowed, 'hold on… I know you, I've seen you.'

'You have?'

'Yeah, on wanted posters! You're Knives 'The Razor' Bluesummers, aren't you!'

She drew her out a machine gun, which had previously been slung across her shoulders, she grinned wickedly, 'you may not be worth nearly as much as Vash the Stampede, 'The Razor,' but you'll do! Now stay still or I'll pump you full of lead!'

The man sighed and pulled of his black shades, revealing eyes the same colour as the blue trench coat that was draped across his slender form. But these eyes were icy blue, so cold they could freeze fire, 'I don't suppose,' he drawled, 'you'd believe me if I told you that I was Vash's twin brother?'

'No way in hell, sonny boy.'

'I thought not… they never do…' the latter was sighed under his breath as, slowly, he reached to his side.

'Hold it,' shrieked the woman, 'don't you dare try to draw! No one can outsmart or outfight Ilyana the Destroyer… well, with the possible exception of Vash the-'

Once again, she didn't get much further with her tirade before the man known as Knives 'the Razor,' Bluesummers brought his leg up, kicking her in the stomach. As she fell he reached forward with one hand, snatching the machine gun from her grip and, with his other hand, brought out his own weapon.

She looked up at him, he was smiling though his grin held none of the strange warmth that Vash the Stampede's had, it was twisted and mocking.

'You know,' he said smoothly to the gasping woman, his gun pointed at her head, 'no one ever listens to me. You'd do a lot better if-'

'I know, I know,' the woman half whimpered, 'become a merchant, right?' She straightened up and began backing away from Knives, who kept his gun trained on her. He noticed that a vain in her head was throbbing lightly, she had a manic grin plastered across her face.

'Or was it a wife? Maybe a merchant's wife! Or a merchant of wives… perhaps a wife's merchant… yeah, and kick their asses! HAHAHAHAHA!'

Her laugh was a cross between a manic giggle and a scream, 'have a nice life!' she shrieked before turning on her heel and fleeing, running into the wasteland still giggling manically.

Knives watched her go, a rather shocked look on his face. Eventually he sighed, 'strange creature,' he muttered under his breath, before slipping his sun glasses back on.

He dropped the machine gun in the sand, holstered his own weapon and started off once more, moving forward towards the town where his brother had taken up residence.

'Meryl,' the voice was a soft, breathy whisper, barely audible.

'Yes?' asked the short insurance girl, leaning over her stricken patient.

'Please… I… I need…'

'Yes?'

'I would like…'

'Yes?'

'A dozen doughnuts and a bottle of Wild Turkey.'

Meryl hit her patient over the head with a pillow.

'Hey!' yelped Vash, raising his arms to fend off her attacks, 'is that any way to treat a dying man!'

'You're not dying you faker,' sniped back Meryl, 'you're not even that sick! You're just using it as an excuse to force us to do everything for you!'

'Am not!'

Meryl opened her mouth to say something more when there was a knocking at the door.

'I'll get it!' she called out to Millie before storming out of the room, giving Vash an ugly look.

She marched to the door, wondering who it could be? It was a Sunday so there wouldn't be anyone from work asking why she was absent.

She'd taken the week off to care for Vash, though she wasn't sure he really needed her attention. He was ill, that she couldn't deny, though undoubtedly not as ill as he pretended he was. So far his main symptoms had been dizziness, odd cravings, general weakness and occasional fainting spells. Nothing so much dangerous as it was strange but, though Meryl didn't want to show it, she was concerned. She'd never known Vash to be ill before.

She reached the door and pulled it open, reminding herself to be polite even though she wasn't in much of a mood for visitors.

At the sight of the tall, blue eyed, pale haired man Meryl's heart stopped and not in a good way.

'Hello Mr Knives!' chirped Mille the hallway behind her, greeting the ex-murderer in her usual, easy going manner, 'I like your new coat.'

At her companion's words Meryl's mind snapped into gear, there was the sound of rusting cloth, clicking mettle and a brief blur of movement.

Knives found himself looking down the barrel of a derringer.

'Hello Miss Tomas, Miss Rife,' said Knives dryly, 'still as friendly and welcoming as ever, I see,'

'It's Millie Thompson and Meryl Strife,' growled Meryl, 'and what the hell are you doing here? You and Vash aren't supposed to meet up for-'

She didn't get any further before she was interrupted by the overjoyed scream of 'KNIIIIIIIIIIIVES!' and the large shape of Vash the Stampede jumped straight over her and barrelled into the stunned Knives.

'Get off me,' growled Knives from underneath the body of his over enthusiastic brother, who was hugging him desperately.

'Aren't you supposed to be lying in bed?' deadpanned Meryl.

'He must be feeling a lot better!' said Millie, 'but my big sister always said that, when you're ill, the best place to be is with your family!'

Not when it's his family thought Meryl, as she watched the manic gunslinger extricate himself from his brother, 'sorry,' he said, 'it's good to see you Knives. But what are you doing here? We're supposed to meet in Angel's Rest in three weeks time.'

'I didn't think you'd be well enough,' replied Knives picking himself up off the dirt and dusting himself down, 'so I decided to come to you.'

'How did you know I was sick?'

'You told me, in those dreams you keep sending me, with the vampire butterflies? Nice going there, I've hardly had a wink of sleep in the past week.'

'That explains why you're so crabby,' said Vash, 'sorry about the dreams, I didn't know you'd get them… how did you pick up on them, any how?'

'I don't know. I presumed you were sending them to me, trying to get a message through.'

Vash shook his head, for the first time looking solemn. Meryl wished she could fully understand what they were blabbing on about.

'Well then,' sighed Knives, rubbing his back, 'let me in and we'll talk.'

'Hold on!' Meryl yelled, crossing her arms, 'think for a moment, Broom Head, are we just going to let him in? How do we know he's not the one making you sick?'

'But Meryl,' whined Vash, 'he's changed! He wouldn't do anything like that, would you Knives?'

He looked to his brother who frowned and shook his head.

'So? Who's to say he wasn't just pretending, or that he hasn't changed back! You know what he's capable of, Vash, better than anyone.'

'Miss Strife,' said Knives smoothly, a cold smile crossing his features, 'if, theoretically, I was behind my Brother's illness, then why would I be here anyway, when it is logical that I too would be susceptible? Also, my talents, many as they are, do not stretch to bio-engineering and even if they did, wouldn't it be more likely that I would Bioengineer a plague to wipe out the human population, rather than going after my idiot of a brother who couldn't stop it any how?'

'I agree,' put in Vash, his voice solemn, 'aside from everything else, this just isn't your style.'

'So good to have you behind me on this, Vash,' remarked Knives dryly.

'Can't stab me in the back that way,' Vash retorted.

'Well then,' said Millie, grinning and clapping her hands together, seemingly oblivious to the tense nature of the situation, 'let's go in! Who'd like some coffee?'

Fifteen minutes later Knives and Vash were sitting at the kitchen table, the girls having gone out to do, Meryl claimed, some shopping.

They sat quietly, tending cups of steaming coffee, neither sure of what to say next.

'So…' said Vash, 'how was it… your year, I mean…?'

'It was… interesting,' replied Knives, his voice reserved.

'Interesting? How so? You didn't… you didn't kill…'

'No,' snapped Knives, 'of course not, I promised you I wouldn't and I didn't but…' he gritted his teeth, 'damn Vash,' he spat, 'it's just useless!'

'Huh?'

'Useless! When I left Angel's Rest a year ago I left looking for answers. I left with an eye to finding the truth, finding the way to Eden, finding out what the true nature of Humans was, if they weren't spiders.'

'And?'

'And it's… it's impossible! I swear it, absolutely impossible! Every time I think I've found an answer, I'm proved wrong. I've seen people be so kind and then so vicious! I've seen a man rescue and tend a wounded animal with such tenderness… then the next day beat his own child to a bloody pulp! They cling onto life with manic desperation, but so many of them just waste it getting drunk or risking their lives needlessly! They're so full of contradictions it's… it's… incomprehensible!'

Vash grinned, 'yeah, I know,' he said, 'great, isn't it?'

Knives gave him a dour look.

'Listen,' sighed Vash, 'I said you should go and find answers, I didn't say it was going to be easy, or that what answer you find will be right. I looked for over a century, trying to find my answer whether I knew it or not, and even now I'm not completely sure it's right.'

Knives sighed and buried his head in his hands, 'honestly Vash,' he muttered, 'setting me such an impossible task… sometimes I think you're far more evil than I ever gave you credit for.'

'Thanks… I think. So, are you going to continue looking?'

'Probably, the year's not quite over yet. But one way or another, I won't stop searching. Ever since I was young, I've wondered who I was, what we were doing here, what we were meant for, how we fit into this,' he waved his arms round vaguely, 'I'm not going to stop asking those questions. The only issue is how I ask them.'

Vash frowned at Knives over his coffee but said nothing.

'So,' continued Knives at last, 'what exactly is wrong with you and how bad is it?'

Vash filled his brother in with the symptoms of his ailment, 'it's getting worse,' he added, 'I've not been letting onto the girls of course, but I am getting weaker and weaker. The cravings are lessening a bit, but I'm beginning to get this… itchy feeling all over my skin and…'

'Yes?'

Vash sighed and looked around, as if checking to see no one was spying on them. Then he quickly undid the top buttons on his shirt, pushing the garment open so that his brother could see his bare shoulders.

Shoulders which were covered in soft white, downy feathers.

Knives openly gawped, at a complete loss for words, Vash pulled his shirt closed.

'Please,' he said, 'don't tell the girls about it yet, I don't want to worry them.'

'When did this start?' asked Knives, recovering himself somewhat.

'About two weeks ago, that's when I started feeling weaker than usual, though the feathers are very recent. I saw the doctor a few days back, but he had no idea.'

'I wouldn't think he would,' said Knives, 'this isn't a human disease, that your telepathy has been effected also proves that beyond doubt.'

'Yeah, I gathered that by the dream thing. Knives this is… scary.'

Though he wouldn't admit it, Knives was inclined to agree. What could be causing this? Plants, to his knowledge, were immune to disease and even if they weren't, surely he would be the one more likely to catch such a plague, rather than Vash. He'd spent more time with Plants after all. Could it be some sort of Plant/human cross breed virus? That would make some sense, but how would such a disease come into being in the first place? So maybe it wasn't a disease… maybe it was an evolution. He had theorized, once, that their current form was some sort of evolutional defect, or maybe a larvae form, ready to mutate into something else. Yet, once again, if that was true then he would be the one effected first, surely? He was the one who'd explored his plant abilities the most. Why Vash? Could it be poison of some sort? That made some sense, if not for the strange effects. Knives was no expert on toxins, but he felt sure it would be a strange venom indeed if it was having this sort of an effect on his brother.

Whatever it was, it was like nothing he had ever encountered before and it was probably going to be very difficult to reverse, or even stop.

But there was no reason to worry Vash, he'd do his best. All he knew at the moment was that there must be a reason it had happened now, some sort of trigger, whether it be another person with the disease, some merging with a fellow plant or some poisoned produce.

'Don't worry brother,' soothed Knives, 'we'll work this out. Now tell me, what have you been doing differently that could have caused this?'

'I don't know… nothing much really…'

'Think back, Vash, has anything unusual happened recently?'

'Knives, in my life unusual things are the usual.'

'Can you stop being smart ass for one moment and answer my question?'

'And that,' Vash said, an hour later, 'is all the unusual things that have happened to me this month.'

Knives muttered something under his breath and took a swig of his coffee. The he realized it had gone cold, made a face and spat it back out.

'Well then,' he said, 'I suppose I'd best start investigating then.'

'What do you mean?'

'I mean I'm going into town, to ask some questions, I might learn something new.'

'OK Knives,' Vash said in a sing-song voice, 'but remember, be friendly and nice! Really, it can get you a long way. People are more likely to want to help you if you flash them the odd smile.'

'Don't worry,' assured Knives, 'I will.'

(1) Somewhere out there, if you search, there's a picture from the Manga of Knives wearing shades. I'm talking about those shades. They're nifty cool!

Notes:

I'm not that happy with this chapter, to be honest, but rest assured that it is, in my opinion, the worst chapter in the story. It gets better from here on in.

At the moment the Review Replies will be answered here, but if it gets too extensive I may move it to my LJ. (Where, I might add, some of my other fic is held, go check it out!)

Review Replies:

Angelstryke: Nice to see you back! Missed you lots, I hope your story is going well. Anyhow, I am trying to give this fic a more anime-ish feeling in tone and mood, hence the large amounts of humour that will keep cropping up (though there'll be more serious stuff in here too.) And yes, lots more Meryl to come. Gods she's fun to write! And Meryl-Knives interactions just… well, they just rock. Oh, and thanks for reminding me about the Next Time blurbs… I'd quite forgotten about those… heheheh…

Jillian S: Thanks! That's really great coming from a talented writer like you! I hope I continue to impress, please keep reviewing!

Hope-is-4ever: Bad girl! Not reviewing my fic! I think I might cry now… But seriously, I'm sorry about the angst, will this fic be angst-ridden? I don't know, depends on your perception. It will certainly have angst in it, but there'll be fun stuff here too. So it's a matter of opinion, I guess. I'm going to try and update this somewhere between once a week and once a month, depending on the amount of reviews I get. I don't mind holding off a bit. But, with any luck, I WILL continue to post, so never lose hope.

Aine of Knockaine: I do hope you like How Far is Eden? I've been told it's one of the best Trigun fics out there so…

Is Vash Pregnant? Well… we'll have to see, won't we:evil grin:

Reiora: Yma rejoices that Rei has reviewed! Yma is glad that the second chapter is unique, and hopes this one will be too. Yma hopes Rei continues to review! (Or should that be Rei-view?)

LeDiz Yay! No, you're not reading too much into Rem being there… but that will be saved for later (: Glad the second chapter was creepy. Though I'm not sure that was the effect I was going for… ah well. You liked Ilyana? Hope you enjoyed her meeting Knives here too! Poor girl… I do try very hard to keep to the mood of the Anime here, I feel it's necessary. I wonder… is it possible to make that sandwich? (NOTE, on Gunsmoke, sandwiches do live up to their name!) Now there's a challenge for you. I'm happy that the dream went well, dreams are very cool and fun to write… but then this is coming from the person who relishes writing insane characters. Thanks for the corrections, I'd no beta-reader for this, so no time to fix such corrections. See you next time?

Inkydoo: Glad this fic is 'totally good,' please keep reviewing!

J: Ah, a nice short name. Gotta love it. Sorry this chapter is so short, but they'll get longer/better from here on in. Thanks for the complements!

NEXT TIME: Rumours, ghosts, madmen and confectionary items all come under the scrutiny of Million Knives Bluesummers gaze. Meanwhile, Meryl grouches, Millie cries, and Vash… does his thing.