15: Judgement Day
Millie frowned and tried to concentrate in putting the right DNA in the right place. Which was a task made increasingly difficult by Knives attentions.
The Plant in question was currently nibbling on her left hear, his hands roaming along the sides of her body. Had it been any other man, or any other time, she would have conked him one. As it was she could hardly do that. She needed him to help work out the equations, for one, and for another she could hardy blame him. The Plant song was really effecting him. She felt sure that, under any other circumstances, he'd never do such things.
She hated it, though, hated the feeling of his hands brushing over her, the heat of his breath whispering over her skin, the smell of the blood that still caked his clothes and flesh. At first she tried to pretend it was Nicholas, it was his hands and mouth travelling over her, the fragrance of his cigarettes scenting the air, but that soon became impossible. For whilst Knives and Nicholas shared an interest in her, that was all they shared.
As it was, apart from being extremely embarrassing, it was also not very constructive to her work. Millie had managed to fit most of the equations together, the DNA sequence was almost exactly right now, but there were still one more piece to fit, and Millie wasn't sure which code should go where. She had a fair clue but, really, it needed Knives mathematical ability. An ability he didn't seem that willing to give as he began to suckle on her neck.
'Mr Knives!' yelled Millie, struggling in his arms, trying to get his attention. 'Mr Knives! Please, concentrate! Just for one moment!'
Knives paused from biting her neck and, after a few seconds, drew away. He was pail and shaking, his blue eyes were bright with lust, sweat trickled down his face, smearing the blood stains there. His breath was coming in short gasps. Millie Thompson knew, right then, that it was only his phenomenal willpower which was stopping him taking her, right then and there.
'That one,' he rasped, pointing towards one of the chemical formula. Millie turned and selected it, it fitted in the correct place and the DNA sequence was complete!
Now it was just a matter of putting the sequence into the device Alex was using, but she'd no idea how to do that.
Perhaps sensing this, Knives leaned forward and, with trembling hands, quickly began to tap in a sequence of codes. In no time the screens flickered, a humming sound filled the room and then, as suddenly as it had started, it ended. The room went dark.
'It's done,' gasped Knives. 'The nano-bots have been reprogrammed.'
'Done?' squeaked Millie, joy and relief flowing through her veins. 'You mean we did it!'
'Yeah.'
'Yay!' Millie yelled. 'We did it! We did it! We did it!' she couldn't help but feel overjoyed. After all with any luck soon Mr Vash would be his old self and everyone would be happy! Soon she would be attending a wedding too! And she could wear a pretty dress and eat pudding and everything was going to be OK again!
She laughed with delight and jumped up and down, gripping Knives as she did so. She was surprised to see a smile, a real, honest smile creep across his face also, until it was alight with the same joy she felt.
'Mr Knives!' she giggled, 'we did it! We did-'
Her words were stopped as, Knives, still grinning and without any warning, leaned forward and kissed her.
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'I've got it!' yelled Alex, 'they've done it! The nano-bots have been reprogrammed!'
'Great!' shouted Meryl, who was currently backing up into a wall. 'Now use it!'
The Plant-Angel Vash was still advancing. He had landed on the floor and was taking slow, menacing steps towards her. Now he was so close that she could see the patters of crimson light dance around him, see the lusty glint in his eyes and make out the shape and texture of every feather. It was almost entrancing.
It surely seemed to have effected Alex. He just stood there, the nano-bot deprogrammer clutched in limp hands. His blue eyes were wide and shining, he seemed struck by the sight before him.
'So close…' he murmured. 'So close to Eden…'
'DO SOMETHING!' screamed Meryl, desperately. 'PLEASE, FOGET EDEN, JUST DO SOMETHING!'
Her words seemed to shake Alex out of his stupor, his eyes narrowed in determination and, tensing every muscle in his legs, he leapt forward. He landed right on Vash's back.
Vash screamed, a strange, inhuman sound. His aura shifted once more from ruddy red to brilliant orange, his wings beat the air furiously, his one hand clawed at Alex, trying to dislodge him, but the professor held on tight.
Vash's talon tipped hand tore through Alex's space suit, striking flesh, drawing blood. Alex screamed in agony bit did not let go.
Instead he brought one his hands out and pressed his device onto Vash's bare skin, he pushed a button and several LED's on the gadget lit up.
Vash still shook and wiggled, still screamed until, eventually, he managed to grab hold of Alex's space suit and pluck him of his back before flinging him across the room.
Alex fell onto the floor, gasped, and lay still.
Vash turned back to Meryl, his turning red again. For a moment Meryl wondered if it had failed, if they'd been too late…
Then, his aura shifted towards a paler colour, pink, rose, then white.
Vash stumbled, his feet suddenly unsteady beneath him, his face screwed up with confusion and, at last, he fell to his knees. A soft sound, like whimpering, escaped his thin lips and Meryl knew that, somewhere within him, nano-bots were quickly re-designing his DNA once more.
They'd succeeded.
Ignoring the stricken Vash for a moment, she ran around him, towards the prone form of Alex.
To her relief he groaned as she approached and, as she knelt down to check on him, she saw that he seemed more or less unharmed.
'Are you OK?' she asked.
'Yeah,' grunted Alex. 'My shoulder hurts but-' he looked up and an expression of horror contorted his features.
The next words he spoke caused Meryl's blood to freeze in her veins, caused her heart to miss a beat. They were words she'd often heard in the presence of Vash the Stampede and they were words she knew often spelled ultimate disaster.
'Uh oh…'
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Millie was so shocked by the actual kiss itself, she hardly registered when it ended. One moment Knives was holding her, his lips crushing against hers, his tongue invading her mouth, (he tasted of iron and salt and apples, oddly enough…) the next moment he was… gone.
Millie watched as he staggered backwards, away from her, a look of horror upon his gaunt features.
'Mr Knives?' Millie began, but Knives gave out a strangled shriek and pressed his hands against his head, his face contorting in pain.
For a moment Millie was clueless. Then she heard, in the background, the Plant song change.
She'd almost grown used to the eerie melody, she'd forgotten it was there save for its effects upon Knives, but now it was changing she became very much aware of it.
The haunting refrain of disjointed notes changed, became higher, more powerful, more frantic. It became a scream.
She winced, the horrible wailing set her teeth on edge. It was even worse than someone clawing at the black board.
But if she found it somewhat annoying, it seemed the purest agony for Knives. He'd sunk to his knees and was screaming himself now, howling in agony. Blood started spurting from his nose, tears flowed from his eyes until, at last, his cries began to fade away and his blue orbs rolled back into his head.
He collapsed onto the floor, unconscious.
Despite the previous events, Millie looked down upon him pityingly. It really hadn't been a good day for him.
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Meryl was no Plant Engineer, but she knew a melt down when she saw one.
The female Plant was shrieking, her alien features twisted in rage and despair. Her hand pummelled the side of the bulb, causing small cracks to appear. Her aura was going crazy, it flashed and shone in all directions, becoming so dazzling it was almost impossible to see the Plant within.
'What's happening to her?' asked Meryl.
'Well,' yelled back Alex, over the cacophony of screaming, 'what I think we're looking at here is a case of terminal sexual frustration!'
'You're saying she's going mad because she didn't mate with Vash?'
'Something like that, yes.'
Had this been any other situation, Meryl might have found this funny, as it was things were all too serious. As far as she knew there was only one being that could possibly calm an aggravated Plant and that was Vash. But Vash was in no state to comfort anyone, much less an enraged Plant.
'What do we do?' asked Meryl, turning to the resident Plant expert.
'I don't think there's anything we can do,' Alex called back. 'This looks pretty bad. We need to get out of the room. This chamber was built for melt downs like this, if we get out then we'll be OK.'
'Great,' grunted Meryl, getting up and moving towards the still recovering form of Vash. 'Help me with him!' she ordered.
Alex staggered over and together they managed to drag the semi-recumbent form of Vash, who groaned and hissed at their treatment of him.
The screaming of the Plant was getting louder, shriller and the light show was getting brighter. It felt as if something were burning the edges of Meryl's mind. It wouldn't be long until total melt down now.
At the threshold to the corridor Alex paused and looked back towards the stricken Plant, a thoughtful look upon his features.
'What are you doing?' asked Meryl. 'Hurry!'
'No,' said Alex. 'Listen, that Plant is the only thing powering this ship. There are some reserve power supplies, true, but they'll run out within the month. If this Plant goes, then the ship, the technology, the research goes to! I can't let that happen! I've got to try and stop it!'
'But Mr Adams-' Meryl protested. 'Y-you can't!'
'Don't worry about me,' said Alex. Stepping back into the Plant room, he punched the locking mechanism from the other side and the doors began to slide shut. 'I'll be fine. You just take care of-'
'No!'
It wasn't Meryl or Alex who said this word.
A hand, pale and covered in feathers, reached forward, stopping and pulling back the closing doors. It grabbed the shocked Professor and yanked him out of the room, the doors slid smoothly shut behind him.
Vash pulled Alex so close towards him their faces were mere inches apart. His next words were a soft, barely audible growl, spoken through a curled lip and spiked teeth.
'No! Not again!'
Then his feathered hand loosened its grip from Alex's shirt front and fell limp, Vash had passed out.
Behind them the screaming rose to a dreadful crescendo. The floor rattled beneath Meryl and Alex, sending them both tumbling to the floor as the Plant Chamber exploded.
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It was a few minutes later when they met up at the shuttle bay. Alex closed the outer doors, allowing air to once again rush into the bay, before opening the inner doors and letting them in.
Shortly after they dragged the unconscious Vash inside, (A feat made all the more difficult by the fact that neither Meryl nor Alex were very strong and Vash was heavier than he looked, especially with the extra weight of the wings.) Millie arrived carrying the equally unconscious Knives.
'Hello Ma'am!' she greeted, carelessly dumping Knives on the floor of the Lazarus. 'Did you manage to do it?'
'If you mean reverse those Nano-bots and stop Vash matting with the Plant, then yes. And see…' Meryl produced a white feather, grinning. 'He's shedding already!'
'That's great Ma'am!' laughed Millie. 'It'll be good to see things getting back to normal.'
'Yes it-' Meryl paused, blinked, and focussed in on something just left and below Millie's right ear. 'Millie,' she said slowly, her voice weighted with shock, 'is that a hicky!'
'Huh?'
'A hicky! A love bite! You have a love bite on your neck!'
Millie blushed bright crimson and self consciously began to turn up the collar on her shirt. she muttered something inaudible, not meeting Meryl's furious gaze.
The short insurance woman was quickly adding things up and had come to one, inevitable conclusion.
She was going to kill him. She was going to have his balls for breakfast. Million Knives was going to see what ultimate suffering really was!
'Millie…' she said, slowly, 'did he… did Knives…'
'It's OK ma'am,' protested Millie quickly, seeing that Meryl was going white from rage. 'Please don't blame him! He didn't do anything, he fainted and… and… he wasn't really in much control of his actions! Nothing else happened, I promise!'
Meryl's eyes narrowed in suspicion, then she sighed. Millie wasn't lying to her. She couldn't lie apart from anything. She lacked the imagination for it, not to mention the fact there wasn't a deceitful bone in her body.
'Alright,' Meryl said. 'But if he ever bothers you again I'm gonna…' she let her sentence trail of ominously.
'Is everything alright?' asked Alex, popping up unexpectedly from under one of the shuttle panels. He'd been spending a few minutes checking the controls.
'Its fine, Mr Adams,' said Meryl smoothly. 'Now I think we should be heading back to Gun Smoke. Millie can watch over Vash and Knives whilst you drive us back to Sky City.'
'Um… well… actually,' stuttered Alex, 'I was thinking… wondering… well, it's all automated, all that's really needed is someone to stand over the controls. And I… I was hoping I could watch over them… to… well… make sure they're alright. I am a Plant expert of sorts, after all…'
Meryl's mouth narrowed. 'Mr Adams,' she said, 'I think that, given what you've done you-'
'You'd be perfect to look after Mr Vash and Mr Knives,' said Millie, speaking over Meryl quickly. 'Me and Ma'am will be watching over the controls. You take care of them now!'
She grabbed hold of the startled Meryl's shoulder and roughly dragged her away until they were standing by the main console.
'Millie!' hissed Meryl angrily, furious that her partner had treated her, her superior, in such a manner!
'Please Ma'am!' said Millie in a low voice. 'Let Mr Adams be with them! He's their father and he's never spent any time with them. They're his family, Ma'am. He needs to be with them now at least!'
Meryl tried to stay angry, to be hard, but she couldn't manage it. Her anger drained away from her like water.
'Very well then,' she sighed, shoulders slumping in defeat, 'I suppose he does deserve that at least. Come on, Millie, let's go home.
Behind them Alexander Adams knelt down besides the slumbering forms of Vash and Knives.
He regarded them, gazing at them with newfound wonder, his progeny, his children, his sons.
One lay upon his back, the tatters of his blue coat splayed around him. He was covered in blood, both physically and metaphorically, his face pail and lined, showing the effects of pain and madness.
His twin's face was more innocent, but no less pained. Beneath the multitude of mutated feathers still covering his form like a white blanket lay the scars of a brutal, unfair life. A life full of needless trials, of humiliation, loss and ultimate sacrifice.
These were his sons.
His family.
He was finally with his family.
If only Rem could have seen this…
Very quietly, so that the women in the front would not hear, Alexander Adams put his head in his hands and started to cry.
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NEXT TIME: It's the last chapter and the penultimate part! So, Vash is recovering! Knives isn't molesting Milly... Alex seems to be regretting his actions… surely a happy ending for all is ahead, Right? Right…?