CHAPTER NINETEEN: Thank You and Goodbye

"Please, where is she?" Vash demanded at the Agency Reception Desk, stern, but trying to be polite. "Where are they?"

"Mr. Saverem…" the woman began, looking worried.

Her superior stepped forward and nodded to the receptionist. "It's alright, you can tell him. See, it's after fifteen hundred."

"Mr. Saverem, they're in holding bay twelve," she explained softly.

"Thank you," Vash muttered absentmindedly as he ran off.

Corridor to corridor, he dashed through the labyrinth of the building, counting down from the rooms. "Sixteen," he whispered. "Fifteen."

"Fourteen. Thirteen. TWELVE."

The door shuttered open uneventfully, and Tessla smiled up at her father. Vash ran down the catwalk to the bay floor.

Grabbing his knees for stability, he crouched down to catch his breath. He glanced about, looking for a piece of equipment out of place, or a figure prone in some way.

"Daddy, what happened to your face?" Tessla exclaimed sadly, rushing to him and checking his cheek.

"Where is she?" Vash panted, ignoring her trivial comment. "Where's Vanessa?"

Tessla helped her father to his feet. "She's gone, daddy," she explained, smiling. "It was quick."

Vash saw her glance at a particular bit of equipment across the room, hidden in the corner. Rushing to it, he saw that it was out of place, unlike the other crafts and devices in the room. He felt its surface – it was warm.

"…Just a shell!" he heard Tessla shout, missing the other things she was yelling, out of pure shock.

Wildly pressing at panels and decals, he tried to open the thing. It was sort of conical, with 'feet' of sorts planting it to the floor. "How do I get it open," he murmured, tears falling from his eyes at last.

Tessla was now approaching him calmly, sticking her tongue out cutely. "Why would you wanna open it?" she wondered aloud. "Kind of pointless."

Vash whirled around to face her. "Tessla! Pointless!? Argh!" he yelled, frustrated beyond belief. He was sobbing. "How could you!? How could you!?"

Sighing, Tessla reached out to hug her father. "Everything's fine now. This is what she wanted."

"How…How could…"

Tessla felt his hot tears on her shoulder. "Daddy, it's ok. Really. It's ok now."

"How can you say that," he whispered, muffled.

She chuckled. "Didn't you get her note?"

The sobs got heavier. "Why…Vanessa…why…"

"She told you why, in the note, didn't she, daddy? You DID get her note, didn't you?"

"Yes, I got the note," he grumbled. Attempting to compose himself, he sniffled, eyes red. "Open it for me, please," he insisted, stepping away from her and gesturing towards the device, 8 feet tall at its highest point.

Rolling her eyes, she tapped upon a panel nearby. With a hiss and clang, it opened at the center, a circular door lifting to expose a dark center. She watched her father step inside slowly and survey the inside.

"Where is she!?" he called out bitterly, his voice echoing from the surfaces inside. Ducking his head around the entryway to look back at her, he narrowed his eyes. "Tessla, where is Vanessa?"

"Daddy, she's GONE." Tessla was growing impatient. Why couldn't her father just accept it?

"But where's her body?" he asked, sobbing again.

"Her…body?"

"She should be…buried…properly…"

Tessla pursed her lips, brows furrowed.

"For God's sake, Tessla, your mother deserves to be buried!"

She began to laugh.

Vash's sobs interrupted his words. He slid down onto his rear, sitting limp on the floor. "You…and…her…and…how…could…you…help…her…kill…her…self…?" he squeaked, nose dripping.

Tessla held her sides as she laughed, tears rolling down her cheeks as well. "Daddy, take a chill pill! This isn't about suicide!"

Vash sobbed miserably.

"So THAT's why you're crying! No, she's not dead, she didn't kill herself. I helped her leave, that's all!"

He peered up at her miserably. "What…?"

Laying her hand on the warm surface, Tessla smiled. "This is the launch pod. It's the shell of the craft. She's way, way, deep in space by now," she pointed out, eyes to the open sky above her. The bay's ceiling panels were retracted.

Vash had misinterpreted the note. She was leaving the planet! He stood, hugging Tessla more calmly now.

XXXX

Vash found confirmation of her choice in her home. He visited there with Tessla later that day. He was pleased to see her face light up when she saw the art work, in spite of herself.

The curtain was crumpled on the floor below the painting it had concealed. A face stared up over Vash's head, causing him to pause in contemplation. Then it hit him – her decision was clear and he felt no mistrust. She was doing something dangerous, but understandable, he supposed.

He vowed to live that life she'd wished for him, and left smiling, arm in arm with his daughter. They visited the camouflaged home of paintings often as years passed.

The most striking wallspace was the previously curtained part. It was the best portrait Vanessa had ever painted. This image of Knives was impeccable.

XXXX

Stepping into the innermost greenhouse, he felt refreshed from his shower. Knives grabbed a towel to dry his hair, then pulled on his patched jeans. Something caught his eye from the far doorway of his shack. Turning, he stood calm. He'd seen many such visions before. "Hi, Vanessa," he called solemnly.

She lifted her head to look to him. She'd been turned away to give him privacy, since when she'd first peered into the greenhouse he'd been walking into it nude. "Sorry," she called, standing upright and smiling. "I really can't have kids, now. But I wanted to come and see you, anyways. If you don't want me around without the promise of plant babies, you can just kill me. I'm fine with that," she rattled off, reciting something she'd gone over many, many times on the long ride to Gunsmoke. She smiled again, warm and honest.

Knives stopped rubbing his hair with the towel and walked towards her. His legs seemed more and more shaky the closer he got. Finally, he stepped a few paces in front of her and stood still. His eyes welled up with tears.

"The humans didn't do anything cruel to me. And Vash and Tessla are fine, too. Tessla's policing Earth now, keeping mankind in check. The parasites you hated so much – they won't be acting very destructive anytime soon." Vanessa grabbed for his left hand and squeezed it with hers. "You've been busy, huh, Knives?" she asked, waiting to be struck down with blades.

He just stood there, dumbfounded. His eyes were weary. "Vanessa?"

She nodded.

Knives looked deeply hurt. "How could you-"

"I know, but I couldn't come back and give you the chance to make your plant army again, so I had to-"

"How could you think I'd hurt you?" he asked. "I'm not going to…kill you…"

They stood in silence for a while as Knives' mind absorbed the situation. "So…are you going back?"

"Neither of us ever are."

He nodded, staring down at his hand in hers. There were the scars – so many scars, but they didn't sting him quite like they once did. Something was odd.

"Are you hungry?" he asked softly.

"Yeah, kind of."

"The tomatoes and cucumbers are ripe this week," he murmured.

"That sounds good," she replied, smiling. "So, um, are you still planning to kill the humans?"

He peered over to a tree. "I haven't been thinking about that for a while now. I guess I'm not planning on it, no."

"That's good."

He took her hand in his and paused, wondering what to do next. Dropping her hand, he remembered how he'd forced her to hold his hand in the desert. "Sorry."

She took his hand in hers again and nodded. "It's ok, now. This is different."

Knives stared into her face for an awfully long time, causing Vanessa to break into little snickers.

Finally, Vanessa gestured at the vast foliage around her. She'd seen the massive acreage of greenery upon descent. Clearing her throat, she peered up at him warmly with her good eye. "I like what you've done with the place."