CHAPTER TWO: PLANT CHILDREN (last part of this chapter)

"I apologize if my past comments seemed inattentive," Knives offered, looking somewhat genuine.

Vanessa didn't reply, continuing to examine the side wound. "This will scar, but any day now you'll no longer need the bandages."

"Now please may we continue our conversation about your birth? You know our story, so it's only fair…" Knives insisted.

Vanessa explained all she knew, attempting to paint a more pleasant picture in his mind than was true. In great detail, told of her memories of the plant angel and the extraction. The plant angel had suffered when she was left within the bulb, and stopped output. The humans grew frustrated, and the plant angel struggled to keep the inner bulb clean and Vanessa fed (with the strange plant material she could produce). She told of the strange taste and feel of the plant material, as if a mixture of vegetable and meat. The extraction, and the aftermath, was told carefully. As she explained her deformities, she gestured to herself, her eyes, her ears, her back; she even let them peer into her mouth after she explained about the filing and lack thereof. She left out many details, such as the reason for her running away and the outcome of her dealings with the plastic surgeon.

The entire time, Knives sat in wide-eyed interest. In the warm sunlight, he seemed almost pleasant. His usual demeanor was hidden, until Vash began to comment.

"So no one raised you," Vash reflected. "That's awful Vanessa, you really missed out…"

"I disagree," Knives snapped. "How lucky she is to be without a Rem to cling to," he sneered in disgust, referring to Vash's baby-like behavior on the SEEDS ship.

The blood vacated Vash's face as he was once more reminded of the cause of all his troubles – this bedridden villain who by desperate misfortune had been born his companion.

Vanessa became angry. "You weren't listening were you!?" she asked Knives. "Like I said, my plant mother couldn't do anything for me besides feed me, and the only guidance I could have to learn any task came from humans!"

She turned to Vash, and added for comfort, "I wish I had had Rem as a mother, too."

He smiled cheerfully in thanks.

"ADOPTIVE mother," Knives corrected, arms crossed.

They sat in silence and discomfort.

"Vanessa," Knives broke in, "Your back…There may be clues of our true connection to the plants…Show me where the growth was."

"Hey, I'm the nurse here, not you," she argued, crossing her arms. "I'd really rather not."

"Show me," Knives commanded, growing angry. "You will not hide this from me."

Vanessa leaned back on her stool. "No!"

Knives narrowed his eyes. "If you refuse, I will destroy the town," he sneered, holding his left hand out towards the opposite wall.

Vash stood suddenly in alarm. "Knives, no!" he cried, reaching into his shirt for the gun.

But Vanessa touched his hand, a motion for him to stop. "It's okay, he can see."

She struggled to remain calm, and swiveled to face the wall. Swinging her hair over her shoulder, she eased her dress from her shoulders and let it fall in the back, holding the cloth firmly against her chest with both hands.

On her exposed back, they saw the myriad of scars. The grafted skin from the removal procedure left a deep grooved line in an awkward rectangle from her upper to lower back. Within the shape and outside it lay countless other scars, of various types and causes.

Vash was amazed – hers looked nearly as bad as his own.

But suddenly, Knives began to breathe heavily, his face twisting into an evil sneer. His pupils disappeared, and his arm began to form knives.

Vanessa pulled her dress back onto her shoulders, and turned to look in horror as his arm began to emit the light. She tumbled from her stool, and Vash followed.

"No!" Vash screamed, frantically thinking for a solution. He moved to protect Vanessa, but instead found her huddled on the floor, her face only inches from her open book.

Vash looked up again at Knives, whose transformation seemed difficult and sluggish due to his having been lethargic these weeks past. The knives grew longer and sickle-like as the formation swept up to Knives' face.

'You hid this from me,' Knives told Vash psychically. 'Why did you…'

Knives turned to Vash, and reached a blade towards his brother's head. Vash instinctively fell back, and used his arms to shield himself. The blade sliced easily into his right forearm, slowly moving towards the bone.

But Knives' face showed intense effort, and the knives seemed to waver, until they sunk back into his veins and the light faded.

Knives lay motionless against his pillow.

Vash sat up, sweating, his arm dangling at his side. "Oh my God, is he dead!?" he said, his voice choked with distress. Vash's forearm was cut to the bone, but his main concern was with his brother. He struggled to his knees and crawled towards the bed.

"He's…" Vanessa hoarsely whispered, "he's okay…asleep…" She was curled up on the floor, breathing strangely through gritted teeth. She was practically gasping for breath, sweat and tears rolling over her face. The skin of her face was bright red, but her hands were white and shaking as she gripped her book to her chest.

"I'm…sorry…" she whispered. "I should've known…he'd get…angry…but…" She kept her eyes shut tightly. "…Sorry…"

"It's a damn good thing we got home when we did!" Meryl exclaimed, her face red with fury. "You would've bled to death, you idiot!" She angrily bound up Vash's forearm. The bandage needed to be tight to seal off the bleeding, but her frustration made this task tighter than necessary.

"You two are lucky," Millie added, in a far more kind tone, "You're still alive."

Vash nodded in agreement, wincing.

"What are we going to do when he wakes up," Meryl asked soberly.

Vash looked at her sadly. He had no answer.

"He'll be asleep…for…a few days…" Vanessa whispered from where she lay on the couch. She had one eye cracked open, and was still breathing irregularly.

Meryl shuddered, thinking of how they had found her. She was cringing, baring her pointed teeth like a wild animal. That bitch, Meryl thought to herself, lying there like a frightened moron while Vash, passed out, bled like crazy only a few feet away! She should have at least had the sense to stop his bleeding!

Vanessa's eyes watered from the light, and she again shut them fiercely. "Vash, are you okay?"

Meryl clenched her fists at her sides. "No he's not okay! His arm was nearly cut off, you moron!"

Vanessa tucked her chin against her chest. "I…I'm sorry."

Vash grinned through his pain. "Don't worry about me," he replied.

"You need it stitched tight or it won't heal," Vanessa commented. "But I don't think I can do that now…"

Vash looked to her, realizing how she was affected. She was turned from the light as much as she could, her eyes watering and quivering as though they hurt miserably. She shivered with exhaustion.

"So you CAN do things - with the book...." he murmured.

"What are you talking about?" Millie asked, handing Vash a glass of water before taking a cold washrag to Vanessa's forehead.

Vash lifted the cup to his lips with his false arm, eyes narrowed in concentration.

Meryl leaned over and whispered in his ear. "You mean like your angel arm?"

He nodded. "I think so."

"This combination is far too dangerous," Meryl whispered furiously. "She can't stay here, riling him up like that!"

Vash cast her a surprised look.

"I know; I'll leave soon," Vanessa muttered from across the room, her sensitive ear showing through a mass of hair.

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