CHAPTER FOUR: DISHARMONY (continued1)

"Where's Vash?" Vanessa asked apprehensively as she entered the cave to find Knives reading alone. She wore her tan sundress again, as the purple one was once again hung out to dry.

Knives looked up, smiling. "Out using the 'facilities.'"

"Huh? Oh." She walked around him, dropping her basketful of cleaned clothes to fold.

Knives closed his book and stood. "I need to tell you something. It's quite important."

"What is it, then?" Vanessa asked, rather uninterested through her worry.

Knives walked towards her. "Follow me, we need to leave the cave first."

Vanessa pulled away. "No way I'm going into the desert with you."

"I'm not going to 'take you' by force, Vanessa," Knives replied, frowning. "I care for you too much to do that."

Vanessa stared into his honest eyes in amazement. "What did you say?"

"Please, come with me. I won't violate you like that, I swear upon my life."

Vanessa hesitated, but nodded. Perhaps Knives is on the edge of a real breakthrough, she thought.

Knives took her gently by the hand and led her not more than 1,000 yards from the cave mouth. They faced into the desert, Vanessa at Knives' left.

"I want to show you much I care for you, in the purest way I know," he murmured sweetly, letting her hand fall from his own as he turned to smile.

Vanessa hid her confusion and fear as she met his eyes. The clarity of his eyes was amazing – a deep steel blue that seemed infinite and unpolluted. Never had she seen a face so serene as now.

Keeping his gaze fixed upon hers, he lifted his left hand behind her and rested it gently upon her back. "You deserve to feel the most intense sort of happiness. I want to teach it to you," he offered happily, as he summoned her 'angel arm.'

Vanessa felt a sudden, throbbing pain in the center of her back. She cried out, falling to her knees.

Knives knelt alongside her calmly, keeping his hand at her back. "I'm sorry; it hurts the first time. I couldn't know for sure from what specific location on your body the angel materialization would form, but your story of the lump you had here seemed evidence enough. Mine comes from this left hand, and Vash's from his right shoulder…Yours is at your back," he whispered softly. "But since you had it removed, this is going to be tricky. Bear with me, I'll talk you through it." He held her steady with his right hand just below her neck.

Vanessa wailed from the pain. Her spine felt as though lit on fire, her arms dangling useless beside her. She glanced at Knives from the corner of her eye, barely able to see him through her tears. "Please…No…" she stammered, gasping for breath.

Knives was smiling. "The intensity is enormous for you because you've lived all these years saving up the anger and hate. If you had let yourself retaliate as you were meant to, this wouldn't be so painful. But better late than never. Now, don't fight it. Remember how they beat you, demeaned you…Did they rape you? How often did they try?"

Vanessa felt herself assume the memories he summoned, and the skin around the top of her surgical scar tore open. Something ripped outward from her body, but she couldn't know what. The skin tore upward at two main diagonals, to her shoulders, and wrapped around nearly to the top of her sternum (breastbone). Various malformed limbs, eyes, mouths, and wings writhed as they emerged from the rifts, rising around her, entangling in her hair. Blood poured from the fresh rifts and began to puddle red beneath her.

Knives ignored her pain, concentrating completely on the goal – to show Vanessa the intensity of her hidden power. Once she understood the pure pleasure of destruction, surely she would thank him and want to have his children. With Vanessa secured as a mate, Knives could dispose of Vash. There would be no need for the troublemaker, considering the numerous children Knives could create with Vanessa. 'Problem solved,' Knives thought triumphantly as he held his reproductive candidate steady.

Vanessa continued to gasp in pain as the formations grew and formed long feathers, rising before her. She knew that far in this direction lay the village of New Dakota. The formation began to elongate into two horn-like spirals, pointing inward at the ends at a large glowing orb. It was from this orb that the destructive force would emit, Vanessa guessed. She felt herself begin to lose focus as she lost blood.

Knives ducked beside her, continuing to hold her steady. "Now release it, Vanessa!" he yelled to her over the hum of her power. But seeing that she was holding back, he let his hand form slightly to force her further. "Don't do this, it'll only hurt! You've got to liberate yourself of the anger – it'll feel so wonderful, you'll see!"

Vanessa began to scream, trying to form Vash's name but ultimately unable. Straining from the intensity, she felt herself losing consciousness.

"No!" Knives screamed as she fainted away, and watched the angel formation disappear into her flesh, sealing the skin as though nothing had occurred.

Vash awakened with a start, banging his head hard against the wooden planks. He crawled from beneath the platform in the cave, with another throbbing pain in the back of his head.

Once more hearing the screams, Vash climbed to his feet and ran from the cave in the direction of the two kneeling figures. 'No!' he thought, scolding himself bitterly, 'how could I let him alone with her!?'

Approaching, he saw sand falling from the air, settling around Knives and Vanessa. Vanessa was unconscious, fallen sideways across Knives' lap. Vash saw the blood, over Knives' hands and Vanessa's back and chest. His heart leapt from his chest. "You murderer!!" he screamed in fury, "How could you!? To her!? Oh, my God…" He knelt to grab Vanessa from him, calming down just enough to realize that she was breathing. And the blood had no obvious source, since Vanessa seemed completely without open wounds.

"What did you do!?" Vash screamed feverishly, slapping away his brother's bloodied hands when he tried to reach out for her.

"I…I showed her…" he stammered. "She couldn't…the formation was beautiful," Knives whispered reverently.

Vash's throat tightened. "She never used it before…why did you have to do that…to her…"

Knives stared off silently, seemingly oblivious to the blood his hands were smearing on his legs.

"She's going to die!" Vash roared angrily, hoisting Vanessa into his arms and rushing to the cave. He took the torn, bloody remainder of her dress, and washed the blood from her face, neck, chest, back, and arms. Dressing her in one of his large shirts, he settled her into her bed, and knelt beside her. In the silence of the cave he concentrated on her faint breath and pulse. Her skin was so pale, and she shivered occasionally, but never did her pulse weaken further.

Hours passed, and Vash realized that his brother had never returned. He began to feel the guilt of his words, and walked to Knives, sitting still in the distance.

"Knives, she's not dead."

Knives made no response. He sat in a zombie-like state.

Vash sat next to him and shook him to attention. "She's not going to die, but she can't get better unless you help me. I can't care for her on my own," he lied.

Knives stood and stumbled back to the cave, walking as though he was paying no attention to balance.

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