This is my first Trigun fanfic, and I haven't seen all the episodes so I'm sorry if anyone's a bit out of character (coughKnivescough o.o).
Disclaimer: I don't own Trigun.
Claimer: I do own my OC (not giving away names yet…) and anything that's connected to my character. Like planet name, spaceships, language, etc. If anyone steals this idea I will rip your still-beating heart out and shove it down your throat before cutting out your bloody entrails and putting them in a golden bowl. …Sorry for the threat.
Full Description of "A Fire In Red Sands": A bounty-hunting alien stranger arrives in a strange spaceship looking for Vash the Stampede, but he meets up with Knives instead. The two soon decide to eliminate the humans together, but can Vash stop them before they kill every human on the planet?
Pairings: It's a secret.
Warning: This story caontains yaoi, which is male/male relationships. This story will also have graphic sex in later chapters. If you don't like, there is a back button. I will not accept flames saying you were not warned.
And now, disclaimers, warnings, and murderous threats aside, on with the story!
Night had fallen upon the desert several hours ago. Two of the glowing silver discs had risen high in the sky, pouring their pallid white light onto the lonely sands.
It was a typical freezing desert night, and Knives sighed in slight annoyance as he stared up at his dark ceiling. His arms were tucked behind his head and the blood-red blankets were pulled up to his chin.
He grunted softly as he shifted position, trying to get comfortable. He couldn't sleep tonight, and it wasn't just because of the two full moons pouring their silvery light into the otherwise dark room.
Thoughts of his idiotic brother Vash raced through his mind, along with how he could wipe out the filthy humans with the most bloodshed. He almost smiled; he enjoyed seeing the stupid little spiders suffer.
Knives' eyes had slowly drooped closed and he welcomed the much-awaited bliss of sleep with a small sigh. He was almost asleep when a soft purring sound jerked him back to reality. He turned onto his side away from the window and brushed it off as something outside. He definitely didn't have any cats in this house.
Just when his eyes had slowly closed again the obnoxious sound forced him to open them, and he growled lowly. What was that damn noise?
The man grunted in irritation as he flung back the blankets and placed his bare feet onto the cool floor. He stalked over to the window and surveyed the ground outside. No creatures scurried about on the sands, and Knives turned his steely blue-eyed gaze to the sky. Thousands of stars twinkled brightly in the obsidian sky, nothing out of the ordinary there either.
Then a small movement caught his eye before disappearing. He stared at an oddly dim star in sudden interest before realizing it was moving, and getting larger by the second.
The low humming noise he had heard earlier reverberated around the dark room continuously. It gradually increased in volume until it felt like whatever that was making that noise was right next to Knives' window.
He realized, as the thing grew closer, it didn't look like a star anymore; it looked more like a man-made object. His mouth fell open slightly and his heart rate increased as he continued to stare at the moving star.
A… ship? Is it truly a starship…?
His heart rate increased suddenly as he quickly switched out his black pajama bottoms for a pair of black jeans, donning a long black jacket as he did so. He snatched his jet-black revolver from a nearby desk and gripped it in his hand, enjoying the familiar feel of his gun.
His hand hovered over the door handle for a moment, an odd thought suddenly occurring to him.
What if whoever is in that ship will kill me as soon as they see me?
He snorted and shook the uncharacteristic thought out of his head. He didn't quite care at the moment, all he wanted to know was why the hell a ship was landing on this God-forsaken planet called Gunsmoke.
He opened the door and was surprised to see Legato standing there very out-of-breath. He looked as if he had been about to knock on his Master's door.
"What are you doing here," Knives said lowly, his icy blue eyes boring into Legato's golden ones.
The other man's eyes widened slightly and he quickly lowered them to the floor, realizing what he had been about to do.
"Sorry Master…" he said softly, apologetically. "I saw the ship. I thought you might have wanted to know." He shifted his weight uncomfortably, hoping his Master wouldn't hit him for almost intruding.
Knives scoffed, brushing past Legato and thus dismissing his servant's mild apprehension at being reprimanded.
"Of course I saw it," he growled. "Are the guards awake?"
"Not yet, Master. They have just gone to sleep after finishing their rounds."
"Good," Knives hissed, walking down the large hall that led to the main doors. "Follow me."
The pair made their way outside, servant keeping a respectable distance between him and his Master. The pale, moonlit sand beneath their feet crunched with every step, and every step brought them closer to the strange ship that was on its way to landing not too far away.
Knives' eyes were locked on the humming starship that gleamed silver in the moonlight, and he slowed his steps. This definitely wasn't a SEEDS ship.
Underneath the strange metallic craft were three glowing crimson discs, perhaps the reason this ship could hover over the desert as long as it had. Sleek, razor-like black wings angled from either side of the ship, and a single small black tailpiece completed the "tri" look. The cockpit was made of some glass-like, tinted red material that probably acted much like a two-way mirror.
Small but powerful-looking guns jutted from the bottom of the large wings, while larger ones dominated the tops, nearer to the body of the ship. Two large, sleek silver engines droned quietly, their wires surging with power as the ship's neon blue running lights flicked on along the sides of the ship.
The moons' pale light illuminated the silvery ship's cautious descent, and Knives ran a hand through his whitish-blonde hair before adjusting his dark jacket. Apprehension pricked a warning at the back of his neck but he ignored it, favoring the surge of adrenalin that coursed though his veins. He hadn't seen a starship in ages.
Legato stood slightly behind him, ready to do anything at his Master's beck and call. He stared in awe at the ship, his mouth slightly open and his golden eyes glittering in curiosity. He knew he shouldn't be displaying such childlike emotions in his Master's presence, but he couldn't help it. He had never seen a ship like this before.
Knives took a single step forward, his gaze still fixed on the ship. He watched as three silvery metallic leg-like extensions unfolded from the dark belly of the ship, obviously in preparation for landing.
As soon as the landing pads touched the cool sand, Knives cocked his gun. He steeled himself for anything that might come out of that ship, be it human or otherwise.
"Legato," he said, his clipped voice almost a whisper. "You have your gun correct?"
"Yes, Master," came the respectful reply from behind him.
A minute later a previously hidden ramp lowered and alighted upon the sand. For a moment, nothing happened. Then Knives heard boots clanking against the metal surface of the ramp, and he saw a pair of feet making their way down the metallic incline. Soon a figure emerged, apparently alone, but Knives couldn't possibly be sure. Nobody traveled alone these days, much less on a large starship like this one.
The figure paused and looked out to the desert landscape surrounding them before approaching the two. He seemed human enough, which intrigued Knives. He hadn't known humans to own such expensive-looking, detailed starships.
As the alien stranger neared them Knives studied him with calm interest, his face devoid of emotion. The man wore a dark, cherry-red jacket that fell to his thighs, underneath was a simple tight black shirt. His snug-fitting pants were the same color as his jacket, and were carefully tucked into calf-high boots with silver straps on them.
"So this is the planet Gunsmoke," the stranger stated, his cool voice clipped and sharp. He had a hard-to-place accent, and Knives didn't trust him. Why should he?
The foreigner regarded Knives with an equally expressionless look but his dark green eyes glittered in thinly veiled hostility. His jet-black hair was spiked carelessly and the multiple earrings he had in both ears sparkled silver in the moonlight.
"Who are you," Knives growled, folding his arms across his chest. He kept the gun out in the open should the need arise to use it.
"Adhafera Eridanus," he said simply. "I don't believe we've met."
"Stop with the petty games, human," Knives hissed, staring the stranger in the eye. Suddenly the man's hand was at Knives' neck, their faces merely inches apart. The outsider's eyes were filled with hatred.
"Don't ever call me that again," he spat angrily, his fingers tightening around Knives' throat. "You have no right to call me what I am not."
Knives wrenched away from the other man's grip and touched his throat gingerly.
"You're not… human then," he growled defensively. "Good. No human owns a ship like that." He gestured with a tilt of his head to the black starship behind them. "What are you?"
"Tell me your name first," Adhafera replied flatly. "And his too." His dark green eyes flicked to Legato, who had remained silent throughout the entire encounter, his golden eyes focused on the sand beneath their feet.
"Millions Knives," the slightly taller man replied, keeping his eyes locked with Adhafera's. Knives motioned with a flick of his wrist for Legato to step up beside him, and he did. "This is Legato, my servant."
Legato nodded slightly in wordless greeting; he knew better than to speak without being spoken to first.
Knives stared at Adhafera expectantly, waiting for him to explain what he was and why he was here. He was on Knives' property after all, sandy as it was.
Adhafera crossed his arms across his chest and gave Knives an annoyed look.
"I suppose you want to know what I am," he sighed, running a hand through his thick black hair. "I am a Metranian bounty hunter, and I travel from planet to planet collecting the highest bounties for each."
Knives cocked one blonde eyebrow, giving Adhafera a slightly bemused look.
"And what, pray tell, is a Metranian," he said lowly. Adhafera looked mildly surprised but recovered quickly enough.
"You haven't heard of a Metranian?" Adhafera queried. His answer was a slight shake of Knives' head. "Very well. On my waterless, dying home planet of Metra live an average of 3 trillion hyperintelligent creatures called, obviously, Metranians. We wear holographic projections called "collars" to look humanoid, and invent ships much like the one behind me. That enough information for you?"
Knives nodded once to indicate he understood, and Adhafera turned to glance at his ship. Knives followed his gaze and watched the ship.
Without a single word being spoken the ramp folded up into the belly of the ship. The engines whined down and the blinking lights dimmed until only the slight glimmer of the running lights could be seen. Suddenly the ship shimmered out of the visible spectrum and it looked like nothing had ever been there.
Adhafera looked back at Knives somewhat impatiently, his green eyes glinting dangerously in the moonlight.
"So are we going to stand here in the desert for the remainder of the night, or are you willing to invite me to your residence?"
Knives was inwardly taken aback at Adhafera's self-invitation, but his facial features remained impassive.
"I suppose so," he said lowly. I have plenty of room." He paused, giving Adhafera a sideways glance. "You said you were a bounty hunter… You wouldn't by any chance be looking for one Vash the Stampede, would you?"
Adhafera looked at him in a somewhat distrusting manner.
"Yes… In fact I am. Why do you ask," he said quietly, his well-enunciated words carrying a guarded undertone.
"…He just happens to be my brother," Knives said darkly after another pause. He turned and began walking back toward his house, Legato soon following him.
Adhafera's green eyes widened slightly and he raised one charcoal eyebrow in curiosity as he started walking alongside Knives.
"Well now… this should prove interesting."
I do hope I haven't gotten Knives too out of character… Oh well. It'll get better later on, I promise.
Please review. However, I won't accept stupid flames that have nothing to say except "Your story sucks" and do nothing to improve my writing skills. If you have an issue with me email me instead. Constructive criticism is accepted.