That night, Vanessa dreamt she had two winged children with Kern.

She awoke before the others, before first dawn, in a cold sweat. Perhaps acting the part of the subservient slave girl was affecting her more than she thought. Though she'd lain awake for so long, drafting plans for her imminent betrayal, she slept to images persuading her to stay. As if Yola's thoughts were seeping into her own, she wondered if she was lucky, if this life was good, safe. If she made it away, what would she do? Wander alone, trying to find a cave to survive in? Attempt to make it back to the garden, to Knives?

Sure, Kern had issues, but he had less than Knives. It had crossed her mind before, that coming back was to Knives was a mistake. Everything was fine, until they realized that humans remained. The state of the planet was different than they'd both assumed. Knives sanity had been hinging on the absence of humans.

These people were flawed, their society was flawed, and many of their people seemed heartless. But there were good people, too, and sparks of good within the rest. She couldn't agree with Knives, that they all deserved to die. Their flaws were likely exacerbated by their situation. Life was harsh, the death rate high, survival at the forefront of each day. Anyone in that state would degrade into a depraved version of themselves. It was Gunsmoke-syndrome.

She was certain that the settlement folk lived off of what Gunsmoke provided, not the plants. In fact, Yola had quite seriously explained to her that the complexes were hallowed grounds, that no man dared approach. Seeing a plant complex supposedly would lead to an early death and a plague upon your house.

Certainly, the well water they drew must have plant origins, but so far from a working complex, she believed that the planet was sustaining the underground reservoir on its own. Knives told her that only one plant, near the garden, was allowed significant output, and she doubted he was wrong.

But he was certainly wrong about the humans. Vanessa, over the past century and more, had been struggling over what to think of the humans – Vash and Knives eventually became the polar opposite sides of the argument. Time and thought proved to her that she was not strong enough to hold onto Vash's vision. And Knives was simply homicidal, to believe that his vision was correct.

She'd begun to think Knives' point of view had changed. The day she arrived, to reunite with him, she'd asked if he still wanted to kill the humans. 'I haven't been thinking about that for a while now,' he'd replied. 'I guess I'm not planning on it, no.' But that didn't mean he wouldn't work to keep 'his' planet Homo sapien-free.

It would be nice to pick my own fate, she thought bitterly, instead of having to consider what would be best for the most people.

I've got to escape, she thought, certain. I've got to get away from here, and back to Knives. Just to tell him what's here. Or, maybe, I shouldn't tell him anything, tell him all the humans are dead, maybe. But he wouldn't believe me, maybe I should just stay here and stand guard. Maybe I'll end up duking it out with him, angel arm to angel arm, to defend these people and their right to be alive.

Curling tight on her cot, Vanessa's heart sunk. Her angel arm (which was, actually, located in her back) was exhausting, confusing, destructive – she'd always used it for the general good of humanity, or so she believed. But she didn't particularly want to protect humanity's interests anymore. She wanted a life.

She didn't want to be the almighty guardian of this settlement. She didn't want to use her weapon again, to be that freak. She didn't want to see Knives on a rampage. She didn't want to fight him. She didn't want to kill him. She didn't want to die.

Vanessa was so, so tired.

O

O

Kern greeted her with a hug, awkward, rough, and quick. "So good to see you this morning! What an adventurous morning it is!"

Una grunted something, seeming less pleased than usual, distracted when she first arrived at the slave quarters to lead Vanessa to this barn. Turning, the mammoth woman busied herself with a pile of metal implements, clanking in the background to ignore the Tamber boy's excitement.

Vanessa remained stiff after he walked away from her. She stood there, still, wrist cuffs stuck behind her back by the magnet Una had brought. Cautiously eyeing her surroundings, she tallied up the supplies she saw, the bladders of water, the sacks of food, the bundled cloth. How much, how long, how many people…

"Dad's letting me stay out for as long as I want, this time," Kern stated in reflection, working to load the supplies into baskets at the rear of each tomas' saddle. "So I've gathered as much as I could, so we can turn back when we've used about half of the water."

"One third," Vanessa corrected. "You should always give yourself about two thirds for the journey back. Things happen, out there. Sandstorms, injuries, exhaustion, getting your water bag punctured, losing a tomas – you never can be certain that you can get back home as fast as you left."

"Really," Kern replied, somewhat disappointed. "Less distance out. Too bad. Still, with this much, we should be able to get to the edge of Glass Canyon, at least." He lifted large preserved bladders full of water onto the sides of the saddles. "Una, restrain her, we're ready to go."

Una stepped forward, past the pile of side arms she'd set out, with a ball of white twine in hand. She pushed Vanessa toward the nearest tomas, the one with twice as much weight as the other two and therefore the slowest, and lifted her upon its saddle. She was not as gentle as one might hope, especially once she began tying her up.

The twine was waxy, and was probably a type of sinew from an animal. It was tight and smooth, holding her fast. Her feet were knotted to the stirrups, her arms bound to her torso. She would be in trouble, should the tomas buck her or fall.

Tied so tightly, she knew she would serve only as a reference and guide, possibly as a navigator. The sinew was so tight, like plastic cord, not something she could struggle out of. Hopefully they'd untie her out in the wilderness. Probably not. It was more likely that she'd get the chance with a blade or sharp rock, to saw through the cords in secret. Worst case scenario, she wouldn't get a chance, and would have to lead them back to the settlement. It could take many trips out before she'd earn the trust and means to make her move.

Actually, there were far worse scenarios than that, but she assumed they wouldn't occur. She knew Una was willing to kill her, and couldn't predict Kern's intentions. The landscape they were to journey into probably wasn't territory she'd be familiar with. Things could get desperate. Things could get dirty.