Meryl felt weird. She felt like she was having an out of body experience. She had seen the burst of feathers and she had seen Knives dive for her. She knew her death was a mere certainty at this point. She'd closed her eyes tightly and hadn't even had time to pray when she heard the unearthly shriek, but the pain she was expecting never came.
It took her a few seconds to realize that she wasn't the one screaming.
She opened one eye seconds later when she heard the door bust open. She looked up from her huddled position in the corner to see a righteously angry Vash leap through the door, breaking the top hinge in the process. He had both guns drawn and was staring straight at Knives. He was ready to pull both triggers, but in the split second before he followed through with his gut reaction, he was able to survey the situation as such:
1. No blood.
2. Something smelled like it was burning.
3. Meryl was in the corner, safe.
4. Knives screams like a girl.
Vash sighed a big sigh and put his guns away. Knives was still screaming like the plant hadn't seen nor heard him. He walked over to Meryl and squatted down beside her. He touched her face tentatively. "Are you hurt?"
She shook her head no, realizing that was probably the only reason Knives was still alive at this moment. She wondered why she was alive and suddenly realized the pattern in which Vash has shot his brother. It must have had something to do with the gunshot wounds to those strategic points in his body. She felt an odd sensation of fear towards Vash as she realized he was the stronger of the twins at the moment, but when she looked up at his face, all traces of anxiety vanished. He looked like a mother whose kid had wandered into the street and had almost been hit by a car. He was angry, but also on the verge of tears with relief. She instantly hated herself.
Vash gathered her in his arms quickly and gave her a strong bear hug. After a moment, he let her go. "I think I have to explain some things to Knives. I'll see you downstairs."
She nodded, still finding it unbelievable that she was walking away from this altercation with Knives completely unscathed. She climbed over the broken door and ran downstairs as fast as she could.
Knives finally stopped screaming and looked at Vash. He was frothing with anger and he was in pain. Vash looked at his shoulder where the feathers had escaped from his body and saw the burn marks on his shirt. Knives was now panting from the pain. "What…have you…done…to me?"
Vash sat down at the edge of the bed and took a deep breath before starting in a high, over-the-top voice. "Hi Knives. Welcome to SECOND CHANCE 101. This is where I show you how to live among the humans and not kill anybody. I thought you might try something like this, so I…"disarmed" your arms. I mean, what do you need to be a killing machine for if you've got no one to kill?"
Knives clenched his teeth together in anger and pain. He was hissing. "You WHAT!"
Vash dropped the act and took on a darker, serious tone. "Come on, Knives, you really do think I'm an idiot, don't you. You think I'd bring you to live among humans without any assurances?" Vash shook his head in disgust.
Knives continued to hiss through his teeth. "You…BASTARD! I'm going to kill your small spider, and I'm going to kill your big spider, and then I'm going TO KILL YOU!"
Vash stood up. "Oh, come on, Knives. Don't be such a spoiled sport. It's not like you haven't done anything to deserve this. And afterall, I'm giving you a chance to come around. I could have killed you."
"WHY DIDN'T YOU KILL ME! If I have to suffer like this, in PAIN, living among the human trash, humiliated and unable to even take care of myself, why didn't you kill me!"
Vash stood up and tried to make his way out of the room, but saw the busted door in front of him. 'Did I do that?' he thought sheepishly to himself. He looked back to his brother one last time before exiting. "Knives, at this point, I think some humility is exactly what you need." He turned to leave, but stopped. "One last thing. I shot the "power seeds" in your arms." Knives shot him a glance of pure hatred as the realization dawned on him. "Yep, that's right. Your arms will continue to backfire if you try to use them, so do yourself a favor and don't try to hurt anybody."
He exited the room as Knives' howled curses at him. He went downstairs to find Meryl. She was curled up on the couch, shaking like a leaf. She jumped when she saw him, but relaxed when she realized it was Vash. "Hey…"
Vash sat down next to her. "Hey."
They sat for a few moments, Knives still spitting curses. Vash finally spoke.
"Let's get out of here. I can't listen to this all night."
She looked up at him. "Is Knives going to heal?"
He looked grave for a moment. "I cannot say for sure, but I have a feeling his abilities will regenerate eventually, so we have to save him before that happens." He looked down at her with a smirk. "Or else, I'll just have to shoot him full of holes again. I've been itching to do that recently."
Meryl looked at him doubtfully. "Is it…okay to leave him here?"
"Yeah. It'll be okay. I just can't listen to this any longer."
Meryl tried to think for a moment, but couldn't because of all the threats coming from Knives. "Okay, just let me get my coat."
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AN: alright. another chapter. yay.