A/N: Next chapter, just as I promised. I hope those of you who are reading it are enjoying my little story.

A special thanks to dbzfan82 and Lady Hitomi Albatou for reviewing!

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Chapter 3: The Explanation

When the young lady awoke, her senses told her that she was in a confined area. The echo of water flowing nearby told her that much.

She was also lying on her side, but on what exactly Meryl had no idea. Whatever it was, it was soft, and fluffy. Further thought was interrupted when, what had to be an entire band, marched right into her head and started playing.

A groan passed her lips and joined the other sounds around her. Her head had never before hurt this much. Even the numerous concussions she'd sustained during her travels with Vash and Millie couldn't compare.

She had no idea how long she laid there. Minutes seemed to have turned into hours as her head throbbed painfully. But eventually the pain subsided enough for her to be able to open her eyes. Which she immediately closed again. Even the meager light in the cave, for that was what Meryl had seen in the moment she'd had her eyes open, was too much for her.

It took another few minutes for her to calm the drumbeat in her head that had risen again when she'd opened her eyes. This time she cracked them open slower, looking out from under her eyelashes.

The cave was larger than she'd thought it was. Made of granite with veins of quartz mixed in to create white streaks, it was about twenty yarzs wide and, from where she lay to the front of the cave, was about thirty long. And she had no idea how far behind her the large hole went.

Nearby a small stream with clear water ran past her over the rock floor. Surrounding it were small, lush plants that were growing out of cracks in the rock. Flowers the color of red, blue, and yellow bloomed in profusion amongst the green.

One of her hands moved against the softness cradling her body and she turned her attention to what lay beneath her. A deep inhale of breath sounded from her as she beheld a mass of white feathers surrounding her. They'd been spread into an area the size of a queen size bed with dirt piled up on the sides. The amount of feathers stunned her. There were several inches deep of them! If she didn't know any better, the insurance lady would have thought that she was laying in a nest!

With delicate slowness Meryl sat up, taking care not to aggravate her aching head. But that didn't keep off the wave memories from bombarding her poor mind. They were intensely real, this time. One second she was staring at the mouth of the cave, the next she was looking over a field that appeared to go on forever. It was filled with many white flowers and odd, small flying creatures she'd never seen before. They had multicolored wings and fluttered about from flower to flower.

Then the view moved to the right and it dawned on her that she was looking through someone else's eyes. This time she found herself staring at two other people. One was a woman with long, black hair, wearing a white shirt and blue jeans. The smile on her face was warm and Meryl had a feeling that she would have liked her.

The other person was a young boy, about the age of ten with long, golden hair and green eyes. He seemed vaguely familiar...

As she watched, the young man gave the older woman an adoring look and asked her something about...humans? An odd topic choice, Meryl decided.

When she answered him, she mentally tripped. Had the woman just called him Vash? There was no way that that little boy could be the broom-head she knew. Unless...unless this was a memory from when he'd been a boy. But then, whose eyes was she looking through!

The scenery abruptly changed, as if in reaction to her question, and Meryl discovered exactly who. Blue eyes framed with long, white-blond hair stared from a mirror at her.

Oh, God...

Without warning a torrent of memories, thoughts and feelings fell upon her.

A large man with a cruel face yelling at her. Fear had a name; Steve

That same man inside a large capsule. A small pad with numbers and letters on it. Smug self-satisfaction. The true monster was gone and others like him would soon follow.

Computers beeping and talking. The propulsion system was failing, just as he'd planned.

Poor, naive Vash; mourning over that foolish woman.

Shooting stars falling from the sky. It is only marred by the sight of thrusters kicking on. No matter, they would all perish for their crimes.

Why was he pointing that gun at me? Hot rage and frustration. He still hasn't figured out who the real enemy is!

Pain, both physical and emotional. His own brother had shot him again. Had a century taught him nothing? Next time he would make sure that Vash learned his lesson.

Sick enjoyment. Now my brother was tainted as well. He'll come soon and then everything will end between us.

A ceiling with pealing paint. Not again! He couldn't have failed again! And to place him amongst humans...Disgusting! But they did present another opportunity for him to hurt his brother...

Calm resignation. He would give Vash a small amount of time to prove to him that humans had the right to live. But the fool has chosen to use the small and large females as a starting point. The tall female, Millie, is no more than a child, but the tiny one...Meryl...she will bear watching.

Bile rose in Meryl's throat as awareness returned. She leaned forward on her knees and put a hand over her mouth. So many horrible memories...

The young woman had known that Knives had done some appalling things in his life, but never had she imagined what his memories had shown her. He'd brought about so much destruction and pain in his long life.

And she'd thought that he'd been reformable.

What a naive fool she'd been, Meryl realized, to hope that he'd change his spots after so long and so much. She wanted to laugh at herself, but was too busy holding her stomach down. Something wet rolled down her cheek and the distraught woman watched as a tear fell to the ground. It was followed by others and soon Meryl was crying openly.

The young woman wept until the tears ran out and her throat couldn't take another sob. This was getting her nowhere, she knew that, but her soft heart wouldn't let her not morn those that had suffered by Knives' hands.

She no longer felt ill, only hollow, and decided that her first order of business was to leave the cave before Knives returned and to head for the house. Whatever was happening wasn't amongst the memories she'd somehow acquired and Meryl wanted to leave before Knives showed up. Millie would have to keep herself out of trouble this one time, and with any luck the big girl would be home waiting for her.

Meryl lifted herself from the ground and stood on wobbly legs. She knew that the lack of nourishment and dehydration had left her body weak. There was no helping the food problem, but the stream was looking pretty good right now.

Slightly stumbling, she walked over to where a small pool had formed in the stream. She bent down and cupped water into her hands and tipped it into her dry mouth.

Meryl was reaching her hands down for another mouthful when a reflection in the water caught her attention. Blond hair and blue eyes looked back at her and she scrambled to her feet and stood up, facing Knives who was standing on the other side of the stream.

His arms were crossed over his chest and his pose was relaxed as he leaned against the cave wall. His eyes followed, but except for that slight movement, he kept his body completely still. His wings were nowhere to be seen.

The short woman eyed him warily, his memories flooding to the surface of her mind and reminding her just who she was dealing with. Earlier, at the house and again in the woods he'd not said a word, so she'd come to the conclusion that speech might have been beyond him.

She was wrong.

"How are you feeling?"

That cold voice she knew all too well chilled her to the bone. Now Meryl was acquainted with what he was capable of, and that knowledge scared the hell out of her. Her mouth opened, but no sound came out.

A mocking smile flitted across his face. "What, surprised, Meryl? Were you expecting a mindless beast, perhaps?"

She swallowed reflexively and licked her dry lips. Meryl knew that she had to pull herself together. After all, she'd dealt with this man for the past few years. She was Meryl Stryfe, for God's sake! Where had the competent insurance agent and all-around tough girl gone? She was still the same person, regardless of now being in possession of Knives' memories.

The young woman straightened her spine and faced him unblinkingly. Not only was she a strong person, but she was also an optimist at heart. And she wouldn't give up on Knives, not yet. Somewhere in him was the sweet little boy he'd once been. The trick was to make Knives realize it.

Her head throbbed and she rubbed a hand over it. "What did you do to me?"

"I've shared myself with you; everything that I've done and seen."

"I kind of guessed that," she retorted tartly. Another pang and she closed her eyes against the pain.

"You should lie down," he told her in an authoritative manner. "You'll only make it worse by moving around."

"Since you're in such a helpful mood," Meryl bit off sarcastically, "could you tell me exactly what 'it' is?"

"I've already told you." His voice was tinged with exasperation. "I've shared myself-my memories to be exact-with you."

Now she was more confused than ever. Knives had never spoken even once about his past with her. She'd asked him once about it and almost gotten her head bit off. "But...but why?"

Meryl had seen Knives angry, annoyed, and, on rare occasions, content, but she'd never seen him embarrassed. So when twin areas of pink appeared on his pale cheeks, she did a double-take. The typically unflappable Knives was actually blushing!

Which probably didn't bode well for her situation, she reflected.

She watched as Knives grew more uncomfortable and turned away from her, mumbling a few words under his breath and running a hand through his short hair.

Giving him a suspicious glance, Meryl debated on what to do. Should she make a break for it or simply wait and see what he would do next? A few more low words from the plant and she began her retreat. Telling herself that she was going to help him with his problems later-much later from the looks of it, there was no sense in staying with someone who talked to himself, after all-Meryl began to tip-toe quietly toward the cave entrance. A disapproving voice stopped her.

"Meryl."

A small, "Eep!" left her lips and she guiltily glanced over her shoulder at Knives. He was standing where she'd left him across the creek, arms again crossed over his chest and an obviously fake smile on his face.

"And where do you think you're going, hmm?"

'Improvise, Meryl, improvise.'

"The bathroom?" She blurted out, her back still to him.

He shook his head slowly and tsk'd at her. "Please, Ms. Stryfe, give me more credit than that. It's obvious that you wish to escape my company." She heard footsteps behind her and splashing water, coming steadily closer. "But you see, I can't let you leave." His body was so close now that she could feel the heat radiating off of him.

Meryl stepped away and faced him. "And why not?" Her stance was defiant.

Again she felt that same hesitation from Knives to tell her what was going on. He was keeping something from her, something important and relating directly to what had happened lately.

Finally, "It is none of your concern."

Her mouth fell open. "Excuse me? This is most certainly my concern. You're practically keeping me hostage here! And you have the gall to tell me that it's none of my concern! Give me one," she raised a single finger, "one good reason why I shouldn't walk out that entrance right now."

Meryl wished that she'd never spoken, because whatever she'd said caused a strange reaction in Knives. At least his eyes didn't normally glow. They only flashed for a second, but more than long enough to give her the heeby-jeebys.

"Do not presume that I enjoy your company," his voice low and furious. "If the choice were up to me, you would never have come here in the first place."

Well, that blew a little wind out of Meryl's self-righteous sails. It was hard for one to be mad at someone who was in the same plight as themselves. But why were they stuck with each other?

Her already overtaxed brain couldn't solve this complicated riddle. Even her impromptu nap had not revitalized either her body or mind. It would certainly help if she had more pieces to this puzzle.

Her shoulders slumped from weariness. One hand wearily reached up as her headache made itself known with a painful throb. It was plain to see that Knives knew what was going on, but was quite unwilling to share any information. Meryl gave a heartfelt sigh. There was no other way around it, she would have to outright ask him what was going on.

"Knives," she began tiredly, letting her hand fall to her side, "I don't understand this at all. One moment you and Vash are your normal selves, and the next you're growing wings and feathers! Exactly what happened to you two! And everything else around here!" she added loudly, looking at the forest outside.

Breathing hard from her outburst, Meryl stared at him pleadingly, willing him to tell her what she wanted-no, needed to know. In her opinion, she was too deeply involved to be kept in the dark.

Knives stood before her in contemplative silence. His intense blue gaze appeared to assess her from head to toe, lingering, to her, longer than necessary on her heaving bosom.

She wasn't sure if his decision was based on her passing his examination or that he had resigned himself to the inevitable, knowing that Meryl would eventually pry the information out of him.

"It is a complicated story," he warned, his voice betraying no emotion.

Meryl nodded to show him that she understood and to urge him to continue.

His ice blue eyes focused on hers as he began his narration. "You already know of our origins and that we are not human. But there are certain details that are unknown to you and, until recently, to myself, as well."

Meryl's eyebrows rose in surprise. She'd thought Knives had been familiar with any and all information on plants.

"Plants," he continued, sounding very much like a boring teacher, "as it turns out, have stages in life. There is the initial birth, much like humans, but after that the two species differ." His eyes gained a glazed over look to them and Meryl had the impression that he was talking more to himself than her. "It only takes a plant ten years to acquire the body of an adult. But that does not mean that they are physically mature. Many years must pass before plants enter into a stage similar to adolescence."

He stopped talking and stood there, hands at his sides and a frown on his face, staring at nothing in particular.

Meryl mulled over what he'd told her. She'd had no idea that plants even had life stages like humans, especially the part about them going through puberty. From what she did know, plants lived for a very long period of time if not abused. So what did he mean when Knives had said it took years before they became, essentially, teenagers? More than fifty, that was for sure. They might not even reach that stage until after one-hundred years, or maybe even after that...

She shot a piercing glance at Knives. Yes, that theory would make perfect sense. After all, hadn't the two of them changed around eleven o'clock, the very time he'd told her that they'd been born? Their bodies could be on clocks, ready to change at an exact moment in time.

And she and Millie had gotten front row seats to their entrance into adolescence. Goody.

To confirm her suspicions, Meryl asked Knives if there was an average age that plants reached puberty.

He knew her intentions, she could tell, but he answered her anyway. And she had guessed right. But she wanted to know more, so Meryl began questioning him about this new stage in his life, starting with why him and Vash had not simply told her and Millie earlier, when they'd found the two men in all their feather finery.

"Hormones."

"Excuse me!"

He glared at her in disgust. "You heard me perfectly, woman. Neither Vash nor myself were in our right minds because of our hormones.

She blinked at him. "I'm sorry, Knives, but you'll have to be more specific than that."

The plant crossed his arms in a sure sign that he was annoyed with her. "Our species vary in many ways, but not so for others. Just as your human males are effected by their bodies during their teenage years, so are plant males. It is, in essence, the plant part of ourselves making itself known. Though the pull is stronger for Vash and I."

Oh, no. He couldn't be talking about that. The situation was already weird enough without her having to worry about Knives' libido. Meryl had been through many embarrassing times, but hearing Knives talk about male urges was something entirely new and unexpected. She couldn't keep the blush from her cheeks and, damn the man anyway, he noticed and smiled smugly. It was tantamount to an 'I told you so'.

She almost regretted asking him to tell her what was going on. Almost. At least now she could prepare herself, just in case he lost control of himself again.

But some of his information bothered her, like how had he known about the whole puberty thing? Before she could ask, he spoke.

"Our sisters." His tone turned bitter. "Contact with them has become easier since our change. Apparently they have known about it the entire time, but state that to tell any young ones of it before hand would alter the experience in a negative way."

Meryl's eyes brightened in understanding. "So it's kind of like the human rituals back on Earth, when a child went through rituals on the road to adulthood?" She let it go that he'd read her mind.

"Indeed."

"I had no idea that the plants had any such thing," she mused to herself out loud.

"A human wouldn't," Knives sniffed arrogantly.

Meryl rolled her eyes, but said nothing. She turned her attention to the mouth of the cave, surprised to see that the suns were setting. How long had she been asleep? Well over twelve hours from the look of it! She looked over her shoulder at Knives, who was staring at the stream with no real interest, and her head throbbed again, though much less in intensity than before.

"Knives?"

Without looking at her he said, "What?"

"Why did you give me your memories?"

"Hormones, again."

She shook her head. "I don't understand. Why would your testosterone self give me something such as your memories?"

He exhaled and knelt by the stream. One large hand reached out and gently caressed a tiny flower, showing more care than she'd known he'd had.

Meryl's gaze crept up his muscled and pale arm to his wide and strong shoulders, watching the play of muscles beneath his skin. She'd never admitted to the attraction this man held-this was Knives-but a woman would have to be blind, deaf and dumb not to have noticed that he was a hotty.

And exactly why was she thinking this now? After everything she'd learned today about him, Meryl couldn't believe where her thoughts were leading. She was still a virgin, for God's sake! Her first time was not going to be with a psychotic, genocidal...cutie.

'Bad, Meryl, bad!'

She shook her head furiously, trying to dispel these randy thoughts...and caught Knives looking at her strangely. Meryl forced a smile, "It's nothing."

His eyes narrowed suspiciously and she could tell that he didn't believe her, but he let the matter drop, thankfully.

He turned his attention back to the plants growing by the stream and finally gave a response to her question.

"It wants you."

Blunt and completely unhelpful were Meryl's description of his answer. Hands on hips, she asked, "What are you talking about?"

He rose quickly and advanced on her menacingly. She stepped back to try and keep some distance between them but he grabbed her forearm roughly and brought her flush against him. "My 'testosterone self,' as you so brilliantly described it, wants to have sex with you." His grip on her arm tightened painfully. "It won't let you leave even now because it wants to throw you onto that bed it made and take you until neither of us could move and it's sure that you're pregnant."

Knives' grip had gotten extremely tight and she could feel bruises beginning to form when he abruptly dropped her arm and turned his back to her.

Meryl's limp arm swung for a few seconds. Her slack mouth refused to form coherent words and only a whimper of confusion sounded from her. This really couldn't be happening to her. The distraught woman sank to the floor of the cave, crossed her legs with her head hanging down and attempted to make sense of what Knives had told her.

But her mind had already switched off from lack of food and Meryl was left with a big, jumbled mess. To make matters worse, her stomach made itself known with an embarrassing loud rumble.

"You're hungry," Knives said, stating the obvious.

She didn't even acknowledge him.

"There are plants with food on them in the forest." She heard him walk past her and stop at the cave entrance, his bare feet slapping on the rock floor. "There are also many poisonous varieties you would no doubt unwittingly consume."

Meryl didn't even feel a pang of anger at his condescending words. Shock had taken over her completely.

"I'll get you food," he told her. "You can't leave the cave anyway, until I get control of my more...primitive side."

She shuddered.

"And Meryl," his voice was deep and huskier than before, and Meryl lifted her head to look at him. His eyes were glowing faintly in the descending darkness of night. "don't do anything to set me off or I won't be responsible for my actions."

That said, Knives walked out into the woods, leaving a shivering and fearful Meryl in his wake.

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She watched him until he disappeared into the trees and only then did the young woman move from her uncomfortable seat. My God, what have I gotten myself into? she thought as she moved toward the spring.

Kneeling, she again cupped her hands into the cool water and took a long drink. Her hands shook.

'Get a grip on yourself!' Came a voice from within her. 'Nothing is going to happen. Soon Knives will get a grip on himself and they could both go home.' This positive thinking bolstered her mood greatly, and it was then that she noticed how hot and wet her skin was. Perspiration caused by the humidity and her recent bout with Knives had made her clothes sticking to her body, especially her top.

Meryl pried her shirt away from her skin, only to let it go and feel it paste itself to her again.

"Ugh."

Living on a desert planet, she should have been used to being sweaty, but Meryl had never relished the feeling. She gazed longingly at the stream and then looked to the cave entrance. There was no sign of Knives.

An idea began to form that she knew was foolish, but trickles of water running down her back pushed her to do it. She rose and cautiously walked to the entrance. Outside the forest had turned dark and more than a little creepy. Leaves rustling and trees creaking added to the spooky atmosphere.

She brought a hand to her mouth and called out to Knives, checking if he was in the near vicinity. There was no reply.

Satisfied that he was nowhere near her, Meryl skipped back inside and knelt by the small stream. She felt rejuvenated by the promise of even a meager bath. Merrily, she stripped off her dark blue shirt. Her violet cotton bra, the same color as her eyes, stood out against her white skin. She set the article of clothing next to her and began scrubbing her upper body with water from the stream next to her in the twilight. Only the light of the moons allowed her to see enough in the cave to do so.

She didn't notice the tall form in the doorway that watched her intently with two glowing eyes. Only when something fell onto the rock floor did she look up and behold her silent audience.

"Oh, no..." Meryl whispered when she caught sight of his lit orbs. She looked down at herself, at the drops of water that lingered on her skin and the nipples that stood to attention from the cold water.

She rose to her feet on shaky legs and faced him, hands wrapped over her exposed cleavage. The young woman spotted the shirt on the floor and reached for it.

Her hand never touched the fabric.

He moved with amazing speed and she found herself pinned against a rock wall. Her legs dangled off the ground. Strong arms held her shoulders and a hard body pressed against her from chest to thigh. There was no escape for her.

Prepared, indeed.