a/n: WOW! THANK YOU GUYS FOR SUCH AWESOME REVIEWS! You guys really make writing this story so much fun! Here's the next chapter (might want to read the last few paragraphs of the last chapterfor recap).
As the arm powered up, something strange came over Meryl: a sense of quiet anticipation. She almost forgot where she was. The power that was swirling around Vash seemed to be going through her, through them both. Where there had been white noise filling the air, now there was peaceful silence. There was so much power, but with it she felt so much sadness. She wondered where all of it was coming from. She opened her eyes and saw Vash looking at her with fear written all over his face, and she remembered. Oh yes...her life was in danger. Right...Vash really wasn't human. And...let's not forget...Knives was conscious.
She'd known it all before, but now the truth was undeniable. The funny thing was, she didn't really mind.
The angel arm went off almost immediately after Vash scooped her up, but she somehow had time. She had time to put her ear to his chest and wrap her arms around him. She had time to experience the flow of energy that she had somehow become a part of. She had all the time in the world to savor the weight of the strong arm holding her against his body. She experienced a vague sense of floating. And she felt so much power.
She couldn't even imagine.
The broom-head who scarfed down donuts, the guy who constantly stuck his foot in his mouth, the same man who acted like he didn't have a care in the world, the man who cried at nothing, the man who loved everything...he was the source of this power. The more it built up, the more intoxicating the feeling was. No wonder Knives was so willing to use this power. She felt superior, and she was just a bystander.
The energy seemed to swirl around the two of them, pulling them closer together, drawing something out of her, and she began seeing things...memories...that hadn't happened to her. She didn't try to stop it. It was...painful, in a way...but she let it wash over her. She would sort it all out later...if she remembered any of it...
Suddenly, there was a rush of air as the energy focused at the top of the angel arm. It pulled her up. She wanted to go with it. Nothing else mattered at that moment. It was so intense...
so intense...
so much power...
too much...
At that moment, a blast of energy, the magnitude of which seemed incalculable, tore through the rocky layers above them and made its way into space where it hopefully could do no more harm.
Closer...
She took in a deep breath. She felt sunlight warming her body. Her mind felt strangely clouded, but her head didn't hurt. Whoever she was lying next to smelled really good. She snuggled her head closer to his neck.
His neck?
For a split second, panic raced through her. Who was she lying next to? She couldn't remember, which seemed like it should alarm her more...but something in the back of her mind told her she was alright. She felt his arms around her, and it calmed her down. It must have been someone who cared about her. She didn't remember much, but somehow she knew she wasn't the type of girl to sleep around.
She felt so safe. She stayed exactly like she was for a while. Then curiosity seemed to get the better of her and she slowly propped herself up on an elbow, suddenly interested in the face of the man she was lying next to.
She had to brush his floppy hair out of his face. It was a nice face, very handsome. He looked tired, but peaceful. He seemed older than he looked. She thought his hair was a little weird, though: mostly black with a blond chunk running along one side. She was usually a big stickler for symmetry, but for him, she apparently had made an exception. She must have liked him a lot.
She moved her hand. His hair stubbornly flopped back into his face. She sighed and brushed it out of the way again, not done looking yet. He seemed so familiar, so safe. He really did have a nice face. She lightly touched the mark under his left eye.
Closer...
She couldn't seem to get close enough. She sighed again. She suddenly wondered how old she was...she was sighing like a teenager in love. She didn't feel like a teenager (and this guy obviously was too old to be going out with a high school student...unless he was a perv), but...she could be in love. That seemed right. And the way he'd been holding her, she thought she could almost tell he returned the sentiment. Her mother would have told her she was being foolish if she'd heard her daughter say that, though.
My mother would tell me that...wouldn't she...hmm...
She laughed a little to herself and scooted down to lie next to him again. She put her forehead against his chest and
BANG!
Damn...What the...?
She shook her head, a little dizzy from the impact. She'd expected a nice, firm pectoral muscle, but she'd collided with...metal? Something wasn't adding up here. She felt his chest with her hand.
Metal...grating?
Wait...something was coming back to her. She sat up quickly and frantically unbuttoned his shirt. She noticed for the first time that the right sleeve was ripped to shreds. She took a breath and opened it cautiously.
Scars. So many scars.
She pushed the cotton shirt fully open. Now she could see his chest, his abdomen, nearly every bit of skin covered with scars. She gasped, automatically covering her mouth with her hand. She was horrified. Even though her memory was failing her at the moment, she thought she'd remember something that would cause scars like that. She could now see that even one of his arms was a prosthetic. She began to run her fingers over his body, feeling the rough tissue with her soft hands, bolts sticking out at odd angles impeding her progress. Suddenly, memories ripped through her brain like an electrical shock.
dangermerylvashunderground GET AWAY!
She shook her head at the sudden jolt of memory. The gravity of the situation was suddenly apparent. Danger...it was dangerous here. He'd told her to get away. But...from what? She held her hands to her head, trying to will the memories to come back. She gently slapped Vash a few times on the cheek. He didn't wake up. She frantically shook him. Still no response. She suddenly realized that he wasn't simply sleeping.
And what was going on with his hair?
She pushed off of his shoulder and stood up, and was immediately seized by a foreign emotion. All of the sudden she felt so incomplete, so inadequate. She rubbed her forehead, trying to shake the feeling, but the sudden sense of isolation she was feeling almost brought her to her knees. She took a few deep breaths to get a grip and turned around, looking at her surroundings. They were in some sort of tunnel-like system. The sunshine was streaming through. There was her...there was Vash... She kept turning. There were rocks...lots of rocks. There was a hole in the wall leading to a tunnel. There was a bag...
And there was someone else.
Knives?
She couldn't remember whether it was a name or a noun, but the man and the word were inextricably linked in her weak memory. His lower body was covered in debris. He had a lot of blood on his forehead, but where there should have been a wound, there was perfect pale skin. Still, he seemed to be out cold...probably hit by one of the falling rocks.
Why would the rocks be...
For some reason, she suddenly wanted very much not to remember what had made the rocks decide to fall. A chill ran up her spine. She felt an immediate need to defend herself. She felt like she needed a weapon. She checked her person...a holster, but no gun. She climbed over some fallen rocks into an exposed tunnel. Her leg got caught on something. She looked down to see metal and rope tied around her lower right leg. She reached down and untied it quickly, vaguely remembering that her leg was supposed to hurt, but not knowing why it would or why it didn't.
She got over the fallen rock and walked carefully through the tunnel. The further she walked, the darker it got. Still, there had to be something she could use to defend herself...
A glint of something caught her eye. She ran over to it and recognized it as a pick-axe. She tried to exhume it from the wall. She tugged as hard as she could, the axe busting free of the rock and swaying over her head, balanced by inertia, until gravity pulled it down behind her. She tried with all her might to lift it up again, but it was too heavy for her. She released the handle and looked around. She felt on the ground. Her fingers grasped a smooth wooden handle and she pulled it into the light to inspect it. It was a smaller axe with a shorter handle and a head that was just a few pounds. She blew her bangs out of her face as she sighed at her good fortune. She didn't waste much time as she clumsily made her way back to the opening.
She slid down the rocks and landed in the sunlight on her knees and knuckles. Her ears suddenly started to pop. A recollection of the same sensation told her to be ready for disaster. She looked over at the man covered in rocks. She couldn't believe her eyes. Thin feather-like appendages that were coming out of his arms were pushing the rocks off of the man.
More memories flooded her mind. She staggered backwards, trying to get a hold of herself.
Knives. He is Knives. He is Vash's brother. He is dangerous.
She had to do something. She cautiously walked over to where he lay. She saw the feathers at work, originating from his arms.
He is Knives. He is going to kill her. He is going to kill everyone.
Panic overtook her senses. She let out a desperate cry, realizing how little protection the old axe provided against such an opponent. Vash was unconscious and there was no one else she knew of who could come remotely close to controlling Knives. And judging by the appendages that seemed to have a mind of their own, he was obviously dangerous whether he was unconscious or not. She didn't have enough time to wait for Vash. She weighed her options heavily: choose to survive or choose to die... In her analytical mind, honed in preventing damage, her risk assessment of the situation left only one solution:
Remove the risk, and potential damages can be avoided.
She took a deep breath, not believing what she was about to do, but she felt compelled to do something...not just for herself...for all the humans who weren't here to defend themselves...and for someone else...somebody very important to her...
Milly...
She started hacking. The man didn't wake up, but the feathers reacted. They blindly darted around, stabbing her in the legs before evaporating. She cried out, trying to dodge them as best she could, but with every hack, she endured more and more stab wounds. Some went completely through her legs. She sucked air between her teeth, trying to endure the pain. There wasn't much left of her once-purple leggings, and what remained was now stained a deep red.
Finally, with the last blow, the remaining bloody feathers fell still and evaporated completely. She dropped the axe and stumbled towards Vash, not believing what she'd just done, refusing to look at her own handiwork. She was losing blood, feeling light headed. She slumped against him...and suddenly she felt like everything was going to be ok again. There was something else she'd been afraid of, but the painful sense of isolation had left her and she just couldn't think of what had been the cause of it. It wasn't caused by...Vash...was it? She found a nice soft spot on him to rest her head. How could she ever be afraid of him?
She closed her eyes and didn't remember anything after that.
Medical Report
Pinpointed subjects' exact location by tracking the massive energy burst from 4 days ago. Overhead observation indicated blast originated from far underground. Upon landing, encountered one Mildred Thompson, Bernardelli disaster claims agent, who described the situation to the best of her ability, but patient was suffering from dehydration and exhaustion. Much of what she said made little to no sense. Indicated someone else was in mine. Found small girl just inside mine, one "Lil," surname unknown. Girl was in relatively good health; appeared to be suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. Prefers female crew members. Further psychological testing has been ordered.
Most of the mine has already collapsed, remaining tunnels are structurally unsound. Crew has determined that for the safety of others, explosive blasts should be detonated to prevent others from taking shelter here.
Crew descended to Ground Zero of explosion site. Found three subjects: Two adult males, one adult female; identified by Ms. Thompson as "Knives" (Christian name/surname unknown), "Vash" (Christian name/surname unknown), and Meryl Stryfe, Bernardelli disaster claims agent.
Blond male was found underneath debris. No injuries found in legs or torso, but he has suffered massive trauma to the shoulders, arms nearly severed from body, most likely inflicted through the use of a small axe found near subject. Tissue in arms is gangrenous. Emergency amputation of both arms performed on airship to prevent further infection from setting in. Fitted with cybernetic receivers to redirect nerves. Will continue surgery for cybernetic prosthetic attachment once nerves have regrown properly. Healing up surprisingly well.
Other male has sustained no apparent injuries other than dehydration, but remains in a coma. Awaiting results of brain scan.
Female was found unconscious. Presumed by the pattern and amount of blood which had soaked into her clothing and the surrounding dirt that she had sustained several severe lacerations. During evaluation, however, observed only low level of anemia, a few already healing wounds on upper thighs. Wounds seem to have been inflicted by some sort of knife-like object, but these injuries must have been sustained during an earlier event. Dehydrated, in a coma. Awaiting results of brain scan.
Eager to report findings to the Doctor.
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