AUTHOR'S NOTE: Yeah! I finally got a review! Now I am happy. LOL Seriously, I am glad that this is getting read. I started it about a year ago and it is taking a long time, but I really do want to see this fanfic through to the end. And reviews help me to stay on the ball.

Channeling Nightow? I wish! I can only hope that I am doing justice to him and these wonderful creations of his. Heard there is going to be a Trigun Movie coming out at some point and am seriously looking forward to it!

Anyway, I just wanted to say that I hope you all like this chapter. The chapter that would not end, so to speak. I had a difficult time deciding which of the last three scenes I wanted to end with, and finally decided that I wanted them all in this chapter. I am also particulary fond of the back and forth repertoire between Knives and Eleesa (pronounced E-Lease-Ah for those that were wondering), in regards to the spider and the plant, even though it ends with a joke. Had to put it in though. It is a small fact that has been bothering me since I first started watching the series on Adult Swim so long ago. Had to pay homage to it.

Anyway, thank you for your patronage!

Ormandria

Vash couldn't help but drop his jaw as he looked around the room. He had never seen anything quite this extravagant in his life. At least, not when it came to rooms he would actually be sleeping in. A cushy chair, a coffee table and a soft mattress bed were just the starters. It also had its own private bathroom and a large wardrobe with a soft terry cloth robe in it.

"There's a phone downstairs if you need it and a radio transmitter as well. Eleesa mentioned you were wanting to get a letter out to some friends. If you don't mind others knowing what's on your mind, it might be quicker to just send a telegram via the transmitter."

"Really?" asked Vash, surprised. "Gee, thanks! I think I'd like to do that now if you don't mind."

"Not at all. And Eleesa asked me to tell you she wants you to give her a call once you get all that stuff done. No need to hurry though, she said."

"Oh, okay." Vash followed Jake back downstairs to the main desk in the office area. On a small side table sat the radio transmitter that Jake had mentioned. Jake sat down at the desk and started fiddling with the knobs.

"What town are your friends located in?" he asked Vash. Vash told him and Jake made the necessary twists. "It'll have to go through a couple of other towns first, but it should be there within a couple of hours," he told Vash when he was finished.

Then he grabbed the microphone and headpiece. "'lo, John? I got someone that needs to send a telegram through to some people. Let me put him on. Here ya go," he said, handing the gear to Vash.

"Thanks."

Vash took them and began sending his message to Meryl, while Jake left the room to give him some privacy. When he was done, he felt rather proud of himself. At least now he didn't need to worry about Meryl and Millie getting worried about him.

Knives came downstairs a few hours later when the smell of food sent his stomach growling to be fed. He had spent the time thinking things over and trying to formulate a plan to get to Eleesa. But he had to temporarily give up on it until he had a chance to get to know her a bit better. The problem was that she did not react to things like a normal person would, so before Knives could co-op her to his way of thinking, he had to know what made her tick first.

He sat down at the table and studied her as she finished up the cooking.

"Is something bothering you?" she asked without looking back at him.

"No," he said casually. "Just waiting for you to finish. I'm a bit hungry and I assume you are going to feed me. After all, you wouldn't want me to starve to death. Now would you?" Knives waited a moment as Eleesa thought the prospect over.

Finally she sighed. "No. I suppose not. Although it would be tempting," she said wistfully, earning a slight chuckle from Knives. Maybe she'd be easier to co-op then he had thought.

Eleesa set two plates full of food down on the table before turning to grab two glasses of water for her and Knives. It took her only a moment, but by the time she returned Knives had already started eating.

His manner of eating was a great improvement over Vash's. Especially considering he had been unconscious for heaven only knew how long. She was sure that his previous fever, coupled with the fact that he still hadn't eaten after he had awakened, had not helped any. Still he actually used the utensils that had been set out and ate with an air of quiet dignity that was usually more the mark of a refined land baron than a sociopath.

Knives looked over at her as she sat down.

"What now?" she asked him.

"You're a good cook," he responded. "Ever think of taking it to a professional level?"

"What and miss out on my chance to torture a sick soul like yourself? Never," she smiled ruthlessly.

Knives couldn't quite tell if she was serious or joking. Either way, it was proving enjoyable. "You know," he said, raising his glass in a toast. "I think I could get to like you."

He knew the moment he said it that it wasn't going to wash with her. That was all right though. It was a mere test in the waters. Most people enjoyed having their egos stroked. This time it simply wasn't going to work. Eleesa was not one to cater to her own ego. Instead she leaned forward slightly and spoke in a voice tinged with mock pity.

"I'm afraid the feeling isn't mutual. You are a bug to me Knives. Nothing more, nothing less."

"Touché," he nodded and went back to his eating. A few moments later the phone began to ring.

"And that would be your brother, I'm guessing," Eleesa commented, standing up to answer it. "Hello?"

"Hi, Eleesa?" Vash's voice came crackling through the other end. "Jake said you wanted me to call you as soon as I got settled in, so I'm calling."

"Yes, I did," she replied. "How are things going?"

"Pretty well," he answered. "Though, your car over-heated as I hit town, so I'll have to stay here over night while Mr. St. James works on it."

"That's okay. It tends to do that a lot," Eleesa chuckled, before turning more serious. "Listen Vash, I called because I thought you should know that you're brother is awake." There was a long pause on the other end.

"Vash?" she finally asked when it seemed he wasn't going to speak.

"Are you alright?" he asked, all humor and lightness gone from his voice.

"Yes, I'm fine. And so is he. Would you like to talk to him?"

"Uh, sure," Vash said, sounding anything but sure. Eleesa held the handset to the phone out for Knives. He simply looked at her, then sighing, he got up and took the phone.

"Ah, brother dear. How are you?" he sneered into the phone.

"Knives …," Vash murmured.

"Yes, brother, that is my name. Now do you remember what yours is?" Knives didn't bother trying to keep the sarcasm out of his voice.

"Uh … I … that is … Eleesa …," Knives knew immediately what Vash was getting at and cut him off.

"Yes, Ms. Eleesa. She's standing right here, pretty as ever. Don't worry brother, I don't plan on hurting a hair on her head."

"As if you could," Eleesa said loudly enough for Vash to pick up. Knives laughed. "She is definitely a card, you know that? I'm going to have to keep her around for awhile just to keep me entertained."

"She's a person Knives, not a toy," Vash regained his voice and composure.

"Do tell. Do tell."

"Why are you doing this?"

"Because I like it. Don't you like it Vash? Our little games?"

"You're sick Knives." Was that concern in Vash's voice. Knives scoffed at it.

"You know, Eleesa said the same thing. Only when she said it, it was more of a fact and less of a concern. You could take a page out of her book."

"That's it!" Eleesa exclaimed in frustration. She yanked the phone out of Knives hand as he continued laughing.

"Vash, would you mind staying in New Maine for another couple of weeks or so?"

"What? Why?"

"Well, your brother is going to have to stay here while he heals and it just occurred to me that having you two under the same roof might impede that very process."

"Oh yes, Vash. Please leave me here alone with Eleesa! I am so looking forward to getting to know her better!" Knives called from the background.

"Oh for the love of … Just shut up already!" Eleesa retorted, exasperated.

"Are you sure?" Vash asked.

"Yes, Vash, I'm positive. He'll heal much quicker if you two aren't busy fighting each other."

"Alright then," Vash replied. "If you're positive. Just do me a favor and call me if you need anything."

"I will. And thanks for understanding Vash. Talk to you later."

"Yeah, talk to you later." A slight chill crept down Vash's spin. True, something in the sound of Eleesa's voice as she yelled at Knives, made Vash feel a bit better, and then there was the fact that she was half plant. So why was he still so nervous about the idea?

Jake walked back into the room from the back office caring some papers that he was looking at.

"Done with your call already?" he asked.

Vash nodded.

"Looks like I'll be staying in town for a bit longer then I expected," he forced a laugh.

"Stay as long as you need to. Not like we have people vying to stay here right now," Jake smiled in return.

Nodding, Vash turned and walked back up to his room, not saying another word.

"So, what now?" Knives asked from his seat at the table. "We play house until my dear, sweet, naive brother comes back to rescue one of us?"

Eleesa shrugged. "Or until he comes back to kill one of us," she smirked sardonically.

"Never happen," he retorted, leaning forward as Eleesa sat back down at the table to finish eating. "You see, Vash doesn't just believe in peace, he actually strives for it in every aspect of his life. The man can't even bring himself to hurt a fly."

"In fact," Knives continued, in a matter of fact tone, as he made to finish eating as well. "He once became mad at me for killing a spider that was about to eat a butterfly. Thought there was a way to save them both."

"Can't," Eleesa said without thinking. "If you save the butterflies and all the other insects, the spider will starve."

Knives grinned. "Funny, that was what I told him and I got punched for it."

"Of course, the other option would be for the spider to adapt to its new environment," she continued as though he hadn't said a word.

"Oh? And how would it do that?"

"It could always learn to eat plants," she eyed Knives cunningly. It wasn't a threat or even a challenge, but a game of words. A game to see who would flinch first. A shiver of pleasure ran down Knives back as he smiled, savoring the danger of a game filled with innuendos.

"True," he remarked. "But then if the spider isn't careful, those plants just might decide to bite back."

"So it becomes a matter of survival?" she asked.

"Why yes," Knives said. "Survival of the fittest. Who should be allowed to survive and who should be returned to ground."

"Because obviously they can't survive together," Eleesa returned.

"Oh, they might be able to. But only if they both decided to start eating the same things."

"And by that you would mean insects?"

"Insects, or possibly even plants."

"Ah, a cannibalistic plant. Now why does that suggestion not surprise me."

"Because you are a woman who knows the way of the world and how things work," Knives nodded in respect, but Eleesa simply shook her head.

"Wouldn't happen though, unless drastic measures were taken. Or at least that's what I'm guessing."

"A fact, that is sad, but true. Which brings us back to survival of the fittest," Knives smiled.

This time Eleesa returned his smile. "Well then, I guess we'll just have to wait and see who has the greater desire to survive."

Knives lifted an eyebrow ruefully and laughed.

"Then we shall, as they say, let the games begin." He lifted his cup up in a toast to Eleesa and their mutual understanding.

"Oh, I think they already have," she replied, lifting her own cup with his before both took long drinks from them.

Eleesa lowered her cup and brought a fork-full of food up to her mouth when she suddenly stopped. She looked over at Knives who was also in mid-bite, her face screwed up in a slight look of confusion.

"What's wrong?" he raised his fork to eye level as though something might jump out of it.

"It just occurred to me," Eleesa spoke in a quiet voice full of thought. "Your brother, Vash, he eats meat."

"So?" Knives asked feeling slightly off-put now. It wasn't just the abrupt change in conversation, but Eleesa's manner had changed as well. The fiery, goading spirit that had inhabited her a moment ago had given way to a more ordinary, and slightly worried demeanor.

"Well…. It's just that …. The man won't kill a spider, but he'll eat meat. I mean, where does he think meat comes fr…." Eleesa shook her head, as she regarded Knives. "You know what? I don't want to know."

Knives put down his own fork as the pair continued to stare at each others food. Several seconds passed as Knives pondered what Eleesa had just said. It was absurd really, when he thought about it, but then it really didn't surprise him at all that Vash didn't stop to think about what he was doing when he was eating meat and eggs and such. The utter irony of the thought broke through and Knives fell into the first fit of genuine laughter he had had in decades, with Eleesa following suit herself.

"Meryl!" Millie yelled as she ran up to her friend and co-worker.

"What is it Millie?" Meryl was busy busing tables for the dinner crowd at the small restaurant that she was currently waitressing at. It wasn't her normal job. Normally she was an insurance adjuster for the Bernardelli Insurance Company and Millie was her assistant. Their job was to follow Vash the Stampede and keep tabs on any destruction that might be caused by him. They had decided long before that any damage caused by the Humanoid Typhoon was not to be covered by them. It was simply too expensive.

Lately though, with Vash out after his brother, there hadn't been much for them to do, so the pair had taken on various jobs to pass the time. For Millie, it was any odd jobs that might make use of her supreme strength, and with Meryl it meant becoming a waitress temporarily. It was fine though. They were both enjoying the jobs and the people immensely. It also helped, in Meryl's case, to keep her mind off of Vash.

"It's a telegram from Mr. Vash!" Millie waved the envelope in front of Meryl's face, nearly causing her to drop the loaded tray of hot food she was carrying.

"Well silly, don't just stand there. Read it to me already," Meryl replied as she started handing out the food to the customers.

"Alright!" Millie tore open the envelope with great gusto and began to read aloud.

"Dear Meryl and Millie, Hey, Meryl he sent it to both of us!"

"Millie!"

"Oh right, sorry. A-hem. Dear Meryl and Millie. Doing fine, stop. Found Knives, stop."

"Well that's a relief," interjected Meryl.

"We are staying in New Maine for a while with Ms. Eleesa, stop."

Meryl stopped what she was doing and turned toward Millie, who continued.

"She's a very nice lady, who lives here, stop. Like a beautiful blossoming rose in the middle of the desert, stop. She has said we can stay with her as long as necessary, which is very good, as I do not know how long we will need to be here, stop."

The now empty tray slid slowly from Meryl's hand, landing with a loud clang onto the floor below. She began to laugh coldly.

"Might be here a while, so try not to worry too much, stop. I hope all is well with you, stop. Will write again later, your friend Vash, stop. Isn't that just so nice of Mr. Vash Meryl? To let us know that he's doing so well. And he found his brother too. Isn't that nice? Meryl?" Millie looked at Meryl, who stood stalk still, her right eye twitching violently.

"Ms. Eleesa, huh?" Meryl asked in a slightly angry voice. "Beautiful, blossoming rose? That … He … I'm … I'm … I'm going to kill him!"

"Come on Millie!" She quickly grabbed Millie's arm, dragging the taller woman as she stomped out of the restaurant.

"Um, where are we going?" Millie asked, trying to keep up with Meryl and her own arm.

"To pack! And then we're going to hop the first Sand-Steamer to New Maine!"

After they had finished with dinner, Eleesa had set to cleaning the dishes while Knives availed himself of a self-tour of his would-be, albeit temporary, residence. He still found himself chuckling every once in a while over Eleesa's acute observation of Vash. In a strange way it had been nice to laugh like that. It had broken a bit of the tension between the two and with any luck would make his new prey that much more susceptible to him.

Even if it didn't at least he knew that she did have more then two emotions in her. Those two emotions being "annoyed" and "unconcerned." With what he had planned he would need to see her as she was when she wasn't on the defensive.

He walked past the plant room into the main entry-way. There was a door on the other side of the wall and a long hallway to the right of the stairs leading up.

After a moment he decided to follow the hallway first. He had already seen upstairs, so there was no need to re-acquaint himself with that. Down the hall were two more doors. One led to a room that Knives took to be the study. A large desk with a matching chair sat in the middle of the room, while two more over-sized, cushioned chairs took up space in two of the study's corners. Again, shelves had been built into each of the walls, but while the shelves in the other room were crowded with plants, these were crowded with books of almost every shape and size, with only a few plants sitting in-between. The only exception to this was the extra-large curtained window that was set into the wall directly behind the desk. There was a small sapling in an urn in another one of the corners, while a standing lamp stood in the last corner.

Knives walked to the desk, looking at the various artifacts that were laid out upon it. A smaller version of the corner lamp was in the upper right hand corner, and Knives noted that both were oil lamps, like the rest of the light in the house. He nodded in satisfaction. She apparently did not like having to depend upon the Plants for anything, save her radio and phone. He wasn't quite sure why, but the thought made him smile.

There was an ink well and pen set into the desk, and a large heavy mat that was covered in dry ink stains. Other then that the desk was bare. Moving to the open window, he looked out on the large garden that Vash and Eleesa had been working in earlier that day. He could see the trees lining up in the background as the set. There was no doubt that during the day, the light that filtered through this window would be more then enough to keep it bright.

A slight breeze wafted in and his heightened sense of smell picked up all the wonderful scents of the plants outside. Knives had to admit to himself that the woman definitely knew what she was doing when it came to plants. Not a single stench of rot or mildew carried on the air.

He turned back to the desk and began rifling through the drawers in the hope that they might give him some insight into Eleesa that he could use against her. Much to his annoyance, they only proved a haven for miscellaneous puzzles, pens, pencils and more books. There didn't seem to be anything of any great importance, and the books that he found in the desk, as well as those on the shelves, where so diverse in their themes, that they too, offered nothing more then the knowledge that Eleesa liked to read. In fact most of the books looked well-worn, with some being held together by bits of glue or string.

Knives left the room and turned right and opened the second door. It led to the outside where he could see a barn in the not-too-far distance that he had missed before. He made a mental note to check that out later, when there was more light.

Going back down the hall he stopped by the door to the only room that he had yet to inspect. Turning the handle though proved fruitless. The door was locked.

"That's my junk room," Eleesa explained as she walked into the hall from the plant room. She was busy drying her hands on a towel as she spoke. "It's where all my junk goes when it becomes useless."

"Oh? And yet, you still keep it all. And in a locked room no less."

"What can I say? I'm a sentimental old softy that way."

"Hmm. Why don't I believe you?" Knives turned to look at her.

"Because one day and you already know me too well I guess," Eleesa laughed sarcastically. "You're right though. Sentimentality has very little to do with that room. But you are wrong if you think that there is anything of value in there. I promise you that it is indeed just a bunch of junk."

"So do I get to see it?" he pushed.

Eleesa shrugged. "At some point, maybe. Depends on how well you can behave and whether or not I decide to throw you in there as well."

"So now I'm to behave like some mutt on a leash?"

"Well I am the one that holds the key to your mind right now, aren't I Fido?"

Knives narrowed his eyes at the insult.

"Hey," Eleesa grinned. "You're the one that likened yourself to a mutt. Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to clean myself up. I trust that you can handle yourself for the rest of the night?"

Knives watched in silence as Eleesa walked up the stairs, making her way to the bathroom at the back. When he heard he close the door and turn the water on he turned his own attention back to the locked door. He tapped on it lightly. The door seemed solid enough, but he was sure that he would have no trouble breaking it down if he wanted to. He set his shoulder against it, ready to pull back and thrust through when his body stopped, just as it had earlier when he had tried to pull the trigger on his gun.

Damn it, she was good! It seemed that Eleesa liked to keep all her bases covered. She had apparently figured that he would try to break into this room and had decided to fix it so that he couldn't when she had fixed it so he couldn't kill anyone. It made him wonder what else she had "fixed" while she had been in his head. Knives lifted his hand to his head and felt a slight shine of sweat. He punched his hand against the wall, causing it to shudder under the force.

He hated the idea that she could enter his head and get to him so easily. When he did manage to bring her around to his way of thinking, he would definitely have to keep an eye on her. Until then, would just have to continue to play along. But not before testing a few more boundaries. With one last look at the door, Knives headed outside to see just how far away from the house he could walk in any one direction. After all, it was good to know one's limits.

Eleesa lay down in her bed and allowed herself a slight smile. The call had gone better then she had hoped. She knew that if Knives and Vash talked, the former wouldn't be able to help but to try and bait his brother, giving her the perfect opportunity to suggest that Vash stay in town awhile longer. She wondered briefly if Knives even realized how easy it was to play him, but then decided no. The man was too obsessed with playing his brother and other people. His ego would not allow for him to even consider that someone else could so easily manipulate him.

Closing her eyes, Eleesa let her mind drift away briefly. She could feel Knives wondering through the garden, making his way back to the house. She wondered how far he had gone before he realized that he had started walking in circles around the house.

She had set a one-half mile limit for him, but she also knew that the terrain around her house could fool even the hardiest natured of men into going in circles. A half-mile had seemed appropriate at the time. It was just enough to give him a slight sense of freedom, but still close enough to keep him on his leash.

Eleesa could feel a strong sense of satisfaction coming off of him know. It was mixed into the torrent of other emotions that raged inside of him. It was an odd mix of emotions, mostly hatred, anger and amusement, but buried deep beneath it all, was the salty, sweaty taste of fear. So deep was it buried that even Knives was not willing to admit that it was there, but there it lay. Eleesa's grin broadened. The seed she had planted was already bearing fruit. Now all she had to do was find a way to feed that fear.

Closing her eyes, satisfied herself, with the days work, Eleesa allowed herself to drift off into sleep.

For Kable Grant, it was all about the money. How much money he could get, and how fast and easy he could get it. He was the youngest of all six members of the Gunrit Gang. He was also considered the brains of the operation, and was, by far, the least intimidating of them all. At least, he was until you got to know him. As second in command, he was the one that decided what towns the gang hit for a good haul. He and one or two of the others would go into a town to scout, while the rest stayed just outside the town's borders. They'd have a nice meal at a local restaurant or tavern, looking like they were merely travelers passing through, while all the while they would gage just how much money the town had, and just who they could hit up for a ransom or a robbery.

It was then that people would realize just how dangerous Kable was. He always remained calm in the face of adversity, giving people the impression that he could be easily negotiated with. However, the moment anyone in the gang was hurt, or someone did anything to upset him, he wouldn't hesitate in maiming or killing the person responsible, without so much as blinking. At that point, all thoughts of negotiating with him, went out the window.

Tonight had started out as no exception. The town had apparently recently struck water and where there was water, there was money. The Gunrit Gang had been intent on seeing to it that at least some of that money landed in their pockets.

Until Kable had heard the telegram that is. When the tall woman had rushed in excitedly, he had first thought that either someone else had decided to hit the town, or that the rest of the gang had been spotted. He had been sorely relieved to find that it was neither. It was merely a telegram for her and the waitress that had been serving him and Hoigt. Hoigt was short and burly, but in the clothes of a farmer, wasn't anymore likely to send up any red flags then Kable was.

It had been fate. Of that Kable was sure. At first he thought he had misunderstood when he heard the name Vash. Surely these two, merely bits of girls themselves, wouldn't know the esteemed outlaw Vash the Stampede, right? But as the letter finished, he realized that he had not been mistaken.

Not only did they know Vash, but they knew where he was as well. And now thanks to them, so did he. It had been all that Kable had needed to know. He slapped Hoigt on the shoulder to let him know that as soon as they were done eating they would be going back to the gang.

They wanted to be quiet about it, as bringing up suspicions wouldn't be good. Kable knew that the next Sand-Streamer wouldn't be here until the day after tomorrow. Which was good, because it would give him and the rest of the Gunrits a good head start and a great chance of getting to Vash before those two did.

With a Sixty Billion Double Dollar bounty on the line, the last thing Kable wanted was for Vash the Stampede to know that someone had gotten wind of his location and was coming to collect.

With that very idea in mind, the Gunrit Gang packed up early and began making their way to the small town of New Maine, on the other side of the desert. The fact that halfway there, they would discovered a pair of unique guns and a beaten and well-worn, red trench coat, would only serve to solidify to them that they were indeed on the right track.