Chapter8

-Rhez-

Rhez looked around the church cautiously, he didn't see Granz anywhere. He reached down into his boot and pulled out a tiny two shot gun that he had taken off of the body of one of the henchmen from the steamer. He pressed it up against his chains and fired, breaking the chain. "Alright…" He said to himself as he pulled the chains off and took off out of the church. He reached the door, but heard footsteps outside. "Shit… gotta find another way out of here." He moved into what he thought was a closet, but saw that a ladder led up to a hatch on the ceiling. "A roof exit?" Rhez said to himself. He quickly climbed the ladder and opened the hatch, crawling out onto the roof. "You!" He said in surprise when he saw that Vash was already sitting up there. Vash didn't look back at him, he was just staring off into space and crying.

"It's all falling apart… I don't know how I let this happen…" He said as he wiped is face. "I have a terrible feeling, something doesn't seem right with Stran… The fifth moon has a couple extra scars tonight…did I send him right to Knives?" The name Knives struck Rhez the same as Vash had at first. "Who is Knives?" Rhez said. Vash spun around and looked at him like he hadn't known he was there. "I… You're up… how did you get loose?" Rhez pointed his little gun at Vash. "I'm resourceful I guess." Vash smiled and pointed Rhez's own revolver at him. "I thought that this was the real thing at first, but it isn't. It's very close though, expert craftsmanship and a nice feel to it." Vash started walking towards Rhez and kept the gun up. "Stop… I said stop right there! I'll shoot!" Rhez said as he backed up a step. "Lena would want me to forgive you… and Rem wouldn't want me to kill you… So there is only one option that I can think of." Vash stopped when he was so close that the guns almost touched. He flipped the revolver in his hand and pointed the handle at Rhez. "Take it, may it be a burden to you as mine was to me." Rhez hesitated, than took the revolver. "You have a lot of sins to make up for little brother." Vash said with a slight smile. "Little brother? Are you… my family? Are you the one who was talking to me? No… you couldn't be, you're to different, and that voice told me to kill… you don't seem like you like killing." Vash looked into Rhez's eye as tears swelled up in his. He reached out and started hugging him and crying. "Oh little brother, I knew you weren't evil! I just knew it!" Rhez tried to pry himself away but couldn't. "Get… Off… Of… ME…" Rhez gasped out. Vash let him go and immediately went back to his sad self. "But this means… that Knives is back… there's no doubt about it now." "Who is Knives?" Rhez asked. Vash walked away and sat down on the edge of the building. "I guess there's a lot I need to let you in on…"

For the next couple of days Vash and Rhez talked and trained together. Vash lightened up drastically as they spent more time together. Rhez felt different now, Vash had explained to him why killing was wrong, even if Rhez didn't totally buy it. They were staying in the nearby hotel, the townspeople had gratefully put them up after Rhez told them that Vash wasn't Vash the Stampede. After spending a few minutes with him, they all believed the lie. One morning Rhez wandered down the stairs, rubbing the sleep from his eyes. "Morning Rhez." Someone said cheerfully. "Good morning." He said as he walked past. He walked out of the hotel and outside as the sun stretched over the horizon. A glimmer of light caught his eye on the porch and a slight movement followed it. Rhez walked over towards it and realized that it was a spider web. A tiny butterfly was fluttering around, trying to free itself from the web. The spider slowly crawled out and made its way towards its prey. Rhez watched as the spider got closer. He reached out towards the spider to crush it. A hand shot out from behind him and grabbed his arm. "I told you Rhez, no more killing." Vash said from behind him. Rhez looked back at him and frowned. "And I told you, that doesn't make any sense." Vash pulled him away from the spider web and stared in his eyes. "No more killing." Vash said again. "In order for the butterfly to survive, the spider must die. If you take the butterfly away, the spider will starve, if you do nothing, the butterfly dies. It's better to kill those who would kill others before they can commit the act." Rhez said as he pulled away from Vash. Vash's face took a serious tone as he thought back to so long ago, when Knives had said the same thing to him. "I'm leaving Vash, I have something to do." Rhez said as the walked away. Vash nodded and smiled. "I understand that you need to leave, but I'm coming with you." Rhez spun around and pulled his revolver. He fired once, almost grazing Vash's face. Vash turned to see that Rhez had shot the spider. "Follow if you want brother, but you may not like what you see." Vash balled up his fists and stared at Rhez. "Where are you going?" Rhez put his gun away and looked out over the town. "Someone got inside of my head… he forced me to kill innocent people… I don't like being controlled Vash, I'm going to kill Knives." Vash didn't say anything as Rhez walked back into the hotel. A few minutes later he came walking out, wearing the white coat that the local tailor had given him. He slung a long rifle over one shoulder and a bag over the other. "How do you know you can find him Rhez?" Vash said to him. "I can feel him Vash, I know where he is." Rhez started walking out of town without looking back. Vash stood there, shaking his head as he watched Rhez leave.

Reverend Tobias Granz grinned as he watched Rhez leave town from inside of his church. He walked to the back and opened up a drawer. He reached into it and pulled out what looked like a futuristic cell phone. He punched a few numbers and held it to his ear. "The second one is on his way now sir." He waited a second, than heard a confirmation on the other end. "Yes sir, I will follow him right away." He put the phone in his pocket and smiled. "Praise god in his infinite wisdom."

-Stran-

"Stran…Stran…" Knives slap's Stran a couple times in the face. Stran's eyes begin to flutter then slowly open. "Hu whats what." Stran lay there chained to a bed. "Vash." Stran say's while trying to look around threw his blurry eye sight. "Vash…Vash are you there." "Nope there's no Vash here only me Knives." Stran's eyes pop wide open and horrid image's flash before his eyes as his vision clears. Instantaneously realizing what was going on Stran jumps to his feet on top of the bed breaking the chains that where binding him to the bed not even realizing they where there. "Well you are a strong one arnt you those chains where meant to lift sand steamer forges." "WHERE AM I KNIVES" Stran screams. "Calm down Stran your fine you've been a sleep for a five days now."

Stran looks at knives then looks down at his arms. "What where those things Knives."

Well they where originally designed as Angel Canons but some how you manipulated them turned them into something new and the power output how did you get it so high that was at least fifty if not hire I'm surprised you lived. Gigantic blades that shot long streaks of energy. It was all quit magnificent." "Where are we." "About a three day walk to July." "Vash said you were paralyzed and restrained." "I'm sure Vash told you a lot of things that." Stran cuts off Knives. "He told me that you where a ruthless killer who had no remorse and no conscious you deserved what you got." "Now Stran that's not true I was only trying to save us save this planet, save our kind this planet belongs to us." "No this planet belongs to every one, no one has the right to kill anyone." "You have to kill the spider to save the butterfly Vash lives his life one contradiction at a time. Have you ever seen his body his wretchedly disfigured body. By the expression on his face you have did he tell you what it was from did he tell you what happened to him." "Vash said he was crossing a mountain top and there was an earth quake and he fell down the side of it all the way down and woke up in a sand worm field. Knives looks at the ground and chuckles "I'm sorry little brother but that's a lie those scars on his body are from the very maggots he try's to save people fear him so they shoot him there was a time when some one even made him get naked in the middle of town and walk around like a dog these people are scum why would you save something like that WHY STRAN WHY." Knives eyes grow large and his pupil's shrink. "That cant be true Vash wouldn't lie to me he only wants to help people." "Listen to me Stran Vash isn't right about this stay here with me for a couple days your free to leave when ever you wish but please consider it. I cant believe I'm even thinking about this I know I shouldn't I know he's lying I should kill him now where he stands why…why cant I do it I know I should. Stran thinks to himself his fist clench and his eyes tighten blood begins dripping from his nose and the corner of his lips as he clinch's down. "Fine I'll stay" Stran's face turns back to white and he takes a deep breath as the blood leaves his face and he calms down shaking a little bit from the relief. "But I swear if I think your up to anything I'll fucking kill you I'm not as soft as Vash is I will kill you Knives." "Wonderful Stran here come with me you most be starving."