Disclaimer: Trigun is sadly enough not mine, or there would have been way more episodes!

Chapter 3: Knives' POV
Searing pain wakes him, only its not his pain that he is feeling. Sure his body is aching like crazy from the bullet holes in his arms and legs, but what he is currently feeling is the pain radiating from Vash. Eyes snapping open, he turns his head to see his brother curled into the fetal position, tears coursing down his cheeks even in his sleep.

In the pale dawn light he can see all of the scars criss-crossing his back, including the new bullet slashes on his shoulders from where he had shot him just days before. Now as he studies his brother's back he realizes that while most of them are from the humans there are several from him and those who serve him. When he was injured he had gone into one of the bulbs with their sisters and healed but it appeared that Vash had never gotten that idea. Blood is slowly seeping out of the wound on his right shoulder and into the bed, but he was certain that was not actually what was causing the problems.

Groaning in his head, he focused his telepath on Vash, listening in on Vash's dreams what he found there was not what he expected. He had expected something to do with the girls or Rem, instead what he found was himself laying in a pool of blood, Vash trying to save him but failing. The image kept changing but it always seemed to end the same. For what seemed like hours that's all that was going through his brother's head. Startled he pulled out of the link and found that he was breathing heavily. After everything that had happened in their lives he was surprised to see that it was his possible death that seemed to make Vash curl upon himself and weep.

Dream softly, dream slowly, let the pain fade away…Startled, he tried sitting up and found that the pain forced him to stay still.

What did you do that for? It was a soft female voice, not one he had heard before but seemed to be coming from a distance away.

Focusing again on his telepath he sent out the response, Who are you?

It's the other brother, he heard murmured, no wonder he does not know who I am. I am Tala, the biggest of the three plants that lives within this area. We often sing to him, when he is close enough to hear us. This is the first time I can remember feeling you here.

Knives was not sure what to do, he had not expected this much free thinking from one of the bound plants, almost all of the ones he had spoken with had not seemed as advanced. Knives, I am Knives, Tala. Do our other sisters sing?

The impression of a smile floated across his mind, warm and peaceful, Of course, though Merra only sings to Vash, Yali has slowly been dying, her will to live gone since her twin died many seasons ago. It was most painful for Vash when he discovered he was at fault, the soft voice paused for a moment, though really it was not his fault was it Knives? You were the one who called on his power when he did not know how to use it. Prior to that, many of us had been speaking with him, teaching him little by little, but that set him back by months, if not years.

He paid his price however. The explosion he caused that killed our sister nearly killed him and would have had not our little sister Dai allowed him within her bulb to heal. The second voice was not as gentle towards him, I am Merra little brother, it is good to finally meet you, when will you visit to apologize in person to our sister?

For a moment Knives could not bring himself to answer. He had known that a plant had died during the explosion that level July, but he had not realized that that plant had a twin. Nor had he realized that that plant's twin had suffered for it. Humans had always been the bad guys to him, they were the ones who harmed the plants without think, yet here was a plant telling him he had been the cause of the harm, not the humans.

I don't know when I can, I can't walk right now. He finally replies to them, remorse filling his tone.

A time passes before he gets a response, Come when you can, we have much to discuss I think. You need to cleanse yourself brother, only then will you find peace. Pausing for a moment he can almost feel the tension as if he is about to learn something important. Humans do not create us in the traditional sense. We come from a different plane, a plane of light and energy, but there are so many of us that many never have a chance to feel loved or needed for our energy is not needed. When we come here, we are needed. Most of us willingly come here, brought about by the call of the bulbs that they created for us to live in. The first of us were well cared for, sung to very often, it was only as time went on and people forgot that things started going wrong. Then the first little female was born outside of a bulb, her DNA a mix of ours and humans. She was beautiful, but those that found her did not appreciate her, did not realize her value, in their arrogance and foolishness she lost her life. All of us sung for her, reassured her that she had done nothing wrong, that it was alright to let go and fade into the mist. We would be waiting to embrace her on the other side. It was a great loss when she died. It was not long afterwards that you two were born in the same fashion as her. Only this time, the one to discover you wanted you to be safe. Wanted to protect you both, she sung as well. We sung for her passing as well, even though she could not understand us by then.Tala's voice faded for a moment in time, as if they are recalling the loss again. Yes brother, you should come see us when you are ready, I think that maybe it would be good for you.

Wait! He calls out as he feels her pulling away, the energy stays and he replies, Why could I not speak with you before like this? None of the others I ever spoke with seemed so …alive.

Her voice was sad as she replied, You were so filled with rage you could not hear us clearly. You also tried speaking with the weakest of us as well, we are peaceful, your rage caused those whom you spoke with pain. Sleep well brother, know that we shall sing to you like we do him as long as your rage is subsided.

Before he could say anything else he felt their presence totally withdraw, a silence unlike anything he had felt before. Always before there had been a soft echo in his mind, something he had taken for granted but now realized had really been them trying to reach him. With so much new information running through his head he didn't notice the passage of time as it went from night to dawn, dawn to morning, morning to afternoon. He didn't notices when Vash left, nor did he notice when Milly came in to clean his wounds. He was too lost in his thoughts, thoughts that had sent him reeling. He had not realized that the bound plants had known of his unbound sister. Had not realized that they had comforted her, sung her to sleep when her body grew weak and tired. There was so much he had not known, and now as he reflected on his life, he wondered what else he had missed in his rage, wondered how he was ever going to figure things out.