Disclaimer: Trigun is sadly enough not mine, or there would have been way more episodes!
Chapter 56: Vash's POV
As there group heads to the great hall he cannot help but wonder about that little display. It was out of character for his brother to listen to anyone, yet something about it seemed perfectly natural. Focusing on his brother he inquires, What was that about?
Ask your temper, I was just following orders. His twin replies with amusement coloring his tone. Knives rarely listens to orders from anyone so it really is a remarkable concept.
Touching his hand against her elbow, she glances at him questioningly. What was that?
Taking his hand in hers, she replies, That was me following the advice of Kikyo, and your brother cooperating without me having to explain. It went quite well actually, she had figured that the one boy would be a problem because his brother was Brad, so her advice was to deal with him directly. It worked rather nicely, though I am sure that there will be a fight later. Boys on a revenge kick generally need to lose before they realize they need to wake up.
Why are you clearer than normal? I'm not good at telepathy, and last checked you weren't one. He inquires his tone full of curiosity.
She grins at him, No shoes means I am connected directly to the planet, since you're touching me, I can use it as a boost. It is something Kikyo showed me when she showed me how to use the earth sense.
He smiles at her, allowing the link to fade, but still holding her hand. It's a nice feeling, he thinks, having someone there who is not embarrassed to be seen with him. It was also pleasantly surprising that she stuck up for his brother, particularly since he was fairly certain that she did not like him. In either event today seemed to be going extremely well. So far no one had been shot, though he had been worried for a few minutes there.
They were just getting ready to step inside the great hall when a high pitched, "Vash!" catches his attention, turning slightly to see who it is, he is almost thrown backwards by the weight of someone crashing into him. "Oh Vash! Your back!" the small blonde squeals as she hugs him.
Letting go of Meryl's hand he carefully sets her away, giving her that shallow smile of his he comments, "Hello Jessica," as he notices that she is still dressed for mourning.
"Your back!" she squeals again, trying to give him another hug only he has a hold of her shoulders so she cannot get to him.
Sending a wide-eyed look of concern to Meryl he keeps her where she is, he is stunned when tall girl steps next to Jessica and puts an arm around her shoulder, commenting, "I think we need to talk."
Before she can saying or do anything, tall girl leads her in the building, staying in sight but getting just out of range of hearing their conversation. Well until Jessica screams really loudly and starts bawling her eyes out. Beside him, his short girl rolls her eyes and his twin eyeballs her like an experiment.
Is it against the rules for me to make her quiet? Knives inquires, his tone implying he is only partly joking and complete willing to do so.
He nods, before glancing at Doc who is just watching it all unfold.
"I am sorry about that Vash," Doc remarks, "she has been a little harder to reason with since Brad's death."
He nods, his empathy reaching out just a little bit to touch her emotions. They are in complete chaos. She has wanted Vash as long as she can remember but she also holds him partially responsible, and this person was telling her that it would do no good for her to continue pursuing him. Her emotions were a jumbled heap, and the edges of them were ragged and torn.
Glancing at Knives, he mentally queries, Can you connect me with Kikyo?
He nods once, his eyes narrowing in his focus, a moment later Vash feels the connection form with his twin as the base.
Kikyo? He softly questions, his worry evident in his tone.
I have the connection, you may drop out of it Knives, comes her reply as he feels the shift in power. Warmth touches him, a pleasant feeling like getting a hug. What do you need Vash? You do not speak to us very often.
How do I use my empathy to heal? He questions, he is still feeling Jessica's obsession and pain, which is beginning to give him a headache.
Touching the person is the easiest route, it forms an almost instant connection. Though you are strong enough to use your gifts without touch, it would be easiest for you to do so with it for now. She tells him, he can feel her power brushing his memories so he makes sure to pull the feels he is receiving from Jessica to the forefront. I will connect Iyura in the link, she is a MindHealer and empath, she can give you better direction than I.
Thank you, he replies, relieved that she is going to help.
The impression of a nod is his reply, a few seconds later he feels a new presence brought into the link, an unfamiliar one that reminds him of cool water on a hot day. The new sister says nothing, instead she guides him using emotions through the process and helps him creating the link and bond, before starting the process. In a matter of minutes, he can feel the difference in Jessica. As he releases the bond to her, he sends his gratitude through to his sister. Warmth is his reply, along with satisfaction before the silent one cuts the connection and vanishes. Kikyo also withdraws, leaving him alone in his mind with an entirely new set of skills imprinted on him.
While showing him how to heal Jessica, Iyura had also imprinted the different was to use for him to use their gifts in the form of her memories of learning. He could submerge himself in the memories, in doing so live through them and the lessons that they taught. It would be something useful to do when he had a free moment of time.
"Are you alright Vash?" Doc inquires his voice full of concern.
Giving a shake of his head, he nods replying, "I'm fine, I just asked one of the girls something and the answer was longer than I expected." He blushes, rubbing a hand across the back of his next and smiling.
The old man nods, leading them through the building to the dining hall on the side. As they are walking, tall girl rejoins them, staying fairly close to Knives and Meryl as she does so.
"Did you…?" he hears tall girl inquire of his twin, her voice soft so he is pretty certain no one else heard her.
There is no answer, but something tells him that the conversation had switched to telepathy when she does not comment after a few minutes.
When they get into the dining hall, he is happy to see so many people that he recognizes, though it saddens him when the wave of fear and distrust rises up. His short girl tucks her arm firmly with his, smiling up at him reassuringly, a wave of confidence brushing his empathy from her. The five of them take a seat at one of the back tables, with the Doc on one side, then Knives, tall girl, short girl, and himself on the other.
"Well Vash, what would you like to talk about?" Doc inquires as he looks at each of them in turn.
Ignoring his empathy, he smiles happily at the old man before answering, "We purchased a property about a day's ride from here, near the small town of Maran. I also wanted to ask you about the plants, if it is not a problem, I have some reprogramming to do that will make them more efficient." He pauses for a moment, glancing at Meryl who is keeping an eye on the people around her. "Plus I just wanted to visit if that was okay?"
Doc beams at him, nodding. "Of course that is okay, all of it is." Then he turns to look at his brother, inquiring, "You also wished to speak with me?"
Indeed, he hears his twin reply, his voice soft, serious, and polite as he knows Knives can be. As an apology and a thank you for tending to Vash when he needed assistance, I have arranged for a complete aqueduct to be installed beneath your village, it is your choice as to whether it gets a well or not. Past that, if you would like, a small group of scientists will maintain it, in doing so they will keep fresh water fish and animals within it that can be used for food. A second group of scientists are willing to work on the surface to assist you in setting up a complete growing area.
"Oh," Doc stutters, staring at him for a moment. "Who are the scientists?"
Those that work on the aqueduct are the memousi, those that work on the surface are the lizaeri. He replies, forming a mental image of them as he does so. It is your choice to accept it or not. I realize that this planet is not the easiest to live on, thus it is both an apology and a thanks.
Doc blinks at him, his feelings are mildly confused as he thinks about it. Finally, he inquires, "How do I know that the water will not be poison or some other thing? You have spent the last one-hundred and thirty some years causing havoc for us humans."
He shrug, responding, At this point I have no reason to keep trying to kill your kind off. It has been forcefully pointed out to me that blaming the children of those responsible is foolish, thus the apology of the water supply, and the thank you in the form of a fresh food supply.
Frowning, Doc considers what he says, before he has a chance to comment, short girl comments herself. "The answer to your question is in regards to the treatment of Tesla and the abuse suffered in the hands of one of the crewmen." Her voice is low, pitched only to carry to those at the table, however it startles Vash because he had not realized she could hear Knives speaking.
A look of understanding comes to Doc's eyes as he glances between the brothers. "I had forgotten about the reports of a female independent plant being found first. Our ship did not have anything on it, so I thought it was a rumor. Do you mean to tell me that there is another one like you out there?"
Sadness fills Vash's voice as he replies, "She died, being experimented on by humans who didn't understand."
Short girl wraps an arm around him, giving him a hug, her attention switching to him as she tries to smile at him reassuringly. He gives a watery smile back before clearing his mind and returning to the thoughts at hand. For the most part he did not dwell on what had happened to their sister, but he did not forget either.
She was butchered like a lab rat because the humans who found her did not understand she was as much as a person as them. After her death, most of them realized their error. Except one, that was the one who thought it was perfectly acceptable to abuse two small children just because they were different. The crew did not stop them either. Knives just about snaps, his tone not as even as it had been, but instead colder and darker, despite that he does not feel the rage that had once been attached to that set of memories.
"Oh," is all Doc can think to say.
For a few minutes the five of them sit in silence, each reflecting on something. Vash is mildly surprised to see tall girl give his brother a worried look, and his brother responding to her. Eventually Doc is the one to speak first.
"That makes more sense now, I realize it is one-hundred and thirty some years too late, but I am sorry for the loss of your sister. No person should be used for experiments, nor should a child be abused." His voice is very sincere as he speaks, sorrow reflected in his tone. "I accept your apology on behalf of the village, and thank you for the resources. I will make sure that the villagers treat the scientists properly while they are here."
Knives nods once, eyes still narrow from his anger. They will be setting up a community of their own on the outer edge of our property. It will put them roughly two hours away from both our compound and your village by way of the aqueducts.
"That's wonderful!" Doc exclaims, "They appear to be remarkable creatures, where did they come from? I do not recall seeing anything like them in the records from earth."
A smirk curves Knives lips, a feeling a deep satisfaction echoes from him, "I created them," he replies aloud. "Since I disliked humans, but needed assistance with several tasks involving the plants, I created two races that could be of assistance. The lizaeri prefer to be above ground, many are trained in a variety of science fields including biology, zoology, genetics, botany, ecology, meteorology, advanced computers technicians, advanced mathematics, astronomy, physics, and any other natural science they could learn about. The memousi prefer to be underground and they have their share of scientists as well mostly in geology, marine zoology, marine biology, marine botany, marine ecology, chemistry, and geography." His voice is slightly husky with pride for the races. He almost sounds like a pleased parent.
Doc blinks at him, startled, "You can talk, I thought you were purely telepathic like the ladies."
"Oh no," tall girl remarks, shaking her head as she giggles. "He just prefers telepathy."
"Oh," he mutters in response, when a bell starts to ring, he stands commenting, "Please feel comfortable to walk around our community, I will reassure everyone that everything will be alright. There will be a special dinner tonight to make the announcements about our visitors. I hope you can enjoy yourselves until then." Saying nothing else, the old man nods to each of them before leaving.
Knives gives him a funny look while the two girls have another one of their silent conversations before breaking out laughing. All in all, it went far better than he had expected it to.