Trigun Fan Fiction ❯ Life Thereafter ❯ Fortress ( Chapter 18 )

Disclaimer: How I wish I owned Trigun. Sadly, I own it not.

 

A/N: Well, another day, another chapter. I hope you enjoy this one. I do have a few announcements.

First of all, I forgot to mention last week that my brainstorming monkey Abo made yet another fanart for this fic, the link to which is in my profile. Secondly, I credit the description of Knives's fortress to Trigun Maximum volumes 6 and 7, and I thank Abo greatly for providing scans of the latter although I did take a little creative license with it. Lastly, the end of this chapter is in part dedicated to a good friend of mine who inspired me to write it. -coughs- I hope you enjoy reading it. -grins impishly-

Anyway, I've rambled too long, so on to the next chapter!

 

 

Fortress

 

Meryl stared at Knives for a moment before quickly looking away. For some reason, she got the feeling that the grin on Knives face had very little to do with the fact that they had finally arrived at their destination to help Vash, which made it all the more unnerving. Plus, she had seen the dents in the steering wheel that looking disturbingly like hands had caused them. Meryl looked ahead, locking her gaze, determined to not give away anything, even as a slight chill ran up her spine.

Wrapping her blanket a bit closer about herself to ward off the morning chill, Meryl huddled against her seat, trying to keep in the warmth. It was a bit difficult, but she did her best to ignore Knives, no matter how unnerving it was to be in the front seat with him, especially when he had so openly expressed his desire to kill her.

At least he isn't staring at me now, she thought nervously.

Despite herself, Meryl found her gaze flickering in Knives's direction. She almost choked when her violet eyes met his arctic blue ones. Meryl began to cough into the palm of her hand, hoping it would cover up her thoughts in that exact moment. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a smirk twist Knives's lips.

I don't know how he does it, but he freaks me out, Meryl shuddered.

Meryl jerked forward as the truck bounced violently on something in the “road,” and her head banged against the seat. She hissed through her teeth in pain and rubbed the back of her head, knowing there would probably be a lump there later. Glancing at Knives again, Meryl was somewhat irritated by the fact that he seemed completely unruffled by the event. She leaned back, a frown marring her smooth features as she tried to forget about the throb at the back of her skull.

Meryl bit her lip. They were so close to their goal. Knives's headquarters, he had said, was just over the dune they were now driving up. The only question in Meryl's mind that remained was what was going to happen now that their destination was basically in sight?

This question was not a tough one to answer if one was looking at what would occur in the long run. Knives would do research on Vash's condition and try to heal him. He would either succeed, or he would not, something that Meryl severely hoped would not happen. If Vash never recovered, everyone might as well kiss the human race goodbye. That was not pessimism; that was fact. Knives would spare no one, and he would not stop the genocide until every human was dead, down to the last child, including Meryl, which brought up another question.

The thought had once occurred to Meryl that Knives would not bother to heal Vash, and that Knives would instead decide to let him die so he could have a free hand with the humans. Yet, for some reason, Meryl could not bring herself to believe that. Perhaps it was how determined Knives was that she not “taint” his brother, or maybe it was something else entirely. She did not know. Still, the feeling remained that Knives would try to help his brother, no matter how twisted his “help” might seem to her.

What really concerned Meryl at the moment, though, was not only Vash's health, which appeared to be deteriorating, but also her own. She was not worried about her “health,” so to speak, but more about what she was going to do one they arrived. After all, while she could care for Vash somewhat in an enviornment such as this, she knew very little to nothing about the kind of techology that would be present once they arrived. Meryl was saddened to think that she would be able to do nothing for Vash once they got there.

Meryl sighed, absentmindedly twirling a black strand of hair around her finger. She stared at it a moment, and smiled wryly at her new habit before letting the grin fade. No matter what happened, it was going to be difficult. She knew that. There was no getting around it. In addition, chances of Meryl being able to completely avoid Knives while there were laughable, basically less than zero.

“There.”

Meryl jumped a bit, startled by Knives's voice interrupting the sound of gears shifting in the vehicle and wheels kicking up dust behind them. She looked at him and saw that he was still grinning, this time the expression on his face directed towards what was directly in front of them as the truck went up and over the dune. Meryl gaped at the sight that greeted her.

It was a bridge but like none she had ever seen before. It seemed to stretch on for iles, with support beams above and below the actual road which was paved, and strange clouds seemed to circulate beneath it, making the area below the bridge seem bottomless. Strange lines were holding the construction up, and Meryl felt like if several broke, the whole thing might collapse. As Knives drove on, the minutes ticked by like an eternity until finally they arrived.

What Meryl was seeing could only be described as one thing: a fortress. Multiple floors built entirely of some metal alloy that was no long in production towered above her, making her feel small and insignificant. Towers rose up out of the ground, jagged and uneven, as if they had been carved away, and an assortment of balconies were scattered along the outer walls. Then, something black caught her eye. Squinting, Meryl tried to get a better look. She could barely make out part of a word which looked like “SEEDS.”

She sucked in her breathe. This building was in fact the remains of a ship that had crashed during the Great Fall. Meryl recognized the same basic rough structure of the ship that had crashed a while ago when Vash had gone there to be re-equipped. A lump rose in her throat as she remembered how heartbroken Vash had been after that incident, especially since a good friend of his had died, yet another death weighing down on his soul.

Meryl shook her head, trying to free herself of those thoughts. It would not be prudent to be thinking of things like this, especially with Knives around. She watched as they drew closer and closer to what appeared to be a wall, but that made no sense. Where was the entrance?

Knives slowed the truck to a halt just a few yarz away from what looked like a giant metallic slab different from the rest of the wall and surrounded by large pipes that lined the fortress. Meryl watched as Knives walked confidently forward. He rested his fingertips against the wall and waited.

Suddenly, to Knives's right, a rectangular metallic object rose up from the ground, sand pouring off of it. Knives brushed it off, revealing a smooth, black panel with a handprint on it outlined in green. He placed his left hand upon it, and a slit second later, a bright green light swept over his hand.

“Name,” a pre-recorded female voice said.

“Millions Knives,” Knives replied.

“Access approved,” the computerized voice said, just as the large slab split down the middle and began to part in opposite directions.

A door, Meryl thought in awe.

Knives got back into the driver's seat and drove into the dark entrance hall. Meryl looked around nervously, unsure of what she would see. Much to her surprise, lights went on behind them as they continued. Gauging her surroundings, Meryl was amazed by the sheer size of the place. Corridors branched off of the main one into several different directions, and one large staircase that, as Meryl later learned, led to the upper floors of the complex. However, these sights passed by quickly as they sped into a small tunnel and deeper into the heart of the ship.

Lights flashed above Meryl's head as she continued to watch, increasingly awed by what she was seeing. Then, they came out of the tunnel, and Meryl shielded her eyes, blinded by the sudden increase in light.

She blinked, her eyes adjusting to the sudden shift in brightness. Meryl's eyes widened, her shock apparent, and she did not even care as Knives drove through what could be labelled nothing except the main Plant facility in this ship. Looking up, Meryl saw the pulsating glow of the Plant bulb. From behind the thick glass, Meryl thought she could almost make out a figure inside, both human and not.

The Plant... Meryl realized, feeling somewhat humbled by its presence, not because it was “superior” or any of the reasons Knives liked to spout. It was because Meryl felt for her, the Plant, and believed she deserved respect for how much she did for humans. Plus, after spending so much time with Vash, it was hard to view them as less than human instead of as people, no matter how different they were.

They're people, no matter how different they are...

It truly was amazing. There was no ceiling that Meryl could discern, the sky clear and blue. Even more breathtaking was the grass that lined the landscape, making this perhaps the only non-metallic room in the ship. Trees dotted the wide space that seems to stretch on for at least an ile, interupted only by the size of the Plant itself.

It's beautiful.

“Do not be getting any foolish notions in that inferior mind of yours,” Knives sneered, his voice cutting through the peaceful silence.

Meryl scowled at him. “And what is that supposed to mean?”

“About my sister,” Knives said, indicating the Plant. “The only reason you have been allowed to be in her presence is because this is the quickest way to the medical bay. A creature such as you has no right to be here,” he finished, eyeing her with contempt.

“Fine. Say what you want about my race, but I'm not leaving. Deal with it,” Meryl glared.

Knives's eyes narrowed. “Your impudence will be the death of you,” he hissed.

“And I'm sure you'll be my executor, isn't that right?” she retorted.

Knives narrowed his eyes further but did not reply. An extremely tense silence followed, broken only by the sound of the vehicle. Meryl fumed silently in her seat until finally the lack of sound became too much.

“So, how'd you come across this place anyway?”

Knives did not even look at her. “Not that it is any busines of yours, but I discovered it perhaps ten years after the Great Fall.”

Meryl blinked. “So, were there...er...humans here?”

“No, although I would have enjoyed putting the miserable creatures out of their collective misery,” Knives smirked.

“How kind of you,” Meryl said, her voice dripping with sarcasm as she prepared for the explosion.

Knives raised an eyebrow. “That is a matter of opinion,” he said, taking Meryl by surprise.

“Um, anyway,” Meryl said, trying to change the subject, “what's so special about this place?”

“I would have to say the lack of human presence in over a hundred years,” Knives mused, rubbing his chin. “Until now,” he finished, his words laced with barely concealed venom.

Meryl flushed. He's never going to lay off, damn him...

Knives looked somewhat amused by her expression, and she huffed before turning away. Meryl should have expected nothing less. Once a murderous, genocidal maniac, always a murderous, genocidal maniac.

Meryl turned her head, black hair whipping past her face as they left the Plant facility and entered yet another tunnel lit only by lights beaming down from the low ceiling. She sat back down, trying her best to not appear jittery. Meryl was feeling decidedly uncomfortable, not only because of the enclosed spaces, but also because of whom she was inside of the enclosed spaces with. It was disconcerting to say the least.

When they emerged a minute or so later, Meryl blinked as they came to a halt in front of yet another door much like the one at the main entrance, only much smaller in scale. Knives stepped out of the car and more or less repeated what had occured outside of the fortress. The door slid open with a hissing noise, revealing a darkened room with a few flickering lights of different strengths and colors blinking at her.

“Wait here,” Knives said, stepping into the room.

Meryl folded her arms across her chest, glaring at his back as Knives entered the room and began to switch on the most advanced computers Meryl had seen. The blank screens came to life, radiating pale light. When all of the lights finally came on, Meryl saw that there were medical bays as well as stretchers and other assorted items. She stepped out of the car cautiously, unsure what she should be doing.

Knives walked out of the room, ignoring her as he went to the back of the truck, carefully lifting his brother into his arms. He flinched somewhat as Vash's feathered arm, which was hanging out of his layers of blankets, brushed against him, and it was then that Meryl saw one of the strangest things ever.

Knives's face was sprouting feathers.

It was not even a large number of feathers. There were just a few of them on his left cheek. Looking down, Meryl also saw, to some shock, that his left arm was also reacting in a similar fashion.

“Don't just stand there,” he growled. “Do something useful!”

Meryl jumped, suddenly aware of how irritable Knives sounded. She rushed into the medical bay, grabbed a stretcher, and pushed it out, the handles coldly metallic and the wheels squeaking as they rolled.

Knives set Vash down gently on it, but once he was free, he jerked his hands away as if burned. Meryl watched, morbidly fascinated, as the feathers disappeared, one by one. Knives turned around, his eyes burning as he brushed roughly past her and pushed Vash into the medical bay.

She stared after him, wondering what in the hell had just occurred, yet accepting grudgingly that Knives would probably never tell her. Actually, forget the probably. He never would.

 

 

Knives manuevered his brother into the room, his mind thinking furiously about what had just happened. For some reason, his own Angel Arm had reacted to Vash's for the second time. Yet, this had been worse. The feathers had sprouted in more than one place. Knives knew one thing: He had to get Vash back to normal before he himself was infected with whatever was ailing his brother.

Looking about, Knives chose a bed for Vash close to the computer. Bracing himself, he quickly moved Vash from the stretched to the bed. He felt a small stirring in his Plant Angel abilities, but they subsided soon enough due to the shortness of the contact.

Staring down at his brother's prone form, Knives frowned, his mind ill at ease. Then, he turned away and plunked himself into the spinning chair in front of the large computer screen. Knives then proceeded to begin typing rapidly, his fingers almost flying over the keys, making multiple clacking sounds that echoed slightly in the metallic room.

As different windows popped up simultaneously, Knives scanned them in seconds, experienced in such work. He had compiled a great many files in his time, and perhaps one of them held the secret to Vash's ailment. No matter how great the odds, it would be worth it to try.

Knives was so absorbed in his work that for a few minutes he completely fogot about the human's presence. Yet, it was not long before he picked up on a high-pitched, creaking noise. He stopped typing and spun his chair about, his eyes greeted by the sight of the female fidgeting on a stool next to his brother, rocking back and forth on the flat, hard seat.

He narrowed his eyes at her. She did not seem to notice, her attention focused entirely on Vash. Knives glared at her. The mere presence of this woman irked him, especially since they had arrived. There was no longer any need for her, not that she had been needed before anyway. Perhaps now...

Knives's lips twisted slightly in a small, yet devilish grin. He stood slowly, his anticipation rising as he tried to veil it. As he walked over to her, his footsteps making a tapping noise, the human jerked her head up and stared at him warily.

Knives smirked internally. The fool. She should know by now that no one and nothing can save her from me.

“What?” she asked, her tone of voice slightly snappish, perhaps because of his close proximity.

“Come with me,” he told her. It was not a request.

She glared at him suspiciously. “I want to stay with Vash.”

It was Knives's turn to glare. “I cannot work with you here. You will come with me to your quarters and stay there. Do you understand?”

The human flinched a little and bit her lip, clearly thinking about something. She glanced at Vash one more time before curtly nodding. Brushing herself off a little, she stood up. Knives turned around and strode out the door, once again irritated by her open affection for his brother.

He strode out of the medical bay, ignoring the petite female following after him. Even though he could not see her face, Knives could almost feel the unease radiating off of her in waves. He smirked, his back facing her so she could not see his expression.

Knives led her back through the tunnel through which they had come, the small bulbs overhead providing what amounted to semi-lighting as the made their way through the passage. It was not a long treck by any means. In fact, Knives would have left the truck at the entrance had he not been carrying a sick Vash with him. Still, it would serve his purposes now by fixing a distance between himself and Vash.

When the darkness of their surroundings gave way to the sunlight of the main Plant complex, Knives breathed in deeply. He stared up at the bulb in which his Plant sister was imprisoned. He felt a twinge in his heart for her in that he had not yet found a way to set her free. Someday, Knives swore he would free her from her prison.

“Um, Knives, where are we going?”

Knives twitched slightly, barely noticing that he had stopped to gaze up at his Plant sister. The very moment the female spoke his name she defiled it! Not even his Gung-Ho Guns had ever dared to address him in such a familiar fashion. It was always “Master” or “Master Knives.” This human was grating on his last nerve.

“Knives?”

His face twisted in an evil grin at the uncertainty, as well as the touch of fear in her voice. Knives turned to face her. The human's face went completely white at the look in his eyes.

Bloodlust.

She spun around and began to run, but unfortunately for her, she did not get far. Knives grabbed a fistful of black hair and roughly slung her to the ground, her fall luckily padded (for her) by the thick grass, crying out in pain as she landed heavily on her face. Knives's grin widened.

“So,” he began, eyes glittering with malice, “did you honestly believe you were safe from me? You fool!”

Knives watched as she pushed herself up slowly until she was sprawled on her back, looking up at him, eyes wide with undeniable fear, yet a stubborn determination was still there, glaring out at him as she fumbled with a strap of her overalls, trying to make it go back over her shoulder. He narrowed his eyes in anger.

“Actually Knives, I did expect this to happen.”

Knives's lips twisted upward. “Well, it would appear that your inferior brain is not completely worthless after all.”

This statement earned him yet another filthy look from the human. It was amusing, and irritating at the same time, that she could be so defiant when her life was in such danger. She certainly had more spunk than his usual victims.

He crouched down before her, watching her hawkishly as he saw her eyes shift down and back to his face rapidly. It was clear why, seeing how he was kneeling between her legs, which were slightly spread apart.

Knives slammed the palms of his hands down, one on either side of her head, creating indents in the earth. Her lips parted, eyes wide and staring, her breath a tickle on his nose which was a mere few inches away from her own. She licked her lips, hardly daring to breathe or move, it seemed, eyes darting nervously back and forth, apparently extremely uncomfortable with the close proximity of their bodies.

“What...what are you doing?” she whispered hoarsely.

Knives smiled sardonically.

“I am going to have my way with you.”

 

 

Whew... -fans self- It's HOT in here...

Knives: . . .

Hmmm, don't you agree, Knives?

Knives: . . .

Ah, I see you enjoyed that, didn't you?

Knives: No.

-grins- Are you sure?

Knives: . . .

It would appear that I have rendered poor Knivesy-poo speechless. Well, I suppose all that remains is for you to REVIEW. XD