Trigun Fan Fiction ❯ Midvalley's Serenade ❯ An Ill Wind ( Chapter 42 )

An Ill Wind

I woke with a sharp intake of breath, my heart pounding and found Nick as agitated as I was, both of us breathing hard as if we'd just run a race.

"Nightmare?" he asked me.

I nodded.

A sudden gust of wind rattled the windows of the cabin and startled us both. I got out of bed to look outside. It was dark but I could see thick clouds of dust roiling . Nick came to stand by me.

"It must be the forward edge of the storm," he said. "Typhoon Jacqueline."

He went over to his suit jacket pulled out two cigarettes, lit them up and handed me one.

"What was the nightmare about?" he asked me as he took a puff.

"We died," I said.

He exhaled a stream of smoke, put his arm around my shoulder, gave it a squeeze and said, "It was just a dream."

I had a sudden recollection of him nailed to the cross that agonized me and I racked my mind to find a change of subject.

"Who was that girl I saw you with by the satellite station?"

"You saw me there?"

I shrugged, "Just doing my job."

He gave me a searching look as he took another drag from his cigarette.

He looked nervous.

"What is it, Nick?"

"Did you ever fall in love with a woman, Midvalley?"

"I've known a lot of women and had sex with quite a few but no, I never fell in love with one."

"Why not?"

It was my turn to take a drag and I answered him thoughtfully, "I'm not sure why. Maybe being brought up in a whore house, I didn't associate sex with love--just a way for a woman to earn a living, and for pleasure. I've mostly been afraid to get close to anyone, afraid if I did and then if they left me….it would be like when my mother died."

"I know what you mean," he said very softly. "I remember my feelings about my mother even if I can't remember her name."

Then he seemed embarrassed.

"I wanted to tell you something before…..but…."

"It's the tall insurance girl with the beautiful hair," I said with a faint grin.

"She and I….well, we…."

I felt through the link and found the jumble of feelings that he had for the woman named….Millie…..I smiled. I might have been more jealous, but he had been so forgiving of me, that I could find nothing to condemn in his seeking comfort in the arms of the woman.

Nick blushed but seemed tongue-tied.

"Women are a mystery. They represent the possibility of new life to us," I said. "I suspect you were drawn to her after all the executions you carried out. "

Nick nodded but his voice was ragged when he said, "You're not upset with me because of it?"

"I'd be a lot more concerned if you'd stumbled into the arms of Vash the Stampede."

Nick snorted.

"Vash and me, lovers? That's a good one," he said as he shook his head. "The other insurance girl, Meryl, well, I think she's in love with him…..To tell you the truth, I think he's sweet on her too, but he pushes her away. He doesn't want her to get too close to him. He's afraid she'll get hurt."

I pulled back from him.

"What's the matter, Midvalley?"

"You shouldn't be telling me this, Nick. Knives and Legato might find a way to use this against you and I can't keep your secrets if they want to dig them out."

"I've got no secrets really, Middie. Vash is Vash. He reminds me of the kids at the orphanage. He's like a pesky younger brother that I'm stuck babysitting."

"Except that he destroyed the cities of July and Augusta and bored a hole in the fifth moon….."

"Well, there is that," Nick said with a sigh.

"Tell me about Millie. Are things getting serious between you two?"

"We haven't really known each other long," he said and blushed again.

"What is it, Nick?"

"I wasn't going to tell you….."

"Tell me what?"

"This is going to sound pathetic," he said, "but I actually practiced lying in front of the mirror."

I burst out laughing and had to hold on to my stomach I was so tickled by the admission.

"God, that's funny," I finally managed to wheeze.

Nick looked peeved.

"I was honest enough to tell you and this is your reaction?"

"I'm sorry for laughing," I said and lost it again, "but…." I finally managed to catch my breath enough to gasp out," I did the same thing!"

He looked at me with dawning comprehension and ended up chuckling along with me.

"But you didn't lie to me, Midvalley."

"Neither did you, Nick."

I reached out to stroke his cheek.

"What a pair we are," I said fondly, with a shake of my head, "You missed a few whiskers. Was it hard to look yourself in the eye while you practiced your lies? It was for me."

"It wasn't really that," he said slowly and slid his hand along my jaw. "I was just in a hurry to be with you……"

"Ah," I sighed as his touch gave me goosebumps and aroused me, "but I'm glad you told me."

"Do you blame me?" he asked with a serious look.

"Never," I whispered and sealed his mouth with a kiss.

He responded passionately.

Whatever he felt for Millie, it was nothing like what he felt for me.

We went back to bed, made love again and drifted into dreamless sleep afterward, but both woke when a strong gust of wind flung grit at the cabin windows.

"What time is it?" he asked me.

"A couple of hours before first sunrise."

The winds blew harder. The way the windows shook, I thought they might break any minute.

"I think I should leave soon," I said. "I ought to get an early start…."

He reached out to me and pulled me close.

"I thought you were free until noon."

"I'm not quite sure what Legato's plans for me are today."

"Don't go, yet. Stay with me a while, Midvalley" he pleaded. When he kissed me, I couldn't have left him if my life depended on it.

.

Towards dawn, the typhoon seemed to be getting stronger. I heard the distant sound of breaking glass and got out of bed to look outside. The visibility was poor, but I made out a distant light obscured by dust clouds.

"It must have been the windows in another cabin," I said and wondered if the wind would smash ours in next. The intensity of the storm was making sleep impossible.

''It's nearly dawn. I really should go now," I said.

"Let's have breakfast together at least," said Nick. I liked that he hated for me to leave.

"I don't think I have time for breakfast but the dust storm is so bad, I want to give you a ride back into town."

As I drove back to town, curiosity made me ask Nick, "The humanoid typhoon, what's he like?"

"I've told you before, that he's trouble, and he is, but he makes me wonder if there isn't more to life than just survival. I get the feeling when I'm around him for any length of time, that I fall short as a human being and that I've got a lifetime of the wrong choices behind me."

"I get the same feeling from Knives," I said. "It's funny. Knives treats us like animals, and I suppose compared to him we are. His brother Vash seems to expect more of us, as if we could become angels through an act of will and sacrifice our lives for an Eden that's only a pretty dream.

Knives or Vash--they're different faces of the same coin. Knives rids the planet of humans a little at a time while Vash the Stampede ruins cities in minutes and thousands die. Knives makes no bones about his distaste for humanity. Vash the Stampede seems to have the best of intentions, but I don't see a lot of difference in the outcome of their actions. Either way, I can see us dying.

"Don't say that, Midvalley. You act like you've given up hope already."

I had to stop the car for a minute, because the visibility was zero. I couldn't see the road to drive on it.

"The brothers are more different than I think you realize. You have a lot more in common with Vash the Stampede than you know," Nick went on. "It may be your job to work for Knives, but I know you don't enjoy killing, Midvalley. You love music."

"I think we've had this conversation before, Nick. We kill to survive, but not for pleasure. I know you don't like killing either, but what else can we do?"

He looked so troubled, I wanted to ease his conscience if I could, but Nick's voice held pain as he said, "I've done more than my share. When you had the chance, you chose to take fewer assignments. I took on more…..It…..changed me. You've changed me. He's changed me. I don't know how much longer I can keep on living this way. He believes that the killing won't stop until someone stops killing.

A silence fell between us.

"That kind of thinking will get you killed," I said finally.

"Maybe," he said with a deep sigh and then stared out the car window for a long moment, and turned back to look at me.

"But sometimes I think," he said as he lit a cigarette, "well I guess it's more of a dream, really, that some day the killing will stop and I could just settle down at the orphanage. If the parents stopped getting murdered there wouldn't be so many orphans. It wouldn't be so hard to find homes for the children.

And in my dream, you and I are together. Sometimes at the orphanage. Sometimes on the road, but we're always together and we're happy. I had an image of you giving music lessons to the children. I like to think of you passing on your love of music to another generation. You were composing music and making more recordings in the studio. I suppose the dream sounds stupid and naïve but it's what I'd wish for us if things were different."

That was a daydream I had allowed myself only when I was drunk, but now hearing him give voice to it, I felt regret. It was the deepest wish of my heart and I knew I would never get it, but I smiled at him anyway.

"There is so much beautiful music in you, Midvalley," he said.

I was touched by what he said and realized the deepest truth in me was what I found when I emptied myself. Love and music should have been my whole life. A feeling of regret pierced me and I fell into reverie wishing for what would never be. Nick was still speaking and I listened to him.

"I'm beginning to see that it might be true," he said. "The killing will never stop until someone stops killing."

"I don't know that I can stop," I replied. "Like you said last night, Nick, It's not a perfect world, but it's good enough for me if it has you in it. I don't want to lose you."

"I don't want to lose you either."

What were the odds of either of us making it out alive? It was too depressing to contemplate, so I brushed the thought aside and made myself believe what I said next.

"We'll both make it through this okay," I said. "I'll bet you a million double dollars that in a week's time we'll be laughing about this over drinks."

I felt his love and the stirring of hope in him that we just might make it through.

When the buffeting gusts of the typhoon eased, the air cleared and I saw the satellite tower not far away. I parked close to the wire office.

"This is as good a place as any I guess," said Nick and he opened the car door and got out.

I walked around the vehicle and gave him a hug while the strong breezes whipped at my suit jacket.

"All right, then. I guess this is good-bye, Nick." I practically had to shout it, the noise of the storm was so loud.

I leaned in to give a him a last quick kiss.

"No, Midvalley, not like that," he said and gave me a deep kiss that seared me to the core. Then he released me and walked away. While I stood with my fingers on my lips, Nick turned and yelled out something, but the wind tore his words away.

"I love you, too," I shouted, but the wind blew my words back to me and dried my tears before they fell.

I went to the wire office to check for messages and found one from Legato.

"Meet me in Demethri this afternoon," I read. "Master Knives requires our presence."

I hated to think what else Knives might require, but I wasn't foolhardy enough to ignore a command performance.

I refueled my car and set out despite the intensity of the storm. Once I got thirty iles out of New Oregon, the wind eased somewhat. I reached out with my link to see if I could still touch Nick and was relieved that I could.

When Legato met me in Demethri some hours later, he took one look at me and said, "You must have been with the priest…..He's done something to you. I can't quite…"

He didn't finish the sentence but looked disquieted, then shrugged.

"It makes no difference," he said. "We do what we do…..It's probably better this way," he said and placed his hand on my shoulder and guided me through an aperture in the hull of a fallen spacecraft. I was very curious when we entered the vast enclosure. It was honeycombed with tunnels.

"Our master is nearby," he said. "He weakened himself by transporting Grey, Hoppered and Leonof's puppets to the Sky City, so he will need my healing…."

He hesitated, then said….."and possibly yours."

The thought of Knives needing my healing made me nauseous, especially in contrast with how I'd spent my night. Still, I found that the recollection of the time I spent with Nick elevated my mood considerably. Maybe Knives wouldn't want me after all, I thought, and rather than dwell on the possibility, I fastened on the topic of Leonof to distract myself.

"I don't think much of Leonof's chances," I commented. "In my opinion, he failed on his last attempt. I'm surprised that Knives didn't have him killed immediately. Has he grown more lenient or has he only run out of pets to do his dirty work? If Leonof was Dominique, he'd be dead now. I think he will fail again---"

"What makes you think so, some inside knowledge about Vash the Stampede?" Legato asked with a speculative air.

When I didn't respond he went on, "If Leonof fails, he will be executed, but right now his talents are pivotal on the impact of the present mission. Vash the Stampede has been flushed from his hiding place. Now that he is on the move again, he has shaken things up. The Gung-Ho Guns are showing signs of instability--Caine, Hoppered, Zazie the Beast, even the steadiest like Leonof, Chapel the Evergreen, yes, even you….Time is running out., but as long as I can serve my master, I will. I was promised my revenge--eternal pain and suffering for Vash the Stampede."

He took me to one of the honeycomb cells of the ship and when the door slid slowly open, I saw Knives floating in the healing bath of a stasis chamber, his body submerged in healing oils from the neck down. I looked around me in awe. The walls of the place from floor to the cavernous ceiling were lined with energy plants held in stasis cases as far as the eye could see.

"Play something melancholy, Hornfreak," Knives called out to me in an almost jovial tone. "A couple of my siblings are going to die today."

I reacted visibly fearing for my lover's life. If Vash the Stampede died, then surely Nick would die as well. Knives picked up on my discomfort.

"Not that sibling," Knives corrected me. " Surely you don't think that my brother could be killed so easily. I certainly don't expect him to die, but with four agents aboard that ship, I am counting on a dramatic increase in the amount he suffers. No, the plants that die will be like these in here," he said with an expansive gesture that encompassed the array of dormant plants.

"They will sacrifice their lives so that the last Seeds ship will fall and with any luck, just about every human aboard it will die."

I brought Silvia's reed to my lips and began to play. The thought that Nick would soon be on that ship putting his life in danger made the music as melancholy as requested.

As I emptied myself and let the music play itself through me, I found that Nick's emotions flowed in and the music I made reflected his feelings. The change in how I linked to Silvia puzzled me, but I found I liked it. Still, I was able to hear with part of my mind, the conversation that went on between Knives and Legato. It surprised me that they were not able to block my connection with Nick as they had before.

"Leonof informed me that Wolfwood appears to be traveling with Vash the Stampede and that the priest appears to be protecting him. Has he joined forces with him do you think, my master?" asked Legato.

"It was in the scenario and in the Hornfreak's reports. What the priest does or does not do is really no concern of yours, Legato. Run the Gung-Ho Guns as you choose, but if I recall correctly, the priest is under my orders, not yours. His job is to protect my brother and guide him to me and in exchange for his services, I have offered him a deal for certain advantages. Of course my strategy may change soon," Knives said with a pointed look at me. His stare made me anxious.

He raised his head to consider me for some moments as if examining a strange species of insect.

"But are you sure he is loyal, Master?" Legato asked him.

"He would have to be. There is a substantial amount of money involved, plus the safety of the orphans and one other consideration."

He eyed me with contempt and dismissed me.

"I've had enough of your playing for the moment, Hornfreak. Wait outside for a while. I'll call you if I want you. "

" As I have teleported Grey Nine-Lives to the Seeds ship, I shall require your services again," I heard him say to Legato.

"Yes, Master," Legato replied.

To empty my mind and keep my nerves under control, I continued to play and the music grew more wild and discordant. I felt Nick's emotions more strongly than ever. Why was the music so wild? My heart was pumping. I felt a rush of adrenaline. I was feeling what he felt. He was in combat…heavy combat. And Nick was pressed to his limits I could tell. I sensed his grim determination. The battle was hard-fought. Then I felt a sharp slicing pain in the muscle above my right knee…..pain so intense it sent me to my knees. Then the pain seemed to stop and I lost all sense of him and panicked. Was he dead!?

I flooded the link with healing power and felt him restored again, the pain gone. My heart thundered in my chest as the battle raged on. I felt him sinking into despair, a glimmer of hope, and then finally with my heart still racing, relief. Thank God, he'd made it through the battle alive.

Then I felt the familiar headache and nausea that followed a healing session. It was all I could do to keep from collapsing completely. I had to sit down on the floor until the faintness passed.

Some time later, the door of Knives's chamber rolled back slowly and Legato emerged walking stiffly. His features were composed but I knew he was in pain. He looked subdued.

"My master wants you," he said.

I entered the chamber with a feeling of barely controlled panic.

Knives was out of the healing tank, cloaked in a sheet. Whatever Legato did seemed to have restored Knives completely and my anxiety eased. If he didn't need my healing, what did he want?

He could read my mind again.

"You were right, Hornfreak, I am completely restored, but since I want to be at my best when I meet my brother, it couldn't hurt to have a little power in reserve, so I shall require some of your healing today."

I was surprised that he couldn't sense my utter weakness. My healing power was drained.

Then he gave me an odd look and raised an eyebrow and said, "You were with the priest again."

He came closer and I felt him touch my mind with his.

He gave a grunt of disgust.

"I see. There's nothing left. You gave it all to save your priest."

He looked at me coolly.

"You have displeased me, Hornfreak. You may have outlived your usefulness."

He flicked his fingers and a dark orb appeared in the palm of his hand. He considered the crackling energy globe for a minute considering, then let it disappear.

"On second thought, it's a waste of my resources. Perhaps it's as well that the priest lives. No matter. I summoned another to serve me. Leave me now. I will deal with your little show of independence later."

I felt a sensation like strong rough hands shoving me out of the room.

"Legato will give you your instructions."

I left the room with a feeling of relief and heard the door close after me.

I began to walk down the corridor to the exit but stopped when I saw a familiar figure walking in my direction. When we met, we embraced.

"Did your friend find you?" my father asked.

"Yes, and thanks for getting my letter to him. I thought you might get into trouble for helping. Is that why you're here? If it is, I'm worried about you. Knives is in a poor mood and I didn't help it any."

"I doubt it's about that. It's about healing, I think."

"He's used you before," I said as the realization sank in.

Hot Lips nodded.

"He almost killed me last time," I said.

"Don't worry about me, son. I survived what he dished out before, then again, if he kills me, well, I'm just that much closer to being with your mother again."

I was truly worried for my father now.

"How can you say that? How could you hope to find her again even if you do believe?" I asked.

"Ease your mind, Midvalley. I've given it a lot of thought. I even had a dream about it. In the dream, I died and I was a lost soul wandering. I asked everybody I met if they knew where she was, but they couldn't see me or hear me to answer. I couldn't find her. I finally looked down and saw that I still had my horn. I was so sad I closed my eyes and started to play it. The tune that came out of the horn made me think of her and I got the strongest feeling of where she was. I linked to her and kept on playing and when I finally opened my eyes, your mother was standing right there in front of me just as beautiful as I remembered.

You might think I'm crazy for believing in a dream like that, but I know when I die, I'll find that feeling in my heart or in my soul and I will be with her again."

I heard the door of Knives' chamber begin to grind open.

"He wants me," said Hot Lips and turned to go.

"What's the piece of music you hear when you find her in your dreams?" I asked.

He smiled, and gave me one last hug.

"Silvia's Tune," he said softly and walked into the chamber.

As I made my way back up the hallway, I thought of what my father said.

"Sentimental fool," I said to myself, but his dream gave me a feeling of hope.

I thought of the serenade I had played the night before and reached out with my mind for my Nick through the link.

He was weary and depressed.

With a heavy weight on my heart as I thought of my lover, I went in search of Legato.

I found him in a small cubicle close to where we had come into the crashed ship. It must have been an infirmary at one time.

He was stiff and sore. He sensed at once my healing power was at low ebb.

"Master must have been angry."

I shrugged.

I helped him off with his coat and shirt. I cleaned his wounds with antiseptic that I found and anointed the worst of his lacerations with a healing salve.

When Legato was dressed again, we went outside. I looked up and saw a silver speck in the sky that grew larger every second I watched.

"What's that bright light, Legato?"

"It's the ship, Midvalley, Sky City, the Seeds ship. It was too distant an object to be seen very clearly. Some have called it the daystar. It is falling now and will land close to the city of New Oregon. Leonof came so close to succeeding….." His voice was full of regret.

"The mission has not been a complete success, but Vash the Stampede has suffered greatly I know," he said as he stroked the skull attached to his left arm. "So many of his friends and family have just died. He is in considerable pain right now."

Legato's voice quivered with intense sadness. His empathy was picking up Vash's emotions. Legato wept openly and smiled. His smile chilled me.

To be continued…..