Ignoring his hangover, Vash opened the door to serve Knives breakfast the next morning. He saw the lamp smashed against the wall, a cold tray of food outside the door, and a moaning Knives lying on the floor. Vash picked him up and moved him back into bed. He fed Knives between groans.

Noticing small pieces of metal on the floor, Vash realized these were Vanessa’s hairpins, all strangely bent. He picked them all up and put them in a shirt pocket.

“She came to me last night,” Knives said with a forced grin.

Vash noticed a blood stain on the sheets, and lifted them to see that Knives’ side was bleeding. “What did you do to her?” Vash asked solemnly, since he hadn’t seen Vanessa yet that morning.

“Ah, Vanessa…” Knives said, smiling. “She’s something, isn’t she?”

Vash frowned. “Knives, what did you do to her?” he demanded.

“Oh, nothing really,” he answered. “But she hurt me pretty well, didn’t she? And she’s not what you think either! I can’t believe I didn’t notice it before…”

“Damn it, Knives!” Vash yelled.

“Have you seen,” Knives sniggered, “Her ears?”

Vash rolled his eyes, “No, so what…”

Knives’ face lit up. “I felt them, Vash. They’re shaped like the plant angels’!”

Vash was horrified. “You need to leave her alone; you’re thinking some really crazy things now…”

“And her book!” Knives continued. “She has a power of control when she looks at it! She tried it on me! She’s not human after all!” He laughed happily. “I think she’s one of us!”

Vash cleared his throat. “The shape of her ears doesn’t prove anything,” he reasoned.

“And,” Knives continued, “I saw her teeth when she screamed – most of them seem filed down, but the rest are sharp! Like the plant angels! She’s one of us!”

Vash hesitated. “She screamed…why won’t you leave her alone?” he whined.

“The professor had a theory,” Knives remembered, ignoring his brother. “That a plant child left in the plant bulb for a time after birth would become more like the plant angel…” he thought aloud. “And her hair color, and eye color…just so perfect, she’s like us! And do you realize the implications, that we’ve found a female plant child? A new chance to perpetuate our race…”

Vash’s face reddened. “I don’t buy it Knives. This is all nonsense.” He thought of her scars, and how old they had looked. He remembered wondering at the time if she, too, had scars over her body. Just like him.

“Think about it, Vash. Look at those ears,” he insisted. “You’ll see.”

Vash left with a heavy heart, locking the door and checking the girls’ room. Vanessa was asleep on her cot, a cloak about her head. He was tempted, but left to wash the dishes.

Vash sat in contemplation for hours, took a bath, and finally went back to check on her. He went to lift the cloth from her face, but stopped himself.

Vanessa began to stir. “What…Did I miss work?” she asked groggily.

Vash was sitting on the bed next to her, with pliers, working at something. “Yeah, but Meryl said she’d tell everyone you’re sick today. Relax.”

Vanessa sat up, holding her hood close to her head.

“I’m sorry about last night. It wasn’t fair for you to have to look after Knives for me.”

She looked at the floor, “It’s okay.”

Vash frowned. “No, it’s not. And I know you went in there. I’m not going to get angry with you for breaking your promise. Just tell me if he hurt you at all, okay?”

Vanessa hesitated. “I’m fine.”

Vash kept his concentration on the pliers. “Go take a bath, alright? At least to wash off his blood.

Startled, Vanessa looked down at her hands and saw dried blood even under the fingernails.

Vash stood, and held out his hand to her.

She took her hairpins from his palm without a word.

“I found them in his room, and I bent them back for you. But you don’t have to use them anymore,” he told her, walking to the doorway.

Vanessa covered her face in her hands. “Please just let me leave in peace,” she asked softly, standing. “I never meant to hurt anyone, I swear!”

Vash smiled. “I know! But I wish you’d reconsider, I mean, we need you here!”

“It’s not as simple as that, for me,” she replied, disappearing into the bathroom before he could reply. She bathed quickly, and pinned her hair into spirals again.

Vash glanced at her as she came to the main room. He squinted at her, then his eyes widened in concern. “You said he didn’t hurt you!”

Vanessa self-consciously held her hand over her face, to cover the large bruise and black eye she’d earned when Knives had slapped her.

“That’s all he did, right?” Vash asked firmly with a frown.

Vanessa’s voice grew desperate. “Oh, no, I can’t sell my wares looking like this…” she whined, dropping into a chair.

“Sell what?” Vash asked, confused.

Vanessa held her hands to her face. “That’s what I come to towns for…I mean, I have to sell drawings and antiques…” She didn’t want to reveal that she had been scavenging, especially that she brought things from a deserted ship.

Vash’s face lit into another cheerful grin. “No problem, I’ll go sell them for you! I know this one merchant, he sells all kinds of weird old things, and I’m sure if I bargained some I could…”

“Okay,” Vanessa accepted, hoping that Vash – as honest as he seemed – would not steal her goods. She fetched her backpack, and carefully began to unwrap and lay each item onto the tabletop. They were mainly machinery parts of various sizes and some ancient garments, but Vash grew still as he stared at the red bundle. “This,” she said, gesturing at the bundle and beginning to unfold it, “Is something odd and rare I stumbled upon out there, in the middle of nowhere.” She revealed the long-barreled Colt within the red coat. “Quite a find,” she commented. “It’s in working condition, I guess.”

Vash reached for the gun, but was afraid to touch. His mouth grew dry.

“There was a red glint in the distance, and when I approached I found the gun. There was also a huge metal cross, but this thing was heavy enough to cart around that I…” she grew silent as she realized Vash’s expression.

“These were mine,” he choked out. “I left them there…after…when I carried Knives home…”

Vanessa could hardly imagine such a weak-willed man yielding this cumbersome weapon, but had to believe his words. “Um…you want them back? Go ahead…”

Vash thought, then smirked slightly, with a twinge of guilt and sorrow. “I don’t know.” He hesitated once more, then took up his Colt gently. As he held it in his palms, a single tear fell past his check. “I guess so…”

Vanessa forced a smile, not sure what to say next. 'I suppose this is the gun he used to shot Knives down,' she thought. 'Poor guy, he’s got some history I’ll bet.'

“Don’t worry about this stuff,” she said sweetly, referring to her merchandise. “I’ll wait.”

Vash was startled from his deep contemplation. “So you’re not leaving?” he asked innocently.

She stared at his childlike expression, contrasted with the silver death machine he now held to his chest. “Er…no…not yet…”

“Oh, good,” he replied, relieved. “I think I’ll really need your help with Knives.”

Vash cleared his throat and began to explain. “I want to tell you what I think happened to those people you found in the desert.

“About two months ago, a man died. That man was able to control people’s bodies, and had been leading distant populations to their death in many parts of the planet. These wanderers must have just avoided death, awakening just as the man died. The one who is responsible for the mass suicides,” Vash began, “Was one of Knives’ henchmen. I am the one who had to kill him.” He began to choke up. “Knives’ goal was – is – to kill the human race because he thinks he, and I, are higher life forms. But we’re not, I mean not higher, we’re just not human.”

Vanessa met his eyes, trying to discern if he was lying to bait her. He seemed genuine enough...

“Pretty weird, huh?” he said, trying to smile. “You can’t tell this to anyone. I’m really risking my and Knives’ safety by telling you this, but I think it’s your business, too…If my hunch is right.”

Vanessa listened intently as Vash explained his story, about the cause of the SEEDS crash, about the angel arms. Tears rolled down his face as he related to her the chaos, the death, and his frustration. As the story ended, he looked up to see that Vanessa, too, was weeping.

Vanessa sniffled, and smiled at him. “That’s the most moving story I’ve ever heard…It reminds me of another story I know, from this novel called…” she began, stopping when she saw the confused look he was casting her. “I forget. But anyhow, you should be proud. Not everyone can weave a tall-tale that intricate. I mean, I’ve heard the rumors about the legendary Human Disaster, but never any of that spaceship stuff…”

Vash snorted, insulted. “Hey, I’m not lying. This is for real.”

Wavering only momentarily, Vanessa put on a convincing look of ignorance. “C’mon now, you don’t really expect anyone to believe such a far-fetched…”

“Don’t ridicule me,” he asked solemnly. “This is deadly serious, and you know it.”

“You were born from the plants?” she asked. “I…I don’t think I can believe that.”

Vash half smiled. “We call ourselves plant children. And we think we’re the only ones. Knives thinks humans are trash because he feared what they did to Tessla and he hates that they use the plants’ energy. Because they’re family.” He smiled at her.

She frowned back. “I can’t…” she stammered. “I’m not going to take your word, I can’t let myself be…tricked!”

Vash’s smile evaporated, and he thought back on how, when his angel arm tendrils had touched people, they could live his memories. And when Knives wished to remind Vash of anything he couldn’t recall on his own, he had placed his left (angel arm) hand over Vash’s face. He stared down at his own right arm and envisioned himself forcing memories on Vanessa. He shuddered. “I’m so sorry you won’t believe me.”

Vanessa’s pained expression melted his fears. “I’m sorry too. If I could somehow be sure that this is true, then maybe…” she didn’t dare reveal any more.

She glanced at Vash, and read his face easily. “Is there…?”

Vash nodded. “You know, it’ll be horrible…Real terror and pain. You’ll see it how I did.”

Her face contorted in confusion. “What are you saying?”

Vash met her eyes and gazed with an intensity she hadn’t seen before.

“Well,” Vanessa stated soberly, “Whatever it is, let’s have it. I can handle it.”

Vash sighed, then lifted his right hand towards her face. She jerked away. “Hey!”

Vash recoiled, startled.

“No…go ahead. I’m sorry,” she softly whispered, leaning forward.

Again, he held up his hand, and placed it over her nose and eyes. He pressed his fingers to her skin and let his arm transform, just slightly. It took all his effort to prevent her injury.

Vanessa felt herself assuming his memories, flooding forth like a tidal wave. She saw everything, and held back screams as tears flowed from her eyes. When Vash finally took away his hand, she was sobbing aloud.

Vanessa attempted to muddle through this overwhelming information. Finally, she relaxed, and wiped her face with her sleeve. She went to the windows, and drew the curtains shut. Vash lit the table lamp knowingly as she again sat before him. She closed her eyes and pulled out the hairpins.

Vash stared at her for a moment, and in a sudden and awkward shift of emotion his eyes lit up.

He hugged her happily. “Oh, that’s awesome!” he exclaimed. He held her away to look her in the eyes. “Really, you’re safe now!”

Vanessa couldn’t smile back. “You’d think so, but I’m never safe. You’ve got to let me return to my home. I live as far away from people as I can, and that’s the only way I can avoid…” she stopped.

Vash again adopted a more solemn tone. “I understand. You’ve got scars all over, right? Well, I’ve been beat up and shot so many times…but it’s still worth being able to really live!”

Vanessa held back tears. “No, you don’t understand, at least you can look normal! I started out life with a huge hump on my back, and…I’ll never be like them, and they hate me so much…One day I won’t be able to escape in time.”

She told him her story as well.

About a century ago – she didn’t know for certain - she had been born in a plant, but not removed until a year had passed, and her body had grown deformed. Her ears elongated, and her teeth were pointed, she explained. When the people of the town eventually extracted her, they assumed her an animal and not a rational creature. They kept her, weak as she was, in a hospital-like area of the plant building. She recalled the scientists examining and speaking over her as she lay there, studying their speech and mannerisms. She taught herself to read the medical manuals they left in her room, and learned all she could about the intricate workings of the body. Sometimes there were picture books of amazing things she could hardly imagine. But when the doctors spoke of a dissection, she had escaped and wandered until she could find a surgeon to cure her deformities. He had done some work, but then called forth a posse to drag her away. She said she was often discovered to be abnormal and attacked, although she did not elaborate on how many times and how severely this occurred.

“I’ve mainly kept in seclusion, but the loneliness gets to me and I go to towns here and there, taking whatever work I can get, until someone sees me for what I am,” she explained enigmatically, tracing the grain of the wooden table with her fingertip. “One second they’re be nice to me; the next they hate me. The terror in their eyes…they said I’m a demon…”

Vash’s smile disappeared. “You hate them back?” he asked.

Vanessa shook her head. “I try to, but I can’t…I’ve delivered their babies before, and I’ve seen the goodness they can emulate. And I understand why they would be so afraid of me. I keep forgiving them.”

“Oh, good,” Vash said, relieved. “You should tell Knives, maybe he’ll listen to you.”

Vanessa looked confused. “What? Tell him what, he won’t take my word for it, he hates me.”

Vash grinned. “No! He only hated you because he thought you were human! Now he knows, and you’re very important to him. He even has things in mind for …” Vash trailed off. He didn’t want to go into that. “I have to show him not to hate them, or I can’t die honorably. I think your word will be more effective than mine.”

“How funny this is, that the humans hate me for being this, and he hated me for being human. Damned if you do, damned if you don’t…” Vanessa thought. “Vash, I’ve lived too long. My life so far has been so meaningless and awful…”

”Yeah, mine too. I mean, if I let it bring me down, I wouldn’t be able to get out of bed in the morning,” he agreed. “But please, help me? Me and Knives are dangerous when we use our angel arms, but you’ve been able to help mankind without harming, right?”

“Well…there’s the nursing I’ve done…but…I’ve never…I can’t make those ‘angel arm’ things, I don’t think…” she replied, only half answering his question.

Vash asked her to lift her hair in the back, and he inspected her roots. Then he asked if she bleached her hair or not.

She looked at him oddly, “Why on earth do you ask? Of course not!”

Vash smiled happily. “That means you’ve haven’t used up your power, I mean your energy! See mine?” he asked, pointing at his own darker hairs at the base of his neck and behind his ears. “This is the ‘hair-darkening effect.’ Like the plants, when we use up our energy, our hair darkens, and when it’s all black we die.”

“We can die?” Vanessa asked, amazed and relieved.

“Yeah, and Knives and me, were already showing the signs,” Vash replied. “Our energy was used up each time we preformed a huge demolition. But maybe you can teach us to use up the rest to help the people, to make up for our sins.”

Vanessa was astonished. “I don’t know how to do all that…I really don’t know anything about this stuff, I don’t even know…”

They heard Knives begin to yell again, and rolled their eyes.

Knives looked up from his book to see Vash and Vanessa. Vanessa’s hair was down, and her ears were indeed like the plant angels’. He smiled deviously. “Sit! Sit!” he offered her, motioning to the stool. “My dear Vanessa!”

They sat and offered him his meal. As he ate, Knives continued to grin at her, making her deeply uncomfortable. “So,” he asked clinically, “what other deformities were present?”

Vash grumbled that it was none of his damn business, but Vanessa replied regardless.

She cleared her throat. “Pointed teeth, and a lump on my back. And my eyes couldn’t focus in sunlight.”

“Were they congenital or acquired?”

Vanessa glanced around the room uneasily. “I was normal. They removed me from the bulb after a year, and in that time I developed the…”

“Okay, and,” he interrupted, taking another forkful, “The lump was in mimic of the angels’ structures? What did it consist of? What did it look like? Did you ever connect to the core?”

Vanessa frowned. “You’re nosy.”

“I have every right to be nosy,” he replied. “All these years Vash has been wasting away amongst the parasites, I’ve devoted my energies to the study of plant theory. So you see my interests.”

She sighed. “The lump was just a lump, of skin and fat and bone and muscle, and I think it tried to form some other organs, but it was just a useless thing. And I was never like the angel, I was just deformed.” She crossed her arms.

Knives cleared his throat and moved on to the subject that interested him most. “Well, you know, the humans have forgotten how to generate new plants,” he began to explain to her. “And we don’t know how to either. Even if we discovered the process for plant fabrication, we are too few in number to accomplish any real breakthrough. So…when the plants die from the exploitation, all that would remain would be ourselves and the humans, and they would perish from their own ignorance soon after. So, Vanessa, how do we solve this dilemma?” he asked.

“We have no right to kill the human race,” Vash interjected. “We have to help them survive.”

“And what of us?” Knives asked. “We are scarce creatures. We are endangered. Our race is exceptional and we have such a fragile chance to survive. We as a species are doomed, am I wrong?”

Vash’s face reddened. “Knives don’t get like that – don’t say it…” he whispered anxiously.

Knives smiled and interrupted again. “Vanessa, we are the only existing plant children. God reportedly told Adam and Eve to ‘go forth and multiply;’ and as the Adam and Eve of this planet, so should we.”

Vanessa felt herself blush. “You’ve got a filthy mind, don’t you? What made you think I would go along with something so offensive?”

Knives began to speak again and Vanessa stopped him. “Don’t say another word, you pervert.”

“You can’t just use everyone like this,” Vash shouted, “And treat us like crap when you’re done! We’ve got to stick together, but we need to respect each other, too!”

Knives lifted his hand to caress Vanessa’s ear. “Don’t you want to serve your race?”

Vanessa slapped away his hand and left, infuriated.

Knives frowned at her solemnly, addressing Vash, “Stubborn and foolish as you, dear brother.”

Vash held back his frustration, and followed Vanessa out. Deeply embarrassed by his brother’s comments, Vash apologized to Vanessa extensively

“People have said some pretty repulsive things to me before,” Vanessa commented, “It’s strange, but never have I heard something that insulted me as much as that!” She continued to snip off Vash’s bandages, and pulled them away. “I think I liked it better when I repulsed him.”

Vash shivered as she applied the cold cream onto his wounds, consisting near entirely of scar tissue now. “He hasn’t spent time with humans…but he thinks their emotions are disgusting. Everything about them is like a disease to him,” he said, shaking his head. “He’s gone so long, not letting himself accept humans.”

He paused, then sniggered slightly. “He couldn’t take interest in human girls, and now when he finally does meet a girl he’s ‘allowed’ to like…” he stopped, uncomfortably.

“…He acts like some immature little boy,” Vanessa finished. “What a sensitive guy…”

“Yeah, Knives isn’t so good at emotions other than anger.” He grinned at Vanessa. “You and I’ve got emotions, and we’re not human, but he says that’s because we’ve spent ‘too long amongst the humans.’”

Vanessa thought. “As a matter of fact, I’m quite sure I learned my emotions without human assistance. I mean, the scientists were cold to me, and still I felt happiness and sadness.” She reached for fresh bandages.

Vash lifted his arms as she wound it about his chest. “But that’s why you need to talk to him; I think you could really talk some sense into him! When I try, he just runs me in circles.” Vash looked up to her to judge her expression. “But if he scares you too much, I understand. He’s a lot to handle.”

Vanessa hesitated, and smiled slightly. “A challenge like you two will make my life more…exciting,” she offered. “I just need to keep my distance,” she added, hinting at her bruised face, hand, and arm.

Vash gritted his teeth in discomfort. “Okay, but keep in mind that he won’t hurt you now that you’re important to him. No matter how pissed off he gets at me, he won’t kill me. And he won’t hurt you either.”

“But he hired those people just to chase you down and torment you!” she countered.

He dropped his arms as Vanessa taped off the bandages, and helped her to clear off the table. “Yeah, but that’s because he knew I’d survive it. Anyhow, he wouldn’t cause you too much trauma, considering…” Turning his head away to hide a blush, he remarked, “Especially if he thinks your…purpose…is to…have kids…then your health will be his main concern.”

Vanessa stopped. They stood in an awkward pause.

Vash looked to her. “Oh, you don’t have to do…anything…like that…It’s just…So long as he’s concerned about that, he won’t hurt you. That’s all…no pressure....”

Vanessa felt her face redden as well. “Right,” she muttered.

“I’m sorry!” Vash began.

But Vanessa interrupted him before he could launch into another round of apologies. “I know; it’s okay. I understand.”

Just then, the front door swung open.

Vanessa instinctively cupped her ears in her hands, as casually as possible.

Vash leaned down to whisper to her. “You should go ahead and tell them. They’ve heard a lot of strange stuff; they won’t freak out.”

“Vash?”

Vash stood to see Meryl and Millie giving him curious glances.

“How are you, Mr. Vash? Miss Vanessa?” Millie asked with a grin.

Vash smiled and rubbed the back of his head. “Oh, I’m fine,” he replied casually.

Meryl crossed her arms. “Where’s your shirt…?”

“Oops.” Vash grabbed his shirt from the table and hastened to button it up. He glanced behind him to see that Vanessa’s face was pale with worry.

“Miss Vanessa?” Millie asked, “What’s the matter?”

Vanessa sat stiff, awkwardly holding her fingers tight over her ears as she forced a smile.

Meryl cast an icy glare at Vash, and he recoiled in defense as he fastened the final button.

“Um, I’ll go start dinner,” Vanessa mumbled, turning quickly to the kitchen with her hands still to her head.

“Wait!” Vash interrupted. “Isn’t there something you wanted to tell Millie and Meryl?”

Vanessa bit her lip. She looked plaintively to Vash, wanting to trust his instincts.

“Go ahead,” he persuaded her. “They’ll hear it from Knives eventually.”

“What on earth are you two talking about?” Meryl demanded, on the peak of frustration.

“We’d better sit down,” Vash commented. Slowly, all obeyed. “Well, it turns out that Vanessa’s got a past that’s not unlike…mine…” he began.

Meryl and Millie looked horrified.

Vanessa bit her lip and added, embarrassed, “He means that I’m not human.” She slowly dropped her hands to her lap.

“Oh, God,” Meryl sighed, her face sunken with despair.

Vanessa continued, looking to the floorboards. “Um…I was born in a plant. And I was in there for too long, so I…um…my body deformed, kind of.”

“Yeah, so we should try to get used to the way Vanessa looks,” Vash continued.

Millie studied Vanessa carefully. “I don’t get it.”

Vash looked to Vanessa, and she her hair behind her long ears, pronounced against her hair’s light color.

Millie smiled. “Is that all?”

Vanessa looked up in surprise. “Well, no, some of my teeth aren’t filed down yet…”

“And she had a huge thing on her back, and she’s got scars all over like mine,” Vash interrupted.

Meryl’s face turned red with anger, and Vanessa’s blushed in embarrassment.

“Vash…” Vanessa mumbled.

“Vash!” Meryl cried, horrified.

“No! No!” Vash attempted, catching his mistake. “I saw her arm, that’s all! That’s all! Oh, man…” he whined, wishing he’d kept quiet.

Vanessa pulled up her sleeves, offering her arms to the girls. Meryl wasn’t interested, but Millie looked.

“You’re lucky – Yours healed a lot nicer than Mr. Vash’s did,” Millie noted.

Vanessa smiled, and tugged her sleeves back down.

“Wait, how’d you get all these bruises?” Meryl asked, just noticing them in the dim light.

Vash grew squeamish again. “Knives…” he muttered. “But,” he added in a clearer, louder voice, “Now that he knows she’s not human, he won’t hurt her anymore. Really…”

Meryl couldn’t reply, flustered as she was.

Millie just smiled.

Vash twiddled his thumbs in discomfort, and Vanessa hid her face in her hands. Finally, she stood and went to make dinner.

“You guys,” Vash commented, “Please don’t tell anyone about her, okay?”

The following days were difficult.

Knives’ reopened wound had to be treated and re-bandaged daily, and when Vanessa came to assist Vash, she rarely stayed long enough to chat. Between treating Knives and performing medical procedures for the villagers, Vanessa was kept far too busy to entertain Knives or help with housework. So Millie and Meryl, every day when they returned from their day jobs, had to wash, cook, and clean into the night. Vash tried to supply his brother with enough reading material to occupy his mind, and spent a lot of free time playing with children and teaching them to garden, watering the tiny plants carefully and working the soil obsessively.

Vanessa’s bruised face drew concern from those she nursed. They urged from her the cause, and she claimed she’d tripped on the stairs at home. But the gossips whispered that she was lying, and spread the word that there was something fishy about the people Vanessa lived with…

Vanessa went to the villagers as usual once day, inquiring upon who may need her medical services. But besides a few check-ups and minor cuts and bruises, no one was in great need. So Vanessa took the rest of the day off, returning to the house.

“I apologize if my past comments seemed inattentive,” Knives offered, looking somewhat genuine.

Vanessa didn’t reply, continuing to examine the side wound. “This will scar, but any day now you’ll no longer need the bandages.”

“Now please may we continue our conversation about your birth? You know our story, so it’s only fair…” Knives insisted.

Vanessa explained all she knew, attempting to paint a more pleasant picture in his mind than was true. In great detail, told of her memories of the plant angel and the extraction. The plant angel had suffered when she was left within the bulb, and stopped output. The humans grew frustrated, and the plant angel struggled to keep the inner bulb clean and Vanessa fed (with the strange plant material she could produce). She told of the strange taste and feel of the plant material, as if a mixture of vegetable and meat. The extraction, and the aftermath, was told carefully. As she explained her deformities, she gestured to herself, her eyes, her ears, her back; she even let them peer into her mouth after she explained about the filing and lack thereof. She left out many details, such as the reason for her running away and the outcome of her dealings with the plastic surgeon.

The entire time, Knives sat in wide-eyed interest. In the warm sunlight, he seemed almost pleasant. His usual demeanor was hidden, until Vash began to comment.

“So no one raised you,” Vash reflected. “That’s awful Vanessa, you really missed out…”

”I disagree,” Knives snapped. “How lucky she is to be without a Rem to cling to,” he sneered in disgust, referring to Vash’s baby-like behavior on the SEEDS ship.

The blood vacated Vash’s face as he was once more reminded of the cause of all his troubles – this bedridden villain who by desperate misfortune had been born his companion.

Vanessa became angry. “You weren’t listening were you!?” she asked Knives. “Like I said, my plant mother couldn’t do anything for me besides feed me, and the only guidance I could have to learn any task came from humans!”

She turned to Vash, and added for comfort, “I wish I had had Rem as a mother, too.”

He smiled cheerfully in thanks.

“ADOPTIVE mother,” Knives corrected, arms crossed.

They sat in silence and discomfort.

“Vanessa,” Knives broke in, “Your back…There may be clues of our true connection to the plants…Show me where the growth was.”

“Hey, I’m the nurse here, not you,” she argued, crossing her arms. “I’d really rather not.”

“Show me,” Knives commanded, growing angry. “You will not hide this from me.”

Vanessa leaned back on her stool. “No!”

Knives narrowed his eyes. “If you refuse, I will destroy the town,” he sneered, holding his left hand out towards the opposite wall.

Vash stood suddenly in alarm. “Knives, no!” he cried, reaching into his shirt for the gun.

But Vanessa touched his hand, a motion for him to stop. “It’s okay, he can see.”

She struggled to remain calm, and swiveled to face the wall. Swinging her hair over her shoulder, she eased her dress from her shoulders and let it fall in the back, holding the cloth firmly against her chest with both hands.

On her exposed back, they saw the myriad of scars. The grafted skin from the removal procedure left a deep grooved line in an awkward rectangle from her upper to lower back. Within the shape and outside it lay countless other scars, of various types and causes.

Vash was amazed – hers looked nearly as bad as his own.

But suddenly, Knives began to breathe heavily, his face twisting into an evil sneer. His pupils disappeared, and his arm began to form knives.

Vanessa pulled her dress back onto her shoulders, and turned to look in horror as his arm began to emit the light. She tumbled from her stool, and Vash followed.

“No!” Vash screamed, frantically thinking for a solution. He moved to protect Vanessa, but instead found her huddled on the floor, her face only inches from her open book.

Vash looked up again at Knives, whose transformation seemed difficult and sluggish due to his having been lethargic these weeks past. The knives grew longer and sickle-like as the formation swept up to Knives’ face.

‘You hid this from me,’ Knives told Vash psychically. ‘Why did you…’

Knives turned to Vash, and reached a blade towards his brother’s head. Vash instinctively fell back, and used his arms to shield himself. The blade sliced easily into his right forearm, slowly moving towards the bone.

But Knives’ face showed intense effort, and the knives seemed to waver, until they sunk back into his veins and the light faded.

Knives lay motionless against his pillow.

Vash sat up, sweating, his arm dangling at his side. “Oh my God, is he dead!?” he said, his voice choked with distress. Vash’s forearm was cut to the bone, but his main concern was with his brother. He struggled to his knees and crawled towards the bed.

“He’s…” Vanessa hoarsely whispered, “he’s okay…asleep…” She was curled up on the floor, breathing strangely through gritted teeth. She was practically gasping for breath, sweat and tears rolling over her face. The skin of her face was bright red, but her hands were white and shaking as she gripped her book to her chest.

“I’m…sorry…” she whispered. “I should’ve known…he’d get…angry…but…” She kept her eyes shut tightly. “…Sorry…”

“It’s a damn good thing we got home when we did!” Meryl exclaimed, her face red with fury. “You would’ve bled to death, you idiot!” She angrily bound up Vash’s forearm. The bandage needed to be tight to seal off the bleeding, but her frustration made this task tighter than necessary.

“You two are lucky,” Millie added, in a far more kind tone, “You’re still alive.”

Vash nodded in agreement, wincing.

“What are we going to do when he wakes up,” Meryl asked soberly.

Vash looked at her sadly. He had no answer.

“He’ll be asleep…for…a few days…” Vanessa whispered from where she lay on the couch. She had one eye cracked open, and was still breathing irregularly.

Meryl shuddered, thinking of how they had found her. She was cringing, baring her pointed teeth like a wild animal. That bitch, Meryl thought to herself, lying there like a frightened moron while Vash, passed out, bled like crazy only a few feet away! She should have at least had the sense to stop his bleeding!

Vanessa’s eyes watered from the light, and she again shut them fiercely. “Vash, are you okay?”

Meryl clenched her fists at her sides. “No he’s not okay! His arm was nearly cut off, you moron!”

Vanessa tucked her chin against her chest. “I…I’m sorry.”

Vash grinned through his pain. “Don’t worry about me,” he replied.

“You need it stitched tight or it won’t heal,” Vanessa commented. “But I don’t think I can do that now…”

Vash looked to her, realizing how she was affected. She was turned from the light as much as she could, her eyes watering and quivering as though they hurt miserably. She shivered with exhaustion.

“So you CAN do things - with the book....” he murmured.

“What are you talking about?” Millie asked, handing Vash a glass of water before taking a cold washrag to Vanessa’s forehead.

Vash lifted the cup to his lips with his false arm, eyes narrowed in concentration.

Meryl leaned over and whispered in his ear. “You mean like your angel arm?”

He nodded. “I think so.”

“This combination is far too dangerous,” Meryl whispered furiously. “She can’t stay here, riling him up like that!”

Vash cast her a surprised look.

“I know; I’ll leave soon,” Vanessa muttered from across the room, her sensitive ear showing through a mass of hair.