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ARACHNOPHOBIA	By : Lances Category: +S to Z > Trigun Views: 4860 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Trigun, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 10
- 11
- 12
Disclaimer: Trigun is not mine.
This story is outright horrible abuse of the characters, and I apologize. Just
remember I�m the perverted one, and Yashuhiro Nightow is the genius behind this
all.

--

ARACHNOPHOBIA

pathological
fear or loathing of spiders

Chapter
11: Human Nature

--

Vash lay in bed next to his
brother, staring at Knives� pale, tortured face. He couldn�t reach his
brother�s delirious mind with telepathy and he couldn�t make him wake up. He
hated to admit it, but he was afraid.

Knives was in Very Bad Condition,
and was getting worse by the moment. Milly was there to take care of him, but
nothing she did seemed to help. She had brought warm blankets and fresh water
�she�d even called to the local dispensary and bought some remedial herbs that
had cost Vash all his money- but Knives still wouldn�t get any better.

Vash was even more worried because
he couldn�t remember himself ever being sick. Surely, if it was possible for
him to get ill in the first place, a hundred and thirty years would�ve been a
sufficient time to catch a flu or something? Yet he�d never even had a sore
throat, if not counted his countless hangover mornings after the vicious
business of vomiting. No... Diseases just didn�t seem to catch him. Therefore, in
Vash�s opinion, it was strange that Knives should get so ill so very
easily. After all, they were twins and alike in every way.

Vash was very disturbed.

Milly sat down on the bed next to
them and pressed a cool towel against Knives� forehead. She had a worried
expression on her face, but her gaze was directed on Vash instead of the real
patient. �You okay, Mr. Vash?�

�Yeah. I guess.� Vash tried to
smile.

Milly fished a thermometer out of
her pocket and asked Vash to put it in Knives� armpit. Vash felt immense
gratitude towards her. She at least seemed to know what to do in this
kind of situation. Vash had namely no idea; all he could think of doing
was to hold his brother gently and try to send him soothing thoughts through
their mental link �even though Knives wasn�t very receptive at the moment. But
now, with the thermometer in his had, he felt like he could be of some acual help.

�I�ll leave you two to it. Check
the fever and let me know if there�s any change.� Milly straightened herself
and stood up. �I�ll go see Meryl for a while. We�ll be in our room.�

�Okay.�

After she was gone, Vash gently pulled
Knives� blankets aside and smoothed the silken chest that became slowly revealed.
Knives seemed to like the touch, probably because Vash�s hand was relievingly
cold, and he moaned silently. It had to be hot, what with all those bandages
still wrapped around his torso. Sighing, Vash took the thermometer and set it
in place. Then he readjusted the blankets and snuggled against his twin�s side.

�I don�t think this is going to
help any.� Vash whispered against Knives� cheek, slowly caressing his lenghty,
silver-blond curls. �But I really don�t know what else to do!�

Vash felt Knives shivering next to
him and pulled him closer. Not that his affectionate gestures would be of any
importance: Knives was hardly aware of anything that was happening around him and
hugging simply �sadly- wasn�t a method that could exorcise diseases.
Vash closed his eyes and hesitantly kissed his brother�s temple. What was he
honestly supposed to do right now? Vash hoped someone would drop all the
answers in a neat little box from heaven just in front of him.

The spiders... They torture me,
Vash. They spin their webs around me and suffocate me. Don�t... Don�t let them
eat me.

Vash gasped with surprise.
�Knives? You awake?�

Their touch burns me, Vash...
They are going to spear me with their long, sharp talons! And I will bleed... you
will bleed... They are demons, sent from Earth to ruin us both. Don�t you see?
Kill them all, Vash! Kill them before it�s too late! Look what they did to
Tessla... look what they did to HER! Don�t you love me anymore... Vashu?

�Knives, you�re making no sense!�
Vash gently shook his brother�s shoulders. �You�re having delusions.. nightmares.�

Love... Nowhere...
Over-estimated feeling... I hate you, love. I hate the spiders too. Kill them
for me, love?

Knives was crying now, still
completely delirious, and Vash was guiltily wiping those salty, wet trails
away. �No, no... I can�t kill them for you, love. But I can protect you from
them. And I can protect them... from you. That�s how it�s
supposed to be, love.�

And the box with the answers
inside was suddenly open in front of him, and everything was frighteningly
clear.

�We are going to make our own
Eden, Knives. I promise you.� Vash leaned his forehead against Knives�. �But
our Eden won�t be here. It won�t be anywhere near where the spiders live. I
need to take us both away... Far away. Knives... I will need to take you back
to the Plant Ship.�

Plant Ship... Far away...

�Yes. That�s right. But first...�
Vash stood up and went to put his jacket on. �There�s something else that needs
to be done.�

Vash slithered his hand under the
blankets and withdrew the thermometer. The temperature had remained the
alarming same. �I�ll ask Milly to sit with you while I�m gone. Do try to act
nicely towards her.�

--

Knives woke up to a feeling of uttermost discomfort. The
world swayed in his vision, and he couldn�t decide where he was, what time it
was, or why he was feeling so powerless. It all irritated him to no end, and he
turned in bed so that he could see the flickering sunshine through the window.

So it wasn�t night, at least.

Knives spent the following two hours restlessly twisting
and turning in his bed. He still lacked coherent thought, but that wasn�t so
bad since he was a superior being and superior beings had the right to
lack something essential once in a while. He�d only have to decide it was in
to be a bit lunatic, and everyone would forgive him. Or die.

Once or twice, Milly Thompson came to see him. She was a
lousy spider, true, yet she was reasonably acceptable, and therefore Knives
didn�t feel the immediate need to kill her. There was just something about
Milly that made Knives feel calm around her. She didn�t touch him unless it was
absolutely necessary; she didn�t speak to him unless she had something really urgent
to say, and she didn't radiate hatred towards him like that shorter woman did. And,
most importantly, she was Vash�s little pet, and Vash wouldn�t be very thrilled
if Knives hurt her in any way.

Instead, Knives just watched her silently as she came to
attend him.

The second time she came about, she brought a can of
fresh water and made great effort just to set it on the bedside table without
making noise. Knives was actually rather pleased -to his own horror.

�Hey ssspider.� Knives slurred, his voice slightly thick.
�Why are you doing this?�

The girl recoiled, surprised, but didn�t otherwise seem
to be afraid of him. �Because it�s what Mr. Vash asked me to do.�

�I�m sure your friend Meryl wouldn�t approve. I�m sure
she�s not very happy that you come to see me like this, all on your own.�
Knives gave her a feverish smile. �I might kill you.�

Milly looked down at him wiht her honest, sky blue eyes.
�Yes, you might.�

Knives frowned. �How do I get this feeling that you don�t
really care?�

Her eyes glazed over, and she turned to leave the room. �That�s
because I just don�t.�

This wasn�t what Knives had expected. Least of all from her.
Granted, he didn�t know Milly Thompson very well �nor did he ever want to- but
he�d been around her long enough to learn that this behaviour was far away from
her usual merry self. She was clearly upset about something.

Curious rather than worried, Knives called after her.
�You�re going to have to tell someone, little spider.�

Milly stopped in her tracks and took a shivering breath.
Then, to Knives� utter surprise, she closed the door and came to sit next to
him on the bed. She looked down at him with those very light blue eyes of her
�a colour that was somehow disturbingly diluted in Knives� opinion- and
examined his face. �My problem is... that I don�t care about anything, anymore.
I don�t feel anything anymore. Absolutely nothing.�

�How sad.� Knives sneered, not feeling sad at all.

Milly responded with a vicious glare. �Wolfwood... when
he died, I felt so bad. I�ve never cried so much in my life. It hurt so much,
back then. But ever since we left the town... ever since I left him there... I
haven�t felt anything. Even now I feel nothing. I don�t feel any sorrow inside
me, I don�t feel any joy. No relief is granted for me, yet nothing tortures me
either. I just feel... blank. So very blank.�

Knives watched him, shivering under the assault of the
fever. �You mustn�t feel that way. It gives me no pleasure to kill people who
are already willing to die.�

�Then I have nothing to worry about, do I?� She stood up,
and smiled down at him, despite her smile was empty.

�You�re carrying his child.�

Milly instantly wrapped her arms around her belly. �H-how
could you tell?�

Knives looked at her calculatingly. �I tried out of
curiosity. To reach him, you know. I could feel the line of his undeveloped
thoughts. Does anybody else know?�

�No!� She looked terrified. �I haven�t told anyone.
Anyone except Nicholas. I�m not sure... if they would understand.�

�I think they would.� Knives was surprised by his own
reassuring words -the influence of the blasted illness, he decided. �I think
they would be even happy for you. However... What I don�t understand is
that you feel nothing when you so obviously have every reason to feel
everything.�

�What do you mean?� Milly asked.

�I mean that you wouldn�t mind me killing you despite
you�re preagnant. That just fights against everything I�ve ever learned about
human beings. I always thought preagnant human females were very sensitive when
it came to their feelings and moods.� Knives frowned. �So... I just wondered...
Is this some kind of... human way... to act when one loses a loved one? To
become so numb one�s willing to give up everything � even all the other loved
ones they still have left? Even their own unborn children?�

�No!� Milly outright burst out crying. �Knives... It�s
the most inhuman way to act in the world.�

Without warning, she took Knives� hand in her own and
squeezed it. Knives, of course, was instantly rigid with horror -yet he
couldn�t but admire how completely unafraid of danger the girl was. Her touch
felt warm and slightly moist, and Knives was sure he would get another kind of
disease atop of the fever from her fingers. He withdrew his own hand as quickly
as possible and glared at her. �Don�t. Touch. Me.�

�I�m sorry.� Milly wiped her tears and actually grinned.
�Are you going to kill me now?�

Knives sputtered. �No! I�m not going to kill you!
Why do you want me to do it anyway?�

�I can�t live without him!� She finally lost her control and started yelling. �Each day I want
to rip my heart out of my chest and bury it deep in the desert just because
he�s no longer here to tell me that everything�s going to be alright!�

�How heart-wrenching. I�m almost touched.�

�You don�t know anything about it, Knives, so I don�t
even expect you to be touched. You don�t know how it feels to be in love
with somebody!�

�Actually...�

�You don�t know how it feels like to have a beautiful
future ahead of you and then have it ripped away in a fast, fleeting moment!
You don�t know how it feels like to lose the one and only person who�s ever
thought you as beautiful and sweet and desirable! You don�t know how it feels
like to lose a lover and a friend, since I�m pretty sure you�ve
never had either, and you most certainly don�t know how it feels like to lose all
of your dreams.�

�If you�re talking about Wolfwood, I think you should
know that he was deceiving you from the beginning.� Knives sneered, despite his
sneer lost some of its edge because of the terrible shudders that raked through
his body. �He was working for me, little spider. If young Chapel ever
told you any of those things, if he ever told you everything�s going to be
alright, he was outrageously playing down the state of affairs.�

�You like to think he worked for you, don�t you,
Knives? Your own, clever little spy, Nicholas D. Woldwood! Hah! You know as
well as I do that the only person he really worked for was your brother.�
Milly crossed the room and looked out of the window. �He loved your brother...
as much as I loved him.�

A chill went down Knives� spine. �What are you trying to
say?�

�You still
don�t see it, do you?� She sighed. �Nicholas... Wolfwood... Chapel... it
doesn�t really matter what you call him. He�s still the same, good person
inside, and will always be. He was the only one who could keep me sane through
all the terrible times we went through with Mr. Vash. We even loved each other,
did you know that, Knives? We loved each other, and we were going to get
married. But we never did. Not because he died before his time... But because
there was always someone else... whom he loved more.�

Knives�
breathing became almost non-existent. �No...�

�Yes.�
Milly laughed, silently but bitterly. �Love is such a fickle little thing,
isn�t it? You can�t help getting the infection, if it�s bound to catch you. You
can�t predict the day when you will lose it, and you can�t even bribe it to stay.
For me... I fell in love, but my tender feelings weren�t answered the way I had
always hoped. Just because he had already found someone else to love
before he learned of my feelings. And you...� Milly shook her
head. �You�re just pathetic. You ruined your own chance of happiness already
over a hundred years ago, and for what? You lost it all because of your
senseless ideology about spiders and butterflies! Do you have any idea how
much that angers me?�

Knives was
totally speechless. �I...�

�It angers me
because this is all your fault! All of this!� Tears spilled from her eyes
again. �If you hadn�t been such an ass to begin with, you�d have gotten Vash to
yourself already long ago. Decades ago! And Nicholas... Nicholas would�ve been
completely mine!�

Knives blinked
his eyes, letting her words sink in. Wolfwood! Wolfwood had been
involved with Vash! Knives wanted to cut off the man�s dick, peel the flesh out
of his limbs so that only bone would remain and make him roll in the desert
sand. He wanted to rip out all his insides and stick that annoying, burning
cigarette through his eyes before drowning his sore, bleeding body into a pool
of saltwater. Knives was seething. No-one should have touched his brother. Not
like that. If only the man wasn�t already dead!

But... His child...
His child wasn�t dead.

Knives let his
eyes stray back to Milly�s round lower abdomen. There, lulling in the sense of
false safety, was the bastard son of Nicholas D. Wolfwood �the one man Knives
had never liked, but whom he�d hired nonetheless. Revenge was always sweet... so
sweet...

No. NO. There
was no point killing the baby. The original target of his bottomless hatred
wouldn�t know of it since he continued to be dead. Besides, that kind of action
would only make Vash angry. So very angry... It might even lead to Vash
abandoning him completely. And that was something he didn�t want. After all,
Vash was his world. His entire world.

�Little
spider... This was a good try. Almost worthy of a true Gung-ho Gun. But I�m
still not going to kill you or your child.�

She looked
down at her hands. �I�m surprised, honestly. I thought you hated us. Vermin.�

�I do. I�m
just not in the killing mood right now, being half dead myself.�

They spent a
couple of minutes in a complete silence, both thinking about what had just
transpired between them. Milly played with her hair and stared out of the
window with empty eyes. Knives tried to control the weakness that was rapidly
flowing over him, and reached for a glass of water. However, it slipped from
his fingers and fell onto the floor, the contents of it spilling all over the
carpet.

Milly was
instantly by his side, pouring him a new glass. Knives accepted it greedily.

�Milly... Is
that really your name? Milly?�

�Yes.�

�What a stupid,
hideous name.�

�Well, what
was your mother thinking when she decided to call you Millions
Knives? Was she some sort of a butcher, or a mass murderer, perhaps?�

Knives condescendingly
found himself amused. �No, she was a goddess.�

�But of course
she was.� Milly leered.

Knives shook
his head, and coughed up some disgusting slime. He wiped it on the bedsheets.
�About earlier, spider... You don�t seem to be hating my brother for what he�s
done.�

Milly looked
up at him in surprise. �Mr. Vash? He hasn�t done anything wrong.�

Knives stared
at her. �You just told me in so many words that he seduced your fianc�. How is
that not wrong?�

�No, he didn�t
seduce Nicholas.� Milly almost smiled. �He never knew.�

�He... never
knew?�

�Wolfwood and
I... we were a happy couple in the eyes of the outside world. Nobody except for
me knew about his secret... his little obsession.�

�Vash...�

�Your brother
is quite innocent, I�m afraid. He�s always been. They call me na�ve and
childish... but there are just some things I realise better than others. Vash
never realised how attached Nicholas was to him... and I never told him,
either. Because I wanted to believe in my dreams.�

�Everybody
wants to believe in their dreams.�

�Yes... as
long as those dreams aren�t completely shattered. Nicholas died and left me
here, all alone. And I can never have him back. I can never have my dream
back.�

�Wolfwood
hasn�t completely abandoned you, little spider.� Knives closed his eyes. He was
feeling like his every muscle was exploding inside of him, and he fought
against the approaching unconsciousness. �His spirit lives on in the heart of
his unborn son. You would see this, if you weren�t so egoistical and
self-absorbed, if you didn�t think only of yourself. But, I guess, there was
nothing better to be expected of you. It�s the vile human nature, after all.�

�Knives...�

�If I had
children, I would do everything in my power to protect them, to love them!� He
hissed. �But, of course, I will never have them.�

Milly was just
about to say something, but Knives interrupted her. �You�ve been here long
enough. It�s time for you to leave. I will not kill you for the time being; I
find no pleasure in killing people when they don�t even realise what they will
lose when they die. Now... dash off and think about things. When you�ve realised
what you�ve got, come back again and I might reconsider your request.�

Silently, she
obeyed. However, she glanced back at him from the doorway. �You would do
anything in your power to make sure that Vash wouldn�t leave you again.
Wouldn�t you?�

A strange,
heavy feeling conquered his heart and made him nearly choke. With an unpleasant
taste in his mouth, Knives was forced to accept that the feeling rising in his
heart was probably the one feeling he thought he'd already lost for good. The
feeling he had last felt over a hundred years ago �the feeling he would now
neither name nor analyze.

�I will do
everything in my power to make him stay with you.� Milly closed the door and
left him in the solitude of the room once more.

She felt more
alive than what she�d felt in weeks.

--

Frank Marlon,
grinning from ear to ear, nearly jumped over the counter to meet his friend.

�If it isn�t
Vash the Stampede!� he laughed, pulling Vash into a bear hug. �Yes, yes, don�t
look so confused, I�ve finally learned your name. And from a travelling priest,
no less! You can imagine my surprise when that strange clergyman tossed your
fancy .45 Long Colt in front of me and told me to fix it. I asked him where he
got it, and he said it belonged to you �Vash the Stampede! What a joke! Whahaha!�

�Well...� Vash
smiled, although it hurt to think about Wolfwood. This all must have happened
just before he got into the hospital after defending Lina from that one
dead-ugly pedophile.

�And here I
had no idea who you were when we first met!� Frank grabbed Vash�s arm
and began to drag him towards the back room of the store. �I should�ve guessed,
though. Only the real Vash the Stampede could have been as crazy
as you were back then. Standing against raging mad criminals without a single
gun... such deception I couldn�t believe it honestly worked out!�

�If I recall
correctly, you were right there with me, and you didn�t have a gun, either.�

Vash shook his
head and fished a heavy bottle of suspicious-looking drink from the depths of
his new black jacket. �I recall I promised to bring you bourbon if I
ever came to see you again. However, only the label�s real. This actually
contains soda water. Hope you still like it.�

�Thank you,
thank you!� Frank beamed. �We�ll open it later. You�re right, no alcohol for me
anymore. But now, tell me, what brings you here? Your gun needs to be fixed
again, does it?�

�Well, kind
of.� Vash�s smile slightly faltered. �I have another gun that needs your expert
touch.�

Vash triggered
his left arm to turn into the weapon it actually was. Frank, of course, was
amazed. He hadn�t seen anything like it before. It was very high technology and
very impressive. He was almost afraid of touching it.

�So... Do you
think you can do anything about it? My, er... well.� Vash cleared his throat.
�An acquaintance of mine managed to get a good shot at it when we were duelling
a while back. As you can see, it�s now totally wrecked.�

�Several parts
seem to be broken, but I believe I can fix it.� Frank looked thoughtful.

�Good.� Vash
was relieved. �It�s my only defense at the moment.�

�Only defense?
What happened to your Colt?�

�I... lost
it.�

�You lost
it?� Frank didn�t believe his ears. He looked at Vash like he would�ve looked
at a rabid hound dog wearing a pink fluffy collar. �Just like that?�

�Yeah.� Vash
blushed. He looked down and began to follow the shoelace of his left boot. �I
dropped it in the desert. The sands must have buried it already. It�s hopeless
to try and find it.�

Frank only
shook his head and continued to examine Vash�s weapon arm. �So... Who was this
duelling companion of yours?�

�My brother.�

�Your brother,
eh?� Frank snorted. �No wonder. This is a good shot, precisely aimed to destroy
the gun with a single strike. Wouldn�t have expected just any guy to succeed in
it.�

�Yeah.� Vash
sighed. �Don�t want to face him like that again, though. The experience was...
exhausting.�

Frank went to
fetch some tools and some spare parts from his numerous drawers. �What happened
to him? You didn�t kill him, did you?�

�No.� Although
the thought was really fetching, at one point. �He�s still alive. Barely.�

�He�s badly
injured, then?�

�He has
fever.�

�People just don�t
die of trifling fevers, boy. Don�t look so worried.�

Vash was about
to say something about Knives not being one of the �people� Frank was referring
to, but remembered to hold his tongue in the last moment. However, Frank�s
words calmed him down a little. Surely, if people couldn�t die of fever, plants
couldn�t either?

If it was fever...

�Yeah, you
must be right, Frank. He�ll be just fine.�

�Of course I�m
right. Here... Just a couple of more adjustments and we�re done.�

�Splendid. You
sure are quick.�

Frank seemed
pleased, and Vash returned to his ownt thoughts. Knives� weird sickness was
still plaguing him. Why was he sick? It wasn�t normal. It was nowhere near
normal. Another reason for Vash to follow through his plans. He would take
Knives back to the Plant Ship. There, he would connect his twin with the mother
plant, and Knives would start to heal. There, he would seal them both inside
the ship... and begin the construction of their Eden.

World would be
a better place when both of them would be gone.

�Well. I�m
done.� Frank�s sudden words interrupted his thoughts. �Come on, now. Let�s go
outside and test it.�

--

...to be continued...

--

A/N: I�m sorry
this chapter was so long. I didn�t plan to make it that way when I first
started it... but, well, strange things happen when writing, sometimes. Also,
I�m sorry that Knives was a bit OOC, but hey, he�s delirious with some strange
disease, we can�t expect him to keep his cool all the time, now can we?
... ... Um. Maybe we can. Sorry. I promise he�ll be his usual bastard self
again, when he�s feeling better again. But hey, maybe you�ll forgive me if I
tell you there�s going to be some cherry poppin� in the very near future?
�grins-

-Lances
(livejournal: username �angryon�)
- 10
- 11
- 12
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ARACHNOPHOBIA