Adult-FanFiction.org : Anime

Earth to Earth	By : Ravenclaw42 Category: +S to Z > Trigun Views: 2957 -:- 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
- 13
- 14
- 15
Author's Note: YET AGAIN AFF.net won't let me post my whole chapter on one page. *sigh* Just remember, these aren't supposed to be two-part chapters. If the end of this page doesn't feel like a real ending, that's because it isn't. Just keep reading.

Title credit goes to Lies My Teacher Told Me: Everything Your American History Textbook Got Wrong by Professor James Loewen.

Earth to Earth

--------

Chapter Thirteen: Lies My Teacher Told Me

Part I

--------

�You�re obviously going after Knives -- what do you intend to do once you find him?�

�Many years ago he stole someone who was very important to me.�

�So you want revenge.�

�I don�t know. I really don�t know.�

--Vash and Wolfwood, episode 23, �Paradise�

---------

On the first day, there was silence.

By unspoken agreement the twins left the rickety Jeep behind for the girls. Knives hadn�t said anything, but Vash knew his brother was in desperate need of exercise. A month lying in bed wounded had done absolutely nothing for him except give him more time to think than could possibly be healthy. Knives� body was wasted, his muscles starting to atrophy, strength starting to dwindle. A neglected plant withering in the dark, Vash thought.

So they left the Jeep behind and set out on foot, spending their first hour away from shelter in a comfortable, all-encompassing silence. The suns weren�t yet high enough to be painfully hot, and the bare whisper of a breeze wasn�t strong enough to throw dust in their faces. All tension and hurt was carefully put aside as they trudged through the sands, eyes on the horizon.

But after a while Knives� limp got more pronounced and his breath became more ragged, and the solemn beauty of the morning cracked a little more with every staggering step he took. Vash wordlessly took his brother�s pack and shouldered it next to his own. He�d given Knives all the light things; it wasn�t much of a burden, but things got heavier when you were in pain. And for a little while, losing the extra weight seemed to work -- Knives walked easier and limped less when he didn�t have to carry anything.

That particular solution only lasted a little over an hour. At just past noon, when the suns were high and hot and sweat was starting to make Vash�s shirt stick to his sides, Knives collapsed onto one knee in the sand. His breathing was ragged and uneven.

New Oregon was only a few shallow dunes away, but Vash didn�t want to push his brother too far at once, and more than anything he didn�t want Knives to associate his first taste of planetside human society with the pain of a reopened wound.

The surrounding land was fairly stony; the bedrock here protected the area from sandworms and made it impossible for vipers to build dens, making it an ideal location for a city. It also meant that there were plenty of high, sharp outcroppings of rock protruding out of the earth like splinters of bone. Vash was all too familiar with this particular location; he�d stayed here dozens of times on his way to the rendezvous point where Sky City�s now-defunct flyer used to pick him up for visits home.

Vash knelt by Knives, who was now crouched on the ground regaining his breath. �There�s shade maybe ten minutes from here,� Vash said. �Shelter until the worst of the sun is past.� He didn�t mention Knives� barely-scabbed wound.

Knives nodded wordlessly and hauled himself upright with a choked-back whimper of agony. Vash led the way, casting concerned glances over his shoulder as Knives lagged further and further behind. His twin would not ask for help; Vash knew that much. But until Knives started healing in both body and mind, Vash wanted to interfere as little as possible. Let Knives make this short walk by himself. If nothing else, it would give better exercise than leaning on Vash�s shoulder the whole way.

The outcropping Vash led them to was huge, the hollow in its leeward face clearly not a natural phenomenon. The air was so dry that the shaded ground was nearly twenty degrees cooler than everything outside. Knives managed not to fall apart entirely, dignified enough to sit without help. As soon as he was off his feet, though, he slumped back against the rock wall like a man on the verge of death.

�You okay?� Vash asked. He was barely short of breath and most of his sweat had already dried off in the shade. Of course, he was much more accustomed to walking long distances. Some deep-down buried part of him was cheering at the sight of Knives suffering the same adjustment Vash had gone through decades ago.

Knives nodded, swallowing dryly and refusing to meet Vash�s concerned gaze.

Vash slung the two packs to the ground and passed Knives a canteen of water. Watching him as he drank -- first in deep gulps, then more slowly, as if savoring every drop of the cool liquid -- Vash realized how truly wretched Knives looked. His ashen skin, already peppered with yellowing bruises, was now blotched pink with exertion and the beginnings of a sunburn. Though still unnaturally pale, Vash had tanned enough to withstand long exposure to the sun. Knives hadn�t, and he was suffering for it.

�Gonna have to wear a hat or something,� Vash said into the uncomfortable silence. Knives looked up, startled and questioning. Vash gestured vaguely at Knives� face. �You�re burning. Been inside for too long. I can rig some kind of cover out of a spare shirt or something�

Knives blinked in response.

Vash shrugged, then held out his hand for the water. �Was just sayin�,� he muttered.

Just when Vash had become convinced that Knives wasn�t going to say a word while they waited out the noon sun, his brother�s rasping voice caught him in the middle of taking a swig of water.

�Vashu.�

Vash started, swallowed some water the wrong way and spent the next five minutes coughing.

�Guh,� Vash managed finally. �Don�t do that. Say what now?�

He was shaken, and not just because of the unexpected coughing fit. Knives hadn�t called him Vashu since they were children; the last time he�d heard that name was over a century ago. Had Knives had really remembered the nickname, or was it merely an endearment he�d thought of on a whim while they rested here?

Knives was speaking again; Vash struggled to bring himself back to the present to listen.

�This cliff, this shelter. It�s been carved in. You can see the lines, scratch marks. Who made it?�

Vash looked up at the meager half-roof the hollow afforded, and the rich blue sky beyond. �Sand vipers,� he said. �The bedrock is too solid for them to build real dens here, but they come through this region a lot. Free-range tomas herds move in fairly predictable paths between the cooler highlands down south and the deep desert to the north. Vipers follow them, hole up in the deep sands whenever the tomases settle for the season, then prey on the weak members of the herd. Since they can�t build real dens while they�re on the move, they make these shelters in cliff faces.� Vash patted the cool, rough stone fondly. �They scratch out a little more space with each season. This one�s old. I�ve stayed here before.�

Knives stared at the place where the stone wall sloped down into the sand. He was thinking about what Jessica had said -- comparing him to a toothless viper bleeding on a doorstep. �The vipers aren�t here now?� he asked.

�Nah,� Vash said, leaning back against the wall and passing the canteen back to Knives. �It isn�t the season for them. The tomases won�t pass through for a couple of months yet.�

Knives let his eyes drift half-shut in thought. �If they can make these partial caves in solid stone, why can�t they build dens in bedrock?� he wondered aloud, not expecting an answer.

Vash surprised him by giving one. �Race memory, maybe... vipers have adapted to the surface environment, but they evolved from a different species that lived underground, near reservoirs. Slives. They were tunnelers. Stronger than vipers, but slower. Venomous. They�re mostly extinct now.� Vash fell silent, looking morose.

Knives got the sense that Vash was holding something back. He also felt the stirrings of a half-dead memory; the mere name of the slives brought back a distinct feeling of disgust and fear. He decided he didn�t really want to know any more about them, but at the same time he couldn�t help feeling a sort of morbid curiosity.

Vash levered himself to his feet with a grunting sound that Knives took to mean the conversation was over. �I don�t think you should get out in the sun again for a couple of hours,� Vash said, stepping right up to the edge of the cliff�s shadow and peering up at the blinding sky. �Get some sleep. You need as much as you can get and this is about the safest kind of shelter you can find around here. Other animals steer clear because it�s viper-made, and most bandits don�t come this far off the roads.�

�Bandits?� Knives asked blankly.

Vash�s back was turned, so Knives didn�t see the wince that passed over his face. Damn it, Vash thought privately. I can�t slip up like that. He doesn�t need to know about the bad in humans until he�s had a taste of the good.

�People who steal from others,� Vash said shortly.

�Oh.� Knives didn�t question him further, for which Vash was grateful.

�I�m going on,� Vash said, moving back to Knives� side to pick up the lighter of the packs and shoulder it. �There�s a town not far from here, and I need to talk to someone there. I�ll be back in an hour or two. You sleep, eat something and keep healing. We can leave when it�s cooler and stay in town for the night -- it won�t take much more than an hour to get there.�

Knives did the mental math. Vash was clearly anticipating that Knives would slow him down. The thought made Knives uncomfortable.

�All right,� was all Knives said.

Vash spoke a little longer, but Knives wasn�t listening. When his brother walked away into the desert, he watched in silence.

-------

Knives tossed and turned in a fitful doze, unintentionally flinging away the rolled-up cloak he was using for a pillow. He made small choking noises in his sleep.

�A man walks into a hotel.� Loud, raucous voice. The smell of alcohol. An unfunny joke bellowed at the top of unseemingly full-voiced lungs. �A man walks into a hotel, hands the innkeeper three nails and he asks --� (I don�t want to hear the end of this joke, I really don�t) -- �CAN YOU PUT ME UP FOR THE NIGHT?!� Heartless laughter and groans from the others, from Mary and Rowan and Joey the captain. Who was the cruel voice? Did it have a name? Knives couldn�t remember.

Don�t you remember?

They�re making a different kind of Eden! With no wars, and no stealing...

It�s a different kind of Eden all right. Not only with stealing, but also full of misunderstanding and distrust and cruelty and unfunny jokes.

Yet...

Yet there was the memory of Milly feeding him, easing his humiliation with kind words. Of Jessica cutting his hair, putting aside her hatred in favor of a few moments� peace. True memories, not broken or buried, untouched by whatever trauma had eaten away the rest of his past. True kindness.

Here, also, were memories of black hair like a ravens� wing arrayed against glass clouded with cold and ice; a fine-boned hand stroking through the crushed-silk green of the rec room floor; chocolate eyes shining with hope, upturned to a cloudless holographic sky.

And connected with those images -- bitterness and hatred. A film of grime over the porcelain, tarnish rotting away the silver, leeches digging ever-deeper into the unmarred flesh. Her flesh was not like Vash�s. Her flesh was pristine, pale. He hated it. Hated her -- hated her sensibility, her practicality, her teachings and her love. Hated them because they stole Vash away from him, because they made her the only link, the only bridge between himself and his twin. There was nothing he could say to Vash that didn�t first require him to pass the test of her standards, and her only standard was absolute perfection, and how could he ever be that?

I will be perfect. I am perfect. It�s only the others who aren�t.

Vash loved her, and yet Knives knew she was false. He�d seen the way she composed her expressions and measured her words. She was conditioning them, and Vash was oblivious. How could he not be angry? How could he not be frustrated? How could he possibly be at fault for wanting to save his brother from the love of a woman who wanted nothing from him but her own personal angel to go with her own personal Eden?

He remembered begging.

Why? Sister, Sisters, why am I afraid of her? She�s lulling him and I�m afraid he�ll never wake up.

This is our life and this is our essence and we are the light and the one made of many and we know nothing but this one truth and we do not know what the small one means by hate or love or fear. Why is it necessary for you to feel so? It hurts us. You hurt us with your questions. You hurt us with your life.

Stop it. Stop asking questions. Stop hurting us. Stop it.

�It�s a different kind of Eden, Knives! Don�t you remember what Rem said?�

STOP SAYING HER NAME!

Screaming and screaming at the nothingness to stop, stop the hurting --

Spiraling down.

stop it stop it stop it stop it stop it stop it STOP IT STOP

�What if she was right? In that case, what I did was a huge mistake.�

�You�re just a human, like the rest of them. I know my choice is the right one.�

NO, DON�T --

Knives jerked awake.

-------

What was the word for this? There was a word for this. The feeling of falling, then waking flat on the ground. Spinning in two dimensions, stillness in the third. Disconcertion. Vertigo. Some scientific word that he couldn�t remember.

Couldn�t remember...

Knives rolled onto his side, curled up tight and ignored the pain in his stomach. It was dimmer outside the hollow -- late afternoon. Vash should be back. Shouldn�t he?

Knives stared out at the vast landscape that made him feel so small and thought about his dream. Every fragment that came to him was only a tiny piece of a puzzle so complex that he didn�t even know what it was about, much less how to start putting the pieces together. These dreams were useless, maddening -- and yet he longed for each one to come faster, to give him a little more taste of reality, no matter whether that reality tasted sweet or bloody.

He could see only two possibilities -- either he was severely mentally disturbed and no one had the heart to tell him so, or something had gone very, very wrong in his past. Either way, his own lack of knowledge about himself was terrifying. It was like being tied down in a small, locked room with no lights and no air, screaming for help into a vacuum.

As he lay there, panicked into utter stillness, words came to him. Words he both knew and didn�t know; words that touched something deep and strong within him, that loosened the knots and allowed him to breathe a little easier. Without thinking, he murmured the phrase aloud.

�It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to, than I have ever known.�

Knives realized that he was shaking.

--------

�Is Max Simon around?�

�He�s in the back room. May I ask who--�

�Vash! �S that you, kid?�

A door slammed open. The secretary, who was obviously new, winced and cast a sideways glance at the battered doorframe to see if today was the day it would finally crack and bring the whole wall down on the eccentric weatherman�s head. Apparently it wasn�t. The secretary heaved a sigh of relief and proceeded to ignore both men.

Vash laughed and scratched the back of his head, his usual humble-cum-awkward greeting for old friends. �He-ey, Max! How�s the weather looking?�

Short, stocky and good-tempered as usual, Max near-bellowed with laughter. �You want the bit about the sun, or the bit about the heat? Kinda can�t have one without the other, and we got both, and lots of �em at that. Where�ve you been, kid? Seein� how the old-timers are doing now they�re stuck in the same mess as the rest of us?�

While he was talking, Max led the way into the back room and gave the ancient framework another integrity check when he closed the door behind him. Vash let the pack slide from his shoulder to the floor while Max took a seat on top of several scattered charts on his desk.

�You could say that,� Vash replied, settling back against the wall. He let his smile fade, and Max�s expression fell along with it. Vash not smiling was never a good sign.

�What�s happened?� Max asked levelly.

Vash looked away for a couple of breaths, preparing himself. �Doc�s dead,� he said finally, looking back at his old friend. �And there�s a lot of people hurt. Crash victims, planetside diseases they�ve never seen before, a lot of unrest and distrust flying around. I... I couldn�t do anything. I�m so sorry I had to bring the news about Doc, Max, but you needed to know...�

Max had been a friend of the Doctor�s for years -- not as long as Vash, but long enough. His face fell even further with the news. �I see,� he said blankly, even though he didn�t really. Vash knew he didn�t. It would take a long time -- maybe even a trip to the fallen city himself, to look with his own eyes -- before Max would really see.

�There�s something else,� Vash said. �I need a favor.�

�Still hunting for that brother of yours?� Max asked hollowly, misinterpreting Vash�s words. �I�ve had no news lately. Seems all the strange disappearances have stopped completely for the last month or so.�

�I know,� Vash said, bracing himself against the wall. �That�s because Knives was with me.�

Max didn�t even react, just stared. Complete information overload. Vash hadn�t seen him like this since he�d first told him about his past. He kicked himself mentally -- he should have broken the news more gently, but he didn�t really have the time. He wanted to get back into the desert as soon as possible.

�Knives was with you,� Max repeated.

�Yes,� said Vash.

�The murderer of millions, the one who framed you for nearly everything the legends say you�ve done, was with you. For a month. And yet you seem to be very alive.�

�Yes,� said Vash, �he has amnesia.�

Max shook his head slowly. �The evil twin has amnesia,� he muttered to himself. �Of all the things...�

Vash frowned. �He�s not evil.�

�Oh, he�s not evil, says the man with half his chest ripped off and most of his limbs reattached with string and glue,� Max burst out sarcastically. �What the hell are you thinking, you stupid sonuvabitch?�

The frown deepened. �I�m taking care of him. He�s my own flesh and blood, thanks. Besides, he barely remembers anything -- I had to teach him English all over again, it was that bad. We were on the ship until now, but a mob organized against him. He�s injured and confused and I just want to get him somewhere safe where he can learn how to live again, better this time.�

Max�s mild hysteria was alleviated by Vash�s words, but not completely. �What are you suggesting, bringing him into Oregon? Vash...� His expression softened slightly. �Vash, I could take it, but the people here don�t want him.�

�They don�t even know him,� Vash objected.

�They don�t want to see anyone from the ship,� Max clarified. �If you come from that direction, they�ll drive you out. Besides, the Fris and Polo families haven�t vanished -- you�re not exactly an enemy, but they won�t do right by you either. That Slater kid has it out for you, says you humiliated him and slandered the Polo family name by not letting him kill that crazy father. You can�t stay.�

Vash shook his head. �You misunderstand me,� he said. �I don�t want to stay. Just want to pass through, hopefully sleep in peace for one night. We�re heading for Terma, but I want to ease Knives into a smaller town before we get to a full-fledged city.�

Max sighed in resignation. �So, you said something about a favor?�

�Advice. News. Someplace to stay,� Vash said. �I figure things have been pretty shook up since the big uproar between the powerhouse families and Sky City�s crash. Wanted to check that my hideouts are still in place before I showed up with a liability like Knives.�

Max shook his head. �You�re pretty much screwed there, kid. Business in this town was nearly all monopolized by the Polo family, but they�ve gone nuts and the economy�s pretty much kaput by now. All sorts of staff switch-ups, people unemployed. You�ve got few friends left here.�

�Anything at all? Anyone?� Vash asked, dismayed.

Max hesitated, then heaved a great sigh and said, �Yeah, yeah Vash. There�s me.�

Vash blinked, straightening. �I didn�t mean --�

�The Montague caravan�s passing by from the north of town around first sunset; you go around a bit, come down from that direction like you just got off the caravan and no one�ll ever have to know you came from the ship. I�ll take a couple of tomases out to the old stoneworker�s -- you know where. You two can stay with me and the girls tonight.�

�Max, I didn�t want to impose on you --�

�Look, Vash,� Max said bluntly, �if you don�t stick close to me you�re gonna be taking a huge risk. This town�s in chaos right now, no nicer way of putting it. If you wanna put your oh-so-beloved maniac into that kind of a situation, be my guest, but I�d rather you stayed with me. I don�t want anywhere near him, but I want other people near him even less. I�m willing to do this for the town�s sake.�

Vash winced. �Max... Look, I�m not going to argue about Knives, I know this whole thing is hard to accept. But when you see him --�

�I won�t screw up whatever you�re trying to do for him,� Max said, �or to him, whatever the hell you�re thinking. I�ll be civil. I won�t tell him about his past. But I don�t like it, Vash -- if he has amnesia like you say, then keeping up this act is only going to torment him. It�s like putting a mad criminal in an isolation tank -- and they outlawed that nearly forty years ago �cause it was deemed inhumane. Or don�t you remember?�

Vash shook his head helplessly. �It�s the only thing I can do,� he said. �If I tell him everything now, it�ll just make it harder for me to get through to him afterwards. Maybe impossible.�

�How do you know that?� Max asked. �You ask him?�

�No, but --�

�Just bring him here, Vash,� Max interrupted with a sigh. �And keep your head low. I worry for you sometimes.�

--------
- 13
- 14
- 15
You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.
Report Story

Earth to Earth

Earth to Earth--------Chapter Thirteen: Lies My Teacher Told MePart I--------

Earth to Earth

--------

Chapter Thirteen: Lies My Teacher Told Me

Part I

--------