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nomans_land2023-05-02 05:02 am
nml_mods) wrote in nomans_land2023-05-02 05:02 am
Entry tags:
On The First Day
It had been months.
Months of terror, of families ripped apart, refugees racing against the Ark in the sky, against the Plants that had once been their only source of survival on the world and had now been turned against them, raining lightning and death down on them like the hand of a vengeful God. Humanity pushed to the brink, fleeing their homes and communities, waves of refugees fleeing across the sands as more and more towns and cities fell to the reign of destruction that had been biting at their heels every step of the way.
And then, as the last descendants of the survivors of the Big Fall clustered in the city of Octovern, spiilling out into the streets, every available, livable space filled to capacity and beyond, what felt like the final days of humanity began. The sounds of artillery fire filled the air, the sight of the Ark and its grotesque ruler loomed overhead, and in the distant sky high above, the previously-inconceivable reinforcement ships from Earth took up orbit around No Man's Land. Throughout the night, explosions lit up the sky, thundering with deafening reports through the air, and yet the civilians below had settled into a still, terrified, anticipatory silence. They couldn't see, from their perspective, the figures atop the ruins of the Earth's space destroyers that had already fallen to the ground, locked in battle for the future of the people far below. But the sight of Millions Knives high above, terrifying and grotesque with the power of the Plants he had absorbed, was omnipresent, a never-ending threat, the harbinger of doom, biding his time until he could make good on his promise to wipe every last one of them off the face of existence.
And then something had changed.
Electrical currents rippled through the air above the downed ship, carrying screams on the wind. To the people below, Millions Knives' massive form had shifted, writhing, bellowing with unholy rage and pain and despair. And then it begun to unmake itself, shredding, crumbling, tearing itself apart at the seams and floating to the ground in tiny, shining, white particles. Tiny, white feathers drifted on the wind, closer and closer before, one by one, they began to settle to the roofs of the buildings, to the tops of cars and to the streets, and to the heads and faces of the humans staring up from below.
The instant that contact was made between feather and skin, a connection was made; between Human and Plant, between each person standing side by side, minds thrown open in bursts of light and expanding consciousness, and through the doors sprang multitudes of memories spanning hundreds of years. Suffering, laughter, pain, sorrow, joy, enslavement, death, pride, love. The Plants had made the connection to their creators - their keepers - that they had been silently pleading for since their first containment, and with it every man, woman, and child on the surface of the world began to see and feel and hear their stories and their cries for help. They did not want this war, they did not want this destruction. They had seen the promises of vengeance and a paradise for their kind atop the bones of humanity offered by Millions Knives and they had felt the hopes and dreams carried by Vash the Stampede of a kinder, more loving world, and they had made their choice.
Let there be love and peace in this world.
In the chaos that followed, as the bodies of the Plants began tumbling to the ground in a writhing mass and the screams of shock and confusion began to rise from the sea of humanity below, something rippled in the air, a last gasp of those silent voices before the connection was lost.
This was...different. New. As if reality had taken the distraction caused by the calamity below to shift itself sharply to the left, and then snapped. It started at the core of the mass of angelic bodies as men and women began to rush to their aid, a shockwave in the fabric of creation that rumbled silently in the atoms of the world and ricocheted outward, along the ground, through the air, until it had enveloped the entire planet. Time froze for an instant, and to the eyes of all who had the capacity for sight, that leftward shift became manifest, the world doubling on itself as the ground shook beneath their feet.
Wails of confusion and fear rose into the night sky, and for a brief moment, it felt as if the world were about to unmake itself on the molecular level. But then, just as suddenly as it had come, the distortion snapped back into place with a loud, ear-splitting CRACK, and in the stunned silence that followed, only one thing could be certain; things were not the same as they had been mere moments ago, as if everything and yet nothing at all had changed, all at once.
The world of No Man's Land was as it should be, but all across the surface of the planet, pockets of reality had split open, sending the inhabitants of mirrored existences tumbling through wide, unseen rifts. People and places outside of time and space found themselves staggering to their feet in a world that was both foreign and familiar at the same time, found themselves face to face with their own reflection made flesh, tossed about by the pleas of a race reaching across the fabric of creation for aid in putting a stop to a war that had been fought time and time again, across reality after reality, without fail.
Thus began the new chapter in the history of No Man's Land.
[Wherever your character was, whatever they were doing, when the rifts in reality opened, they will have found themselves rocked by a massive earthquake that lastes a few short seconds before settling with a loud crack, like thunder. While no damage will be left in its wake, the characters themselves will realize that though the planet appears to be the same, it will quickly become evident that they are in an alternate reality of the place they call home. Are they standing in the rubble of a once-destroyed city now remade whole? Is the bar they had been taking refuge in suddenly gone, leaving them tumbling to the sand with nothing but their drink in their hand? And what of the friends that had been standing by their side seconds before? This is where your stories begin.]
Months of terror, of families ripped apart, refugees racing against the Ark in the sky, against the Plants that had once been their only source of survival on the world and had now been turned against them, raining lightning and death down on them like the hand of a vengeful God. Humanity pushed to the brink, fleeing their homes and communities, waves of refugees fleeing across the sands as more and more towns and cities fell to the reign of destruction that had been biting at their heels every step of the way.
And then, as the last descendants of the survivors of the Big Fall clustered in the city of Octovern, spiilling out into the streets, every available, livable space filled to capacity and beyond, what felt like the final days of humanity began. The sounds of artillery fire filled the air, the sight of the Ark and its grotesque ruler loomed overhead, and in the distant sky high above, the previously-inconceivable reinforcement ships from Earth took up orbit around No Man's Land. Throughout the night, explosions lit up the sky, thundering with deafening reports through the air, and yet the civilians below had settled into a still, terrified, anticipatory silence. They couldn't see, from their perspective, the figures atop the ruins of the Earth's space destroyers that had already fallen to the ground, locked in battle for the future of the people far below. But the sight of Millions Knives high above, terrifying and grotesque with the power of the Plants he had absorbed, was omnipresent, a never-ending threat, the harbinger of doom, biding his time until he could make good on his promise to wipe every last one of them off the face of existence.
And then something had changed.
Electrical currents rippled through the air above the downed ship, carrying screams on the wind. To the people below, Millions Knives' massive form had shifted, writhing, bellowing with unholy rage and pain and despair. And then it begun to unmake itself, shredding, crumbling, tearing itself apart at the seams and floating to the ground in tiny, shining, white particles. Tiny, white feathers drifted on the wind, closer and closer before, one by one, they began to settle to the roofs of the buildings, to the tops of cars and to the streets, and to the heads and faces of the humans staring up from below.
The instant that contact was made between feather and skin, a connection was made; between Human and Plant, between each person standing side by side, minds thrown open in bursts of light and expanding consciousness, and through the doors sprang multitudes of memories spanning hundreds of years. Suffering, laughter, pain, sorrow, joy, enslavement, death, pride, love. The Plants had made the connection to their creators - their keepers - that they had been silently pleading for since their first containment, and with it every man, woman, and child on the surface of the world began to see and feel and hear their stories and their cries for help. They did not want this war, they did not want this destruction. They had seen the promises of vengeance and a paradise for their kind atop the bones of humanity offered by Millions Knives and they had felt the hopes and dreams carried by Vash the Stampede of a kinder, more loving world, and they had made their choice.
Of course, but...what would he do at a time like this?
I wonder if he'll laugh again
I wonder if he'll follow his ideals again.
I see. You all know him as well. That young man with a gentle smile.
Little Red Brother.
Let there be love and peace in this world.
In the chaos that followed, as the bodies of the Plants began tumbling to the ground in a writhing mass and the screams of shock and confusion began to rise from the sea of humanity below, something rippled in the air, a last gasp of those silent voices before the connection was lost.
Help Us. Help him. Please.
This was...different. New. As if reality had taken the distraction caused by the calamity below to shift itself sharply to the left, and then snapped. It started at the core of the mass of angelic bodies as men and women began to rush to their aid, a shockwave in the fabric of creation that rumbled silently in the atoms of the world and ricocheted outward, along the ground, through the air, until it had enveloped the entire planet. Time froze for an instant, and to the eyes of all who had the capacity for sight, that leftward shift became manifest, the world doubling on itself as the ground shook beneath their feet.
Wails of confusion and fear rose into the night sky, and for a brief moment, it felt as if the world were about to unmake itself on the molecular level. But then, just as suddenly as it had come, the distortion snapped back into place with a loud, ear-splitting CRACK, and in the stunned silence that followed, only one thing could be certain; things were not the same as they had been mere moments ago, as if everything and yet nothing at all had changed, all at once.
The world of No Man's Land was as it should be, but all across the surface of the planet, pockets of reality had split open, sending the inhabitants of mirrored existences tumbling through wide, unseen rifts. People and places outside of time and space found themselves staggering to their feet in a world that was both foreign and familiar at the same time, found themselves face to face with their own reflection made flesh, tossed about by the pleas of a race reaching across the fabric of creation for aid in putting a stop to a war that had been fought time and time again, across reality after reality, without fail.
[Wherever your character was, whatever they were doing, when the rifts in reality opened, they will have found themselves rocked by a massive earthquake that lastes a few short seconds before settling with a loud crack, like thunder. While no damage will be left in its wake, the characters themselves will realize that though the planet appears to be the same, it will quickly become evident that they are in an alternate reality of the place they call home. Are they standing in the rubble of a once-destroyed city now remade whole? Is the bar they had been taking refuge in suddenly gone, leaving them tumbling to the sand with nothing but their drink in their hand? And what of the friends that had been standing by their side seconds before? This is where your stories begin.]
no subject
But he supposed that made things easier. If no one was there to see them, then no one would recognize Vash and try to give him trouble. That was, to be honest, the absolute last thing either of them needed right now. They just needed to stop in town for the night, hole up in whatever bed they could find in the abandoned inn, and then tomorrow would be the last ten iles to the orphanage. And he was not looking forward to that.
That didn't mean the out-of-tune piano he began to hear plinking along in the distance as they got closer didn't make him pause, his brow furrowed in mild confusion as he glanced over at Vash.]
Guess it's not as abandoned as it looks. Wonder who the composer is.
no subject
That's... Knives. My brother is playing.
[ He'd last heard it at July, and that had sounded different somehow, but the music chilled him to the bone just as it had at Jeneora Rock...
He took a deep breath, looking around, then tilted his chin up, jaw clenched.
Nothing could have prepared him for stepping inside that bar - first, thank you, Wolfwood - and seeing the small, slender blond figure. Nor for the onslaught of the emotions, his eyes stinging as he thought of how he would have, once upon a time, wedged next to him and joined him. He flexed lightly the fingers of his left hand. Not like he even could do that, anymore. ]
Uh... Nai?
no subject
- Vash...? [ older, different, but undoubtedly his brother. he'd just been separated from vash and here he was now, the universe presenting him with yet another little brother that towered over him. his breath tight in his chest, posture still tense as if ready to spring at any moment, his gaze flickers from vash's face to the man behind him. immediately his eyes narrow, fixing the man with a distrusting glower. ]
Who is that?
no subject
Needle-Noggin, wait, Jesus Fucking Chri-...!?
[The last thing he expected when he caught up with him, almost barreling into him as he stood in the doorway of the bar, was a small boy, obviously scared, obviously trying to hide it behind a tough demeanor, and boy didn't that seem familiar.
That was not Millions Knives. Not the crazed fucking madman he'd seen, forcing Vash to unleash unholy terror on the planet, delighting in the bloodbath and the trauma he was inflicting on the world.]
Who are you? [He immediately felt like a shit heel. The kid was obviously scared. Good job, asshole, you're going to make it worse! He did his best to settle, to look less threatening from where he stood behind Vash. Let the kid focus on him, instead, kids loved the guy.
But the more he stared, the more the little details began to come into focus, and he felt a moment of slow horror dawning on him as they fell into place. The eyes, the color of the hair, the birthmark. They were a close enough match to the monster back home, and he could imagine with very little effort how that face would change as the boy aged into a perfect mirror of the man standing next to him.]
...What the fuck, Spikey, aren't you two twins? I thought he was supposed to be the older brother...! [He kept his voice a ragged whisper, as low as he possibly could with the shock in his tone.]
no subject
[ ... sorry, Wolfwood. Vash was already crouching down to be closer to Nai's level of sight because avoiding towering over scared kids by this point was practically a reflex. Even though Nai even at this age was incredibly dangerous...
He was still his brother.
He rubbed the back of his head. ]
He's a friend of mine. He's made sure I survive relatively unharmed a lot of times! Annnnd it seems we might not just be in a different place but a different time, too. [ This last part to both of them, as both answer to Wolfwood and in a way to Nai. ]
... Nai, are you all right? I know we're durable, and you don't need water or food, but... are you?
no subject
[ his jaw clicks shut, hands fisted at his sides. at this point, he was sure some higher powers were toying with him now. yet it proves difficult to stay so tensely coiled around vash, even with the stranger standing behind him. nai doesn't trust the undertaker, something he makes very clear through the dirty look he throws at wolfwood.
vash is crouched down and nai takes it as an opportunity to close the distance between them, confident despite his stiff posture. he acts without warning, both hands coming up to clap over vash's cheeks. not even a moment passes before he's tugging at his cheeks and sticks out his tongue. ]
Obviously, I'm perfectly fine! I'm right where I want to be, after all! [ sarcasm lacing his tone as he pinches and pulls lightly at those cheeks... and then he lets go. just as quickly, he plucks those glasses off his brother's face. it isn't like they ever had any boundaries between them, so why would it change now that vash was a "little" taller?
he ignores wolfwood, choosing to focus on vash. it's easy to pretend they're the only ones here for now. ]
You're the one who needs protecting, not me.
no subject
How...
Fuck. Fuck, uck, FUCK.
He dropped to a crouch near the door, his eyes wide behind his sunglasses, watching every motion the kid made with intense focus. He didn't even realize when his hand slipped into the front of his jacket, clenching around the grip of his sidearm, until the ache in his knuckles pegged him onto it. But he didn't draw the gun. And he didn't take his hand away.
One shot. One shot was all it could take to stop all of the horror before it happened.
Just one bullet.
But he was just a kid. Could he even-...? Could he do it? He should! Vash would despise him for it, but maybe it was worth it, if it made sure none of the horrors they'd been forced to live had to come to pass!
So...why wasn't he just taking the shot???]
no subject
Then Nai took away the shades, and, while he knew they did not exactly conceal his eyes, he felt. Open and vulnerable to find himself without them suddenly. His eyes were wide, and, Nai could probably see, they were a little glistening with tears that he refused to let fall.
Then a wave of emotions slammed into him from the other man, and gods, he remembered all the things Nai had later done. He remembered the devastatiton in the places they had passed, because Millions Knives had taken away all the plants, and people had been left to die, and something inisde his ches broke heplessly, because this was his brother. This was his brother who was young and, well, not innocent, not at this point, not anymore, but still... so vulnerable. And yet, he had all of that in him.
He swallowed down a whimper, but his quiet, ] Wolfwood... [ was only barely more solid than that. He shook his head then, breaking his reverie, and smiled at Nai. ]
I don't need it as much as it... is nice. To have someone at your back when things get hard. Alone is very lonely, you know.
no subject
especially when he can see the tears in his brother's eyes. the same sadness that seems consistent across the board. he doesn't want to be the source of that pain, but a part of him knows the terrible truth without having to ask.
so he slides the sunglasses on his own face. they're bigger and droop down his nose unless he holds them in place. ]
Well, I'm here now. So you don't have to be alone. [ the man behind his brother is staring at him hard enough, nai can feel his skin prickle under the intensity. despite his brother being right here, something dangerous lurks behind him. his fingers twitch, tightening their hold on the glasses. ] I was with you before- a different you. [ different, but no less his brother. nai didn't feel the need to care. ] But then there was another big tremor, and we were separated.
no subject
He couldn't. He couldn't be the reason Vash was left alone like that. Because even if he was willing to accept the the consequences of doing the one thing that might very well finally make Vash hate him for the monster he really was, he couldn't accept being the one that took away one of the only things he had left.]
Fuck.
[When he pulled his hand out of his coat, it was to open one of his cigar tubes, and he used the process of cutting it and lighting it to disguise how rattled he was. He'd gone through two of these in as many days. He'd need to buy more, soon, unless he wanted to start smoking three cigarettes at once every time he really needed the nic-fix to calm his nerves.
He hung onto every single word the two of them exchanged, and when the kid mentioned Vash, a different Vash, he let out a cloud of smoke from the corner of his mouth, away from them, and stood to his feet. Every step was slow, deliberate and careful, and when he was just outside of arm's reach of the little monster, he crouched back down, feeling mildly annoyed that he hadn't taken up carrying suckers like Nico had, because at least those helped get him some kind of brownie points with kids. Nicholas didn't have anything like that.]
That's what we're here for, right? [He steeled his face into something neutral before lifting his sunglasses into his hair and then put on his most charming, disarming smile. At least he was practiced with that.] Your bro's a softie, you know? He's been tryin' t'find you for a while, now. An' hey, sorry if I was bein' rude just now, I was thinkin' we'd find someone our age. [Alright, Vash's age, but he could pretend he didn't know any better for now.] I'm glad we found you, though. We lost one'a your brother's friends a few days ago, an' things've been kinda hard on him. You know how attached he gets, he just wants everyone to be his friend. I haven't seen him lose one person without it really upsettin' 'im. S'why it's good you're safe. We can help 'im better as a team, right? Hopefully he doesn't have t'worry about losin' anyone else.
[And not a word of it was a lie. Well. The part about finding Knives, maybe. But not any of the rest of it.]
The other Vash, too...honest, kid, I...[Oh, and now he was actually thinking about the implications of what he was about to say, and it was like a knife in his heart.] That may be the Vash I know. Me an' him...we got separated a while back, an' if it's the same Vash, I know he's just as sweet as your brother, here, an' I'm kinda worried about him, too. I didn't think I'd ever find 'im again, an' I know that he's probably just as upset as this guy.
[He didn't notice it, but the look on his face softened, went a little "gooey" around the edges, as it were. He shifted, resting an elbow on his knee so he could rest his chin in his hand in what was as nonchalant a facade as he could make at the moment.]
What'd you mean when you say different? Is it his hair? Kinda likes to spike it up? An' his coat's got buttons instead'a zippers, and great big boots with belts on 'em? That's my Vash. He was lookin' for his brother, too, when I...got lost.
[God. If his Vash was here...what...what was he even going to do with that??? He never, in a million years, thought he would ever see him again. He'd told himself two years ago that he had come to terms with that. But the thought was making him feel some sort of way all of a sudden, and not least of which was a worry that it had been him the call for aid had gone out for when this whole mess had started up a few days ago.]
You know where he is, now? Maybe if we keep 'em together, they'll both be safer, yeah? I just wanna make sure they're both ok, you know?
no subject
God...
Nai mentions the other Vash, and he manages to tear his eyes away from the child in front of him, to look towards Wolfwood, only to catch that Fuck and. Somehow, somehow that managed to give him something to hold on to in the whirlwind that was his ind right now. He breathed out, and when his eyes returned to Nai, the tears had finally dissipated, and his gaze was marm and kind, the sadness always there but much less dominant.
And then he rubbed the back of his head a little sheepishly, as Wolfwood's words kept coming and actually helped settle him back into reality, away from the whirlwind that was threatening to drown him even worse than ever since they had found themselves in this place. ]
He's not wrong, Nai. [ He reached to nudge the bridge of the shades up the tiny, familiar nose. ] I don't take well or easily to losing anyone.
[ Although if the Vash that had been with Nai really was the one that Wolfwood had been missing for that long - the one that Vash knew that he loved - that would not be exactly like losing him. Not if he could come home, at last. ]
And such things are far too easy on this planet. Especially as it is right now - the plants that were in these towns were taken away, so everything is dangerous. So I'd kind of like to find them, too, since I think they are the ones that brought us all here.
[ He could not be sure if Nai would pay that much attention to Wolfwood's arguments. But the plants being in danger enough to take action, that was likely to catch his attention. And, also... ]
... they asked that we all help them, and help the other Vash. That's... also what I've been trying to find more about.
[ He did not know what Nai had already been told, but this much he might be able to tell for himself - about the taken plants, that was, whether or not he had caught the message from them. ]
no subject
nai's smile drops when the priest moves closer, brows pinched even as he listens to the man speak. now he remembers the name, one his other vash had mentioned in brief passing. was this really the same guy his brother called a friend? he keeps his expression flat and distrusting, fighting the urge to step away and put more distance between them.
just in case.
his attention is refocused on vash when his brother slides the glasses back up his nose. the tips of his ears tinting pink. ] I don't know where he is right now, but I'm going to find him.
[ one brother found, another lost. unfortunately, this brother had a straggler hanging onto his coat... not much nai can do about that for now. his gaze falls then, thoughts turning over their sisters. held in captivity and unable to protect themselves from both the humans and... whoever it was taking them from the towns. he starts to worry his lower lip with a sharp canine and catches sight of his brother's artificial arm. reaching down, he plucks his brother's hand with both of his, rubbing his thumbs along the greenish-tinted material. ]
It's been a long time, hasn't it? [ the thought of his brother being harmed is a slice to his heart, an aching pain. the glasses start to slide off his nose again as he's looking down, but he doesn't seem to care. ]
no subject
He bit his tongue, though, puffing awy on that cigar as if things were just as fine as they could be, now that they had found the kid.
Unfortunately, watching the way those tiny hands held onto Vash's prosthetic, the way the sight of it seemed to effect him in a way that he was trying to hide, just reminded him of how much a child could be effected by things they'd experienced and the horrors they'd seen. How much it could change them. Just like Livio. Sweetest kid, timid and shy and lonely and just wanting someone to take care of him. And how the things he'd lived through had twisted him, made him seek out a monster of his own making if only it would keep him from ever being hurt again.
Despite himself, the realization hit him hard, and it hurt. The whole thing fucking hurt, and everything in him wanted to despise the person cowering in front of him.
He gave a deep sigh, shifting so he could sit, properly, the smile on his face turning sad before fading completely as he stared at those tiny hands grasping around green, shining metal.]
You know...[What had he called him? Not Knives.] Nai? It kinda has. The guy who took the plants...he's really been tryin' his hardest to hurt your brother for a really long time. I haven't known Vash for many years, really, but...the entire time I have...[He could tell this whole thing was balanced on a razor's edge. He could also tell that Vash had been attempting to be vague about what he told his brother. And honestly, he got it. So how exactly did you talk someone down from letting themselves become their own worst enemy, without making things worse?]
He's made a lot of people hurt Vash, a whole lot. Your brother doesn't like to talk about it a lot, an' that's ok. Sometimes things hurt too much to talk about, an' it's ok if he doesn't feel comfortable rememberin' all those things just so we can hear his story. But...I've seen things happen to him 'cause his-...enemies, the people this guy's been sendin' after him, want to do everything in their power to take away everything he cares about. It's why they're takin' away the plants. They say it's for other reasons, but...everything I've ever seen them do has just been to try an' hurt Vash...they even try an' make other people help do it, like...
[He chewed on his words for a moment, glancing over at Vash, really debating with himself whether it was a good idea to say what he felt needed to be said. Trust went a long way with kids who had trust issues. If they found out you'd been lying, it could fuck up the entire thing. He would know, he'd been one of those kids.
Oh well. In for a penny, in for a pound.]
Like me. They wanted me to help hurt 'im, they threatened the people I cared about to make me do it. He's too sweet, though. He makes you feel like you're his best friend. I couldn't do that to 'im. That's...how we got separated. Do you know what an orphanage is? A home for kids who's parents died or couldn't [Wouldn't] take care of 'em? Those guys found out I turned on 'em, so they went lookin' for the kids at the orphanage where I grew up. I knew your brother needed to take care of the other people that guy was hurtin' to get to him, though, so I left to help the kids on my own, an' got into a really bad fight. Your brother came an' helped, he saved all those kids...but I still got separated from 'im when it happened.
That's why I wanna help 'im, now. An' why I need to find the other Vash, to make sure he's ok. A lotta people really look up to your brother, you know? He does everything he can to make other people happy, an' he's real important to 'em. People are real worried about 'im, but it's not safe out there, with that other guy doin' all the things he does just to get to 'im. We think that's what that rumble might'a been about, the one that happened a few days ago? I couldn't hear the voices like you guys can, but it sounded like people were worried about 'im and askin' for help so he'd be safe.
no subject
[ It's been a long time, hasn't it? Nai's words made Vash's lower lip tremble just once. He caught the shades, as they fell, slipping them on his own face effortlessly, the green fingers wrapping gently around one hand holding them as he tugged, just a little. If Nai followed, he would get hugged with Vash's right arm, gently but closely. So he could listen to it all from right there. Or not. As he chose to.
As Wolfwood's words kept coming, Vash had to bite his lip to not come close to tearing up again. He could fill in the gaps that Wolfwood was leaving, at least some of them, and thought how horrifying that must have been. For both of them. And how Knives--
God.
He took a shaky breath, then let it out slowly. ]
Before you think all the wrong things... my arm was cut off to save my life. Back then, I got... very upset, and my Gate opened, from my left hand. But unlike for most plants, my gate is not one that you can take out of. It goes the other direction. And since I could not control it at all, it started sucking everything in. It was cut off so I would not be sucked in, or worse. It has been a long time, but not all of it has been bad.
And... the one that Wolfwood is speaking about. He isn't attacking me because I'm an Independent, he comes after me, or the other me, because he wants to destroy humans and leave only plants. And I - I don't want anyone to be destroyed. Humans, plants, Independents, Worms... I think we can all live in peace.
no subject
he can read between the lines, as much as he's done his best not to for his own sake. maybe if he hadn't already been told these things earlier, hadn't already broken down in frustration and bubbling anger, his response would be more than this subdued, heaviness that covers him. he pulls vash's prosthetic hand close to his chest, holding it there with a tight grip. his shoulders twitch when vash brings up his gate - a surprise that he can't help but feel a little proud.
his little brother... could it be? nai never felt better than vash that he had powers that seemed unreachable for his brother, instead taking it as a call to action. it was his birthright to use these abilities to keep his brother safe.
yet it seems in that area he had failed. another frustrating pang of hurt lodged in his chest. best to shove that down as far as he can. ]
I can't really help you, can I? [ he turns his head just to keep his voice from sounding muffled. ] I don't know where he is now. [ frustration laces his tone, he lets go of vash's hand to throw his arms around his brother's neck. ] Vash...
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[ Vash jumped down from the pile of rubble he'd been standing atop, scouring the city for any signs of his very small, very missing, brother. It was possible -- probable, even? -- that when he'd vanished he'd returned to his own time, but enough strangeness had happened today that Vash wasn't about to take any chances. Octovern can wait -- if little Kni is here somewhere, Vash is going to find him.
Go to a bar, he'd said. If we're separated, go to a bar and use their radio to call Luida. That would be his first step -- every bar, tavern, inn, restaurant in December that wasn't boarded up or currently on fire was about to get checked, and thoroughly. ]
Kni, where are you!?
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And then Vash's voice came again, only from behind, from a distance, and he blinked, in bewilderment before realization slammed into him like a blow to the head.
His head whipped around to the entrance to the bar, his sunglasses clattering down crookedly on his nose from where they'd been sitting atop his head, and he was clambering to his feet with a strangled "No fuckin' way!" before scrambling through the swinging doors.]
Needle-Noggin!!!
[And there he was, just down the street, obviously looking frazzled and like he'd seen better days, his hair streaked darker than he remembered it looking before. But it was Vash, the Vash he remembered, and suddenly he felt like he couldn't breath. Fuck! What the Hell did he say? "Oh, hey, long time no see?" or "Nice hairdye, spikey, think you missed a spot!" or even "Where the Hell have you been???"
None of it felt right, not after the last memory he had of him. No jokes, no greetings, none of it sounded right in his head. So he just stood there awkwardly for a moment, cigar hanging dangerously low in his mouth.
But oh. Wait. He'd been looking for the kid, hadn't he? He'd been calling out for his brother. Yeah, no. That made sense. He gestured at the doors of the bar weakly, straightening up and trying to regain his composure.]
Uh...hey. He's...the kid's in here. With, uh...with another you...
...Hi.
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I'm here, Nai. It's all right. And of course you can help. You're here, too. We'll figure out what needs to be done and who gets to do--
[ Then there was another voice calling, for his brother, and Wolfwood was rushing away from his side, and a part of Vash's heart just sank, another loss, even while the rest of him was utterly and completely glad that those two found each other again. ] -- what.
And here, see? It seems the other me has found us. It'll be all right.
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his head lifts when he hears that voice calling his name from outside. wolfwood rushes outside first, surprising nai with how fast he moves. slowly, nai disentangles his arms around vash's neck and reaches for his hand again to hold tight in his own. a heaviness sits in his chest that even vash's words of comfort can't dispel. it isn't alright. it just isn't.
he tugs at vash's hand, wanting to guide his brother outside with him. ] Let's go.
[ seeing vash outside, looking as frayed around the edges as he did the last time he saw him, nai breathes out. the idea of letting go of one vash to rush to another feels wrong and right and wrong - why does he have to choose? ]
Vash, I'm here. [ and surprisingly, he smiles in vash's direction. ]
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But his hand hasn't even grazed the grip of his gun before the face in front of him registers, and everything just seems to stop. The wind whistling through the empty streets fades away, the frantic pounding of his heartbeat dies into nothing, even the words the man is speaking don't have any sound, because that man is dead. He watched that man die barely an hour ago. He sat next to that man and waited with him while his heart gave out. He listened to his last breath rattle through him, he watched him die, that can't be... ]
...Wolfwood?
[ His voice is so quiet he's not even sure he spoke aloud. There's some commotion behind the man, and two more people emerge from the bar. On another day, watching himself walk through a doorway would be mind blowing, but today the other Vash barely even registers. Kni, at least, gets a relieved smile, but Vash can't keep his attention away from the other man for more than a second.
It's not possible. He takes a hesitant step forward, hands flexing at his sides. It's a ghost. It's a vision. It's a hallucination, it's Legato's work, he's finally gone mad, it's a miracle, it's a miracle. His breath shudders painfully in his throat, and he claps one hand hard over his mouth to stop whatever foolish thing his heart was about to make him say.
He's alive. How, he can't begin to imagine, but god, thank god, somebody heard him. He's alive. ]
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Hey, hey, it's alright, Spikey, you're alright.
[Everything he felt coming off of him was like a wire stretched dangerously taut that threatened to snap without a moment's notice. Normally, when he sensed that kind of energy coming off of him, shit was going to get messy. Normally, he was the one to get the messiest, because he knew he was going to have to be the one to make all the shots that actually finished the job.
This was different, so, so different. Not that he was surprised. He really wasn't. Unless this was another Vash from a reality that had gone differently than his own, then it was obvious by the color of his hair alone that Vash was...later? than he was. Had lived longer than Wolfwood had. Because of course he had. And he'd known when it happened that he was going to be leaving a lot of hurt behind when he was gone. That was just the way Vash worked. Especially with his friends. And at least for Wolfwood, he had absolutely been a friend. Closer than.
He gave a shaky little smile, reaching up and pulling his askew sunglasses off of his face so that he could hold eye contact with him as he stepped closer, letting his hands lower slowly so that he wasn't still warding off a defensive attack but still holding them out in front of him. Not touching, not yet, but there was an implication that he would reach out if he needed to, if Vash gave any indication that he needed the contact.]
It's just me, Vash. You're fine, just breath for me, ok? [He gave a soft laugh, his voice barely more than a whisper when he spoke as he began walking slowly closer, so slowly, silently cursing the way his hands suddenly wanted to shake and the way his eyes burned.] Don't start cryin' on me, ok? It's...been a Hell...a Hellova time. You might get me started, too, an' nobody wants that. I'm an ugly cryer when you get me goin', probably put you to shame!
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It was all he did, as the air between those two got changed ore and mare heavily with all that was and had been lost.
After few moments, making sure that was steady and his own emotions bundled up tightly - when he was comforting a plant, letting his own fear break through never could help - he looked back down at Nai, smiling slightly even if his eyes were sad, behind the shades. ]
They might need a little time. It has been over two years for Wolfwood and I'm not sure how long for the other me. It's all right, we'll be right nearby and he won't worry when he can focus on anyone else again. [ He squeezed his brother lightly. Two years might be more than Nai's entire life. Or nearly twice as long, even. And even with Vash's own distorted scale, it was a long time to miss someone.
Someone you loved. ]
All right?
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... but ]
Vash!
[ he calls out, holding up his index finger. ] You can have one hour. [ to have his catch-up chat or whatever. he thinks he's being very considerate here! ] Don't even think about leaving town, got it?
[ and for good measure, when he looks to wolfwood, nai sticks his tongue out with a comical blehh before turning back around to let vash led them away. ]
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Vash! Kni’s voice breaks through the haze of loss and what-ifs and snaps him back into reality. He turns to his brother with a jerk, body moving long before his mind realizes what’s happening. His vision is a blur, Kni just a smear of light next to something familiar and red, and Vash scrubs at his eyes with the back of his hand until he can see again, because his brother needs him. Because no matter what happens, no matter what miracles he gets to bear witness to, his brother will always be his first priority. Always.
But all Kni needs is his attention, and his promise. You have one hour! he commands, standing there somehow holding another Vash’s hand. Don’t leave!, and Vash, still dazed, nods in agreement. There’s another him. He won’t leave, no, he’s already promised that he wouldn’t, but there’s another him. Wolfwood is alive, and there’s another him? But then Kni sticks out his tongue at Wolfwood, and the tension breaks so thoroughly that Vash sways with it. His relieved laugh sounds a little unhinged, and little too loud, even to his ears, but he can’t bring himself to care. It feels like approval, of this human who Vash can’t tear his eyes away from. It feels like acceptance.
He smiles hesitantly at the other him, with the strange coat and the beautiful green hand -- hello, friend -- but Kni is already leading that other version of himself away. Giving him space. Protecting him, even now.
And then it’s just him and Wolfwood. …Or is it a Wolfwood?
Now that Vash can breathe again, now that the initial whirlwind of grief and shock has passed through him, he can finally see the little differences between the Wolfwood he last saw an hour or so ago, and the one standing before him. This Wolfwood didn’t just come from a fight. His suit isn’t pockmarked with holes and stained with his own blood. He’s not… it’s not the same. Wherever he’s from -- whenever he’s from -- he’s not the man Vash just watched die. Is he? Just like Kni is his brother, but different, just like that other version of him isn’t him, this cigar smoking Wolfwood is Wolfwood, but he’s also somebody else. He’s somebody else’s.
But he’s still alive.
Vash would never insult Wolfwood -- any Wolfwood -- with one of his fake smiles, but real anger? It’s that or tears, and if he starts crying he’ll never ever stop, so anger it is. ]
Nicholas D. Wolfwood, I am so mad at you!
[ Leaving in the middle of the night to go and get himself killed! What was he thinking?! ]
OK HERE WE GO after dozing off at my desk FINALLY FINISHED IT
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sorry, nai. sorry.
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[ because he's grateful. that nai listened to him, that nai is willing to give them time. (he doesn't try to catch wolfwood's attention, and he does wave back at the other him, but he knows that he is not part of that story. their story. the intensity with which they belong together takes his breath away... and also makes him feel very, very alone. but that is normal, isn't it? he was always going to end up alone, even since nai chose--)
when they get safely inside, vash will settle with his back against a wall, then hold out his arms in offer for proper hug. it's not like he can offer food or something to drink as comfort, but there is himself. ]
Hey. You must have questions. Or commentary, possibly.
[ he's all yours, nai. until you turn from him, or turn against him, he's all yours. ]
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