nomans_land | Tragic Ends VS Bad Ends, Trigun Flavor

Tragic Ends VS Bad Ends, Trigun Flavor

CW: mildly Plantcesty bc of canon end events but mostly toxicity, mindfuck, extreme codependency and.... co-parenting?

Somewhere in the sands is a tall person traveling on bare feet, a cloak of galaxies and roots covering their face from the sun. Vash moves slowly, not because he's tired or struggling, but because he's not really in a hurry. He doesn't get tired anymore, or hungry. Just weak, sometimes, but he's always been weak, hasn't he? That's why his brother has to protect him.

So this place couldn't be bad, because Knives would never leave him somewhere bad.

He stops briefly to collect a bleached skull left in the sand, picking it up with the roots and wisps of shadow and then holding it with the curiosity of a detached scholar rather than a compassionate man. Human, by the looks of it. Not killed by one of their brood, just unlucky in the desert.

Shrugging, Vash lets it drop into the sand again like an unwanted piece of trash and lets all those roots and glimmering energy unfold around him. He makes a little seat for himself, black flowers with shiny blue specks acting as cushions as the rest of his cloak peels away for a canopy. The dark undersuit is an echo of his brother, including the sturdiness of four perfectly fine limbs.

No memories were left, physical or otherwise. Sometimes you just have to remake your little brother to make him understand your point of view, and Vash... doesn't really know any better, anymore. It's fine, all he needs to focus on is making new Independents.

The roots continue to stretch over the sand, slithering over the area to see if they can pick up anything other than old bones of a doomed race.

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[Hearing the poor son of a bitch break down screaming wasn't any easier the second time around, and his lips pulled back in a discomfited sneer before the gun making a sick thumping sound against the side of his head made him wince. Not that he disagreed with the action, far from it. He really didn't need to be awake for whatever this was. It didn't stop him from reaching over and focusing on rubbing his arm so that he could feel it, awake or not, whether the contact was uncomfortable for Wolfwood or not. It was all he could do, and it was more than he'd been able to do for a long time, all the times he'd had to sit quietly by the side and watch Vash break down over some new thing that had sent him into a tailspin. He still felt less than useless.

The question made him glance up, and he chewed on his tongue as he thought. How long would that trip have taken, before? Days, right? Maybe a week? He wasn't sure. But he didn't need to stop for sleep, for food, for any of the things that kept a human body safely functioning and comfortable, and he'd been pretty good at neglecting a good few of those when the need arose, even when he had.]

Quicker than you could. Unless someone else is driving, it's still just foot power for me, but I can walk all night if I have to. I'm assuming you have a plan.

[How he could possibly help with that was another question entirely, but he knew he wouldn't have asked if he hadn't already been thinking three steps into whatever it was he was cooking up in his head and had already worked that part out. And, honestly, it was better than Wolfwood could process right now. There were too many thoughts rolling through his head, too many things he'd tried not to think too heavily on since he'd been thrown onto this version of a dustball that were demanding his attention now that this fresh new Hell had decided to drop into their laps, and too many questions about what had just happened. He needed a moment to process all of it.]

I need to know what happened, with you two. Call it a...well, can't exactly call it a professional curiosity, but a personal one. 'Cause you start talkin' about death not takin', and I'm sure you'll understand just why that has me a little fucked up right now. Whadda you mean, exactly?

[ Only foot power? Damn. He'd move faster than a living person would, then, but not as fast as a car could go. What's the point of being a ghost if you can't teleport all over the place, huh? Seems like a waste. ]

There's nothing to tell. [ Nothing that he really wants to share, anyway. ] I died, then I came back. It's a fuckin' miracle, say hallelujah.

[ Shit. They can't keep hitting Thorns in the head, they can't take him anywhere that he might wake up and kill everyone... what's that leave? Where could they go? Who can they trust?

He doesn't know. ]

As for Octovern, I was thinking about getting Luida to help. I figure there's nobody on the planet who knows more about plants than she does, and she's trustworthy. But we've only got one car, and there's no way I'm takin' him into the city.

[ They could call her on the radio, maybe? But that's still a long drive, plus it'll put Rem and that brat Nai at risk. ]

He was dead. [ Vash's voice is quiet and monotone, and his attention does not waver from the other him. ] Body ripped in two, no pulse, no breathing for the better part of an hour, I think. And then he was whole. He thought I had a vial with me, but even his clothes were back to how they had been when I'd last seen him before that.

[ For a moment, he closes his eyes. ]

There are too many vulnerable people around Luida. And definitely not at Rem's. There is a place... but I need to be closer to ask if they will take him there. It's a town of independents.

If they will not, I'll find somewhere to hole up with him. Should be safer for me than anyone else.

[ He. Is hoping that makes sense. His mind feels sluggish, stuck in the echoes of what the other Vash has been saying. And his suffering. This... if this is his future... ]

...Well...Halle-fuckin'-lujah...! [The sarcasm couldn't have been any thicker if he'd tried. Or the shock. Because no, that would not have been something the serum would have been able to heal. They made him tough, they did not make him immortal.] Like...what the fuck? What the actual fuck?

[What the fuck was this place doing to them? Why? And what the fuck did it mean for someone like him?

He shuddered, suddenly tense, and for a moment he let his grasp on the living world slip, turning his gaze behind him when he found himself in the void, and just like always, when he wanted to see it, the light was there. Calling to him, still. Inviting him home. But now, the thought sent a little tremor of fear through him. What if he tried, and it was shut off from him? Was it that their souls were held back from leaving their bodies, until something put them back together? The other Wolfwood, by all rights, should have been on this side right now, there should have been two of them sitting here.

He didn't know that it was a good idea to try seeing what it meant for someone in his position to cross the light. He didn't know what sort of weird fuckery messing with something like that could cause.

He shook the vision of the light out of his head, snapping himself back into the reality of the living world, where suddenly things felt...strangely safer, for now.]

Whatever you decide, I'll help. I'm the only one he can't hurt. The least I can do is be there in case he loses it again. We don't need to add anymore blood to his hands, he's already fucked up enough as it is.

[He had seen what having to kill Legato had done to Vash, all those years ago. This was magnitudes worse. The shock he felt that he'd been as composed as he had been now that they'd broken through his programming was not going to go away any time soon. One life had almost killed him, let alone...this.]

[ Ripped in half? Is that really what happened? He doesn't remember that part. God, what a thing for Blondie here to have to see. ]

Where's this town?

[ A whole town of people like Vash? Like Millions Knives? That sounds like the kind of place a guy like him should stay far away from, but Blondie can't drive, and the ghost is dead, so he can't tap out of this little adventure quite yet. ]

Guess I'm driving. Let's get him in the back.

[ They can't stay here, they can't go to Octovern, they don't even know where Home is... Plant City it is! ]

[ Yeah he's having a time, but who among the four of them isn't? After a long moment, Vash nods slowly, and shifts, to pick up the still form of the other him, trying to gather any trailing roots as well. ]

Towards... towards Ablus Scutum. I will let you know when to stop, when I can get in touch with Delphinium. If they agree to take him in, I'll probably carry him the rest of the way.

[ Perhaps there is another way other than the rickety-seeming lift, but it doesn't really matter. It will be better if the two of them go alone. ]

I... thank you. Both of you.

[ And he's sorry, but Wolfwood's words from earlier, about blaming his other self, still sting enough that he does not say that. ]

[He wasn't far behind when Vash began to carry the unconscious form back to the car. He even waited until he got the other man settled however he felt was best before slipping past and making himself at home, even if it was to sit in the floorboards. It was the best place for him, after all; if the thorny guy started to wake up and lash out, he would be able to try and stop him before he hit either of the other two, and he was in no danger of being hurt that close.

It also put him in a place he could keep an eye on Blondie as he sat in the passenger seat. There were thoughts rolling through his head, worries, questions. Things he felt would come to a head and need to be spoken about if he let them keep brewing in his head, and he wasn't quite sure where to start, or how. But it was things he needed to work out, regardless, with Vash specifically. Which made it even murkier, because he wasn't quite sure what the best way to broach the topic would be.]

Don't need thanks for this, Blondie. I couldn't leave it like it was, and it's better for everyone if you got someone he can't hurt, in case things go tits-up. It's fine.

[ Blondie gets into the car with what's left of that other world's Vash, and from the sounds of things, the dead bastard is in there too. Wolfwood's skin crawls as soon as he slides into the driver's seat -- having something that dangerous right behind him, something that he's unable to neutralize, it's setting off every alarm in his head, its making his heart pound and his hands itch.

But that's fine. That'll keep him focused.

While the others settle, Wolfwood pulls out one of the maps that's stuffed under the driver's seat, the one with the road between July and December marked out. Albus Scutum is a hell of a drive, and he's only got that one jug of water Rem gave him.

Guess that means they need to get there quickly, huh? ]

Tell me the second that guy twitches.

[ And he floors it, and they're off! ]

I'll... let you know when I can talk with them.

[ Vash will share what food and water he has on him, which, out of habit, is not absent, even if he was spending time at Rem's so technically didn't need to stock up. And by share we mean that he'll give it all to Wolfwood.

That said, he might not utter another word for a good long while, at least not unless spoken to. He has... a bit of stuff to process. And no idea how to process. it. ]

Yeah, I got 'im. He makes a peep, I'll let you guys know.

[That was why he was in the back and not sitting between them on the center console, after all.

The silence that settled over the car after they sped off was definitely not comfortable, and it wasn't long before he began to grow listless. Not long after that, the faint memory of cigarette smoke began to fill the car, after he manifested another imaginary smoke, to give his hands something to do and to try and help settle his own nerves. Every so often, he glanced back at the unconscious form beside him, his chin leaning on an arm where it was propped up on the empty space on the seat near Vash's head.

Wait...shit...did his smoking count as second-hand exposure? Did unborn Plants get defects if their parent was exposed to that before they were born? That was something that could happen in human babies, right? Shit.

He shook the memory of a cigarette away not terribly long after he'd "lit" it, waving his hand in the air to try and disappate what wasn't actually there.]

Sorry, Spikey, my bad. [The guy wasn' even conscious, but he mumbled it anyway, just in case.]

[ You can't really keep a Vash down for long unless you're going for skull-breaking volumes of force, so it doesn't take many iles for the mess of a man in the back to stir slightly, moving his hand a bit and then to curl up more. Nothing more than that at first, too dizzy to really focus, but he did twitch.

He can feel the roll of the tires, hear the sound of the engine, and things start to come back - and when those blues open, they're icy and hollow, not broken and dead. Brains like to protect themselves from trauma, be it physical or mental, so what better way to save the mind from shattering further by just resetting what had been shaken loose? ]

Edited 2023-07-12 21:33 (UTC)

[ There's really nothing crueler you can do to a smoker than smoke around them when they're out. Wolfwood's barely caught a whiff before the ghost in the back is mumbling apologies and the scent dissipates, but a whiff is all he needed. ]

Stop fucking doing that! [ The words are a hiss, out of consideration for the unconscious man on the back seat. ] If you can't share 'em then I don't want to smell 'em, you got that!?

[ The ghost likely is already speaking up, but because Vash is reaching out mentally, he recognizes immediately that the other him is awake, the sense of Nai strong about him once again, so his head whips towards the back seat, lips pressed tight at the sight that greets him, the sight that confirms what he was sensing.

He doesn't speak out loud, not yet, but he does reach out mentally towards the other Vash, tired, but very determined. ]

Don't even think about hurting him again. I know that you don't care, and that Nai probably would like you to do it, but Nai isn't here, and there is a way to keep you and the little ones safe and taken care of until we can figure out how to reach him.

[ Because he knows that if the other Vash were able to reach out to him, well. Nai would be close. A part of him wonders how horrifying that absence, that silence, must be. He suspects he can probably use it, too.

He doesn't want to have to. So he's trying to keep the situation under control in more reasonable ways. ]

You won't be among humans.

[ He is also carefully, neutrally, not thinking of how indubitably awful things will go if they do manage to reach Nai. He certainly is planning on showing some of his more unpleasant side. With what he's seen... he is not feeling guilty about it in advance. ]

[He registered the twitch of that hand first, glancing up to see the unconscious man's eyes open, and the look that he saw would have made his blood run cold if he still had any. "Shit. Shit." He turned to warn the Vash up front and found himself face to face with him having already noticed and looked back, and the look on his face was...similar. But so decidedly different, he wasn't sure what to make of the weird sort of way it made him want to laugh and get out of the way at the exact same time.

There was also, obviously, something going on behind those eyes that made him shunt that thought to the back of his head and also keep very quiet for a moment before he phased through - and somewhat around, as much as he could to avoid phasing through his living counterpart - the front seat so he could whisper to the Wolfwood up front.]

He's conscious. Keep driving, be quiet. I think your Blondie is doin' something. If he tries anything, I'll do what I can to stop him so he doesn't get to you. [And then he was dropping back into the floorboard of the back seat, no longer lounging but crouching on his knees and staring at the reclining man, thankful for once that he wasn't corporeal and didn't have to worry about things like squeezing his limbs into tight spaces when he could just phase through the seats altogether.]

[ Blue on blue clash in the back seat, serious meeting cold as they two blondes look at each other but say nothing. 'Thorns' is tense but keeps down, no roots or galaxy coat in sight. Just a man in a bloodied under-suit, hair still matted from where the cut had healed. ]

No, you're right. I don't really care about killing him again, that's terribly boring. [ No matter how disgusting it feels to be at the mercy of some human and a still sick version of himself. ] Why would I trust a single thing you say?

[ It is... weird, to not have Nai here. It's been so long now, since he had to make choices or fight for anything. He was a happy follower, busy working on Eden while Nai took care of the rest. It feels like he's missing a piece of himself. ]

No humans, you say. Like this world isn't dripping with the filth already.

[ The last is said out loud, that uncanny twitch of his head making it cock just enough to peer into the front view mirror. ]

[ He doesn't notice when Blondie turns in his seat -- well, he does, but he doesn't take any note of it other than to assume that he's checking on the status of their guest. No, the first hint Wolfwood has that anything's gone wrong is when, with no warning, the ghost comes up and whispers it right in his ear -- he's conscious.

Wolfwood's entire world narrows then, every sense hyper-focused on the man in the back seat. His breathing, the creak of the seat beneath his weight, the way the air moves around his body. If he tries hard enough, he can almost hear the man's heartbeat. He's well out of his league here -- all he can do it keep driving.

Somehow he missed the first part of the conversation -- because of the ghost? Or were they talking that plant talk Spikey used to do with the plants in the bulbs? -- but the little asshole's snide comment is enough to get a reply. Wolfwood's never known when to keep his mouth shut, and today's sure not the day he's going to start. ]

Yeah? And whose fault is that?

[ In other circumstances, Vash would have been tempted to pout at that first response from the other him. But he does know better right now. Instead, there is a half smile that is... well, not cold. It's hard, though, in ways that he rarely shows. The immovable object he can be, when he digs his heels in. ]

That was uncalled for. Have I lied to you? [ And, also... ] How much do you remember?

[ It's important. ]

Okay, let's track back a little. This place is not where you were. It's bringing people from different times and places. A lot of us, I mean, a lot of Vashes. Some Nais. Some Wolfwoods. And some plants that we've never known before. A whole town of independents, for example. A lot of them keep to themselves, but they are there. It won't be near Nai, but you won't be alone, at least.

[ Whatever state this Vash is in, being alone is not likely to be good for him.

And he's not bringing up Rem. Nor Tessla, not unless the other Vash indicates that he might remember who she is. ]

[Oh, they're being scary again, which he knew Spikey could do, but it was actually a surprise, coming from Blondie. But there was no denying that yes, that heavy, oppressive feeling that had at one point been his entire impression of Vash the Stampede was rolling through the car in waves between them, and it was making his skin zing with energy that he didn't like.

But he was quiet, looking back and forth between the two and hovering close to the one in the backseat, waiting for him to make a show of attacking so that he could stop him again if he needed to. It had been exhausting the first time, but that didn't matter. He would do it again if he had to. Anything to keep the other two safe and to keep him from rampaging across the countryside.

The fact that death seemed to be something that was beyond them now didn't matter. He didn't want to take any chances. He was just regretting a little, the fact that that also meant there might not be anything they could do to put this one out of everyone's misery, if he proved unable to be contained for any real length of time.

Of course, up in the driver's seat, the other him just had to pop off, and he rolled his eyes hard enough that his head dropped back with a groan that wasn't audible to the rest of the vehicle. Not that he was surprised. They never did have any common sense, did they?]

[ Those blue eyes look amused as Vash peers into the front mirror and the thing there giving little quips again. Poor little vermin, he had a point. ] Mmm... he was only a year old, you know. Terribly sorry everyone didn't die in the crash, but cockroaches are always so very hard to kill.

[ He glances back at the sickening mirror of himself, raising a brow. ] Not yet, but truth is relative in a place like this, isn't it? [ Vash smirks, moving his arm (carefully, slowly) to a more comfortable position. ] I remember you and it. I remember walking away and finding another... thing. We fought. Then I woke up here.

[ He took damage, he can tell. The blue eyes narrow as he looks up at Vash, anger and fear rising. ] If you bastards hurt them in any way...

[ If he could make sure his children were okay, the town of independents sounded like a good place to go - because what did he care about extra Vashes and Wolfwoods? Some Nais, though... he needs that. He needs him. ]

[ Okay, there's definitely a conversation going on that he's not a part of. No way the asshole in the back seat is threatening humans in one breath and warning against hurting them in the next.

Wolfwood's pulse is screaming through his veins, every instinct demanding that he turn and fight. He tightens his grip on the steering wheel until it creaks, his attention darting between Blondie at his side and the bastard behind him. Any second now this is going to get ugly, and he needs to be ready when it explodes. If Thorns is smart he'll go for Vash first, and Wolfwood's got no intention of letting that happen. ]

You don't get to make demands, asshole.

[ For some reason, Vash's eyes warm a little at Wolfwood's snarling. It's ... familiar. And right. It means he's all right, or at least as he can be in the situation. Now to keep him that way. ]

We haven't. But that's because other than your attack on me, we did not really fight. If you force that issue, I can't guarantee anyone will be safe. Including them. So... let's not, all right?

[ His voice also softens, just a little. ]

And one of the Nais is one year old. He hasn't even done that, yet. Be careful with those you meet.

There are things that were taken away from you, not by us. When you remember them, you hurt, but some of them are important. I think not having to deal with those who feel wrong to you will be better. For you and the little ones. Will you stay there, if they will take you?

[ He can force him. Or at least deliver him unconscious. But it will be better if he makes the choice himself. ]

[He grimaced at the Wolfwood in front snarling out threats as if he had some sense, as if he wasn't aware of what had been done to this man to put him in the place he was in, now. Not that he was surprised, either, not if what they'd said had happened had been true. He had a very good reason to be so on edge.

Still, he wanted to avoid fighting and tension if he could, and with the worry about the babies being hurt coming back up, his voice rippled out into the back seat, not very far from Spikey.]

I promised I'd make sure your kids weren't hurt, and I meant it. We don't want to fight you, we don't want to hurt your babies. We're tryin' to get you someplace where they'll be safe.

I can tell that I'm still healing from injuries, so we obviously fought. Lying already, are you? [ Vash says to his double, and then gives Wolfwood another look, too-sharp teeth bared in a half-grin that's all predatory. ] Strange, you'd think I could make all the demands, seeing you're all trapped in a moving vehicle with me.

[ It's not like they're the ones that has him trapped, after all. Everyone's still alive only because he has babies to keep safe and another him to match in his 'delicate' situation.

Then the other Vash says one of the Nais is only a year old. Now that has his attention, frowning as he watches his double. That's the same age as the second generation was right now, the first children born from his gate rather than stressing the sisters into red.

So little. He needs to meet this baby brother.

The rest of what Vash says is a little easier to stomach, and makes the tension in the air lessen just a bit. ]

I have no real interest in anything but keeping the children safe. If there's a place with only Independents, then that works for both of us. If you keep your dogs muzzled.

[ He eyes where he heard he ghost wolf from, and then gestures a bit to his blood-matted hair. ] How diligent of you, to keep me so safe. [ Vash says bitterly. ] Without Nai here, I can't even check on them.

[ He shoots a sharp glance at Blondie when little Nai is mentioned, but bites his tongue against any verbal reply. This asshole doesn't need to know that Nai's here! He doesn't get to go anywhere near that kid! But he's not going to say anything and keep Thorns's attention on the idea that there's any version of his fucked up brother here. ]

What the fuck do you mean, you can't even check on 'em? [ There's a lot more he could say to the messed up bastard in the back seat, but that little tidbit snagged his attention and won't let go. It's not really a question he wants to ask with Blondie right there, but he needs to know. If he's going to have to kill this guy and all his unborn kids, he needs to know everything he can about how that whole situation works. ] You keeping 'em in a box somewhere, shithead?

We did not fight. [ Lightly, almost, but earnestly. ] You were run over by a car.

[ They are stuck in traffic and all that.

But it's truth.

... and no, he will not give any more details about the young one, it is a big world out here. ]

I will ask for permission for you. I do wish you and the little ones safe.

And what will happen if their time of maturing as they are ends and he is not there? Of course, there may be others who can help, where you will hopefully be.

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