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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Nothing you're saying make any sense. Be quiet! [ Tessla. He doesn't even remember a Tessla. Only Nai. That's a formative memory that could have gotten him on Nai's side if it was handled better, but it was all wiped clean to remake him into an incubator rather than an actual, real brother.

Fanaticism rather than love. Cruelty instead of kindness. He's not Vash, no. Not the slightest.

Those roots strike out quickly, and Vash clenches his teeth as this mirror of him uses his gate to block the points. It doesn't matter, he'll just try to slam him and the body away from the side with one of his bigger, flowering roots. ]

[ Vash clenches his teeth, but doesn't stop smiling. The side root is pushed away with his wing. ]

You realize that if you make me from my gun and hurt you, Nai will be upset, right?

I am you, unfettered by control. Call me... Feral, if you wish. I won't let you kill me. I won't kill you. So you'll have to face the consequences of your own actions if you push it.

[ Nai will be upset.

That stops Vash in his tracks and he withdraws his roots, curling them more protectively around himself. It's eerie, how he moves just like Nai, no difference between the use of those roots and the use of his brother's knives.

Actual Vash is very right that this one is just a fabrication of what his brother thinks he needs. ]

Fine. Cuddle your disgusting corpse like the sick thing you are. I'm going home.

[ With that, he pulls his cloak shut around himself and turns, starting to walking away in the sand. ]

[ it's also scary just how Vash has begun to figure out where to push and what he needed to not touch. He should try harder to get through to him, but if the other Vash is attacking...

He has to hope that some of the words he's said will worm their way into that shattered mind and try to reach what is left of Vash. ]

He was a friend.

[ quietly enough that it might or might not reach the retreating version of himself.

Then he continues arranging the remain, cleaning them up as much as possible, until he can't feel the other not-quite-independent anymore. Then

Only after that do his shoulders hunch, wing withdrawing, and he raises his face and screams, the emotions too numerous and overwhelming to hold them in.

He then slumps, not crying, but focusing again on Wolfwood.

What remains of Wolfwood.

His expression turns gentle, if fragile. He will need to dig a grave. He can't make himself do that, yet. ]

[ It's not long -- a minute? Two? -- after Vash slumps that the ground beneath him shakes, just a little, as though a truck were passing on a nearby road, or a worm was tunneling through the sandy soil under his feet. It's hardly a big enough quake to notice, and just as unremarkable is the miracle that takes place right after. One instant Wolfwood is dead, torn in half, skin unnaturally white from blood loss, and the next? He's whole again, breathing slow and even as if in sleep, clothes mended and blood stains vanished.

The peace lasts exactly three breaths. Then his eyes open, blearily staring up at the sky without any recognition, like a dreamer awakened from a heavy sleep. Then the memories kick in, his eyes widen, and with a ragged gasp he's clawing and kicking to get free, to get away, to escape the nightmare Vash that's killing him!

But that Vash isn't here? He snaps his head around, nerves still tightly wound and movements frantic, taking in the empty sands around them, the Vash -- the familiar Vash -- sitting nearby, and... ? Nothing. There's no one else here. ]

What...?

[ His body's intact -- his clothes are intact! -- but he was dead. That other Vash was killing him, he was dead, so how...? ]

Where is he?!

I made him leave, I couldn't make him listen...

[ nope, shellshocked stare. And even so, his eyes are more alive than the other Vash's. ]

W... Wolfwood? How are you... Are you...?

[ Vash's breathing comes in small hiccups. ]

I was too late, I'm sorry.

[ No the other Vash wasn't alive enough to look shocked. Wolfwood's still running on adrenaline, his movements too big, too jerky, his breathing still panic-rapid. ]

No sorry. [ He's really gone? He's not going to appear behind Wolfwood like a monster from a bedtime story? ] Heh. Good thing had a vial on you.

[ That was Vash after Julai. He'd thought he was leading Vash to a fight, and he thought watching the man fall out of the sky was the worst thing possible, but he'd been so wrong. Whatever Nai had done to him, that was worse than dying.

He'd said children. The horror of what just happened hits, and Wolfwood's exhale is shaky and unsure. He needs to get up and get out of there, but he can't stand up quite yet.

That was so much worse than Vash dying. ]

What are you even doing here? How'd you find me?

N-no vial. You were gone. Then there was one of those earthquakes and you were. Whole. Are you... Does that feel like after a vial?

[ he's not processing everything but lying to Wolfwood doesn't feel right. Even by omission. ]

I was dropped a bit out there. [ He points to the direction where he showed up. ] By another of those earthquakes.

[ Finally Vash manages to move, closer so he can reach. Then shies away, because after what he saw, he's not sure it will be in the realm of okay.

And yes. There are certainly things worse than death. ]

May I touch you? It's. You were cold.

[ That doesn't make any sense. ]

No vial?

[ Then how did he heal? That other Vash, he'd shredded Wolfwood. His knees were destroyed, he severed all the tendons in his arm, he gutted him. That's not the kind of damage even an alumni of the Eye could walk away from! Not without help!

But his clothes aren't torn. Wolfwood stares down in shock at his trousers, examining the knees. The material is worn, dusty... but very much intact. Nobody stabbed through these pants, nobody tore them open. The vials just heal people, not pants.

How the hell is he alive, then?

Vash says something about being cold and Wolfwood, barely listening, holds out a hand. He was dead -- or dying, at the very least. He knows what that much shock and bloodloss feels like, knows what it means for a body if it's not healed immediately. This is more than healing, though -- this is like the damage was undone.

His expression, when he finally looks over at Vash, is more than a little frightened, and he's not at all trying to hide it. ]

I was dead. Wasn't I?

[ the hand held out to him gets held in both or Vash's, the right thumb, ungloved, touching the knuckles to make sure they really are working. Warm.

The question is met by the blue eyes so, so wide behind the tinted lenses. But he squeezes the hand he's holding, gently. ]

Yes. I'm... I'm sorry. He did that. He's not himself, but he did that and I was too late.

Do you need. Anything. [ His lips twitch helplessly, remembering the last conversation he had with non-ghost Wolfwood... Whether or not it was even the same one. It doesn't matter. ] Water?

[ He was dead. He was dead, and it wasn't a vial that brought him back. Was he right all along? Is this actually Hell? He'd never given much credence to the idea of an afterlife, or gods, or any of that shit -- it was just the cultists worshipping Knives, and that man wasn't any kind of god that Wolfwood was going to believe in. But how else to explain multiple versions of people, traveling long distances as if by magic, and coming back from the dead?

He shivers again, watching Blondie's fingers working over his own. ]

No.

[ He doesn't need water. He needs answers, and there aren't any to be had. Blondie here at least seems real enough, but what's real in a world where death isn't permanent? Where gods show up as children? Where nightmares can actually hurt you?

He runs his free hand over his face and, with a slow exhale, forces his breathing to even out. ]

This place is really starting to get to me.

Okay.

[ Vash is doing his best, but he doesn't have answers, not beyond that there may be some answers in Octovern. Maybe.

His voice is quieter, and though his fingers slowly still, reassured, he doesn't let go of that hand, just doesn't think to do so. ]

It's really a lot, isn't it. Although if that's what awaits me...

Going back might be a better choice for you. If we find a way.

[ If that's what waits for me... Blondie says, and Wolfwood turns on him, free hand snagging his jacket at the shoulder and pulling the man even closer. ]

That is not what's waiting for you!

[ His eyes are wild, but he's dead serious. ]

Now that you know it's a trap, you tell the version of me in your world to fuck off and you stay the hell out of Julai, you hear me?

[ Contract or no contract, nobody on Noman's would be safe with that Vash roaming the world. Better the other Wolfwood got to deal with the consequences of failure than to allow that nightmare loose. ]

I'm serious!

[ flesh fingers tighten around the other hand as Vash takes in what Wolfwood is saying, what he means, and he huffs in frustration. That also makes sense. If Wolfwood does not deliver him to Julai...

Slowly, he nods. ]

Do you think there is anything I can say to him that will let me help? I'm pretty sure he won't believe me if I try to describe... that to him.

You don't have to tell him a goddamn thing!

[ Who cares what that other Wolfwood thinks? Who cares what happens to him? He's just one of Conrad's monsters, he doesn't fucking matter. Vash matters. Everyone that Thorns would kill if given the chance, they matter. ]

Don't worry about him, worry about finding another way to stop your psycho brother from taking all the plants. Worry about staying alive.

[ Vash, that's who cares about what Wolfwood thinks. What happens to him. Him, those he protects, and everyone.

The last part is the one that gets a response, however. ]

I'd rather die as myself than stay alive like that.

But yeah. I'll. I won't let that happen. I can't.

[ He doesn't let go, still staring hard at Vash like he expects him to say something else. But the moment passes, and Wolfwood nods, finally, and lets go, sitting back heavily and running both hands through his hair to try and ground himself.

Dying would be better than turning into that. He agrees completely. ]

He said something about kids. They've got kids, and they're makin' them 'perfect', just like he was.

[ With his eyes squeezed so tightly shut he can't see anything, other than the memory of Livio, standing in his cell doorway, an unnatural light behind his eye. Kids who won't fight back, kids who will follow every order, kids who can be shaped into any form they please.

He's going to be sick. ]

Knives is a fucking monster. Somebody's gotta...

[ Ah, but he lets that thought trail off without finishing it. Vash doesn't believe in killing, even when it's necessary. Even when it would save his own life. ]

[ the loss of contact barely registers (it still does) in the context of the scale of the horribleness of what they are facing.

Vash hunches, helpless. Even... even with this, he loves his brother. But he can't argue. ]

I couldn't ask about the children. It would have set him off. I had things to do. [ like bury a man who no longer needs it. ] I'm sorry. It's.

He... Millions Knives needs to be stopped. And nobody has the power to do it but me.

That's why I was going to Julai in the first place.

[ he squeezes his eyes for a long moment. Then, very quietly, but with feeling. ]

Fuck.

[ No, he doesn't... don't ask about the kids. He doesn't really want to know, not since there isn't anything he can do for them.

Well. He could find that Vash out here in the middle of nowhere and put a bullet in his head, maybe, but if he came back to life, maybe that thorny bastard would too. ...He'd still be down to test that theory, though, just in case the resurrection thing was a one-off.

Knives needs to be stopped, one way or another, but it's a moot point unless they can get back to where they belong. They...

... and then Vash swears. Wolfwood stares at him, dumbfounded, before folding in half with laughter, clapping Vash on the shoulder and laughing so hard he's tearing up. ]

Oh shit, Blondie, that's two! Two whole swears in one lifetime, they're gonna take your halo away at this rate!

[ Vash stares a wholeass long moment before he realizes what Wolfwood is laughing about, too distracted by the fact that Wolfwood is laughing and he looks and sounds so alive it takes his breath away, but he does register, if only before Wolfwood was clapping him on the shoulder and Vash is blinking, smiling sheepishly. Then tries to go for mock offended even if he's far too shaky for pulling it off properly. ]

I told you I do swear when the situation is serious enough, didn't I?

I, uh, would like to claim it's been more than twice but I'm not sure that would be correct. [ Now he does rub the back of his head, his expression settling into a wondering smile. ]

[ He's a ball of energy right now – if he doesn't laugh, he's going to have to start punching, or running, or something to burn it off. Wolfwood's far too familiar with mind control and torture, but what that Nai had done to Vash... he feels sick just thinking about it. It's unbelievable. Vash, killing people? While laughing? How long did it take him to lose his mind like that?

God, no wonder Vash here looks so shaky. Wolfwood can't help but feel for him. ]

Hey.

[ Getting to his feet will take a second – he's pretty shaky too. But he'll get there. His car isn't far off, and they need to get moving, don't they? They'll be stronger together, and there's a house full of kids that's been attracting every Vash who was ever born. If it finds Rem? That little shithead Nai?

It can't happen. ]

Let's get out of here. [ Maybe that thing remembered it's mom and maybe it didn't. Why take the chance? And it's not like he's needed anywhere else, not really. This whole world's been abandoned – there's no kids at the orphanage in December. They're long gone, and he needs to focus on the people who are still here. ] I'm taking you back to Rem's.

[ Vash will help! With the getting up. His motions are a little jerky because he's been sitting for so long, and before that he was using his Gate with precision that was pushing his practice (or simply had higher stakes than just practice) but he's strong and physically steady. Emotions go every which way.

He winces at the mention of Rem. ]

Oh... She'll not like hearing about that at all. And he... He'll likely... He didn't even remember Tessla. I didn't think Nai-- no. Millions Knives would take that away but I suppose if he wanted complete control, he could not leave that, either.

Uh.

Sorry. Tessla was our sister. The first Independent. They experimented on her until there were just pieces of her left. This world let us make her whole, but she's still been suffering for a long, long time. Fifty years at the very least. If you see a little girl with wings for eyelashes, I'd suggest being very careful. She's terrified of humans, but also very angry at them. And powerful, if young.

So um. Please be careful?

Anyway. Thanks. Rem's would be very kind of you. And, um. Did you make it to December?

[ if he knows about Rem, then it is the Wolfwood whom he made so mad, before.

So getting there would be important.

And, yes, he was babbling but also that was important information. ]

[ He's babbling, but it's okay. Blondie's got every bit as much nervous enemy as he does, sometimes, and after a shock like this it's no surprise at all that he's running his mouth. In a different situation, Wolfwood might even offer a quick fight, just to burn that energy off... but there's been enough fighting for the moment.

Chattering is fine. Wolfwood will just walk quietly next to the guy, hands in his pockets, and let him chatter all he needs to. Besides, it's good to hear about their sister -- Tessla? -- from Vash, too. That brat Nai already told him some, so it's not a shock to hear from Vash's lips, but it's still a fucking monstrosity. People really aren't any good at all, are they? ]

There's nobody in December. [ He didn't make it out that way, but he's been listening to the radio, and what's he's heard has explained a lot about why this world seems so empty. ] Your brother's taken all the plants, and everyone who's still alive has hightailed it to Octovern, apparently.

[ And there's no good he could do for them, even if he changed course and headed for Octovern. He doesn't know these kids, doesn't have the first idea how to find them, doesn't have a damn gun or any way to defend them, doesn't have any resources he could offer... he's pretty much worthless right now, at everything other than playing chauffeur. At least the car still works. ]

Mostly I'm worried that the thorny asshole is going to find out about Nai. The little one. [ And here's the car, still where he left it, thank fuck. ] Given how obsessed he was with his Nai, I don't want to think about what he'd do the the kid.

I keep meaning to go to Octovern, one of the plants that's also but been brought here told me about it, but things keep happening and I never quite reach it.

[ A car. That's. Better than Wolfwood walking all alone, and Vash is relieved.

He's better at maintaining these than driving them, himself, he thinks as he settles on the passenger seat. ]

Yeah... I'll warn him along with Rem. Nai would be either the safest with him or in the worst danger. And not just. Physically. [ that's said with an apologetic look, because Wolfwood was killed, but. Not the worst that can happen. Not anymore. ] There is an older Knives also. I think... he's from a slightly different place than me.

[ Because it's not impossible for Wolfwood to be from a different one, too. ]

He... warned me to not let you go off on your own. You had already left, though, that before wasn't because of him. But he said if I let you leave, when I catch up with you...

[ he turns his head in the direction they came from, then hunches his shoulders down, making himself small in the seat. ]

Though that was supposed to happen in December.

Anyway. I should try to talk with that Knives, too. I don't think that... that Vash is what happened to him. He expected me to fight him, not obey him.

He is probably from after having collected all the plants and what happens? Is happening? at Octovern already happened to him.

He didn't win.

Tell me if you'd rather I am quiet, but I think some of that might be important information for you also. While we're in this place.

[ No, Thorns might not kill Nai, but as they've already established today, sometimes dying isn't the worst thing that can happen to a person. That kid is messed up about what his future's gonna look like as it is -- seeing that, seeing a version of his brother that a version of him tortured into sadism? That might fuck Nai up for the rest of his life.

And speaking of things that'll fuck people up for the rest of their lives, if everyone could stop telling him that he's going to die in December he'd really appreciate it. That wasn't him, won't be him, however the timeline on something like this works. He doesn't do more than shoot Blondie a surly side eye about it, though -- he already knows this version of Stampede can't help but care too much, about everyone. It's nice, kinda. Misplaced, but nice. ]

It's fine. [ They've got a long drive ahead of them, and sitting in silence just sounds boring and uncomfortable. Besides, since they're sharing secrets, he might as well learn some more things about Stampede and his family, right? ] The Knives... the Nai in my world, he wanted to fight you too, as far as I could tell. [ Although he's really got no idea what happened between the time he dropped Stampede off in the tower, and coming back into the city to see the twins fighting. He drums his fingers on the steering wheel, debating whether he wants to say what he wants to say, then shrugs and goes with it. ]

Actually, I can't be sure about that. I ditched him, dumped him off and left him to face Knives alone. I don't know what that lunatic had planned. It coulda been just like this, I don't know.

[ His world's Vash might have opted to die rather than become like Thorns -- that might have been the fight he saw. He hadn't thought he could feel any worse about that, but here they fucking are. ]

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