Vash the Stampede (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
krispykremefan) wrote2016-09-11 01:25 pm
krispykremefan) wrote2016-09-11 01:25 pm
Just a Slight Calibration
There was a bit of a malfunction. Nothing to be too concerned over and would be fixed right away. One would hardly notice at all. After all, it only happened when you were asleep and dreaming. Nothing to worry about. It was just a hardly worth mentioning malfunction that opened your subconscious up to anyone dreaming or who could travel freely through dreams. With or without your permission. But, really now, who would do something like that? Don't even bother thinking about it.
Which is why Vash's mind is open for anyone interested in rummaging around up there. After all, how could a guy as happy and carefree as Vash have anything hiding around up there that would be interesting in taking a look at anyway?
There are so many rooms on entry. Way more than a normal human should have at the age Vash looks. Instead of the amount expected for roughly 30 years of life there's enough for over a 130 years.
Most rooms are covered in dirt and dust. The smell of gunpowder lingers all around. The doors here look like they were made from hand. Mostly pieces of misshapen scrap nailed together, a few wooden ones, even a few made from hard clay. All have names craved into them. Countless names. A few, however, do repeat. Wolfwood, Meryl, and Milly being the ones that seem to appear the most among others that repeat, but not nearly the same amount. The other name that appears often is Knives. Always painted in blood red.
Then there are others that have wanted posters tacked onto them. Surprisingly most actually feature Vash himself. Yet there are others for people with such creative names like Gasback, Brilliant Dynamites Neon, The Nebraska Family, and group of people that go by the titled The Gun-Ho-Guns. One name appears over and over in that group. Legato.
Then there are two doors. One simply labeled as July in the same fashion as the others. Then there a second door labeled Lost July. This one looks like some sort of wallpaper had covered the door that has has only just been recently ripped away. A bright light glow can be seen around the edges of the door. This same glow can be found behind another door labeled as Fifth Moon.
Then there is a small section of rooms down a side hall with the label Project SEEDS above all of them. The doors here appear much more advanced and the smell of gun smoke vanishes. They open with a electronic switch instead of a poorly made door knob. Almost as if they are from a space ship from science fiction. These have only a handful of names appearing on them: Rem, Knives, Joey, Brad, Steve, Mary, and Rowan. Except for Knives these names do not appear on the dusty doors. The final room labeled as: The Big Fall.
The biggest question is - which door do you try first?
Which is why Vash's mind is open for anyone interested in rummaging around up there. After all, how could a guy as happy and carefree as Vash have anything hiding around up there that would be interesting in taking a look at anyway?
There are so many rooms on entry. Way more than a normal human should have at the age Vash looks. Instead of the amount expected for roughly 30 years of life there's enough for over a 130 years.
Most rooms are covered in dirt and dust. The smell of gunpowder lingers all around. The doors here look like they were made from hand. Mostly pieces of misshapen scrap nailed together, a few wooden ones, even a few made from hard clay. All have names craved into them. Countless names. A few, however, do repeat. Wolfwood, Meryl, and Milly being the ones that seem to appear the most among others that repeat, but not nearly the same amount. The other name that appears often is Knives. Always painted in blood red.
Then there are others that have wanted posters tacked onto them. Surprisingly most actually feature Vash himself. Yet there are others for people with such creative names like Gasback, Brilliant Dynamites Neon, The Nebraska Family, and group of people that go by the titled The Gun-Ho-Guns. One name appears over and over in that group. Legato.
Then there are two doors. One simply labeled as July in the same fashion as the others. Then there a second door labeled Lost July. This one looks like some sort of wallpaper had covered the door that has has only just been recently ripped away. A bright light glow can be seen around the edges of the door. This same glow can be found behind another door labeled as Fifth Moon.
Then there is a small section of rooms down a side hall with the label Project SEEDS above all of them. The doors here appear much more advanced and the smell of gun smoke vanishes. They open with a electronic switch instead of a poorly made door knob. Almost as if they are from a space ship from science fiction. These have only a handful of names appearing on them: Rem, Knives, Joey, Brad, Steve, Mary, and Rowan. Except for Knives these names do not appear on the dusty doors. The final room labeled as: The Big Fall.
The biggest question is - which door do you try first?
2/3 The Big Fall
Small feet are heard running in their direction as Knives comes skidding to a stop in the doorway. "Apparently Rowan had started up the orbital program! We have to evacuate!"
Rem turns from the computer. "Where's Joey?"
"He told me to get us to the escape pods! He said he's going to try to save the ships."
The young Vash looks terrified by what he's hearing. "But what about all the sleeping people?"
"We can't worry about that! We got to get out of here!" Knives comes forward and tug's on his twin's sleeve. Urging him to go.
Vash turns and looks to Rem. Unsure of himself and what to do. Fully trusting that she'll always have the right answer. "Rem?"
"Come on!" Knives insists again.
Rem stands silently with a frown. A big decision must be made and she's seen the initial reports. "We have to get to the pods."
Everything happens in nearly a blur. Rem moves quickly with practiced training in getting the boys into an emergency space suit. Knives managing to stay calm under the pressure, where Vash is a bit more scattered and needs a bit of a hand. The computerized voice warning of the impending impact becoming more and more looming with each passing moment.
Rem leads the boys to an escape pod and opens the hatch. Knives jumps in and immediately starts preparing the pod for ejection. His motions calm and controlled. As if he's done this before. Vash hardly takes notice of his brother as he realizes the moment he's in that Rem isn't following behind them. "Come on! We gotta hurry, Rem!" But she doesn't hurry. Instead looking back out at the ship they were about to leave behind. Quiet and frowning, but eyes clear. "Rem! What's the matter?"
Suddenly Rem straightens a bit more with a look of determination setting into her features. She reaches into the pod and switches the controls to start the door closing before stepping back out. "You boys go on ahead."
Vash is so surprised he doesn't move at first. "I don't understand what you mean. Why?"
"I can't leave Joey here by himself and I have to try to find a way to save the others."
Finally Knives's voice cracks with a hit of worry past his calm exterior as he shouts from the pilot seat. "But the program is already running!"
Vash also understands now exactly what Rem is intending and throws himself against the closing door. Trying to stop it from shutting. "You've got to come with us, Rem! Please don't leave us!" His voice strained from panic and trying to keep the door open that's slowly pushing him back inside.
Rem stands in the way. Just in case either boy decides to try to jump out, but Knives doesn't move from his seat and the door is quickly shutting too small for either to escape at this point. She smiles kindly down at the boy struggling uselessly again the closing door. Tears starting to well up in her eyes, but not falling. There's no fear in her voice as she speaks. Only love. Even though deep down she knows she will likely never see either of her boys again. "I'm sorry, Vash. If Alex was still alive I believe in my heart that he would do the same thing." The door is nearly shut now. She can't even see his whole face anymore as Vash looks back in pure fear. "Vash, take care of Knives."
Just as the door is about to close completely he can see the tears finally start to fall down her face. "Don't worry, Vash." And then the door is sealed shut completely. Vash only has half a second to bang his fist uselessly against it before the suddenly acceleration from the ejection nearly knocks him off his feet.
Knives silently pilots the pod further away from the fleet as Vash races towards a monitor and watches the flagship fall towards the planet gaining speed as it breaks into the atmosphere. It feels like hours as he holds his breath and watches for any sign of more escape pods, but it's only a few minutes later when the flagship is suddenly engulfed in silent flames and vanishes forever. A few seconds later their escape pod is rocked by the force of the explosion.
"NO REM! No you can't leave!" He leans his head against the monitor and closes his eyes. Wishing he'd just wake up. "Please come back." Except through his tears there's a sound that doesn't belong at all. Knives was laughing.
"I'll never understand humans. They're a total waste of life. To think they'd actually sacrifice themselves out of foolish sentiment for others! It's incomprehensible!" Vash can't believe what he's hearing as he turns towards his brother. "I thought I'd let her live if only because you were so attached to her, but now I see how truly imperfect she really was. It's a good thing she died."
Vash can't believe the sincerity he hears from his brother's voice. This same brother who had played so many countless games with Rem together in the green room. "Don't say that!"
Knives leans his head back. A victorious grin on his face with how well everything had come together. "Their immigration was out of the question! That would be like letting pathogenic organisms spread across our healthy universe!"
"You're saying you planned this!?" He knows what he's hearing, but was this really the same brother who had once been so excited to meet all the sleeping people even more than Vash had been?
"That's right." Knives raises his hand in a mock bow. "But don't worry. You and I will be just fine. I made sure the Plant ships will land safely. After all, we'll need them to start our new life together won't we my dearest brother? Only the ships carrying the humans will crash!" He opens his hand and then squeezes his fist as if he was crushing a human that very second in it.
Vash can't take any more of what he was hearing. He screams and throws himself at his brother. Swinging his fists as he yells. "Bring her back! Bring Rem back you bastard!" Knives easily side steps each swing effortlessly and kicks his brother to the ground with one hit.
He grins above Vash, about to gloat a bit more, when an alert and the computer's voice chimes in.
All ships, now commencing orbital correction.
"What?" Knives checks the monitors and sees that all the ships have begun to slow their decent. Changing their course and speed to be able to land safely. "Reverse thrusters. That bitch actually did it." He frowns as the pod races towards the desert planet below.
Vash stays on the floor, utterly exaughsted emotionally. "I'm so sorry, Rem." Outside the other ships race towards the planet as well. With the flagship gone there's no real order to the landing. The ships dot the planet. Some too far ahead to be saved explode on impact. Others land a bit more softly, but none will hit the surface without some sort of damage.
It's not the gentle awakening anyone on the ships were expecting at all.
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They're repopulating. These are settlers. The old terraforming story. Too precious!
So, plants, plants. What purpose would they serve? He'd need to go earlier for that one, no doubt, but here in the present he does something he hasn't before: he pops into visibility.
"WOW! SAD STORY, SUNSHINE."
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Vash, however, does respond. Even distraught over losing literally everything he has ever known in his short life the kid manages to keep from screaming and only jumps in surprised at the sudden appearance. "Who are--" No wait. Better question. "What--" No wait. Even better question. "How?!"
He's pretty sure someone would have told him by now if humans could turn into triangles with one eyes and no mouth. Maybe he would also be having a bit of a stronger reaction if he wasn't exhausted in every single possible way a person can be.
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"MAYBE YOU FINALLY SNAPPED! WOULDN'T THAT BE WEIRD?"
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"If it means this isn't real that would be fine." The boy glances at the monitors with the debris floating around and his eyes start to fill up again with tears and he has to look away again.
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Bill rolls his eye and pulls a handkerchief out of nowhere to hand to Vash.
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He's trying not to cry. It's just not working very well. He keeps himself from hysterical sobbing, but the tears are going to continue to fall for awhile.
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Bill's patting Vash on the back, but he sounds very bored.
"HEY, WHAT WAS THAT PLACE UP THERE ANYWAY?"
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Of course hearing the word "was" about the only home he's known clenches his stomach tight. He looks for a moment like he's going to be sick, but manages to keep enough composure to not vomit.
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Rem, and the crew- the crew were going to-to-." He sniffs and rubs away the tears at his eyes. "They were looking for a new home."
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More pats on the back. There there, half-real dream child.
"WHAT HAPPENED TO THE OLD PLANET?"
Did a certain someone drop an inter-dimensional rift on it? What a shame that would be.
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If he sounds excessively sarcastic, well. VDZ KLV RZQ GLPHQVLRQ EXUQ. PLVVHV KRPH DQG FDQ'W UHWXUQ.
"YOU COULDN'T USE THESE TERRAFORMERS OVER THERE, I GUESS. PLANTS NOT WANTING TO PERFORM?"
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Or canon forgot to give a good reason why their OP Plants couldn't do that.Of course, all these questions lead back to Vash's own again."Where did you come from? I never saw you on the ship."
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Bill gestures to the expanse of starry black.
"I'M GUESSING THAT'S WHERE THE PLANTS CAME FROM TOO, RIGHT?"
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"You're from space? But Rem said it was so cold that everything outside would freeze." Vash starts to reach forward, as if it touch Bill, then stops realizing how rude that is. That and you probably shouldn't touch something you know nothing about. What if his hand freezes off?
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"I DON'T WORK LIKE YOU GUYS DO! THERMODYNAMICS ARE BASICALLY IRRELEVANT."
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400 million years later
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"Stop that useless crying. She was just a worthless human. Get ready to land or you'll get hurt when we hit." The memory of Knives has continued on auto pilot. Getting ready for their small shuttle to come in for a landing. "Be useful and at least strap yourself in."
Bill is suddenly forgotten for a moment as Vash bristles at his brother's voice and he turns to face him again. "She's not useless!"
Knives rolls his eyes. "Don't make me force you into the seat, Vash." He stares Vash down until the boy finally breaks eye contact and moves to strap himself into a seat.
Satisfied Knives goes back to getting the shuttle ready for the landing before strapping himself in. Leaving Vash on his own again as he mutters to himself. "Why? Why did this happen?" He suddenly remembers Bill and looks at him. "Is this a dream?" Is that where he knows Bill from? As everything happening sure feels like some sort of horrible nightmare he should have waken up from ages ago.