All Will End In Silent Ruin

"What if he'd died there?!" The words were sharp, a violent cold anger like frost, biting along the edges of the senses. The undercurrent was a tumult of fear, anger, loneliness. Vash couldn't die from something so trivial, Knives knew that deep inside, but that didn't mean he didn't fear it's possibility.

"If he'd died there he would have deserved it," he growled, dropping the prosthetic arm from his grasp and turning the snapping gaze on Vash's face. Yes, he could see it more now, the lines of anger marking his expression. So very like his brother.

"He is a superior breed than the humans. Something so trivial would not have killed him, despite how our bodies mimic their forms. Oh, I'm sure he wished he'd died there, I can only imagine how angry he was that I wasn't willing to stand around and listen to him preach that humans deserve a chance. So did our sister! She deserved a chance at life! Instead, they robbed her of it, used up her body until there was nothing but pieces left of her."

The ship's hull creaked ominously. Knives's power intensified, making the entire sunken structure tremble in reaction. He'd turned his rage and upset at his brother toward the humans, blaming them and letting them be the fuel for the hate growing in him. While inwardly, he quaked at the idea that he would ever be the reason his brother died, or that humans would ever take him away from him. Destroy him like they'd destroyed Tesla.

"But no. He left me to play among the humans, and then they dared lay their hands on him. If he'd just stayed by my side, he wouldn't have needed to be taught a lesson. I know he still lives. And while he is out there learning the cruelties of humanity first hand... I spent time here, creating this precious remembrance. Taking her from the desolate remains they made of her, and making something worthy of her."

The lily. The delicate petals and stamen stems with trembled in the wake of Knives's power, even after it faded. More droplets of water fell around her, and her light shuddered, sending the shadows dancing madly for a long moment.

Instead, the blond just listened in silence, and it was always bound to be more of the same, wasn't it? The outline of the argument always hit the same beats no matter which version of his brother he spoke to (well, minus the one, of course, though Kni hadn't been without commentary the first time they'd met): that they were better than the humans and meant to be more, that Vash had abandoned Nai for them, and the atrocity of what they'd done to the sister they'd never met. Who'd come before them.

He knows. He knows, he knows, he knows--

What Nai had never seemed to have understood was the fact that he'd let the grief of that consume him. Instead of feeling it and moving on with it, he'd let it fester and change him-- and Vash opened his mouth to make that claim; to speak, refute, defend... but Knives went on and said that he did something else instead; Knives went on and said something that made the flower before them react, it's unnatural light shifting and winding around their forms.

Whatever he'd been about to say, the words all died in Vash's throat and threatened to choke him.

He... made this? From her? Her remains? This flower... is...?

That couldn't mean what he thought it did, surely. It had to be something else-- that he'd just nourished the flower with Tesla's remains. Th-that wasn't an uncommon practice, a way to remember and honor the dead--

But it's alive. More alive than a flower should be.

With their attention caught by the lily, the spark of rage cooled as quickly as it had risen. No one had ever seen her before now, not even his own brother. To get to bask in her light and feel the pride of her renewed existence in front of another was a new experience. That that person was Vash, even if not his Vash, should be a special occasion. But how could he not understand? How could their power still be so out of touch even with this Vash?

“There is a uniquely Independent trait that I am still coming to learn. In my journey to discover what truly remained of her, I understand it better now. You see, her power, what little of it remained, tethered her consciousness to the collective, our sisters, the network they communicate through. She was stuck, cold and alone, a blip in the system, so small she was nigh undetected except—I found her. With help, I found her. We felt her, that day, the day everything changed.”

Knives’s mix of delight and anger had vanished from his face. Now he was cool and distant again, pupils mere pinpricks even in the diminishing light she cast. Like the memory was a thing to be examined, not felt. Even with the pressure of his power permeating the ship, his emotional aura dampened. The blade tendrils holding Star moved, taking him with them. Another whisked out and lashed to the wrist of Star’s prosthetic, all three drawing him willing or not, closer to the basin. Knives’s body did not move, stone still once more as his blades puppetted the other’s movements.

“She led us to that door. Back then, if I had more control, more knowledge… I couldn’t hear her voice or feel her emotions,” he spoke again, a rasp of regret present. “Vash could have, I know it. He was more intuitive, could have learned her voice, but—“

A pause, the soft sustained note of song, once he focused on her, eased his mind.

“I can hear her now. I found her and brought her power and consciousness and remains together. I still don’t know how I managed it, willed it to become something so beautiful—“

He extended the blade he still held into the basin, and gently brushed a petal. The sound was that of razor sharp metal making a whisper soft ssshnck. The petals were metal, but did not otherwise look or behave like metal.

“She is petal soft, moves and grows just as old Earth’s flowers did, but she is not so breakable as those flowers… Vash, my dear brother, would you like the honor of greeting her properly?” The question was soft, inviting. “I admit, when I thought you a stranger, the idea of allowing such a thing was abhorrent, but you… You would be the first besides myself. Perhaps her voice called you here for a reason.”

Apparently shifting his attire a little while back had been a wise move; the sleeveless shirt underneath meant the prosthetic was on full display without Knives cutting through more fabric to get to it, allowing full access as the other Independent's fingertips traversed over the surface of the limb. Somewhere in the back of his mind, part of him was glad that the limb didn't have nearly as well-developed integration with his nerves as the old one had. He could only just feel that something was touching him, not the extent of the sweeping, analytical touches.

But shock quickly coalesced with horror as Knives continued; went into detail about how his version of the Stampede had lost his arm. Still taken by his twin, but... n-not to stop him from consuming the both of them or a desire to protect his brother. The latter had been there at first, but not... not in the same way, no, the arm was taken out of... punishment? Fury? Some sort of warped lesson...?

He had no idea. But it was horrifying to think about.

"A-and if he'd died there...?" it came out quick, sharp, with eyes narrowed as his bleeding heart swelled at the thought of what appeared to be a level of cruelty he hadn't expected from 'his' twin.

"What if he'd died there?!" The words were sharp, a violent cold anger like frost, biting along the edges of the senses. The undercurrent was a tumult of fear, anger, loneliness. Vash couldn't die from something so trivial, Knives knew that deep inside, but that didn't mean he didn't fear it's possibility.

"If he'd died there he would have deserved it," he growled, dropping the prosthetic arm from his grasp and turning the snapping gaze on Vash's face. Yes, he could see it more now, the lines of anger marking his expression. So very like his brother.

"He is a superior breed than the humans. Something so trivial would not have killed him, despite how our bodies mimic their forms. Oh, I'm sure he wished he'd died there, I can only imagine how angry he was that I wasn't willing to stand around and listen to him preach that humans deserve a chance. So did our sister! She deserved a chance at life! Instead, they robbed her of it, used up her body until there was nothing but pieces left of her."

The ship's hull creaked ominously. Knives's power intensified, making the entire sunken structure tremble in reaction. He'd turned his rage and upset at his brother toward the humans, blaming them and letting them be the fuel for the hate growing in him. While inwardly, he quaked at the idea that he would ever be the reason his brother died, or that humans would ever take him away from him. Destroy him like they'd destroyed Tesla.

"But no. He left me to play among the humans, and then they dared lay their hands on him. If he'd just stayed by my side, he wouldn't have needed to be taught a lesson. I know he still lives. And while he is out there learning the cruelties of humanity first hand... I spent time here, creating this precious remembrance. Taking her from the desolate remains they made of her, and making something worthy of her."

The lily. The delicate petals and stamen stems with trembled in the wake of Knives's power, even after it faded. More droplets of water fell around her, and her light shuddered, sending the shadows dancing madly for a long moment.

Staying calm was his best chance. Staying calm meant he wouldn't make any unnecessary moves or mistakes like he always did when it came to Nai-- Knives--

The blade under his chin was moved, and threatened an equally unpleasant end as it found a new resting place against his leg. The muscles there tightened on reflex, as though that had any hope of protecting such a vital spot if Knives decided he didn't like what he heard--

The woman who raised us, and betrayed us.

--which... had an uncomfortably good chance of being the case with his next question as it set a spark to the kindling of his own anger, making Vash gnaw on the inside of his cheek. His gaze fell on the flower just after Knives' did-- just as the drop of water rolled from it's petals and dripped off.

Focus on that for a minute.

"Rem." Vash breathed her name low, rough, barely managing to mask the extent of his irritation from the accusation he'd heard a thousand times over. His left hand balled into a fist, and he continued, "Rem Saverem. Long, black hair, dark eyes... she was a compassionate and caring woman who wanted to protect humanity. Who loved us more than anything."

Still no fight. What a different choice that made. Disappointing on the one hand, but Knives wondered how long it would take to break that docility.

Oh, but that did tick something in the blond's mind. He saw how that hand clenched. That would be the next line of things to explore. But, he did answer the question, and rightly, too. Very much his brother's response, of course it was.

The blade whipped away again, and Knives laughed heartily at the vehemence Vash put into his words. It was a harsh, mocking sound, but genuine all the same.

"Spoken from the heart, just like Vash," he finally said, "Just as foolish, too."

Knives tilted his head back, his otherwise preternatural stillness remained. He only drew breath to speak, otherwise it seemed as if he didn't breathe at all. Ice blue eyes still bore into Vash.

"You learned that foolishness from her, but you didn't see past the sweet mother demeanor, Vash. She knew so much that she kept from us."

Fast as lightning, Knives grabbed that clenched fist with one hand and sliced the sleeve of the arm with the blade, revealing the prosthetic beneath.

"Ahh, I see--" He methodically cut away the rest of the sleeve, gaze taking in all of the details of the arm, and the unfamiliar technology it bore. "I was curious, because I relieved my brother of his left arm, yet here you stand with it seemingly whole, but no. He was angry, you see, that I slaughtered a town of humans for daring to put their hands on him."

Vash would be able to pivot by maybe a hair before the bladed tendrils wrapped tightly around his foot, his hand, wrenching him into an uncomfortable position that only Knives could free him from-- and whether 'freeing him' meant he actually did let him go or just sliced him to ribbons right then and there remained a fun little mystery for the time being.

He'd... been at a massive disadvantage here, right from the word 'go', Vash understood that now. The heaviness in the atmosphere hadn't been the product of stagnant air and decades of dust, the feeling was Knives himself. He'd been unable to sense him properly-- was still unable to sense him properly, even as he sauntered up and held a sharp-edged reminder of their positions under his chin --because he was everywhere; the entirety of his 'lair' was filled to the brim with the other Independent's power and presence, unrestrained as it filled every space it could find.

Clamp down harder. Keep him out at all costs.

"Now you're getting it... I can see the gears turning behind those eyes. If you hadn't come into the ship I never would have noticed you." Knives was amused that he didn't even try to lash out with his free arm. Smart of him not to, but... Surely, if this was his brother, he would try.

"Speaking of eyes... You have his gaze, but there's just something... Not quite right." Knives leaned uncomfortably close, the blade pressed gently deeper into the soft flesh under the blond's chin, but curiously, did not cut. Would not cut unless Knives wanted it, but the potential of its bite still remained a threat he would do better to not test. Or do, Knives wanted to see this butterfly flail in the web he trapped himself in.

"Another world. What an interesting concept," condescension flavored his words. "I would be inclined to call you a pretty little liar again, but I already know something of 'other worlds'. Or, the theory of them, as written by the scientists who first created the Plants that are our sisters."

With no regard for boundaries, the Independent raised his left hand, and with a single finger, just lightly touched the mole he knew all to well. It was Vash's mole, exactly where he bore his. Knives squinted for a brief moment at the torn ear, this close he couldn't miss it. "Hmm. More like my brother than I thought, he didn't heal his wounds properly, either."

The taller Plant moved away, swifter than he would have expected. The blade was gone from its original resting place, spinning once through the air so fast it made a sound like it cut the air itself.

"Alright, Vash." Knives's gaze moved to the magnificent spider lily he'd created. The new resting place of the curved blade was just below a major artery in Vash's leg.

"If you are Vash, who was our mother? The woman who raised us, and betrayed us." Knives's voice grew hard and razor edged. Anger roiled under the tone, a feeling amplified in the quivering of Knives's presence that existed everywhere around them. "Be honest now, I wouldn't want to damage you for lying to me."

"Butterfly, huh...? Gotta say, that's a new one..."

W-well, couldn't say he didn't try... so Vash did what he always did in the face of something starting to tip wildly out of his favor: he laughed. A sheepish, weak little chuckle... but that sort of declaration just affirmed what the Plant already knew: this was absolutely another version of his brother. Further ahead, maybe? Already too far gone? Maybe this one was more like someone else he knew, too, how they claimed they used to be before they met... but there wasn't any black to speak of in this one's hair...

... ugh, it wasn't time to be drawing parallels-- especially not when it was abundantly clear that the Knives in front of him (approaching, getting closer, run) didn't quite recognize him the same way.

... at least, not yet.

But Vash planned to keep it that way for as long as he could manage. If the other Plant just thought of him as a problem to be dealt with, then fine, he had a better chance of escaping. If he recognized him, though? Who he was to him, what that meant? Then that was a whole other set of potential issues in and of itself; issues that Vash did not want to deal with right now, his jaw tightening at the thought.

He threw a glance between Knives and the flower, and quickly bounced his attention back as his power clamped down on itself even tighter; a molten hot ball in the middle of his chest that refused to let itself be known by this terrifying counterpart, getting smaller and smaller--

?!

--but not fast enough. Never fast enough. A sliver of that malicious intent would managed to slip inside, hook a claw around one of the billowing tendrils of thought and awareness at his core, and-- as was his nature, their nature --forced an unspoken response out of him. Vash's eyes widened; his power thrummed, sung back at Knives and... and his strange, Plant-like flower in an unfamiliar key. Still bright and warm... but confused. Afraid, as the power of the other tried to seep in deeper and weigh him down, make him heavy, chill his bones--

No, no, nonononono-- runrunrUNRUNRUN--!!

Vash struggled, and Vash flared, white-hot, in a burst of fear and self-preservation that he always felt against his brother. His power burned too bright, too hot, against the icy weight in an attempt to push it back--!!

Knives felt the power surge with a look of surprise, that rolled over to delight and dark amusement. So this creature was a Plant, how strange, how interesting.

The burst of bright power did break his hold. Fine, if he couldn't do this the subtle way, he'll do it the easy way.

"If you simply engaged with me this would be so much easier for you, you know."

The blade he had waiting whipped from behind his back, flexible like a whip and razor sharp at his command. The blade lashed over one of the other's feet, circling it once and stabbing into the metal of the floor beneath. With a gesture, another whip-like lash caught the blond's right hand, preventing him from falling or fleeing by holding him up, jerking the arm upright toward the dark ceiling.

"If you had merely been human, you'd be dead already. Consider that I find you so fascinating a blessing. Answer my questions and I'll consider letting you go, little butterfly."

As he spoke, a long thin curved blade extended directly from Knives's right hand. He used the tip of it to lift the hem of the red jacket. Then, stepping closer, touched the tip under the blond's chin.

... at least, it felt like that had been the case. If the person in front of him was really here and wasn't just some... ghost, haunting the place, Vash couldn't sense him at all. And even when he stepped out of the shadows and into the soft light the flower itself seemed to be casting--

Wait... h-hold on, is this...?

"S-sorry..." the blond uttered after a long moment of tense silence, banishing the recognition from his gaze and taking a step back, away from the flora on display... and what looked to be another Independent, eyeing him the way someone would when debating on what to about a particularly annoying house fly. If this was a Nai-- another Nai, or... maybe it would've been better to call him Knives, just for the sake of distinction --he could probably reach out and try to assuage his concerns about the intrusion, communicate on the level that only Independents could--

Something deeply, instinctively primal at the core of his being warned him to avoid doing that at all costs.

... Vash took another step back in the direction of the door.

"I didn't know anyone was down here... I'm, um..." unarmed? Lost? Stupid? Lie! Lie, lie, lie...! "-- a spelunker, t-trying to map all the caves on-planet. Heard some rumors, you know? B-but if this all belongs to you, then I'll just...?"

That sharp gaze caught the recognition before it slipped away behind that mask. Another slow step closer, and he got a fuller look at this creature. The lines of the face were eerily familiar, the expressions like imitations of someone he hadn't seen in years.

"Oh, what a pretty lie," he said with a shake of his head. "The rumors about this place is its certain death to unwary travelers but... That's okay, I'll figure you out in a moment."

Another step and the long legged Independent was fully illuminated by the Lily. Her light had dimmed, as if sensing the tension in the air.

"You see, I never intended for anyone to ever see my creation. Certainly not the humans, their filthy hands they can't keep to themselves, after all. But you heard her, didn't you?"

Knives sounded like a scholar, a scientist, an artist of this living creation. His verbal scrutiny of it was distant, cold, on the outside. But the ice of his eyes danced with a half-mad flame.

"Only certain people could have heard her singing, and that makes you a very interesting person to me. Your not human, of that I am certain, but what are you, little butterfly? What drew you to her light?"

And yet, despite both that risk and the secluded nature of this particular cave, a figure appeared at the mouth of it and cautiously made their way in; one gloved hand splayed against the wall, and the other keeping a firm grip on a small flashlight with a thin beam that clicked to life once the sun couldn't follow the curious entrant any further.

Vash took a quick breath in as he kept walking, further and further, deeper and deeper down until the click of his boots were no longer cushioned by sand, and clanked heavily against metal; a sound that needed to be masked by a conscious shift in the way he walked from then on out. He was a little lost-- well, no, completely lost, if he was being honest --and unsure if he was even still in his own world, or if he'd managed to slip unnoticed into another through one of the many bleeding cracks that gave way to others just like his.

But whatever was down here-- whatever it was that was too loud for him to ignore, near overwhelming even from iles away --was bound to shed a little light on his predicament...

... or... at least, h-he certainly hoped it would. And while he hadn't been expecting to find the buried remains of a star-faring ship at the end of the tunnel, Vash couldn't exactly say he was surprised by the discovery; the beam of the flashlight slowly swept over the room, light glinting off of what looked like ancient metal structuring and bits of glass.

The tech definitely got a more... retro look to it... guess I'm really not in Kansas anymore...

But the atmosphere of the ship's carcass was thick with a presence, one that made his head spin the further he progressed further through it's gutted halls. There was definitely something here, but it was something... oppressive, threatening, and Vash found himself with a strange compulsion to hold his breath as he went on. It made him keep his senses coiled in on themselves, too, as much as there was temptation to reach out with them and try and find the denizens that remained here.

Because there were Plants on this ship. Somewhere. Not Plants like he knew them, but Plants all the same, he could feel them, hear them, but--

... wait.

As he turned down another hallway, Vash stopped mid-stride-- light was spilling from one of the rooms in a shade of soft, ghostly blue-white further down... but his hopes of finding a Plant were dashed rather quickly as he picked up his pace to investigate, instead finding...

... a plant...? J-just... a different kind of plant-- a large blue flower that Vash couldn't immediately recognize through a cursory search of his memory, sitting in a perfect little space for flora to thrive. Or maybe just flora of that type, since most (but not all, he supposed) needed a good amount of sunlight to survive.

It's... really pretty, but... who's keeping it all the way down here in the dark...?

The blond clicked off the flashlight and stepped further in, still masking the sound of his steps as he approached the blossom with a thousand questions and one arm slowly lifting up; reaching out with the intent to brush one or two of it's thin, winding petals with gentle fingers...

The physical silence was not oppressive to the Independent, not when his mind and body thrummed with the voices of his siblings, and the soft singing the lily produced, and the power his own being created, radiating out from him to create a heavy atmosphere.

That power permeated all of the ship's hollow spaces, hearing and connecting peripherally to each of his siblings across the ship. It was because of this that he became away of an intruder into the ship. Too strong of mind to be an ordinary human, but also not familiar to him like the minds of his underlings. They dared not set foot here, anyway. To do so would be certain death, if Knives so desired it. An idle amusement he considered occasionally, when he thought they may have a lapse in judgment.

Much like the sensory of a spider detecting prey caught in its web, Knives's mind zeroed in on the intruder. Whoever it was, they were brave to come alone. Strong enough of mind and will that his power did not stop them in their tracks as they drew closer. Most humans would have pissed themselves in fear, being close enough that Knives could eviscerate them with a thought, the menace that weighed his atmosphere of presence heavily.

But this was not a mere human. No, they were clearly more than that. If it had been his wayward brother, he would have known him instantly--but while this creature had something familiar about it, it couldn't be Vash.

Another, unknown Independent walking the planet? Knives considered that to be impossible, the circumstances that produced the twins had been very particular. The harshness of this planet didn't allow for such energy expenditure. No. Something more was going on here. Intriguing enough that he turned over multiple possibilities while they moved through the darkness, closer, as if drawn to him. Or... to the lily.

In the shadows of the room, Knives remained unseen as they moved into the room, attention caught by the lily's light. An insect caught by the light like a moth to flame. The blue light washed out the red's true hues, but Knives was caught by the color. Red. Vibrant like the butterflies of old earth. Pollinators, and symbols of delicate beauty, drawn to brightly colored flowers.

But this curious, fascinating creature was about to touch the lily, something both dangerous and unwanted. Knives closed the book in his hand with a sharp snap, breaking the nearly perfect silence. He was leaning forward from his position instantly, silent and graceful.

"Don't you know its not polite to touch things that don't belong to you?" The voice was smooth, sharp as a knife. Deceptively light and aloof. Ice blue eyes glowed from the shadows. "Or, for that matter, to intrude into someone else's lair."