𝘨𝘢𝘮𝘣𝘭𝘦𝘳

Chapter 34. Love and Peace!

[Gambler]

Knives looks at me while cutting off one of his own extended limbs, one of many, to escape my grip on his collective mind. "You were human once, you may be one of the lowest of the low. You lie, you cheat, you killed. If I'd left you to Legato I suppose it wouldn't be so much of a test or a game, you wouldn't hesitate to kill him because of the way he fights. Am I right, Rebecca?"

"You're right," I slyly reply. "That's seems to be the extent of your knowledge on me, and you know even less about the individuals down there. Hell, even the ones you've taken prisoner I bet you didn't even bother to see what they saw. You can't decide shit when your that ignorant, Knives. What are you doing?"

"And that's the extent you know about me, so what are you doing? You're stupid to try and face me again!"

My smile grows a little larger as I touch where my hat was, now taken by Baby Livio. "I learned a lot about you, Knives. If I want, I take more. You haven't grown a bit, you understand that? You harbour a grudge against your own inability to protect something with meaning, that's all it is. You only understand destruction, and that doesn't make you a power entity or anything. It doesn't make you a monster either, monsters to some extent understand where they turned and why they sink their teeth into their grudges. You're like a tree that no longer bears fruit, you don't exist for any purpose."

I point my sword at him. "Sure, I'd kill Legato cause his only purpose is to serve you. Though I wouldn't deny he is an inherently cruel and misguided man. That's what you do, though. You kill all the weak to make yourself feel better but your mind is still so fucked from back then, isn't it? You don't know how to stomach your own feelings. You can't handle remorse or regret—human feelings. You don't know what to do about Rem or Vash or anyone. I feel sad for you. I'm actually glad it's just you and me here right now, I'm weird about Vash hearing my true feelings. It would get his hopes up or something... I think he's got those human feelings for me, the ones you can't comprehend. He's got them for you too. The same I had for my sister."

Knives cackles. "You're just the worst, aren't you? It's so sickening to everyone around you to hear you talk."

His form continues to morph and gain size--- taking on something more "dragon" or "angel" like, with winds spreading wide but those wings beginning to resemble jaws of a great beast. It's hard to believe he thinks he exists in the embodiment of beautiful.

One of those wing bones-- which seemed stiff before loosens and grabs hold of my neck, trying to squeeze the life out of me.

"You're going to be the newest edition-- you'll join me and our brethren."

I nod with a chuckle myself. "That's the best mistake you could make," I say, opening white eyes and my veins become fiery paths for my plant powers to activate. "I'm gonna pick you apart before Vash gets back, I'm going to break you down and make you understand what your brother has been trying to tell you all these years."

Blink. I stand in the middle of an endless white room, and there's thousands and I mean thousands of conscious plants standing with mouths hanging and eyes open like zombies, ethereal white and womanly bodies. Their complacency doesn't last long, as I stand out being pitch black and all. It's like an alarm went off, and I'm their mark and they lunge for me, grabbing at my body-- my arms, legs, face-- seemingly trying to swallow me into them. I scramble and kick without trying to hurt them, trying to get away. "Stop it! You're hurting everybody!" I cry at them, kicking and making my escape, searching for anything that remotely resembles a part of Knives.

I run, finding at the very end of the room that breaks off into the abyss and sobbing little Knives over the remains of Tesla, the abused plant before them from their original ship. As I touch his shoulder, Tesla vanishes and he looks up with surprise and hostility.