Chapter Text
This wasn’t the desert.
That was what Vash first thought as he slowly stirred into consciousness. The air did not burn, did not dry out his airways like he had become accustomed to. Sand did not shift underneath him. Sand always clawed into some nook or crazy in even the most well-kept of houses, an annoyance one simply had to get used to. Of course, more of the humans who were born now did not know a world without the sand, and thus did not feel how grating it could be to the extent that Vash could.
Vash turned in the bed. It felt… familiar, in an odd way he could not quite place. Even the slightly-sterile scent was familiar. In some ways, it reminded him of Ship Three, of Home. But even Home was not immune to the effects of being stranded on No Man’s Land. Most of the air filtering went to preserving the Garden and all of the experiments that went with it. And his bed was bigger than this. Or at least, he thought it was.
He struggled to recall the last thing in his memory. There was a fog in his mind, the kind that came from extreme tiredness. He’d been Home not too long ago, hadn’t he? Yes, he was sure of it now. Slowly, details came back to him. The crack in the Garden’s dome, Roberto and Meryl being taken to July. He and Wolfwood had been in hot pursuit. He’d been shot, and then… and then what?
It all faded after that. Had he really passed out over a gunshot wound? He’d gone through worse, so why…?
Wondering was not going to get him questions. This was likely Home, and if it wasn’t it was somewhere else, and he’d figure out what to do once he got more information. Vash just hoped that Roberto and Meryl would be okay for now. Wolfwood too, wherever he was. Hopefully he continued to go after the two reporters.
Vash sat up and opened his eyes, the soft blanket he’d been wrapped in pushed away. His stomach hurt where he’d been shot still, a dull and fading pain, and he winced a little as he got a good look around him. This room-
Vash stopped breathing.
This was his room.
He brought his hands to his face and rubbed his eyes, then opened them again. The room did not change. It was bigger than his room on Ship Three, but then, this room had a second bed to hold his brother. And there it was, right on the opposite side of the room, unmade like it had just been slept in.
Was this a dream?
Vash pinched his skin, the bit of pain shooting through his arm real and really unnecessary with his stomach wound, but nonetheless making this seem less like a dream. His arm was still gone too, so which further pointed to this being real. And yet, how could it be real? His home, Ship Five, was gone. Of all the ships, Ship Five had been one of the most severely destroyed in landing. Maybe he was just in another ship? Or a different room in Home? Yes, that had to be it, that made more sense, that was an explanation.
“Hello?” Vash called out, swinging his feet to touch the floor. He was still in his coat and boots. He was glad to have his belongings on him and where he could see them, but usually when he was taken in somewhere after passing out, they took those articles of clothing off to make him more comfortable. In fact, his gunshot wound wasn’t even dressed. It would probably be fine without it - it’d scar, but he’d been through worse - but again, usually humans would treat something like that if he was taken in. Especially if he was Home. Even if Brad of Luida weren’t awake, someone was around that would insist on it. And again, this wasn’t his room, this was-
This looked so much like his room, the first room he’d ever called his own, that had been his first home.
“Hello? Is anybody there?” Vash called out again, taking a few steps towards the door. There was a stack of books next to the other bed. Nai used to always take books from the library to his room, reading them curled up on his bed. Sometimes, he would even read them out loud, especially the ones about cowboys. Those never failed to get Nai excited.
Vash forced his eyes away. Some kind of coincidence. There had to be a reasonable explanation for this. The answer would come to him. He could not afford to allow himself to get lost in memories, not when lives may still be on the line. Lives who he may even consider to be something close to friends, a thing he didn’t come by often.
He checked his coat for his gun, the weight of it familiar and comforting. He prayed he would not need to use it, but it put him at ease nonetheless. Another point towards reality, an item he had not lost, and he wouldn’t have to worry about finding it if he had to make a quick escape from this place.
He felt the vibrations through the metal floor before he reached the door. Footsteps; somebody was coming to the room.
First (second?) impressions were everything, and not something that Vash was very good at. He flicked a hand through his hair, attempting to straighten his jacket. There was still some sand on him, and he tried to brush it off and make himself presentable. Did the people who put him in this room know who he was yet? Were people here to collect the bounty on his head?
The door swung open.
“There he is.”
Vash could not speak, could not move, could not breathe.
This could not be real.
This could not be reality before him.
It had to be real, he’d already gone over all the proof that this was real. This was not like those waking-dream that Nai had sent him into before, where he was captured by the past. He was always a child in those, and when he realized it wasn’t reality, the illusion faded away.
This was real.
“Stay behind me, Nai.”
Rem stood in the doorway, Nai standing behind her. One of her hands was positioned to try and keep Nai where he was while the other was in a fist. Nai peeked out, looking at Vash with wide eyes. He wasn’t scared, not really, but confused and curious. Rem on the other hand, there was something of fear on her face, worry in the lines of her face. She looked so young. Had she always been this young?
“Who are you?” Rem’s voice didn’t shake. She raised her head, staring down Vash and setting her jaw.
“R-Rem?” Her name came shakily out of his mouth, hesitating but unable to stop the name.
“You aren’t one of the passengers.”
She sounded almost accusatory as she said it.
“Are you a Plant?” Nai asked. “You feel like one.”
“Shhh,” Rem hushed Nai and whispered to him, “Remember the rules?”
Rules for When Everyone Wakes Up: hide your powers; don’t talk about being a Plant, especially not being an Independent; eat food, drink water, sleep, even if you have to fake it. Those were the rules to keep them safe. They had somewhat confused both Vash and Nai when they’d first heard them, but it made sense now. So much made sense now.
Vash took a step backwards. The world around him felt all too fake and all too real, and he wasn’t sure how to interact with it. How to interact with Rem and young Nai. He knew what he wanted to do, but did he deserve to hold these pieces of the past in his arms? Like he hadn’t had a hand in their destruction?
“Who are you, where did you come from, and where is the child that was in that bed?” Rem demanded, an anger simmering in her voice.
“Rem, N-Nai,” were the old names that he could get to come out of his throat. What was he supposed to say? How was he supposed to explain what happened?
Behind Rem, Nai’s head tilted to the side as he studied Vash. He blinked slowly, and then,
“Vash? Is that you?”
“What?” Rem looked own at Nai, more confused than ever. Vash nodded speechlessly.
“Vash!” Nai ducked past Rem, too fast for Rem to stop him.
“No, Nai!” She reached to stop him, but it was too late, Nai already running right into Vash’s stomach, wrapping his arms around Vash tightly. The returning action came easily, Vash almost falling forward in his desperation to hold his small brother. His brother was warm, the pressure from the hug real, and it wasn’t long until Vash was crying, sobbing really.
“Vash you had me worried!” Nai reprimanded without a single tear in his voice. “I woke up and you were gone, or so I thought, and there was a strange man in your bed. He - or you - still felt like a Plant kind of, so I wasn’t really worried, but I got Rem just in case.” Nai let go and stepped back, folding his arms and frowning. “Why did you get a growth spurt and I didn’t? We’re different heights now! That’s not fair. I'm the older brother, shouldn't I be taller?”
“Vash?” Rem stepped into the room with more caution than Nai. “When did this happen? Where did you get that coat? How…? You two both should’ve stopped your rapid aging.” Worry carved lines into Rem’s face as she looked at Vash.
Vash opened his mouth, unsure what he was going to say, how he was going to explain what he himself didn’t know. He was cut off by a growl from his stomach. Nai groaned.
“You’re all big and you still need to eat?” he said incredulously. This got a watery chuckle out of Vash, who attempted to clean the tears from his face.
“Of course he’s hungry if he just had a big growthspurt. Come one, let’s get you some food. Questions can wait.” Rem held out a hand to pull Vash back to his feet. He stared at it, part of him still unable to accept that this was reality. His hand shook as he placed his own into Rem’s. He was glad she had reached with her right hand, as his flesh hand was the one that grabbed hers. It was softer than he expected, and so warm, and so real. Another sob threatened to spill out of Vash.
He let himself be pulled to his feet and, for the first time in 150 years, he went to have breakfast with his family.
oOo
Wolfwood wasn’t sure how or why it happened.
One moment, he and Vash were in the sewers of July, making their way towards Knives. Vash had been walking slowly as the hole in his gut healed itself up. Wolfwood had spent enough time near Knives to not be too worried about the wound, but also enough time around Vash he found himself continually watching the man. The two brothers were night and day, from personality to philosophy. Who was to say Vash really would be alright?
Then, suddenly, Vash just tipped over, falling backwards.
“Shit!” Wolfwood had bit out, running to the man’s side. As quickly as he had moved, however, he backed off as a strange and eerie black energy spread out from the Independent's chest until it had completely swallowed him up. He was completely covered before he hit the ground. They had been so close, why did this have to happen now? This would’ve all been over, finally.
For a few minutes, Wolfwood paced around the mound of darkness on the ground. Should he try and pick it up? What if it infected him? Would it be possible to have Knives come all the way here and get his brother himself? Was Vash dying? Maybe if he was, that was for the best. That last thought caught Wolfwood by surprise and he pushed it harshly out of his mind.
Then, as quickly as the darkness had appeared, it dissipated. Maybe it was some sort of weird Plant healing cocoon. Wolfwood reached to give Vash a hand back to his feet as the darkness faded.
Vash was not lying there anymore.
Wolfwood reeled back, the cigarette that had been burning between his lips falling out in his surprise.
There was a child on the floor. A child with golden-sand hair dressed in strange and familiar white clothes. It was the same clothes that those on Ship Three had worn.
“The hell…?” Wolfwood muttered. The child on the floor turned on the cold and gross sewer ground, then turned again, and then his eyes blinked open. Inhumanly pale blue eyes.
The child yelped in surprise, scrambling to his feet as he looked around him. He was shaking, trembling with fear. Terror and confusion was written plainly on his face.
“What- where- who are you?!” The child shouted, taking a step backwards, than another. His arms wrapped around himself, an effort to bring some semblance of comfort in the strange and alien surroundings he was in. “You-you’d better tell me! My- Rem will find me, and then, um, then she’s going to- you’ll be in big trouble!”
The child’s threats fell flat, both due to his own clear fear and how vague they were. Wolfwood stared at the little kid. The acidic taste of his cigarette still lingered in his mouth, mixing with the bitter feeling settling in his stomach.
This shouldn’t be any different now.
It was completely different.
How many children had been experimented on by the Eye of Michael? Hundreds, hundreds of poor children who had not understood what was going on, who had not been able to defend themselves. Wolfwood has been one of those. Livio had been one. Rolo had been one. Perhaps even Elendira counted.
It was one thing to bring in Vash, an adult man.
It was another thing to deliver a child to the Eye of Michael.
Wolfwood sighed, but fell down into a squat, putting himself at the same level as the child. He dug around in his jacket. The action made the child take another fearful step backwards, but Wolfwood did not let it bother him. There it was, a lollipop left over from his little stint with Zazie. He pulled it out of his coat slowly and held it out to the child. The child stared at the lollipop with wide eyes, then looked back at Wolfwood.
“C’mon kid, it tastes good, I promise.” He certainly never thought he’d be doing this act twice, yet here he was.
“I shouldn't take candy from strangers.” Another step back. Dammit, if Wolfwood wasn’t careful, he was going to lose the kid, or at least lose the kid’s trust.
“Did your mom tell you that?” Wolfwood sighed.
“Yeah, and that’s what stories always say.” The kid nodded, resolution in that fact growing now that he had listed his sources.
“Well, here.” Wolfwood unwrapped the lollipop and gave it a lick. “See? It’s fine. I promise.”
He held the lollipop out again. He child looked around the sewer and then took a few hesitant steps towards Wolfwood. As soon as he was within his small arm’s reach, he snatched the lollipop away and stuck it in his mouth, doing it quickly as if to act before he count rethink the decision.
“It is tasty!” he smiled, pure joy and wonder on his face. So young, he was so young it almost hurt.
“Yeah. Listen, kid, I don’t know how you got here, I just stumbled across you, okay?” It wasn’t entirely a lie.
“You don’t?” He still looked a little wary, but he edged closer to Wolfwood.
“Yeah. I can get you somewhere safe, though,” Wolfwood promised.
“Is this not safe? Where is this? I’ve never been to this part of the ship before.” The kid walked even closer to Wolfwood as he looked around once again with more scrutiny this time.
“Listen, kid, I have some really really bad news for you, okay? And I need you to keep trusting me. Can you do that?” Wolfwood gave the kid what he hoped was a soft smile. The child frowned but after a moment of consideration nodded slowly. “We aren’t on a ship. We’re on the planet of No Man’s Land.”
“Wh-what?! How did- But I was just on the ship! I was sleeping!” The child yelped.
“Hey, don’t worry, I’ll help you get out of this, and get to somewhere safe, okay?” Again, the kid slowly nodded. By now he was standing right next to Wolfwood. Wolfwood stood up and grabbed the Punisher from where it’d been lying against the wall. He slung it over his back. It was going to be a long way from here to the orphanage. It’d probably be better to get the child to Ship Three, but Wolfwood wasn’t really sure how to go about contacting or finding them, especially not without the help of the Eye of Michael. This would all be for nothing if they found out about the child.
Something slipped into Wolfwood’s free hand. He looked down, and there was the child, holding his hand.
“Can we look for my brother and my, um, my friend? Maybe they got lost here too.”
“Yeah,” Wolfwood lied, “Of course we can.”
“What’s your name?”
“Nicholas Wolfwood,” he answered, and then asked the question he already knew the answer to. “What’s yours?”
The child smiled.
"I'm Vash."