#( one more post to go: lil sumup of July exploding )

[orangetintedglasses]

Finale: Kotov Syndrome

The silence that hung between them for a few long, terrible moments was tense and heavy; Vash watched as his brother's eyes filled with fear for a split second, then quickly boiled over into betrayal and rage.

"You'd dare point that coward's tool at me? After I let you keep it?" Nai nearly spat the words out, his voice penetrating the silence the same way a rock crashed through a window, making Vash's shoulders twitch. His stance remained firm despite it, eyes locked onto the other Plant's, his firearm steady and unwavering in it's position. No desire to shoot him, just... keep him there and buy everyone enough time to get out of the city.

And buy himself some time to think of an actual plan...

"... it truly hurts to see you like this, Vash." Nai said, that softness returning to his tone, almost a coo. It made his chest ache. "Those monsters have been exacerbating your sickness. They're using you--"

"QUIET!" he snarled, the sound tearing out of him faster than he could process. Vash grit his teeth and felt himself force the barrel of the gun against Nai's forehead before quickly withdrawing it, taking a step back and settling on just aiming the firearm at him, now. He'd never been this angry before.

"YOU'RE the one who's using me, Nai! This whole time, I've--" God, he didn't want to think about it. He didn't want to think about any of it-- "--I've been hurting people! I've hurt EVERYONE I care about because of you...!"

"Anyone you've 'hurt' was hurt because they interfered with your recovery, Vash." Nai replied, looking unimpressed. "It was their own fault for--"

"It was YOUR FAULT!" another crackle of energy between his teeth, this time igniting the patterns on his skin. Wisps of energy lifted from the delicate lines on the right side of his face-- wisps that took on a feathered shape that made Nai's eyes widen, face contorting with disgust.

"Look at what they've done to you..."

"STOP!" Vash's hands were trembling, now, emotions and borrowed power both rumbling in his chest like the beginnings of a storm. He squeezed his eyes shut-- he had to end this! Whatever needed to happen next, he had to do it-- and if that involved killing his brother, h-he-- no. No, he couldn't kill him, even... even after all of this. He couldn't do it, there had to be another way--

A hand suddenly touching his cheek yanked Vash out of his thoughts, eyes popping open to see Nai in close proximity. One hand on his face, the other on his shoulder, in... some cruel mockery of comfort? Or was it real? Nai's expression felt like a mask of calm and understanding more than anything, but despite that, Vash stilled under the touch-- a spark of hope fluttering in his chest, brought tears to his eyes...

"Nai..."

Thmp.

... his breath caught in his throat, and warmth blossomed at the small of his back.

Thmp. Thmp!THMP!THMP!

White-hot pain exploded in rapid-fire bursts, one by one up the trail of his spine, like fireworks.

"My poor baby brother... even after all of this, you still need me to do everything for you..." Nai cooed, pulling Vash closer to him as something else flooded his body. That familiar feeling, cold and all encompassing... spreading out from where bladed vines had buried themselves in his back. He shouldn't have let his guard down.

He shouldn't have let his guard down.

Vash would try and struggle against the connection, shrimping back and away as far as he could-- the renewed energy from Vet would be more than enough to help him fight him off --but one last vine pierced all the way through his shoulder, wrapping around his collarbone in the most literal way imaginable as Nai tightened his hold around him, blood spattered on his face.

"Don't worry, Vash. We'll fix this."

The cold spread up, up, up... blurring his mind and his senses, making him weak at the knees and lean heavily into his twin.

"I'll just have to help speed things along..."

The blades dug in further, twisted in deeper, and Vash felt himself scream.