nomansland_broadcasting | Early in the morning

Early in the morning

[ Just before dawn, anyone monitoring the low-band station that Rem's transmitter is usually set to might hear the following short message from a child who is clearly trying not to panic. ]

Blades, this is Feathers-home, Feathers-home calling Blades, what's your twenty? Where are you!?

[ There's a pause of about a minute, then the message repeats three more times, and finally the transmission ends with: ]

If anyone out there knows who this is and you see my brother, tell me right away!

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[ no secrets! but he... worries. he can't yet put words to what he's feeling right now, but it feels like worry.

he tilts his head to peer up at vash as his brother settles over him, nose brushing his brother's jaw. his hands come up to wrap around vash's arm, index finger tracing along the markings they both shared. ]

Really? [ nai could agree to that, a place free from humans and surrounded by their own kind sounds like a kind of paradise, but... ]

What about Rem?

[ Cuddling like this is so nice, like a brother and one of his kids in one. Vash is so content, his whole soul feeling so much more at ease with Nai around. He's not alone and the babies are safe as long as his other half is right here... so he'll make sure he stays, no matter what.

There's a pause, though, and he looks at his brother with confusion. ]

...who is Rem?

[ nai freezes, eyes slowly widening. ]

Rem. [ he repeats, impulsively, as his mind finally catches up to what vash had just said, asked. ] Rem is-

... Do you... not remember? [ was vash someone who never knew rem or worse... did he forget her? ] She raised us on the ship. Vash.

[ Vash just looks confused, cocking his head a bit to the side. ]

Are you alright? You're the one that has always taken care of me, Nai

[ It doesn't quite make sense, since his brother couldn't exactly take care of him if he was a baby too... but the brainwashing isn't that detailed. ]

I don't know any Rem that raised us, just the one first-born you named that.

Edited 2023-08-08 16:32 (UTC)

[ he knew. his older self knew rem, remembered her, but vash didn't. the pieces come together to form a larger picture, one that makes his blood run cold as it comes into view.

he'd hurt vash in ways even his brother didn't realize. ]

Why did I name them Rem? Did I... ever say why?

[ Older Nai cut away a lot of pieces from Vash that made him sad, and look how much better Vash feels! No loss of Rem, no pain of lost friends, no endless years of being hurt by humanity. ]

You said it was a good name. She's a sweet girl, getting really good at her gate control.

[ He smiles proudly, just like a parent bragging about their kid. ]

[ nai could understand himself, his future self. the things he does for the sake of vash make sense to him. if there was a way to help his brother find happiness and peace, far from the endless reach of humanity that sought to hurt them, then of course nai wanted to see that future through.

but vash wasn't happy, at least not the brothers he'd come across so far here. nai's actions had only hurt him even more and intentions could be good, but that didn't make it right.

nai was still trying to understand what was right here. ]

It is a good name. [ he looks away, down at his hands as he tangles his fingers together. he turns himself to rest his cheek against vash's chest. ] How old is she now?

[ Vash just keeps happily talking, not aware of all the thoughts in Nai's head. Sometimes you just have to make sure your brother is happy and protected, even if that means sacrifices.

Vash can't miss what he doesn't know. ]

You came up with a lot of good names! It was so hard to pick...

[ How do you name 600 children? So, so many probably have bible names. ]

She's 17 already. Such a smart girl. They all are, honestly. The second generation are about your age? 1? Then the current is about five months along in gestation. [ Pause. ] Maybe six, now.

I'm almost two now, actually. [ only someone who is one and a half would clarify that. ] Seventeen...

[ seventeen years of paradise. seventeen years of vash being happy. it was more than any of his other brothers had. ]

Current? Are you pregnant now? [ he knows what a human pregnancy looks like, from medical textbooks and basic sex education, but when he tilts his head to look at vash's middle he doesn't see the typical swell associated with pregnancy. ]

[ That typical child clarification makes Vash feel all warm inside, and he gently strokes his fingers through the light-blonde hair. ]

Two! My bad.

[ Seventeen years of their Eden. 16 years of reworking the system to spare the sisters any more strain. One year since the second generation almost made him go red. This time it was the best one. A masterpiece.

Vash smiles at the question and then chuckles as he sees the look at his stomach. ] I am. I don't have them in there, though - I don't have the bits for that. [ Even if did have said bits, it would take far too long to grow as many as they have now, and he's be very vulnerable the whole time. ] They're in my gate.

[ he tilts his head on impulse as vash runs fingers through his hair. he'd been letting it grow out, bangs falling over his brows and tickling his ears. ]

Oh. [ all of this is raising more questions than nai can keep up with. he'd have to write everything down later. ] Wait- Your gate? [ he visibly perks up, that was new. ] You know how to use your gate now?

[ and they could store children in it? ]

I do. [ Vash says softly, more of the flowers blooming around them. ] You taught me how, and these roots are like your blades.

[ Pause. ] ...do you have your blades yet? [ If he's almost two, he should know, right? ]

However, my gate goes in two directions. You were able to go inside it and use the core there to start the first generation of independents inside our sisters. [ Which didn't work to well for them in the end, and they don't talk about that much. ] This time the babies are instead safe and growing in there, because only you can reach them.

[ nai nods quickly. ] I do! But I still have a very long way to go before I have perfect control.

[ even if everything was different now, he still couldn't afford to slack off in his training. this planet was dangerous and vash needed protecting.

his eyes widen, heart racing. ]

... Only me? [ he was the only nai here, so far. did that mean he was the only one who could help vash? ]

[ Vash beams at that, looking so proud. ] That's talented, Nai! You'll get the best control in no time, I know it.

[ There was nothing his perfect brother couldn't do, after all. Even when tiny like this.

At the question, Vash nods a little bit, rubbing the little boy's back gently. It's a lot of responsibility on a child, but what can he do? This place brought him in without his adult brother.

The sick Vash and his dogs said it would damage Nai of he told him all these things and showed him who he was, but his brother is so strong. He seems to be understanding everything perfectly. ]

Only you. Only you can check to make sure they're growing fine, only you can help them be born when the time comes. They need you.

[ his face heats at the praise. his abilities are nothing worth while now, he wants to say. nothing strong enough to keep what was important safe. power was a dangerous weapon to wield, it humbled even the very best. cautionary tales spoken over countless centuries, delivered to him in the pages of books and movies and now in the shapes of brothers in various states of agony and suffering.

if vash needed him, then it was nai's responsibility to take care of him. the difference in age didn't matter, not to him. ]

Okay. [ he nods, coming to a decision far bigger than himself. ] Okay. I'll take care of you, Vash.

[ He's so small but so good and Vash is so proud of his brother. The protector, the warrior, the older brother. He cuddles Nai closer, their bond full of affection and unconditional love to the point of obsession.

Vash is doing his best to not seem to unhinged, because despite his strange mania he is a father and he doesn't want to scare a little boy.

However... ]

Would you take a look at them? [ He asks, gently cupping the round little face in his hand and leaning their foreheads together. ] Remember I told you the filthy dog hit me with a car? I've been tired ever since, and I'm concerned it has something to do with the damage I took affecting our children.

[ nai stares up at vash, eyes widening at the suggestion. see them? their children, their children... he rubs his cheek against vash's palm, eyes fluttering shut for a moment as they come together. ] I remember. [ he has to bite his tongue from saying something terrible, something he knows his older brother would be ashamed to hear him say. so he swallows it back. ]

I want to see. If something is wrong, maybe... maybe I can fix it. [ nai raises a hand up to cup vash's hand over his, holding his cheek. ] If it's something I can do in the future, I should be able to do it now... right?

[ he can hope, nervously, that whatever it is will come to him instinctively. there's no room for self-doubt here, not when vash needed him. ]

Only if you think you can handle it, Nai. It might be a lot.

[ Vash says, gently rubbing his thumb over the cheek where their hands join. His voice is so gentle but proud, affection in every word. He wants the world for his Nai.

How anyone could think he would ever hurt his brother is beyond him. He'd die for him if asked. ]

You'll learn, eventually, to just open my gate with your mind. Like the way we can share each other's. Our own spaces, controlled like lucid dreams. We can try that.

[ He looks his twin thoughtfully. He's not quite sure the boy can do that yet, though. ]

A more physical way is to put your knives in me, like a key to a lock. That will force the gate open, but it's still an option. Our children are more important than comfort.

I can handle it.

[ he has to, he must. vash depended on him and so nai would deliver. his brother deserved that much, and more.

whatever it took, nai would give freely in exchange for the future his brothers had suffered at his hands.

but... of course, it's much easier said than done. nai's abilities were still terribly limited and the way vash describes it, he couldn't help some thread of uncertainty. what if he tried and failed, worse if he failed would it be a detriment to vash and the children? what would be the consequences of his failure? the anxiety leaks through their connection against his will, as much as he tries to stuff it down.

his brows pull together and frowns.]

No way. I'm not going to hurt you, Vash.

I know. You're so strong, Nai. Just know that I don't want to push you too far.

[ The dogs and the sick him were wrong. None of this would traumatize his smart, bright brother. Even so young, he's perfect.

Asking him to use his knives might be a bit much, though. ]

A last resort only, I promise. I know you do not want to hurt me.

[ Only when he has to. Only when he's done something wrong. ]

Let's start with trying to open it in our minds.

[ He leans his forehead against Nai's again. ]

Concentrate on joining our minds. Our pulse, our breath. We're one.

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Early in the morning

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this was lost in my inbox nooo

NOOO

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