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[ More flowers? Surely no one who sends these understands just how much it touches a nerve, but shockingly, these were actually meant to come to him. V is an odd one, and Knives wonders if he is somehow drawn in by him the way some other humans have been. ]

They won't wilt? How is that possible, when they've been cut from the earth?

And yes, I did, though it will take far more work to regain the level of power I had prior to my arrival here.

[bruh he sent these to all of his party members--

But also, he thought it might be amusing to bother Knives with a bouquet of flowers, if only because he doesn't seem like much the type to... appreciate them. (Little does he know the complex feelings that might arise because. Plants.)]

I don't know. It's what the seller told me. I suppose time will tell whether or not it's true.

So you better hold onto them for that long.

[ :) ]

How far removed would you say you are from your previous "level" of power?

[ It still feels odd keeping the flowers, if Knives is honest. On the other hand, if they truly won't wilt and waste away, then he is curious to test that claim. ]

I will let you know if the seller successfully lied to you to make this sale.

[ Sounds like typical human behavior. Either way, V has somehow found a way to get Knives to keep them, so there is that. ]

You saw the knives that I brought forth from my hand. At full power, I could draw a countless number of them from my Gate. Enough to decimate an entire town.

[It's a win and he doesn't even know it.]

Thoughtful of you.

[V please.]

Impressive. Though "decimate an entire town" sounds worrisomely specific.

And why do you think that is?

[ Knives is not one to hide his true nature or intentions. This V can take it or leave it. He was a good partner in the dungeon, but if he can't stomach Knives' past actions, then so be it. ]

Because it is.

[Specific.]

Is that something you've done?

Yes. Jeneora Rock. I strode in and did what was required to recover one of my sisters.

[And he retells it so pointedly, so straightforwardly, there is not even a mote of regret or guilt to be wrung out of those words.

So the question that remains is: why?]

Your sisters? What happened to them?

[ Oh no, V, you don't know what kind of floodgate you've opened here. ]

Humans require them as sources of energy and water among other things. They use them up carelessly as they cling to life on the surface of a planet that was never meant to accommodate them. They take no care at all and wring every last bit of life from them for their own selfish needs.

[Pandora's box hereby opened.]

Your siblings are used as energy? As though they were, what? Batteries?

[How is this possible, exactly? He must be missing context.]

They are plants. As in power plants, if you are familiar with the concept.

Edited 2023-05-11 05:15 (UTC)

I know what a power plant is, yes.

[But that ushers in imagery of huge facilities with a worrisome nuclear reactor in the middle, or something. Not something that looks like... Knives? He assumes that's the case.]

But those aren't sentient. Your sisters are?

[Is that rude to ask. He just wants to know. Because Knives sure is??? If so, then the man has quite the reason to be upset.]

I am an independent, meaning that I can exist outside of a tank and have free will and what you would think of as a soul. My sisters are dependents, created for the purpose of pulling in these resources that humans need to survive.

However, that does not give humanity the right to use them up and toss them aside as they do, wringing every last bit of life out of them. I intend to create a world where they can live peacefully.

[ Except then he was brought here. Womp womp. ]

[Not sentient, then. But... that means little, doesn't it, when Knives sees it as humans using up his siblings for little more than resources. Like livestock for slaughter.

Well, that's odd then, too, right? Why would humans then create a sentient version of these "plants" when he might not take kindly to the idea? That seems a misstep if he's ever heard of one, but of course he keeps that thought caged in his head.

Instead, more generally:]

Might I ask why you were created differently than the rest?

Some might have called it a fluke. Others a miracle. We were not planned, but came about unexpectedly, born from one of the dependents.

[ A pause, as he realizes what question will come next. ]

My brother and I, that is. It's possible you have memories of him as well.

From our supposed school days.

[He's right. He was going to ask after the "we", but Knives predicts that question and then throws him for a loop with the explanation.]

Your brother.

[Does he recall...? Again, dipping into memory, a face is dredged up from silt. More familiarity, the face of Knives' brother. Not much else, though; the rest feels faraway.]

I do remember.

Is he here, too?

He is, yes. I'm surprised you haven't met him yet. He's the sort of person to befriend everyone he comes across.

[ Human, Plant, and other non-human (since that is a category now, apparently) alike. ]

[He has technically met him by now but we're keeping this vague and blame it on wacky woohoo memories not lining up yet since thread is still ongoing-]

So not much like you.

[ Some people might view this as rude but Knives simply views it as a truth. If an annoying one, because his brother has been pulling this nonsense for over a century. ]

That's right.
I suspect you'll run into him soon enough.

And how did he feel? About decimating an entire town? Was he in support of that as well?

No. He is desperate for the humans' approval. If you were to ask him, I am sure he would speak to you ad nauseum about it.

[There’s a pause.

Something about this amuses him, though the context provided is serious. Worrisome, even. But V can’t help but draw a parallel-]

Two brothers at ideological odds, then. Doesn’t that sound familiar. You have my condolences; both of you.

[ That's hardly the response that Knives had been expecting. Condolences — to both of them, even? ]

Familiar? How so?

I have a brother, too.

[This is not a lie. Even in this form, half of who he should be, he still is who he is -- and that does include his relationship with his brother being so formative to... everything that's happened to him.

For good or ill.]

One that I've disagreed with time and time again, to violent ends. So you could say that I empathize, no matter how different our situations might be.

[ Ah. Knives can't say that he has ever had someone try to empathize with him on this point, especially since the bond between him and Vash is not something that can be explained or replicated.

But the fact that these disagreements that V has had with his brother were more than just petty arguments, but even became violent — it does make Knives the slightest bit curious. ]

I see. And what was the nature of these disagreements?

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