Chapter Text
Wispy puffs of breath slowly rise and dissipate in the refrigerated air as two young boys stand huddled together, the glow of millions of cryopods casting everything in a calming shade of blue. One of the boys shuffles and pulls his cloak tighter around himself with a shiver. He never has been a fan of the cold.
“Morning, everyone!”
Nai glances over at his younger brother ( How do you know you were born first, Vash would often argue. Isn’t it obvious, Nai would reply), his sunny disposition apparently protecting him from the chill in the air, or so it would seem. “Why do you greet the humans every day? They can’t hear you, you know.”
“You don’t know that!” No, he very much does know that, but he allows his brother to continue. “And I’m just so excited to meet them. Maybe if they get used to the sound of my voice, they’ll be excited to meet me, too.”
Vash’s eyes glimmer, even more blue than usual under the glow of the pods. They still don’t quite match the icy shade of Nai’s own. A small laugh, or perhaps a scoff, escapes from Nai’s lips.
“Not every human is like Rem,” he reminds his frankly naive brother. Nai has spent his fair share of time going over old footage from Earth stored in the ship’s archives. War and violence, hatred and discrimination. Not only did humans seem intent on destroying one another, but they wrecked havoc on the planet itself, draining the Earth of every last resource, resulting in those lucky humans who had the means to flee into space, to start over anew. That is the legacy humanity has left so far. Nai would be lying if he said it didn’t cause his heart to tremble. Who’s to say they’d accept him and his brother, if they can’t even seem to accept one another?
Oblivious to his brother’s misgivings, or perhaps ignoring them on purpose, Vash flashes him a bright grin, two fingers splayed in what Rem has taught them to be a ‘peace sign’. “Wouldn’t it be boring if they were?”
Before Nai can respond, an explosion tears through the ship, causing the ground beneath them to quake. They lose their balance, falling into each other’s arms, a tangle of desperate limbs. Alarms blare a deafening warning, and the twins are barely able to stumble to their feet before another shockwave hits, nearly taking their feet from beneath them again. Vash and Nai hold tight to one another, firm in each other’s hold, determined to keep themselves planted firmly on the ground.
Level E-3 emergency. Begin emergency protocols immediately.
“Nai! What’s happening?” Vash clings to his brother’s arm, the bright eyes that were only a moment ago filled with joy, now wide with fear, searching his brother’s face for answers. Nai sucks in a sharp breath, the cold air stinging his lungs like the pinprick of a thousand needles, the sensation helping steady his mind. With the arm not clamped in Vash’s grip, Nai swiftly pulls out a mini console from his pocket. The small monitor flickers to life as he flips it open in one fluid motion, and he reluctantly pulls himself from Vash. Fingers type rapidly on the screen while blood roars in his ears, dulling the uproar around him. The screen flashes with a full diagnostic report, and his heart stops dead in his chest.
“The thrusters are failing. The ships are in free fall.” The lights, now flashing red, illuminate Vash’s fearful expression, and Nai knows his own expression is a perfect mirror.
The door to the cryo room slides open, Rem’s voice rings out, “Boys! Get over here, now!”
Vash calls back to Rem, already running, and he crashes into her in a way that gives her no choice but to lift him up into her arms. Nai follows, both hands still gripping tightly to the mini console. He can feel the way the screen creaks in his hands, threatening to snap in half, but his fingers are locked in fear, unable to loosen their curl.
“Come on, we have to get out of here-“
“Rem,” Nai can hardly find his voice, just a squeak barely audible above the screeching alarms. Slowly, he turns the console in his hands to show Rem, hands trembling, “the route to the escape pods has been destroyed…” They’re trapped. Trapped in a hunk of metal hurtling to their doom.
Rem’s eyes widen, then narrow as her grip tightens on Vash, who clings to her with equal force. This very room contains everything she’s been working for: Humanity’s last hope, and two precious boys. Even as it all crumbles around them, she won’t allow herself to lose hope. Steeling her will, she shifts her hold on Vash to one arm, and uses her other to grab Nai’s hand. A sense of calm and determination floods her system, cooling the fire of panic in her veins.
She knows what she has to do. God give her the strength to do it.
“It’ll be okay, boys, trust me,” her voice is strong, yet gentle, even amongst the blaring sirens and rumbles of distant explosions, leading Vash and Nai deeper into the cryo room. It’s only for their sake that she’s able to keep the tremble out of her voice. The ground shakes beneath them, and she quickens her pace without a single stumble until they reach their destination: an empty cryopod. Her pod.
It’s a struggle to tear Vash from her grip, but she manages to set him in the pod, and leads Nai into it as well. Their large, fearful eyes break her heart, her own eyes stinging from more than just the smoke beginning to seep in around them.
“This will keep you safe during the landing. When you wake up, you’ll be somewhere new. It’ll be scary, but you boys are strong, and I know you’ll live long, happy lives. Vash, Nai. Take care of each other.” When did the tears start falling from her eyes? The last thing she wanted was for them to see her like this. Her lips tremble and her breath catches in their throat as she reaches for the latch of the pod.
“Rem? What about you?” Nai’s voice is small, in contrast to his brother’s desperate cries.
“Rem? Rem, what are you saying?! Please don’t leave us! Rem, please!” Vash chokes on his tears, desperately pleading.
“… I love you both. I’m glad to know you’ll always have each other.” Rem Savarem closes her eyes, unable to watch the despair on their faces any longer, and quickly slams the pod shut. She can’t hear the way Vash desperately cries for her to come back between the thick glass, and she can’t bear to watch as they’re put to sleep within the cryopod, tears frozen to their cheeks.
Her work is far from done. Rem barely realizes her legs have managed to carry her through the crumbling ship to the main control room until she’s already there, fingers gliding across access panels, writing programs and fixing equations, giving them the best possible chance of success. The planet that the SEEDS fleet is hurtling towards is barren, unsuitable to sustain meaningful life, according to one flashing monitor. The plants, the second most precious cargo aboard the fleet, will be essential for humanity to survive. All that to say, Rem must find a way to keep both the plants and the pods safe during the crash. Not all of them, but some of them, just some, just enough. Some plants and some humans to populate this desert planet, to flourish and create their new Eden together, hand in hand.
A thought flashes into her head, her dreams of taking the boys with her to their new world, reaching them about life, about love and humanity. Watching them grow and keeping them safe. Her tears return anew, dripping down her chin and onto the control board beneath her hands.
Even as flames nip at her back, Rem stays at her post, programming last minute ship-saving measures, even as smoke fills her lungs and stings her eyes. For a brighter future, for Vash and Nai, she stays at her post.
140 years later
Wind blows in the endless desert, sand buffing hunks of metal smooth over decades. Heaps of forgotten tech litter the world, some forming the heart of new cities, some lost to the dunes, and some waiting to be discovered, gently thrumming with a few remaining sparks of energy before finally going silent.
Energy stores depleted. Commencing reanimation sequence. Welcome to the new world, REM SAVAREM.
With a hiss of cold air escaping from the sealed pod, the latch slowly opens. A puff of condensation immediately evaporates in the scorching heat. One blond boy falls on his hands and knees, choking on a scream held in for over a century, the other sags, waiting for the prickling numbness to leave his limbs.
“Rem,” Vash gags, his body fighting to return to stasis, jumping from cryogenic sleep to blistering heat, “REM!” What is beneath his fingers? It’s hot and coarse, unpleasant to feel and shifts under his weight, making him feel even more unstable than he already is. With a ragged gasp, he finally looks up to see-
Nothing. A vast expanse of nothing but hot sand and blue sky. Where is their Eden? Where is Rem?
As Vash inhales to let out another scream, he feels the solid weight of a hand on his shoulder, cutting him off preemptively. He looks up, fresh tears rolling down his cheeks and snot dribbling out of his nose, to meet the stony gaze of his twin brother.
“That’s enough, Vash. Rem is gone.”
His entire body tenses up, and he forces himself to his feet, jaw tending so hard it feels as if he may break his teeth. “You don’t know that!” He shouts, and for the first time lays a violent hand on his brother, shoving him back. Nai stumbles, face broken out into a stunned expression. “You always act like you know everything, Nai, but you don’t! She might have made it out, we have to find her, we have to try-“
“STOP IT, VASH!” Nai shouts, his voice cracking, and this time it’s his brother’s turn to look shocked, never having heard Nai take such a tone with him. Nai’s fists clench at his side, but that doesn’t stop them from trembling. Icy blond locks fall in front of his eyes as he tilts his head down, a weak attempt at hiding his face. “You’re being stupid. The only reason we survived is because she didn’t. And now we have to keep going, because if we don’t, her sacrifice would have been in vain.” Nai hiccups suddenly, and he quickly wipes at his face as tears begin to fall, embarrassed to show such weakness in front of his brother. Vash is the crybaby, not him. He’s the strong one, the responsible one, the only one left to take care of his naive, foolish, kind hearted brother.
How long do they sit there in the sand, holding each other, crying until the tears no longer fall? Until the desert air dries them out into sandy little husks? Neither of them are too sure, but of course it’s Nai who stands up first, wipes his face and dusts off his clothes, and instructs Vash to help him salvage anything useful from the wreckage. There isn’t much. There is, however, a photo tucked lovingly in their cryopod.
When did she even have time to put this in here? Nai thinks, refusing to let himself get misty eyed once again, even as his brother snivels beside him. It’s a photo of the three of them- Rem, Nai, and Vash. A photo of their family.
-
Cloaks that protected them from the cold also do well to shade them from the heat of multiple suns. The twins found themselves walking in an arbitrary direction ( It’s not arbitrary, it’s based on presumed trajectory of the other ships , Nai explained. You’re just guessing, Vash replied) in search of, well, anything, really. People. Plants. Wreckage of other ships. Food and water even, though eating and drinking isn’t strictly necessary for individual plants, who are a source of energy themselves.
“Nai, I’m thirsty,” Vash whines, tugging the hood of his cloak further over this face to block out the brightness and heat.
Eating and drinking aren’t necessary, but it sure makes things easier.
“I know, Vash,” Nai responds, exasperated, “I’ve known the past ten times you’ve said so.” The wreckage of their crashed ship is long behind them now, the only evidence of the distance they traveled being a long line of tracks in the sand. There’s nothing ahead, and nothing behind, only sand, sand, and more sand.
“Uwah, we’re gonna shrivel up into jerky if we don’t find water soon. Or food, I’m so hungry I feel hollow!” Vash clutches his stomach as they trudge along, and Nai wearily wonders how his brother has energy for such dramatics.
Before he can respond, however, the twins feel a rumbling beneath their feet, stopping them in their tracks. The sand trembles and shifts minutely, a sensation that humans would miss underneath the soles of their shoes, but something that is as plain as day to Vash and Nai’s keen senses. They only exchange one look before they take off towards the direction of the vibrations.
“Maybe we should be more careful,” Nai pants, even as he keeps pace with Vash, who’s running just a tad ahead, “we don’t even know who or what is out there. It could be dangerous.”
“We’re dead meat if we don’t find something soon, anyways!” Vash exclaims, sounding far too cheerful despite his words. Over-exciteable oaf.
Something shiny glints in the horizon, finally coming into view, a break in the monotonous scenery that’s been seared into their eyes for hours. A motor rumbles and coughs, the vehicle in the distance a crude excuse of machinery compared to the spaceship that had served as their home, but at least it’s a sign of life, proof that they weren’t the only ones to survive the Fall.
“Hey! Over here! We’re over here!” Vash shouts and jumps, waving his arms wildly to grab the vehicles attention. Just when it seems like the car was going to pass them by, it takes a sudden sharp turn, skidding across the sand. A cloud of dirt and sand spews from behind the wheels as they grind into uneven earth. The groaning bucket of bolts cruises towards them, too fast, too haphazardly, and Nai grabs Vash’s sleeve, yanking him back, causing them both to tumble onto the ground.
The car comes to a grinding halt just a few feet away from the twins, who simultaneously swallow in fear as they look up for the ground. Voices can be heard arguing from within.
“What in Hell are ya doin’, drivin’ like a madwoman! You tryin’ to get us all killed!?”
“Oh hush now, Rufus, you saw those two little things out here by their lonesome! What was I s’posed to do, just drive on by?”
“Of course y’where! They’re probably bandit bait!”
“No chance! I trust my woman’s intuition- oh, now where did they go?”
“Probably under the tires of this vehicle, with how you were drivin’.”
The car doors swing open, and two people step out. One large woman, an apron tied around her waist seeming out of place over top an oil and dirt stained jumpsuit, and one short man, a large hat shading his eyes and covering his balding head. Both of them have guns strapped to their back, and Vash and Nai instinctively scoot closer to each other for comfort.
“There you are- oh!” The woman steps forward with a gasp, placing a hand to her mouth. The twin boys on the ground are like nothing she’s ever seen before. Even with their clothes stained by sand from their travels through the desert, they’re still whiter than any fresh linen ever made. Their skin is pale, as if it’s never seen a day under the unforgiving suns. Their eyes glimmer like fresh water, and their hair shines like soft downy feathers. They almost bring a tear to her eyes. “Why… you both look like little angels!”
While Vash and Nai share a surprised look, the woman’s companion, ‘Rufus’, it would seem, grabs his belt and eyes the woman at his side.
“They jus’ look like half starved lil’ worms to me. Ya gonna jus’ stand there and gawk, woman, or are ya gonna help them?” His smart mouth earns him a smack upside his head.
“Now, don’t you worry, you two. My name is Maebelle Grizzle but folks just call me Ol’ Mama Grizz, and I’m here to help y’all out. What’s your names, boys? And where’s your family?” Mama Grizz asks as she kneels in the sand in front of the twins.
Vash chews on his lip before finally responding. “I’m Vash, and this is my brother Nai. Our family… is gone. We’re all alone.”
Mama Grizz lets out an emotional wail as he grabs the boys in a bone-snapping hug. “Now, that’s just too darn sad! Don’t worry boys! You won’t be alone no more!” Rufus only rolls his eyes and jumps back into the truck. Damn bleeding heard of a woman he married.
Vash and Nai are stuffed into the backseat of the vehicle before Mama Grizz jumps behind the wheel again, her driving no less chaotic with the addition of precious cargo. It’s Rufus who hands the boys over a canteen of water, to which they scuffle over who gets the first drink.
“Now as much as I would love to keep you little angels around, we have too many mouths to feed at home,” Mama Grizz explains, looking at the two through her rear view mirror. The boys stop their bickering, and Vash takes a large gulp of water before responding.
“We’re not staying with you, Mama Grizz?” He asks, a small frown on his newly wetted lips. Nai stares at him with something akin to exasperation. How can Vash already feel attached to these people they just met? He snatches the canteen from Vash and takes his own sip, nearly spitting it back out as soon as he does. The water tastes… dirty , but perhaps he should have expected that. Everything on this planet seems dirty. He swallows his mouthful of water with a grimace, and hands it back to Vash, who heartily takes another sip.
“Oh, don’t you tug on Ol’ Mama Grizz’s heartstrings like that!” She squeals, jerking the steering wheel as he places one hand on her cheek bashfully.
“Eyes on the damn road, woman!” Rufus shouts, jerking the wheel straight again, only to get his hands slapped away as Mama Grizz resumes driving.
“But don’t worry, I know just the place for boys like you.” Mama Grizz glances out the window, and the boys follow her gaze. Overlooking a small, dry town is a large building stretching atop a rocky plateau. “That there is Hopeland Orphanage. Only the kindest of folks work there. And with your looks, I reckon you two will be snapped up by a real family in no time at all.”
Vash glances at Nai, who returns his look. One hand finds another, and they hold on tight. This isn’t the world they expected, but they’re here now, here together, and they owe it to Rem to survive.