Wow, another chapter! No one is more amazed than me. Yes, Pyrosprite64, this thing is, sadly enough, developing a plot!! Thanks to Legato and Katrina Mama for giving me some good ideas in your reviews (sorry, I was just too tired from having the flu to work in the bubbles thing - maybe next chapter) and thanx to everyone else who read --- keep reviewing!!!

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"Midvalley, how many times do I have to tell you? Don't put your pink shirt in with my white coat! Now look what you've done! It's all...pinkish..." Legato grimaced at Hornfreak, holding out his once pristine white coat and sighing hopelessly as his golden eyes adjusted to the new pink tone. "I have to get a new one now. Again."

"Legato, that thing really isn't machine washable," complained the saxophone player in return, sporting the object of Legato's troubles and fingering the tears in the sleeve. "The metal spikes on the shoulder rip up anything that you put in with it."

"That's why I have them. They're supposed to ensure no one else puts their clothes in with it and accidentally die it another color."

"So that's what they're for?" Wolfwood had now chimed in. "I always thought that maybe you had them up there like a sort of weather vane or something."

Ah, once again, it was gun-ho gun laundry day, and the various members had collected down in the recesses of Knives' lair to perform a badly needed ceremony - washing their clothes. As usual, Midvalley had confused everyone else's load with his and Legato was complaining about the color changes in his wardrobe while Wolfwood watched idly on.

Knives always oversaw all that went on until boredom overcame him and he resorted to taking just a short catnap. This time was no exception, and although he had vowed to watch Legato with specific care, he figured that there was nothing within arm's length that he could eat, and, therefore, there was no harm in just resting his eyes for a while...

"Hey, looks like Knives is taking his nap, just on schedule," murmured Midvalley in a low tone. "Say....Wolfwood...now would be a good time to do that thing we talked about..."

"What thing?" queried Legato in amusement. He didn't remember hearing about any 'thing'.

Wolfwood started to squirm nervously under that golden-eyed gaze. "Er...nothing, Legato." And he and Midvalley were out of sight in seconds.

So, left to his own devices, Legato sulked as he washed. His stomach was rumbling, and without the bickering of his companions to drown it out, he found he was even more hungry than usual. "A little too much," he murmured, coughing on the powdered soap that rose in a pink cloud from his recent attempt at laundry. "Blah..." he made a face, wheezing as he breathed some in. "It tastes... Hmm...kinda like....strawberry?" He checked the box. "Strawberry scented soap. Hey - it tastes like strawberry even more than it smells like it!"

Knives snorted gently in his sleep.

Alarmed and feeling a bit guilty, Legato immediately cowered in the corner, shivering with the fear that his new favorite snack might be taken away. Shoveling a handful of it into his mouth, he pulled Mr. Snacky closer and glanced furtively at his still sleeping master.

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Vash seemed slightly annoyed when Meryl replayed all of Legato's messages back, not at all as amused as she had expected him to be. In fact, she was even surprised to find him clenching his jaw angrily at the seventh marriage proposal. Then again, having him seem a little jealous did brighten her day a bit...

"That Mr. Legato really seems to like you, Meryl," chimed in Millie, who was standing nearby, beaming in her forever cheerful manner. "Aww...he wants you to be his queen of evil and darkness. Isn't that cute?"

"I don't think any of this is very cute," grumbled Vash. "I think I should go talk to Knives about this or something..."

Meryl scowled at him. "Since when do you care?"

"Since....uh...hmm....." He blushed furiously and turned to march out the door. Fuming over Legato, over Legato's boldness and stupidity, over Knives' entire plot to destroy the human race, he walked on and on to where his brother resided. In fact, by the time he got there and located an annoying little boy who pointed him to where Knives was in the washing room, he had worked himself up into such a fury that he was even finding himself angry about the fact that donuts had holes in the middle. He didn't want a hollow middle! He wanted the WHOLE thing! Why should he pay more for less? For something that was missing its center?!

"Knives!" he barked, startling his twin awake.

The other man sat up quickly in the pile of dirty clothes, looking this way and that in shock until he spotted Vash no more than two yards away. "What are you doing here? Finally come to your senses, brother?"

"No, I've come to tell you to call off that psycho of yours. He won't leave Meryl alone. He thinks he loves her."

"Legato? Loving a spider? I thought he was different..." Knives frowned in disappointment. "Wait a second...did you see Legato on your way in?"

"No."

"He should be here." Even as he was speaking, Knives' eyes fell upon the empty soap box in the corner and he groaned. "Oh great... I leave him alone for five seconds and he eats the first thing he can get his hands. I won't be surprise if I'm missing a few pairs of socks tomorrow."

"Do you think he went to go get Meryl?" inquired Vash nervously.

"Hey, why not? Soap does strange things to one's mind. Remember that one time Rem washed your mouth out with soap because you told her to -"

"Hey!" Vash waved his hands sheepishly. "No need to bring up the past like that!"

"Funny to hear that coming from you."

Vash scratched his head sheepishly. "Well..."

"Listen, Vash, I know you'll be crawling back to that spider of yours soon, so would you do me a favor and retrieve Legato while you're there? Just drop him off at the door or something." Knives yawned and settled back into the pile of clothes again. "Thanks."

Vash couldn't believe the way his brother just drifted off like that! Didn't he care at all?! Well, considering it was Knives, it shouldn't have come as such a shock. Vash decided it was time to buckle down and make his brother get involved.

"Knives," he declared, "I think you should be the one to pick up Legato. I'll stay here and watch over your house while you go get him. He's your servant, your problem, and since you think you're so high and mighty, why don't YOU try to face down an angry insurance woman with a lunatic at her door!"

Knives could only blink in rapid surprise.

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So...there he was. Standing at the human's door. Wiping a spot on the door off with a handkerchief to sanitize the area, gingerly knocking upon the wood which had touched so many other human's hands. He shuddered at that thought and quickly sprayed some antibacterial gel on his hand.

A very angry looking female opened the door, balking at the sight of him. "What do you want?" she demanded, glaring at him.

He raised an eyebrow. How could Legato be attracted to such an incredibly horrid creature...? "I believe Legato is to be found somewhere around here," Knives explained in his haughty way that only he could master. "I'd like him back now."

"He's not here."

"Just let me step inside and see for myself if he really -" Knives stopped in mid-sentence when the door slammed in his face, nearly catching his toes in its tremendous swing. He jumped back with a gasp. "How dare that little..."

Off to the left, something blue caught his eye.

Slinking up to the window, Knives rose onto his tiptoes and peered into the window, growling at the sight before him. Legato was in Meryl's kitchen, rummaging through the refrigerator, and violating his diet with a hungry passion. "Worthless spider!" he growled, tapping with restrained anger on the window.

Legato's head turned slightly at the noise, and Knives held some satisfaction at seeing how he almost choked on his turkey drumstick when he saw his master's furious face pressed against the glass.

"You better get out here now!" mouthed Knives, and he saw how the psychopath shook his head violently in protest. Then, apparently hearing Meryl coming, Legato scurried out of sight and down a flight of stairs that Knives' assumed led to the basement.

"So she doesn't know he's there..." murmured Knives thoughtfully. "There's gotta be something I can do about this..."

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Meanwhile, back at Knives' fortress, Vash was wandering around and trying to see what his brother did that kept him so wrapped up in his evil plans. Everyone seemed to be avoiding him, unsure of what he was doing there and how they should treat him. "I thought my brother would at least have evil minions," he complained, and a bit loudly at that.

Wolfwood, who was in Knives' bedroom with Midvalley, lifted his head at the familiar voice. "What the heck is tongari doing here?" he demanded, stuffing the last of Knives' clothes back into the drawer. "Darn it! He can't see me here! It'll ruin the whole plan! Come on, Midvalley, in the closet!"

"Hold on a moment!" protested the jazz musician, feet skidding against the floorboards as the priest pushed him into the confining space and slammed the door shut.

Vash sauntered into his brother's bedroom and determined what it was correctly. Curiously, he began to poke around, glancing under the bed, at the objects strewn across the room, and even opening the drawers to the dresser. "Everything's pink..." he observed with amusement, sifting through his brother's wardrobe.

In the closet, Midvalley snickered.

Wolfwood elbowed him.

Vash soon lost interest in the contents of his twin's room and moved on, allowing the two men in hiding to stumble out.

"Well, that reaction wasn't as funny as I'd hoped," remarked Wolfwood, brushing some dust off his sleeve.

"You know Knives. He'll throw more of a fit. And just think about when he actually has to wear the stuff. Eh? Eh? That'll be funny!"

Nodding his agreement, Wolfwood accompanied Midvalley out of the room, chuckling and shoving his partner in crime.

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As always, reviews and ideas are welcome...