Fan fiction: Trigun
Written by: t2
Reunion and Reminiscence
Quote (Aimee): "It's not that I don't feel faint when I gaze into your eyes, it's not that I don't get an enchanting chill down my spine when you hold me in your arms, it's no that my heart doesn't race when your lips are pressed against my own, because these things will always be when you are with me, but your kind and gentle nature can only be found when I am here with you. After the way you treated your own brother, I can not feel the way I felt about you before, without fearing for my life."
Aimee continued on her exhausting journey to find Knives, and she ran faster still as she began to approach her final destination. She had run for nearly 15 miles, the thought of seeing him once again quenching the fire that burned in her lungs and throat. She leapt over the top of the mountain to the cliff where he would be found, and stopped. Her heart began to race when she saw him sitting there, and all of her emotion broke free and flooded the area all around them. Knives, sensing her presence, turned and looked at her, with that look that he carried with him everywhere. That loathing gaze that showed his animosity towards the human race, and his desire to destroy them all. Aimee, startled by his gaze, jumped and gasped, eyes quivering. Knives' expression turned sweet and innocent in the same instant he realized she was there. The evil making his face hideous and ugly, left, leaving his face younger-looking and handsome again.
"Aims?", he asked as he looked at her longingly. He stood up and faced her, eyes glittering, as she ran and embraced him. Knives held her tightly, allowing the moment to consume him from the inside out. Aimee sighed blissfully at his touch, and rested her head on his shoulder, clinging to him. Knives softly kissed her forehead and hugged her gently. "It's been too long since I last saw you, at least 10 years." He let out a breath of air and stroked her soft blonde hair with his scarred hand, laying his head on hers.
"And I've missed you as well. I can't bear being away from you for so long a time. My heart is torn apart. It has been since the day it all happened…. the day I lost you,… eternally……..." Her words faded as she remembered all that had gone on that day, the day he changed forever……
* * *
They didn't look more than 10 or 12 years old, and Knives was as gentle as kindhearted as Vash, in those days. Knives and Aimee were sitting under the apple tree in the rec room, talking and wondering about so many different things, while Rem sat Vash down in an old barber's chair to cut his hair.
"Will it hurt, Rem?", Vash asked nervously as he climbed into the worn leather chair. Rem smiled and chuckled at his childish questions.
"No, not at all.", she replied as she tied an apron around his neck and began to snip away. She turned to Knives and said, "It won't be long now, Knives. Then it's your turn." Knives looked up casually from his conversation with Aimee and gave her a half-hearted smile, then looked away quickly. Silence fell between Aimee and Knives, and she lay her head down on his shoulder to rest. He kissed the top of her head gently, and began to think to himself. Why am I here? What is my purpose? Why do I exist? His earlier conversation with Vash ran reiterate in his head. "Do you think I'll ever be eaten Vash?" "Of course not; definitely not, Knives." "Then why am I here?" He growled silently and looked up at the apple tree, Aimee asleep on his shoulder.
Vash's long golden locks fell to the floor, one by one, and when she was done, she smiled and said, "I didn't notice it before, but you're a very handsome young boy, Vash."
"You think so?", he asked, eyes full of interest.
"Hey! I've got an idea.", she spoke out suddenly. She grabbed a container of hair gel, and spiked his hair straight up. "There.", she said cheerfully, and held a mirror out in front of Vash's face so he could see her masterpiece.
"It's stickin' up!", he exclaimed when he saw it.
"You look like,….. him.", she said softly, yet dreamily.
"Who?", Vash asked curiously.
"Someone I once loved,….. very, very much….."
"Where is he now, Rem?"
"He's in a better place, the land of angels, where everything is simply perfect."
"I won't leave you Rem..."
"What's that Vash?"
He stuttered when he spoke, but continued his statement. "I won't leave you because….. because I love you Rem! I'll take care of you, I promise!"
Rem chuckled at his declaration of love and said to him, "You are such a cute little boy.", and tapped the tip of his nose with her index finger.
Aimee was resting peacefully, when Knives arose to leave. He gently lay her down under the tree, stroked her face gently with his knuckles, then left. Vash and Rem arrived shortly after his departure.
"Aimee?", Rem asked as she gently shook her awake. "Where's Knives?"
"What?", she asked sleepily, her gray-blue eyes half open. "He was just here a second ago,…. I'm not sure.", she said to them as she stood to her feet. "Where did he go?", she asked as she looked around.
Knives sat in a chair in the observation room, cutting his hair with a knife, all the while, contemplating his existence. When he had finished, he sat back in his chair and stabbed the apple he had brought with him with the knife he had been using to cut his hair; it dropped to the floor. "You stupid monster! You're not supposed to be in here!", Steve yelled as he kicked Knives repeatedly. "Get out now! Before you destroy us all!"
"They'll pay, they'll all pay!", he said angrily to himself. His eyes changed as he thought about how Steve had mistreated him. Vash interrupted his thoughts when he entered the room.
"I figured you'd be in here. What happened? And what'd you do to your hair?"
"Oh, nothing,…", he replied casually. "Just a simple change of heart. Besides, if we look and act the same there's no individuality, right?", he smirked as he asked the question, a devious look in his eyes. Vash gasped silently and Aimee walked up behind him.
"Oh there you are. You were starting to worry me, Knives.", she said serenely.
Knives stood and approached her. He smiled and said, "What a silly thing to do. Why would you worry?", he asked mysteriously as he wrapped his arms around her waist and tickled her.
Aimee giggled with amusement, saying, "Come on Knives! Knock it off!". He obeyed, and began to whisper in her ear, arms still around her waist. Aimee listened intently for a while, then started to laugh uncontrollably. When she had stopped, Knives let her go, and she turned to them both and said, "C'mon. It's time to meet with the others. We'd better get going." As the three left for the dining room, Aimee said to them, "I like both of your haircuts. They really suit you two!"
"Thanks a lot Aims!", Vash replied.
"And I especially like yours.", she said to Knives as she fingered his chin and smiled. He caressed her face with his eyes and smiled back.
"I'm glad you like it.", he replied, beaming. As Vash watched them together, and found himself distraught. He was thinking about Rem, and how she had denied him. His heart sank when he thought about how she would never think of him as anything more than a mere boy.
………………………………............................................................................................................
"The ship's courses seem to have been re-plotted. We're going to crash!", Rem said frantically. Vash's eyes began to augment, and Knives ran into the control room where Vash and Rem were.
"Where's Dick?", Rem asked the instant he arrived.
"He said we should go on ahead, then he shot himself.", Knives replied.
"We have to get to the escape pods now!", Rem exclaimed. "Knives! Go get Aimee. She's in her room sleeping!"
"Sure thing!", he replied and ran to her room and picked her up, hesitating before he left. Am I doing the right thing?, he thought to himself. She wouldn't approve of this… So what. She doesn't need to know. He ran out of her room and met Rem and Vash in the hangar. They threw on their space suits, then Rem shooed them into one of the pods, hesitating before she entered.
"C'mon, Rem!", Vash yelled frantically. Rem just stood there, lost in thought; then she decided. Alex, give me the strength to do this on my own. I'll be with you shortly. She began to close the space pod, and Vash cried out to her. "Rem! What are you waiting for! Hurry up and get in!"
"I'm not coming with you."
"Rem! No!"
"Vash! Take care of Aimee and Knives! Take care of them!" Vash began to cry uncontrollably when the space pod closed completely.
"No! Rem,…" Vash's voice began to fade out as he fell to the floor, and the pod was launched. Vash stared out the window of the pod, watching the ship that Rem had so rashly decided to stay behind on. The ship entered the atmosphere, and then exploded and evaporated.
"REM!", Vash screamed at the sight. "NO!" He again collapsed onto the floor, crying hysterically. He began to desperately call out her name. With Aimee asleep and unable to hear Knives speak, he began to laugh evilly. "How pathetic. Humans are so weak. They all need to die."
"You… You did this?", Vash asked irately, his expression showing his animosity.
"Got that right. I figured I'd spare that girl for you, Rem? Because you seemed so attached to her, but I'm glad she's gone. She was weak, and stupid for staying behind to save those humans."
Vash leapt up at him when he heard this, trying to choke him. "You take that back!", he yelled, but Knives just hit him and threw him into the wall.
"Fool!", he yelled. "They hated us! They all need to die!", his rancor towards the human race finally showing through; the computer's voice sounded over the loudspeaker. "Ship's courses restored."
"What!?", Knives yelled out loud. "Reverse thrusters!?" The ships began to regain their route of travel. "I don't believe it! That piece of work actually did it."
Aimee awoke then, eyes full of fear. "What's happening? Why are we in the escape pod?"
Knives' expression changed when he saw her, and he sat down next to her. "The ships courses were re-plotted by someone. We had to evacuate the ship."
"What about the rest of the crew? Where's Rem?", she asked fearfully.
"She's dead!", Vash yelled out. Aimee gasped, and her eyes began to well up with tears.
Knives held her close. "Just go back to sleep. We'll wake you when we land." Aimee nodded, then rested her head on his shoulder and cried herself to sleep.
"Aren't you going to tell her?", Vash asked callously.
"I'm sure she'll find out sooner or later.", Knives replied coldly. Vash closed his eyes and cried silently.
When the ship had some to crash on a desert planet destined to be the new earth, Knives went and awakened Vash, who had been knocked unconscious. "Vash,…. Vash!", he said shaking him awake; Vash finally came to.
"C'mon Vash. Stand up already." Vash clenched his fist and growled under his breath at the sound of his voice.
"Let's go!" Vash suddenly jumped up, staring at him in disgust.
"Hey!", Knives yelled. "Don't be that way! We're the only ones left here; we should at least try to act like brothers."
Vash growled out loud and punched the ground. "Murderer! Your whole life is a lie!", he yelled, his voice shaking. "You killed Rem, the crew! You killed them all!" Aimee awoke from her unconscious state that moment, hearing Vash's accusation. She silently gasped as she listened intently for the rest of the conversation.
Knives chuckled and grinned evilly, his pupils diminishing. "Yeah, spectacular, huh? They all died! Every last one of them. Except for the few that'll survive because of Rem's incessant meddling."
Vash closed his eyes, trying to hold back the tears trying so desperately to escape. "Knives,.. You! You're not human!"
Knives kicked him in the face at that. "Got that right!", he yelled as he continued to beat him. "I don't believe you! How could you? I'm anything but that! Never compare me to them!", he finished, and stopped beating him. He sighed crossly and said, "You're nothing but garbage. One day I'll destroy all of humanity, and only we will be left."
It was then Aimee emerged from her hiding place and ran to Vash's aid. "Vash! Oh my gosh! Vash are you alright?", she asked fearfully as she sat him upright, leaning him against her knee and cradling him with her arms. She turned to Knives with a horrified expression on her face. "Knives, I… I…,", she stuttered as she tried to find the right words to describe how she felt, but instead, she just stared at him, appalled.
Knives' expression changed once more, when he saw her expression of horror towards him. He looked at her, hurt. "Aims?", he asked worriedly. "What's wrong?"
"Don't give me that!", she yelled crossly. "You know what you've done wrong and you had no right to do it!…….. I don't see how you could have ever thought what you did was right!…", she paused for a moment, and Knives looked at her sincerely. "Aimee, I.."
"No! Stop it! There's more….", she began to cry as she continued talking. "Something about you has changed. I could tell by the way you looked at them after that. I could see it in your eyes; you looked at them loathingly, like you wanted to destroy them, each and every one. And now I know, because I've seen with my own eyes. You are not the same person I once loved so completely; he has been kidnapped and replaced by someone I never knew."
Knives' eyes began to quiver and well up with tears. "So what are you trying to say? You don't love me anymore? Because I still love you, and I always will."
Aimee looked up at him, eyes smiling, but her face frightened. . "It's not that I don't feel faint when I gaze into your eyes, it's not that I don't get an enchanting chill down my spine when you hold me in your arms, it's no that my heart doesn't race when your lips are pressed against my own, because these things will always be when you are with me, but your kind and gentle nature can only be found when I am here with you. After the way you treated your own brother, I can not feel the way I felt about you before, without fearing for my life." Knives looked at her fearfully, waiting to hear her solution. "I'm sorry, but I can't stay with you. I now see that Vash must be protected, and also the rest of mankind.", tears began to stream down her face as she stood to leave, carrying Vash in her arms. "This is goodbye. We will meet again, I promise. "She turned and left, without looking back, and Knives went the opposite way, angry and hurt, plotting his revenge on the human race.
* * *
Knives and Aimee sat on the edge of the half-mile high cliff in silence, enjoying each other's company. "So, how've you been?", he asked as he looked over at her.
"Busy…. Same ol' same ol'. I think you know."
"You mean making sure my brother stay's alive?"
She nodded her head in reply. "I promised. Besides,…", she fell silent for a while, and the memories of everything Vash had promised her came rolling back………….
* * *
Vash walked among the wreckage in the center of town, making sure the villain had been destroyed, while Aimee took care of burying the few that had died in the accident. The townspeople began work on repairing the destroyed homes and businesses. Later that night, the two stood on a bridge by the river bay, side by side, looking out over the ships coming and going through the harbor. Aimee sighed heavy-heartedly, and Vash looked over at her. "What's the matter? Is something bothering you?"
"Of course there is,..", she replied, her gaze lost in her thoughts. "He's never going to change….", her voice began to tremble and her eyes began to tear. "…. He'll never be the same person he once was. Never…", she began to cry, and Vash pulled her close, hugging her gently.
I know exactly how you feel. I know exactly what you're going through,
he thought to himself. At that moment, he felt something strange, something he hadn't felt for quite some time. Oh my gosh! I love her!, he thought to himself. "It's gonna' be alright.", he said calmly."I know exactly how you felt all those years ago….", she said softly as she wrapped her arms around him, clutching him tightly. Vashs' cheeks flushed light rose and he sharply drew in a breath of air at her touch. "I really thought he'd be back someday, but it's hopeless. He's gone forever, just like Rem…. What am I going to do? What am I going to do……" He clutched her tighter, kissing the top of her head. Aimee gasped silently when she felt a stirring within the depths of her heart, for where it stirred, was a place only one other person could have ever reached, and that person was Knives. I love him. Oh my gosh!, she thought to herself.
"I'll take care of you.", Vash spoke softly to her. "I promise, I'll take care of you, forever. I'll protect you… You've already made your promise to take care of me, now it's my turn. I promise to look out for you, until the day I die. Knives may have let you down, but I won't." Neither of them had to say it, they just knew that they loved each other.
"What if Knives finds out? What will he do?", Aimee asked as she looked up at him, eyes full of worry. Vash gazed back into her beautiful gray-blue eyes and couldn't help but smile. "Don't worry about it. I know you still care for him, and you always will. I can't change that, and neither can you."
* * *
Knives sighed thoughtfully, then looked over at her. "I know he promised to protect you, and you promised to protect him." He slid his arm around her waist and pulled her over to him. She took his hand, interlocking her fingers with his, then lay her chin gently on his shoulder. "I know you care about him,", he continued on. "And I know he cares for you, but as long as you and I are alive, we can't help but be drawn to one another." He kissed her forehead, closing his eyes.
"This is all so surreal. Every time this happens, I start to think, It's you! But then, a few days after, I hear about another evil thing you've done." Knives opened his eyes and lifted his head as she looked up at him. "Don't you miss this? We used to have time like this that never ended. Do you remember?", she asked him as she brushed her nose across his cheek. He smiled as he remembered the days when all they did was what they were doing now. Sitting, talking, loving each other and enjoying their company, but those days had long been expunged from their lives.
"I do miss those days…….", he spoke softly, lost in his daydreams. Aimee reached up and kissed him passionately. Her blood ran hot, and her heart raced like mad, her emotions stirring so wildly that she thought it couldn't possibly be real. Knives placed his hand on her face, returning her expression of love and desire, wishing that the moment could last forever, but knowing that it could not . Time passed quickly, and they remained that way for some time unknown, until Knives backed off and said softly to her, "I love you……. You are the only way I can remain human, and for that I love you even more; however, you know I can't change."
Aimee slowly nodded her head. "We should just run away and go somewhere where we'd be together forever!"
Knives shook his head and looked at her lovingly. "As much as I want to and wish I could, I can't because of who I am." He softly kissed her, and she felt faint when he did. Aimee chuckled to herself.
"What are you laughing about?", Knives asked curiously.
"Do you remember the time when we were all in town, Vash snuck into the doughnut store and stole 4 dozen doughnuts from Mrs. Radbuck?"
Knives laughed at the thought of little Vash being chased out of the store by that crazy old lady with a rolling pin. "Yeah, needless to say, he had to find another place to buy doughnuts from after that." The both of them laughed. "So does he still eat those things like he used to?", he asked her.
"Heck ya. He'd probably go through a dozen a day, if I'd let him get away with it."
Knives chuckled to himself and smiled lovingly at his beautiful lover. A small part of him, the only part of him left that still cared for her, wished so badly to change, just for her, but the person he had become was just too strong for him to fight. He rubbed her arm gently with his hand, burying his nose in her hair and kissing her head. Aimee sat there, deep in thought, remembering the one time Vash had failed to save her, and wondering who her rescuer had been.
* * *
"Don't move! If you do, I'll throw her over!", the maniac threatened. Vash stood there hopelessly, staring at Aimee, who was the hostage this time around. Up on the spaceship, which was stationed high up in the planet's weather layer, things like this never happened, but now…. This was different. It was becoming apparent that Knives was after him. It's my life or hers, he thought to himself as his mind desperately searched for another solution, but there was none. He glared at the man and growled under his breath, taking a step closer to them.
"I wouldn't do that again, otherwise……", the man held her out over the edge of the heliport. Aimee screamed out in terror. "Vash, help me! Oh God, Please!"
"No! Aimee!", he yelled frantically.
The man chuckled evilly. "Awwww. Wouldn't it be a terrible thing if she accidentally fell from here? Plummeting to her death….", the man laughed evilly , and Vash broke into a run, tackling the man. Aimee was thrown back onto the ship, and the man threw Vash off of him, grabbing Aimee's arm. "Where do you think you're going? I have to keep all of my promises, little lady.", he said coldly, then he threw her over the edge; Aimee let out a loud, piercing scream.
"Aimee! No!", Vash screamed as he watched her fall. The sound of her screaming out his name in terror, faded quickly as she fell for miles in the sky. Vash's eyes welled up with tears. "You… How dare YOU!", he yelled as he stood to his feet and faced the man, drawing his gun and holding the cold barrel to his head. He hesitated, standing there petrified for a moment, until a shot rang out; the man fell limp, and Vash turned to see the Doc standing in the doorway, pistol still smoking. He looked painfully at Vash, who had fallen to his knees, crying hysterically. "She's gone, Doc….. she's gone….. I failed her….", he said over and over, his sobs breaking up his words.
Aimee awoke in a desert now far from a nearby town, amazed she wasn't dead. As she looked around, she noticed she was in a tent, and a cantine of water sat on the ground next to her. She also noticed the cold, damp cloth that had been resting on her forehead, and the bandages on her arms. Someone had obviously saved her life, but who?
* * *
Whoever it was, I'm very grateful to them
, she thought to herself."You know,", Knives spoke up, "For every time I've let you down, Vash has made it up to you somehow,… but it's interesting…", his words trailed off, and Aimee asked curiously, "What's interesting?"
"For the one time he's let you down, I've made it up to you by saving your life, and you didn't even realize it."
Aimee gasped silently. "You!? Your were the one who saved my life?"
Knives nodded. "That's right. I was passing by and I saw you falling, so I caught you. I even took most of the bumps and bruises from your fall. I nursed you back to health, watching over you for three days before you finally awoke,… but by the time you woke up, I was gone, and when I came back, so were you. I figured you were alright, that I'd see you again eventually anyways. Guess I was right…." He gently stroked her cheek with his index finger.
"How is it….", Aimee started. "How is it that you can save my life, then in the same action, so easily take the life of another person?"
Knives looked away, unable to look at her when he answered. "You are the only person in this life, let alone on this planet, that I care about. Everyone else, those blasted humans! I hate4 them! They never liked us, and they never will. Therefore, they should die.", he said, his eyes flashing from blue, to red, then back to blue again.
Aimee shivered at his answer, sliding his arm off of her and looked away as her eyes started to tear. "Your answer's always the same. Why can't you just forgive and forget?"
"I can't. I can't let go of it.", he looked at her, his eyes still flashing. She looked deep into his eyes and said, "I think I should be going, then.", and started to leave.
"No! Don't go!", Knives said suddenly as he grabbed her arm. "We don't have to talk. We can just sit here, but please, just don't go yet. I don't know when I'll see you next."
She gazed back into his crystal clear blue eyes. "Alright. Just a while longer.", she said as she sat down next to him. She snuggled up close to him, sighed and lay her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes. He kissed the top of her head gently, then looked out over the city below, Aimee resting peacefully on his shoulder.
When she had returned to the city, she entered Vash's room, quietly closing the door behind her. She stood there for a while, thinking about the time she had just spent with Knives, until she was drawn out of her trance by Vash's gentle call. "Rem… Rem….", he said softly in his sleep. Aimee smiled, walked over to the chair by his bedside and sat down, running her fingers thought his soft blonde hair. His tense body relaxed as she gently rubbed his head, watching over him as a mother watches over her child, but acting as his guardian angel. Oh Vash, she thought to herself as she pushed aside the tears welling up in her eyes. Don't even go there Aimee. You have to be strong, for him. She watched him lovingly, rubbing his head, until her eyes drooped shut, and she fell into a deep sleep.
Vash awoke the next morning and found her asleep in the chair by his bedside, her arm laying limp on his bed. He climbed out of bed, picked her up, and lay her down on the bed. He pulled the bed sheets up over her body, tucking her in and kissing her forehead, then went and dressed himself. As he wandered around the room, buttoning up his coat, he glanced over at her. She was sleeping peacefully; she lay on her side, curled up under the bed sheets, with her head nestled comfortably on the frumpled pillow resting beneath her chin. He smiled to himself at the sight. She hasn't changed a bit., he thought to himself. He saw that her hair, which was normally perfectly wavy, was messed and straighter. I guess she must've found Knives. He chuckled at his brother's sensitivity towards her and buttoned up the last button around his neck. "Sometimes he makes himself seem human." He walked over to the bed and lay down next to her on top of the bed sheets. He put his hands behind his head and crossed one ankle across his knee. While he waited for her to wake up, he lay there, deep in thought about what he would say to Knives when he finally confronted him. From the other side of the door, Milly and Meryll watched Vash intently. They closed the door silently and Meryll sighed.
"It's good to see that Aimee made it back safely. Gosh, she was out late last night. I wonder what she was doing?…" Milly looked down at Meryll. "What's wrong Meryll?"
"Huh? Oh,… it's nothing.", she replied nervously, and sadly looked away from her.
About thirty minutes later, Aimee's eyes flittered open, looking around the room sleepily. Vash looked over at her when she rolled over onto her back, sighing heavily. "Well good morning sleepyhead!", he said as he smiled broadly. She stared up at the ceiling with a glazed look in her eyes and moaned.
"Long night?", he asked.
"Yeah.", she replied. She yawned, then sighed and looked over at him.
"So how'd it go?"
"Same ol', same ol'. He's never gonna change, and I'm finally starting to see that. It's just… I feel that all these years, I've been wasting my time trying to bring him back."
"Don't let yourself think that. You did all that you could; you can't force it upon him to change."
They lay there in silence for a moment before Aimee finally spoke up. "It's weird. I'm not sad this time. I just feel so numb…"
"You've moved past your frustration. That's good.", he replied and turned his attention skyward again.
"All I can do now, the only thing left, is for me to continue helping you and the rest of humanity. I can't let him go through with his plans for them."
Vash smiled at her as he stood to his feet and held out his hand to help her up. "That's my girl."
She threw off the bed sheets and took his hand, and he pulled her to her feet. Her boots clicked on the floor as she walked to the bathroom, brushed her teeth and fixed her hair, them walked back into the bedroom. "So are we done in this town?", she asked.
Vash nodded. "Yeah. We'd better get going. Folks in this town just want me gone, especially after yesterday's episode."
"I can imagine.", she said as she gathered her things. "That's nothing new, unfortunately."
Vash finished writing the note they would leave behind and set it on the table, then turned to her and said, "We can't let the girls know we're leaving. I know you can get out just fine, but it might be harder for me. You'll wait, right?"
"Of course.", she said as she put on her cowboy hat and gray cape. "See ya soon.", she said, putting on her sunglasses, then disappearing into the shadows. Vash silently left his room and crept to the door of the girls' room. He listened through the crack of the door for their voices, and left the instant he heard them talking; It was as though he had disappeared into thin air.
"I haven't heard from Aimee or Mr. Vash in hours.", Milly said to Meryll worriedly.
"It is strange….", Meryll thought aloud.
"Maybe we should go check on them."
"Good idea." They walked down the hall and stopped outside Vash's door. Meryll knocked and said, "Vash? You there?" When there was no reply, she opened the door to find and empty room. A simple piece of paper with a note remained on the desk. Meryll picked it up and read it to herself. Please don't come look for me, if you value your lives. Say goodbye to Wolfwood for me. -Vash. She growled and crumpled the paper in her hand in frustration. "No! He got us again! Milly! We leave right away! Gather your things! They can't be too far ahead of us!", she ordered as she stormed back into her room
"Meryll! Wait!", Milly pleaded with her.
"What!?", she yelled angrily.
"It's just,… I think he meant it this time."
"Milly it's our job! We have to go!"
Milly grabbed her arm. "I want a better excuse than that, Meryll. If all you cared about was our job, you wouldn't be acting as reckless as you are right now."
Meryll looked away from her and gazed out the door of the complex, her eyes and lip trembling. She bit her lip to try to make it stop, but her eyes just began to well up with tears. "You're right.", she replied, pushing back her tears. "I guess I've just grown a bit attached to him, and I want to make sure he's alright, I really want to!", she said as she turned to face her. Milly giggled and said, "It's just like my big sister always said. 'Follow your heart', she'd say. That's what she told me."
Meryll chuckled nervously. "Well then, lets get going." They gathered their things and rushed off to tail Vash, as always. As they were leaving, Wolfwood called out to them. "Did he leave already?"
"Yeah, he left a few hours ago, and we have to get going!", Meryll replied.
"Well, good luck you two! Stay safe! See ya soon!", he yelled back.
"Goodbye Mr. Wolfwood!", Milly yelled cheerfully as she waved ecstatically.
"See ya round sweetheart!", he replied. The two wandered off in the direction they hoped Vash had gone, while meanwhile, Vash and Aimee continued on to their next destination, searching for a place to stay and hoping the townspeople would be open to wanderers.
It's gotten pretty crazy without her around. I'm sure glad she's back.
, he thought to himself as he gazed over at her."Vash? You ok?", Aimee asked when she saw his lost gaze.
"What? Oh, I'm fine. Just glad to have you back, really.", he replied as he smiled at her. She returned the favor with a grin a mile wide and said, "Yeah, me too."
End…