'Master,' Legato thought, falling to the ground with tears in his eyes, blood quickly forming a puddle around him, 'I . . . have fulfilled your wishes. . . Please . . . do not forget the acts of loyalty I have made for you. . .' He smiled gently, though the hole in his head was painful, he was happy to do the greatest task his Master had set upon him, the pain was nothing compared to that of living day by day, unable to have his Master in the way he wanted. He would now be freed of that pain and be able to help his Master on his mission to destroy the mortal beings he so despised, even if it meant that, he too, must be destroyed.

'I. . . I. . . killed him,' Vash thought, eyes wide, as he stared down at the motionless body of Legato Bluesummers, the leader of the Gung-Ho-Guns, most loyal servant of his evil twin brother, Knives. 'Rem . . . . what am I supposed to do now. . . I. . . I know I've made you sad,' he thought, his own inner voice sounding desperate for an explanation for his actions, 'I didn't mean to do it, Rem. . . . I didn't mean to . . . he was going to kill them . . . the girls. . . Meryl and Milly . . . he was going to kill them. . . I-I couldn't let them die . . . Rem . . . . forgive me!' He doubled over, sobbing uncontrollably, tears flowing from his eyes, 'Forgive me. . .'

"Vash," Meryl whispered, placing a hand on his shoulder, "Vash . . . a-are you all right?" The gunman continued to shake, his obvious grief overcoming him, no sound coming from him, despite the thoughts running through his head. Meryl bit her lip, looking over at her friend, Milly, as if asking for help. The tall blonde tilted her head, "Mr. Vash. . .?" Vash lashed out, pushing Meryl away, "GET AWAY FROM ME! GO! I'LL ONLY KILL YOU, TOO!" Meryl gasped, falling in surprise, her eyes growing moist, "Va-. . ."

"GO!"

"C'mon, Meryl," Milly whispered soothingly, helping her friend to her feet, "Let's leave him alone for a while. . ." Meryl nodded in agreement, turning, and walking down the hill towards town, 'You were trying to protect us, Vash . . .'

"Legato," he whispered quietly, running his hand through his hair, picturing the blue-haired psychic in his head, "I shouldn't have sent you there. . ." He shook his head slightly, his soft yellow hair falling into his eyes, "My most loyal servant . . . the only spider I didn't despise. . ." He chuckled softly to himself, brushing the bit of hair from his face, "The most beautiful spider on this planet . . . beautiful and harmless. . ." He looked at his reflection in the mirror, seeing that his hair was almost to his shoulders, remembering the only reason he hadn't cut it in so long, "The only of the spiders that deserved to live among the butterflies. . ." He cradled his head in his hands, a small shimmering drop falling to the ground, "My beautiful spider. . . My love. . . My. . . Bluesummers."

"It's been three days now, Milly," the short, dark-haired young woman choked, "What if he doesn't wake up. . ."

"Don't say things like that, Meryl. Mr. Vash'll wake up, he always does."

". . . But what if he doesn't this time . . .?"

"C'mon Meryl, pull yourself together, he's been through a lot worse than this. Think of all those scars, remember, when you walked in on him that one time. . ."

"Milly! That was an accident! I didn't do it on purpose!"

"I know, but it was really funny. He made that silly face and yours was all red. Ahh. . . that was a fun day."

"Yeah. . . I really miss those days."

"It was only a month ago, you girls sure do sound old," came a voice from the doorway leading to the kitchenette. Meryl and Milly turned to see Vash standing in the doorway, a sheet wrapped around his waist, a bright smile on his face. "Mr. Vash, your awa-," Milly started, as she heard a quiet noise come from Meryl. "M-Meryl . . . are you ok," she asked, blinking at her friend and co-worker. The tiny little woman launched herself from her seat, wrapping her arms around Vash's neck, "VASH! I WAS SO WORRIED! I THOUGHT YOU WOULD NEVER WAKE UP!" Vash chuckled softly, wrapping his arms around the little woman, "It's hard to sleep when you two could wake the de. . . OW! HEY!! WHAT WAS THAT FOR?!!" Meryl glared up at him, her hands balled in fists, "We take care of you and this is the thanks we get . . .?" She gave him another light punch, knowing that even if she did hit him full force, that it probably wouldn't hurt him much. He rubbed his stomach slightly and furrowed his eyebrows, looking down at her, rather confused, "What was that one for . . .?" Her head was down, raven hair covering her face, as tears rolled down her face, and dropped to the floor, "That's for scaring me, you big doofus. . ." Vash smiled softly, then wrapped his arms around her, leaning down, and whispering in her ear, "I'm sorry, Meryl. . ." She nodded slightly, her nails pressing lightly in his skin, her voice muffled, "You'd damn well better be. . ." Milly giggled softly, turning to leave, "I'll leave you two alone. . ."

"I thought you were dead," she whispered, looking up at him, eyes puffy and red, "I thought that you would never get up and smile that goofy grin ever again. . ." Vash pressed a finger under her chin, tilting her head up so that he could look into her eyes, "Don't cry, Meryl. . ." He leaned forward and kissed her lightly on the forehead, then wiped away her tears with his thumb, "I don't want you to cry, because of me. I'm fine now . . . and I know what I have to do. . ." Fresh tears rolled from her eyes. She knew what he would say next, he'd done this so many times. . .

"I have to go away for a little while," he murmured, pressing his forehead against hers, ". . . but Meryl. . . I want you to know something. . ." She blinked, this was new, and she had no clue what he was going to say now. "W-what is that," she asked, looking into his eyes. He tilted her face a bit higher, leaning in closer. "I love you," he whispered, before pressing his lips to hers. Her eyes widened slightly, her tears drying instantly, her legs feeling like Jell-O, her body trembling slightly. Her knees slowly gave way, causing her to fall to sit on her heels, Vash going with her, lips still pressed to hers. He chuckled softly, waving a hand in front of her face, "Meryl, you in there . . .?" She snapped back to reality and nodded, a smile crossing her lips, "Yeah. . . I'm here. . ." She sat up a bit straighter, then pulled him to her again, whispering against his lips, "I love you too. . ."