Hey, I know, I know, updating after how long? I do apologize for falling behind on this story, I got wrapped up in another I'd started. At long last a new chapter, and yes this will be finished in the near future so check back soon.

Chapter 10

The beast lifted up from the gateway, a deep breath able to be heard from feet away. Fear radiated from the two who opposed Death. "Cerberus, I want their souls ripped apart!" The chains snapped free, the beast rising to it's feet, eyes narrowed as it stared at it's target.

"That must be..Death's pet." Meryl whispered.

Vash took a step back, his energy faultering slightly. "It has three heads.."

"We have to defeat it."

Vash turned to Meryl, a stunned expression on his face. "You have got to be joking. We can't stop that thing!" She didn't reply, the beast taking a step closer towards them as it growled, ready to pounce at their slightest movement. "We can't out run it, can we?"

Death laughed, the beast mimicing a similiar sound. "Yess, run. Escape..if you can."

Meryl lifted her arm, still not having a handle on her power but she let instinct guide her, drawing the energy into a ball of energy in her palm. Bringing her arm back, she flung it forward, the energy ball releasing and flying towards Cerberus.

The three heads turned towards the attack, giving a loud rawr it disipated the attack, causing a force of wind to hurtle towards the two. The braced themselves, standing their ground against the counter attack.

Cerberus swung it's tail around, knocking Meryl against Vash's body and thrusting them through the air, their bodies landing in the sand near one of the buildings. The beast pressed forward, snarling as it neared them.

"We can't fight that thing." Vash murmured, the two struggling to get back to their feet. Grabbing Meryl's arm he lunged forward towards the ally ahead of them, dragging Meryl behind him.

Cererbus rawred, one of the heads slamming into the building and causing rubble to crumble to the ground, some nearly missing the two as they escaped. "You can't hide!" the beast called, unleashing a rawr loud enough to shake the ground under them.

Vash rounded the corner, Meryl persisting that he let her go but only gripped her tighter, pulling her down the street to an older looking building he'd spotted earlier. He heard the beast making its way too them, smashing the pullings with it's tall body. The beast was as big as most of the buildings in the city, so it wouldn't take it long to catch up to them.

Dashing into the building Vash shoved Meryl inside, causing her to trip and fall face forward into a near by wall. "What are you doing!" she screamed as she whirled around on him, glaring. He finished locking the door and then once more grabbed her arm, ignoring her yells.

He kept moving, finding a set of stairs that lead to a shelter in the basement of the building. It was the safest place they could hide for the time. He'd noticed the shelter space during their search for a way out of the city so it hadn't been hard to find the second time.

"Hiding isn't going to help us!"

Vash spun around to face the shorter girl, his voice more serious and deadly then she'd ever heard before. "Neither will getting ourselves killed." He ran his hand through his hair, frustration gripping him tighter and tighter.

It was insane enough to find themself in an empty city with an unknown enemy, but the stakes had changed. It was indeed Death itself, and now it's little pet. He scoffed. Little was hardly the word, the thing was huge!

"Where are we anyway?"

"It's a shelter, probably used during severe storms." He sat down on a cot that was in the corner of the room. "That- thing. It blew your attack away like it was nothing."

"Death's pet."

"What?"

Meryl shook her head gently. "Nothing. It's not going to let us out even if we make a run for it. We have to fight it."

"You're serious!" Vash looked up at her disbelievingly. "You really want to go back out there?"

"Our bodies can't just lay out there waiting for us forever. Where we are now, we aren't living. We aren't real Vash. We-" She froze as Vash stood abruptly, his features unreadable. He said nothing, only stared at her. Closing the distance between them, Vash pulled her into an embrace, his arms wrapping around her tightly. "Vash..?"

He tightened his grip around her, holding her securely in his arms. "Stay here with me. For a little while atleast?" Meryl nodded, her arms sliding up around him to return the hug.

Neither of them had dared to admit their feelings in the past, not even since their arrival to the desserted Mei City. Vash had debated the idea on multiple occassions, but he'd always held back, pushing her as far away as possible.

I can't stand it anymore. He rested his chin against the top of her head. "I need you, Meryl."

His admission took her by suprise. "I'm not going anywhere, Vash."

Pulling away, Vash pulled her back towards the cot, guiding her to sit beside him. This experience facing death gave him a new perspective. He'd shielded himself from her, afraid to be rejected. Afraid to be left alone.

He pressed his hand against her cheek softly, finding amusement in the blush it caused from the black haired girl. He knew the feelings were mutual, despite the polar opposite effect they usually shared.

Vash leaned in close, his face inches from hers. He knew there was no turning back from this, no more denying what he felt. He needed her, and she needed him. She leaned towards him slightly, the gap between them becoming smaller. He could feel her breath against his lips, tingling the skin. Vash closed the gap between them, his lips pressing against hers in a soft and gentle kiss.

Meryl's heart skipped a beat when their lips touched, her world exploding around her, and all too soon it ended. Vash pulled away from her, his light green eyes meeting her brown eyes. In that moment, all that matter was them.

Vash sat up, breaking the eye contact between them. "I uh-"

Meryl placed a fingure over his lips, stopping his sentence. "We can talk about it once we're out of here." She smiled softly, still as determined as ever to fight off Cerberus. Vash nodded in agreement though the two remained where they were for a while longer.

Cerberus was still reeking havioc above them, but they stayed safely underground. Neither of them were really sure they'd get out of this in one piece, but if nothing else, they'd get a little time together.