Title: After the Fall
Author: Girl.Interpreted
Betas: Alaena Night & Sugar Pill & Abaddon Nox
Timeline: Post-anime (a few days after Vash returns to the girls with Knives in tow), with a manga topping
Pairings: Vash/Meryl, Millie/Wolfwood, Knives/nope, nothing yet
Genre: Deep Space Planet Future Gun Action
Rating: T- for violence, language, sexual content-- (this chapter is sexually suggestive, and there is an allusion of a threat of something non-consensual)
Archive: Please contact me for permission.
Disclaimer:Trigun, its characters and universe, are the intellectual property of their respective owners. I am merely borrowing for entertainment purposes. I make no claims of ownership, nor do I profit from my storytelling.
Summary: Last time: Vash woke up in the embrace of an intimate cuddle, and promptly began to freak out. Through ingenuity and goofiness, he was able to free himself, learning that girls are, indeed, hard work. His morning workout was then interrupted when the source of his unease awoke, sending him crashing to the floor. The resulting ruckus summoned a battle-ready priest, who, we're sure, came up with his own theories about what Vash and Meryl had been up to. After some needling by Wolfwood, Vash was distracted by the chorus of his kind: the call of his sisters through a mineral vein. Turns out that the Thompson Farm is a Geo-Plant. And there is definitely some weird stuff going on: Who, or what, was talking in that mysterious dialogue segment? What are the plants up to? What's with that other hive mind? Vash came back to his senses before we could learn much, and the gang was off to ride a steamer to March. Neither Wolfwood nor Meryl thought this was a particularly good plan of action, but what's done is done. After some thorough and creative rationalization, a stir-crazy Vash left his cabin and headed for the casino. Turns out he sucks at roulette. Millie, on the other hand, is an excellent "Black Jake" player. Wolfwood was none too amused that Vash had left his room, and had intended to drag the jerk back to said room, but Vash magically disappeared after learning that Meryl was also out and about. He caught up with her in the ship's lounge, where she was getting hit on by a frat boy. Vash and Meryl then played 'would of/could of' in the form of a little role-playing. I guess that's what Meryl needed to realize that even if life with Vash is crazy, it's still life with Vash that she's after. And then! (drum roll) The Kiss!! And it only took me 13 chapters. When we left our heroes, things were getting a little spicy. Who knew Meryl could be so forward? (Me.)
A/N: A thousand pardons. bows I have gone far too long without an update. I got a little overwhelmed at work, and Writer's Block followed. Luckily, I think that particular ailment is behind me. On with the story!
Chapter 14: Fighting Dance
She told him to stop, and he did, immediately. Or, so it seemed. Vash had always possessed the ability to process external and internal input at an inhuman speed. He was especially good with warnings, and particularly quick when his senses were already heightened, as they were now. From Meryl's perspective there was no hesitation between the plea she gasped against his mouth, and the moment he withdrew. For Vash however, that sliver of time consisting of mere milliseconds dragged out into an epic battle. Flesh warred with mind as he reluctantly complied, aware that he might never be permitted to touch her again. He held her wrists, more to steady himself than to push her away. As he withdrew from the purity of sensory input, his logical mind began to race.
"Did I hurt you?" he asked, terrified that he had done something, something awful before he'd gotten control of himself. What the hell was he doing? She didn't want this. He'd practically assaulted her! She'll never forgive me. I won't even be able to salvage a friendship after this. I'll be lucky if she waits for the steamer to get to March before she makes a break for it. Why? Why am I such a stupid, impulsive... She was shaking her head. Why was she shaking her head? No? No, what? Why isn't she saying any...?
Without warning she leaned- no, fell- against him. Her mouth was on his and that was the end of coherent thought. He tensed for a moment, his eyes going wide as she reacted exactly opposite to what he'd been expecting. Up until that point, he'd been in control. He'd made the move. Now, he was the one being kissed: thoroughly, utterly, properly kissed.
By the time she pulled back, Vash felt so liquid, he couldn't pull a thought from the puddle that moments earlier had been his brain.
Her mouth trailed over his cheek, lips brushing his earlobe as a throaty, desperate purr asked, "Where's your room?"
He'd never settled a tab faster. Even when he was being shot at, he usually still bothered to count the bills. Where the hell was his room again? Oh, yeah. Two floors up. Hallway. Elevator. It was all a blur.
He was pretty sure they had managed a somewhat dignified exit from the lounge. But the ride in the lift had been nearly unbearable. He allowed himself to thread his fingers through Meryl's, but other than that, he was determined to behave himself. Meryl stood pressed along his side, as they both stared at the lighted numbers above the door, uncomfortably aware of the operator who stood in silence with them, as the elevator made its painfully slow assent.
They rolled to a stop on the second floor. Vash's room was on the third. "Second floor," announced the operator. No one got in or out.
Vash and Meryl shot simultaneous, impatient glares at the man, who merely chuckled in response. Vash blushed furiously, and quickly turned back to face the front. And here I thought we were being smooth. He didn't dare glance at Meryl, though he could feel the nervous, waiting energy in the parts of her that were leaning against him. He could hear her grumbling under her breath, "C'mon, c'mon..." Vash had to fidget. He began to bounce on the balls of his feet. Her impatience was making his stomach flip and flop in a not entirely unpleasant way.
The doors opened with a ding, and Vash pulled Meryl into the hallway before the operator could even finish announcing, "Third floor." She stole one last look at the operator before the doors slid shut again, fulling intending to pin him with a wrathful glare, but was mortified when he actually smiled and winked at her. "Have fun, kids," he said, as the doors closed on her beet-red face.
The trip down the hallway was a stumble of unbroken contact. Before he knew it, Vash had her with her back against the door to his cabin. Finally. Apparently her patience was spent as well, because she kissed him in the empty hallway before he could get the door open. Even with her heels, the height difference was enough that an empty space opened between them as he leaned down for her neck, making a trail from just behind her ear to that more-than-appealing curve of a shoulder. She made a whimpering sound that was half pleasure, half protest. "Have you always been this tall?"
He laughed, a wicked little grin as he responded, "Have you always been this short?"
A short joke. That was low, but she supposed she'd left herself wide open for it. Before she could properly respond, he gave her hips an encouraging tug. She found herself being lifted off her feet, and height was no longer an issue as her weight was supported by the door and the legs she had wrapped around his waist.
Vash found that her legs were surprisingly, thrillingly strong. The pencil skirt was less than accommodating, forced to bunch up high on her thighs until there was very little separating them, and... Is this really happening? If he had paused to think further on it, he would have become nervous, probably shy. But the wall of sensual information was preventing anything rational. The gooseflesh he could trace along the back of her thigh. The chest that heaved against his own. The little hands fisting the hair at his scalp...
Her teeth captured his lower lip, biting gently as her tongue ran over its edge. He briefly wondered if the groan in his head had been audible, but judging by the increase in pressure as her hips rolled against him, he was guessing it had. Keys! Keys keys keys! He adjusted his right arm so that it was under her, supporting her weight so that he could fish his pocket with the left for the little piece of metal that would get him through that door.
Aha! Got 'em! He fumbled to fit key to lock with eyes closed, diverting just enough attention to his left hand so that he could unlock the door while maintaining focus on what had the rest of him so preoccupied. The layout of his room was already in his mind. He knew exactly where he was headed, just as soon as he managed to get this stupid... Gah! The clatter of metal on the floor. Of course I'd drop the goddamn keys!
"Freeze!"
He heard the unmistakable click of a hammer being cocked, and swore under his breath. Turning his head slowly, he was met by the barrel of a revolver and the smug, leering smirk of its owner.
"Fuck!" Both Vash and the assailant were startled by Meryl's forceful profanity. Vash looked at Meryl to find her glaring at the man who was now pointing the gun at her, not a trace of fear in her fierce expression. "You've got to be kidding me!"
Elisabeth had handed Chance's gift to the Professor and he hadn't looked at it twice. "Cute," he'd remarked, smiling in an appropriate but insincere way before setting it aside, banished to the corner of his desk. He seemed much more interested in research. Practically percolating as he described the promising results from sample C.
"It seems this group is surviving outside the incubators. I was beginning to worry that it would be impossible to grow a life form so quickly and maintain the functioning of the major systems. But the subjects in C are thriving, and even showing signs of reaction to the transmitted waves. I think we may even be able to unplug them soon." His eyes were shining in triumph, and Elisabeth felt ill at ease. She realized that part of her had been hoping the project would fail. I never wanted to play God.
"That's very encouraging," she said, hoping her smile was convincing. There was a brief lull of silence. She wondered if the Professor felt as uncomfortable as she did, but he was furiously looking over a read-out of some sort. Apparently, only marginally aware of her presence.
"Of course," he said, his expression darkening with a speed that further unsettled her, "I would be more encouraged if our military boys had made more progress."
"No promising leads, then?" she ventured.
"Nothing," he said, as if he'd tasted something foul. "They're completely inept. I practically handed them an in with that insurance agent, and they've managed to lose track of her, as well. This should have been easy."
Elisabeth resisted the urge to fidget, "Lina," she began carefully, "would like to see you."
"Hn. I'm far too busy," he muttered with disinterest. "She'll have to wait."
"Yes, but... she's growing suspicious. She's..."
Gray eyes flashed on her with sudden focus. "Suspicious?" he demanded. "What does she know?"
"Nothing," Elisabeth stammered, as she took an unwilling step away from him. "She just wants to know why we're avoiding her. Why she can no longer access the files on the sandworm research..."
"See that her curiosity doesn't get the best of her," the Professor warned darkly. "Angelina has proven more useful than I anticipated. We lucked out with her potential. But, never forget why we brought her here in the first place."
"Maybe," Elisabeth swallowed her alarm, willing her voice to calm reason, "maybe she was telling the truth. Maybe it wasn't Vash the Stampede who stayed with her..."
"It was. And she lied to us," he said with meaningful certainty. "Don't let your sentimentality overwhelm your logic. You can't forget what is at stake. What we do is for the greater good of all of humanity. Individuals mean nothing against that purpose."
Elisabeth lowered her gaze. Abashed, she conceded, "Of course, Professor."
Down the hall, Lina cut the signal and tossed off the headphones as if she'd been bitten. Her head was swimming. She was dizzy. How? How could she have been so foolish? She'd been played from the beginning. She was nothing but a tool, a way to get to Ericks. No, not Ericks- Vash the Stampede. She couldn't stay. She couldn't stay here a second longer. She had to take her daughter and get the hell away from these people. But, how? Where was she supposed to go? She had no family, no friends, no... No. That wasn't entirely true. She did have family. And, she hoped, a way to contact him.
The bandit had expected a very specific reaction from the woman when he put the revolver to her head. Maybe even a nicely satisfying girly scream. Meryl's contrary defiance to being held at gunpoint caused their assailant a moment's pause. Recovering, he laughed, letting his eyes trail a lascivious path over the expanse of flesh exposed by her bunched skirt. Feisty girl.
Meryl didn't allow the fierce indignation of her gaze to falter, hiding her unease, even as her grip on Vash tightened. "Joking?" the bandit said. "'Fraid not. But don't worry, baby. My associates and I won't let you go... unsatisfied." He finished by reaching out his free hand, as if to lay it on her thigh.
"If you'd like to keep that hand," came a growl, dark and nearly unrecognizable, "don't touch her."
The man quickly pulled back and turned the gun on Vash. The yellowed whites of his eyes widened slightly , but he tried to hide his sudden alarm. He fixed his mouth into a tight line and then attempted a condescending grin. But Meryl could see that Vash's voice had shaken him. Hell, it had shaken her.
"Easy, blondie. Wouldn't want someone to get shot by accident, right?" the bandit said with mocking authority. Apparently, the fact that he was the only one holding a gun was bolstering his confidence. "What we have here is a basic hostage situation, which, if you don't know, means that if you both behave, you'll get her back when this is all over. No worse for wear." He winked, and grinned at Vash in a way that was meant to impart some sort of male understanding before he added, "I do appreciate you warming her up though."
Meryl had never actually seen Vash seethe. She'd seen him brood. She'd seen him rage. But this? This quiet, slow burn? The subtle twitch of muscles in an otherwise grim and impassive expression? This was frightening, even to her.
She realized then what a complete dullard their assailant was, as he failed to assimilate the danger and took Vash's expression to mean begrudging acceptance. "Good then," he smiled smoothly, turning the gun back on Meryl. "Now get on down from there..."
The moment the bandit allowed his attention to be diverted to Meryl, the patient energy that had been building within Vash exploded in a blur of nearly undetectable motion. She barely felt Vash's hand as he retrieved the derringer she'd tucked into a thigh holster. She blinked, and Vash's left arm was fully extended, her gun pressed into the surprised, sweat-beaded brow of their assailant.
Left slightly breathless, both by Vash's speed and from having a gun drawn from between her legs, Meryl's mind seemed only capable of dumbly asking, "How did he know I was armed?" Her senses quickly returned to her, and as she became newly aware of her physical position, her logical mind answered, "Duh. You have your thighs wrapped around his hips, and he was very close to discovering where you keep the extra rounds."
The realization might have caused her embarrassment, but there were currently more important things to worry about than the delicacy of her sensibilities. Vash pulled her closer with his right arm, while the left held her weapon of choice with steeled certainty between the bandit's eyes. The man's gaze darted between them for an uncertain moment. He was still pointing his revolver at Meryl, his eyes panicked, while Vash maintained that unreadable, dangerous glare. "Drop it or I swear, I'll..." the attacker gasped, still fumbling for an advantage, "I swear to God, I'll blow her face off!"
The threat, the desperation of the man who'd delivered it, should have scared her. But Meryl was transfixed with morbid fascination, watching Vash's features as they contorted into someone unknown to her. She'd glimpsed this side of him before, long ago during that incident with Monev the Gale. But being this close. Seeing him transformed by fury, inches away from her... No, the bandit didn't frighten her, but, she realized with guilt, she suddenly wanted to get the hell away from Vash.
"No. You won't," said the voice that was Vash's, and yet didn't belong to him. "You hurt her, and I assure you that I can do much better than just shooting you in the head." The bandit hesitated, undoubtedly wondering what kind of vicious fate Vash was capable of subjecting him to. Meryl wondered for a moment if the shaking of his arm alone would cause the gun to go off. "Now," Vash continued, "get that gun out of her face and point it over here where it belongs."
The man's arm began to move as he dumbly complied, the gun starting a slow turn away from her and toward Vash. "Don't!" she yelped, her voice freeing itself from her throat.
Vash didn't look at her, he kept his eyes on the bandit as he hesitated again, but her knee-jerk attempt to protect him seemed to soften his expression. "Shh," he hushed: gentle, cajoling, "it's okay. Everything's okay." Meryl bit her tongue against another protest, as he nodded encouragingly at the bandit. The gun continued its slow path until it was pointed at Vash's face. He smiled softly at the man holding the revolver. A calm had supplanted that terrifying rage, now that there was no longer a gun aimed at her skull.
"Good. Good job," Vash soothed, the bandit now drenched in sweat, literally shaking in his boots. Vash quirked another funny little smile, this one deceptively trustworthy, "We don't really want to do this, do we?"
The man looked up at the gun pressed to his forehead, then darted his uncertain eyes back at Vash's face. "I'm just... I'm just doing my job!" he pleaded.
The corner of Vash's mouth curled with amusement. "Hell of a job," he commented. "Maybe you should get into another field."
Meryl caught movement in the left of her periphery, and turned to see three more bandits approaching from the other end of the hall. They stopped fifteen paces away, eying the tableau before them curiously. Vash didn't turn his head, but the renewed tension in his shoulders told her that he knew they were there. The bandit at the center of the trio spoke up, "Problems, Ed?"
The man with the revolver, "Ed", kept his frightened eyes fixed on Vash as he stammered, "Uh... yeah, Gene... some."
Meryl watched as the man she now knew to be "Gene" craned his neck to get a better view of the standoff between Vash and Ed. He lifted his gun, the other two following suit, and chuckled as he asked, "And what's Romeo there packing?"
"Um..." Ed said uncertainly, his eyes practically crossing as he attempted to ascertain what sort of weapon was being held against his brow.
"It's a derringer," Vash supplied, still smiling in a way that was soft and unreadable.
"Oh! A derringer! Well, now..." Gene laughed, "that is terrifying."
Ed looked at Vash, the blond's smile unnerving, as if he knew something Ed didn't. He struggled to defend himself, to make the gravity of his situation understood by his comrades, "You don't understand... this guy..."
"Can it, Ed," Gene commanded, hefting a semi-automatic weapon with both hands. "You've screwed up enough for one night. Drop your pistol, Romeo. Game's over."
Gene started to walk towards them, the other gunmen flanking his sides. Meryl took a deep breath, and in a movement that wasn't quite as quick as Vash, used her left hand to retrieve the colt at the small of Vash's back. Not as quick as Vash, but apparently, quick enough. Gene and his associates were left gaping as they found themselves on the business end of a handgun that was longer than the forearm of the girl who held it. Meryl tightened the grip she had around Vash's neck, pulling herself against his chest to steady the shoulder bracing her gun arm.
The solidness of her stance did not escape Gene. She was holding that gun like she knew what to do with it, even if she was still sitting pretty on her boyfriend's hips. Gene trained his gun on her with the same cool gaze. He wasn't about to let this whole operation go to shit on account of a pair of interrupted lovers. "Put that away before you get hurt, little girl," he snarled. "I'm giving you to the count of three, and then you both die! One!"
Meryl fought to clear her mind, to chase out the fear. She allowed the solidness of Vash to comfort her, the certainty that he could figure a way out of anything. Even this.
"Two!"
Vash could see himself and Meryl in his mind, both with left arms extended, pressed against each other, mirrored postures against the threat. He watched the man in front of him while extending his senses to the three on the other side. He felt a moment of fear. He could dodge bullets. Meryl could not.
"Three!"
Meryl let all the air from her lungs, taking slow, careful aim. She waited with cold precision. She felt Vash the vibration of impact shudder through Vash's shoulder, and heard a muffled crunch as his left fist connected with something. Probably Ed's face. Now. She squeezed the trigger, and if she hadn't been pressed against Vash, the recoil would have knocked her down that hall. Gene toppled to the floor with a yell as she straightened her arm, preparing to fire again, but the other two were already...
Vash pushed backwards so quickly that the motion actually made her stomach drop. She shut her eyes against the deafening tattoo of gunfire, the clatter of expelled rounds hitting the floor. She could feel the bullets as they displaced the air along their whizzing paths, just barely missing their intended targets as Vash flew backwards. His left arm was suddenly around her, she could make out the press of her derringer as he tightened his grip. Vash kept his footing when he hit a dead-end, his back slamming into the wall opposite his cabin's door. His right hand came up to share the hold she still held on the colt. He aimed their arms, her finger on the trigger and his on top. He squeezed and the silver gun fired. She followed as he pointed right, and tightened his trigger finger over hers again. The two shots were so close together, that if she hadn't felt it, she would have sworn he'd only fired once.
The gunfire stopped as the ghostly echo of Vash's weapon reverberated against the walls. Meryl slowly, carefully, opened one eye and then the other to gaze around the now eerily silent hallway. Three bodies lay prone on the floor in front of her. She could hear their soft groans of pain. Vash was still holding her tight with his left arm, and she practically had a stranglehold around his neck. Her ear was pressed against his shoulder as she stared down her left arm, still holding Vash's gun, his hand overlapping hers. It was like a strange dance.
"Meryl? You okay?" She pulled back to look up into his worried face. She noticed then that she was shaking.
She nodded. "Yeah... yeah, I'm fine."
His brow was still creased uncertainly. "You sure? You're not hurt?"
She smiled then as the fact that the fight had concluded, and they were both unharmed, settled in. "Yes, Vash. I'm alright."
He released his hold on the colt and it fumbled from her weakened grasp. There was an ache in her wrist from the weapon's recoil. He held her tightly with both arms, sighing an abatement of tension into her hair. "Vash?" she asked, as she comprehended the meaning behind the intensity of his relief. "You were scared, weren't you?"
He laughed, a small sound. She felt his lips move against her forehead as he answered, "Maybe a little."
"Vash!" She wrapped her other arm around his neck. She held on tightly, protectively. "I'm okay," she assured again. "Thank you."
He pulled back and she met his eyes. "Meryl?"
"Yes, Vash?"
"Uh... Do you... would you like...?"
Meryl grinned. God, he's cute when he's nervous. "What is it, Vash?" she coaxed.
"Er..." he stammered uncertainly, "Do you wanna get down?"
Meryl couldn't help the influx of blood to her face, and wondered if she had actually blushed herself blue, as she realized she still had both legs firmly wrapped around Vash's waist. "Oh, sure... um... sorry, I didn't realize..."
"No! I'm not complaining, or anything..." Vash hurried to amend. "It's just that, I think my leg is bleeding..."
"What!?" Meryl quickly unhooked her feet, nearly strangling Vash as his neck was left to support her weight. She wobbled as her heels reconnected with the floor. It seemed her leg muscles had gone a little stiff. Her eyes raced over him, and quickly found a growing dark spot on his thigh that stood out from the navy of the suit. "You were hit? Why didn't you say something, broomhead?" she demanded with an irritated glare as she bent to inspect the wound.
"It just grazed me," he defended. "It's really not... hey!" Meryl had found the hole in the pant leg through which the bullet had passed, and had torn it wider to get a better look at the wound itself. Vash pouted as she assessed that it had indeed only grazed him, and that the bleeding would most likely stop on its own. "Karen's gonna kill me," he grumbled as he regarded his ruined pants.
"Relax," Meryl smiled. "She'd have to get through me."
Vash knew he was probably grinning like an idiot, but he couldn't help it. The idea of Meryl coming to his defense, even if she was only joking, had a giddy, stupefying effect on him. But, wasn't there something...? Oh yeah! Bandits hijacking the steamer. Wounded men to check on.
Apparently, Meryl wasn't as distracted by him as he seemed to be by her. She was already on task, inspecting the damage they'd done to their would-be assailants.
"Dammit," Vash muttered as he leaned over an unconscious Ed, "I think I broke his jaw. I really didn't mean to hit him that hard."
Meryl tried to look sympathetic, but she couldn't bring herself to be quite as distressed over Ed's fate as Vash seemed to be. He's lucky that's all he got, freaking pervert. She changed the subject, "Well, at least I don't think they're after the bounty. They didn't seem to know who you were. Unfortunately, there's probably more where these four came from." She shuddered to think what kind of chaos had most likely settled over the rest of the steamer.
"Yeah," Vash nodded. "When we're finished here we should try to find Millie and Wolfwood."
Vash moved on to assess Gene and the two men who'd been with him. Nice clean shots. Right through the shoulder. Incapacitating, but not fatal. His face beamed with pride as he realized Meryl had taken out Gene all by herself. It was a perfect shot to the right shoulder. He couldn't have done it better himself. "That's good shooting, Meryl. I mean, I know you're a dead shot, but with my gun? That's actually pretty amazing!"
"Eh... Funny thing..." Meryl laughed nervously as she unconsciously adopted Vash's trademark posture of 'whoops!': her hand scratching absently at the back of her head. She hated to rain on Vash's parade, but... "Actually, I was aiming for his kneecap."
"How do you know about the plants in southern Cornelia?"
Knives was losing patience with his sister. What had started out as a conversation had become a game of riddles as she cagily avoided giving him straight answers. That is, if she answered him at all. His latest question received only laughter in response.
Several years ago, Knives had assigned Legato Bluesummers the task of emptying whole settlements in southern Cornelia, both as a message to Vash, and as a way to allow his sisters to recuperate. In the time since, those settlements had remained uninhabited. Knives had assumed it was the humans' fear that kept them from returning. He should have known better.
Human beings were concerned with one thing only: their survival. They had short memories, and on a planet as arid and unwelcoming as Gunsmoke, a rash of mysterious disappearances wouldn't have been enough to keep them away from the allure of habitable land. During his last healing stint in a bulb, he'd learned from glimpsing his sister's mind that the humans had not returned to southern Cornelia because the plants were failing.
At the time, he'd been so concerned with the 'why'- why his sisters dying, even now that the threat was gone- that it hadn't occurred to him to wonder 'how'- how his sister knew the fates of plants located iles from her own settlement. In the course of this conversation with one of the New Oregon "Sky City" plants, she'd alluded to knowledge of the southern Cornelian plants. Now, he was trying to discover not only how much she knew, but how she knew it. His sister, however, was being less than cooperative, her frustratingly childish lack of focus reminding him of another plant he knew: a particularly irritating free-walker.
"Are you going to answer me?" he asked again, trying to control his temper as the plant's gaze flitted aimlessly about the bulb.
"You should ask your brother," she said with a Cheshire grin, before floating back towards the bulb's center.
"Vash!? What the hell does he know!? Hey!" She laughed again, an annoying echoing sound, but offered nothing by way of an explanation as she disappeared into the bulb's center.
"Dammit! Get back here!" The hands he held against the glass rolled into fists. He knew she could hear him, but apparently she was done playing.
Knives grumbled and swore to himself as he marched away from the bulb. Somehow everything became his responsibility. You'd think he was the only one who gave a damn what became of them all. And Vash! It always came back to Vash, didn't it? In his haste to return to his quarters, Knives nearly tripped over a human in the hall, and the resulting growl sent the creature skittering away. Fuck! Vash had been gone for nearly a month, and Knives wasn't sure how much more of this shit he could take.
When little brother got home (which had better be soon), they were going to have a long talk.
Wolfwood planted his feet to halt a dead run, spinning so that his back was against the wall at the corner of a perpendicular crossing of hallways. Millie, several paces behind, stopped as well, nodding to indicate that she too had heard the pounding of footfalls around the corner. The screech of rubber-soled shoes informed them that the bandit was aware of them, as well. Wolfwood could almost feel the shadow of his invisible adversary, ready and pressed against the opposing wall.
Damn! How many of these guys are there?
With a gesture of his hand, Millie fell back a few steps. Wolfwood had hoped that they had met the last of the bandits patrolling the hallways. He didn't have time for this. More importantly, he didn't have the patience.
Surprise. Speed. He would take this guy out before he knew what was happening. Wolfwood pushed off from the wall using his momentum to create the torque that would whip him and the aim of his Punisher around the corner. Too slow. As fast as Wolfwood moved, his adversary moved faster. He found himself with his gun half-raised, out in the open, facing the steady aim of a particularly nasty looking weapon.
His opponent smirked. "Gotcha."
Wolfwood lowered his weapon and raised a free hand to point an emphatic accusation. "YOU!"
Vash frowned defensively as he lowered his colt. "Me? What did I do?"
The priest growled, undaunted as he took another step towards the outlaw. "You leave your cabin, you disappear, and the next thing I know I'm ass-deep in hijackers! I only get into this kind of shit when you're around!"
"Somehow," said Meryl, materializing from behind Vash, "I find that difficult to believe." She was holding a derringer in one hand. Her bare feet would explain why Wolfwood had only heard Vash as the two ran down the hall.
"You should work on those reflexes, preacher man," Vash grinned. "I would've had you."
"You wish! Be grateful I realized it was you before I shot your sneaky ass!" He lowered his voice as he mumbled, "Spikey bastard."
"What did you say?"
"You heard me!"
"I had you cold, you jerk! You wouldn't stand a chance!"
"Say that again, Spikey!"
"Oi!" Meryl pushed herself between the men who now hovered menacingly in each other's faces, fists raised. "Knock it off, idiots! I'm not in the mood to babysit!" She landed simultaneous whacks on each of their skulls. Wolfwood scowled defiantly as Vash pitifully rubbed at his newly bruised head.
"He started it," Vash grumbled, which earned him a warning glare from Meryl.
"You guys are so silly," Millie giggled. "I could watch you all day! I'm so glad everyone is okay though! We were in the casino when they tried to take everyone hostage, but luckily Nicholas was in the bathroom, so he caught them by surprise when he came out."
"Did you have any trouble?" Vash asked. "I didn't know you were armed."
Wolfwood shrugged. "Nah. There were only seven of them, and I don't go anywhere without a handgun. Not since the time I had to fight an army of killer robots with your broken pocketknife." Wolfwood grinned despite himself at the memory. Hanging around Vash really did land him in the most ridiculous situations. "Millie and I stopped off for our weapons after we took care of the situation in the casino. Where'd they get you?"
"In the hallway by my cabin," Vash answered, shifting a little uneasily. "They sort of caught us a little off guard."
Millie's eyebrows scrunched together in confusion. "Why were you two...?" She looked at Mr. Vash who was avoiding her eyes and scratching at the back of his neck. Sempai was blushing furiously. Millie's mouth made a little 'o' of recognition before she hid the expression behind an enormous grin. "Well, it's just important that you're okay!" She heard Nicholas chuckle and nudged him in the ribs with her elbow. "So what do we do now?"
Meryl collected what thin remnants of dignity she could muster, willing an expression of authoritative resolve past the heat in her cheeks. "We have to figure out how many of them there are, where they are and what they're planning to do. And..." she sighed tiredly, "we have to figure out a way off of this ship. As soon as we get to March there will be Cavalry crawling all over this place."
Wolfwood sighed, looking even more tired than Meryl. "Hey, Spikey."
"Yeah?"
"You really suck at being inconspicuous."
Vash's temper flared again. Something Wolfwood seemed to have a real talent for inciting. "Like no one noticed your scene in the casino?"
Wolfwood pinched the bridge of his nose between thumb and forefinger. Vash was right. "We should've just let this play out. Stayed out of it."
"Wolfwood!" Vash fixed him with a sad look, a mixture of disbelief and disappointment. The disbelief was to be expected. That particular naïve expression that told him Vash couldn't even begin to contemplate a course of action that didn't involve rushing to the rescue. But the disappointment was harder to swallow, even as it gave birth to a familiar mixture of guilt and shame. A desire to act heroically if only it would mean that he'd never fail to live up to Vash's expectations again. Even if that desire most often led Wolfwood precariously close to death.
"Wolfwood's right." This from Meryl. Wolfwood looked at her with surprise, and Vash spared her a measure of that horror and disappointment that had so neatly undone the priest. It didn't have the same effect on Meryl. She glared back at Vash in a way that clearly told him to grow up and knock it off. "We're supposed to be in hiding, and this is definitely not helping that cause. But we all know that none of us could just sit back and let this happen. It doesn't really matter anyway; we're already involved." Dammit. Why the hell did it have to be this steamer that got hijacked. She looked around at her friends, suddenly aware that they were wasting time. "Let's just finish this."
"Right!" Millie set herself to business with renewed enthusiasm. Of course they were going to help! And everything would work out just fine. Sempai and Nicholas would see. "There are thirty-four members in the gang. They hijacked the escort trucks and entered through the hold. They planned to control the passengers, make a robbery, and get off the same way they got onboard."
Vash blinked. "How do you know all that?"
Wolfwood grinned wickedly. "We asked." The way the priest was smiling, Vash hoped for the sake of the unlucky bandit, that he had submitted to the interrogation without too much fuss.
If Meryl objected to Wolfwood's methods, she gave no indication. "Good. Millie and I will get everyone's belongings and head for the hold. If these guys were going to get off the ship that way, then we should be able to, as well."
"I'm guessing less than half the gang is still operational," Wolfwood said. "If I were them, I'd be freaking out. They're probably in the control room by now. Trying to make some sort of a stand. Tongari and I'll head up there and finish cleaning this mess up. We'll meet you in the hold when we're done."
Meryl looked from the priest to Vash, who nodded. "Okay," she said, "we'll be ready."
"Okay, team! Break!" Millie cheered, snagging Meryl's arm. "Oh!" she exclaimed suddenly, spinning back around with Meryl still attached. "Where are your keys, Mr. Vash? We have to get your things out of your room."
"Oh...huh..." Mr. Vash blushed a curious shade of pink as he contemplated the answer to Millie's question. His eyes flashed briefly on Meryl. "Well, I suppose they're still in the hallway where I dropped them. Um, they should be just outside of my door."
To Vash's relief, Millie replied with a blithe 'okay' and didn't question him further. Meryl was avoiding eye contact. And though he couldn't see it, he just knew that damned priest was grinning like a maniac behind his back. Still, as Millie began to draw Meryl down the hall in the opposite direction, he couldn't help himself. "Meryl!"
She turned and met his eyes, and for a moment he thought he'd forgotten what he was going to say. Then he realized he'd never planned farther than simply calling out her name in the first place. "Be careful," he tried lamely, but she smiled in recognition of things unsaid.
"You, too," she said softly, and he smiled back at her before turning to go. "And, Vash?" she called as an afterthought, causing him to stop and face her again. Her smile shifted sideways, quirking wryly at the corner, "I know it's a pointless request, but try not to do anything stupid."
"Fat chance," Wolfwood scoffed, but Vash ignored him, his eyes fixed on Meryl.
"Today's that day, insurance girl," he grinned. "I won't let you down."