My second Trigun fic. Will be VashxMeryl, with a possibility of some WolfwoodxMillie here and there. This will be a horror fic (or you may want to call it a psychological thriller). There will probably be some gore and maybe some disturbing imagery (but only if you're sensitive). Oh yeah, there will more than likely be spoilers scattered all over the place. This is fanfiction, after all.
Prologue:
He couldn't believe his eyes. He lifted his trembling hands to his face to rub his eyes roughly, just to make sure that what he saw was truly there. His eyes were right. She was standing there, no more than ten feet away from him. Beautiful raven hair danced across her shoulders. The white, billowing kimono flew freely in the breeze. She looked more like an angel now than she ever had. For all Vash knew, she may have been one.
"Rem!" he cried, reaching out for her.
She was suddenly a few feet further away, although Vash had not seen her move. "You can't touch me, Vash. Not since you've touched another woman."
"What do you mean?" he asked her, having stopped reaching for her suddenly.
Her voice was somehow different than he remembered. Still beautifully soft, yet it had the melody of some unknown song in it. "You've touched another woman. That woman." She said, lifting a finger to point at a large doorway that had appeared from seemingly nowhere.
In the doorway, there came an image, slowly fading into crystal clear vision. Vash recognized it as a portrait of Meryl, although it somehow didn't seem like her. Her eyes were darker than he'd ever seen, her mouth wide in a viscous grin. Her hair created a black shadow over her face.
"I haven't touched her! She's just … a traveling companion!" Vash told her desperately.
"You've touched her, Vash, whether your realize it or not. You've fell under her spell. She's trying to replace me! She's trying to make you forget me!" Rem said, face barely visible beneath the flowing strands of silken hair.
"No! It isn't like that! Meryl would never try to take your place!"
Suddenly the wind stopped blowing and Rem's hair became still as it fell limply over her arms. "You've chosen her over me. You're going to allow her to destroy your memory of me!"
Vash then became aware that Rem was getting further and further away from him, somehow floating into the distance. "Rem, wait! You don't understand! I still love you!"
Rem stopped then, and started to float closer. "You still love me, Vash?"
Vash nodded vigorously. "Of course I do! I never stopped!"
She was getting closer and closer still. Vash's heart began pounding wildly. She was so close, and getting closer by the second. "Then… you'll do me a favor?" she asked, now only a few feet away.
"Anything you ask!" Vash told her, as she neared.
"Kill Meryl Stryfe!" She was face-to-face with him now, her brown eyes burning into his.
"What?!" he asked, jerking back away from her.
"Kill her, before she can destroy me!" Rem cried, inching toward him.
"Rem, you're not yourself! You're the one who taught me to never take another life!"
Suddenly, before Vash could say anymore, Rem vanished, leaving behind only the white kimono in a rumpled pile. But as quickly as she disappeared, she was back, lying on the floor, naked, covered in blood. Wounds were scattered all over her form, wide open gashes, large black bruises, and smoking third-degree burns. She was writhing and twitching, screaming agonized cries and calling his name through her sobs. "Save me, Vash!" she yelled, a great deal of blood splattering from her mouth with every word. "Save me!"
He dropped to his knees by her body and looked upon her helplessly, having no idea what to do for her. He frantically looked for a source of the wounds, something that had attacked or hurt her. There was nothing. Just her, him, and the empty kimono. Then, his eyes hesitantly drifted to the doorway, where he had seen the portrait of Meryl. There he saw his friend holding a huge, flaming sword that was dripping with blood.