Title: Forsaken
Author: Akima The Stampede Maxwell
Date begun: February 24, 2002
Anime: Oh come on! Quit asking!
Pairings: We`ve been over this…
Rating: NR for things Knives does mostly and maybe Dryden
Disclaimers: Any anime that is famous is not mine….sad huh?
Chapter 4: The Adventure Begins
Meryl did not speak the entire morning when they prepared to leave. Knives did not prompt her to speak to him. She followed him from a distance when they went to the bike. A figure stepped out from behind the shadows. Knives chuckled.
"Not this spider again."
Dryden laughed. He flipped his hat.
"I plan on signing up for the gun competition. I would like it very much if I could join you two. I have money of course that I am willing to share."
"No way!"
"Just let him." Meryl muttered. Knives growled.
"Fine! Just stay out of my way!"
Meryl felt a wave of dizziness come over her. She fell back to be caught by Knives. He had simply stuck out his hand while checking his gun. He stood her up straight. He climbed on the bike. He reached down and pulled her up by the shoulders effortlessly. She once again sat in front of him. She lay her head against his chest and fell asleep instantly. No matter how much she hated him she needed sleep.
`Even if he did try to kill me again. This is a strange kind of friendship that we have.`
"She`s a pretty girl." Dryden said as he started up his bike.
"She is annoying."
"Why did you let her come along with you then? I heard last night."
"Spider, you`re asking for it."
"I eavesdropped. She`s been lonely for awhile."
"It is none of your concern."
"I`m sorry. I just try to look out for others. I think that what you did shows how much she means to you."
"She is NOT my girl! Why does everybody keep thinking that?!"
"No. I mean that she means a lot to you as a companion…a friend."
"I have no friends. She only stays around me because she is lonely. She would probably go with you if you asked."
"I doubt that. You shouldn`t take her for granted. By the way you treat others she`s probably the only person who trusts being around you."
"She hates me and that is how I want it."
"Why did she jump in front of you when I planned on shooting you…which I am truly sorry for."
"….Let`s get going. We have a long way to go."
Dryden nodded. The bikes took off.
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They came to the tournament within a few days. Knives shook Meryl. She opened her eyes then squinted as the sun entered her eyes. She expected to get thrown from the bike. He simply picked her up by the shoulders and jumped down. He put her down somewhat gently though being held by the shoulders hurt still. She still did not want to talk to him. Dryden followed Knives to the sign-up table. They signed in and waited around on some chairs. Meryl sat quietly. She looked over at a lone figure sitting far off from the other contestants. The hood was drawn over the figure`s face.
`Who is that? How terrible…`
The figure looked up at her. Two eyes glowed. She averted her eyes. She began to tremble.
------------------------------------------------
Dryden handed Knives a drink. He noticed how Meryl was acting a few chairs down.
"That girl Meryl is acting very strange."
"Tell me somethig I don`t know."
"No. I mean right now. She looks scared."
Knives looked over. His eye twitched. He followed her stare til he saw the lone figure. He scowled and turned back to Dryden.
"Some guy wearing a hooded cape. Things like that scare spiders."
"What are these spiders that you keep mentioning?"
"All humans are spiders."
"….Okay."
The announcer clicked on the microphone.
"Ladies and gentlemen, it is time to begin! First up…Harry Thorp and Vash the Stampede!"
Meryl snapped her head up.
`Vash…`
The lone figure removed the cape. Meryl`s eyes lit up. She immediately straightened up as Vash made his way onto the field. She watched him with a big smile across her face. Vash won of course. He was very fast as usual. Knives went up next. He won. Dryden went up. He won. Basically the contest was dominated by these three until Dryden was pitted against Knives. Knives had a big smile on his face. Dryden suddenly pulled out his gun. He fired. He hit Knives in the gut. The crowd cheered when Knives did not back down. In fact he went in harder than ever. He eventually hit Dryden in the shoulder and collarbone. He gave up immediately due to the judge ordering it. Knives walked off the field. There was an intermission before the final two. Knives walked towards his chair. Blood trickled from his lips as the wound aggravated him. He looked over at Meryl and Vash as they laughed about something. They never even asked about him. He got up and left.
"So Knives kidnapped you and now you two are getting along fairly well?"
"He tried to kill me twice. He`s a monster."
Vash looked away with a frown on his face. Meryl sucked in her breath.
"I`m sorry, Vash. That was out of line."
"Apology accepted."
Vash smiled then went back to being serious when he and Knives were called to the field. The crowd cheered. Vash had a sneer on his face until he saw Knives reloading his gun. He saw the wound he had on his gut. It was not very pleasant looking. Knives` hands trembled.
"Knives, forfeit! You shouldn`t be doing this with that wound!"
"Shut up. I will do as I choose."
Vash prepared. Knives did as well. Sweat dripped from their faces. Suddenly they both pulled out their guns and fired. They both jumped behind walls. Meryl watched from the sidelines. She mostly focused on Vash as he fired on Knives. She looked at Knives. Her eyes went wide. He held his gut as blood seeped through his fingers. He fired then would falter.
`Oh God! I should have been on him more to quit! I could have annoyed him more than enough to convince him.`
Vash fired. He grazed Knives` leg. Knives hit Vash`s shoulder. Knives laughed then winced. He got that wild look in his eyes again. He ran out in the open at Vash. Vash shot at him but missed. Knives put his gun to Vash`s temple. People screamed. Knives faltered. He grabbed his gut and collapsed to the desert floor. He just lay there with his eyes closed and his mouth open. He breathed in and out.
"You win, brother." he said. Meryl ran out. She practically ran over Knives getting to Vash. She hugged him.
"Good job, Vash!"
She let go of Vash and leaned down to check on Knives. He waved her away.
"Go on! Go celebrate for Vash or something! Go!"
"Knives?"
"Go! How many times do I have to tell you that?"
Medics were sent out to get him to the hospital. Meryl watched as they carried him away. She tilted her head to the side.
"Vash, did he seem…."
"I think that he was hurt."
"Well, duh! It doesn`t take an expert to…"
"No! Not like that! I think that he was hurt that you ran out to me first then leaned down to help him. He probably felt jealous."
"Knives…get jealous? Get real!"
"I think that he did!"
Vash took a hold of Meryl and gave her a nookie.
"He probably likes you!"
"That jerk!"
"I know that my brother is not the easiest guy to hang out with but he needs a friend just like everyone else does! You have been with him for awhile now and the only woman to tolerate him to a point."
Meryl folded her arms and humphed. Vash shrugged. He grabbed her hand and proceeded to drag her to a local bar.
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Meryl could not drink anything. She just stared at the glass. Vash eventually drank. He danced around the bar with several people including her before passing out on a bar stool. Meryl got up. She tapped Vash on the shoulder. He looked up. His eyes were glazed over.
"Vash, I`m going to check on Knives, okay?"
"Okily dokily!"
Vash`s head slammed down on the table. Meryl nodded. She left the bar. She saw Dryden in front of the hospital. He was smoking a cigarette. He noticed her come up. He offered her a cigarette and she refused it.
"Can you show me where Knives is?"
"Sure."
He stomped out his cigarette and pushed open the wooden door. He showed her to the room with all of the contestants who lost wallowing in pain. Knives lay in the corner. He held his stomach.
"Knives…"
He glanced over at her. His face darkened.
"Where is Vash?"
"Lying drunk in the bar."
Knives chuckled then winced. Meryl sat in the chair beside him. He stared at her. His eyes bored into her soul again. Meryl closed off her thoughts though.
"Why in hell do you care at all about me?"
"Who said that I cared about you? I have to for Vash…but maybe I have a soft spot for you. A very small one but it is there."
Knives shrugged. He lay on his back. He scratched at the bandages around his abdomen.
"Quit itching it! It`ll only get worse, you knuckle head!"
Knives smirked.
"You know…I could really learn to hate you."
Dryden disappeared as they laughed and chuckled (in Knives` case).
-----------------------------------------------------------
Meryl felt someone shaking her shoulder. She opened her eyes. Her arms were propped underneath her head. Knives was not there. She sat up straight. Vash was the one shaking her.
"Come on! Get up, sleepy head!"
"Where`s Knives?"
"He got up this morning. He said something about practicing shooting some targets."
"Okay. Well…I`m up now. Maybe I should go get all of my stuff from the hotel none of us ended up staying in."
"Me too."
They left the hospital. Meryl looked off into the distance where Knives and Dryden were shooting targets. Knives faltered a couple of times when his wound acted up.
`Knives…don`t you ever admit that you can`t do something?`
Meryl and Vash grabbed their things, checked out and joined Knives and Dryden. Knives sat on the bike holding his gut. Vash looked over the bike.
"This was Wolfwood`s."
Knives said nothing. Meryl signed to Vash that this would not be a good time to fight with him. He agreed despite his anger rising. Meryl jumped up and sat beside Knives. He eyed her like she was going to hit him.
"You should relax more often or that wound will never heal."
"What do you know?"
"A lot actually."
Knives did not say anything for awhile. He just looked off into the horizon. Meryl caught a dark look on his face.
"Knives, are you okay?"
"Someone`s coming."
"Who?"
"I don`t know. Someone looking for trouble."
Meryl watched the horizon until a dark silouette appeared followed by several others. Some in cars and some on bikes except for the one in front. As they got closer Meryl found them terrifying. They looked a lot like the kinds of gangs that attacked towns except they were eerily quiet. The lone one, the leader, had on a mask that looked like a wolf head. The figure stopped beside the bike. The other people kept going into town. Meryl clutched at Knives` arm. The figure stood there with the wolf eyes glaring at her. The mysterious stranger held out his hand closed over something. Meryl reached out with her free hand putting it under the wolf head`s hand. Something dropped into her hand. She pulled it back and looked at it. It was a necklace with a strange deep blue tearshaped amulet. She looked up but the stranger was gone. She put on the necklace.
"I don`t know if you should do that." Knives said. Meryl sighed.
"I don`t think that accepting a gift from a stranger would hurt."
"Something is not right about that spider…if he even is a spider."
Meryl kept the necklace on despite a growing fear and Knives` disapproving stare. She sat in Knives` lap as usual when they decided to leave. She wanted to ride with Vash but he insisted that she ride with Knives because it was "good for him". He also said that he wanted to come along for the time being. He wanted to take them all to Dune. He said that there was a surprise there.
"Ride with Vash." Knives said right when they started up the engines. Meryl looked up at him.
"Knives?"
"You have not seen him in ages. Go on."
"I would but he told me to sit with you."
"Don`t let me stand in your way. Go."
"Knives…"
He pushed her off. She fell on the ground. Vash jumped down and helped her up. He would have said something had not Meryl stopped him.
"It`s not worth it." she said. Vash sighed. Meryl got on the bike with Vash. She looked over at Knives who conveniently sped off.
`Damn it! Now I need to apologize…if he even accepts apologies.`
She contemplated this the entire ride.
*Meryl, what the hell did you do?!?! We all know that Knives can take care of himself but that was just plain wrong! (sigh) When will she learn to be more courteous…even if it is Knives. Chapter 5 comin` up!
Author: Akima The Stampede Maxwell
Date begun: February 24, 2002
Anime: Oh come on! Quit asking!
Pairings: We`ve been over this…
Rating: NR for things Knives does mostly and maybe Dryden
Disclaimers: Any anime that is famous is not mine….sad huh?
Chapter 4: The Adventure Begins
Meryl did not speak the entire morning when they prepared to leave. Knives did not prompt her to speak to him. She followed him from a distance when they went to the bike. A figure stepped out from behind the shadows. Knives chuckled.
"Not this spider again."
Dryden laughed. He flipped his hat.
"I plan on signing up for the gun competition. I would like it very much if I could join you two. I have money of course that I am willing to share."
"No way!"
"Just let him." Meryl muttered. Knives growled.
"Fine! Just stay out of my way!"
Meryl felt a wave of dizziness come over her. She fell back to be caught by Knives. He had simply stuck out his hand while checking his gun. He stood her up straight. He climbed on the bike. He reached down and pulled her up by the shoulders effortlessly. She once again sat in front of him. She lay her head against his chest and fell asleep instantly. No matter how much she hated him she needed sleep.
`Even if he did try to kill me again. This is a strange kind of friendship that we have.`
"She`s a pretty girl." Dryden said as he started up his bike.
"She is annoying."
"Why did you let her come along with you then? I heard last night."
"Spider, you`re asking for it."
"I eavesdropped. She`s been lonely for awhile."
"It is none of your concern."
"I`m sorry. I just try to look out for others. I think that what you did shows how much she means to you."
"She is NOT my girl! Why does everybody keep thinking that?!"
"No. I mean that she means a lot to you as a companion…a friend."
"I have no friends. She only stays around me because she is lonely. She would probably go with you if you asked."
"I doubt that. You shouldn`t take her for granted. By the way you treat others she`s probably the only person who trusts being around you."
"She hates me and that is how I want it."
"Why did she jump in front of you when I planned on shooting you…which I am truly sorry for."
"….Let`s get going. We have a long way to go."
Dryden nodded. The bikes took off.
--------------------------------------------------
They came to the tournament within a few days. Knives shook Meryl. She opened her eyes then squinted as the sun entered her eyes. She expected to get thrown from the bike. He simply picked her up by the shoulders and jumped down. He put her down somewhat gently though being held by the shoulders hurt still. She still did not want to talk to him. Dryden followed Knives to the sign-up table. They signed in and waited around on some chairs. Meryl sat quietly. She looked over at a lone figure sitting far off from the other contestants. The hood was drawn over the figure`s face.
`Who is that? How terrible…`
The figure looked up at her. Two eyes glowed. She averted her eyes. She began to tremble.
------------------------------------------------
Dryden handed Knives a drink. He noticed how Meryl was acting a few chairs down.
"That girl Meryl is acting very strange."
"Tell me somethig I don`t know."
"No. I mean right now. She looks scared."
Knives looked over. His eye twitched. He followed her stare til he saw the lone figure. He scowled and turned back to Dryden.
"Some guy wearing a hooded cape. Things like that scare spiders."
"What are these spiders that you keep mentioning?"
"All humans are spiders."
"….Okay."
The announcer clicked on the microphone.
"Ladies and gentlemen, it is time to begin! First up…Harry Thorp and Vash the Stampede!"
Meryl snapped her head up.
`Vash…`
The lone figure removed the cape. Meryl`s eyes lit up. She immediately straightened up as Vash made his way onto the field. She watched him with a big smile across her face. Vash won of course. He was very fast as usual. Knives went up next. He won. Dryden went up. He won. Basically the contest was dominated by these three until Dryden was pitted against Knives. Knives had a big smile on his face. Dryden suddenly pulled out his gun. He fired. He hit Knives in the gut. The crowd cheered when Knives did not back down. In fact he went in harder than ever. He eventually hit Dryden in the shoulder and collarbone. He gave up immediately due to the judge ordering it. Knives walked off the field. There was an intermission before the final two. Knives walked towards his chair. Blood trickled from his lips as the wound aggravated him. He looked over at Meryl and Vash as they laughed about something. They never even asked about him. He got up and left.
"So Knives kidnapped you and now you two are getting along fairly well?"
"He tried to kill me twice. He`s a monster."
Vash looked away with a frown on his face. Meryl sucked in her breath.
"I`m sorry, Vash. That was out of line."
"Apology accepted."
Vash smiled then went back to being serious when he and Knives were called to the field. The crowd cheered. Vash had a sneer on his face until he saw Knives reloading his gun. He saw the wound he had on his gut. It was not very pleasant looking. Knives` hands trembled.
"Knives, forfeit! You shouldn`t be doing this with that wound!"
"Shut up. I will do as I choose."
Vash prepared. Knives did as well. Sweat dripped from their faces. Suddenly they both pulled out their guns and fired. They both jumped behind walls. Meryl watched from the sidelines. She mostly focused on Vash as he fired on Knives. She looked at Knives. Her eyes went wide. He held his gut as blood seeped through his fingers. He fired then would falter.
`Oh God! I should have been on him more to quit! I could have annoyed him more than enough to convince him.`
Vash fired. He grazed Knives` leg. Knives hit Vash`s shoulder. Knives laughed then winced. He got that wild look in his eyes again. He ran out in the open at Vash. Vash shot at him but missed. Knives put his gun to Vash`s temple. People screamed. Knives faltered. He grabbed his gut and collapsed to the desert floor. He just lay there with his eyes closed and his mouth open. He breathed in and out.
"You win, brother." he said. Meryl ran out. She practically ran over Knives getting to Vash. She hugged him.
"Good job, Vash!"
She let go of Vash and leaned down to check on Knives. He waved her away.
"Go on! Go celebrate for Vash or something! Go!"
"Knives?"
"Go! How many times do I have to tell you that?"
Medics were sent out to get him to the hospital. Meryl watched as they carried him away. She tilted her head to the side.
"Vash, did he seem…."
"I think that he was hurt."
"Well, duh! It doesn`t take an expert to…"
"No! Not like that! I think that he was hurt that you ran out to me first then leaned down to help him. He probably felt jealous."
"Knives…get jealous? Get real!"
"I think that he did!"
Vash took a hold of Meryl and gave her a nookie.
"He probably likes you!"
"That jerk!"
"I know that my brother is not the easiest guy to hang out with but he needs a friend just like everyone else does! You have been with him for awhile now and the only woman to tolerate him to a point."
Meryl folded her arms and humphed. Vash shrugged. He grabbed her hand and proceeded to drag her to a local bar.
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Meryl could not drink anything. She just stared at the glass. Vash eventually drank. He danced around the bar with several people including her before passing out on a bar stool. Meryl got up. She tapped Vash on the shoulder. He looked up. His eyes were glazed over.
"Vash, I`m going to check on Knives, okay?"
"Okily dokily!"
Vash`s head slammed down on the table. Meryl nodded. She left the bar. She saw Dryden in front of the hospital. He was smoking a cigarette. He noticed her come up. He offered her a cigarette and she refused it.
"Can you show me where Knives is?"
"Sure."
He stomped out his cigarette and pushed open the wooden door. He showed her to the room with all of the contestants who lost wallowing in pain. Knives lay in the corner. He held his stomach.
"Knives…"
He glanced over at her. His face darkened.
"Where is Vash?"
"Lying drunk in the bar."
Knives chuckled then winced. Meryl sat in the chair beside him. He stared at her. His eyes bored into her soul again. Meryl closed off her thoughts though.
"Why in hell do you care at all about me?"
"Who said that I cared about you? I have to for Vash…but maybe I have a soft spot for you. A very small one but it is there."
Knives shrugged. He lay on his back. He scratched at the bandages around his abdomen.
"Quit itching it! It`ll only get worse, you knuckle head!"
Knives smirked.
"You know…I could really learn to hate you."
Dryden disappeared as they laughed and chuckled (in Knives` case).
-----------------------------------------------------------
Meryl felt someone shaking her shoulder. She opened her eyes. Her arms were propped underneath her head. Knives was not there. She sat up straight. Vash was the one shaking her.
"Come on! Get up, sleepy head!"
"Where`s Knives?"
"He got up this morning. He said something about practicing shooting some targets."
"Okay. Well…I`m up now. Maybe I should go get all of my stuff from the hotel none of us ended up staying in."
"Me too."
They left the hospital. Meryl looked off into the distance where Knives and Dryden were shooting targets. Knives faltered a couple of times when his wound acted up.
`Knives…don`t you ever admit that you can`t do something?`
Meryl and Vash grabbed their things, checked out and joined Knives and Dryden. Knives sat on the bike holding his gut. Vash looked over the bike.
"This was Wolfwood`s."
Knives said nothing. Meryl signed to Vash that this would not be a good time to fight with him. He agreed despite his anger rising. Meryl jumped up and sat beside Knives. He eyed her like she was going to hit him.
"You should relax more often or that wound will never heal."
"What do you know?"
"A lot actually."
Knives did not say anything for awhile. He just looked off into the horizon. Meryl caught a dark look on his face.
"Knives, are you okay?"
"Someone`s coming."
"Who?"
"I don`t know. Someone looking for trouble."
Meryl watched the horizon until a dark silouette appeared followed by several others. Some in cars and some on bikes except for the one in front. As they got closer Meryl found them terrifying. They looked a lot like the kinds of gangs that attacked towns except they were eerily quiet. The lone one, the leader, had on a mask that looked like a wolf head. The figure stopped beside the bike. The other people kept going into town. Meryl clutched at Knives` arm. The figure stood there with the wolf eyes glaring at her. The mysterious stranger held out his hand closed over something. Meryl reached out with her free hand putting it under the wolf head`s hand. Something dropped into her hand. She pulled it back and looked at it. It was a necklace with a strange deep blue tearshaped amulet. She looked up but the stranger was gone. She put on the necklace.
"I don`t know if you should do that." Knives said. Meryl sighed.
"I don`t think that accepting a gift from a stranger would hurt."
"Something is not right about that spider…if he even is a spider."
Meryl kept the necklace on despite a growing fear and Knives` disapproving stare. She sat in Knives` lap as usual when they decided to leave. She wanted to ride with Vash but he insisted that she ride with Knives because it was "good for him". He also said that he wanted to come along for the time being. He wanted to take them all to Dune. He said that there was a surprise there.
"Ride with Vash." Knives said right when they started up the engines. Meryl looked up at him.
"Knives?"
"You have not seen him in ages. Go on."
"I would but he told me to sit with you."
"Don`t let me stand in your way. Go."
"Knives…"
He pushed her off. She fell on the ground. Vash jumped down and helped her up. He would have said something had not Meryl stopped him.
"It`s not worth it." she said. Vash sighed. Meryl got on the bike with Vash. She looked over at Knives who conveniently sped off.
`Damn it! Now I need to apologize…if he even accepts apologies.`
She contemplated this the entire ride.
*Meryl, what the hell did you do?!?! We all know that Knives can take care of himself but that was just plain wrong! (sigh) When will she learn to be more courteous…even if it is Knives. Chapter 5 comin` up!