Title: Forsaken
Author: Akima The Stampede Maxwell
Date begun: March 10, 2002
Anime: where does Knives and the gang come from?....oh yeah! Trigun!!!! What about Dryden and Millerna?....Escaflowne
Pairings: *laughs hysterically* Very funny! Hysterical!
Rating: NR for some suggestive themes and Knivishness
Disclaimers: Own nothing…except maybe changing their personalities…not much though…only according to plot
***Thanks, anonymous Natasha! Yes! This story does get very bizarre! I agree! I just felt that Milly should find peace and Legato should be a good guy…at least maybe for now. There are a couple of people that I could bring back such as Midvalley or Zazie but I am not going there. I swear that nobody else that allegedly died will be coming back. I will explain in the epilogue(when I get there)why some people are back from the dead. It partially had to do with my cous who we call Legato. She didn`t want to have her character die so I brought him back. Now I just have to figure out how he lived through a gunshot to the head. Anyways…thanks to all reviewers! Oh yeah…obviously this is after the events in the anime and not the manga though later I will add stuff that happens in the manga. Back to the story!
Chapter 12: An Unexpected Enemy
Knives opened his eyes to find himself laying in the sand. He was partially covered in dirt. He pulled himself up. He cursed as he dusted himself off. He looked around.
`Where am I? That damn storm must have been worse than I thought if it could drag me around`
He winced as he felt the wounds inflicted by the demon children. None of the children apparently had been dragged along with him.
`Too bad. I would have enjoyed killing one of them right now.`
He sighed.
`That female spider must be worrying about where I am. Too bad for her that I don`t really care. I have to continue with the journey. She`s been slowing me down anyways. I can do this myself.`
After making sure that he still had his gun he began walking. He did not care about his wounds which still bled.
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Dryden and Vash laughed as the entertainer of the ship gave a great performance.
"This is so hilarious!" Vash exclaimed. Dryden was too busy laughing to answer him except for a slight nod and loud fits of laughter. Marianne had excused herself from the table a few minutes ago. She had yet to return. Vash and Dryden were too preoccupied to notice at the moment. She sat in the corner behind a plant. She smiled evilly as she watched them laugh.
`Those fools. If they paid any attention at all to reality they would suspect me.`
She laughed aloud. This being a comedy entertainer no one paid attention to her.
`Do not get so cocky.` Fenris said in her mind. Marinne sighed.
`I`m being careful. They don`t suspect anything.`
`Are you so sure? This Dryden is hard to read but Vash the Stampede is something different. Over the past few years it seems that his outlook on life is a bit different. He is smarter than usual. He is more cautious.`
`Did you not see what they are doing right now? They do not even notice that I am gone.`
Fenris stopped talking.
`He never finishes what he was talking about. As his first rate spy you would think that he would open up a little bit. Well…whatever. It`s not like it matters. What matters now is finding Meryl so Fenris will be happy.`
Marianne could not help but smile once more as she watched them laugh.
`It`s like taking candy from a baby…literally.`
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Milly sat in her room on board the ship. She picked up the need to read for a few years. She turned another page. She sighed. She shut the book.
`I can`t concentrate when I don`t know what`s happening to Meryl. What if she`s hurt? What if…no. She wouldn`t do this. She wouldn`t worry constantly…would she? Oh Meryl…why did you leave without me? Maybe her feelings for Knives do run deeper than we think.`
She heard a knock on the door.
"Come in." she called out. The door opened and Vash walked in. He smiled. He sat across from her in a small chair.
"What have you been doing in here? Have you been reading the whole time?"
"Yes…and no. I`ve been thinking too. I miss Meryl."
"I miss her too. Did you and her talk about her relationship with Knives?"
"Not really…but trust me. From what I heard she is either obsessed or she really is in love with him."
Vash nodded. He looked out the window. He watched the birds in the sky fly by the ship. The sand moved away from the ship in ripples.
"Vash?"
"Yeah?"
"Why do you want them together? Did you mean what you said on the other ship or were you just using it to get us to stop talking about it?"
"My brother has had a very black heart…since childhood. For the two years that he travelled around with me I felt as if he was only isolating himself by cutting me and everyone else out. After I met up with them at the gun show I could tell that he had changed. The way she acted around him made me think of it. I told you to tell the others about setting it up because…well…I don`t know. I don`t know why I did that. I just want both of them to be happy. Knives as I said has been subdued."
"Meryl`s been very quiet as well. Her angry attitude had almost ceased to be. I was looking at a whole other Meryl. She and Knives did not become friends or anything. They just…tolerated eachtother. They never tried to get on eachother`s nerves or hurt eachother intentionally. I think that it was Knives who trusted Meryl long before she began to trust him."
"Why is that?"
"She was there for him. It`s as simple as that."
"Was he ever in trouble or something?"
"No. She just…listened to him really. I unfortunately was never really open to him. I didn`t really like trying to talk to him. He wasn`t very talkative."
"I`m sorry that I left him with you guys. I wasn`t being a good friend."
"It was good for Meryl. She was in worse shape than me. She hid her pain very well. You leaving, Wolfwood dying, me becoming subdued and Knives being there…she felt alone. I should have done something to help her."
"Knives helped her…except for the part about being kidnapped."
"Vash…how do you feel about all of this?"
"About what?"
"Meryl`s thing for him. She used to be in love with you."
Vash averted his eyes.
"Actually…I feel sad. I did feel something for her. I let that slip away though. I should have stayed instead of leaving. It`s my own fault. If I had stayed then I would have had her."
"But you don`t. Things happen for a reason. Your job now is to help your brother try and sort his feelings. I don`t want Meryl to hurt anymore."
"And I don`t want my brother to hurt anymore."
"Then we`re doing the right thing. If we make sure Meryl is protected from Fenris then maybe we can also find Knives and they can sort things out alone."
"We haven`t had any leads in the past few days. The only thing I heard was about that girl people call Millerna. She was looking for Knives."
"Nothing about his whereabouts?"
"No. I`m sorry."
"It`s okay."
Milly began to cry. Vash took her in his arms. She cried into his chest.
"Why can`t anything go right? Why can none of us live in peace?"
"I don`t know. I wish that I could answer that question but I can`t."
Vash wanted to tell her that everything would be alright but that would not be true. All he could do was sit there and comfort her as long as she needed him.
------------------------------------------------
Knives found himself in a very small town. He did not even know what the name of the town was.
`Something this small wouldn`t even be on a map. I need to get out of here. Maybe they have a sandsteamer or something. I can`t believe that I left that stupid bike!`
He walked around for awhile to get a layout of the town. He located a sandsteamer soon enough. He smirked.
`Hah! I already found it! If that girl…`
He shook the thoughts from his mind. He frowned.
`Stupid girl. I don`t know why I care at all.`
Images of her flashed through his mind. He put his hand to his forehead.
`It gives me headaches to think about her yet…I can`t stop thinking about her. That woman. She must have been right about…no way! I do not have feelings for that girl!`
"Excuse me, mister?"
Knives glanced down. He growled. He leaned down and picked up the child by the collar.
"What do you want? Are you here to force me to tell you where she is? Huh?! Did Fenris send you?!"
The boy blinked.
"No…I just wanted to know if you could tell me where a bathroom is."
Knives sighed angrily. He placed the boy down.
"Oh. No. I don`t."
He left the boy where he was and proceeded to go buy a ticket. He sat down on a bench to wait for loading time. He tilted his head back and closed his eyes.
`Damn all of this for happening! All I wanted was to rule the damn world and things had to keep occurring!`
He thought on for awhile about nothing in particular until he heard the sandsteamer. Suddenly he was thrown back into the past when he, Meryl, and the others had recently been on. He cursed himself over and over as he boarded the ship. He stood against the railing. He watched the few townspeople that lived in that town wave as the ship moved steadily away from them. He sighed wearily.
`Maybe I should get some sleep.`
He moved away from the railing. A split second later Vash and Dryden came walking around and stood where Knives previously had been. Vash frowned suddenly.
"What`s wrong?" Dryden asked.
"I don`t know. A strange feeling came over me. I don`t know why."
"Do you know if that was the last stop the sandsteamer is making until we get to our destination?"
"I hope so. That stopping and starting was starting to make me feel sick."
"No kidding. You threw up all over the place."
Vash laughed.
"Yeah! I guess that I did!"
Dryden frowned.
"Where do you think that Marianne went?"
"I don`t know. I think that she said something about going back to her`s and Milly`s room. Maybe she decided to get some rest."
"That must be it."
"She`s a nice girl, isn`t she?"
"Yeah. I really enjoy her company."
----------------------------------------------------------- ------------
Marianne smiled evilly as she watched Milly slip into unconsciousness.
`That dosage should keep her knocked out for a couple of hours. Now all I have to do is confront Vash and Dryden and demand them to take me to Meryl. If they don`t then I will kill them. It is as the master wishes.`
She picked up her un and loaded it. She placed it back in her holster. She checked her hair in the mirror then left the room. She locked it behind her. She chuckled to herself then began to whistle.
"What are you doing here?"
Marianne stopped whistling immediately. A tremer of fear ran up her spine. She turned to look up into icy blue eyes. He reached out and pushed her up against the wall. He stared straigh into her eyes for a few seconds. He frowned.
"You were with Fenris the whole time. Now you plan on killing my brother and that spider if they don`t tell you where Meryl is."
Marianne laughed. She pushed Knives` hand off of her. She pulled out her gun and pointed it at him.
"Tell me where she is and I will leave you alone."
"You can`t threaten me."
"Oh…that`s right. You have a soft spot for her."
Knives felt his heart tighten. His eyes shook.
"No I don`t!"
"Oh please! You like her! You have liked her since I first met up with you all! She obviously likes you so that makes it perfect, doesn`t it?"
"Shut up! You don`t know anything!"
Marianne giggled. She cocked the gun and backed up a few steps.
"It doesn`t matter anyways. She belongs to the master now. Eeven if she did find you right now it wouldn`t mean a thing."
Marianne shrieked as she felt herself begin to lower the gun. Knives` eyes glowed. He swiped the gun away from her.
"He will not have her!"
He made a move to grab her by the throat but she rapidly levitated back. Knives blinked in surprise. He growled.
"I should have known Fenris would only send one of his more talented minions to do his dirty work for him! Who are you really?"
"I have always been Marianne. I have no special name."
"Well then, Marianne. Why don`t you take a little message back to your boss explaining to him that he should leave that girl alone and get himself a wife that actually wants him…if that ever happens!"
"I will not go back to the master until my task is complete. Farewell for now, Mr. Knives. I am sure that I will run into you soon. For now I think that I will kill your brother and Dryden."
Knives lashed out at her but she faded away. Her smile lingered in the air for a few moments then it too disappeared.
`Damn her! I should have been reading her mind sooner! Wait…she said that she was going to kill my brother…maybe they are on here right now. I have to warn them before that bitch catches up to them.`
He took off down the hallway.
-------------------------------------------------
Legato watched a group of children playing kickball. He smiled slightly. Meryl stood beside him with a stoitic look in her eyes.
"Maybe I should have watched humans a little closer and more thoughtfully. Knives was too angry at past conflicts that he overlooked their good points."
"He used to be like that."
"Has he really changed that much?"
"Well…not on the outside. He still acts like humans are out to get him…oh. Excuse me. Spiders."
Legato chuckled.
"I remember that."
"He tries not to slip up now though. I can tell. He doesn`t read our minds anymore. He used to drive me crazy when he did that. He stopped though. I don`t know if he read anyone else`s minds but I don`t think so."
"You really want to believe that, don`t you?"
"Yeah."
Legato placed his hand on her shoulder.
"It really is none of my business but how can you trust a guy who built his entire existence on wanting so much to destroy everything except himself and his brother? Eevn if you are not human you are not his species. He could be weaving an elaborate set of tricks. He could be taunting you by learning all that you desire and cherish and using them for his goals."
Meryl remained silent. Legato let go of her shoulder and turned to leave.
"Maybe it`s time that I trust my instinct and not my brain. Maybe learning to trust others despite all that they may try to hold themselves out to be. I have been a very angry person for a very long time. After Vash left to defeat Knives it all just disappeared. I didn`t see a reason for being that way anymore. Milly only got worse ever since the false death of Wolfwood. I decided that I wasn`t first anymore. I put Milly first then Vash shows up and drops off Knives. I take care of both of them. I was falling even then. If Knives had not taken that time to act then I probably would have wasted away."
Legato waited for her to finish. She turned to face him. Her eyes sparkled with fresh tears.
"It is due to his actions that I am still alive right now. I at least owe him a thank you for that."
"What about this thing that you have for him?"
Meryl faced away from him once again. The children were all slowly leaving the kickball area and the streets cleared. She did not answer for several minutes. The wind whispered by them. Legato waited patiently.
"That matter will be resolved once we find him I don`t know how to answer that question."
She followed Legato as they walked back into the hotel.
----------------------------------------------------- ---
Millerna grumbled as she made her way through the desert. After several hours of finding no bike and no water she set out in hopes of locating something. She found…zelch. Nada.
"Stupid desert!" she yelled aloud "What`s with all of the sand! It never was this bad before! I guess that it only happens when someone is dying of thirst!"
She collapsed after tripping over a rock. She fell on her back. The wind was temporarily knocked out of her. She breathed in and out rapidly then slowly.
"Perfect. What else can go wrong?"
She stared up into the sky by shielding her eyes against the sun.
"It`s too hot…and I`m talking to myself! Maybe Knives was right! Humans are pathetic! We talk out lloud to ourselves when we get bored!...Oh well. What can a girl do when she`s stranded alone? I mean…if anyone else found themselves alone they would talk to themselves. Who else is there?"
She looked around. She saw a dark shape in the distance.
"Great! Now I`m seeing things!"
A deep rumbling sound began to fill her ears. The ground shook.
"Wait a minute! Mirages don`t do that!"
She sat up straight and watched as the dark shape in the distance got closer and closer. It was a sandsteamer. Her eyes lit up. She got up. She ran towards it.
"I`m saved! I`m saved! Stop! Please!"
A person at the front of the ship spotted her. They pointed then other people showed up and began pointing. The sandsteamer came to a stop along side her. Of course…she stood quite a few yards back. The step were lowered and she ran on board. She thanked anybody who was standing there. She sat down and sighed.
"Thank goodness!"
She heard someone behind her fall down. She turned around. It was a young woman with purple eyes and blond hair in a ponytail. She rubbed her backside and groaned. Millerna leaned down with a hand outstretched. The woman took it.
"Thanks." She mumbled. Millerna smiled.
"Anytime! Why are you in such a hurry?"
"I have somebody that I have to meet."
Before Millerna could ask who the woman disappeared around a corner. She would have followed had not Knives ambled around the corner the woman had previously rounded. Millerna`s eyes widened.
"Knives! You`re alive!"
She ran up to him and threw her arms around him.
"I thought that you were dead!"
Knives pushed her away. She stumbled back into some folding chairs. She crossed her arms.
"I didn`t deserve that!"
"You are in my way!"
"What are you doing? Maybe I can help."
"What good is a spider…"
"Don`t call me spider!"
"A human…"
"I have a name!"
"Fine! Millerna…" he said with a hint of sarcasm "I do not need your assistance here! I have something that I must do and it is none of your business!"
Millerna put a finger on Knives` chest. She pushed him.
"Who do you think that you are? You act like you`re some big bad guy who can do everything better than anyone else! I`m surprised that girl Meryl didn`t go out of her mind!"
Knives gripped her by the wrist. He squeezed. She went limp. She clawed desperately at his hand.
"Don`t talk about her! I`m tired of hearing about her!"
"You just don`t want to face the truth! You like her!"
"No I don`t!"
"Oh please! You couldn`t talk about her before and you can`t talk about her now!"
Knives growled. His cheek ticked.
"I`ve been wandering through the desert for days thinking that you were dead! I almost died! If it wasn`t for people on this ship seeing me I would just another person lying in the desert dead of exhaustion! I get on board and some girl with purple eyes runs into me and runs off without…"
Knives pulled her closer to him.
"What girl with purple eyes?!"
Millerna finally got her hand away from his painful grip. She rubbed the sore flesh angrily. She pointed to the corner she had seen the girl go around.
"She went that way."
Knives ran in that direction. Millerna followed quickly. She grabbed on to his hand to keep up.
"At least tell me what you`re doing!"
"A girl that was travelling around with me and the others turns out to be someone working for Fenris! She`s targeting my brother who just happens to be on this ship…with Dryden."
Millerna let go of Knives. She caught up to him with newfound speed.
"I`m gonna kill him! I`m coming along too! We`ll save your brother then kill Dryden!"
Knives smirked.
"Now that`s more like it! You are turning out to be a pretty decent human!"
"I`ll take that as a compliment!"
*Knives is the star! I couldn`t just kill him, could I? Marianne is evil! A twist! There`s a twist! She`s so evil! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA….*ehem*…anyways….Chapter 13 coming soon. Stay tuned! I finished this one faster than I thought! (
Author: Akima The Stampede Maxwell
Date begun: March 10, 2002
Anime: where does Knives and the gang come from?....oh yeah! Trigun!!!! What about Dryden and Millerna?....Escaflowne
Pairings: *laughs hysterically* Very funny! Hysterical!
Rating: NR for some suggestive themes and Knivishness
Disclaimers: Own nothing…except maybe changing their personalities…not much though…only according to plot
***Thanks, anonymous Natasha! Yes! This story does get very bizarre! I agree! I just felt that Milly should find peace and Legato should be a good guy…at least maybe for now. There are a couple of people that I could bring back such as Midvalley or Zazie but I am not going there. I swear that nobody else that allegedly died will be coming back. I will explain in the epilogue(when I get there)why some people are back from the dead. It partially had to do with my cous who we call Legato. She didn`t want to have her character die so I brought him back. Now I just have to figure out how he lived through a gunshot to the head. Anyways…thanks to all reviewers! Oh yeah…obviously this is after the events in the anime and not the manga though later I will add stuff that happens in the manga. Back to the story!
Chapter 12: An Unexpected Enemy
Knives opened his eyes to find himself laying in the sand. He was partially covered in dirt. He pulled himself up. He cursed as he dusted himself off. He looked around.
`Where am I? That damn storm must have been worse than I thought if it could drag me around`
He winced as he felt the wounds inflicted by the demon children. None of the children apparently had been dragged along with him.
`Too bad. I would have enjoyed killing one of them right now.`
He sighed.
`That female spider must be worrying about where I am. Too bad for her that I don`t really care. I have to continue with the journey. She`s been slowing me down anyways. I can do this myself.`
After making sure that he still had his gun he began walking. He did not care about his wounds which still bled.
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Dryden and Vash laughed as the entertainer of the ship gave a great performance.
"This is so hilarious!" Vash exclaimed. Dryden was too busy laughing to answer him except for a slight nod and loud fits of laughter. Marianne had excused herself from the table a few minutes ago. She had yet to return. Vash and Dryden were too preoccupied to notice at the moment. She sat in the corner behind a plant. She smiled evilly as she watched them laugh.
`Those fools. If they paid any attention at all to reality they would suspect me.`
She laughed aloud. This being a comedy entertainer no one paid attention to her.
`Do not get so cocky.` Fenris said in her mind. Marinne sighed.
`I`m being careful. They don`t suspect anything.`
`Are you so sure? This Dryden is hard to read but Vash the Stampede is something different. Over the past few years it seems that his outlook on life is a bit different. He is smarter than usual. He is more cautious.`
`Did you not see what they are doing right now? They do not even notice that I am gone.`
Fenris stopped talking.
`He never finishes what he was talking about. As his first rate spy you would think that he would open up a little bit. Well…whatever. It`s not like it matters. What matters now is finding Meryl so Fenris will be happy.`
Marianne could not help but smile once more as she watched them laugh.
`It`s like taking candy from a baby…literally.`
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Milly sat in her room on board the ship. She picked up the need to read for a few years. She turned another page. She sighed. She shut the book.
`I can`t concentrate when I don`t know what`s happening to Meryl. What if she`s hurt? What if…no. She wouldn`t do this. She wouldn`t worry constantly…would she? Oh Meryl…why did you leave without me? Maybe her feelings for Knives do run deeper than we think.`
She heard a knock on the door.
"Come in." she called out. The door opened and Vash walked in. He smiled. He sat across from her in a small chair.
"What have you been doing in here? Have you been reading the whole time?"
"Yes…and no. I`ve been thinking too. I miss Meryl."
"I miss her too. Did you and her talk about her relationship with Knives?"
"Not really…but trust me. From what I heard she is either obsessed or she really is in love with him."
Vash nodded. He looked out the window. He watched the birds in the sky fly by the ship. The sand moved away from the ship in ripples.
"Vash?"
"Yeah?"
"Why do you want them together? Did you mean what you said on the other ship or were you just using it to get us to stop talking about it?"
"My brother has had a very black heart…since childhood. For the two years that he travelled around with me I felt as if he was only isolating himself by cutting me and everyone else out. After I met up with them at the gun show I could tell that he had changed. The way she acted around him made me think of it. I told you to tell the others about setting it up because…well…I don`t know. I don`t know why I did that. I just want both of them to be happy. Knives as I said has been subdued."
"Meryl`s been very quiet as well. Her angry attitude had almost ceased to be. I was looking at a whole other Meryl. She and Knives did not become friends or anything. They just…tolerated eachtother. They never tried to get on eachother`s nerves or hurt eachother intentionally. I think that it was Knives who trusted Meryl long before she began to trust him."
"Why is that?"
"She was there for him. It`s as simple as that."
"Was he ever in trouble or something?"
"No. She just…listened to him really. I unfortunately was never really open to him. I didn`t really like trying to talk to him. He wasn`t very talkative."
"I`m sorry that I left him with you guys. I wasn`t being a good friend."
"It was good for Meryl. She was in worse shape than me. She hid her pain very well. You leaving, Wolfwood dying, me becoming subdued and Knives being there…she felt alone. I should have done something to help her."
"Knives helped her…except for the part about being kidnapped."
"Vash…how do you feel about all of this?"
"About what?"
"Meryl`s thing for him. She used to be in love with you."
Vash averted his eyes.
"Actually…I feel sad. I did feel something for her. I let that slip away though. I should have stayed instead of leaving. It`s my own fault. If I had stayed then I would have had her."
"But you don`t. Things happen for a reason. Your job now is to help your brother try and sort his feelings. I don`t want Meryl to hurt anymore."
"And I don`t want my brother to hurt anymore."
"Then we`re doing the right thing. If we make sure Meryl is protected from Fenris then maybe we can also find Knives and they can sort things out alone."
"We haven`t had any leads in the past few days. The only thing I heard was about that girl people call Millerna. She was looking for Knives."
"Nothing about his whereabouts?"
"No. I`m sorry."
"It`s okay."
Milly began to cry. Vash took her in his arms. She cried into his chest.
"Why can`t anything go right? Why can none of us live in peace?"
"I don`t know. I wish that I could answer that question but I can`t."
Vash wanted to tell her that everything would be alright but that would not be true. All he could do was sit there and comfort her as long as she needed him.
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Knives found himself in a very small town. He did not even know what the name of the town was.
`Something this small wouldn`t even be on a map. I need to get out of here. Maybe they have a sandsteamer or something. I can`t believe that I left that stupid bike!`
He walked around for awhile to get a layout of the town. He located a sandsteamer soon enough. He smirked.
`Hah! I already found it! If that girl…`
He shook the thoughts from his mind. He frowned.
`Stupid girl. I don`t know why I care at all.`
Images of her flashed through his mind. He put his hand to his forehead.
`It gives me headaches to think about her yet…I can`t stop thinking about her. That woman. She must have been right about…no way! I do not have feelings for that girl!`
"Excuse me, mister?"
Knives glanced down. He growled. He leaned down and picked up the child by the collar.
"What do you want? Are you here to force me to tell you where she is? Huh?! Did Fenris send you?!"
The boy blinked.
"No…I just wanted to know if you could tell me where a bathroom is."
Knives sighed angrily. He placed the boy down.
"Oh. No. I don`t."
He left the boy where he was and proceeded to go buy a ticket. He sat down on a bench to wait for loading time. He tilted his head back and closed his eyes.
`Damn all of this for happening! All I wanted was to rule the damn world and things had to keep occurring!`
He thought on for awhile about nothing in particular until he heard the sandsteamer. Suddenly he was thrown back into the past when he, Meryl, and the others had recently been on. He cursed himself over and over as he boarded the ship. He stood against the railing. He watched the few townspeople that lived in that town wave as the ship moved steadily away from them. He sighed wearily.
`Maybe I should get some sleep.`
He moved away from the railing. A split second later Vash and Dryden came walking around and stood where Knives previously had been. Vash frowned suddenly.
"What`s wrong?" Dryden asked.
"I don`t know. A strange feeling came over me. I don`t know why."
"Do you know if that was the last stop the sandsteamer is making until we get to our destination?"
"I hope so. That stopping and starting was starting to make me feel sick."
"No kidding. You threw up all over the place."
Vash laughed.
"Yeah! I guess that I did!"
Dryden frowned.
"Where do you think that Marianne went?"
"I don`t know. I think that she said something about going back to her`s and Milly`s room. Maybe she decided to get some rest."
"That must be it."
"She`s a nice girl, isn`t she?"
"Yeah. I really enjoy her company."
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Marianne smiled evilly as she watched Milly slip into unconsciousness.
`That dosage should keep her knocked out for a couple of hours. Now all I have to do is confront Vash and Dryden and demand them to take me to Meryl. If they don`t then I will kill them. It is as the master wishes.`
She picked up her un and loaded it. She placed it back in her holster. She checked her hair in the mirror then left the room. She locked it behind her. She chuckled to herself then began to whistle.
"What are you doing here?"
Marianne stopped whistling immediately. A tremer of fear ran up her spine. She turned to look up into icy blue eyes. He reached out and pushed her up against the wall. He stared straigh into her eyes for a few seconds. He frowned.
"You were with Fenris the whole time. Now you plan on killing my brother and that spider if they don`t tell you where Meryl is."
Marianne laughed. She pushed Knives` hand off of her. She pulled out her gun and pointed it at him.
"Tell me where she is and I will leave you alone."
"You can`t threaten me."
"Oh…that`s right. You have a soft spot for her."
Knives felt his heart tighten. His eyes shook.
"No I don`t!"
"Oh please! You like her! You have liked her since I first met up with you all! She obviously likes you so that makes it perfect, doesn`t it?"
"Shut up! You don`t know anything!"
Marianne giggled. She cocked the gun and backed up a few steps.
"It doesn`t matter anyways. She belongs to the master now. Eeven if she did find you right now it wouldn`t mean a thing."
Marianne shrieked as she felt herself begin to lower the gun. Knives` eyes glowed. He swiped the gun away from her.
"He will not have her!"
He made a move to grab her by the throat but she rapidly levitated back. Knives blinked in surprise. He growled.
"I should have known Fenris would only send one of his more talented minions to do his dirty work for him! Who are you really?"
"I have always been Marianne. I have no special name."
"Well then, Marianne. Why don`t you take a little message back to your boss explaining to him that he should leave that girl alone and get himself a wife that actually wants him…if that ever happens!"
"I will not go back to the master until my task is complete. Farewell for now, Mr. Knives. I am sure that I will run into you soon. For now I think that I will kill your brother and Dryden."
Knives lashed out at her but she faded away. Her smile lingered in the air for a few moments then it too disappeared.
`Damn her! I should have been reading her mind sooner! Wait…she said that she was going to kill my brother…maybe they are on here right now. I have to warn them before that bitch catches up to them.`
He took off down the hallway.
-------------------------------------------------
Legato watched a group of children playing kickball. He smiled slightly. Meryl stood beside him with a stoitic look in her eyes.
"Maybe I should have watched humans a little closer and more thoughtfully. Knives was too angry at past conflicts that he overlooked their good points."
"He used to be like that."
"Has he really changed that much?"
"Well…not on the outside. He still acts like humans are out to get him…oh. Excuse me. Spiders."
Legato chuckled.
"I remember that."
"He tries not to slip up now though. I can tell. He doesn`t read our minds anymore. He used to drive me crazy when he did that. He stopped though. I don`t know if he read anyone else`s minds but I don`t think so."
"You really want to believe that, don`t you?"
"Yeah."
Legato placed his hand on her shoulder.
"It really is none of my business but how can you trust a guy who built his entire existence on wanting so much to destroy everything except himself and his brother? Eevn if you are not human you are not his species. He could be weaving an elaborate set of tricks. He could be taunting you by learning all that you desire and cherish and using them for his goals."
Meryl remained silent. Legato let go of her shoulder and turned to leave.
"Maybe it`s time that I trust my instinct and not my brain. Maybe learning to trust others despite all that they may try to hold themselves out to be. I have been a very angry person for a very long time. After Vash left to defeat Knives it all just disappeared. I didn`t see a reason for being that way anymore. Milly only got worse ever since the false death of Wolfwood. I decided that I wasn`t first anymore. I put Milly first then Vash shows up and drops off Knives. I take care of both of them. I was falling even then. If Knives had not taken that time to act then I probably would have wasted away."
Legato waited for her to finish. She turned to face him. Her eyes sparkled with fresh tears.
"It is due to his actions that I am still alive right now. I at least owe him a thank you for that."
"What about this thing that you have for him?"
Meryl faced away from him once again. The children were all slowly leaving the kickball area and the streets cleared. She did not answer for several minutes. The wind whispered by them. Legato waited patiently.
"That matter will be resolved once we find him I don`t know how to answer that question."
She followed Legato as they walked back into the hotel.
----------------------------------------------------- ---
Millerna grumbled as she made her way through the desert. After several hours of finding no bike and no water she set out in hopes of locating something. She found…zelch. Nada.
"Stupid desert!" she yelled aloud "What`s with all of the sand! It never was this bad before! I guess that it only happens when someone is dying of thirst!"
She collapsed after tripping over a rock. She fell on her back. The wind was temporarily knocked out of her. She breathed in and out rapidly then slowly.
"Perfect. What else can go wrong?"
She stared up into the sky by shielding her eyes against the sun.
"It`s too hot…and I`m talking to myself! Maybe Knives was right! Humans are pathetic! We talk out lloud to ourselves when we get bored!...Oh well. What can a girl do when she`s stranded alone? I mean…if anyone else found themselves alone they would talk to themselves. Who else is there?"
She looked around. She saw a dark shape in the distance.
"Great! Now I`m seeing things!"
A deep rumbling sound began to fill her ears. The ground shook.
"Wait a minute! Mirages don`t do that!"
She sat up straight and watched as the dark shape in the distance got closer and closer. It was a sandsteamer. Her eyes lit up. She got up. She ran towards it.
"I`m saved! I`m saved! Stop! Please!"
A person at the front of the ship spotted her. They pointed then other people showed up and began pointing. The sandsteamer came to a stop along side her. Of course…she stood quite a few yards back. The step were lowered and she ran on board. She thanked anybody who was standing there. She sat down and sighed.
"Thank goodness!"
She heard someone behind her fall down. She turned around. It was a young woman with purple eyes and blond hair in a ponytail. She rubbed her backside and groaned. Millerna leaned down with a hand outstretched. The woman took it.
"Thanks." She mumbled. Millerna smiled.
"Anytime! Why are you in such a hurry?"
"I have somebody that I have to meet."
Before Millerna could ask who the woman disappeared around a corner. She would have followed had not Knives ambled around the corner the woman had previously rounded. Millerna`s eyes widened.
"Knives! You`re alive!"
She ran up to him and threw her arms around him.
"I thought that you were dead!"
Knives pushed her away. She stumbled back into some folding chairs. She crossed her arms.
"I didn`t deserve that!"
"You are in my way!"
"What are you doing? Maybe I can help."
"What good is a spider…"
"Don`t call me spider!"
"A human…"
"I have a name!"
"Fine! Millerna…" he said with a hint of sarcasm "I do not need your assistance here! I have something that I must do and it is none of your business!"
Millerna put a finger on Knives` chest. She pushed him.
"Who do you think that you are? You act like you`re some big bad guy who can do everything better than anyone else! I`m surprised that girl Meryl didn`t go out of her mind!"
Knives gripped her by the wrist. He squeezed. She went limp. She clawed desperately at his hand.
"Don`t talk about her! I`m tired of hearing about her!"
"You just don`t want to face the truth! You like her!"
"No I don`t!"
"Oh please! You couldn`t talk about her before and you can`t talk about her now!"
Knives growled. His cheek ticked.
"I`ve been wandering through the desert for days thinking that you were dead! I almost died! If it wasn`t for people on this ship seeing me I would just another person lying in the desert dead of exhaustion! I get on board and some girl with purple eyes runs into me and runs off without…"
Knives pulled her closer to him.
"What girl with purple eyes?!"
Millerna finally got her hand away from his painful grip. She rubbed the sore flesh angrily. She pointed to the corner she had seen the girl go around.
"She went that way."
Knives ran in that direction. Millerna followed quickly. She grabbed on to his hand to keep up.
"At least tell me what you`re doing!"
"A girl that was travelling around with me and the others turns out to be someone working for Fenris! She`s targeting my brother who just happens to be on this ship…with Dryden."
Millerna let go of Knives. She caught up to him with newfound speed.
"I`m gonna kill him! I`m coming along too! We`ll save your brother then kill Dryden!"
Knives smirked.
"Now that`s more like it! You are turning out to be a pretty decent human!"
"I`ll take that as a compliment!"
*Knives is the star! I couldn`t just kill him, could I? Marianne is evil! A twist! There`s a twist! She`s so evil! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA….*ehem*…anyways….Chapter 13 coming soon. Stay tuned! I finished this one faster than I thought! (