Title: Forsaken
Author: Akima The Stampede Maxwell
Date begun: April 3, 2002
Anime: *smacks forehead* Yeah right. Like you don`t know…
Pairings: no comment
Rating: NR for Knivishness, other peopleness, a lot of violence and some dramatic scenes(perhaps) AND SOME DEATH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Disclaimers: Nope. Nothing owned.
***Du-du-du-DAAAAAAAAAA!!! Almost done baby! This chapter and chapter 21 should end this one. OH OH OH THE ANGST! IT IS ALMOST TOO MUCH TO BEAR! I AM SO SORRY IF YOU ALL WERE WANTING KNIVES TO BE THE SAME GROUCHY GUY BUT THIS IS A SERIOUS SITUATION HERE!!! I PROMISE THAT HE WILL ALWAYS STILL HAVE THE SAME CHARM THAT WE ALL LOVE BUT NOT HERE!! He is very OOC here.
Chapter 20: Between Life and Death
Fenris and Knives circled each other for ten minutes. All the while Fenris through insults at him that became more cutting each time.
"So you and that little traitor bitch slept together and now you two have spawned twin trash that will only serve to infect the world. You are pathetic. I thought that a plant like yourself would have more wits than to join with one of us."
Knives growled. His eyes shook but he pushed back his tears.
"Shut up!"
"So now I am hitting a nerve. How interesting and predictable. She is not worth this fighting. She is worthless trash. She and those unborn freaks should be destroyed as soon as possible."
Knives` fists clenched. Fenris stared him in the eyes. He smiled broadly.
"You do not even want them, do you? You wish that you never gave in to her in the first place. You cannot handle the thought of being like a human and settling down with a family. Your greatest fears are being alone and humans. Ironic. To not be alone you must become more human as she has. What would you choose?"
"I told you to shut up!"
Knives` voice wavered now. Fenris laughed.
"Admit it! Admit it to me right now!"
"Fine! You want me to say it?! Will that shut you up so we can finish this stupid battle?!"
"Yes."
"I DON`T WANT ANY CHILDREN AND I DON`T WANT TO BE HUMAN!" he screamed. Millerna gasped. She put a hand over her mouth. Fenris chuckled.
"What`s so funny?"
"Meryl heard that."
Knives turned around. Dryden and Wolfwood stood there. Meryl`s eyes were wide. Tears rolled down her cheeks.
"Why did you bring her here?" Knives asked in a low voice.
"We got turned around. We also felt sorry for Meryl. She wanted to come back so much to make sure that you would be okay." Wolfwood stated. He shook his head with disgust as he went to stand beside the wall. Dryden could only try and comfort Meryl. Knives took a step towards them despite the fact that he was leaving his back wide open. He reached out a hand.
"I…"
Meryl turned her head away from him and buried her face in Dryden`s chest. Dryden glared at Knives.
"Nice work! Now you hurt her more than that damn wound on her back could ever do!"
Knives brought up his knife studded arm threateningly.
"Don`t smart off to me!"
"Hit me. I`m sure that Meryl would love to see that."
Knives dropped his arm to his side. He cut himself slightly doing so. His tall determined figure suddenly went slack. He looked defeated. He faced Fenris.
"You win."
Millerna gawked at him.
"You`re giving up?! How can you say that? He wants to kill Meryl!"
"She`d be better off dead anyways, wouldn`t she?"
Millerna ran up to him and slapped him harder than anyone had ever before. Knives stumbled back. He put a hand to his cheek and chuckled slightly. Milly shrieked.
"You think that it`s funny?!"
Knives stopped laughing. He slid to the floor. He just laid there. During this time even Fenris did not say anything…at least not at first.
"Pathetic. Absolutely pathetic. I coaxed you into speaking your heart to the girl so she could hear it. I did you a favor. Now you act as if your life is nothing. You are right. Your life is nothing and it always was nothing. I love ruining lives."
Knives curled up into a fetal position(I know. You wouldn`t normally see Knives do this but he`s hurting pretty badly now. Poor Knives.) after his knives along his arms retracted. Vash and Milly suddenly ran in. They tripped over eachother`s feet. Fenris smirked.
"And here is the last of your gang, Knives."
Vash looked at Knives on the floor.
"Brother?"
"Do not bother him. His heart is breaking." Fenris said. Vash crept up to Knives and placed a hand on his back. Knives cringed away from his hand. Milly took the time to go over to Dryden and try and help Meryl. Vash snarled at Fenris.
"What did you do to him?!"
"I did him a favor."
"Bullshit!"
"I made him tell Meryl the truth…that he used her. He does not even want the children that Meryl has growing inside of her."
Vash blinked.
"Meryl`s pregnant…with my brother`s kids?!"
He looked at Knives. He was too busy drowning in self pity. Milly was too busy telling Meryl that everything would be okay. Vash turned back to face Fenris.
"If he won`t fight you then I will!"
"You will not even kill me. How can you possibly win?"
"I`ll kill you." Millerna said. She loaded her gun. Wolfwood grinned as he held his punisher up. Fenris laughed.
"Three-on-one. Not very good odds…for you anyways. I will still win."
----------------------------------------------------------
Knives felt his heart beating rapidly. He was having trouble breathing.
`Why did I say that?! That bastard planned that out so I would say it! I….I really don`t want to have any children! Damn it! Damn it! How am I going to get out of this mess?`
"Why? Why?!" he heard from Meryl. He felt that tightening in his chest again. He cursed himself over and over.
`I know why I feel this way. It`s just like a human would feel. I hate that more than anything.`
"He never had feelings for me! He used me!"
`Shit! No I didn`t! He made it look like…no…I made it look like…I didn`t use you! I…I wanted to do it! I did it for you!`
He was screaming inside his mind now. He directed towards hers. She stopped crying for a moment. She cringed.
`You hate me.`
`Don`t be a fool! Like I said before…I came here to get you and only you!`
`You left me. You let him take me so you could fight him.`
`Am I fighting him right now?!`
`You`re just trying to make me feel better by telling me things that I want to hear. You just don`t want anyone to hate you so you`ll feel better about yourself.`
`Well…that`s true…but that doesn`t count for you!`
`What do you mean?`
Millerna screamed as she was thrown against the wall. Fenris` laugh was quickly followed by an explosion and a yelp as Wolfwood fired a missile.
`I don`t….I don`t like when you`re upset!`
`You don`t care.`
`Will you just shut up for a second?!`
Meryl went silent. He heard her snifle.
`…I`m sorry.`
`You are? Really?`
`Yeah really. Just don`t spread that around.`
`Go on. Make your point.`
`That bastard Fenris made me say it.`
`He made you say it but it did come from you. You should have thought about the consequences before you…`
`Did you think about what would happen?`
`Well I…no.`
`How can you sit there and blame me for all of this then? You didn`t want children, did you?`
`Actually…yes I do.`
Knives uncurled himself. He stared at the back of Meryl`s head. Dryden was watching the battle with worried eyes.
`You wanted children?`
`I want children. I didn`t want them until I had a solid relationship but…you can`t change what happens. I am happy that it happened, Knives, even if you aren`t. I think that I can get along without you.`
`You`re dumping me?!`
`I wasn`t aware that we were seeing eachother. Don`t worry. I understand how you feel. Go on. I`m not upset at you anymore.`
He should have felt better after that.
`But I don`t.`
`Huh?`
`You just don`t get it, do you? I came back here for you. You think that someone like me can easily admit to themselves that they…`
`That they what?`
He could not find the words. He mentally slapped himself over and over again.
`Knives?`
`Hold on! This is really hard! I don`t know how humans do this!`
`It takes courage for any species. What do you want to tell me?`
Dryden was thrown back. He dropped Meryl as he flew threw the air. Meryl cried out as she fell to the ground. Knives growled as Fenris laughed. He crawled towards her. She looked at him. Blood began to pool from underneath her. Knives felt the flow of blood in his back. He sat up carefully. He pulled her into his lap.
"Let go of me." she mumbled.
"No. You can`t tell me what to do."
Vash yelled out some kind of battle cry from behind him and Fenris grunted. Judging by the way that the sound travelled Vash had plowed into him.
"Knives, just put me down please?"
He stroked her hair. She stiffened.
"Just relax."
"…Okay."
Vash yelled and there came the sound of a struggle then Wolfwood`s gun going off. Knives ignored it. Dryden came over to them.
"Knives, hand her over or get out of here!"
Knives glared at him. Dryden backed off with his hands raised. He occupied himself with checking on Millerna and pulling her out of the way of the battle. Knives looked down at Meryl. She looked really confused.
"Knives…why do you insist on hurting me like this?"
"I`m not hurting you."
"You know what I mean."
"I`ll do it."
"Do what?"
"What do you mean what?! What we`ve been talking about!"
"Oh…I wasn`t aware that we were discussing anything."
Knives kept his anger inside instead of yelling at her.
"I`ll live like a human if that will make you happy." he whispered. Each word came out forcefully. She tilted her head.
"Who said anything about living like a human?"
"You know…all humans who have kids settle down and all that boring shit…er…stuff."
"Knives…we don`t have to settle down. No one said that having children means you need to settle down. I only want to do what you want to do. I would wonder around for the rest of time dragging them around as long as I was following you. You don`t have to give up your life just for that…but…"
"But what?!"
He sounded desperate.
"You need to tell me that you love me."
"Here?!"
Vash went flying behind them and slammed into a wall. He got up shaking himself off. He ran in again.
"Yes here."
"Damn it…"
"Then it`s not true?"
"No…I mean yes! Yeah…uh…"
His mind went spinning.
`How do I do this?! I can`t admit that emotion! It goes against everything that I stand for!`
Dryden ran out of the room carrying Millerna.
"Knives!"
Fenris walked towards them. Wolfwood was cursing himself for running out of bullets while Vash was trying to figure out why his left arm was jammed.
"Ah the loving couple. Too bad this moment will not last much longer."
He raised his hand and twisted it. Meryl cried out in pain. Knives gritted his teeth. Whatever Fenris was doing was happening to Meryl`s back.
"I do not know how it is possible for you to be feeling eachother`s pain. The only thing I can do is enjoy this to it`s fullest. You two belong together. You are both pathetic excuses of your species."
Vash ran at Fenris who put his other hand behind him. Vash was thrown back soon followed by Wolfwood who tried the same thing. Milly threw her gun down and ran at Fenris. She actually managed to almost hit him before being knocked back.
"As soon as I am satisfied with maiming the two of you I will kill your brother and your friends. I will torture them because it is fun."
Meryl`s screams were getting weaker. Knives turned his head to look over his shoulder.
"Stop it!"
"No."
"STOP IT!"
"Not until I become bored with the noises that she makes."
Knives turned to Meryl. She gazed into his eyes.
"…I care about you a lot. That is all I can manage to say for now."
He said it so quietly that only Meryl heard it. She began to cry. He nmotioned for Milly to come over.
"Okay. This time I really do want you to take Meryl to a safe distance. I promise that I will be okay. I promise."
Meryl nodded as Milly took her. Knives stood up. Fenris smiled.
"So you will fight me now? Good."
Knives` eyes glowed.
"I told you before not to mess with her."
"If it hurts you then I would do it for all eternity."
"Not if I have anything to say about that. Come, brother. We have to teach this guy a lesson."
Vash gave a thumb`s up. Knives rolled his eyes.
"So we have to use our arm again, don`t we?"
"Right."
"I`d leave, Wolfwood." Vash said. Wolfwood left. Fenris laughed. The brothers pointed their guns simultaneously. Their guns fell apart and their arms merged.
"We could die here." Vash said with a smile on his face.
"So be it."
"Yeah! Let`s do this in the name of love and peace!"
"…Fine. Love and peace."
Fenris` eyes glowed. He smiled. He pointed his hands out and they glowed.
"We have our own form of angel arm. Yours are no different."
"Let`s just find that out for ourselves."
Their arms began to charge.
"It`s been nice knowing you, brother." Knives said.
"I didn`t say goodbye yet!"
The explosion that came from the release of energy was deafening.
---------------------------------------------------------
Milly ran with Meryl in her arms.
"Where do I go?" she asked aloud.
`Try the wall again.`
`Legato?`
`Fenris is weakened. You can escape through the wall. Hurry. If you stay in there you will both be killed.`
`Where is Dryden and Millerna?`
`They are out here.`
Wolfwood came up from behind her. Milly began to run again. Wolfoowd followed without a word. They soon arrived at a side of the dome. Milly motioned for Wolfwood to say the words. They walked through soon to be met by Legato and the others on the outside. Legato put his hands out. Milly placed Meryl in his arms.
"We have to move away from the dome. That rock over there seems like a relatively safe spot."
They all ran until they got behind the rock. Legato laid Meryl against the back so she would not see what was happening. Instead of being partially invisible the dome was becoming completely white from all of the energy inside it. Legato crawled up the side of the rock then stood up. He watched with unblinking eyes. The others screamed when the ground began to shake. Legato stood firm as they jumped for cover. The dome began to move as if made of liquid then it exploded. The ground sunk in around it as it radiated away. The explosion nearly made it to their area but it began to slow down. It took several minutes for all of the dust to clear. When it did nothing was left of the dome except for large chunks of it that managed to not be disenigrated.
--------------------------------------------------
The search for Vash and Knives turned up nothing. The only good thing that came out of all of this was that Fenris could not be found either. Meryl had gone unconscious soon after the dome exploded. They were grateful for that. None of them were in the mood to tell her that Knives and Vash were both dead. Dryden kicked a piece of a barrel away from him.
"Well this sucks."
"I have to agree." Wolfwood replied quietly. He had his hand on Milly`s head as she sat on the ground on her knees with her head in her hands crying.
"He promised Meryl that he would be okay! He promised her!"
"We sometimes have to break promises."
"That jerk! He left her so many times! How could he? How could he?! Now he`s gone and Vash is gone!"
"I know. The lord works in mysterious ways that none of us can possibly understand. I find myself asking Him sometimes about that. I never do get a great answer."
Millerna sighed sadly as she stood beside Legato surveying the damage.
"I knew something like this would happen."
"It is unfortunate. I feel bad for her."
"So do I."
"She really did change him."
"Was he a jerk as everyone says?"
"Worse."
When Milly stopped crying they all discussed what they would do. Legato said that he would take Meryl with him because of his promise to Knives. Milly became upset and insisted that they all stay with her and Wolfwood for awhile. They agreed.
-----------------------------------------
Four weeks(about a month) after the battle with Fenris…
Quick info: They all got a small little house on the outskirts of July who were continuing to rebuild. Milly, Wolfwood, Dryden, and Millerna found easy jobs there. Meryl did not work. Legato looked after her.
"Meryl, don`t you want to come outside?" Milly asked through the bedroom door. Meryl sat in a chair by the window staring out. Ever since she woke up a couple of days after the battle she only left her room to eat or use the bathroom. She never went outside.
"No thanks, Milly."
"You need to get outside. It`ll be good for you."
"I just want to be alone right now."
Milly stepped into the room. Her face was twisted into a frown that did not suit her. She picked Meryl up by the shoulders and stood her up.
"You can`t just stay in here and not do anything! I used to do that when I thought that Nick was dead! It`s not healthy! Come on! I won`t take no for an answer!"
Meryl nodded. She plastered on a fake smile.
"Okay, Milly."
She allowed Milly to take her by the hand and lead her outside. Meryl put a hand up as the late afternoon sun shone down on them. She took a seat on the porch bench.
"I`ll sit here, okay?"
"Okay, Meryl!"
Milly ran off. Wolfwood was sitting on his bike waiting. He waved to Meryl.
"Hey, Meryl!" he called. Meryl waved slightly. Dryden walked out of the house. He took a seat beside Meryl.
"It sure is a nice day, isn`t it?"
"Sure."
Her words were empty. She felt her back itch. The wound she had received from the lizard creature had healed into a pretty nasty scar. She could not heal like a plant could. She supposed that it was kind of like Vash. At the thought of her friend she felt tears in her eyes. Dryden handed her his bandana.
"Thank you." she whispered.
"So what are you going to call them?"
"Huh?"
"The twins."
"Oh…I`m not sure actually. That`s a good question."
"Do you want boys or girls or a boy and a girl?"
"Why the interest?"
"For conversational purposes."
Meryl thought about it.
`I haven`t thought about it.`
`I want two boys myself.`
Her eyes idened.
`My mind is playing tricks on me again. That can`t be…`
`So you are not happy to see me?`
`What? I can`t even see you! How…I`m arguing with my mind!`
"Meryl, are you okay?"
"No I`m not. I thought that I…"
`You did.`
`Shut up!`
`That is no way to speak to me. I dare you to look up.`
Meryl looked up. All she saw was desert for miles except for two silouetted figures. She watched as they approached. They were tall. She could see that. Dryden took out his gun.
"Put that away." Meryl said.
"But…"
"Do as I say!"
The figures got closer. Meryl could not move. She knew who it was. She thought about this so many times before. She imagined them coming back and running and jumping into Knives` arms but now she could not move. They came into view now. The way Vash waved made it seem as if they had never been gone. Knives kept his eyes fixed on her. They stopped a few feet from the house. Dryden`s mouth hung open.
"Well…aren`t you going to come over here and say hey?" Knives asked. Meryl felt anger.
"Why did you let me think that you were dead? Why did you let me suffer like that?"
"We had to recover. We didn`t want you or the others to see us in the hsape that we were in."
Meryl noticed a lock of blach hair growing from his hairline in the center. She saw that Vash`s hair was half black. She rubbed her eyes.
"How did you get that?"
"When a plant uses an extensive amount of energy our hair begins to turn black."
"Doesn`t that mean…."
"Hey don`t worry!" Vash exclaimed "What matters is that we`re back!"
Meryl stood up. She kept her eyes on Knives the whole time as if he would just disappear or leave. She carefully walked down the porch steps. She stood about a foot from him. He waited.
"Well?"
"Well what?"
"You are happy to see me, aren`t you?"
"Shut up." she said as she threw her arms around him. He held her as she cursed him over and over for leaving so many times and letting her think he was dead. He chuckled.
"So you`re not happy to see me?"
She looked up and slapped him. Vash laughed. He waved to Dryden and gave him a thumb`s up. Dryden returned the gesture. Vash walked up the steps.
"You know what?"
"What?"
"I could sure use a drink."
Dryden grinned. They walked off towards town chatting about the past couple of weeks while Knives held Meryl against him as she cried.
*OHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This chapter made me want to skip through fields of daisies!!!!! Well…one more chapter left and this is done!! ( Thanks to my reviewers again! This chapter didn`t take that long cuz I thought of it pretty fast.
Author: Akima The Stampede Maxwell
Date begun: April 3, 2002
Anime: *smacks forehead* Yeah right. Like you don`t know…
Pairings: no comment
Rating: NR for Knivishness, other peopleness, a lot of violence and some dramatic scenes(perhaps) AND SOME DEATH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Disclaimers: Nope. Nothing owned.
***Du-du-du-DAAAAAAAAAA!!! Almost done baby! This chapter and chapter 21 should end this one. OH OH OH THE ANGST! IT IS ALMOST TOO MUCH TO BEAR! I AM SO SORRY IF YOU ALL WERE WANTING KNIVES TO BE THE SAME GROUCHY GUY BUT THIS IS A SERIOUS SITUATION HERE!!! I PROMISE THAT HE WILL ALWAYS STILL HAVE THE SAME CHARM THAT WE ALL LOVE BUT NOT HERE!! He is very OOC here.
Chapter 20: Between Life and Death
Fenris and Knives circled each other for ten minutes. All the while Fenris through insults at him that became more cutting each time.
"So you and that little traitor bitch slept together and now you two have spawned twin trash that will only serve to infect the world. You are pathetic. I thought that a plant like yourself would have more wits than to join with one of us."
Knives growled. His eyes shook but he pushed back his tears.
"Shut up!"
"So now I am hitting a nerve. How interesting and predictable. She is not worth this fighting. She is worthless trash. She and those unborn freaks should be destroyed as soon as possible."
Knives` fists clenched. Fenris stared him in the eyes. He smiled broadly.
"You do not even want them, do you? You wish that you never gave in to her in the first place. You cannot handle the thought of being like a human and settling down with a family. Your greatest fears are being alone and humans. Ironic. To not be alone you must become more human as she has. What would you choose?"
"I told you to shut up!"
Knives` voice wavered now. Fenris laughed.
"Admit it! Admit it to me right now!"
"Fine! You want me to say it?! Will that shut you up so we can finish this stupid battle?!"
"Yes."
"I DON`T WANT ANY CHILDREN AND I DON`T WANT TO BE HUMAN!" he screamed. Millerna gasped. She put a hand over her mouth. Fenris chuckled.
"What`s so funny?"
"Meryl heard that."
Knives turned around. Dryden and Wolfwood stood there. Meryl`s eyes were wide. Tears rolled down her cheeks.
"Why did you bring her here?" Knives asked in a low voice.
"We got turned around. We also felt sorry for Meryl. She wanted to come back so much to make sure that you would be okay." Wolfwood stated. He shook his head with disgust as he went to stand beside the wall. Dryden could only try and comfort Meryl. Knives took a step towards them despite the fact that he was leaving his back wide open. He reached out a hand.
"I…"
Meryl turned her head away from him and buried her face in Dryden`s chest. Dryden glared at Knives.
"Nice work! Now you hurt her more than that damn wound on her back could ever do!"
Knives brought up his knife studded arm threateningly.
"Don`t smart off to me!"
"Hit me. I`m sure that Meryl would love to see that."
Knives dropped his arm to his side. He cut himself slightly doing so. His tall determined figure suddenly went slack. He looked defeated. He faced Fenris.
"You win."
Millerna gawked at him.
"You`re giving up?! How can you say that? He wants to kill Meryl!"
"She`d be better off dead anyways, wouldn`t she?"
Millerna ran up to him and slapped him harder than anyone had ever before. Knives stumbled back. He put a hand to his cheek and chuckled slightly. Milly shrieked.
"You think that it`s funny?!"
Knives stopped laughing. He slid to the floor. He just laid there. During this time even Fenris did not say anything…at least not at first.
"Pathetic. Absolutely pathetic. I coaxed you into speaking your heart to the girl so she could hear it. I did you a favor. Now you act as if your life is nothing. You are right. Your life is nothing and it always was nothing. I love ruining lives."
Knives curled up into a fetal position(I know. You wouldn`t normally see Knives do this but he`s hurting pretty badly now. Poor Knives.) after his knives along his arms retracted. Vash and Milly suddenly ran in. They tripped over eachother`s feet. Fenris smirked.
"And here is the last of your gang, Knives."
Vash looked at Knives on the floor.
"Brother?"
"Do not bother him. His heart is breaking." Fenris said. Vash crept up to Knives and placed a hand on his back. Knives cringed away from his hand. Milly took the time to go over to Dryden and try and help Meryl. Vash snarled at Fenris.
"What did you do to him?!"
"I did him a favor."
"Bullshit!"
"I made him tell Meryl the truth…that he used her. He does not even want the children that Meryl has growing inside of her."
Vash blinked.
"Meryl`s pregnant…with my brother`s kids?!"
He looked at Knives. He was too busy drowning in self pity. Milly was too busy telling Meryl that everything would be okay. Vash turned back to face Fenris.
"If he won`t fight you then I will!"
"You will not even kill me. How can you possibly win?"
"I`ll kill you." Millerna said. She loaded her gun. Wolfwood grinned as he held his punisher up. Fenris laughed.
"Three-on-one. Not very good odds…for you anyways. I will still win."
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Knives felt his heart beating rapidly. He was having trouble breathing.
`Why did I say that?! That bastard planned that out so I would say it! I….I really don`t want to have any children! Damn it! Damn it! How am I going to get out of this mess?`
"Why? Why?!" he heard from Meryl. He felt that tightening in his chest again. He cursed himself over and over.
`I know why I feel this way. It`s just like a human would feel. I hate that more than anything.`
"He never had feelings for me! He used me!"
`Shit! No I didn`t! He made it look like…no…I made it look like…I didn`t use you! I…I wanted to do it! I did it for you!`
He was screaming inside his mind now. He directed towards hers. She stopped crying for a moment. She cringed.
`You hate me.`
`Don`t be a fool! Like I said before…I came here to get you and only you!`
`You left me. You let him take me so you could fight him.`
`Am I fighting him right now?!`
`You`re just trying to make me feel better by telling me things that I want to hear. You just don`t want anyone to hate you so you`ll feel better about yourself.`
`Well…that`s true…but that doesn`t count for you!`
`What do you mean?`
Millerna screamed as she was thrown against the wall. Fenris` laugh was quickly followed by an explosion and a yelp as Wolfwood fired a missile.
`I don`t….I don`t like when you`re upset!`
`You don`t care.`
`Will you just shut up for a second?!`
Meryl went silent. He heard her snifle.
`…I`m sorry.`
`You are? Really?`
`Yeah really. Just don`t spread that around.`
`Go on. Make your point.`
`That bastard Fenris made me say it.`
`He made you say it but it did come from you. You should have thought about the consequences before you…`
`Did you think about what would happen?`
`Well I…no.`
`How can you sit there and blame me for all of this then? You didn`t want children, did you?`
`Actually…yes I do.`
Knives uncurled himself. He stared at the back of Meryl`s head. Dryden was watching the battle with worried eyes.
`You wanted children?`
`I want children. I didn`t want them until I had a solid relationship but…you can`t change what happens. I am happy that it happened, Knives, even if you aren`t. I think that I can get along without you.`
`You`re dumping me?!`
`I wasn`t aware that we were seeing eachother. Don`t worry. I understand how you feel. Go on. I`m not upset at you anymore.`
He should have felt better after that.
`But I don`t.`
`Huh?`
`You just don`t get it, do you? I came back here for you. You think that someone like me can easily admit to themselves that they…`
`That they what?`
He could not find the words. He mentally slapped himself over and over again.
`Knives?`
`Hold on! This is really hard! I don`t know how humans do this!`
`It takes courage for any species. What do you want to tell me?`
Dryden was thrown back. He dropped Meryl as he flew threw the air. Meryl cried out as she fell to the ground. Knives growled as Fenris laughed. He crawled towards her. She looked at him. Blood began to pool from underneath her. Knives felt the flow of blood in his back. He sat up carefully. He pulled her into his lap.
"Let go of me." she mumbled.
"No. You can`t tell me what to do."
Vash yelled out some kind of battle cry from behind him and Fenris grunted. Judging by the way that the sound travelled Vash had plowed into him.
"Knives, just put me down please?"
He stroked her hair. She stiffened.
"Just relax."
"…Okay."
Vash yelled and there came the sound of a struggle then Wolfwood`s gun going off. Knives ignored it. Dryden came over to them.
"Knives, hand her over or get out of here!"
Knives glared at him. Dryden backed off with his hands raised. He occupied himself with checking on Millerna and pulling her out of the way of the battle. Knives looked down at Meryl. She looked really confused.
"Knives…why do you insist on hurting me like this?"
"I`m not hurting you."
"You know what I mean."
"I`ll do it."
"Do what?"
"What do you mean what?! What we`ve been talking about!"
"Oh…I wasn`t aware that we were discussing anything."
Knives kept his anger inside instead of yelling at her.
"I`ll live like a human if that will make you happy." he whispered. Each word came out forcefully. She tilted her head.
"Who said anything about living like a human?"
"You know…all humans who have kids settle down and all that boring shit…er…stuff."
"Knives…we don`t have to settle down. No one said that having children means you need to settle down. I only want to do what you want to do. I would wonder around for the rest of time dragging them around as long as I was following you. You don`t have to give up your life just for that…but…"
"But what?!"
He sounded desperate.
"You need to tell me that you love me."
"Here?!"
Vash went flying behind them and slammed into a wall. He got up shaking himself off. He ran in again.
"Yes here."
"Damn it…"
"Then it`s not true?"
"No…I mean yes! Yeah…uh…"
His mind went spinning.
`How do I do this?! I can`t admit that emotion! It goes against everything that I stand for!`
Dryden ran out of the room carrying Millerna.
"Knives!"
Fenris walked towards them. Wolfwood was cursing himself for running out of bullets while Vash was trying to figure out why his left arm was jammed.
"Ah the loving couple. Too bad this moment will not last much longer."
He raised his hand and twisted it. Meryl cried out in pain. Knives gritted his teeth. Whatever Fenris was doing was happening to Meryl`s back.
"I do not know how it is possible for you to be feeling eachother`s pain. The only thing I can do is enjoy this to it`s fullest. You two belong together. You are both pathetic excuses of your species."
Vash ran at Fenris who put his other hand behind him. Vash was thrown back soon followed by Wolfwood who tried the same thing. Milly threw her gun down and ran at Fenris. She actually managed to almost hit him before being knocked back.
"As soon as I am satisfied with maiming the two of you I will kill your brother and your friends. I will torture them because it is fun."
Meryl`s screams were getting weaker. Knives turned his head to look over his shoulder.
"Stop it!"
"No."
"STOP IT!"
"Not until I become bored with the noises that she makes."
Knives turned to Meryl. She gazed into his eyes.
"…I care about you a lot. That is all I can manage to say for now."
He said it so quietly that only Meryl heard it. She began to cry. He nmotioned for Milly to come over.
"Okay. This time I really do want you to take Meryl to a safe distance. I promise that I will be okay. I promise."
Meryl nodded as Milly took her. Knives stood up. Fenris smiled.
"So you will fight me now? Good."
Knives` eyes glowed.
"I told you before not to mess with her."
"If it hurts you then I would do it for all eternity."
"Not if I have anything to say about that. Come, brother. We have to teach this guy a lesson."
Vash gave a thumb`s up. Knives rolled his eyes.
"So we have to use our arm again, don`t we?"
"Right."
"I`d leave, Wolfwood." Vash said. Wolfwood left. Fenris laughed. The brothers pointed their guns simultaneously. Their guns fell apart and their arms merged.
"We could die here." Vash said with a smile on his face.
"So be it."
"Yeah! Let`s do this in the name of love and peace!"
"…Fine. Love and peace."
Fenris` eyes glowed. He smiled. He pointed his hands out and they glowed.
"We have our own form of angel arm. Yours are no different."
"Let`s just find that out for ourselves."
Their arms began to charge.
"It`s been nice knowing you, brother." Knives said.
"I didn`t say goodbye yet!"
The explosion that came from the release of energy was deafening.
---------------------------------------------------------
Milly ran with Meryl in her arms.
"Where do I go?" she asked aloud.
`Try the wall again.`
`Legato?`
`Fenris is weakened. You can escape through the wall. Hurry. If you stay in there you will both be killed.`
`Where is Dryden and Millerna?`
`They are out here.`
Wolfwood came up from behind her. Milly began to run again. Wolfoowd followed without a word. They soon arrived at a side of the dome. Milly motioned for Wolfwood to say the words. They walked through soon to be met by Legato and the others on the outside. Legato put his hands out. Milly placed Meryl in his arms.
"We have to move away from the dome. That rock over there seems like a relatively safe spot."
They all ran until they got behind the rock. Legato laid Meryl against the back so she would not see what was happening. Instead of being partially invisible the dome was becoming completely white from all of the energy inside it. Legato crawled up the side of the rock then stood up. He watched with unblinking eyes. The others screamed when the ground began to shake. Legato stood firm as they jumped for cover. The dome began to move as if made of liquid then it exploded. The ground sunk in around it as it radiated away. The explosion nearly made it to their area but it began to slow down. It took several minutes for all of the dust to clear. When it did nothing was left of the dome except for large chunks of it that managed to not be disenigrated.
--------------------------------------------------
The search for Vash and Knives turned up nothing. The only good thing that came out of all of this was that Fenris could not be found either. Meryl had gone unconscious soon after the dome exploded. They were grateful for that. None of them were in the mood to tell her that Knives and Vash were both dead. Dryden kicked a piece of a barrel away from him.
"Well this sucks."
"I have to agree." Wolfwood replied quietly. He had his hand on Milly`s head as she sat on the ground on her knees with her head in her hands crying.
"He promised Meryl that he would be okay! He promised her!"
"We sometimes have to break promises."
"That jerk! He left her so many times! How could he? How could he?! Now he`s gone and Vash is gone!"
"I know. The lord works in mysterious ways that none of us can possibly understand. I find myself asking Him sometimes about that. I never do get a great answer."
Millerna sighed sadly as she stood beside Legato surveying the damage.
"I knew something like this would happen."
"It is unfortunate. I feel bad for her."
"So do I."
"She really did change him."
"Was he a jerk as everyone says?"
"Worse."
When Milly stopped crying they all discussed what they would do. Legato said that he would take Meryl with him because of his promise to Knives. Milly became upset and insisted that they all stay with her and Wolfwood for awhile. They agreed.
-----------------------------------------
Four weeks(about a month) after the battle with Fenris…
Quick info: They all got a small little house on the outskirts of July who were continuing to rebuild. Milly, Wolfwood, Dryden, and Millerna found easy jobs there. Meryl did not work. Legato looked after her.
"Meryl, don`t you want to come outside?" Milly asked through the bedroom door. Meryl sat in a chair by the window staring out. Ever since she woke up a couple of days after the battle she only left her room to eat or use the bathroom. She never went outside.
"No thanks, Milly."
"You need to get outside. It`ll be good for you."
"I just want to be alone right now."
Milly stepped into the room. Her face was twisted into a frown that did not suit her. She picked Meryl up by the shoulders and stood her up.
"You can`t just stay in here and not do anything! I used to do that when I thought that Nick was dead! It`s not healthy! Come on! I won`t take no for an answer!"
Meryl nodded. She plastered on a fake smile.
"Okay, Milly."
She allowed Milly to take her by the hand and lead her outside. Meryl put a hand up as the late afternoon sun shone down on them. She took a seat on the porch bench.
"I`ll sit here, okay?"
"Okay, Meryl!"
Milly ran off. Wolfwood was sitting on his bike waiting. He waved to Meryl.
"Hey, Meryl!" he called. Meryl waved slightly. Dryden walked out of the house. He took a seat beside Meryl.
"It sure is a nice day, isn`t it?"
"Sure."
Her words were empty. She felt her back itch. The wound she had received from the lizard creature had healed into a pretty nasty scar. She could not heal like a plant could. She supposed that it was kind of like Vash. At the thought of her friend she felt tears in her eyes. Dryden handed her his bandana.
"Thank you." she whispered.
"So what are you going to call them?"
"Huh?"
"The twins."
"Oh…I`m not sure actually. That`s a good question."
"Do you want boys or girls or a boy and a girl?"
"Why the interest?"
"For conversational purposes."
Meryl thought about it.
`I haven`t thought about it.`
`I want two boys myself.`
Her eyes idened.
`My mind is playing tricks on me again. That can`t be…`
`So you are not happy to see me?`
`What? I can`t even see you! How…I`m arguing with my mind!`
"Meryl, are you okay?"
"No I`m not. I thought that I…"
`You did.`
`Shut up!`
`That is no way to speak to me. I dare you to look up.`
Meryl looked up. All she saw was desert for miles except for two silouetted figures. She watched as they approached. They were tall. She could see that. Dryden took out his gun.
"Put that away." Meryl said.
"But…"
"Do as I say!"
The figures got closer. Meryl could not move. She knew who it was. She thought about this so many times before. She imagined them coming back and running and jumping into Knives` arms but now she could not move. They came into view now. The way Vash waved made it seem as if they had never been gone. Knives kept his eyes fixed on her. They stopped a few feet from the house. Dryden`s mouth hung open.
"Well…aren`t you going to come over here and say hey?" Knives asked. Meryl felt anger.
"Why did you let me think that you were dead? Why did you let me suffer like that?"
"We had to recover. We didn`t want you or the others to see us in the hsape that we were in."
Meryl noticed a lock of blach hair growing from his hairline in the center. She saw that Vash`s hair was half black. She rubbed her eyes.
"How did you get that?"
"When a plant uses an extensive amount of energy our hair begins to turn black."
"Doesn`t that mean…."
"Hey don`t worry!" Vash exclaimed "What matters is that we`re back!"
Meryl stood up. She kept her eyes on Knives the whole time as if he would just disappear or leave. She carefully walked down the porch steps. She stood about a foot from him. He waited.
"Well?"
"Well what?"
"You are happy to see me, aren`t you?"
"Shut up." she said as she threw her arms around him. He held her as she cursed him over and over for leaving so many times and letting her think he was dead. He chuckled.
"So you`re not happy to see me?"
She looked up and slapped him. Vash laughed. He waved to Dryden and gave him a thumb`s up. Dryden returned the gesture. Vash walked up the steps.
"You know what?"
"What?"
"I could sure use a drink."
Dryden grinned. They walked off towards town chatting about the past couple of weeks while Knives held Meryl against him as she cried.
*OHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! This chapter made me want to skip through fields of daisies!!!!! Well…one more chapter left and this is done!! ( Thanks to my reviewers again! This chapter didn`t take that long cuz I thought of it pretty fast.