Chapter Twenty-two: A Quicksand Diversion



It was a windless night that was inked completely black. Only a few pinpricks of bright white were visible amongst the endless stretch of darkness, and a pale pink moon gave light to the path of the dark-tan, run-down car that was travelling on the sands.

Small clouds of dust and sand rose behind the tires that created a soft patter as it fell, and the tires made a quiet noise as it grinded against the sand grains. The engine had quieted to a hum, and other than that, there was no other noise; not even from the driver.

Vash's hand on steering-wheel was tight, his expression unreadable.

He was no longer in the mood to joke around, laugh, or even converse with the girl next to him, who was glancing at him nervously through her blue eyes.

It was too silent for her.

She cleared her throat almost nervously, before smiling brightly.

"Uhm... the stars are very bright today. Even though they're so small..."

Milly's cheerful attempt to break the silence was awkward, and seemed to penetrate the night. She silenced and looked away from Vash. Somehow, she knew she hadn't been ignored.
As her eyes traced the rise and fall of the sand dunes they passed, her thoughts slowly began to turn over the facts, one by one.

A man had appeared. A man with fiery red hair, amber eyes and a sinister smile.

He had somehow managed to kidnap Meryl and had tortured her...

A sheen of tears coated Milly's eyes, and she quickly blinked to rid herself of the memory - the cuts, the bruises, the blood - and quickly brought herself back to what she'd been thinking about before.

The man had destroyed a building to attract Vash's attention.

Then, introducing himself as Rederine the Temaski, he shot Meryl in the back, inflicting immense pain unto Vash.

Her throat constricted as the unearthly cry Vash had let out at the time resounded in her mind.

As though he could sense Milly's uneasiness, Vash's eyes flickered towards her. She betrayed her thoughts with a small smile, letting Vash's eyes rest upon the sands before them, and her smile faded.

She gave herself a mental shake to shatter the disturbing wail and continued to reorganise her thoughts.

Through what Vash called a miracle, Meryl had survived the shot, but the fact that she had nearly died was enough to anger Vash.

Then, what could only be what made things worse, Wolfwood had been attacked and sadistically strung up like a--

Milly's thoughts came to a halt. She closed her eyes, composing her thudding heart as she bit her lip. The image of the priest, tied up and bleeding, his wrists limp and the nape of his neck bared, flashed behind Milly's lids for a split second... she shuddered inwardly at the realisation that she had never seen look Wolfwood so vunerable before.

And now that Rederine the Temaski had gone too far, Vash had decided to settle the score by meeting the man face to face.

Through combat or through negotiation? Milly had a feeling that Vash was going to leave that choice to Rederine, which meant they were definitely headed into a fight.

That man, Rederine the Temaski... Milly's eyes slowly opened as she realised that he had the power to make Vash feel something beyond despair..., to make Priest-san seem so defenceless...!

This time, Milly's shiver was physical, and diverted Vash's attention so much that they both let out audible gasps as the front of the car tires sprayed a sheet of sand onto their windshield, letting out a high-pitched squeal as it struggled against the pool of quicksand.

"Wonderful."

Vash commented as he and Milly clambered out of the car. They looked at the tires slowly sinking into the ground, both wondering the same thing.

Did they leave the car here, or did they hike the rest of the way?

"How much further do we have to go, Vash-san?"
Milly asked.

"Several iles."
Vash replied.

They exchanged glances before simultaneously bending over to push the car out of the sand. Vash nudged Milly's elbow, an eyebrow raised.

"You sit in the driver's seat. I'll push."

"Eh? But--"

"I can manage."

Vash shifted his footing around to ensure that there was only space for one person. Provided that he stood at an angle to the car and his foot didn't decide to slip and sink into the sandy whirlpool, it was possible to push the car out of the sand.

"Okay."
Milly climbed back into the car, but into the driver's seat.

"Now, I'm going to heave, and when you feel the car moving backwards, gun the engine and back out, right?"

Milly nodded, a twinkle of excitement shining in her eyes as her hands held the wheel. Vash had a feeling that if Wolfwood hadn't existed he might have asked Milly to push with him.

Rubbing his hands together, Vash took a sucked in his breath before he placed his hands infront of the car, heaving his whole weight against the steel plates and letting out an involuntary grunt.

Milly sweatdropped in her seat as nothing seemed to happen. After a few minutes of ceaseless shoving that proved useless, Milly remembered something.

Amber eyes that were half-shaded, bright and vivid in violent colour but held something else, an emotion that was covered by what Milly saw and recognised as hatred... but beneath the hatred...

"W-well, you didn't have t-to try and k-kill sempai, and Wolfwood-s-san!!"

The expression after her words had held so much pain and sadness Milly had been shocked.

"I'll be seeing you again."

His words rang as echoes in Milly's mind, and were stained with the same feelings of endless pain and tears.

I've seen that look so many times, Milly realised with widening eyes.

His expression and his expression... they're the same...!

That Rederine guy is just like--

"HEY!! Big girl?!! I think the car--"

Startled, Milly let out a surprised

"Oh!"

before pressing down the pedal with a stamp and pulling out of the quicksands with a vrrooom--screech.

"Wow, Vash-san! I didn't think we could manage so quickly!"

Milly exclaimed in delight.

Spitting out a mouthful of sand - having just been showered with it--, Vash managed to croak out,

"No problem."

before shaking himself and tapping some sand out of his ear as he slid back into the car. He was about to reach for the steering wheel when Milly sang out,

"I'll drive now! You must be exhausted from all that work!"

Sighing resignedly, Vash shrank into his seat and closed his eyes.

"Aaa... you could say that..."

He was no match for Milly's excitement. She grinned widely and cried out enthusiastically,

"Let's go!!"

Vash let out a yelp that faded away into the distance as the car swerved wildly to the right before zooming forward at top-speed.




A clink of a spoon against its bowl in the sink of warm, soapy water sounded before several sharp knocks against his door did.

"Vash? Is that you?"

He asked, walking towards his door as he dried his hands on a piece of cloth.

"Not exactly."

Came the hesitant reply behind the door. He opened it just a fraction, but ended up flinging the door open wide.

"Whoa, what are you doing here?"

"'Got wind that Vash might be here, see..."

He nodded.

"Yeah, two or three hours ago, actually. Missed him."

"Any idea where he is?"

Turning around, he nodded again with a smile,

"Come in, I'm sure he left the address on the table..."




Rederine the Temaski was not amused to find that a vehicle was fast-approaching the laboratory of Corman Labs Inc.

He was even less amused when he caught glimpse of a red jacket and a glint of amber-tinted sunglasses.

The sight of the girl who had shot him with a stungun just yesterday made Rederine's eyes narrow in displeasure.

"How the hell did he find out,"

He muttered, his eyes following the trailing cloud of sand in the midst of the car. He sat up from his post and glanced round to the front of the laboratory.

"Now... do I let them to enter, or do I stop them?"

He mused out loud, only to be interrupted by a sharp crackle of static by his waist.

"Let who enter, exactly?"

The voice of the professor came, clipped and curt. Rederine scowled, wishing he'd remembered to turn it off before shaking his head irritably and lifting the contraption to his lips.

"Vash the Stampede."

There was a brief pause as Rederine waited for the predictable reaction of the professor. Sure enough, the professor's voice started again, this time hushed and excited.

"A-are you sure? He's coming himself?"

"Yes, he's coming, professor."

Rederine replied, concealing with difficulty the annoyance in his voice.

"Is he alone?"

"No, sir. He's accompanied by a girl."

"How did he find out?"
"I told him, sir. Through an innocent source."

Rederine lied, wondering if the red-coated freak would shoot the door down or do anything else that might wear his welcome. He'd better not, Rederine thought.

"Excellent."

The professor's voice was pleased; absolutely delighted. Rederine felt his stomach churn, and a wave of nausea passed the bridge of his nose.

"Escort them inside."

There was a click, and the connection was dead. The professor had obviously cut the line in order to prepare for the coming of the half-human.

Rederine grinned twistedly. Escort them inside?

Perhaps, he thought as the car neared the front metal doors of the lab. Although it might be a bit different according to the professor's plans... perhaps.




Vash felt their speed before they even came. He had just enough time to yell out in frustration,

"CRAP!!"

before throwing a hand onto Milly's back and pulling them both down. The bullets embedded themselves into the top of their seats as the car skid around on the sand randomly.

Milly let out a scream as a huge force rammed into the side of the car, jerking the car up aimlessly before it landed on its side with a violent crunch of metal.

Cursing through clenched teeth, Vash opened his eyes to find himself jammed into the car-seat. Turning to Milly, he saw her face pressed against the front glass, blood tricking from her hairline to her chin.

Blinking blood out of his own eyes, Vash glanced down to his left hand, which was somehow stuck in an intricate mass of twisted metal. He began to tug at his wrist with his other hand when he heard a soft footfall behind him in the sands.

The next moment he knew, Vash was hit with shocking force at the back of his head, forcing his jaw to jut forward as white-hot pain shot through his skull.

Blue and red splotches blotting his vision, Vash twisted round and caught sight of the tip of a dark-brown boot and an orange flash of fabric.

"--You--!!"

Vash gasped, but another blow to his temple rolled Vash's eyes to the back his head, his whole body falling limp.




[A/N: I'm trying a new format. Is this way easier to read, or the other format? ^^;; No idea, but thanks soooo much for your reviews... you probably have no idea how much they encourage me. Anyhow, I hope you don't forget too much of the story... this half-summarised most of what happened in-case you did forget, anyways. ^^;; Thanks again for your reviews - I appreciate them tons!! >_^]