Chapter Four: Lessons and Hope
Meryl gently rubbed Grant's back as he slept, knowing when she heard him sobbing that he was dreaming about what had happened the previous day.
"Here, let me help." Orchid said, as she gently put her fingertips to Grant and Lee's foreheads and concentrated. For a brief moment, she glowed softly, then the light faded, and the children settled into deeper slumber.
"Thank you. I don't know what you did, but they need their rest." Meryl said, sounding as careworn as she looked.
"All I did was quiet the memories so they could sleep. I know that there is nothing I can do to erase their memories of yesterday, and time is the only thing that will lessen the pain, but I can make sure those memories don't disrupt their much-needed rest." Orchid said, gently.
"I just wish there was something we could do for Vash. He's still blaming himself for what happened back there." Milly said, as they all watched Vash sit in front of the fire, staring morosely at the flames.
"There must be a lot of burdens on his shoulders exactly like the one he is carrying now." Orchid mused, as they listened to Wolfwood's rather weak attempt to cheer Vash up.
"Must be." Meryl agreed, as she finally lay down beside the now peacefully sleeping twins and went to sleep herself.
The next day found them on the 'road' to the next town. With a twin on each lap, Meryl and Vash sat beside one another, in silence.
"Vash?" Meryl asked, finally summoning the courage to speak to him.
"Yes, Meryl?" Vash replied, snapping out of his daze and looking directly at her.
"How are you feeling? In all the excitement yesterday, I had forgotten that you had been sick when you left the hotel with the twins." Meryl said, as Lee shifted into a more comfortable position on his mother's lap.
"I'm still feel a little weak, but I am feeling much better, otherwise. The Doc gave me some pills that cleared up most of the symptoms." Vash replied, quietly.
"I see. It looks like Grant is about to wake up." Meryl said, as the little boy did indeed rouse up and blearily look up at his parents.
"Where are we, Mama?" Grant asked, as he looked to his mother for an answer.
"We're almost to the next town, honey. Do you want something to eat or drink?" Meryl asked, getting an enthusiastic nod from the boy for a response.
"Like his father, all right." Orchid said, remembering what she had been told about Vash's personality before the Fifth Moon incident, and giggling when she got a betrayed look from both parties for a response.
"So, Orchid, are you gonna stick with us from here on out?" Wolfwood asked.
"I guess so. I really don't have anywhere else to go, so I am safer sticking with you people." Orchid said, as she fiddled with the sleeve of her new dress (Milly had gone shopping while the rest were trying to console Vash and the twins and had bought Orchid the dress and a new pair of shoes). They were all relieved when they reached the gates of the next town.
"Hey! Excuse us! Can we come in?" Meryl asked, as she knocked on the huge door that barred the way into town. She was answered by a gunshot.
"What the hell are you shooting at us for?! We haven't done anything to you!" Wolfwood shouted, angrily.
"Get out of here! We don't want you here!" a few sentries on top of the gates replied, equally as angry.
"We're not here to hurt you! Please! Open the gates!" Milly said, jumping back when a bullet hit the ground near her feet. Wolfwood growled angrily and jumped in front of Milly to shield her, unfortunately landing on his bad leg in the process. With a mighty effort, Wolfwood caught himself and prevented his leg from collapsing out from under him, grimacing as pain tore through the wound.
"Wolfwood! You shouldn't even be standing!" Milly said, concerned when she saw a bright crimson patch staining through the bandages she had wrapped there earlier that day.
"Don't worry about me. It's just a little scratch; no big deal." Wolfwood said, from between gritted teeth.
"A little scratch that is causing you big problems. Come on. Let's get out of here." Meryl said, knowing that they were unwelcome, and not wanting her children to become targets. Reluctantly, they all turned to get back into the car, and were surprised when they found a strange boy in the car.
"Hey!" Vash said, and the boy took off.
"Wait!" Lee called, as he and Grant came to life and chased after the strange boy. All three were stopped by Milly.
"Say thank you to the nice man." Milly ordered, gently. The strange boy tried to get around her, but Milly was too quick for him.
"Say thank you." Milly repeated. Reluctantly, the boy turned and faced Vash.
"Thank you." The boy said, softly, almost shyly, before racing off into the desert.
"Hey! There's nothing but desert out there!" Wolfwood shouted, then felt Milly's gaze on him.
"Let's follow him." Milly suggested. Getting an agreement all the way around (and especially from the twins), they were soon on the strange boy's trail. They arrived at a decrepit farm.
"Let's see if anyone's home." Wolfwood said, as he limped over to the door. It was Meryl who knocked on the door.
"Hey, is anyone here?" Meryl asked. They were answered by the door opening and all sorts of junk getting thrown at them.
"Get outta here! You're not welcome! Go away!" the children inside shouted, angrily.
"Give us a break! We mean you no harm! We just want to stay for a few days, that's all!" Wolfwood said, trying to negotiate with the irate children.
"Hey! Come and get it!" Milly shouted, as she unloaded the emergency rations and dumped them at the children's feet.
"Wow! Food!" the children shouted, excitedly, as they promptly dug in.
"Milly, that was our emergency food." Meryl said, giving her children a chagrined look as they helped to pass the food out to the others.
"Well, it looked like an emergency to me, Meryl." Milly said, with a smile. Orchid could only watch in fascination as the children ate, wondering how they could all be so hungry. As the hours passed, and things settled down, Lee and Grant got the chance to make some new friends. They had a captive audience as they told of their adventures so far, and skipped over the painful part of when Brad had died right in front of them.
"And then we shot that puppet, BANG! And it fell apart!" Grant said, as Lee played the part of the 'evil puppet', getting gasps from the audience. Meryl chuckled as she watched this performance; she could tell from their actions that the twins were healing, and that things were soon going to be all right. But Vash worried her. He had returned from talking with another of the children with a dark cloud hanging over him.
"What had that child told him?" Meryl wondered, as she watched the sun set.
"Hey, time to come in! Grant and Lee can finish telling their story tomorrow!" Meryl said, getting groans from the other children as a response. As they tucked the other children in that night, Meryl noticed that one was crying, and that the twins were near him, trying to comfort him. With a gentle sigh, Meryl lay down next to the sobbing child and, with her presence, calmed him down enough so he could drift into normal slumber. As Vash watched them sleep, he wondered what the future held for him and his children. He knew that, by now, Legato and maybe even Knives, knew about the existence of the twins, and that things were about to get a whole lot more dangerous for them.
"I've got to protect them! They are the only family I've got!" Vash thought, then looked out a window at the starlit sky.
"Rem, Am I doing the right thing? Should I stay near them, despite the danger that is following me?" Vash murmured, jumping when a hand grasped his shoulder.
"C'mon. They're all asleep. There's nothing more we can do tonight." Wolfwood said, as he looked in on the sleeping children as well.
"Yeah. You're right." Vash agreed, as he softly closed the door behind him.
The next morning, everyone in the derelict farmhouse was rudely awakened by gunfire.
"Everyone! Stay away from the windows!" Meryl shouted, as she held her sons and one of the orphans close to her.
"Mama, what's going on?!" Grant yelped, clinging to his mother for dear life.
"I don't know, Grant! But I think something happened that has made that town's residents angry!" Meryl said, looking out the window when the gunfire abruptly stopped, gasping when she saw that Vash and Wolfwood were out there.
"Daddy!" Lee shouted, as he tried to get a better look.
"Why're Uncle Nick and Daddy out there? They didn't do anything wrong!" Grant yelped, very concerned about his father and the priest.
"I don't know………….." Meryl trailed off, flinching when the angry villagers knocked both men to the ground, and one of them kicked Wolfwood in his bad leg. Before the villagers could kill Vash or Wolfwood, rumbling from underground sounded, and giant sand worms emerged. Amidst the chaos, Grant and Lee were moving towards the men, trying to see if there was anything they could do to help.
"Those worms are big, but they can't be very smart. Maybe we can get their attention and draw them away." Lee murmured, as he watched the worms close in.
"Are you crazy?! There's no way we can outrun them!" Grant rebuked, wincing as an earth-shattering crash shook the house.
"We can at least try! Uncle Nick's leg is still hurt and you know that at least both him and Daddy will try to lead those worms away!" Lee said, as he felt for the gun Brad had given him (and that Meryl had let him keep, at Vash's request) and looked determinedly out the window.
"All right. Let's hope this idea of yours works." Grant muttered, finally giving in to his brother. Silently, the twins sneaked past all of the adults, and headed for open ground. It took only a few seconds for Meryl to realize that they were out there.
"Omigod! Vash! The twins!" Meryl cried, as Vash and Wolfwood (who was leaning heavily on Vash's shoulder) turned and looked to see what was going on.
"Dammit, those kids are determined to get themselves killed!" Wolfwood grumbled, as he tried to stand up on his own, but ended up falling to the ground when his bad leg gave out.
"Lee, Grant…………………." Vash muttered, uncertain on what to do at that point. Out in the desert, the twins reached a safe distance from the house and hatched their plan.
"Nyah, nyah! You can't catch us!" Lee shouted, making ugly faces at the worms while he was at it.
"C'mon! come an' get us, you ugly worms!" Grant added, tauntingly. The worms stopped for a moment and stared at the twins, then started chasing them. With a scream, both boys took off, running full tilt.
"Yep. They are your sons, all right." Wolfwood muttered, his expression deadpan, as they watched the boys run away from the herd of sand worms.
"Eheh…………………." Vash chuckled, sighing in exasperation as he also watched.
"Aaaaagghhh! This was your idea, Lee! How're we gonna get outta this one?!" Grant asked, as they ran hell for leather away from the rampaging worms.
"Don't ask me! I didn't think that far ahead!" Lee replied, as they continued running.
At the town, Meryl looked back, waiting for the twins (and rescuing father) to arrive. Already the town was under attack by sand worms, and she, Orchid, and Milly were hard put to it to try and keep everyone together. When one child broke away from the group, Milly went after him.
"Wait! Don't go that way!" Milly shouted, as she took off.
"Damn………….." Wolfwood gritted, as sweat beaded on his brow, wincing as pain throbbed through his injured leg, angry that he couldn't help Milly.
"Don't worry, I'm sure she'll be all right." Meryl said, then noticed that Vash was running through the streets, with the twins at his heels.
"Vash! Go find Milly! She's gone after a stray one!" Meryl said, trying to get the point across to the gunman. Vash looked at her and nodded, then said something to the twins only they could hear at that point.
Lee looked around as the town crumbled around them.
"Daddy! I see them!" Grant shouted, as he pointed out Milly and the boy she'd run after. She was holding the little boy close while she shielded him.
"Milly! Come over this way!" Vash shouted, getting the woman's attention. With a nod, Milly stood and started running, following Vash and the twins closely when they started heading back to where Meryl and the rest waited. When they had gotten to the meeting place, both Meryl and Wolfwood breathed sighs of relief; their loved ones were safe, for the moment.
"I'm sorry, Mama! It was my fault! I should've thought it through!" Lee said, guilty that he had caused his mother to worry.
"Don't worry about that, Lee. I'm just glad that you and Grant are safe." Meryl said, too relieved to actually scold her sons about their reckless behavior.
"Mama! It's almost as though those worms are being controlled!" Grant blurted, just as another worm emerged from under the sand.
"Move!" Wolfwood shouted, as they all began to try and run away from the worm. Vash, on the other hand, started running towards the worm, hoping to draw it off. As he passed the group of children, he sensed what might have been the trigger for the worm attacks. In a move that startled and awed the twins, Vash fired his silver gun backwards, hitting the earpiece that one boy was wearing, and shattering it. Immediately, the worms stopped attacking and dove back under the sand, disappearing from sight.
"You were using a high frequency to control those worms, weren't you? Why did you do that?" Vash asked, as all attention turned to the boy that had worn the earpiece. The boy sneered at him.
"That's because I am Gung-Ho Gun number four: Zazie the Beast." The boy said, as shock registered on the faces of Meryl, Milly, Vash, and Wolfwood. The only two who didn't react were Lee and Grant.
"Who're the Gung-Ho Guns? And why're you actin' so weird?" Lee asked, as he took a step towards the Gung-Ho Gun.
"Stay where you are, child of Vash the Stampede, or your mother gets it!" Zazie threatened, as he pointed one of the pistols he had on-hand at Meryl.
"Damn you………….." Wolfwood growled, yelling in pain when Zazie fired a shot into his already wounded leg.
"Why are you doing this?! Peter!" one child cried, pitifully.
"Zazie…………I am Zazie the Beast." Zazie muttered, watching as Vash got a little closer.
"You're pushing yourself too much. You cried last night." Vash said, gently.
"Shut up!" Zazie snarled, firing off another shot, this one knocking a button off of Vash's coat.
"Yeah! And we told you it would be all right!" Lee added.
"Weren't you rooting for me earlier?" Vash asked, looking directly into Zazie's eyes as he said that.
"A demon can always lock up and destroy consciousness and memories." Zazie said, with an insane light in his eyes.
"And yet, demons can be exorcised, if the spirit is willing to help kick out the demon." Orchid said, as she stood before Zazie and placed her hands on his head.
"What?! What the hell do you think you are doing?!" Zazie screamed, as Orchid's healing power entered him.
"Exorcising the demon." Orchid murmured, as she increased her power little by little. Meryl, the twins, Milly, Wolfwood, and the rest of the children watched in stunned silence as Orchid silently did what she could for the possessed child. Then, with not even a whimper, Zazie slumped forward into the waiting arms of Vash the Stampede. Orchid fell back, weakened by using her powers, but landed against Milly, who gently guided her to the ground.
"Did you win, Orchid? Did you drive the demon out of Peter?" one little girl asked, quietly.
"Yes. The demon is gone. Peter is Peter, once more." Orchid said, as she wiped the sweat from her brow, and watched as Lee and Grant tried to rouse him.
"Hey! Peter! Peter, wake up!" Grant said, shaking the other boy by the shoulders in an effort to rouse him.
"Ooh, my head………………….where am I? What happened?" Peter asked, sounding like the child he was.
"Good, you aren't talking weird anymore. That's a relief!" Grant said, in all honesty. Peter gave him a confused look.
"Talking weird? What do you mean?" Peter asked, honestly confused.
"He probably doesn't remember all that he has done, and that is for the better. Let's get out of here before the townsfolk decide they want a round two." Wolfwood said, as he tried to stand, but ended up nearly passing out from the pain.
"But first we go to a doctor and get that bullet out of your leg. It'll get infected if it isn't treated soon." Milly said, sternly. Wolfwood sighed in resignation.
"Fine then. But just long enough to get the bullet out of my leg, then we head for the next town." Wolfwood said, as Milly giggled and Vash and Meryl exchanged amused glances.
The next day, they were on the road again, this time heading to one of the abandoned towns. Lee and Grant were almost asleep on their parents' laps when they heard something move in the back of the car.
"What wuzzat?" Lee asked, as he got off of Meryl's lap and looked back.
"Dunno." Grant said, as he too looked back. To their surprise, Peter poked his head out from under the luggage.
"It seems we have a stowaway." Vash said, as he grabbed the boy by the back of his shirt and brought him out, setting him down between him and Meryl.
"Great. Just peachy." Wolfwood muttered, sarcastically, getting a laugh from Milly, Meryl, Vash, Orchid and the twins.
"What are we going to do with him?" Meryl asked.
"Why not take him with us? He's already half the way to the next town, now." Milly suggested, as she continued driving (since Wolfwood had been ordered to stay off of his leg and that included not driving. Milly had been elected to drive).
"Might as well. Welcome to the crew, Peter." Vash said, as he and the rather confused boy shook on it.
"Yeah!" Lee and Grant cheered, happy that someone closer to their age was traveling with them.
Author's Note!
Sorry about the rushed chapter, but I wanted to get to the next chapter as soon as possible. Major plot twists coming up, so stay tuned!
Gemini