Watching the episode "Diablo" again made me realize just why I wanted to write this poem. This poem was supposedly left inside the brown paper bag Legato left on the bench during the episode.

El Diablo (Legato POV)

Do you know what I am?
Do you... Vash?
I am the blood boiler that will pop the top off your head,
And spin you round and round and round...
Till your knees buckle over,
And you puke your heart out.
I am your mass murderer side,
The one who will bring about your downfall,
The one who will slum your ascent to this so-called
"Love and Peace."
Ignorant fool.
You do not realize what I am.
You do not believe in the danger that you truly are,
To yourself,
And to others.
Nothing can change that.
Nothing will burn my flesh, or my desire,
Or my triumph over you!
Through and through, my dear Stampede,
You are the enemy,
My one true purpose for living,
And the most pathetic creature on the planet Gunsmoke.
I will not let your destiny
Stand in the way
Of my fate.
You will fall under my command...
You will pale before your one true power...
It is him... and me...
And I.
Us.
Do you get it, Vash?
Do you understand yourself,
And me,
And him?
Do you realize your passion is wasted
On a bunch of half-witted humans
Who want you dead?!
DO YOU GET IT??
I am the devil in your eyes,
The blood and my bones,
The fire in one eye,
The ice in the other.
So you see, Vash the Stampede...
I am your devil-kin.
I am... Diablo.
El... Diablo...

And now, a little something inspired from "Little Arcadia".

The Test (Vash and Meryl POV, begins with Vash)

Do not be afraid.
I will have no need to harm you,
Or destroy you,
Or cause you bloodshed,
In any way...
I am said to be called a Typhoon...
The first ever humanoid natural disaster.
What did I do to deserve that?
I've been trying to make my life worth something...
And I've succeeded, for the most part.
But...
Sometimes I feel... like it's...
Not over yet.
Sometimes... I realize...
The test is only... beginning...

(Meryl)
The bond of a man and his son,
No matter how faded it is,
Can never be broken.
It is that which fades the broken and beaten path
Of death and destruction.
Nothing can ever change that, no matter what.
Nothing can ever destroy
What we love most.
But... if that were possible...
Would it be a good thing?
To break someone's heart?
To love, and to live, and to die...
For nothing?
Sometimes, I wonder what is happening
In our lives...
Sometimes, I wonder what horrors he has seen,
Or what danger he has lived through,
Or what powers he possesses.
Sometimes, I can't believe he is the Stampede.
And sometimes, it's so clear to me
That I just can't stand it anymore.
This never-ending cycle of love and death
And destruction...
That, at least, will never end.
For me... it's a sign.
A sign that Vash the Stampede
Is a true angel, arrived from Heaven...
To save us.