This chapter is a bit weak, I think. You'll have to forgive me. The next
chapter will be better, I promise.
(BTW: I went through this a second time and realized how many typos were in
it. So I updated it. Grrr at me for writing at 1 in the morning)
-*-*-*-*
Meryl's mind whirred nonsensically. She had question after question revolving about in her head. She didn't know where to start, so she went with the most pressing matter:
"Wolfwood! What the hell are you doing?!"
Meryl noticed something, then. Wolfwood was identical to the way she remembered him--minus the bullet holes-- with the exception of one thing: his eyes. The light in them was gone. The warmth, the danger, the humor.everything, it seemed, had vanished, leaving behind a dull replica in its place. Meryl's mind was beginning to put together the pieces.
"Millie." Meryl whispered, pulling at Millie's arm. The girl wouldn't budge. She didn't want to imagine the horrified look on Millie's face, so she continued to pull.
"Millie" Meryl whispered again, this time a hint of ferocity in her voice "We have to go. This isn't the Wolfwood we know and.love."
Millie wouldn't budge.
"Ah, yes, I forgot to mention, that I've gathered a new puppet lately."
"How dare you!" Meryl raged, training her revolver on Legato's face, and firing.
Legato's eyes narrowed. That was it. There was no dramatic 'I'm about to get shot' pose, no attempt at resistance. His eyes simply narrowed. Then the whole world went black.
-*-*-*-*
Meryl awoke later to a large headache in a small room. She couldn't remember where she was, what had happened.
There was a knock at the door. The timing was almost too perfect. Legato strode into the room, as smug a bastard as he had ever been.
"Mrs. Stampede, you're awake." His voice was haughty.
"Mrs. Stampede?" Meryl questioned, her brows coming together.
"Oh. That's right. I forgot. You only WISH you were Mrs. Stampede." He was grinning now. Meryl wanted to use one of her revolvers to wipe it off his face.
Legato noticed the flame igniting in her eyes "Struck a nerve, did I? Such a foolish human you are, to think that a legendary gunman would settle down with a simple insurance girl. A mortal, no less. Surely you do not honestly think he would settle for such a boring existence? Or did your foolish heart actually believe you had a chance? I imagine you spent quite some time waiting for him to come back. But he never did, did he? And that hurt. But you never gave up hope. You just continued on your foolish little sentimental way, believing that maybe he would come back someday, and confess his profound and undying adoration for y--"
"STOP IT" Meryl screamed, covering her ears. Legato's words were sharp, finding the soft spots in her heart and gouging her there. "STOP IT STOP IT STOP IT"
"He would live on long after you, you know. You would be nothing but a pile of dust at the bottom of an ornate box, and he would be as young as ever. Haven't you ever wondered how many women he's loved before you?"
Meryl said nothing, but the pain flashing across her eyes was unmistakable.
Legato began to laugh. It was a hideous sound, as if he mocked the entire world. It was also a sound that would haunt her, forever lurking at the back of her mind.
"You humans never cease to amaze me"
"You keep saying 'YOU humans'. Aren't you a human yourself?" Meryl asked, grinding her teeth together, pointedly ignoring the pain his previous words had caused. She refused to let him lead her to another outburst.
"Hmm.at one point, yes, but now I am so much more. Just like your friend."
Meryl suddenly remembered.
"What did you do to Wolfwood?!" Meryl snapped.
"I have done nothing. It is the master who has wished us all to return to the land of the living"
"What?"
Legato sighed, as if talking to a child who asks questions that are too far above their comprehension.
"Never mind that. All you need know is that you are here for a purpose, for the time being. Your precious Humanoid Typhoon has something very important to the gung ho guns, and we intend to get it back."
"So I'm the bait, huh?" Meryl sneered, "What makes you think that he'll come here for my sake?"
"We shall see" Legato responded, and made his way to the door.
"Wait! Where is Millie? What have you done to her?"
Legato turned slightly, giving her a glimpse of sinister gold orb.
"Your friend is safe. I even imposed a guard, to ensure that neither she, nor you, will try anything."
With that, he left. Meryl felt her hip. Her guns were still in place. But why? Not that her being armed seemed to make much difference with Legato, considering what had happened the last time she shot at him. Not only that, the threat in Legato's voice was unmistakable. Should she try anything, Millie's life was on the line. Tears threatened to overwhelm Meryl's eyes. Her head buried itself in her hands, her hair filtering through her fingers. This had turned into such a mess. She had to think, but she couldn't. Her conversation with Legato just kept repeating itself in her head, in a maddening rhythm. She tried to push it aside, but it just kept coming back. She knew one thing for sure: Vash wouldn't come for her. He hadn't come back to her after the fight with Knives, why would he show himself now?
Meryl was relieved, however. This meant that Vash was alive, which put a fear of hers to rest. It also meant that he had chosen never to come back, which ripped open an old wound.
To staunch the blood flow, Meryl studied her surroundings. It was a small room, in what she assumed was the ranch house she had 'laid siege' to. There was a bed, a desk, a dresser, and a closet. The carpet was an ugly brown, but well kept. The walls were a simple yellow cream color. Nothing out of the ordinary here. Meryl almost smiled. It was almost like Legato had purposely made this place seem to be a prison.
Standing, Meryl made her way to the single window. She was surprised, because it was neither barred nor sealed. Legato knew she wouldn't try to escape. She couldn't, because of 'foolish sentiment' for others.
Speaking of others, Meryl's thoughts turned to Millie. She had no doubt that the 'guard' posted on Millie was Wolfwood. Such a cruel creature Legato was, to torture her friend like this, when Millie had already suffered more pain than she should ever have to.
Meryl's head was spinning. So many questions. Why was Wolfwood alive again? And for that matter, Legato? How was she going to get Millie and herself out of this mess, anyway? And what about Wolfwood? Should they try to save him? Meryl wasn't even sure how that was possible. Or even, IF it was possible.
Falling back once again on the bed, Meryl curled into a ball. She didn't want to think about any of it, but she'd never find a solution if she didn't. So she conceded to her mind's wanderings, and began to plot.
-*-*-*-*
Millie stared at the dark figure sitting on the other side of the room, encased in shadow. She was still in a state of shock. How did one bury a past that came back to life?
"He's not the Wolfwood we know and love"
Millie knew that was true. Despite her air headed exterior, there wasn't much that got past Millie. Still, having him here.all she wanted to do was run to him, throw herself into his arms, and just sob. Sob for all of the pain that she had gone through in the past two years. Most of all, she wanted her affection returned. But the warmth that had radiated from her beloved priest was absent in this room, replaced by a chill that made Millie draw her knees up to her chest and shiver on her small bed.
Wolfwood sneered at her. Another wound appeared on her heart. Millie winced inwardly, but outwardly she smiled.
"Boy." She began. Her voice cracked, so she cleared her throat and tried again "This room sure is tiny. It reminds me of the room that I had to share with my big big sister when my family lived in this tiny house. Well, I guess we still live in a tiny house. But it's not AS tiny. And I don't live there anymore, so I suppose there's more room. Oh! And you know, my middle big sister just got married. She's expecting her first child sometime late this year. Although, I don't talk to them as much as I used to. You know, before this whole big thing happened, I used to write to them monthly. After that, I just never seemed to have the time. I guess that, really, I didn't really want to either. I don't know if they'd like me as much if I told them that I was planning to have illegitimate child. But then again, I guess I don't have to worry about that anymore."
Silence descended like a velvet cloak on the room. Millie could feel the tears tickling her eyes, and she blinked them back. Wolfwood hadn't moved throughout Millie's entire tirade, and she sneaked a look at him. He had lit a cigarette, and was staring at the window, seemingly lost in though.
Millie, however, couldn't take the silence, so she continued.
"You know, I would've loved to have had a girl. I've always wanted a little girl. Most of my brothers and sisters have boys, so I guess I wanted to be the rebel. And just think! I could've taught her how to sew, and to cook, and when her hair grew I could show her how to style it just right. She'd be really pretty, you know. With both my looks and yours. Mainly yours though. I'm not very pretty. At least, I don't think I am. My big big sister had this long blonde hair and blue eyes. I wish I could've looked like her. But no sense in brooding, is there?" Millie smiled.
The figure in the corner still hadn't moved.
Millie's cheerful countenance collapsed. Tears welled up in her eyes. There were times, when no one was looking, that Millie would just break down and cry. She sometimes just couldn't take the stress of everything. Not that she ever showed it. To everyone else, including her best friend Meryl, she always appeared the perfect picture of cheerfulness. And perhaps, by now, she had even convinced herself that she was just fine. Still, she had her moments.
Millie sighed, whispering into the darkness. It was more to herself, than to the empty shell of the man she had once loved more than anything:
"If it was a boy, I would've named him Nicholas"
-*-*-*-*
Meryl studied the ceiling for seemingly the thousandth time. She didn't know how long she had been in this room. She knew it had been several days, though. It was almost driving her insane, being pent up like this. She had almost paced a path into the floor. And yet, she hadn't come up with even a fraction of a workable plan to get them out of here.
Sighing elaborately, she sat herself down in the rickety chair before the desk, her gaze out the window.
-*-*-*-*
"You know" Millie said cheerfully, sitting on the side of her twin- sized bed, "That orphanage of yours was around December somewhere. I guess you knew that, though. I went there and visited once. It's still functional. That would make you happy."
"Do you ever shut up?"
Millie stared at Wolfwood in alarm. He was grinding out a cigarette with the sole of his loafers. It was his voice. The same voice that had whispered words of love to her. Now, however, it seemed more a stranger's voice.
"I guess I don't"
A disgusted noise burbled up from his throat. Millie stared at the floor. Suddenly, she didn't like it here as much. She had almost led herself to believe that perhaps she was getting through to him, even the slightest bit. Now she cursed herself a fool. He had just been biding his time, listening to her meaningless drabbles for lack of anything better to do.
She decided, however, that it wasn't going to get her down. Her own cheeriness was the only thing currently keeping her going, and she clung to it avidly.
"My middle big sister used to ask me the same thing. In fact, one time, when we were all going on a family trip, and I was telling everyone about the dead mouse I had found in the pond behind our house, she told me that-"
-*-*-*-*
She was going insane. There was no other explanation for it. She was simply going insane.
Meryl felt like a caged animal. She could handle mountains of paperwork, she could handle following around the most dangerous men on the planet, but she could not handle being stuck in cube-like room, waiting for some impossible absolution.
Legato had never come and visited her again. It was both a relief and anger to her. At least she had someone to talk to when he was here, even if their talks merely involved him trying to upset her.
Meryl rapped her fingers on the soft wood of the desk, her gaze eternally on the sands dancing by out the window. Nobody ever came this way. Meryl commended Legato on his choice of location. No one would think to investigate this area, much less try to attack.
Today, however, Meryl was more antsy than normal. She wasn't sure why. Today was nothing special, just another day of her confinement. She wondered idly if Legato would tire of having to wait, and just go and find Vash and Knives on his own. After killing both Millie and herself, of course.
It was so obvious by now that Vash wasn't coming to save them. He wasn't even aware of their existence anymore. Why would he bother saving some figment of the past?
The whole thing made Meryl angry: both Vash's disregard of her existence, and Legato's insistence that he was coming. Her anger, combined with her frustration at being cooped up this long, was making Meryl want to act rashly.
And she did.
Standing, Meryl made her way to the door. She tried the knob. The knob turned, and opened easily. She sneered. The bastard had way too much confidence.
She made her way slowly down the hallway, step after careful step. She wasn't sure where Millie's room was located, only that she would find it. This place couldn't be THAT large. Or, at least, she hoped it wasn't.
Unfortunately, Meryl's searched decided it was going to be bigger than she anticipated. She opened door after door to find nothing but empty rooms painfully similar to the one she had been caged in.
"Bastard's probably enjoying this." she mumbled to herself, then paused. A glimpse of light 'at the end of the tunnel', so to speak, caught her attention at the end of the hallway she was in currently. She tiptoed that direction.
The room she came into was the same one she had met Legato in. She snarled at the memory. Lucky for her, it was currently empty. Unfortunately for her, it just left her back at square one: she had no idea where Millie was.
A flutter outside the window caught her attention. She turned to stare in its direction, her heart stopping. Afraid she was caught, she held her breath, waiting to see Legato's ghostly face. However, she saw nothing. She must have been imagining things
Then, another change in scenery caught her attention. This one, however, was a sound. It resounded through the halls, or seemed to, in Meryl's ears. She heard a door close, followed by a voice.
Meryl began to run in the direction of the voice. Her legs protested, having been stationary for so long, but she ignored them.
She skidded to a stop, however, when a door popped open right in front of her. She narrowly escaped becoming a door ornament.
Peeking around it, Meryl exclaimed joyfully.
"Millie!"
"Meryl!"
The two embraced quickly, overjoyed at seeing a familiar face after so long. On Meryl's part, at least, seeing as Millie hadn't been alone.
"We're leaving" Meryl said quietly, as if the walls could hear their plans and tell on them.
"Leaving?" Millie replied dumbly.
"Yes. It's obvious that our intended rescue party isn't showing up anytime soon, so we're going to have to take matters into our own hands"
Millie was silent.
"Come on Millie! We have to go! While the coast is clear"
"But Meryl, I can't leave."
"What? Why not?"
"Because.I can't leave him here by himself, surrounded by all these evil people"
"Who are you---Millie! That man isn't Wolfwood! You have to understand that he isn't the man you lo-"
"I am aware of that, Meryl" Millie interrupted, "But now that I've found him again, I won't lose him. No matter what he is."
Speaking of the devil, a shadow passed over the girls. They both looked up, fearfully, into the dead eyes of Millie's new bodyguard.
Wolfwood said nothing, merely raised his weapon.
"NO!" Millie cried, watching in horror as a bullet tore mercilessly through the tender flesh of Meryl's shoulder.
Meryl cried out in pain, falling backwards and hitting her rump on the hard floor of the hallway.
"Meryl!!!" Millie screamed.
A simple shoulder wound, however, would not daunt Meryl. She forced herself to her feet, raising her own weapon, aiming carefully for Wolfwood's head.
"You can't!" Millie screamed, slapping the barrel of the weapon. The bullet found its way into a defenseless wall, instead. The pain of it made Meryl wince. The bastard had shot her firing arm.
"Damn it Millie! You have to accept that this is not your Wolfwood!"
"Go and get help, Meryl" Millie replied, her voice suddenly deathly calm.
Their opponent obviously had no interest in their conversation. He began shoving Millie back into her room. Meryl raised her weapon again, but didn't fire as she spotted the warning in Millie's eyes.
"Go back to the town, and get help. You have to find someone who can get both of us out of here."
"Millie, no!" Meryl watched helplessly as the tall figure of Wolfwood latched the door, then turned back to her.
Meryl's eyes widened as she watched the silver weapon once again train itself on her body. The pain from the previous bullet wound was beginning to take effect as well. She could feel the blood dripping down her skin from inside her shirt. She tried to raise her gun, but the pain from her shoulder prevented it. The gun slid helplessly from her grasp, clattering on the floor. Meryl's eyes rose, locked with the empty eyes before her. Grimly, she accepted her fate.
"Wolfwood.please, don't do this" Millie pleaded from inside her room, pounding her fist on the door. She had hoped Meryl would run away. She saw now what a foolish hope it was. There was also some faint hope that Wolfwood would come to his senses and realize he was about to shoot a friend. She cursed herself for believing so much in what was obviously no more than a shell. She pounded more frantically, screaming at Wolfwood, pleading for him to stop. Not to kill her best friend, his friend as well.
Wolfwood hesitated, for a fraction of a second. Something flashed in his eyes. Then, it was gone. His finger pulled the trigger.
Two shots rang out in the hallway. Two shots, from two separate guns.
And then, silence.
-*-*-*-*
Meryl's mind whirred nonsensically. She had question after question revolving about in her head. She didn't know where to start, so she went with the most pressing matter:
"Wolfwood! What the hell are you doing?!"
Meryl noticed something, then. Wolfwood was identical to the way she remembered him--minus the bullet holes-- with the exception of one thing: his eyes. The light in them was gone. The warmth, the danger, the humor.everything, it seemed, had vanished, leaving behind a dull replica in its place. Meryl's mind was beginning to put together the pieces.
"Millie." Meryl whispered, pulling at Millie's arm. The girl wouldn't budge. She didn't want to imagine the horrified look on Millie's face, so she continued to pull.
"Millie" Meryl whispered again, this time a hint of ferocity in her voice "We have to go. This isn't the Wolfwood we know and.love."
Millie wouldn't budge.
"Ah, yes, I forgot to mention, that I've gathered a new puppet lately."
"How dare you!" Meryl raged, training her revolver on Legato's face, and firing.
Legato's eyes narrowed. That was it. There was no dramatic 'I'm about to get shot' pose, no attempt at resistance. His eyes simply narrowed. Then the whole world went black.
-*-*-*-*
Meryl awoke later to a large headache in a small room. She couldn't remember where she was, what had happened.
There was a knock at the door. The timing was almost too perfect. Legato strode into the room, as smug a bastard as he had ever been.
"Mrs. Stampede, you're awake." His voice was haughty.
"Mrs. Stampede?" Meryl questioned, her brows coming together.
"Oh. That's right. I forgot. You only WISH you were Mrs. Stampede." He was grinning now. Meryl wanted to use one of her revolvers to wipe it off his face.
Legato noticed the flame igniting in her eyes "Struck a nerve, did I? Such a foolish human you are, to think that a legendary gunman would settle down with a simple insurance girl. A mortal, no less. Surely you do not honestly think he would settle for such a boring existence? Or did your foolish heart actually believe you had a chance? I imagine you spent quite some time waiting for him to come back. But he never did, did he? And that hurt. But you never gave up hope. You just continued on your foolish little sentimental way, believing that maybe he would come back someday, and confess his profound and undying adoration for y--"
"STOP IT" Meryl screamed, covering her ears. Legato's words were sharp, finding the soft spots in her heart and gouging her there. "STOP IT STOP IT STOP IT"
"He would live on long after you, you know. You would be nothing but a pile of dust at the bottom of an ornate box, and he would be as young as ever. Haven't you ever wondered how many women he's loved before you?"
Meryl said nothing, but the pain flashing across her eyes was unmistakable.
Legato began to laugh. It was a hideous sound, as if he mocked the entire world. It was also a sound that would haunt her, forever lurking at the back of her mind.
"You humans never cease to amaze me"
"You keep saying 'YOU humans'. Aren't you a human yourself?" Meryl asked, grinding her teeth together, pointedly ignoring the pain his previous words had caused. She refused to let him lead her to another outburst.
"Hmm.at one point, yes, but now I am so much more. Just like your friend."
Meryl suddenly remembered.
"What did you do to Wolfwood?!" Meryl snapped.
"I have done nothing. It is the master who has wished us all to return to the land of the living"
"What?"
Legato sighed, as if talking to a child who asks questions that are too far above their comprehension.
"Never mind that. All you need know is that you are here for a purpose, for the time being. Your precious Humanoid Typhoon has something very important to the gung ho guns, and we intend to get it back."
"So I'm the bait, huh?" Meryl sneered, "What makes you think that he'll come here for my sake?"
"We shall see" Legato responded, and made his way to the door.
"Wait! Where is Millie? What have you done to her?"
Legato turned slightly, giving her a glimpse of sinister gold orb.
"Your friend is safe. I even imposed a guard, to ensure that neither she, nor you, will try anything."
With that, he left. Meryl felt her hip. Her guns were still in place. But why? Not that her being armed seemed to make much difference with Legato, considering what had happened the last time she shot at him. Not only that, the threat in Legato's voice was unmistakable. Should she try anything, Millie's life was on the line. Tears threatened to overwhelm Meryl's eyes. Her head buried itself in her hands, her hair filtering through her fingers. This had turned into such a mess. She had to think, but she couldn't. Her conversation with Legato just kept repeating itself in her head, in a maddening rhythm. She tried to push it aside, but it just kept coming back. She knew one thing for sure: Vash wouldn't come for her. He hadn't come back to her after the fight with Knives, why would he show himself now?
Meryl was relieved, however. This meant that Vash was alive, which put a fear of hers to rest. It also meant that he had chosen never to come back, which ripped open an old wound.
To staunch the blood flow, Meryl studied her surroundings. It was a small room, in what she assumed was the ranch house she had 'laid siege' to. There was a bed, a desk, a dresser, and a closet. The carpet was an ugly brown, but well kept. The walls were a simple yellow cream color. Nothing out of the ordinary here. Meryl almost smiled. It was almost like Legato had purposely made this place seem to be a prison.
Standing, Meryl made her way to the single window. She was surprised, because it was neither barred nor sealed. Legato knew she wouldn't try to escape. She couldn't, because of 'foolish sentiment' for others.
Speaking of others, Meryl's thoughts turned to Millie. She had no doubt that the 'guard' posted on Millie was Wolfwood. Such a cruel creature Legato was, to torture her friend like this, when Millie had already suffered more pain than she should ever have to.
Meryl's head was spinning. So many questions. Why was Wolfwood alive again? And for that matter, Legato? How was she going to get Millie and herself out of this mess, anyway? And what about Wolfwood? Should they try to save him? Meryl wasn't even sure how that was possible. Or even, IF it was possible.
Falling back once again on the bed, Meryl curled into a ball. She didn't want to think about any of it, but she'd never find a solution if she didn't. So she conceded to her mind's wanderings, and began to plot.
-*-*-*-*
Millie stared at the dark figure sitting on the other side of the room, encased in shadow. She was still in a state of shock. How did one bury a past that came back to life?
"He's not the Wolfwood we know and love"
Millie knew that was true. Despite her air headed exterior, there wasn't much that got past Millie. Still, having him here.all she wanted to do was run to him, throw herself into his arms, and just sob. Sob for all of the pain that she had gone through in the past two years. Most of all, she wanted her affection returned. But the warmth that had radiated from her beloved priest was absent in this room, replaced by a chill that made Millie draw her knees up to her chest and shiver on her small bed.
Wolfwood sneered at her. Another wound appeared on her heart. Millie winced inwardly, but outwardly she smiled.
"Boy." She began. Her voice cracked, so she cleared her throat and tried again "This room sure is tiny. It reminds me of the room that I had to share with my big big sister when my family lived in this tiny house. Well, I guess we still live in a tiny house. But it's not AS tiny. And I don't live there anymore, so I suppose there's more room. Oh! And you know, my middle big sister just got married. She's expecting her first child sometime late this year. Although, I don't talk to them as much as I used to. You know, before this whole big thing happened, I used to write to them monthly. After that, I just never seemed to have the time. I guess that, really, I didn't really want to either. I don't know if they'd like me as much if I told them that I was planning to have illegitimate child. But then again, I guess I don't have to worry about that anymore."
Silence descended like a velvet cloak on the room. Millie could feel the tears tickling her eyes, and she blinked them back. Wolfwood hadn't moved throughout Millie's entire tirade, and she sneaked a look at him. He had lit a cigarette, and was staring at the window, seemingly lost in though.
Millie, however, couldn't take the silence, so she continued.
"You know, I would've loved to have had a girl. I've always wanted a little girl. Most of my brothers and sisters have boys, so I guess I wanted to be the rebel. And just think! I could've taught her how to sew, and to cook, and when her hair grew I could show her how to style it just right. She'd be really pretty, you know. With both my looks and yours. Mainly yours though. I'm not very pretty. At least, I don't think I am. My big big sister had this long blonde hair and blue eyes. I wish I could've looked like her. But no sense in brooding, is there?" Millie smiled.
The figure in the corner still hadn't moved.
Millie's cheerful countenance collapsed. Tears welled up in her eyes. There were times, when no one was looking, that Millie would just break down and cry. She sometimes just couldn't take the stress of everything. Not that she ever showed it. To everyone else, including her best friend Meryl, she always appeared the perfect picture of cheerfulness. And perhaps, by now, she had even convinced herself that she was just fine. Still, she had her moments.
Millie sighed, whispering into the darkness. It was more to herself, than to the empty shell of the man she had once loved more than anything:
"If it was a boy, I would've named him Nicholas"
-*-*-*-*
Meryl studied the ceiling for seemingly the thousandth time. She didn't know how long she had been in this room. She knew it had been several days, though. It was almost driving her insane, being pent up like this. She had almost paced a path into the floor. And yet, she hadn't come up with even a fraction of a workable plan to get them out of here.
Sighing elaborately, she sat herself down in the rickety chair before the desk, her gaze out the window.
-*-*-*-*
"You know" Millie said cheerfully, sitting on the side of her twin- sized bed, "That orphanage of yours was around December somewhere. I guess you knew that, though. I went there and visited once. It's still functional. That would make you happy."
"Do you ever shut up?"
Millie stared at Wolfwood in alarm. He was grinding out a cigarette with the sole of his loafers. It was his voice. The same voice that had whispered words of love to her. Now, however, it seemed more a stranger's voice.
"I guess I don't"
A disgusted noise burbled up from his throat. Millie stared at the floor. Suddenly, she didn't like it here as much. She had almost led herself to believe that perhaps she was getting through to him, even the slightest bit. Now she cursed herself a fool. He had just been biding his time, listening to her meaningless drabbles for lack of anything better to do.
She decided, however, that it wasn't going to get her down. Her own cheeriness was the only thing currently keeping her going, and she clung to it avidly.
"My middle big sister used to ask me the same thing. In fact, one time, when we were all going on a family trip, and I was telling everyone about the dead mouse I had found in the pond behind our house, she told me that-"
-*-*-*-*
She was going insane. There was no other explanation for it. She was simply going insane.
Meryl felt like a caged animal. She could handle mountains of paperwork, she could handle following around the most dangerous men on the planet, but she could not handle being stuck in cube-like room, waiting for some impossible absolution.
Legato had never come and visited her again. It was both a relief and anger to her. At least she had someone to talk to when he was here, even if their talks merely involved him trying to upset her.
Meryl rapped her fingers on the soft wood of the desk, her gaze eternally on the sands dancing by out the window. Nobody ever came this way. Meryl commended Legato on his choice of location. No one would think to investigate this area, much less try to attack.
Today, however, Meryl was more antsy than normal. She wasn't sure why. Today was nothing special, just another day of her confinement. She wondered idly if Legato would tire of having to wait, and just go and find Vash and Knives on his own. After killing both Millie and herself, of course.
It was so obvious by now that Vash wasn't coming to save them. He wasn't even aware of their existence anymore. Why would he bother saving some figment of the past?
The whole thing made Meryl angry: both Vash's disregard of her existence, and Legato's insistence that he was coming. Her anger, combined with her frustration at being cooped up this long, was making Meryl want to act rashly.
And she did.
Standing, Meryl made her way to the door. She tried the knob. The knob turned, and opened easily. She sneered. The bastard had way too much confidence.
She made her way slowly down the hallway, step after careful step. She wasn't sure where Millie's room was located, only that she would find it. This place couldn't be THAT large. Or, at least, she hoped it wasn't.
Unfortunately, Meryl's searched decided it was going to be bigger than she anticipated. She opened door after door to find nothing but empty rooms painfully similar to the one she had been caged in.
"Bastard's probably enjoying this." she mumbled to herself, then paused. A glimpse of light 'at the end of the tunnel', so to speak, caught her attention at the end of the hallway she was in currently. She tiptoed that direction.
The room she came into was the same one she had met Legato in. She snarled at the memory. Lucky for her, it was currently empty. Unfortunately for her, it just left her back at square one: she had no idea where Millie was.
A flutter outside the window caught her attention. She turned to stare in its direction, her heart stopping. Afraid she was caught, she held her breath, waiting to see Legato's ghostly face. However, she saw nothing. She must have been imagining things
Then, another change in scenery caught her attention. This one, however, was a sound. It resounded through the halls, or seemed to, in Meryl's ears. She heard a door close, followed by a voice.
Meryl began to run in the direction of the voice. Her legs protested, having been stationary for so long, but she ignored them.
She skidded to a stop, however, when a door popped open right in front of her. She narrowly escaped becoming a door ornament.
Peeking around it, Meryl exclaimed joyfully.
"Millie!"
"Meryl!"
The two embraced quickly, overjoyed at seeing a familiar face after so long. On Meryl's part, at least, seeing as Millie hadn't been alone.
"We're leaving" Meryl said quietly, as if the walls could hear their plans and tell on them.
"Leaving?" Millie replied dumbly.
"Yes. It's obvious that our intended rescue party isn't showing up anytime soon, so we're going to have to take matters into our own hands"
Millie was silent.
"Come on Millie! We have to go! While the coast is clear"
"But Meryl, I can't leave."
"What? Why not?"
"Because.I can't leave him here by himself, surrounded by all these evil people"
"Who are you---Millie! That man isn't Wolfwood! You have to understand that he isn't the man you lo-"
"I am aware of that, Meryl" Millie interrupted, "But now that I've found him again, I won't lose him. No matter what he is."
Speaking of the devil, a shadow passed over the girls. They both looked up, fearfully, into the dead eyes of Millie's new bodyguard.
Wolfwood said nothing, merely raised his weapon.
"NO!" Millie cried, watching in horror as a bullet tore mercilessly through the tender flesh of Meryl's shoulder.
Meryl cried out in pain, falling backwards and hitting her rump on the hard floor of the hallway.
"Meryl!!!" Millie screamed.
A simple shoulder wound, however, would not daunt Meryl. She forced herself to her feet, raising her own weapon, aiming carefully for Wolfwood's head.
"You can't!" Millie screamed, slapping the barrel of the weapon. The bullet found its way into a defenseless wall, instead. The pain of it made Meryl wince. The bastard had shot her firing arm.
"Damn it Millie! You have to accept that this is not your Wolfwood!"
"Go and get help, Meryl" Millie replied, her voice suddenly deathly calm.
Their opponent obviously had no interest in their conversation. He began shoving Millie back into her room. Meryl raised her weapon again, but didn't fire as she spotted the warning in Millie's eyes.
"Go back to the town, and get help. You have to find someone who can get both of us out of here."
"Millie, no!" Meryl watched helplessly as the tall figure of Wolfwood latched the door, then turned back to her.
Meryl's eyes widened as she watched the silver weapon once again train itself on her body. The pain from the previous bullet wound was beginning to take effect as well. She could feel the blood dripping down her skin from inside her shirt. She tried to raise her gun, but the pain from her shoulder prevented it. The gun slid helplessly from her grasp, clattering on the floor. Meryl's eyes rose, locked with the empty eyes before her. Grimly, she accepted her fate.
"Wolfwood.please, don't do this" Millie pleaded from inside her room, pounding her fist on the door. She had hoped Meryl would run away. She saw now what a foolish hope it was. There was also some faint hope that Wolfwood would come to his senses and realize he was about to shoot a friend. She cursed herself for believing so much in what was obviously no more than a shell. She pounded more frantically, screaming at Wolfwood, pleading for him to stop. Not to kill her best friend, his friend as well.
Wolfwood hesitated, for a fraction of a second. Something flashed in his eyes. Then, it was gone. His finger pulled the trigger.
Two shots rang out in the hallway. Two shots, from two separate guns.
And then, silence.