Sorry about the delay on this chapter. I've been packing up and
working my final hours at my job before I ship off to college early next
week (eeee, I'm scared!)
I took some creative license on this chapter. You remember the episode where Meryl says "I'm having unhappy visions again!"? Well, I've decided to take it literally and say that she really DOES have visions. There was something else, too, but I've forgotten what it is by now. It IS 2 in the morning after all. Any who, please forgive me my insolence, and as always: let me know what you think!
Also, one more note: my friend just joined the fanfiction world. Her name is 'Moki', and she specializes in Harry Potter fiction. She hasn't had anyone read her story yet, though, and she'd like some constructive criticism. So, if you're tired of reading my story, go checking out 'Ticking Clocks'. It's in my favorite stories list, if you're interested. (Forgive me for mentioning this like this.)
Enough shameless plugs. On with the story!
Meryl shuddered heavily in the darkness and hugged herself tighter. The night air was frighteningly cold, standing out in stark contrast to the blazing heat of the day.
Meryl idly wondered if her sudden drop in temperature had anything to do with the fact that she was alone. She had been warm when she had fallen asleep, but when she had been awoken by God knows what a short time later; she was suddenly missing a good 200 pounds of warmth.
She didn't want to admit it, but she was worried. For the first five or ten minutes she pretended that she thought he was omnipotent, when it was just the opposite; he could very easily die.
Still, she had promised to stay here. She would only be a hindrance to his legendary gun fighting skills anyway.
Sighing, Meryl gently rested her forehead against the cool leather binding on the steering wheel. Her gut was twisted in tight knots of worry for the man now striding (she imagined) confidently towards his destination. She took deep breaths, trying to calm her nerves. It was a fruitless effort, but it gave her something to do. She finally gave up when she began to feel a little bit light headed.
It only got worse when she stopped, however. Meryl gasped, realizing that, like clockwork, she was getting yet another glimpse of the future. The world before her blurred, and she methodically closed her eyes against the onslaught of images her mind began to play like a movie.
-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
Millie had lost the ability to breathe, it seemed. All oxygen movement had ceased when the swirling clouds in Wolfwood's eyes had all but dissipated, leaving the soft warmth that she had seen so many times in her dreams.
Wolfwood seemed to have stopped breathing as well. Air hung thick between them. He seemed to be waiting for an answer, and only after coming to the realization did she realize that he had said something.
"S-sorry? Why, whatever for?" she laughed, that nervous chuckle that always seemed to escape when she was at a loss for action.
"Everything. I've put you through so much." his hands, warm and loving, were suddenly grasping her eyes. Millie's eyes felt about to pop right out. "I don't know if I can ever make it up to you."
Millie took in a deep breath, and then let it out. She repeated, over and over. Her mind, ticking away like a geared clock, now whirred with nonsensical sentences. What was happening? The stranger before her had suddenly turned into...
"Wolfwood?" She whispered, her voice hoarse. She feared that if she said it too loud that he would disappear.
"I'm sorry, honey. I never meant to leave you alone"
Millie's breath, that she hadn't realized she been holding while he spoke, suddenly let out in a whoosh. Her heart beat rapidly, like a racehorse pushed too far. She didn't know why this was all happening; all she knew was that it WAS happening. That was good enough for Millie's brain.
"Wolfwood!" She cried, launching herself into his arms and barreling both of them to the floor. She sobbed into the material of his shirt, her arms around him in a vice grip that threatened to cut off his air supply.
Rather than attempt to free himself, however, he clutched her closer with one arm. The hand attached to his free arm found its way into her dirt- ridden locks of hair. He brushed the hair from her forehead before planting a kiss there.
"I've just.I've missed you SO much!" She sobbed harder.
"Shhh, honey, I'm here now".
He let her sob into him, his hand stroking her back in a comforting gesture. All the while his own mind was in a jumble. He felt like he had just awakened from a bad dream. But waking up had been painful; very, very painful. It had felt like there was something, someone, that hadn't wanted him to wake up.
At the same time, these past few days (well, he thought they were the last few days. They also felt like part of the dream) had been so strange. He had listened to Millie crying...and he hadn't been able to do anything about it. It was like had been a prisoner of his own body. He also remembered a voice. A laughing, mocking voice, that had rang inside his head; and a sinister, evil shadow that had been following him around ever since he had arrived here.
"I don't know what's going on," Wolfwood said quietly, "but I'll bet Legato will be able to tell me."
Millie's head shot up, giving him a painful view of her tear-stained face.
"You're not going to fight him, are you?"
Wolfwood's gaze softened at the look of obvious worry on her usually cheerful face. He also noted the dark smudges under her eyes. He could only assume that he was the artist that had given them to her.
A thought occurred to him. He was about to open his mouth, to ask where Vash and Meryl were, but a sudden onslaught of memories caused him to snap it back shut.
He had shot Meryl. Just...gone right out and shot her.
"Have you seen Vash or Meryl lately, honey?"
Millie's brows drew together in thought.
"Well, yes. Mr. Vash took Meryl away to get her help after you..."
"...after I shot her."
Millie read the shame and guilt in his tone instantly.
"Don't worry, Mr. Priest. I'm sure neither Meryl nor Mr. Vash blame you for what happened. You were a different person then."
Wolfwood smiled at her.
"You always know what to say, don't you?"
A muffled bang from somewhere in the houses made the hair on the back of Wolfwood's neck stand up.
"I have to go." He stated simply.
"Go? Where? You're not going out there are you?"
He sighed, gently putting her from him and standing. A simple search of his person found the weapon he was looking for. Cocking the hammer of the old colt pistol, he turned to her.
"I have to."
Resolutely, Millie moved forward until she was standing directly in front of him.
"I'm going with you."
"Millie, honey, it's dangerous, I don't want you to..."
"I'll be perfectly fine! I have my stun gun with me."
Wolfwood stared.
"Legato let you keep your gun with you?"
Millie smiled.
"Yup!"
Shaking his head, Wolfwood ignored the little voice in the back of his mind and went against his own reasoning.
"Alright, you can come, but you need to stay behind me the whole time. Got that?"
Wolfwood creaked the door open, fear whooshing in with the sudden blast of night air. Who knows what they would meet on the other side of the hallway.
-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
Meryl wasn't quite used to the preliminaries to having visions. There was always the feeling of swimming through a partially solidified substance, the lack of oxygen, and the unnerving feeling of weightlessness. It passed quickly, but left her feeling slimy.
She was in the house now. That dreaded house that had formerly held her prisoner, and currently held her best friend prisoner. The same house that now dangerously sheltered Vash.
She saw that same scantily furnished living room. She also saw the visage of the evil creature that dared call himself a man. What confused her was the identity of the man sitting casually in an armchair, his blonde hair a shade or two lighter than Vash's. It dawned on her. This must be Vash's brother.
"Hello there, dear brother," his voice, dripping with something a shade darker than evil, spoke as if from far away, "It's nice of you to finally join us"
She distantly heard Vash snarl.
"I don't understand, Knives. The deal was supposed to be that I would exchange you for Millie."
Knives' lips twisted upwards in a sinister smirk.
"There's been a change of plans. I decided I was tired of this little game. Instead, I've decided to use you as bait."
"I guess your little plan worked then"
As she watched, Legato's tongue lolled out from his mouth to smooth over the skin of his own hand.
"Yes, the plan was quite successful," Knives' hand clenched, "Now we just need the closing act"
Knives' snapped his fingers. The noise was unusually loud. The action brought with it the appearance of a dozen guns, held by numerous members of the infamous Gung Ho Guns, that had been 'waiting in the wings', so to speak.
Meryl tried to scream, but she couldn't. She could only watch in horror as a brief light shone from each of the guns as they fired. Her eyes couldn't shut against the onslaught of bullet holes being ripped through Vash, while his strangled cry tore through his throat.
His bleeding body fell to the carpet with a thud. There he lied, breathing shallowly, a slow trickle of blood sliding from the corner of his mouth, until a shadow passed over him. Knives. Holding an identical twin to Vash's own handgun, which still remained harmlessly in his holster. He had never been given a chance to use it.
"I gave you the chance to be with me; to create our own Eden. But instead, you take all the gifts I offer you and throw them into my face! I'm tired of your insolence, dear brother. If the only way I can save the butterfly is by killing it, then so be it."
The bullet seemed to pass through the air in slow motion, careening toward Vash's exposed forehead like a reaper's sickle. It hit its mark. She could tell that Vash was dead on impact.
Torn from the lingering fingers of her dream state, Meryl found her lungs. She began to scream. She didn't stop. Not until she realized that she had been returned to the car... That, perhaps, her vision hadn't come true yet.
Meryl's breathing was sharp and ragged. Tears stung her eyes, but she pushed them back. She had to help him.
"I'm coming, Vash, just hold on"
Without a second thought, she threw open the door and stole into the desert night.
-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
Vash turned the knob and swung it wide. With confidence, he strode forward, somehow knowing where he was supposed to go.
Inwardly he felt no confidence. Instead, he felt a blind fear for his own partial mortality.
Still, he strode on, till he found himself in the same room as the monster he had dared called a brother. -*-*-*-*-*-*-*
Millie and Wolfwood ceased their creeping forward when they heard voices drifting to them from the living room. One they recognized as Vash's. The other... well, only Wolfwood recognized the seething evil seeping from THAT voice. He had heard it in his mind many times before.
"We have to hurry," Wolfwood hissed through clenched teeth. The air was beginning to smell of death. They didn't have much time.
With a sudden quickness, they made their way towards the living room. -*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
"Now we just need the closing act"
Vash braced himself. His hand was beginning to move towards his pistol, when a high-pitched female scream resounded from behind him
"NO!" Meryl cried, barreling forward from the open doorway that Vash stood mere feet in front of.
Wolfwood and Millie rushed in from the other doorway, coming to a skidding halt at the scene in front of them.
Guns were pulled. Hammers clicked.
Shots were fired.
Everyone stood still, their breathing deep and elaborated. None dared to look around the room, to their colleagues, friends, or lovers.
Two bodies hit the floor.
Silence reigned.
-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
This is cruel of me. I apologize. Stay tuned for the final chapter!
Next chapter: In the End You Find the Answers
I took some creative license on this chapter. You remember the episode where Meryl says "I'm having unhappy visions again!"? Well, I've decided to take it literally and say that she really DOES have visions. There was something else, too, but I've forgotten what it is by now. It IS 2 in the morning after all. Any who, please forgive me my insolence, and as always: let me know what you think!
Also, one more note: my friend just joined the fanfiction world. Her name is 'Moki', and she specializes in Harry Potter fiction. She hasn't had anyone read her story yet, though, and she'd like some constructive criticism. So, if you're tired of reading my story, go checking out 'Ticking Clocks'. It's in my favorite stories list, if you're interested. (Forgive me for mentioning this like this.)
Enough shameless plugs. On with the story!
Meryl shuddered heavily in the darkness and hugged herself tighter. The night air was frighteningly cold, standing out in stark contrast to the blazing heat of the day.
Meryl idly wondered if her sudden drop in temperature had anything to do with the fact that she was alone. She had been warm when she had fallen asleep, but when she had been awoken by God knows what a short time later; she was suddenly missing a good 200 pounds of warmth.
She didn't want to admit it, but she was worried. For the first five or ten minutes she pretended that she thought he was omnipotent, when it was just the opposite; he could very easily die.
Still, she had promised to stay here. She would only be a hindrance to his legendary gun fighting skills anyway.
Sighing, Meryl gently rested her forehead against the cool leather binding on the steering wheel. Her gut was twisted in tight knots of worry for the man now striding (she imagined) confidently towards his destination. She took deep breaths, trying to calm her nerves. It was a fruitless effort, but it gave her something to do. She finally gave up when she began to feel a little bit light headed.
It only got worse when she stopped, however. Meryl gasped, realizing that, like clockwork, she was getting yet another glimpse of the future. The world before her blurred, and she methodically closed her eyes against the onslaught of images her mind began to play like a movie.
-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
Millie had lost the ability to breathe, it seemed. All oxygen movement had ceased when the swirling clouds in Wolfwood's eyes had all but dissipated, leaving the soft warmth that she had seen so many times in her dreams.
Wolfwood seemed to have stopped breathing as well. Air hung thick between them. He seemed to be waiting for an answer, and only after coming to the realization did she realize that he had said something.
"S-sorry? Why, whatever for?" she laughed, that nervous chuckle that always seemed to escape when she was at a loss for action.
"Everything. I've put you through so much." his hands, warm and loving, were suddenly grasping her eyes. Millie's eyes felt about to pop right out. "I don't know if I can ever make it up to you."
Millie took in a deep breath, and then let it out. She repeated, over and over. Her mind, ticking away like a geared clock, now whirred with nonsensical sentences. What was happening? The stranger before her had suddenly turned into...
"Wolfwood?" She whispered, her voice hoarse. She feared that if she said it too loud that he would disappear.
"I'm sorry, honey. I never meant to leave you alone"
Millie's breath, that she hadn't realized she been holding while he spoke, suddenly let out in a whoosh. Her heart beat rapidly, like a racehorse pushed too far. She didn't know why this was all happening; all she knew was that it WAS happening. That was good enough for Millie's brain.
"Wolfwood!" She cried, launching herself into his arms and barreling both of them to the floor. She sobbed into the material of his shirt, her arms around him in a vice grip that threatened to cut off his air supply.
Rather than attempt to free himself, however, he clutched her closer with one arm. The hand attached to his free arm found its way into her dirt- ridden locks of hair. He brushed the hair from her forehead before planting a kiss there.
"I've just.I've missed you SO much!" She sobbed harder.
"Shhh, honey, I'm here now".
He let her sob into him, his hand stroking her back in a comforting gesture. All the while his own mind was in a jumble. He felt like he had just awakened from a bad dream. But waking up had been painful; very, very painful. It had felt like there was something, someone, that hadn't wanted him to wake up.
At the same time, these past few days (well, he thought they were the last few days. They also felt like part of the dream) had been so strange. He had listened to Millie crying...and he hadn't been able to do anything about it. It was like had been a prisoner of his own body. He also remembered a voice. A laughing, mocking voice, that had rang inside his head; and a sinister, evil shadow that had been following him around ever since he had arrived here.
"I don't know what's going on," Wolfwood said quietly, "but I'll bet Legato will be able to tell me."
Millie's head shot up, giving him a painful view of her tear-stained face.
"You're not going to fight him, are you?"
Wolfwood's gaze softened at the look of obvious worry on her usually cheerful face. He also noted the dark smudges under her eyes. He could only assume that he was the artist that had given them to her.
A thought occurred to him. He was about to open his mouth, to ask where Vash and Meryl were, but a sudden onslaught of memories caused him to snap it back shut.
He had shot Meryl. Just...gone right out and shot her.
"Have you seen Vash or Meryl lately, honey?"
Millie's brows drew together in thought.
"Well, yes. Mr. Vash took Meryl away to get her help after you..."
"...after I shot her."
Millie read the shame and guilt in his tone instantly.
"Don't worry, Mr. Priest. I'm sure neither Meryl nor Mr. Vash blame you for what happened. You were a different person then."
Wolfwood smiled at her.
"You always know what to say, don't you?"
A muffled bang from somewhere in the houses made the hair on the back of Wolfwood's neck stand up.
"I have to go." He stated simply.
"Go? Where? You're not going out there are you?"
He sighed, gently putting her from him and standing. A simple search of his person found the weapon he was looking for. Cocking the hammer of the old colt pistol, he turned to her.
"I have to."
Resolutely, Millie moved forward until she was standing directly in front of him.
"I'm going with you."
"Millie, honey, it's dangerous, I don't want you to..."
"I'll be perfectly fine! I have my stun gun with me."
Wolfwood stared.
"Legato let you keep your gun with you?"
Millie smiled.
"Yup!"
Shaking his head, Wolfwood ignored the little voice in the back of his mind and went against his own reasoning.
"Alright, you can come, but you need to stay behind me the whole time. Got that?"
Wolfwood creaked the door open, fear whooshing in with the sudden blast of night air. Who knows what they would meet on the other side of the hallway.
-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
Meryl wasn't quite used to the preliminaries to having visions. There was always the feeling of swimming through a partially solidified substance, the lack of oxygen, and the unnerving feeling of weightlessness. It passed quickly, but left her feeling slimy.
She was in the house now. That dreaded house that had formerly held her prisoner, and currently held her best friend prisoner. The same house that now dangerously sheltered Vash.
She saw that same scantily furnished living room. She also saw the visage of the evil creature that dared call himself a man. What confused her was the identity of the man sitting casually in an armchair, his blonde hair a shade or two lighter than Vash's. It dawned on her. This must be Vash's brother.
"Hello there, dear brother," his voice, dripping with something a shade darker than evil, spoke as if from far away, "It's nice of you to finally join us"
She distantly heard Vash snarl.
"I don't understand, Knives. The deal was supposed to be that I would exchange you for Millie."
Knives' lips twisted upwards in a sinister smirk.
"There's been a change of plans. I decided I was tired of this little game. Instead, I've decided to use you as bait."
"I guess your little plan worked then"
As she watched, Legato's tongue lolled out from his mouth to smooth over the skin of his own hand.
"Yes, the plan was quite successful," Knives' hand clenched, "Now we just need the closing act"
Knives' snapped his fingers. The noise was unusually loud. The action brought with it the appearance of a dozen guns, held by numerous members of the infamous Gung Ho Guns, that had been 'waiting in the wings', so to speak.
Meryl tried to scream, but she couldn't. She could only watch in horror as a brief light shone from each of the guns as they fired. Her eyes couldn't shut against the onslaught of bullet holes being ripped through Vash, while his strangled cry tore through his throat.
His bleeding body fell to the carpet with a thud. There he lied, breathing shallowly, a slow trickle of blood sliding from the corner of his mouth, until a shadow passed over him. Knives. Holding an identical twin to Vash's own handgun, which still remained harmlessly in his holster. He had never been given a chance to use it.
"I gave you the chance to be with me; to create our own Eden. But instead, you take all the gifts I offer you and throw them into my face! I'm tired of your insolence, dear brother. If the only way I can save the butterfly is by killing it, then so be it."
The bullet seemed to pass through the air in slow motion, careening toward Vash's exposed forehead like a reaper's sickle. It hit its mark. She could tell that Vash was dead on impact.
Torn from the lingering fingers of her dream state, Meryl found her lungs. She began to scream. She didn't stop. Not until she realized that she had been returned to the car... That, perhaps, her vision hadn't come true yet.
Meryl's breathing was sharp and ragged. Tears stung her eyes, but she pushed them back. She had to help him.
"I'm coming, Vash, just hold on"
Without a second thought, she threw open the door and stole into the desert night.
-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
Vash turned the knob and swung it wide. With confidence, he strode forward, somehow knowing where he was supposed to go.
Inwardly he felt no confidence. Instead, he felt a blind fear for his own partial mortality.
Still, he strode on, till he found himself in the same room as the monster he had dared called a brother. -*-*-*-*-*-*-*
Millie and Wolfwood ceased their creeping forward when they heard voices drifting to them from the living room. One they recognized as Vash's. The other... well, only Wolfwood recognized the seething evil seeping from THAT voice. He had heard it in his mind many times before.
"We have to hurry," Wolfwood hissed through clenched teeth. The air was beginning to smell of death. They didn't have much time.
With a sudden quickness, they made their way towards the living room. -*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
"Now we just need the closing act"
Vash braced himself. His hand was beginning to move towards his pistol, when a high-pitched female scream resounded from behind him
"NO!" Meryl cried, barreling forward from the open doorway that Vash stood mere feet in front of.
Wolfwood and Millie rushed in from the other doorway, coming to a skidding halt at the scene in front of them.
Guns were pulled. Hammers clicked.
Shots were fired.
Everyone stood still, their breathing deep and elaborated. None dared to look around the room, to their colleagues, friends, or lovers.
Two bodies hit the floor.
Silence reigned.
-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
This is cruel of me. I apologize. Stay tuned for the final chapter!
Next chapter: In the End You Find the Answers