The final chapter. I'm so proud! This is the first piece I've
actually finished. Let me know what you guys think. I'm already pondering a
sequel, but my writing it will depend on the opinions I get from my ending.
So, let me know what you think! And thank you, THANK YOU, to everyone
that's supported me throughout this whole thing. Your angry IM's at my not
updating fast enough spurred me on till the end. I love you guys 3
-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
Throughout the ages life has been compared to many, many things. Life is like a box of chocolate; life is like driving down the freeway in reverse, etc. I think it's just the opposite: a box of chocolates is like life. At birth we are handed the one thing that we need to complete our journey here, and that is life.
I had never expected it to end like this. I was such an ambitious young thing, full of hopes and dreams. I would complete my career goals, and I would get married and have a family. Life is funny like that, however, in that it usually hands us the opposite of what we want. In turn, being the strange creatures that we are, we adapt and after a period of getting used to it all, we claim that what we have now is what we have wanted all along.
I can't say that I'm sorry. It's just that this isn't the ending I had quite expected. I had expected a quiet death; perhaps slipping away in my dreams while being held by the one I loved. I certainly never expected to die in a blaze of glory; but it was worth it. It was all worth it.
-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
The silence reeked of death's decay. Everyone seemed frozen in place, like a taxidermist's office. Time's meaning had shattered into a thousand shards of glass, each as piercing and painful as the last.
There are times in life when the mind refuses to grasp hold of reality. Instead, it clings desperately to what used to be. If the new situation is just all too painful to take hold of, the mind may be able to detach itself completely from the real world.
Words cannot describe the kind of pain that tears ones soul from ones body. It's immeasurable.
Blood, pushed forward by momentum, drew itself in an arc in the air as the lifeless body sailed backwards. With lightning reflexes strong, trembling arms latched themselves to the limp, lifeless form, falling with it to the floor.
It didn't seem real. It was one of those dreams that you couldn't wake up from. Instead, you just kept running, on and on, towards a goal that never seems to get closer.
Sounds seemed to echo like they were resounding through an empty church. Bodies making a sickening thump as they fell to the soft carpet, a harsh intake of breath by another member of the room, and piercing, scathing, maniacal laughter. It was all echoing, spiraling, down, down.
"Meryl?"
Vash recognized his voice, though he didn't recall having been able to open his mouth. Everything was suspended, suspended in his soul and stabbing.
Breathing. Ragged breathing. He tried his hardest to place it as the sound echoed over and over again in his brain. It was only straining his ears that he realized that the breathing was his own. It wasn't hers. It couldn't be hers, because she wasn't breathing at all. Vash didn't need to feel for her pulse to know that she was dead. Her life's blood, falling from a torn hole in her throat, fell across his fingers, forever marring them. She was DEAD.
Suddenly the stabbing found a tender niche. With a heart-wrenching rip, the cloth tore free, unleashing the wave behind.
His ears were suddenly filled with the sound of his own mindless wailing.
-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
Millie's hand came to her mouth to stifle the oncoming gasp. Tears were already welling up in her eyes as she witnessed the death of her best friend, an image that would burn into her subconscious and leave a scar that would never fade.
A wave of guilt was washing over her, and she felt it full force, making her sink to her knees. They had been too late. They had been 2 seconds too late. And now, because of it, Meryl was dead.
-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
The gung ho guns stopped in unison. Their fingers hovered harmlessly at their triggers. None of them moved. None of them breathed, it seemed. Their leader had fallen.
-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
Knives was torn. His objective had been accomplished, albeit in a different manner than he had anticipated. He had destroyed Vash. However, his favorite henchman had also lost his life in the crossfire. He wasn't sure who had delivered the death shot to Legato, but they were going to be punished.
Knives watched in grim satisfaction as Vash held the limp body of his beloved spider in his arms, rocking back and forth, heedless of the blood covering him. His wails of despair, of unrelenting pain, only made Knives feel that much better.
-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
Wolfwood's breathing came in even hisses. His aim had been true. The deathblow had been dealt, but he had made a fatal error. As the smoke from cross punisher filtered into the air in lazy curls, he watched Legato's body crumple. The bastard deserved it. The problem came in that Legato was not the one that had been going for Vash's deathblow. Legato had his weapon raised, but he had waited, allowing Knives the satisfaction of life's blood. Wolfwood had misinterpreted, thinking Legato would be the first to shoot, and therefore pinning him as the most imminent danger. After all, it seemed to be Knives' favorite method to sit back and let his henchmen do the dirty work for him. Now Wolfwood damned himself for the mistake. Vash had been saved anyway, but another life precious to him had been lost.
-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
Vash felt as if someone had reached in and ripped out his heart. He felt like the blood staining his coat a darker red was his own.
"Meryl," he pleaded in vain, "Please come back. Please, please come back. Don't leave me here. Don't leave me alone like this. I won't leave you again, I promise. Just don't leave me."
He rocked back and forth, her body clutched close. One hand cupped her cheek, keeping her close to ensure her safety against outside forces. His own body curled around hers as he sobbed into her hair.
-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
This was perfect, Knives thought gleefully. With the spider that had been poisoning Vash's mind eliminated, he would have his brother back. He didn't even have to kill him. Sure, he had lost Legato, but Vash was all that mattered. Knives started forward.
-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
Vash didn't look up, although he was somewhat aware of the heavy footfalls heading his direction. He continued to breathe deeply, lost in his own world of loss, of never-ending pain. It wasn't until a heavy shadow fell over him that his eyes moved upwards to the figure of his brother looming over him, Knives face curved into an easy smile.
"Come, brother, let's go away from here. Away from these spiders." Knives' hand was extended.
Vash merely stared at the outstretched palm, as if it were some unknown object from a distant planet.
"Why?" Vash asked in a hoarse whisper, his voice already cracking, "Why, Knives?"
"Why, to teach you a lesson, brother. About how foolish it is to waste your time on this human..." his hand waved to encompass the corpse before him, "garbage"
Vash met Knives in the eye.
"They are NOT garbage. I loved her, Knives."
-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
The force of pain shimmering from tear-brimmed green eyes took knives back. Vash's eyes had always had a certain empty quality, but now? Now they reflected a torn soul; one that had half its mass taken away.
Knives felt a pang suddenly. A pang like a spearhead poking at what he could only guess to be his heart. And what was that other strange emotion creeping up on him? Could it be regret? Only a little bit?
More shadows fell over the brothers. Millie, sobbing like a schoolgirl, fell to her knees beside Vash to wrap her arms around the heartbroken gunman.
Wolfwood, his eyes burning in a hell-fire rage, had his weapon trained on Knives, his trigger finger shaking, barely in control of itself.
"You bastard. Is this good enough for you? Is this pain a good enough a display to you? Do you feel BETTER now, Knives?" the cross punisher was aimed at Knives forehead.
Knives wasn't paying attention. His thoughts had turned inward, to a place visible only to himself. The new feelings burbling up inside him had perplexed him beyond measure. He almost felt...what was it.... sorry for Vash? Could that be it?
Through steely eyes Knives observed the man in front of him. There had been a dramatic change in Vash. Vash was in pain, now. He was in real pain. And he was the author of it. But wasn't that what he wanted? To teach Vash a lesson? To show him the pain there was in living?
It felt different now. Vash had truly cared for this...human. And Knives had killed her. She had just been getting in the way, but she had made Vash happy.
What was happiness anyway? Nothing but a mortal conception. Something for the spiders to hope for. Something to give their pointless existences some meaning. It was all imaginary, yet they clung to it like they clung to their plants, leeching until there was nothing left.
Somehow, the rage that Knives usually felt was ebbing away from him. The spider had jumped in front of Vash to save him. She had not made the choice to do so out of some urge to gain more. She had not given her life to gain something else. She had taken the bullet because she cared about Vash.
Perhaps he and Meryl were not so different after all. They both cared for Vash. They both wanted what was best for him, although they had two entirely different definitions of what exactly 'the best' was.
"I should have taken you out a long time ago," Wolfwood was saying, that same fury burning flames in his eyes, "But I guess that now will have to do."
The newly discovered emotions were gathering strength inside of Knives. A truth he couldn't quite grasp was slowly taking hold of him.
"Well? Are you going to fight or not?" Wolfwood asked, impatience growing at his silent audience. Knives' eyes were transfixed on some unknown point in the room. He seemed...lost.
"Fine," Wolfwood snarled. His gun raised, its barrel pressing to the soft temple of the left side of Knives' head.
Knives breathing grew heavier as he fought to detangle the web inside of him. A voice was telling him something. He didn't know what it was. He distantly heard the click of a gun hammer, but he ignored it.
It was only when imminent death was a breath away did the truth finally burble up inside him: Meryl didn't deserve to die. She loved Vash, and Vash loved her. And now Knives had taken her away from him. But.
Just as the bullet clicked into place and prepared to fire, Knives fist shot out. It connected with hard steel, bruising the bones of his knuckles, but pushing the gun away a few life saving inches as the gun fired with a resounding boom.
Snarling, Knives turned on Wolfwood. The surprised Wolfwood could only stumble back before he lost all balance in his body. He tumbled to the floor. Rather than pursue him, Knives turned to Millie and Vash, who still cradled the silenced Meryl. Millie's cries had ceased, whereas Vash's seemed only to have gained strength.
"Vash," Knives barked. His words went unheeded.
"VASH!"
The blonde looked up, his breathing irregular as his cries had suddenly been cut off.
"I can help you."
Four words, and suddenly hope was once again lurking in those green depths. It must have been the tone of Knives voice. However, he was also skeptical.
"Give her to me"
Instinctively, Vash only clutched her closer, holding her protectively.
"What are you going to do?"
Knives sighed. Though he hated explanations, it needed to be done.
"I have...powers, Vash. I can bring people back from the dead. To do it, I have to transmit a small part of my essence from myself, to them. This allows them to come back and live out the remainder of their mortal existence. However, they also in turn receive my mentality."
Wolfwood, now sitting in a cautious cross-legged position, one hand resting on his weapon, said "And that's why I felt like I was fighting a demon in my own mind?"
"Yes," Knives countered in a clipped tone, making it clear his annoyance at being interrupted.
Continuing, Knives waved a nonsensical pattern in the air with one of his hands idly, "It only takes a few minutes."
"Why are you doing this?" Vash asked, a genuine amount of puzzlement written on his tear-streaked face.
"Because, Vash, I..." he searched for the easiest reason, "I want what's best for you"
Leaving no room for discussion, Knives began to bark commands. Meryl was laid down on the table where Legato had enjoyed his various sweets. Vash took one of her hands, which was now beginning to grow cold.
Next he placed his hands against her shoulders. And then he waited.
A soft glow began to emanate from his hands, spreading from his outstretched palms to spread over Meryl like a soft blanket. The light corrupted, bleeding into a dark gray color that caused Millie, Vash, and Wolfwood to grow a bit wary.
A thin layer of sweat was forming on Knives' forehead. This process was always painful. He had to keep absolute concentration or he would break the connection and lose it.
His mind became one with Meryl's. He could feel the now still organs and searched for the one that needed a jump-start. It didn't take long to find. Mentally he seized hold of Meryl's heart, and squeezed. He squeezed hard, until he felt a spark. Still, he didn't let go. Another spark. Sweat was trickling. More sparks.
Everyone in the room waited in suspense. Meryl wasn't moving, although she was almost entirely enveloped in a blanket of dark gray.
Finally, a breakthrough: the sparks came together. With a final shove of energy, Knives gave the final little push.
Meryl's heart gave off a beat. There was a pause, and then another came. And another. They built the steady rhythm.
Gray eyes flew open. Meryl gasped wide, groping for oxygen, her arms flailing helplessly. She gulped down air again and again, never seeming to give enough.
Vash had stopped breathing. Meryl was alive! She was alive! His absolute joy masked the small amount of worry that wondered if this was the same Meryl, or just another of Knives' creatures.
Knives didn't stop now that Meryl was alive. His essence continued to transport into Meryl. His hands were shaking. He could feel it all ebbing away, but he kept on. He had to do this. For Vash.
"Why isn't he stopped?" Millie asked, her eyes widening a degree or two.
"Hey, Knives! She's alive! You can stop now!" Wolfwood cried, his anxiety growing into alarm. What was he doing to Meryl?
Knives ignored them both. It was almost finished. He need only keep his concentration for a few seconds longer.
"STOP!" Vash cried, alarmed at the wide set eyes of Meryl. Meryl's mouth was agape, as if she were in some terrible pain. Vash reached out to grasp Knives and tear him from Meryl just as his brother's body slumped away and the glow encompassing Meryl slipped into oblivion .
"What happened?" Millie asked, worried.
Meryl's breathing was returning to normal. Her eyes weren't so wide. Cautiously, Vash leaned over, still clutching Meryl's now warm hand. Her eyes swirled with the same guarded kindness they had before. Tears were brimming.
"Meryl?" He asked in a whisper.
Her eyes rolled over to him, focusing on him slowly as if her vision was coming through a fog.
"Vash?"
With a cry of joy she was swept up into his arms, crushed to his chest as he once again sobbed into her hair.
"Vash" came another voice. Vash turned to see his brother. Knives skin was now a gaunt, gray color. His lips were bloodless.
"Knives?"
"This...is my final gift to you, brother. Never will you have to watch her wither away and die as any other mortal. In giving her everything I have given her my immortality."
"Knives..." Vash whispered, speechless.
"Wait a minute," Wolfwood interrupted, "Why didn't Meryl wake up with a demon inside her head like I did?"
Knives' cold eyes focused on the former priest.
"For the evil to take control there has to be a desire for the evil's presence."
Wolfwood fell silent.
"Thank you, Knives..." Vash said dumbly, at a loss for words. His emotions were overloaded.
A miraculous thing happened. A smile, free of evil and vindication, curled Knives' lips. His headed nodded, once, before falling limply to the table. Knives released once last breath before slipping quietly into oblivion.
"Rest in peace," Wolfwood whispered quietly.
-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
At his own insistence, Vash carried Meryl from the house, Millie and Wolfwood tailing close behind.
"What now?" Millie asked, expressing what everyone was thinking.
Assuming a cheerful position, Vash chirped up "I think I'll go get something yummy to eat! I'm starved!"
He was rewarded with a sharp elbow to the ribs.
"We have a lot more to do than waste time on donuts," Meryl said haughtily.
"Like what?" Vash asked innocently.
"Well, for starters, I have to contact Bernardelli Insurance Society and let them know that Millie and I are safe. Not to mention pray that we haven't been fired. Then I have to talk to my landlord, because I left our apartment in a huge mess. And then there will be mountains of paperwork to complete..."
Vash smiled as she rambled on. He felt...complete. Although the loss of his brother saddened him, Knives' death had given him new hope. It had also given him a new life.
The gung ho guns were freed now. With Knives death the demon eating at them had been released. Vash had merely sent them on their way, happy that they also had a new start at life.
There had been a small funeral/burial for Legato and Knives. Gravestone markers were placed at both graves, placed side by side in the small plot behind the house. Vash had shed many tears into the desert sand before they left the little graveyard, but now that was all behind him. Now he had a new chance, both at life and with Meryl, and he intended to use it to his fullest.
"You know, Millie, I was thinking," Wolfwood started.
Millie's cheerful face, smiling as usual, turned from the road ahead to the man beside her.
"We lost one child. Perhaps...we could have another?"
Millie's eyes widened.
Rushing on, Wolfwood stuttered out "After we get married of course!"
"Married!" Millie squealed. She launched herself into his arms, almost tumbling him over backwards. Between laughter and kisses, Wolfwood managed to get out "Is that a yes?"
"Yes!" Millie cried.
"Hey, Vash?"
Vash tore his eyes from the happy couple now standing idle in the middle of the desert down to Meryl's upturned face.
"Yeah? What is it Meryl?"
"Do you think that...maybe, sometime, we could go and get my old clothes back?" Meryl sounded more timid than usual, "I think I'm tired of being pistol-whip Meryl. I miss Derringer Meryl."
Vash smiled, recognizing that Meryl had finally regained the identity she thought she had lost.
"Sure, Meryl. We have all the time in the world."
Meryl smiled, then frowned "But first, you're getting that jacket washed. And then you're getting a bath. You're filthy! Look at all this blood, it's disgusting..."
Vash smiled. This was going to be a perfect existence indeed.
"Awww..." He whined, "Do I have to?"
-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
Throughout the ages life has been compared to many, many things. Life is like a box of chocolate; life is like driving down the freeway in reverse, etc. I think it's just the opposite: a box of chocolates is like life. At birth we are handed the one thing that we need to complete our journey here, and that is life.
I had never expected it to end like this. I was such an ambitious young thing, full of hopes and dreams. I would complete my career goals, and I would get married and have a family. Life is funny like that, however, in that it usually hands us the opposite of what we want. In turn, being the strange creatures that we are, we adapt and after a period of getting used to it all, we claim that what we have now is what we have wanted all along.
I can't say that I'm sorry. It's just that this isn't the ending I had quite expected. I had expected a quiet death; perhaps slipping away in my dreams while being held by the one I loved. I certainly never expected to die in a blaze of glory; but it was worth it. It was all worth it.
-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
The silence reeked of death's decay. Everyone seemed frozen in place, like a taxidermist's office. Time's meaning had shattered into a thousand shards of glass, each as piercing and painful as the last.
There are times in life when the mind refuses to grasp hold of reality. Instead, it clings desperately to what used to be. If the new situation is just all too painful to take hold of, the mind may be able to detach itself completely from the real world.
Words cannot describe the kind of pain that tears ones soul from ones body. It's immeasurable.
Blood, pushed forward by momentum, drew itself in an arc in the air as the lifeless body sailed backwards. With lightning reflexes strong, trembling arms latched themselves to the limp, lifeless form, falling with it to the floor.
It didn't seem real. It was one of those dreams that you couldn't wake up from. Instead, you just kept running, on and on, towards a goal that never seems to get closer.
Sounds seemed to echo like they were resounding through an empty church. Bodies making a sickening thump as they fell to the soft carpet, a harsh intake of breath by another member of the room, and piercing, scathing, maniacal laughter. It was all echoing, spiraling, down, down.
"Meryl?"
Vash recognized his voice, though he didn't recall having been able to open his mouth. Everything was suspended, suspended in his soul and stabbing.
Breathing. Ragged breathing. He tried his hardest to place it as the sound echoed over and over again in his brain. It was only straining his ears that he realized that the breathing was his own. It wasn't hers. It couldn't be hers, because she wasn't breathing at all. Vash didn't need to feel for her pulse to know that she was dead. Her life's blood, falling from a torn hole in her throat, fell across his fingers, forever marring them. She was DEAD.
Suddenly the stabbing found a tender niche. With a heart-wrenching rip, the cloth tore free, unleashing the wave behind.
His ears were suddenly filled with the sound of his own mindless wailing.
-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
Millie's hand came to her mouth to stifle the oncoming gasp. Tears were already welling up in her eyes as she witnessed the death of her best friend, an image that would burn into her subconscious and leave a scar that would never fade.
A wave of guilt was washing over her, and she felt it full force, making her sink to her knees. They had been too late. They had been 2 seconds too late. And now, because of it, Meryl was dead.
-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
The gung ho guns stopped in unison. Their fingers hovered harmlessly at their triggers. None of them moved. None of them breathed, it seemed. Their leader had fallen.
-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
Knives was torn. His objective had been accomplished, albeit in a different manner than he had anticipated. He had destroyed Vash. However, his favorite henchman had also lost his life in the crossfire. He wasn't sure who had delivered the death shot to Legato, but they were going to be punished.
Knives watched in grim satisfaction as Vash held the limp body of his beloved spider in his arms, rocking back and forth, heedless of the blood covering him. His wails of despair, of unrelenting pain, only made Knives feel that much better.
-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
Wolfwood's breathing came in even hisses. His aim had been true. The deathblow had been dealt, but he had made a fatal error. As the smoke from cross punisher filtered into the air in lazy curls, he watched Legato's body crumple. The bastard deserved it. The problem came in that Legato was not the one that had been going for Vash's deathblow. Legato had his weapon raised, but he had waited, allowing Knives the satisfaction of life's blood. Wolfwood had misinterpreted, thinking Legato would be the first to shoot, and therefore pinning him as the most imminent danger. After all, it seemed to be Knives' favorite method to sit back and let his henchmen do the dirty work for him. Now Wolfwood damned himself for the mistake. Vash had been saved anyway, but another life precious to him had been lost.
-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
Vash felt as if someone had reached in and ripped out his heart. He felt like the blood staining his coat a darker red was his own.
"Meryl," he pleaded in vain, "Please come back. Please, please come back. Don't leave me here. Don't leave me alone like this. I won't leave you again, I promise. Just don't leave me."
He rocked back and forth, her body clutched close. One hand cupped her cheek, keeping her close to ensure her safety against outside forces. His own body curled around hers as he sobbed into her hair.
-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
This was perfect, Knives thought gleefully. With the spider that had been poisoning Vash's mind eliminated, he would have his brother back. He didn't even have to kill him. Sure, he had lost Legato, but Vash was all that mattered. Knives started forward.
-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
Vash didn't look up, although he was somewhat aware of the heavy footfalls heading his direction. He continued to breathe deeply, lost in his own world of loss, of never-ending pain. It wasn't until a heavy shadow fell over him that his eyes moved upwards to the figure of his brother looming over him, Knives face curved into an easy smile.
"Come, brother, let's go away from here. Away from these spiders." Knives' hand was extended.
Vash merely stared at the outstretched palm, as if it were some unknown object from a distant planet.
"Why?" Vash asked in a hoarse whisper, his voice already cracking, "Why, Knives?"
"Why, to teach you a lesson, brother. About how foolish it is to waste your time on this human..." his hand waved to encompass the corpse before him, "garbage"
Vash met Knives in the eye.
"They are NOT garbage. I loved her, Knives."
-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
The force of pain shimmering from tear-brimmed green eyes took knives back. Vash's eyes had always had a certain empty quality, but now? Now they reflected a torn soul; one that had half its mass taken away.
Knives felt a pang suddenly. A pang like a spearhead poking at what he could only guess to be his heart. And what was that other strange emotion creeping up on him? Could it be regret? Only a little bit?
More shadows fell over the brothers. Millie, sobbing like a schoolgirl, fell to her knees beside Vash to wrap her arms around the heartbroken gunman.
Wolfwood, his eyes burning in a hell-fire rage, had his weapon trained on Knives, his trigger finger shaking, barely in control of itself.
"You bastard. Is this good enough for you? Is this pain a good enough a display to you? Do you feel BETTER now, Knives?" the cross punisher was aimed at Knives forehead.
Knives wasn't paying attention. His thoughts had turned inward, to a place visible only to himself. The new feelings burbling up inside him had perplexed him beyond measure. He almost felt...what was it.... sorry for Vash? Could that be it?
Through steely eyes Knives observed the man in front of him. There had been a dramatic change in Vash. Vash was in pain, now. He was in real pain. And he was the author of it. But wasn't that what he wanted? To teach Vash a lesson? To show him the pain there was in living?
It felt different now. Vash had truly cared for this...human. And Knives had killed her. She had just been getting in the way, but she had made Vash happy.
What was happiness anyway? Nothing but a mortal conception. Something for the spiders to hope for. Something to give their pointless existences some meaning. It was all imaginary, yet they clung to it like they clung to their plants, leeching until there was nothing left.
Somehow, the rage that Knives usually felt was ebbing away from him. The spider had jumped in front of Vash to save him. She had not made the choice to do so out of some urge to gain more. She had not given her life to gain something else. She had taken the bullet because she cared about Vash.
Perhaps he and Meryl were not so different after all. They both cared for Vash. They both wanted what was best for him, although they had two entirely different definitions of what exactly 'the best' was.
"I should have taken you out a long time ago," Wolfwood was saying, that same fury burning flames in his eyes, "But I guess that now will have to do."
The newly discovered emotions were gathering strength inside of Knives. A truth he couldn't quite grasp was slowly taking hold of him.
"Well? Are you going to fight or not?" Wolfwood asked, impatience growing at his silent audience. Knives' eyes were transfixed on some unknown point in the room. He seemed...lost.
"Fine," Wolfwood snarled. His gun raised, its barrel pressing to the soft temple of the left side of Knives' head.
Knives breathing grew heavier as he fought to detangle the web inside of him. A voice was telling him something. He didn't know what it was. He distantly heard the click of a gun hammer, but he ignored it.
It was only when imminent death was a breath away did the truth finally burble up inside him: Meryl didn't deserve to die. She loved Vash, and Vash loved her. And now Knives had taken her away from him. But.
Just as the bullet clicked into place and prepared to fire, Knives fist shot out. It connected with hard steel, bruising the bones of his knuckles, but pushing the gun away a few life saving inches as the gun fired with a resounding boom.
Snarling, Knives turned on Wolfwood. The surprised Wolfwood could only stumble back before he lost all balance in his body. He tumbled to the floor. Rather than pursue him, Knives turned to Millie and Vash, who still cradled the silenced Meryl. Millie's cries had ceased, whereas Vash's seemed only to have gained strength.
"Vash," Knives barked. His words went unheeded.
"VASH!"
The blonde looked up, his breathing irregular as his cries had suddenly been cut off.
"I can help you."
Four words, and suddenly hope was once again lurking in those green depths. It must have been the tone of Knives voice. However, he was also skeptical.
"Give her to me"
Instinctively, Vash only clutched her closer, holding her protectively.
"What are you going to do?"
Knives sighed. Though he hated explanations, it needed to be done.
"I have...powers, Vash. I can bring people back from the dead. To do it, I have to transmit a small part of my essence from myself, to them. This allows them to come back and live out the remainder of their mortal existence. However, they also in turn receive my mentality."
Wolfwood, now sitting in a cautious cross-legged position, one hand resting on his weapon, said "And that's why I felt like I was fighting a demon in my own mind?"
"Yes," Knives countered in a clipped tone, making it clear his annoyance at being interrupted.
Continuing, Knives waved a nonsensical pattern in the air with one of his hands idly, "It only takes a few minutes."
"Why are you doing this?" Vash asked, a genuine amount of puzzlement written on his tear-streaked face.
"Because, Vash, I..." he searched for the easiest reason, "I want what's best for you"
Leaving no room for discussion, Knives began to bark commands. Meryl was laid down on the table where Legato had enjoyed his various sweets. Vash took one of her hands, which was now beginning to grow cold.
Next he placed his hands against her shoulders. And then he waited.
A soft glow began to emanate from his hands, spreading from his outstretched palms to spread over Meryl like a soft blanket. The light corrupted, bleeding into a dark gray color that caused Millie, Vash, and Wolfwood to grow a bit wary.
A thin layer of sweat was forming on Knives' forehead. This process was always painful. He had to keep absolute concentration or he would break the connection and lose it.
His mind became one with Meryl's. He could feel the now still organs and searched for the one that needed a jump-start. It didn't take long to find. Mentally he seized hold of Meryl's heart, and squeezed. He squeezed hard, until he felt a spark. Still, he didn't let go. Another spark. Sweat was trickling. More sparks.
Everyone in the room waited in suspense. Meryl wasn't moving, although she was almost entirely enveloped in a blanket of dark gray.
Finally, a breakthrough: the sparks came together. With a final shove of energy, Knives gave the final little push.
Meryl's heart gave off a beat. There was a pause, and then another came. And another. They built the steady rhythm.
Gray eyes flew open. Meryl gasped wide, groping for oxygen, her arms flailing helplessly. She gulped down air again and again, never seeming to give enough.
Vash had stopped breathing. Meryl was alive! She was alive! His absolute joy masked the small amount of worry that wondered if this was the same Meryl, or just another of Knives' creatures.
Knives didn't stop now that Meryl was alive. His essence continued to transport into Meryl. His hands were shaking. He could feel it all ebbing away, but he kept on. He had to do this. For Vash.
"Why isn't he stopped?" Millie asked, her eyes widening a degree or two.
"Hey, Knives! She's alive! You can stop now!" Wolfwood cried, his anxiety growing into alarm. What was he doing to Meryl?
Knives ignored them both. It was almost finished. He need only keep his concentration for a few seconds longer.
"STOP!" Vash cried, alarmed at the wide set eyes of Meryl. Meryl's mouth was agape, as if she were in some terrible pain. Vash reached out to grasp Knives and tear him from Meryl just as his brother's body slumped away and the glow encompassing Meryl slipped into oblivion .
"What happened?" Millie asked, worried.
Meryl's breathing was returning to normal. Her eyes weren't so wide. Cautiously, Vash leaned over, still clutching Meryl's now warm hand. Her eyes swirled with the same guarded kindness they had before. Tears were brimming.
"Meryl?" He asked in a whisper.
Her eyes rolled over to him, focusing on him slowly as if her vision was coming through a fog.
"Vash?"
With a cry of joy she was swept up into his arms, crushed to his chest as he once again sobbed into her hair.
"Vash" came another voice. Vash turned to see his brother. Knives skin was now a gaunt, gray color. His lips were bloodless.
"Knives?"
"This...is my final gift to you, brother. Never will you have to watch her wither away and die as any other mortal. In giving her everything I have given her my immortality."
"Knives..." Vash whispered, speechless.
"Wait a minute," Wolfwood interrupted, "Why didn't Meryl wake up with a demon inside her head like I did?"
Knives' cold eyes focused on the former priest.
"For the evil to take control there has to be a desire for the evil's presence."
Wolfwood fell silent.
"Thank you, Knives..." Vash said dumbly, at a loss for words. His emotions were overloaded.
A miraculous thing happened. A smile, free of evil and vindication, curled Knives' lips. His headed nodded, once, before falling limply to the table. Knives released once last breath before slipping quietly into oblivion.
"Rest in peace," Wolfwood whispered quietly.
-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*
At his own insistence, Vash carried Meryl from the house, Millie and Wolfwood tailing close behind.
"What now?" Millie asked, expressing what everyone was thinking.
Assuming a cheerful position, Vash chirped up "I think I'll go get something yummy to eat! I'm starved!"
He was rewarded with a sharp elbow to the ribs.
"We have a lot more to do than waste time on donuts," Meryl said haughtily.
"Like what?" Vash asked innocently.
"Well, for starters, I have to contact Bernardelli Insurance Society and let them know that Millie and I are safe. Not to mention pray that we haven't been fired. Then I have to talk to my landlord, because I left our apartment in a huge mess. And then there will be mountains of paperwork to complete..."
Vash smiled as she rambled on. He felt...complete. Although the loss of his brother saddened him, Knives' death had given him new hope. It had also given him a new life.
The gung ho guns were freed now. With Knives death the demon eating at them had been released. Vash had merely sent them on their way, happy that they also had a new start at life.
There had been a small funeral/burial for Legato and Knives. Gravestone markers were placed at both graves, placed side by side in the small plot behind the house. Vash had shed many tears into the desert sand before they left the little graveyard, but now that was all behind him. Now he had a new chance, both at life and with Meryl, and he intended to use it to his fullest.
"You know, Millie, I was thinking," Wolfwood started.
Millie's cheerful face, smiling as usual, turned from the road ahead to the man beside her.
"We lost one child. Perhaps...we could have another?"
Millie's eyes widened.
Rushing on, Wolfwood stuttered out "After we get married of course!"
"Married!" Millie squealed. She launched herself into his arms, almost tumbling him over backwards. Between laughter and kisses, Wolfwood managed to get out "Is that a yes?"
"Yes!" Millie cried.
"Hey, Vash?"
Vash tore his eyes from the happy couple now standing idle in the middle of the desert down to Meryl's upturned face.
"Yeah? What is it Meryl?"
"Do you think that...maybe, sometime, we could go and get my old clothes back?" Meryl sounded more timid than usual, "I think I'm tired of being pistol-whip Meryl. I miss Derringer Meryl."
Vash smiled, recognizing that Meryl had finally regained the identity she thought she had lost.
"Sure, Meryl. We have all the time in the world."
Meryl smiled, then frowned "But first, you're getting that jacket washed. And then you're getting a bath. You're filthy! Look at all this blood, it's disgusting..."
Vash smiled. This was going to be a perfect existence indeed.
"Awww..." He whined, "Do I have to?"