Ch. 2

AN: OK, there are some words in here that you may think are typos. I assure you that most likely they are not. If you have a question ask me and I will try to figure out if it is or isn't.

One week after the event that drove the five people out of this town...

The saloon doors burst open making everyone present look up and move their hands a little closer to whatever weapons they might possess.

The two very tall blond men that appeared headed straight for the bar and sat side by side on a couple of stools. The first wore yellow sunglasses, their concealment of his eyes a calculated intimidation. The second wore no eyewear, but the icy blue of his stare was intimidating enough.

"Howdy gentlemen. What'll it be?" the bartender asked, wiping down the counter and setting out a bowl of nuts in front of them.

"A mug of the house special, please."

"Fine choice, what about you sir?"

"A Virgin Bloody Mary"

The bartender got their drinks and asked, "Thur anythin' else I can do for ye?"

"Actually, there is" the sunglassed one answered. "Could you tell me where I can find someone?"

"Well now, that depends on the incentive" the bartender said slyly.

"How about twenty double dollars?"

"Who ye looking for, I'll be more 'n obliged to help ye for that."

"She's a woman named 'Meryl Stryfe'"

"Hmm, can't say as I know anyone by that name. Sorry."

"C'mon. I know she was here. Real short, pretty, has black hair, beautiful grey eyes, a quick temper."

"Now that ye mention it...Hey Clete, don't that sound like Maggie Shaw?"

"Sure does Dave" A man playing cards answered without taking his eyes from his hand.

"Maggie...? No the person I'm looking for is definately named Meryl"

"Brother" the other man spoke up quietly without looking away from the red drink he hadn't even sipped thus far. "It's possible she may be living under an alias."

"Right. Do you have a picture of this 'Maggie'?"

"As a matter of fact I do. She was a real hard worker, never gave no one any trouble. She made employee of the month ever' month while she worked here. On that back wall's a photograph of her if ye wanna take a look at it.

"Thanks sir." the bespectacled man slapped down a fifty double dollar bill. "Keep the change" He gestured to his brother and they both made their way to the back of the saloon. There on the wall, in stark black and white, was a picture of the woman the two men had been searching for. The darker blond removed his tinted glasses, revealing beautiful aquamarine underneath.

"Meryl..." he breathed, lifting a hand to touch the photograph. Her hair was long, and she looked a bit softer, but it was the same face he'd been yearning to see for three long years.

"Bartender, where can we find this woman?" he demanded, turning back to look across the room. There was a collective gasp as the entire room got a good look at the color and shape of his eyes. Hushed whispers travelled throughout the population until everyone quieted.

Vash the Stampede frowned perplexedly. "What?"

"Clete, ain't he the spittin' image of that one Shaw boy? Dash, that's his name."

Clete looked up and did a double-take. "I'll be. Older, but he's exactly the same. Did you know you had a son, mister?"

"A, a son?!"

"Two actually. The other un's named Dagger, and but for the eyes, they look like his mama's, he could be a deadringer for yer brother there, attitude and everything. That Dash, he was something. Never sad, but for that day a bunch 'o blusterin' idiots ran em outta town." Dave the bartender lamented, glowering at certain individuals in the room.

"Ran out the best damn waitress I ever had. Maggie didn't say much, but for when someone said somethin' bad bout either of her boys. Hoo boy, she was a hell-cat then. Had another woman came just a few months ago. Millie, she was always cheerful, just like her little girl, Hannah. Them five people were the best thing ever happened to this town and I'll box the ears o' anyone says differnt."

"They was monsters, I say. I don't give a damn how good a worker Maggie was, them brats wern't normal. Liftin' things wit ther mind, it ain't right." a drunk doofus hollered.

"Settle down George. Whadda you know anyway? They stopped that little girl from gettin her head bashed in, and if I coulda I woulda done the same."

The drunk sulked in his seat muttering obscenities.

"Bartender," Knives Millions asked. "How old are these boys?"

"Oh, I dunno, bout ten, eleven maybe."

"WHAT?" Vash exploded. His brother laid a hand on his shoulder.

"Calm yourself, we need more information. You said that some townspeople ran them out of town. How long ago was this?"

"A week maybe? They left in the same direction as L.R. I don't know if this'll help, but Maggie, she wern't fond o' big towns. Now ye might go lookin' all over L.R., but if I was you I'd go a mite further to a nowhere, little heared-of town that ye ain't gonna find on any map, called Ambertide. It'd be my bet that you'll find Maggie there."

"Why are you telling us this? It seems she deserves your loyalty more than a couple strangers like us." Vash asked.

"I love Maggie like a daughter, but ever since I met my twenty-five year old son a couple years ago, after twenty somethin' years of not even knowin' he existed... Well, I got a soft spot for poor schmuck's like you. I dun wanna see ye go through what I did."

"Thank you sir. Meryl, er, Maggie, she thought I was dead, I guess, or she wouldn't have left. She wasn't the kind to leave someone hanging. Not like I did her." Vash confided ruefully.

"Well, go find 'er, man. An' when, ye do, ye teller Dave said any time she be needin' a job she jus needsa visit me. Teller, I wudn't no part 'o that rabid mob, and I'd put a load a buckshot into anyone what bothers her when she comes back."

"Thanks. We will" Vash laid down another fifty. "Can I have that picture on the wall?"

"Sure thing."

Vash and Knives made their way out of the saloon and back to their jeep. "So, brother, what do you think?"

"How could they be ten? It's only been two years."

"Yes, but they 'would' be half plant. Remember how fast we grew that first year? We looked approximately ten, then after that we grew at the rate of humans until we were 'thirty', then stopped aging all together. Supposing they had a human gestation period, they would look eleven."

"Right." Vash nodded, feeling a little better. Then it hit him, full force in the gut. "Knives, apparently I have sons"

"Apparently" Knives replied with mild disgust. "With a human"

Ignoring his brother, Vash took a moment to bask in the newfound knowledge of his parenthood. "I'm a 'Dad'!"

"Such a human sentiment" Knives rubbed his forehead. He did want to see the childrens alleged telekinetic powers, however . "Shall we find this Ambertide, then?"

"Of course." Vash gunned the engine and took off.