Disclaimer: I do not own Trigun and this fic has been nagging my brain for sometime now so please be nice! The timeline? Ten months after the final fight.

"This way please." The brawny male led Meryl and Vash to Figaro's quarters. Meryl shivered a bit as a breeze from an open window passed by. Before she could blink she had been wearing the red jacket Vash was wearing (Not THE red coat... just a regular jacket). She looked up at him and shook her head when she saw the stupid smile plastered to his face… and yet it was comforting. She nearly bumped into the man when he stopped.

He opened the door and Figaro was inside of beautifully furnished room. It had some sort of tile of the floor and the walls were painted white. Columns supported the ceiling to the room. There was a huge window on one side that opened up to a balcony. The room itself seemed unreal… almost as unreal as the music coming from the very fancy piano. The whole setting was unreal… almost like something she had seen in a dream once… a dream from a long time ago; and the tune…
"That song…"

"It's an old song." Figaro spoke. "It's called Fur Elise…"

"I have heard that tune before…" She whispered.

"Are we going to talk about music all day or are we going to talk about something interesting?!?!" Cash nearly complained.

"My brother tells me there is something you wish to know." Figaro asked not stopping the movements of his hands once. The door closed behind both people and the man was gone.

"You see… I am Meryl Stryfe, and-"

"Is that what you were told?" Figaro's voice came out smooth and gentle. It was almost strange to see such a brawny tough guy settle down to play such old music.

"Huh?"

"Just continue on with the story."

"Well, you see a man is out to kill both me and my friend... Millie Thompson. He was sent to retrieve project AP… I know I have something to do with that project… but it's all fuzzy." Meryl said feeling a lump in her throat grow. "I have heard you were the apprentice of Jacob D. Wolfwood, and-"

"You are Project AP…" Figaro spoke slowly. "Project AP was an experiment to extend the life-span of human beings. Unfortunately a man, who is only known as Alex now, could not slow down the lifetime of his daughter. His little girl had been in some accident and he needed time to fix her injuries. Apparently the woman he had been engaged to did not like the idea of having her only daughter prodded at like an alien. So they fought. Eventually The woman took her daughter and vanished from his life leaving him to make clones of Project AP so he could perfect it and save his little girl  from the suspended animation she had been placed in."

"But I wanted to ask about Jacob Wolfwood's loca-" A gun shot was heard and Figaro finally stopped playing the piano as his body slumped up against the keys making an awful sound. The beautiful room around them began to flicker before the beauty turned into nothing more than dusty boards. "Figaro?" She asked. "Vash, I think he's hurt! Vash??" She looked to the tall blonde who was glaring heavy daggers at the window with his gun aimed there.

"You pull that trigger and I'll pull my trigger."

"What?" She went to turn her head.

"Don't move!" He warned her.

"Vash, what's…?"

"I suggest you listen to the guy." Figaro choked out looking at a glass on top of the dusty piano. She looked there too and saw the reflection of a guy with a black hood on his head.

"You wouldn't do that, Vash the Stampede. If anything you'd attempt to save her leaving an opening to kill you and then I can kill her."

"Why is it that no matter where I go people always call me that $$ 60 billion double dollar outlaw?!?!" Vash began acting childish as tears flowed from his eyes and he paced around the room, making the three beings stare at him. Finally the man in the window decided it would be best if he took this moment to take out the shorter of the two girls. He aimed his gun quickly and pulled the trigger. Meryl's body collided with the floor as Figaro took the hit. She quickly stood up and took careful aim with her derringers but Vash had pulled the trigger before she had and the body hit the floor while blood poured from the wound in his hand and shoulder.

"We have to go…" Vash said yanking the hood of the man's head… It was the bartender from downstairs.

"Meryl…" Millie wiped away the sweat from the adult version of her friend. It didn't take a genius to know something was wrong because the female was whimpering in her sleep and her face was flushed as if her heart was beating 50MPH. "I hope Mr. Vash is taking care of you…" She whispered.

"The idiot would probably shoot himself in the head before he let anything happen to her." Knives' voice made her jump a bit.

"Mr. Vash has said it himself: 'I disapprove of suicide more than anything.'"

"Which means your friend will be okay." He said watching the taller woman sigh.

She turned her gaze to look around the room. Despite how many times she had been in the room to make sure Meryl was clean and well she had never really looked the place over. It was a little plain. The walls were made of concrete. He had a dresser full of his clothes a small chest at the end of the bed. His closet was on the other side of the room slightly ajar proving that he did indeed own more than one red coat. And hanging by the closet was a picture. She stood to inspect the picture and gasped immediately. She then glanced at Meryl and sucked on her lower lip.

"Amazing how much your friend looks like that woman there." He noticed Millie's reaction when she looked at the person. "Her name is Rem Saverem. You should be lucky she was aboard the ship before it crashed, otherwise none of you disgusting spiders would exist now." He said nearly frowning as tears made their way down Millie's face. Millie wiped them away thinking he hadn't seen them and she went back to wipe Meryl's face off before brushing her bangs. All of which took longer than usual because her hand wouldn't stop trembling. She finally set the brush down and traced the lines of Meryl's face.

"Meryl you've been my friend for so long… And it's my fault everything went wrong to begin with…" She sighed. "I'm really sorry, Meryl, for it all."

"Vash, you could've at least put me on the horse properly." She had her face buried into his chest as he concentrated on their location…

 "Lina…" He murmured thinking of the city he had to go to… He couldn't go back there to see the pain stricken face of Lina.

"Vash you're suffocating me!!!" Meryl yelled as he seemed to only push her face harder into his chest. She felt him trembling as hot tears rolled down his face. "VASH THE STAMPEDE IF YOU DO NOT LET ME GO I'LL HAVE TO HURT YOU!!!" She yelled and his grip loosened. "I have to tell you something, Vash…" Her voice was soft almost as if she had a secret to tell.

"Tell me what exactly?"

"This does not look right… The both of us on one horse and I'm facing you…" She pointed out.  "Changing positions wouldn't help much either so I suppose…" She sighed placing her head against his chest.

"What are you…?"

"I'm going to sleep what does it look like you blonde oaf. Besides I'm only fourteen… I think it would be wrong to mess with a guy your age…" She said before giggling. "Although I don't doubt it would fun and stir a lot of trouble." She said before falling asleep missing the stupid look plastered to Vash's face.

                He shook off the feeling of weirdness off and began to think as he headed in the proper direction. His thoughts went out to everything. That man Figaro had died but not after telling them the location of Jacob. He even provided a reason why he wasn't with the man… the clones were running loose and if the both of them were found they'd both be dead… He was to act as a decoy which he had done. The Bartender apparently had been paid a great sum of money to keep watch on his brother to find out where Jacob and knew the AP's would search for him.  Meryl, of course, angrily began jumping on the poor bartender like a trampoline probably breaking a few vital bones. Vash then grabbed the female and quickly hoisted her onto the horse not caring too much about the details for the time being and hopped on taking off not waiting for a confrontation.

"Meryl…" He murmured looking at the adolescent.

She was very different from the Meryl he knew. Sure she was still violent and didn't hesitate to hit him when he did something stupid, but the younger Meryl had a wild streak to her…. But wouldn't that mean the older Meryl had once been this way? So wild as to do a bar dance for several men, coming up with sexual innuendos… the girl really hadn't hesitated with the bar dance though and could she gyrate those hips of hers. The more he thought about it… she seems to be so comfortable when it came down to sexuality and all… but the Meryl he knows oh so well would probably huff up, turn red then his him for even insinuating such a thing.

"Meryl…" He shook the young girl she murmured something that sounded as if she said he smelled like Vanilla. He sighed before picking up both of their bags.

He was going to tell the girl they had arrived but she was so out of it he just pulled her body off the horse and carried her. It was dark and most people were either at the saloon or at home. He made his way to the end of the city and found the house he was looking for. He was pretty sure both females were awake gabbing away about the day's events. He knocked on the door and heard the chatter stop.

"Lina go get the door." Sheryl's voice came from the other side of the door and the sound of her boots neared the door before stopping. The door opened and the girl inspected the two before gaping. His hair was longer than from when she had cut it but it wasn't as long as it had been when they found him.

"Eriks…" She whispered as Vash's smile increased at ten fold.

"Long time no see!!"