Chapter 11
"Vash!" Meryl cried, tears filling her eyes as she ran towards him.
"Don't!" She stopped, confused. He remained kneeling in the doorway, his back to her, as he spoke. "There's... something happening to me... It's not safe to be around me. Please..." As she watched, his back convulsed and he screamed again, digging his fingers into his hair and leaning forward until his face almost touched the ground. The convulsion passed, and he gasped for air, leaning on one arm.
"No, Vash! I won't leave you alone to deal with this! I know that you're hurting right now, and I want to be with you... no, I need to be with you! I need to help you, because... because..." Meryl looked up to meet Vash's eyes. He had turned to look over his shoulder at her, his face a mask of emotional turmoil and pain. She cast her eyes towards the floor and clenched her fists, then cried, "Because I love you, Vash the Stampede! And because you don't deserve the things that happen to you! You deserve to be happy..."
"No! No, I don't! You don't understand what I've done! I... think I've done something, something horrible. Something I can never atone for. How can I possibly deserve happiness after--" Vash screamed again, then leapt to his feet and whirled around to face her. "I'm leaving! Don't follow me, Meryl, please, I don't want you to be hurt... I CAN'T LET SOMEONE ELSE I LOVE DIE BECAUSE OF MY IGNORANCE!" Meryl felt tears running down her cheeks. She had never imagined the moment she confessed her feelings to Vash being like this. It was all wrong. Everything was going wrong! Vash turned and ran out the door, and she found that she was unable to follow him. Everything was fading, fading to black... she barely felt herself hit the floor in a dead faint.
* * *
"Get out of our way!" Wolfwood yelled at the two men standing in the hallway.
"Sorry mister, but we can't. You're intruders here and there's some strange things happening. We're going to have to hold you until the Master returns--"
"Like hell you will! Millie, let's take care of these guys!" Wolfwood was just about to raise his pistol when a bullet screamed past his ear and flew straight through one of the guard's shoulders with a wet thwak. He didn't even have time to turn around before a hand was on his shoulder. Knives was using him as leverage to launch himself into the second man. Knives' feet landed square in the middle of the guard's chest, and he went flying backwards into the wall to slump forward, unconscious, beside his partner, who was clutching his shoulder and sobbing.
Knives was already back on his feet and running before the second guard had hit the floor. He was around the corner by the time Wolfwood had overcome his shock enough to speak.
"Where the HELL did he get a gun?!"
* * *
Knives knelt beside Meryl and checked her pulse. Good, still alive. She stirred under his hands and he helped her to sit up.
"Va... Vash..."
"It's alright, Meryl. Just tell me which way he went. I'll go after him and meet you back in November, alright? You don't look like you're in any shape to go after him right now."
"No... he's... different... I think he really did kill all those people in November..."
"Look at who you're talking to here. I think I can take care of myself. Just tell me which way he went and I'll make sure I bring him back to you alive." Meryl smiled wryly up at him and pointed out the open doorway.
"He went... east... right into the rising sun..."
"Alright. You just wait for the others here, and tell them to meet us in November. Oh," he pulled out her empty derringer and deftly twirled it around one finger before handing it back to her, handle first. "Thanks for letting me borrow this. It came in handy." Meryl took the tiny gun curiously, but before she could ask how he had come to have it, he was already out the door.
* * *
"Damn him!" Wolfwood cried as he slammed his fist into the door. "Why's he always got to be such a damned loose cannon?!" Meryl, who was leaning on Millie for support, rested a hand on his shoulder.
"It's alright, Wolfwood, I think Knives is just too used to being in charge to work with others well. He is getting better, though... He didn't kill that guard he shot in the hallway, right?"
"Yeah, yeah," Wolfwood mumbled under his breath. "Probably just missed... So, are we going after them?"
"I'm afraid you won't be going anywhere," said a large man as he entered the room.
"Oh, and who are you to stop us, buddy?" Wolfwood jeered. He was in no mood for games right now. The man grinned as he removed a wicked-looking weapon from his belt.
"I'm Master Kiyoi's personal bodyguard and number one man. My name is Rile, and if I say you're not going anywhere, then you'll be staying right where you are, Mr. Nicholas D. Wolfwood." Wolfwood sighed exaggeratedly.
"Oh, I do apologize, Mr... what was it? Oh yes, RILE, but we have business elsewhere to attend to. So, if you'll excuse us..." Suddenly, the man was moving. He was so fast Wolfwood could barely see him. The priest shoved his big girl and Meryl out of the way and ducked to the side just in time to avoid a well-aimed blow from the man's weapon. He whirled around and struck out with his foot, but the man seemed to have the ability to evaporate into thin air. Perhaps now would be the time for a strategic retreat, until I figure out a method that might work against this monster, Wolfwood thought, and he ducked to avoid another blow and rolled under the man's legs. He jumped to his feet and made a break for the door back into the fortress.
"Meryl! Millie! Meet me at the meeting place!" He called back over his shoulder, and had to dodge another whistling attack. He hoped the girls would take his advice and start moving towards November... Hopefully he'd be able to lose this big lug and join them soon.
After about five minutes of straight out running, the guy had caught up to him again. Wolfwood ducked into a room and slammed the door shut behind him, pressing his back against it while he searched for a lock. There was a deadbolt just above his head. Wolfwood slammed it into place just in time. The big guard began bashing into the door. Given the way the wood around the hinges was splintering, Wolfwood gave it maybe another minute. He turned away from the door and got a shock. Someone up there was certainly looking out for him.
Wolfwood walked across the small room and touched his cross punisher. It had been a long time... But it still felt just as good to hold it as it ever had. He reached into his jacket and pulled out a cigarette and lit it, then hefted the enormous gun and held it under his arm. He triggered the machine gun extension and was pleased to feel it respond quite nicely. Someone had been taking care of it.
With a huge crash, the guard broke down the door and barreled into the room. He stopped short when he saw Wolfwood, who stood with his cross punisher pointed right into the guard's face and his cigarette poised between grinning teeth.
"May God have mercy on your soul." Wolfwood paused and looked down at him over his sunglasses. "Or do you plan on letting me leave peacefully after all?"
* * *
It hadn't taken long for Knives to pick up Vash's trail. Within an hour he had come within sight of his brother. Vash was walking due east, and Knives could see him as a hazy silhouette against the rising sun. For some reason he had stopped running, but that suited Knives fine. It just meant he would catch up with his brother sooner. Then they would go to November, meet up with the others, and find someplace where they could live in relative peace and harmony.
Knives paused. Had he really just thought that? These humans were having an effect on him after all. Well... Just so long as he was with his brother, he really didn't care. Let the humans hang around. They weren't so bad really, once you got used to them. Not that he'd like to marry one or anything, that was for sure... But he could learn to live with them. If that was what Vash wanted, well, he would make a few sacrifices for his brother. After all, hadn't Vash made enough sacrifices because of Knives' actions? He supposed it was only fair.
He was catching up at an astonishing rate now. Vash didn't even appear to be walking forward anymore. Knives broke into a sprint, hoping to catch up before Vash began moving again. A gun report ripped through the still morning air, and Knives stopped short just in time to avoid the bullet that puffed into the sand in front of his feet. He looked up into his brother's silver gun. The one he himself had made for him.
"Hello, brother," Vash said, grinning. Knives wondered how he had gotten so close to him in such a short period of time. Vash was standing not ten feet away. "I've been waiting for you." Deja vu, Knives thought, as he stared down the barrel of the gun. Well, at least I had the class to bring wine. Vash never was one for dramatic entrances.
"Vash!" Meryl cried, tears filling her eyes as she ran towards him.
"Don't!" She stopped, confused. He remained kneeling in the doorway, his back to her, as he spoke. "There's... something happening to me... It's not safe to be around me. Please..." As she watched, his back convulsed and he screamed again, digging his fingers into his hair and leaning forward until his face almost touched the ground. The convulsion passed, and he gasped for air, leaning on one arm.
"No, Vash! I won't leave you alone to deal with this! I know that you're hurting right now, and I want to be with you... no, I need to be with you! I need to help you, because... because..." Meryl looked up to meet Vash's eyes. He had turned to look over his shoulder at her, his face a mask of emotional turmoil and pain. She cast her eyes towards the floor and clenched her fists, then cried, "Because I love you, Vash the Stampede! And because you don't deserve the things that happen to you! You deserve to be happy..."
"No! No, I don't! You don't understand what I've done! I... think I've done something, something horrible. Something I can never atone for. How can I possibly deserve happiness after--" Vash screamed again, then leapt to his feet and whirled around to face her. "I'm leaving! Don't follow me, Meryl, please, I don't want you to be hurt... I CAN'T LET SOMEONE ELSE I LOVE DIE BECAUSE OF MY IGNORANCE!" Meryl felt tears running down her cheeks. She had never imagined the moment she confessed her feelings to Vash being like this. It was all wrong. Everything was going wrong! Vash turned and ran out the door, and she found that she was unable to follow him. Everything was fading, fading to black... she barely felt herself hit the floor in a dead faint.
* * *
"Get out of our way!" Wolfwood yelled at the two men standing in the hallway.
"Sorry mister, but we can't. You're intruders here and there's some strange things happening. We're going to have to hold you until the Master returns--"
"Like hell you will! Millie, let's take care of these guys!" Wolfwood was just about to raise his pistol when a bullet screamed past his ear and flew straight through one of the guard's shoulders with a wet thwak. He didn't even have time to turn around before a hand was on his shoulder. Knives was using him as leverage to launch himself into the second man. Knives' feet landed square in the middle of the guard's chest, and he went flying backwards into the wall to slump forward, unconscious, beside his partner, who was clutching his shoulder and sobbing.
Knives was already back on his feet and running before the second guard had hit the floor. He was around the corner by the time Wolfwood had overcome his shock enough to speak.
"Where the HELL did he get a gun?!"
* * *
Knives knelt beside Meryl and checked her pulse. Good, still alive. She stirred under his hands and he helped her to sit up.
"Va... Vash..."
"It's alright, Meryl. Just tell me which way he went. I'll go after him and meet you back in November, alright? You don't look like you're in any shape to go after him right now."
"No... he's... different... I think he really did kill all those people in November..."
"Look at who you're talking to here. I think I can take care of myself. Just tell me which way he went and I'll make sure I bring him back to you alive." Meryl smiled wryly up at him and pointed out the open doorway.
"He went... east... right into the rising sun..."
"Alright. You just wait for the others here, and tell them to meet us in November. Oh," he pulled out her empty derringer and deftly twirled it around one finger before handing it back to her, handle first. "Thanks for letting me borrow this. It came in handy." Meryl took the tiny gun curiously, but before she could ask how he had come to have it, he was already out the door.
* * *
"Damn him!" Wolfwood cried as he slammed his fist into the door. "Why's he always got to be such a damned loose cannon?!" Meryl, who was leaning on Millie for support, rested a hand on his shoulder.
"It's alright, Wolfwood, I think Knives is just too used to being in charge to work with others well. He is getting better, though... He didn't kill that guard he shot in the hallway, right?"
"Yeah, yeah," Wolfwood mumbled under his breath. "Probably just missed... So, are we going after them?"
"I'm afraid you won't be going anywhere," said a large man as he entered the room.
"Oh, and who are you to stop us, buddy?" Wolfwood jeered. He was in no mood for games right now. The man grinned as he removed a wicked-looking weapon from his belt.
"I'm Master Kiyoi's personal bodyguard and number one man. My name is Rile, and if I say you're not going anywhere, then you'll be staying right where you are, Mr. Nicholas D. Wolfwood." Wolfwood sighed exaggeratedly.
"Oh, I do apologize, Mr... what was it? Oh yes, RILE, but we have business elsewhere to attend to. So, if you'll excuse us..." Suddenly, the man was moving. He was so fast Wolfwood could barely see him. The priest shoved his big girl and Meryl out of the way and ducked to the side just in time to avoid a well-aimed blow from the man's weapon. He whirled around and struck out with his foot, but the man seemed to have the ability to evaporate into thin air. Perhaps now would be the time for a strategic retreat, until I figure out a method that might work against this monster, Wolfwood thought, and he ducked to avoid another blow and rolled under the man's legs. He jumped to his feet and made a break for the door back into the fortress.
"Meryl! Millie! Meet me at the meeting place!" He called back over his shoulder, and had to dodge another whistling attack. He hoped the girls would take his advice and start moving towards November... Hopefully he'd be able to lose this big lug and join them soon.
After about five minutes of straight out running, the guy had caught up to him again. Wolfwood ducked into a room and slammed the door shut behind him, pressing his back against it while he searched for a lock. There was a deadbolt just above his head. Wolfwood slammed it into place just in time. The big guard began bashing into the door. Given the way the wood around the hinges was splintering, Wolfwood gave it maybe another minute. He turned away from the door and got a shock. Someone up there was certainly looking out for him.
Wolfwood walked across the small room and touched his cross punisher. It had been a long time... But it still felt just as good to hold it as it ever had. He reached into his jacket and pulled out a cigarette and lit it, then hefted the enormous gun and held it under his arm. He triggered the machine gun extension and was pleased to feel it respond quite nicely. Someone had been taking care of it.
With a huge crash, the guard broke down the door and barreled into the room. He stopped short when he saw Wolfwood, who stood with his cross punisher pointed right into the guard's face and his cigarette poised between grinning teeth.
"May God have mercy on your soul." Wolfwood paused and looked down at him over his sunglasses. "Or do you plan on letting me leave peacefully after all?"
* * *
It hadn't taken long for Knives to pick up Vash's trail. Within an hour he had come within sight of his brother. Vash was walking due east, and Knives could see him as a hazy silhouette against the rising sun. For some reason he had stopped running, but that suited Knives fine. It just meant he would catch up with his brother sooner. Then they would go to November, meet up with the others, and find someplace where they could live in relative peace and harmony.
Knives paused. Had he really just thought that? These humans were having an effect on him after all. Well... Just so long as he was with his brother, he really didn't care. Let the humans hang around. They weren't so bad really, once you got used to them. Not that he'd like to marry one or anything, that was for sure... But he could learn to live with them. If that was what Vash wanted, well, he would make a few sacrifices for his brother. After all, hadn't Vash made enough sacrifices because of Knives' actions? He supposed it was only fair.
He was catching up at an astonishing rate now. Vash didn't even appear to be walking forward anymore. Knives broke into a sprint, hoping to catch up before Vash began moving again. A gun report ripped through the still morning air, and Knives stopped short just in time to avoid the bullet that puffed into the sand in front of his feet. He looked up into his brother's silver gun. The one he himself had made for him.
"Hello, brother," Vash said, grinning. Knives wondered how he had gotten so close to him in such a short period of time. Vash was standing not ten feet away. "I've been waiting for you." Deja vu, Knives thought, as he stared down the barrel of the gun. Well, at least I had the class to bring wine. Vash never was one for dramatic entrances.