Author's Note: Okay, Chapter 14 was VERY short x.x But Chapter 15 is going
to make it up because it's reaaaaaaally long. Bai ^-^
Chapter 15
Meryl squinted her eyes to see a man standing before her. A man whose eyes were shining yellow and wore a red coat.
'Vash!'
Meryl was about to sceam out his name, but the black smoke made her dizzy and hard to breathe. She tried to grab onto Jake, but the smoke had consumed most of her energy and she was barely able to open her eyes. Letting go of him, she felt her eyes close and drifted off into a faint.
Meryl hung onto Vash's red coat like she was never going to let go. It made Vash smile a little, since it was rare seeing Meryl's vulnerable side. Vash picked her up and held her tightly in his arms before going back into the laboratory to retrieve Jake.
*~*~*~*~
Jake, however, regained consciousness inside the burning laboratory. Rummaging his pockets, he found another grenade that he threw in the burning flames to watch the whole building blow up. Finding shelter in a small hole made by the explosion, the grenade had no effect on him.
Aiming his customized rifle at Meryl's chest, the hunter slowly pulled the trigger. The next second, he saw his old girlfriend crumbling down to the ground in pain.
"Goodbye Meryl...Have a happy death..."
*~*~*~*~
It happened a few seconds after she saw the light of the two suns shining down onto her pale face. An immense pain shot through her chest, and she felt the world around her getting dimmer and dimmer as she crumbled down onto the earth in pain.
Vash turned around slowly, horror casting upon his face as he saw Meryl fall to the ground. Rushing over to her, he picked up her delicate body to see that she was just an inch away from death. Her pulse was weak, and she was barely breathing.
As crystal tears dropped down from his aqua green eyes, Vash brushed away Meryl's hair away from her face to see that she was smiling at his like the picture of her high school album. Her eyes were focused onto his tear- stricken face, yet at the same time it wasn't focused. A smile he never saw before filled her face.
As tears choked his voice, he desperately hugged Meryl's worn-out body.
"Meryl...don't die...please...don't leave me...Rem..."
Tears fell upon Meryl's pale face, but she didn't wake up. The smile was still on her face, and it looked like she was just sleeping.
Vash, in anger and horror, shot the building. Once, twice, three times, four times, five times, and six times. He shot the building until all his bullets ran out. All that could be heard was the loud noise of Vash crying, and the sound of brutal gunshots hitting the burnt laboratory.
*~*~*~*~
"Let's see Mr. Vash the Stampede...the big girl will be fine, she was just wounded on her arm and was a little dehydrated. The priest's injuries are quite serious, although I'm sure he'll be fine and free of infection thanks to you. However...the small girl is in critical condition, and I'm not sure she'll survive...the next 24 hours will determine her life, I should say. It all depends on her will of surviving..."
The old doctor smiled kindly over to the restless Vash, who was busy pacing in the doctor's office. It was a few hours after the incident, but to Vash it felt like an agonizing week. Vash had gotten them into the jeep and drove them to the hospital, where the kind doctor took them in. Ever since Meryl was placed in the emergency unit, Vash had been pacing around the door until the doctor told him to rest for a while.
Inside his mind, Vash hated himself for getting everyone nearly killed because they knew him. Especially Meryl, who was just about to die. Some people said that only bad luck follows Vash the Stampede. And this time, he had to admit that it was true.
He could never forget the smile Meryl gave him. It was a smile so genuinely happy that he forgot all the bad acts he had committed a long time ago. It was like the smile Rem used to give him many years ago in the SEEDS ship.
'God...please don't take Meryl away from me...please...'
Vash decided to go visit Milly and Wolfwood, who were sleeping peacefully in their beds. First, he went to the unit where Milly was kept. She was sleeping in her bed, murmuring about pudding. She had apparently kicked the covers off her, so he tucked her back into bed, looking at her closely.
'When you get better, I'll get you all the pudding you want, after what I put you through, big girl.'
Vash then visited Wolfwood, who was placed in a more serious unit. Staring at Wolfwood, he didn't notice that Wolfwood had kicked him in the legs.
"Hey needle-noggin. Stop staring at me like that." He said, punching Vash in the arm cheerfully. Propping up, he looked at Vash and saw his gloomy green eyes.
"Hey, the little girl's going to be alright. She's a tough one, Vash. She's not going to let go of life that easily." Lighting a cigarette he found in his chest pocket, he took a deep breath and released white smoke from his mouth. "Or that's what the priest thinks."
Vash looked back painfully at Wolfwood and gripped onto the bed sheets. "But it's all my fault that she's hurt..."
Wolfwood then grabbed the Stampede's shoulders and shook it hard. "Dammit Vash! You can't blame yourself for every misfortune that comes our way! Can't you see that? IT'S NOT YOUR FAULT!" Wolfwood yelled as he continued to shake Vash's shoulders.
Vash just looked vacantly at him and stood up to leave the room. Looking back at Wolfwood, who was staring at the ceiling.
The entire hospital was a silent building, except for a moving sound made by the brown boots of the Stampede. Walking towards the emergency care unit, he was finally allowed inside after waiting seven long hours. Meryl was in the bed, many tubes hanging from her body. The smile she had put on for Vash was gone, and was replaced with a thin line across her lips. Her face was paler than usual, surprisingly, there were tears forming in her eyes.
Holding her cold hands, Vash felt his eyes blur with tears. The time allowed for him to visit Meryl was very short; a mere five minutes. Rubbing her cold hands with his warm ones, Vash looked down at Meryl and tried to remember her features rapidly in the few minutes he had left with her.
Then, he remembered their conversation just a few days ago.
*~*~*~*~ "You miss her...don't you?"
"Yeah...I do...it's funny, because I can clearly remember her face and everything, but her voice...it's fading away from my memory."
"Well.they do say that you're most likely to forget one's voice earlier than one's image" *~*~*~*~
Gripping onto her hand, tears fell down onto her like raindrops from the sky. "Dammit Meryl...you can't die...you just can't..."
A nurse with fox-like features padded over to the unit and lightly tapped Vash on the shoulder. An irritated look upon her face, she put her hands on her hips as he let go of Meryl's hand.
"Sir, you're five minutes is up. You'll be able to visit her again tomorrow."
Vash nodded as he left the hospital to go back to the inn. Although the inn was just a few yards away from the hospital, the Stampede took time in taking each step to the inn. As he continued to look at his buckled boots take one step forward, he thought of his memories with Meryl.
Meryl had been the first girl he ever met that had actually had the courage to stand up to him. Meryl had been the first girl he could ever relate to. And Meryl had been the first girl he ever really cared about, other than Rem.
He remembered the first time he met Meryl: he had taken the donuts she brought that were meant to be for the legendary outlaw, Vash the Stampede, which was actually him.
Meryl had awakened his feelings that had been dormant for a long time. Feelings that were locked deep inside his heart. And due to this whole "Keja the Hunter" incident, Vash acknowledged that Rem and Meryl were two separate people.
Rem was like a motherly-figure to him. She had taught him what was right, what was wrong, and the meaning of love and peace. Vash had loved Rem, but he finally knew that he had loved Rem as a mother-son relationship.
Meryl, on the other hand, was a different type of figure to him. She wasn't a sister figure to him, but a more deeper figure to him. Sometimes a friend, sometimes a sister, and sometimes a lover. And probably the figure that cared about him the most.
He also learnt today that Meryl was one of the kindest people he ever knew. Although Keja the Hunter had wounded her, she still risked her own life saving his. It made Vash angry that Keja the Hunter still tried to kill Meryl after she saved him.
It also puzzled Vash that Meryl had just as many sides to herself like him. On one side, she was a workaholic, who bossed people around and had a lot of responsibility weighed down on her shoulder. On another side, she was a vulnerable girl who was kind, quiet, and shy. And yet on another side, she was a warrior of her own.
To think that this spirited girl was to be taken away by a man's selfish deeds made Vash both angry and sad.
'I'm not going to let you die, Meryl...we're going to get out of this together...'
Going back to the inn, he loaded his silver gun with bullets, polished his amber sunglasses until they shone like the sun, and combed his spiky hair until it spiked up like needles.
The Stampede was ready for action. And he was going to settle this matter once and for all.
*~*~*~*~
A few hours after Vash's visit, Meryl was still lying in her bed emotionless. Her eyes were closed shut, her skin pale as ivory, and breathing quieter than a fawn trotting upon autumn leaves.
The doctor didn't expect Meryl to live, although he had said kind words to Vash. He was actually surprised that Meryl lived to spend another night. Her shoulder wound was not that bad, as the bullet grazed only a small part of the shoulder. The shot on her stomach was pretty severe, as she lost quite a lot of blood. But that wasn't what the doctor was worried about.
"Ms. Stryfe...most people die instantly when they are shot in the chest...Luckily, the bullet did not puncture your lungs or any of your vital organs, however...you've lost a large amount of blood, and there is a chance you might not be able to survive...
"Your strong will surprises me, Ms. Stryfe. It is what the youngsters these days need...and you remind me of my wife indeed. I truly hope from my heart that you live, Ms. Stryfe. People like you are one of a kind, and you mean dearly to Mr. Vash the Stampede, like how my wife meant a lot to me."
The doctor looked at Meryl as he changed the bandages on her shoulder. Walking out of the unit, he left for his office downstairs. Beside his desk was a picture of an elderly lady.
"Dear friend...someone that means a lot to Mr. Vash the Stampede is in danger now...let me pray to you to let her live...she is just like you, Sally. Mr. Stampede and Ms. Stryfe remind me of the old days together...how happy they look."
The old doctor chuckled as he looked up at the sky. A vague image of an elderly lady smiled back down at the doctor, as if to agree.
"Yes Sally...it reminds me of the old days indeed, old friend..."
Chapter 15
Meryl squinted her eyes to see a man standing before her. A man whose eyes were shining yellow and wore a red coat.
'Vash!'
Meryl was about to sceam out his name, but the black smoke made her dizzy and hard to breathe. She tried to grab onto Jake, but the smoke had consumed most of her energy and she was barely able to open her eyes. Letting go of him, she felt her eyes close and drifted off into a faint.
Meryl hung onto Vash's red coat like she was never going to let go. It made Vash smile a little, since it was rare seeing Meryl's vulnerable side. Vash picked her up and held her tightly in his arms before going back into the laboratory to retrieve Jake.
*~*~*~*~
Jake, however, regained consciousness inside the burning laboratory. Rummaging his pockets, he found another grenade that he threw in the burning flames to watch the whole building blow up. Finding shelter in a small hole made by the explosion, the grenade had no effect on him.
Aiming his customized rifle at Meryl's chest, the hunter slowly pulled the trigger. The next second, he saw his old girlfriend crumbling down to the ground in pain.
"Goodbye Meryl...Have a happy death..."
*~*~*~*~
It happened a few seconds after she saw the light of the two suns shining down onto her pale face. An immense pain shot through her chest, and she felt the world around her getting dimmer and dimmer as she crumbled down onto the earth in pain.
Vash turned around slowly, horror casting upon his face as he saw Meryl fall to the ground. Rushing over to her, he picked up her delicate body to see that she was just an inch away from death. Her pulse was weak, and she was barely breathing.
As crystal tears dropped down from his aqua green eyes, Vash brushed away Meryl's hair away from her face to see that she was smiling at his like the picture of her high school album. Her eyes were focused onto his tear- stricken face, yet at the same time it wasn't focused. A smile he never saw before filled her face.
As tears choked his voice, he desperately hugged Meryl's worn-out body.
"Meryl...don't die...please...don't leave me...Rem..."
Tears fell upon Meryl's pale face, but she didn't wake up. The smile was still on her face, and it looked like she was just sleeping.
Vash, in anger and horror, shot the building. Once, twice, three times, four times, five times, and six times. He shot the building until all his bullets ran out. All that could be heard was the loud noise of Vash crying, and the sound of brutal gunshots hitting the burnt laboratory.
*~*~*~*~
"Let's see Mr. Vash the Stampede...the big girl will be fine, she was just wounded on her arm and was a little dehydrated. The priest's injuries are quite serious, although I'm sure he'll be fine and free of infection thanks to you. However...the small girl is in critical condition, and I'm not sure she'll survive...the next 24 hours will determine her life, I should say. It all depends on her will of surviving..."
The old doctor smiled kindly over to the restless Vash, who was busy pacing in the doctor's office. It was a few hours after the incident, but to Vash it felt like an agonizing week. Vash had gotten them into the jeep and drove them to the hospital, where the kind doctor took them in. Ever since Meryl was placed in the emergency unit, Vash had been pacing around the door until the doctor told him to rest for a while.
Inside his mind, Vash hated himself for getting everyone nearly killed because they knew him. Especially Meryl, who was just about to die. Some people said that only bad luck follows Vash the Stampede. And this time, he had to admit that it was true.
He could never forget the smile Meryl gave him. It was a smile so genuinely happy that he forgot all the bad acts he had committed a long time ago. It was like the smile Rem used to give him many years ago in the SEEDS ship.
'God...please don't take Meryl away from me...please...'
Vash decided to go visit Milly and Wolfwood, who were sleeping peacefully in their beds. First, he went to the unit where Milly was kept. She was sleeping in her bed, murmuring about pudding. She had apparently kicked the covers off her, so he tucked her back into bed, looking at her closely.
'When you get better, I'll get you all the pudding you want, after what I put you through, big girl.'
Vash then visited Wolfwood, who was placed in a more serious unit. Staring at Wolfwood, he didn't notice that Wolfwood had kicked him in the legs.
"Hey needle-noggin. Stop staring at me like that." He said, punching Vash in the arm cheerfully. Propping up, he looked at Vash and saw his gloomy green eyes.
"Hey, the little girl's going to be alright. She's a tough one, Vash. She's not going to let go of life that easily." Lighting a cigarette he found in his chest pocket, he took a deep breath and released white smoke from his mouth. "Or that's what the priest thinks."
Vash looked back painfully at Wolfwood and gripped onto the bed sheets. "But it's all my fault that she's hurt..."
Wolfwood then grabbed the Stampede's shoulders and shook it hard. "Dammit Vash! You can't blame yourself for every misfortune that comes our way! Can't you see that? IT'S NOT YOUR FAULT!" Wolfwood yelled as he continued to shake Vash's shoulders.
Vash just looked vacantly at him and stood up to leave the room. Looking back at Wolfwood, who was staring at the ceiling.
The entire hospital was a silent building, except for a moving sound made by the brown boots of the Stampede. Walking towards the emergency care unit, he was finally allowed inside after waiting seven long hours. Meryl was in the bed, many tubes hanging from her body. The smile she had put on for Vash was gone, and was replaced with a thin line across her lips. Her face was paler than usual, surprisingly, there were tears forming in her eyes.
Holding her cold hands, Vash felt his eyes blur with tears. The time allowed for him to visit Meryl was very short; a mere five minutes. Rubbing her cold hands with his warm ones, Vash looked down at Meryl and tried to remember her features rapidly in the few minutes he had left with her.
Then, he remembered their conversation just a few days ago.
*~*~*~*~ "You miss her...don't you?"
"Yeah...I do...it's funny, because I can clearly remember her face and everything, but her voice...it's fading away from my memory."
"Well.they do say that you're most likely to forget one's voice earlier than one's image" *~*~*~*~
Gripping onto her hand, tears fell down onto her like raindrops from the sky. "Dammit Meryl...you can't die...you just can't..."
A nurse with fox-like features padded over to the unit and lightly tapped Vash on the shoulder. An irritated look upon her face, she put her hands on her hips as he let go of Meryl's hand.
"Sir, you're five minutes is up. You'll be able to visit her again tomorrow."
Vash nodded as he left the hospital to go back to the inn. Although the inn was just a few yards away from the hospital, the Stampede took time in taking each step to the inn. As he continued to look at his buckled boots take one step forward, he thought of his memories with Meryl.
Meryl had been the first girl he ever met that had actually had the courage to stand up to him. Meryl had been the first girl he could ever relate to. And Meryl had been the first girl he ever really cared about, other than Rem.
He remembered the first time he met Meryl: he had taken the donuts she brought that were meant to be for the legendary outlaw, Vash the Stampede, which was actually him.
Meryl had awakened his feelings that had been dormant for a long time. Feelings that were locked deep inside his heart. And due to this whole "Keja the Hunter" incident, Vash acknowledged that Rem and Meryl were two separate people.
Rem was like a motherly-figure to him. She had taught him what was right, what was wrong, and the meaning of love and peace. Vash had loved Rem, but he finally knew that he had loved Rem as a mother-son relationship.
Meryl, on the other hand, was a different type of figure to him. She wasn't a sister figure to him, but a more deeper figure to him. Sometimes a friend, sometimes a sister, and sometimes a lover. And probably the figure that cared about him the most.
He also learnt today that Meryl was one of the kindest people he ever knew. Although Keja the Hunter had wounded her, she still risked her own life saving his. It made Vash angry that Keja the Hunter still tried to kill Meryl after she saved him.
It also puzzled Vash that Meryl had just as many sides to herself like him. On one side, she was a workaholic, who bossed people around and had a lot of responsibility weighed down on her shoulder. On another side, she was a vulnerable girl who was kind, quiet, and shy. And yet on another side, she was a warrior of her own.
To think that this spirited girl was to be taken away by a man's selfish deeds made Vash both angry and sad.
'I'm not going to let you die, Meryl...we're going to get out of this together...'
Going back to the inn, he loaded his silver gun with bullets, polished his amber sunglasses until they shone like the sun, and combed his spiky hair until it spiked up like needles.
The Stampede was ready for action. And he was going to settle this matter once and for all.
*~*~*~*~
A few hours after Vash's visit, Meryl was still lying in her bed emotionless. Her eyes were closed shut, her skin pale as ivory, and breathing quieter than a fawn trotting upon autumn leaves.
The doctor didn't expect Meryl to live, although he had said kind words to Vash. He was actually surprised that Meryl lived to spend another night. Her shoulder wound was not that bad, as the bullet grazed only a small part of the shoulder. The shot on her stomach was pretty severe, as she lost quite a lot of blood. But that wasn't what the doctor was worried about.
"Ms. Stryfe...most people die instantly when they are shot in the chest...Luckily, the bullet did not puncture your lungs or any of your vital organs, however...you've lost a large amount of blood, and there is a chance you might not be able to survive...
"Your strong will surprises me, Ms. Stryfe. It is what the youngsters these days need...and you remind me of my wife indeed. I truly hope from my heart that you live, Ms. Stryfe. People like you are one of a kind, and you mean dearly to Mr. Vash the Stampede, like how my wife meant a lot to me."
The doctor looked at Meryl as he changed the bandages on her shoulder. Walking out of the unit, he left for his office downstairs. Beside his desk was a picture of an elderly lady.
"Dear friend...someone that means a lot to Mr. Vash the Stampede is in danger now...let me pray to you to let her live...she is just like you, Sally. Mr. Stampede and Ms. Stryfe remind me of the old days together...how happy they look."
The old doctor chuckled as he looked up at the sky. A vague image of an elderly lady smiled back down at the doctor, as if to agree.
"Yes Sally...it reminds me of the old days indeed, old friend..."