Hey all. Just so you know, the reason why these aren't in chapters on here,
is because I usually format them on Microsoft works first and just plug
them in while I go. Dividing them takes something we call effort. So just
bear with the sight of the "chapter" and the titles because that's just how
it's going down these days! ENJOY!
***
Vash ran outside quickly after hearing Millie's voice. Her cheek was bandaged and her forehead had 8 stitches carefully lined up in the pattern of railroad tracks. "Millie, you look much better." Vash smiled and held his arms out to her.
Millie walked up to him slowly and gave him a courteous hug. "I'm sorry about exploding on you last night. It's not your fault that happened."
Vash smiled and nodded his head. "It's alright. I understand."
Meryl walked slowly outside while drying her hands on a towel. "Are you feeling better, Millie?" Meryl smiled.
"Much better. They put me on these morphine pills, so for now, I can't feel a thing." Millie let go of Vash and walked to Meryl. "If you hide these from me, I'll whale on you!" Millie and Meryl laughed loudly as they embraced in a tight hug.
"HEY WOMAN!" Knives yelled loudly from the living room.
Meryl scowled. She fisted her hands so tightly her knuckles turned white. "If I hear him call me WOMAN one more time, I'll knock his teeth out with a cast iron skillet and make him eat them!"
"Meryl..." Vash began. "Be patient with him. He's been living with men all of this life... Thankfully I was raised around women! Can't you just smell the good hygiene?!"
"Oh yes, Vash. I can smell it all the way over here!" Millie exclaimed.
"WOMAN!!" Knives yelled again. A loud crash could be heard from inside.
Meryl cringed at the thought of going back in. "Better go tend to that little bastard." She smiled at Vash one last time before turning and entering the house.
Vash waited until Meryl was all the way inside and the door closed behind her. "I love her so much, Millie. Pray that I don't ruin everything like I usually do." Vash sighed with exasperation. "Something this good can't be free."
"Knock on wood, Vash." Millie said with a serious tone. "It will work if you MAKE it work. Nothing can separate you from her if you make sure of it."
"I've never been good with keeping things." Vash frowned. "I usually either ruin something or I lose it."
"Well then, Mr. Vash, you're just going to have to be extra careful about this, aren't you?" Millie smiled and walked towards the door. "I'm going into town today. Do you need anything?"
"Yes. I need some bandages for Knives and flowers for Meryl, but I would much rather get the flowers myself." Vash smiled softly.
"Well I get bandages then. Do you know her favorite flower?" Millie pointed a finger at Vash's face as he leaned back slightly to allow breathing space between himself and the big girl.
"N-No... What?" He smiled sheepishly as he tried not to tip over.
Millie threw her arms to her sides and huffed. "Well, Mr. Vash. It just so happens that her favorite flower is the red geranium!"
Vash's eyes widened as he smiled wide. "Interesting. I'll be sure to get her red geraniums then!" He slowly worked his way over to the chair on the porch as he watched Millie rush inside to get her purse, then back out again and into the city.
--Chapter Four-- -A Rude Awakening-
Someone cried out in the middle of town that morning. A screech too horrible to be human. When the flood of voices passed, all that was left was a shadow burned into the sand. Millie stopped suddenly at the bottom of the town hall's steps to see at her dismay, a body lying face down in a pool of blood. Her knees buckled as she tried to conjure up enough voice to scream out the name. "VASH!" Her voice twisted behind her teeth while the words spun out in a horizontal carousel.
Vash whip lashed his head around from the kitchen sink in the direction that he had heard his name. "Millie..." He whispered.
"Vash?" Meryl questioned. "What was that?"
"Meryl, stay here." Vash ran out of the door with a sense of foreboding.
"Wait! Vash! What's going on?!" Meryl stopped and looked around the room noticing all of the details of the room, including that her best friend was missing. "Millie!!" She exclaimed as she pushed her way out onto the porch.
"STAY THERE!" Vash shouted as he ran. He didn't turn around to assure himself that she had listened for his sake. He couldn't stand her stubborn personality, but he loved the way she cared so much about him and how she made him feel. His feet stomped on the sandy earth as he tread through the city; all eyes on a tall blonde man known as the Humanoid Typhoon. He slid to a stop as he saw Millie's shaking body. "Millie, what's going on?"
She turned slowly and pointed to the body of a man covered in plastic armor and wearing a purple jumpsuit. A giant spike protruded from his spine in a twisted and mangled fashion, leaving him slumped over the top steps. A stream of blood worked its way down the stairs and pooled at Vash's feet. "Vash, why would someone do this?!" Millie shook with fear as she staggered to Vash's side. "How can this be happening again?!"
"They're out there." Vash scowled as his voice turned hallow and serious. "They know he's here." Vash paused and glanced at Millie. "Go back to the house."
"Vash, Don't get hurt." Millie pleaded as she grasped his hand.
"Millie, go back to the house and stay there until I come back." Vash turned to her and smiled. "Please." Millie nodded with tears running down her face. She ran as fast as she could back to the house and locked the door behind her. Vash pulled his gun out of his pocket and stood over the body at his feet. "I remember you, Monev the Gale. Your own decisions killed you I'm sure, but what I don't understand is who could have done it." They had fought years earlier when Legato Bluesummers, a trusted minion of Knives had ordered him to kill Vash the Stampede. Monev the Gale had killed thousands in his wake of getting to Vash. Vash had the motive to kill him, but let him go because he knew that the decision of who lives and who dies isn't his to make. "Where are your friends, Monev? They've got to be around here somewhere." Vash thought to himself. "WHO ARE YOU TRYING TO IMPRESS HERE?!" Vash yelled out into the desert. He looked down again at the corpse to discover the spike was that of a Gung-ho Gun he had faced the same day he had created the hole in the fifth moon. "I see what's going on here. There must be another Gung-ho Gun. That's got to be it. Who else could do it?!"
"Vash the Stampede." A voice rang in his ears. "It's been a long time since you've been outside."
Vash's eyes grew wider by the second as the telepathic voice within his mind spoke to him in a familiar voice. "Legato..." He whispered.
"My name is not important, but the message I bring is. You may grow fond of shutting your brother up within that house keeping him out of the lime light like he's incapable of causing anymore destruction while he's under your supervision. But what you don't know is this, my friend, and that is although our master is not with us he is still sending us orders. When you pledge to him, you will serve him through life and spirit."
"But... I killed you!" Vash stammered as he covered his ears and shut his eyes tightly. "I did a bad thing that day and now you're back to haunt me because of it!"
"I want nothing to do with you, nor have you ever killed me. Legato's DNA was saved and preserved in a chemical environment in which I was created. A mere spawn of a has-been and mutated to have twice the capabilities. Who I am is not important right now, for you will see enough of me yet. We only wish to regain the leadership of our master, Knives. Return him to us and we will leave you alone."
"He's my brother and I will do anything to keep him from going back to you and your clan again. He's caused enough trouble to last a life time." The sky grew black as clouds formed over the city. "You can't scare me, anymore. I've realized my mistakes."
"Don't think this is the end, Vash the Stampede." The voice trailed off slowly and into nothing again.
***
***
Vash ran outside quickly after hearing Millie's voice. Her cheek was bandaged and her forehead had 8 stitches carefully lined up in the pattern of railroad tracks. "Millie, you look much better." Vash smiled and held his arms out to her.
Millie walked up to him slowly and gave him a courteous hug. "I'm sorry about exploding on you last night. It's not your fault that happened."
Vash smiled and nodded his head. "It's alright. I understand."
Meryl walked slowly outside while drying her hands on a towel. "Are you feeling better, Millie?" Meryl smiled.
"Much better. They put me on these morphine pills, so for now, I can't feel a thing." Millie let go of Vash and walked to Meryl. "If you hide these from me, I'll whale on you!" Millie and Meryl laughed loudly as they embraced in a tight hug.
"HEY WOMAN!" Knives yelled loudly from the living room.
Meryl scowled. She fisted her hands so tightly her knuckles turned white. "If I hear him call me WOMAN one more time, I'll knock his teeth out with a cast iron skillet and make him eat them!"
"Meryl..." Vash began. "Be patient with him. He's been living with men all of this life... Thankfully I was raised around women! Can't you just smell the good hygiene?!"
"Oh yes, Vash. I can smell it all the way over here!" Millie exclaimed.
"WOMAN!!" Knives yelled again. A loud crash could be heard from inside.
Meryl cringed at the thought of going back in. "Better go tend to that little bastard." She smiled at Vash one last time before turning and entering the house.
Vash waited until Meryl was all the way inside and the door closed behind her. "I love her so much, Millie. Pray that I don't ruin everything like I usually do." Vash sighed with exasperation. "Something this good can't be free."
"Knock on wood, Vash." Millie said with a serious tone. "It will work if you MAKE it work. Nothing can separate you from her if you make sure of it."
"I've never been good with keeping things." Vash frowned. "I usually either ruin something or I lose it."
"Well then, Mr. Vash, you're just going to have to be extra careful about this, aren't you?" Millie smiled and walked towards the door. "I'm going into town today. Do you need anything?"
"Yes. I need some bandages for Knives and flowers for Meryl, but I would much rather get the flowers myself." Vash smiled softly.
"Well I get bandages then. Do you know her favorite flower?" Millie pointed a finger at Vash's face as he leaned back slightly to allow breathing space between himself and the big girl.
"N-No... What?" He smiled sheepishly as he tried not to tip over.
Millie threw her arms to her sides and huffed. "Well, Mr. Vash. It just so happens that her favorite flower is the red geranium!"
Vash's eyes widened as he smiled wide. "Interesting. I'll be sure to get her red geraniums then!" He slowly worked his way over to the chair on the porch as he watched Millie rush inside to get her purse, then back out again and into the city.
--Chapter Four-- -A Rude Awakening-
Someone cried out in the middle of town that morning. A screech too horrible to be human. When the flood of voices passed, all that was left was a shadow burned into the sand. Millie stopped suddenly at the bottom of the town hall's steps to see at her dismay, a body lying face down in a pool of blood. Her knees buckled as she tried to conjure up enough voice to scream out the name. "VASH!" Her voice twisted behind her teeth while the words spun out in a horizontal carousel.
Vash whip lashed his head around from the kitchen sink in the direction that he had heard his name. "Millie..." He whispered.
"Vash?" Meryl questioned. "What was that?"
"Meryl, stay here." Vash ran out of the door with a sense of foreboding.
"Wait! Vash! What's going on?!" Meryl stopped and looked around the room noticing all of the details of the room, including that her best friend was missing. "Millie!!" She exclaimed as she pushed her way out onto the porch.
"STAY THERE!" Vash shouted as he ran. He didn't turn around to assure himself that she had listened for his sake. He couldn't stand her stubborn personality, but he loved the way she cared so much about him and how she made him feel. His feet stomped on the sandy earth as he tread through the city; all eyes on a tall blonde man known as the Humanoid Typhoon. He slid to a stop as he saw Millie's shaking body. "Millie, what's going on?"
She turned slowly and pointed to the body of a man covered in plastic armor and wearing a purple jumpsuit. A giant spike protruded from his spine in a twisted and mangled fashion, leaving him slumped over the top steps. A stream of blood worked its way down the stairs and pooled at Vash's feet. "Vash, why would someone do this?!" Millie shook with fear as she staggered to Vash's side. "How can this be happening again?!"
"They're out there." Vash scowled as his voice turned hallow and serious. "They know he's here." Vash paused and glanced at Millie. "Go back to the house."
"Vash, Don't get hurt." Millie pleaded as she grasped his hand.
"Millie, go back to the house and stay there until I come back." Vash turned to her and smiled. "Please." Millie nodded with tears running down her face. She ran as fast as she could back to the house and locked the door behind her. Vash pulled his gun out of his pocket and stood over the body at his feet. "I remember you, Monev the Gale. Your own decisions killed you I'm sure, but what I don't understand is who could have done it." They had fought years earlier when Legato Bluesummers, a trusted minion of Knives had ordered him to kill Vash the Stampede. Monev the Gale had killed thousands in his wake of getting to Vash. Vash had the motive to kill him, but let him go because he knew that the decision of who lives and who dies isn't his to make. "Where are your friends, Monev? They've got to be around here somewhere." Vash thought to himself. "WHO ARE YOU TRYING TO IMPRESS HERE?!" Vash yelled out into the desert. He looked down again at the corpse to discover the spike was that of a Gung-ho Gun he had faced the same day he had created the hole in the fifth moon. "I see what's going on here. There must be another Gung-ho Gun. That's got to be it. Who else could do it?!"
"Vash the Stampede." A voice rang in his ears. "It's been a long time since you've been outside."
Vash's eyes grew wider by the second as the telepathic voice within his mind spoke to him in a familiar voice. "Legato..." He whispered.
"My name is not important, but the message I bring is. You may grow fond of shutting your brother up within that house keeping him out of the lime light like he's incapable of causing anymore destruction while he's under your supervision. But what you don't know is this, my friend, and that is although our master is not with us he is still sending us orders. When you pledge to him, you will serve him through life and spirit."
"But... I killed you!" Vash stammered as he covered his ears and shut his eyes tightly. "I did a bad thing that day and now you're back to haunt me because of it!"
"I want nothing to do with you, nor have you ever killed me. Legato's DNA was saved and preserved in a chemical environment in which I was created. A mere spawn of a has-been and mutated to have twice the capabilities. Who I am is not important right now, for you will see enough of me yet. We only wish to regain the leadership of our master, Knives. Return him to us and we will leave you alone."
"He's my brother and I will do anything to keep him from going back to you and your clan again. He's caused enough trouble to last a life time." The sky grew black as clouds formed over the city. "You can't scare me, anymore. I've realized my mistakes."
"Don't think this is the end, Vash the Stampede." The voice trailed off slowly and into nothing again.
***