**Author's Note** Can anyone else believe how far along this story has come in such a short time? I can't, but then again, I already knew what I wanted to happen (for the most part). It was just a matter of feeling motivated enough to actually write. (Yes…minor editing will take place once I'm through writing, nothing really new will be added but I'd suggest checking it out anyhow). Heh, well this isn't the last chapter, but I have to say…it's coming very soon…I won't say anymore on the subject coz otherwise I'd give stuff away. -.-
Jess Perry- No, that wasn't the end. (I'm sure you've figured that out by now though). I couldn't leave people hanging like that, wanting to know about the others…see now, that'd be just like the TV show. Can't have that, now can we?
Ultra Sonic 007- *lol* Well you think what you want when it comes to Knives and Artemis. I don't need to go into detail, though I'm glad nobody's flamed me for it (yet *sweat-drops*). As for Lily, well, again, I don't want to give anything away, so you'll just have to keep on reading ok? I swear….you reviewers are like inside my head…^_^ always jumping ahead in the plot. Hehe.
Lu- That wasn't the end!!! O.O;; why does everyone think that? I said the end is coming soon, I didn't mean right now, that's it. *sighs* As for Vash and Meryl…well I've got a way of my own to handle that, but I'm sure a lot of fans who love a Vash and Meryl pairing will be disappointed. To be honest…I never thought it'd work out between them.
Disclaimers: I don't own Trigun or any of the Trigun characters, nor am I affiliated with them in any way.
Claimers: I own and co-own all original characters. This means Artemis, Lily, and Gemini don't belong to the people of Trigun…muaha…MINE!
~Under the Sky so Blue: Aftermath~
Part Twenty-three
The b-flat note played perfectly; the walls of the puzzle-pieced saloon shook dangerously. A curve of a smile lit on Midvalley the Horn Freak's lips as he brought the mouth piece of his saxophone away. Perfection. However, there was something missing. He made it a point to speak of it.
"Something's missing," Midvalley stated, bringing his gaze to the very small group of people seated at the makeshift tables littering the establishment.
"It certainly seems that way, doesn't it?" Gemini spoke smoothly, his fingertips brushing away a strand of dark chestnut hair which only fell back over his right eye. He smirked lightly glancing at the two others seated close by. "It appears that for the past two months that we've been without a leader…does it not, Midvalley?"
The sax player huffed lightly. This was not his fault. That woman…that girl…Artemis, the so called Arrow Goddess, had yet to return with Knives. He looked once again over the pathetic group before him called the New Gung-ho Guns. There was hardly anybody worth recruiting on this place.
A weathered old man wearing a brightly patterned poncho blanket sat hunched forward, gazing at dust in the palm of his hand. He had no hair save but one or two wisps of gray behind his somewhat floppy ears. His eyes were tired and had bags under them, his tanned face wrinkled deeply. The Shaman Spirit was what he preferred to be called, but old man suited him well. Perhaps the Senile Spirit would have worked more. The dust he carried caused temporary blindness when thrown into one's eyes…blindness to reality, anyhow. The victim would not be able to distinguish who was friend or foe with the magic dust.
Beside him was a frail looking young man with angled features with soft white-blond hair. His eyes were so pale blue they seemed almost non-existent, and his demeanor tended to make those wonder if he were dead or alive. Despite the build of his lanky frame, he carried a large gun-like weapon which attached to a tank strapped to his back carrying some sort of liquid. When he pulled the trigger, flames erupted from the end of the barrel, much like a flame-thrower. He deemed himself Tank the Fire Ghost, which was a fitting name save for the first half of it.
Midvalley shook his head. Knives would certainly have done much better. The sax player just had no eye for new recruits. If only the others hadn't died in those terrible ways. In any case, he knew that at least having Legato alive would've been more than this group.
"We won't be without a leader for long…in fact, we're moving out tonight, to Demetri, to find him." He finally replied to Gemini's smart-ass remark.
"Oh? And what about the girl?" Gemini inquired calmly, the smirk ever present on his lips. He gave Midvalley the creeps. From day one there'd been something strangely familiar about that man and the sax player could never put a finger on it.
"Don't know…who cares, really? She hasn't done her part which is bad news if we ever run across her again. The main objective is Knives." Midvalley responded with a shrug, looking to the others.
Tank arched an eyebrow, his pale eyes flicking about aimlessly. "Why do you think they haven't shown up yet? Is it possible it's because that girl hasn't found him?"
The Shaman snorted indignantly, answering the question in place of the Horn Freak. "Unlikely. She has either been killed or our fearless leader has something else up his sleeve."
Gemini stood slowly with his ever present smirk. "It does not matter. Midvalley- we should prepare to leave as soon as possible. Further delay will get us nowhere."
* * *
'Another week has passed…but what is two months' time compared to a hundred and thirty years? So much has been missed; so much time has been wasted on something that, in the end, held no real importance. I…I have changed.'
Knives stared hard at his reflection in the mirror before running a hand through his thick pale blond hair. It'd gotten a little longer, looking slightly unruly. He was used to having it neatly trimmed at all times…his hands sought a pair of scissors and when he found them they were taken from his grasp.
"You look like you need a haircut," Artemis spoke from behind him.
He faintly smiled, staring at her reflection, her eyes the only feature visible over his shoulder. "I do, and I was ready to do it myself until you came along."
The priestess shook her head, "Let me. I think you need something new done anyhow."
"New?!" Knives shouted, aghast, ice blue eyes widening. "Give me the scissors, meddler…I've had the same hair cut for 130 years."
"Precisely my point," she snickered with a glint in her eyes. "Get a chair, we'll go outside."
"Since when do you give me orders?" he tried his best to sound harsh. It usually wasn't difficult, but now he failed horribly.
"Since you broke out of your superior shell, Knives. Come on." She turned, leaving him to stand there a moment in his own thoughts.
'Vash was right about humans…they are not any less than us…they are born of free will. She reminds me of Rem…forgiving and passionate about everything. Would it have turned out this way if I had succeeded in killing him? My own brother?'
"Vash? Can I talk to you for a second?"
Looking up from his opened box of freshly baked donuts, Vash the Stampede pouted at Meryl.
"Can it wait? These donuts aren't going to last forever you know!"
The ebony haired woman clenched her hands into fists but replied very calmly. "Fine. It's been waiting this long." She turned around to leave his and Wolfwood's room.
Whoa. Meryl didn't get mad at him? She didn't beat him, or throw something at him, or even call him something insulting? There was something wrong. Vash put the box down and stood.
"Alright, what is it?" he asked.
She turned around, her large grey-blue eyes shifting toward the floor. "There's something that's been on my mind for a while now, Vash, and if I don't say it I'm afraid I never will."
Vash watched as she nervously shuffled her feet on the floor. This wasn't how Meryl acted. He felt strange…like he knew what she was going to say. Knives had told him once, when he first was brought to town, something about Meryl's feelings for Vash. Was he right?
"Want a donut!?" he shouted absently, thrusting the box toward her nervously. If she was going to say what he thought she was, well…he didn't know how he should react.
"Vash…this isn't a time to be asking me if I want a donut! I'm trying to say something really important but you always do this, you always act like an idiot every time!"
"Sca-ry," he muttered and put the box down. "I'm sorry…go on then."
Meryl crossed her arms. "Thank you. As I was saying…I…well I guess there's really no way of being discreet about it. Vash- you make people feel things they didn't know they could feel until they've been around you. You tend to bring out hidden emotions…feelings people never would have felt again if you hadn't been there."
He tensed. She was saying what he thought she'd say. He didn't say a word but kept his aqua eyes on her, trying to figure out how to react to it.
"Well you've brought out emotions in me that…well that I thought I'd never find again, Vash. You did it against my will, you idiot, and I should be mad at you, but I'm not!"
'You certainly look like you're getting upset over it,' Vash thought, his eyes widening at her raised voice.
Meryl paced a bit then stopped. "I really care about you Vash. I…I really love you, even though I've got a strange way of showing it."
"I'll say." He replied quickly but then caught himself. "Sorry! I'm sorry! Don't hurt me!"
She hadn't moved. "Even now you're joking about it. Can't you give me an honest reaction for once?"
He sighed and stepped forward, putting his hands on her shoulders. "I care about you too…I'd give my life to save yours, I've nearly done it plenty of times. But, Meryl, I don't feel the same. I love you as I would love a sister, a friend, a mother…please don't hurt me!"
Meryl was silent. She hadn't expected him to swoon all over her like he would any other girl. She wasn't mad at him because he hadn't, either. In fact…she was relieved that she'd finally said it and knew how he felt too.
"Maybe…in time," he added with one of his more serious, non-empty smiles. He leaned down and kissed her cheek then stood straight, took his doughnuts and grinned. "Want one?!"
* * *
"Be careful not to cut off his ears, it'd be a shame," the blond woman leaning against the post said with a casual smirk.
Artemis grumbled, "I know what I'm doing Lily."
"I hope so," Knives replied his head remarkably still.
"Just testing ya kiddo."
The red head could feel the smirk on her friend's face. She whipped around with the scissors pointed at Lily like a dagger. "Don't call me that! I HATE that!"
Lily laughed, "Touchy, touchy, aren't we? You missed a spot."
Immediately Knives drew a hand up to the back of his head. Artemis slapped it away. "Wait…don't listen to her. Shut up Lily." She said with a small smile and clipped a few places on Knives' pale blond hair. "There…done."
She brought forth a mirror for him to see. He smiled instantly. His hair was clipped neatly, a little shorter than usual but not too much. It was basically the same way he'd always had it.
"You left it the same. I thought you were going to change it." He remarked.
Artemis shook her head, "Yeah well…I just got used to you, so I figured, why change what I'm used to?"
Lily laughed softly at them and turned her eyes toward the blue sky. The winds had shifted, it was a little chilly but otherwise the weather was perfect. But something felt…off-color. It was unsettling: a forbidding feeling despite the brightness of the day.
'Something is coming…' were the thoughts that she and Knives shared, albeit not known to the other that they thought in unison. 'This can't be good.'